Time passed at a crawl for the rest of the afternoon's classes. They went to Geometry, followed by Chinese, not to be outdone by the isolated portable where Mr. Yuul taught Chemistry. Not once was Daniel allowed to sleep during these classes. They all had material so suffocating there was no conceivable way to avoid the information.
Once they ended Daniel felt his soul return. Like flakes of snow, they gradually built up until it was a humongous pile that needed to be plowed away; and he needed to get rid of some of this energy. He could practically feel his body vibrate.
All too soon had he gotten to the gym, and it was all too late to turn back when Kage saw him. He had known that Daniel might've tried to run. This was an outcome he could not let occur. If left alone to face them Kage wouldn't have gone in. The social awareness he had acquired made him susceptible to their stares. All the regulars were wondering why Kage stood out in the cold. Some knew of his trainee that he was coaching but the majority thought he was wasting his time with the kid. Not much had improved with him. Daniel's strength was the same and couldn't make it past 10 push-ups or 15 sit-ups. The most he could lift was 150 pounds, below the average for an evolved human, and he left stumbling about close to dead each day. They all thought of him as a lost cause that would tie Kage down.
Which made every day interesting to Kage. Daniel's failure as well as struggles only influenced him to continue pushing the boy. He would break the child before admitting he had misjudged his character. Fight until victory or break until death, thus were the options presented to Daniel.
He caught sight of Daniel the second he turned the corner. Kage's piercing eyes hit Daniel smack dab in the heart. There was the point of no return. So, without another thought he charged ahead. Eyes shut and breathing regulated, he killed his fear and buried it deep down in the bowels of his mind. His march ended at the revolving glass door.
A hand wrapped around Daniel's. Although his eyes were still shut, he felt the difference between leather and normal skin. Led like a schoolboy by mommy, they fled inside the locker room avoiding as many sly remarks and giggles as possible.
The hand let go but the feeling was still there. It was a charm to keep him safe. "I have to go shower if I'm going to get rid of this makeup I use. Wait for me, but you better be dressed when I come out." Kage entered the showers giving Daniel the space to comfortably peel off the layers of clothing he wore.
One by one a new piece fell off. A padded yellow jacket which then lay beside torn jeans. Without even acknowledging it he found that he had put on shorts instead of actually taking off his shirt. Some of the scars could be seen past the shorts but nothing too extreme. His arms on the other hand were worse than what Kage had seen. His friend's quick glance did not see the scars that vaguely appeared to be in the shape of a skull or initials of various people.
Shutting his eyes so tight it hurt, Daniel ripped off the shirt, throwing it into his bag. "I have to get over this. I have to do this. I have to. I can't be a loser. I have to be better." These words were a prayer to whatever heavenly being that would grant him the strength to conquer this moment. Evidently, a god did answer.
Something was passed to him. Touching and wringing his hands through the material he realized that it was a T-shirt. "Put it on already. I don't take pride in studying the male anatomy." His eyes opened and what he saw made him teary-eyed. Kage had dressed completely before aiding Daniel. He was just as self-conscious of himself as Daniel was with marks sliding across his body dulled into a muted red. Time had softened them but they were still blisteringly obvious. Some crept across both arms with only one eating up Kage's left hand. A particularly nasty burn clawed its way up his neck and bent over the tip of his chin.
"Stop gawking and put on the shirt. We need to still get to your routine, unless you want to go longer?" Daniel's jaw could hit the floor at the prospect. There was no way he would be going longer.
Comparisons could only be inadequate to Kage. Each look he took at Daniel furthered this belief. The boy had it worse than Kage which provoked a sharpening ache to creep into him. It was annoying to know that someone could be worse off. Even worse was the fact that the two of them could never stand on equal footing.
Kage was already gone, preceded by the woops and intangible gasps at his reveal. A gloomish manifestation nipped at Daniel's ear whispering soothing predictions that poisoned the recess of his selfdom.
'Boos and jeers will be for you.'
'Shock and horror. Wonderings of innocents only to be coupled to those of prejudice. To be accented by the pitiful words of aid. Let's move on. You got your mock fun. Your mock friend. Time to leave.'
But the image of that hand still perforated in his eyes. Kage's faults and lies were known and too easy to read but enlightened him to move forward.
Belief was a concept unbeknownst to Daniel his entire life. When he saw the strength exuded by Kage on that day, he knew by following this person's footsteps he would grow transforming into the best he could be. Therefore, Daniel found comfort and a phrase he alone could procure.
"I will be better." The slumbering walk of his gave no reaction from the others who had already crowded around Kage.
So far so good.
Then the tether caught up with him. A rough grip pushed on his shoulder. Its owner's breath tickled the back of his neck. Strong and deep it billowed across Daniel's frame. Another hand pounced onto his head. Bear in size and built around calluses the hand experienced the worst of jobs, even death Daniel speculated.
Air drew into the man's mouth and out came the most terrifying noise Daniel had ever heard in his life. A laugh. "HAHAHA! Ya finally grew up, didn'tja!" The hand on his head rustled through his hair just like someone would do to a dog after picking up a tossed frisbee. A snap of fingers drew his attention. Walking back to his station, the man had pointed at Kage.
His group had dispersed with the others either nodding in recognition of Daniel or straight up ignoring him.
"Get over here Daniel!" Kage yelled in a booming voice, "It's time to do some lessons on fighting." Energy shot like a bullet into Daniel's body. The fact that he could stay here longer was exhilarating. Although most would have wanted to be acknowledged, all he needed was solidarity. One person for him to grasp onto and stay with.
That's why Daniel thought all of this was too good. Much too good