The events from the day before left you in a tired state, and your roommate certainly didn't make things any easier for you. You and Sabrina glared angrily at each other as you forced yourselves to not go at each other's throats. You both had gotten into ANOTHER fight. The tape lined in the middle of the room separated your side from Sabrina's, and the two of you stood in your own areas. Although, it looked like the tape had been tampered with. Sabrina let out a gruff huff and she stomped her foot angrily on the floor.
"How many times do I have to tell you that this is MY side of the room!? Stop trying to shove your stuff passed the line!" She snapped. You growled at her like a ferocious beast.
"I never touched your stuff, so back off!" You barked. Sabrina's face turned red from pure anger and she let out an outraged screech.
"ARGH! This is totally unfair! Why must I be stuck in the same room as YOU!? I requested for my room to be just MY room, and they stick me with some ruffian instead!" You laughed as a visible vein popped out of the side of your head.
"If you didn't save me back there you could have had this room ALL to yourself." You taunted. Sabrina eyed you irritably. She then crossed her arms over her chest and she tapped her foot impatiently on the ground.
"You're right. I should have left you to be bandit chow." This struck a nerve with you. Seriously, how did some stuck up brat make it into the knight's academy? You were about to fire a retort her way when the clock chimed, making you look over at it. It read five pm. That was the time for your training with Astro. You eyed Sabrina distastefully before grabbing your sword from the bedside table. A smirk fell onto Sabrina's face as you readied your uniform.
"Is it already time for your extra curricular lessons? Hahah, don't work yourself too hard. You might overwork the one brain cell you have left." She taunted you. You whipped your head towards her. You then used the edge of your blade to knock everything off her desk before you bolted out the doorway, making her gasp. "HEY! COME BACK HERE!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Astro sat on the steps inside the coliseum with his chin propped on his hand as he waited for your arrival. He stared up at the sky with a bored look in his eye, before letting out the longest sigh of his life.
"Where is she....?" He mumbled, already bored out of his mind. He then detected a presence, and he looked over to the entrance to see you grumbling to yourself as you marched towards him. His lips parted into a smile and he jumped to his feet. "Y/n! There you are, I was beginning to worry..." he trailed off as you stormed passed him, prompting him to raise his eyebrow at you. "Did something happen?"
"No." You grumbled and you threw your sword into his chest. Astro fumbled to catch it before looking up at you in confusion. He then took a step back in surprise as you summoned your weapon, before swinging it wildly in the air.
"U-Um, Y/n? I know you're eager to use your powers, but you might want to cool it a little." Astro calmly persuaded you, setting your sword aside. You let out a huff of annoyance before you leaned back and threw your scythe. Astro's eyes widened as the scythe spun in the air before striking the stairs, the blade cutting the stone cleanly in half. Astro blinked in surprise as the set of steps crumbled to the ground with you heaving beside him, your face as red as a tomato. He then clapped his hands together before gently nudging you towards the seats.
"Okayyyyy, let's calm down and talk." He said and sat down with you. You glared at the ground for a moment. You then threw your head back and you let out an outraged scream.
"Argh, I can't take it anymore! Sabrina is such a brat, I HATE being roommates with her!" You wailed. Astro opened his mouth in understanding, finally knowing what the cause was for your foul mood.
"Exactly what happened between the two of you for things to be this bad?" He questioned, very curious about your situation.
"That's the thing, I don't know!" You cried while throwing your arms into the air. You then let your hands drop onto your lap and you let out a long sigh. "The moment I walked in she was hostile. She's a pompous little brat who wants to be a knight only for the glory! She couldn't care less what happens to others." You gritted out. Anger bubbled up inside you like an erupting volcano, and you weren't sure how long you could suppress it. Astro held his hand to his chin and he hummed contemplatingly to himself. He then leaned forwards and shared a smile with you.
"I don't think she's as heartless as you make her out to be. I mean she did save you from those bandits." Astro reminded you, making you frown even more.
"Who's side are you on here?"
"Nobodies. All I'm saying is that the both of you are overreacting. You should try to get along with her." Astro prompted. In all honesty, his words annoyed you. You looked ahead of you with a mean pout on your face. 'I don't want to play nice with her. But...Astro's right. She DID save me. So maybe she isn't as bad of a person as I thought she is...?' You breathed in through your nose and you nodded your head.
"Yeah, okay. I'll try to get along with....her." Astro smile encouragingly at you, happy with your decision. He then stood up and he pulled you to your feet.
"We'll call off today's training. For now focus on building your relationship with Sabrina. You never know, she could be a great ally to you." You felt physically sick by hearing his words, which he could physically see on your face. He gave you a nervous laugh, making you frown even further.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As you stood outside of your dorm room door, you listened carefully to the sounds from inside. To your dismay, Sabrina was still inside by the sounds of it. You breathed in deeply through your nose. 'I suppose I could apologise for tampering with her stuff.' With this thought in your head, you reached forwards and you opened the door.
"Listen, Sabrina. I'm really sorry about-" you stopped yourself short as the most shocking sight sat before you, making your jaw drop almost instantly. Sabrina whipped her head towards you with a roll of tape in her hands. The old tape had been discarded to the side for now, and the new line was half completed. You stood in a state of shock. You then threw an accusatory finger her way. "It was YOU! I KNEW IT! You lying cretin. How dare you blame me for moving the line!" You snapped. Your plans to make friends with this girl went right out the window.
Sabrina abruptly shot up to her feet and she pointed her roll of tape in your direction.
"If you hadn't caused us trouble then we wouldn't be in this situation." You scoffed at her words.
"Me!? YOU attacked ME first. So don't go pushing the blame onto me!" You yelled. You and Sabrina both glared angrily at each other as the clock ticked behind you. The moment the clock chimed at six o'clock, you both snapped.
"I'll NEVER be friends with the likes of YOU!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your friends watched you with furrowed brows as you drew a face that looked distinctly like Sabrina's onto a scrap piece of paper, before you hammered in your 'master piece' onto a wooden tree. You stood back from the tree and you held your training sword tightly in your grasp. You then raised the sword above your head, ready to strike the tree. Luckily for the tree, Kennedy came to its rescue and he parried your blade with his own.
"Don't take your anger out on the tree. It didn't do anything to you." Kennedy ridiculed you as he pushed you back. You let out a cry of frustration before you swung your sword wildly in the air.
"This is so unfair, what did I do to deserve this!? Why do I have to deal with a girl like her!?" You cried out. Alejo reached up to you while Abercrombie stole your sword from you.
"Calm down, Y/n!"
"Yeah, you're going to hurt someone!" Abercrombie piped in and he sheathed your sword. You breathed in through your nose before breathing out, relaxing yourself.
"Okay, I'm okay. Sorry about that." You apologised. Everyone smiled at you. You rubbed your palm over your eye and you shook your head. You then fell back onto the grass and sighed. "I don't see why I have to be the one making amends. Shouldn't friendship work both ways?" You began to complain. Sometimes you wondered if Astro even knew what he was talking about half the time. Reno sat beside you and he leaned back onto his hands while staring at the sky.
"You're right, but I also see what Astro wants you to do. Sabrina is the one at fault for being rude towards you, but she isn't exactly a bad person." You scrunched your face in confusion and you eyed him out of the corner of your eye.
"Okay, tell me her good points. What makes her soooo good?" Reno held his chin and he closed his eyes.
"Well..."
"She hasn't told anyone that you're the black onyx guardian. That's a plus side." Alejo spoke up. Your eyes widened slightly before you sat upright. 'He's right. She hasn't even mentioned it to me after that day. Is it because Astro asked her to?' You shook your head of the thought. No, that would have been too easy. 'There has to be some sort of motive. Why hasn't she told anyone yet?' Your confusion only grew more and more as you tried to figure out Sabrina Aldeheidis.
"Why not just ask her?" Kennedy suggested to you, almost making you fall over.
"Are you crazy!? I can't do that!" You yelped, bewildered at the fact that he would even suggest such a thing. Kennedy shrugged his shoulders.
"You never know. I mean, wouldn't it make sense to ask her? Y/n, this is a serious subject. You're going to have to put your personal feelings aside and actually discuss this with her. Think of it as your duty as the black onyx guardian." He said with a smile. You opened your mouth to reject the idea, but thought better of it. Kennedy was right in a sense.
After thinking heavily on it, you reluctantly gave into his suggestion.
"I guess I have no choice..." you mumbled. You hated this, forcing yourself to actually bother with Sabrina. However this matter had gone beyond just a simple friendship issue. You needed to speak to her on a personal level, both with responsibility and importance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From around the corner, you eyed Sabrina with a nasty look as she sat with her friends while laughing and chatting with each other. 'No doubt she's talking badly of someone.' You thought bitterly. You then shook your head and you clenched the wall. This was no time to be thinking about such things. You had to talk to her. 'Just like the others told me to.' You breathed out a heavy breath and you rested a calming hand over your chest. You then clenched it.
"Okay, let's do this." You whispered. With a mighty stride, you entered the classroom. The moment you stepped foot inside, Sabrina and her friends immediately noticed you, and they eyed you condescendingly as you approached them. You met their harsh criticism with a look of your own, and you stared directly at Sabrina, not even taking notice of the other two girls. "We need to talk."
Sabrina eyed you with a raised eyebrow while her friends laughed at you.
"What makes you think we'd want to talk to the likes of YOU?" The girl on her right taunted. If you recalled correctly, her name was Alice. You held a hand up to her, wiping the smug smile from her face.
"I'm here for Sabrina, not you." You spoke. This didn't go well with either of them. Sabrina flipped her golden locks over her shoulder before she scoffed.
"What makes you think I'm interested in speaking to you? This is my only time of day where I don't have to deal with you. So don't bother me." Sabrina curtly stated, already sick of you. Your eye twitched uncontrollably. 'It's not like I want to talk to you either, you stupid brat.' You breathed in through your nose and you forced a smile.
"Sabrina. This is very important. I need to talk to you about...this." You made a gesture to your chest. At first, Sabrina was very confused by your actions. As she focused more on the particular spot you were pointing to, her eyes widened in realisation. Her friends sat by her side while frowning. To their surprise, Sabrina stood out of her seat.
"Sabrina!?"
"You're not actually going, are you?" Sabrina held a stopping hand to them, before walking towards you. They continued to eye her in bewilderment as she reluctantly followed you out of the classroom. You were slightly happy that she followed you without a complaint.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The walk back to your dorm had been long and silent, and most of all....
'Awkward.' You thought to yourself as you and Sabrina stood on either side of the white line while staring at each other. Your lips stretched out into a thin line as Sabrina continuously curled her hair around her finger. She then closed her eyes.
"So? What is it?" Your breath hitched in your throat before you responded.
"It's about the other day. You know, when the bandits attacked." You reminded her. Sabrina's stare hardened. She then planted her hand on her right hip and she leaned on her side.
"What about that day?" You began to judge the distance from your side of the room to her side.
"You haven't told anyone about me, right?" Your heart beat loudly in your chest as you asked her this. She was oddly quiet. Your eyes then flickered towards her. Why wasn't she saying anything? Her face then contorted into annoyance.
"Really? Is THAT what you wanted to talk to me about?" You so desperately wanted to tell her to shut up, but for once you actually needed her to speak. "If you desperately need to know, no. I haven't told anyone." It felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders, making you sag to the floor in relief.
"Thank god...! I was so worried you had actually told someone." You breathed. Sabrina narrowed her eyes at you as you crawled over to your bed and laid down on it.
"I can't believe you. I was asked not to, so I didn't. Seriously who do you think I am?"
"A brat." It took Sabrina all of her strength and mental willpower not to throw something at you.
"And this is why I don't like you." She muttered under her breath. Your ear twitched, and you sat up from your bed.
"Oh please. You didn't like me the moment I walked into this room! Why is that?" You questioned. Sabrina crossed her arms and she refused to look at you. She tapped her foot impatiently on the floor before she stomped her foot against the wooden floorboards.
"It's just unfair! Why should a person of my caliber have to stay in a room with a country bumpkin like you? Seriously, does class not even matter to this school!?" She yelled out her frustrations, making you frown. "I worked hard to get to where I am, but I still have to sleep in the same room with a person who treasures a ROCK!" She snapped and she pointed an angry finger to the rock Bill had given you.
You let out an offended gasp and you clutched the rock tightly to your chest.
"Hey! My precious baby brother gave me this." You shot back. Sabrina pulled a disgusted face and she howled with a mocking laughter.
"Oh yeah, I forgot they don't have stores in the outlands. You're even lower than the low." Rage began to eat away at your rationality, and you were very close to hurling said rock at her head. As Sabrina grinned maliciously at you, her feisty attitude dampened somewhat. "It's unfair. Despite your horrible background, you somehow got into this school. You're even being trained by the captain of the white diamond knights himself, and now you're a guardian candidate for the black onyx pendant? Seriously, how lucky can you get."
Your eyes widened as Sabrina turned her back to you and you saw her tremble. You looked down at the rock in your lap and you gently brushed your fingers over it as Sabrina continued.
"I watch you in class. You don't even try with your work, yet you still get praised. You slack off when you get the chance, you even earned Astro's praise. I have worked so hard trying to prove myself, but in the end, talent is all that matters." She whispered, and small tear droplets rolled down her cheeks. You set the rock aside and you reached out to her.
"Sabrina..." Sabrina turned towards you and she slapped your hand away from her, making your eyes go wide. She glared at you with an intensifying hatred.
"And that's another thing I hate about you, the way you so easily pity people! Stop acting like you're special, because you're not! You're just like everyone else. A little girl playing knight." She spat. Your body froze up as those words left her mouth. Sabrina breathed out heavily, her face turning red from the anger and frustration she felt. Your hand found its way to the pendant around your chest and you clutched it. Sabrina narrowed her eyes at you. "You don't deserve that pendant."
You silently looked down at the necklace, and you felt its warmth against your fingers. The black onyx pendant, it was a necklace tied to your fate. You closed your eyes and you let your shoulders relax.
"You're right. I'm not special. It's just like you said." You spoke up, surprising Sabrina greatly. Her hand dropped as you removed the necklace from around your neck, and stared down at it. "You're the first person who's actually treated me like a normal girl. I don't have talent or the smarts to be a knight, but I really am trying. Just like everyone else, I have a goal." You looked up from the necklace and you clenched it tightly. You then smiled at her. "I'm doing this for my family."
Sabrina's eyes widened. Your family? Her chest rumbled with laughter as she continuously shook her head at you. She then held her head as she let out a hysterical laugh. You continued to smile at her. You then held the pendant out to her, making her look up.
"It was hard, but I do have the talent for wielding this necklace. I'll admit it, without it I would have failed the exams. So that's why I have to accept my role as the pendant's guardian. Don't you see?" A pained look appeared on your face, despite your everlasting smile. "I have to work harder than anyone else." Sabrina held her breath as she gazed at the pendant. You took a step forwards and you walked passed the taped line, before placing the pendant in her hands. Sabrina looked from you to the pendant with knotted brows.
"What are you-"
"Who knows, maybe there are other candidates for the black onyx pendant. The others, they were right about you. Despite your horrible personality, you're not a bad person." You whispered as you stared into the pendant's gem. Sabrina's chest ached upon hearing your words, and she reached up and clasped it tightly. You stepped back from Sabrina and you turned towards the door. Your hand then hovered over the door handle before you spared a brief glance over your shoulder.
"If you're able to work the pendant's powers, come find me. I'd happily give you my place as the guardian." Sabrina's eyes widened and she reached out to you.
"W-Wait a minute!" But it was too late, you had already left the room. Her mouth hung open in pure shock as the clock ticked away inside the silent room. Anger then bubbled up inside of her and she shook her head. "Seriously, you can't just give someone the pendant. You're a horrible guardian." She grumbled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You stared ahead of you aloofly as the day passed by you. Complete and utter silence hung around you, allowing you to gather your thoughts. A pair of footsteps stopped beside you, and you felt the presence of another as they sat beside you. You breathed in and you propped your chin on your hand.
"We don't have training today." You mumbled, making Astro laugh.
"We skipped out on yesterday's training, so I thought we could make up for it today. But it doesn't look like you're in the mood for it." He stated as he stared into your vacant eyes. You glumly nodded your head. The smile dampened on Astro's face and he leaned forwards even more. "How did things go with Sabrina?" A heavy sigh escaped your lips as you dropped your head, giving Astro a good guess on what had happened.
"Not good. Sabrina definitely hates me. I think she's jealous of me." You admitted, peaking Astro's curiosity.
"She jealous of you?" You sadly nodded your head.
"Yeah, I'm not gonna go into the details." Astro understood your decision, so he let it be. You looked down at your empty chest. "I did lend Sabrina the pendant though, just to give her a feel of the responsibility I hold." You admitted. Astro smiled as he looked ahead of him.
"I see, that's..." his eyes shot wide with realisation and he whipped his head towards you in alarm. "Wait what!? Y/n, you can't do that!" He yelped, making you turn towards him in confusion.
"Why not?" Astro grasped you by the shoulder and he gave you a scolding look.
"You can't just hand out the black onyx pendant like that. You are its keeper! It's only meant to be in YOUR hands!" Your eyes widened as his grip tightened on your shoulders to the point it actually hurt. You winced as his grip turned to bruising point and you shoved him off you to get him to stop.
"Okay I get it! I'll get it back, but I really wanted Sabrina to understand me." You admitted as you kneaded your shoulder delicately. Astro frowned at you. His eyes then widened as tears rolled down your cheeks, and he instantly felt bad for yelling at you. He reached forwards and he wrapped his arms around you, bringing you into a hug.
"I'm sorry. I know it's hard, but you're trying your best. You've understood Sabrina, and now it's her turn to understand you. And I'm sure she will someday." You leaned your cheek on his shoulder and you nodded. You then wrapped your arms around his waist, responding well to the hug. Astro smiled at this. He then leaned back and he rubbed soothing circles into your shoulders with his thumbs. "You can do this. Now go to her."
You used your sleeve to wipe away your tears and you nodded to him, a small smile playing at your lips. You then separated from him and you stood to your feet. With a small wave, you ran towards the school grounds. Astro returned your wave before he let his hand drop. There was still a small bit of worry lingering inside of him, but he trusted you. After all, you were his friend. So he had no reason not to trust you.
The term 'friend' erased the worry in his heart and instead, replaced it with a bit of excitement. His cheeks turned rosy and he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You breathed rugged breathes as you desperately searched the school for Sabrina. But no matter where you looked, she just wasn't there. You let out an irritated huff.
"Seriously, where is she?" You breathed. You then slowed to a stop. "She wasn't in the room, maybe her goons would know where she is..." you trailed off as you rounded the corner. A loud booming voice then roared in the distance, scaring the living daylights out of you. 'W-What!?' As you looked ahead, you finally spotted Sabrina. You were about to call out to her when you noticed an older man standing before her.
He wore pure white armour with his helmet clasped underneath his arm. You instantly recognised this uniform. 'That man...he's from the white diamond knights. But why is he here?' You began to wonder to yourself as you eyed the man curiously. He stared down at Sabrina with a disapproving gaze whilst she avoided his condescending look. She stared down at the ground in shame, making your eyes widen. 'Just what...is going on?'
"Sabrina, look at me." He spoke. You instantly recognised it as the voice who had yelled earlier. Sabrina closed her eyes fearfully before she forced herself to look at him. His icy gaze bore into hers, and his helmet clanked against his armour as he adjusted his grip. "What is this I hear about you getting into a fight?" Sabrina's voice wavered as she spoke.
"It was my fault. I was ahead of myself, and I caused trouble for everyone in my class. I'm sorry, father." You almost slipped off the wall as you stared ahead of you in pure shock. That man was Sabrina's father? And he was a white diamond knight!? Her father continued to stare down at her in complete and utter disappointment. Sabrina closed her eyes once more as beads of sweat formed on her head. "I'm sorry..."
He raised his hand, making you gasp. Surely he wasn't going to- Your suspicions were concerned when a loud slap had resonated in the area, and you watched on with a bubbling rage as Sabrina whimpered from the ground where she had collapsed. Her father's hand shook as he held it in the air.
"You-"
"STOP IT!" Your mouth moved before your mind could, and you raced towards the pair. Both Sabrina and her father whipped their heads towards and their eyes widened as you skidded in front of the fallen girl with your arms spread out.
"Y-Y/n!? What are you- why are you here!?" Sabrina cried. Her father eyed you down as you glared at him. Now that you were face to face with him, you could truly see how terrifying he really was.
"Don't interrupt a conversation between me and my daughter, you rude little girl." He spat. You swallowed hard while shaking with fear. But you couldn't back down from this.
"Is this what you call a conversation?" You gritted out. Sabrina carefully brought herself to her feet while her father eyed you down in disapproval. You swallowed your fear. "A knight shouldn't ever bring their hand down on innocent people. I thought you would have known that considering that you are one." You spoke. A fearful look crossed Sabrina's face and she clutched your shoulder from behind.
"Y/n, stop it! You're only going to anger him more!" Sabrina whispered harshly into your ear. You ignored her warnings and you continued to glower challengingly at the towering man before you. A shadow had been cast over his face, and Sabrina's father reached out to you.
"What's going on here?" Astro spoke up as he approached the three of you from down the hallway. Sabrina's father spared him a quick look of surprise before he saluted to him.
"Captain. It's nothing to worry about. I was just speaking to my daughter." You scoffed at his words.
"Oh please. He was bullying her, Astro!" You yelped. Astro raised an eyebrow at you before he turned towards his subordinate with a quizzical expression on his face. Sabrina's father let out a heavy sigh and he brought his hand down his face.
"You should really learn your manners. How dare you address the captain by his first name." He began to ridicule you. Now you saw where Sabrina got her nasty personality from. You clenched your fists and brought them up, ready to fight him. Astro forced back the smile from breaking out across his face and he rested a calming hand on Sabrina's father's arm.
"Calm down, Brutus. She has every right to call me by my name. She's the candidate for the black onyx guardian." He spoke, making Brutus's eyes widen.
"This little girl is the candidate?" He spoke out in alarm. You gave him a look of confidence and you proudly nodded your head. He narrowed his eyes at you. "Are you sure she's the one? She looks...scrappy." You gasped while Astro laughed.
"Careful now, once this girl claims her title as guardian of the black onyx, she'll have a higher authority than I will." He warned. This both surprised you and excited you. You had absolutely no idea you would have such power. Sabrina clung to your back, bringing you back to earth. You looked back at her with worried eyes. You then grasped her by the hand and you glared angrily at Brutus.
"You're a terrible father." You spat out before dragging the shocked girl behind you, away from the trouble. Astro muffled his sound of surprise while Brutus's knuckles cracked from the amount of pressure he put on them by clenching his fists.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You let out ragged breathes as you and Sabrina both collapsed onto your dorm room floor, the both of you an exhausted mess.
"D-Did we really have to run all the way here?" Sabrina breathed. You let out a grunt.
"Your dad is *pant* way too scary!" You replied. Sabrina swallowed the bile in her throat before she sat upright. She then wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand and she let out a heavy breath.
"You're crazy..." she whispered. You laughed on the ground.
"I've been causing trouble for my teachers ever since I could walk. This is nothing." You joked as you sat upright. Sabrina frowned at you, not liking your humour one bit. You gave her a measly shrug. "What?" Sabrina turned to the side and she clenched her fists tightly. That was when you finally focused on the red spot lingering on her cheek, where you could see the feint outline of a hand imprint. You reached up and you pressed your cool palm against her cheek, making her shoot back in surprise.
Sabrina's hand flew to her cheek as you blinked at her. "Doesn't it hurt?" You asked. Sabrina pressed her lips into a thin line and she held her hand over it.
"N-no. It doesn't hurt. Not anymore..." she trailed off. You immediately frowned at this.
"What a horrible father. How could he hit his own child?" You chastised. This annoyed Sabrina greatly, and she bursted out in a fit of anger.
"He's not a horrible father!" She snapped, making you go quiet. You stiffened on the ground as she stood over you while shouting into your face. "You would have no idea what he's like! He treats me this way because he cares. I have to be tough if I want to become a great knight, just like him!" You opened your mouth to say something. You then furrowed your brows with worry.
"I'm...sorry." Sabrina continued to glower at you. She then breathed in through her nose and sat herself back down.
"No, don't be. It's...not your fault." You were shocked by her accepting attitude towards you. You had expected more to be honest, but this was good. You twiddled your thumbs together as the two of you sat in silence. Something heavy then dropped around your neck, making your eyes widen. You looked down and you saw the pendant.
"You really are crazy. I felt so nervous holding that thing, so don't ever give it to me again." Sabrina grumbled and she turned her back to you. You began to fiddle with the pendant as it glowed, happy to be back with its master. Sabrina lifted her shoulders as she breathed in. "Thank you for sticking up for me, I...appreciate it." You stared at her back for a good solid second before a large smile broke out across your face.
The tips of Sabrina's ears turned red from the sheer amount of embarrassment she felt and she hunched forwards, still facing away from you. You began to rock your body back and forth as a giddy feeling entered your chest. You couldn't stop yourself from grinning.
"Your father, although his views are messed up, and I still don't like him, but...he's not a bad person. He's hard on your because he cares, just like you said...." you uttered, making Sabrina look back at you. She silently nodded her head. "He works hard protecting the city from the dangers outside of the walls. He's truly incredible, just like the other knights." A small smile appeared on Sabrina's lips.
"He really is awesome, isn't he?" She spoke with an oddly cheesy grin on her face. You laughed at how funny she looked, making her frown. "What?" You shook your head as your chest rumbled with laughter.
"Nothing." Another moment of silence hung between the two of you, but compared to before, it wasn't awkward in the slightest. You let your shoulders relax and you drummed yourself fingers along the floorboards. The longer you stared at the floor, the deeper in thought you had fallen. Your brows knotted together in great concentration, and you thought back to your previous conversation with Sabrina. After meeting her father, you had begun to understand where she was coming from. But it wasn't just that, it was also the importance of your destiny.
"Sabrina, I think you were right about me." You whispered, catching her attention.
"About what?" You looked up at her and you gestured to your pendant.
"I have been very lazy, and I haven't been taking this seriously at all. Meeting you has been a wake up call to me. If I want to perform my duties well, I need to try a lot harder. More so than ever before." You spoke, to which Sabrina nodded her head. You then smiled at her. "Sabrina, I do want to try my hardest so that people can be proud of me. I want to earn your respect, just like how you've earned mine." Sabrina eyed you funnily when you hunched yourself forwards out of embarrassment.
"If you don't mind, can we be....friends?" Sabrina's eyes widened. You hid your red face out of view. She then reached forwards. Hesitantly, she reached out and touched your arm, making you look up at her. She breathed in heavily through her nose before smiling half heartedly at you.
"I...should apologise for the way I treated you when I first met you. To me, you really were someone useless who didn't belong in the knights academy. But after getting to know you, your determination, I've come to appreciate who you are as a person. That day when the bandits attacked should have been proof." She spoke up. You felt warmed while smiling at her. Although her first comment ticked you off by a margin, you were still happy to hear her praises for you. Sabrina looked down at your hand with searching eyes, before she reached down and clasped it, making you gasp of shock.
"I also want to be your friend..." she whispered, but you had heard her loud and clear. You gave her an award winning smile and you clutched her hand in yours tightly.
"Then it's decided. Let's get along from now on." Sabrina smiled and she nodded her head. The two of you then spoke practically all night, getting to truly know one another.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You stood at the coliseum with Astro standing across from you while the rest of your friends sat by the steps as your audience. You felt nervous having them here, as it was their first time truly seeing your powers. You turned towards them and you gave them a nervous smile.
"So remind me again why everyone is here?" You asked them. Alejo sat up with excitement while the others whispered amongst themselves.
"We really want to know how far you've gotten with your training. You can use the pendant's powers now, right?" You nodded your head.
"Somewhat." Abercrombie turned his head towards where Sabrina sat and he eyed her nervously.
"Um, I'm kinda surprised that she's here." He admitted, making everyone nod in agreement. Sabrina eyed the bunch distastefully.
"Hey, I'm curious too." Astro smiled at everyone before he focused his attention onto you.
"Okay, let's begin." You nodded your head and you held your hand out before you. The pendant glowed, before its power surrounded you. You closed your eyes and a flurry of chains appeared around you. Everyone watched in awe as you summoned a pitch black scythe blanketed in shadows. You reached up to catch your weapon, but the scythe missed your hands by a long shot. Your eyes shot open and you gasped. You were about to race forwards to catch it when Astro did just that and he caught it effortlessly.
"You need to work more on your reaction time, but other than that it was pretty much perfect." Astro praised as he handed the scythe back to you. You let out a nervous laugh before taking it from him.
"Wielding such a big weapon still scares me a little bit." You admitted. Astro smiled promptly at you while the others laughed, further embarrassing you. You then looked down at your scythe and you gripped it tightly. 'I'm doing all of this to save Tobio. But what happens after that?' You stared at the scythe with a searching gaze. It was because Tobio had discovered his powers that he was now in a deep sleep. 'Why hasn't the same happened to me?' You thought to yourself.
Astro watched you carefully as you made all kinds of expressions. He then reached up and he grabbed onto the scythe, jolting you out of your thoughts.
"Y/n? Is everything okay?" He asked you. Your eyes widened before you hastily nodded your head.
"Y-Yeah! I was just...thinking. The white diamond knights are protecting the city, but what about the outlands? Who's protecting that?" Astro was silent as he contemplated his answer. He then set your scythe down and leaned on it.
"No one is. There hasn't been a reason to. The danger IS the outlands." He stated. You frowned at his answer. You then began to pace around as you stared ahead of you.
"The outlands is my home, my family live there. So I was thinking, if nobody is going to protect it, then why don't we protect it?" Everyone eyed you quizzically as you came to a stop.
"What do you mean, Y/n?" Kennedy piped up. You turned towards him and you gave him a toothy grin.
"I want to start a new order of knights. People who will work together with the black onyx guardian to create a safer place in the outlands. I want to call this new order the black onyx knights." Everyone fell into a stunned silence. Astro's body flushed with excitement as your friends began to discuss this amongst themselves.
"The black onyx knights, you're going to bring them back?" He uttered, to which you nodded your head.
"Mhm! My teacher told me about them. Now that the black onyx guardian has returned, I think it will be a good idea to bring back that order of knights again. So who's with me on the idea?" You optimised. Everyone was silent, unsure of themselves. You could see the hesitation in their eyes, making you worry. "Is that not a good idea...?" You whispered. Astro grasped you by the shoulder as he worked to ease your worries.
"It's not that, it's just that it'll be hard to find people who want to join your cause. Nobody wants to go to the outlands and constantly face danger every day. For a guardian, dealing with monsters won't be a problem. But if an ordinary knight went out there, it would be very dangerous for them." Your head dropped dejectedly and you let out a long sigh.
"But what if there was a set of technology that decreased those risks?" Reno piped up, making everyone turn towards him. Astro held his chin in thought.
"I suppose that's a possibility...." Reno gave him an award winning smile before he rose to his feet and gestured to everyone with wide arms.
"Then we can work together to make the outlands a safer place. If Y/n's family could survive there then surely a bunch of well trained knights can. Alejo and I will study our butts off so that we can create a new set of technology to help support those knights." Your eyes lit up with hope while Alejo looked up at Reno in bewilderment.
"Hold on, I'm apart of this!?" He yelped. Reno nodded his head, as if it was obvious.
"Of course. Don't you want to support Y/n's dream?" Alejo opened his mouth before he looked at you. You clasped your hands together and gave him a pleading look. Alejo pressed his lips into a thin line before he let out a long sigh.
"Yeah, I guess I do." Both you and Reno cheered and the two of you shared a high five. Abercrombie's cheeks flushed with excitement and he jumped up to his feet, desperately wanting to be apart of this operation.
"I wanna help out too! I can work together with these knuckleheads and make them the gear you guys are gonna need." He offered, putting an even bigger smile on your face. You then raced forwards and you jumped into his arms while laughing.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" You exclaimed while hugging him tightly. Abercrombie stuck a confident nose into the air. Beside him, Kennedy looked up at the two of you with a contemplating look on his face. Sabrina stood to her feet and she walked over to you. She then tapped you on the head, making you look up at her.
"I want in." She stated, making your eyes widen.
"W-Wait, really?" Sabrina smiled at you and nodded.
"Duh. You're about to do something crazy, and this time I want to be apart of it. Isn't that what friends do?" She said. You stared at her with astonishment. You then happily nodded your head.
"Yeah!" Kennedy's confidence wavered as everyone turned towards him expectingly. He then grabbed his head and he let out a cry of frustration.
"Aw man, don't look at me like that. If you do, then I have no choice but to go along with this idea!" He yelped. Everyone laughed, happy to have him on board. You then turned towards Astro eagerly.
"What about you?" You excitedly exclaimed, forgetting about one important factor. Astro laughed at your gusto.
"I would, but I'm already captain of the white diamond knights. So I can't exactly do much." He admitted almost apologetically. You suddenly felt like a fool for asking him, and you hid your red face from his view.
"O-Oh yeah, heheheh." Astro smiled even more at you. Everyone then came together and you began to excitedly discuss your plans for the future.
"Obviously we'll have to finish our studies first. We can't go into this operation blind." Alejo spoke, to which Reno nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. Y/n will also have to work her butt off to be recognised as the black onyx guardian." He mentioned as he pointed an authoritative finger in your direction. You saluted to him and you gave him a confident smile.
"Yes sir!" Everyone laughed while Reno continued to act like he was some sort of captain or something. Astro watched all of you with a wavering smile. He honestly felt jealous, but he had his own duties he had to attend to. He tore his attention away from the banter behind him and he focused his gaze on the setting sun.
'It's almost time to wake Tobio up.' He thought silently to himself. His fingers curled into fists and he clenched them tightly. It wouldn't be long now. 'I wonder, what is he like....?' Astro began to wonder to himself. He was looking forward to meeting Tobio, but he was also nervous. He had a very bad feeling.