suguru was beyond the point of recognition. mentally, that is. his entire person was beaten and battered, covered in bruises and cuts which made the very essence of his soul seep through his pores. he wasn't... normal. he knew that the day where riko was murdered, and the day that he, as one of the strongest, had failed the very thing he had dedicated his entire life to. to protect. to serve. to rid the world of evil - of curses. yet here he was, bested by someone without even a drop of cursed energy in their being.

suguru thought he was the problem at first. i just need to train more. he thought over and over again, yet his belief slowly started to waver. no matter how much he trained, he only seemed to be getting weaker. he could never catch up to you, even in a million lifetimes. in his steadfast belief that the two of you would protect the world together, he seemed to forget one important aspect - you were born to be better than him. you were a prodigy - not just in your clan, but in the world as a whole.

an unfamiliar rivalry sprouted in his soul, yet he tried to quash it as best as he could. he could never dislike... you. you were his everything. sure, he had shoko, and the younger years, and his family, he supposed, but you were his other half. so his hatred could never be targetted towards you.

...so it fell on non-sorcerers. weak, useless beings that had no purpose being in this world. why was it that he had to protect them, when that meant risking his life? or you risking your life? the two of you were only teenagers, this isn't fair-

his train of thought was paused as he heard you calling out his name. he was seated in the shade, on a bench. shoko must've left in the time he was daydreaming, as her spot beside him was now empty.

tugging down the sleeves of his uniform, he lazily lifted his head, peering at you through his eyelashes. "what?"

for some reason, your voice is grating today - like nails on a chalkboard. and for some other reason, he could already feel his ears ringing.