With the long and tedious work of cleaning the entire auditorium over, Shisuki separated from Stella, or well, she tried to. Stella continued to insistently pester Shisuki to explain about Ikki’s past.
“Shut it……Fatty.”
All Stella got was another curt insult about the lumps of fat on her chest that Shisuki glared at as if they were her enemy. Her rage building into a clenched fist, Stella was about to throw a punch.
“Alright, that’s enough.”
Cutting in between them out of nowhere, Amanda pulled Stella away before she could do anything, and Itsuki came to Shisuki’s side.
Shisuki offered a bow to Itsuki but realized mid step that she didn’t need to show such respect in this situation. There was no custom like that here in the Western Bloc. To her though, it had been quite a long time and it was a habit for her ever since her childhood, so old habits die hard.
She recalled Itsuki’s figure back then, and he really didn’t seem all that different now. Stern as she remembered, with that pair of blank black eyes that could stare into the distance for forever.
“Hey wait! Amanda! Hold on, at least let me ask one more time?” Stella tried to pull away from Amanda who held her by the arm.
“Hmph!” Shisuki scoffed audibly as she witnessed how this so called noble was acting. “You are as pig headed as a boar, but what else should I expect from a dressed up and overfed animal like you. Overindulging on your wealth, it sickens me.”
“What did you say!” Stella screamed and was moments away from manifesting her weapon again.
“Shisuki!” Itsuki said curtly, making her turn to him.
She believed he had something to say by how serious his tone was. In the next moment, her cheek was slapped firmly and heavily drawn down. Her head brought to the side, she now looked down to the ground and turned tepidly up to meet Itsuki’s gaze.
Hollow. She thought and knew it meant Itsuki was angered.
“Y-you shouldn’t do that Itsuki.” Amanda said, trying to stand up for the now stunned girl. Violence didn’t seem right in this situation, so she reached her hand to him. “You can’t just hit a---”
“Be quiet.”
Immediately shutting up with her hand freezing in the air, Amanda held her mouth close on reflex. Stella did as well, noticing with Amanda that Itsuki’s mood was obviously not all that great.
He stared up at Shisuki, whose eyes trembled in hesitation and perturbed fear.
“I believe I taught you a lesson in emotions. Have you forgotten what I taught you?”
“N-no, No I haven’t.” Shisuki said apologetically and looked to Stella. “You will have to excuse my recent words, I will be returning to the dorms, but I warn you Stella, don’t get involved with my brother. You’ll only make things worse.”
Without another word or even heeding any of Stella’s reactions, Shisuki turned away as Itsuki beckoned her to follow.
Stella was also beckoned by Amanda, who took her on a different path back to the dorms. It was obvious that both Itsuki and Amanda wanted to smooth things over, but going by how Amanda’s expression seemed furrowed, Stella guessed she had not been expecting Itsuki’s harsh reprimand.
“Do you think Shisuki’s alright?” Stella asked and Amanda shot her a look, wondering if she really cared. Pick up on that, Stella flushed .
“Well I, I-It’s not like I care about her wellbeing, I just worry that Shisuki’s mood would affect Ikki. If she’s hurt emotionally, there’s no telling how it will affect him.”
It was an obvious cover and Amanda saw through Stella. Humoring her, Amanda grinned.
“Oh, so you care about Ikki that much?”
“Of course I.. huh? No, I mean, I don’t really, well…”
Turned to a stuttering mess so quickly, Stella panicked as she tried to counter Amanda’s obvious teasing.
This is what Amanda really liked about Stella, she was gullible at times and somewhat naive to the world. While she wouldn’t call Stella dumb since she wasn’t that mean, she could say that Stella knew little about common social interaction and about foreign lands, unlike herself who was outgoing, talkative, and experienced all kinds of cultures.
But right now, Amanda still had no idea of how to understand what had just happened with Itsuki and Shisuki, it was also on Stella’s mind, so she turned the conversation to something else.
“Ahem! So? Do you know what that was earlier? I didn’t think Itsuki could get Shisuki to apologize, just what kind of relationship do they have?”
“Well.” Amanda recalled what she recently learned. “Apparently, Itsuki met Shisuki way back. He said he was 8 when he did and he was an explorer at the time. Going by how everything went down earlier, maybe they have a kind of mentor to mentee relationship?”
“A mentor huh? So that means, wait a moment? 8?” Stella sounded incredulous, an eight year old explorer seemed rare. “Doesn’t it take on average 5 years to get an explorer license? Was he lying?”
“I’m not sure.” Amanda didn’t know if Itsuki was messing with her. He didn’t seem like the type.
“Stella? Is 5 years normal in the European Bloc?”
“I believe.. Hmmm, I’m actually not sure, I only read about explorers but I don’t recall any age limit.” Stella thought back on how, at the first orientation, Professor Cyno brought to attention everyone’s difference.
There were people who were from all ages from about 10 to 30 years old, so an 8 year old explorer seemed plausible but extremely rare, rarer than her own S rank core affinity.
If Itsuki was an explorer at 8 years old then he must have started the academy at 3 years old, or had skipped a few grades, which seemed more impressive.
“Maybe there are exceptions?” Stella postured. “But really, even if he is, wow, 8 years old. I wonder what kind of hard life Itsuki led.”
Stella paralleled that thought to Ikki, and wondered just how much effort he had to go through to get to where he was, double for herself. Truly, there were people here in this academy who lived very extraordinary lives. Though, having manifested powers came with the territory, it seemed.
The hard work in Ikki’s swordsmanship was evident to Stella and his amount of effort was compounded by how his self-inflicted pain from his abilities showed that he had high mental and physical resilience.
What did it take? Take, to get here, to be able to beat an A ranker like herself. How much suffering did Ikki go through?
“Hey Stella, wanna grab a bite? My treat.” Amanda gave a pointed look to a shop that sold what looked like slices of fruity cakes.
Stella shook her head in denial . Contrary to her answer, her eyes wandered and her stomach then growled.
“Heh, I guess that’s a yes.”
Amanda giggled, and her conversation with Stella turned a bit uproarious as Stella pouted cutely. It was just so embarrassing for Stella to make such an ungirly sound, but a slice of free cake was enough to turn that frown upside down.
***[Meanwhile at the Dormitory]***
Still with that stern expression on his face, Itsuki lead Shisuki through the halls of the dorm. Shisuki had caught him up on the recent happenings for herself and they exchanged a few lukewarm conversations on the way here.
Tension was between them, but there was no hatred or any negative emotions. It was as if two business partners were conversing.
“So? The old sword maniac is still kicking after the war. Hmmm.” Itsuki shrugged and Shisuki denoted an irritated emotion from his simple movements. It was as if Itsuki had just been handed a troublesome issue and Shisuki could guess who was the source of said issue.
“I’m sorry my family and I caused you trouble.”
“No, it's fine. It’s my job to manage the students and enforce school policy. In any case, I’m more concerned about your family affairs.”
“Yes.” Nodded Shisuki and continued. “A few from the young generation have moved over to the Western Bloc to attend the academy here. It’s a concern for the older generation but the head of the organization has not taken action yet.”
Stolen story; please report.
“You’re talking about Ikki’s father, correct?”
“Yes, my father.” Shisuki frowned and remembered his name. “It still quite irks me to say his name, as well as yours.”
“Well, Itsuki is a common Japanese name. It was by coincidence that your father and I share it as a name. I won’t fault you for not calling me Itsuki, you can just address me in whatever you feel is comfortable.”
“Hmm, sure. Would “master” work?”
“Denied.” Itsuki said in a heartbeat, not giving it any possible chance of happening.
“But why? It’s the same address I gave you back then.”
“Still denied, I can’t have a student calling me master on school grounds. I don’t want to get slapped with an indecency notice.”
“Oh, well then I understand, how does “Teacher” sound?”
“It will do. Now, about before.” Itsuki stopped and turned to Shisuki, who tensed up like a student would in front of a reprimanding dean.
“Remember to not let yourself be controlled by your emotions. Do not let this happen again.”
“Yes, I remember.” Said Shisuki, a meditative countenance as she internally reviewed her actions. “Control my emotions to control my actions. Only by doing this can I be sure to attain victory.”
“Good.” Itsuki plainly congratulated. “We’re almost to your room, so come along. You came after everyone else moved in so we need to do a few things.”
They returned to walking through the hall and Itsuki bantered along the way.
“By the way, is there anything else you wish to ask me?”
“There is one matter I wish to ask about. When you and Ikki fought Stella and Amanda, did the wager for Stella to become Ikki’s servant apply to you and Amanda as well?”
“Yes, but it’s complicated. Ikki made a single request and that was all.”
“And what was that?”
“To be his roommate.” Said Itsuki, a hint of a smile for his friend's new companion.
“I see.” Shisuki dwelled on that piece of information, trying to figure out just what Stella wanted out of this, but what truly mattered was just how serious Stella was. If she was getting involved with her little brother, then Shisuki needed to know so that she could protect him.
“By the way, you didn’t answer my question. If that’s the case with Stella and Ikki, what about you and Amanda?”
“She’s currently working as my secretary in helping me manage the dorm. I’m also making her train with me from time to time.”
Shisuki let out a surprised, “Oh”.
“Are you grooming a successor?” She wondered if he really was since he had done so with her before. While he never said it outright back then, the signs were there.
Itsuki trained her when she was young and she believed that one day he expected her to take over his responsibilities here in the academy, yet, it never happened.
“No, this is more like a………side project of sorts. I want to see just how far she can go.”
“You sound interested in her, is she special to you?” Shisuki teased while poking one of his cheeks from behind.
Brushing her intrusive finger away, Itsuki shrugged.
“In a way, but not romantically.”
“Hmmm. Going by your tone teacher, I’m certain that you mean it.”
Itsuki gave a subtle nod and stopped in front of one of the dorm rooms. Knocking on the door, a voice inside called out to them.
“Yes? Who is it?”
“It’s the supervisor, I’ve come with your roommate, may we come in?”
“Ah! Yes. You can, hold on.”
After the turn of the door’s knob from the other side, Itsuki entered with Shisuki trailing behind him. Inside, they found the usual accommodation of the dorm room. A bunk bed built into the wall, a restroom, small kitchen, a couple desks, and accompanying chairs.
Standing to greet them was a tall boy who was almost six feet tall. He had a gentle smile with short black hair that almost went down to his brow, but he had combed it to the side.
Meeting Itsuki’s gaze, Richard Garcia's sky blue eyes greeted him and Shisuki with a calm gaze.
“It’s nice to meet you, my name is Richard Garcia. I hope to get along with you well.”
“As am I, Richard.” Shisuki said, tilting her head down just slight enough that it looked like an elegant bow. “I am Shisuki Kurogen, might I ask a question? It’s about your name.”
“Hmm, oh yes, if you are thinking about General Garcia from the war, then yes, I am related to him on his son’s side. I am his grandson in fact.”
“So you are the descendant of the Guardian of the West.” Itsuki said knowingly, rather than asking. Richard nonetheless confirmed and nodded as he cemented Itsuki’s statement to be correct.
“Here, please sit, both of you. I understand why you yourself came here. Going by how the new policy of boy-girl room sharing is going on, I’m guessing you are here to counsel us?”
“mhm, You are correct.” Itsuki said as he got seated between Shisuki and Richard, who sat across from each other on the low table.
“Usually, I would have Amanda do this, but she is currently busy at the moment. So bear with me if I’m not as adaptive as her with social type interactions.”
“It’s no issue, but what will we be talking about?” Richard asked.
“Just a rundown of rules and policies.”
“Such as?” Shisuki wondered.
“To start with, the curfew of 10pm is in effect at all times, the basic tenants and rules of a school boarding house will also apply, but the policy for interactions between students is somewhat less strict.”
Shisuki’s brows furrowed a bit since she didn’t like the sound of it.
Who knows just what kind of indecent things that rich and fat pig will do to my brother.
She kept her musings inside, thinking her thoughts would go unnoticed. Though, Itsuki furrowed a brow at her and made to alleviate her worries for good measure.
He went over the policies to ensure Shisuki didn’t blow a gasket or deepen the slight frown he could tell was on her lips.
Richard listened as well, a calm demeanor which seemed impressive to both Itsuki and Shisuki. He looked young and appeared well put together.
Likely from a good and affluent family? And quiet the calm one. Itsuki and Shisuki thought.
“Well, that concluded my explanation. You know where to find me and how to submit any complaints. Are there any questions?” Asked Itsuki.
“I have one, but it’s not related to the topic, would it be alright if you could humor me a bit?” Richard asked and Itsuki agreed, nodding. He wanted to know just what was tickling Richard’s calmness.
“I just have a question, a question about my grandfather. I know you might not have met him before, but could you tell me what you can?”
“Why me?” Itsuki was surprised. Why of all people would the grandson of the hero ask him? He was a grunt, that was all.
“Aren’t there other people, like your family, who you could ask?”
“That would be difficult.” Richard scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “My family somewhat keeps that information away from me.”
“Odd? By why?”
“They believe being an explorer is too dangerous. I can’t deny that since the war took grandfather. Currently, my relationship with my relatives is strained and they find my enrollment here as…disappointing.”
Richard’s tone was somber, he himself wanted to follow in his Grandfather’s footsteps yet now he was shunned for it, even though it was a noble endeavor in his opinion.
Itsuki looked as if he saw something in Richard, albeit Richard couldn’t tell that he did on account of how plain Itsuki’s reactions were.
“I could see why.” Said Itsuki, who heaved a sigh as if tired of his work at the end of the day. “Being an explorer takes much deliberation, but onto your grandfather and what I can tell you. You’re right, I have not directly met him, but I have met his subordinates who survived after the war.”
“You’re talking about the survivors of the final star depth exploration, right?” Shisuki asked, she was interested in learning about what Itsuki had experienced in the past. For her, you could always learn from those older than you.
“It is. The very people who helped finish the war. I trained under a few of them in my younger years in the European Bloc. From what they said and how I can interpret what they showed me, Richard, your grandfather died a hero.”
“He did, did he? What else do you know about him? What kind of person was he? How did he become such a good explorer?” Questions spilled from Richards’s lip and Itsuki was momentarily taken aback.
He sighed and continued bluntly.
“Hmmm, his friends labeled him as overly friendly and demanding, which I think spread to his subordinates since they act similar to how they talked about him. Concerning about how he was a good explorer, I think that’s a question only he would know. It’s my belief that every explorer has their own definition of being a “good” explorer.”
“Like what?”
“Well, I know three good examples. You have the explorers who want to help people, who are usually the naïve type. They’re not all bad but they can get arrogant at times. Then there are those who want to become explorers for money. Again, not all that bad but they can be greedy, obviously. Lastly, you have the ones with their own values that they live by every day. They’re a bit special since they range from all kinds of people. But what really matters from all that I’m saying is that what matters is your choice, and what role you choose to play as an explorer. Again, this is all my opinion. So take it with a grain of salt.”
Itsuki humbled his words. He wasn’t a prophet or some all-knowing god, he was him, a person with experience, an explorer of many years.
“Then what’s the most important role?” Asked Richard.
“I don’t know. You’re just going to have to figure that out on your own. But let’s get off this topic, did it answer your question about your grandfather?”
“It did.. well, ..somewhat.” Richard smiled, a bit of uncertainty in his heart. “But if you could, could you go over in detail what kind of things my grandfather’s subordinate said about him. I really don’t know much and would appreciate it if you could stay to talk for a bit more.”
Itsuki turned to Shisuki and she nodded. “Go ahead Teacher, I am actually curious as well. The stories and lessons you used to give me when I was younger were always so enjoyable.”
“Huh, well I think I have time.”
Itsuki checked his watch and saw it was approaching curfew. He didn’t have more work to do and thought sharing a few stories about Richard’s grandfather would help to gauge Richard himself.
“Why not.”
“Great!”
Richard seemed overjoyed. While he looked quiet and calm most of the time, he could really get chatty when he wanted to. The upturned shape of his smile was quite larger, larger than any of Itsuki’s hinting smiles. The last time he could remember doing that was over a decade ago.
Richard thought about the what Itsuki shared, he kept his smile up but still knew there was uncertainty in his mind.
Can I live up to the name? Can I really be an explorer? Just what kind of explorer am I?
[Dorm Room Corner Room - Shisuki and Richard Room]
Description: Looking out to the terracolony, Richard wondered if this place was really in a glass domed enclosure. There were mountains and he could still see the sun. But, while these were on his mind, they were in the back. At the front, he was thinking about his Grandfather.
What should I Do?
image [https://i.postimg.cc/HkcdK7dT/1697423912103.jpg]