"I should probably go tell Andrew and Lily that they can come sooner than expected… I don't think I need to prepare them for when they meet professor Reed. They seem to know how to be polite when it serves them well. In that case, I don't have much to do, until school starts again, which may or may not still take a while…
Professor Reed said he didn't want to make any of this public, so I guess it is safe to assume that these guards are all private and not in any way connected to the government. Unless he has connections there, that allow him to use recourses without consequences… Which either way means less consequences to worry about for us as well. In the end… All the way from Satoshi's death and the execution of Operation-ByeBye, to the enrollment of Andrew and Lily, it worked out quite well. While I had to do most of the work, I wouldn't have been able to without Yuki's… Methods? I will never be certain if Satoshi was an accident that she genuinely couldn't avoid, or if it was a planned thing. Us spiraling into this ending could have been intentional as well… At least until shortly after Operation-ByeBye. I don't think there is a possibility that the twins were something Yuki expected or even wanted. Yet it is what is the most helpful to us out of all these events which stemmed from Satoshi death. How much was, or still is luck and how much is artificially steered into my favor? Asking her will most likely not give me any answers… Yet, I can feel myself being intrigued by her complexity. An invitation to play a game only we can see… That's one way to make it be "just us", as she likes to say. I do so hope that she will make my heart race."
As Yamato concluded the day with a session of deep thoughts, he fell asleep continuing to think about little things that had happened in the past couple of days. Yuki, not tired at all, just watched him, feeling like she could do thst and nothing else for hours. Which she did. The entire night, with as little blinking as possible in case anything happened that she could miss. Like a micro expression that could indicate he was dreaming about her.
The next morning, at exactly 8 a.m, something unexpected happened…
"Dear Students, recent events forced us into an unfortunate situation where we were unable to properly teach you and give you the education you are here for. I am therefore happy to announce that to make up for the loss time, we will hold a Bonus Competitive Exam, which will not have any impact on your class positions, but may or may not have other benefits and prizes! Please note that while it is called a Bonus Exam, it is still mandatory. All students have to gather infront of the dorm buildings at 11 a.m. Not attending without permission of a teacher can have serious consequences such as suspension or even expulsion, so don't take it lightly! Your caring headmaster, professor Reed!"
As the voice, audible in every room, went silent, Yuki decided to squish Yamato's face and suddenly wake him up, even though he woke up through the announcement already.
"Master, quickly, we only have three hours!"
"To do what exactly…?"
"Haha, you sound all silly with when I'm squishing your cheeks together… Anyway, to get Andrew and Lily, of course! All students must attend, didn't you hear? And they are students kinda maybe!"
"Kinda maybe? I'm not sure… Though professor Reed might expect us bring them… Maybe this is his way of testing them? Good thinking, Yuki."
She never let go of his face and just sat next to him.
"I'm sure you would've thought about it too in a second, Master! But I didn't let ya!"
"…Why did you say it like that? You don't usually talk like that…"
"I've been awake all night thinking about different behavior's which might make you fall in love with me!"
"Ah, that makes sense then…"
"I'm taking "informal language" off my list!"
"I don't mind it, but I don't think it seduces me either."
"Then it's worthless! Just like you!"
"…Excuse me?"
"This one broke my heart to try… But now I can safely take "talking down on Master" off my list too!"
"Where is that list…?"
"In my head! 37 pages, but five are just your name on repeat cause I got sidetracked!"
"Ah…"
"I'll try other things while we walk to get them Lily and Timmy!"
"It's Andrew…"
"Whatever~"
As they went to get Lily and Andrew, Yuki tried various personalities and tones, all with little to no effect.
"Arr, I'm a pirate captain!"
"No."
"Do help, I'm a shy young maiden in danger!"
"No."
"I'm a cold assassin. Your opinion is irrelevant, I will do my job regardless."
"No."
"I'm fighting to free my people from the oppression that this corrupt world seems to have accepted!"
"No."
"I'm your teacher, that has secretly feelings for you!"
"No."
"I'm… in space as an astronaut?"
"No?"
"I'm from a different planet, trying to get back to my home planet but end up staying because I fell in love with you!"
"No."
"I'm… Sniff, sniff… So poor… I have nothing to offer, not even a roof over my head… All I have is my body and-"
"No."
"Childhood friend!"
"No."
"Bully to lover!"
"No."
"Mermaid!"
"No."
"Dragon!"
"What? How does that work…"
"Like… Whatever! Dancer!"
"No."
"Gambler!"
"No."
"Successful gambler!"
"Okay enough, we can do some more on the way back…"
"Okay~"
As they arrived at the inn Andrew and Lily were staying at, they entered their room only to find it pretty chaotic with Andrew laying flat on the bed, visibly bored, and Lily reading a book she asked Yamato for, who just took one that was already in his room.
"See, Master… I told you children need to be supervised. Good thing we have a key just in case. This place is a mess. I wouldn't be surprised if they locked themselves in here and lost their key…"
"Hey, for your information, I have the key right… Here somewhere!"
Andrew yelled over to her, which just proved her point.
"See, Master? Irresponsible."
"Fuck you! We aren't irresponsible, right, Yamato?"
As they fought over Yamato's approval, they didn't notice he was talking to Lily already.
"So we have to go right now."
"That's okay. We weren't doing anything anyway. We can go right away."
Lily put the book away and already walked to the door with Yamato.
"Master! Him or me!"
"That arrogant bitch or me, Yamato!"
Yamato turned back to them and looked around the room.
"…Cleaning a little doesn't hurt, y'know?"
Yuki's "I told you so" was written all over her face as she gave Andrew a smug grin and her signature look of superiority. Which was her signature look starting from today, she decided.
"Ha! I told you from the beginning, you little brat~"
"Argh! He'll take my side next time, and then you can cry yourself to sleep!"
"Pftahahaha~! Step aside, before you step on some trash lying around, haha."
Andrew swore to himself that he would win next time. He didn't know how or what he would win, but he would!
On their way back, Yuki asked a few more scenarios but got the usual response. She was just as motivated as before though.
"Yuki, why do you call Yamato your master? Are you a fetishist or something? I didn't know angels were into that…"
"It has nothing to do with that! It's because he is my god and everything!"
"Ah! I think I get it!"
"Of course you do! You're smart, unlike your borther…"
Andrew didn't comment on that, feeling like there was no saving them.
Back at the school, they were just in time. Professor Reed held a short speech no one was really paying attention too. He was mostly talking about himself. But it seemed he had also explained the rules and winning conditions already since everyone was suddenly teleported away. Luckily there was an announcement afterwards.
"Alright! I hope everyone arrived safely? Of course you did, I teleported you after all! Now in case anyone missed my amazing speech!
This exam is about reaching a resort that is somewhere you have to find! There are no barriers or anything alike, but don't worry. There's a natural barrier which will make it clear when you are wrong… But you will see! This exam has no class rules or teams, so you can team up or betray whoever you want! Once you reach the resort, you probably pass, more on that later, and get to collect a fun prize! Otherwise you don't! Also, there are two new students, since Jessica and Jack from class one had to be expelled due to issues unrelated to this exam. Please welcome them and don't go too hard on them, as it is their first day!
Back to the exam, you may have noticed that you are alone. All students where randomly spread across the area. Each student is approximately 800 meters away from each other. If you decide to meet up or go solo is up to you. But… Only the 15 students who get to the resort first pass! Which, as you might have noticed is the size if a whole class. If you think this is easy, think again! Flying is prohibited and only slight levitation is allowed. This will be tracked. If you do fly, you and everyone you formed a team with, will fail the exam. So choose carefully who you want in your team. You can always choose to willingly fail, in which case you will be teleported to safety. Just say, "I, student x, wish to leave the exam", and a spell will automatically activate. That would be all. Best of luck to you all!"
Yamato was indeed, alone. It was pretty hot, tropical even. It also wasn't a normal forest. It was a jungle. He had never been in one before, so this would be quite the adventure for him.