ACADEMY OF SURVIVAL

Micheal, Tohira, and Rodè were sharing the same room, though Micheal hadn't realized that Tohira was also staying with them. 

Unable to sleep due to the upcoming Independence Trial, Micheal glanced at Tohira, who was sound asleep.

"Must be nice to have nothing to worry about," Micheal thought, knowing it was obvious that Tohira would likely win tomorrow's trial with his ability.

Micheal sighed softly as his mind wandered, wondering about his own ability and why the slow sight hadn't occurred after the House of Crows trial.

"I'm sure it definitely happened!" he thought, recalling the two individuals he had seen.

"Or maybe it requires some kind of trigger?" Micheal wondered, feeling nervous about the trial tomorrow.

"If so, what could it be?"

Then, it hit him as he traced back to what might have triggered the event before.

"Okay, so Tohira and I were suddenly in danger, and he saved me. Then we crawled until Tohira decided to try out his new move."

Suddenly, it clicked.

"Was it because Tohira was in trouble?" Micheal thought, glancing at Tohira, who was comfortably asleep with his legs sprawled out.

Micheal felt conflicted but believed that the trigger had occurred during that incident. Then another thought struck him as he remembered helping Tohira after the ambush, when Tohira had said he guess he was finally at his limit after using his ability twice.

"It's either that he's unsure about how his ability works properly—like he said, he's trying to explore it during this trial—or he's hiding something," Micheal thought, his gaze fixed on Tohira as he slept.

Micheal sighed in slight frustration, both from his thoughts about Tohira and the upcoming trial. "Which makes me wonder how he was able to use his hand perfectly fine after getting shot."

He glanced at Tohira's bandaged arm, which seemed to have been carefully treated by one of the medics assigned to their team.

"Whatever. That seems like a problem for another time," Micheal thought, refocusing his attention. "Right now, I need to worry about passing tomorrow's trial."

Just then, he saw Rodè walking out of the bathroom without saying a word as he headed to his bed.

"Whatever," Micheal sighed, feeling a sense of unease as he saw a bit of himself in Rodè. "All I need is to make it out of here."

"After all, it's worth breaking out of this cycle," Micheal thought, closing his eyes and slowly forcing himself to sleep, determination building within him.

Meanwhile, Tohira slowly opened his eyes and glanced at Micheal, faintly smiling as he noticed Micheal had been watching him.

"Micheal Walker, huh? I'm quite intrigued by what your ability is!" Tohira's smile widened with excitement, curious about Micheal's abilities.

"Perhaps healing?" Tohira raised his bandaged arm, recalling what the medic had told him—that there was nothing wrong with his arm.

"What?! No, I'm not buying it," Tohira protested to the medic.

"But… you're…" The medic started, but Tohira cut him off with his usual childish behavior.

"You either treat this arm, or I'm never leaving here!" Tohira pouted, crossing his arms. "Besides, this is my hand, and I know what I'm feeling, okay, Mister Medic?" Tohira continued to protest.

"Umm, okay... but I'm just saying—" The medic began, but before he could finish, a cold voice interrupted.

"What's going on here?"

Tohira turned sharply, his gaze cold, as he saw a guard holding a sword.

"Nothing. Just having a chat with my assigned medic!" Tohira responded coldly, forcing a fake smile.

Snapping back from his flashback, Tohira looked at his bandaged arm, then at his wrist.

"It'd be quite a bummer if Micheal doesn't have a destructive power like mine," Tohira mumbled with a sigh.

"Then again, healing isn't so bad after all," he added, turning to his side.

"Anyways, that aside, why did I even dream about him during my short nap?" Tohira thought, pondering the dream he had earlier about someone he knew.

"Seriously, why him? Of all people, why would I even be dreaming about him?" Tohira wondered, still puzzled.

*********** ************ *************

Micheal woke up the next morning, his eyes heavy with exhaustion, as he walked down the hallway to their team room alongside Tohira, who seemed as energetic as ever.

At this point, I feel like I can really relate to him, Micheal thought, glancing at Rodè, who appeared just as exhausted, his face betraying the fact that he hadn't slept at all.

As they entered the room, they were greeted by Takihi on the screen.

"Welcome, looks like the last three joined in on time," Takihi said with a smile.

"Anyway, Team A, so far, you boys are doing pretty decently, still holding a solid spot on the male OGs Chart."

He pulled up a chart showing the rankings of all the participants in the OG project.

Micheal glanced at his own watch, which displayed the same information.

"Not bad, considering the others below me,"

he thought, studying the rankings on the screen.

" I wonder who's currently number one."

The top five were displayed:

1.Carter

2.Brian

3.Enyo

4.Deji

5.Claude

" I see. Just wait until I dog-walk you all to the top," Micheal thought, staring at the screen with determination.

"Thinking the same thing, I see," Tohira said, cutting through Micheal's thoughts.

Micheal turned to look at him, offering a smile in return.

"Does he read minds now?"

Micheal thought, glancing at Tohira, who was nonchalantly looking around.

"You never know," Micheal added to himself.

"Alright, boys. That aside, take a look at your watches. Any number that pops up will be your next location for the Independence Trial," Takihi said, adjusting his glasses as he studied the boys.

Micheal saw the number 10, Tohira saw 5, Gin saw 9, Christopher 16, Bruse saw 3, Rodè saw 13, and Starter saw 1.

"Now, those are your location numbers. Head out and complete the third trial of this project," Takihi said before the screen shut off.

Micheal glanced at Tohira, who was looking back at him.

"What a shame, Micheal," Tohira said teasingly, sticking his tongue out.

"The real shame will be when you don't make it back alive, Tohira," Gin replied playfully with a smile as he walked out.

"I'll say the same to you, Mister Purple Hair," Tohira said, giving Gin a look.

"Well, I hope our team doesn't lose anyone after this trial," Christopher said, tapping Micheal on the shoulder with a smile as he looked at Tohira in front of him.

"The less, the better," Starter's cold voice cut through the conversation as he addressed the team.

"Of course, Mister Individual," Tohira mocked subtly, masking his words with a smile as he turned and walked out behind Gin.

"Don't mind him. We all know Starter by now. All he cares about is being at the top," Bruse said, trying to defuse the tension.

Micheal glanced at Starter, whose presence remained as intimidating as ever. While he knew Starter was aiming for the top, it only made him feel more on edge and less confident.

Just then, Micheal heard a clap beside his ears.

"Alright, time to go, everyone. Good luck," Christopher said.

"He's right," Micheal acknowledged, beginning to follow Christopher.

"Better come back here in one piece, got it?"

Micheal's eyes widened slightly, caught off guard by Tohira's sinister tone, beside his ear which felt more like a warning directed at him.

Micheal faintly smiled, then turned forward, heading out. Tohira was starting to feel a bit bothersome, his presence invading his space.