Chapter 30 School Days

“It was the weirdest thing, I punched him in the face and suddenly he’s calling himself my ‘nakama’ and how ‘our journey was just beginning’ or ‘we’re a match made in heaven’.” - Truth, C-Class Cape after arresting Dare, C-Class Cowl.

“And that’s how we got detention,” Aiden explained to Ranpo as he scrubbed a particularly stubborn stain.

“That is unfortunate,” the crow replied, glancing at the clock in the classroom, 3:23 PM, well after school hours.

“This is soooo boring!” Jun complained behind him, the sound of her steps pacing back and forth.

“With your power, this would be done very quickly,” Aiden noted.

“With my power, I still feel all the normal time it takes!” she answered, still pacing around.

“Superspeed oddly takes a lot of patience,” Ranpo observed.

“Iknowright!” she yelled back, “Like I have to slow myself down just to talk to you normally!”

“I’m glad you’re making the effort,” Aiden muttered as he focused on the stain before him. Even vigorous rubbing couldn’t get rid of it. He needed to resort to the chemical option.

“Can you grab some bleach for me?”

“Say please.”

“Please and thank you.”

The sound of footsteps behind him quickened, but they didn’t go far, not at all in fact. They stopped halfway to where the cleaning supplies were before they turned back.

Aiden kept trying to scrub the stain out as Jun returned, her steps slowly closing in on him.

Ranpo’s movements suggested he was looking back, towards Jun as she neared, and he was silent.

Aiden clicked his tongue.

Suddenly he swung around, rag in hand just in time to block the broom.

Jun smiled as she held her ‘weapon’.

“Could this wait?”

“Neither of us aregettingyounger!” she answered as she jumped back.

She twirled her broom around her like a bo staff as she-

-accidentally bonked another one of the students spending detention with them on the head.

The large black teen glared at Jun as he batted away the broom.

“Accident?” she asked with a brilliant smile.

Jun flew out the classroom window, broom in hand as the other teen jumped out the other side.

Time slowed as she saw what he was doing, quickly unzipping a large duffel bag to reveal several glinting metal soda cans.

‘He’s Darius,’ she realised with a smile.

Within slowed time, she looked around, grin widening as she pulled a spare note page and a four-pen from her pocket.

Slamming the page onto the ground, she traced several long squiggly lines going out from the centre, with a circle encompassing all of them.

Just as Darius took out two cans of soda with a single hand.

Jun broke open her four-pen, letting the red ink drip onto her hand.

Darius’ free hand moved to crack those cans open.

Within slowed time, Jun made the hand signs of boar, dog, bird, monkey and finally ram, before she slammed the hand with the red ink onto the drawn circle, just as Darius cracked open both cans.

“Summoning Jutsu!”

“Cracking Open a Cold One!”

Aiden jumped out of the window, Ranpo following him, landing right behind Jun.

“Do we really need to do this?”

Just as two other teens suddenly jumped out of the window behind Darius, despite the fact no other students were in the classroom. A similarly dark-skinned teen and a short, green-eyed girl.

“Ayo you called us cuz?”

“I did,” Darius pointed towards them. “Rough em up cuz!”

“Isn’t he in our homeroom?” Aiden asked.

“Focus!” Jun yelled as one of the summoned teens started running towards them.

Aiden glanced at the summoning circle underneath Jun’s hand, then at the smile on both her and Darius’s face.

Raising an eyebrow, he reached into his pocket and threw several paper throwing stars in a fan shape.

They pinged the charging teen, causing him to disappear in a puff of soda bubbles.

“Which one was my can?” the remaining summoned girl asked.

“This one!” Darius yelled as he threw the opened can into her hand.

“You’reDariustheteleporter!” Jun yelled with a smile as she rushed forward twirling her broom.

The teleporter answered in kind, throwing his duffle bag into the air, forcing Jun to knock it away.

“I’m glad I’m famous,” Darius replied to Jun with a smile.

As they clashed, Aiden noted the girl behind him quickly chugging the opened can, before wiping her mouth and pulling out a notebook with the words ‘Heaven’s Door’ written on it.

“Ranpo?”

“On it,” the crow said with a sigh as he leapt off Aiden’s shoulder.

The teen quickly ripped out a page, Aiden could barely catch the words ‘paper throwing stars’ on it before it vanished into a light particles, turning into several paper throwing stars in her hand.

She threw them into Ranpo, who dodged and weaved through them, but it gave the teen enough time to rip out two more pages.

Both she scrunched up into paper balls, before throwing them, one upward, the other towards Darius.

Ranpo dodged the one going into the air, but Darius caught the other, it disappearing into light particles and becoming a mop in his hand, just as the one still in midair transformed into a bucket filled with water.

Jun jumped back, narrowly avoiding it as it hit the ground and spilt water and detergent everywhere.

Twirling her broom, she laughed evilly, “Youbroughtthestuffformetomopthefloorwithyou!”

“That’s a little optimistic,” Darius answered with a twirl of his own mop. They rushed forward and met in the middle with a clash of cleaning equipment.

“You need to work on your villain laughter more,” Ranpo drily commented as he dive-bombed the girl in the back. She tried to swat Ranpo away, but the crow had instinctual experience harassing people.

‘Still, why isn’t she disappearing?’ Aiden pondered briefly, seeing how the first summoned teen had disappeared with a light tap, while she was lasting well under a crow’s ‘vicious’ assault.

Suddenly, a teen jumped out the window further back, both hands twirling a broom and dustpan combo.

Aiden recognised him as the first teen who got desummoned.

“Ayo you should’ve yelled cuz!” he yelled, “Took me a sec to find you!”

Then he threw the broom like a spinning disk, forcing all combatants to duck down as well as separating Ranpo from the item summoner.

The broom passed overhead and stopped in midair as someone caught it.

“I MEET YOU AGAIN KIND STRANGER!”

Aiden turned to look behind him, ‘That voice,’ to see a mousy haired boy shouting boisterously as he twirled the caught broom. His eyes were a bit red, small bags underneath, likely the reason why he was also late.

“FEAR NOT! JOSH TUBA HAS ENTERED-”

The dustpan struck his chest like a javelin because monologues were for the extraordinarily stupid. As the son of Tuba fell to the ground, he cradled his ‘wound’, hand reaching out to Aiden,

“Avenge me…”

“Do I have to?”

“Aiden!” Jun yelled as she traded blows with Darius.

“Right,” he murmured, reluctantly grabbing the broom from Josh’s hand and giving a few test swings as he locked eyes with the final combatant.

Darius was on the backfoot, Jun’s speed enough to force him into a purely defensive position, but the bout between Ranpo and the item summoner was the most precarious, which was where the final foe rushed to assist.

Aiden ran, jumping onto the wall and walking on it as suction cup tattoos appeared and disappeared. Going around the clashing teleporter and speedster, he fell onto the remaining two, broom striking the ground between them. He swept the floor with practised ease, forcing them both back.

Paper throwing stars met him, ripped out of the item summoner’s notebook, however, Ranpo intercepted them. Blocking them with his own body just in front of Aiden as the crow flew groggily and crash-landed.

A brief spark of worry flashed through his mind, Ranpo had never really taken a hit before? What if this was enough?

They were dashed when the crow sarcastically called,

“Avenge me, master…”

He rolled his eyes. No one was taking this seriously it seemed.

The item summoner looked at him, “My name’s Wren, yours?”

“Aiden,” he answered.

“Aye, then this is the day you die!” the third foe yelled, swinging a bucket half filled with water and detergent towards him.

Of course, he had already heard his footsteps and jumped right out of the way. “Your name?” he casually asked as the water fell short of him.

“Luther,” the cousin of Darius said as he wielded his bucket.

Aiden raised his broom in kind.

The teen rushed forward, wielding his empty bucket like a flail as Aiden parried it. It was a dance of distance between the two, Aiden’s broom was longer but his lost hand left half his form undefended, which Luther exploited with vicious efficacy. Forcing Aiden on the backfoot despite his arguably superior weapon.

“Little help over here!” Darius yelled, his mop barely parrying Jun’s broom.

“Hah! SurrendernowandI’llshowmercy!”

“Never!”

“Muahehehehe!”

“Boo,” Ranpo yelled from the sidelines. “Get a better evil laugh.”

“It does need some work,” Josh agreed, “try a ‘mwuahaha’ instead?”

“Mwuahahahaha!” Jun laughed.

“Better!” Josh yelled as Jun’s blows finally knocked Darius onto his ass.

She raised her broom, “Nowtocleanthefloor-”

“Look out!” Ranpo called out.

She jumped back, easily dodging the scrunched up paper balls heading towards her, each disappearing into motes of white light and becoming water balloons that exploded on the ground.

Wren threw Darius’ duffle bag into his hand. “Summon him!”

“The boss?”

“How else do you plan on fighting superspeed?” she yelled in response.

“NomatterwhomyoubegforhelpyoucannotdefeatJuntheGreatandTerrible!” she yelled.

Darius pulled out something that wasn’t a soda can, but instead a beer bottle.

A cap opener in hand, Darius cracked open the beer bottle.

Elsewhere, at the same time, a tall, well-built man wrapped a tanned hand around a girl. Feeling her soft and supple skin, the sweetness of her lips. He shivered as he felt a second tongue lick his ear, breaking away from his kiss to see two identical women beside him.

She chuckled, the air shivered and a third appeared beside him. Identical to the previous two. All three giggled in perfect unison as they reached behind themselves and began slowly, sensually, undoing their-

The man suddenly turned away, looking somewhere far away.

“He’s calling me.”

All three clones groaned, “Oh come on!”

“Darius again?”

“Can’t he wait?” they spoke in perfect succession.

The man was already pulling on his pants. He eschewed his shirt, instead directly putting on his jacket, revealing his well-built and defined chest and abdomen, which all three clones ogled freely.

“We can finish later,” he answered. “But the Bois need me now.”

And with a step into the wardrobe, he was gone.

An empty locker door slammed open, revealing a tall, well-built man, ‘with very nice abs,’ Jun freely noted.

Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to sit and enjoy the view, she needed to get her head into the game. Darius summoned him using his ability, unnamed, given that it was a Geneline one, but potent nonetheless.

Unfortunately for him, his ability was also one of the more well-known ones in the school since it required active consent to work.

Darius marked a person through unknown means, associating them with one of the sealed drinks he carried. Whenever he opened a drink, the person linked to it got a ‘ping’ that made them aware of the teleportation request, which upon accepting, teleported them to an unobserved area nearest to where the drink was opened. This was the incomplete teleportation, the summoned could still be sent back with a very light hit anywhere on their body, but upon fully drinking the drink that was opened to summon them, the teleportation would be complete and they can’t be sent back.

‘And they expect this person would be able to deal with me,’ she thought.

But now she was fully immersed in her sped up time, not casually strolling in it like before. Everyone was frozen in place, the cap Darius had pried off was practically stopped in midair. Her footsteps bounced off the ground as she sped towards the man, she only needed one hit to send him back.

“Nightcore.”

Time was practically frozen for everyone but her, in this domain, she jumped, broom raised to strike him, she was-

Not alone, as the newly summoned person turned to look at her.

“Nice,” he said, fast enough she could hear it normally.

He grabbed the broom with one hand, stopping the blow.

“I’ll tell you mine,” he said, hazel eyes meeting hers.

“Running in the 90’s.”

She looked around, seeing how every tiny movement of this man generated wind.

Speedsters were broadly categorised into two types. The most common Type Is, like Jun, achieved speed through cheating physics in some way. They usually could not do things like high-velocity punches because their bodies were not actually that strong. It had its benefits, of course, she could completely ignore stuff like g-forces and friction for anything she was carrying, allowing her to move people quickly without breaking their bones and other important organs.

Type IIs were speedsters who achieved superspeed purely through physical force. Unlike Jun, they were physically that fast. They were the hulks who cleared entire city blocks with a single jump. The supermen who flew at Mach speeds. Their bodies were not only strong enough to move at boggling speeds but also endure the resulting g-forces, friction and heat.

They were also generally far better in a straight fight compared to Type I speedsters, not in the least part because of the aforementioned high-velocity punches.

Jun let go of the broom, jumping back.

“You’re a student here as well?” he asked, slowly bringing the broom towards him.

He was moving slowly, Jun realised, not because he was slow, but because he was fast trying to be slow. Taking care in every action as if the entire world was made of cheap porcelain. Just like when she was Daycore.

She slowed down Nightcore to its slowest dilution. “Aiden!” she yelled, “Get the bottle-”

Jun spoke too late, for the other speedster was already besides Darius, taking the bottle with careful slowness.

She sped up again, grabbing a rock and throwing it towards him, but he stepped aside easily, chugging the entire beer bottle with a single sip.

“Now,” he said, “what was it you were doing to my crew-”

“🤗🤗”

Everyone froze as a woman with long sandy red hair and a scar on her face spoke.

“Ms Vulpes,” the other speedster stammered, “I didn’t know you were-”

“🍾🍾🥺”

He looked at the bottle in his hand, then at the smiling teacher before him, before he turned and ran.

“Stop moving,” Foxy spoke, freezing him in place before he took a single extra step.

Jun looked at the two, remembering that the other speedster said he was also a student here.

Meaning he was probably younger than eighteen, the legal drinking age.

Then the woman turned to the rest of them, eyes washing over the spilt water and cleaning equipment littered everywhere.

“😄”

“Why do I have to help as well,” Ranpo grumbled, scrubbing the floor with a very small rag.

“Because you are guilty by association,” Darius answered, shaking his head as he scraped gum underneath a table.

“We should’ve just done this from the start,” Aiden murmured as he passed a rag for Jun to rinse.

“Then I wouldn’t have the satisfaction of beating someone’s ass.”

“To make it clear, you did not beat us,” Luther answered as he passed by, carrying a large garbage bag.

“We totally did!” Jun shot back, rushing out to yell, “And I don’t wanna hear from the guy who was out in the first thirty seconds by paper throwing stars!”

“👏🤝🧹🧼”

“Yeah, yeah,” Wren said, “we’ll work together, right guys?”

Everyone nodded glumly, well except for…

“THE TUBA FAMILY IS UNMATCHED IN CLEANING!” Josh Tuba yelled as he trailed a mop behind him as he ran through the halls.

“You’re doing it wrong,” Aiden yelled, “you need to actually put some backbone- annnnd he’s gone.”

“Well, at least he’s helping,” Jun said, looking out the window to see the other speedster. His name was apparently Kevin, and he was precariously balancing about half a dozen desks and chairs on his head as he took slow and measured steps towards the gym. Each step wobbling the balancing puzzle.

“Why is he doing that?” she asked the teacher, Foxy.

“🙃🙃”

“I mean sure it’s funny,” Jun answered. “But like what’s the point…”

As they continued to talk, Aiden’s mind wandered away from the same stubborn stain he was cleaning fifteen minutes ago.

‘Where’s the principal?’ he wondered idly because Aiden thought he would’ve been the one who would break up their… ‘horseplay’, he decided, their horseplay.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Dr Oliver Oliver snapped, the normally courteous gent was nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by a snarling and pissed isopod.

Raj looked at the target of his partner’s ire, the lieutenant general standing stiffly in Wendell Richard Monger’s office.

Theoretically, the man outranked Monger, given that he was expelled from his former position, but the Lieutenant General still stiffly stared at the Principal, who was sitting silently and completely still at his desk.

“Again,” Lieutenant General Kataf said, “the Guard, ODF and Supernatural Defense Division are all lowering its minimum deployment age to sixteen, and would like the school of M.I.A. to alter its educational structure to reflect those new standards.”

“You’re telling us to make child soldiers you damn bastard!” Dr Oliver Oliver slammed a claw onto Raj’s chest, drawing the slightest drop of blood.

“We understand this decision may be controversial-”

“Controversial!” Oliver raved. “Do you even-”

“Would you please shut it?” Kataf snapped, “You are a high school medic, what gives you the rank to insult a superior officer?”

Oliver froze, and though most people would not be able to see the cold wrath in his isopod face, Raj was his partner and host.

He saw the abandoned teacup by the table which he had brewed for the officer, he saw how it suddenly began to bubble and spill.

“Oliver,” Raj spoke, “that is enough.”

The teacup stilled. Leaving only a few spilt drops of tea any indication Oliver was preparing to use his ability.

The football-sized isopod retreated back into his mouth, still glaring at the officer.

“I apologise for my partner’s behaviour,” Raj began. “However, he raises justifiable concerns.”

“And who are you?” the officer began.

“We,” Raj stressed, feeling the weight stuck on his tongue, “are the acting Vice-Principal under the circumstances where VP Taylor is unable to fulfil her duties, and if the Principle General is also indisposed, we would become the acting Principal until such time where Mr Monger returns or a new Principal is properly selected.”

The officer narrowed his eyes at that but didn’t comment.

“Thus, we would like to know why they are suddenly lowering the minimum deployment age to before a person is even legally allowed to drink alcohol.”

Kataf glanced at the silent Principal General, before speaking. “Division Omega, along with multiple other individual Postcog metahumans believe that Hell will mobilise for invasion within the next five to thirty years.”

Raj frowned, and Oliver shivered within his mouth. “That is distressing, but hardly a reason for such a draconian response from us.”

They did live almost on the opposite side of the world, with numerous other countries and oceans between them and the Hell Gate. “An invasion would be devastating, but we would be spared the worst of it,” he said.

“General Winter is dead,” the Lieutenant General said, causing both Raj and Oliver to completely freeze.

Even Monger raised his eyebrow just a little.

“It is currently Top Secret, if the public becomes aware of his death, the mass panic would be enough to bury Rus overnight,” Kataf continued. “Until a suitable replacement is found, it is imperative the world still believes General Winter is alive.”

“What killed him?”

For the first time, Monger spoke, quietly with his gravelly voice.

“It was a Demon sir,” the Lieutenant answered stiffly and with the practice of someone answering to their superior. “A Demon named-”

Raj suddenly threw up his hands, protecting his head, as if expecting a bomb to suddenly go off.

“-Hagdriktin’Ma”

When nothing happened, Raj slowly lowered his arms, carefully looking around.

“Are you insane!” Oliver yelled within his mouth, “Speaking a Demon’s Name like that! In the middle of a city no less!”

“We confirmed the Demon was killed,” Kataf answered, “its Name no longer holds power.”

“It was utterly reckless!”

Monger raised a hand, and Oliver went silent.

“What was its ability?”

“We had difficulty confirming it initially,” Kataf continued, “we initially believed it some kind of power shifter that was also constantly scrambling Postcog and Thinker abilities, but after its death, we realised it was something worse.”

“Undefeatability in Battle,” he said, “it manifested in it constantly adapting and gaining new powers that were the exact counters to everything thrown against it. Including attempts to predict its actions or discern what its power truly was. Not to mention, it seemed as if Fate itself made it impossible to be defeated. It killed General Winter and heavily wounded Baba Yaga while she retreated.”

“So just like that, half of Rus’ combat S-Classes are down for the count?” Raj asked.

Kataf nodded. “Red Daughter is being redeployed to the west, however, Misha remains in the east as a deterrent to the Kaijus.”

“I can’t imagine that going well,” Raj muttered, “knowing her personality.”

Oliver chuckled, “She hasn’t personally punted a kaiju since the first has she?”

Kataf nodded, “There was a standoff, minimum property damage, given the strength of the two, but Misha is still sending requests to be reallocated to a front, and I quote, ‘with more action’.”

“She was denied on the rationale that she is too straightforward a combatant. She may be able to deal with Devils, but a Demon would be… extremely difficult for her.”

“How was the Demon killed,” Monger asked, and Raj noticed he also didn’t speak its name, whether by habit or conscious decision, he didn’t know.

Kataf sighed.

“By complete accident,” he admitted. “To cover Baba Yaga’s retreat, the military stepped in, after suffering nearly thirty percent casualties, automated drones were deployed to slow it down. Those were what killed it.”

Raj’s eyes widened, “How?”

“We realised after analysing the body that its power only considered it a ‘Battle’ if the opponent had a will,” he explained. “The drones ran on primitive non-sentient targeting AI, which the Demon didn’t even seem to believe existed. It stopped completely in its tracks and stood there while it was bombarded by automatic drones, doing nothing up until it died. We know it was will-based because Contriver drones doing the exact same thing were shot down and adapted against.”

“How were you able to overcome Hell’s Bleed effect?” Oliver asked. “Technology of that level shouldn’t work well so close to the Gate.”

“They didn’t,” he answered, “they simply kept pouring money into repairing and making those drones, even though the Demon was killed, the hours it took for them to break through the Demon’s base defences was enough to practically bankrupt the Rus Military and Government. Our analysts are expecting a major economic recession in the nation.”

“That’s why you are here,” the Principal spoke.

Kataf nodded, “With Rus weakened, the eastern front is barely hanging together. It will not hold under another Incursion. We are worried that the devils can pass through this Achilles Heel, entering Rus and eventually moving south through Qin Land…”

“Leapfrogging the islands to eventually land here…” Raj finished.

“Qin Land would not survive under a sustained Devil assault,” Kataf said, “Fifty years ago, maybe, but the land is too fractured by civil war. Yindia is the last major power in the east, but they don’t have the resources to cover Sino in its entirety.”

“Water following the path of least resistance,” Oliver whispered.

It was an apt metaphor, Raj realised, for what else could describe a devil charge other than a tsunami? They couldn’t pass through the Middle East or the MediterraTheocracy, one no longer existed to be passed through and the other a significant military power. The open route through Rus and Qin Land would be what the devils went through.

“Still,” Oliver said, “Hell alone isn’t enough to justify such a major change, especially not one expected to happen in five years.”

“The Pacific,” the Principal General said. “They’re worried about fighting a two-front war.”

Kataf nodded, “If the monsters in the Pacific sniff blood, they won’t hesitate to invade. While we have our best ability users fending off Demons, they will rip through our shores. Fortifying the east and stopping Hell from reaching our lands will prevent two threats. If we don't utterly remove the possibility of Demons showing up here, Ozzstraya will suffer severely.”

“Then send me,” Wendell Richard Monger spoke and the world stilled its breath. “I can hold the East alone.”

The Army of One was more than enough to replace General Winter.

Kataf nervously swallowed, feeling the weight of the world suddenly pressing on him. “We cannot sir.”

“We are not questioning your ability or skill,” he quickly added, slowly growing in confidence as he spoke, “You have served nobly for the last three-hundred and sixty-two years. Your deeds to serve not just the military, but humanity as a whole cannot be understated.”

“But High Command still believes your best use is here, continuously producing quality officers. After all, even you cannot be everywhere at once.”

Very quietly, almost to the point Kataf needed to strain his ears, Wendel Richard Monger asked, “Is that an order?”

“From the very top.”

The weight disappeared off Kataf’s shoulder, letting him breathe a breath of relief. Still, it wasn’t done yet.

“To deal with the media outrage, we’ll be reinstating the Heroes Junior League, we ask you to be the one selecting the members from the school,” he nodded to Monger, “we’ll send them against some performative supervillains and other low-level mooks, along with beginning merchandising.”

Oliver snorted as Raj took a seat.

“Of course, all profits from these endeavours will be spent maintaining various war memorials, orphanages and veteran funds over the country.”

Monger’s eyes narrowed.

“You are bribing me.”

Kataf gulped, “It is no secret sir that you donate over ninety percent of your paycheck to the aforementioned services. My superiors simply thought it would be an act of honesty.”

“Don’t pretend that making child soldiers is anything good by packaging it with something else,” Oliver quietly said.

The Lieutenant General frowned, “That is the problem with you idealists, only dealing with black and white. When we need to deal with grey or face destruction.”

He shook his head before continuing, realising his time welcome has long passed, pulling out a paper, he placed it on Monger’s desk, “And High Command has accepted your proposal.”

“Funds and men will be allocated to you, and you will be put in charge of Project Salamander.”

The sun was almost setting when Aiden and the rest were let go.

“I’m just saying if you didn’t call Kevin I would still be kicking your ass!” Jun argued as they stepped out, just like she had been doing for the past half an hour.

“INDEED! THE SIGHT OF ME NOBLY SACRIFICING MYSELF IS ENOUGH TO STIR ANYONE’S HEART TO GREATNESS!”

“Oh, you think you’re hot shit because you’re fast!” Luther answered in response. “Why do you think we kept throwing water around cuz! We made the ground slippery you dumbass! Right Wren?”

The short green-eyed girl nodded.

“Not that kind of speedster you idiot!” Jun answered in response. “Ok, maybe I might’ve slipped, but that is a BIG-”

“Hey, do you guys want a drink?” Darius asked, gesturing at a convenience store close to the school.

Jun paused and shrugged, “Sure.”

“OF COURSE, WORTHY FOE!”

“He won’t turn down free stuff,” Ranpo said, gesturing to Aiden.

He rolled his eyes, “I am not a scab.”

“Do you still want the drink?” Darius asked.

He shrugged. “Sure,” Aiden answered to Ranpo’s increasingly smug look.

“What do you want?” he asked as he headed into the store.

“Mr Pepper!”

“Coffee with milk.”

“Wow, stop rubbinginthefactyoucandrink-”

“GRAPE CIDER!” Josh Tuba coughed, quietly adding, “Non-alcoholic.”

Darius quickly returned, cradling six drinks. He handed a Fantastic Blast to Wren, a Quoaka Quola to Luther, the Mr Pepper to Jun, canned Milkis Coffee to Aiden and finally Grape Cider to Josh. Leaving him with the remaining Quoaka Quola which he cracked open.

“A TOAST TO FRIENDSHIP AND FUTURE BATTLES!” Josh yelled, raising his can.

“Friends?”

Josh swung an arm around him, “FRIENDS!”

Aiden raised an eyebrow and shrugged, raising his can anyways.

“To our rematch where I definitely prove I can beat all your asses.”

“Looking forward to it,” Darius said with a smile as he raised his own can.

Luther and Wren soon followed, together they clinked their cans in the air.

Aiden took a sip of his canned coffee, feeling the cool liquid go down his throat.

As all of them finished drinking, he noticed Darius looking at them in anticipation, his own drink untouched.

His eyes turned to voids of pure black.

“The Pact has been sealed.”

“Waitwhat-”

Darius laughed as his eyes turned normal and he raised his can, “You’re one of the Bois now!”

Darius chugged his Quoaka Quola, tossing the can into a nearby bin as he finished. “Karaoke Night on me!”

Wren looked at them all sympathetically, “Don’t argue, he’s an extrovert who just goes around glomping introverts like us.”

“I would still like to go home to sleep though,” Aiden said.

“Then why did you drink caffeine!?” Darius asked, gesturing at his can.

Aiden paused, shaking his empty can of coffee, “I did not think this through.”

“Clearly,” Ranpo noted.

Jun shrugged, “Fuck it, rematch now then. I’m first on the mic.”

“I HAVE THE GREATEST SINGING VOICE!” Josh yelled.

“You’re not proving it very well,” Jun said.

“I’ll start!” Darius declared.

“Hey! I said I was starting first!”

“You said you’ll be first on the mic,” Luther defended. “Now sing cuz!”

Darius cleared his throat,

“I wake up to the sounds of the silence that allows

For my mind to run around with my ear up to the ground…”