Chapter 7: Zetsa's Inner Spirit Formation

Eight months ago.

Under the covers of his bed the small figure of eight years old Zax could be made as he lay, bitter. He was angry with his mom, angry with his dad, resentful toward Mr. Ogler, cursed half the kids in his school and hated himself. It was the outcome of a typical bad day for Zax, and he was currently grounded for fighting.

Waiting to Dane with Serah near the school's gate at the end of the school day, to go back home together, four third graders passed them by with bored expressions. One of the four third graders noticed Zax and a grin spread across his face.

To not go into too many details as to why, the third grader called: "Earth's Core Freak, how about you stop showing off at P.E. My little brother says that you annoy everyone. You are not your sister, so please just stay Earth's Core freak, Earth's Core Freak".

Not much of an insult but enough to tick off eight years old Zax. He did not mind when his friend used the stupid nickname but was sick and tired of others using it to taunt him and more than anything hated to be compared to his big sister!

Hence, he beat up the third grader, and then he beat up the other three third graders when they intervened.

Not too far away from the scene of the brawl, it was Mr. Ogler's turn to be on gate duty. Having to wait for the last kid to leave school before he or she could lock it and finish another day of work was a pain to every teacher. So when Mr. Ogler heard shouts and saw Zax leaning over some kid and punching him in the face while three other kids lying on the ground, one bleeding from his nose, two grabbing their groin in pain, it did not matter who started it, just who seemed to be the victim.

Mr. Ogler of course did not listen; he had zero tolerance for violence. He grabbed Zax by the collar of his shirt, yanked him off from the beaten kid and took him to the secretariat of the school to call his parents.

It ended with Zax's mom coming from work to apologize for her child behavior and pick him up from school. Later, when his father got back home from work, he only scolded his son. As lenient as he was, he did not want some angry parent to sue his family because of hospital bills. He had to deal with this kind of troubles when his daughter was young and could not afford to repeat it. Obviously, today he can use her name once and others will have to give him face. But to exploit his daughter's name because of a kids quarrel, how could he?

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Pause...

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Pause...

After six knocks the person behind the door lost patience and entered. "Will you ignore your sister, little Zi?" The voice that followed the young beautiful woman in said jokingly.

To answer, Zax held tight the covers above his head and from beneath them he yelled: "Go away!"

"Oh ... So you are angry with me too?" Zetsa grabbed the other side of the blanket and pulled till Zax lost his grip and could not hide himself anymore. Zax face was red and his eyes were teary. "Mom told me that you were in a fight, again, this time hurting four boys. Is that true?" She asked in a serene voice. Her brown hair reached to the end of her neck and now fell on her face as she looked down on her brother.

Unlike him or his parents, his big sister inherited their grandmother's, from their father side, clear blue eyes and olive skin tone. Since he was a baby Zax loved to stare at those eyes and in return those eyes always looked at him with love.

"Yes..." Zax slightly calmed down. Now he was a bit ashamed.

"Do you want to tell me why, or everything that happened is as your teacher told mom?"

"It's not". He allowed her to caress his face with the soft palm of her hand.

"Then tell me".

So he did. And she listened until he finished, not saying anything to interrupt.

"Amm ... Zax, what you always tell me that you want to be?" Using his first name was a sign that she asked seriously.

"A strong Mist User like you". He replied without hesitation.

"And on your path to becoming a strong Mist User like me, are you also planning to repeat my mistakes?" She did not ask him "Why you want to be a strong Mist User" on purpose. Growing in today society, almost every child dreams of becoming a strong Mist User. And children with strong individuals close to them tend to see them as role models, especially children like Zax with a bit of talent.

"Big sis never made a mistake. Otherwise you would not be as powerful as you are". Zax said decisively after thinking for a while.

"But I did, many in your age and even when I was older". Zetsa refrained from signing. Her younger self was not someone she loved to reminisce about. "I constantly gave troubles for mom and dad and was even thrown out of school".

"Everyone says that you were the most gifted person to ever been born in cave twenty five. I know how tough and great you were!"

"Tough, yes, great, not at all, and my talent", the talent that made Zax admire and envy her. "Made me distant from others and bored to the point of looking for fights everyday". She straightened her back and he got up to a sitting position while the both of them kept eye contact.

"Maybe if people noticed what was wrong with me, I would have been sent to a suitable environment for me and a lot of my wrongdoings were never to happen". Zetsa rested for a moment. At the time Zax was already siting on her lap.

"I changed, Zax, because of two things. The first was someone that saw me and something in me worth polishing. The other came a bit later, when I was eleven", She smiled gently and for the first time broke eye contact only to lean forward and kiss his forehead. "That was you, my precious little Zi".

Zax blushed and lowered his head. For the first three years of his life he was determined to one day marry his beautiful big sister and it took him three more years to fully differentiate between love and admiration. Nonetheless, Zetsa was remarkably beautiful and Zax, an eight years old boy, who got her undivided attention whenever he needed could not be anything other than submissive when she showed him such an affection.

"Zax", she turned to him with an offer on her mind. "For today and until Friday you will take the punishment mom and dad gave you and tomorrow you will apologize to the children you hurt-"

"But it wasn't my-" Zax burst.

"You used violence to solve a verbal conflict". She did not let him finish.

"So would you prefer that I'll curse at them instead of showing that I'm tough?" Zax was upset. Fighters in the Earth's Core's showdowns never used verbal insults; they got their respect from the fans by fighting fist to kick. Why should he be any different?

"Cursing is not the way to solve a verbal conflict, either, Zax". Zetsa's serious tone returned. The words she wanted to say were better put in a manner that Zax could not associate with the soft side she had for him. "The best way to solve a conflict is by using as little effort as possible. Ignoring the other side if their words or action cannot affect the flow of yours or your loved ones lives. Telling adults that someone is bothering you and let them handle it. You can even befriend the ones you don't get along with and influence them to be better to you and others".

Zetsa said and Zax listened.

"If I'll ignore they will pick on someone else. If I'll tell an adult everyone will laugh at me. And I don't want to be their friend!" In the end, an eight years old is an eight years old. Some lessons can only be learned through harsh experiences or if someone keeps drilling them to you.

Zetsa was prepared to Zax respond. She was his big sister and knew him well. And here was her idea; seeing as she did not want to expose him to the former solution, only one option remained.

"I have decided. I will teach and polish you, Zax". She put him on the bed and stood up. "You're always asking me to train you to be strong like me. I'm not a lot at home and cannot be there every step of the way, but if you're willing to do as I say without complaining or slacking off ... Fine, I'll agree. So? It's a deal?"

"Big sis will train me!" Zax was hooked the moment the word "Train" came up. His eyes sparkled and he became enthusiastic. He jumped from the bed calling. "It's a deal, it's a deal, it's a deal, big sis!"

"Of course, we will have to make an excuse for mom and dad. Let's tell them that we are working on a brother sister bonding project. Agree?"