The Last Days Before The Raid III

Kai's eyes met hers.

For a moment, the only thought that crossed his mind was.

'Really? Does the universe always have to be against me?'

A thick, suffocating silence filled the room as everyone's eyes turned to Kai- who still looked as though he had seen a ghost. However, right then, Kai's eyes were caught by a third figure who sat at his left.

Kai's gaze hadn't even landed on Dash Blackwood yet, the elf who had he had once assumed to be the strongest seeker in the academy. But now, standing in this room, it hit him. The full team was here.

Team Seven was gathered together in one place. Perhaps this really wasn't a date between him and Ira after all.

'...Bummer.'

Kai's fingers twitched. The awkwardness weighed down on him like a tangible force.

His instincts told him to leave.

Just turn around, walk out, and pretend he never stepped in. But that would be embarrassing, and quite frankly, unmanly.

He exhaled quietly, calming himself, and then—without hesitation—stepped fully into the room.

In the center, a long wooden table stood, covered with plates of food. Steaming portions of bread, slices of roasted meat, and tankards of beer were scattered across the surface.

The dim lanterns hanging from the ceiling gave the scene a warm but strangely unsettling atmosphere.

Kai made his way to the table, lowering himself into a kneeling position like the others.

To his left, Dash was already seated, legs crossed, arms folded. His expression was unreadable, and his eyes were shut, as if he hadn't even acknowledged Kai's presence.

Sonya, on the other hand, had her gaze fixed downward, avoiding eye contact entirely as she ignored Kai's presence as well.

And Ira—she was sitting on the opposite side of the table. Her golden hair shimmered slightly in the low light as she glanced between them, visibly puzzled by the tension.

Kai could feel the heat rising to his face. His cheeks flickered red as he, too, avoided looking at Sonya.

And in due time, Ira broke the silence.

"So much for Team Seven's union meeting."

No one responded. The room remained awkwardly quiet.

A soft cough broke the silence. Then, finally, Dash spoke up.

"What was so special about tonight that you had to drag me here, Ira? Some of us prefer to have a good nights rest before a mission."

Ira smiled, clapping her hands together as she rubbed them in unison.

"Glad you asked, Dash."

Her voice carried an easy confidence, like someone who already had an answer prepared.

"As you all know, tomorrow is a special day. Tomorrow, is the long awaited reclamation of Louge City."

Kai stiffened slightly.

"To cut to the chase...." Ira continued.

"...this might actually be our final night together. Hell, it might be the final night for most of us, if not all of us. So, I figured—before we move out as a team for the reclamation mission—we should at least know each other better. Not just as teammates, but as people."

She leaned forward slightly, looking at each of them.

"So let's share a little about ourselves...what'd y'all say?"

Dash scoffed, shaking his head before he ranted.

"'Know each other better?' Hell, I think I already know you all far better than I should."

"I don't need to know anything. To be honest, you could even say that I don't need a team-"

His voice had a certain dry humor to it, but there was also a hint of pride, but Ira wasted no time to cut his speech.

"Shut up, Dash. If you were as good as you think you are, you wouldn't have been ranked 98th. Hell, tou wouldn't even be a Seeker."

Dash's jaw clenched. He shot her a glare, clearly offended. "Tch."

Ira cleared her throat.

"Alright, I'll go first."

She straightened up, then began,

"Hello, everyone. My name is Ira Holt. I don't come from any great clan or noble family, but I have my reasons for being here."

Her voice softened slightly.

"One being that I just want to live a decent life. And if possible, give my family—what's left of them—a decent life before the world crumbles. So I guess you could say I'm a sorcerer for the money."

She smiled faintly.

"I like movies, popcorn, and—well, let's just say I have a good taste in entertainment. Also, I have a high affinity to the soul, which allows me to heal. I'd say I'm pretty good at it. Not that I can heal severed limbs or all that, but I think I'm pretty decent enough. Kinda."

'Hmmm...a healer, huh?'

Then, as if realizing she was talking too much, she scratched the back of her head as a soft chuckle escaped from her lips.

"That's about it."

Silence.

No one immediately spoke up.

Kai's eyes darted between Dash and Sonya. To most the current predicament might have seemed like a good way for teammates to get to know each other. But for Kai, it wasn't simply one of the worst case scenarios he could have ever imagined.

'Great. Things are definitely going bad for me' he thought.

'Everyone's revealing things about themselves, but I don't even know anything about myself. And worse—I'm weak as fuck, if not the weakest sorcerer in the academy. So what the hell am I supposed to say?'

Before he could dwell on it much further, Dash sighed.

"This is ridiculous. It feels more like a slumber party game."

Ira groaned.

"Come on, just go along with it."

Dash was quiet for a moment. Then, after exchanging a glance with Sonya, he let out a faint breath and said.

"Fine."

Everyone turned to him as he leaned back slightly.

"I come from a nameless family. Most probably a low-born family. I never met my parents. Instead, I was raised by the Kaito elf clan."

There was a short pause in the room before he continued.

"Unfortunately, I never exactly met their standards. I wasn't anyway close to being a prodigy like Renji Kaito, but I did manage to get into the academy, so there's that."

His fingers tapped against the table.

"I have an affinity for light. Any spell partaking in light is under my utility. So, without further ado—it's plain to see that, irrespective of my inexperience, I'm the one most capable enough to overthrow Renji Kaito."

Silence.

Kai blinked, stunned by the elf boys statement, as were all except Ira, who simply rolled her wyes.

'Wait… did he just say overthrow Renji Kaito?'

Dash's expression was firm. "I don't expect any of you to understand. But it doesn't matter. That's my goal, and I will achieve it. I'm gonna become the strongest sorcerer alive!"

He leaned back, muttering in closure.

"That's all."

Kai stared at him, thoughts racing. In as much as felt like the lad was out of his mind, he couldn't help but think that somehow, he was actually alike.

'Our goals are somewhat similar… but still. Number 98 aiming to overthrow Renji Kaito? And here I thought my own drive was stupid. This guy might actually be insane.'

Nah. He definitely wasn't as insane as this guy.

Ira clapped her hands, gaining the rooms attention.

"Alright, very nice."

She turned to Sonya.

"What about you, Sonya? Care to introduce yourself?"

Once more, there was a short pause in the room as Sonya hesitated. She met Ira's gaze, then glanced at Kai.

He quickly averted his eyes, pretending not to be looking.

Sonya's lips curled slightly. Then she said.

"Introduce myself? With him here?"

She gestured toward Kai.

Kai frowned, but still despite the insult, he deserved that.

'Okay, was that an insult...well, I guess I should better accept it. Anything's better than getting exposed for the gripper incident.'

Ira blinked, looking between them for a short moment before stammering.

"Well… um...I guess we all have our free will, right?"

Then, she turned to Kai.

"Alright, number one. Please enlighten us more about yourself."

Kai's mind blanked.

'Shit. Here it is, my moment of embarrassment. What the hell am I gonna do?"

He hesitated, thoughts spiraling.

'I could just lie to them. Give them a textbook legacy backstory. I have a legacies last name after all...but still, I won't really remember enough to counter any of their suspicions.'

The last thing he needed was to found a liar by his team, especially this close to a life or death mission. Still, he couldn't afford telling them the truth and letting his pride shatter afront of them. Al though, if he only kept his secrets to himself, who knows, perhaps it might cost him his life or all their lives, if they do put their hopes on him and he eventually fails to deliver.

And so, taking a deep breath, he made his decision.

He turned to them and said.

"Um...My name is Kai Draven. Yes, Draven. I don't know why I have that last name… but I do."

He had chosen... total honesty...nah. He had chosen honesty, but just enough honesty to make him look good atleast.

"Umm...something about myself? To be honest...I truly don't know."

A gloomy look crossed his face.

"I don't want you to think I'm hiding something from you, especially after you all have shared your stories with me."

'Okay...just enough truth, but not to much.'

Kai thought as he sighed softly.

"But the truth is… I have no idea who I am."

His voice lowered slightly.

"I have no memory of who I was or what kind of life I lived up until a year ago, when I woke up on my bed. Broke. Alone. Without a purpose. That's who I am...that's the real Kai Draven."

A deep breath.

'Dammnit. I said too much.'

"Honestly, I dont remember much about that day either. All I do remember is that when I woke up, I woke up with a piece of paper on her hand."

"And the paper had a message written on it, saying 'Join the sorcery association.'"

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