The ex-mage had grown tired of the ‘ex’ part of that adjective. He had his wake-up call when he met Akira at the hospital and realized how useless he was at saving someone. That used to be his calling. He figured he had given up on his magic too soon. It wasn’t like he lost all the magical energy within him. It was just the control he once had that was gone. He could surely train and learn that part again, right?

His last attempt at it was dismal. He knew he needed an expert sorcerer to train him and was wond- He didn’t have to wonder for long. The young man was already well acquainted with arguably the most powerful Sorcerer in the country. He had no shame or pride in asking her for help. The only question was, would she be willing? They have had their ups and downs ever since the reunion. While her new affiliation towards the church irk him a bit, he was certain he still had feelings for her, which weren’t reciprocated. So, there was still some awkwardness that lingered in their interactions.

After a few minutes of contemplation, he finally surrendered. He knew no one else who might be willing or was experienced enough—especially with his magic. Hoping that she doesn’t deny him, he made his way to her apartment. She had rented one instead of using the Rune Knight quarters. It made sense, considering… He didn’t want to think about it.

When he reached, he knocked on the door and waited for a response. Asking her for help wasn’t going to be difficult. After all, he had almost asked for more and handled that rejection.

The soft sheet caressed her skin, as she readjusted herself on the bed. Ever since she had signed up as a Rune Knight, Akira had adopted a bit of an all work no play mentality. Finally and still in the line of her duty, she had managed to sneak in some rest. This was perhaps going to be the only silver lining in the situation. She'd lost her friends for the moment and she was probably only going to be involved in situations where their loss of faith would deepen. The Shimada groaned as the unwelcome thoughts ruined her peace. She plucked the cosy blanket and pulled it over her head, trying to pretend that the world outside didn't exist. Usually, that was something rather easy to do within the walls of her apartment. She lived alone and much preferred the isolation. In addition, since she wasn't living in the Rune Knight barracks, no one ever disturbed her here.

Except today.

She was rather startled when she heard the knock. It was such an unfamiliar and such a characteristic sound that she knew she could not have been mistaken. She sat up in bed, clutching onto her bedding, wondering what this could possibly be about. Seeing no point in speculating, when dealing with something this unexpected, she slid off her bed and slipped into a modest gown. As she was fastening the ribbon that ran through the belt loops, she let her visitor know she was on her way. Peeping through the key hole, her eyes fell onto Tsuru. She turned and leaned against the door momentarily.

Oh, what does he want? she thought. She couldn't bear to break his heart again, although at this point, even he had to know that there was no point in trying to keep her with the Knights. She opened the door just a crack, peering through it she softly and almost shyly addressed him. 'Oh... hey. Need something?' The Shimada knew this was not particularly warm or inviting. But she was not sure how things would unfold if she let him in.

Haru had not forgotten that his ex-partner slept late in the morning. He simply figured it was the doing of her darkness and now that she lost that element, she would be ‘normal’. It would seem he was mistaken and her habit of sleeping late was indeed her own. The darkness in her had nothing to do with it.

He heard her from behind the door. Despite it being muffled, it was distinctly hers and it brought a smile to his face. He waited patiently and she opened the door. Just enough to peer through and see who it was. His smile widened upon seeing her. Haru was surprised she didn’t let him in. She always did so when they used to stay in the Rune Knight quarters. Maybe it’s messy. Or… He noticed how she had only shown her face and wondered if she wasn’t dressed appropriately. His cheeks went red at the thought and he began to stammer.

“Er- I- Er- I wanted to ask you a favour,” he said. “I can wait here… if you want to…” he was too shy to finish the sentence and waved his hand instead. He looked away from her as his imagination went wild. The poor lad had no control over it, and he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to stop it. He finally thought with the head on his shoulders and figured he would get nowhere with his magic training if this was what he was going to imagine while she taught him. That was… if she agreed to teach him at all.

She continued to peer at him, with her unusually penetrating gaze. She didn't quite bother to return his smile, blinking at him almost uncomprehendingly for the moment. Did he have some happy news? Oh, please don't tell me you handed in your papers too... she thought. Though the idea was not one she favoured, since it hampered plans, she couldn't help but feel the slight peak of happiness at the thought of him indulging her with such a grand gesture. When his smile faded and gave way to a very different expression altogether, she narrowed her eyes. His gently flushed features betrayed his underlying attachment and desire for her. This immediately coaxed her own romantic notions with regards to him. Damn it.

He finally graced the moments with words, although there was a sweet stammer to them. She couldn't help but release a peal of giggles before biting her lower lip to stifle it. 'Want to... what?' she asked, slightly puzzled. The embarrassment that his incomplete sentence and his gesture divulged, allowed the implication to dawn on the Shimada. Now, it was her turn to to boast the shade of crimson.

She lingered there, stuck in a limbo of choices for the moment. She then allowed her head to duck back inside, so she could stare down at herself, almost as though to confirm that her apparel was indeed... guest friendly. It was, albeit it wasn't exactly what Tsuru had ever seen her flaunt. She threw open the door with an odd urgency, hoping that the gesture would dispel any wayward thoughts from his mind. She cleared her throat. 'Well... what did you need?' she asked softly. She hadn't spotted any morphological changes in herself, except that she was just a little bit taller since the blessing ritual.

Despite her attempt not to, she giggled at him while he stammered and it only embarrassed him more. When she disappeared behind the door, he thought his assumption was right. But she quickly proved him wrong by throwing the door wide open. He instinctively shut his eyes tightly, but not for long. He opened his eyes almost immediately, realizing there was no way she would so daringly open the door if she wasn’t decently clothed.

Just as he thought, she stood in a simple but beautiful gown. There was something off, however. He frowned slightly as he looked down at her feet. He wondered if she was wearing heels in the house, because she was taller than he saw her last. It wasn’t by much, but significant enough for it to not be natural. “How?” he asked, pointing at her from head to toe.

She opened the door, but still didn’t let him in. It looked like they were going to continue the conversation right there, while she stood at the entrance. “I was wondering if you could teach me how to control my magic,” he said. He didn’t have to explain the circumstances; she already knew. He had already told her how his scar on the cheek wasn’t really a scar but a cursed seal, which upon being released, messed with his magic.

She frowned at him and scoffed softly at the way he almost flinched when she threw open the door. She wasn't that scary, or had the rumours gotten to him too? This time, she didn't realise that layers of incorrect assumptions had provoked that reaction. She allowed a frown to etch itself on her forehead, slowly it faded as he turned to look at her again. There it was, that pause again, that moment... Her eyebrows shot upwards as he blatantly scanned her, she clicked her fingers. 'Hello?' she asked and he swiftly responded with a question of his own. 'Oh... You mean the height...' she didn't care to elaborate and paused after her deduction.

The Shimada was satisfied with having garnered an explanation for why he'd opted to inspect her so unabashedly. She planned on telling him, she just hadn't figured out how yet. Certainly he had not come all the way here expecting a change, unless Kazi had given him reason. She peeked back at him to check if his expressions would betray any such knowledge, but it seemed he didn't really know anything yet. Either the Seiryu had chosen to keep things to himself, or they hadn't had a chance to run into one another yet.

Finally, he offered the true reason for his visit, she folded her arms as she deliberated. It'd probably not work well to be spotted helping the apparent adversary, but she had to make sure her ex-partner had things under control. He was probably the only one among the Knights capable of protecting the people to the degree they needed. 'I've barely mastered what I have... we'll have to talk more about what we're working with...' she relayed her hesitance. The Shimada finally stepped away from the door and made a gesture to invite him inside, should he still wish to join her. 'I can show you what I have, and we can talk about what you can do...'  
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Once they were both inside and the door was closed, she'd turn away from her ex-partner and channel her magic though her finger-gun. Her attack, a focused invisible beam, would be released towards a flower vase on her dining table, causing it to shatter violently... and the table to topple. 'Never liked that vase, should probably right the table though...' she'd mutter.

As his gaze dropped from her face and down towards her feet, it might have hovered near her curves a little longer than necessary, and it looked like Akira caught on to it. Thankfully, he did have a reason to give when she frowned and clicked her fingers. While she made it clear that she understood what he meant to ask, she decided not to answer the question. He wondered what might have caused her to grow so suddenly that she was reluctant to tell him. “Keeping secrets once again, are we?” he asked. He didn’t want to push it any further. Not when he was there to ask for her help.

She finally stepped away from the door and invited him in. He couldn’t help but notice that her gestures weren’t as pragmatic as they were before. They were more… graceful. Had he spent a little more time reading and less time swinging his sword, he might have figured it out already. Alas! He didn’t. The only other two Nephilims he had seen were his mentor and her husband. But, they never spoke of it. So, he wasn’t aware of their blessing.

He walked in after muttering a soft thank you. The man figured they were going to speak about his magic before they left to an open ground where they could train properly. So, he was rather shocked when she simply pointed her fingers at a vase and decided to cast a spell. “Woah Woah!” he retaliated, raising both his arms like he was the unfortunate target of her spell. This was rather reckless. Now he knew why her office was such a mess. He took a quick scan around the house. It was cosy one. Decorated, but minimally. His guess was that the decorations came with the house. He couldn’t imagine Akira picking out the wall paintings and vases.

When he saw the magic circle form around her hand, he panicked. He had seen what her spells did, back when they contained the farm animals. If it was anything similar, things were going to be flying around. So, he instinctively tried to stop the spell or at least redirect it. Back when his magic was functional, he had a redirecting spell and he attempted using that. Pointing one hand in front of Akira’s magic circle and the other towards the open window, he tried to create the pressure difference by controlling the density. He couldn’t see her spell, so he wasn’t sure if it was going to work. Nevertheless, he had to try anyway.

Akira’s spell didn’t hit the vase, or anything within the house. But… it seemed like it didn’t go out through the window either. Because, if it did, those curtains would have been torn to shreds. However, it didn’t even flap. Haru was puzzled at first, but figured she must have heeded his warning and decided to not cast the spell. In reality, however, he had just nulled her spell without even realizing. “Outside. In the field?” he asked, blinking at her like that should have been obvious before pointing towards the door.

Akira had graced his rhetorical question with a small huff and he took the hint and decided not to push it. Being blessed essentially against her will was something that had taken quite a toll on her. She wasn't quite ready to voice the reality that she saw as a defeat, which changed her in an apparently integral and physiological manner. She wondered if other changes would manifest with time. She wasn't going to be able to keep the truth hidden for long, in all fairness, she didn't intend to, she was just biding her time for a more opportune moment to divulge the details.

Another soft sigh escaped her lips as the magic circle formed and she felt her magic leave the tips of her fingers, but nothing happened. She scowled, mostly at her own incompetence, before turning to Tsuru. The Shimada still hadn't realised that her spell was in fact case, but interrupted by Tsuru's more powerful and yet, devolved magic. 'See... I want to help but my own magic is still barely consistent.' she mumbled, there was a slight bitterness to her tone. She chewed on her lower lip and was slightly sour about the fact that her magic wasn't at her disposal to the same calibre that it used to be.

At the same time, she was fascinated with its potential in its new form, especially if everything the Seraphim had shared, was true. If only she could find the drive and the inclination to surrender to her changes...  If only she could find the discipline to master it... 'First we learn more. This trial and error, is just going to end up being a waste of time.' she said, softly. Her words mingled with a slightly defeated sigh, before she allowed her ex-partner to lead her out.

Akira assumed the same thing he did and he had no reason to think twice on what actually happened in there. However, he was a little intrigued that there were no explosions even though he tried using his magic. Every time he had attempted using it ever since the release of the seal, there were always some kind of a mishap. This time, there was nothing. Haru feared that he had completely lost the ability to even tap into his magical energy. He didn’t want to believe it, and desperately tried to come up with any other explanation. A magic circle formed… So, it can’t all be lost. It was a faint though initially, but soon enough, he was practically chanting it in his head to drown out the depressing possibilities.

He exited first and closed the door after Akira followed him out. Haru didn’t miss the bitterness in Akira’s voice. It looked like she needed to get used to her changed magic as well. Knowing her, she would master it in no time. It was going to be difficult for him to keep up. He hoped he didn’t slow her down. Haru walked, but had no idea where he was going. He could have taken her to the Rune Knight barracks. But he didn’t want her to deal with all the staring and whispering behind her back. It was going to piss him off as well and he couldn’t afford to lose focus. As he pondered where they could go, he found himself right outside the Church. He had no idea why he had walked there even though he had not intended to.