Awakening Lion's Special Skill

Back at the warehouse, Dark and Tom-tom sat beside each other on a low-level glass showcase.

Dark bent over, brooding over his sleek twin gold-plated guns,

"What a drag, nothing here fits my interests!" his shoulders sank miserably.

"Yeah, whatever, I'm just worried about my money. I'm sure that man wouldn't miss any opportunity to cut me off. If we return empty-handed, I'll be playing right into his hands; he could slash my salary for months, maybe even a year!" Tom-tom rambled on, her eyes twitching with anxiety as she hung her head very low.

Dark chuckled lightly, knocking her out of her plunging nightmares.

She flared at him like a cold-hearted murderer, "It's not funny!"

She sighed, "You wouldn't get it. You're rich,"

Dark's smile quickly died down.

I was rich, richer than most, you could say, but now I've found myself in a distinct world where all sorts of crazy happen, and all practical fundamentals I had used to dominate the living world are barely applicable here, he smiled.

"But somehow... I feel lighter." his whispered voice confused Tom-tom.

"I didn't mean to make you moody, I shouldn't have assumed so carelessly. I'm sorry," Her eyes were so sad, she looked at Dark like she deeply understood his pain.

"That's not it. Honestly, I've been in a much better state recently. A paper cut doesn't hurt if you're being stabbed somewhere else right?" Dark forced his lips back up, regaining his erroneous blissful expression.

"By the way, what's your real name? I'm sure it's not Tom-tom." Dark quickly derailed.

Tom-tom barked at him; "It is my name!"

"At least it's what I gave myself when I left home," her eyes glittering with upcoming tears, but she held them back as she avoided eye contact.

"The world I live in isn't easy going, so I decided to bear a tough and male-sounding name. Don't even ask me why I left home because I'm not saying." She rampaged on, not slowing down for anyone.

Her mouth twisted and brows furrowed as she crossed her arms, the whole denial package.

"It's not tough, it's childish," Dark stated with a teasing smirk, and Tom-tom's skin shone red with erupting anger.

"Isn't it time you left?" She gnashed her teeth, trying to be as subtle as possible.

But her words travelled farther than a tease, Dark quickly remembered he had somewhere to be.

He checked his watch and almost fell off the showcase.

"I'm almost late for a party I don't want to attend." He shrugged.

"I'll come see you another time okay?" He assured, patting her on the head softly.

"I'm not expecting you. And stop treating me like a child, I'm sure I'm just a year younger than you at most." She shot daggers at him, frowning like a grump.

Dark smiled once more, then he put his hand on her head, not so gently this time, and she carped softly.

"You're too cute to answer Tom-tom, don't worry, I'll give you a befitting name sooner or later," he teased further with a sinister smile, he sang like a mockingbird. Tom-tom's anger only grew.

Now satisfied with her current state, Dark brought out his phone, which had been buzzing for quite some time now.

The number of messages he received from Shade was disturbing. So, of course, he skipped them all.

But one stood out differently; you could tell from the format that it wasn't just any message.

He opened the email just out of curiosity, but immediately frowned at his findings.

His eyes twitched immediately, while he kept reading. His teeth smashed against each other, like he had just gotten very bad news, but in reality, he got a pride note.

A pride note, as he often called it, was any note that entailed any form of power over him.

He just found out that the almighty Sapphire at the last minute, had made the night ceremony compulsory for all first years, putting up a time limit to show up at the venue at 10:15.

"Defaulters would meet a strict punishment tailored by me," Dark mumbled the last bits. He checked his watch again; it was 10:01.

Shit, I don't have much time left. Dark thought,

Things like this, always leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Finally going through Shade's messages, he got even more tense.

"Sorry, bro, I've got something really important to do. See you at the party. I trust you know your way back to the academy. See you soon 👍"

Shade's final message felt like a curse, and Dark snarled at it.

Though he was still within the school premises, it didn't mean he was anywhere near the venue. Being an aged academy, the premise was very large with probably more unexplored areas than one would initially think.

"You guys don't happen to rent bikes do you?" Dark wore a pale smile, even though he already knew the answer to that question.

"Um, no, this is a weapons-only warehouse," Tom-tom replied as she too got up from the showcase.

What a mess. I seem to have lost my edge.

"But there's something I can offer you, it's still a work in progress, so you'll just have to treat it with extreme care.." Her voice pierced through Dark's mould of despair.

"Huh," He muttered with little hope flickering in his eyes.

He glanced at the message one last time, then he navigated his eyes a little to the top of his phone, it was now 10:03.

Damn,

"Does this gift have wheels?" He asked with an edgy smile, one that really reflected his predicament.

↑→↓←↑→

A bright light accompanied by a riveting engine sped through the mini and unattended road. It was a motorbike, pitch black in colour with flowing red stripes which gave it a little life. The helmet was also as black as the bike, strapped to the rider's head.

He twisted the handle, firing up the engine and thus thrusting farther.

His eyes drifted for a second, stealing a glance at his watch, it was now 10:13 PM.

→ → →

10:15 PM.

The Sapphire looked at his watch and let out a subtle grin, invisible to everyone else.

"So he didn't show up after all, he really is stupid," he mumbled, staring past the industrial iron doors, into the darkness that came after it.

The party venue was at one of the various grand halls, the tall doors were built for the purpose of an emergency safe room.

"You planned it well. If he misses this party, then you could still see him during the punishment session. Whatever this is about anyway," Ruby stood beside him, already using her calculator voice.

He peered into the darkness one last time.

"Close the doors," He said in a calm and authoritative tone, already feeling triumphant.

On his command, the doors started moving towards each other.

He turned his back to the closing doors when the faint sounds of a revving bike drew his attention. He skeptically turned towards it, his expression suddenly brightening up as his smile grew more obsessive and wide.

Most students present easily heard the noise from the bike over the slow and high-class music that was being played by a professional orchestra; they too turned towards the direction, only to see the Sapphire staring keenly in the same direction.

"Shouldn't we open back up the doors? It's almost closed," Ruby suggested as impartial as ever, but didn't even get a glance from the Sapphire.

"10:15— is— 10:15" the Sapphire persisted.

Dark saw the doors and immediately furrowed his brows when he saw the face behind them. He twisted the bike handle, and it let out a rough sound.

"I won't make it," he sighed in anger, then made a C-drift, stopping in his pursuit.

The Sapphire's smile remained, eating at Dark's smile. He took off his helmet and looked sternly at his senior.

Though at a far distance from each other, their stares seemed to collide with great intensity.

The doors were still patiently on their way but very slowly. Dark smirked, putting on his helmet he fired up the engine and continued on his way towards the Sapphire.

Shade watched the whole saga from an angle, the expression he directed to the Sapphire was not friendly at all.

The gate was now more than sixty percent closed off but Dark was still a little far out.

"C'mon!" He urged.

He was the best and the first, so losing wasn't in his dictionary, but now he's not the Ace.

No.

Now he's something much more.

Everything around Dark slowly quieted down, even the loud, messed-up engine.

I no longer hear the engine sounds, is it giving out? Well, I expected it. he whispered in his head.

His expression and will had greatly diminished; his eyes bore the resemblance of his past self, only it wasn't from an unparalleled victory, but from public loss.

He looked down at the ground, but still found the motorbike racing ahead.

His lips slightly parted,

Huh?

He looked back up, everything else around him was in a static state, even the dust made by the bike was still.

Everything not in contact with him was instantly paused.

So this was Lion's special skill, 

His face lit up a little more as he gripped the bike handles with more energy.

He led the bike as fast as he could, so very close to the gate, when his lungs twisted.

Coughing, he could see the hall's doors cracking, and then they continued on their way.

How?... How?...

"How is this possible?" Abbot's demeanour totally transformed into something more observant and concerned, and of course, angered. A couple of gasps could be heard behind him as well, from other first-year students.

Dark was now just a few steps before the gate; the distance between the two doors couldn't fit the bike any longer, but Dark persisted;

He rolled up both bike handles and quickly said a prayer of gratitude to Tom-tom for that brilliant feature. He quickly bounced off the seat and stood on his bike like it was a serf board.

The moment was too fast and high-pulsed for anyone to say a word; all the first years did, was stare in amazement with their mouths slightly open.

Dark scaled through the doors with no second to spare as the doors met each other a hair's breadth behind him.

He crashed back onto the bike seat, rolling down the handles, he stopped it right before the Sapphire's feet.

His head tilted up towards the number one student, who in turn looked down at him.

Both had smiles that depicted great thrill.

Make me lose for once! they both said within themselves.

The entire audience froze, all eyes on the climax.