Detention was surprisingly chill. The group spent the whole afternoon talking, joking, and occasionally throwing paper balls at Adrian, who somehow managed to flirt with Payal even under punishment.
Mark, however, sat off to the side, lost in thought—until Austin slid into the seat beside him, his usual calm smile in place.
"Hey, Austin. I've been meaning to ask you something," Mark said.
Austin adjusted his glasses. "Sure. Go ahead."
"You said people here are ranked by strength, right? The smaller the number, the stronger the person."
"That's correct," Austin replied, nodding.
"Then why," Mark leaned forward, "are you ranked number four… when you were beaten by someone ranked number ten?"
For a moment, Austin just smiled. "Ah… I see what you mean. Let me make it clear for you."
He stood up and walked over to where Sato sat sketching quietly in his notebook. Sato's sharp eyes flicked up for a moment—calm, calculating, like a predator waiting for prey to make the first move.
"Hey, Sato," Austin said, adjusting his sleeves. "Would you care to spar with me?"
The room went silent. Even Adrian, lounging with a lollipop between his teeth, looked intrigued.
Sato studied him, then closed his sketchpad with a soft thud. "Sure. Why not?" he said, rising to his feet with quiet confidence.
Payal blinked, startled. "Wait—he's serious? Is Austin going to be okay?"
Adrian chuckled, not taking the lollipop out of his mouth. "Don't worry, love. Austin doesn't pick fights he can't win."
They stood facing each other.
Sato's expression was calm—almost bored. Austin's, on the other hand, was sharp and calculating.
From the sidelines, Mark watched, his jaw tense.
"You worried about him?" Bianca asked, stepping beside him.
"Yeah, I am… Sato's strong, after all," Mark said.
Bianca smiled, sitting next to him. "Relax. Austin's got this."
Mark's expression stayed unreadable.
Back in the ring, Sato's eyes scanned Austin from head to toe—his slim build, nervous stance, glasses barely staying on.
He came to a conclusion: textbook nerd.
"To make this fight fair, I'll give you a rule," Sato said.
Austin blinked. "Uh, okay… what is it?"
"If you can touch me even once—you win."
"...Okay, deal," Austin said, voice trembling slightly.
"Good." Sato cracked his neck. "Then let's begin."
He lunged forward, throwing a sharp punch meant to end it fast—
—but Austin sidestepped, barely grazing away as he adjusted his glasses mid-motion.
Sato frowned and threw another. Then another.
Each punch sliced through empty air.
"How's he dodging this?" he thought, irritation bubbling.
He snapped a front kick—
Austin twisted mid-spin, slipping past it in one fluid motion, and tapped Sato lightly on the stomach.
A heartbeat of silence.
"I win," Austin said, smiling faintly, breath uneven.
🔥 Yo, that was actually a great follow-up. You kept the energy and gave everyone distinct reactions — Sato's respect, Mark's awe, and Adrian's teasing all land perfectly. Nice balance between tension and character bonding.
Mark jumped out of his chair, excitement lighting up his face as he rushed toward Austin.
"How did you do that? It's like you knew every move he was going to make before he even made it!"
"That's because he did," Sato said, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"I could tell—he saw through all my attacks."
He crossed his arms, genuinely intrigued. "Now the real question is how. You were dodging before I even threw my hits."
Austin rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "Well… I saw your fight with Adrian and memorized your patterns."
Sato blinked, eyes widening slightly. "Wait, you're telling me you learned my habits from that short match?"
"Yeah," Austin laughed awkwardly. "Crazy, right?"
"That's insane," Sato muttered.
"I know, right? I said the same thing when I fought him," Adrian said, walking over with Payal by his side. He slung an arm over Austin's shoulder.
"But my friend here has one fatal weakness," Adrian added with a smirk.
"Let me guess—weak constitution," Sato said calmly.
Adrian raised a brow. "How'd you know?"
Sato's tone stayed level. "Because he's been breathing heavily since our little exchange."
Austin gave a weak laugh, trying to steady his breath.
"Yeah… if it weren't for that, he'd easily be the strongest first-year," Adrian said.
"No question there," Sato agreed with a nod.
"Now you're just exaggerating, guys," Austin said with a shy smile.
Mark stood silently for a moment, watching Austin—his mind racing.
"Wow… he's amazing."
Mark started to ponder everything he'd witnessed since coming to Brookhaven.
Everyone here was strong in their own right. He didn't know if he could survive — but at the same time, there was another feeling bubbling up. Something he'd almost never felt before.
Excitement.
He actually enjoyed it. He knew he'd be in danger 24/7 in this place, but somehow that danger made it _more_ enjoyable. Still, he wasn't stupid. He couldn't enjoy Brookhaven if he was dead.
So he made up his mind right then. _I have to get stronger._
"I think you're going to fit in here just fine," Bianca said, like she'd read his thoughts.
"Of course he will. There's something about the look in his eye that just sells it, you know?" Adrian grinned, now seated across from them, lollipop rolling to the other side of his mouth.
Mark smiled. For the first time in his life, he'd made friends. Real ones.
Hours passed in detention. Connor was still pouty about getting folded by Sato so one-sidedly. Hakim scrolled TikTok, watching videos of sports cars. Adrian was back to flirting with Payal. Sato had earbuds in, dead to the world. And Mark, Bianca, and Austin? They were actually laughing, trading stories like they'd known each other for years.
Time flew.
At exactly 1700hrs, a teacher appeared at the door like clockwork. "Alright. Go home."
"Try not to get into trouble again," the man added, though his tone said he knew it was impossible.
"Will do, teach," Adrian called back with a grin, already walking out first.
Quiet Sato followed. Then the rest of the group filed out behind them.
"That was quite the first day, wasn't it, Mark?" Adrian said as they hit the courtyard, heading for the gates.
"It was definitely… eventful," Mark replied. "Is every day like this?"
"It's not usually on this scale," Bianca answered, falling in step beside him. "But yeah. That's kind of the norm here."
---
As the group walked outside, they began splitting up, each heading in different directions.
"Bye, Mark… see you tomorrow," Bianca said brightly.
"Yeah, stay safe," Payal added with a gentle smile.
"Don't worry, I will," Mark replied, then turned to find a taxi.
---
In the distance, on the roof of Silver High, two silhouettes stood watching them.
One was broad, heavy-set. The other was small — maybe even smaller than Austin.
"Looks like the guys from 1A and 1C," the bigger one said. "Shall we join in too?"
"Nah," the smaller silhouette replied, legs dangling over the ledge. "Let's observe first… we need to make sure they're fun to play with."
Those two were from 1B. The big one: Class 1B's #2. The smaller one beside him: Class 1B's #1.
The wind blew gently across the rooftop, carrying the scent of concrete and coming chaos.
The sun began to set beyond the horizon.
---