Saturday, November 19th, 1887.
As the final exam period of the first semester began, the weather finally, too, began to chill to a point where a light jacket at minimum was mandatory to walk around outside. As always with the academic schedule at Korolev Senior, the afternoon classes’ exam period extends for about a week and a half, but because each student only has two electives, really only two of those days were examination days—or if you were unlucky, back-to-back exams on the same day.
Unlike most of his classmates, Kato wasn’t worried in the slightest about scores as he was a future Heart, essentially destined to be the mafia’s strongest henchman of sorts. Together with Evie, his stepsister and future comrade in the Hearts, they occupied side-by-side seats at the nominal back of the classroom. As she was the future leader of the Hearts, being arguably the strongest individual soldier in existence, she had no reason to worry about school grades either. Sitting to his right with a twinge of boredom in her eyes, she spun the mechanical pencil in her fingers idly, very likely not listening to the lecture by their forever-childlike guardian, stand-in grandmother, elder Heart, and temporary homeroom teacher, Elizabeth Romana.
Ever since Mayumi, Eon and Caius moved out of Class F and into Class B, three vacant seats emerged and the remaining crew eventually decided to slightly rearrange themselves. The usual phalanx of boys was broken by their departures, and Yui moved into Mayumi’s old seat to the right of Franco and ahead of Evie. Alice remained in her seat to the right of Evie. All in all, it left the window-side column of three seats on their left empty.
Korolev Senior had a six-day school week, but despite the harsh reality of scholastic achievement, students always found a way to find joy and excitement on this campus. Clubs, events and competitions were commonplace, as were the social elements that came with organized student life. The talent show was now behind them, as was the main spectacle of the show—the drama department’s rendition of the musical Auxirian Idiot.
The next major social event on the list was the Karllestide Ball, the day before December 24th that was Karllestide Eve, to nominally celebrate the calendar year’s end as a school community. Then, starting on Karllestide Eve through to New Years, school was out.
To put it simply, the Karllestide Ball was a combination of an upper-class rich-people’s dinner and a prom. In the distant past, it was a coming-of-age party for young sons and daughters of aristocrats, and this facet of high culture made its way into popular culture over time.
“All of you shall attend the Karllestide Ball with a designated partner of the opposite sex. Failure to do so shall result in a finals penalty of ten points on your lowest scoring subject. You are welcome to bring anybody, even people from outside of school, as long as they are the same age or older than you. Now, if you are to bring an individual from outside, please apply for approval with the faculty. The relevant instructions and forms are readily available outside the faculty’s office.”
Strangely, Ms Romana (or as her adopted children called her, “Sisi”) decided to go through the homeroom items in the middle of the block of morning classes today. The Karllestide Ball, or more colloquially, the “semi-formal”, was definitely going to be on everyone’s mind going forward into December. While there were similar social events throughout the school year, they weren’t all-school and usually only concerned a special sector of the school polity, such as a music department’s banquet. Though the rest of the school body was also invited to the Karllestide Ball (and without the partner condition), only a third-year’s attendance at semi-formal was effectively mandatory. No one was going to take a ten-point deduction from their final scores.
“If you are wondering, Romana is doing homeroom items now because there shall be students from Central Mil attending our class this year. The semester has come for the national student exchange program.”
This was the other important thing happening around this time of the year. As one of the so-called privileged classes, albeit the lowest-ranked one, they were obliged to host a few students from far-flung places around the empire.
Students around the class were murmuring once again, but it wasn’t just merely curiosity abound. Historically, students from Central Mil, or the Central Imperial Academy for Military Arts, went to the higher ranked classes while stragglers from other schools went to the lower ones. Though to be fair, also historically, nearly all exchange students entering Korolev Senior came from Central Mil and nowhere else, as these two schools were extremely special and were always afforded special treatment. Because they were institutions nominally supporting opposing centres of power in the empire, the student exchange program was nothing more than a thinly-disguised espionage operation.
“This Class 3-F shall be hosting a total of two students, one of which is already here, and the other shall arrive next week. Now, come on in.”
That was a very swift toss towards progression—the class hurriedly fixed themselves as the tension in the air snapped taut and the door slid open.
A dirty-blonde green-eyed girl entered their science classroom gracefully in her standard Central Mil winter uniform, a frilly white shirt inside a light red blazer over a heavy navy blue skirt. Despite being average, or perhaps below average, in height, there was nevertheless an abundance of confidence in every step. She came to a stop next to the chalkboard, wrote down her name in Standard Candoran, and gave the class a quick salute.
“Greetings. My name is Zenovyja von Metternich, a daughter of the House of Metternich, and a third-year of the Central Imperial Academy for Military Arts. It’s a pleasure to be a part of your class. I hope all of you can welcome me here once more to this city.”
While she began her introduction in Standard Candoran, her last sentence was in Old Yue, which by itself was not why it surprised the whole class—it was the lack of an accent, or rather, such an accurate accent of the Livian standard of the Kwangchow dialect. Linguistically classified as Livian-Kwangchow-Old Yue, it was the golden standard of Old Yue utilised on television and mass media—and the exact variety spoken in Livia, making her voice indistinguishable from a native of this city.
Just a cursory glance immediately revealed that she was someone with very unique features and instantly-recognizable in a crowd. She had tied her relatively short hair into fanning twintails almost reaching her shoulders. Her face was very fair; nothing too sharp or too rounded, across the centre was lightly freckled, and most importantly, her face had the topographical relief that was typical of a native Yue, despite the obviously Auxirian features. It was a unique combination that Kato and Teto also had that greatly diminished the “foreign-ness” character of their faces to both ethnicities—which was, realistically speaking, a necessity to fully assimilate into a monolithic ethnocultural group like Yue.
All in all, she would have been naturally very popular—if not for the two nasty scars across the left side of her face. One ran down from the forehead into the left slope of the nose, while the other went across just under the eye from the centre to almost reaching her ear. They had varying grotesque cracks and fringes around the perimeter, bulging out unevenly across the length and width. Slightly discoloured, they stood out from everything else that overwhelmed her otherwise likeable and mature face, beautifully groomed and voluminous hair, and wonderfully regal posture.
There was a slowly gathering applause to welcome their new classmate, along with a sense of déjà vu. Only a couple of months ago did Mayumi return, and then promptly leave for another class. The ominous wording in the final sentence of her introduction felt heavy in the air. What did she exactly mean by “once more”?
“Now, please sit in one of the empty seats on the far side there, Ms Metternich.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As she made her way to the back, she gave the Elites a curious look, perhaps already sensing that those were the trouble children of the class. Alice and Evie were already two of the three Heroines of their year, and with just their stunning looks they already outshone all the other kids in the class combined, so it made sense if Zenovyja was sizing them up. However, it was eventually clear that Kato caught her attention the most. Without any hesitation, she sat in the empty seat next to him, put down her belongings on the desk, and bowed her head slightly in his direction.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Kato.”
“Uh, same here. Nice to meet you, Zenovyja…”
This time, she spoke in Standard Candoran, to which Kato replied in the same language. His grasp of Standard Candoran was rather advanced for someone who lived most of his life alongside only Old and New Yue. Thankfully, he was diligent enough as a child to keep up practicing his original tongue to barely a middle-schooler level; because on the other end of the spectrum, his younger sister Teto’s Standard Candoran was much weaker. She could understand simple everyday conversations, but she had a lot of trouble speaking the language.
Kato was, understandably, paralyzed. He trawled through his brain to no avail as he stared into her bright green almond eyes, seemingly ready to take on Kato’s next move. How did she know his name already?
As the question in his mind was pondered, it suddenly gave itself an answer—alongside the disharmonious noise of someone falling off their chair from across the classroom. Astonishment was clearly written all over both Kato’s and the face of the fallen classmate with the aching butt pain.
“Y-you’re…you’re Zeno! From Bullhead Cape district! You’re Bullhead Z!”
The stuttering student on the ground, George Lee, pointed at her with trembling fingers as he pathetically failed to pick himself up, eyes still trained on Zenovyja. “Bullhead Z”, where the “Z” rhymed as “zed”, was once upon a time an infamous name for a force of overwhelming strength and fear at a number of playgrounds in this part of town. Any child who got in their way was met with physical violence, and resistance was futile as Bullhead Z was physically superior with proper combat training.
While the few newer-comers to the district had invisible question marks above their heads, most of Class F were long-time locals, it took a few moments to click. The Bullhead Z moniker came about because of the gruesome scars on her face, yes, but there was another crucial detail that everyone thought was entirely reversed from what they once believed to be, and this was the cause of the whole class’ continued silence and hesitation.
“I guess the game’s up. I knew someone would recognize me, but not this quickly.”
Ignoring her wordless classmates, Zenovyja raised her hands up in surrender, but her voice noticeably changed. It was somewhat deeper, perhaps more natural, and on top of the newly-added sturdiness in her voice there was a strong aura of imperiousness that befitted a former tyrant of the playground.
“That’s right. I’m Zeno, also known as Bullhead Z. If you remember, I was once part of Bullhead Cape district rather than Korolev district, so I don’t think I was classmates with many, if any, of you. But, I understand that my infamy spans far and wide, so rest assured that I’ve returned to Livia without intention of breaking any rules here. I’m an exchange student from Central Mil and I intend to represent my school here in a dignified manner. That’s all.”
Still the majority of the class seemed unconvinced. The contrast from what they all remembered as children was just that great. In fact, most were still having trouble accepting that this was the legendary Bullhead Z despite her firm admission of her crimes. In the end, it was Evie who voiced the crucial question in everyone’s mind.
“You’re not a boy?”
Evie asked slowly, with each word spoken bleeding out doubt and concern, reflecting the sheer impossibility that an answer to this question could bring. Awe-struck, everyone waited for Zenovyja to dispel their disbelief.
“I was always a girl, and will continue to be one, if that reassures everyone here. Surely, I and I alone on this whole planet have these exact scars on my face.”
The class almost went ballistic. Almost as soon as the noise began to amplify, it was beaten down mercilessly by their teacher’s piercing voice and ruler smacking on the chalkboard. Class was forcefully resumed.
“Silence! We shall be starting the next period’s class, at once and immediately!”
Lunchtime couldn’t come faster, and instantly Zenovyja was surrounded by the people who once knew her—as the male playground bully, Zeno. An alpha male, one could describe. Despite her tyrannical rule, she nevertheless attracted countless male followers around her, giving her real power behind her reputation. Thus, most of the intrigued and curious were the boys of the class.
“You’re really Zeno? Bullhead Z? The strongest boy at the park?”
“I couldn’t believe it was you at first. Your scars are impossible to mistake for someone else, but still!”
“You were actually a girl all this time?!”
Strangely, she received a hero’s welcome, and took on it quite jovially.
“Hahahah. As a child I did act and dress like a boy. Though it wasn’t intentional from me, it made everything more fun back then, didn’t it? I certainly thought it was.”
Upon hearing that somewhat threatening phrasing, the men around her, strangely, turned even more enthusiastic. While she was heavy-handed in her words and actions, she always commanded the respect of her followers. How? She was, at her core, of honourable character, and now she was receiving the payoff for it.
“Yes, of course! Those were interesting times for sure. Everything would’ve been very different without you.”
“I was inspired to take on more leadership roles in middle school because of you! I never thought I’d get the chance to thank you for it!”
“It’s a shame you didn’t stay with us. I’m sure you could’ve led a band of followers to rule the neighbourhood at your whim.”
Zenovyja laughed merrily, enjoying her perpetual popularity with men—especially now with her well-developed physical appearance as a member of the opposite sex, boys were even more deferential than they were in the past.
“Life can take unintended turns, as it has been for me, but I’m glad that y’all are alive and well.”
However, it was not all clear skies for someone as infamous as her. A number of students gave her a wide berth, keeping their gossip to themselves. Because of Zenovyja’s drastic transformation, there was plenty to go around.
In fact, her newfound attractiveness drew the ire of many girls in the class, and unsavoury comments could be heard under their breaths. Perhaps it was inevitable that a person as uniquely striking as Zenovyja would polarize the class like this. There was no one who had a neutral thought about her.
Even so, her reception continued for a solid ten minutes before the people dispersed back to their usual corners and friend groups, at which time Evie had returned with everyone’s lunches from the cafeteria—including Zenovyja’s lunch. The moment the coast was clear, she dropped it on Zenovyja’s desk like a brick.
“That’s a strong first reaction from you after so long, Evie.”
“Don’t get me wrong. You’re still a man to me, Zeno.”
“Really? Are you still butthurt for beating you up every time we fought?”
“There’s no doubt you’re a strong adversary. You’ll be shown no quarter the next time we fight.”
Zenovyja cracked her knuckles and stood up to meet her gaze, though she had to look upwards to make up the difference of approximately five inches in height. The sparkles in her eyes danced.
“Do you think I’ve been slacking or what? You think I’d be scared? I’ll show you the rounds again like I always have, any time you like.”
Evie notched her neck to the right, clearly unfazed.
“I certainly haven’t been slacking. Then, let’s have at it, shall we?”
“Okay, folks, no unsanctioned fights are allowed inside the school, capiche? We wear cleanse tags for a good reason, and random fights aren’t one of them. Zeno, please don’t take her bait every time like that. And Evie, please don’t take the bait back, for goodness’ sake.”
Kato wormed himself in between the two, trying his best to defuse the situation. The stare-off continued for another ten seconds before Evie was, surprisingly, the first to blink. There was a vague sense of resignation in her voice, as if she seriously gave up on the path of violence for once.
“I’ll take it that you already know what kind of existence Kato and I are. If you do, then I propose an armistice for the foreseeable future.”
Zenovyja, to Kato’s surprise, also backed off obediently and her fiery aura retreated as quickly as it came. She tapped the slightly flattened bento box on her desk and shrugged helplessly.
“I accept the truce. I didn’t come back to fight Hearts, after all. Even though I received the same training, I don’t think I can actually compete with you anymore, Evie. You can already see that I’m at a severe disadvantage without sussing out any part of my repertoire.”
She put a hand five inches above her head, and Evie nodded in agreement. Those were inches that, for each additional inch, an exponential amount of additional skill, effort, and technique was needed to overcome. In other words, assuming their abilities were theoretically equivalent, Evie would overpower Zenovyja easily. Just like in regular sports, a height gap this wide was just too much.
“We’ve been duped by Master Chang. This is a travesty beyond words.”
Whilst returning to her seat, Evie shook her head in exasperation as the people around her had no idea what she was talking about.
“I could say the same. I didn’t know you were trained from the beginning to be Hearts until much later.”
“We always thought you were a boy, and that I was the only girl in our batch at the Chang temple. I can’t believe I missed that.”
“Sure, we saw each other often at the temple, but we did train in different blocks. Besides, I left before the real tough training came along.”
“You mean Zenovyja, a noble, received the same training that a Heart would?”
Alice finally interjected with incredulity. In fact, their whole entourage was confused, too. The idea that Eternia would willingly train their enemy’s elite soldiers as their own was preposterous in any context. However, Kato made a wry smile as Alice asked that question, as he found so much irony in it, knowing what he knew about the situation.
“You are correct, Alice. Master Chang was my mentor for about four years. The circumstances around my family are complex, so that happened.”
“And believe it or not, Zeno used to be extremely rude and foul-mouthed. Bullied us all the time because she had her growth spurt first and we were still midgets. Think of the whiplash I’m having now that she’s speaking like a goody two-shoes.”
Evie’s exasperation continued, but at the same time she began dismissing it as irreconcilable, because she began taking apart her bento box and started chowing down. The others followed suit naturally, their stomachs agreeing that they should start filling themselves up.
“That’s my only claim to fame here. Without it, I’ll just be another plain-old exchange student—oh, look who’s shown up. Told ya, I’m famous.”
Without a moment to take a breather, four familiar faces arrived at the main door of the classroom. In a rare sight at school, all of the Jupiter sisters were assembled in one place and moving together as a unit.
“…is there a Zeno in this class?”
Scarlett inquired hesitantly, to which Zenovyja promptly raised her hand.
“Scarlett! Long time no see! And the rest of y’all, too!”
“Zeno! I can’t believe you’re really a girl! The papers weren’t lying!”
As the most talkative out of the four, it was natural for Scarlett to have had the most familiarity with Zenovyja. Both of them grinned as the sisters made their way to Zenovyja.
“I get that a lot, yes. Mission accomplished, I daresay.”
“Good to see that you’re as lively as ever.”
“And you’re as tiny as ever, Ariel. Though, I’m tiny nowadays too.”
“Welcome back to Livia, Zeno. I wish you a peaceful and fruitful stay here.”
“I’ll take that. Thank you, Mirabelle. I sure hope so.”
Bianca was the only one who didn’t prompt herself to speak. Instead, they made eye contact for a few moments and acknowledged each other silently. The sisters took empty chairs to sit around with the group, and at the same time disassembled the lunchboxes they brought with them.
“’Scuse me, I’ll be right back. Toilet.”
Kato, who was slightly apprehensive that Mirabelle appeared, took an opportunity to excuse himself for a few minutes. By his reckoning, by the time he gets back, there should be a conversation in full swing and he wouldn’t have to actively participate.
“Then I’ll take your chair for now, is that all right?”
“Fine by me.”
He shrugged lightly at Mirabelle, who was recently always a little gloomy. This was her new normal ever since the incident between Mayumi’s group and Donovan’s. One could say that Kato—and the other Elites, too—were guarded towards Mirabelle because she orchestrated their friend group’s fracture. She didn’t do this on purpose as an end-goal, of course. It was the collateral damage in pursuit of another goal, but the fact remained that she was the cause of it.
“Uh, I’m gonna go too, to wash my hands. Scarlett, you don’t need to unpack mine.”
“’Kay.”
Bianca excused herself as well, though there were a few who perked up at it—in their own minds, of course. It was an open secret among them that Bianca and Kato had a relationship that was more than just friends. Mirabelle knew it all too well, and as Bianca left the classroom after Kato, she gave her identical-twin sister a distant stare until she disappeared behind the door.
On the other hand, Kato actually did need to take care of business, so it was not until he left the washrooms that Bianca covertly intercepted him.
“Come with me for a sec.”
She brought him to the fourth floor, a place usually off-limits to the general public, but a minority of students have keys and therefore access to this floor for a variety of reasons. In Bianca’s case, it was because she was a student council executive.
When they closed the staircase door behind them, they both somewhat relaxed, as they were out of the prying eyes of everyone.
“What’s with the sudden call?”
“First are a couple of messages from Gilbert. He’s managed to look into all the millers joining the privileged classes this year, and he wants to pass this information along to you some time soon so that you’re slightly more prepared if our struggle involves them.”
“You can’t be too careful, I guess.”
So, Gilbert was following through with his side of the bargain. He was going to support Kato at this school, and in exchange, Kato would be Alice’s shield.
“The other thing he wants to mention is that Arnold’s been laying low for the time being because Fabian’s been struggling to take the upper hand in Class A. Apparently, he’s waiting for Fabian’s faction to establish supremacy over Mona’s faction. It’s even possible that he outsourced the fight against Mona to him, so that Fabian can openly recruit Arnold and his goons into the AC after Fabian wins against Mona and takes control of Class A.”
So that too, continued. The political drama in the school continues unabated, and while Kato wanted nothing to do with it, the fact was that Mirabelle engineered most of what was happening—thus, the involvement of Kato and the Elites in this quagmire.
“I assume that Ariel’s helping Mona out wherever she can?”
“We all are. Of course, Mira’s working against us as much as possible, because as we know, she ultimately needs to hoist Arnold into the position of the chairman of the AC.”
Under obscure circumstances, Mirabelle was compelled to follow the faculty’s instructions to bring the great institution of the Activity Council to heel. By doing so, she was promised the credentials required to not just become a Hearts candidate, but a full member of the Hearts before the end of the year—an incredible feat by any measurement.
“I see. Well, keep it up, Madam Chancellor.”
Bianca gave him a sideways look.
“I’m working my ass off to help out, and that’s all you have to say?”
“It’s not like I can do much from my position.”
That was true, unfortunately. A plebeian like Kato was not going to overturn centuries of law and tradition that gave such overwhelming influence into these positions of power.
“Hmph. Glad that item’s wrapped up.”
It didn’t sound that way at all, but Kato nodded all the same. Bianca sighed, and she moved on without a pause. They were on a timer, after all.
“The other thing I wanna talk about is you and Mira. And myself, too. So, I heard that you’ve been avoiding her a lot. While I understand your apprehension, it would serve you better to not continue this pattern—ahem. Ariel said there are things you have to take care of first and foremost, and that’s Mira.”
Bianca trailed off into a mumble as she grew more incredulous with each word leaving her mouth, but recovered herself by the end.
“What does Ariel want me to do? Or rather, what can I do about Mira? I still haven’t figured that out yet.”
“First of all, we should at least keep our distance in public. There’s no use in freely antagonizing her.”
A short pause followed.
“Then, you’re pushing me away?”
“Don’t make it more difficult than it already is, smart-ass. Why am I the mature one in this relationship?”
“You say that as you’re returning the grip in your hand with mine.”
They were holding hands, but evidently they both held reservations going any further again beyond that for the foreseeable future. At least this was a unique moment of relief that only the two of them could share, mired in a sea of troubles.
“It’s not like I can do much else from my position. You need to pull yourself together.”
The nature of their relationship could be described as emotionally toxic. Most of the fault was Kato’s, and while in his head he knew he didn’t deserve it, his heart overwhelmed him whenever he was together face-to-face with Bianca. Despite that, he finally let go of her hand.
“You’re right—Ariel’s right. I’ll keep that in mind.”
A silence hovered between them, but neither heeded any attention to it. Both were used to it and didn’t feel any awkwardness in it. Bianca spoke first.
“Even if I’m destined to completely forget about you, seeing you moping around like this because of Mira for the last few weeks was brutal to everybody around you.
“So, Ariel is right. She’s always right. Even if you don’t agree, I was gonna force it on you anyway.”
It was clearly painful for her to say it, but Kato was reminded of the emphasis on Ariel. Ariel was not going to follow Mirabelle’s path to their self-destruction, and said as much to Mirabelle herself. While it asked for sacrifice from Bianca, she was declaring that she agreed with Ariel’s assessment—that the lives they, the regular folk, lived had meaning in and of itself, and shouldn’t be an expendable accessory to Mirabelle’s ambitions within Eternia.
The most damning thing was that Kato also thought it was the correct choice. He had already hurt Bianca once before and put her in a situation where she would be left with nothing from their relationship. Ariel’s objective of preserving their group’s non-Eternian lives was something he wholeheartedly supported, because of this debt that he felt he infinitely owed Bianca. And so, it hurt him to hear this from her, as much as it hurts from him agreeing with it.
“Yes, she’s right. She’s always right. In that case, I’ll say this now. I won’t forget about you, ever. You’ve already completed that mission, years ago.”
Bianca smiled brightly and blushed. She appreciated his forwardness in moments like these. She stepped forward and hugged him briefly but tightly.
“Okay. Keep it that way, got it? Now, let’s get back to your classroom, shall we?”
Still smiling, she skipped back towards the door and motioned for Kato to follow her, which he did as he felt one of the weights lifted off his chest.
As they approached the classroom door, Bianca piped up one more time before they re-entered the realm of their friends.
“Oi. Be ready for Zeno.”
“Huh? Be ready? What do you mean?”
Bianca made a weird face, but then decided to end the conversation enigmatically.
“Just remember that your goal is to figure something out between you and Mira. If my guts are right, Zeno’s presence will get in the way of that.”
She opened the door before he got a chance to reply, so they returned to the chattering group with a mystery in Kato’s head.
“The two of you returned together?”
Zenovyja immediately stepped into a landmine, but of course she was a tank and felt none of the effects that the rest of the group did.
“We were intercepted by some teachers in the hallway. Unlucky.”
Bianca brushed off the landmine just as well as Zenovyja did. Sitting down next to Scarlett, she began taking apart her lunch without further fuss. Kato returned to his seat in between Evie and Zenovyja, and the atmosphere around them returned to normal.
By now, the conversation flowed away from Zenovyja as she was caught up with those she had known, and back into the everyday life of Korolev Senior. Mirabelle herself was poached away to sit with Alice. Zenovyja didn’t miss this chance to poke at Kato for his attention.
“Hey, can you help me get caught up later with what happened while I was gone for all these years?”
“What do you mean? What do you wanna know?”
“There seems to have been lots of changes in the relationships I’ve known from before. From what I can deduce, you were at the centre of them, so you’re the best person to tell me what happened.”
Kato almost rolled his eyes because it reminded him so very well that that was such a Zenovyja thing to say. She always had very sharp senses, and unfortunately would never act on them subtly. She always went for the most direct route.
“Sure, sure. Whatever questions you have, just ask away whenever you like.”
Then, Zenovyja’s face softened. It was an expression he had never seen on her scarred face.
“Then, do you hold any grudge against me for bullying you back in the day? I know I was a little wild, but if I did cause you any serious harm, I want to apologize for that.”
“A little wild? You caused me a lot of grief. You 1-v-3’d us all the time and crushed us. You’re no doubt talented, and you used that to take control of the playground. If you feel any contrition about it, then what are you prepared to do for me?”
“You can bully me back, and we’ll be even.”
He really rolled his eyes this time, again reminded of what kind of a person Zenovyja was.
“You know what, just forget about it. The past is in the past.”
“So, you don’t hold anything against me?”
“No, I don’t. I never did.”
“Good.”
She smiled widely, catching him off-guard. He was, for the third time in as short as a few minutes, reminded that she was an earnest person at heart, which was the reason why he didn’t hold any grudges against her.
“To you, what was I like back then? I know I was feared and all, by all, but what was it like from your perspective?”
“You were the king of the playground whenever you showed up. I respect your tyrannical rule because of your strength, nothing more, and nothing less. I don’t think you were unfair or cruel or anything like that. You just had the cachet.”
“Heheh, I did, didn’t I?”
“…this motherfucker, proud of yourself as always, hm?”
“Confidence in yourself is always the first and hardest hurdle to clear when it comes to life in general. Without it, you make more mistakes than you can fix them.”
“Who are you, Confucius? You’re supposed to be Bullhead Z, got it?”
He flicked lightly at her forehead, to which she stuck out her tongue playfully.
“Well, I’m relieved that I wasn’t an adverse influence on you.”
“You saw the positive reception you got today. I think you’re not giving yourself enough credit.”
“Oh, this is all about the other side’s perception, I learned. Everyone takes adversity differently, and I no doubt caused a lot of that as a kid. Not everyone in this room is happy with my return, either.”
“You’re in my good books. Zeno, the venerable tyrant.”
“I—thanks.”
She was about to say something, but she stopped herself and changed tracks to a topic that was more important to her.
“You don’t hate me, Kato? To be honest, I thought that you did all this time.”
“Huh? I already said I never have. What made you think that?”
Her face was blank for a moment, and it slowly turned into a dry frown.
“So you don’t remember, huh?”
Kato was confused by the sharp downward turn in her mood.
“Don’t remember?”
Zenovyja looked over to Bianca for a moment, who was participating in the larger conversation with the others, but as the person seated directly in front of Kato, she was listening in on the periphery. Zenovyja obviously noticed that, but she didn’t seem to care—in fact, she expected it.
“The last time we saw each other, you promised me that we would meet again, just the two of us, the next weekend at the playground.”
The playground in question was, of course, the one that the Elites frequented on Jordan Street. It was a beautifully built urban playground of rubber mulch flooring situated at a crossroad on the edge of a ridge facing west. Most of their childhood memories revolved around that vicinity.
“It was seven years ago, in the summer after fourth grade. I told you to come by at two past noon. I waited there all day in a dress, and I didn’t leave until the last bus close to midnight. You never showed up.”
With that prompt, he finally remembered the sequence of events at the time. The reason why he forgot about meeting up with the neighbourhood bully was the existential crisis with Mayumi.
“That—I have an explanation for. It’s a long story, so hear me out later, all right?”
“You owe me a favour. I’m not letting this one slide, okay?”
Zenovyja’s smile returned. She looked expectantly at Bianca, who sighed in response and turned to the two of them. It seemed as if Zenovyja wanted her to speak up, so she did.
“I happened to see Zeno at the playground at the time. I didn’t recognize her at first, and it wasn’t until she spoke up that I recognized her from her voice.”
“So you knew Zeno was a girl since then? Why didn’t you tell us?”
Kato was aghast. The revelation that the Bullhead Z was really a girl still rustled everyone’s jimmies. Worse, Bianca kept it a secret from all of them.
“She told me to keep it a secret. There wasn’t a reason not to do it. Our families are in the same line of business.”
Bianca said nonchalantly, but it still gave Kato a metaphorical aneurysm. As he put his fingers to his temples melodramatically, she promptly ignored him and continued.
“But what are you doing, coming back here? You’re not gonna tell me you’re looking for a direct sequel, are you?”
“A direct sequel? No, it’s more like a spinoff that’ll get its own main series. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
“We’re all kinda knees-deep in trouble here, Zeno. Is it possible to keep it just a spinoff?”
“Probably not. Part of it is because I’ve been volun-told, but at the same time I also have my own objectives here.”
“Well, if it can’t be helped, then we’ll all be in for a rough ride. I’m giving you a friendly warning.”
“Really now?”
“Kato’s gonna catch you up later, right? You’ll find out soon enough.”
Bianca was, just like Zenovyja, as tough as nails in moments like these. Kato, who lost track of the conversation, couldn’t figure out why there were sparks flying between the two.
“Hm, I see. So you’re also a spinoff series.”
Of course, Bianca was only a tough girl until a direct hit landed on her. She averted her eyes from the dauntedness of Zenovyja’s, evermore embarrassed about being found out about her feelings so quickly.
“One of many. And one with an unsatisfactory ending.”
Yet, she was still steady with her reply. Internally, Zenovyja acknowledged Bianca’s resoluteness.
“In that case, could you tell me more about your spinoff story?”
“Hah?”
Bianca was, too, caught off-guard by Zenovyja’s straightforwardness and stumbled, but just like Kato, she respected that kind of integrity. Zenovyja was a natural leader, and in a different world she would’ve been the valedictorian in Korolev district. She lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned in.
“If you really wanna know, I can give you my side of the story in private. We can head outside right now if you want.”
Zenovyja grinned and rubbed her palms together exaggeratedly. She packed up her lunchbox and waited for Bianca to do the same.
“Show me the way.”
Bianca almost seemed to regret her involvement, but went through the motions all the same. As she began to leave and lead Zenovyja outside, she shot Kato a meaningful glance. Do you get what I mean now, it read.
Of course, Kato still didn’t really understand what was happening, and could only throw her back a look of confusion. Exasperated, Bianca decided that she needed to take at least this matter into her own hands before Zenovyja walked down the same path Mayumi did.
“You don’t have any afternoon classes for now, right? We’ve just started the exam period for them.”
“Nope, I don’t. Is this gonna take a while?”
“With interruptions, probably more than a while.”
“And you’ll skip your afternoon classes for me?”
“I have my rights as a student council executive to skip classes whenever I want.”
They found a secluded spot in the outskirts of the expansive school yard, which was more like a sophisticatedly-built athletic park than a mere yard. If at first glance one would guess that Korolev Senior was a sports-centric school, they would be forgiven for getting it wrong. Benches and tables were scattered throughout, and though the outdoor temperature was quite cool, today there was no wind, so it was still possible to just barely enjoy a meal outside.
“Hehe, I still remember that when you found out I was a girl, you were completely devastated. Your first love was me—”
“—please, spare me. I have enough of an embarrassing past already.”
“You’re cute, Bianca.”
Zenovyja grinned as Bianca’s ears turned red, and not because of the cool weather.
“Your brain still functions like a boy’s, all right.”
“I was raised as a boy until I couldn’t be, after all.”
“True.”
They settled into their seats, the midday sun shining brightly and blanketing them with warmth. They continued their meals from where they left off.
“The reason why Kato didn’t see you is Mayumi. You must still remember her.”
“Of course I do. Who doesn’t know that loud cripple?”
“I see you still don’t mince your words. Well, do you remember what happened to her around that time?”
“What about her in particular? The one thing I knew of was that she and Caius got together for some reason. Whatever that reason was, I don’t know and I don’t need to know, but the fact that she was taken is the reason why I wanted to see Kato. He was finally freed from that bond.”
Zenovyja said unabashedly. Bianca was incredulous.
“You wanted to see Kato because…?”
“That’s obvious, isn’t it? To tell him how I felt about him.”
Bianca was metaphorically slapped in the face; not from the intentions in her words of course—that was obvious since that day. Zenovyja was so nakedly wearing her heart on her sleeve, and knowing Zenovyja’s sharp emotional senses too, made it even more impressive.
“Well, anyway, the two of them getting together was the start of it all. How it later went down was rather tragic, for them and everybody else, too.”
Bianca then began retracing the steps in the debacle around Mayumi’s terminal illness, how it turned around, and the aftermath of the ordeal. Zenovyja remained solemnly silent throughout, understanding that while it was critically important to their trivial web of relationships today, it was clearly at the same time a serious matter to discuss. She didn’t speak up until Bianca finished.
“So, where’s Mayumi now? She’s alive and well, ain’t she?”
“She came back to us a couple of months ago. She’s in my class now, Class 3-B.”
“Oh, I see. Ooh, that reminds me, where’re Caius and Eon? I knew there was something I missed. Aren’t they supposed to be in the same class as the others?”
“That’s a long story, Zeno.”
And so, Bianca recounted what had happened in the past two months at Korolev Senior, from Mayumi’s return, to the equinox festival, from the drama department’s shenanigans to the showdown with Donovan, and from the talent show’s fallout to the current state of Kato’s melancholy. It was a long story.
“I see…so Mayumi has lost in the end. She has my sympathy, but not my regret.”
“…that’s all you took from all of this?”
“Well, that’s the most important part. However, I’ll need you to explain—as much as you’re permitted to do so, of course—Mirabelle’s involvement in this mess. It sounded like she’s an active player in this drama, not just for her own selfish reasons but for the organization’s as well.”
“It’s not a secret or anything, with her becoming a Hearts candidate. Hmm.”
Bianca mused, looking back at Zenovyja expectantly. Zenovyja returned her gaze, mildly curious at her pause.
“I think I know what you’re trying to ask. I’ll try my best to answer it.”
She cleared her throat and was about to start, but Zenovyja unexpectedly interrupted.
“Are you sure you can tell me all of this so easily? I don’t know how I can return the favour, if I can.”
“Well, I’m hoping you’ll understand the current situation so that you don’t unintentionally make it worse, that’s it. Worth a try, given how much of a mess it already is. Besides, Kato will tell you about it sooner or later, and I’d like you to tell me about his perspective when you get his version of this spiel.”
“I see, I see…agreed.”
And so, the secret that Mirabelle began training to be a potential Heart, her selfish reason for doing so, how it affected the quadruplets and the Elites, how the organization—Eternia—was complicit in this venture, and how all of this tied to the recent events with Mayumi, were retraced too. A clearer picture was forming in Zenovyja’s mind of the current situation at Korolev Senior.
“Include yourself in the timeline. I want to hear your story, too.”
Bianca’s eyes widened, but otherwise nodded—it was an open secret, anyway. A tender story of her failed romance was received in earnest by Zenovyja.
“I understand. The crux of the problems here is the inevitable memory alteration that’ll be applied to those around the four of them.”
“Apparently, it’s not just the people around us. Somehow, they’ll apply it to the entirety of Livia. I don’t understand the mechanism for it, but all the Hearts, kabinets and nomenklatura that I know treat this as a given fact, so I can only assume it is.”
“I can believe it. I know alchemical arts like this can exist. I happen to know some ridiculous arts, too.”
“I mean, it must have happened before. Sisi had the same done to her when she joined the Hearts.”
“All right. The next big hurdle is how the final phase of Mirabelle’s kabinet recommendation will go down, and that depends on the real nasty hamburger called Arnold Hedonez. I don’t really grasp the hierarchies in your school right now—I’m really an outsider, to be honest—but you have situational allies in Class A to rely on for information. Additionally, you and Ariel have your own objectives with regards to all of this. Am I getting this right?”
“Yes, you’re getting it.”
“Then, do you know what Kato’s motivation is? What’s he going to do about it?”
“That’s… a good question. I mean, he doesn’t have to do anything in particular, right? The mind-wipe will make most everything that’s happening in Korolev Senior trivial to him.”
“Well, you’ve got that right. Then, knowing that, what do you think his actions will be guided by?”
Bianca was confused by Zenovyja’s train of deduction.
“It’ll obviously be something selfish, and likely reserved much consideration for after the mind-wipe. Who’ll be standing with him after we graduate?”
“We already know who. Mira, Alice, and his two sisters. It’s also possible that Gilbert might escape the mind-wipe, given his position.”
“We can base his actions off those people then, right?”
“But that’s what I was saying. He’s not doing anything right now to fix his relationship with Mira. What else are you expecting him to do?”
“Isn’t that exactly what’s on his mind?”
Zenovyja winked, as if saying “gotcha”. Bianca slowly caught onto what she was trying to say.
“…so you’re saying that it’s just as it seems?”
“Yeah. Consciously, he might be giving the whole situation some consideration, but I think subconsciously he’s likely ignoring things that aren’t directly related to him and his immediate relationships. Not dealing with Mirabelle is a strong sign of that.
“Hypothetically, let’s assume he’s fully on board with you and Ariel. There are two courses of action to immediately take in this case. First, he could unequivocally reject Mirabelle. It’s well-deserved, considering the destruction she’s caused. That’ll probably mentally break her, since it would also be rejecting however many years of her life that she dedicated herself to him—her whole raison d’être, in fact. More likely than not, Mirabelle would give up on everything that she’s doing, including the destructive behaviour that’s tearing your friend group apart. You might lose Mirabelle in many ways, but if she’s part of the other side of the mind-wipe, then from a hard calculation’s perspective, losing her is not important, right?
“The other option would be to immediately reconcile with her. He should side with her and work his way into her pocket, and he would at least have a way to put a stop to the destructive elements of her plans. This is the more proactive measure to take, but of course this means he’ll be emotionally committing himself to Mirabelle. If you ignore the emotions involved, this is also a good choice to take, no? Again, from a cold-blooded calculation’s perspective, it’ll fundamentally improve your ability to intervene and influence events when necessary.”
In her heart of hearts, Bianca subconsciously knew what Zenovyja was saying. In fact, it was why she was trying to motivate Kato to take action just earlier. Zenovyja closed her eyes gently and sipped from her bottle of tea.
“There is a hidden third option, not for Kato but for you and Ariel, and it’s to take the losses as they are today. Draw a line in the sand between the two sides of the memory wiping. Are you able to make that choice?”
“That option isn’t even on the table to begin with. We’re committed to keeping Kato and Evie in our lives until they aren’t.”
“I get that it’ll be awkward if you cut them off from your lives right away, but considering that you’ll forget about them anyway, it shouldn’t be that hard of a hurdle to pass, no?”
“No, Zeno. I don’t think any of us would ever think about it that way. If you ask about romance, sure, I can live without it even if it’s painful—I’m no stranger to that. But in friendship, it’s a matter of principle. It’s not about the act of cutting them off from our lives; it’s the consequences it would bring to our own character.”
Zenovyja nodded.
“I agree with that sentiment.”
Bianca smiled wryly.
“If you directed it at anyone else but me, your provocation would have probably set them off.”
“I feel like I’m taking your grace a little too liberally.”
“Then, if I may, can I ask you about yourself, and perhaps your own situation?”
“I’ll try to answer as much as I can.”
A diplomatic answer. It wasn’t lost on her, as she dealt with the organization on occasion.
“Certainly, you have your own friend group around you. You had many in the past, and I believe you have the charisma to build any circle around you, to be very honest. The old you wouldn’t find herself all alone—lonely enough to come back to hang out with little old us.”
Zenovyja frowned slightly. She pointed to the scars on her face.
“What I found was that the aristocratic class had very deep-seated ‘traditions’ that discriminated against folks like me. Expected, yes, but the effect was amplified by how clique-y upper-class life is. They would actively try to target me.”
“’Try to?’”
Bianca faked incredulity, more than exaggeratedly enough to be an obvious joke.
“You know I would return the favour twofold, and by doing that, it earned me a lot of enemies. For the longest time, I only had a few close friends, and that was it.”
Zenovyja then began to unbutton her blazer, revealing the frilly dress shirt beneath. Instantly noticeable, however, was the scandalous size of her breasts that would put every girl and woman in the school to shame. To put it in another way, this was the ultimate weapon that any girl could hope to possess.
“Of course, that was until this happened. It was already big for my age, but it just kept going.”
Looking down at them and shaking her head in unironic disappointment, Zenovyja caressed them in her hands, to which Bianca didn’t know how to react except to allow her cheeks to colour pink.
“There was a spectrum of reactions to it, ranging from cozying up to me, to weird love-hate behaviour. Technically speaking, I do have a circle of boys around me, but I only keep around the ones who would be diehard on my side. I can instantly tell who are the tourists and opportunists.”
“Technically speaking? What do you mean by that?”
“I keep them around, but I don’t actively build a solid relationship with most of them. Something like groupies, y’know?”
“What about girls? You have a few girl friends for sure.”
“I think I would only call one of them a true friend. She’s back in the fatherland.”
Now that Bianca was recalling more and more of the past, she realized that most of Zenovyja’s friendships were rather mercenary. There wasn’t a real “core” of Zenovyja’s friends she could pin down, a completely different situation from herself and the Elites.
“I can command a horde of subordinates, but close friends are hard to come by. Maybe that’s why I can suggest something that brutal, but at the same time don’t condone it.”
Zenovyja said softly, shaking her head once more. Bianca could tell she fought many battles, and they were battles she had not even a concept of. That’s how different their lives were, yet here they were sitting together.
“The solitary life of a leader. And now with the opportunity, she returns to her homeland and sets her sights on her old flame. But really? Couldn’t you have chosen anyone else but him?”
“I never said that explicitly, now, have I?”
“You insinuated as much with your posturing, ma’am.”
“Okay, I admit I was being pretentious about it, but that’s not the main reason why I’m back, really. Still a significant reason, yes, but I have something more important than that for Kato.”
“I have mixed feelings asking this, but please explain what this more important thing is.”
“That I cannot explain, but it is something between me, Kato, and his place in this country as a Heart. I’ll need him to make a certain decision one day, and depending on what he chooses, certain doors will be closed to him in the future.”
“Wow, that does sound awfully pretentious but also a load of waffle at the same time. That description could fit anything, Zeno, including you pursuing him for your own self-satisfaction.”
Zenovyja smiled crookedly. She had no rebuttal to that.
“I won’t deny that I have feelings for Kato, but at the same time, it was something from long ago and circumstances have obviously changed. If I take your hypothetical at face value, I think it’ll be fun to pursue him, but I’m not sure if my chances of success are all that high.”
“Is that the only thing stopping you, missus?”
“Well, I’ve got some formidable competition, that’s for sure. Maybe if none of you were in the race, then I’d have a sporting chance, but that’s not reality, now, is it? You have to give up on a romance that isn’t yours, or you’ll burn yourself out.”
“Have you done everything in your power to win? All’s fair in love and war, as they say.”
“Don’t you worry; I’ll probably end up trying something in the end. It’s just that if Mayumi, of all people, couldn’t do anything, then my chances are slimmer than Ariel’s waist.”
“Why are you like this?”
Bianca had to melodramatically wince at it. Opposite her, Zenovyja beamed, clearly proud of her own joke. She began again once their giggles subsided.
“So, we’ve established that at minimum, you came back here because you wanted to do something, right? Then, I’m fairly certain whatever you’re trying to do will upset the status quo, not gonna lie.”
“You’re not wrong, but given how my past relationship with Kato was like, I don’t think my chances are high at all. In fact, I’d be honoured to become your rival, if I ever get that far.”
To Bianca, this was the first time ever seeing Zenovyja lacking confidence in herself. For someone who was always bold and assertive, it was wholly unexpected to see her show weakness.
“At this point, Zeno, I don’t think I have any place left in the race. I can be your spiritual rival, I guess.”
Bianca laughed self-deprecatingly, but maintained the amiability instead of letting the gloom bleed out. A part of her realized that there was a time and place for spiralling, but not at this moment. This was to be her first and last heart-to-heart with her first love.
“Then for my last piece of unsolicited advice, don’t end up like Mayumi. But you’re welcome to do so if you insist.”
Zenovyja smiled widely. If Bianca could make a snarky joke with her, then all was well in her books.
“Note taken.”