The three remaining members of Team Watabe charged forward; Watabe pointed behind him at Ume and made a simple hand motion. Without a word, Ume broke off from Watabe and Kenji, and with a wave of her hand, large roots began to grow in the wake of her footsteps. Zac threw Akiko’s blade to the ground as he eyed this phenomenon carefully. Watabe wouldn’t allow him to study Ume any further as an electrified dagger flew in Zac's direction. If this was a little while ago, Zac would have slapped the dagger away or even caught it. That was off the table now.

  “He disabled the Electro Beads; there’s no guarantee that he won’t be able to do the same to the Nano-Armor. He’s learning fast.” Zac thought.

  Kenji waved his hand, and the dodged dagger returned to attack Zac, who dodged again. This was odd, Watabe should be able to control the dagger relatively well on his own, at least for this much. Granted that Kenji could increase the momentum and force behind it, it made more sense for Kenji to focus on his own attacks.

  “Unless Watabe’s prepping something.” It was then that Zac noticed that the other daggers that Watabe had were nowhere to be seen.

  Zac burned more blood as the eyes of his mask began to glow. Those eyes scanned the area and picked up on large amounts of energy gathering behind Watabe. Zac looked beneath him before quickly jumping to the side as a giant root exploded out of the ground.

  “Dammit!” Zac exclaimed. as

  Those roots were not after him. They quickly wrapped around Genkei and Akiko and dragged them towards Ume, who waved at Zac before pointing in Watabe’s direction. Zac saw that Watabe’s daggers had all gathered in front of him. The daggers poured electricity into a single point and fired a giant bolt of lightning. Zac landed and burned more of his blood extending his hands out in front of him. A wall of bioenergy was formed to block the incoming lightning. The lightning curved around the shield at Kenji's whims and crashed down on Zac from behind.

  The point of impact exploded with electricity as Zac’s body flopped over on the ground. Watabe scoffed and then threw a dagger toward his left. Zac dodged out of the way, but the dagger nicked his cloak. Zac was revealed as his cloak’s functions were disabled by Watabe. The Zac that was “struck" was revealed to be a hologram.

  “How did he track me?” Zac wondered.

  Program: Ion could track the natural electricity produced by the human body, but Watabe was not on that level yet. There was no way that he was tracking the signal of his cloak either.

  “It’s the Beads!” Zac deduced, and he dug into his back pocket.

  “Dammit!” Zac cursed as he threw out the electro beads from his pocket.

  “Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!” Watabe spoke sarcastically as the thrown beads stopped mid-air and floated towards him. If Zac was even a few moments later, Watabe would have activated those beads against Zac’s will, and taken him out before he knew what happened.

  Zac started to laugh as he saw the scene in front of him.

  “Stall,” Watabe called out to Kenji, who nodded and charged forward.

  At the same time, roots came out of the ground and wrapped around Watabe. The roots borrowed into the ground disappeared from the battlefield.

  “What the hell are they thinking?” Zac spoke out loud to himself.

  “You should be more concerned about me!” Kenji shouted out as he closed the gap between him and Zac. As two pistols appeared in his hand.

  “Is that so?” Zac smirked as his Armor produced a single pistol and a single dagger.

  Kenji pointed his left gun forward and pulled the trigger; Zac used his dagger to parry the gun to the side to avoid the shoot. While bringing his gun to Kenji's forehead. Kenji tapped the side of the barrel with his right gun and slightly tilted his head to avoid the bioenergy that streaked by his face. With a fluid motion, that same gun then pointed at Zac’s face. Before Kenji could pull the trigger, Zac's dagger came to slice Kenji’s wrist. Kenji jerked his hand up, leaning backward to avoid the slash. Simultaneously he brought up his free hand to fire another shot.

  In the skybox, Devin looked down at Zac and Kenji's furious assault on each other. It was like watching a dangerous and elegant dance. One wrong move could result in an instant defeat for the other.

  “Did you also teach him that armed fighting style?” Devin asked Franky.

  “The kid was like a sponge, you showed him something once, and he instantly remembered it,” Franky responded.

  “But you knew he’d be fighting Zac today. Why teach him that?” Helena asked.

  “It’s what I’m best at. Besides, I said Kenji remembered it, not that he understood it. Who better to help him understand?” Franky shrugged his shoulders.

  “You’re no better than Zac when using people,” Hachiman grumbled.

  “Well, I learned from the best.” Franky chuckled.

  “Looks like he got him. He lasted longer than I thought.” Devin smiled as everyone turned their attention back to the fight.

  Zac’s dagger slit Kenji’s wrist, forcing him to drop his gun. Sweeping Kenji off his feet, Zac pointed his gun at Kenji’s chest and pulled the trigger. Kenji’s free hand reached out in front of him, causing the bioenergy shot to veer off course, striking his shoulder. Kenji fell to the ground looking up at Zac.

  “You learned that style from Franky?”

  “Yeah?” Kenji responded.

  “No, it’s more like you copied it; you don’t understand what you’re doing. You’re just going through the motions.” Zac corrected Kenji.

  “You have a Program that controls the momentum of anything in motion, but at the moment, you need to use your hands to influence the motion. So why use two pistols? You’d be better off with one until you can influence such things with just a thought.” Zac spoke.

  This was a fighting style that Zac had developed, and he had taught it to Franky. While Zac liked to use a dagger with a pistol, Franky preferred two pistols. With Kenji's ability, it made no sense to use two pistols as he was now.

  “Why are you helping me?” Kenji asked as he got to his feet

  He knew he could feel the same bestial aggression coming from Zac, that he himself was emitting. Ever since he got these Nano-Machines, everytime he looked at Zac, he saw something he needed to conquer to overcome. He didn’t know why or where these emotions were coming from, maybe it was a deep seeded sense of inferiority.

  They were both Taboo Children, but Zac seemed to be better than him in every way, save for one. Kenji could use a Program, so this was his chance to prove his superiority. This was also the change for Zac to maintain his own. He had done a fine job of that till this point. So why instead of establishing his dominance, why was he trying to help him?

  “I’m an Instructor. My job is to instruct.” Zac shrugged his shoulders.

  Kenji raised his eyebrow in disbelief; he hadn’t really been teaching anyone anything, at least not in Kenji’s eyes.

  “Don’t look so surprised. The others get their asses kicked and pick on their weakness as they go; there’s no real reason to directly tell them anything. You are different. Everything comes so easy for you. So easy that you don’t actually know how to learn.” Zac chided.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Kenji’s eyes widened as he looked at Zac’s masked face. To this point, Kenji just observed and copied what he saw, he had been doing so until the moment this fight started. Zac was right; he hadn’t learned anything; he just mimicked.

  “Imitation is the highest form of flattery, but it has limits. Because imitations are rarely more than cheaper versions of the original.” Zac spoke to Kenji, who closed his eyes.

  He had similar thoughts, but had not acted on them. It wasn’t that he didn’t have time. He copied things almost instantly, there was plenty of time to study what he copied and make it his own. He kept thinking there would be time later, but because of Zac’s words he realized he was becoming more content with just being a mis-mash of copies.

  He let out a sigh and then picked up his pistols. One then faded into his body as he assumed a tactical shooting stance. Zac smiled under his mask as he looked at Kenji. He knew his time in the Nano-Armor was limited, but his job was to teach the kids not to win, and the one that needed the most help was standing right in front of him.

  The two of them resumed the ballet of gunplay. Their graceful moments unbecoming of the clunky and inelegant weapons that they wielded. With each passing second, Kenji became more attuned with HIS style. The rate of his growth was unnerving for everyone who looked on. Kenji paid them no mind, he was too lost in himself. He could feel himself becoming more skillful by the moment, and it was intoxicating. Every move Zac countered he saw why and immediately corrected his flaw.

  “If I can copy and improve other’s abilities, what’s stopping me from doing the same with my own?” Kenji smiled with glee. However, that feeling of intoxication would not last much longer.

  “Shit!” Kenji cursed as he pulled his trigger.

  Zac knocked Kenji’s gun off course. Zac pulled with his left hand, and Kenji felt a sharp pain spread across his abdomen and face. He looked up to see a dagger guided by a green light in the air above him. Zac had dropped his dagger at Kenji’s feet at some point during their dance. Before Kenji could figure out what was happening, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulders and legs. Zac had rattled off four shots within that lapse of concentration.

  “Better,” Zac said in a pleased voice.

  “Argh!” Kenji groaned as he fell onto his back.

  “But there’s still something missing.” Zac told Kenji.

  “What do you mean?” Kenji asked, confused.

  “What you can do is ridiculous, unfair really. You are by far the most impressive individual I’ve ever seen, from a pure physical standpoint. In a sense, your vessel is perfect, but empty. I can feel your desire to get better to get stronger, but there’s no purpose, no drive to it.”

  Kenji looked at Zac confused.

  “Let me ask you kid. What is the purpose of you getting stronger?” Zac asked as he squatted next to the down Kenji.

  “To be better than!...You…” Kenji almost blurted out “my father”, but didn’t want to give the satisfaction to someone who wasn’t even here. Zac could pick up on that and asked with a smirk,

  “Why? Why do you need to be better than ‘me’? I told you before, we don’t owe the world anything. But knowing the answer to that question. You owe yourself at least that much.”

  Kenji laid there in stunned silence as he thought. He wanted to be stronger than his father, so he wouldn’t end up like him. Thinking about everything he knew, his father didn’t want to be out of his life, he was just too weak to stay in it. He couldn’t protect him and his mother by being by their side, so he had to abandon them.

  Kenji never wanted to be put in such a situation, that in order to protect the ones he cared about he would have to leave them. He didn’t want it, and wouldn’t allow it, not when he had all this power now at his fingertips. He clenched his fist as Zac smiled brightly at him.

  “It seems you found your answer. Good. Keep that in mind when you do anything moving forward. Make sure everything you do is in service to that purpose.” Zac stood up while dusting off his clothing. Kenji felt the corners of his mouth rise into a smile. Hearing Zac compliment him for the first time felt good.

  “It should be about time you guys finished, right?” Zac then looked at the area 10 meters to the left of their location. At that moment, a large bundle of roots emerged, and 4 individuals walked out. Watabe, Ume, and the revived Genkei and Akiko. While Zac had been using the Electro Beads to overload the Nano-machines, Watabe got the idea to use the Electro Beads to supercharge them without overloading them. This allowed the Nano-machine to increase Akiko’s and Genkei’s recovery speed.

  “How long have you known?” Ume asked with a smile.

  “The moment Watabe took control of the Electro Beads. Not like I could do anything to stop it once you guys went underground. I would have retreated if this was a life or death situation.” Zac shrugged.

  Ume began to giggle as she looked at her nonchalant sensei. Genkei placed his hand on Kenji’s shoulder. Kenji felt an abundance of energy flowing through his body, and his wounds instantly healed. Kenji got onto his feet and looked over at Watabe, who nodded his head,

  “Good work Kenji.” Watabe said.

  “You say that, but I feel like he just let this happen.” Kenji felt a bit defeated, but was renewed with purpose.

  “There’s no use trying to compare ourselves to a freak of nature. Focus up!” Watabe smacked Kenji on the back.

  Kenji nodded his head in understanding. Watabe looked over at Zac and then asked.

  “You asked us not to die on you. But I feel like you're still holding back.”

  “You are correct,” Zac confirmed.

  “Why?” Ume asked.

  “Under normal circumstances, I could go at you fully with the intent to kill and still avoid killing you. However, this Nano-Armor is new and a prototype. There’s the risk of malfunctions, me exerting more strength than needed, and me underestimating the output.” Zac explained.

  “We’d like to ask that you go all out then,” Watabe said sternly.

  “Is that what you all want?” Zac asked as he looked at the rest of the Team.

  They all looked at each other and then nodded their heads in agreement. Zac then looked up at the skybox.

  “Do it.” Devin’s mellow voice echoed through the training grounds.

  “Well, if the Boss says it’s OK, then I guess there’s no point in thinking about it.” Zac sighed. He then looked down at his hands and then over at the group of 5.

  “Lucky for you, I have 6 minutes of use remaining in this thing. I’ll give you 3 minutes to prepare. If you can survive 3 minutes, consider it your win.” Zac then took a seat where he was standing, and his mask unfurled to reveal his face, which was visibly tired.

  Watabe turned to face his Team and then let out a sigh,

  “Sorry for being so willful. But it’s imperative to see what he’s like in a fight to the death.”

  “He might actually kill us,” Kenji spoke up.

  He wasn’t exactly sure why but when he looked at Zac, he felt a chill. Zac was staring directly at them without saying a word.

  “Kenji’s right. Look at him; he is prepping as much as we are.” Akiko said.

  “Good, we need this. Genkei come with me.” Ume said as she motioned for Genkei to follow her.

  Once they were a reasonable distance away from the others, large roots sprouted out of the ground. They began to beat Genkei across the chest. The blows from those roots could shred concrete, but looking at Genkei, it seemed he was having a delightful massage. Ume was not holding back; she wanted him to store as much Kinetic energy as possible. In her mind, Genkei was the key to their survival. He was a tank, and from what he did to Kenji just now, he could heal others with his stored energy.

  “I’ll be getting ready as well,” Akiko spoke as she ran over to pick up her Katana. She then sat down in a lotus position and held her blade out with her eyes closed. Immediately Plasma surrounded the edge of the Katana. Watabe saw the others getting ready and turned his attention towards Kenji, who seemed to be in a staring contest with Zac again.

  “Kenji!” Watabe shouted out his name.

  “Ah, yeah?” Kenji responded.

  “Do you need to do something to prepare?”

  “No, I just… I just need to think.” Kenji looked down at the pistol in his hand.

  “Alright.” Watabe didn’t ask further and sat down.

  He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, all the Electro Beads he had disabled in the area sparked and floated towards him. Kenji had to back away as he looked at Watabe in shock. Countless little beads were orbiting around Watabe like tiny stars. Each of them started to spark back to life with each passing second. Watabe closed his eyes again as he thoroughly studied the Electro Beads. Kenji looked at Zac to measure his response, but he was unreadable.

  “Team Leader,” Kenji called out.

  Watabe opened his eyes to see Kenji standing just outside of his cluster of Electro Beads.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Can I have some of your Electro Beads?” Kenji asked.

  “Are you trying to copy me?” Watabe asked.

  “No, I have an idea,” Kenji said with a smile.

  “Take as many as you need,” Watabe said with a larger smile.

  Kenji held out his hand and absorbed only ten of the Electro Beads. Watabe looked on in confusion for a moment until Kenji reformed the beads using Full Arsenal and began to fiddle with them. Watabe smirked along with Ume, who was watching from afar. Once Ume had found out what Kenji was capable of, she almost became disgusted with his actions up to this point.

  He was content with letting others mold him rather than using that endless potential to mold himself. Kenji was content to be a mishmash of cheap imitations. Rather than use everything he had to become something impossible. It was because he had no drive; he simply wanted to be. Talent only got you so far. Without desire, without passion, all the talent in the world was meaningless. However, she now saw the look in his eyes as he stared at those Electro beads in his palm. They were filled with determination and purpose. Now his possibilities were truly limitless.

  “Good.” Ume mused.