Outside of the headmistress's office stood a brown-haired man. His one red eye bore a hole in the wall while his one blue eye looked straight forward. The silver uniform on his body fit loosely. The buttons on his sleeves remained unbuttoned and the hem of his pants was tucked into his socks.
Hajime leaned against the wall. His mind replaying what he did. He lost against Charlotte and he killed a man. A bitter smile appeared on his face as he thought. If this wasn't a dream, it would be his first time taking a life.
He sighed heavily.
"Dad, was this how you felt?" he whispered to himself.
Finally he took a deep breath through his nose before exhaling out of his mouth. Then he pushed off the wall.
'Lead me to Aveline.'
[Following the host's command]
The system led Hajime through various corridors, staircases and courtyards. Until finally he reached a building labeled: Flora Binding Room. He walked towards the reception. The receptionist seemed to be busy with something else.
Two guards entered the cobblestone building. Their tags were made of amethyst. 'Coroners'.
Hajime held eye contact with them as they walked by. One had green eyes and the other had purple.
"Hello sir, can I help you?" the reception interrupted his staring contest.
"No, I know what happened."
"Then may I have your name and student identification? So I can put it on record."
"I'm Hajime Starfall and I'm new so I don't have an Identification yet."
"I see."
The receptionist took out a book and started writing. Hajime followed after the guards. They headed straight towards the room where the incident happened.
All kinds of students stood there, whispering amongst themselves. Some seemed to have heard what occurred and others were just curious about the commotion. The guards shooed away the crowd before they entered the room. Hajime waited patiently outside, as the coroners examined Julian's remains.
After a few minutes Aveline exited the room. Her vacant eyes didn't change even with the death of this student. She gazed at Hajime.
"Did you kill him?" he asked.
"Yes." her monotone voice rang through his ears.
Aveline turned away from him, as the sound of her shoes echoed throughout the hallway.
Hajime followed after Aveline. She stopped in an empty corridor before turning to Hajime.
"What?" she said in her usual monotone voice.
"I'm here to apologize."
Aveline tilted her head in confusion. Her expressionless face gave away no clues. Hajime took a deep breath before responding.
"For breaking off our partnership."
Aveline blinked a few times. Then she proceeded to walk past Hajime. He grabbed her by her shoulder. A soft sweet scent caught his attention.
"Wait, I'm not done talking," he stated. His hand remained firmly gripping her shoulder.
She stopped moving and stared blankly at Hajime. Her gaze bore holes into him. He swallowed hard.
"I wasn't against partnering up with you."
His words were met with silence.
"I just didn't like how you gave me no choice in the matter."
Silence.
"I wanted to choose you myself. Not to be forced into it."
The rustle of wind blew through the corridor. Hajime's blue and red eyes met with Aveline's green ones. Her lifeless demeanor remained unchanged, as she looked at him with that same blank look on her face.
Hajime couldn't help but rub his arms as he looked around the corridor. Her silence was starting to get uncomfortable. He took a step closer to Aveline. Their eyes never broke contact.
Hajime extended his hand out towards her. He smiled apologetically.
"I'm really sorry for the way I handled it."
Aveline stared at Hajime. Her facial muscles remained flat. She looked at his hand for a moment, but she did not reach out to grasp it. Instead she tried to walk past him again. Hajime grabbed her wrist. She was wearing white linen gloves that covered her entire forearms.
"Can we try again?" he pleaded, as he held her wrist tighter. "Without forcing each other this time."
She glanced at Hajime. Her eyes narrowed slightly. Then she yanked her arm out of his grip and turned away from Hajime.
He bit his lips. The dice was cast. He was going to follow through with it.
"Please Aveline, please." he begged. "Let's start over."
Hearing his pleads, Aveline halted once more.
Aveline slowly turned around. This time her brows were slightly raised as she crossed her arms. The silence was still there.
"Even if you don't agree to be partners, I'd still like to get to know you."
Aveline flinched visibly. Hajime noticed it. His eyes widened. He had caught Aveline's attention now.
"I know we-"
His words were met with a slap to the face. The sound resonated loudly in the corridor. The pain spread through him like lightning striking a tree. He staggered back a little before regaining balance. His eyes watered involuntarily and his cheeks turned red. The sting lingered for far too long.
He lifted his hand and rubbed his cheek tenderly. He looked at Aveline.
"Did you have t-"
Another slap struck him. This time it was stronger than before. But Hajime prepared his mana beforehand. Begging is different than being a punching bag.
"Wha-"
"Stop. Talking." She demanded, as she glared daggers into Hajime. She took a deep breath. Her expression returned back to normal. "You're not allowed to talk to me."
"What?"
"You're not allowed to talk to me," she repeated in a monotone voice as if it were obvious. As if the sky was blue and the grass is green. Hajime's face scrunched up into a frown. He couldn't believe his ears. He couldn't understand how this woman worked. One minute she's silent and the next minute she's slapping him.
"Why not?"
Her eyes darted in his direction, piercing into him like needles stabbing through his skin. She opened her lips slightly before closing them. She raised her index finger and pointed it towards Hajime.
"Silent partner. Two weeks trial."she said before she walked away.
Hajime rubbed his forehead as he glanced around. Hoping god would give him a sign to understand this woman. Alas, there was no divine intervention nor a sign from God. Hajime stood alone in the corridor with a headache brewing.