Pablo reluctantly approaches Aurum in the cafeteria. He seems to be enjoying his food, but the moment Pablo sits across from him his entire mood changes. "What do you want?" he asks, not even bothering to look at him.
"So uh… you're the hotshot of this dojo, right?" He changes his posture to look confident, but ends up looking kind of ridiculous. "For my rank? Sure. But there are people above me, The Three Superiors. They are the first students of Ayato. But what is it to you?"
"You seem like a straightforward, brutally honest guy. Which is exactly what I need." He leans forward and lowers his voice. "So?" Aurum raises an eyebrow and looks at Pablo. "I ain't doing your bidding."
"Oh? Is that so?" He leans back on the chair and grins. "Well, I suppose it's about time they learn Haisha let you win."
He almost chokes on his food and quickly swallows it down. He furrows his brows in anger. "Are you blackmailing me? You don't have the balls to do that."
"Really?" He raises an eyebrow as well, in amusement. "My friend Haisha is what we call a good and caring person. But me, personally, I like to think of myself as someone who does not give a shit about who cares about you. To be honest, I'd smile when I see them mocking you. That's how petty I am, bitch. I am a machine fueled by spite." He chuckles, enjoying this back-and-forth where he has the upper hand.
Aurum chuckles back, Pablo cackles. Then Aurum cackles back, Pablo laughs. So does he. Their laughter goes on for a good few seconds. "Damn," Aurum wiped the tear from his eye. "Y'know. That kid made me consider reevaluating the hypothesis that Dawnthinkers aren't inherently evil. But you just came and saved the day, you guys really suck." He stops laughing, but the smile is still there.
"So that's your plan? To blackmail my pride for… what? What's your aim here?" he asks.
Pablo keeps the grin on his face and wipes his tears of laughter as well. "I need you to train me. I need to learn sorcery and better my mana control."
"Huh? Why would I train you? You're not a Magiborn." Aurum squints. "Well, believe it or not, I have mana. And you can probably sense it, because apparently everyone can."
Aurum chuckles again. "Oh, so that's what that leakage is. I thought you were just radiating bitchness. I was afraid it was contagious."
"Yeah, don't worry. You can't catch it twice." He says while leaning in, and Aurum's smile drops instantly. He scoffs. "Right, smart-ass. Y'know why they call you Dawnthinkers? Well, not they. You gave that name to yourselves. It's because apparently you're smart enough to think about tomorrow. But everyone does that, dipshit, that's what we call surviving."
Pablo sits and listens to his rant, not that he is interested. "And us? Tch, 'Magiborns'. You don't even call us by something we can do, just what we are made of. But since that's the only thing your people are interested in, I guess that makes sense."
In response, Pablo raises his hands in a fake surrender. "I do not care about your cultural drama, man. Can you teach me or not?"
Aurum stares right into his eyes, a disgusted look on his face. "Get the hell out of my sight. I don't care if you tell them. Go fuck someone else." He flicks his head, gesturing towards the exit.
Pablo just stares at him in shock and puts his hand on the table in an aggressive manner. "Fine." He gets up and turns his back on Aurum as he walks away.
But just as he is about to leave, a thought crosses his mind. A small, sinister smile fills his face. "…But I already did." He turns towards Aurum again.
"Huh?" he says, confused.
"You said 'Go fuck someone else.' I did." He grins. "What the hell are you talking about?" Aurum's smile drops slightly. "That girl… what was her name, Lepi? You should look after her more." Knowing he just detonated the bomb, he turns his back against him and starts walking away, but also braces himself for what's next.
"What did you just say…?" Aurum drops his food, his hands shaking in anger. "I'll fucking kill you!" he screams. He leaps towards Pablo and grapples him onto the floor. "Ugh!" Pablo yells out in pain.
"Stupid bastard!" He starts hitting Pablo's face repeatedly, not caring if he lives or dies. Hit after hit, Pablo inevitably loses consciousness.
But before getting knocked out… he can hear a voice.
HOW CRUEL.
Pablo wakes up inside the infirmary, slightly regretting his choice, but he is willing to do whatever it takes. He is severely beaten up and wounded, his vision blurry, but he sees Haisha sitting next to his bed. "Ugh…" He groans in pain.
To his left is Ayato, patiently waiting, the same pout from before on his face. "Really? On your first day?" he says.
Pablo tries to speak but groans in pain once more. "He… that bastard… assaulted me! I didn't do anything wrong!"
Ayato crosses his arms, not buying it. "He said you insulted his girlfriend and implied you had sex with her."
In response, Pablo freezes and looks at Ayato in shock and disbelief. "W-What? That's… that's not true! That bastard assaulted me after I asked him to train me! I just said that his girlfriend, Lepi, seemed more friendly than him. Which is true!"
Ayato facepalms. "Tsk tsk tsk." He exhales sharply. "I don't know who to believe." He shrugs.
"T-Talk to Lepi. We had a wonderful conversation. She'd know I would never say such a thing! And Haisha, why are you not taking my…"
Haisha is sleeping.
"Damn." He mutters.
"Even though I understand the prejudice, because I have the same prejudice except stronger, I'm not tolerating this sort of thing. And I certainly do not want Nasaki on my back, anyway." He rolls his eyes. "I'll talk to Lepi. If she takes your side and vouches for you, I'll kick Aurum out. That's just something off-limits, he beat you up pretty badly."
"Wait, you'll kick him out?" Pablo says in surprise. "I mean, if you want me to," Ayato says.
"I…" He turns his head away from Ayato. "…I will think about it."
"I'm bringing all the parties here. And don't worry, Aurum can't do anything when I'm here." Ayato turns towards the door.
Pablo turns back to him and nods. "Okay, I'm okay with that."
Ayato leaves and doesn't come back for a good few minutes, possibly talking with them and explaining Pablo's side.
Aurum and Lepidus enter the room. She looks very angry, and so does Aurum. Aurum clenches his fist at the sight of him. "He is lying, master!" Aurum yells. "Shut it." Ayato shushes his mouth with his finger. "Lepi, what do you say?" Ayato asks.
She looks at the both of them, visibly nervous and scared. Pablo's guilt increases seeing her like this, knowing he caused it. "I don't know, master." Her eyes tear up, and she waves her hands around in frustration. "Pablo would never say something like that, I've barely met him, but he was so kind to me."
"Lepi, this is exactly what he wants you to think!" Aurum points at Pablo, and Pablo flinches when he does so. Aurum is appalled by this, and smiles with anger. "You sick fuck… you planned all of this! You really did!"
Lepi then slaps Aurum and yells back at him. "He didn't do anything, you meathead! You almost killed him!"
Aurum puts a hand on his face, taken aback by her action. "You're taking his side?!"
"Of course I am! He was so kind, you're just making stuff up! Like you did last month. You almost paralyzed that kid because you thought he insulted me." She nudges his chest aggressively. "That's… that doesn't mean… it's not the same thing! I'm not crazy!" he yells.
Ayato steps between them to stop further escalation. "Alright, you two. I don't want to hear your bickering. Lepi, are you sure about your stance?" He raises an eyebrow. "Yes. I am sure." Her eyes tear up again. She looks at Pablo with that expression on her face. "He wouldn't say that." She gulps.
Pablo's heart skips a beat as she says that. The true stakes of his action hit him, but right now, it's too late.
"Aurum." Ayato looks at him, fully serious. "I expected better than you. Pack your things." He shoos him away, disappointment on his face. "No… master!" His voice shakes. "This place is my life! If I leave… I will be hunted. Like my family…"
"You should've thought about that before you almost killed him." He points towards Pablo.
But Pablo interrupts. "Wait… no. Don't. Don't kick him out."
Ayato looks at Pablo in surprise. "Why?" Pablo's hand shakes in pain and hesitation. "I understand. He misunderstood what I said because of his love for her. I do not forgive him… but I don't think he should be kicked out."
Pablo starts to heal himself using mana and slowly gets up, able to move his body without major pain, but he can still feel the damage he took. Aurum, at this point, is confused beyond belief and does not understand him. "What are you trying to do, you monster?" Aurum crosses his arms. "Aurum! He just spared you, and that's your way of thanking him?"
Pablo gets up and walks towards Aurum. "It's okay, Lepi…"
"I do not understand, but you're planning something. There is no way you did this for no reason." Aurum lowers his voice, pure animosity leaking through his mouth. "I'm just trying to be kind here, Aurum."
Ayato steps between them again. "It's okay, Ayato. Can you two leave us alone to talk for a second?" Pablo asks. "Are you sure? If he attacks you…" Pablo cuts him off. "Don't worry about that."
Ayato shrugs and reluctantly leaves the room. So does Lepi, worry etched on her face. "Don't you dare touch him, you meathead!" Lepi says to Aurum before she leaves. They close the door.
Aurum looks at Pablo, inches between them. He squints, doing his best to hold himself back. Pablo leans in and whispers in Aurum's ear.
"You're my bitch now, motherfucker."