“Who are you talking to, Tyler?” the teacher asked, before Ren-Shai glanced over at her.

  “Just an annoying Crow,” Ren-Shai said, before he noticed Anna hobbling toward him - and the empty desk next to him. As she hobbled, the end of her crutch hit a wet spot on the tile floor and slipped. With a sigh, Ren-Shai saw everything as if it were moving in slow motion. As she fell, his left hand snapped out as his right foot mirrored the action. Had it been the week before, his five year old body could never have managed such fine-tuned movements.

  “Ah-!” Anna’s voice began, before the desk beside Ren-Shai slipped across the floor, catching her fall into the seat of it - much to the stares of all his classmates. Anna took a few deep breaths - mostly from being terrified and from hobbling as quickly as she did. “It really is you… the hero who saved me!” she said. The rest of the class kept their eyes on him.

  “I’m not a hero,” Ren-Shai said quickly. “That would mean I cared enough to save people,” he commented.

  “You saved me just now though,” Anna said, seeming confused.

  “If that damnable Crow hadn’t cursed you, it wouldn’t be my responsibility,” Ren-Shai retorted.

  “Tyler! Corner! Now!” The teacher shouted. “You know you can’t use that language in class!” she exclaimed. It wasn’t that she wasn’t surprised with what Tyler had done, but she still had to keep control over her classroom. Without a fight, Ren-Shai stood up and walked to the corner. He leaned his back into it, tapping his fingers against the concrete wall.

  “Do you mind explaining why these centers of education are designed more like prisons than where you would want to raise your own offspring, Educator?” Ren-Shai asked. The class laughed at him using big words - five year olds would think he was just trying to show off. Unfortunately for the teacher, Tyler’s parents had called ahead and had Doctor Sullivan confirm the odd event. While the principals and teachers were aware of the fact Tyler’s head trauma caused an increase in intellect to the point where he was, likely, smarter than most adults - they didn’t believe it.

  “... No. No, I cannot,” the teacher said. “And you know to call me Ms. Ascher,” she said. “Ten more minutes in the corner.”

  “As you desire,” Ren-Shai replied, closing his eyes. A student moved to throw a paper ball at him to make fun of him further. He deflected it with a single finger. The teacher and the student were both speechless. A five year old was acting more mature than some grown men than Ascher had met - not to mention the fact he had deflected something thrown at him without looking.

  Ren-Shai stood in the corner for the remainder of homeroom class. Fortunately for him, he was quite some distance from Anna. That meant not answering dumb questions from a five year old or potentially getting slapped for hurting her. Neither of which Ren-Shai wanted to deal with. Regardless, that was exactly what she was going to try to do when the bell rang and the class left homeroom to go to their English class.

  Ren-Shai would have walked to the door and left her hobbling after him - as avoiding her was the most direct solution. Unfortunately, he had to walk back to his desk and pick up his backpack. Where Anna was waiting and staring at him with wide eyes, like she had seen her favorite celebrity.

  “You’re Tyler?” she asked. “The doctors said you fixed my leg better than they could,” she said, looking at the floor. “How were you super hero strong? They said they would have to use big machines to do what you did,” she said.

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  “Ren-Shai,” he replied. “Call me Ren-Shai. I just did what I wanted to. I did a lot of damage to this body, but it mended completely. I’m much stronger than that now,” he said. The big words caused Anna’s eyes to blank out as she couldn’t understand him. Anna did try, though.

  “Why do you want me to call you Chinese?” she asked. Ren-Shai actually blushed at that, much like how he thought his brothers would have laughed at him for the poses he’d need to demonstrate his power.

  “That… is a long story,” Ren-Shai said, letting out an involuntary laugh. Human chemicals were strange, but he could appreciate the irony of one of his creations coming back to haunt him. “It’s not Chinese,” he explained as he offered her a hand out of her desk. Ren-Shai led her out of the classroom.

  “Then what is it?” she asked.

  “Well, a long time ago, I created a creature that you’d call a dragon to help guide the realm of Luck. Some proto-type. Long and such. When humans were born, he taught them many things. Bits of the gods’ language ended up in various Asian dialects. Somewhere between Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and some dead variants, you’ll find the core of the language of the gods,” Ren-Shai said. Anna’s face still couldn’t comprehend it.

  “You, uh, tell big stories,” Anna said. “You can just say you like watching cartoons or something… you don’t have to lie to me,” she said, looking down sadly.

  “Anna. Take this as eternally as the sureness of life and death. I shall never utter falsehood to you, nor a single person. I only speak the truth. Lies are what deceivers and tricksters attempt to use, but no matter what someone does - they will never deceive Fate,” Ren-Shai said. Anna’s face had the expression that her brain was on the fritz.

  “You’re… really weird Ren,” Anna said. “But you saved me, so, I’ll, uh, try to get what you’re saying.”

  “Thank you for your attempt. I assure you that one day, it will make sense, Anna. I will not let the Crows take you before the end of your threads. They seek to undo my will and that is an insult I will take personally,” Ren-Shai said as he opened the door to their next classroom. Tyler’s friends waved at him enthusiastically. Their parents explained Tyler wouldn’t be the same, but five year olds would never understand it.

  “Tyler! We thought you were really, really hurt,” a brown-haired boy said. Ren-Shai remembered his name as being Will.

  “Yeah, we went and got your parents when you wouldn’t get up,” a blonde boy said. Ren-Shai remembered his name as being Aaron.

  “Why are you hanging out with that girl?” another brown-haired boy said. Ren-Shai remembered his name as being Christian.

  “In order of response,” Ren-Shai said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He really, really, didn’t want to talk to children. He’d have much rather been talking to Sullivan again. At least Sullivan could understand abstract concepts. “Tyler is dead. I am Ren-Shai. I am in his body,” he began. “Tyler never did wake up,” he added. “And because she is someone I helped almost a week ago. Needless to say, beings of Death and I’s creation are attempting to cause havoc in her life, so, I’m standing as a sentinel until they stop,” he explained.

  Telling five year olds those kinds of things resulted in several reactions. Instantly, Tyler’s friends felt disconnected from him. Everything from how Ren-Shai spoke, moved, and acted was like an entirely new person was there. Children had instincts - all of their instincts were telling them that whoever was in front of them was not their friend.

  “My dad wasn’t joking… you really did get hurt,” Will said, looking down. “I’m really, really sorry for daring you to climb the jungle gym.”

  “You are forgiven. I am sure the child’s soul harbors you no ill-will,” Ren-Shai replied. “Come on, then, Anna. Let’s get you a seat that won’t hurt your leg,” he said as he stepped into the English classroom with Anna and pulled a seat out for her, before sitting down himself.

  “T-Thank you?” Anna asked, seeming shocked that Ren-Shai could just ignore his friends as he did. Anna was wondering what was going on. The teacher stepped in. Ren-Shai’s eyes narrowed as his extra senses kicked in - his precognition.

  “Hello, class, I am Ms. Teressa Fiddler. I am your new English teacher, I’m looking forward to getting to know you all,” an unnaturally beautiful, blonde woman stated, fluttering her sapphire blue eyes - where they came to rest on Ren-Shai.

  Ren-Shai’s eyes locked onto the woman. Instead of seeing a blonde-haired, motherly figure like the rest of the students in front of him - he saw a hooded skeleton smiling wickedly at him… looking at him directly as the guise it was under looked at everyone else.

  [Hello, Anomaly,] it said, speaking to senses that only Ren-Shai would be able to have if he were a lesser god like it was. Sometimes their actions in the world required them to take a guise to maintain order. The Reaper definitely wanted to see the anomaly for itself. What better way to study it than to meet it?

  “Hello, Fiddler on the Green,” Ren-Shai said, stating the being’s name openly, since human tongues couldn’t communicate in the senses of gods.

  “Just Ms. Fiddler,” the guise said, smiling kindly - while the skeleton’s grin turned even more wicked. [I look so forward to getting to know you and why that little rodent girl was important enough to interrupt the natural order.] the lesser god’s voice said with a hint of malice.