Chapter 10

After Jason returned to the house, a discussion broke out between the group about what they should do with him.

“First things first, he doesn't look like a Raksha. Because of that, the guy is a walking bounty.” Loba said, starting off immediately. “Speaking of, kid, wouldn't assume you’re willing to part with any of your stuff, are ya? Anything you part with will make a killing down here with the right buyer,” he said, lightly gripping Jason’s jacket.

“Uh, hell no, I’ve learned my lesson about giving Raksha my stuff. Back off, dude.” Loba froze, then laughed hysterically.

“You think I’m one of them?!?!? I guess there’s no way you could know, but still! Me, a Raksha! Panka, get a load of this!” He grabbed his sides, desperately trying to hold himself together.

“Jason, the only Raksha in our group is Biji. Uddi is from Tiryag, Loba is Pretayan, and I am Asuran. The three of us work for King Yama specifically to hunt Scorched.” Panka spoke from behind Jason, sitting against the wall. “I don't know what that means, but okay.”

“Speaking of, what's so funny about that, Loba?” Biji walked towards him, grabbing him by the neck of his haori. “If you got something to say, say it, and I'll throw you straight back to Preta myself,” he said, leering into his eyes.

“Alright, loud and clear, jeez.”

As the two bickered, Uddi and Panka chuckled at their squabbling. Jason sat in contemplation before speaking up, his tone serious.

“So… what now? I appreciate you guys being super helpful, but I doubt I’m going to be allowed to freeload off of you guys for too long.” He crossed his arms. “So, what do I have to do?”

Biji let go of Loba’s collar to tap her wrist, causing it to spark.

“I think he should come work with us; it’ll be good having someone else help with the hunt, especially if we teach him how to use his crest.” Uddi added, who had to float with excitement.

“That’d be fun, I think. Maybe we’d even get to see his crest in action again!”

“Nah.” Jason shrugged, prompting a disappointed reaction from the crowd.

“What? What do you mean, “nah”? That's the entire reason we’re here!” Biji dropped Loba before storming to the other side of the room. “Sorry, but after learning that those things used to be people, I can't kill any of them. Even if doing whatever method you guys use sends them back to earth, I can't risk it.”

Jason, despite his face having steeled, his expression still looked dire. Panka, to his shock, put her hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

“I understand how you feel. I think life is sacred. Killing innocents feels wrong to me. However, they are not in control of themselves. If we do not send them back to Manuya, or wherever else they come from, they will kill more innocents than we’re sparing. Steel your heart.”

“Personally, kid, I think you’re being a coward, but I can't technically force you to do anything.” Loba said as he stood up and fixed his collar, "You'll have to figure it out.”

“I don't think you’re being a coward, Jason, but it isn't really a big deal, you know; people die all the time.” Uddi said, floating above them as if he were lying on air.

“I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Loba. Jae, with another member to help fight the Scorched, we can be rid of them in no time, and there's a big payout for all of us. You can't save them, so you might as well make the best of it.”

Despite her words, Biji’s bitter tone betrayed her.

‘She doesn't even believe what she's asking.’ Jason sighed, “... nah. I refuse. I won’t kill them. If that’s what it takes, then I don't have the stomach. If that makes me a coward, then so be it.”

“... I understand. I will work twice as hard then, so you can remain here.” Panka nodded, putting one of her hands on Jason's head, ruffling his hair slightly with a smile.

“I admire you for sticking to your idealism, Jason.”

“H-huh? Why? You don't have to do all that; I'm not worth the trouble, miss!” Jason fumbled and growled, his face turning rosy as he turned to hide.

"... why does she get called miss, and I don't? I saved you from Loba; I deserve some respect,” Biji huffed. “I’ll put in more hours too, since I'm the one who brought you here. It shouldn't be Panka’s responsibility alone.”

“You really are too nice, Panka.” Loba smirked, “Fine, kid, you'll be the housemaidin that case. It'll give you something to do.” He scoffed. “Can you cook? Clean?”

Jason nodded. “Yeah, I looked after me and my brother basically single-handedly. He wasn't ever the handy type. I took care of the whole house and even did some plumbing if you guys… uh, have plumbing.”

“Then you’re hired, buddy! It'll be great to have you as part of the team, Jason.” Uddi smiled, jumping in the air excitedly. Wiping a tear from his eye quickly to hide it from Loba, Jason smiled softly, “Thanks, guys. Won't let you down.”

…

After their conversation, Biji led Jason around the headquarters.

It was a house-like building squeezed between identical rows: two floors, the first only containing the room Jason was staying in and a hallway (which, to Jason's surprise, had a functional bathroom). The top floor had four rooms, as well as a living space and kitchen; ‘Things here are so much like earth. It's weird how similarly we live.’

“Now, if you’re gonna survive here, we have to fix up your appearance a bit. Luckily, I have just the thing!” Biji giggled to herself as she grabbed something from a low cupboard.

“This!”

The box she was holding was a large vial of shimmering liquid. “What's that stuff?” Jason asked curiously. “Don’t worry about it; just come here!”

…

Jason had spent the last 5 minutes staring at his reflection in the mirror: I have to get Biji back for this, somehow.

His previously short dark hair, at least at the top, was a platinum blonde. ‘Turns out whatever dyeing products they have here are way stronger than the stuff they have on earth; it was only in for a minute and basically tore all the melanin out of my hair… It does look a little cool, though.’

After a while of staring, he was pulled from his reflection by Uddi.

“Jason! You were gonna teach me how to play your human game! I got the ball ready!” he yelled from across the stone walkway.

After a night of rest, Uddi had asked Jason to teach him about human culture, to which he had told Uddi that he would teach him how to play basketball.

Honestly, I'm shocked he’s interested enough to try to craft a ball.

“Whoa! How did you make this thing? Besides the color, it's almost exactly like the ones on earth!” Jason said, marveling at the basketball that Uddi had made.

“My crest allows me to create and manipulate natural stuff, so when you described what rubber was to me, I was able to make some! Pretty cool, right?”

“Seriously, it is, dude! Great job, Uddi.” Uddi smiled wide and jumped in excitement, his wings carrying him into the air.

‘That's not all, though, Jason! With my crest, I was also able to fix your rock fling-y thing, even better this time! The rope won't snap, and I reinforced the rock you were using with metal to make it so if you hit someone with it really, really hard, it won't break.”

“You… did that for me?” Jason said, his voice shaking slightly. “... Thanks, Uddi, you're a real friend for that.”

Uddi laughed and handed Jason the hammer. “It’s a thank you for teaching me human stuff; it was no big deal, really! My crest is pretty amazing, and between you and me, I don't get to use it often, so this was fun!” Stashed the hammer into his jacket pocket before cracking his neck in preparation. “Alright, let's play some basketball.”

…

“I don't really get it. What am I doing wrong?”

“Flying, Uddi. The problem is that you’re flying.” Jason pinched the bridge of his nose as Uddi floated on his back, holding the ball to his chest. “But why isn't that allowed? It seems pretty smart if you ask me.”

“Well, besides the fact that unless your opponents can't fly, you aren't dribbling the ball, so you’d immediately get fouled for traveling.”

"... Foul? Traveling? But I haven't gone anywhere; what foul thing would they do to me???” Uddi floated back to the ground, pushing the ball into Jason’s chest. “I don't want to play this game anymore! It sounds scary!”

Despite how childish he found Uddi’s fear, he couldn't help but laugh. “Here, let me show you how it’s done.”

Suddenly, it was like Jason was back on the court. The ball moved in a blur through Jason’s legs and in front of him as he dribbled around the yard, causing Uddi to quickly lose track of it. “How are you doing that? Whoa!” He watched on, bewildered.

“Been practicing every day for like 10 years at least. It just takes constant—”

The ball then slipped out of Jason’s hand, rolling towards Uddi.

“...Practice.”

Jason stood frozen for a moment before standing straight and walking towards Uddi, who had picked up the ball. His face had become almost shell-shocked.

“Thanks for the ball. Our lessons are over now though, and I'm gonna need this.” Jason mumbled, not meeting Uddi’s eyes as he snatched the ball from his hands.

“Aww, but I wanted to play more after watching you do that! Are you sure you can't teach me?”

“No time. I need to practice.” Noticing Jason's expression, Uddi patted him on the back before walking away. “Okay, buddy, but if you need someone to practice with, I’ll be inside,” he said before walking back into headquarters.

…

“He's been at it foreverrr”, Biji groaned, watching Jason from the window. “It was cool to watch at first, but now it’s starting to annoy me.”

“Go say something then. He’ll listen to you.’ Panka spoke calmly as she passed. “... you know what, I will!! Biji then stormed over to the door before flinging it open. Jason stopped his dribbling drills, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Oh, Biji, what's up?”

“What's up? You’ve been playing for sooo long! When are you gonna be done? it's getting uncomfortable to watch.” she said, her anger fading into a tone of concern as she watched him go straight back to dribbling, his breath labored.

“If you're getting bored, just stop watching.”

That's not the point,” she wagged a finger. “This isn't productive, you know. Now that you’re here, it'd be a better use of your time learning how to use that crest of yours, even if you aren't gonna help us kill Scorched with it.” She tapped on her wrist, smiling deviously. “I'll even teach you, if you want.”

“Nah, I’m alright. Thanks, though. I need to stay sharp; if I don’t, then I might not get drafted to the league after graduation.” he said, not lifting his eyes from the ball. Biji took a deep breath, irritation returning to her voice as she crossed her arms.

“... league, graduation, Jae, I don't know what you’re talking about, and that should clearly be enough of a hint to you to realize it doesn't matter right now!” She yelled, “You have bigger problems right now than basketball! Don't you want to find your brother?”

“... Biji, my life when I get back home depends on me being good at basketball,” he said, picking the ball up for a moment as he loomed over her. The erratic frenzy had returned to his eyes.

“Well, you aren’t home right now. Right now, you need to train so you can accomplish your goals here. So make a choice: are you going to keep pretending that this situation is gonna sort itself out, or are you going to help yourself out of it?”

“I have more than enough power, I'll have you know,” he spat in a low tone as he began to walk back over to his practice area. As he began again, he started to ask Biji questions as she stood watching him. “On that topic, why have you been going to so much trouble for me to begin with? I’ll be fine, you know.”

“I… just…” She faltered, “You’re—.” In a huff, she turned to walk into the house, being stopped by Panka, swinging the door open. An uncharacteristic look of worry on her face. “Uddi’s gone.”