I kicked up dust in frustration, Dammit! I was basically useless there!

I can’t fight half as well as the others, I can’t even be of use when they need help!

This is pissing me off!

“-zel, Hazel. Are you alright?” Zach asked, waving his hand in front of me.

"What?” I said sharper than intended.

Zach recoiled back, “Woah, calm down.”

I took a deep breath in, and exhaled, “Yeah, sorry about that. What did you want?”

“The others were talking about Regulus’ scars, you can join in if you want,” he explained, pointing towards them.

“Yeah, sure.” I muttered, walking over to the group.

“...I mean it’s obvious he’s had a rough past.” I could hear Frank say that when I arrived.

“But how did he get those scars on his chest and arm? They were pretty deep, so it wasn’t something trivial,” Brena asked, rubbing her chin in thought.

“In the year I spent with him I only ever caught glimpses of the more shallow ones, I myself never saw the deep ones,” Zach explained.

“Have you never asked him about them?” Ryla asked.

“I did once but he refused to tell me.”

“The fact that he even has scars is weird, he doesn’t seem like the person to have them. So why the hell does he have them?” Ryoto questioned, his pain had subsided enough for him to speak without issue. Moving still hurt like a bitch though.

“I’m gonna go and remove myself from this conversation, I will look after Zaiden some more.”  Alaya spoke up.

Ryoto gave her a look, he wasn’t an idiot and knew she fancied his cousin. But I don’t think he would interfere, unless Alaya harmed Regulus in any way. No one could save her then.

“Speaking of Zaiden, do you realize how reckless you two were?” Ryla zeroed in on Ryoto, glaring through his soul.

“...A lot of things didn’t go according to plan. And the two of us are strong enough to take on a B-Class beast. It was a calculated risk.”

“What part of this seems calculated to you?” Ryla snapped.

Ryoto shrugged, wincing in pain, “My back!” he muttered, before shaking his head,  “As I said, things didn’t go according to plan.”

“Clearly they didn’t,” she scoffed at him.

“Won’t argue there.” 

“Is that all you have to say about it? Your co, -friend is injured badly, and that’s all you have to say?” she snarled, he needed to be serious sometimes. Not everything is a joke.

And in that exact moment it was like you could hear a string audibly rip. The usually calm and playful Ryoto finally snapped, years of pent up anger leaking out, “Do you think I wanted him to get hurt? That I enjoy seeing people I care about get hurt and die?!” he paused, glaring into her very soul. “Just look at his body,” he gestured towards Regulus, “he’s been through enough already. I know I don’t outwardly express my worry and fear, but that does not mean I’m unaffected. I might not be the most empathic person, but I’m not as heartless as you think.”

He took a deep breath in after that, and grimaced when he felt warm blood seep his bandages. He had reopened one of his wounds.

Ryoto was not one to lose his cool, so his sudden outburst had us too shell shocked to do anything. 

Thankfully we didn’t have to. The very space beside him seemed to ripple as Master Dan materialized in front of us.

“What is all this commotion?” he asked calmly.

He shook his head when no one answered him, “Nevermind, what’s the emergency?”

“Zaiden has a fractured jaw, and a concussion considering he took the blow head on.” Ryoto explained, “I have a few shallow wounds on my chest and a bruised back.”

A peculiar ray of light fell near Master Dan, and motes of light coagulated to a human shape. It was Master Jei, “You two need immediate medical attention.”

Ryoto shook his head, “Only Zaiden, I’ll be fine. I’ve suffered through worse, Master Dan can confirm.”

Master Jei turned to face Master Dan, raising an auburn eyebrow.

Master Dan nodded hesitantly, “He has, he should be able to get through this trip with moderate difficulty.”

I blinked in shock, Just what kind of hellish training did Master Dan have him go through?!

Master Jei seemed conflicted, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, but that's enough about this. We need to take Mr. Othneil to the medical wards as soon as possible.” 

Master Jei sighed and relented, “Fine.” 

Master Dan walked over to Regulus’ prone form, and flicked his wrist. Regulus began levitating, and flickered once before disappearing.

“I’d advise you to take care of your wounds, Ryan,” Master Daniel said behind his back before disappearing again.

Master Jei ruffled Ryoto’s hair, making him scowl in displeasure, “Take care of yourselves now.” With that, she too disappeared.

“Well, if that conversation is over, I think I’ll get some sleep.” Ryoto’s glare passed over us, staying on Ryla longer than the rest of us, before he turned over, wincing at every turn.

“I think we messed up, guys.” Zach was the first to speak among us. 

“You think?” I snarked.

________________________

Jei POV:

“Jei, I will need your help to figure out the extent of the damage,” Daniel requested as he placed Regulus down on the bed.

I nodded in affirmation, closing my eyes, infusing mana into them and switching my vision into being able to see invisible electromagnetic waves. One wave in particular. 

When I opened my eyes, the only colors I could see were black and blue-white, and only the densest materials were visible. This was helpful when trying to locate broken bones.

I could see multiple cracks in Regulus’ skeleton, but thankfully they all seemed mostly healed. All but one, his most recent one. A thin jagged line extended from the right side of his jaw, moving diagonally upwards and a good inch in length. 

I breathed out a sigh of relief when I realized it wasn’t a major injury.

“He has a hairline fracture over here,” I traced the fracture with my hand.

Daniel nodded in thought, it seemed Regulus would be healed in a few days at most. He waved his hand in front of him, and the very space parted to reveal the Wand of Restoration.

Wands are incredibly rare S-Class items, each one being unique. This one was made of birch wood, the base had an emerald embedded in it, and ancient runes, which glowed green were inscribed along the length of the wand.

 

This particular wand was used for restorative purposes, and anything short of decapitation could be healed by it. Of course it couldn't regrow limb, you would need the dismembered limb to reattach it.

Daniel tapped Regulus' jaw with the tip of the wand, infusing mana into it. Green light emanating from the wand's tip bathed Regulus' face. His swollen jaw rapidly deflated, losing it's redness in the process.

"That's all we can do, as for the concussion he surely has, he just needs to rest his mind for a while." Daniel said as he stored the wand in the distorted area near him.

I relaxed visibly and slumped down, "Thank the gods."

"I finally found it!" A familiar voice exclaimed from the opening to this cave.

"Professor Jonah? Where were you?" Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"I got lost in the forest, I don't have magic like yours, you know?" he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Understandable," Daniel inclined his head, "Mr. Othneil will be discharged tomorrow night, Master Jei, if you could inform his companions about this." 

"Of course," I nodded, "I'll let them know."

________________________

3rd Person POV :

Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest a figure trudged forward. A cloak covered most of his features, and a jester's mask covered his face. 

He glanced back, somewhat facing the direction Daniel and Jei were in. His bloodshot red eyes glinted from under the mask, and he disappeared into the dense undergrowth of the forest.

Behind him the torn remnants of a brown jacket fluttered to the ground. 

________________________

Hazel POV :

“So, he will be back by tomorrow?” Alaya echoed, an undertone of worry and relief in her voice.

Master Jei nodded in confirmation, “Now, I have a few questions for you guys.” 

Her voice sent chills down my spine.

“How did this happen?” Her glare traveled across our group, and so we explained what happened, leaving out no detail. 

Master Jei didn’t speak for a while, when she did she was surprisingly not angry. “What were they thinking?” she sighed in exasperation.

“They probably thought they could beat it,” Zach answered. “And by all rights they should have, but for some reason both of them were injured.” 

Master Jei glanced at Ryoto’s unconscious form, before turning back to us, “They will have marks deducted for this.” 

“We’ll let him know when he wakes up,” this was expected.

“No need, I heard that,” jis voice startled us all, I think Zach even jumped.

“You’re still awake?” Zach blurted out.

Ryoto propped himself up on his elbow, grimacing in pain, “What do you think?”

“Do you know how reckless that was?” Master Jei turned on him. 

Oh shit, he might just explode at her too! I panicked internally, we did not need that.

Thankfully he did not explode like before, instead, he sighed, “I know, but you can hardly blame me for not knowing it was mutated, or whatever led to it being so disfigured and strong.”

“It’s true that it’s condition was unexpected, but that does not excuse trying to fight it alone,” she countered.

He shrugged slightly, “Never said it did.”

Master Jei sighed, apparently having enough of his remarks, “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

He nodded, “It won’t,” and promptly laid back down.

“Alright,” she turned to us, “Stay vigilant.” And dispersed into motes of light.

________________________

3rd Person POV :

“So, Master Daniel, mind telling me why one of our students considers being stabbed by half a dozen glass shards a minor injury?” Jei interrogated Daniel, a dangerous look in her eyes.

Daniel glanced around, noticing Jonah was dozing off and sighed, he would not be getting out of this one. A sphere coagulated around them, creating a vacuum between its two layered walls. 

Jei raised an eyebrow, silently questioning his actions.

“Professor Jonah does not need to know this,” Daniel explained, sighing, “Where do I begin?”

“How about the part where you refused to tell us his motive for training so hard?” Jei suggested.

“Right,” he nodded, “I avoided answering that mainly due to the fact that some of us may not approve. I wanted to give him a chance at least.”

Jei’s face hardened, “What is his reason?”

“Vengeance, that's the sole reason behind his drive,” Daniel revealed. “I know Grey wouldn’t  have an issue, but the rest of you will.”

“Damn right I will, you and I both know what happens when revenge is the only motivation a person has. Just look at how Ste-”

“Enough!” Daniel snapped. “Ryoto fights for personal reasons, he’s explicitly against them. They fight against the natural cycle of life and death itself.”

“Be that as it may, he should not fight for vengeance alone. That’s a toxic way to live.” Jei shot back with as much intensity.

“His behaviour may not be the best, but neither is it toxic. I’d say he’s been doing pretty well. Would either of you have noticed had I not told you this?” Daniel said calmly.

“That’s the thing, he hides it so well that it’s almost impossible to realize. He needs help, both of them do,” her eyes shifted towards the unconscious form of Regulus.

“I will not deny that,” Daniel replied, “good luck finding a therapist for them. Even if Regulus accepts it, Ryoto definitely would not.” 

“He will have to,”

Daniel chuckled silently, “We shall see.”