Chapter 4 - Deja Vu

"Congrats, that's awesome," I remarked with a nod.

"...you could stand to be a lot more expressive, Kilzachs. Come on, this is a big deal, you could at least try to act surprised!" Bytra sighed in exasperation.

"I am surprised, sure...but five percent is technically just one in every twenty people, which isn't exactly that rare-...," I defended, trailing off sheepishly as she gave me a pouty glare.

It was the 8th of January now, a week later. Bytra's fifteenth birthday had been on the 5th, last Friday. She had undergone her Awakening Procedure yesterday, and...she turned out to be a Prodigy.

"Fine, maybe this'll get a reaction out of you...<Primary Manifestation: Thorn Whip>!"

A long purple energy whip manifested in her right hand, it had several small spikes all over it. A Wind Attribute, huh. She was staring at me expectantly, waiting for my reaction.

"O-oh, uh...cool, I guess?" I responded with an awkward thumbs up and smile.

After seeing my sister's abilities, it was going to be hard for anyone else to genuinely amaze me. Probably shouldn't say that though.

"Dude...well, knowing you, I guess I can't expect too much more," She replied with a wistful smile.

"Sorry, I've never really been the most expressive person...but I honestly do think it's cool. So, what's your Secondary Manifestation?"

She perked up as I asked that.

"Well, it's nothing too grand, but let me show you...<Secondary Manifestation: Speed Boost>!"

"Oh, nice, a self-buff?"

"Yup. It doubles my speed for about five minutes and has a fifteen minute cooldown afterwards."

"Hey, that's a pretty handy ability, cool."

"Thanks! But it is strange that this got a bigger reaction from you than my Primary Manifestation did," She laughed, deactivating her Manifestation.

Ever since Monday last week, she had been joining me on the rooftop during lunch break every single day, and often spoke to me during class as well. She seemed to have become a lot more comfortable talking with me with every passing day, though every now and then she'd look off into the distance with a strange look in her eyes.

This, despite the others in the class repeatedly advising her to stay away from me, and telling me to stop 'deceiving' her. Something felt kinda off, though, I kinda expected there to be a lot more of an uproar. Guess I had kinda overestimated how much they all despised me, who knew.

They certainly didn't seem to be ostracizing her because she was friends with me, in fact they were all pretty friendly to her during class, though they still treated me with contempt, of course, no surprise there.

"So, hey...I kinda wanna celebrate this, but I don't want anything too dramatic like partying with a big group or something. So...wanna celebrate with me in the Entertainment District, just the two of us?"

Uh, that was kinda...

"...sounds tiring, so hard pass-."

"Oh, come on, one day of fun won't kill you! We can go to an amusement park or something. Please?"

Mm...I didn't like the idea of going out, but she was making it hard to say no...

"...fine, I guess I'll go. But I can't promise you'll have any fun."

"I'll take my chances!" She grinned.

This really was strange to me, I had never ever hung out with anyone before, let alone a girl. It was a strange feeling, but...I didn't dislike it.

...

"Hey, Zax, welcome home! How was school, little bro?" Greeted Kilella, as I got back hike after school.

"Oh, hey, sis...uh, school was fine, I guess. Well, I'm heading up to my room-."

"Hold on! There's something about your vibes lately...you seem happier than usual during these last few days," She remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Must be your imagination," I shrugged, walking up the stairs.

"Nope, pretty sure it isn't!" She smirked, grabbing my arm to stop me, "Did you make a friend or something?"

Tch, she's sharp, how annoying...

"It doesn't matter-."

"Woah, did I hit the nail on the head? That's great, I'm so happy for-!"

"You're too loud, sis...it's no big deal."

"If you say so...but it's totally a big deal! Well, I won't push you since you're being all bashful, but I'll get you to talk eventually!"

"...I don't get bashful."

...

...

The next Saturday, I met up with Bytra at an amusement park in the Entertainment District. Ughh, there sure are a lot of people here. Well, at least the weather is okay. The Sanctuary's weather generators were programmed to simulate various different weather conditions during each time of the year, it was really annoying and pointless, why not just maintain a nice, comfortable weather temperature the whole time?

"Hey, over here, Kizachs! You're pretty early," Bytra called out before walking over to me with a cheerful wave.

"You're too loud for this early in the morning," I replied with a sigh, as a few people glanced at us.

"...it's mid-day."

"Yeah, on a weekend."

She let out a laugh after a look of surprise, before grabbing my hand and leading me into the park.

"Have you been to an amusement park before?"

"Well, I apparently did with my family when I was three or four, but I don't remember."

"In that case, just follow my lead!"

"Mhm, that's the plan, this is all pretty alien to me."

"Hehe, hope you can handle the bumpy rides, because we're starting with those!"

"I have no idea...guess I'll find out," I replied with an indifferent shrug.

.

.

.

.

.

About two hours later, we had gone on a bunch of bumpy and fast-paced rides, from ones that spin, to ones that drop, to the classics like roller-coasters and bumper cars. And...to my surprise, I was having a ton of fun. I found the thrill and rush of the fast-paced rides really enjoyable, I liked how they got my heart racing during the sudden jolts and bursts of speed.

"Hey, let's go on the roller-coaster again, that was-...!" I began, before trailing off as she shakily grabbed my arm.

"S-slow down, Kilzachs...I feel like I'm about to throw up, I'm not so good with bumpy rides," She groaned, her face slightly pale, "Let's sit down for a bit, 'kay?"

"Oh, sorry, I kinda got caught up in the, um...excitement," I replied apologetically before checking my I-Watch, "Woah, it's already been two hours...I'll go get us something to drink."

"Oh, thanks, I appreciate it," She replied with a weary smile, as she sat down on a bench.

I got a couple of cold drinks from a vending machine and walked back to her, handing her one of the cans. She cracked it open and gulped it down, letting out a sigh of relief as the color returned to her face.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah, thanks. I have to say...it's kinda surprising to see you have this much fun. You're all smiley and upbeat, you really like thrill rides, don't you?"

Now that she mentioned it...I was honestly having a blast. I had expected it to be tedious and tiring, but as soon as I got on the first ride, I got totally swept up in the excitement and forgot all about my initial expectations.

"O-oh, well, I...I guess so, they're fun. I didn't expect myself to enjoy the rides this much," I muttered sheepishly, wiping the smile off my face and averting my gaze before I could stop myself.

"Woah, this is awesome...you're usually so reserved, but today I'm getting to see what you look like when you're having fun, and now your bashful side too," She grinned, poking my cheek.

"Quit it...," I muttered awkwardly, taking a sip of my drink.

"Hehe, no deal, this side of you is rare, so I'm going to make the most of it! Alright, I feel better now, what do you wanna go on next?"

"Um...another go at the roller-coaster?"

"A-actually...I really don't like roller-coasters, I only went on it earlier because I didn't want to look lame after I was the one who first suggested going on the bumpy rides," She said sheepishly, "But, you can go on it if you want, I'll wait-."

"Nah, it's cool. I did agree to follow your lead...so, lead the way," I replied with a small smile.

We went on a few more rides over the next hour or so, before finishing the outing with a ride on the ferris-wheel.

"What a day, that was so much fun!" Exclaimed Bytra, with a contented sigh.

"Yeah...it really was. So, what's the big deal about ferris-wheels, anyway? They're even slower than I expected," I remarked, after we got in one of the carriages.

"I get what you mean, it's definitely at a different pace to the other rides, but that's kinda the point. After all the thrills and spills, you get to wind down with a slow, relaxing ride on this thing," She replied with a laugh.

"Huh, I guess that makes sense."

"Hey, um...thanks for agreeing to hang out today, I know you were against the idea, so-."

"Nah, I should be thanking you...I had a blast, this was a great experience. So, uh, you know...thanks," I replied awkwardly.

"O-oh, come on...i-it's no big deal, you're exaggerating," She replied, looking away a bit uncomfortably.

"I don't exaggerate. I, uh...thanks for, you know...being friends with me. I never thought I needed friends, but...I have to admit, it's really nice. So, yeah...thanks, Bytra."

Did I seriously just say all that and actually mean it? Talk about cheesy, I felt really embarrassed the moment the words left my mouth. She looked taken aback and averted her gaze for a moment, I couldn't quite identify the emotion in her expression...it was only on her face for a brief moment though, she shook her head to compose herself before turning back to face me.

"Hey, now...don't get all sappy on me, it's not like you," She grinned, awkwardly rubbing the back of her head.

When she put it that way, what I just said felt all the more embarrassing...

"Y-you know, what...forget I said anything, let's just pretend-!"

"Nope, I won't forget! But I suppose I can drop it for now...so, how are you liking the ride, isn't it relaxing?"

"Uh...honestly, not really? The seats are kinda uncomfortable," I replied with a sheepish smile.

"...huh, you're right. I didn't really notice, but now that you mention it...my butt is kinda sore," She remarked, shifting around her seat uncomfortably.

"Maybe this ride is especially meant for couples or something," I nodded to the ground, where a pair with their arms linked entered a carriage.

"Oh, yeah, when it comes to amusement parks in movies and stuff, the ferris-wheel is almost always used during romantic scenes," She responded, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she glanced at me before averting her gaze.

"H-hey, now, don't overthink the issue! And b-besides, uh...oh, yeah, there's the whole thing where you insisted on friend-zoning me, remember?" I replied jokingly, trying to ease the awkward tension.

"Right...though, I never said anything about that, that was all you," She pointed out with a small laugh, before closing her eyes and slumping back in her seat with a relaxed sigh.

"True, I guess..."

"Hey, y-you gotta try this out...close your eyes and lean back in your seat, i-it's really r-relaxing!" She suggested with a red face and slight stutter towards the end.

Huh, she seemed kinda nervous and flushed...

"Uh, okay...," I replied, closing my eyes and relaxing, slumping into the seat.

This didn't really make a difference, the seat was still pretty uncomfortable...

"Now...don't open your eyes, o-okay?"

I felt the carriage move a bit, as she got up from her seat. What's she doing? I felt her sitting next to me, really close...

"H-hey, what're you- mfph!?" I began, turning towards her and starting to open my eyes, before being cut off...as she kissed me.

...huh?

She slowly pulled away after a few seconds, as I felt my face heating up.

"D-don't get the wrong idea...!...th-that was j-just a thank you for today," She muttered, her face turning red as she shrunk back while fidgeting.

"R-right, okay...," I replied, as my heart began racing.

A couple of minutes later, our turn on the ferris-wheel was over, and we headed back in awkward silence, neither of us knowing what to say.

"S-so, um...I guess I'll see you at school on Monday..."

"Yeah, I-I'll see you then," I responded, unable to meet her gaze.

With that, the day came to an end, and it certainly was a memorable one, to say the least. A whole bunch of new and unfamiliar experiences, and they had all been far from unpleasant...

...

As it turned out, I came down with a cold the following night, and missed school on Monday. Ironic, considering that for the first time, a small part of me had actually been looking forward to school, at least a little bit.

It wasn't a long absence though, I returned to school on Tuesday, the cold was gone, but my throat was still a bit itchy so that was annoying. I ended up arriving kinda late since I ignored my alarm and overslept a bit, reaching school a few minutes after first period started. I made my way to my classroom, and as I entered...everyone turned to stare at me, some had looks of contempt, some of disgust and a couple of them had triumphant smirks on their faces...what's going on?

This wasn't anything too unusual, but...it was a lot more intense than usual. I had a bad feeling forming in the pit of my stomach, this felt...this felt just like how things were when I returned to school following my two-week suspension, an unpleasantly familiar feeling of deja vu...

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