Not too far from the academy building were the dormitories, two large and curved buildings that split in the middle, having a fountain at the middle that leads towards the two buildings. The dorms are separated between genders, one building is for men and the other building for women.
Kimura was in the left building as he was on the rooftop of the dorms, having his phone sit nearby replaying a recording of sorts.
"Remember, backstep, then one two for people who like to stay in the middle area." A Feminine voice came out of the recording
"Backstep…one two!" Kimura did exactly what the recording said.
"Sway left if it's a right hook and the opposite if it's the other way, then gut punch into an uppercut."
Kimura sways right into a right hook to an imaginary abdomen into an uppercut where he would strike where the jaw would be.
"Now try the combination. I'll give you three seconds to catch your breath."
Kimura backs up a bit as he takes a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling as he raises his guard up.
"…and go!"
Kimura throws out a one-two punch into a small step in throwing a gut punch into an uppercut then a right straight. Imagining that a retaliation happened, Kimura steps back into another one-two with his right hand leading this time. Kimura then swayed underneath an imaginary left hook as he threw a kidney shot into a left uppercut. To finish off he goes for a textbook counter punch as the timer rings from the recording.
Kimura gasps for air as clapping can be heard from the recording.
"You did it Kenji, the combination you've been wanting to learn for so long. I hope you could master it and change it up."
Kimura walks over to the phone as he pauses the recording, setting his phone down as he starts practicing the combination.
One-Two, Step in, sway into gut punch then into right uppercut. Backstep, repeat to the kidney…then counter or right hook…
Kimura repeats the combination as Kimura decides to mix up the combination, throwing out the one-two punch but instead of swaying to the right, Kimura parries the hit and does a quick jab before stepping in and doing a gut shot. Stepping back, he takes a couple of deep breaths as he walks over and picks up a bottle of water and drinks it.
"I have to thank dad when I decide to go home."
Kimura taps the pause button on the video as he exits out of the video player, looking at his phone as he just stares at the background he has. The background is an image of himself and two other friends in a selfie vertically rather than landscape.
Kimura softly sighs with a small smile, but he goes into his gallery and into the videos section, opening to 14 videos. Every video was titled Kenji with the number 1 to 14, tapping the video Kenji_2.
***
Woosh!
The door to the Medical Longue opened as Kimura walked in, seeing Korvos, Erudis, and Suharu still recovering.
"What are you doing here so early? It's six in the morning." The Doctor called out.
"Oh, I just…came to check in, that's all." Kimura replied.
"…You seem awfully hesitant."
"..."
"Do you miss Ishimura Academy?"
"Huh?" He turned his attention to the Doctor.
"Do you miss the academy? I know about your history with it, I was there when it burned."
"..." Kimura paused looking a bit somber.
"…Sorry, I just wanted to know since you're the only survivor…" The Doctor apologized.
"I-It's fine doc…I…I do miss my pals sometimes…" Kimura replied with a heavy sigh, grasping his right arm for comfort.
"I see…" He sighs briefly before switching the topics, "They're okay now, all of them are still asleep like rocks. Suharu took quite the beating but she's a strong girl, she'll manage."
Kimura turns his attention to the three, seeing them sleep in their own sleeping positions. Erudis was sleeping flat on his back, shuffling a little leaning more on his right a little. Korvos was sleeping on his left side, drooling a bit from whatever he's dreaming about. Finally, Suharu was sleeping on her right, curled up in a fetal position as she slept quietly.
"What about the student near the student council? The one that Wei-Hu was taking care of?"
"Oh him? Wei-Hu took care of his injuries, surprised she isn't an assistant around here." The Doctor jokes about it.
"Ah, that's great to hear." Kimura sighs in relief.
Kimura lingered in the medical room for a bit watching over them from the doorway as he sat in a chair, his arms crossed as his bag sat leaning against the cabinets beside him. The room was quiet as the sun was barely rising as it became 6:35 AM. The Crack of Dawn had begun to rise as Kimura waited for another twenty minutes.
Yawwwwnn…
Korvos was the first to wake up as Korvos sat up, wiping his mouth as he then rubbed his eyes. Kimura looked overhearing his medical bed creak and saw his silhouette appear from the curtains.
"Morning Korvos."
"Huh…? Kimura…?" Korvos moved his curtains.
"Yeah?"
"What are you-" Korvos yawned a bit before continuing, "-doing here so early in the morning…? It's the crack of dawn…" Korvos rubbed his eyes again.
"I could say the same for you waking up at the exact same time."
"Anyway…What are you here for…?" Korvos questioned him.
"Remember yesterday? You wanted to talk to me." His tone shifted.
"Oh…right…"
Korvos got up from his bed and peeked to look at the other two, checking their conditions as he then walked over to Kimura and sat in the chair beside him. The doctor sat in his chair as he was on his computer.
"So, the transfer student is the Ishimura kid…"
"Something wrong about it?" Kimura looked at Korvos.
"Nah, not really…I thought all the students from Ishimura were dead honestly."
"..."
"Everyone knows it, but you break those rumors by being the only survivor y'know." He turns his head to look over at Kimura.
Kimura takes a deep breath, sitting down in a chair internally, he's replaying the events that happened five years ago. The sounds of fire sparking, explosions, and the sound of screams and cries for help ringed in his ears, shaking his head.
"Something wrong Kimura?" Korvos asks worried.
"No…No everything's fine." Kimura responded a bit dry.
"Continue what you were going to say…" Kimura politely told Korvos.
"Oh. Alright then uhm…"
Korvos wasn't expecting Kimura to suddenly just tell him to keep talking, their conversation ended when Kimura went silent, but he thought up of a conversation topic.
"Have you heard the news lately?"
"What? Who still watches the news??"
"Uh…everyone? Do you not??" Korvos asked confused.
"Not really, I just see it when I open my phone."
"Well to tell you the short version, there was an Esper found dead yesterday within an alleyway, his mana was drained out of his body."
"Jesus…What happened to him?"
"The autopsy report that they gave to the public showed he had a burned tattoo mark on his forearm."
Korvos pulls up the article on his phone, scrolling by swiping up as he reaches the autopsy report and the image of the burned mark on the man's forearm. He hands it to Kimura as Kimura takes his phone and looks at it himself.
The photo shows bruises on the man's head, chest, and abdomen, several cuts along their shoulders to their wrists as well as two cuts to their Achillies Tendons, making it near impossible to escape. However, Kimura stared at the symbol as his eyes widened at it.