27 Let's Talk

"Tenko, Himiko! Good morning" A voice greeted them as soon as they entered the restaurant. It came from blond beauty wearing a pink waistcoat and skirt.

"Morning Kaede!" As always Tenko responded energetically. But no response came from Himiko. She seemed to be lost. A few seconds passed until she snapped out of her daydreaming.

"Nyeh…? Oh… Morning" Himiko gave a forceful smile.

"How was your night, did you rest well?" Kaede tried to ease the awkward conversation.

"Yes! Every day I sleep soundly, and regain a lot of energy. I feel like doing an intense training session today. But now that I think about, around 3 AM, Himiko felt from her bed" Tenko told Kaede what happened that same morning.

"Nyeh!?" Himiko wasn't in her best form. She had that dream before, but today it affected her more than usual.

"What happened Himiko?" Kaede asked with curiosity, but at the same time worrying for her friend.

"Nyeh…." Himiko couldn't find the words to explain herself, "Maybe I just had a bad dream, and rolled around in my bed more than I usually do" She decided to keep her answer as vague as possible. Even though she was fully aware of what happened. She obviously could not talk about her dream.

She feigned ignorance. Because the blond girl in front of her, was dating the boy she dreamt with.

"Did you got hurt?" Kaede kept asking for her friend's condition.

"I'm okay, don't worry about it" Himiko was trying to be as evasive as possible. She was not in the mood to speak to anyone, let alone about her dreams. She exuded a depressive aura. The little mage kept looking down into the ground, lost in thought.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Tenko grabbed her shoulder, to draw Himiko's attention to her.

"Yes, I'm okay… Don't worry…" Himiko gave Tenko a small smile and walked towards the food trays.

Today the restaurant had a western-style breakfast. The chef who prepared all of this really outdoes himself every single day, cooking dishes from different countries to perfection. For this morning food trays with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, and even handmade bread were prepared for the students. Himiko's eyes were astonished by the beautifully hand-crafted bread.

"This one looks delicious maybe this will get my spirit up" She reached her hand to grab the piece of bread, but suddenly stopped when her hand had bumped into another one.

"Oh Himiko, Good morning" The friendly face greeted her with a warm voice.

"Nyeh…Ah…Good morning…Shuichi…" The boy she has been dreaming about was right beside her and she just touched him.

"Oh my bad, you can take that piece, I'll look for another one" Shuichi turned his attention back at the bread tray.

Himiko quickly grabbed the piece of bread she was looking at and walked away. Possibly she left Shuichi talking by himself, but she could not bear to be close to him.

Her heart won't let her.

Her bright face won't let her.

Her thoughts won't let her.

"Why am I feeling like this…?" The little mage thought to herself as she sat down on a table for two people. "Himiko! Snap out of it! Those were just dreams, nothing more" Himiko tried to calm herself mentally. However, it was the worst moment to do so.

"Himiko, are you okay?" Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a familiar figure with a familiar voice. She slowly turned her head wishing that she was wrong. She discovered she was in the right.

"Ah! Shuichi…Why do you ask?" Himiko averted her eyes from making eye contact with Shuichi's.

"You seem kinda out of it back there. Do you mind if I sit here?" The little mage shook her head from side to side.

Shuichi sat down and started to eat his breakfast with Himiko.

"NYEH!! What do I do?! He is so close! Maybe, just maybe, I could ask him if he wants to be my apprentice! Come on Himiko! Is now or never!" Himiko took a deep breath and collected the courage.

"Shu—Shuichi—Would y—" Shuichi looked perplexed as he listened to her, trying to figure out the words she was trying to say. "Would you mind—getting me some water…?

"Of course, don't worry, I'll be back in a bit" As soon as Himiko was out of his visual field, she ran for the exit with a flustered face.

She ran as fast as she could.

As far as her legs let her.

In a few minutes, she found herself at the beach on island two. Facing the immense sea. "WHY AM I SUCH A COWARD!" She screamed repeatedly, putting her hands around her mouth to increase the range of his voice. Until her lungs gave up on her. After a few minutes, she sat down on the sand, panting. Her body fell all the way to the floor, laying her back on the white sand while gazing at the blue sky.

"That was quite the performance, Yumeno-san" A voice startled the exhausted mage. She leaned her head backward-looking for the source of this voice. What she found was a slim young male, with a mask covering his mouth. He stood just a few centimeters away from where Himiko was laying.

"EH!?... Kiyo-kun… what are you doing here?!" She was still exhausted, she had to take small breathers in between her words.

"I just wanted to talk," Korekiyo said with an ominous tone.