Temporal Paradox - Suguru Geto x OC

Chapter 12

At the dining table, where the four of them sat together, Suguru couldn't help but stare at Torako in concern. She hadn't done anything wrong, but this was already her second plate of curry. It was as if she had already forgotten about their training.

"Senior, don't eat too much," said Suguru, sporting a prudent frown.

He watched as she gave him a side glance. From the way her eyes immediately narrowed into slits, the sudden warning must've stirred up some confusion.

"You'll be nauseous when we train."

At lightning speed, Torako immediately slammed her chopsticks down on the table, the shame observable in the redness of her cheeks. She willed herself to stay composed.

"Right." She inhaled sharply, "You're absolutely right, yeah."

Satoru's mouth curled into a smug grin, eyes and nose crinkling up in mockery. "Isn't it a bit too late to warn her now, Suguru?"

Ah... this white-haired junior of hers... It had been so peaceful up until he opened his mouth...

However, like a true pacifist would, Torako did not make eye contact with this person, and instead, chose the peaceful option of suppressing a sigh.

"Just don't aim for my stomach, please," she pleaded wryly, already feeling nauseous from the mere image of getting kicked in the abdomen.

As it turned out, Satoru was indeed correct; Torako ended up sprinting to the nearest toilet halfway through their sparring match, much to Suguru's dismay.

"Tomorrow. I'll train twice as hard from now on, I promise..." she grumbled weakly, trudging out of the bathroom.

'Just when will she take training seriously?' Suguru thought grimly as he watched Shoko stroke their senior's back soothingly. A part of him wished he was snickering with Satoru, but how could he, when this person, a special grade sorcerer, had her head split by a mere grade two curse?!

Once he thought about their first joint mission, Suguru's brain felt his brain throb.

"You can't even properly control your cursed energy output just yet..."

"Sorry, ma'am..."

○○○

It was going to be the end of her third week soon, and not once had Suguru seen any sign of improvement from his senior. Even though her academic intelligence was higher than the clouds, she had shown not even a speck of talent for jujutsu nor combat.

And with every mission, he became increasingly skeptical. A mixture of frustration and confusion stirred up in his mind every time she would come back from a mission showered in her own blood.

According to their teacher, who had been scolding her relentlessly ever since they walked into the room, he had been receiving complaints about her performance left and right.

Suguru slouched, recalling what he had heard from his best friend a few days ago.

On her joint mission with Utahime, the window reported that the older woman almost broke out into tears upon seeing her emerge from a mound of debris with a missing hand and foot.

With Mei Mei, she returned with a body punctured with multiples holes the size of a coin, still only with a slight stagger and a grim smile.

Satoru couldn't bring himself to laugh either, when he was met with the sight of his senior slumped against the wall of the domain with both legs cut off.

"Until this self-destructive behaviour of yours tones down, Shoko will be sent on missions with you, do you understand?" Yaga had told her after her sixth mission.

'And if she's not training, most of the time she's in the lab, experimenting with those berries...' Suguru thought idly as he began to space out from the scene before him.

"Are you doing this on purpose, Torako?!"

Said girl, who was seated on the floor like a samurai about to commit seppuku, smiled gingerly as her eyes locked onto the ground. She had been receiving an earful for five minutes already, but Yaga didn't sound like he would end this scolding anytime soon.

"Everyone you've went on a mission with has come back with something to say about you. If it's not a complaint, then it's them fretting over you! Shoko doesn't have all this time for you!"

'At least, I didn't forget to put up the veil...' she wanted to cry out but refrained from talking back. Instead, she gingerly mumbled out, "Sir, in my defense, everyone I was tasked to rescue came out without a single scratch."

Torako didn't even have to look at Yaga's face to know what kind of expression he was making. The gruff sound of a long groan filled her ears, one that was stifled with unbridled frustration. He wasn't happy with this report either, it seemed... It did little to extinguish his anger, it seemed...

"And what if you died? Would those people have come out without a scratch still?"

Torako's eyes squinted with profound confusion, her mouth awkwardly curving into a grin. She then pointed at Suguru and Shoko, who were standing by the door of the classroon. "My two juniors would've saved them, I think..."

Suguru and Shoko collectively yelled out in their hearts, 'Don't bring us into this!'

"You two split up to go to the opposite side of the building, did you not? How could Suguru have saved the people on your side?!"

There was no point in saying anything anymore, so with a bow of her heard, she apologised. "Sorry, sir."

Yaga huffed roughly, expecting her to say more than those two words.

Torako complied obediently, "Next time will be different, sir."

For a few more moments, her teacher was silent, before sighing leniently. "That's a lie, huh?"

"That's a lie, yes."

"It's not a lie," Torako exhaled pitifully.

After this, Yaga finally dismissed the three of them and left the room.

Suguru and Shoko's gaze stiffly followed him out the door. And right when he was out of sight, they heard a muffled thud.

Turning to look back at their senior, they found her in a new position.

"The floor is dirty, senior." Suguru furrowed his brows.

Torako, now on her back, laid on the ground with her limbs spread out in a lazy starfish pose. This image reminded him of a rotten fruit that had just fallen from its tree.

Shoko crouched down to look at her senior with a sigh. The scolding hadn't been directed at her, but even her ears were sore. Slowly, the girl reached out to pat her on the head. Then, she blinked, because for just a split second, it almost looked as if Torako was glaring at her.

"I'm not a dog..."

"Headpats don't make you feel better?" Shoko laughed. When Torako didn't answer, she continued, "Now, let's go to the lab. We have a fruit to experiment with, remember?"

"Right, the berries..."

Hearing his senior's voice, Suguru felt a little guilty.

"No," he chuckled. "Senior, you don't have to rush yourself. It's only been three weeks, and I'll be a sorcerer for a long time, anyway–"

'No, you won't,' Torako thought faster than she could blink.