Chapter 36: Vegetables & Milk

The next morning, Zik barely had time to enjoy his new technically-not-official-yet home before his friends barged in like they owned the place.

Reyes was the first to step in, glancing around at the cluttered living room with a judgmental squint. "Wow. So this is your new place? Looks… lived in."

Aiden, who was holding a plastic bag of snacks like he'd already moved in, kicked aside a stack of old newspapers. "The old man seriously needs a maid."

Tobias crossed his arms, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen a house this big with this little effort put into cleaning."

Zik, still half-asleep and wrapped in a blanket from the couch, shrugged. "What do you expect? He's a principal, not a billionaire. The man barely wanted me here, you think he's gonna hire a maid?"

"That's sad," Aiden said, throwing himself onto the couch. "So now you have to clean?"

Zik scoffed. "Absolutely not."

Reyes smirked. "Yeah, this checks out."

Just then, the principal walked in from the kitchen, rubbing his temples like he already regretted waking up. "Why are you all here?"

"Housewarming party," Reyes said smoothly.

"You didn't invite them?" the principal asked Zik, already knowing the answer.

Zik grinned. "Nope. They invited themselves."

The principal sighed, muttering something about how this was exactly why he never wanted kids. But deep down, Zik could tell—he wasn't really mad. Maybe, just maybe, this house wasn't too big for two people after all.

The Shirt and the Lesson

Zik hadn't expected gifts. If anything, he thought his friends would just show up, raid the fridge, and make fun of his new living situation. But as Reyes tossed a box into his lap, followed by Aiden and the rest, he realized something was off.

"You guys got me presents?" Zik asked, suspicious.

Reyes smirked. "Of course. You finally got a real place to live. That's a big deal."

Zik ripped open the first box. A shirt. A nice, clean, brand-new shirt.

His eyebrows twitched. He opened the second. Another shirt.

The third? A shirt.

Zik glanced at Tobias. "Let me guess. You too?"

Tobias shrugged. "Obviously."

Zik held up one of the shirts like it was evidence in a trial. "So, what, this was an intervention?"

Reyes snorted. "Dude, that yellow thing you're wearing is a public safety hazard."

Aiden nodded. "It's practically historic at this point. The trauma shirt."

Zik sighed, tugging at the hem of his old, faded, permanently stained shirt. "You guys don't get it. This shirt makes me stronger."

Aiden scoffed. "You sound ridiculous."

Zik smirked. "Oh, do I? Because, Tobias—" He turned to face him directly. "Your trauma made you stronger, didn't it?"

For a moment, Tobias just looked at him, unreadable. Then, instead of his usual sharp retort, he sighed and met Zik's gaze with an intensity that made the room go quiet.

"Zik, we're just oversized kids," he said, his voice steady but serious. "The only thing that should be making us stronger are vegetables and milk. Not my mutation. Not your stupid yellow shirt."

Silence.

Zik looked down at his shirt, running a thumb over the old fabric. He didn't say anything for a while. Then, finally, he tossed it over his shoulder.

"Fine," he muttered. "But I'm keeping it."

Reyes grinned. "Deal. Just... maybe wash it first."

As everyone settled in, the principal cleared his throat. "Alright, since you're all here, we should start discussing the next competition. I've already started gathering intelligence on the other schools—"

Nobody was paying attention.

Aiden was digging through the fridge like he was on a scavenger hunt. Tobias looked half-asleep, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Zik was still admiring his pile of new shirts like they were trophies. And Reyes—well, Reyes was rubbing his temples like he had a headache that never quite went away.

The principal's eye twitched. "Are you all seriously ignoring me right now?"

No response.

He clapped his hands together sharply. "This is about your competition! Your future! The people you'll be up against!"

Aiden, without looking up, muttered, "Yeah, yeah, we'll punch 'em real good."

Reyes let out a slow sigh, finally looking up from his place on the couch. "Principal, I understand where you're coming from, but you have to realize who you're dealing with here." He gestured to the group. "They don't prepare in advance. They barely plan. And if we're being honest, they're probably going to make my life more difficult when the time comes."

The principal narrowed his eyes. "Then make them listen."

Reyes exhaled sharply, like a man who had been asked to do way too much for a job that didn't pay him enough. "Believe me, I try. But they have this annoying habit of somehow winning anyway. It's exhausting."

Zik finally looked up from his shirts. "Relax, Principal. We'll start caring when we have to. Right now? We're just enjoying the moment."

The principal pinched the bridge of his nose. "I regret everything."

The principal sighed, rubbing his temples before looking at them seriously. "You guys will end up like Thor if you don't start taking this seriously. He was powerful, but he was unprepared, and because of that, he lost his dream. Or like Jack—talented but clueless about how to optimize his potential."

The room quieted slightly. Even Aiden stopped raiding the fridge to listen.

"You winning means you took someone else's spot. Their dreams. You losing because you made the same mistakes they did? That's a bad joke. And it's disrespectful to them. I know they learned their lesson… but what about you?"

Zik glanced at Aiden, who looked back at him, both of them a little more thoughtful now.

Then, Tobias let out a soft snore.

The principal twitched. "Are you seriously asleep right now?"

Tobias, still leaning against the wall, cracked one eye open. "I heard you. Don't lose. Don't waste potential. Got it." He stretched, yawning. "You make it sound way more dramatic than it needs to be."

The principal clenched his jaw. "I'm going to lose my mind."

The principal looked about five seconds away from throwing something at him, but before he could, Aiden stepped forward. "No, he's right."

Zik nodded, crossing his arms. "Yeah. Thor was strong, but he got too comfortable with that. He never thought about how to handle a bad matchup. And Jack? He had all the tools but no strategy."

Aiden leaned against the counter. "We're not just here to prove we're stronger. We're here to win. That means actually preparing, not just coasting on talent."

Tobias sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Alright, alright. You guys make a point." He glanced at the principal, who still looked unimpressed. "There. They took it seriously. Can I nap now?"

The principal exhaled slowly. "Unbelievable."

The principal studied Tobias for a long moment, then shook his head. There's no getting through to him without someone strong enough to knock some sense into him. He let it go for now.

"Alright," he said, rubbing his temples. "Back to the competition. I've already started gathering intel, and let me tell you, this year's lineup is stacked. You've seen what happened to Thor. Some of you probably think that won't be you, but trust me, there are plenty of people who can humble you just as fast."

Aiden and Zik straightened up, listening carefully. Tobias, while still slouching, at least had his eyes open now.

The principal continued, "I'll be breaking down your potential opponents, their abilities, and where your strengths and weaknesses lie against them. If you're not prepared, you won't just lose—you'll get embarrassed."

Reyes, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke up. "And when you lose like that, there's no coming back. Everyone remembers a humiliating defeat."

That got Tobias' attention. He frowned, arms crossed. "Alright, fine. Who are we dealing with?"

The principal smirked. "Now you're asking the right questions."

The principal leaned back in his chair and sighed. "And to answer the question none of you bothered to ask—yes, there are always students in the competition just as strong as Tobias. Some even stronger."

That made everyone pause. Even Tobias raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't some small-time school tournament. It's a big world out there, and if Tobias falls, we all fall. Before he came along, this school had zero chance of winning. Now, you at least have a shot."

Tobias scoffed, but there was no arrogance in it—just quiet understanding.

Zik scratched his head. "So what you're saying is… we're basically side characters riding on Tobias' back?"

The principal sighed. "More like a crew keeping the ship afloat. If the captain sinks, so does everyone else."

Aiden smirked. "Guess that means we better make sure our captain doesn't trip over his own ego then."

Tobias rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Just tell me who I need to punch."

The principal smirked. "Oh, you'll see soon enough."

The principal clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention. "Alright, listen up. Starting tomorrow, we're beginning serious training. You might think this competition is just about fights, but it's not. Some rounds will be team-based challenges—like Capture the Flag. Strength alone won't cut it. You need strategy, coordination, and quick thinking, it will need special training."

Zik's face lit up. "Nice! More anime training?"

The principal sighed. "Sadly, no."

Zik groaned. "Then what's the point?"

"The point," the principal continued, ignoring him, "is that you can't just rely on brute force. If you don't learn how to work as a team, you're going to fail."

Aiden nodded, taking it seriously, while Tobias just yawned. "Great, so we actually have to think now. Love that."

"Exactly," the principal said dryly. He checked the time and stretched. "Anyway, that's enough for today. Get some rest. We're meeting at school tomorrow, and I have a surprise for you."

Tobias narrowed his eyes. "A good surprise or a we're-all-gonna-regret-this surprise?"

The principal smirked. "Guess you'll have to show up and find out."

As the last of the kids left, Reyes lingered by the door, arms crossed. He glanced at the principal and sighed. "You know, even though I feel bad about it, I get why you rigged the matchups. If Zik's friends weren't on his team, he probably wouldn't have even considered competing. But still… I can't help but feel for Jack and Thor. You know you could just pay the extra fee and enter another team, right? You're allowed up to three."

The principal didn't respond. He just rubbed his temple, looking exhausted.

Reyes shook his head. "Figures. Alright, I'll see you tomorrow for training. You're gonna need my help."

With that, he left.

The principal sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He trudged toward his room, too tired to think, only to realize—his room wasn't his anymore. Without thinking, he pushed open the door, then froze when he saw Zik already inside.

Zik was curled up on the bed, still wearing that ugly, yellow, trauma-stained shirt. The principal frowned, worried. Does he seriously still refuse to take that thing off?

But then, just beside the bed, he noticed something else: an empty glass of milk and a half-eaten salad.

The principal blinked. Huh. Baby steps, I guess.

He shook his head and sighed, stepping back and closing the door softly. As he walked away, he muttered to himself, "Why do I even care?"

But deep down, he already knew the answer.

Zik was his responsibility now. Whether he liked it or not.

As the principal walked back to the living room, he rubbed his face, exhausted. He collapsed onto the couch, staring at the ceiling.

Maybe I should find some books about raising a kid…

The thought hit him like a stray punch. He sat up, alarmed at himself. What the hell am I thinking? He wasn't a parent. He wasn't supposed to be in this situation. He had barely even planned on adopting Zik—he just got dragged into it.

But still…

His eyes drifted toward the hallway where Zik was sleeping. The damn kid had already started making himself at home.

The principal groaned and grabbed his phone. "Alright, let's see… 'Parenting for Beginners'... 'How to Raise a Teen Without Losing Your Mind'... 'Accidental Parenthood: When Life Hands You a Kid'—ugh."

He threw his phone onto the table and covered his face with his hands. I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?