Shadow Slave | School Days

Silence rang out through the crowd at the sudden realisation that their reigning champion had made a return. Despite Sunny's changed hair, his physical features and distinct tattoo that those who knew Lost from Light's features could identify him as made it all too easy.

Additionally, Nephis was no longer wearing a disguise, meaning that her identity had now been publicised. Although it wasn't as much of a surprise, seeing as her features were quite distinctive. Instead of addressing the crowd, Sunny's eyes remained fixed on Nephis's bloodied form as he frowned slightly. "We need a shower."

In a moment, Nephis found herself moving at incredible speeds as Sunny carried her in his arms and rushed out of the arena faster than she could perceive. Suddenly, she found herself before a huge door as Sunny pushed it open before closing it behind himself. "We're dirty, you're bloody and tired. So, we're showering." His matter-of-fact tone was used to hide his embarrassment as Nephis took in the sight of the gigantic shower.

The gigantic room was filled to the brim with marble and gold, specifically tailored for royalty. Turning to Sunny, Nephis raised an eyebrow weakly before asking. "Whose shower is this?" Sunny's embarrassed smile grew in size as he ran his hands through his hair with a blush growing on his face. "This is Orion's bath; I ran all the way to his quarters. He let me use it through."

Nephis nodded curtly as a blush fought its way onto her face. Sunny was pulling off his shirt without facing her as his pale skin finally came into view. The scars that once littered his back when she first met him in the academy had disappeared entirely, leaving his pale alabaster skin unmarred by imperfections as she watched his sculpted form with awe.

"Are you… showering with me?" Nephis asked awkwardly as her face turned bright red. Sunny glanced back at her slightly with an awkward expression riddled across his face. "If you don't want me to I'll leave. I just thought this is what… couples do." Smiling at Sunny's innocence, Nephis too stripped as she watched Sunny walk under the flowing water as he scrubbed his body gently with the available sponge.

Soft hands grabbed the sponge from his hands as Nephis took them from him, scrubbing his back gently as the water stripped his body of lingering sweat and impurities. "You did well fighting Samara. Orion chose her specifically to counter you." Sunny mumbled, his body lightly shivering under the contact Nephis offered him. 

"I noticed, I had to approach the fight in an entirely different manner and even then I almost lost." She replied, her voice gentle as Sunny turned around and took the sponge from her, shifting behind her to continue cleaning her. He watched dried blood flow down from her body with a frown, silently hoping that Nephis would quickly grow strong enough that she never got hurt like this again.

"You're going to fight many people on her level or even far above. In fact, Noctis is part of the three rulers who might become our enemies in future. I hope you'll be able to get your friends ready to face people like them and fast."

Frowning slightly, Nephis considered the implications of Sunny's statement. She let out a gasp at Sunny's ticklish touch as Sunny traced his fingers across the wounds she had received in her battle against Samara. "Why are you speaking like you're going to be leaving for a while?" Sunny remained silent at her question, fearing his own reply before finally conjuring up the courage.

"I will be… asleep for two weeks. For my own health. I want to place myself in a self-induced coma to allow my body to recover and relax after being placed in constant stress. So, you'll be on your own for a bit."

Nephis turned around sharply, staring at him with wide eyes before grabbing him by the face with a worried expression. Only now did she notice the deep eye bags that hung below Sunny's eyes and his large stress lines that travelled from the corners of his eyes to the corners of his lips. Not knowing what to do, Nephis simply pressed her body against his own enveloping him into a deep hug as she stared at him apologetically.

"How couldn't I have noticed? I'm so sorry Sunny my God! Why haven't you told me?" A low mumble about how he didn't want to worry her escaped his lips as Nephis stared at him sternly, grabbing his head and pressing her forehead against his. "Hiding these things from me only makes it worse overall. Could you please not do that again if you're ever feeling overwhelmed let me handle it!" Upon hearing her final statement, Sunny frowned slightly, annoyance spreading across his face.

"But you shouldn't have to. I hate seeing you injured and bloody all the time after you fight! I don't know what to feel, I'm proud but also ashamed that I couldn't keep you away from a life of violence because I'm weak! Now all your friends are going to get involved with my violent life too!"

Instead of offering an immediate reply, Nephis pulled Sunny into a hug, water pouring down on both of them as Sunny's face shot red. Not letting him go, she ran her hands through his hair gently for a moment, giving him the chance to catch his breathe after his outburst before pulling back.

"Don't you think it's time for other people to share your burden? You've gone through enough, you've been getting tortured while Effie, Kai, Cassie, and I lived our best lives. I don't think I need to remind you of this any longer. You've done well on your own Sunny, far better than anyone else would be able to. Now, just leave the rest to us."

Sunny didn't reply further, simply allowing Nephis to continue scrubbing his body as the two soon finished their shower. Drying off, Sunny ran his towel through his hair as he turned to glance at Nephis. "There are three kings of the three directions you can go in the underworld. Their power should be similar to the sovereigns. You've already met Noctis so you're familiar with one of them."

"Why the sudden mention of them?" Nephis responded, suddenly curious where Sunny was going with this. Although, it was extremely hard to focus as Sunny's back muscles assumed her entire view. Her hand reached out to touch them only to restrain herself, waiting for him to respond.

"What I'm saying is, since I've taught you, you better not lose to any of them. They're all strong in their own right and are on par with Mordret maybe even stronger." Pausing, Sunny allowed a smile to settle on his face as he reflected on his current strength. "But it's fine, I'm stronger than all of them."

...

Eubin didn't particularly understand how her deep-rooted connection with all animal life came to be, ever since she was young the living creatures of the world bent to her will, obeying her with a level of piety that animals seldom showed to members of their own family.

Extending an arm, a tiger of tremendous proportions arrived at her side, obeying her will with infallible precision as she leapt atop it. "Yeah, I know you aren't a horse, but let's be honest, riding you is far more intimidating." The tiger purred in response, as Eubin rode it alone throughout the empty hallways of the southern quadrant.

Suddenly, the tiger stopped as the stench of death collided with Eubin's senses with full force. Multiple bodies, mangled to monumental proportions were strung about yet no other scent could be noted aside from that of blood. "So, Sunny did this. How curious, this must have happened after his lovers spat with immortal flames daughter."

Continuing on, the tiger walked past the bodies with a sombre expression, almost disappointed to be leaving all the fresh food behind as Eubin inconspicuously diced the remains into impossibly small pieces with her strings, shifting them into a large pile of blood and suffering.

A bird landed on her shoulder, much larger than most children yet it still remained perched on Eubin's steady shoulder without the slightest hint of discomfort as Eubin read the message that the bird had for her. Sunny was alive and with Nephis, and in Orions colosseum.

Smiling brightly, the tiger seemed to respond to Eubin's mood as it increased its pace, both sharing an unspoken excitement that Sunny was alive and well. Eventually, her look of excitement melted away as she finally reached her destination.

Ki Song's manor was quite quaint in comparison to her own, she hadn't gone through the trouble of making her house the largest of all those around her in an attempt to remain inconspicuous and easily ambush any enemy who dared to attack her.

Yet, downsizing her house was a fruitless effort as the oppressing nature of her strength always continued to grow in intensity the closer one got to her house. "The woman's just too lazy to take care of herself!" Eubin whined, hopping off the tiger before knocking gently on the door.

She was greeted by the sight of her 'sisters' in reality, not a single one of them was truly related by blood. And to make it worse they refused to divulge their real names with Eubin, only using code names making their shroud of friendliness and familial connection utterly useless.

"Good evening, Beast-Master." Silent Stalker's light blue hair and sea blue eyes greeted her as she stood at the door. She was clad in a blue sea wave cloak with the lower half of her face hidden by a mask as Eubin smiled sweetly and pushed past her.

Ki Song stood in the middle of the room, her back facing the two women as she was surrounded by the Eubin's other seven 'sister's.' Currently, she was dissecting a dead body, a mask covering her face as she wore doctors gloves yet the ethereal nature of her strength and her beautiful technique with the scalpel still shone through.

"I don't understand how he doesn't leave a trace." Ki Song commented to herself, staring down at the mutilated body of Caster as she continued to search his body for even the slightest hint that another human being had killed him. And yet, nothing could be found.

Turning around, Ki Song stared at her daughters with passive expressions. Her eyes scanning them intently before a small frown arrived on her face as she pulled down her face mask to speak freely.

"Valor has been weakened from Lost from Light's recent assault on their ball, with Mordret and Lost from Light killing more than fifty people alone. Soon, they will attempt to reconcile their power through capturing the only tool in their arsenal they can control."

Eubin stared at the ground intently, hoping not to show a reaction at the mention of Sunny as she awaited Ki Song's incoming command. Depending on the commands of a single woman, she would be forced to become Sunny and Nephis's enemy. Not only would that mark certain death for her, she also didn't want to fight them either.

"You are to watch intently should Lost from Light be captured. If he is, we will anonymously intercept and take him for ourselves. I don't care what you have to do, manipulate him, seduce him. He will become our weapon."

And now, all of the great families had begun moving according to the strength of a single man.