6 Chapter 6 - Training 2

Location: Chamber of All

Jason's POV

"Man-child, go get a look of your new livings while I talk to Talia," Ducra tells me with a shooing motion. I look over at Talia and she also expresses the same gesture with a smile.

"Whatever you say granny," I say before walking off in whatever direction. Leaving Talia and Ducra to talk whatever they want to talk about. I can hear Ducra mumbling something about respect again, but just tune it out. I already called her master once that should be enough.

I feel the grass tickle my feet along the side of my slippers as I walk on. Taking in the natural beauty of the place. Waterfalls and rivers along the landscape, almost like something you would only see in a picture. I breath in the fresh and cool air. So different from the Gotham and previous life's city I was used to years ago.

Free of the pollution I'm used to breathing in constantly. Of course, Talia's compound has relatively clean air itself, but lacks the nature scent this place has. I walk over to one of the rivers and kick off my slippers. Going down into a crouching position and just sticking my feet out into the water.

"Now this is relaxing," I groan out from the cool sensation of the naturally flowing water my feet are submerged. I close my eyes and just lay back. Constant back-to-back training for the past two years has been physically tiring on my body even with the slight regeneration. Especially when the ones training me are Talia and Lady Shiva. People talk about slave drivers being the worse, have never meet those two demons disguised in human form.

Still appreciative of everything as it made me better in every area I wanted and sorely needed to compete against someone people who are masters at what they do. I hope whatever this All Caste teaches me is the cherry on top.

I hear footsteps slowly close in before they come to a stop to the side of me. My eyes stay closed, as I don't want to break the peace, I'm currently in.

"You should take your feet out of those waters," A smooth female voice says as I finally open my eyes to take in the figure next to me.

And I got to say she is a high-class beauty. White hair that cascades down to her shoulders with a few of her hairs braided near her ears. Tanned skin, cleared without any blemishes. A curvy figure, which can be seen even in her tanned clothes that basically covers everything. That's when I get to her eyes and have to do a double take. It's black, now black eyes wouldn't be so weird, but everything in her eyes is literally black.

I've met some weird people in my life while in Gotham, but this feels really unnatural. The more I look at her the more I realize she doesn't really feel human in nature. She looks human but doesn't feel like it. Usually, my gut is right on these things.

"Now why would I do that," I question back. Never the one to back down without a good reason.

"Because that is one of the water sources we use to drink from," She replies with a quirked brow. Now that makes me feel a little bad, mother didn't raise a savage. Even if only one of my mother's kind of raised me.

"I see, well that's my bad. I'm new here," I answer back, taking my feet out of the waters and putting them back into my slippers. Standing to my full height and tower over her a good number of inches. She only reaching my nose in height.

"I know, it's quite obvious," She tells. I look over myself and over to the people around the area scattered. My clothes distinctly different compared to them. Yeah, definitely obvious.

"Well, the names Jason," I introduce myself, with a bow.

"And mine is Essence," Essence replies with a small smile. I still for a moment at her name.

"Who names their kid, Essence," I ask after a moment of awkward silence. Seriously, what kind of name is that. Her parents must have been nut jobs or something.

"She does," Essence says pointing at me. I give a confused face, before turning around and see Durca right behind me. Sneaky old lady to get behind me.

"I see you've met my daughter," Ducra says with a chuckle. Staring at me with her own unsettling eyes. Guess it runs in the family.

"I guess, also what's up with her name," I confirm, before throwing a pointed thumb behind me. Essence just looking at me with an unamused look.

"Disrespectful, yet honest at least," Ducra says with the shake of her head, a small chuckle under her breath.

"Come, lets change you out of those clothes and into something normal," Ducra continues with a small hand gesture to follow her. Essence staying behind, in a seated position near the running water. Probably some sort of calming place for her.

"My clothes are normal, it's you people who wear a bunch of lame ass stuff," I mumble under my breath, but I'm sure Ducra heard me. Damn bat looks ancient but has some insane senses. Could sneak up on me like it was nothing.

Time Skip six months.

Ducra's POV

I watch as the man child spars with my heir. He's good for his age, no he's more than good. Capable of gaining the edge on my own daughter in the spar. Who's spent her whole life training under me. A one-of-a-kind prodigy.

But that wasn't the reason I took him. I still remember months ago looking at him for the first time. I could briefly glimpse into his future, and I saw death. Not his own death, but the death of many around him. A boy standing upon piles and piles of those standing in his way. But beyond that was a shining light, a light radiating with something more.

That light beyond the mountains of death was the reason I took him in. If I could have the chance at making him something more than just another monster in the world, it is a chance worth taking. I could also smell the Lazarus on him. I'm surprised in my months with the boy that he hasn't had an outburst of some sort.

He has control of the madness, or at least some semblance of control. I would teach him more about it, but he doesn't need it yet. His time is better spent learning our ways.

"Stop," I voice out to them. Both sweating and Jason holding Essence in a tight hold, his arm wrapped around her neck tightly. He lets go and reaches a hand down to help her up. My daughter takes his hand and raises herself up.

"Too easy," Jason mocks at her with a nudge of his elbow, his usual smirk on his face.

"Than why are you sweating?" Essence replies back, as she looks Jason's figure over. A small smile coming to her lips for a moment before she notices me looking. Quickly dropping the smile and putting her emotional mask back on.

It seems that my daughter has taken an interest in the boy. If only she knew that he wasn't going to stay even if she does capture his heart.

"You may leave daughter, I must talk with the boy," I instruct her. She leaves the training room and heads to her usual place of rest near the running waters. Jason watches her leave before focusing on me. Maybe the interest isn't only one way.

"So, what's up," Jason says. I shake my head, just once I wish he would talk in a respectful manner. I suppose it is not to be.

"The ceiling child, now come walk with me for a moment," I reply before walking out the room and out into the cool night air. Jason trails along my side as I start the conversation.

"How has your stay been here?" I ask, just staring forward at the surroundings. Trees covering the trail we walk on.

"Uh good I guess, nothing really to complain about except for the no Wi-Fi, that really blows," Jason replies in exasperated tone towards the end of his sentence.

"I'm sure you could live without it," I remark in an annoyed tone. Seriously this boy really says anything to just spite everybody around him just for the enjoyment.

"All these lessons about seeing past, present, and future is a little confusing though," Jason continues with his experience here.

"Just be happy you still have your sanity, not many come as far as you without going mad," I explain. He is the first human to truly come this far into the training without suffering mentally. I told him of the risk of going further in his training, but he just continued anyways.

"Yeah whatever, it's not that bad," Jason comments with nonchalance. Maybe the boy is already insane and just doesn't know it.

"Mmmm, well that is all. You may go now, I want to go relax," I tell him. He walks away in the direction of my heir. I smirk a little while shaking my head. Both fools who don't see that they only cause heartbreak for one or the other.

Shift to Essence POV

I stare into the running waters, the only source of noise in this quiet night. Thinking of the spar between Jason and me. My heart racing at the close proximity between us, the touching of our skins, and the heat radiating off of him. I think back to the time he first came.

I remember the first time I met him, I thought he just an annoyance or another person overestimating themselves to be able to learn the teachings of the All Caste. Yes, he still is an annoyance, but one that I've come to tolerate and even enjoy in this place I call home.

I've only ever been training and preparing to take my mother's place as the head of the All Caste since I was born. It was a bleak experience and the thought of this being all my life will amount to. I know our greater purpose is to stop the evil of this world should it return, but it hasn't for so long and I don't know if it ever will at this point.

I'm trapped here in my own home and with a mother who only sees me as her heir before a daughter. That's when Jason came six months ago, a breath of fresh air. His jokes always making me laugh even if I don't laugh physically. Antics that may be annoying but get a reaction out of me even with my emotional mask on.

He tells me of his life as a hero and his hardships as a child. Telling me of places I've never seen or heard of, but I can still enjoy the experiences he has through his exaggerated telling's. Things I've never heard of and want to experience myself. I want to just run away and leave this place to see these places myself. Yet I can't summon the courage too.

It will be the highest betrayal of the All caste. Leaving the world defenseless to the Untitled as the All Caste is the only way to fight against them with proper methods. I think back again to Jason to forget my own responsibility.

Jason is like the light in the darkness that has been my life. For once I feel happy to be here with someone like him beside me.

My focus is broken as I hear footsteps closing in. I turn and it's the source of my thoughts, Jason. I feel a smile tug at my lips upon his appearance.

"Want some company?" Jason asks with the same annoying smirk I've come to like in the small amount of time I've known him considering how long he has been here.

"Why? Are you offering to sit here with me," I reply to him, glancing at him with a small smile.

"Wouldn't have been asking if that wasn't what I was implying," Jason answers himself. Coming over to sit next to me, closely. With only a small breadth of distance separating us. We sit in the silence together, listening to the sounds of the night.

The running water that flows almost soothingly. The breeze of air that causes goosebumps on my small amount of exposed skin. My breath blowing a misty cloud from my mouth as the air chills it upon exit.

I look over to Jason, his eyes closed as he lifts his head to the sky. Giving me time to observe the face I've come to know in these six months of training together. His jaw sharp and angled perfectly for his head shape. Lips thin yet full, I often catch myself looking at whenever he smirks. Sharp eyebrows, that rest above his strange yet enchanting green eyes. A bang from his tuft of white hair hangs over his eye.

"You know you can take a picture if you like staring at my face so much," Jason comments, opening his eyes to look at me. I don't stop looking at him, even as he catches me.

"There isn't anything to take pictures with here, even if I wanted to," I respond seriously. There isn't much technology here for such uses like that.

"A shame," he says, keeping his eye contact with me. He moves closer to me and rests his hand on mine. I feel the heat of his body as he comes even closer. Not wanting to him to be the only one to initiate something I move forward myself. My heart racing the whole time.

Our faces only centimeters from each other, it feels like time slows at our lips touch each other. I expected his lips to feel rougher, but they were soft and all-encompassing of mine. We stay together before we both run out of breath and separate to take in fresh air.

Neither of us say anything, as he pulls me in against his chest. My ears pressed against his chest, as I hear his strong heartbeat. I close my eyes and just feel the movement of his breathing as he holds me close against him.

For once I don't feel the burden of my future weighing on my mind and body. It's just us in the here and now. No worries of what the future holds.

Just happiness.

Author's note: Sorry meant to get this out earlier but had to delete it like 50 percent of it to start over again. Did that like three times with this chapter before I finally liked it. I hate publishing things that don't meet my standards.

Anyhow, I'll probably upload another chapter of this tomorrow along with the Spider-Man chapter. Both stories have got me in like a hype period with where they're at. I've also outlined most of this story so it should be easier to write it out quicker in releases.

This week is Spider-Man week, so be prepared for that. I'll upload one more chapter of this since I felt like I didn't give much for Red-Hood week. So, in conclusion there will be a Red-Hood chapter this Spider-Man week.

Also, for anybody who wants a lemon, there won't be any. I know there is people out there that might ask for something like that. But one of my cousins reads both my stories and I am not going to write something like that with them reading my stuff. Too embarrassing for me, so sorry.

Hope you guys like it so far, give me thoughts on the chapter.

Thank you for reading and see you in the next chapter.