Ren just scratched his head. "Well… I guess it is. So what do you want to ask me?" he said.
Cass put her finger on her chin and thought about it—only for a second.
"Oh! The last thing I heard from you and your friend was when I got a call saying my recommendation went through… and the two of you became official members of SIED." She smiled brightly. "Which, by the way, I know it's late, but congratulations."
"It's really nothing. You shouldn't have bothered," Ren said. "We wouldn't have made it if it weren't for your recommendation."
"No—don't do that."
"Do what?" Ren asked.
"Don't downplay your achievements. Even with my recommendation, it wouldn't have helped much during the review process. You and your friend got into SIED with your own effort, so don't try to downplay it, okay?"
"O-okay," Ren said.
"Anyways… what was your question again?" he asked.
"Oh yeah. I got sidetracked for a moment." Cass smiled. "Anyways, since that was the last thing I heard from the two of you… I want to know what you've been up to."
Ren smiled, and started telling her everything he did after they met at the police station.
He told her a bunch of stories about Kai, Jackson, and Mori. He told her about everything.
She laughed at most of his stories and jokes, and then they arrived at the most recent events.
"John's training was pretty harsh, but it was also pretty good. Now we can fight someone much more skilled than us in a controlled and safe environment instead of… well, you know. An actual battle," he said.
"And to be honest, when I first found out he was an alien, I was surprised. He was the first alien I ever saw in person… and it was someone who resembled humans."
Then Ren realized something.
"Oh—wait. I'm not suggesting anything bad or anything. Also, I meant he's the first full-blooded alien I met personally since, you know… you're an alien—wait—"
Ren started to spiral. He shouldn't have brought it up at all. He didn't know if she was sensitive about it, or if she'd be offended somehow.
But Cass just chuckled.
"Calm down. I know what you mean. You don't really have to explain yourself," she said, patting his back.
It comforted him a bit.
Ren looked up—just a little—talking to her eyes since she was a little taller than him, which was impressive since he was already really tall for his age.
But as soon as he made eye contact, he looked away again, and started thinking about what he could talk about next.
He paused for a second, then sighed. He knew every man in this situation would say he's stupid for bringing this up… but he brought it up anyway.
"I'm not feeling well," he said.
Cass immediately looked concerned. "What's wrong?"
"No, it's not what you think. Don't worry," Ren said quickly.
Then he explained, "It's just… yesterday we had our first mission, and because of—well, I'm not gonna explain that, it's a whole mess anyways—but because of that thing that happened, we had to go into an all-out fight. Each of us had to take one opponent, and I struggled the most with mine… to the point that John had to rescue me."
Cass stayed quiet, listening carefully, not interrupting at all.
"And even though I was kind of frustrated that I couldn't do much against my opponent "John really rubbed it in when he brought up an argument we had before… about me relying on my martial arts."
Ren hesitated a little, then explained more clearly.
"I actually am practicing martial arts. At the beginning I only used it because it was convenient, and I thought it was gonna be useful… but then later I found out I actually love practicing martial arts."
"But John believes that I should quit it and start focusing on my ability since my ability doesn't work so well in close combat. Instead, I should focus on long range combat and control the environment."
Then Ren showed off his ability to Cass, because he wasn't even sure she actually knew it. He demonstrated the shades—briefly, nothing too dramatic—just enough to make his point.
"Anyways," he muttered, letting the shades fade. "That whole conversation almost ended in a fight twice."
"And even though I was angry at him…" Ren admitted, "he was actually right."
It was strange.
With John, Ren felt anger, irritation, defensive.
But with Cass… it was different.
He felt a lot of emotions, but none of them were negative. And because he felt comfortable around her, he could actually admit it.
"So…" Ren scratched the side of his head. "I'll probably go apologize to him after this. And start using my ability the way he told me."
Then he glanced at Cass—and froze.
Because she wasn't smiling anymore.
She wasn't relaxed either.
She just looked at him with a serious expression.
"Is something wrong?" Ren hesitantly asked.
"Ren, you should ignore what John said and continue training and become stronger your own way," Cass said seriously.
Ren just scratched his head. "Look, I know you're probably just saying this to encourage me, but you don't get it. If I waste time stubbornly trying to become stronger my way, I will eventually be left behind by Kai and John. So thanks for the encouragement, but it's okay," he said with a grateful smile.
"Oh, but no, Ren. I do get it. I know how you feel. Look, when I was almost 14, I woke up one day with my powers. I didn't take the new life pill. I was actually supposed to get it on my 14th birthday. So it was a big surprise for everyone," she said, then laughed at herself with a proud look.
Ren looked at her, amused. "And what does that have to do with anything?"
"Ahem— oh, alright," she said awkwardly. "Anyways… when I first awakened my superpower, it was powerful, yes, but the problem was that my power had very few offensive capabilities," she said.
"Wait, what? That doesn't make any sense," Ren said. He already knows she only has a single power, because no one in this world has two abilities. If they seem to have multiple ones, that's only because their ability allows them to do multiple things—and that's the problem in this situation.
"When you rescued us in the tunnel, I saw you. You crashed through the tunnel ceiling. You were flying, and I'm pretty sure you went invisible somehow and knocked down the gunshot leader. And I have no idea if his barrier was on or not, but if it was, you broke through it. And I know how tough that barrier was," he exclaimed.
She just smiled, and when he finished, she spoke.
"Well, this is the point. When I first learned about my power limitations, I was devastated."