Roxy sat at the table behind them, tapping away on her laptop. Meanwhile, Toshi and Mickey were playing on a Nintendo Switch nearby.
Sera was still upstairs, taking care of her personal business.
Jody sat on the living room floor, just as she always did, while Syd sat in a chair facing her—but with the chair turned backwards, arms resting on the backrest.
It was time for Jody's aura training session to continue.
"Let's see how far you've gotten," Syd said, finger hovering over a timer.
Beep.
"Go."
A stream of aura flowed from Jody Johansson, glowing with a blue storm-shaped symbol. She inhaled and exhaled in a controlled rhythm, her breathing steady and trained.
The release of aura sent a faint ripple through the house—enough for the other powered individuals to feel it like a tap on the shoulder.
They instinctively glanced at Jody, then went right back to what they were doing.
"Phew."
Jody exhaled through her mouth.
"Got any tips?"
"...Huh?"
Syd raised an eyebrow.
"In a hurry, are we?"
"No."
Jody closed her eyes and resumed her meditation.
"Hey," Syd said, hopping down from the chair to sit cross-legged in front of her.
"The more you rush, the more dangerous it gets, you know that? Your internal energy—your total power—doesn't increase or decrease. It stays the same. What does change is how quickly you burn through it. You get what I mean? Metabolism. You know that word?"
"Of course."
"Exactly. So quit looking for shortcuts. They don't exist. What we're really training here is your metabolism. And you should know how important that is for a power user."
"...I see… when we do something over and over, the body adapts. The burn rate improves… and maintaining aura becomes less draining..."
"Yup."
"So that means I'm not just training techniques—I'm training to use my powers for longer periods too."
"Right. Two birds, one shot."
"...Got it."
Roxy closed her laptop with a sigh and slapped her shoulder a couple times, rotating her arms to loosen up. Clearly, she'd just finished a long report.
"Ugh… back pain..."
She stood and stretched her arms to the sky, swaying to shake off the stiffness.
"You want a massage?" Toshi offered.
"No, I wasn't talking to you, thanks."
Toshi deflated on the spot.
Smack.
And Mickey smacked him on the head for good measure.
"Running away 'cause you're losing?"
"Screw you, gayboy. I gave you that round."
"Yeah, right."
"I'm serious."
"Sure you are—"
"Shut up, gayboy."
"And what if I don't?"
Green-haired Mickey challenged him.
"Then I'll shut you up myself—with certain methods."
Toshi hunched over and resumed mashing buttons.
"Double entendre."
Mickey smirked.
"You're gonna shove the controller up my ass? That's your double meaning?"
"Can I pick a different method?"
Mickey grinned.
"You're messed up, man."
Toshi snorted a laugh.
"....."
Roxy glanced at the two of them, eyes narrowing like she was picturing something she really shouldn't be picturing. Her cheeks flushed pink… before she shook it off with a muttered "fuck that" and walked toward her brother.
Jody opened one eye as she sensed someone moving behind her—it was Roxy, coming to stand beside Syd.
"Where's it hurt?"
Syd asked.
"Right here. Can you stretch this out for me, pleaseee?"
Syd pulled and extended her arm gently.
"...Yeah, right there... oof..."
"Sit up straight, will you?"
"Okay, okay."
"You two are close," Jody remarked.
The siblings turned to look at her. Jody continued:
"It's nice. Not everyone has that."
Syd let go of Roxy's arm. She rotated her neck and quietly left the room.
"..."
Jody felt like she was the reason Roxy walked away.
It had been like this since that day in the kitchen—since the moment she walked in on Roxy talking to Sera.
"..."
"Syd."
"What?"
"Can Roxy use aura techniques like the rest of you?"
"....."
"I'm happy with what I've got," Mickey said plainly.
"...But what about Roxy?"
Syd shook his head.
"Why not?"
That surprised Jody. They were siblings. Wouldn't they have trained together?
"It's a matter of timing. And anyway, Roxy's already a power user."
"So you figure there's no need? But having it is better than not, isn't it?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"You guys can all deflect bullets with your powers."
"Listen. My aura technique can block bullets—but only handgun rounds. Anything bigger than a 9mm? I'm not sticking around to find out. It'll go through."
That was a solid point. Syd's buffs were based on borrowing material properties, and there were limits. Unless he had something tougher than 10mm-rated materials, he couldn't do much against heavier firepower (and that kind of stuff wasn't exactly easy to find).
And that wasn't the only catch. Toshi chimed in.
"...Jody. This guy's technique is stupid hard to master."
He went on:
"Just activating it is tough. But maintaining it for an extended time? That's the killer."
"It's really that hard?"
"...Yeah. You start measuring it in seconds."
Syd added.
Still, Toshi wasn't done. He figured he'd explain the whole thing now so Jody wouldn't be confused later.
"Syd's aura style messes with natural balance. And nature really hates being messed with. Like—have you ever seen a pond suddenly turn to ice? No, right? Same thing. Changing a material's properties is like violating nature's laws. So, naturally, the object resets over time."
"...That's deep."
"There are other aura styles that defy nature too. But I'll admit—I didn't think Mister Racist here would use his technique to heal you. Normally he hates Americans, y'know?"
"Huh???"
Jody's brow twitched.
"Syd what now?"
Before she could press further, Syd Barrett clamped a hand over Toshi's mouth and locked eyes with him.
"You're talking way too much, Jap."
"Mmph—sorry, man."
"So… how long did it take him to hold it for ten minutes?"
Jody asked.
"...I've been training since four years ago," Syd replied.
"Four years to reach ten minutes?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"....."
"...So that means I've got a long road ahead."
"Correct."
"...Didn't Roxy train with you?"
"No."
"...Why not?"
"....."
"We weren't together back then. That's all you need to know."
"...Okay..."
Jody stopped there. She didn't want to pry too much into his personal history. But then something clicked in her mind.
"Wait—hold on… what about Toshi?"
That's right. He'd never answered her before.
And just earlier, he'd commented on how hard Syd's aura technique was.
What did that mean? Had he trained too?
Mickey, who seemed to just realize it as well, glanced toward Toshi.
"Oh… forgot to mention," Toshi said, scratching his head.
"I'm also an aura user."
That made Jody's eyes light up.
"...Seriously?"
Toshi was an aura user too?
"Yeah. But mine's different from his."
"...What kind of aura technique is it?"
"Hard to explain. You'll see when we fight someone for real. Just keep training for now."
Also, he was in the middle of a game.
Jody let it go and resumed channeling her aura, continuing her training.
Mickey, still gaming, glanced up at the time:
7:20 PM.
He stood quietly and walked out of the room, leaving the other three behind.
"Fifty minutes... hmm."
Syd raised an eyebrow and smirked at the timer.
She'd officially surpassed her current limit.
"Haaaah! ...Huff...Huff...Huff"
Jody was drenched in sweat, completely exhausted. If she were a machine, she'd be overheating.
"You good?"
"...Probably got another five minutes left in me..."
She said she was fine—but five more minutes wouldn't add much. Too little to be useful.
"Alright, let's call it a day."
Syd popped open a bag of Lay's and crunched down a chip, then nudged a water bottle across the floor toward her with his foot.
Jody caught it and took a long drink.
"How'd I do?" she asked.
"...You were a mess."
"No, I mean—the training. How was it?"
"..."
"...Eh. Nothing special."
"…Really..."
Her gaze dropped. But Toshi cut in immediately.
"'Nothing special' my ass. Shut the hell up, you fraud. She's been training for less than five days and already held it for fifty minutes?"
"Hmm?" Jody tilted her head in confusion.
Toshi pointed at her.
"She's progressing faster than most people. Normally it takes at least a week to hit fifty minutes."
"You're saying I'm progressing fast?"
"Very fast. Almost as fast as him."
Jody turned to Syd with a look like, what's the truth here? Who was she supposed to believe?
"Big deal," Syd muttered. "So she's clocking similar numbers. Doesn't mean much. Still basic stuff to me."
Syd didn't look thrilled.
"'Basic' in his language means you did great, by the way," Toshi said while mashing buttons.
"Hey! Why the hell would you tell her that?! You idiot! Now she's gonna get cocky! Dumbass!"
Syd snapped at his friend.
The Japanese guy just grinned and went quiet again.
Jody turned back to Syd, visibly amused.
"Aww, come on now, what's the real verdict, Coach?"
"What?"
"What's my progress actually look like, sir?"
She grinned and stuck her tongue out.
Syd jumped in to explain quickly.
"Listen up, all you brainless morons. Lemme break it down. Imagine you get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn how to cook. Free lessons. Hands-on training. And you've got two options—learn from a regular cook, or from Gordon Ramsay. Who you picking?"
"Gordon Ramsay, obviously..."
"Exactly. It's the same deal. I'm not gonna teach you some half-assed method. That's garbage. I'm the real deal, got it? So remember this, with your tiny brain: even if what you're doing is good—it's not good enough for me. I'm gonna push you way beyond that. That way you can't come crying later like, 'Ugh, why didn't you help me? It's too hard!' Shut up. Idiots. Whiny idiots like you always want praise and pats on the back. What, you want me to kiss your feet and go, 'Wow, Miss Jody, amazing work! Stellar progress!'? Screw that. Get real."
"...So what you're saying is, you're gonna train me hard and seriously."
"Where else are you gonna find this level of commitment, huh? Nowhere."
"Wow…"
Despite his tough talk, Jody could see the genuine intention buried under Syd's blunt delivery.
"I'm touched... come here, let me give you a hug."
"No. Get away."
Jody approached. Syd backed off.
"So I'm learning as fast as you, huh?"
Jody smiled sweetly, eyes locked on him.
"I'm faster."
"Ohh~ So I'm learning as fast as the master himself~ Wow~"
"I said I'm faster, didn't I?! What, you deaf and dumb now?!"
Syd narrowed his eyes at her.
Like a kid who couldn't stand being outpaced, he tried his best to bluff his way through it.
"Such an honor~ To be just a bit faster than the great master~ Oh my~"
"Screw off, freak."
"Aww, teacher~ Don't leave! Where are you going~?"
Jody tried not to burst out laughing as Syd shook his head and got up to walk away.
"Nosy monkey. Butt out."
"...Aww, I'm just kidding~ Come back, Syd. Syyyyd~"
Jody ran after him and grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving.
"There, there~ Be a good boy and let's pinky swear~"
She waved her pinky finger at him with a grin.
"Moron."
"Language, Syd. Be nice. Come on, let's make up~"
"Screw you."
"Take it easy, tough guy."
She gently patted his head, clearly enjoying herself. Syd dodged left and right, but she still managed to ruffle his hair.
"Let go!"
He swatted her hand away.
"Where are you going?"
"To take a dump."
"Oh... okay. Good luck."
"It's a bathroom, not a battlefield."
Syd grumbled as he exited the room. Jody laughed to herself and returned to her training.
But when she looked across the room and made eye contact with someone else—she blinked.
Toshi was staring at her, looking... surprised. Deeply surprised. Like she'd done something that genuinely stunned him.
"....?"
"What?"
"...Nothing."
Toshi dropped his gaze and returned to his game, not saying another word.
Jody tilted her head slightly, puzzled—but let it go.