The air had begun to cool.
Streaks of red had begun to appear in the sky.
Students filled the hallway and streets as school hours came to an end.
The only ones to stay behind were those who had club activities and were supposed to help with the culture festival.
Dexter, Kensei, and Max quickly finished their share of the work and began packing without saying a word to one another.
They then rushed out of the classroom.
The three of them squeezed through the same door, which would otherwise have barely fit two people at a time.
As they rushed out of the classroom, Lily and Vanessa watched from a distance.
"Always ready to cut corners when it means nothing to him…"
Lily muttered as she carried the blank cutout to the back of the classroom.
"They leave just like that when we have so much still piled up…"
Hearing Lily muttering to herself, Vanessa quietly crept up behind her.
She lightly tapped the shoulder opposite the one she stood beside.
Lily spun around, only to find nobody there.
Vanessa then tapped her cheek lightly with her finger.
Lily jumped back, throwing her hands up as if defending herself against something dangerous.
"What's the big idea?!"
She shrieked as she lowered her hands, trying to regain her composure.
"We've got too much on our hands. I wonder if we'll make it in time…"
Vanessa said as she gathered supplies from the cupboard and placed them on the counter.
Lily raised her shoulders and crossed her arms.
"Tell me about it! We've got less than a week left! And some people still think it's okay to leave when we're so busy!"
All the pent-up frustration within her burst out, much like the whistle of a pressure cooker.
As she gasped for air, Vanessa patted her shoulder and raised her arm, pointing at something.
Lily's pupils followed the direction Vanessa's slender arm pointed.
In the middle of the bustling classroom stood a cluster of empty desks.
Unlike the others around them, they had already been cleared of every supply and every unfinished task.
Lily blinked twice before a voice brought her back to her senses.
"We might be overworked, but the fact that we don't have to cover for each other yet is a good sign! Don't you agree?"
Lily looked at Vanessa, who smiled radiantly.
"She's right, also… it's kind of hard to refuse when she's this dazzling…"
Lily thought to herself as she took half the supplies laid out by Vanessa on the counter.
"I'll help carry half of these! Tell me, where do you need them?"
She offered, her back already facing Vanessa.
"Didn't I just say there was no need to cover for each other yet?"
"Doesn't mean we can't."
Vanessa smirked as she picked up the rest of the supplies and walked out of the classroom alongside Lily.
Under the evening sky, the sun hung near the horizon.
Three boys raced through the streets shoulder to shoulder, shoving one another and not giving an inch.
As they spotted the dojo gates in the distance, they quickened their already rapid pace.
As the three passed through the entrance into the dojo's yard, something tugged at their feet.
The three of them fell face-first in unison.
"What'd you do that for, jerk?!"
Kensei growled at Max as he got up.
"Huh?! Look who's talking! You tripped me first. That's not fair."
Max growled back.
"You shouldn't trip me like that just because you can't beat me to the dojo."
Dexter commented as he patted the dirt off his uniform.
"I don't lose!!"
Max and Kensei exclaimed in unison.
A folded newspaper struck the back of their heads in succession.
"That's enough. Get up already. It's entertaining how you lot keep falling for this trick."
Rei chuckled, tapping the folded newspaper on his palm.
"C'mon, go inside and get changed!"
"Yessir!"
They scrambled back to their feet and charged inside again.
Thud.
Rei sighed.
"You'd think they'd learn after the first one. Seems they've still got a long way to go."
Rei followed the lively boys into the dojo.
The three of them entered the training area, clad in training kimono.
Rei sat a bit off the center of the room and blinked once.
The three of them sat in front of him at four arm's length.
"Okay, let's begin from the left."
Rei began the daily report, inviting them to share any realizations or thoughts weighing on their minds.
They called it, "the Reflection Period".
The one seated on the left was Kensei.
Kensei closed his eyes, his fingers brushing the chin.
"Sometimes… I try to read into an opponent's attack but that turns out to be bait to lure me in, I still can't seem to find a counter to it…"
Kensei then glared into Rei's eyes directly with a firm look on his face.
He extended his arm to the middle, passing the torch.
Now it was Dexter's turn.
He blinked once before silently placing a notebook in front of him.
Rei looked through the content of the notebook and smirked.
"Quite interesting… do you think you can replicate these?"
"I'll make sure I get it down before the tournament."
Dexter then extended his arm, just like Kensei did.
Next was Max's turn.
Like Dexter, he silently placed his own notebook before Rei and looked him in the eyes.
Rei glanced at the notebook and then back at Max before picking up the book.
As he opened the notebook and read the contents, his eyes widened.
"Haha…"
Rei chuckled.
Rei then looked at Max and Dexter respectively.
"I don't know if you're allies or rivals but it's surprising how each of you counters— and is vulnerable to— the strategies described in the other's notebooks."
Rei paused and then sighed.
"Kensei… you'd better watch out."
Kensei nodded once while the duo sat there confused whether they should rejoice or look out for danger.
Rei returned the notebooks to their respective owners.
Max then extended his arm toward Rei.
Rei cleared his throat and took a deep breath.
"I'll get straight to the point… Max, did you notify your father about your training here?"
Max looked down at the wooden floor.
The cold voices of his father and brother echoed in his head.
Cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
Even so… he lifted his head and answered.
He took a deep breath.
"Today…"
The momentary silence served as the proof of his resolve.
"No matter what."
He said it… he finally said it and there was no going back on his word.
Rei sighed, his palm covering his face as he smirked lightly.
"Whatever sits right with you, make sure you do it or it'll be troublesome…for you I mean…"
He said as he rose to his feet.
"Okay, fifteen minutes are over. Get up. We'll start."
The training began.
The next hour passed as always—sword swings, tactical instruction, sparring, and finally, stretches.
As they stretched, Rei brought out fresh towels and light snacks for the students.
The students and mentor silently gazed at the bluish-purple evening sky as they nibbled on their snacks.
They bowed to Rei one last time, changed back into their uniforms, and headed home.
"Don't trip on your way home."
Rei called after them as he watched them leave.
As the three of them walked, the street lamps lit up, one at a time.
Max's mind grew uneasy with each passing second.
A strange sense of déjà vu gnawed at his heart slowly.
Kensei noticed the unusually quiet Max and thwacked his back.
"What? The cat is already shaking in its boots, I suppose."
Kensei smirked, covering his lips with one hand.
Max took the bait.
"Just you see, I'll make sure I tell them today."
He declared as he turned onto the street that led to his residence.
"We'll meet at three tomorrow!"
Kensei shouted after him.
"Make sure you tell them. If they don't agree, I'll accompany you next time. We'll plead together."
Dexter said quietly.
"After all, if they don't agree, we'll be one member short. We don't have time to find someone and train them again."
He thought to himself.
Max's eyes twinkled before he turned away and continued walking.
Kensei stared at Dexter with his eyes wide open.
"What?"
Dexter asked.
"I'm sure I haven't said this before, but you sure got a way with words. Almost made me fall for you."
Kensei said as he brushed his hair back.
Dexter looked at him with disgust.
"Could you please stop… being weird?"
He said as he distanced himself away from Kensei.
The two shared the same smile and the same thought as they parted ways.
"You got this!"
Max reached the entrance of his residence.
As the gates opened, the head guard greeted him with a bow, hat in hand.
Max nodded and headed inside.
The guard raised his head, his cold gaze lingering on the gates as they closed behind Max.
The doors to the main house opened.
"Welcome back… Max."
The first to greet Max was the maid of the house, briefly bowing down to him.
"Cut it out already! Sis! It feels weird…"
Sylvia smiled faintly.
To everyone else, she was the maid of the house.
To Max, however, she had always simply been Sylvia.
She had been there for as long as he could remember.
She had been the one who looked after Max when he was young.
In the past, she used to stand in for Max when needed.
But along the way, she'd gradually stopped doing that.
"As you'd like it to be…"
She took Max's bag in one slender arm and headed upstairs toward Max's room.
Max followed suit.
As they climbed the stairs, Sylvia posed a question to him, stopping right by the door to his room.
"Do you have something on your mind?"
Max stepped past her, opened the door, and gestured toward the empty room.
"After you… I'll tell you all about it."
Sylvia's gaze sharpened as she entered the room.
She laid the bag beside the bed-side drawer and sat on the bed with her legs crossed.
Max settled into the "throne of the room"— the wheelchair.
He took a slow breath before meeting Sylvia's half-open gaze.
"You see…"
Max told her how he'd lied about staying late for culture festival preparations and had secretly been training at the dojo instead.
He then told her about the master of the dojo.
About his first meeting with Rei, the trial, and the training sessions he'd been going to for the past week.
Sylvia listened without interrupting him once.
"So, I'd been considering that I should actually inform father about this and take his permission."
As Max finished speaking, Sylvia nodded absentmindedly before stopping and blinking twice.
"Wait… wait! There's no way that's going to work!"
She exclaimed, her hands by her side as she uncrossed her legs.
"You think so too? Just when I finally managed to top the midterms too."
Max scratched his head as though he'd run out of cards to play.
Sylvia looked up in surprise after Max's unexpected reveal.
"I guess… that just might work…"
She muttered.
"Just maybe, you can present this proposal in master's presence, make sure that you can also point out what you intend to do with that skill in the future too."
She clenched her hands as she spoke, carefully choosing her words.
She paused and took a deep breath.
"That way, it's unlikely that he'll refuse…"
She looked Max in the eyes and gave him a thumbs-up, a glint in her eyes saying, "Go for it!"
Max blinked once, a silent sign that he understood.
Sylvia then got up from the bed and opened the door.
"Get refreshed and changed. Come down to the dinner table in half an hour, it won't do if you keep HIM waiting for long."
she said before shutting the door behind her.
Max washed his face and limbs, dried them with a towel and changed his clothes.
He came back to his room and waited restlessly in the wheelchair at the centre of the room, twirling a pencil on his thumb.
He glanced at the table clock.
"Two more minutes… I should start going down…"
He rose from the wheelchair and walked slowly, step by step, counting his breaths.
He finally reached the dinner hall and took a seat at the table.
He looked up at last… only to find the table empty.
"Huh! Was I early?!"
He fidgeted in brief panic, all alone at the dinner table.
"Quite the glutton today, aren't we… Max?"
The sarcastic voice was followed by the young frame of a boy, clad in a loose linen shirt and formal trousers, his left wrist adorned with a silver watch.
He placed his hand behind Max's back on the top of the chair's frame as he leaned over to look at Max's face.
"Brother?"
Ignoring his younger brother's confusion at the enigmatic behaviour, Damian pulled a chair, leaving a single seat between them before taking his own.
"Were you so hungry that you came down this early today? Even when you have to be called down when everyone else has already started?"
Damian remarked while tapping the table with his index finger, slowly and repeatedly.
Max lowered his eyes to the floor. The dining hall was far too open to hide from Damian.
The echoes of Damian's voice only amplified his presence.
Clat… clat… clat… clat… clink
Sylvia and the other housemaids began laying the cutlery on the table.
The plates, forks, spoons and knives being laid down impeccably in sets, leaving a chair's width between each place setting.
"Bring me water."
Damian ordered.
Sylvia put down the cutlery in her hands on the table and went to fetch the water jug and glasses,
while another maid picked up the cutlery,
while yet another wiped the spot with a fresh damp cloth, followed by a dry one.
Sylvia returned carrying a tray with four glasses and a water jug.
She placed two glasses upside down beside the untouched place settings opposite Max and Damian.
Then she filled the remaining two and set them in front of the brothers.
Damian picked up the glass and put it down after taking two sips.
As he let out a deep sigh, the sound of tapping shoes and jewellery clanking came from the main hall.
Damian snapped his fingers once, following which the maids made themselves scarce in the room.
Only Sylvia remained, standing near one corner of the large dining table.
The footsteps grew louder until they took physical form—the two people who stood at the very top of the household's hierarchy.
The first to enter was the Head of the house— Albrecht Iden Kraus.
He wore a lavish black suit, a white shirt underneath with a black tie on his neck.
His black shoes were lustrous, a thick gold watch encircled his left wrist.
Despite being forty-one, his face was immaculate, untouched by wrinkles.
Following him was the lady of the house— Helene Iden Kraus.
She wore a prim maroon dress, her wrists adorned with four thin gold bangles each.
At her neck was a necklace with a scarlet pendant, matching earrings adorned her ears.
She handed her premium purse to the maid, who carried it away.
Another maid immediately took her place.
The head took off his blazer and handed it to her.
The stand-in maid then rushed inside only to be replaced by the maid who had rushed inside earlier— Sylvia.
As the head of the house approached "his" seat, the maid stepped ahead of him and pulled the chair back.
He walked with neither haste nor hesitation.
As he sat down at the table— opposite to Damian, Max straightened his back.
The mother followed and sat at the last empty slot available at the table.
Sylvia then clapped her hands.
A maid followed with a trolley carrying the dishes for the dinner.
She first turned the glasses upright before filling them with water.
After that she took one dish at a time and served everyone in clockwise order, starting from the head and ending at the mother.
"What's the matter, Maxwell?"
The father asked, picking up his glass and sipping from it.
Max's shoulders twitched ever so slightly.
The fork near his hands shook lightly as he trembled.
Glugluglug…
Sylvia poured some water in his glass, refilling it.
Max glanced at her as she walked back to her corner and stood, her hands clenched.
"Making her worry… what good am I, if I can't even manage this on my own?"
He thought as he took a deep breath.
Max looked at the father.
"…Father."
The sounds of cutlery vanished from the table.
"There's something I'd like to discuss."
The head of the house met Max's gaze, giving him his full attention—for now.
"Very well! Let's hear what you have to say."