13Mitsume27 - patience, patience, papa Boros must still reach Earth on his slow junkyard of a ship. And, well, Maddie is much more of a snake than she lets out... And welp, Saigenos is secondary lead romance here, soo xD

Meanwhile, enjoy more of my precious trash angry child, Garou.

Shadowzone, Zakuro read through yellow pages of an old spell book, also known as Negative Zone, is one of the so-called 'pocket dimensions'. It exists in every time and space possible, and is accessible to anyone able to use magic energy on most basic level. Opening 'Negative Rift' is one of easiest spells there are; really challenge starts when one wishes to return from it. Very skilled magicians are able to effectively use it in combat to trap their enemies for eternity, for chances of reopening the rift in the exact same time and place of the Negative Zone are less than zero. It's also not advised to leave any possessions within in, for retrieving them will prove impossible. All damage made to the zone will also repair itself once it has been exited.

Zakuro hummed, turning the page. She had to ask Ms. Ito about the Shadowzone next time, it could prove useful, with its time-warping effect.

She had potential, yes. Everybody told her that; but she couldn't care less. Potential or not, it didn't reduce amount of things she had yet to learn. And she would make Ms. Ito proud of her. She would become truly worthy of being her student; and then, perhaps, an equal.

~•(x)•~

Metal Knight was angry, to say at least. That woman, whoever she was, absolutely ruined his image after meteorite action. He would not let that stand; he was a hero. He would not let mere citizen criticize him so openly, making other people also stand against him.

He was going to put an end to it before it fully began. He would not allow blackening his name.

~•(x)•~

Garou was very content with current state of his being, as of now. He was sitting on a soft couch, cocooned in fluffy blanket, clad in fresh clothes, with his wounds tended and hair still a bit damp after shower. He dug his teeth into still warm chicken nugget, and sighed blissfully. Yes, he was very content with his current situation.

"Why did you help me anyway?" he asked when Sakura finally completed whatever she was doing and sat next to him with weird, old, thick book in her hands. He wasn't even slightly hostile anymore, either; there was no point to be.

"Because I'm a teacher. Helping kids is part of my job."

"I'm neither in school nor a kid" Garou argued, turning his head away.

"How old are you then?" Sakura questioned, looking at him.

"Eighteen. Shut up."

"Do you have a stable source of income? A house?" woman asked again, and boy just huffed, annoyed, biting his lip.

"No."

"Then you're a kid. Get a job, become self-sufficient and I'll stop calling you that. Easy."

"Easier said than done" he growled, but a stern look from Sakura made him rethink his words. She was, after all, self-sufficient, grown up woman with a steady job and own house. Garou rolled his eyes, faint blush of embarrassment creeping onto his cheeks. "Whatever. Give me more salad."

"You at least like healthy food" woman sighed, fulfilling the request.

"I'm a martial artist, duh" Garou rolled his eyes again. "By the way, how old are you?"

"You had to ask, didn't you?" Sakura growled, glaring at the boy. "Ugh, twenty-eight. Happy?"

"Kinda. Maybe. What's with that book? Looks like you dug it from under your grandma's bed."

"Magic Grimoire."

"Pfft" Garou snorted. "You're a witch or something?"

One stern look from Sakura instantly silenced him.

"Holy shit, you are" he whispered.

"Holy shit I am" she sighed. "Now please shut up, I'm thinking about training regimen for my protégée."

"Can anyone do magic?" Garou asked instantly, sounding serious. How weird for the boy who tried to bite her hand off two hours earlier to now believe magic just because she had a book.

"Nope" came short answer. "Only about 20% of the population is magic sensitive; and only few of those are actually able of producing and using magic energy actively."

"Can I…?"

"Nope. You have to stick to breaking bones with just your bare hands."

"Damn. Having magic would be fun."

"Perhaps. If you knew how to control it" Sakura shrugged. "There are cases of those who are 'blind' to magic being exposed to it somehow, or attracting it with their desires, and then being unable to handle it. Those people transform into what people call Mysterius Beings."

"Oh" Garou hummed. "Then those fish people from yesterday…?"

"Those are different. Those are animals exposed to magic long time ago, left untouched and evolved to the point of civilization. Technically Mysterious beings too, but, you get the point. Of course, there are also aliens, but I haven't seen any" Sakura explained, turning yellow pages of the Grimoire swiftly but gently, careful to not cause any damage.

"Why are you telling me that anyway?" Garou asked, sitting a bit more straight and looking at her.

"Because I'm a teacher. Explaining kids things they don't know is what I make living off, duh" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Besides, I like talking."

"Hum. Could I become a Mysterious Being then?"

Sakura stopped looking through the Grimoire and transferred her haze onto Garou.

"This is not a good idea. Trust me."

"I don't care!" boy huffed. "I just… Villains are cool, and… Well…"

"Be a human monster instead" Sakura said. "Most of Mysterious Being would give anything to be turned back to normal, but the changes are not reversible."

"Why?" he questioned.

"Don't know. Don't have that problem."

"What do you mean?"

"Most magic users can transform at will into what resembles a Mysterious Being" Sakura explained. "Only, it's a fully controlled transformation and can be reversed any second user wishes."

"Dude" Garou growled. "Now I wanna be a mage, too."

"Don't want. You're a good kid. Kind one" Sakura hummed.

"I'm not!"

"Cute little child" Sakura cooed, and Garou hissed, blushing.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "You're not my mother!"

"I could be" she said. "If you want."

"Wh-"

"You wouldn't lean into domestic bliss so much if there was everything okay with your family, you know. You're starved off positive affection" Sakura explained. "Even now you're basically laying on my shoulder."

"Shut up."

"Yes, yes, you big child."

"Be quiet, I'm going to sleep."

He did not move away from her, though, leaning into the warmth he was so starved of.