During the break, after the math lesson—where Takeshi had tried to keep up with all the talk about long multiplication—some of the kids decided to approach him.
They stood in front of his desk in a little group, with Chan stepping forward as the self-proclaimed leader.
"Well, hello, new guy," Chan said, clearly trying to assert himself.
He was already starting to grow into his features and looked like the type who wanted to be the class's "authority." "I'm Chan, son of Chan," he said, puffing out his chest. "Why didn't you stand up to greet me when the lesson ended?"
"Why should I do that?" Takeshi asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at the smug expression on his cousin's face.
"Because I said so," Chan snapped, his temper flaring almost instantly.
Takeshi knew what was going on.
Fire magic training often led to mood swings and unstable behavior.
He'd read the books.
Still, it seemed like the fire users here didn't have much self-control.
Or maybe it was just childish entitlement.
"Well, who cares what anyone else says?" Takeshi shrugged. "Should I just listen to everyone now?"
"You should greet people who are older than you." Chan pressed on, glaring at him. "After all, he's your future leader."
"First of all, the key word is 'future'—for now, we have the same rights and obligations. And second, this is our family business," Takeshi shot back with a slight, teasing smile.
"Do what I said!" Chan slammed his hand down on the desk, glaring at Takeshi.
"No," Takeshi said simply.
"Go and look around," Chan growled, his eyes flashing with impatience.
Takeshi wasn't phased.
His cousin was just another spoiled brat, full of himself because of his father's rank.
He was the son of Admiral Chan, after all—above him, only the imperial family.
But for now, he and Takeshi were on equal footing.
"Should I bow down to him now?" Takeshi asked with a chuckle, looking over at Yoshi, who was sitting beside him.
Yoshi, the plump boy next to him, suppressed a small laugh. "I already figured out who you are," he whispered, glancing at Chan before leaning closer to Takeshi.
"And the second one, Ji, is he your brother?"
"Cousin," Takeshi replied casually. "Doesn't matter much. Our family's never been too close."
"Uh-huh," Yoshi nodded solemnly, clearly sympathetic about the family situation.
"Alright, I'm going out to the yard," Takeshi said, standing up and cutting off the conversation with ease.
"What are you talking about? Chan will be waiting for you there," Yoshi said, his eyes widening as if he knew exactly what was coming.
"Well, let him wait," Takeshi said, his smile barely faltering.
Outside, Takeshi walked with an odd confidence.
His indifference to the situation was almost uncanny.
Even though he knew he could get beaten up by older kids, it didn't matter.
It was like something inside him had detached completely from the situation.
When he reached the yard, sure enough, Chan and Ji were there, waiting for him.
They surrounded him instantly.
"So, now you'll greet your future leader and his friends properly?" the kid who had spoken earlier grinned maliciously.
"Nope," Takeshi replied nonchalantly, watching them closely.
Chan rushed forward, throwing a punch. Takeshi didn't even flinch.
He just stepped back slightly, easily dodging the strike.
Chan's frustration grew as he missed again and again.
Takeshi didn't even try to move much. It was as if he wasn't even there. The blows were so easy to avoid, and eventually, he became bored.
He was so indifferent to everything around me that he simply cannot describe it.
An absolute lack of emotions and a bit of interest in life.
Because of the desire to quickly finish this boring activity, options began to come to mind on how to kill Chan so that he would quickly leave me alone.
And here he begin to understand that something is wrong.
And despite this misunderstanding, the state of indifference did not pass and in fact it was very scary and at the same time absolutely indifferent to what was happening.
What the hell?
As Takeshi continued to dodge the already tired Chan.
He slowly realized with horror that nothing in this life existed that particularly touched him.
In that moment, he felt resentment and remorse towards himself.
From the emotions that stirred up, it was as if some corset had loosened around his sternum, and he was able to breathe deeply, feeling the sweet smell of oxygen.
The world around him acquired colors, the grayness seemed to have vanished in an instant, the chirping of some passing bird reached his ears, as did the rest of the hubbub of the crowd around, who were enthusiastically watching the kids.
Phew, this feels so good, huh?
Chan, tired and sweaty, stood in front of him, resting his hands on his knees and drilling him with his gaze.
His gaze wasn't impressive, he was still too small, but it drilled.
And Takeshi, absolutely not tired, not sweaty, standing opposite and for everyone else as if floating in his thoughts, just began to look around at the crowd.
It didn't bother him that much, he'll manage to somehow survive this sudden "popularity".
But, he was more fucking concerned about what happened to his feelings and what was this new power?