Ryuu’s Viewpoint:
I walked back to the dormitory after class and then stopped. I checked my phone and saw a message from the store owner. I looked over it and then called Itsuki.
R: Itsuki, can you meet me at the gate?
I: Uh yeah, sure.
Itsuki walked to the gate in three minutes and then looked at me. I passed him my bag and then waved a farewell to him.
R: Sorry. Could you take my bag back for me?
I: Sure. Is it store work?
R: Yeah. I’ll be back by six.
Itsuki nodded and then walked back to the dormitory room. I ran to the bus stop and then looked at my watch. Mikoto walked up and saw me waiting for the bus.
M: Ryuu, do you need to go somewhere?
R: Yeah. To the central district. I need to get to the mall.
M: The mall?
R: For something work related.
M: Okay. I understand. Do you want me to call someone to drive you there?
R: I would feel bad if you did that.
M: No. It’s fine. He’ll be here in three minutes.
The car pulled up exactly in three minutes and Mikoto pushed me inside. She took the front seat and then told the driver the destination. I looked around in the back of the car and felt the leather seats. The entire car’s interior was tidy and well-kept with a shine to it. The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror and then looked back onto the road.
M: We’ll be there in twenty minutes.
R: I appreciate you doing this, Mikoto.
M: Actually, I have a favor to ask if you don’t mind.
R: Not at all. You’re giving me a ride so I can’t refuse.
M: Could you help me give something to Seiji?
R: Sure, but wouldn’t it be easier if you just gave it to him yourself?
M: No. You have to do it for me. If you refuse, I’ll drop you off right now in the middle of the road and then have my driver kick you out and rough you up.
R: Heh, that’s really funny, Mikoto. I don’t I’ll refuse.
M: I’m serious, Ryuu.
R: I’ll accept. Definitely, I’ll do it.
M: Good. I’ll give you what I want you to give Seiji later on.
R: Okay. I appreciate your generosity.
We finally arrived at the mall and I thanked Mikoto once again for the ride. I took off my school suit and then rolled my dress shirt sleeves. Running to the third floor, I entered the shop and found the boss.
B: Hey, Tatsumaki, you’re early.
R: Didn’t you send me a message that you needed me here early?
B: Oh, I did. That’ s right. Wre’re getting in shipments today and I wanted you to take them into the storage room.
R: Of course, are they in the in the back?
B: Yeah. Go ahead. I’ll be here for now.
I walked to the back of the mall and saw a person paling boxes down on the ground. I asked him about the packages and confirmed that it was the ones for the store. He gave me a clipboard and I signed off for the packages. He drove his truck off and I lifted up the three boxes. As I approached the storage room, I felt a sense of danger. I dropped the boxes onto the ground and looked around. No one appeared and I shook my head, doubting my instincts. Picking up the boxes again, I entered the storage room and placed the boxes into the correct section. As I closed the door behind me, I saw two men in suits stare down at me.
P1: Tatsumaki Ryuu?
P2: We’re here to ask you a couple of questions.
R: And what would that be?
P1: More like, we need to take you away.
The man on my left swung his fist and he knocked me down to the ground. The other man hauled a bag over my head and then dragged me. I kicked the man dragging me in the legs and he threw me to the ground. I heard shouts and yelling and then the sound of footsteps running away.
B: Ryuu, you okay?
R: Hey, boss. Damn it, that hurt.
B: Really?
R: Well, maybe not. But it still stings even if it was a slow punch.
B: You’re tougher than that. Finish moving the rest of the packages.
R: I know. Can I get some ointment for later?
B: It depends on your work.
R: Fine. But I will get that ointment.
B: I don’t know. Ryuu, are you sure you can pull off this work?
R: Please, this is nothing compared back to in China.
B: You’re right about that. I’ll leave you to it.
I carted the other packages of meat into the storage room and then walked back up to the store. The boss looked at me with a smile and then tossed me a bottle of liquid. I looked at the label and then nodded.
R: This is some good stuff. Did you smuggle it in?
B: No. Not at all. It’s part of my personal collection I brought over.
R: Mind if I keep it for future use?
B: If your paycheck doesn’t mind. It’ll be your salary for the week.
R: Thanks. I’d rather trade the money for this anyways.
I checked out and then walked back to the bus stop. To my surprise, I saw the same car that drove me here on the curb. The driver stood outside with a cigarette and then waved his hand at me.
DRV: Hey. The master requested I pick you up.
R: Mikoto?
DRV: Yes.
R: Thanks. I appreciate it.
DRV: She brought you the item that she requested you give to Kanshou.
R: Okay. Should I go in or wait…
DRV: Get in first. It’ll be fine.
R: Alright.
I entered through the front door and then saw a box wrapped in pretty gift wrap. I picked up the box and then placed it in my pocket. The driver nodded and then as we waited at a red light, he checked off something with his pen. I observed the motion and then leaned back on the seat. We finally arrived at the school dormitory and I thanked the driver for the ride. He nodded and immediately drove off.
When I walked into my room, I saw Itsuki eating dinner. Blowing the steam off the chow mien, he looked up and then went to grab a bowl for me. I placed the present that Mikoto wanted me to give onto the table and then washed my hands in the bathroom. I saw Itsuki looking at the box with curiosity.
R: Uh, in exchange for getting a ride from Mikoto, she wants me to give that to Seiji. She’s really nice but I feel that she’s hiding some of her true personality.
I: Yeah? Hmm, it doesn’t seem like that but I wouldn’t know.
R: Well, guess I’ll find Seiji tomorrow and get it to him. How are we on the sauce?
I: Good. I think we have three bottles left.
R: Okay. I’ll ask the boss for more if we need to.
I: I’ll be in on Friday so you don’t have to worry about it.
R: Okay. Is the anime I wanted to watch downloading?
I: I set it up on the computer. It should be done now.
R: Good. Well, guess I’ll do the homework after this.
I: Oh yeah, guess I should do mine too. But I’m so tired.
R: Do it, Itsuki.
I: Fine. I’ll do it after the dishes.
We finished eating and then Itsuki washed the dishes. I took out my homework and pulled the light on my desk towards the paper. Itsuki also started on his homework and when the clock finally struck 9:00, I put down my pen and stretched. Placing all the work into the correct folders, I placed the bag down near my bed and watched Itsuki scratch his head. He finally started writing again and then pushed himself away from the desk.
I: What do you want to do?
R: Watch anime. Actually, we should finish that video game.
I: You’re right. We’re still at 60% completion.
R: Should we?
I: Let’s just do it.
I booted up the game console and then tossed a controller over to Itsuki. He caught it and then pressed start on the controller. The game appeared on the screen and we played for an hour before stopping.
I: Done?
R: You need more sleep, Itsuki. You’re always complaining.
I: I should listen to you more often, Ryuu. Alright, I’ll go to sleep now.
I turned off the lights and then dropped into bed. The soft feeling of the mattress and the blankets soon lured me to sleep. My eyes closed and the day ended without much trouble.
Nakadachi’s Viewpoint:
I saw Seiji return after school with a small box in his right hand. I twirled away from my computer and then looked at him with a smile.
ND: It’s amazing how you always get girls.
SJ: Nakadachi, please drop that. I’m not getting anyone.
ND: Says the one with a gift. But seriously, who gave it to you?
SJ: Ryuu.
ND: Ryuu? Whoa, that’s kinda…
SJ: Ryuu via Mikoto.
ND: Oh, I was confused there for a minute. She should have just given it to you herself. I wonder what’s in there.
SJ: No idea. I don’t have practice today but I’ll drop by the pool later. You in?
ND: Not today. I think I have to catch up on two days of homework.
SJ: How do you always pull that off without trouble?
ND: The teachers said he’d forget to collect it so he gave us an extra day.
SJ: So lucky. Should I open it? I feel maybe I shouldn’t.
ND: If you don’t want to do it in front of me, it’s fine.
SJ: No. I’ll open it. Let’s see what’s in here.
ND: Tell me. I don’t want to look up from this homework.
SJ: Well. More gift wrap and a small thank you note. Hmm, what’s this, whoa!
ND: What? Is it something cool?
SJ: It’s a watch.
ND: What kind?
SJ: It’s a $500 watch.
ND: Really?
Caught by surprise, I looked up from the homework I was working on. Seiji held an expensive watch in his left hand and I saw the golden tint on it. The band was also golden in color and I asked Seiji to see it. He placed it in my left hand and I stared at the clock face and then inspected the band. All of it appeared genuine and I returned it to Seiji.
ND: Well, I wonder what this means…
SJ: Please. I don’t take it as anything. It’s just a gesture from her.
ND: Really? I don’t know. A $500 watch seems to me that-
SJ: Don’t say anything. I’ll wear it for now but I’ll talk to Mikoto about it tomorrow.
ND: She won’t be at practice?
SJ: No. She’ll be there tomorrow.
Seiji left the room after changing and I worked on the pile of homework I accumulated. In twenty minutes, I plowed through half of the homework and then paused. Looking at the computer, I logged in on the messenger program and saw Nex online. I called him and he answered.
NX: What?
ND: Nothing. Just wanted to see what is up?
NX: Nothing much. I’m just doing homework.
ND: Oh, good timing. What problem are you on?
NX: Three.
ND: Damn, you’re hella slow. Why only three?
NX: I don’t freakin know. Stop distracting me, I need to get this shit done now.
ND: I’ll help you, I swear. The answer to #2 is well… crap where I did put the reading?
NX: Damn it, Nakadachi. Look I’m going to hang up and I’ll talk to you later.
ND: No, no, don’t hang up! I got this. Let’s see, #2, is not that hard. Is should be “flee without care”, right?
NX: I got that answer.
ND: That was wrong. Why did you say you got it?
NX: What are you talking about?
ND: The answer should be “flee without comrade”. Why did you give me the wrong answer, Nex?
NX: Screw you, I’m hanging up.
The call ended and I went back to the homework. Finishing the rest of the math homework and literature, I turned to the other subjects I had. Looking in the textbook, I sighed and searched for answers. I finally finished and looked up at the clock to see 7:00 PM.
ND: Time to get dinner.
I walked to the cafeteria and saw Mikoto sitting at one of the tables. Grabbing my dinner, I stopped by her table.
M: Nakadachi, good evening.
ND: Good evening. It’s rare to see you here.
M: Is it? I guess you come here more than I do.
ND: Yeah. So you usually get dinner from home, right?
M: Yeah. My parents usually send it over from the mansion. But I guess they were out so I grabbed dinner here tonight.
ND: I see very clearly.
M: Nakadachi, did you see Seiji after school today?
ND: I did. Why?
M: Was he wearing a watch?
ND: Ah that. He opened the gift you gave him when he got back to the dorm and wore it.
M: Really? Does it look nice on him?
ND: I wouldn’t really know. It’s hard for me to tell.
M: Okay. That’s okay if you can’t tell.
ND: I could call him right now.
M: It’s fine. I think you want to get back, right? I have to head back too.
Mikoto left the lunchroom and I carried my dinner back to the room. Eating while watching videos online, I wondered about the situation between Seiji and Mikoto. I would ask him later.
Hako’s Viewpoint:
After school, I checked my phone and saw a message from Rin. I walked to the student council room and then entered. Rin looked up and then tossed me a band.
RN: Go to the rooftop and investigate.
H: Wait, I thought that I was restricted.
RN: No, get pictures and write down observations.
H: Is it safe?
RN: Just go!
H: I understand.
Before I left, Aiko handed me a camera and a notepad. Smiling she slipped a granola bar into my pocket and then went back to typing. I sighed and then walked up the stairs to the rooftop. When I reached the door leading into the rooftop, I heard noises. Slowly walking up, I peered through the crack of the open door. There were three men in dark suits and they were inspecting the fences. One of them held pliers in his right hand and another held a bolt cutter. I thought about the situation and decided to go back and report to the Souhou twins.
With no idea about the men outside, I needed to play it safe. While confident about my own combat skills, I doubt I could hold my own with those three men. The fence was also a factor. The best course of action would be to retreat and report back to the twins. I walked down the stairs with light footsteps and then bolted to the student council room. I opened the door in a hurry and rushed in.
H: Hey. There are three suspicious men up on the rooftop.
RN: Right now?
H: Yes.
RN: Aiko, contact the police and have our disciplinary committee on standby.
AK: Got it!
I watched the twins contact people and then I realized I still held the camera in my hand. It would have been nice to take pictures but I feared the sound of the camera might have alerted them.
RN: Denshin, give me a description.
H: Do you have paper? I can sketch them for you.
AK: That would be amazing. Here you go.
I took the paper that Aiko gave me and started to roughly sketch the three men I saw up on the rooftop. Using the eraser and pencil, I managed to draw out an accurate representation of the three people up there. Adding the final touches to it, I handed my drawing over to Rin. She took the sketch and fed it through the fax machine.
RN: The police wanted a description but this is better. I guess I can actually say god job on this one. Be proud, Denshin.
I soon heard the engine of vehicles arriving. There were heavy footsteps as the police rushed up the stairs. I looked outside and saw five officers in tactical gear enter. Five minutes later, I heard the footsteps descend back down. An announcement played throughout the entire school telling all students to evacuate at once. I looked out from the room window and saw all three men in handcuffs. A police officer entered the room and started to ask questions.
PO: You were the one who saw them first?
H: Yes. They were holding tools.
PO: Those sketches. Amazing, did you do them?
H: I did.
PO: Son, those are damn good sketches. Consider joining the force, we need people like you. But I’m glad you contacted us though.
H: Why’s that?
PO: They were armed. I doubt they would have allowed you to leave alive if you didn’t call us.
H: Oh. I didn’t know.
AK: Good job, Hako, you did the right thing coming back to us. You‘re safe.
RN: Officer, is that all.
PO: Yes. I’ll contact you if I need anything else.
The police officer exited the room and I sat down in chair. Aiko patted me on the shoulder and then went back to work. I looked at Rin and she gave me new orders. Things never changed but at least I gained the respect of the Souhou twins.
Lantern Dragon Works 