Point-of-View: Inoka Fonseka
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"So, uh...from the looks of this, I think he's been here all night," I remarked in surprise.
"That's not good, we specifically avoid spending too much time at a stretch with this training because the mental toll can be extremely severe!" Exclaimed Mike in alarm, as he jogged over to Zoraiz.
"That sounds about right, I felt like my head was gonna split in two yesterday...how the hell did he keep it up all night?" Muttered Alexis, as Mike formed a ball of water and dropped it straight down onto Zoraiz's face.
As the water splashed onto his face, he abruptly sat up with a gasp, his eyes widening in alarm...and in the next instant, Alexis and I were on our knees, while Mike's legs buckled and he stumbled back. W-woah...holy crap, th-this pressure...it's so intense.
I could just about barely get back onto my feet, as I pushed back with my own Aura...but this is way stronger than Tara's Aura pressure, it's on a completely different level. And then, it suddenly vanished, as I broke out into a cold sweat.
"Wow...even a Category 0 would get slowed down in the fact of that much Aura pressure, unreal...," I heard Mike quietly mumble to himself, his eyes wide with bemusement.
"Hm? Oh, it's just all of you," Remarked Zoraiz, his expression relaxing, "Wait, why's my face wet?"
"Who knows?" Shrugged Mike innocently, before quickly changing the subject without giving him a chance to question it further, "By the way, did you really spend the entire night in here?"
"Huh? Well, yeah, I was on a roll, and didn't feel like going to sleep until I fully mastered Aura control, you know?" He responded sheepishly.
"How do you feel? Does your head feel strange?"
"Uh...kinda? Like, it feels cloudy and heavy, but that aside, I feel just fine," He replied with a shrug.
"So, wait, did you actually master Aura control fully?" Asked Alexis with a look of intrigue.
"Oh, uh, yeah...I think so," He answered awkwardly.
"Wow, that was fast," I remarked in awe.
"Yes, but it's not unprecedented. See, if left alone, a Meta-Human will eventually figure out how to control their Aura to at least some extent after a certain period of time, just like how people naturally learn how to walk, and then run. In other words, once you get the hang of it, you progress rapidly. Zoraiz clearly got the hang of it very quickly yesterday, so it was only natural that he'd complete the training in a short amount of time," Explained Mike in reply.
"Hey, so does this mean I'll have to be taking over Tara's role from now-," Zoraiz began with an apprehensive look on his face.
"Actually, you'll be doing nothing today. Your body probably isn't all that tired, so you probably can't fall asleep easily again, but your mind is definitely still worn out. Overdoing Aura control training can have dire consequences, so recover that mental fatigue before resuming training," Interrupted Mike, before adding, "So, yeah, why don't you kids just chill and hang out for today? Explore the place, relax in your rooms, bang each other, or whatever your generation does for fun these days."
"Ignoring that last suggestion, I think that's a good idea...these phones they gave us are pretty high spec, let's make use of these and get into some online gaming or something," I suggested, as I held up my phone.
"Sure, fine by me," Shrugged Zoraiz in response.
"Yeah, I guess that works, it's not like I've got anything better to do," Added Alexis with a nod.
...
We ended up using my room for some reason, probably because I'm the one who suggested this. Well, whatever, I guess I'll put up with it. Before we left, I'd asked Mike if I could get cigarettes here, but the answer was no, though he said that he'd send a request to Neo to get a pack.
Seizing the opportunity, I decided to also ask for a vape and some weed. I mean, if I'm getting it for free, then I might as well take full advantage, right? So long as I keep myself from getting too carried away, I'm sure it's fine.
"Hey, uh, what's it like? Smoking, I mean?" Zoraiz asked me curiously, while we were waiting for the game to finish installing.
"Huh? Oh, you've never tried?" I responded.
"No, uh, I was too broke. And, well, they're always by the, uh, cashier, so it's hard to steal," He replied awkwardly.
The way he said that...
"Were you in a 'gotta steal to survive' kinda situation?" Inquired Alexis, as she stared at her phone screen.
Oh, she straight up went up for it. I didn't want to put him on the spot, so I didn't question it...but, well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to hear about it.
"Well, I...uh, yeah, I guess you could say that. It wasn't easy for, uh, someone like me to get a job there...so I, like, didn't have much of choice," He muttered, averting his gaze as he spoke.
Man, now I feel bad. I don't know the details of what kind of life he was living before this, but clearly, it was far from pleasant. Alexis looked a bit guilty for prying too.
"W-well, anyway, uh...let's talk about something else, like...oh, I know, interests! What are your interests?" She suddenly asked me.
Sheesh, way to be subtle. Also, if you're gonna do this, you answer first! Don't put me on the spot!
"My interests, uh, let me think...," I trailed off as my mind blanked, wracking my brain to try and think of something, before blurting out before I could stop myself, "Boobs!"
"Wow, seriously?" She responded with a look of exasperation, as Zoraiz let out a stifled snort of laughter.
"I mean, it's true...and I'd wager that that goes for most people," I defended myself, before turning to Zoraiz for support, "Right?"
"Huh? Don't, uh, don't drag me into this," He deflected immediately.
"See? That's an obvious yes!" I declared to Alexis with a triumphant smirk.
"Ugh, whatever," She sighed as she rolled her eyes, before her attention shifted to her phone screen, "Oh, it's done installing."
"Yeah, same here. Alright, let's get started-...aaand there's 2GB additional data to download," I groaned, as I opened the app, only for it to start downloading more data.
I hate it when games do this, you finish downloading and installing them only to end up having to download an even further amount of data. Why can't that additional bit just be a part of the initial download?
"It, uh, looks like it'll take, uh, about an hour," Remarked Zoraiz, putting his phone away as it began downloading.
"Great, so what are we supposed to do for the next hour?" Grumbled Alexis with an annoyed look on her face.
"You know, you seem to get ticked off at the smallest things sometimes. Chill out and just relax, the way you keep growling and grumbling kinda reminds me of a feral dog or something," I said to her, as she began muttering to herself irritably.
"Yeah, well, you're starting to tick me off right now. Keep it up and I'll punch you," She retorted with a glare.
Wow, okay, so she's got a short fuse. Though I suppose what I said did come off as a bit ruder than I'd intended. But that said, if she wants to pick a fight, I'll make it clear that I won't back down.
"I mean, sure, you can try. But just so you know, I'm the kind of guy who will absolutely hit back, regardless of the gender of whoever hit me," I responded curtly, as she began to turn red with anger.
"Uh, I don't mean to be rude, but, uh, this seems like a pointless argument to fight over," Spoke up Zoraiz awkwardly.
Well...he's not wrong. And while I understood that, Alexis was only looking even more irritated.
"Tch, I didn't ask you, stay out of it," She huffed in reply.
"Oh, normally I would, but your constant muttering and groaning is super annoying, so cut it out," He suddenly retorted with a frown.
Damn. Where'd that come from? He's usually all awkward and mumbly when he speaks, but he sure doesn't mince words when it's time to throw down. Her speaking to him in that manner probably triggered his more combative side.
Also, this is starting to get messy...ugh, fine, guess I'll have to be the one that takes the high road, since I'm the oldest. They're both still teenagers, so just this once, I'll be the mature one...
"Ahem, why don't we all calm down? It's not like we have a legitimate reason to argue like this, right? Let's be sensible about this," I remarked in an assuring tone...this feels so unnatural and kinda forced, I hope they can't tell.
"Hm...fine, I suppose that you do have a p-," Zoraiz began to relent, his shoulders relaxing.
"That was awfully condescending, stop acting like you're all superior or whatever," Frowned Alexis with a huff.
Oh, boy. Looks like she's the type that doesn't easily calm down when riled up. And I've only got so much maturity before I snap.
"I wasn't-...that wasn't my intention, I was just-," I started to clarify in an even tone, doing my best to keep my cool.
"See? You're doing it again! Stop using that soyboy beta male voice already!"
...I give up. Maybe it's these cloudy headaches from Aura control training that are making us more easily irritable, but you know what, I don't care anymore.
"Alright, that's it. You wanna go, you little b-...," I began with a frown.
"Hey, how about we download a simple game, something like a card game, and play that till this one finishes downloading?" Zoraiz interrupted with that suggestion.
Oh, looks like he decided to act as mediator when he saw that I was starting to lose my temper too. Not a very subtle attempt at trying to change the subject, but I guess I can appreciate the effort...
"Sure, sounds good to me. What about you?" I asked Alexis, using as normal a tone of voice as possible...if she continued to fight and argue after this, I think I just might punch her in the face.
Yeah, I know that'll probably make things worse, but in my current mood, I don't care.
"Hmph, fine, whatever," She responded with a slight grumble before clicking her tongue irritably, finally relenting.
Huh, I almost feel disappointed. Did I want a fight to break out? No, not quite...it's this damn headache from the Aura control training, it's putting me in a really bad mood.
And as a result, I think I subconsciously wanted to take it out on something or someone. I should probably try to exercise a bit more self-control...
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