"So? What, do we say?" Yumeko asked with an angry tone, with her arms crossed as she looked at Marie and Naoki, that were on their knees, with embarrassed faces on, after Yumeko hit them both in the head.
"We're sorry, for starting a fight in front of the school's gate..." Both Marie and Naoki said with an embarrassed tone, as they lowered their heads and blushed.
"Good grief..." Yumeko said as she looked at them, but not for long.
"And now you!" Yumeko said as she pointed at Tatsurou that jolted a bit, upon hearing her.
"Why, didn't you stop them, Tatsurou?!" Yumeko said as she got close and pointed at him with her index finger only a few centimeters from his nose.
"Well...they told me to "stay out" and so I did what they, asked..." Tatsurou said this as he looked a bit away from Yumeko, something that got her, angrier.
"Your such an idiot, so if they told you to jump off a bridge, would you do that?!" Yumeko said as she pinched both of Tatsurou's cheeks.
"W-What the hell, kind of comparison is that? Of course, I wouldn't do that!" Tatsurou said with a faint tone of anger as he tried to make Yumeko stop pulling on his cheeks.
"Wait, Kuroiwa-sensei, Tatsurou is telling the truth, I told him to stay out of it, I'm the one to blame here..." Marie said this as she got up and placed her hand on he chest.
"No, that is wrong! Kuroiwa-san, they didn't do anything, I was the one who started it all, I'm the real and only one to blame here..." Naoki said with a very polite and apologetic tone, as she too got up and close to Yumeko, this made both Tatsurou and Marie look at her a bit surprised, as she didn't look like the girl they had met.
"Hmm? Is that so?" Yumeko said as she stooped pulling on Tatsurou's cheeks and began looking at Naoki, as if analyzing her, Yumeko then walked around Naoki in circles three times.
"Hmm? This uniform, it's from Misaiko! That really does, take me back!" Yumeko said as she walked around her one last time, then stooped right in front of Naoki's face.
"K-Kuroiwa-san?!?!" Naoki said with an extremely embarrassed tone and expression as Yumeko's face was only a few centimeters away, from hers.
"Wait, a second..." Yumeko said with a curious tone, as she gently grabbed Naoki's side ponytail, and looked at its white tips.
"K-K-Kuroiwa-san?!?!" Naoki said this again, even more embarrassed, as she was now blushing from head to toe.
"No way! Are you Aoki's sister?" Yumeko asked with a curious tone, as she kept holding Naoki's side ponytail.
"Y-Yes..." This was the only thing Naoki could say, as she tried not to look at Yumeko too much.
"I knew that these, white tips on your hair looked familiar!" Yumeko said as she finally let go of Naoki's ponytail.
"I can't believe it! It's been so long, the last time I saw you you were still in grade school! Now look at you a student at Misaiko, and I heard that you're in the Soteria Intern Program!" Yumeko said with a joyful tone as she placed her hand on her own cheek, of course, caught Tatsurou and Marie off guard.
"Wait you know her, Yumeko?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious, as he looked at Yumeko.
"I sure do! She is, the little sister of my partner in the Soteria! Her name is Izumi Naoki!" Yumeko said as she went behind Naoki and grabbed her shoulders as if she was presenting her, and of course, this made Naoki embarrassed again.
"I see, but you don't need to present us, I already know who she is..." Tatsurou said as he scratched the back of his head a bit.
"Huh? Really? But wait, before any of that, what are you doing here, Naoki-chan?" Yumeko said as she changed her gaze from Tatsurou to Naoki.
"N-N-Naoki-chan?!?!" Naoki repeated the way Yumeko said her name, as embarrassment once more took over.
"Well, um, where do we even start?" Tatsurou said as he rubbed his chin, trying to figure out where he should begin, on how to tell Yumeko how he met Naoki.
"How about instead of staying here, why don't we go to the coffee shop around the corner, to talk?" Yumeko asked as she saw that Tatsurou, was taking his time to answer...
A while later, Tatsurou, Marie, Yumeko, and Naoki, were in the coffee shop that Yumeko talked about, it was one of those shops that despite having modern equipment, it's esthetic was one that screamed classic, from it's long L shaped wooden counter with stools, that started on one end of the counter and finished in the other, the big shelf behind the counter that had jars filled with a different type of coffee beans, the windows that had beautiful woodwork around them and the seats looked like leather sofas, there were a total of 8, of those sofas close to the windows, with two of each facing each other and a table separating them in the middle.
Tatsurou and the girls were sitting at the table furthest away from the entrance, with Tatsurou sitting on the left side close to the window and Marie sitting next to him, Yumeko was sitting on the right side with Naoki sitting next to her, well she was sitting next to her, but it looked more like she was afraid of Yumeko, as she kept a bit of distance.
"Well then, now that we are seated...Hey master! Can you take our order?" Yumeko asked the old man behind the counter, that had long greyish hair tied into a ponytail, that was wearing a black shirt and white pants with an apron over it, that just nodded as he heard Yumeko, he was the Owner, and he was affectionally called "master" by his regulars "Ok then, for me it's the usual house especial with extra cream! As for them..." Yumeko said as she looked at Tatsurou and the girls, both Tatsurou and Naoki looked a bit confused as they didn't know what to ask for when they looked at the menu, but Marie on the other hand...
"Then, I would like a caramel mocha, with a bit more milk than coffee, and extra caramel, if that's ok..." Marie said as she looked at Yumeko that gave her a thumbs up, meanwhile, Tatsurou and Naoki just looked at Marie, with a dumbfounded expression.
"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Marie asked a bit confused and worried about Tatsurou.
"N-No, I'm just surprised, that you know your way around coffee..." Tatsurou said as he smiled a bit to Marie.
"Well, one of my classmates in Saint Lourdes, was always making coffee in the dorms kitchen for all of us, so I got a few basics from her..." Marie said as she smiled and placed her hands together.
"I see, I see, so do you know about any coffee, perfect for beginners?" Tatsurou asked a bit embarrassed as he scratched his right cheek with his index finger, and he didn't need to wait for his answer, for too long.
"Sure! I recommend the vanilla latte, for first-timers! Since it has more milk than coffee, it's perfect for beginners, Oh, and the vanilla flavor mixed in, makes it even better!" Marie said with a happy and excited tone as she looked at Tatsurou.
"Ok, then, I will take that one..." Tatsurou said as he smiled a bit, but Naoki on the other hand was not so happy.
"Damn it! I don't know what to ask! I usually drink milk with chocolate, but I can't ask for this here, especially in front of Kuroiwa-san, I would look like a child! What do I choose?" Naoki thought as she tried to think of what to ask so that she wouldn't look bad.
"So, Naoki-chan? What are you getting?" Yumeko asked a bit curious as she looked at Naoki "Huh? I, hum, I...I will take black coffee, of course!" Naoki said with a determined tone, as she was brought back from her thoughts.
"Oh, I wasn't expecting that! Not even Aoki, asks for that!" Yumeko said with an impressed expression and tone.
"Of course, I'm not a child, unlike her!" Naoki said with a rather smug tone.
"She, is trying too hard..." both Tatsurou and Marie thought to themselves as they sighed.
"Alright you got all that, Master?" Yumeko said as she looked at the owner that just gave her a simple nod.
"Now, Tatsurou while we wait, why don't you tell me how you know Naoki?" Yumeko asked with a curious tone as she crossed her arms, and placed them on the table.
"Let's see, we met this morning, while I was on my way to school with Marie, she called my name and ordered me to get out of the Soteria Intern Program...and this is the short version..." Tatsurou said with a rather stoic tone, as he looked at Yumeko.
"Wait, for real? Naoki-chan, how did you know?" Yumeko asked, as she now looked at Naoki that was looking a bit away from her.
"It was Munesuki-sensei, that told me about him..." Naoki said as she kept looking away from Yumeko.
"It was Emiko that told you? I don't believe it, I told her to keep it a secret..." Yumeko said as she sighed, it was at this moment that the Owner, got close to the table holding a round metal board, and started to put Yumeko's order on the table, for her it was a vanilla hazelnut coffee with extra wiped cream, for Marie a caramel mocha, for Tatsurou a vanilla latte and for Naoki a normal black coffee.
"Thanks!" Yumeko said as she winked at the owner, that gave her once again a simple nod and took his leave.
"Like I was saying, I told Emiko to keep a secret and she went ahead and told you..." Yumeko said as she grabbed her cup, and took a sip.
"Munesuki-sensei only told me, because I asked her for a change of supervisor, and she told me that you were already taken!" Naoki said as she glanced a bit angrily at Tatsurou, that just looked away as soon as she placed her eyes on him.
"You asked for a supervisor change? Weird, Emiko tends to be really good with her inters, did you get in a fight with her?" Yumeko asked this with a curious tone, as she placed her cup on the table.
"No, it's not that, I asked for the change, because I wanted you to be my new supervisor, Kuroiwa-san! But you went ahead and choose this no rank nobody! It's unfair!" Naoki said with an angry tone, as she pointed at Tatsurou.
"I see, I'm kind of flattered, for choosing me, but I'm not that good of a supervisor and despite being a lieutenant in the Soteria, I'm still low ranking..." Yumeko said as she laughed and scratched the back of her head, as it was true, in the Soteria unit the ranking worked more or less like the ranking in, let's say the police force, with the leader being a Major elected by Lady Youjo herself, a Captain and Vice-Captain, that controlled their own Districts headquarters, Lieutenants, Vice-Lieutenants and Novice Lieutenants, that represented each districts headquarters, Soteria agents and last, but not least, the Soteria Inters.
Yumeko in this particular case is a lieutenant for District 4, but not the strongest as in the ranking system, she is ranked 6th of the 10 strongest lieutenants of the Soteria.
"And as for Tatsurou being a no rank it's not a problem, a lot of the Soteria inters that join the program, are not ranked, so It's not unfair..." Yumeko said as she took another sip from her mug, as it was true once again since most of the students in Takamagahara that were placed in the Soteria intern program, were rankless and then given a rank, that depended on how strong they're powers were and later on, it went up depending on the work they did, for example, students in the lower ranking or no rank, were the same as Soteria agents, students in the top 5 were a bit like the lieutenants and represented their respective District, with the first ranked being like the captain and that brings us to the Takamagahara's 10, were the first ranked of every District belonged and would in the future, become the new captain of the District they belonged to, or to work for the organization, that the District belonged to, be it inside or outside of Takamagahara.
"Honestly, I feel kind of bad now, knowing that you wanted to be supervised by me and all..." Yumeko said as she stooped sipping on her cup.
"But now, there is nothing I can do, Tatsurou is already in the Program and I usually can't take in more than one intern..." Yumeko said as she sighed and placed her cup on the table.
"I-I see..." Naoki said with a tone that was filled with sadness, as she looked down while grabbing the tips of her skirt.
"I kind of, feel bad now..." Tatsurou and Yumeko thought as they looked at each other, then at the now sad Naoki, with guilt stabbing them both, relentlessly.
"B-But, there is still a way for me to become your supervisor!" Yumeko said as she raised her index finger after thinking for a brief moment.
"R-Really?! How??" Naoki asked with a happy tone as her sadness faded away completely and her eyes looked as if they were, shinning.
"It's a bit rare to happen, but you have to solve a case together, with the person I'm supervising..." Yumeko said as she smiled but Naoki on the other hand.
"Y-You don't mean that I have to work with him, right?!" Naoki asked with an angry tone and expression as she pointed to Tatsurou, that choked on his drink when he heard this.
"That is correct!" Yumeko said as she smiled again.
"No way, no way! I don't want to work with him, he looks stupid, lazy, and unreliable!" Naoki said as she shacked her head as if in denial and kept pointing at Tatsurou, Marie got a bit angry as she heard Naoki saying this, but kept silent as she didn't want to start another fight, so she kept drinking her mocha.
"Well, that is the only way and please don't say that about Tatsurou, he isn't that bad..." Yumeko said as she glanced at Tatsurou, for a bit.
"So, Naoki-chan what do you say? I can assign a mission for you two, and as soon as you solve it, you can become my Intern!" Yumeko said as she smiled, but Naoki on the other hand, was hesitating for a bit.
"But, is that really true? If we solve that case, you will accept me?" Naoki asked with a serious tone to Yumeko, that gave her a nod and a thumbs up.
"Ok then, I accept..." Naoki said as she crossed her arms and looked a bit away from Yumeko as she took her seat again.
"Good, now, how about you, Tatsurou? Do you accept?" Yumeko asked as she looked at Tatsurou now.
"Fine by me!" Tatsurou said as he looked at Naoki, that glanced at him a bit angry.
"A mission right off the bat, and with a girl like this, just my luck..." Tatsurou thought as he sighed.
"Ok then, now that this is settled..." Yumeko said as she went for the inside of her blazer.
"Here, take this" Yumeko said as she handed Tatsurou a card with his photo and his name, and a black and grey armband, with the symbol of the Soteria.
"You better be sure about this, once you accept that armband, you have to be sure to take responsibility and always help the people of Takamagahara!" Naoki said as she adjusted his side ponytail with her hand as if making it flow with the wind.
"Wow, suddenly this card and armband became really heavy..." Tatsurou said in a joking tone as he smiled, making both Marie and Yumeko also smile, Naoki didn't enjoy this comment.
"Now that this is solved, I will send you the mission via the Soteria app, be sure to download it when you get home, Tatsurou! No excuses!" Yumeko said as she pointed at Tatsurou, that just nodded.
"Well, now that this is taken care of, go ahead and drink your coffee, before it gets cold, Naoki-chan!" Yumeko said as she patted Naoki's back, she gulped, as she looked at her cup.
"What is it, you're not going to drink it?" Yumeko asked a bit curious.
"O-Of course I will..." Naoki said as she grabbed the cup and slowly raised it to her mouth, Tatsurou and Marie couldn't help but look at her for a bit as they were expecting her to not drink it, and then as Naoki took a sip.
"Wait, its really, sweet!" Naoki thought as she looked at her cup a bit surprised, she then glanced at the counter, where the Owner was in the process of brewing some coffee beans, gave her a thumbs-up, without anyone noticing.
"Ahaha, I was found out..." Naoki thought a bit embarrassed as she laughed a bit while also giving the Owner a thumbs up too...