Chapter 3

"So, in summary, is your fault that Hitogata-chan's manga ended up damaged", commented the boy, scratching his head and messing up his red hair a bit.

Ishiki just explained to him what happened. The friend trio was walking down the sidewalk on their way to school. With everything that happened that morning, in addition to the red-haired boy to calm down the rampaging girl, they have already skipped the first hour of class. Even though, at this moment in the semester, they didn't care that much. Just one week until summer break, and the three of them had a good grades record until now.

Maruo Kuwabara, although accustomed to the constant fights and arguments between his two friends—and having invested an unhealthy amount of time trying to calm them—he maintained a perfect grade record. Even before moving to Academy City, the three friends were always together.

For years, Maruo served as a mediator between Yukiko and Ishiki, to the point of becoming something like the leader of their group. Even after the research of their abilities and their respective Levels, where there was a great gap between their powers, the trio kept spending time together.

He was a Level 2 Ability User. His ability was Aero Hand, which allowed him to eject heavy objects with just his touch, using the air in the surroundings and concentrating it in a powerful current. The maximum weight he could move with a single current was 73 kilograms, even though he was able to create two ejection points with the same power each.

Ishiki was the most powerful of the three, having a Level 4 ability. He was the only student in all of Kurumizawa Academy that was going to be the eighth Level 5ーthe highest power level a student could aim for.

There were a total of seven students who have officially reached Level 5 all over Academy City, of which Ishiki only knew two of them studied at Tokiwadai Middle School: the Third, known as the Railgun, and the Fifth, labeled for an unknown reason for those who didn't study at Tokiwadai, as The Queen.

Yukiko, however, being the only Level 0 of the group, usually felt a bit excluded from her friends. Both of them had amazing powers, and they were able to adapt their training to their abilities. But she? Since her ability was unknown, she didn't even know where to start to train to reach Level 1.

This is not the moment to think about this, she told to herself. I'm already mad enough to Kishi-kun as for, above all, feeling jealousy of his enormous power.

"I already told you I'm sorry...", repeated Ishiki, getting his friend out of her self-absorption. "I even promised to give you the next volume as a gift, besides the ones that were damaged, so could you stop pretending I don't exist?"

"Hmpf", exclaimed Yukiko as her only reply. The ambiance started becoming heavier and awkward, especially for Maruo, since had to decide which side he would take part for. Having a friend that exploded with almost no provocation and another one who, as kind-hearted as she was, was incredibly moody, choosing a side was especially difficult.

"Please, just arrange a valid compensation!", pleaded the boy.

"Help me, Maruo!", exclaimed Ishiki in despair. He was hurt that someone like Yukiko treated him that way, but he didn't want to get mad at her either. He knew that the girl had enough reasons to be angry, but what she wanted in compensation far exceeded his wallet's capacity.

"I'm sorry, but I can't force her to forgive you, as well as I can't force you to give her the twenty-eight volumes of her manga just because she demands it.

"And changing the topic, because I can see that if we keep talking about this we'll never arrive to class, what the hell happened to your face? Was it Hitogata-chan?", inquired Maruo, observing the hematomas that Ishiki had on his cheekbones.

"H-Hey! Implying that I could hit him like that...", claimed the girl, resentful.

"True, true. My apologies. You wouldn't hit the guy you likー".

Maruo discovered he spoke too much too late, when he felt Yukiko's fist in his cheek. The punch was strong enough to throw him on his back.

"You two are such idiots!", shrieked the girl, with her face reddened. Ignoring the passersby that observed them, she turned in her heels and walked to school, at an accelerated pace.

Ishiki approached his friend, extending his hand. Maruo took it, using his Aero Hand to push him up quickly. He had his cheek almost as swollen as his friend's marks, which were less inflamed than the night before.

"I think I spoke too much...", he told to himself out loud, rubbing his cheek. His head was spinning due to the blow and the fall impact.

"You think so?", commented Ishiki sarcastically.