It can't be possible.

  Makarov Academy never got an application from me. All the same, my acceptance letter was in my hand, and I stood there consumed by fear. The nightmare played again in my head: the first day when we were put through hell to see who would make it, the daily tortuous power training and near brainwashing, the "prestige program" selection, losing my family, the nightmare that awaited me after graduation.

  My heart raced, I started pouring sweat, and I crumbled onto my bed. I stared at the paper in my hand, wrinkled from my death grip, for a long time. I didn't know how much time had passed until I looked up to the clock on my wall. Half past ten in the morning. My door was cracked open, and my mother was frozen in place as she walked in. I didn't even hear her knock. I had activated my power unconsciously. Not much of a surprise, my emotions were still running wild, and I never even fully mastered my power in my previous life.

  I sat on my bed while time stood still around me, still processing my acceptance letter. Since my power activated on its own, my watch was frozen too, so I had no idea how much time it took to calm my emotions down and put me back in control of my power.

  Before I got past it, I put the letter away and sat back on my bed with my letter from Toriyama High. In. Out. In. Out. I kept breathing and pushing everything aside until only the void remained. In. Out. The door opened, and my mother walked into my room.

  "Ah, you already opened them," she started. "I was hoping you would open them with all of us."

  "Yes ma'am," I replied. "One was a new age advertisement for a school abroad, and the other one... well, I'll just bring it down and show you all." I said, folding the letter in my hand.

  "Oh? Only two?" She seemed confused. "I could have sworn I saw three."

  "Oh, the third," I quickly responded. "The third letter was also an advertisement from a different school." I hoped it would be left at that. "This new technique apparently draws a good number of new students, so more schools are using it." I barely believed the words coming out of my own mouth, but I hoped that she would believe them too.

  "Ah, okay then," she said with a smile. She either bought it, or I was in for a rough lecture about lying when I got downstairs.

  She walked out and I joined her with my letter in hand. We got to the living room where father and my sister were waiting for us.

  "Well," my father started. "Give us the news. Which school was smart enough to take you in?"

  "Please, God," my sister clapped her hands and whispered in a voice loud enough to wake the dead. "Please bring him to me."

  "Yui," mother said in a voice that we both knew well that meant punishment was coming if we didn't fix our behavior. My sister let out a soft groan and put her hands down.

  I stood before the three of them and unfolded my letter. "Ishigami Kazuma," I started. "Based on your academic performance, we at Toriyama High School extend our hands to welcome you to our proud institution." I couldn't fight the smile on my face. Getting in was simple enough, but this letter symbolized my breaking free of the iron hand of Eclipse and saving my family.

  My sister jumped from the couch before I even dropped my arms to put the letter away. "Oh Zuzu!" she exclaimed with hearts in her eyes. We collided and fell to the ground in the same position as she always made sure we landed, with me nestled in her chest and arms.

  "I knew God wasn't so cruel as to separate us. Now you can be with your big sister even more."

  I didn't even bother fighting it. My parents stood up and congratulated me before pulling my bro-con of a sister off of me. She looked away in a pout but then made a mischievous smile, and I knew my life would be in a different kind of danger throughout high school this time around.

  "We are very proud of you, Kazuma," my father said.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  "Oh yes," my mother added. "This calls for a special dinner and dessert." She walked off and put her hair into a ponytail to get started.

  We spent the rest of the day helping her make steamed dumplings and a cheesecake to celebrate. My world had hardly ever felt so at peace as it did that night.

  The summer’s first meet up of our friend group was a get together at Denki's house. His mom was out of town for the weekend, so it only seemed natural. I picked up Toshinori on the way, and we stopped for some snacks.

  "I'm kind of nervous," he said after we left the convenience store. "This is my first time going to a friend's house, and it's everyone in the group too. Not that I'm not grateful to you all for having me, it's just that I've mostly been an outsider. Even the couple of friends I had in elementary school really only spent time with me at school. Maybe I'm just overthinking things." He got quiet.

  "I think that everyone is happy to have you around, Toshinori." I started. "Summer time is for making memories with your friends, after all."

  "Thanks, Ishigami," he replied. "I guess I'll be in your care this summer, then." He looked at me and gave a faint smile.

  We arrived at Denki's house to find Rito already there. Denki and his younger brother, Daichi, were already playing video games in the living room.

  "Stop trying to ledge me, you little brat!" Denki raged out for a minute. Daichi was better at the fighter game they were playing, and he often toyed with his older brother.

  "Maybe you should get better at the game, big brother," he said in a flat voice but with a confident smirk.

  Denki growled and continued to get the brakes beaten off of him in game. Rito was on the couch watching intently. He turned and waved us in. Toshinori sat next to him, and they started catching each other up on the books they were reading. Counter to his looks, Rito was an avid book lover. Most any genre was fair game to him as long as it was well written. I went into the kitchen and put away everything we brought.

  More and more memories came back. I had been to Denki's house often throughout junior high, so I knew the layout and the location of most everything like I did in my own house. As I put away the last can of soda, there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see Ino and Hojo holding bags from the bakery they love. I brought them in, and we put everything away again.

  After about half an hour of listening to Denki getting beaten by his brother, Toshinori and Rito discussing the latest high fantasy series, and Ino and Hojo talking about girl stuff, Chika finally decided to show up. I opened the door, and she stood there still half asleep with her hair a mess and her eyes mostly shut.

  "Sorry I'm late," she said, yawning. "I overslept."

  "Chika, it's almost noon," I replied.

  With everyone finally present, we sat around the living room and got ready for the main reason we had gathered. Denki went first and read his acceptance letter to Toriyama High followed by Chika with hers. I read mine off with a smile. Rito and Toshinori read theirs off and high fived each other. It made me happy to see Toshinori mixing so well with our group.

  Ino was next, and just like my previous life, she had been accepted to the all girls academy and was going to attend. She forced a smile, but we all knew she wanted to join us. Hojo also got accepted to the girls academy, but her grandparents wanted her to attend Toriyama High. She was their closest grandchild, and they didn't seem ready to fully let her go yet. That seemed to break Ino even more, and her forced smile faded a bit. I grabbed a can of soda and raised it.

  "To the future and our friendship remaining despite the distance," I toasted.

  Silence and questioning stares.

  "Kazuma," Denki started. "That was super lame, buddy."

  Everyone started laughing, and toasted too. Comedy was never my strong suit, but it won't stop me from trying to help my friends.

  We spent the afternoon playing games and making further plans for the summer. Rito's luck kicked in at the usual worst best time landing him in Ino's chest. She went beet red and slapped him so far that he flew across the room, crashed into Hojo, and ended up staring at her rear. He got hit again and stomped out for a solid couple of minutes.

  Maybe it was me imagining things, but I felt eyes gazing at me throughout the whole afternoon. I would glance around, but everyone not actively talking to me seemed engrossed in their own activities.

  Paranoia. Nothing more, they're safe here. They won't get me or my friends in their clutches ever again.

  When the sun went down, the girls left, but the boys stayed for part two of the party: the sleepover. The festivities included Denki continuously getting stomped by Daichi in their fighter game, Rito and Toshinori talking about books again, and the latest action thriller movie. When we all started to bed down, I knew that I had to bring up the elephant in my head. Right after the lights went out, I started.

  "Hey, guys, there's something I need to tell you."

  They looked at me strangely. "What's up, Kazuma?" Denki asked.

  "This is going to sound crazy, but hear me out... I think the four of us have super powers."