"....moved!"

"...re right!"

"...waking up!"

Hearing several different voices, Kyte slowly opened his eyes. He sat up and looked down at his body, and noticed that he was sitting up on a brown couch. Looking to his left, he saw seven people sitting around, and three of them were kneeling right next to him.

Everyone went silent as they watched Kyte look around at them. Then, the only thing Kyte did was lay back down facing away from the people.

"...Is he going back to sleep?"

"You assholeee!!!"

Suddenly, Kyte felt his body lifting up into the air. He opened his eyes and saw that he, and the couch, were launched into the air. Before it could land, Kyte used Windwalker to push off the couch. He reappeared next to the exit on the other side of the room.

"What?! How did he move so fast?!"

Three of the people that were sitting around only sighed. They knew that even if they tried to control this little kid's outbursts, they would fail.

"Jol, quiet down alright? You probably scared him."

"It's his fault for ignoring us!"

"I don't think he expected to be launched into the air, right? What did I say about launching people?"

"...People don't like to be launched into the air, yea I know."

"Good. However, it seems like you still haven't learned your lesson..."

"No, no! I have! I was just caught by surprise that's all!"

The kid's face showed a strange type of fear, but everyone else just laughed. Kyte was still standing at the exit, half-way out the door...

"Where do you think you're going?"

A line of red energy wrapped around his waist and he was pulled backward about five meters in one second. He landed on the lap, princess carry mode, of an older woman with red hair. She put her right hand under his head and her left on his upper thigh. Looking down at Kyte, she licked her lips...

-SMACK-

The room went silent after Kyte slapped the girl in the face. He rolled out of her lap onto the floor and backed away slowly. The woman stood up and...

"YOU DARE HIT ME?!!"

"Rose, calm down. It was your fault."

A woman with snow-like hair stood up and walked in-front of Kyte. The woman with red hair had gathered a small stream of red energy around her arm, and Kyte looked at it knowing that it could definitely break his defense like a knife cutting through warm butter.

"Nnnnnn, ugh...fine."

The woman in-front of Kyte turned around, grabbed his shoulder, and threw him behind her. He landed perfectly on the couch on the other side of the room.

This...seems like a huge hassle..

"So, Kyte, before we get into things-"

"How do you know my name?!"

"...I've been stalking you for...the past month and a half or so? Something like that."

"What? So you've..."

"Naturally I wouldn't be able to see inside your house."

Kyte breathed a small sigh of relief before looking back up at the woman.

"So? What do you want with me?"

"We...want you to join us."

"Hmm, yea, you've already lost me."

"We really need your help. We're one of the weakest branches in this League so-"

"Uh huh, yea. Well, you're not going to get anywhere with me unless you explain what exactly are you?"

"Don't worry, we're not the police or anything. Although there's still rules-"

"Just, just get to the point."

"If you would let me speak."

"..."

"Good! Now, let me explain in the simplest way I can. I kidnapped you because my group here needs your help. Naturally, you'll come to learn some things the longer you're here. However, you need to remember this: You are not the only one with power. You see everyone in this room? They all have powers, just like you. Although, your power is a lot different from theirs.

Anyway, people that have these kinds of powers are called Gifted. There is a variety of powers, and you'll see that some people share the same type of power. There are those with the ability to increase their power, and there are those that are not able to increase their power. The people that do not have that ability are naturally a lot stronger than the others. However, those that are not able to increase their power fall in the lower category of the hierarchy, most of the time. Those that are able to increase their power are called Special Gifted.

There are two people that do not have that ability, however, they were born with such large amounts of power that their bodies were unstable. Both of their mothers died while giving birth because of it. The first has the strongest telekinesis. Some say he's able to move and concentrate sunlight, and that it's able to completely destroy whole cities. The second one, which is apparently the strongest Gifted on the entire planet, is able to control the laws of space and time within a certain radius. Of course, that also includes the laws of physics, gravity, time, you know all that good stuff."

"Huh. So even with those guys, you still need help?"

"You didn't let me finish. Of course, with all of this power comes a price. Some of the Gifted were shunned, bullied, and ridiculed in their respective areas of living. Most of them turned into murderous criminals that killed for fun. We even got a nickname, it's quite cliche really. They call us demons to be exact."

"Who's 'they'?"

"'They' are the Association of Humans Against Demons. In short, AHAD. You've fought against some of their toys. The robots? Well, naturally those have names. They're called Guardians, and they literally 'guard' the normal people from the Gifted. They have special sensors that are able to detect the energy Gifted give off. They have been very careful in keeping all of this a secret, however, recently things have been getting out of hand."

"...Don't look at me...I didn't know..."

"I'm not blaming you, don't worry. Anyway, the Guardians have their own ranking system as well. It starts from rank D and goes up to rank S. Of course, us Gifted also have our own ranking system. And, just to keep everything easier to remember, we use the same ranking that we use for the Guardians."

"So, how strong is a rank S?"

"About five times stronger than I am. I'm just a Silver A rank. Ah, right. Basically there's three sub-ranks within each rank. It's kind of like....low, mid, high. But instead of that, it's bronze, silver, and gold. It's just kinda better sounding in my opinion."

"Yea, that makes sense. Also...give me more details about the Gifted. I'm assuming the Gifted have their own name for...everyone together?"

"You're right. Well, I wasn't the one who picked the name. Anyway, the name for us is Guild of the Gifted. GG for short. There is a large group of Gifted for each state, which are called Leagues. Each League has several branches for each city, sometimes one branch has control over multiple cities. The number of Gifted per branch is around five to fifteen depending on the Sector the League has occupied. Of course, the central branch of each League has the strongest Gifted in it that are within the Sector."

"I see. Well I'll get used to it after a while."

"So you're staying?"

"First of all, you kidnapped me. Secondly, I'm basically wanted. Thirdly, I don't really have a choice do I?"

"Correct. At least you're smart."

"Right, so introduce yourselves already. I'm certain I don't need to introduce myself."

"...Yea. Well, my name is Akina. I'm the leader of this branch in Sector 31, which is this one. The one with the red hair is Rose, she's a Bronze A rank. She's a little weird but you'll get used to it."

"What was that!"

"The man sitting next to her is Dan. He's also a Bronze A rank. The twins over there are Shadow and Light. Both Bronze B rank. I think you can tell which one is which because of their hair."

Kyte looked over at Dan who just gave a slight nod. Looking over at the twins, one had black hair and the had blonde. Both were male, and looked to be about eighteen. Light waved while Shadow only nodded as well.

"The girl to your left is Lucy. She's going to be a sophomore at the local high school. She's Bronze B rank."

"Hi."

"...Yo."

"Lastly, the one that launched you into the air. His name is Jol, and he's going to be a freshman in high school. He's Silver C rank."

"I see. You look like a little kid so I thought you were still in middle school..."

"What?! Akina I'm already being bullied!!"

Jol quickly jumped over and held onto Akina's leg, but she only shook her leg and Jol went flying back to his original spot. Which almost made the couch tip over.

"Hmmm, alright so what are their powers?"

"Dan, how about you start off."

"Allllright."

After he stood up, a white mist gathered his body until his body was covered.

"What does it do?"

"It increases my defense by several times. You wouldn't think that just this mist can deflect a tank missile, but it can actually defend against much more."

"Ah, I see. So is that it?"

"It's great for smashing things I guess."

"Fair enough."

"I'm next then! I create red energy that I can manipulate at will. Obviously a lot better than Old Man over here."

"Says the woman who can't keep her legs shut."

"The fuck did you-"

-SMACK-

Rose was knocked out cold but Akina's sudden slap to the face. Rose's body slumped back into her chair and didn't move an inch.

"Shadow and Light, your turns."

"Yes, ma'am. I'm able to create a black substance from my body that corrodes everything it touches. Obviously, it doesn't hurt me."

"And I create a white substance from my body! You would expect me to be able to heal and stuff but my power is the complete opposite. Really, my power is able to penetrate through high defenses. Except, right now I can only shoot straight lines..."

"Lucy."

"Yes. I'm able to manipulate every gas on this planet. It does not matter if it's oxygen, hydrogen, or anything else. Anything that's a gas, I can control. I can almost control liquid as well."

"Jo-"

"MY tuuurn! I have telekinesis!! Although it's not as strong as that other dude..."

After breathing out a long sigh, Akina slumped back in her chair.

"Right, well. Dan is able to increase his power. Rose can't, the twins can't, Lucy and Jol can. I can also increase my power. I'm certain you can do the same."

"Interesting. Oh! You haven't told me your power. What is it?"

"...I can't say."

"Awwwww, Akina!!! Why can't you tell us??!!"

"Jol, shut up."

"Well, it doesn't really matter. As long as you're strong enough. Also....what rank do you think I am?"

"Hmm, considering the fact that a C Rank Guardian defeated you...I would estimate you to be Bronze C rank."

"......I'm the weakest one here?!"

"Seems like it."

"This little kid is stronger than me?!"

"WHO'S A LITTLE KID?!"

Just as Kyte felt his body being lifted up, he created an energy sword with the full power of his dread aura. Immediately, everyone in the room jumped back a bit. Rose came back to consciousness, Jol ran behind Akina, as well as Lucy. Shadow stood in-front of Light with a weird light in his eyes.

That terrifying aura spread from Kyte's sword to en-cloak his body and fill his immediate surroundings.

"Hmmm? You don't seem very strong to me."

Kyte spit out those words that were laced with his Spirit energy. His voice resounded in the room and was very loud in the ears of Lucy and Jol, as well as the twins.

"...Oh? Looks like your power increased once again. I guess I was wrong, you're not Bronze C rank. More like...almost Gold C rank."

Thanks to the souls I got anyway. I'm not able to refine them immediately.

"Of course, I don't know all of your techniques so even if you are Gold C rank, you could possibly beat a Silver B rank. Of course, you would have to test out against Guardians to get your actual rank."

"Yea, that makes sense. Also, what's the situation around here.....?"

Kyte noticed Rose who was staring at him with weird eyes. Her face was flushed red and her breathing was slightly quickened...

-SMACK-

"Ow!"

"Rose, you were drooling."

"Ugh...sorry..."

"Haaaa, Kyte don't let her get to you. She's always like this when she sees someone powerful. Or maybe she just likes what your power is in general...right, what is your power?"

"...Well, as you know I'm able to increase my power. My power is to absorb blood and souls from all living things. I'm also capable of absorbing the...weird energy that is around this planet and in this universe."

"..."

"...So cool! Kyte you're so cool!!"

Jol started jumping up and down while continuously saying that over and over again. Akina had to smack him to get him quiet.

Kyte looked over at Rose and saw that she was even worse than earlier.

That's...actually kind of creepy...

Akina only stared at Kyte for several seconds before standing up.

"Alright! Everyone welcome Kyte into our team!"

"Yay!!"

"Woohoo."

"Congratulations!"

Everyone stood up and looked at Kyte. Dan and Shadow both gave a deep nod of approval, while Rose was actually unable to stand up for some reason...

This is kinda cheesy...

"Come on, stand up lazy bum!"

Jol ran over and grabbed Kyte and forced him to stand up. Gathered in a circle, everyone said...

"Welcome, Kyte!"

Looking at this scene, Kyte didn't really know what to do or say. The last time he was part of a group that had fun together like this was before his parents had died. Although, seeing this didn't bring up any good memories, it didn't necessarily bring a bad feeling.

This feels like it's going to be such a pain...

Watching Jol excitedly hugging Akina. Lucy looking down at her phone, weirdly smiling at something. Shadow having a smug look while Light expressing his happiness by jumping over to Jol and joining him. Dan with his satisfied smile, he sat back down and just relaxed. Rose...well she was curled up into a ball in her chair.

Suddenly thinking of something, Kyte couldn't help but ask:

"Oh, right. Where am I going to sleep?"

Everyone turned silent as they turned their heads toward Akina in sync.

"There's no more room where we are staying."

Shadow said as he plucked Light off of Akina.

"Lucy and I can't have another person in our apartment..." Dan suddenly stated.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, yea. Lucy is Dan's daughter."

"...I, I see."

After looking around, Akina said:

"And then, since my room is also full...you'll be staying with Rose!"

"...What?! No!!"

"Just kidding, you'll be staying with me."

"Whew. That's a lot better than staying with...whatever that thing is."

"....Just ignore her when she's like that. Even I can barely escape."

Taking a second to take in what he just heard, Kyte was reminded of something.

"Ew."

"What?"

"What's with that look?"

Kyte, suddenly snapping out of his dreamy-realm, sat back down.

"It's nothing."

"Heeeeey, Akina, are we getting cake this time?"

Jol, who was still clinging onto Akina, still had a big smile on his face.

"No, we aren't getting cake. You'll get fat and lazy if you eat any of that stuff."

"Awwwwwww, but I don't eat as much cake as you do!!"

"That was a special occasion, there was no helping it."

Well, I'll get used to it eventually. However, I'd really like to get out and get more souls. Just about twenty was able to boost my Spirit energy so much. But...

Looking at the people in the room...

I doubt they'll let me.