“Hey, have you heard?”
“About what?”
Kit Wingate was a celebrity in the South African region even before coming to the academy. After 3rd level academy she was practically a household name within the African domain. Currently her popularity was comparable to that of a mid-tier pro athlete if not slightly above. That being the case, it was no surprise that the rumor mill started up when it got out that she would be taking on a non-Combatant for her exam.
“Kit is going after someone below rank 10,000 for the exam this semester.”
“You think it’s her friend or something, she might just be trying to hand them an easy A.”
“I doubt it from what I heard it’s the opposite she’s going after the guy just to beat him up.”
“Wow poor guy huh?”
The “poor guy” in question was sitting at the table behind them eating pizza in the dining hall but of course neither of the two girls knew that as they continued their gossiping. It was now three days until the climactic show down between Kit and Nial. Nial of course had been training his ass off with Hao for the past five. He had made such significant progress that he thought he could jump about 2,000 ranks if reassessed at the moment but if 10,000 was a wall he was still too weak to overcome then Kit Wingate would be like trying to jump over mount Everest in one go.
“I seriously don’t get why you’re trying so seriously to win this match dude.”
“Who knows? Even if I don’t win, I might still be able to leave an impression, right?”
“Yea whatever, I’m tired of hearing this already. I bet you won’t even last 5 seconds in the ring with Kit.”
“You wanna bet?”
“Do you?”
“No.”
He had no intention of explaining his intentions and certainly not to a non-believer like Hao. For now, the only thing they had to do was finish their meal and head back to the training building and that was all he wanted to do too.
“Hey, are you guy the one Kit challenged.”
At that moment, a boy who seemed to be their age if not a little bit younger came running over to them speaking Org with an accent Nial had never heard before. From what Nial heard Org was a language established with English as a base and Arabic mixed in and for this reason, since apparently the Canadian region he grew up in spoke English pre-Org so there wasn’t much difficulty for natives to speak it when it was originally implemented. But even still it was required that 1st and 2nd level academies teach their students Org before their native languages, so it was strange to hear someone talking with grammar this bad.
“Uh yeah that’s me, why? What do you need?”
“I need time for speaking”
“Um okay I guess.”
It took him a minute to realize that the girls who had been talking a moment ago were looking over here now. They probably turned initially due to being taken aback by the strange speech, but it was clear that they were now taken in for an entirely different reason. If Nial was just your average guy with pale skin and dark hair with slightly intimidating eyes, then this guy was his polar opposite. Vibrant flawless skin, with curly golden blond hair that had been slightly swept to the side, and deep blue eyes that gave off a naturally inviting aura, it was clear to Nial from the beginning that these two would have no affinity together.
“I am friend with Kit.”
“So was I.”
“Really? It won’t seem so.”
“Well, we aren’t anymore.”
“I see.”
“Um, if you don’t mind me asking what’s up with your accent? It’s kind of distracting.”
“Oh, mother said to teach me German before Org. She says Org is dangerous language, so I learn it second.”
“Huh.”
It certainly wasn’t a rare site. Org was obviously short for The Organization or the FDRE. It was them who came up with the language and it’s them who enforce it. Countries weren’t just going to give up a core part of their heritage without a fight after all. But with as many artists as The Org has on their side denying their governance is essentially a death sentence, though to this day many individuals take the time to pass down their native tongue to their children as their first language. And it’s not as though The Org doesn’t know about this either but as long as it doesn’t rise to a national scale, they’re unlikely to care.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Listen my name is Kurt Krausse I am rank 2 academy.”
“So, what do you need with me?”
“I will propose challenge so please drop out of fight with Kit.”
What?
“What do you mean? She’s the one who proposed the challenge in the first place!”
“More like what do you mean!? Aren’t you the one who came to me looking for a way out of your predicament? This is the perfect solution!”
Dammit Hao! Can’t you sit this one out!
“Please! You understand she wants to hurt you. If you were friends, you know this would hurt reputation!”
Crap things were spiraling, he needed to find some way to get out of this conversation.
“I promise I won’t hurt, and you will still get A.”
“Look! Kit’s the fight I accepted and Kit’s the one I’m going to take on, no one else.”
He quickly stood up and began hurrying out of the dining hall but apparently not fast enough since as soon as he made it to the threshold, someone caught up to him.
“Look man I need to know what’s going on a couple of days ago you were making funeral preparations but now all of a sudden you won’t let anybody interfere in the fight? Tell me what’s happening!”
“Look, I”
“NO! No more of the crap you’ve been spitting up until now. We go back to the dorm, and we sort this out NOW!”
Normally Nial was physically stronger than Hao but at this moment when Hao grabbed Nial’s wrist he was completely powerless to resist.
“Explain.”
At this moment Hao and Nial seemed to be in the midst of some sort of strange court proceedings as Nial looked pleadingly up to where Hao was sitting on the top bunk of the bed as Hao gazed emotionlessly back at him.
“Look I’m not hiding anything from you!”
“I already know you are now explain.”
“Fine then you’ll never get anything out of me!”
“Do you know why I’m sitting all the way up here?”
“What.”
Without even batting an eye the bastard pulled out from behind himself Nial’s Nonton Deck 3!
“You wouldn’t!”
Nial had gone out of his way to get a job over summer break and work himself to death to save up 500$ just to by that thing.
“You wanna take that bet too?”
“Look no! Look! There’s no way this is that serious right?”
“I didn’t think it was either until lunch but now I’m not so sure.”
As he said this, he began tossing the deck from side, right over the edge of the bed.
“Enough! I’m sorry I’ll tell you everything!”
“Then start talking. Now.”
Nial inhaled a deep breath as he began to let out the words that had haunted him for so long.
“I want to be popular.”
“That’s it I’m dropping it.”
Just as Hao loosened his grip on the handheld gaming device Nial executed a perfect dive to save his 500$.
“Look I’m trying to be serious here! What is wrong with you man!”
“I am too!”
Hao cocked an eyebrow. As if offended that Nial would insult him in this way.
“You’re telling me, that you would go through all this trouble. Including going up against the number 1 in our entire class. Who you were just scared of a couple days ago, all for a little bit of notoriety?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t ask me to train with you till all this is over. I’m out.”
Hao didn’t even give him the chance to prepare another response as he left the room and closed the door behind him. Nial was left there in the room with nothing but his own thoughts. He knew he messed up, but he just didn’t know how to tell Hao why he was doing what he was.
Only he knew that, why he felt the way he did. Kit, his brother, Hao even, they were all beautifully unique in their own ways. By comparison to them he felt that he might as well be a folding screen in the background to the epics they would one day write and have written. Looking back, he supposed the only reason he had responded to Kit in the first place was because he was jealous in a way. If she were the sun he couldn’t even be compared to the moon. It was like he was wondering why she had to come back into his life when all she was there to do was outshine him.
To his parents, to the students, to Kurt he could tell that the only reason any of them decided to pay any attention to them was because of his value as not even 2nd fiddle but 3rd or 4th string in someone else’s concert. When he first accepted Kit’s challenge he was scared, though to be honest not of her, but of stepping back into her shadow.
He knew it himself it was his fault their friendship ended. When Kit’s power first started growing exponentially back in 3rd level academy, she did try reaching out to him, but it was him who cut her off without giving her any reason. It was like he was seeing his older brother all over again. He knew he was hurting Kit but every time he thought he should apologize his pride and fear of stepping back into her shadow began to creep back in.
Then the more he thought about the challenge the more he came to believe. What if he could at least put up a fight. Maybe, just maybe it would gain him the respect of his peers. Then he could apologize and the two of them could rekindle their friendship on maybe not equal but similar standings. At least similar enough that he wouldn’t have to worry about being overshadowed.
As he thought about this, he realized why he couldn’t just explain this to Hao. That same fear that had ate away at him with Kit and his brother was now doing the same with Hao. Maybe Hao was weaker and lower ranked than him, but he was courageous and more headstrong than anyone he knew. Somewhere along the line he began to look up to Hao, just like he did with his brother and Kit, but now that he knew this, he couldn’t just let things keep going in this direction. He had to go get his friend back.
The Combatant dorms where Kit Wingate lived weren’t particularly different from the others. Outside of a fast-food restaurant in there were no other different commodities for the Combatants compared to the other classifications. However, just because there were none for the other combatants, that didn’t mean there were none for Kit Wingate. While it may even be considered rougher for other students in her dorm since, after all the main reason the combat dorms were separated was because of the Combatants’ perceived rough nature, Kit was relaxed sipping tea on her balcony and garden while watching tv on her 2-meter tv. Yet all the while she was doing this she was thinking or rather, worrying about an old friend. Someone who she to go as far as to provoke into a fight before they were willing to face her for more than a brief interaction. Someone who she desperately wanted to talk to, and who was that someone? Their name seemed to come to her lips as if in a fading sigh.
“Nial.”
