Royal Pride (Leona Kingscholar/Yuu)

11 ~ Direct Attack

"WHAT THE—OW!"

Everyone was stunned for a few seconds before rapidly fussing over Yuu, making sure she was okay. "I'm probably concussed or something—did you guys see that?"

"All of us are capable of catching a regular stray Spelldrive disc," Riddle remarked with concern. "And the field is so far away, too. How does that happen?"

"You were likely targeted, if you take my opinion," Jamil proposed. "There's simply no way that that could accidentally happen."

"You're bleeding out of your mouth!" Kalim yelped. "Do we have any ice? Wait, what do you put on blood!?"

Yuu couldn't help but start laughing at it all. The three all stared at her, looking even more concerned. "Do you have a concussion?" Riddle asked, shoving an ice pack on her face.

"My ears are ringing a little, but I'm—" She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who was flying over on his broomstick. None other than Leona Kingscholar, of course.

He gracefully descended and picked up the Spelldrive disc. "How did the disc even—DID IT HIT YOU!?"

'Dang, does he look good with a ponytail.'

Leona dropped the disc and bent down, holding the ice pack to Yuu's cheek. "Hey, think you can stand up?"

"My head is in extreme pain right now. And there's two of you. I think I'm dying. I'm not gonna try to stand up." Yuu sprawled herself out on the picnic blanket. "Who threw that disc?"

"I wasn't paying attention, but I saw the disc fly past me and this freshman was fussin' over it, so I went to go retrieve it. And what do I find? That a Spelldrive disc has somehow managed to hit you in the face, despite the distance from the field and your reflexes. C'mon, I'm taking you to the infirmary."

Yuu shook her head "I'm staying down here," she groaned. "If I move I think I'm gonna die. Are my teeth still in place? I don't think I'm supposed to be bleeding this much. Shouldn't there be a spell or something to make me feel better?"

Leona crossed his arms. "Get up or your head's gonna hurt worse later." Yuu stuck out her tongue at him. "If you try to make me move, I'll hit you."

"Ugh," he sighed in defeat, "You three make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." He hopped back on his broom and flew in the direction of the infirmary.

The three of them looked at her. "What?" She asked, eyes half-shut. There was a moment of silence, and then Kalim spoke. "Are you two dating yet?"

"This conversation seems awfully familiar," Yuu said hazily. "Oh right, Ruggie and I had the same sort of conversation. No, we're not dating. Has this really been a thing since last year?"

Jamil nodded. "Leona wouldn't do that for anyone but you," he added. "I remember last year you would always respond sort of nonchalantly when people would tell you that he liked you."

"I never really comprehended that he liked liked me until a few weeks ago, man. And I didn't even know I liked him, either," Yuu replied, shutting her eyes completely. "He probably didn't even like me last year. Like, I know things are different now, but I don't know why we were such a topic for gossip last year."

"Is our talking hurting your head?" Riddle asked, probably the only one not interested in the gossip. Yuu shrugged. "I can't tell, it just hurts a lot either way."

"WAIT, so you do like him! Last year you were so insistent you didn't," Kalim exclaimed. Yuu punched the bridge of her nose. "Like I said earlier, I literally just found out about all this a few weeks ago. I'm oblivious."

"He definitely had affection for you last year," Riddle said, making a surprising input into the conversation. "I remember when we would study together and he would drag you off to play chess. It was quite obvious, really."

Yuu started chuckling again. "How is it that everyone else seemed to know about this except for me?"

Before anyone could respond, Leona came flying back with a vial of some sort of liquid. "You'll still have to go to the infirmary to get fully checked out, but this should help with the pain. I'm positive you have a concussion."

Yuu stared at the liquid for a bit before drinking it, almost instantaneously feeling the effects. "I was in so much pain I'd forgotten what normal felt like," she sighed.

"Let me take you to the infirmary, then," Leona said, offering a hand to help her up. She took it and was alright for a second before her vision started spinning and turning all spotty.

She had to lean on Leona for support so that she wouldn't fall back down again. "So I don't hurt anymore, but I can't frickin' see. Lovely. Can you help me walk?"

Yuu was preparing to use Leona as a crutch, but he picked her up bridal style. "W-Wait! I can walk fine, I just needed a bit of help!" Leona let out a small snicker. "I'm sure you can, but this is faster."

"Shouldn't you be getting back to the Spelldrive club?" Jamil asked. Yuu's eyes widened. "Yeah, they're probably looking for you. You should head back! One of these three can help me."

Leona shrugged. "It's no biggie. Practice is just about over, anyway." Jamil made an 'if-you-say-so' face but didn't argue any further.

"Really, it's alright! Your club's important, you should head back!" Yuu protested, though a part of her didn't mind the way she was being carried by him. It was a little embarrassing, but it also made her heart flutter.

"You're much more important than a club," he whispered, leaning towards her ear so only she could hear him, leaving her stunned in bashful silence as she lay in his arms, being carried to the infirmary.