Milo had a keen eye. Years of playing in the Dreamscape had ensured that, whether it was battle royales or intricate puzzle games. So he knew a cheater when he saw one. Even then, he couldn't spot a single flaw in Eva's cards. She was perfect, showing no sleight of hand or anything of the sort.
So how did she manage to get perfect cards every time? She wasn't even the one shuffling the deck. Were the dead gods cursing him from beyond their resting place to prevent his victory? What had he done to deserve this? Simply exist?
Eva looked up from the small round desk in the dorm and gave him a cheeky smile.
"You are one unlucky person, Milo. Maybe I'm just really lucky, do lotteries still exist?"
Milo nodded. "Why would they not? You don't have to put up an act around me."
Eva shrugged. "If I let my guard down around you, who's to say I won't slip up with someone else."
Milo tilted his head. "I mean... I guess?"
Eva had apparently taken his words to heart yesterday when they went outside during lights out, because she insisted on playing Blackjack for no specific reason besides boredom.
"Just seems fun, huh?" Milo murmured. He certainly wasn't having any fun. He stood up and stretched his aching back.
Eva put her cards down and rose as well. "Ready to call it? I mean, if I got my ass kicked that many times I also wouldn't be so happy."
"Shut the fuck up already." Milo grumbled out
Eva laughed. Why was it that everyone laughed at him when he was at his most miserable?
Milo walked over to his bed, grabbed a pillow, and tossed it at her. It hit her square in the face, fabric curling around her head as feathers shifted inside.
"I told you to shut up."
Milo smiled smugly. A small victory was no small feat against this beast of a woman. The pillow fell from her face, and she had a...
'Is that bloodlust?'
She picked up the pillow, gripping it at the center. Milo hurriedly reached for the only other pillow in the room, and just as he brought it up, Eva swung at him.
Milo swung back, he would be lying if he said he didn't use his prosthetic for a little extra strength.
Their battle was truly glorious, in the most horrific sense of the word. The two somehow managed to telepathically agree on a few key rules.
Only hit with the pillows
Takedowns and grappling were fair game
Do not kill each other
So the fight went on. Milo dominated the striking exchanges. After all, a prosthetic arm could do far more than simple flesh ever could, even if Eva had the sturdy make-up of a boulder. The issue arose when he was taken down to the ground.
Eva was stronger in nearly every other aspect. Her weight and height gave Milo very little leeway to work with, one mistake and he could end up trapped in a chokehold. So he did what any rational person would in this situation.
He stood up. After all, wrestling and jiu jitsu weren't real if you stood up, right? That was how Eva ended up getting slammed onto his mattress. Milo stepped back, pillow raised like a weapon.
"Come on, don't wuss out by taking me at my weakest." Milo was sweating, his hair disheveled and sticking to his forehead. His breathing was slightly erratic, for more reasons than one. His clothes were marked by deep, chaotic wrinkles from the scuffle.
Eva looked similarly wrecked. Her hair resembled something a cat had enthusiastically rolled in, tiny strands sticking out in every direction. Her clothes were creased and twisted. She grinned.
"Alright, come on, from here... I'll go all out!"
The two screamed and lunged forward. All Milo could remember was them slamming into the wall multiple times while locked in a stalemate of force, Eva pushing him to the ground, and the pillow slipping from her hands.
Eva couldn't stop her hand before it was too late. It had already made direct contact with Milo's nose. She flinched at the dull impact. Looking down at him, she exhaled in relief, luckily he wasn't bleeding, thank the gods he wasn't bleeding.
She carefully got off him, lifting the boy and setting him on his bed. Then she glanced around. Furniture had been knocked over, the room looked like it had survived a minor disaster. With a sigh, she began cleaning up the mess. Perhaps she had gotten a little too hyper, but it felt good to let loose a few hard punches, even if they had been softened by a pillow.
After she finished tidying the room, she debated whether it was worth staying. Dinner would start soon, but she didn't want to leave Milo alone in case the [Stone Shell] had done a little too much damage.
Would it be better to wait outside, just in case she had to leave quickly? Sure, that was what she would do.
Eva stepped out into the hallway. Of course, she likely stood out, she was in the boys' dormitory after all. Leaning against the wall, she scrolled through the multitude of videos on the network. It was strange. What would Fate do about her arrival? What would it do with Milo?
Milo didn't belong. He was a Divine Aspect user who hadn't been mentioned in the novel, meaning he likely died in the First Nightmare, or perhaps even before that. She knew he had lost his arm before the First Nightmare, but he seemed hesitant to explain why.
Maybe it was personal. But he always talked about how kind his family was and how he couldn't wait to see them when he returned from the Dream Realm.
A boy walked past and glanced at Eva with mischievous suspicion. Then he stopped and backtracked.
"Hey, that's Milo's room right? What are you doing outside of it?"
"Ah, I might've been a bit too rough with him, so he passed out. I'm just waiting out here for him to wake up."
The boy snickered and walked away. It took Eva a full minute to register what she had just implied. Calmly, she opened the door and closed it behind her. Milo was still out cold, though now he looked more asleep than unconscious.
She grabbed a pillow and stepped into the bathroom. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she froze.
Ragged hair, rumpled and wrinkled clothes, sweat clinging to her skin, no wonder the boy had snickered.
'Shame! Shame! Shame! How could you be so idiotic?'
She buried her face in the pillow and screamed.
A shadow lingering in the corner had merely been gathering information on others' aspects, but it had thoroughly enjoyed the comedic display. It would report everything to its master once Wilderness Survival classes had ended. Love was in the air at the academy after all, or perhaps just stupidity, it couldn't quite tell the difference.