ANTICIPATION

With the announcement of Holy Combat, Kain saw the entire Academy go into overdrive. The training facility was full most days, and students were grouping together in cliques, likely to form teams. Even during the few classes they had, students kept talking about the upcoming Tournament. Kain found it amazing how so many people could be fixated on one thing. Kain’s own team also kept up their training, though they intensified many parts of it too stay ahead of the masses. One day during their team meetings, Celina informed them of a worrying rumor. “Hello, everyone! Before we adjourn our meeting today, I have some worrying information to tell you all.” Celina clasped her hands together and looked at each and every one of her teammates huddled around her. “Keep in mind that it is just a rumor, but we should still acknowledge it as a possibility.” Celina worriedly rocked back and forth on her heels. “The way she’s talking makes me think we all just got assigned execution dates.” Elais leaned over and whispered in his ear, making a concerned expression. Kain nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’ve only ever seen her this worried once.” Kain thought back to the time where he “first” met Celina. She looked like she had seen a ghost when she realized that Kain was there in the city, practically unprotected. Now she wore a similar expression, highlighting the potential danger of this situation. “What I’ve heard is that Dixon and Nora might be forming a team together with their specific champions. If so, then we might have trouble on our hands.” Celina looked around the room nervously, awaiting feedback from her teammates. Eventually, Sarah spoke up first. “Do we know how powerful these two are?” Sarah leaned back against the wall, her arms crossed. “Well, I don’t know much about Dixon, but I know some things about Nora.” She took a deep breath and continued. “She is the most powerful in her House ever recorded. Also, the most ruthless. The Virtue of Charity is simply a boost to the Virtue abilities around the person. But Nora found out a way to not only use it for support, but for fighting. She uses the left over residue of her power to basically do whatever she wants. Small energy blasts, boost to physical prowess, and more power to boost is just scratching the surface on what she can do. Previously it was thought blasphemous to use Charity this way, but since Nora has the privilege of being a child of the Houses, she can do whatever she wants.” Celina looked at them with frustration. “So I would say she’s the most dangerous out of the two. Dixon would just play with you until he gets bored, but Nora will eliminate you painfully with a smile on her face.” Celina went quiet after that. “S-so how do w-we beat h-her?” Kain looked at Ran, who had now stammered out a question. “Well, she’s not unbeatable. If we can take advantage of her pride, then we can catch her unawares.” Rika then raised her hand. “So…what about if that’s impossible?” Celina pursed her lips. “Even if we have to resort to a clash between her and Dixon at the same time, I believe that we could pull it off. If we go all out, of course.” Rika nodded. “The question is, how hurt would we be after?” Celina looked at Sarah and pursed her lips. “Worst comes to worst, I can heal you all. That’s what I’m good at, so don’t be afraid to ask when you're in need. If I’m put out of commission, then Lana will heal you, so don’t worry.” After a couple more points were out of the way, each individual member went to walk their separate ways. Kain and Rika, however, stayed behind. “Hey Celina, I have something to ask.” Celina focused her attention on Kain, flushing slightly. She still couldn’t act normal around him, even though Kain’s declaration of friendship had been weeks ago. “What is it?” Before Kain could ask his question, Rika interjected. “Well, we’re worried that Nora is gonna try and kill Kain. She said it herself, remember?” Celina’s expression suddenly grew serious. “That is true. Not just Kain now, but she might also set her sights on Sarah and Elais, too.” “Well, killing is illegal in the Tournament, right?” Rika looked expectantly at Celina, hoping for a positive answer. Celina, however, just grew more worried. “Not…exactly. While it should be avoided at all costs, if a person is killed ‘accidentally’ during combat, no measures of punishment are taken towards the killer. Frankly, there have been multiple times someone has been killed ‘accidentally’ and it was blatantly obvious that it was no such folly. I personally think that the Academy just overlooks things like this when it comes to the Tournament.” Rika clenched her jaw and turned to kick the bed, letting out a curse. “Hey! Don’t kick my stuff!” The Nurse angrily called out from her desk, but was ignored. Kain nervously swallowed, then began, “It’s not like she’ll just kill me in front of crowds of people, right?” Celina looked at him, now looking so worried he thought she’d be sick. “Kain, she definitely would. She’s killed people on the streets before, right in front of others. Most of the time she’s the one who disposes of the failed projects held by the Houses, too. No one can do anything about it due to her heritage. The only thing that protects you right now is the Academy itself, nothing more, nothing less.” Kain walked back and clutched his head in his hands. No, he could not accept it. He could not accept that someone could just kill him so easily. He still had things to do. He still had so many things to do. He would be dam— if she thought she could do that to him. “Hey, Kain! Calm down!” Rika tried to comfort him, but stopped. A faint glow emanated from the red in his eyes. She had never seen something like that before, and it scared her. Kain clutched his head harder. She was stronger than him, faster, smarter, that Nora was. He heard it from Celina herself. No one could take her…unless… Kain looked out from between his fingers at the people present in the room. If he could take their strength and their knowledge…yes, he might be able to win… Kain’s breathing began to grow more erratic. “Kain…” Rika reached a hand out to him, but hesitated. The Nurse looked up from her desk and tensed up, her face looking alert for the first time. All it would take was just a couple of movements. They wouldn’t even feel a thing. Kain was pretty sure Rika would forgive him for killing the other two. She would understand. After all, she was his [Friend]. Before Kain could do anything, he felt a warm embrace wrap around his body. This snapped him out of his stupor, causing him to look down and whoever it was. The hug grew tighter, Kain feeling hands squeeze the back of his blazer. “Kain, I’m here. Calm down, calm down. I’m here now.” Kain’s jaw slowly un-cleanched, the hands falling from the side of his head. His heartbeat slowed, the glow coming from his eyes fading away. This feeling felt familiar, almost nostalgic. Kain felt as if he’d felt this embrace before. Even if his memories were gone, his body remembered this feeling. “...Celina?” She looked up from Kain’s chest and smiled at him. “Why…” Why did you comfort me? I was going to kill you. I was going to end you. I was going to murder you. Yet… “You…” You held me. You got close to me. You calmed me. Kain felt…sad. “We used to do this as kids, you know?” Celina spoke up to him, keeping her hold on him tight. “When the nights got too tough for you, when the experiments were too harsh, I would come into your cell and hold you just like this. Even though I would always get in trouble for breaking the bars, I always came for you.” Kain didn’t know what to say. “It always calmed you down. So I thought I would try it again, and it worked.” Kain tried to speak, but no words came out. He felt something warm fall down his cheek. A single tear fell on Celina’s upturned face. She smiled and reached upward with a hand and wiped his eyes. This feeling…he remembered it well. Kain did not have a memory to back it up, but it was almost if his body, his soul, remembered her embrace. In that moment, right there in the middle of the clinic, Kain viewed Celina as a [Friend], and nothing would ever change his perspective. Kain heard someone walk up to him and pat his shoulder. He turned to see Rika smiling at him. “I don’t know why ya are acting like this, but we’ll get ya out.” Kain was speechless. These two people, Kain thought, were precious to him. That is why he must keep to the side of morals. As long as Celina and Rika lived, Kain would not devolve into a monster. “Well, I think you are calm now.” Celina separated herself from him. “It is crazy to think that you never really changed since you were a kid.” She poked at his chest, while letting out a small laugh and smile. “Except for that height, of course.” Kain still didn’t respond. Suddenly, Rika punched him in the shoulder. “Hey!” Without thinking, Kain yelled back at her. However, she only smiled at him. “Look at that, ya are back already!” Kain couldn’t help but laugh despite himself. He wiped a final tear from his eye and grinned. It was the first time he felt so…un-empty. “Now that we calmed you down, should we go get a bite to eat?” Celina was already by the door frame, posed to exit the room. “I’m not against it. I’m hungry!” Rika seemed to lose intrest in everything around her and bolted toward the door. Realizing that Rika was going to get her food first, Kain also sprinted to keep up. “H-hey, wait for me!” Celina saw the two rocket out of the clinic, leaving her behind. She started to run after them, yelling at them to slow down. Once the room was quiet, the Nurse let out a breath. “Just like that, huh…” She looked out the window of the clinic. She honestly though something bad would happen, that the Kain boy might snap and go crazy. After all, he was a Sinner. In all the projects she oversaw, every single one of them went mad at some point. There was supposed to be a batch that exceeded their expectations, and even produced a host for all seven. Sadly, six of them escaped, and the seventh broke out on their own not too long ago. She even had to order defensive measures to keep him from killing everyone. “Celina would be so angry with me…ugh, whatever.” She sighed. The Nurse had to go to a facility tomorrow for viewing of the new batch of Sinners that they just created. If Celina found out about her hand in all of this…let’s just say that the Nurse wasn’t equipped to deal with that meltdown. “Too gloomy…I’ll think of that another day.” The Nurse put her feet up on her desk and closed her eyes. She would rather get some rest in before she had to go to the facility. After all, dealing with Sinners was hard work. A snore resounded from inside the clinic. The Nurse was already asleep.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

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Kain grumbled. After all that running, they were stuck in some lousy line. To make it worse, Rika got in front of him. He looked to his side to see Celina, panting from the effort of running so long. It seemed even after all that training, she was still not much better from where she started. Kain guessed that she just didn’t have the constitution for athletics. Kain’s eyes flickered back to the cafeteria. It was grandiose, with gold inlayed pillars lining the walls of the room, leading up to a glass roof. The walls were a shade of white, and the floors also sported gold-flecked marble. On the walls were different paintings of exploits from Virtue Born from the past. There were ones that showed a man floating above a burning city, a woman in pearly white armor marching in front of an army, and one that showed multiple people shaking hands with those that looked like people from the Slums. Of course there were many others, but Kain didn’t bother to look at any of them. They all said the same message, anyway. He sighed and rocked on his heels. It was almost his turn to get his food, but he was growing impatiant. The people in front of Rika were taking forever, arguing with the lunch ladies and demanding better food. He could see Rika tapping her foot, her hands on her waist. Students behind Celina were even becoming impatient. Kain finally peered in front of him to see the cause of all this ruckus. It was a relatively tall girl with blonde hair so yellow it looked fake. She wore it in pigtails, a pink and purple ribbon holding up each one. She also had a blue scarf that rested on her neck and trailed down most of her back. Her skin was of tan complexion, almost if someone had sat in the sun for too long. The girl was currently standing with one hand on her waist and another pointing at the workers. Kain focused some more so he could hear what was going on. “Someone as important as me, getting this slop?! No, I demand better!” Her voice was shrill and annoying, making Kain cringe as she talked. “What do you mean no?!” The girl stamped her foot. To Kain, she seemed to act like a spoiled child. “I want better food now!” The girl slammed her fist against the wall. Finally, the staff gave in and handed her a silver platter. She greedily checked inside, curling her lip with distaste. Slamming the lid back on the platter, she turned to leave. Suddenly, she whipped back around and stomped up toward Kain. “You. Carry this for me, my arms are tired.” Kain stared at her blankly. Was she really serious? The girl assumed quite the ugly look on her face and thrust the platter into Kain’s arms. “Are you deaf or something? Follow me.” She grabbed hold of Kain’s tie and started to walk away. He turned back to see Rika smirking, despite the situation. Kain just scowled at her before they walked around the corner outside of the food area. “Now, servant boy, place my food down right here.” She patted the marble table that she now sat at. Without anything else to do, Kain did what she said. “Now, lift the lid.” Kain looked exasperated, but still did what she said. “Sit.” The girl didn’t even bother with manners, just told him commands. “You wait till I’m done eating, then you throw this away for me.” The girl pulled out a handkerchief from one of her blazer pockets, unwrapping it to show a pure gold fork and knife. Kain just stared on in shock at the spectacle before him. He had seen many things since coming here, but this was surely one of the strangest. He tried to speak, but the strange girl just held up her hand and shushed him. “Servants are not allowed to speak until their mistress says so.” After that rude statement, she just went ahead and continued eating. Footsteps resounded from behind Kain, causing him to turn and look. It was Celina, along with Rika. Celina had a particular nasty expression on her face, akin to that of a teacher about to scold a student. “Anne! You shouldn’t be acting like this, especially at the Academy!” The girl–Anne–opened one eye and looked at Celina while dabbing her mouth with a handkerchief. “Foolish girl. You of all people should know the rights we children of the Houses have. Frankly, I’m being nice to this boy.” Celina clenched her jaw. “Are you saying you can just act however you please?” Anne laughed shrilly and sighed. “I am glad you finally caught on. I could kill this boy right now and nobody would care.” She smiled wickedly at Celina. “But have no fear, for a person such as I is kind and considerate. After all, I am the embodiment of Humility!” Anne let out another obnoxious laugh. “As if!” Celina looked downright furious now. Even Rika looked annoyed at Anne. “You and your House say you are humble, yet you take in servants from the Slums and flaunt yourselves like this!” Anne just smiled and shook her head. “When you are blessed by Virtue as I am, those actions are being humble. It is only the least we can do to be handed the world. Why don’t those other moronic Houses see that?” Anne looked away from Celina and continued to eat. Celina scowled at Anne, then turned to Kain. “Come on, let’s go. I’ll get you food elsewhere.” Kain was glad to be leaving the presence of Anne. She was unbearably annoying. He stood up to go, but was then grabbed by the sleeve of his blazer. “Where do you think you are going, servant?” Anne glared at Kain. “You can leave when I dismiss you, not whenever you want. Now, sit.” Kain just shrugged off her grip, resulting in her gasping and widening her eyes. “I’ll take you up on that offer. Where are we going?” Kain straightened his sleeve and walked up beside Celina. Before she could answer, however, a shrill shout resounded from behind you.” How dare you!” Kain cringed and turned around to see Anne, now posted on the table, fists clenched. “Ignoring me?!” She slammed the table and threw her plate of food into the crowd of students watching. “I’ll crush you! All three of you! Then I’ll take him as my servant, break him, then have him do whatever I please! Just you wait! Just you waiiiiiiit!!!!!!!!!” Her screaming kept coming from the cafeteria as the three walked out. Even a far distance away, they could still hear her fit being thrown. Rika turned to look at them, disbelief etched across her face. “Is she…for real?” Celina just sighed. “Sadly, yes. She has been like that ever since we were kids. I think it has gotten worse with time, though.” Kain looked back, perplexed. How could a person be handed everything and still act like that? He shook his head. “Well, look on the bright side. Tournament day is only two days away!” Rika smiled at both of them. Celina, however, looked worried. “There’s rumors going around that our team might be the opening match. If so, they must have picked out quite the team for us to face.” “Yeah…we’ll get through it though.” Rika tried to reassure them. “...Yeah, I won’t lose.” Kain smiled at the two of them. He meant those words, as much as he meant retrieving his old self. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that.” Kain stopped dead in his tracks. That voice sounded familiar. It was full of hate and resentment, almost as if venom dripped from every word. Looking up he saw her. A girl with dirty blonde hair, and a disgusted look on her face. It was the same girl who had vowed to kill him on the train. The same girl who almost pushed him to kill his [Friends]. “...Nora.”