On the path to school, there were several students walking behind and in front of us. A few were in groups as they excitedly chatted with their friends, while others walked by themselves. I, on the other hand, walked beside the timid girl, Luna, who said she wanted to talk to me about something, but so far hasn't said a word.
She was wearing an oversized hoodie, even though it was currently morning. It looked as if she was trying to psyche herself up to speak since every few minutes, I heard her faintly mutter something that couldn't even be comprehended as a word, much less a sentence, but every time I looked in her direction, she averted her eyes and looked down.
It was as if we were playing a cat and mouse game. If I stared at her for too long, she would look as if she was on the verge of tears.
Instead of jumping into whatever she wanted to say, I decided to make small talk with her so she would gradually become comfortable speaking with me.
"We're in the same weapon cultivation class, aren't we? How are you progressing so far?" I asked.
"I umm… G-Good," she stuttered out and paused.
"H-How about you?"
Improvement, at least.
"It's going well. I'm really hoping I can awaken a soul weapon at the end of the course. With the allowance I receive from the school, buying a special beast weapon would be all but impossible," I said.
"My papa always said that weapon cultivation always came naturally to our family so I don't have to worry. But it still makes me feel a bit pressured."
"Papa?" I inquired.
Suddenly, her face went bright red, and she began waving her hand around frantically in a panic.
"I meant my father! That's all!"
"Oh, I see. So you call him papa?" I teased.
She lowered her head once in embarrassment.
"Yeah. Don't, tell anyone."
This girl Luna, she wasn't just shy; she was timid. She seemed to be afraid of everyone and everything around her. Taking that in mind, what could be so important that she would gather the courage to speak to me?
"Umm, about what I wanted to talk to you about," she said with her head still held lowered as she clutched the hem of her skirt.
"I umm, heard about what happened. About you confessing to Mia." Just then, for the first time during our conversation, she stared up at me with a look of conviction I would never expect from such a timid girl. "I think you should go for it. I mean you should date her."
"Hmm?"
"I mean, if you really like her, then you should try to make her your girlfriend," she said, her usually pale face burning hot as she frantically explained flailing her hands about.
"You really think I have a chance?" I asked.
She nodded her head vigorously, which was the most passionate I'd ever seen her about anything.
"If you like her that much, then I'm sure she'll understand your feelings."
Hearing her heart felt words I smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, Luna. I wasn't sure if someone like me had a chance but... Thanks to your words, I'll try again. I won't give up."
Luna held down her head once again in embarrassment, except this time, I could see a small smile playing on her lips. It was faint, but it was there. She seemed genuinely.
It was times like these that I missed receiving sin points for lying.
Just up ahead of us were two individuals walking hand in hand. It was Kai and Aaliyah. The two seemed to be dating. It was a bit fast if you considered that only a week had passed since school started. Walking together, Luna and I didn't say a word until we got to the classroom and parted ways.
…
At lunch, Kai somehow managed to part ways with his new girlfriend Aaliyah, but only by promising to go on a date with her. She could be clingy at times, but a part of him found it a bit cute.
"I wonder how long this new relationship will last. Could be a while unless I managed to catch the interest of a cutie like Kiki," he mused to himself as he entered the cafeteria.
He quickly grabbed his lunch before heading over to where his best friend Jamie was. Jamie's servant, Isabella, was standing behind him as usual. Her expression remained as blank as ever, almost like a robot as she scanned the room.
But what mainly caught Kai's attention was that there was someone else at the table, sitting beside his gloomy best friend, Jamie.
"It looks like Maya is here too," he chuckled. "Things could get interesting."
The girl sitting beside Jamie, the second-ranked first-year student, was Maya. She was one of the few demi-humans who had enrolled at the academy. Maya was a squirrel-kin. Her fluffy grey tail flowed gracefully behind her, and atop her head sat two squirrel-like ears.
She hugged Jamie's arm possessively as she leaned against his shoulder. Jamie, on the other hand, tried his best to ignore her as he ate his lunch with his katana between his legs, the hilt leaning onto his shoulder.
'Maya is really cute. Jamie is really lucky to have a cute girl pining over him,' Kai thought with a sigh as he approached the table. 'He really does have it all: money, power, good looks, everything.'
Arriving at the table, he sat down at the opposite end of the two.
"Maya, what a pleasant surprise. It's good to see you're having lunch with us today," Kai commented as he picked up a spoon to begin eating.
Maya, who was rubbing her face against Jamie's arm, looked up at him.
"Maya wanted to eat lunch with her soulmate today," Maya replied before going back to looking at Jamie possessively.
"You're soulmate, huh?" Kai almost snorted. He knew his best friend enough to know he wasn't the type of guy to have a soul.
Plus he knew how much see the two of them must've been annoying Isabella. Even now when Maya mentioned soul mate, Isabella's face twitched and their was a sharp glare in her eyes before it disappeared.
"So how is it going?" Jamie asked, interrupting the two.
Though his phrasing was vague, Kai had an idea of what Jamie was referring to. Of course, he didn't expect his best friend to ask him how he was doing. He knew the guy too long to expect common courtesy.
"It's going good," Kai answered in his usually cheerful self. "Levi and I are really hitting it off."
"I meant about the girl I asked you to get close to, Luna."
Kai sighed.
"She is really hard to get close to. She doesn't have any friends in the class, and every time I tried talking to her, she just runs away. It's a lost cause."
Kai had tried numerous times to approach the girl named Luna, but every time he did, it was almost as if she was about to have a panic attack.
"Get it done," Jamie replied, not caring for Kai's excuses. "Forget about Levi for now; she is what is important. I need you to get close to her, no matter the cost."
"I have a girlfriend. If I'm seen trying to get close to another girl, then…"
Kai paused; no, it was more like he couldn't say another word. The words seemed to get lost in his throat. He and Jamie locked eyes, and from the pressure he felt, he understood how dangerous it was for him to say another word.
Even Maya, who was lovingly holding onto Jamie's arm, had to recoil a bit. Her instincts were telling her to get away, that a predator was near.
Kai gulped.
"If that's what you want, then I'll get close to her."