"A child? Pff. Hahaha! You're just a kid! Go back to sucking on your mommy's tits!" Zi mocked Kaito's youthful appearance.
"I wouldn't consider 13 a kid. But, that aside you have until the count of three." Kaito was getting impatient.
"13? Hahaha! Your dick isn't even fully developed yet. How can I be equal to you?!" Zi laughed uncontrollably and didn't take Kaito seriously.
"One." Kaito had begun counting
"I certainly didn't expect an irregular to be in this class." Lina was intrigued by Kaito.
Irregulars are young geniuses under 16 attending the academy. Compared to typical 16-year-olds, they're not as grown, making them weaker.
Irregulars grow stronger-faster than the average 16 years old. But they can't acquire their Martial art style until 16, putting them at a massive disadvantage. Their graduates are the strongest Martial artist in Grand and Sky city. But, they go through many hardships in school.
"Irregulars usually attend regular classes. Why's there's one in the genius class?" Lina wondered.
"Two."
Zi continued laughing at Kaito's face.
"Three."
Kaito tightly clenched his fist, going for a direct jab at Zi's face. In a flash, the principal appeared in front of Kaito, blocking his punch with one finger. "Pow"
The principal's appearance stunned the class and teachers.
"Now, now, Kaito. Don't go causing trouble on the first day." Said the principal.
"He took my hat!" Kaito's face showed annoyance.
The principal turned around and gave Zi a quick and petrifying glare. Zi felt like he was staring at inevitable death.
"Can I have that hat?" The principal's mood quickly shifted to a kind one.
"Hello?" the principal waved his hand across Zi's face, but he was completely unresponsive.
"Ugh... what's that awful smell?" Kon smelled a pungent odor.
"Oh... he soiled himself. I took things too far. Oopsie."
The principal gave Kon back his sunhat and comforted the crying Sandra.
"Hey, little girl, it'll be fine. I know that bully Kaito is harsh sometimes, but I assure you he's truly a Kind Kid. Try to get along, okay?" The principal's smile stopped Sandra's crying.
"And, Kaito, can you please try and get along with your teammates too?" The principal acted cutesily to convince Kaito.
"Okay, I will. Please stop trying to act cute! I'm about to throw up!"
Oscar called out to the principal.
"Eh... What is it, Oscar?" The principal responded
"Sir, why'd you stop the fight? You've never done this before." Oscar was stunned that the principal intervened in a fight between students.
"... I didn't want someone to die."
"Sir, what do you mean?"
"You'll find out soon. But, this kid is starting to smell." The foul odor coming from the unconscious Zi spread throughout the classroom.
"Ah, That reeks!" Kaito pinched his nose to stop smelling the feces.
"Kaito! Since you were the one that caused me to intervene, go take him to the nurse's office!" The principal vanished after commanding Kaito.
"Hey! You old geezer."
"Kaito, hurry and take him to the nurse." Oscar command.
"Um... I can help you." Sandra assisted Kaito, carrying the unconscious Zi.
The teachers hastily ran around the classroom, spraying perfume to extinguish the foul odor.
As Sandra and Kaito carried Zi to the classroom, Kaito was determined to find out why Sandra would let Zi disrespect her.
"Hey, why do you let him mistreat you?" Kaito asked
Sandra stopped in the middle of the halls and told him about her past.
"I've known Zi for 11 years. And, I've bullied him for eight of those years. My family used to be one of the strongest households, but we've declined over the decade. And Zi's family became a part of the zodiac household, surpassing our ranking. My cancer household is now ranked 13th and steadily declining. We have to rely on Zi's Ophiuchus house for our position. If I don't listen to Zi, his house will stop supporting ours."
Sandra teared up as she told Kon about her life.
"I know I'm a horrible person for trying to escape my punishment. ...But I don't want to continue living like this. I hate myself for mistreating others when I had power! And, I hate myself for wanting to run away!"
Tears slowly fell from Sandra's face, and her voice was shaky.
Kaito hearing the sincerity in Sandra's voice took pity on her.
"Stop crying! It doesn't solve anything."
"Be more selfish! What's a couple of short years of hardships for a lifetime of happiness!?" Kaito's words invoked mixed feelings in Sandra. She had wanted her family not to suffer, but she also didn't want to suffer.
Sandra, hearing Kaito's words, stopped crying and thanked him.
"You know… you're oddly mature for your age." Sandra stated
"Haha… it's nothing; I stole the lines from someone else."
Meanwhile in class
"Alright, since the foul odor's gone, the class can start." Oscar announced
While lectures were happening, Nacht was in deep thought.
"Why did dad care so much about that kid Kaito? I have to ask him myself after school."
Ding-Ding-Ding
As the bell rang, the students headed to their next class.
Kon's next class is open combat practice.
"Woah! This arena is awesome!" Kon said, exploring the stadium.
"The arena is big enough to fill 10,000 people! And I'm your instructor!" A loud voice came from above; a feminine figure stood on the arena's edges; the woman did a front flip heading towards the arena's stage.
The woman did a superhero landing. "Ha. The students must be thinking I'm so cool." The woman thought.
In actuality, they were confused by why she kept posing after jumping down.
"Why are they not praising me?! I'm posing so they can praise me. I thought kids loved superheroes!" The instructor blushed.
"Wow! That entrance was super cool!" Kon said
The instructor had a giant smile on her face. "I'm glad you see my greatness! Unlike others." The instructor glanced at the other students in the arena, and they averted their eyes.
"Anyways, I'm Emilia West Balad donordilhito VII; I'm the instructor for the combat class."
"Crap, that's long!" Kon thought to himself.
"But, call me Emilia sensei."
"Today, we're going to be awakening our Style." When Emilia announced their class activity, the students roared in excitement.
"Man, I can't wait to discover my style!" "Same here, dude!" The students chattered in excitement.
"Sis! It's finally time! All that grueling training we did with grandpa was for today." Excitement and happiness were immediately exposed on Kon's face.
"Yeah, all that training for today... That damn geezer! He's merciless even to his own grandchildren! Running 10 miles a day at six years old; Carrying boulders for miles at ten years old; Beaten to near death at 14 years old! I'm getting revenge, geezer!" Lina became infuriated thinking about the harsh training she endured.
"Sensei! ...I got it!" A cute voice called out to Emilia.
"Just on time, Mary."
"KYAAH!"
As Mary ran towards Emilia, Mary tripped over the large bag she was carrying.
"MARYYY!" Emilia rushed over to Mary's side.
"Are you okay?!"
"Yes, sensei." Mary replied with blood dripping down her nose.
Seeing Mary with a bloody nose, Emilia tried to convince her to see the nurse.
Sucking noise
Mary sucked the blood falling from her nose back up.
"I'm fine." Mary assured Emilia.
"Oh... Okay..." Said Emilia.
Mary and Emilia then handed out the crystals stored in the bag.
"Before we start, does anyone know what a Martial Style is?" Emilia asked.
"Emilia sensei, a Martial Style is a power you are born with; martial artists use this power to protect the people of Grand and Sky city or become adventurers." A student in the crowd responded.
"Correct, now how many types of Martial styles are there?" Emilia continued asking.
"There are two types of power, natural and arcane; each type has a range, close, or enchantment style. Most people master only one style because the burden of learning more is too high for the average martial artist."
The student continues, "Natural power consists of six elements: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, and Darkness. Most martial artists awaken these powers. But arcane powers are much rarer. And they are powers based off of the elements."
"Good! Let's begin the awakening now!" Emilia announced
"Channel at least 50 percent of your Ki into the crystal." Emilia instructed. "Some of you may need to channel, even more, don't stop!" Emilia tried to encourage the struggling students.
Most of the students had started to tremble, their legs became noodle-like, their shoulders slouched forward, and they breathed heavily.
Since Ki is life energy, exhausting it also exhausts the physical body.
Slowly, the crystals started lighting up and eventually enveloped the students in white light.
Kon engulfed by the light suddenly appeared in a dark space. There he spots an anorexic old man sitting peacefully at the only lit spot in the room.
"Who are you?" Kon asked the old man
"So I've reincarnated inside a body with another soul." The old man chuckled
"What did you say? I can't hear you; let me come closer." As Kon approached the old man, a black fire surrounded him.
"Waah! What is this?!"
The old man then lifted his and opened his eyes; both eyes were nothing but empty black holes, and he directly looked at Kon's eyes.
As both their eyes were locked, the black flames engulfed Kon.
"Waaahhh!" Kon cried in agony.
The pain shocked him back to reality.
"Hey, are you okay?" Lina asked Kon, who was profusely sweating and breathing heavily.
"Y-Yeah." Kon replied.
"What the hell was that? Is that how every awakening is like?" Kon thought to himself
"How was your awakening, Lil sis?" Kon asked Lina
"It... was... good... are you sure you're fine?" Lina asked
"I'm fine."
Emilia sensei observed the class to see who was still strong enough to stand upright. All the students awakened, but most of them are entirely exhausted.
Emilia sensei called out to Kaito, the only person in the class to not have awakened anything because of his age. And Lina, the only other person in class able to properly stand up.
"I want you two to spar. Since Lina exhausted her Ki, she should be weaker than you, Kaito. She'll have to use her new power to be equally matched." Emilia instructed the class to observe their fight and study what authentic martial arts look like.
A fighter without supernatural powers is not considered to be a true martial artist.
The two got on stage and stood in fighting stances.
"Don't hold back!" Said Lina in a masculine tone
"Your tone sure switched quickly, tomboy!" Kaito provokingly teased Lina.
"Haha, he's done it. Lina hate's being considered manly." Kon muttered.
Lina dashed towards Kaito and thrusts her palm at him. Kaito moves to dodge her, then consecutive flurries of palm and elbow strikes were aimed at him.
As Lina tried to strike him, he grabbed her arm and used her own momentum to swing her off the stage. About to fall off, Lina mustered up her Ki and created a small distortion in space, causing her to freeze in midair.
"Few. That was close."
"What the hell is that?!" Kaito said in shock.
"A new arcane martial artist. She manipulated her environment; what type of power is that?" Emilia was amazed, and she had many questions brewing in her head.
'I know the twins are highly talented, but to awaken a new arcane style and use it the first time with ease, I didn't expect it. How interesting.' Emilia thought.
"I guess you're not just a pretty face." Kaito continued to tease Lina.
"SHUT UP! I don't want to hear it from you!" Lina rashly charged at Kaito.
Kaito saw an opening in Lina's attack and quickly used her momentum to throw her off stage. But, Lina once again was able to channel her Ki and stop herself from moving.
'Again!? How?!' Emilia thought.
As the battle continued, Kaito continued teasing Lina and tried to throw her off the stage multiple times. Still, she was able to keep herself inside it.
'Son of a bitch! I can't get her off!' Kaito continuously thought of strategies to win without physically hurting her. In the split moment, he was preoccupied with thoughts. And got kicked in the face. He flew off the stage and hit the wall.
"Woah!" applauses were heard throughout the crowd.
"Mary, go take Kaito to the infirmary."
Mary picked up the unconscious Kaito and put him on her back.
"Wait!" Lina called out
"Please let me take him to the infirmary."
Mary looked at Emilia sensei for answers.
Emilia nod yes. And Mary handed Kaito over to Lina.
When Lina carried Kaito into the nurse's office, she collapsed due to overexertion of her Ki.