The second semester of school brought two major events: the Hoenn City High School Competition and the Toriyama High School Festival. The former was a sports festival that pitted either clubs or representatives from different classes and years against each other. The latter was a sort of celebration at the end of the year. The third years always went full throttle when it came to both. Regardless of the outcomes, they didn't want to leave with any regrets.

  The city competition hosted several events that spanned the entire week. The first four days consisted of club competitions while the final day presented the individual classes. I knew that Makarov Academy would be there and likely outshine all of the other schools since many if not all of their students were metas. With that in mind, I sat down to devise a training regiment for everyone based on what I had learned at Makarov.

  The biggest issues for Denki would probably be seeing what his physical capabilities actually were and helping him hold back enough to not be overt. Rito's ability was tricky to me since I wasn't too sure how to help him improve it: once he focused on an objective, luck would be on his side and make it possible to achieve it. He didn't seem too interested in any of the events, however. Hiro said upfront that he didn't want to participate in any competition which was not necessarily punishable under any rules set forth by the schools.

  In fact, Chika and Kaori wanted to stand on the sides and support our classes and clubs too. If everyone had participated, the competition would likely have lasted for a month. Nina, however, wanted to race, which was fitting for her given her ability. The same issue that I worked out with Denki arose again, only this time, I knew she would be less than willing to listen to what I said. She still insisted on putting up a tough front despite everyone seeing her soft side over the break.

  The first training session was held at the school track two days before the semester started. We had full use of it during the day thanks to our IDs working as key cards for the gates. An hour or so before it started, I did my own training on the track going through the exact program that Nina and Denki would be going through. I wasn't sure which events they would be going to do, but good speed and endurance should come naturally to them. As I ran, I thought back to the previous competitions.

  For the representative competitions, there were usually different types of races, relays, and pseudo-team sports. Sometimes, there would be off-the-wall things like archery, a scavenger hunt, or some type of field event like javelin throwing. Those events were tied up into the mystery event that was announced shortly before the competition. I never understood why it wasn't announced sooner.

  "Hey! Kazuma!" Denki called out pulling me from my thoughts. "You didn't have to go and start without us."

  "Not like I couldn't catch up to you anyway," Nina added in a prideful tone.

  "I can't let the two of you get all the training," I replied. "Besides, I enjoy it."

  The three of us gathered up and went over what they would be doing in the upcoming days. Limited Release was the name of the game we would play. They both seemed to understand how to activate their abilities with seemingly no drawbacks. In a sense, they were already ahead of me when I was in their shoes. The next step would be to control their meta abilities and use them in conjunction with their natural abilities.

  The task was easier said than done when it came to running. Denki could barely activate his ability when it came time to do so despite being naturally good at running. Nina, on the other hand, could barely not activate her ability. Despite her slender build, she wasn't actually athletic. Her speed came entirely from her ability. Trying to separate her from it proved extremely difficult.

  "Look, I get it, okay?" She snapped during a break. "Don't activate my speed, run as fast as I can, don't activate my speed, run as long as I can, don't activate my speed."

  "It will come to you, Nina," I tried to reassure her. "Once you control the activation, the rest of the training is a walk in the park."

  "IF I get it down, you mean. I'm not gifted like you and Denki. I'm horrible at running, at anything physical, really."

  "Neither of us are all that gifted," Denki said somberly as he handed her a bottle of water. "Well, Kazuma maybe, but me? I'm only where I am because of training, and even here I can't activate my ability as easily as you can."

  "Maybe their different personalities are the key," I muttered, thinking it was still in my head.

  "What do you mean?" They asked almost in unison.

  "Huh? Oh. Well, in short, Nina's pride pushes her to be at the pinnacle of every situation she finds herself in while Denki's spirit allows for really any outcome so long as the competition is good. Nina's pride keeps her from doing anything that would inhibit her rising to the top, and Denki's spirit prevents him from creating an imbalance in a competition. If the two of you took a piece of each other's mentalities, you might be able to unlock full control over your abilities."

  The words coming out of my mouth sound absolutely ludicrous, but if it sparks an idea in their heads that leads to them getting this down, I guess the humiliation is worth it.

  "Fighting spirit and love of competition, huh?" Nina said as she looked back to the track.

  She hopped up and walked over to the starting line outside of the circle. She started off with just a walk, then built to a faster pace, switched to a light jog and then a heavier one. Finally, she moved into a run, albeit short. All in all, she made it almost a full lap before she activated her ability. A second later, she was in front of both of us.

  "I did it!" She exclaimed. "Yeah, I won in the end, but I took it slow and focused on the competition instead of winning." She was like a child that had just crashed their bicycle after riding it by themselves for the first time. She leaped in and hugged us both before snapping back to her normal self and turning around. "I guess we still have work to do, then."

  "Yeah, I do," Denki stood and walked over. The fire in his eyes burned like the sun. "Now that I saw her do it, I'm fired up."

  He took his mark and took off. In less than a minute, he had done a lap. His own speed was impressive, but when he activated his ability, he almost became a blur. Nina told me that he was on lap seven when he broke out of his ability and rolled back into the middle after almost crashing trying to slow down. He was out of breath, but the smile on his face told me everything I needed to know.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  With the two of them taking their first steps to Limited Release, I called the end of the training for the day. We walked back, and I started to see the effect of their speed. The growling of their stomachs was nearly loud enough to wake the dead. Nina's was louder, and she knew it. She couldn't look either of us in the eyes, and her face was flushed red. Shortly before the station where we parted ways, there was a small ramen shop. With no debate, we stopped for a meal.

  The next day consisted of me and Denki in the weight room. Like before, our student IDs got us in despite it being the weekend. With him well recovered from the day before, it was time to see how strong his ability could make him. Weight training was really the only way to do that.

  "The plan for today is simple. I'll show you how to do the exercises, and we'll see how far you can take them."

  "Something tells me I should be scared."

  "We'll make it a competition. Besides, with my power, I can pull you out from under any weight that you can't get back up. Deal?"

  "You really know how to make me feel better, buddy," he chuckled.

  This is more for me to know, anyway, since weightlifting was only a special event once in my previous life.

  I walked him through a warm up, and we took a bench for bench press. After showing him the proper form and ensuring he could do it, we started adding weight. The bar itself was twenty kilograms. First five kilograms on each side, then ten. He only did one to two repetitions since it was a raw measurement of strength. His natural ability got shaky just before seventy kilograms, but once he activated his meta ability, he moved one hundred and forty five before we decided to move on.

  "I feel good!" Denki exclaimed. "A little sore, but let's keep going!"

  All I could do was smile in awe as we did the same for squatting. His form was excellent since it was something he often did for martial arts training. Even without his ability, he lifted one hundred kilos with some effort. Once activated, he lifted an extra eighty five before we moved on. Again, he was slightly sore, but still very able.

  Finally, we came to the deadlift. I emphasized time and time again the proper form and safety considerations since it was the most dangerous of the three lifts. I thought that I should have done it sooner, but it was already too late. Before I could call it for the day, Denki had stepped up to the platform and the bar. We slowly worked our way up, and his natural ability gave way just before one hundred kilos. His meta ability, however, doubled it before he decided he was done. He had the biggest smile on his face as we re-racked the weights.

  As I put away the last weight, I saw him posing in the mirror. He had tossed his shirt to the side, and his bulked and chiseled figure glistened with sweat. He moved from pose to pose, sort of going with whatever felt right as best as I could tell. Something bizarre happened the longer he did it, though. A sort of powerful aura filled the room. I turned to start cleaning the equipment when I realized it.

  Why do I hear ominous rock music?

  We left the gym and followed the same routine as the day before. The kind elderly couple that ran the shop welcomed us back, and we enjoyed another warm meal to beat the cold.

  "Man, that really hit the spot again," Denki sighed as we left. "I really hope I'm not too sore tomorrow."

  "Well, you did stretch plenty after you were done putting on a show for yourself in the mirror. You should be fine."

  "Jerk," he laughed as he patted my back.

  We walked and laughed until it was time to go our separate ways. The next day would be the start of the busiest time of our lives so far, well, his at least.

  * * * * *

  "In summary, this semester will be full of trials. Give it your all," Ms Kimura said in an encouraging yet somehow monotone voice.

  Our second semester had begun which meant the sports competition, festival, and finals. We had a couple of months to prepare for the first and another month to prepare for the second and third. The reason for the time was that the sports competition was an event publicized city-wide. The top performing schools received hefty donations and funding for the remaining following year until the next competition. The stakes were high; almost too high for high schoolers.

  During lunch, our group sat together as usual, but the air seemed heavier now with everything going on.

  "Guys, it's really nothing to worry about," I tried comforting them.

  "I don't know, buddy," Denki replied. "It almost feels like cheating, you know?"

  "Yeah, and why are we the ones that have to be the deciding factors for funding?" Rito asked.

  "I get it, but trust me, we won't be the only ones using everything at our disposal," I said almost grimly.

  No one knew about Angelica being the one to kill Kawasaki except for me. Likewise, no one knew the truth about Makarov Academy that would be our biggest obstacle in the competition. Truth be told, their founding less than a decade before was the ultimate reason for the competition. The last couple of years, they made it to the top three and received glamorous donations as a result. Previously, they continued to climb and dominated the competition all three years that I was there. Naturally, their reign was built on the abilities of their meta students.

  During lunch, I went for a walk and came across the postings for the previous semester's rankings. I already knew the top three and generally where everyone in my group stood, but their scores weren't what had my attention.

  Out of curiosity, I look at the third year list. As expected, Yui's name sat proudly in the number one spot. For all her weirdness, she was still the model student after all. As I walked back to class, I stopped suddenly after feeling the same intense stare as before.

  The school, my house, where else am I going to feel this?

  Almost instinctively, I halted time and looked around expecting to see either Yui or Principal Kushida piercing me with their gaze, but I found nothing. Students walked to and fro quickly getting out of the cold. The halls inside were filled with life, but no one stood out.

  This is reaching paranoia levels. That's what I want to say, but Damien said there's a danger close to me. I haven't figured it out, and I'm scared that I won't before it's too late. I can't let my friends get hurt. Why can't I figure this out?!

  "Shit!"

  * * * * *

  The next two months went by almost as a haze. Nina, Denki, and I spent any free time that we had after school and several weekends training for the sports competition. She remained nearly bipolar when it came to my existence. Even he got upset with me during some parts of the training. After each week, however, the two of them put aside their hints of hostility as we went to the ramen shop. We had become sort of regulars, and the elderly couple recognized us every time.

  When the three of us weren't training, I still had tutoring responsibilities to attend to. Chika and Kaori were individually pretty bright students, but together, they somehow became idiots. I did all I could to keep a cool head as I had to repeatedly go over things that in my opinion were simple to grasp. They did have a way of making it up to me, though. Each of them would often bring in homemade snacks for the three of us to enjoy as their brains melted and my blood boiled.

  As if my schedule wasn't full enough, there was still the matter of being the class representative. Thankfully, most of the meetings consisted of the various sports clubs briefly describing their readiness for the competition. As it grew closer, their confidence grew, and other clubs began to pitch their ideas for the school festival. Adding in my own school work and training, any normal student would have been overwhelmed by the workload, but I had adapted too well to almost insurmountable tasks.

  It helped that I could sleep a decent amount, too. I had discovered that my total freezing ability merely slowed when I slept. Slowing by itself was completely released when I went to sleep, however. I had gotten better with short skips forward and more precise jumps back. Where I had started with an hour at the beginning of the year, I could manage three to four hour backward jumps and single hour forward skips. Even with all of this, the weight of it all began to take effect. It all became a blur, and the next thing I knew, it was the day of the Hoenn City Sports Competition.