Gan and Claire spotted Kage just as he climbed the first step to the academy. They had been waiting for his arrival. The two passed their time reciting the lines to the play that they would soon be starring in. Gan and Claire met rather unceremoniously in the drama club. Just by applying, the two of them had discovered a friend which, as per usual, tilted in a different direction.
Irritation bloomed within Kage because of these varied coincidences. The difference between meetings and yet Kage was always left as a third wheel. One beloved and equally as important but nevertheless, a third wheel.
Claire grasped Kage's hand sending a jolt of bodily warmth through his nerves. Claire had always been clingy and never knew when to not cross the line. Some may call her airheaded, but never to her face or within a mile of her. Afterall, her ability with sonic sound could produce nasty results on the fool to speak so rudely. An ability granting her a makeshift version of flight but providing an explosive residual capable of incapacitating near anyone. Quickly did this aspect cause her to be placed in the A-tier, unless the ferocity of her outburst were to be tested.
Suddenly, Gan also took hold of Kage's opposite arm. His strength, although light, was firm, certainly demanding Kage's attention.
"What's going on?" Kage questioned them as he was led to the back of the building away from prying eyes or ears.
Gan snickered while Claire's expression had turned serious.
'God… not them as well.'
Gan let go of Kage once Claire gave the signal. The three of them now stood before the academy's track field.
Gan crossed his arms just as Claire stood behind Kage. He was in the midst of a pincer maneuver.
"Now, I don't want to seem prudish or like a snobby parent…
But…"
"But what?" Kage snapped at Gan. He was taking unnecessarily long. Which annoyed him.
"But we are going to need to check your bag." Gan paced back and forth scratching what could be exaggerated as a bicep. He wasn't one for such grand confrontations like this. "A certain someone told us you had been smoking again. I wanna believe you haven't, but this person is very knowledgeable about this subject."
Kage knew from the beginning that Lisa constantly called Claire and Gan to report on his activities. For the past year they have been attempting to stop his habit. Of course, they could never find all of his stashes.
Smirking, Kage put on the best poker face he could. "Sorry, but I haven't got any on me today. The two of you have effectively destroyed my entire collection."
"Yeah, right…" Commented Claire with snark soon on the way.
Gan reached for Kage's shoulder. Kage easily dodged his touch. He knew that Gan could force any truth out of him with his mighty grip. Just another aspect to his evolved strength that terrified its victim. Claire then gave three clicks of her tongue.
"Right pocket."
Kage glared at her, mouthing the word "Bitch". Gan leapt to Kage pushing his face to the concrete while rummaging inside the very pocket. Fingers brushing against a smooth cylindrical case, he released some of his strength from Kage's arms giving him enough power to retaliate. With an elbow to the ribs and another to the stomach Gan spewed some saliva from his mouth, dropping the case in the process.
Twisting his legs, Kage was able to piston off from the ground, throwing Gan from his spine. Quickly, he snatched up the cigarettes speeding away toward the school's front doors. The ground kicked up in small pockets around him as simple warning shots from Claire descended on his galloping form.
The reason behind such excessive force materialized in Kage's mind, in turn forcing a smile to break out across his face. This was just an excuse.
Since the beginning of their first year Kage had forced the both of them to train against him in one of the most grueling as well as tiring usages of their abilities. Practical combat. The method was simple. He needed to improve his own reflexes and stamina while they must learn to maintain their abilities for a longer duration if they are to be useful.
Two birds and one stone. Or would it be three birds since there are of course three of them training?
They still had 20 minutes before the first bell rang. Kage bet on his life that he could last. A tremble to his lip nearly exposed the excitement coursing through him.
A condensed shot soared through the air only to land where Kage stood a moment before. In the span of five seconds, he carefully plotted the trajectory of Claire's wind compressed ball of fury, then repositioned.
All Evolved were bestowed with greater physicality than the regulars, however, many would not attempt to train this component of their body while some are restricted. Extensive exercise only established an aesthetic component to most Evolved with few other benefits. For Kage Tesler, this was a simple fact, yet many would deny facts proceeding to stress their bodies for no reason other than as a steep denunciation of such rhetoric. Kage found that he in fact did experience growth from exercise, only minimally of course. But, over time this minimal increase always shone through.
Here, it did.
Explosion after explosion rocked the earth covering Kage in sweat and grime, yet none hit him. His eyes had trained to an inhuman degree while he sat in bed for the early years of his life. Unwilfully trained to spot the tiniest differences in air pattern and scenery. Thus, allowing for his perception of each sonic ball, practically invisible to a regular.
The air around Kage suddenly became static with electricity. Hair on the back of his neck straightened toward the sky as his sensitive flesh warned his mind of an impending outcome. Leaving barely any time to consider, Kage fell into a squat allowing him to avoid a right jab from Gan.
After a minute of watching, Gan finally decided to join in on the party. The well of untapped potential had been stirred. Gan's body shot out with muscles rapidly inflating to the size of barrels. Each of his attacks could barely be avoided with some scratching Kage opening fresh cuts on his face. His attack patterns were based on technique over power. Trained in jiu-jitsu, karate, and taekwondo the kid was a natural Jackie Chan. His face stone cold like a thick sheet of metal while his hands and legs dashed about at inhuman speed.
For four minutes Kage dodged, dove and slid past each attack from the two of them. A year of such training made him confident in his ability to predict another's movements. Humans are just like an equation that could be solved. They will always start with raw power, then feints will be incorporated, after the enemy will focus on their opponent and witness their weaknesses, finally ending with a blast to finish the foe.
That's why Kage could choose one of three paths.
Discover his opponent's weakness before the opposition realizes. Fake a weakness, then attack. Train to ensure there would never be a weakness demonstrated. He strove for the third path. If such could be accomplished, then even a low D-tier like him could annoy the strongest.
At just the ten-minute mark a small audience started to bundle near the steel bleachers that lined either side of the field. Some from the student council peered out their classroom's window taking pictures of the three of them. Track and field representatives sat on the benches cheering and jeering. Then the usual suspects from Claire and Gan's fan club cheered the both of them on.
For many this was just a natural phenomenon. The Track and Field team have seen this game play out for much longer before and it always served as motivation for them before their own training. Almost as a way of encouragement to strive for such endurance.
Alas, no one ever showed a sign of favor toward Kage. They knew he would soon falter then be beaten like a rag by the two of them. The question was if it was Gan, or Claire that would deliver the finishing blow?
Kage knew this. The mocking eyes that watched him walk down the halls, not many were as weak as him and fewer crawled beneath him at the academy. For the place made for the gifted it was rarely seen as a place for those of intellectual capabilities.
Kage Tesler did not train for others. He was a selfish human-being that did what he wanted for himself paying no attention to those that beg and grovel.
He had already tried that.
This is where it had led him.
In his sister's shadow.
17 minutes, dizziness and fatigue had set in for him. Would he make it for another three minutes?
Then, his eyes were opened to an unseen path. One so tight that it would be like threading a needle amongst millions of others. The correct one had to be chosen otherwise the path would collapse like a house of cards. These needles were specific to Kage's vision. They were detailed with slight markings and a shade difference in tone. Slight characterizations that only he could perceive.
Kage reached so far with his right arm he swore he heard the appendage tear from its socket. His dream to reach that needle was unmistakable. Fingertips dug into the soil like nails to a wall. He was concrete and stationary from that joint. Mustering the last bit of his strength Kage kicked from the ground positioning his body just above his right arm. There he scooped the dirt flinging it into Gan's eyes.
Then landing on his left foot Kage sprinted toward his case. But, he suddenly lost his position on earth. Soaring through the sky like some cheap wooden doll.
In the end, Claire had won the game.
Cheers drowned out the boos which sounded off from the bleachers. All of which was lobbed at Claire for her victory.
The path had crumbled before Kage. At this level, his dreams were still a long shot from becoming a reality.
Claire stood above Kage while he lay flat on his back only serving to collect more dirt. Under his breath Claire could catch him whispering, "Gonna need more training."
"You certainly will. But, I bet you could still annoy the crap out of some of our teachers." Her hand stuck out waiting for Kage. He shamefully took it.
Once again, failure had reared its ugly head.
Gan came running toward them with a towel over his shoulder and one in each hand. He handed one to Claire while the other was thrown at Kage effectively smacking him in the face with its bluntness. The muscle on his frame had retracted.
He also came sporting three water bottles to quench their thirst. "You know, I had to wrangle an extra one of these from the girls over yonder. Better be appreciating my good heartedness."
Kage scoffed, proceeding to rub out the sweat from his hair and across his body.
The bell rang signaling the mass of their potential doom. Students were left to dash off, climb walls, or even soar to the roof before they were found tardy.
'30 seconds.'
He flinched at the thought. The friends walked onward to their class. Laughing and complementing each other on their skills and thorough pathing of someone else's attacks. Soon they met up with two boys drastically different in looks. Isaiah and Jacob who had watched their match from under the shade of the front doors peaking their heads out every time a particular gasp was echoed from the crowd.
Jacob leaned against the wall bouncing his foot to some invisible beat. His brown hair heavily gelled into a comical slicked back style. Heavy rimmed aviators stuck to his nose wherever he went. However, these shades were not just a bi-product of his eccentricity but designed to sort the differing light waves from both man-made and natural avenues. Not once had anyone seen behind those lenses.
His foot gave a tough kick from its position on the cobbled wall. Jacob whistled at the sight of them. "Well now, that was a beautiful display. Almost got out alive this time Kage. Better luck next time, am I right?" His slight smirk stabbed deep into Kage.
"Sure." Kage curtly replied. Usually, he could deal with Jacob's pompous ego and static nature but after his defeat he hadn't the temper to maintain such an annoyance.
He stared at Jacob's aviators. Although he had never seen his real eyes, he had heard that they were completely black sockets. His ability allowed him to manipulate the very light of the beyond that he could dissociate from the rest. At the heart of the boy was a laid-back jostle that lied of his own training. Kage was sure of it, despite him never being seen in the midst of practice, the cocksure smirk spoke differently. Jacob never shared his ranking but the four of them assumed him to be an A-tier.
Isaiah muttered, "Way to sour the moment, Jacob."
"What? I was congratulating him, wasn't I?" he asked while pointing to Kage for an answer in the affirmative.
"Don't ask him!" Isaiah said while smacking Jacob on the right cheek. He had to jump to reach him. "Of course, he will say you were. No one wants to see you depressed. If so, then the whole school will be down in the dumps for the rest of the day."
Isaiah's soft voice always confused an unfamiliar person at first listen. Many had confused him to be female, but as soon as they saw him, most regretted that assumption. Despite his short stature Isaiah was stretched wide like a boulder. Even more so his grades could not be deterred in their middling results. Born to the owner of a pharmaceutical company while being blessed with a high B-tier ability he had undoubtedly been set for life. Isaiah was another anomaly that wished to hide his ability only having demonstrated it to a room of judges and Jacob.
Him and Jacob stuck to each other like a dung beetle on shit. The two drastically differed in appearances yet shared an inkling in their hobbies for both soccer and politics. By all means their combination of stoic dwarf and flamboyant giant should not be allowed, but common interests united.
The five of them entered the room still chatting away. For them it was just another day at this academy. Although it was two months into the year, the group felt nervous for the future. But, most of all they wanted to leave this rotten core of a hole.