Control freak.
Probably never been told no in her entire life.
I pushed off the wall and kept walking toward Building F.
My phone buzzed.
I glanced at the screen.
ra: You get lost?
I typed back without slowing my walk.
Ro: Ran into soone. Be there in two minutes.
The reply ca fast.
ra: Hurry up. I’m bored.
I pocketed the phone and picked up the pace.
Building F ca into view, a low structure with large windows and a curved roof that didn’t match the boxy architecture of the other buildings.
The entrance stood propped open with a doorstop.
I walked inside and imdiately hit a wall of noise.
Students everywhere.
Couches. Tables. A kitchenette in the corner. A massive TV mounted on the far wall playing so hero ranking show.
I scanned the room.
Red skin.
Black hair.
Yellow eyes.
Found her.
ra sat on a couch near the windows with her legs crossed, scrolling through her phone. She’d changed out of the school uniform into black shorts that ended high on her thighs and an oversized grey shirt that slipped off one shoulder.
Jesus.
Her tail hung over the armrest, swaying slightly.
I walked over.
She looked up and grinned.
"Took you long enough."
"Got delayed."
"By what?"
"Angry class rep."
Her grin widened.
"Cheon? What’d you do to piss her off?"
"Forgot she existed."
ra laughed.
A few heads turned toward the sound but nobody said anything.
"She probably hated that. Girl lives for being important."
I sat down on the couch next to her.
Close enough that our legs almost touched.
She didn’t move away.
"So what’s this theory you wanted to test?"
Her expression shifted.
Still playful but with an edge underneath.
"Not here. Too many people."
I glanced around.
She was right.
At least twenty students occupied the common room, most of them absorbed in their own conversations or devices but close enough to overhear if we weren’t careful.
"Where then?"
She stood up and stretched, her shirt riding up to expose a strip of red skin above the waistband of her shorts.
"My room. It’s upstairs."
Of course it is.
She started walking toward a staircase at the back of the common room.
I followed.
We climbed two flights and erged into a quieter hallway lined with doors. ra stopped at room 3-C and pulled out a keycard, swiping it through the reader.
The lock clicked.
She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
I followed her in and closed the door behind .
The room was small but comfortable. A single bed against the far wall covered in a dark purple comforter. A desk stacked with textbooks and notebooks. A dresser with the top drawer slightly open, revealing a ss of clothing inside. Posters covered the walls, mostly band nas I didn’t recognize and a few hero rankings charts.
ra tossed her phone onto the bed and turned to face .
"Alright. Here’s my theory."
I waited.
She crossed her arms under her chest, which did absolutely nothing to help focus.
"Your Essentia doesn’t just drain energy. It copies abilities."
I frowned.
"What makes you say that?"
"After you touched at lunch I felt lighter. Faster. Like I’d just finished a workout and hit that perfect recovery zone. But you? You moved different when we walked back. Your spatial awareness changed. You tracked people in the hallway without looking directly at them."
Shit.
She noticed.
I kept my expression neutral.
"Let’s say you’re right. What does that an?"
Her eyes glead.
"It ans your Essentia is way more dangerous than a simple drain. If you can copy abilities through contact then you’re not a Null. You’re sothing the scan couldn’t classify because it’s never seen anything like it before."
She took a step closer.
"Which ans we need to test it properly."
"Test it how?"
Her grin returned.
Wider this ti.
"You drain again. But this ti I pay attention to what you’re doing. What you’re taking. And then we see if you can actually use my gates."
I stared at her.
"You want to try opening a portal."
"Exactly."
"What if it doesn’t work?"
"Then my theory’s wrong and you just have a really weird drain ability."
"What if it does work?"
She shrugged.
"Then you’ve got the most broken Essentia I’ve ever heard of and you’re going to owe for helping you figure it out."
I considered.
The quest tir sat at sixty hours.
I needed to sleep with soone at this academy before that ran out or I died.
ra was willing.
Clearly interested.
And now offering to help test an ability I barely understood.
This is either the best opportunity I’ve had all day or a trap I’m too horny to see coming.
I pushed off the door and walked toward her.
"Alright. Let’s test it."
Her smile turned sharp.
"Good. But first we need to establish so ground rules."
"Rules."
"Yeah. Rules. Because if this works the way I think it does then you’re about to have access to an ability that could get both of us killed if you use it wrong."
She held up one finger.
"Rule one. You don’t use my gates without asking first. I don’t care if you can copy them. They’re mine and I decide who gets to benefit from them."
I nodded.
"Fair."
Second finger.
"Rule two. If this gets reported to the NEA you keep my na out of it. I helped you figure this out as a favor. Not as an accessory."
"Done."
Third finger.
"Rule three. You owe ."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Owe you what?"
Her grin returned.
"Whatever I decide later. Consider it an open tab."
Dangerous.
But I don’t have a better option.
"Fine. I owe you."
She lowered her hand.
"Good. Now give your hand."
I reached out.
She grabbed my wrist instead of my palm, her fingers warm against my skin.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
"Then do it. Drain Ro."
===
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