"It" Can't be Helped (Revised) | ♾️ | Blue Exorcist

10

It was snowing as exited the last period of my day classes. My classmates swarmed around me as they all talked about what they would do with their Friday night. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't envious of their carefree lives. Sighing, I stopped my trek to cram school, my gaze going up toward the gray sky. Snow fell from the clouds above, creating a light blanket on the ground. I held my palm out, a few snowflakes landing on my hand before melting. Careful not to tip anyone off, I let the heat in my body climb, and small waves emitted from my palm. The snow the fell directly above changed states and fell into my hand like a raindrop. I rubbed my damp hand on my jacket and continued my walk to cram.

My lessons with Shura have changed over the last month. We still practiced my swordsmanship, and she - true to her words - gave me my sword back when I'd mastered my connection. Said connection becoming a huge part of our time together. I was thankful for her guidance, because I wouldn't be as far as I was without her.

As I entered the gymnasium, a memory flickered through my mind. It was the one and only time I'd burned Shura. We were practicing with temperatures. She wanted to understand just how high, or low, my flames could burn. She had cooed at the small ember that had ignited on the paper she held. I remembered my wariness when she asked me to give it my all. I hadn't wanted to hurt her, and I had even begged her to at least place the paper on the floor. She had given me a coy smile and told me to use this as an exercise to navigate my flames around friend and foe. She'd put too much faith in me, however, and the paper basically combusted in her grasp. She had cried out, stumbling back and clutching her hand to her chest. The guilt I'd felt was immeasurable. I'd fallen to my knees in front of her, begging for her forgiveness and asking that she not report the incident to the Grigori. The look in her eyes when tears fell down my face was unreadable. She agreed to delete that days recording, but only if I pulled myself together and tried again.

I shook my head, ridding myself of the thought. I opened my locker and grabbed my gym clothes. Walking into the bathroom, I entered a stall and began disrobing. I'd taken one of the long sleeves Mephisto had given me and used it for my uniform. The thumb holes made sure I'd wouldn't have to constantly pull at my sleeves the way my other gym clothes did. Unfortunately, that uniform was mandatory and could not be revised. I sighed and exited the locker room, standing up against the wall and stretching.

The class had been uneventful, albeit physically taxing. I was sweating as I left the classroom, with Tsubaki-sensei calling after us. We would get our progress reports the next day.

I had expected the same from Adachi-sensei, but as the class neared it's end, he began walking around the room. He passed papers out to their respective owners, telling us we had all done well and to keep our grades up. He came up to me and handed me my report. I scanned the paper and a small smile crept onto my lips.

B+

It wasn't spectacular, but considering the rocky start to the semester, I'd take the grade as a win. After applying myself more, my efforts were beginning to pay off. I flipped the page over and read through each graded assignment. A tinge of satisfaction flooding my body as I saw the percentages rise as the semester had progressed. The last handful of assignments had perfect scores. I chewed on my lip and brought my hands to my face, trying to hide my blush. I was so happy.

The bell rung and I shoved the paper into my bag, practically skipping out of the class. I must've had some speed behind my legs, because I was the first one into Yukio's classroom. I sighed, seeing him scribbling on the blackboard. He didn't acknowledge my presence, and I didn't expect him to. I'd been ignoring him ever since he shot me. While he had tried to crawl himself out of the hole he had dug for himself, he soon realized I wasn't going to budge and left me alone.