Chapter 6. I like you

She liked the newcomer the moment she saw him. Olivia couldn't figure out what was happening to her! When he walked past her, her breathing just stopped for a couple of seconds, and she could feel herself blushing fiercely. She hurried to get away from him before he had a chance to notice her reaction.

He didn't notice it. And didn't notice her. He left the cafeteria engulfed in his thoughts, so serious and collected, and she continued sitting among her classmates. They were discussing him… Olivia wasn't participating, she just listened. That's how she learned he was a future curator and those terrible bruises on his skin came from fighting the students from Red and Black Teams. How typical! Those guys were always itching for a fight.

But right now not only the Reds and the Blacks were against him; nobody really liked him here. Olivia didn't understand that: there was nothing wrong with him! There was a special aura of tranquility and friendliness around him… She would've walked up to him long ago if it weren't for her blushing cheeks!

When she saw him beside the schedule, she secretly hoped he'd choose to join her squad. Then they'd end up in the same room and he can start a talk with her! Thinking that he might like her too made Olivia feel warm and bubbly inside.

Unfortunately, he ignored her team and went away with the Gray ones. But it wasn't all that bad, since it gave her a chance to learn more about him after all!

"What's he like?" Olivia asked, barely coping with her excitement. "Does he have a nice voice? He must be really smart, isn't he?"

Her sister didn't share her enthusiasm, didn't even understand it. Rita just shrugged indifferently.

"I don't know what his voice is like, he was silent during the class. He's not supposed to participate in it, he's just an observer here."

"I think he's allowed to say something if he wants to!"

"Well, then he's silent because he already got his ass kicked!"

"Why are you so calm about it?!"

"And why should I be worried?" Rita was clearly surprised. "He doesn't belong here. Who knows what he's thinking about us! Curators just work with hybrids, they're not really on our side."

"We're all on one side," Olivia insisted. "The side of good!"

"You sure like being dramatic…"

Olivia didn't think she was being too dramatic about it. She just knew why she became a hybrid, and that included the ability to trust humans!

It was a source of constant arguments between the sisters. They were very different, therefore they were assigned to different teams. Olivia knew that Rita was probably stronger than her, and to a great extent because of her harsh attitude. But that didn't mean she'd give up on her beliefs that easily!

Their argument didn't last long this time. They were reaching the gym when they noticed other students talking about something in excitement. That wasn't too typical and had to mean something special. For some reason Olivia didn't like the mocking atmosphere of what was happening here.

Rita noticed the buzz too. She caught one of the Green ones passing by. He went out to call his friends, so he had to know what was going on.

"Hey you! What's happening in there?" Rita inquired.

"A fight!"

"What fight?"

"The human challenged Iutah Kerengree!"

"You've got to be kidding! He's looking like one big bruise already!"

"That's his funeral! And I want to see that."

"Freakin' psycho," Rita mumbled, letting the Green one go. "Does he really want to die that bad?"

"I think Iutah provoked him," Olivia said quietly.

"That's obvious. But that curator already fought him and should know how this will end! And he still got involved… I'm telling you, he's nuts. I heard some humans got schizophrenia from space travels. Looks like that's the case!"

"You think we can watch?"

She asked that out of politeness, Olivia knew she had to see their fight.

She knew full well that Iutah Kerengree was among the strongest warriors of all teams. Olivia would never dare to oppose him, and wasn't sure her sister would be a worthy match for him. And a normal human… He had already suffered, and back then Iutah was just having fun! Facing a challenge could make him really angry… What if he killed the human by mistake?!

Olivia couldn't let that happen. She had no idea why she was worried so much about him without truly knowing him. She just felt she couldn't allow them to beat the human for the second time in a row! Wasn't that why she became a hybrid? She wanted to protect the ones who didn't have that power! And that could be her first chance.

Her sister would never be able to guess her intentions. Rita was driven by pure curiosity. Olivia hurried to catch up with her, feeling the wild beating of her heart in her chest.

When they reached the martial arts gym, the fight had already begun. Iutah and the human could've taken one of the rings, but that would've been too cinematic for the occasion. It looked like they jumped at each other on the same spot they had met – in the space between rings.

And so far they looked even in their powers! Iutah was attacking with his typical rage, but the curator was just as good. He moved gracefully, pulled back smartly and blocked the hybrid's attacks with ease. But most importantly, it was easy to tell he wasn't afraid of his opponent.

The human had clearly been trained to fight, and yet there was still something surreal about the whole situation. For instance, Iutah's direct hit in the chest should've thrown the curator back for at least ten meters! But he managed to remain standing and even return the blow, making Iutah cringe in pain.

Rita seemed as shocked by the scene before her as everyone else.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Caspar, who was standing in front of them, bothered to turn around and answer.

"Iutah started insulting Arriz, and we all knew it was just an excuse for another fight. Arriz said that if Iutah wanted to beat him up, he shouldn't pretend – things would never be honest with their strength so inadequate. Then he suggested fighting on human level."

"Who?"

"Arriz, naturally, that's in his interest! Basically, he had Iutah cornered with that: if he denied, he'd look like a coward. He agreed, and it all started."

That made everything very different! Iutah couldn't cheat: if he had used the hybrid strength, it would've been obvious! So he was holding back, though it made him angrier than ever. That anger affected his movements, they were more chaotic than normally, and easily predictable.

The honesty of that fight didn't go unnoticed. None of the hybrids gathered in the gym dared to interfere. Even the Silver twins, Iutah's notorious buddies and partners, just cheered and whistled, but didn't touch Arriz.

Arriz… Olivia had finally learned his name. It was causing a shiver to run down her spine, and her heart was trembling. She hoped her sister wouldn't notice anything, because Rita would never understand that, she'd just laugh. Olivia couldn't boast any understanding of this condition either, but she was far from laughing.

The human was clearly winning! Iutah, who got used to the hybrid's power, grew tired quickly, while Arriz was keeping his energy under precise control. He got a couple of new bruises, but was still confidently on his feet.

That made Iutah make a desperate move. He jumped forward, intending to tackle his opponent. But Arriz understood that fast enough to step aside elegantly, waited for an opening and knocked the hybrid down with a strong blow to the jaw.

"End of the game!" announced Clara, who was standing in the first row. "You agreed to fight till one of you falls down, and we've got Iutah here kissing the ground!"

Iutah wasn't happy about it. He jumped to his feet in an instant, ready for the second round. His eyes were filled with rage, suppressing all common sense. He looked like he was ready to break all promises, attack Arriz with full force and just beat him into a pulp!

But he wasn't permitted to do that. A second later the Silver twins were by his side, holding his hands effectively.

"Easy, bro," Light advised him. "You're in the hybrid mode again, and that's not cool."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Iutah snarled.

"Nothing, we're acting in your interests," Dark assured him. "We're making sure you keep your word instead of embarrassing yourself. If you promised to fight as a human, that's how it should be. There's nothing wrong with losing!"

"I didn't promise to keep him alive after that!"

He was really pissed off, and Olivia was scared for Arriz. She tensed up, ready to move forward and cover the human if she had to.

It wasn't necessary. The twins held their buddy strongly and had no intentions of letting go.

"You'll thank us for this later, dude."

They led Iutah away from the gym. The fight was over, and hybrids started to move away. None of them came to Arriz to congratulate him. Olivia wanted to, but didn't dare to do it in front of her sister. However, she noticed that the students were watching him differently now.

"Good kid," Rita commented.

"What do you mean?"

"He makes smart decisions. He didn't complain on Iutah and the Silver ones the first time, got his little vengeance in a situation where it was nearly impossible to do…"

"I knew he was good!" Olivia exclaimed.

"Oh yeah? Well, by good I mean intelligent. I am not so sure about his personal qualities."

"Why?"

"His acts are too calculated. That's what the work of a curator is about: to manipulate us. Maybe that's what he's been doing?"

"You're always looking for a catch!"

"And I always find it," Rita noted. "It's better to look for a catch and be wrong than miss something that can be a threat to you."

"You need to trust people! And by the way, Arriz is not a threat!"

"We'll see about that."