Nesvil City, 10 km away, it said on a sign that Riku saw while looking out the window. The landscape was beautiful and covered with many streams and fields. His hand tapped boredly on the table. Maybe he could finally see his father again.
"Two weeks. Then he finally comes back," he muttered to himself.
"Who's coming back?", asked Riku, who had noticed his daydreaming.
"Oh, my father."
"Right, you don't see him often, do you? Your father's kind of a big deal. Don't you guys even have an inn in Nesvil City?"
"Yeah, and a few shops." He sighed and looked out the window.
"Aren't you happy about that?"
"Yeah, it's fine, but I just wish I could see him a bit more," he said gloomily.
"I get it. Being rich isn't all that easy, huh?"
"You're telling me. What do your parents do?"
"They work during the week. I only see them on weekends when I go out to the countryside."
Uahhhh – Kaede yawned, eyes glistening.
"Hey Kaede, you're still here too. Did you hear anything?", said Shiro, annoyed.
"Huh? What? Munch, munch, munch."
"Ah, lucky again. Otherwise, he would've definitely provoked me somehow." Shiro exhaled in relief.
"I mean, why should I care about your lame dad? Give me coupons for the shops, or I'll tell Ichigo what a wimp you are." Kaede casually held out his hand, as if waiting for the coupons, while Riku had to stifle his shock-induced laughter.
"Man, Kaede, you're so introverted and withdrawn that we completely forget you're even here, seriously."
Stare.
Shiro: Shit, he got me cornered.
Shiro's face showed irritation. Man, I've got no choice – the moment it's about free stuff, he becomes a monster. Whatever, I'll just give him some expired coupons.
He went to the cabinet and pulled a few coupons from his bag.
"Here, Kaede," he said humbly.
"Thanks. Mpmfmmpf," said Kaede incoherently and grabbed the coupons with sparkling eyes.
Kaede's thoughts:
What an idiot. I'm telling her anyway.
Shiro's thoughts:
What an idiot. They're expired.
"Another half an hour, then we're there," Kaede said cheerfully, already dreaming about the delicious food the town was known for.
Kaede:
Everyone from Velmaria knows that the small border town Nesvil City is famous for its extraordinary food. Ahhh, free food.
Kaede drifted into a dream state.
"Hey Kaede, we're here," said Shiro 30 minutes later.
"Kaede! Why isn't he responding?" He pulled the blanket away.
"Drool, drool..."
"Dude, is he okay? He's drooling like a dog. There's even a puddle forming. Alright, enough of this, get up – the others are already waiting."
"Drool. Drool."
"Okay, that's it, you lazy bum."
"Cheese buns, cake...", Kaede mumbled in his sleep.
Shiro, annoyed, summoned a warrior in silver, shiny metal armor. He was slim but very tall, almost troll-like.
Kaede didn't notice, but before he knew it, the troll pulled him out of bed. Kaede looked at him upside down. His teeth were brown, he had a beard, and horrible breath. A drop of Kaede's drool landed on the warrior's face.
Waaaahhh the warrior screamed.
Kaede:
I grimaced. "That's disgusting."
"Can you let me down? I'm getting up."
"Alright, if you say so," said Shiro and snapped his fingers.
Boom.
The warrior vanished into thin air.
"Ah, what the hell?! Not like that!"
"You wanted down – I let you down."
"You could've done it more carefully instead of dissolving your magic and dropping me from five feet."
"Yeah, yeah, I don't get your problem, Kaede," he said with a shrug.
"This guy... won't even look at me. Seriously?!"
I stood up and sighed angrily.
"Let's go."
Already in a great mood again, Kaede? said Riku.
"Shut up!"
I was right behind Riku. Behind me in the line were Yuna and Ichigo.
"Why is Yuna grinning like that?"
"Something up, Yuna?", I asked her, annoyed.
Better deal with this now, or something will happen. I know it.
"Uh, no, why do you ask?", she replied quickly and looked away.
Okay, something's definitely up. Magic? No, then she'd be acting more aggressive.
I murmured to myself, but the bright city lights tore me from my thoughts.
I hadn't even noticed we'd already left the train.
Lights everywhere. The buildings were tall, lit up, mostly made of wood. In the middle of the area in front of the station was a big road – probably the main street. A carriage suddenly passed by. Voices from tourists, merchants, musicians, and others filled the air.
"Dear students!" Ms. Susuna made an announcement.
"You have three hours. Please be back by then – we don't want to send out the guard patrol unnecessarily."
Right, I completely forgot. We're being escorted by a whole military company.
"So, what do we do now?" Riku asked the group.
Let us just—
"Oh no, not you again, Yuna."
"Let's eat first, we still have our coupons," I interrupted her.
"Good idea, Kaede," said Shiro, and Ichigo nodded.
Far as I can see, Yuna is the only threat. I looked at Ichigo, then forward again. She's way too cheerful today. Probably not a threat. I breathed a sigh of relief. But then I froze when I felt breathing by my ear. I looked to my left and saw Ichigo staring at me intensely, breathing in and out excitedly.
"Why did you just look at me like that?", she whispered. "Did you change your mind? Want to help me get together with Shiro?"
Stare...
She's obsessed!
Stay calm, Kaede. One wrong word and you're dead.
I put on a smile and said: "I'll consider it."
As if.
"Really? Thank youuuu!" she said joyfully and hopped half a meter back.
The street had become narrower, with restaurants, stands, and shopfronts everywhere now. Way more crowded than at the station. Lots of women in dresses. Usually, I don't care about that, but I guess I'm in a good mood since today wasn't stressful.
"Here we are. This is the best restaurant in town, owned by my family."
The restaurant was huge, yellow-painted walls, even chandeliers. A singer stood in front, with a piano and other instruments. Seems like only rich people eat here.
"Hey Kaede!"
"Kaede!"
"Huh? What's up?"
"Can you stop drooling in my dad's restaurant?"
"Oh, uh, sorry Shiro. How can you not drool? It's a feast today!"
"A table for five, please," said Shiro and showed a special card.
Before I knew it, we were sitting at a round table by a huge window with an incredible view. You could see the crowds on the street and even the lake.
About ten plates with delicacies were on the table. We even got three bottles of wine for free.
Suddenly, Yuna whispered in my ear:
"Hey Kaede, can you leave me and Riku alone a bit later?" Her look was hopeful and innocent.
Nice try. If I do that, she'll definitely convince him to do something tomorrow. Then my relaxing day is over. No way. I can't allow that.
Stare.
Stare.
"Why are you looking at me so meanly, Kaede?"
I shook my head and whispered to her: "Absolutely not."
Why does she look so shocked with her mouth open?
Her eyebrows twitched, she clenched her fist, then smiled sweetly.
Yuna:
"What the hell? I asked him so nicely and he... okay, that's it. You'll see!"
Kaede:
I have a bad feeling she's planning something – and now she's nodding weirdly too.
Yuna's thoughts:
No one will notice if a student goes missing after the trip.
45 minutes later:
Man, I'm stuffed – and the bill says zero. So awesome. And we even got free wine.
Yuna smiled.A bit too sweetly. Suspicious.Kaede leaned back slightly."Kaede," she breathed sweetly, "have you ever had alcohol before?"
"N-No..." He hesitated.
Mistake number one: Saying no.
Yuna tilted her head. Her gaze: sharp as a blade."Ohhh really? You should at least try a little. Just a tiny sip."
Kaede frowned."You've got that weird aura... like one of those commercials that says 'Trust me,' and then you end up in some pyramid scam or something."
"Nonsense," Yuna giggled. "I just thought maybe you don't want to look uncool in front of Riku," she said, gently stroking the wine bottle.
Riku raised an eyebrow, confused. "Huh?"Kaede pointed at him. "See?! He doesn't even get it!"
Yuna lifted the wine bottle. Slowly. Way too slowly."Don't worry, I'm not forcing you. I would never..."She teasingly tilted the bottle as if she were about to drip some into his mouth – right above his head.Kaede instinctively leaned back, hand raised in defense."Oh no, that won't work on me. I'm prepared. This time I'm—"
Then he felt it.
Two hands – soft, but ice-cold – grabbed him from behind.
"Shit."
A bottle – firm, cool, deadly – was pressed against his mouth.Ichigo.
"Drink it all, Kaede."
He froze. His eyes went blank."Betrayal..." he thought. "She was part of the plan all along."
Glug. Glug. Glug."UGHHGG—"His throat did its best, but the wine flood was merciless.He flailed his arms, kicked his legs, begged with his eyes – but Ichigo held the bottle like a cold-blooded killer.
"Swallow it, Kaede," she whispered with an almost too innocent smile."You..." he gasped once the bottle was finally empty, "you were... in on it... all along?!"Ichigo winked. "Oops."Yuna grinned with satisfaction.
"You know, Kaede… I really did warn you. But you just couldn't stop meddling.""I thought you meant that metaphorically!""I almost never lie," said Yuna.
"Liiiiiieeee."
"I just wanted to eat…"
"Oh, it's already empty. Want another one, Kaede?"Kaede quickly shook his head.Hic.Kaede was drunk.
I have to tell them, this is a trap. I have to save my day off."SHIRO THIS IS—"
BANG
"Oops, Kaede, looks like you drank too much and slipped. You guys go on without me, I'll just bring him back real quick. I'll catch up later," said Ichigo with an innocent smile, grabbing me by the collar and dragging me away.
She shoved me! What do you mean slipped?!
I stretched out my hand.Please Riku, Shiro, help me! I'm getting kidnapped again!
"He really drank too much, poor guy," said Riku, looking at me sympathetically, then just shrugged and turned away.
Kaede:Riku, you idiot, why are you so dumb? Riku, help me. And Shiro... yeah, he's enjoying this.
She was dragging me away.Hic... again... hic...
About a kilometer later:
"Where are you taking me?" I asked groggily."Be quiet," Ichigo said curtly, not looking at me.
"I gotta say... for such a witch, you've got pretty... big boobs."
Silence... Ichigo glared at Kaede.
"Are those fake?"
She stopped. For a moment, it was quiet. Then she smiled innocently and said:"Okay. That's enough."
Before I could say anything else, she pressed the open bottle against my mouth with both hands."Say they're fake again and you're dead!"
Glug glug glug.
I swallowed instinctively – it was too fast. I could barely breathe."Yaaay… you got a third bottle?" I mumbled groggily. I'd reached the point where nothing made sense anymore."No. And shut up now.""What… what are you making me drink… hey—""Get in," she said coldly.
With a jerk, she opened a discreet side door and shoved me inside. I stumbled and fell flat into the dark room. The floor was dusty, old crates and cleaning supplies all around me.
Before I could get up again, she was already on top of me. Ichigo knelt on my back, pulled my arms behind me, and tied them tightly with a thin rope. Then she bound my legs – quickly, precisely, like someone who'd done this before.
"What… what are you doing…", I murmured weakly."That should do it. Get some rest, Kaede."
Before I could say anything else, she flicked off the light.The door shut.I was left behind – tied up, groggy.