It had been another two weeks, and my plans for world domination got pushed aside by the beautiful D-Wheels in the garage. By this point, I had learned to turn them on, turn off the parking break, and re-engage the parking brake. Thankfully, my old duel disk was able to fit inside my mothers D-Wheel. I spent hours thinking about riding them around the city, competing in riding duels, and the fact that this would make my plans around the city a lot easier. Even now, after being here a short time, the streets of the city around me were starting to get familiar and I needed to expand my territory.
I had also been doing good about keeping track of Jack Atlas's whereabouts in the city. Not that he was worth my time, or that I wanted to see him. I just still didn't know why he was in the city, and right now, I didn't have time to find out. What interested me most were recent reports of a Psychic they have been calling the Black Rose Witch. She had been seeing dueling around the City on multiple occasions and was causing pain to anyone she dueled, but right now it wasn't clear of who she was targeting or even what kind of people she was going after. She definitely sounds like somebody worth going after. If I let the public keep doing what they were doing, before long, it would be a lot easier to know her whereabouts. Finding Psychics in the City is a lot harder than I thought it would be, but at least my plans were starting to move in some direction. While the public does my work, I'm going to get my D-Wheel license, then maybe, I can start looking around the city for some new friends. I will get the information I need no matter what it takes, nothing has been able to stop me in the past, and I'm willing to do anything to get what I want.
The first step of getting my D-Wheel license is to go take a written test, then pass a series of riding lesson classes. For the writing section of the test, I was able to study free course information online before going into the driving office to take my written exam. I passed with flying colours getting 19 of the 20 questions right on my first try. The minimum you had to get was at least 16, which made sense considering most of the test seemed to be common sense. Now, I have a permit saying I'm able to finally learn how to ride a D-Wheel. The only issue would be finding a teacher, and one that would teach marked citizens. Being marked made you an outsider and it make it feel almost like segregation is at large again, which is the last thing any country needs right now. We are all humans and should be treated equally. Unlike being a Psychic, being marked did not make you and evil and violent person.
The only way I was able to find a D-Wheel teacher was by searching online forums, as most teachers didn't publically announce they were teaching marked citizens because that would make them lose business. Because, of course, why would other people want to be around us? If they want to see a bad person, I will gladly show them what one looks like. The lessons I found are only a 5 week course, with one session each week only lasting 4 hours each. A small exam would take place at the end of each session with the final exam taking place on the last week. Not a bad deal at all and it's one of the shorter programs you can take. My next problem is that it's far enough away that I kinda needed a D-Wheel to get there, and I only have a permit. I guess it's time to start doing some self learning first.
My self learning experience is a journey, as some would say. I opened two of the large garage doors, so that I could take advantage of the garage as well as the driveway. The first task, balancing, wasn't that hard once I figured out I needed to be going over 15 KpH to really balance. My body's instinct tells me just to fucking speed up as fast as this thing would go, but thankfully, my brain tells me no. Once I get the hang of that, I keep going until I'm able to make circles from one end of the driveway to the garage and back. Each new step is scary to learn, but I tell myself to think of how thrilling the outcome of learning this would be. I also decide that this is enough for today, and tomorrow I would at least be able to get my lessons by slowly driving on back roads. I wasn't going anywhere near the motorway... Yet.
The next morning, I wake up early in a cold sweat. My first lesson isn't until this afternoon but I couldn't sleep. I'm ready to go. I'm excited to learn, for once in my life. I braid my hair again today, thinking it would be useful, not only to cover up my marker but to keep my hair out of my face while riding my D-Wheel. Besides that, I throw my standard outfit on, and I was able to print a map with instructions off from my dad's office. I make sure to map out only back roads to my lessons, considering it wouldn't be very good to be caught riding alone when I only have a permit. I decide it would also be best to go practice some more, until it's time for me for leave for my lessons.
Once the afternoon rolled around, I grabbed a black helmet laying around the garage, because if I wasn't going to wear the full riding gear, I could at least wear a helmet, I guess. I also make sure to leave early as I would need plenty of time to there. After driving slowly along the backroads, I'm able to find the address. It's a mostly vacant car lot on the outskirts of town, but there with a few guys hanging around, all with D-Wheels. None of them looking the most friendly. Sketchy men, D-Wheels, open space. This has to be the right place. Of course, everyone else here are guys, because it's not like riding duels are pretty sexist and restrictive to women. Noooo. That would be crazy. So pulling into the lot, you could say I got a lot more than just a few looks. It also probably doesn't help that I have the nicest D-Wheel there, even counting the instructor. That's saying a lot considering this D-Wheel is at least eighteen years old. There are five guys here altogether. One guy, the instructor I guess, is setting up orange cones around the lot. Three of the four other students are gathered in a group chatting. They all had dark hair, two of them with marked faces. I assumed they had all signed up to this together, and the fact that they kept sneaking glances at me before snickering doesn't help.
The fourth guy there, he was definitely different. He stands alone and doesn't even bother to look in my direction. His skin is beyond pale and I swear he shouldn't be outside. His hair, like his skin, doesn't have much color and is almost white, except for the dark brown undercut poking out from beneath his hair. The dark hair against his milky completion definitely doesn't help the colour of his skin. But with his strong nose and jawline, it's hard not to look at him. He's wearing dark blue skinny jeans rolled up at the bottom with a dark brown belt and a pair of brown brogues. His shirt on the other hand is a brightly coloured floral button up and is tucked into his pants. If not for the fact that he is clearly gay, I would almost think he was hot.
I think making friends could be beneficial in the future. I give him another look before deciding if I'm going to befriend anyone in this City, it was going to be him. Despite his strong features, he seems approachable enough, so I do just that. As I begin approaching him, he turns to look at me. I swear he almost just gave me a fucking heart attack. His eyes are the color of ice and seem unfitting for his friendly demeanor. Before I continue to approach him, he starts to approach me instead. I freeze in my place and the closer he gets, the more familiar he seems to be to me, but I can't put my finger on what it is. He stands right in front of me now with a large smile on his face, my flight or fight instinct is making me want to attack him. I tell myself that that isn't always the solution but that using my flight instinct would go completely against my nature.
"Hi, my name is Dmitri. It's nice to have another Psychic in the class." He winks at the word Psychic and holds his hand out to me, expecting me to shake it.
Time becomes frozen. I can't breathe. Instead of shaking his hand, I stand there with my mouth hanging open. How did he know? What have I done? What is wrong with me? What is wrong with him? Maybe this is why he felt familiar to me, but I still don't understand what's going on. Time is still frozen around me, and I'm just left blinking over and over, unable to move.
"This must be your first time meeting another psychic. Much less one that can point out you are a Psychic." He chuckles and my trance is broken.
"How… How do you know?" I point my finger in his face using my eyes to stare him down.
"Hey. Hey. Watch it there small one. I can read your aura." He gestures his hands around me, wiggling his fingers like casting an invisible magic spell around me.
"I'm not small. I'm above average for your information. You're just a giant. Plus what's all this stuff about Aura? You sound like a Psychic that I would find in a tent trying to read my future."
"Maybe I can invite you to my tent later then."
"How about not." I say, accompanied with an eye roll.
"It's okay, I'm gay anyway."
"I figured. Now about this aura stuff."
"Ok. So you must be new to the whole psychic thing. Short story is that all Psychics have special abilities they can use, besides the obvious materializing duel monster. Some Psychics don't even know what their special ability is, and may never know without the proper help. For me, not only can I sense aura, I can generally tell what powers other psychics have. For instance, I'm assuming you have something to do with fire." I listen to him go on about Psychic powers and it opens my mind up. Most Psychics I met could only materialize monsters, except for Domonic whose powers were similar to my own. If he thinks I'm new to this, what other stuff is there for me to learn? I decide being his friend is definitely the right choice, and that maybe I should even make some more friends. "Also, I never got your name."
"Kyoko. Kyoko Mashimo." I stick my hand out and he sticks his out also. We finally shake hands, this is the opening to a whole new world of opportunities. Plus if he ever steps of out line or figures out what I might be up to, then I'll just kill him. No harm done.
"Well, Kyoko Mashimo, since I'm guessing you don't get on with many other psychics, maybe you would like to join me and my friends on a Saturday night out some weekend."
"I'd love too." The struggle to conceal my smirk is unbearable, little does he know he's playing right into my hands. God, I should have left my house weeks ago. The thought that surprises me is how nice he is for being a Psychic, he even seems to accept himself for being a Psychic. It can't be true, he must be hiding something. It's not a Psychic's nature to be nice out of the good will in their heart. They, like me, are just cold empty monsters.
"CLASS LINE UP WITH YOUR D-WHEELS IN FRONT OF THE FIRST CONE!" The teacher yells pointing to a cone nearest all of us.
"I'll grab your number after class." Dmitri says running off to get his D-Wheel, and I do the same. We all line up in front of the cone, and the instructor goes over what we will be learning in each session of our 5 week course, then collects the money for our lessons.
The first class is very basic and includes everything I taught myself at home. Such as balancing, learning how to properly turn, and doing laps. Dmitri and I kept giving each other looks throughout the class, as if we're trying to see how the other person was doing and making sure we were doing better. This is also accompanied by us laughing at the other three guys in our class that were struggling to even balance on their D-Wheels at first. Once the main lesson was done, it's time for our small exam. All we had to do today was ten laps above a specific speed, without falling over. Which was easy enough, besides the fact that me and Dmitri ended up just trying to race each other to see who could finish the fastest without wiping out. At the end, our instructor took note of how we all did and told us we were free to leave for today.
"I was way better than you today!" Dmitri exclaims, pulling up on his D-Wheel beside me.
"Sure! Just keep telling yourself that." I laugh so hard that I let out a small snort. This is the most fun I've had in years, probably since Team Satisfaction. Dmitri points out my snort and burst out laughing as well.
"Let me see your phonem small fry." He says while catching his breath from laughing. I just roll my eyes and hand over a small flip phone from my pocket that I got back in The Cacoethes Movement. He, in exchange, hands me a large touch screen phone, that I barely understand how to use. He hold up my phone like an antique. "The nineties are calling and they want said they want their phone back."
"Sorry I'm not some privileged little white boy." I say, rolling my eyes again pretending to be offended while looking down at his phone in my hands. The image on the screen makes me smile. It's a selfie of Dmitri with his arm around a much smaller and tanner boy. He has black wavy hair and striking blue eyes, definitely of Polynesian descent. Both Dmitri and the boy are smiling so big, it made me really happy. This must be Dmitri's boyfriend.
"That's my boyfriend, Kai" Dmitri says as he catches me smiling at his phone. "You get to meet him along with everyone else when you come hang out with us." I quickly go into the phone app and type in my number trading phones back with Dmitri, saving his name into my phone.
I decide it's time to go home, so I tell Dmitri that I'll see him next week. Then, I leave my first D-Wheel lesson with the largest smile I've had in a long time, happy that I have a friend or friends to help ease the pain that the future would bring.
Dmitri and I have been texting almost everyday throughout the week, and even meet up sometimes to practice our D-Wheel skills outside of classes. Even attempting a few riding duels before getting into them in our course. The duel score stands two to three, with him in the lead. Also, throughout the course of the remaining four weeks, two of the other guys end up flucking out before the final exam. But after the full 5 weeks are finished, I've done it. I officially have my D-Wheel license! I can drive on the motorway and participate in legal riding duel tournaments. Which all seems like nothing compared to the plans I have to go out with Dmitri's friends this Saturday. I'm about to enter the den of the Psychics, a little club hidden in the city called Psycho.