At 10:00 p.m. that same day, Kareem leaves the Academy’s gym after a workout and prepares to head home when Zachary stops him at the door.
“What do you want?” asks Kareem.
“I want to… no, I’m going to kick your ass.” Zachary responds.
“Dude, I already apologized-”
“I don’t care what you have to say. I’ll forgive you after I beat you to the ground.”
“I don’t wish to fight you, Zachary.”
“I’m not letting you leave here without a fight. You can either go to the training yard, or it’ll happen here.”
Kareem sighs. “If you insist.”
The two walk out into the training yard.
“What are the rules?”
“There are no rules. We go until the other can no longer fight.”
“Are you sure about this? I’ll give you one more chance to change your mind.”
“Hmm, let me think about that one… yeah, I’m sure.“
Despite Kareem's final attempt to offer peace, the fight ignites. Zachary charges in and throws a punch, which Kareem dodges and counters with a kick to Zach’s ribs.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” pleads Kareem.
Zachary ignores him and throws another punch, but Kareem grabs his hand.
“We aren’t enemies.”
“Oh, shut up already!” Shouts Zachary, hitting a clean headbutt.
Kareem stumbles to the ground, and Zachary begins to let loose on him, landing punch after punch.
“You are so damn cocky, it pisses me off!” Zachary gets off of Kareem. “Stop holding back and fight me!”
“You know what…” Kareem spits out blood. “I was trying to be nice… but I warned you.”
Kareem sweeps out Zachary’s legs, making him fall to the ground. The two then struggle to get the best of each other for a while until Kareem pushes Zachary away. They stand up and begin fighting again, but Kareem begins overpowering Zachary, dodging his punches and then hitting devastating hits of his own. As a last-ditch effort, Zachary attempts another headbutt but gets caught with a knee right to his chest that knocks the wind out of him.
“Are you finished?” asks Kareem.
Zachary spits out blood and gasps for air. “You really… think that I’m done? What a joke. I won’t be done… until you are begging me to stop!”
Like earlier that day, Zachary activates his Trait, and bright red marks start forming all over his body. He jumps up and begins attacking Kareem again, landing more punches due to his increased speed.
“You can’t just block forever! Fight back!” Zachary continues to land punches on Kareem, not letting him get a chance to recover. After about a two-minute-long beating, Zachary’s speed began to return to normal. “You’re pathetic. All that talk, and you can’t handle me with my most basic power increase.” Zachary lifts Kareem by his collar. “Come on, that can’t be all you have to offer me, right? Use your Trait!”
“That’s funny… you’re the one that’s slowing down… is that all the stamina you have?” Kareem grabs Zachary by the head and hits him as hard as he can with another knee to the chest, causing blood to shoot out of Zachary’s mouth. “The outcome will be the same no matter how often we fight. This is over. I win. You don’t have enough stamina.” Kareem turns and limps back towards the Academy.
“I won’t let you!” shouts Zachary, “Get your ass back over here… and fight me!”
“I’m done fighting you, Zach. Look at us… the fight’s over.”
“Heh… you don’t listen, do you?”
Kareem turns around to see the red markings on Zachary’s body begin to turn purple.
“What are you doing?”
“Damn, this hurts like hell… but I’ve never felt this much power at one time before!”
Zachary’s Limit Breaker Trait works in a multiplying fashion, with each layer doubling the previous one's output. Being in level two for the first time can and will strain Zachary's body and most likely leave him out of commission for a while.
“Why do you look scared? What’s wrong? Let’s keep fighting!”
“I give up…” Kareem stumbles backward. “You win, okay?”
“I win? I thought you just said you won. Looks like we’ll have to start the fight over.”
Kareem turns to run, and Zachary chases him. Before Kareem could get through the glass door, Zachary had caught up and tackled him straight through it, sending glass in every direction. The impact fractured Kareem’s ribs and broke his left arm. Zachary then continues to pummel Kareem until Amber enters the building looking for him.
“Zachary! What are you doing?” Amber runs up and tries to pull Zachary off of Kareem. “Get off!”
“Stay away, Amber! This doesn’t involve you !”
“Help… me…” whimpers Kareem.
“You’re going to kill him! Please stop!”
“I said stay away-” Zachary’s body strains and goes into shock. His marks fade out, and he falls to the floor.
“Zach?! Zach, what’s wrong? Answer me! Kareem! Are you okay? Oh, what do I do?!”
Just then, one of the second-year students enters the Academy to write a report about his most recent mission.
“What the hell is going on here!?”
“They were fighting, and now they’re both knocked out! They need help!”
“There’s a red button under the reception desk; hit it, and it’ll alert the principal and the teachers. Do it, now!” Amber runs over to the desk and hits the button. “When they get here, let them know about the situation. I’m going to go get help!”
“Uh, okay! Please hurry!”
“I will, don’t worry!”
The student runs off.
“A- Amber…” whispers Kareem.
“No, don’t speak! I’m so sorry for what Zachary did to you!”
“This… is my fault… I’m sorry…”
“Please stop talking. Save your energy!”
“Okay…”
About five minutes later, Ted, Cyrus, and Cygil show up, and Amber debriefs the situation.
“We’ve had students fight and argue before, but never has one ended this bloodily. Never.” says Ted, “Cyrus, call an ambulance at once.”
I’m on it.” says Cyrus.
“This is my fault. I noticed Zachary was acting off, yet I did nothing about it.” Cygil says as he kneels next to his two bloodied students, “Day two, and I’ve already failed as a teacher.”
“It’s not your fault, Mr. Cygil. Zachary doesn’t know how to control his emotions, so he tends to get into trouble. I just hope they’re both okay.“
“They’ll be fine.” says Cyrus, “An ambulance is on the way, and by the sound of it, Kaito went to get help and I have a feeling I know who he went to get. Also, don’t be too hard on yourself, brother. Things happen. Just make sure to learn from your mistakes and keep an eye on Zachary. We knew what we were getting ourselves into when we accepted him.”
“So his name is Kaito…” thinks Amber.
“That’s correct.” says Ted, “It was a joint decision, so we’ll take joint blame.”
A few minutes later, Kaito returns with an older lady.
“I’ve brought help!” Kaito announces.
“Good work, Kaito.” says Cyrus, “You’ve brought a great helper.”
“Thanks, Mr. Cyrus.”
The old lady places her hands on each of the boys' chests and begins pumping Spiritual Energy into them.
“Thanks for coming, Halina.” says Ted.
“There's no need to thank me.“ says Halina, "I heard two students were in serious need of help, and helping people is what the Hewitt clan does.”
*The Hewitt clan of Ticu are very kind people, willing to sacrifice themselves for the world's greater good. The Hewitt clan believes that helping others will guarantee them a great status in the afterlife, so using their unique Trait called “Life Share", they can extend someone else's lifespan at their own cost. When someone important to the clan is injured or near death, other members will willingly shed years off of their own lives to fully heal and save them. Their current leader, Halina Hewitt, is 124 years old. When Halina first became the second leader of the clan, her family members all willingly gave their lives so she could be the clan's leader for as long as possible, extending her life expectancy to well past age 200.*
“There, the boys’ Spiritual Energy reserves are fully restored.” says Halina, “However, I cannot cure them of their injuries. Without immediate medical attention, my efforts will end up being useless.”
“That’s been handled. The ambulance should be here soon.” says Cyrus.
“Very well, I wish them both a speedy recovery. I must go now, as I am needed elsewhere.”
“Thanks again, Halina.” says Ted, “I know you’re busy running an entire clan.”
“It is my pleasure Ted. Just doing my job.”
Halina leaves, and the ambulance shows up and escorts the boys to the hospital. After cleaning and closing their wounds, the doctors run several tests. The tests find Kareem’s fractured ribs and broken arm and that most of the muscles in Zachary’s body remain strained and swollen. It’s decided that they’ll both be kept in the hospital for up to a month.
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