He was dead

Luna stood in front of Shane as though shielding him from the girl; ''I would prefer to talk to Zuko.'' she said. Zuko was the only council member Luna was close to. The others, especially the females, were sick of her flirting with almost every male, so they did not like her.

''Did you not hear my question?'' The girl demanded, glaring intently at Luna with a hint of annoyance in her eyes.

''I… he…'' Luna fumbled her words, and thankfully before she could make a mess of the situation, Zuko walked to them; ''What is going on?''

''Zuko!'' Luna exclaimed in her breathy voice when she saw Zuko and ran to his side, hiding away from the piercing gaze of the girl.

Zuko was tall and had a menacing demeanor. His hair was tied up in a tight bun, but there were a few strands that fell to his face. His voice commanded authority as he spoke, and although he was just a few inches taller than Shane, Shane felt tiny standing next to him.

The female council eyed Luna for a second before she turned to Shane.

''This is not a home for powerless humans. Leave. '' She looked irritated at Luna for wanting to speak with Zuko first, so she didn't care why Shane was there any longer.

Shit!

Shane cursed beneath his breath. Luna claimed she was helping him, but it seemed she just dashed the only hope of him staying in the Academy.

''No, he can't leave. He has nowhere to go. '' Luna cut in as her face fell. The girl put her hands behind her. Straightening her shoulders, she spoke;

''You did not speak when I asked you to. You've lost the right to do that. Send this human back to where he came from. If I see him again, I'll slice him in two.''

''Please… Eve, I'm sorry for my rudeness. '' Luna apologized immediately, standing in front of Eve so she would not walk away. Zuko on his own cannot let Shane stay in the Academy. More than half of the council members had to agree.

''Do you intend to block my way?'' Eve asked, slightly raising her voice. Shane did not know Eve, but it did not seem like she liked Luna at all.

''Now, now, let's not make a fuss about this little thing, shall we? '' Zuko said as he stood in front of the both of them, pulling Eve to his side. Eve's cheeks turned a light pink as he put his hand on her waist;

Okay, now he saw what was going on...

Shane thought. It appeared Eve had feelings for Zuko, and she despised the fact that Luna was fond of him. And like as he had thought, it was only when Zuko pleaded with Eve that she agreed to listen to them. Shane stood quietly like Luna had told him to, as she explained why he had come to the Academy.

''Luna, you know we can't let him stay here. He'll die in less than a month. '' Zuko said and Luna pouted;

''But he has nowhere else to go! And he says he's going to work hard, look at him, he looks very fit, he'll do well in martial arts. If you send him on his way with nowhere to go, the monsters will devour him before sunset. At least let's train him before sending him on his way, so he'll be able to protect himself. ''

The other female council, who had been silent through the entire ordeal, said with a smirk; ''Luna, we all know why you want him here. Do not act like you actually care about what happens to him.''

''But I do! He's a human, and our duty is to protect humans.''

Zuko sighed; ''Fine, he'll stay, but he'll leave once he has learned basic martial arts to protect himself,'' Zuko said and looked at the others, in case they had any objections, but they did not say a thing.

''I guess that is settled for now. Shane needs room to sleep in and a change of clothes. '' Zuko said. Shane looked at himself; he looked like dirt. He had been in the same clothes since he woke up in that house.

''I'll take him to get some clothes. '' Luna said in excitement and quickly leaped to where Shane stood, holding his arm.

''No, not you. Nyx!'' Zuko called, and Luna turned to see Nyx walking across the field. When she heard her name, she looked in their direction.

''No, Zuko, it's not fair!'' Luna grimaced.

''What's not fair, Luna? I thought all you had for him was a concern for humans?'' The other girl spoke with a grin on her chin. Luna couldn't reply. She just chewed the bottom of her lip.

Luna jumped on every good-looking guy that came into the Academy, so her behavior was totally expected.

''You called for me,'' Nyx said when she came to them. Her eyes looked over at Shane, but she looked away as though she did not know him.

''Yes, find this human a place to sleep and a change of clothes. ''

''' Okay; '' Nyx replied and turned to Shane; ''Follow me. ''

''Thank you. '' Shane said to the council, bowing slightly, then hurried up to catch up with Nyx, leaving Luna throwing a tantrum.

''I guess you did not regain your memories, Shane. '' Nyx spoke after they had walked for a while. Shane did not know why he was cautious around her. She seemed like a nice person, but she barely smiled. She was mostly serious.

''I did not. Thankfully, Luna helped me get the Council to let me stay here for the meantime.''

''That's good. Just stay out of trouble. You are the weakest here. You don't want to get beaten to a pulp. ''

''Thank you. ''

Shane looked at Nyx's wrist, and he could not see her numbers too. For a moment, he was confused. Now he remembered he couldn't see the guys' numbers from yesterday,

"Nyx, why can't I see your mana?"

Nyx looked at him inquisitively. "whose mana were you able to see?" She asked,

"Tatiana and Luna, but I couldn't see the others,"

"That's because, as a human, you can only see descendants' mana when they allow you to. You can't see mine because I did not let you."

"Oh, " he exclaimed. So that was why he couldn't see the councils. He wanted to know Nyx's, but he decided not to ask. She most likely wouldn't show him.

Nyx got him a few clothes and took him to a boys' dorm. ''Do not get in trouble and try to last long enough to leave here. ''

Nyx said, and Shane nodded. No matter how bad this place was, he was not leaving. It was better to get killed by them that to get eaten alive by monsters.

''The occupants are training in the field; they won't be back soon, so take your time and settle down. '' She said as she opened the door for Shane. This is a three-person room, and one of them won't bully you, so you're partly safe. You should know him, Sky, the one you saw yesterday. ''

''Oh, he's fine now. ''

''Yes, get along with him. He's a good one. ''

''Thank you.''

Shane stood by the door after Nyx left as he finally accepted reality. By now, he should be dead. His mother must have cried a lot. His body might be in a morgue, or maybe he was already six feet underneath the ground. He should be on the news. 'A young boy of 20 was killed in a local gang fight'. It was not anything new.

There were frequent clashes in Chicago and people died most of the time.

In a few weeks, everyone would forget him, they would move on. His mom would mourn for a while and she, too, would forget him. He was dead. He was gone.