After taking a detour to his dorm room to change into the school's gym clothes -orange base with black lining, a T-shirt and a pair of trousers- and organize his groceries, he went to the large building behind the school block; The Grand Crucible Of Arms And Ascension. Or as every student called it, The Crucible.
The Crucible was incredibly large, roughly the length and breadth of a football field. It was also incredibly tall. It was painted black and orange, but the orange was in the shape of large flames painted onto the building. On the inside, however, was where things got interesting.
On either side of the building, the left wall and the right wall, stood various types of equipment.
On the left was a large rack holding various weapons, leaving anyone who desired them spoiled for choice. Nunchaku, hook swords, spears, javelins, bows, sabers, daggers. Name it, and it was there.
Apart from the weapons were equipment pieces similar to armor, as well as several black cases.
On the right side stood typical gym equipment: rowing machines, weight benches, punching bags, et cetera.
At the center of the Crucible was a line of three large straw-colored mats that divided the room into two halves. One farther away from the entrance, and one attached to the entrance.
The half attached to the entrance had a large mirror upon its wall. The floor was covered by a simple black mat.
On the other half, however, the floor was the color of stone, with several interlocking lines.
Attached to the walls was a large walkway that covered all sides of the gym.
Liam observed all this in a few moments, then zoomed in on the two boys currently sparring on the central mat.
One had messy, raven colored hair, whilst the other was taller, and possessed blond hair.
They exchanged blows quickly and fiercely, leaving no room for the other to exploit. Their movements flowed together as if in a dance, the raven haired boy's smooth and evasive moves versus the blonde's quick and savage attacks.
Liam watched, mesmerized by the sight of the two's actions. It all came to an end however, when the raven haired boy slipped under a punch and into his opponent's guard.
It's over! Liam thought, his eyes widening slightly.
However, when the raven haired boy's fist connected with the rugged blonde's gut, he frowned and jumped back.
Gripping the hand he'd used to attack, he glared at his opponent. "What the hell are your abs made of? Steel?"
The tall boy held his gaze and answered in a perfectly flat tone: "No. Steel would be too soft."
Both Liam and the other boy were taken aback by the answer. Their reaction was understandable; in a world of super powers, anything someone said about their capabilities could turn out to be true. Hearing the taller boy say, "Steel would be too soft," sent both minds into a short frenzy of calculations and deductions.
The raven haired boy sighed and shook his head saying, "Doesn't matter I guess." He then turned to Liam, his stark white irises making him flinch in surprise, since he also realized that the boy wasn't wearing his shades.
"So you're Liam Paxton." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.
Um...how does he know my name? Liam thought, a cold shiver going down his spine.
"This is what came in second to me?" the taller boy crossed his arms with a frown.
Feeling both afraid and offended Liam spat, "W-what the heck is that supposed t-t-t-to mean..."
As his voice died and his ears reddened, Liam found himself wishing he had an earth-based Venma so he could open up the earth and make it swallow him up.
Meanwhile, the taller boy's expression turned into one of disgust.
"I cannot believe this weakling took second place, and you didn't," he growled.
The other boy shrugged and put a hand on his hip. "Relax. You're being rude."
"So what? I don't care for this guy's opinion."
The raven haired boy sighed and turned his head back to look at Liam, who flinched at how sharp his gaze was.
How on earth did I place third to...this?
Meanwhile, in Liam's head:
"Wait a minute. He said 'second' to him, Then that means this tall guy's Kazumi... yeah I have to avoid him at all costs. He's scary. And rude. And obviously has a very strange personality. Also very clearly dislikes me. A body stronger than steel huh? Is his Venma related to hardening? Or is he one of those guys who have synthetic body parts? Or is he a cyborg with a prosthetic body? ...hmmm...
As for the other guy, he's clearly strong... porcelain skin with no blemish, slightly narrowed eyes, silky, straight hair... he must be Asian. Considering the fact that Kazumi obviously doesn't like weak people, and that the only two other Asians in the top five are 'Lieren Lee' and 'Raidou Lloyd' and taking into account what Kazumi said about me taking second and this guy didn't... this guy is probably Lee.
Suddenly, Liam's vision was filled with nothing but black.
"Woah!" he exclaimed, stumbling backwards.
"Pathetic," Kazumi grumbled, shaking his head.
Liam's heart was beating fast, and he frowned in confusion as to how quickly Kazumi had appeared in front right in front of him.
The black was his shirt... Liam thought, calming himself down.
"Fight me."
"...eh?"
Liam's heart promptly resumed beating as fast as it could, and he began to sweat a little.
No way he's talking to me right?! He just called me weak, and now he wants to fight? Does he like beating up people who are weaker than him?
At that thought, Liam froze. He wasn't strong, and lacked self confidence, and one of the things he despised the most was bullying.
It was also one of the things he feared the most. And one of the things he had hoped of never experiencing again.
"Hey, did you hear what I said?" Kazumi scowled. "I know you're weak, but there is something I need to check."
Liam felt like a deer caught in the headlights of a car as he locked eyes with Kazumi.
What's a deer anyway? he wondered absently. I think they were woodland creatures? The smaller ancestors of the Cernyx Mo...
Liam opened his mouth to refuse, but what came out of his mouth instead was-
"Okay then..."
GAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! WHY DID YOU SAY THAT YOU IDIOTTTT?!
A deep sense of foreboding overcame him as he walked towards the mat, and Lee walked over to him and paused before placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't die," he said as he walked to a different mat.
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?! Liam thought in despair as Kazumi walked ten steps away from him. IS MY LIFE IN DANGER?! DOES HE WANT TO TEST SOME KILLER MOVE ON ME?! IS THAT WHAT HE WATED TO CHECK?!
While his father was alive, Liam had picked up martial arts in the name of 'self-defense',(or at least, that was the excuse he and his father had given his mother before his father could get permission to train him)
However, the only things his father had taught him before he died were the basics of Brazilian Jiu Jutsu, boxing and wrestling, and Muay Thai. After his father's death however, Liam lost interest in martial arts and would rather occupy himself with light workouts to remain fit.
Liam put his feet apart and rose his arms in a boxer's stance. Kazumi paused for a second and nodded slightly.
"At least you know a good stance. Lee, referee."
"Pfft-!"
Lee and Kazumi gave Liam blank looks, and he waved his hands hurriedly.
"S-s-s-sorry about that!"
Lee shrugged and walked to the edge of the mat. He rose a hand and spoke.
"Fighters, take your stances."
Kazumi set his feet a bit wider apart and slid one back. He then lowered his body and rose his hands.
What stance is tha-
"Begin," Lee dropped his hand.
"H-huh?!" Liam exclaimed in surprise. He had expected there to be some form of delay before they started, not that they would jump straight into it!
Kazumi seemed to blur as he burst forward with a heavy right. Liam saw the blow coming though, and managed to barely avoid it by stepping to the right. He then ducked under a kick aimed for his head and sidestepped another punch.
That punch left Kazumi's face and chest open, and in a moment of indecision Liam threw a punch at Kazumi's chest.
However, he had failed to neglect Kazumi's other hand which parried the blow and grabbed Liam's throat in one fluid motion.
No! Liam thought as he grabbed Kazumi's arm with both hands.
His opponent's expression immediately darkened. Suddenly, Liam found himself lifted clean off the ground like a ragdoll.
Wait...what-
"Gak-!" he exclaimed as he was slammed into the mat.
The world went dark for a second as Liam passed out. He woke up seconds later, wheezing and coughing and grabbing his neck as he tried to get to his feet. then, the sound of a certain person's voice froze him in place.
"As I thought, you are physically weak. What I wanted to check was your combat ability, and as I thought, it is abysmal."
Liam flinched as Kazumi's words cut into him. "You have no sense for combat, your reaction time is terrible, you are incapable of making split second decisions, and your decisions are horrible.
When you could have gone for my face to deal much more damage, you went for my torso. One would expect that you would carry the insight you gained from watching me and Lee fight with you into this battle, but now I sincerely doubt you absorbed any information at all.
On top of that, you were completely unaware of your surroundings. You didn't register my other hand until it stopped your attack, you didn't notice that my feet were positioned in such a way so that I could drop into a sweep, you didn't notice how close you were to the edge of the mat.
You got confident when you barely managed to dodge the attacks I let you dodge and assumed you could have gone in for the attack. Instead of continuing to avoid me so you could try and gain some insight on my moves, you foolishly abandoned defense and went straight for offense.
Honestly, you should quit the course right now. You have no talent for this. You were obviously born into timidity and laziness. Know your place and withdraw from school. Or if you won't do that, go to the Sciences. They have many smart weaklings there, though I doubt you have the aptitude or talent in that field either."
Liam had been shivering the entire time, even biting his lip to avoid saying anything. Not that he would have been able to in front of Kazumi's scathing words.
He wanted to deny the criticism of his performance, to cry out in outrage of the insult to his family, to push back against the insults to his talent.
But he couldn't. He could only hide his face and bite back both his tears and his lip. He could only clench his fist as anger and pain flared up in his heart.
"Hey Lee, I'm leaving," he heard Kazumi say.
"Sure. I'll be here awhile."
Liam sat up, and after two minutes finally rose his head. He took in several deep breaths and tried to shift his thoughts to other things when Lee suddenly sat down in front of him and looked him straight in the eye.
"Sorry I didn't stop hm earlier, but you needed to hear that."