The arena was silent, the tension was so thick that everyone stopped talking or cheering. Shiraki's provocations worked making Yuki using what looked like her trump card, if Shiraki played her cards wrong the duel could end with Yuki's big attack, it was a gamble worth trying.

"So? Are you coming or what?"

Yuki's face was the picture of anger, she was holding her daggers so hard that her hands began to bleed. Yuki assumed a stance by lowering herself as low as she could, holding her daggers with a reserve grip while her gaze was fixed on Shiraki.

"IF YOU ARE IN HURRY TO DIE YOU DON'T NEED TO SAY LESS!!!"

Yuki dashed toward Shiraki using all her remaining strength.

"LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN TAKE THIS!! SNOW CROSS!!"

Yuki dashed past Shiraki unleashing her attack into a cross shaped slash to Shiraki's stomach, right after being hit ice formed into the cuts, only to explode widening them. The explosive ice spayed Shiraki's blood into the ground, the cuts were clean and blood was flowing from her abs. The attack worked, and yet Shiraki was still standing.

"So you can do damage if you try, if you had fought like this from the start this duel would have gone differently."

"W-what...?"

Yuki turned to Shiraki, she was out of breath since she used all her strength into that attack, but her enemy was still standing. Her face was pale, she was sure that her attack would've ended the duel, and yet her plan failed.

"Tell me Shirayuki-san, do you think you have the same strength you had when the duel began?"

"What... do you mean?"

"What I mean is, how much strength can you put into an attack when you have no more strength?"

Yuki quickly stood up with holding her daggers, the blood that was on the blades was indeed Shiraki's blood, Yuki couldn't understand.

"What sorcery is this... you must be cheating... how can you... how can YOU STILL STAND?!"

"Simple."

Shiraki ripped off her shirt throwing it away remaining with her sport bra. Yuki was speechless, now that Shiraki was without her shirt she could clearly her muscles. Her arms, her abs, it was all well-defined and toned, Yuki on the other hand was flat without a shred of muscles.

"You see, those muscles are the results of years of training, you can sharpen your daggers how much do you want, but if you don't have the strength to wield them they are completely useless."

Yuki was grinning her teeth while rubbing her hands on her head, even her best shot wasn't enough to take down Shiraki. Fatigue was building up, her endless anger was slowly turning into despair as flashbacks of her training flashed before her eyes. She screamed, overwhelmed by the situation Yuki began to scream as loud as she could, with tears running through her face she got up holding her daggers.

"I refuse to lose here... if I lose they'll never accept me... I need to... prove them wrong..."

Anger was leaving place for despair, hopelessness and other negative emotions, with a defeated look on her face Yuki charged at Shiraki attacking with what strength she had left. Her strikes were slow and kind of random, Shiraki was either guarding with her katana or simply dodging them moving aside, it wasn't a nice show to see.

"I don't like this anymore, let's end it Shirayuki-san."

Shiraki parried one of Yuki's strikes leaving her wide open, instead of attacking she leaped back placing some distance between them.

"(Why is she... sad? She's winning yet she seems sad, what's the meaning of this?)"

Shiraki's grin was no more, her expression was now serious with hints of sadness, even her voice was softer than before. Yuki had noticed her change of expression but she couldn't see why Shiraki's expression was sad, how could she be sad when she was winning?

Shiraki took a deep breath and assumed a basic kendo stance gripping firmly her katana, her eyes were filled with resolve, resolve to end the duel with her next strike.

"(Looks like it's her turn for trying to end this duel, I have to win now or I'll never win!)"

Having regained a little of clarity in her mind, Yuki launches herself in a last offensive charge against Shiraki, what was supposed to be an opportunity to attack quickly turned the other way around. When Yuki was close enough, Shiraki took a step forward stomping the ground with her right foot, she raised her katana above her head and attacked with a single slash using all her might.

"Wha-"

Yuki was too close to escape harmless, she raised her daggers and guarded Shiraki's strike.

"(It's heavy! This is heavier than all her previous strikes! Was she holding herself back for this exact moment?!)"

"As if I'll let you win!!"

Yuki began to create ice around her arms and daggers attempting to push back Shiraki's attack, the ice also began to form on Shiraki's katana attempting to push her back.

"Nay, this ends here."

"What?!"

Shiraki summoned for her strength screaming as loud as she could, the ice around the blade began to break with a purple light shining through the cracks. The ice exploded revealing Shiraki's blade covered into a sort of purple aura, the blade's color changed into the same purple of the mysterious aura.

"I-It can't be?! Don't tell me it's...!!!"

"This is the end!!!"

"How can yo-GWAAAAAAH!!!"

Shiraki's blade kept cracking Yuki's ice till her defense broke down, the blade's sharp edge met with Yuki's skin cutting her flesh with ease from her right shoulder till her left hip. Yuki's blood was sprayed all over Shiraki, such wound was deep and massive causing Yuki to pass out falling on the ground. So much blood was coming out from her wound that her kimono was turning red, just like Shiraki promised her.

"WINNER: SHIRAKI RYU."

With the result of the duel being announced by the referee, the arena exploded into cheers of excitement. The loud cheering of the students filled the arena, confetti and other things were being thrown by the students to celebrate Shiraki's victory, celebrations she couldn't enjoy as she and Yuki were being taken away from the medical staff.

"Argh!! Mmpf...mmpf..."

Shiraki and Yuki had been taken to the Colisseum's medical quarters where they were being treated. Shiraki was laying on a bed with only her underwear, some of the cuts were still bleeding and they were soaking the bed's sheets. During the duel she was fine but now she was in an immense pain, so much that she was biting some cloth to bear with the pain. Most of the medics were busy with Yuki since she was the one in the worst conditions, all Shiraki could do was to bear with the pain waiting for a doctor to show up.

"You were fine during the duel, how come you are in so much pain now?"

Together with Shiraki there was Hidit, she was sitting on a chair staying at Shiraki's side holding her right hand. Using her left hand Shiraki reached for the cloth she was biting, she removed it and kept it in her hand.

"Ah... ah... of course I'm in pain... I was simply... hiding it..."

"But why? What was the point?"

"Shirayuki-san... is one of those with... a really big pride... that kind of people won't care about anything else... except the thing they take... pride for..."

Shiraki paused for a moment to catch some breath, the injury that was hurting the most was the one on her stomach.

"She took pride... in her power... so I kept ridiculing her power... and just as expected she lost it... but I overdid it..."

Shiraki moved her left arm to cover her eyes, holding tightly the cloth in her hand.

"That expression... those tears... I enjoy a good fight and punishing those that act like her... but I didn't want to reach that point... this duel happened because she insulted me, I used her own medicine against her but I did even worse than her. In the end I was no better than her, I did even worse instead..."

Hidit rubbed her hands with Shiraki's right hand in an attempt to comfort her.

"What do you plan to do then?"

"I feel bad for it... when I'll have the occasion I'll properly apologize to her, you can't right a wrong with another wrong, it's the least I can do..."

Hidit kept trying to comfort Shiraki, as she was doing so someone entered in the room.

"Countless cuts around the body and one deep cross-shaped wound on the stomach, definitely better than the other one. Are you Shiraki Ryu?"

The man that entered was tall with short brown hair and eyes, he had a long brown tail on his back and a pair of feline-like ears on his head.

"It's me, and you..?"

"I'm Lionel Braha, I'm one of the head medics of the Coliseum. If you feel weak it's because you lost a lot of blood during your duel, but that will pass with a good night of rest."

Lionel was standing beside Hidit to check Shiraki's injuries.

"There are countless cuts indeed, you'll have to rest for at least 3 or 4 days when I'll be done with you. That means no training, no duels, nothing. You'll have to focus yourself on resting and healing from this duel. Are we clear?"

"Yes."

"Alright, it shouldn't take long."

Lionel removed his gloves and stretched his arms towards Shiraki with open hands. His hands turned pitch black shining of a black light, in a moment that light engulfed Shiraki completely obscuring her vision. Endless darkness was the sight before Shiraki, it was as if all her senses went off and she couldn't feel a thing, she couldn't tell even if her eyes were blinking, between a blink and another she was able to see again. Blinded by the sudden light Shiraki covered her eyes with her hand.

"It is done, even if some cuts were a bit deep it wasn't as bad as the other girl. I'm giving you 4 days of convalescence, during this period you are forbidden to partake in any physical activity, from training to duels and much more. From the second day you should be able to go back to school, but before those 2 days you are forbidden to leave your room, understood?"

"Y-yes."

"Good, Hidit will take care of you, do as she says and you'll be fine."

Shiraki removed the hand from her eyes and checked herself: there was no trace of the countless cuts she had, not even of Yuki's cross attack, not even scratch.

"What happened? In a moment I was covered in cuts and the next moment I'm spotless, what have you done?"

"Demons can't heal themselves with demonic energy, but demons with the dark element can do it. A demon with the dark element can cure other demons, of course it takes a lot of time to develop this skill but it's still possible. Of course healing with this attribute may not be enough, but is still better than nothing. I have to go now, take care."

"W-Wait! M-May I ask another question before you go?"

"Make it fast."

"How's Shirayuki-san condition?"

"Normally I couldn't tell you that, but I'll make an exception this time, not many students ask about their opponent's condition. Yuki is currently being treated for her injuries, the cuts on her face were serious but they won't leave a scar, they'll heal just fine. On the other hand she lost ton of blood and she needed a blood transfusion, that attack of yours with demonic energy was really deep enough to slash some of her organs, her treating has required most of the medical staff. She'll make it, but she'll have to stay here for at least a week, your attack will leave a really big scar on her."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"I-I see, thanks for the info."

"Hidit will fill you up for the rest, go take a shower and use a wheelchair to go to your dorm, it's a walk too long for someone in your condition. See you around."

Lionel waved with his hand and left the room, Hidit stood up and left a bag on the table next to Shiraki's bed.

"I'll go get a wheelchair for you, inside that bag there is a new uniform for you since the other one got damaged in the duel. Do you need help to get to the shower?"

"I think I can move just fine, where is the shower?"

"Right behind that curtain you'll find the bathroom's door, go there and you'll find the shower. Since I'm your coordinator I was able to retrive your personal things from your locker, you'll find everything behind that curtain."

"I see, thanks."

Hidit left the room as Shiraki got off her bed, as she went past the curtain she found her belongings on a table. Her katana, her bag and her necklace were there, but as she turned around she also found her bloody uniform. Shiraki reached for her blood-soaked uniform and held it with both hands.

"I feel bad for how the duel with Shirayuki-san went, but why do I feel..."

Shiraki stared at the uniform, her eyes were trembling as if she had some sort of abstinences, before she knew it she was burying her face on her uniform, sniffing it with great force. When she was done her face was covered in blood, she lets out a satisfied sigh as she licked the blood off her lips.

"Ah... has blood ever smelled so good? What is this elation I'm feeling?"

Shiraki's expression turned into the creepiest grin she could make, the smell and taste of blood awaken something deep inside her, something that has been sleeping for so long. A sinister and maniacal laugh filled the room before silence ruled over once more.

Some time later Hidit came back with the wheelchair for Shiraki, she entered the room and closed the door.

"I'm back with the wheelchair."

"Thanks, I'm ready to go."

Shiraki was all dress up sitting on the chair where Hidit was before, with all her belongings on the table she was ready to go.

"Good, our destination will be your dorm room, I'll explain what we'll do in these coming days as we'll walk."

Shiraki nodded and went to sit on the wheelchair, she placed her bag on her lap while keeping her katana in place with her left hand. Together they left the Coliseum taking a secondary exit to avoid the mass of students that wanted to talk with Shiraki.

"How are you going to take care of me Hidit-sensei?"

"Since I'm your coordinator I'll stay with you until you'll get better. By the school's rules when a student is injured the coordinator has the duty to watch over them, during those times lessons are suspended for the entire class and resumed when the student can attend again."

"And how are going to do that?"

"Eheh simple, I'll be your roommate for the next 2 days~"

"W-What?"

A little blush formed on Shiraki's face as she tilted her head backwards to look at Hidit, Hidit had a really bright smile on her face.

"I'll cook you meals, I'll paint your nail, we'll do many mother and daughter things together~"

"I'm sorry if I may sound rude sensei, but why do you call us your children?"

Hearing that question made Hidit suddenly froze on the spot, her bright smile left place to an expression full of pain, as if an old wound just started bleeding again.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. You are right, it sounds weird isn't it? If you wish to know why I call you my children I'll explain it to you, on the condition you'll tell me your reason to fight. I'll tell you my story only if you'll tell me yours."

"If that's the condition so be it."

"It's almost lunch time, what do you want for lunch?"

"I'll take zaru soba."

The two of them kept talking for the whole time till they reached Shiraki's dorm room. Now that she was at home Shiraki could walk normally without the using the wheelchair.

"Wow... your dorm room looks like a full-fledged apartment, a room like this is a luxury that only a few students can afford."

Hidit was astonished by Shiraki's room, not only it was big but it was also completely furnished, from the living room to her bedroom to even having her own kitchen.

"It was my jichan that paid for everything, I had no idea of what he did to my room till I entered, it was a huge surprise to me as well."

While Hidit was busy browsing the room Shiraki went to her room and changed into her pajamas, she was wearing a white singlet with a pair of black shorts.

"I see you changed already, where can I leave my things?"

"What things?"

The moment Shiraki asked someone entered the room, when she turned around to see who it was she quickly looked back at Hidit, she looked at the door again then back at Hidit.

"I'm back with lunch!"

"I got your stuff."

At the door there were 2 identical copies of Hidit, seeing those 2 when Hidit was right next to her confused Shiraki beyond imagination. One Hidit left the lunch on the table and the other left her stuff on the sofa, after waving goodbye they disappeared like dust in the wind.

"W-w-what has just happened?"

Shiraki's expression was the very picture of confusion while Hidit was laughing at her.

"I-I'll explain ahaha... those 2 were art clones I made when I went to get your stuff, one went to collect my luggage for the days I'll stay here while I made the other one to get us lunch and some groceries. You can't leave your dorm room and I have to stay by your side the whole time, so I brought enough food for those 2 days."

"I-I see..."

"Let's eat then, I'll sort out the groceries after lunch."

Hidit took out their lunches from the bag and grabbed the silverware from the drawer, Shiraki sat down on the table as Hidit sat in front of her.

"What is that exactly?"

"It's called zaru soba, it's a cold soba dish that you normally eat during summer, it's served in this particular bamboo plate and with this sauce called tsuyu. You dip the noodles in the tsuyu and you eat them."

"A summer dish when it's still spring, does that dish have some sort of meaning for you?"

"Yes it does... what did you get Hidit-sensei?"

"Oh nothing special, just a steak with a salad as side and some wine."

"I see, well then itadakimasu."

After thanking for the food Shiraki and Hidit began to eat, they silently enjoyed their meals without speaking a single word. Finished their meal Hidit rounded up the dirty dished and began to wash them.

"Let me help."

Just as Shiraki stood up something dragged her back to her chair.

"Not even in your dreams, you have to rest do you understand? You may not be bed ridden like Yuki but you still have to rest, your body needs it. Try to help me once more and I'll chain you to the sofa."

When Shiraki looked back at her chair a pair of arms was standing idle on the chair's sides.

"U-Understood."

Shiraki sighed and watched outside the window, the crimson sky was as bright as ever.

"To change the subject, what does that dish mean to you? Is it that important for you?"

Shiraki turned to Hidit when she heard the question, with her gaze focused on the zaru.

"I guess I can spoil you that. When I used to go to school in the human world I had a really close friend, be it at school or outside we would often get involved into fights. Nobody was ever able to defeat us, and after a fight we also used to get something cold to refresh us. One day after another fight we stumbled upon a restaurant that was serving seasonal dishes during the whole year, since we were looking for something cold we ordered zaru soba. Since that day we always went to the same restaurant, the food was so good that we became regular customers, over time they were able to tell that if we were eating there it was because we had a fight or more during the day."

"Quite the troublemaker you were eh?"

"Ah?! It wasn't me looking for fights! It was always them looking for one!"

"Ye ye I'll believe you~"

"Oi! That's the truth!"

Hidit busted laughing at Shiraki as she turned around leaning on the sink.

"Looks like you are feeling better already."

"What do you mean?"

"Well let's say someone seems to have thrown politeness out of the window and begun to speak more casually."

Hidit had a bright smile on her face as she said that, looking at her smile Shiraki realized what she said and how she said it. The realization made Shiraki blush of a bright red from the embarrassment.

"I-I'M SORRY! I didn't realize I was speaking so casually to you, please forgive me! I didn't mean to disrespect you!"

"What are you even talking about?"

Hidit shrugged and sighed a little, she walked before Shiraki and gently hugged her, holding her head to her chest as she stroke her hair.

"I don't mind you talking to me that way, I like it more than when you speak to me as your teacher because I feel like you don't see me just as a teacher. Of course when you are in class we are teacher and student, but you can drop the formalities when we are like this, so don't worry about it, okay?"

"M-mh... (Ah... it's so relaxing, she's so... warm... her hands are so delicate... is it really okay to behave like this?)"

Hidit stroke Shiraki's hair a little more since she noticed how she was enjoying it, Shiraki's tail was waving smoothly of happiness even if her mind had her doubts.

"Let's move to the sofa, I can see that you have some questions. You gave me a sneak peak of your past so it's my turn to give you one."

Together they went to sit on the sofa one next to the other. Hidit was playing with Shiraki's fluffy tail as she begun to speak about her past.

"Let's begin from what you asked me before, why I call all of you my children. Many, many years ago I had a family, I had a beautiful husband and a sweet little daughter, we all lived together happily and I was an artist at the time. All was fine till my 100th birthday arrived. I was going back home to celebrate it with my family since I was out of town, but when I arrived my world was destroyed. My hometown was destroyed, a beast went on a rampage destroying everything. The smell of burning flesh, the blood of demons splattered on everything, the smoke of burning buildings clouding my vision, I still remember it as if it was just yesterday."

Hidit stopped playing with Shiraki's tail, in that moment she lifted it to hugging it instead.

"When I reached my house there was nothing, a deep and gigantic crater was there where it once stood my house. There was nothing left, there was no rubble, no blood, nothing, everything was gone as if my house had never been there. I couldn't even bury them but it was probably better that way, I don't think I could've stand to look at the corpse of my family after seeing the ones I saw around the burning town."

"I can't even imagine the pain you felt..."

"That one is one of the reasons of why I call my students my children, even if my family is long gone I can still offer a hand to those who don't know what motherly love is. Students that were abandoned, that were rejected by their family, ignored or never wanted, I wanted to show what motherly love is to those that never known what it was. That includes you Shiraki, you have never met your mother, right?"

Shiraki quickly turned to Hidit, she never spoke about her family before except when she mentioned her grandpa, she was shocked that Hidit could tell something she never said.

"How do you know?"

"Eheh... you see it's one of my abilities as an art demon. An art demon is a kind of demon that can give life to their creations, be them drawings, sculptures, anything art related. Since I dedicated my life to paintings alone, I was able to develop an ability that let me see the color of other people. Emotions, feelings, memories, all those things have a color, and I can see those colors."

"Wow... then what colors do you see right now?"

"Let me take a good look..."

Hidit sat on the sofa staring at Shiraki, her eyes were still the same but her vision was gradually changing. The room around her was completely blank like a new canvas ready for being painted, Shiraki was the only thing in her vision to have colors.

"I see... red, some blue, black... and some bits of orange as well."

"What do they mean?"

"You are angry, a deep anger lies inside you, but you are also sad, something must have happened recently. You are strong, you feel strong in your capabilities, but you are also afraid, that sad thing that happened to you made you also afraid, worried about something or someone. In the end you are also curious, you are looking for answers about many things, you want to know more about yourself and everything that is around you."

"You can see them pretty deep, but how you could you tell about me not knowing my mother?"

Hidit closed her eyes for a moment, once she opened them again her vision was back to normal.

"Colors have shades as well, a warm shade of red can be seen as love, but a bright red can be seen as anger. Normally when I call one of my students my child I see the red shade of love in them, but when I called you like that there wasn't that shade, instead there was the color orange, the color of curiosity and some yellow, the color of doubt. Only when you spoke about your grandpa before I saw the shade of love in you."

"Wow... with this ability cheating on a test will be hard."

"Exactly, if I focus I can see the colors deep inside a person, but I can also simply gaze at them and see their color at that moment, that's how I was able to guess you never known your mother."

"The more I learn about you the more speechless I remain, your powers are just so... particular."

Hidit smiled and patted Shiraki's head.

"There is a lot more I can do, but this isn't the time to talk about it. More importantly, I think someone needs to go take a nap since they need to rest."

Shiraki stretched herself and yawned a little, she stood up from the sofa and stretched once more.

"Indeed, I'll go brush my teeth and go to sleep, but when I wake up I want to know the rest of the story."

"Sure, and you'll tell me the rest of yours."

While Shiraki headed to the bathroom Hidit was staring outside the window, remembering the face of her long lost husband and daughter.

In a dorm room of the male students' dorms

"So? You said you have some things to report, what is it? Did something happen already?"

In a dorm room with closed windows a black-robbed figure with a white mask was sitting on the student's bed, the student was kneeling before him keeping his head low.

"Yes, I have some important news regard some of our targets. Today 2 of them clashed with each other."

"Clashed? What do you mean?"

"The 2 targets interacted somewhere in the school, that interaction caused them to clash in the school's arena in a duel."

"I see, who are the targets in question?"

"Shiraki Ryu and Yuki Shirayuki."

The dark-robbed figure began to scratch their chin under the smash, letting out a distressed sigh.

"The dangerous target and another one, we knew they were in the same school but we never expected them to interact so quickly, are they classmates?"

"No, they are in different classrooms, luckily each one of our targets are in different classrooms."

"At least they are separated, so? Who won the duel?"

"The winner was Shiraki Ryu."

The robbed sighed once more with a very deep sigh, scratching his hair under the hood.

"What a pain, if she was able to defeat her she may as well able to defeat the other targets, we never anticipated her to be this strong already, were you watching the duel?"

"Yes, on the bright side Shiraki only won because she was physically superior to Yuki, her raw strength was what made the difference in the duel. Yuki is able to use her element well enough to even use it in medium scale, but she's as frail as a stick. I can't tell if Shiraki can use demonic energy, but I can surely tell she can't use her element yet. How should we proceed?"

The dark-robbed man stood up and looked at the obscured window.

"Don't engage them directly, as a matter of fact if you want to observe them do it from the safest distance you can take, you have no chance to win should you clash against them. Continue with your golem's research and make sure to report every progress. I brought you the materials you asked for, they are in that box in your desk, we expect a report as soon as possible."

"Will do, I'll begin to work on those right now."

"Good, I'm off them, Your Majesty has high expectations for you."

"Yes."

The student never lifted his head and remained kneeling the whole time, with a movement of his hand the dark-robbed figure opened a portal, vanishing as he walked through it.

The student stood up and went to his desk, the box the dark-robbed figure left was made of a kind of wood, but it was hard to tell. When the student opened the box he smiled after seeing its content: the box was full of little crystal spheres of different colors.

The student picked a red sphere and shook it up, the sphere seemed hollow till its color changed: the sphere's content was due to the spirit trapped inside it. After being shook the spirit took the shape of a flame, shining in the darkness of the room.

The little spirit was frightened, it tried to slam itself against the sphere's walls but everything was useless.

"With all those spirits I should be able to make a core never seen before, THIS will be the real evolution of golem's cores."

The student placed the sphere back with the others and closed the box, hiding it somewhere in the room.

With one of their members infiltrated as a student Stigma started the preparations for their plan, being so close yet so far from their targets. The shadows that lurks in the Demon World made the first move stretching long enough to reach Shiraki's school, but for how much time will they be able to hide? Nobody can tell.

END CHAPTER 7