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.

him. After all, Sunny had not done anything to attract the really dangerous kind of attention… or rather, had not been caught doing anything

torn between these conflicting thoughts, Rain waited patiently, and

will pay you. I have some money 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?

looked at her, a deep frown on

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

grew quiet and looked

while,

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

said with a suddenly

Really strong. Strong

Sunny almost laughed.

irony… here we are, so different and in such different situations, but our desires are completely the same. Become stronger, so much stronger. As strong as one could

few moments, and then

taught in 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 it's just a question of status to them. They don't really learn… or if they do, I didn't see it make any difference

the

as impactful as one real fight. My own… mentor told me that

for a second, and

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

Rain with a dark expression, realizing that he had already made

with this... why make things complicated when

He shook his head.