Chapter 8: Seji-sensei's Great Training (Parts 1-2)

Chapter 8 Part 1

A new day has arrived. Today is really special, so I get up much earlier than usual. I do some basic morning stretches, looking out the window at the nearby mountain before the first rays of the sun arrive. 

Kibō comes out of the diamond and looks at me doing this.

— Eh? Why are you doing that?

— Before the rains start... we have to prevent the crops from spoiling!

I respond as seriously as possible, but despite that, he seems not to understand the situation.

— I don't care.

I turn to look at Kibō very seriously, stopping all my stretching.

— I see you don't get it, Kibō. This means the annual corn shortage will begin, and therefore, the shortage will also affect the production of pupusas...

Kibō finally seems to show some concern.

— Ah! I see, but I thought the rain was good for the crops...

— It is, but the rain caused by Neko-chan when her diamond inverted made them reach their point much earlier than expected...

— Then we have to do something.

Kibō and I finally agree on something. 

I quickly grab my stuff and, in my usual outfit, leave my room and go down to see Seji-sensei to get orders on what I have to do.

— Rasec, the training is in the afternoon, but this will also serve as training. Do you know what day it is today?

— It's harvest day, Seji-sensei!

— You must harvest all the corn in record time since you have to go to the institute in two hours, but I know that with the power of the diamond, you'll do it in less than half an hour.

I know I can do it in much less time than that. For some reason, I really feel motivated and full of energy, even though I stayed up a bit late last night. 

Could this be some kind of side effect of possessing this diamond?

Kibō and I leave as quickly as possible and head to the start of the mountain steps next to where the crops are. 

Seji-sensei stays talking with Chie while holding some corn leaves and dough.

— Seji, has he always been this energetic on harvest days?

— Not at all, I'm even surprised he got up early.

— I see...

Kibō and I keep stretching until Seji-sensei and Chie finally arrive.

— Great! Your time limit is half an hour. Seji expects you to take less than that, so I don't think there will be much problem, — said Chie quite cheerfully.

— Chie and I will stay here watching so we don't interfere. Don't let us down...

— Yes!

Kibō and I start climbing the mountain. The time starts counting from now, but it's something that doesn't worry me since climbing these steps is the easiest thing for me.

— Do you think that will be enough to unite them? — Seji-sensei asks Chie.

— They might even discover something else.

— You're right.

— Alright, let's have breakfast.

Chie takes out a sake and starts drinking it.

— Put that down! — says Seji-sensei as he takes the sake from his mouth.

Kibō and I are more than ready for what's coming.

— You know what to do, Kibō.

— Yes.

Kibō enters the diamond, and I start feeling the power coursing through my veins, literally...

I begin to emanate a strong green aura, grabbing a couple of baskets and a rusty machete.

— Alright, the goal is to cut all the corn stalks. The leaves go in the first basket, while the corn goes in the other, all without losing a single grain.

— Understood, Rasec.

— Great!

I start running and directly enter the crops, cutting the stalks and the corn. 

Thanks to my diamond, I can perfectly separate the corn from the plant, while with the machete, I make a constant motion creating the shape of infinity.

Seji-sensei and Chie, despite doing their own things, watch perfectly what Kibō and I are doing.

— He's doing better than I expected. At this pace, he'll probably finish in just fifteen minutes.

— He's putting in a lot of effort.

— Anyway, Chie, they must be tired of only eating pupusas. I'll make some tamales with all these corn leaves.

— Tamales?

— You'll love them. I'll make them Salvadoran style, chicken and bean tamales.

— Why do you use so many weird words...?

After harvesting all the corn, I sit down to rest for a while. Kibō comes out of the diamond to rest beside me.

We both pant from exhaustion and then drink some water.

— Hey Kibō, have you ever wondered how many grains a corn has?

— Eh? I don't think normal people really ask that...

I take a cob from the basket and start analyzing it.

— What the hell is he doing? — asks Seji-sensei.

— Seven hundred ninety-three, seven hundred ninety-four, and seven hundred ninety-five... this cob has seven hundred ninety-five grains... I'll see how many this one has.

— Hey Rasec, it seems like you can quickly see how many grains are on a corn cob. I notice you can see things others can't.

— I see...

I turn to Kibō excitedly.

— Will I also be able to see bikinis?!

— Ah! Why would you want to see that?! No one cares about what color they are or if they have stripes!

— Eh? How do you know about that?

Kibō turns red and annoyed.

— I saw the things you keep under your bed.

— Why were you looking under my bed?!

— I wanted to explore your room and discovered an unknown world... I must say, some of the manga were interesting, pervert.

— You call me a pervert when you just said they were interesting...

— Hahaha! At least I'm not the one who bought a manga called "onii-chan no hentai" haha!

— If you had read it, you'd know it's not what it seems, haha.

Kibō and I smile at each other, both enjoying our time together.

Meanwhile, Seji-sensei wraps the masa and bean mixture in corn leaves.

— Chie...

— Yes... it's working.

— Anyway, pass me that pot, Chie.

— P-pot...? —Chie questions with some discomfort at that word.

— Forget it, I'll get it myself...

After taking that break, I remember I have to finish quickly.

— Come on, Kibō, we still have things to do.

I stand up and start feeling a strong and painful pressure in my right hand where I have the diamond.

— Ghaaagh, Kibō!

— The diamond!

The diamond gradually bonds more with me, so much that my hand goes from being raised to practically smooth.

— K-Kibō, what's happening?!

— I don't know, I think the diamond is starting to accept you!

— I really don't feel more hopeful... — I say expressionlessly.

— I guess hope can be interpreted in many ways. I think I don't even understand what just happened.

— I'd like to know more about it, but we don't have time for this now.

Kibō enters the diamond, and without realizing it, I pick up a green-colored saber from the ground instead of the machete. After making the first cut on the tomatoes, it breaks like glass and vanishes.

— Ah!

Seji-sensei and Chie saw perfectly what had happened.

— Chie...

— Yes, we finally discovered what his weapon is.

— And to think he would discover it while harvesting tomatoes...

I feel really surprised by what just happened.

— K-Kibō! I think that was our weapon!

— Take it out again, Rasec!

— Eh? I don't know how I did it, you do it.

Seji-sensei shouts up to me:

— Hey, remember you have classes!

— Tch, you're right, we'll think about this later.

I cut the tomatoes with the machete using the same motion as before.

— I hope our weapon isn't a rusty machete, how ridiculous, —says Kibō in my mind.

Kibō and I keep pushing ourselves until we finally finish harvesting all the tomatoes.

Once finished, we both come back down to Seji-sensei with the baskets completely full.

Chapter 8 Part 2

— You finished in fourteen minutes and fifty-eight seconds, you almost hit fifteen by wasting time, but still, good job.

Seji-sensei smiles at me after giving me those results.

— S-Seji-sensei...

I'm surprised to see him happy; I really don't know why he's so cheerful.

Suddenly, he gets serious again.

— Go have breakfast, I made pisque tamales.

— Yes, thank you very much, Seji-sensei!

— Tamales? —Kibō wonders.

We all head home; I help Seji-sensei carry things and our great harvest.

Chie, Kibō, and I sit down while Seji-sensei serves us tamales with coffee.

I unwrap the corn leaf around it and insert the fork into the tamale.

— Enjoy your meal.

Kibō, Chie, and I try it at the same time.

Their reactions are positive.

— How can it taste so different even though it's made with the same ingredients as a pupusa?! — exclaims Kibō happily.

— Seji, you really are a culinary master! — Chie tells Seji-sensei.

— As good as always, Seji-sensei. — I say to him.

Seji-sensei turns around, proud, and starts laughing, just as Chie said; he really is a culinary master.

After finishing my meal, I quickly get ready for school, putting on my uniform and stowing away my handheld console with the most normal game I have.

Once again downstairs, I thank Seji-sensei for the food and tell him that Kibō and I are leaving now.

— Don't be late, — he says as he prepares chocolate.

— Got it.

Kibō and I leave, leaving Seji-sensei and Chie alone at home; they stay chatting for a moment.

— You know, Seji, I think today's showdown will be epic.

— What I think is that Hiroki and Rasec will be humiliated by a girl.

As Kibō and I walk towards the school, I couldn't stop thinking about what kind of training we'll have today.

— I wonder what Seji-sensei has planned... The girls have a different way of training; I don't think he'll make them do the same as Hiroki and me...

Kibō floats in front of me very seriously, or at least that's how it seems to me.

— Are you that worried?

— It's just that... ah!

My mind lights up. Very worried, I say to Kibō:

— What if he makes us all fight against him?!

— Huh? Do you think he's that evil?

— Knowing him, I wouldn't be surprised if he planned that. If so, we need to focus on making sure no one gets seriously hurt.

Kibō turns around and starts floating beside me.

— Um, you're right. Seji-sensei's training turns out to be very tough...

— Anyway, I won't assume that's the training, but still, we should prepare for the worst.

The school bell rings, announcing that classes are about to begin.

In the morning, I try to concentrate on my classes, but I can't stop thinking about what happened with my diamond.

Is it finally accepting me?

Before, it seemed to be half sticking out of my hand, but now, despite still being an object and not a mark like the others, it's no longer protruding because it's embedded more.

I hope that's not something really bad.

But if I was able to create my weapon, maybe that means it's really accepting me, although I don't feel any more hopeful or anything.

As usual in all these classes, I spend drawing silly things or making figures in my notebook while I think.

So I spend the classes until lunchtime when I meet with Makoto.

Kenji apparently hasn't attended school today.

Makoto and I eat quietly until he decides to break the silence.

— Hey Uraseku, have you studied for the midterms?

— Nah, I won't study a month before; there's still a long way to go.

— Really? But the midterms start this week; they're the day after tomorrow.

The day after tomorrow?!

I choke on the bite I had in my mouth, and Kibō starts hitting me on the back so I don't choke.

— What are you talking about?!

— The notice has been on the bulletin board on the first floor.

Makoto looks at me quite disappointed.

— You're a member of the student council; you can't afford to have low grades. If you meet up with your friends, it's better to study.

Damn it, I didn't know the midterms were coming so soon!

— Tch, I hope you guys have time to help me study!

Kibō seems to be laughing at my misfortune.

— Shut up, Kibō!

— Speaking of the student council... — adds Makoto.

I look at Makoto while I continue eating my lunch.

— After the exams, you should attend the meetings since you haven't shown up once since you joined.

— I had forgotten I was part of the student council... — I reply indifferently.

Makoto lets out a big sigh.

— It's so typical of you...

He and I continue eating, and after lunch, we move on to the last few hours of classes.

When I leave school, Kibō and I head straight home.

On the way, I run into Miru-chan and Hiroki.

I talk to them about the midterms, while Hiroki seems surprised, Miru-chan doesn't seem worried.

— What?! The exams are coming already?! — Hiroki exclaims, quite worried.

— The notice has been on the bulletin board on the first floor for a month, — Miru-chan replies to him.

Wait, has it been announced for a month?

Now our concerns are about the diamonds... and the school's inefficient people don't care in the least and keep loading us with work!

I suppose the Japanese educational system is quite strong compared to my native country's...

— Did you study?

— Well, I didn't...

— Neither did I...

It seems Hiroki hasn't studied either.

— I have an idea! How about I help both of you? — Miru-chan says quite cheerfully.

— Damn it... — Hiroki and I say at the same time.

As we climb the stairs to get to Seji-sensei's house, we talk about the possible things that would come in the exams.

Most of the subjects for some reason sound familiar to me, but with the luck I have, it's very likely that I'll end up failing.

Just as we reach the top, the spirits of our diamonds emerge; Ai, Chikara, and Kibō greet each other cheerfully.

Miru-chan takes a deep breath, showing signs of fatigue.

— Phew... why are there so many stairs?

— It's a mountain.

— They should at least install an elevator.

— Umh, where have I heard that before...? — Kibō wonders aloud.

We see Seji-sensei coming out of the house with a large pot and a sack full of corn on the cob, and Chie comes out with what looks like condiments.

— Hello! — Chie greets us cheerfully.

— You're late.

— I'm sorry, Seji-sensei. I was waiting for them to finish climbing. By the way, what's that for?

— I'm making crazy corn on the cob, what else would it be for?

— Almost anything you do with corn requires a pot...

Hiroki and Miru-chan seem quite confused.

— Crazy corn on the cob? What's that?

— Well, first you boil the corn in water, when it's soft you put a stick on it and on top you add whatever you want: mayonnaise, ketchup, black sauce, mustard, and cheese. That's a crazy corn on the cob.

— How can you call that food?! — Hiroki says, very confused.

— Here they eat raw fish... — I reply sarcastically.

We see Neko-chan and Chisato-chan finishing climbing the stairs.

Neko-chan looks very tired, especially because she's almost carrying Chisato.

— We've arrived...

— Why did you take so long...?

Neko-chan drops her to the ground, clearly annoyed.

— We would have come earlier if I hadn't had to carry you! Right...?

They look at Seji-sensei.

— What's the old man doing? — Neko-chan asks sarcastically.

— Stop staring at me making corn on the cob and start getting ready!

Get ready? If we're going to fight against him, we should plan a strategy...

— Seji-sensei, what should we get ready for? And what are we going to do?

— What will you do? How should I know, run, stretch, climb stairs, sweep or mop the house, or whatever helps you warm up for the battle later.

I suspected it, it really is a battle of him against all of us, we should...

— It will be boys against girls, obviously I won't fight, take advantage of your time to stretch and plan your strategies.

Is it going to be a battle of boys against girls?

Damn it, why didn't I see it! Seji-sensei is preparing crazy corn on the cob; obviously he wouldn't get involved in this fight.

In that case, the only alternative would be a battle among ourselves.

Either way, this is a good time for Hiroki, Chikara, Kibō, and me to think of a strategy.