Journal Entry September 30th, 2092
The invasion ended, things finally calmed down as reconstruction is on the way. However, the explosion, which had the power equal to the power of a WMD and easily destroyed the remain of the Great Asian Union Fleet, is not something can be forgotten easily. Therefore, I began my trip to London or more precisely, the Clock Tower, in order to find the answer for my questions.
Why didn't the Mage's Association act when magecraft became widely known? Just how did things get out of control like this?
While I was tempted to just pop in with a small help of the Second, I decided to use the normal doorway in the end so that I could check how tight the Clock Tower's security was. However, my plan met a big obstacle: The British Museum had been destroyed very long ago back in the World War Three in 2046 and rebuilt in 2066. I spent 2 days to look into every single corner of the new museum yet I couldn't find anything that seemed like secret pathway or might let me access the underground. Even stranger, I couldn't access to any other emergency doorways around the museum, as if all of them were blocked yet he sensed no bounded field or any kind of security magecraft. Somethings wasn't right.
Without any other choice, I warped in the underground facilities only to find another big surprise.
Dark and empty.
Except for the 'Bottom of the Bridge' secret area, which was used to keep the designated magi away, still sealed tightly shut without any sign of forced entry, the whole place was bloody empty. From the most access places to the places only the upper wankers could access, there was no sign of people or dead people, no magecraft related object or even magecraft non-related object! Absolutely nothing! As if the place had been cleaned thoroughly to erase all the evident!
Just what happened? Did the Clock Tower move away? If that's the case why left? Why not destroying the place after living? And what about the sealing designated magi too?
My first day to seek answer yet all I got were more questions...
Chapter 2:
After two hours of maintaining the plants in the school, he could finally have a rest. Putting the rake to his side, he took out a flask and took a small swig. A small sip of Calvados with its trademark apple aroma in the morning could do wonder in erasing mild tiredness. Turning his eyes toward the clear blue sky with a few sheep-liked cloud floating lazily without a care, he let out a contend sigh as he felt the morning wind lingered on his face while his ears continued enjoying the great melody coming from his dear music player.
Boku wa nande konna chi ni ashi tsukezu furafura shiteru no/ Why do I continue to wander, not sticking to any one place for long, you ask?
Ie no naka nekotachi dake machi tsuzukete iru/ The only ones waiting for me back home are those cats of mine
Sou da yatto mietekitazo tabi ni deru riyuu ga hora/ At last, the very reason I set out on my journey has come into view
Kimi ni aeru nara shiawase/ If I can meet you like this, that's all the happiness I need
Mou nido to iwanai/ I don't have to say it again
Ah, this was bliss, though he had to disagree with the 'those cats' part of the song since he had no cat but an unsightly monstrous wolf in the form of a cute white fluffy animal...
"Fou!" came the yip beside him before Primy returned to munching his dumpling. Yeah yeah, heard you there Primy, no need to be offended like that since it was the truth in its finest...
Anyway, better to enjoy this peaceful moment as much as he could, given that later today, a new school year would start and the greenhorn 'magician' would come here to join the First High. Thus he couldn't just have his music played aloud at anytime he wanted when he was working.
Damn.
And speaking about music... FOR THE LOVE OF ROOT, WHAT THE HELL HAD THOSE WANKERS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY HAD DONE IN A WHOLE CENTURY?! WHAT WAS THIS SOULLESS ATROCITY THAT THEY CALLED MUSIC?! PLEASE DON'T TELL HIM THOSE BASTARDS HAD BEEN TRYING TO COMBINE MUSIC AND 'MAGIC' INTO 'MUGIC'?! Don't get him wrong, for he knew everything would have to change sooner or later but hell, changing just for the sake of changing was not a nice thing...
Luckily for him, the sound of next song was more than enough to calm him down as he let the nostalgic sensation engulf him.
We passed upon the stair
We spoke of was and when
Although I wasn't there
He said I was his friend
Which came as a surprise
I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone
A long long time ago
Taking out his rien pipe, he put it between his lips as his finger started moving along the melody. Even though he had quitted smoking a long time ago, he still kept his rien pipe mostly because he have become quite attached to it and just couldn't part away with it.
Oh no, not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
After all... memories did help people grieve.
With the man who sold the world.
Walking in a relaxed pace, Honami let out a tired sigh as her bento box was held in her right hand. While she could eat inside the cafeteria or the teacher rooms, she preferred to eat outside so that she could enjoy the fresh air outside. However, it took her quite a while until she finally found an empty bench and sat down. Being a teacher, even though it was just her guise so that she could stay near the Shiba siblings in order to continue her duty as Guardian , was much harder than she had anticipated. However, this was just her first day and she still enjoyed her job very much. And it seemed both the siblings were doing just fine, though she hoped Miyuki could control herself whenever someone insulted her brother.
Time sure flew fast, she thought wistfully.
Three years ago, just when she had thought she would have to forfeit her second chance in life to maintain the defense for Tatsuya, the shattering sound of the sapphire in her pocket had reached her ears before his encouraging voice had echoed in her mind again, giving her the power and the drive to endure.
'... Live... to break free of those chains and choose your own way to live, okay?'
Such simple words, yet they gave her the power to change her life. If it hadn't been for those words (along with some help from Miya-sama), she would have been sent to a research institute to be studied how she, who was just a modified magician genetically constructed in at a research institute, had been able to survive after continuously using magic in such long time since all the tests which had been conducted by the Yotsuba on Miyuki's and Miya-sama's sapphires showing that they were just normal jewels without any kind of magical property. Despite that, her intuition knew the sapphire was what had saved her life back then and she knew that both Miya-sama and Miyuki knew that too.
And speaking of Miyuki, sometimes Honami was really jealous with the younger girl since Miyuki was the one who kept her Hero-sama's blazer. If only...
"Huh. Haven't seen your face around here."
A new voice snapped Honami out of her thought as she immediately became on high alert. How could someone easily approach her without being noticed by her like that?
"Are you a new instructor?" asked the newcomer, a black hair young man about her age in gardener clothes with some dirt sticking here and there, a rake was in his right hand while on his shoulder was a strange white animal that nearly made her blush. It looked really cute after all.
"Ah yes. This is my first day working at this school." Honami gave the young gardener a friendly smile but internally, the wariness still remained. She was a Guardian yet she couldn't detect him coming. Just who was this person? "I'm Sakurai Honami. And you're..."
And more importantly, why did she feel a strange sense of familiarity from this person as well as his voice? Had she met him before?
"Watarimono Yuuto, though Watari, Yuuto or 'gardener' is just fine." The gardener chuckled mirthfully "One more teacher won't help solving the issue much but any help is still better than nothing I guess..."
"Fou!" yipped the animal on his shoulder while Honami mentally frowned. Issue? What did he mean by that?
"Ah yes, and this cheeky furball is Primy." The strange animal held his nose up proudly before it jumped down next to her and gave her bento box a weird yet cute look.
"Fou!" yipped Primy almost playfully as he/she stood on her hind legs, clearly was asking for food. The action made Honami giggled in amusement as she could feel the blush was forming on her face. This little creature was just too adorable!
"Okay that's enough, you little cheeky bastard. You've already had your meal." Shaking his head slightly, Yuuto picked Primy up back to his shoulder right before she could give Primy something, which earned him an angry 'Fou!' "Anyway, I have other businesses to attend so I will take my leave. See you later, Sakurai-san."
"Likewise, Watari-san"
With a small nod, the young gardener left as Honami's gaze was still on him until until he was out of sight.
Just what was this feeling?
Aaaaahhhh! Some cider mixed with bourbon, angostura bitters, brown sugar and he had a splendid drink served with ice for a relaxing night. If only the clear night sky like tonight had had more stars shining, things would have been perfect.
Putting his cup to the side after taking another sip, he leaned back into his seat and relaxed. He must admitted that he had been surprised that no major incident had occurred between those 'Course 1' and 'Course 2'. Granted, it had been only the first day of the new school year but with what he had seen back when he had visited the cafeteria for a bite, any normal person would assume a fight would break out sooner or later yet there had been none. To be honest, he found it was rather hilarious and ironic (if not outright stupid) that the initial causes of the discrimination were the lack of availability of instructors and the misconception that no one bothered to clarify/ fix. And while he understood the reason the school split the students like that, he couldn't agree with it since anyone with half-competent mind could easily see this method would only bring more harm in the long run...
... He guessed he had put too much faith in those lazy egghead instructors. And here he had thought the Clock Tower had done worse.
"Cheer." He downed the rest of his drink before standing up. Perhaps he should sharpen his combat skill sometimes later since he did have some interesting theories to test after all. Who knew? Maybe he could use them to fix the trees much more faster if his theories were proven corrected.
And for the place to sharpen his skill... Now that reminded him, perhaps he should summon someone to be his companion as well as sparring partner? Primy was cool as his best buddy but a human-language speakable companion was still preferable. But who... Hmmm...
Bah, he would thought about it later.
Another uneventful workday ended, he thought plainly before finishing the remaining Calvados in his flask. He needed to place a pre-order soon to resupply his apple brandy cache even though he still had enough for another two months. The Calvados was very rare in this time and hell, sometimes having money didn't mean he could easily get his hand on them.
Hora datte Happy Halloween/ Hey 'cause it's Happy Halloween,
Tokei mo mawaru tick-tack/ the clock too continues to spin, tick-tack
Acchi mo kocchi mo trick or treat/ trick or treat here there and everywhere,
Memokuramu panpukinpai/ pumpkin pies that dazzle the eye
After making sure that everything in the gardening shed was in right place, he took a last look at the mirror before reaching for his music player while Primy quickly jumped up on his left shoulder. Some would surely consider him as a weirdo if they knew him listening to a song about Halloween in April but to be frank, he did't give a damn. Those rapper wannabe of this time had much to learn if they even wanted to reach the level of an indie old rappers like this Hashiyan fellow back then.
Datte Happy Halloween/ 'Cause it's Happy Halloween,
Dakara yofukashi shichau janai/ so why not-let's stay up late
Tsukareta jakku mo nenai wa asa made/ The tired Jack won't sleep either all until morning
Letting out a sigh, he stopped the music before got out of the shed and locked it. Even though this was the time the school ended, it didn't mean he could play it out loud. What a shame.
On a side note, it seemed the 'Course 2' still managed to keep their cool even though the discrimination had become more notable. However, if those lads of Public Morals Commitee didn't step up their effort soon, it would be the matter of times until things became ugly...
"Fou!" yipped Primy as he pointed his paw toward the front gate where a commotion was happening with one of the Bloom holding what seemed like a CAD with she shape of a fucking gun. Ah, fuck his luck.
"I do not acknowledge a weed like you, Shiba Tatsuya!" said the 'bloom' wanker while pointing his CAD at a 'course 2' student. While he didn't know the whole story behind this, the tone of this asshole along with the fact the wanker was the one pointing his CAD were enough to tell who he should side with. "If you want to know..."
"Ma, ma, ma." The attention quickly turned to him thanked to his chide as he could see quite a number of blushing face. Ah, the power of Primy's cuteness. "Pointing weapon at other's face for no reason is not exactly a polite gesture you know?"
"And who the hell do you think you are?" a slight increase in his volume and the wanker would basically scream at him. And damn, this motherfucker had an ugly face when he was enraged "I am Morisaki Shun of the Morisaki Family, one of the Hundred Families!"
Oh wow, what a big shot this wanker was, he thought sarcastically.
"Who? Me? Just an ordinary gardener of this school who happens to be older than you, even if slightly.." He chuckled with a hint of humor in his eyes. "Regardless of your family, you're still on the schoolground and you still have to follow the school rules. Unless you want to have a cup of tea with those lads from Public Morals Commitee, lower your CAD is a much better option don't you agree?"
After a few seconds of silence, the wanker named Shun let out an irritating huff before walking away with his underlings following like a bunch of loyal dogs. Smart choice, he thought. Though he couldn't deny that he had hoped the wanker would do something stupid so that he could have some fun. Gradation Air or also known as Projection was very fun to use whenever he needed to troll or scare the shit out of his opponent.
"Thank you for your help, gardener-san." Said the unnaturally beautiful black hair girl in gratitude with a bow, which gave him a kick back to reality. And also, had he met her before? She seemed kinda familiar...
Nah, probably not. Maybe it was just his imagination.
"No need to thank me." He waved his hand dismissively before putting his rien pipe back on his lips "A piece of advice: just ignore those wankers like that. The meowing cat can't get the rat (*) after all."
"Thank you for your wise words. And may I ask what 's your name?" said the male student who he assumed was Shiba Tatsuya... Hmm, how intrigue...
"Watarimono Yuuto, though 'Watari', 'Yuuto' or 'gardener' is just fine. Whichever you prefer." Came his nonchalant reply "If there's nothing else, see you around."
Now where did he park his baby...
"Please wait, Watari-san!"
"Yes?" he turned back to the black hair girl, whose gaze had a mixed expression that he couldn't read
"I'm Shiba Miyuki" he tilted his head slightly. Another Shiba? Siblings perhap? "... Have we ever... met before?... You seems familiar..."
Wow, didn't expect she would feel the same, he chuckled mentally.
"... Perhaps." He shrugged before turning back. Seeing each other by chance on the street was a very likely case.
After all, 'meet' and 'know' were two entirely different thing.
(Chapter end)
Author's note: (*): it basically is the same as 'Empty vessel makes most sound'. Anyway, I honestly didn't expect the first chapter of this fic would gain attention quicker comparing to my other fanfics. Also, suggestions for 'companion' are always welcomed, as long as it will be one only. Finally, please read and review!
