It was odd for Kato, but nevertheless here he was, a short way outside the rear door to 3-B’s classroom in a nook tucked away in a conveniently isolated part of the corridor, a brief while before homeroom. Students were up and about, trickling in from outside or lingering around their friends before the bell would usher them back to their seats.
“Congratulations on your successful performance in last week’s talent show, Kato.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, Stephen.”
They met regularly in this manner at the behest of Gilbert. By delegating their intel sharing to an intermediary such as Stephen and a location away from Class A or Class F, the connection between Kato and Gilbert would be much less obvious to the typical onlooker.
“You usually don’t have good things to say about me, though. What’s with the change of heart?”
“It’s nothing strange. You’re an ally now, and I accept that premise. At minimum, I’d need to give basic courtesy to someone that I need to work with.”
“I see, I see.”
“It would do you good to be emotionally flexible with regards to the people around you, too.”
“Coming from you, that sounds like total bullcrap.”
“I admit I don’t have the best of reputations when it comes to making friends and enemies, but at least I know what my deficiencies are. You, on the other hand, can only get away with this much because you’re a future Heart.”
“Shouldn’t I be using my advantages, then?”
“And make a mess out of everything else in the process? You, of all people, should know that if you keep doing things as you have, things are gonna continue to slip out of your grasp. Am I wrong?”
Kato instantly realized Stephen was referring to what he initially congratulated him on. It was a painfully sore spot, but he took it on the chin nonetheless. If he had been better at managing his interpersonal relationships, then their talent show programme wouldn’t even be on the table to start with.
“No. You’re absolutely right. You live and learn.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have any good ideas either if our positions are reversed. As long as you’re aware of it, I suppose it’s fine.”
The reason why they weren’t diving into sharing intel was because they actually didn’t have anything new to share. However, absence of new information was also important intel, so they dutifully kept up contact. In these cases, it devolved into idle, trivial chitchat, adding to the obscurity of the real purpose of their meetups. Additionally, today, the presence of a third person definitively put a hold on the whole conspiracy ring with Gilbert.
“Kato, I think you did the most that you could. I appreciate what you did for Caius and Mayumi.”
Cecilia was a little stiff speaking to Kato, as she was usually with people she didn’t often talk to, but at least she dutifully got her point across.
“No, Celia. You’re the one who’s with them now. As much as I have done, I failed them in the end. So, I can only ask you to continue to take care of them.”
“N-no worries. I’ll be there, and Ariel will be there too. You have my word.”
Kato smiled thinly.
“I should be the one appreciating you for your friendship, not the other way around.”
“No sir, you’re being too modest. My abilities are limited. At most, I can only be a friend to them.”
“Cecilia, just because you realized how much of a big shot he is as a future Heart, doesn’t mean you need to address him with any deference. At the end of the day, he’s just one of many scumbags like me who lives within this wretched system.”
“Sure, we all vaguely knew they were deities trained by Eternia like this school is supposed to, definitely going to be a nomenklatura or a kabinet, but no one explained to me he would actually become the biggest of the big!”
It was true. Eternia training children for war was not uncommon, and as Cecilia mentioned, that was the purpose of the very school they were attending—Gilbert was another living example. All children raised by Eternia were expected to aspire to become a Hearts candidate, and this as a concept it was public knowledge, as displayed by Cecilia. But Kato and Evie’s predetermined Hearts membership, not just candidacy, being obscured up to this point was quite remarkable. This information must have travelled quite far and wide by now, given it had been two months since their Hearts candidacy and Sisi’s proctoring for membership was made official to the wider kabinet.
“Stephen’s right. You don’t have to treat me any more special than what you always have. It’s just the day job I’ve been saddled with after I graduate from here.”
“That day job is a very unique day job, good sir. Please don’t throw it around like it’s nothing special. You might as well be the crown prince of this land.”
Kato raised an eyebrow, intrigued at her analogy, but he played along anyway.
“Being a crown prince is probably more mundane of a day job than you think.”
“Doesn’t look that way to me.”
She shook her head, slightly exasperated. Kato didn’t blame her, though. Cecilia was indeed just an average person with no special ability, pedigree or talents suitable for any grand ambitions. He smiled when he thought that Cecilia was just like the original Elites: regular folk who lived their lives as regular folk.
“…what’s that creepy smirk for?”
Apparently his good mood was slightly condescending for Cecilia, whose bemusement only deepened.
“It’s nothing. I’m just glad to see that the two of you seemed to have reconciled.”
“W-well, it’s not like we had any real bad blood between us. We were just kept apart by our families.”
Flustered now, Cecilia stumbled on her words as Stephen nodded, oblivious to his cousin’s embarrassment.
“I see. You’re a family man, too. Your younger sister’s Teto, right? I respect that.”
Totally ignoring Cecilia’s flabbergasted reaction, the two men nodded in agreement with each other. Luckily for Cecilia, she was spared the inevitable family-related exposition when the bell rang for imminent homeroom.
“Anyway, both of you, let’s be careful. Arnold is returning tomorrow. We’ll keep in touch.”
“Got it.”
They parted ways, each in the direction of their respective classrooms. The vague threat of Arnold loomed not only over them and their cohorts, but the rest of the third-years as well. Now that this morsel of intel had become a public secret, the atmosphere was quite sullen among the third-years, contributing to their muted efforts to continue their resistance against the Act of Neutrality.
In fact, it was precisely this revelation that brought enough of the Assembly to vote yes for this law. The line of thought was that if a large enough minority of students could lobby the faculty to take action—especially against Arnold—then it was likely worth giving up certain civil liberties in exchange for safety. If the problem of Arnold was left entirely to the student body, i.e. the Assembly, the student council, or the Public Safety Committee, authority would be too fractured to deal with a crisis swiftly and effectively before something unforgivably terrible happened. These disparate centres of power would need a convenient avenue to lobby the faculty on their own to deal with such crises, and the Act of Neutrality would open those gates.
On their way back, the halls quickly emptied as students rushed back to their classrooms. The cousins found themselves on their own, which at that point Stephen stopped them with a peculiar question.
“Do we actually get along?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
She twirled around on the spot, bringing her apprehensive eyes to meet him. She was clearly annoyed by the nature of the question.
“Exactly as I said. Do we have a good relationship now? As family?”
“Obviously, we don’t. We don’t share many things, whether it’s interests, ability, friend groups, or standing within the larger family. At most, we’re distant relatives who hate seeing each other, but need to manage the familial relations together once in a while. Even in Class B, you’re not really interacting with anyone but me and Mayumi, aren’t you?”
“I do my bare minimum to contribute to the class. I just don’t have the time to spend on them.”
“You need to show that you care, y’know? And not have that weird standoff-ish face all the time that scares them away.”
“But this is what I look like all the time.”
Cecilia was suddenly aghast, instantly putting two and two together. She put her palm to her forehead, once again just as exasperated as before.
“…no wonder I thought—we all think—you’re unapproachable. This aggression is just your default mode. Oh my gosh, what the hell.”
“Well, it’s true that my usual is like this. That’s always how it is for me.”
“If you’re aware of it, then have you tried not doing that?”
Clearly out of patience, she began to storm back into their classroom, but she was stopped again by another peculiar remark from Stephen.
“I only do that for you now, don’t I?”
She stomped back towards him with her face flushed red, triggering a recent memory. If it was anybody else, she wouldn’t have the courage to do so, but because she was used to spouting expletives at Stephen, the distressing and humiliating words rolled off her tongue before any second thoughts were ascribed to it.
“Are you trying to hit on me?”
“I’m honoured that you think so, but no. As I said, it’s just that you’re the only one I’m nice to.”
Her brain imploded.
“Then you can be nice to other people, too! What the hell are you doing?”
Stephen chuckled lightly.
“C’mon, Cecilia. Let’s get back inside.”
She got even angrier when it seemed that she was the only one getting all worked up at this, and he was amused at her expense.
“You’re so…fucking obstinate!”
She managed to mutter the curse under her breath—luckily, since that was about to come out at max volume. She fumed silently as she followed her so-called obstinate cousin back into their classroom, whose mood was now glowingly bright, very unusual for a man as serious as Stephen.
“Look, I’m just glad that we’re finally getting along.”
Her face burned even hotter, and with Stephen about to open the classroom door, she was forced to stay quiet. He got the last laugh, to her chagrin.
“Oh, finally, you guys are here. Let’s get homeroom started already.”
Ms Kadowaki complained merrily as she spotted the last two of her students file in from the rear door. A few eyes wandered to the foreign duo, but most of Class B was immune to the novelty of newcomers. After all, they were music students, and in a lot of respects they existed in their own social bubble.
At the back of the classroom, Cecilia took her place next to, while Stephen sat behind, Mayumi. On the other side of Mayumi was Caius and Eon, the ever frisky duo with perpetual smirks on their faces. How utterly maddening.
And so, their fragile yet peaceful days continued. Thinking objectively, it was normally impossible to be placed into a class with both her extended family in it, but somehow that miraculous encounter with Caius in the library this autumn of their third-year led to the most favourable ending for Cecilia. On top of the friends and family sitting next to her, she was taken out of the suffocating environment of Class C, too.
As someone who didn’t get to experience joy very often, it was euphoric and made her light-headed. She smiled more often, and allowed her awkward personality to come to the surface more easily. It was a healing session long overdue.
This awfully ordinary warmth was precious, she realized, and by coincidence, had finally understood why Kato had gone to such lengths to perform in the talent show. It was because of this that she respected Kato as much as she showed earlier, but of course it was too embarrassing to vocalize it. All she could manage so far was a promise that she would take care of the Elites in his place, and that was enough for them both.
When lunch rolled around, the two jokesters and Cecilia left for the cafeteria to buy lunch to bring back to the classroom for their somewhat insular group of five to eat. It had become their usual routine, after adjusting to their new environment.
“Let me put away some stuff in my locker.”
Eon left the two of them in the cafeteria line, who made use of this idle time to do something productive. Eon was probably the most efficient of the Elites in retrospect.
As they idled contently in line, Caius asked.
“Do you wanna stay in the drama department?”
Cecilia continued to let her eyes wander around the vast cafeteria. It was as spacious as the grand library on the floor above it, and if need be, it could probably host a respectable production here—it was about a third as big as the Assembly Hall.
“I think I will. You guys wanna join band because we’re in Class B now, right?”
“Band” was the shorthand for the school’s official concert band, also known as a wind ensemble in other parts of the empire. It was the main performing musical ensemble of the school, owned and run by the music department that Class B held a monopoly over. Unlike in the drama department, the music department historically only recruited from Class B for their musical competitions, so there were much fewer students from outside classes who would willingly join band. Only very special exceptions were ever made, such as their drive to recruit a once-in-a-decade talent like Alice, so an opportunity to join this exclusive club was hard to come by.
“Yeah, we’re thinking about it, especially for me and Mayumi who actually have a significant musical background.”
They weren’t kidding. Mayumi and Caius would make solid musicians at the high school level. Though she was a bit glum that they would be in different clubs moving forward, on the other hand they were in the same class together now. It felt like she would be asking too much to have Caius join her every hour of school.
“Eon and Stephen aren’t joining, but I think that’s a given. They’ll figure something out.”
“Don’t remind me. Stephen wants to join the drama department just so he can watch over me.”
“Hey, the more the merrier. Stephen’s physical strength isn’t something to scoff at. He’ll be perfect at working the stage.”
“But isn’t that creepy? I mean, he’s being super-considerate and overbearing at the same time, all of a sudden. What the hell is going on?”
“Super-considerate and overbearing sounds just right, isn’t it? That’s what family is like.”
Cecilia was suddenly caught with her tongue tied, precisely because Caius got it right. This was probably what a normal family would have felt like. His observations were astute as always.
“I mean, that’s still super-weird, isn’t it? It’s too weird, dude.”
“C’mon, you’re just not used to it. Look, I don’t know what his interactions with you were like before, and you’re probably freaking out because of the contrast, but from the outside, it doesn’t look weird at all. In fact, it looks perfectly normal.”
“Ugh…you’re probably right.”
Still somewhat unconvinced, Cecilia shook her head dejectedly, even if she couldn’t get over whatever was infinitely wrong with a good-behaving Stephen. It was a bias cultivated since childhood, and it wasn’t to be undone in a mere few weeks.
“It’s fine, Celia. Life is better for you this way anyway, right? Compared to what it was before.”
Finally, she smiled softly, and brought her eyes to her friend who was in the process of making a light smirk.
“You’re right about that, too.”
“Besides, you should be missing me. I’m outta that pit of fire no matter what you say, though.”
She stifled a giggle. There was no end to his flamboyance. She pushed him on the shoulder playfully.
“I’m a fire-type. I can only live in the pit of the volcano.”
“That makes Stephen a fire-type. Mayumi, too, in fact. It makes so much sense now.”
“Stop being a dumbass.”
She was laughing out loud now, blissfully enjoying her mundane, ordinary high school life. Caius’ smirk never faltered, him too enjoying himself. The line moved forward some more, with about ten students remaining ahead of them.
“Do you still feel like you’re Tommy?”
As she allowed her thoughts to freewheel, one of her thoughts were read out loud by her lips, giving her next moment a massive internal face-palm. Caius, nevertheless, took her question to heart.
“I think I’m way past Tommy’s story by now, don’t you think?”
Duly surprised, she continued to ask, forgetting her momentary embarrassment.
“Are you going to follow after Mayumi, still?”
“On the whole, yes. After everything’s said and done, I don’t think I can let it go yet. I hold onto grudges for dear life, I’ve been told.”
“I see…”
Caius heard a slight twinge of disappointment in her voice, but he didn’t hold it against her. He also thought it was a pathetic display, too.
“Things are different from before, though. I’m in a way better place than before, and believe me, you’re part of it.”
“…”
“I have lots of regrets, but I’m okay with them for now. That’s how I’d describe myself right now. Thanks for asking, my friend.”
Back in the classroom, the black-haired half-siblings sat together in a tense silence. Like with Cecilia, there was no actual bad blood between them; their parents’ relationships were not theirs. It was obvious in both their distastes for their respective parent’s decisions, especially because of the fact that they were of the same age—how else could they explain their half-sibling relation, other than the father’s infidelity?
So it was simply like this: because of Stephen’s intimidating aura and Mayumi’s natural combativeness, she mirrored his pose and posture. This meant that they were given a wide berth, unapproachable by the rest of Class B—even if the two of them were not in fact in a fight of any sort. Instead, they stared at each other with wary interest as if they were playing against each other in a game of poker.
“Are the Class F folks doing okay?”
“You should stop using me as a go-between for your friends.”
They spoke lightly to avoid the possibility of anyone overhearing.
“You’re the only one I can count on who’s on regular speaking terms with them.”
“I don’t mean that. I just mean that you should sort out your personal affairs with your own two hands.”
“If I thought I could, I would’ve already done so.”
“Well, I suppose you have your reasons to be unable to show up in front of him.”
They didn’t exactly know each other very well. Their relationship up until now was that they were feuding relatives who at most saw each other briefly a couple of times a year under acrimonious circumstances. Needless to say, they didn’t particularly have anything to do with each other—anything substantial would have to be built from the ground up, starting from now.
“So, how’re they doing?”
“Seems to be going just fine. They’re wary of Arnold’s return, but that’s the case for everyone.”
“Well, the first thing’s reassuring to hear. On the other thing, I can’t believe that guy’s coming back. He was a bastard already back when we were in freaking grade three. What the hell is the faculty planning here?”
“You know it’s the faculty’s doing?”
Stephen raised an eyebrow. He didn’t expect Mayumi to be aware of the politics behind all of this.
“I’m still Mira’s pawn, for better or for worse. I was briefed on some things about his return, like how she’s gonna soft-support him politically upon his return, but I feel like I’m still missing some pieces. But that’s okay. I’ve decided that I’m not here to cause any more trouble. I’m retired, so to speak.”
Laying bare her intentions, she sighed in resignation.
“Missing pieces? How so? That’s about it, right? Madam President owes the faculty a lot in exchange for her Hearts membership recommendation—which I don’t even know how far that has progressed—so she’s gonna follow the faculty’s orders for the foreseeable future. Mona’s AC days are numbered.”
“I mean, even if it was an order from the faculty, it wouldn’t make sense for Mira to swallow that without any resistance. At most, I expected her to take a non-intervening stance. In fact, never mind non-intervention, I thought she would outright veto his return to this school.”
“Why’s that?”
“He was a creep who was obsessed with Mira in a very… warped way. And that was from when I was still a wee lass more than seven years ago. You think he’s gonna be any different, if he’s already been banished from here once before for a real crime?”
“Hmm…you do have a point.”
“Plus, from what I heard between the grapevines of the organization, that crime involved Mira, too. Obviously, she wasn’t an accomplice, so she must have been a witness or a victim. I dug a little into it what I could with my future sight, and in my own personal judgment, I can comfortably say that that’s true, so when I heard about this soft-support thing the first time, I was genuinely shocked.”
“…wait a minute. The crime he was officially censured for was physical assault against Eternian dignitaries. After that, Eternia decided he was also too temperamental to be kept around other children, which I agree with, and he was expelled from school. You’re saying that assault was not the crime, and it involved Mirabelle?”
“I couldn’t figure out what the specific crime was, either, but simple assault wasn’t it. And to be fair to them, if li’l old me could figure it all out easily, then Eternia can just close up shop and never work in this town again. Give them some credit for covering this all up.”
“You’re right. They never did explain the details of his crime. It’s totally possible that they just put out something that would be very believable to the public, and we ate all that up in relief, to be totally honest. We were ready to buy anything, cuz we just wanted that bastard out of here.”
“You see? That’s why this baffles me.”
“…is this something we can share with the others?”
“You mean with Gilbert and Kato? Hmm…I don’t really care either way, but would it do any good for them to make moves based on my speculations? Or worse, you’re probably not supposed to dig deeper into it.”
“So you nonchalantly told me something that could lead me and the others into actual trouble? Really now?”
“Hey, you’re the esteemed head of the Liguro family now. You can handle a li’l heat, can’t you?”
“Now I kinda get why you’re described as a ticking time bomb. There’s no chill with you around.”
“Oi, who said that?!”
Stephen shook his head bemusedly as he ignored her question. It seemed like he would have to consider the best time and place to mention this bit of detail, though luckily it didn’t seem to be anything time-sensitive. At the very least, he would consult with Gilbert first, before anyone else.
“Anyway, enough of Class F’s problems. How’re you faring here, brother? It’s been a few weeks since you’re kicked out of Class A.”
“Never been better. I could use a break from politics.”
“Wow, you’re mellowing out quite quickly. What happened to the oaf-faced no-nonsense cutthroat mobster?”
“He’s still here, isn’t he? Right here.”
He pointed to his signature default harsh expression. Mayumi wasn’t convinced, though she was somewhat putting up a face as she did so. A spark flashed in the corner of her eye, and she immediately started talking again.
“Is it because of Celia that you’re mellowing out? Love does that to a man, as they always say.”
“Please. We’re talking about family here.”
“Your father is a great example of that, though; obsessing over his sister, that is. Can’t say anything about the mellowing out part.”
“Just because I love Cecilia a lot, doesn’t mean it has to be a toxic relationship like my father and Aunt Nellie. In fact, I’d like to avoid that as much as possible.”
“Oho? You love her a lot, huh? You should say it out loud and on its own. Declare it like an eternal promise.”
“You and Cecilia are my beloved sister and cousin, and I’d cherish you both as such.”
“My God, that sounded really corny.”
“You asked, and you shall receive.”
The deadpan delivery of humour probably fit Stephen’s character the most, so Mayumi was quite pleased with how the whole situation turned out—especially when she was getting so much fun out of it as she tried to stifle the silent laughs that were shaking her.
“…just what was that all about?”
Behind them, Cecilia stammered. She had just returned to their seats, while the other two boys were still at the door with lunch sets in their hands, held back by an inquiring classmate and unaware of Mayumi and Stephen’s conversation.
Mayumi, naturally with her demonic eye, knew the exact timing of Cecilia’s two-steps-early return and decided to prank her a little. The deepening colour in Cecilia’s cheeks and flickering eyes demonstrated that it was all working as intended. Mayumi couldn’t hold it back any longer and burst out in laughter.
“Did I stutter?”
Stephen, however, was unperturbed by how Mayumi manipulated him into saying some really embarrassing things for Cecilia to hear. On the contrary, he didn’t think much of it, as he had nothing to hide about it. If anything, as a political operator, he was on red alert for eavesdroppers who might use this against him, more worried about their political fates than Cecilia’s scorched face.
“No, but…!”
As a not-a-political-operator, Cecilia didn’t think about any big picture, and proceeded straight to speechlessness. She even forgot she was holding onto a couple of bags, which she now gripped to the point of permanently warping the plastic. The stun skill was very effective from Mayumi, who was still doubled over and laughing.
“Hey guys—what happened? What’s so funny?”
After finishing their brief conversation with that classmate, Caius and Eon returned to find a bizarre situation. Of course, they were by no means distracted by it. In fact, it was obvious to them that Mayumi engineered this, given she was the one enjoying it the most.
“Nothing of importance. Now, let us have our meals. Time is at hand for lunch.”
Stephen replied coolly, perhaps to give Cecilia a chance to sit down and move on from the encounter entirely. She got the first part, but not the second. Instead, she felt like she needed to address it, no matter what. She sat down in her seat and turned around to face Stephen.
“I…I appreciate the sentiment. The feeling is mutual…probably…yeah. Something like that…”
Stephen snickered as she continued to stumble on her words. It wasn’t much, but it was more than enough for him.
“I understand.”
The other three were already immersed in a chat about the trading card game they played, and apparently their classmate played it too, which was the topic of their doorway conversation. They missed out on the cousins’ tender moment, luckily for Cecilia.
“T-then great. L-let’s eat.”
She quickly dove into her bento box and shifted herself back towards Mayumi and the others. Stephen, too, graciously retreated into the group’s backseat. And with that, their youthful days continued.
The student council executives—the Jupiter sisters—sans Mirabelle were huddled together on their own on the opposite side of the classroom from the old Elites. Usually, they would’ve been busy with student council work, but ever since Mirabelle returned to school, she took them on and also delegated a lot of their responsibilities to their classmates. It was on the whole a welcoming arrangement, since there was too much going on for the three of them to handle. On the other hand, it was still a de facto demotion, and with Ariel’s authority specifically undermined with the shuttering of the Records Office, there was no one in Class B who could theoretically challenge Mirabelle’s regime.
“Uuu…”
Ariel raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Scarlett’s despondent face.
“What are your thoughts, Scarlett?”
“…I think it’s fine the way things are, actually. I get that emotionally, it’s hard to accept, but in practical terms things have played out the way it would have nine times out of ten.”
“Hmm…”
Ariel agreed with her. As the least involved, relatively speaking, Scarlett had a muted reaction to the fallout. Even Ariel, who threw so much shade at Mirabelle, didn’t do it purely on emotional terms. It was a reaction to something she thought was wholly unjust to her friends; not because she was already standing on any particular side.
“…”
Bianca stayed mum, unsure of what to say. She had it the hardest, being an intimately involved individual by way of many threads, yet having meagre influence on recent events. Being strung along for a rough and potentially traumatizing ride was not on her to-do list, for sure.
“Well, we can’t do anything about Arnold’s return. We also can’t really do anything about the fissure between the Elites. On top of that, our place on student council is relegated to a subservient role, now that she’s taken on a lot of executive responsibilities.”
“That’s a lot of things slipped away from us, huh.”
“Given that sombre evaluation, what do you think we should do?”
Ariel asked Scarlett earnestly. They were her sisters, and she always gave them their fair due, even if they were sometimes irascible by virtue of being siblings. Bianca’s melancholy was already one thing she was putting up with. Luckily, Scarlett was also similar to Ariel in that she was never at the centre of the Elites’ attention like their other two sisters were, so she should have a more level-headed picture of everything.
“I’ve gotta be honest: I think we’re gonna be fighting against Mira in the coming days, but I’d want to protect her from Arnold at the same time. Man, this is gonna be difficult.”
“Do you think she still has any plans for the Elites? She’s gone and lit the Mayumi timebomb already. Can it get any worse?”
“I mean, if I were to bet on anything, it would probably be about Kato himself this time.”
Scarlett gave a side glance at Bianca, who shirked a little from her accusatory look.
“W-what about Kato?”
Ariel, realizing what Scarlett was alluding to, heaved a big sigh.
“I see. You think Mira’s already caught on?”
“She dug herself into this hole, but yeah, there’s no way she won’t catch on. And once she makes a move, we’ll notice it right away from Kato. We’ll have to work something out from there.”
“Huh? I’m not following. What is she catching onto?”
“I’m saying that your escalating intimacy with Kato will inevitably push Mira into making a move.”
“My i-int—”
“It’s fine, Bia. PDA’s only natural. And even with their extenuating circumstances with the organization, you’re still rivals in love. All’s fair in love and war, but we’re gonna step in if it’s gonna wreck us.”
Scarlett, with a heart of gold, smiled widely and patted Bianca on the head almost like a parent, amused as they caught their child doing something naughty.
“A-are you suggesting I should lay it off for a while…?”
“Nah, you should go for the jugular. Swallow Kato whole and don’t give an inch to Mira. Make him yours.”
Bianca’s face turned deep red, unable to muster any counter to Ariel’s very explicit interjection. Scarlett laughed, and provided the counter that Bianca should have.
“Won’t that make Mira even more desperate? That doesn’t sound like something we should encourage. A desperate Mira is gonna make things worse.”
“That’s true, but I wanna get one back at her, even if I’ll eventually forget about this. She needs to learn a fine lesson in not stepping on other people’s toes.”
“Even if Arnold is in the fray this time?”
“No, you’re absolutely right, Scarlett. I just wanted to let some steam off. We can’t be doing something reckless with Arnold returning. Bia, please don’t escalate any further than what you’ve done already.”
Ariel relented after displaying a rare instance of her ego. However, Bianca turned sheepish, as if the child who was caught in the naughty wrongdoing, was about to make an outrageous request.
“But…I agree with your ego, Ariel…”
“Now, that’s your ego speaking, too. But, it’s not like I don’t understand where you stand at the moment. I’m pretty certain Mira will eventually make a move regardless of any external factors—that’s her ultimate goal in the end. The key here is that we don’t want to push Mira over the edge too soon.”
Bianca sighed. As conflicted as she felt about Mirabelle, there was no question about the shadow of Arnold.
“No, yeah, I get it what you’re saying.”
“We’re on treacherous ground because I didn’t prepare for this eventuality. We all wanted a peaceful year, but I guess it was naïve of me to assume it would go smoothly. This is my fault. Sorry, sisters.”
Ariel bowed and apologized regally. Perhaps it was her competitive nature that produced a strong sense of responsibility in her.
“It’s all right. You’re still the most dependable out of all of us here. You’re not to blame for any of this, anyway.”
Both sisters shook their heads, slightly resigned.
“I guess this means we don’t have a clear road ahead of us. We’re stuck.”
They all sighed at the same time, almost telepathically in sync as quadruplets. Still at a loss of what their next step should be, they continued eating quietly, pondering about the calamities that would eventually come to pass.
Kato was seated slack in one of the many chairs in the children’s side of their home, right next to the bulky radio set that was in fact playing radio-wave music. The many women of the household were on the other side, either chatting idly or helping out in the kitchen: while Teto and Evie didn’t cook, the rest of them sure did. Before supper was the only time he had some time to himself before the others inevitably invaded the space for their own activities and/or roped Kato into whatever they wanted to do.
Mirabelle moved into Alice’s room on Karl’s side of the home, so now the allotted rooms were as follows: the three Eternian children; Yui; Sisi; Alice and Mirabelle. Frankly, the noise of six kids was way too much for one apartment suite, so he was thankful that their home was doubled up the way it was.
It had been a few weeks since she moved in, and as a good-natured young miss of a noble family, she had no problems adapting to the working class lifestyle of the von Habsburg household. Thankfully, nothing special changed in the home, only that it was one person noisier. It certainly wasn’t as if an adversarial in-law was moving in—it was more like a friends’ pyjama party every night.
“Kato, it’s time for dinner.”
Kato was torn upon hearing the soft, refined voice of his most precious childhood friend. He genuinely didn’t know how he should interact with her, given the troubles—irredeemable ones—she had caused in recent times, and his relapse of intimacy with Bianca. The double whammy was enough to put his thoughts and actions into flash-freeze, and he couldn’t come up with an answer.
When he eventually picked himself off of his lazy chair and dragged his feet to the other side, the first thing he noticed was Mirabelle’s tied-high ponytail for kitchen work, giving her a refreshing look from her usual tied-low double pigtails. What was unfair was that she was the spitting image of Bianca—and vice-versa—and despite being able to discern the difference between them, he still felt irrevocably guilty that he held feelings for both of them. Their conventional beauty was peerless, and he fell for both their traps. Even with incredible contemporaries seated next to her—Alice and Evie—together making up the Three Heroines of the class of 87-88, Mirabelle stood out in front of them to Kato.
Outside of Kato’s rose-tinted glasses, though, in a hypothetical popularity contest with the boys of their year, it was likely a race between Alice and Evie for the top prize. But even if Mirabelle held a steady third place, the fourth would be so far behind that it wouldn’t even be a real contest.
While it was unreasonable for Yui to match the extremely high bar that the Heroines had set, she would definitely hold her own in a world without such outliers. She had a well-formed and aesthetic face, and if it weren’t for the malnourished childhood that all orphans went through, she could have been a popular girl who would attract the eyes of any male passersby. In fact, her recently improved material and nutritional conditions had already started her in that direction, garnering increasing furtive glances from the boys in their class.
“I’m here.”
Thankfully, his designated seat was in between Sisi and Teto, both safe neighbours at the dinner table. It would likely be a turbulent meal if he sat next to any of the Heroines, and all in different ways. It was starting to become the case where he wanted to stay away from them, just so he could catch his breath, calm down, and not deal with the open problem between Mirabelle and the Elites—himself, really, as the contemporary leader of the Elites. He sometimes would get momentary urges to run away from home and hide from all of this, almost as if his home of more than a decade was no longer his safe haven. He couldn’t shake off this strange feeling, no matter how much thought he put into it.
Was he afraid of Mirabelle’s future schemes? Or was it just plain cowardice in that he didn’t want to face the problem? Perhaps it was a fight-or-flight response to an emotional ordeal, and his gut was telling him that he couldn’t overcome it. He couldn’t tell as of yet.
“Let’s eat.”
Sisi slapped her hands together, and the children followed suit. Their dinner was the usual classical Yue dishes, from variety stir-fry with soy sauce to steamed garlic-and-onion fish. Even with more hands in the kitchen, earlier when Kato helped along the wet market trip to buy their groceries, he already realized that making a meal for seven people was very hard work. This newfound insight made him much more appreciative of maternal heads of large families, and how much effort it must take to make not just supper but all three meals of the day, every day. There was actually so much work to be done to prepare large meals, not to mention cleaning up afterwards.
In these bigger parties, Kato usually kept quiet as the girls at this table always had something to say, and he didn’t want to walk on any eggshells. He listened intently to the chatter, which despite the exceptional personalities at the table it was fortunately everyday, mundane and normal. It was always a godsend to have this many people shoved together in a tiny space and got along well.
By chance, he made eye contact with Mirabelle, who averted her eyes just as quickly as he did. Even though they lived under the same roof, they had no time to themselves to talk to each other in private. They were always in the presence of others, and since they slept on different sides of the home, it wasn’t like they had time after hours either. Even with such a unique situation—an unimaginable situation, for one—they only had the room to manoeuvre as mere dorm mates. In the conscious aspect, it was frustrating to Kato that he didn’t know how to straighten things out with Mirabelle. Subconsciously, though, he also felt relieved that he had an excuse to not deal with the elephant in the room. These contradictory trains of thoughts were the basis of his recent troubles.
And at school, a larger spectre was soon to loom over Korolev Senior—the spectre of Arnold Hedonez, just as Class F’s political struggle ended in failure. The Class A forces for good (relatively speaking), Gilbert and Mona, were weakened, fractured and scattered as a new Class A faction was forming around the underdog Fabian. The three other Jupiter sisters were stripped of their independent authority by Mirabelle, essentially keeping Class B under her thumb. The faculty was making active, overt moves to crack down on the student body. Millers were arriving in less than two weeks. There were so many moving parts at school that it overwhelmed him.
Most importantly, though, it was the split of the Elites that disheartened Kato to no end. Putting it all together, it felt as if everything was slipping away from him, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. If there was any consolation, it was that looking back, he thought there was probably nothing he could have done better—there wouldn’t be any beggars in the world if you were equipped with hindsight to start with.
“Kato, my child. There shall be an Eternian dignitary visiting us next Saturday: a kabinet by the name of Madeleine Parma. Sisi presumes this is the Aunt Maddie of which you spoke of?”
Sisi began with her usual hundred-year-old speech patterns. Kato was unsurprised.
“That’s Aunt Maddie, all right. It’s about time she visited us. She visits three or four times a year, basically our relative. Is Karl gonna be here, too?”
“Karl shall be meeting with Parma on a separate basis. She is here for business with him, apparently.”
“Ah, I see. That makes sense, I guess.”
Madeleine di Parma was the Eternian children’s only relative-like existence, while Karl was the single father figure. They all liked her quite a lot, who as a pseudo-relative visited them regularly ever since they were adopted, and on a children-friendly basis at that, showering them with gifts and treats any child would receive positively for.
Of course, she was invariably a high-ranking person in the Eternian hierarchy, and thus was ostensibly responsible for the Eternian children; she was Karl’s boss, so to speak, so it wasn’t surprising that she was back in town for business with Karl.
“Also, she has prepared a mission for you to take on. Sadly, Sisi does not have more details about the mission itself, but apparently, it concerns you personally, not Evie or Teto. It is indirectly related to your place of origin, she mentioned. Do you have any idea on what that could be?”
Kato was bummed by the first half, but then instantly turned alert by the second half. Though he couldn’t know the nature of the mission in any case, if he wasn’t wrong, then he had an idea of what that related point was about.
“Yeah, I think I do. I’d have to at least listen to what she has to say.”
“Sisi does not think you have a realistic choice in the matter either way, but perhaps something could be negotiated.”
Sisi said snugly, leaving Kato to wonder what Aunt Maddie could ask of him to do. If it had anything to do with his place of origin, then it really wasn’t something he could ignore. There was no way he could ignore it, given how vividly he remembered of his time before his orphaning. Even the mere thought of it casted a long shadow across his face.
It also made sense that anything related to his and Teto’s origins wouldn’t be something affecting Teto today, as at the time Teto’s physical maturity was only that of a toddler. Her memory of her time before the orphanage was only of her dear brother Kato, and nothing else.
Of all the time periods in his illustrious past, his pre-orphan era was one he held deep, irreconcilable misgivings and regrets about. He clearly remembered being torn away from dear people he cared about—as dear as a small five-year-old child could lend their emotional attachment to. To a child of that age, those people were their whole world, and for them to be taken away so violently was sacrament to Kato’s ego. It was something he would hold onto forever.
He was prepared to never find any peace with this part of his past, unlike his acceptance of the memory wipe of his friends. However, if Aunt Maddie had something for him about it, then he would gladly hear it all out. Just like how she mentioned, it was going to be personal—and even a personal vendetta at that.