(Outdated) The King of Elements

Dodging the Bullet

Dre took a step back, making Megumi mimic him. A jolt of pain shot through her back up to her chest. "W-we were-"

"Planning on making a mockery of our laws? You're certainly doing a good job of that. Brawling on school premises and sneaking out of the academy on the first day, both of those can, and in most cases will, be punishable by permanent expulsion." Megumi's heart pounded in her chest once she heard "permanent expulsion." "Fortunately for you two, I'm in a good mood. I will not let Toney know. I must say, though, you two are quite the rebellious ones." He glared at them from behind his thick, oval-shaped bifocals. "They are always the first one to crack under pressure." He pushed back his glasses up the wing of his nose. "Sakura, dear?"

"Yes sir." She straightened her back as straight as it could be.

"Give our little troublemakers a vial of Marathon nectar, will you? Concentrated."

Both Sakura and Loyalty glanced at Ichi before Sakura reached in her pocket and pulled out a glass bottle of clear, green liquid, saturated with green specs of fruit pulp. Dre took it, uncorked it, and handed it to Megumi. "You need it more than I do," he said.

She took a swig of it, almost instantly feeling its healing effects. Her back was hurting much less and it was no longer hard to breath. Ichi chuckled. "It's my understanding that school is not over for you two. I'd suggest you get back to the school before I actually do get angry."

"You know, I think that's a good idea. Don't you, Megumi?" Dre suggested after he downed the rest of the Marathon Nectar.

Megumi scowled at him, but she couldn't deny that he was right. They were in enough trouble as is, and with them sticking around while Ichi was there would only make things worse. Besides, Megumi had already felt more than enough experience she wanted to feel from fighting them.

Ichi step aside, allowing Dre and Megumi to walk past. His warning still ran through her mind. Punishable by permanent expulsion.

"We're pretty lucky that Ichi came, huh?" Dre stated as he slid his sword back under his arm.

"Yeah. Lucky," Megumi said, studying her worn out sneakers as they walked down the silent street. She half-way expected Dre not to be too shaken up about being expelled from Reiax Academy, but Megumi was a different story. She was the youngest of a family of fighters. Each of her family took pride in their fighting, and they were well-respected for it. Respect. Adoration. Love. If she wanted the same reputation as her family, she'd have to be more careful. And Dre. She almost got him expelled as well, or worse. If only her sense of adventure wasn't so strong.

"Hey, Dre," Megumi called out in a hollowed voice. "I'm sorry about all this. It was a stupid thing to come out here unprepared and to drag you along."

Dre gives her a quizzical glance. "Oh, don't worry. It's all cool," he said.

I almost get him killed, and all he can say is "it's all cool?"

"Seriously?"

"Well, no. It was a pretty bad idea to go, but things could have been worse, right?" he asked, shrugging.

"Yeah. I suppose so. By the way, what time is your next class?"

"Oh, uh... six, I think."

She glanced at her watch. "It's five minutes past six."