Chapter 5: Training Plans (Parts 3-4)

Chapter 5, Part 3

The first one to arrive is Miru-chan. She takes charge of cleaning the table where we'll be sitting. Seji-sensei handles the remaining few customers while Kibo, Chie, and I review the presentation.

— Hey, do either of you remember how to cite someone's words in the bibliography?

Kibo gives me a sarcastic look.

— What, you want to cite yourself?

— Who else would I cite? There's no information on diamonds on the internet.

Chie also looks at me sarcastically.

— Better not include any references.

I turn to Chie, annoyed.

— That's disrespectful! How will my readers know where I got the information?

Kibo bursts out.

— Just shut up and put "thanks" at the end!

As we argue about the bibliography, Nekoyashiki-chan bursts in as noisy as ever, accompanied by Chisato-chan, who is, as usual, silent...

— Senpai!

— Excuse me...

I stand up to welcome them.

— Welcome, Neko-chan. Oh? You invited Chisato-chan?

— Yes! Miru-senpai told me to try the pupusas they make here, so I brought Chisato with me to try them together.

...

What's the point of that?

And, are Neko-chan and Miru-chan close enough to talk about these things?

— Hey, we should've just ordered delivery. — Chisato-chan tells Neko-chan.

— Well, we don't have delivery service here at the pupuseria, so…

Then Seji-sensei comes up behind me, puts a delivery cap and backpack on me, and says:

— Really? Then why are you dressed like this if you're not going to deliver?

— Hey! Seji-sensei!

Everyone starts laughing while I'm fuming.

At that moment, Miru-chan comes over to welcome them.

— Welcome, please come in!

Neko-chan and Chisato-chan follow Miru-chan to the table.

So many "chan"s that it's making my tongue twist…

— Can I get you anything? We have chocolate, water, soda, coffee, horchata…

— What's horchata? — Chisato-chan asks, very confused.

Seji-sensei turns to me and says:

— She's very hardworking, and she doesn't even work here. You should learn from her.

Before I could say anything to Seji-sensei, Hiroki enters.

— H-hi.

Miru-chan comes over, grabs his arm, and leads him to the table.

— Welcome, we'll all be here!

It's obvious Hiroki is blushing a bit. It's strange coming from him…

After all that, I head to my seat while the spirits of our diamonds prepare the slides, and Seji-sensei continues making pupusas for the customers and us.

Everyone seems quite shy, Neko-chan and Chisato-chan wait in silence for the food, Miru-chan waits for Seji-sensei in silence, and Hiroki looks at me with a confused face.

It's a really awkward moment…

I feel his gaze piercing through me…

Suddenly, Hiroki slams the table and stands up, very angry and confused.

— What are these two idiots doing here?!

I smirk and respond:

— If by "two idiots" you mean me and you, I couldn't agree more with the latter…

Hiroki, very angry, looks at me and points at Neko-chan.

— Obviously, I mean you and the crazy girl who destroyed half the institute!

Neko-chan, furious, stands up to return the insult…

— Who are you calling an idiot, idiot?! And who the hell are you?! I don't even know you, and you disrespect me, idiot!

This girl said the word "idiot" so many times that it makes me doubt; her language isn't that of someone her age, it's more like an old man's…

While she was yelling, she got a cut on her face and started bleeding.

Miru-chan looks worried about Neko-chan, but despite that, they both keep yelling at each other.

— Well, if you don't know who I am, let me tell you, I'm Hiroki!

— I'm Sumire, nice to meet you!

Both pout and return to their seats, still angry, and the cut on Neko-chan's face heals.

To try and calm the situation, Miru-chan decides to intervene with a few words.

— Well, it seems we're starting to get along, hahaha…!

…

Chisato-chan and I had serious and unconcerned expressions despite the situation. I guess it's due to the discomfort we both felt…

A minute of awkward silence passes again, but finally, the spirits of our diamonds finish, the last customers leave, Seji-sensei closes the pupuseria, and finally takes a seat.

Ai turns off the lights, leaving the place very dark. Chie eagerly approaches to start.

— Alright! It's time to discuss everything we know so far.

The first slide shows the Adachi Institute logo, the topic title, and the authors' names.

Everyone looks at me strangely…

— Stop looking at me like that… it's in case they ask for work on this at the institute…

Yasuragi moves to the next slide, showing a picture of all the diamond marks they possess, including mine.

— As you know, you are the bearers of a diamond…

Neko-chan interrupts to ask a question.

— I have a question, where did you get the pictures of our diamond marks? As far as I know, there's no information about that on the internet, and my diamond is almost on my back, and I don't remember photographing it…

Before she continues, I decide to interrupt her.

— That doesn't matter, Neko-chan, let's get back to the presentation…

Everyone looks at me with uncomfortable expressions…

It's really nothing bad, it's obvious they are illustrations! Only a mental patient would sneak into their homes to photograph those marks!

Of course, I didn't do that…

Chie continues with the topic.

— Ahem, as I was saying, the love diamond is possessed by Miru and Ai, the strength diamond by Hiroki and Chikara, the peace diamond by Sumire and Yasuragi, the intelligence diamond by Seji and me, and finally, the hope diamond by Rasec and Kibo… once we know all that about ourselves, let's recap all the data we know so far.

Why did he mention us last and with so much suspense? I think I give too much importance to such small things.

Yasuragi moves to the next slide.

I can see the excellent balance between text and images, I'm really proud of my presentation…

Seji-sensei starts explaining the next point.

— There are two types of diamond spirits, the normal ones, which are you, and the inverted ones. We know that the normal ones inhabit diamonds whose use is noble and pure, while the inverted ones, based on logic and what happened at the institute, we assume inhabit diamonds whose bearer's purpose is corrupt and impure.

After his explanation, I stand up to speak about it.

— In my battle with Neko-chan, I noticed that the power and speed of an inverted diamond bearer increase with the strength of the rain. I noticed that when he suddenly became unstable as it started raining heavily because the mountain atmosphere was dense but not mortally dangerous. We're about to enter winter, so we must be cautious as an inverted diamond bearer might appear and cause us serious trouble.

Seji-sensei and I return to our seats, and I start thinking of some possible ideas to face the winter. Everyone seems to be thinking, except Chisato, who turns her head to look at each of us.

Very confused, she says:

— I thought we came to eat pupusas…

Seji-sensei, very confused, turns to her.

— It's true, I didn't realize there was someone else here, and who are you?

— I'm Fujisaki Chisato, nice to meet you…

Neko scratches her head lightly and cheerfully responds why she's there:

— Hahaha! I brought her to come try the pupusas.

Hiroki, very confused, turns to look at Chisato, stays silent for a moment, and questions something.

— Why are we talking about this in front of her?

Miru-chan cheerfully responds:

— Maybe she's already part of our team!

— I refuse… — Chisato-chan responds very coldly and seriously.

Then, Yasuragi changes the slide, and Kibo steps forward to talk about the next topic.

— Ahem, I'm afraid this might interest you. — Kibo responds, addressing Chisato-chan.

Addressing everyone again, Kibo continues with the topic.

— For now, we only know that Miru and Sumire are the only ones who have been able to create a weapon. Miru's is a bow, and Sumire's is a staff. Miru's attacks are ranged, so she can't fight hand-to-hand because she'd be at a huge disadvantage.

Yasuragi approaches us to continue with Neko-chan's weapon.

— In your case, Neko-chan, you can only enhance, add, and strengthen attributes like speed, strength, or related things. You possess the diamond of peace, so you can't fight because doing so would make the diamond reject you, even when your feelings or actions are noble.

After what Yasuragi said, I turn to Neko-chan and Chisato-chan.

— That's why we need someone to fight for her since her power cannot be given to another diamond bearer, according to what Yasuragi tells us. I think you would be perfect for this.

— I'm not interested…

…

It seems impossible to try to convince her… but apparently, Neko-chan knows how to.

— You practice dark magic, right?

— Yes, but it never works…

… Did I hear correctly? Did Neko-chan ask her if she practices dark magic and she responds yes?

While we all stand there dumbfounded, Kibo confidently approaches them to talk to them and give them an interesting piece of information.

— With the power Sumire provides you, I assure you all those spells will work, and better than you could imagine.

— Huh?

After that, Chisato turns as red as a tomato; being somewhat pale, it's obvious at first glance. Apparently, she felt a bit "excited" because she'll be able to do dark magic…

— W-well, count me in…

She responded with a trembling and still blushing voice…

Very concerned, I decide to give her an important warning.

— Don't tell your brother anything about this, or he'll surely kill me.

— Understood…

I turn to Hiroki; he seems a bit confused with everything that's happening. He's been somewhat quiet throughout the whole presentation.

— Is something wrong?

— Huh? Why do you care? Just mind your own business.

That's what I get for caring about others…

Yasuragi moves to the next slide while Chikara and Chie step forward to present the next point.

— Alright, now that that's clarified, we must consider that the enemy could appear at any time during winter.

— That's why we need to create activities and training plans for each of you in case we have to defend ourselves. Miru should join the city's archery club.

While explaining, Chie takes out a map of the city with the archery club marked on it.

Kibo approaches to present the next point regarding the training.

— Sumire can create a weapon but can't fight; still, she needs to learn to defend herself in case the enemy attacks. We can't risk losing someone from the team, so I suggest you take gymnastics classes. You can go with Chisato if you want.

Sumire and Chisato nod, indicating they understood what they have to do now.

Yasuragi moves to the next slide, and Seji-sensei and Kibo step forward to talk about my training and Hiroki's.

— Logically, I deduce that Hiroki's weapon must be close combat, I think most of you don't know, but I'm a martial arts master, so I'll train you here.

Hiroki says he understands, but at the same time, he doesn't seem to like the idea of climbing so many stairs and spending time with me.

— Kibo, continue with the other one.

— Well, since we don't know anything about Rasec's weapon, nor do I… I suppose he'll have to train here with Seji and Hiroki.

— What?!

I'll have to train with him?!

I desperately turn to Seji-sensei.

— Seji-sensei! Can I not train?

Hiroki, with a proud look, turns to me.

— Heh, so you're afraid of me…

Seji-sensei intervenes by standing between the two of us to restore order.

— Discuss that tomorrow during training.

Hiroki and I, very uncomfortable, turn to look in opposite directions.

Another awkward silence takes over the place…

It would have been better if I had never touched this diamond…

Chapter 5 Part 4

As the uncomfortable silence takes over the place, they hadn't finished presenting the slides with the bibliographic references when they were already packing everything up.

In that moment, Chie turns on the light, approaches the ambient music player, and switches it on.

I'm surprised to hear that cumbias are playing, but quickly relax because that's what Seji-sensei usually plays here.

The rumble of all our stomachs can be heard, even the diamond spirits'.

— Can we eat now...? — asks Chisato-chan very seriously.

Seji-sensei heads to the counter and starts putting plates of pupusas on the table.

— I've prepared pupusas for everyone, applied Reina-dono-sensei's technique to make them, so enjoy.

From miles away, Hiroki's excitement could be noticed, so Miru-chan asks him:

— So you like pupusas? I thought you didn't like them.

Chikara joins the conversation with a serious face.

— His mom tells him he has to eat to be bigger and stronger.

— Hey, shut up!

It wasn't hard for everyone to hear that; Neko-chan can't help but laugh at what Chikara said.

— Hahaha! Bigger and stronger!

The atmosphere suddenly becomes cheerful out of nowhere, no longer awkward.

Seji-sensei serves us all chocolate as we talk about really irrelevant things.

Amidst all this, for some reason, I start to feel weird.

I begin to feel dizzy, almost like I'm being carried away by the atmosphere...

It seems like we're all in the same state.

Seji-sensei's pupusas taste as good as always.

Miru-chan happily suggests something, and Neko-chan seems confused.

— Let's keep talking about ourselves while playing a game!

— A game?

I quickly remember that I have a board game around here.

— You know, I think there's a board game from my home country around here.

I head to the pupuseria's storage and retrieve the board game I had stored there.

Seji-sensei gets up from his seat and says:

— I'll reopen the pupuseria; if you want to play, go ahead.

Hiroki also moves away from us a little with a slightly red face for some reason.

— I'll pass; I'll do something else instead.

It seems like I'll be playing against the girls...

They and I start playing this board game.

Laughter and funny stories are heard as we drink juice.

I start to feel much dizzier, it seemed like I was getting gradually intoxicated just like the girls and Hiroki.

I don't know what's in this juice that I can't stop drinking it...

Chisato-chan lands on a square to draw a card, even she seems a little flushed.

She draws a card and with her sweet voice reads what's written on it.

— "Tuty ran out of food, pay 100 colones..."

That card made me remember something very sad.

— Haha! What memories of Tuty... she was my dog, but she died...

I start to cry; I'm not thinking clearly anymore. Could this juice have something in it?

This Chie! We shouldn't have let him handle the drinks!

Everyone looks at me strangely; Salvadoran cumbias keep playing.

— Well, my turn.

I take the dice and roll them.

— One, two, three, four, five, six... seems like I have to draw a card.

When I draw the card, I read what's written on it.

— What did you get, senpai?

— "Get out of jail free."

After reading the card, I glance at the girls out of the corner of my eye; were they so pretty when they arrived?

Even Neko-chan and Chisato-chan seem quite attractive to me despite being five years younger than me...

— I guess this will be very useful! *hic*.

Am I really getting drunk? I hope not because if so, this would lead to a real problem.

Neko-chan takes the dice very cheerfully.

— My *hic* turn! One, two, three, four... light company, I'll buy it *hic*!

I'm not thinking clearly anymore, and apparently neither are the girls...

It's time to go with the flow! Damn it! There's no turning back now!

Our diamond spirits are really drunk, they did drink real alcohol, although at this point I don't know if we did too.

Chie approaches Hiroki quite confidently; Hiroki is quite drowsy to the point where he seems very calm.

— Hi *hic* roki, my brother! We should start an elevator company to climb mountains!

I confidently join their conversation.

— I'm in too!

— Shut up, you'd be our only customer.

As we talk about that, one of my favorite songs starts playing.

"Yo te necesito" by Los Bukis! One of the best songs!

— Wuuuu! Chie, bring another round of that orange juice!

— Marshandooo! Hehe, sure... orange juice, hahaha!

Seji-sensei looks somewhat uncomfortable and angry.

— Kids, calm down, that doesn't have alcohol; you'll speak badly of me later!

It's his fault for leaving that kind of music on.

As I continue drinking that strange orange juice, I notice that Kibo is talking to a rag again...

"Only Eresh can make me forget about the red girl..."

He's talking to the rag; the other teru teru bozu are happily dancing.

Few know, but Seji-sensei also sells the alcohol he prepares, so thanks to the atmosphere, some people came in to drink.

It seems they don't care that there are kids acting as if they were drunk.

Neko-chan was hugging Chisato-chan; their faces are really pressed together, Neko-chan happily closes her eyes.

— Chisatooo! I *hic* love you so... much... you're my best frieeeend.

— Oh... I love you too, Neko-chan...

Chisato-chan slowly closes her eyes as Neko-chan hugs her.

— I also love Uraseku-kun a lot! — she shouts.

— Yeah, yeah, I do too... — I respond without knowing what they're talking about.

Neko-chan blushes and hugs Chisato-chan tighter.

— I love you all! — Miru-chan shouts cheerfully.

— Ah!

Neko-chan gets excited.

— You should've seen Chisato's *hic* brother yesterday! He was kissing four women at the bar, two on each side! Right, Chisato?

— Yeah...

They're starting to tell lies...

It's not something I really care about, but I'd still like to see where this goes.

Hiroki gets excited because Makoto is also the leader of the track team.

— What?! And we thought everything was correct and innocent!

— Right?! He even asked for everyone's phone number, and Uraseku agreed to marry me! Right, Uraseku?

The song "Recuerdos" by the group Algodón starts playing, a Salvadoran music group as usual.

That brings back some memories...

— That song... is the best!

Again, I start to cry...

— Hey, answer me...— Neko-chan said with his serious face.

I'm starting to feel very sleepy...

Hiroki, about to fall asleep, slaps himself to react, we all turn to see him and he hits the table and stands up.

— What if we better do something else?

Neko-chan stands up and cheerfully raises his hand.

— We should *hic* play the king game!

— What's that?

Neko-chan pulls out some wooden sticks from somewhere, some smaller than others, with numbers written on them.

— We have some sticks; whoever draws the smallest one will be the king and they will say a number, then they can ask for whatever they want from the person with that number.

Why does she have these things stored...?

Miru-chan, half-drowsy, responds cheerfully:

— Sounds fun!

Hiroki, who was standing, sits down calmly.

— All right, I'm in.

Just before we start, "Ven porque te necesito" by a musical group called "Los Temerarios" starts playing.

This kind of music just makes me feel more drunk even though I haven't had anything to drink.

Everyone takes a stick; I get number two, the stick is long; therefore, I guess I'm not the king...

— I'm the king!

Neko-chan stands up happily.

— Let's see... I want the number... three to carry me in their arms!

Hiroki, annoyed, stands up.

— Huh?! I don't want to carry you!

— Huh?! Are you number three?! I don't want you to carry me!

Chisato, with a flushed and mischievous face, responds:

— Those are the rules...

— Yes, carry her! — Miru-chan replies.

— Do it, Neko-chan. — I tell her to calm down.

— O-only because Miru-chan says so...

— O-only because Uraseku says so...

Neko-chan lets herself be carried by Hiroki; they both blush.

Just as their gazes meet, Neko-chan becomes even more nervous.

— Enough!

— Ah!

Neko-chan lets go and pushes Hiroki, causing them both to fall to the ground; Neko-chan's cat Nyakoshi, which she always carries, growls at Hiroki and scratches him.

Once again, we all draw a stick, and again, I'm not the king...

— Now I'm the king.

Chisato exclaims with extreme confidence and seriousness despite being slightly drunk from the atmosphere.

— According to the rules, I have to ask for something more extreme; let's see... I want a kiss on my cheek from the number... one.

— Huh? Ah, I'm number one...

I respond, half-drowsy.

— Now fulfill it.

— Since...

I approach Chisato-chan, brush her hair away from her face, and kiss her cheek.

— Oh...

She blushes even more than she already was.

— Grrr! You can't *hic* even trust your friends!

Neko-chan and her cat Nyakoshi start growling at the same time.

At this moment, I'm grateful to have the get-out-of-jail-free card... but I'll save it until I really need it...

I just hope it's accepted in a real trial...

— Aww, let's keep playing! — Miru-chan exclaims cheerfully.

I prepare to be the king so I can do something with Miru-chan.

As usual, I haven't been chosen as the king...

— Now I'm the king *hic*. — Hiroki exclaims.

— And I don't know... maybe you could give me a handshake or...

Miru-chan interrupts him.

— No! It has to be something more extreme than before... I know! How about holding hands, looking into each other's eyes, and saying "I love you"? Hahaha!

— Well, that will be it!

Damn it, I can't let Hiroki choose Miru-chan! But how will I do that?!

Although I really feel too sleepy to do anything, since... that's what the game is about after all.

— I want to do that with the number... four!

Wait... What?!

I stand up quite stunned.

— I'm the number four!

— Damn it!

Miru-chan pushes me towards Hiroki.

— Come on, Uraseku-senpai, don't be embarrassed!

Kibo comes up to me to watch us and says:

— That's right, Rasec, don't be embarrassed... *hic*

Tch, if I got into this game, I'll have to do it.

I look at Hiroki's furious face, but he knew we had to do it too...

We both hold hands and, as the challenge said, we look directly into each other's eyes.

For some reason, he blushes even more than he already was...

Does he have something to hide? For me, it's not something I should blush about...

— I-I love you... — we both say at the same time.

The flash of a camera goes off; I didn't pay much attention to it at that moment.

Everyone starts laughing in the restaurant, and Hiroki lets go of me and punches me, leaving me lying on the floor.

Time passes relatively quickly; Miru-chan puts a white box on one of the tables while our diamond spirits are lying on the floor, all drunk.

All while a mix of Los Temerarios, a very good musical group for this occasion, plays in the background...

Out of nowhere, it starts raining, making the atmosphere even more depressing.

We're all quite exhausted.

I really can't take it anymore...

Miru-chan, still cheerful but somewhat dejected, opens what's inside the box.

— I really don't know how to make cakes, but I made this one with a lot of love!

Neko-chan wakes up abruptly and, for some reason, very happy.

— All right!

Chisato-chan, Hiroki, and I are quite tired and depressed, almost dozing off at one of the tables. Seji-sensei finishes packing up and walks over to us.

— I just closed up; it's very late, and you should all go home.

— We'll just share this cake!

— Well, in that case, I guess I'll stick around.

Seji-sensei helps himself to a slice of cake and pulls a fork out of his pocket, which for some reason he had there.

— Enjoy your meal.

Seji-sensei is the first to take a bite, after which he spits out the piece he ate, makes a strange face, and finally collapses to the floor.

Hiroki, intrigued, asks:

— Did he have a heart attack?

I have a bad feeling about this, but I really don't care.

— I don't know, I'm going to try it. — I reply, ignoring what just happened.

We all try it, and one by one, we spit out what we ate and fall to the floor.

The rain intensifies as we all lie unconscious on the restaurant floor.

I really feel like this was some kind of brainwashing, I definitely won't remember any of this tomorrow...

Chapter 5 final part

During the strong early morning storm, many things happen.

On the other side of the mountain, a man is being chased by another who seems to be young.

— Please, have mercy!

The man flees in terror until he finally trips and falls onto the grassy ground.

Someone with intense red hair approaches, and on their arm, a diamond with a black color and a red glow is displayed.

What appears to be an inverted teru teru bozu emerges, black in color with an otherworldly voice.

— Finish him... Kira...

The person with red hair pulls out a firearm and without hesitation, pulls the trigger.

— Gagh!

That shot ends the life of the other person, leaving a bloodstain on the cold grass of the mountainside.

A red eye with a cross-shaped wound can be seen.

After committing the act, this person smiles cruelly.