The "Rules of Nature" gossip had become a big thing among the RIU students. Akira overheard it here and there. He and Joshua had even discussed it a few times during short breaks between morning classes previously. Akira had drawn his own conclusion—that it was all part of his father's plan. Todo Yamauchi, in league with Kaitlyn Walker, had gathered all these young foreigners, along with the locals, to create one massive testing ground.
Even though he had already discovered the Ars Goetians with the potential, Akira still kept asking himself—was it a premonition? Or something more common among people like him, some 'sense' shared by those able to enter the Dreamscape? He did not know.
The crucial question was: did his father know about them? Akira's friends, for example. Is it possible to persuade Igor and Mia, who seemed connected to his father through Kaitlyn Walker, to change their allegiance at the 'tea party'? What would Zhenzhen say about that?
Akira's Mind: "Need to ask Merlina once we're back."
Merlina was still maintaining the circle, sitting and whistling like a fisherman, keeping watch over their transcendental bodies within the Dreamworld.
The morning classes, just like yesterday, passed pleasantly fast. Liza and Cleo had gone in and out of the infirmary with Mia Walker. Akira explained the situation to the professor, who briefly asked whether there were any missing students. Liza had skipped one lecture in the morning and returned to the seminar room to find Akira and Joshua already seated. Akira still remembered how he'd ended up in the 'reanimation' room during the introduction ceremony.
Akira: "Good times, ha-ha."
He giggled and muttered to himself, looking like an idiot.
He sat down beside Joshua, thinking about everything that had happened just a few days ago.
Joshua: "You guys were so mysterious back then, at the entrance."
Akira suddenly realised he'd been talking to himself again—right in front of his coursemate.
He softly gagged.
Akira: "Oof... I'm sorry, Joshua. I've got this weird thing—I talk to myself from time to time. Looks crazy, I know. I just remembered the first day, when I passed out in front of Professor Kikuchi. I saw people pointing at me because someone recorded it. After my identity got publicly revealed, a lot of people started to realise I'm that Yamauchi. Funny enough, you turned out to be one of the few who didn't know."
He smiled awkwardly, trying to play it off.
Joshua shrugged.
Joshua: "Yeah, that explains why most people in our first lecture room avoided you. I thought maybe you were some famous bully or something, huh."
Akira chuckled, a bit embarrassed.
Joshua: "Still, I've heard a lot of strange rumours about Ryoto—not even talking about the criminal chronicles of this city. Absurd stuff happens every day. Hard to believe any of it's real!"
Akira nodded.
Akira: "Yeah... sadly, it's not the safest timeline for our country. But then again, it's always been like that. Either it's natural disasters, or wars of the past, or something else..."
Joshua: "Just like any other country, ha-ha!"
Akira grimaced.
Akira: "Maybe."
Joshua: "Tell me about it. I'm from Israel!"
Akira blinked, looking at him.
Akira: "Shame to admit I've never really read anything about other countries aside from mine."
Joshua: "You weren't even interested in travelling?"
Akira: "It's not like I didn't want to... It's just—I always had my hands full right here and now. Never had time to even think about where I'd want to go."
Joshua playfully pressed his lips, glaring at him.
Joshua: "Understandable."
Akira: "I just hope you'll never get involved in any of these supernatural events. Even though you, Liza, and Cleo... like the other foreigners, you've already witnessed something strange—snowing in September."
Joshua: "Some little snowfall we can handle, I hope."
He blinked and gave him a friendly smug.
Liza, right after she returned from the infirmary, gave off a clear impression—she was pissed. She plopped down behind them, pouting like a spoiled princess.
Liza: "I hate that jerk Mia!"
Akira turned toward her, along with Joshua.
Akira: "How's Cleo? How did it go?"
Liza, lying on her folded arms, looked up at him from under her eyebrows.
Liza: "She's fine, I think... You want the full story or the short one?"
Joshua's eyes darted from one to the other.
Joshua: "Sorry, guys, but I never asked before—what happened to your friend? She's got a wound near her lip and a bruise. I hope it wasn't a street fight. I can't imagine somebody wanting to hit her!"
He poked his lip to give them a proper example.
A shared glance between Akira and Liza conveyed a single thought: A somebody-Wendigo from the Dreamworld.
Liza buried her face in her hands.
Liza: "I'm so dead, guys. So long story short—we got to the infirmary with Cleo and Prez..."
As Liza recounted the story—how she and Mia kept bragging and bickering—Cleo had been treated by Doctor Koide. Just like Mia had said earlier, it wasn't anything serious—nothing they couldn't handle.
Akira had multiple thoughts racing through his head. What kind of story could he come up with to make it sound believable to Joshua? Did someone punch Cleo? Should he say she slipped and fell? Or maybe she hit her face on a table?
He chuckled.
Akira: "I'm an idiot..."
Liza raised her head at that sudden confession.
Liza: "How about that, Senpai? You roast yourself better than anyone else could."
Joshua giggled too, glancing at Akira.
Joshua: "Again, the inner dialogue slipping out?"
Akira grimaced.
Akira: "Something like that..."
Liza: "Anyway, that's how it went with Cleo and Mia. Strangely, Four-Eyes and I didn't even kill each other in the end. A mystery."
Akira tickled his fingers.
Akira: "A stroke of luck, I'm sure."
Liza: "Very funny, Senpai..."
She buried herself again in her folded arms.
Joshua continued to look between them, his head bouncing back and forth.
Joshua: "Yeah, but I still don't get what happened?"
Liza lifted her head again and stared at Akira with a helpless look. Her eyes said it all: Please say something. I've got nothing left.
Akira: "It was me, Joshua..."
Liza's eyes widened like dinner plates.
Joshua mirrored her, looking stunned.
Joshua: "You what?! How could you, of all people, strike a girl, Akira?!"
Akira: "I didn't say I struck her... It was an accident."
Liza muttered through clenched teeth, turning her head away.
Liza: "Stupid Senpai."
Then she pretended to be asleep again.
Akira tried to explain.
Akira: "I mentioned it earlier—video games, right? So, long story short, we were at it, and my hand... slipped..."
Liza couldn't believe her ears. Her face flushed with secondhand embarrassment. He could've said anything—she tripped, hit a pole, leaned into a door. Anything. But no...
Akira: "...So that's what happened."
Joshua: "If I didn't meet you guys yesterday, I'd say you're both kinda crazy!"
Liza: "Frank opinion, Josh. The only one crazy here is Senpai. But thank you!"
Joshua gagged on a chuckle.
Joshua: "J-Josh?"
Liza: "Relax, tiger. It's just a nickname I gave you. Not happy with it?"
Joshua: "It's not that I don't like it, it's just..."
Liza: "...Then that's settled. Josh, you are."
Joshua raised an eyebrow.
Joshua: "Huh..."
Akira shook his head, downhearted. Just this morning, they'd all been more energetic. Now he couldn't even fabricate a proper excuse. Just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
He mumbled.
Akira: "I'm an idiot..."
Liza shot him a tired and flirtatious look.
Liza: "Stupid Senpai..."
Joshua watched them both with a nervous giggle and turned back to get ready for the next lecture.
Up to the lunch break, Akira and Liza tried to focus on their studies. More students were talking about the 'Rules of Nature Challenge', as Joshua Abelman called it previously. Akira even spotted Yagawa Kikuchi, the professor who had clashed with Liza on the first day, and he was in perfect shape so far. They moved through the arch right below the front section of RIU, among the crowd of people scurrying back and forth.
Liza yawned, clearly tired from her morning classes.
Liza: "Do we really need to go and meet Four-Eyes again, Senpai..."
Akira looked at her understandingly.
Akira: "You don't need to come with me, Liza. Though they said everyone's invited—people like us, I mean—but I can tell her you're not interested."
Liza: "Not gonna happen, Senpai. I needed to be with you, just in case!"
She raised her hands, seemingly fired up.
Akira: "I think you'll need to take my advice soon, Liza. About how you need to watch your surroundings."
He faintly waved at the two girls who were standing and gazing at Liza around the corner.
Liza tried to calm herself instantly, noticing the girls giggling not far away from them. Only a few days of their education had passed, yet she and Akira had already become small-time celebrities in their group. A 'Soul Sister' magical girl, and the famous politician son who had passed out at the General Assembly Hall with some other students—someone could practically write a fairy tale with that setup: The Sleeping Prince and the Luminous Girl.
Joshua had been right about Akira. People from their group were avoiding him on purpose, some of them were just shy, or didn't know what to say. Group A had already become a collection of smaller cliques, just like theirs.
Zhenzhen and Cleo were in a rush to meet Akira and Liza right before they entered the devil's den—or so to speak—the favourite place of the student council president, Mia Walker.
Zhenzhen: "Are you sure you're up to it, Akira?"
He glanced at him seriously while Cleo and Liza gave each other a double high five, giggling and greeting each other once again.
Akira nodded, facing Zhenzhen with a friendly grin.
Akira: "I think you don't need to go with me. You all don't want to..."
Cleo's eyes widened as she got closer to him, waving her short white skirt.
Cleo: "What do you mean, Mister Akira? The president said she's expecting us!"
Liza stood right beside her, in front of the glass conservatory doors.
Liza: "Look at this goody-two-shoes all fired up. Are you up to something? I hope you're not seriously thinking she's our friend after all that happened, Cleo?"
Cleo faced her, puzzled about what to say.
Cleo: "I... I don't know. But I want to know her better. Call it a sixth sense, Liza!"
Liza: "A sixth sense, eh..."
She made a power pose in front of her and shook her head, disappointed.
Akira: "I still can't believe I'm doing all this. Look at us, guys. We didn't know each other before, and now we're about to talk to even more people about the Dreamscape. You still have time to reconsider. Just like Ota said, this place is dangerous..."
Liza playfully cut him off.
Liza: "Not happening, chief! I'm with you till the end, Senpai!"
The glass roof reflected the sun's rays into Cleo's flashing golden eyes.
Cleo: "Me too!"
Zhenzhen stood there, not happy, but still returned Akira a friendly expression.
Zhenzhen: "I'll be there for you—so you don't make any bad choices, Akira."
Akira chuckled and shook his head.
Akira: "You guys..."
Liza: "Let's go, team! Time to meet Nerdzilla and her Toasty boyfriend!"
Cleo giggled hard, barely covering her mouth with a palm, embarrassed by her sudden burst of laughter.
Liza leaned toward Cleo to whisper something while Akira and Zhenzhen opened the doors to the same old garden conservatory.
Liza: "I told you about Maria's proposal—so what do you think?"
Cleo raised her eyes, facing Liza.
Cleo: "I've never worked as a mascot before!"
Liza smirked at her.
Liza: "Forget it, Lassy. It'll be a piece of cake for just the two of us. Some other girls tried wearing our mascot costume, but it never had that special effect, you know? You, on the other hand... a completely different deal!"
Cleo lowered her eyes, clasping her hands at her waist.
Cleo: "I don't know..."
Liza leaned in even closer as they advanced toward the glass room.
Liza: "Imagine what will happen when Akira sees you in that costume, Cleo! Don't tell me I didn't help you—even if you are my official rival in l..."
She startled, cutting herself off, staring straight ahead with a displeased look.
Cleo giggled again, putting her hand over her mouth.
Cleo: "You're so funny sometimes, Liza."
Liza: "Yeah, yeah. Come here, you little plushie!"
She suddenly leapt playfully, tickling her with no mercy.
A small crowd of people inside the conservatory surrounded Mia. Igor Blinov stood right behind the glass room, gazing in another direction, looking bored.
Mia clapped her hands, signalling the crowd to quiet down.
Mia: "Everybody, please. I said we'll discuss this matter later! You and your IDs will be fine unless you break university rules. If any of you get in trouble, you'll be the first to know. Any points earned from the 'Rules of Nature' will be added to your digital accounts. Also, all of you can have proper ID cards—if you're not trusting our digital system. Am I making myself clear?"
"But Miss Mia—"
Like a Buddha battling a chaotic tidal wave to maintain enlightenment, she closed her eyes behind her square glasses.
Mia clapped again, cutting the girl off, and opened her eyes.
Mia: "I said... later. I'm sorry. Very busy day. I answered your questions yesterday, today, and I'll answer more later. After afternoon lectures, maybe. Don't forget to choose your clubs soon. Anyone who does will receive a bonus. Understood?"
The girls quickly nodded, looked around, spotted Akira, and walked off disappointed.
Mia gave Akira and his friends a signal to follow her into the glass room, waving them over.
Akira looked at his companions.
Akira: "Still not too late to back out, guys."
Liza: "Bah! Senpai, you said it like we're going to be hanged!"
She pointed at the glass room where Mia had already entered, and Igor followed her.
Liza: "It's just toasty in there, with her—and that's it!"
Cleo: "Liza, don't be rude. We come in peace."
Liza: "Peace? I don't want peace, I want problems, always! Ha!"
Zhenzhen watched her like she was a natural disaster in human form.
Then it happened. As they passed through the crowd, one girl was bold enough to start a conversation with Liza, aka 'Natural Disaster Girl'.
"Are you the girl from the video?"
"Are you stupid? Of course it's her! Give me that."
"Hey, that's my phone!"
"Anyway, miss, can you tell us what this 'Soul Sisters' thingy is?"
Liza stood in front of them, shocked. Her eyes said it all: "By the gods, what have I gotten myself into?"
Akira stepped in; a girl who tried to take the phone from another one jolted.
Akira: "Sorry, guys—we're here to meet the council president."
The girl leaned toward her friend and whispered something while glancing at Akira. They both giggled.
Liza: "Hey..."
She pointed a polished nail at them.
Cleo stopped her before she could do anything.
Liza: "Cleo, don't hold me."
Cleo faced the unknown girls.
Cleo: "Hi, I'm Cleo Williams, also a girl from the video. And this is Liza—her full name is..."
Presenting Liza as if she were a cookie, she gestures towards her with a welcoming expression, only then realizing she hadn't asked for her full name.
Liza pulled her best bully face, looking the group over.
Liza: "Lizaveta Pavlenko. I'm from Ukraine. Happy to meet you... guys."
She added the last part, smiling like a white shark meeting a first-time swimmer.
"No way!"
"So it is you two, right?"
The girls looked a bit shy at first, then leaned in toward Liza.
"You were so brave at the monument. Were those guys picking on you or something?"
Akira's Mind: "Funny how they don't even know how it all started. Joshua saved himself and became famous, and he didn't even know it."
"Who are you guys, anyway? I mean, we know who the black-haired one is... Sorry, I meant no disrespect. I'm not Japanese, so my language is a bit bold..."
Akira nodded and gave them the friendliest smile he could manage.
Akira: "It's fine. I completely understand you. You're here to learn, after all. We're all trying to be friends, right?"
He glanced at his friends, hoping they wouldn't abandon him now, in this awkward hour of judgment in front of foreign girls.
Liza: "Well..."
She scratched the back of her head.
Cleo beamed sincerely.
Cleo: "Of course! We're all friends here!"
Zhenzhen didn't move a muscle—just gave a polite bow after Cleo's line.
"Oh, I wonder why that guy is shaved..."
"Stupid! Not so loud!"
"He-he, sorry..."
The girl in the middle blushed and turned away.
Zhenzhen observed them with a straight face.
The conversation stalled, but Akira tried to recover.
Akira: "Sorry, but we're in a hurry. Like Mia said, you should pick a club you're interested in—it's important. We need to speak to the president ourselves. Be well."
He gave a polite bow. They giggled like fifth-graders. Zhenzhen bowed behind him.
Liza: "...And I'm not a magical girl, okay? I work as a part-timer at a maid cafe..."
A girl behind them cut her off.
"No way!"
Someone whispered.
"She's a maid?"
"A cosplayer?!"
"I can't believe it!"
Liza let out a tired sigh, tugging Akira by the sleeve.
Liza: "Let's go, Senpai. Better to face Four-Eyes than this crowd..."
As they turned to leave, the group of girls called out one last time.
"Are you... Are you two together or something?"
Judging by the way they stared at Akira and Liza, it was clear who the question was aimed at.
Liza turned her head, blushing. Cleo did too—red as a pomegranate.
Akira and Liza blurted it out like a rocket launch.
Akira and Liza: "We're not—"
They flinched and looked at each other like they were both tired of making a scene like that once again.
Liza glanced up from under her brows at him.
Just then, Igor Blinov came out of the glass room and shouted for them to hurry.
Akira smiled at the girls one last time.
Akira: "We're just... coursemates."
Igor, closing in, snorted loudly at that.
Liza looked at Akira like he'd betrayed her very soul.
Liza: "Yeap..."
Cleo darted between them, unsure what to say, torn between speaking up or staying quiet.
Akira whispered, hiding his embarrassment.
Akira: "Let's go meet Mia already..."
Zhenzhen grinned knowingly at him.
Mia Walker, inside the glass room, sat at the small round table surrounded by little stools. With all her grace, she rested in the middle, looking stern and noble with her usual council president expression. As all of them entered the glass room, she gestured for them to sit near her, pouring hot tea into tiny cups.
Igor stood beside her like a knight... not exactly in shining armour. His towering presence always made Akira feel uncomfortable, yet there was something between them, surprisingly. Maybe it was the same dark presence they both radiated. Perhaps both were expectedly called 'servants' of evil, unlike the truly 'shiny' knights like Prince Arthur. Even after their open dispute at the entrance, Akira felt a strange kinship with this Ars Goetian Death Knight.
Zhenzhen was on edge after the morning quarrel, glaring at Igor as if he were his mortal enemy. It was understandable that this conversation would not go smoothly.
Igor playfully widened his eyes in a sly expression, barely raising his hands, leaning on the window glass behind him.
Igor: "Terrified. Absolutely shaking, my dudes."
Liza glanced at him.
Liza: "You seem oddly cheerful for someone Akira just mopped the floor with."
Akira tried to sit right across from Mia, yet held himself back, not expecting Liza to start their verbal duel right away. Cleo and Zhenzhen froze too, while Mia slightly tilted her head toward Igor, expecting him to cause trouble.
Igor didn't wear his usual 'evil' smirk. He gave Liza a long, steady gaze.
He grinned sternly and looked away.
Igor: "Praise the heavens, you're a girl, Cinderfella..."
Liza was on edge too, seemingly expecting a fight right from the beginning, but something held her back. She clutched her little fist to her chest.
Akira stood. In this little glass room, both he and Igor appeared like giants. Igor was larger and tough-looking. Akira was almost as tall as a plank of iron.
Everyone kept silent, questioning why they even came here in the first place. Only Mia looked directly at Akira, then faced Liza and said firmly, her voice as sharp as steel.
Mia: "Can you, for once, not make a scene, Pavlenko? It's the only thing I ever asked of you."
Liza threw up her hands with a loud sigh, sitting down beside the stool Akira had chosen in the middle of the round table.
Liza: "I promised Cleo, not you, all right? And I'm not backpedalling before you, toasty boy, you hear me?"
She was feisty, turbulent, even, pointing her long-nailed finger at him while Mia rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in her own kind of gesture. Liza seemed as if she was trying to prove something to him—or to herself—and knew she was brave enough to stand against him without hesitation.
Igor stood, crossing his arms and raising his left one with a bored expression.
Igor: "Anything else, Magical Princess?"
Cleo stepped in before Liza could parry another of Igor's barbs.
Cleo: "We're not here to make a scene, sir."
Igor comically choked after she called him sir.
Igor: "So that's how it is, eh? Can't defend yourself, Cinderfella, so you unleash your ultimate weapon?"
Liza stared at him with a bored expression.
Liza: "I don't even bother defending myself against you, douchebag."
Mia facepalmed.
Mia: "Gods have mercy."
Akira looked around the room again.
Akira: "Let's try to have a civil conversation here..."
Zhenzhen: "I'm here just to make sure you realise who the real enemy is."
Igor pointed at Zhenzhen.
Igor: "Nobody asked you, shrimp..."
Liza: "Ha! Funny how a roasted sausage like you talks about shrimps, huh?!"
She darted between Zhenzhen and Igor. Zhenzhen stared at Igor, but after Liza's words, he let out an unexpected smirk of his own.
Mia narrowed her eyes, facing Akira.
Mia: "Is she always like this? I don't even want to guess what the hell you've been through with this one in the Dreamscape."
Liza pointed at Mia.
Liza: "Hey! I'm more capable than you and your crappy abilities. What can you even do there, nerdy? Grow a little tree or something?"
Igor: "You've already said too much, girlie. Either you shut up, or I'll make you..."
Akira suddenly felt something dark rise within him. His eyes narrowed, and he gazed directly at Igor's face.
Akira: "Over my dead body."
Everybody went silent.
Akira stood there, radiating the same black aura he thought unified him and Igor—but his was darker, and almost... ancient. Even his voice felt different when he said those words, as if it wasn't him, but something inside him speaking.
Igor let out a fatal smirk after Akira's threat. He wasn't afraid, but he understood that something dangerous was lurking inside the warrior Ars Goetian, as its visibility was limited only to their own kind.
Mia silently gulped—but it was heard, anyway.
Mia: "Sit down, all of you, please."
She looked desperate, like a council president forced to negotiate with a pack of wild animals.
Cleo: "I'm sorry, Lady Mia..."
Cleo tried to sit, adjusting her short white skirt.
Mia: "Oh, please. You're calling me lady after what I said to you in the Dreamscape..."
Cleo finally sat, visibly startled.
Cleo: "I see that you are, Lady Mia. I think you're a good person."
Mia studied her patiently with a smile.
Mia: "Well... That's a drastic change from our last conversation. Your monk friend there called me black-hearted."
Zhenzhen flinched, a little embarrassed.
Zhenzhen: "I didn't say that about you... I called him black-hearted."
Igor rolled his eyes.
Mia coquettishly cackled.
Mia: "You misunderstood, Sir Monk. I was talking about our conversation yesterday, when you said you sensed something bad in my heart..."
A brief pause passed between them.
Zhenzhen gazed at her, as if seeing through her and far beyond.
Zhenzhen: "And I still see it—even if Cleo sees it otherwise."
Cleo turned and raised her head.
Cleo: "Friends, let's just... listen to what Lady Mia has to say? How about it? It'd be a good start."
Igor glanced at the ceiling of the glass room, almost rolling his eyes.
He sighed heavily right before he spoke.
Igor: "Can't believe I'm agreeing with that paladin girl, but if you're up to it, Mia..."
Mia turned her head toward him with an angry expression.
Igor: "What?"
Mia: "Nothing... just sit already! They're all on edge because you're standing there like a golem!"
There was no trace left of Igor's cocky expression. He rolled his eyes, irritated once again, took the stool, pulled it away from the round table, and sat right beside his girlfriend, Mia Walker.
Mia glanced at Akira, still standing there with Zhenzhen.
She raised her eyes behind the glasses.
Mia: "Yamauchi, will you sit, or do you need a special invitation from someone like me?"
She said this to lighten the mood, smiling like a shot crow.
Zhenzhen tried to be polite, also pulled a stool away from a table, and sat next to Cleo Williams.
Akira was the last one still standing.
Igor leaned toward him, still irritated.
Igor: "She told you to sit, you..."
Akira suddenly burst into a shout.
Akira: "...And I told you to shut up!"
Again, a strange projection of a vision came within his head—and the heads of others. All Ars Goetians in the room saw it: a dark shadow surrounded Akira, his eyes burning red, infernal light, a mirage, a memory—something that had been long ago. A dead tree with a hangman, on a grey island surrounded by silver water behind him.
Akira grabbed his head. Everybody in the room appeared to be in a little shock, even Liza. She thought it was just like her vision, then she ran to get the Esmeralda—but kept silent.
Akira tried to smile again, at least to his friends, but as it was previously mentioned, he was a very bad actor.
He smiled crookedly, like a wolf who had left his tail in an icy hole, scratching the back of his head.
Akira: "I'm sorry, Igor, I didn't want to shout at you."
Igor remembered how Liza had said that she wasn't going to "backpedal", yet he was about to do just that—or so he thought—then he tried to talk, glancing at Akira.
Igor: "I don't care, mate. Just sit or leave."
He looked down and waved his hand at him.
Akira grimaced with his lips, but sat down. There—he wanted to do it in the first place, right in front of Mia.
Mia turned toward Igor again... and pinched him right on his arm. He didn't expect that, still looking at the floor.
Igor: "Ouch, Mia... What was that for?"
Mia let out a trolling grimace, shooting him a glance with an expression: "For everything, my dear", and turned back to her guests.
Mia: "Phew! Finally, a civil conversation—something I'm good at..."
Liza tried to make another nasty comment about her, but Cleo just gently placed her hands on hers and shook her head in an expression that said it was a bad idea.
Mia glanced at them for half a second and continued her speech, observing everybody before her.
Mia: "We are in deep trouble, my friends. You all can see what it is..."
She pointed at the sky, which anyone could see through the large glass windows on every side of them.
Mia: "The weather... is unstable because of our actions in Dreamscape—or, much worse, because of a certain someone who pulled us there..."
Liza couldn't hold herself. She slapped the table with the dull sound of a palm hitting wood, which echoed with thunder from the closest thundercloud floating nearby the University. Some of them raised their heads, realising that, along with the snow in September that morning—now almost completely stopped—had given way to a huge thundercloud that slowly but surely drifted toward the territory of RIU.
Liza: "How is it possible we even got trapped there in the first place? Don't tell me you also got teleported by some owl toy..."
Igor raised his brow.
Igor: "Owl toy?"
Mia: "No... sadly, it wasn't that easy for us, Pavlenko. You see, Igor and I are trying to get there in this 'frozen wasteland' projection—what you can see floating right behind Ryoto's double..."
Liza: "Again, some encyclopedic terms that I don't understand!"
Akira quickly gave her a look, shaking his fists folded into one, leaning his elbows on the table.
Akira: "Ryoto's double is what it is, Liza—you saw it right before we fell. A copy of our city within Dreamscape."
Liza stared at him for a moment, pretending to look smart, not like she completely didn't understand, more like she didn't care much.
Igor snorted.
Igor: "How this girl survived there to that point..."
Mia again turned to him, trying to pinch him.
Igor raised his hands.
Igor: "Ok, ok, stop it, I get it, all right!"
And turned back to Akira and his friends.
Cleo glanced at Mia and Igor.
Cleo: "I... It was I who failed them..."
Mia even tutted, looking at Cleo's sad face.
Mia: "Very hard time for us first-timers there, eh?"
She gave her a smooth, motherly smile.
Cleo's eyes widened.
Cleo: "It cannot be—you also were there for the first time!"
Mia smiled again, her head tilted.
Mia: "Not the first, but I assure you, I was awakened not long ago—and as experienced as you. First, you think this power—it's a part of you, like you become a bird and finally can fly. Sadly, the reality is often bitter..."
Cleo was saddened. Both she and Mia exchanged glances like friends in misfortune. Again, the little glass room went silent for a moment.
Mia: "We—and Igor, as you already know—we're up to something. Something big in the Dreamscape. He promised to show me the path from his pocket plane, and we'd teleport ourselves to a frozen wasteland..."
Liza smirked at both Igor and Mia.
Liza: "Huh, I wonder what's happening inside the onion boy's head. How do you call it—a pocket plane, right? I bet his—just a big and grey waste or something like that."
Igor looked at her for a moment.
Igor: "You were funnier in the morning, Cinderfella. At least I'm not forced to work as a maid and record some street videos to get some extra money."
Mia turned to him again.
Mia: "Igor! That was unnecessary..."
Akira tried to hold himself, but his bravery was about to burst his heart—he was thirsty to step up for Liza, right here and now.
Akira: "At least she's doing an honest job—unlike you, who are robbing real people's graves in Dreamscape!"
Igor narrowed his eyes and leaned toward him with his massive body.
Igor: "Who told you that? The shrimp? Pfff, typical!"
He waved, pointing at Zhenzhen.
Zhenzhen fixed his gaze on Igor.
Zhenzhen: "I was stating the truth—you are a graverobber."
Mia made another clap of hers, but this one was silent without actually making a sound.
Mia: "Guys, please... Let me get this straight. I don't care anymore. I was bad and you were good, I was wrong and you were right—you want me to say it, I will say it. And not because I want to give up or win a wit duel with Pavlenko here. It's all because we're pursuing a common goal."
Zhenzhen cut her off.
Zhenzhen: "I'm not pursuing anything with you. What exactly is your goal?"
Igor pointed his finger at him, angry.
Igor: "You..."
Cleo: "Guys, can we..."
Liza: "Time to slap your face this time, beach boy!"
She clenched her fist in a gesture that she was about to punch Igor.
Akira: "I agree."
Mia looked at him surprisingly, as if he were about to sign a devil's contract.
Liza: "You what?"
Both Liza and Zhenzhen glared at him, as if he were about to sell them into slavery, and Cleo looked at Akira with proud joy. Somebody had finally started to make diplomatic steps toward the other side of the table.
Akira: "Look, guys, I'm not saying we need to sign with them for now or anything. But just like Cleo said, we're all here to be friends. Or we can hypothetically be..."
Igor snorted again.
Igor: "Hypothetically..."
Mia turned to him again and slapped him on the shoulder.
Igor: "All right, I'm silent as a grave..."
Zhenzhen: "More like silent as 'graverobber', huh."
He looked like a little bald imp while saying it with a sly grin.
Igor's face turned crimson under his tanned skin.
Igor: "Look, you little shie..."
Mia: "No swearing in my house!"
She slapped her own round table.
Everybody went silent again.
Liza tried to break it.
Liza: "Puppy-boy."
Igor raised his eyes at her.
Igor: "What did you just say?"
Liza giggled, trying to face Cleo in the hope she was going to giggle with her, but she just stared at her.
Liza: "So, there'll be no sister solidarity, huh..."
And turned her head away, facing Mia again.
Mia rolled her eyes, tired.
Mia: "You guys are children..."
Liza pointed her long-nailed finger at her.
Liza: "Look who's talking—remembering your behaviour in the Dreamscape, you were about to sell us out!"
Mia: "...And I agreed that I was wrong. Just like I said at the infirmary, Pavlenko—to both of you."
Liza: "It doesn't change..."
Akira gently raised his palm to stop her from talking.
Akira: "Liza... Let them explain everything they have to say, please."
Liza looked at him guiltily.
Liza: "Only for you, Senpai..."