Intermission 1: A Day with Sakuya!

(Quick Note, Intermissions are completely optional filler stories that don't progress the plot in any way. These are just nice breather chapters that give a deeper understanding to characters and environments.)

"Hyaaaaahhhh!!!" Shinto screamed as he released a flurry of attacks at Sakuya. Sakuya parried each blow with ease and danced around the ones she couldn't deflect. Sakuya rushed towards Shinto while she had an opening, but Shinto wound and blocked her advance with his right hand sword. Shinto dropped to the ground and tried to sweep out Sakuya's legs, but she jumped over his leg and went for an aerial attack. Shinto blocked the attack with his left hand sword and slashed with his right hand. Just then, Sakuya activated her wind magic and blew Shinto away from her.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Shinto yelled, unsatisfied.

"You're imagining it." Sakuya thwipped her hair that was covering her eyes to the side. "I think that's a good place to end training for today." Sakuya wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Yeah, good idea. I still need to take a bath

plus, I'm starving." Shinto replied, breathing heavily.

"In that case, how about we go out someplace to eat!" Sakuya said, clapping her hands together.

"Sounds like a good idea! I could go for some spaghetti." Shinto smiled.

Sakuya's face turned red. She turned her head to her right and averted her gaze from Shinto. "I-in that c-case... it'll be like a..." she whispered, "date..."

"Hmm? A what now?"

"D-d-don't worry about it!" She shoved Shinto softly. "I-in that case, I'll meet you in front of the school in an hour, okay?" Her voice was shaking.

"Yeah, sure. See you in a bit!" Shinto replied, heading towards his dorm. Sakuya grew smaller and smaller as the distance between them grew until she was out of sight.

Shinto entered his room and headed straight for the bathroom. He turned on the hot water and let it raise a little before hopping in and scrubbing. "Ah... when was the last time I've felt this much joy?" Shinto said as he relaxed. I'm the hot water. He lifted some bubbles in his hand and stared at them in a trance. "So much has happened this past few months. Is it really okay for me to feel happy with this much loss?" Shinto looked up at the ceiling. The bathroom was filled with a gloomy atmosphere. He finished scrubbing his body and got out of the tub. He dried off, drained the water, and headed for his bedroom.

Shinto entered his room and opened his closet. He browsed his choices and decided on a black jacket with a white undershirt and black jeans. "I should definitely buy more clothes." Shinto said as he looked into a mirror. He rand a brush through his hair quickly and head towards the school. He was there 20 minutes early, and Sakuya wasn't there yet, so Shinto waited by fountain at the front of the school. The fountain had a statue of the schools symbol on it, and there seemed to be blue neon strands coming from some sides of it. The ground around the fountain had engravings of some of the top students who attended the school. As for where they are now, no one knows.

After about 10 minutes, Sakuya showed up. "Hey Shinto!" Sakuya said as she was running towards Shinto, who was sitting on the edge of the fountain.

"Hey, Sakuya!" Shinto looked up at Sakuya.

"Hey Saku-... ya..." Shinto's cheeks burst red.

"How... how do I look?" Sakuya asked just as embarrassed as Shinto.

Shinto looked back at Sakuya. She was wearing a white, loose, sleeveless shirt with a large window around her neck. The shirt slung around the back of her neck. She was wearing a light blue undershirt that matched the color of her hair and wore a skirt that matched her dress. She had a sapphire necklace on and was wearing some heels. She brushed up her hair, and it was really smooth and seemed to shine.

"You..." Shinto tried finding the right words to say. "You look..." he says softly, "amazing..."

"Thanks." Her body swayed side to side as her gaze averted from Shinto's eyes.

"A-anyways." Shinto cleared his throat. "You ready to get something to eat?"

"Yeah. Let's go." After they both nodded, they both started walking down the sidewalk side by side.

The areas they walked past had holograms flying around with ads playing and had these blue neon lights slinging around the buildings. Whenever there was a greenlight near a crosswalk, there would be holograms that stopped people from progressing onward like a gate. The road lines also seemed to give off a glow as well as cars flew down the streets. The sidewalks were filled with people in business suits and casual clothes. It was around 5:00 PM. around the time they started walking.

After about 20 minutes of walking, they arrived at a fancy Italian restaurant. Compared to the rest of these buildings, this one seemed more old-fashioned and had darker colors on the outside of the building. You could see through the windows, and everyone seemed to wear formal clothing.

Shinto gulped. "Are you sure about this, Sakuya?" Shinto asked nervously. "I dont exactly have that kind of money..."

She grabbed shintos' arm. "You'll be fine!" She blushed, realizing she grabbed Shinto's arm. She went silent for a second before jumping back. "A-after all... I'm paying the bill..."

"Are you sure about this? We could always go somewhere else..."

Sakuya gave him the thumbs up, "We'll be fine! After all, I'm royalty." She seemed to brag.

"If you say so." Shinto said, not processing what she said for a second. "Wait... you're royalty?!

"You didn't know?" Sakuya asked as they entered the restaurant.

"Well, where I come from, royalty doesn't really exist. Or rather, the idea of royalty doesn't exist."

"Hmm? But there is no such country." Sakuya replied.

Shinto went silent. ("What? There's no way...")

Sakuya walked up to the counter. "Table for two, please." She was talking with a woman with short brown hair.

"Oh? Who's this 'special' person with you today, Ms. Hiyori? Your boyfriend?" She gave Sakuya a smug face.

"H-huh?! N-no! It's not like that!"

"Your reaction tells me otherwise." She said smugly. She looked behind her and took a small glance at Shinto.

"Hmm?" Shinto tilted his head, puzzled at the attendant.

The attendant looked at Sakuya and winked. "Go get 'em." she whispered. Sakuya's face steamed. "Right this way, you two." She motioned to Shinto and Sakuya and led them to a booth, and then walked back to the front desk.

There were two menus laid out on the table. They were dark brown manus with the resturants logo on the front. The pages were neatly organized like a book and had about 7 pages full of different options. ("Holy crap, all these meals are over $14?!") Shinto cried on the inside.

A blonde waitress came up to them. "What drinks would you two like for tonight?" The waitress asked.

"I'll take your Pu-erh specialty tea, please." Sakuya responded.

"And as for you?"

"I'll just have some Coke, please." Shinto replied.

The waitress wrote down their orders and walked away to grab their drinks.

Shinto scanned the menu. "Theres so many options!"

"I know, right? All their food here is delicious!" Sakuya started drooling.

"Are you a regular here?" Shinto asked.

"Yeah, I come here pretty often. Though most of the time I'm by myself."

"I see, so that's why you seemed all buddy-buddy with the receptionist then?"

"Yeah." She replied. "They were seniors at the middle school I went to, and ever since we've been good friends."

"That's nice." Shinto replied.

Shortly after, the waitress came back to them. Shinto ordered some spaghetti, and Sakuya got a steak salad with balsamic dressing. The waitress left after writing down their orders.

"Hey, Shinto."

"Yeah, Sakuya?"

"Can I ask you something personal?"

"Yeah, sure." Shinto picked up his glass to take a drink

"From a few months ago, back to once we first met..." Sakuya hesitated, "why were you lying unconscious in the streets on a stormy afternoon?"

Shinto stopped drinking from his glass and placed it on the table softly. "Are you sure you want to hear it? It's a little... sad. Depressing even."

"... yes." She replied. "It seems like it's been a very deep burden on you. So much so..." she looked up at Shinto, "that I haven't seen you with a genuine smile."

"Ah..." Shinto hesitated. "Okay then. If you insist." He cleared his throat. "Remember when you first met me? The day on the bridge?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, I'm sure you're aware of this, but I was there with a reason."

"Yeah..." she thought back to that night.

(Flashback)

"I can't let you die here. Not now."

(Flashback end)

"You were just... I'm lying there... right?" Sakuya was reluctant to ask. "Why didn't you try to get somewhere safe?"

"The truth is..." Shinto's face turned grim. "My entire family died that night, in a fire."

"That's horrible..." Sakuya said sympathetically.

"That's not even the worst part." Shinto stared at the table and shook his head. "I witnessed it with my own two eyes. I could hear their struggling screams as they burnt to cinders. And I couldn't do anything."

"I didn't realize you were living with such a heavy burden..."

"Yeah. Had it not been for you, I'd probably be dead. I'm glad you snapped me out of it, but this isn't something that talking about is gonna fix."

"I'm sure your parents would wish for you to live on and smile again." Sakuya tried to remedy the situation.

"Maybe so, but right now, I just need to find a new purpose. Until then, smiling isn't a luxury I can afford to have." Shinto took a drink out of his soda, signifying he was done.

"Thanks for sharing with me, Shinto. I'm glad to have met you."

"I feel the same way." Shinto smiled.

"Again with that half done smile, Shinto?"

"It's the best I can do for now.

"I'll be waiting for the day to see your real smile." They proceeded to talk a little more about their current training, and after about 20 minutes, their food arrived, and they proceeded to eat it all in record time. Sakuya paid the bill, and they exited the restaurant. They walked side by side with each other until they reached the school. "Thanks for coming out with me. Even if it was a little depressing at the start, it was fun."

"Yeah, it was. Again. Thank you. Have a good night, Sakuya." Shinto waved as he started to walk back to his apartment.

"Good night, Shinto~! Let's do this again sometime!"

End of Intermission 1...

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