Destiny (Anime Style)

Chapter 14: Broken Girl

The next morning, the 5-year old Leah woke up and did her normal routine. Her mother, Amanda Holliday, took her to kindergarten. Her brother was already at primary school, and her father was a guardian. He wasn't of the elite, but he was at least strong enough to be called a professional.

Time passed, and Leah entered primary school as well. She made a lot of friends with whom she spent her happy days as a kid. In addition, those friends knew about her father being a guardian and always asked her about it with eagerness.

But just as there were good people and comrades, there were also bullies. Sometimes, Leah was annoyed and bothered by these, a bit older, children: they used to steal her lunch, insult her, or talk bad about her family. But every time, her brother would come to the rescue. He just couldn't bear to see her little sister sad. As time passed, their bond grew a lot. John became Leah's best friend and was always around to play with her and protect her.

However, when John turned 15 years old, he entered the guardian academy. He also began spending more time studying and training than with his own family. But it was that passion what molded him into one of the finest trainees the academy ever had. He grew a lot in experience, knowledge and power; and he was even considered to be a prodigy at what he did.

At this point, Leah was still a little sad given that she couldn't spend as much time with her brother as she used to anymore, but she also understood that there was no other choice. However, it was then that she had an idea: she was gonna be a guardian as well.

That's right, the young girl studied hard and trained a lot in order to fulfill her dream of entering the academy. What is more, guardians were known for usually forming teams and doing missions and other kinds of requests in group. So she had high hopes of being able to join her brother as his comrade...

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But those same hopes crumbled some time later...

When John passed his first year, he was allowed to explore other planets and try more difficult requests. Nonetheless, something along the way changed inside of him. During one of his many interplanetary journeys, he happened to find something that triggered a new idea in him, a feeling that the trainee had never experienced before in his entire life... or at least not with that much strength.

He wasn't satisfied anymore with what he had, he wanted more: more power, more recognition, more of everything. And he also started to believe that the Vanguard's mission was absurd and that it had no future for humanity whatsoever. He wanted to be better... better than a guardian, and it didn't took much longer for both of his parents to notice this sudden change in him. They tried to talk some reason into his son. But, it seemed to be too late. The kind-hearted and cheerful John Polgaze was gone.

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The day finally came. It was the beginning of December of the year 4051, and Leah was 15 years old. Next year she would turn 16, but she was already old enough to apply to the academy as a brand new generation trainee. By that time, Cybel had already chosen the young girl as her guardian and they became really good friends, just as any guardian and its faithful ghost should be.

In any case, Leah took the knowledge exam and got a 90+ score in every subject, except for the ones involving science. But she still passed them with ease. Then, she took on the practical exam which ended up being a challenge, but thanks to her persistence and motivation, she was among the ones who approved it.

Later, when her exam results finally came out, she was crazy happy to know she was now an official guardian trainee. And that same day, she got out of the tower and ran as fast as she could in order to give the amazing news to her family.

She was excited... excited because her efforts weren't in vain. Because her family would certainly be proud of her. And because she would finally be able to be a guardian like her brother.

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But that excitement disappeared soon...

As Leah entered her house, she noticed it was a hell of a mess inside and when she saw her mother on the floor bleeding from her head, she also noticed both her father and brother arguing and fighting each other for some unknown but clearly intense reason. "Wh-what is... going on?" Leah asked in shock as she inevitably let the exam results she was carrying fell to the floor.

Both her father and John noticed her and immediately let go of each other. The father went to check how Amanda was. John on the other hand, just turned around and left the house. And as he passed right next to sister, not a single word came out of his mouth. His face showed nothing but anger and disgust, and his eyes... His eyes were filled with darkness while emanating a terrifying and disturbing green glow. It was then that the scared young girl... finally fell on her knees and broke down in tears.

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A few weeks passed. Leah's father left in search of John, and Leah was already taking classes at the academy, but she wasn't the same as before. She wasn't happy, she wasn't motivated, she was just... broken.

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A broken girl...

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No one was her friend, because she never approached anyone. She just wanted to be alone and without nothing bothering her. In fact, she was even planning on moving away soon into her own apartment in order to finally be able to stay alone.

Cybel tried her best to cheer her up, as well as her mother, but it was all useless. Every day, the young girl would just finish classes, grab some books from the library... and then go home for the day...

One day however, Amanda wanted to talk to her again. So she visited her brand new apartment, only to be ignored by her daughter who simply locked herself inside her room and laid on her bed while in complete silence.

"Leah... Leah, please..." Amanda muttered from outside. "I just wanna talk, that's all"

Leah remained silent.

"Ok. Since you don't wanna let me in, I can talk from outside. You just... hear me, ok? I know how much John meant to you, and I know it was a very special day. You had finally entered the academy and became a trainee. You were... a step closer to your dream. But just because our family isn't exactly together anymore, it doesn't mean we can't be happy" Amanda was clearly trying her best to make her daughter come out, though it seemed useless. "We've been through a lot, but living in isolation is not the best solution. Please, I beg you..." A few tears fell down from Amanda's cheeks at that moment. "Just... Just try to be the cheerful little girl you used to be"

Leah was still silent, but her mother didn't want to give up. And so, she said one last thing before finally leaving her for good...

A set of words that would be very important later... and that would predict her dear daughter's bright future in a certain way...

"Leah, I know it's hard for you... And I can't blame you for trying to avoid everyone and everything, but remember my words. I'm sure that one day you'll meet someone... Someone that will change your life forever... and will be important to you"

Leah still didn't bother to answer, but these last words certainly stayed inside her head for good.

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Meanwhile, somewhere else in the vast wasteland of Old Russia, a blue-haired boy wearing some junky-looking and dirty clothes was sitting on a rock while staring at the beautiful wide sky. Whoever he was, his path would soon tangle with Leah's, and a new chapter in both of their lives would begin.

Then, everything turned white...

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Everything was white and it remained like that for quite a long time. But then, some minutes later, Leah woke up again inside a cave. It was night already, and she had just experienced a terrible nightmare. Or to be more precise... a reminder of how her life changed for the worst.

She then noticed some bandages in her head and something else covering her. It was Ravi's coat. The bluenette was sleeping right next to her, but he also gave her his coat in order to use as a blanket and keep her warm.

Leah obviously didn't know what exactly happened or how she ended up in such dirty cavern to begin with... BUT... she was too tired to even worry about that at that moment.

And as such, she decided to rest for now and ask everything later...

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The next morning, Leah got up and saw Ravi already awake while getting ready to leave. Cybel and Wire however were still turned off, leaning at one side of the cave. And it didn't seem as if they were going to wake up anytime soon.

Then, Ravi finally noticed his dear friend was conscious once again. "Leah!" he yelled and immediately approached the human girl with a greatly relieved expression. "Are you feeling better? You took one hell of a hit"

"M-my head hurts a bit, but I'll be okay... I think" Leah calmly replied. "What exactly happened anyway? I remember confronting that giant Hive knight and then..."

"We managed to protect the array, but then you fell unconscious. I had to carry you out of that place, though we were too far from the ship. That's why I had to find a refuge"

"I see... so that's why we are in a cave"

"Yeah"

Just then, the girl remembered something else... She remembered how Ravi stepped forwards and kept her safe from that Hive monster by risking his own life. "You... you saved me, didn't you?"

"Huh?"

"If it wasn't for you, I would've been killed by that monster" She began feeling remorse. "I should be the one taking care of you. I was terrified and couldn't do a thing. You... You probably defeated that creature by yourself"

"What are you talking about? You really don't remember?"

"What?" Leah asked slightly puzzled.

"It's true that I saved you, but then YOU are the one who fought that monster. YOU were the one to defeat it. And I would've been the one to die if it wasn't for you. So, thank you once again... Leah!" the bluenette finally claimed with a smile.

On her side however, Leah widened her eyes in surprise since she really had no recollection of that at all. "Is that... Is that true?"

"Of course! You should've seen yourself! You were like a beast tamer!"

"B-but... It's... weird... I've never shown such strength before, and that Hive knight was really powerful"

"That's okay! That just means that you are even stronger than you think!" Ravi stood up and clenched his fist with determination. "It happened to both of us before, remember? I was able to beat the Fallen captain somehow. And then we were able to stand a fight against a more experienced guardian"

"Ravi..."

The young boy then kneeled once again in order to speak to Leah directly. "If you ask me, I'd say we are the perfect team... hehehe..."

Leah smiled slightly, and then she began thinking back to what her dear friend told her just before te fight...

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"You can count on me for anything"

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That was it for her, the human girl just couldn't take it anymore and so... she finally opened up and talked about the terrible burden inside of her.

"It has to do with my brother" she bluntly muttered while looking downwards and leaving Ravi all puzzled.

"Huh? Wh-what do you mean?

"The mistake. You wanna know about it, don't you? It's related to him"

Ravi got surprised at the fact of Leah having a sibling. "W-wait a sec! You have a brother?!"

"Yeah, I have. Now please don't interrupt me" the young added, a bit annoyed. "I'm trying hard to tell you this, so..."

"I see... Go ahead then"

"Well... When I was a kid, my brother would always play with me and protect me. We were really close, and he's also the reason why I decided to become a guardian in the first place"

"Your... brother?"

"As we grew up, we began to distance from each other to the point that I could barely see him due to his... guardian affairs. And then, he suddenly changed. The role model that he was for me... disappeared completely" Leah began crying inconsolably. "He... he hurt our mom! He fought our dad! And then he left!"

The blue-haired boy remained silent and in complete shock.

"That was a bit more than 2 months ago. And ever since then, my mother has tried her best to move on... and my father left in search of my brother... My family... My family has been torn apart!" the girl yelled between tears. "And I... I didn't know what to do! I trained, went to classes, did my homework! All while enduring this terrible pain inside me... But I can't... I can't do it anymore!"

Ravi still didn't know what to say. He just couldn't help but to keep staring at broken huntress with concern.

"One day, I finally snapped. I took my ship and flew as far as I could get. Cybel tagged along with me, but just because she refused to leave my side. I just wanted... I wanted..."

"Leah..."

"I WANTED TO STOP FEELING THIS PAIN!" She finally screamed while crying without control.

And yet... Ravi still didn't know how to react.

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Nonetheless, it was when Leah finished her story that a very interesting, funny and quite intriguing thought came into his mind... An idea that proves that there is always hope even the worst of tragedies.

"That day..." the bluenette began in a calm voice.

"Huh?" Leah replied while still sobbing.

"That was the same day your ship crashed, wasn't it?"

"Y-yeah" she then answered as she cleared her tears.

"I see. So enduring all that pain by yourself and running away was your mistake... right?"

Leah stared at Ravi with a bit of doubt. She had no idea was he trying to imply.

"Whenever something bad happens, it's really hard to focus on the good things"

"What... what do you mean?"

"I mean that your mistake wasn't as bad as you think" the bluenette stopped for a moment and then continued. "Because we were able to meet each other!" he finally claimed with a very big smile while holding the young girl's hands tightly

This las one on the other hand, was totally out of words. She never actually thought it that way, and it was true. She had been keeping that burden inside of her that whole time, but only because there was no one capable of making her smile again. If she hadn't left the city that day, at that exact time, she would've never met Ravi. They would've never become friends and form a team.

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She would still have no one to lean on...

Therefore, as the young huntress finally realized how lucky she had actually been for having met the cheerful, genius, childish, and a bit i***t boy in front of her; she jumped over him and hugged him as lovingly as she had never done before.

"L-Leah?" the lost boy asked with quite the startled expression.

"Thank you" the broken girl muttered between tears.

"Wh-what for?"

She then thought for a moment and finally said "For being my friend"

At any rate, Ravi didn't fully understand what was going on, but he certainly was happy that his dear partner was finally herself once again. And so, he hugged her back, and they both remained like that for a very long time before finally standing back up and getting ready to go home.