Sala Giochi
School is almost over for the day, the attention of the students is slowly fading away, already being projected to the rest of the day. One student in particular is getting more restless by the minute, looking out the window at the sky. "I was not expecting any of this when I woke up this morning. It was supposed to be a normal day, getting used to the place and to the lessons, not getting lost, remembering the names of the people around me that will probably hate me anyway. Now I have to go to the arcade with a strange guy I never saw before. In his defense I don't really pay much attention out of class so it's not that strange. I don't know him; there is still something strange about him, though. The simple fact that he approached me, of all people, is all the proof I need. He must have a good reason for that, he managed to push past the aura. I wonder if he realizes how strange that is already. He looks like he's been through a lot, and the way he carries himself on that wheelchair gives me the feeling it's a recent development; the look of disdain in his eyes also suggests that. It's not directed at me, not only at me, I got caught in the crossfire when he snapped, I know the feeling. I never asked his name, did I? I didn't ask where we are supposed to meet either. I can't even blame my lack of Japanese for that one."
"...xdite-kun, Lixdite-kun." A sudden tap on his shoulder shakes the serpent away from his reflections, on his desk sits a small ball of... something? That seems to be the source. Looking around the class, he finds one of his classmates staring at him and whispering something he doesn't understand, seeing the confused face of his classmate Gyoyu changes tactics and gestures animatedly at the teacher in his best attempt to communicate, "Pay attention."
So Lixdite simply makes an ok gesture and tries to listen to the lesson. It's not easy, but a few moments later, when Majestic turns around and glares at him, almost as if he was doing something wrong anyway, then repeats the process with a couple more students before resuming the lesson. "The hell was that for? I wonder what would have happened if I had been doing something wrong." The lesson mercifully ends soon after, signaling the end of the day. As his classmates prepare to leave the snake approaches Gyoyu. "Thanks. Why warn me?"
The apparent delinquent briefly flinches as if he was not expecting his classmate to speak. "No problem; you looked out of it. More than usual, I guess, and Majestic-sensei would send you to detention for it. I don't think his detention is something you would want to experience, unlike certain other teachers." It was pretty clear by now to Lixdite that his classmate was not really a delinquent; it was not hard to tell, but understanding the reason for this persona was beyond his current Japanese skills.
"That was kind of you. Heroic, I think."
"Well, delinquents need to stick together." The student says, making a strange hand gesture, finger guns? something like that. "Now I need to go be fashionably late elsewhere; see you around." With another gesture that probably constitutes a salute, the fake delinquent departs.
"I appreciate his help, and I know he is trying to be nice, but why does he consider me a delinquent?"
Another unexpected approach is Takata, speaking in his calm, almost monotone voice on his way to the door. "I was also warned that teacher seems to have a problem with us, so be careful."
Lixdite is confused. "Us?" *"I don't think either of us did something particularly bad; I guess we both look tired."
"You know, us." Takata wriggles his tentacles for emphasis and points at the serpent's tail with his human hand.
"Oh, I see. Possible, unfortunate." The two exchange a nod of understanding. "Used to it." The octopus boy departs as well, with a lazy wave of his hand.
Lixdite takes his time getting out of the classroom, briefly observing his fellow students as they go. Reiji is lingering a surprisingly long time for someone that seems to dislike the school. Leaving the place behind, the serpent starts thinking about the rest of his day again, deciding to go back to his dorm and prepare. On the way there, a familiar feeling of being observed returns; it's been a few days by now, and Lixdite is sure that it's not his imagination; someone is following him. His blood sense told him that the parson was injured, but today that was not the case, so it was either a different person or the wound healed. Thinking about the very vague conditions of his meeting with the unknown student, Lixdite hatches a plan; he cannot risk bringing someone else into whatever this is, so he will have to confront the presumed stalker. He was hoping they would get bored, but they were surprisingly persistent. Taking a detour, the serpent decides to pass by a specific hallway that has doors at both ends; it's a safety measure.
The hallway is empty; most students already went back, and it would be in the opposite direction from the exit. It is also sparsely decorated and poorly maintained compared to other more used parts of the school. At the end of the hallway Lixdite takes a sharp turn and hides behind the door on the other side, and after waiting a few moments for the stalker to follow him he sends a strong gust of wind along the walls of the hallway closing the door on the other side, a shriek can be heard over the door closing. In the middle of the hall now stands a very confused and moderately scared girl, the serpent looks around the corner, also a bit confused by the revelation, and starts walking to her.
"H-h-hi, Aquila-kun, f-f-fancy meeting you here." The confusion of the girl transfers into fear, and her words sound fake? Like an automated response. Now closer, Lixdite can recognize the girl as Mieko, the temporary guide from a couple of days ago.
"Mieko-chan?" "What? I was expecting a delinquent or a bully, hell even one of my classmates, not this. I guess that explains why the wound disappeared; that scrape should be gone by now." The moment of confusion allows the girl to take a calming breath before talking again.
"Sorry, I probably should not have done it this way but you are not exactly easy to approach." The words are spoken quickly but calmly, while not looking in the general direction where Lixdite is. "I know it's rude looking away so much but it helps."
"I am not... angry? Upset? Not sure. I am just confused." "I am not even sure what half of the things you said mean." The serpent stops a reasonable distance away from the girl, going over every possible reason for her to be here in his head; none of them seem likely.
"I had a feeling that was the case." The girl reaches into her pockets and takes out a familiar handkerchief; she then closes the distance a bit too quickly for Lixdite to process. "You are not a bad person, right?"
"I hope not? No easy answer to that question." "Those skirts have pockets?! Wait, no, I can't get distracted now."
"Here, it's yours." The girl offers the piece of cloth. "I washed it. You are not from around here, right? It's a tradition, kinda, more like common courtesy? Anyway, I wanted to thank you and give it back since a couple of days ago, but every time I approached you, a strange panic got to me, and I couldn't move anymore so I just gave up. It also happened when we met for the first time, you looked so scary and I could swear your eyes were glowing red, but they are not, and it's not like you did anything wrong, so I was really confused. You've been very kind to me for someone that doesn't even know the language very well and there's no way someone like that can be scary, right? So I decided to study you for a bit, and you're pretty normal. Well, you do disappear sometimes, especially during lunch, and I have no idea where you go, but that's not strange, a lot of people eat alone and you don't really have any friends yet. Oh, I did see you eating with that senior earlier; I think he's a senior at least, I'm also new so I don't know yet." A sudden realization seems to hit the girl in the avalanche of words. "Sorry, I guess I'm rambling a bit."
"What just happened? Was she always this talkative? Did I do this? If this is part of my aura, then it's the strangest effect it has had on someone up to now. I think she is not a stalker then?" "I understand." "No I don't; only half of that registered as words to me, but she needs reassurance now, not more stress, I think, maybe." The serpent takes the handkerchief as delicately as he can, not quite sure if it's even real. "Thank you. I appreciate your concern, and I learned more of your customs." "I would also like to tell her it was not necessary because I bought these in bulk since I like doing wind tricks with them, but if it's a cultural thing I should probably just shut up."
"It's nothing, just normal around here. I was just really curious about you; why do you seem so scary when you're not? When I look at you, my heart starts beating really fast, and I forget how to breathe. I just realized it sounds like I have a crush on you, but I studied enough first aid to know those are the symptoms of a panic attack. Then again, some people do have panic attacks when they look at someone they like, and the description is also the same. I guess there is a reason why it's called being lovesick; it's an actual illness. I got distracted again; sorry, I don't usually talk this much, but I guess I just accumulated several days of stuff I wanted to tell you. I hope it's not too much."
"I think I heard the word love in there somewhere; I must have misheard. She seems to be calming down." "My Quirk, it makes people scared. You are very brave." "Not 100% accurate, but it's as close as I can get now. I don't know how it works precisely anyway."
"No, I am actually a bit of a coward, but when I try to rationalize why I am scared of you, then I'm not scared anymore. Now it makes sense; you also closed the doors, right? Seems powerful; I can see how you got into the hero course. I can change my hair color; it's not really useful for being a doctor." For the first time in the conversation, Mieko looks the serpent in the eye and immediately regrets it as the fear starts up again, making her look outside as a distraction. "Oh, it's gotten late; I didn't mean to keep you so long. Well, see you around then; good luck with being a hero."
"Uh, yes, see you around..." The girl quickly walks away, from the open door, after a quick bow of sorts. "I need to lie down, that was exhausting. But I don't have time for that, at least the arcade should be relaxing."
After the very confusing encounter and with his brain still trying to catch up to the mountain of words his former guide piled on him, Lixdite makes his way to the dorms.
From his vantage point on the dorm's roof, Lixdite waits for his moment. "I don't know his name, but I could find out quite easily by just asking the dorm manager; he stands out because of the wheelchair, so it would be possible to narrow it down significantly even if he was not the only one. It doesn't feel right to me however, I can just ask him. Asking Ms. Teel, I would also know his class, but I can make an educated guess: he is not in my class and seems old enough to be a senior. I assumed he was in the hero course because he approached me but I could be wrong. It would be an easy way to explain a recent crippling injury; seniors can do field jobs if I remember correctly." An almost constant flow of students occupies the road leading to the dorm, students that like him came back just to go out soon after. "I didn't see him come in, so he is either already inside or very late. Or he just took his time because we didn't set one. I am getting the feeling he is not much more used to this than I am."
A familiar wheelchair exits the building; the crowd parts around it, and some students don't even try to hide the looks of disdain for it. Recognizing the figure, the serpent takes to the air, making a detour to the back of the building to not be seen flying around. Deciding to approach in a more natural way, Lixdite moves to intercept his new schoolmate; the expressions on his face seem to be a mixture of frustration and confusion. He must be having a bad day, but then again, he already said as much. Mochi's face starts showing signs of fear bordering on panic; he looks around frantically until he locks eyes with the serpent, then a look of recognition supplants the fear, turning into... resignment? Acceptance? A wry smile attempts to appear on his face after. "I see you found me first; you scared me half to death appearing like that."
"His reaction now was strange, almost as if he knew exactly what my aura does." "Not my intention. Sorry, forgot to set a time. Or place."
"Right, it slipped my mind too; there is just a lot going on right now. At least it worked out in the end, for once." The sullen senior seems to be somewhere else for a moment but quickly composes himself. "We should get going; the arcade is pretty far on foot."
"Definitely strange, but nothing new he was like this back during lunch too. He still isn't introducing himself; is it a culture thing? Am I supposed to because I am younger?" "Ok. Nice to meet you; I am Aquila Lixdite, Freshman hero course student."
"Right. Uranus Mochi, 3rd year, also hero course I guess." He doesn't appear happy to introduce himself like this, some unknown emotion being held back, but it's gone in a moment. "Sorry, it's not your fault; as I said, a lot is on my mind. Which is why we should go, it should be distracting."
"Odd choice of words there; maybe I am missing something. He is hiding something, but it would be dumb of me to assume he will just tell me about it. He really needs the distraction." "You know where to go?"
"There is The Arcade, about 20 minutes from here in the middle of the shopping district. Everyone goes there, so it must do something right."
With a nod the serpent starts following Mochi, unsure of the destination, he was familiar with the arcades in the general area but this one did not have a name apparently. The trip is mostly in awkward silence between the two, Mochi casting nervous glances periodically at the serpent and Lixdite doing his best to read his expression to come up with something to break the tension. In the end, the conversation is started by Lixdite asking what kind of games he was expecting to play, prompting a similar response to the time in the cafeteria; he seemed a bit out of date on the details, which made Lixdite wonder how long it had been for him and why he was going back there now. "I like platforms, they are relaxing. The new ones are multiplayer too."
"Really? I didn't notice; it's been a bit since the last time I played there. We could try going for the high score, leave a mark on the arcade."
"The controls are simple, the levels not so much. New games are like computer games, more complicated than jumping barrels."
"Oh right, Super Mario is Italian, right? Is it more popular there?"
"I don't think so? We don't have arcades there, but the consoles are about the same. Zelda is more popular I think."
"Welcome to Japan then, the land of arcades and claw machines; we even have them online now." There is a hint of sarcasm in there, but Lixdite can't point out which part it's for.
The conversation dies down for a bit, starting back up with a talk about politics? Economics? Lixdite is not sure what his senior is talking about; he recognized some names like Marks and Nietzsche? but is not sure in what context they are supposed to meet. Mochi seems very animated about the subject, so the serpent does his best to listen; even if he is not interested, just pretending feels wrong, so he tries understanding at least some of it. As the (one-sided) conversation slows down, Mochi has a complicated expression on his face, looking at the serpent and being surprised to see something, or the lack of something?
"That was a lot. Sorry I could not keep up. I think I understood the concept?"
"Sorry for getting carried away there; I guess it's been a long time since someone doesn't try to stop me from talking about this stuff. I should have known it was too complex."
"It was economics? Or philosophy maybe fits more? You are... passionate, I think. It's good to have something like that."
"Most people would not agree with you, but thanks for listening anyway, I guess." Mochi seems calmer, but it doesn't last long, as if something at the back of his mind resurfaces every time he stops thinking of something else.
"His political views seem problematic if people don't even want to hear them. Then again, people don't like talking politics unless they already share the same opinion. I don't care much for these things, and listening to him seems to work, but I don't think his problems will be fixed by just being talked about. I can't carry a conversation like this, but I can distract him once we get to the arcade." "I am not most people, I am used to that." The serpent's tone doesn't fit his words; they are not as comforting as he meant them to be. The sight of the arcade saves him from attempting another motivational quote. "Look, Arcade."
"I really lost track of time there. That is The Arcade, if the big neon sign did not give it away yet. It should be less crowded since it's not the weekend."
***
The Arcade is a chaos of lights and colors, filled with the noise of a crowd mixed with electronic sound effects and loud music. If this is less crowded, then Lixdite shudders to think what the alternative is. Compared to other arcades he visited since coming to Japan, this one was clearly much more popular. The situation is almost overwhelming, but compared to school, it's not that bad; the strange combination of game music is surprisingly calming.
"There are more people than I remembered. They also changed the machines, so I don't know where stuff is anymore; we should look around." In the disappointment and frustration, there is a hint of curiosity; the arcade seems to be working at least a bit.
So the search for games to play starts; there is no lack of options, and despite the crowd, there are usually at least a couple of machines free for every game. It starts slow, Mochi being surprisingly apathetic for being the one inviting Lixdite, being content just watching supposedly, but after a while, and after seeing the sudden change in personality of the serpent when presented with a game to play, he started trying something too. Mostly old classics were played by both of them, new versions of old games, and cooperative shooters like Metal Slug; they managed to even get a high score by sheer luck; the machine just did not have many scores saved. They played some competitive games of the puzzle variety; it was pretty even, but there were a couple of times when the smile on Mochi's face seemed more genuine than usual; maybe the fact Lixdite didn't mind losing and laughed about it helped.
"This went better than I expected. I am not sure if he is really having fun, but he is definitely too distracted to think about whatever was bothering him. The occasional tangent into what I assume is economic theory is more understandable when in small doses. I wonder if this will be on the test for Mr. Tyler; I may have found a roundabout way to study. I am getting distracted myself; the arcade may be working too well. I still need to study today." A sudden feeling in the back of his mind stops Lixdite's thoughts, something he doesn't feel often and so stands out more: a wound just appeared; someone got hurt. "What?! Why here of all places? Did some kid fall? No, it feels more serious, but I can't tell where unless I see the person. It's not my problem anyway; they will just tell me to mind my own business again." Another wound, the same person. "This feels too deliberate, unless a dumb kid is repeatedly slamming into a wall. I have to at least see what is causing this. Now for a reasonable excuse." "I heard someone. Maybe they hurt; I will check." "Great, I deserve an Oscar for that. I need to fix my tone somehow."
"What? How did you manage to do that?" But Lixdite was already gone, following the vague direction of his blood sense.
Moving among the crowd with purpose, the serpent seems to be noticed for the first time; some of the crowd parts out of fear, but others freeze hindering his progress. He doesn't have to search long before he runs out of ground to search. "It's coming from the other side of the wall; they must be outside. I can't cause a scene, and there are no windows; I need to go the long way around." The serpent turns back, a random kid that just got over his paralyzing fear takes a sigh of relief and promptly freezes again when seeing him come back.
"Wait! Don't run away by yourself. At least explain what is happening." Mochi managed to catch up following the trail of scared kids.
"Sorry, no time. But we can go fast." Lixdite wraps his tail around a bar on Mochi's wheelchair and starts pulling it behind him at a fast pace.
The arcade is surprisingly easy to navigate while towing a wheelchair; the fact that people tend to move out of the way helps, and the distance to cover is not much. Doing his best to keep the passenger steady, the godling exits the arcade and turns around it, heading for a back alley he did not know was there, but the blood sense guides him. A good ways in, a dangerous scene is unfolding; two figures dressed in dark clothing loom over a third one crumpled to the ground. One of the standing figures is holding a bat of some sort. Lixdite releases the grip on the wheelchair.
"It will be fast." The serpent approaches the figures; it takes them a moment to register the thin student walking in the alley; wind starts swirling around Lixdite's hand, and the sound of wheels follows him close behind.
"Hoi there, what do ya think yu're doing. Did you kids get lost?" Lixdite doesn't answer, just keeps walking; the thugs are getting uneasy, the aura starts having an effect. "Stop, I mean it, or things get ugly. Do ya wanna end like this bug?!" The thug raises his bat in what is clearly meant as intimidation. Lixdite stops and grins.
"Non avresti dovuto farlo (You should not have done that); ho la via aperta adesso. (I have a clear path now)" With a swift motion, Lixdite claws the air, and a series of blades are shot from its path, cutting the metal bat at the handle, the serpent laughs. The thug is stunned by the unexpected projectile disarming him and can't see the punch straight to his face that lands soon after. Behind him, the second thug reaches for something on his back but starts gagging momentarily, losing balance; this allows Lixdite to turn around, spinning in place to deliver a tail slam to the back of the thug's head from almost two meters away. The thugs hit the ground, unconscious apparently; the serpent looks over to the battered figure beside him, a young girl probably about his age, if not younger. She is still breathing and conscious but frozen in place, bleeding from a wound on her head. "She does have bug features; her arms are covered in chitin, and she has antennas. Of course, they hit her in the places where she is not armored."
Mochi wheels in behind him. "That was reckless; they could have had guns. How did you even cut that thing?"
"Aluminum, it's empty, not hard to cut with many slashes. Victim too scared, could you do the talking? I am... unsuited." "She is already scared, and I can't speak properly. Add my aura into the equation, and she could faint if I attempt direct contact. Mochi doesn't seem the most sociable, but he is still a senior."
"Fine, but we shouldn't be even here." Mochi wheels a little closer and tries to speak to the trembling girl. "Hey, can you hear me? Can you tell us what happened?"
The girl tries opening her eyes, but seeing Lixdite looming over her, she balls up again. "I'm sorry, please don't hurt me again."
"That could have gone worse; maybe I need to get farther. Or I could try that." The serpent crouches next to the wheelchair, being partially hidden, then wraps himself up in his wings.
The annoyed senior looks at him in confusion but tries talking again. "They are gone now; we helped. We should call an ambulance and the police, so could you please tell us what happened so I know what to tell them?"
The girl slowly opens her eyes again as Mochi takes out his phone and starts dialing the emergency number. She is surprised by the wing cocoon but not as scared. "I was just going to the arcade like always, and then... I got hit, I think? I didn't see them when I was walking in, and I take this route all the time. They kept hitting me because I didn't fall down the first time; they kept calling me a stupid bug. I think they hit my chitin the first time, so that's why I didn't fall." The girl has a distant look on her face, not crying but clearly scared still.
Mochi relays a shortened version to the phone as she speaks; the voice on the other end of the phone answers in a practiced even tone. "They will be here soon. We should go too Lixdite-kun, it would be better if they don't find us here." Mochi starts wheeling away.
Lixdite slowly emerges from his cocoon, making sure the girl is not startled by his presence, then slowly approaches her. "You are hurt. May be a concussion, should try to not sleep."
After a slight flinch the girl seems to calm down a bit. "Th-thank you. I am so tired, but I can't..." Seeing her drift off Lixdite makes a small gust of wind go across her face. "Uh? What was?"
"Stay strong, it will be fine." The serpent takes out another cloth piece from his pocket and hands it to the girl. "For blood. Goodbye."
"What are you doing? The ambulance is really fast; we don't have time." The hurried senior reminds Lixdite of his situation.
With a dash he is already beside Mochi, wings unfurled, ready for use. "Don't worry, I am speed."
"I can see that. Then let's move; I don't feel like adding detention to the list of my problems."
The two manage to distance themselves from the crime scene at a decent pace, and after a while, Lixdite asks. "Why did we run? We did no wrong."
"We are not supposed to use our quirks like that; you need a license for that. How do you not know this?"
"They were just thugs, not villains. I also just hit them, the wind was on the bat."
"You didn't really do anything wrong, but you did break the law. The police would have questioned you and communicated it to the school; even if nothing but a warning comes from it, the hassle remains. If you want to do these things, you should be more discreet. At least we helped that poor mutant girl; how did you know she was in danger?"
"Well fuck, what do I tell him? I don't want to lie, but I don't want to creep him out just when he was getting better. I guess I could be vague; I can't articulate well after all." "My quirk, I hear things better, heard her get hit."
"From that far and over a wall? That's impressive; it will help a lot in hero work too." The answer is almost automatic, fake; he did not seem to believe the serpent but had no intention to bring it up either.
With the conversation grinding to an awkward halt, Lixdite looks around searching for anything to make the situation better, as if the sidewalk or the sky could give him the answer. It turns out they could; it's gotten late; they must have lost track of time at the arcade and did not notice it before because of haste. So a single question pops up in Lixdite's mind. "Want to speed?" "I feel like I did worse than usual on that one."
"What? I don't think I understand what you mean; I don't even have a car."
"It's late. The right word... I think is fast? Do you want to go fast?"
"I guess I would not mind not being late. What are you planning to do? I am not the most mobile right now."
Lixdite does not let the bitterness in Mochi's voice discourage him. "Don't worry I studied aerodynamics." The serpent takes hold of the wheelchair's handles and unfurls his wings.
"That's a big word; are you sure you know what it means?!" A slight panic is starting to spread in the senior's voice; for once it's unlikely to be the aura.
"Hold on well. Lift off (In English)"
Using his wings as makeshift sails, Lixdite turns the wheelchair into a land wakeboard. The road to Shiketsu is mostly straight after a certain point, so they keep speeding up; Mochi's startled screams fade away and are slowly replaced with laughter. It's not an efficient way to travel, Lixdite has to navigate the streets so that people are not in the way and turning is more of an art than a precise science, but somehow they manage to not get hurt. They do overshoot the school a couple of times so in the end they did not save much time but Mochi seems really happy by the end of it so at least it was not a waste.
"That was really dangerous, but fun. We should be more careful of being seen next time, and you need a map. You saved me the uphill climb too."
Lixdite is momentarily still out of character, grinning and stretching his wings; it takes him a moment to remember and calm down, and as he adopts his emotionless face, the air stills for a moment. "I will try to improve. I have ideas."
The senior shows a worried expression for a moment. "Don't exaggerate too much; the school will hear about it if you get too flashy."
"I see. I will try." "I may need help; I am not an engineer. But do you even need one for this?"
"This was fun, surprisingly. It's almost curfew; we should go back in our rooms." Moving at a more leisurely pace, the two approach the dorms when Mochi's face suddenly turns sour, as if he just remembered something he didn't want to. "By the way, would you be interested in sightseeing next time? There is one place in particular I think is worth seeing."
"I like seeing places. I need to learn where things are too." "He had to force himself to ask me, or he forgot and felt bad about it? I almost forgot that the reason he invited me is still a mystery; this will probably get me closer to the truth."
"Great, I will let you know when we can visit; there are some events that would be of cultural importance. We should exchange numbers. Do you have a LINE yet?"
"I think so. I keep notes for these events." Lixdite takes out a small piece of paper similar to a business card; it has all his contact information: phone, e-mail, LINE, and a couple of others.
"That's... useful. I will send you a message later; now I need to go to sleep, and you should too, probably. See you at school." The senior departs for the dorms.
"See you." Now it was time for Lixdite to remember something. "I didn't eat anything since lunch, and it's already late. I should get something simple, a sandwich. They sell those here, right?" With a flap of his wings, the serpent starts heading for the convenience store closest to the school; even if he is fast, it's better to be efficient.
It is night by the time the snake returns to the dorms, the window to his room still thankfully open. He slides in with practiced ease, like he used to do all the time back home too. The moment he sets foot on the floor, a voice speaks up from the darkness.
"You are late, Lixdite-kun; it would have been troublesome if the manager asked where you went." Sat crosslegged on the bed on his side of the room was Yuudai, meditating as he often does. Lixdite could see him well in the dark, but he was hoping he was asleep.
"Sorry, forgot to eat. Want a sandwich?"
"I... already dined, thank you for offering. You should pay more attention to the time; I understand it must be difficult to adapt to a different timezone, but we have curfews for a reason."
"What reason? I honestly don't get which one he is talking about; the only good one that comes to mind is not bothering the others, but that wouldn't be a school reason." "I am nocturnal maybe? No matter, I will try what I can. Good night."
Yuudai turns his head slightly as if to confirm the serpent is really going to sleep, then sighs. "Good night."
After Lixdite settles in his bed, a stray thought crosses his mind. "We did not get any prizes with all the points we accumulated." It takes him a long time to fall asleep after that.
Clarifications: Lixdite started charging up the wind blade from the start of the alley; it's the reason he was walking slowly. Lixdite has no idea what Mochi's quirk is; he mistook the second thug gagging for a side effect of his aura.