Chapter 2

The sun spilled on the room through the window, giving a peaceful vibe on the two young men sleeping soundly on both of their beds. There was no division in the room except for the bathroom separated by a large frame. The dorm provided a bathroom for each room in the building because the headmaster did not like the way common bathrooms were used by the previous batches, who, in his opinion, were all irresponsible boys. Therefore, he established a rule where the stink, dirt, and mess should be cleaned by the own hands of the students, thus the exclusivity of bathrooms given to them. It’s not really spoiling them, but the headmaster just didn’t want to pass by a corridor full of bad smells every time he conducts a mandatory check of the dorm once a month, despite the cleaning methods used by the staff.

While not everyone is a morning person, the boys are required to follow their schedule strictly, or else violation means that they will be sent to help in the cafeteria for a full week, regardless if it is the time for them to visit home or not. 

The alarm clock rang softly in room 4F but neither the new occupants were able to get up. Perhaps, their spirits and mind are still immersed somewhere. 

Fruto on the right side, looked refined and behaved. His sleeping posture can be compared to that of a military man, straight and alert—other than the fact that his mouth was slightly open and there was a suspicious drool on his cheeks.

A loud sound resonated in the room followed by a painful groan. Ponjie’s upper body fell halfway from the bed and he is currently upside down. He was snoring with his eyes sticking upwards his lids while all his sheets and pillows were kicked haphazardly on the floor. The suspect–currently enjoying the land of dreams. 

However, the alarm did not stop ringing. It was patient and resilient, like it was already used to work that way for human beings who weren’t morning people. Its hard work was rewarded when Fruto stretched his legs as his brain went through a disturbance. Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times— finally allowing the environment to fall on him. His eyes flew open and he stared at the clock.

Shit. Half an hour to prepare. 

As if electrified, he sat upright in no time at all. He looked around and saw Ponjie. Knowing the guy on the first day was enough to know that he is a tornado living inside the body of a 21st century male. For Fruto’s sake, he did not choose to wake his roommate up and he hurried to take a bath and prepare. There isn’t enough time to contemplate deeply about his current situation now. He finally decided that he is going to school, survive, and the next thing about that…will have to wait. 

When he’s all dressed and ready, there’s still 10 minutes left for Ponjie. He walked toward him, grabbed his legs and threw them on the floor. The guy wasn’t affected at all, even released a small giggle while sleeping. Fruto couldn’t take it anymore so he shook Ponjie and slapped his face three times.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

The big devil finally rose. “D-did you just slap me awake?”

“Are you silly? Am I not human enough? You were having a nightmare and were slapping yourself! I couldn’t wake you up until you fell on the floor on your own!”

“Really??”

Yes! But that’s not the important thing. We woke up late and you only have seven minutes to get ready. Hurry up, hurry!”

Ponjie widened his eyes and he bolted to the bathroom. Fruto looked away from the two cheeks marked with his handprints.

He will deny it until his deathbed.

*******************************

“So we still have 30 minutes for breakfast and then we’ll head on to our first class?” Ponjie asked Fruto with a yawn. He was groomed properly, despite the lack of time. But they left their dorm in a state of disaster as an expense for his speed. When Fruto commended him about it, he proudly replied, 

“Who am I? I’m the Flash.” 

“Yeah? If that’s the case, I am relieved since it will be easier for you to clean up the mess you made in our room later because you’re the Flash.”

Ponjie wilted after hearing that. Currently, they are walking down the hall leading to the cafeteria. A lot of students were already there but there were still many vacant seats. They filed neatly for food and chose a table near the door. While quietly eating, Ponjie observed his companion and realized that Fruto was in his own indifferent zone again. 

“Hey, man. What’s our first subject again?”

“Math.”

Ponjie choked on his milk and Fruto made no effort to pat his back. 

“Math is boring!” Ponjie complained and added, “I’d rather have P.E instead!”

Of course idiots like us will never find Math exciting. Fruto did not dare say out loud. “P.E is in the afternoon.”

“Why afternoon? Our last class?”

Fruto nodded. “It’s for boys like you who showers under three minutes without any regard to hygiene. The whole school will stink if P.E is conducted first thing in the morning.”

“Damn, who hurt you man! I cleaned myself really well! Besides, I rarely stink. Really! You’ll find out soon that I am really that amazing!”

“...Whatever.”

Ponjie shrugged and did not defend himself anymore. He finished his food and soon, Fruto was done too. They both headed to their classroom. Luckily, they remembered the main locations of the institution and can navigate the place well. Upon entering, there were already a dozen of classmates inside. Ponjie’s face was no longer friendly, while Fruto exuded an impenetrable coldness. In fact, Ponjie’s delinquent aura shone brightly that it blinded the other students not to look their way. The two of them chose the last two seats in the middle and talked to no one. 

A few more minutes of waiting and the teacher came. 

The teacher looked around and in a jolly mood, started the class. The first part was an introduction, after introducing himself, the students took turns presenting themselves with basic information. The teacher had a few follow-up questions for each individual, which had the class rolling with laughter, setting the atmosphere more lightly and at ease. However, the teacher quickly noted two of his students who seemed to have attended a funeral rather than going to class. 

When it was Ponjie’s turn, he spoke loud enough about himself. With his presence, no one dared to laugh at his name. The teacher smiled, thanked Ponjie and asked him, “What will be your contributions in my class?”

There was a dead air, and the whole class paid attention to Ponjie. Fruto was also caught with the stillness as he raised his eyes to look at the silly guy. 

The seconds of silence was broken by Ponjie himself as he arrogantly declared, “I don’t think I’ll ever have contributions in your class, Sir.”

Calm and composed, the teacher asked again. “And why do you think so, Mr. Ponjie?”

Ponjie puffed his chest, “I already know the things you will teach and Math is boring.”

Fruto was speechless. 

“Oh?” The teacher did not lose his manners despite the loud murmurs from Ponjie’s statement. He assessed his student’s attitude and decided to probe further. “And why is that?”

Sensing that his teacher did not mock him, Ponjie continued, “Math is boring. I have been a representative of the country for International Math Olympiads for consecutive years. And I have never known happiness with it.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

He’s not an idiot!!!?!?? Fruto’s mind was roaring. When it comes to Math, he is an absolute shit. But Ponjie was actually a golden master?! What kind of reversal is this? He felt betrayed. Obviously, the guy has the EQ of a child!

 Hearing his answer, the teacher beamed with pride and sincere happiness. “That’s it! I am so glad to have you as one of my students! It only means that you’d be able to help your fellow classmates when I am not around. Mr. Ponjie, you will be the representative of my subject. Thank you for that introduction, you may sit again.” 

Ponjie slumped on his chair in a daze, and with gritted teeth, he whispered to Fruto, “I’d rather eat shit.” 

Fruto did not reply to him anymore as he’s the next one to speak. The class revolved around introduction of the students, then introduction of the subject and how they will be graded every semester. After that, it was an early subject dismissal. The teacher did not forget to remind Ponjie about his duty as the Math representative. 

The succeeding classes were the same as the first one. Alchemy and Modern Science, English Literature, Theories of Social Order, Culture and Crime, and then lastly, P.E–Aikido.

Ponjie may be gifted with Math, but he's certainly a doofus in other areas. Both of them floated in their classes without paying attention to the subjects and the teachers. On the other hand, P.E invigorated their souls and Fruto had gained energy and some color on his face. His indifference was reduced a bit as he started running around the gym for a few laps. 

Ponjie had his own unwanted spotlight earlier for being a Math genius, but Fruto’s name actually lay in the field of martial arts. Although he stopped for two years, his talent for it did not decline. The shocking revelation made Ponjie worship him for eternity. Who does not admire an excellent fighter? No one! It all happened when the teacher picked Fruto as a sparring partner for Aikido.

“Kid, you can just stand there, I will not hurt you.” And then he clarified to his students,  “I will only demonstrate some basics of Aikido with your classmate here, but the class will not start doing it immediately. All of you still need to be conditioned.” 

The students in the class and the other occupants in the gym looked with anticipation and admiration for the teacher. 

Fruto stood there, wondering if he could really just stand and be inactive. 

He looked at the teacher who was slowly approaching him. He felt his blood boil. His resistance slowly peels away.

When the teacher grabbed his wrist, Fruto immediately stepped sideways and striked his teacher’s elbow, which brought the instructor down to roll away from him on the safety mat. 

It happened so fast, that no one was able to understand why the teacher was on the floor and Fruto was still standing upright. 

“Hey, is that supposed to be like that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe the technique should really look like that?”

“What happened?”

Ponjie squinted his eyes while looking at his friend. The guy seemed weak and apathetic when he first met him, but the one in front of him has changed his demeanor into something more of a guy around his age—callous and dangerous. 

Ponjie saw what happened entirely, and he realized that the friend he chose was not so simple after all!

The instructor also looked confused as he regained balance and approached Fruto again. When he decided to grab the student’s wrist, the whole world tumbled down on him and once again he was a distance away from Fruto. 

There was a sudden uproar in their class. No one expected Fruto to have some abilities. The instructor also felt buoyant. He assumed a stance and started testing out the student in front of him.

Initially, Fruto was worried about unleashing moves on his instructor. He has been trained to fight since he was a kid, and school has never been fun for him. He stopped for years but now he’s back again because the academy he went into embedded martial arts for Physical Education. He had never felt so free that he wanted to fight so badly! His bloodlust increased every second and he did not hesitate anymore to exchange blows with his teacher.

One teacher and one student began showing off their skills regardless of the people and the situation around. They simultaneously attacked and blocked each other's moves. Everyone started to pay attention to them and the seniors located on the other half of the gym watched too. One of them was the guy who brought Fruto and Ponjie “inside” the academy.

“Hey, Milan! Look! That kid is amazing! Are freshmen so bold these days? He’s fighting with Sir Daniel!”

“What? Oh! Hey, I know who that is!”

“What? You do? Who’s that kid? Wait, I think I talked to him yesterday in the cafeteria! Is that one of those kids?”

But Milan did not reply anymore as he observed the fight with a smile on his face.

Fruto looked steady and calm despite sweating a lot. He exuded an aura of a warrior and everyone’s eyes were drawn to his neat moves. The teacher also cannot be outdone, he was serious and he knew that the skills of his student were deeper than most people. Maybe even better than him. The kid was interesting. 

Two minutes and he felt oppressed by Fruto. He felt the looming danger and sensed something wrong in his student. He looked at him and noticed that Fruto’s expression may be calm but his moves are starting to get crazier. 

Bloodlust!

His eyes widened and he decided to block Fruto’s move to grab him by the leg and push him down. It was only to bring him back to reality. 

When Fruto felt his back hitting the mat, he knew he started abandoning his limits. He sat upright and bowed to the teacher. 

“Teacher, I’m sorry. I got carried away.” He panted and sweat was dripping down his body. His heartbeat was quick and strong, he felt guilty for being uncontrollable but it was obvious that he's happy! His lips formed a small smile while bowing.

The whole class clapped and started making cheerful noises. They were left in awe with what they saw. It was an awesome fight! They wanted to go near Fruto but remembering that the guy wasn’t friendly at all, they resorted to just talking about the moves. It got all of them excited, even Ponjie, who crushed his water bottle while watching.

The teacher helped Fruto on his feet and as they stood side by side, he reminded Fruto to stay alert and never succumb to bloodlust. He also offered that the gym is always open for the students so if he wants, he can train with him. Fruto just nodded and said thanks before returning beside Ponjie.

The latter wanted to ask him about what he did with the teacher, but seeing that Fruto was busy catching his breath, he pursed his lips and handed him water. After that, he threw a small compliment.

“You were amazing.”

“Thanks.”

Ponjie did not converse anymore as the class went back on its pace and he decided to listen attentively. 

When the class ended, all the people inside the gym still talked animatedly. They were recalling what they saw earlier and Fruto was the highlight of it all.

On the way to the cafeteria, Fruto felt like talking and he wanted to share his experience. He rested for a few minutes and whispered, "It wasn't amazing."

Ponjie looked confused. "Huh?"

"The fight. It wasn't amazing."

Ponjie couldn't understand so Fruto had to explain in a low voice.

"You saw how I fought right? It was…messy and ugly."

"Messy and ugly, how?"

"I just followed my instinct and released moves without thinking at all. Aikido is an elegant martial art. It should be done with respect to the opponent. But I just exploded like a fool. And the teacher knew."

"What? I thought it was neat! You were so fast, I can hardly see it!" Ponjie stopped on his tracks and continued walking again.

Fruto chuckled and shook his head gently. "In the end, I almost had a bloodlust."

"What is a bloodlust?"

The afternoon sun shone down on them as Fruto looked far away, his eyes already distant.

"Have you ever thought about why they built a barrier?"

It was Ponjie's turn to shake his head. Fruto didn't gauge him to answer but he still thought about it for three seconds and then gave up. He shrugged, "To keep the students from harm?"

Fruto didn't dissuade him. "Is that so? It's different from what I think. In my perspective, they had it built because it was a barrier to protect the citizens from us." He stopped walking and turned to face Ponjie. "Has it ever occured to you that the role of the barrier was not to limit the outside but to keep what's inside?"

The leaves started rustling again through the gentle breeze. It seeped on their skin, causing shivers and comfort from the intense activities. 

Ponjie's face looked serious. "I don't know what that means but it doesn't sound good. But how does that relate to what you called…bloodlust?"

Fruto flashed him a helpless smile. He forgot that his companion is not an overthinker. Before answering, he sighed and stared at his hands, checking if there's blood on it like how it was always in his dreams. 

"I wanted to kill the teacher."

All Ponjie could say was a small, "Oh…"

Fruto shrugged. "That's why I wanted to warn you. Bloodlust is a life and death situation not just for me but also for the people around me. If you think that I am dangerous, you can immediately transfer rooms and pretend that you never knew me. Alright?"

"Whoa. Whoa there. Hold up. That wasn't even on my mind. I kind of understand the bloodlust you mentioned. But all I want to do now is to eat. I'm very hungry. How about you?"

"...."

"Hey, why don't we just go to the canteen and talk there? We just changed out of our P.E clothes so we won't stink inside, right? Or should we just take a shower first?"

"...Eat. Eat first."

"That's the best choice isn't it?" Ponjie smiled before going back to their topic. "If you experience bloodlust then I have to know how I can work on it and help you stop it if it happens again."

They walked side-by-side this time when Fruto almost tripped from a rock. Ponjie supported his arms to keep him from falling before laughing at him. 

"No. You don't have to stop me, it is dangerous." The reason why Fruto tripped is because of Ponjie's statement. "People who succumb to bloodlust cannot be saved."

"Says who?"

"Says the people who died from it. There has been no successful revival from bloodlust."

"I will train myself so I can also be strong and prevent you from bloodlust. After all, how can I lose my only friend?"

Fruto scratched his head. "It isn't going through your thick skull, huh? Whatever. And what do you mean by your only friend?"

"You're my first friend!"

Slightly taken aback, Fruto replied, "Fuck, I don't want to!"

The words earned a glare from Ponjie and he shouted, "You're cool! And an awesome fighter! You can look at me straight in the eyes, and you talk to me without getting annoyed! You are now my friend!" He started throwing a tantrum and Fruto shushed him. 

"Fine! Damn. And I have been annoyed by you many times since I met you yesterday!"

"Hehe, lies, lies, lies. If I didn't even talk to you, you wouldn't have a friend like me."

"You forgot that we're listed as roommates!"

"Don't get worked up, let's just eat. Don't worry about the bloodlust, it's going to be fine. Aren't you here in this…school? They're supposed to teach us about growth or something. So, let's work hard."

Fruto listened to his 'friend' and knew that what he said made sense. Sometimes, no matter how much you keep moving forward, there will be times where you'll find yourself on the mud again. Having someone to remind you that it's going to be fine, keeps you from breaking past the point of no return. He smiled at Ponjie.

"Okay."

Together, they trudged on the path ahead, linking their destinies dead or alive.