The days slowly turned into weeks. Elias knew he had to learn Japanese if he was going to live here.
It was a very hard language, but it was not impossible.
Akeno became his favorite teacher.
Every morning, they sat on the wooden porch facing the garden.
Akeno brought a big notebook and some crayons. She drew simple pictures for him.
She drew a smiling cat and pointed to it. "Neko," she said.
"Neko,"
Elias repeated.
She drew a tree.
"Ki."
"Ki,"
He smiled.
Elias focused hard, and his brain soaked up the words very fast.
Maybe it was just hard work, or maybe his new Adaptivity power was helping his mind learn quickly.
Soon, they didn't need the crayons anymore. They could talk using basic words and short sentences.
They spent almost every minute of the day together.
If Elias was sweeping the shrine steps, Akeno was right behind him with a tiny broom.
If Akeno was watching the koi fish, Elias was sitting next to her, dropping breadcrumbs into the water.
They weren't just a lost teenager and a lonely little girl anymore. They were family.
They fought over the last piece of candy, they told silly jokes, and they looked out for each other. They were real siblings in every way that mattered.
Akeno also decided to share the rest of her magic with him.
Every afternoon, when Shuri was busy cleaning the inside of the shrine, Elias and Akeno sneaked behind the large stone statue in the garden.
This became their secret training spot.
Akeno taught him the basics of Onmyudo. She showed him how to hold the special paper talismans between his fingers.
She taught him how to breathe deeply and find the warm, tingling energy inside his stomach.
Because Elias had already adapted to her blue fire, his body understood the magic perfectly.
He didn't even always need the paper. He just had to think about the feeling, and the magic would answer him.
He learned how to make the blue fireballs bigger or smaller. He even learned how to make a tiny, invisible wall of energy to block thrown pebbles.
They always giggled and high-fived when he got a spell right.
But they always made sure to hide the burnt leaves and paper before Shuri came looking for them. It was their special secret.
One bright Monday morning, Elias was watering the flowers near the front gate of the shrine.
He heard voices coming from the street. A group of kids walked by.
They were wearing neat school uniforms and carrying heavy backpacks.
They were laughing, talking about homework, and sharing snacks on their way to class.
Elias stopped watering the flowers.
He watched them walk down the hill until they were gone.
Then, he looked back toward the shrine. Akeno was sitting alone in the dirt, making a small castle out of pebbles.
She looked happy, but she looked so lonely.
She was definitely old enough to be in elementary school. So why was she always hiding at the shrine?
Elias put the watering can down. He walked inside and found Shuri in the kitchen. She was quietly washing the breakfast dishes.
"Shuri-san?"
Elias asked softly. He used a mix of English and the Japanese words he knew.
Shuri turned around and smiled.
"Yes, Elias? Do you need something?"
Elias stepped closer. His voice was gentle, but serious.
"I saw the kids outside. Going to school. Why... Why doesn't Akeno go to school? She doesn't have any friends her own age."
Shuri's smile instantly vanished.
The soapy plate in her hands slipped and clattered loudly into the sink.
She gripped the edges of the counter.
Her shoulders dropped, and suddenly, she looked very tired and incredibly sad.
Elias felt a flash of panic.
"I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong? You don't have to tell me if it's a bad secret."
Shuri shook her head slowly. She reached for a towel and dried her hands. She didn't look at him for a long time.
Finally, she turned around. Her kind eyes were filled with unshed tears.
"I did not want to burden you with our troubles, Elias,"
Shuri said softly in English. Her voice trembled.
"You have already been through so much. But... you love her like a true brother. I see how much you care for her. You have the right to know."
She took a deep, shaky breath, looking toward the garden where Akeno was playing.
"I keep her here because it is the only place we are safe,"
Shuri whispered, a single tear falling down her cheek.
"Akeno is not a normal human girl. And the people of my family... they want to kill us because of what she is."
The word "kill" hung in the air like heavy smoke.
Elias felt a cold chill run down his back, followed instantly by a hot, burning anger.
His hands curled into tight fists at his sides.
He looked out the window at Akeno, who was happily placing a small flower on top of her pebble castle.
Someone wanted to hurt that sweet little girl?
Someone wanted to kill her just because she was different?
Elias gritted his teeth. Back in his old world in Ohio, he didn't have a real family.
He had a few friends to play video games with, and he had Dee. That was it. He didn't know what it felt like to have a mother or a little sister.
But over the last few weeks, Shuri and Akeno had become his family.
They had taken him in when he was broken and lost. They fed him, smiled at him, and made him feel loved.
The thought of anyone trying to hurt them made Elias so mad he was shaking.
But he took a deep breath. He forced his hands to uncurl. Getting angry right now wouldn't fix anything.
He knew he wasn't strong enough to fight a whole family of magic users. Not yet.
He looked back at Shuri. Her eyes were still wet with tears.
"They won't touch her,"
Elias said. His voice was quiet, but it was as hard as a rock.
"I won't let them. I will protect Akeno. And I will protect you, too."
Shuri gave him a sad, gentle smile.
"You have a good heart, Elias,"
She whispered.
"But my family... the Himejima clan... they are very powerful. They use strong magic. You are just a normal boy. You cannot fight them."
"I'm not a normal boy,"
Elias said firmly.
He stepped closer to her. It was time to tell her the truth.
"Shuri-san, I need you to teach me. I need you to teach me the real Onmyudo. Not just the little tricks, but the magic you use to fight."
Shuri's eyes went wide. She shook her head.
"No, Elias. It is too dangerous. If you try to learn our fighting magic, it could destroy your body."
"It won't,"
Elias promised.
He held up his hand. He closed his eyes, found that warm energy inside his chest, and pushed it to his fingers.
Poof.
A bright blue fireball appeared, floating safely above his palm.
Shuri gasped. She took a step back, covering her mouth with her hand.
"How...?"
She breathed.
"Akeno showed me a little bit,"
Elias confessed, letting the fire fade away.
"But there's something else you need to know about me. The monster that ate me the first night? I didn't survive because it spit me out. I survived because I can't die."
Shuri stared at him, completely frozen.
Elias kept his words simple so she would understand.
"I have a special power. If something hurts me, my body heals instantly. And then... it learns. Whatever hurts me makes me stronger. When Akeno's fire hit me by accident, my body learned how to make it. I can adapt to anything."
Shuri looked at Elias in pure shock.
For the past few weeks, she had watched this boy closely.
She saw how he swept the floors without complaining.
She saw how gently he spoke to her daughter. She saw a boy with a pure, kind soul.
She had thought he was just a fragile human who needed shelter.
But looking at the fierce determination in his eyes now, she saw something else.
She saw a guardian.
"You... you cannot die?"
Shuri asked, her voice trembling, but this time, it wasn't from fear. It was from a tiny spark of hope.
"I can't,"
Elias nodded.
"If your family comes, they will have to go through me. And if they hit me with their strongest magic, I will just get back up and use it against them. But I need you to train me so I know what I'm doing."
Shuri looked out the window at Akeno again.
For years, Shuri had lived in constant fear.
She went to sleep every night terrified that the assassins would come for her little girl.
She had accepted that Akeno would never have a normal life.
But now, an impossible boy was offering to be their shield.
If Elias became strong—if his power of Adaptivity was as real as the blue fire he just made—then maybe everything could change.
Maybe they wouldn't have to hide in the shrine forever.
Maybe, just maybe, Akeno could put on a neat uniform, carry a heavy backpack, and walk down the hill to school with the other kids.
Shuri wiped the tears from her face. She stood up straight, and a strong, proud look returned to her eyes.
"Okay,"
Shuri said softly, bowing her head to him.
"I will teach you, Elias. I will teach you everything I know."