Dreams of an Absolution

"Let me take you head on into a mistake

you never thought you'd ever make like a crash.

You better pray you live to see another day

after the way I'm gonna punish your ass"

I Wanna Be Your Man (EndeverafteR "Kiss or Kill")


Dreams of an Absolution

Chapter 9

"Here I come, ready or not!" Blossom grinned and adjusted her stance on the limb of the bushy tree she was carefully tucked away in. Immediately below, Boomer turned away from the tree, looking around with wide-eyed excitement. He hurried off, leaving Blossom behind trying to stay quiet. Still, it was hard to keep a straight face. Her eyes glowed softly, keeping a close watch on the little blond boy. She had to time it just right, or he'd spot her for sure. Blossom bite her tongue, clutching the acorn in her hand tighter. With incredible accuracy, she threw the little nut through the branches, knocking it against the side of Boomer's head.

"Yeow! Hey! I saw that! I've got you now!" As planned, Boomer whipped around and started toward the tree. By the time he was peering up at the branches, Blossom was already gone, now hiding near the Merry-Go-Round. Blossom grinned and stifled a giggle. Her joy was cut short, realizing that she had been spotted. No, not by Boomer, but by one of his far less friendly brothers. Butch glared hard at Blossom from his place at the swing set. He kept pushing Bubbles, who swung and giggled happily, unaware of the glare her new best friend was sending toward her estranged sister.

'Don't look at me like that you...' She started to think, quickly perishing the thought. Blossom turned around again, only to see Boomer standing next to her. While Bubbles was thankfully oblivious to the situation, Boomer was not. He stared at his brother wearing a look...not befitting Boomer in the least. In fact, for a moment Blossom thought she was seeing things.

"Is he...do you want me to make him stop?" Blossom blinked, staring hard at Boomer. He didn't look at her, following his eyes she realized he was glaring at Butch. The green-eyed ruff was returning the glare, though, for some reason, he looked nervous. Blossom crossed her arms. Butch was more wary of Boomer?

"No it's okay...come on let's go somewhere else," Blossom grabbed Boomer's hand and the two walked away. She cautiously glanced up at the school building, spotting her room. For a moment, she caught sight of a pair of gleaming red eyes. Blossom blushed and grinned.

"What's wrong?" Blossom turned to Boomer, suddenly realizing that she was squeezing his hand. She just giggled and shook her head; Boomer smiled

"I was just thinking about someone," Boomer nodded, looking around cautiously. He leaned closer.

"You mean Aku?" He whispered. Blossom blushed bright red and nodded, giggling again.

"Uh huh...how did you know?" Boomer chuckled and scratched his head.

"Well uh...he's your teacher isn't he?" Blossom nodded. The two sat down on the pavement, leaning against the school house. Blossom leaned her head back, her hair falling over her face, shielding her questioning gaze from view.

"How did you know?" Through folds of bright orange hair, she saw Boomer's confused expression. The blue ruff shrugged and started scraping his foot across one of the chalk drawings on the pavement. Boomer had some kind of sick fascination with defacing artwork of any kind, Blossom noticed.

"I'm not supposed to?" Blossom shrugged, sitting up. She pulled her knees up to her chest and watched Boomer continue his prejudiced destruction of what was once a kitten-or possibly a puppy, whoever the artist was, she didn't have a very good grasp on...drawing-with a bemused smirk.

"No one but me noticed before. I thought it was a pretty good disguise," Boomer nodded, sitting back and yawning.

"I guess so," He said half-heartedly. Blossom bristled. Aku's disguise was brilliant, he had all of Townsville fooled. Then again...Townsville had never been the brightest community. Blossom settled down, her snarl slowly turning to a smile, which was eventually broken by a peal of giggles, which, in turn, became a burst of laughter. Boomer grabbed her shoulder. Seeing the concerned look on his face made Blossom laugh even harder.

"What?! What is it?!" Blossom wiped her eyes and tried to settle down. But the moment she caught sight of Boomer's expression, she lost control again. As the bell started to ring, Blossom was still wracked with laughter too strong to get off the ground. Boomer helped her to her feet and the two started toward the big metal doors.

"What's so funny?" Boomer asked again. Blossom giggled and sighed, giving Boomer a tight squeeze. Boomer paused, then returned the embrace. Blossom coughed, the air forced out of her.

"Ugh, sorry, it's not your fault, Boomer. The irony is just killing me," Realizing they had fallen behind, the two hurried inside. As they parted ways, Blossom heard Boomer calling back.

"What's that mean?!" She couldn't help losing it again, stifling wild giggles as she entered dear old Room A11-21. She waved cheerfully at Uka-sensei as she entered. Uka-sensei...he only glared back, his face partially hidden behind his laced fingers. Blossom paused, tilting her head in concern. Uka-sensei simply glared back.

"Take your seats, we have much to discuss," Blossom swallowed nervously, sitting down. She, again, tried to give Uka-sensei a smile, but he remained as stony-faced as ever. The bell rang once more. Silence fell over the classroom, even the most rebellious students too terrified to speak. Uka-sensei slowly climbed to his feet, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Though he leveled his fiery gaze on the class as a whole, Blossom knew that it was directed at her. She swallowed hard, her chest tightening violently. What had she done?

"So...this is the nature of the human specimen, is it not? Flee from those who express true power, cower in the embrace of the foolish and weak," Blossom blinked in confusion. She had no clue what he was talking about, which meant the rest of the class was completely lost. Uka-sensei snorted and began to stalk the front of the room, his head low, his hands fidgeting. One moment they were clasped behind his back, the next they were clenched at his sides.

"Miserable, pathetic creatures! You claim belonging to one, yet turn around and in an instant seek out refuge in the presence of another! Have you no spine? Have you no self control? Petty emotions! Pitiful flighty fancies of the heart! A wretched, tragic vessel, betraying the deepest of bonds, lying to the face of greater creatures without a single tear shed!" Blossom blinked, nearly screaming when Uka-sensei slammed his hands down on his desk, his blood red hair falling over his face. His red eyes, now glowing viciously, shined beneath the veil of crimson locks. One brave-in a world where bravery equated stupidity-student must have raised his hand, because Uka-sensei's penetrating snarl turned away from Blossom with snake-like speed.

"U...Uka-s...sensei...wh-what what do you...what is this a-about?" Normally, murmurs of agreement would follow. But even straining her super hearing, Blossom couldn't hear a single peep from the students behind her. Uka-sensei's expression, against any hinge of possibility, darkened deeper.

"And so it rears its head!" Everyone in the roomed jumped, a few of the more easily frightened children screamed as Uka-sensei's fist again hit the desk. There were several terror-stricken moans when he pulled his hand away, trickling splinters to the floor.

"The greatest ally of the human mind, pure, blissful ignorance! How fitting that you should ask, as if the nature of Uka's wisdom matters to one of such meager comprehension! You walk to the brink of death itself only to have pitiful humanity rear up and slap you in the face! The bloodiest of hearts means nothing to you, does it? Shake your head! Rattle the empty confines, and declare your deceitful ignorance before Uka! Spiteful, fragile meekling! Run, flee from me, seek out similar weaklings! Similar creatures of utter loathsome fragility and misery! Isn't that the nature of your bitter little brood? Is that not the world into which you were born?!" The room had fallen into unsteady silence again. Blossom swallowed hard, taking a chance to look around. Bubbles sat with wide eyes, trembling as Uka-sensei continued pacing the room. Buttercup...Buttercup had her eyes narrowed-she was looking for an excuse to fight Uka-sensei. Blossom sneered; Buttercup wouldn't stand a chance against Aku...not this time. Blossom steeled her nerves and slowly turned back to the front of the room.

"Uka-sensei," Uka-sensei's glare snapped around, his eyes glowing in the room-before she hadn't noticed that the lights were all off-as he took a sharp step toward her.

"What is it...child," Blossom shuddered; the class gasped at the sudden change in his voice. It was subtle, but she could see his form trembling. Aku was having trouble maintaining the disguise.

"What...are you upset about?" Uka-sensei growled and turned to the blackboard. The room filled with the smell of smoke. Blossom quickly covered her mouth. His eyebrows were burning, she could just barely see it. Uka-sensei clenched his fist, digging his fingers into the white board, streaking his nails through it, tearing it apart.

"Upset? Nothing has upset Uka, child. No, it is to be expected. Pitiful worthless humanity, it never fails to betray the truth, never fails to turn the master into the slave. Wretched facsimile, abomination in similar form! Pathetic...hateful...disgusting little fool!" Uka-sensei slammed his fist against the white board, snapping it in half. Both sides slid off the wall, clanging against the floor, revealing a devastating gash in the wall behind. Everyone sat in shocked silence. In fact, as the bell began to ring, no one moved. Uka-sensei pulled his hand from the gash in the wall and let it fall to his side. Blossom stared in horror, praying no one else saw the appendage. His hand had turned pitch black, his fingers had become vicious talons.

"What are you waiting for? Is that not the tone of your salvation? Are you not free to abandon this monstrosity?" Uka-sensei turned and glared at the class. His horns had changed, two more had grown from the back of his neck, the ones on his head had twisted to a far more familiar shape. His eyes were blazing, his eyebrows were smoking.

"Get...OUT!" His shout of fury seemed to break the spell over the class. The students poured out, shoving each other violently trying to escape the burning glare of their enraged instructor. Blossom sat in her seat, staring at him in horror; faintly, she heard her sister telling her to hurry, but she wasn't about to leave, not now. Uka-sensei stood up straight, his left hand clenching and unclenching rhythmically. The moment the last student left, the door slammed shut with a whirlwind fury. The windows slammed shut, and the room plunged into utter darkness. Uka-sensei's eyebrows exploded in towering flames, and his form warped, becoming a massive monster of darkness.

"What did I do!? Wh-why are you so mad?!" Blossom got out of her seat, only to nearly fall back as the monster advanced on her, appearing in front of her in an instant.

"Do not play ignorance with me! Do not insult my intelligence by insulting your own! You know what you've done, child! I've seen the way you look at him! I've seen the way you touch him, the way you laugh with him! Do not even dare to lie to Aku!" Blossom narrowed her eyes, hovering up to his eye level.

"What are you talking about!? Who?!" Aku snarled and crossed his arms. A foggy vision appeared in the darkness of the classroom. Blossom became even more confused looking at the figure depicted within.

"Boomer!? You think I...wait, do you think..." Blossom scratched her head, becoming more confused by the second. Aku snarled and swatted away the vision.

"Is this child not important to you?! Do you not enjoy his presence?! You do not even long for Aku in his company! With this...this...imbecile, you do not even think of Aku!" Blossom slapped her forehead and glared at Aku. He blinked in confusion, his eyebrows weakening in intensity. He'd never been faced with such a glare, at least not from the child he'd come to think of as his...companion. Blossom put her hands on her hips and continued glaring at him. Aku swallowed and deflated, becoming a more manageable size.

"W-Will you not speak, child? Do you have-" Blossom sighed and shook her head.

"I can't believe you, you really think that Boomer is more special to me than you are? Is that what you're getting at? Boomer is my friend, Aku...he's my best friend in the world. But you, you're something...more," She blushed and lowered her gaze. Aku gripped his now throbbing chest, empathy wreaking its toll on his body.

"Then what am I if not the most important friend to you?" Blossom sighed and rubbed her arm.

"You're my...my special person. Aku, you don't ever have to be jealous, okay? Look, Boomer...he knows about you. He knows that you're the one who makes me happy, and he's glad you came back! Don't worry, he's on our side, okay?" Aku crossed his arms, the searing pain in his heart slowly fading.

"I...will...remember this, Blossom..." Blossom smiled and giggled, looking around the classroom. His powers had been fluctuating more randomly than she'd previously noticed. A few corners of the room were on fire, probably from his eyebrows flaring up. Aku looked around and chuckled, stroking his beard.

"It would appear I overreacted...hm, perhaps there must be a first occurrence for all things in life," Blossom giggled, and shook her head. Aku overreacting was nothing knew...but she wasn't about to tell him that. She caught sight of the clock and sighed. She was going to be late to study with Boomer.

"Aku, I'm going to study with Boomer. We're just studying, okay? He needs my help to get his homework done," Aku frowned but nodded. Blossom smiled and gave him a tight hug.

"I will speak with you later tonight?" Blossom nodded and buried her face in his beard, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah...yeah I'll talk to you later. And don't worry...no one will ever replace you, okay?" Aku nodded, staring wistfully as she pried open the door-he had unintentionally welded it shut. She glanced back and gave him a parting wave and a smile. Aku sighed and waved in return. Blossom grinned and hurried away from the crime scene. She could already hear the tell-tale sound of Aku's minions appearing to put the room back together. Faintly, she wished she still had that kind of pull...that kind of power.