Shadow Slave

'Train her…'

Wasn't that exactly what he wanted?

It was.

But wasn't it also exactly what he wanted to avoid?

Yes, it was that too.

Sunny was in a strange predicament. The solution to the problem that had tormented him for many months had suddenly fallen right into his lap out of nowhere, but to make use of it, he had to do something that went against all his previous reservations.

He didn't want Rain to be connected to him in any way. If Sunny was honest with himself, he had to admit that he was drawn to her… or rather, to the faint, half-forgotten memories of a different, happy time that she represented. His desire to reconnect with Rain was both selfish and misguided, since he knew that nothing was going to bring those memories back to life.

…And if Sunny was really honest, he had to admit that deep down, he harbored a lot of resentment toward her, too. For having a loving family while he had none, for being fine. For not needing him at all.

What a mess of emotions that was! And if there was one thing Sunny was really bad at dealing with, it was his feelings. For him, fighting hordes of Nightmare Creatures was much easier.

And then, as if his inner turmoil was not enough, there were external forces at play, too. There was his [Fated] Attribute, the strange connection he had to Weaver, and Nephis with her murderous feud against the Sovereigns and the inhuman will to see the Spell destroyed.

The more he and Rain were connected, the higher were the chances of her being implicated in all this. But…

Maybe, as long as they only had a shallow connection between a kid from an affluent family and her hired tutor, things weren't going to get out of hand.

tied to him. After all, Sunny had not done anything to attract

Rain waited patiently, and

saved for a trip, and… well, I can also talk to my parents. It's just that you're the only Awakened I know… you know?

deep frown on his face. Eventually, he

you suddenly want someone to train you? You said it yourself, you already have a combat instructor. I thought you

quiet and

while,

saw a real Nightmare Creature, even. It was… was this close to me. An Awakened like you won't probably understand how it feels, right? Oh! Sorry, what am I saying? Of course you'd understand. I mean… what I meant to say is that

said with a

I want to become strong. Really strong. Strong enough to never

Sunny almost laughed.

we are, so different and in such different situations, but our desires are completely the same. Become

few moments,

school is not nearly enough. At least… at least it wasn't today. Some of my classmates have private tutors that their parents hire for them, real Awakened fighters. But

from the corner

never be as impactful as one real fight. My own… mentor told me that

a second, and

by a very special person. The best fighter I have ever met, and probably ever will. The funny thing is, though, I sort of swindled her into teaching me how to handle a sword. Felt a little guilty about it ever since. So I guess it won't hurt to pay it forward and help someone like you

looked at Rain with a dark expression, realizing that he

this... why make things complicated

He shook his head.