Chad slumped down on his desk, groaning in boredom. "Ahhhhhhh, Satenko, I'm so BORED!" He stared at the clock ticking, waiting for the school day to end. Satenko approached Chad's desk with another stack of papers meant for him to sign. Slamming them on his desk, residual papers ascended away, meeting the floor. "Instead of contemplating, you should focus on your paperwork, President." Chad yawned, closing his eyes as his body slowly deflated in comfort. "Well, I'm just going to sleep. Wake me up when the school day is over." he said, feeling himself dozing off into his sleep. Satenko, not having it, charged up a lot of electricity within herself, outputting multiple lightning bolts in numerous directions. "You'll do your work; is that clear, President?"
Snapping out of his drowsiness, he sat up and fixed his posture immediately, shocked by the loud bangs of the lightning bolts that Satenko produced. "Y-Yes ma'am..." he said, feeling defeated.
*
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"Finally, it's been three hours; I can take a break!" he said, faceplanting onto his desk. "I'm so glad Student Council is exempt from all academics... I would be drained if I had to take any classes on top of this."
"Good work, President. You should take your lunch break as you deserve it." Satenko said, grabbing her binder.
"What about you? What are you going to do?" Chad asked.
"I'm also going to take my lunch break; any questions?"
"Nah, just wonderin', go have fun."
"I'll see you in an hour then, President." Satenko said, taking her leave of the room. As Chad listened to her footsteps getting farther away, he took a few seconds of rest before deciding to go to lunch as well.
Chad got out of his seat and did a wide stretch, relieving himself from the stress he had to endure due to the piles of paperwork he had to sign. "Time for lunch... Hope they got something good this time!" he exited the Student Council room. The creaking door slammed shut behind him, and the hallways were filled with many students traversing the halls. "It's passing time, so the halls are flooded right now. I just hope that it won't be too annoying to get to the cafeteria."
As he traveled, a fight broke out in the crowd, something Chad had wished not to appear. Two students dishing out magical attacks at each other, causing flames to plow through the hallways. "God damn it." he thought, knowing that it was his duty to break up any fights. Before he could take any action, a blessing came forth as the Disciplinary Committee stepped in to stop the fight. "Stop fighting, all of you!" a girl shouted. With all the committee members standing behind her, she stood out the most with a gold crest on her right arm. In fluffy pink hair that trailed down to her thighs, her facial expressions did not match her pretty appearance. "I'll kill ya' if you keep this up!" her voice echoed down the hall, intimidating the troublemakers. That caused a disturbance in the halls. She turned to the other committee members with an angry scowl. "Do your jobs properly and send them to the detention hall!" she commanded, causing them to go quickly on their feet. Taking them away, the crowd dispersed quickly to avoid getting in the way of the committee members. The only one who lingered was Chad, staring directly at her. "Huh, she must be a higher rank in the Disciplinary Committee, seeing how she's ordering around the other ones. I wonder what her magic is..." He observed her, curious about her capabilities.
Making eye contact with her, she stared back in an awkward silence. Only seconds later, she uttered words at Chad.
"Gross."
"H-Huh, I'm gross?!" Chad replied, pointing at himself.
"Yeah, stop staring at me, you're creeping me out." she said, walking away.
Watching her distance away from him, he sighed. "Well, I guess she had a point; staring at people is odd..."
He made his way to the cafeteria, stopping at the entrance. Observing the interior, he noticed it was packed with students. "I wonder what they have on the menu today!" Chad's anticipation was high as his stomach growled, begging to be satiated. "I should get in line now. I can't stand here forever!" As he went down the lunch line, the options appeared quite bleak. "Either boiled steak or some weird mashed potato combination; who thinks of these things?!" he thought, seeing the lunch lady place the steak onto his food tray.
Looking at the rows of tables in the cafeteria, he saw that they were all relatively filled with people he didn't know. "Hmm... maybe I could strike up a conversation with somebody." He attempted this mission to know more people at the school and maybe get more friends too. Sitting at a table with two guys conversing, he introduced himself to them with a bright smile. "Hey guys, my name is Chad; would you mind if I sat here?" he asked. The two did not seem to be pleased with his sudden appearance; in fact, they were quite bothered. "Yes, we do mind." One of them says, quickly shutting down Chad. "O-Oh, okay..." Chad replied, getting up from his seat. He didn't expect them to be so blunt, nor did he expect them to push him away that fast. "Maybe I'll try to sit at another table..." he said with a gloomy tone.
Setting his food tray at another table full of girls, his of food was suddenly pierced by a collage of icy spikes. "My food!" he screamed, looking at his tray. Averting his eyes up, it was full of mixed expressions. Some were of disgust, while others were full of rage. "I'm unsure if you got the memo, but this table is reserved for high-ranking students!" one of the girls told him. Her hair was fully white, with white eyelashes that sparkled and dark blue eyes that were filled with an eerie stare. In Chad's eyes, she was quite the looker, especially in her school uniform. "D-Damn, who's this beauty?" he thought, still ignoring her frustrations at Chad. She snapped her fingers, making one of the protruding spikes extend toward Chad's direction, forcing him to dodge. Moving his head, the spike nearly hit him, grazing his ear. Blood trickled down his ear, Chad touching it to grasp what had happened. "Quite the cold one, aren't ya'." He said, giving her a sly look. "You're exactly my type, lady." With a wink and a bright smile, his poor attempts gave shivers down her spine. "You disgust me, you pig." she said, extending the ice spikes in Chad's direction. Swiftly dodging them, he scurries off, waving at her. "Nice chatting with you, by the way, my name's Chad!"
Even though this second attempt didn't work well, he still tried with other tables. Over and over again, he was shut down as if his presence was forbidden to be around. "Do I stink or something? Why does nobody want to be around me?" He was in a very depressed mood, unsure of how to proceed any further. Maybe getting friends was harder than he thought. To be fair, he couldn't make many friends a few years ago. "Even if I tried to make friends, they would all eventually die anyway."
The images of the After-School Study Club members flashed through his mind, sparking a revolution within his head. "Wait a minute! I'm pretty sure I'm friends with them, right? I'll go see if they want to hang out for lunch!" It was until blood trickled down his cheek—the same blood that splurged out of his ear wound from earlier. "I should probably go see a nurse..."
***
Going inside the nurse's office, the sight was something that he did not expect. It was Niantha lying on the nurse's bed while an unfamiliar face stood beside Niantha. She wore a professional suit and had trimmed black hair. She also had bunny ears that twitched upon hearing Chad's arrival. "Um, what's going on?" he questioned, observing the three of them. The mysterious girl who stood beside Niantha shut her eyes and placed her hand on herself, introducing herself. "Ah, you must be Chad Brinkston. My name is Cece, and I'm an acquaintance of your fi-"
Chad had ignored her and immediately went to Niantha. "Damn, Niantha, what happened to you?! You're really injured right now!" He asked, crouching down to her bedside.
"You're ignoring me?!" Cece said, raising her voice at Chad.
"Oh, sorry, who are you again?" Chad replied.
Reintroducing herself, she made sure to plant her eyes on Chad, making sure he paid attention to her introduction. "My name is Cece, and I'm a friend of your fiance, Kotori! We're also partners in the detective bureau we are in!" She pulled out her detective badge, showing proof of her comradery.
"F-Fiance?! Where did you get that from?" Chad said, recalling what he had just heard.
"She's not your fiance?"
"No way, she's not my fiance at all. If she says we're lovers, it's most likely she's spouting nonsense as per usual."
"But she always talks about you and boasts how you are the best couple in the entire world."
Niantha could visibly see the irritation growing on Chad as he listened on to what Cece had to say. "The President seems ticked off..."
"That damn cat, she keeps running her mouth too much," he grumbled.
"Oh yeah, she would also tell me how you two would always get together and-"
Chad quickly covered Cece's mouth, his face flustered to what she was about to say. "Don't talk about that stuff; that was in the past!" Chad said, tightening his grasp.
His face was bright red and extremely flushed. Even in battle, Chad had always kept a cocky demeanor. So it was surprising for Niantha to see a sudden change in that demeanor for the first time. "This is the first time I've seen the President blush... how bizarre."
Cece, gently moving his hand away from her mouth, spoke on the intense gaze that Chad had. "Wow, you have the eyes of a tiger, very fitting to how you were back then!"
"Let's just get back to the more important things, okay? What happened here?!" Chad said, looking at Niantha. "Ah, well, what happened was pretty simple. On my phone, there was a distress signal coming from Kotori, so I rushed to the area. And once I got there, I had found this girl on the floor, beaten to a pulp!" Cece pointed at Niantha, who was indeed heavily bruised. Glasses cracked, she had a left black eye, and underneath her school uniform, she was covered in bandages. It also concerned Chad that Niantha was left in this state even while Kotori watched over them. "Niantha, wasn't Kotori defending you all? What happened?"
Niantha readjusted her cracked circular glasses, trying to recall the events that went on prior. The memories were foggy, but she felt them surfacing the harder she focused. Tensing up her mind, the memories nearly emerged, only to cause Niantha a sharp pain in her head. As she winced in pain, Chad planted his hand on her back, trying to comfort her. "Niantha, are you alright? You don't need to push yourself!" he told her, seeing the pain she was in.
"S-Sorry, President, it seems that I'm unable to be of any use." she said, planting her hand on her forehead. Niantha disappointed herself with her capabilities again. "Useless, once again. Even in a dire situation like this, I can never be of use." Her expression turned very dejected, something that Chad could not bear to witness. Patting on her back, Chad smiled, saying, "It's fine; we're just going to have to resort to finding the girls instead." His smile was reassuring to Niantha, but on the inside of Chad, he was deeply worried. "I hope they're alright... I'm scared something might've happened to them." Not to mention, people were powerful enough to make Kotori send a distress call, according to Cece. He personally had trained Kotori, even if she had major setbacks. There was no way she would struggle with your average fighter, especially with her magic ability.
"Cece, is there any possible way for you to track down Kotori?" he asked. Cece skimmed her phone for any ideas before coming up with an idea. "Yes, I do have a way! I can just track down her phone and get us the coordinates to where it's at."
"Really? You're able to do something like that?!"
"Yes, I literally work in the same detective bureau with your fiance; something like this is light work for me!" Cece said, confidently crossing her arms.
Shortly after, he took Cece's bunny ears with force and began to carefully tug on them. "You twerp, I told you she isn't my fiance!"
Cece tried to grasp Chad's hands but was still outpowered by his strength. "Wait, please don't tug on my ears; they're sensitive!"
With Niantha observing this altercation going on for a few more minutes, the situation had calmed down. It wasn't until Chad stared at Niantha, giving her a tiny scare. "President, don't think about tugging my ears." she warned, covering her tiny elf ears. "I'm not thinking about tugging them." he replied, approaching her. "I'm just thinking about what we should do with you. This journey might be dangerous, so I'm thinking you should stay here and rest."
"But, President, I'm fine!" Niantha said, leaning in towards Chad. It wasn't until she winced in pain, causing her to crumble up in her bedsheets.
"Yeah, no. You're going to rest here." he said, turning to the door. Before he could walk off, he felt Niantha grasp his hand tightly. "Niantha, what are you doing?" His head snapped back towards Niantha, seeing eyes with flames of determination.
"Shoka, Keisha, and Elmira! I do not want to leave them behind. Please allow me to come assist, President." Cece butted in, knowing that Niantha was making a foolish demand. "Niantha, you're just going to get beat up again! Just let Chad and I handle this!" Cece looked over at Chad, waiting for him to agree with her. On the other hand, Chad didn't want to reject her determination to save her comrades, but he also didn't want to put her in danger. Shutting his eyes, he tightened his fist, as if he were angry about the decision he was going to make. "Okay, fine, you can come." he reluctantly said, looking away from her.
Cece was shocked; she thought, "Why is he bringing an injured girl on a dangerous mission?!" Niantha's eyes widened, also shocked by how fast he changed his mind. "R-Really? You'll let me come along too?" she asked, her voice filled with confusion.
Chad sighed, still not making eye contact. "I was in your shoes once. There was a time when I had the chance to save my comrades too, but I was forced to standby. I've regretted that decision of not taking action for the rest of my life; it still haunts me to this day."
Chad plants his hand on Niantha's back once again. "That's why I'll bring you under one condition."
"I'll do anything!" Niantha said, clutching onto his hand.
*
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A girl raises her hand in class, prompting the teacher to call on her. "Teach, I don't feel so good; lemme go to the nurse's office!" she said, leaning back in her chair. "Ruiko, if you're going to the nurse's office to skip again, you'll be in big trouble." the teacher replied, giving her an angry glare. "Trust me, teach; my stomach hurts soooooooo bad!" Ruiko said, grinning at the teacher. The teacher sighs before writing a note for Ruiko. "Okay, fine, take his pass and go to the nurse's office." She hands Ruiko the note and watches as Ruiko darts off.
"Heh, time to see what the nurse is up to!" Ruiko says, nearing the nurse's office. Before opening the door, she could hear loud noises coming from inside the room. "Huh? People are inside already." She listened closely, trying to understand the voices behind the door.
"P-President, you're going too rough... Please slow down a little; it hurts so much!" A female voice pleaded, heavily panting.
"Niantha, just keep relaxing your body and let me do the work. The more you tense up, the more it's going to hurt." A male voice responded.
Ruiko covered her mouth, speechless at what she was hearing from within the nurse's office.
"But President, we've been going at it for an hour straight; please give me a break!" The female voice said, starting to groan loudly.
"No way, an hour straight and they're still not stopping?!" Ruiko held in her breath, trying to be as silent as possible.
"Cece, hold her down; she's trembling too much." The male voice ordered, with the voice of another female saying, "Aye, aye!"
"P-President, I-I'm feeling lightheaded; please stop..." The female voice said, now gasping for air.
"Oh, Chad, she passed out." The other female voice says. Replying, the male voice responds by saying, "Yeah, I'm guessing that she must be filled up by now. Let's wait around 30 minutes before we continue for another hour. By then, she'll probably have enough room for more."
Ruiko stands up before dashing back to class. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, what have I just listened to?" Going back to class, she sits in her seat silently, even ignoring the teacher's calls. Her mind was blank, only replaying the voices from the nurse's office in her head.
[1 HOUR AGO]
Chad slowly let his hands-free from Niantha's grasp. "If you're willing to do anything, then I'll make you awaken mana."
"Mana? Right now? President, we should be wasting no time in trying to save the others."
Immediately, he flicked Niantha on the forehead. The pain seared through her body, making her recoil from the pain. Gently grasping the spot of pain, she didn't realize how much a simple flick could hurt this badly. Leaning in towards Niantha's face, he raised his hand in front of Niantha, feinting a flicking motion. As Niantha flinched at the sudden action, Chad followed up by saying, "You're struggling with simple flicks from my finger; if you go out there now, you'll just be a burden in the state you're in. That's why you should have SOME sort of way to protect yourself at the very least."
As much as she wanted to save her friends, it was true. She's just a burden at the end of the day, and her feelings don't matter when it comes to a life-or-death situation. She gripped her blanket hard with her fingers, feeling only frustration. In a defeated tone, she says, "But I need too..." still struggling to handle the truth. Chad gently pats her head, surprising Niantha with the sudden action. "Don't push yourself, ya' moron. Sometimes progress takes time."
"Okay, fine. I'll get mana first; what are the first steps to awaken it?" Niantha asked, eager to start right away.
"Well, first, we need to diagnose your issues. Every living thing has two components: a mana storage and mana vessels. A mana storage is like a heart but for mana, while mana vessels are just like blood vessels but made for mana circulation instead. Usually, whenever someone has problems using mana, it's caused by a genetic disorder called Manaclastia Syndrome."
"Manaclastia Syndrome? I've heard that before. Isn't it where you're born with a faulty mana storage?" Cece inputted.
Chad nodded, saying, "Yeah, it's a condition where your mana storage struggles to store your mana properly, causing the mana to slowly fizzle away as complete waste within your body. Kotori has this condition, forcing her to limit her mana usage into fractions due to her small mana storage."
"But, President, the doctors have said my mana storage is completely fine. They can't seem to figure out why I can't use mana at all." says Niantha.
"Because your problem is man-made and something I've only seen once in my life." Chad stated, shocking Niantha with the knowledge. "Man-made? What are you talking about? Are you telling me someone has done this to me?" Niantha asked, raising her voice with a mixture of anger and surprise. She became almost furious at the thought of her troubles in life without mana being caused by others. The bullying, the uselessness, the tears, and the pain—all of that accumulated due to others putting this onto her?
"Yes, someone has done this to you. Earlier, when I checked by placing my hand on your back, I first implanted mana into your mana storage, which worked perfectly fine. It was until I tried to force my mana through your mana vessels, which was a dud." Chad said, recalling the events of a few minutes ago.
"Does that mean, my mana vessels..."
"Yes, your mana vessels have been sealed off. I've only seen one case of this back then, and that was due to major experiments done on them. For someone to do this to you, you must've gone through similar treatment."
"Then how do we fix this problem?" Niantha questioned.
"Well, the way I figured out how to deal with this is through a lengthy process. I'm going to have to forcefully open every mana vessel in your body again. There's only one downside to this, though."
"And what would that be?" Niantha asked. He could see the nervousness in Chad's face; it almost seemed as if he was too reluctant to respond at all. Niantha fixed him with an intent eye, desperate for him to tell her. No matter how much Chad resisted, he couldn't deny such an innocent look. Finally budging, he says, "It's extremely painful. It's so painful that it's considered one of the worst tortures imaginable. Not to mention, this method could take hours on end." The screams of agony that he had to listen to, doing this same operation on someone else. It made him feel horrible, but they also asked in the same way Niantha did.
No amount of pain could convince Niantha to change her mind. Either she awakens mana or she regrets it for the rest of her life. "It's fine, President, let me do it." she says, with unwavering resolve.
"Okay, then, first you need to take off your upper-body clothing and any bandages." Chad said nonchalantly.
Niantha's face flushed a deep crimson upon hearing his request. "You want me to s-strip...?" she asked. "Yes, I want you to strip. I'm going to be forcibly inserting my mana inside of your mana vessels, so it'll expand your mana vessels bit by bit. Clothing will make this process tougher to go through." Chad slid off her school uniform and unraveled her bandages without question, causing Niantha to scream. "P-President, I can do this myself!" Niantha stated, her face still flushed. She covered up her chest, turning the other way to where Chad could not see her front. Chad, seeing how she was clearly uncomfortable in this situation, tried to reaffirm her with his past experiences. "Oh, worried about me seeing you topless? Don't worry, I'm used to seeing topless ladies!" Chad said, giving a thumbs up.
"I don't think that makes her feel any better about this." Cece inputted.
Kneeling onto the bed, he suddenly pins Niantha onto her front, having a firm grasp on her exposed back. "President, u-um, this position is quite uncomfortable..." Niantha says, seeing Chad lean over her from behind. "Stop complainin'; my legs will tire out if I stand, slouching over you for the next two hours at the bare minimum. This position will also help me stop you from moving around too much."
"What do you mean by moving around?" Niantha asked as she tried to squirm away from the very inappropriate position with Chad.
From his hands, Chad implanted mana within her mana vessels, making a strong jolt of pain surge within Niantha. Her body violently twitched as it felt like her body was being shot with hundreds of bullets in one sitting. She let out a rough groan, gasping for air as the pain slowly subsided away. Already heavily sweating and tired from a mere second of this procedure, she shuddered as she looked back at Chad. "P-President... t-this is..." Before she could speak, Chad cut her off. "Nope, you said you would do anything to get mana, right? Well, this is the only way. Just stay strong and try to relax the best you can, okay? I'll go nice and slow."
As he implanted more mana inside of her, tears swelled up in her eyes, and her body continued to have immense spasms. Screams echoed from the nurse's office as Cece tried her best to cheer on Niantha.