Blyke grumbled to himself as he walked the hallways with John, "You really think it's a good idea to skip class when you already suck at understanding the lessons?"
"First of all, fuck you," John replied.
Blyke merely shrugged. They both knew it was the truth, no matter how much John would try to say he wasn't that bad.
"And secondly, I got some friends who can help me work through that mumbo-jumbo, so it's not a big deal. Other stuff takes priority sometimes." He continues with a shrug.
Must be talking about those other three he hangs out with, the Low-Tiers?
Blyke's seen John with them pretty often, though he hasn't personally interacted with them much. Putting himself out there wasn't always his specialty. But, they seemed alright, and John enjoyed being around them, so he didn't bother asking about it.
He chuckled though, "Fucking mumbo-jumbo?"
"Damn fucking right mumbo jumbo! I never asked to deal with letters and shapes in a subject about numbers!"
"Well shit, better take one or the other—I heard that next year we either take Trig or Advanced Algebra."
John quickly grew a look of disgust, though before anything else could leave his mouth besides, "Blegh!", he stopped. His eyes looked off elsewhere for a moment, feeling the mass of aura activating up ahead, then looked back at Blyke and pointed a thumb at the right intersection of the hallway.
"Someone's using their ability. My guess...probably around level three."
Blyke's not sure how long it'll take for him to get over the fact that not only could John straight up copy abilities, but that his passive lets him straight up sense the aura of others around him. That's gotta be a hell of a helper in any fight he gets into.
However, at the moment, he just groaned. "Seriously, goddamn—how many times has it happened in the last hour...?!" Blyke mutters to himself.
"Yeah well, no rest for the wicked and all that," John remarks, brushing off Blyke's disbelief. Approaching the corner of the wall, John leans against it, looking at Blyke. "You know what to do."
"Why haven't you dealt with one of them yet?" Blyke questions.
"Because I've been dealing with them since I got here." John snaps back, "Plus, others need to see that someone in the actual rankings, no matter how pointless it all really is, is doing the same." He explains.
Blyke could feel his eyes narrow at that. While the importance of his rank isn't as deeply rooted in him—compared to someone like Arlo or...Zeke—he still did hold a bit of pride in himself for his strength and placement in Wellston's Top 10. To hear John just so casually dismiss the entire notion of it, of that acknowledgment of his strength, it...irked him more than he probably should let it.
But he masked that behind a sigh because that wasn't the problem right now. Stepping past the corner, he saw what needed to be taken care of.
The reason for why they were skipping class? Since Blyke found out what John said was going on in the school, the latter thought it was a good idea for him to see it firsthand.
Blyke certainly wasn't expecting to come across these incidents as often as they did.
The first time, it had just been a scuffle between two students that Blyke wouldn't have given a second glance normally, but once he actually stepped up and asked what was going on, he could see the difference in the two students injuries and how one of them clearly hadn't wanted to fight as much as the other did, no matter what the stronger one tried to say to Blyke.
The third occurrence had been caused by one student harassing another over something as stupid as bumping into them. Blyke wasn't a fan of people not watching where the hell they were going but he and John heard both heard the kid apologize for it and all the other girl could say to defend herself was that the guy gave her a nasty look.
So the fuck what, Blyke had thought. A dirty look didn't mean shit if the person wasn't going to back it up with a fight, just call them an asshole and move on from it!
He didn't even want to bother remembering the 5th time, Dumbass Zeke, he should probably feel lucky John didn't get his hands on him this time—
"Please let me go! I'm sorry! This project is really important for my grade and I just need a little more time to—!"
The pleading of the boy with green hair in a bowl cut was cut off with a gasp that died in his throat as he watched the artistic presentation he'd spent all night on for his History Project become smashed to pieces under the heel of the bully's shoe.
The bully, a girl named Brea with orange hair tied back in twin ponytails, simply mocked by the boy. "mY pRoJeCt, mY pRoJeCt—god, all you weaklings sound the same when you're whining and squirming on the floor!" She said, sounding like she was trying to hold in a god-awful cackle as she grabbed the boy's bangs and pulled him up painfully, ready to leave a lovely red mark on his face. Being one of the strongest Mid-Tiers in the school meant almost no one bothered to get in the way of her fun.
—But now, by the 7th time, Blyke was way over all this bullshit.
"I don't even know why a waste of space like you would ever think your effort ever meant anything—!"
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"
The girl's eyes widen as a voice off to her left shouted out. She snapped her head in the direction and her eyes constricted with fear as she saw who it was. Immediately, she lets go of her victim and takes a step back as she watched Blyke—with the look of being pissed off obvious for anyone to see—quickly approach her and the student.
"B-Blyke...?!" She questions why the boy was even here to begin with, but she's quick to try and defend herself, pointing a slightly shaking finger at the boy cowering next to her as a nervous laugh leaves her throat. "Y-You wouldn't believe the nerve of this idi—"
"Just shut up...!" Blyke mutters, not even bothering to give her another look for now as he quickly bends a knee, gathering the pieces of the project that had broken apart and at least collecting it all back together in the crumpled box used to create its setting. Some kind of event re-enactment, Blyke figured it was supposed to be.
He moved his gaze off to his left, where the guy was and saw the soft disbelief in his eyes, underneath the tears that had been silently falling from his face. Why does he look so surprised? Blyke wonders to himself, but not only that. He obviously put a lot of effort into this and she just...for fuck's sake.
He stood back to full height, still looking at the guy. "The library should have all the supplies you need to to help with your project. Tell your teacher what happened and that I'm vouching for you, that'll probably let you get an extension on it if you need it, alright?" He says. It takes a second for the guy to respond but soon he nods.
"Alright, now what're you waiting for, get going!" Blyke brutishly ushered, causing the boy to nod furiously and quickly gather up his belongings before running off, hurrying himself to the library, not even noticing the dark-haired boy leaning against the wall, who just nodded to himself.
All the while, Brea's eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the boy run off. What...What the hell is going on?
She gritted her teeth and snap her eyes onto the one in front of her, "Wh-What the hell are you doing, Blyke?! You're just gonna let him go after what he did—?!"
"And what, the fuck, did he do exactly?" Blyke would question, needing to take just one step forward in order for the girl to shut her mouth. "Bump into you? So fucking what? That gave you no right to go and just trample on his work just because of that. The hell's wrong with you?"
People like her and Zeke who seemed to get some sort of enjoyment out of tormenting and beating down others weaker than them, Blyke could never get it and he didn't want to. This girl couldn't even say anything for herself and he wasn't sure if he was ticked off more or less by that.
Blyke turned partway, only one eye meeting her fearful gaze. "You're twisted, get over stupid shit like this and do something better with yourself." He said, before turning away from her and walking away. He wanted her to be the last dumbass he had to deal with.
But the girl's eyes flared with confusion. Why would an Elite like Blyke bother involving himself in this? He had better things to do, didn't he? Why was he giving such special treatment to some waste of space Low-Tier? Why did he make it sound like she did something wrong?
I don't...I don't get this!
He's the weakling! He's the one bumped into me!
He deserved it for getting in my way!
So why am I the one left to feel humiliated?! This isn't right! It's unfair!
Frustration built up and up within Brea as she watched Blyke, who felt his phone buzz and reached to see what it was, walk away from her, not bothering to give her a second thought.
That frustration led her aura along through her arm like a malicious guiding hand.
Why would an Elite like you ever side with these weaklings...?! She could find no reasonable answer why as her hand lifted up, aiming at Blyke.
She's going to fire an attack at you. - John
Huh?
"You're supposed to look out for us, not them!"
Quickly, Blyke turned around and had just enough time to completely dodge the green bolt of energy she fired at him, leaving it to dissipate as it flew through the hallway at the same time that he activated his ability, This damn idiot!
Brea's dreadful surprise at what happened left her defenseless to one of Blyke's energy finger beams piercing straight through her shoulder, causing her to scream out a cry of pain as blood began to seep through shirt and vest, running along her sleeve as she covered the wound with her other hand.
"The hell was that?!" Blyke yelled, propelling himself with one beam propulsion and gripping onto Brea's shirt in anger. "Are you trying to get your ass kicked?!"
"No, no, please! I-It was an accident! I didn't mean to do it! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Brea sputtered out sporadically, covering her face with her arms out of fear, a hypocritical one if there ever was.
The second she's faced with a threat, she acts the exact fucking same as the person she was tormenting? What a load of bullshit.
Blyke 'Tch' and let his grip loosen, dropping her to the floor, still looking up at him with tearful eyes filled with fear.
"Go fuck off to the infirmary or wherever you want, just get out of my face." Blyke ordered, keeping a charging energy beam in his palm to show her now was not the time to test him.
Without a word, she just scrambled to her feet and ran away from him. When she was out of sight, Blyke deactivated his ability and grumbled a sigh.
"Jeez, she might've been the worst one you dealt with today." John said, stepping beside Blyke. "Just from the way she sounds, I'd think she has a few screws loose."
"It's ridiculous," Blyke said, getting John's attention. "In every one of them, the entitlement was plain as fucking day. Students were just minding their own business and they decided to fuck with them just because? It's...It's so fucking dumb."
"You're catching on, that's good." John remarked, patting Blyke on the shoulder. "On the other hand, I think we should invest in a swear jar for you."
"I'm pissed off, alright?! And like you have any room to talk, you swear up a storm every time I kick your ass in Smash Bros."
John looked offended, "...You don't kick my ass every time."
"Yes I do, you literally only have 1 win against me...out of like 20."
Now John was appalled, "Yeah, okay, Blyke. Count your fucking days because once I get the techniques down, it's over for your bitch ass."
Blyke brought his palms up and shook, "Ooooh, I'm shivering in my fucking boots."
They stared at each other for a moment, before small bouts of laughter echoed between them and they shared a brofist.
They'd begin to walk off, deciding to just wait out of the last 10 minutes of this period, before John decided to ask something, "Is that finger beam you have your only method of a warning shot?"
"Hm?" Blyke looked at John, then at his hand creating a small beam of energy from his index finger. "Yeah, I suppose...it does the job, doesn't it?" He asked.
"Oh no, it does, and I definitely don't mind seeing pricks like her get a scratch or two." John said, setting his hands in his pockets. "However, if you end up being a just bit off with your aim, those warning shots could turn lethal pretty easily. What do you think would happen if one of them ended up hitting someone in the head?" John questioned, gesturing to his own with a finger.
Blyke looked at John in silence, then at the energy ball atop his finger, with a bead of sweat dripping from his head.
"Fuck, I...I guess I never really thought about it. I've always had pretty good aim so...I guess I just took that for granted." Blyke admits.
"Yeah, I don't blame you for it," John says, "I doubt plenty of people with projectile abilities actually worry about the collateral they could cause if things got out of hand. Maybe it's something you could work on with your ability, help you build up your versatility and all that." John suggested with a shrug.
Blyke half-mindedly nodded, shutting off his ability. It was a pretty good idea, actually.
Then, his pace slowed and his eyes gazed off at John, who's small talk was ignored by Blyke's inner thoughts.
An ability that allows him to use other's abilities, combined with being adept at making good use of them, alongside his high level...
What could he do with my ability?
"Hey, John." Blyke called out.
John turned around, blinking, "When the hell did I get ahead of you?"
Blyke ignored the question, instead asking, "When you first moved in, you offered to have a spar with me. Is that...still on the table?" He asked, rubbing his neck, still a bit nervous about asking that.
"Oh yeah, I did, didn't I?" John said, having almost forgotten about it. He crossed his arms, tilting his head, "If I'm being honest, I was probably just asking that to get you off my back about my level the first time I met you." He admits.
"Oh..." Blyke says, looking down and...feeling a bit deflated about it.
However, John took another look at Blyke, worked through some thoughts in his head, and decided.
"But you know what, why not?" John said with a shrugging smile, making Blyke look up with a swirl of excitement growing in him. "We can have one after classes end, know any good spots? Preferably away from a bunch of prying eyes?"
"Oh, uh...!" Blyke quickly pulled his phone back out his pocket. "I can ask Remi! If she's able to oversee us, we can use the Turf War area." He said.
Turf War Grounds, huh?
John thought back with a bitter smile, remembering the time where all he focused on was growing stronger and stronger, beating down students from other schools that he didn't even know, relentlessly battering them long after he won the fight and even after they had fallen unconscious.
He'd say that he was doing it for them, for Adrion and Claire, so that the three of them would never have to deal with that crap ever again, but any truth behind that was thrown out the window the moment they had told him it was enough and he still retaliated, even against them. It just became an excuse hiding the fact that he wanted nothing more than to make anyone who fought against him feel all the pain that he had been put through because of this bullshit system.
But...not anymore. It's not the same as back then. I'm not the same as back then, I know that. Still, how those two could have ever forgiven me...they really deserve the best.
John made a mental note to see if they wanted to talk over a Discord call later tonight, but for now, he'll busy himself with this. Plus, seeing Remi would be nice.
"Where are you off to, Remi?"
Walking through the hallway of the dorm's first floor, Remi hears a voice call out behind her and turns around. "Oh! Seraphina, hey! My bad, I didn't even notice I passed you by." She said with an apologetic chuckle, stepping closer to the Queen.
"It's not a big deal." Compared to the alternative, Seraphina didn't mind being unnoticed at all.
Remi nodded, "But, yeah, to answer your question. I'm heading to the Turf War Grounds to oversee some sparring between John and Blyke!"
A spar between them sounded like it'd be fun to see—It's been a while since she's seen Blyke in action and John was still a complete mystery in her in terms of how he fought—so no way was she going to decline Blyke's request!
Seraphina's eyebrows raised slightly, intrigued. John did say he had somewhere to be after working on the project. Guess this is what it was about.
He's never shown an interest in rank matches, so why bother with a spar? And against someone who is levels below him?
"Guess that explains the wardrobe change." Seraphina remarks, seeing Remi had changed into more casual clothing. A thick yellow hoodie, dark jeans, and blue sneakers.
"Ah, yeah, figured it be best since it's a bit colder today..." Remi responds, taking a look down at her outfit, then back to Seraphina, popping a question with a smile. "How do I look?"
Why is she asking me...? Seraphina pondered blankly, she wasn't exactly fashion-minded.
Though...Leilah and she would sometimes look through fashion magazines her sister would sneak into the house. Some things looked interesting but her interest had never fully been there, it was with her sister and being able to spend time with her. When it came down to it, it was just a way for Leilah and her to keep themselves occupied with some form of entertainment, distracting themselves from the pain of the training they'd been put through.
Distractions that were nowhere to be found when Leilah had ran from their home, leaving her to deal with the aftermath, of having to bear through that pain with no one beside her...
"It looks nice, comfortable." Seraphina said simply.
A compliment from Seraphina...nice!
Remi's smile brightened, a bit surprised, "Thanks, Seraphina, I appreciate it!"
Seraphina absently nodded, distracted by something. They're different, but their smiles are rather similar...
"Well, I won't keep you any longer," She says, turning halfway from Remi with a wave. "Have fun being a referee, I suppose."
In the few steps Seraphina took, Remi knitted her brow, feeling the words want to leave her lips, but held back by uncertainty since Seraphina was...well, Seraphina.
But, she shakes her head and resolves, Never hurts to ask!
"You should come with us!" She calls out.
A footstep stops short and Seraphina turns back to Remi, quirking a brow.
"I-If you're not busy with anything, that is! No pressure!" She quickly adds on, "We don't get a lot of opportunities to talk that often and I just thought it'd be nice. I might feel a little lonely watching those two fight by myself, you know?" Remi tried to joke, not sure if it did any good from Seraphina's blank, but soft, look.
Seraphina looked at her Jack, then to her own side, at the textbook held in her hand. In truth, her plans for the rest of the day were simply to keep up on her studying, focusing on History in particular due to an upcoming test. She knew that it would be the best use of her time, to ensure that she...gets the A...
But...is that what I want to spend my time on?
―
As John and Blyke passed the time waiting for Remi by the gates, the former asks, "Isen couldn't make it?"
Blyke shook his head, "Said he needed to work on stuff for Press Club, I guess. I'm kinda surprised that you'd be cool with him being there though." He admitted, knowing Isen would probably try to worm this into an article for the paper.
John shrugged, "Figured I'd be nice enough to offer if you wanted your boyfriend there cheering you on."
"Yeah right, praying on my downfall more like it." Blyke said with a snort. He could already imagine Isen offering a tribute to the pen gods so that they would strike the blasphemous red-head down.
"Man, that's crazy." John said, shaking his head with a smile. Taking a look at the time, he looked around and found that Remi was still nowhere in sight. "Where the hell is she at?"
"I already told you her tendency to run late, didn't I?" Blyke sighed.
"Yeah, but like...we've been waiting here for almost half an hour! There's only so many memes I can chuckle at before shit gets stale real quick." John jokingly bemoaned.
"Yeah, well, that's just how she is." Blyke said, holding a small, fond smile.
John holds a stare at Blyke, one that he quickly begins to feel creep onto him. Blyke snaps his head at him, "You gonna say something or just keep staring, weirdo?!"
It makes John exhale an amused snort, "My bad. From the way you looked, it seemed like you and Remi had some history beyond just being friends." He admits, having also picked up something like that with the call Blyke had with her a bit ago.
Blyke squints, giving his head a shake in mild bewilderment. "It was one sentence, how the fuck—you're scary, you know that?"
"So I've been told," John shrugged.
Blyke kept an aimed look on John for a moment, then leaned against Wellston's entrance walls, sighing. He balanced his phone in between his index and middle finger in thought for a moment before confirming, "We dated for a few months back in first-year."
John hummed, setting his phone within his pocket as he gave Blyke his full attention.
"It was...nice while it lasted, I don't really regret my time being with her like that and I don't think she does either, I hope," Blyke says with a sheepish chuckle, "It just ended up with us realizing we were better off as friends."
Blyke looked off to John, seeing him nodding along to his words with an attentive look. Guy's a pretty good listener.
Then he looks away, scratching his cheek, "Plus, around that time, I think I was starting to feel that same thing with Isen—a lot—and...It didn't feel right feeling that while I was already with her so..."
"And you didn't want repeat the crap your dad did."
"...Yeah. Yeah, pretty much." Blyke agreed. "I guess Remi was starting to get the feeling of that so we had a talk one night and...it ended there." He says, before chuckling. "Then for the next few weeks after that, she wouldn't stop hounding me to just go and ask him out already."
That got a good laugh out of John, "Damn, first time I've heard of an ex turned wingman—or wingwoman?" He questioned, making Blyke shrug, and so he just made a flippant gesture with his hand.
"Wings of who-the-fuck-ever aside, I think it's nice. Sounds like you three have a good bond, try to keep them around, alright?" He'd say, bumping his fist into Blyke's shoulder. In a way, it reminded him of what he had with Adrion and Claire. He could feel a sort of...want to make sure it was held together.
Blyke nodded, with a smile. "You don't got to tell me twice."
His eyes drifted away from John's as he saw familiar pink hair come into sight, passing Wellston's entrance way.
"Finally, you sure took your sweet—time?!"
The fuck? John was a bit spooked by Blyke's sudden reaction. He turned his head to see Remi and—Ah!
Remi walked towards them with a smile and wave, with Seraphina just a step or two behind her, the blank look in her eyes looking at Blyke for just a moment, then shifting towards John, acknowledging him.
"Yo, you guys!" Remi casually greets, "You ready to go?"
"Well, we've been ready for the past half-hour," John remarks, looking back at Blyke who looks little choked-up at the moment. He gives Blyke a confused look before turning and giving a wave to Seraphina in return of her look, "But this is definitely a surprise."
Remi chuckled sheepishly, "Y-Yeah, sorry about the lateness, really," then quickly brushes the topic of her lateness aside, instead gesturing to Seraphina with her left hand. "I ran into Seraphina as I was heading out and offered her an invite to come with us to see your guys' spar! ...I hope that's alright?" She asks, realizing maybe she should've called Blyke about it first, but she just caught up in the excitement that Seraphina had actually agreed to join in on a hangout!
The first time in...ever!
"Are you going to hold my hand the entire time, Remi?"
Remi hummed louder than she expected to. She looks at Seraphina, then down at her hand and realizes that Seraphina's was clasped in hers.
...
"Oh!" Remi only remarks, before quickly letting go. "S-Sorry about that...!" She'd apologize, trying to hide something similar to an embarrassed fluster on her face.
"You're fine, it's not a big deal." Seraphina says to settle her, setting her hands inside the pockets of her skirt—Unlike the others, she still wore her school outfit. Without much thought, the thumb of her left hand takes to sliding against her palm and fingers.
"Relieved to hear...!"
Recovering from that, Remi claps her hands, getting her smile back. "Right! So, what say you guys?" She asks John and Blyke.
"Oh. Sure, it's cool..." Blyke says, appearing to have gotten ahold of himself.
Not as strong of a reaction, but it reminded me of Evie's. ...Is Blyke a fanboy?
"Hey, what's that smile on your face for...?!" Blyke says, irritation growing from the amusement of John's smile.
"Nothing, don't worry about it." John reassures, then echoing Blyke's statement to Remi and Seraphina.
John figured Sera could do a bit more hanging out with others, seems like a good opportunity in his eyes.
I offer apologies for this ending up as another lead-up chapter, pls forgive me. XP
Blyke v John will occur in the next chapter and we'll get to see John flexing his creativity then, but for now I offer this chapter and hope you still enjoyed!
Feedback is Always Appreciated!