On the rooftop of the academy, the headmaster sat on the edge, holding a stack of papers in one hand, the other rubbing his temples
The cold breeze blew past him, and his white beard flapped
The sound of heels clicking came from the staircase, and a young man in a black suit emerged, holding a bottle of branded liquor
He handed it to the headmaster. He unscrewed the cap, and drank from the bottle, the liquid burned away at his throat, and he let out a sharp hiss. "Bitter"
The young man shook his head, pulled out his phone and lit the screen. "Grandfather, about the festival–"
The headmaster raised the hand with the liquor, and wiggled it, the alcohol spilled on the ground, and on the young man's leg. "Don't worry, i have a few people in mind"
The grandson pulled out a handkerchief, and dabbed at the stain, the corner of his mouth twitched.
"OK then, I'm leaving" he turned and walked away, he stepped by the staircase and looked back at the headmaster. "Grandma was asking about you, you should pay her a visit" with that, he left.
At Sam's mansion
Aki was leaning against the window, his eyes looking up at the cloudy sky, Ragnar napped peacefully on his head
He held a cold can in his hand. '29 more days"
"Yo" Sam's voice came from the door, and he turned to see Sam standing by the door, with a tablet in hand. "Come check this out"
Sam left the room. Aki downed the drink, tossed the can out the window, and followed behind
He walked into the dining room, and took a seat beside Milan, Sam sat at the end of the table, and Mike on the other end, then he tapped on the screen of his tablet
On the wall, the large flat screen lit up, showing pictures of students
"OK, as discussed, the festival will still go on regardless of what happened at Central, since the head office didn't want the academy disqualified, it meant some of us had to toughen up and agree to the following terms"
"One, one of us must commit to both combat and academics"
"Two, only three students will be available for the combat match, meaning we'll be handicapped by one combatant"
Aki raised a hand. "Has the office decided who participates?"
"Yes" he tapped on the tablet, and the pictures on the TV changed, revealing the faces of everyone in the room
"The two of us, plus a recommended Ace"
The Sun set below the horizon, painting the sky in red, Aki walked on the sidewalk, Ragnar was now awake, walking beside him
He got back to his home, opened the front door and went inside
"Oh, you're back?" Chloe was on the sofa, polishing her nails, Rose in the kitchen, eating. Alice and Alicia were audible from up the stairs
Extra voices drifted into his ear from the end of the hallway. "Yeah, i had a lot of things to discuss with the student council". He walked down the hallway, the voices growing closer and closer, the door of the room at the end was slightly ajar, and light slipped through the gap
He pushed the door open, inside, the silver-haired woman, Maria and Snow sat across from each other on the table
"Sorry I'm late" he closed the door behind him, and walked beside Snow, then sat on the armrest, wrapping his shoulder around it
"As long as you're back" Maria pulled a small gift box from a drawer and handed it to him
He unwrapped it, inside were two red earrings, and a jade bracelet. "What's this?" He raised the bracelet, letting the green jade shimmer under the light
"A gift" she stood and walked to the door. "As for the earrings. Someone else will explain" with that, the door closed shut
In the silence, he could hear the sound of thumping, and the sound was racing, racing as if it were desperate to escape
"So. A few days ago–" His mouth was covered by a handbefore he could continue
"Please don't"
After she let go, he sighed, got up, and sat on the table directly in front of her. "Let's do this properly. Welcome back"
"Thanks"
"Anyway, you should change out of those" he pointed at her suit. "It doesn't fit you"
"I know– jerk"
He laughed, then patted her head and left, and over his shoulder he called out. "We'll talk tomorrow"
Snow was left seated, red faced. Ragnar came in sniffing the carpet, until it bumped onto the leg of Snow's chair
She looked down, and their eyes met. "A cat?" She picked it up, and held it to her face, little Ragnar growled, wrestled and roared to no avail. "MEOW!!"