"Please," said Imran whilst shaking his head, "are we really going to devolve into this kind of petty boasting? I know that you two have been getting along surprisingly well, but I have been there since the beginning .
"I am not one for idle gossip so I will keep things mum, but I was the one who brought her away from a toxic environment and gave her a place of respite.
"As well as I have been with her ever since then, accompanying her and allowing her to grow as a person at her own pace. Not controlling or manipulative like you have been, but considerate and ever present whilst also giving her anything she so desired.
"If there was a problem then she could come and tell me, and I would do anything in my power to assist. Even if I had to leverage my family's resources, for that is our bond."
Clapping in fake praise, Cyrus nodded and replied,
"Good indeed, you took a hands off approach to absolve yourself from any and all responsibility. I mean, if there was a problem and she did not come to you with it...then how is it your fault, right?"
Silencing Imran who tried to respond, Cyrus brought his face closer to Imran in an act of intimidation and continued,
"I have heard quite a bit about her you know, a lot of progress was made by someone who has been around for just a few weeks.
"A rather unfortunate life she was born into, scorned by both her mother and father. What a travesty, even I felt my heartstrings be pulled ever so slightly upon hearing how her father and mother treated her.
"Not to mention her greatest enemy, who did such unspeakable things to her not even that long ago all things considered."
Looking carefully at Imran's facial expression and body posture, as hard as it was to read the man who had been taught from a young age to hide such things, he was able to learn a few things...
"What is this? The great Imran who had been with our mutual friend here since the start, not knowing that something as important as the one she hates above all else?
"How weird, how weird indeed. If only there was a term to describe one who has had years to realize and fix a problem, but was unable to do either despite being in a prime position to do just that...
"How....Useless?"
It was clear as day that Cyrus was enjoying himself quite a bit right now, as if slowly breaking down people was his most beloved of activities.
Imran sat down on his bed with hollowed eyes, being tempted by the whispers of the devil that could even convince a man who was dead set in his beliefs to start to doubt themselves.
"Nonsense, if there was truly someone like that what reason would she have to not tell me? Her greatest ally..."
"The reason is not the point," began Cyrus, "but the real point is that you did not take your observations of her odd behavior and press further.
"You may think of it as selfish of me, for getting involved in someone else's business and peering into their deepest and darkest secrets. In fact, I will not be a hypocrite and say that it was not selfish as it was through and through.
"Yet my selfish act uncovered something that should have long been uncovered and something that could bring her to ruin if not dealt with. Personally speaking, I will not let that happen if I have anything to say about it.
"Not because I have known her all my life since young or that we are as close as can be, family or whatever. But because I want to secure a powerful ally, because its interesting, and because she has grown on me a bit.
"Keeping everything within her bottled up, so much so that her entire personality is taken to the extreme, has a physical rejection for an entire sex, is unable to taste the flavor in anything, as well as her extreme stress manifesting itself in random bouts of suicidal tendencies?
"How interesting, how unique...what a fun time that is for me. But the result of that is that she has a handy sword to slash at her problems, and begin to fully understand and unpack them instead of running and hiding."
'Don't forget what you said earlier....' tacked on a nosy bright half.
'That is not necessary for what I am doing right now, that bond or whatever. Besides, it is not my strength nor was it the true reason for me deciding to become so deeply involved. Even if one day that changes, but for now it is not.'
Watching Imran who was beset by doubt and worry, Cyrus watched as Imran finally realized that he may have been making a mistake all this time. A mistake that cannot be undone.
Pleased with the reaction, and wondering what Imran will come up with next, he patted him on the shoulder and said,
"Well that was a lot of talk about someone who is not even awake to speak on their own personal matters, so I will end this here. What you take away from what I said is up to you, but you will need to bring up the rest with Minerva herself.
"But Master Cilla did say that it would at best a full day of rest and at worst several days of rest, so that talk may need to be delayed. Then we can all have a happy little sit down together and discuss your incompetence, I mean feelings or whatever."
He then stood up and walked away just like that, letting Imran simmer in his doubts and misgivings so as to let him do all the work for him.
Of course, the reaction that Imran would have is still a surprise but no matter what, for the current Cyrus at least, it would be entertaining nonetheless.
--
Leaving the halls of the Vita department, taking care to avoid any of the overly zealous and downright fanatical mages that lurked within, Cyrus walked with light steps as he was pleased with the outcome of the day. His little trio had most likely earned him a pretty penny and he had finally found the chance to start to worm his way into Imran and fully secure him as a reliable ally...or so the paranoid and manipulative half of Cyrus thought so.
Though he did avoid most of the mages within, he eventually came upon one that he could not hide from no matter what.
"There you are brat," said a cold voice from next to Cyrus.
Stepping out of the shadows was none other than Caligo, who had a twinkle of amusement in his eyes and he smirked during his approach.
"Quite the show you put on today, right in front of half of the student body no less. Laying your claim in public on the lass that you fancy? Or was it through the power of love that the girl was able to handle that ridiciously inefficient spell? Using so many precious gems just for a single spell, whoever created that spell must not lack for funds or is downright insane....
"Anyways, when is the wedding kid? Have you already decided on what to name the first born? Kekeke."
Cyrus was confused at first by the wording that was used,
'Hey, you are the one that enjoyed all those sappy romance novels that I have taken great pains to remove from my memory. The hell is he talking about?'
Responding to his ill informed other half, the apparent romantic guru half of Cyrus answered with a cheery tone,
'You did just take the lips of a maiden in front of a hundred or so people, of which many of both genders would no doubt kill to be in your position.'
Of which the bright half supplemented by letting his partner look at a few of his memories regarding his studies in such romantic events.
'Dear Mundus,' said the dark half in shock, "you mean to say that the method I used to hide my demonic abilities had such a meaning? You...when did you become so mischievous?'
'You agreed right beforehand, to try a real human relation, remember?' explained the bright half in a bored tone, 'must we continue to run in circles with this point, all I did was suggest you something that would do what you agreed on in a quick and easy way.
'Those are the kind of methods you prefer as well, I was even considerate enough to take that into account.'
Suppressing the urge to immediately dive into the world within and kick his partners ass, Cyrus thought of several plausible explanations for his actions but he easily saw that he had been forced into a corner on this one.
Struggling to not look as annoyed as he was, Cyrus replied to Caligo.
"Who knows as to the reason for my actions, maybe you can ask Mundus the next time the two of you meet, Professor."
Cyrus' eyes narrowed, getting to the crux of this little conversation that Caligo had initiated,
"But I do not think you needed me just for idle gossip, so what is it?"
In response Caligo threw a tube towards Cyrus and said,
"The reward for the consecutive wins, as well as a courtesy from me. Open it in your own room, store it away till then. Other than that, I will see you in class."
Watching Caligo who was not acting like his normal blunt and to the point self, Cyrus could only wonder what was contained within the tube and so he doubled his pace towards the exit of the department whilst calculating how much it would cost him to pay someone to escort him back to his room.