POV: Everett Laventh
"I knew you were weak, Everett, but watching you struggle to bench 115 lbs is depressing." Arthur stated bluntly, spotting me with a pitiful expression as I used every fiber of my being in order to prevent the bar from dropping onto my neck until I felt my strength fade away, prompting Arthur to aid in lifting the bar for me as he racked it while I took a minute to recuperate, panting heavily as if I just ran a marathon.
"If I… was as strong as you, I'm sure I wouldn't have a problem benching this weight, but unfortunately… I'm not, so… cut me some slack." I replied wearily, unbothered by his rude statement as I knew Arthur meant well.
"Yeah, I guess that's true, but why are you training so hard in the first place?" Arthur asked curiously.
"A few days ago, I asked Rai to train me and after begging him, he accepted my request and said that he'll train me once a week as long as I can improve myself within that time frame, so now, I'm trying to get into a habit of training everyday as if I keep this up, I'm bound to improve, even if my growth is minimal at most." I replied as I gathered my breath and signaled Arthur to hand me the bar once more, but instead, he remained silent, deep in thought until he let out a sigh.
"This won't do." Arthur said as his reluctance left me confused.
"What?" I asked.
"At the rate you're going, training wouldn't be beneficial anymore as you'll soon burn yourself out, not to mention, you look like you barely eat as your small frame won't be able to sustain the intense training you're putting yourself through."
"And if I'm not mistaken, first-years are given at least $1,500 a month to live off of, nonetheless, the academy offers free food from the cafeteria—although mediocre at best, it's still free, so why are you not eating properly?" Arthur questioned as my lips tightened into a frown from remembering the harsh bullying I suffered from Jordan and his friends.
"I'm sure you're aware, but before Rai came to the academy, I was bullied by Jordan and his friends everyday as he would extort me for most of my money on the day we receive our monthly allowance, leaving me with a little over a hundred dollars at most, but with textbooks and my mind on the verge of collapsing from fear, I wasn't able to eat properly as some nights, I even starved as my stomach refused anything I tried to consume, but ever since Rai defeated Jordan and his friends, they stopped approaching me, so going forward, I should be fine." I explained, abashed by my powerlessness as Arthur remained indifferent and pulled out his phone.
"I'll send you some money so you can start eating proper meals, so give me your contact information." Arthur offered as I quickly leaned up and declined his generous offer.
"It's fine, Arthur. It's my fault that I'm in this situation in the first place, so-"
"I'm well aware that your own weakness caused you to spiral to this point, but how do you expect to become stronger when you can't even afford to eat a proper meal?" Arthur asked as I struggled to find a rebuttal to his argument.
"You can train all you want, but as long as you choose not to eat well, training will only be detrimental as your body won't be able to handle the consequences." Arthur added as I remained silent, frustrated with myself as I clenched my fist.
"What do you expect me to do, Arthur? I may be weak, but even I have some pride. Accepting money from you would just make me feel worse than I already do." I voiced with irritation laced in my tone as my response seemed to rouse a grin from Arthur.
"Who said I was giving you this money for free?" Arthur asked rhetorically as with his free hand, he pulled out an apple from his pocket and bit into it.
Where did he-
"What day did Rai say he'll train you on?" Arthur asked amidst taking another bite into his apple.
"Saturday." I replied, confused.
"I usually train on the weekdays and use the weekends as my rest days, so starting tomorrow, I'll train with you for several hours around this same time until you're strong enough to defeat Jordan. When that time comes, I expect you to take back the money he's extorted from you and return what you owe me. Under these conditions, I'm sure you can accept my money as instead of giving you the money for free, I'm lending it." Arthur proposed as I took a moment to think about his offer.
Defeating Jordan?
A few weeks ago, that's something that would have been unfathomable to even imagine and yet, why do I feel as if with enough training, I can actually accomplish it?
With Sunday being my only rest day, I'm sure that I have a strenuous schedule ahead of me, although, even if I accept his offer, there's a problem.
"Arthur, what about our exam? Unless I'm able to learn Aura Manipulation, then training me would be pointless as I would be expelled for failing and I'm sure that you also need to focus on learning-"
"Ah, there's no need to worry about that." Arthur said, interrupting me as he activated his Aspect and released his Aspectual Force, startling several of the students who were training within the gym as Arthur then began manipulating his aura effortlessly around his body until he condensed his aura into a single point on the tip of his index finger.
With my jaw slackened, I stared at Arthur in bewilderment as the feat he performed was nothing less than astounding until I recalled his fight against the Seven Sins.
That's right.
In his fight against three of the sins, he was able to manipulate his aura around his swords.
"I forgot that you already learned Aura Manipulation prior to this course." I remarked as Arthur's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Actually, I learned it during our teacher's demonstration. Before today, using Aura Manipulation was more instinctual than anything." Arthur replied casually as I was only able to give his unbelievable statement a sheepish laugh.
He really is a genius.
"I don't mind accepting your offer, but there's nothing in it for you, so why waste your time training me?" I asked, slightly concerned as I was unable to think of a good reason for Arthur to train me.
"Think of it as an investment." Arthur replied with a grin as his ambiguous response left me puzzled until I eventually let it go with a sigh and exchanged my contact information with him.
That reminds me…
"Who was your original sparring partner before me?" I asked curiously as Arthur sent me a thousand dollars, causing me to double check my phone with my eyes as I stared at my phone incredulously.
I know he's from the Kojiro family, but how much money does he have in his account for him to casually lend me a thousand dollars?!
"It was going to be Rai, but he said that someone else had chosen him already." Arthur replied, grabbing my attention as he tossed the remains of his apple away into a nearby trash can.
Someone wanted to be Rai's partner?
I wonder who it is.
POV: Rai Shinsei
Within the empty facility, I laid on the riverbed with the current of the river gently brushing across my body as on top of me, was Aria, who was enervated from our spar with a calm and collected demeanor, despite her titillating position on top of me as I was left mesmerized by her golden eyes, which stared intently into my own as our breathing slowly became one, accompanied by a racing pulse as I felt myself nearly succumb to my desires.
This…
This is far too dangerous!
Through a miracle, I somehow regained my senses as I broke the uncomfortable tension between us by handing Aria her windbreaker, prompting her to look down at herself as in the moment she became aware of her appearance, her cheeks flushed red, sending her into a flustered state as she immediately picked herself up from on top of me while covering her chest with her windbreaker.
In a panic, Aria struggled to utter a single coherent sentence as she would begin stammering and amidst her desperation of trying to explain herself, I picked myself up from the river and combed back my wet bangs with my hand as when I sat my gaze onto Aria, who eventually went silent, I felt the urge to tease her as seeing her flustered was somewhat amusing.
Maybe another time.
"When did you find out about my weakness?" I asked curiously amidst Aria putting on her windbreaker.
"Are you referring to your inhuman spatial awareness?" Aria asked with a lingering, yet subtle blush as I confirmed with a nod.
"I was always curious as in some moments, you would perceive things that a normal person wouldn't even notice, but I guess it was during your fight against Atticus, where in the instant I took a step in order to help, you were aware of it—along with my intentions, despite being in danger." Aria explained as her analytical response surprised me.
Her perceptiveness is quite impressive.
"Well, if it wasn't for you seducing me with your body, I doubt that I would have fallen for such a simple trick." I teased as Aria's face flushed red once more while tears began to well within her eyes.
"I-I swear that wasn't my intention-"
"I was only joking, Aria." I asserted with a smile as Aria glared at me in vexation.
Thanks to you, I'll be more aware as in the future, I could very well lose my life falling for a simple trick such as the one you pulled off tonight.
"Although you made an arrogant declaration to defeat me, our original deal was that if you were able to land an attack on me, I would be your sparring partner in order to prepare you for the upcoming exam and within three hours, you succeeded and for that, I'll be your partner as I promised." I added as Aria's expression brightened while I stepped out of the river and sat down onto a nearby bench, signalling Aria to sit down beside me as I noticed her legs were slightly trembling from fatigue.
"You really do notice everything, don't you?" Aria asked with a weary giggle, sitting down onto the bench as she leaned back and began gazing into the starry night sky above.
"You know, during our spar, you made me question myself as for the first time in a while, I felt utterly useless and incapable of achieving anything, but your harsh, yet truthful words woke something up inside of me and for that…"
"I want to thank you, Rai." Aria added as she matched my gaze with a faint smile.
"I know those harsh words that you said to me earlier were meant to motivate me. Thanks to you, I've gained more confidence in myself and even gained insight into Aura Manipulation." Aria added with a bright, appreciative grin as her gratitude was becoming too overbearing for me to handle.
"You may act cold and distant towards everyone, but deep down, you truly are a kind person." Aria asserted as her compliment left me speechless.
"You act as if you hate everyone and yet, deep down, you're truly a kind person."
"I don't know what you're talking about." I replied with a nonchalant smile as Aria and I began bickering over nonsense while the night grew old.
She's just like you, Iris.