“Ofcourse,andI’llhugyou,too。”
Hitomihadafewhobbiesbathedays,andwheneverherfriendshadspecialoccasions,Hitomimadejewelleryforthem。
Kagamicouldthinkoferwaytoexpresshergratitudethantomakesomejewelleryaspresents。ShewaothankArashiforinvitioKageyama,andevenmoresoforAkishi,whosekindnesshelpedhersustairessofanewlife。
KagamiwaomakeanecklaceforArashi,possiblywithobsidian,sincesheheardthatArashiworeblackallthetime;Arashimustreallylikeblack。
AsforAkishi,sinceshealreadyhadabraceletandaring,matgthemmightbedifficult。Kagamithoughtofmakingacapewithagoldenbrooch,possiblysetwithsapphire,whichmightlookhAkishi’shat。
Kagamikeptthesethoughtsinhermind,andassoonasshecouldtakeontasks,shewouldstartsavingtowardbuyingthegemstonesandothermaterialsrequiredfortheproject。
Daysbecameweeks,whichthenbecamemonths。Kagamitrainedherselfdailytobestronger,steadierandswifter。Shealsoenlistedtheassistanceofafewclassmatestohelpheroverethefearoffaganoppo’ssword。
Theinstructorforswordsmanshipleasedtoseemeasurableprogress,andgaveverydetailedadvice。“Youruniquewayofterattackhasverypromisingpotentialtobesuperblyeffective。Whatyouoworkonistoremovethehesitationfromyourslashes。Weusedulledsabresforareason。Welearnswordsnotbecausewewanttobeperformersagonastage。”
Kagamithaheinstructorandponderedhiswordswhilewatgclassmatespractice。ShevaguelyrememberedsimilarwordswhenshewasstillHitomi,studyinginNorthernIreland。
“TheFirstlessonofjoiningtheNorthernIrelandPoliceDepartment,istouselethalforceslethally。Thegunisalethalforce。Youdonottakeoutthegunifyouwanttodeter,ortowarn,ortoimmobilizesomeonebyaimingforthethighortheshoulder。Thegunisalethalon。YouONLYtakeoutthegunifyouhavenochoicebuttoshootsomeonedead。Andwhenyouhavetoshootsomeonedead,youaimatthehead,orthechest。Thisisthefirstandforemostlessonofthepolicedepartment。”
Thesabre,Kagamithought,wasindeeddesigobealethalon,anditspurposewastocuttheenemyinhalfortostabtheenemydead。(“NowonderArashirefusedtotakeherpersonalswordoutofthesheath。Thatswordhasthesolepurposeofkilling,andArashirespectsthatpurpose。Sheandthesworduandeachother。”)
Withnewclarityinhermind,Kagamienteredplativetrance。
“AkishiOnee!”Kagamiexclaimedjoyfullyatsupper,“Ihadmyfirsttrance!Iwillbeabletotakeonindividuallessons,andpletetaskstoearnmoney。”
“That’swonderfulnews,Kagami-。Iguessyou’twaittogetbetterclothesforyourself。”
“Oh,morethanthat,Onee!ButdoIobeawareofanyspecialetiquettewhenIgototown?Taboos?Socialventions?”
“ThetownsnearKageyamaareverylaidback。Don’tworry。Buyingthingsisapleasantexperience。JustbewareofpeoplefromHimeyama。Theyalwayswearwhiteswingingsleevekimonos。Beextremelypolitewiththem,andjustsilentlystayonthesideuntiltheypass。”
“Whyisthat,please?”
“Alltheotheracademiesgettheirstudentsfromallover,onlyHimeyamahastheirownexclusivecrystalcave。Asaresult,Himeyamadoesnotacceptoutsidestudents,andhasahierarchybasedonlioHimeyama,weareallworthlessoners。ButHimeyamaisextremelypowerfulintheirpoliticalinfluence,andtheirstudentsaresimilarlysuperiorinability。HimeyamaandKageyamaaretheonlyacademiesthatteachthesword,magidpotions,insteadoftrades,sotheyhaveaparticulardisdaintowardus,thinkingKageyamaisoutofplace,teagnoblesubjectstooners。”
“IsthatpartiallythereasonwhyKageyamadoesn’thaveuniforms?”
“Yes。That’stominimizetherisktoourstudentswhentheyhavetoleavecampus。”
“Howpowerfularethey?StrohanArashiOneesama?”
“Himeyamahasaegroup,theFive。Theyarestillstudents,butduetotheirunusualtalent,theyeasilymeasureuptoanyinstructorfromKageyama。Arashicutthroughmagic,yes,andalloftheFivespecializeinmagic,butArashi’srangeofattackisshorterthantheirs。”
“Iamnowabitworried。CouldyoupleasetellmemoreaboutthemsoIdomybesttoavoidanytact?”
“TheheadoftheFiveisYukari,andshe’sverytall。Duetoherlineageandstatus,everyoneaddressesheras‘yhness’wheingher。Yukarithirstsformorepower,anddesirestosubduetheentireworldunderherfeet。Sheseesothersasdust,orworms,ortools,dependingonherpersonalpreference,andshowsnomercytoanyone。”
“IfyouenterYukari,herkimonohasatrimwiththecolourofamethyst,youaretooyoungtodoanything。Justbowdownandwaitforhertopass。”
“TheisMidori;sheistallaswell。Midorilovestoplaywithaperson’smind。Withafewwords,sheinstillsfear,sfauxhope,oroverwhelmssomeohlustfulthoughts,orplungesooabsolutedespair。Shehasemeraldtrimonherkimono;avoidversationwithheratallcosts。”
“ThenthereisKasumi。Sheexcelsinanalyzingpeopleandsituations。Giveheroneword,andshewilldeducetheentirebook。Herhobbyisjuringupschemesandplans,andsherarelyattacks,despitebeinghighlyskilledinbat。Lightrubytrimtellsyouit’sher。”
“Yayoiisverydangeroustous。Shehasperidottrim。Yayoi’smagicissilentandinvisible,andherspecialityisturningpeopleintopuppets。OnecouldwalkbyYayoi,havehermagicimplanted,andnotnotiything。Thenyearsdowntheroad,whenYayoithinksthetimeisright,someonesuddenlylosessciousnessandbeesYayoi’sservantanddoesherbidding,allbecauseofhermagicspellthatwascastwayback。Afterwards,onewakesupandhasnomemoryofwhatwasdone,andhastofacealltherepercussions,asthere’snoevidehatYayoiistheculprit。”
“Theyou,andshortestinstature,isRyō。She’smyage。Ryōhasthemostprestigiouslineage,andduetoherbeingtheshortestandyou,demandsbeingaddressedas‘herhighness’,justlikeYukari。RyōisonlyaboutastallasArashi。Sheistheleastpleasant。Yukari’sopposendupbeingaheapofbloodymessbecauseoftheimmensepowerofYukari’smagic,butshedoesn’tmakeanyunnecessarymoves,probablythinkingthatnobodydeservesextraattentionfromheranyway。Ryō’sopposendupasabloodymessbecauseRyōlikestheresultandenjoystheprocess。Shewillextractasmuchdelightoutofabattleaspossiblebeforeheropposfinallydie。Asviolentandbloodthirstyassheis,Ryōsomehowhasacuteappearance,andhasrosequartztrimlikealittlegirlwould。Don’teversay‘littlegirl’infrontofher,okay?”
“Iamafraid,Onee。Howdoesaandace?IfeelKageyamacouldbewipedouttomorrowm。。。”
“Theyarescary。ButYukariheadstheFive,andthatkeepstherestofthematbay。Soundsdepressing,Iknow。ThedeemedunworthinessofusinYukari’sopinionkeepsussafefortheday。。。”
“Yes,Onee。Onlythestrongdeclare‘enoughfighting,everyone,disarm。’Theweakcries‘stop’andnobodylistens。”
“Thatiswhyweallstrivetobestrong,Kagami。SothatonedaywestanduptoHimeyama,declare‘Kageyamawilltinueherpeacefulexistence。Himeyama,stopantagonizingus’,andHimeyamawillfinallylisten。。。”