The Ancient Genes

The streets were empty and the commotion had finally calmed down a bit. But the patrol units from the union could still be seen.

People were back into their homes, sleeping again. But some were still up…

Max carried Aria back to her room as he informed her about Eren staying tonight.

Aria was silent all along and just nodded hearing Max. She had brought her friends in the apartment and Max had cooperated with her. Now it was time for her to do the same.

Max laid her on the bed and finally asked with a frown as he pulled out his basic medical supplies from the spirit world, "How did you get that wound?"

"I-I got into an accident," Aria replied avoiding Max's eyes.

Max sighed as he reached out to her top and gently lifted it to her ribs.

"Y-You! What are you doing!!" Aria began to struggle but no matter what, she couldn't even budge Max's hands a bit. Her face had started to turn red when Max finally let go of it.

"Did you fell on a sword?" Max asked as he looked at Aria and she immediately turned her head down.

The wound was longer than Max had initially thought. It extended all the way from her back to her sides. She was lucky that it wasn't deep and had missed her neck or it might have been fatal.

"Look….if it's personal, I can understand it. But you know the situation, I would like you to stop this thing if you don't intend to let me know or either get help from your own family…" Max looked at her with a serious face. He definitely meant what he said. 

Anything happening to her was not a good thing from several perspectives. First, he was directly related to her in the current scenario. Secondly, the Achilles were on the Associations side and hence, he wouldn't want any bad blood with Achilles. Third, she has a strong potential and stood out among the younger generation and most importantly, she was one of the few nobles whom Max looked in good light.

No matter how upset Max was because of the problem related with the apartment, he had to say that no one else would have approached this situation like she did. 

"Now show it to me…" Max said to her as he took out the bandages and antiseptic.

"No! You are not a doctor… " Aria immediately refused and backed away a bit.

"If you didn't go to the hospital and came here first, it must mean that you are not in a position to go there….how the heck do you plan to see a doctor then…and can you even properly treat the wound on your back with your own hands..." Max reprimanded her before grabbing her hand and pulling her close.

"I am not interested in seeing you naked so don't worry. Just open your top and lie on your front." Max looked her in the eyes as he said those words.

He then stood up before turning around and waiting for her to get in the position.

Aria really wanted to appreciate this gentlemanly gesture which was made in a very ungentlemanly way but she couldn't. 

She looked at Max's back and felt a bit of anger. She didn't know the reason behind it, but it was apparent that Max had hurt her pride.

In the end, she pulled her top and unhooked her upper undergarment realising that she was not in the situation to be feeling shy. First of all, disinfecting the wound was necessary. Second, Max had already made it very clearly and now if she kept refusing, it would make her look childish.

"I am done…" 

Max turned around on hearing her voice only to see a long bloody gash on her beautiful fair back.

He brought out a clear tub of water from the waterfall in the spirit world and used a clean cloth to gently clean the wound.

"Umn…" Aria gritted her teeth as she felt the contact to her wound.

But it was just the start, the moment Max began to disinfect, she grabbed onto Max's arm in pain.

"Don't tell me this is the first time you had such an injury?" Max couldn't help but ask. It was somewhat understandable if it really was. What could a girl being shielded 24/7 have experienced? Max could bet that it was very unlikely that she had fought a death battle and hence ended up in this situation when the situation called for it.

Max sighed as she held onto his arm and proceeded to use one of his arms and telekinesis to get the job done.

'Do I stitch it?' Max thought as he looked at it. It wasn't like he couldn't.  He had survived on his own in several deadly situations after all.

But doing that without anaesthesia….Max looked at her once and shook his head. No, it was a bad idea. She wouldn't be able to take it and in case, she screamed waking Eren up, that would be another problem.

In the end, Max sighed as he took out an elixir which Bahamut had given to him. He heavy heartedly took a deep breath before using it on her.

…

It took a few more minutes before Max was finally done.

"Phew!" Max released a breath as he said, "It's all done."

When Max tried to get out the bed, he suddenly felt his hand stuck. Max turned around and looked at Aria who was breathing steadily. Max had no idea if she had passed out from pain or fallen asleep later on as the pain eased.

Max tried to get hands out but it wasn't coming out, the next instant Max suddenly realised that he was feeling something soft on his arms.

'Sh*t!'

He hadn't realized earlier as he was concentrating on treating her. But now he did, Aria had pulled his arm into the forbidden valley. He could clearly see the bulge on the side as she laid.

Max immediately laid on the bed by Aria's side staring at the ceiling. Even though he had said that he wasn't interested earlier, he knew better than anyone that he was lying.

What would you expect from a virgin who was in his prime?

Max cursed as he began counting sheeps. The night was going to be a long one for him.

….

Ovens House Capital...

"Did you give her the warning?" A young looking man idly sitting on the chair asked as he looked at the person in front draped in black from head to toe.

"Yes, I did….I put a mark on her back." The man replied.

"Good, don't spoil her face. I wouldn't want a scarface as my wife after all…." The person replied as he calmly sipped the drink from his glass.

"Where is my little brother? I haven't seen him around. He didn't even come to visit his older brother who had returned after so many days…." 

"Young Lord….Master James has shifted to the accommodation provided by the Academy…." The man replied.

"Huh...he never ceases to surprise me. Well, I might as well go to the Academy tomorrow. It's been a while after all. I have to let him know as well, he has to be wise when selecting enemies..."

The young man laughed and it echoed in the empty room while the servant stood quietly in front of him.

…

The next morning soon came. The sun rose, it was brighter than the day before. There weren't many clouds up in the sky and the fog had disappeared sooner. It was still cool though.

"Knock!"

"Knock!"

"Max you in there…"

The voice sounded behind the door.

"Who is shouting so early in the morning?" Aria mumbled in sleep feeling irritated.

'Hmmn? When did the blanket become this comfortable and warm? It smells nice as well…'

A pleasant smile formed on her face and she squeezed herself into the blanket.

'Hmmm? This doesn't feel like a blanket…' Aria seemed to have realized it as a frown formed on her face.

"Max..." Eren's voice sounded through the door again and Aria's eyes finally opened as she woke up to reality.

The moment her eyes opened, she found herself hugging Max, her lips were just an inch apart from his. She could feel his breath on her face and it was a really odd thing to say but he smelled really good.

"Ahh!" Aria immediately sprang back towards the other side of the bed after coming back to her senses.

"Aaahhh!!!" Another scream escaped from Aria's mouth as she felt the pain from her wound. The springing up was a move uncalled for.

Max who had just fallen asleep an hour or a half ago, woke up feeling the bed quake.

But the moment he saw that Aria was looking at him with a horrified expression, he realised what had happened.

Suddenly, Max's face turned a bit red and he awkwardly turned his head aside.

It took Aria a minute to realise that her top was off. She immediately brought her hand forward and covered her chest before reaching out for her clothes with the other hand. Her face had turned red and her eyes had started to water a bit.

"Is there a girl in there? I just heard a scream?" Eren's voice filled both Aria and Max's faces with worry.

Max got off the bed and walked up to the door while Aria hid herself under the blanket in nervousness.

Max slightly opened the door and looked at him, "You are so early?" 

"I will have to get back before someone notices me missing…" Eren replied.

"By the way, I just heard a girl scream…" Eren further said with a frown as he looked at Max.

"No, there wasn't...you seem to have misheard it….you are still sleepy…" Max said with a slight smile. He was being casual trying to wave it off.

"Is it? I gues-" Eren stopped half away and then a second later, he smiled before laughed it out.

"I see….it's fine you don't need to hide. Everyone watches it….what do you think students in the dorms watch at night…but you seem pretty healthy going at it early in the morning...."

Max frowned before he followed Erens gaze and looked below only to see his Excalibur rising. It was morning to begin with, he was a virgin and had also seen Aria in that state. His body had finally revolted.

Max really didn't know whether this misunderstanding was good or bad. It seemed that Eren had assumed that Max was watching some adult stuff.

Max smiled and decided to stain his reputation and carry forward this misunderstanding.

A minute later, Eren finally left. Max stood on the door and revolved the spirit energy once to get his body back under his control.

He then turned around to look at Aria, "What are you going to do? You have stained my reputation? I can't even show my face to others if he tells that to somebody…." Max really felt like crying. He was helpless.

"You are not in the position to stay that…." Aria retorted, her face still flushed.

…

Academy…

"What's wrong Janet?" Lisa asked as she looked at Janet who had a worried face.

"Brother Victor seemed to have challenged that guy who we had arguments with a few days back…." Janet replied with a sigh.

"You mean Max?" Lisa asked with wide eyes.