It hurts so bad!!

Waking up, he hugged his chest, his face twisted in pain as if he couldn't breathe. But a second later, the pain disappeared as if nothing had happened. Hurriedly looking down at his chest, he reached out and found relief."

"There's no hole in the chest; it turns out it's just a dream." - he thought.

Sweating's still sweating all over his body, Nea looked around his small room and then leaned back on his soft mattress. Waving his hand to his forehead, he thought back to the dream. He was wondering why it was so real. Even when I woke up, I still had terrible throbbing pain.

"What a strange experience!" He muttered to himself.

Just about to sleep a little more when the alarm rang. Nea quickly turned off the bell and tried to lie down a little longer but eventually had to get up because of his mother's voice from downstairs:

- Nea, get up; today is the first day of school.

- I'm getting up, Mom.

Nea replied and sat up. He stretched his body and started his morning routine while still feeling groggy. He picked up the necklace on his bedside table, looked at it for a while with a sad expression, and then put it on his neck.

Downstairs at home, the boy saw his mother preparing breakfast. He grabbed a piece of bread and stared at her:

- When will you be going again, mom?

- I will have to go after tonight and will be back next weekend.

- Ok, I am going then.

- Watch your steps, kiddo!

His mother warned him as she watched her sixteen-year-old son running to school. Then she suddenly remembered that she had yet to give him his lunch. She rushed to the door to find him, but it was too late; Nea had disappeared into the corner. Then she heard a voice behind her:

- Mrs. Erelia, you are home today! Has Nea left yet?

- Hanami! You look more and more like a young lady now. Nea just left. Please bring Nea's lunch for me.

Hanami took the launch box while smiling bashfully:

- You always praise me but have yet to tell me your secret of staying young.

- There will be a day when I will reveal it to you, now go, don't be late for school.

- Ok, bye, Mrs.

Hanami quickly chased after Nea.

Meanwhile, Nea was slowly walking to school; suddenly, he felt some chill in his spine; he quickly turned around and saw Hanami charging toward him at maximum speed.

*flip*

Hanami delivered a slap to Nea's back head.

- Ouch, why are you being so aggressive, grandma?

- I told you to wait for me, remember?

- Oh, sorry, I forgot.

Nea feigned a laugh while Hanami pouted, but she still eagerly handed the lunch to Nea.

- Thank you a bunch!

- Yeah!

And the two of them walked together to the school. In a few moments, both stood before the entrance to Mayo International High School.

- Hmm, still five minutes left.

Nea looked around.

- Ye, still five minutes.

Hanami also looked around.

They kept looking around the school gate for a while and then looked at each other with their eyes, saying: "That guy is late again!"

- Let's forget about him for now; he is always late.

- Yeah! Let's look for our class now.

Hanami took Nea's hand and dragged him along, surprising him. As both have been close friends since childhood, holding hands like this is normal. However, as they grow older, there are changes that they may overlook. Nea withdraws his hand and says:

- I can walk by myself.

Hanami gave Nea a look and then turned away without saying anything. Nea awkwardly followed behind:

- Sorry, but people might think that you and I are a couple because of that.

- So what!

Hanami glared at Nea and then turned and disappeared into the school. Meanwhile, Nea stood there stunned, not knowing what to do.

Nea felt awkward the whole morning. He quickly grabbed a seat by the window, a perfect addition, daydreaming and feeling awkward simultaneously. The whole class was still buzzing with a bit of summer excitement, so the teacher let the students relax since it was the first day of school.

Nea and Hanami were sorted into different classes. However, from time to time, Nea still saw her friend walking past the class; he just walked by without looking to see where he was. That's good because Nea was still feeling confused.

Aizu Hanami is like a blooming flower in the spring sky. She possessed a delicate and pure beauty of a teenage girl. Despite being mixed with other beautiful girls in school, she always attracted boys' attention. The more Nea observed her friend, the more she felt jealous. Although it is not clear what that feeling is, thinking about her words as if she were scolding made him a little embarrassed.

- Yo, yo, yo!

Startled, Nea turned around and saw his friend since childhood, Kusari, outside the classroom's door:

- What's the matter with you jumping like this, your spirit is flying away again, or are you thinking about something naughty?"

His voice was teasing, making fun, but his face was trying to smile awkwardly.

Nea gave him a skeptical look:

- How did you get into school?

- Of course, I claimed the wall, idiot!

Kusari kept laughing while talking:

- Yo! Why are you still sitting here? Let's go to the rooftop.

- I still have another class.

- Time to get down to the ground; it's launch now.

Nea looked at the clock; it was noon now.

The two friends took some time to find the way to the rooftop. Kusari grumping:

- Shitty school! Rooftop is not allowed? Bullshit!!

He kicked the door to the rooftop open while laughing out loud. Nea gave Kusari a bored glare on his face and muttered to himself:

- Why the rooftop? You plan to skip class again already?

- What? Are you muttering again? Speak louder, man.

- Keep quiet; the guard may hear us.

- Scared?

Kusari processed to laugh out loud again.

Today the sky is full of clouds, and there is a cool breeze. The two generals ate and drank happily while enjoying the breeze. Suddenly Nea saw his friend with a distant look in his eyes; he knew that Kusari must have something to confide in. Indeed, Kusari began to speak:

- Hey! I am interested in someone now.

- Who?

- I say this, and you understand. She appears refined like the moonlight at night, but her inner self is warm like the Sun's rays.

- Moonlight and Sun's rays? Why so poetic now?

Kusari did not react to Nea's sarcasm; both remained silent for a few seconds.

- Aizu?

Kusari still kept silent; Nea continued:

- Aizu has a lot of boys chasing after her, you know?

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- Those scumbags are not the matter. How about you? Do you like her?

Like there was something stuck in Nea's throat, he did not know what to say for a few seconds, then Nea started to babbling:

- No, I...

- You like someone, Nea?

Both gods jumped and looked behind them. They didn't know when Aizu had been standing right behind them. The girl slyly looked at both of them:

- You guys think I can't find you both?

She pulled a sulky expression; it made Kusari awkward; he tried to make something up:

- Because we saw you talking with other girls, so we did not want to interrupt you.

- They are just classmates; they are not matter.

She faked her sulky expression for a bit longer:

- So who do you interested in now, Nea?

Nea scratching his head, tried to say:

- No, it's Kuro...

Kusari immediately covered Nea's mouth with his hand, blocking him from speaking a single word. It only made Aizu more curious. A strange voice suddenly spoke up while they were overlooked:

- Hey! Who are you, punks?

The three stopped and turned around. Standing right next to the entrance was ten dudes; they all looked at the three with wild eyes:

- You know whose territory it is?

Kusari let go of Nea; as he stood up, he brushed off his clothes and spoke:

- This is a rooftop which belonged to this school, ye?

- Aaa, you punk!

A young man rushed forward and threw a punch straight at Kusari's face, but he raised his hand to block it and punched the young man in the stomach, making him grimace and back away.

- Yo, Nea, get Aizu out of here; I will handle those trash.

- Ok!

Nea's waving gestured for Aizu to follow; her face showed concern. Nea said:

- Don't worry, you know, let's get out of here.

The two were about to head down the stairs, then suddenly, a mischievous-looking guy who appeared to be the group leader blocked the way:

- Ok, agreed; this field belongs to the school, but I am the Vice Principal's son, so if you want to go, go, but you have to leave this girl behind.

He smirked and signalled for his gang to capture Aizu. Kusari's eyes flared with rage as he charged into the gang and started fighting. They split into two groups, with seven gang members fighting against Kusari and the remaining three, including the one holding Nea and Aizu captive. The leader leered at Nea:

- Get out of my way, brat! You wanna bite the dust?

Seeing Nea frozen in one place, the leader guy kept sneering. He approached and tried to push Nea aside to grab Aizu. Placed one hand on Nea's shoulder, the thug said:

- Good, you seem like a bright kid...

*thud*

Suddenly, Nea seemed further away from the thug's point of view, and he was surprised. His underling helped him get back up:

- Boss, are you ok?

The guy slowly stood up with a bewildered look on his face. Then he turned angry immediately, screaming:

- What did you do to me, you little punk?

The leader growled and began to hit Nea repeatedly. However, despite the leader's frenzied punches, none landed on Nea. The leader eventually stopped, panting heavily, while Nea remained calm and composed in front of the leader:

- You, you.....

- Ah! Behind you, boss!

He turned around only to receive a punch to the face from Kusari, as the boy had the rest of the gang on the ground.

Suddenly, a sound from below the staircase rose like the guard's voice. Kusari glanced at his friend; Nea immediately led Aizu to hide behind the door just as the guard appeared. While the guard focused on Kusari, Nea led her friend to run down. Aizu was held by Nea's hand and pulled along, so she obediently followed him, not caring about Kusari anymore.

***

The first day of high school was finally over; Nea and Aizu thought they had to find Kusari in the principal room, but no, the guy had already been waiting for them outside Aizu's classroom. Kusari's face was so bright like nothing had happened. They kept chatting as they walked along the hallway:

- So, what happened?

- They asked to see my parents again, but I had none.

Kusari laughed harder and harder as he talked. Meanwhile, Aizu made a serious face:

- Ye, ye. You just created a new record for the first day at school again!

- So... It's not cool?

Kusari suppressed his laughter and asked Aizu with a curious tone because he noticed that the girl didn't seem to like it, but he was trying to flirt with her. Suddenly, Aizu burst into cheerful laughter:

- No, that's the way you are, Kusari!

Kusari looked embarrassed at Aizu's radiant smile, but his face always blushed at the most inconvenient times. He hadn't seen her in a whole summer, and she was even more beautiful, making Kusari unable to look away. Nea saw this and pulled his friend's arm. Kusari immediately understood and turned to another place to regain his composure. The three continued talking and laughing as they walked to the recruitment area of the clubs. They walked past the booth of the martial arts club, and even though the three of them weren't paying attention, many eyes fixed on them. From a distance, members of the Karate club saw that other martial arts clubs were fussing about something. One member asked out of curiosity:

- President, what's causing all the commotion?

- You're new here, so you probably don't know, but there's a first-year student that most of the clubs are after this year, but unfortunately, he can't be recruited.

- Why is that so?

- He was banned from competing or joining any martial arts club and was placed on the blacklist of the national martial arts association.

- Who is that? The one who looks like a thug?

- No, the one in the middle.

- Him? He does not look like he has that bad vibe.

- It's best not to judge people based on appearances, at least not with that person. I still vividly remember what happened two months ago at the 44th annual summer tournament of the youth martial arts association. That person was one of the most notable contestants. He won uniquely and decisively from the elimination rounds to the finals, knocking all other contestants off the fighting stage.

- He get banned for that?

- The issue is with the final. I still remember that guy tried to push his opponent off the arena, but because it was the final, his opponent was extremely tough. They seem to know each other. Although I don't know what kind of conversation they had, what happened next was crazy. The audience went wild at that point. If the referees and coaches hadn't intervened, his opponent would have died. That's why he, Nea Revir, was put on the blacklist of the martial art association and banned permanently.

Aizu wandered around, running back and forth from club to club, then she stopped and looked back at her friends.

- So, will you two have any plans to register for any club?

Nea answer:

- Yep, I may apply for the cooking club.

- Ehh? Nea, you don't join any martial art club?

- Nope, I'm bored of it already.

Nea laughed off while answering; Aizu gave him a suspicious look:

- Hmm... So back to what you guys muttered on the rooftop. The one you like is also in a cooking club, Nea?

- Nope, I like it, so that I will join it.

- Really?

- Yeah!

- Ok.

And so the girl continued to run back and forth. Kusari gestured to Nea, pointing at his watch. Nea said:

- Today is the last day I come there, a bit late is fine.

- I know but after that...

- Ohh! I almost forgot.

Kusari breathed out like an old geezer.

After registration, both escorted Aizu back to the house entrance to ensure the noon crowd wasn't up to anything devious after school.

- Bye guys, see ya later.

Then she disappeared after the door.

***

Nea looked around and observed the vast mountainous terrain. The warm Sun was everywhere, highlighting the freshness of the place.

Suddenly, a lousy growl echoed from the valley as if some hungry animal was making the sound. Nea looked at Kusari, gave him a light nod, and then both rushed down the hill. In just a few moments, both of them had reached the source of the roar. It is a two-meter-high iron armour holding a giant sword, a block of iron shaped like a sword is more standard. It wields the giant sword recklessly and roars, then charges at Nea and Kusari.

Both quickly separated in different directions, causing the armour to disorient. On Kusari's hands were two whip-like chains with sharp hooks at the end. He began to swing them toward the opponent. The armour suit deflected the attack with its sword, but Kusari continued to charge. Nea approached, taking advantage of the opening at the back; using his straight sword, he swung from below upwards, knocking off the helmet. Revealing inside was a face that was half-rotten. It screamed as it swung the sword towards Nea; Nea lifted the sword to block, and the collision of the swords almost caused Nea to stumble. This monster is swift and strong. Kusari takes advantage of its concentration on Nea; he also leaped up and inserts two stakes into the monster, penetrating through the armour, followed by a full-powered knee blow onto the monster's back. The creature was getting angrier and turning around. It flapped its wings toward Kusari, sending him flying and crashing into the forest, breaking several trees. Taking advantage of the moment, Nea delivers a crushing blow across its neck, sending its head onto the green grass. Kusari breathed a sigh of relief as he came out of the forest, smiling. Nea also smiled when he saw Kusari. But suddenly, the creature's sword swung at Nea, still alive. Sadly, Nea reacted quickly and agilely, jumping into the air and hovering above the creature, and in a short moment, he used a killing blow, cutting the creature into many pieces. Nea gently landed on the ground and looked at Kusari; with a broad smile on his face, he grinned at his friend:

- Easy game!

- Show-off!

Both have a good laugh. Then the scenery of the valley filled with sunlight slowly disappeared into the darkness; a voice echoed:

- Great job, boys!

Nea took off the VR glasses, which looked like swimming glasses. Nea tilted his head to the only door in the room, a man likely in his mid twenty approaching Nea:

- How do you feel about this final experiment?

Nea retook a look at all the VR's equipment all over his body, then he gave his assessment:

- I can feel every blow I land on that monster.

- Yes, we upgraded the suit so users can feel more realistic while hitting or being hit.

A while later, the two of them went outside, and Nea saw his friend excitedly talking about this virtual reality game with others. Seeing Nea, he immediately beckoned him over:

- Hey, excellent finisher back there.

While speaking, Kusari smiled, and Nea also grinned. The man who had just gone with Nea pulled out a stack of money and spoke:

- Nea, you sure you want to quit? We need people who have a set of skills like you here.

- I wanna focus on studying, beside you have Kusari here; he is no different than I am.

- Sure, suit yourself. Feel free to come back whenever you want; we will always welcome you. Here is your last payment.

As they walked, Kusari was all hype and excited. But when he turned to Nea, he suddenly became serious, as if he remembered something:

- So, we go there now?

- Yeah!

- Let's go somewhere else if you don't feel like it.

- No, my mom is there now.

Kusari shrugged his shoulders. In a few minutes, the two arrived at the cemetery gate, where Nea's mother was standing in front of a tombstone carved with the name FINIX REVIR.

The weather is gradually becoming gloomy, and cold raindrops start to fall. Kusari and Nea's mother go to take shelter from the rain, leaving him alone beside his father's grave. Kusari shuddered:

- Where did the rain come from? It was sunny just a moment ago. You ok there?

- Yeah!

Nea replied, but his eyes remained fixed on the tombstone.

***

The rain was pouring like a melancholy melody. That could be what Nea feels from the falling drops. It drowned out the noise of everyday life, making the heart feel relaxed and calm. Or it can also make us feel weighed down, like the sorrows we always hide in our hearts. Nea was enjoying those moments as he stood in this late autumn rain. His eyes don't leave the gray stone countertop, staring for half a second. He concentrated so much that he no longer paid attention to the world around him until the smoke from somewhere appeared. Nea was startled and looked to the side. Standing next to you was a middle-aged man whose hair and temples were already white and messy. He wore a gray vest with a vulgar rabbit printed on the collar. Puffing on a cigarette, he began to speak:

- Sorry! If I am disturbing your moment.

Nea was still aware; he asked:

- Who are you?

- An old friend of his from work.

- A college? From that Miyazaki power plant?

The man didn't say anything more; he just glanced at Nea:

- You are taller now.

- Have we ever met?

- Not really, but your father always mentions you and your mother.

- Me and my mom?

Nea spoke back with a sneering smile on his lips:

- Then he should be with us right now. Not disappear to nowhere like this; we even have to put a fake tombstone.

- Did you think he was dead?

- I don't know, but I hope so. Somehow that thought made me feel better

- Then what if he was still alive?

- Alive? What do you mean by that? You know him whereabout?

- Sort of.

- Is he dying?

- That, I do not know.

The man took a deep drag from his cigarette and continued speaking:

- There are a lot of things you don't know about your father. Now I don't have time to talk.

He pulled out a blank white card:

- If you want to know what's going on and if you want to find your father, then come to this address. We hope to have your assistance.

Nea took the white card, not noticing any writing on the front or back. Just as Nea was about to ask another question, the man disappeared without a trace. Still in shock, Nea looked at the card again and saw black lines forming a circle with a diagonal slash and an address at the bottom.