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After a day of assisting the executives, Amou finally had some time to spare. But being too exhausted to go back to his room, he ended up taking a seat in the lounge of the common training area at Hq.
It should have been an entirely peaceful affair since he wasn’t social to begin with, but unfortunately for him, he had a pesky Side effect. In a way, his body was his own worst enemy. To add to that, Shinoda-san asked him to look out for trainees with innate potential. The onslaught of invasions had caused minimal damage according to Jin sans SE, but overall Border still suffered from loss of trainees and overburdened A and B ranks. So Shinoda-san was looking to scout prodigies who could be raised into agents in the main force fast. Due to this, Amou’s initial plan to shut his eyes was doomed. Now he had to be as alert as possible and look out for flashy coloured kids.
1 hour in, and he was overwhelmed; his eyes were stinging. Despite knowing it was pointless, he gave in to his urges and started rubbing his eyes aggressively. Amou earnestly wished that this could get rid of the colours in his eyes permanently. Getting bombarded with all the shades of a rainbow every time he opened his eyes wasn't exactly pleasing. It was like getting stuck in a swamp, overloaded with information that overstimulated him. A pain in the ass to say the least.
A few seconds passed, and he felt a presence followed by a pleasant but firm voice.
Amou Pov
“ Amou, stop rubbing your eyes so harshly, you will hurt yourself,” said Jin san, peering down at me while grabbing my hand.
“ If these colours could be invisible, I would never do this again.” I replied.
Jin-san offered a small smile without breaking eye contact with me. It felt somewhat comforting.
“It would be good riddance…” I mumbled under my breath.
Then he gently removed my hand from my eyes.
A younger trainee or agent probably called out to him because he turned his head in that direction, yet he continued speaking to me, “ You know this won't change anything, don’t you?” in a voice as empathetic as could be from another experienced SE holder.
I should have replied to him, but I was far too focused on what I saw when I glanced up at him. A flurry of colours. Before Jin san could straighten up, I grabbed his Jacket in a hurry and dragged him closer to me to confirm my sight.
To my surprise, the vibrancy and abundance of colours on him were almost blinding. Jin san has always been shining, without a doubt, akin to sunshine! Bright like the sun, but also burning steadily like the sun. Full of life yet somehow out of it too. His smiles were welcoming, comforting even yet at the same time felt distant, fleeting. Sad.
As I observed, everything magnified. His strength was usually marked by 3 colours, but today he was painted with a minimum of 6 colours and a maximum of 8, 2 colours in the background fading in and out. He was burning brighter than ever before, faster.
Where are you rushing to, what's the hurry..
“ You are brighter, no—more colourful than usual.” I paused to stare into his eyes in search of answers. With his attention on me, I gathered the courage to ask, “Jin san, what happened?”
Jin san smiled.
Then said, “Nothing.”
With that, this interaction came to an end as he straightened up, “ Take care, Amou.”
It was the last thing he said, and then he turned to leave.
I stayed motionless, staring speechlessly at his retreating figure in the distance.
He had smiled, probably to reassure me, but to me that expression looked more wistful than happy.
What was he going through, what was he trying to convey…What was I feeling?
Shock.Curiosity? Fear…perhaps Melancholy?
He said nothing was up and smiled, the way he usually does.
Then why did I sense great dissonance between his smile and his eyes?
They say eyes are the windows to the soul.
His empty eyes spoke of resignation to fate, but his smile carried quiet confidence.
His colourful appearance showed immeasurable & absolute strength, yet his retreating silhouette looked incredibly weak.
The contrast was too much.
My unease grew. Initially, I thought I was scared of how much more powerful Jin san had grown in such a short time, but now there was this sadness creeping up on me as if I was witnessing the inevitable…
All that power in him burning brightly to guide us to safety. But just like a candle glowing its brightest right before the wick extinguishes, is Jin san's immense strength a sign of his impending doom?
The melancholic atmosphere engulfed me, leaving me to wonder whether I will ever see him again, because alas, for all my rank and rumours of strength, I didn't dare to willingly burn myself like a certain someone.