11: Late Dinner or Early Breakfast?

02.33 a.m.

 Dan awoke in the school's infirmary. He had his jacket and headband off. His body was aching, though no longer wounded. The effects of Shujin's back kick still lingered in his muscles. He felt drained. No way he could take another fight for the night. Dan looked over to his nightstand and saw his phone laid on it. He reached to grab it and pressed the power button. The time showed how late it was. He put his phone back down and went to close his eyes and rest for the night.

 After five minutes of trying to fall asleep, his stomach growled. "Wanna eat…"

 Get up and get eating then.

 "Where's a place to eat here? One that's open at two a.m."

 Outside the school, down the street.

 "What is it?"

 It's a diner.

 "How'd you know?"

 Just go.

 Dan didn't question and stood up from his bed. "Where's my jacket?" He asked as he looked around the room.

 Laundry.

 "Why?"

 It was gross.

 "Right," Dan just remembered the beast blood soaking his jacket. Luckily, it didn't reach his turtle neck. He felt a bulge in his pocket, he goes down to search inside. It was his headband. It was dirty from dust, he was surprised by it. He slips it back in his pocket.

 He walked out the infirmary and head outside the school. He held his hands at the back of his head. He leans backward as he walked. Head empty. Not a single thought ran through his mind. Within his empty head, he began to recall the events that had happen on his first day as a sorcerer. 

 "My mom married a genocidal maniac. There's a man looking for my Dad. Laura's a princess. The Destruction of Bright is about to repeat."

 Dan couldn't help but worry about it. Why wouldn't he? Two of the things he worried about had direct connections to him. He began to question his mom's innocence. Why did she marry him? How could she have kept that a secret?

 Dan starts to take a positive attitude towards the situation, one that he felt would be the better outcome for the sake of his belief in his own mom. Maybe she was tricked. She couldn't have known, right?

 His denial of that truth was heavy. He doesn't want it to be true. No matter what, he doesn't want to see his mom as some bad person. "A mark of my past life?" He murmured as he recalled her higanbana tattoo. He grabbed his phone and searched for the meaning of that flower. "The higanbana flower symbolizes passing or death," he read aloud. 

 He stopped in his tracks, he starts to think, "flower of death?" That rang a bell in his mind, though he can't remember from where nor what. To others, it was apparent and obvious. To him, it was a faded memory. 

 Idiot.

 He slipped his phone back into his pocket as he reached outside of the school. He walked looking down at his feet. He saw the entire sidewalk was clear so he was safe to do so, at least for a few minutes. He sighed aloud. He feels anxious again. His heart was aching his thoughts was scattered. Even though he kept thinking of the best-case scenario, the image of his mother was slowly shattering. Little by little. 

 For the first time, he couldn't shun his feelings. When it came to classmates, strangers, Sam, or himself, he could put it away. He starts hyperventilating quite heavily. He crouched down and sighed. "Kuso," he let out an exasperating sigh. "Nante? Ima nante?"

Kuso = Fuck

Nante? Ima nante? = Why? Why now?

 Dan, Jon called. His image appeared in the shadow of the night. He crouched down and placed a weightless hand on Dan's head. 

 "Nanda?"

Nanda? = What?

 It's going to be okay, said Jon with a shrug of emotion.

 "Why are you trying to comfort me?" Dan felt an awkward sensation.

 Would you rather me chastise you? 

 "I guess, this is better," Dan couldn't complain.

 You'll get through it. It's just one more fight to win, Jon tried to make it relate to Dan's thirst for battle.

 "Kore wa chigau," he said. "This is just more complicated."

Kore wa chigau = This is different

 Intricate and tedious, Jon nods. But, this is the only way.

 "Right," he nods. He stood back up and gave himself a little slap on both cheeks. Jon placed his weightless arm over Dan's shoulders. You'll make it through it, trust me.

 "Thanks," he replied. Dan felt oddly grateful for Jon's words.

 Dan started walking forward where he saw a light shined through the window of a diner. It was bright and empty. From the edge of the diner, he saw through the window, he saw a girl sitting alone. Brown hair with pink end-strands, checkered shirt. 

 "Laura?" His face lit up quite a bit. He moved forward to the entrance, as he grabbed the handle, he found himself frozen. "I shouldn't go," he hesitated.

 Why not?

 "She definitely doesn't like me…?" Dan was unsure himself.

 You're hesitating.

 "Well…"

 It's okay. You admitted yourself, right? You got off on the wrong foot. It's best to… Reintroduce yourself.

 "What if she doesn't like me the second time?"

 I don't think she ever disliked you, Dan.

 "How can you be sure?"

 I was pretty good at reading people's emotions.

 Dan's hand was trembling. His heart was pounding and he felt his body get warmer. The image of Laura's face flashed into his mind. He shut his eyes, felt a cringe rush down his spine. Coming from how he acted towards her. "I probably should just look for other places," Dan slowly backed away from the door.

 There aren't any, Dan. Just go in.

 "No."

 Go.

 "No."

Jon knew no amount of convincing would be sufficient. Uncontrollably, Dan pushed the door open and the welcome bell rang loudly. "How the fuck did you do that?" Dan asked angry and confused.

 Do what? Jon pretended he didn't understand.

 "Prick," he gritted his teeth and sucked it up.

 He walked over to Laura's table, fake coughing to alert her of his presence. She actually knew he was there the moment he touched the door handle. "Hey," greeted Dan. He was unsure if it was the right time to say good morning.

 "Mind if I join you?" He asked, carrying a fake smile.

 "Oh, hi," she replied with her cheeks red. "You can sit."

 Dan grabbed a seat and sat in front of her. He didn't put a smile. He was feeling anxious of sitting in front of her. "Fancy seeing you here," he tried to start a conversation, avoiding the gaze of her eyes.

 "S- Same to you."

 "What are you having?" He noticed the menu was on the table.

 "Umm…" She starts looking at the menu, forgetting what she had wanted to order.

 "You haven't decided yet?"

 "N- No."

 "What's on it?" He asked.

 "Breakfast."

 "Too early for breakfast, don't you think?"

 "A bit," she nods agreeing.

 "Or is it really late dinner?" He mumbled to himself.

 She went quiet to think about it. "Maybe both," she answered. "Early breakfast or late dinner."

 "Yeah, I guess it's either."

 The two then went into silence. Laura picked out what she wanted and handed the menu to Dan. He didn't ask again and just went to look for what he wanted to eat. Four pancakes and a pie, with a milkshake. A waitress came by and got their order. Turns out, Laura wanted the same thing but with three pancakes instead of four. Great minds think alike, thought Dan. He couldn't dare say it out loud.

 After five minutes of waiting, Dan felt impatient. An impulse triggered Dan's brain. "Why are you so quiet?" Asked Dan, in a rude tone.

 Laura looked away, couldn't bare an answer for him.

 "Nothing to say?" Retort Dan. "Man, I got paired with such a pain in the ass." 

What?

 Laura stayed silent and balled her hands to fists, as hard as she could. Feeling frustrated. She tried to make eye contact with Dan, only to see his own fist slamming into his own temple. He fell from his chair. That's how hard he punched himself. "Umm… Are you okay?" She asked.

 He got back up, feeling a little dazed from the punch, "aaaa… Ore wa baka dayo naaa." His lips kept betraying his mind and heart.

Ore wa baka dayo naaa = I'm such an idiot...

 Laura felt lost a bit. She felt like she skipped a few pages of a book.

 He sniffled. "I'm projecting, aren't I?" Dan asked.

 "About… What?"

 "How I got paired with a pain in the ass. I meant that for me. Not you," Dan shook his head as he rubbed his temple. "Why the hell am I like this?" He asked himself.

 She couldn't find an answer.

 "Like earlier on the train, I said something so rude and uncalled for."

 "That's…"

 Dan cut her off, "I meant to say that you can trust me and just talk to me," he rests his head on the table. Whining.

 "I'm really sorry, Laura," he apologized. His voice muffled as his face was planted into his arm on the table. "I wasn't very nice to you."

 "It's… It's okay."

 "No, it isn't," he raised his head and looked at her. Laura noticed that his eyes were glistening from tears. He was crying, almost. 

 "I don't mind it, actually," she shrugs. 

 "Please don't be like Sam," he pleaded. "I don't want you to put up with my bullshit out of pity."

 "I really don't mind," she insisted.

 "Why?" He questioned. That was something Dan couldn't figure out.

 "You're… My partner."

 "So, it is forced," he sighed.

 "Maybe," she wasn't sure herself. "At least on the surface."

 "Under that?" He asked.

 "You were different when we were being interrogated by Shujin. Or when we were fighting that Maniacal beast."

 "How was I… Different?"

 "You're a lot more caring then you lead people on," she noticed that about him, something he never knew about.

 "Am I…?"

 "I mean, I could be just guessing, but you were kind of pissed off for me. Just going off by what you said about me."

 "I was just doing what I was supposed to do," to him it only felt like second nature. An instinct.

 "For a stranger that lied to you?"

 "You didn't lie," he replied. "I'm just slow on the uptake." He bashfully admitted it. He should've

known immediately.

 "Still, it made me happy that you were willing to risk your life for me," she flashed a tiny little smile at him.

 "So, you're willing to put up with my bullshit just because I risked my life for you?"

 "I guess, that's one of the reasons."

 "What else?"

 "We're partners. And I hope it's going to be for a while. I'll want to have your trust."

 "I do trust you Laura," he said. "I also hope we'll be partners for a while," his cheeks flashed red, he tries to hide it.

 Laura's heart raced. She grabs the shirt over her chest and squeezed it tightly. This is bad for my heart, she claimed. 

 "For what you said in the train, it hurt. But, I was just untrusting of you," she explained. "I can tell, kind of, you're not the type of person to whine or mope about things, even to the people you trust."

 "I guess that's true," Dan couldn't recall where he whined like he did with her. A little bit of venting, sometimes, but never whining.

 "You just did earlier."

 "I guess I did, a bit," he felt embarrassed and recoiled his neck, like a turtle hiding in its shell. "Don't tell Sam," he pleaded.

 "I won't," she promised.

 "So, do you trust me now?" He asked, wishfully thinking.

 "A bit more," she struck him a small smile.

 "You don't trust me fully?"

 "I'm sure I will."

 Their food arrived and they began eating their breakfast/dinner. The two were quick eaters, already down half their pancakes. 

 "So, about you being a princess," Dan mentions in the middle of their meal.

 "Please, don't call me that," she sounded annoyed.

 "Well, you kind of are, right?"

 "Yes, but please don't call me that."

 "Okay, okay, I won't say it," Dan backed off. "But, I wanna know what it was like."

 "It was okay," she was quick to answer.

 "Just okay?" Dan scoffed. "Nothing else?"

 "Actually, I rather not talk about it at all right now. We're eating."

 "Right, right," Dan dismissed the subject quickly.

 Laura forgot to mention it earlier, "by the way, you're not wearing your headband." 

 Dan's hair was down and Laura wasn't used to it. Dan just remembered it too. "I didn't have a mirror," he gave a lame answer. He thought about it, he could've just used his phone camera or just went to the toilet where there were mirrors.

 "I have an idea actually," he said. He reaches into his pocket to grab his headband. He hands it to her, "wear it," he said.

 "Umm…"

 "I wanna know what you look like with it."

 "O- Okay?"

 She wore the headband. Dan used his phone's camera as a mirror for her. "How do I… Look?" She asked.

 Dan looked at her hair for a few seconds, only to move to her eyes and was lost in them. He shook his head lightly and snapped out of it. "You look really pretty," he complimented. He struck her a smile as his heart starts to beat louder. Dan was too occupied to acknowledge it.

 "Thanks," she felt flattered.

 She wanted to take the headband off and hand it back to him. "Matte!" Dan jumped. 

 "Doushita?"

Matte! = Wait!

Doushita? = What's up?

 "Just wear it. Give it back after our next mission."

 "Okay."

 The two ate their food and finished it. Dan found himself really liking the pie and his company. The latter a lot more. Afterwards the two walked back to school. The two of them walked side-by-side. Neither rushing nor falling behind. Dan had his hands in his pockets but was leaning unconsciously towards her. So was she. 

 "How'd you like your first day?" Asked Dan.

 "Besides the maniacal fight, not much. Shujin creeps me out. Something's wrong with him," she replied.

 "Well, there's a lot wrong with him it seems," Dan laughs. "His mask, what do you think of it?"

 "I tried using Mana Sense on him, every single bit of mana that he used came from his mask."

 "Was that mask a common magic item thing?"

 "I've never seen one like it. Though, I'm not an expert."

 "Remembering what he said, do you think he'll do it? Repeat history?"

 Laura stops to wonder. The sorcerers on the good side were The Strongest, The Fastest, The Cold Woman, the three made a name for themselves. One she knew personally. Then there are the three sorcerer clans, only two she knew would actually defend the non-sorcerers. Hinora and her family, The Crescent Family. The Varr family she knew to be selfish. The strength of the good side was overwhelming. That being said, Bright was destroyed by two people fighting. A third-party cut that fight short.

 "If he's planning to get that ring, then yeah, he can," hearing her voice, Dan was convinced.

 "Is that ring that powerful?"

 "It leveled Bright."

 "But there were two other people, right?"

 "Two people were actually destroying the country, the third person stopped the fight."

 "Which one was it?"

 "The Death Flower."

 "Where're they now?"

 "I heard they died."

 Dan scoffed at the fact. Jon started punching himself and groaning loudly in Dan's head. It annoyed Dan. It annoyed Jon more. I don't want to spell it out for this fucking idiot, he said.

 What was that Jon?

 Nothing!

 Dan got bored of the so important conversation that involved his father. He looks at Laura who was looking down as she walked. He thought about reaching out with his arm, over her shoulders and just pull her close. Embracing her as the two walked back to school. His arm twitched from the impulse. Maybe I've been wanting one too, Sam, he thought with a small chuckle he let out a little too loud.

 Laura looked up to Dan, "what's up?" she asked.

 "Nandemonai," he chuckles again.

 Laura got a little too curious, "maji, nanda?"

Nandemonai = Nothing

Maji, nanda = Seriously, what?

 Dan thought about diverting the conversation to it being about Laura rather than himself, "kimi no kao ga kawaiirashi."

 Laura's cheeks turned red and her heart raced quickly. Like after a sprint. "Nee… Majisuka?"

 "Honki de," Dan smiled.

Kimi no kao ga kawaiirashi = You've got a cute face.

Majisuka? = Really?

Honki de = Really.

 "You're really blunt, aren't you?" Her face was still beet red.

 "A little," he shrugged.

 Laura didn't want to lose just like that, so she thought about what to say about his face, "well, I think you look handsome, too."

 "Thanks," he grinned, bashfully.

 *BLECH* Jon made a loud vomit sound inside Dan's head, I wanna kill myself, the torture of seeing the two was too much for him to bare. I can't physically throw up, but I swear, I'll possess you just to throw up.

 You can possess people?

 No.

 The two reached the dormitory soon after. They decided to go to the lounge to talk for a bit. There, they saw Sam and Volta sleeping on the couch together with loud music coming from the game the two were playing. God Vessel. Dan looked over to the couch, "look at you, finally found someone to play games with, huh?"

 "Does he not have anyone?" Laura thinks outloud.

 "Sam's… Got a lot of people he could be friends with. But, he chose me of all people."

 "Why?"

 "I wish I could pinpoint it myself. It just doesn't go along with my logic. Sam cares about me, more than his own family. It's such a sad thing."

 "He doesn't like his family, does he?"

 "From the result of the reverse. His family dislikes him. At least, his parents. Despite all that, despite me being a piece of crap most of the time, he stayed by my side. Even though it would've been so much easier if he just went with regular people. He wouldn't need to be risking his life like this."

 "You care about him too, then."

 "I do. A lot. I just can't stand him for staying with me out of pity. So, I'm glad he's found someone else."

 At the back of the couch, there was a small drawer that was accessible. It had provided Dan with a piece of long cloth. It's a blanket. Meant for people that slept on the couch, like a guest. Or the husband after an argument. He moved over to the front of Sam and Volta. He grabbed their game consoles, saved their games and placed it in the table in front of them. He tucks the two in.

 "I just hope you're serious about her this time," Dan mumbled to himself.

 "You tuck in your friend to sleep, huh?" Laura laughs.

 "I'd do it for you too, if you want," he chuckles.

 "Could you stop doing that?" She was flustered all the same as irritated.

 "Doing what?"

 "Making it about me."

 "Well…"

 "Which makes me question something, why did you open up to me of all people?"

 "We fought together. And I think that's reason enough."

 "Uso ka?"

Uso ka? = Are you lying?

 Dan walked over to Laura and got too close. He held her chin with his finger, their faces a few inches away, "I go to lengths that I don't get either."

 "Like starting a fight, you didn't need to?"

 "The one with Heath?"

 "Back in your middle school."

"How'd you know about that?"

 "Kai told me."

"Right…" Dan didn't think anyone other than Sam would know about it. "Ore o kawaritai."

Ore o kawaritai = I wanna change.

 "What exactly?"

 He moved aside and pat Laura's head. "I'm going to bed, good night."

 Laura didn't pursue and just let Dan go on his own. Dan reached the elevator and rode it.

 What was that?

 "What was what?"

 Whatever the hell that was.

 "I want us to be partners. At least I hope for it."

 That's the length you're going for?

 "Yeah, even if we're both strong enough to go on missions on our own, I don't really want that."

 Why now? Jon had access to Dan's memories. He scrolled through the files of Dan's past easily. You never had any interest in girls. Honestly, I thought…

 "She's interesting to me, you knew how I felt when I saw her, right?"

 Yeah, yeah.

 "So, it's intrigue more than anything."

 Beyond that?

 "I don't know yet, we'll see."

 The elevator opened and Dan walked out of it. He went to go to his room and immediately jumped on the bed. "It just felt right," he uttered with a smile. Dan fell asleep just as so. 

 Jon had hours to burn, since he doesn't sleep. He decides to go through Dan's life. Watching them unfold again, like binge watching his favorite series. Dan always wondered why Sam stuck with him for so long, right? He decides to search for that specific cryptic reasoning. 

 The day the two met each other

 It was elementary school. Fourth grade. Dan had entered the class. He looked unfazed by the loud kids, the crybabies, the quiet ones, the playful ones. During the entire class, he studied like how student would. Unlike a kid would. When it was recess, he didn't go to make friends with everyone else, he just ate his snacks and stayed in his table.

 Then it was time for gym class. They went to change to their gym clothes. Their first lesson was track and field. Running, specifically. The field outside was Olympic level. 400 meters for one lap. They were doing 100-meter dashes. Dan managed to do it better than anyone else. Granted, he had the body of a sorcerer. Then, there was one other kid that was barely keeping up with him. Losing to him by one second. Their classmates were impressed and amazed. His name was Sam Merrickson. A kid that was shorter than him with blacker hair. Red-ish brown eyes. A scared look about his face.

 Dan felt challenged. He went up to Sam. "Hey, namae wa?"

Namae wa = Your name?

 "Sam," he replied.

 "Race me."

 Confused to hell, Sam just accepted his challenge. The gym teacher was supervising them. It was supposed to be another 100-meter dash. 

 "We're taking a lap," Dan said.

 "Ready. Set. Go!" Started the teacher.

 Dan and Sam took off running. The two were pacing next to each other. Keeping the same distance in between them. Probably around ten to twenty centimeters apart. 

 "You're fast," said Dan. Not even feeling out of breath.

 "You too," replied Sam. 

 They already passed a hundred meters, they turned and went to go for a full lap. Still keeping the distance, Dan was impressed by Sam. 

 "You can run faster, can't you?"

 "No," he shook his head.

 "Okay then."

 Dan picked up his pace and went ahead a full two meters of Sam and won the race. Dan takes time to breathe, he was panting all over, feeling a little tired.

 That was the only time Dan spoke to Sam. He felt a little happy that someone could keep up with the same level as him. What an arrogant kid, commented Jon.

 After school, Dan was waiting for his mom to pick him up. She said she'll be a little late since she had work to do. In the playground, Dan sat on a bench with his backpack to the side of him. Doing nothing, staring at the clouds in the afternoon sky, waiting for something to happen.

 He saw Sam getting back into a corner by a few other older kids. Dan stood by and watch. Sam was getting picked on. His bag was getting thrown, he was getting hurt.

 After Sam was on the ground and the older kids left him, laughing. Dan decides to stand up. Coming up to the older kids, without a word, he drove his fist down to one of the kid's crotch. Hitting him directly in the scrotum. The kid fell over and cried. The two other kids that were there started fighting Dan. Grabbing his collar and bringing him up to their face. Dan jolts his head back and launched forward, head-butting the nose of one kid. His nose starts to run with blood. The final kid was scared and wanted to run. The kid had no fighting prowess, he was only older. He tried to run exactly past Dan, which made it easy for him. Dan raised his right leg and twists his hips to the left. Slamming his leg with no power to the kid's stomach. He fell over and wept.

 Sam, with tears in his eyes, saw what Dan did. Dan looked directly into Sam's eyes. Not a word uttered. 

 The next day, Sam decided to come up to Dan. Wearing cherishing eyes and a welcoming smile. "H-Hi," he greeted.

 Dan looked up to him with a calm glare. 

 "Kinou wa arigatou."

 "Kinou…?" He murmured. "Aaa, sou."

Kinou = Yesterday

Arigatou = Thanks

Sou = sure

 "I'm Sam."

 "Dan."

 "Nice to meet you."

 "Same."

 From that day on, Sam followed Dan around. Dan never seemed to mind his company. Whenever Sam was getting bullied, Dan would step in silently and handle things.

 Why did you go that far, Dan? Jon intrigued. Sitting on a couch in front of an analog television that was playing Dan's memories.

 From elementary to middle school, Jon couldn't find that one cryptic answer. Like a riddle he just couldn't solve. No matter how many clues he found, no matter how many speculations he made, it only left him further questioning. 

 The study of human's psyche. Is a study learning about human's habitual pattern, their reasoning behind that pattern, their reason behind that reason, environmental factors that lead to that conclusion, Jon uttered to himself.

 That's only a part of it. Dan's psyche is so… Unnecessarily complex, he complained.

 There isn't a clear pattern yet. His mom was no question, it's his mom. For Sam, it was a sudden. For Laura, it was also a sudden. He said he wants to change, but he's been like that since he was a kid. He's not facing his insecurities through his actions either. His emotions and actions are dissonant. It's maddening.

 Jon laid on the couch and wondered. Val, what could be this kid's problem? He asked his long-deceased master. A trapped soul, like he is currently. Why can't I find it? You seem to be able to find anything I feel.

 That's when it clicked to him. He erected from his seat and started standing. He walked around the couch, circling it. He's ignoring his emotions to the point where I can't detect it. Such denial of emotions was a surprise to him. There's not much he can do other than ask Dan himself. Prying deep into Dan's soul would unintentionally break it. Jon would rather not risk that.

 Jon began to think of why, speculations. He longed for a complete family, as much as he doesn't give a shit about his dad. He wants one. He blames his dad for him being like that, indirectly. Maybe even wants a sibling. Someone he can fall back on that wouldn't feel romantic. An unbreakable bond. He is very lonely.

 Jon's thoughts trailed off into something too vague and had less and less proof each time. He felt the time was already morning.