The man walked slowly to the center of the room and smiled, raising his arms. "Good morning, my children." His voice echoed. "You all may know me as the Headmaster or the Northern's Rank 1, Photon."
As he spoke, a woman in sleek red leather strided into the room. At her sides were two swords, and a third, bigger and thicker sword rested on her back. At her calves were straps holding a knife each, and wrapped around her hips was a black belt with daggers, kunai, and other sharp weapons. Her face was concealed by a red and grey veil that hung from under her eyes.
"This here is my assistant and the Northern's Rank 2, KillerBlade," Photon explained. "She'll be working in this training zone for the next few months to help you all learn what it truly means to serve this kingdom, and please feel free to come by my office if you have any worries or questions."
KillerBlade's eyes scanned the room until they locked onto Amber. Noboru and Markus were quick to notice and glanced between the two as the other trainees fo⁸cused on Photon. A few girls stared at KillerBlade in awe while a few boys gawked; regardless, her focus refused to shift from Amber.
"What's up with her?" Noboru elbowed Amber slightly, keeping his gaze on KillerBlade.
"God knows," Amber muttered.
"Maybe she wants to have girl talk, go ask her which boys she thinks are cute," Markus whispered into her ear.
Amber just slapped his arm. "Seriously, what do you think she wants?"
"Maybe a bite to eat, I know I do," Noboru adds, as Amber side-eyes him.
"You both are completely hopeless," she sighs and tries to ignore the lethal stares from the woman who has the literal word *killer* in her name.
"Finally," Photon says, finishing up his speech, "the top five trainees after the end of the tournament will go with KillerBlade all the way to the Western Kingdom to test out the new facility that will open fully next year. This will also look good on your agency applications, so work hard and fight harder."
Noboru and Amber both blink. Tournament? They both think to themselves, clearly having not listened.
"Now who's hopeless," Markus sighs. "The guy said after a few months of training you do a test. If you pass, then you can join the end-of-term tournament. Top five get to go all the way to the west with the Rank 2 and check out a top-of-the-line facility that won't come out till autumn next year."
"Wait, so how long do we have till that test?" Noboru asked, intrigued.
"Well, it's just starting to become winter, so we've got about three to four months till this term's done. You weren't here for the first half, unlike me and Amber," Markus explains.
Noboru thinks to himself for a second, then opens his eyes ready to speak. "So I just need to work my ass off for a while and pass, then I can go see that new high-tech stuff."
Amber cuts in, "and we can put this down in our agency applications for when we decide to join one. I wonder what grades I need to pass."
"Wait, grades?" Noboru pauses.
"Yeah, grades," Markus sighs. "Don't tell me you thought you didn't have to do school." He pinches the bridge of his nose. "A hero course is completely separate from an actual school. You have to pass school to go to college, uni, and get a life. If you want certain jobs like hero stuff, then you need to pass a hero course, which you can start at fourteen, youngest."
Amber chimes in, "yeah, Markus is in his second year of college now, so once he's finished his actual school life and this course, then he can make and submit his applications if he wants to do hero work."
"Wait, so does that make it a bad to do hero stuff without passing the course?" Noboru asks, now even more confused.
Nathan from earlier speaks up. "Not necessarily. After an incident a few decades ago, the laws got changed. Now, if your scenario demands it, then anyone with a power is allowed to act, even without a license or degree."
"Yeah, like if a person's life is on the line and there's no agencies in a close enough area, then anyone can run in and save the day if they have a power," Amber adds. "But if heroes are already at the scene and then someone decides to play hero and jump in, then they can also get arrested along with the criminal. If not, then fined at the very least, unless they had a good enough reason and could argue it well."
"To put it simply," Markus yawns, clearly bored of this conversation now, "if you wanna be a hero, you need to do both school and this course. If not, then you can't save lives apart from in highly specific scenarios. Best to just know your place and let the law do its thing."
Noboru ponders for a second, then opens his eyes ready to speak, only to be face to face with KillerBlade. The smell of what can only be described as death came from her. It was not an unpleasant odor, more of a menacing poison that seemed to shrink Noboru mentally. His legs felt like they were about to buckle. His first instinct would be to dart back with his speed and make distance, but he couldn't even do that. This is what fear was, he realized—not that of a scared child, not of a dying man, but the very essence of fear, and it came from this woman.
"M-M-Morning, ma'am," Noboru managed to blurt out as the others stared at him.
KillerBlade's eyes never left him. They seemed to shine a brighter, more crimson red, full of blood and ready for more. She sized him up, looking from his toes to the tallest hair on his head. Her facial expression under her veil never changed.
"You are not of this kingdom, are you? I did not expect to see an outsider in this kingdom. It seems the security has failed us," she spoke with a sharp tone, like two metal knives sharpening against each other.
Then her focus wavered back to Amber for half a second. Noboru, the only one fast enough to notice, flinched, and this caught her off guard… or maybe it was the three-foot sword against his neck that she held, now behind him, her head craned forward, her chin resting on his shoulder.
"Maybe I should get rid of the foreigner." Her words echoed in his ear, rattling the inside of his brain as the small cut she had made on his neck started to leak red-hot blood onto her sword, its ruby-red blade glistening with each drop.
It was only then that the Headmaster Photon had seen and shook his head, amused. "Blade, can we not harm the kids?" His smile slowly vanished after looking up. "Well, now that's interesting."
Noboru didn't need to look around to know what Photon had seen. He could feel it—the coldness of the ice—but it was intriguing, so he twisted his head ever so slightly at KillerBlade. There she was, standing behind him, sword at his neck and chin on his shoulder, but now she wasn't looking at him. Her head was still, but her eyes darted left at the spear of ice a millimeter away from her pupil.
"Not really that close with the guy," Markus said, sighing as his grip tightened on the spear he made, "but I made a certain promise to a certain someone, and if I let him die," he smirks, "I wouldn't be much of a hero, would I?"
KillerBlade was fear itself. She had seen the spear coming miles away, yet let it come close, knowing Markus wouldn't stab out her eyes. A slow smile crept onto her face, only slightly visible under her veil, and Photon shivered, a sharp pain running through his head. He knew what was going on in her mind.
She slowly opened her mouth and spat at the spear, her eyes still locked on the sharp tip near her eye. Quickly, the end of the spear dissolved and hit the ground. As it did, the floor bubbled and melted; it now looked as if lava had fallen on the floor in droplets.
"You're a fun one, and yet the most boring." She straightened fully. Swiftly and easily sheathed her blade as she did. Noboru had faded into the back of her thoughts. "What's your name?"
Not much of a question and more of a demand, and Markus's lips parted slowly as he spoke. "Markus Carbona. Don't forget it." He smirked as his icy breath sent a strong wintery scent. To others, it was just the smell of his breath; to KillerBlade, it was the smell of fear. This boy had that calmness in him, the type only KillerBlade was thought to possess, and Photon and Noboru were the ones to notice this.
A sharp clasp of hands and all heads turned to Photon, all except KillerBlade and Markus.
"Well, that was a lovely display of determination," Photon said, smiling calmly despite the single bead of sweat that rolled down the side of his forehead. "I'm glad to see our future heroes all so eager—truly a pleasant thought. Now please continue with your training, and I see a few newcomers, so please remember to let the office know which college or school you attend so we can adjust your training plans."
He slowly walked over to the door, his smile almost breaking. "May I have a word, KillerBlade?" His smile had now vanished. "Now." And he left the room.
Markus stiffened but kept his smirk. "Yeah, boss wants you. Best not to keep him waiting."
KillerBlade's eyes narrowed, but under her veil she smiled and walked off towards where Photon would be, not before glancing at Noboru and Amber as she exited.
In the other room, Photon sat in his armchair looking out at the swimming pools used for underwater training. He didn't wait for KillerBlade to even sit before he spoke.
"Don't. You. Dare mention anything to that child," his voice was tight. "I saw how you looked at her, and why did you have to go after the boy? You know who his father is. And that other boy with the ice—you better not mess with any of my students. Do you know how hard it was to get you out of jail and clean your records?"
She didn't even blink and took her seat across from him, her face blank. "That girl will find out eventually, and I don't care if he's the prince or that the Monarch brought him here. He's still a foreigner. And don't worry, I won't harm… Markus Carbona. Such a name. So bland."
Photon's voice tightens, the wrinkles on his forehead move, and his already white hair seemed to whiten further. "If he knows what you want to tell her, then he won't let you live like last time. Furthermore, if you harm the foreigner, you'll have the whole Eastern Kingdom on your ass, and I won't help you then either." He sighs, his body slightly relaxing. "Why couldn't I have been assigned someone calmer by His Majesty," he mutters to himself.
Back in the main room, Nathan is freaking out. "Holy flying fuck, you just dissed fear itself. Like holy—and you, you were this close to being a meat stick." His eyes dart between Markus and Noboru.
"Ah, so what? She ain't shit," Markus scoffs, although deep down his heart was beating. He was as close to death as he'd ever been, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he took a stupid risk for a stupid guy. He glanced at Noboru as he thought, *Would he have done the same for me?*
Noboru, however, was not calm. "Are you crazy? Her sword was on my neck—my neck. I was gonna be headless, and you threatened her with ice, and she spat on it. Do you not see how crazy that was? We almost got killed by a single person."
"Just shut up already," Markus smacks the back of his head, but he grins. "So what? It was KillerBlade, for God's sake. No shit we almost died."
They both chuckled, then quieted and turned to Amber, who was lost in her own mind, sweat dripping down her forehead at an alarming rate. "Are you OK?" Markus asked, concerned, his normal hard and joking shell gone.
But she doesn't respond, her eyes empty and yet strangely full.
"Amber." Noboru places a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch and look up at him slowly. "What's wrong?" he says softly, trying not to come off as invasive.
Small tears form in her eyes and she shakes a bit. "I… don't know." Her face squeezes and she breaks out crying, the mascara she wore staining her face as she stands there looking at Noboru with tear-filled eyes.
Noboru and Markus stood there lost. They had expected her to not want to tell them, but not break down crying. The room fell silent as other trainees stopped their conversations to watch. Even Nathan glanced slightly but tried his best to keep to himself.
Noboru lowered his arm from her and smiled. "It's OK, let it all out." He glanced at Markus. "Wall." One word, and Markus understood as he stomped his foot and four walls of ice rose, surrounding Noboru and Amber.
In the forming box, Noboru glanced back at Amber. "Cry as much as you need. I don't know why you're crying or what KillerBlade made you think of, but me and Markus will be here when you're done, so take as much time as you need," he said as the final wall rose in between him and Amber, sealing her off from all the staring.
She fell to her knees and bawled her eyes out more, not just for what she had felt, but also for this boy—this boy who, despite not knowing her for even a day, saw her cry and sheltered her to give her privacy, who said he'd be here for her even though she knew she wouldn't be able to say the same to him. How could someone look at another and fully have faith in them? She had no idea, but that is how she felt. Unlike Markus, who had been her friend since she was young, this boy she had met today would end up to be much more.
Minutes passed as Markus and Noboru sat outside the box. They couldn't leave Amber alone, as they would feel horrible for leaving her in the common room when everyone had just seen her cry, and secondly, all the training rooms had a three-person minimum today, so they couldn't even go work out while waiting for her.
It was only after Noboru had decided to knock on the ice wall, calling out her name. "Amber? You good?" No response. So Markus stood up and placed his palm on the wall, melting it down, revealing Amber, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
Markus took down the walls as Noboru picked her up in his arms. "You take her back to her room and I'll head to the training rooms and see if I can get us a section while she rests," Markus said as he walked off.
So Noboru breathed, stiffening his body, and sighed. As the air left his lungs, he darted forward, getting to Amber's room within a minute. Nathan, who had left prior when Amber had started crying, now stood in the hall leaning against her doorframe as Noboru approached. "When you're done helping her, Photon wants you in his office. I managed to get him to wait to give Amber some rest, so be quick," he said, walking off as Noboru nodded and entered Amber's room, laying her on her bed and closing her curtains.
Her three roommates, who had been laying in their beds, sat up. "Who are you? What happened to Amber?" one of the girls asked, concern etched on her face as she climbed out of bed and over to Amber.
"She started crying a lot. We didn't know why, so we gave her some time to herself, then she passed out, so I brought her here," Noboru explained the situation as best he could.
The girls didn't say more. Instead, they tossed a few blankets over Amber and one of them went to make her a drink. As Noboru was leaving, one spoke out. "Amber's not really… stable. She's been through a lot. Questioning or making her remember hurts her, so don't ask too much when she wakes up."
Without waiting for a reply, the girl gets back to Amber, and Noboru leaves, walking down the hall toward Photon's office.