Love Bites (Alhaitham x Kaveh)

Chapter 17 - A Process of Elimination

(Author: Just a little note before we start, the new grand sage is just a headcanon of mine because hoyo did us bad by not giving us any info for the next grand sage after Haitham rejected the position, so i just made it up.)

-Alhaitham's POV-

The elevator ride up to the grand sage's office filled me with an unbearable sense of anticipation, compared to when I'd leisurely go up this elevator daily when I still had the position. With each passing second, more and more questions began to pile up in my mind. It wasn't often that any grand sage would directly have meetings with scholars in the Akademiya, which prompted me to contemplate the seriousness behind the situation.

Perhaps the new grand sage had her own way of doing things. All I knew about her so far was that her name was Nasreen and that she was around the same age as me, but if she was worthy enough of gaining the position, there must be some rationality behind the decisions she's made.

I heard a familiar noise that the elevator would make when nearing the end of its ride. I clenched my fists as the last few seconds passed and I finally reached the top, being greeted by the levitating orb amidst the room. I swiftly climbed the stairs and found Kaveh sitting at the grand sage's desk, with the grand sage herself and...another man. Short, messy brown hair, gaunt facial features and an expression of resentment across his eyes. It was Akeem. Kaveh's old classmate, the man spreading rumors about us. 

My attention quickly reverted back to Kaveh, and I internally sighed of relief to see that he was alright, although his expression was similar to Akeem's. It slightly softened when our gazes collided.

"Welcome, Alhaitham. I apologise for summoning you here on a short notice since I thought you'd be in at work today, but you were not. Not to worry, but I have a matter to discuss with you and these gentlemen, and your job as the scribe is to keep a log of whatever we are going to discuss here today, just for future reference or possibly, a court case." She greeted me with a small smile as I walked towards the desk, while still maintaining some distance. Kaveh looked away from me and down at his hands, as if he was feeling ashamed or guilty about me being here. I knew what he was thinking. He was embarrassed to be seen in such a situation by me. 

I was sure neither of us had ever imagined a day where I'd have to put his name down on paper to keep record of some trouble he may have caused in the Akademiya. 

"To begin, why don't I allow them to explain themselves?" Nasreen continued.

"He was harassing a student and I simply--!" 

"I wasn't harassing anybody, Kaveh is just trying to get me into trouble because he thinks I'm spreading rumors about him and Alhaitham so he's trying to make me look bad!" Akeem sharply interrupted Kaveh and yelled at him. 

Harassing a student...I thought. To be frank, the act did not seem completely impossible for somebody like Akeem to commit. 

"Now, I am well aware as I have been informed by many students that Akeem was the one who had started spreading these rumors. There is no point in denying that anymore. But that is beside the point, the more important matter at hand is the accusation Kaveh has made against Akeem. Could you please recount the series of events for Alhaitham to make a record?"

Kaveh looked at me, his eyebrows raised with worry as he forcibly swallowed a gulp, as if he were asking me for help. I knew I had to remain professional, so all I did was nod at him before I used my elemental energy to form a tab to record his statement. 

"I was making my way to my office when I noticed Akeem had a female student cornered by a bookshelf. I wasn't going to interfere as I thought they were discussing work, until I noticed him getting closer to her, and she had a look of discomfort on her face. So I decided to interfere, but then Akeem began arguing with me and it turned into a physical altercation." Kaveh recounted, and I recorded everything word by word.