HALCYON [Minamoto Teru]

13

Teru had said what Tiara and Kou would feel, but not him. She was unsure how to feel about it. "If you want to keep talking about it, then ... I've told you before right? I never live past the age of twenty. I'll eventually die and live my eighth life and then my ninth life until I finally stay in the far-shore for the rest of eternity, and if I'm lucky, our paths will meet again and you, Kou or Tiara will exorcise me. But I expect it to be you since the two of them would go soft." Nora chuckled.

"Well you sound like you have this all planned out, don't forget we still have that contract. Don't tell me you're planning to escape~" He put her in a choke hold jokingly with his arm.

At the end of the day, Teru cared more about his siblings than anything else in the world, be it his parents or even Nora whom he had known longer than his own younger sister. Because blood was thicker than water, and they were family, she was an outsider that didn't belong, no matter how much Keiko said she did.

In all honesty, Nora wished for that day to never come, to be exorcised by Teru. She knew of his viewpoint on supernaturals; they were all bad, terrible monsters. She knew the cold look of disgust that he gave them with even just a single glance, and the mercy that he would not spare when he exorcised them.

So when it came down to it, Nora hoped, wished and prayed that by the time she was on her ninth life and died, she would have no regrets and pass on to the afterlife peacefully without roaming as an aimless supernatural.

"I know, I know. But let's see, shall we?" She hummed, looking up to the taller male with an expression that even he couldn't describe in his own words.

The charming duo waved to their fellow second years as they walked the halls and to their classroom for their first class being Japanese. Although when they entered, there was much chatter and bustling as everyone was crowded around a certain someone's desk. "Morning." The two chorused with a wave.

"Is there something wrong?" Teru slipped his bag off of his shoulder as one of the boys turned around to him. "Yeah! It's creepy, look! On your desk ..." They pointed.

The two of them curiously weaved through the crowd where Nora stifled a laugh and Teru stared at his desk blankly where two green cucumbers and two tomatoes sat, glistening in the classroom lights. "Hey .. what are you laughing for?" He poked at Nora who covered her lips and looked away.

"Summer vegetables!" They chorused, surprised. Apparently the vegetables had already been on his desk before the first student had arrived, and no one wanted to move them since there was a thank-you note directed toward the student council president who scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Did you help a fox or something?" Nora asked him, picking up a tomato as she tossed it up into the air and caught it. He pondered the question for a moment before shaking his head, unsure of who he had helped that would give him such a present.

"I guess we won't be needing to buy any cucumbers or tomatoes for Kou anytime soon .." Teru said as he placed the vegetables underneath his desk so that he could take them home later that day, giving them to his brother so that the boy could decide what was for dinner that night.

-

The eldest son of the infamous exorcist family had been walking down the hallway with a navy blue haired female classmate as they were discussing the lesson topic for that day, when their conversation had come to a stop. "Um, Minamoto-senpa--" There was a voice in the background, but it was eluded by the girl who stood beside Teru as she pointed to his sleeve.