I look over at the man with all the kicks, Bill, then slowly put my left foot forward, and my right foot back, raise my hands, then subtly hop back and forth on each foot. His face turns pale as his eyes widen. In that instant, I make my move.

I hammered my leg at his unprotected ribs. My torso turned forcefully first, rotating at the waist while my right arm raised for counterbalance. I pivoted my hip strongly as my left foot planted with a twist and driving push downward. I feel every fiber of muscle wrapping around my thigh and calf - from quadriceps to crunched hamstring now springing open like a piston. My toes point back at him, aimed like daggers for maximum penetration, starting a devastating arc toward his side. The light sole of my worn shoe cutting through space as my weight shifts behind the driving momentum of my hip and angled leg. My eyes blaze at the point of contact as my tucked knee guides my mid swing shin and calf on a collision course with his ribs.

He witnessed the soon-to-be-ruined architecture of his ribcage highlighted from the burning path of direction. Hip torque, knee drive, ankle lock - all force vectors beautifully synching into an eight pounds of airborne hardened leather bound for his open side. His face winced as a fiery agony lances up his side as his ribs gave an audible crack at the impact.

Nailed it.

He grunted as he grabbed his side and leaned over. Tony watches him double over, "What the f-" He's interrupted by me throwing a right cross of my own.

My fist cut through the air and aimed directly at his left cheek. My shoulder turned first, cocking my right arm back behind my head, elbow raised high. My right foot pivoted to add torque to the blow while my left foot stepped forward, planting solidly. I could feel the rippling of every muscle fiber in my shoulder and bicep as my coiling arm sprang forward like a viper. My fingers curled into a hardened fist split seconds before it would smash into his left jawline.

I then turn around to Mateo. He jumps after catching my gaze. Not once did he move. He just watched as I hit those two with their own techniques. For you my dear Mateo, I'm not going to do you a disservice by hitting you with your own attacks. I'll treat you just as I've treated them. On second thought, I'll give you both of their techniques. I rushed forward and charged an uppercut for his body. I made impact through his poor defense. I then follow up with a spinning sidekick to the same spot.

As he falls back against a trash bin, he vomits into his own lap before losing consciousness. I hear Bill's footsteps coming from behind me. I spin my head around just in time to see him throwing another roundhouse. A golden opportunity presents itself. I throw another spinning back kick toward his leg and the heel of my foot lands directly on his kneecap. The two colliding forces are still for only a fraction of a second, and then his knee gives and bends backward with a snap. He screams in pain as he rolls backwards into the wall holding his flailing leg.

Tony throws another jab, I pull my head back just in time only to receive a small graze on my chin. Then goes on a full offensive assault. I respond in kind. I bob and weave all of his shots as he throws his quick jabs and straights with the occasional cross or uppercut. I land a few jabs and straights, and he grunts at every hit.

"What the fuck are you?" He spits out of his bloodied mouth. "Wipe that grin off your face you fucking lunatic!"

We continue to exchange blows. He lands a blow or two but so far he hasn't been able to avoid any of my hits. My heart continues to threaten to explode from my chest blow for blow. I then feel something tug at my leg. I spare a glance to see Bill grabbing my leg trying to pull me down. Tony notices this and takes advantage of my opening. He lands several blows to my face and abdomen. I spartan kick Tony backwards causing him to stumble. This gave me time to deal with Bill. I twist my leg out, sit on top of him, and throw 3 right crosses to his left chin. Boom. Boom. On the final strike, I put all of my force into it throwing my shoulder out of its socket. I know I did because there was an audible pop I felt in my shoulder. Strangely enough, I didn't feel anything. Maybe I'm overthinking it?

Soon after, Tony gathers himself, he charges after me roaring at the top of his lungs. I jump up and ram a knee right into the center of his chest forcing him back to the ground. He collapses to the ground, holding his chest heaving. I also breathe heavily. I've never overexerted myself so much. The adrenaline is still flowing within me. It's only a matter of time before it wears off and everything hits me at once. But it doesn't matter, I won. I raise my fist in the air in a stance of victory.

"Why?" Tony muttered. "Why didn't you fight back until now?"

Looking down at him, "Why didn't I? That is a good question."

This excitement. I love it. I can't get over it. Why have I never fought before? Why have I always been afraid of these kinds of confrontations? This is such a thrilling experience. The sheer thrill of a fight.

"I don't really have a good answer for you that wouldn't shatter your pride." I lay my eyes on him. "So instead, I thank you. Thank you, for awakening this side of me I never knew I had."

Tony then rests his head down, pavement against his cheek, and falls unconscious next to Bill just as the rain begins to cease falling.

I chuckle a bit. Wow, that was quite the display I put on. I, who has no combat experience whatsoever, just managed to win a 3v1.

Will Mom let me off the hook if she finds out I won? No, probably not.

If anything Dad will join in just to degrade their parents even further by grilling into them that their kids lost to an inexperienced underclassmen of which they had outnumbered. Yeah, I need to find some excuse. Maybe just play the fool who didn't even know who-. That was my final thought before the adrenaline wore off. All of the pain and exhaustion hit me at once. My chest was heaving hard trying to catch air, my body aching from all of the movement I did with my injuries.

Idiot.

I stumble back into the brick wall at the end of the alley, groaning in pain. Sliding down the rough surface, I land with a thunk in a small puddle that had formed. My chest continually rises and lowers, ragged gasps escaping my lips as I try to gather my bearings. The rain, which before was blanketing the area since the chase reached its end, has finally sputtered to a stop. As the world catches its breath, a shaft of sunlight pierces through the clouds, a warm spotlight illuminating the grimy rainwater clinging to my face. The sudden kiss of sunshine feels like a small mercy, a flicker of hope in the grimy alleyway. A drip of sweat runs down my cheek as I take in the lights’ warmth against my cool skin. This is when I finally take a look at myself.

Ah man... my pants are wet.

image [https://i.imgur.com/fMKksfv.png]

My eyes opened, and I found myself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. I tried to get up, but immediately regretted it as a groan of frustration escaped my lips.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," said a deep voice.

The sound of a stranger startled me. I jumped up from where I lay and backed up, knocking over a shelf, the sound of shattering glass filling the room. I collapsed again, the spike of pain overwhelming me even after a surge of adrenaline.

"Damn, am I that scary? Should I have shaved?"

I winced at the pain and tried to get back up, but my body refused, screaming in protest.

The stranger walked over to me and helped me back onto the bed. "Jeez, the wrap will heal you over time. Just relax and rest for a bit, okay?"

"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked, my throat parched.

Passing me a glass of water he spoke again. “Hm? Ah, my name is Chronos, Chronos Elior. As for where you are, you are in my home, even knocking over my favorite shelf.”

He looked over to the opposite side of the room with a hand outstretched towards the shelf in question. Following his gaze with the glass of water at my lips I froze. A cold sweat begins to ensue as my mind begins running a million miles an hour processing every detail of what I'm witnessing, hoping and praying it's not as I see it. That shelf in particular had numerous plants on it which are scattered all over the ground with broken glass and spilled soil. That isn't the primary concern. On the ground a container lay on its side, glinting silver against the dim stone. Intricate carved runes and symbols decorated its polished metal surface. Nearby rested a lid, displaced from its proper position atop the object. Spilled across the floor, fine powder had escaped the object's confines. Gray and wispy, almost forming shapes before drifting into formlessness.

As for why I'm talking about its details... a good question but I don't have a good answer for you other than trying to see if there's a way it isn't what I believe it is.

“Umm… that metal thing… it wouldn’t happen to be an oversized ashtray would it?” Sweat running down my face with my ass cheeks clenched.

“Oh no, that's the Mrs.”

I KNEW IT, IT'S AN URN!!! Mom... Dad, I love you. Please live a long healthy life. And Iris, don’t grow up to be like your dumb older brother.

Avoiding his gaze I just stare at the wall hoping that it just opens for me to walk out, then I hear the sound of someone... spitting? I looked to my right and saw the man was gone, I looked to my left at the wall to see him standing over the urn.

OH MY GOD, HE JUST SPAT ON HER ASHES!

"Hmph, letting some kid knock you over, pathetic." He turned around and walked back with his hands behind his back as if he had just finished lecturing someone. This allowed me to get a better look at him. He has dark brown hair that is naturally slicked back with a beard complimenting his chiseled chin. Tanned skin and a muscular physique that really leaks through his clothes. He's wearing a red hoodie with characters on his back saying 'Elysium #22’ with the academy insignia at the center. A necklace around his neck with a crucifix hanging a couple of inches below the collarbone. He was tall, very tall. From my point of view, I'd say over 7 feet. Then again I'm currently 5'4 at age 13 so it's not like I have a good way of measuring besides the fact that he just towers over everything. The last detail I noticed is his eyes. A crimson red that glints in the light.

“Umm I suppose you didn’t have the best relationship with your wife?” I asked.

“Huh?” He looked at me like I had just insulted him. He began to shout, “THAT WOMAN IS THE GREATEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO ME! I’VE ANNIHILATED COUNTLESS FOES FOR THAT WOMAN. AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN!”

Ah… yeah, I don’t understand a thing.

He cleared his throat gathering himself, “Our relationship was... a complicated one yes, but we were a very competitive pair. Which is what made us both inseparable and untouchable.” He sat down next to me and placed a hand on my rib cage. "Well it seems like your ribs have been put back into place, just a few more minutes and then you should be good to go.”

There was an awkward silence between us, I finally spoke up, "What was her name?"

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Amelia.”

What a nice name. “I'm... I'm sorry I knocked over Amelia's ashes.”

“Hm? Oh those aren't her ashes."

"HUH?!" My eyes were wide with shock.

He began laughing so hard he began to tear up. "Haha, I gotcha didn't I? It's just regular wood ashes. I keep that there so I can mess with people who visit." He paused and scratched his chin. "Maybe that's why people stopped coming over?"

"You don't have many friends do you?" I said deadpanned.

He began to sound a little melancholic which kind of threw me off guard considering how he has been acting so far, "I-I have friends, they just have busier lives. I tried to live a life similar to theirs but, I just couldn't do it. That life isn't meant for me." I would have felt a little bad if he wasn't staring distantly into a wall.

There's no window there buddy. I hope you know that.

"Oh well I digress, just try not to move, the wrap will slip and I'll have to rewrap it."

"Wrap?" I looked down and actually took a good look at what was around my chest and abdomen. I see what seems to be a bandage wrapped tightly around my torso, emitting a soft golden glow. The bandage is crafted from a finely woven material that seems to radiate light from every thread. It encircles my abdomen and chest in a snug embrace, pulsating with gentle warmth. I feel energy radiating from the luminous cloth into my cracked ribs and torn muscles underneath. Gingerly, I run my fingers over the opaque binding. It is smooth to the touch and surprisingly sturdy despite its gossamer appearance. The glowing fibers generate a subtle heat that spreads deeper with each breath I take.

“A medela wrap helps restore broken bones and torn muscle fibers, but it’s not a quick process.” He then put on a pair of lensless glasses, pulled out an empty clipboard, and began to speak after adjusting his glasses. For what purpose I don't know, but he looked at the clipboard and continued. “Broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, multiple bruises on your face, left eye is swollen, possible concussion, and a cut right above your right eye. Luckily your ribs didn't puncture your lungs, regardless, if you had taken a few more hits there, it could have been worse. Once the healing process starts it takes roughly 2 hours for all the bones to realign and heal. Afterwards you need to take off the wrap and allow the body to adjust itself for about a day before placing it back on yourself to complete the healing process without the body rejecting it. Amazing right? What usually takes one to two months to heal naturally, healed in over a couple of days.”

He gets up and walks over to a chair that has my shirt hanging over it. He grabs it, then places the shirt on the end table next to me and continues speaking. "Granted this is only because you aren't awakened yet, if you were awakened, you wouldn't need to go through a whole treatment process for your injuries. However, if this was one of the academies or anyplace that has access to medela technology above Blue, then this would only need about 15 minutes.” He might have been talking about it to set me at ease, but I didn’t know any better. I was actually kind of intrigued about how this wrap worked.

I then asked, "What rank would this wrap be?"

"I don't know, probably green." I gave him a questioning look. "Haha, I made it myself so I couldn't tell you what rank this is. You see I was never a good healer so if there was ever a scenario where I needed to do something healing related, I had these at least. Sure I could have bought some of the good ones but there's a certain pride in using things you make you know?" He gave an innocent look lifting his shoulders, "I was never much of a craftsman either when it came to support items."

"You... can't be serious," I said deadpanned.

"Okay, okay, I do have better things. However I can't necessarily use them willy nilly, especially on you. You haven't awakened like I said, it would ruin your aura channels before you could awaken. Unless I actually was an experienced healer and knew how to tailor a better medela wrap to suit you. Make sense? If I specialized in healing then there wouldn't be an issue and I wouldn't even need to use such low level equipment such as this wrap."

"How would it ruin my aura channels if I haven't awakened?"

He thought for a moment, "Think of it like a blood transfusion, you need a specific type of blood for the procedure, yes? There are 4 blood groups and their own versions of each, positive/negative that sort of thing. The blood type you are is the blood type you receive. With aura however, everyone is unique to them. So if I was to attempt to use my aura to try and heal your injuries without the proper skills, I could just as easily overload your aura channels, crippling you and your advancement or potentially killing you. If I was a healer, I’d basically be the ‘O-’ of auras."

"K-kill me?!"

"Haha, yes, kill you. I'm quite strong, you know."

"What if I was awakened?"

"Same thing."

"What? But you said-"

"I said it before, I'm not specialized in healing. If I was, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'd have fixed you up right where I found you."

So there are limits to what you can do? I always had the impression that once you were a high enough rank you could do anything with no issue.

I look up at him taking another sip of water, “Wait so if your aura is so strong, what rank are you?"

He was about to speak up then stopped himself. After contemplating for a bit before giving me a smirk and speaking, "I'm strong enough to where I don't really need to worry about too much. I don't typically give out the specifics of how strong I am because it gives me 1 of 3 outcomes that I'd rather avoid.

1. They think I'm bullshitting.

2. They suddenly feel the need to treat me like I'm going to hurt them and everyone they love if they don't make my coffee properly.

3. They treat me like a VIP and act like they can't say no to a thing I say.

3 is the most common, I like casual conversations, you know?"

That wasn't really anything for me to work with other than that he might be Red since the majority of the ones who can live comfortably are ranked there. He smirked at me again, "I know you're trying to figure out what rank my aura is. Not that it really matters if you can guess or not, but it's still funny to see the face you make when you're trying to figure it out."

Aura ranks are common knowledge so there isn't a reason I shouldn't know or anyone for that matter. After awakening you start at Green, then the ranks go as follows, Blue, Violet, Red, Orange, Yellow, and White. I mean I understand why he would want to hide it. I suppose I can just let it slide. This time.

Then a question occurred to me, "Wait, if you're already awakened, why didn't you help me?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Is that under the assumption I watched the entire thing unfold?"

I opened my mouth to respond but nothing came out. That's true, I didn't think about that. "True, but how did you find me so soon after it all ended?"

He then avoids my gaze. "I-I was... just in the area."

"Uh-huh."

Bullshit.

Yeah, I'm not buying it. "So you just so happened to be in the area where after the person in question, me, was being chased by three upperclassmen out of the residential districts into downtown. Then one of them, managing to catch up, pulled me into an isolated alley. Soon after I was graced with a completely one-sided beat down by my three pursuers, yet you decided to sit and watch the entire thing unfold."

"To be fair I-"

"You could have at least called the police. Or better yet the Ascendant's Association."

"Now you see that would have complicated things especially for me because I am not on the best of-"

"Forget that, just answer these 3 questions. When did you start watching? Why didn't you do anything to stop the fight? Why did you help me after it all ended?"

Chronos took a deep breath, "You all first caught my attention after one of them used their freshly awakened aura. As you know the laws require a freshly awakened to immediately report it to the A.A. for evaluation and orientation within at least 24 hours. From there they are given a bind to suppress their aura from being used until they undergo proper aura training, blah, blah, blah, so those who haven't awakened yet won't be hurt, blah, blah, blah, aura make me strong I can do whatever I want, but angry Sentinels enforce the laws you get the point. From the way his aura felt it was most certainly not an awakening. A new aura yes, but I could sense it had been a month since they had awakened. In other words, using their aura in public is a big no no. And it piqued my curiosity because I had sensed 2 other suppressed auras and, you, someone who hasn't awakened yet. So about the time you were pulled into the alley is when I started watching."

Okay, that makes sense. Maybe he was in the area, at least for the start of it.

"As for why I didn't do anything, I would have intervened if he had decided to use his aura to beat you. It's a good thing he had his friends to tell him to put his bind back on suppressing his aura from being used completely. Aura and emotions play hand-in-hand. The weaker you are, the more prone you are to acting on impulse. Anyways since he put it back on I held off on doing anything but kept an eye on the situation just in case one of them decided to take it too far. My original intention was to call for an ambulance once it was done so you could get some immediate help with experts of course. Then report the antics of the 3 others to the A.A. afterward to get their licenses suspended and pull some strings to have them end up having to go through all kinds of steps just to get a re-evaluation."

I can somewhat understand. Considering that all 3 of them had some backing there's no telling what kind of trouble he could get into. Although then again considering that he might be ranked Red or above, family connections would be irrelevant just from his own individual power alone so my skepticism remained because of one thing he had mentioned. I spoke up, "Wait weren't you going to say something along the lines of you not being on the best of terms with the A.A?"

He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Y-yeah, we aren't on the best of terms but I can still put in a good word to the right people who want to do some good you know?"

Now that also makes sense, but I'm still skeptical. Most of my experience comes from what my parents taught me when it came to how to treat others as well as protect those in need. It may sound a bit hypocritical considering I hesitated to help heroine number 1 earlier. That was mostly because, now hear me out, there wasn't exactly an obvious situation that she would be hurt the way she did. I should stop, I'm just making excuses for myself. Speaking of which, I wonder how she is.

"Anyways regarding your last question, 'Why did I help you after it all ended?' Assuming you're referring to me taking you into my home and taking care of you personally, well to be frank, you piqued my interest."

I raised an eyebrow then covered my body with my arms as if he had a lecherous gaze, "What do you mean I piqued your interest? I don't swing that way so I'll have to turn you down."

He sputtered and fumbled over his words, taking my words seriously, "W-what no, I told you I have a wife. And I'm not interested in little boys either so you can-. You're fucking with me aren't you?"

I was wondering how he caught on, but perhaps the impish grin on my face gave me away.

Clearly unamused he continued, "What I mean is you piqued my interest in terms of your combat prowess. Very few times have I seen someone take a one sided beating then turn the tables, mimicking everything they did and using it against them. Not to mention you looked like you were having the time of your life once you started fighting back. At first you were there cowering in fear accepting your beating like a submissive weakling. But you stood tall regardless. And even after all that you weren't just taking the beating for nothing. You were learning from the looks of it. I saw you throw a punch and kick for the first time during the fight. You made it seem like you had always been able to. Then you read their attacks, predicting their every move and avoiding them almost flawlessly. Tell me, who trained you?"

To be honest, I thought it might have just been a way my mind was coping, but no, I remember it vividly. The sting of my knuckles after colliding with flesh and bone. The recoil on my quads and calves after the impact on Bill's ribs. The sheer thrill of the fight. This feeling within myself was definitely me. Not to mention just the fact that someone like me managed to fight back using their own moves. I was able to learn their attacks, patterns, forms, everything. Just from watching and experiencing them first hand.

After gathering my thoughts of the situation I answered his question, "No one, I don't have any fighting experience. That was the first time I had ever fought someone."

He rose both eyebrows, "Oh?" A grin began to tease the corner of his cheeks. "Then let me ask you a few questions, after all I answered yours, it's only fair."

"I suppose that's true, ask away."

"1st question."

"Didn't you already ask your first question?"

He chuckled, "2nd question. Tell me, when you were being attacked by them, how did it feel? Don't leave any details out, I want to know what exactly it was that you were feeling when you were watching them."

"Okay, well-" I began recalling the first few moments of the fight. I recalled the moment Tony threw his first punch. How it felt as if time slowed giving me time to drink in every movement he made. I also explained what happened with Bill and Mateo, including my harsh criticisms regarding Mateo's amateurish fighting. How my heart was racing and continued to increase in tempo before I decided to fight back. Chronos was taking in everything I was saying. He didn't interrupt, he listened carefully and nodded as I explained how I felt.

His grin grew after I finished speaking, "Last question. Explain how it felt once you began to fight back."

I paused for a moment before answering. I lifted my hands and looked at them. I analyzed the small cuts on my knuckles. The divets in my palms where my fingernails were digging in. The slight tinge of pain in my right shoulder. A grin began to take over my face as I responded, "It... it was fun. It was... so much fun."