It was midnight soon. Her average was that she sleeps for 4 hours per night. Tokaku woke up without even an alarm clock ringing to shock her eyes open. That is how assassins used to wake up. They did not need an alarm clock but their instincts to wake them from their sleep. Tokaku climbed down from her bed, took her sports boots, and wore them. She left her room and walked up quietly but relaxedly in the hallway.
She managed to exit the Pomefiore House and walk to the Mirror Hall. Furthermore, she headed to the field where she started warming up before beginning her training.
She ran laps on the track, did pushups, and simulated combat exercises. All of which were to be done in 2 hours. After a final warm-up, Tokaku decided to return to Pomefiore.
While on the way, suddenly, the blue-haired girl sniffed an aroma out of the blue. "An aroma? It smells like soup is boiling. It probably came from the campus kitchen, but who is cooking in the middle of the night?" the girl thought.
She was curious about the soup aroma, so she went inside the campus. When she peeked at the entrance of the cafeteria, Tokaku saw two figures there who seemed to be talking with each other. Tokaku peered from the cafeteria entrance, but she still couldn't recognize the figures, so she approached them, only to see Jade and Ruggie.
"Okay, see you when I see you," Ruggie said to Jade. When he turned around, he flinched and was shocked to meet Tokaku who appeared behind him. "Ahhh! You scared me," he screamed.
"I am not a ghost," Tokaku said calmly, not surprised by Ruggie's scream.
"Tokaku?" Jade said, surprised to see her suddenly appear in the cafeteria.
"Jade," Tokaku replied, looking at her vice house warden.
"Geez, it is you. The girl who used to be disguised as the masked dude from Octavinelle. What are you doing here at this hour?" Ruggie recognized Tokaku and then questioned her.
"First of all, I have a name. It is Tokaku, for your information. And I am here to know what the soup aroma that I sniffed is, and what are you doing here?" Tokaku said.
"We were just chit-chatting," Jade said.
Tokaku suddenly sniffed another scent other than the soup aroma. "Did you guys cook the soup with wild herbs and vegetables?"
"Yes, that is true. You do have a keen nose. I never knew that before," Ruggie replied.
"I am an assassin, but please don't mind," Tokaku said.
"Noted. Now, my question is what are you doing here at this late midnight?" Ruggie asked the girl.
"That's my business, and because I am a night owl," Tokaku replied.
"Were you just finished practicing your night run and assassin training?" Jade questioned her.
"Yes," Tokaku answered. "Hold on a second. How do you know?" She was so stumped that she asked her vice house warden.
"I noticed that you usually wake up every midnight since I sometimes wake up to go get a glass of water. One night, I found you were wearing your casual sportswear in the hallway as if you were going for a run. Now, it has fed my question since you do appear in casual sportswear right now," Jade explained.
"Okay, I'm busted. You're yet to tell Azul about this?" Tokaku surrendered and asked the sophomore.
"Still yet. However, perhaps I would like to disclose this to him," Jade smirked.
"I don't care. He can put a punishment on me, but not now," Tokaku said.
Ruggie listened to the conversation between the male and the girl. He then interrupted them. "Wow, you two are flowing so well when you are chatting with each other."
"We are close, for your information. That explains why we are well attracted to each other," Jade said.
"I'm used to his way of speaking. There's nothing curious about that," Tokaku added.
"I see. Oh, hey, Tokaku, right?" Ruggie called the blue-eyed girl. "You just finished training, right? Are you hungry? There are some midnight suppers over here, and they need to be chowed down by any time, so do you want to eat them?"
"I'm not sure if I am hungry for now," Tokaku answered him.
"It's fine if you don't want to eat because Jade is gonna take them away to your dorm," Ruggie said.
"Just let him take those foods away. Surely, he can eat them for breakfast with Azul and Floyd," Tokaku said, not minding at all.
"Okay, suit yourself. I am gonna slurp my soup at my dorm, so see you later when I see you," Ruggie said, leaving the male and the girl in the cafeteria with a bowl of soup in his hands.
After he went left, Tokaku turned to see the table that had a few plates of food on it before she looked at Jade. "Are you sure you can carry these to our dorm?" She asked him.
"There are a few of them, but my hands are not enough to carry them all at once. Would you kindly lend a hand to me?" Jade replied and asked for the girl's help.
"Vil is still sleeping at Pomefiore, so I won't be bothered," Tokaku agreed.
She helped to pick up two plates of food while Jade picked up the rest. They brought them to the Octavinelle House. Inside the Mostro Lounge kitchen, they put down the food on the kitchen counter, and then Jade went to grab a few containers to keep in the fridge.
After he packed the food, Tokaku washed the plates, wiped them dry, and placed them aside.
"Thank you for helping me, Tokaku," Jade thanked the blue-haired girl.
"This has nothing to do with helping you. It's just that I miss working in the kitchen," the girl replied.
"Or do you just miss working with us?" Jade guessed.
"As if, but I cannot deny that I like working with you. Unlike Azul and Floyd, you only have a verbal communication problem, which is why I can take you," Tokaku explained.
Jade chuckled. "I feel pleasant when hearing your comments."
Tokaku then checked her wristwatch, which showed the time was 1 in the morning. "Jade, have you gone to sleep before you were at the cafeteria kitchen with Ruggie?" She asked him.
"I did. I just took a walk after I accidentally woke up at midnight. Then I could not return to sleep, so I decided to go strolling around the campus until I heard a clacking noise from the campus kitchen. I checked the kitchen due to my curiosity, and there I found Ruggie using the wild herbs and vegetables that I picked during my last hill hike in his soup," Jade explained.
"Hill hike?" Tokaku thought. Suddenly, her gut felt pain as if she was feeling guilty.
Not then, Jade talked to her, so she snapped out and looked at him. "Tokaku, may I ask you a favor?"
Tokaku nodded. So Jade told her.
"Can we have a conversation at the next midnight?" He asked her, which made Tokaku stump.
"While all of the residents in Pomefiore, including the house warden Vil Schoenheit, are sleeping during the whole night, let's take a chance on that time to have a conversation together," he suggested.
"Why do you want a conversation with me?" Tokaku questioned.
Jade smiled before he answered her question. "It is quite lonely at the bar without you to be working with, or even to talk with."
"There are five days left until I can finally be set free from Pomefiore. Besides, don't you always talk with Floyd and Azul?" Tokaku asked.
"Yes, you're right about that. Although, I love having a conversation with you. Knowing you are my cup of tea," Jade said.
"Really?" Tokaku asked in doubt, raising an eyebrow.
"It is. Your story is an interesting topic that I love hearing from you about, especially your background as a female assassin," Jade replied.
"Are you sure?" Tokaku asked again.
"Please, stop doubting me. I am concerned about you since I, too, besides Azul and Floyd, am under the responsibility of taking care of you," Jade said.
Tokaku sighed. "Alright, fine. Where do you want us to have a conversation?"
Jade pondered. "Hmmm... How about I send you the photo of a certain location through your magi chat, then we can have a conversation over there?"
"The place is not anywhere inside the campus, right?" Tokaku guessed.
"Not inside the campus, but outside nearby the campus, so no one can spot us in the middle of the night if it happens that some students are taking a stroll during that time," Jade explained.
"Well, that's a good idea. So we meet tomorrow at midnight?" Tokaku agreed and asked to confirm before leaving.
Jade nodded. "Yes, tomorrow's midnight indeed."
After that, Tokaku left her vice house warden. She returned to Pomefiore immediately through the dimension mirror in the Mirror Chamber.