I Don't Have To
He came from swinging his sword when he saw the two of them walking together.
"Were you waiting for me?" Raven furrowed his brows at his words.
"Nope, I just went out for some swinging when I saw you two walking side by side," he replied raising his sword.
"It's not like we're getting close or anything. If you guys have the thought of sparring with me, then I wouldn't have searched for her," he answered his first question.
"The way I see it, you became quite talkative this past month," Mamoru replied as he raised his hands.
"Did I? Maybe it's because whenever she speaks it lead me to think a lot more when I talk to you guys?"
"That's rude," he jokingly smacked Raven's shoulder and the two of the laughed.
*****
"I saw your arrangement," upon entering her room she heard Kaoru's voice.
"Didn't I already told you Kaoru not to enter my room without my permission?" she answered closing the door behind her.
"Why did you choose to be Raven's partner on the tandem battle?" Kaoru remained serious and asked her.
"Why does everyone love that question? Want some tea?"
Despite berating Kaoru about entering her room without permission. She was still courteous enough to offer him something to drink, being the owner of the room.
~"Despite always seeing them and them visiting, we are still the owner of the house. If they don't speak or move then at the very least have the initiative to ask them as a show of courteousness being the owner. ~"
She had always remembered the words as if engraved in her heart and mind.
That was how they trained her to become someone capable of livung in a place filled with people.
"A tea please then," Kaoru replied instantly.
"Cause it's very unusual. People might think that you'll hold him up. Plus do you know why Kyro is mad at Raven?" he then continued asking her, as his eyes followed her.
"I heard he wants revenge," she replied after some thought.
"And you're not planning to ask why?"
"No."
"I'll tell you a bit then."
"No need. Here's your tea," she answered instantly as she gives him a cup.
"Thank you. But you have to at least know."
"I don't have to," she insisted.
She really has no desire of knowing the backstories of these people when she plans on not interacting too much.
"Then why did you partner up with him?"
Seeing how adamant she is in not wanting to listen to the story behind Kyro' s anger, he could only sigh in defeat.
"So we're back to that question?"
Eureka raised an eyebrow as they banter.
"Just answer me."
"He might lose himself in this battle," she took a sip of her tea as she answered back.
"Why do you say that?" he was definitely confused at her answer.
"It's because his opponent is that Kyro guy."
"I've heard about it. It was you who provoked that guy to battle in the tandem part even though it's pretty obvious that Raven was avoiding him," Kaoru informed her.
"You really do love gossiping, don't you? No wonder the instructors are complaining of you pushing your work to them. Cause you are out gossiping and not doing your work at all."
He wanted to rebuke but she raised her hand and thought for a bit.
She was answering his question of why had insisted that Raven face Kyro.
"I can't let him run away much longer. It's high time that he face his fears instead of running away from it. He is about to enter knighthood and he is no longer simply a student."
"Runaway? What do you mean by that?" knitting his brows he asked her confusedly.
"I want him to move forward. I heard that he's ability awaken when he was 8 but usually, ability awakening would be at the age of 12. And I've heard that he awakened it when he was faced in grave danger," she started explaining the things that she was able to stitch up from what she heard from nosy people.
"Adding that together with what Kyro said in the party of him being a murderer, I have concluded that a very close person to both Kyro and Raven died while he was with Raven."
She drummed her finger on the handle of the cup as she continued.
"And that during that time faced with the danger of dying he's power awakened and he was able to defeat all those trying to kill him."
After another sip, she sighed, "Indeed Raven couldn't move on from seeing the death of a precious person but what really holds him back and what causes a change to his emotions was the word murderer."
She looked outsude her window as she continued her explanation.
"If he knows he didn't kill that important someone then why would this word affect him? Simple, he couldn't forget the taste of killing someone, the sight of dead bodies, the smell of blood."
"But if you know that who you're killing are enemies why would that affect you?" Kaoru questioned as he listened intently at Eureka's explanation.
"For a person at the age of 8 killing is still killing. But at the same time what if it wasn't just enemies he had killed?"
She went ahead and sat down on her bed facing Kaoru who was sitting at her chair by the table. She crossed her right leg on the other.
"Being the son of the head knight it is impossible for him to be traveling alone with his friend. He would be traveling with some guards protecting them. And those guards died when he lost control of his ability."
She looked at him seriously before finishing his sentence.
"If that's what happened, then for someone who's only at the age of 8, you would be greatly affected even if you grow up."
Kaoru looked at her with different emotions in his eyes. This was the first time he heard her speak so much. And with such great analysis.
"You, where did you hear this from?" he asked.
"Who knows, maybe I'm just perceptive enough to piece the information together. And there are nosy people talking here and there that I was able to got all these together.
Putting his cup down, Kaoru walked towards the window and looked up at the sky.
"2 guards were badly injured and safe but it is indeed true that, at that time 2 guards died together with the 10 assassins sent by the enemy."
"At the age of 8, he was unable to control his ability and killed everyone near him. He lost control of his emotions when he saw his friend dead. But what we announced in public was that the two guards were killed by the enemies."
He sighed before continuing, "It might be wrong but he was still a kid, it's not his fault that happened."
Eureka shook her head, she said she didn't want to hear about it. Yet he still went ahead and spoke about it.
She only said that he killed those who are close to him as a hunch but he just went ahead and confirmed it.
Kaoru looked back at her without knowing what was going on in her mind, "So how will you help him move forward?"
"I have a feeling that Kyro would use a different tactic on our battle. And that would cause Raven to remember what happened on that fateful day, Kyro's planning on breaking Raven psychologically."
She paused for a bit before continuing, "If he fights on his own, the kingdom might lose a very capable knight."
Kaoru nodded his head.
"If your feeling was point on, then it would really be a disaster. But I didn't know you were able to understand Raven up to this point."
Eureka shrugged as she finished her tea.
Kaoru smiled at her, "I'm happy you found yourself some friends."
"Nope I don't treat them as friends," she replied without even thinking about it.
"Huh? Then why are you going so far in order to help them?"
"To thank them, if they didn't accept me in their group then I would be in a dire situation. That's it, now get out cause I need to sleep."
She went ahead and kicked him out of the room.
"W-Wait. "
*BLAG*
She literally closed the door in his face.
"And don't try to open the door with your key," hearing her say that from the inside he decided to just leave.
'Will she really stay unattached to this place until the end? And will she really help him move forward?'
Thinking to himself as he walks out of the dorm and towards his own residence.
*****
Meanwhile, on the dark side of the forest.
"You understand your part you must not let anyone notice."
"I understand, young master."
"Just you wait, tomorrow is the day you'll regret everything," saying just as a sinister smile appear on his face.