And so, as the rap war continued, the atmosphere got hotter and hotter.
One after another, the rappers took the stage, each hoping to snag one of the three coveted spots in the rap section of the signal song.
And right now...
It was one of the Powerpuff Boys' rappers.
Kayden.
He stepped forward.
The music started.
And Kayden went for it.
🎶 Miracle, lyrical, ultra-mega spiritual,
Physical, radical, dreams becoming critical,
Fortitude, gratitude, rising from the solitude,
Visionary, legendary, turning pain to clarity.
Feeling, believing, achieving, we're leaving no dream behind,
Reaching, teaching, creating, with purpose intertwined,
Together, forever, whatever, we weather every storm,
One heart, one spark, one soul, that's who we are, LEAVEN. 🎶
He came at the verse with rapid-fire multisyllabic rhymes, letting the words tumble over one another without losing the message underneath.
Spiritual.
Resilient.
United.
Inspirational.
And most importantly...
It sounded like Kayden.
The evaluators couldn't help but nod along, clearly impressed.
"LET'S GO, KAY-DEEEEEEN!" Seven shouted from the trainees' side.
"It's over! We have a winner right there!" Benimaru declared.
Several trainees immediately turned toward him.
Like...
EXCUSE ME?!
What do you mean it's over?!
Some of us haven't even had our turn yet!
Kayden simply pounded his chest twice with his fist before pointing toward his fellow Powerpuff Boys.
Seven immediately returned the gesture.
Benimaru did the same.
"OoOoOoo, chile..."
She leaned back in her chair.
"It's getting heated up in this bitch."
She nodded along to herself.
"Everybody be turnin' it up..."
"Mhhh-hmmm."
Lorelei nodded.
"Yeah. Some of these guys are really stepping up to the plate."
Foca smiled as he looked toward the stage.
"Everyone is making this very difficult for us to choose."
And that was the problem.
A very big problem.
But honestly?
It was a fun problem to have.
Because Foca was looking at a room full of talented rappers fighting for three spots.
And judging by that smile on his face...
He was absolutely enjoying himself.
Next up...
Nikola.
Throughout LEAVEN, and even after being selected as a debut member, Nikola had established himself as a powerful force in rap.
But here's the interesting part.
He didn't actually start out as a rapper.
Nikola started as a b-boy.
And honestly, the transition makes perfect sense.
B-boying and rap share so much of the same DNA: hip-hop culture, rhythm, musicality, timing, attitude, confidence, groove, flavor...
And that innate sense of knowing when to hit.
Nikola already had all of that.
He just needed to find another way to use it.
And he found it during LEAVEN.
Nikola eventually realized that, while his singing was good, there were simply too many vocal monsters in the competition.
Put him beside Monarch, Isaac, Bobby, even Leo, and several others...
And suddenly, his vocals weren't standing out the way he wanted them to.
That wasn't an insult to his singing.
It was simply the reality of standing in a room packed with people who could casually turn their vocal cords into weapons of mass destruction.
So Nikola adapted.
He leaned into what he was naturally good at.
Rhythm.
Cadence.
Presence.
Flow.
And that b-boy instinct for movement and musicality translated beautifully into rap.
He discovered that he had a natural talent for it.
And now?
He's considered one of the strongest rappers in LEAVEN.
Funny how sometimes you don't discover a new talent by finding something completely unfamiliar...
Sometimes you just find a different door into something you've already been doing all along.
Nikola stepped onto the stage.
His expression was calm.
Focused.
No theatrics.
No unnecessary flexing.
He didn't need it.
The music started.
And Nikola began.
🎶 No blueprint, no copy-paste,
Every second, every race,
Building futures, never waste,
Keep the fire, keep the pace.
No retreat, no second guess,
Every setback, put to test,
Through the pressure, through the stress,
We keep climbing, nothing less. 🎶
The room immediately quieted.
Because Nikola wasn't trying to overwhelm the beat.
He was riding it.
Every syllable landed with purpose.
Every pause felt intentional.
And that familiar b-boy sense of rhythm was there beneath everything he did.
Kayden had come in with rapid-fire wordplay.
Nikola?
He came in with control.
And judging by the look on the evaluators' faces...
They were listening very, very closely.
****
And finally, after everyone had their turn, it was time for June to take the stage.
With only so much time given to him, everyone was curious about what he had cooked up. Or, in his words, what he had "quickly whipped up."
Would it be a regular scrambled egg? A five-star Eggs Benedict? Or something else entirely?
I don't know! I feel like Eggs Benny is the bougiest egg dish out there, so don't come for me and my food knowledge, okay? I like me some Eggs Benny.
Anyway, going back to the actual important thing here, it was finally June's turn, and all eyes were on him.
Did it bother him?
Not. At. All.
I guess being an ex-idol does that to a person. You eventually get used to having attention shoved directly into your face from every possible direction.
Not out of arrogance, either.
More like... desensitization.
Especially after everything June had already gone through. The false allegations of bullying. The massive hate train. The cancellation. The endless people picking apart every little thing about him as though his entire existence were an open court case.
Eventually, you learn to compartmentalize.
You learn what matters.
And you learn what can go straight into the mental trash bin.
"So, June, you think you whipped up somethin' good for us?" Tuesday asked.
"I believe so. I hope so," June said.
"Alright. Take it away, then." Tuesday nodded.
June nodded in return.
He took a deep breath.
Then nodded toward the music operator.
The music started.
🎶
Pressure made us diamonds shine
Every setback drew the line
Now we're writing our own fate
Breaking walls, accelerate
No more waiting, no delay
Turn the darkness into day
With every step, we elevate
Hands to the sky, we dominate
Built from fire, forged in pain
Lost some battles, broke the chains
Now the world can hear our name
We came hungry, changed the game
🎶
It was a smooth flow of melodic rapping, his delivery riding effortlessly over the beat.
And the lyrics?
They hit hard.
Really fucking hard.
When June finished, several of the trainees looked like their souls had just been evicted from their bodies.
"Fuck, that's so unfair..." one trainee lamented.
"Shit..." another simply spat out.
And honestly?
It was only natural for some of them to feel inferior.
Because how the hell were you supposed to feel when someone who had only arrived today, and hadn't even been there that long, managed to write a solid, powerful verse that was, not gonna lie, better than some of the verses written by trainees who had been there for much longer?
So, rather than acknowledge the actual effort June had poured into writing his verse, a lot of the trainees blamed their feelings of unfairness on one simple fact:
June was an ex-idol.
He already had experience.
He had an advantage.
Which, to be fair, was true.
But that didn't mean the verse had magically materialized out of thin air while June sat around eating bonbons.
"Dude, I feel like he just took a lot from our rap and combined them together," Abbadon said quietly to the trainee beside him.
"Yeah, it's high-key just plagiarism at this point, not gonna lie," the trainee replied.
"Nah. Y'all are just insecure as fuck."
Nemesis said it from beside them, scoffing at the small-dick energy radiating from both trainees.
He was allergic to such things, you see.
Absolutely fucking allergic.
So hearing them mutter amongst themselves like bitter little gremlins had disgusted him.
Again with the edgy name!!!
Who the hell had the great idea to give these people such edgy names?!
Oh...
Right.
It was me.
Ehe. 😜
Anyway, at least Nemesis wasn't part of the incel group, so there was that.
And his father?
Well, his father very much liked Resident Evil.
No.
Scratch that.
He was obsessed with Resident Evil.
So obsessed, in fact, that he named his children Ada, Leon, and Nemesis.
The mother?
She was apparently all for the father's naming sense.
I guess she loved him very much.
Or maybe she just gave up.
Either way, three children later, the damage was done.
"Pussy..." the trainee muttered, not quite loudly enough to be considered brave, while giving Nemesis a side-eye.
"Yeah, I like them pussy," Nemesis said matter-of-factly.
Then he snorted.
"That's the best comeback you can do? That's high-key wack, bro. Not gonna lie."
And because Nemesis had apparently decided to be an absolute menace, he deliberately used the exact slang the trainee had been using.
Maximum psychological damage.
Abbadon, on the other hand, wisely kept quiet.
Because he knew when not to fight a losing battle.
And everyone knew better than to get into an argument with Nemesis.
The guy was literally the definition of an alpha male.
The good kind.
The respectful kind.
The kind with a healthy ego who didn't need to stomp on everyone else just to feel tall.
Ehhhh.
You see what I did there. 😉🤭😏
****
Anyway, back to the evaluators.
The evaluators were sweating bullets.
"Oh my God! That can fill out the whole rap section, and I won't even be mad about it." Lorelei said, shaking her head in disbelief.
And honestly, she had every right to be in disbelief.
There were supposed to be three people chosen for the rap section, but June had just blown everyone out of the water with his verse. At this point, he could probably fill all three spots by himself and still have enough material left over for an encore.
"Mister June, sir!" Tuesday started, getting more and more animated by the second. "You came in here and told us you'd whip something up real quick, and now you're serving gourmet rap?! Like, get outta here! That ain't no quickly whipped-up rap. You cooked and SERVED, my good sir! Oooop! My wig be snatched right now!"
Tuesday dramatically tapped her wig as if checking whether it was still attached.
"Thank you." June said with a relieved smile before giving a small bow.
"June, I think Tuesday's reaction is not much of an exaggeration." Cat said, her fine, posh accent making every word sound effortlessly elegant. "I feel like, given the amount of time you were given, you have truly outdone yourself. Really, excellent job."
"Thank you." June bowed again, smiling.
"June," Foca started.
"Yes?" June answered attentively.
"You should be very proud of what you have managed to achieve in the short amount of time you were given." Foca said with his signature warm smile.
June beamed.
"Thank you so much, sir. It really means a lot." He said gratefully.
And with that, the rap wars came to a close.
"Great job, everyone!" Luca said, facing all the trainees. "No, really, excellent job! You have all worked extremely hard. But the work is not done yet, because later today, you will all have your dance auditions. So, we're expecting the same level of energy, just like this morning."
Hearing this, the main dancers had literal fire burning in their eyes.
This morning had been for the singers and rappers, and some of the dancers had felt extremely overshadowed. They had spent the entire evaluation watching other people take the spotlight while they sat there waiting for their turn.
But not anymore.
The dance auditions were coming up, and they were going to make damn sure they got their moment in the spotlight.
Luca had summed everything up perfectly.
"But sincerely, excellent job, everyone!" Foca said, an approving tone in his voice. "We will see you back here in three hours, so rest, eat your lunch, and prepare well for the dance auditions."
"Yes, sir!" the trainees said in unison.
And with that, the evaluators headed out of the square colosseum studio.
The moment they were out of sight, several trainees practically deflated into their seats, already feeling extremely drained.
And they weren't even done yet.
Meanwhile, some trainees immediately stood up and headed out of the studio, making a beeline for the cafeteria.
Apparently, the main course on the menu for the day was fried chicken.
Not just fried chicken.
Every possible type of fried chicken.
At this point, the cafeteria might as well have been legally declared a chicken sanctuary.
So naturally, a large portion of the trainees practically zoomed toward it.
While everyone was doing their own thing to prepare for the next round of auditions, or simply thinking about food, June approached Johnny, who was chatting with Timmy.
When Johnny noticed June approaching them, his eyes widened in surprise.
Because in his mind, there was only one question.
Why is this uber-talented person approaching me?
"Hi, Johnny. Sorry to bother you, man..." June started, a hint of nerves evident in his voice.
"You're not bothering me at all." Johnny replied with a smile, keeping his tone as casual and natural as ever.
But internally?
He was all over the place.
Why does June sound nervous all of a sudden?
"What's up?" Johnny asked.
"Um... can I ask you a bit of a favor?" June asked.
"Uhh... sure. As long as I can do it." Johnny said.
"Can you help me with the choreography for the next round?" June asked.
Johnny blinked.
Then blinked again.
"Wait, hold up! How much of the choreography do you already know?" he asked in genuine surprise.
"Uhhh... I haven't learned anything yet." June admitted sheepishly.
Johnny stared at him.
"None? Nada? Zilch?"
June simply nodded.
"Dude..." Johnny said, rubbing his forehead. "Wait, hold up. Let me catch my mind up a bit."
Timmy looked at his friend.
"Johnny, you're doing the most."
The most Timmy tone ever.
Johnny's head snapped toward him.
He gasped.
"Where did you learn to say that?!"
"Johnny, stop getting off topic." Timmy said, completely unfazed. "June is asking for your help, and you should help him. It's only good manners."
"Oh. Right."
Johnny immediately turned back to June.
"I mean, yeah, I can help, but..." He paused, finally asking the question that had been eating at him. "Why me?"
There it was.
The question he had been dying to ask.
Out of all the excellent trainees here, why would June, an excellent trainee himself, ask a mid-tier trainee like Johnny for help?
Mid-tier trainee, Johnny's words, not mine.
"Well, I've seen how well you teach the others during the past evaluations." June said honestly. "So, since I need to learn something in a limited amount of time, it was a no-brainer to ask you. You teach things in the most efficient way."
Johnny stared at him.
"Dude, just telling me the truth is enough. You don't have to glaze me too much."
"I'm not glazing you." June insisted. "I was being honest."
"Okay, Mister Expert Glazer, enough. I get it."
Johnny sighed, though the tiniest hint of a smile appeared on his face.
"I'll help you."
He was already heading toward the exit of the studio before June had even fully processed what he'd said.
June stood there, completely speechless.
He turned toward Timmy.
"Did he just...?"
"Johnny always thinks he's below everyone." Timmy said, a hint of sadness creeping into his voice.
Then he looked at June.
"What are you waiting for? It's bad manners to keep the person you asked a favor from waiting."
That snapped June out of his trance.
"Right!"
June immediately ran after Johnny, leaving Timmy behind.
Timmy watched them disappear through the doorway.
He let out a quiet sigh.
"Johnny needs to be more confident in himself." Timmy said, resting his chin on his hand.
Then, after a moment.
"...And I need fried chicken."
Because priorities.