Sensei's determined stride persisted as he continued down the aisle, moving past Tess without so much as a glance. He positioned himself, leaning his back against the window behind her bed, causing her to let out a weary sigh.
As her gaze fell to the ground, she noticed the shadow cast by Sensei's imposing figure, halting near her feet, while he casually raised the sole of his boot against the wall. Tess couldn't help but wonder why, out of all the windows in the room, he chose the one closest to her. The proximity sent a shiver down her spine.
"I was beginning to think you'd never wake up," Sensei's voice resonated through the room, though it lacked the usual energetic punch that often made them flinch. A heavy silence enveloped the space, interrupted only by the sound of water droplets hitting the window sills.
Tess instinctively pulled up her collar and folded her arms, her gaze fixed on the ground. Countless questions swirled in her mind, demanding answers that seemed just out of reach. Before Tess had the chance to voice her own inquiries, Szedra's voice rang out from across the aisle.
"Who exactly is them?"
It seemed her fellow cadets shared the same curiosity. Tess looked up, past the shadow cast by Sensei's form, taking in his dark leather boots and the length of his green jacket, until her eyes met his blank expression.
It became evident to Tess that Sensei only possessed three distinct facial expressions: a spiteful smirk, an angry glare reserved for when he was ready to scold them, and the blank expression he wore in the moment for everything else.
Sensei's still green eyes shifted slightly, directing themselves in Szedra's general direction, but not quite enough to make direct eye contact. "You should leave that question for the Professor. He'll be here shortly," he replied. "But until he arrives, I will provide you with an answer. 'Them' refers to the individuals responsible for the slaughter of my Alpha team."
The memory of Sensei's mention of his Alpha team's ill-fated mission to retrieve a fragment of the Alpha Seal surged through Tess's mind. He had sent them on that perilous mission, deeming the five of them unprepared. It was the aftermath of his Alpha team's horrific failure that led to their current examination.
The weight of failure descended upon Tess with an unforgiving force. The realization that those who had embarked on the same mission as her had met a grisly demise sent a shiver down her spine. Gasping in disbelief, she now understood the true meaning of Sensei's term "horrific failure."
But why was she the one who survived? A few pieces began to fall into place, fueling a burning anger within her. Sensei had known about the presence of those enigmatic individuals, yet he had chosen to withhold this critical information. Gritting her teeth, Tess felt her frustration surge.
A thunderous explosion reverberated through the room as Sensei's voice erupted in a furious outburst. "What the hell happened out there!" The cadets cowered, their hearts pounding with fear, as he leaned off the window, the force of his frustration causing him to stomp his foot onto the ground with a resounding thud. "Didn't I stress the importance of making it back here with the fragment?"
Tess and Zack, who were closest to Sensei, instinctively shuffled away on their beds, seeking refuge from the tempest of his wrath. Though they had grown accustomed to his outbursts during training, none of them had anticipated this sudden eruption, which filled the room with an electrifying tension.
"Your failure means you didn't try hard enough! The five of you should have easily outmatched them. The world ending may not seem like a big deal to you typical inconsiderate teens…"
Sensei's words lashed out like scorching tendrils of steam, each one searing their ears and penetrating their hearts. His fiery green eyes pierced through the air, fixing their gaze directly upon each cadet, abandoning their usual distant stare. As his glare settled on Tess, a sharp pain akin to a knife twisting in her chest consumed her. In that moment, it felt as though Sensei's hatred for them was laid bare.
"How many times must I say you have to work as a team—"
Breaking the tension, Zino's voice shattered the silence, screaming in defiance amidst Sensei's tirade. "We did!"
Everyone turned their wide-opened eyes to her, astonished by her unexpected outburst. She was the last person they had expected to challenge Sensei in such a manner.
Tears streamed down Zino's cheeks as she found her voice, her words choked with emotion. "We did work together as you said," she cried out, her voice trembling with the weight of their shared frustration, "but it was just... impossible."
"Forget the bloody corpse about teamwork," Lanse's voice pierced the air, his eyes locked onto Sensei with a seething glare. The veins on his neck pulsed with anger, his raised hand trembling in defiance. "Why do we need to freaking regroup to teleport!" His words echoed with fury, shaking the room with their intensity.
Sensei slowly turned his head to meet Lanse's gaze, his expression unreadable. The atmosphere crackled with tension as the two locked eyes, a clash of wills unfolding before the startled cadets.
Lanse's voice deepened, resonating with unrestrained rage. "I could have gotten out of that death trap the second I got my hand on that stupid fragment again." He thrust his index finger towards Sensei, punctuating his words with righteous indignation. "While you were busy being safe, we had to face those things. So if you're looking for someone to blame, blame yourself and those damn telecoms—'cause it's not our fault."
He crossed his arms below his chest, his gaze shifting away from Sensei. His voice softened, but the bitterness remained palpable. "That wasn't a mission, that was a death sentence."
Lanse's words struck a chord within Tess, her mind spinning with confusion. The mention of the dark web slaughter game and the possibility of being a test dummy for healing supplements clashed with her understanding of being a guardian of the planet. The truth eluded her, leaving her more perplexed than ever.
Sensei's shoulders moved up and down as he chuckled, his laughter cutting through the tense atmosphere. Lanse's face contorted in anger, his glare fixed upon the older man who seemed to find amusement in his words. The other cadets exchanged bewildered glances, unable to grasp the source of Sensei's amusement.
"Damn telecoms?" Sensei leaned back against the window, his expression turning blank once again. "Compact teleporters, a.k.a. the telecom. They were designed to give you an advantage. If you can allow your primitive brains to go back to your exam, you'll remember your opponents didn't have telecoms like you to teleport. Being a Chewlete meant they could teleport at their own will."
Zack leaned in, his brows furrowed, his focus fixated on Sensei's lips. The mention of Chewletes teleporting at will ignited a spark in his mind, reigniting his theory about the existence of magic. Suppressing the urge to blurt it out, his lips strained against the urge to speak, held captive by Sensei's commanding presence.
"But after depleting all their Shinra energy from fighting the five of you, that wouldn't have been possible," Sensei explained, a smug curl forming at the corner of his lip. "I was asking too much from them already, to help train the guardians of the planet."
He shifted his stance, folding his arms across his chest. "What a waste that turned out to be," he muttered, his voice tinged with disappointment. "That's why they used belt teleporters. A huge metal belt wrapped around their waist."
A mental image formed in the minds of the cadets, imagining the cumbersome belt contraptions and the challenges they would pose in combat. The weight and inconvenience seemed insurmountable, amplifying the gravity of their previous exam performance and the recent mission failure that still stung.
Sensei's scolding was abruptly interrupted by Tess, her voice cutting through the tension. "Why are we really here?" she demanded, her eyes locked onto his, brimming with defiance. Her words reverberated through the room, commanding attention.
The room fell into an uneasy silence, all eyes shifting to Sensei, awaiting his response. His gaze lingered on Tess, his stillness betraying his hidden knowledge.
"We already told you why you were here from day one," he replied, his voice calm yet tinged with a hint of accusation. His gaze traversed the room, briefly meeting the eyes of each cadet before returning to Tess. "Unlike someone in this very room who likes to be deceptive, keeping things hidden from us in plain sight."
His words hung in the air, a weighty accusation that sent a chill down Tess's spine. She locked eyes with Sensei, her brows furrowed, realization dawning upon her.
"Freck," she thought, the truth hitting her like a lightning bolt. Sensei knew. He knew she was a Syb-victim, and the realization filled her with a mix of fear and uncertainty.