Reiki closed the book, placed it on the table, and did some stretches while sitting in the chair. He thought. Assuming everything in this book is true, that sword is sentient, in a deep slumber and I might never be able to pull it out of the stone. He moved his gaze onto Cherry standing on the table near the lid of a container with some cherries that had the stems removed. Reiki’s gaze wandered onto Sutekina and Kireina sitting across from him. He said. “Despite being the head of the school, you have a lot of free time.”
Sutekina was in the middle of chewing as she used her hand to cover her lips, she gulped down a mouthful of food and said. “It depends on the season we’re either swamped with work or have little to none at all.” Reiki thought. I guess their busiest would be near the end of summer. Kireina picked up a mochi from one of the containers, she said. “Kussata Uragiru…” She moved her gaze onto Reiki and continued. “We know him for being absent for days at a time, he helps with his older brother’s political campaign, is top ten within the entire school, and gets along with everyone.”
Kireina gently pulled the mochi apart revealing chocolate ice cream inside, she continued. “Now he's absent and I didn’t even get a phone call from his brother.” Reiki placed his hand in his pocket, he said. “You’re telling me because?” He took out a tattered pouch and put three books inside it one at a time while Kireina continued. “It was the day after your result from the crystal ball.” Sutekina picked up a yatsuhashi and used it to point at him. She said. “One of the teachers reported seeing you two together heading out of the school.”
She ate half the yatsuhashi while Reiki placed the last book in the tattered pouch, he said. “You told me I could go home early, so he decided to tag along.” Kireina ate one of the halves of the ice cream mochi while Sutekina swallowed the food in her mouth. Sutekina said. “I did, but can you tell us what you two did after leaving school?” Reiki pocketed the pouch and said. “He treated me to a hamburger steak in a family restaurant.” Kireina covered her lips with her hand, she said. “Anything else?”
Reiki gently caressed Cherry’s back with his left hand, he said. “He got a text while we were chatting. Uragiru told me it was his older brother and that he needed to leave.” Sutekina and Kireina exchanged glances as they simultaneously stood up from their seats. Sutekina swiped her hand above the containers as all the dessert in them vanished, she said. “Don’t worry about the windows, it’ll be fixed within the day.” Kireina gave him a nod, she said. “That’s all I needed to know.” She ate the other half of the ice cream mochi while walking toward the door with Sutekina behind her.
Kireina opened the door as she walked out of the room while Sutekina closed it on her way out. Reiki caressed the top of Cherry’s head with his index finger, he thought. I doubt either of his brothers called the school. One is trying to ensure his backing wins the campaign while the other is too busy licking shoes to climb up the hierarchy. Reiki felt a cold breeze from the shattered windows as he continued his train of thought. I want to call it early and go home… Cherry was about to take a bite of the cherry on the lid but noticed Reiki staring at her.
Cherry turned her head as she stared at him with her blood-red eyes, Reiki smiled at her and said. “It’s nothing girl.” He gently patted the top of her head with his index finger.
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Hallway
Sutekina ate the rest of the yatsuhashi she held while she and Kireina walked down the hallway. Kireina gave her younger sister a side eye, she said. “What do you think?” Sutekina swallowed the food in her mouth and said. “I thought it was hilarious how he tried to play the broken windows as an accident.” The two of them kept walking down the hall as Kireina held out her hand at Sutekina. Kireina said. “Give me one of those chestnut daifuku, they're good and no. I was talking about the pair of idiots he nearly beat to death.”
Sutekina placed her hand above her older sister’s hand as a few daifuku appeared resting on Kireina’s palm. Kireina threw an entire daifuku into her mouth, Sutekina said. “Isn’t it better this way?” The two of them took a right as they went up a flight of stairs while Kireina covered her mouth with her hands. She said. “How so?” Kireina gulped down the food in her mouth while a couple of ice cream mochi appeared in Sutekina’s right hand. Sutekina said. “We don’t have to stop him from playing hero.”
The two of them reached the top of the stairs as they made their way down the hall while Kireina had a pondering look on her face. She said. “... True, that’s one thing crossed off on our list. Found any trace of Uragiru?” Sutekina raised her right hand as she was in the middle of chewing while the two of them reached the principal's office. Kireina opened the door and walked in with Sutekina behind her as she closed the door on her way into the room. Sutekina swallowed and said. “No, I sent a couple of puppets to search for him and ended up with nothing.”
Kireina sat on the chair by the worktable, she said. “You think he’s dead, don’t you?” Sutekina sat on the worktable as she was about to split the ice cream mochi in her hands into two. She said. “Probably, it’s politics. Where we came from, it was normal to kill the opposing party.” Kireina flicked her finger as the mochi Sutekina was holding flew toward her. Kireina caught the mochi in mid-air and said. “Can I have my job of teaching kids back?” Sutekina snapped her fingers as an ice cream mochi appeared on her palm, she said. “You consider writing on a blackboard teaching?”
Kireina split the ice cream mochi into two and said. “Self-study teaches them self-discipline.” Sutekina gulped down the food in her mouth, she said. “Last combat session your lecture was titled how not to stab yourself with a dagger.” Kireina’s eyes widened slightly as she spread her arms, she said. “They are children, who's supposed to teach them how to hold a dagger correctly?” Sutekina used the other half of the ice cream mochi to point at her older sister, she said. “Exactly, children. They’re not old enough to wield objects sharp enough to filet flesh.”
Sutekina ate the other half of the mochi while Kireina swallowed the food in her mouth. Kireina said. “You once told me you hated kids.” Sutekina covered her mouth with her hand and swallowed, she said. “I do, but if Reiki’s related to who we think he is. I want to ask for a couple of things.” Kireina rolled her eyes and said. “I’m fairly sure they’ll give us anything when we bring him back.” Sutekina took out a silk handkerchief from her pocket and used it to wipe her thumb and index finger that had a bit of ice cream.
Sutekina said. “If our assumption is correct.” Kireina moved some hair behind her ear and said. “Is there any way we can verify it now?” Sutekina pocketed the handkerchief, she said. “The moment we set foot we’d be hunted like a pair of goblins trespassing on human territory.” She stood up from sitting on the worktable, turned around to face her older sister, and said. “Get out of my chair.” Kireina ignored her as she made herself comfortable in her seat, she said. “Do you think they’ve noticed you’re the one going to Reiki’s classroom in the morning?”
Sutekina placed a hand on her hip and said. “Nope, if we swapped clothes and I went to the first years with a frown on my face, they’ll think I’m you too.” Kireina leaned on the backrest of the chair, she said. “Until the moment you speak and they ask why you’re wearing my clothes.” She took out a talisman from her pocket while the writing on it faintly glowed a light blue color as Sutekina made her way around the worktable and sat on it facing her older sister. Sutekina said. “Finally remembered to call the nurse?”
Kireina nodded at her and said. “I told her to give them the bare minimum and send those two to a hospital.” Sutekina used her hand to comb through her long blond hair, she said. “Before they get sent to one, make sure to tamper with their memories.” Kireina used her right hand to pull on one of the two levers below the chair, she said. “Aren’t you the teacher?” She pulled the lever as the backrest of the chair slowly leaned back, Kireina continued. “Make sure to come back here to report.” She ignored the frosty look Sutekina gave her as Kireina closed her eyes and took a bite out of a daifuku.
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Break Room
~Three Hours Later~
Ketsueki, Sachi, and Namida were sitting near a round wooden table. Ketsueki had both her feet on the table while her lips curled into a slight smirk while Namida snapped her fingers as a laptop appeared on the table in front of her. Sachi took out her phone from her pocket and said. “Since we had an early lunch today, you two want some dessert delivered?” Namida gently opened her laptop and pressed the power button, she said. “I don’t want anything fancy today, just get me a few bars of dark chocolate.” Sachi turned her head toward Ketsueki.
Sachi said. “Pretty face, what about you-?” She noticed the smirk on her friend's face and continued. “I don’t like the look on your face.” Ketsueki leaned back which made the chair she was sitting on tilt as it balanced on the two back legs, she said. “Give me a backrub.” Sachi rolled her eyes and said. “Ice cream for the delusional queen.” Namida was typing the password for her laptop as she let out a chuckle while Ketsueki casually shrugged her shoulders. Ketsueki said. “Guess neither of you wants yatsuhashi-.”
Before she could get another word out Sachi quickly placed her phone on the table and appeared standing behind Ketsueki’s chair. Sachi had a flattering smile on her face and said. “I couldn’t quite hear what you said. It was Yatsuhashi, right?” She placed her hands on Ketsueki’s shoulder and started giving her a massage. Ketseuki pretended to think as she enjoyed the massage, she said. “Reiki also made some Ice cream mochi, chestnut daifuku, and whole apple pie-.” Namida vanished from her seat leaving her laptop on the table as she appeared beside Ketsueki’s chair.
Ketsueki gave her friend a smirk along with a side-eye glance while Namida took out a can of coffee from her pocket followed by a tall empty glass. Namida said. “On my way here, I bought some coffee. But I did drink your cider yesterday, this is my way of making up for it.” Ketsueki couldn’t contain her laughter while Sachi continued giving her friend a back rub. Namida opened the can of coffee, poured the light brown liquid into the glass, picked the glass up, and gently blew cold air out of her mouth.
The cold air slowly made its way to the glass as it visibly fogged up, Namida said. “Just how you like it.” She placed the glass on the table where her friend could easily reach it, Ketsueki glanced at the cold glass of coffee and said. “Can you get that for me?” Namida quickly grabbed the glass and handed it to her, she said. “What filling did Reiki use for the yatsuhashi?” Ketsueki took a sip of her coffee, she said. “Red bean paste, some of them have chocolate or roasted chestnuts mixed in.”
Namida kept standing beside her friend's seat and said. “Did he roll any cinnamon or matcha into the sheet of mochi?” Ketsueki took another sip of her coffee when she let go of the glass and floated it mid-air as it slowly made its way to the table, she said. “Only cinnamon, we didn’t have any matcha.” Sachi was still massaging Ketsueki’s shoulders as she slightly leaned down and said. “I think you can blame Namida for not giving us any, despite the fact she keeps saying she will.”
Namida placed a hand on her hip and gave Sachi a smile. Namida said. “If you two want matcha, I can swipe a few from one of the many shelves when you drop by my house.” Ketsueki rolled her eyes at her and said. “You say that but we haven’t been formally invited.” She raised her hand which made Sachi who was massaging her shoulder stop. Namida had a hint of awkwardness on her face, she let out a cough and said. “My mother and grandma are still… Debating about it, I’ll text you both when they finish.”
Sachi kept stealing glances at the empty table, she said. “Why are they treating us this way? We didn’t do anything during the last couple of visits.” Ketsueki turned her head to face Namida and said. “My grandma is a bit of a stickler for tradition.” Sachi raised a brow at her friend, she said. “So it’s supposed to be our fault because we drank tea with crossed legs?” Namida spoke in a blunt tone and said. “Yes, what did you expect? You two saw my house, everyone except the maids and butlers wore a kimono.”
Ketsueki raised her hand with her index finger extended, which got the attention of both her friends, she said. “In my defense, I told her we should do a seiza when sitting on the tatami mat.” She placed her hand back on her thigh while Sachi let out a scoff and said. “Excuse me, I told you it was a bad idea because it puts stress on your knees and ankles.” Ketsueki turned her head as she gave her friend a mysterious smile, she said. “Did I forget to mention Reiki prepared three tupperwares each for both of you?”
Sachi instantly put a smile on her face as she playfully tapped on Ketsueki’s shoulder. Sachi said. “I was just worried about my friend.” Ketsueki let out a chuckle as she snapped her fingers as six see-through plastic containers appeared on the table, she said. “I’m joking, plus Reiki might get mad at me for not giving you two your share.” Namida and Sachi appeared back in their seats as they started removing the lid from the tupperware revealing ice cream mochi, kuri daifuku, and yatsuhashi. Namida’s right hand blurred as she grabbed a yatsuhashi and said. “Tell Reiki, I’m doing everything to convince my mother.”
The two of them sat back down on their seats while Namida closed the laptop with her left hand. Ketsueki leaned back as she put both her feet on the ground and sat up straight, she said. “Sachi, have you made any progress on searching for the apartment?” Sachi’s gaze was on the desserts in the containers, she said. “Terrible, can’t find one that's reasonably priced with everything I want.”
Namida gulped down the food in her mouth as she waved her hand that was holding onto a yatsuhashi around while talking. She said. “I think you’re standard for apartments needs to be lowered.” Sachi picked up a chestnut daifuku from one of the six tupperwares on the table, she said. “I don’t need to hear that from someone who lives in a house like yours.” She used her thumb to point at Ketsueki who was in the middle of taking a sip of her coffee. Sachi continued. “Watch, her pretty face is going to take my side.”
Ketsueki placed her glass on the table as she hesitated to answer which made Sachi give a surprised look while she was in the middle of chewing while holding onto a half-eaten daifuku. Ketsueki said. “The kind of apartment you’re looking for is in the center of Tokyo which would cost around four hundred to six thousand yen a month.” Namida finished off the yatsuhashi she was holding while Sachi swallowed and said. “Is it so much to ask for a usable kitchen?” Ketsueki took out her phone from her pocket, she said. “You’ve seen my kitchen, there’s barely an oven there and my boy makes the best meals.”
Sachi rolled her eyes and said. “Yeah, the only things you need to make sushi are a sharp knife, a rice cooker, an oven that can’t fit a whole chicken, and two stoves that need to be replaced.” Namida was still in the middle of chewing as her lips curled into a smile as she let out suppressed laughter. Ketsueki tapped the button on the side to turn the screen of her smartphone on, she placed it on the table and said. “Namida, I just found four whole apple pies lying on the ground. Wanna split them?”
She snapped her fingers as two take-out boxes appeared on the table beside her phone. Namida quickly nodded her head while Ketsueki opened one of them revealing four freshly baked whole apple pies that still had steam coming off. The smell of baked pastry filled the room along with a hint of cinnamon as Namida waved her hand as the open take-out box quickly flew toward her. Ketsueki watched the box fly toward her friend and said. “The moment they were out of the oven I immediately put them in my pocket.” Namida caught the box in mid-air as she took a deep whiff of the apple pie.
Namida quickly closed the take-out box and placed it in her pocket, she said. “Let’s open up the other one and start eating.” Ketsueki opened the other take-out box revealing four pieces of whole apple pie inside as Sachi raised her hand and said. “Wait, let’s not get hasty now.” Namida ignored her as she moved her seat closer to Ketsueki while leaving the laptop on the table. Namida reached for one of the apple pies while Sachi’s eyes faintly glowed a light blue as she shot a small ember of flame toward her friend's hand.
Namida used her hand to casually split the fire in half as it dissipated in air, she gave her friend a wide-eyed look and said. “What’s wrong with you?” Namida spoke in a cold tone, she said. “Don’t touch my apple pie.” Her gaze wandered onto the apple pies in the box and continued. “I’ve never seen apple pies like that.” Ketsueki picked up her cold glass of coffee, she said. “I looked it up last night and learned it’s from Aomori.” Sachi used her fingers to repeatedly tap on the table, she said. “I can… Replace one thing in your house…”
Namida let out a chuckle as her gaze kept wandering back to the apple pies, she said. “That’s not going to work. I gave her a new TV, a dining table and still didn’t get in her pants.” Ketsueki took a sip of her coffee and said. “I could use a new blender.” Sachi’s eyes had a hint of sparkle in them, she said. “On our way home you can buy the most expensive blender in the store.” Namida leaned closer to her friend and spoke in a whisper, she said. “I can go out and buy some ice cream we can use as toppings.”
Ketsueki let out a chuckle as she used her index finger to gently flick the take-out box toward her. Sachi held her hand out as the take-out box flew toward her and rested on her palm, she said. “I’ll be sure to tell Reiki what a nice older sister he has.” She placed her left hand in her pocket as the box vanished while Namida picked up an ice cream mochi from the container. She said. “Sachi, how are those two leeches these days?” She slowly made her way back to the spot of the table where she left her laptop.
Sachi let out a sigh and said. “Terrible, my father kept letting out sighs when I was near him until I gave him twenty thousand to gamble. Mother on the other hand wouldn’t stop yapping because she wanted more pocket money.” She picked up a yatsuhashi while Ketsueki ran her index finger around the rim of her glass, she said. “Just another day then.” Namdia was in the middle of chewing as she placed a hand over her mouth and let out a chuckle. Sachi nodded at her friend and said. “Yeah, I gave her an increase of two thousand yen.”