Kaminari lay on the couch, his eyes heavier than they'd ever been.
Glancing over at him, his dad smirked.
"I think it's about time you head to bed, young man."
Kaminari rubbed his eyes.
"I'm not sleepy."
"Come on, let's go."
His mom smiled beside him.
"Listen to your dad, sweetie."
Kaminari pushed himself up from the couch with his hands.
"...Fine..."
"I'll come up to give you a goodnight kiss in just a second."
Kaminari trudged up the stairs, dragging his feet in that way kids do when they don't want to do something but know they have to go along with it.
His eyes were half-open as he walked to his room.
It was pitch black.
Kaminari got on the bed and pulled the covers up to his chin, waiting for his mom to come to the room.
As his eyes were closing on their own, he was woken up.
A scream came from downstairs.
To be exact, it sounded like his mom's.
Without thinking twice, he pushed open the door. At the moment, he didn't think of intruders, or anything of the sort to make him hide.
The corridor seemed to stretch in front of him.
He tried to be as quiet as possible, though, walking to the stairs.
He reached the end of the wall before the stairs.
As he was peeking over it, he saw someone he didn't recognize.
It was an intruder after all.
A man who shone brightly, the golden light lit up the rooms, and he wore an unusual mask to cover his face.
He walked towards the living room from the kitchen, those two were separated by just a narrow corridor.
Kaminari's entire body was shaking.
But he had to see what was happening, for some reason, the man didn't feel like a threat to him. An unusual feeling, but that's how he felt.
Kaminari held his breath, hoping that the man wouldn't notice him when he stepped downstairs.
His dad was known to be powerful... But the attacks he threw had no effect on this person. All his lighting abilities bounced off the man.
Not even physical attacks worked, because his dad got kicked against the wall behind him.
But as the man raised his arm, Kaminari felt a chill run down his spine.
He froze on the spot.
The man paused, still holding his hand in the air.
"How unfortunate for you, kid... Seeing your parents die on a calm night like this."
Kaminari's mom's eyes widened as much as they could. A tear falling out of them.
"Run away, Kaminari! Please..."
The man turned his head toward Kaminari.
"I'm sorry, but this must be done. The death of your parents will lead to peace for humankind."
Kaminari's dad narrowed his eyes.
"Peace? The hell are you talking about?"
The man let out a chuckle.
"Even if you die today... You'll be there for the world of peace. There's no need for me to share the details."
Two needle-like, golden, glowing objects appeared next to the man.
"Close your eyes if you must."
In an instant, they flew out, stabbing the parents.
Blood flew everywhere.
For a moment, the world froze for Kaminari.
The man wiped his mask clean with his hand and stepped near Kaminari.
They shared glances, Kaminari's eyes puffy and red.
As the man walked past, Kaminari stopped him.
"W-who are you...?" His voice quavering, trying not to cry.
He still wasn't able to move, no matter how hard he tried.
"The Watcher." The man said.
"Resent me all you want for now, but once the day of peace comes, you'll be grateful."
Kaminari managed to move his shaky head, so he turned towards the kitchen.
But it was empty.
No sign of The Watcher, and Kaminari was now able to move his body.
He just vanished into thin air.
Kaminari couldn't think about it for long because he rushed outside, without wanting to take another look at his parents.
He wanted help. An adult to save his parents.
The night went by fast, and the sun rose.
He loitered around the streets, with no one wanting to help.
But that's when he bumped into someone.
The man was worried.
"Are you alright, kid?"
Kaminari was almost going to pass out.
"Can you help me, my parents..."
He didn't get to finish his sentence when his eyes closed, and he fell on the ground.
A few days had passed since then.
Kaminari was in a hospital. Lying on the bed, his mind stuck on that day.
The person who saved Kaminari knocked on the door and walked in..
"Hey, how are you doing?"
Kaminari's voice was quiet when he spoke.
"I don't know..."
The man gave him a warm smile.
"It's alright if you're confused. There's no need to rush with the details of the day if you don't feel comfortable talking about it. How about this, you still haven't told me your name."
"Kaminari Indy."
The man nodded, feeling glad that Kaminari was starting to open up.
"Well, Kaminari. I'm sure you'd like to know mine as well, it's..."
"...Kazuhiko Ryoti."
"Kazuhiko... Where are we...? I've wanted to ask for a while now." Kaminari asked while looking out the window, where he could see some towns in the distance and medieval-looking buildings around the hospital.
Kazuhiko also looked out the window.
"We're in the Hideout, the place where Resonants have hidden away from the government."
That same evening, Kaminari spent the night at Kazuhiko's house.
To him, this place was lame. Small TV, no games, and no colors.
Just an average house.
But he didn't complain and fell asleep rather quickly.
And the Hideout became a place where Kaminari would spend the next few years.
When he turned thirteen, Kaminari had already looked into his powers more.
He formed a pact within himself.
He followed, or at least tried to, follow the words Kazuhiko told him.
"In order to awaken your powers, you have to be ready for the challenges you'll face ahead. If you're sure you can handle it, close your eyes and rest your mind. Focus on who you are as a person, and remove any bias you might have. Look inside your heart."
For a while, those words confused Kaminari. But one night, when he decided to try and awaken a pact yet again, he saw himself in front of his eyes.
The other him reached out his hand, and so did Kaminari.
"Thus, the pact has been made, the resolution within your heart is yours to use."
After those words, Kaminari shot open his eyes, sweat dripping down his forehead.
But that's when he could feel the powers within him. An unexplainable feeling to those without powers.
Electricity zapped between his fingers.
And a grin appeared on Kaminari's face.
Days of spending alone in the dorm went by.
Everyone else had parents with them or a home to stay at.
That feeling fueled Kaminari, and he tried every single day.
He did it with one goal in mind. Killing The Watcher, whose name echoed in his mind every day.
He trained alone, at a quiet place, a large tree covered the sun, with wooden targets placed on the ground.
He constantly missed the targets, zapped himself, and got frustrated at his progress.
But a month later, he had already evolved.
Positioning his arm in front of him, electricity shot out, and he hit the target like it was nothing.
"Training hard as usual, I see." Someone said, leaning against the tree behind him.
At a quick glance, he saw that it was Kazuhiko.
"What do you want?" Kaminari asked, trying to shoot at a target again.
Kazuhiko smiled.
"You'll have three people joining you in the dorm."
Kaminari's eyes sparked, and he tried to hide his smile. But he stopped the training and turned to Kazuhiko.
"Really? Who are they?"
"Two brothers, Cedar and Angel, and Dylan, I'm sure you four will get along. You can go and meet them right now."
Kaminari nodded slightly, picking up his backpack.
He made his way through the capital to the dorm.
His mind wandered through multiple thoughts as he went.
Kaminari had no problem meeting new people; in fact, he felt excited and was full of energy.
Maybe it was because he suffered through trauma that his brain tried to distract itself, but Kaminari never wanted to acknowledge it.
He opened the door without thinking twice.
When he did that, one of the people stood right near the door, walking to the couches. He had black hair, with one side falling on his eye, and he wore a black t-shirt with jeans.
"Hey, I'm Kaminari." He said immediately.
The person giggled after being startled.
"What an entrance. I'm Dylan."
The other two, Cedar and Angel, sat on the couches and waved at Kaminari.
"Must've been lonely here, huh?" Angel noted as Kaminari sat near him.
Kaminari shrugged, hiding his real thoughts.
"I guess. Not like I was in here much, I've been outside most of the time."
After chit-chatting for the rest of the evening, getting comfortable with each other, they weren't ready for the fate of Dylan. Especially Kaminari.