In the clear blue sky, clouds hovered above the city infinitely, the city bustling with herds of people like ants. Adults going to their workplaces, kids going to schools or playing, people selling, buying, and so on.
A boy of about sixteen years of age sprinted along the street.
"Shit. I can't believe I'm late." He said, gasping for air as he continued running.
He wore a white t-shirt over a pair of black tracksuit pants with three red stripes running down at each side.
"I gotta hurry up." He added as the ID hanging around his neck kept swaying sideways. He got close to a junction and didn't even bother to slow down not considering that someone or something might be coming around the turn. As he got close to the turn, a certain blue haired boy, his age emerged from the turn.
He tried stopping but it was too late and bumped into the guy before they both dropped to the ground.
"Ouch. That hurts." The blue haired boy which turned out to be Desmond said as he was getting up, one hand rubbing the back of his head. "You have to be more careful when running along the street."
He said to the other guy who was also getting up, one hand rubbing the back of his head.
"S- sorry. I was in a bit of a rush." He explained with a nervous grin. Desmond's eyes scanned the guy, up and down.
"You're going to take the entrance exam too?" Desmond asked with an expressionless gaze.
"Y- yeah. You noticed." The guy also looked at Desmond's appearance. Desmond was wearing a white t-shirt over a pair of red tracksuit pants and also had an ID hanging around his neck.
"I guess we're both going the same direction then?" Desmond smirked.
"Yeah." The guy answered extending a hand. "I'm Rexford. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Desmond. Nice to meet you too." Desmond shook hands with the guy.
"Wait." The guy -Rexford- gazed at Desmond deeply with a frown as if trying to remember him from somewhere. "Where have I seen you before?"
Desmond flinched a little at the question. He already knew the answer to that. Rexford brightened up once he remembered, the grin returning.
"Ah-ha!" Rexford smacked his palm lightly with his fist.
"You're that crazy kid who faced off against the demon along with that red headed guy."
"C-crazy!" Desmond's eyes twitched with irritation, not appreciating his bravery being referred to as crazy.
"Uh! We're late!" Rexford gasped, remembering how he was rushing earlier."Come on. We better hurry before we get left behind." He added and was about to run away when Desmond grabbed his hand.
"What do you mean we're late? We've got roughly an hour until the departure."
"What? Really?" Rexford asked with a look of surprise.
"The message said 8:30, not 7:30."
"That's not it. What's the time now?" Rexford asked, clearly freaking out.
Desmond sighed and took out his phone, showing the screen to Rexford. It read 7:15
"Convinced now?" Desmond asked, clearly not looking the least worried.
Rexford looked at the screen, clearly shocked. It made him look like an idiot. Rushing over something that was way out of line. His expression instantly shifted to one of relief and he sighed.
"Let's just take our time and walk, shall we. You'll need to save your energy from whatever test they're gonna make us go through." Desmond said and turned around to continue walking.
"Y-Yeah! You're probably right." Rexford said with his head bowed and followed up closely behind Desmond.
After a while of walking, approximately 45 minutes, Desmond and Rexford got to a harbor where there was a large military ship clad in jet black coating with yellow stripes at certain parts running from forth to back. Rexford smiled when he saw the ship.
"Looks like we made it." He said, beaming with excitement as he turned to Desmond who didn't look thrilled.
"Let's go." He said and was about walk away when he heard his phone ring in his pocket making him stop. He dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone to look at the screen. A phonecall.
He just gazed at the screen as the phone kept ringing.
"Hey... aren't you... going to answer that?" Rexford asked Desmond who didn't bother to respond. "It might be important you know. Like someone calling to wish you good luck. A brother or sister maybe?" Desmond didn't answer that question either.
"A cousin. Grandparent. Or maybe a girlfriend." Desmond shot a cold glare at Rexford but Rexford just grinned. "A girlfriend huh? I see. Did you two get into a fight or something?"
Desmond sighed and looked back at the screen which read "mom" on it. The ringing stopped and Desmond dipped the phone back into his pocket.
"Let's go." He said and walked towards the ship as Rexford followed up closely behind.
"You're such a cold guy." Rexford said to him.
At the top floor of a three storey apartment sat Desmond's mother in a black stuffing chair, her head bowed with her eyes fixated on the screen of the phone.
Desmond's father walked in from the kitchen holding two cups, both with steam coming out of them. He walked over to his wife and offered one cup to her which she took with a small smile.
"He didn't answer did he?" Desmond's father asked his wife who's smile faltered completely.
She took a sip from the cup and went back to looking at the screen with a worried face.
"That brat." The father said also taking a sip from his cup. "Making his mother worry like that."
"N-No. It's okay. I'm not worried at all." She said trying to fake a smile which the husband noticed. "I just hope he knows what he's doing."
FLASHBACK TO WHEN DESMOND WAS DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL
"Des, please think this through again." Desmond's mother said holding him by the wrist as they stood in the living room.
Desmond still had bandages wrapped around his arms. He flinched a little,.pain flaring at his wrist where his mother held. His mother quickly let go.
"I- I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Desmond didn't answer her question and sat down. His father stood leaning with his back against the wall close to the door.
*Don't try and stop me." Desmond said with a frown. "I promised grandpa and his friend." He looked up at his mother.
"Des. You don't have to do this. It's too risky." His mother said with tears building up in her eyes. "Don't let your anger get to your heart. Please."
"Don't give me that..." Desmond balled his hands into fists. His father gave a "tch" and walked over to him, grabbing him by the collar.
"You think your grandfather would have agreed to that promise. Following it will only get you killed." His father said, gazing into his eyes.
"Don't do this. Please look for another reason to fight." His father added, his expression softening as he let go off Desmond's shirt. Desmond immediately stood up and left the room.
His mother dropped to her knees, one hand covering her mouth to prevent herself from crying out loud. His father knelt down beside her and pulled her into an embrace, one hand stroking her hair.
"It's okay. He'll definitely find another reason to fight. He'll soon forget about this. Trust me."
His mother leaned into his father's embrace.
END OF FLASHBACK
Desmond's mother sat, eyes fixated on her phone as if expecting Desmond to call back.
His father walked up to sit by her side and embraced her.
"Don't worry. He'll be fine. Just believe in him."
His father said in an attempt to calm her down. She leaned her head on his chest and nodded.
"Y-Yeah. You're probably right." She said with a smile and closed her eyes as the sunlight filtered through the window into the room, illuminating their moment of peace and leaving them caught up in their own little world.
Desmond and Rexford boarded the military ship and were immediately met with a horde of kids, particularly their age wearing the same dress code as Desmond and Rexford: a white t-shirt over a pair of tracksuit pants and an ID hanging around their necks.
All attention immediately turned to the two boys who had just boarded the ship. Desmond just stared on blankly at the crowd while Rexford grinned and waved at them.
"Good morning everybody. How're you all doing?" He asked in a cheerful tone as if expecting an answer.
Desmond just gave a "tch" and walked through the crowd with narrowed eyes. All eyes were now completely on him as murmurs could be heard among them.
"Yeah, it's him." One guy murmured.
"It's the guy who defeated those two demons along with that red head." Another guy murmured.
"He looks kinda cool up close." A third guy murmured.
"Doesn't he look cute?" A girl murmured this time.
"He's a dream boat, don't you think?" Another girl murmured.
To the far left, two dark skinned guys stood, one being a feet and a half taller than the other one.
They both looked on at Desmond with the short one standing a few steps behind the tall one.
"He showed up as I expected." The short one said and looked at the tall one who watched Desmond with a cold glare.
To the far right, another dark skinned guy stood staring at Desmond with a smirk.
"So he did come huh?" He said as his smirk widened.
Desmond's eyebrows twitched as he walked through the crowd.
"This feels uncomfortable." He thought to himself, his expression changing to an irritated one but just then, he heard a familiar voice call his name. He looked up ahead to see...