Parents

Eyes closed, exposing his throat, Kaiden lifted the cool drink, which transferred moisture to his slightly dry lips.

Opening his eyes wide, he consumed the refreshing tropical beverage.

Slamming the empty cup on the table, he exclaimed euphorically, "You guys have to try this!"

Glancing at Kaiden with a disgruntled expression, someone asked, "How are we supposed to try it now?"

Avoiding eye contact, Kaiden stretched briefly.

"I'll just buy another one for everyone."

They looked at Kaiden in surprise, with Elly stepping forward, touching his forehead.

"Are you okay?"

But he felt nothing hot or warm.

"Are you really the Kaiden we know?"

Sighing with a submissive smile, he said, "Life's too short to waste."

 "..."

 Aromas were tantalizingly enticing.

"Your dishes!"

A robust, sun-kissed man carried 11 trays.

They looked bewildered as he approached.

'Six hands?'

The hefty man spoke, "Bon appétit!"

Excitedly, the six gazed at the prepared dishes.

"All this for just over 0.1 Preater!"

Steam rising from the fresh meat, they began to dig in with their utensils.

Once again, Kaiden's eyes widened.

'The same price as at the academy, but so much tastier?!'

Tears of joy welled up in his thoughts.

 "Phew," groaned Ren as he leaned back slightly.

 "Everyone finished?"

 As always, the others rolled their eyes and gave him the same answer.

"Yes."

 The warm atmosphere, filled with aromas and steam, beckoned one to sleep.

The surroundings of soft wooden walls and furnishings intensified this urge.

Yawning with a full stomach, Mark suggested, "I'm going to bed, anyone else?"

The others, in similar postures and also yawning, followed suit, with Mary leading the way again.

"Hey, you still need to pay!"

Grasping the back of their heads, they smirked foolishly.

 "Oh, sorry."

 "No problem, as long as you pay..."

 Each of them placed their hand over the black device on the light brown counter, resulting in six "Transaction successful" messages from the device. Walking through the heartwarming atmosphere again, they all felt a bit weaker and more sluggish.

Sighing, Kaiden thought, '10 hours of jogging is quite exhausting.'

Mary stood at the front with three black keys in her hand, handing two to each of the others as she opened her room.

"Elly, we're in the first room."

Ren and Kaiden, receiving one, each shared with Mark or Zack.

"Mark, we'll take the second one, okay?"

 "Sure," Mark replied.

As Kaiden opened the brownish door with the triangular-shaped key, he felt little resistance. Pressing his hand on the door handle, the two entered their own room.

A double bed, a simple floor, and a light source along with a terrace offering an incredible view of the blue sun, which promptly disappeared, and a larger bathroom.

The welcoming atmosphere here felt like home, in stark contrast to the academy, making it worlds apart. Kaiden and Zack looked around in astonishment.

"This is awesome!"

Zack exclaimed as he jumped onto the bed with large strides.

But when he looked at Kaiden, his lips were pressed together neutrally, only his eyes remaining wide open, just like Kaiden's.

 "Wait a minute..."

 Zack stared silently at Kaiden, who slowly but abruptly opened his mouth.

"We don't have to sleep in the same bed, do we?"

 "..."

 Zack and Kaiden looked at each other. Zack took the lead.

"Do you want to get another room?"

 After a brief pause, Kaiden thought, 'It would be a shame to waste the money, about 60 bucks for that?'

Still contemplating, Zack spoke up again.

"A little money won't hurt you, right? I mean, your parents will give you the money as pocket money, won't they?"

Kaiden, staring blankly at Zack, had a deep, empty look in his eyes.

"What?"

Kaiden added, as if he had misunderstood something, as he approached Zack.

"You'll get the money back in no time once you're done with your military service, I mean, from your paren..."

When Kaiden heard his last words, he couldn't help it.

Fists flew from left, right, top, and bottom in rapid succession. Zack could only raise his arms to shield himself and absorb the blows.

With quick and explosive movements, Zack managed to break free, hurling himself against the light brown wall.

With raised eyebrows and tapping in the dark, yet still angry, he clenched his teeth, prompting Kaiden to attack again.

"What the hell was that?!"

But fists flew again, causing Zack to jump back and forth explosively, followed by a blow akin to a metal pipe hitting Kaiden. Falling down, Kaiden produced a gust of wind, which propelled him back towards Zack.

He then clenched his fist tighter and struck even harder, using the wind to explosively propel himself. Zack's pristine face was finally marred, and he let out a loud cry, although it was inaudible.

But Zack, who didn't slide away or get pushed back, held Kaiden by his arms, shaking his head vigorously.

Forming his fingers into a pistol and aiming at Zack's face, Kaiden conjured a small amount of water that penetrated Zack's ear just before their heads collided, causing him to recoil and grasp his ear, crying out again.

Kaiden, who wanted to run towards him and finish the job, was interrupted out of nowhere.

A familiar light blue sparkling message appeared.

 [30 Karma Points]

 As memories faded in moments, Kaiden saw only Zack holding his ear, who shortly after charged at him again.

However, tentacles restrained Zack.

Seeing Kaiden, who had been eating moments ago, surrounded by a bluish-lit environment and Zack enveloped in tentacles, he asked, "What happened?"

with a slight furrow of his brow.

"What happened?!"

Zack shouted from his lungs, "You attacked me out of nowhere just because I asked you a normal question!"

'That can't be right.' Kaiden thought.

"What question?"

Kaiden asked, curious.

"Something about your parents!"

Kaiden still didn't quite understand, probably because of the context, but shortly after, he said to Zack, "But I don't have any parents."

 "..."

 Despite Zack looking somewhat puzzled, he still clenched his fist tightly and looked somewhat grim.

Slowly freeing himself from the tentacles, he walked past Kaiden, muttering to himself, "Well, there's still no reason to freak out like that."