The Spirit Within [Kasey]

She reluctantly followed his gesture and took her place beside him. She was distant from him, unsure of the circumstances involved. She never really, relaxed around other people, even if she trusted him, kinda.

She reached into the boxes of cereal and grabbed a handful to feed herself, both boxes held in her left arm as her right fed herself. She watched the screen, trying to make up what the story was. She sat, her legs crossed as she sat atop them. Like a child in preschool. Criss-cross apple sauce. But she turned to the remote, still feeding herself, like an animal who was depraied of social activities.

"No thanks." she would say, crunching down on her new meal, "I never really watched it before, so I wouldn't know what to stop on, even if I did get a choice." she turned to the TV, watching the mummy. It was then that her analogy was presented to her.

"If the mummy wraps himself, is he stronger or weaker?" she asked. It was a weird thought, but it was irrelevant. "Anyways, I don't get it." she told him. "You've been busy the last day or so, so I didn't have the time to explain my quirk. Is now a good time or should we wait?"

And with another dive, her hand went into the second box to grab hold of another handful of her prey. And again, she would full herself of her meal.

She had been thinking about it for the past day or so. She had long planned how to explain her quirk, and the best explaination she could come up with, wasn't one at all. She would show him.

She grabbed her collar of her sweater and pulled it with her right hand. With it, from her shoulder a spike would slowly begin to rise from under her skin, stretching it until it tore. She would let go as it happened, only to reach out to more food as it unfolded.

"I could do more, but I don't want to make a mess." she would say, almost as if it was a normal thing to do in her life. But in truth, it probably was. How often did she sprout such a thing from herself?

The spike would expose her bone, tearing her flesh and leaving little blood. The wound itself was small, no more than an inch wide. It would be healed in the next day or week it would seem. The spiked end would begin to ball up, and grow sunken. It would shape and manifest into the form of a long animal -like skull with horns. It was a small thing, no bigger than a potato on the side of her neck. It looked almost frail.



"This is Setsuna. He is the spirit that lives in my body. Or well, my bones." she said it, like it was just another thing to say. In a world of quirks, it made it all seem a bit more normal, but how often did a quirk come at such a great cost?

"He has his own mind, as long as he is like this. If someone broke him off, he would return to me, but his skull would be left behind." she would say to him, a bit unsure of how it all worked. "He normally sees through my eyes, but like this he can see through his own."

That made sense. She explained it, mostly for her to hear. It wasn't an extension of his mind, but his eyes. If he was removed, he would only be blinded for the moment, as he mind still resided in Kasey. Yes. . . that was it.

". . . I guess that's kinda all I wanted to say for now." she spoke again, a bit confused. It wasn't often she talked with people.

Without any vocal chords, he was unable to speak, at least in his current state. Anything he said, would be said to Kasey would would have to repeat it to the man. But perhaps in time it would change.

The both of them watched as she called upon his quirk, which seemed to work as a spiritual summon. Kasey felt like she had seen something like it before, but couldn't remember it. Perhaps it was from her past. It begun to pry at her until Setsuna spoke to her.

"It seems as if you have chosen someone suited for you." the creature would speak to her.

"Maybe he can teach us how to use your full powers."

"That creature is docile, to unleash me, is to acknowledge my recklessness."

"Well, you could like... behave?"

"Ha!"

She stared at the creature. Wondering what to make of it. Was it her place to expose her own weakness? No, but then again he already knew the toll it took on her. She figured the more he learned abut all quirks, the better suited he would be to fight. And the stronger he was, the more she could get done. After all, the less criminals in her way, meant her jobs would be easier, and less likely to go down in flames, almost literally.

"I have to concentrate Setsuna's power. If I let him roam free, I'd probably end up just half a torso again. Is Goliath reckless too?" She understood what a spirit quirk meant, but she wanted to know more. "If I let him use all of his power, instead of in small leaks, I'd have too much power that I wouldn't be able to handle. For, well all morning I was just in my room, making small things, trying to get a hold of his power. If I used it all at once, my stuff would be too big and would leave me too wounded." She tried to explain, but perhaps she would end up confusing him instead.

Kasey listened, a bit curious and confused. Perhaps even a little disgusted. The little skull on the her shoulder begun to laugh, though he made no sound. Instead his jaw kept clicking as it hit his skull. The sound getting as annoying as the one in her head.

"Ha! Don't you remember?" Setsuna asked, her, laughing at her reaction to Goliath eating others.

"We didn't watch anyone eat anyone before?" she was confused.

"The men to tortured us. You burned the building, turned them all crispy. You were lost, so I took control. We ate them. The blood you were covered in wasn't yours, it was theirs." he continued to laugh, until she reached up to hold his mouth shut.

"Goliath seems tamed compared to Setsuna." she said finally, "The only reason he listens now is because if he splits off again, he has no taste buds. He can't get his food if he's not connected to me." She side eyed the skull in her hand before letting go of him to look around the room. Her hand dug into the box of cereal again, feeding the two of them.

"My only control over him is my stomach. Anytime he misbehaves I just eat garbage, which I'm used to, because I-" she stopped herself from continuing. ". . . Can Goliath roam freely, or does he also have leash to you?" She looked at Setsuna, wondering. "I don't think Setsuna really needs me, other than for the fact he needs me to eat to get him energy. Without me, he can't grow or change shape. Without me, we're both just regular mortals."

She pondered his words. To strike fear in Setsuna? That seemed to be impossible. They weren't a master and servant relationship. Goliath could only exist around his master, G. G could destroy him, and it would serve him no disadvantage. Kasey on the other hand was in a totally different case. Her spirit resided in her body. He allowed her the gift of protection, allowing her to be strong, when she could not bear it herself. She was not able to lead with fear, but instead, respect.

How does a king lead, when his people fear him no longer?

"Even if you destroyed your bones, as long as you live, I live. I have no reason to cause you harm or death. But I can make you hurt."

"And I can banish cereal from my diet and begin eating stale bread again."

" . . . Fair point. I concede."

She reached up to the skull and tapped it, it's head twisting to the side, looking up at her. It was then that he grew, almost crawling out of her skin. He would make his own body, a hollow rib cage and what looked like a twig for arms. He didn't even make hands. A foot was conjured to perch on her shoulder, while his other leg remained bonded to her body. He was like a little bird, only if he took flight, he would turn into an inanimate object, for now at least.

Kasey knew her power was unrefined and uncontrollable. However, the control was not if she could tame it, but confine it. She needed to control how she used it, and not the power itself. There was no way to turn down the intensity, she just had to figure how to direct it.

"I see." she would say, "Well, then I guess that's it?" she was confused as what else was to be said. She had to at least surpass his skill. For now, being able to maintain his power at a longer range seemed to be the better option. She would find out her own recovery another day. After all, everything came in stages. "I just gotta find a way to control his power then."

Beer. Oh how she wished he got her one.

As he got up she moved to where he motioned for her to go, only to have him return with a nice cold brew. She had removed Setsuna's perch from her shoulder, putting the bone creation on the table. As it was, he was no longer residing within, and returned to his state. She would pull her sweater back over her shoulder.

"Setsuna makes me happy." she would say, staring at the floor. "Wherever I cam from, they must have thrown me out. He won't tell me what happened, and I don't think he remembers much either. No one ever talked to be, besides him." she spoke, trying to understand her own life, and wants. "I never had time for hobbies, I was just trying to survive. I don't really have friends either. I mean I had the plants, but they all died, and they don't make good conversation."

She wondered about it all, thinking about how much of her life, was her own, and not just a product of survival instincts. Setsuna had helped her, as it helped him. And she would aid him, as he would aid her. As long as one could succeed, so could the other.

"Sorry I'm I killing your mood Mista Gee." she apologized, fully knowing her story was never one to lighten a mood. "You've kinda been the closest thing I have to family I've had."