Time to see how Seth did on the midterms! I hope he did better than I did this summer… Please enjoy!
May 25, 2009, Monday, Lunchtime
Seth was about to have his lunch for the day until a student came barging into the room.
"The midterm results are up!"
Seth took a deep breath, readying himself for the moment of truth, stood up and walked into the hallway. Many of the other students did the same, most of them feeling dread for what they might have scored. They all stood in front of the bulletin board with the midterm rankings, searching for their names. Seth, just to avoid disappointment even to no avail, started from the lowest rankings. He kept skimming through the names and higher in the rankings until he finally saw his name next to the number '10'.
"Wow!" Seth exclaimed. "I barely made the top 10! I know I did better than I thought."
He then noticed Minato standing next to him, looking for his own name.
"How'd you do, Minato?" Seth asked.
"Hold on…" Minato said as he continued to examine the board. "… I'm eighth."
"Impressive." Seth said. "I wonder how Homura did…"
Seth looked a little higher on the rankings to see her ranked fifth.
"Number 5?!" Homura exclaimed.
Homura's sudden appearance startled Seth a little.
"I'm awesome!" Homura pumped her fist and then turned to Seth. "And you did pretty well yourself, Seth."
"Well, I had you to thank for the tutoring." Seth said. "Rest assured from now on that I'm going to take notes in class."
"Good. Oh, by the way, I need to talk to you in private about something."
Homura pulled on Seth's arm toward a clear corner in the hallway. Seth had a feeling that most students looking at this would take it the wrong way, but there wasn't any use complaining about it. After they made it to the corner, Homura made sure their faces were close enough for each other to hear them.
"You remember Sanada?" Homura whispered. "From SEES, right?"
Seth blankly blinked. "I'm sorry, who?"
Homura sighed. "Akihiko Sanada? Boxing team?"
"Oh yeah. Sorry, I only know people by their given names rather than their surnames."
"Well, you're American, so that explains why. Anyway, his arm's fully healed, so he can finally help both of our groups."
"That's great!"
"And there's one more thing. They might get another Persona user on their team."
"Really?"
"However, I heard she's pretty sickly. She might not be suited for combat. Hopefully, she's able to give us support."
"Or leave her alone."
"That's not an option. Even if we choose to do nothing, the Hands of Anarchy might recruit her and use her powers for God knows what."
"You've got a point there." Seth took out his phone and checked the time. "Lunch is almost over. Let's get back to class."
May 25, 2009, Monday, After School
With the last class for the day finally over, Seth closed his notebook.
"Phew…" He sighed before thinking. *I wonder who's available today…*
As if on cue, his phone went off to signal that he just received a text message. He checked it to see that it was from Nobuo which read 'hey seth, do u 2 hang out? Theres sumthing I want talk about'. Seth texted back saying 'sure, where do u want to meet?'. After waiting for about half a minute, he got a reply from Nobuo saying 'comic book store, naturally'.
Seth approached the comic book store and saw Nobuo standing by the entrance.
"Hey!" Seth called out and waved to Nobuo.
"Hey!" Nobuo replied and waved back.
Seth lightly ran until he was in front of his friend. "How did you do on the midterms?"
"I'd rather not talk about it…" Nobuo answered with a sullen expression.
"Didn't pass?"
"Barely…"
Seth considered telling him about his score, but figured it wouldn't be a good idea as it would probably make him feel worse and didn't want to take that chance by saying it.
"Don't worry too much about it." Seth said. "Just study hard for the finals and you can come back."
"Yeah, that's comforting… I know you mean well. It's just… I was never good at school, even when I was little."
"Have you ever thought about getting tutoring? Homura helped me out, I'm sure she'd be willing to help you."
"STOP TALKING TO ME LIKE I'M NOT STUPID! BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT?! I AM!"
Taken aback and shocked at his friend's sudden outburst, Seth was surprised to hear this coming from someone who came off as a comic book geek when he first met him.
"Not once in my life have I considered myself smart. If I wasn't a tough fighter, I'd be useless to you guys." Nobuo then shook his head and took a deep breath. "Sorry about that. I just had to let that out. Exams will do that to you."
"It's… It's okay." Seth responded. "Not everyone is smart. Plus, you at least passed your midterms. There are probably thousands of other people who aren't as smart as you."
"Heheh, thanks, Seth. That really makes me feel better."
"What are friends for?"
Seth and Nobuo shared a smile before heading into the comic book store.
May 25, 2009, Monday, Evening
Seth was in his bedroom, shirtless and doing push-ups to bulk up his muscles and fight better against the Shadows and any other members of the Hands of Anarchy they might come across. Normally, he doesn't exercise, but he figured that with finals taken care of at the moment, he can focus on training and getting stronger.
Just outside of his door, Emi was spying on him through the crack between the door and the floor.
"Emi, what are you doing?"
Emi could tell from the voice that it was Homura, so she didn't even feel the need to turn around to look at her.
"I overheard Seth making grunting sounds, so I wanted to peek and now I'm enjoying the show." Emi whispered.
"Well, please stop." Homura said. "I need to speak with him."
"You just want to see him work out for yourself."
Homura blushed from Emi's comment. "I was just going to ask him if we should go to Tartarus tonight."
"But then you'll ruin the show…"
Homura ignored Emi and knocked on Seth's door. "Seth, do you want to go to Tartarus tonight? We never got the chance last week due to midterms."
"Yeah!" Seth answered, his voice slightly muffled by the door. "We could all use the exercise after being cooped up for midterms."
"Okay." Homura said before heading downstairs.
"… Don't tell me you didn't want to see him work out." Emi muttered.
"S-stop it, Emi…" Homura said, her face blushing.
As Homura walked away, Emi was smiling from her comrade's denial.
May 26, 2009, Tuesday, Morning
In the middle of one of the lectures from Mr. Ono, Gekkoukan's history teacher, Seth was nodding off as the teacher started rambling into an unimportant tangent.
*Last night's excursion into Tartarus really tired us out.* Seth thought. *That week of sitting around, studying, affected our stamina more than I thought… Well… Maybe I can nod off for a few seconds.*
Seth turned his mind off and he instantly felt so much better. It felt like that instance of relaxation went on forever until…
"Carter!"
He snapped awake to Mr. Ono calling his name.
"Napping in class, were you?" Mr. Ono asked. "How about as punishment, you have to answer this question. Do you know where the Kofun period got its name?"
*I know this!* Seth's mind immediately clicked and he stood up. "From the burial mounds that started appearing around that time."
"That's correct. I see you HAVE been paying attention. And you didn't even need Arisato to whisper the answer to you."
Once he was allowed to sit back down, he let out a sigh of relief and resumed with taking notes on the lecture.
*If I hadn't been paying attention earlier, I wouldn't have remembered that. After midterms, I won't be making that mistake again. With our trips to Tartarus, getting drowsy in class is inevitable. Maybe I should get myself an energy drink to keep myself awake and I can nap during lunch. Yeah, that's not a bad idea… Aside from not eating, but school is more important.*
May 26, 2009, Tuesday, After School
As class finished up, Seth got out of his seat with his things packed and walked over to Junpei.
"Hey, Junpei." Seth greeted him.
"Yo, Seth. Congrats on making the top ten."
"Thanks." Seth would like to ask Junpei how he did, but his experience with Nobuo made him think it would be a bad idea. "It's been a while and midterms didn't help at all, so why don't we hang out somewhere?"
"Suh-weet! I like the sound of that! Wanna grab a bite to eat at Wild Duck Burger?"
"… That's racist."
"I-I didn't suggest that because you're American!" Junpei shook his arms in defense.
"I'm only screwing with you." Seth chuckled. "Burgers sound great."
At Tatsumi Port Island's fast food joint, Wild Duck Burger, Seth was scarfing down on a couple of hamburgers and bushels of fries as Junpei just stared in both shock and amazement, simply blinking with his mouth closed.
"Wow, you must've been pretty hungry." Junpei said.
Seth chewed for a couple of seconds and swallowed his food before speaking. "With the Tartarus explorations, I really need to nap during lunch so I don't fall asleep during class."
"So you skip lunch entirely?" Junpei questioned.
"It's not like I'm fasting or anything. I still have breakfast and dinner. And drink. It's not going to kill me. Besides, I've been working out more and I'm not talking about just Shadow extermination."
"Well, I can't argue with that logic. You ARE staying in shape and eating."
"Maybe you could do the same."
"I'm too hungry by lunch to take a nap. I sit next to Minato-kun anyway, so he can always help me out if the teacher calls on me."
"To each their own." Seth continued eating until there wasn't even a crumb of food left. He let out a sigh of content and patted his bulging stomach. "Ooh, that should tide me over for a long while…"
"Yeesh, I could've sworn your stomach was a black hole. Either that or at some point you'd suffer a heart attack."
"I have a high metabolism and youth. It's impossible for me to get a heart attack."
"Heh, if you do, it'd be both funny and tragic at the same time."
"I certainly hope it's more tragic."
"Don't talk like that. We'd all be worried about you."
"That's what I mean. I'd rather you be worried about my well-being than laugh at it. It's more reassuring that you guys care for me. You, Homura, Daichi, Minato, even Mitsuru. Everyone I've met since I got here have all built a strong bond with me. If I were to pass, be it a heart attack or a rabid Shadow, all your hearts would become that much heavier."
"You really think that? Even though we've only known each other for a month?"
"Don't you think that it's already true?"
Junpei thought on his words for a moment. "Good point. But let's stop dwellin' on all this heavy stuff. I gotta tell ya about this funny thing that happened to one of my other pals the other day."
Seth and Junpei continued to chat until it got late and headed back to their respective dorms.
May 27, 2009, Wednesday, Early Morning
While walking down the hallway and to his homeroom, Seth walked past a bulletin board with several club ads posted on it. However, what caught his attention instantly a flier with a bright red boxing glove in the center of a black sheet of paper.
"'Boxing team now taking new recruits'…" Seth read the flier aloud. "Might help make me stronger for fighting Shadows. Perhaps I'll join."
May 27, 2009, Wednesday, After School
Seth made his way to where the boxing team usually meets, which was a room complete with a boxing ring, punching bags hanging from the rafters and chairs lined up. To him, it looked exactly how the boxing gyms from the movies looked like, only a lot cleaner and brighter.
"Hey, Seth!"
He looked in the direction he head the voice to see Akihiko approaching him, sporting a pair of boxing gloves.
"Akihiko, I didn't know you were in the boxing team." Seth said.
"I'm not just a member of the boxing team; I'm the captain." Akihiko stated.
"Really? I should really pay attention to the goings-on in the school more."
"Anyway, what brings you here?"
"I saw your flier and thought it could help in my training. I mean, doing push-ups and sit-ups are good for bulking up, but I feel this will grant me more combat experience."
"Heh, well what do ya know? I joined for the same reason."
"Great minds think alike, as they say."
"Are you sure you want to join? I'm warning you that the training we go through can be pretty brutal."
"I already had to go through my arm getting dismembered. Besides, if it means getting stronger, then I won't complain about it."
"That's the spirit." Akihiko smirked. "I think we're going to get along just fine."
Seth and Akihiko gave each other a firm handshake and the latter turned to the punching bags.
"Before we start anything, can I ask a question?" Seth asked.
"Fire away."
"What are the rules? My knowledge only goes as far as certain movies." Seth nervously chuckled.
Akihiko sighed in exasperation.
"… On second thought, I'll just look them up online when I get home so you don't feel like you're wasting time."
May 27, 2009, Wednesday, Evening
Upon entering his room, Seth dropped his bag to the floor and started up his computer. As it booted up, he decided to go on his phone and dial a few numbers. He waited a couple of seconds until someone picked up.
"Hello?" Tadashi's voice reverberated from the other side.
"Director Matsuzawa, this is Seth Carter."
"I can presume that if you're calling me on your cell phone, that this isn't urgent."
Seth found that comment rather dick-ish, but wouldn't want to say that to his boss. "It's not, but I just want to speak with Luke. Don't worry, I'm in our dorm."
"In a moment. I'll go fetch him."
While Seth waited on the phone, there was a knock on his door.
"Seth, are you decent?" Homura's voice asked from the hall.
"Yeah, I'm just on the phone." Seth answered.
Homura opened the door and walked up to him. "With who?"
"Ooh, hold on…" Seth raised his finger in front of her as he heard the sound of someone handling the phone.
"Seth?" Luke spoke on the phone.
"Luke!" Seth said with a glow on his face. "Sorry I don't call much. School and work and all that. Anyway, how are you doing?"
"I-I'm okay. I kind of wish you were here, though. The people in Heiwa are nice and all, but… you know…"
"That's your little brother?" Homura asked.
"Seth, who's there?"
"It's just one of my friends and teammates, Homura." Seth answered.
"Do you mind if I say 'hi'?"
"… Homura says 'hi'."
"Just give me the phone, please." She snatched the phone from him.
"I don't think-"
"Hi, Seth. This is Homura. Your brother's told me a lot about you."
"Uh-h-h-h-h-hi…"
"Don't be shy. It's not like you can see me."
Despite the reception, it was clear that Luke seemed particularly flustered with Homura on the phone.
"Homura, please give me back my phone." Seth said.
She handed the phone back to him.
"Sorry about that, Luke." Seth said. "Homura just took the phone from me."
"She… she does seem nice, though. I… I actually wouldn't mind meeting her."
"You don't have a crush on someone you haven't even seen, do you?" Seth teased.
"N-no! She's two years older than me! Besides, didn't you say you-"
"Anyway, I made the top ten on the midterms." Seth interrupted. "Homura made the top five."
"Wow, you're both really smart, Seth!"
"You're smarter than me, Luke. You aced every exam you ever took. That's no small feat."
"Luke, it's curfew." Matsuzawa's voice shouted on the other side of the line. "Say your last words to your brother and get to bed."
"I got to go, Seth." Luke said. "Director Matsuzawa's going to get mad if I stay on the line any longer."
"Okay, I'll call you back tomorrow." Seth said. "Good night, Luke."
"Good night, Seth."
Seth hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.
"I'm sorry I had to take the phone back." Seth said to Homura. "Seth gets really shy around nice girls. Other girls… he's actually scared of them."
"Why's he scared?" Homura questioned.
"He used to have a crush on this one girl and she turned him down… By ripping his heart out and stomping on it. She even said in one of the meanest ways possible, 'I don't like you'."
"Ohhh, poor thing. I hope he does find someone someday. And his woobie points will certainly play a part in it."
"W… What's a woobie?"
"Someone you feel sorry for and they're so adorable and sad that you just want to hug and comfort them."
"… Oh… You learn something new every day, I guess."
"Aaanyway… What was Luke about to say?"
"Huh?"
"When you asked him if he got a crush on me, he was about to say something about you, but you cut him off before he said anything."
"Oh… That…" Seth looked toward his alarm clock. "Oh my God, would you look at the time! I gotta shower and get to bed!"
"But it's only 9."
"Exactly! Early for bed, early for rise!"
Seth gently pushed Homura out of his room and closed and locked his door.
"Phew, that was close…" He sighed.
A/N: I'm sorry this chapter took so long again. I've been getting distracted by a lot of things and the Street Fighter V beta will be starting tomorrow. I've also been practicing in Guilty Gear since there's a tournament at a con I'm going to next month. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for next time!
Heiwa (Fool) – Rank 3
Junpei (Magician) – Rank 3
Mitsuru (Empress) - Rank 1
Akihiko (Emperor) – Rank 1
Homura (Lovers) – Rank 3
Theodore (Hermit) – Rank 1
Nobuo (Fortune) – Rank 2
Daichi (Strength) – Rank 2
Makoto (Death) - Rank 1
Hardcore Gamer (Temperance) - Rank 1
Emi (Devil) – Rank 1