(THIS CHAPTER IS A REWRITE)
A week passed by since their arrival to the academy; Zephyr's surname had not been discovered, she had developed her own circle of friends–more like a triangle.
Sanguinex's popularity within the male ranks grew like wildfire, multiple guys confessed to her, only to be rejected.
Sévir remained the pariah he'd always been, thus, people avoided him like the plague.
.
In-between the academy and its line of stadiums was the flat and huge plane of grass with multiple brick pathways. In the middle of it all, stood Sanguinex and a brown-haired man who stood the same height.
"So? Why did you call me here?" I already know why, I just want to make it look like I'm clueless. she folded her arms and tapped her shoe, impatient.
"Uh, here's the thing.." he looked down and buried his hands in his pockets. "I know it's only been a week, but I've had you on my mind this whole time–I–I realized that uh.." he gulped. "That I like you..! And I was wondering if you could consider seeing me the same way." his cheeks glowed deep red, he mustered all his courage to confess right in front of her.
She sighed. "This again.. Listen, whoever you are, when will you guys accept the fact I'm in love with somebody else? I already declared it, didn't I?"
His widened gaze met hers for the first time, surprised by her declaration.
"You couldn't even look me in the eye. If I'm getting confessed to, I want it to be a guy who's hot, fit, taller than me, has a deep voice, strong and has a no-bullcrap personality.. And someone who'd look me in the eye–that's exactly the guy I'm in love with." she turned around. "There's a lot of fish in the sea, but you better work on yourself while waiting for her."
Just like that, she walked away.. Though he no longer looked down–rather, he kept his head high, a smile etched on his face. "She's right.." he turned around and walked away as well, his spirits lifting up in the sheer and immediate realization of her words.
.
Another sigh escaped her mouth as she entered the open halls, its roof held by pillars in uniform distance from each other.
"I saw that." Sévir's voice emitted from behind.
Sanguinex shrieked and turned around as fast as she could. "S–Sévir!?"
His arms were folded, and his back leaned by a pillar. "Why did you reject him? He seems like a nice guy."
She facepalmed. "It's quite obvious, Sévir–he's not my type, and even if I considered and tried seeing him that way, I wouldn't."
"Why?" He took off the pillar and leaned closer.
"I–I mean, that's pretty obvious.." she looked down and leaned away, her cheeks reddening.
"Sorry, I don't know what 'obvious' means, I'd rather hear you say what it is."
"Because y–you're my type, and I'm in love with yo–"
"Rejected." he uttered rather blatantly.
She frowned with a resentful gaze. "You little.. You can't just tease a girl into saying her feelings like that, even if it's obvious!" she protested, though it fell on deaf ears.
"I'm a graduate of the 'University of Ungentlemanliness', so don't even try telling me how I should treat girls." he stood straight. "Anyways, I'll be out for a bit, but I'll come back by dinner."
"Another mission? We just had one not too long ago."
He nodded. "Ah right, what happened to Mary? The girl we saved?"
She shrugged. "The last time we talked was when we escorted her back home, I hope she's doing fine though."
"Well then, I'll be going." he waved to her as he walked away, disinterest lingering in his tone.
She folded her arms. It seems like the incident with Mary struck a chord within him.
.
Come dinner, he walked by the dorm area headed towards the facility, until he stopped from a faint voice of a girl calling him.
At last, she caught up–it was Minerva.
"Ah, Lady–"
"Minerva, just Minerva." she cut him off with a correction before he could fill it up. Her slight knitted brows showed just how much she disliked the "Lady" honorific.
"Then, Minerva.. Why did you call me?"
"Where were you at? I noticed you left earlier in a rush."
"Why are you asking?" he folded his arms, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"I saw Zephyr was trying to look for you, and just as i said, you left in a rush."
"I'll abstain from answering, it's got nothing to do with you anyway." he replied in a dismissive tone, though this didn't faze Minerva, who seemed pleased.
"How suspicious..~ I like it."
He rolled his eyes in response. "You're the suspicious one, asking me this and all." he protested and walked, a frown growing in his face as he noticed her following. "Uh, will you quit tagging along? I'm going to my dorm."
"Just observing whether you're hungry or not."
"Well, what do you think?"
"You are."
He nodded. "I am. In fact, I'm starving."
"Oh, rea–"
"Though, saying that I'm starving would be an extreme understatement, so you could say my stomach has shrunk to a mere speck of dust–if I could still even eat at that point."
She giggled from his addition. "Oh, I didn't know you have humor.. Well, how about we go eat? I haven't eaten either–my treat!"
He raised a brow. "What's with you girls calling us out for ungentlemanly acts, but provide us leeway to do so anyways?"
.
For the entirety of their meal, he could feel her gaze forcing itself through. "Hey, what's up with you keeping your eyes on me for basically the whole time since I joined? Am I on your hit list or something?" confusion loomed in his voice.
Minerva chuckled and shook her head. "I take it you lived in the Southern Districts? Perhaps the Senex District?""
Her sudden question caught him off-guard. He cleared his throat. "What makes you say that?"
"I've observed their mannerisms, and with the help of guidebooks, I summed it up to them eating in the position you're using right now." his sitting position exuded a level of aggression and distance; his right leg crossed above, his left arm straightened and resting on the long bench, his back slightly slouched and his right elbow resting on the table. "Such a pose gives the impression of someone distant–one you mustn't approach due to their uninviting aura.
In the Southern Districts, there's uncertainty looming in every single street, so people there taught themselves to be ambidextrous so they need not rely on just one side." she pointed at his left arm. "There's a good chance you'll see someone's left hand armed with a dagger and such in case of a sudden attack, meaning they'll be able not only to protect their flank, but their backs."
Sévir's brows raised in sheer surprise–just how much detail did she know? "You're good at observing." Although monotonous, he meant every single word of it. "Though, that doesn't answer my question."
She stacked her fork above her spoon, placing the two on the plate which sat atop the wooden tray. "You have reached the time limit of our question-and-answer period." she slid off the bench and picked up her tray. "I'll see you tomorrow? I'll be training early at Stadium #2, so if you want to join in or watch, then feel free to." she smiled warmly.
He followed suit. "Mhm. Good night."
.
He pushed the door open, revealing Zephyr who lied down on the bed, a book in hand. "Huh, where's Sanguinex?" he asked as he looked around, not a single trace of her within his sights.
"Welcome back~!" the girl in question leaped at his back, finally grabbing onto him which she couldn't do last time.
Whether intentional or by instinct, his left gripped her arm and his right on her back. He tackled her to the ground by shrinking and pulling her down, a meek grunt escaping her mouth. "Dammit! Can't I hug you without being avoided for once!?" she stressed, yet it fell on deaf ears.
"I don't want to deal with your bullcrap, Sanguine." he picked her up by the collar solely with his right hand as if she were weightless, tossing her to the bed right after.
With the flying Sanguinex reaching Zephyr, the latter rolled away, providing her leeway to land.. And hit her forehead on the wooden headboard. "OWWW! This is mistreatment, I swear!" she clenched her teeth, her hands gripping her forehead in dizzying pain.
"My bad, I put too much strength in that toss–"
"Toss!? More like a throw! A little more then I could've broke the headboard.."
He blew the candles then lied down on his side of the bed, covering his body in sheets. "I'm off to sleep.. Sanguine, try anything then I'll toss you out the window."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay."
With him preparing to rest, the two followed suit.. It wouldn't be until an hour later that Sévir opened his eyes as if he never slept at all.
The old man told me I could do anything with those gangsters.. Should I have killed them then? he contemplated, but reached not the conclusion that he desired. Moreover, I still couldn't trap them in ice in a heartbeat with Source Style–in contrast to Visionary, I could've done it in an instant. a low sigh escaped his mouth. I still have a long way to go until my source can match visionary by speed.
.
The dark sky began to emit light, the sky, a mix of blue and grey–light and dark for it was dawn. Sévir had his uniform on as he marched through the vast and empty hallways, the only sound being the tap of his shoes. Not a lot of early birds here.
At last, he arrived to the much vaster cafeteria. Some servers sat behind the counter, but that was all. I should get some food for me and the two. Before he could, he felt the tug of his jacket from behind. He turned around and met Minerva's lively gaze.
"Is this your way of greeting, Minerva?"
"Good morning to you as well, Sévir." she chuckled.
"So by training early, you meant this early."
She nodded. "Yes, I guess you could say it's my golden time since there's not a lot of people around, nor is it too hot."
"Mhm.. Well, I'll be getting some food."
"Alright. Don't forget to drop by later!" she waved at him with yet another warm smile as she walked away.
.
Sévir sat on the row closest to the arena, his intentful gaze glued to Minerva.
Her movements were smooth and rapid, not a single hint of mistakes noticeable in her form. On her right hand, she held a cutlass–its dark silver blade long and narrow, within the blade and in-between it and its golden and curvy handguard that disconnected from the bottom sat a denim blue gemstone. Her hair was tied up, exposing her spotless nape that spanned down until it reached the collar–her white tunic had a black stylized dove on the back, and under, she wore white woolen hoses.
A Source Style user is what she is.
He observed further. The water spells she conjured were quick and precise, landing on the still human ice figure she formed earlier.
Her spells are quick and precise, her movement is rather stylish, yet I see not a single waste from it.
By the time he finished his two loaves of bread, she climbed up the wall to the auditorium and sat beside him. "Oh, it really is quite dull training with just an ice figure," she pointed her cutlass at her mouth, drinking the water that formed from the tip.
"You're quite skilled."
She raised a brow. "Just quite? Not absolutely? Well eitherway, that's what everyone says–that I'm skilled."
"You're in the top five, right?"
She nodded. "I'm the top two, or what we call here–the Second Undefeated–87 wins and 27 losses with a 60-win streak under my belt as we speak."
"Second Undefeated.."
"If you're studying here, then you're bound to learn about the Undefeated Octet–it's unavoidable."
He nodded back and stood up. "I'll make sure to learn about them soon." he looked up at the sky that turned bluer as the seconds passed by. "I'll be off."
"Alright." she stood as well. "I'll see you later in class."
"Yeah."
.
"Good morning Brother." Zephyr greeted Sévir, already on her uniform as were Sanguinex.
"'Morning. Here, food." he tossed the sealed bag to the bed, which the two caught and grabbed the loaves of bread within. "Thank you. By the way, where were you?"
"I was with Minerva in one of the stadiums, I watched her train."
"Sévir, I noticed she's been quite friendly with you, and you've been quite friendly with her.." her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Do you have a thing for her?"
He shook his head. "Off the mark as usual. I heard from her that she's referred to as the Second Undefeated, her win-loss ratio being 87:27 with a 60-win streak."
Sanguinex loosened up from that information, her brows raised in surprise. "Oh, really? That's quite good..–no, that's insanity!"
"Later I'll do some training in the stadiums. Will you be joining me, Sanguine?
She nodded. "Of course I will. Do I go sword form or..?"
He shook his head. "Stay in that form."
"Alrighty."