Stillness. Peace. Quiet. A dark, hot room, lined wall to wall with eggs nestled within blankets of straw.

Twice a day for 9 months, the perfect stillness is interrupted by the sound of mechanical arms turning the eggs. One by one, each is given the only mothering touch it will ever have.

All except one. For on this particular day, a single egg would be chosen to hatch the one who would control the future of two worlds.

Plop

"Ow!"

A small figure in a dark cloak raises himself up after his ghastly fall from the small window about 10 feet above. He removes his hood to reveal a boy, barely 13.

"Danny! Are you ok?" another voice, also a young male, can be heard from the window.

The first boy stands up, brushing the dirt off of his pants. "Yeah, I'm fine." He picks up his fallen flash light and switches it on, bringing to life a ray of light that pierces the solid darkness. Surrounding him, as far as the eye can see, are spotted eggs about the size of a bookbag.

"Woah..." he whispers under his breath as he takes a step forward, careful to avoid stepping on them. He reaches down and timidly places a hand on one of them and smiles as the warmth from the little one inside flows through his fingers. He kneels down, stroking the top. "I wonder what power you'll have, little guy."

"Danny! Hurry up! What if we get caught? What if we have to go to jail! What if-"

"Roman! Shut up!" he sighs and stands up, looking around. The original plan was just to take a peek at the eggs, but somewhere along the line things changed. He starts to run forwards, giving a quick glance at each egg.

Why should rich people be the only ones to have one? It isn't like they'd miss just one egg...

He continues to run through the nest, looking for a sign to tell him which one he should adopt. Finally, he found it. Suddenly, he stops, staring at one of the eggs in disbelief. He nears it, smiling as he focuses in on one of the spots.

"A scepter..." he whispers. He quickly positions himself, one leg on either side of the egg and grabs hold of it, lifting with all his might. So... heavy! Finally, the egg leaves the ground and the boy begins to move toward the rope beneath the window. Once there, he places the unhatched one in his bag and hoists it over his back. Before calling up.

"Roman! Hoist me up!"

No response.

"Roman!"

Silence.

He lets go of the rope, placing an ear against the wall. Silence.

Roman! You irresponsible-

"No! I didn't see anything!"

Roman?

"Please! I didn't go inside! PLEASE!-"

BANG

Danny falls back, landing on his behind in the hay in shock. He stares at the wall for what feels like eternity. Roman! No! They wouldn't kill a... He tries to get up on his shaking legs, but he collapses back down again, scattering hay. His breathing becomes erratic as he starts to panic.

Take a deep breath. You've got to get out of here!

Forgetting the egg in the bag on his back, he races through the nest toward the door. Several times he trips over the unhatched babies, landing in the soft hay beneath, his breathing becoming more and more erratic every second.

He finally reaches the door, dropping his flashlight and grabbing the handle and twisting it hard with both hands. It opens easily to reveal a long, dark corridor made of metal and lined with doors.

Not knowing which way to go, he walks forward slowly in the dark, taking deep breaths. Each step resounds through the corridor, filling him with the fear of being found at any second.

Tears begin to moisten his eyes and one falls over his left cheek. Roman was such a good kid. I never should have brought him... I should be the one-

A sniffle comes from up ahead.

He looks up and wipes his eyes. Someone else besides him was crying. Somehow, hearing this distracted him from his own tears. Not knowing where else to go, he sets to finding that sound.

It doesn't take him long to reach a metal door with bars at the top. Curious, he looks inside.

A female figure clad in rags looks up at him with clear, ice blue eyes and long blonde hair, tears still falling. She appears to be no more than 13 herself. She stands up, filling the space with the sound of moving chains against the floor. She places her hands in front of her, one above the other, and bows. "I am sorry you have seen me in that state, master. Please, come in. Please do what you wish to me."

A pain shoots through Danny's heart. This young girl! Isn't this supposed to be a government facility!

Without a second thought, he opens the door and steps in, hugging her. "Enough! I'm going to get you out of here!"

She steps back, pushing him away, looking at him with petrified eyes. "No!"

Danny looks back, perplexed. "This place isn't safe! They've already killed my friend and..." he makes a motion with a hand toward her outfit. "And have done... this... to you... You can't stay here!"

"You do not belong here! Go! Before they find you and kill you too!"

Danny places an arm on her shoulder. "Not without you!"

She pushes his arm away, shaking her head no. She then gathers her hair and raises it, exposing the scar on her neck. "I am a dragon. You needn't worry about me."

Danny grabs her hand, pulling her forward as her hair falls back over her scar. "I figured that out already! Come on! Do you really want to stay here? If we get out, you can be my dragon!"

She looks at him for a second, then smiles. "You are the first human who has ever said that to me. Maybe..." she looks at the top of the egg protruding from his backpack. "Maybe this little one will find happiness being with you."

"And you?"

She shakes her head. "Every dragon born here has been implanted with a chip. If we leave, the alarm will sound and every guard here will gun us both down. But..." she stops, removing his hand from her shoulder and taking it in her hand. "You can get out safely. Your hands can open any door here because you are a human. The problem is running from here once you get out. There are riflemen everywhere."

Danny looks into her eyes, saddened. "You really can't escape with me?"

She kisses him on the cheek. "Please get this little one out alive. There is only sadness waiting for a dragon hatched here."

He nods as she lets go of his hand and he starts toward the door. He places a hand on the handle, noticing the current of electricity running around it when he touches it. Before turning the knob, he turns back towards the girl.

"One day I'll free you and make you my dragon."

She smiles, knowing it was a well-meant lie. "I know I'll be happy with a master like you."

He exits the room, filled with the weight of all that had happened. He walks as he clutches his aching heart. Just yesterday, dragons were his dream. The prestige of having a dragon by your side... the true measure of wealth and success in modern society... Their elegance, their exotic nature... Every kid dreamed of knowing more about the strange aliens. To get the chance to visit the "dragon nursery" was a treat reserved for only the richest of the rich. An honor just as great as a visit with the president of the United States.

But... he stops for a second under the weight of the pain. So far, he had lost his friend and discovered one of the exalted aliens had been reduced to a slave... Everything in this place was built to keep the mighty beasts inside. It was a prison.

He had always been told dragons came to this earth because they were attracted by the need for masters. That it was part of their nature to want to be by the side of a strong human.

He steps forward and finds a large glass window. Afraid, he peeks inside to see a line of people dressed in long white coats surrounded by little ones about 6 months to a year old. He watches as one is grabbed by the foot and placed on a table. Then, as a mask is forced on its face until the little one stops moving. Finally, as a scalpel is slid on the side of its neck and a small organ is removed. After a crude sewing job, the child is placed in the corner on hay.

He had been told the nursery was a place where each dragon was loved and cared for from the moment they were born. He walks backwards, shaking his head in disbelief.

What is this pla-

bump

Something soft was behind him. Something soft and warm. He looks up to see the soldier's face, baring down on him.

Filled with adrenaline, and realizing he would be killed just as quickly as his dearest friend, he turns to run, swinging his bulging bookbag behind him, surprising and hitting the solder and knocking him off balance.

"HEY! YOU!" the soldier calls out as he expertly corrects his posture and begins the pursuit.

Squeak

The squawk of the soldier's walky talky echoes against the walls. "All units! We have an informed intruder! Shoot to kill!"

Danny races down the hall as fast as he can, making turns down random tunnels as often as he can. Tears begin to moisten his eyes again as he struggles to find somewhere, anywhere, suitable for him to hide. But, as expected in a prison, there is nowhere.

Crack

He cranes his neck toward the bookback. Oh no. The top of the egg had a single crack running along the top. The dragon was hatching.

Danny pushes himself to run faster. "Stop that!" He cries as his legs begin to feel like they are made of jello.

"THERE HE IS!"

As expected, it didn't take long for the trained military soldiers to locate him.

Gotta pick up the pace, gotta pick up the pace! He kept telling himself, but his heart felt like it was going to burst.

BANG!

A spark of light goes off just to his left. They're shooting at me!

"STOP, YOU FOOL!" One of the soldiers yells out. "He has a dragon egg on his back!"

Thankful for even a small blessing, he lets out a quick breath of relief.

To his left, he spots a garbage disposal chute. Without a second thought, he throws it open and leaps inside, traveling down until he hits a pile of some of the most putrid-smelling refuse known to man. Diapers abound as he wades through to the end.

He escapes the exit just as he hears the voices of the soldiers coming for him. Before him was the hole in the barbwire fence he came through. Beyond that, the drainage pipe he came through to avoid being stopped on the mile and a half of flat land surrounding the facility.

He sighs as he removed his backpack, taking the egg in hand. He smiles at the spot shaped like a scepter. "This is where we say goodbye."

He pushes the egg down into the running water of the pipe and watches it begin to travel toward the city.

Without another word, he turns and runs through the compound, eyes stinging from his final tears. He knew that if he disappeared, that pipe would be found and he would be killed and the unhatched dragon would be subjected to a cruel fate. The last thing he'd do for it would be to let it go.

BANG

A searing pain shoots through his right ankle as he falls to the ground, grasping it close. He lets out a loud scream. Seconds later, one of the soldiers yanks him up by his collar.

"WHERE's THE EGG?" He demands.

Danny looks at him, going in and out of consciousness from the pain. "It broke when I went down the garbage chute."

The soldier drops him as he motions the other soldiers to check the refuse. It doesn't take long for them to find the remains of eggs in the pile.

The first soldier steps on Danny's leg and applies pressure, as Danny screams. The soldier takes out his gun and presses it against Danny's scalp.

Danny looks up at the soldier, his face blurry as Danny begins to go unconscious. He remembers Roman, the timid boy who always went along with Danny's schemes. He remembers the young, beautiful dragon his age, made into a sex slave. He remembers the baby dragons, roughly thrown around in surgery.

He remembers the lies of the government. And he remembers the lone dragon who escaped.

"Shira."... he whispers, as if it was a final curse upon the soldiers.

"What did he say?" Danny hears one of the soldiers ask.

"Who cares? Just kill him!"

Shira...

BANG

2: Birth

The egg moves gently through the pipes, cushioned by sludge and various debris.

Crack

The little one continues to break through its shell. Inside, is a being that looks almost like a human baby girl with the exception of an apparatus that looks like a horn at the tip of her head. The child, eyes still closed, moves her body forward in a jerking motion, like a human baby as it learns to use its arms and legs, each time hitting the shell with the horn. Small cracks begin to form, bringing in drops of water from the outside. The little one screams in delight as she feels the cold moisture hit her face.

Eventually, the egg stops moving in a small puddle at the edge of a field. The baby moves several more times, breaking a hole in the egg and bringing in the morning sunlight upon her eyelids. She laughs, not knowing what this new warmth was.

Soon, tired out from having broken through and with the last of the yolk in the egg in her tummy, she yawns and falls asleep.

The rumbling of her tummy awakens her about noon. She begins to whimper. Never before had she experienced such an uncomfortable sensation. It doesn't take long for her to break into a cry. She cries and cries, but no one comes by her. The heat from the noonday sun also begins to make her feel uncomfortable, so she cries harder. For hours, the young one, eyes still closed, calls out for someone to save her.

Finally, she hears a barking noise, followed closely by a hot, wet sensation on her cheek.

The dog, an Irish Setter, set herself to licking every tear off of the miniature human half in the egg. She wags her tail back and forth so violently her back half shakes.

Woof Woof!

She calls out, her collar tinkling as she moves. Her tongue reaches the baby's head and the horn falls right off, leaving her forehead completely exposed to doggie kisses. Despite her hunger, this makes the little girl laugh.

**Whistle**

"Moxy! Here girl!"

Bark Bark!

"Come on, girl! I'm too old to chase you!"

Woof! Woof!

An elderly Japanese man favoring his right knee approaches the dog. He reaches out and pets her head gently, "Hey... what's with you.. You usually com-" his gaze reaches the baby in the egg. "Ooh!" He carefully steps forward, trying to avoid the puddle. "What'cha got here, girl?" He reaches out, scooping up the child, belly button still connected to the egg. "Oh my". He says, curiously looking from her belly button to the egg and back again. Without much more thought, he grabs the egg too and heads back to his farmhouse.

At the farmer's home

"Oh look, isn't she such a dear!" the Mrs., a short, plump woman of Scottish descent, coos at the little one, now wrapped in a cream-colored scarf and drinking warm cow's milk.

"That there's a dragon, Martha!"

"This here's a baby with no where else to go." she retorts. "The last thing I'll do is take her back to that ol government whatnot. That's no place for a little girl!"

"Martha..." he pleads. "Be reasonable! We can keep her here tonight, but she's not human! Those dragon things are dangerous!"

"Nonsense!" The baby finishes the bottle and Martha places it on a table as she turns the child to be burped. Between her feet and the fireplace lay Moxy, snoring lightly. "This little girl was abandoned. I think it is a sign-"

"Oh no you don't!" he retorts. "Now..." he stands up and walks forward, placing a hand on hers. "I know how much you've always wanted a child, but..."

She looks up at him, a combination of resolve and sadness in her eyes. "We're in our seventies, Sasuke. Our seventies. We've had a great life, but we have no one to live on after us. We never made enough to adopt and we don't have any family of our own. I..." she pauses. "I'd like to raise her as our daughter. Didn't you say when you were twenty that your dream was to raise someone to carry on our legacy?"

Sasuke sighs deeply. "Fine. But, we raise her as a human. I don't want her getting any ideas and then getting us killed for keeping a dragon! Do you know how much one of those is worth!"

"Think of it as saving her life. I just know something is wrong with that 'nursery'..."

"Yes, Dear..." he pauses for a second, then wobbles over to his chair to take a seat by the fire, leaning down to give ol Moxy a scratch behind the ears. "I guess she needs a name."

"How about a Japanese one, Honey?"

Sasuke pauses, thinking for a second. "Akira," he finally says.

"Akira," Martha ponders. "I like it." She hugs the baby close. "Welcome to the family, Akira."

Fifteen years later

Akira hustles through the dorm searching everywhere, a slice of toast between her teeth.

"Where is it... where is my history book..." she mutters, the toast shaking with each syllable.

She goes to the kitchen, where there were two counters, one sparkling clean with all white, silver, and black silverware, plates, and tupperware, and on the other side, an utter mess of leftovers stuck to various dishes of more colors that the human eye could recognize. The whole dorm seemed to be a combination of two living styles. The desk in the corner, neat. The couch, stained with pizza, the television, dusted, the shelves, books stacked every which way possible.

Akira runs into the bedroom, looking at her watch along the way. She sighs deeply, stopping in the door to stare at the snoring lump in the second bed beneath a comforter covered in My Little Pony. She grabs one of the many stuffed animals littering the floor around her roommate's bed and throws it at her.

"Ow!" a voice squeals, causing the lump on the bed to rise. Within seconds, the blanket falls off revealing a fifteen year old blonde with some of the worst bedhead.

"It's 7:14!" Akira stresses, "Class starts in 26 minutes! ALLISON! What the heck are you doing!"

Allison moans, trying to pull herself out of her slumber. "Ok, Akira. Ok... I'm up..."

Akira continues her search, finally locating her history book beneath a pile of Allison's dirty laundry. With a big sigh, she collects her belonging and shoves it in her bookbag.

Allison turns to her left to stare at her photograph of Jason Fidsk. Her eyes suddenly wake up as she leans forward to kiss him. "Good morning, Jason, my darling love!"

Akira rolls her eyes and makes a fake gagging motion. "I cannot believe you still like him... After he cheated on four major celebrities at once, got two DUIs, was sent to jail-"

"Someday I will marry him," Allison announces, earning another eye roll from Akira.

Akira raises her bookbag onto one shoulder, then sets herself to giving her hair another brush through. "Yes, yes... I know..." Allison places her glasses on her face and waves to Allison. "See you in first period!"

"Hai!" Allison says, falling back down on her pillow.

Akira shakes her head as she heads out the door.

25 minutes later, Allison waltzes into class with a sashay that can only be pulled off by the hottest girl in school, instantly commanding the attention of every male in the class. She struts in, seemingly oblivious to the stairs, flipping her hair nonchalantly and takes a seat, giving Akira a smile.

Akira hides a chuckle. Somehow she just had to laugh. If anyone knew how Allison really was, she'd destroy the dreams of countless young men.

Despite the facade, part of Akira had to admire Allison. Allison knew what she wanted and fought for it. While Akira came to a boarding school because her parents had passed away a few years ago and if she didn't, she'd be put in the foster care system, Allison had chosen this school. The school was called Fidsk Academy, a small division of the multi-billion-dollar empire of Jonathan Fidsk. Jonathan Fidsk as in the father of Allison's crush and self-declared fiance since 8th grade, Jason Fidsk. Those who graduated from this school had a better chance of getting into Fidsk Global, the leading manufacturer of military dragon armor and weapons, later on. And those who get into Fidsk Global can move up, and get to know the president, and of course his family. That was her fool-proof plan, and she had done everything to achieve it. At her old school, she was the geek, here, the goddess. At their apartment, she was her messy, lazy self, but in public, you'd be hard-pressed to find one hair out of place. At some point, she had decided to be Jason's "perfect woman".

Allison turns her attention to greeting the various guys in the class while Akira gets to work before the teacher arrives. She sighs. The two had met when they both disclosed they were aiming to join Fidsk Global, and oddly bonded over the fact they were not both aiming for the same prize. Akira was simply after money. Not that she was greedy, but she wanted the ability to help the many struggling, elderly couples living just outside the city, like her parents. She'd always wanted to pay them back for adopting her, but never got the chance.

Akira looks up as the teacher arrives and begins to write on the board. She quickly sets to pulling out her notebook as all the guys who had gathered around Allison return to their seats.

Akira was pretty in her own right, having a natural beauty rather than a beauty like Allison's that required make up. But, she always hid it behind large glasses. Her hair was long and a dark, deep black and her eyes, an almost mystical emerald green. She'd always wondered somewhere in the back of her mind what nationality she was, but she never chose to press the issue. For one thing, she knew her family didn't have the money to find her ancestors, and for another, she didn't want to know why she was given away. She figured it was best to just enjoy being around Martha, Sasuke, and Moxy, the ones who loved her.

"And starting this semester, we have a new student."

Akira's attention moves to the door. When the student enters, her eyes widen.

"Class, this is Jason Fidsk."

The entire room bursts into conversation. All around the room, it seems like every student has a different reaction. Some scoff because since Jason had quit school 3 years ago, everyone knew he was already 18 years old. And he was being brought into the sophomore year class. Others, like Allison, were barely able to control their excitement and were ready to fawn all over him at any second. Some, like Akira were disgusted with his irresponsible behavior and thus couldn't care less what he did.

Akira opens her daily planner to get some work done while the new student gets settled.

"Jamison, would you please switch to the seat over there?" The teacher makes a movement to an empty chair on the other side of the room. "The principal has requested he be seated near Akira."

Akira freezes, looking up at him with wide eyes.

The teacher catches her glance and explains. "You moved from freshman to sophomore with the highest grades in your class, and you currently have the highest grades. Naturally, the principal would want the son of the founder to be tutored by the best student."

For once, Akira wished she hadn't studied so hard. She could feel Allison's gaze blazing through her. She sighs as she looks up at the face she was most tired of seeing every day for the last year and a half of her life. Magazines, posters, stickers on Allison's notebook... the guy was everywhere... And everyone who crossed his path seemed to regret it.

Jason holds out a hand, smiling. "Hey, Akira. Nice to meet you."

Akira inwardly grimaces, not just from having to touch his hand, but from the angry stares of all of the girls in class. She grasps his hand. "Nice to mee you too, Jason."

He takes a seat as Akira makes a note in her planner to see the principal.

After school, Akira heads straight for the principal's office where she finds Jonathan Fidsk.

"I've been waiting for you, Akira," he says simply, crossing his legs.

"Mr. Fidsk," she starts, determined to relieve herself of this burden. "About your son, I'm honored you would think of me but-"

He raises a hand to stop her, then lowers it. "I've read about you, Akira. Enough to know this wouldn't be your ideal situation, so I've devised an agreement."

He motions for Akira to take a seat, and she does.

"My son, as you know, dropped out of high school three years ago when he was in his second year."

Akira nods.

Mr. Fidsk continues, "He's forgotten a lot and will need a tutor to get back to where he was before. I told him if he graduated from high school, I'd leave him alone. Otherwise, he is currently in my will to inherit my company."

"I see."

He opens Akira's file and flips through the pages, "According to your career report, it seems like your dream is to work in a large company and move up the social ladder."

Akira nods.

"But you don't have any funding to go to college after you finish high school here as your parents are deceased."

"Yes, sir."

He shuts the file. "How about if you assist my son and help him graduate, I will in turn pay your way through any college that accepts you and offer you a position at Fidsk Global with a starting salary of $60,000 straight out of college."

Akira's mouth drops, but she quickly closes it. "Sir, that is too much, I can't-"

"Please, Akira," he says with a smile. "I know you will do wonders for my son," he sits back in his chair. "I've tried nagging, scare tactics... I've even used the law against my own son, and he won't shape up. I have until he graduates from high school to get him to be an upstanding citizen." He sighs. "How can I expect the investors to believe in me when I can't even control my own son?"

Akira nods. Life must be hard for him. 

"I understand, Mr. Fidsk," she extends her hand. "I will do it."

Jonathan takes her hand in both of his. "Thank you, Akira."

Outside of the principal's office, Akira finds Allison flirting with Jason. Akira rolls her eyes.

Allison looks at Akira, all smiles. She locks arms with her. "This is my roommate and bff. You should come over some time!"

Akira stifles a laugh. If only Jason could see Allison's side of the dorm.

Jason walks over to Akira. "I want you to know, I really appreciate this." he reaches forward and grabs Akira's hand, kissing it seductively.

Immediately, Akira pulls back, giving him a stern look. "I hope you realize that our relationship is purely professional." She releases herself from Allison's grasp and walks past him, annoyed.

Jason hurries to keep up, shock all over his face, "Hey, let me buy you dinner as an apology. K?" he reaches out toward Akira again, much to Allison's dismay.

Akira whirls on him, "Did you not understand what I just said? My goal is to help you do well here in school. That is all. I am not aiming to be your girlfriend or your f- buddy. I have no romantic interest in you. Please remember that."

It was as if she'd punched him. Akira stands there, staring at him for a second. "Wait..."

He looks at her, not unlike the look a puppy gives his master when he does something wrong.

Akira continues, "You've never been rejected before, have you?"

Jason opens his mouth to say something, then stops, folding his arms as Allison grabs ahold of his biceps, "I was just trying to loosen up the atmosphere. You don't have to take things so seriously."

"Ah, Jason. You seem really strong," Allison chimes in.

"Anyway, I understand. How about we study math first?" Jason says, ignoring Allison. "That's my worst subject."

"Alright. Tomorrow. Seven. Dorm 82F."

"See you there."

"See you there."

Jason turns down another hallway motioning to a hot guy who had been leaning against the bulletin board. "Let's go, Liam." The man stands up straight, walking toward the girls in order to follow Jason.

"Who's that?" Akira thinks aloud as he approaches.

"Look at his neck," Allison says, annoyance dripping in her voice. "He's Jason's dragon. Who cares about him..." she stops away, ticked at being ignored.

Liam approaches and starts to pass Akira, but stops. Akira also pauses, looking up at him. She sees his deep blue eyes glisten for a moment and catches his unmistakeable scowl, which causes her heart to jump in fear.

What?

"I said COME ON!" Jason yells.

Liam's face never softens as he turns to walk toward his master.

"Traitor..." Akira hears him say under his breath.

She turns around to face him, confused.

Did he really just call me a traitor?

3: String of Fate

Akira and Jason sit across the table from one another in silence, books spread out between them. Liam leans against the wall in the corner, eyes closed, yet carefully listening. Allison, sits on the couch, trying for the hundredth time to add the right amount of sugar and chocolate to her homemade brownies. Like always, she was desperately trying to impress Jason with her "womanly" skills.

Finally, Jason breaks the silence. He turns his notebook around to face Akira, "Is this right?"

Akira feels anger and frustration well up inside her, but quickly lets it dissipate. "No," she begins, explaining the same sequence she had been explaining every five minutes for the last hour yet again. "First, you take the leg and square it. Then add it to the other leg squared..."

And like the first thousand times, Jason responds with, "Oh!" and goes back to work.

Akira sighs and continues on with her own homework, feeling a headache begin to lodge in her brain.

"Akira," Jason starts, looking up at her.

"Yes?" Akira responds, praying as hard as she could he did not need to do anything else with triangles.

"You don't have any feelings for me?"

"Well," she pauses, trying to be careful, "No romantic ones anyway."

"Hmm," he says as he goes back to his work.

Several minutes pass as Allison dips her finger into the brownies yet again and takes a lick, shuddering in disgust before adding more sugar.

Jason looks up at Akira again.

At first, Akira annoys him, but when the stare lasts over a minute, she also raises her head to look at him, "Yes?"

"Are you gay?"

Bloop!

Allison freezes, accidentally dropping the bag of sugar in the inedible brew. Akira freezes, blinking four times, mouth agape, unsure of how to respond. Liam covers his mouth, trying to hide a snicker.

Finally, Akira gains her composure enough to respond, "I am not a lesbian!" She announces, "Just because I have no feelings for you does not mean I'm a lesbian!" Feeling her face get hot, she picks up her pencil and sets back to work muttering angrily under her breath.

"Just curious..." Jason says as he goes back to work.

A few minutes later, Jason sits back and tilts the chair on two of its legs, "Alright!" he starts, stretching out his arms, "I need a break! I can't stare at one more math problem..."

Akira looks at the clock and nods, "We have been working for a while," she rises to her feet, pushing the chair back and moving into a one-arm stretch. Besides, I really need some time away from this idiot...

"I think I'll take a walk," Jason announces, heading toward the door.

Akira stops, placing a hand on each hip, "Make sure you are back in five minutes. The last thing I want is to be here tutoring you all night!"

Jason waves as he opens the door and walks through it.

Akira lowers her hands to the table and leans against them. She sighs deeply. How could anyone be so self-absorbed!?

"ACK!" Allison finally says as she lets go of the spatula and pushes the bowl away from her. "I'm heading to the corner bakery to pick up some brownies..." she announces as she gathers her keys and heads out the door, slamming it on her way out.

No sooner had the door slammed when Liam walked over to Akira, putting his face directly in hers, staring into her eyes.

Akira steps back, startled, "What the heck do you think you are doing!?" Just like on television, she raises her hand to strike him. After all, a lowly dragon should never do something like that to a human!

She poises her hand to strike and starts to bring it forcefully against his cheek, but finds her hand frozen in mid air in his strong grip.

"You call me a traitor, you treat me as less than a human..." already annoyed by Liam's master, she stares back at him, eyes glistening in anger and frustration. "And I heard you when you called me a traitor! I could have you killed for this!"

Liam lets go, forcefully pushing her arm back, "I would love to see you try! You may be able to fool the humans, but you can never fool a dragon."

Akira babies her reddening arm. She thinks for a moment before responding, taking a breath. "Look... whoever you think I am in your little, puny head, I am not that person! I really have never met you before in my life!"

He steps back, focusing on her neck, "How did you get the scar to disappear?" He reaches over to her, trying to rub her neck to see if any make up comes off, which earns him a slap.

"I've never had a scar!" she retorts. "I told you! I don't know who the hell you are looking for, but I assure you! It is not me!"

Liam pulls back his hand, staring at her even deeper.

"If you don't stop right now, I really will report you!" Akira says, taking a step back.

Liam sniffs her again, closing his eyes for a second to focus before looking at her hair, then her eyes again, "You really have no idea, do you?"

"Huh?" Akira looks around, searching for something to hit him with if he becomes violent.

Liam's face relaxes, surprising Akira. She brings her arms up and tightens her hands into a fist.

Liam smiles and steps back, waving his hands in surrender, "Who would have guessed?"

Akira lowers her hands just an inch, still leery, waiting for an explanation.

Finally, Liam speaks, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me! Cause right now, I am so confused I'll consider anything!"

"Alright..." he leans back against the wall and folds his arms, "You are a dragon."

Akira freezes, blinking twice. She lowers her hands all the way down and cocks her head, "Huh?"

Liam speaks again, slower, "You. Are. A. Dragon." He enunciates every word.

"You have to be kidding me," she says, making a waving motion toward him to dismiss his idea, "That doesn't even make sense."

"Allow me, and I'll prove-"

Just at that moment, Jason walked through the door, Allison on his arm.

"Did you like those brownies?" she asks, oozing fake innocence.

He nods, clearly in an attempt to get her off of him, "They were fantastic," he says.

"I made them," Allison lies like an expert.

Akira rolls her eyes.

"Oh really?" Jason pretends to sound interested, "they were fantastic!"

It was as if Allison had died and gone to heaven. She began talking nonstop about all the work she put into them and how she carefully picked the ingredients. It almost made Akira want to gag, but then, when she caught Jason's trapped expression, she suddenly found the will to hold it in. It almost made being his tutor for the evening worth it.

Akira turns to look at Liam, who was staring at the wall like a soldier. He said I'm a dragon... Akira touches her neck. No way. I'm a human raised by humans... She looks around her at her dorm. She thinks back to her classes. She looks at her best friend. She remembers her tutoring agreement and the prize awaiting her should Jason graduate. Everything... All things a dragon could never attain.

A brutal fear grips her heart, but she shakes her head, trying to wipe it away. I can't be a dragon. I'm definitely not a drag-

At that second, Allison leans too far on Jason's arm and falls forward, toward Liam. He reaches out to catch her. She falls into his arms, and he immediately helps her up, but when he does, all notice his right hand upon her breast.

Allison screams, slapping Liam. "You filthy, perverted..." She wraps her arms over her chest and turns to Jason, "Your disgusting-"

Jason doesn't wait a second, stepping forward and delivering a powerful punch into Liam's arm. Liam falls back, his face lifeless, expecting this outcome.

Akira watches him take hit after hit from Jason.

Why? You only tried to help! It was an accident!

Akira stands paralyzed as she watches Jason beat into him and Allison encourage Jason to be more brutal. Finally, Jason pulls a whip out of his pocket. He winds back.

Akira feels her very soul moving inside of her, her entire wish to save Liam. Liam looks up at Akira just in time to see her emerald eyes glow. Liam's eyes open wide as he jumps up between Jason and Akira, falling forward from some unseen source.

But Akira felt it. She felt the energy leave her. She felt the air move as it hit Liam's body with unbelievable force. And she knew, as Liam falls to the ground, unconscious, that she was a dragon.

4: Manipulation

Akira puts a hand over her heart, calming herself. Since when did she allow herself to have such a reaction to anything? This was normal. A dragon had the audacity to touch a human's breast. He deserved to be punished. She takes a deep breath and looks at him.

This is all because of what he said. I was a human before. I believed I was, acted as though I was... It isn't as though my life has changed. I can retain it. $60,000 and a position at Fidsk. $60,000 and a position at Fidsk... First... how do I get him to keep my secret... And stop any other dragons from recognizing me... She raises one finger, just a little as she thinks.

Slash slash

She hears Liam getting whipped. The first step to ensuring his silence was definitely getting him out of this situation.

Akira lowers her hand and steps forward, placing a hand on Jason's, "Don't you think you should stop now?" She asks, little more than mild annoyance on her face. Jason pauses, shocked.

Allison looks at her, appalled she would defend such a crude dragon, "Did you not just see what he did!?" She notices Akira's hand on Jason and moves between them, defiantly claiming her territory.

Akira withdraws her hand, undeterred, "How would it look if the son of Fidsk Global had a bruised dragon?" She walks slowly forward, mentally choosing to exude a confidence that surprised and forced the undivided attention of everyone in the room. "A dragon reflects the competence of the owner. So, if your dragon is bruised, it says things like..." She stops in front of Liam and grabs the collar of his shirt, pulling him to his feet, "People dare to attack Jason Fidsk." She fixes his clothes. "Jason Fidsk hasn't trained his dragon properly." She dusts Liam off, turning to face Jason, eye to eye. "Jason Fidsk has low appearance standards for his servants."

Jason's eyes narrow as he contemplates the ramifications of these statements.

Akira positions herself in front of Liam. "For your own sake, you should take care not to cause any visible damage to his persona. People will view your servant as a reflection of you as a person." She reaches backwards without changing the direction of her gaze, grabbing him roughly and dragging him towards the door. " Our first aid station is on this floor. I'll see to it he gets cleaned up."

Jason nods as Akira opens the door, the two walk through, and it closes behind her.

Immediately, a chill runs through Jason as he realizes he has been left alone with Allison. She grabs his sleeve, as if she could read his thoughts about running away.

"So, maybe I could help you a bit with health?" she asks, a glint in her eyes.

As soon as the door shut, Akira let go of Liam. Without saying a word, she continued to walk down the hall, saying nothing as he followed, the silence thick. Wanting to break it, Liam finally spoke, "Thank yo-" but she immediately cut him off.

"Don't thank me."

Liam watches her ponytail sway as they walk.

They reach the door at the end with a red cross on a white background etched eye level in the center. Akira takes the handle in hand and twists, pushing the door open. The two walk inside, finding a sterile white and silver room that looked like it came straight out of a 1920's movie hospital ward. To the right were three beds, a curtain surrounding the farthest. To the left, locked medicine cabinets, a sink, and a rolling stool.

After turning on the lights and checking to see if anyone was in the far bed, she motions Liam to take a seat on the closest cot, grabbing bandages, alcohol, and other supplies before rolling over the stool and taking a seat beside him.

She pulls grabs tweezers, using them to pick up a cotton ball, soaking it in alcohol.

"Take off your shirt,"she orders, completely devoid of emotion.

He obliges.

He watches her closely as she tenderly cleans each one of his wounds. Never had anyone done this for him. His face begins to feel hot.

Wondering of she was pressing too hard, she looks at his face for any sign of pain. Seeing him blushing, she becomes slightly annoyed. "You aren't allowed to fall in love with me."

He winces. From the opened wound Akira had just begun to treat or from her words, she did not know.

"Don't make any assumptions," he states simply. Brushing off the comment.

She sets back to her work, cleaning the final wound. "Let's get something straight here. I don't want to be anything besides a human. No offense."

"No, I get it," he offers. Aiming to redeem himself in her eyes. "I'm sorry I called you a traitor. I... can't blame you."

"Good," she begins to apply Neosporin. "Then we can negotiate."

He narrows his eyes, making a sly expression Akira misses, "Negotiate?"

"Yes," with the Neosporin applied, she sets to wrapping each one with bandages. "I don't know how you realized I am a dragon when even I didn't know, but that can't happen." She cuts the first bandage, applying tape to the ends. "I have a promising future. One where I will likely come across many other dragons, and I don't want to be exposed. I also have to deal with the fact that you know. So..." she begins working on the second, but pauses, looking him in the eyes. "What do you want?"

"What do I want..." it was the first time anyone had ever asked him that.

"Yes," she says, "If it is within my power, in exchange for your silence and information, I will do it for you. Now, I am not rich or anything, I'm on scholars-"

"I want you to save my friends."

"Save your friends?" she thinks for a second, "Save dragons?" She contemplates how risky and bothersome the task could potentially be.

He nods, "You have powers. No one else in that room may have noticed, but I felt your power. Wind, I think?" He leans forward, messing up a bandage, but Akira doesn't complain, simply setting it again, "I want you to help my friends. I can only ask you."

The silence returns as she finishes up the last few. She knew she didn't have the ability to complain. He could ruin her entire future. No... she thought for a second, furrowing her brow tightly. What he knew could get her killed. She finishes up the final bandage as she catches his gaze, still waiting for her response. Her eyes widen slightly as what she sees there is not someone who was desperate, but someone who was in control. Her heart skipped a beat.

"How long have you been setting me up to save them?" Akira asks, forcefully keeping her voice level as she kept his gaze.

He smiles and leans back before standing up, touching one of the bandages. "You did a very fine job." he says simply. He replaces his shirt, hiding each one, breaking the gaze, but watching her from the corner of his eye. "I'll call on you when I next time one of our own needs saving."

Akira rises slowly. If he did not hold her life in his hands, she would be impressed.

As he heads for the door, he finally answers her question, "Since I touched Allison's breast."

5: Retribution

Akira drops to the ground, breathing hard. 

"Again!" Liam barks.

She places her arms beneath her shoulders, trying to rise up again, but she falls back down, "I can't!"

"Do you want me to tell people you are a dragon?"

"Devil! Ogre!" she takes a deep breath, sucking in a blade of grass. She coughs it up before yelling again, "Bastard!"

Every bone in Akira's body was on fire. 

Liam laughs at her disheveled appearance. 

The last few days had been pure hell. Ever since Akira had agreed to use her powers to help dragons, he had been training her each night. How he managed to sneak away from Jason Fidsk, she had no clue. She also knew that if she asked, he'd never tell her. 

One thing she did know was that only about half of this blasted training was useful. The other half was a waste of time created just for him to show he was superior over her. 

But, not for long. 

Tomorrow in the mail would arrive a device that should help even the playing field. Or at least teach Liam not to mess with her. 

With much trouble, she wills herself to stand. 

"See, you could do it!" Liam says, amused. 

Akira ignores him as she heads inside to grab a shower, "Don't let the campus guards catch you." she taunts. 

"You just worry about yourself," he quips back.

Back in the kitchen/living room of her dorm, Akira dries her dripping hair with a towel as she busies herself preparing for tomorrow's tutoring with Jason. All school testing would be starting next week. Some of the years, including her own, were required to take the ACT, so she set herself to preparing ACT study sheets for him. It was the perfect end-of-the-day activity after training with the male "onibaba". 

Why did I have to get involved with these guys!? She lets out a long breath, ending it in a small grunt just as Allison walks in, opening the fridge and pouring a glass of... something unidentified that was supposed to brighten up her skin and prevent wrinkles. 

Allison takes a big swig of the concoction, making a face so tortured Akira could tell immediately just how disgusting it tasted. 

Allison looks at Akira, forcing a smile, "The price of beauty, eh?" she chuckles as she puts the jug back and shuts the fridge. She brings the half full glass over to where Akira was and sits near her on the couch. "Gotta stay cute! One day Jason is definitely going to notice me, and I will be ready!" She smiles wide as she pulls her feet under her and sits on them. 

Akira smiles. This girl's positive energy was contagious. 

"So, what is with the exercising outside nowadays?" Allison starts. "You severely stunk when you came in today."

Akira bursts out in laughter. After a second, they both do.

Akira moves her materials over to the couch, scooting Allison over before taking a seat herself. "Want to help me compile notes for Jason?" she asks, already knowing the answer. 

"Sure!" She sets to decorating the pages Akira finished with hearts and encouraging statements. The two work together the next few hours before falling asleep, Akira leaning on the table and Allison leaning against Akira's back. 

The next day studying goes smoothly with Jason. It's a typical day. Allison showing off yet another fake aspect of her personality, Akira dodging Jason's advances, and Jason slowly, very slowly, progressing on his studies. It wasn't that he was genuinely bad at studying, it was rather that he believe he was, so he simply didn't see the use in concentrating. As usual, Liam stood quietly in the corner. 

"If only Jason knew what a horribly trained dragon you are..." Akira muses. 

At that moment, the intercom rang. 

Akira jumps up to take the call, pressing the button. "Hello?" she calls down. 

"Delivery for Miss Akir-"

She doesn't let him finish, "Coming!" she yells as she slides on her coat and shoes and dashes out of the door. 

Jason and Allison give one another a look while Liam narrows his eyes, literally sensing something is up. 

Akira returns a few moments later with a box, which she presents to Jason, sitting down. Allison gives her a narrow-eyed look, but says nothing as he opens it. He finds a paddle, holding it up and turning it around, confused. 

Liam makes a face, hoping Akira would look over, but she purposely ignores him. 

"Jason," Akira starts, "The other day, I rudely got in between you and your dragon as you were disciplining him." She pauses for effect. "This is my apology. This paddle is created in a way so you can discipline him thoroughly, but it won't leave any unsightly marks."

Jason nods, "About before, it's ok. You were right after all, it would have reflected poorly on my family if marks had been left on him." He motions to the gift. "Thank you." 

"No, thank you for forgiving me," she smiles. "I'll go and get us all some more tea."

"That sounds good," Allison chimes in, not hating being alone with Jason on the couch. She immediately sets to telling him all about her hair regimen, why it is so soft, and why he should want to touch it. 

Akira walks past Liam, making a soft snickering noise only he can hear as she fills several cups with hot water, placing a tea bag in each. 

"Touché," he says, actually snickering himself. "I didn't think you had the guts."

"I ordered that the day you started abusing me," she begins. "This is a partnership, Liam. Not a dictatorship. Don't abuse it." She places each up on a tray and walks back, a pep in her step. 

As Akira returns to her seat and serves tea, she wonders what Liam will do to retaliate. Whatever it is, hopefully she has earned at least a bit of respect in his eyes. The idea of rescuing dragons was already stressful enough! 

That night, Akira prepares for whatever Liam dishes in retaliation for the afternoon. She stands in their usual area in the courtyard, away from the potential to be seen by the patrolling cops. When she hears him approach, her breathing stops, but she forces herself to look as calm as she can. She'd already decided she would not be bullied. After all, she had cards to play too!

Liam approaches quickly. It doesn't take long before he is within her sight, not slowing down. Closer, closer... faster and faster. She can't stop her breathing anymore. She involuntarily steps backwards, finding her back quickly against the brick back wall of her dorm. She closes her eyes, bracing herself for his retribution. After a moment, she feels... something plastic encircling her head. She opens her eyes to find him concentrating as he measures different parts of her body. 

"What are you doing?" she finally asks. 

He measures a few more places before answering, "Measuring you for your costume."

"Costume...?" she says, moving her mouth lazily. 

"You can't save them without a disguise..." he states, matter of fact. 

"Makes sense, " he measures around her waist, and she flinches, "I guess..."

"Stay still."

The two stay in silence until he finishes his measurements, writing them all down in a notebook, which he places, along with the tape measure, on the ground. 

"Now," he looks her in the eyes for the first time this evening. "Let's get started. After all, I've prepared your first assignment."

6: Date

Akira leans back in her seat in class. Ah... she hurt so badly. Since she'd started training with Liam, she was in pain every single day, but today was different. He really pushed her! How bad was this mission going to be anyway? She didn't have the guts to ask. 

She places her head down on her desk. At the moment, she didn't care about the teacher's history lesson. He wasn't looking at the class anyway... His mumbling, monotone speech carrying to some unknown party... 
She turns her head to one side, facing the wall. Akira hadn't realized before what a coward she was. How naive she was. Her whole life, she followed patterns. The next step was always easy. She wanted to go to school, but she had no money. So, she looked for scholarships. When Jonathan Fidsk met with her about teaching his son, that became her next path to her next goal. Everything was always simple, the path always unfolding before her. But now... she suddenly had to make her own decisions while lacking any clear solutions. Fact of the matter was, she was a dragon clinging onto living a human life. 

She felt immature. Grasping at respect from Liam, when she was living a lie. Using Jason to pull out a better life for her she shouldn't have. Or should she? Weren't dragons supposed to desire being with a human so they can use their powers? If that were the case, why did she have powers she could use at will? All these questions... 
She turns her head so her forehead was against the desk, closing her eyes tight. 
All these questions she didn't ask for. 
She opens her eyes. 
Is it a sin for one born in her situation to desire a normal life? 
Liam hadn't told her this, but she quickly gathered it... She was the most powerful being in the world. Right now, she. Akira. The strongest being. The thought scared her more than anything. Was there some reason? Some untransmitted destiny from her parents? 
She was scared. The worst thing about this was that there was no one to talk to. 
After class, she was to meet up with Jason at the dorm. In the beginning, she wasn't thrilled about meeting in their dorm. After all, Jason probably lived in some grand mansion with servants and the like. Her dorm was... well... a dorm. Glorious in all its boredom. But, Allison liked him there. It was the place she had the most control in. And, it seemed like Jason was progressing. Just yesterday, he'd felt confident enough to wager that if he got a 24 or above on the ACT, he'd gain the opportunity to take Akira on a date, much to Allison's dismay. Poor girl didn't talk to her again for a day. (Until she convinced herself that Jason's choice was an accident and he really meant to just be polite to Allison's roommate before asking Allison herself directly.)
Now, Akira had no feelings for the rich guy, but she did believe in rewards for hard work and the power of motivation. Anything to bring her closer to college and a guaranteed salary at Fidsk Global. They'd even both agreed that she would be going on this date as his friend, not a potential lover. She had no interest in falling for a playboy, especially as a dragon.
At least, with Liam, Allison, and Jason in her life, every day was surely interesting!
She rounds the corner of the third floor of the dormitory, finding Jason and Liam waiting outside. Without a shred of embarrassment, Jason races down the corridor to hand Akira his scores on the ACT. 
Akira smiles as she congratulates him. Looks like she can skip Liam's training tomorrow nights. For tomorrow, she would be going on a date.
That night, Liam has pity on her and doesn't push her as hard. It almost scares her when he is kind, so she doesn't ask. He notices her expressions and pats her head, teasing her. She pushes his arm away, annoyed. It was like she was some toy to him. Or... something else. He was always teasing her, making fun of her, poking her, messing up her hair... Whenever they were in private, he was her personal tormenter, and he seemed to revel in it. 
But, though she hadn't asked about the mission, she figured all of this training was to ensure her safety. Besides, her buns and legs had been looking better and better since all this started. Soon, she hoped to have a body at least half as sexy as Allison's. Not that she was seeking male attention, but... as of late, she had been feeling a little inadequate. Looking nicer has added a bit of encouragement to her existence. 
She notices his hand got a bit of her sweat on it, but he doesn't seem to care. 
Gross... she thinks. Who knew what was going on in this man's mind... 
As always, she was thankful when all of this ended. 
She returns to the dorm. As soon as she enters, Allison squeezes her nostrils shut, motioning her away. She notices a pile of her clothes on the couch. Apparently Allison had been choosing her outfit tomorrow... Akira tries to wrap her mind around this phenomenon, but can't, so she heads to the shower. 
When she emerges, fresh and clean, Allison greets her with a big smile. 
Ah... Akira thinks, Here it goes.
"I've taken the liberty to choose your outfit and makeup for tomorrow's date," she announces proudly, motioning to a simple dress, shoes, and accessory combo. "This combination will look like you tried to dress up, but will not accentuate your best points." She raises one finger and nods. 
Akira smiles. Yep, gotta love Allison. "Sounds good to me."
The following night was the date. 
Jason pulls up to the dorm wearing a button down shirt, the top two buttons undone, revealing just the top inch of his chest. His hair is lightly highlighted, his black shoes shined, and his black pants, clearly from a material that cost more than Akira's late parents made in a year. He steps out and greets her, handing her a bouquet of roses. 
Akira smiles politely, taking the roses in hand and sniffing them, like she'd seen on tv. To her, though, they just smelled like plants. 
After thanking Jason, he opens the door for her, and she steps in, sitting at the back. The limo had a pool inside. She could see on the floor of the pool that it carried the crest of the Fidsk name. The rest of the limo was lit in the famous colors of said crest. The seats felt like leather, but some extra soft variety. Unlike any sort of leather she'd ever seen. She'd never experienced luxury of this level before, but it really didn't mean much to her. She only thought of how many families back home could be fed with the money spent on this one car. 
Jason walks around the other side and the chauffeur opens the door for him as he takes a seat next to Akira. She gives him a polite smile, "So, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," he says, oozing confidence. 
The car takes off as she sits, quietly looking around and outside. To say she's uncomfortable is a gross understatement. She feels Jason's finger tap her shoulder, so she turns to him. 
He points outside, "See that building? The skyscraper over there?" Akira notices it. A big, building seemingly made of glass. "My family owns that."
"Ah..." she says, unimpressed. She already knew he was rich. "It's amazing." she tries to sound interested. And there it is. The reason she wasn't interested in this guy. She looks around the limo. How many other girls had he taken here... Her heart jumps in horror. And how many girls has he slept with... right here!? This was going to be a long night. 
 They arrive at one of the many skyscrapers in the area, stopping out front as the chauffeur opens each door and the riders step out. Jason offers his arm, and Akira grabs it, feeling horribly under dressed as she watches other couples, many women decked out in expensive jewels, walk in. 
Jason notices her expression and squeezes her hand gently. "You're with me," he says. 
Akira's heart skips a beat, much to her surprise. Somehow, it makes her feel calmer, but only for a second when she remembers his reputation for bedding women. This was all just part of his game. Despite being a dragon, she was, after all, another red-blooded female herself and thus was also not immune to his attacks. 
The atrium inside shines in bright creams, golds, and beiges. Like a Ritchie Rich movie come to life before her. The rush of a fountain drowns out the clack clack of high heels and the swishes of feather boas, fur coats, and chandelier earrings. It was a gorgeous sight to behold. Jason definitely lived in a different world. A world she didn't belong in. 
 
Eventually they are seated, and Akira picks up the menu. It's in French. She thinks... She scans the menu and finds the word "escargot". Yep, French. And no prices. It is always bad when there are no prices. 
She looks up at Jason. "I can't read this," she tells him flatly. 
He moves his seat next to her and begins to explain each item. Raw meat, duck livers, snails, rabbit... None sound appetizing to her.  A burger would have sufficed. Still, this was his reward for doing well. With a deep breath, she chooses the item with the most interesting name to her and hopes for the best. Her stomach growls. 
When it arrives, she forces a smile. While the plating is gorgeous, it is microscopic and looks like nothing she'd ever seen before. And when she tastes it, it tastes like nothing she'd ever had before. And not in a good way. But, she smiles as elegantly as she can as she eats it while engaging in a conversation with Jason as best as she can. He talks about traveling and cars. His family and how much better he is doing in school. 
It isn't long before Akira feels as thought she will explode. She simply can't take another bite of... whatever this is. Her dress is uncomfortable. She looks like the poorest person in the room, Jason hasn't asked her one thing about herself the entire night, but she holds it in with pure willpower. She feels her stomach growl, so she reaches to grab a roll from the bread basket. But, as she does, she knocks over a glass, which crashes loudly on the floor, gathering the attention of all the rich folks in the room. 
The waiter rushes by, attempting to assure her that all is fine, but that was her final straw. Her eyes turn glossy with tears. She fans her face, saying she was just surprised. She didn't want to mess up his reward night with her lack of self confidence. But, once the flood of tears started, they wouldn't stop. She excuses herself, heading towards the washroom, but when she rounds the corner to the corridor where they were, she feels a strong hand on hers, pulling her. 
She finds her face against Jason's chest, where he grabs her tightly, "I'm sorry." he says. 
Akira pushes herself back and looks in his eyes, "No, I'm sorry." she counters. "This was supposed to be your reward. You did really well. You did fantastic on your grades. I-"
"I wanted to impress you." he says. Akira closes her lips. "You may not believe me. I wouldn't believe me either. I saw you as you looked at the limo. You were wondering how many people I slept with there, right?"
Akira's eyes widen. 
"I know you don't believe me, but I really like you. You are smart and beautiful and..." he pauses. "There is something about you that is different from others. But-" He seems like he is struggling. "I don't know what to do to get you to take me seriously. I get why you don't, but I... Other girls... They liked my money. They were impressed by it. Just by my name or my looks I could get them... But you..." He makes a fist and lays it against the wall, eyes down, defeated. "I don't know if I have anything of my own to impress you with." 
Akira's heart moves as she places two hands on either side of his head and lifts his face to meet hers. 
He starts again, "When I disciplined Liam, you opposed me. No one ever does that. No one ever denies my advances. That's when I realized... I have nothing you want. I tried everything I knew today to do... What can I do to impress you?"
Was this a trick? Was this real? As Akira looks in his eyes, she sees a boy. A boy who had everything he thought he wanted, everything the world said he could want... But not what he needed. All his rambling of the evening and all these places and things... He was nervous. All to impress her. She hugs him towards her. Just then, her stomach growls. She blushes, "Uh..." she starts, "Can we just get a burger?"
Jason wraps his arms around her, "Sure."
 

7: Bottled Passion

Jason bursts through the doors of the main Fidsk estate mansion with a little sashay, humming a cheery, but off key tune. He heads straight for the kitchen, completely missing his sister Valeria and her dragon Lorence staring down from the stairwell. 

Valeria, 17, snickers, elegantly covering her mouth to hide her smile. It was good to see her brother so happy. She'd noticed his demeanor had changed since he started tutoring. Quite a while ago she'd deduced he'd fallen for his tutor. She lowers her hand and continues on her way towards the grand bath, Lorence in tow. 

Her feelings towards her brother were overall warm, but also complicated. While the world knew him as a playboy who squandered his fortune as the successor of a fortune 10 company, she knew him as her beloved brother who loved her dearly and protected her as a kid. Her brother who recognized her business talent and encouraged her to study on her own, even when their father told her a woman's place was to cook, clean, sew, and throw parties. She really got him. And she adored him for that. 

But, she also envied him. She envied his freedom. His ability to go out and make all the wrong decisions in front of everyone, yet still have the company available for his future. He didn't need it like she did. She needed it for... She turns towards Lawrence as he hands her a towel.

"I will be waiting right outside," he says as she pushes on one of the giant, golden and turquoise, emerald-studded double doors to the bathing area. 

She catches his gaze, making the most pitiful and adorable face she can, "Why don't you come in with me?"

He hands her a bar of gold-studded soap, pushing on the door and motioning for her to walk inside. 

She pouts a bit, grabbing it and walking inside, letting the door shut behind her. She shuts her eyes, leaning against it for a moment with a sigh. 

She wanted the company so she could have the power to change the world. She wanted to create a world where dragons and humans could be together. She wanted to create a world where she and Lorence could be together.

After a few moments, she stands straight up and approaches the shower, lathering up and rinsing off before moving towards the tub. 

The bath looked more like an ancient Greek pool complete with golden sculptures of Greek gods and goddesses, flowing fountains, and rose petals lining the freshly run, medium hot water. 

She begins to disrobe, revealing perfect skin. She was, from head to toe, as beautiful as the goddesses themselves. 

But, then again, this was a matter of course as she had been working to look this way since she first fell in love with Lawrence 10 years ago. 

Sunlight from above gently illuminates her shoulders as she steps lightly into the pool, sitting down on a stair beneath the water, letting the warmth rise to her shoulders. She dives in as she remembers Lawrence as a child. 

It was her 7th birthday, and she was to get her very own dragon, as was customary in her family. Her father took her to a government agency to choose one. 

Like a child choosing a pet, she read the names and abilities of each one. Ages too. All of the dragon children were adorable and looked like perfect playmates. 

Her eyes finally fell on one that was sitting far in the back. She almost missed him as he sat in the shadow cast by a jungle gym. His eyes looked lifeless, his spirit defeated. 

She felt a pang in her heart. "That one," she points. 

The government official squats down beside her. "That one?" he asks, pointing to a lively little girl playing with Barbies. 

"No," she turns his head so he can see where she is pointing, "That one." 

"Ah..." he starts, "He's... well..." he places a hand on each of Valeria's shoulders. "The thing about him is-"

"Is he not healthy?" Jonathan Fidsk asks, looking at his watch. 

"Oh no," the official stands up, "His health is perfect. Each one has perfect health-"

Jonathan reaches down, picking up Valeria and leaning her against his 6'5" frame, "Then if that is the one my princess wants, that is the one she shall get." 

"Yes, sir." the official sets to getting the paperwork.

Back at home, Valeria admires her new dragon ring, twisting it on her finger. 

Her proud father smiles, "That ring is an eternal contract between you and your dragon. When we drew your blood earlier and added it to the ring, we sealed your exclusive ability to enable him to use his powers." He pats her head, messing up her hair.

"Papa..." she says, desperately trying to fix it. Once she succeeds in putting the ribbon back in place, she adds, "I hope he likes me. I want to be the best master ever!"

Jonathan chuckles. "You will be."

They both see the new dragon boy walk around the corner towards the patio. Valeria runs off to follow him outside. 

When she gets there, she finds him sitting by the lake, staring at the koi inside. 

Valeria pretends to sneak up on him, reaching the hand with the ring on it towards his neck. He doesn't move when it connects. Instead, his eyes glow slightly.

"Woah...." she says, "Pretty!"

He doesn't respond. 

Valeria puts her hands behind her back, stepping sideways until she was in front of him. "What'cha doin'?" she asks. 

"Watching the fish," he says simply.

Valeria sits down along the edge, taking a peek herself at one large orange koi with black spots. "They were my mom's. She died when I was born, though..." She looks at him. "Earlier... when your eyes were glowing... what were you doing?"

"Remembering," he says, "My power is memory. When it is active, I remember everything."

"Everything!?" she says. "Wow! You are amazing!" 

He doesn't respond. His hair blows in the wind, golden locks shining in the sunlight. Purple eyes, seeming to look at a world beyond. 

Valeria inches closer. "You are beautiful!"

Startled, he scoots back, almost tripping. For the first time, he looks at the young brunette girl with sapphire eyes. "Beautiful?" for a moment, she had broken his trance. 

"Yes, you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen."

A brisk wind flows and chills the girl, causing her to wrap her arms about herself, shutting her eyes. 

He feels his face get hot for a second before he regains his composure, looking away from her. "Should we not go inside, M'Lady?" he states, turning towards the patio entrance. 

"You can call me Valeria, Lawrence," she follows him.

"That would be too rude, M'Lady." 

"I hope we can be friends."

"I will be a proper and faithful servant, M'Lady."

"Will you play hide and seek with me?"

"If you wish, M'Lady."

...

Valeria rises out of the bath water, eyes closed as her face soaks in the rays of the sun. 

To this day, she hadn't learned a lot about her dragon servant's past. He was always reserved, quiet. But, she had watched him all this time. She figured out he had seen something that hurt him deeply as a baby. Something that made him hate humans. Something that because of his power, he could never forget that tormented him every day and stole his trust. She wanted nothing more than to be let into his world. To share his pain. She wanted to hold him close and protect him. 

She'd seen his gentleness. His stoic nature and kindness. His sense or responsibility and respect towards her family. His self control. And she loved everything about him. Every second of every day she yearned to be there right by his side. 

But she also knew he never once felt that way about her.

He hates humans. And she was human. 

Her love would always be one-sided. 

She raises her hands to the sides, letting them bask in the glow. 

Part of her wanted to cry. But if she did, she'd have to admit she'd given up. Soon she would turn 18. Soon she will have had this crush for 11 years. She was beautiful and she knew it. Every curve on her body was naturally perfect, sculpted from years of exercises and impeccable dieting. Her skin flawless. Her hair thick, strong, and so shiny it glowed. Everything she did was perfect. All to attract this one man. 

This one man who in the entirety of their years together never took a single peek at her in the bath tub, though she purposely had him stand outside every time. This man who would stay in her presidential suite with her, but never once made a move. This man who never once reached out to touch her soft skin or brush her hair. Never once did he show even the slightest interest in her. 

So many other men dreamt of sampling her appeal. The object of many a crude dream. 

But not the one man she wanted. 

"I love you," she whispers, letting the words she longed to tell him escape her lips and echo off of the marble walls.

8: Price

Akira steps out slowly from the shadows. The material of her outfit was white, but made of a polymer that still disappeared in the darkness. She wore something akin to a leotard and a mask, concealing all but her eyes. Gloves adorned her hands and white boots with a short, thick heal, her feet. Around her waist was a small pack, containing tools. Some to create smoke, others that make loud noises when you throw them to distract guards. Also attached near her waist was a stun gun. As her wind powers could potentially fail in the face of stress, it was good to have at least some sort of backup. Finally, tied around her left thigh was a 12-foot rope, just in case. 

"I look ridiculous," she states, pulling at a wedgie caused by the form-fitting costume. As soon as she lets go, it wraps around her butt again. She sighs and looks over at Liam, his mouth agape. "Um... hello?" she asks, annoyed at where he was staring. 

Liam folds his arms over his chest, pleased. "Who knew you could be so sexy?" he comments audibly, but to himself, giving her a once over so suggestive she instinctively covers herself with her arms, turning her chest away from him. 

"Does it have to be this costume!?" she asks. 

"Yep," he muses, making a thumbs up sign with his left hand, "Absolutely. This is a special material that expands slightly when hit with wind. Eventually, you should be able to use it to fly." 

She groans.

He hands her a GPS display, pointing at the flashing red dot. "Here," he starts, suddenly turning serious. "There are two older dragons who are being transferred to another government facility from a birthing facility. I hear the one where they are being transferred to experiments on dragons. My guess is they were bred until they were too old to give birth anymore." he looks at Akira, who still has her arms covering herself. "I want you to save them."

She looks up at him, eyes wide. This is what she trained for... but... 

He places a hand on her shoulder. "You can do it. I wouldn't send you if you weren't ready."

She nods. This was her end of the agreement. He'd shown her how to conceal her dragon essence from other dragons and had kept her secret. It was time for her to keep up her side. 

He begins to speak, "Your code name is Shira." 

She nods slightly. Made sense, being clad in white and all.

"So," he continues, "Shira, how are you feeling? Take a deep breath."

She does. And repeats once more, stretching. The fabric was perfectly elastic to accommodate her frame. She lowers her arms, "Ready as I'll ever be."

Liam places a mask on his face, just in case. 

Half an hour later, the two sit crouched in the bushes across the street from the birthing facility. They watch as two women stumble out, each with two soldiers holding onto them and one with a gun to their backs, a black bag on each of the women's heads. Chains dragged from their ankles. Chains attached also to their waists, arms, and necks. Even from across the street, it was possible to tell they were in severe pain, every step excruciating. But still they were hurried along. 

Akira felt a pang in hear heart. 

After a few moments, a man in a bloody surgical gown, mask, and surgical cap runs out, accompanied by another soldier. He scribbles quickly on paperwork, then returns, shutting the door behind himself. 

The soldiers waste no time packing up, most staying behind to guard the birthing facility. Two in the front seat, one with a gun in the back. 

Akira and Liam get up quietly, stepping back a ways before turning and racing through the woods. They would easily make it to the other side, where the truck had to drive past in order to make it to the other facility. That was where Akira would ambush them. 

They make it there with several minutes to spare before they see the lights of the truck shining on the abandoned road. 

Akira prepares to strike, heart beating so loudly she was sure Liam could hear it. 

"Steady..." he says, purposely using a word reserved for a horse. He motions with his hand for her to wait. "Steady..." The truck approaches at an even pace. "NOW!"

Akira lets loose a sharp wind, decimating the front two tires. The vehicle spins out of control, turning on its side. The sound of steam escapes as the vehicle begins to smoke. 

Two of the soldiers jump out from the front seat, fanning away the smoke, both with cuts and bruises. They look around for whatever caused their accident, but seeing nothing, check the tires. Confused, one examines them closer while the other heads around back to check the cargo. 

Akira takes a nearby log, levitating it with her wind and chucking it against the head of the soldier checking out the tires. He falls down. 

Hearing the commotion, the one who went around the back returns around front, pulling a gun out of the holster on his leg. He gets into a stance, slowly moving, pointing the gun around. He comes closer to the area where Akira and Liam are hiding, but seeing nothing, he inches back closer to his partner, holstering the handgun before feeling for a pulse. Figuring something from the vehicle knocked him out, he drags his partner away from the wreckage, giving Akira the perfect opportunity to knock him out too. However, this time, she misses, alerting him. 

He grabs his gun and comes charging into the forest. Akira doesn't have time to run before he aims at her. 

CLONK

The man falls to the ground, Liam standing behind him, breathing heavily, "Two down, one to go." he says.

Akira nods, leaving the safety of the brush. The back door never opened, so Akira slowly approaches it, leaving Liam in the brush. Akira surrounds herself with wind to decrease impact if the third guard with the gun wasn't knocked out in the crash. She grabs the handle tightly. In her head, she counts down from three before opening it. A gunshot rings out immediately, searing pain tearing through her thigh. She sees the guard preparing another round as blood drips down her leg. 

At that moment, it was him or her. And she wasn't going to die dressed like a Charlie's Angel reject. She calls up the wind, forcing it through his arm, slicing it off. He cries out, bleeding profusely. Akira gags, at the sight of so much blood, but composes herself quickly as she hears the muffled screams of the two dragons. She immediately sets to rescuing them, leaving the guard screaming as he scrambled to lessen the pain. 

"Who are you?" one asks, "What are you doing with us?"

"I'm here to rescue you," Akira says. 

The other shakes her head, "No one ever just comes to the rescue. How do we know we can trust you?" 

Akira removes the bag over her head. She uses her powers to slice through the chains. The second older woman's eyes widen, and she gasps. 

The first older woman becomes worried, "What happened, Elanor? What is it?"

Elanor watches Shira as she cuts through every chain rapidly, then sets to helping her friend. "We can trust her, Beatrice. She's a dragon. She's..." Elanor's eyes tear up. "One of us." Elanor pushes away the scraps of chains around her body and lifts herself to her feet. She had a few bruises from the accident, but was largely no worse for the wear than she was when she'd first entered the vehicle. 

Elanor sees the face of her friend, the bag freshly removed, "What can we call you, child?" 

"Shira," Akira replies. "Please call me Shira."

Beatrice removes the pieces of her chains and sees Akira's injury. "Oh my word!" she cries out. 

Elanor follows her line of sight, "Oh! Come here, child!" she says, grabbing Akira by her arm and bringing her closer. "Hold still." Hands freed, she waives her arm over Akira's leg. Every drop of blood she'd lost returns to her body, as if Akira's leg was being rewound. 

"She has the power to reverse the time in certain objects." Beatrice translates. "Physical objects, that is. If someone dies, she can't rewind their soul, though."

Leg repaired, Akira leads the two into the brush where Liam motions for them to follow him. They do, reluctantly at first until they sense he is a dragon like them. 

Akira brings up the rear, stopping for a moment to watch the carnage behind her. Two men, just now stirring after being knocked out. The third, his screams still echoing out. 

It was the first time Akira had ever caused so much damage to anything. To anyone. 

She realized... this was war. 

After Liam takes the two to an old Fidsk property that was assumed to be in disrepair, he meets with Akira.

He gives her a once over, smiling. "I had thought for sure you got shot back there, but it looks like you pulled it off flawlessly!" he marvels.

"Well..." Akira starts, "About that..."

He gives her a look. 

"I did get shot," she starts. "I used the wind trick you taught me, so it wasn't as deep." she motions to her leg. 

He squats down and examines her leg. Sure enough, there is a small tear in her suit. He runs a finger against it, but she pulls back her leg, embarrassed. 

"One of the dragons we rescued healed me."

He shakes his head back and forth, suddenly in a panic. "You weren't supposed to get hurt. I'm so-" he starts to beat himself up.

"It's ok!" Akira surprises herself as she comforts him. 

He pauses, surprised at his own reaction. Since when did he care that much? He waits a moment, then shrugs. Of course he'd care. She's his only chance of taking down all of these companies. It's a matter of course he'd care about her health and well being. He needed her in tip top condition.

He remembers their conversation before, and his eyes widen. "Did you say healed you? As in she also used her powers without a human present?"

"Yes. She also doesn't have a scar."

"You do know what that means, right."

Akira sighs, "Yeah... unfortunately... Dragons are born with their powers already, and humans are the ones that have restricted them..."

"The world believes we dragons crave human company because humans let us access our powers," he bites a nail, thinking. "What would happen if everyone found out dragons were innately superior to humans..."

Akira watches him, an uneasy feeling growing in her gut. But, she said nothing as she listened. 

This was, after all, the price of their exchange.

9: Power

3 years later

BAM

President James Turner of Braeden Chemical bangs his fist loudly on the table. The noise echoes through the conference room, commanding the attention of everyone present. About 50 high ranking executives, each representing one of the top companies in the US and the world, sit at probably one of the longest tables ever built. They all look towards him, each in silence, understanding his frustration even before he speaks. 

"Shira," he starts, teeth gritted. "She stole our latest prototype and our research. We put everything into that!" He raises one hand to his mouth as if he was subconsciously going to bite his teeth, but then remembered where he was. "We took on this project because she'd attacked us before. We were already in deep debt after the last attack! Today we filed for bankruptcy."

CEO Stewart Gregory, a plump man appearing to be in about his 50s rises to his feet, his face reddening, "We filed for bankruptcy a year ago. The government has been helping us stay open, but after Shira's latest attack, they've told us they think it would be better for us to just accept reality and close down. We had a revolutionary product in dragon power enhancement." He takes his seat, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. 

CEO Sheldon Atwood takes the floor next, stating what everyone else wanted to, but no one dared to. He turned towards Jonathan Fidsk, pointing an accusing finger, "Every last one of us has been attacked by Shira," he places a flat hand against his chest, leaning forward, "Why is it only you have remained unscathed?" 

A murmur runs through the conference room. 

There used to be 100s of top dragon product, chemical enhancing, or research organizations, but since Shira began attacking, the number was reduced to only about 50, with all of the others leaving the industry or being purchased by Fidsk global, making them the fastest growing corporation in a time of economic turmoil for all of the others. 

Jonathan Fidsk, who sat at the head of the table, pushes his chair slightly backwards. Just enough to cross one of his long, thin legs over the other. He interlaces his fingers together and leans backwards. The murmur quiets as his small movements garner even more attention than the other leaders' grand ones. 

"We are the leading producer of dragon weaponry and enhancement in all of the United States. No, in the entire world." He pauses for effect, looking around the room. His gaze seemed send chills down the spine of each and every individual present, one at a time. "Do you really think that one lone dragon like Shira would dare attack MY EMPIRE?" His voice booms as he says the last two words. He unfolds his legs and stands up, his tall frame seeming to overshadow everyone. He places a hand on each corner of the table, one at a time, leaning over it, his tie gracing the top. His gaze focuses on CEO Atwood, who had long since begun to sink down in his chair. "Perhaps if you concentrated more on guarding your facilities as I do, you wouldn't be in the situation you are in."

CEO Atwood nods quick, small nods and looks down, fully overpowered by Fidsk's gaze. 

It wasn't as if they all didn't feel it. The almost demonic power Jonathan Fidsk held over everyone who encountered him. It was they often forgot it underneath his typically kind and fatherly disposition. But, that was like a carefully, crafted mask. So well done it made you forget about the ugliness underneath.

The rest of the meeting ended quickly.

- Across town-

"Ah!" Akira, dressed as Shira, sinks in the chair at her office, spinning it around a few times before lifting her feet to let the momentum continue on its own. 

"Good work," When the chair stops, Eleanor hands her a cup of tea from atop a tray, bows, and leaves the room. 

Akira removes the bottom half of her mask and takes a sip, slurping slightly to cool the hot liquid before it reaches her lips. Just as she does, Liam enters the room.

"Great work today," he starts.

Akira gives him a look. He never starts with a compliment unless there is something she has done wrong... She takes off the rest of her mask.

Liam sits across from her. "I just have a few suggestions."

She takes another sip, placing the cup on her desk. Of course. 

Liam runs down a list of things from where she landed, the speed of wind she used to knock out each opponent, etc. It had been three years, and while everything else around them had changed, some things about him hadn't changed a bit. They now had something of a secret base they used to house rescued dragons. An entire intelligence network and work force to earn money from online businesses to fund the place. They went from an old, abandoned Fidsk property to a place Batman would be impressed by. And frankly, none of this could have started without her. But still, just like when they'd first met, Liam fussed over her. 

It wasn't that she didn't recognize his natural organizational talent. While she had the powers, he had the leadership skills to turn this operation into a well-oiled machine. Akira respected his talent, but she also hated his micromanagement. 

Liam continues, until he notices her thoughts are elsewhere. He gives her head a hard thump, surprising her just as she reaches for her tea again, and pulls her close. He glares at her, and she glares back as she covers the sting with her hands. 

"You think you can do this without my insight?" he starts.

She rubs her head, "Don't do that!" she ignores his question. 

"You do not realize how many times you could have died on this mission!" he glances down his list. "Like-"

"I get what we do is dangerous," she lowers her hands, rummaging through her desk, "I've been doing it for 3 years. All I want, just once," she pulls out a mirror and looks at it, focusing on the red mark appearing on her forehead. She scowls. "is for you to not treat me like a child afterwards. The mission went great." She lowers the mirror. "Just tell me simply that I did well."

"You dont..." he starts. "You don't get it." 

"What is it I don't get?"

"I worry about you."

Akira pauses. "I know."

Liam moves closer, sitting near her on the corner of her desk. "I really worry about you." he ruffles her hair. "All of the other dragons here are either too old to be going on missions or have had the surgery. Without you..."

Akira pushes his hand away. "I get that, Liam. But I'm a person too." she sets to fixing her hair. "I also want to be praised by my boss sometimes." she gives him a smile as she puts on a pair of glasses. 

"Your boss, eh?" he says, slightly saddened, but with understanding.

She stands up as she removes the rope from her waist. She looks back at him, resolved. "From your expression it looks like you've forgotten why I'm even doing this."

"Eh," he starts, "I'd hoped that after saving a few hundred dragons, halting a few experimentation whatnots, stopping needless executions... You'd have grown at least some fondness for your kind."

She walks to her closet and presses a button, opening it up. She places the rope in an empty spot and sets to replacing the rest of her accessories. "Don't count on it."

"Do you not feel anything when everyone out there claps for you when you rescue our people? All the deep gratitude?"

"It isn't that I feel nothing," she pauses, sheathed knife half to its place. "It's that... Liam, I never wanted to be a dragon. I like my life, as a human, exactly the way it is." she replaces the knife. "Turn around please?" 

Liam turns to face the opposite direction. He hears her undo her zipper, and his heart skips a beat. 

"Look... I don't want you to have these high expectations of me." she says. Her suit falls with a flop to the floor. "If I ever have to choose between my life as a human and... this. I choose my life as a human."

Liam sighs. "How is it that you can be so nonchalant about all of the people suffering? Aren't you even a little embarrassed?"

"You are getting on my case because I don't allow myself to feel sorry for someone else's situation?" she pulls on a pair of jeans, zipping them up and fastening the button. "Isn't what matters that I save them? Do my actual feelings about everything really hold that much importance?"

He pauses, taken aback by her question. 

Akira slides a tshirt over her head and puts each arm through the sleeves. "Don't forget you blackmailed me into this. I'm doing this to keep my life. We have a good agreement going here. Don't ruin it by expecting things of me I can't provide." she fluffs her hair. "You can turn around now."

He does. 

They lock onto each others gaze, him with a hurt expression, her's, a determined one. 

"I don't want any of the dragons to suffer. But..." she places a hand on her heart. "I was raised as a human. I wasn't raised in a government facility or an experimentation lab or anything. When I talk to them, I can't relate. I don't know what it is to be a servant. I only want to live a normal life." her eyes well up, but she wipes them fiercely, stopping the flow. "This is all I can do for you." She walks towards her desk and hits a button beneath, opening a secret door in the wall. She walks through, and seconds later, it closes behind her, leaving Liam alone. 

He sits, leaning backwards as he stares at the ceiling. He takes deep breath, calming his heart, which had been raging since she started changing her clothes. He knew his body reacted to her, but that his mind reacted to an idealized version of the girl. Once again, he saw and fell in love with a woman that didn't exist. A version of her that fought for the protection of her people. 

His mind returns to her question. " 'Isn't what matters that I save them?' " 

He tightly grasps the arms of the chair on each side, his knuckles turning white.

"The way you are now," he whispers of her, "couldn't you easily become a traitor?"

After all, none of the others there had ever seen her face. She could easily abandon them at any time.

Her personal feelings meant everything. They were also the reason Shira had never attacked the Fidsk property. She said she simply wouldn't do it because she was around so often and might be recognized. But... Fidsk Global over the last few years had become more and more evil. To the point at which he had to convince her to act soon, or they could all be in danger.

Their savior had become their weakest link.

10: Perspective

"Sorry I'm late!" Akira calls out. 

Allison unfolds her arms at the sight of her frenemy and makes a pouting face. She gives Akira a once over, noting the ragged short sleeved shirt and the jeans. The ensemble did nothing for her figure, but for some reason, Akira's body had become sexier than her own over the last few years. And this outfit did nothing to hide that either. She scowls. 

Akira reaches her, noting the scowl. She makes praying hands in front of her face. "I'm really sorry, Allison. Got held up at my job."

Allison grunts. "Well," she says slowly, "I guess I'll forgive you."

Akira smiles as they enter the mall. She moves in front of Allison, pretending as though she was doing that just to get the door for her, but she really did it to catch her breath. More and more lately a part of her seethed every time she spent time with her college roommate.  But, it wasn't like Akira had many more friends. Technically, she had Jason, but he had feelings for her, which he never let her forget. Coupling that with his status as the billionaire heir of Fidsk Global, and he wasn't someone she could just hang out with on a day to day basis. Liam... she always felt like he was expecting something from her. As of the last year, she'd gotten close with Valeria, Jason's younger sister, but she was often busy. And that left Allison. 

She turns around, a huge smile now on her face as she opens the door. She felt ready.

A few minutes later, the two were trying on outfits. Each comes out in their ensemble to show the other. 

Allison exits in a sexy red dress, which highlights her voluptuous curves and squeezes in all the right places. She strikes a few poses as Akira pretends to be excited about her too long, loose, black dress with an ugly belt. If a person couldn't see her face, they wouldn't even be sure she was female. Everything would have gone as usual until a store clerk came by.

"Excuse me, miss," she addresses Akira. Both girls turn to her. "I couldn't help but notice your dress choice... If I may, might I suggest this one?" She holds out a white ensemble that looked fit for a runway. 

Allison snatches it away. "She doesn't look good in white."

The clerk, embarrassed, starts to back away. "I'm sorry." she says. 

Normally, Akira wouldn't have said anything, but as she saw the dress, for the first time, she wanted to try on a specific piece of clothing. It was as if the piece awoke her feminine side, so to speak. She grabs it from Allison, smiling at the clerk, who brightens up immediately. 

Allison scowls as Akira enters the fitting room. As soon as she enters, Akira's phone rings. 

"Hello?" she answers.

Valeria. 

"Hey, Akira!" the voice is cheerful. If only Valeria had more time...

"Hey!" Akira responds, careful not to use Valeria's name. It was yet another sore spot with Allison. Akira sets to pulling off the bag dress and putting on the white one. "How's it going?"

"Great!" Valeria responds, quickly getting to the point. "I was calling to see if you have time this evening to be my plus one at a fashion show."

Akira covers the phone and whispers, "Your plus one? Shouldn't a guy be doing that?"

Valeria chuckles, "Nah, it's fine. My father really wants to marry me off and makes a big deal out of everything each time I go to an event with a guy. Tonight, I just want a fun night out with my buddy."

Akira smiles. How nice to be actually wanted. She gives the bag dress a gentle kick. 

"Sounds great! What time should I be at your house?"

"How's in an hour?" Valeria asks. "We could get our makeup done together!"

"Perfect!" Akira responds as she looks at herself in the mirror. "I found the perfect dress today."

"Wonderful," Valeria makes a fake accent. "See you later, girlfriend!"

Akira chuckles, "Later!" The phone beeps signaling the end of the call.

Moments later, Akira emerges looking as though the dress were made for her. 
The clerk claps three times to convey her awe and approval. 

"It doesn't suit you." Allison says flatly, her arms folded again. "You look ridiculous."

Akira's smile drops. She didn't feel like doing this today. Or, ever again. Even if Valeria didn't have a lot of time, she appreciated her.

Akira turns towards the clerk, "I like this one. I'll take it." she announces. Allison's jaw drops. 

Akira returns to the fitting room to remove the dress. It doesn't take long for Allison to barge in behind the curtain after her. 

Akira holds in a shriek, surprised. "What are you doing!?" She asks, peeking out to make sure no guys were out there. 

"I told you that dress looks bad on you!" Allison reaches for it, but Akira grabs it before Allison can. 

"I like it, so I'm buying it." Akira announces, full of confidence. Oh the wonders having a friend can do for you.

"I knew it!" Allison exclaims.

"What..." Akira asks.

"You are trying to seduce Jason!"

"How are we talking about Jason right now!?"

"You've always been trying to seduce him!" Allison pinches Akira's right thigh. 

"Ouch!" Akira says, pulling back and looking at Allison, completely shocked. 

"Your body didn't used to look like this! You started changing when Jason came around! Well, I tell you, HE'S MINE!"

Akira sighs. What a misunderstanding. "Allison, there is an expla-"

"I don't want to hear it, you homewrecker!"

"Home... wrecker?" 

"You want to tear apart what he and I have!" Allison reaches into her purse. Akira knew she kept self defense items inside. She puts on her pants and shirt as fast as she can, stumbling out of the fitting room. A second later, Allison follows, Swiss army knife in hand. 

"Allison! Put that down!" Akira pleads. The clerk, who had moved over to the register hears the commotion and starts to come closer. Akira motions to her that everything is ok. The last thing she needed was to cause a commotion. 

Tears stream down Allison's face as she aims. "You just want to steal my..." she sniffles hard. "boyfriend."

Akira looks at Allison, moving backwards a bit more before she trips over a hanger. Akira looks up in time to see Allison lunge towards her with the knife.

It was like slow motion. 

Akira's body hitting the wall behind her. Locking her there with no place to escape. The bloodcurdling scream of the clerk at the sight. Allison's anguished face as she forced the knife towards Akira. 

Akira's eyes widen as she waives her hand in front of herself, the wind, causing Allison to turn and plunge the knife into the wall, just centimeters from Akira's face. Allison falls forward, hitting her head hard against the wall. She falls to the ground, unconscious as Akira scrambles away from her on all fours. 

The next thing Akira knew, policemen had come to take Allison away. 

"I didn't know she..." Akira relates the story to the cops, but it was like a dream. A nightmare...

So... that was fear. She had the ability to protect herself, but other dragons couldn't. She felt something cracking, breaking inside of her. A new knowledge being born. Never had she experienced such fear. She doesn't notice as Liam and Jason arrive. 

Liam stands back, watching her. Sensing. Feeling. He watches her facial expression as he sees her turn into someone closer to the ideal he had fallen in love with. His heart jumps. It then falls as he watches his master wrap his arms around her. It falls as he watches her wrap hers around him. It falls as she cries in his arms. He can't do anything. He can't even reach out and hold her. He can only stand there, watching. 

His eyes narrow in jealousy. He wanted to separate her from his grasp. He wanted to bring her to his world. He wanted to make her choose his world. 

Akira cries for a while in Jason's arms. She'd known Allison for years. Never had she thought the girl would try to kill her. The thought ripped through her.

Valeria arrives later, Lawrence in tow. She runs to Akira, dressed for a fashion show, but she still kneels to the ground to embrace her friend, getting the bottom of her dress dirty. 

Lawrence and Liam stand, side by side. Lawrence turns to Liam. Seeing Liam's expression, he says nothing. 

As everything dies down for the night, Akira goes to bed with one final petrifying thought. "What if Allison saw me use my powers?"