Akira responded in a cocky tone, "I'm aware. You could say I'm the literal embodiment of a genius."
Yukiko gave him an irritated stare, sighed, and walked ahead without replying. Akira followed her inside. A desk and chair stood at the center of the office.
"I don't think he's around right now," Akira muttered. "Maybe he left. And why the hell is it so cold in here? Still smells like a damn hospital."
Yukiko replied without looking at him, "I doubt that. Every two days a week, she leaves and doesn't return until 12:30 AM. It's only 9:50."
Akira glanced at the clock on the wall. "You're right."
Yukiko suddenly spotted something on the desk and hurried over. Akira asked, "Did you find something?"
"Be quiet," she snapped.
Akira raised an eyebrow. Rude.
Yukiko leaned in and examined the table. A neatly folded set of women's clothes lay there.
Akira blinked. "Isn't that… a lady's dress?" A horrifying thought struck him. Wait… does Mr. Simon have a kink for dressing like a girl? He shuddered. I think I'm going to puke.
Yukiko, meanwhile, thought, Isn't this the dress Trixie wore today? She picked it up and gave it a sniff.
"DON'T SMELL IT!" Akira shouted, gagging. "That's disgusting! I'm seriously going to puke!"
Yukiko ignored him, her mind racing. This is Trixie's perfume. What have you been hiding from me, Trixie…?
Still reeling, Akira leaned against the wall for balance. Suddenly, the panel beneath his hand sank inward with a click, and part of the wall slid open—revealing a hidden lab.
Akira's eyes widened. So that's why it smells like a hospital in here…
Still lost in thought, Yukiko hadn't noticed. Akira called out, but she ignored him. He walked over, gently grabbed her head, and turned it toward the opening. She froze.
Together, they stepped into the lab and began to scan their surroundings.
"See if you can find anything suspicious," Yukiko said softly.
"On it," Akira replied, spreading out to search.
"Who would've guessed there was a secret lab in someone's office?" he murmured.
Yukiko shrugged. "Surprising, but with his legacy… it'd be weirder if he didn't have one."
Akira picked up a tablet filled with pills and studied it. Is this some kind of drug? Wait—I've seen this in the nurse's office. Does he produce the meds used in school? He set it down uneasily. I can't tell if that's cool or creepy.
As he continued his search, he accidentally knocked over a folder. Bending to pick it up, something caught his eye in the corner of the room. He stood up and turned toward it.
A pod sat against the wall, filled with glowing green liquid.
Inside it—was Trixie.
Akira's heart dropped. "Yukiko," he said quietly. "I think… I found Trixie."
Yukiko asked, "Where did you find her?"
Akira, still in shock, stammered, "Y-y-yeah... I-I think it's her," as he pointed a trembling finger at the pod.
Yukiko stepped forward. The moment her eyes landed on the glass, a chill ran down her spine. She muttered, almost breathlessly, "T-Trixie? What... what is this? What kind of man is Mr. Simon?"
Snapping back to focus, she turned to Akira. "Help me find a way to open it."
As they examined the console and the surrounding machinery, Yukiko added, "Take off your shirt."
Akira blinked. "What? Why? It's freezing in here."
She shot back, "Because who knows how long she's been in that pod? She'll be freezing too. Don't you think she'll need it more than you?"
Akira sighed. "You're right," he mumbled, removing his shirt and resting it on his shoulder.
Moments later, Yukiko spotted a button near the pod base. She paused, staring at it. This must be it.
Just as her finger hovered over it—
A voice echoed from behind.
"No wonder my office wasn't locked. It was you kids."
Akira and Yukiko froze.
Mr. Simon stepped into view. "Akira, you've barely been in this school for a month, and you're already sneaking into staff offices? How disappointing."
A spike of fear ran down Akira's spine. Shit. I forgot to lock the door.
Yukiko's mind raced. That voice… Mr. Simon?
Simon asked coldly, "Do either of you have something to say?"
Without warning, Yukiko responded by firing a blast of ice straight at him. Mr. Simon dodged effortlessly.
He clicked his tongue. "Guess not," he said—and in a flash, kicked Yukiko aside.
Akira lunged forward, fists flying in a rapid flurry. Mr. Simon parried every blow with one hand.
Akira shouted, "What kind of man are you?!"
Simon raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
Before Akira could respond, two sharp ice spikes shot from behind, aimed at Simon's back.
Simon groaned. "This is a lab, for crying out loud," he muttered, leaping upward—only to slip on the frozen floor.
Akira grinned. This is my opening. He summoned a shadow-forged dagger. I won't kill him… but I need to make it count.
Just as he closed the distance—
A lab coat flew over his face, blinding him.
In that instant, a series of precise, blinding strikes battered his body. His dagger faded mid-air as he thought, What… what just happened? I can't feel anything…
Simon grabbed him and hurled him at Yukiko. She caught him instinctively, but the second she did—
Simon appeared in front of her. With ruthless speed, he landed the same precise strikes. Yukiko collapsed, her limbs limp.
I can't move… she thought, stunned. Am I paralyzed? Is this what he did to Akira?
Simon exhaled. "Finally."
But then—he saw Akira's finger twitch.
That's impossible, he thought. I didn't miss a single pressure point.
Akira mumbled, "I… won't be some experiment. If I can't move my body… I'll use my shadows."
With effort, his shadow wrapped around his limbs like strings. He staggered up to one knee… and collapsed again.
Simon stared. "What kind of psycho…?"
He sighed and muttered, "Now. Can someone explain why the two of you are attacking me?"
Cut to:
Mikage, cleaning.
He paused, glanced at the time, and muttered, "Why aren't they back yet? Don't tell me… they ran off somewhere to do something scandalous…"
He sighed. "I really hope not.".
Akira continued trying to puppeteer his body with shadows, but he kept collapsing with each attempt. Mr. Simon glanced over and said calmly,
"You should stop. You're only embarrassing yourself. You'd need to understand every muscle in the body and how it functions to pull that off properly."
He stepped closer, arms crossed.
"Now, why did you break into my office and attack me?"
Akira let out a weak chuckle.
"And if I refuse? You gonna experiment on me?"
Mr. Simon sighed and rubbed his temple.
"God, I hate kids."
Suddenly, a sharp crackling sound echoed through the room. He looked down and saw his legs frozen in a creeping layer of ice, rapidly climbing upward. He turned toward Yukiko, still on the floor, one arm faintly raised, ice magic flickering from her fingertips.
He sighed. Then a soft beep rang out.
"Finally," he muttered, breaking free of the ice with a sharp movement. He turned his back on the pair and walked toward the pod.
Yukiko, still weak, managed to speak.
"What are you doing with Trixie?"
Mr. Simon ignored her, calmly picked up his lab coat, slipped it on, then grabbed Akira's shirt.
"Thanks for the shirt," he said dryly, and pressed a button on the control panel.
The fluid inside the pod began to drain with a hiss. A moment later, it slowly opened. Trixie's eyes fluttered open as she regained consciousness.
Mr. Simon folded his arms.
"Looks like you have some explaining to do."
Trixie blinked groggily.
"What do you mean?"
He nodded toward the floor.
"Your friends. They're not dead, if that's what you're wondering."
Trixie's expression shifted to panic.
"Are they okay?"
"They're fine. Just paralyzed. Temporary. Should wear off in about an hour."
Trixie winced and hugged herself.
"Damn... this place is freezing."
Mr. Simon casually dropped Akira's shirt over her head.
"Here. For the cold."
She caught it, confused.
"Is this yours?"
"No. It's Akira's."
Trixie narrowed her eyes.
"Did you take it by force?"
Mr. Simon raised a brow.
"He offered it. Ask him when he can move again."
Trixie frowned, unconvinced.
"This situation says something else entirely..."
Then, Mr. Simon pulled two pills from a nearby tray and approached Akira and Yukiko.
"Open your mouths."
They turned their heads away in protest.
"Unless you want to stay motionless for another hour, I suggest you take them."
Reluctantly, both complied.
They were all seated in Mr. Oliver's office when Akira finally spoke up.
"Let me get this straight—you have some rare disease that destroys your cells. And the only people who get it are those whose parents are a mix: one with light mana and the other with dark. And you didn't tell her because of that? I don't get it."
Yukiko responded quietly,
"I understand... People born from both types of mana are usually feared. They get called demons, witches, abominations. Maybe Trixie was afraid I'd treat her like that."
Akira thought to himself, "Sheesh... that's rough."
Yukiko stood up and walked toward Trixie, who sat there guiltily. Without warning, she grabbed her cheeks and began to tug them.
"Even so—you should've told me, idiot! Don't you realize you're the only reason I tolerate people in the first place?"
Trixie cried out in pain,
"I'm sorry! I'll tell you next time, I swear!"
Akira let out a sigh and muttered,
"I'm just glad this resolved itself..."
He turned to the side—only to find Mr. Simon glaring at him with arms crossed and clear annoyance in his eyes.
"Ah crap," Akira mumbled before walking over, getting on his knees, and giving a clumsy, awkward apology.
Mr. Simon sighed and shook his head. He grabbed a bag containing Trixie's clothes and tossed it to Akira.
"Just get out," he muttered.
Before leaving, Akira asked,
"Hey, why wasn't she in a good mood when you told her to meet you in your office?"
Mr. Simon replied,
"The original method I used to restore her cells was... excruciating. I had to find an alternative."
Akira blinked.
"Oh... and by the way, it was Yukiko's idea to do all this."
Mr. Simon simply stared at him, sighed again, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Before they left, he turned to Trixie.
"Return that suit tomorrow morning. I need to make a few modifications."
"Okay," Trixie nodded.
As the group was heading out, Mr. Simon added one last thing.
"Keep this a secret, all of you."
In unison, they replied:
"Okay."
When they returned to the gym, Mikage was still surrounded by a crowd of excited girls.
Akira muttered under his breath, "At least he wasn't bored."
Noticing them, Mikage waved enthusiastically. "Hey! What were you all up to?" He paused, then narrowed his eyes at Akira. "Wait… where's your shirt?"
He glanced over and spotted it draped around Trixie's shoulders. A suspicious look crossed his face. "What exactly were you guys doing…?"
Akira rubbed the back of his neck. "I'd rather not talk about it."
Trixie gave a nervous smile.
Mikage's eyes widened as a wild thought hit him. My friend is a playboy?!
Trying to change the subject, Akira looked around. "Well… at least the gym's almost done."
Mikage beamed. "Right? I was surprised—these girls are seriously hardworking."
Akira narrowed his eyes, skeptical. I highly doubt that… did he promise them something?
Trixie spoke up, stretching. "Let's wrap this up quickly and get some well-earned sleep."
Once they finished and the girls left, Mikage thanked them politely. As they headed back to the dorms, Trixie started to return Akira's shirt.
He stopped her. "Just hold onto it. You can return it tomorrow."
Back in the room, Akira plugged in his phone and powered it on. After a moment, he dialed his parents' number.
When his mother answered, her voice burst through the line. "Thank goodness! Why haven't your calls been going through? We were imagining the worst!"
Akira quickly reassured her, "I'm fine. I just… lost my phone."
"Oh, thank goodness," she breathed. "How are the British people? Are their lifestyles very unique?"
Akira chuckled. "They're… pretty unique."
"I just know your dad will be overjoyed—but he's asleep right now. You know he doesn't wake up until morning."
Akira laughed softly. "That's true."
Her tone shifted to gentle concern. "So what do you think of that place? If you don't like it, just say the word—we'll bring you home."
Akira smiled faintly. "No need. It's fine… but everyone I've met so far is weird."