“He’s not that bad.” The girl argued back. “I mean there are a lot worse parents out there, parents who abuse their kids or don’t look after them properly. Parents who disappear from their families lives one day and are just never heard from again. It’s not like he’s not gone all the time…” Kaya argued back weakly. “He always makes it back for special occasions. It’s just that his job keeps him so busy…” She looked down at her plate, playing with her food now having suddenly lost her appetite. She hated it when Bryant said bad things about her parents. Especially her dad. He was a good hero. A great hero. He just wasn’t the best dad. “Besides, it’s not like I need any help with my studies anyway.” Kaya assured him with a very forced smile. However it was evident that Bryant hadn’t been listening to her, as he expressed his confusion at having lost his train of thought and the girl simply shook her head sadly. Standing up she picked up the large alchemy book and gave him a small smile. “I’m gonna go to the library. I’m… not hungry.” Kaya said as she picked up her book bag as well, slinging it over her shoulder and walking out of the cafeteria, wiping away at the small tears threatening her eyes.

Bryant wasn't sure what he had doen wrong just now, and he was sure he had done something wrong, because Kaya had just run off to the library holding back tears. What should he do? Should he got try and comfort her when he didn't know how? Or should he leave her to sort things out for herself? "Man... today just sucks on so many levels." He groaned as he got up and followed after her. He was certain that anything he did would just make Kaya feel worse, he wasn't a very emotional person according to his mother, and as such was probably going to somehow insult her without meaning too. But she was his best friend and it was his duty to help her feel better... or at least to try too. As he entered the library he looked around for her and saw her off in a corner by herself reading her Alchemy journal and made his way over. "Hey Kaya..." He said hesitatingly "I'm sorry if I said something that upset you."

She had gone and found a quiet place in the library, opened her book and sat there quietly letting her tears flow. Honestly even Kaya wasn’t sure what she was crying about. Was she crying because of the fact Bryant had said something bad about her father and mother? Was it because she thought her father wasn’t as great a guy as she liked to believe? Was it just because she missed him despite everything? Honestly the only common factor amongst all those thoughts was her father So she simply decided she was upset because of her father, which is something that shouldn’t happen. When she heard Bryant’s voice she smiled, despite herself and stood, giving him a sad smile as she wiped away the tears. “It’s alright, I’m fine, really.” She assured him as she walked up to him and hugging him quietly. It wasn’t something she did often, but he always made her feel better this way, even if his empathy could use some work. “It wasn’t you anyway really.” She assured him, resting into the hug and lingering perhaps a tad too long before she reluctantly pulled away, giving him another soft smile.

Bryant tensed slightly when Kaya hugged him. She didn't hug him often and though he liked them it was still rather awkward. He was glad he hadn't done anything to make her upset but he was pretty sure she was in fact, still upset. Though what she was upset about he still had no idea. "Well... if it'll make you feel better I'm supposed to fight those bullies in power practical today." He joked with her "That should make you feel better... seeing them all crispy and on the ground twitching." He was certain that would make her feel better... but he had been wrong before and could just make her mad at him. Either way though she wouldn't be upset anymore so that would be good. He knew that she would get better in a few hours but he hated seeing her upset and so was going to do whatever he could to change that... even if that meant getting himself hurt.

Kaya looked at the boy with a raised eyebrow and rolled her eyes before gently punching him in the arm. “You’re such a dude!” She informed him as she picked up her books. Really she didn’t like seeing him using his powers to hurt people like he did, but at the same time she understood he saw the world differently than she did and his powers were more aggressive in nature than hers were. In saying that she was sure she could use her powers to be aggressive or destructive if she really wanted, but right now she was more focused on the positive aspects of it. She was learning a lot about the medical applications of alchemy at the moment, which although limited could still be used to save someone’s life in a pinch, she was sure it would be useful to those who rode around in the ambulances. “Just be careful.” She eventually added. “You know those guys don’t play fair when you start to kick their butts..” Though they were rarely reprimanded for it didn’t mean she didn’t think they were breaking the rules.

The punch didn't really hurt... at least not much. It did sting a bit but that was about it. And the pain he gave out was good for them... it taught them what would happen if they continued being asses. It obviously wasn't working but it made him feel better about things so it was a win-win. They got punished and he felt better with the world. "Thats because I am a dude." He retorted smugly. He knew she didn't like his aggressive style of dealing with things but that was just how he was. He was gentle when he needed to be but when he was fighting he only held back enough to avoid serious injuries... unless the person really did something bad or left him little to no choice. If he ever ran into someone trying to pull off something like his parents did then he'd put them in a hospital for a few months. He loved his parents but they had killed alot of people... thousands, maybe millions and were most likely going to hell when they died. "I'll be careful." He told her as he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder "I always am in a fight." (OOC: Once more feel free to contradict.)

Kaya rolled her eyes and pointed a finger at him threateningly. “You better be.” She warned again. It was mostly an empty threat. If he did get hurt she’d probably be more worried about him than mad. She’d be mad later when he was recovering. To his credit, Bryant was a very capable fighter. Careful wasn’t exactly the word she’d use to describe his fighting style, but he was good enough that he could get himself out of the trouble he often got himself into. It didn’t mean she didn’t worry about him though, a lot. Kaya was willing to bet he’d taken a good few years off her lie with the amount of worrying he’d caused her. It just sucked that power practical wasn’t optional. Grace refused to use her powers for combative purposes, so whenever they pitted her against other students it always felt a little unfair; especially since she’d explained to the teacher numerous times she wasn’t going to fight. She wondered if maybe he just saw that as a challenge though and was trying to push her to the point where she just snapped and used her powers. It wouldn’t work. She was too level-headed for that kind of nonsense. “Come on then,” Grace said as she checked her watch. “We may as well head over to power theory, lunch is about to end anyway.”

Bryant groaned. Power theory was boring. Useful yes but boring. He didn't like it, he didn't want to go to it, he'd rather take a nap somewhere instead of attend it. He hated how the teacher droned on and on about the different powers in the world and how they worked... for the thousandth time! "Do I have to go?" He whined "That teacher is senile! He's really starting to piss me off! Can't I just ditch this lesson and go take a nap on the roof or something?" He knew the answer already but he was hoping against hope that Kaya would let him ditch this useless class and go take a nap or try something he had just thought up... lightning kunai! They looked like knives but when they hit something they would exlode into bursts of electricity... now he just needed to see if it worked.

Kaya smiled and gave him a slight shrug. “If that’s what you want to do.” She told him, probably not something he’d expect from her but she figured it was their last year, if he really didn’t want to go she really didn’t want to be that whiney friend who made him. Kaya doubted she could make him go if he didn’t want to anyway. Personally she didn’t agree with it being a core subject anyway, since for people like Bryant it really wasn’t useful. He was never going to learn how to use his powers by sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher lecture.

Similarly to how her powers were mostly theoretical application. The practical part was really quite easy once you did all the theory work. Hence why she usually opted out of power practical. It wasn’t hard, people were usually more than eager to get in the ring and she was easily overlooked. “Go have your nap.” She said with a smile. “I’ll see you in practical.” The girl then turned and began making her way down the hall. Perhaps this wasn’t the best start to the year for them. If anything she was just worried about how he’d go in the end of year exam. Theoretical assessment of his powers had never been Bryant’s strong suit.

Bryant spent the next hour away from school... and came back with a burn on his right arm. He had been practising something new and, while it did work, he needed to refine it quite a bit more before using it in an everyday manner. He knew that Kaya was going to kill him but he didn't care... he learned something new buy skipping school. Maybe he should try it during the power practical class?

As he made his way down the halls while wrapping his arm in bandages he saw Kaya and froze. This was going to hurt more then anything. She was not pleasant when she was pissed off... and this was one of the things that would most definitely piss her off. He just hoped that she would be merciful to him for the injury he had... but he doubted it very much. She would most likely try and hit him several times before healing him... and then hitting him some more.

"Heeeeyyyy Kaya..." He said nervously "I learned something new while I was gone... it hurt but I learned something."

Not a lot of new content was covered in Power Theory today. Kaya didn’t learn anything note worthy, so she figured it was fine that Bryant hadn't attended. As class finished up she made her way to the gym and sat up on the bleachers, watching as the other students spoke amongst themselves before she opened up her book and began reading over it casually. "Heeeeyyyy Kaya..." She looked up sharply, a frown already on her face before she even saw the source. She knew that tone too well. Bryant only ever used that tone when he’d done something stupid and gotten himself hurt.

She stood up, snapping her book closed as she marched over to him, hitting him with the closed book on the shoulder. “I don’t care what you learnt you big dolt!” She snapped as she placed the book down and took his arm, being a lot gentler with his arm. Leading the boy over to the bleachers she sat down and took out her marker. “I have half a mind to leave your arm like this.” She muttered in an annoyed tone. “Nap my ass.” She quickly drew a circle on the bench between them, filling it with intricate patterns before placing her hands on the circle, causing it to glow gently.

Pulling away the girl let out a small breath before giving him a small smile. “You’re lucky I know you’re fighting today, I would have left your arm the way it was otherwise, teach you a lesson.” She informed him as she wiped the mark away.

Bryants face showed his regret. He knew she would react like this but it still made him depressed to make her angry at him. He wanted to tell her how he felt but he could never get up the courage to do so. He either chickened out or he said something that he hadn't meant to and made her laugh.

"I'm sorry Kaya." He said sadly "I was going to take a nap when inspiration hit me. I figured out something and had to try it out."

That wouldn't help him whatsoever. If anything it would probably make her madder. He fully deserved to have her not heal his injury sinc ehe had done it to himself... he could have handled the pain and it wasn't debilitating so he could leave it till he got home later. If he hadn't have had a fight... wait?

"I'm fighting in class today?" Bryant asked "Who am I fighting against? When is my match?"

This was a good piece of news! Maybe he would get to fight those two bullies from earlier! That would make his day! He had several things he wanted to show off to everyone... and maybe he could show Kaya what he had hurt himself trying.

Kaya looked up curiously as Bryant as he began asking her about his fight and she reached out and placed a head on his forehead. “Are you feeling alright?” She asked with a curious look. “Did you hurt your head or something when you were practicing? You told me that you were supposed to be sparring with Cody today… remember?” Sometimes he really worried her. One day all that electricity really was going to damage his brain or his body and no one was going to be around to help him. What would happen if one day it discharged in his heart?

Kaya didn’t want to think about what life would be like if anything serious ever happened to him. “Maybe you should sit out today-” She began before the door to the gym bust open and a very muscular man walked in, carrying a clipboard.

“Alright!” He shouted, causing Kaya to flinch. “Mr Drew, your usual Power Practical teacher retired last year. I’m your new teacher, my name is Mr Steele. Now I’ve been told sparring was planned today… I’m not sure how this really works, do you guys have a roster or something?”

Excited to have a chance at fighting Bryant stood up.

"We usually just have whoever wants to fight spar in the ring." He explained "Sometimes he would select someone to spar if there were no volunteers or if only a few people had been volunteering for the past few days. He often times would randomly select two people to fight... sometimes he'd have pairs partner up for a spar."

Mr. Steele nodded as he looked over the roster.

"So are there any volunteers?" He asked "I know its the first day but surely somebody would be interested in a spar!"

Bryant immidiately raised his hand at the same time as the boy who shoved Kaya into the locker earlier did.

"Good! Then Bryant North and Cody Sero will spar in the ring."

The 'Ring' wa sa large room that could shift into almost any terrain imaginable so as to give the students experience in any terrain they may encounter. Today it shifted into the ruins of a city. Rubble strewn across pockmarked streets, burtn out cars, some cars were on fire, smoke filled the air and half destroyed walls filled the area.

Bryant shook his hands in preparatin as Cody stood across from him with an angry scowl on his face.

"Your going to pay for earlier North." He growled as he got into a boxers stance.

Bryant wasn't paying attentinon, instead he was examining a pile of shattered concrete nearby.

"Hey! Are you listening to me!?" Cody shouted.

"Huh you say something?" Bryant asked.

With a shout of rage Cody punched forward sending a focused concussive blast towards him. Bryant quickly leapt out of the way and retaliated by sending a bolt of lightnig which was also dodged. Bryant then ran forward dodging several more concussive blasts before raising his left hand when he was ten feet away.

"Electromagnetic Murder!" He shouted as he swung down.

A wave of electricity went out but Cody was able to dodge it just barely. Cody then dashed in and managed to fire a blast right into Bryants stomcah sending him flying back several feet and into the roof of a burnt out car.

Kaya sat back contently as Bryant leapt at the chance to fight Cody. It was a boy thing. She understood that. Well at least she understood it was something boys liked. She doubted she’d ever fully understand what they saw in it. Then again she’d also seen a lot of the girls take to it too. Then again Kaya had always been very mature for her age. Bryant… not so much. He probably wasn’t immature, just the right amount for their ages really. He was a typical guy and she loved him ust the way she was.

Blinking for a few moments Kaya realised what she’d just thought and blushed deeply, pulling her book up to her face until she heard the entire student body give out a big ‘ooooh’ and she looked up to see Bryant flying through the air and landing on a car, causing her to wince slightly. “Come on Bryant.” She whispered softly to herself, never having been one to get up on her feet and shout out. Nor was she ever one to condone violence, she’d still rather see her friend win rather than the guy who bullied her.

“Cody! Kick his butt!” She glanced over to see Ashley on her feet shouting, jumping and clapping.

Kaya really hoped Bryant didn’t mind she wasn’t as openly supportive of him. Still, he knew her and her distaste for these physical combat classes and he never seemed to mind. At least she hoped so. Cody, at least, seemed to have improved a lot over the holidays. He had certainly never been this closely matched to Bryant before.

That had hurt. Bryant got to his feet quickly and flipped over the car to avoid another concussive blast. Electricity coursed over his arms as he began sending balls of lightning at Cody in hopes of movign him the way he wanted. He could tell that Cody had improved over the holidays and was happy for him. He didn't necessarily hate the boy... just his habit of being a bully. It wasn't something an aspiring hero should do.

Cody moved exactly like he wanted, running to the right and into a ruined concrete room. Smirking Bryant tried something new he had come up with and mastered over the summer, focusing a large amount of electricity into the palms of his hand until it became a focuse dorb he through it over the wall and into the room.

"Electro Grenade." He said as the orb exploded into a burst of electricity.

Cody screamed in pain as the lightning coursed through him. It wouldn't be enough to finish him off. He would show that arrogant punk not to mess with him. He was Cody Lindum! His father is one of the greatest heroes to ever live! Norths parents were nothing specil. His father was normal and all his mother could do was heal. With a furious roar he turned around the corner and fired two blasts behind him sending him flying towards his opponent.

As Cody grew closer he saw the look of mild surprise on Norths face as he reared his fist bakc and fired a concussive blast at point blank range. The blast hit North left arm and Cody smirked as he heard the tell tale sound of shattering bones. Injuries like this weren't uncommon in this class and he would only get a slap on the wrist for going a bit overboard but he didn't care.

Bryant didn't let out more then a grunt as several bones in his arm were shattered. Cody had improved a vast amount. He needed to end this quickly. Charging electricity into his right arm he began to form a concentrated blade of red electricity over his arm, gritting his teeth as the focused electricity burned him. Dashing forward as a smirking Cody came to a stop he kicked the boy in the back sending him to the ground before standing over him with the tip of the blade positioned at the base of his neck.

"Gigawatt Blade." He growled in pain as he was declared the winner.

Letting the energy fade revealing the same kind of burn that Kaya had healed earlier he shrugged off the Medics and made his way over to his friend. He kenw she probably wasn't skilled enough to heal his broken bones but she could lessen the pain enough so he could get hoem where his mother could heal it almost instantly.

"That was fun." He groaned with a smile as he sat down.

Although Kaya tried to ignore the match as much as possible, pretend she wasn’t interested and that it was stupid. Which it was. However her concern for Bryant was overwhelming as she heard the boys yelling and she ended up clutching her book to her chest as she watched. There was an instant, a fraction of a moment when she saw a look of pain cross Bryant’s face, as well as a look of pride cross Cody’s and her eyes fell to where his hand was and saw the strain on Bryant’s arm. She’d spent enough time putting him back together to know his arm had been broken.

“Stop the match!” She shouted as she stood up, however the class was rather riled up at this point so her shouts were drowned out by the plethora of screaming. Moving she attempted to make her way to the teacher. “He’s been hurt!” She insisted, looking back to the match. He didn’t look like he was in a lot of pain, but that was the way he worked. He had a very high pain tolerance. Eventually he managed to subdue Cody and the match ended, Kaya quickly hurried off towards Bryant, looking at him worriedly before she turned to look at Cody with a glare.

“You really hurt him!” She accused angrily. “You knew what you were doing and you intentionally ignored the rules anyway.”

Cody simply scoffed and bumped Kaya as he passed. “Calm down. We all know you can put him back together again.” He said as he went off to Ashley.

Kaya frowned slightly before she turned her attention to Bryant, taking hold of his arm gently. “He shouldn’t have done that.” She said softly as she led him away from the training room to a place where she could heal him. “And you! What was that?! What is this?!” The girl demanded as she indicated to the burn mark on his arm. “Seriously if I did half the stuff you did you’d die of worry.” She informed him as she began preparing to heal him. Putting the bones back together was actually the simplest part. Burns were actually the hard part.

If Kaya got hurt nearly as much as Bryant did he’d never let her do anything either. “Sit still or you’re gonna end up with things in places you don’t want.” She warned, an empty threat really. But it certainly made things easier for her.

Bryant pouted childishly but didnt move. He knew he shouldn't have tried the Gigawatt Blades without practicing it some more but he wanted to show off. He was quite proud that he had managed to somehow solidify lightning into a slicing blade... well more like a burning blade but it was the same thing... sort of. He had gotten hurt much worse when trying new techniques before.

"I'm sorry Kaya." He said calmly with no hint of pain in his voice "But I wanted to finish him in a way that wouldn't out him in the infirmary for the rest of the day. I know he deserves to be put in the infirmary for what he did but I'm better then he is and didn't want to stoop to his level."

Truth be told he wanted to hurt the punk... badly. But he knew that Kaya would just yell at him even more. So he didn't. He had several ways to finish that fight without injuring himself but they woul have seriously injured Cody.

"Alright!" Mr. Steele shouted after giving Cody detention "I will now select the next pair of fighters!"

After a few seconds of looking over the roster he nodded.

"Kaya Grant and Ashley Zell!" He announced "Front and center!"

Bryant narrowed his eyes. If Ashley hurt Kaya like Cody hurt him... he may do something that would get him suspended.

Kaya sighed loudly and rested her head on his shoulder once she’d done as much as she could. “You worry me so much sometimes.” Sometimes it seemed like Bryant had no concern for his own safety whatsoever. She knew he did, and that he was usually very careful when he practiced… at least she hoped he was. But he didn’t seem to care at all when he got hurt. He’d probably make a great hero one day if that was what he decided to do with his life. And honestly she could very easily see him being a hero.

"Kaya Grant and Ashley Zell!" He announced "Front and center!"

“What?” Looking up sharply her eyes narrowed for a moment and she turned to Ashley, seeing Cody saying something to her before she stood up and walked over to Mr. Steele. “Excuse me sir… with all due respect I’ve opted out of sparring since my first day here. I don’t believe in using my powers against other people.” There were a few other choice reasons she didn’t use her powers, such as considering using them in a format like this to be a waste of time but she didn’t want to insult the teacher. He seemed to have really been enjoying that last match, maybe too much in her opinion.

Mr Steele looked at her and seemed… confused possibly, by her words but Kaya held a firm look. However he merely smiled at her and slapped her on the back. It was probably meant to be gentle, it wasn’t. “Nonsense Grant. Sparring is a great way to learn new techniques; the practice will keep you alive one day in the field.”

Kaya was about to protest once more, stating that she had no intention to become a hero like most people here however someone took her by her arm and began leading her towards the training room. “Come on now Kaya, you don’t want to fail the class now do you? They may make you repeat.” Ashley said as the pair of girls made their way into the training room.

Kaya stood there, her arms folded over her chest as she glared at the other girl. “I’m not going to fight you Ashley.”

The other girl simply shrugged slightly as she began circling Kaya, like a shark getting ready to go in for the kill. “Fine by me. It’ll be that much easier to mop the floor with you.” Her movements were quick, a sudden, lighting fast lash and Kaya barely had time to move out of the way as small arrows of ice headed straight for her. It seems Cody wasn’t the only one who had been practicing over the holidays.

Bryant seriously hoped that Kaya would at least try and defend herself. He was sure that she would get hurt pretty badly if she didn't. He knew she hated using her powers in most situations and he had never seen her use her powers offensively and only a few times defensively. He wondered exactly what she could do if she used them in a fight but doubted he would see anything.

He moved closer to the sparring grounds so he could get a better view of what could happen and watched with an intense look. He was worried for his friend. He didn't know exactly what he would do if she got hurt but he was fairly certain it would end poorly for him and Ashley. He would probably end up suspended or expelled and Ashley may end up in the hospital.

He just needed to keep calm.