Chapter 12: Annual Combat Training Camp
Haru was lost for words, he didn't mind though. Even in his past life, he always wanted a younger sibling. But at that time, it was wishful thinking. He belonged to the military, so he couldn't even speak his thoughts out loud. Still, it didn't take long for his reply.
"Sure, go ahead." He said through a smile. Remi smiled shyly back at him while Miss Fujima laughed.
"I thought that much was obvious. Did your mother never tell you that I'm your godmother? Okay, now you too kids look out for each other. I have to go wake up the other kids now." She walked toward the girl's dormitories.
Haru sat there for a moment, feeling surprised.
Then he thought about it. His parents never really talked about their family or their friends. If anything, they tried to keep him far away from them. He never met his grandparents, and he didn't even know if he had aunties or uncles.
'I guess they just don't have a good relationship with their families.' He thought before standing up.
As he stood up, he noticed the size difference between them. She was barely up to his shoulder when he stood next to her.
"What do you want to do? We have a while before we set off." Haru asked her. Remi thought about what she wanted to do but came up empty, answering by shrugging her shoulders.
"Do you want to see some cool magic?" He asked in an attempt to entertain her. Remi nodded with excitement but still didn't speak. It looked like she needed a while to warm up to Haru.
Haru looked over to the flowers and then back at Remi with a smile.
[Ice Sculpting] [Wind Barrier]
Little shards of ice rose from Haru's hands and started swirling around in a circle. It almost looked like snow blowing in the breeze.The ice then flew high into the sky before falling back down into his hands, to begin forming a mirror image of the bloodroot flowers Remi had been taking care of.
As the flower formed in his hand, his second spell took over, creating a barrier around the fragile ice flower to keep the cold air inside and the hot air on the outside. Remi was watching in amazement as her actual brother's favourite flower was created out of tiny snowflakes in front of her.
She smiled happily as Haru bent down and handed it to her. She was hesitant to touch it at first because she thought it would be cold. But to her surprise, it didn't feel like she was holding anything at all. The wind kept the coldness away and also made it weightless. She held it in front of her before bringing it closer to her chest.
"Thank you." She said while still smiling.
"Hey, why are you up so early?" Jake called out from behind.
Haru sighed before turning around to see him.
"I swear you are everywhere. Are you stalking me?" Haru waited for his reply, but it didn't come.
"Oh, who is this then?" Jake said as he realized Remi was standing behind Haru.
"This is Remi. Miss Fujima's daughter." Haru said whilst looking down at Remi.
Jake gasped.
"Miss Fujima has a daughter!? I thought she was in her twenties!" Haru laughed because he felt good knowing he wasn't the only one who thought she was younger. Jake then changed the subject as fast as he could.
"Are you coming to the cafeteria? They are serving breakfast earlier today." Haru looked at Remi.
"Do you want to get breakfast with us?" He asked her with a smile. Remi didn't even think about her answer before responding
"Yes, please!" She whispered, but it was still almost a shout with excitement.
As Haru, Jake, and Remi entered the cafeteria, it grew quiet.
"Who is the kid?" Someone whispered to another student. Remi felt the gazes from everyone and her lip began to tremble. Haru took notice of her nervousness and grabbed her hand.
"It's okay. Everyone is actually looking at Jake, they haven't seen anyone so ugly before." He whispered to her. Remi began to laugh at the thought.
"Hey! That's not nice, you piece of sh....!" Before he could finish his word Haru looked at him furiously.
"Say it and you're dead. There is a child here."
Jake closed his mouth.
"Woah scary..." He said nervously.
"Haru! Jake!" Mia called out and ran over to them.
"Oh, and this is?" Mia leaned over and smiled towards Remi. Remi seemed to not be too scared of Mia as she replied to her on her own.
"I'm Remi!" She said gleefully and let go of Haru's hand to shake hands with Mia.
"Nice to meet you, Remi." Mia said as they both began talking, leaving Haru and Jake in shock at what just happened.
It was like she turned into a different girl the moment that Mia came over. They all ate together and then sat down outside to talk before Miss Fujima stepped off from a bus that was parked at the front gate.
She started to speak into a megaphone.
"All students taking part in the Annual Combat Training Camp come over here and line up, please."
All the first-year students stopped what they were doing and walked over to where Miss Fujima was standing before getting into single file lines based on what class they were in. Haru, Jake, and Mia lined up together at the back of the line.
The homeroom teachers of each class began to check names from a register. Miss Fujima walked up the line, checking names as she went. As she got to the back she called out to Remi.
"Remi. Are you sitting at the front with me?" Remi looked up at Haru and then back towards her mom.
"Can I sit with big brother!?" She called out before grabbing Haru's hand.
"Well, if it's okay with Haru, then I don't see why not?" Miss Fujima then walked back to the front of the line and began letting them on one at a time. There was an awkward silence as everyone nearby turned to look at Haru. Jake was the first one to say something.
"When did you become Miss Fujima's son!?"
Haru laughed.
"No, it's nothing like that. She is my godmother or mom's close friend. Something like that. I didn't know myself until today." He explained.
Jake glared at him with distrust.
"Yeah... Okay. That makes no sense whatsoever." He said before getting on the bus. Mia then spoke up.
"Aww, that's so cute. If Haru is your big brother. Then can I be your big sister?" She asked. Remi tilted her head for a moment.
"But then you can't marry big brother!" She looked up at Mia, confused about the whole situation. Mia looked at Remi for a few seconds and then flinched.
"Who said I wanted to marry Haru!? I um... I'm not making this any better for myself, am I?" She finished by making her way onto the bus, leaving Haru and Remi behind.
"It's just you and me then. Let's go find some seats." Haru said as they boarded the bus.
They looked up and down the bus. Jake and Mia both seemed to be talking about something. Haru was about to call out to them when they both looked up and stared at him.
Haru usually wasn't too good at reading the situation, but he could tell when he wasn't wanted. He decided to sit closer to the front.
"So, do you want to have the window seat?" He asked Remi. Remi didn't seem too bothered about it. She looked up at him.
"It's okay. You can have it." Haru squeezed his way between the seats and sat down on the far left of the bus, and Remi sat down beside him.
"Hey... Do you mind if I rest my head on you? I get travel sick and I'm still kind of sleepy." She yawned. Haru didn't have any issue with it and he was still happy about being an older brother, so he agreed.
"Sure. Go ahead." Remi closed her eyes and leaned into Haru's shoulder.
The bus sat idle for ten minutes before the driver started to move. By the time they had set off, Remi was already sleeping.
Haru got a nice view of open fields and farms filled with wildlife as they made their way to the airport. Remi woke up two hours after they had set off.
"Can we switch seats? I want to look at the sheep!" She yelled whilst Haru was daydreaming.
"Sure, why not?" Remi then started to try to climb over him.
"What are you doing? You're going to fall." He said before Remi slipped. She screamed and closed her eyes before she hit the ground. Haru was quick to react and caught her in his arms.
"Be careful. You might get hurt next time." Remi looked up to him with admiration.
"Uh... Yes. Sorry." Haru helped her up and then moved out of the way so she could sit down. For the rest of the ride, Remi sat facing the window. She didn't want to look back at Haru out of embarrassment that she almost fell.
After a three-hour bus ride in total, they finally arrived at the airport. It took them a while to get through the security checkpoints. But it took a while longer before the plane touched down in China.