Bryce was eight years old when he found out he had a sync partner. The discovery was very sudden.
After returning home from school one day, his father received a call. The next thing he knew, he was in a hospital, forced to sit through a mature conversation with two other people.
He had heard of Neo Slater before that, but the name had always sounded distant. Unreachable.
Until he could actually reach out.
He was taught how to control the energy flow in his body and channel it alongside the two other people. Yet, the three of them never became close just because they shared a sync partner.
Or maybe the two others became close and simply left him out. Bryce didn't know. He was the youngest. One had been eighteen, the other one ten at the time. There was such a wide age gap between them.
Before he was even allowed to see his sync partner, the researchers had ensured to teach him well.
The first time Bryce saw Neo in person, his heartbeat palpitated. His first thought had been: 'My sync partner is really amazing.'
Bryce was awestruck by a comatose Neo who couldn't even breathe. He was told that he was in such a state because he was a hero who saved everyone's lives, including his own.
Neo was his savior.
Bryce had been too scared to touch him then, afraid that he would break him. The man on the bed was too soft and had a doll-like appearance.
Bryce wanted him all for himself.
But that was impossible. There were others whom he had to share his savior with. He also had to endure watching them fall for his own person.
And he couldn't compare to the others who had more knowledge and experience than him. He always felt overwhelmed by the things the other two could do for his savior.
That was why he wanted to grow up quickly and get Neo to wake up. He wanted to be the first person Neo would see when he woke up. He wanted to be the only one Neo would care about.
Neo should only belong to him.
He had been forcing himself to share his savior with two others. There was no space for any extra person.
•••
Neo received his test results. Surprisingly, his class hadn't changed. He was still S-Class.
There was nothing as relieving as this information for Neo. Professor Topaz told him that even though his results read S-Class, he should try his best not to slack off so that his class wouldn't lower consequentially.
That was a given, considering the fact that he was never a slacker when it came to performing his duties and responsibilities as a Hunter.
Before Neo was given a clear way to leave Veritas, Armin wanted to speak with him.
So they took the lift to the highest floor in the entire building which was said to be Armin's office.
"Is Senior alright? Your skin is pale," Bryce said with concern, pushing back Neo's front hair to touch his forehead.
The sudden touch made Neo stagger as he tried to avoid it. But the contact was inevitable. The skin on Bryce's palm ran hot, heating up Neo's skin.
"I'm fine," Neo had to slap Bryce's hand away. "Don't touch me randomly."
"I was only worried about Senior," Bryce tried to explain himself, but Neo had already looked away, walking fast to catch up with Armin who was already far ahead in front of them.
The inside of Armin's office gave off a completely familiar feeling. It was as though Neo was back in his youth at the Training Institute, about to meet with his superior to be assigned a new mission.
The office held traces of the man's pheromones which were tingling at Neo's skin and making his stomach churn.
"I got this for you." Armin pointed at a wide oval table before settling on a chair behind it.
Neo looked at the surface of the table. Armin had gotten him a terminal.
"All the necessary contact lines are in there." Armin casually said as Neo picked up the terminal.
"Thank you." Neo looked at Armin with sincere eyes.
"Your admission letter to Gomas will be sent to you later in the day. I've already filled out the necessary forms for you. Bryce will tell you every other thing you need to know about the process."
Neo nodded. Internally, he was wondering why Armin was speaking to him like he was a child with no awareness of the world.
"As for living arrangements, it's up to you to decide if you'd want a shared room with Bryce at the academy–"
"No." Neo didn't even let Armin finish before refusing.
Bryce, who was standing by his side, came closer and whined. "Why doesn't Senior want to be in a room with me? Why are you leaving me?"
"Stop that." Neo glared at him.
Bryce felt like he was unjustly shunned, so he put on a sad pout.
"... I'll arrange separate rooms." Armin said.
"Mn."
Armin went over more unimportant things with Neo. And the latter felt like the unnecessary questioning and lecture would never stop until it actually did.
Neo was the happiest to leave Veritas after his first encounter with it. On the way back to Bryce's house, Bryce was in a sad mood. He still hadn't accepted the fact that soon he would be parted from his savior.
In his heart, he was even starting to regret helping Neo with the process of attending Gomas. But he didn't mention it out loud.
When they reached the house, Neo was in a better mood than when he left. He went straight to his room to freshen up and relax.
And now that he had a terminal, he could entertain himself instead of having Bryce to entertain him—which he wasn't even fond of.
The first thing he decided to do was check the 'necessary contact lines' that Armin had graciously saved for him on the terminal.
He saw his family's contact info in there. As well as Bryce's and Armin's. There was only one contact line he didn't recognize.
Who was Helios Callum?