My eyes opened to the all-familiar ceiling of my room. In my groggy state, I pick up my glasses nearby and put them on. The death lines have once again vanished for the time being as I get up from my warm inviting bed. Instinctively, I checked my phone from the nightstand to see the date and time.
Today is Thursday. This week, Saturday is a holiday which means no school. I woke up earlier than usual, the time read '6:21 AM'. I'm still feeling a bit sleeper than usual but that's to be expected since I stayed up late last night. However, I can't skip school. I've been pushing my luck ever since I met Arcueid and found out about Ciel's identity. It's all been hectic these past few days, but I must obey my obligations of being a regular high schooler.
Kicking the blanket off of me, I sluggishly make my way out of my bed. Changing my clothes to my uniform, and grabbing my school bag, I make my way out of my room into the hallways of the mansion. I should make some breakfast for myself before I head to school. Making my way through the second floor, down the stairs towards the dining room, I enter the kitchen which is connected together to the dining room.
For such a big mansion, you'd think that the kitchen would also be just as spacious as the manor. To anyone's surprise, it's quite somewhat small to an extent. At best It's close to an average townhouse household kitchen in terms of space. Not that I'm complaining, it makes me feel right at home. It gives me a sense of ease, reminding me of living with the Arima Family back then.
Miyako, the daughter of the Arima Family, would tend to help me out cooking in order to teach herself cooking by watching me and helping. I wonder how she's doing? Hopefully well. She was also there to see me out when I left early along with her mother. She looked so choked up about me leaving, that I couldn't help but feel guilty leaving the family. As much as I wanted to stay with them, I also felt guilty leaving Akiha all alone after the incident. I made a promise to myself to never leave Akiha again like last time. Maybe Akiha wouldn't mind me and her making a visit to the Arima Family, sometime?
Actually… With the size of this kitchen, how's Kohaku able to whip up a crazy amount of food every day?
The sound of my grumbling stomach interrupts that thought. I hear you, stomach. I'll go make something right away.
"Let's see… what do we have?" I put my hands on both of the fridge's handles and pulled open. There are a handful of ingredients and various foods inside. Akiha Really does make sure to keep this supplied with things to cook and make.
The perks of living in a wealthy family.
"I think I'll make myself something simple." I quickly spot a carton of eggs, some mayo, and thin-sliced ham. Maybe I should make egg sandwiches today? But… I need some bread first…
I looked around the kitchen, checking some of the lower cabinets for any sight of bread. To my luck, I spotted some white bread. Taking them out, I placed them on top of the cabinet and grabbed all the things I needed before closing the fridge—
"You'll also need a plate too, Brother."
I look at the kitchen doorway to see Akiha is also up this early. I wonder what she's doing up to that day in time?
"Akiha? You're up early."
"Why of course." Akiha flips her hair. "I always wake up at five o'clock in the morning. Have you forgotten?"
Oh right. I do remember now that she wakes up earlier than I usually do when I first got here.
"I guess I have forgotten about that. My bad."
In a rare moment, she smiles at me. The look emits a feeling of admiration to me. I guess seeing me up this early has some sort of pride in Akiha.
"No need to apologize, Brother. I'm glad to see you early today, as well as making your own food. The productivity from you is quite an appreciated sight to see." I'm glad she's looking at me like the dependable older brother. The least I could do is certainly act like one to the best of my abilities. Already, by getting myself involved with Arcueid and Ciel, I'm causing enough worry as it is if she finds out about my leaves during the nights.
Akiha approaches me closer as she grabs a plate from one of the lower drawers, and puts it out on top of the counter for me. Akiha tilts her, curious about what I'm making. "Brother, What are you making?"
"Just a simple egg sandwich. Would you like some?"
"Yes." My sister nods in confirmation. "I'm curious what your cooking tastes like."
While she says that, I spotted an odd thing that Akiha is doing. I don't think she knows that she's doing it, but Akiha is tapping her foot in a rhythm as well as tapping her finger against the counter as well.
"Alrighty. You can wait up in the dining room then. This shouldn't take too long."
"Okay then. I'll be waiting."
Should I ask her about the whole 'tapping' thing? She's already making her way out of the kitchen… but I think it's better if I ask out now than later. What's the worst that can happen, right?
"Akiha," I called out before she left. She stopped by the doorway and turned to me, catching the attention that I wanted.
"Hmm? Yes?" Her ever so stoic face maintains.
"I noticed that you were kind of tapping your finger and foot to an odd rhythm. I'd never seen you do that."
Akiha just freezes there. The disbelief in her was so apparent, that it felt like I told her something forbidden that was heinous to anyone. Perhaps I shouldn't have asked my sister that…
"Uhh… Akiha?"
"…Huh?" Ahh seems like I managed to bring back her senses. Although… her cheeks appear to be beat red?
"O-Oh… um… it's nothing. Why do you want to know?" Her once serious demeanour has vanished in front of me. Her last comment comes off as defensive, almost like she wants me not to know. For some reason, it makes me feel oddly nostalgic seeing her like this. Back when we were kids, she would used to do that whenever she got excited about something. I might be reading the room wrong, but if she's excited to taste my cooking, I feel kind of happy that there are some parts of her that haven't changed over these eight years. However, I'll just brush it off and pretend I didn't see that display from Akiha, for her sake. She'll be fuming if I dare tease her about it.
"Ah… well if it's nothing then it's whatever."
Akiha looks at me sternly, despite her somewhat embarrassed state. "…well then. Please excuse me."
"Cute…"
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
Akiha frowns slightly, standing there before eventually exiting the kitchen. Phew… that was a close one. Couldn't help yourself now, Shiki? Focusing my attention back on my ingredients. It's time to assemble my sandwiches.
"Akiha, I'm done." I push the door open with my left arm, holding out a plate of my cooking on each of my hands.
I placed one in front of her as I made my way to the spot where I usually sit at the dinner table. I take my seat after placing my share on the table. Taking a glance at Akiha, I can see she's already digging into her meal by the time I could eat. But, delicate that she tends to be, she takes her time eating the sandwiches. As for me, I've already taken bites of my meal after a quick prayer. After tasting my own cooking, I say I did a pretty good job making the egg sandwich. Even if it's basic, I can taste both of the egg and ham being delicious. The egg has been done just right for a sunny side up. The ham is well down with being secretly glazed with some homemade sweet sauce I managed to make up from the fridge. It's a sauce Miyako taught me over the years after making this simple dish once a week at the house.
"Mmm… well done, Brother." Said Akiha. Looking back at her, she already finished her meal pretty quickly after only a few moments. A small smile forms on her. "For a simple dish, It was quite tasty. Especially the sauce too. I didn't know you were also making a sauce for it."
I smile back at her, enjoying it. "I'm glad you like it. You can thank Miyako for the sauce.."
"Miyako?" Akiha's face briefly flashed with curiosity. Right… She probably wouldn't know Miyako since I was staying at the Arima Household at the time.
"Miyako Was the daughter of the Arima Family. I guess you can also say she was my younger sister when I was living there."
I see…" Akiha rests her chin on her palm. "...What Is she like?"
I was a little surprised to see Akiha curious about the Arima's. Quite frankly, she never spoke up about them after I moved here. I thought she'd be at least intrigued by what I was doing there, but none of that happened until now. Well… It's not in my place to tell her what she can or can't talk about. Who am I to deny her?
"Well let's see here, Miyako just turned ten last year. She's bright and is very kind, though kind of shy to a fault, she's quite a considerate girl. She is also a fighter as well. The Arima has a dojo where they would usually practice martial arts there and body training. I participated in those sessions because I wanted to improve my body's health. I remember spending a lot of my time there and bonding with them. It was really fun there."
Damn… Even just mentioning them, I'm already missing them just talking about them.
"I see. I'm glad they treated you well. It's nice to also see you make strides in improving your health as best you can." Akiha's eyes shifted away from me. There was a hint of sadness within them, for which I can't explain why. Why was that?
"Brother? Do you remember anything from your time at the mansion?" She asked.
"Huh? I'm not really sure. I know a few moments spent playing with you, but that's about it."
"You really don't remember everything here, do you? I suppose that's for the best." There was some relief in Akiha's voice, but the sadness still remained. Ahh… I think I know what she's trying to say.
"Akiha? Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you jealous that I enjoyed my time there besides living in the Tohno Mansion?"
"Wha-!?" Akiha rises from her chair. "D-Don't be ridiculous! I'm not jealous! It's just…" Akiha's voices start to trail off before slowly sitting back down. "I get that your time here wasn't pleasant with… father, being around. I just thought… I'd…"
She looks down as her bangs overshadow her face from my view. I didn't think I would see Akiha acting this emotionally. Before then, she was an immovable stone with her blunt and honest responses. But now? Now she's that little girl all those years back then.
"Akiha." My little Sister looks up to me. "Remember when the news broke out that I was going to leave? I made a promise to myself that I'd never leave you again if I ever came back."
"H-Huh?" Akiha's eyes widened.
"I tend to keep that promise, and guess what? I'm here right now, with you." A smile forms from me as I speak out with sincerity. "I know you've grown and matured. You don't need someone to look after you at this point, but let me be a 'big brother' to you for the time I still have in whatever way I can, will you?"
My Sister's eyes remained widened. She froze there, completely surprised by my words. Can I say I blame her, I didn't really expect a moment like this to happen either. But It didn't take much thought to know that she felt sad that I gave off the impression that I'd rather spend my time back at the Arima's, rather than my actual family. While I love the Arima's equally like a family, I can never replace the happy moments I had at the Tohno Mansion with Akiha. She's still family, through and through.
Akiha clears her throat audibly, as she gets up from her seat and grabs her plate. "I'll put away my dish. You should finish up eating and get ready to head out for school. You can leave your plate there. I'll have Kohaku or Hisui to do it."
"Huh?" I feel dumbfounded by the sudden mood switch from Akiha. That whole emotional moment we just had has now left the room like it never existed. "Ah… okay?"
She walks over the doorway to the kitchen but suddenly stops. Her then head looks at me over her shoulder, with her attention on me once again.
"I don't need to 'let you be my brother'. You're already my Brother."
Just like that, she rushes off into the kitchen before I can say anything else. 'You're already my Brother.' I can't help but smile at her reply.
"You still see me as your Brother, after all these years?" I quietly tell myself.
After finishing up my meal, I bumped into Hisui after I left the dining room. I can tell I made her a little worried at least, as she said to me to let her know in advance if I was up early and planned on doing something before she could wake me up. I apologize to her, as she is entirely fair on that part. She is my personal maid, so she made up a good point. It's her job after all, I don't want to give Akiha the impression that Hisui is incompetent at her position when it's clearly not true. We talked for a bit along the way as she escorted me to the front entrance, while Hisui held and got my school bag for me. All that time in the kitchen along with talking to Akiha has surely made my time pass by enough that It's a good time to leave for school.
"I know that I've reminded you already, but please be sure to let me know in advance about what you do, Master Shiki."
"Ah… I apologize for that. Don't worry I'll be sure to let you know then."
As I began to put on my blue sneakers, something just clicked on me as the thought passed through. I quickly realized that I didn't see Kohaku at all in the dining room with Akiha. She's usually the one to cook most of the time, so it was odd not to see her there. Hisui may have a good chance to know, with them being sisters and all.
"Hey Hisui, I noticed Kohaku wasn't there in the dining room when I was there with Akiha. She'd always cook, right? Did something happen to her?" I finish tying my shoes, facing Hisui after.
"Nothing in particular happened. Master Akiha Would usually get up early to make herself something every day in the morning. So, Master Akiha would give her other tasks to do in the morning. The only exception is when you wake up. That's when she cook meals for you."
"Ahhh, gotcha." That explains it. "Well, that was all I wanted to ask. I'll be taking my leave now."
As I put my hand over one of the double front door's handles, Hisui calls out to me. "Please wait, Master Shiki."
"Hmm?" I turned to her again.
"I…" She starts to fidget a bit before continuing. "I've been noticing the back doors have been recently unlocked these past few days at night."
Uh oh… I think I know where this is going… her now slightly worried face from her usual professionalism says it all.
"Me and Master Akiha would usually take turns patrolling the mansion to ensure safety. When I discovered that the back door was unlocked, I checked your room to see if you went missing by any chance.'
"Uh…" I couldn't say much and stood there. Hisui has caught me red-handed. I don't think anyone can make any good excuses to say why they were gone during the nights with the doors unlocked every time. I have no choice, but to tell her the truth. "So you've noticed. Did you tell Akiha about it?"
"No. I didn't inform Master Akiha, or the other nights you went out."
Huh? Have my ears deceived me? An all-well proper maid has said something so 'outlandish' that isn't fitting as one!?
"Y-You mean it!?"
Hisui quickly shushed me, gesturing her finger over her lip to quiet down. Shifting her eyes around making sure nobody hears us. "Please… you do not want Master Akiha to know about this."
Crap… she's right. I was merely surprised that she would still let me go out despite her knowing. But one thing doesn't make sense to me, however. By doing this, she would be treading thin ice with Akiha, which poses another question.
"Sorry… but why would you help me? Y'know Akiha is like your employer, right?"
Hisui could only shake her head in disagreement. "You're not wrong. But I have said to you before that I'm your personal maid. I tend to still be that no matter what. I assume these absences are personal, so I will refrain from asking what you do at night. All I ask from you is to return safely from your trips."
"Hisui…"
I grinned in response to my feelings of relief. She really IS my saviour! She's so understanding! I can't thank her enough for all of this. I really should pay her back somehow once all of this vampire business is over. I would like to at least want her to know that these night-outs will eventually come to an end after we find that Roa guy and put an end to all of this.
"Thank you. I mean it. I'm not sure how long I'll be out, but I can assure you that once everything is over, all things will go back to being normal. I promise."
"I'll be sure to hold you on that promise." Hisui nodded. "I'm sorry for taking your time, you should be going by now."
"Don't sweat it, thanks again for all this."
Hisui offered my bag to me as I took it. I take one last look at Hisui before waving at her, as Hisui bows in gesture. I pull the door's handles out and take my leave to school.
Expectantly, many students arrive at school during my walk. From the looks of it, another hour will certainly be the first class in session. Walking up the stairway inside, I spot a familiar blue-haired girl with glasses. There's obviously no mistaking it. It's Ciel-Senpai. I'm a little hesitant to walk up and say hi to her. Last time, it was pretty clear Ciel knew I was going out at night hunting with Arcueid with being direct about it, even with me admitting everything to her about it. And if yesterday is anything to go by, breaking her promise must've made her mad. She doesn't seem to know I'm walking behind her. I'll deal with this whole situation with her later today. I still have time to plan out my day. I will wait for her to make her way to her homeroom and–
"I know you're behind me, Tohno-kun."
Oh god… she's looking right at me now! It… It doesn't seem like she's mad, but her aura I'm feeling is saying otherwise. My entire body froze. I think she's fully aware; I'm as guilty as I can be from yesterday. I should really go up to her to apologize fully, but I can't move my body at the same time, in fear I'll face her wrath despite it being too late to run away or hide… She's making her way towards me!
"Ohhhh! H-Hey, Senpai! How's it hanging?" That sounded too enthusiastic for me to say to her. In fact, that sounded out of character for me to say at all!
"Oh I'm good, Tohno-kun. I'm glad to see you doing well. How're you feeling? Is your anemia acting up lately?" Senpai finally makes her way to me. Now the distance between us has been closed, face to face with each other.
"Great! I'm feeling TERRIFIC!" God… I can't believe I'm thinking this, but Arihiko, please save me from this…
"Tohno-kun? Are you alright?" Senpai tilts her head. It didn't take much to notice like… 'this', to know that something was wrong.
"What? Oh, yeah! I'm fine! Fine-fine-fine!" I'm trying to keep my composure, but with Senpai, it's like having a gun against your head.
"You're so uncharacteristically enthusiastic today. It's not like you, Tohno-kun! She laughs before flashing her friendly smile she always does.
From the looks of it, she doesn't seem angry. Not angry at all. Am I in the clear? Maybe I am! It's still a little too early to conclude that, but I'm not feeling any killing intent from Senpai! Perhaps I was just exaggerating this whole situation!
"Oh! Y'know! I'm just glad to see your face in the morning." Calm yourself! Play it cool and act like nothing is ordinary. We need to gauge this predicament more.
"Oh… I'm glad you feel that way." Ciel Adjusts her glasses with a slightly flushed face. Honestly, It was quite cute I might add. "Still, It was a bit unbelievable you acted like that a few seconds ago. It is almost like Arihiko and you swap bodies with each other."
Senpai laughs at the nation. I can't blame her, it was pretty weird for me to be nervous around my senior. All because of me, being unfaithful to my word. I need to be honest with her sooner or later today. I can't keep hiding the truth from her. Senpai always risks her life for others, and she truly just wants to see me safe in one piece. How can I say no to another person helping strangers with nothing to gain from doing so?
"Yeah, It was definitely odd of me. I guess I was sort of happy to see you, even when it hasn't been that long since yesterday." It wasn't a half-lie. I am very happy to see you here. I think it helps especially that with my new resolve to be honest from now on, I'll be able to progress.
"Um, Senpai? Are you free at lunch right now? I have something to talk to you about."
"Oh?" Ciel tilts her head. "I don't have anything important at lunchtime, that's for sure. Is it important?"
"Yes." I nodded my head. "If that doesn't work then—"
"I told you I'm free, didn't I? I have said it before, but if there are any problems, you come and talk to me." Ciel adjusts her posture at me. She walks closer to me while leaning towards my direction, and flashes me that precious smile like always. "I'll be at the tea club room then. I'll see you there, Tohno-kun."
Ciel-Senpai Back before doing a shot at me. Finally making her leave from the stairways. Ciel-Senpai Is so understanding. I couldn't help but smile, I'm kind of glad she doesn't know that I went out last night. But all of this 'keeping secrets' business ends here. Truth be told, the only reason I lied was because I didn't want her to hate me. In the end, I'd be misplacing her trust in me when I did so. She trusted me to reveal personal information about her to me and I should uphold the trust upon me. I must sound like a broken recorder repeating these thoughts to me, but I don't want to forget what I need to do. I put my fist in the air to psyche myself up for that encounter later today.
Without delaying any further, I went to my homeroom and sat in my seat. I look out the window as I usually do, anticipating for the time I'll tell Senpai the truth.
When the time came for class to start, instead of everyone taking their usual seats, they ended up acting like the first bell hadn't rang and continued chatting away to each other.
It is certainly odd. Have I missed something at school?
I see the glass door open, showing none other than Arihiko entering the classroom. He comes in a hunched posture, yawning and making his way to his seat then turning his attention to me. "Oh… Hey man, I'm beat right now. Thanks for asking, I might have a cold or something… I just wanted to head back home already."
"But I didn't say anything yet." I raised a brow.
"Well, now you have." Arihiko shortly after slops over his desk with a bored expression like usual. Glad to see the guy as lazy as ever. Arihiko Usually knows what's going on at or outside of school. It is a good time to ask what's going on right now.
"Yo, Arihiko. What's going on? Why's everyone out of their seats after the bell?" Arihiko couldn't help but appear confused at my question.Huh? What do you mean? Today is our day to get vaccinated, so we'll be leaving early for today once we get our shots. Weren't you here for the Assembly last week?" Arihiko suddenly widens a bit at the realization he has. "Oh wait, you were away that day. Makes sense why you wouldn't know."
Ah, was that all? That makes sense then if that's the case. "I see…"
"That's not all though," Arihiko added. There's more that I missed? "Noel-Sensei is away for today. She was supposed to teach our class in the first period, but something came up. For now, they only told us to use the time to study for today's first morning period."
"Huh. Do you know what happened to Sensei?"
"Beats me, man." Arihiko sighs. "Nobody knows why she's on leave today."
My best guess Is that she is busy doing other things as an Executor like Ciel-Senpai. Probably going around exterminating a bunch of undead. Of course, I can't go out and say those things out loud. I suppose I can use this time to catch up a bit on what I missed.
Halfway through our second period, we were finally called to line up outside the nurse's office. I was last in the line, so it was pretty time-consuming waiting until there were only a few people in front of me. For whatever reason, they had to have us go in one at a time to get our shots. They would normally let five people go inside to speed up the process a bit, but not for today at least. Oh, on a side note, Arihiko left and went home already. Saying and calming it would be annoying and painful to get those injections, boldly.
As I waited, I heard a familiar voice outside the room as I made my way closer to the entrance.
"Ohh, you're in good shape. Don't worry, I won't give you anything that would hurt. Why don't you count how many stairs you need to take to get to your class or something?"
"....."
Uh oh… I recognize the annoying and grating voice from anywhere.
"Hmm, I think you're just a borderline sweetie. Just going to do this injection, so this might hurt a teeny-tiny bit, okay? There you go! Next sample please!"
Oh god, it's her. Why HER out of all people!? Especially from the last time when Professor Arach tried to inject me with some weird-looking needle at the mansion, despite my insistence not to! I was glad Akiha was close by to hear us stop her and got Kohaku to do my checkup instead. Otherwise, I would have been drugged up with whatever crazy thing that woman has!
Crap, there's only two more people in front of me. I really don't want to know what she'll do to me if I enter there. Not after what happened last time. Maybe I should just run off and wait until lunchtime to meet up with Senpai…
"Alrighty! Next sample, please~!"
There's only one more person in front of me until I have to enter the room. I know I shouldn't do this but… damn it! I rather not get injected by what she has in store! I casually backed off and walked away back to my classroom. Everyone aside from Arihiko, was still there, most likely getting ready to leave after getting vaccinated. I'll pretend that I got my injection if anyone asks and we'll have to wait for the lunch bell to ring to meet up with Senpai. If anything goes south, I'll just hide up to one of the spots Arihiko likes to hide. He showed me one of them, thinking It might come in handy for me someday. I hate to admit it, but It turned out he was right.
I believe Arihiko told me that the third years get their injections after lunch before leaving, so I'll have plenty of time to meet up with Ciel-Senpai.
For once, I'm glad he showed me that spot.
Finally, after some gruelling hours of waiting, the lunch bell rang. Since it's lunchtime, I think I'll stop by the school store and get some of those curry buns. She seemed to really like those last time, so I'll get those again. Senpai Must be on an empty stomach by now, as well as I am. It'll be a nice offer for her. I should be careful though. I'm a little worried that our relationship will just turn out to be me offering a bunch of things to her, but I don't think Ciel-Senpai would be the kind of girl to take advantage of someone by any means.
Getting up from my seat and setting off, I went to buy my curry buns before eventually going directly to the tea ceremony club.
After making my way and standing in front of the club entrance, I knocked out the door a few times. Normally Senpai would come up and greet me before letting me in, but no response came behind the door. However…
"Ah… Tohno-kun, is that you?" There's Senpai's voice.
"Yep. It's me." I replied.
"Apologies, Tohno-kun. Currently, my hands are full right now. Feel free to come inside though." Her voice sounded so sweet and tender when she said that. I felt a stupid grin come up to my face.
"Okay then. Pardon my intrusion."
I slide the door open and close it after entering.
Something catches my ears, however. The moment I stepped inside, I heard a sudden clicking sound from behind. Did Senpai install a new locking system? Or was it the school by any chance? I couldn't resist getting distracted by the lock until Ciel-Senpai spoke up.
"Welcome, Tohno-kun. Please, take a seat. I've just poured us some tea."
Ciel-Senpai gives me a warm welcome after snapping me out of my thoughts with her greeting. The room contains a pair of tea cups, floor cushions, and… a… giant-looking gun.
"Uh… Senpai? …What's that thing doing here?" The familiar torture device sits proudly on display in front of me.
"Ah, please pay no mind to it." She brushes off my hesitant response. "Don't worry, it doesn't react to good people in their presence. Only works off of evildoers and monsters. You know… how liars don't keep their promises."
Despite her friendly smile and polite mannerisms, I get the feeling underneath that look says otherwise. It's pretty obvious who she's talking about when she says 'liars'.
Yep… I'm a dead man. Maybe I should've left earlier when I had the chance…
I can feel the hairs on my body stand up. Her 'smile'... if you even call it an actual smile… is giving me goosebumps all over. To some extent, I'm not surprised by this outcome. I knew something like this was going to happen. However, I'm more worried about the fact she has THAT device with her! Senpai isn't going to kill me… will she??
"Uhh… Sure. I'm glad, that's very reassuring. One question though, why is this dangerous thing here?" I try my best to act calm and collected as I say that. I'm not sure if I'm doing a great job doing so…
"Oh, I was doing some maintenance on it, that's all. I don't have any ulterior motives whatsoever. At least, not right now." Senpai replies back. She says that, but her words are otherwise. "By the way Tohno-kun, you seemed tense. Your hand is shaking a little. Are you okay?"
"Is it now?" I checked to see if it was true, spoilers, It is. "A-Ah! Well, I got a little shaken up when I saw that weapon with you, Senpai."
"Awww, no need to be scared, Tohno-kun. After all, I told you it only works on liars and evildoers. As long as you don't fit in one of those criteria, you're fine."
If the maliciousness wasn't present enough with her selected choice of words, the tone of her voice oozing it, camouflaged with her politeness. This is bad. REAL bad. My life is over if I don't hightail out of this place right this second. Maybe I should just leave the curry buns here, it might get her distracted. I take a step back, before I—
"Why not take a seat, Tohno-kun? Ah, don't forget to have proper posture while sitting. This is the tea ceremony room, after all."
My body completely freezes in place. In a microsecond, she cut me off from doing anything else I could react to. I have no choice… I have to comply with her demands. If I don't… I don't want to imagine what will happen otherwise…
"R-Right, of course. Please excuse me."
I slowly lower myself onto the floor cushion, just as Senpai said, I make sure to keep my back as straight as possible. I'm starting to miss the cheerful Senpai who told me I could sit however I like. As much as I try my best to look calm as ever, the inner me is panicking with my body reacting to it with the build-up of sweat slowly pouring out of me. My palms are sweaty, my knees weak, and my arms feel heavy from Senpai's intense gaze on me by her mere presence.
"Oh, by the way, about this thing—"
Ciel-Senpai casually lifts up the giant weapon like it's nothing. It's not hard to see that the giant thing must weigh a lot with its size and usage of steel used in making it. She didn't break a sweat either lifting that hunk of steel.