14 Director

Lucifer was put into a black Lexus marked with a golden emblem of SK and driven north, upwards through the campus. The stoic chauffeur driving, said not a word, leaving Lucifer to relax on the smooth leather seats in the back. He silently watched the passing buildings through his window; classrooms, stadiums, labs, clubhouses, dormitories. Each building he passed seemed grander than the last. In that moment, he truly realized how big Shukut-Kodo really was. It seemed like there was a different building for every occasion, and for every day of the week.

'Heh, Divines and their overdoing of things.' snickered Lucifer to himself, collapsing back on the plush seat, right as the car turned into a pair of wide, golden gates. He sat up again and gazed at the whitewashed building in front of him.

"The Administrative Wing." said the driver gruffly, pulling up. Lucifer opened the door and jumped out. The building wasn't particularly big, but there was an ominous elegance to it. The style of architecture, the era, seemed deliberately undeterminable, as if it was a neutral structure for the entire world. It seemed more ancient than any other building in SK, yet the gold lining the windows, the white marble tiles covering the facade seemed as flawless as ever. A single clock wing stood in the middle, dividing the building evenly into two on either side. 'Was this the first building of SK? Where this entire school started before it spread out into a campus? Heh...quite humble...despite the white marble.'

"How long are you gonna stare?" asked a curt voice behind him. "We're late as it is. Let's go."

The woman in the crisp suit brusquely led him through the entrance inside the building and straight to the elevator that stood at the far end. She unlocked it with her key which Lucifer sensed was enchanted, then ushered him inside. "4th Floor. It'll open straight into her office. Wait there, she'll be here soon." said the secretary. Without waiting for an answer, she turned on her heel and left.

Lucifer shrugged. 'Here we go. This should be just great.' He pressed the golden tactile button, and the elevator quietly kicked into life as it started rising.

As the secretary had stated, the lift did open into a wide office. Lucifer stepped off and his sharp eyes ran around the entire place; the office was empty right now. It was the perfect time to get some information on the headmistress. Since the Charismata Ceremony, he had become increasingly curious about her. This was the perfect chance.

Strolling easily, he walked over to the massive desk and flopped down on one of the two lavish chairs facing the head-chair of the director across the table. 'I know she's curious about me too...wouldn't put it past her to be spying on me right now.' So, without moving further himself, he instead allowed his eyes to run wild around the room.

It was wide study lined with thick, highly polished sandalwood. There was red carpet underfoot, two massive shelves against the two walls filled with ancient books. Lucifer curiously scanned through the titles: nothing that wasn't standard. The books were old and esoteric...but none could be said were unique. There were a few delicate Divine instruments silently ticking away on the study table. Behind it, on the wall facing Lucifer, were two large windows which poured light into the dark room. He noticed he was inside the clock tower of the building, right under the clock, sitting above the entire estate.

Satisfied with scrutinizing the room in mere seconds, Lucifer fell back against the soft back of the seat, his countenance lazy, but his eyes sharp as they closed. 'This is interesting.'

The elevator dinged melodically behind him and footsteps entered the room. Lucifer's grip ever so slightly tensed up, his eyes still closed. He couldn't sense the person coming towards him at all; he could hear her footsteps approaching, but she had completely masked her mana. He had only ever seen the most powerful lords and dukes be able to do that.

"I'm afraid pretending to be asleep won't help you much, Master Night." said Masami Himura with a smile, as she sat down at the head-chair.

Lucifer lazily opened his eyes and saw the director of SK sitting across him. She wore a plain, crisp white, formal shirt today. Her breasts as voluptuous as ever behind the exceedingly stretched fabric. A dark red business skirt fell over her legs. "Worth a try though." he said slyly. "I was hoping you'd carry me to bed seeing a child so innocently asleep in your office...because YOU took so long to come."

Masami smiled to herself. 'Starting off strong...he's already shifted the dynamic into making ME the guilty party when he's supposed to be in trouble.' "Well, I'm afraid I got held up...cleaning up the mess a certain Demon student made."

'She's smart.' "Lucky guy to have you watching for him." grinned Lucifer.

Masami smiled a business smile and put her hands on the table. "Lucifer Night." she said, piercing him with her eyes. "You turned out to be even more of a troublemaker than I had anticipated." She saw Lucifer still reclining against the chair, easily holding her stare in his eyes. He was the first student she had seen sitting in that chair who looked so comfortable in this office. "The staff needed to prepare a file for your actions...despite it being literally the second academic day." said Masami, opening a drawer and bringing out a folder. "On the first day of school," she said, flicking the folder open, "you hospitalized FIFTY-ONE students. The entire list of their names is given here, and I see there are quite a few students from some very well-known Divine families."

Lucifer shrugged.

"You'll be glad to know that all of them are okay." said Masami matter-of-factly. "Black Magic is different than what the school doctors are usually used to, but nothing that can't be undone in enough time, even if it is a long and arduous process."

"Is that so?" asked Lucifer uninterested, breaking eye contact as he scanned through her library of books again.

Masami raised her eyebrows. "If you're looking for something personal of mine in this room, Master Night, I'm afraid your search is futile."

"Heh," Masami noticed Lucifer's eyes glint for a second. "but the fact that you've taken such great care to ensure nothing 'personal' exists in this office, Miss Director, shows that you have something to hide. Something you'd rather not have anyone...'official'... see."

Masami bit her smile. 'He really is quick. Tojo-san wasn't exaggerating.' "Anyway, back to your misdeeds." she said, referring to the notes. "After you had paralyzed 51 students, one of which you impaled with a Demonic spear, on the VERY next day, what do you do? You destroy an entire wing of the first-year building. And that's nothing; bricks and mortar can be repaired in an instant. You also knock out one of the Seraphs, shattering his rib cage and puncturing his lungs. Who has now also been hospitalized, adding the total of your victims to fifty-two within two days." she said looking up and piercing his eyes again.

A sly smile spread over Lucifer's lips and his gaze met the director's. Masami intertwined her fingers. "What do you suppose I should do with you, Lucifer?" she asked.

"Go on a date."

There was a stunned silence for a second. Even the director was suddenly out of depth at such a random answer. "What?" asked Masami, her tone almost surprised.

Lucifer couldn't stop glancing at her thick red lips, they way they coiled as they formed their words, they way they always smiled at him from across the table. Flashbacks of the exact same kind of lips, a shocking red dress, a red room blinked in his mind...he knew exactly who they reminded him of, and with every second he was hating himself for how they still made him feel. He wanted to jump inside a bath and wash away everything, change his skin, but, deep down, he knew he wouldn't.

"Go on a date with me." invited Lucifer again, allowing nothing to show on his face, barely holding his arrogant expression with the utmost difficulty.

Masami smiled again. "Really?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. "Would be so punishing, wouldn't it?"

Lucifer's lips spread into an artful smile. "Please. You and I both know you can't really 'punish' me for anything I've done. Mainly because, I haven't done anything wrong to be punished for. Those 51 students you brought up? They challenged me to a duel. I 'hurt' them in a fair duel in an arena. Your Seraph? Well, he attacked me first. Twice, in fact. All I did was was act in self-defense." Lucifer's sly smile widened. "I've seen the rules; you can't do anything to me for self-defense. If anything, you owe me an apology because one of your glorious Divine students got out of line...doubly so since it was a Seraph, one of the supposed Great Knights of SK principles."

Masami openly smiled again, her red lips luscious. "You're way too smart to be just a student, Lucifer." she whispered.

"As for the date," said Lucifer enchantingly, "well, you look tense. Look like you've been working all week with no breaks, constantly dealing with the problems of the new academic year." He locked Masami with his dark eyes. "Go on a date with me and you can tell your staff you were away disciplining a troubled student. They don't have to know you were actually relaxing in a hot-tub with me." He winked. "That could be our little secret." Masami flashed another seductive smile at him. "Plus, letting me come back from the director's office so quickly when I'm supposedly 'in trouble' will make everyone think you were afraid of the clan descending on you, so you let me go without repercussion."

Masami smiled flirtatiously, playing along. "So, you're telling me that you're taking me on a date for my sake?" she asked.

Lucifer's smile widened. "I know a place not far from here. Nice food, nice privacy...mixed hotspring baths..."

Masami chuckled, her slightly business smile returning as she straightened up. "You're quite the charmer, aren't you?" she asked amiably.

"Only to the very special of ladies." winked Lucifer, falling back against his chair. 'Lost my chance...for now.'

Masami burst out in a quiet laughter and after a second, Lucifer joined in. "Tell you what, Master Night. If we see each other again in this office, then yes, I will go on a date with you."

"I can make that happen pretty much as soon as I step OUT of this office." said Lucifer slyly.

"I didn't say you would be pardoned for your behavior." said Masami smiling sweetly, yet her tone horribly ominous.

Lucifer grinned. "Then I'll make sure that my behavior won't be punishable yet again." He said jumping up to his feet as he allowed himself to look at her lips for a millisecond more. "Well, then, Miss Director, I'll be seeing you soon for our date." he said smiling, as he turned and walked away.

"Cle de Peau" said Masami stopping Lucifer in his tracks.

"Pardon?"

"The brand of lipstick I use." said Masami. "You seemed so interested, so I thought you'd want to know."

Lucifer hid his smile as anger at himself rose like a tide in his heart. He stepped into the lift and turned around to look at Masami. "It's not the brand that I miss." he whispered just as the golden doors closed shut.