Once Upon An Assassination Attempt || Kamisato Ayato

Chapter 32 | Once again

UNEDITED

"There once was a traveller stranded in the desert and dying of thirst, who in desperation prayed for a hydro slime to come their way. But the traveller didn't realise that at that moment a starving hydro slime was praying to meet a stranded traveller," Cyno said, and his purple eyes were filled with expectation as they looked at me.

"So the punchline is that they both want to eat each other?" I laughed.

Ever since the incident, I had come to the Academia to fill the empty post of a professor who got a lawsuit because they pushed forth a student's paper as their own. Since I didn't want to continue with my other line of work, I'd decided to fill in temporarily, as I did qualify for the post.

I met the Mahamatra at a diner where he was telling a joke to his friend with the cute ears, who I later learned was Tighnari. We had become sort of acquaintances who tell each other jokes. Mostly Cyno telling the jokes and me laughing at them. When we ran into Tighnari Cyno would tell his best jokes and I would explain, after which the scholar would say it wasn't even funny.

I spotted Tighnari running away as soon as he saw us.

"Oh there's Tighnari," I pointed out, leading the way to his demise, and Cyno went after him.

"Aren't you coming? We can get lunch."

"I have a class." I groaned. "But you two have fun."

"Alright."

It had been a few months since I had come to the Akedemia, but I still hadn't accomplished any goals I came here to do. That was moving on from Kamisato Ayato, and getting information about the heart of Seihkria'h. The latter I had hoped to meet the dendro archon to do so. I had searched through the Akedemia, but it was as if it didn't exist in the first place.

I couldn't get so much as a crumb of information regarding it. Legally and illegally.

After an exhausting lecture, I walked to the massive library. It was evening, and due to the festivities, most of the students were out. It was rather empty, and as I flipped page by page of the history book I'd found, I found my mind wandering back to the way Ayato would stay engrossed in his work for hours.

With a sigh, I shook my head.

No. Don't you dare wallow in self-pity and depressing thoughts.

It was late into the night when I had finally finished reading the student's research papers. I hadn't been able to get any sleep at all, so the dark circles were getting more prominent by day, and it felt like everything was a mess. My work was perfect, though. At least tomorrow was my day off. With that thought, I started collecting the barrage of books.

"And this is the library," I heard the flirty voice of my co-worker, who was walking into the corner where I was.

Who's she flirting with?

I didn't have to wait long to find out, as the person walked closer.

And then it felt like time stood still.

He remained the same as he was in my memories; the same light hair falling over his face, the same amethyst eyes that captivated you, the same sly smile on his calculating face. He had one hand in the pocket on his pants, and his pace quickened as he saw me, his hand cupping my cheek.

"I found you," he whispered, pulling me into his embrace. He held onto me like I was something precious; as if I were the final piece of a puzzle that ate his mind away. Delicately as if he were afraid to hurt me.

Snap out of it.

I pushed him away, fury burning bright in my eyes with no sign of leaving even the ashes to remain.

"Please keep your hands to yourself." I stepped away.

"Wait- what?" My co-worker's eyes darted back and forth between us. "You two..know each other."

"Yes."

"I've never seen this man in my life."

"Sora-"

"If you'll excuse me now, I have work to do." I didn't wait for anyone, and headed out.

What is he doing here?

Why did he even come?

What was he planning now?

Questions swam in my head, but there was no way out of the treacherous waters.

I couldn't sleep. I couldn't even keep laying down. In the midst of overthinking, the night had passed away and given way for dawn.

A knock to my door made me jump upright, and I ran swiftly to the door without making a sound. The door had a little latch, where I could check who was out.

It wasn't someone I expected to see. Hair like that of sakura trees in inazuma, and mysterious eyes that would leave you questioning the extent of their knowledge.

"Yae-san?" I opened the door and the said Shrine maiden walked in, a scary smile on her face.

"Kurimiya-san, I expect that you didn't forget about it, right?"

"Huh?"

"The next volume for your series."

"Yae-san, it's barely morning. Don't tell me you came all the way to Sumeru because of that."

"Ara, you're quick on the uptake. It is true that I didn't come just for that. But the Yashiro clan's head tagged along incognito, so I thought I could have some fun with the reason for his arrival here."

"Yae-san." I grumbled. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not? Your love life is good material to work with." She sat down on the bed and I groaned.

"No. It's miserable and has a bad ending."

"That could change."

"Is this your way of telling me I should talk it over?"

"Hm..does it seem that way? Okay, we can stop talking about that if it makes you so uncomfortable." She let out a low chuckle. "Don't worry, we won't be here for long anyway. I look forward to your future works, Kurimiya-san. But remember. Communication is key."

"Communication may be key, but he was the one that picked the lock."

*****************

The Childe fanfic is out now