Friend.

Just like that, Zane was left with nothing but his boredom once again. His grip on the note tightened.

–What? But I thought I was doing well?

Maybe that’s true…maybe it’s not. Regardless, Zane will no longer be training with the five colors.

Something twisted in Zane as he read the note over.

Dear Zane Kugel,

Based on the performance of your evaluation, we’ll have to let you go early. Pack your things and head home.

-Red.

– “Based on the performance of your evaluation.” The fuck did I do wrong? Didn’t Red say I did well?

Something fundamental twisted in Zane as he reread the note once more. His grip tightened.

– “Pack your things and head home.” He wrote it like I was nothing.

The note nearly split at his grip. His hands, no, his body, no, his soul was filled with something he had never felt before.

Something deep inside him that was unexplainable to him. Due to living a life of boredom, Zane had never wanted to join something or be with others.

So for the first time in his life, Zane felt rejection.

– So is this what I get for wanting to not feel this boredom? For chasing excitement? If this is life, then what’s the point? Why chase? Why hunt? Why worry? Why? Why?

His body began to shake.

– Why? Why? Why?

Why was a good question. So good, in fact, that Zane stopped…he just stopped. His face went from a mask that was about to erupt into tears to a calm, neutral expression.

He quietly walked around the dorm room and grabbed his things. It was a lot to grab, in all honesty.

– Why do I even care?

Within a few short minutes, he walked out of his room and down the hall; each step felt like a stab to his chest.

The worst had yet to come.

As he walked towards the stairs, a familiar red-haired boy walked up to him. Apollo stood in front of Zane, but like Zane, his expression was neutral.

“What do you think you're doing, peasant?

Zane didn’t react to the insult.

“I’m leaving. I was kicked out.”

“What?”

Apollo looked to the bag, then to Zane’s face, then back to the bag. His fist tightened.

“Excuse me? No. You can’t leave.”

“What part of I was kicked out do you not understand? Now move.”

Zane walked past the red-haired boy. Each step personally insulted Apollo.

– Why does he care so much anyway?

His movement was halted when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. Zane turned to see Apollo changing up a right hook.

Yet despite the oncoming attack, Zane didn't move flinch or budge. For some reason, he knew the attack wouldn't land. Apollo just let his fist come close to Zane's jaw.

"That's...Tsk."

The red-haired man turned around and walked away.

The clean entrance looked a little dirtier as he walked out. Not even acknowledge Ina as he left.

…

..

.

Meanwhile, across the city, a woman with dark blue hair sprinted on rooftops, her eyes tracking a blur. Her legs blurred as she leaned forward, speeding up.

She was wearing black baggy pants with Red greaves that had built-in sandals. She had a sword on her hip, a katana.

– It looks panicked.

Her red eyes never moved an inch. She didn’t blink. She focused, then took a breath and leaped downward.

“Wind spirits guide my aim.”

She cut the air open. A crescent shape dashed towards the blur, cutting it in half. The blur cleared to reveal that it was a shoe spirit with wings.

It began to melt into this black goo as the woman sheathed her katana. She looked a few meters ahead and then to the spirit.

– So that’s what you’re after.

She walked past the melting spirit and knelt down to inspect a black and white flame that burned on the ground.

Her left eyebrow twitched.

– You’re back…after all these years. So who do you plan to fight now?

She reached for the flame, but it dissipated before she could touch it.

Clapping her hands together, she covered her left eye with her left hand and closed it. She used her right hand to pull out a weird piece of glass. She slammed the glass against her left eye, then pulled her hand away before she struck it.

Her blood splashed out of her head and formed a window in the air. She looked at the black flame, and her blood window showed her a path.

A path of black flames.

She turned around and walked away. Each step was quicker than the last; anger wrapped around her entire body.

“Tsk.”

This woman’s rage filled her feet as she ran. This woman is named Joan Chappe.

…

..

.

It's been hours since the bored boy got home. He was in his room. Just lying there, his body nearly fused into the bed. His eyes looked at the wall and into nothingness. His gaze was caught in space.

His Aunt looked at her nephew. Her gaze was saddened.

This was a new experience. To her, this wasn't Zane. Zane never mopped; he didn't get depressed over being rejected, yet to see him like this was odd, new, and sad.

She walked up to her Nephew.

"Hey, you doing alright?"

"..."

The bed creaked as it had to hold the weight of two people instead of just the moopy one.

"Zane?"

"I don't get it."

Her eyes widened as he continued.

"I think that's the first time in my life where I actually wanted to try my best at something, and I was...I was...I wasn't good enough for it. But that doesn't make sense since he said I did well, so why did I...I-"

His throat tightened in his own shock. The only times he remembered crying were when he was a kid. Yet his body threatened to shed tears now.

-Why? Why am I gonna cry over this?

His body shook; maybe he was trying to tell his body to stop the tears, or maybe it was his body telling him that he was going to cry either way, but regardless, the shaking stopped once his body felt the warmth of an arm wrapping around it. Of a body pressing against it, the warmth of a hug was stronger than Zane's tears.

They didn't know how long they stayed there. Five minutes? Ten? It didn't really matter, in all honesty. It was however long Zane needed.

Time flew, and after a while the two got up and walked into the living room of their small house. Zane walked towards the door for another walk; however, before he could rest his hand against the bronze handle, his aunt tugged at his shirt.

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"Stop stealing my shampoo and lotion!"

Zane blinked once, then twice. After the third blink, he tried his best to hold back a giggle, but he failed.

His body bounced slightly with each giggle. He looked at his aunt.

"I'll stop."

He twisted the knob.

"I'll be back soon."

"You better."

With a soft push, the bored boy walked out of his house once again. His feet, like last time, simply walked on a locationless path.

The moon rested lazily in the sky as he slowly made his way around the world. The wind whistled with a sense of change.

–How embarrassing. I was such a fucking baby; I never cry like that. I never need to be comforted like that, and for what? Just because I can’t throw myself towards spirits as a job?

His chest expanded, then shrank as he took a breath. Anger left his nostrils as one foot swung in front of the other.

–Then again, I wasn’t doing it just to charge towards spirits, was I?

His feet stopped; the gravel beneath him gave way under his weight. He looked up; the stars rested on his eyes.

–Did I really join just because I was bored? Did I save that kid because I was bored? Does that make me a bad person?

“Am I a bad person?”

“Well, I sure hope so, friend.”

The voice came out of nowhere. Zane’s body flinched as he turned to look into the shadows.

Taking a step away from the nearby bushes and trees, Zane slightly raised his hand from his pocket to his waist.

“Hello? Who’s there?”

His eyes frantically searched the area. The darkness fought against his sight until he saw it—the color red.

A humanoid rabbit stepped out of the woods; red and black clung to it, and it jumped around its silhouette.

“I’m just a friend, friend.”

It took three steps before it changed at Zane. Its movements were animalistic; its “Hands” morphed into claws digging into the ground with each stride.

“I know this is really forward, but I need to shove my hand inside you, so stay still!”

It leaped into the air, whipping back its right arm. Zane snapped out of his confusion, taking a step back and filling the area around his arms with spiritual energy.

Shifting his body into a peekaboo boxing stance, Zane planted his feet, gritted his teeth, and took the first attack with minimal damage. The rabbit smiled.

“Thank god you’re not boring! You were quick on the uptake! Good job!”

It swung its left leg; the ankle aimed for Zane’s temple. Zane quickly backstepped, the rabbit adjusting for its landing.

–What the fuck is this thing!? It’s not like the other spirits I’ve seen…this one feels…off?

“Oh shit! I nearly forgot! What’s your name? My master is gonna want it after I get back!”

“My name? What the fuck do you want with me? Why would a spirit need my name?”

“Oh, I see. I know you mortals prefer to exchange names…I am the valiant rabbit spirit; B#nny”

–What type of name is that? Can I even pronounce that?

“Now it’s your turn, friend?”

Zane took a step back and raised his arms.

“Zane…just Zane.”

“But don’t mortals usually have a given and family name?”

“Don’t spirits also have family names?”

“Of course not.”

“Well then…I won’t be saying my family name to you.”

B#nny gave Zane a giggle. The tangles of Red and Black violently vibrated.

“It’s alright; you won’t have to tell me, Kugel.”

“!!!”

The bored boy's eyes widened beyond belief. Zane took another step back; the bewilderment caused B#nny to laugh violently once more.

“You knew? Then why ask?”

“Bwahahaha! Because I wanted to see if you’d tell the truth! I bet that Aunt of yours would be way kinder–”

Within that second, right as the mention of his Aunt vibrated out of the spirit's mouth, he charged towards the spirit. His teeth nearly cracked from the force with which he gritted them.

–Who does this bastard think they are?

Zane blurred at his own speed as his foot emitted a red glew that cracked the ground into a spiderweb. Cocking his right fist back, the missile he called his own knuckles launched toward the spirit.

Yet despite his speed, the spirit smiled and effortlessly backstepped out of the way. This didn’t stop the bored boy, however; stomping his foot into the ground, another spiderweb appeared. He twisted his torso towards the spirit.

His left leg extended out, his heel digging into the spirit's “gut.” Due to the speed of the kick, pressure built up between Zane’s heel and the spirit’s “gut.” With a hit of a red glow from Zane, a sound boom pierced through the air.

BOOM!

B#nny was reluctantly flung into the nearby forest, with a smile still plastered on his face.

“BWAHAHAHA!!! YES! YES! YES!”

The bunny twisted his body so he could squat against the trunk of a thick tree. The bark cracked off with the force of his stop. The spirit's thighs twisted, stretched, and contorted to accommodate the stop in momentum.

With a loud crack, B#nny leaped towards Zane.

BNNG!

Zane planted his feet, gritted his teeth, and cocked back his left fist. The wind curled around that fist; a red hue burst from his knuckles.

–I think I get it now.

The air itself parted away for Zane's left jab. The speed and force nearly broke B#nny’s “Arm” as the spirit blocked Zane's attack by throwing a jab himself.

They threw jab after jab at each other; each jab was stopped by the other's. The air between them screamed as they moved faster and faster.

–Why I cried like a baby when I got rejected by the Spirit Hunter Corps.

Faster and faster their fist flew; Zane, thinking quickly, slammed his right leg against B#nny’s left knee. The spirit's legs buckled at the force.

–Why I needed my own Aunt to cuddle me like a crying child.

B#nny’s smile only grew as he realized that Zane was about to hit him with a barrage of jabs, hooks, and crosses. Soon after that smile grew, B#nny’s wish came true.

Jab after Jab, Hook after Hook, Cross after Cross, backhand after backhand. Zane couldn’t stop himself; his own lips moved quicker as his hands emitted their red glow.

–It’s because saving others, protecting others, FIGHTING OTHERS! It gives me purpose, it gives me life, I’m not bored when I’m like this.

“Ha.”, Zane chuckled.

His fist kept flying; he wound up for a left uppercut, and as if the attack was promised to him, it landed against B#nny.

The spirit’s “jaw” swung towards the stars. Seeing an opening, Zane cocked back another fist. His right fist flew downwards towards B#nny’s gut.

“HAHAHA!” Zane Laughed.

He was laughing, having fun, having the time of his damn life! For the first time in a long time, he didn’t feel like everything was so damn dull.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

He couldn’t contain himself anymore. Eighteen years, and this was the first time he had felt like himself. He stomped his right foot against B#nny’s left.

“Tell your master that I accept his challenge! I’ll fucking crush him!”

As if those were the secret words B#nny was craving to hear, the spirit flexed his left “leg”; the ground once more screamed in pain as spiderwebs were engraved into it. Zane’s right foot flew upwards; his balance was now off.

With the sound of a knife cutting through fruit, Zane felt heat in his chest. Heat…heat, so much fucking heat.

–Hot…hot…HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT!

Blood ran from Zane’s mouth as he looked down at his own chest; his eyes widened, his lips quivered.

–HOT! HOT! HOT!

B#nny’s entire forearm was lodged into Zane’s chest as he smiled. He laughed and then made a weird hand sign next to his bicep.

“Bwahaha…If you say so, you did good. Okay then, let’s get the challenge started.”

B#nny chuckled once more before chanting something.

“The Reflection, The Opposite, The Other, The Self; Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds, Spades. This is the Venta Knights challenge!”

B#nny leaned in close, so close that Zane could hear an odd sound coming from the spirit. He whispered.

“Good luck, Spade.”

In that moment, Zane’s back began to glow with a bright light as a black spade was etched into it.

“THERE YOU ARE!”

An unknown voice called from the stars; in that moment, B#nny’s forearm was savored. The spirit jumped back with a smile.

“Ohh! It’s you.”

A woman with dark blue hair and deep red eyes stared down the spirit. This woman was once again Joan Chappe.

“Little shit! Where is he!?” She barked.

“Bwahahaha, sorry, Miss Chappe, but since you’re not invited to the party, I have no obligation to tell you!”

In that moment, she lunged towards the spirit, her sword drawn.

“Bastard!”

“Toodiloo~”

Within a beat of a second, the spirit vanished, leaving only the enraged woman and the dying bored boy.

–Who…is….is that the girl from…from the river?

Joan looked back towards the dying boy. Blood ran away from him as the heat left Zane.

“You’re the boy from the river,” Joan observed.

She quickly walked up to the boy and picked him up without a second thought.

…

..

.

Darkness.