“You know, you still haven’t answered my question.”

Sehun raised a brow. The both of them were currently at the arena, with Ara watching her fellow classmates having friendly matches with each other. Miss Dylan had called them into the area to assess their improvement by having her students fight against each other.

Class had just started, and both Sehun and Ara were sitting on their own in the corner. No one had wanted to sit next to them, and Ara figured it was because she was being all chummy with Sehun. It wasn’t hard to figure out when they had given her weird looks when she called Sehun out once their previous lesson was over. It didn’t help that she was also the only one with her Warrior at the bleachers, besides the students that were currently in battle.

“What question?”
 

“What was the longest time you had stayed in your card?”

Sehun took a moment to think. He had been around for a very long time, and numerous dealers had gotten their hands on his card before, some not long after his previous dealer had died.

“At least a hundred? Give or take.”

“Woah,” Sehun found it amusing how Ara seemed to be fascinated with almost anything. “Does it get lonely? What do you even do in there?”

“Warriors mostly sleep when they’re in their cards, but we’d still be very aware of our surroundings. Like where we are, whether or not a dealer is approaching us…” Sehun tried to list. His face then turned glum. “Sometimes, it does get lonely.”

Ara frowned at the thought of Sehun being by himself for so long, with no one to accompany him, just drifting in the wind.

Sehun noticed Ara’s expression, and continued talking. “But its better than getting enslaved by others.”

That probably didn’t sound any better, with the way Ara’s frown deepened. But it was his genuine thoughts and feelings, and he was sure every Warrior felt the same way.

“Do you know other Warriors? Like, friends?”

Sehun’s body slightly tensed at the mention of ‘friends’, and his expression turned solemn again when he thought about all the times he wished he had someone with him. Someone that he thought of as a friend, someone that understood, someone that cared.

I miss them.

“Yeah.”

Ara had waited for him to elaborate further, but when he didn’t she decided to drop the topic. It was probably uncomfortable for him to talk about it.

Yuna had returned from the restroom then, and instantly sat next to Ara. She paused a while when she noticed that Sehun was sitting beside her, his eyes looking at her upon her arrival. Yuna simply cleared and sat down, deciding not to question it.

“Hey! Did I miss much?”

“Not really. Look, they’re just about to start,” Ara nodded her head towards the arena below where two of her classmates stood opposite each other. The airhorn soon sounded, and immediately, the two females whipped out their cards.

Isn’t that…?

Ara widened her eyes at the familiar Warrior she had seen at the field the other day. She didn’t know that another one of her classmates had an S-ranked Warrior as well, she thought she was the only one. Ara took a peek at Sehun to see that he too, was fixated on the Warrior below. His stare was intense, and he never tore his eyes away from the Warrior.

He’s doing it again.

Ara recalled the first time they had seen him, and recalled the way Sehun was watching him. He had shrugged her off when she asked about it, and since then, she had been wondering just what was so special about that particular Warrior.

Why is Sehun so interested in him?

♤ • ♡ • ◇ • ♧

The next day, Ara lay against the doorway as she waited for Yuna to pack up her stuff. They were a few of the last ones left in the classroom, as most of their classmates had already left for Miss Dylan’s class next. Ara hadn’t summoned Sehun yet because she wanted to talk to Yuna, who soon finished with her stuff and was ready to go.

They were walking along the hallways when Ara finally asked about the topic that had been bugging her.

“Yuna,” Ara pointed her finger at the girl walking in front of them. She had long red hair, and was wearing a white cropped tee with high waisted shorts. She was about their height, and she was currently typing away on her phone. Ara leaned in to whisper into Yuna’s ear, careful not to let the girl in front hear. “Who is she?”

“Oh, her?” Yuna pointed her head towards the still distracted girl, her voice low. “That’s Kim Yeri.”

Ara knew her face because she was in their class, but never knew her name. She didn’t really know anyone besides Jackson and Yuna, because it was obvious the rest of her classmates didn’t want to mingle with her.

“Why are you asking?”

Because she’s the one with that S-ranked Warrior.

“Just curious. I don’t really know anyone here.”

“Oh. Well,” Yuna cupped her hand over , her eyes darting to check if the girl had heard them. Ara leaned in nearer.

“Its best you don’t mingle with her. She gets easily annoyed and distracted, and if things don’t go her way, she will throw a fit,” Ara now understood why Yuna made her voice smaller. “She gets bored easily, and has like, zero patience.”

“What about her cards and abilities?”

“She’s in the Intermediate class, but she likes to show off. She recently got some S-ranked Fire Element, and hasn’t stopped talking about him. I don’t think she has really learnt much about him yet, though.”

Ara nodded in understanding, a plan immediately forming in her head.

♤ • ♡ • ◇ • ♧

“Hold up. If you can sense your surroundings when you’re in your card then that means you knew that I was planning to claim you?”

Ara had suddenly thought about what Sehun had mentioned in the arena the other day. She was trying to recall the times Sehun expressed interest in the new black-haired Warrior the other day, until she stumbled upon that memory.

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” Sehun confirmed, quirking an eyebrow. “What about it?”

“That’s why it was so windy that day! You were running from me, weren’t you?”

“You try being a Warrior and you’ll know why,” Ara pouted at Sehun’s words, understanding why he did so. Her legs had hurt like hell trying to chase him down that day, but she couldn’t blame him. Who would want to be treated like a slave?

“I’ll have you know I almost died that day,” Ara crossed her arms childishly. “I got lost trying to find you.”

“It was your choice to chase me, wasn’t it?” Sehun gave Ara an amused smirk as she stuck out her tongue at him. It was fun teasing her like this.

“Well if you didn’t want me to notice you, why did you fly by my window? And why did you let me find you?” Ara then asked, genuinely curious.

Sehun didn’t respond, simply because he didn’t know how to. He himself had no idea why he revealed himself to her just like that, and even when he ran, he stopped. He never really had trouble running away from Dealers before, which explained why he was rarely found. His card had only fallen into the hands of the extremely persistent, but this time, it was like his card just let her. It was like fate wanted her to have it.

Ara just ‘tch’ed at his lack of response, turning to face the arena in front of her. Most of her classmates were already done with their demonstrations, and Ara knew that she was one of the few that hadn’t been selected. She had a feeling that it would be today though, and she was right when Miss Dylan called her name.

It was time for her plan to come into action, and Ara made her way down, Sehun trailing behind her. As she passed by Miss Dylan, she made her request. The teacher had been a little puzzled as to why the girl requested for the particular student, but since she was the last few students left to be tested, she allowed it.

“Kim Yeri. You’ll be the one battling her.”

The red haired girl stood up in protest, her hand dropping by her side while still grabbing onto her phone that she had been texting on.

“Why do I have to battle with that loser? Besides, I already went!”

“If you had enough time to type away on your phone then you can surely help your classmate out,” Miss Dylan warned, and the embarrassed girl handed her phone to her friend to take care of it before storming down the steps into the arena.

Before Ara could continue her way down, Miss Dylan stopped her. “Jackson has told me that you have made a lot of improvement, so you better prove yourself. I have high expectations of you,” the teacher said as she released her grip on Ara’s wrist.

Widening her eyes, Ara looked back at the bleachers where Jackson was sitting, looking at the arena below. Based on the time when she made him furious, she had expected the boy to tell on her. A touched smile graced her lips when she knew that he didn’t.

“I’ll do my best.”

Ara soon found herself standing opposite her opponent, and even though the battle hadn’t even started, the red-haired girl already looked bored out of her mind. Ara smirked, knowing that her plan was already working. Basing her plan on the girl’s personality and attitude would sure grant her a victory.

“Before we start,” Ara held up her hand, garnering the attention of her classmates who had been talking. Yeri looked mildly interested, and Ara continued to talk. “How about a little wager?” Ara turned to Miss Dylan who was standing in the spectator area.

“You mean a Duel?” the teacher asked, dumbfounded at her student’s bold suggestion.

Gasps were heard from her fellow classmates, and even Sehun looked surprised, his jaw slacking open. What was she doing?

“Yes, with Kim Yeri,” Ara directed a sweet smile to the girl opposite her, who had immediately straightened at the suggestion.

“Are you sure you’re not being too ahead of yourself? You’re still in Basics while Yeri is at intermediate. You only have one card, you know?”

Ara knew she was taking a big risk, and even Sehun was shaking his head, urging her not to do it. But she had faith in herself and Sehun. She just hoped that Yeri would play along.

“What’s the wager?” Yeri asked, her attention now peaked. It was getting interesting.

Ara faced her opponent, a friendly smile on her face. “If I lose, you can take Sehun,” the said boy looked totally betrayed beside her, and Ara tried to give him a consoling smile. Yeri, on the other hand, had been absolutely delighted at the thought of taking the newbie's only card. And an S-ranked one at that! A light giggle came out of the girl's mouth, already foreseeing her victory. She had way more experience after all, and Yeri instantly nodded in agreement.

"You didn't let me finish," Ara almost rolled her eyes at the girl's overly confident face. Yeri furrowed her eyebrows, her smile falling off her face.  “If I win, I get to take your new S-ranked Warrior.”

The students started to chatter amongst themselves at the drama unfolding, until Miss Dylan gave them a look to shut up. Yuna, on the other hand, looked absolutely worried for her friend. What was she getting herself into?

Yeri contemplated a while, and after giving a glance over at a very shocked Sehun, she smirked. She was definitely going to win.

“Deal.”