POV: Arthur Kojiro
Awakening me from my sleep was a loud thud, prompting me to open my eyes as a mild headache welcomed me.
Where am I?
As I rubbed my temple in hopes of easing my headache, my memories began to recollect themselves as the images within my mind became more vivid every passing second, inspiring my lips to curl into a grin as I remembered my fight against Rai.
I lost.
I used everything I had and in the end, I still lost.
I knew beforehand that he was strong, but not to this extent.
Despite our strength being relative, I was forced to rely on my instincts in order to perceive his speed and yet, that still wasn't enough.
The only way for me to match his speed is by ignoring the limits of my body with the use of my Aspect, but using that technique is too risky as it leaves me in a crippled state or even worse, I could die and even if I were able to match his speed, his unpredictable movements paired with his real-time adaptability makes him an opponent I can't imagine defeating as of now.
Rising into a sitting position, I began gazing into the night sky as I recalled Wrath shattering one of my treasured swords, bringing a frown to my face as I sighed.
If I'm being honest, I was afraid.
Despite being an unprecedented genius in swordsmanship, I've only been a swordsman for three years.
I may be able to grasp any sword technique, but it's not because I understand it.
I simply can just do it.
Afraid of losing my remaining sword, I chose to fight Rai without it as I knew that if someone as weak as Wrath was able to break the blade of my sword, then Rai would certainly be capable of doing the same if given the opportunity and as much as I hate to admit this…
I'm not sure I could win against him even if I did use a sword.
Exasperated at my own incompetence, I clenched my fist until I calmed myself down with a deep breath as I resolved myself for the future.
This isn't going to cut it.
I need to surpass him.
As I stood from the ground, I wiped off a patch of mud from my face as I noticed my injuries were gone, inspiring me to check my body until I noticed two people in the distance of the facility, prompting me to peer at them as I realized it was none other than Rai and Selene, who were in an interesting position as from my perspective, it seemed as if they were trying to kiss.
Well would you look at that.
"Rai! Are you having fun!?" I asked sarcastically with a shout, waving my hand in the air with a wide grin as I began heading towards them while Selene's face flushed red from embarrassment.
"This isn't what it looks like, Arthur. I can explain." Rai said uncomfortably as Selene quickly removed herself from on top of him and stood up from the ground.
"I'll be on my way now." Selene said anxiously as she paced away, flustered from me catching her on top of Rai, who picked himself up from the ground and adjusted his clothing as I approached him.
As Selene left the facility, Rai matched my gaze with dull eyes as I stifled a laugh, rousing a sigh of vexation from Rai.
"Shut up, Arthur." Rai said irritably as we began heading towards the exit of the facility while I felt my grin widened from the visible annoyance growing within his expression.
"Did I ruin your moment?" I asked teasingly, struggling to hold in my laughter as Rai's irritation only grew.
"There was no moment." Rai replied in a deadpan tone as he tried to hide his annoyance, but I knew that he was close to his breaking point as I was at the limit of restraining my laughter.
"Did you enjoy making out with her?" I asked, provoking Rai's anger as he clenched his jaw.
"We didn't make out!" Rai shouted, nettled from my teasing as I fell onto my back with a burst of laughter, clutching my abdomen as Rai let out a sigh of defeat and extended his hand towards me.
"So childish." Rai remarked as I accepted his hand, allowing him to pull me upwards as we approached the exit of the facility.
"So when did the two of you get so close?" I asked with a wry smile as I bumped his arm with my elbow in order to get an answer out of him.
"I was watching over you from a cliff and when I tried to stand up, the edge collapsed from beneath me and she tried to catch me, but as you can tell, it didn't go as planned." Rai replied as I stopped pestering him and placed my hands inside my pockets.
"You wouldn't know this since you're new, but Selene is known to be cold towards everyone and usually keeps to herself, but who would have thought that she would allow you of all people to be in her presence." I mentioned as we were greeted by a pleasant autumn breeze once we stepped outside the facility.
"Arthur, I'm certain that any girl wouldn't be interested in a guy that they've only known for thirty minutes." Rai replied as I chortled at his response until my stomach growled.
"Hey, let's grab some takeout before we head back." I suggested as Rai glanced towards the top of the evaluation facility before matching my gaze with a smile.
"That's fine with me." Rai replied as the two of us headed towards the food court while conversing on frivolous topics.
POV: Ryan Zephyr
On the ledge of the evaluation facility, I watched Rai and Arthur head towards the food court as I smoked a cigarette, relishing in the crisp airy flow of the night.
Your awareness will never cease to amaze me.
As I exhaled a puff of smoke from my mouth, I began reminiscing about my time raising Rai as a smile crept onto my face.
You've grown up well, Rai.
POV: Rai Shinsei
Jolting me awake was none other than another nightmare as I awoke drenched in cold sweat, causing me to scour the area until I realized I was inside my dorm, rousing a sense of relief within me as I looked to my left to find Arthur, who seemed to be enjoying his slumber as he bore an ear-to-ear smile while cuddling with one of his pillows.
A day has passed since my mission as I noticed it was very early in the morning due to the faint light peeking through the blinds of our dorm, prompting me to check the time on my phone as it was nearly five o'clock.
With barely four hours of sleep, any normal person would choose to go back to bed, but with a horrific nightmare lingering within my mind, I didn't dare as I preferred not to experience hell again, at least not now as I decided to start my day with my usual morning routine.
~
Once I finished washing my face, I felt my stomach rumble as I headed inside our kitchen and opened the refrigerator in hopes of finding something to eat, but to my dismay, it was empty as there wasn't even a speck of dust within it.
Arthur, you've got to be kidding me.
Closing the fridge, I decided to walk towards our pantry in hopes of finding anything as I opened the door to find absolutely nothing, the barren shelves provoking my anger as I nearly lost my composure until I let out a sigh of defeat.
I guess I'll just go to the store.
As I left the kitchen, I headed to my drawer where I began dressing myself in a rather casual outfit, consisting of a black sweater, loose gray joggers and black sneakers as I left my dorm and headed towards the academy's supermarket, which was located near the food court.
The morning was breezy as my hair followed the wind's tune as many cherry blossom petals brushed across my face during my stroll to the supermarket, but as I approached it, I noticed a familiar face as I peered towards them to find out it was Aria, who seemed to be alone as she headed towards the supermarket until she noticed my presence.
What a coincidence.
"Rai?" Aria called out, her voice somewhat muffled as she pulled her burgundy scarf away from her mouth while I approached her.
"I'm surprised you're up this early." Aria said, shivering in the midst as she quickly placed her hand back inside the pocket of her hoodie while I began walking alongside her.
"I didn't sleep well last night, what about yourself?" I asked as we approached the supermarket.
"After our mission yesterday, I was pretty tired and I knocked out, but I guess I overslept because I woke up at night and every since then, I haven't been able to go to sleep." Aria chortled as we entered inside the supermarket, which seemed to have just opened as there was only a single employee within the store.
"Were you also on your way to the supermarket?" Aria asked as I nodded while we headed towards the produce section.
"Originally, I was just going to cook, but I forgot that I'm now living with the manifestation of gluttony itself as our kitchen is void of any food." I replied as Aria giggled at my predicament, but as we approached a batch of vegetables, I noticed that the quality of the produce was awfully high, inspiring me to check some of the fruits as I was surprised to find out that they were handled with extreme care.
How is there not a single bruise on any of these fruits?
"Is there something wrong, Rai?" Aria asked with concern as she placed a large potato into a thin plastic bag.
"No… it's nothing." I replied, skeptical of the produce as I was unable to find a single bruised fruit, which raised many questions within my mind until I wrote them off as paranoia.
~
As an hour passed, Aria finally finished shopping from the supermarket as her indecisiveness was questionable.
Within the span of an entire hour, she bought a few vegetables and a carton of eggs, which should only take at most five minutes and yet, it was an insufferable experience as I watched her pace back and forth throughout the store, unable to decide if she wanted breakfast or lunch as I chose to buy myself the ingredients to make blueberry pancakes.
"You know, I think I actually want lunch now." Aria said as I felt something snap inside of me, but despite her frustrating indecisiveness, I was able to restrain myself as I had a year's worth of experience in dealing with someone who bore the same tendencies as Aria.
"I think you should eat a light breakfast as eating lunch now would upset your stomach since you've pulled an all-nighter." I suggested as we headed towards our dormitory, praying that she would listen as I refused to watch her pace back and forth for another hour over a single item.
"Yeah, you're right. I would prefer not to have a stomach ache anyways." Aria replied with a lighthearted giggle as I sighed with relief.
Thank god.
As we approached the dormitories, I said my goodbyes to Aria, who waved me off with a bright smile, but as my attention was elsewhere, someone accidentally bumped into my shoulder as I shifted my focus onto them.
"Ah, sorry-"
"Know your place, you vermin." The boy said harshly, glaring directly into my eyes as if my mere existence truly disgusted him.
The boy stood around my height with short, yet wavy dyed blonde hair that was parted in the middle as his bangs rested across his forehead.
As for his complexion, it was pale as his eyes were a honey brown hue while he wore a distinctive cross earring on his left ear, which gave him your stereotypical playboy look as the aesthetic of his attire was streetwear.
Following behind him was none other than Jacob and Jordan, who didn't even bother glancing at me as they obediently followed the boy.
"Rai! I accidentally grabbed your blueberries!" Aria shouted ebulliently as she headed towards me while the ill-mannered boy who bumped into my shoulder turned around, but as our eyes locked, I felt an perturbing sensation arise within me as a malicious grin took birth across his face.
Tired, hungry and annoyed, I sighed as I knew that my once peaceful day was soon going to be an unnecessarily long one.
It's too early for this.