Chapter 23: Bitter

Sebastian stepped before Corniellia as they walked toward the exit, each step he took being slightly longer, allowing him to cover much more distance, and as such, allowing for him to establish a set distance between them.

"You've got to be kidding me," Corniellia muttered under her breath as she sped up, quickly closing the distance between them, "You can't seriously still be mad at me?"

Sebastian gave no response but simply glared at her from the side of his eye. His attention quickly snapped back to the path before him as he stuffed his hands down his pockets, adding a nonchalant flare in his steps of some kind as if he was pretending Corniellia wasn't there.

Frustrated, Corniellia stepped in front of him, her knuckles resting on her hips and chest held high as she huffed and puffed, "Come on, It's been two weeks. TWO WEEKS!" she yelled, "You've barely spoken to me since then, even though we're on the same team! And I don't think that's fair!"

"And why should I care about what's fair?" Sebastian asked as he locked eyes with her. His ocean blue eyes pierced into her pink ones, sending a slight shiver down her spine when paired with his cruel words.

She took a step back, using her right hand to grip onto her left wrist as she pulled both hands in, pressing them against her breasts, "What do you mean why should you care?! We're friends, aren't we? We're supposed to be fair to each other, no matter what way you spin it!"

"I'd rather not be friends with the sister of my parents' murderer," he rolled his eyes at the end of his statement then stared off to the far left of where he stood before looking back at her, "Is there anything else you wish to query?"

"You think I asked to be related to that psycho?!" Corniellia asked rhetorically, "News flash! You aren't the only one who was forced to live without your parents! You're not the only one who bears hatred in your heart for that sick, twisted mistake of a man! Okay? So quit acting like you are!"

"W- What are you talking about?" Sebastian asked in a more sincere voice as he raised an eyebrow.

"He killed our dad Sebby. He murdered him right in front of me," Corniellia said in a soft, whisper-like tone, her eyes swelling with tears as she held her head down, "So do you understand now? You're not the only one going through shit. Yeah, I might be a vampire, but that doesn't mean I don't have my own stuff to deal with. I have a life too, I have feelings too, I didn't ask to be what I am, but that's what I am, aren't I?" She brought her head back up for a moment, rubbing her eyes before dropping her hands to her side. She wore a faint smile as she looked at Sebastian, the wet streaks on her face stretching from the bags under her eyes to her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, reaching a hand behind his neck, awkwardly scratching at it as he looked away.

"Save it, it doesn't matter Sebby. It's okay, I wish you good luck with tomorrow's practice... Try not to bring us down again," she said, the smug words not matching with the depressed tone she stated them with. She spun on her heels, taking a deep breath before blinking away in order to prevent Sebastian from chasing after her, leaving him standing alone before the exit of the battlegrounds.

"So what happened there?" Thaddeus asked, wrapping his arm around Sebastian's neck, pulling him closer, "Your girlfriend got upset with you?"

"It's not like that," Sebastian responded with a sigh, "I just think I messed up is all."

"Yeah, girls, am I right?"

Reinhardt stepped forward, glancing over to Sebastian and Thaddeus before looking over to the exit, "So we gonna stand here or we gonna get something to eat? I'm starving."

"You guys can go on without me."

"Yeah not happening," Reinhardt replied, with Thaddeus stepping in to continue his statement, "You rarely ever spend time with your own team, and that's not a good thing especially since we got a team-building exercise to do tomorrow, don't you think? Come on, let's just go get some food together, you don't gotta worry about the money, I'll pay."

"Oh, it's a team-building exercise?... In that case, I should probably reach out to Corniellia," Sebastian said, muttering the last portion of his statement.

"That won't be necessary," Reinhardt scoffed, "We've already 'bonded' as much as we needed to with her. You're our focus for today okay?"

"Are you sure?... I wouldn't mind reaching out to her. I gotta make something up to her anyways."

"And you'll have all the time in the world to do that when you're back, trust me," Thaddeus said, a cheeky smile on his face, "Meet us by the gates in an hour, we'll be going to this place that sells food that's so good, it'll genuinely blow your mind."

"In an hour? It'll be after six by then... And seeing that we'll be out to eat, it'll be a bit dangerous don't you think?"

"You'll be fine," Reinhardt said as a form of reassurance, "Besides, we're all hunters, aren't we? If we find anything threatening anyone's safety, we'll eradicate it, simple as that."

"I guess you have a point... In that case, you got yourself a deal," Sebastian said with a nervous smile, reaching his hand toward Thaddeus who took hold of it, giving it a firm shake.

"Great, I'll look forward to your company."

***

Sebastian pushed his room door open, the hinges announcing his arrival despite no one being there to receive the message. He walked into his room, a sigh escaping his lips as his hands reached for the light switch that was positioned to his left of the door. He scanned his room swiftly, ensuring things were just as he left it, ending his search with a content breath just before kicking his door closed and falling onto his bed that was a few steps away.

He took a few seconds to properly adjust himself on the bed so that he'd be staring up at the ceiling with his hands cuffed at his torso. Being alone with his thoughts allowed for his earlier conversation to resurface, forcing a bite from his lips along with a groan of displeasure.

"Why'd you have to go be such a jerk?" he asked himself out loud, resting his hand across his eyes, "I gotta make it up to her somehow... But how?"

He sat up in his bed and stared at the mirror placed before his bed, locking eyes with his reflection.

"You still playing hard to get?" he asked, hoping for a response, but got nothing but his genuine reflection staring back at him. With a sigh, he fell backwards, his head bouncing against the soft fabric of his bed, "Could've at the very least taught me how to use the so-called gift you gave me before you upped and dipped you know... Would've made things so much easier."

After a moment of silence, he forced himself up, "Oh, who am I kidding, It's not like you'll answer anyway."

Once he was out of his bed, he stretched just before heading over to his closet, "The least you could do is dress nice right?" he asked himself, searching through a vast selection of clothes hung up before him, with most of it being in black, accompanied by the occasional grey and white. Colourful clothing was a rarity to him, but he didn't mind it.

"I guess this will do," he said, reaching for a change of clothes tucked away in the corner, "Yeah... This should work just fine."

<Chapter 23: End>