Cloud - Chapter 36: Chapter 36

"I don't know what to do with him anymore," Calum complained to me as he walked in the kitchen aimlessly. I was watching him curiously, leaned against the counter, as I drank my tea, "Nicolas can't fight. He can't use his powers. He basically can't do anything right. Cale and I have been training him for weeks now but there is still no progress."
True, Nicolas had been training a lot lately. He was really trying to do his best but the results weren't so great. He was in fact getting more hurt than progressing and when I said hurt, I meant the real physical pain. Cale did not hesitate to hit Nicolas in the face during their training section. The stronger guardian said that it was to help him learn how to fight but I was pretty sure that he was enjoying himself while hitting Nicolas.
"How do your powers normally work?" I asked Calum, "How do you use them?"
"I don't know, it comes naturally to me," he replied. "I never really questioned myself about how they work. I just think of what I want to do and yeah, I do it. It is easy for me."
I hummed.
"Maybe it's related to his past then," I concluded. "I mean, Nico is supposed to be partly human and he hasn't used his powers for years, decades even and maybe that's why it is harder for him to make them react."
"I have thought of that," Calum said and he sighed. He stopped walking, now facing me, and he placed his hands on his hips, "Though, we don't know what will happen in the future and Nicolas must know how to protect himself in case of a war against the Vins."
I nodded in agreement and emptied my cup of tea in a few sips. I turned around and walked to the sink to wash it.
"How did you learn to use your powers?" Calum asked me then, "You - I don't know - you basically just got them. They came to you at an unexpected time at full speed and it seems like you have already mastered them."
"I'm far from having mastered anything," I let out a laugh but my smile did not last long. I licked my lips, thinking, "I don't want to hurt anyone. I lost control of my powers a few times and I nearly hurt the ones I care about. I don't want that to happen again. That's why I'm forcing myself to learn. It's like you said, I just have to think of what I want to do and I do it. It's not always easy but when I let my emotions in, when I think of what really matters, I feel like I can do everything."
I turned around, wiping my wet hands with a piece of cloth. I could tell that what I just said got Calum to think. I really wanted to help him. I had enough of treating my guardian's wounds after he finished one section of training with Cale. Moreover, Nicolas was being emotionally drained by each passing day.
"Maybe we're using the wrong methods," Calum suddenly murmured under his breath and I frowned. I was about to ask him what he meant by this but he then added in a louder voice, "I think that Nicolas needs to be put in a situation where he will be forced to use his powers."
"What situation are you thinking about?" I asked him curiously and he smirked at me.
"You told me that he was now your guardian, right?" I nodded in confusion and he clapped his hands. "Come with me then. I will need your help for what I'm planning to do."
Just after his words, he walked out of the kitchen without waiting for me. I debated in my head whether to follow him or not before deciding to do so. I had nothing better to do anyway. Today was a pretty lazy day. Since this morning, I had been walking around without a goal. I tried to read a book to pass my time but it did not interest me so I placed the book aside.
That fact that I couldn't do my most love occupation, which was reading, bothered me. Yeah, before I could just take a book and read it the whole day without any care in the world but now, my mind was too preoccupied. Those story books couldn't make me escape my current life anymore. I was trapped.
I followed the guardian till we reached the backyard and we found Nicolas and Cale training. Just as we arrived, I saw Nicolas flying in the air and he fell down a few meters away, face first. I hissed in front of that scene and Nicolas groaned. That must surely be painful.
"Damn, Nicolas, you are a real loser," Cale exclaimed in frustration. "You are so weak that I'm actually starting to pity you."
"It's not easy," Nicolas shouted back at him but he did not get up from the ground. Instead, he turned around on his back, staring at the sky with his bloody and dirty face. His clothes were also torn and I asked myself what type of attacks he had received before I arrived.
"Bro, I got an idea," Calum stated out loud, letting our presence be known. Cale and Nicolas glanced in our direction and Nicolas immediately sat straight at the sight of me. Though, he did it a little bit too quick and he grimaced at the pain he felt. I gave him a smile and walked to him to help him stand up.
"What kind of idea did you get again?" Cale asked his brother with a sigh.
"Well, as you know Nicolas is now Luffy's guardian and I thought that with Luffy's help, we will be able to make his powers react," Calum explained. "Remember when Ken got attacked? Well, Nicolas appeared at that moment and it was because his oracle needed his help. If we create the same type of situation, I'm sure that Nicolas will be boosted to act."
"Because you think that right now I'm not boosted?" Nicolas asked him in disbelief just as I made him stand up. I could tell that it was difficult for him to remain on his feet. "Come on, Calum, I get beat on a daily basis by your brother. Do you think that I like that? Do you think that I don't want to fight back? I'm trying as hard as I can."
"But it's not enough," Calum told him. "You need motivation and I can give you the motivation." He pointed one finger at me, "Cale will now attack Luffy and he won't try to protect himself."
"Excuse me?" Nicolas said before I could reply anything. He quickly shook his head. "Absolutely not, I don't want Luffy to be bring into this. I will find a way to make things right on my own."
"You clearly can't," Calum protested. "We need to try it out because honestly, we are going nowhere...Cale will attack Luffy with all of his powers and the latter won't attack back. If you don't want him to get hurt, use your powers."
I could tell that Nicolas did not want this and soon he let his disagreement with this new plan be heard. Though, as I let Calum's idea sink in my little head, I realized that it was not such a bad idea. He was right actually. The first time Nicolas' powers reacted was when Ken needed help, it was when the one person he cared about was in danger.
I knew that he cared for me. He made it clear to me through his recent actions. He would protect me, I was sure of it without any doubts. Though, in order for him to do that properly he needed to be stronger and there was only one way for him to get stronger...
"Let's do it," I said, interrupting the little argument that had started between Nicolas and Calum and they both looked at me. "I'm ready for it."
"No," Nicolas protested. "Believe me, I can trigger my powers on my own. It's not necessary to hurt you."
"But I won't get hurt," I assured him. "You will protect me. I'm sure of it. You just need to believe in yourself. Don't worry, everything will be fine...attack me, Cale."
I looked at Cale, who was suspiciously quiet, and I gave him a nod to start attacking. He just stared at me without saying anything. I did not know what was going on in his head but in a matter of seconds, he was suddenly standing in front of me. His hand came around my throat and he raised me in the air.
Nicolas' eyes widened and he tried to push Cale away from me but it wasn't fast enough. My vision became blurry and somehow, Cale and I found ourselves distance away from Nicolas with his hand still around my throat. I did not know how it happened but I concluded that he must have surely used his powers to get us away from Nicolas.
"You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this," I heard Cale say but I couldn't reply anything to him as he was choking me. Then, he threw me away and I fell on the ground, coughing. I didn't even have time to react that I was receiving a kick in the stomach and then another one.
"Stop!" Nicolas shouted as he tried to run to us but Calum came into his way.
"No," he said firmly and Nicolas looked at him in disbelief. "The only way you will get closed to them is by using your powers."
"Get out of my way!" Nicolas shouted and he tried to push Calum but it was of no use.
I looked at them from my position on the ground but Cale quickly caught back my attention when he kicked me once again. I groaned in pain. He grabbed me by my front shirt and lifted me in the air only to throw me against a nearby tree. My head hit with the trunk and I yelped. Cale did not stop here and he quickly appeared in front of me only to hit me again.
I wanted to fight back at that moment. I got the want to attack him and made him see who was really strong but I controlled myself. I needed to keep in mind why I was letting myself get hit. It was not time for me to feel weak and to let my powers take control.
"Damn," I groaned, hiding my face from the physical abuse. I knew that Cale was not using his full powers on me. He was holding himself back. He was giving me simple hits but god, it still hurt like a bitch.
"Let me pass," Nicolas shouted at Calum but the latter easily pushed him down and he fell on his ass.
"Cale, I think that you need to become more aggressive. Nicolas is still not enough motivated," Calum declared, glancing in our direction and Nicolas glared at him. "Use your sword if needed."
Sword, I thought with widened eyes. He wanted Cale to kill me or what? How was I supposed to react to that? I was supposed to do nothing but if he used his sword against me, was I supposed to just remain still and let him cut me in two?
That idea did not seem appealing anymore.
I looked at Cale with worried eyes and he looked like if he was thinking about what he was going to do with me. Nicolas' shouting could be heard as he tried to pass by Calum without any results. Unfortunately for me, a sword appeared into Cale's hand and I gulped. He raised it in the air and I clenched my eyes shut.
He cut my arm. I felt him tear my skin and my blood came out. I couldn't hold in my scream of pain when he cut my stomach. He did not really bury the sword deeply into my flesh but it hurt so much. My wounds were like burning and the tears formed into my eyes. I tried to drag myself away from him to escape but he cut my back, making a long scratch, tearing my shirt.
Why did it have to hurt so much?
"Stop," I exclaimed at Cale, gritting my teeth in pain. "Stop it, damn it. It hurts."
"You hear that, Nicolas?" Cale exclaimed out loud. "If you don't act now, I swear I'm going to really hurt Luffy."
Because he hadn't start to really hurt me yet?
He got to be fucking kidding me!
Cale forced me to turn around on my back and he pointed the sword at my throat. He added some pressure and it cut my skin. I grabbed the blade, trying to pull it away but it hurt me even more. He had the determination in his eyes to kill me once and for all and that kind of scared me. He was a little bit too serious.
He pulled the sword away from my throat for one brief moment but soon after, he was burying it into my chest. My head flopped back and my eyes widened. Though, before I could even process the pain, Cale was suddenly being pushed away from me and I felt the sword being removed from my chest.
I placed my hands on my wound, trying to keep the blood from coming out. The tears came out of my eyes and I realized that it was Nicolas who was now beside me. He looked different though. A white light was surrounding him as he held Cale's sword. He faced my attacker and moved forward to attack him unexpectedly. Cale only succeeded to avoid the first blows. Nicolas eventually got him and he buried the sword into his leg.
Cale shouted in pain and fell to the ground. He looked at Nicolas in disbelief as the latter got away from him just after having hurt him. My guardian walked back to me and he knelt down beside me, a serious expression on his face. He had a strange look in the eyes. I said his name but it was like if he couldn't hear me. He cautiously placed his hands on my chest.
Soon, I started to feel a little flicker of warm. That burning sensation disappeared and my wounds disappeared along with it. I felt better. I blinked and sat up. I looked at Nicolas, realizing just then what he did. I was about to congratulate him but he suddenly closed his eyes and fell forward on top of me.
"Nicolas," I exclaimed and I shook him but he did not open his eyes again. I started to panic but I quickly realized that he was in fact simply sleeping.
"Wow, he did it," Calum exclaimed as he ran to me. He seemed to not believe his own eyes. "He actually did it."
"Fuck!" Cale shouted and he pulled the sword out of his leg and it disappeared soon after. He grabbed his leg and healed himself before standing up. "That damn shit! I did not even feel him coming."
"Yeah, same," Calum agreed. "One second, he was in front of me and the next he disappeared. I did not feel his powers come to the surface. They are like nonexistent but they are truly there."
True, I could not feel the power of Nicolas. What was that supposed to mean? Was it that his powers were too weak? Or maybe it meant that he held a greater power inside of him? I did not know but I sure hoped that I would find out soon.
"Cale, bring Nicolas to his room," I ordered him and he huffed in disbelief.
"No way," he refused right away.
"Bring him to his room now. He needs to rest," I repeated myself. "Besides, I let you hurt me without doing anything. Don't make me make you pay for it now."
He glared at me but he sensed the seriousness in my voice so he approached me and lifted Nicolas, placing him on his shoulder before disappearing from my sight. I sighed and stood up without much difficulty. Calum looked at me but he did not say anything as I walked away from him back into the house.
I needed to shower and changed clothes. I couldn't believe that another one of my clothes got wasted. I threw away a lot of clothes lately. That needed to stop. Before going to my bedroom, I decided to pass by the kitchen to drink some water but when I arrived there, I found Cloud staring into space.
I stopped dead in my track when his eyes fell on me.
"Oh, hello there," he said, a smile coming on his face and I smiled as I walked to grab a glass. I filled it with water and brought the glass to my lips.
"You finally got out of bed," I told Cloud and he shrugged. "I thought that you would never wake up."
"It's not so late," he said.
"It's thirteen o'clock," I informed him, looking at the clock on the wall. "Cloud, you should really try to wake up much early."
"To do what? Walk around all day?" He asked me and before I could reply, he asked me another question, looking at me from up and down, "What happened to you by the way? I heard some screaming but I was too lazy to come and see what it was."
"Wow, thank you," I told him sarcastically. "I'm glad to know that if one day I scream for help and if you are lazy, you won't come to save me."
"Oh, darling, you told me that you can defend yourself on your own. You don't need me, you're strong enough," he said and I rolled my eyes but a smile was on my face.
About one week had passed since the party and Cloud and I had been doing good since our little talk. There were no more fights and arguments and I felt great being with him. Well, our relationship was not really given a title and god, I did not even know what he considered us to be but I liked to think that we were boyfriends.
I hoped that we were boyfriends at least.
"I was helping Nicolas with his training and I got a little bit hurt along the way," I informed Cloud as I placed the empty glass of water away. "Though, the pain was worth it as Nicolas succeeded to use his powers."
"Well, that is some great news," Cloud said as he walked to me. He placed his hands on my hips and suddenly lifted me in the air. I exclaimed in surprise and he made me sit on the counter as he came to stand between my parted legs. He touched my lips and brought his face close to mine.
"What are you doing?" I asked him in surprise as I stared into his eyes and he smirked.
"I was thinking," he slowly replied. "When was the last time you and I had a little fun?"
An embarrassed smile came on my face at his words. I knew what kind of fun he was talking about. Well, surprisingly, him and I had not done any physical activity since the party. Of course, he kissed me there and there but he never went beyond that and I had been wondering why he hadn't tried anything yet.
Maybe he was waiting for me to give him the signal of approbation.
Cloud brought his lips to my neck and he left soft kisses on my skin. I closed my eyes as his hands started to roam on my chest. He passed them under my shirt and I shivered. His hands were cold.
"Cloud," I whispered and I felt him smirk against my skin.
"You want it?" he asked me and I opened my eyes to look at him.
We stared at each other for one moment before I leaned forward to press my lips against his. He responded to my kiss right away. I let out a moan, savoring the taste of his lips and I placed my hands at the back of his neck, pulling him closer to me. I wrapped my legs around him and he pulled my shirt down, revealing my shoulder. He moved his lips to the naked skin and I pulled on his hair.
Damn, I wanted him now.
"Cloud, Luffy, in the kitchen seriously," a voice was suddenly heard and my head snapped in the direction of the voice. I found Rain standing a few meters away with an amused expression on his face. I immediately pushed Cloud away in embarrassment. Though, the little devil did not go so far and he remained between my legs, letting out a sigh as he looked at his brother.
"What do you want?" he asked Rain and the latter chuckled.
"Oh, nothing at all," he replied and then he looked at me. "I was just searching for you, Luffy. I wanted to ask you. Have you talked to Frederick lately?"
I frowned, "Hmm, no, the last time that we talked was the night of the party. Why?"
"He's not replying to my calls," he replied and a thought seemed to cross his mind. That was weird.
"Do you want me to try to call him?" I asked him. "I wanted to talk to him anyway. He was supposed to come back this week but he still hasn't."
"No need to," he said and he brushed the subject off, "Just continue what you were doing with Cloud." I blushed at his words and he walked away with a smirk on his face.
"Well, he interrupted us for nothing," Cloud stated and before I could reply to him, his lips were back on mine. I immediately forgot about Rain and concentrated on the kiss.
Cloud pulled away briefly to tear my shirt apart but he quickly slammed back his lips on mine. His hand grabbed one of my nipples and he pulled on it as his tongue entered my mouth. I gasped and he suddenly started to rub his crotch against mine. Oh god, what was he doing to me? We were in the damn kitchen.
"Cloud," I succeeded to say as I pulled away from his lips. "Just let's go in our bedroom to continue this."
He nodded and stepped away from me. I gave him a smile and jumped off the counter but as soon as my feet touched the ground, something happened. My legs suddenly felt weak and an horrible headache got to me. It was so intense and I couldn't hold on. I fell down and Cloud caught me into his arms just in time.
"Luffy," he exclaimed in disbelief as I grabbed my head with both hands. "What's happening to you?"
"It hurts," I told him as the pain in my head got stronger. "My head hurts. Ah!"
I screamed and he held me into his arms, not knowing what to do. I felt nauseous. The world around me was spinning and I knew that in a matter of seconds, I would fall unconscious.
"Cloud!" we heard someone shout and soon, Estella came into our sight, breathless. She seemed to be relieved when she found us.
"Estella, what are you doing here?" Cloud asked her, surprised by her presence but also confused.
"We found him," she replied and my vision started to get blurry. I heard a few more words before I fell unconscious, "The last replica, we got him and we brought him back here."
At last.