Chapter Text
Madam Druun had only been around for three weeks, but she was already quite cozy with the people.
Whenever she had free time, she'd go out patrolling and maybe strike up a conversation or two with a few civilians. She'd take photos with them and participate in small interviews whenever asked.
They weren't big things to Raya, but they were to the civilians who quickly grew to adore her.
There were a few people who weren't exactly happy with her, though, mainly misogynist men who didn't find it appropriate that a woman would be protecting the city when the job belonged to a man initially.
Raya ignored those few pathetic souls and instead focused on the things that were worth her attention, like visions.
Raya was still a bit bitter at the whole school situation, but she learned to reluctantly accept the change while Boun's opinion remained the same. She no longer got lost and had been getting good grades despite missing several classes due to her double life, and thankfully, she wasn't alone there anymore.
When she first started visions, she only knew the teachers and Namaari, and neither of them were friend material, but after she officially met her roommate Sisu, they became besties in minutes.
Raya knew that revealing her identity as Madam Druun probably helped with that, but Sisu didn't focus on her identity alone. They talked a lot and found they had... nothing in common, but they fit together perfectly like puzzle pieces.
Sisu was also extremely helpful when it came to Madam Druun. She made Raya's web fluid and an app for civilians to call the hero for help... Which barely stopped sending notifications.
But that's what's to be expected from a city with a high crime rate.
It was thanks to Sisu's app that she was able to keep up with everything going on with the people, and Raya fully believed a friend like that was a once-in-a-lifetime thing so she makes sure Sisu knows she's appreciated by bringing her whatever she obtained from criminals.
Yesterday Raya took a tooth from a giant armadillo that was the result of weird scientific experiments and sealed it in a tiny bag to give to Sisu when she got to school.
Thankfully, the notifications on the app weren't life-threatening situations that the police couldn't solve, but she put her suit on with her uniform over it just in case something happened.
Her suit was more on an inconvenience than she realized. The designs on her thighs and the purple on her calfs would be a dead giveaway to everyone who saw her. So to keep her identity hidden she changed up her uniform, she had already needed a new skirt so she got one long enough to cover the designs on her thighs and she bought a pair of leg warmers to put over the purple of her calfs.
Anyone who saw her would simply just think she was either insane or got cold real easily, and thankfully, it was the former. At Capital, she always wore layers to combat her cold body, and Visions was always freezing, so the extra layers were a win-win.
Raya squirmed around the lingering inconsiderate students standing in front of academy doors and began to look around for wild blue hair.
"Rayaaaa!" Sisu shouted, coming out of nowhere and tackling her into a hug like they hadn't seen each other in months, "Did you get it?!" She whispered in her ear, bouncing in excitement.
Raya chuckled as she pulled out the small bag, making Sisu give a small squeal, "Here is the newest piece to your collection," Raya said letting the other snatch the bag out of her hand.
"You know you're the best, right?" Sisu said, snatching the bag from Raya's hand.
"So I've been told," Raya replied with a smirk, watching the girl analyze the tooth closely.
She always did so once Raya got her a new collectible, for whatever reason she enjoyed finding the faults in them and though Sisu was enjoying herself Raya didn't want to stand in the entrance hall all day so she gently took her arm and lead her to their shared class and her desk.
Sisu sat down now, picking at the tooth while Raya simply stared at her.
"I know you're fascinated and all, but don't you think it'd be better to do that back at the dorm?" Raya asked, "I mean, all your equipment is there, and we both know that you're going to lose it the more you keep it out."
Sisu pouted slightly offended, "What? I never lost anything before!" She declared confidentiality.
Raya gave her an unconvinced look, "Really? Not even once?"
"That's right!"
It was a blatant lie that left Raya amused. In the three weeks she knew her, Sisu had lost over a dozen suvinears Raya had brought her.
"That's so strange because I remember you losing that mainframe I brought you last week," Raya stated making a dramatic thinking pose, "And that weird shiny rock I got from that alien, and that gang mask, and that—"
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Sisu exclaimed, stuffing the tooth back into the tiny bag and into her chest pocket, "Geez you don't gotta make a list for me."
Raya chuckled lightly, making Sisu's pout deepen. They both knew it was all good fun.
"I just don't want to hear you complain about losing something for the thousandth time. It gets exhausting." Raya joked, nudging Sisu's leg with her foot, making the other nudge her back.
"I've never complained—"
"I could make another list for you right now. Don't test me."
"Alright, alright, whatever!"
They two shared a laugh as their classmates began to pile in and drown out their chuckles with their loudness.
Raya and Sisu both agreed that their classmates were annoying and obnoxious, acting as if they owned the world and belittled anyone who disagreed.
So far, Sisu is the only person to disprove her assumption of visions being full of pompous assholes. She was the only tolerable one.
Their class started shortly after that with Sisu and Raya sharing notes about the topic or just writing out their dumb thoughts. It felt like no time passed at all before their class was coming to a close.
"And before you all go, I have an assignment for you: a group project." The teacher announced making a few students groan and silently cheer, "Your task is to write a joint essay about whatever historical event you choose and present it, I will be assigning your partners." And just like that, those who silently cheered joined the groaning with sour faces.
The teacher began announcing the groups, and a few cheered a few grumbled while Raya and Sisu sat hoping they would be partnered.
But no, that didn't happen.
Instead, Sisu was partnered with some random girl named Jin, and Raya was partnered with...Namaari?
"Since when was she in this class?!" She whispered to Sisu absolutely dumped in dread.
"She transferred classes like last week, I think?" She replied, pointing to the back of the class. Raya's eyes followed to where she pointed and instantly locked eyes with Namaari, who was already staring at her.
The two didn't hesitate to glare daggers at one another. Raya could tell the air between them was still tense after the hair fiasco.
Sisu merely chuckled looking at them both, "Who knows, maybe this will help you guys be friends again," She said, her chuckling grew into smothered laughter once Raya turned to look at her as if she grew a second head.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Raya hissed, wanting to grip Sisu's shoulders and shake some sense in her. "C'mon, what's the worst that could happen from working with her?"
"Literally everything, she hates my guts!"
Their relationship was mere ashes at this point. They both said many unforgettable things the day they split up. Things that Raya still thought back on to this day, her reaction would be painful winces or unwavering sadness at losing her friend.
There were days when Raya wished she could go back and fix whatever she did wrong, but after remembering everything Namaari said to her, it wasn't worth wasting time over.
"No, she doesn't," Sisu said, waving her hand dismissively at Raya, "If she did, she wouldn't have given you that handkerchief."
"She could've done that for anyone else Sisu, it doesn't mean anything." Raya countered.
"But shouldn't it mean something if she did it for you?"
Raya didn't get the chance to respond before the bell loudly rang and the class scattered to leave, she didn't spare a glance at Sisu, who she could tell was giving her a knowing look, before she quickly packed her stuff and dashed toward the teacher, Namaari following closely behind. Raya refused to acknowledge her.
"Mr. Luong!" They exclaimed in unison, startling the poor man. "Oh, uh, hello ladies, is there something I can help you with?"
The girls began talking over each other, complaining, and telling the man about them working together was a horrible idea. They were practically having a shouting match.
Mr. Luong couldn't understand a word coming out of their mouths as it was loud and jumbled. He slammed his fist against his desk.
"Enough, one at a time, for goodness sake!" He shouted, effectively silencing them.
Raya took a deep breath to calm herself and began to lead the conversation, "Mr. Luong, we don't think we're...compatible enough to be partners considering some bad history. " She stated, sending Namaari a look who scoffed in response, "We both were wondering if we could work on our own?"
They both watched the man sigh and rub his eyes, already tired and irritated of the girls. Nevertheless, they hoped he would give them the answer they wanted.
"I apologize girls but I must decline," He said crushing their hope, "This assignment is a partner project for a reason, and I don't go switching up my rules because of 'compatibility' issues."
...Fucking asshole.
It would make total sense to be allowed separate assignments due to not getting along, but Mr. Luong didn't even want to bother with it, even if it was just them doing their assignment alone.
She should've known he wouldn't have done anything about it. He was always one of the annoying ones.
Why was a history assignment a group project to begin with?
"And whether or not you two think you're incompatible is not my problem. Case closed."
You must be joking..!
Raya persisted, not accepting his answer, "Are you sure there's nothing—"
"Postive. Now run along class will start again soon."
He sent them out with a wave of his hand, his gaze going back down to the papers on his desk.
They reluctantly left as they were ordered to and just stood side by side outside of the door, their day completely ruined.
They couldn't believe it. They were stuck in this stupid partnership because their teacher was too stubborn to give an alternative.
"Great, just great..." Raya groaned under her breath sharing the same sour expression as Namaari, they both were upset that they were forced to cooperate with each other but no matter how upset they were, they weren't going to sabotage the assignment. Especially since it's both their grades.
Well, Raya wouldn't, but she couldn't be positive that Namaari wouldn't.
Namaari sighed, defeated, not bothering to look in Raya's direction as they stood in front of the door, "We'll meet at lunch to discuss it. Don't make me wait." She told Raya bitterly before leaving, not letting the other say anything.
Raya just watched her go, not bothering to say anything to the girl.
She was... conflicted about Namaari. The girl did whatever she could to antagonize her when she first started attending visions, and then Raya unintentionally embarrassed her, making Namaari hate her more.
But there was still that weird interaction with the handkerchief, Raya still couldn't figure out why Namaari gave it to her, and from what she could tell, Namaari couldn't either. She thought back on Sisu's words, and it only confused her more about Namaari.
After she gave it to her, Namaari just hadn't spoken to her since, she just avoided her and while Raya was happy that she didn't have to deal with her attitude again it was weird how Namaari went from hating her, to hating her more, to doing a kind gesture, and then to avoiding her.
It was like a rollercoaster, but Raya wouldn't dwell on it. No, she'd push everything that happened between them aside like Namaari did.
Just like Namaari did.
She left for her class, trying her best to remove the girl from her thoughts.
Lunch came much too fast for her liking.
Namaari didn't know what she was feeling when it rolled around, but she knew that it wasn't anything good. The last thing she wanted was to spend time with the girl who humiliated her, but since their teacher was an absolute dunce, she had no choice.
She just wanted to get this over with as fast as possible, so she practically darted out of her class to the cafeteria and sat somewhere visible for Raya to see.
She waited patiently, stuffing her face with the sandwich she bought. All her past school lunch always looked and tasted like it was made in a public bathroom, but ever since she attended visions last year, she was delighted when she was met with edible food.
"Are you even chewing?" Namaari flinched at Raya's sudden voice from beside her.
Someone needs to wear a bell, she thought before looking up and making eye contact again. They kept it while Namaari slowly chewed the food in her mouth. Admittedly, she should've given some sort of answer because they both felt a wave of awkwardness at the long staring contest, which allowed Namaari to get a good look at her.
Namaari didn't know why she never actually took note of how the other looked during their past interactions but now she could tell there wasn't a huge difference, the only thing that really changed was her usually neat tied up hair was now a wild flowing mess and that she was much taller now other than that she looked the same. The same old pretty faced spoiled brat.
It took about a minute for Namaari to swallow and give a response.
"... Yeah." She said slowly, putting the rest of her sandwich down watching Raya roll her eyes and sit across from her, pulling out her school computer, "I have a few ideas of which events we could write that we'll agree on," Namaari told her brushing off the awkward feeling and getting straight to business feeling sure of herself.
Raya hummed, noticing the feeling, "Confident now, are we?"
Namaari gave an unamused snort, her eyes searching across her desktop. "Well, you always were a sucker for specific parts of Kumandra's history, so yes, I am confident." She replied. It was true Raya was an absolute nerd about Kumandra history despite not seeming like the type to enjoy it.
"Then shoot, I'm all ears." Raya told her, unwrapping and eating her own sandwich.
Namaari nodded and began listing off their options, typing away, "The choices are Kumandra's great split, the stolen gem, or the last dragon." She stated, flipping her computer around to shoe Raya the articles on her screen.
Raya hummed slightly amused. If she was forced to work with her, then she was going to make some fun out of it.
"My favorites, huh? How thoughtful of you." She teased, making Namaari glare at her.
"They were the only topics I thought of that we would agree with. It had nothing to do with you personally. " Namaari replied, doing her best to keep her cool.
Raya raised an eyebrow at her wearing a smug smirk, "Mhm, sure, well I suppose if that's true then your other reasoning would just be that you're still a huge dragon nerd," She replied, clearly enjoying the way Namaari's expression morphed at her words. It was obvious she enjoyed getting arise out of Namaari, one of the other downsides of their partnership.
Raya continued, "But that's not a bad thing. It's nice to know you haven't changed much after all this time."
"It's only been two years," Namaari scoffed, her patience growing thin.
"You make it sound short. People can change a lot in two years, you know." Raya countered with an eye roll.
"Whatever, just hurry up and pick one." Namaari groaned, dond waiting for the other's answer.
"Now that I really think of it, isn't the stolen gem just the same thing as Kumandra's great split?"
"Oh, for the spirits, would you just pick one already?!"
Raya hummed, deciding to pause her fun for now and think. Each choice was very interesting to her, making it difficult for her to choose just one.
Kumandra's great split was about two hundred years ago when their precious gem was abruptly stolen. Each cheif accused one another of stealing it, which led to a war starting and creating Kumandra's downfall. It split into three cities, Fang, Heart, and Talon. Kumandra was only repaired three decades ago with each city merging into one and the other two being mere parts of said city.
Raya loved learning about it, but didn't exactly enjoy the topic as much as she used to due to her last name Heart, it was uncommon for those who weren't related to those who repaired Kumandra.
She didn't know why the hell her parents decided to give it to her, but it always caused some stupid confusion that annoyed her to no end.
Unlike Raya, Namaari's last name was generational as her ancestors contributed to both the breaking and repairing of Kumandra, while Raya's didn't, and continued to be passed down. That's why many referred to her as Namaari of Fang, while Raya just called her Namaari Fang out of preference.
Even though they weren't the same in that aspect, people still respected them thanks to their parents' status. Raya always thought it was weird to respect someone because of another's status, but what could she do.
The story of the last dragon was before the great split by three hundred years. Dragon caretakers got sloppy with their jobs tending to the elegant creatures and went on to not meet their needs as often as they should.
It led to many dying from lack of food or diseases obtained from other animals, the people didn't pay much mind to it and it wasn't long before one dragon remained: Sisu Datu.
They cared for her after the rest had fallen but their care never seemed to be enough, because Sisu had disappeared without a trace months later after various attempts and experiments to get the species up and going again failed.
No one knew why she left, but as far as everyone knew, the last dragon had died.
"Hm... let's do the last dragon." Raya finally decided making Namaari perk up a bit, excited at her answer. The last dragon was always her favorite.
"Really?" She asked dumbly, making Raya look up at her with her eyebrow raised in confusion.
"Yes, really, why else would I pick it?" She replied, Namaari simply shrugged in response to the question, looking almost embarrassed she asked something so stupid.
"Okay, great, we have our topic. When should we start it?" She asked, trying to look as nonchalant as possible, but she could tell she was still so easy for Raya to see through when it came to dragons at least. Namaari didn't like that.
"We could start now for all I care or after classes." Raya replied, looking away and picking at her nails, distracting her from the girl in front of her.
Truthfully Namaari didn't want to spend her lunch break with Raya, she just wanted to discuss what they would do then leave, she would've rather been hanging out with Atitaya than be here but in order to get done faster they had to start sooner.
"...I suppose we could start now." Namaari said with a reluctant sigh.
Raya stopped her picking and took out her own laptop from her bag, waiting for it to turn on before opening a new document, "Let's get something straight first. What exactly will we be writing, what led to the last dragon or the aftermath of the extinction?" Namaari questioned.
Raya pondered the question for a few minutes thinking over which would be the better option for the project as she stared at her screen, she didn't notice Namaari observing her face enjoying how there was no trace of smugness or hatred on it, just pure thoughtfulness over her features. She was almost nice to look at when she wasn't talking.
"I think the aftermath is a better idea. It's not discussed as much as what caused it." She finally said confidently.
She was right. Surprisingly, people were far more interested in everything that happened to Sisu than what happened after she was presumed dead. Raya was always far more interested in the aftermath than what led to it. That's why, much like Namaari, she got excited to write it.
"Then that's what we'll do," Namaari decided, going back to finishing her sandwich.
"Peachy."
Raya replied, staring down at the blank document, and began to share it with Namaari's school profile, allowing them both access to the essay. They spent lunch time researching and reading related articles without sharing another word with each other, but Namaari couldn't help but sneak glances at the other, feeling like Raya had already been staring.
Namaari had a lot of time to think about the fastest way to finish the assignment before the bell rang, the only thing she could come up with wasn't satisfactory but the fastest way that came to mind.
"We should meet up every day after classes to work on the project. Our first meeting will be today in the library." Namaari told her, earning a baffled and confused look from the other.
"Wait, why? We have class time to work on it—"
"It's obvious you don't want to spend more time than necessary with me Raya," Namaari interrupted her face stern like her mother's, "And believe me it's mutual, I want this done fast so instead of just working during class we should work everyday after too until it's finished. It'll get done faster."
It was clear that Raya nearly snapped at the insult but quickly regained her composure, Namaari was right that it would just be faster for them to meet up more instead of just doing it class, but that didn't mean she had to go and be rude about it. she collected herself moments after.
"Alright, fine, but I can't guarantee you that I'll always be there," She told her, completely serious but Namaari still scoffed, not believing her for a second, "Look like I just said I know you don't want to spend a lot of time with me, but I don't think you should go making petty excuses—"
"It's no petty excuse. It's the honest truth." Raya stated firmly, silencing Namaari completely.
"You're right. I don't want to spend time with you after everything you've done, but what I don't want more is for you to nag me like a child about not showing up when I'm unavailable. That's why I'm telling you not to expect it, nothing more than that."
Namaari didn't know why, but she felt a strange pang in her chest after hearing Raya say that, she shouldn't have, she knew it was true, but even so, she still didn't like hearing her say it.
But Namaari did what she did because she simply couldn't deal with it. She said what she said because it was how she felt. She wasn't going to let herself think back on how things could've gone if she hadn't because it would be a waste of time to imagine the worst outcome.
This outcome was better, Namaari fully believed it was.
"What? Why are you staring at me like that?"
Namaari didn't realize that she was staring at the other while deep in thought. It had made Raya anxiously purse her lips.
If Raya wasn't able to make it every session, then Namaari didn't want to play a guessing game on whether or not she would make it. There was an easy solution to that.
"If I can't expect you to show up, then I don't want to waste my time waiting for you. Give me your number."
Raya quickly became baffled, "What?"
"I said give me your number," Namaari repeated,
"If you can't show, then I want to know beforehand. Like I said, I don't want to waste my time."
Raya wanted to deny the demand and say that it was unnecessary, but that thought came to a hault once an idea came to mind, making her lips spread into a wide smirk. Namaari knew the look was no good.
"Hm, are you sure that's the only reason you want my number?" Raya asked teasingly, watching Namaari's face turn into one of shock.
"... Excuse me?" She wasn't expecting her to say something so wild after acting so serious. It bothered Namaari just how quickly Raya could switch up like a light switch.
Raya gave a taunting chuckle, "I mean, I know you missed me and what not, but I didn't expect you to dive back in so quickly,"
Namaari could feel her face grow warm, an unfamiliar feeling within her that she didn't like one bit.
"Oh my— you're beyond delusional! Just give me your damn number!"
"Demanding, aren't you?" Raya said, holding her hand out for Namaari's phone and beginning typing in her digits, sending herself a message to get Namaari's number too.
Raya finally decided she had wasted enough time poking fun at Namaari and finally packing up her things with the other following her lead.
"If you're lucky, I'll see you after school," Raya told her, moving around her already, leaving, "Don't be late." Namaari shouted from behind, prompting Raya to give her a thumbs up.
Namaari felt relieved once Raya disappeared through the door. Their entire thirty minutes together was enough to prove Namaari wasn't going to make it out of the project with all of her sanity intact.
Raya knew exactly what to say to get arise out of her back in middle school, and even now, she still had an understanding of it despite not seeing her for two years. Back then it was it was simply playful banter they exchanged now it seemed Raya did it just frustrate or make her angry or make Namaari feel guilty in a weird way by reminding her of their old days together.
It wasn't going to work. Namaari wasn't going to feel guilty for putting her in place back then. If she didn't do it, someone else would. It's better for her to know now than to learn it later in adulthood.
If Raya really took the time to think about it, she would see Namaari did her a favor, but instead, she wanted to stay petty and purposely anger Namaari.
Whatever, Namaari thought, finally leaving the cafeteria. If Raya didn't want to move on, then it's not her problem to deal with. The only thing that was her problem now was making it through the stupid assignment.
The only thing that was Namaari's problem was trying not to regret scheduling those dreadful afterschool meetings.
The only thing that was her problem was the struggle not to snap at her all over again.