Rui seemed to be really amused by something as they walked to the main building of the school. “What?” Siyeon asked him but Rui only raised his arm to brush some strands of her hair out of her face. “You sounded so bad just now,” he answered. Hearing the word “bad ” coming from Rui made Siyeon laugh, not because it was funny but because it was usual to hear him speaking like that.

“I did?” she asked and he nodded. The smile on Siyeon's face disappeared though as she looked up into the sky, so as if she remembered something. “I hate it. Hate people like Jooyeon who use their friends to bully other people. “

From one moment to the other, Siyeon's mood changed and a small but clearly visible frown appeared on Rui's face. “What happened?”

His question made her flinch and she hesitated to say anything because she didn't want to tell him anything. That all belonged to a small, dark corner in her mind and it was something she didn't like to remember.
It was like Rui understood her hesitation immediately and he only squeezed her fingers lightly. “I understand. You don't have to say anything.”

No one would probably expect Rui to be so friendly and he probably doesn't even show this site to many people and that's why Siyeon appreciated it that he was so nice to her.
“What will you do when she's coming at you?” asked Rui to distract her a bit from whatever she was remembering at the moment.

“Jooyeon? I will fight her. Well, I have to fight her because I don't have any other choice, not after this statement, right?”

Mageíyas were very prideful by nature and Rui was sure that Jooyeon's response would come faster than expected. “She's strong, be careful,” he warned her.

Yixing had hinted that Jooyeon was one of Siyeon's biggest adversaries and of course he had researched her background a bit. Her father had a seat in the council so it was to be expected that she was especially arrogant.
Jooyeon was, despite her character traits, powerful and her statistics had revealed him that she barely lost her calm in fights.

She definitely wasn't someone to be underestimated but then again, Siyeon was not that dumb.

“Thanks for the warning but I have a strong Warrior at my side, haven't I?”

Siyeon's voice was partly mocking, partly doubting and Rui knew what came next. “Why did you say that you are my Warrior? I don't think you only said that to help me.”
Rui's expression changed and Siyeon immediately knew that she had hit the bull's eyes. “You're right. I didn't say that only because I wanted to help you. I can feel it when you are upset, when you are scared, when you are in danger. There are two possibilities for that to happen and only one is only certain. The first is when you visit each others core world.

This doesn't guarantee you though that you will have a bond with the other person. The other possibility for this is to form a Master-Warrior bond. Warriors are able to sense if their Master is in danger, but they are also able to sense their feelings and vice versa.”

Siyeon only nodded silently. It all made sense to her and Rui's explanation was quite reasonable. “Is there any possibility to actually shut off the connection?” she asked curious and Rui nodded.
“There is, or else it would be a hassle for both Master and Warrior to constantly feel what the other feels, especially if they different partners, you know?”

Well, that would be more than just awkward, Siyeon thought by herself.

“As those twins attacked you. I felt that you were scared, that you were in trouble and I came as fast as I can,” Rui confessed and Siyeon's jaw dropped to the ground.
“Come again?” she asked him and this time he avoided her gaze. “That does mean... that you are my Warrior then?”

His words were so surreal to her but then she remembered that there was the possibility that they had a mutual past. “Maybe? I am not sure, Siyeon. Since the