Author's Note- So here's the next chapter. I'm sorry that it took so long to finish but a combination of working a baker (apprentice) and a small case of writer's block made this chapter take a bit longer than what I would have liked. Regardless I still hope you enjoy this story, and don't worry Sentient Pixel, I will get to writing Gael's personality soon.


Chapter 6

Here I was, walking back to my team's dorms while I thought about what I had heard. Oddly enough, even though I should have felt at least some sympathy towards Drake, I found myself feeling nothing but contempt towards Drake.

As I opened the door to my dorm, I saw an opportunity that I couldn't resist. My team were all sound asleep and just begging for a rude awakening. "If you're not awake within three seconds guys then I'm going to be getting my early morning laughs." I said, only for them to continue sleeping. 'Three… Two… One… Well, I gave them all ample warming.'

"WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

Gael's reaction was the most disappointing as he just moved his head around quickly before groaning and continuing to lay in his bed. Xochi amused me as she managed to headbut the wall next to her, putting a hole in it. Drake on the other hand, amused me immensely as he began waving his hands around wildly before falling off his bed and landing hard on his face. Ah Drake, why must you be so damn easy?'

"Where the hell have you been Rica?" Drake asked as I watched him slowly getting up from the floor.

"Exploring." I replied, not wishing to discuss what I had done last time.

"But we went looking everywhere for you after you didn't turn up after a hour."

'But I was listening to their conversation an hour or so after I stormed off. Which means they must have started searching right after I left… Bad timing on that one guys.' I thought to myself before replying. "You obviously didn't check the roof then."

"Oh...Well… Um… Not really."

The sound Xochi made when she facepalmed, made me surprised that her hand didn't go straight through her skull. "You're a real fucking genius Drake. Oh, and to add to your amazing level of intellect, It's now 8:30 and our first class starts…" I acted like I was trying to remember the time of our first class before finishing my sentence, "At 7:00, you do the math." The shocked look on Drake's face before he used his semblance to get dressed in his uniform and to class almost brought me to tears. After he rushed off to class, I began dropping on the floor, laughing so hard that I had trouble breathing, before hearing Xochi sigh deeply.

"You do realise that our first class actually starts at 9:00, don't you?"

"I do, but fortunately for me, my partner doesn't." I replied before returning to laughing uncontrollably. Surprisingly, Xochi began to laugh with me, although she managed to keep her composure, before adding to the conversation.

"How long do you think it will take before he realises that he has no idea which class we are supposed to be going to?"

"My guess is, in about 20 minutes." We laughed at that comment for a bit longer before I asked, "By the way, what class do we have first?"

"Combat Training with Professor Goodwitch"

'Great, first class of the day and it's being taught by someone I would very much like to murder.' "Well, we may as well get ourselves prepared for class."

Close to half an hour later, Xochi, Gael and I were walking towards our class only for me to get an odd feeling that I had been through this part of the school. As we reached what was supposedly our classroom, we came across Drake, having presumably figured out that I had fooled him, waiting for us and opened the door to get inside. All of a sudden I realised that I had been here last night. 'Oops' was all I could think of as I looked at the sight of many dismembered, burnt, or shredded training dummies.

"Now students, you may be wondering why the training equipment is in such a poor state. Well, maybe Miss Sicarius and Miss Xiao Long would like to answer that question for us." Professor Goodwitch said, standing on top of a stage and staring right at me. The rest of my teammates turned their attention to me, giving me questioning looks. 'Well this is going to be fun explaining.' However Goodwitch never gave me the chance as she pressed a button on a remote she was holding and a screen came into view above her, perfectly showing the whole class the fight between me and the blonde chick. 'Well shit.' "Although I do not encourage the destruction of valuable school equipment, and I will be having a long chat with you and your accomplice young lady…"

'"Young Lady" my ass.'

"... I must confess that the skill in battle shown by both you and Miss Xiao Long was quite impressive to watch."

'Didn't see that compliment coming.'

"However, that does not mean you will get away without any punishment, but that will be an issue for later. For now however we shall begin the class and your late night sparring session has offered some… inspiration for today's class."

'Really?'

"Throughout your whole battle, I noticed that while both of you used your aura and weaponry to great effect, neither of you activated your semblances. Many huntsmen and huntresses have been known to fall in battle because of an over reliance on their semblance, leaving them exhausted or in a position where it hinders them instead of aiding them. For the next two weeks we will be working on your technique and skills without the use of your semblance."

'That's actually kind of interesting'

I looked towards my teammates to see their reactions, only to see Xochi with an excited look on her face, Gael slowly nodding his head in understanding, and Drake looking slightly nervous but determined. "Now that you know what to be prepared for, we will begin by pitting pairs of students against each other. If you would all look at the screen, two names will be randomly chosen and will fight each until I decide that one is unable to continue. Now if you would all look at the screen so we can see who the first two opponents will be."


The class was now over and we now walked out of the classroom, in search for our next class. For once, I actually felt quite satisfied while here. My opponent had been some rich bitch with a shiny blade and it had proved to be quite interesting. She had actually proven very good at parrying my attacks and had even managed to disarm me, but after deliberately taking a big hit from her blade with my aura, I managed to knock her sword from her hands. I may have been close to running out of aura to shield myself at that point, but that was all I needed as it turned out that, while she was proficient with her blade, without it she was next to useless. I on the other hand, excelled at it.

"Rica," I heard Drake begin, as we began walking to our next class. And any satisfaction I may of still had was thrown right out the window. I was still angry at Drake after the events of last night and wasn't in the mood to deal with him at the moment. "There's something I should tell you. Something that I already talked about with Xochi and Gael last night, after you left."

'If he starts talking about what I overheard last night then this conversation isn't going anywhere pretty.' I thought before replying. "I'm listening."

"Four years ago…"

'Yep, this is going to get very ugly'

"... Your family was killed and you started searching for the bitch who sent the mercenaries that killed your family. I know, I overheard the whole conversation. What's your point?"

Drake just stared at me wide-eyed as he took in what I had just said. He eventually managed to get back to his senses and asked, "Then why are you always so hostile to me when you know that I've experienced the pain of loss as well?"

And that's when I lost any sort of control over my words. "Because now I know that you are either a coward, a weak willed idiot, or both! You had a single person talk to you and all of a sudden you just give up on the one fucking thing you had left?! You're a fool to think that we are relatable!. I didn't back away like some coward, I didn't let anyone get in my way from the only thing I had left! Unlike you, I found the bastards that killed my brother and I made them suffer for ever destroying the one good thing in my meaningless fucking life!"

"You think I'm a coward for stopping myself from becoming a person consumed by hatred?" Drake's voice gave off a more rigid tone now and as I stared into his eyes, I saw anger. "Then tell me, now that you have your revenge, what do you have left apart from your weapons and the ability to use them?" I found myself unable to answer his question but I continued to stare at him with anger in my own eyes. "Exactly, you have nothing left." His voice suddenly changed from being bitter to calm. "You don't have to do anything on your own anymore, you can allow others to help you. Please Rica, let me help you. We're two sides of the same coin."

Next thing I knew, my fist had made contact with his face and he was recoiling from surprise at the strike. I let out a laugh but this one had no humour in it. "No Drake, we aren't. We're the same side on two very different coins. Only difference is, that while you were given a nice shiny golden coin, I was forced to make do with a single rusty old coin that couldn't even get me the cheapest item in a store." Before he could say anything else, I turned myself invisible and stormed off.

This whole situation was pissing me off. I was getting sick and fucking tired of Drake always trying to get closer to me. He actually had the nerve to think that we were in any way, shape or form, kindred spirits. Fortunately for me there was still a simple solution for all this.

'If he tries to get closer to me one more god damn time, then I'm going to kill him.'