Reiki was sitting on the couch contemplating while Sutekina was searching for something on her smartphone. Kireina was sitting behind the desk, she thought. How do we influence his decision on choosing an element… Reiki sat up straight on the couch, he said. “I have a few questions.” Sutekina was scrolling down her phone and said. “She’ll answer them, I’m in the middle of something.” Reiki moved his gaze onto Kireina who tried to maintain a smile on her face, she said. “I’ll answer to the best of my knowledge.” Reiki said. “How common is someone having an affinity with two conflicting elements?”
Kireina leaned on the backrest of the chair to try and peek at what Sutekina was browsing on her phone. Kireina said. “Too common, nine out of ten. The worst combination is water and earth, I don’t need to explain why earth is bad and water is mainly used for support.” Reiki thought. I can understand the prejudice against earth… Water at high speeds can cut through steel like paper… He said. “Are talent and affinity for magic hereditary?” Sutekina took out her pen and notepad from her pocket while Kireina managed to take a peek at the screen of her phone.
Kireina thought. … Why is she putting so much effort? It’s just music... She moved her gaze back on to Reiki and said. “Unfortunately, it is. Genetics are the main reason why two parents, let’s use fire and ice as an example. Their child will be born with one or the other.” A hint of interest appeared in Reiki’s eyes, he said. “Are there any records in the earlier years of history about tribes with different elements creating an alliance through marriage, with the hopes of the child being born with dual affinity?”
Kireina gave him an odd look, she thought. … This isn’t something a child should be asking… She said. “Alliance through marriage was a common occurrence in the earlier years. What little records left intact over the years is that on the rare occurrence that a child possesses two elements. They either, scenario one. Assassinated at a young age. Scenario two. Killed by someone in the same tribe and or family. Scenario three. All the other tribes wage war on the two tribes tied together by marriage.” Reiki’s brows furrowed, he said. “Those three? Seems extreme seeing it’s a child with dual affinity.”
Sutekina placed her phone on her thigh, she took the cap off the fountain pen and placed it on the barrel. She wrote a few things on the notepad while Kireina slightly tilted her head to the side to see what Sutekina was writing. Kireina said. “Don’t forget, that was before the era when humans were reintroduced to magic. Can you just imagine the accumulation of knowledge through the years?” Reiki kept a straight face and thought. Oh yeah… I vaguely remember having a conversation with Mora or Nora about how magic was once considered new again to humans…
He said. “How did we lose all that knowledge in the first place? You’d think a mage would be smart enough to make a copy of their life's greatest achievement.” Sutekina covered her notepad as she glared at her older sister while Kireina instantly moved her gaze onto Reiki and acted natural. Kireina said. “One word, greed. A single empire had grown too much, combined with a king obsessed with power he started expanding his domain under the guise that everyone will be treated as an equal under his rule. The troops did a hostile takeover and confiscated everything related to magic.”
Sutekina went back to writing on her notepad while Kireina continued. “Runes, spells, inscriptions, and formations. Of course, every mage was furious at the fact they got their life work stolen from them, every single one who complained was killed along with their entire family. When word spread of the empire's actions, when they saw the empire's troops each house, village, and town started burning all of their records that had the word magic on them. Books, scrolls, and parchment the first building they set fire to was always the library even if there were still people inside-.”
Kireina came to her senses, she said. “Wait, why are we talking about history?” Reiki stared at her and said. “Because you two are teachers and a student asked you a question?” Sutekina let out a laugh as she stared at a page on her notepad that was half-filled with scribbles. Kireina cleared her throat, she said. “Just tell us what element that’s on your mind so we can… Give our opinions on it…” Reiki thought. Ender. He pretended to think while Ender’s voice rang in his head, he said. [Fire for offense and wind for mobility.]
Reiki tapped on the armrest of the couch a couple of times and said. “Wind for movement, fire for its offensive capabilities.” Sutekina glanced at him from the corner of her eye, she thought. That’s… A reasonable choice… Kireina had a hint of apprehension on her face, she said. “Are you sure? Those might not be complete opposites but it's still quite the-.” Reiki interrupted her and said. “I’m sure, can you get me a book about that empire you were talking about?” Kireina’s expression still had a hint of uncertainty while Sutekina faked a cough.
Kireina let out a slow sigh, she said. “...Fine… Wind and fire it is then… I’ll lend you the book next time you bother to show up to school.” She thought. And I also need to search for it in my pouch. Reiki stood up from the couch as he stretched upwards while Kireina waved her hand as the couch behind him vanished. Reiki stopped stretching and said. “Thanks for answering my questions.” He moved his gaze onto Sutekina who was staring at her notepad, Reiki continued. “Hand that page over.” Sutekina stood up from the table as she scratched the back of her head.
She said. “I’m going to have to give you a raincheck on my recommendations.” Reiki held out his hand and said. “Just make it easier for both of us.” Sutekina let out a sigh as she ripped the page of the notepad that was littered with scribbles and words and passed it to him. Reiki took the note from her hands and read the writings on it, he thought. Let’s see… I know these, they’re more or less classics that I’ve already listened to. Reiki pocketed the note while Sutekina placed the notepad and fountain pen on the desk.
Sutekina managed to keep her cool, she said. “What do you think?” Reiki let out a chuckle, he looked up to her and said. “I haven’t listened to them yet.” Kireina rolled her eyes as she gave her little sister a side glance, she said. “What’s the big deal? It’s just music.” Sutekina slowly turned to face her older sister, she said. “Remember when I asked for your thoughts about the playlist I sent you?” Kireina’s eyes instantly lit up, she said. “Can’t forget even if I wanted to, every single one of those songs were so good. I even saved them on my phone.”
Reiki stared at the gorgeous twins and thought. … I wonder what kind of magic they have… Sutekina felt the sting of her older sister’s words, she said. “Those were all his recommendations.” Kireina's expression turned stiff, she thought. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Sutekina had an angry smile on her face as she spoke in a slightly cold tone, she said. “Last time I gave a handful of music, you said it was okay.” Reiki did a half turn and made his way to the door, he thought. I’ll take this as an opportunity to escape before these two force me to pick a side.
Reiki opened the door while Kireina forced out a fake laugh and said. “When I said it was okay it was more of a-.” Sutekina’s pupils faintly glowed while Kireina glanced at the door and saw it was about to close. Kireina said. “More of a yeah okay.” The door closed behind Reiki as he made his way down the hallway from the inside of the principal's room he heard a loud crash. Ender’s voice rang in his head, he said. [I sensed a new source of mana in the gym.]
Reiki suddenly stopped walking down the stairs as his eyes turned hollow and dead. He thought. He’s here.
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Breakroom
Sachi, Namida, and Ketsueki were sitting around a table as all three of them placed their lunch on the table. Namida’s gaze was glued onto her friend's lunch, she said. “Any chance you have any leftover steak?” Ketsueki took out a pair of chopsticks from her pocket and said. “Nope, and even if there were any steak left. I wouldn’t have shared any with you two.” Sachi snapped her fingers as a bottle of green tea appeared beside her lunch.
She said. “It’s just steak, the cafeteria serves them all the time. You can even have it cooked to your preference along with your choice of meat.” Namida took out an ice-cold bottle of water from her pocket, she said. “You make it sound like the other teams have access to that.” She twisted the cap off and took a big gulp. Ketsueki let out a chuckle and said. “If they want access to the better facilities of the company they should consider doing missions with a lot more zeros in the reward.”
Sachi took the lid off her bento revealing a traditional lunch with a generous slice of grilled salmon, rice, pickled vegetables, and side dishes. She said. “As if we’re going to stop taking missions under the counter.” Ketsueki shook her head sideways and said. “No thanks, if we did it the right way. We’d be lucky if there was a mission worth six figures left.” Namida took the lid off her bento while Ketsueki raised a brow and saw that their lunch was an exact copy of each other. Ketsueki said. “Nice lunch, you two sharing the same bed when I’m not around?”
She let out a chuckle while taking out a large two-liter thermo bottle from her pocket and placed it on the table. Namida rolled her eyes at her, she said. “Fuck off, my mom made this for us.” Ketsueki placed her elbow on the table as she stared at her friends and said. “Aw, how sweet of her.” Namida took out a pair of chopsticks from her pocket while she used her other hand to give Ketsueki the middle finger. Sachi snapped her fingers as a pair of chopsticks appeared on top of her lunchbox while she glanced at Ketsueki taking the cap off the thermo bottle.
She said. “What’s with the thermo bottle?...” A hint of expectation appeared in Sachi’s eyes, she continued. “Did Reiki make consomme?” Ketsueki pressed down the push button lid on the top of the thermo as she poured some on the cap that was the same size as a mug. She said. “No, just mushroom soup.” The expectation in Sachi’s eyes instantly vanished, she said. “Oh.” Ketsueki was holding onto the cap of the thermo bottle as she gently blew on it while Namida smelt the aroma the soup was giving, she said. “Can I have some? That smells so good.”
Sachi managed to take a whiff of it as her brows raised in surprise, she said. “Me too, that smells like something you would want during winter.” Ketsueki faked a sigh and said. “I wasn’t planning on sharing but since you two asked so nicely…” She took out a stack of plastic cups from her pocket and filled two of them halfway full. The two girls took a cup each, Namida took a deep whiff of the soup while Sachi gently blew on hers. Sachi glanced at Ketsueki who took a small sip of soup and said. “Any progress with teaching Reiki?”
She took a sip of her cup filled with some soup while she watched her friend almost spill soup on the table. Ketsueki let out a soft chuckle and said. “Oh yeah… I told him that we have two thermo bottles, does that count?” Sachi clicked her tongue which caught Ketsueki off guard. Namida held her hand out and said. “Pay up.” Sachi let out a sharp breath as she took out a long leather wallet, opened it, and took out a crisp ten thousand yen bill. Namida took the banknote from her friend's hand while letting out a mocking laugh.
Sachi glared at Ketsueki and said. “You could’ve given him a quick lesson about simple spells?” Ketsueki stared at Namida who pocketed the ten thousand yen bill in her pocket. Ketsueki said. “You two made a bet? Again?” Namida gave Sachi a pat on the shoulder and said. “Next time let’s bet what kind of spell she’ll teach him.” Sachi tried to slap her friend's hand on her shoulder which Namida quickly moved her hand away making her miss. She gave a side-eye glare and moved her gaze back onto Ketsueki.
Sachi continued. “You could’ve taught him the most simple spell anyone could cast.” Ketsueki placed her cup on the table, she said. “He could hurt himself-.” Sachi interrupted her and said. “Then teach him illuminate, the worst thing he could do is blind himself for a few seconds.” She let out a long sigh, Sachi continued. “The one time I was sure you’d teach him something because of your… Nature… And this is what I get…” Ketsueki’s brows furrowed, she said. “What did you mean by nature?” Namida picked up her pair of chopsticks on the table, she said. “That makes the score ten to twelve.”
She skillfully spun the pair of chopsticks between her fingers and continued. “Sachi, you need to up your game. The score is starting to widen.” Sachi gave her the middle finger as she took a sip of soup while Ketsueki stared at her two friends for a couple of seconds in silence. Ketsueki said. “So you two gamble ten thousand yen every time you bet on something?” Sachi picked up her chopsticks that were on top of her bento as she gave her a nod while Namida had a piece of tamagoyaki pinched between her chopsticks.
Namida said. “Yep, just a casual bet.” Her lips curled into a small smile as she glanced at Sachi. Namida continued. “It’s mostly about bragging rights.” She ate the rolled omelet while Ketsueki took off the lid of her bento revealing a side of fruits covered in a thin layer of syrup, a large bed of rice, and a lavish piece of pan-seared salmon. The moment she took the lid off her lunch the smell of thyme, lemon, and butter filled the room. Ketsueki picked up her chopsticks and thought. Mine is also salmon today?
She clasped her hands together and said. “Itadakimasu.” Ketsueki noticed the gaze from her friends, she continued. “Can I help you two?” Sachi used the chopsticks she was holding to point at the salmon on her friend's lunch, she said. “Give me some of that salmon.” Namida placed the tamagoyaki back into her bento, she said. “Me too.” Ketsueki used her hand to block her lunch, she raised a brow at them and said. “Aren’t you two going to express your gratitude to the people who prepared your meal?” She moved her gaze onto Namida, Ketsueki continued. “Especially you Namida, living in a traditional household and all that.”
Namida stared at her friend's lunch and said. “She’s not here.” The corner of Ketsueki’s lips curled into a smirk, she said. “I wonder what she’ll have to say to you when I tell her that.” Namida moved her gaze onto her, she said. “Then you can enjoy having to wait five plus years to clean all your money with her help.” Ketsueki thought. Oh yeah… I actually need her help with that… Sachi used her chopsticks to cut off a bite-size of the salmon in her bento, she said. “Just cut off part of the fish roughly the same size as this one.”
Ketsueki gestured at her lunch and said. “It’s salmon, all of us are going to eat the same fish.” Sachi shook her head sideways, she said. “They're completely different.” Ketsueki gave her a wide-eyed look and said. “How?” Namida used her chopsticks to point the large piece of grilled salmon on her bento, she said. “We have grilled salmon, you on the other hand have pan seared. I can smell the butter and lemon from all the way here.” Sachi’s left hand blurred as she grabbed the corner of Ketsueki’s bento.
Ketsueki grabbed her lunch box as she tried to prevent Sachi from taking her food. Sachi said. “You made me lose ten thousand yen, the least you could do is let me taste your lunch.” Namida grabbed the other edge of the bento as she tried to pull it towards her, she said. “If you let us have some of your salmon you can make bets with us.” Sachi turned her head toward her and said. “We’re not starting over.” Namida glanced at her from the corner of her eye, she said. “We won’t, she’ll start at zero while we keep our current score.”
Ketsueki stared at her lunch container which was starting to bend from the pressure, she said. “I get it! So let go of my lunch because it’s starting to curve.” Sachi and Namida quickly let go as they moved their bentos closer to her. Ketsueki used her chopsticks to cut off a couple of bite-size pieces of the salmon in her lunch, she said. “You two are almost as bad compared to the rest of the staff in this god-forsaken company.” She placed a piece on each of their bento while Namida smiled at her and said. “Almost.”
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School Hallway
Reiki glanced at the small window on the sliding door, he thought. There he is… With his hollow and dead eyes, he stared at a boy who had his hands on his hips as he watched a student placing their hands onto a crystal ball. He continued his train of thought. Kussata Uragiru… I don’t have a knife or a toolbox… But I’m going to enjoy torturing you. Kussata had a bright smile on his face, he saw the crystal ball emit a warm red color and said. “Amazing, your element is fire!”
The other students around gave their congratulations to the boy in the front of the line while Uragiru felt a cold sweat travel down his neck as he wiped the back of his neck with his hand, he thought. … It was only for a split second… But I felt bloodlust similar to when my older brother came back home from doing a ‘job’... Takahashi wrote down the element along with the student's name as the next in line placed their hands on the crystal. Uragiru slowly turned his head toward the door and saw that there was no one there, he continued his train of thought. I wasn’t imagining-.
Before he could finish his thoughts by the small window on the door he saw Reiki with a meek expression on his face walking past. Uragiru’s smile turned slightly sadistic, he said. “Class representative, I need to go to the bathroom. Are you going to be fine alone for a few minutes?” He gave her a friendly smile while Takahashi wrote something on the notepad, she gave him a nod and said. “I’ll be fine.” Uragiru pointed at the door with his thumb, he said. “It’ll take two minutes tops.” He quickly made his way to the door, slid it open, and saw Reiki walking down the hallway.
Uragiru’s smile grew bigger as he made his toward Reiki. He placed an arm around Reiki’s shoulders which made him slightly flinch, Uragiru said. “Reiki… You’re okay, I was beginning to worry about you.” Reiki slowly looked up to him as he spoke in a soft tone almost whispering to himself, he said. “... Kussata-san?... How have you been?” Uragiru gave him a pat on the shoulder and said. “San? Reiki how many times do I have to tell you that we’re friends? Just call me Uragiru.”
Reiki placed his right hand into his pocket, he kept breaking off eye contact with him by repeatedly looking down at the floor. He said. “I… Don’t know about that Kussata-san… I barely even know you…” Uragiru waved his hand at dismissal and said. “Why are you here? Did you already get your element written down by the class representative?” Reiki moved his right hand out of his pocket as he scratched the back of his head, he said. “I-I did…” Uragiru pretended t be curios and said. “What was the result?” Reiki moved his gaze onto the floor, he said. “The teacher told me I could head home early today.”
Uragiru accidentally let out a soft chuckle as he quickly covered it up with fake exaggerated coughs, he said. “Sorry about that, I’ve been dealing with a slightly sore throat all day. How about I treat you to a meal? Let’s go outside.” Uragiru moved his arm around Reiki’s shoulder as he made his way down the hallway. Uragiru said. “I know a family restaurant near the school.” Reiki’s eyes turned hollow and dead as he stared at his back and thought. I was so close to punching him… His eyes instantly turned back to normal as he quickly put on an uncertain expression and said. “K-Kussata, wait up!”
