Point-of-View: Inoka Fonseka
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Category 1...isn’t that the second highest rank for ta-Humans?
"What about the other guys here, what rank are they?" I chid in, unable to contain my curiosity.
"Oh, um...they’re mostly Category 2s and 3s, and I think a few 4s too," She responded after mulling it over for a bit.
Wait, what? Doesn’t that an...
"Hold on, back up a sec...are you the highest ranking ta-Human here!?" Exclaid Alexis in surprise.
"Y-yes, I know I don’t seem like it, b-but that’s my rank. Um, I hope that didn’t sound too cocky or anything, I certainly didn’t an-," She began nervously.
"Actually, the way you said it was as far from being cocky as possible. So, how co you’re treated like a lapdog by those douchebags when you outrank them?" I inquired bluntly.
"Hey, uh, that’s kinda harsh, uh, when you put it that way," Said Zoraiz, as he glanced between us.
Maybe so, but I couldn’t help it...her case seems to be a bit more extre, but she reminds of how I used to be. Back in high school, I was a ek, weak-willed pushover that couldn’t say no to anyone, would stay silent when made fun of and had a low opinion of myself, even though I’d never done anything wrong.
I was good at my studies and decent at sports, but no matter how well I did, my confidence only kept shrinking, because people kept putting down-...no, that’s not quite right, the harsh reality was that I let them keep putting down, I never defended myself even once.
I was the butt of everyone’s jokes, I let them copy my notes and exam answers, and whenever they asked to do sothing for them, I’d do it, stuff like buying them snacks from the cafeteria to delivering their howork to teachers, even if I didn’t want to, I just didn’t have the self-confidence or guts to say no.
And then ca the mont that opened my eyes...in what should have been my last year, my classmates got carried away at the end of the year and played a ’prank’, absolutely trashing the school building at night, when no one was there.
The specifics are kind of a blur, but when the teachers sohow found out that it was my class that were involved, the bla was placed on , even though I hadn’t even been a part of it at all. The worst part was that I agreed to go along with it...in my deluded, pathetic state of mind, I genuinely thought they were my friends.
But then, I was expelled without graduating, and I never heard from my forr classmates again. I did try contacting them from ti to ti, but they ignored , and that’s when I finally ca to my senses and snapped out of it.
Living while trying to please others and worrying about what they think of ...it ruined my life. And it took getting expelled and disowned by my family to realize it. And when I did realize it, I was absolutely baffled at how stupid I was...looking back on it now, I’m utterly disgusted at myself.
My parents were the super traditional type, they’d wanted to beco a doctor even though I wasn’t very good at any science subjects, and they always had unreasonable expectations of . Like, they’d yell at and take away my devices if I ever scored below eighty percent on a test or exam.
So when I got expelled, they were absolutely furious, and my father disowned in disgust, telling to leave the house imdiately and never return, calling a disgrace to the family. My mother showed so sympathy and gave a small amount of money, barely enough for a couple of months, but it was certainly better than nothing, I suppose.
I managed to keep myself from becoming holess by working part-ti jobs, just barely making enough money to pay rent and buy food. Any spare money would go towards buying crap like junk food, cigarettes, weed and alcohol...that just about describes my daily life for the past four years or so. Huh, in hindsight...maybe getting kidnapped and brought here isn’t so bad, after all.
If nothing else, this place is certainly way nicer than the dingy apartnt I’d been living in. The air conditioning here is especially great, all I had in my apartnt was a creaky ceiling fan that barely made a difference.
"It’s...," Muttered Kiyana, snapping out of my negative reminiscence, "It’s not like I want to be treated like that, I just..."
"I don’t really care either way, but here’s so advice...if you don’t stand up for yourself now, you’ll never be able to, it’ll only get harder and harder. And then, before you know it, it’s too late, and all you’ll be left with is regret," I remarked, averting my gaze as glimpses of my past flashed through my mind.
"I...I know that you’re, um, probably right...but it’s easier said that done. I would if I could, but I, um..I just don’t have it in ...," She responded with a faint smile, before trailing off and scrunching up her eyebrows, "Wait, what was you na again? Did you tell ? I...I can’t rember, I’m-!"
She’s way too nervous...whatever she’s been through, it’s absolutely decimated her self-confidence...
"Sheesh, calm down...huh, now that I think about it, we didn’t introduce ourselves to you, did we?" I realized.
"Oh, yeah, we were too suspicious of her not being a dick to us," Recalled Alexis, her eyes widening, before she turned to Kiyana and introduced herself, "Hi, I’m Alexis Tucker, nice to et you."
"Inoka Fonseka," I added, as she glanced at .
"Oh, and, uh...I’m Zoraiz Rafayet," He chid in awkwardly.
Huh, he talks just fine when he’s being dry or sarcastic and when he’s annoyed, but otherwise, he speaks with very little confidence. Well, whatever, it’s not like I really care. I’ll just focus on the rest of this tour, I’m guessing we’ll be staying here for a while, so yeah, might as well get to know the layout of this place.
"These rooms here are, um, used for training, they’re very spacious and highly durable, and, uh...y-yeah," Kiyana inford us, though she didn’t seem to sure of her explanations...more specifically, where and how to end them.
"None of them are occupied, is that normal?" I inquired, noticing that all of the training rooms were empty.
"Um, yes. They’re mostly used for training new young tas after they, um, first awaken their Auras. Most tas who have mastered control over their Auras and Skills don’t train much...the majority of Monsters that appear these days are relatively weak so, um, they don’t need to train hard. And when it cos to dealing with Eden, um, it’s usually only Category 0s and 1s that are called up," She explained, as she continued to lead the way.
"Hey, uh, what about walking tree Monsters? I think they’re called, uh, Treants," Spoke up Zoraiz.
"Oh, um, they’re among the weakest level of Monsters, classified as Common-Tier," She inford him.
"...those things are considered to be weak?" He muttered to himself with a frown.
Huh, from the sound of it, he’s encountered Monsters...probably before he was kidnapped.
"I’m guessing Monster attacks are rare? Because otherwise, you’d think that they’d be all over the internet," Chid in Alexis curiously.
"Actually, um, normal humans can’t see Monsters, except for certain types that haven’t been seen in over a century. Monsters have no interest in normal humans, they’re, um, only interested in tas and other creatures that generate Aura...which includes other Monsters, so, um, it’s not unusual for different Monsters to attack each other, just like wild animals. The only thing that separates them from normal animals is that, um, they can’t be seen by normal humans."
Hm?
"From what you said...are there creatures besides ta-Humans and Monsters that generate Aura?" I inquired, getting rather fascinated.
"Yes, there are, various races that are collectively known as, um, Demi-Humans, or Demis for short. Vampires, Werewolves, Elves, to na a few. Most of them live in hiding from what I know, but, um, I don’t actually have much knowledge about them," She remarked sheepishly, as we reached another room and added, "In here we’ve got clothes, made of a special fabric ant to withstand ta powers...your rooms are just around the next corner, so why don’t you choose so outfits you like and then clean up and change?"
She briefly glanced at when she said the last part...I’m kinda ticked off, but also, understandable. I probably had lingering traces of cigarettes and booze on , not to ntion that I sweated like crazy in that desert...yeah, I could definitely use a shower.
"Oh, that sounds good, all I’ve got on is this random outfit that Neo guy gave , and I’d rather pick my own clothes," Huffed Alexis, as Kiyana opened the door and let us in.
Woah, this straight up looks like a clothing store, there were rows and rows of racks, full of clothes, spanning the entire space, which looked about the size of a soccer field.
"Um, aren’t you going in?" Kiyana asked Zoraiz, who was lingering by the entrance.
"Oh, uh...well, I’m happy with what I’m wearing, so, uh, I...I wasn’t sure if it’s, like, okay for to pick more clothes," He replied uncertainly.
Wow, his social skills are really bad, huh...
"It’s not a problem at all, there’s more than enough to spare, so help yourself," Responded Kiyana...huh, she seems less nervous now.
Is it that she’s gaining more confidence, seeing soone more nervous and awkward than she is? I’ve always been good at reading people’s body languages, I enjoy discerning how they feel just by looking at that...well, it started off as a way to distract myself from my misery when I was in school, but I ended up enjoying it, so yeah.
Well, anyway, guess I should pick an outfit for myself, huh? You know, all things considered, maybe this isn’t so bad. Gaining superpowers and then being taken in by an organization of superhumans...it’s kinda like sothing straight out of an ani, and so far, it doesn’t look like they’re going to mistreat us.
Hm, the others that ended up like us, coming across the ta-Orbs...so of them have probably been kidnapped by Eden, the rival organization to Harmony..pared to this place, I wonder what it’s like there...
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