POV: Sarah Iyasu
~ Minutes Prior ~
Heading towards my dormitory, I pondered on my future restlessly as I questioned if taking a leave of absence was the correct decision until I remembered Rai's words, which brought forth a mix of emotions.
"I truly hope that one day, you'll overcome your trauma and begin taking life much more seriously as I would like to believe that behind that mask you wear, lies a kind girl who genuinely cares for those around her instead of someone who puts others down in order to make themselves feel better."
As annoying as he is, he's right about me.
During the mission, I'll admit that I was scared, but what I really feared was the difference in power between myself and the Cardinal Sins.
The oppressing power that forces the weak to obey every command of the strong.
That harsh reality is what terrified me to my very core as in junior high, it was the very same reality that I desperately tried to run away from.
I was a victim of severe bullying as every day pushed me closer to the edge until Aria came into my life.
With her by my side, she encouraged me to become stronger and as time passed, I became strong enough to prevent myself from being a target of bullying, but subconsciously, I became arrogant as Aria's presence allowed me to hide my insecurities and at some point, I started to become a completely different person and began treating those around me terribly, despite them being innocent.
For years, I've projected my trauma onto others because I was too weak to overcome it myself and whenever I was confronted about it, I chose to run away…
But no more.
I'm not doing this for Rai's sake, but for my own.
Starting today, I'm going to strive to become a better person as the sole reason why I had dreamed of becoming a hero was to save as many people as I can.
Arriving outside of my dorm, I opened my door to find two pairs of shoes placed by the entrance as one of them was Aria's black loafers that she typically wore as a part of her uniform, but as for the other pair, they were black sneakers belonging to a male as the size of the shoes confirmed my suspicions.
Are those Everett's shoes?
No, Everett's feet are smaller than that, which means…
Aria of all people, invited a guy over?
There's no way… right?
With my curiosity reaching an all time high, I approached Aria's room as the door was halfway opened, but to my astonishment, I was speechless as upon my arrival, the shoes belonged to none other than Rai, who was partly dressed with his shirt off, revealing a well-defined torso that appeared as if it was in peak condition, bearing many questionable scars across it as I found Aria in the midst of removing her hoodie, wearing a revealing black tank top as I even noticed a few of her clothes scattered across her bed.
Rai?!
What is he doing here and why are they getting undressed?!
Were Aria and Rai about to…
For at least a minute, the room was remained silent until the awkward tension was broken by none other than Aria, who was unable to utter a coherent sentence as her face was flushed red while Rai was miraculously able to maintain his composure, despite the hectic situation that was currently unfolding as I raised my trembling arm and pointed towards Aria.
"W-Were y-you two about to have-"
"SARAH, IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! I PROMISE!" Aria cried out, flustered beyond control as she flailed her arms anxiously, stammering amidst her panic as Rai grabbed the hoodie from Aria and placed it over his chest, measuring it within his mind until he let out a sigh.
"It's a long story, but in short, Aria and I met each other at the supermarket this morning out of coincidence and after shopping together, a boy named Atticus attacked me and once I lost to him, Aria refused to let me go to the infirmary and instead, decided to heal me inside of her dorm." Rai explained calmly as he handed the hoodie back to Aria, who quickly threw it back on as she slowly began to regain her composure.
"I see… then can you explain why your shirt is off?" I asked as I felt my cheeks grow warm from staring at Rai's torso, which seemed irresistible as I felt a strange attraction towards it, despite my initial disdain that I once had towards him.
I've never seen a boy my age with a body like that.
What in the world did he experience for him to gain all of those scars?
"Atticus broke my right arm and bruised my body, so in order for Aria to heal my injuries, I had to take off my sweater, which is now in the wash because it was drenched with blood, although…"
"It seems that I'll have to wait for my sweater to finish washing since Aria doesn't have anything I can wear as of now." Rai replied as Aria chortled sheepishly amidst scratching her cheek.
"If you need something to wear, I can just lend you one of my hoodies." I offered as Rai's eyebrows furrowed with interest.
"Are you sure one of them will fit me?" Rai asked as I nodded, opening my duffle bag of clothes as I searched for one of my oversized hoodies.
Originally, I packed for my leave of absence, but I decided that I won't run away anymore.
I'll have to inform the Headmaster about my decision later on.
After finding one of my oversized hoodies, which was a black hoodie with a small print of an olive green rose, I handed it to Rai as he tried it on and to his surprise, it fit him decently as his sturdy frame as more visible due to my hoodie being slightly smaller than his actual size, inspiring Aria to give Rai her opinion on his appearance while I remained silent, staring at Rai as I drifted away into my thoughts.
You know…
I despised you when we first met as you were the only one who confronted me for the way I acted, which even I can concur that at the time, my attitude was certainly unreasonable and childish, but the way you spoke to me as if you knew me irritated me the most.
I thought you were just another contemptuous student who lived a perfect life, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
After witnessing you placing your life on the line to save students that you have known for less than a few weeks as well as to seeing your scarred body, your actions were immediately justified as you have suffered through far worse than anything I could possibly imagine, so I want to apologize for judging you and although I don't have the courage to tell you any of this personally…
Thank you for saving me, Rai.
"I'll give you two some alone time to flirt. I'll be in my room if you need me, Aria." I teased with a wry smile as a crimson tide surged into her cheeks while I picked up my duffle bag of clothes from the floor.
"Sarah!" Aria cried out as her flustered state amused me.
"Thanks for the hoodie, Sarah. I'll return it to you soon." Rai said with a smile as I noticed his bangs were tied up, revealing much more of his face than usual as I locked my eyes with his own, inadvertently gazing into his entrancing sky blue eyes for only a moment until I felt a peculiar sensation strike my heart.
How annoying.
"You're welcome and I have plenty of hoodies, so there's no rush in returning it." I deadpanned, restraining my newfound emotions as I entered my room and closed my door from behind, using it to slide down into a sitting position as I sat on the floor and inhaled, taking a deep breath as I felt a searing warmth arise within my face.
Why does he actually not look bad?
"You got to be kidding me…" I muttered to myself as I stared at the ceiling in a daze.
POV: Rai Shinsei
Soon after Sarah's arrival, I left Aria's dorm, leaving my sweater with her and allowing her to indulge in the well-needed rest she deserved as I traversed through the corridor towards the exit of the dormitory, avoiding any unnecessary attention as I wore my hood and walked with my head down.
Thankfully, no one noticed me leaving Aria's dorm.
Upon arriving outside, I removed my hood and took out the hair tie Aria used to tie up my bangs as I began heading towards my dormitory, longing for my bed as I was too tired to bother with a shower or eating breakfast, but despite what I desired, my day was far from over as I noticed Everett, who seemed to be looking for someone until he noticed my gaze, prompting him to hurry towards me with a large grin as in the moment he called my name, I felt something inside of me die as I was unable to reciprocate his contented mood.
My day is never going to end, is it?
As he approached me, I sighed and met up with him as I observed his attire, which was an atrocious gray patterned tracksuit as his joggers were unable to reach his ankles, revealing half of his shin as I felt a grimace of disgust take place within my expression.
"Everett, with all due respect, what in the hell are you wearing right now?" I asked in bewilderment as he looked down to observe his fit, but despite my necessary reaction, he was unable to discern the problem as he looked back up in confusion.
"It's a tracksuit that my grandma bought me. Is there something wrong with it?" Everett questioned as I struggled to comprehend his ignorance of common fashion sense until I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath in order to prevent a headache from arising.
"Nothing, Everett. Is there something you need from me?" I asked as Everett swallowed dryly with a determined light growing within his eyes.
"I want you to train me." Everett answered firmly.
"No." I replied nonchalantly as I began heading towards my dormitory once more until Everett rushed in front of me and blocked my path.
"Please, Rai! You're the only one that I can ask!" Everett implored as I sighed from his persistence.
"Everett, do you understand why I'm hiding my power to begin with?" I asked as Everett remained silent, unable to answer my question.
"It's because I want to live a peaceful life—a quiet one at that. Training you isn't the problem. The problem is that there's nowhere to train you without gaining unnecessary attention." I explained as I expected Everett's determination to falter and yet, my rejection seemed to have only fueled him as there was an ambitious fire beginning to dwell within his eyes.
"I'm weak. For as long as I can remember, I've been called the weakest and I'm sick of it. I want the strength to protect myself and those around me. I want to become strong as it has always been my dream to become a hero and make a difference in this world. If I can have the power to even save one life, then that's enough! You're the strongest student that I've ever met and that's why I'm begging you, Rai…" Everett voiced as the fervent fire within his eyes continued to grow, intriguing me as I listened intently to his desire.
Well would you look at that.
"In order for me to achieve my dream, I need you to train me, Rai." Everett uttered as I felt a smile creep onto my face.
This is what a hero should be like.
"Alright, Everett. I'll train you, but under one condition." I said as Everett's face beamed with excitement, waiting patiently for my response.
"I'll train you once a week on Saturday, but if you're unable to improve before our next training session, that will be the end of our deal. Do you understand?" I asked sternly as Everett nodded ecstatically.
"Of course! Thank you, Rai!" Everett replied, groveling before me as his gesture of gratitude made me feel uncomfortable while several onlooking students began staring at us in concern.
"Everett… stand up already. There's no need for this." I voiced in displeasure as he immediately picked himself up from the ground in exuberance.
"Anyways, let's exchange contact information. I'll send you a message tomorrow." I said as Everett thanked me once more before rushing off into the distance, although despite his ebullience, I found myself frowning as I was unable to tell if the decision I made today would be a blessing or a curse.