Chapter 89

Demetrius opened the oven and took out a tray filled with pastries. He smiled warmly as he sniffed the air, which was already filled with the scents of blueberries, raspberries, and cherries.

"Cattley's recipe."

He looked towards Damien and smiled. The young boy looked at the deserts and swallowed his spit, obviously struggling to control himself.

"Remember, they're hot. So don't touch them until I say so, ok?"

Cattleya watched the scene from the lounge area on the couch, smiling warmly. He always appreciated her mother's pastries, and now that Damien and Demetrius got to try them was quite the achievement.

Carter casually sat down next to her and crossed his legs onto the coffee table in front of him, whilst Officer Palau smoked a cigar in the corner.

The light rainfall outside gave the base a calming and peaceful ambience. Carter opened his mouth, but he struggled to find the words to speak.

"I think you want to say something?"

Cattleya asked, turning to look at Carter with a calm expression. His cheeks rushed with heat as he pushed aside his blonde bangs, revealing his awfully broad forehead.

"I-I do."

He smiled a little as he stared down at the ground, a little sweat started to gather around his hairline and his cheeks only turned more red.

"Confession, love, confession, love."

Cattleya's eyes widened in astonishment and curiosity at the voices she just heard. This was her first time hearing spirit calling, and how she heard it and the current time made her chuckle with irony.

"I already know, Carter."

She smiled gently as her cheeks also turned a low pink, and she leaned in to kiss the young man. Carter's eyes widened as Cattleya's lips connected to his, and he could feel the unwanted arousal begin to bloom like a flower that had been shut for years.

"You're...you're what?"

Aizawa asked, leaning back in his chair with widened eyes. Shinso's eyes also widened as well. I could feel their shared gazes bore into me, like their vision would make particular spots on my body heat up from all the unwanted attention.

"I am."

I replied calmly, sipping the last of my cider.

Aizawa continued to stare at me with stunned and slightly afraid silence, the idea of one of his students possessing this magnitude of power put him on edge.

"How did you figure this out?"

"It's time to stop, you've told them everything."

I took The Umbridge's warning and stopped talking, which made Shinso and Aizawa sigh collectively. Shinso then turned his window and noticed the sun disappearing behind the Cardigon Mountains.

"It's getting late, we should get going back."

"Actually, I was hoping we could visit Oboro first, he's still bedridden."

Aizawa spoke up as he stood and headed towards the door with a serious and concerned expression. Me and Shinso exchanged glances, but we ended up agreeing to accompany Aizawa during his trip.

The carriage ride to the medical facility was silent, only the ambient sound of the rusty wheels driving over run down roads was heard beneath our feet.

We all took a step out and Aizawa thanked the driver as they drove away. The medical facility stood tall and silent. Vines and foliage have already started to claim its old stone walls. Aizawa opened the front gate and approached the front door, before he once again opened it.

We all took a collective step in and approached the attendant lady, who claimed to already know Aizawa.

"The lad visits poor Oboro just about everyday, it warms my old heart!"

The old woman croaked as she stood up from her desk and approached the medical booth where Oboro was in. Upon opening the curtain we saw that Oboro was already awake and awaiting us.

"He comes here everyday at 7 PM for a good game of checkers, because someone doesn't know how to play traditional chess." 

Oboro chuckled to himself as he leaned up in his bed and took out the worn down checker set with loud squeaky hinges that needed a good polish.

Oboro then opened the case and began preparing the set with all of the pieces with Aizawa's help, who mumbled and groaned at the sheer intricacies of setting up the game, which Oboro was pretty used to at this point.

Me and Shinso watched the match commence as Aizawa and Oboro began moving piece after piece, until Aizawa leaped over Oboro's last line of defense, finishing the game with a preliminary victory.

"You always win, Sho!"

Oboro let out a mocking groan with a smile on his face as he put the checker set away under the table. Aizawa reached out his right hand and Oboro shook it gently, but he was caught off guard by the sudden, heavy hug that Aizawa would give him.

"Someone's feeling clingy, huh."

Oboro said teasingly as he gently ripped Aizawa out of his grip and looked at him with a smile. Aizawa smiled back calmly, wiping the tears that began to form in his eyes away, preventing them from coming out.

Oboro noticed this and shook his head.

"No, you will cry, you can cry, it's ok, Sho."

Oboro's words were all Aizawa needed to hear, as he began to silently cry, tears streaming down his face as he sat down in the nearby chair to prevent himself from losing complete balance.

Me and Shinso watched with small smiles on our faces, letting Aizawa properly handle his grief, unleash his emotions and most of all; forgive himself.