Fellow Freak

"Well, here we are. This is my master's arcade."

"It's an arcade."

"Yeah. That's what I said it was."

"What I meant by that is that it's just a regular ol' arcade. I thought that I would be bigger. More extravagant."

"Keep your expectations low and you will never be disappointed."

"Why are you speaking like a sage? You're like ten."

"I'm twelve actually."

"I was barely off."

"Whatever. Let's just let him know that we're here." said Wakai as he walks over to the door.

"You're just going to knock on it."

"He's a nice guy. He won't get angry if we ring the doorbell."

"So, how did you meet the guy?"

"Hm?"

"How did you meet your sensei? Was it a chance encounter? Was he a close family friend? Did you guys randomly bump into each other at the park?"

"It was a little bit like the first option."

"Tell me more."

"Well, the story may be a little long."

"I have time."

"Ok. It started like this." said Wakai as he turns his head to look at his acquaintance.

"Ha! Ha! Another L for you losers! Suck my balls!"

"Shut your faggot ass up and touch grass!"

"Tell your mama I said hi!"

"You got carried! Next match, your butt buddy won't give you a free win!

"We'll see about that, you bastards!"

"Wakai!"

"W, here I come." thought Wakai.

"Wakai!"

"Nothing will stop me."

"Wakai!" exclaimed his mother as she kicks down his door.

"Mom!" exclaimed the boy, surprised.

"What are you doing?"

"Homework."

"What class?"

"How to lie and get my butt kicked 101?"

"You want me to beat you, don't you? I birthed a masochist."

"I would rather not get hit for playing games before school."

"How long were you playing your game?"

"A few minutes." said Wakai as he pulls off his headphones.

"Wakai."

"Since last night."

"Jesus! Why can you never just sleep?"

"I'm sorry."

"Just get ready. Your school starts in less than an hour."

"Ok."

"I hate being here. It's hard being a genius and being stuck in high school before you even hit puberty. I'm a very easy target and a social pariah. What a pain." thought Wakai.

"Wakai! How's it been hanging!" exclaimed Jiga.

"Oh no."

"I said 'how's it been hanging'." as he approaches.

"I've been fine."

"Good. That's what I like to hear."

"What do you want?"

"Got some lunch money for me."

"No."

"Really?"

"I brought my own lunch."

"So, you're trying to outsmart me."

"I just like my mom's cooking."

"Well. I guess that there is only one way to solve this problem." said Jiga as he smirks.

"Maybe we should talk about this." said the boy as he quickly turns around.

"In the locker, you go!" exclaimed Jiga as he pushes the boy into the locker.

"Wait!"

"Too late! Hahahahahaha!"

"Don't close it!"

"Good day, loser!" exclaimed Jiga as he closes the locker door. "Too easy."

"What are you up to now, Jiga?" asked Yukan.

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

"None of your business. Don't you have class or something?"

"We're in the same first period."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot."

"Get to class."

"Why don't you get to class!" exclaimed Jiga as he quickly turns around.

"I have to save the boy you stuffed in the locker."

"There's no-,"

"I saw you. I was watching the entire time."

"I hate you."

"Step aside."

"Whatever. I don't have time for this anyways." said Jiga as he walks away.

"I just don't get that guy," said Yukan as he opens up the locker. "Ok. You can come out now."

"Thanks," said the boy as he exits the prison. "That guy always picks on me."

"He does? He's a bigger prick than I thought."

"You should see him on bad days. It's frightening, to say the least."

"If he messes with you again, just come to me. I'll deal with him and his cronies free of charge."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine. I can defend myself."

"You call that defense?"

"I don't like resorting to violence."

"I didn't say that you had to."

The first-period bell rings.

"That's the bell!" exclaimed Yukan as he starts to run. "Talk to you later!"

"Ditto. I guess."

The final school bell rings.

"Another boring day of school. A minimal amount of homework should give me enough time to get eight matches of COD in today. This will be so fun." thought Wakai as he walks.

"Hey, nerd!"

"I should pick up some snacks, so I can skip dinner. That should be able to add 2.5 matches."

"Eat shit!" exclaimed Jiga as he launches a water balloon at the boy.

It hits him square in the back of his head and splashes all in his long, brown hair.

"What the heck!"

"I told you to look out!"

"You!" exclaimed the boy as he turns around.

"What are you going to do! Attack me?"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" exclaimed the boy as he charges toward the older boy.

"This kid definitely has guts." thought a man.

"You can scream all you like, but you will never be able to overpower me." said Jiga as he grabs his younger classmate.

"Let me go!"

"You wanted to fight. Let's fight!" said Jiga as he winds up a punch.

"Not so fast."

"Huh?"

In seconds, the boy is taken out of Jiga's hands and he is flipped to the ground. Jiga quickly gets up from the ground, but the man and the boy have disappeared.

"What a drag." said Jiga as he rubs his head.

"Thank you, but who are you?"

"You seem like a smart kid. Wanna become my student?"

"And, that's how I met him. Cool, right?"

"You could have just started off with the fact that we met before."

"But, it wouldn't have been as fun."

"What are you even talking about?"

"Ok," said Wakai as he rings the doorbell. "Ringing the doorbell."

"Is he even there?"

"He's always here. Unless he goes to the store or the gentleman's club."

"Your master is interesting."

"He gets that a lot."

The door opens.

"What do you need, Wakai? I was about to eat."

"I brought someone special. He needs your teachings, sensei. He's one of us."

"He is?" said the man, surprised. "Well, that's a genuine surprise. Come on in. We need to talk."

Even though the three people sitting in the same backroom are similar, they look very different. One black, two whites. Two kids, one adult. One with black hair, one with brown hair, and one with blonde hair. All three of them are healthy and in shape. They also all enjoy tea. That's why tea in teacups sits before them.

"So, are we just going to sip on tea until the sun rises?"

"Not necessarily. I like awkward silences."

"What?"

"I'm Kenmeina Senshi. You can call me Kenmeina-sensei. Or just Kenmeina. I don't care."

"So, Kenmeina, tell me everything."

"Everything about what?"

"Everything. Tonight, I was chased by hellhounds that were feasting on an innocent man. I need to know everything that most humans will never know about."

"First of all, let's start with the basics. You are not a human. You're a special type of being called an Expersian."

"Yeah. I know."

"You know?"

"It wasn't that hard to figure that out. I can produce flames after all."

"So, you're an Elementalist like me? Nice."

"Yeah. Sure."

"So, do you know about the origins and all of that?"

"Yeah, but I'm a little rusty on the subject."

"Good. I can finally tell my story. So, Expersians are powerful beings created by a divine being called the Overlord. He's usually represented as the God in most monotheistic religions. It's semi-accurate, but those religions never get the most important details correct. Anyways, these beings are very powerful and unique compared to regular humans. They are born into six classes: Elementalist, Sharpshooter, Tank, Mage, Warrior, and Technopath. The boy sitting next to you is a Technopath. If you use your intellect, you should be able to figure out the abilities of these classes. There are always an equal number of Expersians in each class. The Overlord was always pretty picky for some reason. Most Expersians are born and live in a mystical dimension called Expersia, but on very rare occasions, a very few Expersians are born in the human realm. These special Expersians usually become the protectors of humanity. I know this because I was the past generation of Humanity's Vanguard."

"So cool!"

"What he says."

"But, that was back in the day during my golden age. Now, I'm a little older, but I don't look like that. We age slower than them. We're also usually smarter. Like you kids say, we're just built different."

"Lame joke."

"I know. So, the creatures that you were hunted by are called Howlers. They're very similar to Hellhounds and usually stick around high population centers in packs, hunting humans and other wildlife. They are very ravenous because they're beasts, but they hate water for some reason. They have the common weakness of cats. These creatures are created by a very evil demon called the Demon King. He doesn't have a name that we know of. He's just that mysterious. He created these creatures to torment humanity and continued to do this until me and my friends defeated him in '97. These leftover creatures must just be that. Somehow escaping every once in a while due to the universe shifting or something like that. The scientists have better terms for it."

"So, is that it?"

"I could go on for many more hours, but that's all you need to know for now."

"So, I can go?"

"You should finish your tea. I spent a lot of time picking up the right brand. It would be very courteous if you did."

"Fine," said Yukan before he gulps it down. "Done."

"Wow."

"Wakai, can you escort him home so he will not get attacked?"

"Yes, sensei."

"And Yukan."

"How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot of things. Watch your back."

"Ok," said Yukan as he gets up. "Weirdly ominous."

"Come anytime. I'm always interested in training the next generation of our people."

"I don't know about that. I already have a sensei."

"You seem strong, so your sensei must be doing good. Tell them that I said that."

"I will and he will definitely appreciate it."

"Good night."

"Ditto." said Yukan as he walks away.

"So, any thoughts?"

"Yeah. I have a few."

"What are they?"

"You guys are fucking weirdos."

Part 1

Fin