Shiro was using her hands to gently rub her eyes, Ketsueki's eyes were slightly opened as they widened slightly when she heard Reiki speak. Ketsueki said. "Your..." She let out a big yawn and continued. "Up early, Reiki." Reiki walked in front of both of them as he patted Shiro's head. He said. "Onee-chan, the bath is ready for you. After Shiro is finished with hers I should be done with placing breakfast on the table."

Shiro was yawning and used her left hand to hold on to Ketsueki's shirt to keep herself standing. Ketsueki let out a yawn and said. "Already?... Guess I'll take a bath first." As she walked to the bathroom leaving Shiro looked like she could sleep standing up. Another pat on her head, Reiki said. "Do you want a glass of water?" Shiro nodded her head. Before he could turn around Shiro grabbed the edge of his shirt and raised both her arms and keeping her eyes closed. She said. "Onii-chan carry me."

With a smile Reiki said. "Sure." As he lifted her with one arm with his hand under both her thighs, Shiro leaned her head on his shoulder as he opened a cabinet and took out a glass and filled it with clean tap water. He said. "Here you go, Shiro." As he kept his right hand on the bottom of the glass while Shiro held the top with both her hands.

She drank the entire glass with a drop of water coming from the edge of her lip, Reiki placed the glass in the sink and used his shirt to wipe off the water. He said. "Good morning, Shiro." Shiro let out one big yawn as she slowly opened her eyes and gently rubbed them. Her eyes looked like she could fall asleep at any moment as she said. "... Good morning, Onii-chan..."

As she let out another small yawn, she said. "What's for breakfast?" Reiki moved the wild hair that was in front of her face and moved it behind her ear, he said. "Nothing much, just the usual miso with tofu and green onion, sunny side egg, bacon, some pickled vegetables Onee-chan made, and some toasts. I made something special for both of your Bentos though, so you can look forward to it."

He slowly moved his grip on her, Shiro gripped on his clothes and pointed at the chair at the table. With a pouting look, she said. "I wanna sit over there." Reiki let out a chuckle and smiled, he said. "Sure." He walked toward the chair and gently placed her on it. One last pat on her head Reiki started to place plates, utensils, glass, and the rest to use for breakfast.

As he turned on the stove and placed a pan on top, the sound of footsteps was getting closer, at the table, Ketsueki said. "Shiro, it's your turn to take a bath, you don't want to take too long since Reiki is making breakfast." Shiro walked to the bathroom, Reiki turned the heat on low and went to the table. He said. "I've already done the laundry and just simply dusted off the corners of the living room. I'll sweep it when I get back and clean the bathroom after everyone finishes using it."

As he brought out his tattered pouch from his pocket, he continued. "I also waited for both of you to wake up so I can place your clothes in the closet. Speaking of laundry, about both of you and Shiro's underwear, I didn't-." Ketsueki sweetly said. "Don't worry about it. I'll be responsible for... Our undergarments." Reiki hurriedly walk towards the stairs and said. "G-Glad we had this conversation."

As he miss-step the first stair and almost fell but caught the wall and ran up the stairs.

Ketsueki poured herself a glass of water as she took a sip. With the sound of footsteps running that came from behind her she saw Reiki sprinting to the kitchen. She heard the sounds of a knife quickly hitting a chopping board and a hot pan sizzling. Shiro went to the table wearing a white t-shirt and shorts as she sat on her chair. Ketsueki said. "I'll never understand why you and Reiki only take a quick shower. On a different matter, do you think he's sick, Shiro? Or does he want an M rated game?"

Shiro placed her left hand on her chin making a cute pondering look before she shook her head. Reiki in the kitchen loudly said. "I heard that!" As the two of them stared at each other and started to laugh. Reiki was holding two plates in each hand, one with dozens of strips of bacon, and the other was perfectly cooked sunny side eggs. He said. "Feel free to start eating, I'll bring the toast, soap, and pickled vegetables quickly."

Ketsueki filled two glasses with water as she placed an egg and two slices of bacon on both their plates. Reiki quickly came out of the kitchen with three plates, making Shiro stare in amazement while Ketsueki almost dropped an egg onto the floor turning her head to look at him. Reiki had a plate of toast on top of his head while one of his hands had a plate of pickled vegetables and the other was holding a large bowl of hot miso soup with an oven mitt.

Walking to the table normally he placed the bowl and both the plates on his head and in his hand on the table. Shiro was still staring at him with awe in her eyes as Ketsueki placed the serving spoon down and pressed her forehead onto his. She said. "Your temperature is fine..." She grabbed his head and tried to look for any signs of illness. She continued. "And you don't have any indicator of... Well, anything..."

Shiro had a worried expression on her face. She said. "Onee-chan, i-is Onii-chan alright?" Keysueki sat back on her chair and grabbed a pair of chopsticks and said. "He is." Shiro's expression turned back to normal as she also reached for her chopsticks. Ketsueki said. "I was just wondering why is Reiki doing all of this." Shiro said. "Maybe he wants his allowance increased." Ketsueki eyes widen as she picked up her chopsticks and said. "I think you may be right Shiro." As the two of them stared into each other's eyes and turned to face Reiki who sat on the opposite side of Ketsueki's seat.

Picking up his chopsticks with his right as he used his left to grab two pieces of toast and placed them on his plate, using the serving spoon he placed two eggs, four pieces of bacon, and a good amount of pickled vegetables on his plate. As he was about to take a bite of his toast he saw them still staring at him. He said. "What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

Shiro let out a giggle and started to eat, Ketsueki stared at the amount of food on his plate and said. "Reiki, are you sure you can finish your plate?" With a single bite to eat the toast in half, he took a sip of water to down it. He said. "I'm sure. Shiro, change into your uniform after eating, I still have to wash the dishes and make the Bentos and it should be done when you come down." Shiro nodded and continued to enjoy her breakfast while Ketsueki looked weirdly at him for a few seconds and started to eat.

~One Meal Later~

Ketsueki was sitting in the same chair while drinking some freshly made coffee by Reiki, he was just about done drying the plates, and was about to finish the Bentos. Reiki placed a single-layered black rounded square bento on the table in front of Ketsueki. The Bento had some gold accents on the edges, with a dark blue handkerchief that was wrapped below it with the chopsticks container in the knot.

She looked at the Bento box she hadn't used in a long time as Shiro walked in, she said. "Onii-chan are you ready?" She was wearing her usual black blazer and red tie, Reiki still wearing his white long-sleeved t-shirt and pants he gave Shiro her Bento. It was a single-layered dark blue oval shape with a black handkerchief that held it from below and with the chopstick container in the knot. Reiki gently patted her head, he said. "Here you go, Shiro. And time for us to go to school."

Ketsueki stood up from her seat and followed both of them to the front door. Reiki changed into his old shoes while Shiro wore her new black leather shoes for school. Both of them simultaneously said. "We're off." As they walked, Ketsueki was watching at the doorway and said. "Have a safe trip." As she watched them turn at the corner, she went inside the house and locked the door.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Walking towards their schools Shiro was happily holding his hand, with her other hand carefully holding her Bento. As she looked at her pristine uniform and new black leather shoes, she looked at his white long-sleeved t-shirt, pants, and somewhat old shoes. She said. "... Onii-chan... Do you-." She saw Reiki stare at her with a warm smile and said. "What is it, Shiro?" Shiro paused for a bit when she saw the smile before smiling to herself, she continued. "No, it's not important..."

She looked at the street where they would separate. She tried to pull on his clothes to make him kneel, seeing this he squatted as she kissed him on his cheek. She said. "Take care, Onii-chan." As she waved behind her, Reiki muttered. "Take care..." Standing up he turned around and started to walk again, a few minutes of walking in complete silence with the sound of the wind blowing and a bird chirping somewhere along with the trees, he was back in his school. He thought. I remembered it a couple of stories shorter...

He saw two five-stories tall buildings with flat roofs that were connected on the third floor by a hallway, on the ground floor were two glass doors a few dozens of yards away, as the auditorium was at the back of the school. The front had a metal gate that was twice as tall as Reiki's current height with a male teacher dressed neatly.

Walking past him and staring at the changes in the school he didn't notice the teacher gave him a strange look from behind. Walking inside by the front he saw a couple of high schoolers in a uniform, the male was wearing a dark blue unbuttoned blazer under it was a light brown sweater vest, white long-sleeved polo, brown leather shoes, greyish pants, and a black-tie underneath it. The female who was on the left was wearing the same thing except she had a black bowtie and a long greyish skirt reaching a few inches above her ankles. He thought. At least this school has something of a uniform... This time.

Walking past them changed their shoes as they both ignored him just like the rest. A few steps inside he thought. Did anything change? With a left, he walked to the end of the corridor and took the first right to see the glass doors that were apart a few dozens of yards. He thought. I guess not. Almost reaching the middle he looked at his left and right, he thought. The track field here is missing so there's that. As he went into the second building he searched for his previous room on the second floor. Sliding the door open the entire class went to their seats as all of them stared at the door, they saw it was Reiki as they stood up and talked to their groups of friends they already made.

All of them were wearing a t-shirt for the boys and long-sleeved blouses for most of the girls, most of them wore long slack pants but a few were wearing a long skirt reaching their ankle. Most of them stared at him at the corner of their eyes as he sat in his chair away from the window, some of them even had a smirk waiting for a show to happen. Sitting in his chair as he placed his hand on the desk and leaned his head on his right hand. He thought. When was the last time I showed up early for class?...

~30 Minutes Later~

Reiki was staring at the door for the last few minutes as the rest of the class was just fooling around or reading books. Most of the boys lost interest in him after a few minutes passed but a group was still smirking at him waiting for a teacher to come. With a look around using the corner of his eyes, he noticed someone was absent. He thought. Uragiru isn't here... His eyes briefly turned hollow and instantly turned back to normal. A female student carefully walked to his seat as she fidgeted with a piece of paper in her hand. Reiki stared at her, she wore a white blouse and a long grey skirt, walking to the front of his desk, she said. "... Akihito-san, right?"

Reiki said. "Is there a problem, class rep?" Her eyes widened as she said. "How did you know? Weren't you absent for 4-5 days?" The voice said. [Smooth move.] Reiki kept a calm face and said. "By the other…. Kids were looking at me. It would seem that I have been outcast." As he looked at the group of boys smirking at him by the sides which made her tilt her head slightly to see that same group of boys making fun of him.

He continued. "With the paper you're holding, a sensei asked you to give it to me. Add that to how they look at me and how you knew my name, it brought me to that conclusion." She tilted her head as she looked like she would stare a hole into him. She said. "You deduced all that? Just because I said your name?" He replied. "I've been sitting here for half an hour."

She narrowed her eyes and gently placed the paper on his desk. She said. "Here's a chant to practice, it's used to know what's the affinity of your magic. Earth, fire, water, air-." Reiki interrupted her saying. "Wait. Can't we just use some sort of machines for those? And where is our teacher on the first day?"

She gave her a weird look and said. "Akihito-san, the school can't afford any of those. This academy in reality is an empty shell if not for the students with poor aptitude and the only two clubs they barely provide resources. The teacher who was here on day one was just here to judge our affinity, she usually teaches the high schoolers, and the reason why there hasn't been a teacher is that this place only has a handful of teachers. From day two onwards she wrote a chant on the chalkboard for us to write down and practice if ever since then, it's been the same thing every day."

Reiki suddenly stood up from his chair. Which made her take a few steps back as the rest of them watched as some of the boys had smiles on their faces. He said. "When I took a tour around this place, was the principal's office still in the main building on the top floor?" The girls said. "Y-Ye-." Before she could finish, Reiki started running at full sprint to the door and quickly slid it open.

Running up the stairs and through the hallways as fast as he could, a male teacher wearing a red tracksuit saw him running and said. "No running in the halls!" As he was trying to intercept him, Reiki casted. Flash.

『Flash Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 500.』

Reiki disappeared in front of the teacher, hearing footsteps behind him he turned his head around and stared at Reiki for a few seconds as he narrowed his eyes. Taking a quick left at full speed around the corner, Reiki saw a male high schooler that was wandering around, the high schooler used his arm to block the blow as after a few seconds passed he looked around to see he was already gone.

『Flash Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 500.』

Sprinting towards the main building using the third floor where it was connected. He took a right and went up to the top floor using the stairs, passing by a few rooms and taking a right he saw a dark brown door with a handle that was gold plated. With a few hasty knocks, he waited for someone to answer the door.

The door was opened suddenly as the person who answered it was Kireina who still wore her signature white lab coat and black stockings but was wearing a white long-sleeved V neck that hugged her large chest and a grey pencil skirt. She said. "We've been-." Reiki casted. Flash.

『Flash Has Been Activated. Mana Cost: 500.』

Kireina's eyes widened as she turned around to see him inside the room, closing the door and rummaging through her lab coat. She threw a blank talisman as the walls of the room glowed sky blue for a moment before returning to normal. The talisman stayed in the air, Sutekina still wearing the same black blazer and skirt with one of her buttons undone due to her chest. Reiki walked to her desk and said. "I need 15 days off from school."

Kireina suddenly appeared on the right side of her desk as she sat on it, using the corner of her eyes. Both of them stared at each other for a few seconds. Kireina turned her head as she scoffed while Sutekina said. "On what-." Reiki interrupted her and said. "I'll give the school some decent equipment."

Sutekina's eyes slightly widened for a brief moment as she regained her composure, she said. "Can you tell me about-." Reiki interrupted her and said. "Are you going to accept it or not?" The corner of Sutekina's eye twitched as Kireina laughed to herself, taking a deep breath to calm herself as she was about to say something Reiki said. "It would be faster if you just agreed." Kireina was laughing as Sutekina made a fist with her hand and made a snap.

Reiki was floating as his feet were a few inches above the height of her desk as he was turned upside down. Sutekina spoke through gritted teeth, she said. "Would. You. Let. Me. Talk." Reiki just gave her a look of annoyance mixed with impatience, making Kireina laugh that made her chest jiggle.

Sutekina let out a sigh and said. "As your class representative told you... I don't know if your deduction was real or it was just a lucky guess. But I'm getting off-topic here, this school is on the verge of collapse. Lack of resources, not even a simple affinity reader, and all the students who enter here are desperate to be called a mage, yet after they graduate would refuse to acknowledge any relations. This 'magic' school isn't even qualified to be one. And here you are, wanting three weeks off with the promise of giving the school equipment? Call yourself lucky since I have my eye on you."

She made a gesture that indicated he could speak. He said. "First on the list..." Both of them had their eyes on him listening with complete intent, he continued. "Put me down." As he crossed his arms giving Sutekina an annoyed glance. With a snap of her fingers, Reiki was turned right side up as he landed on his feet. He said. "For my 15 days off from school, I'll give you the equipment you need to function..." Reiki pondered for a moment as he continued. "I can even provide the school's resources."

Sutekina said. "In return for?" Reiki replied. "Nothing major, just a few changes on how you do things around here." Kireina's eyes narrowed as Sutekina kept a calm look as she said. "Continue." Reiki said. "Just some say in a few things here and there, most importantly I need to know everything that goes around here." Kireina coldly said. "You might as well ask for the school on a platter."

Sutekina raised her arm which made her scoff as she crossed her arms. Reiki said. "I know it sounds bad, but at least let me tell you the plan." Kireina and Sutekina faced each other as they had a conversation by just using their facial expressions. After roughly half a minute Kireina let out a long sigh as she scratched the back of her head in irritation. Sutekina crossed her arms as she thought for a few seconds. She said. "Tell us more about your... Plan." Reiki smiled and said. "Let's see..."