Chapter 25: The First Day! / Meeting The Scholarship Students!

The first bell had rung around 4 minutes ago. Their bell rang a second time every five minutes to signal the start of class, and they had barely reached the second floor of the building

“Why are we running?” Ryu asked

“It’s fun, so why does it matter?” Suzu asked

“We're almost late. It may be our first day, but everyone else has been in school for a week.” Said Arata

“Really?” Ryu asked

“No. I just wanted to rush you. Now that I think about it, why exactly did that work. It was the dumbest-yknow, I’ll stop questioning things” Arata said

“Oi.” Ryu replied

“If we’re late I’m kicking you in the shin, Ryu.” Arata said

“Wait, what? Why?” Ryu asked

“Cause it’s your fault we’re almost late! You just had to get distracted by a pretty butterfly, didn't you.” Arata said before they entered the classroom. His feet moved so fast that his indoor shoes started to burn after he tried to stop.

Ryu, incidentally, going the same speed, tripped, and crashed into a wall. Hard. He made a crater and sat in it, upside down.

“Where the heck am I?” Ryu asked

“Oh. You’re upside down.” Said Arata

“Thanks, genius.” Said Ryu. His eyes were swirling. Thankfully that didn’t affect him much.

“Oh, come on. How did you make such a large hole in the wall?” Arata said

“Why did you stop so suddenly! I can’t see the damn door! At least warn me!” Said Ryu

“That is true. You have a point there. Sorry. Usually you don’t need me to tell you, so I didn’t really think about it.” Said Arata

“Jeez. So serious.” Said Ryu, getting up and patting off dust and debris from his clothes.

“Oi. I was trying to have a heartfelt touching moment. You were supposed to say, 'it’s ok it was my fault not yours' so I could feel better than you.” Said Arata

“I know. That’s why I didn’t say it.” Said Ryu

“You little.” Arata said, grinning

“Guys. Everyone’s watching.” Suzu said

“Gah! Sorry for the noise. I apologize!” Said Arata

He hit Ryu in the gut.

“Hm?” Ryu asked

“Just do what I’m doing, idiot!” Ryu said

“Ah!” Said Ryu, Bowing.

“Arata. Didn’t you say you didn’t want to look like an idiot?” Suzu asked

“I don’t. Ryu does.” Said Arata

“Heyyy. That’s mean.” Said Ryu, laughing

“The classroom is supposed to be a sacred place of learning and quiet. That’s what the little guide said.” Suzu said

“How do you have more common sense with this stuff than Arata?” Ryu asked

“I don’t usually get worked up, remember.” Said Suzu.

“True, other than specific situations, you are quite calm.” Said Arata

“Now then. Ryu, if you don’t sit down and shut up, no popcorn. Arata, for you I’ll just tell them how much you like what I did to your alarm clock.” Suzu said

“Gah!” Arata said

Ryu pouted

“Where’s my seat?” Ryu asked

“Here. It’s the corner one. Careful though, school desks are a pain.” Arata said leading Ryu to his seat

“You don’t have to physically lead me. Well. Actually, I can’t really tell where I am right now. What’s with this place, there’s almost no room anywhere.” Ryu asked

“That’s why I said school desks are a pain.” Arata said

“The chairs certainly are uncomfortable. Why such a hard surface for a chair? Even home had better chairs than this” said Suzu

“Yeah, but these ones don’t have maggots.” Said Ryu

“Fair point. Still, I’d rather sit on My knees than this thing.” Suzu said, grumbling.

“Now that you mention it, these seats are pretty bad, even compared to home. There’s almost no difference between the chair and the ground. To think I was able to sit on this for hours.” Arata said

“Hours?” Ryu asked

“Ryu, exactly how long do you think school is?” Arata asked

“Uh, 5ish hours? But are we seriously sitting doing nothing for the whole time?” Ryu asked

The student in front of him turned around

“We take notes during class from what’s written on the board, and we listen to the lesson.” He said

“Yeah, I can’t do most of that.” Ryu said

“What do yo-oh. No wonder. Apologies. I thought you were just a lazy bastard for a moment.” Said the student

“Wait, Arata is what I’m doing considered lazy then?” Ryu asked

“No. As long as you listen to the lesson, I’ll read my notes to you later. Same with Suzu. You can correct me by telling me what I did wrong.” Arata said

“Is he really smart or something? Otherwise, how would he be correcting you if he doesn’t even know the answers?” The student asked, curious

“Ah! Apologies. I’m Pat. I sit in front of you, Ryu. As the top student in our school, I can’t help but be curious. I always like learning more.” Said Pat

“Pat?” Arata asked

“It’s from another country or something.” Pat said

“I see. Well, I’ll tell you. Ryu, while he didn’t get the chance to have an education until now, this being his first day of school ever, crammed math up to one grade above ours in about a day. He may not seem like it, but he’s smart. A shame he can’t use it to the fullest potential. This is Suzu. Probably the smartest person in the school, now… and I’m Arata. Nice to meet you, Pat.” Arata said

“Smartest? What are you basing that off of?” Pat asked, curious

“She just is. I don’t know. She memorized math in minutes and then spent time modifying their house to make my alarm clock a hologram of a highly realistic cat girl maid. It can talk and it’s movements are just like a persons. She then chose to outfit the entire house with similar programs. Oh, right. She learned how to use a computer three days ago.” Said Arata

“Okay, yeah. That might be an accurate assessment, then. Where did you guys come from? Were you home schooled? Oh, right. Arata said you didn’t have a chance to have an education. I assume that means no education at all.” Pat asked

“We came from the slums, in what Arata said was a remote country far from here, during the war.” Suzu said

“What country? Wait… slums? What do you mean by that?” Pat asked

“The slums are the slums. It isn’t like here. I feel like this place is a dream sometimes, still. In the slums we have nearly …..frozen To death….starved to death…., nearly been killed by a crazy psychopath...you name it. ..yeah...no. That’s what the slums are. Happy?” Suzu asked. She turned and put her head head in her arms, laying them on the desk

“Suzu. You aren’t there anymore. You’re here. Both you and Ryu are here. With me.” Arata said. He turned around and put his hand on her head.

“That’s the slums. anything else you need? Before you ask, I gotta say, some knowledge can get people hurt. It’s not a good thing to know everything. Arata mentioned this saying to me a little while ago. He said a lot of weird things, but I think this one fits this situation well. Ignorance is bliss. I don’t wanna know that place exists. Neither does my sister. Think about what you want to ask. I don’t mind answering any questions about what it’s like there. Just leave my sister alone.” Ryu said. A sense of pressure filled the room.

Arata poked Ryu hard

“Ow!” Ryu said. The pressure lifted

“Don’t do that. You're scaring everyone. This happens sometimes. I get feeling protective, but let’s forget that thing , it no longer exists. I’ll make sure people don’t ask her.” Arata said.

Everyone had turned and was staring at Ryu.

“AH! I apologize for that!” Ryu said.

“Why exactly are you apologizing?” Pat said. He had fallen to the floor, his glasses had a small crack in them

“Why? I made you all scared, didn’t I? It wasn’t what I meant to do. It just came out….when I..remem-OW!” Said Ryu

Arata has poked him again

“I think that it’s fine, it wasn’t intentional, right? It just surprised everyone, right?” A student said

The class started to agree.

Ryu smiled. Towards the door.

“Ryu. That’s the door.” Arata said

“Oh” Ryu replied

Arata got up and turned ryus face towards the class.

“There. Now you can smile.” Arata said

“Got it!” Ryu said. He had a big grin.

“Why did you turn his face?” A student asked

“He’s blind. Though, it doesn’t often seem that way. Speaking of, Ryu. You didn’t seem to be able to tell where they were with sound. You ok?” Arata asked

“I dunno, the sounds are all distorted and echoey here. It’s weird.” Ryu said

“Oh. You mentioned having a hard time with it earlier, too. You sure it’s not a concussion from hitting the wall?” Arata asked

“It’s not. This distortion was actually one of the reasons I tripped. Usually I could tell if you were slowing down or stopping. This time I couldn’t tell until after I had passed you.” Ryu said

“That’s odd…. Ryu, have you ever been in an enclosed building like this school?” Arata asked

“You already know the answer to that.” Ryu said

“So, no. Hm. Can you tell me where I am….now?” Arata asked, moving to his left a little

“Um, I can tell you moved, but it’s either here or here” Ryu said, pointing nowhere near Arata at first. His finger pointed just to the side of Aratas head the second time

“Well, then. I’m assuming it’s like when we see double. It looks the same on two sides, but also super blurry.” Said Arata

“I’m gonna be sick if I keep focusing on this.” Said Ryu

“Then sit down!” Arata said

Ryu sat, and almost missed his seat. Arata positioned him so he could sit down. When Ryu had been seated successfully Arata went back to his own seat, and put his hand back on Suzus head. She relaxed a little bit.

“I kinda miss the old man now.” Said Ryu

“Now? What about this situation reminds you of gramps?” Arata asked

“Remember how I said I liked chess?” Ryu asked

“Mhmm, I remember the old man talking about how you guys used to play it a lot.” Arata said

“That used to cheer me up. It wasn’t often you got to relax in that place. This feels like when I used to play chess with the old man, because inside it's calm, whether the outside is or not didn’t matter. I didn’t have anything to worry about when we played, except Suzu. The old man looked after her when I couldn’t or I went to do a job. I remember how I felt when he offered me both a job and a place to sleep. That’s around the time you arrived over there, isn’t it?” Ryu asked

“Yeah. I’m the one that recommended you do it.” Said Arata

“Are you the one who brought us in from the cold the last time we ever nearly froze?” Ryu asked

“Yes. That was me. I thought I already told you.” Arata said

“Yeah. I just wanted to double check. Sometimes I think that we actually died in the cold. That this is the afterlife. Or a dream. Then I think of you. How would me and Suzu feel if you had only existed in our dream? It would mean all the time I spent with you was a lie. That this is fake. Sometimes I agree with Suzu. It all seems too good to be true. Regardless of what you say. An angel would always say what a person wanted to hear in a situation like that. Arata….. I’m alive, right?” Ryu asked

“Of course you are.” Arata said

“Sometimes I still feel that cold, though. How could I feel something like that if it wasn’t happening?” Ryu asked

“That’s just a memory. It’s not real.” Arata said

“Despite your words, it’s not something I can easily believe. I know you, though. You don’t lie like that. I’ve had a few bad moments even after we met. Even then, I’m sometimes questioning whether or not this is heaven. Or had we just been living in hell all those years?” Ryu asked

“Snap outta it. This ain’t heaven, and I’m right here damnit. That talk is freaking people out. Me specifically.” Arata said

“Huh? Oh. Right. We’re still in school.” Ryu said

“Yeah, first period just ended. Our next class is.... fighting practice? Sounds weird. I hope it isn’t just a free for all.” Arata said

“Ah, whatever, lets go.” Said Arata, picking up his stuff, and helping Ryu with his. Suzu had woken up not too long ago, but she already knew everything they were teaching, so she got bored.

“Suzu, would you mind carrying this for me.” Arata asked

“Sure thing, angel boy.” Said Suzu, laughing

“Hey! Wait, is that an insult? I feel like I should be mad at that.” Said Arata

“Then be mad. An-gel-boy.” Said Suzu

“Suzu, Arata. We’re outside, I’m fine now.” Ryu said.

They let go of his hand

The training field in front of them was impressive. There were quite a few weird things about it though. First was what looked like an obstacle course made for fighting in. Second was one of those weird pit stick balancing thing. Third was just a bunch of practice weapons. Fourth was a huge lake.

Suzu noticed that the bamboo pit was designed strangely. She saw a path on it. She moved her feet in the pattern that she saw on it. It felt easy, and she felt like she was dancing. She got off of it. She took note of the design and got out some paper and tools from her bag. She drew a few things on the papers. Then she took the tools, and marked out what looked like footprints in an interesting pattern. If she was correct, the pit had been a way to practice a certain kind of footwork. For what martial art, she wasn’t sure. She didn’t know any upper body techniques to go along with it. She wrote down what she assumed to be a good way to properly move her upper body to the new footwork style she had just put down. She had no idea how to actually attack anything though. A few minutes later, a woman showed up.

“Oi, get yer asses over here. You! Stop playing in the sa-oh. Nevermind. Continue with that. Either way. You guys, today we will be...hey, wait. Where is everyone else? There should be….12 of you altogether. That means 9 people are missing. What the heck?” The woman said, checking a clipboard

“Ma’am, they probably just ditched.” Arata said

“I’ll go get them. You, come with me, you seem the most experienced in fighting.” She motioned to Ryu. She wasn’t wrong.

“Hey, hurry up!” She said

“Ah. See you later, Arata. I’ll be right back.” Ryu said

“K. I’ll just watch what Suzu is doing. It looks interesting.” Arata said.

Arata started to watch what she was doing. At first he just thought she was scribbling in the dirt. It didn’t take long for him to realize what it was. She had been drawing patterns for a movement technique. And it looked interesting.

“Hey, Suzu. That’s a footwork technique, right?” Arata asked

“Yeah, gimme a sec, I’m almost done, you can try it out then.” Suzu said

She finished the patterns on the ground, and wrote some instructions on a piece of paper

“Here.” Suzu said

The paper detailed a technique that was unlike anything he had ever seen.

“Are you able to do this?” Arata asked

“Easily. You want to watch?” Suzu asked

“Yes, please.” Arata said

She moved as though it was something she had practiced for decades. Her movement was fluid. It flowed like water. The upper body had a similar, yet different, movement. If the footwork was a small stream, the upper body was like a raging river. It wasn’t a way that caused them to move separately or seem to not flow together. The stream and the river seemed to connect at one single point. A fork in the road. They seemed to connect at her core. All of the power that would be used in an attack would have come from the river that was made at the fork in the road. The flow of water made by the river and the stream connecting. One flowed, and still combined, while the other was strong. Her attack would have been fluid, yet have the force of a raging river behind it. It seemed to switch as well. If she wanted, she could use faster, lighter attacks, yet have a stronger and faster movement technique. He felt that there was potential in any combination. Even if it was all a small stream, or all a raging river. Fluid, light, and precise attacks, and fast, powerful strikes. Fluid movement, heavy attack, and fluid precise attacks with a wild movement. It seemed to depend on how much force you put into each part of your body during every move. To speed it up, and make it rush, put more strength in your step. Or fall lightly moving more forward with your body strength than upward. If you needed to go up you could put strength into your legs easily, to jump, or do anything else, at a moment’s notice. The falling helped with ducking, dodging, and weaving through attacks, its movement flexible, it was as easy to change direction as it is to divert the path of a light stream of water to the side, before it falls back into the path it flows normally. It was impressive. This seemed to only be the surface, and it didn’t even have any attacks or other techniques that could be used with the different forms of attack. It was scary that the start of the technique was from any casual position, though. It allowed you to basically instantly attack someone from a standstill, yet retain the power of the raging river and fluid stream. He imagined what kind of attack technique would be best with it. Attacks huh? Punches, fit perfectly. What about others. He thought of them all, palm thrusts, chops, knees, elbows, kicks. Then he tried to think instead of ones that wouldn’t fit. The only one he could think of would be body slams. It seems charges could work but weren’t a good idea. Though it didn’t matter due to how the technique allowed you to restore balance and movement almost instantly. From any position in the technique you were able to grapple, wrestle, subdue in any way. You could Counter strikes, and hit somebody with their own fist. Twist limbs, break bones, dislocate joints? Hit pressure points around the entire body easily? Check.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“You thought of this in a few minutes?” Arata asked

“A few seconds. I was having fun playing on that thing.” Suzu said, pointing to the pit with bamboo poles.

“Oh. No wonder.” Arata said

Suzu started at the beginning. It was a box. There wasnt a set beginning stance, he noticed. That alone seemed quite unique. She went through the motions, following every step without looking. It seemed to flow naturally. What really caught his eye was the reason why it didn’t require a set stance. The first movement was just a step forward, any direction, the second step the same, but it seemed no matter how you did it, unless you were trying to fail, that you could easily fall into the positions the the third step followed, and after that it would be impossible not to fall into the exact Rhythm of the technique.

You could go from leaning against a wall to behind a person that was hundreds of feet away in practically mere seconds. Whenever she started, she temporarily looked like a blur. After that, it was a near perfect technique. walking, running, anything. It could be practiced at almost any speed. Close range? Check. Mid range? Check. Long range? Check.

She looked stunning. Like a professional ice skater. No. More smooth, more fluid.

That was it. It looked like she was walking on water.

“Wait what?” Arata asked

“Suzu. You realize you’re walking- err, moving on water, correct?” Arata asked

She was indeed on top of the water. Her steps somehow light enough to step on top of the water and push off with enough force to move without the surface tension breaking. It was odd. He took a video of it. He then saved it to his Suzu video folder.

Her technique didn’t have a final movement, flowing back to the first step, allowing you to change directions at any point. She danced for a little while longer, then came back over to Arata

“That felt good.” Suzu said

“How the heck. You realize you just walked on water, right?” Arata asked

“You mean this?” Suzu asked

She walked over to the edge...and past it.

She stood in the middle of the lake

Her center of balance and her control somehow combined in a way that allowed her to not break the surface tension and fall in. Rather, she seemed like she was floating. She ran towards Arata, and slowed down significantly when she reached solid ground. the technique seemed to behave differently on water.

“How was that?” Suzu asked

“Do you mind showing that to Ryu and the teacher when they get back?” Arata asked

“Sure, but why?” Suzu asked

“I wanna make sure I’m not crazy.” Arata said

“Uh. You aren’t, but alright.” Suzu said

Ryu had followed the teacher to the back of the school.

There were people there, they were probably wearing it as a joke considering one was dressed up as Josuke, but they were dressed up like old school thugs and a delinquent. They were squatting and chatting happily.

“Oi, idiots. Which one of you is… damnit. It’s you isn’t it.” She said, pointing at the one in the Josuke costume

He looked up.

“Yes. Probably.” He said. He was drinking juice.

He stared at them. He blinked a few times, his face was blank. He sipped from his juice box.

“Alright, let’s go.” The teacher said

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry I was late, by the way. I don’t have a schedule for my classes. Also, I didn’t hear any bell. How long has it been?” He asked

“Oh. I guess you aren’t half bad of a kid. It’s been about 15 minutes.” She said

“AAHHH!!!” He screamed

“Ow, what?” She said

“That’s really, really late! I apologize!” He said

“Wow, Jeez. I’m used to troublemakers that do it on purpose. Not ones that join gangs by accident.” She said

“Gang? Oh you mean my friends. If you get to know them, they're actually quite nice.” He said proudly

“\Sure they are.” She said

“Hey! I’m serious!” He said

“Your name was... let’s see.. is that why you’re wearing that costume?” The lady asked

“Well, I think the character is awesome. And I share the same name. So I thought, hey, why not? I have the perfect hair with this outfit, too. I understand why he values it so much.” Said Josuke, smiling

“Well, great. That’s one down, uhh. 1,2,3,4,..8 more to go.” She said

“So we already have 3 people?” Josuke asked

“Yeah. The guy back there is Ryu. The others at at the training ground.” She said

“There’s a training ground? Awesome!” Josuke said

“How the hell did you get a military scholarship and not know anything about this?” The woman asked

“Ack! Sorry. I just moved. I’m still not too used to it here.” Josuke said

“Mhmm, yeah, it does say that. Ahhhh. I probably should read these reports a tad more." She said

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Josuke:

Grade 11

Strength:fuckin strong.

Personality: gentle, innocent.

He’s pretty nice, don’t spook him too much, Kate.

Needed training: look, this guy is strong. To be honest, you aren’t really qualified to teach him anything more than just martial arts. Self defense techniques. That kinda stuff. Since he likes to dress up, he often got into fights by accident, so he knows how to handle himself a little.

You can often find him behind the school with his friends. They are also quite nice people, despite how they look, and their demeanor.

!!Forgetful!!

He will probably zone out and be late often, also watch out for when he zones out standing up. He might fall. He’s even fallen out of windows. Luckily, he has a really hard head.

Oh, right. Be ESPECIALLY careful if he zones out in a fight. Even I might have a hard time. Well, that’s an exaggeration, but I think you get it. It can also happen if he gets knocked out.

Acquisition of Military Scholarship: I recruited him. Personally.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“That would have been pretty good info.” Said Kate

“Oh. Does that have info on everybody?” Josuke asked

“Eh? Oh. Yeah. What’s this mean by strong? Evan doesn’t usually write stuff like this. Also, I apologize, I guess you lot weren’t that bad after all” Kate asked

“Uhhh. I dunno. I guess I like anime and manga too much. I can kinda do something similar, but you can see it. Watch.” Said Josuke

A pink glowing energy enveloped his hand. He punched the wall, casually. It left a massive indentation. It left cracks across the entire thing. He had almost broken the entire wall.

“I see. I don’t know that much about the power you're talking about, but I think I get why you're here. Have you met Evan yet?” Kate asked

“Oh. Not yet. He sounds cool.” Josuke said

“Yeah…. it goes a bit beyond that….yknow, if I was a bit younger… Ah, nevermind.” Kate said

“He does have a fan club.” Ryu said

“I know” both of them said

“I’m a member too.” They said in unison

“Hey.” They said again

“Hey, why-wha. Ok how the. I like pizza- god damnit/ Dangit” they said, unsyncing at the end

“Cursing isn’t that nice. We’re at a school.” Josuke said

“I know that. Do you think there’s a single kid here who doesnt know what that word means.” Kate asked.

“That doesn’t make it okay.” Josuke said. He shook his head.

“We need to find the others” Ryu reminded them

“Oh. Right. Let’s see. Ah! The next three should be in a group. Huh. I guess they became pretty good friends already. That’s good to hear. Yeah, it says they are pretty chill. Though, sometimes too chill. Which is why they are late.” Kate said

“They should be on the roof.” Said Kate

They went to the roof.

“Hey, you three. Class.” Kate said.

“Got it.”

“Yeah”

“Aright”

They said, following Kate

“This is a lot easier than usual. Sweet.” Kate said

“Are people really usually that uncooperative?” Josuke asked

“Yes. Very. Let’s see who is next. Hmm. Might be a problem.” Said Kate

“What’s wrong?” Josuke asked

“Well, uh. It says he probably isn’t here. Let’s move on, then.” Kate said

“It says the same for the next three. Huh. Two left. Uh, ok. One is in the lab, the other is in the gym.” Kate said

“Oh! Sweet! Then we start training, right?” Josuke asked

“You like fighting?” Kate asked

“Uh. Not really, but I like to practice.” Josuke said

“I see. Well, we’re at the gym.” Kate said

“Hey! There someone here named...Argie?” Kate yelled

“Yeah, here. Whatsup?” She asked

“You are late by… 20 minutes to class” said Kate

“What? What class?” Argie asked

“You know you're here on military scholarship, correct?” Kate asked

“Yeah? Oh. Then that’s why I had a free period.” Argie said

“Yeah. You coming or not.” Kate asked

“It’s training, right?” Argie asked

“Yeah.” Said Kate

“Then duh. What do you think I was in the gym for?” Argie asked

“Wow. Are all of you guys fighting maniacs?” Kate asked

They went to the lab

“Sooo….that’s an odd name. Teacher, huh? Hey, is there a girl here named teacher?” Kate asked

A bunch of bottles fell. None broke, thankfully.

“Here!” Teacher said

“Alright, come on.” Kate said

“Uh. Ok.” Said Teacher.

She stuck a lollipop in her mouth and put on a lab coat as she walked out.

“Wait, no questions?” Kate asked

“Following you would answer any of the questions I would ask. Besides, I'm pretty sure I know what's going on. If not, all the more interesting.” Teacher said

“That’s… a unique way of thinking, but I like it. First time I’ve met a scientist that jumps before thinking.” Kate said

They gathered back up at the training grounds, and they saw something that made their jaws drop

“Ah! Teach, you're here! Look! We practiced walking on water!” Arata said, walking onto the lake as well.

“Um, Teacher, you know science, right? Am I hallucinating?” Kate asked

“Nope. It’s exactly what you think it is. They are indeed walking on water. Looks like what Evan did when he was 3.” Teacher replied, looking closer.

“No way. How the hell did you guys do this.” Kate asked

“We practiced one of Suzus footwork techniques that she made earlier.” Arata said

“Wait. You can’t be serious. Are you talking about when she was drawing in the dirt earlier?” Kate asked

“Yeah. She thought it up after messing around on those bamboo poles in the pit for a while.” Arata said

“You gotta be fucking with me. Those poles are for seniors. And it’s to show them that even they can’t do everything. You’re saying this girl not only succeeded at mastering it in minutes, but drew up a technique better than it by miles just by thinking about it?” Kate asked incredulously

“Not minutes. Seconds.” Said arata

“That doesn’t- what the hell are you doing?” Kate asked

“Jumping.” Arata said

“Yeah, but… i never heard of anyone who could jump like that.” Said Kate

“Oh, yeah? Then watch this! I thought of it after watching Suzu do her waterwalking stunt!”

Arata jumped into the air, and jumped again. While in the air. He basically was jumping on air. To finish it off, he stopped and stood midair.

“What. The. Literal fuck.” Kate said

“Hehe! Cool right?” Arata asked

“Yeah, that’s pretty sweet, lemme try!” Said Ryu

“Oh? Were you able to hear it properly?” Arata asked

“Yeah. Gimme a sec.” Ryu said

“Kay.” Arata said

Ryu jumped, and jumped again in the air. A small jump, but still a jump.

Suzu fell from the sky

“What are you two doing?” Suzu asked

“Woah! Where the heck did you pop out from!” Arata said

“I think I got it!” Ryu said

He jumped up to them.

“Hey, guys. Are you guys gonna come up? Do you need us to teach you?” Suzu asked

“Like hell we could learn that!” Kate said

“Are these guys human?” Josuke asked

“You got no right askin that, but I have the same question. What the hell is with my students this year?” Kate asked

“Actually, imma try it.” Said josuke, double jumping

He succeeded in a tiny third jump, but couldn't do more than that. It also made him tired. He was able to slow his fall, and for a few seconds he could hover. It started improving, gradually.

“Wow. That alone would have qualified for the top student position. How the hell do I train these little monsters?” Kate asked

“You don’t.” Evan’s voice whispered in her ear.

“You follow my instructions.” He said

“Yes, sir.” Said Kate

“They may fall outta the sky if they keep that up. Tell them to get down.” Evan said

“Oi! You three. Get down here. You might get tired and fall soon.” Kate yelled up.

“Ah. Gotcha.” Arata landed

“Alright. Ryu come on down” Suzu said

“Yeah, it is kinda tiring” Ryu said

They landed and walked up to the wide eyed people, and the delinquent who kept double jumping in the background.

“Cool, right?!” Arata asked

“I developed the technique that allows us to walk on water.” Said Suzu

“I turned that into air jumping." Arata said

“Hey. Evan. What the hell do I do now?” Kate asked

“Tell them good job. They successfully learned everything I’ve put in front of them. Though Arata developing the air boost this early was a pleasant surprise. I guess they call it an air jump.” Evan said

“What? Wait, you mean you knew this would happen?” Kate asked

“Yeah. Why? This was in my plans. Don’t worry, you still have a lot you can teach them. Mainly experience. Let’s see if you can learn from who you teach, too, though.” Evan said

“I know you get this a lot. Are you sure you're younger than ten? Also, if this was in the plans, you knew they could do this stuff?” Kate asked

“Of course I did. I’m able to do that myself.” Evan said

“You can fight?! Wait, are you stronger than them?! Can you beat them in a fight?” Kate asked

“That’s...a difficult question. The simple answer is yes. Easily.” Said evan

“Oh god. How old are they, 15? They can jump in the air at high speeds already...” Kate said

“And? That’s nothing. Josuke can beat them single handedly. Oh, right. Whatever. It’s good for my research. Though extremely limited. It’s helping out a lot with my exotic matter project. That should be completed soon.” Evan said

“What? What the heck are you talking about.” Kate asked

“Go talk to Teacher. If you have questions, she probably has the answer to them. Unless the answer is ask Avan.” Said Evan

“Another...student?” Kate asked

“Huh? Oh, right. I forgot about that. She’s a student in name only, she’s there to observe and monitor all of you and the children's actions” said Evan

“How… old is she?” Kate asked

“Oh. Uh. 18ish? I forgot what we wrote. You can ask her that too. Actual age, though? Wait..... I forgot.” Evan said

“Oh… is there anything else I need to know?” Kate asked

“Yeah, lots.” Evan said

Kate was quite for a while

“Are, uh. Are you not going to tell me?” Kate asked

“Eh? Ah! I’ll tell you whenever you run into the issue, it’s written in my schedule for which event will happen at what time” Evan said

“Can you seriously even see the future, too? I’m… I don’t know… what…” Kate mumbled

“Uh. Shit. Hey, Kate, it’s not something that tells the future, it’s for when Teacher is going to help put certain events into effect.” Evan lied

“Oh. Ohhhh, I guess that makes more sense. Say, why are you doing all of this, anyway? I heard you already gathered most of the world under your rule. Are you planning something?” Kate asked

“Eh? Oh. You heard about that? How?” Evan asked

“Wait, it’s true? You gathered the entire world together at the age of 8? You already have virtually all the money in the world!” Said Kate

“Kate. It’s to protect people. Ask Teacher about the second world project in limetech labs number 6. She should be able to give you a detailed explanation.” Evan said

“Also, I’m just a teacher, why the heck are you trusting me with these guys. Even the Josuke kid is stronger than me.” Kate said

“That 'Josuke kid' is probably gonna be the strongest person there.” Evan said

“Yer kiddin me.” Kate said

“No, also the reason you’re there is…. Ah. Kate, how old are you again?” Evan asked

“24, why?” Kate said

“Alright, perfect. Well, it will develop naturally I guess. Hmm. You’ve been complaining about being single a lot lately, right?” Evan asked

“What? How did you know that. Also… yeah. Why?” Kate asked

“Ah, just wondering how desperate you were.” Evan asked

“I dunno, pretty damn desperate.” Said Kate

“What about this title! Forbidden love! Teacher and student!” Evan asked

“You kiddin me? They’re all underage!” Kate said

“Oh. True. It’ll be a few more months till he’s old enough… Hmm. Ah, well, you’ll have to wait I guess.” Evan said

“For what? I’m confused. Am I being used as a pawn right now?” Kate asked

“Yes.” Evan said

“That’s hot.” Kate said

“Annnd there we go. Why is almost every woman I meet a massive pervert. Hmm. Kate you said you weren’t interested in someone under age, right? You realize I’m 8, right?” Evan asked

“WHat! Oh, shit. I forgot that. Wait, does it count in your case?” Kate asked

“I guess, but that’s not important. Also, I have bigger things to worry about. I don’t have time nor room for love right now.” Said Evan.

“Aww. Darn!” Kate said

“Right, there’s some stuff I have to discuss with Teacher real quick. Would you send her to my office?” Evan asked

“Hey, Teacher! Evan says he needs you in his office.” Kate yelled

“Got it, tell him I’ll be right up!” Teacher yelled back

“She is like the textbook definition of a girl scientist in anime. Down to the damn lab coat.” Said Kate

“Yeah, well, despite how she looks, she seems to be into that. In a weird way though.” Evan said

“Evan, you realize I’m on the line right now, right?” Teacher asked, connecting to the call

“Yes.” Evan said

“Sigh. Fine, what do you need?” Teacher asked

“It’s time to discuss the war.” Said Evan

“Kate’s still on the line.” Teacher said

“Ah! Shit...wait. Kate, you come up here too. You do need to hear this.” Evan said

“Wait, Kate?” Teacher asked

“Yeah, Kate.” Evan said

“War?” Kate asked

“Just come up here, you two. Class is about to end, they have other classes they need to attend to, so don’t worry.” Said Evan

They got ready, and Teacher walked into the office

“Can I have a supply of lollipops?” Teacher asked

“What? Didn’t I give you one already? And wheres Kate?” Evan asked

“I’ll come up, gimme a sec, I gotta change out of these annoying clothes.” Kate said

“....”

“She does realize there’s video feed on this, right?” Teacher asked

“Oh. Oh my.” Evan said

“Shit. He fainted.” Teacher said

“There’s been a casualty already! This damn warrrr” Teacher said, staring at the ceiling, one arm raised in a fist, with a dead looking Evan on her lap. The scene became overly dramatic, with an art style to match.

Evan stuck his tongue out, pretending to be dead.

“Evan, that’s not how dead people do stuff.” Teacher whispered

“God damn. Also, I know there’s video feed, but Evans' 8, damnit. What’s it matter?” Kate asked

“He has the mentality of, like, an 80 year old.” Said Teacher

“Wait.. so he understands what he’s looking at?” Kate asked

“Yeah. You kinda froze him in place. Also, I recorded it to blackmail you later.” Teacher said

“Ugh. You guys are like a pair of troublesome siblings.” Said Kate

“We are.” Evan said

“What?” Kate asked

“We are siblings.” Teacher said

“What the heck do you mean?” Kate asked

“I’m not going into a story inside a story inside a story of a side story. That’s from my past. There’s another story about that. I’ll just say that Teacher is my older sister. But the age thing can get weird sometimes.” Evan said

“Wait, Evan. Isn’t it this one?” Teacher asked

“No, this one has something to do with schools.” Evan said

“What the heck are you two talking about?” Kate asked

“You’ve never heard of the fourth wall?” Teacher asked

“Whether she has or hasn’t, we are breaking it right?” Evan asked

“Yeah… but the narrator hasn’t really been monologuing, so there isn’t much to break. Wait, which story are we even in?” Teacher asked

“What the hell are you talking about?” Kate asked

“Nothing. Ignore it.”

“What’s this?” Kate asked, walking in and picking up a plushie off of Evans desk

“Huh, the lime?” Evan asked

“What thing?” Teacher asked

“Lime. The lime from limetech. What does it mean?” Kate asked

“Limetechs logo?” Teacher asked

“Is it your favorite food?” Kate asked

“No. Well actually, yes, but It’s a symbol. I don’t know why, but it’s important to me. This is giving me a headache. Sis, can you grab me a pack of ice?” Evan asked

“Oh, sure. Gimme a sec.” teacher said

“Wait, so you guys are actually siblings?” Kate asked

“Yeah. Argh!! My HEAD!!!!” Evan yelled

“Here.” Teacher said. She held an ice pack to Evans head.

“Thanks. Let’s talk about why I brought you in here.” Evan said, relaxing a little

“War?” Kate asked

“Tss. Sis, can you explain it? My head still hurts.” Evan asked, his head stung when he started to speak

“Oh! Sure.” Teacher said

She grabbed a book from the desk

“Ahem. So. Limetechs goal. Do you know what it is?” Teacher asked

“I thought it was to bring peace to the world. To save as many people as possible.” Kate said

“Ding ding ding! Correct! Did you not feel that that saying seemed a little off?” Teacher asked

“N-Wait. Actually, come to think of it, there aren’t any wars right now. They ended around a week ago. This motto was revealed after that, right?” Kate asked

“Yup. Normally it would be something about maintaining it, but we are here for one thing right now! To save humanity! Well, people, technically, but still. Have you ever wondered why limetech is controlling the world?” Teacher asked

“Um. Before I met most of the people in charge, I thought you guys were greedy.” Kate said

“Greedy? We produce tech that is nearly priceless! Centuries worth of technological progression! And you know how cheap we sell it for? Dirt cheap! Even the boonies can easily afford it! Are they cheap and low quality? No. The first generation limetech machines are, for the most part, still working! Though we can make them cheap, we use tech Evan made for the company. It can produce almost endless resources. It’s not viable to move it or make any others, unfortunately.” Teacher said

“Don’t projects like these usually require a lot of time?” Kate asked

“That’s what we have Kane for!” Teacher said

“What does Kane have to do with this?” Kate asked

“Oh. He can build any machine Evan thinks up, and fast. Usually a day after the schematic is put in his pile for the large ones. For the simple ones, it only takes a few hours. If that.” Teacher said

“So those machines are used to make machines that mass produce machines?” Kate asked

“Yup. I don’t know how you concluded that from what I said, but that’s correct!” Teacher said

“What? Wasn’t it kinda obvious?” Kate asked

“No. Not in the slightest. Not with only that much info.” Said Teacher

“That reminds me, I have to go design an upgrade chip for one of the machines he needed.” Said Evan

“You sure an 8-year old can handle this much work?” Kate asked

“Sometimes I wonder if he’s actually 8… I know he is, but still. It’s damn impressive. Either way, Evan?” Teacher asked

“Yeah, wrap up the arc for now. Right. Well then. Kate, I brought you here to teach people like Ryu, Arata, and Suzu how to teach others, and think like you. You have a few years. I’ll make sure to watch over you as best I can.” Evan said

“Sounds good to me.” Kate said.

“Well, I guess I’ll explain the second world project.” Evan said, his voice slowly fading.

The military scholarship school arc, part one, has concluded!