"That's deeply appreciated." Z bowed again.
"How's the training going?"
"It was great until you summoned me here. Now I'll have to push back on training."
"I didn't summon, I asked to see you, can I not?"
"The training is going well. He's doing better than I expected… Actually, he can take you on now and I'd gladly bet on him winning." She replied grinning from ear to ear like a proud mother.
"That's quite an assumption."
"It's true. You would be whining about back aches before you can get one strike hit on him."
"I'm sure I do not look that old."
"Not from where I'm sitting." Z retorted.
"Even if I did, experience and level will win. He's a fresh mage."
They were silent for a few seconds before Z broke the silence. "He moved me."
A slight frown app
Z woke up to find herself sprawled across her couch, her head hurt from drinking a lot the night before. She laid still for a few more minutes thinking about how frustrated she had been the day before. She knew Sora didn't deserve to get yelled at, but she had been upset with her father and took it out on him instead. She had succeeded in pushing away the only person would probably become one of them now.She got off the couch and dragged herself into the bathroom. She opened the taps, filled the bathtub to the brim and got in, still with her clothes on. Z submerged herself slowly while adding her energy into the water, which gave a calming effect but her mind kept taking back to the times when she trained as a Hunter.Being trained alone by a hunter was unusual, more so being the only one trained by a Master Hunter in the whole academy. It gave Z a reputation real quick.She was avoided by other mages, some out of fear of getting on
Z smiled from across the room. She knew Sora couldn't see, but she smiled like a proud mother.He opened his eyes, and his energy seemed to flicker."Don't lose your anchor. Hold it!" She yelled from across the room and his energy grew larger; "Now hit me you ." and ended with a smirk.Sora charged.They trained for a while sending energy and strikes back and forth. They stopped after Z caught Sora in a lock, bringing his hands together until he accepted defeat. After resting for a while, they walked out of the training area."Can I ask you a question?""Your questions seem to always get you in trouble. Are you sure you want to take the risk? Z asked"Yes.""Shoot then""What's your anchor?"The question seemed to impress Z. "My anchor used to be anger too. Anger at my dad and
Sora spent the rest of the evening training hard. He still had a full day to train but he couldn't get his body to relax. Something poked at his chest at intervals but he pushed through till he finally fell to the ground exhausted. He got back to his room and passed out on the floor skipping dinner. Sora woke up the next morning drenched in his sweat and with a very shallow feeling in his guts. It was like nothing he had ever felt and his insides itched badly. His stomach grumbled over and over signaling its need for food so Sora got off the floor and immediately, the tight poking in his chest started again and his heart raced uncontrollably. He hurried to the bathroom and freshened up quickly before running out the door to the Dining Hall. Luckily for him, the Hunters had their serving stand by the entrance and Sora packed as much as he could onto his plate leaving no space. He got stares from the mages around but paid them no mind.
Z was quick on her feet, she moved effortlessly around the room and she calculated her moves. She calculated some of Sora's too and would send backup charges at him that caught him off guard after dodging the first.Sora on the other hand endured the battle. He took some of her hits, deflected others patiently waiting, biding his time and saving up most of his energy while Z used hers against him. He had been unsure how to outsmart her until she gave him the idea.Their fight went on for a while and Z could see that Sora was fighting on the defensive but she realized a little too late as her strength began to drain and she tried masking it with lesser but more precise strikes.When Sora noticed the change in Z's attacks, he knew she was getting drained and took it as his cue to strike. All of a sudden he summoned water forces from the air and made them into darts shooting them at Z from all angles and she put her shield up immediately
His reflection looked… good?Sora stood, analyzing his entire look in the mirror.His hair wasn't all in his face anymore. He had spent his free day preparing for tonight and that included giving himself a haircut. His curly hair was cut short on the sides with a tousled top and he kept enough bangs to cover his scar.With a vest on, he ran his hands over his torso, feeling the muscles he had gained over the weeks of training. His body seemed to fill out in places that had been scrawny and his face structure had changed too. His face seemed more defined and his moles didn't seem experimental anymore. Now, they suited him.He put his hands through his jacket and pulled the zip up then picked up Z's note again. Her parcel had arrived for him at noon with the most thoughtful note."Wear it or you're dead. Literally."His very own uniform wit
Suddenly a foul smell hit Sora "What's that gods awful smell?""What smell?" Kain asked.Sora looked between Z and Kain. They didn't seem affected by the smell."It's dirty.""Is it blood?"Sora shook his head. "No, this is foul.""Soul eaters…" Z affirmed "…makes sense that you'd smell them. Shadow mages privilege. Be alert.""That means they're here." Kain noted."We're going in." Slowly, Z pushed back on the door and they made their way in. They walked into the lair and didn't walk for too long before a strong grating voice came from within."Welcome to the party, Hunters."Sora assessed the Soul eater as it emerged from the shadows. In appearance, it had a few things in common with the soul eater that had attacked him and Ryo. It had the gaunt skull-like head
"You took him on a mission without my permission. Why?"Z shrugged, seeming uninterested. "He wanted to go."Z stood across from Tydinn, who sat at his table. Tydinn was stiff. The muscles around his forehead tightened and from the way his office was rearranged, she could tell he was mad. Must have taken him all morning to sort it out, which meant his anger was pent up."What if he wanted to burn down the Academy? Would you help him?""You're exaggerating Tydinn. It was an irrelevant mission.""One you took him on, without my permission." Tydinn's tone was firm.Z could tell he was trying his best to keep up his anger from how he avoided her eyes. "Are we really going to dwell on this? Won't you ask me how I'm doing?""If you didn't return fine from dealing with Gargos, then I would have questioned your status as my daughter."<
His sudden movement startled Z. "What?" she asked completely confused."Were you going to hit me?""I wasn't.""Ohh… sorry." Sora relaxed."Why would you think I would?""No offense but… it's you."Z nodded, "Fair enough… welcome back. Took you long enough, you've been out all morning.""Where am I?""The infirmary… Kain and I brought you here. He sends his regards by the way, he wanted to stay but Tydinn is out to get him so… yeah. You get it?"Sora nodded gently and sighed, and he sat up in bed."Do you remember anything?"Sora was quiet for a while, recollecting events from the night before and then it dawned on him. "I'm a soul eater.""You are a mage." Z countered."But I too