Rain kept his chin tucked against his chest, his hands buried deep inside his jacket pockets, and stepped out from behind the water tank.
He didn’t look up. He didn’t lock eyes with anyone. He just glued his vision to the wet, dark gravel near the brick wall and moved with slow, deliberate steps toward the iron handle of the service door.
’Just keep walking, Rain,’
"Hey."
A sharp voice cut through the damp air of the alley. Rain’s heart slammed against his ribs, but he forced his feet to keep dragging forward.
"Hey! Scrawny! Where do you think you’re going?"
Rain stopped, his shoes skidding slightly on the grit. He let out a quiet breath, trying to keep his shoulder muscles from twitching. He turned his head halfway, keeping his gaze angled toward the ground near their designer leather boots.
"Just headed into the lower dorms," Rain said softly, his voice even and calm. "To register."
"Register?" The guy who spoke chuckled, stepping away from the huddled figure on the ground. Rain could see the dark blue guild crest embroidered on his chest, pristine and spotless, completely untouched by the damp grime of the lower wards. "Look at this one, guys. He thinks he’s walking into the dorms."
Another one of the guild kids laughed, tossing an empty silver juice pouch against the wall. "Man, look at those shoes. Are those canvas? I didn’t know they still made shoes out of fabric. Did your mom stitch those together out of old curtains, or did you dig them out of a foundry dump?"
’Great,’ Rain thought, his teeth grinding together in the dark. ’Nepo babies with guild contracts and too much free time.’
"He’s got no guild jacket," the third kid chimed in, leaning against the damp brickwork with his arms crossed. He had clean, styled hair and held an expensive, customized wrist-pad that hummed with a soft blue light. "No contract pin on his collar. Nothing. He just walked off the ceremony dais. He’s not even a student yet, just a scrawny piece of trash."
On the gravel near their feet, the kid who had been taking the beating slowly uncurled his arms. The poor guy had the nerve to open one swollen eye, squinting up through a mess of bloody hair to see why the kicks had suddenly stopped.
The main guild kid didn’t even turn his body. He just casually swung his right arm down in a vicious backhand.
Crack!
The sound tore through the quiet alley like a gunshot. The huddled kid’s head snapped sideways, his body flopping limp against the gravel, totally silent.
Rain’s stomach dropped into a tight knot. ’That wasn’t an ordinary slap. Strength enhancement. Definitely a passive muscle trait.’
"Did I tell you to look up, garbage?" the guild kid muttered, wiping his palm on his pants like he’d touched something slimy. He turned his full attention back to Rain, stepping closer until his expensive leather jacket smelled heavily of synthetic cologne. "So, scrawny. What rank are you?"
Rain kept his hands glued inside his pockets, his fingers white-knuckled around the two plastic cases hidden inside his lining. "I don’t want any trouble. I’m just going inside."
"I didn’t ask if you wanted trouble, I asked what rank you are," the kid said, his voice dropping all friendliness. He raised a heavy hand and shoved Rain hard in the shoulder.
Rain stumbled back two paces, his heels catching on the gravel, but he refused to pull his hands out of his pockets to catch his balance. He just absorbed the push, his boots scraping the dirt.
"What, you hard of hearing?" The second kid stepped up, shoving Rain from the side. "Show us the slip! What did you pull off the dais?"
"I’m just going inside," Rain repeated quietly, stepping back again.
"Oh, he’s hiding it," the leader sneered, stepping right into Rain’s personal space. "Look at him. He’s holding his jacket tight like he’s hiding his yellow slip. What’s the matter? Ashamed of your pathetic little F-rank? Or worse?"
"Leave it alone," Rain muttered, staring straight at the crest on the kid’s chest.
"Make me."
The leader pulled back his fist and buried a sharp, heavy drive straight into Rain’s solar plexus.
The impact felt like a steel beam hitting his midsection. All the air exploded out of Rain’s lungs in a wet choke. His vision flashed white, his knees buckling instantly as he doubled over toward the dirt.
’Shit—’
Before he could pull in a breath, a heavy boot struck the side of his ribs, knocking him sideways onto the hard, cold gravel. Pain flared through his chest like hot wire. Another boot slammed down onto his shoulder, pinning him flat into the mud.
"Look at this idiot!" the second kid laughed, landing a sharp kick straight into Rain’s stomach. "He won’t even take his hands out to guard his head! What are you doing, holding your pants up?"
Rain curled his legs up, his body reacting purely on survival instinct, but his fingers remained locked inside his pockets, clutching the hard plastic edges of the two cases with everything he had. ’Don’t let go. If they see it, it’s over.’
"Why is he holding his jacket so tight?" the leader demanded, kneeling down and grabbing Rain by the collar, dragging his upper body off the gravel. "What do you have in there, huh? What’s so special that you’re taking a beating for it?"
"Get off," Rain choked out, blood tasting hot and metallic on his tongue.
"Yank his hands out!"
The other two boys dropped down, grabbing Rain’s arms. Rain thrashed, twisting his shoulders, but without an active skill or strength trait, he was completely outmatched. The physical difference was absurd. The two guild kids pinned his forearms, gritting their teeth as they forcibly ripped his hands out of his jacket pockets.
Rain’s grip gave out.
The two thick, rectangular plastic utility cases tumbled out of his jacket lining, landing with a loud clatter on the wet gravel between them.
The alley went dead silent.
The leader stared down at the two identical state-issued cases sitting in the dirt. He blinked, his arrogant smirk completely freezing on his face.
"What the..." The second kid leaned in, his eyes wide. "Wait. Are those..."
"Two power discs?" The leader picked them up, turning them over in his hands before staring back down at Rain with genuine shock. "You little twerp. For someone so scrawny, you sure as hell are a criminal!"
"I may know a guy who can move these quiet," the third kid muttered, glancing between the discs and the mouth of the alley. "Pays good too. Nobody has to know where they came from."
"And if it comes back on us?" the second kid asked.
The leader smirked, nudging Rain’s ribs with the toe of his boot. "It won’t. This one’s already carrying two. If anyone asks, he’s the thief. We make it look like he sold it,"
"Give them back," Rain rasped, pushing himself up onto his elbows, his breath coming in ragged, bloody gasps. "Give... give them back."
"Give them back?" The leader burst out laughing, stepping hard on Rain’s left hand, crushing his fingers into the sharp gravel. Rain bit his lip so hard it bled, refusing to give them the satisfaction of a scream. "You’re a thief, scrawny! We’re doing the academy a favor by taking these. In fact, maybe we’ll just hand you over to the guards after we break your legs."
"They’re... not... stolen," Rain gritted out through his teeth, staring up at them with raw, burning hatred.
"Shut up."
The leader kicked him straight in the jaw.
Rain’s head whipped back, slamming hard against the brick wall behind him. A loud ring exploded inside his ears, drowning out the sound of their laughing voices. The alley began to tilt sideways, the gray sky above him spinning into a muddy blur.
Darkness started crawling in from the edges of his eyes. He could feel another boot slamming into his ribs, then another, but the pain was growing distant, muted, like it was happening to someone else entirely.
Rain slumped flat on the wet gravel, his cheek resting in a puddle of stagnant water, his mind slipping fast into the dark.
Above him, the sharp, arrogant voices of the guild kids grew distant and muffled, sounding like they were shouting through heavy wool.
"...somebody’s coming down the alley—"
"Move, move—"
Clatter.
The distinct sound of the two plastic cases hitting the wet stones echoed right beside his ear. One of them clipped his knuckles, a dull, sharp sting that he was barely awake enough to feel.
Rain tried to move his fingers. He wanted to drag himself forward, to hook a nail into the edge of Sen’s case and pull it back. But his arms felt like lead, completely unresponsive and drained of every last ounce of strength.
His vision swam, the gray sky spinning in slow, dizzying circles. Through the ringing in his ears, he could hear the muffled, hurried footsteps of the bullies scrambling away, leaving him bleeding in the dirt.
’Shit...’ Rain thought, a single tear cutting a clean line through the grime and blood on his cheek as his eyelids drooped shut. ’I’m sorry, Sen...’
Silence filled his mind.
Then, deep within the darkness, a cold, mechanical line of white text ignited across the void:
[Initializing...]