Gray is usually good at deciphering what people are feeling. Maybe that's a virtue, as well as a flaw. Be that as it may, that part of herself somehow bothers her. She can easily tell when a person is suffering or emotionally troubled, but that has never happened to her with a ghost before.
By the way, she is taking classes at Waver's school today at Waver's request. Right now there is a man with short black hair who is teaching the class, for after all Waver is not the only one who teaches here.
'When I saw him...'
She had in mind what happened the night before. In that ghost she could feel a deep and bizarre sadness. Since that being is a ghost, she could perceive it more strongly unlike normal people, which left her very confused.
And beside her, Sakura was watching the professor's explanation with such perfect concentration that it might be impossible to talk to her.
Well, to Gray it looked like that, but the truth is that Sakura is thinking that she doesn't feel Toru nearby. The Servant's presence had been completely erased, making it clear to her that he walked away.
'I could call him with a Command Spell, but that would be wasting Spells in vain.'
A decent enough decision. The three Command Spells are what keep Toru bound to his Master, if he breaks free of these three bindings, then he could walk away again and not return.
That terrified Sakura. She didn't want to lose him again, even if it meant taking away his freedom.
With empty eyes, thinking over and over again, feeling a stabbing pain in the bottom of her belly, she thought...thought...thought...
And in the end, she smiled kindly at the thought of the future.
'Toru should stay here. I'm sure he would want that too'
Even if he didn't remember anything, that was fine with her. If he lost his memories, all that was needed was to create new memories.
Memories where those who walked away were not present.
'Just me and Toru...'
She dropped the pencil on the table and nodded her head. When she realized she had become absorbed in her thoughts, she picked up the pencil again and turned her attention back to the class.
-At Waver's house-
Only a few hours had passed since Sakura and Gray left the house for school.
Waver decided to stay behind to attend to some "important business" with some people from the school and the Clock Tower, but that was a little lie. What he wanted to know was how far Toru's potential could go.
"Knowing you could read a book that fast is scary. Though it's also very useful."
This time Waver thought to himself. If he had the chance to get eyes like Toru's, he could read a lot of books and learn a lot of things in a very short time.
"My eyes greatly increase my perception of things."
Toru said in a monotonously bored tone of voice.
"Kind of like an augmented sense. There are Mystic Eyes that augment physical characteristics. It's quite interesting."
"I guess. Now should I try it?"
"Only if you want to. I've already explained everything you need to practice. With a little effort you can make it this week."
"This week..."
Toru looked out the window in silence, but after that silence he looked down at his hands.
Letting out a tired sigh, he began to mold the prana around them.
It was then that Waver noticed something he had never seen before.
'If Sakura has the talent for magecraft...'
What his eyes were seeing right now was not the talent of a Magus, it was something much more complex and mysterious.
Toru molded all the prana in the place and the ground began to fill with a deep, dark black mist.
Hundreds of voices whispered, causing Waver to look at all of this in awe and fear.
'What this person has is not the talent of a Magus.'
It was something completely different. He didn't have the talent to even use magecraft, but he's still using it.
'He adapts to what he has to do. He quickly gets used to what his body does...'
It turned out that this Servant has no talent, yet this one himself gets used to the conditions his body is facing very quickly.
'It's like he's using a strange form of magecraft unconsciously. Amazing...'
At last he discovered the root of Toru's power, though for now that will all remain a mere hypothesis.
"It's easier than it looks."
He deactivated the strange Bounded Field he had created and looked at Waver waiting for an answer.
Waver for a few moments looked nervous, but then cleared his throat and replied professionally.
"Bounded Field is a fairly simple magecraft. You could say we teach it to children as an introduction to magecraft."
"I see. That makes sense. Starting simple is a good learning option."
"I thought you'd be offended, but you certainly succeeded. Now all you need to do is add what conditions you can. That's a little more complicated, but you have everything you need to know in the book. Follow the guide to the letter and you will be able to create barriers that will help you detect entities, shields, among others. That will be your first step in magecraft."
"Conditions to the barrier... I'm interested. I'll try it later. For now I'm more interested in magecraft that increases stamina and toughness during a melee battle."
"Oh, that. Sakura already knows those magics because she could be considered a martial artist. This will be a bit more laborious than a Bounded Field because as such since it takes two magecrafts to do what you want. This time, for you, learning that will indeed take you a week."
"Good. Then let's get started right away."
"You're in a hurry, huh... Somehow you haven't changed at all."
Toru denied upon hearing that.
"Whatever Toru you met in the past, that wasn't me, or at least I don't remember being me."
Waver smiled slightly.
"I understand."
He thought this was somehow ironic. In the end, thinking about how the Toru of ten years ago and the Toru of now differed was too much of a bothersome task. Not thinking about it was for the best.
'I should get him a mask...'
Because seeing this Servant's face was always uncomfortable and brought back bad memories of the past.
A mask to hide the past... it's really sad to think of it that way.
-One week later-
Water falling on the ceramic floor echoed in the bathroom.
Steam covered the scene due to the hot water bouncing on the floor after stepping out of the shower.
[We should prepare for war.]
The Servant's voice echoed in her mind.
Sakura smiled at the thought that Toru was being more sociable than usual, as a few days ago he was too cold and quiet.
She felt that the Toru of the past was returning.
[If you are a Magus, you can get even stronger. We still have time, we must-]
Sakura interrupted by clearing her throat.
"I think you're worrying too much. There's no need to anticipate everything that's going to happen later. Sometimes it's better to relax a bit and wait things out."
Toru seemed to sigh in his dematerialized form, which made Sakura giggle a little.
[Why are you laughing?]
He asked. She just shook her head as drops of water slid down her white skin.
Toru, who had his eyes closed and was leaning his back against the wall next to the shower, opened his eyelids a little and looked at Sakura's body.
She saw that, for this girl's age, her body development was too advanced. She didn't look like a 16-year-old girl.
Well, considering that both of them are the same age, it's not such a rare thing. But if you're talking about mental age....
Toru would be younger...
"It's nothing. I just thought you're a very grumpy boy."
Finishing washing her hair, Sakura turned around and looked in the direction where Toru's presence was strongest.
"But that doesn't bother me. I like that you're like that."
Because it reminds her of the past. It reminds her of that boy who pulled her out of hell.
On his side, having Sakura face to face, he inevitably couldn't help but perceive this girl's whole body as attractive.
This girl's skin was very white with certain areas turning a nice pink color.
"This time you won't say anything?"
She asked. Toru sighed before answering.
"What should I say, I can't think of anything."
"Uh... I see..."
A little disappointed by Toru's poor reaction to her body, Sakura grabbed the towel and walked out of the bathroom.
Toru followed her like a dog.
Well, it's not like he has other things to do. If everything is boring, more boring would be to be alone and silent. At least, that was one of the few thoughts about his own existence that changed with the few days he's been in this place.
So, while Sakura was putting on her panties, Toru reiterated the previous question.
[You shouldn't take a war so lightly. We should prepare for anything. You never know what might happen on the battlefield]
"You talk like a soldier. Maybe you were in the past, but I already told you that you don't have to rush."
Putting on her bra, she smiled at Toru.
"I know what I'm doing. I'm your Master. Trust me..."
Toru paused for a long moment before answering her.
[Are you telling me to trust you... Do you think I have other options?]
"Not really. Trust me and everything will be fine. If you're by my side, there's no way we'll lose. I promise."
A promise that sounded pretty good for a guy like Toru, but wanting to win didn't mean winning.
For the moment, simply going along with this girl seemed to be the only option.
[What a strange Master.]
Sakura smiled at that. It wasn't flattery, obviously, but Toru expressing his point of view about her made her happy.
Even though she had lived this past week hiding Toru, she somehow felt more cheerful than usual.
"I feel like this is a new beginning for us."
[New beginning?]
The Servant seemed curious at those words.
"When we win the war and fulfill our wish, we'll really start from scratch."
[Our wish, huh...?]
This time Toru's tone of voice was a bit more ironic and bored than usual. Sakura sensed that something wasn't right, but denied after realizing that, if she asked him, he wouldn't answer.
There are still things he won't say and Sakura wants to make the ice around Toru's heart melt again like in the past.
"You may not have your memories, but I know you are still the same. I'm really glad about that. Really... I'm glad you're still here with me..."
Strange attitude from this girl. Ironic and funny; how the two of them hide what they feel in such a disastrous way that for an ordinary person would be easy to see.
This time Toru said nothing. He had nothing left to say.
Instead of saying anything, he simply left the room leaving Sakura alone.
"Anyway. I don't have class today, will you walk me to the cafeteria?"
She asked, but got no answer.
"Toru...?"
Toru's presence slowly faded away.
"Haa... at least say goodbye..."
-Later-
The day passed normally, with nothing interesting. Everything was so boring that he decided to go explore the city. His independent action helped him a lot to do this, as he could move freely everywhere without his Master being around.
At the end. again in a gloomy and dark night, something moved in the shadows.
It walked relaxed, as if nothing mattered.
Just like the night before, and the night before that, he headed for Waver's office. There was something there that he wanted.
So he walked over and entered through the walls.
***
In turn Gray, who lay sleeping in the comfort of her bed, wrapped in the white sheets where her soft breaths filled the room, was disconcerted to feel something moving in the house.
This prompted her to open her eyes.
'Again...?'
She constantly hears noises outside at this time of night.
The noises started a week ago and haven't stopped since.
She knew it was about the ghost speaking Japanese. She knew that ghost would be in that office, drinking alcohol and looking at the window like it was normal.
That sleepy-eyed look.
That sad and dejected facial expression.
At the thought of that a feeling of sadness invaded her heart strongly.
'I'm afraid...'
She is very afraid.
This ghost has influenced her emotions far more than any other in her entire life.
That piercing sadness in the depths of her heart.
A sadness so far away and hard to comprehend.
It terrifies her. She doesn't know what it all means.
She always considered herself someone who doesn't possess enough intelligence to understand the world around her, but even she could know that what she was feeling now was not normal.
Thinking about all that, she looked at Add lying on the bedside table and picked up the cage, waking up the talking cube.
"Uh, what's going on, where are we going?"
He asked, but Gray didn't answer him as, still covering himself with the sheets as if they were an effective shield against ghosts, she left the room in search of an answer.
Her legs were shaking. Her breathing was heavy.
Ghosts terrify her.
Just the thought of becoming one made her want to cry.
A horrible feeling born of a phobia unfounded by her own surroundings.
'I'm afraid...'
She said to herself again.
Holding the cage, frowning as if she could see in the dark, she moved down the hallway until she reached the stairs.
As she climbed the stairs, she quickly made her way to Waver's office.
She could feel it.
That feeling that touched her heart.
It was fear.
It was sadness.
A mix of negative emotions that were making her lose her patience.
She wanted to run out of there, but she also understood that, if she left right now, the problem would persist until who knows when.
She was tired of it all within a week.
So she opened the door and ...
...
There he was.
Sitting on the desk cross-legged, with a glass tumbler in his right hand whose contents were a large amount of pure vodka. He was staring at the door as if waiting for someone to come in.
Those mysterious eyes, with a color very similar to this girl's hair.
They both looked at each other.
The boy drinking on the desk, surrounded by the darkness of the office, as if the shadows were lovingly embracing him.
The fearful girl, who trembled in terror at the sight of the ghostly entity in front of her eyes, covered by her false shield of white sheets, holding Add's cage tightly in a false attempt not to release the first seal of her Mystic Code to depart the being that so terrifies her, advanced a step with a rigid expression on her face.
Taking all the courage her heart held, with a trembling voice, she asked:
"Do you speak English?"
That silver-eyed hooded entity nodded his head.
Again, her voice trembling, she asked the one thing she wanted to know.
"Who are you?"
That boy took another drink and sighed heavily.
After that, he looked at the girl with a strange expressionless face and, with the accent of a native Russian, answered her:
"Call me Assassin."
To be continued...