For the next four hours, they were in the room taking the written part of the test. The test was quite a challenge for there were no multiple choice sections, and there were a lot of essay-like questions; except for the math section. Chikane was even stumped in a few areas, but she was able to answer most of them confidently. For Himeko however, it was total hell. She was struggling to even answer some of the fill-in-the-blanks. On some parts, she didn't even bother to write anything.
When the written exam was over, both girls gave a sigh of relief that it was done. They had a one hour lunch break before they started their specialized test. As they were munching on their bento, they finally had a chance to chat.
"That test was tough!" Himeko exclaimed before she took a bite of her edamame.
Chikane nodded and replied, "It wasn't as easy as I thought. The history section gave me some trouble."
"Yeah, that was tough as well. I hope the next part is easier."
"I hope so too," Chikane responded as she sipped on her miso soup.
After they finished their lunch, they had fifteen minutes to spare. Himeko decided to do what she loves the most - draw. She was drawing a flower she saw outside. While she was drawing, Chikane peeked over her shoulder.
"Keeping yourself busy?" she asked.
"Yes. I just saw a pretty flower outside, and it hasn’t left my mind or escaped my attention."
"I see. Are flowers one of your favorite subjects?"
"They are. I like anything related to nature. I feel that nature is a great example of God's work, and it’s also a way to get closer to Him."
"Oh," was all that Chikane said. The teacher came back in and said. "Okay, break time is over girls, now it’s time for the next part of the exam. Follow me."
The girls walked behind her to another room across the hallway. As she got to the door, she paused to put up paperwork and turned around. “Kurusugawa-san, this is where you will take the remainder of your test.”
“Hai Sensei.”
“There will be another instructor in there. He will guide you from this point on.” She then opened the door for Himeko. Himeko took a peek, and saw a few small blank canvases. “Good luck Kurusugawa-san.”
“Thank you.” She politely bowed, and entered in the room. As soon as she closed the door, the instructor looked at Chikane.
“Himemiya-san, your test will take place downstairs. Follow me.” Chikane, and the instructor went to the lower level. It looked like a music chamber. She opened the door and told her, “This is where you will take your test. Mrs. Ito will be your instructor from this point on. Good luck.”
“Thank you.” Chikane responded as she bowed and went into the room.
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The next four hours were somewhat easier for the girls, as they were doing what they were more accustomed to, but it was by no means a walk in the park. Himeko was given difficult subjects to draw and color, and had to do it in various different mediums such as watercolor, oil painting, etc. Chikane was given difficult pieces to play, and she had to do it with at least five different instruments.
Four hours went by and they returned to the office, waiting for Kazuki. They were clearly tired from the test as neither said much. Several minutes later, he came and spoke to the principal.
“Well here they are Oogami-sensei. We’ll find out the results by tomorrow.”
Kazuki looked at them and saw how tired they were. He just had a small smile on his face as he asked them, “How was the exam?”
“Hard!” Himeko said while Chikane nodded.
Kazuki chuckled, and replied, “I told you it was not going to be easy. Anyways, I need to talk to Wakayabashi-san privately.”
So Kazuki went with the principal to his office.
“Thank you for putting your neck on the line for me on this. I don’t think I can ever repay you.”
“No need. You and your family did a lot for us. If it wasn’t for your father, I wouldn’t have gotten this job. Besides, I think those two have what it takes to be in this school.”
Kazuki grimaced a bit, thinking about Himeko. “Well I’m not really so sure about one of them.”
“Yes I know. From what I’ve seen from her old school, she’ll ace through the second part of the exam, but like you, I’m not so sure about the first part. It looks like I’ll have a meeting about her and if we do accept Kurusugawa-san, she will have to be on our learning track program.”
“I understand fully. I would like for her to attend school here, but I’ll leave it up to you and your faculty’s hands.”
“Very well. Like I said, you’ll find out tomorrow. Let me walk you and the girls out,” he said as he opened the door for Kazuki.
“Okay, that’s fine with me.”
When they were outside, Wakayabashi thanked them for coming. “I’m glad you two choose this school for your future education.”
“What do you think our chances of us making it?” Himeko asked.
The principal chuckled. “I really don’t want to answer that. I don’t want to give you two any false hopes. Don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t make it.”
“He’s right. We’ll think of something else if it doesn’t come through. Thanks for everything again, Wakayabashi-sensei. Until then have a nice day.” Kazuki ended.
“Good bye and have a nice day yourself.”
Himeko and Chikane both said their goodbye, and got in Kazuki’s Toyota. While they were in there, they were about to doze off but Kazuki broke it when he spoke.
“When you two get home, you will get two hours of sleep, but no more. After that, you will help out in the temple and continue with your training.
Both girls sigh after they hear that and go to sleep.
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They finally got back to their place, and both girls went straight to their beds, taking their much-deserved nap.
Nearly two hours later, Chikane woke up, hearing Souma’s slippers shuffling on the floor. They left their door open so Chikane was able to see him. For three minutes, he just stood there, looking at the locked room’s door. Chikane also heard sniffles coming from Souma. Then he left.
This really got her curiosity going. She got up to confront him, but before she could Kazuki walked by.
“Ah, I see that you’re already up? That’s what I like about you Himemiya-san, you got discipline,” Kazuki smiled.
She yawned a bit as she stretched her arms. “Thanks,” she responded.
“Now can you wake up Kurusugawa-san, please?”
“Sure Oogami-sensei.”
He quietly left the doorway as Chikane shook her sleeping partner by her shoulders.
“Himeko, wake up! Wake up!”
“Wha… its past two hours already?” she yawned out.
“Yes it is. We need to get ourselves ready for our work.”
“Oh man…”
Groggy as a bear coming out of hibernation, Himeko got up and walked to the bathroom to rinse her mouth and wash her face. When she returned to her room, Chikane brought up what she had witnessed.
"Hey Himeko. Did you notice the room across the hall?"
"Yeah, what about it? Beside that we've never been in there."
"Well I saw Souma looking at that room like it reminded him of something. I think he was crying."
"Something sad or depressing must have happened." Himeko responded with concern. “I remember Makoto-chan mentioning that he had a brother he hasn’t seen for a while.”
Chikane’s interest peaked a bit when she responded. “Really?”
“That’s what she told me. She didn’t tell me anything else.”
“Oh.” Chikane said in her usual stoic manner.
Himeko also brought up something else. “You know what’s also weird?”
“What else?”
“That I don’t see any pictures of his brother around. I mean, even if someone is dead and they care about them very much, there would have pictures around the house, especially in the family shrine.”
Chikane rubbed the bottom of her chin, "Hmm… Something strange is going on here… Well we don’t have much time to think about it. Come on, let's go to work."
While they were at their daily chores, Chikane noticed that Himeko wasn’t being her usual lively and bubbly self. She figured that it was about the school exam.
“Still thinking about the exam?”
“Very much so. I don’t think they’ll take me in,” Himeko replied with melancholy dripping in her voice.
“Just don’t worry about it now. Whatever happens, happens. We can’t do much about it. I’ll still be there for you.”
Himeko smiled and warmly responded, “Thanks Chikane-chan.”
Then a visitor came up to her, “Can you show me where the haiden is?”
“Sure! Follow me.” Himeko said as she walked him to the worshipping hall.
The next morning was an eventful one for the staff members of Hanayaka, as they were seriously debating over the acceptance of one particular girl.
“She should not be accepted to this school. No way!” said one faculty member.
“Are you kidding? She’s a prodigy! I mean look at her work, it’s amazing!” replied the other faculty member, as he pulled out Kurusugawa-san’s artwork from the test. Himeko’s paintings, drawings, and even her clay sculpture passed the test with flying colors, but her written exam was an epic failure.
“But she flat out failed math! Her mathematic skills are horrendous!” protested one teacher.
“And her history is just as terrible! She couldn’t even point out when the Meiji Restoration period started!” exclaimed another teacher. “The only subject she did okay in was in English.”
Another teacher calmly stated, “I think she will make a great addition to this school.”
“Are you kidding me?! Allowing her in will be a slap on the face of all those who were just as artistically talented, but couldn’t get in. It will also be a slap on the face of our proud tradition as well. Quite a few of them did better in the written exam.”
The other teacher looked at him, “Not every day can you find someone who can draw like this!”
The headmaster intervened, seeing how ugly it was getting. “Well why don’t we put her on our learning track program? I think she will do whatever it takes to succeed here. And I think her friend Himemiya-san will help her out as much as she can.”
“I doubt even as gifted as Himemiya-san is she will be able to help her. I don’t see why she should. She aced her exams unlike her friend. She has the potential to be a kaichou in this school, why should she waste her time and energy on someone like her?” scoffed another teacher.
“She’s her friend from what I’ve heard, why should she not help her?” another teacher responded to his insensitivity.
This was going back and forth with no end at sight. So Wakayabashi finally put his foot down and shouted. “Okay enough!”
Immediately everybody went silent. He then cleared his throat and continued. “I understand that this is a controversial decision, but I think she’s got great potential here in this school. I will put this into a vote right now.” He wasted no time as he looked throughout the room. “Ok, how many of you don’t want her here?” Out of the 50 staff members, 24 had raised their hands. “And how many of you want her here?” The remaining 26 raised their hands up. Wakayabashi then had a smile.
“Alright, then it settled. Kurusugawa Himeko will be attending Hanayaka High School.”
A few of the teachers were happy as well. They looked forward to meeting and teaching the young artistic prodigy, while the others were seething.
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The next day while Kazuki was in his office, he received a call on his cell. It displayed ‘Wakayabashi-sensei’ on it. He knew it had to be about the exam.
“Moshi-moshi Oogami-sensei.”
“Moshi-moshi Wakayabashi-sensei. How are you doing?
“I am doing fine. How about you?”
“I am fine as well. So? How did the exam go for the two?”
The headmaster had a hard time answering his question, so he decided to start with Chikane’s. “Well Himemiya-san’s score was excellent. She did very well in the written and even better in the musical. We noticed that she can play at least six different instruments at an intermediate level and four more at an advance level, including the piano. She has great potential in this school. In fact, I think she would be a great addition to the student council.”
“Well that’s great to hear.” Kazuki was pleased to hear the good news. “But what about Kurusugawa-san?”
Wakayabashi didn’t say anything for a bit as he swallowed his lump in his throat. “Well she did excellent in her artistic section of the exam, but she failed miserably in the written part. There was a debate about it in the lounge to whether accept her or not, and thankfully she got in. However, she will have to be in our learning track program for students like her. The program will help her out as much as they can, but it will be up to her to succeed in this school. There really is no other way around it. After all, she is academically the worst student we have accepted for this school year, possibly the worst ever.”
This was no surprise to Kazuki, yet he felt a bit disappointed. “I understand clearly, and if that’s what you think is the best option for her, then go ahead and put her in the program.”
“Will certainly do. We would like to start them next Monday if that is possible. Since it will be in the middle of the final semester for the school year and as a friend of yours, I won’t charge you until the beginning of the next school year. I will have both of the girls in the first year.”
Kazuki smiled again. He loves to save money as much as he can. “That’s good. I’ll pass the information to the girls, and we’ll be there tomorrow to get their uniforms and supplies.”
“Sounds good. Take care, and tell the girls congratulations.”
“Will do. Thank you very much. I greatly appreciate it.
“That sounds great! Thank a lot old friend! Talk to you later”
“No problem, talk to you later. Next time we meet, I will bring some prayer strips, some incense and one of our ornaments. Again, thank you and good bye.” Kazuki ended. A smile came on his face as he went to deliver the good news.
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While Himeko and Chikane were working at the Information Desk, Kazuki came up to them.
“I got the call back from the headmaster.”
Both quickly jumped out of their seats and huddled near Kazuki.
“Really? What did he say?” Himeko asked like an anxious child.
“He said that you are both accepted into the school.”
Both girls excitedly cheered when they heard the good news. However, Kazuki wasn’t done yet.
“Himemiya-san, they were very impressed with your scores on both parts of the exams and would love to have you in their school.”
A genuine smile came upon her face. “Thanks Oogami-sensei.”
“You’re welcome. As for Himeko…”
“Yes?”
Kazuki took a short breath before continuing. “You did exceptionally well on the artistic part of the test. In fact, they said you pretty much did 100% on it.”
Himeko grinned, “That’s great!”
“However, your written exam was the exact opposite. You did very poorly on it. They are suggesting you should be on their learning track program to help you reach the basic standard and also to help you reach your highest potential.”
Himeko didn’t like the sound of that. She was in a similar program at the other school she attended. It was a humiliating experience for her, she was teased quite often about it. In a country that put a heavy emphasis and pride on education, the humiliation is even more pronounced.
However, she hid her fear and shame when she responded, “Okay.”
“Like I’ve said, you will get help. We won’t let you fail at all. Right Himemiya-san?”
“Right.”
Himeko wasn’t so sure, but she simply agreed, “Okay.”
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The first day began and unlike earlier, Himeko was very excited about the school. They took the train to the school and walked the remainder of the way, two blocks further.
As they got into the building, the headmaster personally greeted them.
“Hello you two lovely ladies, welcome to your first day here!”
“Thank you!” they both bowed respectfully.
“You’re welcome. We have your classes ready. Chikane
your first class is downstairs, while Himeko, your class is down the hall. As you probably know already, our school setup is like that of those in the West. That means that instead of the teachers coming to the classroom, you girls will have to go to various classrooms. The reason for that is that we’re an Arts, Athletic, and Humanities school, and we have a lot of specialized classes that require their own rooms. Plus we also have a lot of Western students as well.
That means if you are familiar with Western High Schools, you will have lockers to put your books and stuff in. Come and let me show you two your shoe cubbies, then I’ll show you your regular lockers for books and other items.”
The headmaster showed them their shoe cubbies, which were only a few feet away. They had their indoor shoe with them so the headmaster suggested switching to those shoes.
“Go ahead and change, this is your school. Remember your numbers girls. Kurusugawa-san, yours is 438, Himemiya-san, yours is 439.”
“Hai sir!” both girls replied with a bow and then they proceed to take off their shoes.
They walked near to the end of the hallway to get to their lockers. When he got there he showed them their lockers. The lockers were blue and it seemed to be freshly painted. They were six feet tall.
Wakayabashi then gave them each a piece of paper. It was their locker combination.
“Here you go. Don’t lose them.”
“Thanks,” Himeko replied followed with a bow.
“No problem. Do you girls have your class schedules?”
“Yes Wakayabashi-sensei,” Himeko responded.
“Good. Then put away anything you don’t need in the locker and head to your homerooms, which will be your first class.”
Both nodded and they put their stuff in their respective lockers. Then they went to their classrooms and thus began their first day of school.
The first class for Himeko was down the hall from the lockers. When she got there she got nervous because she knew nobody in the classroom. The teacher saw her uneasiness, and stopped the class.
“Class, this is a new student joining us today. Her name is Kurusugawa Himeko.”
The entire class said ‘hi’ to her, and she responded back with a soft and shy ‘hi’. However, she was able to see a familiar face in the back.
“Makoto-chan!”
“Hey there, glad to see you.”
"Same here," Himeko replied as she took a set at the desk next to Makoto's. "I thought I wasn’t going to know anyone in here."
Makoto chuckled, "Don't worry about it. People here are cool."
"So why do we come here first?"
"Oh, every day we always come here as the first class. They call it homeroom, but unlike where you might have gone before, we don’t stay here very long. It's no more than fifteen minutes so that we can hear announcements and whatnot. Then we go to our scheduled classes. They seem to have adopted the Western style of school, so we don't stay in the same classroom. Each of us follows a certain track. I assume you're in the Arts track."
Himeko nodded, "Yep."
"I'm in the Physical Education track, so I study stuff like Sports Medicine and whatnot."
"Oh I see."
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
Then the teacher interrupted, "Satohara-san, I'm glad that you're helping out Kurusugawa-san, but I need to read the announcements."
"Oh sorry Daikane-sensei."
"Thank you, now let's continue on..."
The school program is broken up into two days: an A day and a B day. Today was a B day, so for Himeko, she had Clay Pottery, Art History, Elementary Math, Biology, Painting Techniques, and Physical Ed, her least favorite class, with lunch in the Homeroom in between.
The classes were over an hour-and-a-half long, which was fine for classes like Clay Pottery, but not so for Math. It was one of her least favorite subjects.
When it was lunch time, Himeko met up with Makoto.
"Hey there! How was your day?"
"I'm glad that Math is over."
Makoto laughed, "Try Physics! Blah!" she said while making a nasty face.
"Oh my, I don't think I could ever do that."
"Well, it could be worse. Anyhow, I would like for you to meet my friends at their homeroom if you don't mind."
"Of course not." Himeko smiled. So they took their food to the homeroom across the hallway and met up with Makoto's friends.
"Hi Makoto, who's this with you?"
"This is Kurusugawa Himko, she's from Mahoroba."
"Hi there, my name is Rabinovich Yelena, and I'm from Russia." she bowed. Himeko bowed back.
"And I'm Shajino Fumiko, nice to meet you", she said with a half bow. She couldn't bow fully because she was confined to a wheelchair.
“So where should we eat?” Himeko asked.
“Here should be fine.” They grouped their desks together and started to eat their bento.
About five minutes later, and blue-hair girl came up to Himeko.
“Is there a seat for me?”
“Chikane-chan!” Himeko got up and hugged her partner who was still holding the bento box. She smiled back and sat down with the other girls.
“So how’s your day going?”
“Fine. Math is… Math, but Clay Pottery and Art History are great!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“So what are your classes?”
“Today, I have Music Composition III, Calculus II, Advanced Music Theory, Advanced Physics, Advanced English Literature, and Studio Production I.”
The other four were amazed at Chikane’s schedule.
“Wow! You must be really smart.” Yelena said.
Chikane shrugged her shoulders, “Not really.”
“Oh I forgot to introduce you to Rabinovich Yelena, and Shajino Fumiko. This is Himemiya Chikane.”
“Himeko’s girlfriend!” Makoto blurted out. Himeko and Chikane’s eyes jumped when she revealed them to be lovers.
“Makoto-san!” Chikane yelped.
Makoto and the girls just laughed, “It’s okay, it doesn’t bother us that you two are girlfriends. It’s very liberal around here, in fact, we have pride week here every year! We just had one last October.”
That surprised Chikane and Himeko, who were used to the conservative school environments back in Mahoroba. If they let anybody knew that they were a couple, they would get harassed from other students in the school.
“Oh… Thanks.” Himeko said rather uneasily. She didn’t know what to make of this, and whether or not Makoto knew about their previous background. Souma then came in and joined his girlfriend.
“Hey girls what’s up!? I see you got Himemiya-san and Kurusuga-san here.”
“It’s okay to call us Himeko-san and Chikane-san in front of them. I never really cared much about honorifics.” Chikane advised him while Himeko nodded.
“Cool,” he responded and he sat next to Makoto. “So how are you two doing?”
“Fine Souma-san. The whole moving around to different classrooms is so unusual, but I guess we’ll get used to it.” Himeko responded.
Souma chuckled, “Yeah you will. Anyhow, I want to invite you and Chikane to join our Kendo club. I’m the President and we would like for you to join us. It could help you two when Nii-san is training you.”
Himeko was a bit hesitant, “Um… Thanks but I’ll pass.”
“I’ll join,” Chikane said calmly.
Souma smiled, “Great! I think you will be a big contributor to our club.”
Chikane had a small smile, “Thanks. Looking forward to it.”
“Um, would you also like to join the Sports Club as well? I think you will enjoy it as well.”
Chikane shrugged, “Sure why not?”
“Great! Me and Makoto-chan are in it as well.”
Yelena then joined in the conversation. “Does any one of you want to join the Art club.”
“I do!” Himeko said excitedly.
“Great, I’ll get you signed up. How about you Chikane-san?”
“Nah, art is not my specialty, Music is. So if there is one, I’ll join.”
“There is one, and I’ll introduce you to the guy who runs it,” Souma informed Chikane.
“Great, thanks!”
“No problem!”
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For a few weeks, both of them took some time to adjust to life in school again. After all, Himeko was away for six months and Chikane’s been away for over a year. They also had to adjust to the Western style of schooling, with the constant moving from one class to another. However they found the opportunity to join a few clubs. Himeko also found time to join the Gardening club as well.
One day, Himeko spotted Kazuki doing one of his prayers. It was the Oracle of the Kami of Sumiyoshi, better known as the Prayer of Benevolence.
“I have no corporeal existence, but Universal Benevolence is my divine body.
I have no physical power, but Uprightness is my strength.
I have no religious clairvoyance beyond what is bestowed by Wisdom,
I have no power of miracle other than the attainment of quiet happiness,
I have no tact except the exercise of gentleness.”
She tried to quietly walk into the room, but Kazuki heard her and turned around.
“Hi there Kurusugawa-san, how can I help you?”
“Oh nothing, I was just wondering where you were.”
“Well you know where I’m at,” he chuckled.
“Yeah. What were you doing?”
“I was doing the Oracle of the Kami of Sumiyoshi?”
“Huh?”
“You probably know it as the Prayer of Benevolence.”
“Oh yes, I’ve heard of that. How often do you do it?”
“Just about every day.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” he said as he turned around to face Himeko.
“Benevolence is very important to me. It helps bring balance to one’s self, and to the community. And when I mean community, I don’t mean in the general sense of the word?”
“Then what do you mean?”
“A community is more than just a group of people. A community could be your family, your friends, your club mates, you neighbors, your city, your country, even the entire world. I feel that we achieve greater things not only for the community but for ourselves when we put others before ourselves.”
“That’s exactly what Jesus did when he died on the cross. He sacrificed his life so that we can be saved.”
“Yes, I know the story. That’s the ultimate example of benevolence. I find that when we start doing things for others, we learn a little bit more about ourselves. Sometimes you see things about yourself that you wish you never did, but most of the time it reveals something positive. Benevolence is all about giving and sharing, and most of all, caring. Through these things, we began to grow. As we grow, we help others grow, and as they grow they help others grow as well. As you probably found out already, it can take you out of your comfort zone, but that’s how we become wiser, smarter, better, and that’s how our community grows as well. It’s how we can make a difference in other people’s lives and in our communities. That’s why I help the homeless as much as I do. I want them to have a better life, and I want my community to become stronger by helping out the weak. However none of this would matter if you didn’t care. Caring is what makes benevolence run.
It all made sense to Himeko. “I want to make things better for others, especially for those who have been abused and hurt like me and Chikane-chan,” she said while trying not to cry. “I want them to see that it’s not always going to be like that, that there is hope and that anything is possible.”
“Then you have to go out there and show them that there is hope. You got to share yourself and your story of how you made it. It’s through sharing your story, and how you were able to make it that one can give hope. As they say, caring is sharing. Speaking of sharing, I got something for you.” He went to his desk and got out an emerald green jadeite stone, shaped like a magatama.
“Oh wow, it’s the jewel of benevolence!” Himeko exclaimed.
“Yes. It helps to remind me of my purpose in life.”
“Thank you very much!” she said with a hug. It broke Kazuki’s stoic mold and he smiled.
“No problem. I know you have a lot to offer to the world. Don’t keep it to yourself, believe in yourself and share it with others.”
“I will Oogami-sensei, I will!”
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For the past few weeks, nothing special happened for the girls, and they couldn’t be any more relieved. They were happy to be out of the streets, and instead living a normal life. Then one night, Chikane saw Souma walking out of the closed bedroom. Her curiosity got the best of her. She needed to see what was inside. She decided to wait until everybody was asleep.
During the middle of the night, when she knew that Himeko was asleep, Chikane got out of the bed.
Using her knowledge of lockpicking she acquired from the streets, she started to pick the door’s lock. It was a basic lock, so she was able to unlock it rather easily. As soon as she entered in the room, she turned on the lights. It was clearly a room for a male, with dark color designs and several other clues such as some mens clothing lying on the floor and several posters of knives, zombies, vampires, and women on the wall. He had the first generation Playstation with lots of fighting and horror-themed games. There were a set of knives on top of the dresser as well. There was also another thing on the dresser she noticed; it was a picture of the former occupant. What she saw both terrified and angered her as she saw a younger portrait of the teal-haired man that threw the knife at her. Also in the picture were a young Souma and Sister Miyako.
Chikane immediately steamed up, turned off the lights and left the room. When she got back to her room, she quickly got her bag and started to pack her clothes. She was trying to be quiet about it, but the dresser drawers were noisy enough for Himeko to wake up.
“What are you doing?” Himeko asked. “You need to go back to sleep.”
“The hell I’m not!”
Himeko rubbed her eyes, and got up. “What’s going on?” she asked.
Chikane stopped what she was doing and looked at Himeko. Not once did the disgust on her face leave.
“Follow me.”
So Himeko followed her to the room and she showed the picture. Himeko was shocked as well.
“Oh my God! I knew Souma reminded us of someone.”
“Yeah, and that nutcase can come back here any time. Then he might come and kill me! And if you have any brain cells in your head, you would join me as well.”
Brain cells or none, she was going to join her either way, as Himeko was devoted to Chikane, but Himeko wanted Chikane to reconsider.
“But Chikane-chan, he probably won’t come back.”
“I can’t take that chance.”
Kazuki and Souma heard the noise coming from the other room as Himeko and Chikane were still talking. They were surprised to see light coming from the doorway, so they quickly went over there.
“What is going on?” Kazuki demanded with Souma looking at her like she had entered into a forbidden area.
Chikane turned around to face him. “Explain this to me!” Chikane barked at Kazuki as she showed the portrait to Kazuki. He swallowed a lump in his throat when he saw it. The last thing he wanted to happen was for her to find out about it.
“So you know?”
“Hell yeah I know! Why didn’t you tell me about him! Why!?!” she yelled. “And it doesn’t make things any easier since that bitch Sister Miyako seems to be a part of this family!”
“Look Himemiya-san, I sorry that I didn’t tell you –“
“You’re sorry alright! You bastard! You lied to me the entire time!”
Souma then jumps in, “Stop it Chikane-san!”
“Why should I!?! So that your brother can come and kill me and Himeko?”
Souma roared out to Chikane, “My brother is not a murderer!”
“He nearly tried to kill me!” Chikane said as she showed the scar on her left shoulder. “A few more inches and it would have hit my heart, I would have been dead!”
Souma shouted back, “He would never try to kill you!”
“Well he did try to kill me and you’re too stupid to realize that!”
“You bitch!”
Souma rushed at her, and she hit the wall. Chikane pushed back with her legs and tackled him to the ground. There were tumbling and rumbling on the ground. Kazuki and Himeko were trying their best to pull the two off each other. It took about a good minute before they succeeded. However, another task was to keep them separated as they were trying to go after each other as soon as they got back up.
“I’m gonna kick your fucking ass Souma-san!”
“Chikane-chan, stop it! Stop it,” Himeko desperately pleaded as she was using every bit of strength in her soft body to stop her.
“I like to see you try bitch!” Souma replied back with his own fiery anger.
“Stop it Souma-kun!”
Kazuki knew he had a major crisis on his hands and he had to deal with it now.
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