Principal’s Office
Kireina was sitting on a chair behind a large wooden office table, she wore a black pencil skirt, opaque stockings, a pure white office blouse that emphasized her figure and clung to her large chest. She placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on the palm of her hand. Kireina turned her head to the side as the window opened, she said. “Reiki… There’s a front entrance.” A white streak suddenly went in the window as an albino crow appeared in the center of the table, she thought. That’s new. Reiki appeared in the window frame, he said. “My way is faster.”
He made his way inside the room and closed the window he went in. Kireina’s brows furrowed as she stared at the boy, she said. “How’d you get up here?” Reiki gave her an odd look and said. “Using magic.” Kireina’s eyes slightly narrowed, she thought. I’ve never seen that kind of teleportation spell… Even over there… Reiki made his way to the table as he stood across her, he said. “How’d you like the equipment I got from the elves? I think I deserve an extension on my school leave if I do say so myself.”
He gently scratched the bottom of Cherry’s beak which made her let out a soft caw. Kireina rolled her eyes at him and said. “... We can extend your leave for a few days at most.” Reiki shrugged his shoulders, he said. “I’ll take it.” He glanced around the office and thought. Not like I’m going to attend any of the lessons. Kireina stared at him for a couple of seconds and said. “And you have to show your face at least once a week.” Reiki crossed his arms as he kept a straight face, he said. “Do I have to? I’d prefer it if I learned magic from elves instead.”
Kireina straightened her posture on the seat to make herself more intimidating, she said. “A student’s duty is to-.” Reiki uncrossed his arms and lazily waved his hand at her and said. “Is to learn, but I have a better environment to learn from. You’d have to be either desperate or scraping the bottom of the barrel to learn from this kind of school.” Kireina’s lips curved into a slight frown as she stared at him. Reiki let out a chuckle and said. “That’s right you heard.”
The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, Kireina thought. Wasn’t their culture all about being polite? What’s with his attitude? Cherry flapped her wings and let out a caw. Reiki gestured at the albino crow and said. “See, even Cherry agrees with me.” Kireina had a hint of confusion on her expression while Reiki continued. “Kireina, Cherry. Cherry, Kireina.” Cherry was staring at Kireina using her blood-red eye as she flapped her wings and let out a caw. The confusion on Kireina’s expression became more prominent, Reiki continued. “She’s a smart crow, she can understand what you say.”
Kireina stared at the white crow as she observed it from top to bottom, she thought. … That’s not his familiar… Her eyes slightly squinted as Cherry stared at her while Reiki glanced at the door and said. “Your little sister has a bad habit of eavesdropping in conversations.” Kireina moved her gaze onto him, she said. “What?” Reiki pointed at the door as the doorknob slowly turned revealing Sutekina wearing a black pencil skirt, a black blazer with a white blouse underneath it, and opaque stockings. Sutekina maintained a neutral expression and said. “I was waiting for the right moment to walk in.”
Her eyes wandered onto the albino crow on the desk and thought. Oh great, he brought someone else’s familiar with him. She closed the door behind him and made her way to the side where her older sister was sitting and stood next to Kireina. Reiki nodded at her and said. “Nice meeting you again Sutekina.” Sutekina just stared at him for a couple of seconds, she said. “... Likewise…” She maintained her indifferent expression and said. “It’s too bad you weren’t riddled with arrows by being too close to elven territory.”
Kireina’s pupils faintly glowed as she glanced at her younger twin and sternly said. “Sutekina.” Sutekina turned her head to the side to stare at a fake plant on the side of the room. Kireina let out a sigh as she stopped resting her chin on the palm of her hand, she almost hit Cherry with the back of her hand and said. “Since you’re already here… how about you stay for a while as we get to know each other?” She put on the best friendly smile she could muster and waved her hand as a couch appeared behind him.
Reiki sat down on it as Cherry turned into a streak of light and appeared on his right shoulder, he said. “You two are from the mainland.” He faintly saw the two girls tense up, he thought. That’s quite the reaction. The twins glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes, Sutekina squinted her eyes as she tried to look for the smallest reaction from him. Kireina tried her best to maintain a calm expression, she said. “... How much do you know of the mainland?...” Reiki raised a brow at her and said. “Not a single thing, other than the fact there's supposed to be strong people there.”
The atmosphere around the two relaxed, Reiki thought. Okay… Is the mainland that bad? Arashi made it sound like it was her playground… He made himself comfortable on the couch as Cherry turned into a streak of light and appeared on the right armrest. Reiki said. “Your turn.” Kireina stared at him with a piercing gaze, she said. “... Can you tell me something about your parents?...” The two of them stared at him, Reiki said. “Which one?” He noticed them freeze in place and continued. “My failure of a father who left us in debt? Or my mother who claimed she went away to make money?”
Kireina let out a long sigh and said. “... Next question…” Reiki stared at the two girls and thought. Why am I being evaluated? He said. “Family name?” Sutekina squinted her eyes as she stared at him, she said. “... We used to have one.” Reiki moved his gaze onto Cherry who was making herself comfortable on the armrest of the couch. He said. “Used to? So not only did you two get exiled your former family took back their name?” Sutekina’s pupils faintly glowed, she said. “They left us long ago before we were exiled.”
Reiki started to untie his sports shoes and said. “And here I thought I had parental issues.” He laid down on the couch and made himself comfortable while the corner of Kireina’s eye twitched, she said. “People usually make fun of us after hearing that.” She thought. Who lays down during a conversation? From the corner of her eye, she saw her younger twin trying her best to not punch him out of the room. Reiki slightly turned his head to the side and said. “Yet, you two decided to be smart and grit your teeth. Guess you already have more or less of a plan for revenge.”
The twins' eyes simultaneously widened as they stared at him with wide eyes, Sutekina said. “Aren’t you supposed to tell us about the value of life?” Reiki let out a cold chuckle and said. “Do I look like a priest to you?” Kireina thought for a moment as she pursed her lips, she said. “Not even going to tell an officer?” Reiki started laughing as he smacked the couch he was lying down on a couple of times which made Cherry turn into a streak of white and appear on the top of the backrest of the couch.
He wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes and said. “That, that’s a good joke…” The twins had awkward expressions all over their faces as they listened to him. Reiki’s eyes turned somewhat hollow as he let out a sigh and continued. “The only good thing cops are good for in my experience is accepting bribes.” The corner of his mouth was curled into a smile as he stared at the ceiling, Kireina cleared her throat and said. “Then what about righteous officers who only care about upholding the law?”
Reiki’s eyes were covered by his unkempt and scraggly hair while he had a simple smile on his face which made the twins uncomfortable, he said. “Oh, those types… Well, such a shame some people die young in certain lines of work.” He laid his head back down on the couch while the twins glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes and had a mental conversation. Sutekina pointed at Reiki who was on the couch, her eyes said. (We got all the answers we needed.)
Kireina had a hint of doubt on her face, her eyes said. (One last question to make sure...) Kireina tapped on her desk and said. “... Reiki… You promised us elven chocolate.” She slowly turned her head to the side to ignore the disapproving look Sutekina was giving her. Reiki placed his hand in his pocket and said. “Thanks for reminding me.” He took out a tattered pouch and shoved his hand in the pouch, Reiki said. “Small favor, I’m going to stay here until about forty minutes until noon. Can I have a carton of milk and some potato chips?”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The corner of Sutekina’s eye twitched as she somehow managed to hold back from saying anything. Kireinai moved her gaze back onto him as she saw him Take out a tall stack of rectangular wooden boxes. She said. “... Sure…” With one hand Reiki was holding ten boxes of elven chocolate, he said. “This is the part where you take the boxes off my hands-.” Before he could finish his sentence Sutekina snapped her fingers as the boxes he was carrying vanished. Reiki pocketed the tattered pouch and said. “I’m waiting on my chips and milk. Oh, and I’m going to make a short call so I need you two to be quiet for a moment.”
Sutekina gritted her teeth as she was about to take a step forward while her older twin stopped her by stretching her arm in front of her. Reiki took out a flip phone and thought. Can’t use the phone Arashi gave me with other people around. Kireina spoke in a whisper, she said. “Don’t do anything stupid.” Sutekina’s pupils faintly glowed as she spoke in a low tone through gritted teeth, she said. “Can’t I just knock him out? I’ll make sure he’ll wake up when he needs to.”
Kireina stared at her younger twin for a few seconds and said. “Sure.” Reiki dialed a number on the flip phone while Sutekina was taken aback by what her older twin said. Sutekina said. “Really? That easy?” Kireina stopped blocking her younger twin and said. “Yeah, but on the off chance. I’m going to pin the blame entirely on you.” Sutekina had some cold sweat on her forehead as she took a step back and said. “On second thought, this is a school. It’s not our responsibility to teach kids how to behave. That’s their parent's job.”
The two of them listened to Reiki’s conversation on the flip phone, he said. “You two have any plans around noon?” Reiki glanced at them and mouthed the words, where’s my food? Sutekina deeply inhaled and said. “I’ll get it before I punch him halfway around the world.” She made her way to the door while Kireina stared at him. Reiki said. “Yeah, push all of those back. We’re going to have lunch in the office.” He instantly moved the flip phone away from his ear as Kireina could easily hear the sound of a woman shouting from the other end, she thought. I wonder how would the head of Ishin academy react if he knew Reiki’s lineage.
Reiki let out a sigh as his gaze wandered onto Cherry who was on the backrest of the couch staring at him, he moved the flip phone closer to him and said. “Are you done?... Ok then good, you two are going to meet where I got all the money from. Bye.” He immediately hung up the call and turned the flip phone off. Kireina leaned on the backrest of the chair she was sitting on, she said. “What was the call for?”
Cherry turned into a streak of white as she appeared back on the armrest of the couch. Reiki casually waved his hand and said. “I’m planning on pocketing Japan’s entire economy.” Kireina stared at him for a couple of seconds, she said. “I’m just asking.” Reiki turned his head to the side while keeping his head on the couch, he said. “Fine… I’m having three of my lovers meet.” He had a serious expression while maintaining eye contact with her. Kireina rolled her eyes at him and said. “If you don’t want to tell me, you could’ve just said so.”
Reiki shrugged his shoulders and thought. I am planning on pocketing the economy of Japan. He placed both his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, Reiki said. “Wanna make a small bet?” Kireina raised a brow while staring at him, she said. “What kind?” Reiki opened his eyes as he glanced at her and said. “Your younger twin hates me.” Kireina let out a chuckle as she spoke with a hint of mocking in her tone, she said. “Oh, hate is putting it very lightly.” The corner of Reiki’s mouth formed into a slight smile, he said. “I bet, I can improve our relationship before I leave this school.”
Kireina let out a stifled laugh as she tried her best to suppress it. Reiki stared at her large chest slightly jiggling from the small movements. Kireina let out a chuckle as she somehow managed to stop laughing, she took a deep breath and said. “... You’re on…” She let out another snicker as Reiki saw her lips curve into a smile as she covered it using her hand, Kireina said. “What’s the stakes?” Reiki slowly stood up on the couch, he sat up straight and said. “If I win, I get another week of no school. If you win, I’ll not only attend class. I’ll make sure my grades are at the top of my grade.”
Reiki thought. It’s not even that hard considering she made me complete an MD and PhD at the same time. Kireina’s lips slowly formed into a smile, she said. “You’re on.” Reiki pretended to think and said. “Does Sutekina like music?” Kireina had a smug smile on her lips, she said. “What? Getting desperate to the point you're asking me a question?” Reiki smiled at her and said. “Scared you’ll lose to a ten-year-old kid?”
Kireina slightly snapped as she gritted her teeth, she thought. Now I’m tempted to send him flying half across the globe. She exhaled and said. “She likes seventies and eighties music.” Reiki thought. She has good taste in music. Kireina glanced at the door using the corner of her eye, she thought. She’s back. The doorknob turned revealing Sutekina as she made her way inside the room and closed the door behind her. With a wave of her hand, a big bag of potato chips and a huge plastic container appeared next to Reiki on the couch. He thought. Cool, she went for the largest container of milk.
Kireina had a smile on her face while Reiki opened the bag of potato chips as he kept his gaze on the younger twin and said. “Sutekina… What kind of music do you like?”
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Office Hallway
Chishiki was staring at her smartphone with disbelief all over her face, she thought. … He… He just hung up on me and didn’t bother to explain anything about meeting the elves' representative! She was wearing a simple white long-sleeve blouse paired with black pants and flat-heeled shoes. A door behind her leading into a meeting room opened as Akemi was holding onto the doorknob while wearing a light grey business suit.
Akemi’s expression turned odd as she saw Chishiki staring at her phone with a dumbfounded look, Akemi said. “Chishiki, they’re ready to negotiate.” Akemi waited for a couple of seconds as she felt the stares of the middle-aged men wearing suits behind her back. She was about to say something but Chishiki spoke first and said. “We’re leaving immediately.” She started walking down the hallway as Akemi’s eyes widened in surprise. She quickly went after her, leaving the middle-aged men in the meeting room with shocked looks on their faces.
Akemi walked beside Chishiki and said. “Why are we leaving? Those old coots have been playing hardball these past few days and we’ve been trying our best to-.” Chishiki interrupted her, she said. “Reiki told me.” She looked around the room, she spoke in a whisper and continued. “The elves sent over someone to meet us.” Akemi froze in place for a split second as she quickly snapped back to reality and caught up to Chishiki. Akemi said. “Who needs those old men anyway, there are plenty of other businesses that would negotiate with us.”
Akemi deeply inhaled and exhaled, she said. “Did Reiki say anything? What kind of wine they like? The food we should prepare?” The two of them took a right, Chishiki shook her head sideways and said. “Nope, he hung up on me after…” Akemi nodded and said. “Ah… So that’s why we heard yelling outside the room.” Chishiki waved her hand in dismissal, she said. “Enough about that, how good is your common tongue?” Akemi’s lips slowly formed into a smug smile, she said. “You can’t even do proper business if you can’t speak english and common tongue.”
The double glass door leading outside automatically opened as the two girls walked out of the building, Chishiki exhaled to calm her nerves and said. “While you're going to drive the car around, make sure to think of things we can gift to them.” Akemi had a pondering look on her face, she said. “Can’t we share a bottle of wine with them?” Chishiki shook her head sideways and said. “Are we really going to give wine to those who are naturally connoisseurs of wine?” The two girls went silent for a couple of seconds before Akemi nodded, she said. “Let’s think of something better.”
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Inside A Classroom
~Four Hours and Thirty Minutes Later~
Mio, Yuki, and Shiro’s desks were placed next to each other as they say on their chairs. Yuki had a big smile on her face as she excitedly drummed her fingers on her desk, she said. “It’s finally lunchtime.” Mio placed her bento on her desk and said. “I’m also curious what Reiki did to make steamed chicken breast… Edible…” Yuki moved her gaze onto her friend, she said. “Is that your way of saying my lunch tastes terrible?”
Shiro placed her chopsticks on top of the bento’s lid and said. “The first time you shared steamed chicken breast with us, I thought it was rubber.” Mio nodded as she tried to ignore the piercing gaze Yuki was giving her, Mio said. “And I thought I was chewing on some fibers of rope.” Shiro glanced at her bento and said. “How about we open our bentos and see what Onii-chan made?” Inside Shiro’s bento were a couple of large pieces of onigiri that were designed with a panda and a penguin. A few pieces of fried karaage, some pickled vegetables on the side, and a few pieces of tamagoyaki shaped into a heart.
Yuki’s eyes were glowing like stars as she held up her bento with both her hands, she said. “It’s even better than steamed chicken breast!” Her bento had a generous amount of white rice with some black sesame and on top of it was a large piece of grilled chicken breast that was sliced into bite-size pieces and had some greek yogurt sauce. A few pieces of sausage that were skillfully shaped into an octopus and a soft-boiled egg sliced in half revealing a runny center. Mio stared at her friends’ bento and said. “That’s not steamed.”
Mio moved her gaze onto Mio’s bento as she saw a bed of white rice with a couple of pieces of nori on it. Placed on top of the nori was a generous piece of pan-seared salmon with crispy skin, a side of pan-seared cherry tomatoes that were slightly blistered, and a couple of pieces of steamed asparagus wrapped in bacon that was sliced to fit in. Yuki quickly picked up her chopsticks and said. “Itadakimasu.” She ate one of the pieces of grilled chicken followed by a couple of mouthfuls of rice.
Mio and Shiro glanced at each other as they nodded, they spoke at the same time saying. “Itadakimasu.” While chewing Yuki placed her bento on her desk and quickly pulled out her pouch from her pocket. She took out a bottle of water from the pouch and took a couple of big swigs of it, Yuki let out a satisfied sigh and said. “Delicious.” Her gaze wandered onto her friends' bentos, Yuki continued. “Trade?” Shiro was still in the middle of chewing as she repeatedly nodded her head while Mio wiped her mouth using a white handkerchief, she nodded and said. “Trade.” The girls started trading some of their dishes with each other and taking some from the other bentos.