The train was moving fast on the tracks again, all the exam students were on the train, and obviously, EVERYONE was in their rooms relaxing or taking naps. Who could blame them? After that intense first test, anyone would be feeling the same way, doesn't matter if they were meta-humans or not.
Duri was sitting up in the bed, writing in his journal. Writing: "What the helling hell hell. I did all of that shit and no one gave me my props. But they gave it to TEK. Saying, 'Oh, Tek, you're made of strategies, you're so smart and strong!' I'm the one who stopped that damn big ass train. My body aches right now, after merging with that train, it took a lot out of me. Anyway…I managed to get both of my arms into a shadow form earlier. Pretty damn sick. Now I need to get my whole body like that. And I've been thinking…maybe it wouldn't be ALL bad if I took off the headband. No, no, hell no. Nevermind. Changing the subject, it seems like Kazuma, Ren-Ren, and Jiyu are warming back up to me. Ren-Ren said he didn't care what happened between me and Katai, he just said he would've done the same thing because he's, 'Perfect.' How weird. After all this action this has got me wondering…what will the next test be like? Will it be as chaotic and bloody as the first one?"
In a large meeting room on the train, stood the Hosts: Tetsuya, Chaos, Kedarah, and Hanako.They were all standing around with each other, grading the exam students based on their performance. They have already graded 54 of the students.
Tetsuya said, "Next up…is Jiyu."
Kedarah replied, "She amazed me, honestly! Using her parents' technology! Or…or she could've made it herself! She has great aim with it, she has great speed and agility along with strength, and she uses her equipment wisely, almost taking down Odyn."
Chaos said, "I agree. I thought she was going to get killed at first, based on her nervous attitude and the way she Carrie's, but she proved me wrong."
Hanako said, "..."
Tetsuya finished, "She is acceptable. But she was reckless in a few scenarios. She had to be saved twice. So I will grade her a B. Anyone disagree?"
The other hosts nodded their heads, agreeing.
Tetsuya continued, "Next is Kazuma. The fire boy."
Chaos implied, "Those fire powers he had are pretty cool. He used them to fight with the centipedes, and destroyed some of the thorns that were heading towards him. He also assisted in defeating Odyn, and saved Jiyu."
Kedarah adds, "Mmm! He was satisfactory! He's very brutal when it comes to fighting it seems, but he's really strong! He can do a lot of things with his fire!"
Hanako said, "..."
Tetsuya finished, "Kazuma has a decent power level. But even at his level, he can do a lot of things. I could tell he was afraid to break out of this comfort zone and release his full strength. Which is respected. He also used his lions to destroy some of the incoming trains when no one noticed. I will give him an A."
The other hosts nodded, and they moved to the next exam student.
Tetsuya said, "Next up…is Ren-Ren."
Hanako replied, "That boy…he is from my clan. He has to be. I've seen that sword somewhere..his power level is low without it, but with it, his power level is high."
"You think he handled it well?"
"Yes. Surprisingly. But he was ready to kill. Without hesitation."
"Kinda sounds like you."
"No."
Chaos agreed, "Yeahhhhhhh I think it does sound like Hanako."
Hanako answered, "No."
Kedarah mentioned, "Ren-Ren does have…ISSUES. Wanting to be a crazy villain and all…but I can tell he means well."
Chaos asked, "Are you serious? He's kinda um…deranged. No disrespect. The kid is strong as hell. He just needs to work on himself."
Tetsuya finishes, "As a conclusion, Ren-Ren managed to wipe out many centipedes and trains with his sword. But, his pride and arrogance got in the way, waiting too long to use his powers. I'll give him an A. Agreed?"
Everyone nodded, but Hanako didn't.
Tetsuya says, "Next we have Seven."
Hanako finally spoke, "Seven seems like a leader. Commanding fellow students to carry out her well organized strategy. And instantly changed formation and strategy without hesitation when a tougher train arrived."
Kedarah smiled, "Yee. All the boys and girls admire her for a reason. She doesn't let her popularity get in her way, and she stays focused on a task!"
Hanako says once again, "..."
Chaos started opening a piece of candy, "Well. There's really nothing I could say. She is the daughter of two former Hosts, so this was expected."
Tetsuya uttered, "Good. She stayed focused on the task at hand. And did a good job putting others on tasks, and she takes risks, destroying multiple trains on her own easily. She gets an A."
"Only an A? Her parents might be a little mad.."
"Does it look like I care? Nah, not really. But there were instances where Seven refused help, easily running off on her own. Next up, is Duri."
All the Hosts looked at Tetsuya, wanting to hear what he had to say.
Tetsuya said, "I wanna hear your opinions."
Kedarah smiled instantly, "Duri was soooo amazing! HE-HE MERGED WITH THE TRAIN, A-AND HE BECAME A 97 FOOT TRAIN MAN THING!"
Chaos says, "Duri came up with some good strategies too, in my opinion. Even though, as I mentioned earlier, he ran through a lot of them. He came up with good ideas, using his physical strength to destroy centipedes with his bare hands. He was the first one to move as soon as the exam started, and he was the first one to make a move on Odyn and the centipedes. He knew the assignment. Marshy taught him well."
Hanako stated, "...I have my doubts about Duri. He gives me an uneasy feeling when I'm around him. But I shall say he is acceptable, strong, fearless, and has the heart of a true fighter. That's all I have to say. I haven't grown to like him, but that day may come."
Tetsuya chuckled, "I see, I see. Well, Duri did a fine job. And being trained and raised by Host Marshy, it is expected. As it is with Seven. But I have my concerns. There is a constant bloodlust within Duri, and his attitude may even get worse as time goes on."
Chaos asked, "What are you really trying to say?"
"When Tek gave the idea that Duri should merge with the train to take it down, Duri instantly became belligerent and hostile, wasting time getting mad at Tek for telling him what to do. That decision would have cost lives in a real battle, and it would have cost lives during the test too."
"Oh..true, true. I understand what you're saying. So what's the grade we're giving him?"
"He would've gotten an S grade, the highest grade anyone can get during an exam test. But that split second of him having an attitude cost him a letter. He gets an A. Do we all agree?"
The Hosts looked at each other, and Kedarah said, "Aww come on. Duri did well. He DID merge with the train like Tek asked him to."
"Hoh? I know that. I was watching, just like you were watching."
Hanako said, "..."
Chaos reminded them, "Duri did jump after Jiyu when she fell off of the shadow dragon snake. He saved a life."
Tetsuya replied, "But what's worth more? A hundred lives, or one life? His decision of having an attitude could have cost them."
"Sigh."
Hanako agreed, "Tetsuya is right. Duri needs to fix his aggressive behavior and attitude."
Kedarah whined, "B-but Marshy said Zabel constantly tormented Duri's brain when he was younger, making him like that. Duri hates Zabel so much that hearing his voice all the time infuriates him.."
Tetsuya said, "No one is saying it's Duri's fault for him being the way he is. He still needs help with it."
It was quiet for a few seconds, then Tetsuya finally spoke, "It's final. Duri gets an A+ then. Can we all agree on that? Please? I'm hungry as HELL."
They all nodded, and Tetsuya continued, "Now it's Nine's turn."
Chaos says, "She did well. I saw when she was slowing down the trains with her earth manipulation abilities."
Kedarah added, "She also saved a bunch of students from getting eaten with her speed!"
Hanko said, "..."
Tetsuya responded, "It's good to multitask and still focus on the main mission. She gets an S grade. Do we all agree?"
Everyone nodded, and Tetsuya went ahead to say, "About Tek. Tekeshi. What about his performance?"
Hanako said, "He was also saving other students from getting eaten. He used his chains to do so. He assisted in taking down Odyn, and kept Ren-Ren from taking a life."
Kedarah grinned, "He DID manage to spark up great ideas!"
Chaos started eating another piece of candy, "Yep. Tek's a prodigy. We all knew that since he was a child, fighting people and monsters that were way out of his league."
Tetsuya mentioned, "I would like to know his back story. He seems to be cool, calm, and collective; always reading that small book and being isolated."
"I wanna know what the hell he's reading."
"Don't we all wanna know? Anyway, we're giving Tek an S rank.".
Everyone nodded.
Tetsuya continued, "We'll let the students know their grade before the next test. They need rest. We may have gone a little overboard with tbr first test. No, nevermind. Forget I said that. The next test is gonna be MUCH more chaotic."
Kedarah got excited, "Wait! Is it the..?"
"Yes."
"YAY! Can I participate?! Pleaseee?!"
"...We all are."
Duri was lying on his bed in the room, with his eyes closed.
He kept getting horrific flashbacks of what happened when Zabel invaded the Shadow realm, and he kept hearing these words: "Duri!!!"
It was Jae's voice.
Duri opened his eyes, and he sat up quickly. His fists were clenched, and he was swearing.
He yelled, "Jae!"
He looked left and right, and he saw no one there.
Duri sighed, thinking, 'Tired of having that dream…fuck. Can Zabel manipulate dreams? Is it him? I can't quickly assume things. What if Jae…is alive? What the hell am I saying? Dumbass! Jae is dead. I watched him die. But the dream felt so real. Let me forget about it. Gotta forget about it. Gotta forget about it.'
Minutes later, Duri was shirtless, and he was doing one armed pushups.
"404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410.."
Eight minutes passed, and Duri was practicing certain fighting stances. He was doing everything he could to distract himself. Plus he felt like he was lacking in training, thinking he was slacking off.
Duri was doing a Charyot Seogi stance, otherwise known as the Attention stance.
He had his eyes closed, and he thought to himself, 'Breath…focus…'
He was imagining all of his dark shadow energy circulating him, rotating around his entire body. He imagined himself covered in a full shadow form, which is the form he really wants.
'I am my own person. No one else can be me. I'm the best at what I do. Anyone who tries to stop me from being me, or trying to hinder my goals from being accomplished, I'll destroy them.'
Duri got down near the floor, stretching his leg out with his elbow up and his eyes closed.
'I may be a burden, but I'm not a hindrance to myself or others.'
Duri kept hearing Jae's voice, screaming, "Duri! Duri!"
Duri shook his head, grunting hard because of the frustration.
'I won't let the past haunt me. I will avenge my past instead. I have clear motives and goals…'
In Duri's head, Jae's voice screamed louder, "DURI!!"
Duri said quietly, "Get the fuck out of my head…"
"Duri!"
Duri clenched his fists, and he barely opened his eyes. He saw a figure in front of him. Duri quickly reacted, dashing over to the figure, and grabbed it by the neck, choking it out, and raising it up off the floor slowly.
Duri's eyes were closed again, and he said, "Get out of my head…you're all dead…you're all dead! All of you!"
Duri squeezed the figure's neck tighter, and his eyes were still closed.
"Duri!" The voice yelled again.
Duri opened his eyes, and they were glowing fully white again.
The person he was choking, was Kazuma.
Kazuma said, "Whoa, whoa, Duri! I..I.."
Duri responded, "Who are you?!"
"W-what do you mean?"
"You were calling my name?!"
"Yes, but I don't know what you mean!"
"Don't mess with me! I'll kill you. Are you Jae?"
"Jae? Wh..who's that?! Could you let me go…p-please?"
Duri came to his senses, and his eyes went back to normal.
Duri said, "Kazuma…."
Duri let Kazuma go, and Kazuma dropped to his feet, coughing.
Duri turned to the right of him, and he saw a crowd of exam students looking at him, standing outside of his door.
They said:
"He almost killed Kazuma!"
"What a monster!"
"And I was starting to trust him again!"
"Duri is a psychopath!"
Kazuma stood up, smiling, "Wait, no! You all got the wrong idea! Duri was just startled, that's all! He didn't mean any harm!
"Bullshit! He's a monster!"
Duri said, "I can show you a monster if you'd like.."
"S-see! He's targeting us!"
Duri continued, "If I was targeting you all, you'd be dead already. Don't flatter yourself."
Kazuma added, "Me and Duri are good friends! You see he let me go when he realized it was me, right? He was probably just having a bad vision."
The students looked at each other, and they started whispering:
"I'm not buying it. Kazuma can be on the crazy side sometimes. Always happy."
"They're probably murder brothers.."
"Let's just leave before we really piss them off.."
"Yeah.."
They started walking away, leaving Duri and Kazuma in the room.
Duri said, "They hate me even more..yippee."
Kazuma responded, "They don't HATE you..haha, that's crazy!"
"Kazuma."
"Okay, maybe they do."
"What did you want? And why didn't you knock before you walked in my room, brat?"
"Oh! I was wondering if you'd like to go to the activity room. Everyone is there. And they're playing a card game for money."
"For what reason? You gonna pay me?"
"Pay you?"
"Yep. Pay me to go in there."
"I'll give you 9,000 yen if you do."
"Deal."
"But don't you care about what the others in there might say or think?"
"I don't even care anymore. I need to clear my head. Anything to distract me at this point."
"Right, right. Gotcha, gotcha."
"Gonna pay me or what, nerd?"
"Oh! Right! Haha, give me your Dabi-Link, I'll send it to you through there."
[Dabi-Link: An online transaction app, where anyone can distribute funds to anyone they want. But only if they have a Dabi-Link account.]
Duri and Kazuma were walking out of the room, and Duri thought, '...Kazuma stood up for me. After all the shit I say to this brat. Heh. He might just become an ally. He's alright.'