Knock, knock, knock!
Tess and Rain both snap their gazes to the door, their impending discussion temporarily forgotten. Tess looks over at him, bewildered, and she whispers frantically.
"Who is that!?"
He whispers back incredulously.
"How the hell should I know!? You were with me all afternoon! Maybe it's Ronin...or the dean?"
Tess's face pales slightly, then she rolls off of him and begins lightly pushing him towards the edge of the bed.
"What are you waiting for, dumbass!? Get dressed and answer it...and toss me my clothes!"
Rain practically falls from the bed as she pushes him, then quickly rights himself and begins picking up and donning his clothes, casting an admonishing look at Tess as he does so.
Knock....knock...knock!
He hears the knocking again, more measured and forceful this time.
'Someone's impatient...'
He glances over at Tess, who is still naked and wearing a startled expression, then calls over his shoulder towards the door.
"Just a moment!"
He quickly picks up her clothes as he plainly ogles Tess's now fully exposed body, then he tosses them at her and moves towards the door. He stops in front of it, glancing back to watch Tess get dressed haphazardly. She quickly pulls on her shorts and tank-top, skipping every other article, then pulls the sheets up to cover herself. She nods at him approvingly.
He turns around, takes a deep breath as he forces a calm expression, and opens the door.
Looking out into the hallway, he's surprised to see a tall, well-built guy his age with sandy blonde hair, light brown eyes, and an annoyingly handsome face. Rain's eyes widen in surprise.
"Nik? What are you doing here?"
Nik's expression turns bewildered.
"Wh-...what am I doing here? You...what are you being so nonchalant for!? The last thing I saw, you nearly killed a Legacy with an inexplicable burst of strength, then got dragged off by Academy staff! You didn't show up for our evening sparring yesterday, didn't respond to my messages, and you weren't in your room when I stopped by before! I thought you'd been expelled or turned over to the authorities!
"I had to message the dean to find out that you weren't expelled! What the hell happened, man? The dean said that you've been disqualified from the tournament, but he wouldn't say anything else."
Nik's voice is mildly annoyed by the time he finishes his rant, and Rain just blinks in surprise.
'Oh...right...'
Rain rubs the back of his neck and cuts Nik a sheepish grin.
"Ah...that. Uhm...yeah...basically I'm disqualified from the tournament for excessive use of force, since the guy got hurt. But they determined there was no misconduct, so I'm saved from more severe punishment. I'm really sorry about missing our training, sensei, things just got kind of hectic after that match. I met with the dean and...other stuff. So, I wasn't in my room until later, and I barely checked my messages."
Nik stares at him for several moments, initially annoyed, but his face slowly calms. Eventually, he sighs in exasperation and shakes his head.
"Well, at the very least, I'm glad it wasn't worse. Still, what exactly happened? That was well beyond what you displayed in the qualifiers, and I saw the judges' monitor...you didn't activate your Talent. So, how did you summon so much strength? Also, why'd you go after your opponent so aggressively?"
Rain watches as Nik's eyes fill with light suspicion.
'Fuck...I didn't think about this...'
Indeed, the story he'd agreed to the dean sharing is that the strength he displayed was the temporary result of some Nature attribute. He failed to realize before now, though, that such a story will cause problems with Nik. After his little 'demonstration' in the training room with him the other day, Nik will be skeptical of that cover story.
On the off chance he actually believes it, he might begin to wonder if Rain's demonstration was a result of said Nature attribute instead of his Talent. Either way, those lines of thinking will prompt Nik to re-examine the extent of Rain's strength, which he'd rather avoid. He's got enough friends privy to his secrets these days.
'But...what do I tell him to avoid that?'
He scratches his cheek nervously, preparing to try and bullshit Nik on the spot. But then, he sees Nik's face contort in pure shock. Just as Rain is puzzled by Nik's reaction, he hears a soft, feminine voice call out from behind him, its tone laced with annoyance.
"Nik, for gods' sakes, pester Rain about this stuff on your own time. I'm trying to enjoy our morning here..."
Rain whips his head around, his gaze landing on an angry-looking Tess, and his eyes widen in shock. She's now partially emerged from the sheets and sitting up in his bed, and a healthy portion of her cleavage is visible under her bra-less tank-top attire as she leans towards them.
He glances back at Nik, and sees that the Legacy's face has gone a little slack-jawed as he stares at Tess. Nik quickly averts his gaze, his face becoming red, and he's flustered as he speaks.
"Oh, uhm...Tess...hello. I...didn't see you there. My apologies for...intruding. Ehem...err, Rain, let's plan on our usual sparring tonight...we can just catch up then. I'll...uh, leave you to it...take care."
Without even waiting for a response, the flustered Nik walks off abruptly, leaving Rain staring out into the hallway blankly.
'What the hell just...'
He glances back towards Tess as he closes the bedroom door, totally bewildered. To his surprise, her annoyed expression has been completely replaced with one of relief. She flops back onto the bed, letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Thank gods...that was a close one..."
He stares at her in confusion for a moment, until realization dawns on him. His eyebrows raise in surprise.
"Tess...wait...did you interrupt because he was asking about what happened in the tournament?"
She sits back up on the bed, giving him a bewildered expression.
"Yeah? I mean, you told me about that sneaky little stunt of yours to downplay your physical enhancement Talent to him. So, isn't the cover story you came up with to the dean going to raise red flags for him? We need to come up with an explanation that will satisfy Nik when compared with the dean's version of events. I doubted that you had time to plan for that yet, so...I stalled. With any luck, the mental image of my tits is still haunting his thoughts."
Rain blinks repeatedly for several moments, then he begins chuckling uncontrollably and shaking his head.
'She's...really something else...'
Truthfully, he doesn't know how else to describe what she just did. Picking up on the fly that Rain's secrets were in danger, then sexually flabbergasting Nik like that on the spot to stall for him...it was simultaneously crass and genius.
He stares at her in awe, lost in his admiring thoughts, and Tess cuts her eyes back at him suspiciously.
"What? You're making a weird face..."
He smiles unabashedly and shrugs.
"You're just...amazing...you know that, right?"
Her lips twist into a smirk, her eyes glinting mischievously.
"Well, naturally, but...a girl could get used to this kind of praise. Since you're feeling grateful, how about I take off these clothes again and you give me that back massage you owe me?"
Rain grins and nods eagerly...he didn't hear anything after she mentioned her clothes coming off.
"Sounds great to me..."
*****
Several hours later, Tess is sitting in the seating of the amphitheater, awaiting the start of another tournament match. There's only eight remaining students participating in four matches today, so the Academy has stopped assigning seating. Unfortunately, Rain decided not to join her, to avoid drawing attention from surrounding students.
This morning, before the first match, the dean made an announcement about Rain's match yesterday and the ramifications of it, causing quite a stir among the students. Many of them felt that, since the Academy had concluded it wasn't misconduct, Rain should have been allowed to continue. Some even wondered if the Legacy had pulled strings in retribution.
Thankfully, though, most of it fell more into the realm of gossip than actual discontent, and Rain's reputation among the students seems to have improved, if anything. Still, mixed into the student discussion are theories about how Rain might be one of the most fearsome students in the Academy, so he wanted to avoid any spotlight.
Thus, Tess is reluctantly watching the matches alone.
Thanks to Rain's exit from the tournament, Nik, who would have been his next opponent, won by default and won't have a match today. Among the students she knows, that just leaves Ronin. Tess is actually quite eager to see the blonde girl fight today. She's had a sneaking suspicion since their own match that the Legacy was holding back...perhaps significantly.
Her suspicion was only bolstered earlier today when, after she asked if Rain was going to make an exception to attend Ronin's match, he just shrugged nonchalantly and said he already knew how it would go. Now that she finally knows the truth about Rain's exceptional abilities, such an endorsement from him rings especially true to her ears.
What's more, she can't help but wonder if Rain is aware that Ronin is holding back. Actually, she's all but certain of it. However, she's avoided asking him directly, since he'd probably decline to discuss Ronin's personal abilities. Still, after every tragic and incredible thing Tess learned about the blonde Legacy yesterday, she can't help but be even more curious about Ronin's strength.
She still feels a pang of guilt every time she remembers listening to Ronin's story. Thanks to her Nature, she knows that Ronin believed every word she said, and Tess felt every painful emotion that ravaged Ronin's heart throughout.
'Gods...never in a million years would I have guessed...'
She knows how much rage she'd feel if someone had taken her parents from her. On some level, she can even empathize with Rain's apparent obsession with helping Ronin. That's why she feels so guilty about what she thought of the girl at first...how she loathed her just for being a 'Legacy'. The Legacy, in fact.
Tess lets out a deep sigh.
As she tries to push her thoughts to other things, she inevitably reflects on her last twenty-four hours with Rain. The things she's learned about him...the things she's done with him.
After Nik left, Rain really did give her a back massage, and they discussed what Rain should tell Nik to avoid raising his suspicions. After that, though, buried in the wonderful feeling of his hands working all over her tired body, Tess's Quirk had become unbearable, until she gave into her desire to tear off Rain's clothes and have her way with him in bed again.
'Mmm...'
She feels her toes curl a bit at the memory of it. The first time last night was enjoyable, but...this morning left her so dazed that she couldn't think straight for several minutes afterwards, her body swimming in endorphins. She was so out of it that she almost told him she loved him.
It wasn't just the great sex. If she's honest with herself, it's the whole experience of the past day with Rain. Having him open up to her so thoroughly, be so vulnerable for her...and yes, learning how ridiculous the secrets in his Soul Temple are.
'Gods...why does that make him seem so much hotter to me...'
She can't deny that, since finding out what Rain's truly capable of yesterday, she's even more attracted to him. His abilities, the truth of what he faced in his Trial, and even his match with the Legacy...it all contributes.
She thinks the root cause is knowing he's quietly sinister and dangerous when antagonized, but always a complete teddy bear where she's concerned. Something about knowing that secret and being the exception really appeals to her.
A small, satisfied smile finds its way to her lips subconsciously.
"That's a rather charming smile...are you excited to see her match?"
Tess turns in surprise towards the unexpectedly close voice, and she sees a guy sitting in the seat next to her, which was empty moments ago. He must have taken a seat while she was lost in thought. He has a lean, muscular build, bleach blonde hair, and sapphire blue eyes.
She vaguely recognizes him from around the cafeteria...he's one of the obnoxiously handsome Champions she considered enchanting once upon a time, but never got around to.
She gives him a puzzled expression, scrambling to try and decipher his words.
"Her? What do you..."
As she trails off in confusion, the handsome guy flashes her a white smile and gestures towards the stage. Following his gaze, she sees that Ronin has taken the stage opposite her opponent, a large-framed guy wielding a spear, who Tess knows to be a Legacy. She hears the boy next to her continue speaking.
"I'm referring to Lady Ronin, of course. You fought her yesterday, yes? I saw the match myself, and I must say, you're as skilled and deadly with a spear as you are beautiful. You may have lost, but the display was nothing short of incredible. The ending did seem rather...uncomfortable, though. Are you feeling alright?"
This time, Tess doesn't overlook the guy's flirting, and she can now sense his desire for her clearly through her Nature attribute, Heart Reader. Once upon a time, that would have been quite flattering for her, but she's finding it less appealing these days, with Rain so heavily on her mind. Still, she sees no reason to be rude to the boy. And this will make a nice story to tell Rain...since he's been so friendly with that woman, Bright.
'I am so having a talk with him about their ongoing Soul Temple arrangements later...maybe a little jealousy of his own will help him see things clearly.'
Tess turns back to the blonde guy next to her and smiles politely.
"I did, and I appreciate that you think my spear skills were impressive despite the loss. I am a little banged up from the match, but I'm feeling quite well this morning. Thanks for asking."
The guy smiles back at her charmingly, his blue eyes studying her face.
"Ah, well I'm glad to hear it. Perhaps you'd feel up to joining me for dinner later, then? I'd love the chance to learn more about the girl behind that pretty face."
Tess frowns disapprovingly, though it's subtle enough that the guy doesn't notice. She won't get prickly with him over flirting, and she doesn't even mind teasing Rain with the information later, but she's not going to encourage it or entertain anything bolder from the guy.
She shakes her head firmly at him, then responds in a polite voice.
"That's flattering, but I'll have to decline. I have a boyfriend."
She expects the guy to act surprised or flustered, perhaps even try to pretend like the offer wasn't a date...just a 'friendly dinner'. Instead, however, he just shrugs nonchalantly.
"Oh yeah, the shorter, scrawny guy with the weird eyes. I'd heard that you two were involved, but...it's not really that serious, right? I mean, he seems nice enough, but you can clearly do better. He's a non-factor for me, if you still want to join me for dinner?"
As the guy smiles at her, completely relaxed, Tess feels her whole body tense at his words, her jaw clenching in anger. Her eyes turn dangerously cold as she stares back at him, and she doesn't hesitate to reinforce her words with her Talent, Siren.
"Go find another seat, then never approach me like this again."
His pupils dilate dramatically as his face relaxes, then he quietly gets up from the seat and walks away without another word. Tess stares after him with a scowl on her face.
'Scrawny...weird eyes. How dare that ingrate talk about Rain like that, then have the gall to act like I'd go out with him. He's lucky I didn't do women everywhere a favor and tell him to castrate himself.'
As Tess's rage slowly subsides, she realizes that she might have been a little quick to resort to her Talent in anger.
'Ah...on second thought, maybe I won't tell Rain about this little encounter...'