Ascenders: Rising To Hero

15. Shin's Inspiration

“It's weird, isn't it? How that guy is one that you are strongly after to emulate. He doesn't seem like much, except for the fact that he is really resisting his death very well.”  Macabu said. 

“If you are trying to call him weak, then you don't know what you are saying.” Shin exploded out in rage, his whole body immediately torchin up with an aura front eh Law of Wrath instantaneously. 

It took him only  a heart beat for him to dash cross the little inch of a distance, his fingers clutched at the neck of the Giant as he bared his teeth put in anger. 

“If you ever dare to ever call him weak, I swear with everything that…” 

“BOYSSSSSS!” Iyabo’s voice thundered above everything else now. 

“Can a lady have some moments without any ruckus for once in her life?’ Iyabo’s thunder once more. 

Macabu sighed now, even as Shin was taken aback, the fiery blaze of energy from the Law of Wrath dissipating almost immediately. 

“I don't like to  threaten but I must not come outside and still find you both around the house. Take your battling somewhere else. I need to concentrate to heal these pens here or would you rather come in here to do it for me?; She warned, although her voice still sounded sweet to the ears of the two figures out there.

“You heard her? Let's leave here! The last thing we want is to interfere with Iyabo during her healing process. She could get really mad about it and trust me, you really don't want to find out the rest of what happens when she is mad.” Macabu spoke the last words with a lowered voice as he gently pushed the hand of Shin at his throat to the side and then pushed himself up from the ground. 

“Come with me.” He called Shin.

He began to walk forward while Shin followed him as well, the duo picking their way carefully among the spitla wounding vegenation about the house as they walked. 

“WHy don't you tell me, why do you think this person is really not that weak?. I mean, look at him. There is nothing about him that spells the power levels which I have close to. I know I could take him out in just a twinkling of an eye. Yes, he is that weak to me.” 

“Hm!” Shin snickered at the whole thoughts of Macabu. “Then you have no idea whatsoever about this.”

Macabu paused suddenly as he splayed his hands now. Wait, what do you mean? What makes this merely that special to you, this one that you are hellbent on choking me just to get back at me for saying he is weak…” He asked. 

“Your loyalty to him is one of a kind. That brings the question back and forth. Why are you this loyal to someone who is this weak?”

“I said… He IS.. NOT WE-” Shin growled behind him. 

“Then, TELL ME!” Macabu roared out, turning round suddenly now to face SHin. “Tell me what it is that endears him to you? WHy do you respect him so much that you are willing to fight me head on for calling him weak?” 

Shin drew in a  heavy breath as he listened now, choking back the rage which had taken him earlier on. If it was Hana who was displaying all of this, then he would have been fast enough to step up to it and tell her to calm down. Now, he was the one who was bsy at it, the same thing he would have so easily cautioned Hana for. 

Guilt pricked at his conscience, even as his head was lowered to the ground. Still, he had a question poised at him and as much as he would love to answer that question, he was not sure whether or not he would lose his cool in the process. 

Still, it ate at him to speak on it and what he did do, letting out a long drawn sigh as he began to tell his tale. 

‘You would not understand, really.” 

“Oh, try me.: Macabu said, putting his hands behind him. 

Already, due to the little raising of voices that they had, the two had begun to walk side by side which was a great contrast to the former time.  Then the Giant had been in the front and Shin had been tugging behind him. 

“You see, why I said you would not understand the whole thing is simply because of this. It is a long story but still, I will try my best to summarize it.” Shin started baring in mind that he could not just tell a complete stranger everything that was about him as an Ascender. 

Even though he ached considerably to tell it to him, he knew he had to draw the line when it came to that. The Word was not ready for those who were Ascenders, at least from the show that he had seen at the Laprisha Amphitheatre, Ascenders were not exactly safe. While that was arguable because of the fact that they had willingly had Bayo enter the contest, he had had his own share of it. 

Anything which contained a trace of the soul of the Mad Prime was an abomination to all and sundry. Whether or not they admitted it. 

“First things first, you are right about me being a soldier. I am one actually, a Sage Master as yo ahd put together. “ Shin stated.

“Aha! I am getting better at the usage of the Law of Love now. Ha!’ Macabu snorted with a  triumphant chortle. 

“DOnt get too cocky now." Shin was quick to chirp in. "Thing is, I was one of the elites. At least, so I heard about that Shin.” He said, nudging his head to the side, which he was referring to the original shin. But to Macabu, he just took it as he was making reference to a past version of himself, figuratively rather than literally. 

“So when I Started out from the bottom of the chart again, my squad and the platoon were aghast with what to do with me. They did not spare any moment to let me know how poor I had fared in almost every thing that we did. And I had a guide posted on me, just to make sure that my own stupidity and sudden ignorance of things which I allegedly knew before, did not get to kill me.” He shrugged. 

“Interesting. You must have been someone of high calibre for you to fall to the grass and yet be given a watchful treatment. In my place, you would just be simply discarded.” Macabu muttered. 

“Well yes, I was an Elite Sage Master so that was to be expected.” Shin drew a breath now. :It was hard for me, kind of, to actually try to make myself to be that person they could all be proud of, despite the challenges from everywhere. And honestly, there was a time when I just gave up on it and just tried to  take it one piece at a time.” He signalled in the air, making a peace sign out in front of his face with his right hand. 

“And how did they take it?” Macabu asked, looking curiously  to the Hadjan who was walking by his left hand side. 

“Take it? Heh!” Shin sneered.``i was the court jester and all. Never taken seriously for the life of me, and yes, that was it, to the point where it did not even matter to me what they had about me in their thoughts. I was just there to live by it and try to get stronger on my own terms. However, I had the big reminder out there, scarred in my head that no matter what, I could never be that great again. At least, not up to the level of the person I was before.” 

“So…” Macabu urged, totally enjoying the tale. 

“ So, We had a mission and then I came across the oen who was Bayo.” Shin chuckled at this, as he remembered just briefly the time when they had met the First Born in the Canteen shop of that Magmorian. They had found him strangely touching the pieces of meat and deriving some form of ecstasy from it. 

At least, up until Hana smashed its face in. Although it was sorta a collective effort. 

“You know, he did not hold grudges against me for whatever we did to him or even against my partner then. And on top of that, he is really perspective,so perspective that h e was able to sniff out the issues I was having with my life then and he offered a way to fix it.” 

“Him, Interesting. Are you better now? “ Macabu asked. “Since you met him, have you been able to reach that perspective of glory or elite hood that you were once at?”

‘Well, I don't know.z '' SHin threw his hands into the air. “It is a work in progress honestly but then again, every piece of strength that I have accrued, he has been a great motivator for it. I look at him, with his persistence and determination, he always finds a way to make things work.” 

“Wow!”

“One time, we were cornered up and then there was no way for us to go or what to do. Then He unjust gets up and suddenly casts out a technique, which I could swear he never did know how to do, before, and then Ka-BOOM!” Shin clapped his hands. “He sucked out the ambient energy in the air and used it to power my teleportation technique(see Book 1).”

“WAAAAHHHHH!” Macabu’s jaws dropped. 

“I know right.” Shin turned to him, his eyes widened as he completely stepped into character now. “We found it shocking too. But then, it happened, not once, not twice and he is always having some secret trick up his sleeve to always stay on top of the issues he faces. That's why he appears weak when you look at him but within his soul, there is massive strength that no one can fathom.” Shino let his voice drop at this point.

“And to be honest, after all he has taught me, it would be a massive shame on me that I would not be able to protect him while he is in this condition. Or to protect the others too. That is why I don't want to fail and in failing disappoint him. I owe what I am now, to him.” Shin’s added, his voice almost a whisper now. 

“Hmm!’ Macabu grunted as he paused, looking sideways to look at the still standing Shin. “Now, I get it. I totally get it.”