Riarshi never knew what the inside of a jail cell looked like until the day he woke up in one.

The alcohol in his body had run its course, so the pain that was once numbed now nearly crippled him as he sat himself up and took in his surroundings.

There was nothing but concrete, metal bars, and a sad excuse for a window that showed the slightest sliver of orange sunlight. It took him a few moments to piece everything together and remember what happened before he lost consciousness. It all seemed like a dark blur within his throbbing head.

He and Leon got in a nasty fight, and he had his ass handed to him. Tabito and Hara were both beaten up as well, but Riarshi couldn't remember much after that.

One faint light flickered in the ceiling, thus plunging the depths of this basement holding center into darkness. It was cold, and the cell offered nothing to keep warm.

It suddenly hit him, and hit him hard. He had given in to his powers, all because of a stupid fight. He became drunk off the powers, and lost the only battle that really meant anything to him. Nothing could save him from the despair he currently felt. 

"Long time no see, kid. I knew I'd eventually see you in here," came a slow, deep voice from across the small hallway between the cells.

Dread filled Riarshi as he noticed the pair of blood-red eyes staring at him from the depths of the neighboring cell. "You..."

The alleyway demon cackled at the despair spilling out of Riarshi, though it did not fuel his power. The charms contained by the restraints on his wrists prevented just that. "Surprised to see me again? No pleasantry?" the demon cackled. "Been here since our fight. I guess they're still deciding what to do with me after all this time."

The demon spat with resentment. "Well, I am oh so happy to see you again. I heard the Heroes speaking of why you're here. Big fight broke out. The guy you fought got hurt bad, apparently. Don't worry, they don't know your true nature like I do, but I can piece together what happened."

Riarshi said nothing. He simply pushed himself against the back wall and looked at his feet.

The demon smirked, showing off his rows of sickening sharp teeth. "You gave into it, didn't you? Ah, yes. I can read it in your sorrow. Face it, kid. You're just like me. Your powers and heritage define you. Give in to your hate and sadness. Let it fuel you."

He gestured to the bars of the cell with his chin. "They do not know the truth. They did not place magic-blocking restraints on you. Use your sorrow and break free from here. The bars may stop human magic, but you were cursed with an extra supply," he hissed.

Riarshi stood from the floor, ignoring the pain in his body.

"Yes," the demon seethed, pleased with himself. He lived for causing mayhem. If this young man could lose control, he could escape in the chaos that would soon erupt. "A day has already passed since they dragged your unconscious body in here. No one has come to your rescue, and no one will. Only you can determine what happens from here. Give in, let the darkness shroud over you."

Riarshi stumbled up to the bars and gripped them. His own emotions funnelled into his magic and strengthened his hold.

"Yes, child. Do it. Do it now. Because whether or not you like it, you're-" the demon never finished his sentence. The bindings on his wrists send a painful jolt of electricity up his arms, throwing his body into a spasm that left him groaning on the cold concrete floor.

"That'll shut him up," said the Bronze ranked Hero on duty, placing the button to the cuffs back in his pocket. He walked up to Riarshi's cell and opened the door. "This is him, sir," he said over his shoulder.

"Thank you, Lex," said a faint, familiar voice. Riarshi raised his heavy eyes and dropped to his knees with a sob.

Professor Khohn stood outside his cell, wearing a sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, and a look of sheer and utter disappointment. He stared down at his student through his glasses and ordered him to his feet. "Get up and follow me."

Khohn led him out of the holding center and across the street. The sun was on its descent in the west, so it seemed the demon wasn't lying when he said a day had already passed since the fight.

"Where are we going?" Riarshi mumbled.

"To my office," said Khohn without even turning around. "I already called Hara and Tabito there. We'll be talking about your short future here in the Hero Program."

Riarshi blinked. "What?"

"Depending on what I hear," continued Khohn. "You three may be getting expelled tonight."

***

Riarshi, Tabito, and Hara sat in the short line of plastic chairs outside of Professor Khohn's office. None of them had spoken a word since Riarshi arrived.

Khohn's office was located on the academic building's third floor. White artificial light from the ceiling shined off the freshly waxed tiled floors, casting a slight haze throughout the length of the hallway. It was well after hours, so besides the janitors, they were the only ones in the building. The rhythmic ticking of a hallway clock was the lone sound that cut through the silence that hung between them.

For the first time in twenty minutes, Tabito spoke, a sympathetic expression softening his anxiety stricken features. "Hey guys, don't worry about any of this," he said, hunched over to look at the others, trying his best to sound optimistic. "He can't be serious about expelling us. I bet he lied so we'd come here, rather than ditch and go home."

Riarshi didn't respond. His attention was only focused on his hands - the same hands that grabbed Leon by the throat and crushed him into a concrete wall. All the hard work he put in to denying his demonic side was now worthless, thrown away in seconds like a wad of trash.

If he had avoided everyone and fled from the confrontation alone, those cold floating emotions wouldn't have soaked into his body. If only he ignored everything and let Leon speak the way he did to Tabito and Hara, he wouldn't have attacked Leon.

He felt sick. His own paralyzing self-hate blended terribly with the acidic nausea churning in his stomach.

Another silence fell over the group, but this time, Hara broke it with a snort. Her hands - trembling by her sides - balled into fists, squeezing so tightly they turned sheet white.

"Don't worry? Are you serious, Tabito? How the hell can we not worry about this?" she screeched. "We're minutes away from being expelled, after everything we've put into the last three months. And all you can say is, 'don't worry'?!"

"Hey, it's not a guarantee," Tabito tried to reason, softening his voice to calm Hara down. It didn't work. "If we explain that Riarshi simply retaliated against Leon for the awful things he and Adachi said, there's no way Khohn can expel us..."

"You don't get it, do you?" Hara said hoarsely, "They've already expelled over one thousand people just for failing a single freaking assignment. But now there was an assault off-campus in the middle of a club, and we stupidly jumped in, too. Of course he'll expel us, you idiot!" Her voice grew louder and angrier with each word.

Riarshi continued staring at the floor and gnashed his teeth. It was all his fault. If he didn't let his emotions get the better of him, they wouldn't be here, sitting patiently while on the brink of academic execution. He balled his hands into fists and squeezed until he couldn't squeeze anymore, the tendons in his wrist visible through the skin. He felt his heart pound in his ears.

"It's all your fault..." a faint voice whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.

Riarshi lifted his head. Hara's sapphire eyes, red and puffy, were on the verge of bursting. Behind the pool of tears floating on her lower lids was a deep, unmatched rage begging to rip him apart.

Not knowing what to say, Riarshi's mouth opened and closed, releasing tiny bursts of breath. After a few seconds and attempts, his mouth found the coordination to stammer, "I-I..."

"SHUT UP... JUST SHUT UP! Don't even talk, you stupid... commoner... TRASH!" Hara shrieked, her shrill voice echoing down the empty white-tiled hallway. It died off into the distance. She twisted her head and the unshed tears flung from her eyes.

"Ever since joining this program you've only been a burden to everyone in the class, to me, and to Tabito!"

Tabito snapped his head to the side. His eyes, staring at her, were wide with disbelief. "Hey! Don't say th-"

"Oh, shut up," Hara barked, cutting him off. "You know it's true, Tabito. Don't even try to freaking deny it. Do you know how many times you texted me, complaining you got home late that night because you stayed after helping him train? Do you?! You even thanked me for stepping in and helping the last few weeks so that you could take a break!" Her voice broke and faded.

Tabito sat silently with his mouth agape. His eyes avoided Riarshi's, and he deflated in his chair.

Riarshi's heart sunk deeper in his body than ever before. He could feel the hideous, cold sensation coming again.

He suddenly stood from his seat. He should have run... he should have avoided the situation, escaped from the approaching wall of darkness.

Instead, he turned toward Hara and looked her straight in the eye.

His conscious screamed, commanding him to run from the black pool of negative emotions. But something kept him glued. A blinding rage veiled his vision and took control of his voice. Maybe the demon was right. Maybe he couldn't change who he was. 

"What the hell is your issue with me, Hara?" he roared. "For the last three months you and everyone else in this Program have treated me like absolute shit. I know I'm a stupid commoner, I know I'm a low magic nobody, but that doesn't give you or anyone else a special right to put me down!"

His voice cracked and squealed to match hers. "What the hell did I do to deserve all this hate and discrimination? I've done nothing to you or anyone in this damn Program!"

"You wanna know why? I'll tell you why," she grumbled. Her fists shook viciously in her lap. "You commoners don't understand how good you have it. You all get to live normal, boring lives with no expectations what-so-ever. No one cares if you fail... no one cares if you don't become strong. You can be free from it all!"

Her blue eyes flashed.

"You couldn't even begin to understand the pressures society puts on every high magic user. We're expected to be great... we're expected to become Heroes. A commoner does something great or magnificent, it's a surprise to everyone. They're the underdog. They get all the praise. But when we do something great, something heroic or brave, we get no praise at all... BECAUSE IT'S EXPECTED!" Tears streamed down her crimson flushed face like a rushing river.

"Every day, we face growing, unrealistic expectations. One slip up, and we lose everything. Our work goes to waste. But what happens if you fail, huh? You can mosey on home like nothing happened, ready to try again another day. But If I fail - or any other high magic user fails - we'll get disowned, disregarded, and thrown away like we're worthless. And to see you walk into this Program and try to become one of us... when your stakes aren't shit... MAKES ME HATE YOU!"

A deadly silence hung over the hallway, broken occasionally by Hara's sobs and chokes.

The light from the ceiling cast a long, black shadow across Riarshi's face, hiding his eyes.

She finally said it. This was the reason she treated Riarshi the way she did. It wasn't because he did something wrong. Hell, he hadn't done a damn thing to her to make her feel this way. It was the ridiculous, long-standing system this damned country was built on. And they were another unfortunate pair of its victims.

"So, that's what it's been all along?"

There was no excuse for her attitude. He had no pity for her.

"How good I have it?" Riarshi snarled, his voice deep and bitter cold. "You don't realize how much shit I've been through, Hara. Every - single - day, I wake knowing I'm not good enough for this Program... Hell, for this world. Has anyone ever reminded you time and time again that you don't belong in this world? Have you ever had a Hero claim you should have run from a little girl in need because 'commoners can't play Hero'? Can you even comprehend how shitty that might feel? No... you can't, because you two have had life handed to you on a silver platter. Neither of you need to work for shit because you're gifted with power!

"And even though I've tried my best to become stronger and do the right thing, I'm still not accepted by anyone in this damned country!" He clutched his chest with his hand. The cold bite of darkness snapped where his heart hung behind his breastbone. "You can't understand the thing I'm fighting inside... at all."

His face, already cloaked in a dark shadow, darkened even further. "You're lucky I carried your sloppy drunk ass all the way back to your apartment," he mumbled softly. "I should have just left you at that club for some asshole to grab. Let power deside one's fate, right?"

Hara's tear-filled eyes suddenly burst open wide, and her jaw dropped. "Wait...y-". She cut herself off and shot a glance at Tabito, who silently nodded to confirm.

Riarshi raised his head, ignoring Hara's display of surprise.

"And you..." he spat. His voice was now directed at Tabito, who nearly twitched out of his shoes when he met Riarshi's gaze.

"Khohn told you everything after our spar," Riarshi continued. "You knew everything about the duel and the stakes it would hold. That's why you wanted me to be your partner... because fighting me would have been an easy golden ticket to the Tryout... right?!" he screamed, his nose and forehead wrinkled, creating thick black lines of shadow.

"N-no, Riarshi..." Tabito muttered. His eyes were filled with dread and a hint of remorse. "It wasn't like that at all... I-"

"Shut up, you backstabbing prick," Riarshi snapped. His face screwed up in anger and burned a heated red. "I knew it was too good to be true. A colleague. An equal. Someone stronger than me wanting to be my friend... Bullshit. All bullshit. You used me..."

Tabito opened his mouth, but immediately closed it. He stared at Riarshi with fear in his eyes as though he was a monster.

Because he really was a monster.

Riarshi grit his teeth hard and clenched his fists with all the strength he had. He slammed his bloodshot eyes closed. When he opened them, two blue eyes pierced through the ominous shadow on his face.

What felt like an icy breeze, floating and flying through the hallway, sent a shiver down Tabito and Hara's spine. As quick as these blue eyes shined, they faded to their original hazel. The rapid change was unnoticeable...

Unnoticeable... to everyone besides Riarshi.

Overcome with shock and horrified realization, he gasped and took a step back.

It happened again. The darkness won.

He suddenly felt empty, like his body was a shell for a thick cloud of darkness. For nothing. "I'm sorry, guys," he said gravely. "I'm leaving."

Without another word, and without looking at his friends, Riarshi turned away from them and trotted down the hall. His slow pace promptly turned into an all-out sprint. Out from under the bright ceiling lights, through a set of heavy metals doors, and into the black un-lit stairway.

His footsteps faded into the darkening distance.