POV: Rai Shinsei
After Ryan and Jennifer left the facility, I decided to recuperate for a few minutes while Arthur slept as Aspectual Restoration doesn't have the capabilities to restore one's stamina, despite having the power to nearly save anyone from the verge of death.
Closing my eyes to relish my time of resting, I began listening to the splashing of water from the crumbling waterfall as I savored in my momentary peace until Ryan's words echoed inside my mind, reminding me of my own incompetence as I looked into the palm of my hand.
"In terms of Aspectual Power, you're significantly weaker than you were two years ago."
The adrenaline rush that is produced from the activation of my Aspect is one of the greatest feelings that I've ever experienced.
My body overflows with so much power that it makes me feel as if I'm a god, unbound from any restrictions, but everything changed after the tragedy that occurred two years ago.
Blinded by my own power, I lost everything precious to me once again.
The Aspect that I once treasured indirectly killed the one person that I cared for the most.
Iris, I don't know how I can atone for my sins, but until I find the answer, I'll only use my Aspect when necessary.
With my Aspect still active, my lightning amplified eyes along with my heightened senses were easily able to discern the whereabouts of the curious girl who chose to spectate our fight from afar, prompting me to stand up as I adjusted the loose bandages around my arm.
I'm surprised she's still here.
After rewrapping my tattered bandages, I placed my eyes onto the girl, whose face turned pale from her location being revealed as I vanished from her sight and appeared behind her, urging her to scour the area in a panic as she was oblivious to the fact that I was standing behind her.
"Did you enjoy the fight?" I asked, my tone laced with sarcasm as she shrieked from my sudden appearance startling her, but as her eyes matched my own, I couldn't help but gaze at her flustered expression as I found her beauty strangely alluring.
Is she a noble?
I wasn't familiar with many nobles growing up, especially women of nobility as I was a peasant from the outskirts of Jiyu, but despite being ignorant of a woman's appeal, I was certain that the girl standing before me was as beautiful as Aria with her own unique charming features.
She was slightly slimmer than Aria as she was a few inches shorter than myself with a porcelain complexion, long pale silver hair with a thin side ponytail and two long braids, each resting separately along her jawline as the color of her eyes resembled an amethyst with delicate white eyelashes framing them.
As for her attire, it was your standard school uniform appropriated for females with the exception of a blazer as instead, she wore a silver hoodie and thin black socks that ended just below her skirt.
POV: Selene Korisuki
I didn't even sense him behind me.
"I'm sorry for startling you, but I have a favor to ask of you." Rai apologized, extending his hand towards me as I accepted his help, allowing him to pull me up from the ground as he deactivated his Aspect in the midst while I patted off the dust from my clothes.
"Do you mind if I sit on the edge of the cliff over there? I have to watch over Arthur and today has been a long day for me, so I'm rather tired to say the least." Rai asked as I nodded, prompting us to head towards his desired location as he plopped down on the edge of the ruined cliff while I decided to remain standing beside him.
Within the moment of silence, I decided to observe the destruction created from Rai and Arthur's fight as the once pristine facility that I used to soothe my mind was now ravaged beyond belief with the only section remaining untouched residing behind us.
From the few months that I've used the facility to my leisure, I have never seen it in such a ruinous state.
Thankfully, the Headmaster has contracted Aspectors to restore any damages within the grounds of the academy as I enjoy my late night walks since they bring peace to my mind, but after today, I'm sure the facility will be closed for a few weeks.
As I tried to imagine how to spend my nights going forward, I began to conjure a headache as to make matters worse, the source of my headache was sitting before me, relishing in the moment of silence as his carefree attitude irked me and yet, I disregarded my pettiness with a soft sigh.
I can always use the park temporarily until then.
"That reminds me… how were you able to enter the facility?" Rai questioned curiously as I pulled out a silver keycard from the pocket of my skirt and handed it to him.
"With the exception of several students, only a few members of the Elite Ten are granted the privilege to use the Evaluation Facility as the benefits you receive are based on your rank within the academy." I answered as Rai compared his black keycard to my own.
"I see. I'm assuming that you're a member of the Elite Ten?" Rai asked amidst handing me back my keycard as I placed it inside the pocket of my skirt.
"Yes. I'm ranked seventh among the Elite Ten." I answered as Rai's eyes widened in astonishment.
"You're that strong?" Rai asked incredulously as I nodded.
Although I can't compare to a monster such as yourself.
With my Transcendent Elemental-Type Aspect, Ice Manipulation, I'm confident in facing any fighter that specializes in hand-to-hand combat as there's even a world that I believe I can defeat Arthur, given a perfect opportunity, but you're an exception, Rai.
As I watched your fight against Arthur, I ran several simulations of fighting you within my mind out of pure curiosity and throughout every simulation, there wasn't a single time that I was able to win once, which makes me wonder…
"What is your rank within the academy?" I asked curiously.
"Two-hundreth." Rai answered as his response left me baffled, causing me to furrow my eyebrows as he chortled at my state of confusion.
"Are you a false ranker? The Myrtle twins are extremely accurate in assessing a student's rank as they constantly observe the affairs of the academy, so I doubt that they would make such a blunder of your abilities and rank you this poorly. Does the Headmaster perhaps have something to do with it?" I questioned as Rai smiled wryly before looking up into the splendacious night sky looming above us.
"Yeah, I'm a false ranker and the favor that I wanted to ask of you was…"
"Can you keep my Aspect a secret?" Rai asked as he matched his gaze with my own.
"I don't mind, but may I ask why?" I inquired, wondering why a high-ranker of his caliber would want to hide his power as his eyes seemed to distance themselves from me.
"I have a dream that I must achieve at any cost. I'm not interested in being known as the strongest and I don't want anyone else to be affected by my selfish desires." Rai replied solemnly as the foreign sadness exuding from his demeanor arose a sense of guilt within me.
I assumed he would be more like Zayn because of his nonchalant attitude and the nature of his Aspectual Force, but he's far from what I expected.
He truly cares for others.
"By the way, what's your name? I forgot to ask you earlier." Rai asked, his tone suddenly reverting back to his usual carefree one.
"Selene Korisuki. You are?" I asked, curious to know of his surname.
"Rai Shinsei." He answered as his last name itched my mind, inspiring me to ponder for a moment as I nearly grasped a memory that I've long forgotten until it slipped away from me.
Am I just imagining things?
I could have swore I heard of his last name from somewhere, but maybe I'm mistaking it with a different name.
"Do you prefer if I address you with more respect? I'd rather not have my head taken from me because of my improper speech towards nobility such as yourself." Rai asked as I shook my head.
"It's alright. I'm not one to report such petty matters to my family." I assured as Rai sighed with relief.
"I appreciate that, but as for the ones who are aware of my Aspect, it's only you along with Aria, Arthur, Everett and Sarah from my class. I'm sure there are some staff members who are also aware of my Aspect, but Ryan and Jennifer are the ones who are fully aware of my Aspect." Rai stated.
"By Ryan, are you referring to the Headmaster?" I questioned, confused as I wondered why he would address the Headmaster of all people by his first name.
"Yeah. I would prefer if you kept this information a secret also, but he's the one who raised me from when I was only a child, so I'm more familiar with calling him Ryan than addressing him as "Headmaster"." Rai answered as his eyes fell upon Arthur, who was soiled from his fight against Rai as he slept like a baby, despite the uncomfortable surface he rested on.
Well that explains his combat prowess.
The Headmaster is exceptionally gifted in combat as in terms of hand-to-hand combat, he doesn't fall short compared to masters of combat such as Alexander Zettai, a member of the Grand Four or Nyx Asteria, the Goddess Of Combat who seemingly vanished a few months ago as she hasn't made a move on the Hero Association ever since.
With Rai's attention elsewhere, my curiosity got the best of me as I glanced at the muscle definition of his forearms before observing his robust torso through the tatters of his shirt, which was marred with many rough scars as I was beginning to question if this body was around the same age as me.
I'm sure he's around my age, so what in the world did he go through in order to gain a body like that?
Piquing my interest further was none other than his face, which was revealed by a draft of wind as I noticed he was quite handsome.
Disregarding his bedraggled appearance, his skin was fairly clear as I was certain that he inherited his facial features from his mother, but what stood out to me the most was his mesmerizing sky blue eyes, which appeared to have captured the sky itself as Rai eventually noticed my extensive staring.
"Is something wrong?" Rai asked, his tone laced with concern as I shook my head.
"It's nothing. As for your Aspect, I will keep it a secret." I replied as I tried to maintain my composure with a deadpan expression, but my efforts would be in vain as my answer roused a smile of gratitude from Rai, who matched my eyes with his own as I felt a faint burning sensation flush within the cheeks of my face.
That was rather rude of me.
"Thank you, Selene." Rai said as I was unable to discern the emotion I was currently experiencing, ultimately choosing to ignore it as I nodded with a smile.
It's strange.
He's not like the rest of the obnoxious students that I deal with everyday and for some reason, I actually enjoy conversing with him.
"I won't keep you here any longer as I've already said what I needed. You're free to leave whenever you want, but I'm going to take Arthur with me and call it for the night." Rai said as he tried to stand up from the ground, but to his misfortune, the edge that he once sat on crumbled beneath him, causing him to lose his balance as he began falling from the cliff.
"Rai!" I called out anxiously as I tried to grab his arm to save him from falling, but despite the blessing of my noble blood, I was unable to save him as the momentum of his fall along with the unstable ground beneath me proved to be too much for me to handle, carrying me along with him as we both fell from the cliff and crashed onto the rubble below.
In a daze, I was unaware of what cushioned my fall until I realized that I was on top of none other than Rai, who was taken aback by our current situation as our faces were no further than an inch apart.
This is awkward.
This is really, really, awkward.