Drayen opened his eyes with a slight headache. His eyelids still felt heavy as he slowly rubbed them. He was in a completely unfamiliar place—an unfamiliar bed.
Memories surfaced bit by bit.
He had drifted off after four smokes of the Nightmare Realm's modified cigarettes.
Oh my god. I can't believe it. I slept in Kira's house, he thought.
He felt inwardly happy.
Then his phone rang.
Ring. Ring.
He froze when he saw the screen.
More than twenty-five missed calls—from his mom.
Oh shit. I completely forgot. I didn't tell Mom anything and just disappeared.
He panicked and rushed out of the room. Kira had just returned with groceries for breakfast.
"At last, you're awake."
"I'll talk later. Sorry for the trouble, Kira. Bye."
He slipped out the door in a hurry.
His house was only two doors away. He ran all the way home, heart pounding.
What will I tell her? Will she scold me?
He slowed down and quietly opened the door, trying to read the atmosphere first.
Mrs. Wraithwing—his mother—was waiting in the living room.
She rushed over when she saw him. Worry and tension crossed her face, but once she confirmed he was safe, anger flared in her eyes.
"Drae, do you only know how to make your mother worry?"
"Where the hell were you last night?"
"Why didn't you pick up the phone?"
Her anger kept building.
"Mom, that is…" He hesitated, then quickly thought of an excuse.
"Mom, it was Leo's birthday. My phone got lost, so I was searching for it. Before I knew it, it was already late, and I drifted off to sleep."
He lied.
Her anger flared even more.
"So you couldn't even tell your mother by calling through your friends?"
"Mom, that is… that is—"
Before he could finish, a slipper flew toward his head. He barely dodged it.
It took a long while to calm her down. As if that wasn't enough, his sister called soon after and lectured him again.
To say he was in a bad mood would be an understatement.
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.
The phone rang again.
He looked at the screen with annoyance—then the corner of his lips curved upward.
"Hello, Drayen. Sorry to bother you, but I've run into a small problem."
She coughed loudly as she spoke.
He straightened. "What happened? Kira?"
A few minutes later, he was back at her house.
The entire place was filled with smoke. A cooking pot had been completely burned black. Kira stood in the middle of the kitchen, waving a towel uselessly, her face half-hidden.
"I swear it wasn't my fault," she said between coughs.
Drayen stared at the pot.
"Kira… this is literally charcoal."
He carefully turned off the stove. She had left it on high heat for too long. It was an old model without any safety system—only scraps remained before it could have melted entirely.
"This is a real mess," he said, coughing.
He helped her clean everything up.
"I'm sorry," Kira said guiltily. "I know you were supposed to absorb cores. I disturbed you."
"I already finished it," he replied casually. "No worries."
She looked surprised—then her stomach growled.
He turned toward her. "You're hungry too, huh?"
She smiled. "Looks like we're the same. Let's go eat. My treat—for completing the assignment."
Drayen froze.
Kira gave him an annoyed look. "Don't look at me like that. I'm a generous teacher."
"No, no, you misunderstood!" Drayen waved his hands quickly. "Let's go."
They went to a simple fast-food place called BBFC.
"Sit. I'll order," Kira said and headed to the counter.
She returned with a huge tray filled with fried chicken, burgers, and sides—enough for four people.
"Here. Let's eat."
As soon as she smelled the food, her eyes lit up.
"Kira… isn't this a bit too much?" he asked.
She had already taken a massive bite of a burger.
"Wooo—ow—ow—"
He couldn't understand a single word.
Normally, Drayen hated messy eating, but she had mayonnaise all over her mouth and hands, happily devouring the food.
She really likes eating… kind of cute, he thought, smiling as he started eating too.
In a quiet side street, nearly empty of people, three university boys stood together.
One of them—short, with leaf-green hair—trembled between the other two. The boys flanking him were fat and wore uniforms from a different university.
"Hey, Zuko," the fat guy on the right said. "After transferring, you completely forgot about us, huh?"
He looked like a middle-aged uncle despite being a university student.
The other fat boy sneered. "Yeah, man. You forgot the boss. We were such good friends, remember?"
"Hahaha. You're beyond our reach now. Anyway, what about that girl you used to hang out with?"
"She's got a great body. Perfect for the boss's taste."
"Yeah. Won't you convince her to spend a night with him? Do a favor for an old friend."
Zuko's eyes filled with tears. Anger and helplessness mixed inside him when they mentioned Lara.
"Hey, you're making us look bad," the uncle-like guy said.
"The boss just asked for a favor. You're betraying our friendship."
He kicked Zuko in the stomach.
Zuko groaned and collapsed.
"I don't want to do this," the man said again. "Just call her."
He shoved a phone toward Zuko.
"You… fuck you…" Zuko muttered weakly.
The man froze. "What did you say?"
He kicked Zuko again.
Zuko cried out and fell to the ground.
Drayen was kicking a stone as he walked home alone.
Kira had received a call, so they'd gone to the university together. When he learned she'd be late, he headed back by himself.
His mood had finally calmed. He understood his family's worry—but being scolded for hours still hurt.
Suddenly, he heard a cry from the road to his right.
He turned.
Bullying.
Preying on the weak, he thought. That's all this is.
He hated it.
He wasn't the heroic type. Society would deal with people like that eventually.
He was about to walk away—
Then he saw Zuko.
They'd only been classmates for a day, but through Fedric and Lara, they had become friends.
Drayen quickened his pace.
He shoved one of the bullies, nearly knocking him over, then helped Zuko up. Zuko's uniform was covered in footprints, his eyes swollen from crying.
"Hey! Who are you?" the thinner fat boy shouted, swinging.
Drayen dodged easily—weeks of training paid off. He punched the man in the stomach.
The uncle-faced man rushed in, trying to pin him to the wall. Drayen dodged, but when they attacked together, he took a few hits.
Huh. Nothing compared to Kira's punches, he thought.
He spun and kicked, knocking the minion down.
The uncle-faced man tried to retreat, but Drayen punched him in the stomach. When the man reached for his fallen phone, Drayen stepped on his hand and drove a knee into his face.
The man collapsed, nose bleeding.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Drayen asked calmly.
He turned to Zuko. "Is that yours?"
Zuko shook his head.
Drayen's blood boiled when he looked at Zuko's condition. He punched the man once more.
"Let's go, Zuko."
As they walked away, Drayen spoke softly.
"I can't guarantee they won't bully you again. But you can stop them."
Zuko nodded.
"Now, now. Just smile," Drayen said, patting his shoulder.