[QRP] Getting to know me more than I ever wanted

[Dragain]

"Sir! That's unfair! I passed the tests!"

"Unfair? You have no right to say that, cadet! You have better leave this hall before I ring up your parents! Such ill manners!"

"It is unfair!" Saga clutched his fists, his eyes met his coach's for a second. He blinked, and narrowed his eyes before turning away. Above the hall, dark rain clouds were forming, whispering of an impeding doom. A crash of thunder made everyone look up, except for the fuming Saga. He stormed out of the room as rain started to fall in the hall, and slammed the door shut.

Inside, the coach gave a loud shout of pain, and doubled over. Everyone crowded around him as he fell to the floor, unconscious and with his limbs spread out like he was making a snow angel. The students dialed for the hospital as Saga left the building, fists clutched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His hair was in a mess, and his shirt and pants were drenched with sweat; still, all that Saga could think of was how unfair everything was.

"He had his just deserts..."

That day's event kept playing in his mind, over and over again like a movie on loop. His head throbbed, and Saga squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing his head gently with both hands on his temples. The headaches had became more frequent with each passing day after that event, and no matter what he did, it just would not leave him be. There was something - something - tugging at him from his sub-conscience, but he could not figure out what it was exactly. Even his dreams turned into nightmares, things that speak of stuff Saga did not understand go on at night, and everything it happened, he could not wake up from them... Like these 'dreams' did not wish for him to run away.

In these dreams, there would always be fire... Towering walls of red and orange flames, surrounding him, trapping him. They would close in slowly, like they were taunting him and the purpose of his very existence. Oh, how he dread and is frightened of fire... There would also always be lightning and thunder, but never a drop of rain. He might be dreaming, but he could always hear the loud crash of thunder following a bright white streak across a fiery red sky. The skies would appear clear, making it seem like the lightning was coming from nowhere as there were no clouds.

It was as if he was in hell.

"Argh..." Saga groaned, bowing his head as he pushed against the sides of his skull. Will this pain ever stop? Was there a way to rid himself of this headaches for good? What was happening to him anyway? Was his end near? Unanswered questions rolled through his confused mind, and he rubbed his temples to try to subdue the ache. For a moment, it seemed to work, and he relaxed his muscles... The pain was finally gone. Of course, he somehow knew that it would return, sooner or later, like it had always done so.

"And what am I doing here anyway?" Saga muttered to himself as he was glancing around the gym. The room was very big, and filled with many tools for exercise. Treadmills were lined up in a corner, all facing out of reinforced glass windows into a park; Weightlifting machines occupy another corner, with dumbbells stacked in a special shelf next to them; In the middle of the room, there were chairs for resting. Still, these were only the small fraction of machines in the gym. Saga nibbled on his lips, and his expression suddenly turned fierce, "I should give training up... The all-knowing basketball coach thinks I'm not good enough for his stupid team."

He spit out the words 'coach' and 'team', and his voiced turned sour. Then, the headache returned, making Saga wince in pain.  

[shibrogane]

"Hey, Saga," Aure said, sitting down next to the kid. He leant over to be able to see the other Illusionary's face better. "What're you doing here? A little young to be doing such strenuous stuff, huh?" It was obvious the older boy didn't often come here. He was skinny, but it wasn't toned, gym-skinny, it was more of a I don't eat right skinny. And his face, though more male, was obviously the same as that of the girl who'd dragged him about the mall a few months ago. "What's up," he repeated.  

[Dragain]

"Huh?" Saga's thoughts snapped back to reality, and the smell of the gym reminded him of where he was. There was a pause as he removed his hands from his head, and forced himself to look up despite the persistent pain in his skull. Although the lighting in the room wasn't all that bright, and in some ways, it was rather dim, he could almost swear that this male talking to him was Aure... Aure, that female that he first met when he was still a boy, and interacted with at a Halloween party. Aure, that female who showed up at the mall and dragged him around to find his missing mother. Aure, that female whom he felt comfortable with in a weird and 'I feel like her little brother although I'm not sure that was how she felt' way.

Aure, a female.

He blinked, frowning at the sight before him. Sure, he... She still looks like a female, the Aure he knows, but there was something else. This Aure is definitely nit a female. Saga groaned, bowing his head again as he stared at the ground with dual colored eyes, placing his hands on his temples. Maybe he was hallucinating due to the headaches; he must be, right? How can a female turn male all of a sudden? It might be his mind! Playing tricks with him!

"Aure?" He whispered, looking up at the older child. He sighed, his face clouding over for an instance as he replied, "Not too young... I come here regularly, actually."

There was a slight and sudden pause before he shook his head, "No, I used to come here regularly. Not anymore."  

[shibrogane]

He nodded. "Yeah, it's me." Aure propped his chin in one hand, looked at Saga for a moment. "I guess I'm prejudiced. I don't like it here, you know. I'm waiting for someone. So, why are you here if you don't come here regularly anymore? Is something wrong?" Something was weird about Saga's eyes. Hadn't both been blue last time they'd seen each other? He leant forward a little more, getting a clear glance at the white eye. Blind?

That was interesting.  

[Dragain]

"The gym used to be a place I enjoy, like a hobby," Saga replied with a slight smile, rubbing his chin like he was retrospecting on how he had made many memories in this place. "But now, I guess there's no reason for me to be here, apart from keeping fit."

"Well, apparently the school basketball coach is bias against..." He stopped suddenly, frowning a little as he recalled the unpleasant events. Looking up slightly at Aure, he gestured towards his one blind eye with his right hand. He had gotten so used to it that he hardly ever wear his shades anymore, preferring to go about without any 'cover'. After all, there is a limit to how long a person can stare at another person before becoming bored and thus, ignoring the person begin stared at.

"As you can probably see, I am 'handicapped'... I had trained so hard to get into the basketball team, but because of this eye, the coach had turned me down." Saga clutched his fists as his voice became filled with rage and spite, and he took deeper breaths in an attempt to calm down. "However, what made me so angry, is the fact that he turned me down after I had passed the trials! I had proven myself to be a capable player, but he told me that my blind eye would so called 'affect my accuracy'. In that case, I would have failed the tests, right? He had no reason to doubt my ability!"  

[shibrogane]

"You're correct, that is very unjust. He should have either not allowed you to take the trials at all, or else accepted you once you proved yourself." He sighed and flipped some of his hair over one shoulder. "Or perhaps he thought you had more luck than skill and didn't want to risk it... though, that's not an excuse."

Aure stood. "Perhaps we should then discuss this in another venue, without so many memories? I know a nice cafe, if you would like a cup of hot chocolate?" He, personally, wanted a latte, and his contact could wait. It wasn't like it was Ean or anyone even vaguely important.  

[Dragain]

"I guess this world is just unfair to begin with... No matter how much I try to get over the incident, I just can't. How I wish I did more then just-" Saga stopped suddenly, biting his lower lip like he was punishing himself for letting something slip. Then, a sigh escaped from his lips, "You're right... Being in this place makes me sick. A change of environment might be just what I need... Together with a cup of hot chocolate."

Saga nodded at Aure and stood up after him, sweeping his bangs to the sides of his head lest they cover his eyes. Managing a smile of sorts, he turned to face his friend, "Let's go then..."  

[shibrogane]

He strode off quickly, a smile behind a curtain of hair. "Suppose there were a way to make it more fair. What would you do for that, Saga?" The possibilities stretched out before him; he forced all excitement from his voice and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.  

[Dragain]

"There is no sure method to make it more fair, I believe," Saga replied with a slight frown, shrugging at the question. Then, an abrupt pause followed, before the male finally continued in a softer and slower voice and tone, "But if there was a way to make it more fair... Let's just say that I had already paid a heavy price for using certain means to make it more fair... All in my favor. As for what I'll do, I'll only answer that question if the possibility arises."

Saga smiled, but it wasn't a joyous one. Instead, it looked rather sad, yet mysterious, "Because sometimes, extreme situations call for extreme measures."  

[shibrogane]

He liked that answer. "Well. There are a lot of options- join a community team and prove that coach wrong. Surely he'll regret it when he sees that it wasn't just luck. Or you could hit him where it hurts, and... Well. Let's save that for a later day." Aure took a left turn into a little hole-in-the-wall cafe. "Hot chocolate, right? Go grab a seat- I'll be right back."  

[Dragain]

"Perhaps," Saga answered gravely, a thoughtful look on his features at the first option. Lifting a hand to rub his chin gently, the male continued, "But it doesn't change the fact that he didn't trust me... Or my skills. As for that second option, I believe that you can understand that sort of pain now. Well, since you're a guy and all... What happened? Care to share it over a cup of... Of whichever drink both of us prefers."

"Yep, hot chocolate for me," He nodded before walking in the opposite direction, securing a seat that is just located beside huge windows, allowing him to see the area surrounding the building.

{Okay, I'm going to control a teenager who will be bumping into Aure later. :O And the teen's not going to be nice... Aure can act as herself. razz But so will Saga.}  

[shibrogane]

There was security in cash, a strength in the gold coins that a piece of plastic couldn't match, and that was how Aure chose to pay for the cocoa and his own vanilla latte. When he rejoined Saga, he said, "That's not what I meant, and actually, no one's done that so I can't say I do understand." Then he shook a small packet of dry marshmellow dust into the liquid in his cup. "I was going to say, brutally undermine his authority by showing up and practicing at the same time he has the other team practicing. But whatever floats your boat."  

[Dragain]

"Well, yes, I can see your point in that," Saga answered, the ends of his lips twitching up slightly to form a mild smile, "I guess making him regret his own words and decision is better than just feeling sour about it and not doing anything at all... No use feeling sorry for yourself if you're not going to salvage the situation. But I have a feeling that the coach is going to be away on a long, long leave. I heard from the students at school that he's not feeling very well, and even went to hospital recently."

Weird... There was no hint of remorse when he thought about his actions. Just a moment ago, he was still so upset over the matter. Maybe he had finally worked out that there was nothing wrong with what he did. Saga suppressed the urge to tell Aure everything, keeping the promise to never let anyone know about his 'gift', and continued in a nonchalant tone, "So the school will probably be bringing in a new coach. I guess I'll have to wait if I ever wish to prove myself to him."

Saga reached out to grab the cup of hot chocolate, saying 'Thank you' to the older male as he retrieved his cup. Then, he sipped the drink, sighing contently as the warm liquid made its way down his throat.

"Hey!" A male behind Aure yelled, and the sound of a tray hitting the floor could be heard. The cup of warm milk and salad on it flew through the air, the food item hitting the table, and the drink spilling near it. However, part of the warm milk splashed onto both Saga and Aure. It wasn't hot enough to scald them, but it did sting. "Hey you two! What a place to sit. This is my seat, and you two sitting here caused me my refreshments!"  

[shibrogane]

Aure instinctively knew Saga had something to do with the coach's leave, but said nothing. "Well, that's good. You might as well try out again, if that's the case, and should he return to find you on the team, that would also be a satisfying revenge." A small smile, nothing more than a few seconds of a grin before it vanished into something like pure wrath. Disdainfully, he plucked a piece of lettuce off his shirt and tossed it at the shouting man behind him.

"You are lying," he said. The heat from the milk didn't affect him. It was just extremely unpleasant. "I don't like liars, so I suggest you leave."  

[Dragain]

"Oh... The little man is upset," The male said in a sing-song voice while dodging the piece of lettuce thrown at him. He then placed his hands over his cheeks as he squirmed, followed by a laugh, "Aw... How cute! He claimed that I'm a liar and that he do not like liars! And what? You want me to leave? Is that a threat? Well then, my little man, I suggest you leave with that little boy right now to get a mop! If you want to know why... Well, its because you'll be cleaning up this mess! You made it, you clean it!"

Saga glared at the male standing behind Aure, his hand sweeping away a baby tomato from his pants, "Oh, and why must we do that?"

"Because my dad owns this whole gym, including this cafe, and I order you to do so before I get the guards to remove you from this building... Permanently! Now, hurry and grab that mop!"

"That's not fair! You're abusing your rights!"

"You want to talk about fair? You caused this mess in the first place! Now, hurry and get that mop!"