Part 1
The next day, the summer heat seemed heavier. I spent the morning thinking about the evening before. It wasn't just a coincidence. Yuna... she too had met Onizuke. And she was wearing that same bracelet. It wasn't just my story anymore. Now I could share my story with my friends.
She too had met Onizuke... She too wore this bracelet...
Around 5 p.m., I slipped out of the house. My bag slung over my shoulder, I looked calm, but my heart was pounding as if I were about to go into battle. The bracelet was still on my wrist. It had become natural to carry it with me.
Naël was waiting for me at the start of the path leading to our rendezvous point in the woods. Black shorts, white t-shirt, hands in pockets and floating gaze.
- I almost didn't come," he said without preamble.
- Why didn't you?
- I dunno. It's not that I don't believe you... it's just all a bit fishy. Too suspicious.
I simply nodded. He was right. But at this point, we were no longer making excuses. We were moving on.
Yuna was already waiting for us near the old shack. She had tied back her hair, was wearing a black tank top and sports pants. She looked different from yesterday: focused, almost military.
- You're right on time. That's a good start," she said, pointing to the table beside her.
On it, a half-scratched tactile tablet, loose sheets of paper and a notebook with a weathered cover.
- What's all this?" I asked.
- The notebook is my observation diary. Ever since my first encounter with Onizuki, I've been writing down everything: my feelings, the effects of the bracelet, my hypotheses. The tablet is for filming.
- Filming what?
- If your power manifests itself visually, I want us to be able to analyze it. I don't think that's going to happen, it's just a precaution. This is more of a mystical delusion, Leo. We're going to do some science.
She crouched down, put her hand on the ground and closed her eyes.
- I've figured out something about this mysterious energy. I've named it *Aether*. Aether is a material that has always been there, all around us. The bracelet acts as a catalyst. The rest is up to us... our sensitivity, our mastery of this energy.
She straightened up.
- I, for example, have a range of about five meters. But I feel that if I pushed the intensity further, I could extend my range. It's like a wave that I project around me. I imagine a sonar. Like dolphins.
She closed her eyes again.
- When I do this, I feel the world in relief, even without seeing it. I capture volumes, presences. That's why I close my eyes: to get a better feel. But the further I look, the more blurred it becomes.
Then she turned to me.
- And what about you? Do you remember a specific place in your body where your aether was concentrated, during your fight with Naël?
I frowned, plunging back into that moment.
- My eyes. They were burning me at the end. And my vision was blurry.
- It's true," confirmed Naël. Your look... it wasn't the same.
I took a breath.
- During the fight, I concentrated on his every move. I tried to anticipate everything. I think my... aether, as you call it, was channeled there, in my eyes, to help me analyze and see this shadow superimposed on Nael.
- And your body followed," added Naël. You were faster. More agile. Like you'd turned a corner.
- I feel like that sometimes, even when I'm jogging," I confessed. I feel like I'm floating. Like my body's getting lighter. Maybe I'm releasing aether without realizing it.
Yuna crossed her arms.
- Your power is adaptation. That's clear now. But not just on a physical level. It's deeper than that. Your mind reads the environment. It's a form of instinctive precognition.
I looked at her, surprised by the precision of her analysis.
- If you can channel this consciously, you can improve your perception... And save your aether. Because right now, you're over-consuming. Your brain is firing away in the background, uncontrolled.
She smiles, almost proud.
- But first we'll take care of strengthening your *foresight*. We'll exercise your instinctive precognition later.
- What about you?
- I'm going to work on my energy endurance. I've noticed that my power drains me faster when I extend it too far, and I can't use it for long.
Naël, who had been standing back until then, sighed loudly.
- Well... okay. I'll drop the idea that you're crazy. You're too organized for that. I'll get my boxing gloves. We're going to spar. A real one. We'll see what your power's worth.
I smiled in relief
- Yes, what better way to improve than to fight the best in the club!
We burst out laughing. He raised his hand as if to say "see you later" and disappeared into the woods.
While he was gone, Yuna explained to me how to channel aether. It was simpler than I'd thought. I could already feel something circulating, and I could guide it to my eyes, make it flow, focus my perception.
We moved straight on to an exercise: Yuna held an apple in each hand, arms stretched downwards. I stood opposite her, arms crossed behind my back. My aim: to catch the apples as soon as she let go.
I took a breath. And then... I felt that familiar click.
It wasn't my eyes seeing better. It was deeper. More instinctive. The world wasn't slowing down, it was splitting up and only I could see it.
In front of me, the apples seemed to flicker, as if lined with a gray sheen, slightly ahead of schedule. Yuna's fingers hadn't moved yet, but already I could see a quiver, a trace in suspense. A movement that was about to happen... and that my body sensed even before it began.
I was analyzing, reading.
And when her hands finally opened, my arms unfolded of their own accord. My fingers captured the two apples with a precision that made me dizzy.
Yuna raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
I froze.
The shadow that preceded every gesture, every object, every intention... there it was. A projection of the future on the present.
But as soon as I stopped circulating the aether, it disappeared. Instantly. As if it had never existed.
After several successful attempts, the roles were reversed.
Then it was my turn to help. I positioned myself at the edge of her reach. She closed her eyes, stretched her senses. Five minutes. Six minutes. At seven minutes, she was trembling. A thin trail of blood escaped from her nose.
- Stop!" I shouted.
She opened her eyes, panting, shaking.
- seven minutes. This is my new threshold," she said, smiling faintly. But it's drained me. I'll continue tomorrow. We've got to make progress, but not at the cost of our lives.
She calmly jotted down everything in her notebook. Every word, every detail. She wrote, and our knowledge of these powers grew.
Thirty minutes later, Nael returned. Seeing Yuna with a bloody handkerchief, he froze, looking panicked.
- What's happened?!
someone explained. He didn't ask any questions, just nodded.
- Come on, put on your gloves. Let's see if your power is good for something other than catching apples.
We put on our gloves and shin guards.
The real training was about to begin.
Part 2
- How would you like to spar in three five-minute rounds?
- I'm in. I'm in," I replied, tightening my gloves.
The ground was uneven, strewn with leaves and roots, but it was our ring. We stood face to face, a good distance apart. Yuna took out a small stopwatch and raised her hand.
- Top in 3... 2... 1... Go!
The first round began
Naël attacked first, as fast as ever. He never wasted time on useless dodges. Left hook, right jab. Classic, but precise. I parried the blows by reflex, my legs firmly planted.
I concentrated aether in my eyes.
Before each of his movements, I perceived this gray streak, this reflection in advance. My body reacted a tenth of a second earlier than my thoughts.
A step to the side. Uppercut narrowly avoided. My fist grazed his ribs but he blocked with his forearm.
- Not bad," he murmured between breaths. Are you reading my intentions or what?
I I replied with a smile of concentration. My gaze followed his gestures, but my sensations were elsewhere. It was as if my mind was taking over, reading an invisible score that only I could perceive.
Yuna, outside the circle, was taking notes, attentive.
The end of the round came sooner than expected. Yuna raised her hand.
- Pause. One minute.
We stepped back, panting but excited. Nael tapped me on the shoulder.
- You've made progress, man. You've even surpassed me.
I nodded. I was beginning to understand what my body was capable of anticipating.
- Come on, round 2," declared Yuna. Here we go again.
This time, Naël changed strategy. He adopted a lower guard and feinted more, trying to break my rhythm.
But even his feints had a shadow. A hesitation in the hip, a tension in the shoulder. I could read what was coming next.
I countered a low kick with a circular movement, pivoted and touched his left flank with the back of my glove. Nothing violent, but clean.
- Oh!" exclaimed Naël, laughing. That power gives you crazy reflexes.
He tried a quick sequence: jab, jab, hook, knee. I parried everything, not with ease, but with a new precision. My body settled in advance. No superhuman power. Just... a reading of the future.
I began to feel a slight pressure behind my eyes. I was beginning to have trouble maintaining the energy dose. I breathed deeply, refocusing the energy. I mustn't overdo it.
Yuna frowned as she watched me. She had noticed something.
- End of round!
We parted again. Nael put his hands on his hips, dripping with sweat but smiling.
- I don't recognize you anymore, Leo. It's not just training. You've changed.
- You almost had me too. Your knee, it was well placed.
- "Almost", yeah... but it's not enough.
- Last round. Give it your all," announced Yuna.
This time, Naël went on the attack with a more raw intensity. No holding back. He wanted to force me into a corner.
The fight became tighter. My legs were tiring, my concentration waning. Shadows became blurred, imprecise. I'd drawn too much energy.
A hook grazed my jaw. My head spun. I'd relaxed for a quarter of a second.
- Are you with me, Léo?" shouted Naël.
I came to, stepping back to gain time. Refocus the aether. Breathing. Focus.
The gray figure returned. Weaker, but still there.
I took a blow to the body, then launched a counter-attack. A pivot step, right jab. Naël blocked, but stepped back.
The final seconds arrived in a whirlwind of movement. None of us was out to win. We were looking to surpass ourselves. To understand our limits.
- Stop!" cried Yuna.
We both collapsed on our butts, exhausted. Breathless, our gloves resting on our knees, silence surrounded us for a moment.
The sun filtered through the foliage, and I could feel every beat of my heart echoing in my temples.
- Okay, it's official. I'm in over my head. Said Naël
He shook his fist at me, frank and loyal. I smiled back, drained but serene.
Yuna closed her notebook, standing straight as an arrow, arms crossed, gaze lost in thought. Then she declared:
- The limit of your foresight... is about fifteen minutes. Combined with your precognition, that makes you a user with an immense store of aether.
I looked up at her, intrigued.
- You mean I could last longer?
- Exactly. Your body isn't used to maintaining this state for too long yet, but it'll come. You're already shooting pretty far for someone just starting out.
Nael, still sitting next to me, gave me a little tap on the shoulder.
- I told you. It's not normal to be so reactive. It's more than instinct.
Yuna nodded.
- Okay, from now on, when you're not training at the club, you'll come here to train your precognition. And during the club sessions, you'll work on your foresight.
I blinked in surprise.
- Can we do that? Alternate the two?
- Yes," she asserted. It's by separating them that you'll gain control. We might even be able to double your usage time.
I huffed, half exhausted, excited by the idea. I gathered my strength to sit up.
Nael leapt to his feet and extended his hand towards me.
- You've got a long way to go if you want to beat me three rounds in a row!
I grabbed his hand. Yuna grabbed her notebook and jotted down observations on the fly, her hair sticking to her forehead with sweat.
- We're making progress. Slowly, but surely. she says
We returned later than planned that day. No one spoke much on the way home. But in that silence... there was confidence.
I smiled. I liked that. I liked the idea of pushing my limits. I liked knowing even more that I wasn't doing this alone.
Bonus - Character sheet: Yuna
Full name: Yuna Mizuki
Age: 17
Date of birth: February 17, 2000
Status: High school senior, science major
Physical description :
Height : 1m70
Hair: light brown, long and curly, often tied in a ponytail
Eyes: Dark violet.
Distinctive features: Wears a bracelet similar to Léo's, adorned with similar symbols.
Power: Clairvoyance - Yuna is able to perceive presences around her, even at a distance, with great precision.