"How are you managing to get more invasive as a sleeping partner?"
A groggy Rain looks down at his chest, where a freshly awakened Tess is lying on him with a satisfied grin. There's not even a trace of shame in her voice.
"It's called bonding, Rain...growing closer...and it's a natural part of any romantic relationship. Also, are you complaining about it? Because some part of you seems very happy with this arrangement."
She flashes him a smug, suggestive look as she says the last part, causing a wave of heat to rush towards Rain's face. He swears internally.
'Damn it...she knows I can't help it!'
In fact, if such situations were difficult to avoid before, they're nearly impossible now. At first, Rain would wake up to Tess laying next to him, an arm and maybe a leg sprawled across him at most. Now, though, he's woken up to her fully on top of him, her face buried in his chest, both her arms and legs wrapped around him in a bear hug, and all the most distracting parts of her pressed firmly against his body.
He responds in what he hopes is a calm voice, but it comes out sounding a bit flustered.
"Th-that isn't fair, Tess! Anyone with a pulse would react this way if faced with your...sleeping habits! What do you expect me to do!?"
Tess chuckles in amusement, then leans forward and kisses him lightly on the cheek. For reasons unclear to Rain, she still refuses to kiss him properly after waking up. Her voice becomes playful...amused.
"Oh relax, I'm just teasing...you don't need to do anything. I mean, where did you even get the idea that I'm bothered by this? If that were true, I wouldn't keep sleeping so close to you, dumbass."
He lets his head flop back into the pillow, a deeply annoyed sigh escaping his throat. A few seconds later, he looks back at Tess, her teasing forgotten.
"Duly noted, jokester. Anyway...how do you feel about the qualifying round for the tournament today? Like your chances of meeting the threshold?"
She purses her lips in disapproval, her green eyes full of disdain as she studies him.
"You know, we need to work on your sexy talk in the mornings...I don't think you're really grasping the concept, Rain."
Tess lets out a dejected sigh, her eyes becoming a bit apprehensive.
"Anyway, I'd say it's a coin toss for me. This qualifiers are meant to correlate pretty well with Bloodline and Resonance. Daemon Bloodline students always get a spot, but some of the Titan Bloodlines like me will miss the cut. What about you, though? Are you worried about standing out too much?"
He purses his lips thoughtfully. He's been considering that for some time now. Qualifying at all indicates a Titan or Daemon Bloodline. However, the bigger issue is his score...he'll need to hold back a touch, since even his base punches would slightly outscore all the Daemon Bloodlines using Ichor. However, if he holds back too much, he'll miss the cut...it'll be tricky.
Rain gives her a nonchalant shrug.
"As long as I don't use any Ichor, my score will barely beat the Daemon Bloodlines. So, nobody will know that I'm a freak, but...yeah, that's still too much attention. I'll try and hold back a little, and if I miss the cut as a result, I can live with that."
She raises her eyebrows in surprise.
"Wait...I knew you were strong, but...can you really overpower the Daemon Bloodlines without even using Ichor?"
He just nods calmly.
"Like I said, it's only barely, but...yes."
Tess's eyes become intensely curious, but her expression conflicted, as though she's holding back a question. Eventually, she speaks hesitantly.
"No pressure, but...you've mentioned wanting to tell me about what's going on with your Bloodline one day...whether it's God-tier. Any idea when that day might be?"
Rain chuckles and shakes his head in amusement.
"When I'm sure that you're sure that I'm worth the long-term hassle...romantically or platonically."
She gives him a confused but suspicious glare.
"What...does that mean?"
He directs an affectionate smile at her, meeting her suspicious, emerald eyes head on.
"It means...once you've been a part of my life longer, and you're sure that you want all of my problems to be your problems, let's discuss this again. I'll answer your questions then."
Realization dawns on her face, and she gives him an annoyed expression.
"So, basically...when you're sure that I won't abandon you?"
He feels a pang of fear and guilt at the crass characterization. It's not a completely fair one, but...it does cut to the heart of his reservations. At the end of the day, he's still a product of his environment...an orphanage. He really trusts Tess, more than he should, probably. But he's never had the luxury of assuming that people will always stick by his side, supporting him. He doesn't even assume that of Bright...he just needed her to know the truth, for her help. Now that she knows, there's no urgent need to tell someone like Tess.
He gives her an apologetic look.
"That...feels like a harsh interpretation, but...yes. It's not because I'm assuming that you'll do that, it's just...hard to imagine a future where I have someone that I can rely on so completely. That's not a familiar situation for me, Tess. But for what it's worth...right now, our relationship is the closest thing I have to something like that."
Those are his true feelings. He perhaps confides in Bright more, especially with information about himself. But if he had to ask someone for help...to have his back...Tess would be the first one he'd think to rely on. In a sense, he's come to trust her even more than Bright, though they're a difficult comparison.
He watches as Tess looks back at him, sympathy and hurt both taking turns in her expression. Eventually, she sighs and gives him a sad smile, but her emerald eyes are burning holes in him, intensely trying to convey something.
"Yeah...I guess I understand. But for what it's worth to you, I'm not going to abandon you Rain. Don't get a big head or anything, but...I don't exactly consider this a casual relationship. You're important to me, in a way that's not easy to discard."
Feeling warmth blossom in his chest under her severe gaze and words, Rain grins widely, his silvery eyes shining brightly as he studies her affectionately.
"The feeling is mutual, Tess."
With that, he sees her expression relax slightly, her gaze shifting away from his nervously, and a bit of color rushes to her cheeks. She buries her face in his chest again, out of sight, and speaks in an embarrassed tone.
"Good...glad we're on the same page."
*****
"What do you think, sensei?"
Rain watches as Nik studies his omniwatch intently. Those participating in the qualifiers for the Champions' Tournament have each been assigned a contestant number, and summoned in batches by omniwatch notification throughout the day. At the same time, live impact score distributions and periodic updates of qualifying score predictions have been forwarded to all the students' omniwatches. This is the data that Nik is studying.
The two of them are only a few contestant numbers apart, and will likely be summoned in one of the later batches. Rain is pretty grateful for the latter fact, since it lets him get an estimate of how much he needs to hold back to qualify without standing out. That's, essentially, what he just asked Nik – what's the magic score going to be?
The Legacy purses his lips thoughtfully, not looking up from his device as he responds.
"Hmm...I'd guess the cutoff will end up being 63, but it may change by one point in either direction as new scores come in."
Rain breathes a sigh of relief...Tess has already been through the qualifying round, and she messaged him that she scored a 64. So, as of now, it looks like she'll pass. He's also been wondering about Ronin, but she'll likely be in the batch right after him and Nik. Like him, it's in her best interest to hold back.
Her case may be more challenging, though. From what he's been able to guesstimate, her base punches would probably score in the 50s, while her Ichor-supplemented punches would be in the 100s. So, she has the daunting task of partially infusing her strikes with enough Ichor to qualify without drawing too much attention to herself. He's not envious.
A sudden vibration from his omniwatch pulls his attention from such thoughts, however. Glancing down, he reads through the alert. At the same time, he sees Nik scanning an alert on his own device.
It's time for them to participate in the qualifying round.
*****
Not long after, Rain and Nik are standing in line inside the training room they normally spar in. However, now it's filled with several Academy staff carrying strange equipment and taking notes on the Champions undergoing their qualifying round tests. He watches as Nik, a few students ahead of him in line, is called to one of the impact machines to begin his test.
A polite woman greets him in front of the machine, and asks him to expose his Mark. She then takes a strange sticker-looking device with sensors on it, and places it over his Mark. From what Rain understands, that's supposed to allow the people monitoring the test to detect if a Talent is used, though he's not sure how it works.
The woman assisting Nik seems to check some readings on a monitor briefly, then gives him an encouraging nod, signaling that he can start his test. The Legacy thanks her with an enviously handsome smile, then turns his focus to the impact machine. Rain watches as his friend lines up, and delivers a thunderous blow, causing the indicator to climb rapidly before settling...
on 72.
Rain's eyes involuntarily widen in shock. 75 was the highest score on the general ranking system before the tournament, excluding the Talent users. Yet, his friend has nearly matched that. There's no doubt in his mind – Nik must have a Daemon Bloodline, and plentiful Resonance, too.
Nik returns the monitoring device to his staff liaison, then begins walking back down the line to exit the room. Seeing Rain's dumbfounded expression as he passes, Nik smiles apologetically. Rain, however, isn't having any of it. He sighs in exaggerated exasperation, clicking his tongue disapprovingly.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk...so, let me get this straight. You're tall, handsome, a Legacy, have an extensive comic book and videogame collection, and apparently carry a Daemon Bloodline...do I need more reasons to hate you on principal, Mr. Perfect?"
Nik rolls his eyes at Rain.
"I have flaws, too, Rain. Besides, word around the Academy is that now you have two beautiful girlfriends. Who should really be the subject of petty jealousy here?"
Rain chuckles nervously, avoiding Nik's smug gaze.
"Uhm...yes, it's unfortunate that Tess's and my romantic relationship is tainted by those other rumors."
Nik's eyes widen in shock, all hints of humor evaporating.
"Wait...so those rumors are true!? You're dating Tess!?"
Rain blinks in surprise.
'Oh, right...we never really discussed it. I was wondering why he hadn't brought the rumors about Tess and I up yet. Guess he just assumed people saw Tess and I hanging out and jumped to conclusions, like with Ronin.'
Rain clears his throat nervously, preparing to change the subject. He's not ready to discuss his love life here and now.
"Ehem...yes. But quit changing the subject Nik! We were discussing these flaws you claim to have. Conveniently, you've never provided evidence of a single one...so I should be doing the interrogating here!"
The Legacy gives him an exhausted expression, but after a few moments, it transitions into a sly smile.
"No evidence...what are you talking about? Have you seen my taste in friends? Seems like a pretty obvious flaw to me."
Rain's mouth parts slightly as he's left in stunned silence. In that brief moment, Nik's grin turns smug as he chuckles, and he proceeds to walk away from Rain with a wave, not giving him the chance to respond to the obvious insult. Regaining his composure a bit too late, Rain spins on his heel to call after Nik, his voice echoing in the room.
"Hey get back here you pretty cheat! Don't act like you won! All you did was list another reason to envy you!"
Alas, despite Rain's obnoxious taunt, Nik just waves nonchalantly over his shoulder as he exits the room. Rain is left with a disapproving look on his face, an exasperated sigh escaping his throat.
'That handsome bastard...I'm never admitting how funny that was...'
He returns his attention to the line in front of him, and finds that several of the students are staring at him with judgemental expressions. He shakes his head at them and gestures in the direction Nik left.
"Some people, am I right?"