2015, June 17th, Wednesday.
The clock had just struck 4 PM, the bell ringed and kids gathered up, in a big, empty room. The main gymnasium, to be exact. The reason was already very well known. The Agily Control Training Program, or A.C.T.P. for short, was about to start.
A.C.T.P. had been in function for about a year now, training hybrid kids on how to responsibly use their Agilys. Or, responsibly to some extent, at least. Kids will be kids.
And while everyone was more than happy to partake, there was one kid, all the way in the very back, who hated the A.C.T.P. more than anything. He had just turned 10. No- like, literally. His birthday was yesterday. And now he has to partake in this stupid thing? He found that quite outrageous.
You see, this kid was in no way dumb. Quite the opposite, he was the best in his class, at almost everything. Expect math... He sucked at math. He still got passing grades though, so whatevs, am I right?
Anyway, he was in no way happy to be there. His mom shared a different opinion. The word 'excited' barely represented her. She was way more than just excited. The dad took after the kid- or maybe the kid took after the dad?- and didn't really care about this whole A.C.T.P. thing.
Well, not that it mattered. It was mandatory after all. Normally, the kids comes alone to the A.C.T.P. Center right after school, but since it was his first time, his parents had to accompany him. From tomorrow he'll have to take the school bus like every other hybrid kid, and take Agily lessons. Well uh, I guess he'll do that once he actually awakens his Agily. For now, he's just gonna stand on the bench and watch, and take notes of anything the teachers say. Of course, he'll also have to take notes during the non-practice lessons, so that means double note taking for him... Must be a fun way to spend four hours of your life every day!
Usually, Agilys awaken about a week after the kid turns 10, or the longest recorded case is 24 days. Fun fact, the shortest was 3 days.
In any case, the comic-book experts Greg's got pretty good at their job, and got promoted to Harry's. I'm just joking. The government-issued teachers, with now a year of experience, knew what to do, and has a list of expected Agilys and how to train them. If it included fire, sparks, explosions, or anything of the kind, they would work on controlling their emotions. More powerful fire comes out the angrier you get. Not cliché at all, by the way.
If it included water, ice, clouds or anything similar, they worked on body movements. Those kind of Agilys grew stronger the more you "danced". Of course it wasn't actually dance, but for the sake of simplicity, we'll call it that.
Anyway, you get the picture. They were usually ready for any kind of Agily. As I mentioned before, this took trial and error. A lot of it. This whole system wasn't all that useful until 5 months ago, around January.
But that's not what we're here to talk about, are we? Back to the very displeased kid, he was still... Well, displeased. Not that he could do anything about it though, this A.C.T.P.'s principal was already about to go on stage, to announce the new faces who have joined them. 7 in total. The kid got a little less displeased, knowing at least 6 other kids shared his birthday.
As the kid was lost in thought, thinking of ways to talk to the other new kids and compare birthday presents, the principal got on stage, and started speaking. A bit um, loud, perhaps? Put the mic away from your mouth, old man!
"Hello, everyone! Welcome back! Everyone will return to their classes shortly, as soon as we introduce our new faces! They'll all be joining class 1E, as first years. We hope second years and already-existing first years will treat them nicely, alright?"
The gymnasium quickly got filled with sounds of kids agreeing, not that they actually cared that much to begin with. It wasn't exactly a rare thing to get new faces around here. It was mandatory to show up as soon as you turn 10, after all.
"I like the enthusiasm!"
Uh, excuse me, Mr. Principal, what enthusiasm are we talking about here...?
"Now, I'll start introducing everyone, in no particular order! If you hear your name, please yell out 'Here!' or 'Present!', alrighty?"
...I'll say it again, but we really need some better leaders 'round these parts.
"First off... Smith Andrew? Is he here?"
"Present!"
A relatively short boy, with blonde hair, raised his hand. He was dressed in a little suit, with a tie and everything. Talk about overkill... Kinda cute though, in it's own way.
"I see, I see! Welcome! Next up... Is Ampul Ed here?"
"Here, sir."
A chubby boy, with dark hair, spoke up. He wasn't dressed in anything special, just a t-shirt and some jeans.
"Welcome, welcome! Hmm... Is Loth Emily present?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm here."
A girl with average height and a hella ton of sass raised her hand. Dark, black hair, covering up one eye, and black clothes to match. Woah. She's barely 10 and she's already emo!
"I uh... I see. Welcome. Anderson Matt?"
"Present."
Wow. A... Normal human being. He's the definition of an average kid. I like him already.
"Welcome as well! Next up is... Anderson Patt?"
"I'm heree!"
As some already guessed, they're twin brothers. They're also polar opposites. This kid was flashy! So flashy I'm not even gonna bother describing him, except for one thing. Pink. Lots of it.
"You guys are twins, correct?"
"Sir yessir!"
He even talks all flashy-like... Sigh...
"I see, I see. And next we have... Adams Chloe? Is she present?"
No answer. So, was she... Not present? Well, uhm, no, she definitely was present. She just so happened to be in the middle of enjoying what seemed to be some kind of bread? Who... Who eats bread at a "school" gathering?! When you're the one getting introduced?!
"Om! Ai'm hel sil!"
"Eh... Excuse me?"
She finished whatever bread was left in her mouth, and said, "Sorry 'bout that! I said 'Oh, I'm here sir."
"Right... Well uh, in any case, welcome?"
"Thanks!"
As the principal said, her name was Chloe Adams. Her hair only reached her shoulders, and it was white with a hint of yellow. She had brown eyes, and the good vibes were emitting off her like radiation. She wore casual clothes, just a purple hoodie and some jeans.
"And, last but not least... Oh, wow, what a name. Is Kinky Jinn here?"
...Come again?
"I-It's Kinko! Kinko! Not... The other stuff! Y'perv!"
"Oh... Oh! Oh, I'm terribly sorry! I-In any case, welcome! Also... I'm not a..."
Yes, that was three "Oh!" in a row.
"Yeah, right..."
Kinky- Ah, sorry... Kinko Jinn. Not that tall, not that handsome, but, as mentioned before, surprisingly smart. At anything but math. Dressed in just a casual light blue hoodie and sweatpants, with dark brown hair and green-ish eyes. Also, very clearly half-japanese, as suggested by his name and face.
Well, there we have them. The new additions to class 1E. They're... Sigh... Definitely an interesting bunch.
As the principal dismissed everyone, Jinn said bye to his parents and started heading towards the second floor, class 1E. Wait... It... Was on the second floor, right...?
Ah. That's awesome. Screwing up on the first day, must be nice. He looked for a classmate, just to realize that he had no idea who his classmates were... This... Kid's supposedly smart, right? Ya' sure?
As he was panicking, a hand tapped on his shoulder. Startled, he turned around to a not-so familiar face.
"Yo. You're uh... Kinky, right?"
"Jesus Chri- No. No I'm not. I'm Kinko. Kinko Jinn."
"Ah, right, right. My bad. You remember me?"
"Adams, right? The girl who was caught eating?"
Obviously. Who else has white hair in this school? Seriously girl, what's your secret? Tell us.
"Eyy, you remember. Why'd you call me Adams though?"
"My dad taught me to always be formal with people I don't know."
"Ehh? Drop that, it's creepy. Call me Chloe."
...This girl just loved disrespecting older people, huh? Are we... Sure she's 10?
"...Sure. Why'd you tap my shoulder?"
"I haven't gotten the slightest idea where our class is. Do ya'?"
"Nope."
Again, are we sure this kids good at anything but math?!
"Unlucky, then. Let's go look for it."
"Like, together?"
"Duh, Mr. Obvious. Let's go"
...Actually, she just loves disrespecting anyone and everyone.
"H-Hey, wait!"
Not happening though. She wasn't waiting at all. She grabbed Jinn's hand, and dragged him all over the building until they found class 1E. By the time they found it, they were... Not late? Huh? Was she a wizard?!
"We're... On time?"
"Huh. Guess so. Lucky us!"
"Yeah... Lucky..."
Not really. Poor Jinn wasn't the most athletic kid. You should work on that dude, girls love fast guys!
Anyway, fortunately for Jinn, Chloe's seat was pretty far away from him. He could catch a break! Thank the heavens.
Sigh... Or not. His seat was, quite literally, sandwiched between the two twins from earlier. He had no problem with Matt, but Patt... Oh, Patt...
"Oh myyy, hello there!"
"Yo."
Once again, as I said, polar opposites.
"Oh, um, what's up guys?"
"Well you know, nothing toooo crazy!"
"Nothing much. You?"
I don't know what the parents are feeding Matt, but they should keep buyin'.
"I'm fine... Well, no, I'm not. I just got dragged around the whole school by Miss Energetic over there."
He pointed to Chloe. She, in response, after noticing, smiled and waved. Jinn got flustered... My guy, really? Great taste y'got there...
"Ah. I see. Unlucky."
"Ohhhh, yeah that's really unlucky! You're alright now though, yeah?"
"Yeah, I'm aight."
"Well, take your seat. Don't mind my bro too much, 'kay?"
Jinn couldn't help but laugh a little. Was he... Making friends? It was easier than he thought. You see, not only was he not athletic, he wasn't popular either. So he didn't really had friends.
"Sure, sure. Thanks for the warning."
"Waaait a sec, that's not fair!"
"It's entirely fair, dude. I'm Matt, by the way."
"And I'm Paaatt!"
"Nice to meet you both. I'm Jinn."
"Y'half-Japanese or something?"
"Yeah. My dad is Japanese. Well, kinda. Y'know."
"Ah. Gotcha."
He was talking to people about his gateling dad, and they didn't look not even a bit creeped out. Wow. This was news to Jinn.
Well, sure, some of his classmates were a bit weird. They would probably only get weirder once they got their Agilys. But still... This wasn't too bad. Not at all.
So, Jinn couldn't help but get excited about what kind of Agily he would get. Maybe something water related? Or earth related? Maybe even flight?!
Yeah... Jinn was pumped!
2 hours later.
Class 1E was now in gymnasium number two along with class 1F. Of course, Jinn and his new-found friends could only sit by idly and take notes while the other kids practiced their Agilys with the present teachers. One teacher was present for each Agily Type, no matter how many kids possessed said Agily Type. As long as there was even one of said Type, the respective teacher would be there.
This was definitely more fun than just the theories, though. I mean, learning about Agilys was one thing, while watching them? This was a whole new world. He took notes of anything that caught his eye. It's only been half a "school" day, and yet his notebook was slowly getting more and more used.
"Yo. Jinn."
"Mm? What's up?"
"I'm bored. Let's get out of here."
...Energetic as ever, huh, Chloe?
"Ehh? Why? It's fun watching other kids use their Agilys."
"C'mooon dude, don't be boring. We'll get ours soon enough, why watch others use 'em when we can be patient and use them ourselves?"
Well, she did have a point... Not that good a point, but definitely a point.
"Sure, fine. We won't get in trouble, right?"
"Well, uhm... Sure!"
"Huh?!"
Wow, that was very assuring! Thanks, Chloe!
Welp, there we go. Two kids in hoodies, walking around the building, all alone... Don't get any ideas, alright? They're 10.
The two just explored the building quietly, not to disturb others, still in class.
Kinda weird how people are taking classes here, but it's still not called an actual school, huh? For simplicity's sake, I'll just refer to it as a school. The word building's getting old.
Jinn and Chloe quietly chatted, while getting familiar with the school's layout. This place was... Confusing, to say the least. One wrong turn and you're on the other side of the school.
As the two chatted, the topic of Agilys came up.
"So, what kinda Agily do you want? Definitely something with speed, I'm guessing..."
"Well, you wouldn't be completely wrong, y'know. I wanna be fast fast fast!"
Yes, she said the word fast three times.
"You're already plenty fast... I noticed your speed first-hand this morning..."
"You're not athletic at all, are ya' Jinn?"
"Uhh, not really. B-But I ain't slow either y'know!"
Chloe chuckled at him. She definitely thought that he was slow. How dare she! What a cheeky 10 year old...
"How're you getting along with your seat neighbors?"
"Oh, Matt and Patt? Matt's great. Patt is... Uh... Interesting."
"You're rude, ya' know?"
"A-Am not! He's just... Very, very energetic!"
"Right, right. So?"
"So... What?"
"What kind of Agily do you want?"
Jinn didn't actually think about what he'd want. He was kinda ok with anything. But, there was something...
"Teleportation!"
"Sigh... Y'dummy, there has been no cases of that kinda Agily existing..."
"Huh?! Really?"
Oopsie.
"You're kinda hopeless aren'tcha?"
"N-No! I'm good in school!"
"Mm, I see, I see. If I ever have problems with my math homework I'll give you a call."
"Ah, no, wait, I'm bad at math..."
"You just said you're good."
"At anything but that..."
Chloe laughed once again. Nice try Jinn, I'm sure you'll look cool someday. That day's not today though.
"Hey, hey... You're laughing a bit too much... Let's get going back."
Yeah, as if. Chloe wasn't gonna stop laughing anytime soon.
She was laughing at Jinn, and yet, he couldn't help but join in. As the two laughed in the hall, a teacher came and scolded both of them for being noisy. Oops.
December 7th, 2015.
About half a year has passed since Jinn joined the A.C.T.P.
And normally, Agilys awaken a week after you turn 10.
So why...
Why was Jinn still just... Normal? This made... No sense...
"Yo, Jinn."
"Ah. Chloe. What's up?"
"Teach said he gotta talk to you. I think you're in trouble."
"Who, me? The only dude in the program with no powers whatsoever?"
"Yeah, apparently... I ain't sure myself, so go talk to him, 'kay?"
"Sure. See ya later."
"Bye-bye."
As soon as Chloe said those words, she vanished. Well, not literally. She just sprinted away. Of course she got hyperspeed as her Agily, it's Chloe we're talking about after all.
Jinn was used to it though. He started making his way towards Mr. Drum's office, his teacher.
When he opened the door, he was met with a smoke smell from his cigars and... A hint of booze? Well, whatever. That's not important. You do you, I guess. What is important, is the principal standing next to Mr. Drum.
"Oh, um... Hello? I was told to come here?"
"Ah, young man. Welcome, welcome. Please take a seat."
Alright, sure, not sketchy at all.
"So, uhm, how can I help?"
"Do you mind waiting for 10 minutes? Your parents will be here soon."
"M-My parents? Why? Did I really get in trouble?"
"No no, nothing of the kind. We'll all just have a talk. Don't panic."
Don't panic? What do you mean don't panic?! How is anyone supposed to keep calm in this situation?! In case you've forgotten, Jinn is a 10 year old with a crazy imagination! Countless scenarios were running through his head. Only one was missing. The right one. Until the last second, at least.
When his parents walked in, and got sat down, everything made sense. It was quite simple, honestly.
Game over. Simply put, his stay in the program was coming to an end. Of course. Why would a Agiless hybrid kid stay in the program meant for hybrids with Agilys?
He didn't need to hear anything from the principal. And he couldn't hear anything from him, either. He was... Too shocked. He was still just a kid, after all.
And so, he went from Mr. Drum's office, to his locker, now empty, and to the family's car in just about what seemed like two seconds.
Once inside, the stress accumulated over 6 months let loose. Jinn was crying like never before. It wasn't even necessarily a bad thing that he had no Agily. But he just felt like a failure. A big one. Why?
Did he not try hard enough? Maybe if he trained, or something? Or if he was as energetic as Chloe or Patt? Or as chill as Matt? Or...
Or was it that he just wasn't good enough?