POV: Aria Akari
As I stood outside the boy's dormitory, I felt a crisp breeze of wind brush across my body as I buried my mouth within my scarf in hopes of warming myself up.
My attire wasn't appropriate for the late autumn weather as I wore a black hoodie with a graphic design of a rose in the middle, a pleated burgundy short skirt paired with long thin black socks and black loafers.
If I knew I was going to be standing outside this long, I would have considered dressing warmer, although, I guess this is my fault as Rai did tell me to go back, which reminds me…
Curious, I shifted my focus towards Rai's bags of groceries, which were untouched with the exception of his blueberries as many of them were crushed while the rest were spreaded across the pathway like marbles.
I should pick up the rest of his bags at least-
Abrupting my thought was none other than Atticus, who speared Rai from out of the boy's dormitory as they were entangled, tumbling past me until Rai separated them by kicking Atticus away, allowing himself to freely recover off the ground while Atticus tumbled backwards until he recovered his balance and positioned himself into a stance resembling that of a sprinter.
Rai!
Thrusting towards Rai, Atticus initiated an exchange of hand-to-hand combat with an orthodox boxing stance as he tried to strike Rai with several deft punches, but despite Atticus having the advantage of his Aspect, Rai was somehow able to perceive his every strike with nimble weaving, rousing a vexing grin across Atticus's face.
"Just wait until I get my hands on YOU!" Atticus said, seething with rage as he ended their exchange with a feint into a heavy spinning back kick towards Rai's chest, prompting Rai to block the oncoming attack with his guard as the impact sent him skidding backwards across the pathway while Atticus chased him down, rushing towards Rai as if he committed a grave sin.
As Atticus approached Rai, the aura around his fists began to surge as Rai immediately raised his guard, alerted by the threatening power born before him as Atticus began thrashing into Rai's guard in delight, his every strike whittling down Rai's guard until it was soon broken as his arms fell to his side lifelessly, trembling from the accumulating pain he received from Atticus's empowered fists as he gritted his teeth in apprehension, sending Atticus into ecstasy as his grin widened.
Rai, you have to fight back or Atticus is going to kill you!
"Rai!" I shouted anxiously, dropping my bag of groceries as I prepared to activate my Aspect to aid Rai, but in the moment I took my first step, Rai's eyes locked with my own as he sharpened his gaze, his baleful eyes issuing a command that struck the very essence of my core as my body instinctively obeyed out of fear, freezing in place with cold sweat beading across my forehead as I questioned his nonsensical request.
Why?
Why won't you let me help you?!
I can end this senseless scuffle with a mere order and yet, you still refuse?
This isn't the same as your fight with Jacob.
Unlike Jacob, who only fights when his pride is provoked, Atticus is different.
He is a sick individual who adores the sadistic pleasure of tormenting someone until they're on the brink of death!
So why…
Upset, I remained still as I watched Atticus grapple Rai onto the ground with a brutal slam, but despite the lack of resistance from Rai, Atticus was far from satisfied as he locked himself on top of Rai and began thrashing his fists into Rai's face relentlessly, inspiring a few bystanders to grimace in revulsion as the sight we witnessed was nothing less than unpleasant.
Painting the once polished grey stone pathway was none other than Rai's crimson red blood as his face was battered beyond belief.
Allowing Atticus to revel in his pleasure, Rai remained still, choosing not to resist as Atticus eventually smashed his fist into Rai's face with a destructive strike, breaking his nose and burying his head into the earth below amidst the final strike as the impact created a reverberating shockwave that was felt by every student within the area.
Why do you choose to suffer?
With a sigh of relief, Atticus combed his hair back with his hand as he stood from the ground and looked down at Rai, who seemed to be unconscious as his body rested within a cavity of the pathway.
"You are truly a despicable bastard." Atticus uttered with content as he deactivated his Aspect and regrouped with Jordan and Jacob, who were somewhat disturbed with the way Atticus handled Rai until they soon disregarded their concerns as the three of them headed off into the distance.
As the area settled down, I walked towards Rai, who was miraculously awake, despite the brutal beating he received from Atticus as I crouched beside him and observed his injuries, which consisted of a black eye, swelling along his jaw, a broken nose and severe bruising across his blood-spilled face.
"Was it worth it, Rai?" I asked earnestly as a crisp breeze of wind brushed across my skin once more, carrying many cherry blossom petals along with it as the frigid air that once affected me was now nulled by my blood, which boiled with anger as I hated myself for respecting Rai's wishes.
For the second time now, I watched Rai allow himself to be beaten senselessly and as the Student Council President, I did nothing as my incompetence was repulsing.
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking." Rai replied casually, pretending to be oblivious as his mysterious nature was beginning to irk me, but with a sigh, I kept calm and allowed Rai to raise himself into a sitting position as I stood from the ground.
As Rai rose up, a concerning amount of blood dripped from his nose, but despite his current state, Rai was more focused on his bags of groceries, which were unintentionally destroyed from his fight against Atticus as he stood from the ground and walked towards his ruined groceries, dropping onto his knees at arrival of what use to be his blueberries as his eyes dulled out while I watched one of his emotions die before me.
You can't be serious right now.
Giving him a moment to grieve, Rai eventually came to his senses as he cleaned up his ruined groceries to the best of his ability and stood from the ground while I approached him.
"Rai, what are you going to do about your wounds?" I asked, despite knowing his answer, but this time, I had no intention of listening to his outrageous demands anymore.
"I'll just go to the infirmary-"
"No." I asserted, my sudden response surprising Rai.
"What?" Rai asked in a confused tone.
"I said, no." I asserted once again, but this time with a sharper tone, inspiring a nervous chuckle from Rai as I stared directly into his eyes.
"Aria, what are you-"
"With the exception of Ms. Jennifer, who is currently unavailable as it is too early in the morning, I'm certain the Healing Factor of my Aspect is superior to any nurse working within the infirmary." I affirmed with absolute confidence as I stepped forward and narrowed my eyes towards him.
"Whether you like it or not, I'm going to heal you and this time, you will NOT refuse. Do you understand?" I asked as Rai nodded slowly.
"You at least owe me this after you had the audacity to threaten a noble such as myself." I added with a wry smile as Rai chortled.
"Using the noble card, huh?" Rai asked as I began heading towards my dormitory with a triumphant hum.
"Yep! Now let's go!" I ordered cheerfully as Rai let out a sigh of defeat and began following me towards the girl's dormitory.
~
As we entered inside my dormitory, we were welcomed with several curious gazes as I heard a few girls whisper their fantasies of my and Rai between each other.
So immature.
They act as if they've never seen a boy inside of our dormitory before.
"Aria, I don't think it's appropriate for me to enter inside your dorm… I mean what about your roommate? I'm sure they wouldn't want to see a random boy whose face is covered in blood inside their dorm." Rai voiced, covering his nose with the collar of his sweater in order to prevent his blood from spilling across the floor of the dormitory.
"Sarah is my roommate, but she took a leave of absence and should have left around thirty minutes ago, so there's no need to worry about any complications such as that and besides, I'm sure she wouldn't mind anyways." I replied as we headed down the corridor where my dorm resided, passing a few students along the way as they glanced at Rai as if he was an anomaly.
"I see, but aren't you worried about your reputation?" Rai asked with concern as I furrowed my eyebrows, unable to understand his troubles.
"No…?" I answered, too tired to even bother deciphering Rai's vague question as healing him was my only priority, but had I been aware of the surreal misunderstanding that would soon arise from my actions, I would have graciously allowed Rai to visit the infirmary instead.