—Are you an idiot, perhaps?
It took no more than a second for him to receive an answer, and it wasn't the one he was exactly expecting. Because he suddenly raised his voice, a sharp pain made Maika hold the right side of her abdomen.
—You almost died. You have no idea what you did, magic works on its own laws, rules that should not be broken.
—Laws? What’s all that?
—You have no idea what you're holding in your hand or what you can do with it. It can shorten your life or end it right now if you use it again —she pointed to Aiden's hand, and he dropped the piece of paper from between his fingers—. Nothing is convenient enough to turn you all-powerful. That's an alchemical circle that also works under its own set of laws. What you did, whatever it was, clearly wasn't meant to be done that way —Maika continued without intending to stop—. The function of alchemy goes much further, but it is basically known in this world of the occult for breaking down and rebuilding, in other words, modifying matter, not creating something out of nothing, that is impossible with pure alchemy.
»The set of rules that is 'magic', in its own way, is the same as the set of rules of physics. By altering those rules, I'll repeat myself, you are lucky to be alive. You stopped the fire, even if you created an air wall with alchemy, the fire should have consumed it. I don't understand how you were able to use my magic, but the effects of not using it properly are proof. I can't let something like this happen again, you will definitely kill yourself.
The look on Maika pierced him. She wasn't exaggerating, he understood it better than anyone, he understood it with a disturbing ease. The memory of the crucifying pain was still present even now. Thinking about it, it seemed incredible how he managed to carry it here.
—At that moment… When you fired your weapon, it just got in front of me and protected me when I was desperate, what protected me was…! —He looked from side to side, left, right, up, down. He started looking for something, something that only he can see—. It couldn't have been, right!? It makes no sense, it's supposed to be some kind of neurological disease or psychological trauma, it's supposed to not exist. And if it doesn't exist, then why?
He used all his power to focus on Maika and, it cost a bit, but he succeeded. There it was, the black smoke that had been part of practically his whole life danced in the wind around the girl.
He almost died without knowing it, due to a law he didn't know. He didn't know the exact mechanisms, but it was a fact that the transmutation circle did its job, not in the way it should have, and he paid the price. That was the conclusion that both of them had come to in one way or another.
What Aiden saw at that moment; the black smoke protected him, meant that he manipulated something that shouldn't exist, that's why the rebound occurred. But to begin with, why did something that doesn't exist in this world materialize just when Aiden needed it the most? That was the real dilemma.
—What are you talking about? —Maika had been focused on her wounds, but when she heard Aiden talking about strange things, she turned her gaze towards him.
—The smoke, the black smoke, I don't understand it myself, but I'm sure it was that! —The concern mixed with other rushing upward emotions were obvious in Aiden's voice as he spoke.
Maika stopped to think about what she had just heard and what she was going to say next when she noticed Aiden's impatient gaze.
—It's nothing, what's more important now is getting out without getting caught —thanks to the support the tree behind her offered, she stood up, ready to leave—. I put up a barrier as soon as I woke up. About 8 hours have passed, it will soon disappear and when the first student comes, they will notice everything that happened here.
—Wait, where do you think you're going, injured like that? You need to go to a hospital to treat your wounds.
—I can't go anywhere like this, it would be suspicious if the same day part of the school was destroyed a student arrives injured with clothing impregnated with smoke smell; for now, I just need to get out of here.
—Then come with me! You have to rest, at least I can help you with that.
—Eh? —And with that sound pronounced quite femininely by Maika, the conversation was over. She was practically dragged by Aiden, as it was conveniently difficult for him to walk on his own.
They went to the reserve bedroom, where they wouldn't be bothered by anyone, fortunately it was still early enough, so they managed to go unnoticed.
As for the school surveillance system and some streets, Maika said she would take care of it. Her intuition told her that it wouldn't be a good idea to ask how at that moment, so Aiden decided to trust that matter to the expert.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
When they arrived in the room, he went into the bathroom to wash his face, among other things. When he came out, he found that Maika had fallen deeply asleep in her bed. Her feet still touched the floor, she only let the top of her body fall on the bed, further demonstrating him how tired she was to sleep in such an uncomfortable position.
—After all that, and she still looks so innocent when sleeping.
Letting her rest was undoubtedly the best option, but Aiden wasn't exactly relaxed enough to sit down and rest as well.
—It's true that we spent all night there —he added as he looked out the window and saw the sun rising on the horizon.
He had no way of knowing, but a hunch, the reason Maika was so exhausted was undoubtedly him. She spent hours applying first aid, with magic of course, until she finally stabilized Aiden's condition. It had been a headache because, for some reason, the spells failed and dissolved, so it took her hours to heal him slowly; she didn't stop there either, Maika kept the process going until she ran out of energy and resources, leaving Aiden in perfect condition.
The responsible one watched the exhausted girl from the chair at the desk, ignoring everything she suffered for him. Soon after, he began to feel hungry and when the girl lying in his bed wakes up, there is a great possibility that she will be hungry too.
What he had on was torn and charred, so Aiden quickly changed his clothes, grabbing the first shirt he saw and the same for pants. Then headed to the commercial district to look for a grocery store to buy anything edible.
He hurried to go and return to avoid Maika, if she suddenly wakes up, from disappearing if he wasn't present. After buying several things at random, Aiden was about to go back when a familiar voice spoke to him.
—Aiden, how's it going, shopping?
It was Saya, who had felt bored and decided to go out for a walk.
—Saya, what a coincidence. HAHA… —The tension in his fake laughter was obvious, luckily for Aiden, Saya didn't notice or didn't care.
«When I'm in a hurry I have to run into him of all people, what are you doing skipping classes in the first week!? I hope he doesn't want to take me to one of the best places to pick up girls in the district or something like that».
—Woah. You're carrying a variety of things there, is it for a party? The guys in the dormitory did the same thing yesterday, I guess there's a reason to celebrate today too —said Saya, with his usual relaxed way of speaking.
—Ah… Yeah, haha. You see, it's for my welcome party, with special guests like me, me, and me.
It was the only thing Aiden could think of to get away from his companion, a stupid joke, that and: “Huh, a reason to celebrate?” he asked himself, without saying it out loud.
The joke was so pathetic that Saya gave him an uncomfortable look for a few seconds. Which irritated our accomplice #3.
—Oh, right. You're in that dormitory all alone.
—Yeah, I was so hungry that, apparently, I went a little too far, right? That's why they say not to shop when you're hungry.
—Well, junk food knight, don't waste any more time and continue your journey to find the monster known as diabetes, obesity, and diseases caused by poor nutrition. I’m busy as hell right now, so it’s not possible to accompany you in this fearsome battle. Good luck in your fight, my friend.
As he elaborated on strange things, Saya, as always, maintained his carefree demeanor, but his tone made Aiden doubt whether he was only joking or if he was serious.
—Sure. So, see you tomorrow?
As he started to walk back to the bus stop, Saya stopped him again.
—Right, I forgot, did you hear that there won't be classes until the rest of the week for the 2A to 2D classrooms? Apparently, someone entered just after classes ended and did all kinds of vandalism. I heard that they even set fire to one of the buildings, which turned out to be ours. We could be placed in another classroom for now, but the administrators said they wanted to investigate more thoroughly to ensure that everything is safe for us. That's the reason to celebrate —Saya said and gave a charismatic smile—. Although, catching up to the program will be hell for the next few weeks.
—Hoooh… Really, there are crazy people everywhere. No, I didn't know, thank you for letting me know, see you later.
—Goodbye… Oh! I almost forget to tell you; you should be careful with fire.
Saya's relaxed voice thoroughly changed to a deeper one for just a second, this time in a wholly different way than before. A threatening pressure grew behind him, or at least that's what Aiden thought. His eyes opened completely, and his body became rigid as he heard those words, he was facing away from Saya, but he couldn't turn his body, or take another step.
—Do you know how to cook? It's dangerous for an inexperienced person to prepare the things you have there, you could cause a fire in your dormitory, like the one that happened at school, be careful.
Hearing that silly comment, the tension left his body abruptly, so quickly that he felt ashamed of himself, as if he had been played a tasteless joke.
—Don't underestimate me, I'm the master chef of spaghetti & meatballs —Aiden forced a confident smile and added—. See you later, Saya.
Saya, before continuing his walk, said goodbye to Aiden with a dark smile, or maybe it was just Aiden's imagination.
—Yes, we'll be seeing each other, Aiden. —he said, and disappeared among the people.