The next morning ca gently as sunlight filtered through the blinds, the scent of toast and strong coffee wafting upstairs from the kitchen.
Kaizer opened his eyes to the quiet hum of birdsong, still wrapped in the comfortable feeling of his duvet in his air-conditioned room.
There was not much grogginess for him as his psychic power practically negated such a thing, his mind booting like a super-fast PC using NV.
The young man rose, dressed in silence, then stepped out into the hallway just as Rina was erging from her own room, already dressed in her usual outfit, hair tied back with minimal effort but maximum effect.
They locked eyes for a mont and uttered no words, just having an unspoken awareness between siblings that ti was once again on the move.
Downstairs, the kitchen was alive as Charlene was at the stove, humming softly as she plated sunny-side-up eggs with avocado toast, while Keith scrolled through news articles on a transparent tablet, sipping his black coffee.
Katherine, barefoot in a silk robe, was lounging at the breakfast island with a grapefruit slice hanging off her fork.
"There they are. Co and eat before it gets cold." Charlene said, eyes softening the mont she saw her children.
Kaizer nodded and sat wordlessly while Rina slid into her usual chair beside him, already stealing a strip of bacon off his plate.
"Hey." Kaizer raised an eyebrow at the audacity.
"You’re too slow." Rina smirked, having no plans to relent.
Breakfast was quieter than dinner had been the night before, maybe because they all knew - consciously or not - that this wasn’t a regular morning.
This wasn’t just a return to school like a student going back after midterm holiday... it was goodbye for a good while.
Eight months, in fact.
Charlene was the first to break the silence. "I packed al kits for the both of you, real food, not those funny al plans that the academy likely gives."
Keith grunted in agreent. "And don’t overdo it as you’re both strong already. There’s no need to push yourselves until your bodies protest."
Rina raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that because of what happened on the train?"
Keith nodded once then put his newspaper away. "And because I’ve seen that look in your eyes before, both of you. It’s the very sa look I had before I burned out trying to please too many people at my old company before starting Lunin Corp."
Kaizer didn’t respond right away.
"We know our limits." He eventually said with a sigh.
"Just make sure you don’t forget them," Katherine added gently.
Once breakfast was done and the kitchen cleaned, Charlene hugged Kaizer tightly, then Rina, slightly longer.
"My two stars, please co back safe. I don’t care how powerful you beco. If I don’t see you smiling, none of it will matter." she whispered, holding their faces in her hands.
Kaizer kissed her hand. "I promise, mom."
Keith gave them both a solid handshake that turned into a rare but crushing hug as he patted their backs.
Katherine winked at Rina. "Bring back a son-in-law or a good battle story. Preferably both."
"Sa guy or separate?" Rina asked dryly, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
Katherine chuckled and hugged her daughter, then Kaizer. "Surprise ."
They stepped outside where the Dodge Viper ACR was already waiting, engine humming quietly in the early morning silence.
Kaizer opened the passenger door for Rina, then circled around to the driver’s seat.
He paused for just a mont, looking back at the house that was more than just a ho, but a bastion for him and Rina.
The people inside had always believed in him especially, even when he didn’t believe in himself.
Well, eight months, huh?
It wasn’t forever, just a normal school year most places worldwide.
But it sure would feel like it after coming back this ti.
Rina caught him lingering and leaned over. "You good?"
Kaizer gave a small nod, slid into the seat, and closed the door.
The car moved out of the driveway and onto the road, the hum of its engine mixing with the quiet of the morning as neither of them spoke for the first few minutes.
Eventually, Kaizer broke the silence. "Do you... regret coming back?"
Rina shook her head. "Nah, not possible."
She looked out the window, her voice softer now. "This house, this city, this family... they’re the only reason I train the way I do. Because no matter how bad it gets out there... I want to be able to return here. I don’t want another Summit Hill University ever again."
Kaizer’s grip on the wheel tightened just slightly.
"Yeah, sa." He replied with a nod.
They drove in silence again, watching the city pass them by as they headed towards the academy to change themselves deeply.
It did not take long for them to arrive, passing through the gates and heading towards their villa where Kaizer dropped off Rina, so she could also take her own car to head to Madam Sylvia’s place for her training.
As for Kaizer, he breathed out deeply and headed towards the outskirts of the academy, to an observatory-like building that the Dean gave him the map to and told him to be there by 8 am in the morning.
When the young man arrived and parked in the quiet lot of the observatory, which was located at the top of a small hillock and seed to resemble a magnified version of the Ballon D’or.
Kaizer pressed the button to lock the car and walked up in silence, his steps laden with heavy thoughts from his heart.
Anticipation for his future results.
Dread from the incoming pain.
Sadness from having left his ho behind.
Anger at the continual tragedies occurring around him.
With a belly full of emotions that his placid expression could never express easily, the young man reached the door of the observatory which had a cara and fingerprint scanner that worked alongside his student ID to verify him.
The door slid open and admitted him into a wide area that was nothing like he expected. He expected to see sealed chambers, high-tech terminals, and workstations for researchers, but the entire building was just one large open space with white walls lined with blue veins that passed data through all parts of it.
In fact... it looked just like a triple enlarged version of the training rooms.
"Welco Kaizer, to training room 0." Dean Rochester spoke casually as he walked out of the void beside Kaizer with a smile.
Kaizer glanced at the room then at the Dean. "What is the purpose of this place?"
Dean Rochester tapped his cane and manifested a one-student classroom with a whiteboard, a podium, and a desk. "This training room was specially constructed by using personal funds to train Drake during his ti as my student. Now, I have cleaned it up and reactivated it for you."
Kaizer saw the Dean’s gesture and sat at the desk while the Dean stood before the whiteboard. "I thought I would be taking in a more intense training regi?"
Dean Rochester smiled. "You will, but not in the way you expect. I will be personally handling your training on a daily basis, no longer leaving you to a re AI instructor."
"The reason I did so before was that I wanted to push you to the limit of your paraters and have you develop a routine, but I realize now that I was wrong."
Dean Rochester sighed. "Kaizer, the speed at which you will grow is enough to frighten even gods. Forget the city, all I have to do is arrange for you to be sent to the battlefield against a hundred non-espers and by the ti you co back, you might be able to even kill with a flick of your finger."
"But that is not enough. You have developed discipline and routine thanks to your two months training, but you have not mastered resourcefulness, ingenuity, or adaptation." Dean Rochester said with a direct glance at Kaizer.
Kaizer raised an eyebrow but didn’t interject, wanting to see where his ntor was going with this.
Dean Rochester nodded with extre satisfaction at Kaizer’s disposition, lanting that had Drake been even half as insightful as Kaizer, a lot of trouble would have been saved back then.
"Kaizer, this might sound very offensive, especially given that we just reconciled over this, but for the purpose of being a qualified ntor and bringing you to your best state, I have to say what needs to be said."
Dean Rochester tapped the butt of his cane on the podium severely and beca serious. "Kaizer, your fight against Davion... you shouldn’t have lost."
The Dean pointed the cane at Kaizer. "With the tools and abilities you possess, even if you couldn’t defeat him, you should never have been waylaid so badly."
Kaizer: "..."
The young man had nothing to say, only taking a deep breath and asking with equal solemnity: "Why do you say so, ntor?"
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