Cas learned a bit about the school while listening to Jasper. First, they all have lessons in the morning and training in the afternoon. The training was harsh according to him, but Cas didn’t expect learning anything from it. Jasper never talked about himself too deeply, but Cas never asked anything either.

After lunch, the class went to the gymnasium. They had one teacher and one ex-military soldier to coach the students. They gathered after changing. Jasper seemed to think he was in charge of Cas, so he went to the teachers to introduce him and told them he didn’t bring any spare clothes. Jasper came back to tell him he was exempt of class today.

Cas felt weird. He was the one who had to be closer from his target, but Jasper was doing all the job by himself. Was he that eager to be friend with him? Was this some sort of ploy?

Cas only sat aside on the tribune, watching the kids running around and sweating. When the kids started pairing themselves, Cas met them. Jasper ended up alone, but he didn’t seem bothered by it, so Cas only followed him. They went to a punching bag hung on the ceiling. After warming up and stretching, Jasper started punching the bag. Cas felt depressed. They were flaws everywhere. He couldn’t find one good point in his posture.

“Hey,” he started, not knowing how to say that. “You’re small.”

Jasper stopped his movement and turned to look at him. He seemed hurt by this sentence.

“I know!” he almost shout.

“Then take advantage of it. Being small means being a smaller target. Bend the knees more and open your legs. You’ll be more comfortable, and your punches will be more powerful if you use your hips and legs.”

Jasper looked at him strangely, before trying to move his legs accordingly. He smiled when he saw the bag flying a bit higher after a blow. It was only a question about one or two centimeters, but the small difference seemed to mean everything to Jasper.

Cas also watched the other kids. He didn’t correct their posture, but he looked the little fights they had among themselves. They were a bit pitiful, Cas thought. But the majority never took the lessons seriously. They’re idiots if they think that strength means everything.

Some students didn’t even try to hit their opponent. Cas could see two girls who were talking and laughing without a care for both teachers who were taking turn to help other pairs. Cas sighed, but didn’t say anything. Teaching uninterested kids wasn’t his job.

He continued looking around when he saw the teachers approaching Jasper. Cas frowned, and joined them discreetly to listen.

 “Why did you change your form?” asked the military guy when Jasper took a break.

“Cas told me it would be better, so I tried it!” said Jasper excitingly.

He looked like a kid with stars filling his eyes. The military advisor turned to look where Jasper stopped his eyes and found Cas beside him. He was surprised he didn’t saw him, before recognizing the brat who took off yesterday outside the school.

“Why did you make him change his form?” He asked.

Cas turned his gaze to meet his but didn’t answer. The silence was awkward, so Cas started looking at Jasper punching again.

“Turn your hips more,” he said.

Cas felt a bit desperate when he saw how all the students were weak but couldn’t help to think that it was only their first year of high school. The teachers couldn’t create miracles.

The guy was still watching Cas. The latter turned his head again.

“Which sport do you practice?” the military asked.

Cas hesitated, but he didn’t want to lie. The old guy was amusing.

“Combat sport you mean? All of them.”

The military advisor raised one eyebrow in suspicion. He didn’t seem to believe Cas. So, Cas gave him a proof.

“Your leg,” he started with a low voice to make sure the involved party was the only one who could hear him. “Bullet wound?”.

It wasn’t really a question. Cas was certain about the fact. The limp was nearly imperceptible, but Cas could see it. Cas left to sit on the bench again without missing the chuckle of the big man. His reaction was really interesting, Cas thought. Most would have been angry, but the other guy didn’t seem to mind, it probably wasn’t supposed to be a secret. But Cas quickly forgot all about it when he received a note from his system. A paper appeared abruptly on his knees.

“I sent a video on your computer.”

For the kid to directly send a message, it must be quite urgent.

“The mother left after I found the hacker you wanted. She met someone, but I didn’t get his name. I am sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, buddy.” Cas answered in his mind, unaware if the system could really hear him.

Cas throw a quick look at Jasper who was still immersed in his training before going in the locker room to take out his computer from his bag. He turned it on, plugged in earphones and clicked on the video which just appeared on the screen. It was a sort of meeting in a bar, and the music around was so loud Cas could barely hear what Maria and the man were saying.

“When will you leave him?” he said angrily.

A liaison? Cas thought.

“I can’t leave him until my son have the company in his hands, but it will take more time than I thought it will. Patrick is quite inflexible about it, and he doesn't want to step down right now.” Maria answered.

The video stopped, and before Cas could ask why it was so short, the system explain itself with another note. Cas guessed he didn’t leave the mother side if he talked to him this way.

“The rest wasn’t interesting. Only promises of divorce and small talk.”

Cas hummed.

So, Cas thought. The woman had a lover the husband didn’t know of and planned to elope with him. That much could explain the cold treatment, but Cas didn’t think the husband was aware of the situation he was in. The woman should be pretending to love him if she didn’t want him to find out, no? And she wanted to wait until the son was the president of the company before breaking up, that could explain the haste she showed during the dinner. But Cas couldn’t find how the two things were linked. Why wasting so much time? The child could still inherit the company even if the mother wasn’t here anymore, no? Cas didn’t really know what the mindset of the rich people was. Was this really a necessity or was there something more to dig?

“Kiddo,” Cas called. “Continue to follow the mother, but I’ll also ask something more, can you do it?”

“Yes, sir.” the system answered, then hesitated; three little dots appeared on the screen he used to communicate in the distance. “Can I ask what it has to do with the mission?”

It has to do with the hint Cas received, but the system didn’t want to know about that. And wasn’t the kid programmed to not ask questions?

“They’re variables I can’t control. If I became friends with Jasper and the mother tries to hurt him just because she wants to hurt me, it will be my fault. I’m merely monitoring hinderance.” Cas answered.

He was bullshiting a lot, but he wasn’t that far off the truth. The hint told him that they were perhaps more people in danger he could save, and 452 explained he could have bonuses point if he protected more than just his target. The first people he thought of was his family, and that’s why he looked after them. He didn’t know what he could do with the point he will receive as payment, but he wouldn’t find that out if he didn’t have any. Maybe the family didn’t have anything to do with the people Cas wanted to hunt, but that couldn’t be overlooked either.

He didn’t care about whether the system would believe him or not, because it was the one in the first place which didn’t want to know about the tip Cas got. Cas closed the computer and then left the locker room. He leaned on the wall to watch. He could see the military advisor looking at him with eyes of a fox, as if he was planning to do something funny. Cas wasn’t sure what the old man was expecting from him. Cas found him a bit amusing and let him look. He knew he would probably regret it, but Cas didn’t really care. As long as the guy didn’t threaten him or Jasper, or didn’t make him angry, he could do everything he want.

Cas already found out who among the teachers and the students he saw so far could be the ones who will try to hurt Jasper behind the scenes, and he liked to think that the military advisor wasn’t one of them. If he was trying something, either to Jasper or to him, he wouldn’t be as polite as he was now.

The students were gathered in the middle of the gymnasium, disorganized. They were girls and boys who didn’t pay attention to the teacher at all, they were only laughing aloud as if they were the only one present in the room. The other were listening to the advises and instructions. Other were half sleeping as if it wasn’t really important. Cas could only imagine that the students never confronted a bad situation, but Cas wasn’t interested enough to teach them a life-lesson. He wouldn’t intervene, willing to be a ghost amidst the crowd, the only guy people wouldn’t see or want to talk to.

The military advisor was still looking at him. Cas could still feel his gaze on him. It was new for him, he never really had someone who payed attention to him, at list, not without a sort of purpose, so he couldn’t help but looking back to figure out what he wanted. The old man whispered something in the ear of the teacher in charge of the class. The latter nodded. The military advisor smiled maliciously at Cas.

Cas comes closer, sitting near Jasper. He was at the side of the group, and he distanced himself from the others. Then the teacher said, “We’re going to do some light matches!”

Some students were exciting, while others sighed. The teacher designed the first student, a really big guy, the bigger one of the class.

“He’s the best among us” said Jasper. “He used to be a boxer.”

When the guy stood up, Cas remarked his height. He was taller, he looked sturdier, and more broad-shouldered than the adults. He looked brutal and a bit scary. As soon as he arrived in the ring, Cas could see Jasper shivering. He seemed frightened by the guy who stepped for the fight. Cas didn’t say anything, but he could vaguely imagine what was happening in this class. It wasn’t difficult to figure out, Jasper is alone all the time, he’d never talk to anyone, and the other classmates didn’t bother with him either. That’s probably why he was so eager to talk to the first guy paying attention to him. But Cas didn’t know who was avoiding who. Was it because Jasper did something and chose to stay away or were the others finding him unpleasant to the eye and isolated the rabbit?

At first, Cas wanted to help Jasper make friends and be more confident about himself. Cas wanted to raise the image the other students had about Jasper. Talking to others and him having more self-esteem was the first step but it also seemed to be the hardest thing to achieve.

The teacher asked then Jasper to come forth to be his opponent. Cas saw his target freezing as soon as his name had been called. He also heard some of the whisper from the other students. They were laughing, saying that Jasper didn’t stand a chance and the other guy had already won. Cas wanted to grab their head and pushed their face against the ground, hard. Cas already knew that even if Jasper had his stance corrected, he still didn’t inherit miraculously the skills of a professional martial artist. Jasper couldn’t win right now, because he hadn't train enough. Cas could always try to give him tips, to coach him, but it obviously couldn’t be enough to knock down a guy two heads taller than him. Jasper couldn’t beat him. But without trying to fight, he wouldn’t get any better. Especially if he was as scared as he was right now every time.

When Jasper stood up, Cas casted him a glance as an encouragement, but Jasper only responded with a tight smile. Cas could see the rabbit already believed he would lose. Cas sighed.

They were both on the rings, bare foot and eying each other, one sacredly, the other half-laughing. Both of their attitude irritated Cas, but there was nothing he could do for now, only watching the fight. The teacher gave the start.

The fight didn’t deserve to be called a “fight”. It was purely one-sided. Jasper could only protect himself with his forearm while receiving hit after hit from his opponent. Cas could see why the bigger guy called himself a boxer, he did have some skills. However, in a mixed martial-arts match, only relying on the punches couldn’t get you that far. If he was really the best in this class, it was a disappointment. Cas was hoping being able to fight one of them another time, but now he only felt bullying the weak. But the exciting crowd was only applauding such a scene, asking, begging for more.

The only positive point in this fight was Jasper did have some endurance. After getting hit a few times like that, a lot would give up, but Jasper didn’t. It was stupid. Why didn’t he step out of the fight? More and the kid will really be hurt, if that wasn’t already the case. He was barely standing, but the boxer didn’t let him have a moment to breathe; hitting him and hitting him again. Cas gritted his teeth and got up. His target shouldn’t die under his watch.

The military guy turned his gaze in his direction once he saw movement but didn’t stop the fight. Cas didn’t bother with him, only advancing toward the teacher, stealing his whistle to forcibly put an end to this stupid match.

When the sound spread in the gymnasium, both students stopped, and Jasper almost fell. When his opponent saw it wasn’t the teacher but a fellow student who whistled, he angrily snapped.

“Is the match over?”

The teacher looked at Cas.

“Take it as if I threw in the towel on the ring” Cas said. “If you still want a match, I’ll be his opponent while someone kindly bring Jasper to the infirmary.”

The military advisor looked at Cas with a smile and nodded, giving his approval. The students were quiet, as if Cas just signed his death sentence. What they didn’t know is that Cas was counting all the ways he could use to kill the opponent -- without weapon, but even then, the number he managed to get was high. But Cas had to calm himself. Killing a student in front of the whole class wouldn’t do any good; he could lose the trust he got from the rabbit and he couldn’t finish the mission if he ended up in prison or as a fugitive.

Jasper left the ring, and below his bloody eyebrow, he looked at Cas. Cas frowned while watching how the rabbit was hurt and couldn’t help but wanting to ask if the teacher was really a responsible one or if these kinds of things were truly allowed in this school.

“You shouldn’t have done that, I’m okay,” Jasper whispered. “I’m used to it. Now, you’ll have to suffer the same fate...”

Cas was mad. “Shut up,” he said, before reminding himself that he was his target, he couldn’t kill him, and talking to him as if he was a dog wouldn’t make it easier for him, but he didn’t add an apology. Cas removed his gloves and folded his sleeves. Jasper didn’t leave. He stayed in front of the ring, looking at Cas with a half-angry, half-worried gaze that irritated Cas even more.

“You can take your time to warm up,” the teacher said. “You don’t even have your clothes. Will you be ok?”

“No need.” Cas answer truthfully. “What is allowed?”

“Just fight. I’ll tell you if you can’t do something,” the teacher answered lightly.

Visibly, the teacher didn’t believe Cas could do much against his opponent. Cas was smaller, that was true, but that was all. This body had a history of easily entering street fights and Cas knew he was a bit strong, even if it was only a fraction of the thing, he was able to do with his real body. He was fast too. They were all underestimating him, and Cas just wanted to put the head of the fucking teacher against the wall and watch as his glasses pierced his skin. Cas inhaled, then exhaled.

He removed his boots before checking his pockets, remembering the little knife he put in. He knew he couldn’t let it, but he also couldn’t get it out before the eyes of the students nor the teacher. He couldn’t give it to Jasper, because the rabbit would be scared of him. Instead, he stretched his arm, his hand completely hiding the folding weapon, waiting for the military guy to react. When the latter finally put his hand under Cas’s, Cas let the knife go, forcibly closing the fingers of the other guy on it to hide the other’s view. He hated the contact but it was so faint he could deal with it for a few milliseconds.

“My keys” he lied for the others to hear.

The military guy nodded but didn’t mutter a word.

Then Cas entered the ring.

“What the fuck are you trying to do?” his opponent said. “Playing hero?”

“You seemed to want a punching ball, and I offering myself as such. You should be happy to find someone willing to get hit.” Cas answered. “Now, hit me.”

The teacher whistled.

Cas had to hold back, first because he didn’t want to implode before he could finish his job, and he couldn’t kill a kid right now. He wouldn’t throw the first punch, but he still put his guard up. He didn’t have the more common guard, he knew it. Especially against a boxer. His arms were too far apart, and he didn’t close totally his fists, as if he was holding one dagger in each hand. The other guy seemed to laugh at him, and Cas put down his guard. He didn’t really need it, after all -- why reveal his strengh to foes he would perhaps have to face later? His opponent approached, and because Cas had put both his hands along his body, he seemed to be more confident in himself. Cas easily dodge the first punch, only bending his body to make it look he avoided getting hit by the strand of a hair, but his feet didn’t move. The other guy tried again, adding more strength as if this much could change the outcome, but Cas avoided it. Even when he had to hold back, and even with the constraint he imposed (not moving his legs at all and not opening his eyes), it was already boring. Cas dodged every move without relying on his sight, but even then, there wasn’t any challenge at all. The guy was cocky, arrogant and took pride in the fact he did a bit of box before, but he wasn’t that strong. He probably lost a lot of his previous instincts and became used to rely on the strength he was so proud of to knocked down his opponent, even if they were only high schoolers.

Cas decided to put an end to this stupid joke. While the other guy threw the most pitiful punch he ever had, perhaps because he was tired or angry, Cas reposted. The fist wacked his opponent in the cheek, who fell hard against the ground. Cas waited a bit to make sure the guy wasn’t that fragile and didn’t die on the spot, and when the guy finally moved, he turned to the teacher who just whistled at least three times to stop the fight.

“So now you should stop the match.” Cas said. “Why?”

“Why? Because you almost killed him!” shouted the teacher.

“Oh, I see. And what does he have more than Jasper?”

The teacher, who was walking toward the ring, tumbled.

“What do you mean?” the teacher asked, turning over.

“I mean that, it doesn’t matter how much Jasper got beat up, but this guy took only one punch in the face, and you stop the fight?”

“You…”

“Yes, me. Are you really a teacher? By teacher, I mean someone who care about the security and the integrity about all his students? And when I say all, the loner little rabbit is also included, of course. Isn’t it supposed to be one of the stricter schools of the country? I guess I shouldn’t trust what the flyer said. I wonder how the principal will do once he’ll be aware something like that happened in his school.”

“Are you threatening me? A teacher? Who are you to do such a thing?”

“Yes, I am.” Cas said while putting on his gloves and his boots. “And what are you going to do? The worst thing you could do to me is to get me expelled. Again. I know it, because this is the fifteenth school I went to in two years. Father will give you money and the whole incident will be shot down and nobody will talk about it again. I’ll just hire a lawyer and you’ll lose your job. Do you really want to play with me? You’ll lose.”

Cas didn’t move get the knife back, but the military guy gave him back discreetly while he was still talking.

“How did you do this? Even if you’re good, this guy was a ranked boxer in the country. And you never got hit?” the millitary guy asked.

Cas wasn’t in the mood to play it nice.  Both the teacher and he could stop the match, but none of them intervened. The students were only laughing and laughing, as if the situation didn’t bother them one bit. As if none of it matter. As if all of it was just common occurrence.

His eyes were hurting. Perhaps their color was changing again. Cas had to escape.

 “If that guy was considered good, then I understand why soldiers keep getting shot. All I could see were flaws everywhere, hidden by his overconfidence and his ego. Did you see? I never moved my feet to dodge. I never opened my eyes during the fight. And it took only one punch to KO’ed him. Is that the talent of a ranked boxer? By the way, there won’t be a next time. Resolve your problem yourself, I’m not your goddamn answer.”

The first sentence hurt the guy, Cas saw it but he didn't care, and even if he did he couldn’t stay here any longer, at least not until the pain in his eyes subdued. Cas left the gymnasium, passing between the group of students who were eying him, whispering things that Cas could hear clearly. Of course, he’d be called a monster. Of course. He threw one punch, almost killed a guy, and the guy was supposed to be a big shot in the bowing world. Moreover, his eyes probably became red or amber, because it hurt like hell, and Cas knew he only managed to complicate further the situation instead of resolving it.

He crossed the whole building to get to the stairs. If he didn’t get fresh air soon, he’ll have a new attack. Cas took a few deep breaths while climbing the floors one after the other, stopping only when he reached the rooftop. He jumped above the exit, to arrive on the higher point he could get in this school, and he sat down, grabbing his knees. He was glad the military guy handed back the knife, it made things easier. Cas removed his left glove, grabbing the knife in his other hand, then stabbed his palm, making sure to pass between the bones in his hand, stopping when the blade reached the other side, then pull it off. The blood flooded his skin, and Cas looked as it left wet marks on his black shirt. He stayed put, the knife in his hand, watching the wound and the blood and feeling the hurt and the pain until he felt slightly better.

Before, small cuts were enough. But it didn’t last long. Now, he had to stab himself to obtain the same results. Maybe soon, he would have to burn himself or cut one of his limbs to calm down. His psychiatrist was against mutilation and asked Cas to privilege breathing and relaxation exercises to go through a panic attack, but it never worked, and fuck, Cas was already dead. The hurt and the pain were the only thing that proved he was still a bit human, and Cas feared the day when he wouldn’t feel it anymore.

He was still shivering and breathing hard, but the sky and the blood made it better.