Chapter 3

"S-sure," I said. Hide walked over to get a wooden sword for me and threw it to me. I almost barely caught it. 

"Alright, then let's begin." I looked at my phone to see the sword stances our instructor sent us. 

"So, the first one we have to do is the Basic Stance," I said. "Seems easy." 

"It's not," Hide said. "I should know since I'm the son of this kingdom's top general." 

"Hm." I tried my best to do the same pose the picture was doing. "Am I doing it right?" 

"Not quite," he responded. Hide came behind me and put his hands on my hips, which made me instantly blush. I guess my feelings for him are still present. 

"W-what are you-" 

"You need to get every point right. Our presentation is going to be based on how accurate we look, and we need to nail this. I'm trying to help you, Akira, so be quiet," he said in a serious tone. "The only thing your missing is your hip posture, so move your hips back towards me so that your spine is like a slide." His hands are still on my hips, but I shouldn't say anything, or else Hide will lecture me again. 

I tried moving my hips towards him, but I only took a step back. "L-like this?" I asked timidly. 

"Yeah, exactly." Hide took a photo of me on his phone, which made me nervous. "And now, you look exactly like the example," he said as he showed me the side-by-side comparison.

"Woah," I said in amazement. 

"This is exactly why your posture needs to be perfect." 

Why does it need to be perfect?  "What?"  

"Akira, this is not the time-" 

"Hide, I'm really trying," I interrupted him. "Cut me some slack, this is my first time doing this, so please, " I said. 

"Okay."  

We spent the rest of the time nailing down the rest of the stances non-stop. We spent three hours in the training room. I feel like I'm going pass out.  

"Finally," I sighed. 

Hide smiled. "You're a quick learner, Aki, and you're quite flexible." 

"Thanks, I used to take ballet classes when I was younger, but I think I kind of lost it when I stopped doing it." 

"Oh, when did you stop?" 

"I stopped when I was 12," I responded. 

"Why?" 

Shit, I can't tell him that I'm the daughter of the Demon King and that I ran away from home. "U-um, I just wasn't interested in it anymore," I said nervously. 

"That's a shame," he said. "I think you'd be even better if you continued." 

My face quickly heated. "Th-thank you." 

He gathered his stuff together and got his bag. "You did good today, keep it up." 

Hide saying that to me made me truly happy. I smiled at him and said, "I will." 

"See you." He walked out of the training room with me being conflicted. My heart was pounding out of my chest. Maybe he's not as bad as I once thought. 

Naki came by the training room to see how I was doing. "Hey, girl, I just got done." I stood there in silence. "Akira? Are you okay? He didn't hurt you again, did he?" 

"Naki, I-I don't know how to feel anymore..." 

"What are you talking about?" she asked sounding concerned.  

"He complimented me and he helped me. Geez, I'm so confused." 

"Hey, hey, it's okay." She put her hand on my cheek, smiling gently at me. 

"Maybe he's not as bad." 

"Yeah", she responded, "but you feel a little better, don't you?" I nodded. "Why don't we order takeout?" 

"Are we even allowed to do that?" 

"Who cares? Guess we'll have to find out." You always know how to make me feel better, Naki. 

She put her arm around me and I rested my head on her shoulder. "I love you, Naki." 

"What are best friends for?" We laughed for the rest of the way to our dorm. 

The next day after our academic classes, I headed to my class with Naki. 

"I'm really nervous about seeing him again," I said to Naki. 

"Girl,  you'll be fine. Don't you think you're obsessing over it a bit too much?" 

"Well, I guess you're right. I just don't understand what happened last Wednesday with him." 

"Maybe he was having a bad day. With the position he's in, I could understand." 

I turned to look at her. "Whatever do you mean, Naki?" 

She sighed and said, "Well, he's the general of the Human Realm's son and not the mention one of the greatest generals. Plus, he's really cute and girls, such as yourself, are all over him all of the time. He has a reputation to uphold for his father and if he ruins it, he could be punished by his father." 

"Now that you said that, I guess it makes a lot more sense." I saw him pass by us and as he did, he waved at both of us. "I'm getting the feeling that there's a lot more to him than what people may let on." 

"Me too." 

"I guess we're on the same page then," I said as I smiled at her. 

"Yeah," she said as we walked into our classroom. 

(Third person) 

-Yesterday 

"Hey son", Herence said as Hide walked in, "How was school?" 

"Don't you dare try to flatter me, Father," Hide said, glaring at him. 

"I'm guessing by the way you came in, there's something you need to tell me, isn't there?" 

"Indeed. There's this girl in my-" 

"Are you here to ask me for advice about girls? Oh, my boy's first crush. Though you are a late bloomer, I'm still-" 

"That's not what I'm here about!" 

"You ought to watch your tone when you're talking to your father, Son." 

Hide cleared his throat. "As I was saying, there's this girl in my class and there's something odd about her." 

"Whatever do you mean?" 

"She gives me the vibe that she's not human, or at least isn't fully human." 

"Is that so?" Herence tossed his pen in the air. "What is her name?" 

"Akira Diane," Hide replied. 

I see," his father replied. "If you suspect that, why don't you do an investigation on her undercover? Do you suspect that she's a demon?" 

"Yes, Father." 

His father laughed. "Oh, my son, don't be foolish. There's no way that demons can get into the school. The barrier prevents that and those found to be a demon by the barrier are immediately eliminated." 

"Remember what you told me about the half-demon breed you told me when I was younger?" 

"Now, don't tell me you still believe in that tale." 

"Father", Hide said, "I have a feeling that it's true." 

Herence stared deep into his son's eyes fora few seconds and then smiled. "If you say so. If you believe that it's true, then earn the girl's trust, get close to her, and if she says anything about it you, report it to me, and we'll get her. Understand?" 

"I will whatever it takes to prove this to you, Father."