POV: Sarah Iyasu
~ Minutes prior ~
Heading towards my dormitory, I pondered on my future restlessly as I questioned if taking a leave of absence was the correct decision until I remembered Rai's words, which brought rise to a mix of disconcerting emotions.
"I truly hope that one day, you'll overcome your trauma and begin taking the path of a hero more seriously as I want to believe that behind the mask you wear, lies a kind girl who genuinely cares for those around her."
As annoying as it may be, he's right.
During the mission, I'll admit that I was scared, but what I really feared was the difference in power between myself and the Seven Sins.
The oppressing power that forces the weak to obey the strong's every command.
It truly terrifies me as in junior high, I was a victim of severe bullying as every day pushed me closer to the edge until Aria came into my life, but as time passed, I became arrogant as Aria's presence allowed me to hide my insecurities and at some point, I started to become a much colder person and began treating those around me like shit, despite them being innocent.
For years, I've been projecting my trauma onto others because I'm too weak to overcome it myself and whenever I'm confronted about it, I choose to run away...
But no more.
I'm not doing this for Rai's sake, but for my own.
Starting today, I'm going to strive to become a better person as the sole reason I dreamed of becoming a hero was to save as many people as I can.
Arriving outside of my dorm, I opened my door to find two pairs of shoes placed by the entrance as one of them was Aria's black loafers she typically wore as a part of her school uniform, but as for the other pair, they were black sneakers belonging to a male as the size of the shoes confirmed my suspicion.
Aria of all people, invited a guy over?
There's no way… right?
My curiosity reaching an all time high, I approached Aria's room as the door was halfway opened, but to my incredulity, I was speechless as upon my arrival, the shoes belonged to none other than Rai, who was partly dressed with his shirt off, revealing a well-defined body that seemed as if it was in peak condition, bearing many scars across it as Aria, who was in the midst of removing her hoodie, wore a revealing white tank top as I even noticed a few of her clothes scattered across her bed.
Rai?!
What is he doing here and why are they getting undressed?!
For at least a minute, the room was filled with silence until the awkward tension was broken by none other than Aria, who was unable to utter a coherent sentence as her face flushed red while Rai was somehow able to remain calm, despite the hectic situation currently unfolding as I raised my trembling arm and pointed towards Aria.
"W-Were y-you two about to-"
"SARAH, IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE—I PROMISE!" Aria cried out, flustered beyond belief as she flailed her arms anxiously, stammering amidst her panic as Rai grabbed the hoodie from Aria and placed it over his chest, measuring it within his mind as he sighed.
"It's a long story, but in short, Aria and I met each other at the academy's supermarket this morning, out of coincidence. After shopping together, a boy named Atticus attacked me and once I lost to him, Aria refused to let me go to the infirmary and decided to heal me within her dorm." Rai explained as he handed the hoodie back to Aria, who quickly threw it back on as she slowly regained her composure.
"I see… then can you explain why your shirt is off?" I asked as I felt my cheeks grow warm from staring at Rai's torso, which seemed irresistible as I felt a strange attraction towards it, despite my initial disdain I once had towards him.
There's no way other boy's bodies look like that, right?
"Atticus broke my right arm and in order for Aria to heal it, I had to take off my sweater, which is now in the wash because it was drenched in my blood, although…"
"It seems that I'll have to wait for my sweater to finish washing since Aria doesn't have anything I can wear as of now." Rai replied as Aria chortled sheepishly, prompting her to scratch her cheek.
"If you need something to wear, I can just lend you one of my hoodies." I offered as Rai's eyebrows furrowed with interest.
"Are you sure one of them would fit me?" Rai asked as I nodded, opening my duffle bag of clothes as I searched for one of my hoodies.
I originally packed for my leave of absence, but I decided that I won't run away anymore.
I'll have to inform the Headmaster about my decision later on.
As I found one of my oversized hoodies, which was a black hoodie with a small print of an olive green rose, I handed it to Rai as he tried it on and to his surprise, it fit him decently as his sturdy frame was more visible due to my hoodie being slightly smaller than his actual size, inspiring Aria to give Rai her opinion on his appearance while I remained silent, drifting away into my thoughts.
You know…
I despised you when we first met as you were the only one who confronted me for the way I acted, which even I can concur that at the time, my attitude was certainly unreasonable and childish, but the way you spoke to me was as if you knew me, which irritated me the most.
I thought you were just another contemptuous student who lived a perfect life, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
After seeing your scarred body, your actions were immediately justified as you seemed to have suffered through far worse than anything I could possibly imagine, so I want to apologize for judging you and although I don't have the courage to tell you any of this personally...
Thank you for saving me, Rai.
"I'll give you two some alone time to flirt. I'll be in my room, Aria." I teased with a wry smile as a crimson tide surged into her cheeks while I picked up my duffle bag of clothes from the floor.
"Sarah!" Aria cried out as her flustered state amused me.
"Thanks for the hoodie, Sarah." Rai said with a smile as I locked my eyes with his own, gazing into his entrancing sky blue eyes for only a moment until I felt a peculiar sensation strike my heart.
How annoying.
"You're welcome." I deadpanned, restraining my newfound emotions as I entered my room and closed my door behind, using it to slide down into a sitting position as I sat on the floor and inhaled, taking a deep breath as I felt a searing warmth arise within my face.
"You've got to be kidding me…" I muttered to myself as I stared at my ceiling in a daze.
POV: Rai Shinsei
Soon after Sarah's arrival, I left Aria's dorm, leaving my sweater with her and allowing her to indulge into the well-needed rest she deserved as I headed towards the exit of the girl's dormitory, avoiding any unnecessary attention as I wore my hood and walked with my head down.
Thankfully, no one noticed me leaving Aria's dorm.
Upon arriving outside, I removed my hood and took out the hairbow Aria used to tie up my bangs as I began heading towards my dormitory, longing for my bed as I was too tired to bother with a shower or a change of clothes, but despite what I desired, my day was far from over as I noticed Everett, who seemed to be looking for someone until he noticed my gaze, prompting him to hurry towards me with a grin as in the moment he called my name, I felt something inside of me die as I was unable to reciprocate his contented mood.
My day is never going to end, is it?
As he approached me, I sighed and met up with him as I observed his attire, which was an atrocious gray patterned tracksuit as his joggers were unable to reach his ankles, revealing half of his shin as I felt a grimace of disgust creep onto my face.
"Everett, what in the hell are you wearing right now?" I asked in bewilderment as he looked down to observe his fit, but despite my reaction, he was unable to discern the problem as he looked back up in confusion.
"It's a tracksuit my grandma bought me? What's wrong with it?" Everett questioned as I struggled to comprehend his ignorance of common fashion sense until I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath in order to prevent a headache from arising.
"Nothing, Everett. Is there something you need from me?" I asked as Everett swallowed dryly with a determined light growing within his eyes.
"I want you to train me." Everett answered firmly.
"No." I replied nonchalantly as I began heading towards my dormitory once more until Everett blocked my path.
"Please, Rai! You're the only one I can ask!" Everett implored as I sighed from his persistence.
"Everett, do you understand why I'm hiding my power to begin with?" I asked as Everett remained silent, unable to answer my question.
"It's because I want to live a peaceful life—a quiet one at that. Training you isn't the problem. The problem is that there's nowhere to train you without gaining unnecessary attention." I explained as I expected Everett's determination to falter, and yet, my rejection only fueled him as there was an ambitious fire dwelling within his eyes.
"I'm weak. For as long as I can remember, I've been called the weakest and I'm sick of it. I want the strength to protect myself and those around me. I want to become strong as it has always been my dream to become a hero who can make a difference in this world. You're the strongest student that I've ever met and that's why I'm begging you, Rai…" Everett voiced as the fervent fire within his eyes only seemed to grow, intriguing me as I listened to his desire intently.
Well would you look at that.
"In order for me to achieve my dream, I need you to train me." Everett uttered as I felt a smile creep onto my face.
"Alright, Everett. I'll train you, but under one condition." I said as Everett's face beamed with excitement, awaiting for my response.
"I'll train you once a week on Saturday, but if you're unable to improve before our next training session, that will be the end of our deal. Do you understand?" I asked sternly as Everett nodded ecstatically.
"Of course! Thank you, Rai!" Everett replied, groveling before me as his gesture of gratitude made me feel uncomfortable while several onlooking students began gazing at us in concern.
"Everett… Stand up already. There's no need for this." I voiced my displeasure as he immediately picked himself up from the ground in exuberance.
"Anyways, let's exchange contact information. I'll send you a time for tomorrow." I said as Everett thanked me once more before rushing off into the distance, inspiring me to watch him in apprehension as I was unable to tell if the decision I made today would be a blessing or a curse.