Chapter 2: Small Revelations and Suspicious Youngsters
European history was truly fascinating. Mitsuru could not understand why her classmates were still bored out of their wits despite having a professor the opposite of boring. Who wouldn't be intrigued by a land ruled by monarchs, riddled with power struggles and war, and the beauty of the historical churches, castles and other infrastructures? The auburn-haired college student was certainly intrigued by this and could not help but gaze and listen in wonder as their young professor passionately talked about the influential artists from the Renaissance period.
"Sensei," a student raised his hand and called the professor's attention. "You're talking about all these paintings, sculptures and buildings, but it's kind of hard for us not so worldly ones to imagine."
The blue-haired woman blinked and had a blank look on her face. "Huh? Oh! Sorry kids," she apologized, grinning. "I got ahead of myself because of my excitement." She very much resembled a kid. "I brought an LCD projector and a laptop to show you pictures and a few videos." She began to set up the equipment on her desk. "You'll have to bear with it though," Skye warned. "A lot of the pictures and videos," she paused. "Well let's just say you'll be seeing a lot of your professor."
Mitsuru chuckled along with her classmates and leaned forward as the first few pictures came onto the screen.
"This is Canterbury Cathedral," Skye gestured at the picture. "The area near the altar is a sacred place. Could any of you guess why it's considered holy?"
"Because people pray there?" a male student joked and laughed along with his classmates.
"You know what? You're partly correct." Skye showed another picture, this time it was a close up picture of the altar. "An innocent and morally upright man by the name of Thomas Becket was murdered here by knights while he was deep in prayer." She showed another angle of the altar.
"That's cool!" the same male student commented.
Skye smiled. "It is rather cool because the murderers did a blasphemous act by killing in a holy place," she explained. "But there is an even greater sin committed."
"They could not get rid of the blood stains on the floor?" another student tried, which got a laugh from the class.
Skye shook her head and leaned against the wall of the room. "Who has the power to command knights?" She looked around for a volunteer. "Anyone? Kirijo-san, you seem like you may know the answer."
Mitsuru nodded. "Knights directly fall under command of the ruler," she told both her class and professor. "So that would be the monarchs."
"Exactly!" Skye nodded her head in approval.
A student raised her hand. "So that means, the king ordered his knights to kill the man?"
Skye shook her head and flashed the next picture of two men. "The king didn't order his knights to kill the man."
"Then what happened then?" the girl asked in confusion.
Skye smiled knowingly. "What if I told you that the king and Thomas Becket were long time friends?" She let the students murmur to each other. "Before the King Henry II was crowned, he wanted his dear friend to ascend to the position of archbishop of Canterbury while he became the king," she explained. "During that time, the church also held a lot of power along with the ruling monarchy. Monarchs would often try to establish connections with the church so that they could broaden their influence. This particular king's line of thinking was exactly the same and having his own friend holding a high position in the church would greatly benefit his reign." She showed them a couple of other pictures of the men. "What he didn't expect was his friend's refusal to let the king govern his affairs if he did become archbishop because it was against his beliefs. So there was a fight between them."
"But it still doesn't make sense that the king didn't order his knights to kill his friend! He was angry at him right?" another student pointed out. It was clear that the class was now truly interested.
"It is rather confusing if you think about it," Skye admitted. "Can anyone speculate what led to the murder then?" She hid an amused smile as she looked at the scrunched faces of her students.
"Perhaps there was a miscommunication?" Mitsuru hypothesized quietly.
"Correct Kirijo-san," Skye commended the auburn-haired student, hearing the other students whisper admiration and praise for Mitsuru. "Once the king was officially ruler and the distance between him and Thomas Becket was greater, he expressed his overburdened feelings about his friend in the presence of his knights." She motioned at Mitsuru. "Why don't you continue, Kirijo-san?"
Mitsuru straightened in her seat. "Perhaps the knights misunderstood their king and decided to do away with their liege's problem. So even if there wasn't a clear and formal order, the knights travelled to Canterbury and murdered his friend."
Skye smiled. "And that is why that altar is sacred. I'd like to add that because of that event, the king's friend was canonized eventually."
"What happened to the king? Did his friend's death benefit him?"
The blue-haired professor shook her head. "On the contrary, he became distraught upon finding out about the heinous crime of his knights. He may have been angry but not enough to actually take his friend's life," she told the now sober class. "To ease his guilt and repent for his sin, the king travelled to Canterbury Cathedral, specifically to Thomas Becket's tomb and begged to receive a physically punishing penance. No clear account states how he was punished but some theorists say that he was flogged." She showed a picture of the tomb. "The journey of the king Henry II to Canterbury is still done today. It's a popular pilgrimage in England done by all sorts of people."
"Did you do the pilgrimage too sensei?" a student from the back of the room asked.
"I sure did," Skye replied, pressing a button on her laptop and showing a series of pictures of a road. Some of the pictures showed a younger looking Skye travelling down a rural dirt road with a group of people. "It was..." she paused, looking serious for a moment. "A humbling experience," she continued. She glanced at her watch just as the school bell tolled, signalling the end of the class. "We'll continue our discussion on another day." She dismissed the class and began to pack the equipment as the students left the room. She was about to leave the room when she noticed that she had a student waiting for her. "Kirijo-san," she greeted the girl. "Did you stay behind to clarify something?"
The auburn-haired girl shook her head, her hair moving away to reveal the usually hidden crimson orb. "I just wanted to say that I have never attended such a class like yours."
Skye frowned. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Mitsuru grinned up at the woman who was three inches taller than her. "It's a good thing sensei," she explained. "Our former professor in this subject was too stiff and he mostly relied on text." She could not stop herself from making a face. "I didn't mind his style of teaching but my classmates disapproval of him would often get us in trouble."
"I'm curious," Skye said, grabbing her laptop and the LCD projector. "What kind of trouble would you get into?"
"Oh the usual pop quizzes and long papers to be submitted the next day," Mitsuru replied, following her professor out of the room. "The worse that happened was a classmate of mine being called to the front and was asked to recite the Magna Carta." She smirked and hurriedly covered it with her hand. "Of course our former professor would pick just the student who would stammer his way through the report."
The dark blue-haired professor laughed. "Well you won't have to worry about that in my class," she assured her student. "The way some professors go, it would seem like terrorizing their students is a favourite past time." The two of them stepped out of the building to see a sleek black car coming towards them. "I had my fair share of those kinds of professors when I was still a university student," she explained then grinned. "Although it was not always serious work for me." There was a wicked glint in her emerald green eyes.
"Your life just seems so interesting," Mitsuru pointed out just as her car pulled up beside them. "I wish I could ask more, but I must go." She bowed to her sensei and proceeded to board the car when she hesitated. "Sensei," she said, surprised to hear herself being shy. "My friends and I are going out this Saturday. It's a holiday," she hurriedly added. "If you're not busy, would you like to come with us? They wanted to meet you when I told them about you." Somehow she felt as embarrassed as a young girl who was asking a boy out on a date. The only thing that kept her at her usual formal self was the kind smile on Skye's face.
"I'd love to go and meet your friends," the young professor said. "But I've already made plans on that day," she continued, regret evident in her voice. "Perhaps another time, Kirijo-san?"
"I'll take your word on that, sensei." She bowed once more then got into the car.
"Where to Kirijo-san?" the driver asked. "To your apartment?"
Mitsuru shook her head. "Take me to the Kirijo group's main office," she redirected the chauffeur. "I've been called to handle some very pressing matters."
"As you wish, Kirijo-san."
The end of Friday's classes came rather quickly. Mitsuru breezed through her first few classes and joined a crowd of eager students on their way to the last class for the day. They entered the room to find the laptop and LCD projector set up already. Their professor was leaning her forearms on the windowsill, looking out of the opened window. Mitsuru's classmates cheerfully greeted the older woman and went to their respective seats. None of the students except for Mitsuru seemed to notice that there was something wrong with their sensei. Usually, Skye would greet back her students and would immediately jump to her lesson for the day. Today, the green-eyed woman merely smiled at her them and took a few more minutes looking out the window before she walked back to the desk to start today's lesson.
Mitsuru was distracted at the barely noticeable change in the older woman. She could not help but wonder what had happened as she pretended that everything was all right. Her classmates still enjoyed that day's class and reluctantly left the room when the school bell rung. The auburn-haired student purposely lagged behind again so that she could talk to her professor. "Sensei," she approached, trying not to sound worried.
"Hmmm?" Skye looked up, surprised to see Mitsuru still there. "What is it Kirijo-san?" The smile on her face was easily tight and tired.
Tucking her hair behind an ear, Mitsuru asked, "Are you alright? Something doesn't feel right about you."
The look on Skye's face was indescribable. It was a mixture of shock, perplexity and maybe even anger. Mitsuru was starting to regret that it was a wrong move for her to ask, but her professor's face visibly softened and looked sadly at her.
"I was thinking that none of you would notice my change in attitude," Skye explained, running a careless hand through her hair. "I was wrong then since you did notice." She let out a long sigh. "I'm alright, Kirijo-san," she told the younger woman with a worn smile. "I've had to handle some serious matters while remembering and honouring my deceased mother today." She went back to looking out the window. "I probably won't have the time to even visit her grave," she admitted, sullen. "That's why I was acting strangely a while back."
Mitsuru felt genuinely sorry. She had recently felt the loss of a parent, but it probably wasn't as great compared to Skye. She did not share such a close relationship with her father, but she could empathize with the blue-haired woman.
Skye caught the look of worry in her student's eyes. "Kirijo-san, please don't worry about me. I'll be alright."
"I'll try not to, sensei," Mitsuru replied, she walked to the door and glanced back at her professor.
"Kirijo," Skye warned, a smile still on her face. "I'll seriously be alright so go on ahead already."
Mitsuru's face flushed when she realized what she was doing. She bowed silently then slid the door open and stepped outside. Turning around to slide the door close, she spotted Skye's saddened face and with a soft sigh shut the door.
Saturday morning arrived and Mitsuru had just arrived at a restaurant along the coast. Yukari had informed her the other night that they were going to eat at the restaurant Junpei had worked in during the summer. Their loud friend highly commended the restaurant and if not for Akihiko who had eaten there in the past, they would have settled to eat along Iwatodai station.
Since Mitsuru had no power on how fast her temporary chauffeur would get her to the agreed place, she was ten minutes early. Rather than making the chauffeur wait, she sent him back and decided to wait around until her friends arrived. Five minutes of walking around eventually bored the redhead, so she chose to lean against the wall of the restaurant close to one corner. She was wearing her a common non-school outfit of comfortable jeans, a simple shirt and her favourite leather jacket over it.
"How are you?" a voice from around the corner asked faintly. Mitsuru guessed it was coming from the outdoor dining area of the restaurant.
"I should be the one asking that," another voice sounded. "It's been twelve years after all since you were last here, Skye."
Mitsuru's ears perked upon hearing the name of her professor. She carefully peeked around the corner and it was indeed her European History professor who was talking. The blue-haired woman was seated at a table and facing the direction where Mitsuru was hiding. Skye's companion was another woman with chocolate brown hair, but she could only see her back. She hid herself from view and continued to listen on the conversation.
"Both of us have the right to ask that, Miyuki," Skye's voice said a few feet away.
The woman called Miyuki sounded exasperated when she replied. "You're still as nonchalant as ever, but it's obvious that you've been depressed lately." She paused. "What's wrong? Is it because you weren't able to visit your mother's grave yesterday?"
Mitsuru heard a faint sigh from her professor. "That's part of it, but there was something else."
There was silence for a few seconds before Miyuki spoke. "It's your father isn't it? Has it gotten worse?"
"We got the results yesterday morning and it's positive that the tumour in his lungs is cancerous. He's been getting tired easily but he still works like a madman."
"Don't you tell him to let up a bit?"
Mitsuru heard her professor snort. "My father? He wouldn't let go of his tools even if he knew he was going to die tomorrow!"
"Sounds just like your old man," Miyuki chuckled. "What's the problem then with him?"
"He refuses to get treatment," came the somber reply. "He doesn't have enough money and he knows that I don't too."
"But what about your mother's-" Miyuki tried.
"I won't Miyuki," Skye interrupted. "Absolutely not!"
"But!"
Mitsuru strained to hear the rest of the conversation, but jumped in surprise when she heard someone shouting her name.
"Hoy! Mitsuru-senpai!" a girl's voice called from afar.
Mitsuru hurriedly motioned with her hands to get Yukari to keep quiet. She was leading a group composed of herself, Junpei, Fuuka, Ken, Aigis and Akihiko. They were all dressed in casual attire, most wearing jackets and coats because of that day's wind-chill factor.
"Yo! Mitsuru-senpai! Why are you standing behind that wall?" Junpei yelled enthusiastically, making Mitsuru drop her head in embarrassment.
"Good afternoon, Kirijo-san," Skye's voice sounded close to her.
Mitsuru looked to the right and stared into emerald green eyes. "Sensei," she greeted weakly, feeling really embarrassed from being found out.
"This is quite an unusual place you picked to wait for your friends." Her eyes flicked towards the group of students approaching them. "Hear anything interesting lately?" The smile was there, but there was an unreadable expression in her eyes. All of a sudden, her head jerked down and she let out a yelp.
"It's not nice to pick on kids, Skye," the woman named Miyuki scolded her friend after bonking her on the head with a fist. "I'm sure it was just an accident that she overheard our conversation." She smiled at the still embarrassed Mitsuru. "Don't worry! Skye here isn't angry. She just has this bad habit of teasing people she likes."
Mitsuru opened her mouth, still uncertain of what she was going to say. Just then, her friends surrounded her and curiously looked at the two older women with their auburn-haired friend. She made up her mind to apologize to Skye after introducing her friends to them, when Yukari pointed at the chocolate brown-haired woman.
"Miyuki-sensei? What are you doing here?" Yukari questioned. "You're friends with Mitsuru-senpai's professor?"
Skye looked just as confused herself. "Miyuki, You didn't tell me that you were a teacher," she told her friend with an annoyed look on her face. "This has become quite a small world."
"Yukari?" Mitsuru pressed the high school senior to explain.
Yukari took a deep breath and stuffed her hands into her pockets. "Miyuki-sensei applied recently for a teaching job at Gekkoukan high school. She teaches algebra and she was just recently tasked to coach the archery club and team."
Skye scowled at her childhood friend. "You never really looked like the type of person to teach, Miyuki-chan," she told her friend. "You did like math a lot and you were part of the archery team back when we were still elementary students, but I never would have guessed that you would have gone back to school to teach."
Miyuki ignored her friend and began to introduce herself and Skye. "I'm Miyuki Hyuga and as Yukari already said, I'm an Algebra teacher at Gekkoukan high school and I also coach the archery team. This here," she stuck her thumb out at the still scowling Skye. "Is Skye Sagara, a professor at Sora University who is teaching European History," she continued.
Mitsuru cleared her throat and got the attention of the group. "Perhaps it would be better if we all sat down and continued this talk while we eat and drink?" she suggested, gesturing at the host of the restaurant standing nearby to seat them at a table. She glanced at her professor and noticed that scowl was still there. Hoping that an apology would ease the scowl away, Mitsuru led the group inside the restaurant where the waiters pushed two tables together to fit their large group.
"Hey Mitsuru-senpai!" Yukari whispered to the former S.E.E.S. leader. "Skye-sensei really looks young! How old did you say she was?"
"She's twenty-four years old, Yukari," Mitsuru whispered back, watching her professor converse with her childhood friend on the other end of the table.
Akihiko leaned around Yukari. "Mitsuru what did you do?" he asked in a hushed voice. "It looks like your professor is a bit annoyed."
The redhead cheeks flushed into a shade of red almost as red as her own hair. "I... I accidentally eavesdropped on her conversation with Hyuga-san," she admitted. "She would not have found out if not for two certain people." She glared at Yukari and Junpei who sat adjacent to her.
"It wasn't our fault in the first place, Mitsuru-senpai!" Junpei hissed back. "You were the one who eavesdropped!" he pointed out then cowered at the sudden cold look that appeared on the former student council president's face.
"You just earned yourself an execution, Junpei," Mitsuru smiled sweetly at the young man, who turned pale and gulped hard.
"Hey you three!" Miyuki called from the end of the table. "Stop fighting and let's just order some food to eat." She signalled a waiter to pass out menus and waited as he took down their orders.
"Miyuki-sensei," Yukari called. "How did you meet Skye-sensei?"
Miyuki glanced at her friend and began to explain when the blue-haired woman nodded her permission. "Basically, we were childhood friends. We grew up together in the same neighbourhood back when she was still here in Japan," she explained, smiling faintly. "I was a lonely and unsociable kid back then and Skye was my first friend. Both my parents never really had time for me. It was Skye and her own parents who made me feel loved."
"Enough Miyuki," Skye said gruffly.
The dark-haired woman ignored her friend's order. "When Skye decided to move to London, she promised me that she'd come back in a few years." She glared hard at her friend. "I didn't think it would take her twelve years to come back!"
"Miyuki," Skye said darkly. "I didn't really have a choice," she told the other woman and the mixture of college, high school and elementary students. "My father insisted that I finish my education in London and I had other matters to deal with particularly my mother's family."
"What was your mother's maiden name, Sagara-sensei?" Ken asked innocently. "It sounds like your dad is a native of Japan while your mom is a European."
Skye leaned her elbows on the edge of the table and looked kindly at Ken. "My father is a native of Japan while my mother is an Italian. Her maiden name is Thierry," she explained.
"So your full name would be Skye Thierry Sagara," Ken clarified.
"That would be correct." Skye nodded her head, the scowl still on her face. Just then, her cellphone began to ring loudly. With a look of apology to her companions, she grabbed the phone and put it against her ear. "Sagara," she immediately said, waiting for a few seconds. She stood up, silently excused herself from the gathering and strode out of the restaurant to continue her cellphone conversation.
"Wonder what that was about," Junpei murmured as he ate his food. "With that kind of scowl and the way she looks at you, she may even be scarier than Mitsuru-senpai." He flinched at the cold crimson eyes staring at him. "Errmmm… I didn't say anything." He pulled the brim of his hat lower to cover his eyes.
Mitsuru looked outside and saw her professor talking heatedly into her cellphone. "Will you excuse me?" she told her companions and walked towards the door, intending to apologize to Skye personally. Pushing the door open and stepping outside, the auburn-haired girl immediately picked up pieces of Skye's conversation on the phone.
"I told you," the professor said in annoyance. "Don't bother me with that! Stop being such a nuisance!" she growled and hung up abruptly, stuffing the phone back into her pants' pocket. The blue-haired woman scowled up at the sky, her arms grudgingly crossed over her chest.
Mitsuru hesitantly approached. "Sensei," she started, looking down at her feet. "I just want to apologize about a while ago." She could feel the older woman's gaze on her. "It was rude of me to have listened in on your conversation with Miyuki-sensei." Mitsuru looked up slowly and met the serious gaze of her professor, the both of them not speaking a word.
Finally, Skye let out a sigh. "It's all right Mitsuru," she stated the redhead's name for the first time in more than a few days. "It should not be such a big deal, but I suppose I was too caught up with not being able to visit my mother's grave and my father's most recent diagnosis."
"I understand too, Skye-san," Mitsuru replied. "I probably would have felt the same if I was in your place." She stood a few feet behind the older woman and also looked up at the blue skies. "Is it true that you father refuses to go to treatment?"
"He really doesn't want to."
"The both of you don't have the financial capabilities to pay for his treatment you mean?" Mitsuru asked in clarification.
Skye nodded tersely. "Oto-san's shop is just a small and simple one. He doesn't earn much income in his line of work," she explained. "As for me, I just recently started working so I don't have that much cash on me. Besides that, oto-san refuses to have me pay for his treatment."
"What about your mother's family?" Mitsuru questioned. "Surely they would be willing to help out with your father's condition deteriorating."
"I'd rather not get them involved," Skye replied, her body stiffening. "Come on. We should go back in." She led Mitsuru back into the restaurant and they both sat on their seats once more. They all stayed at the restaurant for a good hour before Skye and Miyuki got to their feet.
"We'll be going ahead," Miyuki told the assortment of students. "I'll be accompanying Skye to her father's repair shop before I head on home." She looked at Yukari and her fellow schoolmates. "Takeba-san, I'll see you in school on Monday for archery practice."
Skye looked at down the table and smiled at the students. "Nice meeting Kirijo-san's friends," she told them. "Kirijo-san," she looked at Mitsuru seriously before breaking out in a smile. "I'll see you in class." She and her childhood friend bid the students goodbye before heading out of the restaurant.
"That was… interesting," Fuuka finally said after a few minutes of silence.
"You said it," Akihiko added, leaning back against his chair. "Mitsuru you really end up befriending the strangest people."
"Skye-san is not strange!" Mitsuru retaliated, annoyed at her friend's remark about the friends she makes and how he had judged her professor so easily.
"Woah!" Junpei put up his hands. "Getting defensive there, senpai!"
"Mitsuru-san hasn't been this flustered ever since you boys were discovered in the hot springs," Aigis spoke up, a smile appearing on her face.
Mitsuru opened her mouth to condemn her friends when she noticed the deep thoughtful look on Akihiko's face. "Akihiko it's strange to see you so deep in thought," she told her old friend. "What's on your mind."
"Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking about Sagara-san's mother's maiden name," the boxer explained.
"Thierry?" Aigis asked.
Akihiko nodded, scratching his chin with his fingertips. "The name just strikes a bell, but I just don't know where I heard or seen it before."
"Now that you mention it," Yukari began. "Thierry does sound kind of familiar, but I just can't put a finger on it."
"Can we talk about that another time?" Junpei complained. "We didn't plan to go out today just to eat and talk! I thought we were going to the amusement park."
"All right Stupei!" Yukari punched her classmate hard on the arm. "We'll go to that amusement park of yours!" They all got out of their seats and headed outside with Yukari and Mitsuru at the end of the group. "Senpai, it's getting harder not to miss you."
"Why is that?" Mitsuru asked.
" It's not fun when you're not around to manhandle the boys with your executions!"
"Yukari," Mitsuru growled menacingly as the younger girl darted away to escape her demise from the Kirijo group's heiress' hands.
Finally got another chapter up. It's a relatively short one unfortunately because i'm rather busy this week and the upcoming week. As of now, I still am not sure who Mitsuru will end up with. Definitely, she's not going to end up with Akihiko or any other guy. As I mentioned in the disclaimer, this story was going to be a yuri fic. I won't be able to update in a while. Exams are next week and I won't have time to continue until after i'm done with them.
Actually, I'm sinning against the readers of my other story because I've uploaded the second chapter of this story instead of continuing my strawberry panic fic. Oh well, I hope anyway that you guys have enjoyed so far. As for the future love interest of Mitsuru, please keep commenting on who you would prefer to fill in that role. Either Yukari or if you have already guessed, with her professor Skye.
ForLorneMaiden: as i mentioned earlier, this story is going to be a yuri one so i can't abide to your wish of making this one a Mitsuru x Akihiko one
Mr. Thumbsup: i'm kind of leaning towards to making it a Mitsuru x OC one, but i'm still thinking about it. there are a few more chapters to go before i actually decide who Mitsuru ends up with. i'll see what i can do with a Junpei x Yukari pairing.
Vocarin: thanks for the compliment. it's really flattering! :) the final pairing will be decided in a few chapters so i hope you keep reading. :)
Ame no Yuki: Mitsuru and Yukari seem like a good pair, but you hardly are given much to work with when you play the game so i'm still not so sure how things will turn out if i make it a Mitsuru x Yukari fic. thanks though for enjoying the first long chapter. :)
Next chapter: All is revealed, near death experience and comforting.