Hidden Before Their Eyes

Chapter 23: Time's Passage Stops for No One

Let me just say that finding Mika was about as easy as domesticating a wild boar. Not impossible, but highly improbable. Three days it took me to cross paths with him, three days in which I might already be too late.

When I finally spot the master of stealth I jog over to him and watch him with a careful eye to make sure he does not manage to slip away whilst I await for him to conclude his current conversation with another incubus. As soon as they base each other farewells I dart forward and grab Mika's shoulder, thoroughly startling him.

With my head I motion towards the hallway a couple of meters away. He nods, clearly confused, but follows without a single question. Eventually I lead us to the dead end hallway that has a window looking down upon the green space from a floor up.

"Carino?" He questions, after I turn to face him.

"Have you spoken of what happened during the Code Yellow?" I ask, keeping the information I am actually admitting to its absolute minimum.

He shakes his head and solidly, and confidently, says, "Your warning was enough to steer me away from spilling anything. Even if you don't mean it my family means more to me than telling anyone about that."

I watch him closely, looking for any possible sign that he may be lying to me. When I cannot find any I relax and let out a large sigh. "Thank you, I wish I had not needed to put you in this situation," I mumble, my tone low.

"Then you shouldn't have threatened me in the first place," he states.

"Some things are important enough that a person is willing to break their moral code to keep them hidden from watching eyes," I say, keeping myself definitive while still showing my apologetic feeling.

Over the next week I watch Mika carefully, my trained eyes seeing him more quickly and abundantly than before. He appears on edge when people talk about the notices. Then again most of us are on edge all the time. This is never how the Academy has functioned in the past. Most students believe that they should keep to their unspoken agreement to not delve into student's pasts.

As we all await for the student to awaken time continues its passage. And with the passage of time, ultimately, the wanted posters fade from minds and the papers slowly become invisible, no one any longer casting them glances.

When my battle comes I am still running on high anxiety, as it has never really faded away for me. I walk into the arena with a neutral face, a face that I have had for a long time now it seems. The chatter that normally hangs over the arena before the fight is quieter than I am used to. Looking at my opponent I sigh, she sports both a tail and wings, hinting that she is an innately powerful succubus.

I watch her carefully, looking for any signs of her casting her illusions. I keep watching and my knees almost buckle when I feel the full frontal hit of her seduction manipulation spell effect me. I keep walking towards her, just a few feet away from her now. When we are right up to each other she starts to reach out an arm towards me I snatch it out of the air.

My nails dig into her forearm as I attempt to ward off the effects of the manipulation. Using the rest of my remaining mental fortitude I tense my arm up. With a deep breath I jab into her stomach. Instantly her body reacts to the blow, she almost completely doubles over as her eyes go insanely wide. Taking the opening I land a roundhouse kick to the side of her head, effectively knocking her out and ending the seduction manipulation.

I frown slightly as I am named victor. That was one of the weakest fights I have had, all she did was try and seduce me into submission. What exactly are they teaching these succubi and incubi to do? Clearly not how to fight when their innate magical abilities fail them. I cannot be thankful enough that that is not how I was taught to defend myself.