09 | Count The Ways

A light rain falls. It came fast, masked by the night, and catches you off guard. It builds and builds until eventually the soft rainfall becomes a downpour. Your clothes are soaked.

You trek over many puddles and slippery paths, adamant in not breaking your stride now that you've come to realize your newfound goal: teach the Doldia girls a lesson they won't soon forget. For as long as you have been a student enrolled here in the academy, existence has been plainly miserable. Your attempts at accepting your fate and living with reality, all for naught.

You are done being a slave. Done being a toy, done being used. You demand respect and recognition, even from those ranked higher above you, because you're starting to think even the seniors are no match for you.

Truly, if you wanted to, you could wipe out this whole city. You could show everyone you're the one in control.

...

No, that's silly. Don't get ahead of yourself. You shake your head, blinking raindrops from your eyelashes, and take the time to realign your priorities. The Doldia girls; they are what you are after.

You return to the dorms and waste no time combing the halls to find Linia and Pursena's room. There's no bone in your body that urges you to take a breather or dry your clothes. Gaining control, that is now all you strive for.

You turn the doorknob to the room. It's unlocked. Once inside, your eyes land on Linia who is sitting alone by the window. She has her legs propped up on the windowsill, her eyes fixed on the storm outside. It must be mesmerizing to her, how the black night sky has become completely devoid of its stars and turned a slight gray under the hazy rain. How marvelous.

It takes her a minute to acknowledge your reappearance before she is turning her head toward you. "Oh, you're back, nya. I was kinda enjoying having some alone time, but... I guess you're here."

Without uttering a word, you shield your hands deep in your pockets and cast a spell. This time, your snake-like binds manifest into thin air, appearing before Linia's neck.

She gasps as it tightens around her throat, but as any cat should, she reacts too fast for you, tearing away the bind with a single finger.

"Hey!" she shouts, getting to her feet with haste. "The hell ya think you're doing?! Don't try anything funny or I swear I'll—"

For once, you finally get to be the one who cuts her off. Even her catlike reflexes are not swift enough to throw her aside and out of range of your next attack: a violent burst of wind.

You send the pulse of wind magic into the room, encapsulating the girl in a mini-hurricane. She stamps her feet hard on the ground, unable to grasp onto anything to save her fleeting footing before she is swept up into the air and launched into the window.

This isn't enough, you think.

I want her to hurt.

"N-Nyaaa—!" Linia cries, holding onto the wall as if that will save her from your ruthless magic. She tries desperately to scratch at anything to keep herself from flying out of the window, but as you continuously pile on stronger surges of power, the pane of glass behind her begins to crack.

"Nya!! Hey!! Stop, stop!! I quit, I swear!!"

...

Useless cries. You don't see the point in listening after everything this girl has done to you. Forget consequences. Forget your sense of humanity. Forget holding back.

Linia is a monster, and monsters deserve to be corrected. You send one final blast of air at the Doldia girl and that's when it happens — that's when the glass breaks with a reverberating shatter, shards spraying every which way while Linia herself goes flying out into the rain.

You hear one last "NYAAA" before she plummets to the ground.

After that, it's silent. All you hear now is the rhythm of rainfall tapping, tapping, tapping. There's even the soft rumble of thunder somewhere in the distance. So peaceful, you wonder. Just a moment ago your head was filled with the desperate, infuriating cries of Linia Dedoldia.

Now, all is quiet. Her voice is no more.

You wipe your hands on your shirt like you're wiping blood from your hands, and with a blank expression upon your face, you peek out of the window. Your hair is touched by the rain, a rather uncomfortable feeling, though it doesn't come close to the feeling you get when you see Linia lying out in the middle of the courtyard.

Disappointment runs through you. She survived.

You use a gust of wind to blast yourself out of the window and down to her. You land with such grace that even Linia, as weak as she is now, is bound to look your way. But she doesn't move. Cats always land on their feet, yes? It seems this cat broke a bone on her landing. She's hopeless now.

"Please don't kill me," she whines in a quiet voice that is barely audible over the sound of rain falling. "I'm so sorry. I'll do anything. I'll be your slave, your servant, your wife... anything. Please. Please, don't..."

You raise your hand and prepare to fire off another silent spell. Even though you are drenched in rain, it's fine, because so is she. Even though you are cold, it's okay, because so is she.

She won't be cold for much longer.

"Please, Y/N..."

Magic gathers in your palm.

"I promise... I won't hurt you again..."

Green sparks light up your fingers, your eyes trained intensely on the weak, helpless girl.

Her eyes, on the other hand, are full of tears. She looks just like Pursena right now — terrified, humiliated, sobbing.

"Please, Y/N... please..."

She closes her eyes. A teardrop rolls down her cheek.

"I didn't even get to live a long enough life..."