A/N: Yo, dropping a chapter right before finals cuz I was bored and this is my unwind story. Might start releasing new chapters once every week or two but I can't promise anything. I just started writing this again since it's still been on my mind. Anyways, hope you enjoy :)

A year or two ago

First impressions weren't everything.

Pause learned that early on. People could act completely different from what their appearance suggested. Devils with the mask of an Angel and vice versa.

Any time he met one of those people, and the countless others, he'd had an impression, and he'd been off by a little. Or a lot. It always depended on the person and the place, but he never really cared. No one cared. He had an impression and left it.

But then his old guild mate, Lion, told him to start observing everything. To try and piece together as much about a person as he could based on the first few moments. The first few seconds of the meeting.

"Everyone is a threat," Lion once said, "the sooner you can get a clear picture of them, the sooner you can burn that picture to ashes."

And at the time, those were the words Pause needed to hear, so he started practicing right away.

He was off at first, but after some time he got really good at it. Five inconsistencies turned to three and then one. He could do it with most mages he met.

It was a habit he trained himself into, and before he joined Phantom Lord, it had been vital. He'd needed it back then. For everyone's sake.

But right now it was driving him insane.

She's nervous. He thought as he glanced from the book he was trying to read up on the second floor, watching from his peripheral vision at the recruit of just a week or two. Leaning back in a chair, the girl with black combat boots rocking back and forth on the table, black jean shorts, and a purple crop top let read a book she held with a single hand. Lazily glancing up at the pages as she chewed gum.

Everything about her screamed confidence.

But the subtle things whispered discomfort.

Her legs fidgeted every once in a while, like they didn't want to be on the table. Her eyes twitched and brows furrowed like she kept losing her place on the pages, not paying attention to what she was reading. She rubbed her arms like she was cold, but it was room temperature in the library, so it was probably just her being uncomfortable. He guessed it had to do with the clothes; maybe she was used to wearing long sleeves and recently switched wardrobes.

Or maybe the demonic arm she hadn't bothered to dismiss was weighing on her mind.

Why does she have it out now? Is it a malfunction? Or maybe she doesn't know how to use it yet. Or it could be to try and be intimidating. But if it was, she wouldn't have had it when she first walked in. I was the only one here and she hadn't noticed me at first. Must be a malfunction. Is that why she's nervous? Or Anxious might be better. Must be waiting for someone since she keeps glancing at the door. She probably isn't a patient person.

These old habits of his. They died horribly.

Does that translate in combat? They said she hit the door and it broke. She might not like using ranged attacks. It must feel like she isn't doing anything if she doesn't move her body with the attack. Maybe she's the type to rush in first and think later. Most new mages do that.

Even after years, Pause's old way of thinking never really left. He just learned to tune it out if he was lucky. It was easy for the weaker people he met.

She probably thinks she has the power to bulldoze most of her problems.

Hardly ever worked for the stronger ones.

"Crap." Pause frowned as he realized what he was doing. Shaking his head, he tossed away his old mindset, turned back to his book, and forced himself to get back into the story. Going as far as to remove his glasses so he could read at a slower pace.

Magic glasses were nice.

When one could give the book their full attention.

If that wasn't an option, then it really just left the user with a massive headache. As page after page of words were shoved into a user's cornea and brain at breakneck speed. Pause learned the hard way that if you used them without having a full focus on what was in front of your face, you'd end up with a killer migraine. So Pause decided to leave them atop his head for a while. Not like he needed them to see anyway, he could read just fine without them.

The only reason he had them on all the time was because he read, all the time, so it just made sense to keep them on his face. Rather than take them out every few minutes when he felt the urge to read.

They were also a gift, but that was neither here nor there.

"And I'm still not reading anything." Pause sighed as he set his book down and looked up at the ceiling. His mind hadn't been this bad since he first arrived in Phantom Lord. The average Phantom Lord mage didn't catch his attention, most were just trying to look tough or failing to act civilized.

His mind ignored their pictures in favor of others.

Jose, Aria, Sol, Totomaru, Vera, and Siegrain. When Pause first arrived they'd circled his mind for days. But at one point or another he moved on.

Aria and Jose were the first to leave. Too strong. His mind placed them in the box labeled death and forgot about it.

Sol and Totomaru were next. Not as imposing or impossible as the prior, but still gave off the air of a veteran. Far enough away that Pause didn't need to ponder too long. They were placed in the box labeled S class and were left right below Jose and Aria.

Siegrain and Vera stayed in his mind the longest. They were weird. Siegrain had the air of a veteran but the habits of a child. Like someone had taken a chalkboard for his life and only written one thing on it: talent. Then left him alone to fill out the rest.

Siegrain was put into the box right below Totomaru and Sol. Pause didn't have a label for it, but if he had to put one on it, he'd choose prodigy.

Then there was Vera. He was confusing. Apparently, he had amnesia, but he fought like he didn't. Pause had seen some of his sparring sessions by chance, and it was obvious he'd go far. His types were crafty and vicious, the worst kinds of trouble.

Vera was put in the box right below Siegrain. Pause couldn't think of a label for him, and after he did that, he could finally rest. There wasn't anyone else in Phantom Lord that he couldn't ignore. His old habits hibernated for a while, and it was welcome.

Until this girl came along, who got the same treatment as Vera and Siegrain did. The first real exception since those two. After she arrived, his mind had been spinning, trying to find a box to put her in. A picture and a way to burn it. He was getting irritated.

Her arm is dangerous but...

Years passed, and it was like his old guild never left.

If I break her shoulder, the arm's useless. Pause thought, and once he realized what he'd done, he bit his lip so hard it bled. Closing his book, he glanced at the girl, still waiting, and decided he'd skip the library for today. He didn't need this on his mind.

But even as he shoved his book into his knapsack and stood to leave, he knew it would still follow him around. Until he found a box for her.

She's holding the book with her non-demonic hand. But magic follows instinct for new mages, so her demonic arm is probably the dominant one.

Or he would've thought it over, if he didn't get a little hint.

She must be scared she'll rip the pages.

He read an article later that month, one talking about how she escaped death from assassins and had to claim a life in the process. They called her a hero.

That fear probably translates to her magic.

He labeled her a victim of tragedy with incredible potential.

That fear probably translates to combat.

And placed her in the box right below Vera.

Present Day

On the north side of Oak Town, Pause stood and watched as the picture he once took started burning.

Mira's arm was now crushed beneath his tiger's paper jaws. A quieter, more vile part of his memory whispered that this next part was pointless. He'd fought her type before. The strong and proud. Even if he offered surrender, they wouldn't take it.

"You should just give up, Mira."

They never knew when to stop being stubborn and just. Give. Up.

"Your chances of winning no longer exist."

He knew she was no different.

"...HA... give up?" She scoffed as she snapped the snakes restraining her and reached over, crushing the head of the tiger holding her hand hostage. Then she jumped away. One arm hanging limply by her side as she raised her other. Her eyes were wide and furious. Stubborn and prideful. Strong and determined. He saw her eyes and looked away.

"Like hell I'd stop!" She snapped her teeth defiantly as Pause bit his lip. Watching as an erratic beam of dark magic came barreling towards his face. He tilted his head, letting the hastily aimed beam fly past his cheek without so much as a flinch.

"Okay then..." he murmured as something exploded behind him, wind kicking at the back of his head as a cloud swept through the battlefield and he had to hold his scarf so it didn't fly away.

It always went like this. He'd see eyes glaring at him. With hate or pain or fear or desperation or drive or something. Anything other than common sense.

They never seemed to notice that fighting back was pointless. Never seemed to understand that all their struggling just meant he'd just have to keep hurting them. Until they'd wiggled and wormed their way into a noose they couldn't escape. Until he tightened it to the point their vision blurred and their fire gave out. Until they finally stopped squirming and collapsed. Until they stopped. Fighting.

And, they always. Stopped. Fighting.

It was just a matter of when.

"If you ever change your mind just let me know." He glanced away as pages of his book burst into a flurry of paper butterflies. Fluttering around his body as he backed into the growing cloud of dust and paper. All while watching his opponent's gaze.

Surprised yet cautious blue eyes lingered hesitantly on his face, conflicted, as her hand drifted to the damage he'd already inflicted.

Crushing her hand was a good start, but now it would get complicated. Mira was strong, arguably the strongest out of the three targets. The only thing that made him choose her was experience. She wasn't as smart or well-versed in combat as Vera. And she wasn't as well-rounded or versatile as Siegrain. She was strong but still relatively young as a mage.

In terms of experience, the others outclassed her by a wide margin. He did as well, but that wasn't enough to assure victory.

Pause was too rusty. He hadn't fought another mage in years. And even then, he was never particularly strong as a mage. Not unless he needed to be.

And he refused to let that need arise—Under any circumstances.

So, as he let himself be smothered in his paper cloud, he decided. Before she could catch her bearings. Before she could try and recover.

Before she could make him feel even an ounce of worry or concern.

"Page Magic"

He'd crush her. And even if he couldn't.

"Paper Rage"

He had a plan for that too.

Mira's heart trembled as she backed away from the blooming dust. She shielded her eyes as she watched her opponent fade behind a screen of dust and white butterflies. She thought about shooting another blast into it, but with the dust she'd already kicked up, she was afraid she'd just add to the smokescreen.

"Page Magic"

She hadn't had time to recover. She was blindsided.

"Paper Rage"

She didn't have time to breathe.

"Fucker." She cursed as two paper rhinos charged through the blooming dust. Charging down Main Street with horns looking to fit her, he raised a hand, her only good hand, and let dark magic build into her palm. A ball of dark energy crackled under her fingers as she shot a beam of magic into the one on the right, obliterating it in a violent blast.

"That's all you got!" She snarled as she stepped to the side as the remaining rhino charged past her. Her good arm cocked to its side, she slammed her demonic fist into its head and crushed it, sending it careening into a house as it was buried under the debris.

I have to-

"Page magic." His voice echoed from above as Mira snarled. Jumping into the house the rhino had crashed through, she tried to find a place where she could get even a moment to herself. She just needed a second to think. To figure out what to do with the arm that was suddenly useless. And how to fight the enemy that came out of nowhere.

"Paper Weight"

The sound of something collapsing above stripped her of the opportunity.

"You piece of," Mira growled as she looked up and saw the roof collapse as a large, circular foot fell through the ceiling. She lunged to the side as a paper elephant fell through the roof and turned its gaze towards her. Her broken hand throbbing with pain as she fell to the ground, and reached quickly reached for something to steady herself. She ended up grabbing a bookshelf.

"Page Magic"

She heard rustling, and flinched.

"Paper Chains," his command sounded from somewhere above as the books on the bookshelf she happened to grab sprung to life. Snakes wrapped around her before she could get a chance to jump out of the way. She was rooted in their grasp for a second, it would've only been a second before she could've brute forced her way out of their grips.

Dammit!

That second was all the stupid elephant needed to charge at her.

"Fuck off!" She roared as she ripped her demon arm out of the bindings and grabbed the tusk, aiming to gorge her stomach. Her teeth gnashing as she was pushed through wall after wall, getting dragged out into the street before she could flex her magic to shred the snakes off her and plant her feet into the ground. Her heels dragging against the cement until the elephant's charge stopped in its tracks.

She roared as she stomped her feet and lifted with all her might, prying the elephant off the ground as she raised it over her head. The paper animal gave a desperate cry from its nose before she slammed it into the ground. Killing it with its body weight.

But even then, she didn't get a single moment to breathe before the next spell was aimed her way.

"Page Magic"

Mira bit back a growl as his words echoed above, again, and she refused to give him the chance to bombard her once more. She took the tusk still in her grip and broke the end of it off, holding it like a javelin as she snapped her gaze to the sky and aimed it at the boy sitting atop the back of a large leatherbound book, its contents open to the ground as its pages flipped constantly.

"Paper-"

"Shut up, would you!" She hissed as she threw the tusk at her enemy. Watching his words falter as he tilted his head and the tusk flew past his ear, leaving a thin trail of blood as his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. That was good. At least she knew she wasn't talking to a clone.

"I'm tired of hearing your voice." Mira laughed as Pause seemed to frown. His lips hidden behind his scarf as he sighed and raised his gloved hand, and a pale magic circle formed. She raised her demonic arm as dark magic flooded her veins, collecting into a black orb as she watched. Loose paper was flooding from the book beneath him and collecting into a swarming, circular mass in front of his gloved palm. It was constantly moving and rotating. It felt powerful.

"Page Magic" / "Dark Magic"

He seemed to hate the thought of even casting it.

"Pulp Fiction" / "Demon Blast"

She laughed just to spite him.

Central Oak Town

To the north a geyser of paper and a beam of dark energy collided as Siegrain and Sue left a trail of wreckage in their wake. Their eyes flicking to the north before they fell to the ground, escaping the chase of the rooftops as Sue charged once more.

"Sounds like they're having fun." She said as she jumped over an earthen spike. Snapping her shin into Siegrain's raised guard as he hummed.

"I doubt Pause is enjoying any of it." He said as he shrugged off a kick that should've at least left a mark. She frowned slightly before he snapped his open palm in front of her face, a ball of fire dancing an inch from her nose before she lunged past it. The flames licked her cheek as she grinned, the blast sounding over her shoulder as she snapped her head into her opponent's chin with a loud smack.

"Ow." Her opponent said blandly, so blandly she could only think he was mocking her, before his elbow popped her in the mouth. She hissed, grunting as he kicked her away to create space, and she was greeted with another blast of fire heading her way.

This time, quick enough, she couldn't dodge.

"Damn." She said as she flicked her hand, and her mirror slid in front of her. Snatching up the blast as the heat of the blaze warmed her skin. She grinned as the attack subsided before placing her palm on the back of her mirror and said.

"Reflection"

Before promptly sending all that lame ass magic back.

"Roche Dome," Siegrain said as the ground broke into heavy rocks. Converging over him in a dome as his surroundings were bathed in a hazy fire of his own making. Sue grinned as the rock cracked and shook, flaking off at the end of the blast, where it was promptly lowered.

Siegrain stepped out. The only sign of change was the dust and ash now coating his white clothes.

As well as the bead of sweat trickling down his face.

"This..." He frowned. "Isn't working."

"No shit." Sue snorted, a smirk crawling across her face. "You nearly put yourself in an oven."

"I was talking about this fight." He frowned, picking the dust out of his hair. "Your magic is annoying."

"I think you mean completely awesome."

"No, I mean annoying." He sighed as he held out both his hands, cradling a ball of fire as he seemed to furrow his brows. "I'm not sure how to deal with it."

Sue raised an eyebrow, wondering if he actually thought she'd just let him charge up his attack as she watched. She smirked as she sprinted towards him, closing the distance as she watched his magic flicker a crystal blue and she suddenly felt a hint of panic.

"But I'm starting to get the idea," Siegrain said as he raised his eyes last minute and flashed a blue blast of fire into the ground in front of him. Sue cursed a second too late as she watched her runway become coated in a low wave of blue fire.

She jumped, dodging the arc, only to land atop something distinctly different from what she imagined. Instead of scorched earth, she felt something strangely solid and slippery.

Ice? She yelped as her foot slipped and she crashed into the ground. Sliding towards her enemy was a death sentence; she called her mirror as it fell, lodged itself into the ground like a falling nail, and cracked the icy floor. Allowing her to get some traction as she flipped herself upwards into the air and landed atop her mirror's edge, crouching above the icy terrain.

"Hey," She raised her head with a growing smile. "That was better! I-"

Only to realize her opponent wasn't anywhere in sight.

"What? Where'd you go?" She frowned as she heard a crackle above. Glancing upwards she was shrprised to see three different versions of Siegrain floating above, surrounding her in a triangle formation. Each holding a bolt of lightning at their fingertips, and each aiming it directly towards her.

"Illusions huh?" Sue raised an eyebrow as she watched him lower his hands, and she was faced with a choice. She could only guarantee block one of those, maybe two, but one was bound to hit. And if she was unlucky, that one would be the real one.

"Well, it's not like I can complain all that much." She grinned slightly as she smacked the top of her mirror, and it shot upwards like a rocket. Carrying her high above the impact zone as she traced the real blast to its owner, and used her mirror as a jumping pad. Angling her lunge at her floating enemy. He blinked, surprised, before bracing himself.

"You looked like you liked that magic a little more than the others!" She grinned as she slipped her fist past his guard and clocked him in the jaw. She grabbed his sleeve with her other hand as the two fell through the air. Grappling with each other and slipping in dirty hits along the way, until the tough bastard put his foot between them and kicked her away.

She laughed at the free fall and looked to the ground, getting alarmingly close below. She whistled, and her mirror kid beneath her feet, killing her momentum as it slowly descended to the ground.

"Nice hook." She grinned as she wiped the blood from the corner of her lips and stood by her mirror, upright and ready to move. Watching as her opponent slowly floated to the ground, his fingers touching the new bruise over his now crooked nose.

"...good headbutt." He said as he fixed his broken nose, setting it back in place without hesitation. The crunching sound even made her flinch as he brushed off the blood like it was nothing. She felt that icky feeling come back. It was uncomfortable.

No one should be able to shrug off damage like that without flinching.

It was like she was fighting a robot.

"Do you even feel pain?" She sighed as she stretched her arms a bit. Cracking her fingers as she watched him shrug, rotating his shoulder after she nearly got him in a lock in the air. It didn't go through, but it was close. Nearly dislocated the joint. Most people would be crying after nearly having their arm torn out of its socket. She'd be cursing up a storm if it were her.

She knew that shit hurt like hell.

"Sometimes..."

Apparently his poker face was better than hers.

"It all kind of blends together after a while." He dismissed her question as a brown magic circle flashed beneath his feet. Spitting up chunks of rock from the earth as she watched an avalanche threaten to bury her alive. She hid a scowl, multiple attacks simultaneously weren't her favorite.

But it was still manageable.

"That.." she said as she held up a hand. She grabbed the handle at the top of her mirror as it zoomed overhead, dragging her away from the danger zone, and leaving her atop a lonely roof.

"Sounds pretty depressing." She chuckled sadly as she watched her opponent walk through the rubble. Unbothered and his gaze lifeless. He shrugged, glancing at the disaster brewing in the north, before a sandy magic circle flashed beneath his feet.

"It probably is." He said as a tornado of sand bloomed around him. She tensed, watching it spin until it eventually dissipated like a passing wind.

"Mirage"

And Siegrain was nowhere to be found.