𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘; 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢 𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Tempest

"Hey Ryo, can I use you for training?" You asked, walking up to a log on the training field that was sitting upright next to a tree.

"It's been 2 months since you've been here. Why are you still asking?" Ryo grumbled. You assumed he was just waking up from a nap. "I always ask for permission, dummy." You chuckled as you felt a sword form in your hand and you looked up at Maki who had her polearm out.

"Oi, make sure you have a sleeve for that. I don't need you chopping this thing in half." She said as she knocked her knuckles lightly against the wood of her polearm. You smiled and held a thumbs up before demanding a sleeve for your sword.

"Oh man. You just follow her every word, don't you?" Ryo joked as you took the sleeve he made and pushed it over the sword. Maki got in her stance once you finally walked up in front of her. "Finally. You walk like an old lady leaving the hospital. I was about to yell at you for how slow you walk." She chuckled before dashing towards you. You chuckled, not even processing that she was heading towards you and you felt a dull pain in your stomach and that's when you realized you'd been poked by Maki's polearm.

"You really should pay more attention." Maki commented before walking over and extending her arm, holding her hand out for you to grab. You lifted a brow and smirked to yourself before grabbing it and using it as a leverage to pull yourself back up; both your bodies now inches away from each other. So close that you could almost feel the heat rising up to her cheeks. Maki herself couldn't even decide if it was from the sun or from how close the two of you are.

Frowning, she let go of your hand and broke away from the eye contact then stomped towards her original spot which was about 7 feet away from where you were first standing. "Paying attention is easier than it sounds when it comes to training with you." You finally replied, picking the sword back up from the ground. She grit her teeth, her frown turning to a scowl.

"Some special grade sorcerer. Can't even pay attention during training." She said before grumbling a string of curses while stomping off to get her water bottle. You lifted your brow once again, "What's up with you? We've literally just started training and you're tired?" You questioned, walking towards her spot.

"I'm not training with a flirt." She said before taking a sip. You perked up both your eyebrows and smirked again. She glanced back at you.

"That's not a good thing."

"And why do you think that?"

"Cuz it's gonna getcha in some hot water one day."

"And why exactly do you care?" You asked, leaning your face towards hers. She groaned and pushed you away by the chin. "I don't." She denied. Of course she did, but she would never let you know that. How could she? Yes, you've grown on her just a little bit and yes you're somewhat nice to her, but it's impossible to tell your feelings for her. It gets her so worked up, and she feels like she's chasing a headless chicken trying to figure out if you're actually toying with her or that you're being genuine.

"She definitely likes you." Ryo stated and you prayed to every single god up there that he didn't say that out loud because if he did that would've earned you an ass beating.

Luckily, your prayers were answered and she continued sitting there, drinking water as if Ryo said nothing. You mentally wiped the figurative sweat drop rolling down your face before you walked over and grabbed your water bottle then sat down next to her. She momentarily shifted her gaze towards you then quickly scoot to the other bleachers next to the ones you were sitting on. You looked over at her with a confused expression. A second later, you heard the door open and you looked over to find Panda, Toge and Yuta marching out.

"Or maybe not?" Ryo finally added. You rolled your eyes at his statement and sat back against the bleacher.

"Yo! Y/n! Ya wanna train?" Panda asked from the track while Toge and Yuta already began running. (Toge was running, Yuta was just lazily jogging.) You looked at him then nodded, "Sure!" You got up from your spot and got onto the track.

You and Panda began running after a few seconds, Panda going at a particularly slow pace since you're not exactly a fast runner.

"Sooooo. How are you and Maki doing?" Panda asked in almost a teasing tone, a smile creeping on his face. You turned to him with an incredulous look on your face, "Why does it matter? Are you trying to get an answer out of me or something?" You asked with a chuckle before racing past him. He huffed before catching up to you.

Panda and Toge knew about Maki's feelings, even after they convinced her to tell them. But he wasn't so sure about you, though. He understood how it frustrated Maki, not knowing how you feel about her. Sure enough, he knew exactly how that was. At first when he concluded that she has feelings, he was a little bit worried how Maki would act. He knew that it'd be hard for her to hide them, but it's her, he figured she'd manage.

"No reason. Just wondering." He lied. You huffed before facing the front.

"Honestly..." You started. "I think she's really cool. She's a super good fighter, she's really strong, definitely not the nicest person I know. And I really like her! She's cool!" Panda stopped in his tracks with a dropped jaw.

He turned to Maki with a malicious grin on his face. He held his arms up and started dancing.

"MAKI! MAKI! I THINK YOU HAVE A CHANCE!"

"HUH?! WHAT'RE YOU ON ABOUT?! I'LL KILL YA! AND I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT CITES!"

Panda let out a roar of laughter as he ran away from the furious Maki. The two ran all around the track, you, Toge and Yuta all stepped away and into the field area so the other two could try to outrun each other.

"...What are those two fighting about now?" Yuta asked, his head following Maki and Panda the whole way. You chuckled with a shrug, "I dunno. Those two are always fighting." You said before walking off to the bleachers.

-

-

-

Later on at the dining hall, Maki sat at a separate table from you and the other three. Occasionally, you'd turn around to see how she's doing. It would always end up with her demanding you to turn back around.

"What's up her ass?" You asked, pointing your thumb towards the griping Maki in the back. Panda huffed before rubbing the bump on his head. "Sorry Y/n, but she made me swear not to tell you or else she'd literally kill me." He said disappointedly. You lifted a brow then turned back around for the last time. She looked up at you, sending eye-daggers in your direction.

You turned back around and picked up your fork, "Was it about what I said earlier?" You asked quietly. "About Maki?"

Panda huffed before setting his fork down. He leaned over the table. "I'm not gonna tell you here, since I know for a fact she'll somehow teleport behind me. But I'll tell you later." He whispered, glancing back at Maki with a grin.

You shook your head and kept on eating.

..

..

After Maki left, Panda finally let out a sigh before peeking around the corner to see if she was still there. Luckily, she wasn't and he skipped back over to your table.

"Yay! Ok, no we can finally say it." Panda started.

"Ok, Maki likes you."

You stared with a blank face.

"What."

You heard Ryo burst out laughing at your reaction. Apparently, so did the others. Toge, Yuta and Panda all looked at you while Ryo was still laughing his ass off.

"RYO! SHUT YOUR ASS UP!"

" HEHEHEHEHE. No. "

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this deadass was how i ended this chapter on ao3😭😭😭