Chapter 58 - Reconciliation

As I finish recounting the story, I realize that my gaze had been directed at the sky this whole time. I look down to meet Ivana's eyes which are fixed onto me. Her expression is difficult to read. I notice a slight tremble in her pupils that I cannot understand.

"... For a year and a half after that day I wasn't able to look at my own reflection. Just the sight would have me puke. I was disgusted with myself. My younger siblings never had a clue as to why because I never told them what happened. From their point of view, mom just stopped coming home one day. They would ask sometimes, but it would result in me running away or having an attack, so they stopped asking."

"..."

"Haha… To be honest, if it wasn't for them, I can't say I'd be here right now. I had to take care of both of them in my mother's stead, that's what kept me going."

Ivana places her hand atop mine.

"I'm… sorry that happened. I don't even know what to say."

I smile.

"It's okay, I didn't tell you this to get sympathy points. I just wanted you to know that I'm not special like you think. When I said that I would stay behind back in the forest, I was scared, I wanted to run away too. I'm really… nothing special. I understand what you must be feeling very well, but I just want you to know that it's… normal to be afraid. No one wants to die."

She looks down.

"... I see, but I still don't think I can forgive myself for it…"

I firmly grip her delicate hand.

".... and that's alright, I still haven't either. We can work towards that goal… together."

Ivana stares at me for a moment, then takes a deep breath. She stands up, dusts off her uniform, and turns around, as if to leave. Before I can stand up myself and speak my mind, she turns back around with a resolute expression.

"Alden, because of my family and my status, I don't have many friends, or any friends besides Sylvia. I'm not sure my own family would do what you did for me."

I raise an eyebrow.

"Didn't I already tell you it was oka-"

She interrupts me, her hands fidgeting behind her back.

"Therefore! I'd like to use one of the favors you promised me! Could I… be your friend?"

The request takes me by surprise. I stare at her with wide eyes, in disbelief. She has difficulty keeping eye contact, shifting her gaze to mine, then to the ground, then to her sides in rapid succession. A few seconds pass and I burst into laughter.

"PFFT! HAHAHA!"

She wears a look of confusion.

"W-what's so funny?!"

I slowly pass my fingers through my hair and dramatically imitate her.

"Could I… be your friend…? HAHAHA! Has anyone ever said that before?!!!"

Her entire face turns as red as a tomato and words explode out of her mouth.

"Y-you know what!! Forget I said anything!! I'm out of here!!"

She turns around, but before she can take a single step I place my hand on her shoulder. I wipe tears from my eyes and calm my laughter. I pull her so that she faces me once again and offer her a thumbs up.

"I accept your request, Ivana."

She pushes me away. "I don't care anymore!! Good! Night!"

She speeds off but I notice the obvious grin on her lips. I decide not to pursue her as I believe I've accomplished my task. She disappears into the darkness of the night and I prepare to return to my soft bed. I can't help but wear the same grin Ivana does. I am happy this worked so well and I do not regret sharing my deepest secret with her. I may not have known her for long, but I felt it deep within me that I would regret it my whole life if I lost a friend like Ivana for such a reason. I'm nearly skipping on the way back to my dorm. I arrive in front of the building's doors and prepare to open them, when a voice resounds behind me.

"That's the third baby out past bedtime tonight. Seems like I'll need to have a thorough disciplinary session tomorrow."

My blood turns cold.

"H-hey Maestro Lauren. I-I was just doing some late night training. Y-you know, to be the best that I can be and all. Practice makes perfect…right?"

"Sit down."

I immediately obey. She delicately grabs my shoulder, leans down to my level and looks at me straight in the eyes. A strange, hearty smile, different from her usual unsettling one that covers her face. I notice that her attire does not indicate someone who had been sleeping until now. Perhaps she was on patrol or maybe she was taking care of something. Either way, it looks like her finding us today was merely bad luck. She pats my shoulder.

"Good job Alden. Time to sleep now."

She flicks my forehead and the next thing I know, It is 6 in the morning and the time for my first class is nearing. I am laying down on my bed, in the same clothes I had last night. The cover is neatly arranged to cover my body all the way to my neck and my shoes are resting in front of the door. I try to recall what occurred after the Maestro flicked my forehead but I cannot. There is complete darkness in my memory after that point. I go to the shower area to clean myself and brush my teeth and then proceed to change my uniform. I then go to the kitchen where a few others eat breakfast. Usually, the rest of the men and I tend to eat in silence. That is because we are too exhausted to speak most of the time. This makes it difficult to socialize. Well, even if we did socialize, it's not like the nobles would want to speak with me. As for Alex, he simply isn't a talkative person. 

Today however, I can hear a cacophony of chatter in the kitchen. When I enter, I see a lot of new faces I do not recognize. One of them grabs my attention in particular. It is a man, not much taller than I am, with a lean build similar to mine. Short auburn hair covers his head and a large diagonal scar extends across his cheek. Both of his eyes are covered by some sort of visor, making it impossible to see what they look like. His appearance is not what grabs my attention, however. I peer into his being using my newly gained ability, and what I see shocks me. It is nowhere near the level of Maestro Lauren's, but his power is much greater than any of us. Before, my deduction of an opponent's level was merely based on speculation. Second stages exude a sense of power that is different from first stages which is what I would base myself on. However, that can easily lead me to being mistaken, in which case I would need to resort to confronting them directly to be able to tell. However, now, I am sure.

'This guy, he's reached the second stage…'

He briefly glances at me, then returns to his conversation. The kitchen is divided into two sections. On one side are those whose faces I recognize, and on the other, are the new ones. This situation is quite strange, but I decide to ignore it for now and make myself something to eat. I do not have much time before the start of classes. Before I can finish, however, Maestro Lauren calls for us.

"EVERYONE IN FRONT OF ME IN LESS THAN TWO MINUTES OR ELSE!"

I hastily inhale the rest of my food and make my way to the main field. Everyone does the same, even the newcomers. They appear to be familiar with the Maestro's temper. When we're all in front of her, she says a few words.

"I know you guys probably have classes soon, but I wanted to introduce you to each other. Second quarter students meet fourth quarter students who have just come back from their assignment. Perhaps some of you have noticed, but two of them have broken through to the next stage. They remind me of my younger days! Please, Tianna and Aaron come to the front!"

The man with the visor and a woman with long black hair reaching to her ankles walk up to the front. The woman sheepishly introduces herself.

"H-Hi, nice to meet you guys. M-My name's Tianna…"

The man does the same.

"Same here! Good to meet you all! You can call me Ron! I see that you've been working hard! Well, maybe I shouldn't say that I see, because I can't see anything behind that visor, hahahah!!"

His joke lands flat. No one in the audience laughs, not even his friends.

"What a tough crowd hahaha!" He says.

Maestro Lauren instructs them to return to their spots.

"Okay, that's it, you'll have the chance to mingle more later! Go on now, go learn!"

We all head off the peak, some of the fourth quarter students are faster in their descent, but surprisingly not all of them. Sneaking a peek at more of their souls, I understand that Tianna and Aaron might indeed be anomalies. A lot of the fourth quarter students are barely any stronger than I am. This fact slightly puts me at ease.

When we arrive at DaiKar, the entrance guard scans our watches and we are let in. I notice that the fourth quarter students take an elevator different from the one we take. My curiosity gets the better of me and I try to enter it, but access is promptly denied. Defeated, I go towards the elevator meant for second quarter students and it leads me to the floor where my first class takes place. This morning, I am supposed to attend one of my compulsory classes, PURE F2-1.

When I enter the classroom, I see Adam wave his hand in the air to attract my attention. He is already sitting down. I join him and sit next to him. We greet each other. Before we can start a conversation, Ivana and Sylvia join us. They sit in front of Adam and I. I say hi to both of them.

"Hey Sylvia, hey Ivana"

Sylvia greets me with an enchanting smile.

"Good morning Alden, nice to see you!"

Ivana's greeting is slightly less enchanting.

"Hmph, don't talk to me!"

I roll my eyes.

"Come on, you're still mad ab-"

"Don't forget, you still owe me one favor."

"... Seriously?"

She grins.

"Seriously."

Sylvia tilts her head. "What's that about a favor?"

We answer at the same time. "Don't worry about it."

Sylvia's confusion is apparent but she radiates joy.

"Look at you both! I'm so happy you finally made up!"

Ivana blushes while I reciprocate Sylvia's smile. Zora and Alex soon find a seat near our group. Zora seems to be talking Alex's ear off while he remains silent as he usually does. His expression does not let his inner thoughts show but that does not bother Zora as she keeps speaking to him. 

"Did ya hear anythin' I said big guy? I'm tellin' ya it's a good idea! If we team up we can- Oh! Hey y'all! How's it goin'?!"

We all greet the energetic Zora. Adam is the first to speak to her while he wears his usual polite smile.

"So Zora, what was the great idea you were telling Alex about?"

She enthusiastically turns to face all of us. Adam may have asked the question, but she intends to let everyone know what she has been wanting to convey to Alex.

"Alright, so, essentially. I was lookin' through the Showdown page on that watch last night. And guess what I found? There's a team battle option. You wanna know how many people we can have on those teams? Six! How many of us are there here? Six!! It's like it was made for us! Also, not to brag or nothin', but we're all pretty strong too!"

Sylvia answers.

"What a coincidence, I was thinking the same, Zora!"

"See big guy? Even Goldie Locs says we should do it!!"

Sylvia's eyebrow twitches, but she regains her composure immediately. Before the rest of us can give our input, a voice resonates from the front of the classroom.

"Alright, alright settle down everyone. Starting now, class is in session."