“Professor, why do you think crime is still prevalent in the world even though security has increased dramatically over the past century?”

“I believe it is due to the existence of supernatural powers.”

“But let me ask you, don’t these criminals almost always become imprisoned? Yet why do they still act based on their desires?”

“Yes, you are right. Government forces and the Hero’s Syndicate almost never fail to imprison these criminals. However, Ms. Borher, there is a psychological aspect to it. When one person possesses a power that can dominate the people around them, they feel the need to exert it. For them, it feels unnatural to keep the ability inside without use. Take for example…”

Demund walked downstairs to prepare to run as his father was watching the news on the television.

“What’s up?” he said as he put his socks on.

“The usual stuff. I heard a rape has happened recently in our Zone, so the media is doing coverage of it.”

“Uh-huh. Yeah, I’m going to go run, so see you tomorrow.”

“Alright. Hey Demund?”

Demund turned around as his father called out to him.

“What is it?”

Mr. Blanner didn’t know how to describe it. His son felt much more mature than he used to before. Almost like something had changed him. He worried for his son. The change was becoming more apparent than ever. Demund’s little attitudes had vanished and he was doing a great job in school. But he was just a ninth grader. He didn’t need to be so mature. Mr. and Mrs. Blanner both surprisingly started to miss Demund’s petulance that had existed before. They wanted Demund to rely on them more, but he was already acting independent. It felt…weird.

“Nothing. Be safe out there!”

“Got it, Dad.”

Mr. Blanner watched the door close behind his son. His son’s change was probably for the best. They were old, so they couldn’t support Demund like the other parents could. Demund becoming independent quickly was something they should have been happy with. And yet…

Mr. Blanner turned his eyes towards the screen again. No, they still had much time left. He would try to become closer to his son, maybe make time between work.

The television continued to play.

〄 〄 〄

The first semester of TISE High was already starting to conclude. The days slid into December as the leaves fell and the trees lost their colors. Students wore thick school jackets as they transported to school from their homes. The days grew shorter and the sun said goodbye earlier every day. However, the air was not yet cold. Temperature-wise, yes. Mood-wise, not at all.

It was because winter break was arriving. And with it, Christmas.

They had midterms before, so the students were still suffering. Their feelings—intertwined with the anxiety of tests and the anticipation for winter joys—flew everywhere. Everyone was feeling the nervous and exciting air.

Well, almost everyone. Demund didn’t feel nervous for tests at all. He had prepared, reviewed, and studied all day and all night during the semester. He knew his material front and back. Currently, he sat on a couch on one of the upper floors of the Library, enjoying the scenery outside. It hadn’t snowed yet, so there wasn’t much to see. Still, the clear, blue skies were pretty to look at.

However, Demund was nervous for a different reason. He wanted to ask Enariss out for Christmas. Not with dating in mind, but just as a friend who was grateful for everything Enariss had done for him. However, a boy asking out a girl on Christmas? They were freshmen to top it off. They got excited and overthought everything. It was sure to cause a lot of gossip. Enariss would most likely refuse.

So, he wanted to make this as smooth as possible. He did have a lot of time to think about it. Literally months in the dream. But nothing had come to mind. That was why he was so nervous. There was nothing he could do to make this smooth.

Therefore, he decided to take it another way. Why not make it so that she couldn’t refuse? Like going as a group or making her owe him a favor.

Nope, that wouldn’t work. He was just being crazy.

The librarian didn’t provide any useful information either. All his books on winter romance revolved around people who were way past his age. So he enjoyed the scenery and the peaceful sky.

He was out of ideas. And less than three weeks remained.

〄 〄 〄

“That is why Riley, Rhyne, I need you guys to help me,” said Demund.

Riley face-palmed himself while Rhyne held his spoon with his mouth wide-open. They were in the middle of lunch, eating a nice, hot bowl of cream soup and chicken tenders.

“Any ideas? We are in the same study group. You’re even in the same club as her. Don’t you know anything that might make her say yes?” pleaded Demund.

Riley knew this would happen at some point. His friend was too into Enariss.

“Just to make sure, this isn’t going to be a date, right?” asked Riley.

“No. Just a friendly day.”

“Who goes out with the opposite gender on Christmas just for a friendly day?” said Rhyne. “There are way too many things that could go wrong. And I don’t ever want our study group to have an awkward atmosphere.”

“I know, I know, that’s why I’m asking you guys first,” said Demund. “Please?”

Both friends sighed at Demund’s persistence.

“Alright then. I have a plan.”

“Already?” asked Rhyne.

“Yeah. It’s a simple one. I think I get why Demund asked us.”

He turned to Demund.

“So basically, all four of us plan to go on a fun trip. Then suddenly, Rhyne and I can’t go because we had other things that came up. In conclusion, you have your personal time with Enariss. Am I right?”

“Well…you’re half right. I was thinking that we all go. It’s less awkward that way, right? Besides, I need to thank you guys too.”

“I’m fine with that,” said Rhyne. “It’d be boring to be with my family anyway.”

“You guys…fine. I’m in too then,” said Riley. “But we still go even if Enariss says no, okay? Or else I’m going to stay with my family. My brother is coming back from college.”

“That’s a bit—you know, let’s just ask her first. Then we’ll know.”

“Sounds good.”

“Yeah.”

〄 〄 〄

“So, that’s why we’re asking you right now.”

Enariss looked up from her books and raised her eyebrows at the three boys.

“Are you guys serious? Hanging out as a group on Christmas?”

“Well…it was my idea,” said Demund. “I wanted to thank you in some way and got these two involved…”

Riley stared at Demund with a shocked expression. If he was just going to say that from the beginning, why’d he have to drag them in? Rhyne too face-palmed himself and fell on the ground. The conversation was heading in a weird direction.

Enariss dropped her pen and closed her hand together.

“I don’t mind.”

“Of course you—eh?” Riley’s shocked face now faced Enariss.

“For real?” said Rhyne as he got up.

Enariss shrugged. “I don’t have plans that day anyway. We can use it to celebrate the end of our semester.”

Demund internally let out a sigh of relief. He was genuinely glad that Enariss accepted his invitation in a casual way. If she didn’t—he didn’t want to think about it. His heart would have been crushed.

Enariss really didn’t have plans for December 25th. She was actually wondering what she would do on that day. She hated being bored. So when Demund asked her to hang out with them, she had little reason to refuse.

“So, what are your plans for that day?” she asked. “Which restaurant? Are we going to shop?”

“Err…I didn’t think that far ahead yet,” said Demund.

Enariss picked her pen back up and continued to study.

“Try to plan something fun. We still have lots of time left. You three, for now, focus on the tests.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You can leave it to me.”

“Can I rest for a while?” asked Rhyne as he ducked a pillow aimed at his head. “Never mind…”

Midterms were coming. Parties and whatnot could wait until later.

〄 〄 〄

Demund continued to study and exercise while growing inside his dream. For Shaden, a year had almost passed. Yet whenever Demund woke up and returned, he didn’t feel like the days were taking forever. The world felt like a dream whenever he awoke, helping him keep his demeanor that would have otherwise changed. He felt like the person from yesterday every day instead of the person one week ago. However, that wasn’t to say that his experiences didn’t affect him. While he felt the same, his thoughts were maturing every day.

In reality, Demund’s experience in life was nearing 20 years. Of course, since Shaden spent his days as a child, many things were limiting his growth. But all that time was helping him think. The child’s brain of Shaden absorbed and concreted any information Demund learned. Demund didn’t realize this. He just believed that his hard work was paying off. It was, but even more than Demund could imagine.

This was why Demund was so proficient in retaining the information from both worlds. His two selves were one and the same yet different, but they didn’t overshadow the other. The existence of Demund was essentially a human with two brains. While he couldn’t use both at once, it provided him with a sort of backup system, able to store all the knowledge that the other had.

In short, Demund was on a roll.

The final bell of TISE High for the year resounded throughout the campus. Midterms were over. Students dashed out from their classes after handing in their tests, running out into the campus that was filled with snow. The guys started simultaneously doing snowball fights randomly to celebrate the beginning of winter break.

“Come on! Let’s go join them!” exclaimed Rhyne as the motioned to Demund and Riley. “I really need to let off some steam.”

“Sound’s good.”

“Let’s go!!”

The three friends ran outside, flinging their bags to the sides while picking up snow from the ground. They threw their balls at random people and ducked other projectiles. Everyone was happy that school was over. For now, it was time to forget about tests results and focus on letting all the stress out.

Demund was worried that one of the balls might break the windows. What he didn’t know was that this was an annual event. The school was prepared for its arrival, so all of its windows were made out of bulletproof glass. Well, they were bulletproof from the beginning, but it certainly helped.

The tradition would begin when the seniors came out and initiated the snowball fight. Then all of the underclassmen would come and join. Simple as that.

The girls could play too. Normally, they didn’t. But this year, things were becoming a bit out of hand.

“Oh shoot! SAVE ME—” cried a random student as Enariss’s giant snowball of destruction flattened him on the ground.

“GUYS!! FORMATIONS!!” cried another random dude. There was no such thing as formations, but everyone understood his words. A monster had appeared on the battlefield.

The guys all brought their armfuls of snow and started building a barricade while some upperclassmen distracted Enariss. It was pitiful and they failed as another giant snowball crashed into the barricade, breaking it completely. Then everyone realized they could not win.

They started to run away. Soon, no one was on the school grounds except for Enariss, Demund, Rhyne, Riley, and some students who had no interest in the fight. The fight had ended in record time.

“Enariss! Everyone left because of you!” cried Rhyne. He had wanted to enjoy the fight more,

When Enariss saw the small figures running about from the upper floors of the school, she had gotten the sudden urge to crush them. She hated insects crawling about. They were meant to be stepped on.

“Hmph. They were too weak.”

“I think you’re the one who’s too strong…”

“Anyway, guys. Don’t you have the MMA club right now?” asked Demund.

“No, not for today,” answered Riley. “We can go home, though I’m not sure about Enariss. She’s a ranking member, so she has stuff to do. Right?”

“Yep.” Enariss nodded. As the vice-president of the club, she was in charge of cleaning up the Battle House for the break. “I’ll be going now. See you guys on Christmas.”

“Wait. Can I come help you?” asked Demund.

“Go ahead. But we’ll be here until five.”

“I don’t mind.”

Demund joined Enariss and they walked to the Battle House together. He waved goodbye at Rhyne and Riley and the pair disappeared into the building.

“He’s hopeless,” stated Riley. “He’s completely into her.”

“What, really?” said Rhyne. “I thought he was just being nice?”

“Did you see his face? It was all, ‘please take me with you!’ Rhyne, we might lose a friend sooner than we think. I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“What do you mean, lose a friend?”

“Remember Dane back in sixth grade? After he got a girlfriend?”

“You mean—oh. I see what you mean.”

The two friends worriedly walked to the parking lot together.

〄 〄 〄

The skies were streaked with a bloody red as the sun fell beyond the horizon. The last of the students were coming out of the school. On one corner of the road, a dark, black van was parked amidst the snow where it would be less visible. Three men were inside, their clothes tailored to fit them neatly—other various equipment were laid around the inside of the car.

“Oi, get up. There she is. The girl I told you about.”

“Hmm? Let me see. OOHH! You were right. She is really pretty.”

The man licked his lips.

“How about it? Her as the next target?”

“She does look a little feisty…but we have the equipment. Hehe, this will be fun.”

“We’re counting on you, man.”