"I literally almost beat you yesterday," a young man said in annoyance, staring at the black-haired girl with blue-green eyes scribbling in a notebook. She pursed her lips and tapped the pen against her forehead.
"But you didn't," she replied, then continued writing. The young man slapped his forehead in frustration. At this point, he couldn't even try to intimidate her into staying away from him—not after the lesson in humility he'd received in the alley from her so-called boyfriend.
"Renay," he said, and she looked up at him.
"Please, just leave," he said with a sigh. After trying everything else, he had finally resorted to this final option: pleading.
"Why are you making it seem like I'm doing something bad to you?" she asked with a frown, and he sighed.
"What do you even want from me?" he asked.
"To be honest... I don't know," she said nonchalantly. He leaned back and closed his eyes.
"Tell me, Ryan, don't you like my company? Do you really like being alone?" she asked. He opened his eyes.
He didn't answer.
"You still haven't told me what happened to you yesterday. Where did you get those injuries?" she pressed.
"None of your business."
He stood up, grabbed his bag, and began leaving.
"Wait," she called.
"What now?" he asked.
"We have lectures at 3," she said.
"I know," he replied, then walked away.
She stared at his receding figure, then sighed. She grabbed her bag and turned to find an annoyed-looking young man approaching.
"Renay," he said. She pushed strands of her hair behind her ears.
"I know what you did to him yesterday. I don't like it. Stop. Just stop intruding in my life," she said.
"You have got to be kidding me," he laughed. "So you're protecting him now? He almost hit you yesterday, Renay. What's wrong with you? Why the hell are you even approaching him?"
"That's none of your business," she said.
"It IS my business."
"Don't do that again, Ethan. I'm serious. You know what I can do to you if you don't," she said blankly.
"What?" he asked.
She smiled. "Trust me, you don't want to find out."
...
"Haa!" He sprang up, his eyes meeting darkness.
"Huh? What happened?" he muttered, then realized he was on a bed. The place was dark, so he couldn't see anything.
"A bunk?" he muttered as his hands met metal the moment he stretched them upward.
"Zel," he said, but for a moment there was only silence.
"Zel," he said again, but there was no reply.
He now realized something was wrong. Very wrong. This was the first time the voice hadn't responded when he called.
"Wait..." he muttered, his eyes widening as he felt a sensation he had only experienced before he awakened. "My mana... it's back! How?!"