Noboru and Amber stood at the viewing window, looking into the training room where Markus fought; his form and use of his powers were near perfect for someone his age. The girl he was fighting set her hands ablaze, tossing balls of fire at Markus and sending fire trails with each stomp, but Markus was simply better. Each fireball would be pierced by an ice spike that grew out of the ground, the fire trails never making it past the frost that spread from under him. He swung his arm, arching it, causing the ice to follow in a swirling pillar surrounding the girl. "Yield?"
She shook her head and set her arm on fire, punching through Markus's ice pillar, which simply regrew, blocking her path. As she then aimed for his cheek—no, his chest—he caught her fist, his own arm laced over with frost, putting out her fire. He swept her leg and pinned her down as frost climbed up her skin from the ground and his hands. The buzzer beeped and the board lit up with his name, and he walked out of the room as the girl steadied herself.
Once out, he's tackled by Noboru and Amber. "Dude, that was sick, you're way too good with your ice," Noboru gleams, slowly pulling out another box of leftovers from Markus's bag.
Amber's previous tears are replaced with awe. "When did you learn to do that spiral? It was beautiful." She sits down, and the two sit opposite her. "So you both have one last fight each."
"Yea," Noboru smiles, eating his vegetables. "So does Black Frost over here."
Amber snickers. "Is that his name now?"
"I will not be named after his eating preferences," Markus sighs, looking up, now face to face with Killerblade, who is half climbing out of a vent, staring at him.
"THE HELL—" Markus jumps out of his seat and Noboru falls off his chair, darting back, his speed sending him down the hall as Amber simply freezes.
"Morning, children," she announces, slipping out of the vent, stabbing her sword into the ground and gracefully bringing herself down onto one of the seats.
Noboru slowly comes back down the hall, sitting next to Amber as Markus stays standing. "So, you normally crawl through vents and spy on kids."
She ignores him and glances at Amber, then Markus, and hands him a note. "I want you to come on that trip to the west in a few months. Regardless of whether you make top five or not." She then glances back at the other two. "You two, however, I'd prefer if you didn't make it. Nonetheless, work hard." And she gets up and leaves as Markus stares blankly at the note.
"Did she just turn us down before we even attempted to train for this thing?" Amber asks, completely lost.
"Yes. Yes, we did," Noboru sits, staring at the wall. Why had she not wanted him or Amber to pass? Why did she want Markus to come regardless?
Amber takes the note from Markus and reads it out. "Honour Pass Level 2 – This pass registers the holder as a worker of user: -Killerblade-. Please scan your card upon entry of Level 1 and 2 zones."
Noboru looks over her shoulder at it. "Look, it has a little fill-out bit for him to put his name, hero name, class, course—yea, wow, this is detailed. It's already got a picture of him."
"They probably got it from my entrance application form," Markus says, taking the card back and sliding it into his pocket.
Amber looks down the hall, seeing the board flash with Markus's name. "Well, you've got to do your last match now. Good luck."
And with that, Markus is off, sliding the door and entering the room. Opposite him sat a guy in a grey shirt, meditating.
The lights flickered and the match started as the guy got up. "My name is Domanic. Power: sand. I'm made of sand. I control sand. Now you."
Markus took a step forward. "Markus Carbona. Ice."
Domanic readied himself, then charged at Markus, and in response Markus swung his arm, sending an ice spiral towards him. Domanic kept moving, though. Instead of dodging, he ran headfirst into the spiral, his arm being ripped off, but no blood spilled—only sand. He reached back and his arm grew back, changing into a mallet as he swung and smashed the spiral, making Markus stumble, and Domanic didn't let up, running forward, blasting sand like a smokescreen and running through it, hidden from sight.
"Shit." Markus tried to block himself with an ice wall, but there was too much sand spinning in the air and around his face for him to concentrate.
Sand climbed up his legs, hardening, locking them in place, making its way up his body.
"Damn it." Markus grabbed his legs and froze them in ice, weakening the sand and shattering it, keeping a veil of ice over him. The frost climbed around faster than the sand, encasing his body in an armour of ice—plates upon plates that slid against each other perfectly.
Domanic's eyes fluttered, hidden in the sand. "Armour?" His voice echoed around, untraceable.
"That's right." Markus spun around, sending random ice spikes into the sand, hoping to knock Domanic back.
The two went at it for a while, everyone watching the final from the viewing area. Though hard to see, they could make out Markus in the sandstorm. Each ice spike was engulfed and destroyed by the sand, chipping away at his armour as he grew it back.
"That's the brother of the guy I fought," Amber says, each word strained. "And I fought the weaker of the twins."
Noboru presses against the glass while others do the same, trying to see the fight.
"Who's winning?"
"I think Domanic."
"God damn, Markus is getting pummeled."
"Well, Domanic was the top ranker in last year's class. Markus only got top five when he started this year."
Noboru listened to all the people who talked about Markus, and slowly he lifted his hand and placed it on the glass. Then he pulled back and slammed it—no crack, no pain, but a sharp noise that no one could hear over the chatter. But Markus—Markus heard the sound through the sand and looked to his right, where the glass stood between them, their eyes locking through sand particles and glass.
Noboru smirked and spoke. It was impossible to hear, but Markus could barely read his lips: Show them why you're better.
Markus turned back into the storm, his armour still being chipped away, breath ragged from having to keep forming it. Sand wrapped around his arms, but he pushed through. It slammed against him, but he pushed through. He reached down and pressed all five fingers on the floor and breathed out. "Can't believe I needed that guy to tell me to lock in."
Domanic's form solidified in front of him, building up a shield of sand as he saw the small smirk on Markus's face, knowing now was the time to defend.
"Black Frost, such a dog shit name," he laughed aloud a bit as ice violently burst from Markus's hand across the floor, arching up, encasing the room in ice. Markus's own body was embedded, only his arm and upper half sticking out. Opposite him, Domanic was frozen solid behind his shield, arms crossed over his head.
The lights flashed and Markus's name appeared on the board, and he gripped his other hand, forcing the ice to vaporize and free him and Domanic.
Domanic fell to his knees as the ice came off him. He clawed the ground and stood up, his wounds vanishing as his sand filled the gaps. "Not bad. Let's do this again in the tournament finals."
Markus flops down and leans back. "See the dick back there with red hair? He'll probably give you a run for your money by then, but yea, let's make it to the finals again next time."
Domanic glances to the window where everyone watches and locks onto Noboru. "Good. I need more people to train with."
Markus sits in the waiting room again, with Amber bandaging his arm that got damaged by the onslaught of sand and his own ice, watching up at the screen that would broadcast the final match of Noboru's bracket.
The door opens in on them as Killerblade and Photon walk in. "Really, Melissa, it's not that hard."
"Just shut up while I talk to him." Killerblade grabs a chair, spins it around to Markus, and sits down. "Morning, children."
"It's not morning."
"I'm going to stab you."
"Sorry, continue." Markus leans back, hiding his urge to shield himself just in case.
Killerblade draws her blade and taps the blunt end against Markus's arm. "Listen, child, I want you to become my child."
"WHAT?" Amber coughs out.
Photon sighs. "She means student. Don't ask me why she chooses to speak the way she does."
Markus straightens. "Me?"
"The princeling is promising, but he also seems a bit slow despite his speed, if you understand. And that sand boy, Domanic, already has a Master. Everyone else here is far from impressive. There are a few good students in the east and south, even the west, but I don't like foreigners." Killerblade says, spinning the knife in her other hand before chucking it past Markus's head.
Markus keeps facing forward. "And if I say no?"
"Not an option," she says, yawning. "I didn't come to ask you. Photon made me. Regardless, you're going to say yes."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Well, Black Feet or whatever you called yourself at the end of your fight, has anyone made you an offer? I bet not even an agency has made you an offer since you started. Normally students get a reply after their first month—but not orphans. Automatically, you're put lower on the list. So will you stay waiting, or accept and be my student?"
"How harsh," Photon sighs and takes a seat. "Listen, Markus, don't take what she said to heart. Yes, your parental status does get taken into account, but very few heroes are about rules. I will say it's a good opportunity. As your headmaster, it's my job to guide you, and Killerblade—despite her, let's say personality—she is still this country's number two for a reason. It would be a great opportunity, and she rarely is this demanding of a student."
Markus leans back and takes a breath. "I accept." The words come out slow. "Teach me to be stronger."
Killerblade passes him a sword from her belt. "Good. From now on, your main weapon is a sword."
"But I focus on defence."
"I'm going to stab you."
"Sorry, continue."
Photon sighs and walks off. "Good luck. I have paperwork to fill out. Don't die before the tournament."
"Your first lesson starts tomorrow," Killerblade yawns, walking off. "I better see you outside at 6 a.m. sharp. Training is more important than sleep."
Amber finally speaks up as they exit the room. "You're so dead."
"Wish me luck at least," Markus sighs, glancing up. "The hell?"
Amber follows his gaze up and sees the screen where Noboru's match was being displayed, and on it was Noboru sprawled across the floor, knocked out, with the caption reading Live. No one was in the room with him. No one was even watching the fight.
They darted out of the waiting room and down the stairs and into the training room. Noboru had lost near the start of his match. Markus and Amber were too busy with Killerblade, and after the match, Noboru's opponent simply left, no one spectating had decided to help Noboru up or even tell a supervisor he was still there.
Amber shook him awake as Markus iced his wounds. "Dude, wake up already."
He stirred awake, eyes fluttering as Amber's face came into view and Markus's words were clear. "Shit." The word came out weak.
"Who on earth did you fight to get left like this?" Amber said, caressing his head, trying to keep his head upright and his breathing steady.
Markus runs his hand over him. "Burn marks—definitely a fire user. But how could a guy who runs fast not be able to dodge a flame?"
Noboru clings to Amber's shoulders and climbs to his feet, groggy. "I tried dodging, but the whole room was hot and bright." He blinks rapidly, waking himself up.
"So they used the same move I did, but with fire," Markus mutters to himself. "Fire is harder to control, so this guy has to be at least as good as me or Domanic with control. Elements are hard."
"She. It was a girl."
"What? But that's not possible. There's only one girl in this school with fire manipulation. And she was in my bracket, I know a few guys in other classes. Unless she's new like you—if she's that strong, she would've been easily noticeable before your fight."
"What about Cindy? She has copy right—maybe it was her," Amber adds.
"No way. She shouldn't have been able to pull off that level of control. And Jason, Andrew, and Zach were all in my bracket, and Cindy was in yours, wasn't she?"
"Oh yea."
Noboru finally steadies himself. "So who did I fight? Some random girl with fire."
"We'll have to keep an eye out. Someone with that level of control and the ability to be this discreet will probably beat the crap out of us if we let up. Just a sign to work harder." Markus glances at the camera. "Too bad it's only live and not saved for student view."