“No, no, no, this can’t be…” Yoshigawa found himself mumbling, having peered through into a room full of injured Setsu. Despite the fact that it was dimly lit inside, he spotted a bandaged body with Naomi’s energy on the last bed in the far back.

“Doctor, that can’t be Naomi in there…”

“Ah, Naomi Niwa… ” A doctor went through his list. “I’m afraid the one you’re asking for has had half of her heart gem eaten… in her condition, if it is not retrieved within the next three days, she will die. It’s a shame, she’s so young too. The Niwa were really looking forward to the growth of their hardworking prodigy. She was just appointed to the position of Shosa, to think this could happen so soon…” The doctor lamented, continuing his walk through the hallway.

“That can’t-” A painful sting panged in his chest, leading him to stagger backwards, only to jolt back up for the door pad.

“There’s these really sweet lemon cakes on sale.” Her smile, her soft hand, her very being, it all flowed into him. “Yoshigawa, look at this! Does it look good on me?” Her voice echoed in his head. Desperation pulsed all throughout his nerves, and all he could think about was her voice. The thought of never hearing her voice again, an unbearable possibility. An intense yearning to hug her swept through his body. His worst nightmare came true, the worry he’d had so many nights: her being out in the field patrolling Osaka, only to never return.

“It’s not meant to be, we're from different worlds. I come from a peasant clan and you’re next in line to be a successor. I’m sorry, Yoshigawa.”

“You shouldn’t worry! I only have to legally do five years of service and then I’ll be done with being in the Ikigai… if you’re serious about us…” Her reassuring words, now dead. It all had to happen on the single night he thought she’d mostly be safe. On the single night that she’d have many Ikigai by her side.

Stumbling into the room in a crazed state, he slid by beds, accidentally stubbing his toe into a seat that he didn’t notice was in his way. A number of injured Setsu groaned in discomfort of all the noise. A robotic hovering bat with a nurse hat, floated to Yoshigawa, telepathically informing him, “Visitors must remain quiet.”

Yoshigawa shoved it aside without a care, moving past beds until he arrived at Naomi’s side. There, he felt his heart gem palpitate. The few visible parts of her face, so very pale. Her body, so fragile, so lifeless. His lungs constricted, suffocating him as he stood over her, unable to maintain a constant gaze on her. He dropped to his knees, out of shock, only to weakly stand back up and reach for a stool that he accidentally knocked over.

“Keep the noise down!” Yoshigawa heard an injured Setsu say, though he was too disoriented to care. Someone had used it, Yoshigawa realized, feeling the warm stool as he slipped onto it.

“I had a feeling… I should have been there… why’d it have to be you… I told you to ditch those duties last night and wait at my place, but you didn’t listen… I told you to be safe… you ran away from our promise… Nao.”

He took a hold of her cold hand. Leaning up towards her face, he slipped her hand to his chest and silently weeped. His teardrops dropped onto the bandages that covered most of her face.

“You promised you’d make it back to my place for those lemon cakes… but I find you like this? You never change… you’re so troublesome, always breaking promises…”

Yoshigawa stared at her face, as his eyes wouldn’t stop producing tears.

“You may look so peaceful and innocent, but you’re… still a liar.”

Monitors continued to beep, emitting faint yellow lights that brushed out to make his face visible. Staring into that yellow light, he spaced out.

Unlike the darkness of the room he found himself in, that particular day… a bright ray of light struck his vision, leading him to cover his eyes as he stood on a road. Vast farmland stretched out as far as he could see. Right in front of him, a seemingly never-ending field with many stallions roaming around. A summer day unlike any other. It was both the best and worst summer of his life. The anxious feeling of waiting, knowing someone was coming. His first crush. So many thoughts jumbled within his boyish mind.

One thing snapped him out of all those thoughts: the sensation of someone pressing a cold bottle of water against the back of his neck. The boy jumped up and turned around to see it was one of his best friends, Takumi, accompanied by his three other best friends: Luu, Sanosuke, and Rae.

What was another day of adventure for the boys was far bigger for Yoshigawa. His four friends all stared at him running around them in search of someone. After a while, he realized she wasn’t with them. They were supposed to have sneaked her into the haystack they brought. Yoshigawa jumped into a cart, searching about and eventually poked his head out of the hay confused.

“She didn’t wanna come,” the four all said in unison, all feeling bad about Yoshigawa’s excited nature dwindling down.

“Take the chance, believe in me. I’m here, so nothing bad’s gonna happen,” he remembered telling her, and that she avoided responding. He knew she loved him, but questioned himself and if that were actually true.

She was supposed to hide in the hay that the four brought, but Sanosuke recounted he flirted with the maids to keep them from noticing Takumi pulling her outside. He covered her mouth so she wouldn’t scream, as Rae slipped a sack over her head and whisked her away. Once they were far enough in the surrounding forest, they let her out of the sack, but Takumi threatened to knock her out if it helps in keeping her silent, to which Luu hit Takumi over the head, telling him not to scare her. The pair got into tussling until Sanosuke broke it up and Luu Reminded the others of giving her free will to choose if she wanted to go or not. They all waited for an answer and she said she wanted to stay, she didn’t want to go. Yoshigawa’s glare went to Luu.

Their attempts at cheering Yoshigawa all failed, so the boys spent the rest of that evening staring at the passing clouds, each laying back under the same shaded tree.

“Women are cancerous, so you should’ve expected this. It’s just not worth loving anyone but yourself.”

Luu quietly played a circular instrument he had in hand, only stopping after hearing what Takumi had to say. Takumi eyed him. “What? You have something to say?”

“Not all women are cancerous… and she’s not even a woman yet, Takumi.”

“But she has women around her, so where do you think she’s learned that behavior? Then again, she comes from a lower clan. And you’ve never been in love, so you should shut up and keep playing your trash ass instrument instead,” Takumi responded, picking at his claw.

“You’re getting so emotional. All I said is not all women are that way. Oh yeah, I forgot… you got dumped by a girl who wasn’t even yours to begin with,” Luu shot back, rubbing his left eye and yawning.

“F*ck you. You wouldn’t understand…” Takumi growled, watching Luu snuggle back on the grass for a nap. Sanosuke and Rae both were in their own conversation, pointing at the different clouds that continued to swirl by.

Yoshigawa didn’t say anything at all. Even after they returned to the resort, he went his own way, slipping onto a bed. The other boys went off to a racing track nearby, prefering to give him the space he needed. Following that evening came a long, heart-wrenching night that eventually helped him.

“I’m sorry! I-I was told to help around the chambers. Miss Mariam would have noticed I was gone, so I didn’t want to get in trouble. I have my family to think about, too…”

“No, I should have thought about that. Next time, I’ll ask Mariam myself then.”

“But that’d raise suspicion, she’d never allow it.”

“And I won’t allow them to stop us from playing. Jeez Naomi, do you hate me or somethin’? You never wanna play just because others tell you not to!”

“It’s not that… I just can’t trouble my family…”

“Ohhh, I’m not family to you?” Yoshigawa flung his arms over.

“You can play with the other guys,” she tried to change the subject, but he wasn’t having any of that.

“Nah, at least pinky promise, to hold your word next time or… we won’t ever talk again.” Yoshigawa held his pinky out to her, but she dropped her head, not taking it. Disgruntled, he turned away from her. He heard her sniffling under the pressure.

“I’m sorry…” Yoshigawa took a step to walk out of the shed they were in, only to be hugged from behind.

“No! I’m sorry I can’t be as vocal as you… I promise, I’ll try next time.”

“You aren’t breaking that promise. I won’t let you.” He snapped himself out of the memories, standing up from the stool. A boiling rage fizzled up inside him. What happened? He had to know who was responsible for her current state.

As he exited the patient’s room, he spotted two Setsus at the end of the hall, their conversation quite in the open. One of the two paced back and forth nervously. Yoshigawa recognized the two as Tron and Halse. Both members of Naomi’s pack… exactly who he wanted to speak to.

“Yo,” he called their way, heading straight for them. Their knees buckled upon seeing him.

“Lord Fukushima…” Halse scratched his beard, dropping down onto one knee right after.

“You visited Naomi… my apologies! I couldn’t watch over her as you requested. She posted me elsewhere and as the newly appointed Shosa, I couldn’t refuse he-”

“You two, give me your memories of last night,” Yoshigawa cut Halse off.

Yoshigawa’s eyes became a pale orange, and his Retsu almost oozed out of him with a darker sensation than ever before. The two turned their heads to each other, then back to Yoshigawa who was approaching them with his hands held up, aiming for their sweaty foreheads.

Soaring across the bright sky, a lone bird swooped down into an empty nest that Takumi gazed at. He spaced out, ignoring the many ramblings going on inside of the classroom. “How boring,” he thought to himself, tilting his head when he saw the bird take off again.

“This is what school’s about? The same old…” He squinted silently, moving his index finger around his cheek in a circular motion.

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m sharing a class with a Rikuto of the Hachi! A future Sekiha!“

“It must be nice coming from royalty!”

“His sister is the principle, too!“

“I know right, do you want to try talking to him? Think about what we can experience if we befriend him!”

“Does he have a Stagfam? Go ask him for it!”

“My dad works in the macroft company that’s owned by his father! Maybe I can get him a raise in the company!”

“Or you’ll wind up getting him fired, chill…”

“If he doesn’t like you, he can get your whole family destroyed. I wouldn’t get too close.”

“You want to go missing? I’ve heard the rumors…”

Students within the class mumbled discretely amongst themselves. They sneaked glances to Takumi, who continued staring out of the window as if he were unaware, as if he were in his own invisible glass cage.

“Mhm… nothing has changed. F*ck this,” Takumi thought to himself with an irritated sigh. “Once again, stuck in a room full of useless fools. Why’d I think this would be any different?” He picked up on a repressed vibe nearing the class entrance. Not that he cared enough to check who entered.

None of the other students noticed the door of the classroom slide open as the homeroom teacher arrived. The entire class casually continued their babbling, as the teacher made a quick assessment of the students present in his class. He scanned the room for the five students the principal informed him of… the promising Setsus that were entrusted to him, four lords put in his own class. Of those four, only Takumi was present.

“So that’s one of them.” The instructor played with one side of his short mustache and watched Takumi suddenly reach into his bag to take out a book. The book’s spine read “Basketball Vertical Tips.”

“A basketball book by Yuki Sagara…” The sight of the book reminded him of the conversation he had with Miyumi in the early hours of the morning, prior to the beginning of class.

“I’m surprised you actually made it this early, Mr. Fujiwara,” he heard Miyumi say over her fast typing, as he closed the door and helped himself to some toast a hovering robot had in a basket that balanced on its head.

“What can I say? It’s not everyday that you seek me out so urgently. Plus, I had to do some early shopping for some new goggles. Have to make a great impression on the first day, you know “ he answered, taking a bite out of the toast.

“I called you in to ask for a favor, Fuji,” she informed him, clicking through different files on her holo-screen. Miyumi then slid her seat over to where he could see her, since her desk was stacked with other papers she had to sign by hand.

“And what would that be?” Fujiwara coughed. “Also, calling your old teacher so informally, now that’s new.”

“Oops, sorry! Anyway, Fuuuuujjjiii…”

“You’ve grown colder Miyumi.” Mr. Fujiwara turned away, pretending that he was about to cry, as he slid his forearm to his eyes dramatically.

“Teehee,” Miyumi teased, before continuing on. “As you may already know, you have five lords in your class! Out of all of them, there’s one that’s going to be really problematic! Because of that, I want you to give my baby brother a test on the first day.”

The students in the class chattered louder, snapping Mr. Fujiwara out of the flashback.

“Very well. First order of business.” He made his way to his desk at the front of the class and slid his briefcase onto it. “Oh, how didn’t I notice? We also seem to have another…” He glanced over to an orange-haired girl, as her vibe washed right by him when he passed her desk. “A Ginko too?”

“It’s just as Miyu said…” One of the orbs on his French hat glowed a faint blue. Sadao gripped his suitcase, walked over to his desk, and slammed the suitcase down, attracting the attention of all the students. The suitcase automatically unlatched when he slammed it down and sprung up to their surprise, revealing particles forming wiggling worms that rose out.

“Hello all. I’m Sadao Fujiwara, 34 years old, obviously a male. I’ll be the teacher for class D-1. Pleased to have you all here. From this day forward, I will groom you all to be the best versions of yourselves.” Mr. Fujiwara’s ears twitched, hearing the teens whisper amongst themselves.

“Most of you are in this top class because of your grades, but don’t let that get to your head ‘cause I can get you out of here at any moment,” Sadao warned as the students chattered under their breath.

“Is he really Japanese? He seems foreign,” one of the students thought aloud.

“I’m French and Japanese,” Sadao responded, irked. He adjusted his special goggles over his eyes. “Everyone take your seats, now,” Sadao added, still hearing students whisper to each other.

“Really, who is this small guy?”

“Is he a student?”

“He’s a small fry!”

“No! You mean a French fry!”

“BAHAHAHAHA!” Most of the class exploded into laughter.

Without saying a single word, Mr. Fujiwara intensely glared at the babbling students, choosing to make examples out of only three. Worms within his case flew out and stuffed into the mouths of the students who bickered too much. The worms expanded like gum, stretching across their lips. They latched onto the students’ jawlines, keeping them from talking any further. Those kids attempted to pry off the apparent gum, but found they were completely immobile seconds later. The laughter died down, as all the other students froze up.

“Now, we’ll go around the class and you’ll all introduce yourselves. No more fooling around. I’ll be straightforward here: you get in trouble three times, you’re out. I don’t take sh*t from anyone. Those who’ve been stopped from talking have already lost fifty points. Reach one hundred and you’re expelled.” All of the students gasped after what Sadao said.

“Y-You can’t be seri-” one began to think out loud, but quickly covered his mouth.

“Great, that’s what I like. Silence. Speak only when spoken to. We can have fun in the class, but right now is the time to be serious. Everyone rise and in an orderly file, place your phones in this basket. No unauthorized devices in learning premises. Those things are like a plague to one’s concentration. We’re going to aim to become the most intelligent freshman class of this year… which should lead to a handsome pay bonus for me…” Mr. Fujiwara folded his hands back. All of the students did so, aside from Takumi, who lowered his phone’s volume and kept it hidden. No one mentioned him and Sadao continued on with his talk after they all returned to their seats.

“This class is completely composed of Setsus, so tell me of your ambitions freely. Are you here as a prerequisite to joining one of the Order’s military branches?” No one answered. “Or because you’re seeking a different career out of the field?” Sadao looked around, but none dared to speak up to that question either. He closed his eyes with a sigh. “Fine, if none of you will go first, I’ll have to pick.” Sadao lifted his hand and brought it down, pointing over to an orange-haired girl.

“You, you’re Himari Ginko from the illustrious Ginko family of Kumamoto. Tell me, how is the activity in Kumamoto? I miss the hot springs there… I’d say the evening weather is best there compared to other regions of Japan. Ah, your grandfather… my, it’s been years. How is he?”

“I actually haven’t ever been there… umm… my grandfather? I don’t really know too many of my family members so I can’t say much.” What she said made the other students around break into whispers, making Himari visibly uncomfortable as she lowered her head.

“Oh… my apologies. Well you’re the student with the highest mark in our class, so tell us about yourself and what you plan to do for university.”

Himari squirmed when the teacher looked her way. All eyes darted to her as she clumsily stood up, composing herself a second later. She hid her sadness and quietly spoke. “I’m not joining any military branches nor am I really getting into any Setsu activities. I’m only here to get high marks and enroll in a university that can help me with my music career… that’s all really.”

“This new generation is softer than noodles… I’ll have to do something about that.” Mr. Fujiwara sighed and rubbed his goatee using his black glove. “Very well, who’s next?” He skimmed the room. A total of four students were absent, and they were amongst the ones Miyumi had mentioned to the teacher. Seeing as they hadn’t attended the first day, Sadao made a mental note and went on to pick all of the other students at random, purposely saving Takumi for last.

“Now, the last one. Takumi Hachi. Tell us all about yourself. You being the heir to the Hachi family, surely have a grand vision since you will be the emperor of Japan in a few years…” Sadao smirked while Takumi squinted with a frown. “So long as you manage to defend that rite of passage.”

Most of the students in the class stared in awe, turning around to hear what Takumi had to say. Many squirmed in their seats gleefully. Takumi knew he was called, but continued to gaze out of the window as if he hadn’t heard the teacher at all. That is, until the staring of the whole class became uncomfortable. At that point, he had no choice to turn around, and the fact that he was pissed off was obvious in the glare he shot the entire class. In a monotone voice, he asked, “What?”

Mr. Fujiwara folded his arms, taking in Takumi’s posture. Takumi sighed and stood up to give his answer, preferring to get the attention off of himself fast. “I don’t intend to join any of that. I’m only here to pass my classes and become the best basketball player of my era. I’m going overseas to continue my basketball career.” Takumi stared directly at Mr. Fujiwara as his classmates all commented.

“A Rikuto thinking of a basketball career?”

“Why that? He has so much money already…”

“That’s really cool and all, but… what a waste.”

“Isn't basketball used to distract humans?”

“Get real. As if his family’s going to let that happen.”

The wave of comments continued on, coming all throughout the room. “Any of you care to speak louder?!” Takumi turned to face the rest of the class. “Come on, speak up!”

They all instantly avoided making eye contact. Takumi grabbed the closest male student and lifted him a few inches off of the ground, shaking him in the process. “You want to speak up for them?!” The student shook his head, not uttering a word as he was shoved back to his seat. Sadao clapped to get their attention back to him.

“Now, now. Mr. Hachi, there’s no need for violence.”

“Basketball?” Mr. Fujiwara thought to himself, studying the aggressive nature that came out of Takumi, who slowly loosened his fists. “The irony…”

“Tell me class, do you believe in having a predestined role? Do you believe people are made to do a specific duty and if so, must they do it instead of pursuing their own desires or conform to the careers already laid out in front of them? How are you any different from a person doing what has been predestined for them? Doesn’t everyone have the ability to choose what they do? Or is free will simply an illusion?” Sadao pointed to Takumi, only for the robotic announcer to say that it was time for lunch. All of the students rose from their seats in relief of not having to answer such intense questions.

“Just think about those questions for now. Everyone can go… except for you, Mr. Hachi.” Takumi silently watched the other students exit and sucked his teeth, disgruntled. He stood up and went for the door, but Mr. Fujiwara slid right in his way and slammed his palm against the door frame.

Takumi glared down at the short teacher, placing his palm on Mr. Fujiwara’s rather stiff forearm. “Get out of my way, midget.”

“Aw, that’s the brat I knew you were. Nothing like Taro. You’ll have to do better if you want to catch up to him, little boy.”

“Taro? What are yo-” Takumi paused. “I’m not a little boy.”

“And I'm not a midget.”

“Yes, you clearly are.” Takumi squinted his eyes, sensing that his teacher wasn’t actually smaller. He tried to yank Mr. Fujiwara’s forearm down, but the teacher had too firm a grip on the door’s frame.

“Tch.” Takumi sucked his fang, secretly sending a vibration of Retsu to burn at Mr. Fujiwara’s eye, but it failed to go through the teacher’s goggles.

“So weak… what a shame. Can you even grip a basketball properly with that hand strength?” Sadao sighed. “You’ll never be able to be as great as Taro.”

A vein sprouted on the left side of Takumi’s forehead after hearing what his teacher said. “Hmph. Say what you want, but move out of my way. I have some sophomores to hunt down.” Takumi closed his eyes, controlling the anger that steadily boiled in him at the mention of his brother’s name, yet again.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Nah, you can find them later. I did tell you I wanted to talk, right?”

“Make it quick, shrimp.” Takumi glared from the corner of his eye.

“You, a Rikuto Setsu, who is supposed to be in charge of your family one day… want to become the greatest basketball player of your era? Huh?”

“Yeah, I do. That’s what I’ll use my free will for. For you to come at me like this, I can tell… my sister put you up to this, didn’t she?” Inside of his pocket, Takumi clenched his fist as his shadow cast over Mr. Fujiwara.

“Well, at least you have some kind of a brain in that head of yours… though you should, considering you’re number three in the class. Ironically, I was once her teacher. Ah, those good old days…” Mr. Fujiwara coughed. “Anyway, in part, yes and no. Let’s put this into perspective. You think you can become the best basketball player? While your brother exists? While there are so many talented monsters out there? Why put yourself through those struggles when you have it made already and can be the emperor of Japan someday? That is what I have to take from you today.” He silently watched Takumi.

“If the answer you want out of me is that I’m on some journey, I'm not givin’ you that, pal.”

“Then you aren’t on a journey of revenge? Or a rebellious phase?”

“None of that.” Takumi sighed, annoyed.

“That makes me want to take you on myself. Show me then. Show me just how pathetic you are.”

“Keep yapping. I don’t have to explain myself to anyone. I know I’m going to be the best,” Takumi replied, garnering laughter from his teacher. “Enough of this. I really need you to get out of my way or else lunch will be over without me gaining any leads on Hirazawa’s captain.”

“What? You’re too scared to face this ‘shrimp’ in a game then?” Mr. Fujiwara taunted.

“I’m sure this is bullying… or some sort of harassment.”

“Nah, not what Taro would say.”

“You’re going to keep at it, huh?” Takumi squinted further. The two stood around as Mr. Fujiwara then made way for a robotic octopus-like janitor to enter the classroom. It moved around vacuums with some tentacles while another squirted the board.

“I’m not trying to get fired, only looking to make an assessment; if you lose, then you’ll take it as a sign that you aren’t cut out for it.”

“Fine, if that’s the only way to get you off my back, whatever. Let’s get this over with.” Takumi watched Mr. Fujiwara let go of the door.

Minutes later, the two found themselves just outside of the cafeteria, at a basketball court. Students recognized the two and gathered around. Others sat down on the hovering tables nearby, enjoyed their lunch and apparently the free show.

“Isn’t that Mr. Fujiwara from class D-1?”

“What’s he doing with a basketball?”

“He’s facing Takumi Hachi. I saw him play before.”

“Is he any good?”

“You bet he is! He lit a fire under Togata’s cheeks!”

“No way! Seriously?!”

The aura around the place heated up. Both Takumi and Mr. Fujiwara still had their respective school uniforms on and stepped onto the baby-blue court near the outer lunch area. “This is going to be a game of ten, and I’ll get the ball first. Ha-ha!”

Takumi shrugged and sighed, tapping the tip of his school shoes against the court line. “Can’t believe I’m letting myself get pulled into this.” He thought of leaving initially, but Mr. Fujiwara baited him yet again.

“One must defend their desires at all times. If you walk away, you are showing you’re a coward to all the students here. You’re proving you can’t stand to face the tall obstacles that get in your way of accomplishing your aspirations. How destructive that’d be to your highschool reputation…”

“Tch. You talk too-”

“If you cannot do that against me, you’ll never be able to look at your father or yourself,” Mr. Fujiwara added, tossing the basketball over to Takumi. Takumi caught it and spiked it back to him.

“Make this qu-” Just when Takumi was going to get into a defensive stance, Sadao bolted right at him, catching Takumi off guard with the sudden maneuver that got him two points. He took two big leaps, caught the ball, rose over Takumi and shot the ball right in his face, to the shock of all the students. Takumi watched Mr. Fujiwara’s torso come back down as he caught a glimpse of a locket rise out of Sadao’s buttoned down shirt.

The locket had a photograph in it. In the picture, there were individuals each with a basketball in their hand. Of those, Takumi saw a young Miyumi in the picture, along with another fellow that Takumi couldn’t see too clearly.

“This guy… Sadao.” The name now struck Takumi’s mind. He had heard it somewhere in the past. He tried tracing his memories, only to feel pressure in his gut. Mr. Fujiwara shoved the basketball into Takumi’s gut, effectively forcing Takumi out of his thoughts.

“Close off all the cheering, focus right here boy. What’s with the long face? You’re not facing just any teacher,” Mr. Fujiwara telepathically told Takumi. He bounced the basketball off of Takumi’s forehead, despite Takumi remaining unfazed, with a maddening wide eyed glare.

“Defend!” Sadao shouted with a smile, as his hungry eyes became visible from behind the goggles he wore. The gaze made Takumi freeze in place as Sadao swiped his hand to get the attention of Takumi’s eyes while he jumped up and shot with one hand again.

“WOAH! Nothing but net!” shouted one of the students, jumping from his seat at a nearby table.

The basketball rolled up to Takumi’s shoe as he met Mr. Fujiwara’s upset expression. “I don’t mean to brag, but you’re taking on someone who’s faced Toshira, Ukuiyei.”

“Did he say Toshira!? As in…?” The revelation shocked Takumi. “The pro baller on the Japanese League’s Blitzers team?”

“And to think you were preaching about being a pro baller…” Sadao shook his head.

“Tch, I haven’t gotten the ball yet…” Takumi protested, kicking the basketball over to Sadao.

“Then earn it!!!” Sadao shouted.

“Consider it done.” Takumi got into position once more. Sadao did the same, making his way back behind the free throw line. From drinking milk cartons to eating popcorn, the students were running the cafeteria out of business. The atmosphere intensified, as the anticipation became overwhelming. Takumi extended his arm up, placed his free hand on his thigh and paid close attention to Sadao’s hips.

“Foolish boy. I’ll teach you to always keep your eyes moving!” Sadao smirked, seeing where Takumi’s eyes were. He looked up with the intention of shooting the ball, but when he hopped up, Takumi had leaped higher than him and sent the ball back with a mighty echoing slap that caught everyone off guard. The ball flew into the crowd as the students all gasped.

“One of you, fetch the ball,” Sadao ordered just as fast.

While they waited, he noted the change in Takumi’s eyes. Before, they were empty, one could say aloof and very much disinterested; now, they were blazing with life. “The boy wasn’t being ignorant. He was checking me the whole time… not bad,” Sadao thought to himself.

Takumi’s wide eyes were glued onto him, a glare identical to that of a starving tiger’s. “You look hungry… I’m glad I now have your full attention. Those eyes are just like your father’s, that fires me up!” Sadao exclaimed as he was unable to resist the urge to smile. Takumi was far too zoned in to hear anything Sadao said.

“Here you are, sir.” A short boy bowed his head, handing Sadao the ball, before running back to the sidelines.

Takumi once again leaned over, paying close attention to Sadao’s hands and shoulders. “This time, I’m gonna steal it,” Takumi told himself in his head.

Sadao twisted his head from left to right and got straight to work, rushing for Takumi’s left side. He focused on Takumi’s hip and attempted to pass the ball between Takumi’s knees, but to Sadao’s surprise, the ball wasn’t at the receiving point he had planned it to be.

“Got it. Now it’s my turn, old man,” Sadao heard Takumi say. His jawline clenched as Takumi whipped back and got behind the freethrow line. He could feel strong vibes emanating from Takumi.

“He’s only up by four. No big deal.” Takumi explosively bolted down the left corner. Sadao tracked him, but Takumi quickly paused, and threw the ball up. The sunlight from above hit Sadao’s goggles. From the corner of his eyes, he recognized the ball.

“When did he shoot it?!” Sadao watched in shock as the ball bounced off the rim. Takumi quickly ran for the rebound and shot it back up with ease. Wind washed down, slapping the bottom of Sadao’s pants around.

“Ah, my neck!” Sadao flinched, slapping his palm behind his neck. “He completely played with my body, that little…” Sadao growled, but soon began laughing. The other students around clapped mesmerized by the performance.

“That’s two points. Come, I’m not finished with you.” Takumi’s piercing eyes darted straight to Sadao, who made his way over and signaled for Takumi to let him check the ball.

Takumi quickly chucked the ball at Sadao and raced behind the free throw line like a dog expecting to be thrown a bone. Sadao threw it up, and expected Takumi to lunge up for the ball, but Takumi’s wingspan helped him. Takumi waited for the ball to glide down to his side, and the moment it tapped his hip, Takumi slid his right foot behind his left and smashed his palm against the back of the ball.

The force made the ball spike right past Sadao’s right side. Sadao twisted over in an attempt to slap the ball, but he mistakenly slapped the ball to his left side, where Takumi caught it and ran in towards him instead of going for the basket. Sadao turned only to see Takumi right in front of him, as he felt the ball pass through his legs, before disappearing out of his sight. The twist of his back rendered Sadao incapable of turning as he dropped to his bum and heard the crowd cheering again.

“FOUR TO FOUR!!!” students all around repeated. Sadao watched the clouds in the lime sky roll by. He enjoyed the feeling of the warm ground on his arm as he tried to lean back up in pain.

“Get up. There’s still more left for you, shrimp,” Takumi taunted.

“Shrimp? Oui, I sure could go for some right now. Ehahahahah,” Sadao laughed. “We’re done here, you win.”

“I won? You wanted me to prove that I’m going to become the best basketball player of this era. So come on, let me ingrain it in your body.”

“Non, non. You got my back good there. Plus, I’m not in my natural Setsu state. It takes a lot to maintain this weak form. I could die you know.” Sadao rubbed his lower back, adjusting his goggles. Takumi squinted, clearly pissed off, but went over and extended his hand down to Sadao, who accepted it and stood up.

“You were all talk, huh?” Takumi was disappointed.

“I never really doubted you. Just had to confirm something,” Sadao explained.

“How lame.” Takumi sighed, shaking his head.

“You’re a reserved kid, but admit it… I woke up that slumbering beast in you. That’s good though. Keep that fire and never let it burn out, you got that?”

“Whatever.” Takumi slid one of his hands into his pocket and walked off, slipping into the crowd that quickly made way for him to get through.

“He made me waste my lunch break. Tch, I only have eleven minutes left. For that, I’m going to skip class and use that time to find those two sophomores,” Takumi thought to himself as he passed by Hanami’s classroom. She had been in there with Minami and Veil for the duration of the lunch period, instead of going to the lunchroom with the others.

Hanami went over to the robotic trash bin and fed it the juicebox she had sipped up. When she turned her head, she saw Takumi through the window, and stepped out of the room to see that he was headed towards the exit stairway door although there were only roughly ten minutes left until class started again.

“Where does he think he’s going? Don’t tell me he’s skipping?!” She knocked her seat aside, but before she could run out, some of the students from her class were already coming in and two of those students stopped in front of her and asked for her name.

“I’m Haruna Hasegawa,” she told the boys. Hanami blinked, confused at the silence. The two didn’t respond; instead, they seemed like the color of their faces drained out. “Ehhh?” She raised a brow and tippy toed to wave her hand in front of the two, when a third fellow came in between them. He locked his arms around the two, pulling them in and cheerfully greeted her.

“Hi there, cutie! I’m Hisaya! Atomu, no way! And Daiki! I haven’t seen you two since the end of middle school, what’s up!? Trying to bag the cute girls, I see.” Hisaya checked the two. They continued shaking feverishly, which he found weird. Just as he looked down to Hanami, he asked, “What’s your name?”

“Haruna… Hasegawa,” she hesitantly repeated, causing Hisaya to shiver as soon as he heard her name. “What’s wrong?” she questioned, to which Hisaya stepped back and gently pushed on Atomu and Daiki’s shoulders, making them fall onto their knees.

“Th-The Hasegawa?!?!” He screamed, diving over behind a table. The others looked over, too. “Princess, sorry for speaking so informally!!!” Hisaya announced in fear. This was because outside of school grounds, if a male that isn’t a part of one of the Rikuto Guard families that serve the Imperial family were to talk to the princess, they’d be punished by…

Atomu and Daiki suddenly slammed their hands to the ground and begged for forgiveness the same, then Hisaya gripped his crotch and cried out, “I don’t want to lose my balls! I don’t want to die!”

“Get up! Get up! It’s okay! I'm a fellow student like each of you, so you can be informal.”

“OH PRINCESS, YOU’RE SO FORGIVING!!!” The three cried out.

“No! I'm an ordinary student like you, stand!”

Concerned, Hanami tapped their shoulders and urged them to stand up. She blushed, embarrassed at the scene created, but quickly left, since she had to go after Takumi. By the time she got out the front door of the class, Takumi was further down the hall, having stopped momentarily to tie his shoe.

“HEYYYYYY!” Hanami yelled out, pointing at Takumi.

Takumi picked up the annoying cherry scent and voice that he despised. Turning his back to look, he sighed. “As expected… Hasegawa.” Takumi turned away and hastily increased his footsteps, speed walking right through the door. The hot pursuit commenced.

“First that midget… now the monkey.”

Hanami flew right after him, passing two girls that had been gawking at Takumi and jumped up, kicking the door. Takumi glided down the stairs in a hurry and looked up as the upper door flung open with Hanami landing just in front of the top staircase where he had been.

“HEY!!! GET BACK HERE!!!” She flailed her finger at him, but Takumi continued, shoving a guy that was going up the stairs, aside. “WHA-” The guy tried to question why he was shoved, but before it could fully come out, Takumi punched him across the face, effectively knocking him out as Hanami dove down the steps to check on the knocked out fellow.

While she did so, Takumi proceeded to rush down the steps, turning the corner fast enough that Hanami only managed to see the back of his jacket as she flew down the stairs, leaving the knocked out fellow laying on his side. With her closing in really fast, Takumi decided to not stop at the second floor. He looked around with little choice and jumped off of the railing, gliding down to the first floor. He had landed on top of a pile of compact paper that some robots were transporting. Hanami stopped at the ledge and yelled out “Takummmi!”, then turned over and leapt down the remaining steps after him. “You’re not getting away from me! STOP RIGHT THERE!”

As she came down, she rolled to the second floor and pointed over at him. “SOMEONE STOP THAT SKIPPER!” she squeaked as she lost the grasp she had on the floor and tumbled down the stairs, landing on the waxed first floor. Takumi heard the falling and smirked faintly, but didn’t look back.

“A skipper you say?! Mighty man has come out to play!!!” One of the teachers passing by slid into Takumi’s way, only for Takumi to juke him, effectively avoiding the teacher’s attempt at grabbing him.

Hanami rubbed her head and hopped back up, taking off again. “Now you’ve done it!!! I almost got hurt and now this!” she whined, hoping empathy would stop him. She paused to assist the old teacher, who had twisted his back when Takumi juked him.

“Argh, my back!”

“Try laying down!” She helped the teacher, only thinking of choking Takumi. ”That jerk’s gonna have it when I get my hands on him!”

Getting to the exit of the building, Takumi pushed the entrance door open and in a split second, shifted his direction from left to right and in a circular spin, maneuvered along the closing doors. Once outside, he admired the refreshing weather. His blazer flapped back along with his bangs. He took that moment to soak in the sunlight as the chain of his collar slipped behind his shoulder. The warm sunshine felt great against his pale skin. “Freedom at last,” he sighed. That moment soon came to an end when he heard the doors behind him whip open. “It’s like people don’t know how to mind their own business around here.” Takumi was forced to focus back into the situation he thought he’d escaped.

Hanami patted her skirt real quick, then continued to run after him and noticed a tree branch up ahead. An idea crossed her mind. She stopped before the tree branches and grabbed two into her hands, swiping her hands back to her side. She arched her back over and swung one of the tree branches up into the air towards Takumi’s direction and then whipped the second tree branch forward, as it spun right behind the first and hit the first one from behind, shifting the first one’s trajectory. The sharp stick swirled down and nearly struck Takumi’s legs.

“So close!” Hanami snapped her fingers as she felt the ground rumbling. A crowd of sumo wrestlers were headed straight for her like a pack of rhinos. With only a few thick tree branches left, she reached down for a third and pressed her foot down on its base to keep it from moving around too much. It snapped in half as she whipped it around and made it seem like a kendo blade. “OUT OF MY WAY!!!” she yelled at the incoming sumo wrestlers, who struggled to stop at her command and started bouncing against one another.

Taking in their direction, the girl took some quick steps, maneuvering around four of the rolling wrestlers. When a fifth came her way, she knelt down and focused her weight before propelling herself up. Hanami landed her foot on top of one of the sumo wrestlers in the middle and jumped over the rest, soaring back down like a flying squirrel.

Takumi jumped over a bench to escape her once more, and headed in the direction of the floating castle she had been to before. “Miyumi’s office?!” Hanami yelled in a high-pitched squeak after seeing the silhouette of the castle within the clouds.

She lifted her tree branch and positioned it behind her shoulder. Hearing her squeak, Takumi looked back and tripped over when she shot the tree branch and it got caught between his feet. He landed on his back gently and slid across, causing trails of dust to rise up. Takumi stopped himself by using his right palm to decrease his movement backwards. By the time he looked up, a shadow casted over him. Hanami had landed right on his gut, and grabbed his collar. “Don’t you think you should be in class?! Answer me!”

“No…” he muttered blankly, with no further commentary.

“And why is that?! What kind of example is that for your peers?!”

“Why do you care? It’s none of your business, squirt.” Takumi squinted his eyes and turned his gaze away to green leaves being whisked away into some bushes. Two purple birds plucked at the ground, the smaller one jumped onto the other and started plucking its head. Takumi turned to look away and Hanami tried turning his chin up for him to look at her, but ended up accidentally grabbing at his cheeks.

“Because I can’t have anyone related to me skipping class! Ugh, I’m not your babysitter!” she argued.

“It’s not like anyone knows, but with your yelling, that may change, stupid…”

“Stupid?! You take that-”

Takumi cut her off by quickly lifting his hand up to her face. He squished her cheeks together in return and turned her head in the direction of the attention they had attracted. “Look around and get your stinky ass off of me, girl. This is humiliating.” He gently moved his upper body as Hanami slapped his hand away and realized people had been spectating, but quickly turned away the moment she looked their way.

Her face heated up, shifting to a light red. “My butt isn’t stinky! Your mouth is!” She shook him, making Takumi’s head shake like a bobble head. Takumi lightly pushed her off of him and stood up, patting down his lap. Hanami reached her hand up for him to help her, but he passed her without assisting.

“H-Hey dude! You pushed me and didn’t even help me up!” She rose up and pushed him back lightly. The paper Takumi had been grasping got wrinkled a bit in the process. When he felt it crumble, he glanced down. Hanami snatched it before he could lift it up, quickly inspecting it. She grinned, now understanding why he had left in the first place.

“Ahhhh, so the teacher is making you get your classmate’s information, too.” She giggled. Takumi squinted and tried to swipe the paper from her, but she swung it behind her head and stepped back.

“That’s not it. Keep your nose out of my business, squirt! Give it back!” Hanami continued giggling and stepped over onto a passing robot cleaner. She landed on the white, five foot robot and waved the paper around.

“Mr. Popular is too cool to taaaawk to his cwasss mwates,” she mocked in the high-pitched voice he disliked. Just as she had said that and opened her eyes, Takumi wasn’t where he had been before.

In that short time, he got behind her, leaned down close, and pressed his upper lip along the ridge of her ear. His left arm coiled across her tummy, and the index fingers of his left hand were placed under her chin to keep her still. “No, I’m not doing any of that. That paper is for Miyumi…” he spoke softly, as the feeling of his lips against her ear and hearing his voice so close sent tingles down her spine.

“EEEK!” She tried to turn around and slap Takumi, but he caught her hand and swung it aside. The action made her spin over as he snatched the paper back from her. With it in his possession, Takumi stood up, taking a few steps away from her. He tapped the robot with his foot to power it off and jumped off, landing down on the stone path.

“I was going to hunt down some upperclassmen but now you’ve reminded me… I have to talk to Miyumi alone. This squirt can’t be there or else she’ll complicate things. Gotta shake her off.” With that in mind, Takumi dashed off again as Hanami rubbed her flustered cheeks.

She didn’t catch on to him running off until she turned back and saw him already substantially far. Not giving up, she went after him. As she turned a corner, she spotted girls from Takumi’s class waving from a third floor window, informing him that the class started. Takumi caught sight of the girls from his class bombarding the window, but passed through to the other courtyard without responding.

Takumi stopped in his tracks after passing into the inner courtyard and considered which way he’d go. “So many paths…” he thought to himself, feeling Hanami slam her palm on his shoulder as she hopped on and locked her legs to his hips.

“You’re not getting away that easily! Stop making me do things like this, someone will get the wrong idea!” She sheepishly smirked, doing her best to control the urge to attack him. Takumi tried to pinch her thigh in order to get her to let go, but she wouldn’t budge and he couldn’t stand around for too long so he sighed, regretting having ran instead of just going to Miyumi’s.

“Squirt… I’m going to class, so you can let go.”

“As if. The class is that way, so start walking! Over there!”

“Those annoying females are coming, so that’s not happening. I’ll find another way, just get your grubby little hands off of me!” Takumi responded as he glanced to some vending machines and to his surprise, spotted the two sophomores he had been looking for earlier in the day: Bentei and Yuuichi. Out of all the times to find them, it had to be in the middle of this predicament.

“Damn luck.” He sighed, picking up on the vibrations of the footsteps of the girls coming down from the second floor. Takumi really wanted to stop and talk to Bentei and Yuuichi, but kept going instead, headed for a building at the other end of the yard, as Yuuichi noticed him.

“Woah, is that the freshie? And that girl with him… she’s the girl from yesterday.” Yuuichi opened an energy drink, bringing it up to his lips. He started to gulp it down while thinking of Takumi and Hanami. She was on Takumi’s back in a very odd way, causing Yuuichi to choke and nearly spit out some of the kiwi juice. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, as a fit of coughing ensued. Bentei leaned off of the vending machine and patted Yuuichi’s back as he removed his headset.

“Aw great! I spilled my kiwi juice! Bentei, pass me my wallet!” Bentei slid his hand into his back pocket and handed his brother a yellow wallet with an albino bear head keychain hanging out of it. “I tell ya… irresponsible freshies. Even we weren’t that reckless on campus last year,” Yuuichi muttered, pressing some buttons. He heard a beeping from the machine, followed by some knocking. The second drink he ordered shot out of the vending machine. It would have hit him square in the face if he hadn’t swiped his hand to his face when he did.

Giving Bentei a side eye for smirking, he handed his brother the cold beverage and reached down to take the third drink. He cracked his open and looked back to Takumi disappearing into the distance with Hanami hitting him over the head several times.

“Freshmen… has quite the girlfr-” He mumbled and then noticed… “The three divas? What are they up to?” Yuuichi took note of the diva in the middle. From afar, he could see one of them cracked a holo-pad. “From the looks of it, seems she’s not too happy about the freshmen either?” Yuuichi wondered aloud.

“Well, that can’t be good for them…” Bentei added.

Yuuichi shrugged his shoulder after slurping down half of his drink. “Not our problem, c’mon.” He nudged Bentei and passed some girls that ran over to the divas to ask if they had seen where Takumi had gone.

Inside of the building, Takumi pressed down the handles of the doors in search of an open room. It was clear that the building was still being renovated, since they didn’t have touchpads.

“Can you quit hitting me?” Takumi caught Hanami’s forearm and tugged her off of him.

“Not until you get back to class!” she yelled back as she landed down.

Takumi pressed his palm up against her mouth briefly and pulled her into a dark room with him. “Mwehh!” Haruna gasped against Takumi’s palm.

“We can’t go in here, come on! What are y-” she tried telling him, but his palm made her say it in a muffled voice until Takumi let go and she felt Takumi press his palm over her head. He forcefully made her duck down with him. He signaled her to stay quiet by setting his index finger between his lips. “Why should I be qu-” she spoke aloud, but he moved in as if he was going to kiss her, but slid his hand, separating their lips from touching as their foreheads pressed together.

With her quiet, Takumi pulled away from her face, still keeping his hand over her mouth as he listened attentively for anyone coming. It didn’t seem like anyone was in the hallway at first. Fifteen seconds later, just when Takumi was about to lean up, the sound of a bunch of footsteps running over echoed. This was followed by girls chattering.

“Where’d he go?!” one of the girls asked urgently, though the rest of them didn’t know either.

“I think I saw him with one of the girls from D-2! Crimson hair!”

“I don’t know, but keep searching!” Another stopped beside her and then ran ahead. One of the dozen girls stepped over to the room they were hiding in. She pressed her face against the door’s glass window, trying to inspect what was inside, literally right above the two who froze. It was too dark, she couldn’t see into the room that well.

“Maybe they’re…” She reached down to grab the handle. She thought she saw movement from within as Takumi silently listened, hoping she wouldn’t open the door. He heard the knob turning and held his breath.

“Woah! You can’t go in there. The cooking room is off limits without a teacher around; that thing has an alarm that’ll go off!”

“Oh, thanks for telling me! I could have gotten in trouble.” The girl nodded.

“Let’s go before the Day Patrol catches us.” The two ran off to join the other girls that ran off to get to class.

Inside of the room, Hanami held onto Takumi. Her heartbeat pounded harder with each passing second due to Takumi being so close. His hand pressed against the cold metallic table behind her as she looked up. “His eyes are glowing brighter…”

Takumi’s fangs protruded past his lower lip. He moved down and Hanami mumbled, squirming. “W-What is it?” She blinked. Takumi didn’t respond, fighting his Setsu senses. He found himself moving in, to which she clenched her eyes shut, expecting him to bite. Instead, Takumi sighed and tapped the steel counter beside him. He helped himself up and peeked through the window. The coast was clear, none of the girls were in the hallway.

Takumi flicked the lights on to see better, after suppressing his Setsu side. He reached over and tugged a string down that brought down a curtain over the window behind them. Turning around he was hit by the same arousing scent of cinnamon bread that he had picked up before. His nostrils were invaded by the intoxicating aroma. Out of everything that could have been in the room… it had to be one of his favorite delicacies, one that he couldn’t resist. His purple eyes glimmered with the lighting above.

In a trance-like state, Takumi walked right over without questioning who had made the bread and for what reasons. Hanami still had her eyes shut. “If you're gonna bite… take it easy.” After the entire minute where nothing happened, she opened one eye and realized Takumi had turned on the lights. She raised her hand over her eyes, giving herself a moment to adjust to the kitchen’s lighting. As she stood up, she saw Takumi near trays that were lined up on a silver steel table. In a repetitive motion, Takumi just grabbed bread after bread, stuffing them into his mouth as if it were a bottomless pit.

“Hey, do those say ‘Takumi’ on them?! W-What are you doing?!” she yelled, slapping her palm onto the cold surface of the table beside her. The loud sound didn’t attract Takumi’s attention at all. He just continued to munch on the bread and reached for one after another, completely hypnotized by the tasty buns and their gooey sweet insides. “TAKUMI!” she tried getting his attention. He turned to face her with one of the breads in his mouth, maintaining his blank expression.

“Get that out of your mouth! Because of you, I’m now late for class!” She stepped forward and just as she did, Takumi pulled a rolling table that was beside the metallic table. He pushed it in her direction and then started to shove more of the pastries into his mouth faster, as she jumped over it. In the process, pots and pans fell over. After two minutes of wrestling with him, she finally got him out of the room. Takumi had gotten his fill and wasn’t sorry for it.

“You’re… the worst.” Hanami placed her hand over her chest, trying to catch her breath. Takumi flicked her nose and walked off.

“You know you wanted some too, Hasegawa. Kill your ego.”

Hanami stomped her foot down with authority. “You’re so dense! Why am I cursed with having you as a fiance, it’s not fair!” She pouted. The sliding door leading outside slid open, spreading a refreshing breeze past Takumi.

“Likewise. Just save your breath and go back yourself. I’m headed to Miyumi’s…”

“You know my answer to that. Can’t you do it after class? That’s poor planning and being irresponsible. Be considerate of me, of how caring I am to bother with an ungrateful something like you.” She set her hands on her hips after she stopped at his side.

Takumi sighed, quite irked at her constant persistence. He rubbed his forehead with his palm knowing full well what would follow. “I have to go to Miyumi. She told me she needed to see you too…”

“You’re making an excuse to avoid class, aren’t you?” She stared at him intently to see if he was lying, but Takumi maintained his blank expression.

“I wish it was an excuse. I was on my way over there to show her somethin’, and forgot to tell you she wanted to see you, too. Well, I did remember… but you’d get in my way of talking to her.”

“No I wouldn’t. You can’t assume that, jerk!” Not bothering to respond, Takumi slid his hands into his pockets and set off to the floating castle where Miyumi awaited the two in her office. Hanami followed right behind him.

Miyumi finished sorting out papers, when her office phone buzzed. A feminine robotic voice let her know that two students were downstairs in the lobby wanting to see her. Miyumi asked, “Who are they?”, and upon seeing Hanami and Takumi, she became delighted.

Takumi opened the door and quickly dug his fingers into his ears. Miyumi set her cup of tea down and let out a loud squeal when Hanami stepped in behind him. “HANA!!! MY SWEETIE!!! AND BABY BROTHER!!! You came back!” Takumi kept silent, darting a death glare at Miyumi while Hanami awkwardly giggled.

“Oh, how I missed my little sister-in-law! I’m so happy to see you two! I called you in to inform you of your first request, since you made the choice to join the school council and all… but both of you are here really early. I expected you after class.” Miyumi checked the time, concerned.

“It was this dunce’s idea! I only followed him because he wouldn’t listen to me!” Hanami bowed apologetically. Miyumi shook her head in disappointment.

“Little brother, giving your fiancee such a hard time… that’s no good, not good at all.”

“Biased ass b*tch…” Takumi thought to himself, before whispering to Hanami. “You’re such a snitch.”

“Bleh!” Hanami stuck her tongue at him.

“Listen, I’m not here to chit chat. You sent Fujiwara after me and he wasted my lunch, which is why I’m here now. I have bigger priorities at the moment.” Takumi slid out his phone and approached Miyumi’s desk. He placed it on the middle of her desk along with the paper. Miyumi stopped it with her hand and flipped it over as a holographic projection sprouted out when she clicked the folder that Takumi had put at the center of the screen. “There’s a factory I’d like information on…”

“Funny that you mention that factory, little brother…” Miyumi smirked, leaning back in her seat.

Takumi raised a brow. “So, you do know something?”

“That factory is actually tied to the request I have for you and Hanami.”

“Request?” Hanami asked, as Takumi glanced down at her. She felt it and stared up at him, before two turned to Miyumi.

“Mhm, you’ll be visiting a woman to assist her. She’s the current owner of that old factory.”

“I don’t have a choice…” The realization made Takumi squint. Miyumi read his thoughts, giving him a nod.

“That’s right! Welcome to the team, baby brother! And the first order of business is to give me a hug!” Miyumi hovered over the desk and went straight to Takumi for a hug, but was flat out rejected, as he pressed his palm up against her face to keep her from getting too close.

“I thought you weren’t joining, after the fuss you made.” The revelation that he’d join without making a fuss surprised Hanami.

Takumi shook his head, in complete disagreement. “I never said I was joining…”

Miyumi grinned, letting go of Takumi’s waist and returned to her seat. “You have no choice but to collaborate this time, little brother. It’s checkmate. Right now and for all eternity!” Miyumi twirled mockingly across the room. “Houhouhou!”

“I owe my friend Senji a favor. So, I’ll only do this one time. Don’t get it twisted: I’m not following your orders.” With that, Takumi turned away to leave.

“Sure, we’ll see about that. Oh, and don’t forget these passes for class. Finish up the rest of your classes.” Miyumi slid open one of the cabinets. She searched around until she found two passes and signed her name on them. “Here.” Miyumi handed Hanami a paper along with the two passes.

“The directions are there. Also, take this.” Miyumi brought out a folder and handed it to Takumi.

With everything handled, the two returned to their classes. Once the school day was over, Takumi met up with Hanami at the steps leading down to the school gates. Minami accompanied the two as the sky shifted to a soft orange shade. Flocks of crows flew overhead, in search of garbage bins. From the third floor of the main building, Sadao watched the crowds of students passing by, easily narrowing his sights to the trio.

“So, is he any good?” Mr. Fujiwara heard a voice ask. He looked down the hallway to see it was a small pink-haired girl with a staff uniform. She was accompanied by another teacher, “Ms. Hobobo, Lala, you too?”

“Finished preparing for tomorrow’s lesson?”

“Yeah, I did. I had Katsuya and the other boys arrange the furniture,” Lala responded, while Ms. Hobobo was too busy finishing a crab cake she had in hand.

The two stopped at his side and looked out of the same window. Down at the courtyard, they saw Takumi passing a fountain, headed towards the stairs that led down to the main gates. Hanami and Minami followed close behind, keeping a distance of eight feet from him.

“The boy?” Lala pressed her palms to her cheeks, setting her elbows on the window frame. Her round hair locks dangled outside of the window carelessly.

“Yes, I tested him like you asked me to. Though Lady Miyumi wanted me to get him to quit basketball. Turned out to be impossible, haha.”

“Ohhhhh, someone's going to be in trouble,” Lala joked, as Mr. Fujiwara was fixing his glasses. “Is he a promising one?” Lala curiously asked, seeing the striking resemblance to Taro.

“It’s too early to say for sure, coach.” Mr. Fujiwara smirked.

“Awww, you’re teasing me now? Come on, tell me!” Lala puffed up her cheeks and tried reaching for his elbow, but was suddenly bombarded with cake.

“MWWWW, these crab cakes are too good! You have to try some!”

“I see you’re mowing down more crab cakes. Keep that up and you won’t make it through your teaching hours.” Chuckling to himself, Mr. Fujiwara waved off, preferring not to have any of the cakes offered.

“Hahahaha, I can’t help it. They’re just really good today. Try one! You too, Suzie!” Ms. Hobobobo offered, as she continued to chow down on the cake even faster.

“No thanks, I’ll pass,” Sadao declined.

“I’m on a sugar cut, not allowed to,” Lala explained.

“If you say so, more for me then!” Ms. Hobobobo stuffed another into her mouth happily.

Out of curiosity, Mr. Fujiwara questioned “How were the students on your end?”

“They’re dears. They all returned to bring me some of their lunch. Class D-3 is so kind!” Ms. Hobobobo rejoiced.

“Right… and did you give them assignments?”

“No, I felt guilty because of their kind gesture. It’s only the start of classes anyway,” she chuckled as he sighed.

“Seniors are easy to handle. I wish the two of you luck, since the freshman are a lot to handle… for anyone other than me at least,” Lala joined in, after she kicked her feet around as she kept a hold on the window frame and hummed to the tune of a passing trash unit.

“That’s great. Makes me glad to have the kind of class that was assigned to me. How about Emore and Tsu? On second thought, don’t bring Tsu up…” Mr. Fujiwara quickly withdrew his initial mention of class D-2’s teacher.

“I haven’t seen Emore all day, and Tsu left early.”

“Could’ve sworn she was freshening up for a date with you,” Lala mischievously grinned.

“Sometimes I forget that you’re 34.” Mr. Fujiwara lightly flicked Lala’s nose, causing her to giggle in an evil way and attempt to bite his finger. He was smart to step away, shaking his finger, still feeling the sensation of her breath along his fingernails. “So, you’re actually hungry? Guess Ms. Hobobo’s appetite is contagious.”

Lala turned her head around with a sinister look. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Sure, see you around.” Fujiwara laughed, before walking off, seeing as there were preparations he still had to make. The other two soon left together. He received a call shortly after, from Miyumi.

“He’s destined for trouble…” he spoke into his phone, as a flock of birds took off from a nearby station, prompting Mr. Fujiwara to look up as he kept the phone to his ear.