Mana Academy (IC) (Open, Fantasy)

[Finsternia]

Allistor Abendroth

Allistor wrapped his hand around Shaun's nape and pulled him down. "I think you should be doing something for me in return. You nearly killed me after all." He smiled and released him before crossing his arms on his chest. "But you're the one who won our little duel so I believe I owe you a dare." He smiled back as Shaun thanked him for the fight. "I am glad. Just tell me if you want to fight again, whether on the field or... someplace else." He winked at him and giggled before shooting him a piercing gaze. "But don't think that you've already won. I'm just sleepless and food deprived this morning." He tried to sound tough and commanding but for some reason it came out like a child whining.

Shaun Calhoun

Shaun furrowed his eyebrows as he was brought down towards Allistor by the back of his neck. His face was red as he slyly smiled at him before he was released from his grip. Although his didn't raise his head up as he continued to look into his grey eyes with a smile on his face. Upon hearing that he had won the wager, he soon realized that he didn't know what to exactly do to him as he originally thought that either Al was going to win or they would run out of time before the tournament started, thus ending in a draw.

But hearing his reason for his defeat as well as the near child-like demeanor in his voice, he smirked as he leaned in and placed his nose on Allistor's forehead, giggling, still red in embarrassment. "Well um...I honesty don't know what I can dare you to do. I didn't even know that I was going to win. Perhaps I um....Dare you to umm...." Shaun trailed off as he was at a complete lost for what he wanted him to do. "I dare you to...dare me to do something?" He said hesitantly as it sounded like he was asking him a question.

Allistor Abendroth

Allistor smiled at his still red face and the way he stuttered as he asked Alli to do the daring instead. He looked straight at Shaun's lilac eyes with determination. "If I dare you to fall in love with me, will you do that?" Allistor laughed and messed with Shaun's hair. "I dare you to do the same. I dare you to dare me. You really can't think of a good dare for someone as daring as you?" He then laughed again at his attempt at a pun and a thought emerged inside his mind. 'What if he'll take that dare seriously? What are you going to do if he really falls for you?'

[Saldinado]

Allistor Abendroth

Allistor smiled at his still red face and the way he stuttered as he asked Alli to do the daring instead. He looked straight at Shaun's lilac eyes with determination. "If I dare you to fall in love with me, will you do that?" Allistor laughed and messed with Shaun's hair. "I dare you to do the same. I dare you to dare me. You really can't think of a good dare for someone as daring as you?" He then laughed again at his attempt at a pun and a thought emerged inside his mind. 'What if he'll take that dare seriously? What are you going to do if he really falls for you?'

Shaun Calhoun

. . .

"Oh?" Shaun said quietly as he looked down at Allistor and furrowed his brow in thought as he felt him mess up his already messy hair. Softly laughing at him, he looked down at him and weakly smiled. "Well I really don't know to be honest. Like I said before, love is a verb that gets thrown around by everyone without them really knowing the power in it. But I will say..." He then leaned in and kissed Allistor on the forehead before raising up just a little and smiling at him. As he began thinking of what to say, his heart began to race as his face as well as his chest began to grow red. Shaun was literal person that took almost everything serious and tries to answer it, only to realize that it was only a joke. Hopefully this time he would make the right decision of not fully answering it as given their situation, the amount of seriousness was slim.

"...Now you want me to dare you eh? Well then..." He then combed his hair as the curly white locks fell into his eyes once again. "I dare you to...um...oh boy..." He stammered as he began to think of something. "I dare to um...Damn, why is this so hard? Um...Touch your toes while still laying on the bed?" He said in his same hesitant voice. But on the inside, he was rather worried as to what he will say about his reasoning.

[Finsternia]

Allistor Abendroth

Allistor smiled at his still red face and the way he stuttered as he asked Alli to do the daring instead. He looked straight at Shaun's lilac eyes with determination. "If I dare you to fall in love with me, will you do that?" Allistor laughed and messed with Shaun's hair. "I dare you to do the same. I dare you to dare me. You really can't think of a good dare for someone as daring as you?" He then laughed again at his attempt at a pun and a thought emerged inside his mind. 'What if he'll take that dare seriously? What are you going to do if he really falls for you?'

Shaun Calhoun

. . .

"Oh?" Shaun said quietly as he looked down at Allistor and furrowed his brow in thought as he felt him mess up his already messy hair. Softly laughing at him, he looked down at him and weakly smiled. "Well I really don't know to be honest. Like I said before, love is a verb that gets thrown around by everyone without them really knowing the power in it. But I will say..." He then leaned in and kissed Allistor on the forehead before raising up just a little and smiling at him. As he began thinking of what to say, his heart began to race as his face as well as his chest began to grow red. Shaun was literal person that took almost everything serious and tries to answer it, only to realize that it was only a joke. Hopefully this time he would make the right decision of not fully answering it as given their situation, the amount of seriousness was slim.

"...Now you want me to dare you eh? Well then..." He then combed his hair as the curly white locks fell into his eyes once again. "I dare you to...um...oh boy..." He stammered as he began to think of something. "I dare to um...Damn, why is this so hard? Um...Touch your toes while still laying on the bed?" He said in his same hesitant voice. But on the inside, he was rather worried as to what he will say about his reasoning.

Allistor Abendroth

"R-really? Touch my toes?" He sighed and just folded is legs and pulled his feet. He then reached, touched his boot and stared at Shaun. "There. You never said that I can't pull my legs." He then abruptly sat up and faced the younger boy. "Why did you waste that opportunity to make me do something funny or hard?" Allistor slowly leaned forward until they were faced to face. He softly caressed his cheek and pinched it. "Why are you always red? Am I really that hot for you?" He then again broke to laughter and returned the kiss on Shaun's forehead. The room's quite silent, except the soft hum of the airconditioning and their voices. "Wanna go out or you just want to stay here?"

[Saldinado]

Allistor Abendroth

"R-really? Touch my toes?" He sighed and just folded is legs and pulled his feet. He then reached, touched his boot and stared at Shaun. "There. You never said that I can't pull my legs." He then abruptly sat up and faced the younger boy. "Why did you waste that opportunity to make me do something funny or hard?" Allistor slowly leaned forward until they were faced to face. He softly caressed his cheek and pinched it. "Why are you always red? Am I really that hot for you?" He then again broke to laughter and returned the kiss on Shaun's forehead. The room's quite silent, except the soft hum of the airconditioning and their voices. "Wanna go out or you just want to stay here?"

Shaun Calhoun

Hearing him sigh and explain that he 'wasted that opportunity', he growled and looked at him with a more annoyed look on his face.

Oh, I'll make you do something hard alright...

He said as he felt played his his cheeks and explain his hotness for him, for which he looked away, still blushing and folding his arms while looking at him before he felt him kiss him on his forehead. "...Shut up; I'm not always red..." Looking completely embarrassed as his face and chest were both warm and red as his heart was beginning to beat at an even faster pace than usual; there was also warm feeling inside of him that he just couldn't explain. It was just...weird. But a satisfying weird. Suddenly Shaun then stared deep into Allistor's eyes and the next second, grabbed him by his hips and picked him up as he was quite easily muscular than him and pulled him into his lap, his face and chest completely red by this point as his body nearly shaking. Looking deep into his eyes with such passion, he kept his hands on his hips as he looked at him with a sly smile on his face.

"Why would I leave when I got all that I want right...." Shaun then looked at the door and saw that it was unlocked. Giving a quick glare and squint at it, he used his remaining mana to turn the metal and lock the door before looking back up at Allistor. "...Here. Now if you want a dare, then I'll give you a dare. I dare you to strip to nothing but your underwear, right here, right now. No exceptions. Even when in this position." He said with a more serious tone. And with his snowy white curls were still in his face with only the contrast of his purple irises being the main thing seen, it made him look even more serious and inviting. He then pushed his glasses up on his face and continued to look at Al as his can see that his chest was now getting redder and warmer as he waited for his response. The silence of the room hug over the two of them only to be disrupted by the soft hum the air conditioner.

[Finsternia]

Allistor Abendroth

"R-really? Touch my toes?" He sighed and just folded is legs and pulled his feet. He then reached, touched his boot and stared at Shaun. "There. You never said that I can't pull my legs." He then abruptly sat up and faced the younger boy. "Why did you waste that opportunity to make me do something funny or hard?" Allistor slowly leaned forward until they were faced to face. He softly caressed his cheek and pinched it. "Why are you always red? Am I really that hot for you?" He then again broke to laughter and returned the kiss on Shaun's forehead. The room's quite silent, except the soft hum of the airconditioning and their voices. "Wanna go out or you just want to stay here?"

Shaun Calhoun

Hearing him sigh and explain that he 'wasted that opportunity', he growled and looked at him with a more annoyed look on his face.

Oh, I'll make you do something hard alright...

He said as he felt played his his cheeks and explain his hotness for him, for which he looked away, still blushing and folding his arms while looking at him before he felt him kiss him on his forehead. "...Shut up; I'm not always red..." Looking completely embarrassed as his face and chest were both warm and red as his heart was beginning to beat at an even faster pace than usual; there was also warm feeling inside of him that he just couldn't explain. It was just...weird. But a satisfying weird. Suddenly Shaun then stared deep into Allistor's eyes and the next second, grabbed him by his hips and picked him up as he was quite easily muscular than him and pulled him into his lap, his face and chest completely red by this point as his body nearly shaking. Looking deep into his eyes with such passion, he kept his hands on his hips as he looked at him with a sly smile on his face.

"Why would I leave when I got all that I want right...." Shaun then looked at the door and saw that it was unlocked. Giving a quick glare and squint at it, he used his remaining mana to turn the metal and lock the door before looking back up at Allistor. "...Here. Now if you want a dare, then I'll give you a dare. I dare you to strip to nothing but your underwear, right here, right now. No exceptions. Even when in this position." He said with a more serious tone. And with his snowy white curls were still in his face with only the contrast of his purple irises being the main thing seen, it made him look even more serious and inviting. He then pushed his glasses up on his face and continued to look at Al as his can see that his chest was now getting redder and warmer as he waited for his response. The silence of the room hug over the two of them only to be disrupted by the soft hum the air conditioner.

Allistor Abendroth

Allistor stared at him with a poker face, hiding any emotion that he is feeling at the moment. He silently loosened his tie and threw it beside him. He started removing his blazer and then his shirt, revealing the lean and muscular body underneath. It took months of hardwork and physical training to achieve his body and he was proud of it. He took Shaun's hand and let it rest on his chest where his heart beated like the thundering hooves of a horse on a run.

He smiled and snapped his fingers, his boots unlacing themselves. He threw them on the floor with audible thumps and went to throw his belt to the mix. As he slowly took off his pants, he looked straight at Shaun's lilac eyes with grey eyes burning with passion. He then threw his pants on the floor, revealing a somewhat plain pair of white boxers. He then suddenly pushed him down the bed. Allistor placed both of Shaun's legs on his shoulders and growled. "Don't blame me on what will happen right now." As he leaned in for a kiss, the lights of the room suddenly died down, leaving the two on their own.

---

Allistor laid on his back as he cuddled Shaun to his chest. He leaned down to plant a kiss on his forehead and smiled. "I hope I wasn't that hard on you." When he noticed the innuendo, he laughed and waved his hand in the air. "No, that's not what I meant. I hope I didn't hurt you or anything." He embraced him, snuggling under the warm blanket covers.

[Chrome Legion]

Catherine de Sanguine Vivere


"Then you're a fool, giving control over you life to others." Catherine's voice had gained an edge. "What if they don't kill you? There are worse things you can face. If they leave you broken, defeated. Maybe you'll be lucky, it will only cost you an arm, an eye. Maybe you'll wake up every morning, unable to live with the shame, the pain for one more day. Then you'll wish they had killed you. Death would be a welcome friend, willing to take you away. If you're exceptionally lucky, and maybe just the right kind of strong, you'll have some one to live for, or something. But you'll never forget. And it will change you."

Catherine couldn't help but wonder why she was telling the girl these things. Maybe she was doing the very thing she was warning Himiko about, giving away information that could be used against her. Maybe her words could do something for the girl, before she did something stupid.

[Charlia]

Catherine de Sanguine Vivere


"Then you're a fool, giving control over you life to others." Catherine's voice had gained an edge. "What if they don't kill you? There are worse things you can face. If they leave you broken, defeated. Maybe you'll be lucky, it will only cost you an arm, an eye. Maybe you'll wake up every morning, unable to live with the shame, the pain for one more day. Then you'll wish they had killed you. Death would be a welcome friend, willing to take you away. If you're exceptionally lucky, and maybe just the right kind of strong, you'll have some one to live for, or something. But you'll never forget. And it will change you."

Catherine couldn't help but wonder why she was telling the girl these things. Maybe she was doing the very thing she was warning Himiko about, giving away information that could be used against her. Maybe her words could do something for the girl, before she did something stupid.

"...Maybe I am a fool," Himiko said softly, a quiet conviction in her voice. "But I have someone I want to protect, and even if it costs me everything I have, even if I fail, even if I live every day in constant pain or I'm slowly carved to pieces until I can no longer function as a human being, I don't care. I'll give everything I can give to protect her. And even if I fail, I can know that I did the best I could. And if that makes me a fool... then I will wear that label proudly. Because if it's for her sake... I will endure anything. As long as I can still draw a breath, it will be for her sake alone. I will protect the one I love most, until the very end."

[Saldinado]

Allistor Abendroth

---

Allistor laid on his back as he cuddled Shaun to his chest. He leaned down to plant a kiss on his forehead and smiled. "I hope I wasn't that hard on you." When he noticed the innuendo, he laughed and waved his hand in the air. "No, that's not what I meant. I hope I didn't hurt you or anything." He embraced him, snuggling under the warm blanket covers.

Shaun Calhoun

After their passionate moment, Shaun laid his head on Allistor's chest, as he felt him plant a kiss on his forehead. Listening to him correct himself as he made a little innuendo, he smirked and shook his head at his little joke as he explained himself more clearly and embraced him soon after. Sighing and shaking his head in amusement, Shaun raised his body up and ran his hands through his hair. He haven't done such activities in years, and even so, he still doesn't know what to feel about them. A part of him knew that this was a normal human thing. But his anxieties soon began to take over. After what his father and everyone else said about him as well as what he's done to get over Liam, he didn't know if he was suppose to be satisfied or disgusted with himself. But he soon realized something.

Am...I that type of guy? Am I just a complete slut of a man? I am, am I? And him...he's so pure and clean. And what am I? A disgusting, dirty fag; just like everyone else says. Heh. He doesn't deserve me or this. Right? I don't know. Perhaps I'm overreacting about this, am I? What would everyone else think?! T-They won't look at me the same! But what about him! It'll tarnish his name and reputation of the quiet, lovable, and regal teen. And what I'll be? I'll be his Monica to his Bill, huh? Yeah. I'm nothing but a Monica, am I? Heh. But instead of weight loss deals and TV shows, it's constantly lying on your back and getting that bitter taste out of your mouth, huh? The face of what you're not suppose to do. Hahaha! Yeah! That's what I am. My purpose in life has already been settled. Dad was right; I am a disgrace and abomination! Nobody wouldn't want to be with a person like me. Oh well I guess. Maybe it's for the best. I mean, there's other reason that people stay with me, right?

Soon, Shaun then began to laugh almost uncontrollably as if he was just told a confusing joke that took hours later to figure out. He then got up from his spot, still continuing to laugh and stood in front of the window wearing only his underwear with his hair obstructing his view once more. "Now...I know that you got what you wanted, so now you can go and leave me to be." He quietly, almost somberly said to Allistor while still looking at the sights outside; the warm sunrays warming his face and body. "Now that you'd had your fun, I'm no longer needed. Just like everyone else does. I guess you can say that I've fulfilled my purpose. " He then turned and walked towards the bathroom and closed the door behind him and prepared himself for his shower.

[Rhomaia]

Lorianus Comnenus

'What a disgusting sight...All of this pointless, earsplitting, mindnumbingly imbecilic commotion, and for what? For a good laugh by that damn Steadcester, so he can mock us all even further? To cut down the French and show everyone just how much legitimacy they don't have, along with their consistent failures? Or did the Committee plan for this the entire time, to have the filthy Commons and Bloodtraitors come out on top just so that they can impose their supposed ideals of 'equality and opportunity' and make us all into degenerates like the Yanks?'

'All of this is simply more disappointment, more chaos, and more lunacy from the ridiculous Commons, from the lowest of the absolute low...Yet all my kin see fit to do is wallow in that lunacy and call it prosperity...Why is none of this surprising anymore?'

Just as he had for the entirety of the morning, Lorian had kept relative silence in the ballroom during the scuffle between Bourbon and a fair half of the tournament audience following that Bloodtraitor's performance. Under ordinary circumstances he might have joined in the jeering that the Headmistress had started, but on account of his recently sobered attitude towards violence and his own intense distaste for the devil wearing prada, he simply stayed on the sidelines. With the slashing of her cheek by Lady Abendroth and her subsequent flight, it was not hard at all for him to validate that decision, even if he did hate that foolish, filthy redheaded doll more than anything else in the room. Why she had come, why any of the Americans had come at such a time as this, when the Noblebloods of Europe were all but at each others throats, was all but an enigma to him...

Once the room had again settled down to it's normal state of 'order' by the Steadcester with his little pawn at his side, it had come time for the final exhibition of the Second Round. All the while, Lorian had been waiting for his turn, and had even begun to wonder if he would indeed be participating at all, or if the American and Japanese Teams had somehow managed to persuade the judges to evict him from the roster for the stunt he had pulled yesterday with the pink-haired archer girl...The one he had killed only yesterday...

Yet the eviction of the young lord from the tournament was soon found not to be the case as the Steadcester's deep voice boomed throughout the ballroom, calling for Lorian to step forward and present his skills and talents to the now reduced panel of judges, as Lady Abendroth had evidently seen fit to attend to her garden rather than fulfill her duty in the Tournament. Upon hearing his name, he breathed out a discontented sigh and separated himself from the brightly robed mass of students that was the Italian Noble crowd, clad in black and gold in contrast to the bright reds, greens, blues and purples that characterized the fashion of Parisian and European Noblebloods in the audience.

Striding onto the center stage in his long, flowing black robes emblazoned with the ever traditional Comnenine symbol, a golden double headed eagle brandishing the cross and sword in true Roman fashion, Lorian still managed to carry himself with the same presence of a Nobleblood in spite of himself, with his head held high, his shoulders rigidly in place, and a stone-faced expression that was almost unbecoming of him. The boy's narrow, hawkish green eyes glinted in the light, but they held little interest in the judges that lay directly in their line of sight. To Lorian, they were only a distraction as of this moment. If he shut the thought of them out of his mind, along with everything else, his performance would go smoothly.

Around the Comnenine lord, the stage lights finally began to dim, allowing for his long awaited performance in front of the Parisian crowd to finally commence. Taking a small, deep breath, Lorian raised his right hand high in the air with an open palm, letting a stream of greenish-gold mana flow forth upwards, the glowing energy forming a small mass about two feet in length and mere inches in width. In time, the buildup of mana began to condense and sharpen, forming the shape and structure of the same emerald sword that he had utilized in the fight against Momoko. It's winged golden hilt and blade, enlaced with verdant streams of energy, shined even in the absence of the sun, and looked sharp enough to cut through any armor.

Observing his handiwork for a few moments and nodding to himself when he felt himself satisfied, the black robed boy slowly plunged his sword into the marble floor, the blade beginning to glow and spark with jade electricity. Upon contact however, the point of the blade did not seem to cut into the ground, or truly make any impact at all, as if the sword itself was not as solid and material as it looked.

From the point where Lorian's sword touched the ground, countless streaks of green light discharged from the spot, forming an array of ornate patterns and symbols along the floor, their origin undoubtedly Roman. The designs ranged from Roman lettering to old Etruscan scripts, some even having been arranged into verses that were indecipherable to those not privy to the knowledge of the long unspoken language.

From these 'glyphs' rose new streams of jade mana, though in much greater quantity than the simple sword conjuring that the boy had only just generated. The energy, almost liquid in it's fluid state, flowed like water in the air above the crowd and Lorian himself. It took a fair bit of time for the mana at this scale to converge and find shape, but he was certainly able to manage and control it. With a minute on the clock, however, he had much work to do still.

In a time of around thirty seconds, Lorian had been able to produce a towering construct, a gigantic jade soldier decked out in Roman legionary armor that measured somewhere around the area of twenty five feet high. Every part of it, from the chain mail that it wore, to it's segmented armor, to the ornate mask that it wore it's face, was extremely well detailed to the point of obsession. Imposing in stature the great construct stood tall with it's gladius and scutum in hand, ready and waiting for the moment when it's services would be required.

Lorian, giving a great heaving sigh, looked fairly drained from having created something so large, but the sly smile on his face showed that he was still more than capable of carrying on with his demonstration. Making a Roman salute to the figure with his right arm at an angle, the titanic legionary returned the boy's gesture of respect with sword in hand before rushing forward to begin the true performance that the audience had come to see. With this, the battle had started.

The duel between the two figures, the black robed Nobleblood and the massive jade soldier, lasted for perhaps another two and a half minutes, and was certainly a heated battle. Lorian had not rigged this battle to simply show that he could break down one of his own constructs in a stylish way like everyone else had. No, instead he had given his creation a degree of autonomy, but with one command in mind; to defeat it's creator. Every swing of it's greatsword, every strategic movement that it made to black the boy's attacks in the ring were made by it's own efforts, it's own 'consciousness', not mindlessness as had been demonstrated by the rest of the competition in Lorian's eyes.

Throughout the fight between the two, the Legionary was a hulking giant on the battlefield, slow in it's movements but strong when it actually did manage to hit something. Unfortunately, the only thing it ever seemed to hit with it's menacing sword was the floor, as Lorian was far too fast for it to catch, dashing and flying about the arena like a black blur while shooting off the occasional emerald lightning bolt from his blade. The boy always hit his mark, but the construct, with barely anything more than an overlarge melee weapon, was barely able to graze Lorian on the battlefield.

The fight was by far in Lorian's favor, and all throughout it he had kept the coy smile that he had at the beginning, but he knew that the time had come for the fight to end. When the legionary finally looked to have gotten a clear shot, the black robed boy flew high up in the air out of it's reach. Throwing his greatsword into the ground just inches away from the titan, a tremendous glow ignited around Lorianus as sparks flew from his palms. In his right hand, the emerald sparks gathered and joined into a single bolt of electricity as large as he was. Hurling the bolt with all his might, the lightning spear flew straight towards the sheathed blade, casting an emerald green glow upon the entire room before it made contact with Lorian's sword. In the next few seconds, the verdant sword erupted with a great flash of light, and the deafening crash of thunder shook the room as all faded to white.

---

The dust soon cleared, and the bright emerald light which had so filled the room had all but faded. The grand legionary that Lorian had been fighting now lie on the ground, slain. It's face, masked and expressionless, showed no pain nor fear as it's corporeal body dissipated once more into mana, a myriad of tiny green flares rising up from what remained of it's armor, which had been completely pierced by the bolt. In what seemed like no time at all, it had returned to the dust from whence it had came, and yet Lorian did not smile upon his victory as he removed his sword from the ground, letting into nothingness just like the creature it had defeated...

[Luminesa]

Lorianus Comnenus

'What a disgusting sight...All of this pointless, earsplitting, mindnumbingly imbecilic commotion, and for what? For a good laugh by that damn Steadcester, so he can mock us all even further? To cut down the French and show everyone just how much legitimacy they don't have, along with their consistent failures? Or did the Committee plan for this the entire time, to have the filthy Commons and Bloodtraitors come out on top just so that they can impose their supposed ideals of 'equality and opportunity' and make us all into degenerates like the Yanks?'

'All of this is simply more disappointment, more chaos, and more lunacy from the ridiculous Commons, from the lowest of the absolute low...Yet all my kin see fit to do is wallow in that lunacy and call it prosperity...Why is none of this surprising anymore?'

Just as he had for the entirety of the morning, Lorian had kept relative silence in the ballroom during the scuffle between Bourbon and a fair half of the tournament audience following that Bloodtraitor's performance. Under ordinary circumstances he might have joined in the jeering that the Headmistress had started, but on account of his recently sobered attitude towards violence and his own intense distaste for the devil wearing prada, he simply stayed on the sidelines. With the slashing of her cheek by Lady Abendroth and her subsequent flight, it was not hard at all for him to validate that decision, even if he did hate that foolish, filthy redheaded doll more than anything else in the room. Why she had come, why any of the Americans had come at such a time as this, when the Noblebloods of Europe were all but at each others throats, was all but an enigma to him...

Once the room had again settled down to it's normal state of 'order' by the Steadcester with his little pawn at his side, it had come time for the final exhibition of the Second Round. All the while, Lorian had been waiting for his turn, and had even begun to wonder if he would indeed be participating at all, or if the American and Japanese Teams had somehow managed to persuade the judges to evict him from the roster for the stunt he had pulled yesterday with the pink-haired archer girl...The one he had killed only yesterday...

Yet the eviction of the young lord from the tournament was soon found not to be the case as the Steadcester's deep voice boomed throughout the ballroom, calling for Lorian to step forward and present his skills and talents to the now reduced panel of judges, as Lady Abendroth had evidently seen fit to attend to her garden rather than fulfill her duty in the Tournament. Upon hearing his name, he breathed out a discontented sigh and separated himself from the brightly robed mass of students that was the Italian Noble crowd, clad in black and gold in contrast to the bright reds, greens, blues and purples that characterized the fashion of Parisian and European Noblebloods in the audience.

Striding onto the center stage in his long, flowing black robes emblazoned with the ever traditional Comnenine symbol, a golden double headed eagle brandishing the cross and sword in true Roman fashion, Lorian still managed to carry himself with the same presence of a Nobleblood in spite of himself, with his head held high, his shoulders rigidly in place, and a stone-faced expression that was almost unbecoming of him. The boy's narrow, hawkish green eyes glinted in the light, but they held little interest in the judges that lay directly in their line of sight. To Lorian, they were only a distraction as of this moment. If he shut the thought of them out of his mind, along with everything else, his performance would go smoothly.

Around the Comnenine lord, the stage lights finally began to dim, allowing for his long awaited performance in front of the Parisian crowd to finally commence. Taking a small, deep breath, Lorian raised his right hand high in the air with an open palm, letting a stream of greenish-gold mana flow forth upwards, the glowing energy forming a small mass about two feet in length and mere inches in width. In time, the buildup of mana began to condense and sharpen, forming the shape and structure of the same emerald sword that he had utilized in the fight against Momoko. It's winged golden hilt and blade, enlaced with verdant streams of energy, shined even in the absence of the sun, and looked sharp enough to cut through any armor.

Observing his handiwork for a few moments and nodding to himself when he felt himself satisfied, the black robed boy slowly plunged his sword into the marble floor, the blade beginning to glow and spark with jade electricity. Upon contact however, the point of the blade did not seem to cut into the ground, or truly make any impact at all, as if the sword itself was not as solid and material as it looked.

From the point where Lorian's sword touched the ground, countless streaks of green light discharged from the spot, forming an array of ornate patterns and symbols along the floor, their origin undoubtedly Roman. The designs ranged from Roman lettering to old Etruscan scripts, some even having been arranged into verses that were indecipherable to those not privy to the knowledge of the long unspoken language.

From these 'glyphs' rose new streams of jade mana, though in much greater quantity than the simple sword conjuring that the boy had only just generated. The energy, almost liquid in it's fluid state, flowed like water in the air above the crowd and Lorian himself. It took a fair bit of time for the mana at this scale to converge and find shape, but he was certainly able to manage and control it. With a minute on the clock, however, he had much work to do still.

In a time of around thirty seconds, Lorian had been able to produce a towering construct, a gigantic jade soldier decked out in Roman legionary armor that measured somewhere around the area of twenty five feet high. Every part of it, from the chain mail that it wore, to it's segmented armor, to the ornate mask that it wore it's face, was extremely well detailed to the point of obsession. Imposing in stature the great construct stood tall with it's gladius and scutum in hand, ready and waiting for the moment when it's services would be required.

Lorian, giving a great heaving sigh, looked fairly drained from having created something so large, but the sly smile on his face showed that he was still more than capable of carrying on with his demonstration. Making a Roman salute to the figure with his right arm at an angle, the titanic legionary returned the boy's gesture of respect with sword in hand before rushing forward to begin the true performance that the audience had come to see. With this, the battle had started.

The duel between the two figures, the black robed Nobleblood and the massive jade soldier, lasted for perhaps another two and a half minutes, and was certainly a heated battle. Lorian had not rigged this battle to simply show that he could break down one of his own constructs in a stylish way like everyone else had. No, instead he had given his creation a degree of autonomy, but with one command in mind; to defeat it's creator. Every swing of it's greatsword, every strategic movement that it made to black the boy's attacks in the ring were made by it's own efforts, it's own 'consciousness', not mindlessness as had been demonstrated by the rest of the competition in Lorian's eyes.

Throughout the fight between the two, the Legionary was a hulking giant on the battlefield, slow in it's movements but strong when it actually did manage to hit something. Unfortunately, the only thing it ever seemed to hit with it's menacing sword was the floor, as Lorian was far too fast for it to catch, dashing and flying about the arena like a black blur while shooting off the occasional emerald lightning bolt from his blade. The boy always hit his mark, but the construct, with barely anything more than an overlarge melee weapon, was barely able to graze Lorian on the battlefield.

The fight was by far in Lorian's favor, and all throughout it he had kept the coy smile that he had at the beginning, but he knew that the time had come for the fight to end. When the legionary finally looked to have gotten a clear shot, the black robed boy flew high up in the air out of it's reach. Throwing his greatsword into the ground just inches away from the titan, a tremendous glow ignited around Lorianus as sparks flew from his palms. In his right hand, the emerald sparks gathered and joined into a single bolt of electricity as large as he was. Hurling the bolt with all his might, the lightning spear flew straight towards the sheathed blade, casting an emerald green glow upon the entire room before it made contact with Lorian's sword. In the next few seconds, the verdant sword erupted with a great flash of light, and the deafening crash of thunder shook the room as all faded to white.

---

The dust soon cleared, and the bright emerald light which had so filled the room had all but faded. The grand legionary that Lorian had been fighting now lie on the ground, slain. It's face, masked and expressionless, showed no pain nor fear as it's corporeal body dissipated once more into mana, a myriad of tiny green flares rising up from what remained of it's armor, which had been completely pierced by the bolt. In what seemed like no time at all, it had returned to the dust from whence it had came, and yet Lorian did not smile upon his victory as he removed his sword from the ground, letting into nothingness just like the creature it had defeated...

Beatriz nodded and clapped, as she saw Lorian's performance-the final performance of the day. He had also performed well, his shocking performance being a perfect end to the day. "Your performance lasted five minutes. Your constructs were fantastically detailed, you used multiple elements to create them, and you showed excellent control over them in how you animated their swordfighting. Your final score is a six-and-a-half, you move to Round 3, and the Italian Academy earns a point," she answered.

She then stood and walked toward the middle of the floor. With the Abendroths still gone, and Madame Bourbon gone indefinitely, it looked like this Round was truly over. "Considering that your hostess has gone missing, I suppose now I shall do the honors. Congratulations to all of you who passed. All of you showed immense skill that is quite fitting for young mages of your caliber. I have judged this tournament for twelve years now, and every year I am impressed by the abilities of our student-mages around the world. As members of the International Mage Committee, we will take over the tournament until Madame Bourbon returns, as there is no reason to cancel this tournament because of her wrongdoings. Do know, however, that we will continue investigating the situations of the last few days, and that if you all have any information that we can use in such, we will greatly appreciate the help. Round 3 will commence in two days, and the conditions of Round 3 will be given tomorrow morning in the cafeteria. I wish the best for all of you. Get your rest, and enjoy your continued stay in Paris. That is all."

Soleil sighed slightly inside, as she finished speaking. He personally was quite glad the tournament was done. Now he could go rest and prepare for his...mission. As the crowds began to disperse, he scurried out of the ballroom and headed back to his room. Fortunately, Soleil was so focused on his mission that he did not even notice Allistor in Shaun's bed, as he entered the room. Or he at least looked like he did not, anyway. Keeping his eyes down, he wondered if he should change his clothes. He decided this might be a good idea, actually, and he went and picked his clothes out of his closet. He laid out on his bed a garment he did not actually wear often: thick black robes with an elaborate gold trim at the tail of the robes, along with a fresh set of white pants, black boots, a white dress shirt, and underclothes. He then walked over to the door-in which Shaun was about to shower-and he called softly, "...Sh-Shaun?...A-Are you in there?...I-If you don't mind...I'll go after you, okay?"

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Henry Von Kressel

After some time, Henry finally woke up. Allistor wasn't in the room, which was good in a way: He wouldn't have to explain why he cried so much, and why he simply almost passed out in his bed. Calmly walking to the bathroom, he washed his face, renewing his appearance and hiding away the fact that he cried. Once more, he put his traditional robes, and decided that he needed to take a walk.

Slowly, he went out of the room, calmly strolling through the corridors as he tried to decide what he would do. The worries drifted through his mind, as Henry tried to organize something about it. Among his endless thoughts, a sound was clearly distinguishable. Steps.

The sound eventually got closer, until Henry saw the ones behind it. Two Russians stood at the end of the hallway with a rather unpleasant face. As Henry turned around, trying to avoid an conflict. But soon as he did it, Anatoly turned the corner with a happy expression.

It didn't took long for Henry to realize it was an ambush. And then, Henry's arms were grabbed by behind, his back slammed against the wall, the impact extending to his head and lightly disorienting him.

Anatoly calmly strode to Henry's front, showing a small, curved dagger with a certain pride. He wanted to enjoy the moment slowly, savoring each second of the moment. He wasn't going to do it that quickly.

And then he punched. Kicked. Hit with his knee, elbow, every inch of his anger delivered in a series of blows that left Henry with considerable marks in the face and the rest of his body.

"- Henry Von Kressel! You don't know how I waited for this moment. You actually bleed. Where's that courage now, huh? Did you hide in your room? Or you just have it when that freak is around? Maybe, and I mean maybe, I'll pay a visit to him. Show him what I did to you. And then, I'll do the same to him. After it, I'll drop by the ladies rooms. Oh, that redhead... She'll love to see how you will be when I end our little bonding session. What do you think of it? Watch your mouth, the next words might impact my plans greatly.

- Watch... My... Mouth?"

And then, a laughter came out from Henry. A long, almost insane one, showing that even with the threats from the Russian he still had something inside him to confront his rival. And then, he answered.

"- You won't touch Rabbit. Because you can't. The moment you try, he will beat you to a pulp. Aria? No, no, no. You won't even reach her. Watch my mouth? Thanks for the advice...

- Advice? No... Someone block his mou..."

The phrase didn't end. With an uncommon fury he had spit fire in the fire, targeting their clothes, immediately making them panic. With a quick reaction, Henry slammed the head of Anatoly's friend against the wall, and threw him against the other one. However, this wasn't going to mean Henry's victory.

Desperately, Anatoly stabbed Henry at the side of his abdomen, causing the young noble to shout with pain. Henry was wounded, as Anatoly fled with his friends from the hallway, fearing another riposte from his nemesis.

But now, a problem was presented to Henry. He couldn't go back to Mana's bedrooms: It would mean the end of the Tournament for him, and Anatoly's expulsion. No. He had to make a statement. He had to believe in the chances that he was going to fight Anatoly in the next round, and he wasn't going to consider what Mercillia would do if she knew about it.

The French were nearer, but it was risky: Bourbon probably still had allies, and someone who openly defied her couldn't be seen wounded. All was left in his choices were the Japanese. Calmly and avoiding to make noises, he walked to where the Japanese were, finding the room of his first opponent in the Tournament: Midori.

The door was luckily unlocked, and Henry entered it with a hint of desperation in his steps, eventually sitting on a chair, his hand covering the wound and avoiding blood loss, until he waited for the occupants of the room to arrive...

[Chrome Legion]

Catherine de Sanguine Vivere


"Yet by your actions, and your worlds just now, you seem willing to die for nothing. You want to protect you beloved, but you weaken your self. What happens when you're defeated, laying useless, bound with your life slowly dripping out on to the ground, and the only thing you can see it the monster that did that to you staring out at your loved one, with nothing but hate. Even as her name is on your dying breath, you can't do anything. Then you won't just have betrayed your self, but them as well. You say that you will endure anything for them, but how can you know that, and it's a thing best left untested. If I was back at that moment, staring that monster in the eyes as it took everything from me, I don't think I would have the strength to deny it. There are pains so great that no matter your convictions you will gladly throw them out. Let anyone you know die, just to make it stop for just a second. If at that moment, that beast had offered me a way out, all I had to do was give it Aria, I don't think I could have denied it. I don't think there's any strength that would be enough to resist, so all you can do is make sure you're strong enough to never be put in that position, never give control of your self over to others."

[Saldinado]

Shaun Calhoun

Getting his shower ready, he heard the soft, timid voice of Soleil from the other side of the door and internally sighed. He knew that sooner or later he would find out what would've happened and only God knows how he would explain it. But he knew that he would need to know the truth; Sol wasn't the one that he could easily lie to. Shaking his head in exhaustion, Shaun leaned against the door and placed his head on the cold, hard surface and quietly and politely answered him to disguise his dejection. "Why yes, Sol, I'm in here. And no, I don't mind at all. After all, we do have to share a bathroom for the next few days I believe, so I've gotten use to it." He softly chuckled before he trailed off and finished with a more tired sigh. "Just give me a moment, and I'll be out." Getting up from off the door, he soon came to realize that he didn't bring a change of clothes in with him. "Damnit." He whispered to himself as he turned on the water to his shower and got himself prepared and in. All the while he washed and felt the hot water roll down his back, which felt like bliss as it helped soothed his aching body some, he began to replay everything that he did with Allistor in his head. What he did in the past. What everyone said to him, only to let his head lay on the tiles of the shower as he sighed and shook his head in abashment.

After about ten or fifteenth minutes in the bathroom, the door soon opened, as the hot air and steam began to slowly creep out from the bathroom and into the main living room where it lingered for a bit only to dissipate as it rose. The air smelling of a combination of blueberries, oranges, and mint filled the area and then some more as Shaun finally came out drying off his hair with his towel with nothing covering himself. He looked at Soleil with a causal look as he walked passed him and looked for something to wear. "There you go. Hopefully I didn't take too long." He didn't mind if he being nude around Soleil as he looked at him as a person that he didn't need to hide away from. Hopefully he didn't mind the view. After spending a few minutes looking for something to wear, he put on bright orange and blue undergarments before he found a blue, white, and orange robe that looked rather sophisticated and elegant with a pair of light blue pants and brown boots to complete the style. Putting them on in front of both of the boys, he focused his attention on the window outside at the view rather than them as he was quiet embarrassed. Once he was done, he walked over to the mirror where he did the usual teeth brushing, replacing his glasses with clear contacts, and checking to see if there were any form of acne on him. Luckily there was not at the moment and quietly sighed as he walked from the sink and sat in a chair next to the window and placed his left leg over his right and ran combed his fingers though his damp hair as he purposely left it alone due to the fact that he didn't feel like doing anything to it; the curls once again falling over his face for which he ignored and looked outside.

[Charlia]

Catherine de Sanguine Vivere


"Yet by your actions, and your worlds just now, you seem willing to die for nothing. You want to protect you beloved, but you weaken your self. What happens when you're defeated, laying useless, bound with your life slowly dripping out on to the ground, and the only thing you can see it the monster that did that to you staring out at your loved one, with nothing but hate. Even as her name is on your dying breath, you can't do anything. Then you won't just have betrayed your self, but them as well. You say that you will endure anything for them, but how can you know that, and it's a thing best left untested. If I was back at that moment, staring that monster in the eyes as it took everything from me, I don't think I would have the strength to deny it. There are pains so great that no matter your convictions you will gladly throw them out. Let anyone you know die, just to make it stop for just a second. If at that moment, that beast had offered me a way out, all I had to do was give it Aria, I don't think I could have denied it. I don't think there's any strength that would be enough to resist, so all you can do is make sure you're strong enough to never be put in that position, never give control of your self over to others."

Himiko shook her head sadly.

"I'd love to agree wholeheartedly and do as you say, but I'm afraid I can't," she muttered. "I've been being controlled by others my entire life. I'm afraid it's quite likely too late for me to change now. I've been like this for too long to suddenly become someone different."

[Luminesa]

Henry Von Kressel

After some time, Henry finally woke up. Allistor wasn't in the room, which was good in a way: He wouldn't have to explain why he cried so much, and why he simply almost passed out in his bed. Calmly walking to the bathroom, he washed his face, renewing his appearance and hiding away the fact that he cried. Once more, he put his traditional robes, and decided that he needed to take a walk.

Slowly, he went out of the room, calmly strolling through the corridors as he tried to decide what he would do. The worries drifted through his mind, as Henry tried to organize something about it. Among his endless thoughts, a sound was clearly distinguishable. Steps.

The sound eventually got closer, until Henry saw the ones behind it. Two Russians stood at the end of the hallway with a rather unpleasant face. As Henry turned around, trying to avoid an conflict. But soon as he did it, Anatoly turned the corner with a happy expression.

It didn't took long for Henry to realize it was an ambush. And then, Henry's arms were grabbed by behind, his back slammed against the wall, the impact extending to his head and lightly disorienting him.

Anatoly calmly strode to Henry's front, showing a small, curved dagger with a certain pride. He wanted to enjoy the moment slowly, savoring each second of the moment. He wasn't going to do it that quickly.

And then he punched. Kicked. Hit with his knee, elbow, every inch of his anger delivered in a series of blows that left Henry with considerable marks in the face and the rest of his body.

"- Henry Von Kressel! You don't know how I waited for this moment. You actually bleed. Where's that courage now, huh? Did you hide in your room? Or you just have it when that freak is around? Maybe, and I mean maybe, I'll pay a visit to him. Show him what I did to you. And then, I'll do the same to him. After it, I'll drop by the ladies rooms. Oh, that redhead... She'll love to see how you will be when I end our little bonding session. What do you think of it? Watch your mouth, the next words might impact my plans greatly.

- Watch... My... Mouth?"

And then, a laughter came out from Henry. A long, almost insane one, showing that even with the threats from the Russian he still had something inside him to confront his rival. And then, he answered.

"- You won't touch Rabbit. Because you can't. The moment you try, he will beat you to a pulp. Aria? No, no, no. You won't even reach her. Watch my mouth? Thanks for the advice...

- Advice? No... Someone block his mou..."

The phrase didn't end. With an uncommon fury he had spit fire in the fire, targeting their clothes, immediately making them panic. With a quick reaction, Henry slammed the head of Anatoly's friend against the wall, and threw him against the other one. However, this wasn't going to mean Henry's victory.

Desperately, Anatoly stabbed Henry at the side of his abdomen, causing the young noble to shout with pain. Henry was wounded, as Anatoly fled with his friends from the hallway, fearing another riposte from his nemesis.

But now, a problem was presented to Henry. He couldn't go back to Mana's bedrooms: It would mean the end of the Tournament for him, and Anatoly's expulsion. No. He had to make a statement. He had to believe in the chances that he was going to fight Anatoly in the next round, and he wasn't going to consider what Mercillia would do if she knew about it.

The French were nearer, but it was risky: Bourbon probably still had allies, and someone who openly defied her couldn't be seen wounded. All was left in his choices were the Japanese. Calmly and avoiding to make noises, he walked to where the Japanese were, finding the room of his first opponent in the Tournament: Midori.

The door was luckily unlocked, and Henry entered it with a hint of desperation in his steps, eventually sitting on a chair, his hand covering the wound and avoiding blood loss, until he waited for the occupants of the room to arrive...

Midori indeed walked into the room moments later, and she was shocked to see Henry in the room. More specifically, she was shocked to see that he looked wounded. "...Henry!" She did not take the time to question him. She merely rushed over to his side and looked over him. "...What...happened?!...The tournament just ended moments ago...did someone attack you in the bathroom or something?...Th-This is awful! Momoko!" She whirled around to look at Momoko, who was standing in the doorway, looking on in shock. "Go get his professor, quickly! You know the one, the tall one in the kimono! Hurry, he needs help!"

Momoko did as she was told, and she turned and ran down the hallway in the other direction, hoping to find Rabbit quickly.

Meanwhile, Rabbit had heard the commotion, and he had hurried down the hallway to see what all of the noise had been. It seemed there would be no peace during this interval either...he could see the blood in the hallway, where two people had fought. "...Ah no...and so soon...but...who?"

As he questioned this, Momoko came rushing down the hallway and found him. "Professor!...Y-You're...Professor Rabbit, right?" she asked. She was terrified all in her own right, as she saw him staring at the blood on the wall and floor. "...O-One of your students was hurt...h-he's in Midori's room...we found him there..." she muttered.

"That is all I need to know, Miss Kageyama," Rabbit answered, in a hurry. He then ran down the hall toward Midori's room, with Momoko in tow. All the while, he felt this strange, tingling sensation in his abdominal area, like a fresh wound was beginning to heal itself. Henry...It has to be...I can feel it...Someone stabbed him...Someone stabbed him right when I had turned away...I should have stayed with him...He would not have gotten hurt if I had stayed with him...If I had been there for him...

He finally took a breath again when he saw Henry in Midori's room, with the blonde girl sitting next to the boy as he bled. Rabbit immediately rushed to his side and looked at him. "Let me see the wound," he panted, breathless from having shot down the hall, worried Henry was going to bleed-out before he reached him. He had to calm himself. He had to look professional, like he was not panicking inside, seeing one of his students in pain yet again.

[Luminesa]

Shaun Calhoun

Getting his shower ready, he heard the soft, timid voice of Soleil from the other side of the door and internally sighed. He knew that sooner or later he would find out what would've happened and only God knows how he would explain it. But he knew that he would need to know the truth; Sol wasn't the one that he could easily lie to. Shaking his head in exhaustion, Shaun leaned against the door and placed his head on the cold, hard surface and quietly and politely answered him to disguise his dejection. "Why yes, Sol, I'm in here. And no, I don't mind at all. After all, we do have to share a bathroom for the next few days I believe, so I've gotten use to it." He softly chuckled before he trailed off and finished with a more tired sigh. "Just give me a moment, and I'll be out." Getting up from off the door, he soon came to realize that he didn't bring a change of clothes in with him. "Damnit." He whispered to himself as he turned on the water to his shower and got himself prepared and in. All the while he washed and felt the hot water roll down his back, which felt like bliss as it helped soothed his aching body some, he began to replay everything that he did with Allistor in his head. What he did in the past. What everyone said to him, only to let his head lay on the tiles of the shower as he sighed and shook his head in abashment.

After about ten or fifteenth minutes in the bathroom, the door soon opened, as the hot air and steam began to slowly creep out from the bathroom and into the main living room where it lingered for a bit only to dissipate as it rose. The air smelling of a combination of blueberries, oranges, and mint filled the area and then some more as Shaun finally came out drying off his hair with his towel with nothing covering himself. He looked at Soleil with a causal look as he walked passed him and looked for something to wear. "There you go. Hopefully I didn't take too long." He didn't mind if he being nude around Soleil as he looked at him as a person that he didn't need to hide away from. Hopefully he didn't mind the view. After spending a few minutes looking for something to wear, he put on bright orange and blue undergarments before he found a blue, white, and orange robe that looked rather sophisticated and elegant with a pair of light blue pants and brown boots to complete the style. Putting them on in front of both of the boys, he focused his attention on the window outside at the view rather than them as he was quiet embarrassed. Once he was done, he walked over to the mirror where he did the usual teeth brushing, replacing his glasses with clear contacts, and checking to see if there were any form of acne on him. Luckily there was not at the moment and quietly sighed as he walked from the sink and sat in a chair next to the window and placed his left leg over his right and ran combed his fingers though his damp hair as he purposely left it alone due to the fact that he didn't feel like doing anything to it; the curls once again falling over his face for which he ignored and looked outside.

At first, Soleil could not tell what Shaun was feeling. He was good at masking his pain, his feelings of dirtiness and depression, far more so than Soleil himself. He waited for him to get done with his shower, and then he immediately went and got in himself. It felt good to get clean like this, after a day or so of fighting and stressing and crying. He had felt like a sack of sadness, now he actually felt light again. When he got out, he got himself dressed quietly, and then he looked over at Shaun again. He looked absolutely regal, in his white robes, with an orange sun printed boldly in the middle. His white hair fit perfectly with it, and his violet eyes-which were heavy with Shaun's self-doubt-looked beautiful as always. "...Y-You look really nice...R-Really..." he told him silently.

He himself looked a little stronger than usual, in his black robes, which he did not usually wear. He had matching gloves that went with them, and he decided to put them on as well. It completed the look. Now, when he looked at Shaun a second-time, he saw something strange. Shaun was dressed all in white. Soleil all in black. Shaun was bright and beautiful and stunning, and while Soleil tried hard to appreciate his own appearance, every time he looked at his roommate, he felt he was in the presence of a godly being, and he himself was a lowly garden-mouse. "...A-Are you okay?...Wh-Why are you sad?" He went and sat next to him by the window, wanting to console his hurting friend.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Henry Von Kressel

After some time, Henry finally woke up. Allistor wasn't in the room, which was good in a way: He wouldn't have to explain why he cried so much, and why he simply almost passed out in his bed. Calmly walking to the bathroom, he washed his face, renewing his appearance and hiding away the fact that he cried. Once more, he put his traditional robes, and decided that he needed to take a walk.

Slowly, he went out of the room, calmly strolling through the corridors as he tried to decide what he would do. The worries drifted through his mind, as Henry tried to organize something about it. Among his endless thoughts, a sound was clearly distinguishable. Steps.

The sound eventually got closer, until Henry saw the ones behind it. Two Russians stood at the end of the hallway with a rather unpleasant face. As Henry turned around, trying to avoid an conflict. But soon as he did it, Anatoly turned the corner with a happy expression.

It didn't took long for Henry to realize it was an ambush. And then, Henry's arms were grabbed by behind, his back slammed against the wall, the impact extending to his head and lightly disorienting him.

Anatoly calmly strode to Henry's front, showing a small, curved dagger with a certain pride. He wanted to enjoy the moment slowly, savoring each second of the moment. He wasn't going to do it that quickly.

And then he punched. Kicked. Hit with his knee, elbow, every inch of his anger delivered in a series of blows that left Henry with considerable marks in the face and the rest of his body.

"- Henry Von Kressel! You don't know how I waited for this moment. You actually bleed. Where's that courage now, huh? Did you hide in your room? Or you just have it when that freak is around? Maybe, and I mean maybe, I'll pay a visit to him. Show him what I did to you. And then, I'll do the same to him. After it, I'll drop by the ladies rooms. Oh, that redhead... She'll love to see how you will be when I end our little bonding session. What do you think of it? Watch your mouth, the next words might impact my plans greatly.

- Watch... My... Mouth?"

And then, a laughter came out from Henry. A long, almost insane one, showing that even with the threats from the Russian he still had something inside him to confront his rival. And then, he answered.

"- You won't touch Rabbit. Because you can't. The moment you try, he will beat you to a pulp. Aria? No, no, no. You won't even reach her. Watch my mouth? Thanks for the advice...

- Advice? No... Someone block his mou..."

The phrase didn't end. With an uncommon fury he had spit fire in the fire, targeting their clothes, immediately making them panic. With a quick reaction, Henry slammed the head of Anatoly's friend against the wall, and threw him against the other one. However, this wasn't going to mean Henry's victory.

Desperately, Anatoly stabbed Henry at the side of his abdomen, causing the young noble to shout with pain. Henry was wounded, as Anatoly fled with his friends from the hallway, fearing another riposte from his nemesis.

But now, a problem was presented to Henry. He couldn't go back to Mana's bedrooms: It would mean the end of the Tournament for him, and Anatoly's expulsion. No. He had to make a statement. He had to believe in the chances that he was going to fight Anatoly in the next round, and he wasn't going to consider what Mercillia would do if she knew about it.

The French were nearer, but it was risky: Bourbon probably still had allies, and someone who openly defied her couldn't be seen wounded. All was left in his choices were the Japanese. Calmly and avoiding to make noises, he walked to where the Japanese were, finding the room of his first opponent in the Tournament: Midori.

The door was luckily unlocked, and Henry entered it with a hint of desperation in his steps, eventually sitting on a chair, his hand covering the wound and avoiding blood loss, until he waited for the occupants of the room to arrive...

Midori indeed walked into the room moments later, and she was shocked to see Henry in the room. More specifically, she was shocked to see that he looked wounded. "...Henry!" She did not take the time to question him. She merely rushed over to his side and looked over him. "...What...happened?!...The tournament just ended moments ago...did someone attack you in the bathroom or something?...Th-This is awful! Momoko!" She whirled around to look at Momoko, who was standing in the doorway, looking on in shock. "Go get his professor, quickly! You know the one, the tall one in the kimono! Hurry, he needs help!"

Momoko did as she was told, and she turned and ran down the hallway in the other direction, hoping to find Rabbit quickly.

Meanwhile, Rabbit had heard the commotion, and he had hurried down the hallway to see what all of the noise had been. It seemed there would be no peace during this interval either...he could see the blood in the hallway, where two people had fought. "...Ah no...and so soon...but...who?"

As he questioned this, Momoko came rushing down the hallway and found him. "Professor!...Y-You're...Professor Rabbit, right?" she asked. She was terrified all in her own right, as she saw him staring at the blood on the wall and floor. "...O-One of your students was hurt...h-he's in Midori's room...we found him there..." she muttered.

"That is all I need to know, Miss Kageyama," Rabbit answered, in a hurry. He then ran down the hall toward Midori's room, with Momoko in tow. All the while, he felt this strange, tingling sensation in his abdominal area, like a fresh wound was beginning to heal itself. Henry...It has to be...I can feel it...Someone stabbed him...Someone stabbed him right when I had turned away...I should have stayed with him...He would not have gotten hurt if I had stayed with him...If I had been there for him...

He finally took a breath again when he saw Henry in Midori's room, with the blonde girl sitting next to the boy as he bled. Rabbit immediately rushed to his side and looked at him. "Let me see the wound," he panted, breathless from having shot down the hall, worried Henry was going to bleed-out before he reached him. He had to calm himself. He had to look professional, like he was not panicking inside, seeing one of his students in pain yet again.

Henry Von Kressel

Henry didn't answer Midori immediately. Instead, he awaited for Rabbit to arrive, so he could save his breath for the story.

"Anatoly... He... Ambushed me in the hallway. He and two of his friends. They... Held me... And when I attacked them back... He... Stabbed me... But you can't tell anyone about this. Not Mercillia, not Aloysus, anyone... If he wants to make a statement... He'll get one..."

Upon Rabbit's request, Henry lifted his shirt and showed his professor the wound, but Henry also had a surprise. It seemed to... Heal by itself, but it was still bleeding.

"I'll explain it later, but... Help me..."

[Saldinado]

At first, Soleil could not tell what Shaun was feeling. He was good at masking his pain, his feelings of dirtiness and depression, far more so than Soleil himself. He waited for him to get done with his shower, and then he immediately went and got in himself. It felt good to get clean like this, after a day or so of fighting and stressing and crying. He had felt like a sack of sadness, now he actually felt light again. When he got out, he got himself dressed quietly, and then he looked over at Shaun again. He looked absolutely regal, in his white robes, with an orange sun printed boldly in the middle. His white hair fit perfectly with it, and his violet eyes-which were heavy with Shaun's self-doubt-looked beautiful as always. "...Y-You look really nice...R-Really..." he told him silently.

He himself looked a little stronger than usual, in his black robes, which he did not usually wear. He had matching gloves that went with them, and he decided to put them on as well. It completed the look. Now, when he looked at Shaun a second-time, he saw something strange. Shaun was dressed all in white. Soleil all in black. Shaun was bright and beautiful and stunning, and while Soleil tried hard to appreciate his own appearance, every time he looked at his roommate, he felt he was in the presence of a godly being, and he himself was a lowly garden-mouse. "...A-Are you okay?...Wh-Why are you sad?" He went and sat next to him by the window, wanting to console his hurting friend.

Shaun Calhoun

"Hm?" He said turning towards him. Looking at his outfit, he shyly smiled as he looked rather distinguished in his black robes. "Well th-thank you. And so do you. It's amazing how look you look so regal and powerful when in public, yet so adorable and cute when you're behind close doors." He smiled as he referenced Soleil's little sweater that he wore to bed a couple of nights ago. But his smile faded away as he heard him ask his question of sadness. He internally sighed deeply and growled while on the outside he just closed his eyes and placed his right elbow on the arm of the chair and brought his hand up to his temple as if he was thinking about something. And as a matter of fact he was. He was thinking on how to exactly how he was suppose to answer his question. He already know how he can get when he was flirting with Allistor and his complete awkwardness and fears. And now that this happened, he didn't know how he would explain what he did? Would he just have to tell him the truth and try to comfort him even more than ever, or just keep it hidden and let it build up once more like he did before? He began to think as he began to predict and analyze the possible situation that he played out in his head.

Waiting for a few more seconds of thinking, all that came out of his mouth was a sigh of what appeared that he gave up and looked at Soleil as the sunlight entered his eyes, making them a light pastel color. Soon, his face turned red as he tried to explain himself to him. "I-I don't really know how to answer that in all honesty. I don't feel sad. I'm just...Indifferent. Nervous, disgusted, and most of all angry I guess. But with not with you or anyone else. Just with myself. I'm just mad and disgusted at myself; that I am like this. This complete mess of a human being." He said sounding rather soothing and casual about himself as he couldn't even feel sad or sorry for himself. After all, it was his ways that got him into this mess, so why should he feel as though he's the victim, where he was just nothing but the problem. He then sighed and looked away from him and back out of the window. "But I don't want you to worry about it; wouldn't want you to get involved in my problems and soon caught in this. I don't want to hurt you. Or anyone else for that matter." Plus, he didn't want to play this game anymore; he can only go on feeling like this to where he just gets tired of himself as well as everyone else with this circle of madness that he was in.

[Luminesa]

At first, Soleil could not tell what Shaun was feeling. He was good at masking his pain, his feelings of dirtiness and depression, far more so than Soleil himself. He waited for him to get done with his shower, and then he immediately went and got in himself. It felt good to get clean like this, after a day or so of fighting and stressing and crying. He had felt like a sack of sadness, now he actually felt light again. When he got out, he got himself dressed quietly, and then he looked over at Shaun again. He looked absolutely regal, in his white robes, with an orange sun printed boldly in the middle. His white hair fit perfectly with it, and his violet eyes-which were heavy with Shaun's self-doubt-looked beautiful as always. "...Y-You look really nice...R-Really..." he told him silently.

He himself looked a little stronger than usual, in his black robes, which he did not usually wear. He had matching gloves that went with them, and he decided to put them on as well. It completed the look. Now, when he looked at Shaun a second-time, he saw something strange. Shaun was dressed all in white. Soleil all in black. Shaun was bright and beautiful and stunning, and while Soleil tried hard to appreciate his own appearance, every time he looked at his roommate, he felt he was in the presence of a godly being, and he himself was a lowly garden-mouse. "...A-Are you okay?...Wh-Why are you sad?" He went and sat next to him by the window, wanting to console his hurting friend.

Shaun Calhoun

"Hm?" He said turning towards him. Looking at his outfit, he shyly smiled as he looked rather distinguished in his black robes. "Well th-thank you. And so do you. It's amazing how look you look so regal and powerful when in public, yet so adorable and cute when you're behind close doors." He smiled as he referenced Soleil's little sweater that he wore to bed a couple of nights ago. But his smile faded away as he heard him ask his question of sadness. He internally sighed deeply and growled while on the outside he just closed his eyes and placed his right elbow on the arm of the chair and brought his hand up to his temple as if he was thinking about something. And as a matter of fact he was. He was thinking on how to exactly how he was suppose to answer his question. He already know how he can get when he was flirting with Allistor and his complete awkwardness and fears. And now that this happened, he didn't know how he would explain what he did? Would he just have to tell him the truth and try to comfort him even more than ever, or just keep it hidden and let it build up once more like he did before? He began to think as he began to predict and analyze the possible situation that he played out in his head.

Waiting for a few more seconds of thinking, all that came out of his mouth was a sigh of what appeared that he gave up and looked at Soleil as the sunlight entered his eyes, making them a light pastel color. Soon, his face turned red as he tried to explain himself to him. "I-I don't really know how to answer that in all honesty. I don't feel sad. I'm just...Indifferent. Nervous, disgusted, and most of all angry I guess. But with not with you or anyone else. Just with myself. I'm just mad and disgusted at myself; that I am like this. This complete mess of a human being." He said sounding rather soothing and casual about himself as he couldn't even feel sad or sorry for himself. After all, it was his ways that got him into this mess, so why should he feel as though he's the victim, where he was just nothing but the problem. He then sighed and looked away from him and back out of the window. "But I don't want you to worry about it; wouldn't want you to get involved in my problems and soon caught in this. I don't want to hurt you. Or anyone else for that matter." Plus, he didn't want to play this game anymore; he can only go on feeling like this to where he just gets tired of himself as well as everyone else with this circle of madness that he was in.

"...You're not hurting me...I-I want to know why you feel that way..." Soleil now hugged him again, wanting him to be happy however he could make him happy. "...Y-You don't have to feel disgusted with yourself...o-or angry with yourself...I-I think you're wonderful, and...you should be happy...b-but you're not...So please...tell me how I can make you feel better..." Shaun's hair felt soft against his cheek, and he hoped he could make him feel happy. It seemed he was almost never truly happy around him. He always seemed worried about something, or uncomfortable around him. Do I...make him uncomfortable?...Does he...not want me to talk to him?...What am I doing wrong?...Should I just...leave?... His cycle of feelings around Shaun. Short moments of total peace surrounded by long moments of uncertainty and nervousness. Did Shaun want him around, even? Or was there something else he was hiding from the boy? Why could they not simply be happy around each other?

[Luminesa]

Midori indeed walked into the room moments later, and she was shocked to see Henry in the room. More specifically, she was shocked to see that he looked wounded. "...Henry!" She did not take the time to question him. She merely rushed over to his side and looked over him. "...What...happened?!...The tournament just ended moments ago...did someone attack you in the bathroom or something?...Th-This is awful! Momoko!" She whirled around to look at Momoko, who was standing in the doorway, looking on in shock. "Go get his professor, quickly! You know the one, the tall one in the kimono! Hurry, he needs help!"

Momoko did as she was told, and she turned and ran down the hallway in the other direction, hoping to find Rabbit quickly.

Meanwhile, Rabbit had heard the commotion, and he had hurried down the hallway to see what all of the noise had been. It seemed there would be no peace during this interval either...he could see the blood in the hallway, where two people had fought. "...Ah no...and so soon...but...who?"

As he questioned this, Momoko came rushing down the hallway and found him. "Professor!...Y-You're...Professor Rabbit, right?" she asked. She was terrified all in her own right, as she saw him staring at the blood on the wall and floor. "...O-One of your students was hurt...h-he's in Midori's room...we found him there..." she muttered.

"That is all I need to know, Miss Kageyama," Rabbit answered, in a hurry. He then ran down the hall toward Midori's room, with Momoko in tow. All the while, he felt this strange, tingling sensation in his abdominal area, like a fresh wound was beginning to heal itself. Henry...It has to be...I can feel it...Someone stabbed him...Someone stabbed him right when I had turned away...I should have stayed with him...He would not have gotten hurt if I had stayed with him...If I had been there for him...

He finally took a breath again when he saw Henry in Midori's room, with the blonde girl sitting next to the boy as he bled. Rabbit immediately rushed to his side and looked at him. "Let me see the wound," he panted, breathless from having shot down the hall, worried Henry was going to bleed-out before he reached him. He had to calm himself. He had to look professional, like he was not panicking inside, seeing one of his students in pain yet again.

Henry Von Kressel

Henry didn't answer Midori immediately. Instead, he awaited for Rabbit to arrive, so he could save his breath for the story.

"Anatoly... He... Ambushed me in the hallway. He and two of his friends. They... Held me... And when I attacked them back... He... Stabbed me... But you can't tell anyone about this. Not Mercillia, not Aloysus, anyone... If he wants to make a statement... He'll get one..."

Upon Rabbit's request, Henry lifted his shirt and showed his professor the wound, but Henry also had a surprise. It seemed to... Heal by itself, but it was still bleeding.

"I'll explain it later, but... Help me..."

Rabbit looked at the wound-right in Henry's side, over his liver-and he nodded. "Yes, of course," he whispered, as he summoned an orb of light and sent it into the wound. He was shivering with rage inside. Not only had Anatoly stabbed Henry, but he had ganged on him like a true coward. He could not take the Von Kressel himself, he had to have people help him, otherwise he would have been battered himself. "...Yes...I will not tell anyone..." he answered, softly. In his mind, however, he was thinking violently about Anatoly. If he runs into me alone...If he even tries to fight me alone...I will make sure he will know terror...Attacking my student with his friends like the little brat he is... he thought, darkly. Lorian was merely annoying himself, but Anatoly genuinely had wicked intentions. He was seeking to hurt Henry, if not outright kill him, and he would make sure that for this he would know pain.

[Finsternia]

Shaun Calhoun

After their passionate moment, Shaun laid his head on Allistor's chest, as he felt him plant a kiss on his forehead. Listening to him correct himself as he made a little innuendo, he smirked and shook his head at his little joke as he explained himself more clearly and embraced him soon after. Sighing and shaking his head in amusement, Shaun raised his body up and ran his hands through his hair. He haven't done such activities in years, and even so, he still doesn't know what to feel about them. A part of him knew that this was a normal human thing. But his anxieties soon began to take over. After what his father and everyone else said about him as well as what he's done to get over Liam, he didn't know if he was suppose to be satisfied or disgusted with himself. But he soon realized something.

Am...I that type of guy? Am I just a complete slut of a man? I am, am I? And him...he's so pure and clean. And what am I? A disgusting, dirty fag; just like everyone else says. Heh. He doesn't deserve me or this. Right? I don't know. Perhaps I'm overreacting about this, am I? What would everyone else think?! T-They won't look at me the same! But what about him! It'll tarnish his name and reputation of the quiet, lovable, and regal teen. And what I'll be? I'll be his Monica to his Bill, huh? Yeah. I'm nothing but a Monica, am I? Heh. But instead of weight loss deals and TV shows, it's constantly lying on your back and getting that bitter taste out of your mouth, huh? The face of what you're not suppose to do. Hahaha! Yeah! That's what I am. My purpose in life has already been settled. Dad was right; I am a disgrace and abomination! Nobody wouldn't want to be with a person like me. Oh well I guess. Maybe it's for the best. I mean, there's other reason that people stay with me, right?

Soon, Shaun then began to laugh almost uncontrollably as if he was just told a confusing joke that took hours later to figure out. He then got up from his spot, still continuing to laugh and stood in front of the window wearing only his underwear with his hair obstructing his view once more. "Now...I know that you got what you wanted, so now you can go and leave me to be." He quietly, almost somberly said to Allistor while still looking at the sights outside; the warm sunrays warming his face and body. "Now that you'd had your fun, I'm no longer needed. Just like everyone else does. I guess you can say that I've fulfilled my purpose. " He then turned and walked towards the bathroom and closed the door behind him and prepared himself for his shower.

Allistor Abendroth

Allistor sat on the bed as he listened to Shaun. "What I wanted?" He realized that Shaun might have thought that he only want to do this, some quick passionate fun and ditch him. "Shaun, you don't understand! I don't mean it that way!" His calls were only met by silence and the closing doors of the bathroom. Seeing that Shaun wouldn't answer him anymore, he sighed and started wearing his clothes. When Soleil came inside he was already knotting his necktie. Sighing as the younger boy didn't notice him, he slowly walked towards the open door and closed it behind him.

The hallways are silent and empty, except for some panicked shouting down the hall. But somehow he never heard of it. The only thing that he can hear is the deafening ring of silence, and the words of Shaun to him. 'Did I really just want to do it with him for the sweet pleasure? Did I just use him for my own desires? But... I know that it's not my intention... Did I hurt him? Did I say anything that could have hurt him? What did I do?'

A familiar voice started to whisper in his mind, despite the owner of such voice is nowhere to be found.

'The only thing you did is to be yourself. Just like what you said to little Soleil. Quite ironic, isn't it?'

"You're an idiot, Allistor..."

[Saldinado]

"...You're not hurting me...I-I want to know why you feel that way..." Soleil now hugged him again, wanting him to be happy however he could make him happy. "...Y-You don't have to feel disgusted with yourself...o-or angry with yourself...I-I think you're wonderful, and...you should be happy...b-but you're not...So please...tell me how I can make you feel better..." Shaun's hair felt soft against his cheek, and he hoped he could make him feel happy. It seemed he was almost never truly happy around him. He always seemed worried about something, or uncomfortable around him. Do I...make him uncomfortable?...Does he...not want me to talk to him?...What am I doing wrong?...Should I just...leave?... His cycle of feelings around Shaun. Short moments of total peace surrounded by long moments of uncertainty and nervousness. Did Shaun want him around, even? Or was there something else he was hiding from the boy? Why could they not simply be happy around each other?

Shaun Calhoun

He yelped as he saw hugged by Soleil and turned red in embarrassment, only to just let it happen and hug him back. "Hehe. Al-alright. If you say so." He giggled. But what he said afterwards made him be a little more serious. Gently removing Sol from off of him, he sat him down in the chair that he was sitting in previously and sighed, looking at the empty spot where Allistor was currently was. He the blushed in abashment and looked down at his legs before trying to explain himself to Sol. But he didn't want to hurt Al, as he wasn't the one to kiss and tell; at least that's how he felt like he was doing. Placing his arm on the arm of the chair and putting his hand on his temple and chin once more in an intensive way, Shaun took a deep breath and tried to explain to Soleil what was wrong. "Well how you can help me is try well...Watch over me so-to-speak." He said rather casually and a little softly.

"At this point, I don't trust myself to carry out certain things. But reassure you that I'm not planning on taking my life. That's such an embarrassing and frankly disrespecting thing for me to do. But even so, I have a feeling that I might either loose a part of me; whether it be a piece of or my whole pride, heart, sanity, or even my life. I feel as though one of those things will me taken from me. Or maybe even from someone else. So just do me a favor and watch out for me. For what I do; if it seems strange or not normal of me, don't hesitate to try and stop me from doing something. Hell, get a friend or teacher even if you feel as though it may be too much. Because knowing me, there's not really any time to waste. You think that you can do that for me?" He said rather somber, almost tired-like, but also rather casual. "And know that I will love you regardless of what happens."

[Charlia]

"You total idiot, Sadako," the bluenette said to herself, sitting in a cafe on a chair that was too tall for her--and for pretty much anyone--and swinging her legs in an effort to seem cheerful. In front of her sat a slice of chocolate cake, covered in decadent frosting, and a chocolate milkshake. This was what she did when self-loathing took over--she ate. The more sugar, and the more chocolate, the better. It wasn't a healthy habit, and she knew that--it was only a strict exercise regimen that kept her in shape after another episode of hatred. Besides... the sweetness helped, not to take away, but to disguise the bitter taste in her mouth. Sitting next to her current 'remedy' was a small, delicate figurine of a girl. Turning to the figure as she swallowed a bite of the cake--that was good--she continued, "Aren't I an idiot?"

Maybe. Why do you think you're an idiot?

The figure couldn't really speak, of course, but this was another one of her little therapy techniques. Some people wrote out their emotions in order to get over them, she talked them out with a therapist who would never judge her, only listen with her ever-confident and smiling face, as if to say, It's okay! Everything's going to turn out fine, because you and I are unstoppably awesome! You know it's true, silly.

"Because I bullied Akuma-san and made her cry. No matter what she's like, she doesn't deserve that. She got insulted and belittled enough by her own father, after all. And I'm her teammate... the only one she has left in the tournament."

Okay, the yellow-clad figure 'responded', her facial expression as unchanging as ever. But why does that make you an idiot?

"Because I should have known better," Sadako responded, morosely dipping a spoon into the milkshake--it was so thick that it was practically impossible to drink through a straw--and bringing a spoonful of it to her lips, savoring the taste and swallowing. "I should have known better than to call her pathetic and say that nobody loved her. I should have known how hurtful it would be. But like the idiot I am, I just waltzed ahead without caring at all and tore her down. If Momoko-chan found out..." She rested her forehead on her hand, sighing. "She'd be so mad at me. I hate it when she's mad at me..."

I see... Did you have a reason to treat her that way?

"No. I mean, I could say I was worried about Momoko-chan, but that would be a lie. What I did was motivated less by concern and more by hate. And I don't even know why I hate her!" she cried with distress. A few patrons were covertly glancing at her, but she paid no attention to them.

Hmm. Well, what is it you tend to focus on when you attack her?

"..." Sadako gulped down more of the milkshake, and followed it with another bite of cake. "Normally her raging crush on Momoko-chan..."

So could you hate her because of her love for Momoko-chan?

"N-no way! That would imply that I was in love with Momoko-chan or something..." Sadako quickly finished off the cake as if to punctuate her denial. "I mean, I don't really think her personality is very good for Momoko-chan, but I don't think that's why I hate her."

Hmm... You felt relieved when she said that Momoko-chan didn't love her, right?

"Yeah... what are you getting at?"

And now that she's said that Momoko-chan doesn't love her, you feel guilty about your treatment of her. Could you be viewing her in a more positive light now that you know Momoko-chan doesn't return her feelings?

"..." Another spoonful of the milkshake. "Yeah, that sounds about right. What are you talking about?"

Simple. If you hated her because you were afraid of Momoko-chan returning her feelings, and it wasn't because you felt the same way towards Momoko-chan... then you were probably afraid of her being loved.

"H-huh?" Sadako's eyes widened, but then a thoughtful look stole across her face. "...Actually... that makes sense. Are you saying that I don't want her to be loved because I'm not?"

That's precisely what I'm saying. You fear that you'll never be loved, and seeing your perceived rival receiving affection that you do not is a frightening thought for you. Am I right?

"..." Sadako sighed. "Much as I hate to admit it, you probably are."

That's what happens when your designated therapist is someone you make up words for. And, of course, me.

"Hey! Stop that!"

Why? I'm the best therapist in the world, obviously. Since I really can read your mind.

"Would've thought you'd have a problem with that..."

...That is a low blow.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." Shaking her head as she finished the milkshake, Sadako said, "Thanks, Ka-san."

Not a problem. Seriously though... don't you ever get tired of that pun?

"Nope! Come on, I have an idea. If I'm scared that no one will ever love me, I should ease that fear for a while... and I know just how to do it."

...I don't like where you're going with this. Maybe you shouldn't--

"Ka-san?"

Yeah?

"You're my therapist, not my mother."

...Yeah. That's why I'm scared.

"Stop being such a worrywart."

Considering who I'm dealing with, I don't think that's going to happen any time soon.

[Luminesa]

"...You're not hurting me...I-I want to know why you feel that way..." Soleil now hugged him again, wanting him to be happy however he could make him happy. "...Y-You don't have to feel disgusted with yourself...o-or angry with yourself...I-I think you're wonderful, and...you should be happy...b-but you're not...So please...tell me how I can make you feel better..." Shaun's hair felt soft against his cheek, and he hoped he could make him feel happy. It seemed he was almost never truly happy around him. He always seemed worried about something, or uncomfortable around him. Do I...make him uncomfortable?...Does he...not want me to talk to him?...What am I doing wrong?...Should I just...leave?... His cycle of feelings around Shaun. Short moments of total peace surrounded by long moments of uncertainty and nervousness. Did Shaun want him around, even? Or was there something else he was hiding from the boy? Why could they not simply be happy around each other?

Shaun Calhoun

He yelped as he saw hugged by Soleil and turned red in embarrassment, only to just let it happen and hug him back. "Hehe. Al-alright. If you say so." He giggled. But what he said afterwards made him be a little more serious. Gently removing Sol from off of him, he sat him down in the chair that he was sitting in previously and sighed, looking at the empty spot where Allistor was currently was. He the blushed in abashment and looked down at his legs before trying to explain himself to Sol. But he didn't want to hurt Al, as he wasn't the one to kiss and tell; at least that's how he felt like he was doing. Placing his arm on the arm of the chair and putting his hand on his temple and chin once more in an intensive way, Shaun took a deep breath and tried to explain to Soleil what was wrong. "Well how you can help me is try well...Watch over me so-to-speak." He said rather casually and a little softly.

"At this point, I don't trust myself to carry out certain things. But reassure you that I'm not planning on taking my life. That's such an embarrassing and frankly disrespecting thing for me to do. But even so, I have a feeling that I might either loose a part of me; whether it be a piece of or my whole pride, heart, sanity, or even my life. I feel as though one of those things will me taken from me. Or maybe even from someone else. So just do me a favor and watch out for me. For what I do; if it seems strange or not normal of me, don't hesitate to try and stop me from doing something. Hell, get a friend or teacher even if you feel as though it may be too much. Because knowing me, there's not really any time to waste. You think that you can do that for me?" He said rather somber, almost tired-like, but also rather casual. "And know that I will love you regardless of what happens."

Shaun's words, as nonchalantly as they were spoken, were absolutely devastating. He was actually worried about losing a large part of himself, due to doing something that was not normal to him. Whatever it was, it came across to Soleil as self-harm, even if that self-harm did not necessarily mean suicide. His eyes widened as Shaun explained himself softly, and he breathed-in sharply. Yet he knew that if Shaun wanted to trust him, he had to be strong for the both of them. He listened to him, and he smiled sweetly. "...I won't let you lose any of you...I-I'll hold you together, because we're family now, and...that's what family does. I just...don't want you to hurt yourself. And I'll make sure to keep you from hurting yourself, because I love you...Okay?" He gave him his word, and while he kept away, due to Shaun's seeming aversion to hugs, he continued to smile, to let him know how much he cared.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Henry Von Kressel

Henry didn't answer Midori immediately. Instead, he awaited for Rabbit to arrive, so he could save his breath for the story.

"Anatoly... He... Ambushed me in the hallway. He and two of his friends. They... Held me... And when I attacked them back... He... Stabbed me... But you can't tell anyone about this. Not Mercillia, not Aloysus, anyone... If he wants to make a statement... He'll get one..."

Upon Rabbit's request, Henry lifted his shirt and showed his professor the wound, but Henry also had a surprise. It seemed to... Heal by itself, but it was still bleeding.

"I'll explain it later, but... Help me..."

Rabbit looked at the wound-right in Henry's side, over his liver-and he nodded. "Yes, of course," he whispered, as he summoned an orb of light and sent it into the wound. He was shivering with rage inside. Not only had Anatoly stabbed Henry, but he had ganged on him like a true coward. He could not take the Von Kressel himself, he had to have people help him, otherwise he would have been battered himself. "...Yes...I will not tell anyone..." he answered, softly. In his mind, however, he was thinking violently about Anatoly. If he runs into me alone...If he even tries to fight me alone...I will make sure he will know terror...Attacking my student with his friends like the little brat he is... he thought, darkly. Lorian was merely annoying himself, but Anatoly genuinely had wicked intentions. He was seeking to hurt Henry, if not outright kill him, and he would make sure that for this he would know pain.

Henry Von Kressel

Feeling a lot better after Rabbit healed him. The cut was now closed, which made Henry get up from where he sat at. After he was healed, his tone went back to the calm, polite tone he used commonly.

"I'm... Sorry for the bloody mess that I've caused in your room, Midori and... Momoko. As I've promised, I'll tell you what happened. I was walking through the hotel, trying to get some fresh air and maybe spend some time outside my room. It was when I met Anatoly and two of his friends.

They slammed me against a wall so Anatoly could hit me a few times, as you can see by the wounds in the face. He proceeded to... Threaten Rabbit and a few of Mana's students as well. Then I reacted. While I fought the two of them, Anatoly managed to stab me and run away. But there is a reason why I want this to be kept secret.

There is a chance of me fighting him in the next round. I'm grasping, firmly believing that I will fight him in the next Round. The attack was a statement, one that is supposed to meant that he doesn't fear me, or anything that comes from me. If it's a statement he's looking to do, he'll receive one from me. He crossed the line of my patience, and now he'll have something in return.

Once more, I thank you for your attention and willingness to help me. I owe you, both of you. If you ever need help, please do let me know and I'll help with the same willingness you had towards me. Rabbit, shall we go?"