A Wanderer's Lies

"Um, hello?"

Isaac awkwardly greeted Cain and Lucy as they stood before him.

Usually, Isaac would simply pass them without saying anything, however, this time, he felt as though he was put on the spot as they both…no, Lucy stared at him intently.

"Oh, hi! Are you here preparing for your battle against Jett?" Cain spoke in a friendly manner, though continuing to pull a book from the shelf he thought to be interesting.

"Yeah. You?" Isaac turned to Cain, answering as he tried to make small talk and ignore the fact Lucy was staring daggers at him.

"I've just noticed my combat could use some work." As Cain said this, all the major fights he'd been in over the past few weeks started to replay in his mind.

He was always superior in strength, speed and basic stars, but whenever he found himself in a tight position it was almost always because his Hand-to-hand was lacking.

And since he usually trained his Ki and Physical stats in a gravity room, it was painfully obvious to him that he neglected a large factor he needed.

Therefore, he decided to purchase an Art.

"I noticed a few interesting Arts over on that side. Though you should read them thoroughly since some have a few unfriendly side effects."

Cain's eyes seemingly sparkled as he scurried to where Isaac pointed.

"Hey, you're a pretty cool guy. Thanks a bunch."

Cain gave a thumbs up as he proceeded to continue down the lane after sparing a glance to Merlin who was perched on Isaac's shoulder.

'He's quite easy to please.' Isaac helplessly sighed as Cain left him.

Looking back, Isaac noticed Lucy was still rooted in her position, her eyes glued on him.

Isaac didn't know whether to say something or remain unmoving.

[It's fun to see you panic.]

Merlin chuckled as she commented, hopping off Isaac's shoulder and landing on the ground.

But interestingly, as Merlin did this, Lucy's gaze finally faltered as her eyes followed the black cat trodding toward her.

[She was looking at you…hey, what are you doing?]

Isaac realized the stare wasn't directed toward him, however, his anxiety quickly returned as he noticed Merlin purr and caress herself on Lucy's leg.

However, contrary to Lucy's cold demeanour, she bent over, petting Merlin softly.

Isaac stared at the scene. For once, Lucy Vanheart, Rank 2 of Aurelius, known for her cold and distant nature, so much so that she was nicknamed the Ice Queen, showed a hint of…emotion.

[I guess she likes cute things.]

Isaac commented, and it seemed Merlin noticed this, too, as Lucy continued to pet her.

[Yes, I am.]

[No, not you. The cat form you're in. I still don't know what your original body looks like.]

However, before Merlin could reply, his attention was drawn to Lucy as the girl spoke.

"What's her name?" Lucy asked, her attention still fixed on Merlin.

"Rem."

However, before Lucy could reply, although Isaac didn't think she would, Cain returned with a bright and wide smile on his face.

"I found it. The perfect combat Art." Cain waved the book he'd purchased in the air, soon summoning it to his Dimensional Space as he looked toward Lucy.

"Hey, where did you find a cat?" He asked, noticing Lucy's uncharacteristic interest in anything but her books.

"Her name is Rem. It's his pet." Lucy corrected him and as she did, Merlin's eyes narrowed onto Cain as she walked toward him.

Meanwhile, Lucy stretched her hand to pet Merlin one last time, but her hand was met with air.

[Interesting. He's one of those Saiyans we read about.]

Merlin sat before Cain, as the bulky boy looked at her, soon bending over to pet her.

[Really? How can you tell?]

Merlin grinned at Isaac, asking this as if she were waiting for the question.

Before Cain could pet her, Merlin leapt off the ground, pouncing on his head and then running down his back, digging her face into Cain's pants.

"YOW!"

Cain yelped, jumping off the ground and landing a few feet away from Isaac.

Meanwhile, Merlin stood on all four feet, and a cheeky grin could be seen painted across her face, making it all the more mischievous with her feline face.

[Did you just bite his ass?]

Isaac was clueless about what had just happened as he and Lucy simply stared with blank expressions.

[No. Answering your question. Look.]

As she said this, Isaac looked back to Cain, noticing the boy rubbing his bottom, but most prominently, there was something else peeking from his back.

"A…tail?"

Isaac said with widened eyes upon noticing the long and furry brown appendage sticking out from Cain's lower spine.

[Woah, you were right. He is a Saiyan.]

However, unlike Isaac, it seemed Lucy showed a rather tame reaction, more so concerned with the fact Cain had his tail out in public.

"That stupid…my tail is sensitive, you know," Cain grumbled, stuffing his tail back under his clothes as he brooded.

"Sorry. I guess she thought you were a fellow feline." Isaac chuckled while Merlin leapt back onto his shoulder.

"Fellow feline? That's a first. I've been called a monkey before, but never a cat."

Isaac didn't know whether to laugh or cry upon hearing this.

Could this be counted as racism?

-TAP TAP TAP

"The others are waiting outside. We better get going." Cain quickly remembered this as he looked around the corner and noticed Amara vigorously tapping her finger against the dirty glass window.

"We'll see you around…bye."

Cain seemed as though he wanted to say something, but gave up after a few seconds.

And Isaac had a good idea of what troubled him.

'He doesn't know my name, does he?'

Isaac asked himself inwardly with a sigh.

Even with Isaac being famous in Aurelius, his name even starting to reach Spawn as the Final Battle neared, it seemed he wasn't 'worthy' of being remembered by the Golden Six.

Well, that's perhaps what someone normally might think.

But considering the little information he knew on Cain, he'd assume the Rank 1 student was too clumsy to remember.

And Isaac couldn't blame him either.

This was their second meeting, the first being more of a brief encounter.

Their relationship was no more than classmates, and he knew they'd forget about each other till their next encounter.

Same with the rest of the Golden Six.

Well, other than Ava.

As Cain left, Lucy loomed for a second, turning back and sparing a glance toward Merlin, then giving Isaac a nod of acknowledgement, to which he returned.

[Why must your curiosity always put me in horrible situations?]

Isaac asked as the two students left, turning his head to Merlin.

[Only my antics with the Saiyan were a result of my curiosity. Meanwhile, letting the quiet girl pet me was simply my way of having some fun.]

Merlin answered in a teasing tone.

[Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Take me to the Magic Art section.]

Isaac ground his teeth as he forced himself to walk in the direction she pointed.

However, before he could go any further, the title of a book Cain had failed to return neatly.

Driven by curiosity, Isaac walked closer to the book, reading its name.

"Ki?"

***

"You purchased a book?"

As Oliver, Zach and Isaac had reunited, they shared their findings as they prepared to leave the store.

"Yes. I was quite intrigued by this specific Art." Zach answered as he stared at a book he'd bought.

Oliver nodded, looking over to Isaac.

"What about you?"

Isaac seemed as though he snapped out of a trance as he looked at Oliver.

"What? Oh, yeah I've found what I was looking for. It's pretty interesting. It allows…"

-DING

"This is outrageous! You know I should be the one fighting you in the Final Battle."

Before Isaac could continue, walking out of the store, the three roommates noticed the loud commotion coming from close by.

Before them were a crowd of a dozen passersby, though it was barely noticeable with the sheer size of the walkway, all watching as the Golden Six, well, Golden Five seeing as Isaac was unable to locate Daniel, were confronted by a tall man with long brown hair.

His hair reached his shoulders, and his shirt was torn at the shoulders, revealing his muscular arms paired with his chiselled face. Isaac instantly compared the man to a familiar human who grew up in a jungle and swung on vines, beating on his chest as he did.

"Please tell me you guys at Spawn know about Tarzan." Isaac joked, but Oliver didn't seem to understand the reference as he shook his head.

"I was thinking the same thing," Zach added, not needing any more context from Isaac as the trio stared at the scene before them.

However, it seemed as though the bell of the store also notified the others as Amara turned her head, noticing Isaac.

"Eli, I'll try my best to rectify this, but you have to understand, this is out of my control…" Before Jett could finish speaking, he was cut off by Amara.

"Look, there he is. Duke it out with the perpetrator himself, but just leave us alone."

Amara pointed and for once, Eli paused, turning his head as his eyes fell on Isaac.

Looking back to Amara and making sure her finger was pointing where he thought, he soon put on a stoic expression as he walked toward Isaac.

"Are you Rank 769, Isaac of Aurelius Academy?"

Eli towered over Isaac, staring at the boy with a fierce gaze. Despite this, Isaac was unfazed.

"Who's asking?" Isaac replied with another question, summoning the Art manual he'd bought into his Dimensional Space.

"Are they going to fight?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm interested to see who'd win."

"It'll probably be a more entertaining fight than the Final Battle."

The dozen spectators whispered amongst themselves as they watched, the Golden Five also listening in.

"Tsk"

Eli clicked his teeth as he was annoyed by Isaac's attitude.

"I, Eli Hawk, ex-competitor for the Final Battle against a Hale, challenge you to a Martial Showdown!"

As Eli announced this in a rather exaggerated manner, Isaac couldn't help but relax his eyebrows as he inwardly let out an, 'Ah'

This was who Jett should have fought before Isaac.

Isaac had been thinking about this since yesterday, and he'd come to terms with the fact that this had to be done to have a better chance against Onyx.

Despite this, he didn't feel completely satisfied with it.

And now that Eli stood before him, he felt as though he owed him this duel.

'Maybe this is the way I can make it up to him. By showing him my position isn't as rigged as he thinks…although, it sort of is. But I need to show him I deserve to be here just as much as he does.'

And Isaac could only do that by fighting all out with his fists.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Next chapter title: Ki [1]

Next chapter he uses this secret Art he's bought...and its name is definitely not the title to the next chapter.

Okay, its Ki. But let's see if you can guess which anime it's from.

If you don't want to guess, just check out my Patreon where Isaac has just used his Kitsune's Pall.

patreon.com/JustMYSTERY

And as usual...

*BREATHES IN*

POWERSTONESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

(We've been in the low top 10s for a while now. Let's set a new goal. Top 5... I think I may be getting a bit too big for my boots.)

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