For the remainder of the drive, all three young Sullivans were silent. They were quieter than a church mouse. Not a single word was spoken between them. Even though Jake's head was full of questions he wanted to ask, he couldn't get his mouth to open. His lips were sealed shut because of the tension, an aura of hate and malice oozed off the girl named Nora, the same girl that Adonis had said was his sister. His little sister. That word rang in Jake's head repeatedly: sister. He had a little sister. It was astonishing. But from her point of view, it was far from that. From where Nora was sitting, she was in a living hell. It was bad enough that this… this bastard even existed, but now she had to share a space with him every passing second, just knowing that Jake was there in the back of the limo with her started to make her blood boil. She wanted to kill him. That was all she was thinking about. She thought his death would make everything right. His death would make everything go back to normal. Her daydreaming fueled her negative emotions, and those emotions added to the rising tensions in the back of the limo. It was so palpable and thick that even Tsubaki could sense it. And it was because of Tsubaki that Nora didn't move from her spot. Thinking of the mystic blade that sat next to Jake reminded her that Jake was well known now. He was the one to unsheathe her when none other in her family, not even her grandfather, could do. Nora was reminded that unlike her, Jake was special and important, and that only made her hate him more.
The only one having a good, relaxing ride was Adonis. He sat back in his seat with a drink in his hands, softly laughing to himself. "This is more entertaining than I could have hoped," he thought. The young man took a savory sip of his drink as he smiled. After some time, the limousine ride they were going on was coming to its end. The butler pulled into a gravel parking lot that faced the clear blue sea. Standing within the parking lot was a small crowd of people. As the limo entered, their attention was grasped. All their eyes shifted to the luxury vehicle. Some in the crowd scoffed, others rolled their eyes, and some were impressed. "They're always fashionable late," one person in the crowd said. "Those fucking Sullivans," another person said under their breath. It was clear to all those that were there, without even needing to see them, they knew for a fact who was sitting in the back of the limo. And this made one of the many people smile from ear to ear. "Finally," they said. Eventually, the limo was parked, and the curly-haired butler named Jeffrey got out of the driver's seat and made his way around the vehicle to open the back door. When he did, the first to exit was, of course, Jake. He swung his bag over his shoulder as he held Tsubaki in his hand. "Holy shit, that's him," someone in the crowd murmured. "Did he really bring that sword with him?" said another. Jake, being reviled, had the crowd chattering away.
The boy stood there for a moment, then he felt himself being shuffled. The girl Nora, who had been sitting staring out of the window the entire drive, was now the second to exit the limo. She shoved Jake with her shoulder, knocking into his own shoulder. She forcefully pushed past Jake without looking at or speaking a word to him. But even without words, her actions spoke clear as day. For her, they told Jake to get the fuck out of her way. After exiting the limo and moving past Jake entirely, Nora Sullivan walked towards the crowd of people as she pulled her suitcase with her. The last to exit the limo was Adonis, laughing as he did. He put a single hand on Jake's shoulder, who was still standing near the vehicle. "Hahaha, don't take offense to it, cousin," he said, laughing while bringing Jake in close. "She'll warm up to you in no time." Adonis snickered. Similar to his younger cousin Nora Adonis made his way closer to the crowd of people as the butler bowed and prepared to leave. Jake swallowed some saliva and finally walked towards the crowd. As he did, someone came out of the crowd and ran towards him, smiling from ear to ear. It only took Jake a second to register who they were, and it wasn't difficult because Jake could recognize that hairstyle anywhere. The person approaching Jake was the spiky-haired, porcupine man himself, Zack. "Finally," he said, running towards Jake. "You finally showed up, you bastard." Jake cracked a smile of his own, happy to see the friend he had formed during the entrance exam. Zack chuckled, throwing his arm around Jake, putting him in a headlock. "Now that you're here," he said, tightening his grip. "Now you can finally explain why you hid the fact that you had the 20th Blade Tsubaki in your possession, you bastard," Jake started to struggle. It became harder to breathe, but even in his current situation, he couldn't help but laugh. 'Oh, you think it's funny,' ugh," Zack said. All those in attendance watched the two boys, all except Nora. She faced her back towards them, not wanting to even witness the two.
Zack continued to have Jake in a headlock until both heard a voice speaking to them. "Hey, hey you two, calm down." Zack and Jake froze, then their eyes shifted to the approaching voice. It was Biscuit, as tall as the last time Jake had seen him, but his choice of clothing was different. He was now wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops, no longer keeping his beastmen fur hidden from the world.
"Biscuit!" Jake excitedly shouted. With that, Zack loosened his grip on Jake, and the young man broke free. Zack smirked as he placed his hands in his pockets. "Hey there, you mangy mutt I didn't see you there." Seeing the two of them made Biscuit wag his exposed tail. Then he stopped because he felt something grabbing it. When he turned, he saw the little girl Gabby hugging his tail just like she did during the exam. She held it like it was her own personal teddy bear. Her eyes were closed as she let out a cute, "It's so soft."
The two young men and the young beastmen all laughed watching her. The four were reunited once again. After some time had passed, the four stood talking to each other. They mainly spoke about Jake and his battle, but mostly about the sword Jake wielded. "So why didn't you tell us you had one of the mystic swords, especially a legendary one such as this one?" Jake rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry, it just never came up in conversation. Plus, I had no idea she was a famous sword."
"Are you kidding?" Biscuit chirped. "'The Shadow Princess' is super famous on the count that no person has been able to unsheathe her in over a hundred years. It's so well known that even beastmen know about it." Jake continued to rub his head, now letting out small, embarrassed chuckles. "Yeah, even I know about her too," chimed Gabby.
"Really?" responded Zack. The little girl nodded her head. "Yep, that sword's former user and my family all come from the same land." "Is that so?" Zack said. Jake chuckled as he looked at the sheathed katana that was in his hands. "Wow, who knew you were so popular, Tsubaki," he said, smiling at the sword.
"Neither did I," she said. "I'm not human, so I don't give much thought to such childish things." Her response made Jake laugh, but those around Jake didn't hear her speak. They could only hear the voice of Jake speaking. Even though Zack smiled. "So, you took my advice and actually spoke to it?" Jake's attention was pulled to Zack. He was surprised for a moment, then he settled down as he fists bumped Zack's chest.
"Yeah, I did. I was so in my head back then that I almost didn't, but if it wasn't for you, I would have lost. Hell, I would have died. So, it's all thanks to you, Zack. You're the best." This was unexpected for Zack. He expected a thank you; hell, he loved praise, but this was different. This comment, the admiration, and pure genuine gratitude from Jake made him blush. Zack turned his head in embarrassment.
"Hey… Hey, cut that out, would you? I… I was just trying to help out, that's all." "Oh no," said Biscuit. "Don't try to downplay yourself, Jake's right, you are the best." "Hey, you mangy mutt, I said cut that out," Zack snapped back, his face becoming even more red. This made the three others laugh, which embarrassed the spiky-haired young man even more.
"Hey… Stop… It… Don't you laugh at me, you bastards." As this was happening in another location, there were two individuals in a vehicle making their way towards the location where the crowd of people waiting. The person operating the vehicle was a man who was wearing a pilot's helmet. "Prepare yourself, ma'am," they said. "We will be arriving shortly."
The operator was speaking to a woman sitting next to him. The woman had her legs crossed as she leaned her head against the window with her eyes closed. She responded to the man with a simple, "Thank you, Quincy." With her eyes still closed, the woman couldn't help but turn up her nose. Not at the pilot, but at her own current situation. "Why the hell am I always put on retrieval duty?" she thought.
Just thinking about it made the woman let out an exasperated sigh. With this, she opened her eyes and stared out of the window. And all she saw was miles and miles of pure blue sea around her. As she gazed at it, she thought to herself, "Just as the tides rise, they soon then fall. Time never stops; it always marches forward, whether we're ready for it or not. Yet time always repeats itself as well.
"Once again, without delay, we will always encounter one of the four seasons, meeting them again as if they were an old friend or a lover. It's just one big circle. Life is about nothing but repetition. It's like we're all on one big hamster wheel." The woman sighed once more. "And speaking of repeating, here comes another school year." The woman rolled her eyes as a scowl formed on her face. Then she let out a sarcastic, "Hip, hip, hooray."