Needy

Mike growled.

"Why are you interfering?" He asked with a frown and unconsciously aimed his aura at her.

Theresa's knees nearly buckled from the sudden pressure, and she immediately wanted to backtrack and apologize, which was uncharacteristic of her.

Instead, she gritted her teeth.

"Stop that! You two are fighting like you want to kill each other when it's just a spar! The hell is wrong with you guys?!" She threw up her arms before pointing at Mike.

"You have no business fighting so hard against someone who is clearly holding back! And it doesn't take a genius to realize that whatever you did to boost yourself just now is super risky! It's a SPAR!" She practically hissed, with each word making Mike's ferocious demeanor recede.

She then pointed at Kris, who actually flinched.

"And what the hell were you thinking by summoning those many chains?! Are you trying to turn him into a him cushion? I don't know exactly how strong you are but you were about to skewer someone you met like a week ago! What the heck?!" Kurt averted his gaze at her words, and his chains started to dissipate.

It was at this point that Mike and Kris discovered a new side of Theresa.

Nagging.

"Thank God I was here. Otherwise, I wouldn't be surprised if I hear that two students had been severely injured after a firefly spar had turned into something horrid. Geez have some situational awareness you damn brutes!" She huffed.

Mike had fully canceled his ability and shifted from one foot to another with his head down, looking like a scolded puppy. The ferocious air around him had vanished completely.

Kris was no better, as he refused to meet Theresa's gaze. His expression was as blank as always, but there was a faint pink tint on his cheeks, giving away his embarrassment.

"... Sorry." Mike and Kris mumbled in unison.

"You better be. Fucking kids." She muttered the last part to herself.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, and Mike decided to inspect his condition for a moment.

Surprisingly, he didn't feel that much strain despite everything. He'd expected that using his aura at maximum output while also sprinkling in Crimson Ladder would cause him to feel at least SOME level of exhaustion. But other than some aches in his body and a bit of energy depletion, he was fine.

Moreover, the aches were fading away rapidly due to his rapid regeneration. Hence, the only evidence of Mike's fight was the bits of blood on his sleeve and arm from where Kris had stabbed him. Otherwise, he was fine.

'I guess my durability is just that high. Well, there's also the fact that my aura is more compatible with me after I upgraded it, so my body can handle using it at high output better. I wonder what would happen if I used ot at maximum output while fully transformed...' His thoughts trailed off as a scent hit him.

He looked up and saw Theresa standing in front of him with a scowl, and yet, he could smell her worry.

"Hey... are you alright? I refuse to believe that whatever you did came with no consequences." She said with a huff, and Mike blinked.

"I'm fine." He said blankly.

"Bullshit. Show me your arm." Theresa scoffed. Mike was inclined to disagree, but he still did so.

He showed her his bloodied, but otherwise flawless wrist, and Theresa frowned.

'I knew he could recover quickly, but this is something else. Did he perhaps use his aura to increase his regeneration speed? It's not unheard of, but still...' She grabbed his hand, and as soon as she did, she felt Mike freeze.

Raising a brow, she looked up at Mike, and her brows jumped.

He went from looking blissfully ignorant as usual to oddly... desirous?

He stared at her with his big blue eyes that reminded Theresa of a puppy that desperately wanted something, like affection or food.

Before she could ask about it, her eyes widened as Mike practically flopped into her... and started rubbing against her.

"H-Hey!" Theresa exclaimed in shock and embarrassment as her face flared up from Mike's sudden show of affection. It was so abrupt that she didn't know how to react immediately.

Off to the side, Kris raised a brow but made no move to interrupt.

Oddly enough, Mike's movements weren't perverted or inappropriate as his hands didn't touch any sensitive areas, he just... rubbed against her, like a dog seeking comfort.

After her initial surprise, Theresa calmed down as she observed the white haired boy who was basically melting into her.

'Is this the backlash of whatever he did?' She wondered, and she was spot on.

Other than when he first became a Lupine, Mike had never increased his Ferocity past 30%. As such, when he pushed his ferocity so high, it opened the lid on his constantly suppressed wolf instincts, and now that it was open, closing it would be difficult.

It wasn't hunger, nor was it lust. It was more of a primal urge to reaffirm bonds. To close the distance between himself and the one his instincts had decided was "pack".

Theresa was the person Mike was closest to currently. As such, she was the target of his affection. And her touching his arm was the ultimate trigger.

Theresa was still at first, the blatant closeness still feeling weird to her. But as she studied his expression, she found no malice, no scheming, no lust. Just that same needy gaze, like a wolf pup begging for reassurance after a scary situation.

Theresa hesitated, then she sighed.

"... You're impossible." She mumbled, but her voice had lost its edge. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she raised her free hand and placed it on his head

The result was immediate. Mike's ears might as well have twitched as his entire posture loosened, like a great weight had been lifted. He leaned into her touch, the tension bleeding out of him with a contented sigh.

Off to the side, Kris was just standing there, and again, his face was blank, but if one looked closely, they'd see that his lips were trembling.

Theresa noticed and shot him a glare.

"Are you trying not to laugh?" She asked in a low voice

"... No." Kris replied, but the slight tremble in his voice gave him away.

The girl sighed and turned back to the boy draped against her. His warmth, the slightly rapid beat of his heart, the way his breathing evened out, it was all so.... disarming normal.

'... He's cute like this.' Theresa thought as she observed him. Feeling him lean into her made her feel like he was almost... submissive in a way–

'What am I thinking about?!' She exclaimed inwardly as her face flushed at the image in her mind, making her shake her head.

She huffed and looked down at Mike who was blissfully unaware of her internal conflict. Or perhaps he just didn't care right now.

"Ugh. You'd better not make this a habit." She muttered and gave him a slightly rough pat, but he didn't seem to mind and just soaked it all up.

***

Eventually, the trio exited the training room.

Not too much time had passed since the fight. So it was just a bit after 1:00 in the afternoon, and plenty of people were still moving around the training area.

However, the trip didn't pay them much mind.

"By the way. Kris, how do you have so many credits?" Mike suddenly remembered and asked. He was still pressed up against Theresa's side as they walked, but at the very least, he didn't seem like he'd throw a tantrum if she decided to separate, even if he wouldn't like it.

Anyway, Theresa also looked at Kris as the question had piqued her interest. The three of them had entered the academy at the same time, so the fact that Kris had enough credits to rent a facility that not even their seniors bothered to use raised some eyebrows.

Hearing this, Kris glanced at them briefly before mumbling.

"I sell my chains..." The words made Mike and Theresa freeze.

"... Huh?" They both exclaimed in unison, and Kris just nodded.

"Wait.. what? But doesn't that take a lot of energy? You can't possibly sustain your chains long enough to sell and give to someone, and even if you did, what happens when you run out of energy?" Mike frowned, but Kris just shook his head.

He held out his hand, and one of his silver chains manifested. Mike and Theresa felt the flow of energy, which wasn't surprising.

However, what came next shocked them.

The flow of energy stopped... but the chain was still there.

"... I can make my chains permanent." Kris explained softly, but the weight of the words was something else.

The difficulty of creating permanent constructs could not be emphasized. It was so extreme that even some powerful ability users couldn't do it.

But here was Kris, someone who was barely in his first year, having the ability to do something quite a few people could not.

It was baffling.

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