The Kid I Used to Know

A Work In Progress

The air seemed full of unspoken words. They both knew it would have to be serious for Satoru to keep secrets from them, and especially from Suguru.

Breaking the tension, Shoko sighed, "He'll have a good reason then. He's probably trying to protect us, or maybe them. Who knows what goes on in that crazy mind of his.

"Well, I'm joining the party. You should too."

And with that, Shoko left him behind, not bothering to look back once she entered the chaos of the celebration. Satoru and Yuji both greeted her cheerfully while Zen'in and Kento both nodded their greetings.

Suguru stood there a few minutes longer, watching his classmates closely. He noted how naturally Yuji and Zen'in seemed to fit in at the school and with the other students. He noticed how Satoru drew annoyed looks from both Zen'in and Kento while Yuji received smiles. He noticed the looks of solidarity Zen'in and Kento exchanged as their more exuberant classmates drew them into their antics. He saw Zen'in draw out one of Shoko's sharp grins.

Then, he turned around and walked away.

*-*-*-*-*

Weeks passed and both Kei and Yuji settled into the school with ease. There were some hiccups, specifically with the sexist tutor the Zen'in clan had sent to instruct the two boys, but they were fairly minor and easy to brush aside.

They developed their relationships with their current classmates, Yuji even managed to succeed in getting Suguru and Kei to use each other's first names in an attempt to become more friendly with one another. Naturally, this meant Satoru was also now able to insist on the two using his first name as well, but besides some lingering awkwardness in calling their former (future?) sensei by his first name, they agreed easily enough.

Needless to say, Kei and Suguru still weren't the best of friends, but their animosity towards each other did significantly decrease as time passed.

Satoru claimed Suguru had realized Kei wasn't planning on following in his father's footsteps and becoming the next Sorcerer Killer, which had caused him to loosen up a bit around Kei.

At the beginning of May, Asami was finally able to bring Mai and Maki to one of their check-ins. The two girls were thrilled to be able to leave the Zen'in estate, and immediately became enamored with Shoko the moment they learned she was a working sorcerer.

The Zen'in clan held antiqued views, believing women were mostly useless for anything besides breeding, and thus Shoko became the first ever working female sorcerer that the twins were able to meet.

Shoko had been a bit uncertain at first. She wasn't used to the attention of two young children, but after Kei explained the situation, Shoko became determined to be a (mostly) positive role model for the girls. She even refrained from smoking in their presence.

In June, the girls managed to visit again. They got the opportunity to meet both Kento and Suguru that day. All the present teens were roped into helping the two girls practice their martial arts, where it quickly became apparent that Suguru was a natural teacher and promptly took over their lessons for the day.

Later that night, Kei managed to catch Satoru by surprise when they were alone.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Satoru had asked, clutching his shin more out of surprise than pain despite Kei managing to land a fairly solid kick.

"For letting your best friend run off to become a mass murder when he should have been the teacher," Kei had replied with a glare, refusing to explain any farther and leaving a baffled Satoru behind.

The two first years were informed of the impending enrollment of another first year in early July. Both boys were surprised to learn that Ijichi Kiyotaka, the future assistant manager, would be enrolling as a sorcerer student. Due to certain family matters, Ijichi had studied most of his first year at home and would be joining them at the end of September.