Real

Caleb drew closer towards Duke, his azure blue eyes shining as he stared at his red face. Duke blushed slightly. Huff...huff...huff. Caleb could hear Duke's ragged breath, anticipating his touch, yet afraid of him as he drew closer and closer. He smiled devilishly. Nothing excited him more than teasing the man in front of him.

He inched closer, moving right next to his ear. His warm breath blew slightly against Duke's body, making him quiver ever so slightly. "Tell me..." Lick! He licked Duke's ear lightly. "...do you desire me?"

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"Hey Luna! What're you reading?" Slam! "N...nothing. Just s...some book about the h...hunting habits of m...monsters." Luna's face turned red as she hid the book under her bed. While 'The Prince and the Black Knight' was an amazing piece of art that was undoubtedly one of the best stories she had read, she didn't think Ethan could appreciate its beauty.

"Oh, is that so?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Y....yes, of course. I....I'm trying to become a stronger awakener. So I'm reading up on all of these kinds of books." She smiled a little too widely. "A...ahem...anyways, why'd you come here?"

She shifted on the bed, sitting on top of the book. "I mean, it's not like I don't want you here, but I'm just wondering. Cause this is the first time you're coming here." She glanced at Ethan. Mostly, it was her running after Ethan, while he ignored. So seeing him coming here was pretty surprising.

"Nothing much." He ran his arm along the doorway. "I wanted to spar a bit, and Star's busy right now. There's nobody I can ask besides you." Creak! Luna climbed on top of her bed, rummaging through the blankets. "Sure! I'd love to!" Clang! She pulled out a spear, smashing its butt against the floor. "Let's go!" She beamed at Ethan. He frowned slightly, glancing at the spear. "Sure." He turned around, walking through the corridor.

Ever since she'd tried getting closer to Ethan, he'd always given her the cold shoulder. He wasn't like that with that green haired kid, Star. But, for some reason, he always kept her at a distance. She glanced at him. Was it hatred? Annoyance? Distrust? Maybe it was something else. She didn't know what set her apart from Star.

Tap....tap....tap. The sun's bright rays fell on Luna's face as she stepped out of Dust House. "By the way, why didn't you come to class today. It was boring without you." Ethan stared ahead as he asked her casually. She smiled automatically. "Oh....I didn't feel well today. So I just stayed back in my room." Tap....tap....tap.

She stared at him. On one hand, Ethan acted coldly, speaking rudely whenever he could. But on the other hand, there was this. A trace of concern. A hint of kindness. She couldn't figure this guy out. Any other person would have been turned away by Ethan's cold behaviour. Then why wasn't she?

Luna ran a hand through her hair. No. She knew why she still slung onto Ethan. It was because she was selfish. Because she wanted a friend. Because didn't want to be left alone for the next three years, just like she'd been in middle school. She bit her lip slightly. Yes, she was selfish. Ethan was only a tool for her to relieve her loneliness. She didn't deserve this little sliver of concern directed at her.

Tap....tap....tap. She stared down at the ground. Last week was one of the best weeks she'd experienced in her life. Wandering around KGS, playing in the Tower, getting thrown out of every single club room- it was fun! It felt real. Vivid. Not fake, like the hundreds and thousands of experiences she'd shared with her 'friends' before. Which made the guilt feel even heavier.

"We're here!" Whoosh! A blast of cold air blew past Luna's face as she entered Obsidian block. Creak! Ethan pushed open a door, walking into a large room. There were many fighting rings arranged neatly in rows. "Wow! There's fighting rings in Obsidian Block?"

"Yup!" Ethan stopped in front of a ring. His eyes lit up. "They're AR fighting rings, so you can set the terrain to whatever you want. Wanna choose?" He glanced at her. "No. We can choose whatever you want." She smiled at him. He frowned at her.

Why? She was trying to be friendly. So why did he frown the moment she asked him to choose. Wasn't that what a friend would do? Be nice to their other friends? So why wasn't this working? "Alright...Then I'll choose the default terrain." Whirrr! Clack! Clack! Clack! A section of the ring separated, forming a set of stairs leading into the ring.

"Are you ready?" Clat...clat...clat. Ethan unsheathed his kusarigama, grabbing it with both of his arms as he stared back at Luna as he crouched down slightly. Bang! She smashed her spear into the ground, steeling herself for the battle ahead. "Yup!" She smiled. "Then let's begin." Ethan smiled back at her.

For some reason, she felt like his smile was real. And so was hers.

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"Release!"

Roaaaaar!

"Huff....huff...huff" The last few sparks disappeared from Ethan's fingers as he tried to catch his breath. One week had passed since he'd first come to the Combat Club. The sight of flames erupting from his fingers had already stopped surprising him.

Over the last seven days, the number of times he could summon fire had increased drastically. However, the power remained pitiful. The largest flames he'd summoned was when Sensei had injured himself using Mana Sense on him. And that had only been 20 centimetres tall. So, as of now, Ethan's offensive capabilities as a Mage were practically zero.

"You may leave." Sensei shut his eyes, meditating once again as if Ethan had never been here. He slowly got to his feet. "Arigato Gozaimasu, Sensei." He bowed, looking at the floor as he thanked him.

Sensei slowly opened his eyes. He nodded slightly, acknowledging Ethan's bow. "Squawk!" Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew, chilling his legs completely. "Damn bird!" Slide. Ethan mentally cursed as he slid the shoji open.

Angel, the oversized parrot that Sensei owned, hated him. He didn't even know why. He sighed. Whatever. It was just a dumb bird that acted according to its whims and fancies. He couldn't do anything about it. And anyways, getting his butt frozen randomly was better than being kicked out of the Combat Club.

Tap...tap...tap. "Are you leaving?" Suddenly, a bored, sleepy voice entered his ears, making him drowsy instantly. He could see a hunched figure walking down the corridor towards him. It was Nathan.

"Yeah." Ethan nodded. "My class with Sensei is over." Nathan yawned loudly. "Well, you haven't attended the regular meetings of the Combat Club yet." "Regular meetings?" "Yes. According to the rule 5 of the Combat Club Code, if you fail to attend the Combat Club once a week, you shall get a black mark."

Another black mark? He already had two of them. He didn't need another one right now! "W...well, when does the Combat Club convene?" Nathan yawned, his sleepy eyes shutting even more as he trudged forward. "Today, actually." He took out a mask, placing it on his face. "It starts in ten minutes."

He looked at Ethan. "For now, please refer to me as Cute Rabbit." Ethan shuddered. Cute? There was nothing cute about Nathan's mask. The two rabbits ears were white and fluffy, completely contrasting with the black colour of the rest of the mask. It looked as if somebody had dismantled the entire mask, then put it back together while adding their own parts to it, making the mask a hideous combination of a psychotic black rabbit and a cute white rabbit.

"I made my own mask!" Nathan's voice perked up. "I combined it with one of the masks I bought at Miss Nora's concert. Aren't I cute?" Nathan lifted a leg up, tilting his head as he held his fingers in a 'V' sign. Perhaps it was an attempt to look like Nora Lee. But it definitely did not help Ethan's appetite.

"Ahem! Y...yes. Very cute." Ethan coughed loudly. "Anyways, when can I get my first belt?" Nathan yawned loudly. "Your first belt. Well, I'll give it to you sometime." He glanced at his watch. "Fuck, why today of all days? I wanted to complete level 3 today."

"Anyway, let me brief you about the ranking system of the Combat Club." He took out a white coloured belt. "This is the sixth kyu belt, or the white belt. It's a belt provided to every single member. It reduces all of your stats to H rank." He yawned as he tied the belt around his waist.

"Each belt restricts your mana to a particular upper limit. We reduce our natural strength to hone our combat ability. So, while wearing the white belt, you can fight against any person who wears the white belt as well. Even if they're S rank awakeners, you can still win against them."

Nathan touched the fluffy ears of his mask, feeling them with his fingers as he continued to talk. "Belts aren't a measure of your proficiency. They are a simply a handicap you give to yourself while in this club. So the reason why you can't wear the yellow belt isn't because you're new to this club. It's because you haven't reached the minimum rank to fight against other yellow belt holders on equal grounds."

"Our mana is a barrier to our progress. Presence of superhuman powers blinds us with immense power, making us unable to become the best we could have been. So we open our eyes slowly through the restriction of every every kyu." He yawned. "Well, at least that's what's written in the preamble of of the Combat Club Code."

"So, Burning Dragon!" Slide! "Let's get your first day at the Combat Club started!"