Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),
Hi! I'm here to leave a quick review!!
First Impression: Okayy...soo this was a really wholesome chapter. Ahh, I was worried that maybe we won't see too much of Haka for some time with Gael having to recover and all of these new friends coming in but this chapter is exactly what I needed to see with Haka worried for Gael and them just being normal, very good and totally not in love with each other best friends.
Anyway let's get right to it,
Gael inspected the patient single-layered green cloth he wore. It hurt. The Serra-blessed nurses had been treating Gael, but it still hurt. Baris surpassed himself today. Gael couldn’t believe Baris dared to break his leg - and for what reason? Gael was determined to conclude he was just another typical bully who liked to torture those inferior in physical strength - he was sure Baris envied his academic performance. He didn’t missed Baris’s dark glares during the class.
Oh well. It was useless to think about Baris now - the staffs must’ve taken actions on him, seeing Ilami had reported the incident to them. All he needed now was just a nice rest. He closed his eye and were about to enter the dreamworld when -
Ooof, well now we get to see the aftermath of that confrontation ever so slightly clearer here as we get to see the viewpoint of the one who was actually injured in it. Well at any rate, this is off to the kind of start I expected it to have, let's see where it ends up going here.
The curtain was pushed aside. Gael opened his eye a little and saw a very worried Haka rushing toward him. Haka took the nearest chair and sat beside him, holding and squeezing his hand. Gael stared at their hands. Sometimes, Haka was oblivious to the limit of interaction between two men. If someone saw their holding hands, they would assume both of them were involved in something sinful. But he was glad. Haka’s touch healed him as much as Aleveri’s - just not literally.
Aww...fun little callback to that earlier crush I see...I have a feeling this chapter is going to be full of those here, what with Haka probably being worried sick about his friend and a little guilt ridden from what happened.
‘The staffs have told me about you,’ Haka said. ‘I’m so sorry. I should be there. I should protect you rather than be selfish. I wasn’t aware -’
‘Haka, stop,’ Gael said, smiling. ‘It’s not your fault. The only people at fault here are Baris and his minions. They’ve been taken care of, don’t worry.’
‘I have to worry. I can’t stop feeling guilty about not being able to do anything while you were - while you -’ Haka looked at him from top to bottom, wincing. He rubbed Gael’s arm slowly.
Well...this is going along with that painful sweetness here, and I'm loving it. Scenes like this are always a lot of fun to run into when it comes to a story...soo...well, let's see where this one manages to develop towards.
Totally oblivious, Gael thought, watching him. There was innocence in Haka, despite his capability to beat half a dozen first-year students with his bare hands. He had captured Gael’s attention the first time Gael entered the academy. Gael didn’t doubt Haka would give his all to fight against those who dared to hurt Gael. His endearment to Gael was on a friendly basis, but Gael couldn’t help but wonder if -
He is dangerous. The voice, whispering again. The moment you confess your true feelings to him, he will betray you. Or if he does not, he will leave you. Gael gritted his teeth. This isn’t the time, he thought, trying to shoo away the voice.I’m hurt and he’s guilty. Leave me alone.
Hmm...well this is slowly revealing some neat little details about the whole situation here...although now that we have gotten a bit further along, this seems to oddly take place before the previous part? It looks like maybe some of this information should be known already or am I confusing something here?
No reply. Perhaps the only way to get rid of it was to speak at it. Slowly, Gael put his hand on Haka’s, stopping the rubbing. ‘Don’t worry,’ Gael said. ‘Ilami XieZhi saved me and she promised to teach me how to fight.’
Haka looked up with a frown and Gael felt he had said something wrong. ‘She saved you? And you accepted her offer?’
Hmm, yeah this part is especially interesting. Did Ilami not tell Haka anything at all during her earlier visit or is this taking place before Ilami's visit, and if it is before Ilami's visit then how did Aleveri heal him somehow...this is all a bit of a tangle for me at the moment, but I'm gonna ignore the plot situation and focus on just the scene from here on.
‘Well,’ Gael said, uncertain, ‘I offered to teach her some advanced spells in return to her training me to fight. Is there something wrong with that?’
‘You should’ve asked me!’ Haka said, prompting Gael to wince. ‘I - I’m your best friend, the one who’s always been there with you the most. Why don’t you just ask me?’
‘I -’ Gael paused, thinking about it. He didn’t expect Haka to react this way, but if he wanted an answer, Gael would give him one. ‘I didn’t ask you because it never crossed my mind. Every time you were with me, I was assured I’d be safe. And because you’d be there to protect me, I didn’t thought of preparing myself with some fighting skills.’ He closed his eyes. ‘I’d say your protection is what made me think it’s enough, but it’s my fault too to not see that you’re not always with me. That at the end, the one who’ll always be with me to protect me is myself.’
Hmm...an interesting little argument going on here. It looks like Haka maybe doesn't fully trust Ilami or perhaps even more interestingly, he doesn't want Gael going around asking help from someone who is not him....well, at any rate, Gael makes a very logical and accurate point there...so let's see how Haka counters that one, I feel like that answer will reveal a lot about what his true feelings are on the matter.
Haka was silence. He stared at Gael, his posture still. Being scrutinized that way, Gael shifted his position. ‘I’m sorry for not asking you, but it’s done.’
‘You can always cancel it off,’ Haka said quietly.
Gael only looked down at their hands, hoping they would stay like that. Finally, he heard a sigh. Haka leaned forward and kissed his forehead. He maintained looking down, hoping Haka didn’t see the blush creeping to his cheek. Seriously. Why did Haka so easily show his affection to someone?
‘I won’t force you,’ Haka said. ‘It’s your decision, and I respect it. I’m just glad you’re here and safe. And whatever you say, I will always be there to protect you. Even if you think you can protect yourself, I will do I what I can as a friend.’ He smiled weakly. ‘I’m sorry too for being the reason you don’t have to fight for yourself. It’s just - I’ve lost a friend once. I don’t want to lose it again.’
AHHHHHH...this scene is too cute...I can't take any more...but in all seriousness, I really love how you handled this conversation, it was an important one that the two friends should have had and the way Haka voices his opinion but respects Gael's choice and Gael also hears it out and only points out a logical argument without getting unnecessarily angrily just shows how healthy this friendship is here and its awesome to see just how supportive and respectful they are for each other.
Haka’s last sentence intrigued Gael. Gael only knew him early this year, and despite being immediate best friends, Haka didn’t talk much about his past. I’ll fixed that, Gael thought. Looking at Haka, he realized something. He wouldn’t want to lose Haka too. And he’d do anything to protect the angel Haka was.
‘This Ilami,’ Haka said casually. ‘Is she good? Is she, um...’ He cleared his throat.
Gael chuckled and rubbed Haka’s hand. ‘She didn’t do much, actually. Just showed up with a fire blade and claimed she’d killed someone, which I doubt is true. Baris wasn’t scared of her, but at that time, he actually used his brain and took the safer option, which was to run away.’
Hmm...well that casual inquiry there makes me think that just maybe Gael will have a happy ending to his little crush here...so that's something to theorize about in the times to come here.
Haka shook his head. ‘That piece of shit. Why can’t he just leave you alone? I know he’d bullied you before we met, Gael. I just don’t know what’s his problem.’
‘Let’s not talk about him. It’s depressing,’ Gael said, waving his hand away. ‘I heard there’s a test coming up for Fighter students. Is it true?’
Haka nodded. ‘In Sesri, the sixth month. How about you?’
Gael’s mouth turned to a flat one. ‘The Scholar students have one, too, though I can’t imagine Quasar Magica holding a written test for us. With its high reputation, I hope it sets a more creative way to test us.’
Ooooh, well, I mean its not usually the most exciting thing to talk about tests, but I'm gonna assume at the very least the combat tests must be a bit more fun than the regular tests that we all suffer through at some point.
Haka chuckled. ‘Don’t push it. Maybe you’re better at written test.’
‘How dare you!’ Gael would’ve punched Haka’s shoulder if his arm didn’t hurt too much.
Haka smiled and set Gael’s hand on Gael’s chest. He pushed the chair closer and rested his head on Gael’s shoulder, then he closed his eyes.
‘Aren’t you going to the dorm?’ Gael asked, aware of Haka’s breath tickling his skin.
Haka shook his head slightly. ‘Nope. I don’t feel like being there alone, so I’ll stay here. There’s no class tomorrow, anyway.’
Gael wanted to say he shouldn’t need to do that, but he stopped himself. This was what Haka wanted, and to be frank, Gael needed someone with him, and that would be Haka. The scene with Baris had ended up with him on the medical bed, but it also allowed Haka to express affection to him more. He closed his eyes. He knew there was no chance for Haka to return the feelings he had on Haka, but Gael let himself be rewarded with these little demonstrations of love... of a friend.
Aww...a lovely point to end on here...I can't wait to see what's in store for this duo in the next chapter here...this friendship is just too precious and now I'm just actively rooting for these two to get together at some point.
Aaaaand that's it for this one.
Overall: Overall, this is a pretty solid piece here. I really liked this start to the eight chapter, its a very simple scene but it is something that does a lot for this plot going forward. I think you do an awesome job here. Well that's it for this one soo...until next time
As always remember to take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.
Stay Safe
Harry
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