ROSES HAVE THORNS

["Ladies and gentlemen!"] Commentator Ken’s amplified voice cut through the lingering smoke of the previous battle. ["As it stands, the illustrious Skyward Academy of Myria only has three contestants remaining, whilst the home team, Future Academy of Eldoria, boasts a comfortable five!"]

["Actually, Ken!"] Christy’s bubbly voice chimed in. She held up four small fingers, correcting him with a wide smile. ["Eldoria technically only has four available fighters left! Don’t forget, contestant Gary was a complete no-show!"]

["Ah, right you are, Saintess! You are correct. My apologies to the audience for the miscount! And let me just say, this exact attention to detail is exactly why I am so honored to have the great Saintess sitting beside me as my co-announcer today!"]

["Hahaha! Oh, stop it, Ken! But honestly, if you praise me a little more, I might just offer you a free heal!"]

["Oh, wow! Really? A free heal from the Saintess herself? I’d be so–"]

Ken’s enthusiastic response died in his throat as he felt a terrifying chill run down his spine. Slowly, he turned his head toward the back of the commentary booth, where Gloria was sitting with her arms crossed.

The elderly woman wasn’t saying a word, but her piercing glare was practically freezing the blood in his veins, clearly communicating what she would do to him if he dared to take advantage of the Saintess.

*Gulp* ["R-Right! Well, I think you might have to save all your healing magic for the loser of our next anticipated match! Speaking of which, the next two contestants are already making their way onto the field!"]

The coliseum roared as their next representatives stepped forward.

["Representing Eldoria!"] Ken shouted, throwing his hand out. ["We have the fierce and lovable... SUMMER WINGARD!"]

"AVENGE YOUR SISTER, SUMMER!

"WIN THIS ONE FOR ELDORIA!"

["And her opponent, stepping in for the Myrian Academy! Give it up for the swift spear... YUKIMURA!"]

Yukimura stepped forward, his dark hair tied back and his hands casually spinning his spear. The Myrian sections of the crowd cheered hard, banking their hopes on him. With Ayako having surrendered her match, Yukimura was under immense pressure to secure multiple eliminations.

["Alright, Saintess, are you ready?" Shout with me now!"]

[[""LET THE MATCH BEGIN!!!""]]

......

Meanwhile, high above the deafening noise of the arena, Kurt and Diana were currently in the process of fixing their disheveled appearances.

Moving in an unspoken, synchronised rhythm, they both reached for their trousers first, pulling on the lower halves of their clothing in the quiet aftermath of their... intense lovemaking.

Once his belt was securely fastened, Kurt knelt on the floor and picked up the two shredded halves of his pink shirt. He held the ruined fabric up to the light and looked at it with a mournful gaze.

"... Minus one gold coin. I didn’t even get to wear it for a full hour."

Diana stood a few feet away, her posture impeccably straight, and her chin raised in a satisfied smug expression. Her bare chest heaved slightly as she looked down at him.

"Don’t worry about your awful taste in fashion. I had already planned for something like this to happen."

Kurt raised an eyebrow, dropping the ruined pink fabric onto the couch.

He watched in curious silence as Diana casually walked behind her massive desk and took out a small silver key from a hidden drawer. She then walked over to a tall cupboard built into the wall near the bookshelf and clicked it open.

Inside was a perfectly organized, fully stocked mini wardrobe.

One side of the cupboard contained rows of neatly pressed blouses, tailored slacks, and spare academy cloaks in Diana’s exact measurements. But the other side held an entirely different array of clothing: dark grey shirts, leather jackets, blazers and tailored trousers.

"Wait... why do you have all of that in here?"

"I always keep a few spare sets of my clothing in the office," Diana explained, reaching in and pulling out a crisp white blouse for herself. "A principal must always maintain a pristine image. This is the best academy one could attend. Meaning, somehow, someway, I might ruin my attire during the day."

She slipped the blouse over her shoulders as her crimson eyes flicked toward him. "However... I recently added yours to my emergency wardrobe. Consider it a ’just in case’ measure. Looks like I wasn’t wrong to do so."

"A prepared woman, I like that."

Once they were both fully dressed and looking as though nothing inappropriate had just occurred behind locked doors, Diana walked over to him, her expression softening into genuine affection.

"I am going to go sit with my representatives for the rest of the match," she told him while gently brushing a stray lock of dark hair away from his eye.

"I also need to check on those who were taken away by the healing priests. I want to comfort them in case they are feeling particularly down about their losses. A little reassurance goes a long way."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "But let me take you back to your seat first."

Kurt wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. "Thanks. And thanks for the change of clothes."

They leaned into each other and shared a lingering kiss, ignoring the muffled sounds of the magical explosions rocking the building outside.

When they finally broke apart, Diana’s eyes glowed softly. The space around them warped and in the blink of an eye the quiet office was replaced by the deafening, overwhelming roar of the coliseum crowd.

They reappeared right beside their assigned VIP seats.

"Mia, I am heading down to the infirmary and the representatives for the rest of the day," Diana called out over the cheering crowd.

"No problem! See you tomorrow!"

With a final nod, Diana’s form dissolved into a ripple of spatial magic, teleporting away.

Kurt dropped into his seat with a heavy sigh, rolling his shoulders to settle into the comfortable new shirt.

From the seat to his right, Sadie leaned toward him and teased. "What a crying shame, Bossman. You actually looked really good in that other shirt. I was hoping you’d start a new trend."

"Please don’t remind me. My poor gold coin..."

Down in the arena, the intense clash between Summer and Yukimura was reaching its climax. Summer fought valiantly, but the Myrian spearman was simply too fast, exploiting a minor gap in her defenses to dismantle her and hold his spear to her neck.

["AND IT IS OVER!"] Commentator Ken’s voice blasted through the speakers. ["MYRIA SECURES A CRITICAL VICTORY! YUKIMURA HAS ELIMINATED SUMMER WINGARD!"]

The Eldorian crowd let out a collective groan of disappointment.

"Nooooo! Come on!" Dominik threw his hands up in the air. But almost immediately, he began clapping his hands together loudly, shouting toward them. "CONGRATS ON THE HARD FIGHT, SUMMER! YOU DID GREAT!"

Just as Summer began to make her way off the arena, the empty seat next to Kurt was suddenly occupied.

He glanced over to see Emelie settling into the chair. She wore a casual white hoodie over her black bodysuit.

"Hey." She greeted simply.

The people sitting in the rows above them immediately began cheering, pointing at the legendary prodigy sitting so casually among them.

"Congratulations on your matches, Emy. You dominated out there... Until you decided to shit the bed."

Emelie’s lips twitched into an upward satisfied smirk. "What can I say? All in a day’s work, nishishishi~"

Before the conversation could continue, Vicky marched briskly down the steps, making her way toward him again. She wasn’t wearing her usual stoic expression. Her face was grim and her brows furrowed in with concern.

She walked straight up to Kurt and leaned in close to his ear.

"Boss. I just received an emergency transmission from my men stationed over at the orphanage."

"What is it?"

"Rupee has apparently run away. She slipped out unnoticed while locking herself inside her room. The window was wide open. Some of her clothes, toys and her backpack are missing as well."

Kurt’s eye went wide as a sudden jolt of dread hit his chest.

He stood up immediately. "Thanks for telling me, Vick– Victoria. I’ll handle it from here."

Vicky nodded, turning on her heel and marching out of the VIP section.

"Sorry, Emy. An emergency came up. Gotta leave."

"Whatever it is, I’m coming with you. Besides, there’s nothing left for me to do here."

"Hey, Kurt, what’s going on?" Dominik asked, noticing the serious look on his face. "Is something happening?"

Kurt paused, looking at Dominik. Both he and Mia are having a wonderful time. They were practically on a date, seeing as they both had the day off. Kurt contemplated deeply on whether to tell him the truth but quickly decided against dragging him away from being with her.

"It’s nothing too urgent," he lied smoothly, offering a reassuring smile. "Just a minor mishap that needs my attention. I got it covered."

"... Kurt. I told you, didn’t I? I have a very good read on people." He pointed a finger at his own golden eyes. "I can tell right now that you’re lying through your teeth."

"Dom..."

"But! I trust you." Dominik smiled. "If you say you’ve got it handled, I believe you. Just... let me know if you need me, alright? I’ll be there in a jiffy."

Kurt smiled back, extending his fist. The two men bumped fists solidly.

Without wasting another second, he and Emelie turned and hurried for the exit tunnel as the roar of the crowd swelled once more.

["AND NOW, STEPPING INTO THE ARENA FOR ELDORIA! GIVE IT UP FOR THE ONE, THE ONLY... VICE PRESIDENT OF FUTURE ACADEMY, VICTOR MOOR!"]

Behind them, Dominik and Mia jumped out of their seats, screaming at the top of their lungs in support.

......

Kurt and Emelie rushed through the cool concrete tunnels of the coliseum, eventually bursting out into the bright sunlight of the academy’s main plaza. The massive courtyard was packed with tourists, merchants, and guards, making it difficult to navigate.

"C’mon, Kurt. I’ll fly us. Where’re we going?"

As his hand reached out for Emelie, his eye caught a familiar silhouette standing near the large stone fountain in the distance.

"Wait... isn’t that... Reuben?"

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