Chapter 7: Settling In; Is A Change Needed?

            It was Saturday morning, just after breakfast. Yuzuru was washing the dishes while Kosuke, Shingo and Kanako playfully fist fought each other to the sound of Kotone’s guitar. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help with those?” Asahi asked. “I made quite a big mess, I got carried away.”

Yuzuru paused. “You just cooked the best meal I’ve had in two years. Just relax, I got this.”

“Alright then.” Asahi sighed. She turned her attention to the younger teens as Yuzuru continued. She watched them for a moment. “Are they going to be alright? They seem to be swinging really hard.”

“Oh yeah, they’ll be fine. That is actually safer than letting Shingo-kun walk down the stairs unsupervised.” Yuzuru told her.

“Rude, but true!” Shingo called out.

Asahi turned her head to Hisakawa who was tinkering on the other side of the table she was sitting at. “And what are you doing?”

“Making a vacuum robot.” Hisakawa chipperly stated.

“Am, am I living with crazy people?” Asahi asked herself.

Kosuke was the one to answer her. “Yep!”

Asahi stood up and sat next to Kotone to talk with her. “So, you want to be an idol when this is all over, yeah?”

Kotone nodded as she continued to play her guitar relentlessly. “Oh yeah, I’ve even been working on writing some songs. I’m not ready to share anything yet though.”

“Awesome, you seem really talented!” Asahi happily complimented her, then some thoughts took over her brain and her smile faded. “And you’re dating Kosuke-kun, I thought idols weren’t allowed to date. Maybe you should keep the fact you two are a couple a secret.” She murmured. Asahi didn’t mean to come off as rude, she just didn’t want to see the Kotone’s dreams get ruined just because she was in love. “It’s just, I heard sometimes fans can get a little crazy, and it’s safer to keep your private life private, you know.” She nervously rubbed her hands together. “Sorry, I, uh. You were so quick to tell me, so, I just don’t want you to tell the wrong person, and someone gets hurt.”

Kotone stopped playing, as a result, the others stopped play fighting. Kotone gave Asahi her full attention. “I never thought about it. I guess I got all caught up in the emotions. I knew idols weren’t allowed to date, but I thought if I just didn’t tell anyone in authority, then we could keep dating. I guess rumors do spiral, I should be more careful on who I tell. If the wrong person found out then, yeah, I’ve heard so scary stories about crazy fans.”

“Yeah, one of my friends is really into music, or she is if she is still alive. She would tell me about all the latest gossip about her favorite groups. If two people held eye contact for more then a second, people were making fanart of the ship, it’s really creepy.” Asahi told Kotone.

“Hey, Kosuke-kun.” Kotone waved him to come over. “I need to make a new rule in our relationship. When we are ready to be more affectionate, we can’t do so in public, not even hand holding. Is that okay with you?” She asked sincerely.

Kosuke put a thumb up. “Yeah, it’s cool with me. People give you weird looks if you are lovey-dovey in public.”

Kotone then turned back to Asahi. “So, do you have a dream job?” She asked, returning the room to a lighthearted vibe.

Asahi blushed, slightly embarrassed to share. “Well, someday, I want to open and run my own restaurant, and maybe, eventually get some Michelin stars.” She squealed with excitement.

Throughout the week, everyone fell into a routine. In the morning, Yuzuru would train Asahi in the way of the sword, while Hisakawa taught the others in school subjects, no apocalypse would save them from learning. Yuzuru was kind and patient with Asahi, unlike how he was with the younger ones, they decided to keep their jealousy to themselves as they were glad Yuzuru had became nicer, although they wished it had been sooner. The afternoons were spent outside slaying demons and robots. When the sun set, they would return home, do their chores, “study” independently, and relax after supper.

As the seventh month began, so did Kosuke’s doubts in his fire’s effectiveness. To find out the truth, he preformed an experiment, he killed ten demons while his sword was ablaze, then he killed ten demons without using his elemental powers, both ways were as effective as the other. From far away he would chuck fireballs at demons, at best they were unimpressed, at worst unfazed.

One night, Kosuke entered Hisakawa’s room with a report on his findings. Hisakawa was seated on one of the many bottom bunks, Kosuke assumed that one was her bed. She was reading an English fantasy novel.

Kosuke raised a hand to get her attention. “Sorry to bother you so late, and this is not why I came here, but last week I saw you reading a book in Korean, now you’re reading one in English. How many languages do you know?”

Hisakawa put a bookmark in the book and set it to aside before answering. “I can speak Korean fluently, but my English and Mandarin could use some work. Can read ‘em just fine though.”

“You are a true genius, Hisakawa-sensei. You might be the smartest person on the planet, you created a metal, you can forge swords, and you have a doctorate!” Kosuke dramatically threw out his arms, nearly dropping his papers.

Hisakawa laughed, not believing him. “Why are you trying to butter me up, what do you want?”

Kosuke came over and handed her his report. “Would you mind reading these.” Hisakawa began to read as Kosuke continued to talk. “Long story short, my fire does nothing against the demons, no matter how hot I make my flames. I was hoping you knew a way to make them effective.”

Hisakawa gave him his papers back. “I don’t know if there is a way to do that. I do remember reading a mythology book in high school about some knights in Europe who supposedly were able to bless their elements to fight demons. I doubt it can be done, but there is a copy of that book in the library. You can take a look at it in the morning. It’s too late right now. Go get some sleep.” She placed her hand on his head and messed up his hair.

The next morning, Hisakawa showed Kosuke the book. He studied it, but it didn’t give him much to work with. He tried studying other books with similar themes, he then shifted into simply studying demons, he tried shifting out the fiction from reality, but it proved to be next to pointless. Kosuke had searched in any book that was somewhat relevant, after a few weeks, he gave up. He put the books away, and as he left the library, he spoke to himself. “Time to make history. If Hisakawa-sensei can make a new metal, I can make fire that can hurt demons.”