GOODBYES

Stare wearily rubbed his eyes as he slowly rose from a hovering couch. He stretched his tired limbs, yawning, and glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table.

"Oh it's already 4pm." He muttered tiredly.

"Wait, what? Fuck! It's 4 pm already?" The drowsiness instantly vanished as Stare rushed through the bathroom door close by.

'How did I sleep so long?'

'Even my alarm clock failed to wake me. Was I that tired?'

"Enough with this pointless inner monologue. I'm already late, and thinking won't change that."

"Since no one has come to get me yet, it means that man isn't here either. I need to hurry up now; I can't mess up today."

In no time, Stare emerged from the bathroom, and donned himself in a black T-shirt and black trousers, He then turned to his wardrobe once more, this time holding a deflated bag.

He quickly packed his essentials, and as he did, the bag inflated. Satisfied with his packing, he zipped up the bag and adjusted its gravity to better carry it.

With the bag slung over his shoulder and his phone and media player in his pocket, he rushed to the room's door but heard a soft rumbling from his bed. He turned to see a Himalayan cat rolling around on the bed.

"This stupid feline." Stare muttered with gritted teeth.

For some reason, Stare really felt like trying out the credibility of this cat's nine lives.

'But not today.' Stare muttered with his eyes closed while taking in deep breaths to calm himself.

After getting some level of calm back, he quickly opened the door and rushed out of the room.

Hurriedly entering the living room, he was surprised to find Guy already there and even engaged in casual conversation with his parents, while Doush and his little sister, Aila, sat nearby.

They all noticed Stare's presence and greeted him with smiles.

"Oh, Stare, you're finally awake. You must have been exhausted," Stare's mom remarked with a smile.

Stare, unsure of what to say, could only gaze at his parents with a perplexed expression.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up earlier?" Stare inquired, squinting with an odd expression still lingering on his face.

"Oh! Mr. Guy suggested we allow you to rest, dear. He mentioned it's common for new primes to experience extreme fatigue," Stare's mom promptly replied, prompting Stare to direct his gaze toward the frail Vice Rector, who returned it with his characteristic smile.

He couldn't discern whether it was the smile itself or simply recollecting how the man had forcefully administered Algos to him, but Stare felt an urge to punch his face.

Realizing his emotions were merely fantasies given the frail man's current status, Stare could only muster a fake smile and hope to repay him in the future.

"Am I already late for the full enrollment process?" he inquired.

"Nah, no need to worry about that. I've taken care of it... one of the perks of being me," Guy replied casually.

Stare's expression seemed to ease upon hearing this, but before he could fully relax, Guy interjected, "However, what you do need to worry about is the convocation and acceptance of new students in about an hour."

Stare was left utterly speechless, his mouth slightly agape, uncertain of what to say. While still in this daze, Stare's mom approached him, a plate of pancakes suddenly in her hand.

"You can't be a hero on an empty stomach," she remarked as she carefully fed the pancakes into his slightly open mouth, a pained smile on her face. After nearly finishing the entire plate, she kissed his right cheek and then embraced him tightly.

"Just stay safe for Mama, okay?"

As Stare felt her tears fall onto his shoulders, he instantly felt his legs grow weak. Returning her embrace, he nodded slightly and then gently wiped away her tears afterward.

Just as this mood-laden event was unfolding, Aila suddenly jumped in, hugging Stare's leg also with a tearful expression.

Just as Stare was trying to calm her with happy words and promises of visiting almost every time and head pats, Doush suddenly joined in, also locking Stare in a deep hug.

Stare not really sure of what to do anymore, just let them be uninterrupted for some minutes, after all he truly didn't know what would happen after now or the moment he stepped his feet in the academy ground and was just basically leaving everything to hope.

After a few minutes, Aila had finally stopped sobbing, though she still clung to Stare's leg, while Doush had released him from their hug, wiping his teary eyes.

"What? Are you finished crying?" Stare instantly teased, a wide, mocking smile on his face. He wasn't going to miss the opportunity to rib Doush.

"Why? Doesn't an amazing figure like me have the right to shed tears for his companion?" Doush replied, part annoyed, part joking, as he continued to wipe his teary eyes and runny nose.

"...And remember, don't replace me with those cool heroic brats at the academy. And if you miraculously get a girlfriend, put in a good word for me to her pretty friends," Doush suddenly added.

Stare could only stare briefly at his friend in amazement. Though he had grown accustomed to Doush's excessive behavior, he was still occasionally taken aback by the words that came out of his mouth.

Turning his attention to his father who seemed to be the most collected amongst all of them, he smiled and opened his hands wide open for a hug.

"You don't have to act cool headed dad."

Mr. Johnson looked at his son with wide open eyes for some seconds, before rushing into his arms.

"I promised myself I won't cry on the day my son starts this journey, who knew it would be this hard." Richard muttered, as a single teardrop fell from his eye.

He soon released Stare from his hug and looked into his eyes proudly.

"Go make us proud son."

"Alright, I think we've had enough goodbyes and hugs for today," Guy interjected, breaking the emotionally charged atmosphere. "Stare already wasted most of our time oversleeping. It's not like he's enlisting; it's just an academy. You'll definitely see each other again."

Stare nodded, tightening his grip on the bag slung over his shoulder. He followed Guy, who had already begun walking toward the apartment's door.

Pausing briefly and turning back to his family and friends, who still gazed at him with tear-streaked faces, Stare flashed them an assuring smile before opening the door and walking out after Guy.

"This was for all of them, the best possible way to face our grim fate," he thought to himself.

"Hero Academy... here I come," Stare muttered with a tone of determination.

[Author's Warning Note: This Chapter is mostly about Stare's goodbyes and has a ton of emotions, too much for even…]