🕊Chapter Twenty-Two: Teacher's Booty Call 🕊
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"What's up with that guy? He really that smart?"
"Oh, you mean Suguro? He's a prodigy. He's attending the academy on a scholarship like I am. I heard he's the heir to an honorable and historic temple in Kyoto."
I grumbled, kicking my legs back and forth on the fountain the four of us sat on, "Figures. He's just some rich kid."
"He's an exceptional student, an accomplished athlete, and he pays attention during class. The truth is: He works way harder than you, Rin. Maybe you should clone his mind. You could learn a lesson or two from him."
I humphed, looking away. "Mind-cloning. Whatever. I'm not that stupid."
Yukio smiled, turning to Shiemi, "So, anyway. How are you doing? Have you got used to school yet?"
"Oh, uh... not really, no."
"If you ask me, you look like you've gotten more confident than you were before. You look like a different person now. Take it easy and just do your best."
"Okay! Thank you for the tip, Yuki!"
"Well, I better go. I've got another class to teach." Yukio hopped off the fountain, turning back to wave at us, "Have a good rest of your day. Have fun, and don't be late for your P.E class."
"Okay. See you later." Shiemi waved.
"See ya later, Yukio."
"Cya."
Yukio walked back into the building, leaving the three of us alone. I looked down towards Shiemi, "So, which class are you in again? Not the cram school. Regular school."
Shiemi smiled and shook her head, "I only asked if I could get into the cram school."
"What about High School?"
"Oh, I'm too shy to handle that. I barely went to my classes in Junior High."
I rubbed the back of my head, "Yeah. I hardly went to Junior High either. You could say I had a hard time fitting in." I chuckled.
Alaina chuckled. "The only way that you passed was because I helped you with everything."
I smiled, "Alaina was the one who always dragged me to my classes."
Shiemi smiled at the two of us, "You both are good friends."
Alaina nodded, "Yup! We've known each other since we were four."
"Oh, wow. I didn't know you guys have known each other for so long. That's so long ago."
Alaina smiled at her before turning her head to look at me, "Well, it was both a curse and a blessing. But I won't get into it." She said, nudging my arm slightly.
"Um... Rin?" We looked over at her, seeing her look down to her lap nervously, "I know you're honest... so... please be honest with me... I don't really belong in this cram school, do I?"
I leaned forward, my elbows resting on my legs as my brows furrowed at her with confusion. "Huh? Why?"
"Because I don't really wanna become an exorcist like everyone else. I'd have to be as smart as Suguro, and I know I'll never be."
"Sure, I guess it's cool having a big brain like that and all. But you're okay the way you are. The world needs all kinds of people, anyway."
"Rin? You have friends, right?"
"Hm?"
"I mean... I know you and Alaina are good friends... but... I..." Shiemi stood up from her spot on the lower level of the fountain and walked over to stand in front of us, nervously looking between the both of us.
"L-Listen... I-... Will you..."
Shiemi was interrupted by a familiar rooster-boy voice, "Welly-Well! Look at these lovebirds makin' out."
I gritted my teeth, already loathing the sound of this guy's voice. I spun around angrily, standing from my seat. "We're not making out!"
Suguro walked forward with his friends behind him. He had a smug look on his face, "She's your girlfriend, isn't she? And getting her in the most elite school for exorcists? You must be a big shot."
"You got the wrong idea about us, man."
"So what're you saying? You guys just friends? Huh?"
I looked off to the side, my shoulders shrugging to mask my awkwardness, "What? Are you kidding me?... No."
I felt a hand on my shoulder before I suddenly crashed onto the ground face-first off the fountain. I skid on the ground, my legs flailing above my head before crashing back onto the ground with my butt in the air.
I pushed myself off the ground, turning around, "What the hell was that for?!"
Alaina hopped off the fountain and walked over to me with her hand held out, "How many times do I have to tell you to be nice?"
I scowled at her and stood up on my own, "Shut up," I glared to the side, avoiding her gaze.
In a flash, my head was locked to her side as she gave me a noogie, "Stop lying to yourself! She's your friend, and you know it! Stop trying to act cool, loser!"
"Ow! Stop it, would you?!"
Suguro smugly laughed from his spot, saying, "Oh, I see now. So this is the girlfriend. And how cute. She's keeping you in check."
I glared over at rooster-boy, "She's not my girlfriend, man!"
Suguro stared at me smugly, "Oh-ho~ Yeah, sure. I bet she isn't."
I growled, my head still locked to Alaina's side. I stood up, pushing away from her hold, and angrily shook at fist at him, "What's up with you, huh?! You're always with your crew! What's the matter? You afraid of being alone?"
That seemed to hit a nerve in him, seeing as he switches from his smug expression to an angry one.
One of his friends began laughing, covering his mouth as he did so.
Suguro turned around, yelling at his friend, "What's so funny, Shima?!"
Shima laughed, pointing over at me, "He's right; We're always together."
"Hey, man! Don't take his side!" Suguro turned around and glared at me. Of course, I returned it.
'This guy pisses me off!'
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I sighed as I watched Rin and Suguro race each other in the arena from the Reaper.
"Gentlemen! This is not a race, understand?! The goal of this exercise is to get you used to how the demon moves! Anticipate the Reaper's actions!"
I stared down at the two of them as they raced each other. I was surprised at Suguro's speed. Rin was one of the fastest people I knew, so I was impressed this Suguro guy was keeping pace so well.
"That Suguro guy is pretty fast."
"Bon's one of the fastest runners I know. That kid's keeping pace like a champ."
I smiled, laughing a bit. "That's pretty funny, actually. I was thinking the same thing about Rin. I'd like to race Suguro sometime."
"You might get a chance today. Exorcises like this usually have everyone go down in the arena at least twice."
I looked over, seeing that the new voice belonged to a shorter kid with a shaved head. I looked back down to the arena, seeing that Suguro had fallen behind slightly, "Yeah, maybe."
Before long, Suguro jumped into the air, shouting something as he came down and kicked Rin into the ground similar to what I did earlier in the courtyard.
He flung forward, legs raising above his head before falling flat on the ground. The Reaper lunged for Suguro, making him scream. The chain that connected the Reaper to the central command center was pulled back, making the Reaper retreat to the center part of the arena.
"Are you trying to get yourselves killed?! The hell's wrong with you?!"
I sighed, "Rin's always trying to make things a competition." I muttered, Shima laughed awkwardly, saying something about Bon being the same way.
"What was that all about?" Rin questioned, sitting up from the ground with his back to Suguro.
"I'd rather die than lose to a scumbag like you."
Rin spun around, his face red from face planting in the ground, "You wanna die?! How 'bout now!"
"All right! Let's do this! Come on!"
The two boys lunged forward, beginning to fight each other. I sighed and slid down the slope to the arena, Suguro's friends following. I ran over and pulled Rin back, and Shima and the other kid did the same to Suguro.
"Rin! Knock it off! You're disrupting class! Seriously! Stop fighting!" I scolded, an exhausted look on my face as I held him back by his torso.
"That's enough! Honestly, get a hold of yourselves!" Exclaimed the teacher, stepping in between the two of them with his arms out to keep them separated.
"Sorry, sir. Sorry." Shima apologized to his friend sheepishly.
I held Rin back by his torso, "Rin, settle down. Fighting him won't do anything but make things worse."
After things calmed down, the teacher called Suguro over to talk to him.
"Man! What is up with him?" Rin stared irritably after Suguro as he left.
Shima laughed sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry. Bon's a good guy, but he's so serious that it's kinda hard for him to cut people slack. The whole reason he's here is because of his big ambitions."
Rin turned around, intrigued to know what these ambitions were. "Ambitions?"
"The thing is, Bon wants to be an exorcist because he says he wants to defeat Satan."
My eyes widened and I turned to look at Rin, only to see him crushed by the realization that he's just like him. Speaking of...
"Crap, he's... just like me."
Shima laughed, "Yeah. It's kinda funny, isn't it?"
"What's so funny about it?"
Shima continued laughing before suddenly stopping, realizing Rin's lack of humored expressions.
"It isn't funny. The whole thing about Bon and why he's so intense is that he wants to restore our temple. It was all but ruined on the Blue Night."
"Blue Night? What's that?" Rin asked.
"Huh? You don't know?" Shima questioned in bewilderment. "You're like the only one who doesn't."
"Here's what happened. Sixteen years ago, Satana crossed the barrier to our world and massacred all the top clergymen. We've called it the Blue Night ever since."
"Massacred? What do you mean?" I frowned sympathetically at the two boys. I wanted to know more, but I didn't want to pry.
"We heard about what happened from Bon's father. He was the head Monk of our temple. Sixteen years ago, the most powerful exorcist started bleeding all over. Blue flames shot out of their heads and then... they all died."
"The blue flames are a sure sign that Satan's around. Our monk, who was young and still in training wasn't strong enough to fight back, so he hid in a corner till dawn, Praying. After that night, he finished his training and took over the temple. But folks were still freaked out by what happened. So parishioners stopping coming and as word got around, even visitors stopped showing up. And the next thing you know, people are starting to call it 'The Cursed Temple.'"
"That's horrible..."
"Shima and I are apprentice monks at Bon's temple. We followed him to the academy thinking we could become exorcists and help him restore it to its former glory."
Shima smiled sheepishly, "Bon's got a full plate. It's why he's so intense. But he's a good guy once you get to know him."
"The Boy from the Cursed Temple, huh?" Rin turned around, staring over at Suguro.
I chuckled awkwardly, "All right. We should probably get back up to the top so the class can continue."
"Yeah. Okay." Rin responded, still staring at Suguro. I began walking over to the ladder, Rin and the other two boys following.
"Yo, Bon. Let's head back up."
Suguro grumbled, "All right."
"Very well. We'll continue class now. Any more fights from either of you and you both will be assigned weeks detention!"
"Yes sir," The two of them replied simultaneously, a gloomy tone in their voices.
I smiled and shook my head, beginning to climb up the ladder to the top platform while the teacher climbed back up to his central control platform.
After he saw that everyone had made it up the ladder, he called out, "All right! Next up is Kamiki and Moriyama!"
The girl with purple pigtails stood up and slid down the side of the arena walls while Shiemi climbed down the ladder. "Begin!" The instructor yelled, releasing the lever on the Reaper.
I stood near the edge, watching as Shiemi began to run around the arena with that Kamiko girl. "You got this, Shiemi!" I cheered, cupping my hands over my mouth.
Some time passed during their turn, and Shiemi had tripped a few times, causing the Reaper to be pulled back. Shiemi had tripped again, and the instructor pulled back the lever, making the Reaper stop in its tracks.
"Excuse me, how many times are you going to trip?"
"I-I'm sorry, sir!" She stuttered, looking up at him from the ground.
"Is there a reason why you're the only one in class not wearing sweats?"
"I-I uh... I don't really have anything else I can wear for sports."
"That outfit was fashionable over a hundred years ago. Shima and Ejiri, you're up next!"
"Yes, sir!" I stood up, dusting off my purple school sweats, unzipping my track jacket, and tossed it over to Rin, "Hold this for me, would you?"
Rin instinctively caught it, staring down at my jacket, "I'm not your coat rack."
I stuck my tongue out at him, "Meh! Deal with it!"
Shiemi and the other girl made their way up the ladder as Shima and I slid down the side of the arena.
I stood next to Shima, stretching my arms above my head, "Hey, Shima. Sorry about Rin. He's a handful sometimes." I said, my arms dropping to my sides.
"Nah, don't worry about it. It doesn't bother me."
I smiled, "That's a relief. Rin usually caused trouble in Junior High and it bothered a lot of people."
"So you've been friends for a while, then?"
I nodded, "Yup. Eleven years."
"Must be pretty close then." He observed with a friendly smile on his face.
I laughed, "Probably too close sometimes."
"No such thing as too close."
"Ready! Go!"
Shima and I began running around the arena on cue from the instructor. I was going just slightly faster than Rin was, but I wasn't going all out like he was. Because I did track and field for a while in school, I've built an endurance to running and can run longer than most people.
This exercise was a bit different than what I thought it was going to be. You just ran away from the Reaper around the arena as it hopped after you. I let out a small sigh as I jogged around the arena.
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I stood at the top of the arena, staring down as Alaina ran with that Shima kid who was friends with rooster-boy. She was taking this easy, no doubt. She'd be able to smoke Shima no problem if this had been a serious race. But it wasn't.
I smiled to myself. Even after what happened at the monetary, she was still the same girl I've known for eleven years. She still made me laugh. She still got on my nerves. She still joked around with me. And she was still my friend.
My thoughts were interrupted by a phone ringing, disrupting class.
"Who's freaking phone's going off?" Suguro asked irritably, his arms crossed.
The level to the arena was pulled, pulling back the Reaper before the teacher pulled out his phone, answering it, "Hello? Tsubaki here... I'm teaching a class right now, Honey... What?! Right now? You're insatiable. I'm on my way, my little kitty cat."
The teacher hung up his phone, turning his attention to us, "Okay, class! We're taking a break for a bit."
"Huh?!"
"Listen up, now! Most of the time, the Reaper is a peaceful demon. However, they can read people's minds and attack when you least expect it. Until I get back, you are to stay clear of the Reaper's chains! Actually- scratch that! You are not to enter the arena! 'We clear? Good, then I'm outta here!" He spun around and ran across the center bridge that connected to his central control platform, "I'm on my way, kitty cat!"
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