Ariyama was honestly very nervous to have a girl over at his house for the first time.

Of course, his childhood friend Kazura Machi, who he hadn't even seen in nearly a month, often came over. But this was different.

Ariyama still wasn't sure how he felt about Matsune, but regardless of that, it felt like he was bringing a celebrity over to his own home.

He didn't exactly have a close and meaningful relationship with her.

It had been raining by the time they'd gotten to his house, so Ariyama started off by taking his and Matsune's coats and putting them on the rack to dry.

“Thank you, Ariyama-kun. Wait, where's your mom?”

“My mom? Oh, she's out right now, I think in the shopping district. I, we, should be in school right now, and she's usually out while I'm at school. And as for you, are your parents OK with this? Skipping school, I mean. Or do they even know?”

Matsune gave him a smirk.

“Oh, don't worry. Both of my parents know all about Tributes and everything else.”

Ariyama stopped, and looked back at her, his heart beating in his ears. He could barely hear the words he was speaking.

“You're kidding.”

“Afraid not. As a matter of fact, my father was a Tribute too, years ago. Was even a high-ranking member of the Society, before he quit to take care of us and gave his Enchanted Tool away to the Society.”

Ariyama bristled with unspoken jealousy. Wow, it must've been nice to have such a compassionate and caring dad in your life.

No. This wasn't about his father, and if he ever wanted to leave from under his shadow, the best thing to do first would be to stop associating him with everything going on in his life. If he could do that, he could purge Ariyama Gotou from his subconscious.

Matsune looked around the living room that also held the corner kitchen counter.

“Wow, this place is nice. I know you hate when this is brought up, but that wealth of yours sure comes in handy.

“I suppose so…”

“Also, I have a question. We found that isolated storage room, a perfect place to train. So how come you insisted on coming here? Don't tell me you just wanted a girl to come over.”

“I-it's not that, obviously, but instead…”

He walked to the other side of the room, Matsune following behind him in an intrigued state. Ariyama threw open the door to his training room.

“After all, this is more than enough, right?”

Matsune put her hands together and gasped with delight.

“Oh wow! Ariyama-kun, this looks great! I never knew you were into this type of training.”

She scanned the lines of practice dummies and the sword rack as she spoke. Ariyama leaned his shoulder against the doorframe.

“Yeah, I've been at it for a few years. I don't really play much sport, so this is my main source of exercise. It's a bit geeky, learning how to use swords, but since I have that Enchanted Tool now, my training paid off.”

Matsune nodded, picking up a wooden sword and testing its weight, shifting it between two hands before setting it back down on the rack.

“Speaking of which, do you have the sword on you? We need to use our Tools in order to track auras, so it'll be vital to your training.”

“Wait, seriously? You can track aura using that dainty bracelet of yours, but I have to carry around the remains of a whole longsword?”

“Not really. As long as it's close at hand, it'll work. It can be holstered at your belt or even just packed into your school bag.”

“Ah, I gotcha. In that case, will we start?”

Ariyama held the door for her as she walked into the room fully, then he closed the door and followed her. He set his bag down and produced the rusted and shattered sword of Idolseus. Even looking at it made him a little queasy, but he felt like he was a bit better than usual.

“Right, so, I've got it. What now?”

The three hour, so-called ‘training’ felt to Ariyama like three years. All Matsune got him to do for the duration of her class was to sit in a position he found comfortable – he decided to stay cross-legged on a pillow he found in the living room, with his head down – and hold his sword out in front of him, with her soothing voice guiding him along the steps.

Once he did so, she explained that locating mana was like closing your eyes, and imagining red dust in the air all around you. Then, you have to find the sprinkles of blue dust, hidden within the veil of red. The colors were just for example, of course.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Essentially, finding a needle in a haystack.

Ariyama just sat there, for three hours straight, concentrating on finding that ember among the ashes. The drop of blood in the ocean. The star among the dark sky

He, as one might expect from a newbie, came up empty after all that time. He had caught glimpses of it, reaching out to grab it, only for it to be snatched away it was within his reach. Nothing more.

At the very least, it felt somewhat relieving to be able to train with someone who had gone through the same torment he had. Even if Matsune wasn't as intensely affected – as she said herself – he was happy she was there, if anything, just to keep him company. After all, the only person he'd seen for three whole weeks was his mom. It was nice to have a change for once.

As he returned the pillow that he had been sitting on the whole time, Ariyama walked back into the training room, and noticed Matsune kneeling over something he couldn't see.

Curiosity taking him over, Ariyama silently approached.

“Hey. What's that you're tinkering with?”

Matsune's eyes flicked up to meet his, and his heart skipped a beat.

“Oh, I'm not tinkering with it, Ariyama-kun. I'm more into assembling it.”

She moved to the left to let him peer over her shoulder. In her hands, there was a coil of rope, attached to a rubber knife at the top.

Ariyama recognised it instantly.

“Oh, is that like a replica of your Violet Enternutella thing?”

“Violetta Eterniella. And yes, that's spot on. Of course, I wouldn't practice with my actual Enchanted Tool in a place as –and please mind my wording – brittle as this place is. So, as an alternative, I made this makeshift weapon to act as a placeholder.”

Ariyama reached out and felt the roughness of the rope and smooth surface of the rubber knife.

“Hm. Looks legit. It's a relief that my Tool is also a sword, meaning my training wasn’t for nothing.”

Matsune huffed a small chuckle as she pulled the rope along with her as she got to her feet, tugging at the knot connecting the knife. She then turned to Ariyama and gazed up at him.

“You know, if you're up for it, I wouldn't mind having a little spar with you? You can test your sword technique while I warm up with my rope kunai.”

Ariyama couldn't help but smirk, crossing his arms.

“Oh, I see. I'll be your warm-up partner, is that it? Was my mana detection really that lackluster?”

Matsune brought her hand to her mouth as she giggled again.

“Oh, Ariyama-kun, don't be so silly! You seem to forget you're still just a beginner when it comes to mana detection, so I don't expect results so quickly. And as for you being my warm-up partner…”

She made a scene of stroking her chin, pretending to be thinking intently, before she gave him a cheeky wink that was quite unusual of her.

“I guess I can't deny that.”

Ariyama blew out a breath, the knockback from her wink nearly knocking the wind out of him.

“Matsune, it's not good for my health – or anyone's – if you start acting like that. I think you forget who you are, sometimes.”

Matsune raised an eyebrow at that.

“Really? In what way?”

“As in, you're Matsune Sasya. The top student of the year and possibly the whole school, with great grades, amazing at sports, and kind, gentle and popular – really damn popular – and even friends with all the teachers. Including Ijichi-sensei! That guy probably doesn't even like his fellow staff members, but somehow has a soft spot for you? Like, you're seriously a celebrity in the making. Hell, I'd say you already are one.”

Ariyama didn't realize that he was breathless so suddenly.

Matsune waited for his spiel to be over before commenting, cupping her hand on her cocked hip.

“Ariyama-kun, are you jealous by any chance? I don't like to make assumptions, but that was…”

Ariyama sighed, his shoulders sagging.

“Too much, I know. Uh, sorry, Matsune, I don't know where that came from. I think I'm still messed up a little, but that's to be expected, right?”

Matsune hesitated, rubbing her arm meekly.

“Of course it is, Ariyama-kun. And I don't hold you in any way responsible…”

Ariyama titled his head, a concerned frown etching onto his face. Was she OK? What's with the sudden switch to a more submissive cadence? She was saying she was OK, but her mannerisms were telling another story…

“Matsune, if I said anything that made you upset, I'm really sorry–”

But Matsune shook her head and held up her hand.

“No, no. Ariyama-kun, you did nothing wrong. I'm not unaware of the fact that there are people who tend to not like me because of my popularity.”

Ariyama felt regret twist in his gut. He really had gone overboard with that mini rant of his, hadn't he?

“I don't not like you, Matsune. I think you're really great–”

But Matsune cut him off.

“I'm aware, and have been for a long time, so I'm not fazed over it. The fact that a majority of people do like me – and the people who don't are in the minority – fills me with more than enough optimism. I can focus on that, and then all the negativity can disappear…”

She froze, blowing out a shaky breath.

“...for a little while, anyways.”

Ariyama didn't know what to do. He felt a pressure on his chest, as if his own conscience was holding him down, saying, “Dude, you messed up”.

His fingers twitched, and he ran his tongue across his upper teeth before he spoke up.

“Matsune, I know you've been here for me when I needed it, and you were the one who helped me get out of my destructive spiral. So, if you want, I'm here to talk about your feelings whenever. About that rant, I was just a bit frustrated, I suppose. You seemed so perfect, even with your little flaws – which only made you more down-to-earth from the eyes of the others – and as such, when I found out you were also this magic agent, tracking down magic rogues, I felt jealous. Yes, I did. But I can see clearly now. Obviously, you're taking risks when you do these jobs, don't you? When you work for that Pilgrims’ Society? So, it isn't something I should be complaining about. In fact, I really should be grateful that I didn't have to do it too, up till now.”

He paused, then awkwardly held out his hand.

“I'm going to help you, OK? I know I'm still not over everything that happened, but this might help push those thoughts to the side for a bit, even if that's not healthy.”

Matsune simply smiled at him, her ebony eyes shining ever so slightly, from the hint of unshed tears. He'd definitely don't something to her. He was glad.

She nodded passionately and brought her hand to his, slight fingers caught in a cage of his own fingers.

“Yeah. Let's do it.”

Ariyama pushed the dark thoughts away for a moment, returning her a small smile, and repeating her words.

“Let's do it.”