Chapter 4

There's a lot to say about Abe - or Abe-senpai, as Shuu calls him. One, his appearance is a far cry to his esper getup. Tungsten is an esper in a whole robot suit that is a little bit taller than the average human height. Tungsten fights with an array of weapons; from laser guns, blades, or simply by barreling onto a monster with all the destructive force some tons of steel could give. Observers alike have long argued that the person behind the name Tungsten is perhaps as much a brute as he is in the mecha suit.

Yet a glimpse at Tungsten the person, the one known as Abe Koukichi, would show this harmless lanky guy who perhaps listens to too much metal band - and yes, it's because of all the tattoos covering his upper limbs all the way to his neck like a colorful turtleneck sweater. With his height, comes his slender frame which could be mistaken for a lack of mass and strength. And that thick-rimmed glasses? It adds to the illusion of this regular harmless guy. A nerd, one might call him.

Second of all, he carries himself nothing like the lethal force that is Tungsten. Abe Koukichi enters the room with a smile and an airy, "Hello". He speaks with somewhat a pitched voice and a sing-songy tune. Whenever Shuu catches him strolling, it's always with a tilt of his head towards the sky, almost as if he never watches his steps - like he wouldn't be getting any sudden call of a mutant attack and having to bet his life on the battlefield.

Last but not least, he's well-liked. No matter where they go on Level 4, people would call him a myriad of nicknames, from 'bro' to simply 'Koukichi'. In response, Abe treats everyone with the same level of familiarity. He calls everyone by their first name and seems to have a particular manner of greeting for each one. With most of the Garudas, Abe would do a handshake paired with a fist bump, alongside a, "Yo," and then the following person's first name. Even with Shuu, he didn't hesitate to land a hand on a shoulder with a warm and encouraging, "Shuu-kun" as opposed to Shuu's mild and polite, "Abe-senpai". 

And until an hour ago, Shuu still believed that this person was a gentle lanky giant whose attachment to a hulking metal bodysuit was perhaps to mask that warm characteristics and amp his intimidating factors.

That was an hour ago.

In the next hour, he is proven grudgingly wrong.

Tungsten is, probably, never a mask. Abe Koukichi is. 

Because now Shuu is subjected to a mean technique of a body-lock with his left cheek to the wooden floor of Studio 10 after a long spar where he's beaten over and over again. He has tried pushing with all his might with an animalistic groan and he cannot, for the life of him, push this lanky, chill, harmless man off of him!

"Maybe try using your brain, kid".

The man sitting cross-legged in one corner of the medium-sized studio sounded almost bored. Through one open eye, Shuu looks at the man. If Abe is all gangly limbs, this man is even more so minus the superior height of Abe. He is skinny, and often times he allows baggy clothing to swallow his skinny figure. Now he is dressed in a washed-out orange hoodie and a pair of short slacks as he props his chin with one hand. The way he watches Shuu and Abe spar can be described as 'bored' and 'unimpressed'.

And, at first, you might pass this man as just another random guy who happens to be hanging around a structure as majestic as the YES Headquarters. With his choice of fashion (or lack thereof), and his bleached shaggy hair, plus that thin layer of goatee, he doesn't come across as someone who belongs in this building, and especially not on Level 4. However, since the day Shuu was introduced to this man, he knew by looking alone that this man was a seasoned S-class esper.

He's only known as Katsu - Katsu-sensei is how Shuu addresses him, which always earns him a snort. Despite looking like he just entered his 30's, Katsu is 45 years old and is still an active esper on his way to an early retirement to focus on other behind-the-scenes work for the government. Just last Monday, on Shuu's first official day of training as a Team Phoenix trial, the man was introduced as his official trainer. They met under a large tree on Level 4's outdoor terrace where everyone says the man could be easily located, vaping.

Today is his third day of training with Katsu. Suffice to say, it's been hell. 

"I d-don't know how!" Shuu admits, panicked. This is his first time sparring without his elemental abilities - also his first time ever sparring with a fellow S-class.

"He really doesn't," Abe confirms from above Shuu, not even losing one single breath.

Shuu watches Katsu humming lazily. His eyes, which always make him look sleepy, are unmoved until he sighs loudly and jots down notes on his tablet. "I'll put him up for martial arts classes with the Garudas then".

"I - I already have basic martial arts training!" Shuu hurriedly explains himself as he rises to his feet with Abe's help.

"Yes, but that's what it is. Basic - your martial arts training that is. We'll get you accustomed to real martial arts classes. What were you learning before you joined YES?"

"Uh..., capoeira?"

"And?"

"Erm...," Shuu fails to answer. Seeing this Katsu sighs yet again.

"Koukichi, how many martial arts classes have you taken?" Katsu addresses the other instead.

"Let's see. I took muay thai, kickboxing, judo, a little kung fu, wrestling, what else?" The bespectacled young man has one finger on his cheek as he tries to remember all. Meanwhile, Shuu, who is bending slightly to catch his breath, gawks at the answer.

Truthfully, Shuu has always thought, as an S-class elemental, that he doesn't need self-defense training. The point of being an elemental is to use the elements around you to attack your opponent. With adept control over the elements, he could keep his opponents at a distance where he could avoid contact. Hence, he shouldn't have to learn self-defense.

The only reason he learned capoeira at all was because Sora, a renowned elemental, learned capoeira. He voices said opinion to both his trainer and his senior.

"Hmm, doing what Sora did huh," Katsu does not sound impressed. His eyelids grow heavier as he eyes Shuu, almost as if mocking him, thinking, 'Oh yeah, Kid. You sure sound like you know what you're doing'. "Tell me, Koukichi, is Sora still doing capoeira?"

Abe looks a little surprised to be addressed again, but crosses his arms in thought. "Uhh..., I know he did in the past - but as far as his training, Sora practiced a lot of other self-defense. It's no secret Sora is more attuned to air, hence he picked the most suitable fighting style, I guess. He did kickboxing and kung fu, as far as I can remember - but when it comes to his fighting style and his favorite lesson, it has to be -"

Then Abe and Katsu speak at the same time, "Parkour".

To that answer, Shuu blinks owlishly. He does not expect to hear parkour within the walls of something as serious as YES. He has heard of the art, but he has always considered it as a hobby like skateboarding.

"It's not considered a martial art, but, believe it or not, kid, Sora took a lot of parkour into his own fighting style. The difference is, Sora has years before him to perfect his fighting style - you have none," Katsu now has one leg folded to his chest and one arm perching on top of that leg, "You need to learn that there's more to this whole field of being an esper than just being a mini-Sora".

Abe flinches at that, "Come on, Katsu-san. Do not compare the two like th -"

"No, I'm being real. I think this kid has only ever seen Sora ahead of him, just like those other kids this fucking organization has scouted all over the country. Kid, you don't have to be Sora. He's an elemental, but you don't have to be like him just because you're also one".

Shuu takes his words to heart. It is true. In the week he trained with Katsu, his answer has always been, "Sora does it that way," or, "I heard Sora did that". It took him about half an hour of talking from Katsu to finally realize that, yes, he puts himself in Sora's shadow. Perhaps it's the fact that people in his family's gym dub him the 'next Takenouchi Sora', or perhaps it's the fact that Sora is really the only famous elemental that is close to his age.

It takes him another hour of talking to finally realize that he does not have to be Sora. And now he is just lost on what kind of elemental he should become.

Katsu suggests that he should, instead, learn to balance his abilities with equal mastery of self-defense. You see, before this, Shuu had always thought an elemental does not need martial arts practice due to the fact that they can use long-range attacks. However, Katsu helped him change his mind.

Hence his current training has been on honing his self-defense skills.

At first, Shuu is a little bummed at this turn of events. He was expecting to be deployed as soon as he started his trial. However, what Katsu did instead was to put him in more basic training. Sure, he now gained longer training hours in YES Headquarters, which he is grateful for. Before, when he was just a newly scouted junior trainee, he was only allowed 3 training hours per day, three days a week after school. Hence, on the days he's not scheduled to train at YES HQ, he would spend training alone at his family's gym. But now that he's a trialist for Team Phoenix, he is allowed more hours, 6 days a week.

He still trains with the rest of the Junior Trainees on his old schedule (on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), but he has to meet Katsu for further training right after he finishes. He also has exclusive training with Katsu on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, and he supposes now some of those hours will be allocated to taking martial arts lessons with the Garudas. 

He started that new schedule a week after his first meeting with Abe. He spent that whole week doing paperwork and sitting down with his school staff to talk about his potential recruitment to the country's youngest league of Esper. Once that was done, he just couldn't wait to be a proper esper already.

Katsu has reminded him many times that he was not quite there yet; a reminder Shuu almost doesn't believe because he has been the top trainee in his year. 

Now he's suspicious that it's exactly why Katsu paired him up with Abe to spar today.

This spar taught Shuu many things. The first thing he learned is that he's nowhere near the level expected to be in Team Phoenix just yet. Second of all, he learned that Abe Koukichi, in spite of his friendly and kind front, is a real monster on the field.

Yes, the man has a tall slender frame that could be brushed off as gangly; but within each limb is a hard impenetrable layer of muscles. His fist is like a flying wrecking ball with unforgiving force. Shuu was lucky to avoid it at the last second, otherwise, he was sure he'd black out.

Furthermore, the friendliness he shows people every day diminishes the moment a switch within him flicks and puts him into his fighting mode. And when he's in this mode, you'd see not a sliver of that gentleness he normally exudes. His warm gaze darkens, and the lines from his ever-present smile blend into a mean glare. When he fights, he moves with focus and intent - and there's nothing fun about being the sole target of that focus and intent.

And probably this is why outside the circle of people this man seems to form around himself wherever he goes, there's a larger and farther circle of people just watching from afar and whispering among themselves - as if they are too afraid to go closer. Because, while Abe Koukichi is considered a friend by many, he is considered both admirable and intimidating to a lot more people. Probably Shuu has been too close to him to see that not just anyone could approach Abe Koukichi and act friendly with him.

"What is Abe-senpai's ability?" Before Shuu knows it, his mouth just blabbers that question in the middle of Katsu and Abe's conversation. Both older males turn to him, looking somewhat perplexed that he asks this, but Abe answers.

"Super speed and reflex, I guess?" His gaze slowly goes to Katsu as though to ask for confirmation. Katsu shrugs.

"I would agree. Unlike elementals that have clear categories of subtypes, strength-type abilities are a little of every skill. There's no strength type ability that is exclusively one subtype. It's a combination of multiple above-average physical prowess," Katsu explains, "For Koukichi, hmmm, I guess it is superior reflex and accuracy with you, huh?" The man squints at the bespectacled youth.

"What he's saying is that I'm veeeerryyy good with my aim, which is why among the Phoenix I'm the one with the most gadgets and weapons. I'm very good at utilizing them," Abe points at himself, "Hence the mecha suit. That, and I just love technology in general. I build most of my arsenal myself".

Shuu hums, "That means you are a strength type, correct?" He turns an accusing eye at Katsu, "That means he has a biological advantage over me. Being strength-type, he's naturally better at martial arts which means the fight is unfair".

Both older males look stunned for a few seconds, before bursting into laughter. "Don't get it twisted, kid. I pair you two not only because he's tasked with the role of babysitter, but also because he was as bad as you are at the very beginning of his esper career".

"Oi, Katsu-san, you don't have to tell him that!" Abe whines.

"It's true. So, to me, you two make the perfect pair".

With a huff from Katsu, the discussion ceases its course and they continue teaching Shuu how to escape body locks, how to avoid them, and how to execute them. Soon, Shuu has a better grasp on how to respond to the situation. He adopts better tactics in the face of an attempted lock, although he still moves a note slower than Abe. Soon, Katsu directs him to do post-exercise stretching before instructing his meditation; the latter being a new part of his routine. Katsu said it could help him get in tune with the elements. Possibly, once he's better at meditating, he will have a better understanding of which elements are attuned to his soul best.

It is when Katsu reminds him of the proper leg position that Shuu notices the door to the studio opened and Abe turns around to check. "Oh, what's up?" Shuu hears Abe saying to the person at the door. Shuu is already in a meditating position. He has his eyes closed, but he can hear the sound of footsteps as his tattooed senior walks in the general direction of the door. They; that is, Abe and the person who opened the door; are mumbling something.

"Who's training?" Shuu hears the new voice. It's a deeper voice.

"You forgot? It's the new kid - the one that will join us soon," is Abe's answer.

Us, he says - which means it must be one of the Phoenixes.

Shuu cannot help but open his eyes and check who it is, only to receive a smack at the top of his head from a roll of paper in Katsu's grip. "Oi, I said, concentrate, brat!"

"S-sorry, Katsu-sensei!" Shuu sputters, rushing to return to the perfect meditating position, and closes his eyes.

**

It was Segawa Hide - the person who crashed into Shuu's training. Segawa Hide stands only a couple of inches shorter than Abe, with a boyband hairstyle; black hair split in the middle with swept bangs to the side; and thick groomed eyebrows above a pair of deep-set dark eyes atop high cheekbones and a defined nose. 'Cool' and 'dreamy', are the words often labeled upon this member of Team Phoenix, but 'Strong' is perhaps the one word that describes him best. If Sora is powerful in terms of his influence, Hide is powerful in terms of ability alone. He is the most notable young esper in the country next to Sora; dubbed as Team Phoenix's frontman.

Shuu has heard some things about Segawa Hide himself; or, to be precise, he has heard his fellow fresh recruits speaking about him. The girls would gush over him whenever they saw him walk by, normally in all black and a black cap. The boys, however, would pass over the message to steer clear of the handsome Phoenix. 'A nasty personality,' they say, 'He's an asshole'.

Yet, no matter what they think of him; whether it's like or dislike; they all admire him from afar.

"Shuu-kun?"

"O-oh! Sorry, Abe-senpai. You were saying?"

The taller man smiles, "I was saying if you'd rather I drive you back home. I'm going out somewhere anyways, so I can just drop you back on the way"

"Is that alright with you?" Today he has spent longer than usual in YES due to Katsu's rigorous training, so he called home to tell his parents not to send the driver at the usual time and to just wait until he calls again. He hasn't made a call home now that he finishes, of course. Training has been intense and before he knows it, it's already 6.30 pm. If he called home now, he would have to wait for another half an hour before the car arrived and he'd be too hungry and tired by then.

"Of course. I'll just grab my keys and a couple of other things before we go. You wait here, okay?"

Abe walks back in the direction of the gym. Shuu assumes it is to take a smaller elevator in the gym to Level 5. Yesterday, when Shuu was about to go to one of the studios with Katsu, he saw Abe appearing from that very elevator.

But at the moment, Shuu stands in front of the larger elevator in the lobby of Level 4. In front of him is the cafeteria, now crowded with hungry college-aged members of Team Garuda. They are all dressed in casual clothes like they were just out of the shower after their share of grueling training and are now looking forward to dinner. Loud conversations fill the hallways as more and more people enter the cafeteria. They all behave friendly towards one another. One person arrives, and everyone else welcomes them with greetings, fistbumps, or hollers. One full table closest to where Shuu is standing is particularly loud, with one guy animatedly telling a story to his group of friends. "I swear," the guy says, standing up whilst holding a plate brimming with food, "The next time we're facing any of those shadow-type mutants, put me in the back of the line. They're literally ghosts, bro! I don't want to have to deal with that!"

Most of them walk by Shuu with a curious glance, perhaps wondering why a kid in their training tracksuit is standing by the elevator, looking lost, at this time of the day where most training has ended.

"Hello, are you lost?" Shuu turns to his right to find two older girls with one guy looking at him. One of the two girls, the one with long hair, then adds, "I don't think you should be here. This is Level 4".

Then the other girl, one with shorter hair, elbows her friend lightly. "Hey, I think he is meant to be here. He's that kid the captain told us will join The Phoenixes".

"Wait, that was real? I thought that guy was joking!" The guy blurts in surprise at the same time the girl with long hair gawks at the other.

"Um," Shuu tries to get their attention back at him, "I was here for training, Senpai. Now I'm just waiting for my mentor. Sorry if I'm bothering you".

The three freeze as though they did not expect Shuu to respond in that manner. "Who's your mentor?" One of them asks. Shuu is about to answer but is interrupted by one long arm hooked around his neck.

"I'm the mentor," Abe Koukichi answers the question with a smirk from behind Shuu. The two girls erupt in giggles.

"Oh my Gosh! So it is true, you're getting a new brat!" One of the girls squeals, "Oh my God, that's hard to believe - after Felix -"

"What are you saying, everyone in the team has been talking about this kid since he first joined," The one guy among the three grouches, "We've been watching him train and all that. I heard some people have even made a bet how long it'll take until he gets Sora's attention and be recruited".

"Really??" The girl with the shorter hair gasps.

"Yeah," the guy then turns to Shuu, "You're Narukami-kun, right?"

"Yes," Shuu nods, before bowing, "It's Narukami Shuu. I'll be in your care, Senpai".

For one full second, the three are just stunned to silence before the two girls squeal even louder. "Uwaaaahh, why is he so polite and cute!? This is a first for any of your brats, Koukichi!!" The long-haired one exclaims, "Narukami-kun, don't be shy to say hello if you ever see us in Level 4, okay? I'm Harumi, this is Haruno. If you're tired or thirsty, you can tell us and we'll buy you a nice drink from the Cafeteria, okay?"

The guy, who is left un-introduced, frowns, "Hey, why am I left out??" The guy does not manage to introduce himself because Abe then cuts them all off.

"Come on, you guys are bothering our kid here. I have to take him home, you three go shoo shoo," Abe moves his hand in a shooing motion, "Let's go, Shuu".

"Stingy!" The girl with short hair retorts, although jokingly, "You're always mean to us!"

"Hey, I'm not mean. In fact, I'm nice enough to notice you just cut your hair. Did you just get it done today? It looks nice on you".

Shuu's eyes widened slightly at his mentor. He isn't sure how exactly Abe did it, but the way he said that was so smooth that it managed to color Haruno's whole face red. "Oi, oi, haven't I said to stop flirting with any female members of ours? Especially not any of my twins," the only guy growls.

"Ah, I wasn't making a move on anyone, and definitely not your twin, Haru. I was just making an observation," Abe laughs but makes a step back, "Anyhow, look at the time. We have to leave now to get Shuu-kun home before it's too late. See ya, girls. And see you too, Haru!" Abe pulls Shuu with him into the gym where the smaller elevator is. On the way, he smiles at Shuu, "Those triplets are funny, aren't they?"

The elevator brings them directly to B3-2. It's that elevator Shuu saw was being used by those two people he passed by when he first went to B3-2. "Is this elevator Team Phoenix exclusive?" Shuu asks as they walk to the cars.

"You've figured? It is. It connects directly to our penthouse, makes it easy for the team members to travel between levels".

They walk to the sleek black and white sports car parked in the farthest corner of the garage. The car opens its two beetle-wing doors to allow them into the orange synthetic leather interior. It's sporty and fashionable - something befitting the 'bad boy' type. And somehow, that all fits Abe Koukichi.

"Welcome to my car!" Abe says as he plops onto the driver's seat and puts on his seatbelt. Shuu copies him as he observes the inside of the car. From a short glimpse, one would know this car is cared for.

"I think, when I first use this parking lot, I might have met another Phoenix," Shuu shares as the door closes and Abe starts the engine. The car makes a low hum.

"Mm-hmm?" Abe hums encouragingly.

"And I believe that guy was using this car too," Shuu continues. When Abe's forehead furrows, Shuu adds, "He's blonde".

"Oh," Abe rolls his eyes, "And? Do you know which Phoenix that is?"

Team Phoenix members are well-known all around the country. If Shuu doesn't know who it is, it must be a member who works under an alias and has yet to expose their identity to the public. Considering that two members of Team Phoenix work under an alias, and Shuu is currently sitting next to one of them, there's only one possibility left. "Is that person Mirage?"

"Yup," Abe answers with a grin, "that's our Felix. Did he say anything to you?"

"No".

"Pffh, that sounds exactly like him all right".

Something else crosses Shuu's mind, "He was with somebody -" he starts, only stopping when he hears Abe's phone buzzing. Abe takes his phone out of his pocket. The phone, Shuu notices, is the same exact model he received from Banks (which Shuu has been using quite comfortably).

"Hello?" Abe answers. His voice lowers to almost a whisper, making Shuu feel like he's intruding into a very private conversation. Shuu checks his own phone instead, to appear busy. Yet he can't help but listen in.

"No, don't take the train. I told you I'm coming to pick you up".

Abe always speaks with an almost sing-songy tune, but this time his voice takes a pitch higher, yet softer, almost like he's babying the person on the opposite end of the call. It was very different from the last time Shuu overheard him on a call.

"It's okay. I'm already in the car. Just wait for me. I won't take long," Abe is playing with the hem of his graphic t-shirt. The action is almost childlike, and with him speaking in this manner, it reminds Shuu of a high school boy talking to his crush on the phone. "All right. I'll see you very very soon. Bye. I miss you".

The mini screen in the car, which is linked to Abe's phone, it seems, has a pop-up that announces the call has ended. There's one name to the caller.

Ren.

Such a short and simple name.

"Your girlfriend, Senpai?" Shuu blurts.

Abe, who is in the middle of attaching his phone to the phone holder on the dashboard, is visibly flustered. "Ah, uh, kind of, I guess. Haha". The response is uncharacteristically awkward for someone as confident and laid back as Abe. Nevertheless, the young man continues his task of driving the car out of the garage. Shuu purses his lips.

"You're a womanizer, aren't you, Abe-senpai?"

"Huh? What gives you the idea??"

And so Shuu forgets to ask about the mysterious brown-haired boy he saw with Felix that day.

**

To be Continued.