"So it really happened again, huh?" Gray mumbled.
He had moved off the bed to sit on the floor with his back against it, casting looks at the messy wreck in his room. He glanced back down in his hand where he formed a sharp-edged, ice snowflake with his newly gifted cryokinetic powers.
Its bright glow had already begun to turn black, crawling up and into the blue ice crystals.
He slammed his hand down on the floor, an thin ice sheet quickly spreading from his fingers until it reached the door.
The black mixed with the blue, clashing together in the summoned glaze that snaked from beneath his hand across the ground.
He groaned and rested his face on the palm of his hand, squeezing his eyes shut.
Gaining another new power, that was inevitable, considering how long he had to channel his mind and energy directly in contact with Emrys' own power.
He didn't mean for that to happen, as it was such a pain in the ass for the new power to completely adjust with his other ones.
Hell, he could literally feel the impact of the different elements clashing with each other inside him right now.
I must've lost control of them during the night..., he said to himself. Otherwise, would the room be such ruins?
Jade and Emrys...they should've gone home yesterday, so they didn't witness anything, right?
His head throbbed as he dropped his arm and opened his eyes, only to see everything in front of him as a painful blur.
He clenched his jaw and lowered his head, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers as he tried to fight down the agony.
He was still so exhausted, due to his lack of rest and the cryokinetic core constantly using up his energy to fight against his other elements.
It wasn't long before he fell asleep again, this time while sitting on the floor.
_______________
Milo knocked on the door to Gray's apartment, holding a tray of food in his arms.
The door opened with a loud creak, and both he and Emrys glanced up at the broken hinge at the side of the door.
Milo scratched his head thoughtfully. "I think I can get my dad to fix that, later," he suggested. "Anyways, I brought breakfast!"
Emrys' eyes seem to light up just a bit as he opened the door wider for Milo to step inside.
Milo set the tray on the kitchen counter just as Jade stepped out of the bathroom, yawning. Her dark locks pooled at her shoulders as she tapped away on her cellphone, her expression serious.
She looked up with wide eyes at the moment her nose caught a whiff of food. She brightened immensely and rushed to the counter-side, her eyes twinkling. "Is this for us?" she asked excitedly.
Milo flashed a smile.
How cute.
"Yes," he said. "But I think it'd be a good idea if you leave some for Gray when he wakes up...again."
Jade and Emrys each reached for a fork and began to dig in, filling their empty stomachs.
Emrys glanced at Milo, who just sat there, scrolling through his cellphone. "What are you doing? Aren't you going to eat too?"
Milo glanced up and pushed up his glasses. "I already ate, so I'm just taking a look at my due dates."
"Oh. So do you-"
A few knocks on the front door interrupted their conversation, drawing their attention away from the table up to the entrance. "Milo?" a muffled, familiar voice called.
Emrys froze and Jade choked on her food, a coughing fit taking over. "Is that who I think it is?" she croaked, taking a huge gulp of water.
"Milo?" the man's voice asked again. "Your father said you were next door, so I came here to check."
Milo gave a sheepish laugh. "I'll go get it." He slid off the chair and went to the door. He opened it slowly, hoping it was someone else at the door. But when he looked out, the person he saw was none other than his former teacher, Mr. Kinoshi.
Man, it wasn't like he didn't like him or anything, Mr. Kinoshi was such a great person! But nothing can be more awkward than a student finding their teacher at their front doorstep.
"Milo, there you are!" his former teacher beamed up at him, as Milo was almost a whole head taller. "My, look how tall you've become! I see your hair has changed color again."
Milo laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ahaha...yeah...what brings you here, Mr. Kinoshi? D- don't you need to teach today? School started an hour ago..."
"Ehhh..." Mr. Kinoshi scratched his head and gave a light chuckle. "Actually I took a sick leave," he confessed. "I- I wanted to check on my students, er, Jade, and Emrys. Do you know where they live, perhaps?"
A loud clatter of dishes and the shuffling of feet broke into the conversation, and Milo turned his head to see Emrys and Jade trying to sneak into the next room with their food to hide from their teacher.
He twitched.
Milo turned back to face his teacher with a bright smile. "Actually, they're both here!" he announced. "Do you want to come inside, then?"
Mr. Kinoshi's eyes widened as Milo heard a yelp coming from Jade. "Really? Then I suppose I'll come inside. By the way, I thought you lived with your father...how come you have a place next door, instead?" he asked.
Milo stepped aside as he walked in, glancing around at the plain walls and the few contents of the apartment. "Actually, this place belongs to my neighbor. It's kind of a long story."
He led him right into the living room where Jade and Emrys both sat on the ground, their expressions petrified and jaws dropped.
"T- t- t- t- teacher," Jade stammered, pushing aside her food.
Emrys still had his fork halfway up to his mouth as Mr. Kinoshi went to sit right in front of them on the ground, unbothered by the lame condition of the apartment.
Milo flashed a grin as he sat down as well.
Mr. Kinoshi grunted as he saw that they were still eating breakfast. "Say, Emrys. Milo told me you got in an accident yesterday, over the phone. Are you feeling okay?" he asked. His eyes lingered on the bandaged still wrapped around his forehead.
"Uhh, yeah," he answered truthfully. His fork was back down on his plate, as he didn't have an appetite anymore. "I'm fine."
"Hmm." The teacher nodded. "I guess it was not as bad as I thought. You seem quite well."
Jade paled as Emrys quickly averted his eyes. "N- not as b- bad as you thought...," she uttered. "If only...you knew..."
"Huh?" the teacher said, confused. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."
Jade stiffened and looked away. "N- nothing!" she lied. "It was nothing!"
"Huh...I must be getting hearing problems," Mr. Kinoshi mumbled, rubbing his chin. Then he frowned and turned back to face Emrys. "That man that came to pick you up from school yesterday," he began suspiciously. "Who is he? Did he have anything to do with your injury?"
Milo straightened up. "Now wait a moment, before you jump to conclu-"
The teacher held up a hand for him to stop. He shook his head, his expression serious. "I want Emrys to answer my question."
Silence filled the room.
Mr. Kinoshi darted his eyes between his students. Then he lowered his eyes and rubbed his temples, clearly frustrated. "I take that silence as a yes," he said, disappointment in his voice. "I'm calling the authorities right now."
He dug out his cellphone from the back pocket of his pants as he said, "I don't understand why you are covering for him when he clearly is a bad person!"
"He is not!" Jade protested tightly, standing up to her feet. "Teacher, you don't understand! Mister Gray is a good person! He's the one that saved Emrys!"
He furrowed his brows, unbelieving. "What? How can I believe that-"
Emrys took the chance to seize the phone from his teacher's hands, gaining himself a look of shock from Mr. Kinoshi. "Sir, I know that was rude of me just now, but I can't let you call the cops," he insisted. "There are some things that normal people wouldn't understand-"
"You guys are...still here?" a weary voice interrupted.
All four of them whirled around to see Gray standing a few feet behind them with his arm against the wall to hold himself up. He had managed to change into a new hoodie and pants, but that didn't change the fact that he still didn't look so well, especially with the dark circles under his eyes.
Emrys straightened and took in a sharp breath. "Gray!" The questions he wanted to ask him so bad started to flood into his mind again, urging for answers.
"Mister Gray!" Jade exclaimed, rushing to his side. "Mister Gray, are you feeling better?"
Gray made a face. "...no," he strained, and anyone could tell he wasn't lying. "But I'll be fine...soon."
Emrys got up on his feet, concerned. "Why? What's wrong?"
Gray's eyes flew to his, and a smile crawled onto his lips. "Ah, so it worked quite well. You seem completely healed." He tapped on his forehead, mentioning at the bandage around Emrys' head. "You probably won't even need that."
Mr. Kinoshi pointed a shaking finger at him, his eyes wide. "It's you! Why are you here?" His expression was mixed with astonishment and skepticism.
Gray raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself. "Me? This is my apartment. I should be the one asking..."
"Wha-"
Milo pursed his lips and stood up before the teacher could say anything more. "Gray, I brought some food over, do you want some?"
His hand went to hold his stomach, and he turned his head to the kitchen to see a breakfast waiting for him. "Oh...yeah," he mumbled.
He turned around unsteadily and faltered, making everyone jump, but caught himself by slamming his hand against the corner of the wall. "Haha...oops," he said underneath his breath. He slowly walked into the kitchen as if nothing happened and sat down on one of the stools.
Emrys and the others stared at the wall where Gray's hand had touched. Maybe Gray didn't notice, but a huge sheet of ice shot from the corner and spread up to the ceiling and down to the floor and across the wall.
The edges were spiked, and it continued to spread, though slowly.
Jade turned her head and looked at Emrys, who had his jaw dropped in horror.
The strange part now wasn't only the question of how Gray was able to use his powers. Whether he managed to copy it or learn it or whatever, it still looked and felt more powerful and stronger than his own cryokinetic abilities.
And it wasn't crisp and blue like his own...
...it was black.