Thursday, 5:50 AM.
Tetsu's eyes opened suddenly, even before his alarm, set for 6 AM, had the chance to ring.
Another school day.
He groaned inside. The thought of returning to his desk felt dull compared to the excitement of his new life.
Still early, he moved through his morning routine, the familiar brush of his toothbrush against his teeth and the cold splash of water on his face.
Dressed in training gear from the Darkside Destroyer, he headed to the gym.
The hum of the treadmills filled the large room.
He began a slow jog, his mind drifting as he replayed Reiji's effortless battle with the Carcinovermises.
The way Reiji moved, the precision of his force fields, and the confidence in his actions were inspiring reminders of how much Tetsu still had to learn.
By 6:30 AM, his unusual morning routine done, he went to the cafeteria for breakfast.
The room was lively, filled with quiet conversations as other Destroyers enjoyed their meals.
At the center of a long row of tables sat Sakamoto Izuki alone.
His plate of fried rice remained untouched, making him a silent island amid the bustling noise.
Tetsu thought back to their confrontation last Sunday.
Now, Sakamoto Izuki seemed alone.
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind.
"Tetsu."
Tetsu jumped and turned quickly.
It was Reiji, wearing a wide, cheerful grin.
"Looking for a seat?" he asked, glancing at Tetsu's gaze towards Izuki's empty table.
Tetsu nodded. "Yeah, I was just—"
Reiji interrupted, a playful glint in his eye.
"Oh, I've found a seat for us."
A moment later, they sat at Izuki's table.
Izuki's face twisted with barely contained anger, Tetsu felt awkward, and Reiji beamed with happiness.
A waiter served Tetsu a simple breakfast: a bowl of rice, hot miso soup, and grilled fish. Reiji had a steaming bowl of ramen.
Izuki's unfinished plate of fried rice sat in front of him while he tried to look normal under Reiji's cheerful presence.
"Hey, Reiji!"
A loud voice called from across the cafeteria.
A tall, fit man waved at them.
Reiji quickly finished his entire bowl of ramen.
"Yo, Asahi. I'm coming!" he shouted before getting up, after the bowl was emptied.
"See you later, Tetsu, Izuki," he added, walking toward the man.
Tetsu recognized the name. Asahi.
He recalled checking the Destroyer rankings. Kamiya Asahi ranked #18, a Level 4 Destroyer, just like Reiji.
As Reiji and Asahi moved away, their voices faded.
"Where's Shirou?" Reiji asked.
"Still sleeping," Asahi replied, his voice low.
At the table, Izuki finally exploded, stood and shouted fiercely.
"Why are you sitting here?!"
The loud yelling had attracted fellow Destroyers' attention.
Tetsu flinched as cold sweat formed on his forehead.
"I... I don't know," he stammered, glancing warily at Reiji's retreating figure. "Rei... Katsuragi brought me here."
Izuki slammed his hand on the table.
"I don't want to see your face!"
Tetsu let out a small, awkward laugh.
"Sorry."
He sighed, trying to avoid looking at Izuki while he began to eat his grilled fish.
Then a softer voice startled him.
"Hey."
Tetsu stopped eating and looked up.
Izuki, his face a bit red, was staring away.
"Sorry for being rude last Sunday," he mumbled.
Tetsu felt surprised.
He's actually... apologizing?
Izuki caught Tetsu looking.
"Don't just sit there! Say something!"
Tetsu was startled.
"Uh, no, it's fine. It's in the past, so I don't mind."
Izuki stood up, leaving his unfinished plate of fried rice behind.
"Reiji seems interested in you. Good for you."
He walked toward the cafeteria exit.
As he left, he bumped into another Destroyer.
"Are you blind?"
Izuki snapped, reigniting his temper.
The other Destroyer quickly apologized, fear in his voice.
Tetsu watched Izuki walk away.
He just apologized to me and now he's ready to fight someone else, Tetsu thought, feeling a strange mix of amusement and annoyance.
8:00 AM.
At Tetsu's school.
His English teacher taught on about grammar rules.
While most other students, still many absent, seemed focused, Tetsu secretly gripped his hand under the desk. His muscles subtly tensed and relaxed while he trained without the teacher noticing. His mind wandered.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated silently in his pocket.
It was the AAO Official 9.0 app. He checked it discreetly and saw a message from Commander Arata.
"Ishizawa, can you take a mission? One has come up for you."
Tetsu's heart raced.
Mission? Now?
He thought for a while.
Keeping his phone hidden from the teacher, he typed a quick reply:
"Yes, Commander. I can."
Almost instantly, Arata replied with a location and a navigation map.
Tetsu slipped his phone back into his pocket and slowly raised his hand.
"Teacher," he said, trying to sound a bit sick.
"I don't feel very well. Can I go to the nurse?"
The teacher glanced at him and nodded.
"Yes, you may. Feel better, Tetsu."
"Thank you, teacher," Tetsu said, grabbing his bag.
He left the classroom but instead of going to the nurse's office, he planned to sneak out of school.
He knew the school walls were tall, much too tall for even his amplified jumping skills to clear.
His only option was the main gate.
Ugh. I hope he's absent today.
He hurried toward it but spotted a guard in the office, his cap pulled low, his gaze fixed on the gate, clearly watching for students trying to skip.
"Tsk"
This guy is here again.
Tetsu quickly ducked behind a pillar, his mind racing.
He remembered the guard well.
He had caught Tetsu and Haruto trying to skip school numerous times, always sending them back to class. He may be blind, but he was incredibly fast. His senses were crazily sharp.
This time, I have to succeed. The mission is important.
First attempt:
He bolted toward the gate at full speed, boosting his leg muscles with a burst of Kinesis.
But the guard, almost anticipating his move, lunged through the office window with surprising speed.
His stance resembled a predator ready to pounce.
"Class skipper?" he asked, his voice low and threatening.
Panic surged through Tetsu.
He turned and ran away from the gate, gasping for breath.
Second attempt:
He took a more subtle approach, walking slowly toward the gate and holding his phone.
"Can you open the gate, please? My son is sick and I have to go there to check for him."
He played an audio file of an AI mimicking a female teacher's voice, politely asking the guard to open the gate.
The guard moved to the gate, reaching for the latch.
Almost there…
But he paused, sniffing the air. He turned slowly to face Tetsu.
"Wait."
He said, "You smell like a man."
Tetsu knew he was caught. He fled, fear giving him wings.
Third attempt:
He hid behind the pillar again, waiting.
It was a long wait, but eventually, the guard disappeared into the office restroom.
Tetsu took the chance, sprinting toward the gate once more.
He was almost there when something flew out of the half-open restroom window. A leather rope soared through the air.
Tetsu gasped, barely dodging the rope as it reached for him.
The guard, still in the restroom, could be heard muttering.
"School skipper… school skipper…" in a terrifying tone amidst the sounds of his... "important business."
Tetsu was terrified. He abandoned the gate and ran, tired, leaning against a nearby tree.
How is this guy not an Anomaly? He's crazier than a real one!
He rested for a moment, trying to come up with a new plan.
Damn it! I don't have much time left.
I need to get out of here fast.
He heard sounds coming from the nearby sports hall.
Opening the sports hall door, he saw students in PE clothes playing various sports: volleyball, badminton, basketball...
After a while, an idea sparked.
Tetsu returned to his hiding spot behind the pillar, focusing on the guard. He manifested a faint bolt of electricity with his finger and aimed it guard's.
The electricity lightly attacked his back.
Immediately, the guard turned, his head cocked.
"What was that?"
Then something darted through the gate.
But the guard, his sensitive ears picked it up, and he rushed out the window, diving to catch whatever was trying to escape.
I caught you, school skipp...
Expecting a person, he instead caught a basketball.
The ball was a decoy.
He realized too late. Tetsu, moving incredibly fast, slipped through the gate.
The guard stared at the basketball, then dropped to his knees, his cap falling off.
"In my twenty years of experience," he muttered in defeat, "I have never let anyone skip school."
"But now… I am defeated."
Outside the school grounds, Tetsu ran, breathing heavily, heading towards the navigation area on his phone.
After a while, he finally reached the location on the map.
It was… a manhole, a covered one, in the middle of a quiet alley.