I didn't know where I was, all I know is that fog is everywhere around me. I guided my eyes around me, trying to recall how exactly I got here. The place I found myself in was close to a forest, but an infinite version of it. There was also no trees whatsoever, and it looked like a green, dead clearing. The ground under me was moist, and I was barefooted. I wiggled my toes while eyeing them with disdain, feeling kind of grossed out with the damp texture under my feet. I glanced once more around me, noticing that there was a faint light surrounding me from all corners, but no sun is visible in the horizon.
The mist was too thick for me to make out anything in front of me. The weather was too cold as well, and I noticed I was wearing a kind of summer dress with navy blue flowers. My shoulders were exposed, and every time a gush of air brushed against them, I would shudder. I didn't know what this place was, I remember bidding my warriors goodnight and falling asleep on my bed, and then suddenly I'm here? Where is here anyways? I glanced around me again, this time more frantically, terror starting to invade all my senses.
"You have forgotten about me," a sleek voice of a male echoed from around me, from no apparent corner. His voice was soft and soothing; but also deadly shuddering. I took a shaggy breath in, my whole body starting to freeze as another breeze brushed against me.
"Release me..." the voice echoed around me like a broken record, and I snapped my head in all sides, hoping to catch the owner of the smooth voice. I couldn't even decipher from what corner or what way the voice was coming from. It seemed from nowhere and everywhere at once. The voice sounded buzzing, vibrating through the entire clearing I'm in. I then felt light touches of fingers on my shoulders, ghosting over my skin lightly.
I snapped my head backwards to catch the intruder, my heartbeats racing in my chest, and my legs buckling from under me. There was no one behind me, and I felt the blood in my face drain out in fear. I felt the light touch of cold fingers again, this time coming from behind me, and at the tips of my hipbones. I swerved around abruptly, wanting to catch the boy immediately. There was no one at all, and I was starting to panic.
"Who are you!" I yelled loudly, my shrieking echoing around me in broken statics. "Show yourself!"
"Release me, release me," the voice echoed in a surprisingly calm voice. The volume started decreasing drastically until I no longer heard it. I took a deep, shaking inhale, trying to keep my sanity in check. I turned around to check my surroundings once more, but there was a sudden blankness in my eyes, and I couldn't see anything besides darkness. I clawed at my eyes, but there was nothing on them that was blocking the light away, I was involuntarily closing my eyes shut by my own, and I didn't have the strength to open them willingly. Then suddenly, before I can open my mouth and let out a shriek, rough hands palmed my chest, and with a single move, they pushed me roughly to the back, making me lunge backwards on my butt.
Before I can touch the ground, I was jolted awake from my sleep with a loud exclaim. I straightened in my bed hurriedly, my head and back sweating buckets. I breathed heavily, clutching on my heart that was beating so feverishly inside my ribcage. What was that odd dream? Who exactly is that boy? And what does he need? What is even the meaning behind his words. Release me, he had said, release him from what?
His card?
I shook the stupid thoughts out of my head and glanced at my wrist watch. It was already three in the morning, school would start in four hours. I closed my eyes, any sleep within me evaporating in the air. I lifted the blankets away from my body and headed to the mini kitchen in my dorm room. Thankfully, I had stocked the mini fridge with all kind of liquids for my future training with Xiumin, and I gave myself virtual applause. I took a bottle of water and gulped down half of it in one go, the three cards of my warriors catching my attention. I had laid them over the counter before I fell asleep. I need a proper place or handbag I can put them in without any trouble. I sighed, took the three cards and kissed them.
All three of them appeared in front of me in less than two seconds. Thankfully, Minseok had dressed up the night before in one of Baekhyun's sweats and T-shirts. I need to buy them more clothes since they are practically the only pair of clothes they possess. Remembering the stack of money my mom had given me, I vowed I would go today and buy them some necessities.
"Oh? Couldn't sleep?" Xiumin asked me, maneuvering around the kitchen counter to sit beside me on one of the three stools. He reached a hand for my forehead, and I whined at the cold touch of his fingers, though they were a little warmer than before when I first met him. "You don't have a fever though,"
"Of course hyung," Sehun scoffed with a roll of his eyes, taking the water bottle in my hand and drinking the remaining liquid in one go. I stared at him with wide eyes, surprised, since this was the first time he drank something human-related right in front of my face. "She is probably thinking of a way to skip school, and what do you know? Staying awake at three AM is a good plan," I scowled at Sehun's taunting smirk, and mentally choked him with my hands.
"I think Hani has reasons for this. Not all people in the world think like you, Sehun," Xiumin snorted at the younger warrior, taking the currently empty bottle of water and smacking it on Sehun's forehead, earning a pout from the latter.
"You are so mean to me, hyung," Sehun whined at his elder, and I no longer thought this side of Sehun was strange. "Ever since Hani appeared, you're acting like a barbaric asshole,"
"Why are you up at this hour, Hani?" Baekhyun seemingly ignored the two childish boys arguing in front of him and asked me, expression wavering from nervousness and worry which he tried hard to mask. I smiled gently at him, and waved his concern off.
"Don't worry, just had a bad dream," Baekhyun seemed relieved, and I couldn't help but smile. This was the same person who tried to kill me a few days ago, and now he's being quite the worrywart.
"That's a relief," Xiumin, who was listening to our conversation rather than annoy Sehun said, a small smile gracing his lips almost automatically.
"Can I ask a favor from one of you though?" I asked, my cheeks warming up in embarrassment at the thought of the request I'm about to ask. The three boys all looked up at me in the same time, a curious expression on their faces.
"There are four hours left for school, and I kind of want to go back to sleep,"
"What are you trying to say?" Sehun smirked in apprehension before I could say what I really wanted to say, and I felt the redness in my cheeks spreading all the way to my neck and ears.
"I.. I kind of want someone there to be with me, my dad always would stay in my room when I have a bad dream. It usually helps with my nightmares knowing I'd wake up to someone beside me," I explained, the embarrassment fading a little when I could see understanding spreading in their faces (except Sehun who even smirked wider if it was possible, but I decided to ignore him wholeheartedly)
"I'll stay," Xiumin raised his hand a little uncertainly, like a little kid asking his teacher to participate in class. I kind of found it amusing to watch, but I didn't want to show it on my face to make him uncomfortable.
"Alright," I grinned in pleasure, and Sehun scoffed very loudly and obnoxiously at my smile that it faded almost right away from my face, replaced by a scowl.
"What!" I growled at him, and he had the audacity to head to me and ruffle my hair annoyingly hard, his fingers tangling through my hair and pulling on it extra hard, making me wince. I reached out for my hair, hoping to pinch off Sehun's fingers.
"You were waiting for Minseok hyung to agree to this, didn't you? Aww what a pervert. What's next? You'll make him lie beside you?"
"No!" I exclaimed a little too loudly, totally forgetting about his fingers entangled through my hair. Sehun snickered in an ugly, sinister way that made me want to hit him so hard on the groin.
"Sure~ convince yourself with that," the asshole snickered once again, and I glowered at him. He obviously didn't care that much about my annoyance, as he sneakily retreated back to his previous place.
"Ignore him. Come, let's get you to sleep," Xiumin waved his hand in front of Sehun's face to emphasize how I should ignore his presence completely. Sehun groaned at the action of Xiumin, while I poked my tongue out, making Sehun even more annoyed than before.
"Yah!" the brat exclaimed loudly, but Xiumin and I ignored his presence completely and headed for the bed. I glanced back briefly at Baekhyun, and I saw him glancing down at his wiggling toes (I kind of don't understand how Baekhyun has a habit in moving his toes) and his expression was so blank, so emotionless that made me wonder what exactly is he hiding inside of him that he was so afraid of showing?
"C'mon!" Xiumin urged me, tugging on my wrist that he was holding. I pouted at Xiumin, and he only gave a playful tug that made me wonder how did this boy trust me so much and so easily in a span of a few days, while Baekhyun didn't?
'Your type is the worst,' I remembered his words clearly in my head, how he was choking me with his hands, and how he smirked so menacingly that I mistook him for a monster. That Baekhyun wasn't the same Baekhyun today, but maybe, that's because he is with me.
--
When I headed to school thiat day, I took an extra sweater with me for my own secret reasons, and I took my cards with me (they were in the back pocket of my sweats) since today didn't require wearing the school uniform, and instead something comfortable where we can fight with. 'Combating' was today's class, and it was the first ever official hand-to-hand combat class in the entire freshman year, so I expect a lot of newcomers from different classes with me.
I headed to the gym, where my timeline table said the class would be held in. There was a bounce in my strides, and I don't know what was the cause of my absolute happiness. But perhaps, the honor goes to Xiumin, who was with me last night so I could sleep. I woke up to find him still there, and surprisingly, he had prepared a coffee for me. I had asked him how he made that coffee, and he told me he bought it from a vending machine earlier when students weren't awake yet. He even blushed when I drank it and apologized for the heat in advance. His cute gesture made me happy even while drinking a cold drink.
The lingering students around the halls didn't even spare me a glance this time. I guess my new title as a four ranked Wielder was giving me an advantage. Still though, I didn't like the way everyone were looking at me with fear like I'm going to strip their cards from them. I don't look like I'm a scary barbaric girl whose about to take your cards from you. I mean if I'm actually a four ranked Wielder, why would I want to take a lower ranked Wielder's cards? I'm not like those crazy psychos who like to take others' cards for their entertainment (I know I'm new to this kind of society, but the students's expressions are a clear indication some people actually do that) I ignored the whispers, the murmurs, the loud accusations; and how everyone parted like the red sea to let me pass.
I entered the gym, the sweater hanging off my shoulder lazily. Everyone stopped talking when I walked through, but thankfully no one walked away from me to pass like the students in the hallway. At least now, I felt more like the loser I was in the first day, and this surprisingly gave me a wave of warmth spreading inside of me. There was a teacher here, unlike the previous day when I had to wait for them. The teacher was a female, and she was wearing a tight pair of leggings and a t-shirt, where it hugged her body and lined her curves perfectly. I could literally feel the dangerous aura she was emitting by the way she kept on clicking her pen on the notepad, her eyes blurry and ablaze while gazing at the walls around her absentmindedly. Boys were ogling her perfection, and with the dark, red lipstick on, she looked beyond perfect. I was obviously jealous of her, and so were the other girls around.
After a period of time, the hall was filled with students, and the teacher rose from her place and blew on her golden whistle annoyingly loud, holding on her blow even after all students looked at her. She rolled her eyes at the winces some of the students made, and I felt like this teacher was one hard nut to crack. "Alright. All stand in a line!" she commanded with a booming voice, and while we all took a long; three aligned lines behind one another, I noticed the cocky president two girls beside me, having her posture straight and shoulders stiff, like she's in the military. I wonder what her name is.
The pretty teacher started raking her eyes on all of us like a hawk, her feet making small, predatory steps foreward. She pointed at a petite girl and a giant boy, telling them to take a stance in front of one another and start fighting. She then picked the opposite, one petite guy and a kind of huge girl, telling them to fight as well. She picked other four couples until her eyes laid on mine.
"You," she pointed at me, and then looked around her with a growing grin, before she picked on a muscular student with ear piercings. Just before the guy could step foreward, she pressed a hand to his sturdy chest and opened her palm. "Earrings please, and do not come to my class with them again or I'll give you detention," the guy groaned, and reluctantly removed his ear pieces and handed them over. While that was happening, I flung the sweater I have on the side, promising to get it back after I'm done.
My heart raced in my rib cage when we faced each other, my arms unconsciously taking a stance and legs spreading apart a few meters apart; just like how Xiumin has taught me. I could still remember clearly what he had told me last night as we practiced.
"There are a few basics in martial arts that you need to understand. In this case, my specialist is Taekwondo.. you always have to be concentrated: the principle of bringing as many muscles as possible to bear on a strike, concentrating the area of impact into as small of an area as possible. Speed, you have to be as fast as you can be, so your opponent will not anticipate your strike. Most importantly, Breath Control, the idea of exhaling breath while striking could cause a good impact on your rival," he had said, and he even demonstrated them on action. I glanced at the currently stretching opponent in front of me, and just how wide his smirk was as he sized me from up and down with mockery. I recalled one more thing Xiumin had told me while closing my eyes, and I exhaled loudly and calmly, keeping my nerves in check.
"Hani, never underestimate a one's body physique, you never know what their small, or huge body could really be able to do,"
I admit, even though he said those to me; I wasn't very good yet, since we only trained for two days, but I wasn't about to put his advice to waste. I watched with concentrated eyes as the boy rushed towards me, his hands raised up and ready to tear me into pieces. "The biggest mistake one could do, would be lunging with their ultimate force without much of a calculation. Try to outsmart them and look for an opening to attack, usually those aren't trained enough, and have absolutely no idea what they are doing," I tried doing as what Xiumin told me, looking for an opening. The guy was huge, and with the way he was rushing at me was making me grow anxious. I calmed myself with another exhale, and glanced down at his feet. He wasn't paying much attention to where he placed his feet at, as I could tell his entire focus was on my face. "Roundhouse kicks are my favorite, especially if they were aimed correctly in the right order and time,"
I smiled then, and lowered myself to the ground in a messy move in a crouch, then immediately I delivered a roundhouse kick to the opponent's legs. Fortunately, despite my clumsy kick and lack of strength, the guy fell down on his right side with a girly squeal, where he immediately used his arms as a landing. I rose to my feet again, positioning both of my fists around my face. The guy stood up as well, though he was clutching on his side with a grimace (I know that fall wasn't that hard, but the temporary pain was there) he flared his nose at me like a bull, and immediately lunged at me again, this time his attention more focused on his feet then before. He lifted one of his fists up, ready to aim for my nose, his lips opening and widening in a chaste grin. "Most attackers would start attacking with their fists, especially men. They usually put a lot of force into that move, as they intend for it to be a first and final move; a knock out. When that happens, don't try to attack them back, and instead; put on a defense mode by avoiding the kick, and kick their pressure point, their knees,"
The guy swung his fist toward my face, but I craned my head to the side immediately, holding on his unprotected elbow and pulling on his arm. The boy stumbled forward, and I immediately looked down at the back of his knees and kicked my left foot straight on them, making him fall down on his knees and whimper in pain. Instead of letting go of his elbow, I twisted his arm onto his back to render him motionless, and pressed my knee to the joint of his shoulders, pressing down until his head grazed the ground. Then, I grinned; Xiumin is an excellent trainer.
There was a sudden whistling sound beside my ear, and I looked up to see the teacher beside me with her whistle inside her mouth. She retreated something from her pocket, a star looking clip (made of paper, mind you) with the number 2 on it, and clipping it briefly onto my left breast. "Skills level, Two," she then gesturedfor me to let go of the boy, as she staggered to him and clipped a Three ranked clip on his chest. "You're in the last rank. Rule one in the combat world; you never underestimate your opponent," she smirked, looked up at me and gave me a curt nod, looking almost proud of me before she picks new students for their test.
"No hard feelings?" I offered the guy a hand, a huge grin on my face as excitement and joy attacked me in the form of waves. The boy looked up from his place with a grimace, but his expression softened when he saw my happy grin, and accepted my hand with a small nod.
Huh, I guess not everyone here are assholes.
--
When I exited the four hour long class, my limbs were aching and screaming in protest. After dividing us into three groups – First, Good. Second, Learners and Third, Beginners. – the teacher taught us the basics (something pretty similar to what Xiumin told me) she made us jog three laps around the hall, taught us a few basic moves in self defense, made us stretch and do push-ups, we were finally free from her torture. She even threatened us if we didn't do any sports in our free time, she would know and she would punish us for being, and I quote 'lazy asses'.
While I was heading out for the cafeteria to grab something to eat, maybe buy something for the warriors and force it down their throats – I'm pretty sure Sehun would be the only one ready to eat and then spit it in my face and disgrace our food – I passed by the empty corridor of my Aura Adaptation class. I could immediately spot the warrior with the Latin name and uncovered trunk leaning against the wall. His eyes were shut closed and his arms were crossed, showing off his flexed muscles. I gulped at the sight, and how dangerously low his sweats were. I glanced around me in alarm, looking for any lurking students before glancing back at him. He was near the class door, and I could hear two voices whispering from inside while he waited. Perhaps his Wielder and another teacher gossiping while they made the poor boy wait.
I glanced at the sweater in my hand, then back at him, wondering if I had chosen the right size before gently trudging to him, snapping him out of his reverie. He looked up at me with wide eyes, but they immediately returned to their usual blank ones. His appearance – now from up close – looked moist, and his hair was wet as well, half dry. His pink lips squeezed into thin line, and I felt like this gentle-looking creature did not deserve to harbor such dark expressions.
"I brought this for you," I gently spoke, offering him the sweater with my eyes dropping to the ground in embarrassment. He didn't talk, and he didn't even take the sweater which I didn't expect him to do, but I could feel his eyes boring holes through my head.
"In all truth, this was one of my dad's large sweaters. I had stolen it from his wardrobe when I found out I'll be attending this school to keep remembering him. I've always thought everything would be alright if my dad was around so.." I found myself blabbering to him, my hand growing stiff the longer I kept the sweater hanging. "He knows about my growing habit in stealing his things, and he usually closes his wardrobe so I wouldn't do it. I was able to sneak this though, without him realizing," I blushed a little because of my non-stop bullshit, but I don't regret anything to be honest.
"Here, isn't it cold? You're dripping wet. Were you swimming? Are there pools in this school? Wah, I would like to swim sometime," I glanced at the ceiling momentarily, thinking about the last time I went swimming in a real pool. Actually, I don't remember, and that's probably how long I didn't visit a swimming pool before.
"I can help you.." his silk, velvety voice brought me out of my reverie, and I snapped my head at him with gaped mouth. He raised a single eyebrow up at me, his face stoic, and I wondered if I looked as stupid as I felt.
"Huh?"
"The swimming pool," I gaped at him like a fish, and he pushed himself off of the wall and took a few steps closer to me. He stopped really close. I could even count his eyelashes, and yet he didn't appear as affected by our distance like I was. He reached for the sweater, his eyes dropping a little to glance at the fabric within my hold, before he reached his hand to take it. He glanced at me dangerously, almost flirtatiously, his lids dropping a little, pupils dilated, and lips curved a little to show off his mischief.
"I can show you," he finished, his head leaning a little until our noses touched. My heart thundered loudly, and I could feel my knees giving up at the close distance. He didn't appear a single bit affected, and his lips curved wider. "Say thank you to your father,"
"Suho, what are you doing?" the warrior straightened up almost immediately at the voice calling out, and we both looked at the side to see the young Aura Adaptation teacher glancing at us with furrowed eyebrows. I, myself; furrowed my eyes at the weird name, and wondered where did the Latin name go to.
Suho didn't reply at the Wielder, and silently put on the ruby colored sweater I had given him, his abs muscles flexing when he did so, and I had to look away or I would have ended up flushing red like a tomato. Suho then spared me a simple glance before he walks towards his Wielder, disappearing into nothingness when the teacher discreetly beckoned him back to his card.
The teacher and I held each other's glances, and I'm not sure what exactly he saw within my eyes that I couldn't see, but the evident worry in his eyes made me worry myself.
-
Author note:
TADAH! Here's the revealing of the Warrior and a little more fluff with Xiumin! I quite enjoyed writing this chapter