Troy: The Demon Knight S2:, Nick Venom [top fiction books of all time txt] 📗

He waved one of them over. The worker, a male teenager, approached their table. The teen had charcoal-black hair, pale skin, and a few scars lingering under his eyes. He looked down, not keeping eye contact with Michael and Addison. He wore the cafe’s outfit of a brown apron with a white tee-shirt, white leather shoes, and blue jeans. 

“W-What would… What would you like t-to order?” He asked, stumbling over himself.

Addison asked for a black coffee while Michael asked for a coffee with several sugars and creams in it. The teen nodded his head, his nametag being exposed, reading “Grian.”

Grian walked away, handing the order out to another employee. 

Michael, meanwhile, went back into the conversation. “I already fought with my parents about having spies on me. I got their word that they won’t send anymore. As for your family’s spies, I can scare them off with Lifebender. Normal weapons can’t stand up to bonded weapons.”

Addison shook her head disapprovingly. “Don’t try to solve this with violence. It’ll make you look worse in my parents’ eyes. We need to focus on making a plan that increases your reputation in their eyes.”

“That’s why we’re in the knight program. If we become knights, our reputation would increase. Your family will finally accept me and vice versa.” Michael added.

Addison nodded. “Well,” She shot him a smirk. “We wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t acted foolishly when you first met my parents.”

Michael stiffened. “You know I didn’t mean for that to happen. I was in my rebellious phase, so I fought against whatever my parents said. It just so happens that your parents were on the receiving end.”

“The receiving end of hell.” Addison smiled. “I can’t believe you ignored them then humiliated them in the span of two dances. You were so dumb.”

Michael smiled. “If I’m so dumb then I wonder what that makes you?” He asked, grinning. Addison scowled at him before looking away from him. She looked out of the nearby window, a few feet from them, and at the crystal refining station. The place was for adventurers to deliver crystals and get them refined into jewelry or fuse them with their gear and weapons. 

However, she didn’t have her eyes on the building but the people standing outside of it. A female trying out a gigantic ring on her finger while her husband(?) was next to her, tearing up at the corner of his eyes. As soon as the ring was on her finger securely, the couple hugged and cried into each other’s shoulder.

Michael turned and noticed the couple, frowning. Why do they have to do that in public? Don’t they have some kind of decency? They’re in public after all. They can do that out of sight, can’t they?

Addison, on the other hand, thought to herself, What a beautiful couple. I hope that can be us in the future. I would love to be able to share a kiss so brazenly without having to worry about our families. What a life it’ll be.

Both heads snapped away from the couple and towards Grian, who approached them with their drinks. He laid their coffees on the table before quickly departing. Michael and Addison stared at Grian for a few seconds, intrigued by the pudgy teen, before looking at each other.

Michael stared deeply into Addison’s emerald eyes, enthralled by them. “I love…”

Addison stared into Michael’s hazel eyes, the faint sunlight making them look brighter than usual. She was absorbed by his eyes, almost moving closer to inspect them further. “I love…”

“You love what?” Mr. Inuzuka asked, appearing out of nowhere. He was dressed in several half-cloaks and cloaks mixed to form a thick abomination of an alternative for clothes. Over his right side was a sheath for his sword, the Demon’s Bite Katana. In his left was a silver coin that was being passed around by his fingers.

“You two, by chance, wouldn’t be confessing your love for one another?” He teased, raising an eyebrow. 

Michael and Addison blushed, looking away from their teacher. “I-I-I-I-I-” They both stumbled over themselves, unable to respond.

Mr. Inuzuka didn’t smile, nodding his head softly. “When a lie remains a lie for too long, it becomes the truth or it kills the people involved.”

Addison tilted her head, staring at Mr. Inuzuka. “What do you mean, sir?”

Mr. Inuzuka shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing much… just a warning I think you both will be fine, but… just in case, be careful of your inabilities. They say the ones with the most aspirations and fewer strengths are the ones cut down first. Keep that in mind.”

Michael stared at Mr. Inuzuka, furrowing his brows. “Do you mean-?”

Mr. Inuzuka turned away from them. “Keep my words in mind for the future. They’ll make more sense then.” He then approached the counter where Grian and another employee waited patiently for his order. “Oh, and don’t slack on your training. You never know when it’ll come in use.” He warned them before ordering tea for himself. 

Michael and Addison stared at each other, both stunned. They didn’t expect to see their teacher out of school, especially at a place where only youths were known to hang out at. And they didn’t expect their teacher to figure out the truth so quickly.

Both teens stared at each other deeply in each other’s eyes. “I love you.” They told each other simultaneously. Their love grew stronger as time passed, but their strength weakened. They spent much of the two months meeting each other, but a day or two on training.

Sooner or later, their lack of training would be apparent - and it will get somebody killed. Mr. Inuzuka knew that, staring at the teens. I did what I could. Now it’s time to return and sleep. I haven’t gotten my daily twenty hours of sleep. He grabbed his tea, leaving the teens in the cafe. As he left, he passed by a man suspiciously pacing idling outside of the cafe, glancing inside.

Mr. Inuzuka grabbed the man’s attention by tapping his sheath. He glared at the man, who noticed that he was a knight, and watched as he ran off. Spies. Spies from their families or... an underground organization? Well, I’ll figure it out soon after my nap.

 

TBC…

Episode Ten "Therapy"

Casper’s friend group had suffered over the last two months. Conner had gone and killed himself, Logan was expelled from the knight program and under strict watch by his parents, and Henry rebelled against him during the practice tournament. The only person left was Oscar, his only true friend.

“Do you think I’m weak, tell me straight up,” Casper told Oscar. Oscar was dressed in an oversized black tee shirt, skinny dark blue jeans, and a dirt-stained white pair of sneakers. He had on a cap with the words “Long Live Leon” on it - it was from a well-known comic series in Great Wolfstein.

Oscar bit the inner part of his cheek, contemplating his choices. Does he tell the truth or lie to Casper and keep his confidence high?

“I… I… I think you are.” He said, facing Casper. They stood on a sidewalk, both teens leaving from Oscar’s house to a nearby park.

Casper nodded, not getting angry. “I think so too.” He noticed a bench not far from them, pointing at it. Oscar turned to look at where Casper was pointing. “Mind if we talk there?”

“Let’s go.” Oscar headed to the bench, sitting down. Casper sat down next to him, both facing each other. Oscar crossed his arms, staring at Casper. “Tell me everything you need to say. Even if you aren’t sure of what you’re saying.”

Casper nodded, dressed in a black jersey, black shorts, and blue sneakers. The jersey was skin-tight, showing off all of his muscles. Unlike Victoria and Troy, he had been training his body, forming the muscles, but never went overboard. He was toned, but not overly muscly.

“I… I don’t know how to face my sister. I’m scared to return.” He muttered. Oscar nodded. “Ever since the attack, I felt… I felt powerless… Insignificant. I couldn’t protect my sister from Merlin and Reid. Even Troy, who I thought was weak, managed to outlast the teacher. He protected not only my sister but me. He protected the entire class as long as he could. How is it that… How is it that he’s stronger than me? I’ve trained all my life because of my parents… Because I wanted to protect my sister, but then Troy swoops in and takes over that position?” He looked up at Oscar, who was still listening to him. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to hate on him, I just feel…”

“Inferior?” Oscar added.

Casper nodded. “Doesn’t help that she pays more attention to Troy than me. Maybe it’s because he’s her younger brother and all, but… I just don’t like it.” He looked away from Oscar, blushing. “I want my sister to be happy, but whenever we talk it always leads to arguments. Did you know Troy almost had a heart attack one of the days I was at your house?”

“What happened?” Oscar asked.

Casper shrugged his shoulders. “No clue, but… she was mad that I wasn’t there to help Troy. She yelled at me for not being there… for her or Troy. I hated it. It honestly feels like my family is slowly breaking apart.”

“How long have you been holding onto this feeling?”

Casper shrugged his shoulders. “No idea. Maybe ever since… Ever since my parent’s death? Since then, I feel like we’ve drifted away, most of it being my fault, though. I don’t react… you know… normally.”

Oscar nodded his head violently. “Believe me, I have the most experience with you and your dishonest feelings.”

Casper playfully slugged him in the shoulder. “Stop playing around.” He shook his head disapprovingly as Oscar chuckled softly to himself. “Well, you are right. I… tend to do confusing things.”

“Like trying to flirt with Amanda?” Oscar teased, smiling.

Casper cracked a smile. “That was stupid of me to do. I probably should’ve stayed in my seat.”

“Well, next time, don’t be peer pressured into doing stuff. Logan was the one with the bright idea to throw you in that situation.”

Casper nodded. “Yeah, I shouldn’t have. That was dumb.”

“Definitely,” Oscar said.

Casper rose from the bench, watching as an expression of confusion sprawled across his face. “Let’s go. It’s going to be late soon. I want to get in some hours of sparring.” Oscar nodded, rising from the bench.

“Then let’s go, they’ll close the park in a few hours,” Oscar said. Casper nodded, both teens leaving the bench and heading towards the park. In the park were several dueling circles available for people. They didn’t have their weapons on them, deciding to rent out wooden swords from the park’s store where they had wooden practice swords, small merchandise items, and other objects ready to be rented or purchased.

They entered one of the few dueling circles in the park, facing each other. They held out their weapons, pointing the tips at each other. They waited for a few seconds before charging forward. They collided, the sounds of the wood pressing against each other echoing from them. Casper pushed in with intense force, overwhelming Oscar. He was pushed back a few feet, his hands gripping the sword tightly. 

Oscar took a few more steps backward,