Eri's Feelings

"Listen, everyone! I hope you all are prepared, we are going to begin the 45th Witch Annual Witch trials!"

Since our trip to the arcade 3 days ago I haven't spoken to Eri. "I wonder what she's up to right now?"

"Maybe I should ditch class and try to look for her?"

"Nah." I shook my head and pointed my attention back toward our Homeroom instructor.

"I have to maintain this image that the rest of the school sees me for"

"Introducing the students of Kaline!" Our instructor announced.

While we were lined up on the right side of the Auditorium, the left side remained vacant and I the moment I caught a glimpse of a girl with her short brown hair I realized I wouldn't have to look at all.

There were about another 200 hundred students that followed her.

"Ah, is she her school's rank one student as well?"

The moment that thought left my head I felt Eri's gaze. Eri then turned to the Instructor and gave a small polite bow before leading the rest of the students of Kaline to their seats. She sat in the first row opposite to me since I sat in the back.

"For the next week, all of your dorms will change and you will each be paired with a student of Kaline, however, this does not mean that you have to choose one of them for your partner during the Witch Trials."

As the instructors shouted through the auditorium, all the Estaine students began to whisper among themselves. Most were very opposed to sharing a dorm with a student from Kaline.

"Silence! I will now have each school captain come up to the podium. Fana of Estaine! Eri of Kaline!'When I heard the names called I sighed

"Why do I have to be the captain? I hate being the center of attention."

I gave a small look towards Eri who did not meet my gaze and stood up.

To avoid walking over to the podium and being watched by the students I used some Dimensional magic to create a portal right to the podium. As I stepped through It I arrived at the podium in one step and all of the students of Estaine cheered.

"Look how skilled Fana is!"

"She just used level 4 Dimensional magic without a chant and effortlessly!"

"That's why she's the pride of the school!"

I sighed "I didn't even mean to look flashy or like a showoff I was just too nervous to walk down there."

I looked at the first row where Eri was and she shot me a face plastered with anger and scorn.

"You didn't even mean to look flashy, but you intend to piss me off today, eh"

"Yeah, how is Eri gonna follow that one up?"

"It's not fair to put the Rank one of a branch school up with Fana!"

"Wait! Eri this is truly not what I intended!"

Nothing I could say to Eri would be enough to dose her flames that day. I suddenly felt a huge wave of Ethera tower over the entire auditorium. All the students of Estaine fell quiet as a large wave of malicious Ethera filled the room.

Fana teleported right to my side and gave me the most ungenuine smile that I had ever witnessed.

"Who dares to say we are not on the same level as the students of Estaine!" Fana's shout silenced every Estaine student in the auditorium. Some of them looked at me as if they were trying to get me to do something, but I didn't want to Ignite Eri's flame anymore. She might destroy the place.

"Scary..." I sighed and put my hands into my behind my back and clasped the firmly giving a meek smile to the rest of the class.

"Who's scary?"

Eri turned and shifted her gaze to me which absolutely terrified me. I just avoided eye contact with her and faced the crowd which now had a very eerie look to the students of Estaine.

"Silence! All of you!" I heard a familiar voice shout from the Entrance of the auditorium.

"Grandmaster Nina!"

She floated towards the auditorium with levitation magic and the entire room cheered. When she finally reached the podium. She stood between me and Eri and grabbed both of our hands.

"I have gathered up the two strongest students from each school to show the unity that is to exist between us Witches, but all of you still wish to make it a feud?!

Her menacing aura frightened me a lot more than Eri's did and quickly not a single person in the entire Auditorium dared not to say a single word. At least that's what I believed to be true at the time, but suddenly a blonde-haired student sitting towards the back on the Kaline students' side rose her hand.

"Grandmaster Nina, If I may?"

"What could you possibly have to say Witch of Kaline?"

"Grandmaster Nina, My name is Mimi. The only reason that Eri dared to turn this into a feud is that Fana of Estaine used level 4 Dimmisnsional magic to get to the podium and intend to show up Eri." She quickly stated before bowing and sitting down.

"Yeah, it was all that Fana girl's fault."

"We tried to show respect to Estaine, but they all dared to mock us and call us inferior to them"

"Fana is truly despicable"

Biting my lip I fought back against the tears that formed in my eyes. I had none of these intentions that they are claiming that I did.

Once again none of my classmates are sticking up for me. Just like back in grade school I truly have no one.

"Fana is this true?" As I looked up I saw a disappointed look from Nina. While I hate when people put me on a pedestal it feels even worse to me when I betray their trust.

"Yes. I used Dimensional magic to get the podium."

"Fana, I'm disappointed in you. I never thought that you would buy into that ideology."

"Grandmaster Nina-" I tried to explain but she silenced me.

"You will serve detention for a week for your offensive actions toward the students of Kaline and I will be taking away your lab privileges. Be thankful that I am letting you off with such a light punishment."

"Thank you, Grandmaster Nina." I bit my lips even harder and looked toward the floor as I felt a tear almost drop.

"Grandmaster Nina, can I say one thing?" I heard Eri's voice and I jerked my head upright.

"What is it dear? Do you not approve of my punishment?" Nina said firmly exerting her pressure throughout the entire room.

"No, I don't!" Eri screamed and the pressure dropped and everyone went silent once again.

"While Fana definitely flexed her power there what she did was no different than what I did! Plus there is no way a girl that was almost too embarrassed to introduce herself to me could have such intentions! So if you are gonna punish Fana... punish me too!" Her last sentence rang in my ears like a bell. Never had anyone ever taken up for me and I would never expect someone that I had just met a week ago to do such a thing for someone like me.

"Is that so? Well, then I will accept your terms. Both of you will serve detention for the week leading to the Salem Witch Trials and you two will take part in the trials as partners!"

Both students of Estaine and Kaline could not believe what they had heard. In the 45 years that Witch Trials had been held not a single time was there ever a pair of Estaine and Kaline.

Finally, the assembly ended early and all students exited very quickly while Nina stayed back and had some words for us.

"I have high hopes for the two of you. You both are the children of Destiny. Eri, you have the highest magical output out of any Witch from either school. Fana, you have the best Ethera control out of any Witch from both schools and you have the most Ethera affinity. Both of you should get along and help each other out during the trials because, in the final exam, you two will face me."

""WHAT!""

Eri and I both exclaimed in shock at the fact that we would be facing Nina. She was the strongest Witch in Ars and destroyed 3 mage battalions by herself once. Not a single person in Ars passed the magical power to surpass her.

"So you both better be prepared" was the last words she said before slipping into a shadow and disappearing.

While Eri did say a week ago that she wanted to partner up with me I had no idea if she really meant it so I wrote it off, but now it looks like we will be partners for the exam.

I then glanced at Eri whose violet eyes gleamed and she showed a wry smile. When we met eye contact she turned away quickly.

"Hmmph. Don't think I did this to help you, Idiot. You getting in trouble like that would just hurt my chances of showing you up during the Trials. Don't think much of it, idiot."

"You're really cute, Eri."

"Eh?! Don't compliment me without my consent you fool!"

"Eri, did you really want to be partners with me when you asked me a week ago on the rooftop?"

"Do I look like a liar?" she took a step forward and stared me right into my eyes.

"N-No. I just figured that you wouldn't want someone like me as a partner." I broke our staring contest and turned away from her peering violet eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about weirdo." She grabbed my shoulders and made me face her.

"I'm not very sociable and I'm not good at making friends. I try my best when I'm at school to be a model student, but I'm scared. Scared that everyone that I know will leave me once they know me for who I truly am." Once again I averted my eyes to avoid making eye contact with her.

"Wow, you're such a loser." Eri sighed

"I figured you would think that. I'll ask Nina to allow you to choose a different partner and I'll take the punishment myself, there is no reason for you to deal with something that I started anyways." I said slipping out of her grasp with shadow magic and I popped out of the ground behind her

"It's better this way anyways. I'm happy I even got to meet her." I thought as I stepped down from the podium and began to walk towards the exit, but suddenly I felt an immense amount of magical power flying towards me.

It was Fana, she coated her fist with pure Ethera with no element and it was still so powerful that I could hardly hold a barrier up against it.

"Why?" I could hardly stammer out as I struggled to hold up a barrier against her punch.

"I really hate that side of you. I have been looking for you for 7 years and you are willing to run away from me that easily!?"

I held out the barrier against it, but she struck once more and kept pummeling me with punches coated in Ethera.

"Because you are not good enough?! That's for me to decide, Idiot!" She punched once again and I felt a crack in the barrier.

"I have been running towards you for half my life! So the least you could do is not run away from me!" she punched my barrier for the last time and shattered it. Leaving me falling on my butt and against the exit door.

All my life I have been running. Running from scorn, hate, and betrayal. Those feelings that I felt all those years ago I never wanted to feel it again, so l locked my feelings away and refused to open them up again. Eri broke through my locks effortlessly as if they had never existed.

"Now let me ask you clearly this time. Will you be my partner during the Witch Trials?" Her question was paired with her outstretched hand toward me. I couldn't give away the chance that she had just handed me.

"Yes!"