Author's Note:

Time for another adventure, another arc, and more improvements! Cameos, maybe? I'm guessing without the cameos, readers might get turned off by the story, or maybe you guys already are turned off. Well, don't worry, there will be some cameos that everyone will recognize in this arc, so sit back and enjoy!

Chapter 30: Leave It To Me.

There it was. The ticking of the clock, each second feeling as though it's dragging itself. One could feel the whole student body, gripping their hands in anticipation, for the examination to end. The sound of pencils tapping on the table was drowned off by the tick of the clock. Every student was waiting eagerly for the bell in their own, unique way. After all, you can't be a student studying in Venice high without being creative. That is, everyone except me. Everyone looked confident in their paper, so much that I heard scoffing when the examination was taking place. I, myself, sat there, staring hard at the answers I've written. I wasn't so sure whether the things I've written is correct.

I know. Usually uncertainty means the answer I've written is wrong. So I find myself constantly shifting through the answers and lying my head on the table. Beads of sweat roll down my forehead slowly as I worried. I can't afford to fail! I need to maintain my C+ average! Maybe I need to check through for any mistakes one more time. As I reach out for the paper once more however...

"Riiiinnnggggg!"

The scream of the bell signaled a number of sighs from my class. Soft, random chatter was aroused immediately after. "All right, all pens down. You heard the bell." The low, deep voice of the invigilator for the exam say out as he stood up from his seat. He was a teacher we never had for any of our classes, but, despite his tone and size, he seemed like a nice man, albeit a bit on the strict side. "You guys can go. Your mid-terms is officially over." Even as he declared, students were already jumping out of their seats, excited over the end of this stressful period.

"Oh yeah, you guys up for some chinese food?" A random guy kept shouting out.

"Phew, it's finally over..." A soft, female voice gave out her relief.

"Let's go out for a celebration!" The words came out like a wild, yet unified bunch of voices.

"Hey, c'mon, it wasn't that bad, right?" Suddenly, a familiar voice caught my attention. It was Sergio.

"Says the guy who aces all his papers." I retorted, as if annoyed by what he said.

"Ahahaha..." Sergio replied by laughing in a not so usual tone, the voice slowly whittling down as he did.

"Oh, well, I gotta go." Sergio cut in as he saw the clock hanging on the wall.

"Training?" I asked, I don't know why, but it automatically came to my mind.

"Yeah." Sergio words came from a few steps away as he was already moving towards the door.

"Good luck!" I give my friend my best wishes as he left, waving goodbye.

"Skritch. Sich. Skritch." The sound of pencils still writing drew my attention as I sat there in the almost empty classroom. I didn't expect anyone to still be here, after that little explosion of shouts as the mass of my class walked out of the classroom. Turning my head, the image of grey walls began changing as a person came into my sight. "Prez?" I asks out as my voice seemed to resonate across the now silent room. The President of our class sat in her seat, her attention focused on what she was doing. She seemed to be recoding down details. "Uh, Prez? Shouldn't you be going home?" Of course, I can't say I'm not worried. She seemed to be overworking herself.

"The school requires the details of what happened during the Culture Festival to be recorded, they're expecting my report." The Prez gave out without turning to look at me even once. Oh right, she's the President for the Student Council as well. She reminds me of Kiera as she kept on writing, determined to finish. I find myself taking a seat beside her, partly because I feel like it's my fault she's writing this. "Of course, I don't expect anyone to accept this. After all, who would believe we were attacked by armed men, a baby and a giant octopus?" The Prez say out with her eyes closed as she tidied her report, standing up from her seat.

"Ahahaha..." This time, I was the one sounding suspicious as my thoughts were confirmed. I guess I should be happy no one actually remembered what I did.

"There you are, Adele!" A group of girls strolled in as they saw the Prez. "C'mon, we're going Karaoke, remember?" They told her, their voice full of hope and joy.

"I'm sorry, something came up." And just like that, the light in their eyes dimmed a little. Silent assumed as their reaction was delayed.

"Hey, Hey! Don't worry! I'll help. Prez, you can go enjoy yourself." I cut into their conversation when I saw how sad Prez looked.

"Eh?" I saw the Prez take a step back in surprise as a faint red hue appeared on her cheeks, taken aback by my words. "No, I can't... It's my responsibility." A rare sight, I actually saw the Prez worried as she was confused. "I have to clean up the in-door hall as well." She continued.

"Well, it's the whole Student Council's responsibility, yet the other members are long gone..." I tried my best to persuade her to go. I think her friends got the message as well, and they began pulling her, urging her to go.

"...Are you sure?" The Prez, still indecisive over what to do, seems to have come to an impasse.

"Yeah, leave it to me." I say out with as much spirit as possible, with as big a smile I could muster on my face.

"...Thanks, Amato." I couldn't quite catch her voice, considering how soft it was, but I think the Prez... was thanking me. By now, she was clearly blushing. "And, um.. Could you call me by my name from now on?" Huh? That's a strange request.

"All right, Adele." I replied, only to be greeted by silence from Adele as the group walked out of the classroom, her friends giggling at what just happened.

As I walked out the classroom, chatter and laughter so loud it filled the hall forced me to turn and look. Johann, Gina and a few other girls walked by, their steps leading them towards the gates. "Hey, I was so surprised when you talked to that loser, Gina, what was his name, Amati? Amoto?" One of the sentences shot into my ears.

"Uh.. ahahaha.. yeah.." Gina replied, looking down as the words came out. My heart sank as I heard those words. Looking down, I decided to just brush it off.

A few minutes later, I find myself already standing in the hall. The wide space was a big area of orange and brown, the color which the wooden floor and stage was painted. Light, soft and faint, was shining in from the opened doors at the sides. All over the floor, there were scraps of paper and streamers, apparently from the Culture Festival. Times like this made me wonder what the janitors do when the Student Council has to clean this mess up. "Well, better start cleaning..." I told myself as I shuffled through what seemed like a sea of brightly colored rubbish, making my way to the supply closet for a broom and a dustpan.

"Sweep, sweep." As the sound of my sweeping broke the silence of the empty hall, I find myself wondering why I decided to help. Maybe it was because I feel partly, if not, fully responsible for what happened, perhap? Or maybe I just wanted Adele to enjoy herself? I don't anything better to do if I went home anyways. It used to be training right after I went home, but now that it's complete, I find myself having a lot of free time in my hands between missions. As I dumped the trash into the rubbish bin, I looked at myself handling the broom. It's not that bad, considering I never did this before, Kiera always insists she's the one to do it. I just know you need to be thorough when cleaning. I also wonder why I don't use my awakening to speed things up, it seemed like a good idea. "Well, I guess I like doing things by myself if I can manage it.." I smiled as I held the Tear of the Fang up, sunlight shining through it's translucent body.

After a few minutes though, I began regretting my words a little. Thirty minutes had passed, yet I haven't even cleaned up a fourth of the hall. Looking around, the hall feels a whole lot bigger than I remembered.

"You need any help, Boss?" A voice I haven't heard for a while now broke my chain of thoughts, and yet, I immediately recognize it. Turning around, her golden ponytail swished as the wind blew, her blue eyes as bright as ever. She's wearing the same black suit she always wears. She sits at the edge of the stage, looking really serene.

"Sera? What are you doing here?" I wondered. At the thought, Sera was already walking over to the supply closet for another pair of broom and dustpan.

"My patrol today covers this area. I'm surprised as well when I saw you still in school, Amato." Sera answered my question while already moving, cleaning at a speed that puts my previous attempt to shame.

"All right, I won't lose to that!" I exclaimed as I returned to cleaning. Sera's presence has motivated me enough to continue.

After a few more minutes, we completed the cleaning, much to my surprise. Though it was only some tidying up, the area of the hall itself was not that small. I think Sera cleaned way more than I ever did. "Sera? Thanks for all your help today." I called out as I wiped the dust off my hands, before taking a seat next to her on the stage.

"Don't worry, Boss. I'm always happy to help." Sera said so with a smile, her eyes calm and gentle like always. For a few moments, we just sat there together, without saying a word. "Eh? Um.." Sera began flustering, as if she realized something. Her cheeks began flushing red as she gets overwhelmed by emotions. "I should.. really get back to my patrol, Boss." Her tone returned to her formal one as she hopped to her feet.

"Don't worry!" I replied as I looked up to the ceiling, smiling, the wind blowing hard through my hair from the doors. "I'll explain to them, you can say you were protecting me, right?" I exclaimed as I fall on my back, lying down with my arms thrown wide open from the work just now. I think I caught a glance of Sera's smile as my eyelids droop down to a close.

...

...

"All right, wake up!" I was suddenly woken up as a powerful grip pulled me up. At first, I thought it was just Sera, but as I opened my eyes, I saw Sera looking surprised, my vision shifting away from her. The next thing I realized was that I moving towards the exit and whoever who was pulling me had a powerful grip. "Yo, Zanna!" I could say I feel happy to hear that voice, but that, would be lying. I finally looked and saw Johann's beaming face, complete with a wide grin, as he dragged me to the door.

"He-hey, what do you think you're doing?" I cried out in surprise as he kept on pulling, which was a surprise as well, considering I had my true strength kicked in.

"Amato!" I could hear Sera's voice, as well as her footsteps in-between my struggles.

Soon, the yellow rays of the afternoon sun was faintly shining in my face. The chill of the autumn wind shook me wide awake. "...Sorry about what I said before... Amato.." Gina apologised as Johann dragged me to her, whom was standing by the gates. As the memory of what I heard came back, trying to surface into my thoughts, I pushed them aside. I guess I always try my best not to remember such things.

"Just.. Tell me why you just dragged me off like that!" I asked, my tone of voice slightly annoyed.

So, Johann explained to me the gist of things. "Post Mid-terms celebrations? And you want me to come, that's why you searched the school, looking for me?" I asked to confirm what he just said.

"Yeah, it took a while to shake those girls off." Johann continued. He must be referring to the group of girls they were with earlier. "Good thing you stayed back as well." Johann gave out his thoughts, already walking towards the gates. I don't get it, wouldn't it be better for them to go by themselves if they wanted to celebrate? Ah well, I'm not gonna push away a chance to hang out with Gina.

"Sigh, all right." I gave them my answer with as much spirit as I could muster, which wasn't much considering Johann's presence.

As we walked on, past the gates, I realized something. Sera wasn't following us, standing in a corner, looking away as if trying not to disturb us. I walked towards her when I saw her face, which was one of confusion and reluctance. "C'mon, you're coming as well. My orders." I told her, pulling her left arm with a smile.

"Eh?" Though she looked surprised, I was certain I saw a hint of joy as we met up with Johann and Gina. Together, we walked past the gates and towards the districts.

Oh man, maybe I dragged on a bit too long in this chapter. Well, I hope it's an interesting read nonetheless. What will happen as the group goes into the city? Can Amato keep a smile on his face in front of Johann? Keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter to find out!