chapter 2

Life at Kaminari High wasnt the same after that. Any hope of normalcy was snuffed out and stomped on like a rose trampled on the ground. Why did his classmates assumed that he was dangerous and unhinged. Why did they act so scared every time he saw him and Daigo.

People started to badmouth him everywhere he went. He didn't even have a moment to appreciate the little things. Kai was never used to being treated like this. As the representative of Aries, he was revered by the rest of the Zodiac for being the first sign. The other Zodiac members revered him and worshipped him day and night. Whenever his name was mentioned, he heard only good things about him. No one had anything bad to say to him because he was a kind person and treated everyone equally. They admired his sense of fair play on and off of the court. They valued his honesty and integrity.

Haruhiko was drafted into the Seahawks when the accident happened. Haruhiko was the best Point Guard on the team and he was on the verge of making his dreams come through. But the accident cut his life short. If only Haru didn't save his brother then he would have still being alive to fulfil his dreams. He recalled the accident that took place when he was a kid. Haruhiko was injured, a shard of glass embedded into his leg. But his main concern was getting his brother to safety. Kai's seatbelt was stuck on him digging into his stomach.

"Haru-nii. I'm scared." A younger Kai had said, sniffling. He was six years old and Haruhiko was thirteen.

"Don't be. Kai. I'll save you. Just hang on." Kai slowly nodded. Haru grabbed a knife and started to cut the seatbelt and the knife slipped-

From his sweaty palms onto Kai's outstretched leg. Kai couldn't move, mainly from the fear of what happened earlier.

"No!" He yelled, grabbing the knife just before it pierced his skin. 

"Is mom and dad alright?" Kai asked.

"Don't worry about them. They're fine." Haruhiko said. Kai knew the truth. His parents had died. 

Kai loved his brother. His brother gave his life to save him. That's why he wanted to honour his family and adopt his brother's dreams of being a Basketball player. He felt as if he owed his brother that much for being the best brother ever. His brother taught him everything he knew about being a member of the Zodiac.

Haruhiko died, succumbing to his injuries. It was revealed during the stay at the hospital that he had a shard of glass that embedded deep into his leg and he died from that. When they told him, he couldn't believe that his kind, older brother was gone. He refused to believe it and chased the nurses out.

A ball hit the back of his head. He rubbed his head. "Oh, sorry. My hand slipped."

His tone made it seem as if he was telling the truth, but he was lying.

This was the captain of the football team treating Kai like dirt. Kai could have easily dodged that and retaliated. But he didn't want them to know the full extent of his abilities. Because he didn't want them to fear him any more than they already have.

He pushed him into the lockers." Go on! I'm not afraid of you. Use your powers against me. You'll be expelled. I'll make sure that you will be soon enough."

Kai's face never showed any emotion. He had excellent control of his anger. If he let his anger out on mortals or non-zodianites, he could inadvertently hurt them. He trained hard to control his emotions so he wouldn't accidentally lose control. When his family was alive, Kai always appreciated that his family never blamed him for his outbursts because he couldn't control his anger at the time. He only damaged property and his parents were always paying for it. But not once did they blame him. Sure, they were frustrated and angry at times, but it was never directed at him. Even his brother gave him plenty of chances whenever he screwed up.

Kai walked away from him. The captain only wanted to rile him and he wasn't even worth his time. Haruhiko never allowed people to bully him into being something he's not and thats exactly what Kai planned on doing with this captain whose clearly got a death wish.

Kai walked away from the captain. He was fuming and shouting curse words at him, but Kai left him to deal with his issues. Kai was not his therapist and nor was he a punching bag but he couldn't showcase the full extent of his abilities. Because he had to maintain a calm composure. Sometimes that was hard for him to do. It was hard because fire is the element of passion and its unyielding nature makes it difficult for him to control. Especially in anger.

Kai sighed as he walked across the corridor. He had no idea why anyone would hate him for something he can't control. But being a member of the Zodiac always brought him joy. Not once did he regret being the first sign of the Zodiac. He was always in awe that the other Zodiac made it clear that they respected him.

A fey days later had passed and Kai was cornered by a few of his classmates, they taunted him and stomped on his books and tore the pages of his notebook out.

"Please! Stop it! I don't want any trouble. I just wanted to be left alone." Kai pleaded with them. He was willing to endure their harsh treatment, but even he had his limits. He couldn't do this anymore. Not on the day of his parents' death. He had no idea why people were being horrible to him. What has he ever done?

"Oh-ho! What is this?" A person said, taking out a small notebook with a black cover.

"Please give it to me. Its my brother's. Thats the only memento I have? I don't care what you do to me. But don't ruin that notebook."

Kai lunged forward. But two of his classmates, much stronger than he was grabbed him before he could reach the notebook. "You want this back?"

"Yes I do. Please." Kai said, his voice barely a whisper. The boy lit a match and set the notebook on fire right in front of Kai, who fell onto his knees.

He facepalmed. "Why did you do something so cruel and heartless? I never did anything to you guys." Kai's tone carried a sense of hurt as he spoke so dejectedly. The only memento he had of his brother was burned to a crisp right in front of him.

After they burned his notebook, they started laughing at him as if he was a joke." Oh, you're crying because of that. I'll give you something better to cry about."

He twisted his hand behind his back and he felt as if his arm was going to break.

Kai shoved them away. "Get lost!" Kai said, his eyes blazing in anger. Kai thought for a second about what Haruhiko would have done in this situation. He wouldn't have being so quick to retaliate thats for sure. But he's no longer here.

His classmates scrambled in the direction and Kai tried to salvage the ash from his notebook, his tears dropping onto the pile of ash over and over again. He didn't even understand why his classmates could do something so cruel and tactless. He'd never tried to hurt them or intimidate them. He left them alone, so why didn't they do the same.

"Kai. Are you okay?" A voice said. Kai glanced up and through his tears, he could see a silhouette of a teenaged girl with dark brown hair and brown eyes staring at him.

Kai knew her name. It was Azusa Takanashi. She was popular amongst her peers and everyone wanted to be a friend and be invited to her house. 

Azusa stood right in front of him. Kai stared at her face. Kai blushed as he stared down.

"What are you staring at me for?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry. I am not trying to make you feel uncomfortable. But you're popular and I'm not. I don't know why you're willing to help me."

"I'm helping you because its the right thing to do. What I don't care about is being popular."

"I know you're the Aries representative. But it will be awful if you lose control. Don't take revenge on your classmates."

"It isn't in my nature to do so. But there are limits to my patience. Patience is a virtue, a Zodianite's emotions can be a liability if left unchecked."

Azusa patted his shoulder. "I know you'll do the right thing. But are you really going to let them get away with bullying you. Even if you complain to the principal, my grandfather, they won't believe you. No one will. There are some people who fear that Zodianites are dangerous and unhinged if they are unmonitored."

"I am not dangerous. Despite them bullying me every chance they get, I never used my powers against them. I have excellent control on my emotions. I'd never once tried to intimidate them using my abilities." Kai said.

"You have powers." Azusa said, her jaw dropping. "But why don't you use it to defend yourself?"

"Weren't you listening to me, Azusa. I just said that I would never use my powers to hurt people. Besides, if I use them, people would reject me and ostracise me way more that they already do." Kai looked gloomy when he finished.

"Bye. Theres something that I got to take care of first." Azusa said, waving her hand at him. Kai waved back, watching her leave. He felt better talking to her and his heart felt as if it ran a marathon.

Azusa stopped in her tracks and turned around. "If you want to gain the favour of your classmates. You have to prove to them that you'll never use your powers to hurt them. I know its awful. But I believe you could do it. Tryouts for the basketball team are starting in two weeks. Basketball has a great way to bring people together. You should give it a try.

"Of course I will." Takanashi-san. Kai smiled. This is his chance to prove to them that he's different. He didn't need his super speed to play. Nor was he going to use his powers. It wouldn't be fair.

"Stay away from this loser. He will hurt you just like he killed his family."

Kai looked as if his blood turned to ice. Why would people believe him anyway? They only judged him based on what he is, rather than who he is. At times like this, he wanted so badly to have a friend, a person he can be himself with and who would accept him. But he knew that it was nothing but a flightless fantasy.