Anyway, I carried my package and went to the Hirawa's household. My house was at the end of the road, and Saki's was two blocks away from mine to the north. It might sound like a tiny distance, but the buildings between our homes were large villas, which covered nearly 1/3 of the area we were living in.
Five minutes later, I arrived at her front gate. I rang the house bell and waited. The wind was howling, bringing the frosty breeze straight to my body. I was wearing light clothes without any warmth, so I couldn't help but shiver slightly.
The gate suddenly opened. To my surprise, it was Inosuke-san that came out to greet me. He was in his late 40s, but his appearance told otherwise.
Pursuing a career as a blacksmith had greatly benefited his physicality as he looked more muscular than ordinary people. The ebb and flow of time hadn't affected his unwrinkled face whatsoever. I felt as if he got more exuberant every time I met him.
"Hello! You're looking as good as ever, Hiryu-kun. How have you been?"
Every word that came out was amplified to the point where it all echoed back to me. He had a distinct loud voice that would explode your eardrums if you stood close enough to him.
"I've been great. Thanks for your concern, Inosuke-san. I'd take that you've been great as well."
"You're still a serious and well-mannered boy, aren't ya? Relax!"
*SMACK*
Ouch! He slapped me on the back as a friendly gesture, but it was more of a heavy blow. I would have fallen over if I hadn't seen the palm of his hand descending with haste.
I smiled slightly in response. Then we proceeded to enter his house.
"Excited for school tomorrow, young fella? Saki's been rambling for days lately 'bout how she would become a great Repulsor."
"I'm not sure how to feel about it. My immediate impression is how the school always takes secretive measures to communicate with its students. Information about the academy on the internet is near to non-existent also."
"Don't worry, young man! You'll find out 'bout it. It's not as mysterious as you imagine it. That is if you stay on the right lane," he spoke with a spooky voice.
I didn't know why his words were that opaque. He was a straightforward, direct, and sometimes blunt man. So the fact that his words were a bit cryptic made me concerned.
"What do you mean by that, Inosuke-san? Do you know the internal system of the school?
"I'm just playing ya! You're so tense." He burst out in laughter. Come to think of it, Saki's dad was the type of person who would tease people no matter the situation. He even tried to do that at my grandfather's funeral, so that was that.
"Anyway, Saki is waiting in the living room so hurry up now." He pushed me inside his residence and exchanged goodbyes with me.
I was worried about Inosuke-san's state of mind, but the topic should be ignored for now. It was almost 10:00 PM, so we needed to hurry. I wouldn't want to feel drowsy the next morning due to school.
Walking through the garden yard, I reached the front door. Inosuke-san had gone to his tool shed to get some work done so I was on my own.
I emphasized that because the house was abnormally gigantic, and was littered with different rooms. Finding a designated room was nearly an impossible feat unless you had a guide. The house was no different than an intricate maze.
"Is that you, Hiryu-kun?"
How in the world could she hear me walking around the house?
"I'm lost once again. Could you help me out?" I raised my voice for Saki to hear it clearly.
"Where's my dad? I explicitly told him to accompany you to the living room."
"Apparently, he didn't. He went to his workshop to do something. Could you get me out of this situation?"
"Alright, wait for me," she sighed loudly.
Honestly, I needed to enhance my memorization. I had gone to Saki's house several times but still couldn't remember which direction to go. After this, I wouldn't have to deal with this maze anymore, so it was a relief somewhat.
"Oh. Here you are!"
Saki walked in my direction with a jovial spirit. But I was confused about how she found me so quickly. I gripped the back of my neck and ignored the greeting. "How could you know my location and find me that fast? Are you secretly a predator or something?"
"Hehe, you know how to joke, Hiryu-kun. I know every route like the back of my hand! Finding anyone is a piece of cake."
"That hardly explains it, but we have more important matters to deal with." I placed my package down on the ground and handed over the paper that was in my pocket folded in quarters. "Hurry and fill in the form."
"So I just have to put the paper in the package, right?"
"Yes. Then it should be all finished. You should prepare all the required information on the phone also."
"Do you mean the DSP registration entry and other stuff?"
"Yes. Just in case you meet some technical difficulties."
"Alrighty!"
We definitely didn't want to waste time rummaging up her phone once we got to the post office. So I stood quietly with my back against the wall, waiting for Saki to finish things up.