Ferain stood aside to allow the other students to leave. Some gave her curious glances as they passed, but this was nothing new. When the last kid walked through the door and they were finally alone in the room, Fera gave Seven Itani a contemptuous leer that he was more than likely pretty used to by this point.
“What do you want?”
He eyed her with a hint of amusement in his eyes as she stepped closer. “I wanted to inform you that you have impressed me with your abilities these last couple weeks. Tell me, how is the arm recovering?”
“Fine,” she muttered. “Better than the first time you tried to kill me anyway.” she remarked. “Why do you care? Going to test me again? Going to throw me around some more to prove some sort of point?”
“Quite the opposite, actually.” said Itani, crossing his arms atop his desk. “I heard that you haven’t decided on a teacher to study under yet this year. I assume that you know about this little choice you can make in terms of scheduling.”
“I do.” Fera said, giving him a questioning glare.
“Well,” he started, before chuckling quietly to himself. “I suppose I’m not asking you to choose me, per se, but it is quite similar. I want to help you. Seeing as you take my class in the mornings, I imagine that you can’t really study under me at the same time, but I do want to offer my services… Perhaps after school?”
Fera scoffed while repositioning her bag on her shoulder. “Why would I want that? I get thrashed around by you enough every morning, the last thing I need is more metal BBs thrown at me after school. Why don’t you try to bother somebody else for a change and just leave me alone.” Fera growled, turning towards the door and taking several steps before hearing the next words to leave her teacher’s mouth.
“Because, they don’t have the potential you do. You want to be strong, right? Strong enough to protect your friends?” Fera stopped but did not turn to face him. She continued staring dead ahead at the door, but focusing not on the sight in front of her, but the sound coming from behind. “You have the potential to be strong. I can show you how to never lose anybody again.”
“And how could you do that?”
“I know how to bring out the best in people. I can’t copy your abilities or even use a small insignificant speck of something similar, but neither of us need that. From what I understand, you had that last year. It helped, I’m sure, but it wasn’t all you needed.”
“What do I need, then?” she hissed, looking over her shoulder at him with a poison in her eyes that would kill if looks could.
“Drive, and somebody that knows how to impress upon you the ability to utilize it. I can show you how to bring out that monster within you, and how to control it. You want that power again, don’t you? You tasted it, and now you want it more than anything in the world, isn’t that right? All so you can keep your friends safe from any other… accidents. It can be yours, you just have to be willing to put in a little extra effort, some extra credit, if you will. It can be dangerous, will more than likely be painful, but I assure you that you will find it worthwhile.”
There was a pause as Fera thought silently to herself, weighing out her options, judging whether the promises and integrity of this man could be trusted to yield results. Though, with her current prospects not exactly looking promising, she began to wonder what choice she really had. Yarin was dead, the only other lightning-wielders she knew were gone, one having graduated the previous year, and the other was back in the Crown Nation doing who knows what. There was only one remaining lightning-wielder in the school, someone that was one year ahead of herself, and they had never actually met before. With no possible teachers in sight to help her achieve her goal, this being handed to her on such a tempting platter was growing increasingly harder to decline.
“It will make me stronger?” she asked, her gaze falling to her feet.
“You’ll be the strongest student in the school. That murderer that taught you last year, he–”
“He didn't kill anyone! His name was Yarin Olira, and if you say that again, I will kill you, understand me? He doesn’t deserve to have his name slandered.” Fera said furiously, turning to stare into Itani’s eyes. Still, despite her chilling expression, he didn't flinch. His face was stone, his eyes unflinching, his mouth completely neutral.
“He didn’t, did he? Have you ever read about fictional heroes, Ferain Hirigaya? Those people and their high and mighty morals. They think the best way to stop a killer is to capture them, to arrest them, to hide them away as if they never existed. Ha, the fools. And even more foolish are the people that buy into that logic. Do you know the best way to take care of a problem, Ferain? The best solution to a problem is to eliminate its source. If a killer is running amok, if you know who the killer is, then you kill them before they can kill anybody else. It only seems appropriate, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it sound fair that way? I mean, if the killer got out, which is always possible, imagine how many lives could be lost when compared to just the one. To me, that sounds like a civic duty of anybody trying to be a hero.”
“I can’t argue against that.” she grumbled, still hesitant to take this man’s aid. Her hands clenched into fists. “You’re not lying to me? I can trust you?”
“No to both of those. I am telling you the truth, and you can believe that I will help you get to where you want to be, maybe even surpass that if you work hard enough. However, you can’t trust me personally. It sounds to me that you haven’t learned anything, Ferain. How many people have to betray you before you realize that you can’t trust anyone? Your father tried to kill you, your friend tried to kill you, and all the while, you’re surrounded by liars with a knack for hiding secrets. It pains me to say it, but you are stupendously daft if you think you can still trust a single person. I'll let you in on a secret, Hirigaya, the only person you can ever trust is yourself, and that’s only half the time, because the other half is spent questioning the truth. You know you’re strong, right?”
“Yes.”
“You know you have potential, correct?”
“Yes.” she answered shortly.
“Yet, you still say that you’re weak. You still think that you don’t have what it takes. That is the half you have to not trust. Trust the voice that says you can, not the one that spews the opposite. Do that, and follow my instructions from this point on, there won’t be a living being on this planet that can challenge you.”
“I…” Fera started, before sucking in her breath. She paused and glared at the floor, chastising her own inability to take that step, the one that she knew she needed to take if she wanted to keep her promise.
“There’s no need to tell me now.” said Itani, before humming curiously as he thought. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll be waiting in the arena around ten tonight. Everyone should be home by then, curling up in their comfy beds. If you show up, I’ll know you accepted. If you don’t, then I’ll see you in class tomorrow, no harm done.”
“What about the headmaster? I don’t think he’ll approve of this.” said Ferain.
“Guji can kick rocks, right? I mean, it’s not like he actually cares about you. Threatening you with detentions instead of understanding that you need your time. You’ve been through a lot haven’t you? Yet, he only sees a student in need of discipline, not a living person that needs help. That’s where he and I differ, I assure you. I see people for who and what they are. Guji is cold, no matter his outward demeanor. I mean, he even threatened me before giving me this job.”
“He did?” asked Ferain.
“Oh yes. He mentioned something along the lines of ripping my head off and dropping it into the ocean to be fodder for the fish.”
“Why did he say that?”
“Because I mentioned an interest in helping his students prevent another incident like last year’s blunders. It was all on the news, you know. A student killing dozens of others or whatnot, it made headlines when it was all revealed. But, that’s neither here nor there, is it? Ten o’clock, Ferain, I’ll be waiting. For now, you’re dismissed. All I ask is that you give my offer some thought, I believe it will do you good.”
The look she then cast upon him was one that was assuredly not the normal expression she always had in his presence. Instead of harsh, lacerating glares, it was more along the lines of questionable hatred, with some intrigue and uncertainty mixed in. She felt like she was being taken for a fool, but on the other hand, it did sound like a genuine offer to help. Seven was not a good teacher, or a good person for that matter, but if there was one thing he stood for, it was progress. Though harsh, his methods had gotten her to use her powers more than Haris ever did, or even Sara Yakuma in fact. Her first teacher had her playing with light bulbs and plasma balls, while Seven took a more hands-on approach. She walked away with a few more bruises, but it was well worth it so far for the added control of her powers that she was gaining. If these after-school lessons were going to be similar, if not more effective, she could easily see her power rising to a similar level of Yarin in no time, perhaps even more.
If this worked out properly, if he wasn’t lying to her about what he could teach her, that power she used against Kiko might not have to be a last ditch effort, but her typical level of strength. As she thought about it during her walk towards the cafeteria, mindlessly making progress through the halls of the academy, she found herself growing more fond of the idea. The image of her finally being able to fully utilize all of her power was tantalizing, and she wanted nothing more than to prevent anything like Kiko from happening ever again. If she had to take a few extra lessons to do that, it was worth the sacrifices, no matter what they were. Leaving the main building, she walked along the outside walkway that connected it to the cafeteria, which she entered shortly after.
The interior had a two-story layout, with the second floor being smaller than the first. This was due to the fact that in the middle of the lower level were some scattered trees and patches of flowers. The second level provided a good view of everything below it if one looked over the metal railing. Filling the interior with more than enough light for both students and the inhabiting flora were the massive skylights in the ceiling, and the long series of rectangular windows that were inserted around the walls of both floors. It didn’t take longer than a minute for her to find her friends, and thankfully, all of them were sitting there. Anita, Maple, and Victor all gave her odd looks as she nervously approached.
Her conversation with Guji was still fresh in her mind, as well as what she said during it. She meant every word when she said she hurt those people. Every one of them have been recently negatively affected by her actions, be it in a physical way or a mental one. With Anita, thanks to the previous night, it was now both. Of course, that was more along the lines of her emotions running wild at Anita’s topic of conversation while they were bathing, but still, it was her fault all the same.
“Hey, Fe-Fe.” said Maple, almost appearing to be wary of accepting her at the table. She had an odd look in her eyes, and her body seemed to be rather tense when compared to her typically relaxed nature.
“Is it okay if I sit?” Fera asked, avoiding all of their gazes.
“Of course,” said Anita, without a moment’s hesitation. She patted the bench right beside her and smiled. “Come on, I kept it warm for you.”
Fera grinned timidly as she slowly made her way to her partner’s side. She sat down and began playing with her fingers beneath the table, unsure of what she should say or do, and trying her hardest to not explode at any of them again.
“You got your bag.” said Victor, smiling at her. “We didn’t know where your class was so I took it to the headmaster. He said he’d give it back to you.”
“He did.” she said softly, keeping her eyes locked on the table.
There was a short silence afterward, which was swiftly broken by Anita as she softly giggled and slid her tray of food between them. “Here, I made sure to grab some extra potatoes for you. You didn’t eat breakfast, right? You’re probably hungry.”
“A little.” Fera mumbled, but her hands made no signs of movement to reach for the food. She took a breath instead and looked nervously upwards. Peering through her dark fringe, she saw her friends eyeing her curiously, possibly wondering if she was going to rage at them again. Her mouth opened, but again, she froze up. Nothing passed her lips except for a faint, insignificant breath, and her eyes fell once more.
“I forgive you,” said Victor. “For this morning, I forgive you.” he continued, causing her to shift her gaze towards him. “Anita said that you haven’t been sleeping much. It explains why you were a bit…”
“Snappy.” interjected Maple, finishing his sentence for him. “Frazzled. Frustratingly and stupidly in denial.” she pressed on, holding up a finger for each statement. “Should I go on?”
“No.” Fera murmured, looking down. “I’ve been a jerk. I know that. I’m so…” Fera bit her lip, stopping herself from spitting out another pointless apology. She felt a soft touch against her shoulder, one that she knew came from her partner.
“It’s okay.” Anita said lightly.
“It’s not.” Fera practically whispered. “I’m… I’m going to stop being around you for a little.”
“What?” choked Maple, coughing as she literally choked on a bit of juice she had just sipped up.
While beating her chest to free up her pipes, Victor was the next to chime in. “Did I hear you right?” he questioned. “Why would you–”
“I can’t be trusted around you… any of you.” Fera answered. She looked over at Anita over any of the others. She felt her eyes burning as she resigned herself to saying what she wanted nothing more than to keep buried. “I hurt you. I keep hurting you. Right now… I don’t know if I can stop.”
“Fera, we live together, you can’t just–”
“I’m just going to keep to myself. I want to get a grip on things before I hurt you even worse. I’m too tired, too weak. I can’t keep this lie up anymore.”
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“What about those power suppressors? You can take those and–”
“That won’t do.” interrupted Victor, to everyone’s surprise. “The best way to learn control is to use our powers. Hiding them away only ever serves to make them more volatile. I’m your friend, Ferain, and I don’t want to stop seeing you, but if you want to have some space for a while, I’ll give it to you.” he stated. “None of us know what you’re going through, so I can’t determine the best way to help, but judging by how you acted this morning and how you’ve been acting, trying to intervene is obviously not doing any good.”
“We can’t just leave her alone.” Maple argued, hitting her giant companion in the arm. Her angered honey-hued irises locked onto Fera. “You expect us to just abandon you while you’re struggling like this? I’ve been through traumatic things in the past, Ferain, and if not for people helping me, I might’ve killed myself a long time ago. I can’t just give up on you so you can–”
“It’s not giving up.” Victor said, staring into Maple’s eyes, silencing her at once. All the while, Fera was cowering into a progressively shrinking bundle as she listened to her friend’s words. “I call it more along the lines of believing in her,” he added. “If you think it will help you more to have us leave you alone, I’m willing to give it a shot, at least for a short time.”
“Fine.” Maple sighed, shaking her head.
Fera looked beside her, afraid of what Anita’s reaction would be to this request. She didn’t look happy. Her brow was furrowed, there was a hint of betrayal in her stormy eyes, but in the end, she nodded. “Fine. I’m not doing this because I want to though, got it, Hirigaya? I’m only going along with this because I’m willing to trust you. If you believe that space is what you need to get better, I’ll try too.”
“Thank you.” Fera murmured. “I’ll get better, I promise. I already have a plan.”
In her mind, she added “I hope” to that last part, praying that whatever Seven had in mind would fix whatever troubled her. In any case, she assumed that it couldn't possibly get any worse, so if nothing came out of his lessons, she would just be back to this point, and not any lower. Later that night, somewhere around ten, she dressed in a pair of baggy jeans and a black shirt with long sleeves. After pulling on a dark colored hoodie, she left her room, slid into her boots and left both Anita and the dorm behind. She passed through the checkpoint, using her powers to distract the guards that sat in a booth not far from the gateway. Because of her distraction, they failed to notice her passing her band over the sensor and stepping through into District-A.
The murders might have been solved and taken care of, but there was still a curfew in effect, and even if there hadn’t, students were only allowed on school property after-hours under specific circumstances, like if they had been given a task by a teacher or if they had club activities. Even in those scenarios, she was certain they would find it questionable that she wanted to go there so late at night. Everything on the premises was overtaken by near-total darkness. Only a few lights along the grounds were on, illuminating some of the walkways, some lights that highlighted the school crest on the paths, but not much else besides. She knew that the rumors of staff living in District-A were false, which made sense when they had an entire city, small as it was, to occupy. Better to spread out than to cram yourselves into the smallest district of them all. This was a good thing, seeing as she now had the entire campus to herself.
Or, she would, if Seven Itani hadn’t kept his word. When she followed the familiar concrete pathway to the arena/gymnasium that they used for tournaments, any tests involving level placement, and physical education lessons, she found Professor Itani waiting within for her to arrive. Within the concrete walls of the arena, there was a massive court that resided in the center. It was similar material to normal school gyms, though unlike those, it could be shifted by some sort of mechanisms that lay beneath the flooring. Really, she’d only ever seen certain areas rise, never fall, and she doubted it was the entire floor that could do this. The seams were nearly impossible to see, but in her fight with Victor, he’d ripped up and completely destroyed several areas of the court, revealing nothing but solid, broken ground beneath it, not some crazy network of hydraulics.
Around the court were rows upon rows of seats, all for the student body to sit and watch as whatever event that took center stage was hosted. There were a couple of doors too that led to locker rooms, though they were near the entrance, and were also unimportant at this very moment. Itani was sitting in the lowest row, the one closest to the court, with one leg resting atop the other, and his arms folded over his chest. As she walked nearer, her soft, subtle steps whispering across the barely lit empty space, she saw the man staring at the lifeless room ahead of him. He didn’t say anything, even as she stepped up to his side, following his eyes to whatever had captured his attention
After a while, she gave an aggravated huff. “I’m here.” she stated.
“Obviously,” he replied, still not looking at her.
“Well, since I’m here, aren’t we going to get started? It’s late and I don’t want to waste my time.”
“Very well. We’ll jump right into it, then.” he said.
Without rising to his feet, without even giving her a passing glance, something happened that took her breath away. This wasn’t from shock, at least, not primarily. It was from a swift and sudden impact that swept her off of her feet. She’d never been hit by a car, but she imagined that it would feel relatively close to what she experienced as she was thrown into the air, set on a collision course with some of the seats a few rows up. Fera choked hopelessly, gasping for air as she fell onto the floor and clutched at her sides. Her entire body screamed in pain from both the original hit and the impact with two of the chairs she crashed into.
“Not quick enough.” came Itani’s voice, still seated where he had been before she was forced from his side.
After a few wheezing, useless attempts at breathing, she finally managed to draw in some oxygen. Only when she rested her head against the floor in relief did she notice the warmth of blood trailing down from the corner of her mouth, signaling that something had been damaged inside of her. As if called on by the sudden realization, a cough forced its way up her burning esophagus, bringing with it several flecks of blood that splattered against her hand and the ground beneath her. She eyed it frightfully, feeling now that she’d made a terrible mistake.
“Your healing abilities will prevent you from dying on me. I told you all in class that I didn’t intend on holding back, but I must apologize for the deceit. As I’m sure you’re well aware by now, I was far from keeping my word. Now, however, I fully intend to commit to them. These lessons will be painful, I did warn you. If you can’t handle it, you might die. With that being the case, I suggest you get a grip and start acting like your life depends on it.”
Fera, breathing heavily, forced herself to her feet, using the chairs in front of her for support. With her hair falling messily around her face, she let out a short snort and stared with narrowed, furious eyes at her professor. “I can’t see them.” she snarled.
“This was my plan, yes. The lights being off will help us keep our cover, as well as giving you a disadvantage. Your goal is to rise above that disadvantage and to hit me. I want you to at least land one hit on my person within two hours. If midnight comes and you haven’t succeeded, I’ll kill you.”
“You wouldn’t.” Ferain snapped, though she had an uncertain shiver in her tone.
“I would, but don’t take my word for it. Better to just experience it.”
As he said that, Fera felt another powerful hit against her back, throwing her over the chairs and onto the floor again. Before she even had the chance to register the pain, her instincts kicked in, causing her to force herself into a backwards leap. Her powers activated, and she flipped up onto some seats behind her. Just as she landed on her perch, a blurry silver bullet struck the ground, creating a cloud of dust and leaving a crater in its place. Fera’s eyes darted towards the man still sitting at the bottom of the court, knowing that she had no choice now but to complete her trial. As a streak of blue and white, she leapt from one seat to the next, making her way blindingly fast towards her target. Just before she reached him, another impact met her side, one that felt many times more powerful than before. There was a moment where she was weightless and still, and in half the time it took for a heart to beat, she was sent flying through the air again. She crashed into several chairs this time before coming to an abrupt stop at the base of another. Her lightning flickered twice before dying out completely, and for a while, she felt like she was dead.
The pain was so immense, it was almost as if it wasn’t even there. It was an odd experience, one that made her feel too terrified to even comprehend what was happening to her body. When her vision returned to her, she sucked in a sharp, painful breath, as if she’d been submerged under water for several minutes and hadn’t breathed since. Two blinks later, she was struggling to even twitch a finger. Five seconds later, she had given up trying.
“You’re giving up?” came Itani’s voice, and to her surprise, that venomous, sickly tone arose from just beside her. One eye slowly opened to see the man looking down on her, his hands stuck in his pockets, and his posture slightly slouched forward. “See, I knew you weren’t dead yet. So that means you’re giving up. I didn’t take you to be a failure, Ferain Hirigaya.”
“I’m not.” she wheezed.
“You are.” he said, looking down at her pathetic figure as it lay on the floor beneath him. “This proves it. Last year proves it. Yarin Olira is dead because of your failures!” he shouted. “Kiko Mihari is still alive because of your failures!”
Fera gritted her teeth, clenched her hands into electrified fists, and narrowed her eyes in pure, uncontrollable rage at the sound of his accusations, his truths.
“You are a failure. The question is, will you keep failing, or will you get up and prove me wrong?”
Ferain lunged at him, but he caught her by the wrist and threw her aside. As she was airborne, another ball collided with her body, throwing her down towards the court. She hit the ground hard, rolled twice, and slid to a stop in the center, panting slowly. It felt like her body was starting to shut down. Each pump of her heart throbbed in every limb and fingertip, and her lungs felt like they were simply about to give up. She opened her eyes, despite how much they protested, and shakily, she took to her hands and feet. Another ball fell towards her, this time being avoided by pure reflexes alone. She charged ahead after her sidestep, rushing towards Itani in two bright leaps. She reached out for him again, but this time, she felt two impacts that stopped her short. One struck her hand from the side and the other struck her lower back from above.
Limply, she fell into his awaiting grip and was thrown back down towards the court. As she lay on the hard floor, she heard him taking slow, steady steps towards her from the stands. She opened her eyes as far as they would go and she saw her left hand already turning a sickly shade of purple from the impact. She had no doubt in her mind it was broken. Even that might’ve been an understatement, but there was no way for her to really tell the true amount of damage.
“This is it?” he asked, sounding disappointed and wronged. “So far, for the last two weeks, you’ve looked at me like you wanted to kill me. This is your chance, Ferain, your first and possibly last opportunity, but instead of doing what I know you can, you’re lying down with your face on the floor. You look pitiful. You look stupid. You look weak. You look like a little girl that doesn’t deserve the power she has.” She looked up at him murderously, but just as she did, his foot connected with her cheek. She fell onto her stomach, feeling blood welling up in her mouth as she swallowed down the pain. “What do I have to do to draw that out of you, hmm? Do I have to break you more?” He stepped on her swelling hand, causing her to scream in agony as he dug his heel in relentlessly. “What about your arm again? Should I just shatter it and be done with it?”
Fera’s eyes began to glow as blue sparks started snapping around her. He raised his foot and brought it down hard against her hand, causing everything to go dark again. She buried her face against the floor, trying her hardest to not cry out anymore. There was a powerful tug on her hair, raising her head from the ground, which revealed to the watching Itani her tearful eyes that glistened with so much more than just pain.
“A little more, I suspect. I’ll get it out of you one way or the other. It’s what that Raven girl tried last year correct? But this time, you don’t need to be worried about my safety, I assure you.” he said mockingly. “I can handle it just fine. So, given that, let her out. Let out that monster you keep caged so deep within yourself.”
“I’ll kill you.” Fera lowly growled, blood dripping down past her tightly closed lips.
“I hope so.” he responded, releasing her hair and allowing her head to fall again.
She didn’t hit the ground. Instead, she vanished in a streak of color. Several feet away, she crouched down, her arms hanging in front of her and her head drooping so her face could not be seen. Green lightning coursed around her injured body and hand, and rapidly, right before Itani’s eyes, the injuries began to vanish. Ferain’s fingers curled and uncurled, causing hundreds of webs of static to appear between them and her palms with each opening. Her hair stood on end and smoke rose from her body as she glared with glowing, burning irises of bright gold at the monster in front of her.
“Now you’re learning.” Itani said. “This is your drive. Anger and fear drives you forward, it always has. Your anger makes you want power to protect and defeat, and your fear makes you want it to survive. It’s perfectly normal to feel that way, most of us do. Most, however, can’t take those feelings and use them to achieve what they want most. That is what I’m here to teach you, Ferain. If you want this power, you need to learn how to use that drive to pull it out of you.”
Ferain blinked rapidly before the glowing stopped behind her eyes, and her powers began to simmer down. The pain in her body was gone, but there was something new in her heart that pulled on her emotions. “But… I don’t want to hurt people. If I do this out of anger, will I be able to avoid–”
“No.” Itani said. “But that doesn't matter. Hurting people is inevitable. The only problem with it is if you get hurt before you hurt them, whoever ‘them’ may be. The point is to stop the people you care about from being hurt. If you wait until they’re lying on the ground, dying in front of your eyes, before you act… it’s already too late. I read about what happened with Kiko Mihari. I read your own testimony as to what happened. The Nierro girl was run through, your own partner was nearly killed in front of your eyes, and yet, only in the end, when you almost lost everything did you finally manage to pull that power out. Look at yourself now. You try so hard to avoid losing control that you let your body get mangled and destroyed before you finally decide to do something. The power is there, and if anger or fear is what draws it out, then that is what you need to use in order to prevent what has already happened tonight. If I was really trying to kill you, you would have been dead a hundred times over. I could have aimed for your head instead of your body right from the start, and you would be none the wiser. You were too trusting, you let your guard down, and you were not using what you have to its fullest.”
“But–”
“Enough of that!” he shouted, causing Fera to flinch. “You hate me, right? You hate Kiko, right?! You want to stop us? Use that hatred and come at me with everything you have.”
Fera readied herself to move again, but once more, she stopped herself. Even with her hatred, even with her anger, there was still something within her that was holding her back. She shook her head and felt herself breaking down again. “I can’t.”
“Then I’ll hurt her.”
“Her?” Fera repeated, raising her head enough to see Seven walking towards the exit.
“Anita Caswell. I said that I would get it out of you one way or another. You said you snapped after she was threatened. If that’s what it takes, I’ll go fetch her.”
“Why?!” Fera yelled, causing him to stop and look back at her. “I’m done. I don’t want to do this anymore. This has nothing to do with her so why can’t we just leave and…” She stopped as she saw a shadow of a grin cross his face in the poor lighting of the arena.
“You showed up,” he said. “I gave you an option, a choice. Come, or stay away. You made your decision, and I can’t stand when people go back on their words. We’re both committed now, so no matter what it takes, no matter the sacrifices that need to be made, we’ll see this through.”
“Sacrif…” Fera started, remembering her own thoughts earlier that day.
She saw Itani turn and continue towards the exit. At once, she saw Kiko walking away from her, and in the back of her mind, she heard his high, crazed laughter mixing with Anita’s own screams of pain as he tortured her. Fera lowered her body, bright blue lightning erupting around her in an instant, and took off. There was only the briefest of moments from when she launched from her spot to when she was kneeling above a grounded Seven, her hand raised as extended claws of electricity crackled and arced around her fingers.
“Nobody will ever lay a hand on her again.” Fera growled viciously. “Not you, not anyone.”
“Then I want to see more of this Ferain in the coming days,” he said. “We will continue this every other night until we’re both satisfied with the results. If you try to hold out on me again, if your conviction falters even the slightest, I won’t hesitate to do to her what I did to you tonight. Wielders are tough, but without healing abilities on par with yours, she would’ve died after the second hit. Try me again and you’ll see that I’m not lying. Do we have an understanding?”
“Yes.” Fera replied, stepping away from him and letting her powers flicker out.
“Good. Then I would say that you’re dismissed for the night. In only half an hour you managed to touch me. We’ll see how well you do next time. Good night, Hirigaya.”
Fera’s mouth twitched as she walked past him, giving him a sneer full of so much hatred, she thought for a moment she would rather go back to her father than to see this man again. Unfortunately for her, it would seem that she no longer had a choice in this. Something that she should have known, given his own advice earlier that day.
“How many people have to betray you before you realize that you can’t trust anyone? The only person you can ever truly trust is yourself.” she thought silently, recalling his own words. This foolish leap into such an obvious trap only made her angrier as she left the gym behind and headed out into the dark of night to return home, still feeling sore and bruised from the lesson.