POV: Rai Shinsei
As I followed behind Aria, who hummed a relaxing tune, I struggled to find an answer to whether she was bold or oblivious as the inquisitive stares of several passing female students were beginning to affect me mentally.
I don't know what's going through her mind right now, but I'm certain she's not thinking straight.
Aria, whose beauty rivals that of a goddess, is inviting an ordinary-looking male such as myself into her dorm, not to mention, I'm just a mere peasant while she is a noble, an esteemed one at that.
The difference in our status quo is like night and day.
Even if we were to put our birth status aside, at the end of the day, I'm a male and she's a female.
Surely she has to believe that there's nothing casual about inviting the opposite gender into a private area such as her own dorm of all places, right?
Gazing at her from behind, her carefree humming answered my concerns as my eyes depressed along with my frown.
She's in her own world right now.
"Aria, I appreciate your offer, but I need a new set of clothes as my sweater is nearly drenched in my own blood, not to mention that I would also like to take a shower… preferably in my own dorm, so I'll-"
As I expressed my thoughts, Aria turned around with a menacing glare, silencing my uttering as I swallowed dryly, afraid to speak before her as she stifled a giggle at my apprehension.
"I have an extra hoodie that you can borrow and as for your shower, I'm sure you can wait until I finish healing you, right?" Aria asked with a threatening smile as I sighed, unable to think of a way to escape from her as we eventually arrived outside of her dorm.
Room 24.
Entering inside her dorm, I was befuddled, my mouth agape beneath the covering of my blood-soaked sweater as the floor plan for Aria's dorm was much different than what I expected.
Unlike my own dorm, where I was forced to share a room with Arthur, Aria and Sarah had their own room as the quality of the dorm itself seemed more luxurious and spacious compared to my own, raising many questions within my mind as Aria closed the door behind me.
Is this favoritism?
"What's wrong?" Aria asked as she stepped into her room while I continued to observe the dormitory incredulously.
"It's nothing…" I replied as I was tempted to check out her kitchen until I noticed her signaling me to enter her room, prompting me to step inside as I was met with a furnished, yet, immaculate room that fit the very description of your average teenage girl with the exception of her bed, which was unmade with a few clothes scattered across it as I noticed a small picture of Aria and an old man who I assumed was Joseph, resting meticulously on her desk as it was framed with utmost care.
"Rai, you can take a seat in the chair. I'm going to grab some bandages just in case we need them." Aria said, pulling my attention away as she stepped inside her bathroom while I seated myself, envious once more of Aria's dorm as I recalled a few instances of where I was forced to wait for Arthur to finish his hour-long shower sessions, which to this day, I am still unable to get a grasp on his unusual behavior.
They even have their own bathroom…
With a sigh of dejection, I plopped backwards into her chair and leaned back, closing my eyes to filter out my rumbling stomach as I removed the collar of my sweater from over my nose, allowing the fresh, cool air of Aria's room to soothe my battered and bruised face as her photo with Joseph inspired me to ponder on my future, which was altered the moment I was enrolled into a Hero Academy.
Ten years ago, I made a vow.
A vow to destroy the Hero Association and yet, I'm unable to imagine a future where my ambition is realized.
As Ryan said, in terms of physical strength, I am at my peak and at the cost of refusing to acknowledge my Aspect, my Aspectual Power has diminished.
That fact is undeniable, but overall…
I'm weaker than I was two years ago, despite my built-up body and immense combat experience.
In a world where Aspects reign superior, physical strength doesn't amount to much, let alone hand-to-hand combat.
As of now, I don't stand a chance against an Executive, nonetheless an S-Class hero.
Rejecting my Aspect was a mistake I should have never made, but in the end, it was none other than my own Aspect that indirectly killed Iris, inducing an everlasting trauma that to this day, I'm still unable to overcome.
And here I was trying to act as if I was any better than Sarah.
Frustrated, I chortled as I found my own hypocrisy amusing until I felt a warm, reposeful sensation as the once restless, agonizing pain that coursed through every crevice of my face gradually faded away with every passing second as a gentle golden light was the source of my relief.
Aria?
It was an ethereal experience as this was my first time ever being healed by light.
Relishing in the alleviating sensation, I felt as if I was in my mother's embrace once again, rousing a memory of her that I've long forgotten as my pursuit to fulfill my ambition forbade me from remembering it.
It was a memory of my mother healing me as I was struck with a tenacious cold.
Burning with a fever, I struggled to breathe, making my life miserable until my mother used her Aspect to heal me and as I felt my symptoms vanish, she comforted me within her embrace as my eyes grew heavy and soon, I fell asleep within her arms.
"Rai?" Aria asked, bemused as I opened my eyes, unaware of how much time had passed as the agonizing pain I once felt within my face was now negligible.
"You're crying." Aria added as I felt tears of sadness flowing from my eyes, prompting me to wipe them with the sleeve of my sweater as Aria gazed at me anxiously.
"Are you alright?" Aria inquired as I nodded.
"Yeah… I'm fine." I replied, wincing in anguish in the midst of standing up from the chair as I felt an excruciating sharp pain course through my right forearm, alerting Aria as her eyes widened in concern.
There's no way…
"Are you sure?" Aria questioned skeptically until I assured her with a nod.
"Alright, if you're fine, can you go wash your face so I can apply some bandages?" Aria asked, her suspicion lingering as I nodded before stepping into her bathroom, which was also larger than my own as I let out a dejected sigh and began washing my face carefully with my hands, wary of my right arm as I thoroughly scraped off the patches of dried-up blood with the aid of warm water.
Finishing within a few minutes, I turned off the sink and looked into the frameless square mirror placed on the wall before me, leaning forward as I used my left arm as support while I stared at myself and noticed a few bruises across my face along with a gash, which rested above my left eyebrow as it was nearly healed.
Even though Aria's Aspect has the greatest Healing Factor among all Aspects, it seems her insight into it is fairly low, but it's no surprise because it's rare among all Aspectors to even use the Healing Factor of their own Aspect.
As I finished observing the faint injuries across my face, I tried to push myself back in order to stand straight, but in the moment I did, I inadvertently used my right arm as I felt an excruciating sharp pain course through my right forearm once again, causing a groan to slip out from my mouth as I clicked my teeth in frustration.
I had my doubts earlier, but now I'm certain that one of the bones within my arm is fractured.
It seems I've underestimated Atticus.
With a deep breath to ease the pain, I turned to find Aria standing in the doorway of the bathroom as she blocked my path with a forbidding expression.
Great.
Of course Aria had to notice.
"Aria, I'm grateful that you went out of your way to heal me. I truly am, but-"
"Take it off." Aria deadpanned as her demand left me utterly perplexed.
Huh?
Maybe I misheard her.
"What did you say?" I asked, questioning my own sanity as I smiled nervously.
"I said take off your sweater." Aria ordered sternly as her absurd demand created an awkward silence.
So I didn't mishear her.
"Aria, I'm sure you're tired and your head is elsewhere, but for multiple reasons, I-"
As I uttered, Aria's glare intensified, forcing me to succumb to her wishes as with my left hand alone, I removed my blood-soaked sweater to the best of my ability with a sigh as Aria's eyes widened at the sight of my bare torso, causing me to avert my eyes away as I felt somewhat uncomfortable of having a beautiful girl stare at my body with such intent.
Hah…
I haven't felt this awkward in awhile.
Before I was enrolled into this academy, I went under a strenuous training regiment and amidst my suffering, I gained invaluable experience for combat as the one who trained me in order to fulfill my ambition was none other than my master, Nyx.
She was a gorgeous woman who could seduce any man with a single glance, but despite her alluring beauty, she had a foul mouth as to top it off, she was also a perverted, yet mischievous woman who would tease and harass me at a moment's notice.
Compared to the inappropriate experiences I shared with Nyx, revealing my bare chest to a girl shouldn't have affected me at all and yet, it somehow did.
Whether it was because we were the same age or because I felt an attraction towards Aria, indecent thoughts began to arise within my adolescent mind, breaking apart my poised composure effortlessly as I wanted nothing more than for this unpredictable day to end.