It was at that point that both Quinn and Layla heard a sound like flapping wings, as a large shadow cast over them.
Confused, they both looked up.
There, they saw a woman with long red hair, and light-blue skin.
She had feathered wings growing out of her arms, and bird-like claws and talons in the place of hands and feet.
She also wore a torn, blue leotard.
And sitting on her back like a child receiving a piggy-back ride, his arms wrapped around her sternum, was Tsukuru.
Their eyes both widened.
"Tsukuru?!" Quinn asked, wide-eyed.
"What are you doing here?!" Layla asked.
Tsukuru narrowed his eyes.
"We can talk about that later!" He yelled. "Just jump!"
Quinn and Layla exchanged incredulous looks.
They then looked back up at Tsukuru.
"Are you crazy?!" Quinn yelled. "Even with my strength, a fall from this height would break my legs! Even if I can heal, I still feel pain!"
Tsukuru sighed, and glanced over at the Harpie.
"Can you just…?" He asked.
The Harpie nodded.
"Of course, my liege." She replied.
Diving down, she spread her legs and talons wide.
Her left talon wrapped around Layla's left arm, and her right talon wrapped around Quinn's right arm, like a falcon snatching prey.
"Hey!" They both let out a scream of protest.
Tsukuru and the Harpie ignored them.
The Harpie flapped her wings into the air, lifting herself up off of the rooftop, just as the doors leading to the rooftop burst open, revealing two guards.
The Harpie slowly descended towards the ground.
As Quinn's and Layla's feet touched the ground, her talons released their grip on the two's arms.
Tsukuru then waved his arm dismissively, unsummoning the Harpie.
As she broke down into pixels, she lost her tangibility, and Tsukuru fell through her, as if she wasn't there.
Tsukuru eventually landed on the ground with a soft thud, landing right behind Quinn and Layla.
Both of them were rubbing their arms where the talons had grabbed them, the arms now red.
Tsukuru pressed his arm on each of their backs, pushing them forward.
"C'mon, let's book it." He whispered.
They both looked back at him, and nodded.
Layla turned to Quinn.
"Back to the dorms?" She asked.
Quinn nodded.
"Back to the dorms." He confirmed.
As the three walked back, Quinn explained everything that happened to Tsukuru and Layla.
"And you're not worried that Loop might tell someone what happened?" Layla asked.
Quinn shook his head.
"He has nothing to gain from it." Quinn replied. "Plus, without any proof, it's not like anyone would believe him, anyway. Although, there is the chance that if he does find out it was me, then he could come back with others to attack me."
It was at that point that they heard Tsukuru snort.
They turned back, and saw he had an amused look on his face.
"Yeah, how well'd that work for Riley?" He asked.
Quinn had a slight smirk, as he remembered how he and Tsukuru had effortlessly defeated Riley's "reinforcements" in the forest.
Layla, however, had a concerned look on her face.
"Quinn has a point." She replied, causing the two to turn to her. "A lot of students have already formed their own groups and gangs to protect each other. All that's left if the ones too weak to be a part of anything."
Layla's face then lit up.
"Hey, why don't you make a gang?" Layla asked. "I could be your sub-leader."
Tsukuru let out a chuckle.
"More like 'third-in-command'." Tsukuru replied.
He then narrowed his eyes.
"Actually, she might be on to something."
Both Quinn and Layla turned to him.
"There's plenty of factions out there in the real world. Hell, even the Original families operate a bit like factions."
Quinn put his hand under his chin, rubbing it as he thought.
"You two might have a point." Quinn replied. "Maybe I should ask Vorden if he knows anyone…"
At the mention of Vorden's name, the area became eerily quiet, and Tsukuru instantly winced.
Quinn turned back to them, seeing them both uncharacteristically quiet.
Layla had a look of concern on her face, while Tsukuru was palming his face, as if he had just witnessed something really stupid.
"What?" Quinn asked, looking from Layla to Tsukuru.
There was a long, tense pause.
Tsukuru and Layla exchanged gazes, as if they were decided who was going to break the news to Quinn.
Eventually, Tsukuru let out a deep sigh, his shoulder slumping in defeat.
"Vorden and Layla had an…altercation." He said, glancing to the side.
Instantly, Layla's head snapped towards him.
"'An altercation'?!" She yelled, not sure if she wanted to be furious, or incredulous. "THAT'S what you called it! I almost died!"
Hearing her words, Quinn raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What happened?" He asked.
Layla took in a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.
She then turned to Quinn.
"That psychopath tried to kill me!" Layla replied. "He's crazy! Hanging around him is a bad idea!"
Tsukuru rolled his eyes.
"He's not crazy." Tsukuru replied, causing Layla to whirl around to face him.
"THIS says otherwise!" She shouted, tugging down her collar, to show the red marks on her neck from when Raten had her pinned against the dorm room wall with his forearm on her neck.
Seeing it, Tsukuru visible winced, and leaned back.
That was hard to defend.
'Damn it, Raten…' Tsukuru thought.
Then, Tsukuru narrowed his eyes, a thought coming to him.
'Wait, how the hell did Vorden even KNOW about Quinn being injured?' He thought.
The combat classes all happened simultaneously, and lasted all day, replacing their daily classes.
Tsukuru took a quick glance at Quinn, before turning back to Layla.
Then, his eyes widened, as if his mind had just now processed information.
Instantly, his head snapped back at Quinn.
Or to be more specifically, his shirt.
It was suspiciously devoid of the blood stains and tears from when Fei had impaled him.
Quinn saw Tsukuru staring at him, and raised an eyebrow.
"What?" He asked.
"Quinn…" Tsukuru asked, his right eye twitching in annoyance. "What happened to your other shirt?"
Quinn stared at him, confused for a moment.
"You mean the one from the Beast Weapon Hall?" He asked. "I changed out of that."
Hearing this response, Tsukuru's eyes narrowed.
"I can see that, you dingus!" Tsukuru retorted, annoyed. "I mean, what did you do with the shirt after you took it off?"
Hearing Tsukuru's question, Quinn glanced to the side nervously.
Seeing this reaction, Tsukuru could pretty much guess how Voden had found out, and it made him facepalm.
"Quinn…" Tsukuru said in an exhausted tone. "Please tell me you didn't just leave your bloody shirt on the floor and walk out,"
It was a common habit among boys, especially young boys, to just leave dirty clothes on the floor where they were standing, rather than put it in a laundry basket.
Quinn averted his eyes from Tsukuru even more, looking like a guilty child, essentially confirming Tsukuru's suspicions.
Hearing the conversation, Layla's face morphed into a look of disgust.
"That's disgusting." She said, voicing her opinion.
Hearing her, Tsukuru's shoulders slumped.
"It's not just 'disgusting', it's also stupid." Tsukuru muttered.
He then whirled around to face Layla.
"THAT'S why Vorden attacked you!" He replied. "He saw that Quinn had been hurt, and lashed out!"
Hearing this, Layla raised an eyebrow.
Seeing this, Tsukuru decided to explain further.
"He's just…looking out for Quinn." Tsukuru replied, defending Raten's actions.
His gaze then hardened on Layla.
"You know how low-Levels get treated."
His words made Layla sputter.
On one hand, he was correct.
Low-Levels were treated like wastes of oxygen in this world.
Yet, on the other hand, the way Vorden had acted certainly wasn't normal.
Eventually, Layla sighed in defeat.
At the end of the day, it was Tsukuru who had made Vorden eventually let her go.
In a way, he saved her life.
Arguing with him any more would make her seem…ungrateful.
Tsukuru gave Layla a sympathetic look.
"He'll…come around." He replied assuringly. "Eventually."
Tsukuru glanced away, feeling sheepish.
He knew that it would take much longer for Vorden to warm up to her than he had.
After all, Tsukuru had only been merely suspicious of Layla.
Vorden…Vorden was a different case altogether.
He was actively hostile towards Layla, as the three souls within Vorden, especially Sil, thought that Layla was trying to "steal Quinn away from them".
"I mean…you and I weren't exactly on the best of terms when we first met, either." Tsukuru replied.
Hearing his words, Layla thought back, remembering all the death glares Tsukuru had given her when they were testing her blood's effect on Quinn in the park.
He had a point.
However, thinking about those memories made her unconsciously rub her throat, as she remembered how Sergeant Shizuka had her blade to Layla's throat after Riley's death.
Tsukuru then let out a sigh, and turned back to Layla, a mild look of annoyance on his face.
"And either way, all of this could have been avoided if you had just waited for me to finish my talk with Sergeant Leo." He replied, narrowing his eyes. "Then, we could have gone to the dorm together."
Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, you had to stay behind after class to talk to Leo?" He asked.
Upon hearing this, Layla glanced away, and let out a nervous laugh.
Tsukuru glanced over at her, the look of mild annoyance still on his face.
"Yeah." He replied. "Because a certain somebody had a…slip of the tongue in class."
Quinn instantly knew what Tsukuru was referring to.
Earlier in class, Layla had let it slip that Tsukuru's "Haunted Knight" had killed Riley yesterday while she was in a state of stunned stupor.
Hearing this, Layla let out a sigh.
She clapped her hands together, in the form of a "prayer".
"Look, I'm really sorry." She apologized. "It just…slipped out."
Hearing this, Tsukuru rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, well if you have too many more 'slip ups', I'm gonna find myself in an interrogation room." He muttered.