The Elites usually sent a couple of their own to the cafeteria downstairs to buy their lunches. Unlike most other school cafeterias, this one made good food from the Yue homeland so it was very popular among the students.
The bell rang at one-thirty for the end of lunch, so the school began moving quickly again for the impeding fourth period bell. Students flowed out of classrooms and filled the halls with bodies and noise. The atrium with its lockers was always the most jam-packed area as the school transitioned between the morning and afternoon classes.
“I’ll see you guys after school.”
Kato waved the Elites goodbye as they left the 3-F classroom for their afternoon classes. Because afternoon classes were based on course selection, students did not move around with their homeroom classes. They only needed to go to the classroom they were assigned to in their schedules, and took the class with other students that chose that course. The purpose was to familiarize students with systems in post-secondary institutions.
He stayed behind because there was a tiny thing he wanted to investigate in his classroom before it got filled up by students for the afternoon course taking place in his homeroom. While he was moving in and out of the classroom during lunch, he noticed a very peculiar sensation near the door that he couldn’t put his finger on, so he decided to give it a search now.
Kato understood that the sensation was related to something alchemical. As a deity and a Hearts candidate, if weaponized alchemy was not his specialty, then at least having a thorough understanding of alchemy was a must. Without becoming an expert in alchemy, it was not possible for him or his sisters to fight those who do specialize in alchemy.
Alchemy in Korolev Senior was not uncommon; in fact, it had two large lab rooms dedicated to this subject, and a huge, usually invisible barrier enveloped the school’s territory to protect it from unwanted entry by enemies of Eternia.
As a secondary function, it was also used as a mechanism to create a sandbox area for the purposes of the Class Wars, so that the physical brawl between the classes result in no real injuries. When a Class War occurs, the barrier activates and turns rainbow-coloured. The school headmistress Eterna, as a master of alchemy, maintained the functions of the barrier.
Within the barrier, regardless of it being activated or in passive mode, those who wore cleanse tags, which were bandage-like strips that students wore on their wrists all day at school, were protected from physical injury. Only the wearers of the cleanse tags in the offending classes could participate in the war. While the barrier was activated, those inside the barrier without cleanse tags too were protected by Eterna’s magic that permeated through the barrier, including those who have taken off their cleanse tags, involuntarily or not.
This particular case, however, had nothing to do with the Class Wars or the cleanse tag that was wrapped tightly around his left wrist, which was why he thought it was peculiar. Kato inhaled deeply as he stood next to the door, using his extrasensory perception to read the flow of magic in the small area around him.
It wasn’t hard to locate the source as it was stationary and was different from the kind of magic that Eterna used.
Kato reached his arm around and behind the trash bin next to him and grabbed the small object that was emanating the pale, muted aura of magic that he sensed. When he took it out and had a look at it, he realized what it was. He leapt to his feet and put it away inside his schoolbag, and then left the classroom in haste.
“I dunno if that was lucky or unlucky.”
Kato murmured under his breath. The type of alchemy that that peculiar alchemical sensation was associated with was already surprising enough, but the owner of the object was equally perplexing. If it were Teto or Evie who found this, they wouldn’t be well versed enough in alchemy as Kato to recognize this much out of the magical scent.
“Hey, Kato!”
Only moments after he left his classroom, he was stopped by a beautiful voice, soft in nature but sharp in use. Though it sounded ninety-nine per cent like Mirabelle, it wasn’t her. By now, Kato had been around her enough to tell the difference.
“Bia? What is it?”
It was Bianca, Mirabelle’s identical twin within the Jupiter quadruplets. Their other two sisters, Ariel and Scarlett, were not identical and had very different physiques, but were still more than attractive enough to be popular in their school, which was a decisive factor in winning Mirabelle’s student council presidency.
“Hmm, where are the other idiots? You’re the only one left?”
Bianca’s messy black hair bounced in the air with her haughty attitude as she walked closer towards him. The bangs that hung in front of and around her face were impressive, while the rest of her hair were tied in a loose low bun. Her face was almost exactly the same as Mirabelle’s, the difference only discernible by those close to the two.
“Yeah, I’m the only idiot left of the Elites. Are you looking for Eon?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? I–I don’t want or need to see that retard in full retard mode.”
Bianca immediately turned red and stumbled a bit in her speech when Eon was mentioned, to which Kato snickered amusedly. To say the least, the two of them had a very long-standing belligerent relationship. To an outsider it was hard to know if they were actually friends, but if they could put up with each other’s argumentative tendencies for all these years, there must be something special between them.
The language she used was very different from her twin sister, who was much more prim and proper. It might have been the result of the years of rivalry with Eon.
“Believe me, sometimes I can’t stand his full retard mode either. But that’s okay. That’s what makes him Eon.”
“And being an Eon gets me on my nerves. It hasn’t changed since we were children. Can’t he just chill the fuck down when he should?”
Bianca was not one to remain flustered for long and already hurled complaints at Eon’s best friend.
“Heh. The day he mellows out is probably the day he dies.”
“So never. I expect that. Anyway, these are what I need to give you.”
Bianca handed him five large slips of hard paper that turned out to be tickets.
“This is the payment for covering for Mira this morning, I’ve been told. Even if ye complain, I ain’t got nuthin’ else for ya.”
The garbling of syllables of Old Yue at the end there was something that he would never hear from Mirabelle herself, but sounded very unique and fascinating all the same from someone who had Mirabelle’s voice.
“Nah. No complaints. Sisi’s too?”
“Ye. Ms Romana’s going with us too. It’ll be a family-friendly day at the Bozz.”
The Bozz was a major theme park in Livia. On top of the regular attractions, it also hosted the biggest water park and aquarium, making it a favourite destination for both family and friends. This weekend Sunday, the Elites and the Jupiter sisters were going to the Bozz before all the priorities of school set in. There wasn’t a choice on the day, really, since school was six days a week.
“Speaking of this, where’s Mira? She said all of you were gone together, so I’m assuming that she also came back with you.”
“No, she’s not back yet. Unfortunately, something came up and she got more things to do, so she’s not going to come to school this week. I’ll be taking over as the Speaker of the Assembly today.”
This year, the student council president was simultaneously the Speaker of the Assembly. Since Bianca was the student council treasurer and therefore Mirabelle’s second in command, her absence meant that her duties fell on her twin sister.
“A convention of the Assembly, eh? It means I’ll miss fifth period and it’ll continue from three-ten to five-forty, holy moly.”
“And I had to pick up from where the two of you left off yesterday, but it’s all right now. I’ve got it down good.”
“Sounds good. But if Mira’s not going to be here for the rest of the week, will she show up for the Bozz?”
“Of course. That’s the one thing she won’t miss. If you haven’t figured it out yet, she can miss classes all year and still score highest in our class.”
“Oh yeah, I’ve figured out that part a long time ago. That’s why I’m not worried about her absence.”
Bianca mused for a short moment. She was suddenly upset with something.
“Hmm, that reaction is within expectations but still kinda... strange.”
Kato pocketed the tickets that were meant for him and his family.
“How so?”
“You’re not interested in what Mira’s been doing?”
“I am, but she wouldn’t tell me, so I left it at that. I would think that you’re not going to tell me either.”
“No, I’m not.”
She smiled brightly at that reply, suddenly the difficult expression cleared from her face.
“But why the long face initially?”
It was now Kato’s turn to question her on why she questioned him.
“I was just a bit disappointed in your reaction. Not that I don’t understand your situation though. Being destined to become a Heart is a difficult and unenviable position.”
Bianca gave an honest answer and shook her head coolly as she started to turn around to make her way to her class.
“At least for you, Bia, you have it a lot better, I’d imagine.”
He, too, slung his schoolbag over his shoulder to make his way in the opposite direction, towards the physics room that was only next door to his own homeroom.
Bianca felt a familiar constricting feeling in her chest and wanted to say something else, but she stopped herself there.
“Perhaps. To each their own problems.”
He didn’t miss the faint sadness in her voice, and he knew exactly what it was about. Between the two of them was a history that, if possible, could be carried with them to their graves.
Though many things were different from her twin sister, the way Bianca made her parting smile was one of the few things that remained the same. It was the same vague yet innocent expression of happiness that seemed to mask her true emotions underneath.
----------------------------------------
“Yo. Is anyone sitting here?”
“No. Nobody sits with me.”
“Then I’ll sit here with you.”
Fourth period had not begun yet, but Alice was already looking listless. They sat at the back of a big classroom with probably more than forty-five students, yet when Kato approached Alice, her counter had no one else sitting at its tall stools. For whatever reason, people gave her a wide berth.
She was definitely distracted about something, and Kato had a feeling he knew what it was and it looked like it was something troublesome.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
Alice remained unresponsive to the outside world. The frown on her face reflected her dreary mood so clearly with no effort at hiding it. However, it was less of frustration that Kato expected, and more of sorrow and regret that she wore.
“Okay. I’ll sulk together with you.”
The bell rang for fourth period, but their teacher had not showed up yet, so the students around them continued their chatter without pause. The combination of the siren-like noise and the bizarre quip snapped Alice out of her stupor and brought her back to the physics classroom.
“What do you mean, sulk together with me?”
“You look like someone who wants to destroy the world at this very moment.”
Kato said plainly to her. She relented as her hard expression softened quite a bit.
“Did I have a really scary face?”
“Yes, you did.”
“Ugh. I hate how my face is so easy to read.”
“It’s still there, buddy. It’s okay to let it loose.”
“Sorry about that. I’m pretty upset right now.”
“Heh, I could tell. Do you want to tell me why?”
“How about you go first this time? Why are you sulking with me too?”
Alice was a fast learner. She was starting to deflect the inquisitive questions from Kato back to him.
“Nothing much. I’m just a bit disappointed that going to the Bozz is still five days away.”
Kato, on the other hand, gave a reply that gave away the least as possible, unlike Alice’s tendency to be honest pretty quickly.
“The Bozz? The theme park?”
“Yes. This Sunday.”
“With your friends?”
“Most definitely.”
“Sounds nice. It’s probably the best time of the year to go too, since everyone is back in school now.”
“That’s exactly why we go at the start of school.”
Alice nodded quietly as the teacher, Mr Kiriaku, finally appeared, which led to the immediate quietening of the class. Kato made a dissatisfied ‘tch’ noise and pulled out his notebooks from his bag, a bit annoyed that Alice had the last say before class started, to which her mood lit up ever so slightly.
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She, too, opened her notebooks to write as Mr Kiriaku immediately began his lecture in earnest. The natural sciences of physics, chemistry, and biology were taught as separate classes and each had their own lab rooms such as this one. Alchemy was also a science but instead of being categorized as a natural science, it was a metaphysical science, as a nod to the agency of sentience as one of its fundamental axioms.
Shifting on her stool as she spared momentary glances at him, she was surprised at Kato’s diligence at listening to the lecture since her image of him wasn’t exactly one of a good student. Indeed, he did pay thorough attention to the lecture, but only because he was interested in the subject.
However, the differences in the state of their work spaces were stark. Alice’s was very neat and tidy, while Kato’s had a lot left to be desired. Kato was still the tidiest of the three deific children, but some of their insolence affected Kato too.
Some time into the lecture, she took a pause in the note-taking to dig out her own cassette tape player from her schoolbag. Usually, there were about fifteen minutes left of the hour-and-a-half period where there was time for a bit of self-study, which usually devolved into a question-answer session for the lecturer. As Alice wouldn’t be asking any questions and diverting attention to herself, she would take the time to start on her assignments in peace.
Not too long after she took it out, she felt Kato tap her foot with his. Incredulous, she turned to him suspiciously only to be stopped by a note being passed to her on top of her notes.
Who do you listen to?
Letting out a small sigh, she wrote her reply on the back of the note. Her handwriting was beautiful and refined, and it was also in Old Yue. She also tapped him on the foot and placed the note next to his arm.
I listen to EC.
EC was the stage name for a famous male singer from Livia. He was very popular in recent years as he essentially replaced the previous generation of male pop stars.
Nice. I’m a big fanboy of his too.
The game of footsie continued as a new note was passed to Alice, who realized this by now and was embarrassed by the fact that they were playing such a stupid game, but for some reason she didn’t have the usual urge to blurt out something to stop it.
Which albums do you like to listen to?
Another note landed on top of her notebook. A simple question, but she took her time to write the answer. Her mind already disconnected from the physics lecture, the pen hovered over the back of the note for a while before she wrote a reply.
U87 and H3M are my favourite. What about yours?
Kato beamed at her as he read it, to which she avoided eye contact stiffly, still uncomfortable as a prideful princess who couldn’t take compliments.
Hah. Both are modern albums with grown-up themes, but still filled with youthful hope. I like. It suits you.
He folded the first note before writing on the second, and then handing them both over to her together.
My favourite is My Age of Bliss. Have you listened to it before?
No. Isn’t it an old album?
Yes, this album is quite a bit older, but it’s still good.
Kato rummaged through his schoolbag to pull out a cassette tape. He handed it over to her and wrote again on another slip of paper.
You can hand it back to me later.
He gave her a quick wink before he turned his attention back to the front of the class while Alice turned a bit pink at the audacity in his parting glance. She was already behind on the lecture, so she might as well listen to part of the album as she tried to catch up from reading the textbook instead. She replaced the U87 tape in her player, rewound Kato’s tape to the start, and began listening to it.
----------------------------------------
When the day’s lecture was over, there were the usual fifteen minutes left in the period for self-study, and Alice was satisfied that she was able to catch up to the lecture with just the textbook. The class began to move up and about as the free time set in, but she ignored the bustling around her and kept the earphones in.
It seemed like Kato was doing the same, now having his earphones in his ears too. The tranquil atmosphere around them persisted and Alice felt mysteriously at ease. She caught herself staring at Kato’s peaceful figure before she pinched her pink cheeks quickly and promptly dove into the assignment in front of her.
But she couldn’t concentrate. Her mind was still lingering on Kato as his favourite songs played along. Instead of getting a head-start with the homework, she instead wanted to reach out to talk to him.
Why?
She questioned herself when she realized what she was thinking about. There was no particular reason that came up in her mind, and just commenting on the album could wait until the bell, so why the urge? Alice ruminated for a while as the worksheet in front of her remained blank.
Before she was able to start writing, an inconvenient disturbance appeared before her. She looked up to confirm its presence, and sighed.
“Alice. How are you doing?”
An innocent greeting came from the tall and handsome third-year in front of them. His voice was deep and soothing, which complemented his calm and serene demeanour. His shirt and tie were thoroughly ironed with no extraneous folds, and it wrapped his toned build quite nicely.
Behind him was another familiar young man, one with a much less tidy outfit and an imposing and dangerous aura. Though he was not nearly as tall or toned as his boss, it was easy to see that the shorter man was a nasty piece of work.
“I’m doing fine, thanks. What do you need, Gilbert?”
Alice’s words were coloured with several shades of her customary abrasiveness. It wasn’t hard to see that the handsome Gilbert wasn’t welcomed here. Although she was normally rough with her tone, this time it sounded like the roots of her displeasure was much deeper, way more than what she gave strangers.
Gilbert could sense the hostility too, but his expression didn’t change. He idly twirled with his wavy black hair instead, knowing that Alice would give him a hard time, but he would have to get this conversation over with anyway.
“Alice. Father is hosting dinner this weekend, and your brother Albert is already invited. So it would be great if you would attend as well.”
“I already know.”
“Then has Albert invited you already? My apologies if he already did.”
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter whether you or by brother does it. What’s the point of me having to go? I don’t have anything to contribute to either businesses.”
“You already know why. It’s an expression of trust.”
“Trust? I trust any of you as much as I trust that little green men live on Mars. I’m fully aware that I’m a political pawn in your games, but I won’t play it unless it is absolutely necessary. So tell me. Is this occasion so important that everything falls apart if I don’t show up?”
Despite being so scathing towards Gilbert, he did not blink. Nothing flickered across his face during the entire tirade. Instead, he gave a very cool and realistic reply.
“No, but it’ll be more beneficial to you if you did. If you don’t show up, people around us are going to talk. And it probably won’t be favourable for you.”
Exasperated, Alice gave a grimace as she lost her motivation to continue complaining. She always hated Gilbert’s responses. They were always fair, neutral, and impossible to refute. Alice knew that his suggestions were almost always right, but that was not what she wanted to hear in her moments of frustration.
“Fine. I’ll think about it.”
She gave a curt and rigid answer. Obviously, to her, this conversation was over.
“So you haven’t given an RSVP yet. Then please, at least, give me a yes or no by the morning of.”
“I will.”
Gilbert bowed politely to the troublesome princess, satisfied that his official business here was done. He gave a thin smile to the blonde-haired girl who already began ignoring him and writing on the worksheet in front of her.
“May I ask who is this gentleman sitting next to you? Or rather, why is this gentleman sitting here?”
Kato, of course, was sitting next to Alice the entire time listening to the conversation. He kept quiet and seemed to have minded his own business, but as soon as the two imposing men arrived he paused his walkman and pretended to continue listening to music.
Alice looked to Kato expectantly, but he continued to put on a charade since he was not yet being directly addressed. After a few more moments of silence, her face slowly turned red as she realized that he was not going to respond and that she was making the atmosphere around them awkward. The struggle on her face was more apparent with each passing second, as it was just as awkward to start speaking after not initially responding.
Seeing her on the comical verge of tears, though Kato knew why she was fuming, he stifled a laugh in plain sight anyway, which provoked Alice’s wrath. Her childlike frustration suddenly turned emotionless and she pinched him hard on his arm, to which he reacted with a sudden twinge and retreated away from her.
“Ow. That tickles.”
Kato made a delayed and lazy grunt, clearly trying to not sound like it hurt, which it didn’t. Still, he ignored the black-haired boys in front of him, only giving his attention to the girl beside him.
“God, you’re such an ass.”
Alice flamed at him in his face, angry that he was still not helping her whatsoever in her conversation with Gilbert.
“No, I don’t know him.”
She finally gave an answer to Gilbert, which was obviously a throwaway answer that Gilbert would never accept. So he made his next point very clearly.
“I beg to differ; not only from the reaction just now, but also from playing footsie in class and passing notes to each other. So, why’s the class representative of 3-F sitting next to a student of Class A?”
“Give me a break. You’re not only here about the politics at home, but at school too? Please. Don’t talk to me.”
Stung from the embarrassment that someone else found out they were flirting in class, her latest poisonous comment was more muted than her previous ones. Even worse, Kato continued to ignore Gilbert’s presence.
“It’s a matter of duty. After all, Class A has a casus belli on Class F that can be used any time.”
Alice scowled at yet another one of Gilbert’s matter-of-factly replies.
“Like I told you many times before, I don’t have any investment in the Class Wars you guys have. If you have a problem with him and his class, then take it out on them. Don’t involve me.”
Gilbert’s expression finally loosened a bit and sighed helplessly.
“I’m just worried that you will get caught in the middle of such a conflict.”
Alice’s eyes softened. Talking to Gilbert was like talking to a brick wall. In a different, so-called normal world, Gilbert and Alice would have never spoken more than a few sentences to each other their whole lives. So she never blamed him for anything despite her fits of anger. To her, Gilbert, as the person he was, was just at the wrong place and the wrong time.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Gil. I do everything for myself.”
“Then I’ll put my faith into your words. That you’ll do everything for yourself.”
“Thanks.”
“But what was that footsie about?”
Alice perched up from her seat again. She deflected it the first time, but she didn’t expect the second reminder. Then again, Gilbert was a serious kind of person, so perhaps it should have been expected. She felt the uncomfortable heat on her back and the sweat on her face as she replied carefully.
“Nothing. Kato was just being a bothersome person.”
“Wow. Is that how you treat your friends?”
Kato reacted to her with a grin. Alice was now convinced that Kato only replied to things she was saying and ignored Gilbert just to mess around with her. The footsie thing clearly involved him but he never helped out, so it was obvious he wanted to watch her squirm.
“That’s the last thing I want to hear from you, because I want to tell you the same thing.”
Her face turned dark for the second time in a matter of minutes. The dead fish eyes reminiscent of Evie drilled her dissatisfaction into Kato’s, but it didn’t seem to have the same effect on him as Evie’s. Nevertheless, she twisted a piece of his flesh hard once again on the arm, and the same twitch and stupid response came.
“Ow. That tickled.”
Gilbert remained silent at the two flirting in front of him. He was saddened by the scene but the emotion barely showed on his face. His lackey behind him, however, made a difficult face and was clearly upset. He opened his mouth, about to protest, but Gilbert waved at him to stop him.
“Stephen. It’s not my prerogative.”
“But, Gilbert. He’s obviously making a mockery of your and Miss Alice’s—”
“Enough. Even so, it doesn’t change anything that’s already decided.”
Gilbert didn’t want to interrupt, but he had to cool down his hot-headed sidekick. He spared a glance at Alice, who was evidently dismayed by the implication in his words.
“You’re right. It doesn’t change anything. But it doesn’t change me either.”
Alice said indifferently, more to herself than anyone else. Gilbert nodded soberly as he began addressing the Class F student directly.
“As for Mr Danubius, I must congratulate you on your successful Class War last week. No doubt, your war was just and your methods clean and effective.”
After all of this, Kato finally turned to Gilbert to make eye contact. The black eyes he saw were muted and colourless; it was not the same kind of deadness that was present in Evie’s and Alice’s moments of jealously or anger. Instead, it seemed like it belonged to a man who fought too many battles and saw too many comrades die, and had lost faith in the world around him.
“Thank you, Mr Lafayette. Or Mr Class A Representative. Which do you prefer?”
“Gilbert is fine.”
“Then Kato is fine for me, too.”
Kato could see why Alice gets frustrated talking to this guy. He was way too strict and rigid for a delicate personality as Alice’s. The word ‘plain’ matched this guy to a tee. Kato had had interactions with Gilbert on-and-off in the past as he was a famous enough person in his year, and he could see that this particular trait of Gilbert’s had not changed.
But it wasn’t as if Gilbert was stupid. He was certainly a smart person. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been the class representative for Class A. He was just severely lacking in the charisma department.
“I’ll be taking my leave here. Thank you for bearing with me.”
And just like that, Gilbert and Stephen left the two of them for the door, most likely going toward the Assembly Hall, which was a large auditorium that belonged to the music faculty but also used for convening the Assembly.
The abrupt exit by the two Class A students left an awed audience of two at their table, who both were briefly speechless at their conversation just now, for different reasons.
“Well, that was tense.”
Kato spoke first. He put his walkman away into his bag in preparation for departure for the Assembly Hall too. After all, he was the representative for Class F, albeit one for a low-ranking class.
“What’s your relation to Gilbert? That conversation between the two of you didn’t sound very friendly.”
He asked her seriously, the tone now much different from earlier. The grin was gone and his face much more sober. Kato avoided eye contact, instead spinning the pencil in his hand idly.
Alice noticed the change and her answer got stuck in her throat. She was about to say something poisonous to him, but Kato killed the mood for that kind of response. She debated internally with herself how much she could tell him.
“...you heard us, right? Our families are related in one way or another, and it’s something I don’t like.”
Alice worded her eventual answer carefully, all the while thinking to herself about her relationship with Gilbert and their families. It brought a melancholic expression to her face as her mind wandered away from the classroom.
“Hah. Family problems, huh? I’ll bite.”
Kato said more to himself than Alice, who for the first time heard him in genuine frustration. The surprise pulled her out of her stupor and turned to see his face. He was upset, all right, but it felt like it wasn’t exactly about her.
“What’s wrong?”
Alice asked hesitantly, but unfortunately the bell rang for the end of fourth period, cutting off their conversation.
Kato realized that time was short, so he quickly searched his schoolbag and pulled out a small pendant, one made of a shard of Plexiglas. It was definitely not well-made or pretty. In fact, it looked like someone broke apart something into pieces and turned one of its fragments into memorabilia.
“I believe this is yours.”
He held it in front of her, to which her eyes widened in shock. From that reaction, it undoubtedly belonged to her. Kato laid the small and light pendant into her open hands.
“Yes, that’s mine. Where did it fall off?”
Her voice was soft and trembled with relief, in contrast to her usual edge. She clutched onto it gingerly yet firmly, showing the importance of the pendant to her.
“In our classroom. From the looks of it, I was right to pick it up, but I only found it because this thing was an alchemical anomaly. Will you tell me what that’s about?”
Alice hesitated at Kato’s question, and looked up to see anxiety and seriousness on his face. Although she had only met him today, it felt like he was no stranger to her. And that was why she was able to speak as freely to him as she did to Mirabelle and Evie.
“I don’t really know what the specific alchemy stuff is about, but this fragment was part of an old alchemical experiment from long ago that involved a very good friend of mine. So it’s a relic of my past, so to speak.”
She said gently as he nodded sombrely. Though only knowing her for less than a day, he understood that Alice was an honest enough girl for him to believe in at face value. He accepted her tentative explanation, and moved on from it for now. There was probably a better place and time for it later.
“Then as your benefactor, I’ll have you do something for me in return.”
His usual mood returning, Kato grinned again to her bemusement. He dug into his schoolbag again to fetch out something else and handed it to her.
“You’re coming with me to the Bozz. I know you have something else planned that day from the looks of things, but if you don’t go, you’re gonna owe me something else for finding that for you.”
“—!”
Alice paused as she turned scarlet again, colouring her porcelain cheeks beautifully with a deep hue of pink. She held onto the slip of paper, dumbstruck by the sudden invitation. Her mind entered yet another imaginative session as she remained momentarily wordless to her benefactor.
“Remember that Evie and Mirabelle are coming too, so you don’t need to only endure my presence.”
Then Kato brought her back to ground zero. She turned disappointed upon hearing that, as if something clicked in her head and now she fully understood the situation.
Like a snarky kid, he snickered at Alice’s clumsiness and misunderstanding, to which Alice immediately realized that what she was imagining, was a bit too obvious from her face. It wasn’t hard now, putting one and one together.
“Wait, I—”
“Ah, it’s all right. It’s a common misunderstanding.”
“No! I didn’t misunderstand anything!”
“It’s okay. You just forgot about that part about other people coming along.”
“I don’t care! You’ve got it wrong!”
Alice stumbled as she tried to explain herself to no avail. Kato was already laughing out loud as he made his way to the door, and left her to quickly grab her belongings and frantically chase after him. Surprisingly to Alice, some time between Gilbert’s arrival and now, Kato had already silently packed up his belongings.
“Nope, I know exactly what I’m doing!”
He stood at the entrance, waiting for the slow girl to catch up.
“You’re. Such. A. Jerk.”
A bit upset, she gave him a light shove with her shoulder and went ahead of him. She had classes for fifth period, but the class representative of Class F needed to attend the first convention of the Assembly instead. Also, they didn’t have the same fifth period classes either, so they were splitting up either way.
Thinking about separating and moving on to her next class, she finally remembered, and she was shocked at how she had forgotten about it until now. Perhaps the loss of her pendant shook her frame of mind, but more than that, Kato certainly distracted from her usual pace.
“Is Mira back in school? I couldn’t find her at lunch.”
“Ah, Mira. Apparently, she’s gone off to do something else for the rest of this week. That’s what her sister said.”
Suddenly, his attitude softened up once again. Because of the abrupt change, Alice picked up on the tenderness in his voice, and became even more interested in what was between Kato and Mirabelle.
“I see. That’s too bad.”
Though she was curious about their relationship, Alice was nevertheless sad that she couldn’t see another good friend of hers.
“Chin up. If you decide to come to the Bozz, you’ll see her there. Ten o’clock sharp.”
He actually pushed her chin up, to which she brushed away with the back of her hand, annoyed. Kato chuckled at her displeasure.
“I’ll think about it.”
“The correct answer is yes, by the way.”
Alice gave him a ‘tch’ to make her indignation clear to him, but did not say any further.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess.”
Kato laughed and waved farewell. The corollary was that she allowed him to continue sitting next to her in this class.
As they began parting ways, Alice stopped and called out to him again.
“Kato!”
“Yeah?”
“... thank you. For finding my pendant.”
Alice bowed at Kato, who was already several paces’ distance away from her. An earnest smile formed on Alice’s face, and he was reminded that between her short temper and pessimism, a kind girl existed there.
“You’re very welcome.”