I called out to Strike Slip, expecting him to cower in fear.
He disappointed me.
He sighed and stood up from his table, at an imposing height of about 6"3, and glowered down at me. Something told me that this was a bad idea. I smothered it.
Always study your enemy, always give them that respect, because all men worth fighting are worth knowing as well.
My father's voice rang in my head.
I obliged the voice and really looked at him for the first time.
He was ripped, like seriously so, and handsome too. A splash of freckles ran across his flawless nose, and from his light snarl I could see that his teeth were wicked sharp too. He braided some strands of his wild white hair with gold and blue feathers, probably from an Icarus. Where could he have gotten those? It didn't matter. His ears were pierced in multiple places(with earrings in some of them.)The strangest part about him was that he was heterochromatic, with one dark blue eye and a gold one, which made staring him in the eyes unnerving.
"What the hell do you want?" He asked, clearly mad. Well too bad, no one asked him to be so weak.
"Your money and maybe a little groveling, nothing fancy." I replied, waiting to see him make a move he'll regret. I had noticed his siblings go to the bathroom earlier, which gave me confidence to do something.
I saw him slightly lower himself into a fighting stance.
That was all I needed.
I circulated my Aether through my body, until it was brimming with the stuff, and shot out a right jab, keeping myself centered. I expected him to get decked.
Didn't happen.
Instead he ducked under the punch, swept out his left leg, taking me off my feet, and as I was still falling he kicked upwards with his right leg, hitting me square in the side. The power packed in that kick was mind-boggling, more than what I could do. And he was an Ember!
I rose a few feet in the air and as I was coming down he punched out. I blocked it, dragged him towards me and punched too. This time I connected but he was back with another punch that sent me backwards instead.
I landed and before I could look up a vicious kick to my face sent me back again. This sick one sided beatdown continued until I couldn't even think straight and probably looked like I had been abused(which I had.)
He didn't look all dandy either, since I had gotten a few lucky shots in, but compared to me he looked pristine.
He looked down on me with contempt and this massive wave of shame overwhelmed me. What would my father think? He would give me the beating of a lifetime.
But I had to make it through school first.
"Pathetic.",He spat, "How you feeling now, Tough Guy? You know what, I'm feeling generous today, so how about all your money and maybe a little groveling, nothing fancy."
People were staring. I saw Asher taking a video and I knew by the time I got to school the whole student body would have seen it.
"Never." I whispered, trying to preserve that last bit of pride. But I guess that didn't matter.
"~Oh well~," He sang, reaching into my pockets and taking my wallet out. "I was going for both, but money's fine too. Damn you're poor, not even $100 in this." He counted the money inside, took it all out and threw the wallet at me.
"Ta Ta! And thanks for the money!" He shouted back at me.
He walked in the shop, took him and his siblings' paninis(which I'm damn sure he paid for with my money) and sat down. When they came and saw him like that, the younger girl snickered and pointed at me while the older one just shook her head. He seemed to then launch into a tirade, overly animated, probably about how he beat the bricks out of me.
They walked out of the store, happy as could be. The little one was even singing.
I was barely conscious and was slipping. Just before I went out he looked me dead in the eyes and winked.
I shouldn't have tried.
Then I was gone