It should be raining.
"Master Tohno, it's time." The priest called out to Shiki, drawing his eyes away from the window. The figures he was following down in the garden lingered on his mind, keeping Shiki quiet. Yamada continued, not losing a beat in the sheer disinterest displayed by Shiki Tohno. "If we delay more, there may be...complications."
Complications? That was a laugh.
"Afraid her blood will make her rise? Or curse us all?" Shiki's cold retort made the priest frown at him. Not wanting to hear a lecture, he explained himself. "Don't worry, I took care of it before you arrived."
Yamada silently nodded, acknowledging the heir's ability. Even if he wasn't Makihisa, Shiki Tohno did have a reassuring air to him.
"Still, it's best not to delay things." The buddhist responded, demeanor grave. "It's best if we let Lady Akiha rest."
"And Kohaku too." Shiki sharply rebuked.
Yamada merely hummed in response, turning and leaving the room as he kept his own council. As the priest exited, Shiki saw a brief flash of burgundy and red, and the sound of skirts fluttering, as he saw Hisui.
One of his female cousins followed shortly after.
Shiki remained where he was for a moment, head aching as he heard Hisui run in the direction of Kohaku's room. The new heir of the Tohno family took a deep breath, fighting off the pain with a sense of purpose. The teenager left the room, shutting it closed after him as he turned and went in the direction the priest had gone.
Once again ignoring his heart's urging to follow Hisui.
The cold darkness of the mansion swallowed Shiki, suit and all, as he descended towards the basement.
"Little sister really made all this look easy." He muttered to himself, the last words he'd speak for the rest of the day as he joined an odd dozen priests, family members, and hanger ons for the Tohno family rites.
Yeah, it really should've been raining today.
Tsukihime is property of Type-Moon. Any additional references belong to their respective companies.
Chapter 1: Ready...?
The rich scent of earth, thick after the recent rain, filled his lungs.
High above, the sun continued to shine.
"Where are you, Hisui?" Shiki called out, even as he keenly felt the humidity in his formal kimono. The dark, heavy material wasn't something he was used to wearing. It was especially jarring for the boy, who had been wearing casual clothing before this last month.
Eventually he'd get used to it, he was sure.
But...
It reminded him of what Makihisa and SHIKI used to wear.
The thought made his hands flex, feeling the irrational need to pull the clothes off. Or hack them off his body. Either was fine with him.
Shiki paused, his ears catching a noise to the left. He turned towards that direction, eyes narrowing when he heard shuffling behind the bushes off the trail. The new heir of the Tohno clan moved off the footpath he was on, taking care not to make too much noise.
He brushed branches aside to make room for himself, making a face as his kimono snagged slightly on them as he walked through.
And that's how Shiki found himself standing in an empty moonlit clearing.
The jarring transition made the teenager lose his composure, staring around like a dullard. His loss of concentration led him to let go of the branches. Shiki stumbled forward with a hiss of pain, feeling his back throb where the branches struck him on the hip.
"Not a dream...?" Shiki mumbled, lightly touching his hip as he glanced backwards the way he came. The night, and a fresh wave of pain answered him. His eyes half closed as he considered the situation.
Nothing he could do about it.
"Where are you Hisui?" The heir decided to keep heading in the direction of the noises he had heard. It was literally the only lead he had at the moment.
Shiki wasn't sure if a greater understatement could be made by man.
He was rewarded with more shuffling noises, faint enough that he wasn't sure a normal person could have caught them.
Still, it wasn't in his nature to really linger too much on something that wasn't an immediate danger.
The teenager continued deeper into the woods.
Shiki was sure that at one point, he would have been panicking about having the sun be switched off on him. For the life of him, he just couldn't really place what that point would have been.
His journey in the backyard had only gotten weirder the longer he was out here.
The humidity had been steadily vanishing the longer he had been looking for Hisui, for starters. It seemed to him like the trees were shifting on him too, their sizes changing every time he tried to orient himself.
Not to mention all the less obvious changes sweeping through the woods. From the scent of the air, to the feel of the ground beneath his feet, everything seemed to be changing from one moment to the next.
If his life were a story, Shiki felt, it was probably one where the writer had hit a block. A block that they were trying to angrily rewrite their way around.
Shiki set aside such ridiculous thoughts for another time.
"Where is she?" He mumbled, glancing around his surroundings. Anxiety had managed to worm its way through even his thick skin. Shiki couldn't help do anything about what was going on with the world around him, but nothing had happened in the last five minutes. No sudden dangers, nor Hisui, had appeared in front of him.
With the loud bleating he was making, he had expected something to meet him already.
Shiki would come to regret those thoughts.
While his bleating entreaties did nothing to call Hisui to him, it certainly caused quite a reaction.
Shiki took a step forwards, hand raised towards the moon.
The skies above, which had just been a consistent shade of darkness - well, so far as the darkness of space looked consistently dark at least - suddenly moved. Like a swarm of worms, the skies began to wiggle and shift. The stars, even the moon that his hand was raised towards, were consumed by a familiar looking sight.
Death Lines.
In a daze, Shiki reached up to his eyes, confirmed the presence of his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and aptly summed the situation.
"Fuck."
Even as the lines began to crawl over his hand, Shiki suddenly had a dawning sense of horror as he focused on what he thought had been sunshine. A bird briefly flew past the spot of light in the sky, blotting it out for a moment.
He blinked, and the obstruction moved out of the way.
Wait, it had never been night.
It was the Lines.
Lines that were covering everyt-
"I hope this morning sees you well, Lady Akiha, sister." Hisui mumbled, the former maid unmindful of the dirt and scratches on her legs and hands as she attended the small shrine she and Shiki had arranged to have built. This room had been one of the first areas restored in the condemned guest house. "We'll be repairing the rest of the building soon, I hope you two don't begrudge the speed." She mumbled, looking at the pictures of her two loved ones.
While it was presumptuous, Hisui hoped her mistress looked upon her favorably for her assumption. It was just so cold beneath the Tohno Mansion. Lady Akiha deserved to stay with Shiki and her when the house was done. Along with her big sister.
Hisui made one last adjustment, finishing the arrangement.
"You both deserved better."
Hisui glanced at the sunflowers shining next to the remains of Akiha and Kohaku, lips compressed into a thin line. She took a deep breath, turned and left the room, exiting out into the massive yard of the Tohno complex.
She needed to find Shiki.
Hisui's fingers swept through her hair as she walked out beneath the thick tree cover that clung to the abandoned building. Her attempt to manage her wind teased hair made her brush against a certain blue ribbon.
The teenager grimaced, and her hands stiffly fell to her sides.
She left her hair unkempt for now.
Shiki had always asked her, in a hushed and somewhat meandering way, why she had never done anything about the odd tree. It was one of several plants that Kohaku had cared for extensively throughout the years. The dangerous looking thing had grown out of control after she had passed away, and the younger of the twins hadn't been inclined to trim it down. It had become even larger since then, and several nasty looking barbs had appeared on its branches.
"I wonder if he thinks it's a mutant?" Hisui mused, observing the tree for a few moments. It really was oddly colored, for sure. Nature really didn't have such a bright shades of reds and greens.
Well, maybe. She wasn't really a botanist.
Hisui did know she hadn't even really watered it, leaving it to its own devices these months. It probably wasn't normal for it to keep growing.
At worst, this was a product of mad science, and at best...
"You were really talented, weren't you?" Hisui sighed. "He should've given you the ribbon." She mumbled, looking at the tree for a split second before breaking her gaze.
She lightly kicked the ground.
Hisui caught a reflection of Kohaku's ribbon in a fresh puddle of water. It sat upon her messy hair, catching her sharp eye.
She shuffled closer towards the branch.
Hisui lingered nearby, just sort of bobbing in place, one could say. If her movements brought her closer to the thorns on the branch, she really didn't notice as she thought about her sister.
Her bare arms moving closer towards the wicked looking barbs.
Closer.
"Where are you, Hisui?" Shiki's voice called out, making her whip away from the tree with a look of shame on her face. It quickly faded when noticed that Shiki was nowhere nearby. She took a quick breath to compose herself, but before she could head towards Shiki...
His follow up scream, sounding positively ghastly, made a chill run through Hisui.
She broke into a dead run.
Another hour passed - the clock above her coughed out a dusty bird.
Hisui silently looked on as the clock rang, signaling the turn of yet another hour. Her eyes tracked the dust motes in the air that were scattered as the cuckoo sang. She'd have to clean again soon.
Her hands brushed her skirt, which had dried clumps of leaves and dirt on it.
The door to Mast- Shiki's bedroom creaked slightly.
Especially since because of her, he had-
Sougen Jinan stepped out of room, casually holding onto a bag of medical supplies as he closed it. He took a glance at Hisui, who was sullenly sitting on a positively ancient looking wheelchair in the dark hallway.
"Stand up." Shiki's doctor barked, making the girl shoot up in response. "Stop being so overdramatic." He commanded, frowning.
Hisui stared, expression grim.
"He's not dead." Jinan rolled his eyes at the girl's lack of reaction. He gestured for her follow. The last damn thing he needed was her contracting some kind of tetanus from sitting on that dirty old wheelchair. He was pleased when she didn't need more than his vague gesture as she began to walk with him. The further away they were to Shiki's bedroom, the easier they could talk and not disturb him.
"I'm glad." Hisui responded, voice clipped.
Something in that response drew Jinan's eyes. The maid seemed to be curling in on herself at the moment.
"What's wrong? Spit it out."
Hisui looked like she wanted to say something, second guessed herself and went quiet. Jinan had to wave his hand for her to speak before she allowed a squeak to pass her lips.
"He was getting better." She whispered, having caught his look.
"There's no magic bullet." Jinan replied harshly. "Isn't it a bit presumptuous to think that you might somehow change his physical condition with a few months of care? We'd have a lot less death in this world if it was that easy."
Hisui wasn't sure what to say. She bit down on her tongue, feeling chills run up her spine at the man's words.
"But that isn't to say there isn't merit to what you said, either." At this point, the two of them were standing at the grand staircase. Jinan was lightly poking at the various pictures standing on the mantle behind it. Hisui nervously followed him as Jinan took a hold of a picture that had her sister, Lady Akiha, and herself on it. The doctor's eyes dimmed as he took in the smiling faces on the photograph. "A healthy mind, a strong body, and stable emotions. Do you think they're the secret to happiness, Hisui?"
His sudden question surprised Hisui. She always felt like she was drowning whenever the man showed up, allowing herself to desperately try to keep up with the man's pace. This was a new and disturbing change to their routine.
"I...suppose so?" Hisui thought for a few moments. "It... it probably doesn't matter if you had everything else, if you weren't healthy, right? W-why do you ask?"
The doctor laughed a little, setting the picture down.
"I just felt like hearing what your thoughts are. Nothing else, really." Jinan replied, confusing Hisui even more. Picking up his things, he started down the stairs, followed by Hisui a second later. Once they were back on the ground floor, he began to give Hisui her marching orders. "You'll need to replace the drip in about three hours. After that's done, just give him an injection in about eight hours."
Hisui nodded, studiously taking mental notes as they left the house. The house's massive gate appeared before them as he continued to rattle off instructions for her. If not for the man's voice, it'd be as quiet as a grave.
"Call me if you need me." Jinan told her, as he found himself standing on the other side of the gate. "Also, you still need some practice bandaging up injuries."
"Yes, sir."
Jinan nodded, but remained standing in place instead of heading home.
"Is there anything else?"
"Hm."
Hisui waited for him for a few moments, but it seemed he wasn't going to be anymore open about what he was thinking.
"G-good night, then."
"Hm."
When she saw that the doctor was paying more attention to Shiki's home than her, she began to close the gate.
"Hisui." Jinan finally called out, causing her to stop and turn back towards him. He had a grave air to his person. "You don't have to force yourself down someone else's path."
Hisui stared, feeling like she had been suckerpunched as the man pleasantly nodded at her, wished her a good night, and began to walk away. A wiggling, acidic sensation rolled up from the depths of her chest as she looked after him.
That night, the gate was closed more forcibly that it should.
The nightly patrols of the Tohno Mansion had been formally ended once Shiki Tohno had become heir.
Officially.
Unofficially, Hisui had simply looked at Shiki in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. Then she had picked up her battery powered lantern and had left him in his bedroom. As Shiki was divested of a few articles of clothing, and the halls were cold, he had been forced to stay behind.
Hisui smiled a bit at the memory.
Still, her midnight walks had been ingrained in her at this point. It was impossible for Hisui to sleep without making a few passes of the various empty hallways. This was about the only thing she could do to repay the kindness shown to her by both brother and sister.
And...
Hisui paused, staring at a reflection of herself, cast by her light and the window looking out into the yard. The blue ribbon on her head and the orange light briefly transposed the image of another girl over her own.
She blinked. Hard.
Hisui turned down the intensity of her lantern and undid some knots. The hallway was made significantly darker as she walked away from the covered up window. Any extraneous lights were shut off by the zealous girl.
The house was found safe, and much darker, by the time Hisui was done.
Shiki would probably go around throwing on all the lights by tomorrow night, though. Then the battle would continue for another day.
Hisui arrived downstairs an hour later. A quick inspection of the kitchen showed nothing amiss. Although, a sweep of the refrigerator revealed something distressing.
They were low on the sweet plums she liked.
This would not stand.
In her indignity, Hisui obviously didn't notice the fact, or simply didn't acknowledge, that she had done a security sweep through the kitchen a half hour ago, and would probably do another one in yet another half hour.
Mysteriously, the plums would continue to dwindle each time.
On the final security sweep, a bottle was removed from one of the pantries, along with a glass cup.
It was close to two o'clock when Hisui finally was ready to approach the final room she had to check.
The two rooms she always loitered within for a few minutes always drove her here last.
She was a creature of habit.
This parlor in front of her used to be used for many things. Happy things, sad things, everything in between. To anyone else, it was just a regular sitting room. It had lovely furniture, and used to be used by Lady Akiha to greet her guests.
Once, it had hosted a disastrous drinking party. In the aftermath, Hisui and Kohaku had silently decided to keep a far closer eye over Lady Akiha whenever her friends visited. Rice cookers were also under lock and key, for good reasons.
As soon as Shiki had become heir, he had asked Hisui to air out another of the many rooms. This was partly to show that he would run things his own way. Another was that he respected the history of the parlor, in his own way.
Hisui had readily complied with Shiki's wishes.
Strangers didn't deserve to enter.
The door swung open after Hisui fumbled with the keys for a few moments. Vague shapes, outlines of the furniture cast by the barest amounts of moonlight sneaking in around the curtains, could barely be made out through the darkness within the parlor.
Hisui cranked down her lantern another setting, and slipped inside.
Hisui set down a half emptied glass in her lap, leaning against the love seat she used to sit on with her sister. Slight disgust, along with the contents of the drink, settled in her stomach. For a few moments afterward, she sat in silence as she played with her cup.
Her fingertips danced along the edge of the drink, causing droplets of condensation to slide down the sides. Hisui would catch them on the sides of her fingers, and then flick them away. Somtimes she'd let the droplets soak into her dirty skirt.
Hisui briefly wondered where her sister had kept the coasters. Lady Akiha would be mad if she soaked the furniture.
A furtive glance at a clock, barely visible thanks to the dim light, showed that she still had two more hours until she needed to swap out Shiki's IV.
"Following someone else, huh?"
The sound of her voice was dry, noncommittal. It surprised her, she had been expecting it to sound angrier.
Hisui lightly kicked her legs out, feet scooping out invisible furrows in the air. The constant motion, while soothing, caused her bangs to fall down over her eyes. A comfortable sort of laziness settled on her.
Ice tinkled in her glass as the cubes settled within it differently.
"Why did he say that?" Hisui wondered, finally looking back down. The lazy, pleasant sensation vanished as she considered her situation. She knew that she wasn't a genius, but it was hard to mess up bandaging someone's scrapes, right?
The maid shifted her hold on the glass, reaching up to drink what little there was left. Her face scrunched up as the juice went down her throat. Lady Akiha had once told her that her favorite drink took getting used to, but still.
"I still don't know how Lady Akiha drank this stuff."
The lantern was switch to its maximum lighting, revealing the entirety of the room. Hisui, sitting in the midst of the room, couldn't help but take on a despondent gaze as she took in her surroundings, already exchanging the glass for the book that was on the table.
"It's so bitter."
The brightness stung her eyes, bringing tears to them.
Hisui wondered if Jinan might be going senile, as she checked the work she had done on Shiki's leg. A quick comparison to one of her sister's books, and the section she had bookmarked, showed that it was just how it was supposed to be done. The more damning thing was that the doctor hadn't even changed anything about how she had done it.
Then came the phase of Hisui's anger that Kohaku always exploited. Hisui's unexplicable urge to apologize had lost her many an argument against her craftier sister, and now she was feeling the empathy well up in her again. It really wasn't fair, she just wanted a guilt free way to vent resentment.
It was for the best if it was purged.
Jinan had said so!
Still, as Hisui set aside the medical book, she could take a moment to appreciate the silence. Her... well, Shiki wasn't being rebellious when it came to Hisui taking care of him, for once. It probably helped that he was currently on something strong enough to daze an elephant.
Speaking of which, Hisui went ahead swapped the drips out when it ran out. With her final task done, the girl felt the sensation of exhausation finally begin to drag her spirit down with it. She let out a mighty yawn, stretching her arms over her head to try and shake it off.
At least so she could get back to her room.
Yet the empty spot next to Shiki looked mighty inviting to the sleepy girl. A brief glance down a her pajamas guaranteed that they were frumpy enough. Shiki wouldn't be enough of a boy to do anything, probably whining enough to wake her.
But if anything happened, well... she had that covered too.
What to do, what to do...
Hisui eyelids made the decision for her, beginning their treacherous descent. She decided to partially give give into her body's demands. Hisui spared a moment to undo the ribbon in her hair before setting it down on a counter next to Shiki.
A few extra covers and a pillow made the wheelchair she brought in from the hallway comfortable enough for her.
"Sleep tight." Hisui whispered, leaning over towards Shiki and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
The darkness concealed her blush.
What he had seen in the darkness was in one sense an 'inevitability' - but like other futures stained in the shadow of the Lines, it wasn't wholly unavoidable. Knowing the nature of his own eyes, he took immediate action, and found to his surprise that the extended family was all too willing to comply to his whims.
The twilight skies over Misaki City were beautiful, making up for the long elevator ride. Shiki Tohno stepped off the elevator as it finally arrived at his destination. A few other guests exited the elevator with him, the older patrons giving him a wide berth once they took in the somewhat excessively expensive looking pin on his suit's lapel.
Shiki idly scratched at his chest, fingers trying to bat at the Tohno family crest, and moved forwards. Unlike the elevator, which had soothed him by having a great view of the cityscape, the restaurant was completely closed off, with several traditional sliding doors. The reception area ahead of him even reminded him of an imperial meeting hall he had once seen in a movie. It even had a small rock garden in the corner, along with a fountain with live fish in it.
Fancy.
Whenever a host showed up from the north entrance, they would lead their guests over to the eastern or western sliding doors.
He patiently waited his turn to go up to the large desk sprawling in front of the northern door, making the people standing ahead of him grow uncomfortable.
"Y-you...could go ahead?"
"No, that's fine." Shiki blandly replied. He had lost his own place since he wanted to take in the area. If that didn't soothe their weird paranoia, it wasn't on him. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like his words worked, though.
It was a somewhat annoyed Shiki, one who had to endure several furtive glances backwards at him, that came upon the receptionist. The woman, pleasant looking enough - in fake sort of way, smiled at him.
"Welcome to The Amakusa."
Shiki matched the put upon cheerfulness with an equally false sense of entitlement.
"Good eveni-..." Shiki's entertainment was cut short when the hostess caught the lapel. The false politeness the woman was projecting was immediately broken down by genuine fear. She stammered something that the disappointed and unimpressed boy couldn't make out, reaching beneath her desk to press something.
Seconds later, Shiki was met by a somewhat overweight, but energetic looking woman.
"Please, you shouldn't have waited in line, Master Tohno!" She rather elegantly blocked the mortified looking hostess from his view. With an extended arm, and some subtle footwork, the man was leading him through the western sliding doors.
"Seemed like common courtesy. They were ahead of me. Plus I don't mind mind waiting." Shiki's casual response brought a flash of dismay to the woman's face, causing her to shake her head.
"No! That won't do- uhm, I mean, The Amakusa has always had a wonderful relationship with your family. Please don't think it is rude at all. We simply value you all, we've been so close for all this time..." The woman continued for a little while longer on that topic, making it easy for Shiki to tune her out a bit.
He wondered if this was what Akiha had to put up with all her life.
"I'm Rebecca Amakusa, may I ask for young master's name?" The lady was good at catching Shiki's bout of sudden silence, making him decide to give her a few points in his mental checklist. At least she wasn't a blabbermouth like a few of the people he'd be seeing in a little while.
"Shiki Tohno." The young heir nodded at her. Not really wanting to leave it vague, he decided to ask a follow up question immediately. "Are you the owner here, or something?" He bluntly asked, wanting to clear things up.
"I'm in training to take it over." Rebecca replied, a bit shyly. Sounded a bit backwards to Shiki, but he wasn't exactly sure how these sort of things happened. Seemed more normal than the usual way succession happened in his family, at least. "It's a pleasure that I got to meet you, you must be practically chasing the young bachelorettes away."
"Oh, I try. I find that a good scare tends to work best. Maybe a knife, sometimes." Shiki smirked at her awkward laugh, wondering what Hisui would have thought about that. She'd probably would have broken out the feather duster and made him spit out some feathers by now.
The conversation sort of faded into idle chitchat from that point.
Shiki nodded when appropriate, taking in a few details that Rebecca told him about the restaurant. He made a mental note to check the companies that the main house were actually backing, since he hadn't known that the Amakusa's were one of them until now. Other things were mostly at the level of trivia, things about how long the restaurant had been around before they had moved into the building. Who had actually built it, and various codes that had to be honored if they wanted a spot at the building.
The one bit of news that actually sounded interesting to him was that the building they were in was going to finish its construction by building a full blown shrine at the roof of the building. Shiki really hoped that they weren't funding that part of this building, it already sounded expensive enough that they had helped the Amakusa with this restaurant.
A relaxed sort of calm eventually settled over the two as Rebecca led him into one of the VIP rooms in the back. By this point, the two young heirs were reasonably alright in each other's presence, and Shiki could afford to openly take a look at his surroundings without being accidentally insulting.
"Here we are," Rebecca stood aside, opening a door for him. Within were all the members of the extended Tohno family. They glanced up, acknowledging the heir in their various ways. "I'll bring a waiter in a few moments."
"Thank you." Shiki glanced aside at the woman, and then moved inside. He felt several eyes following him as he made his way to the head of the table. A palpable silence filled the room, several of the most important business men and women in the region waiting on him. A guy who still hadn't finished highschool, nor had any of the lifetime of training that his sister had gone through.
It was a joke.
"So, here we are." Shiki began as he took his seat, taking a few moments to meet each and every set of eyes he came across. Behind his glasses, a tiny flicker of power surged to life. "I'm going to need something from all of you."
Still, he'd find a way to deal with it. He always did.
The sound of a sitar could be faintly heard, the absolute silence in the aftermath of Shiki's request a thoughtful one.
"That's all you wanted?" Akiha's former fiance, a fatso Shiki didn't really care to remember, spoke up with an incredulous expression.
Akira Kugamine, his father, flashed him a dark look which made him quail, and quickly turned to address the master of the Tohno family with a deeply respectful expression.
"My son means no disrespect, of course. It's just - it's a very easy request to fulfill. We could have done this just as easily over the phone. There's no need for you to waste your time like this, sir."
Unlike the son, the father was certainly more elegant with his words, Shiki thought. Several of the others in the room gave subtle body cues that they agreed. He wondered if they were musing on whether or not he was wasting their time.
Better clear that up.
"We haven't met as a family for a long time," Shiki began, taking their expressions in turn. He used his prepared explanation on them, wanting to see how they reacted. "This is more so we know what we should all be doing going forward. I hate being oblique if I don't have to be, and I expect the same."
Shiki was surprised when the expected hostility in their eyes didn't manifest. In fact, a few of the older members nodded in agreement. One of the women in the room even tittered a little, almost looking like she was fondly reminiscing.
Hm, well that wasn't something he was expecting.
"Of course. We'll allow Hisui-kun to attend the school," Akira spoke for the group, cutting off a few sour looking members of the family from acknowledging Shiki's request. He shook his head with a casualness that really confirmed his words.
'What a butt kisser,' Shiki thought, but appreciated the kowtowing anyway. A few of his other relatives looked distinctly less impressed with the Kugamine's ability to fast talk. Some of them had expressions that almost mirrored Arihiko's whenever a rumor about him caused him to lose out a date.
Whatever trace amounts of nervousness Shiki had were slowly going away.
"Sorry Kugamine-kun, but you don't speak for all of us, especially when it's my school."
An outraged murmur went through the group as the person who spoke, a large man who had been ignoring the conversation up until now.
"W-what, you dare defy Master Tohno, Ishida?" Akira looked a little bit out of his element, and Shiki could tell why right away. Ishida was fairly well built for his age, and radiated menace. The only reason the teenager hadn't done anything yet was probably because it had been concealed until Kugamine's boast, and was entirely directed at the poor blabbermouth.
Pleased smiles, quickly hidden, cropped up on a few faces.
Adult society was so childish.
"No, but I'm not allowing you to play things out to your whims." The owner of the school locked eyes with Shiki. "My condolences, sir. But I do not wish for your... significant other to be in danger. There are many at Miyamori Private Academy who have lost their loved ones to demon hunters. She would be an easy target for their frustrations."
A woman to Ishida's side quickly added her own good natured statement. One that disturbed Shiki a little, if only because of what it implied about his privacy, or lack thereof.
"Hisui-chan has only been able to use Synchronization at a very low level, correct? She's pretty much at a baseline human level. Our children, when they grow... passionate, are very much a danger for her like that."
Ishida flashed the woman a gentle smile in thanks, making her blush a bit.
"It might be too dangerous, Master Tohno." Another well wisher to his side whispered, keeping his eyes down in deference. "The school has many lawless areas where anything goes." He shifted a hand, lightly pressing against his side almost nostalgically.
"It's fine." Shiki decided to cut off the chatter around him before it would get worse. He shook his head, nodding at the people who flashed him worried expressions. "I take full responsibility for this."
Ishida looked like he wanted to protest further, but a staying hand from the woman next to him stopped that.
"It's the least she deserves." His strange words were the last thing any of the relatives would hear from him for the rest of the night. It turned into a normal meet and greeting afterwards, Shiki trying to get used to running the egos that drove the corporation that was the Tohno Family.
Kugamine would continue to glare at Ishida long into the night, though.
It didn't matter that the inside of the Tohno Mansion was dim when Shiki arrived the following day. Hisui's presence was brighter than all the lights in the building combined.
"Welcome back, Shiki." Hisui offered him a slight smile, bowing towards him.
He just wished she would stop doing that.
"Hey, I'm home, Hisui." Shiki smiled at her, setting down a briefcase. He set down a overnight bag as well, reaching for a zipper on it. "I brought some things with me, too."
Hisui tracked the motion, unnoticed by Shiki as he briefly turned away. In profile, Shiki's expression looked too tired, expression tight even as his eyes shone with vitality. Her hand reached out, seeking the briefcase with a frown.
The sound of cloth - and Hisui's sudden presence so close, surprised Shiki, making him take a step back.
"Shiki!" Hisui warned outloud, seeing what was going to happen.
His feet bumped into his bags, making Hisui's eyes widen in fear. Before she could move forwards, Shiki held a hand out, barely having managed to regain his balance after wobbling in place.
"Woah, I'm okay." Shiki insisted, waiting for a second. "I'm okay. You just caught me off guard."
Shiki stepped over the bag, putting it between the two of them as he caught his breath. A brief look of hurt crossed Hisui's face as she noticed the distance. Her fingers clutched at the briefcase, wrapping tighter across its surface.
"So you finally got it, huh?" Shiki asked, somewhat wryly. His voice lowered a little bit, chastising. "I still don't understand why you still insist on doing these things."
"I'm sorry." Hisui said, looking down instead of meeting his gaze. "You looked tired, so I didn't want you to carry these by yourself."
Shiki sighed, feeling like a heel.
They had been living as theoretical equals for months now, so why did they keep having situations like these? They weren't master and servant anymore. He hadn't even wanted her as a servant in the first place.
Shiki reached for Hisui, kicking the bag aside.
He just wanted-
She looked up, briefly flinching as she saw Shiki's hand come for her head.
Hisui.
The pair stood in heavy silence, Hisui fighting back the urge to wilt underneath his hand. Shiki could feel the slight spasms as his hands gripped her shoulder, sadly aware of the way she was acting beneath his touch.
"Sorry, I'm an idiot."
Hisui opened her mouth to venomously deny that, but Shiki silenced her with a shake of his head.
"Let's carry these things upstairs." Shiki diplomatically told her, making Hisui slowly nod. Once they had his things well in hand, both of the teenagers began to walk towards the staircase. "It was exhausting dealing with the family."
While it wasn't the world's smoothest way to begin a conversation, Hisui grasped onto the topic like a drowning man.
"It would be best to not speak badly about them, Shiki." Hisui retorted, thinking of the branch family in Nagano. The daughter of the family had sent her letters practically every week since Kohaku had passed away, the well meaning condolences and letters warming her heart after the incident.
Shiki glanced over to Hisui's neutral expression. He wasn't sure if she had even noticed how she had countered him.
"Hm, you're right, Hisui." Approval was in his voice. The two of them reached Shiki's room, entering it and beginning their work. A few minutes was really all it took for the two of them to finish up, but Shiki's suitcase remained closed.
Hisui glanced at Shiki, eyebrow raised questioningly.
"What did you do while I was gone?" Shiki missed it, taking a seat at the table in the corner of the room. He gestured for her to take a seat, it wasn't like they were going anywhere for now.
"I spoke with Tokie." Hisui moved to join him. Aware of his gaze on her, she looked a bit self aware, smoothing down her skirt over her legs as she sat down next to him.
Shiki hid his smile.
"Oh, how is she?" Shiki wondered, thinking about Doctor Jinan's daughter. The nurse's shifts were getting brutal, from what he last remembered.
"She's happy at work." Hisui smiled a little. She played with her hands a little bit as she looked around the room. "Tokie was telling me about the nursing program she completed."
"Oh?" Shiki murmured, gazing at Hisui in confusion. "Are there more people that are going to join the hospital from her school?"
"Well..." Hisui took a few moments to think about how to best respond. When she did, she looked at him straight in the eyes and asked her question without any hesitation. "Shiki, can I go to school? I want to get a nursing license."
Shiki's mouth dropped.
"What?"
Hisui took a moment to compose herself. "I think it isn't realistic for us to rely on Doctor Jinan all the time. All I could do when you fell last time was just bandage up your leg. My sister was able to do way more than that when you were bed ridden."
The rush of information was almost overwhelming. He knew that Hisui had been reading through Kohaku's things, but he hadn't thought she wanted to do this with her life. Worry and elation were in equal measure in his voice as Shiki finally spoke up, trying to voice his opinion.
"But, can't you learn from Doctor Jinan?"
Hisui shifted, looking uncomfortable. "No, I don't think he'd be very patient with me." There was something there that bothered Shiki, but he wasn't sure what. He made a mental note to talk to Jinan about it soon. "That's why I started asking Tokie about her nursing school."
Shiki had to admit that Tokie was pretty good, Jinan always was talking about her in happy tones.
"It's pretty sudden." Shiki admitted, part of him trying to work this revelation into his own plans.
"It is, but I want to do this."
Shiki stood up, making Hisui blink. Thinking he was leaving, she began to rise to follow him.
"Hold up, let me show you something first." Shiki brought his suitcase back over towards Hisui, who looked confused. Setting it down in front of her, he popped open the locks and took a step back.
Inside was a white schoolgirl outfit with a blue collar. Shiki silently gazed on as Hisui picked up the outfit, letting it unfold in her hands. Embroidered on the collar was an emblem of the Tohno family.
"What do you think?"
"Uhm, it... it's a nice uniform?" Hisui stammered. She skittishly looked between the outfit and Shiki's expectant face. "Y-yeah, w-why are you giving it to me, though?"
It really was too much, too soon!
"I'm going away soon." Shiki's words made Hisui's heart clench, making her stare at Shiki in surprise. Noticing her look, he quickly shook his head. "If you're alright with it, I've arranged for you to stay somewhere while I'm gone."
"That's..."
Shiki patiently waited, staying quiet for Hisui's sake. The young girl was biting down on her lip. Hisui looked at the outfit, repeatedly smoothing the creases on the uniform. She eventually managed to pull herself away, and spoke in a clearer voice.
"How long?" She finally asked.
"I don't know." Shiki admitted, not wanting to lie. "I have to find someone important that I used to know."
A request came to mind, but Hisui held back.
'Let me go with you.'
Hisui knew she couldn't speak it outloud. If she did, it was just undermining her own goal. While it had been serendipitous that she finally had an opportunity to prepare, she still felt hesitation.
Shiki saw through her facade right away.
"The extended family know how to reach me," He began. The boy reached for Hisui, the grateful girl leaning slightly against his touch. "If you need to contact me, talk to the headmaster. He'll be able to get us in touch."
"So, just consider it preparation." Shiki smiled at her. Hisui wasn't sure if she shared his enthusiasm. "For many things."
The rest of the evening had passed in mundane happiness. Hisui had taken out the garbage, once Shiki was done shredding the take out boxes to manageable sizes. They had talked at length about pointless things, topics far removed from the Tohno family or Hisui's pending move to the school.
For them, time would essentially be frozen as they'd just continue to live out their normal days, while they still could.
This wasn't the case for everyone else.
The full moon was casting a neutral, distant gaze down upon the campus.
"Do you know what I hate the most, Arima? Little snot nosed brats that don't know their place!" A pair of children ran through chest length grass. Behind them, the twinkling lights of civilization receded.
Miyako Arima barely managed to keep the eviscerated body in her arms. Blood and other things she really didn't want to think about dripped through her arms and onto her clothing. Up ahead were several abandoned buildings, the only thing that would probably keep her living through the night.
"Not so cocky now, are you?"
"Shut up, Mishima!" She yelled back at her senpai. "Why'd you do this to him? He never did anything to you!"
Mishima simply laughed, a deranged edge in his voice.
"I swear, you're not going to get away with this!"
"Oh, the thin blood can bark, can she? But can she back it up?"
Miyako finally caught her break. Out of the darkness came the remnants of a totaled car, possibly abandoned in the field years ago, going by its condition. Taking a risk, she swiftly bounced off its roof, propelling herself far ahead of her lumbering senior.
The steel crumpling from excessive force brought a wince to Miyako's expression.
'Of course, it's always the ones with better blood that run around like lunatics.'
In direct contrast, Nagoya, the boy she had managed to barely pull out of the jaws of death simply moaned. The extensive injuries throughout the pathetic first year's body merely gushed more bodily fluids onto Miyako. Nagoya should've died already, even for a demon blood his continued survival was something short of a miracle.
'About the only good thing about our bloodline, I suppose.' Miyako thought.
Behind her, Mishima bellowed like an enraged beast, and a rusted door came flying over the fleeing children's heads. Miyako was confused for a few seconds, but realization dawned on her. A brief smile crossed her features, the ghettos flying past them.
"Stand and fight, dammit!" Mishima roared.
"Biidah!" Miyako turned, and stuck her tongue out at the red faced senior. Her figure vanished in a burst of speed, leaping sideways into one of the countless alleys that made up the area.
He had lost them.
Mishima's distant screams of frustration were music to Miyako's ears.
"Stay here.."
The poor boy seemed to have fought his way back to consciousness, moaning gibberish back at her in return. Taking it as a confirmation of some sort, the middle schooler began to pull the closest things she could grab to cover the boy.
"I'll be back in a little bit, stay quiet until then, okay?" Miyako gently, but somewhat unnecessarily asked.
Once he was somewhat concealed by the refuse around them, she rose to her feet. Trash was brushed off her hands, a grimace the only sign of her discomfort with what she had to use to cover the first year. Miyako reached into her cellphone once she had exited the alley, ready to make a call.
"No need for that." A male spoke, and a stranger's hand latched onto hers.
Understandably surprised, Miyako did the only thing that came to her mind. She dropped in a split, and lashed out with a vicious punch. It was only through the grace of the man's own reflexes that had him pull her up high enough to only take the brutal blow to his torso. The bone rattling strike was enough for him to automatically release her.
Miyako scrambled back, on full alert.
"An ambulance," The man - wearing one of the arm bands of the student council, wheezed. It was Judai, a second year. "Is on its way, Arima."
A ghost of an awkward smile appeared on Miyako's face.
"Sorry." She murmured, blushing as she stood up. She weakly defended herself. "You surprised me."
"...as charming as ever." Judai had regained his breath, rubbing his stomach. The flush of pain on his cheeks receded, bringing with them a false air of politeness. He forced one of his trademark smiles towards Miyako. "And as much of a nosy pest, I take it."
Could probably charm a person into drinking poison.
Miyako said nothing to the first statement, but narrowed her eyes and made an observation. "If there was one on its way already... why didn't you step in before that kid was hurt?"
"We miscalculated. Apologies for involving you in one of these messy affairs again." Judai said, rolling his shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. He curiously looked past Miyako, and into the alley. "Is he your friend?"
"No." Miyako's answer was clipped. "But what Mishima was doing..."
Judai shook his head.
"It isn't up to you to pass judgement. I'll take care of things now. You can leave now, thank you."
Miyako venomously glared, but he simply ignored it. The man started walking towards the alley, ending their conversation. She was almost inclined to follow after him, but the man froze, snapping his fingers.
"Oh yes," Judai glanced back at her. "The headmaster wishes to speak to you."
Miyako froze, seeing his oily grin. Thinking it was a trick, she refused to show any expression.
"What about?"
"He had a message for you," The student council member snorted, looking at her a bit jealously. His council remained private on that issue, but the look told the story to Miyako. Outside contact was forbidden for the time the school was there. "From your brother...?"
Miyako was off like a bolt of lightning before he could even finish.
"Hmph, must be great to have an in with the Main House," Judai said, smile turning into something sinister. He turned to face the body of the student, voice turning slightly apathetic as he revealed the student's grievous wounds.
"What do you think? Is it just me, or isn't it terrible when people pull rank on others?"
Judai reached over and slightly nodded the unconscious boy's head.
"Oh! You agree?" He gasped, "We should be friends for life!"
The first year's head lulled uselessly to the side.
The last two residents of the Tohno Mansion stood side by side.
In front of them was a limo, the driver slowly putting away their extra luggage into the trunk. Behind them was a darkened building, empty of people.
"Are you ready?" Shiki asked, his question heavy with implications.
Heavy enough to make Hisui pause in thought.
"Yes," She replied, taking a hold of her suitcase. The dusty thing hadn't been used in years, and it felt awkward. "Are you?"
The question threw Shiki for a loop, causing him to laugh.
Hisui relaxed further - the laugh was reassuring, one of confidence.
"Of course," Shiki met her gaze with a happy expression. "My old teacher won't know what hit her, Hisui."
The girl seriously nodded, expecting as much. Once Shiki set his mind to it, there wasn't anything that could really stop him.
Both of them silently began to approach the car, seeing the driver getting close to finishing.
"Do you think I'm ready?" Hisui asked.
"Do you feel ready?"
"No." Butterflies danced in her stomach. "Not at all."
"Then you're more than ready." Shiki retorted, opening the door for her. "It's the confident ones that fail."
Hisui glanced at his earnest expression.
She got into the car.
"We're almost there, Master." The driver called back to them.
The grip on the door she was leaning on creaked. Hisui could feel Shiki's eyes on her once she began to tightly hold onto the door. Instead of choosing to acknowledge it, Hisui silently continued to focus on the school.
It rose over the rest of the buildings they were driving past, on top of the tallest hill that the town was famous for, and had a strange sort of aesthetic that Hisui couldn't place. Something primarily japanese, but it also had elements that reminded her of the Tohno Mansion.
"Noticed it?" Shiki asked, getting a nod from her. He was being strangely attentive to anything different with their surroundings. Then again, it had been several hours since they first got on this car. "Ishida lived at the mansion for a while, it seems. Liked it enough, but said he 'wanted to improve it.'"
"Lady Akiha knew him." Hisui murmured, glancing off to the side. At least knew him well enough not to declare him an threat, unlike several of the extended family. "They... got along. Reasonably well."
Shiki smirked.
The streets were rather narrow, the dirt paths intended for foot traffic. Their limo had to move slowly up the road to prevent any accidents. A few locals were even pointing towards their car once they left them in their wake.
Hisui nervously licked her teeth as she saw a few familiar uniforms amongst the crowds.
'Please don't see me.' She thought, squirming a bit deeper into her seat.
"Looks like some of your schoolmates live off campus." Shiki had noticed. Hisui resisted the urge to wince as the boy lifted himself a little to glance back at the students they had passed. She worried if the students could see them.
Hisui sunk down a little bit, drawing a strange look from Shiki.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She quickly answered.
Before he could say anything else, their car hit a bump in the road as it came to a sudden, causing Shiki to let out a muted grunt of pain as his head bounced against the roof of their car. The oranges Hisui had brought for her guide started rolling out of the bag she had bought them from - making her desperately scramble for them.
"What's going on up front?" Shiki grumbled, rubbing his head. He had been a little bit grumpy ever since they had entered the town.
"Sorry sir, we gotta wait a bit." The driver apologized. "The train is passing through."
Hisui glanced up towards the front, arms full of oranges. The driver was pointing ahead of them at a set of tracks that divided the road in half. At the moment it was carrying a rather large compartment full of students directly up to the top of the mountain.
"Funicular." Hisui corrected, drawing a curious glance from both Shiki and the driver. She ducked her head, putting the runaway fruit back into the grocery bag. "That's what it's called, I think? Kohaku showed it to me in a book."
The pictures of San Francisco had looked pretty, but Hisui didn't think Shiki could handle the thought of another city with as many hills as this town.
"Wish we could take that." Shiki whimsically mused, following the cab heading straight up the mountain. "We'd get there faster, that's for sure."
While Shiki was focused on their destination, Hisui spared another glance in the direction they had come from. The sharp drop down the side of the hill they were driving, along with a picturesque view of the countryside made Hisui's heart go out to Shiki. It wasn't going to be easy for him to go back the way they came, especially with how he was behaving on the way up.
The driver winced.
Hisui mentally wished the best for the poor driver.
"Well, the headmaster just wanted to make sure you both arrived safely."
"Yeah, yeah."
Hisui began to tie up the grocery bag, making sure they wouldn't spill out again. Seemed Shiki was still feeling antsy, since he immediately called her out. Hisui didn't particularly mind - it at least got some pressure off the poor driver.
"I'm not sure that kind of oranges would be best."
The statement made the girl frown.
"Why's that?"
Shiki seemed to be a bit self absorbed as he casually responded.
"They're not from the local market." He paused, thinking for a few moments. "I don't know, they just taste better."
Hisui silently agreed. The food really was fresher at the local stores. Anyone who had grown up on her sister's food could tell what was and wasn't good.
"I can find it cheaper at the supermarket." She countered. A surge of embarrassment briefly entered her voice. "It's...probably better if we save somewhere. Especially with how we eat, Shiki."
Hisui had other reasons she couldn't go back to those local stores.
"Figured they'd give us a discount." Shiki's sulky voice brought her back to the present. "Plus, we don't really have to worry about money, Hisui."
This line of discussion wasn't going to head anywhere.
Hisui decided to ask the question she had been trying unsuccessfully to get an answer to for their drive. "Shiki, who am I going to be meeting at the school, again?" She wondered, glancing up at him once she had finished tying her a knot.
"Mmm, well, it's someone I've known for a while."
Hisui blinked, finally getting a somewhat straightforward answer. She didn't even notice as she breathed out in relief.
The cabs eventually stopped coming, allowing their limo to move again. Its engine roared a little as they got onto the tracks. They were bumped about a little as the car drove over the rest of the tracks and got back onto the dirt roads. Shiki looked so sad that Hisui placed a comforting hand on his arm, drawing a queasy looking smile from him.
"It's almost over." She consoled him.
Unfortunately.
Dirt gave way to concrete a few miles away from the school, making the remainder of the trip easier on Shiki. They briefly lingered in front of a massive gate, woven with an image of the Tohno Family on the front of it. The gate guard merely gazed at their car before letting them go ahead, opening the gate electronically from within the office to the side of the road.
Once they were within the walls of the compound, the road began to widen. The trees and plants that had been practically clinging onto the limo's sides throughout their trip slowly began to recede.
Modern buildings and even an occasional car began to appear along their path.
Residents stood out on balconies on the side of their buildings, doing their laundry. Children spinning and draping themselves off the side of street lights. A massive wall of oriental, and other sort, of charms were plastered along the walls of a large shrine. A large plaza filled with students milling about.
Countless streets, each with as many buildings as the eye could see.
The Tohno Family had built a city up here.
And all roads led to their destination. The massive building sprawling ahead of them was the center piece. With a clocktower to cap it off, instilled both awe and terror in Hisui with its scale.
She wouldn't have a moment of respite.
Their car began to pull into a large, circular path in front of the school. The bottom of Hisui's stomach fell the closer they approached. Several large doors were along the front of the building, from which students were entering and exiting. Pillars were supporting an awning that extended out from the front of the building, keeping the majority of where they would be stopping shaded from the elements.
"Welcome to Miyamori Private Academy." The driver announced, easing their car alongside a large set of stairs leading upwards to the entrances. There were people already waiting, moving towards the trunk of the car once their limo was no longer moving.
Hisui's involuntarily trembled.
"Shiki..." She began.
The named boy looked away from where their driver was exiting the vehicle. "What is... it?" His voice trailed off as he caught the way Hisui was holding herself in check. She found herself the recipient of sudden embrace.
"Let it out." Shiki advised.
Hisui nodded, breath hitching in near hyperventilation as her body's shook in his hold.
"Breath, Hisui."
Her out of control breath slowly, agonizingly began to even out. Fortunately, the staff was discrete enough not to deliberately ignore them. The thought of anyone else not sharing that same discretion brought another full body shudder, and a renewal of her hyperventilation.
Shiki simply reaffirmed his last two suggestions.
Minutes passed.
The enormity of what Hisui had decide to do had finally crushed her. She could feel her heart throbbing wildly in her chest. Hisui's reflection showed her face was completely flushed, and it looked like it was going to swell if she stayed distressed for much longer.
"I-I w-want to g-go...!" Hisui nearly sobbed, teeth painfully chattering. Why had she been so stupid? A look outside the window showed a sea of disinterested face, occasionally broken up by a solitary person or two that curiously inspected them.
Which only served to feed into her mounting stress.
Just as it was about to peak-
"You said that you hoped to pursue a degree."
Her responding nod was slow.
"If you're serious about it, you have to start on this path."
Hisui briefly pictured the mansion in her mind. Her thoughts drifted to the shrine in the guest house. An irrational, irritating force built in her heart. She tightened her hold on Shiki, and shook her head.
Doctor Jinan's words came to mind.
...no.
She could do this. She had to. There wasn't any other choice.
"-I'm never going to pressure you to do something you don't want to do." Shiki had been speaking all this time, Hisui finally noticed. "Just say the word, and we're gone. Do you want to-?"
"...no."
"Trust me, then." Shiki spoke into her ear. His hand, which ran up and down her back soothingly this whole time, stopped.
What a total reversal from a year ago.
"We... didn't even need a door this time." Hisui weakly joked, nodding into his shoulder. "Of course. I'll trust you forever, Shiki."
Hisui immediately nodded into his shoulder, leaning more against his body. That wasn't even a question for her.
The sound of the door opening echoed in her ears with a note of finality.
Hisui felt a hand on her cheek, delicately lifting her face from where it was pressed against Shiki's shoulder.
"Hi again." Shiki greeted.
Hisui smiled.
The light outside was dazzling, but not as much as Shiki's gentle expression. She was briefly lost in his eyes, and by the time she came out of it, she noticed that she was standing side by side with him.
Hisui's hand sought out Shiki's hand.
"Let's go." Hisui said.
Their expressions lost the last bits of hesitation. Together, Hisui and Shiki began to ascend the steps.
"They're just like me." Hisui murmured beneath her breath, taking solice from the fact.
"Hm?"
Hisui shook her head, and offered a tiny smile at Shiki.
Half way up their ascension, they noticed a few elevated platforms above them. While most of them were full with steel tables and seats, used at the moment by hungry or studious students, one of them was curiously empty.
"Get back here!" A sudden shout came from above, attracting Hisui and Shiki's gaze. Several balconies were suited along the front of the building. Behind the railings were what appeared to be hallways. "Tell me why you moved tha- oh crap, don't you dare!"
A brown and blue blur went over the balcony edge, their path clearly the spot next to them. Shiki quickly pulled Hisui back, and the latter didn't even get a chance to scream as the figure touched down in a textbook gymnastic landing.
Hisui boggled.
The girl that stood before her and Shiki was slightly awkward looking, a bit too gangly in the limbs. In time, she'd definitely grow into them, but the energy practically pouring off her was intoxicating.
"Arima Miyako has arrived!" The brunette declared, lowering her arms to flash the two a bright, eager smile and a thumbs up.
Angry bellows followed from an adult that had been upstairs, too garbled with frustration to really be able to be understood. The students that briefly passed by offered either sarcastic applause, or were too busy glancing upwards with smiles uncomfortably close towards the sadistic side of things.
Much like how Akiha used to smile, come to think of it.
"H-hello?" Hisui shakily offered. At the same time, Shiki waved up at the balconies. Whatever he did immediately shut up the enraged teacher, since their bellows were silenced very quickly. For Hisui's own benefit, she decided to not gaze upwards right now. The day had gone surreal enough on her.
"Helloooo, there!" Miyako responded, looking as pleased as a puppy. At her side, Shiki snorted, observing everything with warm eyes. That drew the younger girl's attention over towards him. "Long time no see, big brother!"
Hisui blinked, glancing over at Shiki.
His grin widened in answer.
Miyako crouched, seemingly stretching out her legs. For a moment, a black cloth poked its way out of her skirt's pocket, briefly caught by Hisui's eyes. Aware of the older girl's gaze, Miyako blinked and looked down.
Her smile briefly vanished.
She shoved it back into her pocket, somewhat harshly, and turned towards the two with a renewed smile.
"Reporting for my mission, sir!" Miyako saluted towards Shiki. "I am ready and willing to be big sister Hisui's roommate, sir!"
The poleaxed look on Hisui's expression brought a somewhat impish look look to the girl's face.
"At ease." Shiki said, chuckling at the goings on.
"Too soon?" Miyako wondered, quirking her head.
"I think you broke her." Shiki observed, not once releasing his hold on Hisui's hand. Behind them, the school continued to march to its own beat, ignoring the drama of three tiny people amongst the crowds.
Yet amongst the crowd, one person intently studied the trio.
Just waiting for his moment to strike