Shadow Slave: Kindness

Teacher Julius had been pleasantly surprised to see them bring a new student along with them. All his anger about their lateness dissipated immediately as he smiled brightly and asked for her name.

Sunny noticed that Julius had paused for a second after hearing her name. He had then inquired if she had already taken any courses. Normally, one could only register at the next month's induction ceremony. But apparently, the Academy had changed that policy and now allowed new students to take up courses the moment they arrived.

It turned out Nephis had completed her counselling just yesterday.

And from that point, their training began.

Let's just say: Sunny was in a lot of pain again.

But this time not just physical pain, rather mental stress of memorising and repeating things he had already studied.

Since Nephis was already well-versed in combat, all she lacked was the theory part of survival alone with the practical activities. Sunny had been assigned to teach her that—revising things himself along the way.

Meanwhile, Julius focused on Cassie, who had shown tremendous growth over the past few weeks. Obstacle, moving objects, multiple fighting manniquins who did simple and basic movements, fully custom made terrains, and everything required for her, was made available, at least the Academy didn't stop any expenses on her.

Julius was secretly impressed with her progress, though he was also keeping a close eye on Sunny's surprising improvements. Of course, he didn't mention either to them, lest they get overconfident or worse, egoistic.

One can never be fully prepared for the Dream Realm.

After all, the Dream Realm swallows even the brightest and most talented of Sleepers if they let their guard down for even a moment.

The next few days followed a similar pattern: Nephis and Sunny spent nearly the whole day together, with Sunny teaching her survival theory, and Nephis teaching him advanced combat through constant sparring.

Cassie, on the other hand, got rag-dolled like Sunny was by Julius. Obstacles, tracks, moving objects, you name it. Every night after the end of training, she looked she had been through war.

And yes, since the Dream Realm treated women and men equally, Julius didn't pull any punches. He was a firm believer in true equality.

One such afternoon, Sunny was grabbing lunch from the cafeteria when—lo and behold—Jack and Jill appeared in his path again. Smiling. Cheerful. As if they weren't scheming behind the scenes.

'Oh so unexpected,' Sunny thought dryly.

Given what he suspected—that they were either gathering data on other Sleepers or handing it off somewhere—he wasn't exactly shocked to see them approaching again.

Especially now that Nephis was involved with them, and remembering how were things for her in the past.

Yeah, no.

"Ah, Sunny! Such a sunny day, and you look as bright as always," Jack started with his usual pleasant smile.

"Hello, Sunny," Jill chimed in right after.

Sunny smiled back faintly. "Ah, Jack and Jill. How have you both been? Well, I hope."

Jack waved it off dramatically. "Forget about us! What do I say, Sunny… not one, but two? Who would've thought you'd turn out to be such a playboy. You even got Nephis now! Come on, tell me your secret. How do you do it? Your ways with women?"

Sunny sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. "I didn't do anything. And I don't have any 'ways with women.' They're just in Wilderness Survival. That's all. Me and Cassie, or Nephis, we're not like that."

But as he turned slightly, something—someone—caught his attention.

Yuuki.

From across the cafeteria, Yuuki was standing at the far end of the room, half-hidden behind a pillar. Watching. Not eating. Not talking. Just observing them quietly.

Sunny's eyes narrowed.

This wasn't the first time but he had seen her observing him or Nephis, but she seems to get out of his mind every time.

Sighing, he skillfully avoided Jack and Jill's proddings and went on his way.

Later that day, while Nephis and Sunny were sparring, well more like he was being beaten again and again.

Nephis was a true monster when it came to fighting, sunny had quite a bit of experience fighting in the outskirts, but he was still no match for her. The best he acheived was to block 3-4 of her attacks, and was being treated as a punching bag the rest of the time.

While resting, his mind came back to Jack and Jill, he frowned and also remembered Yuuki this morning, it was while he was resting when he decided to bring these three sleepers strange behaviors, especially around Nephis.

"Hey. Nephis. You know a girl named Yuuki?"

Nephis, mid-motion, paused. Her brows furrowed. "No. Why?"

Sunny sheathed his wooden blade and stepped back. "She has been watching you for the past few days, me as well. Not only them but these two twins, Jack and Jill, they have been trying to get information about you from me."

There was no flicker of surprise in Nephis' calm expression, rather Sunny got the sense that she seems to have already expected that.

She was silent for a long while.

"Thank you, Sunny" she said quietly. "I wasn't aware. This isn't my best field. Though not unexpected, I did expect that there to be people after me."

Sunny crossed his arms, looking at her seriously. "They have been-the twins- snooping around all the sleepers, i have also seen then meeting someone in the dark...if it helps, they are from the Snowfall clan, under great clan Song. If you don't mind. Why are they following you? Do you know?"

Nephis looked away. There was a pause.

Then, softly: "I will tell you. But not yet."

She looked back at him, her silver eyes reflecting sunlight.

"You once asked someone to wait until they were ready to share. I ask you the same. When I decide to tell you, I will. Will you promise me that until then... you'll look out for me?"

Nephis's trust in him was a little surprising — but not unexpected. Sunny knew from the past that people were after her. Not just people, but people with real power and dangerous backing. So to see that, even now — after she had grown so much, and was only weeks away from entering the Dream Realm — they were still watching her, wasn't surprising to him in the slightest.

Besides, Nephis knew no one else here.

No — more accurately, it was because she knew who Sunny was, and what his past had been, that she trusted him. After all, he could never be one of the people who had been sent after her. 

Not after what they both have been through.

And it goes without saying that Cassie too is someone Nephis trusts as much as Sunny.

Sunny's Seventh sense(he had decided to call his 4th attribute his Seventh sense) was telling him that it's because of [Fated] that she met Sunny and Cassie first the moment she arrived here.

The only two people in the whole of sleepers whom she can trust.

Sunny was silent for a second, then nodded.

"Promise."

Avi and Juliet's reactions to Nephis had been pretty much what he expected — except Avi had looked at him with narrowed eyes, suspiciously, before immediately reporting him to Juliet for alleged harassment and blackmail. She had repeatedly enquired to both Cassie and Nephis whether he was secretly bullying them or not.

Juliet, for her part, had just laughed and teased him, amused, calling him a secret playboy who was somehow "bagging all the girls."

To make matters worse — or weirder — apparently Avi had taken to spending her nights on communicator bonding with both Cassie and Nephis. Something about bonding. Something about sleepovers. Apparently, Nephis was being taught about everything outside of wilderness survival — including culture, slang, and, disturbingly, something called "girl code."

With the way they were all behaving, no one would think that in just five weeks, they were all going to venture into the Dream Realm — a place where one mistake could cost everything.

It had been a week since they met Nephis.

Only five weeks remained.

And that's when Juliet had made an interesting — or insane — proposition.

Apparently, she had already submitted a leave request for the day of the next induction ceremony — a week from now — and planned to take Avi to something called an amusement park.

Because of the Ceremony, Teacher Julius will be extremely busy in Administrative work, as well the data and details of the sleepers arriving in the past month will be compiled that day, since Nephis had already been taught and told all about the classes, she didn't need to attend the ceremony again.

From what Sunny could understand, an amusement park was a place filled with strange things like mirror mazes, horror houses, rollercoasters, and more. None of which he had any context for.

In fact, Sunny didn't know what any of those words meant.

Still, Juliet seemed oddly excited about it.

He had tried to argue that it would be better for them to train — that they needed to stay sharp, not slack off.

Juliet, of course, didn't care. She tried to persuade him by explaining that she'd discovered a hidden spot on the east-northern side of the city, which was covered in mountains and forests back when she'd just Awakened and was exploring everything. A secret place. Something she wanted to show them.

Also she wanted to finally take up her hobby again, her love for photography seemed to be blooming once more after meeting them, and it wouldn't be fun if it was only her and Avi there.

She also had something secret to do there, which she wasn't willing to divulge to him, only telling him-in a really mischievous tone- that he'll enjoy it a lot.

Sunny was getting a really dreading feeling from whatever this 'secret enjoyment' was supposed to be, and especially that he was supposed to really enjoy.

Maybe she might give me a really special Memory or what.

And it's not like he could refuse now since, well...

Apparently, Avi had already convinced Cassie and Nephis.

She had whined and pestered until both of them agreed.

And with that, Sunny was left with no choice.

He agreed, too.

Reluctantly.

Quietly hoping this "amusement" didn't kill him before the Dream Realm even had a chance.