I received a notification on my phone while I was playing Super Fry: Deluxe. Oh, Emma sent me a message again. I'm just going to ignore- Nello? Did I see Nello in that notification? Immediately, I tapped on it.
Ugh, of course.. I should've predicted this, Nello was going to be the target of an attack. What did I even expect? He fought against the hierarchy of the school with 0 experience. I stopped with gaming and just sat in bed, staring at the message Emma sent me about Nello with a picture of him in the infirmary attached to it.
I'm sorry Nello, I really should've predicted this was going to happen.. What was I thinking?! I could've easily figured that out, I'm not some dimwit like him. Then why? Why didn't I figure it out? Well, at least he's still alive, that's what matters the most.
But maybe this is good, maybe it's part of his storyline in order to grow.. But it still filled me with guilt that I didn't predict such a simple thing like this to happen. Despite the fact that this wasn't my story, I wanted to do something. I couldn't just push away this guilt I had.
But I also didn't want to take the spotlight.. I needed to use the domino-effect. A small gesture can lead to big consequences, think of the butterfly effect. If I can somehow operate on such a small level, yet hold massive consequences, then that would be perfect.
Nevertheless, aside from all of that, I needed to call him. That's the least a friend should do. I scrolled through my short contact list of 6 people, including my landlord and tapped on Nello's number.
"Hey, Henry!"
"Yo, I heard about it."
"Y-yeah.."
"Great, now we're both in a terrible state."
"I guess.."
"I'm sorry, Nello. I should've known this was going to happen. But," I facepalmed a little at the sheer stupidity of myself, "I forgot."
"It's okay, Henry."
"It's not, you ended up worse than me. To me that doesn't really look okay."
"I would've gone either way, even if you warned me."
"You're too forgiving, you know?"
"That reminds me.. Do you know who defeated me?"
"Hm?"
"I was beaten by a swordsman, and afterwards he came to visit me in the infirmary to apologize."
"He did?"
I guess that's somewhat respectable. That does sound like something a swordsman would do. Since he's a swordsman, I think he's talking about 'him'?
"Yeah! I don't think he wants to do this. I saw it on his face and felt it while fighting him. He didn't experience a bit of joy from fighting me, and instead felt like he was forced to. He said he's only following the strongest person in the school in order to gain strength."
"Typical."
"Oh! Do you know what that means, Henry?"
"Yeah, it means you have to train."
"Right.."
"Look, let's not go to school until next week. If we come to school unprepared, the chances are we're going to get attacked again. We have to be ready."
"Yes! But how?"
"First, let's focus on healing and planning."
"Yes! Okay then!"
"But, first off, could you give me more information?"
"I don't know.. But he has some kind of wind manipulation from what I remember."
"The fact that you can remember fights now is actually an improvement."
"Right? But, it's still somewhat vague."
"Nevertheless, useful."
"He was fast, but merciful."
"That's surprising, considering he's one of Gregory's top men."
"Gregory? Who's that?"
"The king of the school, an arrogant title to be honest."
"We have to beat him!"
"Of course, why not? Let's beat him and get beaten up before we even touch him."
"Is he that strong?!"
"Well, he also has his Terrors alongside him, so of course, he's going to be somewhat intouchable. Namely because only one of those Terrors managed to do that to you."
"Oh.. So that swordsman is a Terror?"
"Yup, Adeno Zanshu, I've only heard about him through rumors though."
"Adeno.. But Henry, if he's so strong, how can we possibly beat him?!"
"It's not just him we have to beat though, we have to shatter his entire organization which is built on the suffering of people."
"That's true!"
"We have to analyze his weak points carefully, and we have to analyze our strengths even more."
"Why ours?"
"We shouldn't go into battles we don't know we're going to win."
"Oh."
This was tough. Gregory was an actual king of the school. Defeating him would mean going up against the entire school. But, luckily, there are weak points that can be used. For example, Gregory is only in the 4th year. That means he has upperclassmen who are likely to be jealous of his power. They'll want an opportunity to take him down.
But who has to persuade them? If I do it, I'm putting the spotlight on me. Nello doesn't really look like the type of person to do it either, he's more of a brawler type. Maybe I could ask Emma? Emma's popular in school, but the delinquent environment doesn't seem to fit her.
Besides, the chances are high that such a rebellion would be shut quickly using Gregory's own personal force. There's a reason he hasn't been dethroned yet. Those Terrors of his are actually terrific. Adeno Zanshu, Grip Perry, Big Bunga, Tornado Tommy and Smoke Benny.
Taking down one of them was a massive task, let alone all 5 of them. If we wanted to take them down, we had to do it one by one. But that's a huge task by itself. I need more time to find something I can use.
"Let's heal up first. I'll see you at school next week."
"Yeah!"
"And Nello, you did good. Even though you're hurt, I know you fought until the bitter end."
"Thanks, Henry!"
"Together, we're going to take down this unjust system."
"Yes! You and I, let's do this!"
"Don't forget we have to analyze our strong points."
"Yeah?"
"That also means you have to learn more about your strength, Nello."
"Okay! I'll try!"
"Embrace your strength and use it to its fullest. If you need any help, I'm there for you."
Even though I wanted to be just another side character, it felt kind of right for me to get closer to him. I don't know why, or maybe I do.. Maybe it's because he's the first character to have actually appeared again after saving me once.
A week had passed and it was time to go back to school again. Nello and I met up at the gate. Things were going to be tough now, we didn't know if it was safe to enter the school. And as expected, upon entrance, a person was waiting.
"You're finally here," a girl with a cigarette in her hand said.
"You! You're that one girl!"
"Jeez, at least call me by my name, Megan."
"What are you doing here?! Are you going to attack us again?"
"No, I'm here to warn you."
"What?"
"Attack us again, and there will be worse consequences."
A guy passed by us with his phone in his hands and pointed at Nello while saying, "Dude, it's that guy!" I knew what was going on. Nello was used as an example of why you shouldn't resist against the system. He probably got a picture taken when he got beat up and now they're spread across the school.
I sighed and said, "So as long as we don't bother you, you won't bother us, right?"
"You're right."
"Then, we won't bother your business," I said while walking away with Nello.
"Good, it's safer for you that way. Because if we wanted to," Megan would point a finger gun at Nello and said, "Boom."
Nello and I walked off, but had to separate from each other anyway if we wanted to go to our classes. But instead of going to class, I went back to her.
"Huh? What's wrong?-"
And in an instant, I grabbed onto her cigarette and placed it in front of her pupil.
"And if I wanted to, I could make you blind."
"WHAT THE-," I placed my hand on her mouth to prevent her from yelling.
"Do anything to him, and there will be worse consequences," I said to her before walking away.
It was a decision I made in an instant. It wasn't really calculated, but I just couldn't stand her threatening Nello. Jeez, this is the problem with me, I can get way too emotional sometimes.
Ugh, don't you hate it when you just put a cigarette near someone's eye after your best friend got threatened? Either way, there are a few possible future outcomes here. Either she targets me, because I disrespected her, or she understands that I'm not a threat unless she makes one of me.
If she targets me, it'll be better fuel for Nello's journey though. And if she doesn't, well, more time to prepare. Either way, what she was saying was true. If they wanted to, they could eliminate Nello easily. But those are very drastic measures, and I doubt the boss would take such unless actively forced to.
I arrived in class and sat down in my chair. There was a new guy here with black hair. Damn it! I missed his introduction.. Wait, he's getting close to Sakura? And Makoto's just staring at the two while they're talking. Don't tell me it's a love triangle.
It's definitely a love triangle isn't it?
Oh right, he's the guy Emma told me about, the guy who saved Sakura and helped Nello get to the infirmary. He's actually a nice guy, but usually in these plots there's something off about him. I wonder if he's really just a nice guy or there's something darker going on. Makoto, get your act up, your girlfriend's getting stolen.
Class was just about to start, but the teacher announced something.
"Class, a new student will be joining us from now on!"
"What? Again?!" some voices said.
"Come in!" the teacher said.
Through the door of the class walked something divine.. Something impossible to comprehend. It was as if the gods of earth felt benevolent and sent one of their own to bless our eyes. What came through the door was none other than a man who had the body of a Greek god.
His hair had a soft blend between brown and blonde. His height, taller than the door. His jawline, sharper than any blade. He wore black sweatpants with white and black sneakers, all from expensive brands. This also included what he had on his top, that being just a white overcoat. But he had no shirt on, which revealed his strong muscles, his hard-as-rock abs which could've probably broken any fist that hit it.
He walked towards the teacher in front of the class with his hands in the pockets of his overcoat and a grin on his face while wearing shades indoors. Not a single person in class uttered a word. Rather, everyone was left speechless. Despite the fact that the class was very active before his arrival, his presence had silenced everyone.
Who the hell is this guy?!
"I-introduce yourself to the class," the teacher said while stumbling over her words.
"I am Merlo Chadisky," he said while pulling his shades off, which caused his green hunter eyes to be revealed. Just because of this, I could see a few girls and boys passing out, "And I like girls, women and females."
That's when something happened that I never would've expected to happen. Some of the popular boys slammed their desks in frustration. Wait.. Were they- I guess they were.. It's only natural, someone like Merlo could definitely attract boys too. I guess some dudes learned something more about themselves now.
"Take a seat, Merlo," the teacher said.
"You can sit here!" Susan said.
"No, sit here!" Liliana said.
"Sit on my lap!" Emily said.
"Can I sit on your lap?!" Lara said.
The only thing he did was assert his heterosexuality and everyone's completely enamoured. Wait, now's my chance. Although there's a low chance it's going to work, I still need to be sure.
{"I know your secret. You're able to read my mind, aren't you?"}
Whenever there's a new transfer student, I say this. Why? Simple, because I can. Sadly, there was no reaction. But if one day a mind reader did come, then that would be fun. Either way, this guy wasn't a mind reader.
Where was Merlo going to go?- NO WHY IS HE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME?! Now everyone is staring at me and the other people around Merlo.. Which were mostly guys. Some guys visibly had a crush on him, some others were instead jealous he got all the attention.
"Everyone, let's all be friends," he said. And what followed was an eruption of cheers as if the words "chicken jockey" were uttered in a certain movie.
Great, class is hell. Everyone was staring at him. Oh, there was one person staring at me though, I stared back at her with horrid eyes. We all know who I'm talking about, I don't even have to mention it. She giggled and put her thumbs up.
Evil stares surrounded me. I was dead meat. If I wasn't dead meat already because of the whole thing with the bullies, then I was dead meat now. It's over for me, there's no hope anymore.
Why'd this beast of a man have to sit right in front of me? I had a perfect view of his highly trained shoulders and back. As a man, I can admire that. But it doesn't make this place any less uncomfortable.
It was break and everyone came straight towards him. I felt myself getting pushed from my own chair, so I got up and went away. I should go to Nello. But where was he? He wasn't even in his own classroom.. I walked outside of his class and saw his face in the crowd near my class.
It's like everyone was a moth and Merlo was the lamp. Everyone just flocked over to him like he was the incarnation of joy. It was all too annoying, but better than getting targeted by gangs. Whatever, as long as I can live my life calmly.
But as I walked through the hallway, I bumped against a certain man who was walking in the opposite direction. He was almost as tall as a door and had an athletic build. In his ears were earbuds, and in his pockets were his hands. We looked at each other.
"Getting another Terror?" I asked.
"You already know," Gregory responded.
Our eyes made contact.
"That's strange, you're not scared of me," he said.
"I am scared of you," I said in an attempt to look weak.
"That's a lie, you're not scared at all."
He read me. So this is the power of the king? He's no joke.
"Henry!" I heard Nello say while running over to me, "Hm? Who's this-"
"Hm? You don't even know me? I'm the one that sent Adeno on you."
"You're.. You're Gregory!"
"Yeah, now get out of my way."
"No! I won't let you. Henry, right now is our chance to beat him!"
But in an instant, I saw Gregory's left leg going up. Judging by the direction of his attack, he was going to kick Nello in the throat. Instead, I pulled Nello out of the way.
"Feel free to pass through."
Gregory stopped his kick and looked at me. I know, he's already wondering about who I am. Ugh, the more I interact with this school, the more I'm starting to stand in the spotlight. I need to shift the focus on Nello again..
After staring at me for a while, Gregory walked away as casually as ever. Everyone in his path moved away so he could meet Merlo. It was obvious, Merlo was going to be recruited as another Terror. Ugh, another problem added to the bunch.
"Why did you let him go?!" Nello asked me.
"You wouldn't win."
I could see Gregory and Merlo talking in the distance. This whole issue has just elevated to another level. Merlo's mere appearance was enough to capture the entire school's attention. With Merlo on Gregory's team, things got harder. For one split second, Merlo and I had eye contact.
"No.. Another enemy?!" Nello said.
"It seems so."
After the break was done, we had to go back to class. Those evil stares landed on me again. Ugh, I didn't even want to stand in the spotlight, but because of him, I am. I hate this.
It was getting harder and harder to devise a plan, especially with new variables entering the game. This wasn't easy at all. Time passed and it was finally the end of school. Nello and I walked out of the school gate.
"Henry, are you going to do anything?"
"I'm going to the game shop, that's the plan."
"Okay! I'm coming with you."
I looked behind me, Merlo was talking to Gregory again with a crowd of people around them. They surrounded him like flies surround poop. The longer I looked at this, the more I got annoyed.
But then, Merlo looked straight at me. His legs started moving. His gaze was fixed on me. Nello also saw this and he grabbed onto my arm before the both of us ran for our lives. Did he finally decide to attack us? Already?!
"We have to run!"
"Yeah."
I looked behind to see if Merlo was still coming towards us, but it looked like he got stopped by other people. They were all flocking towards him, making it harder for him to get to us.
"He got stuck! We've got to take this chance!" Nello yelled.
"Yeah!"
And so we ran towards the game shop, Vari Gaming.
"Oh hey!" Tay greeted us as we entered.
"Hey, Tay!"
"Yo, Tay."
We were out of breath when we arrived, so we sat against the wall. Both Nello and I were breathing heavily, but I had it worse because of my terrible condition. Nello and I sighed. This situation was hopeless to say the least.
"Ugh.. How do we even handle this?!"
"I have no clue."
"There must be some way! Gregory cannot be invincible."
"But he's sure close to being it."
"I refuse to believe that! Nothing is impossible as long as you put your heart to it!"
Nello got up and placed his fist on his chest.
"I, Nello Mortirior, will never give up on this battle, no matter how hard it is!"
"I know, I know."
"There has to be a way to defeat Gregory!"
"It's still hard, we're up against the entire school. And at this point, it's not even figuratively, it's literally."
I got up too.
"But, as long as we're together, we can take down anything. It doesn't matter if we're up against the entire school, the entire world, as long as we work together, we can do it."
"Henry.. Exactly! Your brains and my brawn, together we can do it!"
But then we heard the sounds of a crowd nearing the game shop. It was over, the crowd was coming closer and closer with at the front being the new variable in the game. With 50 men or more by his side, Merlo approached us.
"Henry, what's going on?" Tay asked.
"He's coming!" Nello yelled.
"Oh crap.."
Nello and I had gone all the way to the counter where Tay was, anticipating his arrival. And then it happened, through the glass of the door we saw him open it and walk into the game shop.
"I've finally got you," he said.
"Stay away from us!" Nello said.
"Huh?" Merlo said with confusion on his face, which turned into a sad face.
"Wait, why are you sad?"
"I just wanted to be friends with you," he said with a voice that sounded like he was holding back tears.
"Wait, what?" Nello asked.
Nello looked at me, and I looked at him. Is this serious? Is he just here to become our friends? He followed us all the way here just to be friends with us? I mean he did say he wanted everyone to be friends.
"Are you serious?" I asked.
"Yeah," Merlo responded, "but if you don't want to be friends.. That's okay."
"No! We would love to! We would love to be your friends!" Nello yelled with a genuine smile on his face.
"Really?!"
"Really!"
"Yay!"
Nello ran over to Merlo and they high-fived each other. Nello looked at me and smiled.
"Come on Henry, group hug!"
I facepalmed before saying, "Oh hell, why not?"
And so we all hugged each other. I felt like I was going to break because of Merlo's strength. But that's when all of a sudden, we heard a helicopter flying above the game shop. The sound was getting louder and louder, the crowd of people outside ran away immediately. What was happening?
"Oh, that's my ride," Merlo said, "See you at school, friends!"
Of course he's leaving with a helicopter, why wouldn't he? Nello and I went outside to just stare blankly at the helicopter that was now flying away from us. We could see Merlo waving through the glass, so we waved back.
"We completely misjudged him, Henry!"
"Yeah, we did."
Nello's eyes were now on me, with a wide smile on his face. It was kind of adorable, I couldn't lie. His eyes were sparking. He opened his mouth while giggling and said, "never jump straight to conclusions!"