It was the start of a new, fresh week. Cakey sat up and looked across from her, and it seemed like her roommate had woken up even earlier and left.
Cakey then got up, showered, dressed, then sat at her desk. She still had time before class started, so she hopped onto her computer and logged into Chalkboard.
Cakey checked if her assignments were turned in and then pulled out her notes to see if they were in order. Lastly, she pulled out her planner and made an agenda for the day.
It felt routine to her. It felt almost robotic. She felt lifeless.
She shoved her books, notes, and laptop into her backpack.
Before leaving, she quickly looked at the small knife on her desk.
—
Fast-forward to later in the day, and it was time for the long-awaited sparring sessions. In the stadium, everyone paired into two. Coach Hera was on the sidelines with her arms crossed. She conducted every one to start.
Dawn almost immediately felt a chill in the air. His opponent was the exact opposite of him in terms of abilities.
Dawn could conjure flames, while the other could freeze everything.
Her hair glistened under the sunlight, and her eyes were so intense that it felt sharp.
"Nice to meet you; I am Miyuki." She bowed.
"Likewise, I'm Dawn." He also bowed.
Dawn took up an orthodox boxing stance and engulfed his hands with flames.
Strictly speaking, Dawn can only conjure flames. The flames are limited to his body; he can't shoot it out unless he encases something with his fire. However, he can't burn himself with his heat, so theoretically, he could keep burning as long as he was alive.
Dawn lowered his center of gravity and rushed in, keeping his hands up to defend his face while leaving a gap to see in front of him.
His footwork was quick and efficient, and in no time flat, he saw himself throwing a quick left jab toward Miyuki's face.
Miyuki stepped to her right, avoiding the jab, then raised her hands and grabbed Dawn's leg to throw him onto the ground.
Dawn tried to raise his legs to kick her off, but she held his legs. He felt a surge of pain rushing through, and out of reflex, he covered himself in a veil of fire.
Miyuki backed off and suffered minor burns. Using her ability, she cooled the air around her with 'freeze' to soothe the pain of her injuries and douse the fire.
Dawn stood right back up and took a deep breath. [That was close.]
Miyuki gradually started to take steps forward to him.
Dawn became cautious and only kept her within arm's length. He was wary of throwing out a single punch.
[If she grabs me, she'll set freeze, then pin me to the floor. I'll have to wait and then strike.]
Miyuki inched a bit closer, and then, with her remaining stamina, she increased the output of her ability, freezing the floor around Dawn and her.
Dawn, afraid of slipping, didn't move a step.
Miyuki noticed the slight hesitation, so she lifted his leg again to pin him right back onto the ground.
[Fuck!]
Coach Hera then stepped into the fight. "That's enough!'
Miyuki stopped before she could initiate any submission holds.
"That was a splendid fight between you two." Hera clapped and smiled.
Dawn stood right back up, defeated. [I couldn't do anything.]
—
Kyle saw himself at a severe disadvantage. He was slower than Dawn and, physically, not as strong.
Kyle only had his own eyes.
His opponent was Wasser—a student in the class with blue highlights in his hair. Like Dawn, he could only conjure water.
Wasser encased himself within his ability, using it as a shield.
Similar to Dawn, his body adapted to the usage of his powers. He could breathe in his water.
However, the water-limited his movements, and from Kyle's vision, Wasser's strikes looked even slower.
From his vision, he saw each punch, kick, or anything thrown at him in slow motion. His body, however, couldn't keep up. Some hits from Wasser would land, leaving bruises on Kyle.
[I must think of somethin'.]
Then Kyle noticed Wasser struggling to stand. He was exhausted. His stamina was running low, and his veil of water was getting smaller.
[I'll wait it out!]
So Kyle egged Wasser on to continue fighting, and it worked.
After a few minutes, Wasser was entirely out of gas. He struggled even to conjure a single drop of water.
Kyle rushed in to knock Wasser down to the ground, seeing the opening.
Coach Hera appeared not a moment sooner, congratulating Kyle on his victory.
"Great fight, boy."
—
Cakey's opponent was the president of their class.
This student sat to the right of Dawn. She had black hair and wore an expression cuter than most.
Her name was Briar Brunson. She was an academic, always caught up in her studies.
She always looked focused, eager to learn anything that she could.
However, she was also quite timid when interacting with others.
But that didn't stop her from gaining a loyal fan base among some guys from the class.
A few girls were a bit jealous because of that.
Cakey could care less.
She could only think that she shouldn't lose; she couldn't even begin to see herself lose.
As if there was a chain weighing heavily in her mind telling her that "winning" was an absolute.
Cakey stood her ground and kept her composure. She waited for an opportunity to strike.
Briar was wary of her caution. She also needed to learn the extent of Cakey's regenerative abilities.
However, Briar believed that she could be faster.
Combined with her kicks, she felt almost unstoppable.
So Briar approached Cakey.
Briar looked like she would kick from the left, but it was feint; her real goal was to use the fastest kick in her arsenal.
She snapped a kick up to knock Cakey away.
However, Cakey dodged and pushed that kick aside.
Then, she swept Briar's legs with her feet, knocking her to the floor.
Cakey climbed on top of her, readying a flurry of blows.
But before she could deliver, Briar reacted quickly and launched a jab straight to Cakey's chin, causing her to fly off Briar.
Briar raised herself back up.
Cakey did the same, albeit slightly disoriented.
After Cakey regained her composure, she charged in first.
Briar read the charge, spun, and attempted to counter with a reverse side-kick.
But Cakey instinctively reacted by dodging underneath the kick and following up with a gut punch.
The moment the hit landed on Briar, only a single thought circled in her mind: [Just how…]
Briar collapsed to the ground, holding her stomach with immense pain.
Coach Hera then appeared to congratulate Cakey's victory. Though Hera told her that she wished she held back a little.
—
After the subsequent sparring matches, Coach Hera ended the class.
She congratulated everyone's sparring and tended to everyone's injuries.
She later explained that the sparring would continue but would end a week before the official tournament to allow the students to rest.
Dawn, Kyle, and Cakey regrouped. They left the class and then headed for the dormitory.
Their stomachs growled as they walked, begging to eat something.
The class had made them extremely hungry, so they headed for the dorm's cafeteria instead of entering their rooms.
The three sat at an empty table, all carrying a plate of food.
Dawn had an absurd amount of meat and rice.
Kyle's meal was balanced, consisting of meat, some vegetables, rice, and a salad as a side.
Cakey grabbed as many sweets and pastries as she could.
Kyle questioned their food choices.
As the three ate their food, they talked about their fights.
Kyle teased Dawn for being the only person within the group to lose but later consoled him for the fact that he ended up facing a monster.
Dawn asked the other two how their fights had gone.
Kyle explained how his fight was mainly a battle of attrition. He waited for his opponent's stamina to drop to tackle him to the ground later.
Cakey explained how she ended up facing the class president. She explained that the president gathered momentum to release and deliver quick attacks.
Dawn and Kyle were surprised to see how she beat the class president whose ability made them quicker.
As the three finished their meals, they returned to their dorm rooms.
Cakey's roommate was still nowhere to be found, but she could tell they visited the room while Cakey was in class.
Now that she was back in her room, Cakey started with the homework assigned for the day.
As the evening went by, she heard and felt her phone vibrate.
She grabbed her phone out of her pocket.
She hesitated to answer the phone, but she did.
"Mom?"
"Oh, Honey! How was school?" The mom asked.
"It's going great." Cakey wasn't too excited to talk to her.
"How are your grades?" The mom's tone shifted to be more serious.
"It's all perfect mom…"
"Oh good! I told your younger brother how great of a student you are!" The mom was pleased.
"I was just telling your brother how he should be more like you! But he doesn't seem to listen, you know…" The mom's mood dropped.
"At this rate… I'm worried if your brother will even be a good hero in the future, let alone have a good job."
Cakey just listened.
"I've been sending him to many tutoring sessions and even enrolled him into an honors program to attend after school." The mom sighed; she sounded disappointed.
"But even then, his grades just can't get any higher. I'm worried for him, Cakey."
"Can I talk to him?" Cakey asked.
The mom gave the phone to the younger brother.
"Hey…" Cakey's tone was soft.
"Hey, sis…" The brother sounded exhausted.
"How're you holding up?"
"Fine… but… mom, you know? Just… It's a lot."
"It's okay. I, for one, believe you're doing great, you know!" Cakey cheered.
"Mom doesn't think so…" The brother quietly muttered.
"Don't listen to mom do what you want to do…"
"Can I?" His voice suddenly got brighter.
"You can… I'll talk to mom."
The mom was at the other end. "Your brother said you had something to say? What is it, honey?"
"Can't you let him just do what he wants. I think it's oka—"
The mom interrupted, "So what're you trying to say?!" She yelled.
"Mo—" Cakey got cut off again.
"Just listen to me! I'm saying this for yours and your brother's future!" The mom yelled on the other side.
The mom continued lecturing for the next hour and ended the call without even a "goodbye."
Cakey could feel her heart racing after the call.
Her breathing felt heavy.
She started shivering.
And her hands were twitching, itching for something.
She saw the knife that she left on her desk in the morning.
She grabbed it.
Then, after a quick slash to her wrists, she felt some ease.
She believed this was the one thing in her life she at least had some control over.
The cut on her wrist then started to heal.
She didn't have to worry about anyone noticing.
But then she thought of someone.
There was someone who did notice.
"... You don't have to feel alone too…" What Dawn said rang into her mind.
It gave her some comfort.