3 The Blind Girl

(A/n: I rewrote the previous two chapters, so I recommend you re-read them before reading this chapter.

I fixed Sunny's character, making him more life-like.

I also realized that I hadn't put his full status in yet so I put it in the re-write of Chapter 1)

***

After finishing up his shower, he ate a small meal with Master Jet as she went over government procedures, informing him about his options moving forward. He had even found out that she too, was from the outskirts, and that people like them were considered extremely rare amongst awakened.

'Not surprising.'

She offered him some advice and he finally made the decision to go to the Awakened Academy, as per her recommendation.

"Well, I think that's everything." she finished, "Do you have any more questions?"

He shook his head.

She smiled.

"Alrighty then."

She stood up.

"Then let's get going."

***

After parting with Jet, it didn't take long for Sunny to find himself in front of the massive gates of the Academy. And from what he could tell, it was practically a miniature city. From the moat which surrounded the high walls, to the turret nests that looked like they could split the sky itself with bullets, all of it seemed far too extreme. 

But if anything, Sunny knew it was inadequate in front of most beasts.

'Huh?'

As he was waiting at the gates, he noticed one other person beside him. Another Sleeper– if he had to guess.

It was a tall, slender girl of around his age, with clear grey eyes and a detached look on her face. She had strange, silver-white hair that was cut short and neatly parted to the side. Just like him, she was dressed in a police-issued tracksuit and had no personal belongings with her.

On her head, there was a pair of old-fashioned headphones. She was calmly listening to music while they waited.

There was a certain vibe to the silver-haired girl. It was sort of… as though she was apart from the world. She looked confident and self-sufficient, but also a bit lonely.

Watching her, Sunny felt a particular feeling he had felt a few times before. It as if he were looking at a trained warrior– a exeptional one at that.

From what he could tell, she was about at the same level as some of the Awakened of War he had fought in his nightmare.

He glanced at the girl and sighed.

'I wonder what Flaw does she have?'

Finally, the gates began to open. The giant, ridiculously thick sheet of reinforced metal slowly descended, creating a long bridge. Sunny looked ahead with grim determination.

One month.

That's all the time he had.

But it would have to be enough.

***

The Sleeper part of the compound was relatively small and situated in the southern part of the Academy, surrounded on all sides by training fields and parks.

It was a low, modern building constructed with reinforced materials.

Like the majority of buildings in the Academy, most of it was hidden below the ground, leaving only a couple of floors above it. With its white, pristine alloy walls and wide windows, it must have looked beautiful in the summer, contrasted against all the greenery around.

Inside, the building was spacious and well-lit. Sunny and the silver-haired girl were taken to a large hall where a hundred or so of young men and women — Sleepers of the same unfortunate timing as the two of them — were already waiting for the beginning of the induction ceremony. Most of them were nervous, tense and excited.

Once inside the hall, he understood two things.

Firstly, everyone was well-dressed and in possession of a suitcase, a duffel bag, or at least a backpack carrying their personal belongings. They were obviously coming prepared, most likely from home, sent off by their families. So Sunny and the silver-haired girl, who came empty-handed and wearing simple police-issued clothes, were not a norm like he had assumed, but actually an eye-catching anomaly.

'Right. That makes sense.'

Secondly, Master Jet was not being overly humble when she called herself below average by Awakened standards. Even though these young people were just starting their paths as Awakened, their looks were dazzling. Everyone was handsome, beautiful and radiated health.

He swallowed.

'Still, I feel like none of them can even compare. She might not be as perfectly shaped, but… I don't know… she has a presence. It's like shadows become deeper and the temperature drops by a couple of degrees when she's in a room.'

Was this the difference between a Sleeper and a Master? Sunny wasn't sure because simular seemed to happen when he entered a room.

But all of these thoughts were just him trying to postpone the inevitable. Sunny already knew that he was in for a wild ride.

Because he could not lie, and all of these excited youths, regardless of their clothes, gender, and looks, wanted to do one thing.

Talk.

Every one of them wanted to talk with fellow Sleepers. They wanted to discuss their Nightmares, their future journey into the Dream Realm, and everything in between. They wanted to ask questions. They wanted to be asked questions. They wanted to discuss something important or just chit-chat about stupid things.

Everyone wanted to share.

Creating something of a personal hell for him.

'There's got to be a way out of this.'

His eyes searched the room for a way out. And finally, he found something, a corner completely untouched and avoided by all the awakened in the room. For some reason, Sleepers were unwilling to approach it: currently, there was only one girl sitting quietly on the bench. Sunny gave her a look.

The quiet girl was delicate, demure, and very pretty. Her clothes were neat and tidy. They weren't very expensive, but still rather tasteful. With her pale blond hair, big blue eyes, and exquisite face, she looked like a beautiful porcelain doll.

She was subtly breathtaking.

However, there was something wrong with her. Sunny frowned, trying to understand what exactly about the girl made him uncomfortable. After a while, he realized that her empty, expressionless stare was reminding him of Mountain King.

Startled, Sunny understood that the girl was blind. It took him a couple of seconds to compose himself.

'A pity.'

After weighing his options, he silently made his way over to the girl and sat down next to her on the bench.

"Huh?"

Perhaps feeling his presence next to her, the girl let out a hum of confusion as she turned in Sunny's direction. She seemed to want to say something, but hesitated, not wanting to scare away the only person who had approached her since she arrived at the academy.

But finally, after a few moments of deep thought, she gathered her courage and spoke out. 

"Um… excuse me?" 

He raised his head and locked eyes with her.

"Is something the matter?"

The girl seemed startled by his questioning response and didn't respond for a second.

Didn't he understand that she was blind?

Useless?

A walking corpse just waiting to die?

"Is there perhaps something you want from me?" She asked nervously, fiddling with her bag to distract herself.

Sunny smiled.

'How cute.'

"No, in fact, I just came over here to avoid talking with the other sleepers."

She tilted her head. Thrown off by his honest response, but pushed forward with another question regardless.

"Don't you find it revolting to sit next to me?"

Sunny raised an eyebrow, thinking her wording was a bit harsh.

"No, in fact, I think you're one of the more pleasant people in this room."

Her expression faltered.

"But I'm blind."

He shrugged.

"So?"

She pursed her lips.

"I'm practically just a walking corpse."

Sunny smiled and turned towards the rest of the awakened.

"Well, you see– In my eyes, almost everyone here is in a similar position as you."

He paused and turned back towards her.

"The only difference is that you know you're weak…"

His smile dropped and his eyes glowed with an unknown emotion.

"They don't."

***

End of Chapter.

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