"Where am I?" Kuroo wakes up to an unknown ceiling. He attempts to get up but the severe pain prevents him, his body wrapped in bandages.
"Oh, you're finally awake? You've been asleep for three days. I wasn't sure you were gonna make it." It's the old man who had driven them out of the woods. He tries to think, but can't remember anything else.
"Where is everyone? Lorc? Where is my brother?"Kuroo breaks down, screaming and crying. The old man looks down and sighs, sipping his tea in silence.
He opens a door leading outside, which reveals a beautiful waterfall just outside his home.
He sits down and listens to the waterfall, drinking from his cup once more. Kuroo stares at the beautiful greenery, the trees, flowers, and animals, the screaming stops yet the tears keep flowing.
"I don't know what to say in these types of situations." Kuroo turns to the old man, and the tears stop for just a second as he sniffles.
"I'm sorry about what happened. I-I tried to warn you… But I was too late. I've buried your brother and his group near the shore if you want to go.
"What am I gonna do now? I have nowhere to go, I'm not even supposed to be here right now.." Kuroo starts crying once again.
"You can stay here." The young boy calms down in shock. "There's plenty of food and water, and a place for you to rest as well. You'll be alright, kid," Kuroo's thoughts about his brother disappear at the old man's reassurance.
"It won't be free though. You'll have to do chores around the house. That okay with you?" his eyebrows point down with a slight smirk.
Full of joy, the young boy wipes his tears with his right arm and asks. "Really?" The old man nods.
"I'm terribly sorry for all the pain my people have caused you. This country was a peaceful one, filled with different types of people who valued equality and respect. But that all changed when the tyrannical Keinma appeared. One day, they'll face the consequences of their actions, and everyone will rejoice."
"Kienma," Kuroo whispers. His jaw tenses and his teeth clench. He's never felt this feeling before, even when his parents died.
A week passes by and the old man has purchased a few pants and shirts, a black yukata and a white one, and two pairs of sandals, which he leaves in Kuroo's new room.
In the first week, Kuroo started to move around, and cleaning the house was his first form of payment. The old man has given him a new duty, fishing.
Weeks pass by and the young boy is anywhere but home. He collects fish early in the morning and spends the rest of his day working out.
"Kuroo, you must stop hurting yourself," the old man cries out one night. "You're overworking yourself. This is the fifth time you've injured yourself while training. It's beyond insane."
"Don't worry, Dad, I know what I'm doing. Besides, there's no way I'll beat any of the Keinma with average training," he says with a determined face.
The old man sighs and says "You can't just brute force your way. Listen, you need to enroll in the Justice Academy. It's a base in the center of the country that fights evil to protect the weak. You'll have a better chance at killing the Keinmas that way."
"Alright, so how do I get in?" He replies with excitement.
"You have to take an entrance exam. That's your goal for now."
"I won't disappoint you," Kuroo clenches his fists, smiling nervously. The old man nods his head and they both continue to eat fish Kuroo had caught from the waterfall earlier that afternoon.
.
.
.
Eleven years have passed since the old man took Kuroo in. Kuroo has trained day in and day out.
Kuroo wakes up early and makes a huge meal for his twenty-first birthday using fish from the river. He adds fruits and vegetables from the village nearby, eating a tomato as a pre-lunch snack.
After a week of trying, the old man finally gets in contact with the Academy and they send two teachers to examine Kuroo.
The sound of knocking flows into his ears, three beats. The old man gets up to open the door, nervous about the exam.
"Good morning, my name is Tucker Kayn and this is my colleague Caitlyn Kim. You must be Mr. Payne." His deep voice and tone gives Payne the impression that the man is incredibly strong.
"We're here on behalf of the Academy of Justice to examine your son and determine if he qualifies to join the Academy of Justice. Could you bring him out?" a soft-spoken lady speaks.
"If Kuroo passes, he will join my team. Mr.Kayn is here to examine him as he has been a staff member for more than five years," she continues.
"I'm afraid that's not possible. He's currently training and won't be returning until late in the evening. I told the young lady on the phone to schedule the exam for that time.
"Hmm. Well, we're already here so just take us to him. We have the whole day for this exam so the sooner we test him the earlier I can go home. And tell Liam to stop sleeping at our base."
"Alright, I'll take you guys to my boy. But I must say, he trains very far from home. He loves the snow," Payne says, waving a "come inside" gesture.
"I don't mean to be rude but how exactly could a blind man guide us?" Caitlyn asks.
"He's trained there for most of his life. He made a path about 3 years ago. Just follow me," Payne responds.
He puts a blue coat over his white yukata. Both Caitlyn and Kayn accept coats after Payne insists.
As they start walking, the old man taps his cane on the ground until they reach a tree with a bell. He rings the bell twice before continuing.
Payne picks up a few things about Caitlyn as they walk. She emits a kind and soft presence and is about the same height as him. She is a twenty-six year old who's been teaching for only two years at the academy and was excited to welcome people into the academy. People with the same goals as her, to help others and make the country a better place.
Kayn on the other hand is a quiet, non-interested type. His answers are instant and consist of less than five words.
After about thirty-five minutes of walking, Kayn finally loses patience. He asks Payne how long until they get to Kuroo's training grounds. "About three hours. You said you didn't have anything else to do right?" the old man responds with a smile.
"Three Hours?! That's Insane. I don't have time for this. Rick!" Payne hears a loud sound and a breeze of wind hits them. "Take us to the place Mr.Payne is thinking about." Caitlyn sighs.
"Sure thing," a rather familiar voice replies and they get sucked into it. Payne realizes what happened when snow falls on him. They had entered the frozen region, where it snowed everyday without stopping.
"Rick is one of our colleagues. He can open a portal to anywhere as long as he or the person in his portal has been to that place. I apologize if it startled you," Caitlyn explains.
"Let's go," Kayn says, walking towards the loud sound of something huge moving close by. It must have been as big as a bear or two.
The sound stops after Caitlyn calls out "Hello? Anyone here?"
"Yeah. I'm assuming you guys are my-" Kuroo approaches.
"Kuroo! You better not be shirtless again. I don't want you getting sick, especially not now, " his father shouts.
"I know but it's easier to train this way. And honestly, it's not even that cold, so I won't get sick."
"What am I gonna do with you?" he clicks his teeth.
"This is Caitlyn Kim and this is Kayn Tuck. They'll be your proctors for your entrance exam."
"Nice to meet you," they greet in unison.
"Nice to meet you too," Kuroo responds.
"I have to say, your training is pretty impressive. I wonder what kind of Kayshun you are?" Kayn praises him in amazement.
"Kayshun? No, I don't have any powers. But I'm flattered.
"You're not a Kayshun? That's ridiculous. I came all the way here for you to waste my time with this, Caitlyn?" Kayn complains.
"Come on Kayn, just give the kid a chance. You're already here," Caitlyn begs.
Kayn: "Fine, two minutes. Land a hit on either one of us and If you do, you pass the physical test. But if not your chances drop down near to zero. What do you say?" he smirks.
Caitlyn's smile quickly fades. "That's ridiculous, you can't expect him to pass like this.
"You're on." Kuroo immediately agrees with an anxious look on his face that even he can see. Caitlyn sighs in disappointment as Kayn fixes his suit. "You better not hold back," he looks at caitlyn.
"I'll let you guys be and listen from a distance. Kuroo, good luck," his old man cheers him on before his exam. Kayn throws his pocket watch at Payne and tells him to start the time, and then the fight starts at his call. "Begin."
Kuroo rushes onto Kayn, attempting a right hook but is met with a hard shield in front of him. It wasn't made of metal or anything physical, leaving Kuroo confused as he steps back to recollect his thoughts.
I need to figure out their Kayshin first. He goes for two more attacks but they are also blocked with a shield when he notices Caitlyn's palms open towards Kayn. He sprints towards Kayn, then abruptly switches to Caitlyn.
As he gets close to her, he feels something slithering on his ankles, something hard and prickly. He's picked up from the ground, then notices tree roots around his ankle that throw him back twenty feet. Using the momentum, he stomps on the ground and backflips, sliding a little further before the snow slows him down completely.
That must be his Kayshin. This is going to be tough. Her shields prevent me from landing a blow on either of them, and his wood control type doesn't even let me get a surprise attack. Tsk, they're obviously holding back as well. I can't give up, not now.
"Hey! We are supposed to fight defensively, you know that by now, Kayn. It's already bad enough you made it practically impossible for him to pass," Caitlyn complains.
"We are testing him on his fighting capabilities. We can't go easy on him and let anyone join the academy. Not to mention, he agreed to this type of exam."
While they are talking, Kuroo cooks up another plan. As they turn towards him, they realize he isn't there anymore. "Enough talking, we can't be distracted during a test," Kayn says firmly.
They quickly react and turn around to the sound of running to see a pile of snow heading towards them. Caitlyn closes her eyes and shields her face using her left arm and the young Kuroo appears in front of the defenseless Kayn.
He ducks down and throws an uppercut, but he sees Kayn smiling. He hears a cracking sound, the sound of roots being pulled out of the ground from beneath him, grabbing his ankle again and lifting him up in the air.
"Do you give up?" Kayn asks with an expressionless face.
"Never," Kuroo replies, dangling upside down. He takes a deep breath then curls upward, kicking as hard as he can to break the roots. Blood drips onto the snow from his ankles as he hangs on the roots and looks at his ankles.
You like that. Bet you didn't think someone without a Kayshin could do that. I got more coming. Kuroo uses the roots as a ground to push himself, heading towards Caitlyn. She opens her palms and a huge shield appears in front of Kuroo.
He pulls back his punch and grabs the shield from the top, using his momentum to flip over the shield and kick Caitlyn with his uninjured ankle. Another shield appears that blocks his kick, and he is in Kayn's roots yet again, who throws him for the second time.
"That's time," Payne calls out regretfully.
"Some things aren't meant to be," Kayn tells Kuroo, but Kuroo feels as though Kayn was mocking him.
Kuroo was broken. He trained all these years to get stronger yet he can't even land a hit. How am I supposed to help others when I'm this weak? How will I even fight the Keinmas? He thinks to himself as he stares at the snow beneath him.
"I'm leaving. Rick!"
"I'm Sorry," Caitlyn says, following Kayn into the portal.
"Okay, what was that, huh? You were someone else back there. That wasn't the Kayn that I know. You've been acting differently ever since Clare d-."
"No, you don't get it at all," he cuts her off, moving his face closer to Caitlyn's. "Strength isn't the only thing that matters. Clare is an example of that," his voice softens. "You're a hundred years too early to lecture me about seeing strength. Because unlike you, I've learned from my mistakes, and my students are proof of that," Kayn storms off running.
They go separate ways and Caitlyn makes it back just before sunset. The building she lives in is a three story building with five bedrooms and three bathrooms, typical structure in the Justice Academy.
Caitlyn knocks on the front door to be met with one of her students, Janet. "Welcome back, miss Caitlyn. How was the exam?" her student smiles.
"Well aren't you happy? The examinee was pretty impressive. Unfortunately, however, Kayn failed him because he wasn't a Kayshun," Caitlyn sighs, putting her purse down on the table and dropping onto the couch.
"Is that the dress I bought you?" she looks up at Janet.
"Yes, I like it a lot. I think it fits my style.
"I'm glad you like it. Hey, Where's Liam and Evelyn?" She sits up.
Janet goes into the kitchen and pours a glass of orange juice and brings it to her teacher. "Liam is still at Mr.Kayn's place. He's with Elijah coming up with different ways to use his fire kayshin. And Evelyn went to bed an hour ago." Janet answers, placing the cup on the table.
"What am I going to do without you, Janet?" Caitlyn smiles, drinking the cup of cold, refreshing orange juice.
"It's the least I could do to repay you, miss Caitlyn. May I ask you a question, miss Caitlyn?"
"Of course."
"When will we be able to do missions outside of our perimeter? This may sound odd, coming from me, but I can't help but worry that we are running out of time."
"That is odd," Caitlyn chuckles. "Soon, once you have four members on the team. And I have a feeling that Kuroo will be the perfect addition to the team."
"The one you examined today? Didn't he fail?"
"I'll figure something out. There's something about him."
Seventy miles to the north is Kuroo, the night of his exam.
He stares at the bowl of chicken and noodles, disappointed in himself. Payne walks to him from the house with a basket of tomatoes, placing it next to him."Here, I brought your favorites." Kuroo still doesn't do anything, stuck in his own thoughts.
"Do not fret my boy. You mustn't lose yourself in the face of failure. Rather, use it as a tool to improve yourself."
"What if I can't? What if Kayn is right, and this is as strong as I can be. I don't understand why you believe in me, I couldn't even find Hana."
"It'll all be okay. Hana's disappearance was out of our control. And finding her should keep you going, not weighing you down. Follow me, I actually have something for you that I bought a while back."
They walk into the house and to Payne's room, where he tells Kuroo to sit on the bed. Do you remember what kayshin powers are?" Payne grabs a small rectangular box from his drawer.
"Crazy powers from juice with some side effects?" Kuroo responds, unsure of his answer.
"Close enough. It might taste funny, but make sure to drink it all and lay down on the bed," he says, taking out a vial from the box.
His face says it all as he stares at this blood-colored liquid gulps his own spit in hesitation. Payne could tell that Kuroo is scared, but what he can't see is Kuroo's smile.
Kuroo takes the vial and fixes the pillow to his liking. "I didn't know you could just buy it," he chuckles, taking a deep breath before chugging the entire vial.
"I did it. But I don't feel anything. How long before the serum kicks in?" he asks. Before Payne can open his mouth, Kuroo's body smacks the bed, and he tucks him in.
Right before his eyes give out, Kuroo sees his father telling him something before walking away. "Choose wisely," he smiles.