As Percival descended the low stairs from his row's table with the rest, he rubbed his eyes to the cold air, muttering upon realisation. "The classroom's colder than usual.
"Right? It wasn't like this earlier."
Percival looked to his right, a blonde girl whose hair slightly exceeded her shoulder, and her head only reached to his chin appeared out of nowhere.
"Lena?" He wasn't surprised though.
"Happy Magic Day, Percival."
The gentle sincerity in her voice warmed his chest, he found himself smiling. "Likewise."
Their pace was in sync with the rest; slow and steady, as if each and every one cherished the chatter of today rather than lunch of later.
Gaping around, it seemed to be true, it warmed his atmosphere at the right temperature. "Everyone's in the mood today."
She hummed in acknowledgement. "'Tis the day most awaited, and with the ongoing revolution.. Something like this would look out of the ordinary."
He held his hands against his nape, humming back in agreement.
"Percival, will you be heading to [Ananka and Atheleisia's Chapel] soon?"
Percival met her bronze gaze, noticing the strikes of grey beneath her eyelids. "Soon. By the way, you're a miscellaneous user?" he rubbed his chin. "I never saw you use any magic before."
She nervously chuckled, hugging herself. "I am.. We just never had any actual battle missions where I could use it."
"Is that so?" They passed the doors, exiting the classroom.
The temperature rose as they merged with the crowd, blended in eagerness and calm,
His ears perked as the chatters seemed louder than before. Even Lena looked a little surprised.
However, there was something about her demeanour that told him they were inline: It wasn't bad at all.
At least, that was until he stopped.
"Have you heard about it?" Percival turned to the voice, making sure it wasn't directed to him.
"Yeah." Confirmed, he stepped forward. "Wait, are you talking about the latest student death?"
He froze again. Lena stopped and turned back upon noticing his absence. "Percival? What's wrong?"
Percival gazed at the two juniors, and approached them with haste. "What death?"
The two looked up to him, both of which were only as tall as Lena. "Oh, uh," their slightly scrambling eyes hinted at their surprise, "a group of third years came back a while ago, they reported the death of a girl classmate."
His heart clenched for some unknown reason.. [Death of a girl classmate], he only knew of Zephyr's group leaving yesterday for the third years.
He pursed his lips, but he needed to know. "..Do you know who died?" His heart slammed against his chest, and something unknown, yet disturbing crept up his spine.
Lena tugged his sleeve. "Percival.."
Shifting to her, he could see the reflection of his own turbulent face in her eyes. "..What?" he could hear his own shaky voice.
She, too, pursed her lips, and gulped it all down before facing him again. "..I know how you saw her, Percival." What was she saying? Why we're her eyes like that? Why was it so weak?
"I don't know the full extent of your relationship with her, but I'm sure she made you.. Happy."
Clenching his fists, he felt the heat rise to his head. "Just say it, dammit!" he nearly yelled.
Lena, wide-eyed from his restrained burst, sighed in resignation. "Percival.. Zephyr van Doren died yesterday."
Those five words and his own gasp rang in his ears. "Zephyr..??" he subtly shook his head and suddenly gripped her wrists. "No, there—there has to be someone else, right? Not..—Not her.."
She gasped weakly to his aggression. "It's.. It's her—"
"QUIT JOKING!" the hall went silent to his demand, and all eyes were on him. "It can't be, Lena! We were just..—" he let go, his arms swinging, "..Not the Zephyr I know…"
"..Percival, I'm not joking.." she clasped her hands against her chest. "Among them four, only she didn't ret—"
He gently, yet shakingly gripped her shoulders. "..Stop," his voice, weak, and head hung low, "I get it, Lena.. I—I get it."
That's what he would've wanted to say, but within what felt like an empty void, he knew he was confused. And as if it was the most natural thing, he jolted ahead of her.
"..Only.."
He gulped against his clogged throat.
"Only Sanguinex can..—"
His breath drew cold air.
"Only Sanguinex can tell me..!"
The edges began to soak.
.
.
.
Tap, tap, tap.
That was all that rang in the white ears in-between a man's gold hair.
His legs moved before he could think, each step pounding against the floor, his shoulders bracing in endless impact, charging in-between the flocks of students through the endless hallway.
His heart thumped like a wrecking ball to a wall, and sweat coldly dropped from his face like rain leaking from a roof.
What the meek and blonde girl he knew to be Lena said, he could not just believe so easily.
"Sanguinex.. Where are you!?" his emerald eyes searched through the sea, yet recognised none.
His reddish eyes widened, an idea popping on her whereabouts. "..She has to be in their hangout room.." he swiftly sprinted to the left, barely hitting juniors and seniors alike.
Percival went on, even if others glared and yelled. To him, their reactions bore no importance to the truth.
Upon reaching the familiar doors akin to every other nearby, he slammed them open, leaving no room for his modesty.
He stumbled a few steps forward, and as he stopped, he looked up and met Sanguinex's eyes.
They were puffier than his. Some strands stuck to her reddish forehead, and glossy tear marks ran down her cheeks. It was as if she buried herself in this room of memories, crying.
He knew why, "Sanguinex.. Is it true..?"
Just like Lena, she pursed her lips. But unlike her, she could only painfully shut her eyes and nod.
It was as if everything froze, his body paralyzed. No muscles dared to obey to his will, and whatever light came from the gloomy skies, darkened totally.
A wet substance crawled down his cheek. Wiping it, the white glove of his right hand was marked in grey and wet.
Ah, his mark for Magic Day was ruined. His left hand did the same, and his right hand did it again.
His hands were ruining the paint marks, and his paint marks were ruining his gloves.
He couldn't help it, his eyes were both blurring and stinging. He hitched in cold air from his mouth more than he wanted to, and he felt his mouth pulling itself down.
Was this the same thing Sanguinex was dealing with?
He succumbed to his weak and trembling knees, falling to the cold and creaking hard floor.
Sanguinex didn't seem to mind, she only buried her head against her arms, which seemed to be her business before he bursted in.
Now he found out what this was about.
Should he hold it in? Should he let it out? He considered everything.
Sanguinex was doing the same, so could he do it as well?
"..Do I even have the right to…?"
",.."
He shut his mouth, and succumbed to its urge.
His back followed suit, and he fell to his elbows. His bangs hung to the floor, as if shielding him from exposure.
The tears fell to the dark and wooden floor like rain, and from there, for the first time, he heard his own broken up whine.
"No, no.. No…" Percival repeatedly slammed a fist against the floor, but it was as if his strength regressed to a mere child's. "..Zephyr.."
"Zephyr.." His voice shattered into a million pieces, but that alone couldn't reveal the true extent of his pain.
"ZEPHYR——!!!"
The pain of loss.
The pain of losing a friend.
The pain of losing a loved one.
He closed his eyes and remembered.
.
.
.
Shimmering against the rays of the sinkling sunlight, three students and others who went about their own business.
Sévir turned to Percival, hands buried in his pockets. "Watchdog."
"Yeah—" he turned to him with a glare. "Wait, why are you calling me watchdog!?!"
Sévir wrapped an arm around Zephyr's shoulder and pulled her to his side. "Are you sure you didn't do anything to her earlier?" his gaze, sharp and serious, threatened to blind the poor Percival.
He huffed and folded his arms. "No, but we sure did do something crazy..—" his eyes gaped in panic when his arm was raised, ready to throw his dagger. "Not that way!! We fought a criminal!"
He turned to his sister. "Is that true?"
"Yeah, we helped a lady from a criminal and got this as a reward!" she hung out the dark blue teardrop strapped by a brown and twisted rope.
Percival let out a prideful "hmph" sound. "Zephyr wasn't too shabby either! She trapped the criminal with ice whileI dealt the fi—"
Sévir patted her head. "Good, I thought you paid instead of Percival."
"You were expecting me to pay too!?!"
.
.
.
He shot occasional gazes towards the silver-haired girl walking beside him. He was aware he was seemingly tense compared to her and her crunching of the snow, and the winter air riddled with cold and whispers of doubt.
"(Come on Percival, you're just walking beside her! Take the chill pill!!!)" he scolded himself internally.
But he also knew that he couldn't help it, he just simply didn't want to mess anything up.
She turned to him, a brow raised. "Mr. Percival? Are you okay?"
He gripped his fists within his pockets. "Yeah, why?" "(Am I that obvious???)"
"Nothing, you just looked a little tense. Is there anything you're not telling me?"
He noticed a long tree branch poking out long and low, then back at her. "More importantly, Zephyr.." he quickly grabbed her by the opposite shoulder and pulled her closer. "There's that branch sticking out weirdly low, it might snatch your scarf."
He desperately attempted to sound the usual, and if she was successfully flustered, then he was surely even more red than her. "(AGHHH——!!!)"
"Oh.." she perked to the right, observing the branch. "That looks sharp."
He let go of her, then met her gaze again. "Thank you so much Mr. Percival!" her smile reached their corners. "I would've felt really bad if I ruined Brother's gift for me."
"No problem."
They both looked forward, and he silently fist pumped with a self-satisfied smile. "(Worth. It.)"
.
.
.
Having a sip, the warm drink satisfyingly flowed through his mouth, the warm and chocolatey smell vacuumed down his nose. "Hot chocolate never goes wrong at this time of the year, especially out here in the park."
Zephyr chuckled. "I bet you're a sucker for hot chocolate."
He stood up, and with a free hand, slammed it against his heart, puffing out his chest. "With honour true, I proclaim myself the honoured one!" He raised his fist. "Forsooth, 'tis I who doth keepeth the trade of hot chocolate alive throughout the rolling year!" A few heads turned to them.
As if she couldn't contain it, she bursted in laughter. He subtly smiled, knowing she laughed even if he wasn't really funny.
"You're so weird, Mr. Percival~!" The nearby lanterns illuminating the dim ground met her silver hair, illuminating a certain white similar to that of nearby snow.
He watched her every move, sipping from his glass cup to hide his redness.
After she calmed down, he peered the cup, "You know."
"Yes?"
He slowly turned it around with his hands, "I wish everyday was like this for everyone." The simple blue curve trailed up and down like the waves of the sea. "I wish they could all just sit down, drink some hot chocolate, and talk to someone they cherish." The warmth of the cup seeped through his gloves.
Zephyr kept silent, whereas he closed his eyes and inhaled it all in. "Do you wanna know one thing I miss from my home?" He slightly raised the cup to his lips, taking a sip.
"..What is it?"
"Someone to cherish."
"Really?"
"Yes, really." he raised his cup. "Like hot chocolate, but it's not the same as cherishing a person."
She slightly leaned in, her eyes meeting his. "Mr. Percival, is there any person you cherish now?"
"Yeah, I cherish her a lot." he sipped his hot chocolate. Her eyes slightly widened, as if surprised. "Though she doesn't feel the same, so I'm stuck."
"Oh.. Well, do you talk to her often?"
"Not often, but a decent amount of times."
She folded her arms and pouted. "That's absurd! By now, she should see how much of a great person you are! Any girl would like a kind and easygoing guy like you."
He sipped again, attempting to hide the grin spreading across his face.
She tugged his sleeve. "Tell me who that dumb girl is, I'll knock some sense into her!"
.
Her eyes gaped to its limits, she released his cuff, her cheeks a red mess. He couldn't tell whether it was positive or not—if she felt the same at all.
"M—Mr. Percival.. You.. You like me..?"
Percival nodded and placed his hand atop of hers. "..I like you, Zephyr, way more than I hoped to."
She leaned back and buried her face in her free hand, her ears boiling hot as she muffled her squeak.
.
"..I'm sorry, but I only see you as a senior."
His mouth and eyes gaped, and his hand instinctively let go of hers.
She looked down. "..Right now, I don't want to see anybody, especially not when a conflict is going on.. You understand, right?"
.
"What if.." he couldn't leave it this way, "What if you give me a shot when this all ends?" Even if he scowled at himself for being pathetic, it was all he could think of at this moment.
Zephyr's eyes looked away, hesitant. However, they returned to her, as hopeful as her smile. "I promise. I'll let you know if it just can't be."
He nodded with a weak smile.—That's all he needed to know.
.
.
.
All these emotions singled onto one thing as the seconds ticked, and Zephyr continued to decay.
"..Sanguinex.." the blonde student rose from his feeble state.
Sanguinex, cloaked by her blood red hair, raised her head to meet his.
"I want to avenge Sévir's sister—your best friend."
She brushed her arm against her eyes. "What are you gonna do..?"
He, nor anyone will get to see her smile again. "I'll do whatever I can.." he raised a balled fist. "Because they took a star away from us." Nor will they ever see her rise to the top as she was destined to.
The heat within every neuron in his brain, every breath in his lungs, every beat in his heart, and every mana cell in his body all screamed for one thing.
He extended a hand. "Let's all avenge Zephyr."
Sanguinex paled as if she'd seen a ghost. The Percival standing before her didn't carry the casual air around him, nor did he wear the smile he used to.
In front of her, stood a Percival, bruised by the edge of his frowning lips and sharp right eye, he gazed at her with something she seemed to recognize.
She rose from her seat and pursed her lips. She seemed hesitant, but eventually gave him a disgusted look. "If I'll avenge Zephyr, then I'm only doing it with Sévir." she refuted. "As is, you're far from being able to carry such a mission."
He naturally clicked his tongue to her two statements. "That's true.."
But there's no way he could leave it there. "But that doesn't mean.. That doesn't mean I can't try!" he swayed his arms and stepped forward. "I'll train myself, I'll do whatever I can! If I can only conjure Clone Magic, then I'll make the very most of it!!"
His voice reached the ceilings, a hand pressed against his heart, another against the table. "I'm committing myself to avenging Zephyr,—I'll do everything to find her killers and bring peace to her soul." An image of Zephyr flashed before his eyes, smiling and reading like she'd always been.
Her face bore no expression. "Then," she crossed her arms, "I have a suggestion to make."
He deeply inhaled, his nerves cooling down slightly. "..What is it?"
She extended her arm, her index and middle finger open wide. Their tips glowed green as did the dark marks in her face, and the door slammed closed very briefly.
Surprise jolted his body, instinctively turning around to the sound of the door.
It could've been someone, but at least it was really just Sanguinex's doing. He turned back to her, who gave the most serious look she ever wore.
"Have you heard of the [West Capital Organization]?"
Percival's breath hitched.