20 After

Nova stood in the cold morning air, in the middle of a brightly lit stadium.

『Oh! You're awake!』[Leo]

『Yeah, you said it was time to train, right?』[Nova]

Leo started a nervous chuckle.

『Well.. Rai didn't like that idea, so I didn't know if you would either.』[Leo]

『Then, let's train without him.』[Nova]

『Yeah! Let's get stronger without him!』[Leo]

『So, what's the plan? Sparring? Mana training? Seed growth?』[Nova]

Leo had a frown on his face.

『..Martial arts, while mana training..?』[Leo]

『..Alright. Sure.』[Nova]

Nova started stretching to get ready.

『..Wait.』[Nova]

『Yeah?』[Leo]

『You haven't mentioned your seed before. Is there an issue with it?』[Nova]

Leo looked panicked. He did several gestures trying to come up with an explanation, to no avail. He finally gave up, before sighing.

『..Yes.』[Leo]

『What's the issue?』[Nova]

『My seed is useless.』[Leo]

『..Nobody's seed is useless. What does it do?』[Nova]

『When I move after saying "After", an afterimage will trail behind my movements.』[Leo]

Nova suddenly remembered the pseudo-memories he had when he first Sprouted.

『And you haven't tested it out? Nothing from that flash of memories?』[Nova]

Leo shrugged, and sighed.

『In those memories, all I saw was the shadows trailing behind the fist of the person.』[Leo]

『..Then. Let's find out what makes your seed strong.』[Nova]

Leo's face darkened.

『I'll never be able to make it strong. The seed is just useless!』[Leo]

『No seed is useless. Just gotta find out what makes it strong.』[Nova]

Leo's face softened.

『You really think that?』[Leo]

『Yeah. Let's find out what makes it a seed.』[Nova]

Leo looked at Nova, who was still stretching. He wiped his nose and fixed his grin.

『..Then. Let's do this.』[Leo]

He put up his stance.

-------

Nova blocked a kick going for the side of his head with his arm.

『Woah! Are you trying to kill me?!』[Nova]

『Well, if your martial arts suck that much, sure!』[Leo]

Nova back stepped away from Leo's vigorous attacks.

『Why would you need your seed if you can already do this?! 』[Nova]

Leo jumped into the air and attempted to axe kick Nova.

『Well, all my seed does is a stupid trail!』[Leo]

Nova barely jumped out of the way, leaving a small crater on the floor.

『...You're scary.』[Nova]

Nova threw a fist at Leo's face.

『Woah! Pretty close!』[Leo]

Leo quickly grabbed Nova's arm, and swept his feet, before flipping him onto the floor.

『WooOOAH!』[Nova]

All Nova saw was the world spin, before his back felt an impact and the air rushed from his lungs.

『Guh.. What the heck? We can't test out your seed ability if you're this good without it..』[Nova]

『Just look at the trail.』[Leo]

He formed a stance.

『After.』[Leo]

As he said "After", he punched the air in front of him.

A black ink-brush style trail followed Leo's fist.

『...Can you touch it?』[Nova]

Leo's hand moved through it.

『Nope.』[Leo]

Nova tried to touch the trail, but it phased through as well.

『..There's probably something we're missing.』[Nova]

『I'm telling you. It's useless.』[Leo]

『..No. The true properties of your seed are revealed over time.』[Nova]

『What do you mean? You've always known what your seed has done, right?!』[Leo]

『No. Not quite.』[Nova]

Leo was starting to look a bit aggravated.

『Then.. what?』[Leo]

『Blessed Rebirth Flame.』[Nova]

A medium ball of blue fire sat on Nova's palm.

『Some people think my flame heals. The true property is to convert.』[Nova]

『..What do you mean?』[Leo]

『Whatever I burn turns into something else. If I burn mana, it turns into the regeneration of something.』[Nova]

『Then?』[Leo]

Nova let the flame disappear.

『You'll find the use eventually. If not, then you'll unlock your next seed spell eventually. It's all a matter of time.』[Nova]

『..You have your second seed spell, right?』[Leo]

『..Yeah.』[Nova]

『Then, how do I get my next spell?』[Leo]

『I was told it was "Knowledge, Mana, and Growth".』[Nova]

『Then. If I can only train my mana, then just keep training my mana?』[Leo]

『No. Maybe you should use "After" while you train mana, and martial arts.』[Nova]

Leo looked as if he had a revelation.

『Oh! Maybe you're right. "After" never consumes that much mana, so maybe you're right!』[Leo]

『Then, teach me how you circulate mana while fighting! I can't concentrate that well while moving.』[Nova]

『Alright. Then, you can teach me how to use my seed well, right?!』[Leo]

Leo was hyped up, and waiting for Nova's okay.

『...Uh. I don't think so, but I can try?』[Nova]

『Huh?! ...Well, that's fine too.』[Leo]

The two took their stances again.

----------

Nova was being carried to the cafeteria by Leo, beaten with bruises and scratches.

『..Ugh.. you went a bit too hard.』[Nova]

『Well, maybe you should've saved some mana for healing yourself afterwards!』[Leo]

『I normally just eat after training right away.. I'm not used to this whole school thing..』[Nova]

A gruff voice rang out from behind them.

『Need a hand?』[???]

Turning around, they saw Andrew.

『...A-A-Andrew Strife?!』[Leo]

『..Yo. Mind taking me to the cafeteria real quick?』[Nova]

『No problem, man.』[Andrew]

He grabbed Nova, and put him on his shoulder before sprinting for the cafeteria.

Leo stared at them disappearing with a gaping mouth.

『...Wait. Wait for me!』[Leo]

----

『Ugh.. Freyana..』[Nova]

『..Who?』[Andrew]

『AAAAAH! NOVAAA!』[Freyana]

A green flash flew out of the kitchen, and grabbed Nova from Andrew's shoulder, before they disappeared into the kitchen.

『..The spirit of the kitchen?』[Andrew]

Andrew stood there, then sat down at a table with his hand clasped together.

Around this time, Leo burst into the room, out of breath.

『Haaaah~ Whe-Where is No-Nova..』[Leo]

『...I'm going to pray that Nova is okay.』[Andrew]

『...Huh?!』[Leo]

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Nova was being interrogated.

『NOVA! What happened to you?!』[Freyana]

She was running her hands over his body

『Aaah. Freyana, it hurts.』[Nova]

She removed his shirt and looked over his body for injuries.

『...Freyana. It's cold..』[Nova]

She realized that she had just essentially stripped Nova.

『I'm hungry..』[Nova]

『..you jerk!』[Freyana]

『..Sorry.』[Nova]

She put her face onto his chest, and started crying.

『Don't worry me like that!』[Freyana]

『Sorry..』[Nova]

She got up, leaving him on the floor.

She returned a moment later with a bowl of a light broth, still warm for the morning.

『..Here.』[Freyana]

Nova sat himself up.

『I'm sorry.. I don't think I can eat myself...Can you feed me?』[Nova]

Freyana blushed, and thought of it for a moment.

『..Yes.』[Freyana]

She lifted the spoonful of soup up and blew on it, before feeding it to him.

『..Delicious.』[Nova]

Freyana kept feeding it to him, with a smile.

『...』[Freyana]