That Saturday...
"Focus," Lee said as he threw a flurry of jabs Liam's way.
What do you think I'm trying to do?! Liam gritted his teeth, moving his head and torso to dodge the blows. He blocked two of them, then sidestepped one more and launched a kick aimed at the side of Lee's knee.
Lee lifted his leg a little, using his shin to block the attack, then kicking sideways to throw Liam off balance.
Ugh... Liam thought as he stumbled forward to regain his balance.
He crossed his arms and waited for Lee's attack.
For a split second, nothing happened.
Liam jumped back immediately, knowing that he had been given a rare opportunity, but his body suddenly stalled. He bit his lip in frustration as his chest throbbed, as if telling him to stop.
"That's enough," Lee said, folding his arms. "You've tested your 'First Break' properly, right? Let's stop here."
Liam narrowed his eyes, wanting to argue, but the throbbing in his chest refused to stop, so he calmed his heart down and sighed.
"I wanted to test it out beyond five minutes though..." he muttered.
"Are you insane?" Lee asked bluntly. "As if manipulating your own heart wasn't enough, now you want to prolong that state?"
Liam looked away, shrugging. "But Jay would know when I hit my limit, so what're you worried about?"
"Your recklessness, moron," Jay said from the sidelines.
More than half of the Hunter Class had gathered in the Crucible. Jay and Raidou had devised a simple two-step test to determine where each present member would rank.
First, Jay would evaluate their individual physical and combat capabilities. Next, they would pair them up with another classmate and spar with them. The results of the spar—their reactions, visible strategies, and overall performance—would then be added to Jay's internal calculations.
"Everything aside," Raidou had muttered to Jay during Liam and Lee's spar. "We still need a few hidden cards."
Jay glanced at him. "...You want me to falsify ranks, don't you?"
Raidou smiled and nodded. Jay thought it over, then shrugged.
"Sure. It might give us a slight tactical advantage if we ever have to throw down with other people..."
Raidou nodded. "Like the Hero Class, right?"
"...Right."
Back in the present...
"Did you really need to call me a moron?" Liam grumbled as he and Lee walked over.
"Of course he did," Lisa replied, throwing a bottle of water over to Liam. "You're an idiot simply because you're reckless as hell! And you don't have the right to argue!"
Liam grunted and turned his head away, causing Hannah and Ruby to laugh.
"She has a point Liam," Hannah chuckled after calming down. "Your attitude is gonna bite you in the ass one day."
"Mhm!" Ruby nodded. "Anyway, we're definitely lucky to have Lee sparring with you."
Liam frowned. "Why's that?"
Ruby blinked repeatedly, then looked away. "Ah-Ahem! Well, um, I don't know! You're strong! He's strong! What else do you have to think about?"
Liam narrowed his eyes at the smaller girl, and Ruby began sweating bullets as she kept her lips shut.
Lee poked Liam's shoulder. "What she's not saying is: the others are a bit too scared to face off against you."
Liam immediately froze up, but right at that moment...
"Yo!" Nanami waved as he bounded over. "Liam, fight me!"
Liam stared at him for a brief moment, then shook his head. "Nah, not right now. I'm a bit tired, so after a few minutes."
Nanami deflated. "Aww..."
Liam laughed as he took a seat on the floor beside Lisa. "Thanks anyway."
Nanami blinked in confusion, scratching his head. "I didn't do anything though?"
Liam shook his head. "Don't worry about it."
Lisa smirked, then elbowed him in the ribs. "Looks like someone's finally crawled out of their shell. You haven't stammered in two days."
Liam rolled his eyes as Steve and Jeremy walked up onto the mat. "Yeah, yeah. I know it's a good thing."
She chuckled. "Right? Now, who do you have to thank for this expanding social circle?"
Liam smiled softly, turning to her. "Rex."
Lisa's expression dropped into one of annoyance as she rose a fist. "Want to reconsider that?"
Liam laughed quietly as he looked up at the ceiling, remembering all the effort Lisa had put in to get him to make friends. It had been going on since they were kids, and now that he thought back on it, he felt embarrassed by how little he'd appreciated her enthusiasm.
"Um..." he mumbled as his ears turned red. "...yeah."
Lisa frowned, leaning in. "Could you repeat that?"
Liam flinched, his ears turning a bright crimson. "Y-you don't need to be so close!" he said as he scooted to the side.
A mischievous smile widened on Lisa's face. "What's this? Is PaxWiki getting embarrassed?"
"No," Liam replied, avoiding her gaze.
"If not," she said quietly as she shifted close enough to touch shoulders, "then would you mind repeating what you said earlier?"
Liam's gaze flickered over to her face for a brief moment, but it was enough to catch her cheeky expression.
Feeling slightly overheated, Liam cleared his throat quietly. "I said, thanks for... all your help."
She grinned. "Now that's more like it."
Liam immediately turned his full attention to the ensuing fight, trying to ignore the burning sensation that filled his entire head.
"Ugh, do you two need to flirt so openly?"
"Tch," Lisa clicked her tongue as she turned to Hannah, who was standing a few feet away. "We aren't flirting. Get all those fantasies out of your head, Hannah."
Hannah chuckled. "Well, just because I can't hear a word you said doesn't mean it isn't obvious that you're—"
"That's enough," Jay cut in. "Your observations are interrupting me."
Liam sighed quietly, closing his eyes. As the sounds of fighting and talking continued around him, he let his mind wander.
I have no idea why Lisa kept pushing like that... anyway, I haven't called home yet, so I'll do that after I'm done here.
He took in a few deep breaths, relaxing his muscles and listening to his heartbeat.
The feeling of growing stronger... it's great. Although it still hurts that my classmates are still scared of me... to think that my greatest nightmare would come to pass.
Liam smiled. Yet I'm still here. Even though they know my Venma, I haven't been rejected outright... although not everyone will be that way. I got lucky, having friends that'll cover my back.
Liam paused, the sounds of chatter intensifying around him. Friends... people who know my secret. I feel... scared. Terrified in fact. Will I hurt them? Betray their trust?...Will they... not want me around anymore?
Liam frowned, the cold weight of anxiety weighing down on his chest. No... if I think that way, I'll cause all sorts of misunderstandings. I don't want to hurt them, so I'll focus on protecting them... yeah.
Liam balled his hands into fists. I promised my father a long time ago. I'd become a Hunter strong enough to protect my whole family! I would create the kind of quiet peace I've always wanted, and stop anyone or anything that tried to harm that peace.
Liam opened his eyes to see his friends standing a ways to the side. He smiled softly. They probably wanted me to rest. Do I deserve friends like these? No, no, that line of thinking won't help me... although, now that I have friends... I guess that means I have more things I want to protect...
Liam chuckled quietly. "Dad once told me you can't hold two cakes with one hand, 'cause I'd drop them."
He pushed himself to his feet, stretching a little before walking towards his friends. And I'd always say: "That's why I have two hands, so I can be as greedy as I want!"
"Haha! Sure, son. Just don't let your mom know I bought these for you, okay?"
Liam gave a small smile before approaching his friends.
"Alright everybody," Jay called out in a deadpan tone dripping with unenthusiasm. "Please come around to check today's results."
"Finally," Kazumi smirked.
Liam raised an eyebrow at the taller boy. "Um... w-what are you excited about? Aren't you going t-to be number one anyway?"
Liam was still unsure as to how he was supposed to treat Kazumi. The previous day had been filled with several awkward moments whenever they tried to talk to each other. Hannah and Nanami had been hounding him to get closer to Kazumi, since it would improve group interactions.
Honestly, I'm only doing it to be left alone, Liam thought with an inaudible groan.
Kazumi looked down at him. "Of course I am. But that isn't why I'm interested."
Liam pursed his lips, holding back the smile that threatened to break out on his face. "A-ah well then! What are y-you actually h-hoping to hear?"
Kazumi folded his arms and looked at Jay, who was currently typing something on a holo-keyboard. "I'm interested in how you and the others score."
"...Huh?"
Kazumi chuckled. "Come on, how could I not be? You were hopeless in combat three weeks ago. In that same amount of time, you've managed to improve every ability you have. Strength, technique, strategy, decision-making, judgment. You've improved across the board. You've grown a lot just to prove me wrong."
So Lee was right, Liam thought as he glanced up at Kazumi's face. All those words he said were harsh, but they were still accurate.
"Well, um..." Liam scratched the side of his head. "Thank you. I guess I really wouldn't have grown this much... if I hadn't been beaten by you."
Kazumi chuckled again. "Hm. I don't know if you remember, but I taunted you during our rematch."
Liam closed his eyes. "I... remember."
Kazumi nodded. "I meant what I said. But the only reason I bothered saying all that was to see your reaction. Would you buckle and yield? Get angry and make rash decisions?"
Kazumi smiled, looking at Liam. "Surprisingly, you ignored me."
Liam began sweating, avoiding Kazumi's eyes. "Aha... ha... well, I was a bit... resigned. You were k-k-kinda right and all, but I already knew that, so it would have been pointless to dwell on."
"...Well said."
Their CIDs suddenly vibrated, and they opened them to see a message that had been sent to them by—
"Jay, what is this?" Raidou asked.
Jay pulled his hoodie back on. "The rankings for this week. Anyway—"
"Don't try to run," Ridou muttered as he grabbed Jay's shoulder. "Explain fully."
"...Okay," Jay replied. He knew how to pick his battles after all.
"Okay, there are three areas I set up to score you guys on. Overall raw strength, technique, and combat mentality.
Overall strength measures the maximum force you can exert at once. Technique covers agility, dexterity, coordination, and how effectively you apply your abilities in combat. Combat mentality covers decision-making, strategic reasoning, and adaptability. All scores are out of ten."
At the top of the leaderboard sat Kazumi, with ten full points in all three areas.
"Hey! Is this rigged?!" Nanami yelled. When everyone stared at him, he put a hand over his mouth and bowed repeatedly.
"Lee," Kazumi called out. "What marks did you receive?"
Lee walked over, a small smile on his face. "Apart from strength—which was a nine—I got a ten for everything. What about you, Liam?"
Liam flinched as the two highest scorers fixed him with expectant stares.
"I—uh—um... well—"
"Just spit it out." Lee rolled his eyes.
"...Right. An eight in strength, another eight for technique... and a ten for mentality."
Kazumi took a look at the leaderboard with a small nod. "Seems you passed Raidou too. He got a seven in technique, a nine in strength, and another nine in mentality."
Liam's ears reddened in embarrassment. Before he could say anything though...
"Hey, Jay," Hannah asked. "I'm guessing you aren't counting our Venma in this?"
Jay nodded, then answered reluctantly, "Yes. Most of you might not have Venmas that naturally aid you in combat. I simply used the most accessible versions of you right now, meaning any enhancements aren't included."
Steve raised a hand, frowning. "So, what'll happen if we all get way stronger? Wouldn't we all get tens?"
Jay shook his head. "No. All these scores are based off the entire class's average. Let's say the average right now is five. Obviously there are people above that average. Now, what if everyone is above that average? Then a new average is set.
Let's say everyone eventually gets strong enough to meet what qualifies as a ten by today's standards. Once that happens, the class average rises and I recalibrate the scale. What counts as a ten now might only qualify as a five later."
Everyone murmured and nodded at Jay's words, then one by one they slowly began to turn, setting their eyes on Liam, Lee, and Kazumi.
"So, if Kazumi's the ceiling..." Nanami muttered.
"And PaxWiki and Lee are the ladders..." Lisa grinned.
"That means we just have to surpass one by one to sit at the top," Raidou finished, his golden eyes locking onto Liam.
****
"So yes, mom, that's what's happened... huh?!"
Maria stared at Liam through the screen, completely shocked. Liam began to panic as tears began pooling at the edge of her eyes, and he found himself grateful once again for the call center's soundproof booths.
"Mom?! Mama! Why are you crying? I'm fine, really! Look, zero injuries!"
Maria covered her face, tears streaming down her cheeks. Liam fell silent, fidgeting constantly in worry.
It's a good thing I didn't tell her about Primal... Liam thought as his mother whimpered, trying to dry her tears.
"Look!" Chad fumed at Liam, "Now you made Mom cry!"
Liam flinched back as his siblings glared at him while rubbing their mother's back. Ugh~ I didn't mean it!
Maria sniffed again and looked up. She chuckled as Chloe wiped away her tears, and patted Chad's head with a smile. Then she turned her gaze to Liam.
"Mi hijo," she said. "I... I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."
More sweat gathered on Liam's brow. "No, no. It's alright mom."
Maria chuckled sadly. "Honestly, when I heard from the school that you were badly injured, I was terrified. Now, here you are before me, completely fine."
She smiled warmly. "I am so relieved that you are doing well, niño. When you told me that your Venma and Status had been revealed, I thought... I thought..."
Tears began pooling in Maria's eyes again, but she wiped them away and continued with a smile, "I thought you would be so down. I feared the worst, but seeing you now, I can tell that you will be alright. I know that it must have been incredibly painful for you, and..."
Liam felt his eyes getting moist and began blinking hard as his mother continued, "To think that you would have so many wonderful friends that would accept you for who you are. Ah, I'm so happy for you, mi hijo."
Liam nodded, fearing that if he spoke, a break in his voice would reveal his emotional turmoil, and he might end up crying with his mother.
After a short while, they began to talk about more mundane matters. Eventually though, the children's turn came.
"Brother!" Chad yelled excitedly. "Remember that event I told you about when you started school?"
Liam thought back to that day, nodding. "Right. You said you got picked for a sprint?"
"Yeah!" Chad jumped happily. "The date got moved up! It starts tomorrow!"
Liam stared. "...What?"
I have plans to start the gauntlet tomorrow!
"Yeah, yeah! I even got one of those big tickets! The ones where you can invite like, five other people!"
Liam blinked, then nodded. I guess... my plans will have to wait. Now that I think about it... aren't we going on an excursion next week to the training camp?!
"So, I'll send you the ticket right now!" Chad yelled before running out of the room.
Maria laughed. "Well, Liam, I hope to see your new friends there."
"...Yeah," Liam smiled.