Work Text
part one
Rood groaned in annoyance as a stray beam of sunlight had managed to slip its way past the thick curtains in his shared dorm and assaulted his sleeping face. What a horrible way to wake up, he thought as he protested against his body’s desire for more sleep and sat up in his bed. From the small movement alone, he got a head rush and had to press a palm to his head in order to stabilize himself. Well that was strange.. why was he so dizzy? Rood removed his hand and looked down in his lap only to jerk up in shock. His limbs looked longer and his sleeves were black. Oh. Oh no. That could only mean- Rood dashed towards the closest mirror in their dorm, already anticipating what he’d see. Dread filled his stomach as he glanced in the mirror and instead of his usual blond hair, and pale Idun school uniform, he was met with black hair and an all black hooded outfit staring back at him. He was awakened as [Blow]. Blow took a step back and leaned on his bed frame. Why was he awakened? Had he unconsciously awakened in his sleep or something? Was that even possible? Shaking his head, Blow quickly glanced across the room and saw that his roommate Lidusis was still asleep under his blankets. He sighed a bit in relief that the boy slept in such an odd why that he wouldn't notice his sudden change in appearance. This would be fine. He would just disable his awakened state and get ready for class like normal. Blow closed his eyes and tried to will his body to return to normal, but when he opened his eyes again, nothing had changed. He was still Blow. Feeling a bit aggravated at the situation now, Blow went over to his bag to search for something. Since there was no way he could stay as Blow while in Helios, he needed to call someone to help fix this. When he’d found what he was looking for, Blow grabbed the spherical communication device and, making sure to be as quiet and careful as possible, he grabbed a piece of paper from a useless library book and scribbled a quick note to Lidusis in case he didn’t return. He placed the note on his bed before opening the door and slipping out into the hallway. Looking down, Blow lifted the hood of his black cape up in an attempt to hide himself from any passing students or professors, but he had a feeling he still stuck out like a sore thumb. Curse himself for being known as the [black magaian] and curse this unnaturally beige toned school for making him stand out unintentionally against it. With a frustrated sigh, Blow did his best to stick to the walls, and whenever he saw someone coming, he’d duck into a different hallway and try his best to mask his mana’s presence in case it was a professor. Dammit he had to go somewhere private to contact his Master and fix this mess already. For some reason his reflexes had been feeling a bit sluggish today and his senses weren’t as sharp as usual. He’d already had too many close calls in this short walk to find somewhere to hide. Shaking his head, Blow pulled his hood down a bit further and sprinted to the storage closet that he knew Lidusis used to hide in. That would work.
Meanwhile, at the Association
“Now Shicmuon,” Van spoke in his usual nagging voice from behind him as they walked down the marble halls, “your new mission for today is to take out a few mid to lower level demons that have started to spawn in Lapula forest. This incident has caused panic among the townsfolk nearby along with the peaceful creatures that inhabit said forest. We have reason to believe that a gate has been op-“ Van was cut off as his face smacked against the redhead's back who had suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway. Van stumbled back, visibly annoyed. “Shicmuon, why did you sto-“ the boy silenced him with his hand as he stared ahead with a strange look in his eyes. “Blackie.” Was all he said with a smirk, and before Van could protest, Shicmuon was already awakened and jumping out the window with a trail of red behind him. Van sputtered in shock. It amazed him how the boy could sense when the black magician was awakened no matter where he was. Once Blow found his destination, he lightly pushed open the door and slipped inside. With a sigh, he was glad to find the storage closet empty and went over to a spot behind some boxes before pulling out the orb. He felt breathless for some reason even though he’d only sprinted a few feet. He also couldn't help but notice how clammy his palms had gotten. How annoying.. Blow placed his hand on top of the device to activate it and waited for it to glow its usual reddish hue, but after a few minutes went by and nothing happened, Blow deadpanned. Why am I not surprised.. Of course his Master wasn’t going to answer him when he actually needed him to. Blow clenched his teeth in annoyance and shoved the sphere back into his bag. At this point he wasn’t sure what to do now. He couldn't just prance around Helios since that would draw way too much unwanted attention, not to mention Blow was feeling extra introverted today and didn't want to deal with all of that commotion. With a sigh, he leaned against some of the boxes and pulled his knees to his chest to think for a minute. Well, if his stupid Master wasn’t going to answer his call, then there was nothing else he could do right now. He had to think of a plan to get back to Opion somehow and just bring the problem to his Master in person. He could always just teleport there, but his only teleportation scrolls were back in his dorm. Of course they were.. Blow groaned as he rested his head against his knees. He felt super drained just making the small journey over here, and the only thing he really felt like doing now was taking a nap. That sounded nice, but he couldn't just lay here and do nothing. Standing up, Blow vaguely heard the sound of a bell ringing through the intercom as he made his way towards the door. He paused as he heard a few students rush past and he waited until the sound of their feet against the tile floor had vanished before placing his hand on the doorknob. He was about to turn the knob and leave, before his head pulsed violently and he let go of the metal as if it had burned him to kneel on the ground, clutching his head. W-what? His eyes flashed and when the pulsing became almost unbearable, he felt himself become surrounded by darkness. Then, a memory started to play. ...
It was dark and cold. The rocks beneath the figures feet crunched as he moved across the ground. His piercing blue eyes were in search of something as they scanned the space before him.
A voice.
“Brother, what are you in search of?” The voice echoed and boomed across the open cavern, and after a moment the figure dressed in black looked up at the large demon.
“I’m looking for my name.”
The demon cocked his head. “Your name?”
“Yes.” The man said, voice serious. “The human girl asked me if I had one, so I’m trying to find it for her.”
The large demon seemed contemplative and his expression was unreadable. He waited before speaking again.
“Brother, don’t get [redacted] to those humans. They [redacted] demons [redacted] [redacted].....”
The black clad figure looked up once again from his search as he made his way closer to the large demon.
“You’re [redacted]. These humans [redacted] [redacted]...”
“….” Silence.
Everything became muffled and the voices were no longer clear. The figures began to glitch and morphe as the memory slowly started to fade away, casting a bright, white light on the once dark scene before him.
... Blow instantly jerked back and landed on his bottom. His eyes were wide as he stared at the door in shock. What the hell had just happened? Did he black out just now? As soon as he’d touched the doorknob, his head began to faintly pulse as that memory that didn’t belong to him began to suffocate his subconscious. Frankly that whole experience made him feel a bit violated and his body felt strangely heavy now. What was the just now? Those figures.. Who…those demons? No. He couldn’t dwell on that right now. He had to get back to his dorm to find his extra teleportation scrolls so he could undo his awakened state. The only thing he had to worry about now was becoming Rood again. He didn’t need to add to the list of his problems he had to deal with already. With a shaky exhale, Blow stood up once again and collected himself before listening through the door for any signs of movement. His head felt a bit like cotton so he wasn’t sure if his senses were working all that well right now, but from what he could make out, it sounded like the coast was clear. Hopefully he was right.. The bell signalling the start of class had rung a few minutes ago and yet Rood still wasn’t here. This made Lidusis worried as he glanced at the empty desk next to him and fidgeted with his hands. It wasn’t like Rood to be late for class, but he had left him a note after all so everything was probably fine, just like he had said in the note, but still, Lidusis’ couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. “Hey Lidusis!” The chipper voice of Dio called from the door as he ignored the professor who had called him out for being late, and just went to sit down next to his friend. His happy disposition changed all of a sudden when he noticed the empty desk on the other side of Lidusis. “Oh.. where’s Rood?” He asked a bit loudly and a few heads turned to glance at the pair. “...” Dio gave the students a sheepish glance before lowering his voice, “Lidusis?” he tried again and the gray haired boy finally pulled his eyes away from the empty desk. “..I-I don’t know..” The boy spoke softly and began fumbling for something in his pocket, “He just... left me this note.” “Wah he left you a note!? I wanna read it!” Dio grabbed the paper from his hand as he skimmed the neatly printed words. ‘Lidusis, I had to step out for a bit so I want you to go to class without me. Don’t worry, everything is fine, but I need you to stay with Dio or Chevel at all times until I figure this out and can come back. Rood’ Dio quirked an eyebrow at the note, becoming serious for a minute in contemplation. Was the [king] okay? If anything bad happened to him Dio was prepared to kill whoever was responsible. Unintentionally Dio began to clench too hard on the note, causing the paper to crinkle and tear a bit. “Dio?” Lidusis questioned and the blue haired boy quickly snapped out of it. “Ah, sorry here you go Lidusis.” He smiled and handed the note back. “I’m sure Rood is fine. Plus, look on the bright side, you get to hang out with me all day!~” “Y-yeah that’s right.” Lidusis gave a small smile in return but couldn’t help but glance back at the empty desk next to him with a solemn look. Something wasn’t right. Blow poked his head around the open door and exhaled in relief that no one was around. The pulsing in his head hadn’t completely vanished, but now it was much more tolerable than before so he pulled his hood up a bit further as he tried to act as casual as possible. It also didn’t help that it was humid out today, and the sun was beating down hard against the open windows that lined the halls and spilled out in the hallway. Blow groaned at the heat and it was at times like this when Blow hated being dressed in all black. He wasn’t even really paying attention at this point, just kind of walking forward and staring at the ground, and when a student fluttered by him whispering something about the black magician, he didn’t even care enough to react and just kept walking. If one person saw him it wouldn’t matter that much. People would probably assume that the student was lying anyways if they told someone that they’d seen the black magician in Helios just now. His head pulsed and he became fascinated with the lines on the tile as he kept walking, not noticing a certain fierce presence appear at one of the windows he’d passed by. The figure slid in through the open window with ease before smirking at his target. A teasing arrogance laced in his voice as he spoke. “Yo, Blackie.” There was no response as the black hooded figure continued to walk forward. Shicmuon scoffed, what the hell is he ignoring me? Oh hell no, he sped up to catch up to the black magician and stood right in front of him, causing the boy to bump into him. Blow stumbled back at the sudden presence and was instantly on the defensive. Agh why hadn’t he sensed anything? What the hell was up with him today and why did he keep falling over.. His head faintly pulsed again. “Blackie?” A familiar voice broke him from his inner turmoil and Blow glanced up to see Shicmuon’s red eyes staring down at him. Oh great, this guy.. Blow thought sarcastically and stood up before exhaling in annoyance as he pushed past the other boy. “I’m not in the mood to fight today okay, so just go back to wherever it is you came from.” He waved the boy off, just trying to avoid this annoying situation and get back to his dorm, but a hand grabbed his wrist to stop him in his tracks. “..You're acting strange.” Blow stiffened at the abrupt comment but tried to play it off. “What are you talking about? Just let me go already.” He didn’t turn around to face him, hoping the boy would just let him go. “No.”
Of course not. Why could it ever be that simple?
“You are acting strange. Why didn’t you sense me coming? ..And why are you awakened right now? Are there demons here or something? Are you on a mission?” Blow blinked. “Agh geez you ask a lot of questions.” He sighed and shook his arm a bit to get out of Shicmuon’s tight hold, “Just- leave me alone.” Shicmuon narrowed his eyes. Something was definitely off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what, and it was pissing him off. Blow stopped struggling in his hold when he heard a group of students coming their way. Shit. Shicmuon drew too much damn attention. He tensed and quickly spun around to face the red head again, looking distressed. Shicmuon picked up on it as he saw the students walking down the hall and without thinking, he grabbed Blow and slammed him against the wall, covering him with his body so that he would be hidden when the students walked past. “Don’t move.” Shicmuon breathed by his neck and Blow tensed at the sudden closeness. He couldn't tell if his head was spinning because of the force he had hit the wall at, or because of his close proximity to Shicmuon all of a sudden. Blow remained silent as the group of students passed by. He could hear them mumbling something but he couldn’t make out the words as he felt flustered by this situation. He could tell his face was heating up in embarrassment. Once the students were out of sight, Shicmuon leaned back a bit but still pressed firmly against Blow, and Blow looked away in embarrassment, feeling like he’d held his breath that whole time, which he probably had. Shicmuon smirked before becoming serious again. “Are you alright?” Shicmuon asked bluntly and noticed how obviously surprised the boy beneath him got. “...” Silence. Shicmuon was getting aggravated and he pushed against the black haired boy again, which enacted another surprised reaction from him, as he finally met his eyes. Shicmuon’s eyes widened a bit as he studied the boy before him. His usually piercing, electric blue eyes were strangely dull and looked almost doll-like. Shicmuon didn't know why, but it left an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. Unconsciously, he released his tight hold on the boy a little bit. “What? Why are you just staring at me like that..?” Blow questioned, looking away again because the intensity in Shicmuon’s eyes was unnerving. “Are you really alright, Blackie?” Shicmuon asked again, his voice sounded sincere all of a sudden that it threw Blow off for a second and he blinked in confusion. “I just..” Blow tried, feeling pathetic all of a sudden as he looked anywhere but Shicmuon’s face. Instead he looked at the wall across the hall. Had the walls always been that color? Sandpaper beige. Ugh he was getting distracted. “I don’t want to fight you today, okay?” Was Blow’s lame excuse as he pushed against Shicmuon and freed himself from the intimate position against the wall. At least he could breathe now. He straightened himself out again and pulled the hood lower over his head in silence. Shicmuon narrowed his eyes as he watched the black magician fumble with his hood before walking down the hall again. Something is definitely wrong with him. Shicmuon thought as he watched the usually strong and aggravatingly heroic boy swaying a bit like a leaf down the halls. Shicmuon decided he had to do something about this. Blow twitched in annoyance when he felt a certain red head lightly brush up against his side as he followed him down the hall. Great, as if he wasn’t already drawing enough attention already, now Shicmuon was following him around.. Oh joy . Blow just tried to ignore him as much as possible as he continued down the hall towards his dorm. Of course, right as he was about to turn down the last hall by his dorm room, the bell rang loudly over the intercom, signalling that class was over and lunch block had started. Soon enough the halls would be flooded with incoming students. Blow halted and pressed his back against the wall as he tried to think of a plan. He couldn't go to his room now because if people saw a strange man dressed in all black, accompanied by Shicmuon, breaking into Lidusis’ and Rood’s room, well, that would be too hard to explain. Shicmuon just watched as the gears turned in the black magician’s head and as the flood of students started to fill the halls, Blow grabbed onto Shicmuon’s arms and started making a run for the double doors at the end of the hall. Usually Shicmuon would protest to being dragged along like someone’s servant, but for today he’d allow it. Whatever was up with Blackie.. it was quite intriguing to say the least. A few students seemed to notice their odd presence among the crowd, but they were too fast so no one really got a good look at what strange people were running down the hallways.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
part two
Once Blow managed to push his way through the double doors, he was met with the outside and ran to the courtyard area to hide. Since most of the students were inside the building at the time, the courtyard would be relatively empty, which made it the best place to go unseen. Blow found a spot on an empty bench underneath a tree in the corner, and dragged Shicmuon over to it, plopping him down on the bench next to him. He was breathing a bit heavily after running the distance here, and Shicmuon just looked at him like he was an alien.
Once he caught his breath, he leaned back against the metal bench and stared up at the leaves in the tree above before exhaling. He hoped Shicmuon would just sit there and keep quiet because his body was feeling really achy all of a sudden and he just wanted to doze off somewhere in peace, but of course that wasn't the case.
“Why are you awakened?”
Blow fought the sensation to roll his eyes and instead watched as a leaf fell from the tree above and was carried off by the wind. He tracked the leaf with his eyes before Shicmuon’s hand blocked his view and he waved it around his face, clearly annoyed.
“Hello? I asked you why you’re awakened.” Shicmuon looked at him with an unreadable expression and Blow lifted his head back up, causing his hood to slip down and reveal his dark black hair.
“Oh that..” He looked straight ahead, staring at nothing, “I.. can’t control it for some reason.”
The wind blew another leaf from the tree and Blow resisted the temptation to watch it flutter past like the previous one.
“You can’t control it?” Shicmuon parroted, and Blow nodded a bit sheepishly.
“No.. I can’t. I’m not sure what’s wrong, but my body feels different somehow.. It was weird, I just woke up this morning and was in my awakened form, unnaturally. It’s like it was forced out of me or something.” Blow turned to look at the magician next to him and suppressed a shudder when he noticed how intensely he was watching him.
“..Geez Blackie, are you still blushing about earlier?” Shicmuon asked seriously and Blow sputtered, taken aback at the abrupt shift in conversation.
“What?! No, asshole, I’m not.” He huffed and looked away. He
wasn’t
thinking about that..that intimacy between them in the hallway earlier.
“...” Shicmuon narrowed his eyes and looked deep in thought as he studied Blow once again. So, he was right after all. Something was definitely wrong with Blackie. Not only was he unable to control his awakened form, but his eyes looked less vibrant than usual, and his clear, pale complexion was flushed a bright pink color across his cheeks. He had also been breathless after such a short run, and appeared to be sweating a bit as well, which was unusual for him considering his usual stamina. Not to mention, the boy’s reflexes had also been more shit than usual, considering he could barely sense when other people were coming. Maybe if the boy wasn’t in his awakened form that’d make some sense, since he was still a human after all, but that wasn’t the case. Plus, Blow was different from regular humans. He wasn’t weak.
Blow took advantage of Shicmuon’s sudden silence as he tried to enjoy the fresh air that his body had seemed to be craving earlier. Even though the wind felt nice on his face, the sun was beating down on him
hard.
He could feel the sweat threatening to drip down his face, but he couldn't just take off his black cloak because someone still might recognize him. Speaking of which, when had his hood fallen down? He didn’t remember taking it off and he should probably pull it back up, but his limbs were too tired to move so he just continued to stare back up at the tree again.
Watching the leaves dance through the wind brought a calm feeling over his body as he zoned out, almost forgetting where he was for a minute, and allowed his eyes to fall closed. His head had started to feel fuzzy again and the sun was beating down too hard that it felt nice to relax and close his eyes. He almost felt like he could fall asleep like this, but his moment of bliss was soon interrupted when he heard a voice shout from the balcony of the school above.
“Oh my god, is that the black magician!?”
Blow instantly snapped his eyes open and tensed as he pulled the black hood back over his head on instinct.
Shicmuon, who had been watching Blow the whole time, turned his head towards where the voice had come from and he noticed a group of students were gathering on the balcony. It wasn’t long before some of the students had started to run across the balcony and towards the doors he and Blow had just escaped from a few minutes ago. Crap. The courtyard was about to be crowded with annoying students..
Why the hell did this guy have so many fans?
Earlier,
When class ended, Lidusis remained seated as most of the other students filtered out of the classroom for their break to get lunch. Dio also remained in the classroom, along with Iel and Lapis. The latter stood up as soon as everyone else had cleared the room and made his way over to Lidusis and Dio.
“I heard you guys talking earlier. Why isn’t Rood here, is he okay?” The blond Idun asked and Lidusis’ looked up, surprised.
Dio answered for him. “Yep, Rood is perfectly fine! He just had to do something super important that I’m sure he’ll tell us all about when he gets back.~” He finished with a wide smile as he stood up and tugged on Lidusis’ arm to follow his lead.
“Is that right..” Lapis questioned and Iel scoffed before joining the group of boys.
“Let us read the note you were talking about earlier then.” She stated, seriously, and Dio narrowed his eyes at her while Lidusis complied, handing her the paper that Rood had left for him this morning. Lapis looked over her shoulder as they both read the note.
“See.~” Dio chimed in, “Like I said, everything is fine!” He finished with a wide smile and grabbed the note back from them once they were done.
The note still smells like Rood.
Dio thought with a smile as he placed the note snug in his pocket instead of giving it back to Lidusis. He winked at him cheekily and attempted to drag the gray haired boy off to the door again, when Chevel and Linus came walking in. Chevel looked around and when he realized that a certain short, blond boy wasn’t there. He decided to voice his thoughts.
“Oi, where’s the brat?” Chevel asked bluntly with his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe.
“Why do you care?” Iel spoke up instead and Chevel glared at her.
He didn’t really have a reason for asking about the kid, so he just made one up. “The brat owes me something, that’s all.” He scoffed and Dio clenched his fist at his side.
How dare he speak of the [king] in such a disdainful way.
“So what the hell? Where is he anyw-”
“Oh my god, is that the black magician!?” A scream from outside cut him off and everyone in the room widened their eyes at the outburst as a slowly forming commotion of students began to form in the hallway.
Lidusis was the first one to move and quickly ran out of the door, with Dio right behind him, as he peered over the edge of the balcony to see what everyone was looking at. Chevel and the others followed along behind them and, sure enough, a hooded figure adorned in all black was seated on a bench in the corner of the courtyard next to none other than the magician Shicmuon from the Association.
Rood.
Lidusis’ thought, with a sigh of relief that he appeared to be fine, but he was pulled out of his trance when he noticed the rush of students behind him were now running towards the courtyard prepared to ambush the black magician.
“W-we have to help the black magician.” Lidusis’ stated and turned back to face the others who gave him questioning looks.
Shit.
Blow panicked as he tried to compose himself as much as possible. It’s not like he didn’t want to meet the students or anything, it’s just that he wasn’t feeling himself today and being crowded by a bunch of starstruck kids sounded like his personal hell right now. He didn’t even realize his hands were shaking until Shicmuon reached over and grabbed them before pulling him to his feet. He reached over and pulled Blow’s hood down lower on his head before grumbling something about ‘trash showing up all of a sudden’ and Blow blinked as he let the redhead drag him over to hide behind a wall. He felt really sweaty and weak all of sudden and held on a bit tighter to Shicmuon’s hands.
Shicmuon, who was facing the other way, was getting annoyed as the crowd of students come rushing out of the double doors, frantically searching for their precious black magician. He rolled his eyes when he noticed some of the students were even carrying shit for him to autograph.
How pathetic
. He scoffed before looking for a good place to escape to.
Blow, on the other hand, was having a crisis for a completely different reason and his hands still hadn’t stopped shaking.
He wasn’t even nervous so why was he shaking so much?
To add to his turmoil, he still felt annoyingly sweaty and dizzy, almost like he was going to pass out. He probably just needed to rest for a minute and then he’d be fine. His head pulsed again but he didn’t flinch this time.
Dammit
. Shicmuon cursed as he scanned the courtyard. He couldn’t find a single opening.
Oh well, he could just force these pests out of the way using his magic. What did he care if he hurt a few of these weaklings anyways. At the thought, he smirked to himself, but when he glanced back to tell the black magician about his plan, he saw the boy leaning against the wall with his head down and hands still grasped to his like a lifeline. He was breathing a bit heavily as well, and suddenly all of Shicmuon’s previous bloodlust disappeared.
“Blackie-?” Shicmuon questioned before a loud boom from the balcony of the school cut him off. He glanced up and met the eyes of a student with an annoying face and long golden hair.
This was their chance to escape.
Shicmuon, utilizing the distracted crowd to his advantage, quickly grabbed Blow’s arm and pulled his hood down to further cover his head. In a flash, he starts sprinting in the opposite direction of the crowd, dragging Blow along behind him.
Before,
“Don’t worry I’ll take care of it.” Dio said with an evil glint in his eye, and everyone quickly pulled him back before he attempted to turn into a dragon and destroy everyone and the entire school.
“No, I want to help black magician-nim!” Linus spoke up, pushing Dio out of the way.
“What are you gonna do, Linus?” Lapis deadpanned. “Create some shields to magically force the students away?”
Linus deflated “Mean! At least I can do magic.”
Lapis gawked and cracked his knuckles. “Oh yeah, I’ll show you magic!”
“Oh my god, shut the hell up already!” Chevel cut them off, “Now isn’t the time to be fighting over stupid shit like that.” He growled in annoyance before turning to face Lidusis who was looking at him with his usual annoying puppy-dog expression. “Ugh, what is it?”
“Create an illusion of the black magician. Then the crowd with get distracted and Blow can escape.” He stated seriously and Iel seemed suspicious of this whole idea.
“As if he could make a perfect replica of Blow.” Dio cut in, “You can’t recreate perfection!” Linus nodded in agreement and Chevel grit his teeth in aggravation.
“Oh yeah?! Well whatever, I can still do this!” Chevel closed his eyes and clapped his hands together as he used his magic to visualize and create the illusion of a black hood. When that was done, he opened his eyes to pick a target for his illusion. There was a random student who was unaware of the commotion happening in the courtyard below, just walking through the halls and minding his business, so Chevel aimed his illusion at the unsuspecting man. With a sudden boom the illusion took the form of a black cloak and was now covering the figure, making him appear similar to the black magician.
“Look everyone!” Linus called out, getting everyone's attention, as he pointed to the random student. “The black magician is up here!” Everyone in the courtyard snapped their heads in the direction the Hereis had pointed to and gasped when they caught sight of the black clad figure who was now taking off down the halls. “Black magician-nim!” A student called out and started running back into the building.
Chevel looked down to where the real black magician was hiding, and ended up locking eyes with the Shicmuon guy instead, who quickly looked away and grabbed Blow. Soon enough, the rest of the students were running back inside the building while Shicmuon and Blow were running in the opposite direction and off of the school’s grounds.
“Ha I knew you couldn’t make a perfect Blow illusion!” Dio taunted and Chevel made a move to attack the annoying blue haired Idun, before Lidusis stepped in.
“Good job Chevel.” He spoke softly and bowed his head a bit in thanks which had Chevel taken aback for a second.
“Yeah for real. I can’t believe that actually worked..” Iel mumbled and Chevel was annoyed all over again.
“Whatever,” He grumbled, “we should go and see where those two ran off to anyways.”
“Yay I can’t wait to see Blow-nim again!” Linus cheered as they made their way outside.
After a few minutes of running Shicmuon managed to find a secluded place beneath a tree and off of Helios’ grounds to stop for a minute. He didn’t know why he was smirking all of sudden, but running away from those stupid students was surprisingly amusing. It’s not like he needed the help from that arrogant looking kid, but still, he’d take an opening to escape if one was given to him.
“Man, what the hell is up with those students? They’re obsessed with you Blackie.” Shicmuon turned around slightly and widened his eyes when he saw Blow kneeling on the ground and breathing heavily.
“Blackie?” Shicmuon questioned, not even trying to hide the unexpected concern that snuck its way into his voice, and he acted instantly when the black haired boy start to fall forward. He kneeled down to catch the boy before he hit the ground.
What the-?
“Oi, Blackie?” Shicmuon called and moved the boy’s hood out of the way to see that he’d passed out and his face was flushed. He was still breathing a bit heavily too, and his whole body was limp in his arms.
Just what the hell is wrong with you?
Shicmuon questioned before lifting the boy up bridal style to properly lay him down in the grass beneath the tree for now.
The red head stared down at the boy in the grass. The black magician looked so uncharacteristically weak that it left an unsettling feeling in his gut that he just couldn't shake. He really needed to find out what was wrong with him, and soon, because if he wanted to kill him, it had to be a fair fight after all. Shicmuon sat down in the grass next to him as he contemplated what to do next. Unconsciously, he reached down to brush away some stray strands of black hair that had gotten stuck to Blow’s sweaty forehead.
Cute
. He thought before he could stop himself, as the unconscious boy nudged his head a bit closer to Shicmuon’s outstretched hand.
“What the hell are you doing?!” An annoyingly familiar voice shrieked from a few feet away and Shicmuon glanced up with a bored expression to see a group of six weaklings coming towards him.
“B-black magician-nim!”
“Blow! Is he okay?!”
After a few more repetitive comments like that, Shicmuon started to get annoyed and rolled his eyes.
“Listen here you brats, you can’t get your stupid autograph right now so scram.” He glared at them causing most of them to flinch back in fear, except for that annoying one with the blue hair, who instantly transformed into his chibi dragon form and was rushing to Blow’s side.
“Blow?!” He cried and nuzzled himself against the magician’s face and when he didn’t even react, Shicmuon couldn’t help but laugh at the pathetic display.
By now, the rest of the students had made their way closer and were staring at Blackie with annoying looks in their eyes that made Shicmuon angry. Instinctively, he placed a hand on the black haired boy’s head and narrowed his eyes at them to show them that the black magician was his and they couldn’t come closer.
“What did you do to him?!” The golden haired boy who he’d locked eyes with earlier, growled at him and Shicmuon cocked an eyebrow before scoffing in annoyance as he played with Blow’s hair.
“For trash like you, you sure are bold speaking to me that way.” He glared and allowed some of his mana to flow out in order to intimidate these fools and show them just a small percent of what he was capable of doing if they made him mad. The blue dragon tried to bite his finger, but he flicked the creature back a few feet which seemed to shut it up as it crawled back over to hide behind Blow.
“Well.. if you didn’t do anything... Then what happened to him?” A boring looking one with gray hair spoke up softly and Shicmuon had to strain to even hear him properly.
And why the hell did this kid talk so damn slow..
Not to mention he had been staring at Blow with the most annoying look out of all of them and had yet to take his eyes off of the black magician since he’d walked over here. Shicmuon decided he hated this piece of trash the most.
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” Shicmuon scoffed. “I’m trying to figure out the same thing myself so stop talking to me so friendly and buzz off.”
Before anymore protests could be voiced, a familiar ringing sound came from the bag that Blow had been wearing earlier, and Shicmuon eyed it curiously. Removing his hand from the boy’s hair, he went to go fetch it.
When he opened the flap, he wasn’t surprised to see a crystal ball sitting inside.
He must have been trying to contact Opion earlier..
Shicmuon thought as he reached in to grab the sphere before going back over to his spot in the grass. He glared when he noticed that those brats had gotten closer and were now sitting around Blow like some type of sacrificial ritual was taking place.
Annoyed, Schimuon pushed one of the brats who had long purple hair out of the way with his shoe so he could set the sphere on the ground, and he placed one of his hands back in Blow’s hair before using his other hand to tap the sphere and answer the call. He glared at the students to be quiet as a voice spoke through the sphere.
“Rood~~ sorry I missed your call earlier, please don’t be mad! Trust me I really wanted to talk with you I just had to deal with some boring stuff here. But it's all taken care of now so I’m all yo-” Shicmuon cut him off before he could make a bigger fool of himself.
“Oi you idiot, there are other people here!” He glowered into the crystal ball. Blackie was gonna be pissed at Opion’s master for spilling the beans like that.
“Did..did he just say Rood?” A white haired girl, who Shicmuon could’ve sworn hadn't been there before, asked in shock and two of the boys had similar expressions on their faces as well. The other two didn’t have much of a reaction at all, so he guessed that golden boy and annoying gray hair over here had already known his identity. Same with the stupid blue lizard, of course.
Kielnode sputtered on the other line, and for a second Shicmuon thought the man was going to hang up, but like hell he was gonna let that happen.
“Hey dumbass, don’t you dare hang up. There’s something wrong with Blackie.”
At this comment a few ears perked up and the other line was quiet for a second. Shicmuon could physically hear Kielnode becoming serious now.
“Wha- Shicmuon? What do you mean? Has something happened to.. Blow?”
Shicmuon felt annoyed by this whole situation and it wasn’t helping that these brats were listening to his every word. “..He told me that he couldn’t control his awakened form and he’s been acting really strange all day.”
Shicmuon paused for a minute before glancing at the black haired boy. “Oh also, he fainted.” he added as an afterthought and he prepared himself for the obnoxious scream that was sure to erupt from the sphere any second.
“WHAT!?” Kielnode shrieked.
And there it was.
“NO NOT MY PRECIOUS RO- I MEAN BLOW! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! IF THIS WAS YOUR DOING I SWEAR I’LL CLIMB THROUGH THIS SPHERE RIGHT NOW AND KILL YOU! I DEMAND YOU BRING HIM BACK HERE THIS INSTANT AND IF YOU SO MUCH AS HARM A SINGLE HAIR ON HIS HEAD I’LL-”
Shicmuon blocked out Kielnode’s annoying rambling and threats for the most part, and decided to cut in before the man popped a vein in his head or something.
“Geez, calm down already! Maybe if you’d answered when he called you earlier then we wouldn’t be in this stupid situation in the first place, so shut the hell up and let me explain.” He growled in annoyance, and just to spite the man, he started playing with Blow’s hair again even if he couldn't see it.
“First of all, I didn’t fucking do anything to him so you can all stop pointing the finger at me.” He directed this at the students as well as the sphere before continuing. “Second, he awakened unnaturally and is now stuck in his awakened form so it must be slowly draining his mana as we speak which could be why he’s acting so strange. Third, he fucking fainted so there’s definitely something wrong with him and it’s your job to figure that shit out, not mine.. Plus, you seriously need to think before answering calls. You really just blurted out his identity to these complete strangers, so good fucking luck when Blackie finds out and gets pissed at you because I’m not helping.” He finished and smirked a bit just thinking about the black magician beating the shit out of Opion’s master. Now that’s a sight he was looking forward to seeing with his own eyes.
There was silence on the other line before Kielnode spoke up, becoming serious once again.
This guy.. ‘Opion’s Master’ was spazzing at him one second and then stone cold the next, it was draining just trying to have a conversation with the man. No wonder Blackie found him so aggravating.
“So if what you're saying is true, then Blow needs to be treated immediately. Since something like this has never happened before, we don’t know how serious his condition is right now so you’ll need to bring him to Opion this instant.”
Shicmuon already felt a protest forming on the tip of his tongue at being bossed around like this, but he held it back when he glanced down at Blow who still hadn’t moved this whole time.
“Dammit..”
Why did I get stuck babysitting this guy..
“Fine.”
“Good. I can send a teleportation scroll your way bu-”
“No need.” Shicmuon stated bluntly, as he picked up the sphere and stood up. “I can get there faster.”
“Wh- Shicmuon please don’t be stubborn right now. Just take the teleportation scrolls here and bring those students with you since they’ve heard so much already..”
With a glare, Shicmuon shoved the sphere back into the bag before ending the call at that. He wasn’t going to teleport there like a pansy. He’s faster than teleportation anyways.
Without a word, Shicmuon slung the bag over his chest before glaring at the students to back away as he bent down to pick up Blow bridal style. He pushed the small blue creature off of him as well and the boy transformed back into his human form before leveling his glare at the redhead.
“I’m taking Blackie so you brats can ride on the lizard to get to Opion. Or don't, I don’t care.”
“Liz- Are you blind?! I’m a dragon!” Dio fumed, shaking slightly in rage and Shicmuon wanted to laugh.
“What, did you piss your pants or something,
lizard?”
Shicmuon smirked before awakening his power and was enveloped in a bright red light as he spared one last glance at the trash behind him before speeding off with Blow in his arms.
Dio growled in annoyance before transforming into his full dragon form and roared loudly into the open air.
How dare that foul man touch my [king] so closely!
The other students, who had been pretty much stunned in silence this whole time, finally seemed to snap out of it as they prepared themselves to climb onto the dragon’s back. Normally, getting the chance to ride on the back of a dragon would make them feel giddy with excitement since it was such a once in a lifetime experience, but due to the circumstances, no one was really in the mood to say much.
Lidusis was really worried about Rood.
Why hadn’t he woken him up this morning to tell him that something was wrong? Why did he lie and say everything was fine in that note?
Lidusis already knew that he was the black magician, so why didn’t he ask for help? If something seriously bad had happened to him..
“Hey, stop thinking about it so hard.” Chevel’s voice cut off his train of thought as he glanced over. “I’m sure Rood is gonna be just fine so stop worrying it already.” The Hereis scowled as he took a seat on the dragon and a soon as he was seated, Dio sped off into the air and after Shicmuon.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
part three
Shicmuon couldn’t resist the urge to stick his tongue out like a child when he arrived at Opion a few seconds before the dragon. Pissing off that blue lizard was amusing, but Kielnode was probably having a fit inside just waiting for them to arrive, so he pushed his childish feelings aside and became serious once again. He didn’t even address the brats when they safely landed behind him, and pushed through the front doors of Opion only to be assaulted by a pacing and frazzled Kielnode. “Blow!” He exclaimed and hurriedly rushed over to Shicmuon to completely ignore him, only looking at the boy in his arms. Shicmuon watched as the master of Opion cupped Blow’s face with his hands before speaking softly. “Blow? Wake up now, okay? You’re safe here, at Opion.” He smiled slightly trying to make light of the situation, but when Blow didn’t respond, Kielnode’s smile faltered and he removed his hand from the boy’s face before becoming serious once again. “How long has he been unconscious like this?” Kielnode asked robotically before turning away slightly. “Maybe an hour.” Shicmuon guessed and Kielnode seemed at least a little bit relieved that he hadn’t been in this state for too long. “Okay, we’ve prepared a room already so you can hand him to me now.” Kielnode made a move to take Blow from his hands but Shicmuon stepped back instinctively. “No.” He glared, and at the master’s confused expression, Shicmuon explained. “It’s easier if I just take him, so lead the way.” Geez he’d gotten possessive all of a sudden.. Kielnode widened his eyes a bit before reluctantly nodding as he placed a hand on Blow’s hair for some form of comfort. Plus, the boy couldn’t disappear from him again if he was touching him, so he lead the red haired magician down the hall. The Helios students, who had been watching the whole thing in silence, blinked as they followed them down the open hall. So this is what Opion looks like.. Dio was quick to return back into his chibi dragon form as he scurried down the hall to be closer to Blow again. He didn’t trust these humans around Blow unless he was there, and with the [king] in such a vulnerable state, he couldn't let him out of his sight. Kielnode lead the group to a room in the back right next door to his office. He ignored the Helios students for the most part, and only had eyes for Blow as he instructed Shicmuon to lay him down on the bed in the center of the room. In addition to the bed, there were a few couches and armchairs positioned a couple feet from the bed and facing one another. There was also a small glass table that sat in the middle of the couches where a tray of finger foods was placed, along with some glasses of what looked like sparkling water. Finally, covering the entire wall to the left, were large windows and the thick maroon curtains were pulled back to let the sunlight filter into the spacious room. Dressed in all black, Blow certainly stood out in the center of the all white bed that he rested on, and Shicmuon stepped back after setting him down to let Kielnode do whatever he needed to do. Dio tried to sneak his way over to climb onto Blow’s bed, but Shicmuon stopped him and glared at him to wait. The Helios students made themselves busy sitting down awkwardly on the couches and hesitated on whether or not the food that was left out was for them to snack on or not. Shicmuon watched in silence as Opion’s master kneeled beside the bed and fumbled with some medical supplies before an orange haired woman walked in to save him. “Rood!” She called, opening the door and breaking the harsh silence. She instantly widened her eyes when she realized how many occupants were in the room, and she covered her mouth as if that’d help take back what she’d just blurted out. She’d seriously just made the same idiotic mistake as Kielnode had either.. Shicmuon couldn’t help but wonder how Blackie’s identity hadn’t been revealed sooner, considering how loose lipped all of these Opion people were. Kielnode seemed to share a similar sheepish expression on his face and Ren hesitated a bit before composing herself. She cleared her throat and pretended as if what she’d just said hadn’t happened. “Ehem I mean, Blow.” She corrected herself before quickly rushing over to the master of Opion’s side as they spoke quietly amongst one another. She hit the man slightly in the arm and he pouted playfully before she took the iv that he was fiddling with away to do it herself. Kielnode nodded his thanks before squeezing Blow’s hand and turned around to address his guests. “So you all must be Rood’s friends.” Kielnode smiled kindly as he made his way over to the couches to greet them. Since they all knew Rood’s identity, there was no reason to keep secrets anymore. “My name is Kielnode Chrishi, I am the Master of Opion and Rood’s older brother. It’s nice to meet you all, even though this situation is a bit..um unfortunate.” The students blinked owlishly at the man before them as they pieced together what they’d just been told. This guy.. and Rood.. were related? Somehow that was hard to believe considering their majorly conflicting personalities, but then again, that also explained why Kielnode had acted so frantically about the situation through the crystal ball earlier. Linus was the closest one to the man, so he stood up and eagerly shook Kielnode’s hand. “Woah you're the Master of Opion and the black magician’s brother?! That’s so cool!” Linus was staring at him with stars in his eyes and Kielnode couldn’t help but feel flattered. “Ah yes, that’s correct. He is my precious little brother whom I care for very much. I’m glad he has been able to make friends with you all. I was worried at first when I sent him to Helios. He can be quite stubborn, you know hah.” He smiled sincerely at everyone as he went around shaking hands with the different students and secretly memorized each of their names. Rood was never one to share personal details like this with him, so Kielnode was eager to learn everything about his brother’s friends while he had the chance. Starting from the left, the purple haired Hereis was named Linus and he seemed to have a very fond interest in the black magician. Looking back, Kielnode recognized his name scribbled on the top of a few fan letters that Blow had received in the past but never got around to responding to. The blond boy sitting next to him was Lapis. Kielnode knew vaguely of him before, given his title as the heir of the Nuadly family, and he learned the boy had been an Idun for a long time given his limited magic abilities. He tried to convince him to let Blow train him, but Kielnode kindly declined once again on Blow’s behalf. Next was a girl with long silver hair whom he learned was named Iel. By the way she acting towards Blow, it seemed she had some history with the black magician in the past. Kielnode learned that he had saved her in the past, but that was all she was willing to tell the man. He wasn’t going to be nosy, so he just nodded and moved on. The next boy Kielnode recognized instantly. His name was Lidusis Artian, the son of the duchess who had hired Rood to look after her son at Helios and he was the reason Rood was there in the first place. Kielnode already knew of the boy’s basic back-story, having spoken to his mother, but he came to realize that the quiet boy was very polite and seemed to care a lot for Rood, even though they’d only known one another for a short time. Still, it warmed Kielnode’s heart to know that others cared for his little brother almost as much as he did. Next was the son of Marquis, the Hereis boy with long, golden hair named Chevel. He seemed the most uncomfortable out of all of the students, but Kielnode couldn’t help but find it cute in a way. The boy tried to look unfriendly and hard on the outside, but Kielnode knew there was no real bite to his bark. Finally, was the blue dragon, Dio, or Diorook, whom Kielnode already knew about given his demonic background. Like Linus, he too seemed very interested in Rood but for a different reason. Kielnode didn’t know for sure what the root of his fascination was, but he looked harmless enough. Just to be safe though, Kielnode would keep an eye on him. Meanwhile, Shicmuon had grown tired of just standing there watching the Master of Opion speaking so kindly to those weaklings, so he made his way over to where Ren was setting up a few things over by Blow. He pulled a stool over to the other side of the bed and plopped down on it as he watched Ren work in silence. Currently, she was adjusting an iv bag full of some unknown substance, possibly mana, onto its hook and she squeezed its contents a bit to make sure it was connected to the tubes alright. Shicmuon wondered how she knew how to do all this shit, but he didn’t care enough to ask. She wasn’t a magician after all, so she probably knew a lot of things like this in order to actually be of use to Opion. Shicmuon let his eyes drift from the woman over to the black haired boy lying motionless in the bed. His face with still a bit flushed, but he didn’t look as sickly and sweaty as before which must be a good sign. Still, the red head found himself wishing that the boy would just wake up already so he could have some source of actual entertainment. Instead, he was stuck having to listen to Kielnode blab on and on to those brats about pointless things. At least this Ren lady was making herself useful, and when she went to place a rag against Blow’s forehead, Shicmuon reached out to do it for her. She widened her eyes a bit at the gesture before complying. “Ah thank you.” She nodded, and placed the damp rag into his outstretched hand before making herself busy once again with another small medical task. Shicmuon stood up from his stool and placed the rag gently on Blow’s forehead and Ren watched in silence as the usually abrasive and fierce magician was being so gentle with Blow. It was a bit of a ‘culture shock’ given their usual relationship, or lack thereof, because last time Ren checked, whenever the two were around one another, only arguments and chaos ensued. She couldn’t deny that it was strange seeing this soft side to the magician, but that just made Ren wonder if it had always been there and she just hadn’t been looking close enough to see it until now.. After chatting with the Helios students for a while, Kielnode decided it would be best to lead the group somewhere else so as not to disturb Blow as he was recovering. Since it seemed like the students would be staying here overnight, Kielnode had a makeshift room prepared down the hall for them use during their stay. “Come on, let me show you where you’ll be staying.” Kielnode smiled at the students as he ushered them towards the door. He noticed how one of the boys in particular, Lidusis, had hesitated a bit before standing. Ren also followed along towards the door leaving Shicmuon, and Dio in his miniature form, behind with Blow. This, of course, didn’t go unnoticed by the Master of Opion as he glanced back curiously. “Shicmuon, aren’t you coming?” He questioned, finding it odd that the magician was even still here in the first place. Kielnode had kind of assumed that the boy would’ve booked it out of there as soon as he could, yet he was still seated on a stool next to Blow’s bed. Shicmuon crossed his arms in annoyance, not moving from his spot on the stool to simply glare at the older man. “No. I’ll watch him.” He nudged his head to indicate that he was talking about Blow, and Kielnode instantly made a face. “Somehow I don’t think that’s a good idea..” “And why’s that?” Shicmuon challenged, but Ren decided to step in before a pointless fight broke out. “Actually, that’s a great idea! You stay here and we’ll be back.” She gave the Master of Opion a look that said ‘just trust me’ and he sighed over-exaggeratingly before pouting and narrowing his eyes back towards the magician. “If you so much as touch him I swear-” “I’m not gonna fucking touch him.” Shicmuon bit back, and when he noticed that the blue lizard was still here too, he grabbed it by its scruff before practically chucking it at Kielnode’s face. “And take that thing with you. It’s annoying me.” “Wha-!” Dio protested, still a bit frazzled at having been thrown across the room, “No I wanna stay with Blow too!” It whined and clawed at the air with its chubby blue claws as Kielnode held it away from his face. “On second thought,” Kielnode smiled with an evil look in his eye. “I think Dio should stay here!” Oh. So he wanted to challenge him now, huh? Fine, two can play at that game. In an instant, Shicmuon’s eyes glowed a bright red as he was engulfed by his power. Matching the evil look in Kielnode’s eyes from before, Shicmuon smirked and grabbed Blow by the collar of his shirt, causing the rag to fall from his forehead at the sudden movement. “If you leave that blue thing here, then I’ll kill Blackie right now.” He had a bit of his power already aimed at the black magician's throat, and even though he wasn’t actually going to kill Blow, these other people didn’t know that which made the threat all the more powerful. Kielnode gulped in shock and the Helios students who had been watching the whole encounter, looked horrified. Ren, on the other hand, seemed unfazed, looking more annoyed than anything. Could she see past his fake threat? “F-fine!” Kielnode caved. “Jesus Shicmuon.. we’ll bring Dio with us so just put Blow down, please .” The blue dragon started squirming more violently in Kielnode’s hands. “No you can’t! How dare he threaten Blow like that! I swear I’ll kill him right now grrr!” The dragon made a pitiful attempt to hit Shicmuon with a puff of fire, but the boy simply moved his head to the side, dodging it easily. The fire ball hit the wall behind him with a light smack, leaving only black scorch marks on the previously bare walls. “Ack I can’t believe he dodged that!” The dragon choked out and Kielnode tightened his hold on the dragon a bit in frustration. Now he’d have to get that wall repainted using his own money out of pocket. Goddammit. Before anymore protests could be voice, Kielnode shoved the dragon out of the door, demanding he return back to his human form while he remain here. Dio pouted before complying, but the look in his eyes showed that he was still thinking about charging back into the room to stay with Blow, so before that could happen, Kielnode grabbed his arm and started dragging him down the hall, urging the students to follow along. “This way everyone!~ I hope you find the rooming arrangements to your standards. I know it probably isn’t as luxurious as what you're used to at Helios, but I hope it’s alright for the night at least.” None of the students had any inclination to protest, and just murmured their thanks and reassurances that everything would be just fine. After a short walk, they were lead to a similar looking door as Rood’s room and Kielnode smiled before shoving Dio in first. The room that the students would be staying in had six beds, one for each of them, with three lined up on the left and three more lined up on the right. Since Iel was the only girl, though, her bed was separated and covered by a hanging sheet to give a bit more privacy since she insisted that it would be fine for her to remain in this room. It would be too much of a hassle to fix a whole other room just for her, so this worked just fine. “I hope this room is alright.” Kielnode repeated and Ren stood beside him, giving the students a small smile as well. The students nodded in thanks, and a few sat on their respective beds will others when to sit on another set of couches present in the room, similar to how they were in Rood’s room. “Actually, there’s something I’m curious about.” Ren spoke up, addressing the Helios students. “Since you are all Rood’s friends and probably spend a lot of time amongst one another, I just wonder if something may have happened earlier in the week to have caused this.” She eyed each of the students before continuing. “I guess what I’m asking is, did anything strange happen, maybe yesterday or a few days ago, that could’ve caused Blow to forcibly awaken like this?” “..Something like what?” Linus asked, trying to think back if anything peculiar had occurred earlier in the week, but came up short. Kielnode chose to answer instead, given that he was more knowledgeable on magic related things than Ren. “Well, it’s tough to say what exactly considering I’ve never heard of a magician being stuck in their awakened form like this.. But perhaps, did he get attacked by something or did a professor do something strange? Ah, it feels weird asking you all things like this, but I’m just trying to get a better understanding of the situation. It could just be that Rood contracted some kind of illness which caused his awakened form to release, but again, we can’t be sure until we do some more research on the matter.” “I didn’t see anything strange happen to him.” Ludisis spoke up and Kielnode turned his head to eye the boy as he continued. “I go wherever Rood goes.. and I didn’t notice anything strange.. I’m sorry.” “Ah, there’s no need to apologize.” Kielnode waved his hands in the air to shoo away the issue and nodded. “It’s alright, it was probably nothing then. Still, I’ll stay up all night pouring through all the different magic books I have stored in the archives to see what I can find to try and resolve this issue.” Kielnode resounded and Ren nodded by his side. “I’ll assist you, of course. But I’m sure we’ll find something to fix this.” She smiled, trying to reassure the students as best as she could, though they seemed a bit skeptical. “Um, not to interrupt or anything,” Iel started from her seat on the couch, and Ren turned her head towards the voice. “But since he’s awakened and all, what will happen when he runs out of mana?” A few of the other Helios students perked up at this, curious of the answer as well, and Ren gave another reassuring smile. “Oh I wouldn’t worry about that for now. I set up an iv bag that will slowly fill his mana levels so it should be fine as long as he doesn’t run out. Blow has a lot of mana storage inside of him already, though, so unless this issue isn’t resolved within a few weeks, I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Kielnode nodded. “The one thing that makes me worried though are his strange ‘symptoms’, for a lack of a better word. It’s as if he’s contracted some type of illness which has caused his usual abilities to weaken. There’s also the issue of him being unconscious.” Kielnode placed a hand to his chin in thought. “Hopefully he wakes up sometime soon..but, again, it will probably be fine once we do a bit of research, right Ren?” “Yes, of course.” Kielnode smiled to diffuse the sudden tense atmosphere in the room before exhaling. “Anyways, try not to worry about it too much, students. We’ll take care of Rood just fine and he’ll be able to return to Helios again soon. Oh, and since you’re all aware of his identity now, I’ll have to ask all of you to keep this a secret. Under no circumstances whatsoever should you tell anyone else about Rood’s connection to the black magician. Do I make myself clear?” Even though the Master of Opion was smiling at them, the students could feel the sudden seriousness in his words, and they shared a few looks before nodding. Of course they’d keep this a secret. “Great!” Kielnode gave them a thumbs up before turning on his heel. “Well, since Ren and I have some research to do, we’ll be taking our leave. Please, make yourselves comfortable and if you get hungry, there’s a dining hall a few doors down where you can get something to eat!” And with that, the blond haired man waved goodbye to the students before leaving with Ren at his side. The room was silent as the door closed behind them. Dio, who had been quiet for the most part, was sulking in the corner mumbling about how he wanted to see Blow, and drew circles in the carpet with his finger. He didn’t trust that Shicmuon guy. How could these people just let him stay in the [king]’s room when he’d threatened to kill him? It made no sense. “Wow~ that was kind of intense.” Linus commented, breaking the silence. “Yeah.. and I still can’t believe that Rood is the black magician..” Lapis added as he took a seat on top of one of the bed sheets. “I had my suspicions,” Iel spoke up next, looking contemplative, “but that confirmed it. I mean.. didn't you find it strange that whenever the black magician showed up Rood was nowhere to be found?” “Ah, you do have a point there.” “I can’t believe you guys knew this whole time though!” Linus erupted from his sprawled out form on one of the beds as he pointed his finger accusingly at Lidusis and Chevel. “How the hell did you guys know?! It’s no fair that he told you before us.” Linus pouted which made Chevel scowl. “Well, he didn’t necessarily tell me.. I saw him transform back into Rood in Ishuella.” Chevel commented, appearing uninterested. “What about you, Lidusis?” Iel asked, curiously. They did share a dorm together so it was no wonder the gray haired boy knew of Rood’s true identity. “He didn’t tell me either. I had a feeling though, plus it makes a lot of sense.” Lidusis added softly, looking at the door Kielnode and Ren had just exited from, and no one seemed to question it. “I wonder.. Why was the black magician posing as a Helios Idun all this time?” Lapis voiced the question that everyone was thinking, aside from Lidusis, which made the room fall silent once again. “And also,” Linus changed the subject before making a face and shivering, “that Shicmuon guy.. He’s super scary.” At the mention of the magician, Dio snapped his head up and instantly stopped sulking. “Don’t talk about that foul man. He’s evil! Pure evil I tell you!” Dio seethed as he narrowed his eyes and glanced at the door like he was daring to make an escape. “I wonder what his relationship with Rood is.” Lidusis’ small voice was barely heard above the idle chatter, but Dio’s sharp senses picked it up as he visibly paled before throwing a fit. “No! Don’t say ‘relationship’!” He pointed at the gray haired boy angrily, which caused a few heads to turn at the outburst. “There’s nothing going on between Blow and that guy at all so don’t say something like that! It’s not possible. They hate each other anyways.” Dio crossed his arms over his chest as if stating that his word was final, but Lidusis still looked unsure. “I’m serious!” Dio shrieked in annoyance. “There’s nothing even remotely ‘relationship-y’ going on between the black magician and that guy.” ...
Pitch black. Darkness.
‘Open your eyes.’
Light, yet still dark, and a bellowing laugh.
Gloomy. Gray. Menacing.
As my eyes adjust, I see the same dark sky and the familiar rocks. The large demon is there as well, situated to the right. His expression is strange.
I look away and he says something to me.
“You’ve done well, brother. You should marvel in the lovely work you’ve created.”
I’m confused. What have I done?
I try to think but there’s something weird against my foot. What Is this? And some kind of.. liquid?
I can’t see.
I almost ask the demon what it is, but I kneel down instead to get a better look.
Red. It’s red.
I dip my finger into the puddle. Spatter. Metallic.
Blood.
The demon laughs again and I widen my eyes. He doesn’t seem to notice as he continues to laugh mirthfully.
Blood.
The thing against my foot. An.. organ.
More blood, and chunks, and more organs. I glance up and can see everything clearly now. The demon’s voice is vibrating in my head, but I can’t make out his string of words.
There are human bodies sprawled out and exposed across the vast ground. Limbs twisted unnaturally. Eyes still open in fear. Mouths agape and more trails of red. Unnatural wounds. Large gashes. Snapped necks. Missing limbs. Skulls. Eyeballs. Bones. Blood. More blood. And.. blue?
My hands are shaking as I grab onto the ground. Instead of stability, my hand goes through the ground as I slip into a red puddle and am pulled beneath the surface. Inside, I’m not met with more red, but a pitch black world.
A voice brushes against my ear.
“You killed me.”
I spin around quickly. Instead of a face to belong to the voice, I’m met with more blackness.
“Why did you kill me [redacted]?” The voice asks into my ear once again.
Kill? Who?
I spin around again and this time I’m met with the twisted face of a young woman. Like the others, her eyes are wide and lifeless and her skin in a sickly shade of white. A part of her head is missing to reveal her brain. I stumbled back, horrified.
“Why are you so surprised?” The voice taunts as she wraps herself around me. Why does she look so familiar? Her hair is ombre.
I can’t breathe.
Get off me! I can’t speak.
“You shouldn’t be so shocked when you’re the one who killed me after all….. Blow.”
..Blow?!
The voice changes and the figure morphs. No.. the voice is much deeper now.
“You killed me Blow. You killed your own brother.” No it’s-
Kielnode’s voice.
I don’t want to look. I-I didn’t kill… I’m not.. I’m not Blow.
“You are Blow. And you killed everyone. Just look for yourself.”
A mirror appears out of nowhere and I can’t bring myself to look away from its reflective depths.
Blow. I am Blow. I see Blow. That is me.
No..
Behind me, more corpses appear and claw themselves off of the ground as the snap and try to lift their bodies back into shape.
Why? Why are they here-
I recognize them all. Linus, Iel, Lapis, Chevel, Lidusis. Twisted. Pale. Dead. Bloody.
“See. You did this. You did this, Blow.” It was Kielnode’s voice but.. no. Those couldn’t be his words. “Because you’re a [redacted].”
No!
I finally break away from the mirror’s trance. I have to get away. I need to get away.
I run into the blackness. I can’t stop. I don’t even know where I’m going.
I run until my legs give out and I’m kneeling on the ground, gasping for air.
Something in my stomach churns. The bodies flash before my eyes again. All the blood. All the pain.
I clasp a hand to my mouth. I’m shaking. Why?
My stomach churns again and I’m gagging onto the floor.
It hurts.
Make it stop.
It hurts.
I open my eyes slightly to see blue. A thick blue liquid. This liquid.. Its…
Demon blood.
But I’m not a-
Demon.
.
.
.
Blow’s eyes snapped open as he jolted upwards in the bed. His heart was beating out of his chest as his hand unconsciously clutched onto the sheets a bit tighter. It was.. just a dream? Wait.. when did he fall asleep? Where was he? It’s dark.. What time is it? He heard a creaking noise coming from the other side of the room, and Blow snapped himself out of his stupor to slowly glance over, narrowing his eyes at the threat. Instead of something malicious, he was met with familiar piercing red eyes that glowed in the dark room. “..Blackie?” Many hours had passed since Kielnode and those students had left, and by now the sun had completely set, casting the room in total darkness. Only a small strand of moonlight had managed to slip past the thick curtains as it cast a white light on the carpet before him. After a while, Shicmuon had moved over to one of the couches across the room because the stool he’d been sitting in before was hurting his bottom. He could still see the boy just fine from here anyways. Plus, the couches were much more comfortable and since it was getting late, he figured he needed somewhere to sleep eventually. He had been watching the boy for hours now, without much of a change. For the most part, he was annoyed that he had wasted his whole day just sitting here, but a part of him also felt like he had to be here. Originally, he’d thought it would be entertaining to follow Blackie around, but when he’d fainted earlier, he’d realized something was very wrong so he had to stay. Shicmuon sighed as he leaned back against the couch. He averted his eyes from the bed across the room to gaze out through the small opening left in one of the windows through the curtain. The sky was a dark blue and he could faintly make out a few stars sprinkled in between the thick gray clouds that hung above like ghosts. After a while of staring off through the window, looking at nothing, Shicmuon’s wish for his boredom to end was granted. Suddenly, there was a flash of white movement out of the corner of his eye, and Shicmuon snapped his head over to the bed to see a figure sitting up and panting slightly. Shicmuon’s eyes widened a tad and he stood up on the couch, causing the chair to creak and the figure visibly stiffened before slowly turning his head to face him, seemingly just realizing that he wasn’t alone in the room. “..Blackie?” Shicmuon questioned, looking directly at the boy before him. Blow’s eyes were narrowed and shone their usual electric blue in the dark, but he watched as the intensity in them softened significantly at the sound of his voice. ‘So he’s still in his awakened form, then.’ Shicmuon reflected, still standing in front of the couch, and he watched as the boy looked away for a second before turning back to look at the red head once again. Shicmuon just stood there as the boy looked at him for a full minute in silence, before he lifted his arm from his side and waved him over to come to the bed. “..?” Confused, Shicmuon hesitated at the strange gesture before reluctantly complying as he walked over to the bed. Blow didn’t say anything once Shicmuon stood before him, so the redhead decided to voice his confusion. “..What? What is it?” Shicmuon widened his eyes as the boy reached out to grab his arm and pulled him to sit him down on the edge of the bed. His black hair was covering his eyes now and before Shicmuon could protest, the black magician placed a hand in the redhead’s hair and pat him like an owner would pat their dog when praising them for fetching a ball. What the-? Shicmuon tensed under the strange, yet gentle, touch as he looked away, annoyed. He was not blushing at this feeling. When Blow stopped patting his head and pulled his hand away, Shicmuon looked back to the boy, finally getting a good look at him from up close. Aside from still being a bit sweaty and dazed, there was one thing shockingly different about the black magician before him. His eyes. Instead of being the usual round pupils surrounded by a sea of blue, his pupils were slit and the black haired boy tilted his head slightly as he stared back at Shicmuon’s eyes in confusion. “Your-” Shicmuon stuttered out, but when he blinked, the slits in the boy’s eyes had reverted back to normal. He widened his eyes a bit at the abrupt change. What the hell was that? His eyes were definitely slitted just now but- “My what?” Blow asked, voice soft as he cocked his head once again, oblivious to the fact that his eyes had just changed shape a few seconds ago. Shicmuon didn’t know why, but he felt his heart skip a beat when he looked at the black haired boy before him, and he unconsciously scooted back a bit in the bed at the foreign emotion that he was feeling in his chest. What the fuck.. “You wanna fight?” “?!” Shicmuon whipped his head back to face the boy, eyes still glowing in the darkness of the room. What? “Do you?” Blow asked again, voice stoic, as if it wasn’t strange at all that he was asking him this, and Shicmuon just narrowed his eyes a bit before scoffing. “Che I can't fight you like this..” Shicmuon mumbled, and there was no malice in his voice. “..That’s good, because I was joking.” Blow looked at him, eyes void, and Shicmuon found this whole conversation between them really strange. “Well look at you. Feeling well enough to make jokes now, Blackie?” “Hmm.. Something like that.” Blow looked away, seemingly fascinated in the white bedsheets all of a sudden. Shicmuon watched him fidget with the material. There was definitely something on his mind, Shicmuon could tell. He was about to tell the kid to speak up already, but he beat him to it. “I um..” He shook his head before trying again. “Thanks for um.. helping me back there at Helios…” Blow whispered softly, unable to make eye contact with the red head. “And for bringing me here... Thanks.” He was blushing slightly, or still flushed from his strange sickness, but the sight made Shicmuon smirk. “You should be thankful.” Shicmuon straightened his back out a bit before continuing. “I had to carry your unconscious ass back here.” “Ah.. sorry.” Blow looked down, embarrassed and Shicmuon immediately cut in. “Don’t apologize. It’s fine.” It was silent for a while before Shicmuon decided to address what he’d witnessed earlier with how the kid had woken up looking like he’d just run a marathon. “Blackie.” Shicmuon stated, to get the boy’s attention as he looked up at him. “...Did you have a nightmare just now?” Shicmuon watched as the boy’s eyes clouded over a bit and he looked thoughtful as the gears turned in his head. “Hmm? Ah, honestly I can’t really remember..” He looked away sheepishly but Shicmuon wasn’t convinced. “..Well whatever. Just shut up and go back to sleep then. It is nighttime after all.” He pushed the smaller boy’s chest to force him to lie down, and watched in amusement as the boy made a cute squeaking noise in surprise at the sudden action. Shicmuon just smirked before moving to stand up. But before he could, a pale hand reached out to grab his wrist and stopped him in his tracks. Confused once again, Shicmuon stiffened a bit before glancing down to see Blow’s hand wrapped around his wrist and when he tracked his eyes over to the black haired boy, he saw that he was blushing so hard that it looked like he was going to explode. Blow looked down, embarrassed. He really didn’t want to dream about that again, and he didn’t want Shicmuon to leave, but God.. this was so embarrassing. He looked conflicted and was unable to voice his pathetic request to Shicmuon. It would be way too awkward for him to say that outloud. ‘I’m scared, don’t leave. Please can you just stay?’ No, there was no way he could ever say that! Ever! He shook his head, frustrated at the situation. Shicmuon watched in amusement as the black magician seemed to be having an inner conflict with himself, but the red head wasn’t dumb. Shicmuon had caught onto the boy’s unsaid request. It was quite obvious, really. He must’ve lied before when he said he didn’t remember his nightmare. He probably didn’t want him to leave. Cute. Even though he too felt a bit uncomfortable about what he was about to do, it’s not like it was that big of a deal.. Kids get scared sometimes right? It makes sense, he guessed. Plus, Blackie was all delirious anyways so he probably wouldn’t act anything like this if the situation were different. With a sigh, Shicmuon moved to lie down on the bed next to him, still letting the black haired boy hold onto him as he maneuvered his way under the bed sheets. Blow seemed to relax significantly at the gesture, even though he was still blushing pretty hard, but he seemed more comfortable than before. Shicmuon, on the other hand, was laying uncomfortably on his back as Blow was on his side, facing him. He watched in silence as the boy shifted a bit closer before closing his eyes, his hand had somehow interlocked with Shicmuon’s and he unconsciously pulled it closer to his chest. Were they.. snuggling? Shicmuon felt his heart skip again as the black haired boy had passed out almost instantly, his breathing leveling out into a small rhythmic pattern. Shicmuon blinked and he noticed that there was still a bit of space between the two boys. For some reason the red head felt the sudden urge to pull the smaller boy closer to him.
Oh god. Just what had he gotten himself into..
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
part four
Shicmuon opened his eyes lazily, forgetting where he was for a minute as he stared up at the white ceiling above him. Birds chirped by the window outside and the room was cast in a golden, early morning warmth. Speaking of warmth, there was a something warm pressed against his side and when he focused his eyes and glanced down, he saw a mop of black hair leaning on his chest and breathing softly against him.
Oh, that’s right.
Shicmuon widened his eyes a bit, and was glad that no one else was in the room, as he stared down at Blow’s sleeping face. He then became aware of his arm still interlocked with Blow’s and he tried to move it only to notice that it had fallen asleep due to lack of use. Even though the sensation was uncomfortable, he couldn’t force himself to feel bothered by it as he looked at Blow’s face once again. Though he still looked a bit sickly, there was something about him sleeping peacefully next to him that made him look so.. angelic. Shicmuon felt strange thinking these things, but it was true. He couldn’t lie to himself that Blackie... Blackie was.. Beautiful. He felt himself blush slightly at the conclusion he’d just come to in his head, and Shicmuon quickly looked away as if he’d accidentally said his thoughts out loud. He used his other hand to touch his chest as he felt his heart do that annoying skipping thing again. What is this sensation I feel in my chest… and why does it happen everytime I look at you now. Shicmuon shook his head to rid the foreign thoughts and he exhaled before staring up at the porcelain white ceiling again. What a strange situation he had gotten himself into.. The peaceful atmosphere in the room was soon interrupted when the door swung open with a loud bang, and a fuming Kielnode was stood in the doorway radiating a mess of killing intent directed at the red head. Shicmuon just lifted his head a bit to glance at the Master of Opion with an uninterested look which just caused the blond man to snap as he charged towards him, screaming at the top of his lungs. “SHICMUON! HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MY PRECIOUS LITTLE BROTHER IN THIS STATE!” Kielnode had his hands held over his head and he looked to be holding a .. broom? as a weapon. Before Kielnode could get halfway across the room, however, a familiar flash of long auburn hair appeared at the door and the figure slammed its foot into the Master of Opion’s back, causing the man to tumble to the floor with a thud. “Aw come now Kielnode.~ Surely you’re overreacting.” The man spoke in a lilting tone as he pressed his foot a bit harder against the man's back. What’s he doing here? Shicmuon thought as he watched the bizarre display happening before him with narrowed eyes. “OVERRE- LANOSTE! GET YOUR FOOT OFF OF ME!” “I’ll take my foot off of you once you calm down. I don’t get why you’re throwing a fit over this. I see nothing strange happening here.” Shicmuon, who was just watching the whole display, glanced over, surprised to see his father here. “What are you doing here?” he finally asked. “Hmm? Ah, good morning Shicmuon. How are you?” Shicmuon twitched in annoyance. So he was just going to ignore his question? “HEY DON’T IGNORE ME!” Kielnode struggled on the floor, looking like he was about to awaken, when Lanoste removed his foot before taking a seat on the couch, unbothered. These people.. were suppose to be adults right? Shicmuon glanced down to see Blow was still sleeping through that whole argument, and he had to admit he was kind of impressed. Though, it wouldn’t surprise him if he was just used to Kielnode’s outbursts by now. Ren came running in through the door before Kielnode could think about doing anything rash, and she grabbed the Master of Opion’s arm to stand him up before giving him a pointed look. Shicmuon noticed that she was also carrying a small box in her hands. “Why did you run off like that you crazy person!? Plus, you forget this.” She shoved the box in his hands and all of Kielnode’s rage from before disappeared as he carefully took the box in his hands. “Oh, that’s right. Thank you, Ren.” The orange haired girl huffed in annoyance and Shicmuon blinked when she glanced over to give him a small smile before moving to sit on the couches with Lanoste. Shicmuon, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, sat all the way up in the bed and gently removed his hand from Blow’s, being careful not to disturb him, as he straightened himself out and stood up. Kielnode was watching him the whole time, glaring daggers his way, but Shicmuon paid it no mind as he stretched before trotting over to sit on one of the couches with everyone else. Kielnode pulled back his rage and walked towards the center of the room to address its occupants. “Alright then. Well, last night Ren and I were searching the archives and magical databases to try and find something to fix Blow’s current awakened state and in turn, find a way to force it back. It wasn’t easy, but after a lot of searching, I found this old tome that honestly looked like it hadn't been touched in a good couple of years. The thing was bulky and worn out, so covered in cobwebs and dust that the title was almost illegible.” Kielnode pause before continuing. “But nonetheless, I broke the seal on its binding and spent hours flipping through the text to find something- anything that could be of use for the situation.” “And that's when I got to the section about unconventional forms of treatment that were used on magical beings long ago, maybe even before the appearance of the gates, if you can believe it.. Which made me wonder how such a book found its way into the archives anyway..” Kielnode shook his head, he was getting off track. “Anyways, to cut things short,” He held the box forward so Shicmuon and Lanoste could get a better look, and opened the small latch on the front before continuing. “There was a blurb written in the book about magical awakenings, forced awakenings and respectively, forced un-awakenings. The text made it seem like something that was very uncommon to occur, but nonetheless, I read though it and learned about this.” He gestured to the opened box with his head and Shicmuon watched as he pulled a small, transparent, rectangular patch out of the box. “What the hell is that?” Shicmuon questioned, finding the fruit of Kielnode’s research to be a bit underwhelming. He was expecting some super magical and ancient power or spell, not a freaking 2 inch rectangle.. Kielnode stiffened in annoyance before relaxing once again with a small, and somewhat devious, smile on his face. “This, Shicmuon, is the very thing that can fix Blow’s forced awakening!” Lanoste cocked an eyebrow at the declaration, but was intrigued nonetheless. “I know, you're probably a bit suspicious right?" Kielnode continued. "But allow me to explain. With the help of a few scientists and researchers, we were able to replicate and follow the instructions provided by the book to make this patch of our very own. It’s made from a bit of um.. unconventional.. ingredients: mana shards, magnesium phosphate, dragon scales, liquid sunlight.. etc. but once compressed and combined, it develops a gel like consistency and is able to be cut and molded in patches such as this. It was all quite fascinating but I’m sure you all, like myself, are eager to see how this baby fairs in action.” With a grin, Kielnode spun on his heel as he walked a few steps over to Blow’s bed. Being as precise yet, gentle as possible, Kielnode placed the patch on the black magician’s cheek under his left eye and watched as the gel hardened a bit at the skin contact. Hopefully this works.. Kielnode thought anxiously, feeling a bit bad using Blow as his test dummy, but it was their only option. He lightly stroked the boy’s sleeping face before turning around again to make his way over to the others. “Once the patch makes contact with skin, its adheres and its effects begin to take place.” Shicmuon peered his head up, expecting to see Blackie miraculously transform back into normal, but nothing happened so he shot a skeptical look back towards Opion’s Master. “He looks the same to me.” “Well yes, that’s to be expected. The patch doesn't work automatically, instead it will suck away the forced awakening slowly until he is forced back to normal. The patch takes 24 hours to process completely, but after that timeframe is up, it will dissolve and Blow should be back to his normal self. This is much safer than just letting him run out of mana on his own since we are still unsure of how exactly his awakening was forced out in the first place." Lanoste, who had been relatively silent for the most part, leveled a look at the blond haired man before him. “What a strange discovery you’ve managed to dig out. Are you confident that it will work as well as you say?” “Don’t question him.” Ren spoke up instead before glancing at Kielnode. “I’m sure the Master of Opion can handle this all just fine, isn’t that right?” “Y-yes of course!” “Oh can he now?" Lanoste smirked. "Then I just have one question.” “Sure, what is it Lanoste?” “If you have everything under control, then where is the black magician right now?” Kielnode gave him a strange look like the red head was stupid or something. “What do you mean? Blow is right t-“ the master of Opion turned around fully and was met with an empty bed before him. Oh.. oh no. “Blow?!” Kielnode was frantic as he looked up and down, even checking under the bed, to see if the black haired boy was hiding somewhere.
How had the four of them not noticed the boy escape?!
The door had never opened so that only meant.. Shicmuon tracked his eyes to the wall of windows behind him. He stood up to get a better view, ignoring Kielnode’s incessant mumbling about Blow disappearing somewhere, and he noticed that in the bottom corner of the last window, the glass had been broken into. Why had they not heard the glass shatter before..? Hm interesting. “Looks like he escaped.” Lanoste mused as he stood as well, making his way to the broken window that his son was standing by. Ren ran over to the window too, dragging Kielnode along with her, and she pulled the curtains back all the way to get a better look outside. The kid couldn't have gotten too far in such a short time, so she scanned the yard for any signs of black. Her eyes widened in shock once she’s spotted her target. She extended a finger out to poke against the glass window, and the other three boys tracked where she was pointing to widen their eyes in a similar manner. Right there, in the middle of the grass, was Blow, rolling around in the grass.. like a puppy. “Kielnode.” Ren ticked in annoyance before grabbing the Master of Opion by the collar of his shirt. “Why the hell is he acting like that?!” “Ahah well um..” Kielnode looked sheepish under everyone’s harsh gaze. “You see- ack!” Ren hit him on the head. “...” What the hell.. Shicmuon thought as he stared down at the usually stoic and collected black magician acting so strange outside. Without hesitation, Shicmuon slipped through the broken window and activated his magic to get a closer look at the situation from up close. When Shicmuon landed safely on the ground outside, he had his sights set on the seemingly oblivious boy who was laying on his back in the grass and staring up at the clouds in the sky. “Oi, Blackie.” Shicmuon called and heard the black haired boy hum before lifting his head up curiously. Shicmuon felt his heart skip a beat when he made eye contact with him. Blow was grinning widely and his eyes sparkled as he sat up all the way before speaking. “Oh hey Shicmuon! What’s up? What are you doing out here? It’s so nice out right? I just had to come out here ‘cause the grass looked so pretty from up there! I was like- yep I’m gonna roll around right now in that grass and I don’t care what anyone else thinks! And look, I was right! Woah the grass is super soft! You’d think it’d be kind of uncomfortable.. but nope!” Blow rambled on energetically and started petting the grass with his hand as if to emphasize his point, and Shicmuon just stood there, eyes wide, completely taken aback by Blow’s complete 180 change in personality. For starters, Shicmuon had never ever seen Blow smile at him once in his whole life, and now here the boy was grinning so widely at him that it honestly looked like it hurt. Shicmuon felt his face heat up a bit at the situation, but quickly shook his head to focus. Another thing, Blow’s eyes were wide and literally sparkled as he talked excitedly about such mundane things like the grass, when usually his eyes were serious and narrow, not... playful. Not to mention he usually held a more collected composure and wasn’t anywhere near as talkative. It wasn’t that he was mute before, it was just that he wasn’t overly passionate about a lot of things and kept to himself, which Shicmuon could appreciate. But now, now he was like an energetic, overly-excited alien who’d never been to earth before and was intrigued by the littlest of things. It was entirely bizarre, yet Shicmuon couldn’t help but find the behavior enticing. The red head blinked as he watched the boy squat by a rose bush and point at all the different colors of the flowers while still rambling on, even though Shicmuon hadn’t heard a thing he’d said. He walked over to the strange boy and focused back in on what nonsense he was talking about so adamantly. “Ooh this one is really pretty. It’s red and, even though most people would say that’s just the basic version of the rose, I quite like red. It’s a nice color, don’t you think?” Blow turned to look at Shicmuon with a cheeky smile and Shicmuon touched his chest when he felt it flutter. Thankfully Blow didn’t seem to notice his inner turmoil, and turned back to start picking a few of the roses. “Ooh the white ones are nice too and these yellow ones! Purple is also a nice color!” Shicmuon just stared at him, unsure of what to do in the situation, and when Blow stood up, his arms full of flowers, he didn’t even jerk away when the boy started to place the flowers into any available opening in his clothes. He just stood there as pale fingers interlaced the different colored roses in his shirt, in his pockets, and on his coat until he was covered in the different plants. Blow stood back to admire his work with a smile, and he put a remaining red rose securely in his own pocket of his black shirt. Shicmuon finally found his voice. “Who are you?” He asked, abruptly since there was no way this guy was the black magician. Blow tilted his head to the side before giving him a strange look. “What do you mean? It’s me, Blow. Did you hit your head or something, silly?” Silly .. Did he just call him.. Silly? Shicmuon widened his eyes a bit when the black haired boy reached up to pat his head. “Blow!” Kielnode’s voice interrupted their strange display as the Master of Opion rushed out from the front door with Ren and Lanoste following behind him. Well it took them long enough.. Shicmuon thought as he just stood where he was and watched as Blow ran over to greet them. “Hello big brother!” Blow waved innocently and smiled at the man which caused Kielnode to immediately go into hysterics over how adorable Blow was. “Big broth- oh my gosh! He just called me big brother! That’s adorable~ Blow come here! You’re my precious little brother, aw yes give big brother a hug!” He started to squeeze the black haired boy who just complied to the bone gripping hug, laughing slightly at the affection. Shicmuon absentmindedly touched the spot on his head where Blow had just pat him, and Lanoste walked over to stand by him as they watched the odd brotherly display happening before them. “Ah, there you are Shicmuon- Oh, why are there flowers in your jacket? Did you fall in a bush or something?” Lanoste asked him curiously and Shicmuon answered blunty, not taking his eyes off of Blow. “No.” Lanoste gave him a strange look before waving his hand in the air. “Well that’s besides the point. Anyways, I need to talk to you. I’m sure you remember yesterday when you neglected your mission to do lord knows what with the black magician, so I had to handle it in your absence. It’s unlike you to skip out of your work like that, but regardless, I’m assigning you to this other mission that came up last night. It should be quite easy for you consideri-” “No.” Shicmuon cut the man off, finally tearing his eyes away from Blackie to address his father. “I’m not going to do some stupid mission right now. I’m staying with Blackie.” He stated as if it was obvious and glanced back over to see Kielnode pitching Blow’s cheeks annoyingly as Ren tried to get the Master of Opion to stop harassing the boy. Lanoste quirked his eyebrow before following his son’s eyeline as all of his son’s actions up until this point had become clear. “Hmm is that right?” He smirked knowingly, before gaining the red head’s attention who just shot the older man an annoyed look. “I do find it quite curious, though.” He continued. “Why you care for the black magician so much now, when before you used to say that you wanted to fight, and kill him one day.” Shicmuon narrowed his eyes at the man who paused before smirking even more. “What changed?” The question hung in the air and the shit eating grin on the older man’s face was pissing Shicmuon off. Plus, how could he ask him such a serious question like that right now? The younger boy scoffed in irritation. He didn’t need to explain shit to this guy, so what if he was his father. Shicmuon’s silence was enough of an answer for Lanoste as he laughed slightly which just annoyed Shicmuon even more. “If you already know the answer, then why did you ask?” He scowled before walking over to free Blow from Kielnode’s annoying grasp. The Association’s Chairman watched as Shicmuon pushed Kilenode away before pulling the black magician to his side protectively. He couldn’t help but smile as he was reminded of a similar situation between him and Ederia in the past. Well now, who would’ve thought that red would come to love black. “Alright Kielnode, enough fooling around. Explain yourself right now!” Ren nagged at the Master of Opion once they got back inside. It was only Kielnode, Ren, Shicmuon, and Blow now, as Lanoste had left saying he had something else that he had to take care of. Currently, the four of them were seated back in Kielnode’s office trying to figure out how that patch had caused Blow’s drastic personality change. Ren was silently giving the boy in question a check up, checking his pupils, reflexes, and head to make sure he really was okay. “Ah fine fine let me try to explain.” The blond man cleared his throat before reflecting back on last night. “Well, as I explained earlier, I remember finding this super ancient and archaic tome in the far back of the archives which seemed promising enough, and it was there that I found the info about the patch. Since it seemed like the only option at the time, I figured why not replicate it and try to see if this will fix Blow’s awakening. Anyways, I never had the chance to tell you all waht the potential side effects would be hah. In all honesty, the book was pretty vague about it so I didn’t feel like it would be much of an issue..” “So you knew that something like this could happen?” Ren accused, giving him a look like he was insane, and she stopped examining Blow. Kielnode rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Well.. maybe.. But look how adorable Blow is! I mean, he was adorable before, but come on this is a great side effect!” Ren hit him with a pillow. “Hey, I’m still your boss!” “Sure doesn’t feel like it..” Ren mumbled and crossed her legs in her seat. “Okay well is this the only side effect then?” Shicmuon perked up at this, and turned his attention from the black haired boy who was fiddling with the fabric on his shirt next to him to listen in. “Now that you mention it, no there were a few more..” “Well bring out the damn book then and show us then.” Shicmuon cut in and Kielnode narrowed his eyes at the magician before standing to retrieve the book anyway. He went over to his desk and rummaged around a bit until his hands landed on what he was looking for. “Ehh.. surely this can’t be it..?” Kielnode mumbled to himself as he glanced down at the only book within in desk. “Oi, what’s the problem?” Shicmuon called over and Kielnode sweatdropped as he held the book behind his back nervously. “Ah actually I couldn’t find it. Haha silly me, I must’ve left it in the other room.” Kielnode lied and Shicmuon saw right though it. “Then what’s that behind your back?” He questioned, causing the Master of Opion to stop in his tracks as he’d sneakily been trying to make it towards the door, and he accidently dropped the book on the ground with a small thud. Blow was suddenly intrigued and he stopped messing with his shirt to dash across the floor and grab the book before Kielnode could pick it back up again. “What the heck is this?” The black magician questioned as he held the pastel blue book out for everyone to see. The book was nothing like how the Master of Opion had described it, and instead of being dusty and archaic, it was about the size of a brick and covered in pastel colors and designs. It looked like some weird children’s book and Blow just couldn’t make any sense of it. Kielnode, on the other hand, looked betrayed at Blow for exposing him like that, but quickly grabbed the book from the boy and stuttered to defend himself. “Well it does look a bit.. different than I remember hah… um but..” He flipped through the pages quickly and made a strangled noise when he realized this was the book after all, since the information on the patch was written neatly inside. Was he really that sleep-deprived last night that he’d mistook this comically magical looking book for something more..? He felt a bit embarrassed but straightened up as if he’d known this all along. “You idiot..” Shicmuon mumbled and Ren stood up to grab the book from the blond who sat back down, bringing Blow along with him. “So it says here in this.. ‘book’, that the side effects of the patch could include: behavioral and personality changes of the occupant, lack of occupant expressing/feeling embarrassment, mood swings, dizziness, and something else that I can’t even read..” Ren finished with a sigh and everyone stared at Blow, expecting something to happen all of sudden. The black haired boy blinked at the sudden attention, before giggling innocently. This caused Kielnode to spring from his seat next to him to gush over the younger boy once again as he hugged him tightly. “Blow~~you’re too cute! Hehehe hug your big brother now awww that's it!” He cooed and Shicmuon rose a brow at the pair when Blow’s aura suddenly shifted and he slammed a fist against Kielnode’s face, to escape his tight hold on him. Shicmuon widened his eyes and blinked when Blow returned to his bubbly personality a few seconds later and smiled as if he hadn’t just punched the Master of Opion to the floor. Oh yes, he certainly was intriguing. Shicmuon took this moment to grab Blow by the arm to pull him back to his side and smirked at the Master of Opion’s crumpled form on the floor. Ren also spared a fleeting look at the sorry sight before her and placed the book down with a sigh. “Well, since the patch is already on, there’s nothing else that can be done. Someone should just keep an eye on him for today since it’s only supposed to last 24 hours.” “I’ll-” “I’ll watch him.” Shicmuon cut off the blond man who was now kneeling on the floor, and the red head swiftly took Blow’s hand and smirked when the Master of Opion pretended like he’d just been shot at the mere action alone. “That works.” Ren agreed before going over to help her over exaggerating boss up off the ground. “I’m hungry Shicmuon, let’s go get food.~” Blow spoke up excitedly and Shicmuon nodded before leading the boy out the door, ignoring Kielnode’s cries for Blow to come back to him. This should be fun. Shicmuon thought with a devious look in his eye as he pulled the bouncing magician along towards the dining hall. Since Shicmuon had never actually been to the Opion dining hall before, he reluctantly let Blow lead the way as he jumped along through the halls like an energetic 6 year old until they made it to a pair of double doors. Shicmuon could already smell food wafting in from the crack at the bottom of the doors, and Blow smiled excitedly as they went inside. “Mm it smells good right! What do you think you’re gonna order? Everything looks super good~ woah can you smell that?” Blow rambled and Shicmuon once again had a hard time focusing on what the kid was saying as he suddenly became very aware of the fact that Blow’s hand was interlocked with his. Somehow he’d gone from dragging the boy by his arm to having their hands interlocked like this and the intimate physical contact in the such a public area was all Shicmuon could think about. When he noticed another person walk over to stand in line behind them, Shicmuon immediately removed his hand from Blow’s. “Um yeah just order whatever the hell you want..” Shicmuon blurted out and looked away, feigning annoyance. Blow gave the red head a strange look before shrugging and pouted when he noticed that his hand felt colder. “Fine. I’ll order one of everything.” Shicmuon had his arms crossed and continued to look away, choosing to stare at the many tables and chairs that were scattered across the open room instead. Thankfully it wasn't too crowded, so they'd be able to find an empty table just fine. Though, Shicmuon couldn't help but notice all the attention Blow was getting from these random Opion people. Whether it be people gossiping and pointing at him from across the room, or people nervously waving to him before scurrying off, or even the brave few with stars in their eyes as they called Blow’s name and threw praises his way. What a bunch of kissasses.. Shicmuon thought bitterly as he tried to ignore them and glared if they got too close. When it was finally their turn to order, the man behind the counter looked star struck to see the black magician that before Blow could even order, the man insisted that he try everything on the menu, free of charge. “Oh wow really! Thank you mister!” Blow smiled excitedly, as if he wasn’t already planning on ordering one of everything anyway, and went over to grab some napkins and utensils while they waiting for their food to be ready. Shicmuon sighed, there was no way they’d be able to eat all that food and when Blow reached over to grab his hand to drag him along to a table, Shicmuon instantly pulled back as if Blow’s hand had burned him. Blow gave him a curious look at the over reaction, and was that a flash of hurt in his eyes too? But when Shicmuon blinked, Blow was already walking off to an empty table. The spot he chose was a long wooden table that could seat up to twenty people, and given all the food that was about to come their way, it was probably a good call to have such a long surface area for everything. Blow sat down across from him and made himself busy setting up the napkins utensils on the table. Shicmuon oddly felt like he needed to apologize to the black haired boy for his harsh reaction to him holding his hand earlier, which was odd in of itself since he was never the type of person to apologize. But before he even had the chance though, an annoyingly familiar voice yelled from across the cafeteria. “Blow!” Shicmuon turned his head at the call before rolling his eyes. Oh great some more fans of the black magician.. “Oh hey guys over here!” Blow waved excitedly and when a group of 6 people showed up at their table, they all seemed to have weird expressions on their faces as Blow smiled brightly at them, not seeing the issue. “What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you guys be at school! Tsk tsk if you want to be strong magicians you have to learn and study hard!” The students gaped at him with wide eyes and Shicmuon just sat back and smirked at their stupid expressions. “Um B-Blow? Are you feeling okay?” Dio asked and Blow just laughed slightly like Dio was the crazy one. “Haha yeah I feel great, are you feeling okay, Dio?” “Um y-yeah I’m fine.” Dio shook his head at the strange encounter before turning back to the other Helios students who had equal looks of confusion on their faces. “Uh guys why the hell is Blow acting like that?” Dio whisper yelled to the group. If his back was turned, that meant Blow couldn't hear them talking about him. Made sense. “I don't know, but it’s kind of weirding me out..” Chevel mumbled as he spared a glance at the usually emotionless black haired boy as he starting taking out the flowers used as the table’s centerpiece and bunched them together in his hand. Lidusis blinked at the odd behavior before turning to the red haired magician for answers. “Umm Shicmuon-nim?” He called softly and the red head turned slightly to glare at him. “What is it? And who the hell are you people?” Shicmuon growled and turned his head back when Blow reached across the table trying to add more flowers to his clothing. Shicmuon smirked. “...are you joking?” One of the brats with long white hair asked and Shicmuon didn’t even turn his head to snap back. “Does it look like I’m fucking joking? Now who the hell are you people? If you’re fans of the black magician, then go away because he’s clearly busy right now.” “What?! You literally met us all yesterday!” Chevel blurted out and Shicmuon pretended to think about it for a second before glaring at them. “Hmm.. no I don't know you trash.” Blow, who had finished decorating Shicmuon, decided to cut in. “Oh come on, guys don't fight. Look at these flowers instead! Doesn't this look nice!~” He grinned and pointed at his messy creation of roses and daisies that covered Shicmuon’s clothing. “Ah, black magician-nim..” Linus spoke up suddenly and Blow hummed. “Hmm yeah what’s up?” He asked, seemingly oblivious to the group still shocked expressions. “Ah it’s.. it's nothing never mind.” God their faces were so annoying that Shicmuon almost blurted out ‘Oi, so what if he’s acting a bit differently than normal? Get the hell over it and go away.’ But he held his tongue when Blow kindly offered for the group to sit down and eat with them. “Hello Blow. How are you?” Lidusis asked softly as he took a seat and Blow perked up. Even though Rood was acting weird, he was still the same Rood that they knew so he just had to act like all of this was normal. Lidusis' thought with a small smile. “Hello and I’m doing great! Shic and I just ordered a bunch of food.~” He grinned and Shicmuon couldnt help but feel annoyed that Blow was smiling so fondly at these weaklings as they all proceeded to sit down at their table. Shicmuon glared when a blond haired boy tried to sit right next to him before he forced him to scoot away a few spaces. He needed his personal space dammit, plus he didn't want these people to think he was their friend or something. So no, they couldn't sit right next to him. Shicmuon would actually prefer it if these people would sit at a completely different table all together, maybe even in a different room, in a different country, on a different planet. That’d be much better, in his humble opinion. Thankfully the food arrived soon after, so Shicmuon didn’t have to listen to their annoying comments any longer. Blow widened his eyes in excitement as trays and trays of food were brought to their table, each one smelling better than the one before it. There were pastries and breakfast dishes, beverages, soups, breads, pastas, dumplings, cheeses, fruits, you name it and it was there. It was like a bakery and restaurant just dumped out one of everything onto their table, and though it looked a bit overwhelming to say the least, Blow was excited to dig in. “Please, enjoy your meal black magician-nim.” The personal chef bowed at the boy who grinned widely at the man and gave him a thumbs up. “Thanks again! We will!” He beamed, and Shicmuon found he couldn't take his eyes off of the radiant boy. He was just.. so intriguing. Blow motioned for the Helios students to help themselves as he reached out to grab some soup from the plethora of dishes. Shicmuon didn’t move and just watched as hesitant hands reached out to grab different food items. The soup smelled delicious and Blow picked up his spoon to taste it. He blew on it slightly, and as he was bringing it up to his mouth, he felt his stomach flip in protest and he quickly set the spoon back into the bowl. He tried to play it off like nothing when he caught Shicmuon staring at him, and he offered the boy a small smile. The red head quirked a brow, but didn't get a chance to comment on the black magician's odd behavior when one of the Helios students pulled Blow’s attention away. “Hey Blow-nim?” It was Linus’s voice and the black magician looked over excitedly. “Yes, Linus?” “Ah, it’s just.. you know you’re acting super weird right now. It’s strange.. but not bad.. just unusual hah. You know that right?” Blow watched him with wide eyes that softened quickly as he hummed, contemplating the question. “Hmm am I? I’m sorry.” He said sheepishly and Shicmuon sent a glare to the purple haired boy across the table. “Way to go about that the least subtle way possible, idiot.” Chevel barked from the other side of the table and Linus gaped, feeling embarrassed as he tried to correct himself. Lidusis’ soft voice snuck its way in before he could though, as he stared straight at Blow. “You don’t have to apologize, Blow.” He said, sweetly and Blow smiled at the gray haired boy. Shicmuon clenched his fist in annoyance and the plastic knife he was using to spread cream cheese on a bagel snapped in half. Iel glanced at the red head with a strange look. “Ack! No I-I’m sorry black magician-nim! Was that too harsh? I-I swear it's not a bad thing, it’s just a bit hard to get used to, you know hah? Since you're usually more um.. how do I say this-.” Lapis laughed a bit forcefully as he cupped his hand against the Hereis’ mouth to stop him from finishing his sentence. And Blow just waved his hand in the air and laughed softly as he reassured them that they hadn’t offended him. The kid was practically bouncing in his seat as he watched his friends eat, occasionally talking amongst them when they commented on how good a certain food was. Instead of trying it, Blow would look at it for a second before moving on. Shicmuon, of course, picked up on this strange behavior. “This muffin is really good!” Lapis commented, taking a bite of its fluffy top. “Opion sure does have some good f-“ “Oi, Blackie.” Shicmuon cut the annoying blond haired boy off and turned so he was only facing the black magician next to him, who had turned his head at the call. “Oi, Shic.” He mimicked, which made the red head's heart skip again as he looked at him. The boy had a cute fake grumpy expression on his face that was supposed to resemble his own, and Shicmuon almost forgot what he was going to say all of a sudden. “Aren’t you going to eat something? You were so excited about the food just a minute ago, so why the hell aren't you eating anything?” “Ahh about that.. I’m just not that hungry.” He smiled reassuringly, but Shicmuon wasn’t a fool. There had to be another reason. “Ok then.. I’ll just eat everything then and you can’t do anything about it.” He turned and grabbed whatever he could from the pile and the black magician watched curiously as he started eating. “That’s okay! I’m happy to watch you eat, Shic.” He watched excitedly as the red head ate, and Shicmuon wondered why he found this so entertaining. Occasionally the black haired boy would choose something for the red head to eat that he thought looked good, and he would eagerly await Shicmuon's reaction on whether it was good or not. “Eh it's okay.” “Ah really? Just okay.. hmm well what about this?” “Ugh I don't know, it tastes like a waffle.. What more do you want from me? Eat it yourself if you're so damn curious.” Blow gave the redhead a look before sticking his tongue out and turned to join the conversation happening across the table. Geez he’s fucking weird.. Shicmuon grumbled, finishing off the last of the waffle so at least they weren’t wasting all this food. “Ahh um.. Shicmuon-nim.” A voice spoke next to him and Shicmuon sighed in annoyance as he glanced over to see a blond kid staring at him. “What is it?” “Well.. um it’s just.. I’ve been meaning to ask you this.” The kid paused, feeling nervous under the red head’s intense glare. Geez was this kid about to confess to him or some shit? And why the hell do all these Helios kids take so damn long to say stuff.. it’s annoying. “I just wanted to ask you um… could you.. please train me!?” Shicmuon stared at the kid with an uninterested look. “And who the hell are you again?” The kid seemed taken aback and stuttered a bit. “Wha- we just went over this! We met yesterday at Helios! I'm Lapis.” Shicmuon just scoffed and turned away to look back over to see what Blow was up to. "Practically training is coming up." A white haired girl was saying which made Dio groan as he took a bite of an apple. "Ah don't remind me.. I'm totally not looking forward to that." "Oi stop complaining over there." Chevel grunted at the Idun and Blow interjected, hoping to diffuse the tension. "Oh come on Dio, don't be like that. It'll be fun, trust me!" Blow reassured him and the blue haired boy instantly perked up. "You know, you're probably right, Blow! It will be fun." He agreed and Blow sent him a thumbs up for the positive attitude. Shicmuon looked away. Frankly, he didn't know what the guy saw in these Helios kids. They were all weak and annoying, yet Blow seemed to love talking to them and calling them his friends. Shicmuon didn't know why it annoyed him so much just seeing them talk and laugh with the black haired magician, but it did. That’s it. Shicmuon wasn't just gonna sit here and let them take Blow away from him. Nope. Not happening. Shicmuon stood up suddenly, alerting a few people at the table to look up, as the red haired boy swiftly grabbed a hold of Blow’s arm and pulled him out of his chair. “We’re leaving.” He stated and Blow looked confused for a minute before he smiled and shrugged back towards his friends. “Oh okay! I guess we’re going now. Bye guys, see you soon!” He waved as Shicmuon dragged him away towards the double doors. Dio, who wasn't about to let the [king] out of his sight again, stood up in protest. “W-wait! You can’t just drag Blow aw-“ but the doors to the cafeteria had already slammed shut, as Shicmuon left with the black magician. Dio fumed slightly and clenched his fist at his side, feeling the sudden urge to attack that arrogant red head, but Iel’s hand pulled him back to sit down. “Hey fire breath, calm down will ya? It’s not worth it, plus you know you can’t win in a fight against that guy..” Dio pouted. Even though it was true, he still didn’t want to let Blow out of his sight. Dammit.. He couldn’t let the [king] slip from his fingers again. He just needed to remember everything already.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
part five
Once they were back out into the hallway, Shicmuon lead him to a corridor that was free of any passerbyers, before he spun Blow around to face him with his hands on his shoulders.
“You. Be honest with me.”
Blow cocked his head in confusion. “Yeah, of course. What’s up?”
“I don't know, you tell me.” Shicmuon grumbled and he lifted the back of his hand up to touch it against the black haired boy’s forehead. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” His head was a little warm, but nothing too concerning.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Blow answered as if it was obvious, and he lightly swatted Shicmuon’s hand away before taking a step back.
“You need to tell me if that patch is affecting you a certain way, okay?”
Blow instinctively reached upwards to touch the spot on his cheek where the patch had clung to his skin and he shuffled his feet before looking away.
“Blackie.”
“Ah ok fine I’ll tell you..” Blow blushed slightly and shoved Shicmuon with his hand playfully to make him stop staring at him with such an intense look. Blow sighed when he realized Shicmuon was expecting an answer now.
“Ughh.” He groaned feeling like he’d done something wrong for some reason, and he stared back into Shicmuon’s piercing eyes. “I was hungry at first but when all the food came and I tried to eat something, my stomach flipped and I just couldn't.” He fumbled with his fingers nervously and bit his lip before continuing. “I don't know I just felt bad okay, so I didn’t want to eat anything.. it’s not a big deal.”
Shicmuon was staring at him with a weird look and Blow sighed before grabbing his hand and changing the subject. “Come on! Let’s go for a walk! It’s so nice out, so it’ll be fun.”
Shicmuon hesitated for a second before letting the black magician drag him along until they got outside. He was right, it was sunny out and the wind blew softly through the trees. Shicmuon instantly pulled his hand away from Blow’s when a few Opion people walked by. Blow pouted and shoved his hand in his pocket as he skipped ahead.
Back in the Cafeteria,
Dio stood up from the table suddenly, eyes fixed on the spot where Blow and Shicmuon had just exited from, and Lidusis glanced up at him as the boy started to walk away from the table.
“Dio?” Lidusis questioned, grabbing his wrist before he could run off.
Dio had a strange look in his eyes which made he look uncharacteristically serious, but when he turned to face the gray haired boy, his eyes softened and he had his usual goofy smile on his face. “Oh Lidusis, hey! I just.. gotta go to the bathroom real quick haha~ I guess I drank too much orange juice! ...Don’t worry, I’ll be right back!” He winked and shrugged his arm out of Lidusis’ grasp before making his way towards the door.
Lidusis blinked as he watched the boy walk away.
Outside of Opion, there was a path of cherry blossom trees that lined the ground ahead, and Blow jogged over to gaze at them in amazement. He stopped in front of one of the trees to watch the pink petals dance through the wind.
Shicmuon didn't know what was so amusing about petals, and he stopped behind the black haired boy who was trying to catch a few of them in his hands as they fell from the sky.
“It’s so pretty~” Blow hummed, and he grinned when he successfully caught a handful of petals which he shoved in the red head’s face to look at, since he wasn’t paying attention.
“Yeah sure. Whatever.” Shicmuon grunted, clearly uninterested, and Blow decided to throw the petals in Shicmuon’s face for being so grumpy.
“Hey! What the hell.” Shicmuon hissed, patting his head to shake the annoying petals from his hair. He already had enough flowers in his clothes thanks to this guy, he didn't need more shit in his hair now.
Blow pouted and turned around. He chose to walk ahead down the path instead.
Geez what’s his deal?
Shicmuon thought after he’d gotten all the petals off of him, before he walked over to catch up to the boy.
When they were walking side by side, Shicmuon glanced over at the black magician who hadn’t even acknowledged his presence. Instead, he looked contemplative as he stared ahead down the path before them.
“Oi, don’t throw shit in my hair.” Shicmuon argued, but Blow seemed to be ignoring him. For some reason this pissed Shicmuon off. What the hell.. one second he was skipping and smiling, and the next he was flat out ignoring him?
“Hey don’t fucking ignore me.” Shicmuon protested, expecting some type of reaction out of the boy, but got nothing.
Shicmuon scoffed. This whole situation was stupid. “Fine. Don’t talk to me,” he looked away in annoyance and crossed his arms. “I don't care. It’s honesty better since I don’t have to hear your annoying voice.”
Blow continued to stare ahead and Shicmuon hated it. This guy was ignoring him and it was pissing him off to no end. He wasn’t sure why it annoyed him so much, but dammit he hated this feeling. Like Blow was mad at him or something.. Then again, it could just be that freaky patch thing that was making him act so bipolar. Still, Shicmuon glared straight ahead. He might as well try and enjoy this silence, even if it was a bit awkward now.
The boys had walked a good distance from Opion now, and the once prominent cherry blossom trees that had lined the path were now sparse. Instead, there was an open field of grass a few yards away from the upcoming town.
Shicmuon sighed, trying to at least enjoy the peace and quiet, but was taken aback a bit when Blackie stopped walking out of nowhere.
“..?” Shicmuon turned around, about to ask what was up, when out of nowhere, the guy tackled him to the ground and they rolled down into the field of grass below.
“Oi! What the-“ Shicmuon barked out, but was cut off.
“Let’s fight.” Blow was serious as he sat on top of Shicmuon, pinning the red head’s arms above his head and into the grass.
Shicmuon widened his eyes at the magician. “What? Fight? What the hell, no. We’re not gonna fight each other.”
“Why not hmm? You always say you want to fight me, Shic, so go ahead. I’m giving you the chance.”
“Jesus- no! I already told you I’m not gonna fucking fight you right now so stop.”
Blow narrowed his eyes at him and they shimmered their usual, vibrant electric blue. He was straddling the other boy, and Shicmuon was laying on his back staring up at him. The sunlight was shining behind his head, making him look like he was glowing and Shicmuon blinked, unable to move. He just stared into the deep depth of those blue eyes and in an instant, his seriousness disappeared. Blow sighed and laughed a bit into the air. Shicmuon felt his body shake from the movement, as the boy was still on top of him.
Maybe Blow should've thought more before tackling Shicmuon like that, because all that movement and tumbling from before made Blow feel a bit dizzy, and he steadied himself with his hand to get his bearings once again. He slowly climbed off of his position on top of Shicmuon so his head would stop spinning. He couldn't pass out right now..
Noticing this, Shicmuon furrowed his brow. “Oi Blackie-“
Blow was laying down in the grass next to him now, and a pale hand silenced him when the black magician reached over to pat his head. Shicmuon blinked and stiffened a bit from the touch, but relaxed as Blow continued to pat his hair soothingly. Oddly enough, Shicmuon didn't mind the touch this time.
Still, Shicmuon eyed the other boy curiously, wanting to ask him if he was okay again, but Blow waved it off as nothing.
It was silent for a while, just the soft hum of the wind through the grass and the chirping of birds above.
Shicmuon couldn't take his eyes off of the other boy as the wind blew slightly through his black hair and the sunlight sparkled against his skin.
“Hey Shic?" Blow's velvety soft voice filled the air. "We're friends, right?”
“..What?” Shicmuon blurted out, confused at the sudden serious shift in topic, and he noticed the boy had a hand over his eyes in order to block out the sunlight as he stared ahead.
“Oh come on, don’t be like that.” Blow continued, voice playful. “Seriously, we’re friends, don't you think so?”
“..No. We’re not fucking friends.” Shicmuon denied instantly and Blow couldn’t help but smirk at how fast the other boy had rejected the statement.
“Ok.. then if we’re not friends, then what are we?” He turned and quirked a brow at the other boy, blue eyes sharp. “You know you can’t deny it, Shic.” He smiled innocently. “No matter how hard you try to pretend.." that you don’t feel something "..I know you can’t keep it up forever. Would someone who really hates me and wishes me dead, be spending all his time with me?” He finished with a cheekily look on his face, and Shicmuon couldn’t find it in him to glare at the boy. Instead, he looked away to think.
Feelings
.. he didn’t understand his damn feelings, alright! And it also didn't help that this guy was acting like he had him all figured out. Even if what he had said was true… ugh, Shicmuon groaned.
“You think you're so damn smart don’t you, Blackie?”
“Smart? Perhaps. Or just right.” Blow laughed and he tilted his head back into the grass so that he was viewing the world upside down. He watched as a person walked by and once he passed, he saw something that caught his eye.
He sat up quickly and stood up before jogging over towards a post.
“Hey where are you-“
“Shic, look what I found!” Blow cut him off and skipped back over with a paper clutched in his hands and his eyes sparkled as he held the parchment out for the other to see.
“Eh what am I looking at?”
“Can’t you read, dummy! It’s a flyer for the circus! There’s a circus in town this afternoon!”
“..What the hell is a circus?”
Blow deadpanned and he shoved the flyer in the other guy’s face as if that would answer his question. It didn't, though, so Blow explained.
“The circus, Shicmuon, is this super cool place inside a huge tent and there are people who put on shows like with clowns and acrobats and stuff! I’ve never actually been to one before.. but I heard that they’re fun!”
“What- then why are you so excited if you’ve never been to one either?”
“Duh! Because we finally have the chance to go today- right now!”
Shicmuon blinked, still not following.
Blow pulled at the boy to stand up. “Come on let’s go to the circus! It’s in town right freaking now and it starts soon, according to this paper, so let’s go see it!” His eyes were still sparkling with excitement and Shicmuon just sighed. He still didn't know what was so special about this ‘circus’ place, but once again, he found himself unable to say no to the other boy.
Blow was staring at him with wide eyes, still awaiting an answer, and Shicmuon caved. “Fine, fine. We’ll go to the stupid circus.”
“Yay!” Blow cheered and he grabbed Shicmuon’s arm to speed walk them towards the town.
Damn..
Shicmuon really did like this idiot.
Meanwhile,
On a rooftop of one of the shops in town, sat three demons as they remained out of sight and surveyed the area below them.
“...Oh! There he is!” Gamode whisper-yelled and pointed at the black haired magician who had just appeared and was walking through the town below.
“Ugh but he’s with another person..” Elzeble added and Rubymonter hushed them both to keep their voices down as she watched, looking puzzled.
“Why isn’t he the [king]? Did it not work?” Rubymonter turned away, sporting a contemplative look as she tried to figure out how their plan to awaken the [king]’s memories had failed.
“Yeah what the hell, he’s not acting like the [king] at all..”
“Dammit, Diorook!” Rubymonter grumbled as she paced up and down the rooftop. “Where is he anyways?”
“He should be here soon. I can sense he’s close by.”
“Well he better hurry because he’s got a lot of explaining to do.” Rubymonter huffed and sat down against an exposed air vent.
Elzeble and Gamode kept surveillance over Blow from above, just in case he really was the [king] and was just pretending to still be the human, and also to make sure he didn't run off somewhere.
When Diorook finally arrived to the rooftop, Rubymonter didn’t waste any time in berating him with questions as she stood up and practically dragged the blue haired demon up the rest of the ladder.
“You!” She pointed a finger accusingly at him.
“Me?” Diorook blinked, confused at the hostility, and he ducked his head quickly when he say Rubymonter reach to hit him on the head. “Hey hey, stop that!”
“You idiot. Explain everything right now!” Rubymonter demanded. “Why didn’t it work? From what I can see, it doesnt like like he’s awakened any of the [king]’s memories at all, so what the hell happened? Weren’t you supposed to be watching him? You practically begged me to let you go, yet you’re standing here with me instead of down there! How did the plan fail?”
Dio shied away at the sudden onslaught, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly where Ruby had hit him. “I tried, honest!” He sputtered out, “but, I couldn't get close to him because that Shicmuon guy wouldn’t let me!” Dio glared just thinking about that guy, and Rubymonter sighed in annoyance and rubbed at her temples.
“That still doesn't explain why he isn’t the [king] yet..! Plus you should've tried harder. Seriously,” Ruby glanced over the edge of the roof as she spotted the two boys walking around. “That red haired guy doesn't look all that threatening to me. You should've just forced him away. Did you forget that you’re a demon and he’s just a weak human?”
“R-Ruby! You don’t understand! Come on, if you just met that guy, you’d see the dilemma I’m in. He’s a total ass, plus, he’s a magician which makes him one of the stronger humans.” Dio pouted and crossed his arms before glancing to the other demons on the roof for some kind of support. “Come on Elzeble, Gamode, back me up!”
“Oh hell no.” Elzeble spoke up as he walked away from the ledge. “You’re not dragging me into this.”
“Ditto.” Gamode commented and Dio couldn’t help but feel betrayed at his fellow demons. He glared at them but couldn’t suppress a shiver when he looked back to see a maniacal look in Rubymonter’s eye.
“Well, we know the original plan fucked up somehow." She glared at Dio. "But, since the black magician is here right before us, we can simply just try again. So, everyone get over here and huddle up. We’re going to need to think of a new plan.”
The demons formed a circle on top of the roof as they went over what to do.
“Any ideas?” Rubymonter offered and Gamode’s hand rose slightly and she nodded for him to speak.
“Okay, why don't we just gamble it and take the shot from up here? I mean, we can clearly see our target from this vantage point, so let’s just shoot and force it out a bit more. That’ll surely jumpstart the [king]’s memories.”
Ruby contemplated for a minute before she shook her head. “No no that wouldn’t work..” She sighed before elaborating. “We just can't risk it. As much as I wouldn't care if anything happened to these humans, it's just that that other magician is with him which makes this so difficult.”
Hmm.. maybe they could work around that detail.
Rubymonter leveled a look at each of the boys to make sure they were paying attention, before she continued. “Ok, so here's the plan I thought of. Diorook, you turn into your dragon form and start a fire somewhere close by in the town. This will cause a panic, and chaos in the area will spread. Then, I’ll catch a ride on Elzeble so he can take me as close to our target as possible without being seen. From there, on the ground I'll take the shot.” She reached her hand into her pocket to finger the object nervously.
“What about me, Rubymonter?” Gamode asked, and she nodded in recognition.
“Gamode.. you can just be on look out, or try and distract that other magician guy so he doesn’t get in the way.”
“W-what!” Gamode sputtered, looking anxiously at Ruby. “You really think that I can distract him?”
“Yes, it’s simple.” Elzeble answered instead, before sticking his tongue out at the other demon. “Just use that ugly fish face of yours.“
“Hey! I told you not to call me a fish!” He argued, but Elzeble just pretended he hadn’t been listening which pissed Gamode off. Before a useless fight could break out, Ruby stopped them.
“Oi idiots, shut up and drop it already. We have more shit to worry about right now..” She exhaled before addressing the whole group once again. “So, does everyone understand the plan then?”
They spared a few glances amongst one another, before all the demons nodded and pulled away from the huddle.
“Alright good. Let’s get- oh no.”
“What? What is it?” Dio asked and turned back around towards the edge of the roof.
“He's gone..”
The town was bustling with activity and people were out and about as Blow and Shicmuon maneuvered their way through the crowd. Shicmuon had never spent a lot of time walking around this town before, he was usually just passing through, so he let Blow lead the way as usual, since he at least seemed to know where he was going.
The black magician was gripping the flyer in one hand, and Shicmuon in the other as he pulled the boy along, doing his best not to get lost in the sea of people. He widened his eyes in amazement as he looked around the town. There were various different, and equally intriguing, shops that lined the street, and Blow felt his stomach grumble slightly when he passed a food stand. He forgot he hadn’t really eaten anything yet today, so he was practically starving now.
He stopped in his tracks beside a stand of fresh pastries, and Shicmuon quirked a brow before following the other boy’s eye-line.
“..Do you want one?” Shicmuon asked, a bit reluctantly, but Blow turned to him and nodded quickly, eyes shimmering. The red head smirked at the sight. “Ok, pick whichever one you want.”
“Woah really!~ Thank you, Shic!” Blow jumped in place excitely as he perused the different options. There were rows of baked breads, cookies, cakes, rolls, sweet buns, and tarts spread out for him to choose from, and Blow grinned when he found the perfect one.
“I want this!” He pulled Shicmuon over to see what he was pointing at and Shicmuon nodded.
“Okay sure.” He directed his attention to the man behind the counter, who had been patiently waiting when he’d seen they walk up. “We’ll take one cherry tart.” He stated and fumbled in his pocket to get his change. The man moved to hand the pastry to him, and when Shicmuon paid the man, he sputtered out ‘thank yous’ since he'd overpaid.
“Here.” Shicmuon shoved the pastry in the black haired boy’s face, and Blow grinned as he accepted the tart gratefully. “You better eat it this time.”
Blow pouted at the comment for a second before focusing back on the treat held securely in both of his hands, and he grinned once again.
“I will, I promise.” He said before saluting Shicmuon. “And.. thank you for buying this for me, Shic! It looks super good~”
Shicmuon shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling nervous all of sudden at the sincerity in Blow’s words and the loveable look on his face. He felt his face heat up slightly and he feigned annoyance and looked away. “Whatever, it’s just food. Stop making a big deal of it.”
Blow didn’t take his temper to heart, and he smiled before taking a bite of the tart. His eyes widened at the flavor and he went in for another bite soon after. He was glad he was able to eat again. The outside of the pastry was breaded and crispy, but inside, there was a sweet, cherry filling that made him bounce with energy.
“Wow, Shic~ you need to try this!” He shoved the tart in front of the unsuspecting boy’s face, who backed away a bit before staring at the pastry in confusion.
“What- why?”
Blow looked at him like he was an idiot. “Duh! Because it tastes good and I want you to taste it too!” He nudged the tart a bit closer to the other boy’s mouth as if he was trying to feed it to him, and Shicmuon sighed before grabbing the tart himself.
“Fine, I’ll try it.”
Blow bounced up and down as he patiently awaited Shicmuon’s opinion.
After the red head took a bite of the gooey treat, he contemplated the flavor, finding he did in fact enjoy it, and he handed it back to the other boy, who was staring at him expectantly.
“It’s good.” Was all Shicmuon said, and that was enough for Blow, as he grinned and held the tart close.
“I’m glad.” He hummed and took another bite before pulling Shicmuon along to follow him around once again. Since his hands were now full, Shicmuon was in charge of holding the circus flyer, and he reminded the black magician of the circus’ location before they were off once again through the crowd.
After a while of walking, Blow stopped in front of a large, red and white striped circus tent that looked to be at least 40 feet tall. Positioned outside of the large tent, there was a woman behind a glass counter selling tickets for admission inside. There was also a clown skipping around the venue and handing out flyers, urging passerbyers to, ‘come and see the spectacular, once in a lifetime, gravity-defying, circus today!’
Shicmuon made a mental note to do his best to avoid any clowns, because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to restrain himself from punching their annoying painted faces if one got too close.
Blow lead him over to the ticket stand, and Shicmipn glanced up at the prices before sighing. Whatever. The price wasn’t too bad, and he’d already agreed to all of this, so what did it matter anyways. He could always just steal some more cash from Lanoste later if he really needed to. And he doubted that man would care or even notice if some of his money was missing.
“Excuse me.” Blow smiled softly to the woman behind the desk who turned her head to show she was listening. “Ah, two tickets please!” He held up his fingers in a peace sign and the woman nodded as she ripped two new tickets from the chain and handed them to the boys.
Shicmuon handed her the money and Blow watched in amazement.
Shicmuon was the best at paying for stuff!
“Enjoy the show.” The woman behind the counter bowed slightly at them before gesturing towards the tent for them to enter. Blow nodded frantically and he pulled Shicmuon into the tent, still very excited by this whole new situation.
Shicmuon just went along with it and ducked under the open fabric, letting the red and white striped material fall back behind him as they were out of sight.
Once inside, Blow was in awe at how spacious the tent was. It looked way bigger on the inside than on the outside, and Blow wondered how that was even possible! The ceilings were high, and even though there were a lot of people running around trying to find seats for the show, it didn’t feel claustrophobic at all.
Shicmuon, on the other hand, found this whole tent thing to be rather weird. I mean, why not have this circus thing in a regular building? Why a piece of fabric of all things? Wouldn’t it catch on fire easily? Whatever.
Shicmuon shook his head as Blow skipped ahead towards the main part of the tent, where all the action was to take place. The venue was large and the seating was arranged in a circle of bleachers. At the center of the circle, was the stage where Shicmuon had to imagine was where the perform would be taking place.
They duo had managed to score some seats, roughly in the middle of the audience, and Shicmuon still wasn’t sure what to expect for this show. At least, if this tent was crowded, then that had to be a good sign, since that meant this show wasn’t complete shit since people had actually bought tickets for it…
Shicmuon glanced down at the flyer that he was still holding to see if it would provide him with any more information of what to expect for the show, since Blackie sure didn’t give him enough earlier, but found it to be pretty unhelpful. Before he could dwell on it for too long, the lights flashed in the arena and Shicmuon tensed, thinking that something was wrong, but then a voice boomed across the arena.
“Welcome, one and all, to the Medavichi Travelling Circus!” the voice echoed across the tent and even Blow seemed to be confused as to where the voice was coming from. “Now, put your mind at ease as you enjoy the hidden wonders of the world!”
The audience erupted in applause and Blow looked around hesitantly before clapping as well. “I guess it’s starting!” He leaned over to yell to the redhead over the noise, and he made a face when he noticed Shicmuon wasn’t clapping. “Hey, Shic! It’s okay to relax, you know.” Blow hummed and Shicmuon just huffed before looking back towards the stage.
“You don’t always have to be Mr. Grumpy Grumps all the time.~” Blow winked which made the other boy scoff.
“Whatever.”
Blow laughed lightly before turning back to face the stage as well. The show was starting, and he was excited to see this circus for the first time! He could tell by the audience’s reactions to stuff, that this show was gonna be fun to watch!
The lights above flickered and shone towards center stage, and the side entrance opened up as a group of clowns waddled their way onto the stage.
The first act was a group of clowns who juggled and spit water at one another, earning a few laughs from the audience. Blow thought their costumes were amusing, so he figured he'd laugh along with the audience, even if he didn't understand the jokes. Shicmuon, however, didn’t see what was so amusing about any of this.
Next up, a group of trapeze artists came down from the ceiling above, wrapped in silk. They danced gracefully through the air, twirling and flipping on their swings and catching one another in the sky. This earned some gasps of awe to arise from the crowd, as the trapeze artists would get so close to hitting the ground, before they’d swoop upwards at the last second and glide through the air. The moved so gracefully through the sky it was like they could actually fly. Shicmuon didn't find it all that interesting though. Magicians can fly with magic, which is much cooler than any of this frilly stuff..
After the trapeze artists, a group of wild animals were lead out onto the stage to bring the energy back up, and Blow watched as they pranced around in a circle and dazzled the crowd. There were a bunch of different animals, including big ones like elephants and tigers, but there were also some more common, everyday animals, such as dogs and horses. Shicmuon watched the show with a critical eye, and he mused about how some of these animals kind of reminded him of a few magical creatures he had fought in the past. Though, these animals seemed to be very trained, and not like they could rip a humans head off in mere seconds. Instead, the animals were dressed in colorful circus garb which made them look less threatening and more comical than anything. But once again, Shicmuon wasn’t laughing.
The red head glanced over and noticed that Blow seemed to be entertained by it all.
He really was still a kid deep down.
The black magician had stars in his eyes as he watched the show happening on stage, and Shicmuon sighed. Well, if Blackie was having fun, he could tolerate the extravagance a bit longer. Frankly, Shicmuon found this whole circus thing to be a bit overwhelming, but he’d continue watching it for Blow’s sake. Even if he thought this whole thing was pretty fucking weird.
A few hours had passed until the show finally ended, and when they exited the tent amongst the rest of the crowd, Shicmuon was a bit surprised to see that it was dark out. Had that much time really passed while they were watching the show?
Still, Shicmuon grabbed onto Blow so he wouldn’t lose him in the crowd, and he had to practically forced the guy to keep walking when he got distracted by one of the carnies who was prancing around outside and blowing fire from his mouth like a dragon. Speaking of dragons, Shicmuon was glad that a certain blue one wasn’t here.
Once they finally broke away from the crowd, the two walked side by side on the cobblestone sidewalk.
“So.. did you like the show, Shic?” Blow turned to him as they walked together, and Shicmuon stared ahead at the city before them.
“I guess.” Shicmuon stated and Blow hit his arm playfully.
“That’s it?! ‘I guess.’!" Blow mimicked Shicmuon's voice before sighing. "Come on, Shic, did you really not like it?” He asked innocently, and Shicmuon exhaled into the cool night air.
“I mean- there was just a lot going on. It was kind of hard to follow.” Shicmuon turned to face the boy now. “I don’t know. Who cares what I think anyways... Did you like it?”
Blow stopped and his face was serious. “First of all, I care what you think, dummy! That’s why I asked your opinion in the first place!” He pointed a finger at Shicmuon chest to emphasize his point, and the redhead just blinked, unsure of what to say.
“And second,” Blow dropped his serious tone, as he grinned at the other boy, “Yes, I liked it. Since it was my first circus, I, too, wasn’t sure what to expect, but I thought it was a lot of fun! It was weird, but weird in a good way. Plus, it was nice to see it together.” He paused before smiling softly at Shicmuon. “So what I’m trying to say is, I’m glad you went with me, Shic.”
Shicmuon felt tongue tied when he saw Blow’s sincere smile, and just nodded stiffly, unable to reciprocate his feelings. Blow giggled and ran ahead on the sidewalk before spinning around to wave Shicmuon over.
“Come on, slowpoke!” He teased and Shicmuon shook his head and smirked before jogging over to walk by his side again.
Damn, this guy.. It’s so hard to be annoyed by you.
They walked in a peaceful silence for a bit, and Blow looked up at the dark sky in awe. He’d never seen so many stars in the sky before, and even though they were in the city, the artificial glow of street lights and traffic did nothing to dull the natural and intense glow of the stars above.
Blow hummed slightly and looked over at the other boy walking next to him. It was kind of odd that Shicmuon had stuck with him these past few days. It was no secret that their relationship with one another in the past wasn’t
great
, yet something had changed these pay few days. Blow wasn’t sure if it was just his new, more carefree personality that had led him to this conclusion, or if he’d always thought this way deep down but was too shy to say anything. Still, Blow knew one thing was for sure. It was that he really liked spending time with Shicmuon.
Even though the red head was serious all the time, and would try to attack him whenever he had the chance, after he’d been hanging out with the him all day, Blow had seen a lot more of him. Shicmuon was more than just a grumpy magician obsessed with fighting and power, no, he was gentle too, and caring, even if he didn’t like to show or express his emotions very often. Blow could admit he was like that too before, but not everyone was comfortable expressing their feelings so openly, so there was no reason to push him if he was uncomfortable. Thanks to that patch Kielnode had made for him, he felt more confident than usual. He wasn’t afraid to say things that he’d feel uncomfortable saying when ‘sober’, and when he looked at Shicmuon, he couldn’t help but say how he felt.
“Oi what is it? Stop staring at me.” Shicmuon voice broke Blow from his thoughts and he blushed a bit, not realizing he’d been staring at the redhead that whole time. But still, he wasn’t embarrassed. He liked looking at Shicmuon.
Shicmuon was giving him a strange look now, like he wanted to say something else, but Blow shook his head and beat him to it.
“Your eyes..” he spoke softly and stopped walking as he turned the face the other boy. “They’re very pretty, Shicmuon.”
“...” Shicmuon was speechless.
Had he.. heard him correctly just now?
Blow slowly extended a hand upward, and lightly touched Shicmuon’s face. He smiled at him and Shicmuon widened his eyes a bit at the touch.
But as quick as it was there, Blow’s hand was gone, and he let it drop to his side as he exhaled into the air, before promptly changing the subject. Shicmuon was a bit thankful for that, because he felt awkward now and his heart was thumping in his chest.
“Ooo wow~ the stars are so pretty!” Blow mused as he pointed towards the dark speckled sky above.
Shicmuon just nodded as he touched the place on his cheek where Blow had touched him a few seconds ago. His heart fluttered in his chest, and he quickly put his hand back down as Blow’s voice filled the silence once again.
“Come on, Shic. Let’s go somewhere to look at the stars together!” The black haired boy grinned and his eyes shimmered, aided by the moonlight above, as he stared at Shicmuon, who just couldn’t say no.
“Yeah.. okay. Just lead the way, Blackie.”
Blow nodded and Shicmuon let Blow pull his along as he skipped across the bridge that they were walking on. He lead the redhead over to a bench near the river that ran below the bridge, and Blow ignored the strange looks strangers shot their way as his plopped down on the bench. He pulled Shicmuon to sit down too when the other remained standing, and he gazed up at the sky with wide eyes.
Shicmuon grumbled before finally sitting next to him, and the two fell into a comfortable silence, with Shicmuon occasionally looking over to see Blow so utterly fascinated by the lights in the sky, that the redhead couldn't help but look up at them as well.
“Hey, Shic.” Blow spoke up out of nowhere, and Shicmuon turned his head to show the boy he was listening. When he saw the black haired boy staring straight ahead, he was almost taken aback by the far off, serious look in his eyes.
“What if.. I wasn't human?”
“...” Well that came out of nowhere.. Shicmuon thought, but remained silent.
“If...If I was.. something else.” Blow struggled to find the right words as he fumbled with his hands in his lap.
Shicmuon finally found his voice, “What are you talking about?”
“..If I was something else, like.. a demon.”
Shicmuon stiffened a bit as he instantly thought back to seeing Blow’s eyes turn into slits the other night.
A.. demon?
At the silence, Blow laughed dryly and breathed into the cold air. “I-I wouldn't mind.. I think.. If I were a demon, I mean- I wouldn't mind it.” he smiled softly and finally turned to lock eyes with Shicmuon.
Under the pale moonlight, Shicmuon felt a tightening feeling in his chest as he looked at the boy’s expression.
“...If you don’t care, then why are you crying?”
“What? I’m not cry-”
Shicmuon silenced him by lifting up the boy’s own hand to brush his wet cheeks.
Blow seemed startled when he pulled his hand away and felt it was damp. “Oh..” He didn't even know he was crying.. How embarrassing. He laughed again and turned to quickly wipe the tears away with his sleeve. Wow that was kind of pathetic.. He thought bitterly.
“Stop.” Shicmuon’s serious voice made him freeze, and he he felt the other boy move his hands away from his face. “It’s okay if you need to cry.”
Blow was speechless as he blinked owlishly at the other boy before his words finally sunk in and he shook his head. “...Ah no. I don't need to cry hah! I just..“ Blow paused and the intensity and gentleness present in the red haired boy’s eyes made him ache.
“I..” He breathed in shakily and looked away.
No..
he wasn’t going to cry in front of him.
Suddenly he felt strong arms arms wrap around him and Blow stiffened slightly as Shicmuon held him towards his chest. Blow was surprised at the gesture and his thoughts scrambled all of sudden as he tried to relax in the boy’s arms. When Shicmuon cooed softly as he rubbed his back, the unusually warmth gesture made Blow break as hot tears began to build in his eyes and he buried his face against the other’s chest. He is gentle. He is kind. Dammit. He couldn't stop the tears from falling as he cried and shook slightly in the other boy’s arms.
The two magicians sat like that for a while, illuminated by the light of a street post and the twinkling stars above. Even though the night air was cold, Blow felt warm.
Once Blow had collected himself, he pulled away to sit back, but Shicmuon grabbed his hand before he could, and wiped away the tear marks that had stained his pale skin. Blow blushed slightly but let him nonetheless. The gesture was comforting, and even though he should feel embarrassed by expressing his emotions like that to the other boy, he only smiled softly when Shicmuon insisted that the other boy continue to lean against him as he played with his black hair.
Blow just shut his eyes as he leaned against the other boy and hummed as soft fingers danced through his hair.
Being so close like this made Blow smile and he felt butterflies churn in his stomach at the intimacy. His whole body was buzzing with warmth and he almost felt like he could fall asleep right here, but Shicmuon soft voice brought him back to reality.
“It wouldn't matter.”
Blow opened his eyes slightly as gazed up at the other boy.
“If you weren’t human. It wouldn’t matter, so don't think about pointless stuff like that.”
Blow blinked before a huge grin broke out across his face and he laughed freely.
“Hey I’m being serious..” Shicmuon grumbled and Blow sat up and shook his head, still smiling.
“I know, sorry, it’s just..” Blow sobered up before looking deep into the others eyes. “..Can I.. do something?” He asked, feeling brave, thanks to the patch.
Shicmuon looked confused. “Do something? What do you mean?” He questioned.
“Promise me that you won't get mad, first.”
Shicmuon looked hesitant, but was more curious than suspicious. “..Ok I promise.”
Blow smiled again and..
Did he look nervous..?
Shicmuon watched in silence as the boy gazed into his eyes and inched his face closer to his. Shicmuon held his breath when they were only centimeters apart and Blow blushed before closing his eyes and planting his lips against the other boy’s.
The red head stiffened and stared ahead in shock. It was like the whole world around him had stopped moving and his heart was hammering against his chest. He felt paralyzed in his place and found himself unable to move. The black magician.. Blackie.. was kissing him. He was kissing him and the feeling made his head felt fuzzy. He liked this.. He wanted this.. Yet he couldn't even will his lips to move as he stared.
Before he could even react, Blow pulled away.
“I-I’m sorry I shouldn’t have..” Blow instantly apologized and Shicmuon kicked himself for being so stunned. Great, Blow probably thinks he doesn't like him now..
The air felt a bit awkward now, and Shicmuon blinked and coughed slightly in his fist to clear his dry throat, and he finally found himself able to speak, though his words betrayed his thoughts.
“We should go back. To Opion.. now. It’s late and you know how Kielnode can be.” Shicmuon said and Blow made an ‘o’ shape with his mouth before nodding.
“Ah, yes of course.” He agreed nonetheless.
Shicmuon stood up suddenly and turned away to walk back up on the path as Blow followed along quietly.
Shit he’d made things awkward.. All because he couldn’t fucking kiss him back even though he had wanted to. He'd really fucking wanted to.
Instead of thinking about it anymore, Shicmuon distracted himself by kicking a pebble across the ground as Blow fell into place walking steadily next to him, acting as if the kiss hadn’t even happened in the first place.
Shicmuon knew he had to do something though, to show the boy that he did share similar feelings but just didn't know how to express personal stuff like that, so he stopped kicking the rock and walked a bit closer to the other boy, before subtly interlocking their hands together.
Blow glanced down at their hands and smiled before squeezing the red head’s hand.
Shicmuon exhaled slightly in relief as they walked side by side on the path that would take them back to Opion. Blow talked softly about random things and Shicmuon listened as the wind blew through the trees and the moonlight lit up the path ahead. He realized he hated it when Blow was mad at him and ignored him, or felt sad, or was pain. Damn. He needed to show Blackie that he did care.. that he cared a lot.
They walked together, holding hands, and Shicmuon really couldn’t deny his feelings for the other boy any longer. He really fucking enjoyed spending time with this fool.
Soon enough, the familiar cherry blossom trees from before came back into sight, as they Opion headquarters appeared in the distance. Shicmuon made a promise with himself that he would show Blow how he really felt about him, while at Opion.
Once inside the large, familiar building, the two walked through the open hallway, still holding hands, but separated whenever someone walked by. Thankfully there weren’t too many people still walking about, and Shicmuon was praying they wouldn’t run into those Helios people again. Or Kielnode.
Since it was late, they decided to just head back to the room they’d shared last night. That way they'd avoid any annoying people and Shicmuon could spend time with Blow alone and behind closed doors.
Shicmuon held open the door for the other boy as they arrived to the room, and Shicmuon silently hoped this wouldn't be the last time they’d sleep together since Blow was meant to return back to normal tomorrow morning. Even though Shicmuon wanted Blow to be normal again and in control of his awakening, he also didn’t want to lose this playful, flirty Blow who he’d come to like so much. Of course he would still like Blow once he returned to normal, he just wondered if Blow would still like him.
“Shic?” Blow called from the bed and Shicmuon realized he was still standing by the door, so he closed it silently before walking over to the other boy, who was patting the white sheets cheekily.
If this really was their last time sleeping in the same bed, Shicmuon wouldn’t waste it. With a smirk, he slipped an arm around Blow’s waist and pushed him down against the bed as he towered over him. Blow grinned up at him expectingly, and Shicmuon flicked his forehead before plopping down to lay next to him. So dirty, Blackie.
“Hey what was that for!” Blow protested, rubbing at the sore spot on his forehead from where Shicmuon flicked him, and the red head smirked as he pulled the boy closer to him. He wrapped the boy tightly in his arms like before, before shushing him and mumbling into his black hair.
“Shhh just go to sleep.”
Morning sunlight filtered into the room once again, and Shicmuon’s eyes fluttered open as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. He he felt his arm still wrapped around a familiar warmth, and he looked over and sighed in relief when he saw that Blow was still asleep and still in his awakened form. For some reason, part of him didn’t want Blow to return back to normal in case he forgot everything that had happened in the past couple of days. Yeah, maybe it was selfish of him to think that way, but he couldn’t deny his feelings for the black magician any longer, and after spending all day with him, he realized he never wanted things to go back to normal. Oddly enough, he liked spending time with Blow and didn’t want to go back to their old ‘relationship’ where they barely talked and just argued all the time. Frankly Shicmuon didn’t even want to kill the kid anymore. How could he ever wish to hurt him after all of that?
Shicmuon sighed and rubbed his tense forehead with his hand. Dammit.. He glanced over at Blow who was snuggled against his side like the previous night, looking as peaceful and adorable as ever. Even though part of him didn’t want to disturb him sleeping so soundly, another more selfish part of him told him to wake Blow up so that they could spend the last of their 24 hours together before his patch dissolved. They still had time, from what Shicmuon could see, so he was determined to utalizie it all. The red head was actually glad he’d woken up a bit earlier than usual for once since that meant they had more time.
Shicmuon took a deep breathe and shifted in the bed a bit to gently nudge Blow to wake up.
“Hey, Blackie.” He whispered, and prodded the boy’s arm with his hand. He watched as the black haired boy shifted a bit in discomfort before cracking his eyes open.
“Shic?” Blow questioned sleepily and Shicmuon couldn’t help but smile a bit at the scene.
“Yeah, it's me. Time to get up now.” Shicmuon spoke softly and sat up all the way, pulling the boy up along with him. Blow still looked a bit out of it as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his knuckles.
“Eh but it’s still so early.” Blow blinked, his soft blue eyes as he glanced at Shicmuon who was already getting out of the bed.
“Oh come on,” The red head stood up, extending a hand down to the other boy, “don’t you want some breakfast?”
Blow instantly perked up the thought of food, and his eyes sparkled excitedly. “Ooh yes can we get pancakes? I really want some pancakes!” He nodded frantically and Shicmuon pulled him up.
“Yes, whatever you want.”
“Yay!” Blow cheered and was now the one tugging Shicmuon across the room towards the door. Good, just like usual.
Shicmuon was grateful that it was still early in the morning, so that meant there weren’t a lot of people in the dining hall. Thank God he wouldn’t have to deal with those Helios brats or Blackie’s annoying fanboys.
Blow pulled Shicmuon along and they ordered significantly less than they had other day. Blow ordered pancakes for both of them, along with a glass of orange juice, and Shicmuon settled for some black coffee.
They found a seat for two near a window in the corner of the room, and Blow bounced in his chair excitedly as they waited for their food to be ready. When Blow began playing with the flowers in the arrangement on the table, picking off the petals, Shicmuon didn’t even question it when he handed him a flower from across the table.
“Err thanks.”
Blow grinned and he placed a flower of his own in the pocket of his shirt, urging Shicmuon to do the same for some reason.
“What’s up with you and flowers? I never really got the chance to ask about it yesterday.” Shicmuon asked after he placed his flower in his shirt pocket.
“Ah~ I don't know really. I just like them is all. They’re so pretty, yet so fragile."
Shicmuon glanced down at the crinkled flower petals that Blow had discarded on the table.
When their food finally came, the chef bowed at them before scurrying back off towards the kitchen, and Shicmuon waited for Blow to take a bite first before he felt comfortable eating his.
“Is it good?” The redhead asked and Blow beamed as he shoved a big forkful into his mouth.
“It’s delicious, Shic! Try it, try it!” He hummed in between bites, and Shicmuon sighed before complying. He couldn’t resist this loveable fool.
He cut a piece of his pancake with his fork, ready to lift it to him mouth, but Blow stopped him to drizzle some syrup on top first. He let the kid do whatever he wanted, and when he felt satisfied, he nodded for Shicmuon to try it.
“..You’re right. It is good.” Shicmuon agreed and Blow nodded at the statement, feeling happy that Shicmuon thought it tasted good too.
The two ate together in peace and Shicmuon listened as the black haired boy rambled on about various things such as a pair of birds he saw through the window outside fighting over a piece of bread, how the chocolate chips in his pancake looked like they formed a smiley face, and even a stuff about Helios. Even though Shicmuon could honestly care less about any of that, the fact that Blow was telling him about it so adamantly and with a huge smile on his face, well, Shicmuon never wanted him to stop talking. If the two of them could just remain like this forever, Shicmuon would be okay with that.
The redhead had his hand resting on the table, a few inches away from Blow’s, and part of him told him to reach out and hold his hand- who cares if anyone sees them? But before he could act on the impulse, their bliss was soon interrupted.
“Good morning my precious little brother!~”
Shicmuon twitched in annoyance at the voice. He guessed he spoke too soon.
“Hello brother!” Blow smiled at the blond man as he stood next to their table, nursing a cup of coffee in his hands.
For some reason, the Master Opion took this greeting as an invitation to make himself comfortable at their table, so he dragged another chair from across the room towards them so he could sit down. Shicmuon wanted to hold Blow’s hand even more now just to so he could get a reaction out of the Master of Opion for interrupting them. And so he did.
He moved his hand to swiftly interlock with Blow who looked a bit startled at the action, but quickly softened and smiled at the red head, squeezing his hand slightly like he always did. Shicmuon openly showing his affection, and in public no less, made Blow’s heart bubble happily.
Kielnode faltered a bit as he watched, but he quickly schooled his anger and looked away, sipping at his coffee with contained rage. He cleared his throat and sat down before asking, “Ahem so how are you feeling today Blow?” He didn’t even address the other magician sitting next to him, who was glaring at him and practically shoving the fact that he was holding hands with his little brother in his face.
“Hmm I feel fine, why do you ask?” Blow quirked his head to this side, oblivious to the tense scene happening across the table, and Kielnode just smiled slightly at him before shaking his head to focus his thoughts.
“Well, it’s just that that patch should be taking its effect soon, since it’s nearing the 24 hour mark, and I was just curious if you were feeling.. strange, or anything.”
“No.. I don’t think I feel strange..?” Blow contemplated the question. Did he feel strange? He didn’t think he did.. But who knows. Maybe it hadn’t completely taken effect yet. Though, what was even supposed to happen after 24 hours? No one ever told him..
“Still, I want you to come hang out with your big brother more~~ I rarely get to see you not that you live at Helios.” Kielnode whined and grabbed onto Blow’s other arm.
“Ah, sure.”
“Really!? Aw yay! Thank you brother! It’ll be fun, come on let’s go back to my office.~” He cheered, causing a bit of a scene in the quiet dining hall, and Shicmuon groaned. He kept his hand interlocked with the black magician’s, under the disdain of Kielnode, as they stood up together.
Shicmuon was coming along, whether the Master of Opion liked it or not.
When they arrived back to Kielnode’s office, the older man had pretended to ignore their hand holding once again, and yanked Blow from his grasp to drag him over to the couch with him.
“Blow, let’s play something together, okay?” Kielnode grinned and Blow just smiled back and nodded a bit apprehensively.
“Y-yeah okay!”
Shicmuon glared at the blond man before plopping down on a seperate couch to just watch.
“Okay great! Hmm.. let’s see what can we do.” Kienode hummed thoughtfully before he bounded over to his desk in search of something. “Ah perfect.” He grabbed something off his desk before striding back over to the couch, and Blow looked at him curiously.
“Whaddya find?” He asked sweetly and Kielnode pat his head before showing him what he’d just retrieved from his desk.
“I figured we could play cards for a bit. Does that sound okay, Blow? It's all I have in my office at the moment hah.”
“Oh yeah, of course. I’m fine with anything, brother.” Blow reassured him with a smile and Kielnode resisted the urge to gush over his adorable behavior.
Shicmuon pretended to appear uninterested, but perked up when Blow called his name suddenly.
“Shic, do you wanna play too?” He asked innocently, and Shicmuon noticed Kielnode stiffen, but remain silent.
“...No it’s fine. I'll watch.”
Kielnode blinked in surprise, but was ecstatic nonetheless.
“Ah we don’t need him anyways.” Kielnode reassured turning back to face Blow as he opened the pack of cards.
“Okay.” Blow nodded and watched as the Master of Opion started to shuffle the cards in his hands.
“Great, so the game I wanna teach you how to play is lots of fun! Have you heard of Rummy before?”
Blow tilted his head cutely in confusion, and Kielnode smiled.
Ah, I guess not
.
“Okay, well that’s fine. I’ll teach you. Trust me, it’ll be fun!”
“I trust you.” Blow smiled, and Kielnode resisted the urge to pat his head like a puppy. He couldn’t help it that he was enjoying his little brother’s playful side so much. Plus, he’d barely gotten any time to hangout with his brother since he came back to Opion, because Shicmuon would steal him away every chance he got. At least Kielnode was glad to spend some time with Blow right now. So he’d make every second count!
“So the rules of the game are as follows, since there are only two of us playing, I’ll start by dealing each of us 10 cards.”
Blow nodded as he tried to follow along, and he watched as Kielnode placed a few cards in front of him, face down.
“Okay next, I’ll place the rest of the deck here in the center, and I’ll flip the first card on top of the deck over like this, and place it next to the deck to form a new pile, see?”
“6 of diamonds.” Blow hummed as he read the card, and Kielnode nodded.
“Yep, but that’s the card used to show where the discard pile is.”
“Oh okay!”
Kielnode smiled at his brother’s enthusiasm, and he continued explaining. “So the objective of the game is to use all 10 of your cards by forming them into ‘melds’ which means either forming them into groups of 3 or 4 where they each have the same rank, as in all 2’s or all spades, or by forming them into runs of the same suit, such as having the ace of diamonds, 2 of diamonds, 3 of diamonds, 4 of diamonds, etc. Do you understand, Blow?”
“Yep!” Blow answered quickly and Kielnode wasn’t so sure he actually understood how to play, but he didn’t question it. His brother was smart though, so he could probably figure it out.
“Okay, well you go first then. Pick up the 10 cards I handed you, and you can either choose a new card from the deck, or take the 6 of diamonds from the discard pile if that card fits with any of the 10 you have in your hand to form a meld. If you have a meld already, you can place the set down, and then end your turn by discarding a card from your hand to add to the discard pile.”
“Hmm okay!” Blow studied his 10 cards. He had a king of spades, a jack of clubs, a 10 of hearts, a 9 of hearts, a 7 of spades, a 6 of hearts, a 5 of diamonds, a 4 of diamonds, a 3 of diamonds, and an ace of clubs. Oh! Blow instantly turned on his poker face as he realized he could form a meld with his cards. He looked up from his cards and leaned over to grab the 6 of diamonds from the discard pile to add to his hand.
Kielnode watched as Blow laid down a meld of 4 cards: the 6 of diamonds, 5 of diamonds, 4 of diamonds, and 3 of diamonds. He ended his turn by adding his own 6 of hearts card to the discard pile.
“It’s your turn now, brother!” Blow grinned. This game seemed easy enough! He didn't know if he was winning or not, but still, it was fun!~
“Ah, right.” Kielnode picked up his cards and studied them. Since he had a 7 of diamonds in his hand, that means he's able to add his card to Blow’s meld of diamonds, so he did exactly that.
The two brothers took turns drawing cards and forming different melds, and once the first person ran out of their 10 cards, they could figure out the scores and play again!
The bird chirped outside the window as the fresh spring breeze blew through the air.
“It’s your turn again, brother!” Blow grinned as they played cards together in bliss.
After they’d been playing Rummy for awhile, Blow had started to feel weird. It wasn’t a totally overwhelming weird, just uncomfortable. He didn't feel like he should bring it up though, since it wasn’t too bad, but as time went on, it progressed even more to the point where he felt super weird but couldn't explain how. It was like his whole body felt drained, yet full at the same time, and he instinctively touched the spot under his eye where the patch was placed to find it was no longer there. It had completely dissolved into his skin.
Kielnode was shuffling the cards again, a bit distracted as he hummed to himself, and Shicmuon was looking out the window, uninterested in the card game but didn’t want to leave the room. Blow saw spots in his vision and he stood up from the couch suddenly.
Kielnode quirked an eyebrow up at him in suspicion.
“Uh, big brother, I feel.. weird.” Blow mumbled slurring his words a bit he passed out, landing backwards onto the ground with a small thud. This immediately alerted the two other boys in the room and Shicmuon stood up quickly as Kielnode gasped and reached down quickly towards the boy.
“Ahh Blow!?” Kielnode shrieked and pulled his brother back up onto the couch to lay down, with Shicmuon’s assistance.
“Oi, what’s happening to him?” Shicmuon rushed anxiously, and Kielnode looked frazzled and confused for a second before he shook his head.
“Um no- don't worry he’ll be fine. The patch seemed to have dissolved completely, so the 24 hours must be up. I’m sure he’ll be back to normal soon.”
The red haired magician nodded, still feeling a bit unsure since the Blackie had just collapsed onto the floor a second ago, so he squeezed his hand a bit before going to sit back down in his previous spot. He didn’t need to act so nervous, Blow was probably fine. Plus, when he woke up, it would probably be strange if he saw Shicmuon doting over him, so the red head decided to keep his distance for now in case he forgot everything from the past couple of days.
After a few minutes ticked by, agonizingly slow, a blue light started to emit from Blow’s cheek and not before long, it began spreading across his skin and engulfed his whole body in a blue light. The hue was so blinding, that Kielnode had to squint his eyes a bit as the it overtook Blow completely.
So this is how the patch works.. Kielnode mused as he studied the light. A moment later, the intensity began to fade, and the light started to disappear completely.
After it was gone, Kielnode looked back towards the cough eagerly. He sighed in relief when he saw Rood laying on the couch, no longer in his awakened form.
It worked!
Shicmuon held his breath as the boy stirred a bit and his blue eyes fluttered open.
He moved to sit up, touching his head as if it were in pain and Kielnode assisted him.
“What the hell happened..?” He grumbled out and Kielnode smiled wide.
“Rood, you’re back! Thank God it worked!” He cheered and attacked the boy in a hug who stiffened and tried to push his master away, but to no avail.
“Gah gross get off me, master!” He pushed against the older man, but when he didn't budge, he sighed in defeat before becoming aware of the other presence in the room.
Rood whipped his head over quickly as his eyes met Shicmuon’s, who was staring at him intensely. He blinked as everything from the past couple of days hit him like a freight train.
“I have to go tell the others!” Kilenode declared out of nowhere, unaware of Rood and Shicmuon’s intense stare down, as he finally let go of Rood and sprinted out the door calling Ren’s name.
Rood felt his face heat up in embarrassment and he quickly looked away, blushing hard.
Shicmuon hadn’t been sure what reaction to expect, but he found this one to be quite amusing, and he smirked slightly as he watched the boy turn a bright shade of red in the face.
“So you remember everything then?” Shicmuon teased, standing from his seat to walk the short distance towards Rood.
Rood covered his hands with his face and nodded which made Shicmuon smirk even more. He'd do it now.
Feeling flirty and confident, Shicmuon kneeled down in front of the couch and gently reached up to remove the boy’s hands from his face. The blond stiffened a bit before relaxing at the familiar touch, and he turned his head slightly as Shicmuon drew his attention in, with his hand cupping his chin slightly. Deep red eyes stared into blue, and Rood suppressed a shiver at Shicmuon’s intense gaze.
“Blackie.” Shicmuon breathed, and Rood sat motionless as the man drew closer and closer to his face.
Rood felt his heart hammer against his chest as they were just centimeters apart, and the red head brushed his lips against Rood's, and he instinctively leaned in closer, craving the other boy’s touch.
Shicmuon smirked and pushed against the blond boy’s lips, connecting and deepening the kiss before taking control, as he moved his other hand around to hold the back of Rood’s head.
Rood felt like his head was buzzing as he squeezed his eyes closed even more, letting Shicmuon dominate him in the kiss. He was breathless and reached out to grab the red head’s chest as he cheeks burned. He was blushing deeply and faltered a bit as Shicmuon pulled away, breaking the kiss.
Rood cracked open his eyes and he stared up at the other boy who was still smirking at him, and the look in his eyes made Rood’s heart skip in his chest and he blushed even more as he brought his fingers up to his lips, tracing the spot where Shicmuon’s had just been. So he did feel the same way after all..
“I-“ Rood started but Shicmuon stopped him holding a finger to the smaller boy’s lips as he glanced towards the door.
“Kielnode and the others are coming back.” He spoke softly and Rood blinked before looking away nervously as Shicmuon stood up once again.
Soon enough, Kielnode, Ren, and those Helios students flooded into the room and Shicmuon stepped back as they began berating Rood with questions.
“Rood!?”
“Oh my god Rood, how are you feeling?”
“Are you okay, Rood?!”
"You're back!"
Shicmuon watched as the boy tried to collect himself as he answered their questions, occasionally glancing back at Shicmuon who smiled reassuringly at him. He wasn't going anywhere.
Damn…
Shicmuon eyed the boy the whole time as he talked with the others, and one question wouldn’t stop rattling inside his head.
‘What are you supposed to do when you fall for the guy that you’ve sworn to kill?’
~
the end