Alarm clocks were the greatest threat to the existence of mankind ever created in Alard's eyes. Now, imagine that in the form of literally a threat to the very existence of mankind; a Marked. And not just any Marked, a purple-suited psycho who happened to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest the world had to offer.

Alard grunted as he was blown off of the top of the bunk bed by an unnaturally strong gust of wind. Having won their last spar, Alard had gotten the top bed for the week but he was rethinking the reward after almost cracking his skull from the fall.

He looked up to see a familiar purple suit and grinning face. The first thought that came to Alard was why the hell he had on that suit not only indoors but in the morning and how on earth was he not sweating.

Satisfied that Alard was up, Akuma turned to a body on his right, prodding it until it started to squirm with groans of protest.

The gears started to slowly turn in Alard's head as he groggily realized that it was Hayaka being forced out of his sleep.

Why was he just waking up? Didn't he usually get up incredibly early?

Alard directed his gaze to the clock on their wall and what he saw made his blood boil.

It was 6 a.m.!

"What the hell is your deal?" Alard hissed angrily. "I'm not due to wake up for at least 3 more hours!"

Akuma raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, that'll have to change. No student of mine will be sleeping away their productive hours for no reason at all. As they say, the early worm dodges the bird."

"That's not eve-"

"Anyway, we'll be going a few streets over to begin our first training session. We're starting early to not bother Mr. Grumpy and his rules."

"Didn't you agree to follow those rules?" Alard whined.

"Lesson one; strong individuals don't allow themselves to be boxed in by rules because it limits spontaneity and by association, potential."

Alard and Hayaka exchanged a worried glance.

"Ah, you crybabies. I'll have you back home for your father by nine, it's just a smoother process not waking him up."

Alard looked at Hayaka who shrugged. It was clear he was trying to avoid supervision during their training which Alard couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing, but if he was telling the truth about having them back in three hours it shouldn't be a problem.

Alard sighed, rubbing his droopy eyes. "Alright."

It had been two days since the meeting that made Akuma responsible for their training and this was the first day he had shown his face.

Alard had to admit he was plenty excited to be trained by someone who had reached his level of strength, crazy or not, it was impressive.

The trio hurried down the corridor and stairs soundlessly, reaching the door with no sign of movement from the rooms.

"Some security these guys have," Akuma said with a chuckle as he opened the door.

Standing behind it with his arms folded was Jarek. Alden stood behind him with his arms neatly behind his back.

Akuma sighed. "Well, shit."

"I assume you were about to inform me that you were carrying out the boys?" Jarek asked, his tone resembling a father scolding his son.

"Of course. I just couldn't figure out which jail cell was yours."

"...Right. Alden here will act as your supervisor for this session," Jarek said, motioning toward the spectacle-wearing man who nodded respectfully.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Sure. Just know if one of my attacks happens to hit you it wasn't my intention...probably."

Alden dipped his head. "I'll keep that in mind, sir."

"Let's get a move on then," Akuma announced, brushing past Jarek harder than necessary.

Alard followed his chaotic mentor, mouthing a quick sorry in Jarek's direction.

Sure enough, Akuma led them a few streets over before whipping around with a wide grin. "You might want to find a nice perch to watch my budding flowers begin blossoming," he said to Alden who complied, sitting on a step of a building that was half destroyed.

Akuma turned to the pair, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "Ok, we're going to start off simple. I want you both to try to land a hit on me. I need to evaluate how you choose to attack and approach the challenge."

With that he stuck his hands in his pockets and waited expectantly, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Alard rubbed his head. Judging from the speed he had witnessed in Mr.Dawkins' office, what he asked was nothing short of impossible at their current level. Nonetheless, Alard beckoned Hayaka over.

"Let's see how he reacts to us attacking from either side at the same time," he suggested, not bothering to whisper as it would be pointless. It was hard to formulate a plan while the opponent could hear every part so he tried to be as bleak as possible.

Hayaka nodded, getting into a runner's position. "Doesn't seem like we have much of a choice."

The two launched at the same time, Hayaka curving off to the left with Alard doing the same on the right. Alard, being faster, arrived at their target first and aimed a punch at Akuma's head.

As expected, Akuma easily dodged the attack, slinking backward elegantly. Hayaka aimed a kick at his head as he backpedaled, which he ducked under without ever even looking at it. Alard tried to keep the pressure on, aiming a punch at his mid-section and as he dodged, a follow-up uppercut at the space he moved to. Still, he calmly evaded his efforts with minimal movement.

Hayaka went for a tackle which Akuma jumped over, but Alard - seeing an opportunity, aimed a leg sweep at where he was set to land, perfectly timing his foot sliding across the pavement to his landing.

Or what should've been his landing.

Contorting his body into a flip mid-air, Akuma delayed his landing so that he landed graciously after Alard's leg had harmlessly slid past. He backed up, creating space between the two who helplessly looked at each other.

He was just too goddamn fast.

"Alright," Alard breathed, his frustration giving away to burning anger, "we still have a trick up our sleeve."

"We do?" Hayaka asked, his annoyance evident on his face.

"I'll create an opening for you to use that," Alard said.

It took a while for Hayaka to realize what he meant but finally, it clicked and he nodded, a smile forming as hope returned. "You're right, he hasn't seen it before."

The two focused on Akuma with renewed vigor who stood studying his nails with a bored expression, taunting their previous failures.

That really pissed Alard off.

He once again charged toward Akuma. This time, Hayaka stayed behind, watching intensely.

Waiting intensely.

Alard reached Akuma and, feinting a right jab, attempted to slide closer in and grab him. He didn't even comprehend how Akuma escaped his violent hug but he did, ending up behind him instead. Unperturbed, Alard whirled around, letting loose a barrage of blows that would've made his old boxing teacher salivate in awe.

Of course, though, not one splendid jab or hook successfully connected with Akuma, or even came close for that matter. Despite his misses, Alard smiled inwardly as Akuma continued moving in the direction he wanted him to. Deeming the time right, Alard charged in again, waiting until the last second to drop to the floor and aim another for another leg sweep.

As expected, Akuma jumped to dodge the attack, leaving him temporarily suspended in the air.

"Now!"

Hayaka, who had been inching closer to the battle, grinned as he started his punch. Akuma turned and watched in confusion. The boy was still a few feet away from him, making himself well out of his reach. Yet the punch continued, his arm stretching impossibly at a rapid rate toward him.

"Woah," Akuma exclaimed as he twisted in the air, narrowly managing to angle himself above the stretched hand.

Alard smiled from his position under him. He had made the same mistake of simply dodging and letting the hand go past many times during their early spars, not realizing the level of mobility Hayaka had even with it stretched out like that. No doubt he would bring it back and manage to hit Akuma before he landed.

His smile disappeared as Akuma brought down his weight as he once again flipped upright, slamming his foot into the hand. A crack resonated in the air as both Hayaka's hand and Akuma's quickly descending foot slammed into Alard's unfortunate stomach below.

The force caused Hayaka to cry out and Alard to spit blood as he ricocheted off the ground and back down again. The pain was blinding, spreading from his stomach to his entire being as a blanket of darkness beckoned to him.

They had been beaten.

Utterly destroyed even, with Akuma barely even making the faintest effort. It was like he had used training wheels that were the same size as the bicycle themselves and they had still managed to not get anywhere.

As the blanket of darkness swallowed him he could only welcome its warmth with one final thought rising to the surface.

Their mentor was a raging psychopath.