With my pride now chopped in pieces and my face beaten so hard you'd think I was a cartoon character, I made my way home. Today was already going shit and the stares of everyone else around me wondering where I get such a wound on the head made me only more depressed. I had my glasses back on after I took them off for the spar. But since yesterday they have been… well broken.

'Guess I need new glasses…'

I had worse things to think about but trying to distract myself from the obvious reason I’m pissed off was the only way to not scream out in anger at this moment. If i had my way with this then I’d have put mr. Frank and that Walter fucker in jail already. But with verbal consent and video footage, I knew that this wouldn’t be so easy. Well made, you two fuckers… well made.

While walking along the pavement with a tired expression screaming for my cosy bed, I saw an old man with a light hunched back in front of me. He had white full hair and not a lot of wrinkles but what stood out of him if anything was his cane that had the silver head of a lion. He looked directly at me with eyes that were filled with a light so indescribable that it felt almost unnatural.

But I could tell… after having a friend like Felix who had never shown his true thoughts shown on his face, I could tell what people usually thought by their expression. The ends of his eyes slightly lowered, his brows trying desperately to not knit together and his mouth in an upside crescent moon shape. He was… worried? Why? Do I know this man?

"Son , who beat you up like that ? It's not good fighting everyone you see. Here. take this."

"Ah no thank you. I wasn't beat up, it was just an accident. I just fell down a lot of stairs but I’m fine so thank you, kind sir."

The old man took out a package of face wipes which I reluctantly refused. I’m grateful but no thank you. And why did he immediately think about a fight? Oh well. Looks like it’s shown on my face. Not that I desperately try to hide it.

I walked away , thanking the old man and saying goodbye to him. It’s nice to see that there are good people out there. But when I only took a couple of steps, I felt that something was missing. My right pocket felt… lighter… HOLD ON!

"You mean you want to go now without this?" Said the old man as he held my phone up in the air with a grin. What the fuck! And here I thought there were good people out there. But not only did this old man make me lose my faith in humanity quickly, he also stole my phone with a grin on his face like he was a child. This…fucking…BASTARD!

"Give that back!"

I yelled out to the old man as I jumped towards him with pure anger reflecting my brown eyes behind my broken glasses. Since I was little, I was taught that I should always respect my elders and I still do. But this old man crossed too many lines in my eyes and he did it with a smile. Don’t hate me after I’m done with you , old fart!

I was almost touching the old man when right before my fingertips could even touch him, he along with my phone disappeared from my sight. How did he do that? How is this possible? I looked around for some time but I didn't see the old man nor my phone anywhere. It's like he just vanished into thin air. I’d say I’m starting to hallucinate but he took my phone!

BONK

“Argh! Fuck!"

"Never lose your enemy even if you can't see them." Reprimanded the old man as he hit me on my butt. The hell! Why are you doing that to an injured person? And how did you teleport like that? Wait! Answer the last question first! I want to teleport!

"This doesn't justify you hitting an injured person, old man! Never got taught that?" I said as I jumped on the old man again but this time he didn't vanish but used the cane to redirect my arms to the side, throwing me to the ground. Now he is redirecting me just like that?

And yet again

BONK

"Shit!"

"Know what you are doing and know what your enemy is doing even better. Without analysing your opponent you will only have a chance but with it you'll be certain of victory."

"Stop teaching stuff like that and just give me my phone back!"

"Hehe can't even beat a regular old man yet still ordering me around. Wow you got guts ,son!"

"Which regular old man can vanish, dodge and redirect attacks like that ? You are definitely a fictional superhuman!"

"Quite awful to call me fictional yet seeing the almighty me here in flesh. If you want your phone back you have to get it from me now."

"This is called theft!"

“This is called playing around? Don’t tell me your grandfather never did this as well?”

Ugh! This old man keeps playing with me! It’s unfair to use cheat codes unless you share them! Now let me take back my phone.

Seeing the reaction on the face of this boy in front of him, the old man chuckled silently. He was amused by this current situation and enjoyed it to the end.

'If that little girl knew how this boy was talking with me, she'd have already ripped him to pieces . Hoho sometimes that girl just gets too serious for her own good.'

"And now I’ll call this a deal, boy. So listen up closely."

"What part of this is a fuc-BONK-UFF!"

"Language, boy. Listen to your elders and don't disrupt them. Now the deal is this. If you get your phone back with your own strength until sunset then you can have anything that you want from me . But if you can't, you'll have to listen to me a few times. How about that?" Said the old man with a smirk on his face.

I already had my lesson about confidence just a while ago. And my mood is too sour to even consider this fun or a good deal. And even if not all that, the fact this old man just hit my ass and made me fall onto the ground was proof enough that I’ll lose. And I do not want to give away my organs yet.

"You could ask me for something like giving you all my assets and money." Said the old man while showing his bank account to the oblivious boy in front of him.

"Like hell I'd accept even if you show me your WHAT! HOW DO YOU HAVE THIS MUCH?!" Laith was stunned.

This old man had more money than the supposed richest man on earth. No scratch that. Take all ten of the richest people in the world and he would still have more than them. With a whoopin 4 trillion euro on his bank account alone, this man stood in front of me with a smirk that literally said 'he got caught' but this didn't matter to me.

My mind was filled with the money for a second before it vanished again. Greed isn’t a good thing. And so is theft! This isn't what I want. Having a lot of money is good and all but it isn't the way to solve my current problem. The greedy light in my eyes faded even before they could form themselves clearly, leaving the old man surprised. I stood back up from the ground

"Please… can I get my phone back? Even if the trillion of Euros look amazing I'd still prefer to not humiliate myself again thanks to non-existent confidence."

“What do you mean, boy?”

“I mean that even if that amount of money is very tempting, I do know my limits. And besides obviously being made to do anything you say, I’d also feel even more humiliated even if that wasn’t the case.”

The old man's eyes widened. He didn't expect to hear such an honest reply back, not to mention the boy believing him having so much money this instant. Since the chances for getting this much but still not being known was close to 0 if not 0, most people would, besides showing greed,think this old man was lying to them. But now he met an answer he didn’t expect from this boy even after he got every detail on him. And saying that he was a shy person who didn’t interact with more than three people was really not showing on him.

‘Did this boy grow up in just a few days from that shyness to this? Or did something happen? In any case, this change is better than a shy person not knowing his limits. Knowing his capabilities even in the face of greed or anger is a great thing.’

I didn't know that my character was evaluated at this point but I knew one thing.

‘I know my limits. And overestimating myself or getting carried away because of luck is a stupid thing to do that will only lead me to more disaster.’

An awkward silence came between the two of us. I just wanted to take my phone and get back home even if it meant to get hit yet again. I needed the time to calm down. And a hot bath would be nice as well…

"Pfft…HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

The sudden laugh caught me off guard as the old man stood straight for the first time while his cane was hitting the ground repeatedly. He couldn't stop laughing that this boy was even smarter than his background details made him out to be. And this was something that boy never showed until two to three days ago. This was truly funny to the old man. The information that the Association gave him is not true? If you told this to anyone else who knew about this ‘Association’ and they’d think you are crazy.

"Son! You are smarter than you look but show a bit more courage even if you think that your chances are zero!" Roared the old man with a broad smile on his face not even having the slightest pretence.

"Ugh… I'm trying… but not very easy when you lived most of your time at home…"

‘Wait… why did I say that? I felt like talking with him is so natural, that I even said private stuff like that…’

"Then let me make you an offer you'd like."

"I told you already that I don’t want your money, old man!" At this point, I didn't care about being polite. This old man just didn't know when to stop! Let me just go home already!

"Who said about money? I want you as my disciple of course!" Said the old man with the purest smile he ever had for a long time. His eyes were closed but slid open for a bit as he looked at a certain point on a roof before closing them again with his smile as bright as ever. I didn't notice this gesture at all since it was faster than his moving speed. And even if i saw that, I’d not be able to process that. My mind was blank , trying to comprehend the words this senile old man was saying.

"What the… Old man, what do you mean with disciple?"

"Exactly what it means. Someone who will be taught by me and guided by me. And giving the fact that you couldn't catch me …"

Said the old man before vanishing and appearing behind me just like that with his cane pointing at my neck like a knife. It was a blunt end but it felt sharper than any of our kitchen knives we had at home.

"… And that you won't even be a challenge for me , I believe you'd be happy to be my student."

Now my mind totally lost it. This man was vanishing and reappearing just like that! Magic! True Martial Arts! Whatever this is, it is a billion times better than what I was planning to learn at a crappy dojo run by a schmuck and a fucking asshole.

“So? What do you say?”

“I accept!”

“Are you stupid?”

“Wha-?”

The old man in front of me had a look of disappointment. Where did that came from?

“Why do you accept a stranger's invitation to become a disciple just like that?”

Wow! He is really good at understanding the situation. But I’m not that stupid.

“If you really wanted to do me harm, you could have done that without asking me to become your disciple. I mean I can’t even touch you to begin with when you vanish like a ghost in front of me.”

“Hmm… fair point. I take back my comment about you being stupid. You just understand your situation.”

Does he want to say that I never had a choice to begin with? Oh thank god I accepted. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I didn’t.

“Here, your phone. The address you should go to is already on your phone including my contact number. We will start exactly at midnight. So gather your stuff from your home, prepare yourself and be there at exactly midnight. I’ll explain everything we will do then.”

“Why midnight? And I got to go to school as well, so ho-...”

“Don’t worry. I’ll notify your school as soon as possible for a temporary leave. And we can’t lose any time of the day. That’s why midnight. Now get home, Laith. I’ll see you there at midnight.” said the old man before vanishing on the spot with an honest smile on his face.

“Hey! Wait! … dammit!”

Wait! How did he know my name… oh wait. He didn’t make me his disciple just because. Getting my information just like that is honestly worrying me. And that I got the attention of one can also mean I get the attention of multiple. I should be careful on my way home…

When I went back and looked around the streets, I saw it was empty. No human being where the light could reach. Creepy! And just when I realised this fact, the people who were supposed to be on this street appeared again.

'either we vanished or they but it is most likely us… This is too much for me to handle right now…'

I walked with heavy steps yet again back home with the hope that I won’t become another person’s disciple like that again. Oh god if you exist and hear this. Please don’t make me meet more weird people!

On the rooftop stood the old man and 2 other people there. One was a gorgeous woman with black hair looking like she was in her mid thirties. And next to her was a beautiful older woman who looked like in her mid fifties. She had a beauty that wasn't fading away even when you could tell her age. It was like the beauty itself was stubborn to leave this person and thus making her still stunning with her white strands in her black long straight her and hazel eyes even with her age showing.

She looked at the old man who stretched his back straight with a look of frustration and anger in her eyes while the younger woman stood to the side with a wry smile looking at the old man. She was receiving a look from him that said ‘why?’ but wasn’t angry at her. In fact , he was slightly happy.

"Akiko! Association Director! What brings you two here?"

"It's Ms. Eguchi for you , Mr. Hashimoto." Said Akiko with a stern and angry expression. The fact that the smile on his face didn't fade away only made one vein more appear on her head.

"Oh! please call me Akira like you used to do, my dear Akiko! But still, what are the two of you doing here? It’s not your everyday meeting place, you know?" Said Akira, looking quite happily at the association director who looked down with a bit of shame.

Akira looked happy but inside he was quite curious as to why the two of them are here. It’s not usual for them to be on a random rooftop when they meet but he would still be a good host. But time was not infinite for him. He had a disciple to teach and he only has 2 months to do that. The Break will only make him more busy so he has to act fast and use any means possible.

"We are here because of the boy, Mr. Hashimoto. I heard from the Director that you plan on taking him as a disciple which in all honesty shocked me to the core. Since I know fully well why you don't take disciples with your outright impossible standards. But as far as I could see he doesn't look special at all." Said Akiko with a confused face.

If possible she wanted to stop the boy from being taught by a madman but if he was that talented for this same madman to say he has a never before seen talent, then other than herself and Akira , no one else has what it takes to teach him anything. And she is already busy in the association unlike a certain idiot in front of her.

"Ohoho my dear trust me! When I say he may become stronger than both of us together, I mean it. But only if he realises his powers before the Break. If he doesn't, his growth will be limited." Akira had a rather distressed look on his face at the last part which the rest understood immediately. The Break will bring forth opportunities but can also be shackles for people that were talented enough to grow even without it, yet didn’t start it.

The Break is the event that will change everyone on this planet and not only the ones who already have supernatural powers. Only thing is that the common folk don't know about this. And considering the event itself, this may be a good thing and a bad thing depending from which perspective you are looking from.

"Do you already have an idea of his powers? Does he already leak Will? What about his physical ability?"

Akiko was bombarding Akira with questions with a glint of excitement. After Akira's first Statement about the boy’s potential, she wanted to know more about him that she forgot about being mad at Akira which made the latter reminisce about the past for a bit. Akiko was in Akira’s eyes always someone that loved to guide people, always trying to get the best out of someone. Remembering her teaching kids in a class made Akira almost shed a tear.

'Oh the peaceful times. How I'll miss them so much…'

Akira was honest with his thoughts but time wasn't on his side as he had to prepare as fast as possible because he had only about seven hours to prepare a lot of things. But seeing Akiko like that made him answer all the important questions with a bright smile.

"I'm still not sure about his innate powers, his will hasn't manifested yet and physically he is the worst! All the other stuff I’m not so sure either but I’ll let you know when I’m sure of it. If I understand correctly, he should be able to awaken in 10 real time days. Anything else, my dear?"

Akiko stopped thinking about the boy right there when she heard the last part and went back to her usually angry expression. The Association Director was the one this time to ask a question that was bugging her for a while. She had to control the order between normal people and the awakened and Akira knew this as well. So only one question was in her mind.

"How are you going to train him or rather where? You don't have a place here to train him properly."

"No, I do."

"No, he does"

The two elderly looked at each other with different expressions when they said that at the same time. While Akiko looked at him with a feeling of surprise and a hint of nostalgia, Akira looked at her with a wry smile. Memories of the past are sometimes unforgettable even with strength and time.

"Then I have nothing more to ask of you besides to not pull this kind of stunt again or I'll have the association hunt you down." said the Association Director while pointing at the place where the conversation between Laith and Akira took place.

"Hahahaha! You know fully well that your association can't hunt me do-…" Before Akira could finish his sentence he was stopped by the words of the Director which scared him to death.

"Ms. Eguchi included, mr. Hashimoto."

"I'll be silent as it can be"

'It's not worth it to have her hunt me down just to show off. Especially when she will get angry.'

Akira turned around with his cane in his hand, grasping it by the neck part. He prepared for his departure with a smile on his face. Seeing Akiko was worth it in his eyes. The Director looked back at Akiko before looking at Akira with a difficult expression. She knew what’s going on between those two but stayed silent as the innocent bystander.

"I hope when the Break arrives that I'll see you at the association headquarters, Mr. Hashimoto."

"Don't worry. I promise that I’ll be back to visit you, my dear. And I never break my promises. Never." He said without turning back and vanishing into thin air. The last part was emphasised. It was important for him to never break his promises.

‘I won’t repeat another mistake I’ll regret.’

By the time Laith was already at home on his bed. The injury on his head had healed completely. He didn’t know if this was something natural or if the old man did something. He prepared his stuff and took a long shower to relieve the stress that has been built up these two days. He was quite excited actually. Finally! He’ll truly learn how to defend himself. Or better. He will step into a world that would be unimaginable to him.

The only thing bothering was his first impression of the old man.

In Laith's eyes, the old man was a crazy old man.