I made a new friend!

2041, June. 

Yuto was on his couch, playing games on his ZBox as usual, but this time the theme wasn't superheroes. They ceased to interest him, so he was just trying to pass the time with some random game. 

He laid down on the couch and held his cell phone above his head. For the last few days, he has been doing only simple missions, in order to maintain his position at level 7.

Levels had a fixed number of heroes. If, for example, the first place in level 6 rose to 7, the 7th rank would fall to 6. It was a way to instigate competition, so that no one would remain at the same level for long, especially at the highest levels.

That's what happened to Yuto: he "stole" his superior's place. But the same could happen to him. So, while he didn't want to move up, he didn't want to go down either.

The sixth place, one above him, called his attention. She looked about his age, and rarely did a young person reach such a high level.

In the association's application, almost all the information of each member was available. Kazegami Kataki was the one who caught Yuto's attention. She had dark hair, red eyes and wore an elite school uniform.

Her main hobby was kendo. The place she frequented the most was her family's dojo. It was open to anyone who wanted to train.

Yuto wanted to visit her because he needed to make new friends. The previous ones were moving away from him little by little. Probably out of envy, it was what he thought. Or maybe because he started to train every day and pay little attention to them.

Yuto went to the Kazegami family's dojo. There was a queue to face the infamous level 7. It looked more like a competition than a training. People at the front of the line commented:

— I heard that girl is a level 7.

— You believe everything you see on the internet, man.

— But what if it's true?

— If it's true, let's make a bet: whoever loses to her pays the other one a month of free drink. 

— Do you think you stand a chance? Of course I accept! 

Both lost miserably.

It was Yuto's turn. The two greeted each other. Kataki seemed to know him from somewhere. The battle had begun.

— Your guard is wide open, lad. All of your attacks leave a chance to dodge and counterattack.

— I hate to admit I've never fought with swords. But against the strongest swordswoman of the association I'm not doing too badly.

Kataki emerged victorious, although the initial purpose was just to train, not compete.

— You're right, you did very well. For the first time in a long time my opponent lost without giving up. Congratulations, young man.

Kataki stared at Yuto for a few seconds, until she finally recognized him.

— Now I understand why you are so good. We're on the same level, so if you faced me seriously, you might even beat me.

Yuto gave a flattered smile. He finally found someone who understood him.

At night, Kataki decided to accompany Yuto to his house, while they talked about various things. With the feeling of being chased, Kataki looked everywhere, but didn't find anyone.

This person is good at hiding…

— Did you say something?

— Oh, sorry, I didn't realize I was talking out loud.

Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder, squeezing it as if the intent was crushing it.

— What do you think you're doing with my dear brother, you bitch?

Startled, the two jumped back and looked at the mysterious figure. It was Yuto's sister, with a bloodthirsty look.

— Big sis?! What are you doing here? We were just hanging out! Now let go of Kataki, that's not a nice thing to do when you meet someone!

Kanata continued squeezing Kataki's shoulder for a few more seconds, but soon regained consciousness and felt ashamed of what she had done.

Before they could say anything else, she disappeared at such a high speed that it slightly lifted Kataki's skirt.

It was red.

— Y-You didn't see anything, did you, Yuto?

Yuto turned his back and, not knowing what to answer, stammered:

— O-Of course not! Well, m-maybe just a little bit…

Even more embarrassed than before, Kataki also turned her back.

An awkward silence hung over the street for a moment seemingly longer than it was.

— Well, Kataki, I think I can go back to my house from here. See you another day!

Yuto ran off before Kataki could answer.

Yuto and Kataki continued to hang out together for the next few days. But now trying to avoid the bigoted sister as much as possible.

Yuto could track any object or living being through the gravitational waves on their surfaces. A sort of sensory silhouette of the surroundings was formed, or a scan.

But Kanata almost always wore casual clothes, which made it difficult to identify. Except for some specific jobs, such as guard duty on the day of the festival.

The association's annual festival was held on July 7th, to commemorate the founding of the association and announce the new level 7 heroes. Therefore, the period from June to July 6th was very busy in the levels. Many wanted to get to the podium, or at least close to it, as they received secondary prizes. After that date, everyone relaxed.

Yuto made a plan with Kataki to spend the day at the festival. After the presentations and awards, they would enjoy the rest of the event. But there was a problem: his sister.

She would be wearing her heroine outfit: a sleeveless white shirt that didn't cover her belly and a light gray blouse whose sleeves she refused to wear. The colors didn't matter, as they weren't picked up by the gravitational sensor. But the quirky silhouette would be easily identifiable.

One day, Yuto went to the association building for a meeting about the festival. Kataki was there, and after the meeting, she invited him to the dojo.

There they spent the whole afternoon, but they had more fun than they trained.

— Yuto, what nickname do you think would suit me? The association advised me to choose one, but I think you would know better.

— Hm… Oh, I forgot to ask, what is your power? I didn't pay attention when I saw your profile.

Kataki looked away, disappointed with herself.

— Shadow. I'm not proud of my power. I wanted one that could help people, not kill them.

Yuto felt that his question hurt her, even if it wasn't intended.

— You should be proud of your power! It defines who you are, so you should help people with what you have, not wish for another.

Kataki felt better.

— Yuto, you really deserve to be a level 7.

Yuto smiled, and thought about the nickname again.

— Hm… You fight using swords, and your power is of shadows. The nickname should combine the two… Shadow + Katana … Blade + Shadow… Shade + Blade… I got it! How about "Slade"?

Kataki's eyes filled with sparkle.

— Yes! This one is great! Thank you very much, Yuto.

The two continued talking about other matters, closer than before. They were like longtime friends.

It got dark. Yuto said goodbye to Kataki and went to his house. She waited in front of her dojo until he was no longer visible. A voice came from behind.

— Don't turn back. I don't know what you did to my brother, but I'll let it go this time. He needs friends, and he seems to regard you as one. But if you cross the friend line, I'll kill you.

The presence was gone. But Kataki was still tense, afraid of what she just heard.

The day of the festival arrived. The new level 7 heroes were announced and made their introductions, then the top 7 of each level below.

Kanata said goodbye to Yuto :

— Sorry, Yuto. I didn't want to part with you, but I have to protect the peace of this festival so that you can enjoy it to the fullest.

— Thank you, big sis!

Yuto and Kataki found each other and, relieved, they walked hand in hand, much closer than before.

Kataki stopped in front of a target shot. Her target was a teddy bear, which she thought was cute. Yuto offered himself to get it.

— Yu-chan, you can't use your power to knock down the target, that's cheating!

— A-Ah, so you noticed, hehe…

Yuto raised his hands, as if he had been captured.

— Wait, did you just call me Yu-chan?!

— Of course! We've only known each other for a little while, but we're close enough for that, aren't we?

Kataki gave an innocent smile to Yuto, who felt embarrassed by the level of intimacy.

— W-Well, if that's the case, from now on I'll call you Kataki-

— -chan! Kataki-chan!

— R-Right, Kataki-chan…

Yuto finally hit the teddy bear and gave it to Kataki. She ran to some nearby store and came back with a red pen. On the teddy bear, she wrote:

— Yu-chan ♡

She handed the teddy bear to Yuto, who picked it up, confused. He got so embarassed that, when the message was read, he ran to a bathroom.

Calmer, Yuto returned to Kataki, who was waiting with an innocent and healthy smile.

— What is this, Kataki-chan? I thought you wanted the teddy bear for yourself.

— Of course, to give you as a gift. This is my memory for you.

— Right…

After the festivities, Yuto slept in his room, hugging the teddy bear he had received as a gift. Kanata entered the room to check on him and kiss him on the forehead goodnight.

Noticing the strange object in his arms, she picked it up to observe it closely. After reading the message, she froze for a moment.

She thought of all the people who could have written that. As she had seen his brother with a girl recently, she searched all the information available in the association's application.

Kazegami Kataki used to spend most of her time at her family's dojo. The moment Kanata read that, she ran at such an extreme speed that windows in the way shattered and anything light flew away.

Se arrived at the dojo, 10 kilometers away, in less than 3 seconds. When she entered, she saw the girl practicing alone, as it was already night.

Kataki didn't even notice the evil presence until she was punched in the cheek. A punch that could have destroyed everything in a 10 kilometer radius, but Kanata caught herself at the last second, only breaking her jaw.

Doubled over from the pain, Kataki got her belly kicked dozens of times. The pain was so agonizing that time passed slower. She couldn't speak, only spit blood. All of her ribs were broken.

— You're weak, and you think you can steal my dear brother?! I knew that encounter was a bad sign. I can't believe you guys had gotten this far in such a short time. Slag.

Kanata spat towards Kataki, who just listened as she tried to endure the pain. Temporarily satisfied, Kanata disappeared.

Yuto left his house quickly, excited to find his friend. She was in the association's main building, waiting by a metal door, which seemed to protect something very important.

When Yuto arrived, she looked away. She was afraid. After all, she had been beaten the night before. The 7-Up potion cured her in a few hours, so she didn't have to go to the hospital. However, the excruciating pain she felt did not leave her head.

Yuto greeted her, but she didn't respond. Concerned, he tried to place his hand on her shoulder, which was soon rejected with a slap.

— Yu-chan- Yuto, I'm going to do a surgery.

— Surgery? What happened?

— It's an experiment, actually. They didn't tell me much, I'm just going to have to lie down on the gurney and wait for the process to finish. They said that I will gain a new power and become much stronger. I'll be able to protect everyone now, including you.

Slade didn't look excited. She felt like running away from everything. She couldn't look Yuto in the eyes.

— Kataki-chan, look into my eyes. You don't need to protect anyone but yourself. I will protect you, no matter what.

— Yu-chan…

Now her eyes were alight.

— Then promise me you'll come back safe and sound. If you stop being you, I don't know what I'm going to do.

— Y-Yes! I promise I'll be back, so don't worry about me. And I'll come back much stronger, so we'll never be in danger in this cursed city again!

The door opened and a woman walked through it. She wore a lab coat, so she was likely a scientist in charge of the Slade project. She wore glasses, had dark circles under her eyes and had short hair divided into blue and green.

— Slade, the preparations are all ready, now we will wait for you in the operating room, on the other side of this door.

— Right! It's my time to go now, Yu-chan. And remember, I'll be back no matter what!

— Of course you will! Don't lose hope, I'll always be waiting for you, it's a promise!

Both intertwined their pinkies, forming an unbreakable promise.