Act 1.3: Knot of Thorns

Weeks had gone by since Daniel's first appearance at the center. Every day Kage spotted him watching as the first-year became a ragged mess without a single whimper or complaint to accompany the outflow of labored gasps. The other regulars slowly acknowledged Daniel. Cheering him on from their benches at the end of each day. Even supplying the kid with drinks while encouraging him to speak out about Kage's cruel torture.

A routine had taken shape over this period where Daniel arrived bursting at the seams for his instructions, then left as a ragged mess piled on the ground with gags producing the contents of his stomach. Unlike the others, Daniel never said a word opposing Kage or his training instead humbly accepted his words as fact. But something was bugging Kage. Daniel always had his eyes peeled to his body. He would immediately feel goosebumps run up his arm time and time again.

This was a gaze unknown to him.

It beheld ADMIRATION.

All Kage could think of was a plan to retreat from this circumstance.

At the end of their 17th day together Kage spoke up about an annoyance, "You do realize wearing a long sleeve shirt is just going to soak up more sweat. Along with those baggy-ass pants." His gaze turned toward Daniel. The boy did not speak. His face was blank as if he could not understand the insinuation.

"Why don't you wear something different tomorrow. We are going to be running again, last time you collapsed on our way back." Daniel's face became a ghostly white. Arms instinctively crossing and rubbing one another while his pupils dilated. Never in all of Kage's years had he seen someone go from such a drastic change in emotions.

It was nearly worrying.

Motioning for Kage to follow him, Daniel entered the locker room. His curiosity piqued, Kage went in after him. There the boy could speak his mind. In these few weeks Kage had learned that he was afraid of speaking to others. Constantly avoiding groups larger than two people or simply waiting outside the gym until Kage arrived. Today, Kage had witnessed behavior worse than before resulting in a single word to manifest within his mind:

'Interesting.'

Rubbing his forearms furiously, Daniel spoke with this prevalence of a wispy mutter, "Um… w-well. I just think w-wearing these shirts are more comfortable."

"In 85-degree weather?"

The arm rubbing only got more intense. "W-W-Well, maybe I d-do get a little warm, but I can handle it." Kage only stared into Daniel's eyes. He used the difference in their bodies to intimidate the boy. As he looked into Daniel's eyes, he saw the slight tinge of held back tears.

The rubbing only got faster. A hand touched Daniel on the arm ceasing the movement. Ever so cautiously, he then lifted it up and away to the place beside Daniel, on the bench.

To Daniel, this was the first time someone had touched him with such gracefulness. An act so minute and considered common-sense to Kage brought the other to the verge of euphoria. A grin widened on Daniel's face. Spreading from ear to ear, the sight startled Kage as to its meaning.

'What did I do?'

"I will tell you… As long as you tell me something first."

Information for information. Kage surmised that the boy could become a great politician. Perhaps an arms dealer?

Keeping his hand on Daniel's shoulder Kage responded, "What do you want to know?"

His question was answered by the point of his finger. It was aimed at his hand. Giving a questioning look Kage forced the thought from him. "Every time I've seen you. You always wear those same gloves." Peering at his hand it was indeed clad in a white leather glove. The practice of wearing them had become so mundane to Kage that he didn't even notice them by this point.

No one had ever asked before, thus resulting in Kage believing them to just be a manifestation of his dreams.

Disdain snuck out of Kage. He did not wish to speak about himself, but if he wished to acquire Daniel. This was the time to do so.

"You heard of my ability to Disintegrate before, correct?" He nodded in the affirmative. "A few years back my sister and I were involved in an accident. Here the doctors who operated on us discovered my ability would go off if I touched anything with my bare hands. These gloves were designed to stop that annoyance from occurring."

Kage expected Daniel to be horrified. For him to cut off all ties then proceed back into his cubby of reality. Yet, when Kage looked at him all he saw was a stoic face placidly looking at him. The boy swallowed the information with ease, placing him into a deep thought. Thoughtfulness that Kage never knew to be real.

Then, without a word being uttered between the two of them, the boy wrapped his arms around Kage's broad back.

'This feeling.'

'It touches the soul.'

Even when tackled by a new emotion, all Kage thought to remember was a quote from the latest novel: A State of Panic by Rist Smith.

He felt saddened by this. Realizing his vocabulary and experiences were only describable by the phrases written in literature and not from others. A mother, or even his father.

In this state he knew not what to do. Having that comforting embrace bestowed upon him even though he felt no reason for it. He was not in turmoil or inkling toward tears.

"Why… why are you doing this?" He decided to ask. "I do not wish to sob. Let go."

Daniel jolted Kage closer to his body enveloping him in a warmth akin to a bed of flowers on a cool summer's day. Despite their difference in size and stature, Kage was the one being coddled like a child. His insides detested it but on the outer layer he realized it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Touch and touching.

'This must be the reason.'

He crooked his neck a tad to see into Daniel's. An answer was found. The boy had silent tears dripping from his eyes.

Crying for the sake of another was an unknown experience to the both of them. Daniel did not know why he chose to cry for this person while not for others. It could be that within this contained time he had picked up on Kage's "tells". The inner machinations to the autonomy that composed his very being.

How he scratched at his neck in irritation or when the training got especially trying.

The instances where his irises appeared too large for their sockets.

Especially the composition of his face. In all his time at this gym, Daniel had never seen Kage's expression change. Solidified in the pompous look that irradiated egoism alongside an underlying sadness. The flicker of his eyelashes complemented by the subtle flaring of his nostrils when he drew breath. Every action painstakingly took to be subtle and leave no stress on the muscles to his face.

Daniel had noticed Kage's weakness in a matter of weeks when others could not in a lifetime. Originally, he came here to change himself, instead he had grown invested with this person who seemed to be so much better off than others yet chained to an invisible tragedy unknown to the world.

At school, Daniel had unconsciously watched from afar coming to a conclusion stumbled on by chance. Scars left to always remember and a shattered mentality to aid the broken autonomy.

What stood before him was not the afterimage of god, but just a kid possibly as damaged as himself.

With this new revelation Daniel felt the need to do this small kindness to Kage. It could not amount in the slightest to what he had given him, but it could lead to more.

This was a scenario unbeknownst to Kage Tesler. He thought that Daniel was simply someone that connected with him on a level that can only be communicated through "chance" and "luck".

Ideas he found ridiculous.

After some seconds had fled their purview, Kage naturally pushed Daniel away. His eyes had become watery, and he knew that if this continued to play out, he may turn into the mess Daniel had morphed into.

Licking his lips, Kage gathered enough resilience to make a request from Daniel, "Now, answer my question."

Avoiding the awkward pause between actions of uncertainty he calmly rolled up his sleeves to reveal the past. A splatter of cuts and small dish marks. Kage did not know what he was looking at. The cuts were self-inflicted whereas the circular dents could only be from the lit end of a cigarette. These carvings wound up either arm almost to his pits. He could only guess the same would be for the boy's legs.

"Why do you cut your arms like so." Kage asked with wide eyes, making him look like a child having just seen his most favorite toy finally stocked onto a store shelf.

"I don't know. I guess… it kinda is relieving, ya know? Of course, I stopped doing it! I made sure to throw out all of my sharp objects and haven't thought of doing it in a month and three days. I just don't want others looking down on me because ya know, it's disgusting, ugly, horrendous. "

As Daniel fled into self insults Kage wound up deep in reflection considering this condition. "Hmmm…" It was the same with him. Maybe this was a problem that could be rectified.

"OK. From now on. You will wear one of our staff outfits for train-

"B-BUT! Won't the others see me like this then? They wouldn't come then! I would make them leave it would be my fault. All of it, again!" He had begun scratching his arms reopening the cuts. Kage took hold of both of his hands.

"Most people don't care. We all got scars, and I'll do it with you to lessen the load. I cover them too, but no offense, the difference will keep these guys' attention for years before they find out about yours." Cocking that smirk all too easily, Kage aimed its power at Daniel.

"Do we got a deal?" His hand outstretched, he waited for the boy to respond.

Daniel shivered from either nervousness or fear, possibly both. Despite his fear, he felt that with Kage he could become someone better. A person worthy of a life. Independent from his family and standing on his own two feet.

This could be his first friend.

He took the hand trying to convey just a portion of the gratitude he felt toward his upperclassmen. Kage sensed the slightest difference in the atmosphere between the two of them. The air felt lighter than before. It also carried with it the smell of cherry blossoms.