It was a hot midsummer day, 38 of Air and Reinastill couldn't get her head to understand.
[I don't know why he would do that, He has enough… He can…]
For her, he was someone to be admired; no matter what, he never gave up, but even so, that felt like it would be too far-to risk everything, and for what?
"Jeanne! Aren't you going to say anything to him? You, out of everyone, know he can fight just fine. You know the odds: 2 out of 5 get their minds taken over, get lifelong disabilities, or lose huge parts of their memories. Even if he doesn't get hit with that, most of them change forever from the trauma of the experience. We can't just let him do that!"
"What do you want me to do? Chain him to a chair! Even if I think it's stupid, if he wants to do it, I can't stop it! I talked with him already, you talked with him, he talked with his family, and he knows the consequences; at least from me, it's none of my business anymore." Jeanne is clearly distressed as well but has already resigned herself to wait for the results.
"And you call yourself his friend? What are you going to do if the only way he comes out of the throne is in a coffin?"
"I… I don't know! At this point, either you get Fuyuko to convince him or you convince him yourself! I wash my hands out of this! Even with how long you spent with him, you can't try to coddle him forever; he is already thinking like a sorcerer, and you barely just got here! No matter how long you've known him, you can't choose for him." After saying her piece, Jeanne leaves the gym.
Reina stood still, frozen in place, unsure of what to do next.
[Fuyuko doesn't care… She doesn't care at all! For the administration, for the sorcery society! If he dies, they will just pay his family and reuse the parts! If some specter takes over his body and still works as a sorcerer, to them it's a success as well; they will just have another servant with fewer rights! Is it just me who cares?]
Reina decides to go to Fuyuko; even then, there is a small chance she gets a change of heart. They have known each other for 4 years, so after all, she has got to care at least a little bit!
She waits in ambush; as soon as Fuyuko stops talking with the other team, she is going to confront her about it again. Someone has got to stop that man!
As Fuyuko finishes her class, Reina goes in as planned. "Teacher! We have to talk!"
"About what? From the look on your face, I can tell it's not about something I can help with. The rest of you, just go. I gotta deal with a rowdy kid now, apparently."
"You…" Reina politely waits for the class to leave; she doesn't want to make even more of a scene, but sometimes it is necessary!
"Come on, what do you want?" Fuyuko sat at the teacher's table and signaled Reina to start.
"You were thinking of making him your disciple; are you going to let him just throw it all up in the air? Do you even care at all?"
"First of all, he has already learned enough of my tricks to call himself my disciple already, and two, you don't seem to understand what a true sorcerer really is after all."
"And who are you to say that! I have trained to be a sorcerer since I was a kid! Just like him! And my family has been raising sorcerers for generations! A sorcerer doesn't need to be able to use aura as well; even if he has some weaknesses, he has been working just fine up until now!"
"You really don't get it. You are too focused on what a sorcerer is right now, but you forget what it has been for years. The first sorcerer was said to be someone who simply wished to transcend and get more powerful. Louis is fitting that bill perfectly; he found a bottleneck and a way to surpass it."
"What, even if it cost him his life? Even if it costs him everything he has built up until now? What is the point then?"
"That is what it means; that is a true sorcerer. I am proud of the little guy. If he dies, that is his fate. I will be sad, but we gotta respect it; besides…"
"Wouldn't be the first time I've seen that."
"How can you even say that! You really don't care!"
Right then it was as if the room froze over.
Instantly Fuyuko wasn't at the table anymore.
Reina feels a cold hand on her shoulder.
"Hey."
"…"
"Ms. Yamashita I will say this once, so pay attention."
"Yes…"
"The only one who can decide whether a person goes up the throne or not is themselves. The only reason you are thinking like that is that you have something unresolved. If you have something to say, talk with him yourself. Do you understand?"
"Yes, teacher…"
"And one more thing, even if Louis goes up there and comes back different, you have to still respect him; that is what he chose."
"I… If I never see him again… What do I…"
"Go see him right now; either way, if he goes on a mission and just ups and dies, it would be the same way; it's the fate of a sorcerer. Just make sure you don't leave regrets behind." Fuyuko lets Reina go and leaves; after thinking for a bit, Reina also goes out and leaves as well, heading to the infirmary.
As she is about to knock on the door and enter, she hesitates, her hand hovering in the air, neither knocking nor lowering it.
[I am just being a bother, am I not…? What do I even do…]
But time doesn't wait for her to decide; the door then opens, and he is right there.
Brown shaggy hair, eye bags, an untrimmed short beard, looking as sloppy as ever, but underneath that, a body and a soul that has been tirelessly shaped into a weapon.
"What are you waiting at the door for, brat? Is your injury brain damage? The doctor is still out, though."
Instantly her temper flares; she just can't handle this guy! "I am worried about you, idiot! What are you even thinking?!"
"Don't need to worry; I will either go there and come back fine, or I will get what I want either way."
"You don't need to do that! If we just ask my dad, I am sure we can get some elixir or somethi…"
"I don't need anything from your dad; it's going to be fine, dumbass, don't worry."
"But what if you die? I just don't freaking get you!"
"I would rather die than live knowing I am living in a fucking box. I need to get out; it is how I was born. If there is hope to go up, I have to try to; that is who I am, don't you know me?"
"You idiot, what about the people that care about you! What about your dad and your brother! What about …"
"They gotta understand it."
"I…"
"And you too."
"…"
"Look." Louis goes to one of the desks in the back and picks up a document.
"What is this…?"
"My will and the throne document I signed already; either way, I have already decided. I am going up there no matter what."
"Why did you put my name in here?"
"What? You are getting some birthday gifts; it's not like it's even a big part of the insurance, so don't worry. Light up some fireworks if I go kaput."
She didn't even hear the last part of what he said; her eyes were already watering up.
"Ay, you're gonna mess up my papers; I will be taking those back." With a swift swipe, Louis' soul string snatches the papers from Reina's hands as she flinches back.
Reina gathers"…I …what about us?"
"About us what?"
Reina gathers up her courage and finally says it, fearing she might never get to say it after all!
"I've always liked you! Ever since we were kids and you helped out at my house! I was thinking that finally I got the chance to be at the same place as you, and you just go up and do this?"
"Haha, yeah, I like you too, brat!"
"Y-You! I don't mean it like that!"
"Reina."
"…!"
"To me you were always that little brat next door; go fall in love with someone your age."
Reina's face goes blank.
After sorting her thoughts, she leaves and closes the door.
And once she gets back to her dorm, she breaks down crying.
...................
"Hey, Louis."
"What's up, doc?"
"I saw Laura on the way out; I don't think she seemed very well."
"Yeah."
"Are you sure you want to let it be like that?"
"It's better this way; if things go wrong, it will be better; if things go right, I will figure something out after."
"There are some things you can't take back after you do you know?"
"Yeah."