Hearing blasphemous after blasphemous statement one after the other, I almost went into shock and the only reason I was still barely conscious was that the mention of dubs being superior to subs—or either way—wasn’t said or the best DBZ fight this “Kenji Sato” guy witnessed was from the MC versus the one named like the woodwind instrument.

In any case, the two half-brothers eventually found their bearings and even though they were still physically able to continue our training, they were mentally and/or even spiritually drained to function as usual.

The chocolate I gave them could only do so much and I doubt they’d wish to plunge into something that put them in that state after taking it in fully or perhaps trying to ready or prepare themselves beforehand.

With that said, the only person I needed to get off my back was Isaac but I need to somehow satisfy him with my answers even if the deal we had about them was skewed in my favor.

“S-So… he’s a fake, huh?”

I shook my head as I chuckled, “Not exactly. You have some of the basics down—and that thrust of yours is somewhat decent—and in the grand scheme of things, it’s just a me problem if I have something to say about white guys with Japanese names teaching a class such as that.”

Isaac scratched the back of his head with a complex expression, “Sounds like you’re trying to avoid getting canceled or something. It’s the end of the world, no? Who gives a fuck nowadays?”

“True. But it still feels weird, right? I spent most of my life with this certain mindset and suddenly, there was this number of years that you have to immediately think and act a certain way—which almost always contradicts as to how I was raised—but yeah, I can understand and agree with some of those points but… Hmm~ Let’s just say I really don’t have a side at this point.

I always go with ‘my’ side.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s like what I’m doing right now. It’s hard to pick a side because good things and bad things come from either corner but if we look at them using both lenses, what’s right and what’s wrong becomes subjective.”

“Umm.. how did we get to this part of the conversation again?”

“…”

“…”

“Pfft… my bad, my bad… It’s the ‘cancel’ thing—”

“Right, right— I started it, sorry…”

“…”

“Anyway, if you don’t have any—”

“Actually, this has been on my mind for a while and I really need you to answer this one honestly… It’s about how you managed to afford rent on Mr. Cuervo’s place for months, I might add, while you have that… umm… ‘starter’ blade on ya.

If you can afford a room for yourself and some ‘entertainment’ on the side without signing up to his family, I assumed you’d have something on your hips that at least have a $1000 price tag.”

“…”

“Isaac?”

“…”

“I’m just saying… People that are loaded tend to buy things for themselves and since you value learning from me that much, having something that could at least put a smile on your face on a daily basis should’ve been a given.”

“…”

He was looking away for a moment but he sighed deeply once he turned back to me because I was staring at him straight in the eyes waiting for a proper answer, “Alright… G-Give me a moment… Fuck… To think you’d think of t-that—”

JP suddenly interjected with a douchey look on his face, “What are you two talking about?”

Isaac almost turned his head violently from the sudden interruption, “Hah?! Didn’t we send you two away?! Follow Seb over there, half of him is already out the goddamn door!”

“You! Don’t think you can do whatever you want here just because he can— Ugh… I’m so fucking tired, I’ll deal with this tomorrow…” JP said with a heavy sigh before turning to me, “Kindly turn off the lights and lock the doors when you two are done here, alright? I’m going to sleep—”

Isaac muttered as JP turned his back, “For someone who respects authority that much, this is a ‘pleasant’ way to talk to your senior, no?”

JP stopped in his tracks as he turned back with a frown, “What did you just say to me?”

Seb called from the double doors, “Baron, we should—”

JP exploded, “SHUT THE FUCK UP! DID I FUCKING TALK TO YOU, PLEB?!”

‘And one of his masks comes out…’

“…”

“…”

“…”

“WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT ME FOR?!”

“I apologize, I’m heading out,” Seb looked down momentarily before giving me a glance and completely walking out the door.

“Cheh, that’s what I thought,” JP scoffed as he watched Seb disappear from view but then he turned back to Isaac with the same expression, “You—”

But I shut shit down before things escalated.

“Jameson Prometheus McArthur IV. Have some fucking common sense. The way things are between you three, by order of seniority, Isaac here’s your senior—and that reminds me, Seb’s your senior too.”

“What?!”

I wore a deadpan expression, “I met this guy first, then Seb, then you. That’s how it works. You might be above them in military standards but you’re the lowest of the bunch. And yeah, don’t fucking run your mouth while your dad’s away because if you haven’t forgotten, we record everything with our cameras here *pointing at the almost invisible lens by one of the straps on my vest*, see?

You don’t wanna see him disappointed in you now, are we?”

“…”

“Also, if your dad hasn’t told you yet, I run a special unit that’s approved by THE president himself, and I dunno about you— but I command more people—military and otherwise—than the cadets who were here for more than they should’ve stayed. In short, without the university right next to ya, I’d probably have more people under my command AND connections where I can call upon favor without issue.”

“…!”

“Furthermore, everyone else in my crew can move on their own—within reason, of course—and I don’t answer to your dad, and my crew doesn’t also. We do our own thing to an extent. But we, as a collective, give each other respect and courtesy anyone should give to another person… your dad included, unlike you.

Trust me, holding on to your title that was probably given to you wouldn’t last long unless you earn it properly.”

“What does that even mean?”

I almost laughed in his face, “That’s… That’s something you should figure out yourself.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

At that moment, JP could only stare at me while he tried to figure out what I just said to him but Isaac and I wouldn’t speak a word until JP walked out those doors. He already interrupted something that could allow me to shed some light on and I wouldn’t allow him a breakthrough or an epiphany after pulling that shit in front of me.

With that said, he eventually turned around and slammed the door behind him but to my surprise, Seb came in from the other entrance wearing an embarrassed expression.

“Can… Can I hang for a bit? S-Seniors?”

“Of course, you can! Come here, junior!” Isaac quickly replied with an idiotic smile on his face.

“T-Thanks…”

“You were snooping, huh? I would’ve kicked your ass if it was any other day but your fucking brother is nuts! What a fucking hypocrite!”

“U-Umm…”

“What are you acting like that for?! You weren’t like this earlier! Bro, I’m right, right?! The vibe’s totally off with when he’s present!” Isaac exclaimed as he turned to me.

I nodded as I positioned myself so I’m facing them at equal proportions, “I noticed that too. Care to elaborate on that?”

Seb scratched the side of his face as he replied, “Can uh… C-Can the senior tell his story first? Isn’t that how it goes? Mine’s a little complicated so—”

Isaac cut him off, “Mine’s complicated too, so—”

And then I cut them off, “Stop with the senior and ‘it’s complicated’ bullshit. I hate pulling rank just to prove a point but that’s the best thing to deal with that kid. I don’t mind being the one in command but we gotta act like bros too, you know?”

Isaac squinted his eyes as he looked at me, “Mm-hmm~”

“What?”

“Well… it’s just funny to hear that while I’m forced to answer everything honestly! Don’t you think so?!”

“Oh~~~ You haven’t heard of a hypocrite, I see—”

“C’mon, bro! Don’t admit to what you’re doing like that while looking like you’d dump my body in acid! I just wanted to know what’s the name of your dojo, okay?! Just answer me that and I’ll tell you everything you wanted to—”

“Dojo…”

“Wut?”

“Dojo.”

“You mean… just… dojo?”

“Dojo…”

“Dojo… Like Dojo-Jojo—”

“D’you want me to smack you in the head?! Can’t you fucking figure out why I don’t wanna tell it to Mr. Kishin-Ryuu-School-of-Martial-Arts-Student?! HMMM?!”

“Ah…”

“Yep…”

“Hmm…”

“Uh-huh…”

“Well, that was anti-climactic… And honestly… I’m a little disappointed— no, underwhelmed…”

“You think?”

“W-Well… You know… I thought—”

“Ours is atop a mountain though…”

“WHAT?! FOR REAL?!”

“A mountain that we own…”

“BRO, STOP KIDDING ME!!!”

I started blabbering after hearing a bit of encouragement and interest after the dojo fiasco, “Our founder and head teacher, who’s also my adoptive grandpa is the one who forged my blades and he’s a 7-foot demon that even I don’t know how old—but yeah, our naming sense sucks so I better stop there—”

“C’MON BRO, I JUST GOT HARD! CONTINUE—”

“And~ I’m definitely putting a stop to this shit after hearing that…”

Seb interjected after a while, “Way to go, senior…”

“DON’T PUT THIS ON ME! YOU FUCKING GOT HARD TOO! WHO WOULDN’T— HEY! BRO! WHY ARE YOU HEADING OUT?! WE JUST STARTED AND— PLEASE!

I’LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING! COME BACK!”

Long story short, it was chaos for several minutes but since we still had plenty of time, I deemed that it was probably fine to head back a little bit later to properly hear their stories. However, compared to how jolly and chaotic the atmosphere was earlier, it just became downright depressing and infuriating once I heard about what happened to these two people before we met.