(Outdated) The King of Elements

The Mysterious Mr. McManus

Both Megumi and Dre sat outside of the office in silence. The throbbing pain in Dre's arm started to die down; he figured it was probably from anticipating the hell he was certain to face once Dixon stumbled out of the office. He looked over to Megumi, who was looking up at the ceiling, her hands resting behind her head, humming to herself. "You didn't have to do that, you know?"

"What do you mean?" she asked him with a slight grin on her face.

"I mean knocking out Peewee. Twice. And for sticking up for me back there." He lowered his head. "I really appreciate it, but you pretty much condemned yourself on Dixon's list."

Megumi shrugged. "I'm not that worried about it. Someone had to do it, so why not me? What's got you so down, anyway?"

Dre, studying his black boots, began. "Well, I don't know if you noticed or not, but I'm not really the most popular guy in the school. In fact, I'm pretty much the opposite. Everyone expects me to be a football starter like my elder brother, Loyalty, or a MMA fighter like my other big brother, Ian." He clinched his good fist resting on his lap, wishing that he could stop the words from spewing out of his mouth.

"But I'm not like them. I'm an outcast of this school. I'm nothing but a ghost. Heck, my closest friend didn't even want anything to do with me anymore." He glanced up at Megumi for a second, seeing her study him. With a shake of his head, he gave a heavy sigh. Somehow, he felt slightly relieved to finally tell someone about how he felt, someone who'd listen anyway. "Sorry. That all kind of came out on its own. I've just never really had anyone to talk about it with."

"Don't worry about it. To me, it just sounds like you need that one person to inspire you, you know? You're probably more awesome that what you give yourself credit for, especially since you stood up to a bully for someone that you haven't even known for an hour. I can't think of anyone who'd do that, beside my daddy." That lifted Dre's spirits. 

Her smile waned. "Besides, being popular really isn't what it's all cracked up to be. The people that call you 'friend' will feed you to the wolves once things get tough. It makes you wonder if real friends even exists sometimes." She groaned as she stretched her arms upwards. "But, that's life, I guess."

"What do you-" was all Dre could say before the office door swung off of its hinges.

McManus jetted out of the office. His eyes widened with indignation as he saw Dre in such a pathetic way. "Dre? Aw damn, man." He placed a plastic bag beside him as he knelt in front of Dre. "I heard what happened from the coach. Where are you hurt?"

"My arm. I think it's broken." Dre grimaced as he held his arm out to McManus.

Carefully looking over Dre's arm, McManus said, "Nah. Trust me, you'll know if it's broken. You'd be yelling like a little girl if it was broken."

"If you wanted to hear that, then you should've been there when it was happening," Megumi said, resting her chin on her hands.

"I just got beat up in front of my class, but whatever."

"It's just a part of life, man. Now, hold still, and don't tell anyone that I'm doing this." He held his hands over Dre's injured arm and muttered something in a language Dre didn't recognize. He almost jumped out of his seat as water slithered from the palms of McManus's hands, covering his arm. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Maybe he injured more than his arm in the fight. Maybe he'd killed a few brain cells, too. The water gave off a low light as the pain began to soothe itself. Dre watched, bemused as the water retreated back to McManus's hands, releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Opening his eyes, McManus reached into the bag and pulled out a lime-green, spherical fruit. Both Dre and Megumi stared at it, mouth agape. It seemed to give off sparks as McManus held it to Dre. "Eat this. Dixon showed up, and he looks like he's had a few. I've never seen him this drunk, so I'm worried about what he might do."

"Whoa. What is this, a Spirit Bomb?" Megumi asked as she poked at it.

"Everything will be explained later, but he needs to eat it now," he told her.

Dre took the fruit from McManus. It was big enough to fit in the palm of his hand. The skin was soft and squishy, like a spherical over-sized grape. If it was anyone but McManus, then he probably wouldn't trust them. Without taking a second to think, he bit into the side of the fruit. The insides had the juiciness of a Georgian peach and tasted just as sweet with a slightly sour, melon-like aftertaste. In an instant, he felt his strength returning to him. He felt even better than before he did when he ran into Doug and Peewee. "How do you feel?" McManus asked.

"I feel great. My arm doesn't hurt doesn't even hurt anymore," he said as he moved his arm around. Lifting his arm up, Dre winced as pain shot though his shoulder. "Well, it almost doesn't hurt. What is this?" he asked, looking at the fruit.

"You'll learn about it later on. Right now, you need to finish it."

He chowed down the rest of the fruit as Megumi asked, "What is it doing to him?"

"It's replenishing his strength," McManus answered. "Just think of it as a mana potion or something. Just be glad it was all minor injuries, otherwise you'd be screwed."

The bell rang. Within seconds, the foyer was crowded with students, all talking to each other and taking short glances at Dre. He glared back, waiting for someone to make a snide remark so he could pounce on them in his mind. Instead, he heard a light voice call his name from the crowd. Dre's heart ached as he heard her. A tall girl, almost a foot taller than Dre, appeared through the crowd. She wore a green, light jacket over a white spaghetti-strapped shirt. Her hood covered the majority of her hair, with her brow covered by golden-blond bangs. Two furry, blond cat ears peaked from above the top of the hood. There was only one person who would call him by his first name. Kimura Stewart. His former best friend. "Oh, my God. What happened to you?"

"He got into a little tussle with Preston," McManus told her. "But don't you worry about him too much, Miss Kim. He's unharmed for the most part. Ain't that right, Dre?" he asked Dre as he patted his injured shoulder.

A jolt went down his arm. "Ow! That... didn't even hurt," Dre yelped through gritted teeth. He was going to get McManus for that.

She looked towards him, apprehension and regret on her face. Dre glanced at her before looking down at his boots, bereaved. "Oh. Okay. If you say so, Mr. McManus. Bye, Ke'Undre," Kim said with hesitation. She dashed away into the crowd of moving students. 

 He still couldn't believe it. He still couldn't figure out why Kim didn't want anything to do with him, especially considering that he had to fight two students in elementary school for bullying her. She was his closest friend since then, or at least since last year. It hurt seeing her. It hurt hearing her voice. It even hurt hearing her name. 

"Yeah," Dre said under his breath, rubbing his arm.

"Man, she was tall. Who was that?" Megumi asked, breaking Dre away from his slump.

"That was Kim Stewart. One of the top juniors in this school. And she has a thing for old Dre here," he added through a chuckle.

"Tee hee," Dre mumbled. "She does not have a crush on me. She's just nice. Besides, she told me that she doesn't want anything to do with me last year."

"He's just in denial," McManus whispered loud enough for Dre to hear.

The office door creaked open again, only this time Dixon stumbled out, his cheeks rosy with intoxication.

"You. Boy," he growled as he pointed a stubby finger at Dre. "Get in here."

With a frown, Dre stood. Before he could get to the office, McManus stopped him. He placed his hands on his shoulders as he spoke in a low voice. "Listen, man. I need to warn you about something before you go in there. Dixon's been acting strange, and I don't think it's because of the booze. If anything out of the ordinary happens, and I mean anything, run, and let me know." Dre wasn't sure what he meant by that, but since it was coming from McManus, he only gave a curt nod.