Metanoia

Hydra, Vruydon: Chapter 20

    After the first match the room had turned silent. Everyone watched in awe as Jeno's once serious visage shifted into a much more worried expression. He was quick in his movements to go and help Jadon up, who would've declined the help if he wasn't so winded from the fall. With an arm around the white haired boys shoulder, he was ushered back into line to recover.
    Alberto was quick to go to his side and hype him back up. However Elisabeta and Vinzent were silent as they watched him from afar with nothing but apathy in their eyes. Renjun wondered if those two were even human.
    "Wow! What a quick match indeed!" Johnny exclaimed, coming over to pat Jeno on the shoulder. "It looks like we've got a natural fighter over here." There was a light laugh coming out of his mouth as the teacher held no regard for the other boy. Instead he merely turned back to the list of matches and called on two others to step up and fight.
    And unlike Jeno's match, which Renjun had watched fervently, the brunette was more focused on the people in the line. Mainly the athlete himself. His friend's expression had shifted once more and become blank. It was as if the younger teen was troubled with thought while he stood in line. His pink eyes never made contact with the match that was going on, only staring at the ground.
    Deep inside, the smaller boy knew what was troubling his friend. However it was seemed to be only a menial thing to Renjun himself.
    He continued to gaze at Jeno, taking into account his more compact, lean build that definitely showed of his athleticism. Anyone who saw him walking in the streets would immediately think that this kid could easily win fights and get what he wanted with only throwing one punch. But that wasn't the case, Jeno was nothing close to a fighter. He would rather try settling things peacefully before ever taking things as far as hurting someone.
    It made Renjun pity the white haired teen for being forced to do this. In the end though, that's what he had signed up for. Jeno was the one to voice out his desires of joining the brunette on this journey despite the multiple warnings not to do so. He was involved in the climax of the building chase and still refused to back out. So if something like sparring someone to get to the top of the rankings was too much for him, than Jeno was a lost cause.
    The thought of it made the runaway frown. Like it was a complete lie.
    "Injun!" A heavy weight pressed against his shoulder. The mixture of pity and confusion in the students stomach became a cold icy ball of dread. "You're up next, facing up against Kailani."
    His eyebrows knitted together, Renjun was still not yet used to everyones faces. Head down, he tried to figure out what he had learned last class and how he could use it to his advantage somehow. All the move came out as a fuzzy mess however. He couldn't remember anything correctly. And as he raised his head up to face his opponent, his whole body tensed.
    "Donghyuck?" The words came out soft and barely audible.
    The figure in front of him had flaming orange hair and bright purple eyes, the colours giving no resemblance to the person occupying his mind. Those things had nothing to do with it though. It was the tan skin; the determined expression; the fiery look in the eyes. Everything was radiating the same feeling as the honey haired boy. For a moment Renjun saw his childhood friend standing in front of him.
    The world was only focused on the person there. There were times where he wondered what he would say to Donghyuck. What he would say after everything that had happened. Would he say he was sorry for acting out? Would he talk about his concerns concerning Jaemin? There were times where he had no idea.
    A yell came from the sidelines which Renjun took as the cue to start. But he wasn't able to do anything. Despite the fact that he should at least try to get to a much higher ranking and try not being defeated every time, he was completely at odds with what actions he should take. The brunette even considered not taking action at all.
    They circled around the mats for a good while. One trying to figure out what move to try, the other in a totally different world.
    Jeno had started to come back to his senses about this time as he spectated the match. Being absolutely void of any action thus far, most of the trainees opted to amuse themselves as the started to talk.
    But the white haired teen made no move to do so. Just stood and stared. He wondered if Renjun was creating a large spectacle out of the moves he had learned to claim victory. The thought of witnessing the brunette in action after knowing that he's been involved in two chases made Jeno somewhat excited. There was a curiosity to understand how Renjun was able to survive so easily.
    Kailani, entirely bored with the situation at hand, decided to make the first move. And Jeno, with nearly a proud glint in his eyes, thought of that to be a mistake on her part. Until it wasn't.
    With a huff she ducked down to sweep Renjun's legs from under him.
    The brunette's eyes, which were hazy, suddenly blinked in surprise as he dropped to the ground. He barely caught himself as his forearm smacked against the ground to avoid his back making contact with the mat. Movements becoming weak and flimsy, the older teen kicked his leg out to attempt to hit Kailani.
    There was a flash of orange as she attempted to dodge it, however there was some contact with her stomach as she let out a sharp breath.
    She was able to move out of the way from his kicks, and with a nudge of her foot, she was able to shove him flat onto the floor.
    To say it was humiliating match for the both of them was an understatement. All that had happened were half executed moves. Even if it was used before in other matches, at least the others had some length to them. This battle, in general was short and effortless. Which judging by Johnny's disappointed face, was not a good thing.
    "Good job Kailani.... although I think you could've blocked the kicks. And Injun....  how about we not get carried off into a dreamlike state with our opponents looks?"
    Laughs echoed around the room as the two went back into line. Renjun's face was red, as if he was furious by how weak he was appearing to the others. Jeno knew better. He could see the lost look in his friends eyes. Something that the brunette saw wasn't adding up. And that kind of made the white haired boy uncomfortable.