Shiro shook her head and said. "Onii-chan didn't wear lipstick." She puffed her cheeks while she stomped her foot on the ground in frustration. Yuki stared at her friend and thought. Well… Reiki didn't have the usual faint fishy smell around him. She laid down on the bed and started tossing the baseball in the air again and repeatedly caught it. Yuki stared at the ceiling, she said. "Then… How about you go down and make sure." Shiro panicked as she pointed at her and said. "W-Why do I have to do it?"

Yuki caught the ball mid-air as she spun it around the tip of her index finger and glanced at her. Yuki said. "Because he's your older brother." Shiro made her way to the bed and tried to snatch the baseball from her friend's hands. Yuki flicked the ball into the air, making Shiro miss as it arched and landed beside Yuki's head on the bed. Shiro stared at her friend with a narrowed gaze, she said. "Onii-chan also became your older brother." Yuki slowly sat up straight on the bed and gave her friend her best puppy dog eyes, she said. "But, we haven't been siblings for long. Wouldn't it be less awkward if you, Reiki's blood sibling, did it?"

The two girls stared at each other for an entire moment as she sat beside her on the bed and crossed her arms. Shiro said. "I refuse." Yuki picked up the ball on the bed and threw it against the wall as it banked off it and bounced on the floor. She caught the ball as it headed toward her and said. "Why? Aren't you curious to ask him why he's wearing lipstick?" Shiro looked like a car that had her tail stepped on as she brandished her neatly trimmed nail at her friend, she said. "Onii-chan isn't wearing lipstick!"

Yuki smirked at her and pointed at her while holding the baseball in her hand, she said. "You wanna go whitehead? I'll run around the house so you can surpass your daily steps." Shiro jolted as she crossed her arms she pouted and turned her head to face the wall. She let out a hmph and said. "You do it." Yuki let out a chuckle as she placed the ball on the bed beside her, she said. "The waiting game, huh? It's not like those two are going to study for more than thirty minutes."

~One Hour and Thirty Minutes later~

In The Living Room

Most of the sheets of paper on the coffee table had at least two or three inscriptions drawn on them. Mio was about to finish drawing another one while Reiki was evaluating a few sheets of paper with inscriptions on them. He said. "You can more or less combine bits and pieces of them now…" He thought. Though there's a lot of room for improvement. He neatly stacked them as he hit the bottom of the papers repeatedly on the coffee table.

Mio finished drawing and let go of the pencil she was holding as it landed on the coffee table and slightly rolled. She let out one long exhale and said. "I did it…" Mio started collecting all the papers and started going through them one by one, she thought. I just barely managed to learn it… She leaned on the backrest of the couch and placed the page on the back onto the front. Mio glanced at him as her gaze subconsciously zoned in on his reddish lips, she said. "Reiki, what's with your lips?"

Reiki passed her half of the papers he was holding, while he kept evaluating the inscriptions he said. "I ate something spicy." Mio took it off his hands as she placed them inside the pile of papers in her hands, she said. "How spicy was it?" Her gaze was back onto the inscriptions she drew as her mouth turned into a slight frown seeing the dozens of mistakes she made. Reiki passed her the rest of the papers and said. "Melt your tongue off spicy." Mio stole a glance at him and said. "... How is it?..."

He turned his head toward her, Reiki said. "Lots of room for improvement." A smile formed on Mio's face as she swapped through the papers, she said. "For once, I wholeheartedly agree with someone older." Reiki let out a chuckle, he said. "I'll take that as a compliment." He glanced at the ceiling and continued. "What's your guess on what Yuki and Shiro are doing in her room?" Mio placed the stack of papers on her lap as she compared pages on each hand to one another, she said. "Hiding…" She glanced at him and continued. "Want me to call them? I have a talisman on me."

Reiki placed a hand on top of Mio's head and gently caressed it, he said. "I have a better idea." Mio was surprised by his actions as he moved his hand away from her head and continued. "But first, tell me what you learned." Mio pondered for a moment as a serious expression formed on her face, she said. "The process of drawing affects the flow of the mana in the inscription…" She placed the papers she held in each hand into the stack on her lap and continued. "And… Combining parts of an inscription can not only improve it but can also destroy it."

Reiki stared at her from the corner of his eye, he thought. Just a little more. He said. "What happens if you combine two halves of different inscriptions?" Mio's brows furrowed as she placed a hand on her chin, she said. "Then it would be invalid." She turned her head to look at him and continued. "... Right?..." Reiki flashed her a smile, he said. "The inscription I gave you to study is altered. But on a closer look at the edges of it, you can also call it a combination." Mio's eyes sparkled like stars, she said. "Then all you did was alter the outer layer while keeping the core intact!"

Reiki nodded as he stood up from the couch and did some stretches and said. "Let's call it a day." Mio had a hint of hesitation as she took out a pouch from her pocket with her right hand, she said. "Already? It's only been fifteen minutes." He let out a chuckle and glanced at her, Reiki said. "Add an hour and fifteen." Mio was in the middle of carefully placing the stack of papers in her pouch, she looked up to him with wide eyes and said. "It's been over an hour?!"

Reiki stretched his neck, he gave her a small smile and said. "Yep, try standing up." Mio pocketed the pouch and stood up with furrowed brow, she thought. What is-. She felt sore in her lower back and right shoulder. Mio placed her left hand on her right shoulder and tried to slowly move her hand around. Reiki let out a laugh which got her attention, he said. "What did you expect from sitting down while drawing inscriptions nonstop?" Mio glanced at him from the corner of her eye and spoke in a dried tone, she said. "Then maybe you should've taught me better."

Reiki raised a brow at her, he said. "Young lady, is that sass I hear coming from you?" The two of them stared at each other before bursting into smiles, Mio said. "You said you had a better way to call them than using a talisman?" Reiki pointed at the ceiling, he said. "Observe." He cleared his throat and continued. "Yuki! Let's go! Time to play catch!" Mio looked at the ceiling as the sound of a door being abruptly opened followed by footsteps running.

The door closed as Shiro spoke on the second floor, she said. "Y-Yuki, wait for me!" Reiki and Mio turned their heads toward the staircase while she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Mio thought. I'll admit, this is effective. The sound of footsteps hurriedly made down the stairs as Yuki ran toward Reiki and stood right in front of him. Her white dress shirt was tucked out of her skirt with all the buttons undone. Yuki looked up to him with a bit of impatience in her sparkling eyes and said. "Finally, for a moment I thought you'd forgotten about us."

The three of them heard the sound of gasping breath coming from the staircase as they moved their gazes to the stairway. Shiro managed to make her way down the stairs as she had sweat on her forehead, she looked around the living room and slowly trotted her way to her older brother. Under the gaze of both Yuki and Mio, Shiro used Reiki's shirt as a towel as she rubbed her face on the area of his stomach. He felt his little sister wrap her hand around him, Reiki moved his gaze onto Yuki and said. "What did you two do in her room?"

Yuki shrugged her shoulders and said. "Nothing, we just sat on the bed." Mio gave her friend an odd look and thought. You two sat down for more than an hour straight? Reiki placed a hand on Shiro's head and said. "How about some ice cream?" He thought. It's a good thing I didn't use everything when I made the milkshakes. Shiro quickly looked up at him with star-like eyes, she said. "Please, Onii-chan." Yuki pouted as she slightly puffed her cheeks, she said. "Do we have to drop by a convenience store?"

Reiki shook his head and gave her a smile, he said. "Don't worry, I have one for each of you. Let me grab a few spoons in the kitchen." He looked down and saw Shiro stretching his shirt as she held it with her hand and wiped the sweat on her face clean. Mio raised her hand and said. "I'll grab the spoons." Reiki turned his head toward her and said. "Do you know where they are?" Mio gave him a nod, he said. "Shiro showed me." She made her way toward the kitchen while Reiki raised a brow at his little sister.

Shiro let out a carefree laugh at her older brother as she grabbed his shirt with both her hands. Reiki stared at his little sister and said. "Shiro, don't laugh it off." His little sister gave him a big bright smile as he felt someone grab his left hand. Reiki turned his head and saw Yuki pulling on his arm as she tried to lead him toward the front door. Yuki said. "Reiki, let's go." From the kitchen, the three of them heard Mio's voice, she said. "I found it." She made her way back to the living room and saw Yuki pulling him by the arm.

Reiki had a helpless smile on his face, he said. "Let's go out then." The four of them made their way to the front door while Yuki walked backward in front of them, she said. "I'll have my ice cream after." Reiki walked to the left side and slid open the shoe compartment, he said. "I'd be surprised if you could eat ice cream and play catch at the same time." He started taking out pairs of black leather shoes and passed them to the three girls.

Inside A Cafe

Ketsueki, Ahma, Sachi, and Namida were sitting around a table. In front of them was a large parfait with confectionery, berries, heaps of whipped cream, alternating layers of thick ice cream, and fruits inside. Sachi was holding onto a thin long metal spoon as she grabbed the confectionery and used it to scoop some whipped cream. She tossed it into her mouth while Ahma was trying to stir her parfait using a similar spoon. Ahma said. "Can you girls believe it? Three more months and we'll be strangers once again." Ketsueki scooped some whipped cream and glanced at her, she said. "And it can't come fast enough."

Namida ate a spoonful of whipped cream as she enjoyed her parfait and listened in on the conversation. Ahma exaggerated a gasp as she gave Ketsueki a hurt look and said. "After everything I've done for you-." Sachi already went through half of her parfait as she scooped some ice cream with whipped cream and some berries. Ketsueki pointed at Ahma using a thin long metal spoon, her eyes turned cold as she spoke with a hint of hostility in her tone. Ketsueki said. "If it weren't the fact I was this close to leaving the company. I would've killed you long ago."

Sachi picked up her parfait glass and scraped the bottom using the spoon while under her friend's gaze. Namida wiped some melted ice cream on the corner of her lips, she said. "I'm always amazed at how much sugar your body can eat." Ahma's eyes narrowed as she gave her a provoking smile, she said. "Then do it, I never taught you to be a coward." Ketsueki's pupils faintly glowed as she glared at her, she said. "Company's so desperate to keep me, huh?" Ahma ate a spoonful of parfait and gave her a casual nod.

Sachi placed down the large empty parfait with the spoon inside of it, she let out a satisfied sigh and watched Namida enjoying her parfait. Sachi said. "I should've ordered two." Namida gulped down a mouthful of ice cream and said. "You can order another one." Ahma was chewing on some berries and swallowed, she said. "How about killing a few boys who stared at your ass?" Ketsueki rolled her eyes at Ahma and scooped some parfait. Ketsueki said. "Not when it means having to deal with you."

Sachi shook her head sideways and crossed her arms as she tried her best to press her average size chest against each other. She said. "By then you three would be almost done." Namida stared at her with a straight expression as she pointed at her parfait along with Ketsueki and Ahma's share. Namida said. "Even then you'll still finish before us." Ahma mixed her parfait again using the long spoon in her hand, she said. "Then how about those two?" She flashed her a cat-like smile and continued. "I'll even try my best so you'll only lose half of your merits."

Ketsueki let out a scoff dripping with disdain, she said. "One of them is desperately telling me I won't be losing anything by being with him. The other one is showing off how little his family reputation is." Her lips formed into a cold smirk, she continued. "We all know if I felt like it, I could kill all the executives along with you." Ahma let out a small yawn as she covered her mouth using her left hand, she said. "When that happens we'll get replaced and you'll have to become one of them."

Sachi turned her head to look at the waitress behind the counter with an awkward expression, she raised her hand and said. "One more overloaded parfait, please." The waitress nodded and said. "Yes, coming right up." Ketsueki scooped some ice cream in her parfait, she said. "I've been able to stop myself from killing anyone during my time…" She glanced at Ahma and continued. "Not unless you want a repeat of what happened on my first day?" Ketsueki's lips curved into a smile as she ate a spoonful of ice cream. Ahma rolled her eyes at Ketsueki while Namida let out a laugh that got their attention. Namida said. "Can't forget about it even if I tried."

Sachi had a curious expression on her face, she said. "What did happen?" Ketsueki turned her head toward Sachi with furrowed brows. Ketsueki said. "Weren't you present on the first day we made teams?" Sachi glanced at Ketsueki and said. "I was late." The corner of Ahma's lips formed into a slight smile, she said. "Well, the company did use a high-grade talisman to instantly repair the ¥800,000,000 worth of damages in a matter of seconds." Sachi moved her haze onto Namida who ate some of her parfait and said. "You saw the chaos?"

Namida's lips slowly formed into a smile, she said. "Saw it? Not only did I have a front-row seat. I was almost hit by her giant ass spell." She pointed at Ketsueki using her thumb and continued. "She destroyed half of the entire building." Sachi's lips curved into a slight frown, she said. "Then shouldn't have reached the news since it was a building with people?" Ahma had a pondering look on her face as she used the head of the spoon to draw circles in the air. Ahma said. "It only killed about…" She closed her eyes for a few seconds and opened them again.

Ahma continued. "Only five or six of those bastards?" Namida grinned, showing some of her pearly white teeth, she said. "Sachi, you should've seen it. I was only one floor below her walking down the hall and then-." Ketsueki interrupted her friend, she firmly said. "Namida." She felt the gaze Sachi was giving her as Namida glanced at the woman behind the counter who was shivering in complete fear. Sachi cleared her throat and said. "Leader, it's just a small slip of the tongue."

From the corner of her eye, Ahma glanced at the waitress behind the counter as she moved her gaze back onto the parfait in front of her on the table. Ahma let out a small sharp exhale and said. "... Fine… It's not like the other teams don't do this kind of thing from time to time." Namida let out a forced chuckle while Sachi let out a sigh of relief. Ketsueki placed the long and thin spoon in her half-eaten parfait as she moved it closer to Sachi and said. "I'm calling it early."

Sachi quickly grabbed the half-eaten parfait her friend gave her, she said. "I'll tell you your share of the bill tomorrow." Namida rolled her eyes at Ketsueki and said. "At times like this, I usually use the 'your boy' excuse but…" She glanced at Ahma who was happily eating a parfait, Namida continued. "The source of your stress is here." Ketsueki stood up from her seat while Sachi gulped down some ice cream as she held onto the spoon she used. Sachi said. "I'll treasure our indirect kiss for as long as I-." Ketsueki gave her a cold glare, she said. "Do you want me to tell these three what you do in your free time?"

Sachi immediately turned meek as she went back to eating the parfait. Namida's brows furrowed as she spoke under her breath, she said. "Three?" Ahma tapped on her shoulder which got her attention as she pointed at the waitress behind the counter. Namida thought. I keep forgetting she's so weak. She moved her gaze onto Ketsueki and said. "We'll drop by if we feel like it." Sachi nodded in agreement as she ate another spoonful of parfait. Ketsueki made her way to the door leading outside and without turning her head to look back, she said. "At least bring some groceries with you."

Ketsueki was one step away from the door, she thought. How much groceries does Reiki have left? She reached her hand for the door handle and suddenly vanished. Ahma glanced at the two and said. "Another round of parfaits?" Sachi nodded as placed the spoon inside the empty glass, she said. "You won't hear any complaints from me." Namida placed her right elbow on the table and rested her head on the palm. Namida said. "I'll settle for a few orders of fries…" She glanced at her friend and continued. "Didn't you already order another parfait a few minutes ago?"

In Front Of Ketsueki's House

Mio and Shiro were standing in front of the house as they saw a streak of white bolting down the street. On their right, they saw Yuki get pushed back a few steps as she caught the baseball. She adjusted her footing to prevent herself from losing her balance, Yuki thought. Reiki's slowly adding more force in his throws… She clenched her right hand that she used to catch the ball into a fist to feel how numb it is. Ketsueki suddenly appeared behind both Mio and Shiro without them noticing.

Yuki placed her right foot in front of her left and took a long and deep breath, she winded up her right hand while holding the baseball as she threw it with all her might. Ketsueki nodded while watching, she thought. Nice form. Reiki caught it with his left hand as he took a few wide steps back to ease the momentum, he gave her a smile and said. "Yuki, let's call it here." Yuki's eyes widened as she stomped on the ground making her white unbuttoned dress shirt flail around, she said. "Why should we?! I didn't even sweat!" Under her skirt revealed shorts underneath.

Reiki had a wry smile on his face, he said. "How about I show you something good?" Yuki crossed her arms and gave him a deadpan look. Reiki faked a cough and said. "Cherry, come." A few seconds passed as nothing happened, he felt the stares from the girls and continued. "I'll give you three jars of cherries." A streak of white made its way toward Reiki as a white crow stood on his right shoulder.