Outside the doors of the study is a large man in a black suit. He has an earpiece in, and his face is mostly expressionless. That is until he sees Jiro and opens his arms for a hug.
"Shu Lian!" Jiro rushes at the man and wraps his arms tightly around him. I have never seen him so ecstatic to see someone.
"Master Jiro." The man bows his head. "It's nice to finally see you again."
Jiro pulls away from the hug and punches the man in the arm. However, he looks unfazed by it. "Why were you gone for so long?" Jiro questions.
"Your father needed me in Korea to check on some issue with the other clans."
Jiro twists his head. "The other clans. What happened?"
The man's face looks over at me. From just his stare, I feel as though I can't move.
"Maybe we should talk somewhere more private, master."
Jiro turns around to look at me. Then he cries out in laughter. "Oh, Shu Lian. I forgot that you don't know Maki. This is the person I was talking to you about."
"The one you want me to protect with my life?"
His voice is so deep. Not only that, but he reminds me of a gorilla with how stiff he is.
Jiro nods his head. Then he reaches over to me and pulls me closer to the man. The man holds out his hand, waiting for me to grab it. I want to, but I'm scared that he might crush me if I grab his hand wrong. Jiro does the work for me and places my hand in his.
"I am Shu Lian. As requested by my master, Jiro Sasaki, I will protect you with my life." he says it so easily. As if his life didn't matter. It makes me uncomfortable.
"Um… I- I'm Mako Sato. It's, um, it's nice to meet you." my voice is quiet and shaky. I feel like a fisherman's boat in a tsunami compared to him.
"Great. I have to go, but you two hang out and get to know each other." Jiro places my bag on my shoulder and proceeds to kiss me on the cheek before running off. I don't even have the time to object before he's gone.
His kiss takes me by surprise, especially since he did it in front of someone, but not enough to shake the presence of Shu Lian.
"Where would you like to go first, Mr. Sato?"
I finally shake the feeling from me and hike my bag up my shoulder. "Mako is fine." he nods his head and waits for me to answer the question. "I suppose we can go to the kitchen. I'm kind of hungry."
His face instantly lights up. He must be hungry as well. "Of course. I'm sure Georgiana would love to cook something for you."
Him knowing Georgiana surprises me at first, but I quickly realize that it would be more unrealistic if the staff didn't know each other.
Our walk to the kitchen feels like an eternity. He only seems to talk when I ask him something. However, I'm too scared to do that, so we walk in silence.
Once inside the kitchen, Georgiana smiles at both of us brightly. "You're home!" her voice echos throughout the room, and she immediately stops what she's doing and rushes over to Shu Lian. The two embrace each other in a long hug, their faces shining with happiness.
It fills my heart with warmth to see them so happy to see each other.
"You got you're hair done." Shu Lian points out.
Georgiana childishly chuckles at his comment. "You noticed."
"Of course, I noticed. You went from finger curls to box braids. That's a big change for me not to notice."
Shu Lian seems much more open and relaxed with her. I wonder how she does it.
"Well, I wanted to try something new." Georgiana looks over my way and smiles even more. "Mako, I didn't even see you there."
"That's okay. How are you doing?"
She looks at Shu Lian and grins even more. "I'm doing great." Then she looks back at me. "What can I get for you, sweetpea?
"Can I have Katsudon (pork cutlet bowl)?"
"Of course, you can." She walks over to the pantry and begins to grab things to begin cooking with. Unlike the other day, she is the only one in the kitchen.
I go over to the stools that Jiro and I sat at last time we were here, and Shu Lian follows close behind. As he sits down, I realize that he didn't ask for something to eat. So I tap on his shoulder to get his attention.
"Yes?"
"Um, aren't you going to have anything?"
He looks at me blankly. "That would be disrespectful to eat on the job."
Goodness, he takes his job too seriously. "Well, are you hungry?"
He takes a moment to think about it. "I am a little, I suppose."
My eyes move over to look at Georgiana, who is already at work breading the raw piece of pork. "Georgiana, would it be difficult to cook up another meal?"
She looks up from the counter with panko crumbs on her fingertips. "Of course, not sweetpea. What do you need?"
I glance at Shu Lian. "I think it would be more disrespectful if the person meant to protect me was too busy thinking about when his next meal is." Honestly, I could care less about what he thinks while guarding me, but maybe this will make him want to eat with me instead of being so strict about rules.
He smirks at me and then looks at Georgiana. "Wonton soup if it isn't too much."
Georgiana nods her head and continues cooking.
~~~
After about an hour, Georgiana serves us the plates of the foods we requested. She pulls up a stool next to us and drags a plate in front of her. It looks like a sandwich of some kind, but I can't tell what type.
The three of us sit in relative silence as we stuff our faces full of food.
Shu Lian is the first to break the silence. "Are you and the master dating?"
I nearly choke on my food at the statement. Georgiana leans her head in, curious to know the answer.
"No." I say bluntly. Georgiana lets out a sigh of sadness. "He said that he doesn't know if we would be good together."
Georgiana slams down her sandwich. "I swear that dumbass has the thickest skull. Mako, if he ever mistreats you, you better make sure that you punch him straight in the gut."
Shu Lian chuckles at her words. "That child is dumb, but he has his reasons."
"I wish he would tell me those reasons." I shove a slice of pork into my mouth. "He never tells me anything. He wants to be close to me physically—"
"I know that much." Shu Lian mumbles under his breath.
"But he keeps me at an arm's distance mentally. I don't know how to get him to open up to me either. It's frustrating."
Georgiana takes a bite of her sandwich but gobbles the piece quickly. "He's been like that for a long time. As much as I love this family, the Lord and Lady are too hard on the boy. Not to mention how Master Takeshi treats him."
Shu Lian sets down his spoon with a serious look on his face. "That boy has too many expectations that are impossible to fill."
"If only he could use magic again. Maybe then they wouldn't be so hard on him."
My body freezes. Jiro can't use magic? But he was in the academy–and used nightshade powder on me.
"What do you mean he can't use magic?"
Georgiana looks at me, shocked. "Jiro didn't tell you?"
I shake my head. "No." My chest feels hollow. How much has Jiro neglected to tell me about himself?
"He was able to use magic when he was younger, but when he was ten, there was an accident with Master Takeshi and Lady Shion." Shu Lian explains.
"Who is Shion?"
"Does he tell you nothing?" Georgiana asks, concerned.
I shake my head.
"Lady Shion is the second child of the Sasaki family. She is also Takeshi and Jiro's sister." The room goes silent, and it fills with coldness. "She was killed by the Scarlet Eye about a month after Jiro lost his magic abilities." Shu Lian says in a somber tone.
"We don't know that for sure." Georgiana corrects him. "Her body was never found, so for all we know. Lady Shion could still be alive." She sounds as if she's on the verge of tears. What she said is likely just an excuse to keep hope in her heart.
Shu Lian pats her back as she tries to compose herself.
"Do you think Jiro likes me the way I do, or is he just messing with me?" I say in hopes of driving the conversation away from talking about Shion.
Georgiana slides her plate away from herself. "From what I can tell, Yes. Since the day he met you in the academy, he has wanted to grow closer to you." Her words are soft and meaningful.
"I'm sure that the reason he doesn't think he can be with you is because of the situation at hand." Shu Lian picks up the almost empty bowl and gulps down the rest of the soup inside. "Seeing as how uninformed you are about everything up to this point, I will explain a few things to you."
He twists his body on the stool to completely face me. "The Scarlet Eye has been watching you for a long time, from what the Magical council can tell. We still don't know the reason, but after the accident at Queenbrook Highschool and now the academy, the Eye is looking for you."
I can feel my heart racing. Why did nobody tell me this?
"The reason you are at the Sasaki estate is not because you destroyed a classroom at Greenwood but because keeping you there was too dangerous. The Scarlet Eye is always watching, so keeping you at a private estate of one of the most powerful families was the safest thing to do for you."
My bowl is still full of food, but I've lost my appetite. "What do they want me for?"
Shu Lian must have sensed the fear in my voice because he places his hand on top of mine, smiling at me as he does so. "I honestly don't know. However, I do know that as long as you're with me, I will do everything in my power to protect you."
I put on a smile and get up from the stool. "If you'll excuse me. I'd like to be alone. So that I can, um… process things."
The two of them grin at me apologetically and nod.
As I leave the kitchen, I hear them whisper things to each other. My feet drag across the floor and walk down the corridor. I want to be angry, but all I can do is cry.
Was I really that blind to not see what was going on? Is that why Jiro didn't say anything to me? Was it so obvious that it didn't need to be said? A thousand different questions pop into my head as I constantly wipe the tears forming in my eyes.
When I make it to a side hallway, I fall to the floor and let my tears stream from my face. I never wanted this. I was content with being a non-magic user my whole life. Now, it's come into my life and ruined everything. I lost my best friend, I'm kept in secret about everything, and worst of all, I don't even know what I'm doing.
I'm so confused about what I'm supposed to do anymore. I want to go home. I want to see my mom and dad and Kaede again. I can feel my body shaking and gasping for air as the tears from my face fall down my cheeks harder.
I feel the soft touch of someone's hand on my shoulder. I jerk around, scared that it might be someone I know. But, Instead, it is a brunette haired woman that looks as if she's in her twenties.
"Are you alright?"
I try to compose myself but fail. "I want to go home." The words come flowing out of my mouth.
"Would you like me to call your parents?" She asks in a soft voice.
I want to say yes, but all I can do is stumble with my words. So instead, I nod my head. The girl pulls out a phone from the waistband of her skirt.
She hands the phone to me. "This is the best I can do. Do you know their phone number?"
I grab the phone while nodding my head. My fingers shake as they press against the phone screen. Once I have the whole number, I check to ensure it's right. Then I hit the call button and hold it up against my ear.
It doesn't even ring once before sending me to direct message.
My mother's voice rings out in my head. "Sorry, I'm not at the phone right now. Try calling at a later time!" Her voice is filled with kindness and giggles.
I remember when she was trying to record this, I was running around the house with paint on my hands and face. She had seen me halfway through the recording and ran around trying to catch me. I smile at the memory and how we both laughed for so long.
My smile doesn't last long. She always picks up the phone, even if it's an unknown number. For it to even go to direct voicemail isn't normal.
I hand the phone back to the woman. "Did she not pick up?" she asks.
I shake my head. "No, I think she was busy. Thank you for lending me your phone, though."
The woman gets up from the floor and reaches her hand out to help me up.
I reject it. "I'm gonna stay here a little longer."
She nods and bows her head at me before leaving.
As she walks away, I can feel the tears in my eye rise up again.