Three months had passed, and now the first day of the second year at the academy had arrived.
Dakota was finishing up his morning routine. He washed himself, brushed his teeth, and started dressing up for the day. Once ready, he made his way downstairs for breakfast.
Mother: "Good morning, Dakota."
Dakota looked at his mother, who was as beautiful as always.
Dakota: "Good morning, Mother."
Father: "Good morning."
Dakota turned to his father, who was looking as strong as ever.
Dakota: "Good morning to you too."
Dakota: "So, what do we have for breakfast?"
Mother: "I made you some steak and fries."
Dakota: "Oh, this looks so delicious! I can't wait to eat it."
Dakota eagerly sat down and started devouring the food. Within a few minutes, he had finished his meal.
Mother: "Well, now it's time for you to head to the academy. You can't be late on your first day."
Dakota: "Yes, I know, Mother. I'll be going now. Bye."
Dakota waved to his parents and left the house. After a 20-minute walk, he was close to reaching the academy.
Dakota (thinking): "I'm kind of nervous about meeting them. I mean, I haven't seen them at all during the summer break. It's like they took my words too seriously. We only called each other and talked; that's it. We didn't see each other at all. But that's fine. As long as they got a lot stronger, then it will be fine."
After a few minutes, Dakota arrived at the academy. He took a deep breath before walking inside. After searching for a few seconds, he spotted his entire group sitting together at a table in the cafeteria.
Dakota made his way over to them and, with a smile, greeted them.
Dakota: "Hello there, my dear friends! Did you miss me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone suddenly hugged him from behind.
Ava: "Oh, I missed you so much, Dakota!"
Dakota: "But it was only three months."
Ava: "So? That's the longest we've been apart from each other."
Dakota smiled and hugged Ava back.
Dakota: "I guess I missed you too."
Just then, Henry joined in, giving Dakota a big hug as well.
Henry: "Yay! Dakota's here! Haven't seen you in three months. How have you been?"
Dakota: "I'm doing fine, Henry. How about you?"
Henry: "Me too, I'm fine."
Ava: "Get off me, you idiot!"
Ava kicked Henry off of her, and then Mia, Lucas, and Liam greeted Dakota, though they didn't hug him.
Lucas: "Ah, Dakota, how have you been over these three months?"
Liam: "It's so nice to see you again."
Mia: "It sure is. We all missed you."
Dakota: "Well, I'm doing fine, and I missed you all too."
Then, Amelia, Jack, and Luna greeted Dakota, and after the warm reunion, they all sat down at the table. They started talking about what they did during the summer break.
Everyone had been trained by their parents, so they had all gotten stronger. Dakota, of course, had been training relentlessly as well.
Dakota: "I was suffering. Every time I tried to beat the strongest hero in history…"
Ava: "Me too. It sucks trying to beat my dad."
Henry: "So, everyone's parents beat them up?"
Dakota: "Looks like it."
Dakota: "But what do we do now?"
Liam: "We should finish all our lessons for today, and then we can go and hang out somewhere."
Dakota: "That sounds like a good idea. Let's just hope the lessons finish quickly."
The lessons started, and as expected, Dakota already knew everything being taught. He didn't pay much attention and just waited for them to end so he could hang out with his friends.
A few hours later, the lessons finally ended, and the group decided to go to a restaurant since they were all hungry.
Dakota: "I didn't go to a restaurant at all during the summer break. Did you guys go to any?"
Henry: "Nah, I was just training the whole time."
Ava: "Yeah, me too."
Lucas: "I only went to a restaurant once."
However, Liam, Mia, and the others had gone to restaurants many times, and now they had arrived at the best restaurant in America.
They entered the restaurant, ordered their food, and found a large table for nine.
Once seated, they started chatting and catching up. Twenty minutes later, their food arrived.
Dakota: "Oh, all of this looks so delicious! I haven't had restaurant food in a while. I can't wait to eat it again."
The group started eating. While everyone else ate elegantly, Dakota and Henry devoured their food with gusto. The group had long gotten used to their eating habits, though some of the other diners couldn't help but stare. Dakota and Henry didn't care, though.
After a while, everyone finished eating, and they left the restaurant.
Dakota: "So, where should we go now?"
Mia: "Why don't we all go to Ava's house?"
Ava: "Huh? Why my house?"
Dakota: "I mean, I haven't been to your house in a long time, and your brother must miss me a lot. So yeah, we should go to your house."
Ava: "What?… Ah, fine. Let's all go to my house."
Dakota: "Yay!"
Dakota and the rest of the group were excited to visit Ava's house. After a 30-minute walk, they finally arrived.
As soon as they entered, Ava's younger brother Andy jumped into Dakota's chest.
Andy: "Finally, you came to visit, Dakota! I haven't seen you in three months."
Dakota: "Yes, I'm sorry about that. But now I'm here, so let's have fun."
Andy: "Okay!"
Franklin: "Ah, hello to all of you. Haven't seen you all in three months."
The group bowed in respect, except for Dakota, who simply nodded.
Franklin: "… You're not going to bow?"
Dakota: "You told me to treat you like an equal, so that's what I'm doing."
Franklin: "And I regret saying that. You take things too seriously."
Dakota: "Actually, it's quite the opposite."
Franklin: "… Really?"
Ava: "Yes, really. He barely takes anything seriously."
Franklin: "Huh? Then he's just like his father."
Dakota: "Thank you. Now it's time for this party to get started!"
With that, the group settled into the living room and began having fun at Ava's house. They played games, joked around, and caught up on everything they had missed over the summer.
The afternoon passed by quickly, filled with laughter and chatter, and it was a reminder to Dakota of how much he cherished these moments with his friends. The bond they shared was something that no amount of time could break, and as they continued to spend time together, Dakota couldn't help but feel that this was the start of a new chapter in their lives.