Matt and Sean are in the gambling room, playing a no-stakes game of poker with six other schoolmates who know Sean well. Around the table, the players are finishing their bets, throwing in their fake money chips. The last man to bet is Matt. With little experience ever playing poker, he’s not sure how to meet the other bets with a nine and knight of diamonds, plus a five, seven, and queen of diamonds with a king of bolts and a seven of hearts on the table. Deciding to be safe rather than sorry, he matches the low bet made before him.
The players begin revealing their card sums, awes and woes sounding off with each throw-down. When Matt shows his cards, all of the guys before him moan because he has a flush with diamonds that beat out their smaller pairs. But Sean, the dealer, is the last to reveal his hand. Smirking, he shows a king and seven of thorns, meaning he has two kings and three sevens to make a full house. The whole table lights up with things like, “How did he get that? I didn’t see that coming! Why does he always win? Not fair!” Matt is the only one who doesn’t complain, unconcerned by Sean winning most of the rounds.
Seeing he has left his mark, Sean tells his fellow players, “Well, I believe you’ve had enough of me at this table, so I shall leave for a drink and some flirting with the ladies. While I’m gone, you all just enjoy yourselves. Adios, amigos!” He exits his chair and walks away from the table, becoming lost in the noise from the dance room.
Most of the guys cheer up with sighs of relief, one of them saying, “At last, he left us. Now we can actually play with a chance to win! But we do need one more player to make it an even eight.”
“I’ll play.” They turn their heads to the source of the voice and find James standing by them. All of them, including Matt, cringe at the thought of playing cards with a boss student. Noting their discomforted faces, he assures them, “Don’t worry, I won’t play for money. I’ll just go along with your game.” He seats himself where Sean once was, and the other guys slowly calm themselves to begin another round.
Matt is trying not to mind James’ presence, wondering why he of all people would be playing cards with them, when he somewhat answers him and begins talking to him as the cards are dealt. “So, Matt, I’ve been hearing quite the news about you and your roommates, who ironically have become three of the most iconic freshmen on campus.” He looks at his face-down cards.
Copying the same gesture to check his cards, Matt says, “Oh, uh, thanks for the compliment, James. We’re just doing what we can to pass the class, that’s all.”
“Hah, of course. And how has alchemy been treating you and Rose?”
“Oh, well enough. Rose just does great at whatever she puts her mind to, but I’ve been getting help studying from Lyn and her group.”
“Ah, I see. What do you think of Lyn and her women?”
“Well, they’re, uh, friendly. They’ve been a real help with the homework, and have always been nice to talk to. Especially Lyn herself, and Amelia.”
Chuckling, James agrees, “Yes, they can be very kind and courteous, as long as you haven’t given them a reason to spite you. But aren’t all women like that? Anyway, what about Rose? What do you think of her, how have you gotten along with her?”
Matt thinks for a moment, placing a bet when called on, and replies, “We’re getting along well. She’s smart, honest, caring, and strong-hearted. Plus, she’s very good with her battle morph.”
“Ah, that’s good, then.” James tosses his bet, and the first face-up card is shown, an eight of bolts. “Take my word for it, it’s always better to be boarded up with a woman of such good nature, rather than a, oh, pardon my language, bitch, you know?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess.” Matt sees a possible match with his seven and nine of bolts, so he raises his bet.
“Yes, believe me, I speak from experience. Nothing is harder to reason with or endure than a woman who always seems to be on her period.” James bets even higher than Matt, causing all but two guys to stay in, and the second card flopped out is a ten of hearts. The guys around them nod and grunt in agreement at his words.
Matt, however, is confused by James’ reference, having never heard of the expression. He asks, “Uh, period? What does that mean?” In a side thought, he wonders why James put a higher bet than his the last turn, so he puts out an even higher bet to try and bluff him.
While the other guys flash surprised expressions at Matt’s lack of knowledge about the term, James chuckles as he deposits even more betting chips, answering, “Let’s just say it’s a biological thing for women that comes around monthly. A condition that makes them even more moody and prone to snapping than usual.” He pauses while the final three cards are laid, a knight and ace of hearts, and a four of bolts. “But anyway, speaking of Rose’s battle morph, I’ve noticed something about it, the martial arts behind her techniques. I think she’s a ninja.”
“She’s a what?” asks Matt, using the true response of curiosity to mask his pleasure of getting a straight run.
“You don’t know what a ninja is?” When Matt nods, and as the final bets are made, James says, “Well, I shall explain, then. We know she’s an Elemental Artist, right?”
“Right. Professor Serpanz just taught us the stuff about them,” Matt complies, placing his final bet.
“Right. So, you know the thing about Elemental Artists,” James continues, doing his final bet higher than Matt’s and forcing another player to fold, “is that their elemental attacks are combined with some sort of martial art built into their morph. So, as I’ve overheard from freshmen talking about her techniques in gym class, her martial art is ninjutsu.”
“What’s ninjutsu?” There are only three guys left, including Matt and James. Matt reveals his straight, ace high, and sends up complimentary applause from the guys.
“Ninjutsu is the art associated with ninjas, of course.” James shows his hand, a six of bolts and two of thorns. He had nothing to even match with! All of the players, even Matt, are baffled by why he went so far with high bets on such a bad hand.
The last guy, bearing a huge grin, throws down his hand with a loud thump, a king and queen of hearts. “Royal flush!” he exclaims, and all the other guys gawk and whoop at his successful deal. But James acts oblivious to it, keeping his focus on Matt.
“The art of ninjutsu is so tough and revered, it’s rumored to be the greatest martial art in existence. Unlike the other arts, which are based on solely speed or strength, a ninja trains for speed, strength, and stealth. While most martial arts are flashy and intimidating with their brute force, this one is feared because it draws out the foe’s weak spots, then accurately strikes them in a swift and silent approach.”
Slowly nodding, Matt frowns before admitting, “Wait, I lost you. How does that make it so special? Why would she silently approach her foe when she’s already in all-out combat with one?”
“Well, I’ll clarify for you. If not already in combat, a ninja doesn’t even get the enemy’s attention before attacking. She blends in with the surroundings, stalks the target, not making a sound, and then delivers one deadly blow, and the foe never knows what hit him!”
Matt gets a chill down his spine. “So, what you mean is ninjas would attack someone even if the person…”
“Isn’t morphed. Yes, the purpose of ninjutsu is to kill silently and absolutely, to leave no chance of the foe fighting back. Ninjas are assassins.”
Matt can’t hide the shocked look on his face at the term, horrified by the connection. The only thing he knows, and needs to know, about assassins is they are criminals in their modern age, not much better than the terrorists his father has to worry about and hunt for. They have sometimes been his father’s adversaries, as well. He recalls one time when a few attacked him and his mother when his father was away. If they weren’t so skilled and quick to respond, they could have been slain, but he remembers the terror, the fear that had been in him, and when he, being so young, couldn’t bring himself to kill the one he faced, his mother had to do it.
His f
ace pale with dread, Matt abruptly stands and walks away, trying to take a breath and compose himself, with James following him across the gambling room. “But, I can’t, I can’t believe Rose would do something like that.”
“Well, of course! She couldn’t do that fighting another Alkalian in morph, in a public area, under the laws. But, if she found someone alone and had not revealed herself…”
Matt snaps, “Are you saying she would go and kill other students!?”
James hushes him and replies, “No, I was just saying how she fights! Although, unfortunately, there is that possibility. Besides the few students here who are of noble background, there are very well-known professors here. Also, consider where she’s from. Riaquen, the Military State, the one state in the whole Confederacy that would want to kill anyone they feel is a threat. But anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to make sure she wasn’t capable of such a crime. I would suggest you just go talk to her and become clear of how well a ninja she is, as well as her reasons for being one.”
Matt slowly nods, his thoughts yet lost among a gale of uncertainty. He walks out of the room towards the casino entrance, leaving James without another word. James, meanwhile, looks surprised by Matt’s reaction to the information. Within the crowd of people meandering around him, he soon smiles devilishly.
***
During the same time that James was talking with Matt, Rose is in the pool room, relaxing in a hot tub all to herself, away from the students playing around in the other pools. She appears like she was sleeping, wearing simple, yellow bikini bras, and doesn’t notice someone climb out of the main pool and approach her.
Feeling good in the hot water with her eyes closed, Rose is forced to open them when she hears a voice ask her, “Hey, Rose, how’s it going?” Looking up, she sees the voice belongs to James, in nothing but dark blue swimming trunks. She also notices some women far away staring at him, chuckling and gossiping to themselves.
Unimpressed by their weakness for handsome men, she focuses on James, trying not to show her own weakness, and says, “I’m feeling fine, James. And how are you?”
“Oh, I’m doing well myself, thank you for asking. May I join you?”
Becoming curious, yet wary, she replies, “Sure,” and gestures to the other side of the hot tub. James settles himself into the warm water, leaving his arms out of it and stretched out along the pool’s edge. Rose, for a moment, imagines the beads of water and sweat on his body are drops of golden dew.
“So,” James says, “I hear you’re supposed to be the top academic and battling girl of your class. Am I right?”
Rose shrugs and answers, “Yeah, that’s right. But I’m just doing what I’m used to, so there’s nothing that special about it.”
“Really? That must feel good, when excellence comes naturally.”
“I guess it’s alright. I do get where I plan to go, so it works.”
“Yes, I see. You know, if you weren’t so young, one would first guess you a senior.”
“Thanks.” Rose humbly grins. “And if you weren’t so old, I might consider dating you.”
Stunned by her calling him out, James then laughs before admitting, “Touché, Rose, touché!” He sighs and says, “Actually, I didn’t mean to trespass on your time here, but I wanted to ask you a question.”
“I’m listening,” she replies.
James drops his voice to say, “Well Rose, being a boss student, I’ve been well informed of how Matt, your roommate, thrashed Cain. The rumor going around to explain it is he’s a Dark Warrior, and I wanted to confirm it myself. So, with you being his roommate, would you know?”
Rose thinks such a question was odd as she figures everyone at the school had accepted that Matt was a Dark Warrior. “Of course, I know it. We talked about it, and he himself agrees. And he really doesn’t care, either, he fights like he didn’t have those powers.”
“Oh, is that so? Interesting. Anyway, if that’s true, does he have any connection to the Shadow Core organization?”
Before Rose objects to such a question, she reminds herself that she had feared it once before. “No, I don’t think so. He said he never even knew he was a Dark Warrior, so how could he be a terrorist?”
“What if he’s not exactly the terrorist you’re thinking of?” When Rose is confused from his suggestion, James explains, “I’ve heard in the news, back from where I come from in Tirez, that the S.C. has been trying different tactics than just popping up and ravaging some public area. They’ve tried undercover missions, acting like ordinary citizens with the misfortune of being born a Dark Warrior, to fix themselves into a community. They corrupt the community, turning it upon itself, and finally, once everyone has a knife to each other’s throat, the agents call in the cavalry, so to speak, and they demolish the community entirely.”
Rose is stunned from such a tale. “Is there proof of these events?”
“Did you hear what happened at a small town on the border of Tirez?” When Rose responds no, James says, “A Dark Warrior Alkalian moved in and, slowly, won so much respect he was elected the town mayor. Over the next month or so, he made controversy by trying to change the town’s traditions, and soon the townspeople were turned against each other in hot debate and opposition. Then, without warning, Shadow Core terrorists attacked. In one night, the entire town was burned to the ground, and all the people were either killed or scattered to the hills.”
Rose stiffens from the retelling. Could it really happen that easily? Could it be done somewhere else, like here at the college? “No, he couldn’t,” she tells herself, disgusted she was thinking such things. Standing up to climb out of the hot tub, she says, “I’m sorry, but I need to get going. Please understand.”
“Yes, it is hard to swallow, isn’t it?” responds James, looking sympathetic. “That’s why I was hoping to learn more about Matt, to determine if he’s a S.C. insurgent or not.” Rose wraps herself in a towel and turns to leave when he adds, “I’m sorry it hurts like this, but you must understand my concern. In fact, I was hoping you could talk to him about this. Learn more about him, then let me, or any of the officers, know. Simply asking him the right questions could prevent a repeat of that small town.”
Those last words ring horribly true to Rose. As they reverberate through her like bells, she hurries away to the changing rooms, leaving James without answer. He maintains his sympathetic look until she has gone out of the large room. He then gets out of the hot tub and strolls toward the dance room, a criminal smile upon his face.
***
A minute later, silent within the noise of the dance room, James brushes through the crowd on his way to the men’s restroom. When he enters it, he finds it empty, except for one other person. Himself, in the suit. The two James’ look at each other, vanish in flashes of light combining into one, and one James is left, still in the suit. He looks back at the wall mirror, adjusts his neck tie, grins with satisfaction, and walks out the door. As he files through and disappears amidst the partying students, only one person notices him. His golden eyes seeming to glow in the shadows, Dante puffs out smoke from his mouth before crossing the room.
Meanwhile, Sean is on another side of the dance room with four rough-looking guys pressing him against the wall, nasty looks on their faces and alcohol on their breaths. Cringing under the one’s grasp on the collar of his jacket, he asks, “Hey, come on, fellas, why are ya being so mad? What did I do to deserve such conduct?”
“Oh, we know, that you know, exactly what you did, you cocky little punk!” one of the men exclaims. “We know all about your dirty deed with Cynthia, and we don’t appreciate how some freshmen reject like you got his greasy hands all over her!”
Sean objects, “Why, whatever are you talking about, sir? Only an idiot could believe such a tale as that! I mean, the chances of me being with Cynthia are so bad, it’s silly, ridiculous, preposterous, even! Surely, such fine and intelligent chaps like you would know better than to believe such a thing, right?”
“Hey, are you calling us the idiots, here!?” another guy remarks. “We heard this from a very reliable source. Irene Goros claims that you were running around the freshmen cabins, bragging it off to anyone of your stinking class you could find!”
“Gah, wait, did you say, Irene Goros? How could she know that?”
“Because she watched it all herself, nimwit! She was on the cabin rooftops, watching your every move, appalled at what she was hearing come out of your filthy mouth! What do you say to that, huh?”
While Sean fumbles for an answer, a calm voice speaks up from behind them, “What seems to be the trouble, gentlemen?” Turning, they see Dante next to them. “Did I hear mention of Irene Goros, my sister?”
“Yeah, we were just explaining to this rat here how she caught him in the act of boasting about how he got it on with Cynthia. What’s it to ya?”
“Hmm. And you’re actually going to believe her word, on it?”
“Uh, sure, why wouldn’t we?”
“A few good reasons. You see, the thing about my sister is that she loves to see other people squabble and skirmish with each other like a bunch of savages, and she’ll do anything to make it happen. Even spread a rumor as vicious, and ridiculous, as Sean Wyseinburg having a thing with Cynthia Volvaron. Do you really want to be the fools who entertain my sister’s sly interests?”
“Er, well, no, but…”
“And, as Sean admitted, such a thing being true is practically impossible. Consider who we’re talking about here. Why would Cynthia, the most attractive and confident woman of our community, even think of being with Sean, the most foolish and incapable guy of the community? It just doesn’t add up, when you think about it.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess you’re right.” Backing off to let Sean go, the guy that held him against the wall tells his buddies, “Come on, let’s get out of here, before we look like the bigger idiots.” The other men nod and grunt before they shamble off, becoming lost in the crowd throughout the room.
Alkalians Page 19