Lee Seng slowed to a walk after a couple of minutes. He had mindlessly taken a wrong turn and ended up near the high school. He stopped and took a minute to catch his breath. The sounds of cars whizzed by. His gaze turned towards the left and the huge buildings caught his gaze. His chest and arm felt numb with the heaviness of his negative.
'So, you wanna see him or not?' Keng asked. Lee Seng had forgotten about Keng. There were few interactions between them since yesterday's incident.
"It's complicated." Lee Seng answered. His gaze was still focused on the huge buildings towards the left. Flashes of Jae and Jason chasing him rolled through his head before suddenly stopping. "Just like I can't remember what happened after I left that alleyway." Lee Seng pointed. He started his way towards the alleyway.
'What makes you think going to where you can't remember anything, will jog your memory?' Keng asked. Lee Seng shrugged.
"I don't know. Powers were nothing but a fantasy twenty-five years ago, so why can't I trigger anything near this alleyway?" Lee Seng reached the alleyway. He looked up at the metal side staircase going up the building. "I landed about there." He pointed. "And then I ran down towards this way." He retraced his steps back to where he was and turned around. "I came out around this corner and then... nothing."
He rounded the alleyway and started down the left path, going towards Akio.
'I guess your theory didn't work.' Keng said. 'Maybe in time it'll come to you.'
"I thought it might trigger something. I mean... I thought I'd be fine but I guess I wasn't." Lee Seng sighed.
'Time will reveal everything.'
Lee Seng nodded. He knew that only time would tell what would happen. Everything felt like it was going against him. His phone started to ring and he ignored it. The phone rang again and Lee Seng sighed, pulling his phone out with his stiffened arm and slipping it into his right hand, answering it.
"Hello?"
"Where are you? Valentin said Manny saw you leave ten minutes ago and I haven't seen you come this way. You okay?" Akio asked. Lee Seng nodded, not answering. "Did you nod?" Lee Seng let out a exasperated sigh.
"Yeah, I'm done. I got lost on my way back." Lee Seng answered. Akio let out a sigh of relief. Lee Seng could hear him finger drum away again.
"Well, hurry back. I got some good news for you." Akio said.
"Good news? I thought you were doing work."
"If you wanna know, then hurry your butt up!" Akio chuckled. The phone call ended and Lee Seng glanced at it before slipping his phone back into his pocket. The heaviness feeling in his chest and arm didn't feel quite the same as the last few times. He begrudgingly started his way back, ignoring the stiff pain.
Lee Seng saw the black car idling in the same exact parking spot. He walked up to the door and knocked in the window. The car doors unlocked and Lee Seng opened it and stepped in and sat.
"What did you wanna talk about?" Lee Seng asked shutting the door. Akio leaned over and grinned at Lee Seng.
"I made a couple calls." Akio started. "I double checked the entrance exam and It's still scheduled a couple weeks from now. So, I called Number 5 and asked if he could somehow pull some strings for you so you can at least get into the entrance exam.
"Five said he would only get you into the entrance exam, but won't do anything else. We want to use this opportunity to see if you're serious about being there." Akio explained. Lee Seng stared at Akio in disbelief. Lee Seng couldn't believe what Akio just said and turned to look towards the front of the car again.
"You... did that?" Lee Seng asked. Akio nodded. He out the car in drive and turned the car to get out of the parking lot.
"So, if you need help, just let me know. I'll help in anyway I can." Akio said. Lee Seng nodded. "Oh, how did meeting Manny go?" Lee Seng froze at the question. He had spent so much time caught up in trying to look okay, that he easily made a scene. He didn't really know what to say and silence settled in between them.
"I thought I would be fine," Lee Seng started quietly. Akio paused the music, allowing the sounds of the city to envelope them. "But I wasn't fine. I blew up. Three years, no contact until today? How am I supposed to handle that?" Lee Seng frustratedly started to run his fingers through his hair.
"I thought I was fine." Lee Seng started to cry. He rubbed his eyes, trying to hide his tears. Akio glanced at Lee Seng and his smile faded. He gave Lee Seng reassuring pats. "And the most messed up part of it all is..." Lee Seng made a boom noise. "I literally exploded."
Akio's concerned face only grew with more concern. He turned back to watch where he was driving, stopping at a light. He withdrew his hand and sighed.
"How bad was it?" Akio asked. Lee Seng wiped away the rest of his tears and snot away.
"Manny was... ten or so feet away. He got pushed away. The ground ripped away from me." Lee Seng quietly responded. Akio sighed.
"Dammit." Akio cursed in Japanese. "Okay, I will... handle damages and repairs." He told Lee Seng in Japanese. The light turned green and they started off down the road. "I think we need to start your training now."
Lee Seng nodded. "Sorry, Akio." Lee Seng muttered in Japanese. Akio patted Lee Seng and turned to smile at him quickly.
"It's not the first time someone has accidentally destroyed public property with their power " Akio reassured Lee Seng switching back to English.
The two road in silence for awhile after that. Akio made it to the edge of the city when a loud crash was heard.
"What the---" Akio shouted. Cars vegan to swerve left and right, breaking. Akio slammed in the brake and quickly maneuvered the car to not hit any of the other cars.
Three huge wolves with green humanoids on their backs held the traffic up. People began screaming and running away. Akio unbuckled and unlocked the car.
"Goblins and Direwolves?!?" Akio shouted. He turned to look at Lee Seng who had a smile across his surprised face. "Stay here, Lee!" Akio commanded. Lee Seng turned and Akio opened the door. People were running and an arrow landed into the back of a woman near them. Her body but the ground with a bloody scream.
"What? I can help you!" Lee Seng said.
"No, if it was just Goblins I wouldn't care. Direwolves I don't think you can handle. They're E class beasts." Akio climbed out and quicky shut the door. "Number 10: Battle Mode."
Armor quicky shot out of the back of Akio's clothing and wrapped around him in seconds. Lee Seng knew Akio was jacked with top gear. The gear he was using now was compressed and stored in a circular device that attached to your back or shirt.
"Rover Industries X Series 2000. They don't play around!" Lee Seng geeked. He unbuckled himself and moved to see it but Akio quickly enshrouded himself in shadows. A katana blade shot out of the black mist and Akio grabbed it. It was a black metal blade with shadow wisps on the blade. Lee Seng knew this blade as Kurayami or Darkness.
Akio quickly disappeared from his spot and shot out of the shadows thirty feet ahead. He quickly dodged a barrage of arrows and slashed a goblin and a direwolf in one blow. Shadows blew around the blade like fire.
He quickly began to make his way towards another Direwolf Rider when a woman screamed. Akio turned and saw Goblins surrounding the woman.
"Damn it." Akio cursed in Japanese. He slashed the air and shadows quickly shot out of his blade, separating the woman and goblins. Lee Seng noticed Goblins jumping into the street.
"It's an ambush!" Lee Seng shouted. The Goblins were making their way to the people. Arrows flew about and punctured the metal with ease. "Dammit, I gotta help!" Lee Seng quickly opened the glovebox. He quickly looked through it, cursing to himself as his fingers pulled and set aside small pamphlets and the car manual.
"Aha!" He said as he grabbed a small device. "Welp, this is an emergency." Lee Seng quickly got out and closed the door.
An arrow whizzed past him and he quickly glanced in the direction it came from. A small group of Goblins were making their way towards the cars behind him. He could hear people screaming behind him.
"All or nothing!" Lee Seng pressed the button on the device. The car behind him suddenly opened up and a katana shot out of the car. Lee Seng quickly grabbed the sword and pulled it out of it's sheathe.
'Are you really going to ignore Akio's orders?' Keng asked. Lee Seng smiled and turned towards the Goblins.
"He said I could handle Goblins."
Lee Seng dashed forward with a grin. Goblins screamed as they saw him and shot arrows at him. Lee Seng deflected the arrows and swung at the first Goblin he saw. The blade connected slicing the Goblins arm off. The Goblin hissed and jumped back as it's arm thumped onto the ground.
'I thought I swung for the chest.' Lee Seng pondered. The blood oozed off the blade as three Goblins came at him. They all swung at him with their metal clubs. Lee Seng jumped backwards only to be met with an arrow.
"Ugh!"
The embedded itself into his chest pushing him backwards into the ground. Lee Seng started to lift himself off when a green foot pushed him down onto the ground.
"Err Arega tanne de!" The Goblin screamed. The Goblins laughed and Lee Seng's face filled with fear.
'Dammit, I need to do something now!' Lee Seng swung his hand towards the foot but was intercepted by a goblin hand. He was pushed and held down.
"Dammit, let me go!" Lee Seng screamed. Lee Seng heard the Goblins laugh and talk amongst each other.
Akio had taken down the second Direwolf rider when he heard a cacophony of Goblin screams. He turned around and saw Goblins advancing onto civilians. A small group of Goblins ganged up on a single individual that looked familiar to Akio.
"I told him to not get involved!" Akio screamed. He lifted a girl of Shadows and blasted it in front of him before turning to run back towards Lee Seng. A Direwolf Rider leaped with it's stead, blocking Akio from the rest of the civilians and Lee Seng.
Akio heard Lee Seng scream and his worry was growing. He pointed Kurayami at the Direwolf Rider. The shadows started to rise around him and the sword, wrapping around tighter.
"Get the hell outta my way!"