Purpose.

Valerie sat on the sand and faced the calm, turquoise ocean. After seeing what she had, she needed to do some serious thinking. That… fight, if you could even call it that, had been eye opening.

Valerie knew she stood above others in terms of physical prowess. It wasn’t up for debate, it was a fact. Not only was her Gift powerful, but under the tutelage of her dad, she’d worked to hone it further. He was probably the only person in the world who could beat her at any sport, but there was no doubt in her mind it was only a matter of time before she surpassed him, too, perhaps in four or five years. It was fun at first, learning about the different techniques and strategies of a sport and mastering them before moving on to the next one. But by the time she was 15, there was nothing new to learn. She could compete with and win against older people, and now at 18 years old, she could beat professional-level athletes. If money and fame were what she wanted, she’d be set for life, but that wasn’t it. Valerie deeply missed the feeling of learning something new, to know that there were others better than her and to work her ass off trying to reach and surpass that level. She had mastered everything from team sports like football, basketball and volleyball to solo sports like tennis, track and swimming. However, the scene just before made her realize one thing. She’d never given combat sports a try.

Angela was one of the Gifted, much like herself. She had a great physical condition, almost challenging her in the fitness test and winning in raw strength. But that wasn’t where her true abilities laid. The way she moved back there wasn’t about training or control, but pure, raw instinct. She dodged the wooden sword by no more than a centimeter knowing full well it wasn’t gonna hit.

Valerie suddenly found herself trembling. What would happen if her skills clashed against Angela’s instincts? If she was being honest, the thought frightened her. It didn’t take a genius to know the American girl was holding back her strength. But that was exactly what made the idea exciting as well. Valerie had never encountered a wall that felt as big as Angela. She wanted this. She wanted to fight her. It made her wonder if this was how it felt for those who were into **** sports, getting addicted to the adrenaline and seeking greater and greater risks. Those never did it for her, as she never got said sense of risk. But this…

“Valerie? What are you doing here?” a voice from behind startled her, waking her up from her thoughts to the point she just noticed it was starting to get dark. She looked behind and saw Leonardo there, up next to the road. He was on a bike and was looking at her with curious, deep brown eyes. He was wearing a tight-fit black t-shirt and grey sweatpants with a few stains on them, yet that plus his muscles and messy hair gave him a certain kind of aura she couldn’t pinpoint.

“Me? Why are you here?” she asked hastily, suddenly embarrassed for an unknown reason.

He pointed to a nearby building next to the beach. “That’s a fishery. I work there Tuesdays and Thursdays after school,” he answered.

“O-Oh.” That explained the stains and the rugged look.

“I’m actually glad I found you. You disappeared after the fight.”

“Well, I’m free to go where I want, no?”

“I guess, but…” Leonardo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he gave her a tired look. “Isn’t it boring being on your own?”

“Sure, but it’s not like I can talk to anyone,” she answered with a groan.

“You can talk to me,” he said. “And you did ask me to teach you Japanese, right?”

“R-Right…”

“Come on, let’s go home. I’m gonna make dinner after I take a shower. We can study after that.”

The word ‘dinner’ suddenly made Valerie very aware that it was getting late and she hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. “Okay…”

Leonardo got off his bike and started walking beside her with it to his left. As they walked, Valerie found herself glancing his way more than once, and doing so made her remember something important. He… He had done IT with Mrs. Wisler’s daughter last night, hadn’t he? A-And… He and Angela seemed to be in good terms, too. W-W-Were they…? What a question. Of course they were! She wasn’t stupid and Mrs. Wisler had been very explicit on what was going on. W-Would she have to… do it too? Shit, why was she suddenly thinking about it and why was it so damn embarrassing!? It was a normal thing, r-right!? It was a thing people did, so why did thinking about it make her face all hot!? She had far more important things to worry about! She needed to start learning martial arts to fight Angela! She couldn’t be wasting time and mental energy worrying about s-s-s-s-s-s-s-se…

“By the way,” Leonardo’s sudden voice made her jolt. She hoped he hadn’t noticed, but didn’t know WHY she hoped for it. “Are you okay with the food I make? I’ve been learning to make Japanese food because… well, we’re in Japan, but I get that it has a different flavor to most western stuff.”

“…It’s really weird,” she answered. “But I think I like it. Honestly, I don’t get what that woman… what was her name? Mrs. Wisler’s daughter?”

Leonardo’s face soured for a moment before he answered. “Lucia?”

“Yeah, her. She was complaining about it yesterday, right? Sounded like a picky bitch to me. The lunch you made today was good, too. I thought the rabbit-shaped apple was neat.” W-Wait! Why did she say that!? He’d totally think she was childish for that! But… hadn’t he made them like that in the first place? And why did she even care what he thought of her!?

She could’ve sworn she caught his cheeks reddening as he chuckled, but it must’ve been a trick from the sun setting or something. But even so…

“Thanks,” he told her with a sheepish grin. “It actually means a lot. If you have any requests, though, feel free to ask. We’re having hamburger steak today at Kaede’s request. Took me a while to convince her it was okay to ask, so I’m hoping I won’t have to spend 15 minutes convincing you, too.”

Valerie’s found her heart was throbbing faster than it should’ve, and for the life of her she couldn’t get why. “…You’re from Chile, right? How about something from there?” she asked, unable to come up with anything at the moment.

“Hmm. We don’t have many signature dishes over there, but… Ugh, thinking about it made me start craving empanadas. Thanks a lot,” he groaned.

“What’s stopping you from making them?”

“Nothing, but there’s something about eating them when it’s not September that’s just… Nah, never mind. I wish we had a mud oven to make them, though.”

They talked about trivial topics like those all the way home. It felt good to finally have a proper conversation with someone in this place, though she had troubles admitting it for some reason.