The Ranch

Partnership (3)

Kai couldn't ignore his rumbling stomach. Sherlock asks," Should we grab some food first?" Lucien and Sherlock stand up to head to the lunch line.

"Ahh, how are you guys able to move after yesterday?? Every time I move, my whole body's in pain!" Kai complains.

"From soreness? Didn't you stretch before you went to bed? It should have alleviated some of the soreness?"

"Ah...I forgot?" Kai scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.

Sherlock sighs,"I warned you. It's your fault for not listening to me."

"Yes yes, so can you help me do those warm-ups?"

"I can, but it's going to be super painful, you know?"

"It's fine! If I can't deal with a little pain then I can't call myself a man." It seems Kai has gained an inferiority complex because of Tih.

"Sheesh, okay, but once I start, I won't stop. Not even if you plead!" Sherlock takes out his ID and tosses it to Lucien. "Grab me some food, okay? Oh and Tih? Kai might need you buy his food as well." Sherlock slipped his hand inside Kai's pocket to retrieve his ID before throwing it to Tih.

Accurately catching it with two fingers, Tih follows Lucien, who already left Tih behind. They stand in line silently, with neither of them attempting to start a conversation. They carry a tray in each hand as they head back to their table.

"Ouchouchouchouch!! Pain Paiiiiin!!!" They arrive to see Sherlock pressing down on Kai's back, forcing his body to bend. Lucien and Tih place the trays on the table before they start eating without Sherlock and Kai.

Sherlock speaks over Kai's cries of pain,"Both if you are quite similar, no? Eating while I have to site here and watch. Do you feel no guilt for my poor soul?" His words are ignored by the two as they continue eating.

Lucien takes a swig if water," The food will be cold if you keep wasting your time talking."

"Ah! You're right, let's speed this up a little."

"Ow Ow OW OW OW!!!"

Sherlock finishes the stretches in the fastest time possible and joins the others, while Kai remains on the floor like a dead fish, panting heavily. He whines," Cruel..."

"It's your fault for not stretching last night." Sherlock repeats.

After a couple more minutes, Kai pulls himself up off the floor to join the others,"Ah? It really worked! There's not as much pain!"

"Told you so."

"Or maybe you just gained a temporary tolerance for pain..." Lucien comments.

"Ohh that's sound interesting? Should we test it out?" Sherlock smiles evilly.

"I beg of you, no more pain! I still need to eat so we can have the best choices for classes!" He pleads. "Oh yeah! What classes you thinking of joining? I never got to ask!"

"Hmm, as long as it suits my abilities, it doesn't really matter."

"Abilities?" Kai gets curious.

"Yes, I've been analyzing the recruits on this island and it's my hypothesis that the requisite of being taken here is to have some sort of ability. Something that makes you stand out from the rest. To be outstanding in a singular subject."

"Really..." Kai's expression becomes unusually serious, unlike his usual temperament, but only for a moment. Reverting back to an excited expression, he asks," So what is your ability?"

"Mine should be analyzing and puzzle-solving. And Lucien is a hacker, so I believe that to be his ability. How about you guys?"

"Hmm...mine would have to be my photographic memory. Tih...If I had to guess, I'd be his superior physical abilities? He really is amazing you know! I've already seen him do all sorts of superhuman stuff. You guys saw when he carried me over here, right? Well, he carried me all the way from our dorm rooms!" Kai continues to ramble, bragging about Tih's amazing feats. Sherlock and Lucien become increasingly shocked the more they hear.

"Is that humanly possible?" Lucien mumbles.

"Theoretically...the probably of pulling that off is zilch." Sherlock states in wonder.

A smile blossoms on Kai's mouth as he says with confidence," Then doesn't that show you just how overpowered Tih is?!"

Lucien and Sherlock make eye contact, coming to a shared agreement. Sherlock shakes his head,"It's not that we don't believe you, we can't. Not unless we see it with our own eyes, right?"

"Yeah, I totally get it. If someone were spouting those words at me, I'd probably think they were insane. Haha! But wait till you see it in person. Ah! When you do, I'll close your mouths for you so you're not gaping."

Sherlock seems amused by his confidence,"Well, if we form a group, we'd be able to see it relatively soon. What do you say?" He offers.

"Like an alliance? Is there a need for that?" Kai questions curiously.

"If my prediction is correct, then yes. Ah, by the way, my predictions are accurate eighty percent of the time." He proudly advertises himself before explaining,"You've already heard about the 'trials', correct? Considering the lack of rules surrounding them, I believe there's something they aren't telling us. The trials are likely more important than were made to believe, meaning they're also more dangerous than were made to believe. There's no rules against teaming up, so I say we worked together to get to the bottom of these trials and their purpose."

Kai takes some time to digest the new information before humming,"Sounds plausible...okay, then we'll agree to form a temporary partnership. Ah! Well, I can't really speak for Tih, I've only met him two days ago so I'm still trying to grasp his personality, but I'm almost there. If he's with us during the time of the trial, then he'll join us. But, didn't they also say something about how the trials might randomly start? If we're not given any prior notice, we won't be able to group up." Kai recalls.

"We'll be on our own for those ones. We'll just have to made do with what's available to us. Yesterday, when we visited the market, we saw some communication watches, that can also be used to hold and protect our IDs."

"Ah, I remember seeing those too, but it's not affordable. Too expensive." Kai states.

"Yeah, that's why I'll get someone to hook us up with some for free."

"Really?"

"Hey, favors can go along way. And when your the reincarnation of Sherlock, you gain a lot of favors."

"Woah!" Kai exclaims in amazement.

Lucien crushes Sherlock's good image by telling Kai,"We met someone yesterday who's good with electronics. As long as we can hook him up with the parts, he'll make them for us. I can also mod them a little, I don't quite trust government approved electronics."

"I...see, well that sounds awesome! Ah, we better get a move on, before the classrooms are crowded with recruits!" They quickly leave the building.