NT veRse - Bad End Guide 17 - Teacher Eve (Patreon)

You promised to train the disciples of the Sect in place of Saedi, however you truthfully had no clue what you were doing or why you agreed to begin with. The training sessions involved you, Cai, Hao and a few more of the primary Disciples outside of the sect as you attempted in a futile manner to impart the basics of the 'Hard-Step' technique.

Cai lifted her hand, as it was something you asked them to do if they had a question, since you were not sure how to teach anyone and that was all you remembered from school.
“Master-”

“Not 'Master.'” You corrected gently for what must have been the hundredth time.

“Oh! Sorry.”

“That's fine, Cai, what is it?”

“I'm having difficulty conceptualizing the release of energy... I know you describe it as a release of energy from the foot, but an uncontrolled burst like that consumes a lot... Is there some secret to being able to refine it to a point that it does not consume that much energy?”

Hao raised his hand. “Mas-” You looked at him in annoyance.
“Uh... Teacher Eve, you still never described to us what a 'shotgun' is. I feel like-”

You felt like you were going crazy. “Like I said... Ignore that. It was a slip of the tongue, okay? As for the efficiency...” You felt like having access to a constantly replenishing pool of energy was not a valid answer or solution for them. You did not even understand how you did it without getting tired as they apparently did. There was a loud, drawn out sigh behind you. Before you turned around you already knew who it was and felt even more annoyed. Sun rounded you to the circle where everyone was seated and plopped down with his arms crossed stubbornly.

'Why's that guy even here...' You tried to continue the lesson normally, but even as minutes, then fifteen, then a half-hour passes he was still staring.

'Oh god. He looks really fed up. I don't want to fight again, though maybe if I do that I can claim I'm teaching through example?' As you remained silent in thought for a a few more seconds he stood up. You breathed a sigh of relief.

'Good, he's leaving.'

Sun approached you, still looking quite annoyed, and gripped your arm. It was not hard or aggressive. The rest of the class snapped at him as he did.
“Give it a rest, Sun!” Cai shouted, getting ready to defend you. Hao stood up as well. It was heartwarming to have collaborators to assist in your mockery of a classroom setting.

You saw Sun roll his eyes and say calmly. “I just want to talk. Relax. Nothing weird I promise.”

“Okay?” The two of you stepped aside to somewhere that felt private. It was in reality just many yards in the brush, out of range.
“What is it, then?” You asked impatiently.

“You got no idea what you're doing, right?” He seemed to not be guessing. As you searched him for ill intent or a sign of him acting maliciously you instead found that he just looked slightly embarrassed. His cheeks were faintly red and he was avoiding direct eye contact. The way he stood, it was closed off.

“W-well...”

He scoffed. “Look, I don't need you to make excuses for me or something. I just want to know how you're so strong if you don't know anything?”

Your nerves rested somewhat. “That's all you wanted to know?” There was no easy way to answer. Everything you could say was somewhat incriminating.

“You planned that fight out, right? You let me chase you and the moment I was in a position below you with nowhere to run that was when you attacked. It was smart... Or so I thought. You don't seem to have or make plans and it's like you're just making stuff up as you're going.”

“You got me.” You did not feel like lying in the only area where you would not bring suspicion on yourself, otherwise you thought you would turn into a serial liar.
“I didn't have a plan. I don't know how this works. I can just do it.”

He looked frustrated. “That... Is even more annoying.”

“Hey, don't get mad at me. You did what you did.”

He inhaled deeply, closed his eyes and tilted his head back. “Yeah.” He admitted.
“You're right about that. I had a lot of time to think after my loss while I was recovering. The second reason I brought you out here was to apologize.” His face grew a bit more red. As you looked at him more closely he was kind of cute, especially when showing this level of vulnerability. His blonde hair tied back in a bun, smooth pale skin and golden eyes with a thin black ring around them. His build was good with a lithe frame that had tight muscles wound all over his body. He was a bit taller than you.

'Oh... He's hot.' You gulped. But he was also someone that did something quite bad. He apologized to you, but if you stewed on it a little he actually did something quite a bit more egregious to Cai and Hao. “Why'd you do it?”

“I felt like you were tricking everyone. You had a Beast at your side so I was suspicious of you. When you beat me and Master recognized your companion I came to the conclusion that if you had any intention to harm us, being as strong as you are, you could've already done it. Hell... I'd probably be dead.”

“That's great, but I meant back at the clearing.”

He was floored by the comment. “W-well...” It was his turn to be caught on the back foot. You crossed your arms and stepped towards him assertively while looking down your nose at him.
“You're sounding like a guy that actually has some insight but in my opinion the worst thing you did was leave your fellow Disciples behind.” He took a step back each time you stepped towards him.

“I-”

“Sure, you being rude to us is part of the problem, but isn't it actually that you're rude AND the people you were rude to were the ones that actually had a mind to save your friends?” You judged harshly.

“Hic...” He choked a bit and fell to his knees, his hands resting over them. His head lowered but you could tell he was tearing up.
“It's because I'm a weak person.”

“Huh?” You stared down curiously at his shaking shoulders.

“When I did that I told myself that the enemy was too powerful. It was a Beast subjugation. We were not supposed to face someone strong like that, however Hao got captured and... And I made excuses for myself instead of doing what was right. I told myself that I was the best out of the Disciples. That if I was captured in the same way it would be worse. So I ran, but it was just to save myself because the truth is I was afraid.”

You were not sure how to feel. “What about when you came back?”

“I mustered the strength out of guilt to come back and at least confirm that Cai and how had both been captured but then I saw you there and your Beast... Again, I was scared. I thought you were a threat and that they were trading one captor for another. That's what I convinced myself of, but of course I was still just scared of both of you and jealous and ashamed. My head was in a negative fog until you beat me.”

You crouched down in front of him. “Sounds like you got all that off your chest. How do you feel.”

“I feel ill. I'm sorry...”

“Don't apologize to me. You're fellows don't trust you anymore, Sun. You have to tell them so that they understand.”

He looked up. For a strong looking guy it was strange seeing his eyes be puffy from crying. “Do you think they'll forgive me?”

“Honestly? I think that's up to them and based off what you did you kind of just have to accept their feelings towards it. But, I can tell you it might feel better.”

He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and stood up. “You're right. You... May be a better teacher than you think.”

“Huh?” You looked up and felt blinded by his bright, friendly smile. You did not know he could make an expression like that. It was beautiful. He reached down, offering you his hand.

“When you talk to me like that you sound like my Master.”

You let him help you up. “Doesn't help me, really...”

He stared at you quizzically. “You don't know how to describe what you did, right?”

“Yeah. That's the gist of it.” You admitted.

“Okay! I can help with that.” He rushed over to the brush and pulled out a stick.

“What are you gonna do with that?”

“Just look...” He trailed off, drawing in the dirt with the stick.

“Soft-Step is an ability that's used passively. What it needs is skill, not energy so the way the Energy looks when it's circulating is like this.” He drew a blobby figure with lines and arrows pointing around in circles throughout the limbs and at the center.
“Because what it takes is 'control'. You just need to keep yourself focused and steady as you utilize it. For what you did it's more like this.” He drew the same figure with all the arrows pointing down into the legs.

“What you're doing is expelling Energy instead of circulating it. It comes out and-” He was speaking excitedly.
“The comparison you can use to help them get it is like a 'firework' with the fire being pushed out the bottom.”

“Woah!” You clapped.
“That's a good one. Can I use this?” You looked over the crude but illustrative drawings.

“Yeah, of course and...” He was hesitant to continue. His expression looked awkward.

“Out with it.”

“If you'll have me I'll be there learning alongside everyone else.” He remembered something.
“After I apologize, of course.”

You huffed. “There's basically no way for me to refuse such an earnest request. You go on ahead and do that.”

“I'll go ahead then. Thank you for hearing me out.” He bowed while standing and pressing his fist and palm together.

“Uh huh.” You waited for him to leave, then pulled your notebook out. It had been a while since you checked it an a lot of decisive things had happened so you wondered if anything else showed up. You turned to the last pages where things had been written.
'It doesn't actually make any sense. If I promised myself that I would write in it going forward, and I actually HAVE been, then shouldn't more appear ahead of me if it's actually a future diary or whatever?' You pondered the implications.
'If nothing is showing up, what was it in the last passage that made it show up?' Then it hit you. It was a time where without any doubt you had reached some type of 'end.' It was a point where you were quitting the book, but also had lost almost everything. It was the same in both cases.
'Ah...' You agonized.
'Do I only see things if I do something that leads me down a bad path? But then why so specific? This is gonna bother me a lot.' You set that aside and returned.

As you emerged from the trees you stopped and watched Sun bow before Cai and Hao. After listening for a good while to whatever he was saying their expressions softened. You felt warmed by the site and chose to return once they were seemingly done. As you walked back, Sun glanced in your direction and winked subtly. You overheard.
“Eve, I found out is actually a genius! She figured out on her own how to best describe Hard-Step, she just wanted us to figure it out for ourselves, first.”

You blushed deeply. 'Oh no... What is this idiot doing? These freaks need to stop randomly pumping me up.'

Cai nodded and with a shrug explained. “I mean... If I think about it, it's just an expelling of energy right? It was so simple and Eve wasn't saying it that I thought there could be more to it.”

Hao smiled. “Me too. To think it was actually like that. We have a lot to learn.”

“Okay...” You felt faint as all three of the star pupils bowed before you, their teacher. Your eye twitched as you saw Sun giving you a thumbs up as he performed his bow.

'Don't expect me to say good job to you.' You shook your head and decided to simply go with the flow. “A great Master once said that simplest answer is most often the correct one.” They traded a confused glance. Cai was the first to speak.

“A great Master? But isn't that just 'Occam's Razor?'”

Eve's jaw dropped. “S-sorry? Who's... What?” She began to sweat.

'Can somebody tell these kids that this is another world.'

“It's philosophy. We learn that in the Sect when we are young.” Hao added.
“But I agree, this seems applicable.”

“When you were taught philosophy it was called Occam's Razor? Who exactly is it named after?”

Cai tapped her chin in thought. “I don't think it was named after anything. That's just what the books called it.”

“O-oh yeah? You guys know about string theory, too?” Eve questioned facetiously. She hoped the answer was no. Thankfully Hao shook his head and shrugged.

“Is there a theory about strings that we should know about? I know Dryder-Silk String is a weapon commonly used by some Masters.” He offered cluelessly.

Sun noticed your discomfort and decided to interject. “The teacher's point was clear, right? We don't have to dwell on it. For now we focus on perfecting the Ability now that we are clear on how it works.” He turned to you with another blindingly bright smile. You were blown away, almost blown back. You flashed a thumbs up to him in approval of his interjection. With that excuse you were actually able to take a brake, content that they'll go off and teach themselves.

“That's right! Get to work!” Sun approached before running off with them.
“You think you're exempt?” You asked harshly.

“No.” He bit the inside of his lip and looked down as he stood in front of you. It looked like nervousness.
“I'm just wondering... Because it seems like a did good.”

You nodded and patted his head of blonde hair without thinking. “Yes. Good boy.” The moment you said that you felt embarrassed. Sun's gold pupils expanded as his eyes widened in response to the pat and the few words. He seemed to not know what to say.

'I-It just came out because I have strange tastes back in my world... What are you doing, Eve!?' She screamed internally. As she was recovering and wondering what he was going to say to her, a shaky smile curled across his lips. Cheek to cheek his pale skin turned red.

“Am I? Thank you.” He said bashfully. You blocked the sight out with your hand.

'I am actually going to become blinded. I'm going blind...' You felt your heart thump quickly.
“Uh... Teacher Eve?” He was curious but had the sense to leave it.
“I guess I'll go off to train. Thanks again for helping me sort out my thoughts!” You took a deep breath and tried to calm yourself as he left.

“If I have a lifespan in this world it just got shorter. I'm weak against cuteness in any form. It gets my heart beating so fast. Milk is rough but that's something else...” You wiped your brow with your sleeve.
“I feel like a need a smoke after that.” You muttered to yourself. You thought about it. The way he looked to you in that moment was like a little animal that had just been recognized. With his gold hair and eyes, and his somewhat prickly exterior an image of a Lion popped into your head for some reason with rounded, furry ears. You slapped your cheeks with both hands.
“Stop. What am I doing.”