Reflection [Vivi]

  Vivi looked around the ware house that was apparently Equilibriums new base of operations. She had come to take a look around, but part of her just wanted to see Macht again, and see if he was okay. He obviously didn’t need anyone to worry about him but… what the hey. She even brought him cookies. Unfortunately, he probably wasn’t in the mood for that, but she’d make him take them anyway. She left the box somewhere easy to see so he could find it later. There was a note taped to it reading:

Macht — I didn’t make these specifically for you, I had extra, so shut up. ~Vivi

  Following the noise, Vivi eventually found Macht pounding on a training dummy. With a powerful finishing blow, he completely uprooted the thing. The red haired boy then fell to his knees, and Vivi felt concern prick at her heart.

“Macht!” she ran over to him and stopped a few feet away, “'You alright?”

  Stupid question, he obviously wasn’t. Aside from the bruises dotting his body, she knew the pain he felt had to be more than physical. Emotional support had never been her forte though, so she wasn’t quite sure what to do.

  It occurred to Vivi it might have been best to walk away and pretend she didn't see him. He was the First Pillar after all, right? The last thing he'd want would be for a student to see him like this...
 
  Had Macht been a girl, she probably would've hugged him and tried to comfort him, but she was pretty sure most guys wouldn't appreciate that... especially not Macht. She hadn't known him for to long, but even so, she never imagined she'd see him cry.

  Vivi tentatively sat back on her heels and wrapped her arms around her knees, looking him in the eye. She didn't know if she was succeeding, but she did her best not to make her concern to apparent on her face.

"I'll keep that in mind..." she replied, "Maybe you should take a break?"

  At this point, she was just trying to think of a way to help him without making things worse. Sadly, not very many ideas were coming to mind. If he agreed to rest, she considered seeing if she could get him to talk about his problems. She was no therapist, but she thought maybe if she could understand how he felt to a certain extent, she could offer a bit more support.

  Vivi’s eyes widened when Macht punched into the ground. The concrete cracked around his fist, and she was pretty sure he was brutally damaging himself as well. He was obviously stressed… but if he kept this up, he’d only hurt himself.

“Macht, stop,” Vivi said urgently, looking him in the eye, “...We should find a place to sit or something.”

At his question, she paused and blinked a few times.

“Well, I thought I’d check the place out," she shrugged, “That and, uh… I was a little worried about you.”

  When she’d responded to the coalition call, she couldn’t help but notice how different he seemed… it wasn’t super obvious, but the guy had a different vibe to him. It seemed like he was beating himself up over what happened, and Vivi felt she needed to find a way to get him to stop.

  The longer she watched him, the more difficult it was to keep up a calm demeanor. Her brow began to tense with worry, and she bit her lip. Vivi didn’t like to see people in pain as a general rule, but it was kind of different with Macht. He'd always seemed to have a stone wall of sorts built around himself, and it was as if it were slowly crumbling.

  When he fell back onto the mat, Vivi hesitated a moment, before tentatively coming and sitting next to him. She drew her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, keeping violet eyes down cast.

“That’s alright… don’t push yourself. Just rest here, yeah?”

  Vivi inhaled slightly before continuing. She was about to make an assumption, but she was pretty sure it was correct.

“Listen… don’t beat yourself up over what happened with Riot,” she spoke slowly and glanced over at him, “We gave it our best shot… now we just need to try again. Kicking yourself over it isn’t gonna help anyone.”

  He was blaming himself for everything… she’d seen this before with Kaya. Taking responsibly for every bad thing to come upon the others in her school. The burden she set upon herself only ate her up from the inside… was it happening to Macht too?

“You never really know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have… I think going up against Riot really showed us our limits, but they also gave us a goal. As long as you have something to strive for, and the will to do it, you can improve. With as much work as you’ve been putting into it, you’re bound to get stronger. Just not all at once.”

  Vivi paused for a moment, and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She wasn't used to talking this much, but then again, she usually didn’t have a reason to do so. Now she was trying to support Macht, just as her old friend back in boarding school did, up until the end. Vivi doubted she would be here to begin with, if it weren’t for that girl.

“Failure isn’t set in stone, y’know… there’s still a chance to turn things around. I mean, our school’s still standing, and while not everyone made it, a lot of us are still alive and kicking. You might say it’s wishful thinking… but I’d rather call it hope.”

  If only it were that simple… Riot’s top fighters were total monsters, but maybe if they got the pillars, the school captain, and five-five-two’s fighters together they could stand a chance? At this point, it seemed like the key was to get the students to stop fighting each other, and unite against a common enemy. In a school like this, however, it was probably much more easier said then done.

“Mikey is pretty tough…”

  That was a massive understatement. If it hand’t been for Valo and Shugo, she likely would be in the hospital sustaining much worse injuries than a few broken ribs and a screwed up shoulder. Probably would've been dead, actually. She had been totally powerless against him, and it seemed to have been that way with Macht as well. And if Macht couldn’t best the guy... she didn’t know who could.

  Vivi hesitated for a moment, before tentatively patting Macht’s back. The gesture was light and somewhat awkward, but the girl had good intentions. She returned her hand to her lap and let out a small exasperated sigh.

“Well, don’t die on us yet, buddy. If we’re ever gonna find a way to take them down, we’re gonna need you.”

  Vivi looked into Macht’s eyes as he spoke, though she felt the urge to stare at the ground. He definitely wasn’t laying it on thick or anything, but she wasn’t used to people expressing gratitude to her. In her early child hood years the only person she ever heard ‘thank you’ was from Kaya, up until she died, and at work, her service was owed, so no gratitude there either. Just being shoved around and called names instead.

“Yeah, I’ve got your back, man,” a slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, “And... I’m glad to hear that."

At his request, Vivi nodded.

“Sure thing,” she chuckled, “You look like you could use a bit of rest.”

  Vivi came and took one of his arms, putting it around her shoulders and then wrapped one of her arms around his waist. She did her best to support them as they stood up. Though she was a good deal smaller than him, she was fairly strong and it wasn’t like he’d be leaning on her with his full weight.

  Vivi would adjust her pace to whatever worked for Macht as they made their way toward one of the rooms, glancing up at him occasionally. It seemed like he’d been working so hard, he’d nearly reached his breaking point. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt a strange sense of pain at seeing her friend like this, and wished there was some way she could help him more. Sadly, he probably wouldn’t truly feel better until Riot was finished… but then again, he might not even after that. For now, she could only hope for the best.

Vivi picked one of the rooms and walked inside, stopping next to the bed so Macht could sit down.

“Can I help with anything else? Like, do you need a glass of water or something?” she asked, her brow furrowed in worry. She wasn't trying to coddle him or anything, just lend some support in any way she could.

  For some reason, she didn’t want to leave him just yet. Part of her wanted to stay just to make sure he didn’t hurt himself anymore, and maybe try lift his spirits a bit. But the guy obviously needed his rest, so if he really wanted her too, she’d probably have to take her leave soon.