Chapter 4 So… We're Roommates Now?
Aeris grabbed more food before finally flopping onto the sofa. "Why don't you have a table?"
"Because I'm broke, that's why."
Aeris looked at him with a sour expression. A quiet chuckle escaped her lips—then she burst into full-on laughter.
Shiro's face twitched in annoyance. "You think that's funny? YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
His face turned red with frustration.
As Aeris leaned toward him, still giggling, something shifted in the air. Her expression darkened when she saw Shiro spring forward. He kicked her in the stomach.
"HOW DOES THIS FEEL?!"
Aeris had had enough. She grabbed him by the leg with a grin, yanked him toward her, and punched him in the face.
Shiro snarled, grabbing her arm. He pulled her in, wrapping one arm around her neck and locking her into a headlock.
"HOW'S THIS?!"
Aeris's face paled slightly, but a subtle smirk remained. "This is NOTHING."
Then she sank her teeth into his arm like a wild animal.
Shiro howled in pain and bit the back of her head in return.
They tossed each other across the room, trading blows like animals in a cage. Shiro eventually lost the scuffle and got slammed into the door hard enough to break it. Both collapsed on the floor, tangled together.
Aeris landed on top of him, their hands locked.
They both started laughing.
"I won," Shiro wheezed.
"No, you didn't," Aeris replied, smugly shaking her head.
Then Aeris turned her head toward the doorway and froze. Her face went pale. Beads of sweat formed on her brow.
Shiro followed her gaze and his expression drained of color.
Standing in the doorway was a girl with brown hair, green eyes, and a snack bag in her arms. Aeris's friend.
Her eyes locked on the scene in front of her: Aeris, on top of a boy. A commoner.
"This is not what it looks like!" Aeris shouted.
She jumped up, grabbed her friend by the arm, shot Shiro a vicious side-eye, and dragged her inside, leaving him groaning on the floor.
Eventually, Shiro sat up and looked around his room. The place was trashed beyond recognition.
"This looks bad," he muttered to himself.
After reporting the incident, the administration told him no one would repair the room of a commoner. So, he had to move in with someone else.
The next morning, after a long night catching up with her friend, Aeris stood in front of her mirror. Her blue hair was wild and tangled.
"Man, it's a mess," she mumbled.
She took a quick shower, brushed her hair, and threw on some house clothes, pink sweats, and a matching T-shirt with cartoon bears on it. She plopped onto the sofa and turned on the TV, but her mind drifted back to the fight with Shiro.
She blushed slightly, then shook the thoughts away.
A sudden knock at the door snapped her out of it.
"I'm coming!" she yelled, rushing to answer.
The knocking didn't stop.
"I SAID WAIT!" she shouted, irritation growing.
She opened the door and immediately regretted it.
"Hey again," said Shiro, standing there in black sweats and a white shirt, curly brown hair tousled as usual.
He looked kind of cute. Not that she'd admit that. But... why was he here?
"What do you want?" she asked flatly.
"Well, uh… my room's completely wrecked, and no one's fixing it. So, I've got to stay with you."
Shiro looked nervous, pale even.
"WHAT?!" Aeris's eyes widened in shock. "No. Absolutely not."
"Too bad," Shiro shot back. "You can't just say no, you dumb legacy brat."
"WHAT did you just call me!?"
"Not now." He walked past her and into the room.
Aeris stood frozen, stunned by his boldness. She clenched her fists but ultimately didn't stop him she didn't want another disaster.
Shiro looked around. "Why is your room so big?"
"Because I'm a legacy. We get benefits."
For the first time in his life, Shiro actually wanted to be a legacy.
"Where should I put my stuff?"
"Storage area. For now."
He dropped off his belongings and collapsed onto the sofa.
"You're just gonna act like you live here?" Aeris asked, already irritated.
"That's what you did," Shiro replied with a cocky grin.
Aeris narrowed her eyes but didn't argue. She sat next to him on the sofa, arms crossed.
"So, will I sleep here?" Shiro asked.
"Obviously. You're not sleeping in my room."
He sighed, looking around again. She even had her own room. Typical.
Aeris leaned a bit closer, her voice suddenly playful. "Wanna go train before the day starts? We don't have classes."
Her eyes sparkled. She wanted to see what he was made of.
Shiro raised an eyebrow. "Don't we need to get ready? The training center's far, isn't it?"
She smirked. "We have a training room in our dorms. Don't you?"
His face fell.
That explained a lot.
She led him to a different room, where a spell circle glowed faintly on the floor. They stepped onto it and vanished.
They appeared in a pristine white room, lined with racks of weapons.
Shiro picked up a katana. Aeris summoned her weapons from thin air two silver revolvers streaked with glowing blue lines. The chambers glowed faintly with light blue energy, and long blades extended beneath each barrel.
She held the guns up by her face, calm and ready.
Shiro dropped into his stance.
Above them, a countdown appeared: 3... 2... 1... GO!
Shiro launched forward with everything he had. His legs exploded with power, wind curling around him as he dashed through the air, a grin spreading across his face.
Aeris's eyes widened. He was fast.
She lifted her guns and fired two precise ice bullets. Shiro twisted, dodging one and deflecting the other with his blade. He leapt into the air and brought his katana down.
Aeris caught it with one of her blades.
They clashed, steel against steel. Shiro jumped back, landing with a thud. He took a deep breath and tapped into something he hadn't touched in years.
The power of the god who had chosen him.
A faint rage started to burn off his skin like heatwaves. Aeris could feel it.
She fired again an ice bullet straight to his chest.
But the shot bounced back toward her.
Eyes wide, she barely ducked it.
Shiro stood calmly, a shimmering bubble of energy around him. A voice echoed in his mind.
"You're welcome."
"Thanks," Shiro muttered under his breath.
He charged.
From his back, bubbles erupted like wings, dozens shooting toward Aeris.
They burst against her skin small stings, nothing serious.
She laughed. "Is that all?"
But then something shifted.
She sensed movement to her right turned and fired. Nothing.
To her left a sword arced upward.
She deflected it with one gun and aimed the other directly at Shiro's face. He barely ducked in time.
He slammed his katana into the floor, surprising her, then swung upward with his legs, kicking her square in the chest.
Aeris was flung backward. She fired wildly.
Shiro blocked most of it, but two bullets slipped through, tearing into his legs. She followed it up with an ice spear.
He dodged, catching it midair.
"COLD!" he yelled, instinctively recoiling.
Aeris nearly laughed.
He hurled the spear at her, but she shot it mid-flight. It shattered, unleashing a spray of bubbles that clouded her vision.
When they cleared, Shiro was behind her katana to her throat.
"Don't move," he growled.
Aeris smiled. "How weak do you think I am?"
Ice exploded around her.
Shiro backstepped instinctively.
Without even turning, Aeris fired behind her.
The bullet struck his arm.
He staggered as she finally turned to face him, a satisfied smile on her lips.