Recreational Activities

A loud crashing sound rang out as Ezekiel slammed into a flying boulder. Immediately afterwards he jumped to the side and dodged another attack coming his way. He already had multiple cuts along his whole body which were slowly mending.

Just after he dodged his opponent, an older boy that looked to be in his teenage years rushed after him.

„Your future sight won't help you against me!" He said, swinging his spear at Ezekiel, who only managed to offset part of the force and got pushed back again.

"Not exactly father. It helps, but it doesn't make any difference in the end." Ezekiel answered though strained breaths. Even if he was quite a bit taller than his father and looked bodily stronger, looks can be deceiving. Especially when it comes to his father. At least Ezekiel only heard of three entities that could take him on in a one on one. But even then, not all of these three had a 100% chance to win against him.

"You better concentrate instead of making smart comments, son." Shiva chastised him and at the same time landed a powerful kick into Ezekiel's stomach, sending him flying into another boulder again.

Shiva calmly waited for his son to climb out of the rubble again.

"I still can't even make you serious when sparring." Ezekiel voiced out while looking out for potential attacks that Shiva might throw at him.

"Hahaha, don't make me laugh. You think you can fight a serious fight with your old man, just because you beat some of those feathered uncles of yours." Shiva snorted in return. He would have given him a piece of his mind if he weren't already beating him up.

Ezekiel now had a wry smile on his face. Of course, he knew it himself that the gap between them was still large. Even the top ten strongest beings were by no means close in strength to each and every other member. Just think about Hades fighting Great Red. Now that would be a spectacle, not a very exciting one however.

"Brace yourself, son!" Shiva shouted, while Ezekiel prepared himself again.

The next instant Shiva vanished and the space behind him cracked from the sheer force involved. Ezekiel strained his ability to predict the next seconds to its, absolute limits causing him a slight headache which he ignored. He fell into a state that increased his instinctual reactions by manifold. It was actually a technique that his father taught him a few years before, but it was only recently that he got a hang on it. When all his senses screamed because of an incoming danger, he swung his sword to his right side, shortly before Shiva appeared at the exact spot.

Before he could hit him however, Shiva vanished again, and his father's voice rang out coupled with the cold spear tip pressed against his neck: "It's my win again."

Ezekiel sighed, before he let the tension in his body fade away.

"That makes 53 wins for me and 0 for you." Shiva smirked lightly.

"Just you wait father, I will make you serious one day!" Ezekiel exclaimed with determination.

"I know you will Ezekiel." Shiva replied, genuinely believing in his son's ability to reach his level at some point in the future.

"It is good to have a goal, son. But you should still think of other goals that won't involve fighting. It will broaden your horizons and you won't miss something important because you were overly concentrated on only a single thing." Shiva advised.

They shared a few more moments of father and son, until it was time for Ezekiel to return. School would soon start, and he wouldn't want to be late.

It has been a few months since they both met up early in the morning on certain days. Since Ezekiel's training in the Vatican and Heaven wasn't really demanding anymore, Shiva took it upon himself to help him improve from time to time. That didn't change now that he was living in Kuoh and since they hold their little fights in the dimensional gap, they wouldn't accidentally destroy Kuoh. Or Japan.

After they said their goodbyes and promised to meet up a few days later, Ezekiel quickly returned to his apartment to shower and get into fresh clothes.

-o-

School was boring, but that was to be expected since he already learned all the teaching material from Griselda.

Ezekiel was currently standing on the roof of the school building and thinking. First it was Jeanne that mentioned he should find hobby for himself and now his father told him to search for a goal that isn't based on fighting. Maybe they were right, and he should spend part of his time differently. Before he came to Kuoh he was constantly training or out on mission to gain experience. Therefore, he didn't spend much thought on hobbies.

"I could look if there is an interesting club for after school activities. Though I will definitely not join the Student Council or Occult Research Club. That would be just asking to get annoyed. Even if not all of them seem bad, the student council is too strict and nothing but work. And I probably couldn't relax around that brown-haired idiot." Ezekiel mused and made his way down from the roof to look for different clubs that he might join.

The first one he came across was the photography club. It was not really what one would expect. Or maybe it was exactly that was to be expected in Kuoh. In short, it was not a club he would join.

There was calligraphy, which seemed interesting to him, but the atmosphere didn't seem right.

He visited the different sport clubs and suffice to say they didn't excite him with his monstrous physical prowess.

Even the Kendo Club was better described as playing swords. It really hurt someone like him, that dedicated much time in refining his techniques. Even Jeanne would probably lose that cheerful attitude she usually had and cut down the dojo.

As he was losing hope to find something of interest, he heard someone humming at the edge of the school grounds where a lot of trees grew and would transition into the forest behind. The voice was pleasant to listen to, so he decided to take a look. He was as silent as he could be and moved closer. As he came through some thicket, he was a bit surprised at what he found. Around fifteen meters in front of him sat Abelia happily humming away in front of a big canvas. She was drawing a squirrel that was munching on some nuts. Even Ezekiel had to admit the scene in front of him would paint a beautiful picture.

Since he didn't want to interrupt her, he sat down and leaned on a nearby tree. As immersed as Abelia was, she didn't notice him. As Ezekiel watched her paint, he got interested and thought about trying it himself. A good painting seemed to capture the surrounding atmosphere and feelings even better than a photo would. Abelia seemed experienced and without any wasted movements the strokes of her brush accumulated on the canvas. Maybe he could ask her to teach him how to paint?

-o-

Abelia went to the edge of the school grounds after her last lesson was over. She was constantly thinking about why her mother sent her to Kuoh and why the new exchange student seemed so familiar. Since she wouldn't manage to come up with anything useful, she decided to distract herself after school. She took some painting supplies and searched for a quiet spot that fit her requirements. It was always easy for her to interact with animals, so it came as no surprise that a small squirrel took the role of her model.

She became more and more immersed and unconsciously began to hum while painting.

After around two hours, she made the finishing touches and her painting was finished. As she was taking a good look at it, she heard someone clapping behind her which made her jump like a cat that got its tail stepped on.

Just some meters behind her sat Ezekiel, the exact same person she was curious about.

"How long have you been there?" She demanded with a hint of embarrassment.

"Excuse me for intruding, but I heard your humming and chanced upon you painting while wandering around. It wasn't my intention to make you uncomfortable." Ezekiel answered calmly. He had to admit she looked even cuter when she acted that embarrassed, but he wouldn't let it show.

Abelia studied his face for any sign of falsehood but didn't find any. Since he didn't seem to mean any harm, she didn't mind spending some time together and possibly even learn where she might have seen him before. Abelia lived in Kuoh for some time already, but aside from a few acquaintances she hadn't built any deeper friendships.

"It's fine, I was just startled that somebody was so close without me noticing." She replied while sitting down in front of him.

"I'm glad to hear that. Are you in the art club or something?" He asked, showing interest.

"I am. Actually, I'm the only member." She told him before becoming slightly embarrassed.

"That's perfect then. What do I have to do to join?" Ezekiel inquired.

"You just need a proper interest in art as far as I'm concerned. As for the formalities, I will handle everything once you filled out the application." Abelia smiled in reply since finally someone showed genuine interest in her hobby.

"I will do that then. If you don't mind me asking. You said you were the only member of the club? Why is that?" Ezekiel curiously asked.

At that Abelia gained an unnatural annoyed expression: "I kicked all the other members out of the club. These idiots actually thought memes and Gangnam Style are art. Please just forget about that. If you are genuinely interested, I'm glad to welcome you to the art club."

As she smiled at the end of her sentence Ezekiel returned a smile of his own and replied while standing up: "I understand. Tomorrow after school then?"

Abelia nodded in affirmation.

"Until tomorrow then Abelia." Ezekiel waved at her and left with a smile on his face.

Abelia didn't learn anything substantial about him, but they would have enough time to get to know each other during the coming club activities.

Ezekiel however was still wondering what memes and Gangnam Style are.