Yuki felt his pulse, which before had been almost too weak to even count, slowly rising after her repeated blood transfusions seemed to have a positive effect on him. The marks started to slowly fade away and his skin was getting less pale by the minute.
"Phew…"
She clung on tightly, relaxing a bit as she felt his heart beat again. No sound could make her happier. By now, Andrew and Lily returned with bandages, which Yuki did not actually need. She just felt like they were in the way after they gave her all the information they had.
"There you go- Ah! He's looking way better already! How did you do that?! That's a miracle!"
"Yeah… I just tried something… Anyway, thanks for that."
She took the bandages and put some around the spot where she injected Yamato her blood, so they wouldn't feel like they ran back to the resort for nothing. Then she remembered that she did not care at all about how they were feeling and just threw it behind her in the sand. They seemed too relieved about Yamato feeling better to care about that, so everyone was happy.
"So… How do we get him from here to the resort…"
"We could use just drag him?"
"No! He moves with grace even unconscious!"
"Uh… We can make him float?"
"Great idea, Anderson!"
"It's Andrew!"
"Hop hop, carry him to victory!"
He sighed, feeling like giving up on getting her to call him the right name but also being too stubborn to let her win that.
"Not so fast, you three."
As Yuki turned around, Shin and five other class 1 students stood behind them, already with charged up high class magic as well.
"In what a lucky spot I find myself in… You two, I'm impressed. I accept you as official part of our class. Now there is only one thing left to do for you… Yuki is the greatest threat to class 1's position. Eliminate her."
The twins gave Yuki a questioning look, unsure of what to do. It seemed they integrated themselves into class 1 already, which was what Yamato told them to do. Yet, the timing could not be worse. So she gave them a wink towards the class 1 students, which they interpreted as her ordering them to walk towards Shin and his group.
"We are sorry, but we cannot beat her… We have no mana left. But we took out Yamato!"
Shin looked past Yuki to the unconscious Yamato lying in the sand. Earlier confrontations which happened during Yamato and Yuki's adventure had already proven their value to him, so he chose to believe their words. After all, Yamato was out cold, and that would be more than enough to beat Yuki, he thought.
"Oh, I see… That's alright then. Just let us take care of the rest. You did great."
"You might wanna back the fuck off, Shin. I'm not in a good mood and I will break your arms and legs."
"Ooh, scary as always! But this is not like last time. This time, I come prepared, with new tricks even."
"New tricks, huh? How about the ancient technique to turn around and leave?"
"You might've seen it already. Massive explosion, visible across the entire island, ringing a bell?"
"…Congratulations? It is pathetic how you pride yourself in such a minor accomplishment, if you can even call it that. Final warning, goes for the rest of you too, of course."
Some seemed slightly hesitant, but no one backed off.
"That is… Disappointing…"
"I can't risk Master's condition getting any worse than it still is… But I promised him to kill nobody during this exam… What I didn't promise is not causing excruciating pain and severe injuries though!"
"Likewise, Yuki… Likewise. Go!"
All the students shot a single beam which combined mid air to a larger, even stronger one. Its red glow made the sand reflect in all directions as it turned to glass from the immense heat. Yuki could not dodge either, since Yamato was behind her. Reflecting back at them would not work either since Andrew and Lily were there. So if she wanted to reflect, she had to point it somewhere safe. But she decided to not reflect at all and just absorb the energy through a shield barrier which got thicker the mors magic was fed to it. She just looked at them mockingly with her signature look of superiority, which she previously invented for looking down on Andrew. Though she did not say a word, they all felt the "Was that all" question from her. She did not feel like taking any longer than necessary and used the energy the shield absorbed and placed it around Yamato, before shooting towards them.
Only mere moments after was everyone on the ground unconscious. Shin especially, she made sure had multiple broken bones and a concussion. His performance in the last exam made her want to do that anyway, but now since he threatened them again, she did not even look like she was holding a grudge. It was merely self defense, after all. The twins were left unharmed but since everyone else was down, they could later just say they were knocked out as well by her in case anyone wondered how they git left unharmed. As for why their bones were not broken, they were children, who would doubt that they were cut some slack by her? They proceeded to bring Yamato to the resort, which up close was bigger than it seemed. It looked like it was a five story building made out of luxurious looking wood with a stone foundation, even having a pool next to it even though it was built next to the ocean. The roof was wider than the building, and served as an umbrella for the restaurant which seemed to be built in the with a terrace solely to use that roof for outdoor dining. Even by modern standards, this was a great place for a vacation. So they then finally entered the resort, only to find it full of class 3 students.
"What?!"
"Yeah, they were here already when we got the bandages… Looks like they won."
"Those little…"
"Argh! After everything Master went through, he deserves to win! We would've won too if he hadn't gotten poisoned! Curse you, hive mind people!"
It seemed as though they had lost. Which did not stop them to admire the beauty of the inside of this building. Golden statues, a lounge with buffet, a relaxation area, a sauna everything the heart desires. The twins, having lived their life on the streets for as long as they could remember, did not know an equal to this paradise. Admittedly, they hated this place when they first arrived. Although they were lucky and spawned right next to each other, their exam had not been easy. First, after finding each other, their first instinct was to look for Yamato to seek guidance and direction. Which of course, failed horribly, as they did not cross paths until they found him poisoned. Instead however, they found class 1 students, who despite being arrogant, agreed to help them since they were part of the class, while not fully accepted yet. Class 1 had to have had a plan made in advance, since the entire class gathered on the first day in the east. They were able to navigate using compasses built with magnetic magic, which they must have studied before for that exact scenario. After that, they moved together to the resort, which Shin had been able to locate a similar way Yuki did. Though he had to use up the mana of six class 1 students to create a pillar of sufficient size to look across the entire island. Which was why when they fought against Yuki, only five class 1 students were with him since the rest was resting and waiting for a signal to come to them after they won, which of course never came since they lost. However on their way to the resort, they found the rest of class 2, excluding Yamato and Yuki. Their fight served both as a test for their new magic attack which they later used on Yuki, as well as just pay back for the last exam. It was also the cause of the massive explosion that woke up Yamato and Yuki the night before, causing them to continue immediately because Yamato said he was not tired at all, which was a side effect lf the poison as well. During their fight, Shin sent Andrew and Lily off to hunt down Yamato and Yuki since he noticed they were not in the battle. Which is how they eventually ended up finding Yamato before Shin and the remaining class 1 students, which managed to beat class 3 and force them to retreat.
Regardless, everyone got assigned to a room while they were waiting for the other students to arrive. Which in case for at least some of class 1… might take a while. Yamato, after they noticed his condition, was rushed to the medical wing. Yuki followed and stayed by his side the entire time. No one mentioned the Venoxia Toxinosa, as they then would have to explain how they cured it. And saying Yuki's blood healed him because she was an angel and immune to all poisons and illnesses was off the table, obviously. It would take another three days for every student to reach the resort, Yamato did not wake up yet, but they would leave the resort soon. But since he seemed better, and under the condition of Yuki's constant supervision, he was transferred into an normal room. She of course allowed no visitors, even though Arina, Lily, Andrew and even Elara requested to come by. Which turned out rather awkward, as this was the first time Arina and the tiwns met.
"So… You want to Yamato too? Aren't you a little young to be at this school… Where are your parents?"
"Fuck off. Y'know he's taken right? Don't get your hopes up, miss."
"I'm not interested in him in that way! I just want to know if he's alright!"
"I see through your deception, witch!"
"I'm not lying!"
Andrew pulled Lily away from the now increasingly irritated Arina.
"Pst, I think she's telling the truth…"
"Oh. Well, whatever! We are leaving!"
"But I didn't-"
"Shut up and walk, idiot!"
Andrew got pulled along as Lily ignored Arina and forced him with her. Arina, even more irritated by this, chose to take this whole encounter as a prank of some kids.
Yuki had not even noticed them as she sealed the entire room off with multiple barriers which blocked sound, mana and all other forms of interaction with the outside world and even another deity would have trouble entering without taking extreme measures. While Yuki was idly playing with Yamato's hair, his eyes finally opened.
"Where am I?"
"Master! I'm so glad!"
She hugged him from next to his bed, not wanting to ever let go of him again.
"Was very worried, Master… You almost died, y'know?"
"And I guess I have you to thank that I didn't?"
"I did my best!"
"Well, your best was great. I don't know what I would have done without you… I also remember saying weird things before I… Started running? And then lost consciousness… I'm sorry if I made you worry. I will be more careful next time. And I think I meant what I said… In case you were worried I only said that because I was high."
"Master…!"
Yuki suddenly overcame the urge to pounce on Yamato and forcefully straddle him. His lack of reaction did not bother her at all, it only meant he did not hate it. Instead, the slight surprise in his eyes only made her urges grow exponentially into the infinity that was her love for him. Everything just blurred into background in that moment and the only thing she clearly saw was Yamato. She was panting heavily, feeling quite literally as though she was about to explode. An intense heat spread from her heart into her arms and legs, as she felt the need to press herself against him until they melted together. It was imperative that nothing interrupted this moment of togetherness, as it would mark their peak of intimacy and connection. Though, the mere option that something could interrupt or stop her was already blurred out completely, her mind filled with Yamato on repeat.
"Ah… Hah… Master… Master… Master, this is it… We're so close… I love you… I love you… Really, really love you… And I want you to love me… Love me… Love me so, so much… You don't have to say anything… Just look at me… Only me, nothing else… There is nothing but me…"
She took off her west and started unbuttoning the shirt underneath, but paused at his movements. Yamato extended his arm to cup her cheek, pulling her face closer to his own. His initial intention was to pinch her behind her neck to twist her off to the side, which he would find to be a severe miscalculation of the moment as instead of slowly closing in, Yuki kissed him with all the passion in the world. Realizing he did not mind it as much as he thought he would, he let her be. Even though he was confident that he could have pushed her off if he wanted to, or made her stop through other means, it seemed like he did not want to take action against her advances anymore.