Rollen came running after me. "Hey, wait up!"
I looked back and saw he panted. He must've run all the way here. And with his nonexistent stamina to boot. "What's up?"
He stopped running as soon as I answered him. The young man put his hands on his knees and leaned forward. He took a deep breath to balance his fatigued body. "W-Why… Did you say something like that to someone else's fiance?"
I see. 'I guess Rollen is a trustworthy guy!'
It should be ok to tell him. "Why don't you come to my room?"
As soon as he heard the words that came out of my mouth, he hugged himself and stepped back. "W-What… What are you planning to do to me?"
What goes through that guy's head? "Idiot! Dimwit! Rollen!"
He pouted and curled his lips. "My name isn't an insult, you know!"
A sigh escaped my mouth. "Just come with me..."
Since Rollen interrupted my stroll, we headed back to my room. With Jax, we shared a secret knocking system so that he would know it's me. After I knocked on my door, Rollen looked at me, confused.
We went inside, and Rollen saw Jax sitting in my room.
His eyes followed a trajectory from Jax to me and back to Jax. Unsure how to take it he looked at me dumbfounded. "W-What's going on?"
We took our time and explained the situation. We emphasized the fact that Lucina Nozack wants to kill Jax.
Rollen grabbed my collar and shouted. "Then why did you invite her to your room?"
I laughed it off. "She didn't come, right?"
He released me and looked at Jax. "I thought you were a pretty powerful Hero!"
His green eyes glowed and we could hear a laugh from under his scowl. "Why would a Hero fight a woman in the first place?"
Oh, I know that one. "Because she can kick your ass?"
His embarrassed tone, audible to the coughs he let out, had him turn the other way so that he could regain his composure.
"That's beside the point. A Hero helps and protects people. They don't start fights!"
I couldn't agree more with you on that buddy, but that's how things are. The heroes, instead of protecting, are bullying.
When I looked at Rollen, he averted his eyes to the ground. He's been on both ends of the heroes' treatment. Saved and bullied.
Maybe that played a role in his decision to deny getting the power of that teacher. The conflict that lives inside him when it involves heroes.
I can't say I struggled with my power as one of the powerless. In my heart, the path paved itself in front of me.
There will be a time where he'll need to decide. The academy accepted him and a few other powerless people for their other gifts and skills. If he can't use it, he'll b ostracized again.
But the situation with Jax comes first. We need to figure out how to keep her out of his way. I dodged her earlier, but it's not something we can do forever.
"Hey, Jax, what's your power?"
Rollen looked at me, surprised. "He told us in class during introductions!"
Oh, he did? It'll be fun to tease him about it then. "Yeah, I wasn't paying attention because a certain someone expressed his thoughts so vividly against me!"
Rollen blushed and stuttered. "T-That…"
"Don't worry about it!"
And he shouldn't. I know what you've been through, man. "I understand!"
Jax laughed and removed his hood.
I couldn't believe my eyes. Almost instantly, he took my appearance. "I can shape-shift into anyone, but no matter how many times I tried, yours is the only power I can't copy!"
Wow! That's so cool! It's like looking in a mirror. "Why don't you use that and avoid her?"
"Not possible! I can't maintain it for long and besides, she has my imprint!"
Imprint? I haven't heard of that before. "Your what?"
Rollen shook his head as if he mocked my lack of knowledge. Rude!
That annoyed me, which passed to Rollen through my facial expression. Jax copied my movements as well, which made Rollen gasp. "Imprint is the exchange between two heroes so they can keep track of one another when they are close to each other!"
"Why bother with that?"
Jax interrupted the scrawny young man. "During a battle, you can't always monitor your partner or team. With an Imprint, you can feel it!"
That's interesting but overly controlling. Case in point, Jax and Lucina. "Is it possible to remove?"
Jax nodded, somewhat reserved. "Only when both parties agree to it!"
That's troublesome.
Our conversation came to an abrupt end when someone knocked on my door. It's fine with Rollen, but nobody knew about Jax.
"Who is it?"
The familiar voice almost brought joy to my ears. "L-Lamina!"
I can't really open the door, so instead, I phased out of it and in front of her. Surprised, she took a few steps back and combed her hair to hide her reddened cheeks.
"I-I heard about the invitation you extended to Lucina Nozack…"
Uh-oh! I should probably laugh it off. "About that…"
She interrupted me by shaking her head. "It's your business. I won't meddle, but you can't ask that of an engaged woman!"
Too bothersome to explain. Without thinking, I grabbed her hand and pulled her into my room. It was so sudden; she didn't have time to fight me off.
When we got inside and she saw Jax, she looked at me, bewildered. "You actually told her the truth?"
Why is everyone so fixated on that? I may make some questionable decisions, but I'm a good person. Probably! "Let's just say it worked out for now"
I looked apologetically to Jax for bringing another person in. He didn't mind as he shook his head to let me know.
Jax and I explained the situation to Lumina when Rollen interrupted us.
"I think… I think I have an idea!"