Across the largest city in the world, letters had been sent out. They said precisely what they needed to, and just a bit more, to bring those the sender desired to one, very specific place. That place was the Nightman Therapy Clinic, run by Dr. Nightman himself.
The letters were sent to those who were or had been in peril. Those who had seen or experienced things that no one should have had to. Things that may even have been secrets, and yet suddenly were known, at least in part. Enough to raise questions, but also to speak to the ability of the one sending the letters.
They knew these things and offered to help.
A boy named Reverio who had been cast aside and whose country had fallen around him, a boy named Ken who'd been forced to flee turmoil, only for his own family to once more bring turmoil to him, a girl named Chinami who'd lost her father in a sudden flurry of violence and been forced to fight for her life through pain and blood at too young an age, and others still. He had reached out, offering to help.
Demanding, if need be.
The girl was stubborn, so her schooling was placed on the line. Refuse, and her ability to continue would be in jeopardy, never mind that she'd spoken to hardly anyone of what she'd experienced. How could they know what she needed? Why did they care so much?
While few others needed their arms twisted quite so much, they also went to schools that at least pretended to care far more, so at the suggestion that their students were suffering, or at least to make sure they were fit to continue operating under the name of their institutions, they strongly urged them to go.
After all, their reputation was stellar and they promised miracles.
Free of charge.
Now please, check yourself in at the receptionist's desk, have a seat, be patient, and welcome to Dr. Nightman's Clinic. The road to feeling better begins here -- and it might just be shorter than you could have ever imagined.
Block, block, side-step, block,
WHAM! Wolf's back hit the ground, an almost thunderous noise reverberating throughout the room as he body slammed against the training mat. He just lay there a second, trying to breathe, not really wanting to get back up.
Until a foot less than gently hit his ribs. It wasn't quite a kick, but it was enough to get across the annoyance of his sparring partner and make it clear his impromptu breather was over.
"Get up! And get it together already! How am I supposed to get anything out of this with that kind of sorry display? Or is this really all that fancy military school martial arts amounts to?" the girl scoffed at him.
"Sorry, Vera..." Wolf muttered under his breath as he forced himself back to his feet.
"It's supposed to be the best school. I thought I was lucky when you got in, but if you can't even teach it to me properly, what's the use?!"". . . sorry." He could only avert his eyes.
"And you're apologizing too much again.""So-" A glare silenced him.
"Ugh. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. Are you even trying?! You look like you're asleep on your feet! WAKE UP!" she berated him, clapping her hands loudly in his face. Wolf's lips tightened, a hint of real annoyance on his face.
"Hmm, what's that? Someone actually alive in there after all?"His hands tightened into fists,
"Can you ju-""Can I just what?" She crossed her arms.
"You mad or something? Why? I'm the one wasting their time here. If your delicate pride is hurt, go ahead, use your fancy powers and make yourself feel big and strong! Otherwise, do us both a favor, get your ass in gear, and get over it!"". . ." Wolf let out a tense breath and nodded glumly.
"OK," he choked the word out.
They both resumed their stances. They began again, Wolf a bit more aggressive this time. It changed little. "Fancy military school martial arts" or not, he'd always been playing catch-up when it came to Vera. His guard was off, her fist flew in, and-
WHAM!
Wolf found himself face-down on the floor, blood leaking from his mouth. He blinked a few times and managed to get one arm under him. He hated it when they did this. Clausetwiz's Open Sparring Day. It happened maybe every other month if they could find enough volunteers from other institutions.
He'd gotten himself sucked into 2-on-2 match. His partner was already down and he was seriously debating staying down himself. Then, for better or worse, he saw it. His perhaps only friend in the whole school giving him a worried smile and a double thumbs-up, trying to silently cheer him on and tell him he could do it.
Wolf slowly closed his eyes and sighed. He'd had a rough time getting himself going in the new school year so far. He'd been riding a constant wave of stress and tension all last year, and it was hard to get back into that flow after being out of it. He kept himself well out of the spotlight, which was how he preferred it, but Clausewitz wasn't a school for people like him. It was for those with ambition; those who chased the spotlight.
People like him got looked down on, so no matter what it wasn't easy.
If he sank any further into the shadows, he'd just get kicked out.
So...
fine.He stood up, coughing a bit as his body protested. He'd tried fighting at close range, but one of his opponents had a power that could physically reinforce him, so, uh, that had gone poorly.
This time, Wolf stayed where he was and grit his teeth. The air behind him distorted as three spheres of psychic energy formed. Then, suddenly, something else formed behind him. Something startlingly large, that towered over the training field. A
mechanized behemoth that loomed over them all, quickly pointing red targeting lasers at his two opponents.
"I don't want to hurt you..." Wolf told them, though it was more of a threat all things considered.
For a moment, the two paused. Because of course they did.
"Pfft, y-yeah right! Where was all this earlier, huh? It's a trick!" spoke the first one, attempting to call his bluff. The targeting laser that had been on his chest lowered, and then a beam of energy arced out, charring the ground at his feet... and exposing the boys boxers as the front of his pants had been burned away, centimeters away from searing his manhood as well. The laser then quickly went back to his chest.
The boy sucked in a panicked breath and quickly covered his lower region with his hands, "O-OK, OK! I give up!"
The other boy groaned, but capitulated as well in turn. With the match then concluded, the mechanized monstrosity that Wolf had brought to the field vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.
Wolf blinked a few times, clutching his head. Coordinating his powers the way he just had after being punched repeatedly in the head wasn't fun.
"I... need to go lay down..." He told the sparring coordinator, skipping right past celebrating his victory.
- - -Rest would prove to be fleeting. He got maybe an hour or so, little of which was actually spent asleep, before he was startled by a panicked shriek. Wolf jumped up, attempting to roll out of the infirmary bed, but his head spun and he collapsed to his hands and knees.
He staggered to his feet, bracing himself against the wall,
"H-hello!?" No response. The nurse must have stepped out. Perhaps they'd left to investigate? Then again, it was getting late, so perhaps they'd gone home. It was an infirmary, but it wasn't exactly stocked with drugs, so no one cared if a student was left alone to sleep off a headache.
And if it was so late... what would be causing someone to scream in terror like that?
"Dammit..." Wolf couldn't just ignore it. Head still a bit fuzzy or no, he made his way to the halls to see what was going on.
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