Descendants of Time (Role-Play Act 5: Revolutionary Moment)
0
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Claudia walked towards the bridge, and had finally reached it, only to find a singing lunatic taking small walks over it. Where was the †˜man’ she was looking for? There was a girl here instead. This definitely meant that there was more than one person here. Was the teaching lying? She wondered. Either way, she looked from left to right in search of the man who seemed to need her help.
As Escott – the man she was in search of in reality – waited to see if the Lorelei’s actions would trigger a movement from another party, he saw a girl walking towards the bridge. Her sights were most definitely on the Lorelei. Is this the party that lifted the fog? He decided to wait a bit longer, though the situation was getting very tense, very quickly. If the new person were to begin casting, then he would need to take action immediately. Perhaps it was his experience, but he did not feel like the girl came walking in with a plan. Her movements were all too aloof.
As Claudia approached, she began to lose hope of finding said man for her assignment. Was this her teacher’s way of punishment? To pretty much take her for a ride and leave her in the middle of a dark city? Some joke, she thought. She crossed her arms and leaned on the stone handrail that stood on the bridge.
It had already been several minutes. Escott wondered if the girl was going to take action on the Lorelei, then she would’ve done so sooner. However, if the girl was meant to draw him out, then the situation will have changed dramatically. Nonetheless, the girl seemed more lost than anything, and he was willing to risk a close quarters engagement if it meant culling a route of information to whoever was targeting the Lorelei. He decided to walk out of the shadows from the alley he was in.
“Excuse me young lady, but it is rather late. Are you lost?”
Claudia looked to a rather scruffy, yet sharply dressed man wearing a trenchcoat approach her, she had half thought that this was the man she was supposed to assist for her assignment. She stood lost in thought for a moment until she realized that he had asked her a question. ”Ah, no I’m not. I am merely waiting for someone, is all. Thank you for your concern, however.” said Claudia in a terse and proper tone.
It was clear that this girl had an agenda. With the curfew in place, not many people should be out, let alone be meeting with someone. The fact that she disclosed this information was even more unsettling. If she was telling the truth, which she probably was, then she was either naive or foolish. Sherlock was willing to bet a normal girl would stand out in the streets past curfew. He began a test.
“That girl in white across the bridge over there, she’s rather strange isn’t she?” He posed a question.
”I would say so, yes,” Claudia began, looking over to the otherworldly girl from the distance. ”But I would suppose that is one of the city’s...unusuals. Why do you ask?”
“This is the second time I’ve seen her as I’ve taken my usual strolls during the nights. She sings an impressive tune, but earlier she wasn't looking too well. In fact, I was just on my way to check on her. Would you like to come?”
He would play a game, a game of chicken. If this person had any real affiliation with the Lorelei, then surely they would be tense. Their actions and movements would show it. And if the girl did show any, then he had no qualms about questioning her more aggressively.
Claudia raised an eyebrow, for what reason would this man-- a stranger, no less would want her to join him in watching some sickly singer, especially around this time of night? Well, it wasn’t like her contact was seemingly arriving anytime soon. ”Well...I suppose so.” she said.
Halfway across the bridge should be plenty to test her, Escott thought. “She is just across the bridge. I hope she is okay.” He lead the way and began walking towards where the Lorelei was headed to so that they would eventually cross paths. “Her singing is exquisite though, wouldn’t you agree?” He attempted to make some conversation as he walked.
”Yes, I would say so.” nodded Claudia with nothing to add on that subject.
“She’s singing in a language I don’t quite understand, though. I don’t quite think it is gibberish, like some of the other… oddities that you can find in London, as her words flow rather nicely. Can you understand any of it?”
”I understand bits and pieces of it, however it does not sound like French or any other language I’ve heard, if anything. I believe it is some sort of language they called Latin in earlier times.” said Claudia with a hand planted on her chin.
Claudia walked towards the bridge, and had finally reached it, only to find a singing lunatic taking small walks over it. Where was the †˜man’ she was looking for? There was a girl here instead. This definitely meant that there was more than one person here. Was the teaching lying? She wondered. Either way, she looked from left to right in search of the man who seemed to need her help.
As Escott – the man she was in search of in reality – waited to see if the Lorelei’s actions would trigger a movement from another party, he saw a girl walking towards the bridge. Her sights were most definitely on the Lorelei. Is this the party that lifted the fog? He decided to wait a bit longer, though the situation was getting very tense, very quickly. If the new person were to begin casting, then he would need to take action immediately. Perhaps it was his experience, but he did not feel like the girl came walking in with a plan. Her movements were all too aloof.
As Claudia approached, she began to lose hope of finding said man for her assignment. Was this her teacher’s way of punishment? To pretty much take her for a ride and leave her in the middle of a dark city? Some joke, she thought. She crossed her arms and leaned on the stone handrail that stood on the bridge.
It had already been several minutes. Escott wondered if the girl was going to take action on the Lorelei, then she would’ve done so sooner. However, if the girl was meant to draw him out, then the situation will have changed dramatically. Nonetheless, the girl seemed more lost than anything, and he was willing to risk a close quarters engagement if it meant culling a route of information to whoever was targeting the Lorelei. He decided to walk out of the shadows from the alley he was in.
“Excuse me young lady, but it is rather late. Are you lost?”
Claudia looked to a rather scruffy, yet sharply dressed man wearing a trenchcoat approach her, she had half thought that this was the man she was supposed to assist for her assignment. She stood lost in thought for a moment until she realized that he had asked her a question. ”Ah, no I’m not. I am merely waiting for someone, is all. Thank you for your concern, however.” said Claudia in a terse and proper tone.
It was clear that this girl had an agenda. With the curfew in place, not many people should be out, let alone be meeting with someone. The fact that she disclosed this information was even more unsettling. If she was telling the truth, which she probably was, then she was either naive or foolish. Sherlock was willing to bet a normal girl would stand out in the streets past curfew. He began a test.
“That girl in white across the bridge over there, she’s rather strange isn’t she?” He posed a question.
”I would say so, yes,” Claudia began, looking over to the otherworldly girl from the distance. ”But I would suppose that is one of the city’s...unusuals. Why do you ask?”
“This is the second time I’ve seen her as I’ve taken my usual strolls during the nights. She sings an impressive tune, but earlier she wasn't looking too well. In fact, I was just on my way to check on her. Would you like to come?”
He would play a game, a game of chicken. If this person had any real affiliation with the Lorelei, then surely they would be tense. Their actions and movements would show it. And if the girl did show any, then he had no qualms about questioning her more aggressively.
Claudia raised an eyebrow, for what reason would this man-- a stranger, no less would want her to join him in watching some sickly singer, especially around this time of night? Well, it wasn’t like her contact was seemingly arriving anytime soon. ”Well...I suppose so.” she said.
Halfway across the bridge should be plenty to test her, Escott thought. “She is just across the bridge. I hope she is okay.” He lead the way and began walking towards where the Lorelei was headed to so that they would eventually cross paths. “Her singing is exquisite though, wouldn’t you agree?” He attempted to make some conversation as he walked.
”Yes, I would say so.” nodded Claudia with nothing to add on that subject.
“She’s singing in a language I don’t quite understand, though. I don’t quite think it is gibberish, like some of the other… oddities that you can find in London, as her words flow rather nicely. Can you understand any of it?”
”I understand bits and pieces of it, however it does not sound like French or any other language I’ve heard, if anything. I believe it is some sort of language they called Latin in earlier times.” said Claudia with a hand planted on her chin.
0
BlinkXPoke
Cards and Hugs abound
Joint post featuring: BlinkXPoke and Cinia Pacifica.
Inside the establishment labeled with Tokyo TV, a talk show was taking place today. The recording was already in session, the celebrities were in place, with the announcer, too.
Everyone sat in rounds of seats prepared in the †˜stage’ where the cameras focused. From the show’s participants’ sight – they could see the staff members – that organized the stage and the show, putting all the spotlights towards the center – as well as the announcer, but the viewers of television elsewhere wouldn’t see everything.
As it was a talk show; they spoke about almost anything. Of course, a theme was always chosen. The main point of these shows was to get to know the participating celebrities better, since a couple of them took part; they’d also get to know each other to an extent. An †˜extent’ only because every celebrities were professionals, and they cared more about the viewers’ opinions rather than being honest with their words.
Today’s theme was White Christmas. Japan was slowly approaching the Christmas, after all.
“Then, next up, Natsu-chan, why not tell us your opinion of White Christmas, do you like it?” The announcer asked her.
“Oh, I love it! A thick layer of snow covering everything, getting to warm up together with loved ones, it’s an exciting time! The best part is gathering around a tree and exchanging presents. Everyone has fun, everyone’s happy!” Natsu gleefully explained to the announcer. She truly did love Christmas time, and the look of a snowy landscape, though she wasn’t very fond of the cold. She remained as positive as she could be on the talk show, though was a bit nervous, as this was her first time being on a program like this.
“Haha, it is true that Christmas is a very special time, huh? Getting around with your friends, family, and lover is always great, indeed!” The announcer remarked, putting an emphasis on a word that is almost taboo for idols. “Speaking of lovers, which lucky soul are you spending this Christmas with, Natsu-chan?” The announcer asked, sounding very curious. Albeit in reality, it was a blatant and rude question to ask towards an idol.
“Well, there’s no one like that...” Natsu giggled a bit before continuing. “But I am going to have a wonderful Christmas with my family and friends!” She replied honestly. Natsu silently wished she had a boyfriend to spend this time with, but she was happy with her current circumstances. She actually had her sights set on somebody close to her, but she knew it was important as an idol to be †˜everyone’s idol’. A romantic relationship could be a big scandal. And as she thought that, she saw her special someone’s gritting teeth behind the staff members.
“Well, that was certainly worth asking!” He said, not pursuing the topic anymore. “Now, today we have the Queen – winner of the Diamond Idol Queen Awards – Alice-san today: we’d love to hear your views regarding White Christmas.”
“It is a beautiful and memorable occasion indeed,” Alice replied, a regal smile decorated her expression, yet it felt somewhat cold. Her starry eyes seemed to glint at the sound of Christmas, however. “I am very much looking forward to my work. Unfortunately, I will not have the fortune to spend it with friends or family… however, I am very much delighted at the opportunity to spend it with my fans instead.”
“Ooh yes! That is special indeed. There were announcements regarding your Christmas live concert in the Uematsu Hall, right? I cannot wait to see it.”
“That is correct. The tickets were sold out in about five seconds just as they were put up on sale, though… ”
“You’re just that much popular!”
“About Christmas though… I hear that presents are exchanged… what kind of presents do people usually buy? I am rather inexperienced when it comes to presenting others.”
“Wouldn’t you just buy normal things?”
“And, normal is?” Alice asked, tilting her head with an innocent smile with an oddly curious-looking expression.
“Umm… ” the announcer was lost for words.
Natsu was somewhat taken aback as well from that statement. However, she tried to keep the conversation going, by making a few suggestions. “You can get them anything you think would make them happy. Maybe something like clothes, toys, or games.”
“But are they not cheap, usually? Would that make people happy? I’d think they’re rather easy to purchase by the recipients themselves,” Alice stated, not quite sure whether she could accept the suggestions. To her, clothes or toys or games didn’t seem special to a lasting extent, for some reason.
“It’s the thought that counts! As long as it’s a sincere gift and they appreciate it, that’s all there is to it!” Natsu replied happily.
“A thought… is it? I wonder how you count it… ?” Alice questioned vaguely, getting ever more confused. One could imagine question marks popping all around her head.
Even Natsu was beginning to be at a loss for words. “Well, uh…” She put a finger on her chin as she tried to think of a way to explain.
“Gifting is such a difficult thing to do… ” Alice commented.
“W-Well, anyway, we’ll now move on to our other guests now!” The announcer said, taking the reins back from the two idols to make sure the show would get back on track.
“Ah damn,” the man cursed, “that Alice took out most of the attention as I thought,” her manager hissed angrily. “And that announcer is sleazy!”
“Alice-san certainly was… interesting.” Natsu said softly, trying to put her thoughts in the kindest way possible. She didn’t harbor any angry feelings to either the announcer or Alice, but she did find Alice strange and the announcer rather pushy. Natsu was glad she was able to relax now offstage, though. She was quite nervous and the tension was relieved. She looked over to her manager and asked, “How did I do?”
“You could’ve done… better,” the manager coldly stated, “the show focused too much on Alice, though. They could give others more things to talk about, too,” he said, expressing his annoyance.
“I guess she is more popular right now… But, I’ll do better on my next appearance!” Natsu said motivated. Then, she glanced around the room to make sure there was no one else and snuck beside her manager. “Hey, Manager-san, if I improve on today’s performance, will you give me a reward?” She tried to ask as nonchalantly as she could.
“Well, she is one of the top idols right now, it’s just frustrating is all,” the manager said. “A reward? What would you like me to buy?” He asked, walking slightly aback from finding Natsu get dangerously close.
Natsu inched closer again as she responded. “You could accompany me while I shop for clothes.” She clearly wanted a date. She’s made a couple of advances on her manager before, but none were met with success. Maybe using a reward as a pretext could help, she thought. As much fun as she would have with her family and friends, she wanted to share some time with her manager, too, during this Christmas season.
“Ugh… fine, fine,” her manager conceded. “I hope you remember about how tight our budget is, though. When should we be going?” He asked after accepting the invitation reluctantly.
“Yay!” Natsu squealed in delight after hearing her manager accept. “Then, how about some time after my next job? When was that again?”
“Oh, that’s great. Glad that it’s not any time later. I got asked out, I suppose I really can go shopping with you,” the manager nodded, apparently happy that the †˜reward’ plan slotted right into his schedule without trouble. “Your next work is an interview. You remember how I told you to behave in interviews, right?”
“Of course! You taught me a lot!” Natsu said giddily. She couldn’t wait for the date, and was excited for her next job already. She gave her manager a quick hug and told him “Thank you!”
“Ah, jeez! You’re always so clingy,” even though the manager sounded angry, he patted her as if finding her endearing anyway. “Go break a leg there.”
Inside the establishment labeled with Tokyo TV, a talk show was taking place today. The recording was already in session, the celebrities were in place, with the announcer, too.
Everyone sat in rounds of seats prepared in the †˜stage’ where the cameras focused. From the show’s participants’ sight – they could see the staff members – that organized the stage and the show, putting all the spotlights towards the center – as well as the announcer, but the viewers of television elsewhere wouldn’t see everything.
As it was a talk show; they spoke about almost anything. Of course, a theme was always chosen. The main point of these shows was to get to know the participating celebrities better, since a couple of them took part; they’d also get to know each other to an extent. An †˜extent’ only because every celebrities were professionals, and they cared more about the viewers’ opinions rather than being honest with their words.
Today’s theme was White Christmas. Japan was slowly approaching the Christmas, after all.
“Then, next up, Natsu-chan, why not tell us your opinion of White Christmas, do you like it?” The announcer asked her.
“Oh, I love it! A thick layer of snow covering everything, getting to warm up together with loved ones, it’s an exciting time! The best part is gathering around a tree and exchanging presents. Everyone has fun, everyone’s happy!” Natsu gleefully explained to the announcer. She truly did love Christmas time, and the look of a snowy landscape, though she wasn’t very fond of the cold. She remained as positive as she could be on the talk show, though was a bit nervous, as this was her first time being on a program like this.
“Haha, it is true that Christmas is a very special time, huh? Getting around with your friends, family, and lover is always great, indeed!” The announcer remarked, putting an emphasis on a word that is almost taboo for idols. “Speaking of lovers, which lucky soul are you spending this Christmas with, Natsu-chan?” The announcer asked, sounding very curious. Albeit in reality, it was a blatant and rude question to ask towards an idol.
“Well, there’s no one like that...” Natsu giggled a bit before continuing. “But I am going to have a wonderful Christmas with my family and friends!” She replied honestly. Natsu silently wished she had a boyfriend to spend this time with, but she was happy with her current circumstances. She actually had her sights set on somebody close to her, but she knew it was important as an idol to be †˜everyone’s idol’. A romantic relationship could be a big scandal. And as she thought that, she saw her special someone’s gritting teeth behind the staff members.
“Well, that was certainly worth asking!” He said, not pursuing the topic anymore. “Now, today we have the Queen – winner of the Diamond Idol Queen Awards – Alice-san today: we’d love to hear your views regarding White Christmas.”
“It is a beautiful and memorable occasion indeed,” Alice replied, a regal smile decorated her expression, yet it felt somewhat cold. Her starry eyes seemed to glint at the sound of Christmas, however. “I am very much looking forward to my work. Unfortunately, I will not have the fortune to spend it with friends or family… however, I am very much delighted at the opportunity to spend it with my fans instead.”
“Ooh yes! That is special indeed. There were announcements regarding your Christmas live concert in the Uematsu Hall, right? I cannot wait to see it.”
“That is correct. The tickets were sold out in about five seconds just as they were put up on sale, though… ”
“You’re just that much popular!”
“About Christmas though… I hear that presents are exchanged… what kind of presents do people usually buy? I am rather inexperienced when it comes to presenting others.”
“Wouldn’t you just buy normal things?”
“And, normal is?” Alice asked, tilting her head with an innocent smile with an oddly curious-looking expression.
“Umm… ” the announcer was lost for words.
Natsu was somewhat taken aback as well from that statement. However, she tried to keep the conversation going, by making a few suggestions. “You can get them anything you think would make them happy. Maybe something like clothes, toys, or games.”
“But are they not cheap, usually? Would that make people happy? I’d think they’re rather easy to purchase by the recipients themselves,” Alice stated, not quite sure whether she could accept the suggestions. To her, clothes or toys or games didn’t seem special to a lasting extent, for some reason.
“It’s the thought that counts! As long as it’s a sincere gift and they appreciate it, that’s all there is to it!” Natsu replied happily.
“A thought… is it? I wonder how you count it… ?” Alice questioned vaguely, getting ever more confused. One could imagine question marks popping all around her head.
Even Natsu was beginning to be at a loss for words. “Well, uh…” She put a finger on her chin as she tried to think of a way to explain.
“Gifting is such a difficult thing to do… ” Alice commented.
“W-Well, anyway, we’ll now move on to our other guests now!” The announcer said, taking the reins back from the two idols to make sure the show would get back on track.
***
“Ah damn,” the man cursed, “that Alice took out most of the attention as I thought,” her manager hissed angrily. “And that announcer is sleazy!”
“Alice-san certainly was… interesting.” Natsu said softly, trying to put her thoughts in the kindest way possible. She didn’t harbor any angry feelings to either the announcer or Alice, but she did find Alice strange and the announcer rather pushy. Natsu was glad she was able to relax now offstage, though. She was quite nervous and the tension was relieved. She looked over to her manager and asked, “How did I do?”
“You could’ve done… better,” the manager coldly stated, “the show focused too much on Alice, though. They could give others more things to talk about, too,” he said, expressing his annoyance.
“I guess she is more popular right now… But, I’ll do better on my next appearance!” Natsu said motivated. Then, she glanced around the room to make sure there was no one else and snuck beside her manager. “Hey, Manager-san, if I improve on today’s performance, will you give me a reward?” She tried to ask as nonchalantly as she could.
“Well, she is one of the top idols right now, it’s just frustrating is all,” the manager said. “A reward? What would you like me to buy?” He asked, walking slightly aback from finding Natsu get dangerously close.
Natsu inched closer again as she responded. “You could accompany me while I shop for clothes.” She clearly wanted a date. She’s made a couple of advances on her manager before, but none were met with success. Maybe using a reward as a pretext could help, she thought. As much fun as she would have with her family and friends, she wanted to share some time with her manager, too, during this Christmas season.
“Ugh… fine, fine,” her manager conceded. “I hope you remember about how tight our budget is, though. When should we be going?” He asked after accepting the invitation reluctantly.
“Yay!” Natsu squealed in delight after hearing her manager accept. “Then, how about some time after my next job? When was that again?”
“Oh, that’s great. Glad that it’s not any time later. I got asked out, I suppose I really can go shopping with you,” the manager nodded, apparently happy that the †˜reward’ plan slotted right into his schedule without trouble. “Your next work is an interview. You remember how I told you to behave in interviews, right?”
“Of course! You taught me a lot!” Natsu said giddily. She couldn’t wait for the date, and was excited for her next job already. She gave her manager a quick hug and told him “Thank you!”
“Ah, jeez! You’re always so clingy,” even though the manager sounded angry, he patted her as if finding her endearing anyway. “Go break a leg there.”
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
After tens of minutes of running, they found themselves dangerously close to the Buckingham Palace. It was also around the roads of West Minster. The howls grew louder, and the man’s reluctance turned to more of a sense of duty.
“That is no mundane wolf,” the girl said between her breathes. “It sounds nothing like one,” she added, as they ran across the streets. According to her, they were apparently close.
“I don’t like this,” The man said, continuing to run, “I don’t like it one bit.”
The two stopped the next moment, and looked up. There seemed to something in the sky. The two narrowed their eyes and stared at the full moon.
Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Where were the wolf’s calls coming from, then?
That was answered as a dot appeared in the moon, and it soon expanded. The girl gave the second loudest yelp this night as the monster descended and fell before the two; crushing the stone-paved road before them with a roar.
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It was large, black, and as one would expect, full with long black fur. And it reminded both of not wolves, but werewolves instead.
“...Why didn’t I think of it? To think lycanthropes still exist,” she stated; surprised and somewhat scared at the same time, but she tried to contain herself from her fears.
The man sighed again, “To think they do indeed, although with the times as they are it hardly surprises me,” he said, moving in front of the girl, a gleaming sword appearing in his hands. Spinning the sword around his hands, he gripped it firmly and entered a stance. He was prepared for battle.
The lycanthrope gave another roar, and with it the king could feel the girl behind him shudder. “There’s a strange aura from his claws. Avoid them as best as you can,” she whispered to her protector.
He smiled and nodded, preparing himself for attack. The beast took no more moments to hold back, and charged forth. Each steps crushed the ground beneath him, wrecking the sight before the man; causing the dust to replace the mist in the air. The man parried the attack made with the claws. Of course, the girl tugged at his cloth as best as she could as he did so. The beast was so fast that he almost missed the moment it took the liberty to attack.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he took notice from the killer’s intent alone.
“Tch, this wont be easy,” The man said, almost cursing. Spinning his sword again, the man launched his own attack. Gleaming sword held firmly in his right hand, he ducked under the Werewolf’s guard, matting its fur with red. As he did this however the Lycanthrope launched a counterattack slashing at him from behind.
“Ugh,” The man grunted, as more than the attack: he felt a venom course through his veins, “Poison eh? Not nice at all.”
“This is why you should be more careful!” The girl shouted from behind as she held out her arm towards the eyes that now shifted to her. Her lips moved as she chanted, as if praying. A purple glow, a resounding voice, and a wave of the same color invaded the monster. Before it could hit the head, the lycanthrope fortified; taking up its hand and allowing the spell to land upon it. The magic sucked on its fur and skin – making it dry and weak. She smirked, feeling victorious, but only for a moment, before she realized the sorry fact that the beast would likely be aiming for her next.
“You’d best watch out now,” The man said, “I don’t think he liked that.”
“At least I got a hit on… ” she replied, placing her hand over her hip, sounding high and mighty, until she was overshadowed by the large monster who bore his fangs and claws, apparently ready to cut her as if she was soft cheese.
And so the man heard the loudest shriek from the said girl after a long roar, as she was almost clawed to death by the beast possessing poisonous claws. The two now had blood with poison soon to run through their veins. It was as if the beast was teaching them the consequences of poking around the streets to investigate secrets at night. Albeit for the man, it was mysteriously prevented from spreading and causing pain to him.
Of course, the girl tried to make a swift-getaway, but they often work in imaginations rather than the reality, hence the large red mark over her stained white one-piece in her back now. The beast could only attack her with a single hand, as the other hand was not only dismantled by her spell, but also blackened by it as an aftermath.
When the man got up and stood before her and between the enemy yet again, the girl knelt on the stone pavement, holding back her tears despite the pain.
“Don’t you worry,” the man said, a faint blue glow emanating from his hands as he directed his power towards the girl. A light appeared over the girl and suddenly water sprayed from above her. She could feel her wounds closing with vapour and heat rising out of it, as if it was a miracle of God himself. But she knew better, and was familiar with these kind of pure water. She was fine dripping with holy water rather than deep red blood. It didn’t quite get rid of the stains, however. She could at least get up now, and ready her next move If she couldn’t get its head, she’d rather get its other hand.
With that in mind, she readied her next spell as she chanted. Calling upon her knowledge, her chants beckoned to the spirits of her home Realm, and thus she was able to gather mana from there – the ingredients to her offensive spell. Soon, a purple glow emanated once again, and it engulfed its other arm as it tried to protect its head from the spell. This was a predicted outcome. A direct hit to the head would’ve been lethal. The werewolf – having some sense of danger – would definitely protect it, as it had done so earlier. This time, it could only use the arm that it could still use, hence the other arm was used.
Now that it used both arms to protect itself from the spells, it couldn’t use its arms at all. Since both those arms got so much fluids sucked out of them from the spell that they were no longer functional.
“With this, we won’t have to worry about his poison at all,” the now-healed girl proudly claimed, pushing her – frankly, flat – chest out happily.
“And this,” the man proclaimed, “Is why I keep you around.”
The girl shot an angry glare. “Will you stop treating me like a convenient pet already?!” She expected something more plain. Like an honest praise, or perhaps whispers of lo- no, not from this man, she shook her head repeatedly to get the accidental thought out of her head.
Meanwhile, the lycanthrope howled loudly, as if calling for help.
“Ah, just shut up already,” the man leaped attempting to further stain the beast’s coat, but to no avail. Agile as Lycanthropes are; it nimbly avoided the attack.
“Curses,” he said wanting the battle to end.
“Arthur, something is not right,” the girl said, uttering the man’s name for the first time in the night. “Lycanthropes are lone magical creatures. Calling for help is unheard of, for them. I’ll try to keep my ears perked up, but you need to finish this soon,” she warned.
“I feared as much,” the man called Arthur said, frowning, “I’ll do my best, but he’s hardly a common Mage or Warrior.”
“A king should be able to take care of a rabid beast at least, yes?” She asked mockingly, before the lycanthrope yelled from the top of its lungs again. It made the floor shake, as well as herself. The man didn’t seemed to be scared one bit, however.
Moments after the noise subsided – her ears stopped ringing – and she perked up, as if awoken from a daze.
“Arthur! I hear something… I’ve never heard something so… subtle… something infernal might be on its way here,” she reported.
“Just what I needed,” the man complained before closing his eyes. Concentrating, he removed all impurity from the water. His reach encompassed the entire of Westminster. At the same time, the girl casted a simple spell; allowing her dress and body to be dry from all the dripping water now. She didn’t wanted to catch a cold, after all. Wet clothes felt bad to wear and are usually harder to move around in Since it was a simple spell, she was able to keep her previous spell active through minor concentration alone.
“It’s almost ready, hold on a bit,” he said. But the girl’s eye widened. Arthur looked back to her; puzzled. Then she pointed back to the lycanthrope, and then Arthur found something very, very familiar there. Or well, someone familiar.
A young-looking woman sat over a shoulder of the werewolf.
“It’s been a while,” a familiar voice said. It was clear and sweet, as if tempting him for relaxation. A voice as clear as a song. He remembered it very well. Albeit he didn’t know why she seemed younger. Perhaps it was one of her tricks?
“As tired as ever, I assume, Arthur?”
Black feathers danced across the air around the lycanthrope and the woman. There was hardly any sound, and he had no idea when his old nemesis even got here. Was he too preoccupied from concentrating? He’d have to figure that out later.
“Ah,” Arthur said, “It’s you. I was hoping you wouldn’t show your face again if I’m honest.”
“I wouldn’t need to, if it weren’t for you bullying my cute little pet here,” she said, her hands ensnaring around the wolf’s head as she hugged it lightly and caressing it with her feeble-looking hands. “Poor thing had been calling out for so long,” she said.
“This is all in self-defence I’m afraid. You ought to put a leash on that thing,” Arthur said disdainfully.
“Indeed. I did not plan for this to go out on its own,” she answered, agreeing with the man. “Perhaps it tried to do me a favor,” she giggled, sounding more evil than cute, somehow.
She then looked down, lower than Arthur, and frowned. “I’ll be taking your head soon enough,” her expression changed and she seemed rather angry than calm.
Arthur felt confounded. He looked back to the girl behind him. What’d she want with her? He then looked back to the black-dressed lolita, and found that the direction of her eyes lead before him instead. Lowering his glance; he found a blue figure before him. She was too short for him to notice.
It was a familiar child. Yet he couldn’t remember seeing her before.
“It is past bedtime. I’d request you all to away your arms, and rest your throats,” she said gently, yet it was a commanding tone. She’d hope that man would not fight each other at least past the bedtime. “I’ve had the curfew placed for a reason.”
“Boring. That’s all you have to say after we have this fated reunion?”
Arthur sighed, “This is all very tiring, as always. I can never catch a break when it comes to you two, although if I must say you’re both looking very youthful.”
“My real form, actually. I suppose this is the first time you’ve seen me like this.”
“I wish I wasn’t so little, but I cannot appear to be too old as a Queen… then the plan backfired,” she said disdainfully, sighing. “As a projection, this form is half my current age in terms of its form, however.”
“I feel even older in the presence of such young looking ladies,” Arthur admitted, “Although these days I’m constantly being reminded of my age, as unfortunate as that is.”
“Now, now. You’re as handsome as ever, does it matter anymore?” She said, giving a smile that seemed rather nostalgic to the old king.
“This does take me back,” Arthur said, “It’s such a shame that we had to leave off the way we did,” he said, half-joking.
“A decision you made was something I had to pay my respects to, King. However, I no longer find something so long ago a shame,” she brutally stated, facing the werewolf and its owner. “But really… I’d suggest you to go to bed already, Mister Director. No one wants you to be late – for work. I am disappointed that she failed to keep you in check,” she sighed, referring to the faerie who couldn’t quite find a way to speak in between such individuals. The faerie frowned, but that’s all she could do. There was no way that she could stop Arthur when she was supporting his goals.
“She is after my head, so there is nothing to worry about, I believe?”
“Tch,” Arthur tutted, disgruntled, “After I wasted all that energy. I guess we’re off Amrita”
“Thank you,” she said, giving a respectable bow to Arthur, “with this, my fight will be easier, at least,” she added, before walking towards the Buckingham Palace. Shining dusts gave off from the blueish-white spiritual form before it faded into the air.
When Arthur turned to give one final look at his nemesis, he only found black feathers and a bunch of craters that was caused by the werewolf during the battle.
“Ah… yes… ” Amrita said, it was as if Arthur’s words had broken the ice for her. “Ahh!” She uttered, apparently coming to a realization. “I hear a whole bunch of footsteps! It must be the Scotland Yard!”
“Let’s hurry then,” Arthur said irritably, “I’m not in the mood to deal with them.”
Amrita nodded, and the two then fled from the scene. With Amrita’s spell active, she could tell from through the currents of the air the paths they’d need to take to safely retreat.
“That is no mundane wolf,” the girl said between her breathes. “It sounds nothing like one,” she added, as they ran across the streets. According to her, they were apparently close.
“I don’t like this,” The man said, continuing to run, “I don’t like it one bit.”
The two stopped the next moment, and looked up. There seemed to something in the sky. The two narrowed their eyes and stared at the full moon.
Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Where were the wolf’s calls coming from, then?
That was answered as a dot appeared in the moon, and it soon expanded. The girl gave the second loudest yelp this night as the monster descended and fell before the two; crushing the stone-paved road before them with a roar.
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
It was large, black, and as one would expect, full with long black fur. And it reminded both of not wolves, but werewolves instead.
“...Why didn’t I think of it? To think lycanthropes still exist,” she stated; surprised and somewhat scared at the same time, but she tried to contain herself from her fears.
The man sighed again, “To think they do indeed, although with the times as they are it hardly surprises me,” he said, moving in front of the girl, a gleaming sword appearing in his hands. Spinning the sword around his hands, he gripped it firmly and entered a stance. He was prepared for battle.
The lycanthrope gave another roar, and with it the king could feel the girl behind him shudder. “There’s a strange aura from his claws. Avoid them as best as you can,” she whispered to her protector.
He smiled and nodded, preparing himself for attack. The beast took no more moments to hold back, and charged forth. Each steps crushed the ground beneath him, wrecking the sight before the man; causing the dust to replace the mist in the air. The man parried the attack made with the claws. Of course, the girl tugged at his cloth as best as she could as he did so. The beast was so fast that he almost missed the moment it took the liberty to attack.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he took notice from the killer’s intent alone.
“Tch, this wont be easy,” The man said, almost cursing. Spinning his sword again, the man launched his own attack. Gleaming sword held firmly in his right hand, he ducked under the Werewolf’s guard, matting its fur with red. As he did this however the Lycanthrope launched a counterattack slashing at him from behind.
“Ugh,” The man grunted, as more than the attack: he felt a venom course through his veins, “Poison eh? Not nice at all.”
“This is why you should be more careful!” The girl shouted from behind as she held out her arm towards the eyes that now shifted to her. Her lips moved as she chanted, as if praying. A purple glow, a resounding voice, and a wave of the same color invaded the monster. Before it could hit the head, the lycanthrope fortified; taking up its hand and allowing the spell to land upon it. The magic sucked on its fur and skin – making it dry and weak. She smirked, feeling victorious, but only for a moment, before she realized the sorry fact that the beast would likely be aiming for her next.
“You’d best watch out now,” The man said, “I don’t think he liked that.”
“At least I got a hit on… ” she replied, placing her hand over her hip, sounding high and mighty, until she was overshadowed by the large monster who bore his fangs and claws, apparently ready to cut her as if she was soft cheese.
And so the man heard the loudest shriek from the said girl after a long roar, as she was almost clawed to death by the beast possessing poisonous claws. The two now had blood with poison soon to run through their veins. It was as if the beast was teaching them the consequences of poking around the streets to investigate secrets at night. Albeit for the man, it was mysteriously prevented from spreading and causing pain to him.
Of course, the girl tried to make a swift-getaway, but they often work in imaginations rather than the reality, hence the large red mark over her stained white one-piece in her back now. The beast could only attack her with a single hand, as the other hand was not only dismantled by her spell, but also blackened by it as an aftermath.
When the man got up and stood before her and between the enemy yet again, the girl knelt on the stone pavement, holding back her tears despite the pain.
“Don’t you worry,” the man said, a faint blue glow emanating from his hands as he directed his power towards the girl. A light appeared over the girl and suddenly water sprayed from above her. She could feel her wounds closing with vapour and heat rising out of it, as if it was a miracle of God himself. But she knew better, and was familiar with these kind of pure water. She was fine dripping with holy water rather than deep red blood. It didn’t quite get rid of the stains, however. She could at least get up now, and ready her next move If she couldn’t get its head, she’d rather get its other hand.
With that in mind, she readied her next spell as she chanted. Calling upon her knowledge, her chants beckoned to the spirits of her home Realm, and thus she was able to gather mana from there – the ingredients to her offensive spell. Soon, a purple glow emanated once again, and it engulfed its other arm as it tried to protect its head from the spell. This was a predicted outcome. A direct hit to the head would’ve been lethal. The werewolf – having some sense of danger – would definitely protect it, as it had done so earlier. This time, it could only use the arm that it could still use, hence the other arm was used.
Now that it used both arms to protect itself from the spells, it couldn’t use its arms at all. Since both those arms got so much fluids sucked out of them from the spell that they were no longer functional.
“With this, we won’t have to worry about his poison at all,” the now-healed girl proudly claimed, pushing her – frankly, flat – chest out happily.
“And this,” the man proclaimed, “Is why I keep you around.”
The girl shot an angry glare. “Will you stop treating me like a convenient pet already?!” She expected something more plain. Like an honest praise, or perhaps whispers of lo- no, not from this man, she shook her head repeatedly to get the accidental thought out of her head.
Meanwhile, the lycanthrope howled loudly, as if calling for help.
“Ah, just shut up already,” the man leaped attempting to further stain the beast’s coat, but to no avail. Agile as Lycanthropes are; it nimbly avoided the attack.
“Curses,” he said wanting the battle to end.
“Arthur, something is not right,” the girl said, uttering the man’s name for the first time in the night. “Lycanthropes are lone magical creatures. Calling for help is unheard of, for them. I’ll try to keep my ears perked up, but you need to finish this soon,” she warned.
“I feared as much,” the man called Arthur said, frowning, “I’ll do my best, but he’s hardly a common Mage or Warrior.”
“A king should be able to take care of a rabid beast at least, yes?” She asked mockingly, before the lycanthrope yelled from the top of its lungs again. It made the floor shake, as well as herself. The man didn’t seemed to be scared one bit, however.
Moments after the noise subsided – her ears stopped ringing – and she perked up, as if awoken from a daze.
“Arthur! I hear something… I’ve never heard something so… subtle… something infernal might be on its way here,” she reported.
“Just what I needed,” the man complained before closing his eyes. Concentrating, he removed all impurity from the water. His reach encompassed the entire of Westminster. At the same time, the girl casted a simple spell; allowing her dress and body to be dry from all the dripping water now. She didn’t wanted to catch a cold, after all. Wet clothes felt bad to wear and are usually harder to move around in Since it was a simple spell, she was able to keep her previous spell active through minor concentration alone.
“It’s almost ready, hold on a bit,” he said. But the girl’s eye widened. Arthur looked back to her; puzzled. Then she pointed back to the lycanthrope, and then Arthur found something very, very familiar there. Or well, someone familiar.
A young-looking woman sat over a shoulder of the werewolf.
“It’s been a while,” a familiar voice said. It was clear and sweet, as if tempting him for relaxation. A voice as clear as a song. He remembered it very well. Albeit he didn’t know why she seemed younger. Perhaps it was one of her tricks?
“As tired as ever, I assume, Arthur?”
Black feathers danced across the air around the lycanthrope and the woman. There was hardly any sound, and he had no idea when his old nemesis even got here. Was he too preoccupied from concentrating? He’d have to figure that out later.
“Ah,” Arthur said, “It’s you. I was hoping you wouldn’t show your face again if I’m honest.”
“I wouldn’t need to, if it weren’t for you bullying my cute little pet here,” she said, her hands ensnaring around the wolf’s head as she hugged it lightly and caressing it with her feeble-looking hands. “Poor thing had been calling out for so long,” she said.
“This is all in self-defence I’m afraid. You ought to put a leash on that thing,” Arthur said disdainfully.
“Indeed. I did not plan for this to go out on its own,” she answered, agreeing with the man. “Perhaps it tried to do me a favor,” she giggled, sounding more evil than cute, somehow.
She then looked down, lower than Arthur, and frowned. “I’ll be taking your head soon enough,” her expression changed and she seemed rather angry than calm.
Arthur felt confounded. He looked back to the girl behind him. What’d she want with her? He then looked back to the black-dressed lolita, and found that the direction of her eyes lead before him instead. Lowering his glance; he found a blue figure before him. She was too short for him to notice.
It was a familiar child. Yet he couldn’t remember seeing her before.
“It is past bedtime. I’d request you all to away your arms, and rest your throats,” she said gently, yet it was a commanding tone. She’d hope that man would not fight each other at least past the bedtime. “I’ve had the curfew placed for a reason.”
“Boring. That’s all you have to say after we have this fated reunion?”
Arthur sighed, “This is all very tiring, as always. I can never catch a break when it comes to you two, although if I must say you’re both looking very youthful.”
“My real form, actually. I suppose this is the first time you’ve seen me like this.”
“I wish I wasn’t so little, but I cannot appear to be too old as a Queen… then the plan backfired,” she said disdainfully, sighing. “As a projection, this form is half my current age in terms of its form, however.”
“I feel even older in the presence of such young looking ladies,” Arthur admitted, “Although these days I’m constantly being reminded of my age, as unfortunate as that is.”
“Now, now. You’re as handsome as ever, does it matter anymore?” She said, giving a smile that seemed rather nostalgic to the old king.
“This does take me back,” Arthur said, “It’s such a shame that we had to leave off the way we did,” he said, half-joking.
“A decision you made was something I had to pay my respects to, King. However, I no longer find something so long ago a shame,” she brutally stated, facing the werewolf and its owner. “But really… I’d suggest you to go to bed already, Mister Director. No one wants you to be late – for work. I am disappointed that she failed to keep you in check,” she sighed, referring to the faerie who couldn’t quite find a way to speak in between such individuals. The faerie frowned, but that’s all she could do. There was no way that she could stop Arthur when she was supporting his goals.
“She is after my head, so there is nothing to worry about, I believe?”
“Tch,” Arthur tutted, disgruntled, “After I wasted all that energy. I guess we’re off Amrita”
“Thank you,” she said, giving a respectable bow to Arthur, “with this, my fight will be easier, at least,” she added, before walking towards the Buckingham Palace. Shining dusts gave off from the blueish-white spiritual form before it faded into the air.
When Arthur turned to give one final look at his nemesis, he only found black feathers and a bunch of craters that was caused by the werewolf during the battle.
“Ah… yes… ” Amrita said, it was as if Arthur’s words had broken the ice for her. “Ahh!” She uttered, apparently coming to a realization. “I hear a whole bunch of footsteps! It must be the Scotland Yard!”
“Let’s hurry then,” Arthur said irritably, “I’m not in the mood to deal with them.”
Amrita nodded, and the two then fled from the scene. With Amrita’s spell active, she could tell from through the currents of the air the paths they’d need to take to safely retreat.
0
xninebreaker
FAKKU Writer
The two of them were getting fairly close to the Lorelei. This was probably closer than Escott had ever been to her. However, he knew she would be turning once she crossed the Millennium Bridge, so in reality, this wager was far in his favor. His largest concern was the strange mix of probabilities that was starting to build up. This girl was both willing to talk about and approach the Lorelei with a stranger in a trenchcoat, while supposedly waiting for someone past curfew. It wasn’t adding up. This didn’t quite fit the profile of a normal girl or a party related to the Lorelei.
“You said you were waiting on someone earlier? I do not mean to be rude, but it is rather late for a young lady to be out. Is it important? If not I would be more than willing to escort you home and inform the person you are waiting for.”
”No, I am fine. The person I am waiting for, he-- uhh…” Claudia had to think of a believable lie, this man really was imposing on her. Even if he were to be her contact, she wouldn’t know either way and she couldn’t chance it at all. Damn that teacher, it was his fault for not giving her any further information about her mission. ”...He is my husband, you see. He went off to find something of mine-- my wedding ring. He planned to propose to me on this bridge and seemed to have forgotten it at home. So yes, it is rather important.” replied Claudia, blushing a little.
Escott had plans to push the Lorelei meetup more as they were close enough to call out to her, but Claudia’s remarks made him stop in his tracks. He turned around and stared intently at the girl.
“It is not adding up,” his gentle tone had changed into one that was sharp and to the point. “You are waiting for your husband’s proposal, one that you already knew about. Let us forget your young age for a second and the fact that it is past curfew. One, if this event is so important, why would you be leaving the bridge with a man you do not know. Two, if a man were to propose, then he would be leading you here, not making you wait. And three, if you truly knew why you were even here, you would not have hesitated when answering. Who are you? And why are you here?” He imposed his reasoning and closed the distance between the two of them slowly and threateningly.
Claudia’s face tightened up, this man had truly becoming a nuisance up to this very moment. She contemplated killing him and being done with this predicament, but she also thought of getting flak from her teacher if she had to clean up a bloody mess. She lost either way apparently. She sighed and ran a hand through her long, golden hair before parting her lips. ”Hmph, such is a nuisance. What I am doing is none of your business, and I am slowly becoming irritated with your presence. I am Claudia Virtusio de la Farris and you are merely becoming a thorn in my side.” she insulted the nosy man. Her terse tone became like that of a snake’s, and of course with her accent, each syllable was pronounced sharply.
There was only one thing left. It was no longer a risk, simply a matter of confirmation now. She was no ordinary girl, and an enemy of any kind would’ve struck him down if they had ties to the Lorelei. Her tension towards the issues he pressed were close to none, but he knew why. His tone changed once again to the gentle tone he began with, “I see. I am Escott. The man you have been waiting for. It has been… a pleasure to meet you.” There are no other options. Curse that man. I thought he said he would be arranging a meeting!
Claudia’s eyes lit up upon realization that this was the man she was supposed to be meeting. She also realized that she blew up and thought of killing him. She pinched the bridge of her nose and threw herself down to a proper bow to the man. ”I apologize, I had no idea who you were. I had assumed the complete opposite.” said Clauda, returning to her terse tone.
“Do not worry, I was pushing my luck close to the brim. I am more surprised you did not attack me earlier. However, minor issues and introductions aside, I have an important question first and foremost. Do you know who that girl over there is?” He pointed to the Lorelei who was now crossing the Millenium Bridge.
”No, I do not. Unfortunately my teacher neglected to inform me about anyone else other than yourself being here.” Huffed Claudia, pouting a little at the thought.
Escott breathed a heavy sigh, “It looks like the both of us were done in by our superiors. I was told I was going to have a guard, but I did not expect you to be coming tonight. Especially considering I am probably almost done tonight. I digress, more importantly I need to fill you in. Let us go back over the bridge we crossed and I’ll fill you in. First off, I suppose your teacher did not inform you of the work I’m doing?”
Claudia shook her head, scowling. ”No, he did not. Apparently I am left in the dark about this whole ordeal. He only told me that I was to be guarding you tonight, and that I would do so every night.” This was starting to get irritating for Claudia, she started to wonder if Lord William happened to know anything about this on her teacher’s own accord.
“I have been ordered to observe that singing girl over there. She is known as the Lorelei. I know not why The Society regards her so highly, but every night that she goes out, I keep a watch on her and report if anything unusual happens. I suspect that the situation around her will be getting more dangerous if they have assigned me a guard. Just before you came, she vomited into the river. She’s almost in the residential area now though, so our work here is almost done. Any questions so far?”
”On the topic of her vomiting, what would be so dangerous about that? Also, why would you need a guard to observe one girl?” questioned Claudia still not quite understanding the situation.
“Both good questions. First, the act of vomiting itself is not dangerous, but it is unusual. I’ve been watching her for many weeks now and this is the first time she has vomited. Looking for these cues and reporting them is my job. Whether or not they are significant, I’ll leave it to The Society. As for why I would need a guard, well, that was a decision that I did not decide. I assume the girl is an important figure, and there may come a time when we may need to intervene ourselves. And it seems I alone am not enough.” The girl may be young, but given her name, she was likely a mage. If it was one thing Escott learned, magic was not to be underestimated.
”As lackadaisical as always, teacher…” mumbled Claudia. ”Well then, we will not be able to complete our mission merely standing here. We should probably get a move on and see how far she has gone. As directed, I will-- how you say-- watch your back? “ said Claudia coughing up a slight chuckle.
Escott slightly smiled, “Likewise. Let us move on. She generally turns at the corner up ahead and moves into the residential area, so we need to get in position. I see you are probably new, just follow behind me for now. You may be a guard, but you may as well learn how I do things as well.”
Then it hit her, Claudia had heard that name-- Escott before at some point in her life, but she forgot where. It was never really a common name back in her hometown, neither was it ever used by anyone in the Magic World. So where did she hear it from? She merely tossed the thought aside however and put up a diplomatic smile. ”Heh, I will hold you to that. Shall we?”
Escott lead the way as they tailed the Lorelei. He took several turns and went through some alleyways until they were at an alley with a good vantage point with sight on the girl. “By the way, I assume you are a mage. Since we may be working together for some time, I would like to know what you are capable of. What kind of magic do you use?”
Claudia gulped a bit of saliva, as she was stopped in her tracks from the the question, almost hesitant to answer at all. ”Err, I often use chaotic magic. As a Dark Knight, this is expected of me as I utilize spells of ice, fire and often of the infernal type. I have learned this as a small child-- however I prefer not to say where…” said Claudia scowling a bit.
“A Dark Knight… interesting. If you wish not to speak of your past, then that is fine. If you can wield magic of that caliber, then you are at least trained well. Let us hope we do not need to utilize your skills though. I prefer to keep things quiet.” Escott played around the information about magic and left it alone. In reality, he knew very little about magic in general let alone specific types or their differences. He couldn’t let her know that though.
”Right, however my biggest concern would be avoiding a bloody mess all over the pavement with this sw-- actually, I will let that be a surprise for now.” Claudia said, wearing a wry smile unusual to even herself.
Escott did not like the sound of that. His work involved being subtle and quiet, so he wondered about her choice of words. For now, the issue didn’t matter, and if everything continued smoothly things will not have to become a †˜bloody mess’. “I… I see,” Escott said cautiously.
As Escott and Claudia followed, a girl came up from the other side of the bridge – the side they originally entered it from to †˜watch’ the Lorelei up-close before confirming their identities. She possessed platinum long hair, deep blue dress, but none of those details were so important despite making her stand out so late at night… she was running, quite fast, at that. Lorelei was just about leaving the bridge. The timing could not be any worse, and the pair in observation obviously didn’t know if this was a good thing, or a bad thing.
”Alright, it’s time for your first lesson. How to improvise. Right now you’re my daughter.” He took Claudia’s hand and ran out. He needed to be closer to the Lorelei, closer than the platinum haired girl, to ensure that he could take action. When the two of them were at least within speaking range of the girl that was running he made a remark out loud, ”If your mother finds out then she’ll kill us!” He spoke both to try to grab the girl’s attention while creating a cover story.
The running girl came to a halt, giving the two behind a glance full of surprise, but she hadn’t made any efforts to pursue them from the bridge. Well, at least they stopped her with that. The girl stared, before coming to a realization, and walked out of the bridge – approaching the two.
“Well, if it isn’t Sher-” the girl begun, but Escott immediately placed his hand over her lips to stop her from uttering a name that was taboo to him at the moment.
Much to his dismay, his greatest secret was almost revealed. However, now he knew who he was dealing with. ”Good evening. If I may ask, what are you doing here, friend? It is pretty late.”
“I got into a bit of a… tangent. Yes, a tangent, so I was a little bit late after my work at the theater tonight,” the seventeen-year old girl replied with a smile as she’d always shown. “I am more surprised to see you here at night, though.”
“Ah, pay no mind. I was simply taking my daughter back home.” He paused and stared at the platinum haired girl with great intensity, trying to send her a message, before turning to Claudia and with a feigned laugh he said, “Isn’t that right honey?” Claudia gave a swift nod after hearing of this.
It seemed like the message had went through, somewhat.
“A-Ah, yes, you had a daughter, yes,” she said, nodding to herself rather than nodding to the man before her. “You must really enjoy spending time with her,” she commented. A cold drop of sweat rolled down to the side of her face as she gave a forced smile.
He needed to end this as quick as possible. The longer this went on the worse it would become. “I suppose you could say that. Nonetheless, we will be on our way; can’t afford to lose much more time. Have a good night!” He and Claudia continued in the Lorelei’s direction, and took a turn on a street where the platinum haired girl would lose sight of them.
“So you are involved with them, after all… ” Mary whispered to herself. When she turned back to the other side of her bridge – the Lorelei was gone, so the detective was indeed successful. So she’s gone now, that must have been why he approached me. She looked familiar, I wonder where I’ve seen her before…
”Well, that could have gone better,” remarked Claudia.
“Please… that is the last person I wanted to run into. She is something like an ex-girlfriend. Our relationship is tense to say the least. I would prefer it if we not talked about her… Some things are better left alone, so to speak.”
”Ah. Much like myself, you have something to hide as well. I like you, Mister Escott, let’s hope this partnership to be prosperous shall we?”
“We all have things that need to be buried. And, likewise, hopefully our observations will go smoothly. Now… That said, the Lorelei should be done pretty soon. Let’s go see her off.” As he said so, the two peered out from their hiding spot – the alley – towards the Lorelei. To their surprise, no one was there. The so-called lunatic singer, nor the running girl was there anymore. It was a completely deserted bridge now. “Looks like I spoke too soon; she’s done for the night it seems. Time for us to head back”
“How disappointing. I was really hoping to show you the alternative to my magic if it came to that route. Pity, I suppose I will remain patient until then.” Claudia huffed in a strangely unknown disappointed tone. The second thought that came to mind was where this singing girl went off to after a long night of lingering, this whole mission was strange to her to say the least, however due to her curiosity on the matter, it would be best not to complain to her teacher.
“You said you were waiting on someone earlier? I do not mean to be rude, but it is rather late for a young lady to be out. Is it important? If not I would be more than willing to escort you home and inform the person you are waiting for.”
”No, I am fine. The person I am waiting for, he-- uhh…” Claudia had to think of a believable lie, this man really was imposing on her. Even if he were to be her contact, she wouldn’t know either way and she couldn’t chance it at all. Damn that teacher, it was his fault for not giving her any further information about her mission. ”...He is my husband, you see. He went off to find something of mine-- my wedding ring. He planned to propose to me on this bridge and seemed to have forgotten it at home. So yes, it is rather important.” replied Claudia, blushing a little.
Escott had plans to push the Lorelei meetup more as they were close enough to call out to her, but Claudia’s remarks made him stop in his tracks. He turned around and stared intently at the girl.
“It is not adding up,” his gentle tone had changed into one that was sharp and to the point. “You are waiting for your husband’s proposal, one that you already knew about. Let us forget your young age for a second and the fact that it is past curfew. One, if this event is so important, why would you be leaving the bridge with a man you do not know. Two, if a man were to propose, then he would be leading you here, not making you wait. And three, if you truly knew why you were even here, you would not have hesitated when answering. Who are you? And why are you here?” He imposed his reasoning and closed the distance between the two of them slowly and threateningly.
Claudia’s face tightened up, this man had truly becoming a nuisance up to this very moment. She contemplated killing him and being done with this predicament, but she also thought of getting flak from her teacher if she had to clean up a bloody mess. She lost either way apparently. She sighed and ran a hand through her long, golden hair before parting her lips. ”Hmph, such is a nuisance. What I am doing is none of your business, and I am slowly becoming irritated with your presence. I am Claudia Virtusio de la Farris and you are merely becoming a thorn in my side.” she insulted the nosy man. Her terse tone became like that of a snake’s, and of course with her accent, each syllable was pronounced sharply.
There was only one thing left. It was no longer a risk, simply a matter of confirmation now. She was no ordinary girl, and an enemy of any kind would’ve struck him down if they had ties to the Lorelei. Her tension towards the issues he pressed were close to none, but he knew why. His tone changed once again to the gentle tone he began with, “I see. I am Escott. The man you have been waiting for. It has been… a pleasure to meet you.” There are no other options. Curse that man. I thought he said he would be arranging a meeting!
Claudia’s eyes lit up upon realization that this was the man she was supposed to be meeting. She also realized that she blew up and thought of killing him. She pinched the bridge of her nose and threw herself down to a proper bow to the man. ”I apologize, I had no idea who you were. I had assumed the complete opposite.” said Clauda, returning to her terse tone.
“Do not worry, I was pushing my luck close to the brim. I am more surprised you did not attack me earlier. However, minor issues and introductions aside, I have an important question first and foremost. Do you know who that girl over there is?” He pointed to the Lorelei who was now crossing the Millenium Bridge.
”No, I do not. Unfortunately my teacher neglected to inform me about anyone else other than yourself being here.” Huffed Claudia, pouting a little at the thought.
Escott breathed a heavy sigh, “It looks like the both of us were done in by our superiors. I was told I was going to have a guard, but I did not expect you to be coming tonight. Especially considering I am probably almost done tonight. I digress, more importantly I need to fill you in. Let us go back over the bridge we crossed and I’ll fill you in. First off, I suppose your teacher did not inform you of the work I’m doing?”
Claudia shook her head, scowling. ”No, he did not. Apparently I am left in the dark about this whole ordeal. He only told me that I was to be guarding you tonight, and that I would do so every night.” This was starting to get irritating for Claudia, she started to wonder if Lord William happened to know anything about this on her teacher’s own accord.
“I have been ordered to observe that singing girl over there. She is known as the Lorelei. I know not why The Society regards her so highly, but every night that she goes out, I keep a watch on her and report if anything unusual happens. I suspect that the situation around her will be getting more dangerous if they have assigned me a guard. Just before you came, she vomited into the river. She’s almost in the residential area now though, so our work here is almost done. Any questions so far?”
”On the topic of her vomiting, what would be so dangerous about that? Also, why would you need a guard to observe one girl?” questioned Claudia still not quite understanding the situation.
“Both good questions. First, the act of vomiting itself is not dangerous, but it is unusual. I’ve been watching her for many weeks now and this is the first time she has vomited. Looking for these cues and reporting them is my job. Whether or not they are significant, I’ll leave it to The Society. As for why I would need a guard, well, that was a decision that I did not decide. I assume the girl is an important figure, and there may come a time when we may need to intervene ourselves. And it seems I alone am not enough.” The girl may be young, but given her name, she was likely a mage. If it was one thing Escott learned, magic was not to be underestimated.
”As lackadaisical as always, teacher…” mumbled Claudia. ”Well then, we will not be able to complete our mission merely standing here. We should probably get a move on and see how far she has gone. As directed, I will-- how you say-- watch your back? “ said Claudia coughing up a slight chuckle.
Escott slightly smiled, “Likewise. Let us move on. She generally turns at the corner up ahead and moves into the residential area, so we need to get in position. I see you are probably new, just follow behind me for now. You may be a guard, but you may as well learn how I do things as well.”
Then it hit her, Claudia had heard that name-- Escott before at some point in her life, but she forgot where. It was never really a common name back in her hometown, neither was it ever used by anyone in the Magic World. So where did she hear it from? She merely tossed the thought aside however and put up a diplomatic smile. ”Heh, I will hold you to that. Shall we?”
Escott lead the way as they tailed the Lorelei. He took several turns and went through some alleyways until they were at an alley with a good vantage point with sight on the girl. “By the way, I assume you are a mage. Since we may be working together for some time, I would like to know what you are capable of. What kind of magic do you use?”
Claudia gulped a bit of saliva, as she was stopped in her tracks from the the question, almost hesitant to answer at all. ”Err, I often use chaotic magic. As a Dark Knight, this is expected of me as I utilize spells of ice, fire and often of the infernal type. I have learned this as a small child-- however I prefer not to say where…” said Claudia scowling a bit.
“A Dark Knight… interesting. If you wish not to speak of your past, then that is fine. If you can wield magic of that caliber, then you are at least trained well. Let us hope we do not need to utilize your skills though. I prefer to keep things quiet.” Escott played around the information about magic and left it alone. In reality, he knew very little about magic in general let alone specific types or their differences. He couldn’t let her know that though.
”Right, however my biggest concern would be avoiding a bloody mess all over the pavement with this sw-- actually, I will let that be a surprise for now.” Claudia said, wearing a wry smile unusual to even herself.
Escott did not like the sound of that. His work involved being subtle and quiet, so he wondered about her choice of words. For now, the issue didn’t matter, and if everything continued smoothly things will not have to become a †˜bloody mess’. “I… I see,” Escott said cautiously.
As Escott and Claudia followed, a girl came up from the other side of the bridge – the side they originally entered it from to †˜watch’ the Lorelei up-close before confirming their identities. She possessed platinum long hair, deep blue dress, but none of those details were so important despite making her stand out so late at night… she was running, quite fast, at that. Lorelei was just about leaving the bridge. The timing could not be any worse, and the pair in observation obviously didn’t know if this was a good thing, or a bad thing.
”Alright, it’s time for your first lesson. How to improvise. Right now you’re my daughter.” He took Claudia’s hand and ran out. He needed to be closer to the Lorelei, closer than the platinum haired girl, to ensure that he could take action. When the two of them were at least within speaking range of the girl that was running he made a remark out loud, ”If your mother finds out then she’ll kill us!” He spoke both to try to grab the girl’s attention while creating a cover story.
The running girl came to a halt, giving the two behind a glance full of surprise, but she hadn’t made any efforts to pursue them from the bridge. Well, at least they stopped her with that. The girl stared, before coming to a realization, and walked out of the bridge – approaching the two.
“Well, if it isn’t Sher-” the girl begun, but Escott immediately placed his hand over her lips to stop her from uttering a name that was taboo to him at the moment.
Much to his dismay, his greatest secret was almost revealed. However, now he knew who he was dealing with. ”Good evening. If I may ask, what are you doing here, friend? It is pretty late.”
“I got into a bit of a… tangent. Yes, a tangent, so I was a little bit late after my work at the theater tonight,” the seventeen-year old girl replied with a smile as she’d always shown. “I am more surprised to see you here at night, though.”
“Ah, pay no mind. I was simply taking my daughter back home.” He paused and stared at the platinum haired girl with great intensity, trying to send her a message, before turning to Claudia and with a feigned laugh he said, “Isn’t that right honey?” Claudia gave a swift nod after hearing of this.
It seemed like the message had went through, somewhat.
“A-Ah, yes, you had a daughter, yes,” she said, nodding to herself rather than nodding to the man before her. “You must really enjoy spending time with her,” she commented. A cold drop of sweat rolled down to the side of her face as she gave a forced smile.
He needed to end this as quick as possible. The longer this went on the worse it would become. “I suppose you could say that. Nonetheless, we will be on our way; can’t afford to lose much more time. Have a good night!” He and Claudia continued in the Lorelei’s direction, and took a turn on a street where the platinum haired girl would lose sight of them.
“So you are involved with them, after all… ” Mary whispered to herself. When she turned back to the other side of her bridge – the Lorelei was gone, so the detective was indeed successful. So she’s gone now, that must have been why he approached me. She looked familiar, I wonder where I’ve seen her before…
”Well, that could have gone better,” remarked Claudia.
“Please… that is the last person I wanted to run into. She is something like an ex-girlfriend. Our relationship is tense to say the least. I would prefer it if we not talked about her… Some things are better left alone, so to speak.”
”Ah. Much like myself, you have something to hide as well. I like you, Mister Escott, let’s hope this partnership to be prosperous shall we?”
“We all have things that need to be buried. And, likewise, hopefully our observations will go smoothly. Now… That said, the Lorelei should be done pretty soon. Let’s go see her off.” As he said so, the two peered out from their hiding spot – the alley – towards the Lorelei. To their surprise, no one was there. The so-called lunatic singer, nor the running girl was there anymore. It was a completely deserted bridge now. “Looks like I spoke too soon; she’s done for the night it seems. Time for us to head back”
“How disappointing. I was really hoping to show you the alternative to my magic if it came to that route. Pity, I suppose I will remain patient until then.” Claudia huffed in a strangely unknown disappointed tone. The second thought that came to mind was where this singing girl went off to after a long night of lingering, this whole mission was strange to her to say the least, however due to her curiosity on the matter, it would be best not to complain to her teacher.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
After Natsu’s interview – which went well – the two were now out shopping. This was Ginza, Tokyo – infamous for it being an expensive shopping district, and famous for it being an entertainment district. It had been this way for a many, many years. The two found themselves among a myriad of expensive looking clothes and items on display from many fancy shops.
“Well princess, where do you wanna start?” The manager asked with a business smile, like his usual self to Natsu.
“Hmm... “ Natsu scanned the area quickly before grabbing her manager’s arm and pulling him to the nearest clothing store. “Let’s start here!” She answered with glee. As she dragged him around the store, she glanced at the shelves for things she was interested in. She spotted a white camisole and held it in front of herself. “What do you think of this one? Do I look good in it?” Natsu asked, anticipating a favorable answer.
“Hmmm,” the manager gave a serious thought, thinking that it was for work-wear. “No, wait, you can wear whatever camisole. Since it’s not for show… I have no reason to evaluate it… wait, why would you ask a man about this?!”
Natsu puffed her cheeks and pointed out, “I was just asking how you thought it looked on me… You didn’t need to consider all that other stuff…” in a false annoyed tone. She clung close to him again and whispered, “I’ll forgive you if you buy it for me!” and winked. She didn’t check the price of anything she was looking at; she merely found something that caught her eye.
“Umm, why should I t-think about how that looks on you? You should be the one thinking about it, as you’d be wearing it,” the manager said after averting his gaze from the clingy teenager girl, not quite following the her. He just couldn’t see her as a woman, it seemed. “Uhh, the price is… 15,000 yen… what the heck is this made of? Are you sure you want this?”
“We just made a bunch of money from the appearances I did, right? Will you buy it for me, Manager-san? Pleeeeeaaaase?” Natsu stared at him deeply, hoping he’d give in.
The manager sighed as his hand found its way into his wallet, without him even considering it any further. She was an idol for a reason, he supposed, that look was too hard to resist.
“Alright, alright, just remember that squandering whatever we earn is not going to be so fun when we can’t use it for investments,” he said the usual before sighing again, making way for the counter. He then paid the money and the marionette managing the counter received the cash notes, and inserted them through the blue and seemingly-transparent machine that glowed with a dim light, thus purchasing the camisole… then he gave a sad look while he faced his dear wallet.
“Pray forgive me,” he said to his wallet, as if apologizing to his god for having sinned.
Once the camisole was bagged and paid for, Natsu took the bag in one arm and wrapped her other arm around her manager in a half-hug. “Thank you very much!”
“Right, right,” the manager shrugged, not knowing how to take this. “Where to, next?”
“This way!” Natsu took her manager’s arm again and pulled him toward another nearby shop, where she found a new pair of shoes to buy, a different shop for a skirt, yet another shop for some accessories, and finally a store for underwear. She was a little ashamed of bringing her manager here, but she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible and bring him to as many places as possible. Natsu definitely was fine with her manager seeing her in intimate apparel.
“N-Natsu-san… isn’t this a little too…” he could not finish his sentence. He was too ashamed to. What if the other women there thought that was one of those guys who swinged †˜that’ way? Well, there are many men with their own tastes these days – he argued with himself. No, no! He regained his sanity, I must not fall for this! As I man I will go through it just fine! It wasn’t uncommon for ladies to bring their man to a lingerie shop so that they could pick their underwears, but Natsu’s manager here was seen as a more traditional minded individual in this country, who’d rather date a woman of a similar age rather than an idol who was a few years younger.
As he reaffirmed his will and resolve, his gaze wandered towards a woman picking up a lingerie from the gallery, and blood flushed all the way to the surface of his cheek’s skin from within – painting his face beet red. He almost imagined that pretty lady in that particularly deep red lingerie, and almost had an… inner problem. He averted his gaze instantly, and looked back to Natsu.
Somehow – and well, cruelly – it was calming for him. He confirmed that he really wasn’t into what he would refer to as †˜children’.
“So, what am I doing here again?” He asked, now in a calmer tone of voice.
“Same thing we’ve been doing: Picking out something!” Natsu told her manager, still enjoying herself. This was one of the harder decisions to make for Natsu, since she couldn’t decide which set of underwear would appeal most to her manager. She did catch a glimpse of him eyeing a woman who picked out an especially daring red set, so Natsu did so as well. “You think these red ones suit me?” She asked, this time a bit mischievously.
“Not quite, they’re not for kids, they are for adults, I believe,” he tried to reason with this awfully gutsy girl who had the looks of an innocent girl who’d wear whit- no, he didn’t wanted to cross that line and imagine what underclothes she’d look best in.
“M-Maybe this would w-work better,” he said with a shaking and fidgeting finger that pointed towards a white and plain set of underpants. In fact, it was just another camisole. He disappointed even himself, but he needed to avoid this girl’s pranks as much as possible.
Natsu puffed her cheeks again, and this time was genuinely a bit angry with her manager. “I’m not a kid!”
“Well, you’re not eighteen years of age, what else should I be calling you?” He asked, saying it as though it was obvious, while scratching the back of his head tentatively.
“Hmph!” She snatched the white underwear that her manager pointed out. “Well, if you think these suit me best…” No matter what, Natsu couldn’t be angry at her manager for long. Even though she still felt that these looked quite childish, he picked it out for her, and she was glad for that. It was the first time she actually had his input on this shopping trip. Every other time, she kind of just pulled him around everywhere and had him buy something she wanted.
“W-Well, now that my part is done, I’ll just be waiting around the counter then… ” the manager then said in an attempt to flee, turning his back, wanting to hastily walk away.
“No!” Natsu hurriedly grabbed him and took him next to the dressing room. “You picked this out for me; you should see for yourself how well it suits me!” Natsu winked as she entered the curtain. Before changing, she peeked out to make sure her manager didn’t try to sneak away, and told him “No peeking! At least, let me know first!” Then, she proceeded to change.
“Who would!” The manager hissed. “Take your time…” he said, rubbing the back of his head again with closed eyes. He was very nervous despite Natsu being an apparent child according to himself.
Natsu got changed fairly quickly, but was hesitant to open the curtains and show herself off. It was bold and quite embarrassing, but if it was her manager, she wouldn’t mind. Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the curtain and called out to him. “So, Manager-san, how is it?” She fidgeted a bit and was slightly flushed, unable to hide her slight embarrassment as she awaited his answer.
As Natsu hesitated, she took a peek at her Manager, and noticed him gulping. Not with his eyes feasting on her figure, but the figure of another – and a more, well; sexy – woman, and he was desperately trying to make sure she wouldn’t notice him. A cold sweat could be seen running down past the side of his cheek as he stared intently from the corner of his eyes.
“Huh…? Oh, you’re done? You look great,” the manager said without even batting an eye.
“Geez!” Natsu blurted out, clearly noticing that her manager’s attention was on another woman. “You’re supposed to be looking at me!” She cried out while tugging on the manager’s arm to turn him around. When she made eye contact with him, she pouted, expressing her obvious disappointment. There were also some tears she was holding back.
“Huh?” The manager uttered as he pulled himself out of his reverie. “Even if you tell me that… ” he said, looking down at Natsu, and blood somehow shook up around his cheeks regardless. Even if she was only just sixteen years of age; she gave off an appeal of a different kind. More pure, innocent, yet slightly devilish.
“S-so, what do you think?” Natsu asked again now that she had her manager’s attention.
“Ah… yeah, you look n-nice,” the manager somehow pulled those words out of his lips, painstakingly. “It’d be great if this were a PV for the lingeries… I guess?” He said, trying to sound positive, but impersonal and professional.
“There you go, making things so business-like, again…” Natsu commented a bit exasperated. “But, thank you. I’m glad you like it!” She continued with a small smile. Then, she returned to the dressing room, saying, “Manager-san, sorry for troubling you, today. I enjoyed being with you,” before closing the curtains and changing back into her regular clothes. She came back out with the lingerie she was just wearing, and told the manager, “Don’t worry about it; I’ll pay for this one!” Like everything else they bought today, it was quite expensive, but Natsu didn’t want her manager to carry all the burden for the purchases. Besides that, she didn’t want him to go through buying underwear for her.
The manager sighed. “Do whatever you want,” it’s not like he could insist to buy it for her, he wasn’t her boyfriend and nor did he have the luxury to buy expensive underwear for her.
As Natsu payed for her lingerie in the counter, he heard a ringing tone. It was likely from the manager’s phone, as she turned an eye and looked at her beloved from the corner of her eye.
“Ah, hey there. Sorry I got caught up with some stuff, but I’ll come for the date as planned soon,” he said, with a happy face Natsu hadn’t seen before. It was different, different from the times she was with him at work, or even out here. “Sorry, sorry, sweetheart. I’ll be there in a bit. Sorry to make you wait,” he said after a few seconds – apparently after his real girlfriend replied from the other side of the device – apologizing to his woman over and over again, apparently attentive of her needs. The manager then hung up on his call. Natsu turned her eye back on the counter, and received the changes.
“Sorry, something came up,” the manager said, walking up to her, “I really need to go about now. I assume you’re done shopping?”
“Date…?” Natsu was fixated on that word, specifically. “Aren’t you on a date with me…? Who is that girl anyways!?” Natsu completely disregarded the cashier at this point, she was done with the marionette, anyway. She simply had to know what was going on. Everything she was working toward seemed to be crumbling before her. It was somewhat shameful, but Natsu was in love with her manager. She didn’t want to hear that he was with someone other than her.
“Huh? A date with you?” The manager said, tilting his head, apparently bewildered. He really didn’t know what was going on anymore. Wasn’t it just… shopping? He pondered. Why’d a child think she is going on a date when she is going out with an adult? He couldn’t grasp the key point to the issue here. One may as well claim that the manager was born in the wrong time. It wasn’t that he was dense. It was more because he just couldn’t find the reason to it. He could vaguely tell the real issue, but wanted to avoid it, and bat his eye away.
“W-Wasn’t it just shopping? A †˜reward’ according to you?” He said, hastily coming up with a better response. “How’d that be a date? That woman is my girlfriend,” he said, emphasising on the word to express the fact that he wasn’t dating an underage person.
“It was more than that…” Natsu whimpered softly. She was dejected the very moment she heard him refer to the unknown woman as his †˜girlfriend’. There was nothing she could think to say. Natsu merely looked down, contemplating what she should do, but she was in a complete loss. Tears rolled down her cheek as she stood motionless in front of the counter.
“Eh?!” The manager panicked. “Don’t start crying now, you’re gonna make an idol’s face look bad,” he said. In truth, he was at a loss of words and spewed out whatever that came to mind. He felt the need to act professional instead since it wasn’t like he was a friend, nor in an intimate relationship with her. He was her manager, and that was it. Managing her mental state was a part of the job, but now that her mental state began to crumble so visibly, his inexperienced clouded his judgement. Unfortunately, it was Natsu who wanted to take it to the level the manager wouldn’t allow, not the other way around, too. Regardless, he couldn’t attempt to pacify the girl in a way a man may usually attempt.
Natsu couldn’t hold back any longer and dashed out of the store, wailing loudly and letting her tears flow freely. She left behind the underwear she picked out on the counter.
“Jeez, I guess I’ll have to this thing delivered to her…” the manager muttered. He knew that as a man should run after a girl, but he had his lover waiting. It really was not his responsibility, and they were done with working for the day. She’d just have to go and calm herself. If he turned out to not be fine the next day, he’d have to find a way to mend her feelings.
“What a horrible man.”
“He is the worst…”
“Wow.”
He received all kinds of negative comments, after Natsu ran out, from the other women within the shop. It didn’t seem like it, but it was a commotion nonetheless.
The manager himself then left the store. taking note of the hostile glares, after putting in a request to have the purchased product delivered. He just hoped that no one realizes that it was Natsu – the idol who's just got crushed now.
After Natsu’s interview – which went well – the two were now out shopping. This was Ginza, Tokyo – infamous for it being an expensive shopping district, and famous for it being an entertainment district. It had been this way for a many, many years. The two found themselves among a myriad of expensive looking clothes and items on display from many fancy shops.
“Well princess, where do you wanna start?” The manager asked with a business smile, like his usual self to Natsu.
“Hmm... “ Natsu scanned the area quickly before grabbing her manager’s arm and pulling him to the nearest clothing store. “Let’s start here!” She answered with glee. As she dragged him around the store, she glanced at the shelves for things she was interested in. She spotted a white camisole and held it in front of herself. “What do you think of this one? Do I look good in it?” Natsu asked, anticipating a favorable answer.
“Hmmm,” the manager gave a serious thought, thinking that it was for work-wear. “No, wait, you can wear whatever camisole. Since it’s not for show… I have no reason to evaluate it… wait, why would you ask a man about this?!”
Natsu puffed her cheeks and pointed out, “I was just asking how you thought it looked on me… You didn’t need to consider all that other stuff…” in a false annoyed tone. She clung close to him again and whispered, “I’ll forgive you if you buy it for me!” and winked. She didn’t check the price of anything she was looking at; she merely found something that caught her eye.
“Umm, why should I t-think about how that looks on you? You should be the one thinking about it, as you’d be wearing it,” the manager said after averting his gaze from the clingy teenager girl, not quite following the her. He just couldn’t see her as a woman, it seemed. “Uhh, the price is… 15,000 yen… what the heck is this made of? Are you sure you want this?”
“We just made a bunch of money from the appearances I did, right? Will you buy it for me, Manager-san? Pleeeeeaaaase?” Natsu stared at him deeply, hoping he’d give in.
The manager sighed as his hand found its way into his wallet, without him even considering it any further. She was an idol for a reason, he supposed, that look was too hard to resist.
“Alright, alright, just remember that squandering whatever we earn is not going to be so fun when we can’t use it for investments,” he said the usual before sighing again, making way for the counter. He then paid the money and the marionette managing the counter received the cash notes, and inserted them through the blue and seemingly-transparent machine that glowed with a dim light, thus purchasing the camisole… then he gave a sad look while he faced his dear wallet.
“Pray forgive me,” he said to his wallet, as if apologizing to his god for having sinned.
Once the camisole was bagged and paid for, Natsu took the bag in one arm and wrapped her other arm around her manager in a half-hug. “Thank you very much!”
“Right, right,” the manager shrugged, not knowing how to take this. “Where to, next?”
“This way!” Natsu took her manager’s arm again and pulled him toward another nearby shop, where she found a new pair of shoes to buy, a different shop for a skirt, yet another shop for some accessories, and finally a store for underwear. She was a little ashamed of bringing her manager here, but she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible and bring him to as many places as possible. Natsu definitely was fine with her manager seeing her in intimate apparel.
“N-Natsu-san… isn’t this a little too…” he could not finish his sentence. He was too ashamed to. What if the other women there thought that was one of those guys who swinged †˜that’ way? Well, there are many men with their own tastes these days – he argued with himself. No, no! He regained his sanity, I must not fall for this! As I man I will go through it just fine! It wasn’t uncommon for ladies to bring their man to a lingerie shop so that they could pick their underwears, but Natsu’s manager here was seen as a more traditional minded individual in this country, who’d rather date a woman of a similar age rather than an idol who was a few years younger.
As he reaffirmed his will and resolve, his gaze wandered towards a woman picking up a lingerie from the gallery, and blood flushed all the way to the surface of his cheek’s skin from within – painting his face beet red. He almost imagined that pretty lady in that particularly deep red lingerie, and almost had an… inner problem. He averted his gaze instantly, and looked back to Natsu.
Somehow – and well, cruelly – it was calming for him. He confirmed that he really wasn’t into what he would refer to as †˜children’.
“So, what am I doing here again?” He asked, now in a calmer tone of voice.
“Same thing we’ve been doing: Picking out something!” Natsu told her manager, still enjoying herself. This was one of the harder decisions to make for Natsu, since she couldn’t decide which set of underwear would appeal most to her manager. She did catch a glimpse of him eyeing a woman who picked out an especially daring red set, so Natsu did so as well. “You think these red ones suit me?” She asked, this time a bit mischievously.
“Not quite, they’re not for kids, they are for adults, I believe,” he tried to reason with this awfully gutsy girl who had the looks of an innocent girl who’d wear whit- no, he didn’t wanted to cross that line and imagine what underclothes she’d look best in.
“M-Maybe this would w-work better,” he said with a shaking and fidgeting finger that pointed towards a white and plain set of underpants. In fact, it was just another camisole. He disappointed even himself, but he needed to avoid this girl’s pranks as much as possible.
Natsu puffed her cheeks again, and this time was genuinely a bit angry with her manager. “I’m not a kid!”
“Well, you’re not eighteen years of age, what else should I be calling you?” He asked, saying it as though it was obvious, while scratching the back of his head tentatively.
“Hmph!” She snatched the white underwear that her manager pointed out. “Well, if you think these suit me best…” No matter what, Natsu couldn’t be angry at her manager for long. Even though she still felt that these looked quite childish, he picked it out for her, and she was glad for that. It was the first time she actually had his input on this shopping trip. Every other time, she kind of just pulled him around everywhere and had him buy something she wanted.
“W-Well, now that my part is done, I’ll just be waiting around the counter then… ” the manager then said in an attempt to flee, turning his back, wanting to hastily walk away.
“No!” Natsu hurriedly grabbed him and took him next to the dressing room. “You picked this out for me; you should see for yourself how well it suits me!” Natsu winked as she entered the curtain. Before changing, she peeked out to make sure her manager didn’t try to sneak away, and told him “No peeking! At least, let me know first!” Then, she proceeded to change.
“Who would!” The manager hissed. “Take your time…” he said, rubbing the back of his head again with closed eyes. He was very nervous despite Natsu being an apparent child according to himself.
Natsu got changed fairly quickly, but was hesitant to open the curtains and show herself off. It was bold and quite embarrassing, but if it was her manager, she wouldn’t mind. Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the curtain and called out to him. “So, Manager-san, how is it?” She fidgeted a bit and was slightly flushed, unable to hide her slight embarrassment as she awaited his answer.
As Natsu hesitated, she took a peek at her Manager, and noticed him gulping. Not with his eyes feasting on her figure, but the figure of another – and a more, well; sexy – woman, and he was desperately trying to make sure she wouldn’t notice him. A cold sweat could be seen running down past the side of his cheek as he stared intently from the corner of his eyes.
“Huh…? Oh, you’re done? You look great,” the manager said without even batting an eye.
“Geez!” Natsu blurted out, clearly noticing that her manager’s attention was on another woman. “You’re supposed to be looking at me!” She cried out while tugging on the manager’s arm to turn him around. When she made eye contact with him, she pouted, expressing her obvious disappointment. There were also some tears she was holding back.
“Huh?” The manager uttered as he pulled himself out of his reverie. “Even if you tell me that… ” he said, looking down at Natsu, and blood somehow shook up around his cheeks regardless. Even if she was only just sixteen years of age; she gave off an appeal of a different kind. More pure, innocent, yet slightly devilish.
“S-so, what do you think?” Natsu asked again now that she had her manager’s attention.
“Ah… yeah, you look n-nice,” the manager somehow pulled those words out of his lips, painstakingly. “It’d be great if this were a PV for the lingeries… I guess?” He said, trying to sound positive, but impersonal and professional.
“There you go, making things so business-like, again…” Natsu commented a bit exasperated. “But, thank you. I’m glad you like it!” She continued with a small smile. Then, she returned to the dressing room, saying, “Manager-san, sorry for troubling you, today. I enjoyed being with you,” before closing the curtains and changing back into her regular clothes. She came back out with the lingerie she was just wearing, and told the manager, “Don’t worry about it; I’ll pay for this one!” Like everything else they bought today, it was quite expensive, but Natsu didn’t want her manager to carry all the burden for the purchases. Besides that, she didn’t want him to go through buying underwear for her.
The manager sighed. “Do whatever you want,” it’s not like he could insist to buy it for her, he wasn’t her boyfriend and nor did he have the luxury to buy expensive underwear for her.
As Natsu payed for her lingerie in the counter, he heard a ringing tone. It was likely from the manager’s phone, as she turned an eye and looked at her beloved from the corner of her eye.
“Ah, hey there. Sorry I got caught up with some stuff, but I’ll come for the date as planned soon,” he said, with a happy face Natsu hadn’t seen before. It was different, different from the times she was with him at work, or even out here. “Sorry, sorry, sweetheart. I’ll be there in a bit. Sorry to make you wait,” he said after a few seconds – apparently after his real girlfriend replied from the other side of the device – apologizing to his woman over and over again, apparently attentive of her needs. The manager then hung up on his call. Natsu turned her eye back on the counter, and received the changes.
“Sorry, something came up,” the manager said, walking up to her, “I really need to go about now. I assume you’re done shopping?”
“Date…?” Natsu was fixated on that word, specifically. “Aren’t you on a date with me…? Who is that girl anyways!?” Natsu completely disregarded the cashier at this point, she was done with the marionette, anyway. She simply had to know what was going on. Everything she was working toward seemed to be crumbling before her. It was somewhat shameful, but Natsu was in love with her manager. She didn’t want to hear that he was with someone other than her.
“Huh? A date with you?” The manager said, tilting his head, apparently bewildered. He really didn’t know what was going on anymore. Wasn’t it just… shopping? He pondered. Why’d a child think she is going on a date when she is going out with an adult? He couldn’t grasp the key point to the issue here. One may as well claim that the manager was born in the wrong time. It wasn’t that he was dense. It was more because he just couldn’t find the reason to it. He could vaguely tell the real issue, but wanted to avoid it, and bat his eye away.
“W-Wasn’t it just shopping? A †˜reward’ according to you?” He said, hastily coming up with a better response. “How’d that be a date? That woman is my girlfriend,” he said, emphasising on the word to express the fact that he wasn’t dating an underage person.
“It was more than that…” Natsu whimpered softly. She was dejected the very moment she heard him refer to the unknown woman as his †˜girlfriend’. There was nothing she could think to say. Natsu merely looked down, contemplating what she should do, but she was in a complete loss. Tears rolled down her cheek as she stood motionless in front of the counter.
“Eh?!” The manager panicked. “Don’t start crying now, you’re gonna make an idol’s face look bad,” he said. In truth, he was at a loss of words and spewed out whatever that came to mind. He felt the need to act professional instead since it wasn’t like he was a friend, nor in an intimate relationship with her. He was her manager, and that was it. Managing her mental state was a part of the job, but now that her mental state began to crumble so visibly, his inexperienced clouded his judgement. Unfortunately, it was Natsu who wanted to take it to the level the manager wouldn’t allow, not the other way around, too. Regardless, he couldn’t attempt to pacify the girl in a way a man may usually attempt.
Natsu couldn’t hold back any longer and dashed out of the store, wailing loudly and letting her tears flow freely. She left behind the underwear she picked out on the counter.
“Jeez, I guess I’ll have to this thing delivered to her…” the manager muttered. He knew that as a man should run after a girl, but he had his lover waiting. It really was not his responsibility, and they were done with working for the day. She’d just have to go and calm herself. If he turned out to not be fine the next day, he’d have to find a way to mend her feelings.
“What a horrible man.”
“He is the worst…”
“Wow.”
He received all kinds of negative comments, after Natsu ran out, from the other women within the shop. It didn’t seem like it, but it was a commotion nonetheless.
The manager himself then left the store. taking note of the hostile glares, after putting in a request to have the purchased product delivered. He just hoped that no one realizes that it was Natsu – the idol who's just got crushed now.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
The futuristic city of Japan – the city where imaginations of modern era denizens came to life – with vehicles hovering about across the city. There were transparent roads that ran past the tall buildings – marking the paths the flying traffic could travel through. The cars were – in reality – levitating; they could not fly up as much as they’d want. Transparent roads were made to make travelling easier, and reduce traffic congestions much less frequent. So now, levitating cars use their own roads that runs across the skies, while the old and ordinary vehicles that runs through wheels uses the solid old asphalt roads down on earth. Of course, people couldn’t actually touch the transparent roads, they were strictly for the use of levitating objects.
Regardless of the technical details – it was but a splendid marvel and eye-candy, that’s all that the mundanes cared about. Most of them, anyway.
The spirits looked awed – or more dumbfounded than ever upon peering into the advancement of humanity – even they were impressed at the massive developments and the apparent flying vehicles… but that didn’t stop them from checking where Hynek’s pupils rested upon. They’d look into the reflection if need be.
Hynek watched as people with very different attires walked about the streets. There were also pavements that moved on their own; sending the people without them having to waste stamina. It was people’s choice whether they wanted to take a walk, or let the floor lead them, it seemed. Most people seemed to prefer the wonders and easiness granted via automation. Other than that, he witnessed tiny robots around the corners of the streets and pavements – collecting dust; cleaning. He wondered if the tall buildings had their own robots cleaning them from inside. The buildings were longer and somewhat more elegant – in their own way in comparison to the old European establishments – than even the structures he found in the United States of America; mostly decorated with advertisements and large television screens that seemed largely distinctive from the other televisions put up for advertisements from other countries.
In short; everything was different.
It was as if he came to a new world. That was probably it. It had to be it.
“There he goes… staring off at women again.”
“How is it? My hometown is very impressive from the rest of world… is what I told you before. Do you believe me now?” Felix asked, with a proud look on her face, as if all the technology was a product of her hard works. She was gaining quite the attention about now from how loosely she wore her clothes – from the public eyes.
“It is a wonder how you stayed so fit, with machines doing most of the manual labor here.” joked Hynek as his eyes continued to wonder about the skyscrapers and flying cars. “However, I must admit. It is impressive. I didn’t think that man would advance this far already.”
“Let’s hope he gets hooked on those things instead… what, anime, hentai, doujins?”
It seemed that the spirits weren’t so outdated with the world, after all.
“Ahaha… maybe not. He’d forget about us all the same.”
“Well, I suppose it was very… progressive,” Felix commented, with a look of nostalgia, taking a glance at the structures surrounding them. “I originally lived in the forests before I came here, so I always preferred to walk, unless I had a change of mood, of course,” she stated as she remembered her old days. They stepped over the moving-pavement as they spoke.
“A devoted little slut, yes.”
“Indeed.”
“It is a little unfortunate that you’re here so late. You should’ve visited Japan ten years ago before it changed from modern to futuristic world,” she said casually.
“You should have died during the transition.”
“I know, right?”
How they wished anyone other than themselves could hear their words. At first they were happy that no one could hear their banters, but the loneliness caught up to them eventually.
“Ten years ago? This change came about that quickly?” Asked Hynek.
“Hahaha! You say some funny things, Master,” Felix laughed out loud. “You don’t remember when Japan was suddenly distorted, and the entire country literally transformed overnight?”
At the time this happened, the Magic World was in an uproar from major confusion and investigations. The Shrine Organization seemed to be in a mess and took a long time to cope with the changes of their country. Queen Victoria finally made the official announcement which was a big article in The Times’ Magic World version newspapers that sold like cakes.
“Disrespectful.”
“Yeah, only we’re allowed to be like that with him.”
“I guess I didn’t pay much attention to this part of the world. Even hearing about it did not do this justice.” answered Hynek. “Do we know what caused this to happen?”
“No clue,” Felix said with a shrug of her shoulders. “First Russia, then England, and now Japan. Going to England is as if taking a trip to the past, and coming here is the opposite,” she stated, sounding somewhat happy. “I am rather proud that my country’s advancements in technology, but it makes me wonder about other countries in the 23rd century.”
Hynek’s mind was a storm of bad scenarios. This world with its rapid changes in time could only have one cause. Someone like him was making these things happen. But why? And how? These questions he knew that none of his wives would be able to answer. He would need to be more aware of the flow of time in places such as this.
“Alright, where are we supposed to meet? That mess back there cost up quite a bit of time.”
“Says the guy who has too much time. For girls.”
“I shall guide you there, Master,” Felix curtly replied. “We still have time to reach the party,” she said.
The futuristic city of Japan – the city where imaginations of modern era denizens came to life – with vehicles hovering about across the city. There were transparent roads that ran past the tall buildings – marking the paths the flying traffic could travel through. The cars were – in reality – levitating; they could not fly up as much as they’d want. Transparent roads were made to make travelling easier, and reduce traffic congestions much less frequent. So now, levitating cars use their own roads that runs across the skies, while the old and ordinary vehicles that runs through wheels uses the solid old asphalt roads down on earth. Of course, people couldn’t actually touch the transparent roads, they were strictly for the use of levitating objects.
Regardless of the technical details – it was but a splendid marvel and eye-candy, that’s all that the mundanes cared about. Most of them, anyway.
The spirits looked awed – or more dumbfounded than ever upon peering into the advancement of humanity – even they were impressed at the massive developments and the apparent flying vehicles… but that didn’t stop them from checking where Hynek’s pupils rested upon. They’d look into the reflection if need be.
Hynek watched as people with very different attires walked about the streets. There were also pavements that moved on their own; sending the people without them having to waste stamina. It was people’s choice whether they wanted to take a walk, or let the floor lead them, it seemed. Most people seemed to prefer the wonders and easiness granted via automation. Other than that, he witnessed tiny robots around the corners of the streets and pavements – collecting dust; cleaning. He wondered if the tall buildings had their own robots cleaning them from inside. The buildings were longer and somewhat more elegant – in their own way in comparison to the old European establishments – than even the structures he found in the United States of America; mostly decorated with advertisements and large television screens that seemed largely distinctive from the other televisions put up for advertisements from other countries.
In short; everything was different.
It was as if he came to a new world. That was probably it. It had to be it.
“There he goes… staring off at women again.”
“How is it? My hometown is very impressive from the rest of world… is what I told you before. Do you believe me now?” Felix asked, with a proud look on her face, as if all the technology was a product of her hard works. She was gaining quite the attention about now from how loosely she wore her clothes – from the public eyes.
“It is a wonder how you stayed so fit, with machines doing most of the manual labor here.” joked Hynek as his eyes continued to wonder about the skyscrapers and flying cars. “However, I must admit. It is impressive. I didn’t think that man would advance this far already.”
“Let’s hope he gets hooked on those things instead… what, anime, hentai, doujins?”
It seemed that the spirits weren’t so outdated with the world, after all.
“Ahaha… maybe not. He’d forget about us all the same.”
“Well, I suppose it was very… progressive,” Felix commented, with a look of nostalgia, taking a glance at the structures surrounding them. “I originally lived in the forests before I came here, so I always preferred to walk, unless I had a change of mood, of course,” she stated as she remembered her old days. They stepped over the moving-pavement as they spoke.
“A devoted little slut, yes.”
“Indeed.”
“It is a little unfortunate that you’re here so late. You should’ve visited Japan ten years ago before it changed from modern to futuristic world,” she said casually.
“You should have died during the transition.”
“I know, right?”
How they wished anyone other than themselves could hear their words. At first they were happy that no one could hear their banters, but the loneliness caught up to them eventually.
“Ten years ago? This change came about that quickly?” Asked Hynek.
“Hahaha! You say some funny things, Master,” Felix laughed out loud. “You don’t remember when Japan was suddenly distorted, and the entire country literally transformed overnight?”
At the time this happened, the Magic World was in an uproar from major confusion and investigations. The Shrine Organization seemed to be in a mess and took a long time to cope with the changes of their country. Queen Victoria finally made the official announcement which was a big article in The Times’ Magic World version newspapers that sold like cakes.
“Disrespectful.”
“Yeah, only we’re allowed to be like that with him.”
“I guess I didn’t pay much attention to this part of the world. Even hearing about it did not do this justice.” answered Hynek. “Do we know what caused this to happen?”
“No clue,” Felix said with a shrug of her shoulders. “First Russia, then England, and now Japan. Going to England is as if taking a trip to the past, and coming here is the opposite,” she stated, sounding somewhat happy. “I am rather proud that my country’s advancements in technology, but it makes me wonder about other countries in the 23rd century.”
Hynek’s mind was a storm of bad scenarios. This world with its rapid changes in time could only have one cause. Someone like him was making these things happen. But why? And how? These questions he knew that none of his wives would be able to answer. He would need to be more aware of the flow of time in places such as this.
“Alright, where are we supposed to meet? That mess back there cost up quite a bit of time.”
“Says the guy who has too much time. For girls.”
“I shall guide you there, Master,” Felix curtly replied. “We still have time to reach the party,” she said.
0
An exclusive party hall – sparsely illuminated with shining sprinkling lights – was the next place Hynek found himself †˜guided’ to. From his view, many were grooving to the beat as the loud and upbeat music played. The bass beat down to his very heart every seconds as he rested over a rather luxurious-looking couch. Two girls surrounding him, and of course they were under his arms. As usual. Even in Japan, some aspects and occurrences in Hynek’s life just wouldn’t change. These two girls were the only other members of his Organization here today in the welcome party. And none of these two girls were Felix… who stood to the side, just behind the couch while averting her eyes – not wanting to see her man indulging women other than herself.
They didn’t quite have their own disco club – here in Japan – yet, so they reserved a spot to relax with their so-called master. They were working under the branch that Hynek opened in Japan within the Entertainment Industries, so they were especially delighted to have Hynek to themselves for now. The company branch seemed to be still setting up around the country, so it was relatively small, but with Hynek here – they could hope for some big changes soon.
“Serves her right.”
“...”
Aside from the spirits; women’s want for Hynek was the root to some of the most common issue in their Organization – members – all of whom were female – being jealous of each other, sometimes too deeply. Especially the wives who held political powers more than the lower ranks. The Concubines and Lucky ranked members were far more carefree yet loving, but even Hynek could tell that they likely had other men they acted affectionate with. However, those who were his Favorites, or Wives, were struck with the arrows of the cupid quite deeply, and thus had their hearts stolen, perhaps for good, even.
Hynek wasn’t so aware of the issues between the ladies as he indulged their presence all the same. This was possibly because all the females acted like nothing had happened between them whenever he’d come to their presence. He was a king leading a large Organization, it was a given that he wouldn’t know everything. The wives themselves didn’t know of all the bloody struggles the girls had against each other just to decide who would get to spend some short yet lovely times with him.
The two girls snuggled up close to him as their hands trailed over his body. As he grabbed them and pulled them closer, they squealed with delight. The food was acceptable, and the drinks had just enough bite. He knew his limit however, even if he was not above getting drunk. As he finished his drink, one of the two made sure it was filled quickly.
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
Suddenly, a familiar song began to play. Who’d have thought that they’d play something old here in futuristic Japan? The dancers on stage were all lost from listening to a forgotten music. It was obviously the move of the two members of his Organization.
“I wish to dance.” Hynek said to the woman on his right. She smiled and nodded, and grabbed his hand as they stood. The other grabbed his other hand, and followed refusing to be left behind. The dance floor was crowded, but Hynek and the ladies found a spot easy enough. Dancing close, Hynek could feel every curve of his luscious lovers. It was obvious what was on their mind, and he would surely indulge them soon. Now, however, Hynek wanted to cutloose. The crowd opened in the middle as a single man danced in the middle. He was quite good, but Hynek would not be upstaged at his own dance party.
Well, not quite his own, the girls only reserved some seats and had countless food and beverages prepared, and that was it.
“Here we go again.”
“I want to drink and forget about him… ” the white spirit’s hand passed through a bottle of alcohol, never to be touched by her bare hands. Reality was a cold and harsh mistress. The other spirit’s hand ended up doing the same. The two then proceeded to sulk for some time.
“Tell me about it. This is why the Count prepares drinks for us in every meeting.” The two soon sat down on a sofa, that was in reality, occupied. It was strange how they could sit on certain objects, but their bodies really †˜touch’ them. Of course, since they were spirits, their transparent bodies coincided with the material bodies, not that it mattered, since they did not intend to take over those bodies. They were powerful spirits, but they were also strong-willed, enough to control impulse-urges.
As he tried to part from the two, they clinged onto him, not wanting to let him go. Felix scoffed at this. Turning, Hynek pulled them both close and kissed one, and then the other. Both of them gazed into his eyes longingly. “Wait for me, I’ll be back shortly.” he commanded. They nodded, and still clung to him slightly as he pulled away. Stepping into the middle of the dance floor, Hynek smiled as he looked up at the light display.
As the base hit, he slid his foot back and spun swiftly. Then began moving side to side with a slight hop in his step. In his suit, no one was expecting what he did next, but Hynek had many suit – this would not be his only clothing change today, and definitely not the last. Kicking his leg back again he spun once more as he crouched and flipped onto his hands. Spinning on them briefly before he lowered himself onto his shoulders to continue the dervish. In the flurry, he removed his jacket throwing it into the crowd as he spun, and his wife – Felix – caught it skillfully. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that she was used to it.
Moving back to his hands; Hynek flipped up before he simply grooved to the music, as if challenging someone to come forth. As no one did, Hynek shrugged as the ladies two moved in, placing his jacket on his shoulders and dragging him off. They wanted all the rest of his time before the important meeting.
They didn’t quite have their own disco club – here in Japan – yet, so they reserved a spot to relax with their so-called master. They were working under the branch that Hynek opened in Japan within the Entertainment Industries, so they were especially delighted to have Hynek to themselves for now. The company branch seemed to be still setting up around the country, so it was relatively small, but with Hynek here – they could hope for some big changes soon.
“Serves her right.”
“...”
Aside from the spirits; women’s want for Hynek was the root to some of the most common issue in their Organization – members – all of whom were female – being jealous of each other, sometimes too deeply. Especially the wives who held political powers more than the lower ranks. The Concubines and Lucky ranked members were far more carefree yet loving, but even Hynek could tell that they likely had other men they acted affectionate with. However, those who were his Favorites, or Wives, were struck with the arrows of the cupid quite deeply, and thus had their hearts stolen, perhaps for good, even.
Hynek wasn’t so aware of the issues between the ladies as he indulged their presence all the same. This was possibly because all the females acted like nothing had happened between them whenever he’d come to their presence. He was a king leading a large Organization, it was a given that he wouldn’t know everything. The wives themselves didn’t know of all the bloody struggles the girls had against each other just to decide who would get to spend some short yet lovely times with him.
The two girls snuggled up close to him as their hands trailed over his body. As he grabbed them and pulled them closer, they squealed with delight. The food was acceptable, and the drinks had just enough bite. He knew his limit however, even if he was not above getting drunk. As he finished his drink, one of the two made sure it was filled quickly.
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
Suddenly, a familiar song began to play. Who’d have thought that they’d play something old here in futuristic Japan? The dancers on stage were all lost from listening to a forgotten music. It was obviously the move of the two members of his Organization.
“I wish to dance.” Hynek said to the woman on his right. She smiled and nodded, and grabbed his hand as they stood. The other grabbed his other hand, and followed refusing to be left behind. The dance floor was crowded, but Hynek and the ladies found a spot easy enough. Dancing close, Hynek could feel every curve of his luscious lovers. It was obvious what was on their mind, and he would surely indulge them soon. Now, however, Hynek wanted to cutloose. The crowd opened in the middle as a single man danced in the middle. He was quite good, but Hynek would not be upstaged at his own dance party.
Well, not quite his own, the girls only reserved some seats and had countless food and beverages prepared, and that was it.
“Here we go again.”
“I want to drink and forget about him… ” the white spirit’s hand passed through a bottle of alcohol, never to be touched by her bare hands. Reality was a cold and harsh mistress. The other spirit’s hand ended up doing the same. The two then proceeded to sulk for some time.
“Tell me about it. This is why the Count prepares drinks for us in every meeting.” The two soon sat down on a sofa, that was in reality, occupied. It was strange how they could sit on certain objects, but their bodies really †˜touch’ them. Of course, since they were spirits, their transparent bodies coincided with the material bodies, not that it mattered, since they did not intend to take over those bodies. They were powerful spirits, but they were also strong-willed, enough to control impulse-urges.
As he tried to part from the two, they clinged onto him, not wanting to let him go. Felix scoffed at this. Turning, Hynek pulled them both close and kissed one, and then the other. Both of them gazed into his eyes longingly. “Wait for me, I’ll be back shortly.” he commanded. They nodded, and still clung to him slightly as he pulled away. Stepping into the middle of the dance floor, Hynek smiled as he looked up at the light display.
As the base hit, he slid his foot back and spun swiftly. Then began moving side to side with a slight hop in his step. In his suit, no one was expecting what he did next, but Hynek had many suit – this would not be his only clothing change today, and definitely not the last. Kicking his leg back again he spun once more as he crouched and flipped onto his hands. Spinning on them briefly before he lowered himself onto his shoulders to continue the dervish. In the flurry, he removed his jacket throwing it into the crowd as he spun, and his wife – Felix – caught it skillfully. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that she was used to it.
Moving back to his hands; Hynek flipped up before he simply grooved to the music, as if challenging someone to come forth. As no one did, Hynek shrugged as the ladies two moved in, placing his jacket on his shoulders and dragging him off. They wanted all the rest of his time before the important meeting.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
Hynek and Felix moved to a more respectable premises now. A large and towering structure with glistening windows and reflection of rays from the sun. Riding a high-speed elevator was a new experience to Hynek as he made way to the meeting, under the guide of his secretary, Felix. The man entered a room full of men clad in black or gray suits. The two spirits sighed and each went to two different walls to lean on. They could now relax, having seen that no females were present, none for Hynek to flirt with, anyway.
“Ah, Mister Hynek, there you are,” one of the men from the couch spoke, standing up, as the rest got up. “We’ve been awaiting your entry.” It seemed like he was the main representative of the gentlemen.
“I pray that you were not waiting long,” answered Hynek walking over to the group. Hynek bowed respectfully as the men did the same. “It is nice to meet in person.”
“Indeed, we have waited long for a business opportunity. Please, take a seat,” one of the men ushered Hynek towards the empty sofa as they all sank back to their sofas. Hynek pulled up his pants slightly as he sat down so that his pants wouldn’t wrinkle. Felix stood behind him to the side, as she kept a keen watch around her surroundings.
“So shall we get straight to business?” suggested Hynek.
“We’re ready when you are,” they answered.
And so they started.
“We were told that you wished to establish your company’s branch here, if I remember correctly?” One of the men asked. “We’ve already noted that it was established two months ago, in fact. Unfortunately, due to the busyness of us all in the room; we couldn’t quite sort out the technical issues till now.”
“Yes, Obelisk is very interested in expanding the entertainment industry here. It has already taken flight here. Think about how much more we can achieve.” answered Hynek.
“I wish he’d stop clinging to the past and get a more cooler name, already.”
“I don’t know… it seems alright. Anyway, please pipe down a little bit, I want to listen to this meeting.” The black spirit spit to the side, finding her sister boring as she averted her gaze. These serious meetings were a little too complicated for her.
“Well, we’re more than welcome to have your company flourish here as well.”
“Your company has indeed been successful so far.”
“However… we have come to know some information a little… dangerous to us.”
“Accusations of Mister Hynek Tamas being what they call…. a Time Warrior.”
“Time warrior? Do they go around smashing clocks or something?” answered Hynek.
“There is no need to hide it, Hynek-san” an unfamiliar voice spoke from behind the window to the other side of the room. A lady appeared out of thin air. She smiled sweetly as she turned around, gracing the men with serene beauty. Her eyes were mysteriously marked with stars, and she wore a black dress.
And with that the jaws of the twin spirits were successfully dislodged; gaping wide in surprise. Why couldn’t women just stay away from this man? That was an answer they’d never have, no matter how long they’d wait for it.
“Um, actually, we brought her here today for identification,” a man said.
“We apologize for having to hide it, but we must make sure our business participants are faithful at least. To be clear: we don’t really mind a Time Warrior expanding their business here.”
“Yes, she is… ”
“A Descendant… I wonder why neither of us could sense her till now.”
“Are optical illusions really that great?”
“I am afraid that the shamans are more cunning than we think,” the white spirit replied, looking to the far corners of the room as well as the small white pieces of paper with Japanese writing on them. Spiritual energy radiation seemed to be completely nullified inside the room. It was a miracle that they could sense her after they witnessed her appearance.
Hynek’s eyes looked over the woman who entered the room, and stayed on her until the man spoke once again. From the sound of it – it appeared as if the men were telling the truth. Still, his curiosity stayed on the woman who knew his name. “That is a relief...” said Hynek breathing out deeply. “Just who is this lovely lady, however?”
“The core of our Geneva Project – Miss Alice.”
“Bewitching?”
“Let’s not think about it, please.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Hynek Tamas, my name is Alice,” she introduced herself with a graceful bow. “I apologize for having myself hidden with optical illusion like that, but it was the best course of action for identification,” she spoke in her mother language.
“I knew you meant me no harm,” said Hynek knowing about her moments before she revealed herself. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well, so what is this Geneva project? Since we are letting all the cats out of the bag today.”
“It is simply an experimental project the government is funding, and I am lending a hand in hopes of having my country flourish even further,” Alice answered. “In other words, it is more uninteresting than your entertainment business, in which case – I look forward to working with you, as I am one of the idols working with said industry.”
“I guess idols, are capable of much more than just their craft. I will keep that in mind.” answered Hynek. “I will need to meet many of you in the days to come. It’s rather exciting.”
“Very exciting indeed,” the black spirit rolled her eyes, dripping with sarcastic words.
“I look forward to your company’s advancements… except, I must do a proper registration of your account for you to be eligible to stay in Japan,” Alice said. “We can only give you temporary visitorship unless I permit your registration into our database.”
“We’d like to do this the ordinary way, but your case, sir, is a special one, for which we asked Miss Alice to fulfill that job,” the man to the right of Hynek explained.
“This is absolutely your decision. I shall explain the meaning behind granting permission of registration with us; without the proper registration – you will not able to establish the branch to the fullest, and must soon close down what was previously established,” Alice informed the truth with a calm tone. In fact, despite being a person who seemed to be supporting the flourishment of Japan, any ordinary person would likely say †˜yes’ considering the benefits. However, Alice seemed neutral and obedient to the rules established. “However, if you do register, we’ll allow your business to continue, and you’ll be allowed to live along with the citizens… however, to allow your account to be fully registered – we’ll be accessing information regarding your genetics, as that is how we record every individuals of our country, currently.”
“My genetics you say? Felix is this true?” asked Hynek. As a citizen she must have been put through the same process.
Felix shrugged, she was genuinely surprised too, it seemed. “I know that you need to go through this process for citizenship, but not exactly for company-ship,” she said. “It must have been an improvised rule just for you, Master Tamas.”
The registration process in Japan was quite different from the ones found in other countries. Each citizens were provided an account in the database that contained necessary details regarding them. Information is usually collected for immigrants, and newborn infants alike promptly. The accounts are literally saved and stored in data banks in the administration servers. The security is known to be strict and well-guarded, and outside countries can’t quite make a move as Japan has a natural boundary made out of cloud, and nothing can go and out of it.
Apparently, citizens may even use these accounts to log into their cyber world, which literally creates interfaces in the air around the user when they wear a certain device. Each citizen may have their work qualifications information stored and viewable in their profiles, so a certificate to students are given online as well as in real life. In Hynek’s case, however, he’d need an official seal of approval online to be a permitted citizen and a man allowed to have his company set up here.
Tricky situation, and a narrow bridge as he was a Time Warrior, but he wouldn’t back down.
Hynek chuckled and rested an arm on the back of the couch, almost reaching Felix. “I’ll bite. You may find something new about me, that even I don’t know.” answered Hynek. “Is it just my blood you need?”
“No,” Alice smiled tenderly, “simply close your eyes, and relax,” she requested, stepping closer, and now just in front of Hynek. Felix seemed relaxed as usual, but her gaze gave away that she was very much under alert about now.
“What does she intend to do… ? The lack of spiritual energy in her is rather strange.”
“Sorry, I prefer to do it with the lights on,” answered Hynek with a smirk.
“Very well,” Alice nodded, her expression unchanged. She calmly – and slowly – placed her right palm over Hynek’s forehead.
Hynek was pretty confident that no harm could be done regardless, as he was the Descendant. Felix couldn’t help but worry, despite knowing that fact.
“System.” Alice uttered, and her eyes flashed a blue light. At the same time, Hynek could see his own vision turning blue, which was very odd. It was as though he was underwater, or rather, the entire room was swathed with water from what it seemed like, from his perspective. He could feel his head getting heavier and dizzier, and was beginning to doubt his invincibility. “Now accessing data… ”
“Information confirmed… recording genetical data received from analysis,” Alice said, soon departing her palm from Hynek’s forehead, and soon the man almost fell over, but Alice quickly stopped it. Felix instantly pulled Hynek back, and her face could tell anyone that the world was about to end. For her, anyway.
“Master Tamas! Master Tamas! Are you alright?!” Felix asked loudly, shaking his body. The two spirits sighed, but didn’t move an inch, they knew that this couldn’t take down their host. However, they were confused.
“That was… ”
“Just what the hell is she?”
“It is alright. He will be just fine… this is why I recommended him to close his eyes, the change in vision creates stress more than necessary,” Alice stated, still maintaining her ice-solid composure. It seemed as though she had been through this issue more than one times, at least.
“You vixen! What have you done!”
“An analysis and registration – as I have previously stated,” Alice repeated herself.
Hynek felt the urge to vomit as he was pulled back, but kept his lunch where it belonged. “Nifty trick you have there. Not like any magic I have seen before.” answered Hynek. His vision was still dodgy at best, but his focus was slowly returning. Holding his forehead he wished that he had listened now. “Now that this is done, I assume that makes us partners?”
“Yes, we look forward to working with you, Mister Hynek Tamas,” the man behind Alice expressed as they got up. “We’ll share our contact details and go over the more complicated details soon,” he added. And by contact details it obviously meant that the actual particulars regarding the business will be discussed online. So, they only really held the meeting for the identification of Hynek.
Alice simply gave a respectable bow before she walked away and left the room before waving her hand slightly.
Hynek waved his hand, as he stood up slightly shaky. Felix grabbed onto him so that he wouldn’t fall over into the table. “Sounds, perfect.” answered Hynek. As suspicious as he was of the whole ordeal, he was more curious. The results of his deciding to work with them would be known later. For now he had arrangements to make.
Hynek and Felix moved to a more respectable premises now. A large and towering structure with glistening windows and reflection of rays from the sun. Riding a high-speed elevator was a new experience to Hynek as he made way to the meeting, under the guide of his secretary, Felix. The man entered a room full of men clad in black or gray suits. The two spirits sighed and each went to two different walls to lean on. They could now relax, having seen that no females were present, none for Hynek to flirt with, anyway.
“Ah, Mister Hynek, there you are,” one of the men from the couch spoke, standing up, as the rest got up. “We’ve been awaiting your entry.” It seemed like he was the main representative of the gentlemen.
“I pray that you were not waiting long,” answered Hynek walking over to the group. Hynek bowed respectfully as the men did the same. “It is nice to meet in person.”
“Indeed, we have waited long for a business opportunity. Please, take a seat,” one of the men ushered Hynek towards the empty sofa as they all sank back to their sofas. Hynek pulled up his pants slightly as he sat down so that his pants wouldn’t wrinkle. Felix stood behind him to the side, as she kept a keen watch around her surroundings.
“So shall we get straight to business?” suggested Hynek.
“We’re ready when you are,” they answered.
And so they started.
“We were told that you wished to establish your company’s branch here, if I remember correctly?” One of the men asked. “We’ve already noted that it was established two months ago, in fact. Unfortunately, due to the busyness of us all in the room; we couldn’t quite sort out the technical issues till now.”
“Yes, Obelisk is very interested in expanding the entertainment industry here. It has already taken flight here. Think about how much more we can achieve.” answered Hynek.
“I wish he’d stop clinging to the past and get a more cooler name, already.”
“I don’t know… it seems alright. Anyway, please pipe down a little bit, I want to listen to this meeting.” The black spirit spit to the side, finding her sister boring as she averted her gaze. These serious meetings were a little too complicated for her.
“Well, we’re more than welcome to have your company flourish here as well.”
“Your company has indeed been successful so far.”
“However… we have come to know some information a little… dangerous to us.”
“Accusations of Mister Hynek Tamas being what they call…. a Time Warrior.”
“Time warrior? Do they go around smashing clocks or something?” answered Hynek.
“There is no need to hide it, Hynek-san” an unfamiliar voice spoke from behind the window to the other side of the room. A lady appeared out of thin air. She smiled sweetly as she turned around, gracing the men with serene beauty. Her eyes were mysteriously marked with stars, and she wore a black dress.
And with that the jaws of the twin spirits were successfully dislodged; gaping wide in surprise. Why couldn’t women just stay away from this man? That was an answer they’d never have, no matter how long they’d wait for it.
“Um, actually, we brought her here today for identification,” a man said.
“We apologize for having to hide it, but we must make sure our business participants are faithful at least. To be clear: we don’t really mind a Time Warrior expanding their business here.”
“Yes, she is… ”
“A Descendant… I wonder why neither of us could sense her till now.”
“Are optical illusions really that great?”
“I am afraid that the shamans are more cunning than we think,” the white spirit replied, looking to the far corners of the room as well as the small white pieces of paper with Japanese writing on them. Spiritual energy radiation seemed to be completely nullified inside the room. It was a miracle that they could sense her after they witnessed her appearance.
Hynek’s eyes looked over the woman who entered the room, and stayed on her until the man spoke once again. From the sound of it – it appeared as if the men were telling the truth. Still, his curiosity stayed on the woman who knew his name. “That is a relief...” said Hynek breathing out deeply. “Just who is this lovely lady, however?”
“The core of our Geneva Project – Miss Alice.”
“Bewitching?”
“Let’s not think about it, please.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Hynek Tamas, my name is Alice,” she introduced herself with a graceful bow. “I apologize for having myself hidden with optical illusion like that, but it was the best course of action for identification,” she spoke in her mother language.
“I knew you meant me no harm,” said Hynek knowing about her moments before she revealed herself. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well, so what is this Geneva project? Since we are letting all the cats out of the bag today.”
“It is simply an experimental project the government is funding, and I am lending a hand in hopes of having my country flourish even further,” Alice answered. “In other words, it is more uninteresting than your entertainment business, in which case – I look forward to working with you, as I am one of the idols working with said industry.”
“I guess idols, are capable of much more than just their craft. I will keep that in mind.” answered Hynek. “I will need to meet many of you in the days to come. It’s rather exciting.”
“Very exciting indeed,” the black spirit rolled her eyes, dripping with sarcastic words.
“I look forward to your company’s advancements… except, I must do a proper registration of your account for you to be eligible to stay in Japan,” Alice said. “We can only give you temporary visitorship unless I permit your registration into our database.”
“We’d like to do this the ordinary way, but your case, sir, is a special one, for which we asked Miss Alice to fulfill that job,” the man to the right of Hynek explained.
“This is absolutely your decision. I shall explain the meaning behind granting permission of registration with us; without the proper registration – you will not able to establish the branch to the fullest, and must soon close down what was previously established,” Alice informed the truth with a calm tone. In fact, despite being a person who seemed to be supporting the flourishment of Japan, any ordinary person would likely say †˜yes’ considering the benefits. However, Alice seemed neutral and obedient to the rules established. “However, if you do register, we’ll allow your business to continue, and you’ll be allowed to live along with the citizens… however, to allow your account to be fully registered – we’ll be accessing information regarding your genetics, as that is how we record every individuals of our country, currently.”
“My genetics you say? Felix is this true?” asked Hynek. As a citizen she must have been put through the same process.
Felix shrugged, she was genuinely surprised too, it seemed. “I know that you need to go through this process for citizenship, but not exactly for company-ship,” she said. “It must have been an improvised rule just for you, Master Tamas.”
The registration process in Japan was quite different from the ones found in other countries. Each citizens were provided an account in the database that contained necessary details regarding them. Information is usually collected for immigrants, and newborn infants alike promptly. The accounts are literally saved and stored in data banks in the administration servers. The security is known to be strict and well-guarded, and outside countries can’t quite make a move as Japan has a natural boundary made out of cloud, and nothing can go and out of it.
Apparently, citizens may even use these accounts to log into their cyber world, which literally creates interfaces in the air around the user when they wear a certain device. Each citizen may have their work qualifications information stored and viewable in their profiles, so a certificate to students are given online as well as in real life. In Hynek’s case, however, he’d need an official seal of approval online to be a permitted citizen and a man allowed to have his company set up here.
Tricky situation, and a narrow bridge as he was a Time Warrior, but he wouldn’t back down.
Hynek chuckled and rested an arm on the back of the couch, almost reaching Felix. “I’ll bite. You may find something new about me, that even I don’t know.” answered Hynek. “Is it just my blood you need?”
“No,” Alice smiled tenderly, “simply close your eyes, and relax,” she requested, stepping closer, and now just in front of Hynek. Felix seemed relaxed as usual, but her gaze gave away that she was very much under alert about now.
“What does she intend to do… ? The lack of spiritual energy in her is rather strange.”
“Sorry, I prefer to do it with the lights on,” answered Hynek with a smirk.
“Very well,” Alice nodded, her expression unchanged. She calmly – and slowly – placed her right palm over Hynek’s forehead.
Hynek was pretty confident that no harm could be done regardless, as he was the Descendant. Felix couldn’t help but worry, despite knowing that fact.
“System.” Alice uttered, and her eyes flashed a blue light. At the same time, Hynek could see his own vision turning blue, which was very odd. It was as though he was underwater, or rather, the entire room was swathed with water from what it seemed like, from his perspective. He could feel his head getting heavier and dizzier, and was beginning to doubt his invincibility. “Now accessing data… ”
“Information confirmed… recording genetical data received from analysis,” Alice said, soon departing her palm from Hynek’s forehead, and soon the man almost fell over, but Alice quickly stopped it. Felix instantly pulled Hynek back, and her face could tell anyone that the world was about to end. For her, anyway.
“Master Tamas! Master Tamas! Are you alright?!” Felix asked loudly, shaking his body. The two spirits sighed, but didn’t move an inch, they knew that this couldn’t take down their host. However, they were confused.
“That was… ”
“Just what the hell is she?”
“It is alright. He will be just fine… this is why I recommended him to close his eyes, the change in vision creates stress more than necessary,” Alice stated, still maintaining her ice-solid composure. It seemed as though she had been through this issue more than one times, at least.
“You vixen! What have you done!”
“An analysis and registration – as I have previously stated,” Alice repeated herself.
Hynek felt the urge to vomit as he was pulled back, but kept his lunch where it belonged. “Nifty trick you have there. Not like any magic I have seen before.” answered Hynek. His vision was still dodgy at best, but his focus was slowly returning. Holding his forehead he wished that he had listened now. “Now that this is done, I assume that makes us partners?”
“Yes, we look forward to working with you, Mister Hynek Tamas,” the man behind Alice expressed as they got up. “We’ll share our contact details and go over the more complicated details soon,” he added. And by contact details it obviously meant that the actual particulars regarding the business will be discussed online. So, they only really held the meeting for the identification of Hynek.
Alice simply gave a respectable bow before she walked away and left the room before waving her hand slightly.
Hynek waved his hand, as he stood up slightly shaky. Felix grabbed onto him so that he wouldn’t fall over into the table. “Sounds, perfect.” answered Hynek. As suspicious as he was of the whole ordeal, he was more curious. The results of his deciding to work with them would be known later. For now he had arrangements to make.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
Natsu was walking home, with her eyes cast downwards – it was almost as though the world was ending for her. The sky was dark and cloudy as usual in eight †˜o’ clock. Japan didn’t seemed dark at all, however. The lightings of Tokyo was supposedly the best in the world now, after all. Numerous advertisements, television screens, and multitude of electronics – including cleaning bots – were passed through as she walked the empty streets. The lightings seemed to be look especially sparkly and bright, and pleasing to the eyes. She didn’t take the automatic moving pavement as she was used to walking. It was always good for the body to walk, especially for idols.
The plain yet sugarcoated rejection of her beloved manager, and his real †˜date’ plans despite her belief that she went on a date with him had sent her heart shattered, and her mind – adrift. Just who was this †˜woman’ he referred to? Was this person that much better than an idol who was already gaining more and more fans everyday? She wondered. All her confidence and willingness was gone. Crushed in a single moment, just like that.
She felt very unmotivated to do anything, and just wanted to hop on her bed after shutting the door to her room at home, and cry her heart out, at such a time she had that thought, however… a certain someone – who couldn’t read the mood – decided to approach her.
A tan man, with an impressive yet jealous looking woman beside him looked down at the poor girl with pity. He could tell that some wrong had been done to the girl. It wasn’t in his ability to allow such a beauty continue in such a manner. Stepping in front of the girl, he bent over so that their faces were on the same level.
“Well hello there,” he said with a bright smile. The woman beside him heaved a sigh; knowing exactly what was on the man’s mind. Upon looking at the girl’s face however, she remembered seeing it on television more than a few times.
“Alright, I bet that he’ll fail to win her heart.”
“Tch, you clever thing. I wanted to bet on that… alright… I am betting that he will successfully win over her heart,” the spirits around him would usually make bets whenever he’d approach a girl. It was an ancient ritual by now, he was never informed about it, however. Sometimes they’d even play Rock, Paper and Scissors to decide if they would approve of his new girl. Which really implied that they didn’t care about the qualities of the girls at all. The bet was but a bet, they’d look down on both the winner’s girl and the loser’s one. They believed that they were most superior regardless of looks or personality, and that’s all they mattered. They were self-centered and had a superior complex against every other females, except maybe spirits of the same caliber such as themselves. Showing support for a girl was a part of the gamble.
“U-u-m… who might you be…?” Natsu asked, trying to sound polite, but remaining relatively distant. She was wary around this stranger, any stranger in fact. It was her basic instinct to not trust him at first glance. Especially in the mood she was in, she couldn’t think she could handle some kind of other trauma.
“Poor girl… he is invading her in the wrongest of times.”
“Yeah, she is too fragile at the moment,” the spirits could read the state of Natsu’s heart from a single glance. Was this a product of experience, mutual feelings as females, or some supernatural insight as spirits?
“Hynek Tamas,” answered Hynek with a slight bow. “Forgive my prying, but you seemed a little down. Perhaps I could help in some way?”
“And what’s this guy’s problem? Can’t a girl be left alone to recover emotionally? Jeez,” she said, despite knowing how Hynek is. He simply can’t leave a girl alone, especially when they feel down.
“I’m... fine…” Natsu responded in a melancholic tone. She looked down at the floor again so the two wouldn’t notice her solemn facial expression. “Kazehaya Natsu, by the way…” She decided to give her name since the man gave his. It was a strange name, though. Clearly not Japanese, though the man was obviously not Japanese, so it was expected.
“This is my wife Felix,” said Hynek motioning to the bombshell beside him.
Felix gave a terse yet respectable bow, despite her appearance and choice of clothes; she knew how to show manners appropriately. “Good evening,” she greeted.
Natsu greeted the woman named Felix with a bow, as well. Knowing the foreign man had a wife made Natsu slightly more comfortable with him. She was still hesitant to open up to them, though. She still was emotionally traumatized by the event; merely talking about it may cause her to burst into tears again.
“Why don’t we talk somewhere else?” Said Hynek seeing the girl was near an emotional meltdown. His time with woman taught him how to read them better than most men. Though Hynek had no idea what places were nearby. “Felix, any place suitable near here?”
“Sluts only knows of love hotels though. Oh no!”
“There are some… hotels around here, and perhaps party clubs? But they aren’t a place for idols,” Felix answered calmly, despite her emotions. It seemed like Felix knew who they were dealing with here. Even if she knew what her king was up to, it was regardless her job to support and help him. She knew that helping women was done out of his good will, no matter how much he discriminated gender. Unlike an ordinary wife, the rules set by Hynek forbid her from voicing her disagreements, and at worse risked her relation to Hynek. Meanwhile, the white spirit literally tried punching a wall but there wasn’t a single noise from it, it felt as though her hand touched it, yet it felt like it didn’t.
“How about we keep it simpler. Any restaurants? Wouldn’t want her fans getting the wrong idea about us, now would we?” Answered Hynek. Felix mentioning she as an idol was a good call. The last thing he needed was to be involved in a scandal before he even started.
“Wow, sensible for once.”
“Well… ” Felix begun – flexing her finger over the surface of her phone’s screen; surveying the map, “there should be a family restaurant about twenty meters to the front from where we are,” she said, pointing toward the direction Natsu was originally walking towards.
“S-sure…” Natsu said, still hesitant. However, if they were going to bring her to a restaurant, there’d be other patrons, so it was unlikely they’d try to do something shady. At least, that’s what she hoped, as she agreed to come with them.
“Thats the spirit,” answered Hynek with a smile. Hynek let the two ladies walk in front of him while he slyly sized up Natsu. He was going to have his hands full, trying to keep his hands empty. He chuckled silently as he looked around at a number of ladies around him. He was falling in love with this country already.
Natsu was walking home, with her eyes cast downwards – it was almost as though the world was ending for her. The sky was dark and cloudy as usual in eight †˜o’ clock. Japan didn’t seemed dark at all, however. The lightings of Tokyo was supposedly the best in the world now, after all. Numerous advertisements, television screens, and multitude of electronics – including cleaning bots – were passed through as she walked the empty streets. The lightings seemed to be look especially sparkly and bright, and pleasing to the eyes. She didn’t take the automatic moving pavement as she was used to walking. It was always good for the body to walk, especially for idols.
The plain yet sugarcoated rejection of her beloved manager, and his real †˜date’ plans despite her belief that she went on a date with him had sent her heart shattered, and her mind – adrift. Just who was this †˜woman’ he referred to? Was this person that much better than an idol who was already gaining more and more fans everyday? She wondered. All her confidence and willingness was gone. Crushed in a single moment, just like that.
She felt very unmotivated to do anything, and just wanted to hop on her bed after shutting the door to her room at home, and cry her heart out, at such a time she had that thought, however… a certain someone – who couldn’t read the mood – decided to approach her.
A tan man, with an impressive yet jealous looking woman beside him looked down at the poor girl with pity. He could tell that some wrong had been done to the girl. It wasn’t in his ability to allow such a beauty continue in such a manner. Stepping in front of the girl, he bent over so that their faces were on the same level.
“Well hello there,” he said with a bright smile. The woman beside him heaved a sigh; knowing exactly what was on the man’s mind. Upon looking at the girl’s face however, she remembered seeing it on television more than a few times.
“Alright, I bet that he’ll fail to win her heart.”
“Tch, you clever thing. I wanted to bet on that… alright… I am betting that he will successfully win over her heart,” the spirits around him would usually make bets whenever he’d approach a girl. It was an ancient ritual by now, he was never informed about it, however. Sometimes they’d even play Rock, Paper and Scissors to decide if they would approve of his new girl. Which really implied that they didn’t care about the qualities of the girls at all. The bet was but a bet, they’d look down on both the winner’s girl and the loser’s one. They believed that they were most superior regardless of looks or personality, and that’s all they mattered. They were self-centered and had a superior complex against every other females, except maybe spirits of the same caliber such as themselves. Showing support for a girl was a part of the gamble.
“U-u-m… who might you be…?” Natsu asked, trying to sound polite, but remaining relatively distant. She was wary around this stranger, any stranger in fact. It was her basic instinct to not trust him at first glance. Especially in the mood she was in, she couldn’t think she could handle some kind of other trauma.
“Poor girl… he is invading her in the wrongest of times.”
“Yeah, she is too fragile at the moment,” the spirits could read the state of Natsu’s heart from a single glance. Was this a product of experience, mutual feelings as females, or some supernatural insight as spirits?
“Hynek Tamas,” answered Hynek with a slight bow. “Forgive my prying, but you seemed a little down. Perhaps I could help in some way?”
“And what’s this guy’s problem? Can’t a girl be left alone to recover emotionally? Jeez,” she said, despite knowing how Hynek is. He simply can’t leave a girl alone, especially when they feel down.
“I’m... fine…” Natsu responded in a melancholic tone. She looked down at the floor again so the two wouldn’t notice her solemn facial expression. “Kazehaya Natsu, by the way…” She decided to give her name since the man gave his. It was a strange name, though. Clearly not Japanese, though the man was obviously not Japanese, so it was expected.
“This is my wife Felix,” said Hynek motioning to the bombshell beside him.
Felix gave a terse yet respectable bow, despite her appearance and choice of clothes; she knew how to show manners appropriately. “Good evening,” she greeted.
Natsu greeted the woman named Felix with a bow, as well. Knowing the foreign man had a wife made Natsu slightly more comfortable with him. She was still hesitant to open up to them, though. She still was emotionally traumatized by the event; merely talking about it may cause her to burst into tears again.
“Why don’t we talk somewhere else?” Said Hynek seeing the girl was near an emotional meltdown. His time with woman taught him how to read them better than most men. Though Hynek had no idea what places were nearby. “Felix, any place suitable near here?”
“Sluts only knows of love hotels though. Oh no!”
“There are some… hotels around here, and perhaps party clubs? But they aren’t a place for idols,” Felix answered calmly, despite her emotions. It seemed like Felix knew who they were dealing with here. Even if she knew what her king was up to, it was regardless her job to support and help him. She knew that helping women was done out of his good will, no matter how much he discriminated gender. Unlike an ordinary wife, the rules set by Hynek forbid her from voicing her disagreements, and at worse risked her relation to Hynek. Meanwhile, the white spirit literally tried punching a wall but there wasn’t a single noise from it, it felt as though her hand touched it, yet it felt like it didn’t.
“How about we keep it simpler. Any restaurants? Wouldn’t want her fans getting the wrong idea about us, now would we?” Answered Hynek. Felix mentioning she as an idol was a good call. The last thing he needed was to be involved in a scandal before he even started.
“Wow, sensible for once.”
“Well… ” Felix begun – flexing her finger over the surface of her phone’s screen; surveying the map, “there should be a family restaurant about twenty meters to the front from where we are,” she said, pointing toward the direction Natsu was originally walking towards.
“S-sure…” Natsu said, still hesitant. However, if they were going to bring her to a restaurant, there’d be other patrons, so it was unlikely they’d try to do something shady. At least, that’s what she hoped, as she agreed to come with them.
“Thats the spirit,” answered Hynek with a smile. Hynek let the two ladies walk in front of him while he slyly sized up Natsu. He was going to have his hands full, trying to keep his hands empty. He chuckled silently as he looked around at a number of ladies around him. He was falling in love with this country already.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
Felix and Natsu walked into the restaurant, while Hynek entered soon after the girls and found a paradise of attendants working in the restaurant. The dignified outfit of the ladies working set his heart pumping, or rather, his lustfulness pumping. He wanted so many more women to join his Organization already. Felix sighed feeling the devious aura from her master.
“Welcome, customers. There is a free table over there,” a lady donning the apparent †˜dignified’ outfit ushered towards the table beside the windows.
“Don’t take too long with them now, Master Tamas,” Felix said, before heading to the table along with Natsu.
“Bitch, at least try to restrain him. A little, if anything,” the black spirit was clearly forgetting about their bet already as she bit on her cloth with her teeth and gritted maddeningly.
“Hmm?” Natsu didn’t understand what Felix meant by that. Ah, maybe he likes to flirt around with other girls. Maybe that’s why he approached me, too… She deducted, a bit worried again about Hynek, though she still felt assured he wouldn’t actually attempt anything since he already had a wife. Why’d she call him †˜Master Tamas’, though…? What country is he from?
Hynek loosened up his collar a little bit, trying to release some stress that was building. After this meal, his girls were going to have a heck of a time quenching his thirst. Walking over to the table with Felix, and their new companion, he sat next to Felix across from Natsu. “Order whatever you wish, Natsu. I will be paying for us all.” said Hynek looking over the menu, trying to keep his eyes on the waitresses walking around. “So, an idol? Perhaps this is fate that we met today.”
“What do you mean by that…?” Natsu asked, wary of his intentions. She was already visually surprised that he offered to pay for everyone, and considering what his wife had called him earlier, she suspected he could be a man of some importance, at least, from his country. “Where are you from, by the way?” Natsu asked curiously.
“Me? I travel quite a bit. If I had to claim any land as home. I’d choose Egypt I suppose.” answered Hynek. “I came here to spread my business, and my business happens to be entertainment. Idols happen to be at the center of that here.”
“I see…” Natsu responded. Wow, someone who owns a business in global entertainment!? I met such a person? She was in some shock, but did well to hide it. No wonder he decided to pay, Natsu thought. He must be absurdly rich. Plus, if he was looking for business, Natsu felt that could be a big help to her music company. They were rather small in comparison to others. “Maybe I can introduce you to Manager...san…” As she suggested that, a gloomy expression returned to her face, bringing back the vivid memory of her heartbreak again just recently.
Reading the look on the girl’s face, it was obvious that this man was the cause of the girl’s mood. “I have my own music company. You could simply leave that man behind, and start fresh.” answered Hynek. “I don’t think I could tolerate a man that mistreats his clients.”
“It’s nothing like that,” Natsu quickly reassured Hynek, “It’s just…” She looked back down before she said it. She took a moment before continuing: “He had a girlfriend… I thought I was making progress, but…” She started tearing up. In her mind, Natsu wanted to cry out I’ve tried so hard! Why won’t he love me back!? but didn’t want to make yet another scene. Regardless, some tears flowed out, and she began to sob softly.
Hynek sighed and looked to Felix – who seemed to be looking for a handkerchief, but realized that she’d never have one while wearing these clothes – for a moment before looking back to Natsu. “You are an idol, are you not? ” began Hynek. “Love is a war, and you cannot master every battlefield. But you can chose which to focus on. So what you lost this one. There are many others. ” Hynek was hoping that the girl caught his meaning.
Natsu sniffled once more after listening to Hynek, but could sense his reasoning and was calmed by it. “Y-you’re right… There’s always another chance, right…?” She said, more to herself, trying to have the most optimistic outlook on the situation. She wiped the tears off of her face and bowed her head, humbly telling the two, “I’m sorry you had to see me in such a state…”
“That’s right, always another chance,” answered Hynek with a wide smile. ”But, don’t apologize to me. Your fans are the ones who have their eyes on you. In the entertainment world. Appearance is everything. It’s good to see that the idols aren’t complete machines though.” Hynek thought back to Alice, and the strange situation he now found himself in. Japan was proving to be more fun than he anticipated.
“Y-yeah… I wasn’t thinking of the fans… I was so caught up in… this, that I almost forgot about them…” Natsu accepted Hynek’s thoughts. He was right. It was hard to accept, but she was acting selfishly. The waitress finally made her way over with her notepad in hand.
“Are you ready to order?”
“I will let the ladies order first.” said Hynek and he looked to Natsu and Felix.
Felix smiled and nodded, “iced coffee, please,” she ordered, then looked over to Natsu.
“I… guess I’ll have cola…” Natsu requested softly.
“And I will have an Arnold Palmer,”[/b] answered Hynek. The waitress nodded and hurried off to get their drink orders. Hynek turned a curious look to Natsu as she seemed to be fidgeting a bit. [color=#0020c2]Yes, Japan is going to be a lot more fun, thought Hynek.
Felix and Natsu walked into the restaurant, while Hynek entered soon after the girls and found a paradise of attendants working in the restaurant. The dignified outfit of the ladies working set his heart pumping, or rather, his lustfulness pumping. He wanted so many more women to join his Organization already. Felix sighed feeling the devious aura from her master.
“Welcome, customers. There is a free table over there,” a lady donning the apparent †˜dignified’ outfit ushered towards the table beside the windows.
“Don’t take too long with them now, Master Tamas,” Felix said, before heading to the table along with Natsu.
“Bitch, at least try to restrain him. A little, if anything,” the black spirit was clearly forgetting about their bet already as she bit on her cloth with her teeth and gritted maddeningly.
“Hmm?” Natsu didn’t understand what Felix meant by that. Ah, maybe he likes to flirt around with other girls. Maybe that’s why he approached me, too… She deducted, a bit worried again about Hynek, though she still felt assured he wouldn’t actually attempt anything since he already had a wife. Why’d she call him †˜Master Tamas’, though…? What country is he from?
Hynek loosened up his collar a little bit, trying to release some stress that was building. After this meal, his girls were going to have a heck of a time quenching his thirst. Walking over to the table with Felix, and their new companion, he sat next to Felix across from Natsu. “Order whatever you wish, Natsu. I will be paying for us all.” said Hynek looking over the menu, trying to keep his eyes on the waitresses walking around. “So, an idol? Perhaps this is fate that we met today.”
“What do you mean by that…?” Natsu asked, wary of his intentions. She was already visually surprised that he offered to pay for everyone, and considering what his wife had called him earlier, she suspected he could be a man of some importance, at least, from his country. “Where are you from, by the way?” Natsu asked curiously.
“Me? I travel quite a bit. If I had to claim any land as home. I’d choose Egypt I suppose.” answered Hynek. “I came here to spread my business, and my business happens to be entertainment. Idols happen to be at the center of that here.”
“I see…” Natsu responded. Wow, someone who owns a business in global entertainment!? I met such a person? She was in some shock, but did well to hide it. No wonder he decided to pay, Natsu thought. He must be absurdly rich. Plus, if he was looking for business, Natsu felt that could be a big help to her music company. They were rather small in comparison to others. “Maybe I can introduce you to Manager...san…” As she suggested that, a gloomy expression returned to her face, bringing back the vivid memory of her heartbreak again just recently.
Reading the look on the girl’s face, it was obvious that this man was the cause of the girl’s mood. “I have my own music company. You could simply leave that man behind, and start fresh.” answered Hynek. “I don’t think I could tolerate a man that mistreats his clients.”
“It’s nothing like that,” Natsu quickly reassured Hynek, “It’s just…” She looked back down before she said it. She took a moment before continuing: “He had a girlfriend… I thought I was making progress, but…” She started tearing up. In her mind, Natsu wanted to cry out I’ve tried so hard! Why won’t he love me back!? but didn’t want to make yet another scene. Regardless, some tears flowed out, and she began to sob softly.
Hynek sighed and looked to Felix – who seemed to be looking for a handkerchief, but realized that she’d never have one while wearing these clothes – for a moment before looking back to Natsu. “You are an idol, are you not? ” began Hynek. “Love is a war, and you cannot master every battlefield. But you can chose which to focus on. So what you lost this one. There are many others. ” Hynek was hoping that the girl caught his meaning.
Natsu sniffled once more after listening to Hynek, but could sense his reasoning and was calmed by it. “Y-you’re right… There’s always another chance, right…?” She said, more to herself, trying to have the most optimistic outlook on the situation. She wiped the tears off of her face and bowed her head, humbly telling the two, “I’m sorry you had to see me in such a state…”
“That’s right, always another chance,” answered Hynek with a wide smile. ”But, don’t apologize to me. Your fans are the ones who have their eyes on you. In the entertainment world. Appearance is everything. It’s good to see that the idols aren’t complete machines though.” Hynek thought back to Alice, and the strange situation he now found himself in. Japan was proving to be more fun than he anticipated.
“Y-yeah… I wasn’t thinking of the fans… I was so caught up in… this, that I almost forgot about them…” Natsu accepted Hynek’s thoughts. He was right. It was hard to accept, but she was acting selfishly. The waitress finally made her way over with her notepad in hand.
“Are you ready to order?”
“I will let the ladies order first.” said Hynek and he looked to Natsu and Felix.
Felix smiled and nodded, “iced coffee, please,” she ordered, then looked over to Natsu.
“I… guess I’ll have cola…” Natsu requested softly.
“And I will have an Arnold Palmer,”[/b] answered Hynek. The waitress nodded and hurried off to get their drink orders. Hynek turned a curious look to Natsu as she seemed to be fidgeting a bit. [color=#0020c2]Yes, Japan is going to be a lot more fun, thought Hynek.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
It was a cold winter.
Despite being within the barrier conjured with the help of a Ritual spell to help protect the campus grounds from many adversities; the nature’s ire was one thing it couldn’t deflect. Today was no different, despite the weather. Even though it was close to Christmas in the futuristic Japan – the Magic Academy didn’t consider even a holiday to provide. Instead, they planned a party. One so grand that it’d likely be in the newspapers of the Magic World.
The Magic Academies – this one was otherwise named the Eastern Academy – was the one and only institution where magic was officially taught under advanced levels; permitted by Queen Victoria who believed that the eastern people would also seek to learn magic. However, beyond that there was no connection. The academy was and still is – neutral. The government of Japan, nor the Shrine could enforce their rules upon it, and the Headmistress was one fearsome individual to boot.
One would think such an academy was reclusive, which was far from the truth. It still had many sponsors and countless scholars enrolled with the help of their respective Organizations paying for them. Besides them, they had the jewels that the academy could be proud of – those born of talent accepted via scholarships. For them, almost everything was free of charge.
The academy was full of fine and apparently shiny tiles all over the place. There was no floor ordinary, apparently. The perks of futuristic Japan, they say; the structures were pristine and stylish all the same. There was a pristine statue of a woman – the Headmistress – surrounded by the fountain as one would enter from outside the academy. To the left, one would find the dormitory, and to the right, the buildings where extracurricular lessons would take place.
They even installed protective shields across the premises recently for even stronger security. The buildings all held the architecture of the older european, but that was a given as the late founder was a French aristocrat who shared the Queen’s sentiment about the eastern shamans. Which was how western knowledge of magic was shared to the eastern sides, and were eventually combined.
Today, in such an academy, there was a particular class going on at the moment. A class unlike any ordinary classes. It was a class where magic were utilized for – often informally – what one may call; combat.
The teacher – Aramus Valmark, whose field was Magic Theory, was also one of the many instructors of practical battles. He was battle-hardened in all his academic records in the past, even after graduating, he had many tales to share about his endeavors in behest of the Royal Council. Now they refer to him as the Spellslinger affectionately – or with much hate – by the students and peers alike. After all his achievements, they were all crowned by his title as the Magic Magister. Shortly after which, he was offered a position, to work as a teacher in the Eastern Academy.
There were two mages that stood before him. Both faced each other, readying themselves. They would fight, using magic, and with whatever arms they’d have picked up for combat by now. It was a practical battle lesson, for which a Mage’s Duel was officially permitted by Aramus himself. Of course, he was the supervisor and he held every right to stop a battle if he deemed necessary to step in, or forcibly stop if something goes horribly wrong. Every scholars knows manners, yes?
Or so he liked to believe, then he’d remember his own experiences.
The ones before him seemed quite ready for the fight, and were rather eager if anything.
Mage’s Duel was a common occurrence between mages. The term obviously meant a battle among mages. The rules were usually quite simple, but the official rules specifically stated that no feeling of revenge should arise as a result of it.
The one to Aramus’ left was Fuyuoshinriku no Tsuruko – the gem of the Shrine Organization. Apparently battle-hardened throughout her childhood. She came from a rich and archaic lineage, but was a rather humble person, yet very well-mannered. Some would go as far as claiming that she was born in the wrong era. Tsuruko was well-known for her ignem spells, and her mastery of many spells in general at her age. Her choice of armament was a sword – the treasure of the Shrine – the Sword of Kusanagi.
On the other hand was Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck – a duchess’ daughter, from England. She was the heiress who faced many expectations without fault in the past. Now she was here as a student who at first raised quite the attention as a beauty – when she first came to enroll. She was purely accepted due to her battle prowess, and her family did not even have to pay for her studies due to the scholarship. She was a lady of perfection, who took up an ordinary long sword, and it almost felt as though she was one of the european knights of the church due to her battle stance. The blade was held perfectly in the middle of the face as she stared down her opponent.
Aramus clapped his hands together to get their attention, the tension in the air so thick you could probably cut it with a knife. ”Alright, both of you know the standard set of rules so I won’t have to go into detail. No forbidden spells, nothing major aimed at the head and what not. If I find it too serious, I will step in. That is all.” With that, he scooted over to a chair placed oh-so-conveniently behind the two of them before plucking a small muffin from somewhere to munch. ”You may begin.”
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
“I vow to follow the rules of the Mage’s Duel, and will fight fairly and proudly. May magic not be used to plant seeds of despair after our battle.”
The both said in unison. It was the customary line to be said among mages before starting a Mage's Duel.
The battle begun; Tsuruko focused to gather mana from the Infernal Realm. Using her Technique of philosophy, she derived knowledge from it, and was aware how she’d draw mana to herself through it. After all, one could only cast spells through the combination of the Technique and Form – thus it was an Art. She chanted some words, and her left palm – where she didn’t hold the hilt with, glowed. She then placed said palm over her chest; enchanting herself with her own spell. The spell made her body hotter and surrounded her with an invisible orange aura one would be able to see with Second Sight.
Elizabeth chanted for her own spell as Tsuruko – her opponent – did. For her spell, she had to combine the Technique of Creo with the Form of Ignem. They were indeed both fellow Ignem users, but their studies differed slightly, and thus each held different strengths and weaknesses. Regardless, she gathered her mana from the same Realm as her opponent, but instead of touching herself, her hand traced the steel of her blade; making it go on blazing fire; burning brightly, elegantly, yet wildly. It was likely the effect of her Mage’s Sigil, for which her spells were almost always flashy.
Now that they were prepared with their supportive spells; they’d likely go on offense.
And so, Tsuruko went on to cast her next spell, Prism Flare. She chanted the incantation loudly, and it only took some moments for her to gather mana and establish the spell’s use. The flare sprouted up from her left palm and rose above – shining brightly and creating differing colors in the flame. Some forgot what it could do and stared absentmindedly, wondering why Tsuruko had casted it. Elizabeth took notice of the spell from its incantations and closed her eyes without a thought. When she let an eyelid open to take a peek, she noticed that most were blinded, clutching her heads and covering the light with their hands. Was this Tsuruko girl fighting the class or her?
Aramus had been a bit preoccupied with his muffin to notice the two of them start up their duel. Hastily scribbling notes with his free hand on a pad, the other feeding the muffin to its doom, he looked up just in time to have his eyes destroyed. The sudden flare of light caused him to flinch away, dropping the muffin onto the ground in the process. With a pained cry, he mourned the downfall of his beloved pastry. The burning in his eyes could not compare to the stabbing pain that cut right to his heart at the loss of his lunch.
Elizabeth noticed that the teacher was also blinded. “You’re troubling the teacher, what good is there in doing so?” She asked, pointing her blade towards Tsuruko. However, she assumed that her words were unheard due to the orchestra of voices from the students and the flare.
She didn’t care that her opponent was occupied with her measly spell any longer, and charged forth. Usually, her sense of honor would dictate that she should at least wait for her opponent’s spell to stop. But no enemy would so kind in a real battlefield, or so she was taught. Besides, someone who blinded not only the teacher, but some of her classmates didn’t need such a treatment, even if it was a person of humble and respectable birth and lineage. She was no different in that regard.
Thus, with a dash she approached Tsuruko, and closed the distance in a matter of a moment. Her blade sliced through the air horizontally; cutting through the colorful fire with her own, orange flame that her blade was burning with, then it returned to the target again. This time, from right to left; slashing just below her chest. The force of the fire was strong, and Tsuruko – who only noticed her opponent’s attack now, instinctively attempted to parry, but fell down on the floor instead after moving back slightly. As any fighter would, Elizabeth pulled back and took some distance, fearing the next coming spell.
Tsuruko was more than taken aback. Being all too unfamiliar with battle, especially with fellow humans, she wanted to start off on a more consistent note, but to her opponent, likely she was in the way and another being to defeat. She’d only practised on straw or wooden targets back at Okinoshima, and did not notice that her Prism Flare would take into such an effect on people. It came to her as Tsuruko realised, that an introduction to real battle wouldn’t be all flowers and candy. Flinching a little from the brunt of Elizabeth’s strike, she then begun to ready her next move.
Since her previous spell didn’t work on Elizabeth, Tsuruko had to rely on her physical strength in order to win, and that was where her training went into, if not the most of it, wherein she wasn’t to use her magic at all. At least, she thought, she was pretty good with her sword techniques. With enough thought put into it, she dashed towards Elizabeth and struck a blow. Her blow was a straightforward attack from the front with a vertical line. While her opponent could see it, she wasn’t exactly fast enough to try and block it, or react, in fact. Perhaps it came to her as a surprise, but Tsuruko was indeed fast and agile. Taking the hit, Elizabeth persevered, and attempted to return the strike, which met with the cold and windy steel of the opponent.
Alas, the wind blew – strangely enough – and it tossed her back from Tsuruko. The other classmates couldn’t quite understand what happened, but Elizabeth could vaguely tell that it was the work of the relic sword. Still blinded and fumbling for his muffin, Aramus could nonetheless feel a shift in the air, piquing his interest.
Now, with having the upper hand, Tsuruko once again focused to gain mana, and went on to cast her next spell. She did as she was taught. With the Technique of Perdo that was meant to bring out the destruction of its own Form – she cast what Ignem was usually not expected to do; Frostbite. Coldness from the Form that governed fire such as Ignem? That was exactly what Perdo was all about. As Tsuruko sonorously chanted her prayers and calls to structure her spell – in a forgotten language – and bring about its effects, Elizabeth knew that nothing good was going to come out of it.
She attempted to move back and take more distance, but the wind picked up, with it the chill crept up into her body. Panicking at the possibility that she was too late; she slipped on the wooden clean floor and fell to her peril with her back facing it. The cold winds gathered onto her, and with a squirm she found herself desperately crossing her arms over her chest to keep what little body-heat she had left in her.
Blinking the stars out of his eyes, Aramus managed to get his vision back only to find his sullied muffin right before his eyes. He bemoaned its fate, picking it up and vainly attempting to dust it off. A cold wind swept over him and Aramus brought his attention to the duel to see Elizabeth lying on the floor. He quirked an eyebrow at Tsuruko’s choice of weapon, trying to remember its name. Kusanagi, was it? Having Aurum as a prime, he could feel how the weapon affected the currents in the air and sat down properly, trying very hard to banish thoughts of his muffin and focus on the fight. That would come later. One did not simply sully a muffin and walk away unpunished.
With the chill of the Frosbite spell still on Elizabeth, as she remained immobilized Tsuruko could feel her enhanced attunement to Ignem spell wearing off from her first spell, and decided to further extend its duration, thus giving her concentration towards the spell; providing it some more time to remain in effect. She learnt this in her previous classes, as well as the benefit of focus and concentration from the Shaman, so that she wouldn’t spend time casting the spell again. She thought it would be enough to effectively use her remaining mana without breaking her concentration too late and losing too much energy. Now putting her focus on Elizabeth after a moment of concentration; she ran towards her and struck with a horizontal slice near the waist, who was now standing limping after picking herself up somehow. Though she wasn’t one to strike while the enemy was helpless, but she had no other choice, otherwise she would’ve been on the receiving end.
Feeling the chilling wind fade, Elizabeth decided to warm herself up with a fiery Ignem spell. Thus she called forth yet another Creo Ignem spell – Flame Spear. With this, a ball of fire formed before her as she collected and amassed mana and called forth her knowledge of Creo to help the ball stabilize into the projectile she wanted to launch. Thrusting her hand towards Tsuruko; the ball launched itself towards her, and as it went – it turned to something like a spear of flame.
Tsuruko, who wasn’t quite taught to dodge or run away, took the attack head on with her sword as she readied herself. However, the flame swathed over her instead, and simply slashing through it did not help her, the wind from her blade may have caused the opposite of her intentions instead. Regardless, her clothes were on fire and she was pushed back from the strong force of the magic. The only saving grace was that the burning was kept to a minimum since she was a fellow Ignem user like her opponent. She’d be able to completely stop it if the flames weren’t from the magic of someone else.
At the worst moment, her concentration and focus over her attunement spell faded. The last thing Tsuruko saw was the arena spinning in on itself and her grip on her sword loosened, gave way, and she fell on the cold floor with the clang of steel. A gust of wind slowed her descent enough for her to land softly, Aramus moving forward to inspect Tsuruko. He put behind his head, clicking his tongue at the girl before gesturing to two other students at the front. ”Would you two kindly take Tsuruko to the infirmary? The nurse will attend to her.” He picked up Kusanagi gingerly, inspecting it. For a young girl to wield such a weapon, he shook his head.
Elizabeth approached Tsuruko – as she was being picked up by the two students to be taken to the nurse’s office – her blade faced the floor as she already knew that the attunement spell would make Tsuriko feel weaker mentally. She didn’t think Tsuruko would maintain it despite only attacking with her blade, though. Who wouldn’t take proper advantage of their spell? It’d teach her opponent a lesson, and she was glad that Tsuruko would at least learn something from fighting her. Some kind of a reward was a requirement for both sides, after all. That was her earnest thought towards the practical combat lessons, and she had no problem fighting her fellow classmates, as long as the rules would be protected. Despite those thoughts, here she was, all beaten up; feeling that she wasn’t quite deserving of her victory despite Tsuruko’s miscalculations. She felt like she failed her mother’s expectations for being hurt so bad. Her opponent would’ve won if not for her fatigue.
Aramus turned to the class before clearing his throat, a quick debrief in mind. ”Now, all of you know what happens when you run out of willpower. As you can see, our example is being carted away. Remember your limits and gauge your spells costs above all else. Another note to mention is of Tsuruko’s usage of Prism Flare. In this duel, nothing major happened apart from the loss of my muffin. Out there, you might cost someone their life by blinding them.”
Despite being within the barrier conjured with the help of a Ritual spell to help protect the campus grounds from many adversities; the nature’s ire was one thing it couldn’t deflect. Today was no different, despite the weather. Even though it was close to Christmas in the futuristic Japan – the Magic Academy didn’t consider even a holiday to provide. Instead, they planned a party. One so grand that it’d likely be in the newspapers of the Magic World.
The Magic Academies – this one was otherwise named the Eastern Academy – was the one and only institution where magic was officially taught under advanced levels; permitted by Queen Victoria who believed that the eastern people would also seek to learn magic. However, beyond that there was no connection. The academy was and still is – neutral. The government of Japan, nor the Shrine could enforce their rules upon it, and the Headmistress was one fearsome individual to boot.
One would think such an academy was reclusive, which was far from the truth. It still had many sponsors and countless scholars enrolled with the help of their respective Organizations paying for them. Besides them, they had the jewels that the academy could be proud of – those born of talent accepted via scholarships. For them, almost everything was free of charge.
The academy was full of fine and apparently shiny tiles all over the place. There was no floor ordinary, apparently. The perks of futuristic Japan, they say; the structures were pristine and stylish all the same. There was a pristine statue of a woman – the Headmistress – surrounded by the fountain as one would enter from outside the academy. To the left, one would find the dormitory, and to the right, the buildings where extracurricular lessons would take place.
They even installed protective shields across the premises recently for even stronger security. The buildings all held the architecture of the older european, but that was a given as the late founder was a French aristocrat who shared the Queen’s sentiment about the eastern shamans. Which was how western knowledge of magic was shared to the eastern sides, and were eventually combined.
Today, in such an academy, there was a particular class going on at the moment. A class unlike any ordinary classes. It was a class where magic were utilized for – often informally – what one may call; combat.
The teacher – Aramus Valmark, whose field was Magic Theory, was also one of the many instructors of practical battles. He was battle-hardened in all his academic records in the past, even after graduating, he had many tales to share about his endeavors in behest of the Royal Council. Now they refer to him as the Spellslinger affectionately – or with much hate – by the students and peers alike. After all his achievements, they were all crowned by his title as the Magic Magister. Shortly after which, he was offered a position, to work as a teacher in the Eastern Academy.
There were two mages that stood before him. Both faced each other, readying themselves. They would fight, using magic, and with whatever arms they’d have picked up for combat by now. It was a practical battle lesson, for which a Mage’s Duel was officially permitted by Aramus himself. Of course, he was the supervisor and he held every right to stop a battle if he deemed necessary to step in, or forcibly stop if something goes horribly wrong. Every scholars knows manners, yes?
Or so he liked to believe, then he’d remember his own experiences.
The ones before him seemed quite ready for the fight, and were rather eager if anything.
Mage’s Duel was a common occurrence between mages. The term obviously meant a battle among mages. The rules were usually quite simple, but the official rules specifically stated that no feeling of revenge should arise as a result of it.
The one to Aramus’ left was Fuyuoshinriku no Tsuruko – the gem of the Shrine Organization. Apparently battle-hardened throughout her childhood. She came from a rich and archaic lineage, but was a rather humble person, yet very well-mannered. Some would go as far as claiming that she was born in the wrong era. Tsuruko was well-known for her ignem spells, and her mastery of many spells in general at her age. Her choice of armament was a sword – the treasure of the Shrine – the Sword of Kusanagi.
On the other hand was Elizabeth Cavendish Bentinck – a duchess’ daughter, from England. She was the heiress who faced many expectations without fault in the past. Now she was here as a student who at first raised quite the attention as a beauty – when she first came to enroll. She was purely accepted due to her battle prowess, and her family did not even have to pay for her studies due to the scholarship. She was a lady of perfection, who took up an ordinary long sword, and it almost felt as though she was one of the european knights of the church due to her battle stance. The blade was held perfectly in the middle of the face as she stared down her opponent.
Aramus clapped his hands together to get their attention, the tension in the air so thick you could probably cut it with a knife. ”Alright, both of you know the standard set of rules so I won’t have to go into detail. No forbidden spells, nothing major aimed at the head and what not. If I find it too serious, I will step in. That is all.” With that, he scooted over to a chair placed oh-so-conveniently behind the two of them before plucking a small muffin from somewhere to munch. ”You may begin.”
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
“I vow to follow the rules of the Mage’s Duel, and will fight fairly and proudly. May magic not be used to plant seeds of despair after our battle.”
The both said in unison. It was the customary line to be said among mages before starting a Mage's Duel.
The battle begun; Tsuruko focused to gather mana from the Infernal Realm. Using her Technique of philosophy, she derived knowledge from it, and was aware how she’d draw mana to herself through it. After all, one could only cast spells through the combination of the Technique and Form – thus it was an Art. She chanted some words, and her left palm – where she didn’t hold the hilt with, glowed. She then placed said palm over her chest; enchanting herself with her own spell. The spell made her body hotter and surrounded her with an invisible orange aura one would be able to see with Second Sight.
Elizabeth chanted for her own spell as Tsuruko – her opponent – did. For her spell, she had to combine the Technique of Creo with the Form of Ignem. They were indeed both fellow Ignem users, but their studies differed slightly, and thus each held different strengths and weaknesses. Regardless, she gathered her mana from the same Realm as her opponent, but instead of touching herself, her hand traced the steel of her blade; making it go on blazing fire; burning brightly, elegantly, yet wildly. It was likely the effect of her Mage’s Sigil, for which her spells were almost always flashy.
Now that they were prepared with their supportive spells; they’d likely go on offense.
And so, Tsuruko went on to cast her next spell, Prism Flare. She chanted the incantation loudly, and it only took some moments for her to gather mana and establish the spell’s use. The flare sprouted up from her left palm and rose above – shining brightly and creating differing colors in the flame. Some forgot what it could do and stared absentmindedly, wondering why Tsuruko had casted it. Elizabeth took notice of the spell from its incantations and closed her eyes without a thought. When she let an eyelid open to take a peek, she noticed that most were blinded, clutching her heads and covering the light with their hands. Was this Tsuruko girl fighting the class or her?
Aramus had been a bit preoccupied with his muffin to notice the two of them start up their duel. Hastily scribbling notes with his free hand on a pad, the other feeding the muffin to its doom, he looked up just in time to have his eyes destroyed. The sudden flare of light caused him to flinch away, dropping the muffin onto the ground in the process. With a pained cry, he mourned the downfall of his beloved pastry. The burning in his eyes could not compare to the stabbing pain that cut right to his heart at the loss of his lunch.
Elizabeth noticed that the teacher was also blinded. “You’re troubling the teacher, what good is there in doing so?” She asked, pointing her blade towards Tsuruko. However, she assumed that her words were unheard due to the orchestra of voices from the students and the flare.
She didn’t care that her opponent was occupied with her measly spell any longer, and charged forth. Usually, her sense of honor would dictate that she should at least wait for her opponent’s spell to stop. But no enemy would so kind in a real battlefield, or so she was taught. Besides, someone who blinded not only the teacher, but some of her classmates didn’t need such a treatment, even if it was a person of humble and respectable birth and lineage. She was no different in that regard.
Thus, with a dash she approached Tsuruko, and closed the distance in a matter of a moment. Her blade sliced through the air horizontally; cutting through the colorful fire with her own, orange flame that her blade was burning with, then it returned to the target again. This time, from right to left; slashing just below her chest. The force of the fire was strong, and Tsuruko – who only noticed her opponent’s attack now, instinctively attempted to parry, but fell down on the floor instead after moving back slightly. As any fighter would, Elizabeth pulled back and took some distance, fearing the next coming spell.
Tsuruko was more than taken aback. Being all too unfamiliar with battle, especially with fellow humans, she wanted to start off on a more consistent note, but to her opponent, likely she was in the way and another being to defeat. She’d only practised on straw or wooden targets back at Okinoshima, and did not notice that her Prism Flare would take into such an effect on people. It came to her as Tsuruko realised, that an introduction to real battle wouldn’t be all flowers and candy. Flinching a little from the brunt of Elizabeth’s strike, she then begun to ready her next move.
Since her previous spell didn’t work on Elizabeth, Tsuruko had to rely on her physical strength in order to win, and that was where her training went into, if not the most of it, wherein she wasn’t to use her magic at all. At least, she thought, she was pretty good with her sword techniques. With enough thought put into it, she dashed towards Elizabeth and struck a blow. Her blow was a straightforward attack from the front with a vertical line. While her opponent could see it, she wasn’t exactly fast enough to try and block it, or react, in fact. Perhaps it came to her as a surprise, but Tsuruko was indeed fast and agile. Taking the hit, Elizabeth persevered, and attempted to return the strike, which met with the cold and windy steel of the opponent.
Alas, the wind blew – strangely enough – and it tossed her back from Tsuruko. The other classmates couldn’t quite understand what happened, but Elizabeth could vaguely tell that it was the work of the relic sword. Still blinded and fumbling for his muffin, Aramus could nonetheless feel a shift in the air, piquing his interest.
Now, with having the upper hand, Tsuruko once again focused to gain mana, and went on to cast her next spell. She did as she was taught. With the Technique of Perdo that was meant to bring out the destruction of its own Form – she cast what Ignem was usually not expected to do; Frostbite. Coldness from the Form that governed fire such as Ignem? That was exactly what Perdo was all about. As Tsuruko sonorously chanted her prayers and calls to structure her spell – in a forgotten language – and bring about its effects, Elizabeth knew that nothing good was going to come out of it.
She attempted to move back and take more distance, but the wind picked up, with it the chill crept up into her body. Panicking at the possibility that she was too late; she slipped on the wooden clean floor and fell to her peril with her back facing it. The cold winds gathered onto her, and with a squirm she found herself desperately crossing her arms over her chest to keep what little body-heat she had left in her.
Blinking the stars out of his eyes, Aramus managed to get his vision back only to find his sullied muffin right before his eyes. He bemoaned its fate, picking it up and vainly attempting to dust it off. A cold wind swept over him and Aramus brought his attention to the duel to see Elizabeth lying on the floor. He quirked an eyebrow at Tsuruko’s choice of weapon, trying to remember its name. Kusanagi, was it? Having Aurum as a prime, he could feel how the weapon affected the currents in the air and sat down properly, trying very hard to banish thoughts of his muffin and focus on the fight. That would come later. One did not simply sully a muffin and walk away unpunished.
With the chill of the Frosbite spell still on Elizabeth, as she remained immobilized Tsuruko could feel her enhanced attunement to Ignem spell wearing off from her first spell, and decided to further extend its duration, thus giving her concentration towards the spell; providing it some more time to remain in effect. She learnt this in her previous classes, as well as the benefit of focus and concentration from the Shaman, so that she wouldn’t spend time casting the spell again. She thought it would be enough to effectively use her remaining mana without breaking her concentration too late and losing too much energy. Now putting her focus on Elizabeth after a moment of concentration; she ran towards her and struck with a horizontal slice near the waist, who was now standing limping after picking herself up somehow. Though she wasn’t one to strike while the enemy was helpless, but she had no other choice, otherwise she would’ve been on the receiving end.
Feeling the chilling wind fade, Elizabeth decided to warm herself up with a fiery Ignem spell. Thus she called forth yet another Creo Ignem spell – Flame Spear. With this, a ball of fire formed before her as she collected and amassed mana and called forth her knowledge of Creo to help the ball stabilize into the projectile she wanted to launch. Thrusting her hand towards Tsuruko; the ball launched itself towards her, and as it went – it turned to something like a spear of flame.
Tsuruko, who wasn’t quite taught to dodge or run away, took the attack head on with her sword as she readied herself. However, the flame swathed over her instead, and simply slashing through it did not help her, the wind from her blade may have caused the opposite of her intentions instead. Regardless, her clothes were on fire and she was pushed back from the strong force of the magic. The only saving grace was that the burning was kept to a minimum since she was a fellow Ignem user like her opponent. She’d be able to completely stop it if the flames weren’t from the magic of someone else.
At the worst moment, her concentration and focus over her attunement spell faded. The last thing Tsuruko saw was the arena spinning in on itself and her grip on her sword loosened, gave way, and she fell on the cold floor with the clang of steel. A gust of wind slowed her descent enough for her to land softly, Aramus moving forward to inspect Tsuruko. He put behind his head, clicking his tongue at the girl before gesturing to two other students at the front. ”Would you two kindly take Tsuruko to the infirmary? The nurse will attend to her.” He picked up Kusanagi gingerly, inspecting it. For a young girl to wield such a weapon, he shook his head.
Elizabeth approached Tsuruko – as she was being picked up by the two students to be taken to the nurse’s office – her blade faced the floor as she already knew that the attunement spell would make Tsuriko feel weaker mentally. She didn’t think Tsuruko would maintain it despite only attacking with her blade, though. Who wouldn’t take proper advantage of their spell? It’d teach her opponent a lesson, and she was glad that Tsuruko would at least learn something from fighting her. Some kind of a reward was a requirement for both sides, after all. That was her earnest thought towards the practical combat lessons, and she had no problem fighting her fellow classmates, as long as the rules would be protected. Despite those thoughts, here she was, all beaten up; feeling that she wasn’t quite deserving of her victory despite Tsuruko’s miscalculations. She felt like she failed her mother’s expectations for being hurt so bad. Her opponent would’ve won if not for her fatigue.
Aramus turned to the class before clearing his throat, a quick debrief in mind. ”Now, all of you know what happens when you run out of willpower. As you can see, our example is being carted away. Remember your limits and gauge your spells costs above all else. Another note to mention is of Tsuruko’s usage of Prism Flare. In this duel, nothing major happened apart from the loss of my muffin. Out there, you might cost someone their life by blinding them.”
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
It was early in the morning at five. Claudia woke up, all groggy and somewhat tired from having to stay up too long at night. Her first task in the morning was the same as always; escorting her master with the gurney to his workplace – the parliament house. For her lord, there was much to do for the day, but she felt that her days may be getting just as busy. After driving her lord to the destination, she’d have to go back to the lodgings in Holborn to park the vehicle in, and then start walking towards the Royal Academy of Arts.
In reality, it was actually the Royal Institute ran by the Royal Council. The public only knew that the royalty ran the college. Which was indeed true, because Queen Victoria ran both the Royal Council and the academy. All students were magicians and thus were scholars, and the children only actually allowed past their entrance examinations had a strict requirement – to have the Gift of magic. Claudia – happening to have the Gift – was allowed to enroll. Her lord didn’t have to pay, fortunately, since the Royal Council would finance anyone with the Gift if they happen to enroll into the Royal Institute.
Claudia was still payed more than enough by her lord, however. She was even given some money each morning to hire a carriage to go to the academy as Holborn to the Royal Institute was quite the distance. At least an hour of walk, in fact. But Claudia could not indulge in his kindness, and would not use that money, and thus she walks to the institute every morning instead.
In about an hour – Claudia found herself going past the black tall gates of the academy, and then into the courtyard of the Royal Institute. It was always a garden of scholars. The members – students – of the Royal Institute – or any Magic Academy, for that matter – were always referred to as scholars, as they were trained to work for the betterment of both worlds – mundane and magical. So they say, but personal agendas always made that concept weep, usually. However, it was a fact that each and every one of these young scholars held their own reputation.
Unfortunately for Claudia, she wasn’t popular as a scholar, albeit some had known her name for being admitted into the academy by the Duke – her lord. Not that anyone actually knew of their relationship, which was why strange rumors may have taken shape. Claudia, on the other hand, did not really care unless anything rude was spoken of regarding her lord directly.
Claudia made her way into the building. It was somewhat crowded inside, as usual. Today, she was catching more attention than any ordinary day, due to the large case she carried behind her back. It was almost bigger than her own figure. She approached her own locker in the lobby, and opened it only to place the case inside. Then departed for her classroom.
It was around past half of six †˜o'clock and even then; so many students were around already. Many students – unlike mundane schools, colleges, and universities – were very dedicated individuals, as they all more or less held interest for magical studies. Except for the few who’d only thirst for combat with magic.
Before Claudia got to her class, she found the ominous teacher of her’s from yesterday.
“Good morning,” he politely greeted her.
Claudia merely shot the man a prompt glare before shifting her face back to normal. ”Good morning, Teacher. Or, perhaps should I call you Stand-up Comedian?” said Claudia harshly.
“I can’t tell if you’re referring to yourself or me,” the teacher chuckled. “Good job getting Mary out of the way, though,” he complimented.
”Pardon? Who is Mary?” Questioned Claudia with a tilt of her head.
“Follow me,” the teacher said.
The two then walked through the corridors, and reached a certain room that lied in the corner of the second floor in the institute. There was a slit of space open as the door was almost closed. The teacher and Claudia took a peek from said slit of space, and a sliver of platinum-hair greeted her – it was the girl she met with Escott – under the pretense of a father and daughter – from last night. She still wore her purplish deep blue dress. She did not seem like a noble, now that Claudia took a better look at her, just another townswoman perhaps.
What was strange, however, was that her right-eye was a bright gold, while the left-eye was an ordinary blue.
“Does she seem familiar now?” He asked.
”Yes, I see now. I have a question about her that Mister Escott–”
“Wait up, not here,” the teacher whispered, placing a finger on Claudia’s lips with a “shh,” and ushered her to back away from the door.
It was early in the morning at five. Claudia woke up, all groggy and somewhat tired from having to stay up too long at night. Her first task in the morning was the same as always; escorting her master with the gurney to his workplace – the parliament house. For her lord, there was much to do for the day, but she felt that her days may be getting just as busy. After driving her lord to the destination, she’d have to go back to the lodgings in Holborn to park the vehicle in, and then start walking towards the Royal Academy of Arts.
In reality, it was actually the Royal Institute ran by the Royal Council. The public only knew that the royalty ran the college. Which was indeed true, because Queen Victoria ran both the Royal Council and the academy. All students were magicians and thus were scholars, and the children only actually allowed past their entrance examinations had a strict requirement – to have the Gift of magic. Claudia – happening to have the Gift – was allowed to enroll. Her lord didn’t have to pay, fortunately, since the Royal Council would finance anyone with the Gift if they happen to enroll into the Royal Institute.
Claudia was still payed more than enough by her lord, however. She was even given some money each morning to hire a carriage to go to the academy as Holborn to the Royal Institute was quite the distance. At least an hour of walk, in fact. But Claudia could not indulge in his kindness, and would not use that money, and thus she walks to the institute every morning instead.
In about an hour – Claudia found herself going past the black tall gates of the academy, and then into the courtyard of the Royal Institute. It was always a garden of scholars. The members – students – of the Royal Institute – or any Magic Academy, for that matter – were always referred to as scholars, as they were trained to work for the betterment of both worlds – mundane and magical. So they say, but personal agendas always made that concept weep, usually. However, it was a fact that each and every one of these young scholars held their own reputation.
Unfortunately for Claudia, she wasn’t popular as a scholar, albeit some had known her name for being admitted into the academy by the Duke – her lord. Not that anyone actually knew of their relationship, which was why strange rumors may have taken shape. Claudia, on the other hand, did not really care unless anything rude was spoken of regarding her lord directly.
Claudia made her way into the building. It was somewhat crowded inside, as usual. Today, she was catching more attention than any ordinary day, due to the large case she carried behind her back. It was almost bigger than her own figure. She approached her own locker in the lobby, and opened it only to place the case inside. Then departed for her classroom.
It was around past half of six †˜o'clock and even then; so many students were around already. Many students – unlike mundane schools, colleges, and universities – were very dedicated individuals, as they all more or less held interest for magical studies. Except for the few who’d only thirst for combat with magic.
Before Claudia got to her class, she found the ominous teacher of her’s from yesterday.
“Good morning,” he politely greeted her.
Claudia merely shot the man a prompt glare before shifting her face back to normal. ”Good morning, Teacher. Or, perhaps should I call you Stand-up Comedian?” said Claudia harshly.
“I can’t tell if you’re referring to yourself or me,” the teacher chuckled. “Good job getting Mary out of the way, though,” he complimented.
”Pardon? Who is Mary?” Questioned Claudia with a tilt of her head.
“Follow me,” the teacher said.
The two then walked through the corridors, and reached a certain room that lied in the corner of the second floor in the institute. There was a slit of space open as the door was almost closed. The teacher and Claudia took a peek from said slit of space, and a sliver of platinum-hair greeted her – it was the girl she met with Escott – under the pretense of a father and daughter – from last night. She still wore her purplish deep blue dress. She did not seem like a noble, now that Claudia took a better look at her, just another townswoman perhaps.
What was strange, however, was that her right-eye was a bright gold, while the left-eye was an ordinary blue.
“Does she seem familiar now?” He asked.
”Yes, I see now. I have a question about her that Mister Escott–”
“Wait up, not here,” the teacher whispered, placing a finger on Claudia’s lips with a “shh,” and ushered her to back away from the door.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
They then moved to a different room. More specifically, his own office where he’d usually provide supplementary lessons to a few chosen students after the mandatory classes would be over, aside from doing other works.
“It’s dangerous to talk there,” the teacher known as Griswold stated, smiling. “Mary is known to have unusually good senses,” he added, apparently advising caution towards Mary.
“Go ahead and make your inquiries here.”
Claudia cleared her throat before speaking once more, ”Now, I had a question that Mister Escott wasn’t able to answer himself; what is so important of this Mary girl that The Society needs two people to spy on her?” asked Claudia. ”...She is just one ordinary girl… right?”
“Hmm… while Mary is indeed an important individual, are you not making a mistake here, Claudia?” The teacher asked, pointing out a fact. “Escott was asked to observe the Lorelei. You’re his guard, and in certain circumstances he may ask you to guard the Lorelei – his primary objective,” he answered, “that is your job.” In here, Claudia made a big mistake, and her teacher – Griswold – was unsure how or why she’d do that. Lorelei and Mary were simply different people, just from looks alone. That question implied that she mistook things in more ways than one… ?
”...Which brings me to my next inquiry.” Continued Claudia. ”The Lorelei, please do tell, as I of The Society know nothing of her. Not to mention that you sent me out on a mission albeit neglecting to tell me who, specifically I am meeting, or any specific information on the Lorelei, no? So since I managed to resolve the identity crisis of my contact myself, I am asking right now; tell me of the Lorelei.” Claudia said in a determined and almost demanding tone.
“I refuse,” the teacher plainly answered, his smile was unmoved and he seemed calm despite Claudia’s demanding nature. “Your job does not regard learning of the Lorelei at all.”
Claudia sighed in exasperation at all the secrecy. One would think as a member of The Society’s ranks, they would at least clue her in on assignments she would be so dedicated in doing, but apparently she knows even less than before she joined.
“Lorelei is especially exceptional. Even I hardly know the details, anyway,” he said, laughing.
”Very well… then I suppose Lord William wouldn’t know either?”
“He is of a higher rank, I believe, but as an agent of the Organization,” the teacher answered. “I know know wehether he cares about the details of the Lorelei. However… what I can say is that you should be careful of Mary, instead.”
”You said she had a keen sense of hearing, what else should I be wary of when it comes down to observing her again?” asked Claudia with a hand planted on her chin.
“Hmm… probably that eye,” the teacher answered, raising a finger, referring to her golden eye, “they say that it is able to see the truth. I am uncertain about what exactly it entails. I doubt even the higher ups knows, but it garners the attention of the Infernal Realm, so she is often chased by demons and monsters. It may put Lorelei in danger if she finds a demon too close to the Lorelei. Though… she is aware of Lorelei’s existence and our Organization, and owes us favors. I doubt she’d intentionally try to pull us into danger,” he explained.
There was that word again-- Infernal. It made Claudia cringe every time she were to overhear it in a class lecture or in a classmate’s conversation, what her affliction was with the word was a mystery. It might’ve been the reason he was telling her to be wary of Mary. Despite Claudia’s ability to utilize such magics, Mary was a different case however. Being chased by demons was something Claudia thought she would never witness in her lifetime. ”Demons and Monsters? I was not aware she was capable of attracting their lot, especially for being such a young girl…” replied Claudia.
“Indeed. It is a mystery even The Society is showing an interest in… and not just the higher ups…” the teacher leaned forward, right before Claudia’s eyes, no, perhaps just an inch away, “the main leader is, too. So, be careful,” he said with an intent glare and a serious expression, but it soon reverted to his shady smile as he retracted himself back to his seat.
“So, anything else? I hope you understand your part in our Organization now?” As the lowest ranked guard, and perhaps a soon-to-be agent who’d be to †˜remove’ targets, perhaps.
Claudia only nodded in understanding, despite her feeling left in the dark. ”Of course. I only hope we accomplish something in the near future. I wish to put my new weapon to good use soon.” remarked Claudia, wearing a slight grin.
“You sure are one eager person,” he chuckled. “Anyway, you should get on your way to class soon. I reckon it’s almost time,” he gave the clock a single look as he suggested.
”Ah, right you are.” said Claudia as she glanced over to the clock to realize that it was indeed almost time. Swiftly, she grabbed her bag and bolted out of the room. ”Adieu, teacher!” she yelled from outside of the hall.
They then moved to a different room. More specifically, his own office where he’d usually provide supplementary lessons to a few chosen students after the mandatory classes would be over, aside from doing other works.
“It’s dangerous to talk there,” the teacher known as Griswold stated, smiling. “Mary is known to have unusually good senses,” he added, apparently advising caution towards Mary.
“Go ahead and make your inquiries here.”
Claudia cleared her throat before speaking once more, ”Now, I had a question that Mister Escott wasn’t able to answer himself; what is so important of this Mary girl that The Society needs two people to spy on her?” asked Claudia. ”...She is just one ordinary girl… right?”
“Hmm… while Mary is indeed an important individual, are you not making a mistake here, Claudia?” The teacher asked, pointing out a fact. “Escott was asked to observe the Lorelei. You’re his guard, and in certain circumstances he may ask you to guard the Lorelei – his primary objective,” he answered, “that is your job.” In here, Claudia made a big mistake, and her teacher – Griswold – was unsure how or why she’d do that. Lorelei and Mary were simply different people, just from looks alone. That question implied that she mistook things in more ways than one… ?
”...Which brings me to my next inquiry.” Continued Claudia. ”The Lorelei, please do tell, as I of The Society know nothing of her. Not to mention that you sent me out on a mission albeit neglecting to tell me who, specifically I am meeting, or any specific information on the Lorelei, no? So since I managed to resolve the identity crisis of my contact myself, I am asking right now; tell me of the Lorelei.” Claudia said in a determined and almost demanding tone.
“I refuse,” the teacher plainly answered, his smile was unmoved and he seemed calm despite Claudia’s demanding nature. “Your job does not regard learning of the Lorelei at all.”
Claudia sighed in exasperation at all the secrecy. One would think as a member of The Society’s ranks, they would at least clue her in on assignments she would be so dedicated in doing, but apparently she knows even less than before she joined.
“Lorelei is especially exceptional. Even I hardly know the details, anyway,” he said, laughing.
”Very well… then I suppose Lord William wouldn’t know either?”
“He is of a higher rank, I believe, but as an agent of the Organization,” the teacher answered. “I know know wehether he cares about the details of the Lorelei. However… what I can say is that you should be careful of Mary, instead.”
”You said she had a keen sense of hearing, what else should I be wary of when it comes down to observing her again?” asked Claudia with a hand planted on her chin.
“Hmm… probably that eye,” the teacher answered, raising a finger, referring to her golden eye, “they say that it is able to see the truth. I am uncertain about what exactly it entails. I doubt even the higher ups knows, but it garners the attention of the Infernal Realm, so she is often chased by demons and monsters. It may put Lorelei in danger if she finds a demon too close to the Lorelei. Though… she is aware of Lorelei’s existence and our Organization, and owes us favors. I doubt she’d intentionally try to pull us into danger,” he explained.
There was that word again-- Infernal. It made Claudia cringe every time she were to overhear it in a class lecture or in a classmate’s conversation, what her affliction was with the word was a mystery. It might’ve been the reason he was telling her to be wary of Mary. Despite Claudia’s ability to utilize such magics, Mary was a different case however. Being chased by demons was something Claudia thought she would never witness in her lifetime. ”Demons and Monsters? I was not aware she was capable of attracting their lot, especially for being such a young girl…” replied Claudia.
“Indeed. It is a mystery even The Society is showing an interest in… and not just the higher ups…” the teacher leaned forward, right before Claudia’s eyes, no, perhaps just an inch away, “the main leader is, too. So, be careful,” he said with an intent glare and a serious expression, but it soon reverted to his shady smile as he retracted himself back to his seat.
“So, anything else? I hope you understand your part in our Organization now?” As the lowest ranked guard, and perhaps a soon-to-be agent who’d be to †˜remove’ targets, perhaps.
Claudia only nodded in understanding, despite her feeling left in the dark. ”Of course. I only hope we accomplish something in the near future. I wish to put my new weapon to good use soon.” remarked Claudia, wearing a slight grin.
“You sure are one eager person,” he chuckled. “Anyway, you should get on your way to class soon. I reckon it’s almost time,” he gave the clock a single look as he suggested.
”Ah, right you are.” said Claudia as she glanced over to the clock to realize that it was indeed almost time. Swiftly, she grabbed her bag and bolted out of the room. ”Adieu, teacher!” she yelled from outside of the hall.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
It was †˜morning’ according to the clocks of the two, but nothing seemed to have particularly change. The city was as bustling and lively as ever. Valeriya didn’t even know when the two †˜friends’ got up and snuck out of the house – on their way to the location where they’d carry out their mission.
The land was literally frozen, and the nasty blizzard was brewing in the air, and the two could tell that it was well on its way to beat upon the already-icy land. The two were cloaked to conserve some of their body heat, but they both knew that it was hardly enough. Albeit, as faeries – neither of them felt extremely cold unlike an ordinary mundane human.
The slip of paper informed them that the carriers would go past a certain chasm on their way to the exit of Russia – the Magic Portal that leads a way outside the country. This was one of the safer routes, in fact. The other routes seemed far worse for the carriers to take – the two concluded. The girls took position and kept watch over the lowest part – the road in the chasm. Lily’s hand was on her sword, and Svetlana was simply cautious.
Of course, they weren’t sure when the carriers would exactly arrive, but there was about thirty minutes left till the predicted time of action would take place.
“You… are a faerie… aren’t you?” Lily asked out of the blue, wanting to confirm with Svetlana; awkwardly starting a conversation.
Svetlana was surprised at the sudden question and wondered why Lily would ask something she thought she knew already. “Well from what I was told by my teacher I am. I only found out myself a few years ago. Why you ask?”
“I… see. I wanted to… make sure. I am… a faerie, as well,” Lily answered. “Were you born… in a Faerie Forest?”
“You’re a faerie also?!” Svetlana said quite surprised. “Well that probably explains why you thought it was fine to sleep in the streets.” Svetlana said. “I’m not sure really the only person who would know is Mama but.. she currently wouldn’t be able to tell me.” Svetlana said with a sad tone in her voice.
“Yes… my blood is… blue,” Lily answered. “Is something… wrong with her… ? Is she… sick?” Lily asked, seeming to be slightly worried. She wasn’t sure about her question however, since her mother seemed to be healthy from what she saw.
“You see...Mama lost all her memories in an incident. It may not seem like it but Mama currently only has memories of me from the past two years…anything beyond that is a blur for her with only some memories coming back to her faintly.”
Lily was at a loss for words, especially because she was so terrible at Russian. She regretted not studying instead of sleeping. “I see… that… is sad,” Lily commented.
“You don’t seem like… a halfling,” Lily said. “I believe… your father… was also… faerie? Where he… is now?” She asked.
Svetlana stayed silent for a minute before responding “Papa died two years ago.”
“...” Lily didn’t speak for almost half a minute before she uttered, “sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it you didn’t know. But snow sure can be beautiful and deadly at the same time, don’t you think?” Svetlana simply said before the tone in her voice changed. “Lets just forget about this, we have to be ready for when they come so lets not get our minds be disturbed by others’ thoughts,” Svetlana tried to be energetic.
“Yes… let us be ready for them,” Lily nodded with agreement, then faced the road down ahead, too. Due to Svetlana not wanting to keep the conversation going, she couldn’t really answer her notion regarding the snow anymore.
The land was literally frozen, and the nasty blizzard was brewing in the air, and the two could tell that it was well on its way to beat upon the already-icy land. The two were cloaked to conserve some of their body heat, but they both knew that it was hardly enough. Albeit, as faeries – neither of them felt extremely cold unlike an ordinary mundane human.
The slip of paper informed them that the carriers would go past a certain chasm on their way to the exit of Russia – the Magic Portal that leads a way outside the country. This was one of the safer routes, in fact. The other routes seemed far worse for the carriers to take – the two concluded. The girls took position and kept watch over the lowest part – the road in the chasm. Lily’s hand was on her sword, and Svetlana was simply cautious.
Of course, they weren’t sure when the carriers would exactly arrive, but there was about thirty minutes left till the predicted time of action would take place.
“You… are a faerie… aren’t you?” Lily asked out of the blue, wanting to confirm with Svetlana; awkwardly starting a conversation.
Svetlana was surprised at the sudden question and wondered why Lily would ask something she thought she knew already. “Well from what I was told by my teacher I am. I only found out myself a few years ago. Why you ask?”
“I… see. I wanted to… make sure. I am… a faerie, as well,” Lily answered. “Were you born… in a Faerie Forest?”
“You’re a faerie also?!” Svetlana said quite surprised. “Well that probably explains why you thought it was fine to sleep in the streets.” Svetlana said. “I’m not sure really the only person who would know is Mama but.. she currently wouldn’t be able to tell me.” Svetlana said with a sad tone in her voice.
“Yes… my blood is… blue,” Lily answered. “Is something… wrong with her… ? Is she… sick?” Lily asked, seeming to be slightly worried. She wasn’t sure about her question however, since her mother seemed to be healthy from what she saw.
“You see...Mama lost all her memories in an incident. It may not seem like it but Mama currently only has memories of me from the past two years…anything beyond that is a blur for her with only some memories coming back to her faintly.”
Lily was at a loss for words, especially because she was so terrible at Russian. She regretted not studying instead of sleeping. “I see… that… is sad,” Lily commented.
“You don’t seem like… a halfling,” Lily said. “I believe… your father… was also… faerie? Where he… is now?” She asked.
Svetlana stayed silent for a minute before responding “Papa died two years ago.”
“...” Lily didn’t speak for almost half a minute before she uttered, “sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it you didn’t know. But snow sure can be beautiful and deadly at the same time, don’t you think?” Svetlana simply said before the tone in her voice changed. “Lets just forget about this, we have to be ready for when they come so lets not get our minds be disturbed by others’ thoughts,” Svetlana tried to be energetic.
“Yes… let us be ready for them,” Lily nodded with agreement, then faced the road down ahead, too. Due to Svetlana not wanting to keep the conversation going, she couldn’t really answer her notion regarding the snow anymore.
0
“To think… a blizzard now… ” Lily muttered from beside Svetlana.
Indeed, fate was more than just fickle today as it decided to side with the villains today. The wind picked up dramatically and the snow invaded more rapidly than ever. The two girls were more than just frozen, and they could hardly keep themselves together.
As the two had extraordinary eyes as faeries, they could see through the veil of congesting snow in the air – noting the arrival of several black trucks. For them, the situation was perfect. Lily wondered if this was calculated, and whether they had someone who could use Weather Sensing spell. If so, it’d make some sense. Otherwise it was simply a matter of luck.
Regardless, it was a very courageous and reckless move to try to pass through this chasm to make way for the Magic Portal. For anyone could invade from above. In ordinary cases, it was hardly a possibility due to the distances between the mountains on both sides and the road below, but magicians made the impossible possible all their life.
The objective of Lily and Svetlana was simple – to rescue the smuggled women and children. On the other hand, the one setting up her sniping position – Weiss, had the objective to assassinate the company Zayat’s owner, and take a children or two if they seem †˜good’ enough. Which was rather ambiguous.
“In about five minutes… they cross us. Proposal: we hop…. onto a truck… ” Lily suggested to Svetlana, who could somehow make out what Lily was saying.
Weiss was focused on searching for her target, the blizzard was not a problem for her vision since her artificial eye could see rather clearly than her right eye.
“That’s fine with me. I just hope we don’t freeze.” Svetlana said as she rubbed her hands together.
Svetlana placed her right hand on her head as she suddenly had seen a vision from her past. She saw as she was wandering around for hours in the snow screaming out hoping to hear any kind of response from her family and friends. “Why from all times did I have to see something like that.” Svetlana said angrily as she then clapped her hands twice, making a flame appear on her hand suddenly.
“Is something… the matter?” Lily asked.
“Oh don’t worry, Lily its nothing. Lets just get ready to move out okay.” Svetlana said happily.
“...” Lily simply gave a nod, not pursuing the matter any further.
Indeed, fate was more than just fickle today as it decided to side with the villains today. The wind picked up dramatically and the snow invaded more rapidly than ever. The two girls were more than just frozen, and they could hardly keep themselves together.
As the two had extraordinary eyes as faeries, they could see through the veil of congesting snow in the air – noting the arrival of several black trucks. For them, the situation was perfect. Lily wondered if this was calculated, and whether they had someone who could use Weather Sensing spell. If so, it’d make some sense. Otherwise it was simply a matter of luck.
Regardless, it was a very courageous and reckless move to try to pass through this chasm to make way for the Magic Portal. For anyone could invade from above. In ordinary cases, it was hardly a possibility due to the distances between the mountains on both sides and the road below, but magicians made the impossible possible all their life.
The objective of Lily and Svetlana was simple – to rescue the smuggled women and children. On the other hand, the one setting up her sniping position – Weiss, had the objective to assassinate the company Zayat’s owner, and take a children or two if they seem †˜good’ enough. Which was rather ambiguous.
“In about five minutes… they cross us. Proposal: we hop…. onto a truck… ” Lily suggested to Svetlana, who could somehow make out what Lily was saying.
Weiss was focused on searching for her target, the blizzard was not a problem for her vision since her artificial eye could see rather clearly than her right eye.
“That’s fine with me. I just hope we don’t freeze.” Svetlana said as she rubbed her hands together.
Svetlana placed her right hand on her head as she suddenly had seen a vision from her past. She saw as she was wandering around for hours in the snow screaming out hoping to hear any kind of response from her family and friends. “Why from all times did I have to see something like that.” Svetlana said angrily as she then clapped her hands twice, making a flame appear on her hand suddenly.
“Is something… the matter?” Lily asked.
“Oh don’t worry, Lily its nothing. Lets just get ready to move out okay.” Svetlana said happily.
“...” Lily simply gave a nod, not pursuing the matter any further.
0
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Aramus looked over to Elizabeth who was looking somewhat dissatisfied with the end result before continuing his lecture. ”Blinding a teammate on a mission is the last thing you want to do so please be sure to exercise great restraint and control when using such a spell. Please be sure to take these lessons to heart as all of you will have a turn in the arena. That is all.” Holding the katana in one hand, he dismissed the class.
Elizabeth approached her teacher – Aramus while looking down, and gave a bow.
“Teacher, I apologize for such a… disgraceful performance today. I was hoping to fight more elegantly, and it resulted in such a travesty… ” she stated.
Aramus smiled at her and indicated her to raise her head, there was no reason for her to bow at all. ”It is quite alright. Tsuruko did not know her limits so it is not your fault. There will be plenty more chances more for you to demonstrate your skill.” He sighed, looking at the class file out. It didn’t seem like many of his students cared about his lecture. ”You handled yourself very well against a relic weapon such as Kusanagi, if anything, I’d say you did well.”
“Ah… well, if you say so. I shall take your words up for now,” Elizabeth smiled brightly as she felt cheered up by the words. Albeit she felt like he was just being nice for some reason. A relic weapon wasn’t so big a deal…
“Anyway, teacher… why did you take up that muffin? I did fell on the floor, right…?”
Visibly dimming at her statement, he coughed into this hand uncomfortably. ”It was supposed to be my lunch. I suppose I’ll have to find other means to fill my stomach now.” Just as he said so, he picked out his wallet and checked his savings, and saw that it was borderline empty. Where are those coins he painstakingly saved?!
He then noticed a small, tiny hole in the corner… they must have fallen out… somehow… if he’d spent what little he had now, he could possibly not live on. How’d he fill his stomach tonight for dinner? Or for the lunch tomorrow? The cafeteria would provide food once. Just once. The rules were stingy to the ones with an urge to eat. Just one treat was not much at all. Never enough for him.
The sigh only deepened further, replaced by a soft grumbling as he returned the worthless wallet to its pocket. ”There goes that plan.” Aramus turned to leave, already thinking if there were any morsels left in his spartan room. He honestly prayed there were.
“Um, teacher,” Elizabeth nervously began, reaching out to her teacher, “if you really want to have muffin, I could try and bake you something?” She offered. It’s not like she’d have any classes for the next hour, as she didn’t take up every classes – since not all mages can do classes for other Form spells training – there was a gap between the Ignem practical spell lessons and the Imaginem practical spell lessons.
Freezing mid step, Aramus’s head turned ever so slowly to regard Elizabeth, a kind of half smile plastered across his face. ”B-bake something? For me?” He found the idea very appealing yet he had to maintain a certain distance from his students. Getting too close to any particular one would be bad.
“Yes, of course. It is partially my fault that you lost your poor food,” Elizabeth claimed, placing a clenched fist over her heart, “after all, Fuyuoushinriku-san casted the spell only because I was supposedly fighting her,” she added cautiously so that her teacher couldn’t deny a bit of help. “Besides, a teacher can’t teach with an empty stomach.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose at the mention of his fainted student and what fate was about to befall her, Aramus accepted Elizabeth’s offer with a sigh. ”Thank you very much. Your offer is… of great assistance to me.” He was actually extremely elated but Aramus sure as hell wasn’t going to let it show on his face, not right now.
“Please leave it to me,” Elizabeth replied, sounding happy, albeit with a hoarse voice as he walked towards the exit to the hall while she limped. It was a pitiful yet impressive sight to see her holding her form somehow despite the injuries she received from her battle earlier. “Let us depart for the kitchen then, teacher.”
”That will happen after someone has taken a look at your injuries. It’s a bit shameful for me to say that I’m not apt at healing so we shall find someone who can.” Aramus said with finality, trying to think of who was free at this moment based on his memory of the timetables. With a snap of his fingers, Aramus knew who to find. A casual flick of his hand and Kusanagi floated over, a thin barrier of wind preventing its keen edge from cutting anything. ”Alright, Elizabeth. Let’s go.”
“O-Oh no… I wouldn’t want the nurse to check up on me while she tends to Fuyuoshinriku-san,” Elizabeth answered, waving her hands dismissively in protest.
Aramus scoffed ever so slightly, the air shifting a little as he did so. ”Oh we won’t be visiting her unless you want to. There’s someone else I had in mind.” He shot Elizabeth a smile, leading her along despite her pleas.
Aramus looked over to Elizabeth who was looking somewhat dissatisfied with the end result before continuing his lecture. ”Blinding a teammate on a mission is the last thing you want to do so please be sure to exercise great restraint and control when using such a spell. Please be sure to take these lessons to heart as all of you will have a turn in the arena. That is all.” Holding the katana in one hand, he dismissed the class.
Elizabeth approached her teacher – Aramus while looking down, and gave a bow.
“Teacher, I apologize for such a… disgraceful performance today. I was hoping to fight more elegantly, and it resulted in such a travesty… ” she stated.
Aramus smiled at her and indicated her to raise her head, there was no reason for her to bow at all. ”It is quite alright. Tsuruko did not know her limits so it is not your fault. There will be plenty more chances more for you to demonstrate your skill.” He sighed, looking at the class file out. It didn’t seem like many of his students cared about his lecture. ”You handled yourself very well against a relic weapon such as Kusanagi, if anything, I’d say you did well.”
“Ah… well, if you say so. I shall take your words up for now,” Elizabeth smiled brightly as she felt cheered up by the words. Albeit she felt like he was just being nice for some reason. A relic weapon wasn’t so big a deal…
“Anyway, teacher… why did you take up that muffin? I did fell on the floor, right…?”
Visibly dimming at her statement, he coughed into this hand uncomfortably. ”It was supposed to be my lunch. I suppose I’ll have to find other means to fill my stomach now.” Just as he said so, he picked out his wallet and checked his savings, and saw that it was borderline empty. Where are those coins he painstakingly saved?!
He then noticed a small, tiny hole in the corner… they must have fallen out… somehow… if he’d spent what little he had now, he could possibly not live on. How’d he fill his stomach tonight for dinner? Or for the lunch tomorrow? The cafeteria would provide food once. Just once. The rules were stingy to the ones with an urge to eat. Just one treat was not much at all. Never enough for him.
The sigh only deepened further, replaced by a soft grumbling as he returned the worthless wallet to its pocket. ”There goes that plan.” Aramus turned to leave, already thinking if there were any morsels left in his spartan room. He honestly prayed there were.
“Um, teacher,” Elizabeth nervously began, reaching out to her teacher, “if you really want to have muffin, I could try and bake you something?” She offered. It’s not like she’d have any classes for the next hour, as she didn’t take up every classes – since not all mages can do classes for other Form spells training – there was a gap between the Ignem practical spell lessons and the Imaginem practical spell lessons.
Freezing mid step, Aramus’s head turned ever so slowly to regard Elizabeth, a kind of half smile plastered across his face. ”B-bake something? For me?” He found the idea very appealing yet he had to maintain a certain distance from his students. Getting too close to any particular one would be bad.
“Yes, of course. It is partially my fault that you lost your poor food,” Elizabeth claimed, placing a clenched fist over her heart, “after all, Fuyuoushinriku-san casted the spell only because I was supposedly fighting her,” she added cautiously so that her teacher couldn’t deny a bit of help. “Besides, a teacher can’t teach with an empty stomach.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose at the mention of his fainted student and what fate was about to befall her, Aramus accepted Elizabeth’s offer with a sigh. ”Thank you very much. Your offer is… of great assistance to me.” He was actually extremely elated but Aramus sure as hell wasn’t going to let it show on his face, not right now.
“Please leave it to me,” Elizabeth replied, sounding happy, albeit with a hoarse voice as he walked towards the exit to the hall while she limped. It was a pitiful yet impressive sight to see her holding her form somehow despite the injuries she received from her battle earlier. “Let us depart for the kitchen then, teacher.”
”That will happen after someone has taken a look at your injuries. It’s a bit shameful for me to say that I’m not apt at healing so we shall find someone who can.” Aramus said with finality, trying to think of who was free at this moment based on his memory of the timetables. With a snap of his fingers, Aramus knew who to find. A casual flick of his hand and Kusanagi floated over, a thin barrier of wind preventing its keen edge from cutting anything. ”Alright, Elizabeth. Let’s go.”
“O-Oh no… I wouldn’t want the nurse to check up on me while she tends to Fuyuoshinriku-san,” Elizabeth answered, waving her hands dismissively in protest.
Aramus scoffed ever so slightly, the air shifting a little as he did so. ”Oh we won’t be visiting her unless you want to. There’s someone else I had in mind.” He shot Elizabeth a smile, leading her along despite her pleas.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
Aramus entered the room which was the classroom used for giving lessons about the Form of Herbam. It was often used to practice spells, too. The room was wide and the distance between the floor and the ceiling was particularly high, yet the space of the floor was not too big. Aramus surveyed with his pupils when he found a scholar using a spell to grow a tree on a flower pot. The roots didn’t seem too thick, but the results above them were extraordinary.
There weren’t many scholars present, it seemed, as Elizabeth weakly took a peek from behind her teacher.
Beside the student casting the spell, Aramus found who he was looking for – a woman wearing a white labcoat, and wearing a black top, and skirt underneath it. She had long black hair, and was generally known to look human, despite being an individual who has Faerie blood running through her veins. She had a facial feature that made her look mature and cheerful at the same time. Some would think that she was a kind person, until they'd speak to her, anyway.
Her grey eyes turned to Aramus and the peeking Elizabeth as she noticed the open door.
“Why hello there, Aramus, how may I help you today?” The teacher who was a Faerie asked, welcoming the two despite being in the middle of a lesson.
Waving weakly, Aramus gestured to the girl hiding behind him. ”Sorry to bother you Mathilde, but could you give this one a quick do over? The practical lesson we had wasn’t particularly kind to her… or the other one.” He bowed ever so slightly, according to Japanese tradition.
“Huh? But I don’t want to,” Mathilde blatantly refused, even though she was smiling, it seemed like a hassle to her.
“T-That’s right, we don’t need me to be healed! I’ll be fine,” Elizabeth added from behind.
“I mean, what’s there to gain for me in it?” Mathilde ignored Elizabeth and continued, with a grin to boot. Aramus would realize what it meant.
Sighing, he looked back at his student. There was no way he’d let Elizabeth go through the whole day like that. ”Fine. What do you want in exchange?” Bartering with Mathilde would only lengthen this and that would cut short the time he had with his beloved food. That would not be happening. Mathilde begun to walk towards him.
“You go around the city often, don’t you?” Mathilde leaned closer and up to his face and whispered, “Be a buddy and get me some good wine, will you? I’ve been too tired with teaching all day here,” she answered.
Aramus nodded. He would have to go out of his way to get something like that for her but oh well. ”That’s no problem. I’ll see when I’m headed out into the city as well. If some of my students bothered to listen to me, there would be more progress in our curriculum and I’d have more free time.” As usual, it exasperated him that his pupils never seemed to take him seriously, even with all his demonstrations and mock battles.
“Ooh… you seem confident, then I’ll leave it to-” then Mathilde stopped to peer towards Elizabeth. “...She is in a wreck. You,” she pointed to Aramus, “yes, you. You’re getting a rarer bottle for me, and a pricey one at that!” She said. Then inspected the girl, “Ignem attacks? No… Perdo Ignem?”
“You’re as sharp as I had heard you are, teacher… ” Elizabeth muttered, letting it go. It seemed that Aramus was going to get her treated no matter how many times she’d decline. She may as well attempt to get it over with soon. This made her list of obligations longer, however…
Resisting the urge to bury his face in his palm, Aramus merely mumbled his consent… or something along the lines of it. ”Yeah, though I was out for most of the match. Couldn’t exactly see much with what happened.” He gave Elizabeth another once over, noting that she looked how he did whenever an assignment was finished. Nothing out of the ordinary in his previous line of work. ”You should come visit my classes sometime when you have the chance Mathilde, some of the practicals can get pretty interesting.”
“Perhaps. The Headmistress likes to toss me in so many classes, I wish I had more time. Really,” Mathilde replied, scratching the back of her head with a big grin. She really did seemed tired, with those wrinkles that were desperately covered with facial creams, or so it seemed. Were they herbal products? A person having some sense of delicacy would just have to stay quiet despite noting it. Albeit, some teacher sees her words as boasts rather than actual tiredness, but it was true that she was indeed worn out.
“Well anyway, I guess I can leave the scholars here to do some self-studying, I hope that’s okay with you guys?” She said, halfway through her words; she faced her students, who seemed rather fine with it, and they nodded to her. They were understanding due to Mathilde often having visitors wanting some healing, and this teacher loved to strike some good deals.
“Alright, you two have to come to my office, since I can’t really do the ritual spell here.”
Aramus entered the room which was the classroom used for giving lessons about the Form of Herbam. It was often used to practice spells, too. The room was wide and the distance between the floor and the ceiling was particularly high, yet the space of the floor was not too big. Aramus surveyed with his pupils when he found a scholar using a spell to grow a tree on a flower pot. The roots didn’t seem too thick, but the results above them were extraordinary.
There weren’t many scholars present, it seemed, as Elizabeth weakly took a peek from behind her teacher.
Beside the student casting the spell, Aramus found who he was looking for – a woman wearing a white labcoat, and wearing a black top, and skirt underneath it. She had long black hair, and was generally known to look human, despite being an individual who has Faerie blood running through her veins. She had a facial feature that made her look mature and cheerful at the same time. Some would think that she was a kind person, until they'd speak to her, anyway.
Her grey eyes turned to Aramus and the peeking Elizabeth as she noticed the open door.
“Why hello there, Aramus, how may I help you today?” The teacher who was a Faerie asked, welcoming the two despite being in the middle of a lesson.
Waving weakly, Aramus gestured to the girl hiding behind him. ”Sorry to bother you Mathilde, but could you give this one a quick do over? The practical lesson we had wasn’t particularly kind to her… or the other one.” He bowed ever so slightly, according to Japanese tradition.
“Huh? But I don’t want to,” Mathilde blatantly refused, even though she was smiling, it seemed like a hassle to her.
“T-That’s right, we don’t need me to be healed! I’ll be fine,” Elizabeth added from behind.
“I mean, what’s there to gain for me in it?” Mathilde ignored Elizabeth and continued, with a grin to boot. Aramus would realize what it meant.
Sighing, he looked back at his student. There was no way he’d let Elizabeth go through the whole day like that. ”Fine. What do you want in exchange?” Bartering with Mathilde would only lengthen this and that would cut short the time he had with his beloved food. That would not be happening. Mathilde begun to walk towards him.
“You go around the city often, don’t you?” Mathilde leaned closer and up to his face and whispered, “Be a buddy and get me some good wine, will you? I’ve been too tired with teaching all day here,” she answered.
Aramus nodded. He would have to go out of his way to get something like that for her but oh well. ”That’s no problem. I’ll see when I’m headed out into the city as well. If some of my students bothered to listen to me, there would be more progress in our curriculum and I’d have more free time.” As usual, it exasperated him that his pupils never seemed to take him seriously, even with all his demonstrations and mock battles.
“Ooh… you seem confident, then I’ll leave it to-” then Mathilde stopped to peer towards Elizabeth. “...She is in a wreck. You,” she pointed to Aramus, “yes, you. You’re getting a rarer bottle for me, and a pricey one at that!” She said. Then inspected the girl, “Ignem attacks? No… Perdo Ignem?”
“You’re as sharp as I had heard you are, teacher… ” Elizabeth muttered, letting it go. It seemed that Aramus was going to get her treated no matter how many times she’d decline. She may as well attempt to get it over with soon. This made her list of obligations longer, however…
Resisting the urge to bury his face in his palm, Aramus merely mumbled his consent… or something along the lines of it. ”Yeah, though I was out for most of the match. Couldn’t exactly see much with what happened.” He gave Elizabeth another once over, noting that she looked how he did whenever an assignment was finished. Nothing out of the ordinary in his previous line of work. ”You should come visit my classes sometime when you have the chance Mathilde, some of the practicals can get pretty interesting.”
“Perhaps. The Headmistress likes to toss me in so many classes, I wish I had more time. Really,” Mathilde replied, scratching the back of her head with a big grin. She really did seemed tired, with those wrinkles that were desperately covered with facial creams, or so it seemed. Were they herbal products? A person having some sense of delicacy would just have to stay quiet despite noting it. Albeit, some teacher sees her words as boasts rather than actual tiredness, but it was true that she was indeed worn out.
“Well anyway, I guess I can leave the scholars here to do some self-studying, I hope that’s okay with you guys?” She said, halfway through her words; she faced her students, who seemed rather fine with it, and they nodded to her. They were understanding due to Mathilde often having visitors wanting some healing, and this teacher loved to strike some good deals.
“Alright, you two have to come to my office, since I can’t really do the ritual spell here.”
0
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In Mathilde’s office, the whole place was a wreck. Books were all around the floor and the desks were littered with papers.
Was there a storm here?
“Ahh, this is embarrassing,” the teacher said with a shy chuckle, and picked up some the fallen items, only to make the desks more and more messy. Aramus sighed and helped to clean up. Elizabeth tried to help but the two teachers stopped her immediately, making her feel rather guilty.
Mathilde then drew an entire magic circle on floor. Or rather, she corrected some parts of it, from what it looked like. It was pre-drawn it seemed. A green carpet seemed to have been used to cover the circle, which she removed moments ago after the floor was cleaned up. Elizabeth was to sit over a chair placed over the magical circle.
“Alright, just relax now, and I’ll take care of the rest,” the teacher assured – giving a smile – channeling the Magic Realm – that existed in the same world – to gather the mana required for the ritual. The magic circle glowed with a green hue, darkening the room with each passing moment. The ritual spell was now taking place. Closing her eyes, she focused and gathered her collected mana into her right palm – making it glow blue – and moved to up Elizabeth, before touching her forehead. The light from the circle lit up brighter, and it seemed to have embraced Elizabeth.
Obviously, she squealed in pain. A body healing faster meant wounds – internal or external – closing, which wasn’t so nice in reality. Feeling better was something to happen later. Pain surged through her body as the wounds were being treated – Elizabeth cringed and held her tears back.
“Alright, now we wait,” Mathilde said. “Once she stabilizes, we just have to give her some magical medicines and she’ll get better soon enough. I got some here, as you can see,” she told Aramus, then pointed to a shelf, where medicines were kept behind a glass cover.
Holding an armful of papers, Aramus quirked an eyebrow more in concern of Mathilde’s office’s state than anything. How did she let it get so filthy? He wordlessly continued his cleaning but kept an eye on Elizabeth regardless. Accelerated healing was never pretty.
“Then, let’s get your medicine, shall we?” Mathilde cheerfully said to Elizabeth, humming a merry tune as she opened the shelf and ran a finger throughout her inventory of medicine before taking one out. “Maybe this would do.”
“That’s poison, teacher!”
“Oh? Then how about this?”
“That’s a medicine that makes the user fat… ”
“So it’s an enemy of all women… why do I have this? Okay then, this should do!”
“T-That’s… a petrification medicine… ”
“It’s alright teacher, I’ll be fine with a medicine of my own. I have many in my room, anyway,” Elizabeth stated, giving up on Mathilde. Silently picking up another bottle on the ground, Aramus passed it to Mathilde. How it got there, he didn’t want to find out. Healing magic, he could not do. Healing medicine, all too familiar with.
“Ahh… this must be it… ”
Both Aramus and Elizabeth then sighed.
In Mathilde’s office, the whole place was a wreck. Books were all around the floor and the desks were littered with papers.
Was there a storm here?
“Ahh, this is embarrassing,” the teacher said with a shy chuckle, and picked up some the fallen items, only to make the desks more and more messy. Aramus sighed and helped to clean up. Elizabeth tried to help but the two teachers stopped her immediately, making her feel rather guilty.
Mathilde then drew an entire magic circle on floor. Or rather, she corrected some parts of it, from what it looked like. It was pre-drawn it seemed. A green carpet seemed to have been used to cover the circle, which she removed moments ago after the floor was cleaned up. Elizabeth was to sit over a chair placed over the magical circle.
“Alright, just relax now, and I’ll take care of the rest,” the teacher assured – giving a smile – channeling the Magic Realm – that existed in the same world – to gather the mana required for the ritual. The magic circle glowed with a green hue, darkening the room with each passing moment. The ritual spell was now taking place. Closing her eyes, she focused and gathered her collected mana into her right palm – making it glow blue – and moved to up Elizabeth, before touching her forehead. The light from the circle lit up brighter, and it seemed to have embraced Elizabeth.
Obviously, she squealed in pain. A body healing faster meant wounds – internal or external – closing, which wasn’t so nice in reality. Feeling better was something to happen later. Pain surged through her body as the wounds were being treated – Elizabeth cringed and held her tears back.
“Alright, now we wait,” Mathilde said. “Once she stabilizes, we just have to give her some magical medicines and she’ll get better soon enough. I got some here, as you can see,” she told Aramus, then pointed to a shelf, where medicines were kept behind a glass cover.
Holding an armful of papers, Aramus quirked an eyebrow more in concern of Mathilde’s office’s state than anything. How did she let it get so filthy? He wordlessly continued his cleaning but kept an eye on Elizabeth regardless. Accelerated healing was never pretty.
“Then, let’s get your medicine, shall we?” Mathilde cheerfully said to Elizabeth, humming a merry tune as she opened the shelf and ran a finger throughout her inventory of medicine before taking one out. “Maybe this would do.”
“That’s poison, teacher!”
“Oh? Then how about this?”
“That’s a medicine that makes the user fat… ”
“So it’s an enemy of all women… why do I have this? Okay then, this should do!”
“T-That’s… a petrification medicine… ”
“It’s alright teacher, I’ll be fine with a medicine of my own. I have many in my room, anyway,” Elizabeth stated, giving up on Mathilde. Silently picking up another bottle on the ground, Aramus passed it to Mathilde. How it got there, he didn’t want to find out. Healing magic, he could not do. Healing medicine, all too familiar with.
“Ahh… this must be it… ”
Both Aramus and Elizabeth then sighed.
0
Cinia Pacifica
Ojou-sama Writer
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
“Now we really go for the kitchen,” Elizabeth reminded after they left the messy office of Mathilde. She seemed pumped up for some reason.
Aramus was mumbling into thin air, Kusanagi still trailing behind him. ”Woman asking for expensive wine for that. Mmm.. As if I could afford anything more expensive than house liquor.” He could only watch Elizabeth and her vigor, hoping that it would be worth it. Teachers’ pride indeed. What use was it when you struggled to even feed yourself?
“Don’t worry, teacher. Since it was I who got the healing, I’ll accompany you in your journey to obtain the rare bottle of wine,” Elizabeth declared, apparently breaking out of her pumped up self. “Of course, I will pay for it, so please, do not worry yourself regarding the expenditure,” she assured.
Flinching as if struck, Aramus eyed Elizabeth. Was she now going to trod all over whatever little pride he had by offering to pay for his end of the bargain? Definitely not! ”What I need is someone to help me identify a decently aged wine. You up for that? I can handle the rest.” Even as he said so, there was an image of his wallet going up in flames in his mind. It was difficult not letting it show on his face but Aramus managed.
“B-But for a teacher to pay for me… it is not like you have any obligation over my health as a caretaker… I feel like I should not indulge such kindness… ” Elizabeth said, somewhat unsure of what to do. She felt like obeying her teacher was the proper way to deal with it, yet her teachings and mannerisms taught back home fought hand-to-hand within her mind, and it ended creating a turmoil instead.
”Then take it as that, something a teacher should do. Every job has its hazards, this is much better than suffering bodily harm.” Aramus chuckled as he replied to Elizabeth, not letting her talk him out of it. ”Your goal as a student is simple and are doing a magnificent job at it, I just wish that some of the others would share the same spirit as you do towards my lessons.” Bad results from his batch meant a bad grading, something which he did not want on his first year in this academy.
“I… I see,” Elizabeth said, her expression strangely brightened up, but in a different way as she seemed less pumped up about baking. “I shall strive to make you proud throughout the year, if that is the case. I’d earnestly pray that my classmates would perform better, but it would seem that they… ” she then turned her face to the front, and her eyes lit up, “ ah, the cafeteria is right there,” she then ran up to the door of the kitchen in the cafeteria, and opened it...
… Then closed the door. Immediately, at that. Without a single word.
“Oh dear, it is full, it seems, how unfortunate,” she said – placing her back against the door – and facing her teacher, before forcing out a smile.
Aramus could swear that he saw a bit of black smoke escape from the sliver of space that was formed when she cracked the door open earlier to take a peek inside.
“We seem to be a little… unfortunate today. However, I shall not yield to it, yes,” Elizabeth said, apparently trying to renew her resolve with a deep nod.
“P-Please, allow me to lead the way. I am aware of an alternative for our poor stomachs.”
”I don’t even want to find out. It’s all yours Elizabeth, show me what you can do.” Her teacher replied with a grin. Home cooking appealed to him more than store bought food, simply because of the memories it brought having a hot bowl of soup and bun at dinner.
“Now we really go for the kitchen,” Elizabeth reminded after they left the messy office of Mathilde. She seemed pumped up for some reason.
Aramus was mumbling into thin air, Kusanagi still trailing behind him. ”Woman asking for expensive wine for that. Mmm.. As if I could afford anything more expensive than house liquor.” He could only watch Elizabeth and her vigor, hoping that it would be worth it. Teachers’ pride indeed. What use was it when you struggled to even feed yourself?
“Don’t worry, teacher. Since it was I who got the healing, I’ll accompany you in your journey to obtain the rare bottle of wine,” Elizabeth declared, apparently breaking out of her pumped up self. “Of course, I will pay for it, so please, do not worry yourself regarding the expenditure,” she assured.
Flinching as if struck, Aramus eyed Elizabeth. Was she now going to trod all over whatever little pride he had by offering to pay for his end of the bargain? Definitely not! ”What I need is someone to help me identify a decently aged wine. You up for that? I can handle the rest.” Even as he said so, there was an image of his wallet going up in flames in his mind. It was difficult not letting it show on his face but Aramus managed.
“B-But for a teacher to pay for me… it is not like you have any obligation over my health as a caretaker… I feel like I should not indulge such kindness… ” Elizabeth said, somewhat unsure of what to do. She felt like obeying her teacher was the proper way to deal with it, yet her teachings and mannerisms taught back home fought hand-to-hand within her mind, and it ended creating a turmoil instead.
”Then take it as that, something a teacher should do. Every job has its hazards, this is much better than suffering bodily harm.” Aramus chuckled as he replied to Elizabeth, not letting her talk him out of it. ”Your goal as a student is simple and are doing a magnificent job at it, I just wish that some of the others would share the same spirit as you do towards my lessons.” Bad results from his batch meant a bad grading, something which he did not want on his first year in this academy.
“I… I see,” Elizabeth said, her expression strangely brightened up, but in a different way as she seemed less pumped up about baking. “I shall strive to make you proud throughout the year, if that is the case. I’d earnestly pray that my classmates would perform better, but it would seem that they… ” she then turned her face to the front, and her eyes lit up, “ ah, the cafeteria is right there,” she then ran up to the door of the kitchen in the cafeteria, and opened it...
… Then closed the door. Immediately, at that. Without a single word.
“Oh dear, it is full, it seems, how unfortunate,” she said – placing her back against the door – and facing her teacher, before forcing out a smile.
Aramus could swear that he saw a bit of black smoke escape from the sliver of space that was formed when she cracked the door open earlier to take a peek inside.
“We seem to be a little… unfortunate today. However, I shall not yield to it, yes,” Elizabeth said, apparently trying to renew her resolve with a deep nod.
“P-Please, allow me to lead the way. I am aware of an alternative for our poor stomachs.”
”I don’t even want to find out. It’s all yours Elizabeth, show me what you can do.” Her teacher replied with a grin. Home cooking appealed to him more than store bought food, simply because of the memories it brought having a hot bowl of soup and bun at dinner.
0
[size=9](BGM)[/h]
The two made way for a particular building located outside the main premises of the academy where they were located some moments ago. It had been five minutes long since the walk begun, but to Aramus; it felt like an eternity already. Feeling all nervous inside, it was the first time he was going to a girl’s dormitory. To make the matters of the heart worse; he was being led to it there by a girl! What strange rumors could this spawn? What kind of glares would he receive? Would this affect his position as a teacher in the future somehow? These questions vexed him to no end. He couldn’t deny that he somewhat wanted to go, too.
He was already receiving the stares – which wasn’t surprising considering he was with a beauty, with a sword floated behind him; which was strange no matter how much one would look at it – and upon batting an eye here and there – some girls were indeed whispering among themselves. Some of the boys seemed to be angry, or perhaps jealous. He had bad premonitions. However, in the name of food, he’d bare with it all. Shame and nervousness be damned before the problems of hunger and the urge to eat – he thought.
Upon entering the dormitory building, he heaved a sigh, but Elizabeth walked on – uncaring about the attention she received whatsoever – so he couldn’t quite relax just yet. They still had about half an hour before the lunch period would be declared over by the clock’s toiling bell. Indeed, the practical combat lesson was the last of the lessons before the much acclaimed break. Aramus happened to have started his little food break a tad bit earlier, and one may claim that he had suffered the consequences.
Well, the rules were made mostly for the students, so Aramus wasn’t quite in the wrong.
As he crossed the many doors of the corridor in the third floor of the building, he could see some passing girls look at him weird. He wouldn’t be surprised if one of them came to tell him to get out. Not that they had any right to tell him that. He was a teacher and he could go to the dormitory provided that he had his own business to deal with. What †˜business’ – if one may ask – is a different issue, however, and may make him appear rather questionable. Elizabeth would likely defend herself against the world if need be.
Finally, Elizabeth stopped before a particular door in the corner of the corridor. What lied beside the door was the end of the corridor; a tall glass window with a staircase in the opposite side. Aramus thought that it was kind of lonely. Already – he begun to imagine what kind of a room a girl’s room would be from anticipation. Was it frilly, full of stuffed dolls and pink? That would make him a few times more nervous!
“I-It may not be so tidy but… please make yourself at home,” Elizabeth said. With a clank, the door was pulled open. Aramus almost thought a pleasant breeze of air blew past him as a foreign scene unfolded before his eyes.
There was indeed a teddy bear doll, over a large and elegantly decorated bed that was richly covered in its pink sheets. There was a nice scent drifting across the air within the room… was this Elizabeth’s scent… ? A weird thought indeed. Moving on, the wooden floor was sparkling clean, but the rest of it seemed ordinary. There was an empty and plain white bed beside the fancier one. Aramus realized that Elizabeth had probably been living alone and had no roommate.
As Aramus took the steps to enter, he noticed a door to the side. That was likely the toilet. He then peered to the other side and saw a sink and a few expensive-looking plates. A mini-kitchen? He wondered. He couldn’t quite remember seeing such a setting in any room of the male dormitory. As far as he knew; everyone would eat from the cafeteria, or cook food – if they wanted to – from the kitchen of the cafeteria, otherwise the only other way was the Home Economic club’s room, which had the necessary equipments. Now that he thought about it, were all of these customized to be built into her room? They didn’t seem like anything an ordinary scholar would have in their room, either. That bed was too large to be provided by the academy, too. Rich people could sure change the room to their liking as long as they could pay.
A twitch in his eyebrow was the only indicator that he was nervous but on the inside, his heart was pounding a mile a minute. ”Ah... um... Excuse the intrusion…” He managed to stutter, feeling totally out of his element. He would take rogue mages anyday over this kind of situation, though he felt many others would kill for it. Why did getting a meal have to be so complicated?
“I hope my room isn’t too messy… a-anyway, please take a seat!” Elizabeth said, looking somewhat flustered as she motioned her hand towards her bigger pink bed instead of the plain and ordinary one; unknowingly making her teacher’s life tougher. “I’ll cook something up for you here!” She said, looking back to the mini-kitchen on the corner of her room, more closer to its entrance, specifically. She pulled her sleeves up, apparently readying herself for this important ritual of the day. Her determined expression from earlier was back, and her eyes lit up with a glint – as if on fire.
Eyes widening in surprise, Aramus made sure there was nothing on his robe before sitting down on the plush pink bed. What have I gotten myself into this time!? There must have been some deity laughing at him, he just knew it.
Minutes had passed, but he couldn’t feel any less calmer. In fact, the long wait had only worked to make it worse for him. The sounds coming from whatever Elizabeth was doing seemed rather intense. As if if she was fighting a war, and he wouldn’t dare to give her a glance now. He noted fiercely fast chopping noises and right after that, some noises of… stir frying? He thought. It felt as though her kitchen would break apart from all the turmoil taking place over it, for a moment. However, this thought was disproved as soon as an unfamiliar aroma wafted into his nose.
What was this?
An invisible sign – no, a smell – leading to the pathway to heaven?
Whatever she was doing was likely no cake baking, but he could tell that it was going to be delicious. Or so he hoped.
“It’s almost ready, teacher. Almost… ” then the noises from the frying intensified, as she poured something into the pan. Was that sauce of some kind, just now? He could get the vague idea that it might’ve been Japanese food.
The war went on and Aramus could really hear the clock ticking about now. It seemed like the noises had stopped.
Noises of steps echoed. Could it be… ?
“Here, teacher, I’m done. It is a work of art, if I say so myself,” his student said, she sounded really proud. It really helped to raise his expectations that much more. Was it worth the hassle to get here plus the nerve-wracking wait in this room? It was time to find out.
As she reached up to her teacher, she held a box. Yes, a Japanese one. A †˜bentou’ as they may call it here. A traditional term for a traditional type of lunchbox. Something the Japanese still liked even in the 23rd century. When it was placed into his grubby hands, he felt the warmth from it…
Gingerly receiving it from Elizabeth with murmured thanks, Aramus opened the cover and a white cloud gushed forth. Pristine egg rolls, his oh-so-favorite tamagoyaki. A small portion of fried chicken karaage. Thinly sliced burdock root. All atop a bed of steaming, fluffy white rice. No, not just normal rice. Japanese pilaf rice, topped with star-shaped carrots. Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply and inhaled the wonderful scent. Already he could feel how glorious it would be, how fortunate was he that his student was such a good cook.
Opening them once more to view his now favorite student, Aramus only had one thing to say. ”You have my deepest thanks, Elizabeth. Truly, what I usually eat could not compare to this.” Giving her a smile that he hadn’t used in ages, Aramus sighed in content. The bentou was almost too good to eat.
“I-Is that so? You’re very welcome, teacher,” Elizabeth said, sounding happier than usual.
Not that he knew her enough to know her †˜usual’ self, but he compared her to her more well-mannered and quiet self, and now she seemed plenty different. She seemed quite nervous herself. Not as much as him, definitely.
In reality, Elizabeth was just as nervous as Aramus for having a man for the first time in her room.
Elizabeth took a seat on the opposite – plain bed. It seemed like she held a bentou on her hand too. From what it seemed like; it was just as good, but it lacked the starry carrots for some reason… ? He noticed with a glance, but took up the provided chopsticks anyway.
“It’d be a waste if you keep staring at it. Please eat and enjoy, teacher.”
Gulping audibly, Aramus struggled to keep himself from devouring the bentou once he took the first bite. Those things called manners, yes, he had those. It wouldn’t do to disgrace himself in front of Elizabeth but with food this good, it was an uphill battle. Aramus nearly cried, feasting on the homemade bentou as he was. It was just too good.
“...I think you should eat a little slower. It wouldn’t do well if you don’t chew properly,” Elizabeth advised… then came to a realization, “ahh, I apologize if I am lecturing. You’re my teacher, after all,” she said, bowing her head, but not enough for her locks of hair to land over her own food.
Aramus froze mid-bite, visibly slowing down his gulping to listen to Elizabeth. ”I may be a teacher but there is still much for me to learn. Like for example, good table manners. I did not have the most… fortunate upbringing.” He added with a laugh, once he had finished chewing and swallowing his food. ”That did teach me to appreciate the simpler things in life, like this. Well, maybe a little too much.”
“I… I see. You’d have a much better time appreciating these simpler things in life if you’d take your time with them,” Elizabeth chuckled as she answered. It seemed like the two were now less nervous than before. They broke the ice, somehow.
“I wouldn’t think table manners are hard to learn. If you wouldn’t mind, perhaps I may be of help?” She offered kindly.
It was almost as if Elizabeth was the benevolent saint Aramus was supposed to eventually find in his life. Well, saint of food anyway. And food was very important to this man. More so than a lot of things.
”Maybe. It’s just food that makes me lose whatever control I have. Haha…” Aramus rubbed his head nervously with a free hand, making sure not to drop the now empty bentou box. ”I suppose etiquette would come in useful, if my presence was ever needed at a formal dinner.”
“It’d be no doubt useful if you ever partake in the dinners of the big parties of the academy… or any of those that summons a prestigious Magic Magister-sama such as yourself,” Elizabeth said with much reverence. “Yes, indeed, as a Magic Magister; I believe one such as yourself should have some table manners, at least,” she nodded deeply to her own words.
Again, Aramus sighed. ”It is unlikely that will happen. My reputation as a Magister is not of particularly high accord, especially since I am not a noble in the slightest. Far from it, in fact. Still, it’s good to know some of it in situations such as these. You are a noble after all.” It was said matter of factly, something that hadn’t changed all these years from his younger days.
“That is untrue, teacher; Magic Magisters are considered akin to a noble. Well, in the same way they’d consider a person with the title of Chevalier a noble in France,” Elizabeth answered, informing Aramus of how it was treated. Which was indeed the truth, in the textbooks, at least. Albeit, Aramus had probably experienced much scorn from real nobles for which he might not have partaken in such higher class parties, or well, dinners, in his case.
”I suppose that’s how it’s taught Elizabeth. The real world doesn’t work that way all the time and I’m living proof. What kind of noble selected by the Queen herself has to scrimp for his next meal? Me. I have had my own fair share of grievances but the only thing to do now is move forward.” Aramus said, jabbing a thumb into his chest for extra effect. It was nothing more to him than daily life, its own struggle. There was nothing to be done now, he supposed, with his reputation the way it was. ”Thank you very much for the meal Elizabeth, I’m afraid I might have said some untoward things. My own experience with nobles has made me somewhat jaded.”
“I… I see, I suppose it is somewhat… true,” Elizabeth said, apparently looking back to a distant past herself. “I suppose we both have our fair share of experiences in London, but anyway… that still does not mean that you don’t need table manners themselves. You never know when the chance may beckon you to good food. Think of all the scones you may have in the upcoming parties and events!” Her eyes sparkled. It seemed like this girl liked scones very much.
”Hahaha.. you sure know how to make a persons day better.” The immediate thought of food did indeed invigorate Aramus, especially now that he was on a full stomach. He absently wondered if Elizabeth could bake as well as she cooked. ”I suppose I will be in your care then, Elizabeth.”
“Good to hear,” Elizabeth said, pleased, and nodding happily. “With that decided… I suppose we can do this in lunch time every day, just like now. At least until I am certain that you understand the basics,” she said, making up the rules all on her own. “I suppose I can cook every day for you, too, while I am at it. Perhaps I’ll try different dishes each day… ” she said, but it seemed like she was speaking to herself more than Aramus now.
“Maybe if there is any particular preference, I may be able to make them for you, teacher,” she said, chuckling. She couldn’t wait to try her hand on various kinds of food.
Homemade dishes everyday. The thought of it was too much for Aramus, someone deprived of them as it were and he was sufficiently moved by it to do something out of character for him ever since he became a Magic Magister. Extending a hand, Aramus rubbed her head, feeling the silky locks slide luxuriously across his fingers. ”You are too kind.” His features softened as he recalled the times with the younger children in the orphanage, this gesture familiar to him as an elder figure. ”This is much too good for someone like me. I do not deserve such generosity.”
He knew, that by simply being around her, Elizabeth’s reputation would be tarnished. It was one of the reasons he was a loner. She didn’t deserve it. He would not drag her down like this, not over a simple act of kindness on both their parts.
“Why? Have you done something unforgivable? I personally look up to you as a scholar. A Magic Magister isn’t so common to see in this world,” Elizabeth stated earnestly, but after doing so, she noticed the hand rubbing her hair, and she fidgeted with shame and nervousness. It was the first time a man had touched her like this. The most she had to deal with were mere handshakes in the past, and a kiss at the back of her hand. Somehow, she was to those formalities. But no man had ever touched her head like this, much less her hair in such an affectionate manner. Soon, blood rushed up, and her heart begun to race ever so intensely. It was so embarrassing to her that she glanced down to her teacher’s legs instead.
Strange, she thought. It was her teacher patting her… was this supposed to be very unusual, or did she in fact enjoy praises beyond an ordinary extent. She found herself questioning herself just like that. However, if it was one thing she could admit it, it felt really… good to be patted like this. This acceptance allowed her to smile tenderly.
”Perhaps. Many took my appointment as Magic Magister the wrong way, but as it is by decree of our Queen, all they can do is quietly shun me. But I am glad that at least you, my student, do not.” Aramus admitted, removing his hand from Elizabeth’s head once he realized what he had just done. ”I-I’d best be going. Thank you again for the lunch Elizabeth, I look forward to your etiquette lessons.” He stuttered and coughed into his hand, trying hard to establish that same distance they had when he stepped into this room.
“I suppose the Queen… has an eye for quality… ” Elizabeth whispered to herself, then was awakened by the words of departure. “I-I see. I am glad that you enjoyed my cooking. I-it was the first time anyone else tried my cooking other than myself. So I am r-rather overjoyed that you enjoyed them. Thank you very much,” she blurted out a set of words without thinking – as she gave a bow with her hands clasped down her naval – her eyes spiraling as words escaped her lips in a flurry, “I apologize if I have showed any misconduct. I am not quite… used to socializing with peers of this academy. I suppose I am somewhat shunned here, as were you.”
”No, it was most definitely my pleasure.” The teacher said with a smirk across his features, positively glowing at his student. ”Though, it was difficult for me to adapt here as well. The people here are… different. They are polite but keep you at an arms distance, it is just their culture. You’ll get used to it.”
“Yes, I hope that’s what it is. I shall try my best at it,” Elizabeth said, her cheerfulness back, and she seemed to be calm and collected once again. “I suppose the lunch period is just about over. I must make way for my lessons, too.”
”That you do. I have to return this sword to its rightful owner. Till tomorrow then, Elizabeth.” Kusanagi was still floating behind him, spinning lazily on an axis. Aramus gave Elizabeth one last smile before leaving her room, his day made evidently better by this event.
The two made way for a particular building located outside the main premises of the academy where they were located some moments ago. It had been five minutes long since the walk begun, but to Aramus; it felt like an eternity already. Feeling all nervous inside, it was the first time he was going to a girl’s dormitory. To make the matters of the heart worse; he was being led to it there by a girl! What strange rumors could this spawn? What kind of glares would he receive? Would this affect his position as a teacher in the future somehow? These questions vexed him to no end. He couldn’t deny that he somewhat wanted to go, too.
He was already receiving the stares – which wasn’t surprising considering he was with a beauty, with a sword floated behind him; which was strange no matter how much one would look at it – and upon batting an eye here and there – some girls were indeed whispering among themselves. Some of the boys seemed to be angry, or perhaps jealous. He had bad premonitions. However, in the name of food, he’d bare with it all. Shame and nervousness be damned before the problems of hunger and the urge to eat – he thought.
Upon entering the dormitory building, he heaved a sigh, but Elizabeth walked on – uncaring about the attention she received whatsoever – so he couldn’t quite relax just yet. They still had about half an hour before the lunch period would be declared over by the clock’s toiling bell. Indeed, the practical combat lesson was the last of the lessons before the much acclaimed break. Aramus happened to have started his little food break a tad bit earlier, and one may claim that he had suffered the consequences.
Well, the rules were made mostly for the students, so Aramus wasn’t quite in the wrong.
As he crossed the many doors of the corridor in the third floor of the building, he could see some passing girls look at him weird. He wouldn’t be surprised if one of them came to tell him to get out. Not that they had any right to tell him that. He was a teacher and he could go to the dormitory provided that he had his own business to deal with. What †˜business’ – if one may ask – is a different issue, however, and may make him appear rather questionable. Elizabeth would likely defend herself against the world if need be.
Finally, Elizabeth stopped before a particular door in the corner of the corridor. What lied beside the door was the end of the corridor; a tall glass window with a staircase in the opposite side. Aramus thought that it was kind of lonely. Already – he begun to imagine what kind of a room a girl’s room would be from anticipation. Was it frilly, full of stuffed dolls and pink? That would make him a few times more nervous!
“I-It may not be so tidy but… please make yourself at home,” Elizabeth said. With a clank, the door was pulled open. Aramus almost thought a pleasant breeze of air blew past him as a foreign scene unfolded before his eyes.
There was indeed a teddy bear doll, over a large and elegantly decorated bed that was richly covered in its pink sheets. There was a nice scent drifting across the air within the room… was this Elizabeth’s scent… ? A weird thought indeed. Moving on, the wooden floor was sparkling clean, but the rest of it seemed ordinary. There was an empty and plain white bed beside the fancier one. Aramus realized that Elizabeth had probably been living alone and had no roommate.
As Aramus took the steps to enter, he noticed a door to the side. That was likely the toilet. He then peered to the other side and saw a sink and a few expensive-looking plates. A mini-kitchen? He wondered. He couldn’t quite remember seeing such a setting in any room of the male dormitory. As far as he knew; everyone would eat from the cafeteria, or cook food – if they wanted to – from the kitchen of the cafeteria, otherwise the only other way was the Home Economic club’s room, which had the necessary equipments. Now that he thought about it, were all of these customized to be built into her room? They didn’t seem like anything an ordinary scholar would have in their room, either. That bed was too large to be provided by the academy, too. Rich people could sure change the room to their liking as long as they could pay.
A twitch in his eyebrow was the only indicator that he was nervous but on the inside, his heart was pounding a mile a minute. ”Ah... um... Excuse the intrusion…” He managed to stutter, feeling totally out of his element. He would take rogue mages anyday over this kind of situation, though he felt many others would kill for it. Why did getting a meal have to be so complicated?
“I hope my room isn’t too messy… a-anyway, please take a seat!” Elizabeth said, looking somewhat flustered as she motioned her hand towards her bigger pink bed instead of the plain and ordinary one; unknowingly making her teacher’s life tougher. “I’ll cook something up for you here!” She said, looking back to the mini-kitchen on the corner of her room, more closer to its entrance, specifically. She pulled her sleeves up, apparently readying herself for this important ritual of the day. Her determined expression from earlier was back, and her eyes lit up with a glint – as if on fire.
Eyes widening in surprise, Aramus made sure there was nothing on his robe before sitting down on the plush pink bed. What have I gotten myself into this time!? There must have been some deity laughing at him, he just knew it.
Minutes had passed, but he couldn’t feel any less calmer. In fact, the long wait had only worked to make it worse for him. The sounds coming from whatever Elizabeth was doing seemed rather intense. As if if she was fighting a war, and he wouldn’t dare to give her a glance now. He noted fiercely fast chopping noises and right after that, some noises of… stir frying? He thought. It felt as though her kitchen would break apart from all the turmoil taking place over it, for a moment. However, this thought was disproved as soon as an unfamiliar aroma wafted into his nose.
What was this?
An invisible sign – no, a smell – leading to the pathway to heaven?
Whatever she was doing was likely no cake baking, but he could tell that it was going to be delicious. Or so he hoped.
“It’s almost ready, teacher. Almost… ” then the noises from the frying intensified, as she poured something into the pan. Was that sauce of some kind, just now? He could get the vague idea that it might’ve been Japanese food.
The war went on and Aramus could really hear the clock ticking about now. It seemed like the noises had stopped.
Noises of steps echoed. Could it be… ?
“Here, teacher, I’m done. It is a work of art, if I say so myself,” his student said, she sounded really proud. It really helped to raise his expectations that much more. Was it worth the hassle to get here plus the nerve-wracking wait in this room? It was time to find out.
As she reached up to her teacher, she held a box. Yes, a Japanese one. A †˜bentou’ as they may call it here. A traditional term for a traditional type of lunchbox. Something the Japanese still liked even in the 23rd century. When it was placed into his grubby hands, he felt the warmth from it…
Gingerly receiving it from Elizabeth with murmured thanks, Aramus opened the cover and a white cloud gushed forth. Pristine egg rolls, his oh-so-favorite tamagoyaki. A small portion of fried chicken karaage. Thinly sliced burdock root. All atop a bed of steaming, fluffy white rice. No, not just normal rice. Japanese pilaf rice, topped with star-shaped carrots. Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply and inhaled the wonderful scent. Already he could feel how glorious it would be, how fortunate was he that his student was such a good cook.
Opening them once more to view his now favorite student, Aramus only had one thing to say. ”You have my deepest thanks, Elizabeth. Truly, what I usually eat could not compare to this.” Giving her a smile that he hadn’t used in ages, Aramus sighed in content. The bentou was almost too good to eat.
“I-Is that so? You’re very welcome, teacher,” Elizabeth said, sounding happier than usual.
Not that he knew her enough to know her †˜usual’ self, but he compared her to her more well-mannered and quiet self, and now she seemed plenty different. She seemed quite nervous herself. Not as much as him, definitely.
In reality, Elizabeth was just as nervous as Aramus for having a man for the first time in her room.
Elizabeth took a seat on the opposite – plain bed. It seemed like she held a bentou on her hand too. From what it seemed like; it was just as good, but it lacked the starry carrots for some reason… ? He noticed with a glance, but took up the provided chopsticks anyway.
“It’d be a waste if you keep staring at it. Please eat and enjoy, teacher.”
Gulping audibly, Aramus struggled to keep himself from devouring the bentou once he took the first bite. Those things called manners, yes, he had those. It wouldn’t do to disgrace himself in front of Elizabeth but with food this good, it was an uphill battle. Aramus nearly cried, feasting on the homemade bentou as he was. It was just too good.
“...I think you should eat a little slower. It wouldn’t do well if you don’t chew properly,” Elizabeth advised… then came to a realization, “ahh, I apologize if I am lecturing. You’re my teacher, after all,” she said, bowing her head, but not enough for her locks of hair to land over her own food.
Aramus froze mid-bite, visibly slowing down his gulping to listen to Elizabeth. ”I may be a teacher but there is still much for me to learn. Like for example, good table manners. I did not have the most… fortunate upbringing.” He added with a laugh, once he had finished chewing and swallowing his food. ”That did teach me to appreciate the simpler things in life, like this. Well, maybe a little too much.”
“I… I see. You’d have a much better time appreciating these simpler things in life if you’d take your time with them,” Elizabeth chuckled as she answered. It seemed like the two were now less nervous than before. They broke the ice, somehow.
“I wouldn’t think table manners are hard to learn. If you wouldn’t mind, perhaps I may be of help?” She offered kindly.
It was almost as if Elizabeth was the benevolent saint Aramus was supposed to eventually find in his life. Well, saint of food anyway. And food was very important to this man. More so than a lot of things.
”Maybe. It’s just food that makes me lose whatever control I have. Haha…” Aramus rubbed his head nervously with a free hand, making sure not to drop the now empty bentou box. ”I suppose etiquette would come in useful, if my presence was ever needed at a formal dinner.”
“It’d be no doubt useful if you ever partake in the dinners of the big parties of the academy… or any of those that summons a prestigious Magic Magister-sama such as yourself,” Elizabeth said with much reverence. “Yes, indeed, as a Magic Magister; I believe one such as yourself should have some table manners, at least,” she nodded deeply to her own words.
Again, Aramus sighed. ”It is unlikely that will happen. My reputation as a Magister is not of particularly high accord, especially since I am not a noble in the slightest. Far from it, in fact. Still, it’s good to know some of it in situations such as these. You are a noble after all.” It was said matter of factly, something that hadn’t changed all these years from his younger days.
“That is untrue, teacher; Magic Magisters are considered akin to a noble. Well, in the same way they’d consider a person with the title of Chevalier a noble in France,” Elizabeth answered, informing Aramus of how it was treated. Which was indeed the truth, in the textbooks, at least. Albeit, Aramus had probably experienced much scorn from real nobles for which he might not have partaken in such higher class parties, or well, dinners, in his case.
”I suppose that’s how it’s taught Elizabeth. The real world doesn’t work that way all the time and I’m living proof. What kind of noble selected by the Queen herself has to scrimp for his next meal? Me. I have had my own fair share of grievances but the only thing to do now is move forward.” Aramus said, jabbing a thumb into his chest for extra effect. It was nothing more to him than daily life, its own struggle. There was nothing to be done now, he supposed, with his reputation the way it was. ”Thank you very much for the meal Elizabeth, I’m afraid I might have said some untoward things. My own experience with nobles has made me somewhat jaded.”
“I… I see, I suppose it is somewhat… true,” Elizabeth said, apparently looking back to a distant past herself. “I suppose we both have our fair share of experiences in London, but anyway… that still does not mean that you don’t need table manners themselves. You never know when the chance may beckon you to good food. Think of all the scones you may have in the upcoming parties and events!” Her eyes sparkled. It seemed like this girl liked scones very much.
”Hahaha.. you sure know how to make a persons day better.” The immediate thought of food did indeed invigorate Aramus, especially now that he was on a full stomach. He absently wondered if Elizabeth could bake as well as she cooked. ”I suppose I will be in your care then, Elizabeth.”
“Good to hear,” Elizabeth said, pleased, and nodding happily. “With that decided… I suppose we can do this in lunch time every day, just like now. At least until I am certain that you understand the basics,” she said, making up the rules all on her own. “I suppose I can cook every day for you, too, while I am at it. Perhaps I’ll try different dishes each day… ” she said, but it seemed like she was speaking to herself more than Aramus now.
“Maybe if there is any particular preference, I may be able to make them for you, teacher,” she said, chuckling. She couldn’t wait to try her hand on various kinds of food.
Homemade dishes everyday. The thought of it was too much for Aramus, someone deprived of them as it were and he was sufficiently moved by it to do something out of character for him ever since he became a Magic Magister. Extending a hand, Aramus rubbed her head, feeling the silky locks slide luxuriously across his fingers. ”You are too kind.” His features softened as he recalled the times with the younger children in the orphanage, this gesture familiar to him as an elder figure. ”This is much too good for someone like me. I do not deserve such generosity.”
He knew, that by simply being around her, Elizabeth’s reputation would be tarnished. It was one of the reasons he was a loner. She didn’t deserve it. He would not drag her down like this, not over a simple act of kindness on both their parts.
“Why? Have you done something unforgivable? I personally look up to you as a scholar. A Magic Magister isn’t so common to see in this world,” Elizabeth stated earnestly, but after doing so, she noticed the hand rubbing her hair, and she fidgeted with shame and nervousness. It was the first time a man had touched her like this. The most she had to deal with were mere handshakes in the past, and a kiss at the back of her hand. Somehow, she was to those formalities. But no man had ever touched her head like this, much less her hair in such an affectionate manner. Soon, blood rushed up, and her heart begun to race ever so intensely. It was so embarrassing to her that she glanced down to her teacher’s legs instead.
Strange, she thought. It was her teacher patting her… was this supposed to be very unusual, or did she in fact enjoy praises beyond an ordinary extent. She found herself questioning herself just like that. However, if it was one thing she could admit it, it felt really… good to be patted like this. This acceptance allowed her to smile tenderly.
”Perhaps. Many took my appointment as Magic Magister the wrong way, but as it is by decree of our Queen, all they can do is quietly shun me. But I am glad that at least you, my student, do not.” Aramus admitted, removing his hand from Elizabeth’s head once he realized what he had just done. ”I-I’d best be going. Thank you again for the lunch Elizabeth, I look forward to your etiquette lessons.” He stuttered and coughed into his hand, trying hard to establish that same distance they had when he stepped into this room.
“I suppose the Queen… has an eye for quality… ” Elizabeth whispered to herself, then was awakened by the words of departure. “I-I see. I am glad that you enjoyed my cooking. I-it was the first time anyone else tried my cooking other than myself. So I am r-rather overjoyed that you enjoyed them. Thank you very much,” she blurted out a set of words without thinking – as she gave a bow with her hands clasped down her naval – her eyes spiraling as words escaped her lips in a flurry, “I apologize if I have showed any misconduct. I am not quite… used to socializing with peers of this academy. I suppose I am somewhat shunned here, as were you.”
”No, it was most definitely my pleasure.” The teacher said with a smirk across his features, positively glowing at his student. ”Though, it was difficult for me to adapt here as well. The people here are… different. They are polite but keep you at an arms distance, it is just their culture. You’ll get used to it.”
“Yes, I hope that’s what it is. I shall try my best at it,” Elizabeth said, her cheerfulness back, and she seemed to be calm and collected once again. “I suppose the lunch period is just about over. I must make way for my lessons, too.”
”That you do. I have to return this sword to its rightful owner. Till tomorrow then, Elizabeth.” Kusanagi was still floating behind him, spinning lazily on an axis. Aramus gave Elizabeth one last smile before leaving her room, his day made evidently better by this event.