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John was doing everything to ignore it. It was clear that after their “field trip,” something had changed. They glanced towards him more frequently and John had overheard his own name leave their mouths more than once. He knew they didn’t have any bad intentions, but it still filled him with anxiety to know they were talking about him at all. He’s getting more restless, a trait only amplified by his unamplified ability.
Despite agreeing to go back to practicing the basics, it seems the entire self-defense club is just as restless as he is. Finally someone spoke up, “Hey, so what if you helped us run fights against each other so we can practice sparring?”
John was immediately inclined to just say no. While he doesn’t think it would be bad or dangerous, he’s more than a little aware that things are still tense between himself and the rest of the school. He really doesn’t want to push whatever he’s managed to rebuild. That means the school is out. He could theoretically meet outside the school, but with only part of his ability recovered, he’s not sure he could protect the others, especially if his ability was reduced further.
On the other hand, sparing together would give them more practice in action at both giving and receiving attacks. It might encourage them to work harder in class and a little competition might be fun. Fighting was how he figured out he could kinda access his ability after losing it, so maybe it could be the breakthrough that allows him full recovery.
All in all, he has a lot on his plate, but this doesn’t quite seem like a bad idea. He eventually says, “I’ll think about it.” The entire room seemed to take that as a yes and they all erupted into cheers. Their unison on this led him to wonder just how long they had been planning to ask him.
At the end of the lesson, John was already working through the logistics. With his already busy schedule, he figured they could meet once a week. It would get expensive fast to rent the gym that frequently, so he’d have to find a more run down location, ideally something that is a bit hidden to prevent unwanted ‘visitors,’ but something close enough to civilization that they could get help if they needed. He eventually decided on an abandoned parking lot, one that was small enough that most teens opted to occupy other parking lots, but still big enough to hold their group. Finally, he’d need some first aid. He already wasn’t exactly thrilled about asking Elaine, but after her rant, he decided it just wasn’t worth the energy. He opted to get some basic first aid stuff and hope for the best.
With everything he could think of prepared for, John prepared to announce it to the class.
Announcing it went well. The class was very excited to try out actual sparring outside of the same monotonous moves. John did his best to answer everyone’s questions. No, there would not be any abilities. Yes, it’s probably safe. There were only a few questions that caught him off guard.
“Do Remi, Blyke, and Isen know? Are they okay with this?”
John hesitates before answering.
“It’s not a school sponsored event, so I don’t really think it matters if they know or not.”
John barely gets to recover before he’s interrupted again.
“Are we going to be attacked again? What happens if we are?”
Truthfully, John has no idea. He has real reason to be worried about them attacking, especially with John present, but he’s pretty sure they won’t be an issue. The last time they did anything, it was to kill Sera, not himself, so he isn’t exactly important for their plan. It’s also pretty unlikely that they want to recruit any of the members, because they’re all mid and low tiers. Finally, they probably wouldn’t even use whatever weakens everyone’s abilities because they probably think John is completely without his own.
“I don’t think they’ll be an issue, but I can bring stuff to help us defend ourselves.”
He makes a mental note to bring a couple bats. His answer is accepted and so they set the date. They agree to meet every Saturday in their local abandoned parking lot at 5pm. Bring your own chairs, water, and snacks.