Shadow Slave | School Days

Pushing off the electric wires, Sunny took Nephis's hand and leapt directly onto the nearest roof without a moment's hesitation. Neon lights flashed through his vision constantly as Sunny bounded forward, a small smile settling on his face. Meanwhile, Nephis merely admired the view of Sunny's face combined with the beautiful scenery as he casually carried her to their intended destination.

Their relationship had been strained, not nearly as close as it once had been, and Nephis knew it completely. Sunny's time spent away from her had allowed him to contemplate things, abandoning the idea of revenge against Mordret and keeping Nephis at a close but cautious distance. To say Nephis was dissatisfied wouldn't be a lie, but relationships torn apart never mended that easily.

"You said it before, but that wasn't very specific. Where exactly are we going?"

Nephis shouted, her voice drowned by the flowing winds that coiled around her form, throwing her silver hair backward loosely as Sunny continued to move forward. Slowly, he came to a stop as Nephis took in a gigantic glass dome, neon lights beaming through its ceiling with a big metal billboard. "The Colosseum" was written boldly, almost daring anyone to come in and test its defenses as Sunny leapt downward into the streets.

"We're going in there… they've improved the place since I last saw it, but we should be fine. This is where I was… trained."

Sunny's explanation was brief as he turned to Nephis with a slightly awkward expression. "There might be some… awkward pictures of me in there, so try to ignore them." Without offering her a chance to respond, Sunny leapt off a nearby building into the streets as he inhaled the wafting aroma of food that surrounded him. Nephis, too, appreciated the aroma before tugging at Sunny's shirt to get his attention.

"We should go eat first before walking into potential fights. You've only had breakfast today."

Sunny stared at her for a moment, a complaint dying on his lips as he met her searing gaze. Slowly, he pulled off his mask. A small smile curled his lips as he and Nephis walked toward the strongest and most fragrant aroma and sat down. The list of foods was long and complicated; in fact, Sunny barely recognized half the items, so it was up to Nephis to decide what would best suit his palate.

"Nephis, is it possible for you to teach me how to cook?"

The question was sudden and abrupt, tearing Nephis from her scrolling through the menu as her eyes focused on Sunny, who stared at the plates being served with an intent and focused expression. Sunny's usage of her full name instead of her nickname saddened her, and it wasn't a complaint she was going to leave unheard.

"I can, but why do you want to learn how to cook? Is my cooking not enough for you?"

Sunny stared at her, wide-eyed, before vigorously shaking his head, his horrified expression only eliciting amusement from Nephis as she smiled happily and awaited his explanation. *He's so cute when he's flustered… and the white hair just makes him even more alluring.*

"No! I love your cooking, it's just… once all of this is over, I want to pursue a dream of mine."

Cocking her head to the side, Nephis realized that Sunny had never actually spoken to her about his dreams before. Aside from superficial ones like killing or fighting the newest opponent, Sunny rarely ever found much enjoyment in his time aside from staring at the stars and spending time with other people. Such a new development grasped her attention with ferocity as she listened intently.

"I want to be a cook, the best cook alive, and help feed the poor and anyone who asks. And I'd like a big but modest house where I can have a wife and two children… maybe not children."

Expressing uncertainty about having children wasn't something Nephis had expected. From her experiences with Sunny and his interactions with the children of the underworld, Sunny always treated them with warmth and kindness. With the exception of Rain, whom he kept at a friendly distance, but even then, Sunny had his own reasoning behind it. Truly, his situation was quite perplexing, to say the least.

"Why not children? I've seen you interact with them before, and you look like you'd be an amazing dad. Also, I see how you're already planning a future with me. How sly of you!"

Heat rushed to Sunny's face at her last comment as he lowered his gaze and turned away from her. To say that she wasn't who he intended to wed would be a lie; there was nobody else who came close to making him feel what he felt for her. And honestly, Sunny doubted he would ever meet anyone like Nephis. But then again, he didn't want someone like Nephis—he wanted Nephis.

His embarrassed expression quickly turned wistful as he watched the waiter place down a shared plate of stir-fried rice for him and Nephis. She sat next to him and held her own spoon in her hands. Upon noticing his saddened expression, her hand snaked around his waist, pressing him against her body as his head rested on her shoulder.

"I feel like I'm too… damaged to raise a child of my own. Who knows if I snap one day and break down in front of them? What type of child deserves a father like that!"

Nephis frowned slightly at his statement. She had called him broken… damaged. Those words had escaped her lips, and now they were repeated through his own. Breathing in heavily to suppress the tears that threatened to escape her eyes, Nephis pushed Sunny back slightly before kissing him on the neck, sending a shudder through his body.

"You'd be a great father. Even if you break down, what else is a wife for aside from supporting you? Don't you remember? We complete one another. I'll pick up after you when you can't go on."

Sunny nodded slightly as he continued his meal, but the shudder in his shoulders showed Nephis he wasn't as indifferent as it seemed as she held him closer than before. Thankfully, the excellent food managed to lift Sunny's mood as he devoured about half of it before leaving the rest to Nephis.

Nephis stared at him with a raised eyebrow, switching her focus from her plate to Sunny with folded arms, as if expecting him to receive an unspoken message he didn't understand. Sunny merely looked at her with confusion as she sighed and placed his spoon back in his hands.

"I can't eat all of this, and you need to make up for lost meals, so keep eating." Sunny stared at her blankly, blinking with confusion before shrugging slightly and devouring most of the food. Suddenly, Sunny dropped his spoon onto the plate and picked up his mask, wearing it firmly around his face as his eyes narrowed.

"We've been spotted."

Before Sunny could move, ten masked men had surrounded the two. The sound of a rifle unleashing a bullet resounded through the air as Sunny grabbed his chair and threw it to meet the incoming bullet. Blitzing upward, Sunny caught the sniper by the throat before they could load their next round. Beside him, Nephis faced ten men with their knives pointed at the two.

"Do you really think you can take us all at once, intruders?" Sunny didn't take his eyes off the sniper who spoke below him as his eyes narrowed. "Nephis." As he spoke, all ten men lay on the floor unconscious. Each of them subdued by a single throw from the woman as she returned to her original position as though she had never left. Reaching down, Sunny pulled the mask from the sniper below him only to see a face that was familiar… too familiar.

Auburn hair came into view as Sunny's eyes widened. Grabbing the man by the collar, Sunny turned to Nephis with wide eyes as his mouth failed to form words. "Kai!? What are you doing here?" Kai's eyes widened at the usage of his name as he fully understood who stood before him for the first time.

Meanwhile, Sunny let go of his collar roughly, his eyes narrowed with rage as he turned around and glared at the Colosseum. *If he wanted to kill me, he wouldn't bring these peons. So he must not recognize me.* Calming down slightly, Sunny turned to Nephis and Kai, who were currently catching up on the months she had been gone, as he cleared his throat.

"Kai." Sunny's voice pierced through their conversation as the taller boy turned around to face him. "Dodge." Sunny's fist blurred through the air toward his face, faster than Nephis could intercept, stopping directly in front of Kai's throat as Sunny's expression contorted into a look of utter fury.

"Oh my god! Why are you so fucking weak!?" Sunny exclaimed, fury bubbling in his throat as he turned around, slamming his fist into a nearby wall and sending a spiderweb of cracks through it. He turned to face Kai. The older boy's presence likely meant that all of Nephis's supposed friends would be present too. More people inhibiting his plans exactly when he was in need of allies.

"Listen to me, all you are is one more mouth to feed, one more person I have to stick my neck out for to defend and put the people I care about on the line! If you drag me down, I will kill you. And I will kill everyone you love. Do you fucking understand me!?"

Kai could only nod slightly as Sunny's presence crushed the furious retort that was cooked in his throat. Sunny turned to Nephis, fixing his mask back into place and turning around. "Take us to the Colosseum. If you lead us anywhere that isn't directly there, I assume you know what will happen?"

Without turning to Kai to see his reply, Sunny simply leapt onto another building as the other two followed suit in utter silence.

"Who is that bastard?" Kai whispered to Nephis, a rifle at his hip as he bounded from building to building. Nephis shot him a glare at his language and sighed. She, too, had been taken aback by Sunny's sudden outburst. The attack he had thrown as a test was faster than what she could comfortably dodge, yet he had never reacted in such a way toward her. The source of his frustration remained continuously elusive as Sunny leapt from the building toward the entrance of the Colosseum.

"He's my boyfriend, and he isn't usually like that. He's just in a bad mood. I'm sure he'll apologize eventually." Kai turned toward Nephis with a raised eyebrow behind his mask as he stared at her incredulously. Without his mask, his mouth would have fallen open, leaving room for all manner of insects to make a home.

"Boyfriend? What happened to Sunny? Sure, he was a little rough around the edges and suspicious, but he was a good guy!" Nephis stared at him with a bashful expression, heat rushing to her face slightly as she focused ahead of her. "That *is* Sunny." Without another word, the two finally caught up with Sunny at the entrance, who was currently standing before two guards.

Kai made his presence known, indicating they had authority to be present with a simple nod of his head as Sunny made his way into the long hallway in silence. Nephis was quickly at his side, taking his palm in her own as she squeezed it gently, stopping him in his tracks. "What was that for? Kai's always been nice to you." She whispered. Sunny's look of rage softened slightly as he turned to face her, a sigh escaping his lips.

"I can't protect all of you. More of your friends are getting involved in a dilemma which they might very well die in because they're weak. It makes me wonder if I should just handle this on my own."

Nephis squeezed his palm firmly as she stared down at him, their eyes never leaving the others as she smiled gently. "From what I know, the underworld extends far farther than I could even imagine. So what's the issue with getting a few more people alongside us? And although Kai may not be strong by your standards, he's still been trained well by whoever owns this place."

Sunny could only nod as they continued their journey through the hallway. A blush fought its way onto his face as several large images plastered onto the wall came into view. There Sunny stood, surrounded by piles of battered opponents, relatively unharmed and the only one standing. He had his hand raised in the air, signifying his triumph, yet looking back on it, Sunny only found the image corny and embarrassing as he mentally attempted to flee from the image. Meanwhile, Nephis stared at the images of Sunny with rapt interest as she saw another picture of Sunny biting down on a gold medal, blood streaking down his chest as he stood above ten other men.

"You were a cage fighter?" Nephis whispered. Sunny nodded meekly as he looked at the floor, images of his past theatrics flooding into his mind and filling him with crippling embarrassment. "Who's the other kid standing next to you?" Nephis asked, holding him firm to stop him from escaping as she directed his attention toward the largest picture in the hallway.

Sunny was standing side by side with a young boy who looked likely a year older than Sunny and wore a bright smile in comparison to Sunny's typically indifferent gaze. The boy had pulled Sunny into a light headlock, causing Sunny to flash a small smile as the two took a picture.

Staring at the image, Sunny smiled gently under his mask as he reminisced about the time in the underworld he had that was the closest to fun. Seeing as he could take solace in nothing else, Sunny had taken solace through fighting and found joy in it. The young boy had been his first friend and only rival for a long time until Sunny was forced to abandon the place and begin his life as Valor's attack dog.

"I was sent here to train and build combat experience. He… Orion was the first person to try and connect with me on a genuine level. Although he's a prideful bastard, he's still my first and only friend."

Nephis smiled, noticing the warm tone Sunny used whenever referring to Orion as the two continued their walk, finally reaching a set of double doors before pushing them open forcefully. "If you're not fine with loud noises, cover your ears." Sunny stated simply, before the roars of hundreds of thousands collided with Nephis's ears with monumental force.

"GLORY!"

"GLORY!"

"GLORY!"

Chants slammed against the two's ears as the young woman was forced to press her hands against her ears to suppress the yells of the people. It was like they were a single organism, each chant never being slightly out of sync as they celebrated the art of combat in the only way they knew how: through violence.

Sunny pulled Nephis into a small compartment that stood within the gap between the arena and the stands as the chants of the people dissipated slightly, leaving them as only faint sounds in the background as Sunny studied the new technology intently.

There was a large screen displaying the current and all-time leaderboards of the Colosseum, with "Lost from Light" standing at first of all time with a whopping 7,000 wins and zero losses. Sunny smiled with slight pride that his record had not been broken as he turned to Nephis with a smile. "Do you want to be my manager, or do you want to fight while I act as your manager?"

Originally, such options didn't exist while he was fighting. But with the development of technology and illegal cage fighting, anything went. And so, with the option provided to choose someone as his manager, Nephis was the only willing and capable candidate. Nobody else deserved to stand at his side.

"I'll be your manager. I want to see what the reigning champion can do."

Sunny shook his head gently as he turned to face her. Gesturing to his hair and hanging mask, he said, "I'm anonymous, remember? Everyone remembers me for my black hair, so they probably don't even recognize me. Meaning I'll make a new alias."

"What's your new alias going to be?" Nephis asked curiously, watching Sunny's smile only grow as he typed it in furiously.

"Mongrel."