Chapter 一五: At the Octohorn Ring
Yuki’s first week as a student at Sunbird High School had come to an end and like all of her other experiences since coming to Deckstoru, it had been one hell of a ride. She had got used to and enjoyed the madness at that point, though, going as far as to name her everyday routine the Joy Dozen. In it were included the following:
- Wild breakfast at the Summerbolt Residence;
- Getting to Sunbird and studying in the morning;
- Fights during the lunch break;
- More studying along with some recuperation in the afternoon;
- Cleaning up different parts of the school grounds and being tortured by the headmaster through to early evening;
- A visit to the restructuring nurse’s office;
- Going back home and getting a short rest;
- Cooking dinner;
- A long and loud meal with the family;
- Doing homework;
- Getting ready for the next day;
- Going to sleep.
Had a normal person been faced with such a schedule after a very dynamic first weekend in a new place like hers, they would’ve been completely overwhelmed. Luckily, the young Miss Iceflame was a supergirl of sorts, so her body could handle the stress. Her mind had now built up a sufficient stamina to deal with the weirdness as well and with her adaptation period having ended, she could focus on fully enjoying her time in the city that was no less crazy than her home and school.
To start off that great time, she and Hikaru were going to go with Graid to his bar by the seaside after dinner on Friday night, Yuki having decided to ask Seiren to join her and Hikaru. The young Blackscale had agreed, the assembly point for him and the three Summerbolt family members being a park next to the seaside street that ran in parallel with Deckstoru’s central beach.
Graid wore the kind of clothes Yuki had never seen him in – a scarlet summer shirt with jungle green palm trees on it, beige shorts and sneakers that combined the three colors from the rest of the man’s attire. After looking away from him, the white-haired beauty realized this was the first time she, Hikaru and Seiren were wearing the same clothes as on the day they had met.
It was a nice change from wearing the school uniform all the time and gave Miss Iceflame a nostalgic feeling. Exactly one week ago on this night her friendship and journey with the young Summerbolt and Blackscale had started after their first victory as a team.
She might not have yet regained the memories from her life before coming to this city, but had managed to make many new memories since her arrival. That meant Yuki wasn’t just an empty shell anymore. She had gained an identity. The name the rivals had given her finally had a substance to it instead of being a random pair of words.
All of that had happened because of Hikaru and Seiren.
Just thinking about it brought tears to the amnesiac’s eyes, her friends noticing that.
(Hikaru) ‘Are you OK, Yu? You’re crying.’
Yuki hugged both of them then, having a smile full of more happiness and gratitude than ever on her face.
(Yuki) ‘I just … I love you, guys.’
(Seiren) ‘I think this one’s overstressed from all the work and torture, Summerbolt. She’s lost it.’ – Hikaru and Seiren hugged her back while also smiling, but making sure they wouldn’t come in any contact with their rival – ‘So long as you’re happy, though, Yu, I’m fine with that.’
(Graid) ‘Well, if you three are done with that, let’s get going. I need to get the bar up and runnin’ before the customers start coming in.’
The four strolled down the seaside street then, Yuki feeling the cool breeze tickling her skin. It was a pleasant sensation because that breeze carried the promise of the coming summer. A time during which all the little shops and restaurants the ice maiden and her friends passed by were going to be working and this street was going to be full of life.
Eventually Graid led the trio to his bar, which was called The Octohorn Ring, letting Miss Iceflame and the rival duo have a good look-around while he set everything up to start working.
Yuki herself was truly amazed by the bar’s design. Firstly, the name it had been given was all too fitting because it consisted of nine rings with horns in eight of them.
There was a main very wide ring, inside which the drinks were made, the music was played and the counter was located.
After Hikaru’s uncle turned on the neon lights, the right half of the ring was lit up in scarlet and the left half – in jungle green, illuminating the pillar propped up in the center of that ring that supported the roof above it.
At the top of the pillar was attached the symbol of the bar – a small octopus statue that had a ring around the end of each of its spread-out tentacles. Eight horns were sticking out of its head – two larger ones of the bull type took the highest position with six smaller ones being visible under them.
There was a slightly smaller ring on each side of the main very wide one and further down the sands of the beach stood six more rings. The two placed after the main ring were a bit smaller than the ones located on its sides while those after the side rings were smaller yet.
Many bar stools were placed around each ring while inside them stood pedestals with a design that looked like a wound up octopus tentacle. Each pedestal had a platform on top and within it – a bent horn similar to that of a bull made of crystals. The crystals for each horn were of a different color and the rings around the pedestals were lit in a color matching that of the crystal horns on top of them.
In particular, the ring/horn on the main one’s right side was scarlet, the one on the left – jungle green, following the scarlet a pumpkin orange and a cadmium yellow one, following the jungle green – an azure and an electric violet one. Meanwhile the main ring was followed by a blackish (whose ring was black with grayish-white lights above and below it to create a better contrast) and finally a white one.
(Graid) ‘What do you think, Yu?’
(Yuki) ‘It’s … I’ve never seen anything like it. But all these horns … what are they?’
(Graid) ‘You remember the eight energy compounds we talked about? The group my Daroid and Reloid are a part of?’
(Yuki) ‘Yep.’
(Graid) ‘Well, there are crystals in the universe imbued with the energy of each of those energy compounds, taking on some of their characteristics.
Eventually, though, some genius discovered that when the crystals imbued with the energy of a particular compound are mixed with the right type of alcohol, that alcohol can be affected by the energy compound. And whoever drinks it then will experience a lot of different things.
Depending on the alcohol they drink and the type of crystals they want to mix with it, people can choose around which of the rings in my bar to sit. From there I give them a small hammer and a tiny shovel to dig out some crystals to mix with their drinks. Though I mostly have relocrystals and darocrystals fueled with a Reloid and Daroid like mine, I can also provide a bit of all eight types of energy compound crystals to my customers – something no one else in Deckstoru can do!!’
Graid had his hands on his waist in a superhero-like stance with an overly confident and proud smile by the end of his explanation, meanwhile Yuki noticing Seiren next to him had a rather suspicious look on his face.
(Seiren) ‘From what I know, there aren’t a lot of crystals like these on Saiten. How did you even manage to get all eight types?’
(Hikaru) ‘He’s a very good businessman.’
(Seiren) ‘Yeah? What’s his business approach like? Beating people up to make them cut a deal?’
Yuki was expecting Hikaru’s uncle to get angry after hearing Seiren’s insulting speculation, but instead he chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.
(Graid) ‘No, no, it’s nothing like that! Because there aren’t a lot of these crystals lying around, some of them are not sold in the nicest places and not everyone would risk going to places like that to get them.’ – his nervous chuckle was then replaced by a thunderous laugh full of confidence – ‘But Graid Summerbolt fears nothing and thanks to that I’ve got myself quite a lot of these babies! Ha-ha!!’
A group of six people approached the bar while Graid was still laughing, Yuki being the first one to notice them.
(Yuki) ‘That’s great, but I think you should focus up because your first customers are here.’
In a mere second after being notified of the coming customers, Hikaru’s uncle had stopped laughing to let out a mighty roar directed toward the skies, already having grabbed a bottle with some kind of alcohol in each hand.
(Graid) ‘Time to get this party started, then!!!’ – his next roar was directed at the customers in particular – ‘Come in, ladies and gentlemen, and let’s have some fun!!!’
No more than an hour after those first customers arriving, pretty much all the seats in the bar had been taken, in the present music playing, cocktails being made and people having a good time wherever Miss Iceflame looked around her.
The one responsible for this was Graid himself, who ran the bar alone, using his Daroid to quickly prepare and serve the drinks everyone ordered and then play another hit song to ensure the customers’ spirits were as high as the heavens.
Yuki, Hikaru and Seiren were provided with seats around the main ring, of course, being the youngest in the whole bar and the only ones consuming non-alcoholic drinks as they were underage. The atmosphere was fantastic enough in its own right, though, so the white-haired beauty needed no alcohol to feel great, enjoying herself more and more as time passed.
Currently her attention was focused on the people who had already got off their seats and had started dancing around their respective rings and horns or mixing with other groups, Graid having left the bar for a bit to join the fun. While dancing along with the others, he suddenly pointed at the amnesiac with a smirk.
Hikaru next to her sighed, Yuki turning to him to see he too had noticed his uncle was calling out the newest member of their family, which had brought a small smile to his face.
(Hikaru) ‘There he goes again.’
(Yuki) ‘I think he wants us to join him.’
(Seiren) ‘Go ahead, Yu. Just watch out for the others cuz there may be hidden perverts among them.’
(Yuki) ‘Don’t you two dance?’
(Hikaru) ‘No, not really. But don’t worry about us. Go and have fun.’
While surprised by the rivals’ answer, Miss Iceflame decided to follow their advice and got off her chair, patting both of them on the back with a charming wink and smile before going over to Graid.
(Yuki) ‘I’ll be going ahead, then. The night’s still young, though, so I won’t give up on getting you to dance that easily. This conversation’s to be continued.’
Yuki then went right next to Hikaru’s uncle, having already caught the rhythm of the music and observed the people around her enough to figure out how to dance like them, just going with the flow from there. Seeing how much into this she was, Graid started dancing back to back with her, eventually the two starting a conversation while glancing at the rivals at the bar every now and then.
(Graid) ‘I’m glad you’re not a stiff like those two, Yu! It’s a lot better to have fun like this, right?’
(Yuki) ‘I’m surprised Hikaru doesn’t like dancing with an uncle like you!’
(Graid) ‘Well, at another time he might have agreed to dance, but I guess today’s not his day.’
(Yuki) ‘Is there something special about today?’
Graid suddenly stopped dancing then and moved some distance away from the rings, when the newest member of his family caught up to him, immediately noticing he was still smiling, but his smile was a sad one now.
Yuki had never seen him look even a little sad as this very fast and strong man was the most cheerful one among all the Summerbolts. So seeing Graid of all people in such a state made the whole festive spirit leave the white-haired beauty’s body.
(Graid) ‘It’s already past midnight, so I guess the anniversary is here.’ – he was getting ready to say more, but paused for a moment before continuing and turning even sadder – ‘You’ve never asked about Hikaru’s dad since becoming a part of the Summerbolts, right? If you had asked any of the others about that, I’m sure they would’ve told me.’
Miss Iceflame turned her eyes away from Graid’s face after being asked that question, because she was too afraid to look at him.
It was something she had thought about, of course. There were pictures of Saya, her husband and Hikaru around the house, but Hikaru was just a baby in those and the ice maiden had found that strange. Since no one had talked about this in any of the conversations she had been present for, she had never dared to ask, hoping the Summerbolts would tell her themselves where her friend’s father was one day.
Yuki could have never imagined she would learn that information under such circumstances, though.
(Yuki) ‘No, I haven’t. I didn’t think it was appropriate to ask.’
(Graid) ‘He’s not some piece of shit who left his wife and son, Yu, don’t worry.’ – another pause came, this time Graid turning sadder than anyone Yuki had ever seen – ‘Hikaru’s dad … he died. Sixteen years ago.’
The amnesiac had been expecting to hear something like that to an extent, but discovered she had not been mentally prepared enough upon hearing it. And after that, she couldn’t help but look at Hikaru back at the bar with only pain in her heart.
(Graid) ‘Hikaru was just a baby then, so he’s got no memories of his dad. I’ve tried to make up for him being gone as much as I can, but Hanaru Summerbolt … he was one of a kind.
I gave the idea to take you to the bar with me tonight to help Hikaru not think about that, but I guess it didn’t work.’ – before continuing, Graid fell into deep thought and then let out a deeper sigh still – ‘Now that I think about it, Seiren’s got a sad anniversary today as well, so it’s a good thing those two are together right now.’
Despite being scared from suffering more heartache, Yuki forced herself to ask about what Seiren’s pain was. She thought she at least owed him the effort to understand that pain as much as possible, as she now did Hikaru’s.
(Yuki) ‘Is … is it the anniversary of him losing a family member as well?’
(Graid) ‘No, not that. My nephew and Seiren have been rivals since kindergarten, so the Summerbolts and the Blackscales know about all the big things that have happened in the other one’s life.
You’ve noticed that sleeve he always wears on his left arm and the stocking covering his lower right leg, right?’
(Yuki) ‘I have. I thought it was a fashion statement.’
(Graid) ‘It’s not. Seiren and his younger brother were in a terrible accident some years ago on this date. His left arm and right leg will forever be scarred by that, so he always wears a sleeve and a stocking to cover up the scars.
Hikaru’s told me it’s not just to hide those scars from people, but from himself, too. Seiren doesn’t want to ever look at them and be forced to remember that accident. Just like my nephew, though, I guess not looking at the scars is not enough to get rid of the pain for that kid.’
Too much.
Yuki had learned too much at once.
That overwhelmed her to a level where she couldn’t say a word for over a minute. When she spoke again, only one sentence managed to leave her lips as her emotions wouldn’t allow more to be said.
(Yuki) ‘W-what can we do?’
(Graid) ‘We’ve done all we can, Yu. It’s up to those two now.
At times like this, their rivalry actually feels like a good thing because it helps them to not think about the past.
Maybe that’s why they started it in the first place. To help each other heal the pain they both feel, hiding their feelings by fighting all the time.’
Graid left her side after saying that, Miss Iceflame standing still under the effect of the resolution she had suddenly come to.
The amnesiac still didn’t know what kind of pain was hidden in her past, but she now knew about the pain Hikaru and Seiren had suffered and were still suffering from.
Maybe helping them heal their old wounds was how she could truly repay them. And Yuki made a promise to herself to do everything in her power to achieve this one goal – to make the rivals whole again.
