Devotio

Chapter 6

Echizen woke with a start in a hot sweat. He looked around in a panic to see everyone sleeping peacefully. He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself. It was just a dream. He thought to himself. He wiped the sweat from his brow and noticed there was a set of eyes that had been looking at him.

Kaidou had been on watch and looked at Echizen with a slight hint of worry, wondering what nightmare had caused the boy to wake like that. "Are you alright?" He asked in a low tone to not wake the others. Rather than give him an answer, Echizen got up from where he had fallen asleep and went to sit next to the older male. Kaidou didn't mind; having a little brother himself, he was used to seeing someone need comfort after having a bad dream.

The two sat in silence for a while, enjoying it seeing as it was something that seemed to be a rare thing to come across with their group. Kaidou would steal a glance at Echizen every few minutes to see if there was any change but he just sat there with his head in his hands, looking forward at nothing. He wanted to ask if Echizen want to talk about the dream he had but figured it was better not to press the matter seeing as the impression he got when they first met. After a few more minutes of silence, the boy spoke but not about what he expected.

"Kaidou-san, are there people who can see into the future?"

He stared at the boy who continued to look forward. In all sincerity, there have been no records of anyone being born with an M-Gene of Foresight. "Why do you ask?"

Echizen stayed quiet for a second. "I met someone in the previous town." Kaidou's brow rose at that. "An old man; he knew who I was and that I was having problems with my power and kept calling me the savior. It looked like- he had been staying in the school building. There were books about the M-Gene scattered everywhere, theories written on the board- he looked like he knew what he was talking about but, it was like he was crazy."

"Why did you wait until now to tell someone?" Kaidou crossed his arms, a bit perplexed.

"I just thought he was a lunatic." Echizen looked up through the broken roof. "In my nightmare- we had gone to Chargarde's Headquarters... everything was on fire. There were bodies of people I'd never seen but felt like I had some sort of connection to, Chargarde and Cardinal soldiers and scientists lied in pools of blood, innocent people weren't able to escape the flames; all of you were dead and your blood was on my hands. It was- my fault."

Kaidou stared at the boy, confused and surprised to see him visibly shaking. "It was just a dream wasn't it?"

"He told me that if I didn't learn to use and control my power, everyone will burn. I can't think it was just a dream Kaidou-san. He knew who I was, like some prophecy foretold it or something."

Kaidou sighed. "If you're really worried about that then the best thing to do would be for you to learn how to control it right?" He patted him on the back. "We can show you a few things while we're on the road tomorrow. Get some sleep."

Echizen smirked. Somehow it didn't seem as strange to talk to the older male as he would have thought. He went back to where he had been sleeping before and lay back down.

"Echizen." Kaidou spoke one last time. "You will be telling everyone tomorrow what you just told me."

He threw his hands behind his head. "Hai."

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When everyone woke, much to Echizen's displeasure, the sun was only starting to rise. He refused to fully wake until they were ready to leave, though that didn't stop the efforts of the others trying to rouse him. When everyone was indeed ready to set off again, once the sun had risen a bit more, Ryoga had taken it upon himself to get his brother up by more or less kicking him until he got irritated enough to retaliate but before he could do anything, a rice ball was shoved in his face.