7 Chapter 6: Change

-"There are memories that flee easily, then there are those that are with you for as long as you live. Aim for the latter in your daily lives. "

*Vermeil*

I sighed as Ms. Key finished tending to the gangsters' wounds while my brother rounded them up. That Alto sure had a heroic spirit. Not all that different from a certain someone.

Haroun entered the bus and made his way over to me. He sighed. "All done. That sure was eventful, huh? So, what were you thinking about earlier? Was my guess right?"

I smiled. "You really know me well, Haro." I pressed my head against the window of the bus. "I was thinking about how this place is similar to Sera, although it's perhaps worse in certain ways. I hope that Sarah has changed things in her country."

Haroun sat down next to me and ate a potato chip from the bag he had previously opened. "Hmm, I don't think that much has changed. Remember, even her brother who is king is powerless to make change." He poked my face again. "Sis. It's nice of you to worry about others, but being too sympathetic can be a bad thing. The same goes for that wannabe cop kid."

'He's right. I should try to think of something else. Or rather someone else." I smiled some more. "Wonder if I'll see that boy at Nine Petal… I'd seen his name on the list of students we were to pick up. Although, the place we were meeting him wasn't Aief. Maybe it wasn't the same An I'd met.'

***

[Years Ago]

"Brother, Big bro?" I called out. The trees around me seemed to get bigger as I walked further, and further into the forest. I tried my hardest to resist the urge to close my eyes. "Mom, Dad? Where is everyone?"

A few minutes earlier I had been enjoying watching Princess Koukyuu of Kyuu Seishin battling against a boy from Sefa. That was until a series of shadow-like beings suddenly appeared at the games, causing everyone to flee for their lives.

I had gotten ahead of my family and fled to the forest. That was when I came across a strange stone that teleported me into a completely unknown location. A denser forest than the one I had originally eloped to. I was not even certain if I was even still in Kyuu Seishin.

"Are you lost?" a voice called. I looked up and saw a smiling seven-year-old boy extending a hand out to me. "If you're lost I can help you find your way back to the village."

I wiped the tears from my face with the sleeves of my white shirt. I hated people seeing me cry. Especially strangers.

"Who are you?" I asked. Was he one of the forest creatures I had read about in fairy tales? If so, was he a nice one, or an evil one?

The boy continued to hold his hand out toward me. "I'm An, and you are?"

"I'm Vermeil." I stared at the boy's purple hair. Back home, only a select few had purple hair. "Are you from this region?"

He tilted his head. "You aren't from Aief, are you?"

I gasped. 'Aief? I'm not the best at geography, but isn't that more to the northwest than Kyuu Seishin is? Why did that stone warp me here?'

He grabbed my hand. It was warm. "Let's go find some help! You must be worried about your family!"

I blushed. "Did you overhear me?"

The boy glanced back at her obliviously. "Overheard what?"

"N-nothing…"

"I see. Oh, yeah! The name's An. What's yours?"

"V-Vermeil," I said, following him.

He grinned. "That's a pretty name."

My cheeks warmed up. He thought my name was pretty? I had always felt it sounded a tad antiquated.

***

['Present']

I turned toward Haroun as I felt his eyes on me. Brother was giving me a teasing grin.

"What?" I asked.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you? That boy who helped you when you mysteriously got teleported to Aief."

I narrowed my eyes. How was it that he always knew what I was thinking? "Yes, I am." I grinned. "This will be the first time we meet in six years. Uh, assuming it's the same An."

Haroun leaned his head back. "You know, he might already have a girlfriend. What will you do if he does?"

I snickered. "Easy. I'll just show him how much better I am than she is."

Brother swept his medium-long, white hair back and shook his head in disbelief. "You're incredible. You know that?"

I flashed him a fake smile. "Thanks."

Haroun glanced out of the window. We were about to reach the highway soon. "Wonder if that guy will make it after all."

"I get the impression he will."

Brother blinked. "Oh? What makes you think that?"

I smiled. "Call it a hunch!"

*Alban*

I threw darts at the ceiling and sighed. It'd already been two days since Alto wiped out my gang. I'd managed to get away, but who knew how long I could continue to live free. It wasn't like I had a lot of money to get a 'get out of jail card' like Brent and his crew. My gang was tiny.

Brent. Rolling over, I stared at a picture of me and my friends. All five of us wore big smiles on our faces, but none compared to Brent's. The guy used to be so cheerful that it was outright contagious. Since I was little, I wanted to be like him. But now, I wondered if the ones I should've emulated should've been Alto and Arima.

I gasped and stood up as the doorbell rang. Who could it have been at this hour? Mom was still working, while Jet went to play with his friends. Maybe Jet had forgotten something. Or maybe Mom got laid off again…

"Onyx, get the door," I said, throwing one of the darts at the scrawny black haired boy. A shadow rushed out from under his chair and swallowed the dart.

"You do it," Onyx said, continuing to play his game.

I sighed and stood up. "You're such a nerd! You'll never get a girl by being stuck to your computer like this!"

"Better to be a nerd than a loser," Onyx said as he button smashed his controller. "Also, who said that I wanted a girlfriend? I'm perfectly fine alone."

So he claimed, but I'd seen him blush around some of his female classmates before. He didn't have the same sharp tongue with them like he had with me. Seeing him trying to talk to them was actually quite cute.

"This is why you have no friends," I said, standing up. If not for his shadows, I probably would've messed him up a little.

"Don't need friends either," Onyx said, tilting his body with his airplane. He was really good at that game. Many games, actually. Especially first-person shooters. Although, he had to be. It was his dream to be a pro-gamer, but what were the chances he would even make it? It wasn't like this country had much of an esports scene either. He would've had to go to Harun or Kyuu Seishin for that.

"Man, you're really a downer," I said as I grabbed my bag.

"Hmm? Where are you going with that?" Onyx asked, glancing at me.

I chuckled. Now he paid attention. "I wrote Mom a letter. Left it on the fridge."

"Wait, are you running away from home?"

"Read the letter if you want to know."

Onyx sighed and stood up. "Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude."

I chuckled. "I'm not leaving because of you. But I accept the apology anyway."

Onyx frowned.

The doorbell rung again.

"I better go get that!"

Onyx followed me as I made my way down the hall and into the living room.

"Jet? Back so soon? Thought you were with your little friends," I said as I opened the door of my apartment. His eyes widened as I noticed one of my former friends was standing behind him. "Alto. What are you doing here? What happened?"

"You look ruffled up," Onyx said, kneeling in front of our kid brother.

"Seems that Brent and some of your 'other friends' wanted to recruit your little brother and the other kids," Alto said.

I curled my hands into fists. "That bastard! I warned him not to mess with Onyx and Jet! Where is he now?"

"He is probably being bound. Ms. Key should be calling the cops to pick them up. That's assuming he lives."

I gasped. "Lives? D-did you take care of him?"

He looked down. "He tried to stab me even though I offered him a chance to turn a new leaf. So I threw back the knife at him, hitting his left hand. But I think he'll get the attention he needs. Doubt Ms. Key or Arima would just let him die. I can only hope that jail makes him reconsider his life choices."

I clicked my tongue. "He and the others will just buy their way out, I know it!" I cracked my knuckles. "No. Those guys must be dealt with in another way. The only way that they know. Alto, I appreciate you helping Jet, but you have to be tougher. You got to go further. Next time, aim for the head."

"Wait, wasn't Brent your best friend, though?" Onyx asked.

"That was ages ago. Plus, he decided to mess with little Jet. As such, I can't forgive him!"

"Wait," Jet said, hugging my leg. He glanced up at me with tearful eyes. "Is it true? Are you really like that guy and his friends?"

I bit my lip. "Yeah..." I lowered my head. "I...I am." I glanced at Alto once more. "Though perhaps that life isn't for me." I adjusted the bag on my shoulders. "I'm going to go see if I can achieve something." I tapped Alto's shoulder and smiled. "I'll get stronger. I won't rest until I can defeat you."

Alto's blue eyes widened. "Are you saying what I think you are? You're going to take the test?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I want to see if I got what it takes." I stared at my rough hands. They'd gotten that way from working on the fields since I was eleven, after our father had passed away. "All of my self-training hasn't been enough. I hate to admit it, but I might need some schooling in magic after all."

Alto grinned and nudged me forward. "Sounds good, now get going or both of us will miss the bus!"

"You're going too?" I asked, blinking.

Jet let go of me. "Alto told us so yesterday. Although, he was still acting a bit wishy-washy."

Alto nodded. "Yeah. Arima and Uli are too! Now move it! The bus is already going ahead of me! I hope that you can keep up."

"Hey, don't be so pushy!" I yelled as he continued to push me.

Jet chuckled and waved at the two of us. "Good luck out there, Big Bro, Alto! I'll watch over the neighborhood for you!"

Onyx snickered and patted his head. "I'll be the neighborhood watcher, little bro. But you can be my sidekick!"

"Okay!"

I laughed. Onyx as the neighborhood watchdog? That was funny to imagine. How did he plan to do that from his computer? Not like he had drones. Nor did our family have the money to afford them. Money. I'd left Mom most of what I'd saved up, but it probably wasn't going to last long. If I were to get accepted, who would help her pay rent? But if I didn't leave, I risked stagnation and continuing to live a life I wasn't proud of. I didn't want to end up like Brent did.

*Vermeil*

As the bus was about to pass under the interstate bridge, it was jolted by something landing on top.

Haroun stood up even as Ms. Key stopped the bus suddenly, causing him to fall back into his seat.

"What was that?" I asked, gazing out of the window. A blue-haired boy jumped down, accompanied by a white-haired young man. "Alto..." I snickered. He actually made it. But who is that with him?

"Alban!" both Ulissis and Arima said, eyes as wide as saucers.

Ms. Key opened the bus and looked the two boys up and down. "What were you two thinking? You were supposed to call me. You could've gotten—"

"You're the woman who saved me from Alto!" Alban said, startled. He took a step back. "Seems that I made a mistake." He took another step back but Alto blocked his path.

"Oh no, you don't! Now, march!" Alto exclaimed, pushing him up the stairs.

I snickered. "What's with them?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Arima said, watching Alto and Alban curiously.

The blue-haired boy pushed the white-haired boy into the closest seat and sat down next to him, preventing his escape. "There! Now let's go!"

Alban lowered his head in defeat. He looked more like a prisoner than a willing participant.

Ms. Key chuckled and closed the door of the bus as cars honked at her. "Good idea." She revved up the bus and drove off toward the highway, ready to start our trip in earnest.

I grinned. As I thought, this group was shaping out to be an interesting one. Although, would all of us manage to pass? Nine Petal was said to be an elite academy after all. Only the best of the best could attend. Even my magic might not have cut it.