The End of the Littlest One [Completed]

13. Pose for a statue

'What are you doing?'

Dante turned around and spotted Jun at the doorway.

'Hey, Jun,' Dante said.

He turned back around and continued packing his bag. He heard Jun walking further into their room. Dante didn't let it distract him. He was in the middle of something he shouldn't stall any further.

'Why are you packing your stuff?'

Dante walked over to the closet and took out a number of shirts to choose from. He chose two and put the rest back in the closet. He needed to pack light.

'I'm leaving for a while.'

'What? Why?'

Dante put the two shirts in his bag, laying on his bed.

'I finished my assignment. I'll be graduating soon.'

'What? When did you even get an assignment?'

Dante walked back to the closet. Before he reached it, Jun stopped him by laying his hands on Dante's shoulders. He had a surprisingly strong grip for someone so lean.

'Dante, what's going on?'

Dante and Jun had been sharing this room for half a year now. Jun's initial roommate graduated, and Dante took his place. He had been new to the Academy. Luckily, they became friends quickly, which made Dante feel much more at ease in his new environment. He didn't want to lie to Jun, so he chose to only tell half of what he knew.

Technically, that wasn't lying. It was holding back information, not creating false information. If he ever found out, I'm sure Jun would understand.

'It's like I said, I completed my assignment. I can leave the Academy until my graduation.'

Dante grabbed Jun's hands with his and took them off of his shoulders. He continued his walk to the closet and went to the pants section.

'When did you get your assignment?'

'Some time ago.'

'Did I forget you telling us that, or did you choose not tell us?'

'The latter.'

Dante found a pair of pants that would be fine and walked bag to his bed. He put it in his bag. It was getting full; he couldn't bring much more.

'Why didn't you tell us?'

To be honest, he hadn't had the time to tell them. Everything had gone so fast. However, he didn't want to tell Jun that. Firstly, because he said he had received the assignment some time ago, which is at least a week. Two days ago, wouldn't qualify. Secondly, because that would lead to questions about how he managed to complete it in such a short period of time.

'I had to keep it a secret.'

Jun hesitated before speaking again.

'Let's sit down. I want to know all about it,' he said.

Jun said on his bed, on the other side of the room. Dante sat on his bed. The room was small, their knees would be able to touch if Jun didn't sit with his feet on his bed.

'You know I can't tell you a lot, right? I just said I had to keep it all a secret,' Dante said.

'I know. What was the assignment?'

'That's exactly one of those things I can't tell you.'

'I figured,' Jun admitted. 'I was hoping you would say it, though.'

'I'm not going to.'

'Fine. What's the reward? A house? Money?'

'I'm not sure yet.'

'Why? Don't you get to know that?'

'I did get to know that. My reward was anything I wanted. I haven't really thought about it yet.'

'Anything? There have to be boundaries.'

Dante nodded. He thought so, too. Unfortunately, neither the letter nor Boss had been helpful to find those boundaries.

'It didn't say where the limits were. I think I'll make a list of things. If I ask for a thing, they don't want to give me, I can just ask for something else,' he said.

'Smart. Maybe you can ask for more than one thing. You know, I could really use a new pair of boots...'

Jun winked dramatically at Dante. He, in his turn, rolled his eyes at his friend. They both laughed.

'Just keep that information at the back of your mind, Anyway,' Jun laughs. 'Where are you going?'

It wouldn't hurt to tell him.

'An inn.'

'Why? Are you going to do some sight-seeing?'

'Possibly,' Dante laughed. 'I'm not sure yet, but I'd like to get out of here for a while.'

'Already? You've only been here for a couple of months. Imagine how much I want to get out of here.'

'I can't even imagine how suffocated you must feel,' Dante laughed.

'You must be one of the youngest graduates in the Academy's history.'

Dante nodded. Boss had made the same remark.

'Maybe you'll need to pose for a statue,' Jun said.

Dante couldn't believe his ears.

A statue? Of me of all people?

He laughed.

'You really think they'd ask me to do that?' Dante asked.

'They will have to now that you're the pride of the Academy.'

'Sure.'

'And if they don't ask you to pose for one, just ask the contractor for a statue of yourself.'

'And place it where? In front of the Academy?'

'Obviously. Where else?'

'The mansion I'll also be asking for.'

Jun raised one of his eyebrows. He was intrigued.

'You're going to ask for a mansion?'

'I'm thinking about it. I would have a place to live after graduation. I won't have an income, though. I'm still trying to solve that problem.'

Jun hummed in agreement.

'You have some time left though, right? To find a job?'

'Yeah, until graduation.'

'Take your time. No reason to hurry.'

'You're right.'

A silence fell between them. Eager to chase away that silence, Jun spoke.

'I'll let you continue your packing. I have outdoor training soon,' he said.

'Sure. Thank you.'

'Not sure what you're thanking me for, but you're welcome.'

'Just... being my friend I guess.'

'Don't get all soft, now. That's not who we are.'

They smile all soft at each other. They both knew how much they meant to each other. Words didn't need to express it.

'Why did you come here in the first place? Did you need anything?' Dante asked.

'Yeah, my outdoor training shoes.'

Jun stood up from his bed and walked to their closet. He found his shoes rather quickly and held them in his hands.

'I'll be at your graduation, okay?' Jun asked while walking to the door.

'Of course. See you then.'

'Bye.'

Jun left and closed the door behind him. Dante stood up from his bed and took a final look into his closet.

I wonder if I'll be at my own graduation.