Shima's Light

Chapter 3

     Shima looked at Akari in slight surprise then nodded and smiled, "hey it's okay, I don't really want to discuss mine either. I guess I was too curious for my own good. So let's just move on."

     Akari opened her eyes and looked at Shima. She stared into his eyes for a moment to focus on him until she relaxed. "Yes...ask another question." She stated, still trying to shove her memories to the back of her mind.

     Shima hummed as he thought for a moment and looked up, "How about..." he looked back down at her, "why do you want to become an exorcist?"

     Akari looked down at the table, "I want to become an exorcist because of the way I received my temptaint..." she shook her head, "and I want to learn all I can about demons."

     Shima blinked and paused as the owner returned with their drinks. "Why don't we change the subject then..." he glanced at Akari.

     Akari blinked in slight surprise as she noticed the look in his eye had changed slightly. 'Is he...more serious? Or maybe he's just nervous to talk so openly about demons in a public restaurant...no, he hasn't really been nervous, so why would he start now?' She blinked and looked up as her drink was set in front of her, "thank you, Mr. Hakura."

     Mr. Hakura gave a kind nod, "you are always welcome. And your parents, too. Where have they been?"

     Akari paused, "oh, they moved to the outskirts of Academy City, leaving the condo to me." She gave a smile, "but I promise to drag them here every time they visit."

     Mr. Hakura chuckled softly, "I can't wait." He glanced between her and Shima as he turned to leave the table, "you two enjoy." Akari didn't notice Mr. Hakura wink at Shima. 

     Shima smiled and looked back at Akari, "what exactly did you order?" He asked in a curious tone. Shima had stuck to an easy order of a cream soda.

     Akari paused, "it's more of a special order. Something along the lines of tea with vanilla, but Mr. Hakura adds a secret ingredient that pulls it all together."

     Shima hummed, "secret ingredient huh?" He took a sip of his drink then leaned forward on his elbow again. "So...what's your family like?" He continued the interview.

     Akari shrugged, "I'm an only child, so my parents spent a lot of time with me. We always went out and did many various activities. I always brought home straight A's, so they were never too concerned about my school life. And like I just said, about a year and a half ago, my parents moved to a calmer bit of the city. I wanted to stay so since my parents trusted me almost one hundred percent, they gave me the condo. They send me a monthly allowance that supplies me with enough food and other needs to live peacefully." She paused as she realized how long she had been talking. "So what about you?" She switched it over to Shima.

     Shima paused mid-sip then set his drink down, "well, my family is a lot more complicated than yours. I have way too many siblings to count and don't see my family very often. Half of my family including my dad live in Kyoto, taking up roles to guarding a keep for the Knights of the True Cross as exorcists. I can go on and on, but I'd rather move to the next question." He looked to the side as if he despised the idea of continuing the talk about his family.

    Akari smiled, "we have completely different families, don't we? I'm an only child while you have...who knows how many siblings. Also, your family consists of many exorcists while my family line still has no idea they even exist." She laughed softly then sipped her tea as she thought of the next question. "What's the cram school like?"

     Shima paused then leaned forward a little, "I thought we were only supposed to ask questions that both of us could answer."

     Akari blinked in surprise then shrugged, "well, maybe you should stick to the questioning, I guess I'm not great at this. I've never really had someone to talk to like this." 

     Shima looked at her, "you mean...you've never had a friend?" 

     Akari shook her head and sipped her tea. She looked away as she spoke, "I've always been so devoted to my studies that I never really had time for friends...but after I received my temptaint, I stopped going to school, or at least I didn't return for the next year." She shifted her gaze back to Shima. "But now that I want to become an exorcist, I know that I need to make friends."

     Shima smiled after she finished speaking and pointed at himself, "well I think you're already on the right track. I'm glad to be your first friend." 

     Akari paused then smiled and set down her tea. "I'm glad too." She paused to take another sip, "hit me with another question." She continued the conversation. 

     Shima's hummed again as he thought. "When's your birthday?"

     Akari answered the question right away, slightly relieved for an easy one, "the twenty-fifth of January."

     Shima grinned, "mine's July fourth." He replied simply. 

     Akari thought for a moment, "isn't that an American holiday?"

     Shima paused, "huh...yeah I guess it is." He shrugged then moved on, "so what Meister are you going to try for?" Akari gave him a blank look, "oh right. You don't know too much, huh? Well, you'll figure it all out soon enough. I'm training to be an Aria Meister. I chant sutras that can expel certain demons if I know their fatal verse." He sat back a little, "it makes more sense when you see it in action."

     Akari leaned forward with interest, "what are the other Meisters?" 

     Shima thought for a moment, "most of them explain themselves. There are five Meisters in total. A Knight, Doctor, Aria, Dragoon, and Tamer. A Knight fights with a sword and Dragoons fight with guns. Doctors can heal any wounds afflicted by demons and Tamers summon demons to fight."

     Akari sat back and put her hand to her chin as she thought. "I wonder what Meister I will try for...to be honest, I've never trained with any kind of weapon...so maybe I'll try for a Doctor, Tamer, or Aria."

     "People can train to have multiple talents. Like our teacher, Mr. Okumura. He's a Doctor and Dragoon." Shima added then hesitated, "also...only certain people have the ability and skill to summon demons. So you need to be sure you're able to summon a demon before you choose to be a Tamer."

     Akari's eyebrow twitched at his input, "how do you test that?" Just the thought of summoning a demon made her excited.