"Don't fight!"
These words didn't come from Aina. She was in too much of a daze from Raj's harsh words to even register what Yuri was about to do. If it wasn't for this person calling out, they would have definitely crossed a line of no return.
Yuri might have only been trying to protect Aina, but killing one of Leonel's brothers would have been as good as signing a death warrant. There was no way Leonel would ever forgive something like that. And, it was impossible to tell if Aina would ever be able to forgive Leonel for killing Yuri.
Luckily, at that moment, a cloaked figure flashed between the two groups, her speed beyond their expectations.
When she removed her cloak, they all immediately recognized her. This girl, Savahn, had always been the third in the group of Yuri and Aina. Though Yuri had known she was here and among the nine seeded geniuses, Savahn had been keeping her distance from Aina and Yuri ever since Conrad's death.
Back then, when Aina did something no one ever expected her to do, it was probably Savahn who had been most jarred along with Leonel about that experience.
Of course, that moment was just yet another one of the reasons Leonel's teammates felt that Aina wasn't good enough for him. They knew their Captain well and could tell that the image he had built up of Aina until that point had all come crumbling down in a single instant.
As devastated as Leonel had been that day, Savahn was equally so, albeit for somewhat similar but mostly different reasons.
Savahn had always been the abrasive friend. When Leonel persisted in always asking Aina out, it was her who tried to draw a line between them. But, things hadn't always been that way. Savahn might have seemed to have a fiery and combative personality, but that was only because she had wanted to protect Aina.
She hadn't had very many friends in her youth. Much like Leonel and Aina, she had only been able to enter Royal Blue Academy because she was found to have a Five Star Profession. With how poor her family was, making friends in a school filled with noble children seem impossible… Until she met Aina.
Aina always had a shy and reserved smile, but she treated everyone the same. Savahn had long since forgotten the details, but by some miracle, she had managed to make her first friend.
Savahn had always been protective of that friendship, and it eventually translated toward always wanting to protect Aina…
But the image she had of the girl she always admired and respected crumbled that day. The result was her maintaining her distance, not quite knowing how to confront her emotions.
She closed off and shut down, just the same way she always had before she ever met Aina and Yuri.
In the past few years, she had dealt with a lot on her own.
The death of her parents. The difficulty of a young girl living alone in such a cruel world. She had even survived a war and managed to make it this far. Having done all of this on her own, she had more than just a little to be proud of.
In truth, she hadn't planned on interfering in this situation. She didn't have all the information, she had no idea who was in the right or who was in the wrong, or even if there was such a clear line between the two at all.
But, as the argument became more heated, it became too difficult for her to ignore. The final straw was when she saw Aina on the verge of collapse.
For a moment, she flashed back to the same shy girl who had reached out a helping hand to a younger her without a single friend. Right then, she felt that maybe the Aina she had known wasn't as much of an act as she thought.
"Don't fight." Savahn repeated. "Whatever disagreements you have, even if they can't be fixed through words, just give it time to breathe. Don't say or do something you'll regret for your lifetime."
Yuri's hand trembled in the air before she clenched it into a fist.
She held all of Leonel's things in a single hand before pushing it forward to Savahn.
"Can you please give this to them? They won't accept it."
Savahn opened her mouth to respond, still feeling slightly uncomfortable. But, before she could say anything, it was Aina who finally stepped forward, her gait somewhat uncoordinated and shaky.
She reached for the things in Yuri's hand, not allowing the latter to stop them as she took them and stepped past Savahn. Her arms trembled and her head lowered as she stretched the items toward Joel.
In his mind, Joel had every intention of still refusing, but his arms almost moved on their own. Though the anger within him was still bubbling forth, it somehow felt suffocated.
Unable to control her mental coercion, Aina's feelings were practically painted all over her sleeve. For a moment, Joel, Raj, Milan and Drake felt like those feelings were theirs.
Joel took hold of the items, clenching them just a bit too tightly. But, considering the quality of them, they were hardly affected in the slightest.
"… I'm sorry…" Aina said softly.
The trembling of her voice almost making Joel feel some sympathy. But, he managed to keep it down.
He had dealt with his fair share of women in his life. They had always been good at turning on the waterworks when it suited them before going off and doing whatever hurtful thing they wanted forgiveness for anyway. Even if they were in the wrong, somehow they would make you feel bad for it.
Joel had no intention of allowing such a thing to slide so easily. He didn't know if these were Aina's real emotions or not, or if it was just a fa?ade. But, it didn't matter to him.
The talisman lit again, filling the silence that hung in the air with the soft whirring of energy.
Joel looked down at it, his anger threatening to bubble back up again.
"These aren't words you should be saying to me." He responded coldly.
Joel turned and led the boys away.
**
Leonel dashed through the cave pathways, making use of blind spots in the monitoring system to quickly gather up the materials he needed. His ship only needed to accommodate a single person, so he didn't need much. Even if he had to pull his knees to his chest, he would do it.
He had no idea about the clash between Aina and his teammates, nor did he know that a group of four was stalking toward his location, led by a woman who seemed to have the nose of a hound.
[Important announcement below 04/28/2022!!!!!!]