"Are you sure you can take it?", Ruffus asked his teammate.
"Yeah. Hit me hard as you can.", the boy replied. He had a blueish hair by his shoulder and blue eyes. He was a short guy.
"Leader. I can't do it.", the sand boy said to a girl.
"What's wrong, Gabriel and Ruffus?", she asked looking at the two of them. She was taller than the blue boy but a little short than the other one. Short black hair and dark eyes.
"He wants me to hit him with my powerful spell but I don't think he is going to endure it, Stephanie.", he explained.
"Just do it. I'll find another that can if he can't.", she responded and left them.
"Did you hear that?", Ruffus asked and the boy nodded. "You still want to do it?"
"You got me.", he thought a little. "Lets increase little by little till I can't support then."
"That's better.", the sand boy said and started to prepare his attacks. For starters a ten percentage was a good choice to begin so he planned his attack accordingly.
He was using simple attack without mutating into crystal as would hurt the ally without doubt. The first landed and the boy couldn't handle it. Ruffus was in shock because till there he was unsure of his powers but now looking at it he was a lot stronger than the other students. Even tho he was a lot weak than Archer.
"Aren't you going to hold off?", Gabriel asked.
"I am.", he replied for the boy's surprise. "This is low as I'll go. You need to figure your way out of this.", he said and started to prepare his second attack.
"Lets go.", the boy took a shield from his back. He was going to be the party tanker by the looks.
Another attack was launched. Ruffus was cunning and used a curved attack to dodge the great defense. As the attack was about to avoid the shield it was attracted like a magnet to the defense. The shield boy smiled as he was able to take the attack.
"I'll start to increase the power.", Ruffus said and Gabriel agreed.
20%. Still was being stopped by the shield. 30%. The boy felt a little recoil from the impact. 40%. He was severely pushed back by the hit. 50%. The shield was took off by the impact.
"I need to calibrate. Keep it like the last one.", he said and Ruffus agreed even if he didn't understand all of the setence.
It was a steady progress on every attack the boy was better than the last. This started to bother Ruffus a little as he didn't know the boy's speciality and mutation. Then the 50% of power was nothing more than a little recoil again.
"Lets increase again.", Gabriel said.
60%. Still a little recoil. Ruffus thought that the boy learned to do the calibration thing while taking the consecutives attacks. So he was doing after each attack now. 70%. He was pushed back a lot but still with control. 80%. Only being pushed back. 90%. The shield was thrown away again.
"One moment.", the blue boy said.
"What is happening?", Ruffus said to himself. "How my power is looking less and less favorable on him?", he noticed that the leader approached and stopped talking to himself.
"How are you doing?", she asked.
"Pretty well. He is holding against 90% of my power already.", he explained.
"The boy is good but that's only thing what he can do with his powers.", Stephanie said. "Start changing the power percentage and keep attacking him after the hundred percent."
"Okay.", Ruffus didn't understand.
There are a lot of students on the South District that aren't talented when to come to powers but when to come to guts and strategy they are shiny diamonds. Archer was fortunate to awaken his system. But Stephanie didn't so she need to compensate it with her Intelligence.
"I'm ready. What the leader wanted?"
"I'll go 90% and 100% then I'll start keep attacking while changing the percentages."
"Oh okay. Lets go.", Gabriel smiled.
90%. Not even a flinch. 100%. A little recoil. So the real test began. A variety of attacks were showered against the boy. It was okay at first but then he started to take recoil from some of the attacks. That lasted a few seconds and his position was compromissed a lot by that but then from nowhere he started to charge and gain terrain against Ruffus.
"Enough.", Ruffus was changing his mindset but there was still a lot of pride on his chest.
He kept the percentages but changed the shape of the attacks from needles to balls. This was a great achievement as he felt good putting some hardship against his teammate. He grasped Gabriel's left leg by the floor. This broke the boy's concentration on his defense and a 40% went through his defense hitting him on the chest.
"Oh no.", he realized what he did and ran toward his training partner. "Are you okay?"
"A little hurt only."
A little? Ruffus couldn't believe. That was a clean hit. His defense was low and it connected into his chest. He must be lying but then he saw only a bruise on the boy's skin. The leader approached.
"So how was it, Gabriel?", she asked.
"I can do it, boss.", he replied.
"Good.", she looked at Ruffus. "You're out of the team, Ruffus."
"Why?", he was caught off guard.
"A few people of my team frequented the same school as you. I can't take the risk even if you are good as you shown us."
"And so you used me to train the boy?", he was getting angry and this gave everyone a chill on the back.
"Yeah.", she replied while looking at her whole team.
"You're no good as a person as I was.", he said and started to left.
"What?", she looked at him. "Aren't you going to attack us?"
"Why? So you can justify all of this. You are too cunning but too short sighted. I'm in change and I don't want to start from the bottom again. So I'll take my leave, thanks.", he left the training ground of his former team. "I wonder if Archer would still accept me.", he sighed. "Oh man. I didn't see this coming at all."
"Have you truly changed?", another girl ran outside and shouted at him.
"No.", he replied and stopped to look at her. "At least not totally yet. I still commit mistakes. I still have a lot of things that get away of my control due to my previous mentality. But I'm getting better.", he finished with a smile but when he think on the last weeks. This was all because of Archer. Changing positions and looking at the other side of the bullying was enough to him.
"Are you happy?", she asked.
"Yes, a little.", he smiled at her. "Stop worrying about me, Miranda. I know how to makes thing better for me now.", he said that and left
"And about us?", she shouted one more time.
Ruffus had a girlfriend on his first year on the middle school and there she was, Miranda. They fought too much because of his behaviour. So they parted ways while still liking each other. She saw that he changed on this few weeks and gave him a opportunity on her team but she didn't expect this outcome.
"I don't know.", he gave some paces backwards and then turned to her. "What do you think about it?", it was more than two years already but because of this change of heart the pain he felt before increased as he saw how wrong was his doings and how much he hurt her on the process.
"It will take time.", she replied. "But I don't regret anything that we went through together."
He was a little shake because of her words. He returned to be near her and on the way started to use his sand power with crystalization. When he got close to her he put a crystal rose on her hand.
"I'll come to you whenever you need but I'm not worth of staying on your side yet.", he gave a long breath. "So. On a selfish request of mine. Will you wait for me to become the best version of me?"
"I fall for the selfish version of you. What I didn't expect was the cruelty that it could do to others.", he felt worse as he was hearing. "But. The selfish you are demonstrating on my front now are in anyway harmful to the others."
"What this means?", he wanted so bad to get together but he wanted to be someone reliable and not some guileful guy that take advantage from others as before.
"If you truly had a change of heart and are willing to show this off on every moment of your life from here foward. Breathing dignity on a daily basis. I'll sure will wait for that man. But if you in anyway try to be that guy you were before. It's better for we part ways definitely. How is going to be?"
"You can wait for me.", he said smiling while crying and as she saw this it was her time to do it so too.