The new day came, bringing a cloudy sky over Domino City. It appeared that a storm was on the horizon, the first class of the morning term had already started and everyone was in the classroom. Or rather, almost everyone.
Haruko listened to the introduction of the lesson before glancing over the opposite side of the classroom where Van's desk was. Empty. She hummed a bit and looked at her phone and checked the messages she had sent to him last night. Both of them were received and read by him. But she never got any answers. Suddenly, she'd gasp, surprised by something poking her back.
Upon turning and looking over her shoulder, she would see Rika smiling playfully. Haruko then quickly leaned back keeping an eye on the teacher and whispered "What!?"
Rika tried to hold her giggle and whispered back to her friend, "You look a bit distracted, something wrong?"
"Of course not…" Haruko responded a bit annoyed, adding, "Now stop it, or you'll get us in trouble with the teacher!" then looked back at the front, trying to focus back on the class.
Meanwhile, Koji was continuously yawning and looking at Van's empty seat. "Meh… I wonder what happened to him…" muttered, with Chiaki hearing him.
The pink haired girl shrugged, whispering. "He didn't respond to my messages, I wonder if something happened to him." with both a worried tone and expression on her face.
Koji brought his hand up to his cheek while resting his elbow on the desk. "Who knows… maybe decided not to come because he thought a storm was going to hit here earlier… meh…"
At the front center of the class, Kumiko was silently taking notes of the lesson. At some point, taking a moment to glance over the empty seat and just let go a silent hum before focusing back on the lesson.
In the middle of the class, the first thunder would roar in the sky and soon afterward the drops began descending from the storm clouds. The rain began, with the sound of the water clashing over the ground and the structure of the building being the background theme of that day's morning.
Hours would pass, and without any news from Van, the morning period ended. Making way for the lunch break to start. Haruko stepped out from the classroom along with her friends, still keeping a gloomy expression on her face. She couldn't get that one thought out of her mind, and the one person she needed to talk about it decided not to show up. It was almost as if he knew she had figured something out and orchestrated being absent today.
"Hmmm what an awful day to be at school…" Sayuri commented, looking out the window into the campus. "Imagine being in your bed, at home, with a nice cup of tea…" added with a sigh.
"Oh please, any excuse would be good for you to stay at home, Sayuri." Rika reprimanded her. Causing the former to narrow their eyes at her and pout and Saori to giggle.
Haruko would just smile a bit at their exchange, always finding it entertaining how Rika scolds Sayuri for being the slackest of the group.
"Yo!" A boy's voice called as Tetsuo, and the rest of their gang, save for Yamada, walked up and Haruko and their friends. While their reaction was more relaxed than it used to be, their presence would make the girls, with the exception of the Kaiba step-sibling, be a bit nervous.
"Wonderful day, huh? He asked with his typical confident face.
"Yes… particularly good to take a hike." Rika responded, still not comfortable with them trying to act all 'buddy-buddy' with them.
"Pft!" Tetsuo laughed a bit and responded, "Aw, come on, still mad about what these idiots did?"
"HEY!" The rest of the second-years exclaimed at him, making Tetsuo to laugh even more.
Haruko then looked among the second year students and asked, "Hey, where is that guy, Yamada?"
"Oh, let him be, he has a bit of time to think on his own." The boy responded, placing his hands on his waist. "All this dueling club stuff got him by surprise."
The rest of the girls' eyes looked at him with curiosity, with Saori being the one asking, "He is not really fond of dueling, isn't he? He didn't seem like he was even taking it serious when facing Haruko."
"That's exactly it." Tetsuo nodded then explained, "However, it may surprise you all, but I was Yamada who got me into the game."
"What!?" Everyone, including his goons, exclaimed in surprise, making Tetsuo laugh again.
"That's right!" He exclaimed, then gestured with his hands while explaining, "Yamada and I actually go way back to our prep school days. That's when we first met and ended up sticking together." Then the boy bumped his chest with his fist, commenting. "Back then, he was pretty interested in the cards game, and even showed me the basics. But as expected, someone with my natural-born talents managed to quickly pick up on it and surpass him." sounding all high and proud of himself.
"Wait, the boss taught the big boss how to duel!?" One of his goons asked.
"Of course, you idiots and us have only known each other for a year. There are a lot of things you don't know about Yamada and I!" The gang boss responded to them.
Haruko then felt the need to ask "So… what happened to him?" raising an eyebrow, looking at Tetsuo with the same curious expression as before.
Tetsuo's face would change to a more serious one, as he closes his eyes thinking "Well, Yamada is not like me. Either in fighting, which is something both of us have done for as long as I've known him if not for longer; He does not welcome defeat like I do." His words managed to keep those around him engaged enough. "Someone like him can only take enough losses before giving up on something they once had a lot of heart for."
Saori then spoke upon hearing that, "So, he is resentful of dueling?"
"Bingo, Saori-chan!" Tetsuo replied while snapping his fingers and pointing at Saori, surprising the girl by calling her like that.
The goons were now talking among each other
"Ooh, so that's why Yamada always had us targeting duelists eh?" said one of them
Another one responded "Makes sense, makes sense"
"So that's why he is so mad about being in the club, boss?" the last goon asked to Tetsuo
The boy grinned, held his snicker, "I'm not exactly sure if mad is the right word for it."
"What?" The three goons reacted in surprise, while everyone else remained in silence, looking at Tetsuo, wondering what he meant.
Saori finally smiled a bit and spoke up, "You think… he is changing his mind?"
"Bingo again Saori-chan!" He replied, making Saori blush a bit and the rest of the group present to whisper among each, wondering why he was calling her like that…
"I think he is just… reviewing things a bit. Maybe nothing will come out of it, but maybe being around you guys reminds him of when he liked playing the game." Tetsuo then looked out at the rain through the window and smirked again. "I think all of this is gonna do him well in the long run."
"Then if that's the plan, I'm all for it, big boss!" one of the goons called.
"Hm…?" Tetsuo looked over his shoulder at the gang.
"Yeah, if the big boss wants to help the boss, then we'll stick around for real in the club!" The next one said before finally the third one exclaims.
"We won't only be the toughest guys in the school, we will also be the toughest duelists!"
"Ah…" Their leader simply scratched his cheek looking at their sudden, and perhaps overreacted rush of determination towards dueling. "Did I even say anything that aspiring to these idiots…?" went through Tetsuo's mind while looking at the group of goons that followed him around.
One of them would point at Saori "In fact, we have to start our legacy early. Rookie, I challenge you to a duel!"
Everyone, specially Saori, was shocked. As the girl barely managed to stammer "E-eh, wait m-me, why!?"
"Because we are both part of the rookies from the club, makes sense, doesn't it!?" the goon exclaimed, already pulling out the deck he built the previous day in the club.
"Eh… H-Haruko?" Saori looked at her friend, completely full of doubts if she should take this duel or not.
Haruko just crossed his arms and calmly responded, "Do it. I'd say it's a good idea to get some experience and that way review some basic rulings Takato showed you all yesterday.
Haruko would be joined in the decision by Sayuri and Rika who gave their thumbs ups to their friend, exclaiming "Let's go Saori!"
"Ah…. Alright…" The girl responded, looking back at the goon challenging her.
"Oh, this is gonna be a walk in the park!" The goon exclaimed confidently.
Minutes later
both groups of first and second year students were in the 1-A classroom, gathered around a desk where Saori and the goon were dueling, being the first duel for both of them. Haruko decided to be the referee to guide them in case there were any mistakes or rules misinterpretation.
"… And that's duel for Saori…" Haruko calmly called as she raised her hand, with a very calm and serene expression on her face.
"I… won?" Saori asked, not believing that she had won her first duel.
"Great job Saori!" Rika exclaimed, while Sayuri playfully shook her, trying to make her snap into the fact that she actually won and celebrate herself.
The goons along with Tetsuo, on the other hand, were all leaning over their acquaintance looking at the cards on the field and hand.
"Bro, you don't have any spell cards?" One of the goons asked.
"You idiot, how come you didn't have enough low-level monsters to tribute your high-level ones!?" Tetsuo exclaimed at the disappointed goon before smacking him on the head with his fist. "You are fixing that deck later today, in fact, we are going back to our classroom, show me all your decks right now!"
"Yes boss!" The three of them exclaimed as they picked up their stuff and quickly left, following Tetsuo's lead, not wanting to feed his anger further.
Haruko observed them go with a silly smile on her face and scratching her cheek. Then looked over to her friends. Now Saori was celebrating with Rika and Sayuri her first victory "Might not work that much as dueling experience, but at least it will boost her confidence."
Haruko stepped outside the classroom calling "Hey, I'm going to get something to drink." to her friends. On the bottom floor, when she was walking down the hallway to the cafeteria, right when she was crossing by the building's entrance. She was met with the visage of no other than Van turning around the corner in her direction.
The girl's eyes widened, and she stopped in her tracks, "Eh… You!" she screamed. Rushing to the boy, "What do you think you are doing!?". When standing in front of him, he could see how he was soaked in water from the storm.
Van did also stop, his eyes widened in surprise and almost took a step back, "Ah… uhm… hello?" the boy greeted Haruko a bit nervously, smiling a bit at her while raising his hand in a small wave.
However, as soon as he did that, Haruko gasped and reached to his wrist, pulling the hand back up. Van's hand was completely full of bandages, "What—What happened!?" she asked with a worried tone.
"Heheh, well … Just had a little accident at home. And we had to go over to get my hand checked by a doctor. That's why I'm just arriving here." Explained while rubbing the back of his head and looking to a side, a bit embarrassed of the accident.
Haruko heard his explanation and sighed a bit in relief, "Well… that's good to know." However, her expression of relief would change to one of slight worry once more and ask him, "Hey, do you have a minute?"
"Huh, what is it?" Van asked, noticing the change in her expression, "Did something happen?"
"HEY KID!" an adult's voice called, Daichi shortly after approaching both teenagers and smacking the back of Van's head with his knuckles. "What are you doing, I told you to start heading to the headmaster's office!"
Haruko simply brought his hands up and covered her mouth, stepping aside as he looked at Van, ducking down and holding his head with his hands.
The boy just exclaimed, "Y-yes, I'll see you later, Haruko!"
And just like that, both Daichi and Van headed to the headmaster's office, so they could notify him about the situation that prevented Van from assisting to the school's morning period on that day.
"Hey, do you mind if I… tag along?" Haruko asked her friend, also catching the uncle's attention.
"Whatever, it's fine, just hurry, the two of you!" Daichi asked, giving small pushes to Van's back for him to hurry up.
At the headmaster's office, Haruko waited outside while both Uncle and nephew were inside. Haruko could overhear Daichi's loud voice from the other side of the door, repeatedly apologizing for the inconvenience and at, the same time, thanking Mr. Teramoto for his understanding and patience.
Through all that while, her mind was running with multiple thoughts. Mostly wondering if she should ask Van about what her brother told her.
"What should I do…" kept crossing her mind, when suddenly her attention was brought by the door of the office opening. Mr. Teramoto gently nodding at Diachi.
"Well, I wholeheartedly thank you for informing me of what occurred, Mr. Uchiyama. I know your nephew's safety is your priority, so I can assure you we, the staff at school, understand such situations." The elder principal nodded at both man and boy with a gentle expression on his face, then looked at Van. "But it's still up to you to get your notes from the classes you missed, Mr. Keller. You would rather not fall behind, right?"
"Yes sir!" He exclaimed, before both Daichi and Van bowed their heads before him. When the conversation was over and the elder man went back into the office, Daichi patted Van's shoulder.
"Alright kid, I gotta get back to the apartment and finish the rest of the work. Remember what the doctor said, no heavy work for that hand until it's fully healed. I'll see you later." The uncle spoke, with Van nodding at his words.
Before leaving, he noticed Haruko, who was waiting outside the office, and nodded at her. "Alright, I think that friend of yours wants to talk to ya." The man pointed at her.
Van turned to look at her and approached his friend while his uncle made his way home. "Well, there is that." Van commented, smiling a bit again.
"Are you sure you can take classes with your hand like that?" The girl asked as they both began walking up the school hallways.
"Yeah. It's not my writing hand, so I'm good." The German-born responded with a quick nod, Then tilted his head a bit and raised an eyebrow at her. "So… you wanted to talk to me or something? I think we got a minute now."
"Ah! It's…" She exclaimed in both realization and doubt, since she hadn't made up her mind on what she should exactly do. "Damn… what should I…" Crossed her mind as she pressed her lips, before her eyebrows went up a bit and quickly asked, "Would… you like to come over to my house after class!?" with a nervous tone.
That invitation did take Van aback as he stopped in his tracks, exclaiming, "What!?"
Upon realizing how extremely random and awkward that was, the now flustered, Haruko was quick to give context by adding "Of course, you missed your morning class right? I can help you with the notes I took from class!" Now trying her best to look more serious and determined, although not being able to hide a faint blush of embarrassment.
"Uh…. alright, but… are you sure?" the boy replied, apparently looking just as nervous as his friend.
"Yeah, don't worry!" Haruko with the same expression even though, in her, mind had the thought of "I already stuck myself into this corner, back tracking right out of the blue will be even more awkward."
Van sighs, easing his nerves a bit and responds, "Alright, then I'll… let my uncle know that I'm getting home a bit later-." Before he was responded by a shout
"Hey, hey Van!" Koji called his name while he ran up to him, along with Chiaki "We thought we were not gonna come to school today man, what happened?"
Van shrugged, chuckling a bit and then showing them his bandaged hand, "Well, I had this little something that happened at home."
"Woah, your hand, what happened!?" Chiaki exclaimed.
"I'll tell you in the classroom, I wanna greet the rest of the girls too, let's go" Said Van, while motioning them to move along.
Upon getting there, the rest of the group greeted Van and were surprised for both his late arrival to school and his injured hand. They, of course, were curious about what happened to him. He also proceeded to explain some details about how he lived with his uncle, naturally surprising everyone by revealing that he technically lived in his own apartment in the building owned by his uncle, which was already surprising in itself.
"So, as we were carrying this old fridge down the stairs, I slipped and we lost balance. On one side was the wall, on the other my hand holding the fridge, so…" And then he gently hit his bandaged palm with his fist; Still making him feel a bit of pain, enough to let go a silent "Ow…" and shake said hand.
"You were VERY lucky this time, you realize that?" Rika commented, looking at Van in disapproval, "Try to be more careful from now on…". Then she sighed, adding, "Last thing we need is you making a habit of things like this."
"Right, right, relax!" The boy responded, chuckling a bit before the bell that, signalled the ending of the lunch break, rang across the school. And thus, moved on with their daily activities. When the students began returning to the classroom, and noticed the presence of Van, he was greeted by them. Kumiko noticed him as well when she crossed the doors. And approached the boy in the middle of his group of friends, drawing their attention to her.
The girl just looked at him for a moment, with her calm and cold expression. Then spoke, "You showed up in the end, good. Your feedback should be helpful today during the dueling club's activities." Then simply turned on her heels and headed back to her seat
"Eh, okay?" The boy replied, still not understanding her at all. And the same sentiment went for the rest of the group, who were just confused by her.
The day went on, and while things for a part of the group now seemed more up and cheerful. For Haruko, it only helped a bit.
Her mind was still processing the fact that she had invited Van over to her house. But despite that, she didn't seem to be as bothered as before for some reason. Maybe seeing that he had suffered an accident made that revelation Seto had shown her look pretty irrelevant or small.
Whatever the reason behind that was. It allowed her to carry on with the rest of the classes of the day rather well, and with them coming to a close the new day of activities at the club would commence.
The next day of activities did focus a bit more on deck structures and building. However, Takato picked the people who had already finished their decks and began matching up in practice duels.
Saori would be sitting at one of the tables along with Yamada, both of them engaged in a small duel with Tetsuo acting as the referee. There would be a couple of cards lying on the table, Saori would have 'Mashmallon' in the defense position and her 'Shining Angel' in the attack position. While also having a face down card set at the back row of her side of the field. Yamada, would have 'Zombie Master' and 'Dragon Zombie' on the field.
Yamada looked relaxed, or more precisely, uninterested as he looked at a nervous and focused Saori, thinking about her next move. And Haruko observed the duel, sitting beside her friend.
"Alright, now I attack your shining angel with my Zombie master." The boy declared, tapping his card on the table twice and pointing it at hers.
"That would be minus 300 lifepoints for Saori-chan." Tetsuo announced. Then looked at Yamada "Are you done with your turn, Yamada?"
"Yeah… I'm done." he sighed, waiting for her move.
Saori then drew a card and declared, "Well, I think I can use my Shining Angel's effect and special summon 'Honest'" Then she stopped and looked again at her hand, humming a bit before picking another one from her hand and saying "Now I think I can tribute my two cards and summon 'Wingweaver'. It's… it's that correct?" she finished by asking Tetsuo for clarification.
"Hm, yes, yes. It is correct." Tetsuo declared as he took a peek at her hand, noticing that one of her hands was 'Giant Trunade'. The second year hummed while thinking, "Is she going to play that card?" then he silently looked at the set card of Yamada.
"Very well, Yamada, I will attack your Zombie Master with my Wingweaver" She calmly said, with the expression of her face showing both a mixture of uncertainty and cautious.
"Hm…" Haruko hummed and narrowed her eyes when she saw Saori's next move.
Yamada then blinked, narrowing his eyes at her "What are you doing?" he asked, looking at her as if he were weirded out by her then sighed "Fine, I play my trap card 'Sakuretsu Armor'" Which lets me pick and destroy an attacking opponent's monster, and use it on Wingweaver." He replied, not changing his calm and bored tone.
Saori's eyes widened and exclaimed, "Oh no, but that was the best one I had!" with a saddened expression as she moved Wingweaver to the graveyard
"Hey! What's on your head, girl?" Yamada asked, almost annoyed by her attitude, "Why would you bring…" then sighed and reached out to her hand "Let me…" then, he reached out to get a look at the cards in her hand "Why didn't you play this?" He asked; taking Giant Trunade from her hand and placing it on the table.
"But… that is going to send my cards to my hand as well." Saori replied a bit confused.
Yamada sighs and shakes his head a bit, "Then just set it again, perhaps? Besides, if that card you have there, face down, is not going to get you out of a tight spot in reaction to what you are doing, then there is no reason for you to hold on to it so bad." Then he waved his hand a bit in dismissal, adding, looking a bit more annoying to explain things "And another thing, if you are forced into that type of corner, never put your eggs in one basket. Your play there was putting your eggs in one basket. You went from having 2 monsters on the field, to just a strong one, and then none."
"Uh… I see…" sighing in disappointment and hanging her shoulders down.
"Whatever, let's start all over…" Yamada said, a bit annoyed, while picking up his cards.
Tetsuo meanwhile, just stood next to the table, with his arms crossed, smirking at what he was observing.
"N-no, wait, let's continue this duel, if I have to lose, so be it!" Reaching out to Yamada's hand to stop him; however, he simply pulled his hand back and away from her, shaking his head.
"I already saw your hand, so no." He then shuffled his head and waited for her to do so as well. Then placed his elbow on the table and rested his fist against his cheek. "Just pay attention next time…"
"Well, well. Look at you, worrying about your opponent to give you a proper duel…" Tetsuo thought to himself while watching both of them restart their duel.
On the other hand, Haruko thought, "He seems rather different from his duel with me, I guess he is concentrating a bit more on playing than picking on her…"
Eventually, the day at school would come to an end. The group of first years came out from the gymnasium together and gathered by the Entrance of the school's main building, waiting to see if the rain would cease for a bit; while also, chatting among themselves.
"So, how did your duels against Yamada go?" Koji asked Saori with a grin
The girl sighed and responded, "Well… I lost three out of our four duels…"
Chiaki asked, tilting her head a bit, "He is better than we thought, right?"
Haruko just flicked her hair and scoffed, "I don't know if he is actually strong, but when he focuses, he seems competent enough for a duelist…" Then winked, looking at her friend with a smirk, "But I think Saori has a bigger potential for growth as a duelist!"
"Really!?" She reacts surprised and humbled
"Of course, you have that passion in you!" Koji exclaimed excitedly, to which Van's attention was caught to that comment, thought he didn't make any comment of any sort.
"Anyway, I think we have to get going." Chiaki said while checking her phone, "Shall we get going, guys?"
While Koji nodded at him, Van, on the other hand, responded "Uh… Actually, I'm not going with you guys today…"
"What?" Both his friends replied together
Van started rubbing the back of his head and looked over at Haruko "Well… Haruko invited me over to her house to help me catch up with this morning's classes…"
"Eh!?" They exclaimed, while Haruko's close friends on the other side exclaimed, "What!?"
And without skipping a beat, their friends began teasing both their friends
"Aw, come on, tell us how did you do it?" Chiaki whispered to Van, shaking him from his shoulder a bit, smiling playfully.
At the same time, Koji was grinning and poking his ribs with his elbow, "Hey man, good job, good job!"
Van, obviously not pleased by the teasing, just grunted and mumbled, "Kiss my ass… both of you…."
meanwhile, Haruko was being teased by both Rika and Sayuri. With Saori just being an innocent and embarrassed witness to her friends' behavior.
"That's so bold of you, Haruko!" Rika complimented her friend while holding her shoulders and patting them every so often.
Meanwhile, Sayuri held her hands exclaiming "Yes, congratulations, you go friend!"
"Shut up, Shut up!" she exclaimed angrily before walking up to Van, reaching for his hand "Come on, we are leaving!" and pulled him again, though she didn't realize one thing.
"AH! H-Haruko, th-e hand!" yep… in her fit of anger, Haruko didn't notice that she was grabbing Van by his injured hand. As soon as they got in the car, their friends were laughing and teasingly bidding them goodbye and 'good luck'.
The driver, immediately, noticed the boy in the car. "Uh, miss Kaiba, I don't remember a visit scheduled for today."
"JUST DRIVE US AWAY!" She angrily screamed, while Van remained in silence, rubbing his hand and holding just a couple of small tears on the corner of his eyes.
The driver was startled by her reaction and without doubting for a moment, decided to hit the gear and drive them to the Kaiba Manor.
While on their way, looked around at the card and asked.
"Hey, never felt weird about this? You know, having your personal driver and all?" While raising an eyebrow.
Haruko sighed and hung her head back and closed her eyes, "It was for a time, yeah. I eventually got used to it. But It used to be a bit more… well, you know, a bit more of a serious business how I was looked after."
Van's eyes widened a bit and asked again, "Wait, it was worse!?"
Haruko nodded and smiled a bit, explaining, "I used to have my own security following me around when I was out of the manor, and yes, it made me feel so weird. Being treated that differently was just… so awkward, borderline alienating. But I eventually talked them to take a step back on that matter. They still insist on the driver thing, though."
"Wow… never thought Kaiba would be so overprotective…" the boy responded, more relaxed, but still surprised.
The Kaiba step-sibling looked out the window and explained, "Well, Seto can be… a bit special to deal with. But I don't see him as a bad person, no matter how much he manages to get on my nerves. He just has… a particular way of looking after people" The girl spoke before her mind just had a faint thought, "Well… I'd like to think that."
The pair would eventually arrive at the manor, they'd cross the entrance gate where security would be notified of Haruko's company. Furthermore, being the first time he has ever been there; Van was naturally stunned by the scale of the place. "Jeez, this whole place is almost as big as my uncle's building!"
When the car stopped by the entrance of the manor. A well-dressed man approached the Haruko's door, holding an umbrella. He opened the door for her, holding the umbrella, so it prioritized not letting her get caught by the rain water.
"Was I informed correctly, miss Haruko, a friend from school has joined you in this afternoon?"
Haruko nodded as she slowly got out of the car, "That's right, Dean. Also, thanks" she mentioned with a small giggle, referring to him holding the umbrella over her.
The butler pointed to another of the servants working there to open the door on Van's side, doing the same for him. The experience, needless to say, was getting more and more incredible for him. They would both be walked into the manor.
As soon as they stepped indoors, a couple of servants handed them a pair of warm towels.
"May I take your jacket, mister…" Dean asked, keeping his staple of manners and discipline.
"Oh! Allow me to do the introductions." Haruko stated while drying her hair a bit. "Dean, this is Van, a friend who is also part of my class. Van, this is our butler and dear friend of mine, Dean."
Van nodded at the butler with a smile on his face. "Nice to meet you." then stretched his hand at him.
"The pleasure is mine, mister Van-Oh, what is this?" as he was about to stretch the boy's hand, he noticed the bandages on it. "Hm, these are recent, still mostly clean but damp by the rain, it'd be better to change them, sir."
"Oh? Hey… heheh don't worry, it's fine!" Van reacted by just pulling his hand away and rubbing the back of his head with the other.
"Please Do not worry, I will make preparations for a warm beverage for both of you, and bring clean bandages for your hand, mister." Dean then turned to Haruko and asked. "Ma'am, should I prepare things in your room, or somewhere else of your preference?"
Haruko hummed for a moment but then nodded, "No, I think my room will be fine!" Then motioned Van with her arm. "Come on, I'll show you the way there!" she smiled at him and moved started moving quickly up the stairs. Not noticing that her nerves from before seemed to be gone.
"H-hey wait! — Uh later Dean!" He waved the butler as he tried to catch up with Haruko, finally being led through long corridors of the house until they arrived to her room. Van, once more, was impressed commenting "This must be the size of an apartment!" looking at the place up, down, left and right.
As Van did so, Haruko went on and leaped over to her bed, landing on it and sighing in relaxation, "Ahh… finally a bit of rest."
The boy then sat on the ground, leaning back against the bed his with his backpack held on his lap. "Right… but I think we should get on with this, right?"
Haruko quickly sat on her bed and switched positions, now lying, so her head popped out from the edge of the blade over Van's shoulder. "Yes, yes, you are right!" Then reached into her backpack and pulled out her notebooks, handing them to him, already on the pages of today's class.
The boy began writing down her notes while Haruko watched, swinging her legs while lying on bed, "So the way that calculus is done…" She commented while pointing at her notes and explaining some of the things they saw today in class.
In the middle of all that, Van just asked, "So, do you usually make these in class?" With a small grin as he pointed at some small drawings she had on her pages which had like small rough drawings of what seemed to be the dark magician girl.
Haruko would pout and slap the back of his head, "Stop it and focus!" she'd scoff, prompting Van to chuckle at her. As he continued, she remained in silence for a moment before asking, "So… how were things over at home? you know, in Germany, I mean…"
"Well, It's pretty calm, a different rhythm than here." The boy responded while writing, showing a small smile.
"What about your parents?" The blonde girl asked, crossing her arms underneath her chin. "Is it hard being away from them…?"
"Most of the time, yeah…" then sighs as his eyes narrow a bit, with his mood going down a bit "Sometimes however… it's tough. It feels…" The boy then halted for a moment and took a bit of air, "… Sometimes I just wish they trusted me a bit more…"
Haruko blinked a couple of times before she quickly asked, "Wait, why is that?"
"Especially with my mom, it feels like… even though we are so far away from each other. She never quits being on my toes. I don't mind her checking on me at times, but…" then let go another sigh.
"She is just worried about you. Her son is so far away from her." she replied in a bit of a saddened tone before ruffling his hair a bit, "Just enjoy them while you can!" trying to cheer him up.
"Hey…!" Van tries to shake her hand off his head and looks back at her. "What was that?!" slightly annoyed and confused.
Haruko then laughed a bit, replying while keeping her smile, "All I say is, enjoy them while they are around. It's not really nice when you get used to not having them around."
Van's eyes widened a bit when those words came out of her mouth. He didn't have any way to respond to that, he could feel a lump forming in his throat and just looked down at the notes he was taking, clenching his fist and pressing his teeth.
"Are you done with those notes?" Haruko finally asked.
Van remained silent for a couple of seconds before he took a deep breath and replied while nodding, "Y-yeah… thanks…"
Author's note: Alright here's another chapter. Already working on Part II, got a couple of nice things ready for it. Thank you all for the support, always tuning in to the updates and all. I hope you all have an amazing weekend and I'll see you back next week!