Solus opened his bedroom door and walked out of his bedroom as he wrapped his scarf around his neck. He turned to look in his room and watched as Tsarina was spinning around on his gaming chair while Nebula was already half asleep under the futon's bedsheet.
"Alright you two, be ready by eight," Solus requested. Nebula and Tsarina made vaguely confirmative noises to Solus' request, with Nebula's being slurred and Tsarina's being mixed in with prolonged woahs. Solus sighed before closing his bedroom's sliding door.
Solus turned away from his room before he felt something fuzzy bump into his foot. Solus looked down at the football-sized ball of green fur with metallically silver tips. Solus picked up the furball. The furball wobbled a bit as Solus lifted it to his eye level. Solus stared at the ball of fur before Lola popped her head out of the ball of fur. Lola unravelled her two tails from her body, and she sat on top of Solus' palm.
"I hungy...," Lola mumbled tiredly. Solus sighed as Lola crawled down his arm and onto his head.
"Do you want a grilled cheese sandwich... again?" Solus asked. Lola happily nodded her head while she wagged her tails. Solus itched his face as he walked across the corner of the living room and straight into the kitchen. Solus pulled a cordless sandwich griller to the middle of the counter while using his telekinesis to float over eight slices of bread, a slab of ham, and shredded cheese.
"Is there anything else you'd like in the sandwich?" Solus asked. Lola peered around before pointing at the jar of honey with a red glow, labelled fire mana-infused lumoney, in the open hanging cabinet. Solus grabbed the jar before beginning to prepare four sandwiches. Lola watched Solus make the sandwiches with enamour in her eyes.
Solus opened the sandwich griller and placed each sandwich on the crystally groved panels made of red mana crystals. Solus lowered the top of the sandwich griller onto the sandwiches before the magnetic locks clicked into place. Solus pressed the gem on the sandwich griller's handle; the gem lit up, and the fire mana crystal panels lit up as the sandwich griller began to hum.
Lola flattened out on Solus' head as the aroma of the sandwiches filled the air and entered her nose. The duo resided by the toaster as its display counted down from eight minutes. Solus picked Lola up and placed her on the countertop opposite the one with the sandwich griller on.
"Let me know when it has one minute left," Solus requested. Lola nodded and eyed the sandwich toaster like a hawk. Solus walked over to the eight-slot toaster and began to prepare some toast as Lumina and Camellia (with Metsu sitting in Camellia's backpack) walked out from the hallway while wearing identical uniforms to Solus. Lumina huffed and slumped onto the arm of one of the sofas and groaned lazily.
"I can't believe he's still asleep! Lulu's schedule's gotten more sloppy after he lessened how many times he trains with Solus...," Lumina grumbled while kicking her feet against the side of the sofa.
"Well, I guess he's just taking advantage of the extra free time he gave himself," Camellia remarked in an upbeat tone as she walked behind the sofa Lumina was on and straightened its pillows. Lumina raised her head and mentally groaned before she hopped off the sofa.
"I guess you're right...," Lumina muttered as she heard a glass-clinking noise come from the glass-long coffee table in the middle of the living room. Lumina and Camellia looked down at the glass coffee table and saw two plates of buttered toast on the coffee table as a teal glow faded from the plates. Lumina sat on the carpeted floor and began eating the toast from one of the plates while angrily muttering between bites.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
A few minutes later, Solus put on his black winter boots as Lumina and Camellia also put their black winter books on. Lola and Kusana were peeking over the back of one of the sofas as they watched Solus and co getting ready to leave. Nebula and Tsarina exited from Solus' room in their casual clothes. They hurried over to Solus before grabbing Solus' respective hand which they had a spirit pact mark on.
"Seems everyone's ready... but...," Camellia asked cheerfully before glancing over at Lola and Kusana with a concerned look on her face. Rose and the other shrine spirits phased through the ceiling and floated before the group.
"Don't you worry just because Mr Zallino and Mr Zalmaru left yesterday, we and Master Luminous will be able to handle these two by ourselves," Rose cheerfully said as she swung her shrine-themed ringing bell from side to side. The front to the Sakamoto residence opened, and Luminous entered while carrying a bag of groceries, causing everyone to look at him. Luminous perplexedly blinked at the group while they looked at him with lost looks.
"I something the matter?" Luminous asked monotonously. Luminous' tone caused Tsarina to hide slightly behind Solus.
"Well, no wonder he didn't answer when you knocked on his door; he literally wasn't there," Camellia cheekily said as she nudged Lumina's arm while Lumina had a faint blush on her face. Lumina huffed before she picked up her backpack and hurried out of the house while muttering goodbye to Luminous. Camellia hurried after Lumina while Metsu waved goodbye to Luminous. Solus itched his head and looked down at his backpack only to see Nebula was already carrying it on her back.
"So, Solus, The stores I went to for groceries didn't have any...," Luminous said, before quickly checking the shopping list written on some torn paper.
"Cherry Tomatoes.".
"Makes sense, they're only sold by the shop near the academy; so, don't worry about it I can get them after school," Solus stated. Luminous nodded before bidding Solus, Nebula and Tsarina farewell. Solus bowed before he walked out of the house with Nebula and Starina walking ahead of him.
"Say... Solus," Luminous said coldly as he continued to face forward. Solus, Nebula and Tsarina stopped in their tracks as Luminous spoke.
"Is it normal for spirits to walk around on their own without a spirit partner?" Luminous asked sternly. Solus remained silent, causing Luminous to begrudgingly sigh.
"I see... so, I shouldn't have let her run off...," Luminous uttered sombrely before closing the front door behind him. Nebula and Tsarina looked at the ground with glum faces while Solus remained silent. Tsarina looked up at Solus before her glum expression shifted to a surprised one.
"I didn't know your eyes could do that!" Tsarina remarked. Nebula widened her eyes before she swung her head up to see Solus' murderous glare as his pupils narrowed to feline-like slits. Nebula frantically flailed her free hand in the air while making various funny noises to get Solus' attention.
Solus' right eye twitched in Nebula's direction before he closed both of his eyes. Solus breathed in through his nose for five seconds straight before breathing out through his mouth for five seconds straight; Solus opened his eyes again and they were back to normal.
"Sorry, Nebi," Solus uttered disapointedly. Nebula patted the back of Solus' right hand.
"It's alright... maybe we'll see her on our way to the academy...," Nebula said with an optimistic demeanour. Solus nodded while thanking Nebula for her kind words.
"You're right..., but if I ever find out who abandoned her...," Solus uttered under his breath before he shook his head.
"You'll what?" Tsarina asked.
"Best not to say, besides we better hurry Lumina and Camellia have already left the shrine grounds," Solus remarked. Nebula and Tsarina looked around and realised what Solus said was true. The two spirits tightened their grips on Solus before they sprinted at full speed while Solus lifted them slightly off the ground to stop them from actually going anywhere. Solus sighed as he began to walk at a reasonable pace towards the stairs which led off from the shrine grounds.