2023, March 5th.
9:26 PM.
All four made their way over to gymnasium number three. Alfred, as mentioned before, wanted to test Jinn's physical abilities, so he would know how to approach his situation the best possible way.
Even though, given the circumstances, good luck with that... Not even the guy you're evaluating knows what's going on with himself.
Well, nonetheless, Chloe was just happy to finally get to train with Jinn after all these years. Since he wasn't allowed to partake in this kind of training before, this would be a first.
But the silence... It was... So awkward...
"So, uh, where's gymnasium number three, Alf- Uhm, Mr. White?"
"Right after gymnasium number two, of course."
"...Right."
Jinn then went over to Chloe and whispered in her ear.
"You sure this guy knows how to run this place properly?"
This was just a normal question for Jinn. Chloe, on the other hand, was spooked by the sudden voice in her ear, and couldn't help but exclaim out loud.
"W-Wah!!"
"Something the matter, miss Adams?"
"N-No, nothing at all."
Then she looked over angrily at Jinn, and whispered.
"Don't talk or whisper in my ears!"
Jinn barely heard her, because all he could think of was something along the lines of "Damn, she's cute when angry...".
"They're sensitive! They really don't call you Kinky for nothing, do they?"
"Tsk... Fuck around and find out, Adams."
Ah. Wait, Jinn... Maybe that's not... The best wording ever... You, uhm, might wanna rephrase that, y'know...
Ah x2. Nevermind. He realized what he said shortly after the words left his mouth, and he went beet red with embarrassment.
Ah x3. Chloe definitely heard that, and was now blushing as well, possibly and probably harder than Jinn.
Jinn quickly gathered his thoughts, then apologized.
"W-Wait, no... Sorry... I didn't... M-Mean it like that..."
"I-It's fine. D-Don't worry 'bout it..."
It wasn't fine.
And he was definitely worrying about it. After that exchange, the two didn't as much as glance at each other the whole time they were walking. Jinn thought he fucked up badly and that he seemed like a pervert, while Chloe was surprised Jinn could say something so vulgar, yet so... Y'know. Don't make me spell it out, 'kay? 'Kay?
Well, anyway. No time to be flustered! The four of them finally got to gymnasium number three, and Mr. White opened the doors.
"Come on in, come on in. This isn't being used on weekends, so we're all alone. By the way, are you two okay? You seem kind of red... Y'all have a fever?"
"We're uh, fine, sir."
They were not.
They all entered the gymnasium, and Mr. White opened all of the lights with one press of a button on a remote.
"All right, Jinn. Here, we're gonna test a few randomly chosen physical abilities of yours."
"Alright... How's Chloe gonna help me, though?"
"Well, uhm... Moral support?"
Jinn has absolutely every right to question the country's government.
"...Right. Thanks, sir."
He then turned to Chloe.
"I'm counting on you, 'kay, miss moral support?"
"Y-Yeah, sure."
To answer your question, yes, she's still flustered about what happened earlier. Get over it, girl.
"Alrighty then... Let's begin!"
20 minutes later.
Oh God, please, someone make it end. It's incredible. It truly is. He's... He's... Absolutely average! At everything! Only thing he's got going for him is his height, that's a bit above average!
Like, I mean it. Let me give you an example. You wanna know how much Jinn can jump? Just Google 'average jumping height', and there you have it. I wish I was lying.
"Hmm... I see... Well, Jinn, that's about it."
Jinn was sitting down on a chair, in the most movie-like, dramatic position ever.
"Give it to me straight doc... How bad is it?"
Chloe, who couldn't help but let out a little laugh after seeing how Jinn was sitting down, answered for "Dr." Alfred White.
"Pfft, you're fine, Jinn. You're just... Average."
"That's the thing, Chloe. That's the thing. I'm just average. I'll never be good enough."
How much manga have you been reading man...?
"Look, dude, this ain't a K-drama... Really, you're fine."
So you're telling me Jinn doesn't suffer from at least 6 incurable diseases, dead parents, and he didn't get reincarnated by a goddess? Impossible...
"You really mean it?!"
"Yes, yes. Good job."
Chloe said that, then started patting Jinn's head. Jinn couldn't help but laugh out loud a bit.
"Pfft... Yeah, yeah. Thanks."
Jinn then put his hand over Chloe's hand that was patting him, as a form of thanks. Chloe completely got the wrong message, and pulled her hand away quickly.
Then she realized that she was the one who put her hand on him in the first place, and was now just acting rude.
"A-Ah, sorry..."
"All good, don't worry."
Mr. White cleared his throat then spoke up, while still glancing over Jinn's results.
"Alright... Well, Jinn everything seems in order. I see no reason to hold you back any longer. Starting tomorrow, you're officially welcomed back into A.C.T.P.!"
"Thank you, sir."
After a little high five with Chloe, Jinn and his dad got back into their car and drove back home. Of course, only after Jinn finally got Chloe's number. Took ya' long enough, dude.
On the car ride home, Jinn's dad couldn't help but look a little worried, and he noticed too.
"Hey, dad. You okay?"
"Mm? Ah, yeah, I'm fine, don't worry. Just a little... Surprised, I guess."
"Well, me too, to be honest. I'm the one who's manifesting superpowers, after all... And while it is a bit worry some to think about, I think everything will be fine, dad. Just because I can do weird stuff doesn't mean I'll change."
"...Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Jinn."
"No problem. ...By the way, do you wanna go get mom some food on the way back? We took longer than expected."
"I'm way ahead of you, I've been scrolling through the WcDonald's menu the whole time you were doing those tests."
Jinn then burst into laughter, to the point his stomach was hurting. He could barely breathe.
"Hey, hey... You okay?"
Jinn calms down a bit, then responds.
"Yes, but, well... I guess we can say the apple doesn't fall down far from the tree, eh?"
He then holds up his phone, also showing the WcDonald's app, opened on the main menu.
Yani couldn't help but smirk a little.
"So it seems. Let's get her the Small Mac, yeah?"
"Yup, yup. And a diet Kola, as always."
Yani's smirk then turned into a full on smile. Then he laughed a bit, soon followed by Jinn.
The next day, March 6th.
3:32 PM
After Jinn's school day was over, he was just about to leave through the front gate, as always. Only after seeing a black school bus drive by did he realize that...
"Ah, right. Can't go home yet."
Yes, indeed, Jinn. You are now gonna spend most of your day at the A.C.T.P. Lucky you!
Since his highschool barely has any hybrids, the A.C.T.P. bus doesn't stop by it, unless specifically requested by someone. But, since Jinn likes taking walks, he decided not to stop the bus.
He started walking in the opposite direction of the train station, towards the A.C.T.P.
About halfway through, he realized that... This was pretty boring.
I mean sure, walks are fun and all, but he was pretty tired because today he had 'The Subject Which Shall Not Be Named' as his first class. Yes, the one with numbers.
As he pulled out his phone, he started scrolling through multiple apps. From Twitter, to WcDonald's, to even his contacts. Then, entirely by chance, he just so happened to land with his finger exactly by Chloe's newly saved number.
Then, again, by pure chance, he pressed the call button. Of course, it's not like she would actually pick up. She was probably already at the A.C.T.P., being busy and stuff, maybe traini-
[Click]
"Jinn? Hello?"
Jinn took a deep breath. Then screamed internally. Loudly.
"She picked uuup?!?!"
"A-Ah, Chloe. What's up?"
"Well, nothing much. Just doing my daily warm-up."
"Consisting of what, a 20km run?"
"Pfft... Don't be silly. That's way too low."
...Low?
"What about you? What're you doing?"
"Actually, I'm on my way there. I just got bored so I, uhm, called you..."
He said that last part quieter than the rest.
"Hmm, I see... Where are you?"
"Let me see... Alright, you know that abandoned glass factory? Near there."
"You're not lying, are you?"
"Why would I be lying?"
After that, a bit of static could be heard through Chloe's end of the call. After that, the call ended abruptly.
"...Eh? Chloe?"
"Mm, you weren't lying, huh..."
"Nope. Why would I lie, after all?"
...Hold up a second.
"...Hold up a second."
Isn't it cute when we say the same stuff?
Jinn then turned around shocked, dropping his phone in the process. Damnit...
"C-Chloe?!"
That day, Kinko Jinn almost died of a heart attack.
"Y-You scared the hell outta me..."
"Oops. Sorry, sorry. By the way, your phone...?"
Ah. Right.
"Hmm? Oh... My phone..."
Jinn looked down at the ground, then exclaimed.
"...My phone."
"Yes, your phone. You gonna pick it up?"
"Look down."
Chloe looked down, then, just as surprised as Jinn, said.
"Where... Is your phone?"
There was nothing on the ground.
Jinn went to touch his chin with his hand in a thinking manner, when he felt something cold touch it instead.
Then both of them, surprised, exclaimed at the same time.
"My phone?"
"Your phone?"
The two shared a confused look, and started staring at the phone in Jinn's hand. Then silence fell between them. Because, uh, what the hell just happened?
Chloe then broke the ice.
"I see what you meant by human magnet..."
"...Yup."
After another few seconds filled with silence, it was Jinn's turn to break the ice.
"So, shall we get going?"
"Ah, yeah, for sure."
They walked normally the whole way there, even if Chloe insisted that they run. By they, she meant herself, while Jinn holds onto her. He refused for two different reasons.
Number one, no way in hell he'd be fine after going that fast. As for number two... Figure it out yourself, wink wink.
When the two finally got there, it was already around 3:50 PM. Even if Chloe complained that they could've gotten there 15 minutes earlier, it didn't really matter, as it officially starts at 4 PM sharp. It does unofficially open earlier however, at around 1 PM.
"So... What am I supposed to do here, if my Agily isn't fully developed yet?"
"Ever heard of the saying "watch and learn", Jinn?"
"Well, yes."
"Exactly."
All praise the genius Chloe. But no, for real, what was Jinn supposed to do there anyway?
"Oh, almighty Chloe-sensei, where's our class, by the way?"
"You don't remember? Sheesh... Also, what's a "sensei" anyway?"
"Obviously I don't remember, it's been years. Oh, and that's how you refer to someone of a higher status than yourself. That's what my dad taught me, anyway."
Chloe got weirdly happy after hearing Jinn calling her a "higher status" than himself.
Did... Something just awaken inside of her? Y'better run, Jinn.
"I see, I see... Anyway, I've already confirmed with Mr. White yesterday, we're in the same class again."
"Ah, really? That's a relief. Thank goodness."
Who doesn't love a dense dude who doesn't realize the weight of his own words?
Chloe got pretty red after hearing Jinn say that.
"W-Why're you so happy about it?"
"Hmm? Well, I don't really know anyone except you, do I?"
"O-Oh, that's what you meant..."
Her cheeks only got brighter after realizing she misunderstood what he meant.
"A-Anyway, that's not true. Everyone is still in that class, after all."
"Everyone?"
"Yup. All of your old friends are still there."
As if a higher being itself tapped into Jinn's memories and unlocked them, he suddenly remembered the whole layout of this place. After all, he explored it with everyone. Of course, that meant he remembered where his class was as well.
"What're we waiting for, then?! Let's go greet everyone!"
Then, Mr. Dense grabbed Chloe by the hand and started sprinting towards his class. He took lefts and rights like he was a pro. In no time, he got to the class.
Only when they arrived did he finally let go of Chloe's hand, who was feeling a little dizzy, might I add, and it wasn't because of the running. Poor her.
He opened the door with full force, almost taking it off it's hinges. Everyone then looked up from whatever they were doing, and in Jinn's direction.
Then, full with excitement, he yelled out.
"What's up, everyone! Long time no see!"
Silence then fell, for a second or two. After everyone blinked once or twice, to confirm they weren't dreaming, the whole class screamed out to him.
"Jinn?!"
Everyone ran towards him, basically jumping on him, then bombarding him with questions.
"How have you been?!"
"How'd you come back?!"
"Where were you hiding this whole time?"
"Long time no see dude!"
Jinn just put on a smile, started laughing, then looked back at Chloe, who was still in the hall.
"Ain't this quite a warm re-welcome?"
Chloe then looked him in the eyes, still green as ever. Then she started smiling as well.
"Pfft... Sure seems like one. Welcome back, Kinky."
Jinn then put on his most earnest smile, and once again looked Chloe straight in the eye.
"Thank you."
Come on, Jinn... You can't do that, y'know? Pretty sure that's cheating. Chloe's red face only confirms it...