...
About two days after the date with and confession from Hoshino, I received a text from Serina, one of the nurses who tended to me in the hospital after Binah ran away like a bitch.
Health is wealth, Sensei.
You shouldn't overwork yourself. Take a break once in a while.
:D
I try not to push myself too hard, but I've got a pretty big backlog.
Ah...
Okay. I'll remember that.
...
In more ways than one...
...What the hell does that mean? As I try to figure out, my stomach grumbles. Groaning, I stand up and walk to the kitchen.
...Fuck. It's empty.
"Arona. I'm going to the grocery."
—————
Walking through the cool morning air to the grocery store, I decide to take a longer path through the park. It's nice out, so why not?
The air is nice and refreshing... makes me kinda thirsty.
As I do, I suddenly come across...
"Serina?" I ask, surprised to see her.
She's a pretty short girl with short, bubblegum pink hair and pink-brown eyes. Her hair is tied into a side ponytail with a red ribbon and she has a white nurse's hat with a red cross on top. Her outfit consists of a dress that comes to her mid-thigh and resembles a school uniform at the top, the whole thing colored white with pink detailing. She wears a grey skirt underneath which leads down to her white leggings which completely cover her legs. She has on short, dark brown boots with dark red soles and has a similarly colored purse slung around her hip. Her halo is a pale golden ring with additional parts on the top/bottom and left/right that make it resemble a cross. Inside of the halo are two near-half circles. Separating them are two triangles pointing inwards pointing towards a circle in the halo's center. She also has a white and pink assault rifle around her back.
"Hey, Sensei! Fancy meeting you here." She says, cheerful as usual. "Are you out for a walk or something?"
"Nah, I'm goin' to the grocery, but it felt nice so I decided to take a longer route." I explain.
"Well, I'm glad to see you taking care of yourself." She says happily.
"What're you doin' here?" I ask.
"Oh! Uh, I was just..." She says, nervously.
Suddenly, a group of kids come up and start thanking Serina for something or another. She awkwardly giggles. "It's nothing. I was just helping these kids out because they looked like they needed it."
"She got my balloon out of the tree!" One little girl with a halo above her head tells me.
"She patched me up when I got hurt playing ball! She's the best!" Another says.
"Come on, hurry!" A girl in the distance yells, causing the two little ones to run off.
Serina awkwardly chuckles this time. "This is a little embarrassing. Really, it's nothing..."
"I'd say it is." I protest. "You're a kind person, after all."
"I don't think I'm and kinder than the average person. Besides, I'm a Remedial Knight, after all." She argues. "Helping people and putting smiles on their faces is all the satisfaction I need." She says with a bright smile.
"Most people can't get by with just satisfaction. Thus, you've proven my point. You're a kind person." I argue, causing her to blush a bit.
"W-Well..." She trails off, awkwardly. "Still, I don't quite understand it myself. Maybe it's just a part of who I am." She says, changing the subject a bit. "But enough about me, you've seemed fatigued lately. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just gettin' back into the swing of things after my hospital break." I say, waving off her concern. "I'll be right as rain in a few days."
"You're fine, huh?" She asks, staring at me intently. "Nope, I don't think so!"
"Heh?" I ask dumbly.
"You can't hide it from me." She accuses. "You work too many hours-"
I cut her off. "I've got a backlog."
"-, you skip meals to eat snacks-"
"I ran outta food. I was on my way to the grocery before I ran into you." I explain.
"-, and you're always putting yourself in dangerous situations to help others!" She says, causing me to stiffen.
...
"DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I OR ANYONE ELSE COULD HANDLE YOU DYING BECAUSE OF US?!"
...Hoshino was right, huh?
"You're liable to collapse if this keeps up!" Serina all but shouts, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I always carry first aid supplies, but that doesn't mean that I want to use them." She pauses for a moment. "...Uh. Sorry. I shouldn't be so nosy. I don't mean to bother you, Sensei."
"No, it's fine." I say, waving off her concern. "I know I don't take good care of myself... and that I'm a bit suicidal, so... sorry to worry ya."
The pink haired nurse seems surprised from my sudden apology. "Regardless, I haven't done a very good job of taking care of you after you left the hospital, Sensei. I'm ashamed of myself."
"No need to go that far." I chide.
"Maybe I tend to neglect you since you're older..." She ruminates. "I'm so disappointed in myself."
"Hey, you don't need to worry about me so much. There's other people who need your help, so it's fine." I say.
"But I told you that being an adult doesn't mean I can neglect you!" She argues, before taking a moment of silence to think. She then rummages through her bag and pulls out... a juice box? "It's not much, but would you like to have this? It's apple juice."
I stare blankly for a moment, before chuckling a bit. "Of course. Thanks, Serina. I was kinda thirsty, come to think of it."
"Really?!" Serina says, happily as I take the juice box. "Well, then. I'm happy to be of service." She says with a bright smile and a cute giggle. "Good luck with the rest of your work. Just don't overdo it!"
"Don't worry, I won't." I say while sipping the juice box.
"Call me if you ever need help!" She says. "I'll come right away!"
"Thanks, Serina. That means a lot." I say with a smile.
She giggles again. "That's a promise."
I nod. "Promise."
"Then I'll keep that in mind. You know where to find me!" She says, hugging me for a moment, before skipping off.
I just chuckle to myself as I continue my way to the grocery store.
—————
I walk through the aisles of the grocery store, looking through the shelves. Soon, I come upon the fruits aisle. I haven't been eating too healthy lately, have I? Looking over the selection, I notice a few pears left.
Hmm... Haven't had pears in a long time. Why not?
I walk to the few remaining pears, but as I go to grab them, another hand reaches over as well.
"Ah."
"Oh!"
I and a female, judging by the voice, retract our hands.
Looking at the source, I find a... rather mature-looking student.
She has long, black hair that fades to a blue at the ends, and is tied in a high ponytail reaching her lower back, however the hair which frames her face is rather long as well, reaching her hips. On top of her head are black animal ears that fade to white at the tips... are they tapir ears? On one side of her head is a dark blue hairclip, shaped like her halo. She's wearing a black, chinese-esque dress that's rather revealing, mostly around her large bust. The dress is sleeveless and is held only around her neck with green and purple 'ropes', and, despite the fact it has massive 'sleeve holes', or rather lack thereof, which reveal the sides of her breasts, the dress has an opening in the center, revealing the middle of her chest. The dress continues down to her ankles with a pale blue floral pattern. The lower part of the dress splits on one side, at around her bellybutton, but is held by more small, green 'ropes', the same color as her eyes, with her student ID tied to them. Her legs are bare, but her feet are covered in black, high-heeled sandals which reveal her toes, despite covering her ankle. She also has on a... cape... of sorts, which forms sleeves that cover her arms, but not her hands or shoulders. The 'cape' is short, not reaching her butt, and has a fluffy part at the top. As for her halo, it resembles a four-petal flower and is colored a pearlescent blue-green-purple with diamonds scattered within.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She apologizes.
"Nah, it's fine. Go ahead, I'll grab something else." I say.
"Well... if you're sure." She says, picking up the pears and putting them into a bag, while I look at some nearby apples. "Say, you seem familiar..." She says to me.
"I do?" I ask, surprised. "Was I in the paper or something?"
"That's right! You're the man who works at Schale, right?" She asks.
"That's me." I say with a chuckle.
"Wonderful! It's a pleasure to meet you, Sensei." She says with a polite bow. "My name is Sunohara Shun from Shanhaijing Senior Secondary School."
Shanhaijing? Like the Shan Hai Jing, the Classic of Mountains and Seas? The stories about Chinese Mythology?
"Well, I'm Joshua, the Sensei from Schale. It's nice to meetcha, young lady." I introduce myself.
"Young... lady?" She asks slowly, with wide eyes. "I don't think I've ever been called that before."
"Really? Well, it ain't my place to assume." I say.
"No, it's fine. It was a rather nice thing of you to say." She says with a smile.
I look at her bag and see she grabbed all of the pears. Granted, there were only a dozen or so, but still. "You like pears, huh?"
"Oh, no. I'm buying these for the Plum Blossom Garden students." She says.
"Plum Blossom Garden?" I ask.
"It's a group of younger students who I watch over as their instructor. It's officially called the Training Support Department." She explains.
"Well, I hope the young'uns like 'em." I say with a smile.
"Oh, they will. They absolutely adore pears." She says happily, before putting a finger to her mouth. "Say, I have a wonderful idea."
"Oh?" I ask.
"Would you like to meet the children? I mean, if you're not busy, that is." She offers, before hastily correcting herself.
I let out a chuckle. "Sure. How about I come by around lunch, after I finish my shopping?"
"That would be fine, Sensei." She says.
"Well, I'll let ya get back to shopping. I'll see you at lunch, Shun." I say.
"See you then, Sensei." She says as we part ways.
Huh... guess I've got plans.
—————
After I ate some food, I made my way to Shanhaijing. Whereas Hyakkiyako is filled with old Japanese architecture, Shanhaijing is filled with old Chinese architecture. It's a rather impressive and beautiful district, much like Hyakkiyako.
Soon, I reach the school as I realize my problem.
I have no clue as to where Shun is.
The place is pretty barren, too. Everyone must be in class or eating, since it's about lunchtime.
As usual, my thoughts get interrupted...
BOOM
An explosion rings out suddenly. Looking towards the sound, I see a door open as a short, slightly singed girl stumbles out. She doesn't look worse for wear, but is coughing slightly.
"Ugh. Of course I had to use too much." She says in a squeaky voice. Makes sense since she has large, grey mouse ears on her head, one of them seeming to be pierced by a number tag. Her hair too, is a silvery grey and tied in long twintails, with some left, draped across her back, ending at her lower back and a light blue headband tied into a bow on her forehead. She wears a light blue qipao with light orange trim that's sleeveless and quite short, splitting on either side, revealing her hips, while the middle section reaches the bottom of her black shorts. On her arms are separate, silver sleeves that start below her shoulders and turn into kimono-esque sleeves. Around her shoulder, laid next to her waist is a white and grey bag. On her right leg is a pistol holster strapped to her thigh, and below that is a white sock nearly reaching her knee. Her left leg is covered by black leggings, I also notice the long, silver mouse tail coming from her back. On her feet are black shoes that seem to cover as little of her feet as possible, only hiding her toes and heel. Her halo is a white-silver and is shaped similarly to an atom.
As she rubs her head, a small grey and white mouse looks at her worriedly. She looks down at it with a calming face. "Don't worry. I'm fine, Nezusuke." The mouse seems to sigh in relief at that.
A mouse girl and a sentient mouse? What an odd pair.
Shrugging, I walk over to her. "Excuse me."
"Hm?" She makes a noise as she turns to me. The small rodent looks at me, a tad frightened, but mostly curious.
"I'm meetin' Shun here today, you know where she is?" I ask.
"Shun? She's probably with the kids, at the end of that hall." She says, pointing towards it. I follow her finger and see a door at the end of the hall decorated with childish things.
"Ah. Thanks." I say. "But, uh... You okay?"
"Of course. It was just a small mishap. Nothing to worry about." She waves me off.
"Small mishaps don't cause explosions." I say, deadpan.
"Well they do when alchemy is involved." She says.
"Alchemy?" I ask, confused.
She nods in affirmation, puffing out her small chest a bit. "That's right. I am Yakushi Saya, member of the Eastern Alchemy Society! And this here is Nezusuke." She says, pointing to the mouse, who... waves at me.
Alchemy? She probably just means like chemist-related stuff. "Well, it's nice to meet y'all. I'm Joshua, a teacher from Schale."
"YOU'RE that guy from Schale?!" Saya asks with wide eyes, causing me to nod. "That's great! Hey, come by the Alchemy room sometime, I'd love to see what you think, Sensei."
"Sure, I'll swing by. Just give me the word." I say with a smile.
"All right. Later, Sensei!" She says, walking off. "Come on, Nezusuke." The mouse waves at me again, before following Saya.
What a weird day this is turning out to be.
Regardless, I go to the colorful door and knock. After a moment, the door opens, revealing a short girl. One of the kids she's instructing, maybe?
She has long, grey hair which splits in two near the middle of her back and reaches her ankles. Her hair also has hints of black and darker grey here and there with a single strand that's pitch black above her eyes. On top of her head are dark grey rodent-looking ears hiding the black bow on the back of her head. She wears a black dress of sorts that's sleeveless and has a cut-out in the middle of the chest, like Shun's. At the hips, the dress splits on either side and continues down to her mid-shin. Her hips are covered by a different part of the dress that's frilly and white. Her arms are covered by a black blazer with a blue collar and a light blue floral pattern around the cuffs. On top of the blazer, slung over one of her shoulders, is the black strap of the grey bag that hangs by her legs. Her feet are covered by white and black tennis shoes with short, black socks covering her ankles. On her back is a white assault rifle. Her halo resembles a similarly pearlescent-colored, three-petal flower with a red dot in the center and three white petals on the outside of the halo.
"Yes?" She asks in a mature tone, or at least an attempt at one.
"I was supposed to meet Shun here?" I kinda ask.
"Oh, you're the Sensei that sister mentioned?" I nod affirmative. "Come on in." She says, inviting me.
As I step through the door, I follow the short girl through a kid's playroom. It reminds me of elementary school...
"Ah, I should probably introduce myself." The short girl says, stopping to look up at me. "Like I said before, I'm Sunohara Kokona, Shun's little sister. I'm also an instructor here, like my sister."
"Nice to meetcha, Kokona." I say politely. "My name's Joshua. You likely know my job, though."
She continues to lead me through the room as we move to another room, a lunchroom. I see Shun in the kitchen area, doing things.
"Sister, Sensei's here." Kokona calls out.
The taller girl turns around while saying "Ara?" questioningly. "Oh, Sensei. I'm glad you made it."
"Well, thanks for inviting me." I say.
"I'll go back to the kids." Kokona says, as she leaves the room.
Shun giggles as she cups her cheek with her hand. "That girl, always trying to be so mature..."
"She is?" I ask.
"Of course. Kokona is quite smart, you know. She may be in her first year of high school, but she's only eleven years old." The black haired girl explains.
My eyes widen at that info. "She skipped grades?"
"Quite a few, yes." She says with a smile. "But I'm getting off topic." She says, turning towards the many fruits and the like on the counter. "I bought quite a few fruits from the store earlier, but the Promenade donated some for the students around the same time."
"Seems like the little ones'll be happy with that." I say with a smile.
"Hopefully, yes. Anyway, Sensei. Would you mind helping me prepare these?" She asks.
"I'd be glad to." I say.
"Let's see..." She says, scanning her eyes over the fruit. "I'll prepare the persimmons and pears. How about you peel the apples, Sensei?"
"Can do." I say, rolling up my sleeves and moving to the sink to wash my hands first before I get to work.
—————
After a little while, I've nearly finished peeling and slicing the many apples.
"Ara? Well, I'll be. These apples look delectable." Shun says, peering over at my work. "This will be a good skill to have when you grow up, you know."
"Wha?" I ask, turning to her.
She looks nervous and slightly embarrassed at the slip of the tongue. "Pardon me. I'm fully aware you're already an adult. I simply get used to saying these kinds of things because I'm always interacting with the children."
"Eh, no harm, no foul." I say, waving her worries off.
"Now, take a gander at the fruits I peeled. How do they look?" She asks.
I peer over the her pile. "Very good."
"Do they now? It feels good to have your seal of approval." She says with a giggle. "Then should we taste them first?"
"Sure." I say. As I turn around, I see Shun holding a piece of pear with chopsticks, her other hand held out underneath the fruit, in case she drops it.
"Here, Sensei. Say 'Ahh'." She says, holding the fruit to me. I still for a moment, surprised she'd do this. "Don't be shy. Here, have a bite of this." She says with a motherly smile. Truth be told, I'm a bit nervous about this kinda thing. She seems to sense my apprehension, as she continues. "...You don't want to eat the one I picked out for you?" Before I get a chance to respond, she snaps. "Good boys and girls are never picky about their food. The same rule applies to you!" She says with a stern expression, before it softens once more. "Now, one more time. Say 'Ahh'."
Relenting to her whims, I open my mouth and say "Ahh" as she plops the pear in my mouth. I begin to chew as my face warms.
"There. That's better. How does it taste?" She asks, sweetly.
"Great. It's good and fresh and it's sweetness hasn't faded or anything." I say, focusing my taste buds to focus on the flavor.
"Is it? Then I wouldn't mind a bit myself." She says, handing me the chopsticks in her hand. "Don't be shy. It wouldn't be fair if I was the only one doing the feeding."
This girl... Either she's too forward or too used to working with kids.
"Now, it's my turn." She says, expectantly. "Ahh..."
Chuckling, I pick up an apple slice with the chopsticks and plop it into her mouth.
"Mmm!" She moans happily as she begins to chew. "It's even sweeter when you're the one feeding me. I may need another to form an opinion, though" She says with a smile.
...I think she might be worse than Mutsuki...
"Oh my, look at the time." Shun says, looking at the clock.
"Huh. I guess it took longer than we thought." I say, looking at it as well.
"Snack time will be over if we take any longer. We should hurry." She says.
"Right." I say, agreeing.
"You carry those plates over there. I'll bring the ones here." She orders, before giggling. "I'm looking forward to today's snack time."
So, we brought the snacks to the kids. They were happy to meet me, having heard about me doing a bunch of stuff like fighting giant robots in the desert and the like.
I was an enjoyable lunch break, in the end.
—————
After returning home, Shun texted me.
Did you enjoy your fruit, Sensei?
Yeah. It was real good. Thanks for having me over.
Heehee. I'm glad you liked it.
I'll prepare more sweet treats for tomorrow, so please stop by the Plum Blossom Garden often!
Chuckling, I text her back.
Will do.
As I begin to get back to work, I get another text.
"Mutsuki?" I ask out loud, reading her text.
Sensei, you're free today, right?
Nope.
Huh? You're busy?
Yup.
Well, it doesn't matter!
You didn't have a choice to begin with!
What?
Come visit the Problem Solver office today!
She also added an smiling and waving emoticon after. Not an emoji, an emoticon. The closed eyes are greater-than and less-than-or-equal-to symbols.
Letting out a deep sigh, I get up.
"Fuck it. Work can be done later." I groan as I begin to make my way toward the Problem Solver office.
—————
Thus, I knock on the door to the Problem Solver office after making my way here from Schale. Mutsuki opens the door, welcoming me in. "Welcome, Sensei!" She says with a smile.
"Well, I made it here, despite your forcefulness. So whaddya want?" I ask, entering the room as she shuts the door behind me.
"Geez, you're too serious, Sensei." She whines with a pout, before her impish grin appears. "I have lots of things prepared for our game today."
"...Game?" I ask, slowly as she pulls out the bag she always carries and begins rummaging around in it.
"We'll start by playing cards..." She says. "I've got chess, reversi, backgammon... Oh, and karuta!"
"Lots of board games, huh?" I ask.
"Yup. These are the games I brought for today." She says simply. "It's fun to play outside, but relaxing indoors with board games should be just as fun. I'm sure of it!" She declares, before looking at me with a smug grin. "Which game do you want to play first, Sensei?"
And so, the two of us played a bunch of board games and I got no work done.
—————
Before we realized it, it was already the evening.
"Haha! That was fun!" Mutsuki says happily as our little game ended. "Gosh, look at the time! It went by so fast."
I look at my watch to be sure. "Yeah. It's pretty late in the day, huh?"
"Are you tired, Sensei? Want to take a break?" She asks. "Well, I'm thirsty." She says before I can respond. "There should be some drinks around her somewhere..." She then begins looking around the room. "Ah, that's right!" She says as she begins to leave the room, before turning back to me. "By the way, you'd better not look inside my bag while I'm gone, okay? It's a lady's secret!"
"Got no reason to." I say with a shrug.
"Good." She says, before running off.
Why the hell's she so protective of what's in that bag...?
I am curious...
...But at the same time, I don't really care.
Then again, she pulled out a bunch of board games from there. So many that they shouldn't even be able to fit inside, despite how large the bag is.
Suddenly, something in the corner of my eye moves. Turning my head quickly, I find myself staring at the bag.
Am I crazy, or did it just twitch...?
Ugh, those pain meds the nurse girls gave me must be affecting me still. I should probably clean up the board games before-
twitch
"What the fuck?!" I shout as I jump to my feet. The bag wiggled, it fucking wiggled!
As I stare at it for a long moment, it suddenly wiggles twice in quick succession.
...Is her bag possessed?
No way in hell am I touching it.
"Sensei?" Mutsuki calls out.
"Yeah?" I ask, as she enters the room and looks at me with a worried expression.
"What's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost of something." She says, looking at my face.
"Your bag twitched. Is there a toy in there or something?" I ask, seriously.
"Hm? Well, whatever. I brought some drinks." She says, changing the subject as she hands me a can of some drink. "We don't have time for this. We still have so many games to play!" She says with a grin. "So let's move on to the second round!"
Shrugging off my worries, I continued to play games with her until after night began.
Nothing else strange happened, but one thing is certain.
I'm staying the fuck away from that bag.
And so ends another strange day in Kivotos...
—————
AN
ZAMN! SHE'S 11?!?!
Yes, Kokona canonically is 11. I was as surprised as you all when I found out.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next!