‘It’s a shame,’ Rochester said. ‘It would be nice to know someone on the SSF understands what it’s like on the support stream. I mean, the one guy they have is basically a forensics specialist. He doesn’t patrol.’
‘Do you think students on the support stream are discriminated against, Chess?’ Mitsuko asked.
‘Well… Yes. Yes, I do. We’re looked down upon. We’re considered cowards. I mean, I’ve made it clear I plan to go academic in my fifth year and that makes it worse, but the combat students look down upon anyone who isn’t in their stream. They are the warriors and we… are not.’
‘So, not that different from any other school.’ Rochester opened his mouth to respond and then closed it again, bemused. Mitsuko smiled at him and continued. ‘In lower schools, magicians get picked on for being “weird,” or they’re rejected from cliques because the other members are scared of them. In ordinary high schools, the sporting types pick on the studious ones. “Nerd” gets used a lot. It’s no different here. In fact, there’s likely a direct correspondence between sporty and combat.’
Melissa shook her head. ‘I don’t think that’s true. The Flight Club is pretty mixed. Maybe a slightly higher proportion of support than combat. Flight Club is pretty sporty.’
‘Kendo is frequented by more support than combat,’ Nava said, ‘while it’s the other way around for kenjutsu. I think karate has more combat students while aikido and judo have more support students. Oh, and it’s pretty even in the Swimming Club, but they’re not competitive enough to have made official status.’
‘Okay,’ Mitsuko said, ‘I stand corrected on the correspondence, but I’m not wrong on the general point. People will always find a way to present themselves as superior to another group so long as we have a society where status is important. That’s easy for me to say because I belong to a family with considerable status, but it’s true.’
Nava nodded. ‘It may be wrong, but there’s probably nothing to be done about it. Just don’t let it get to you. What you can do has value, Chess. Whatever anyone else says, you have value.’
‘Then why are you worried you’d kill someone for being an idiot?’ Rochester responded.
‘Ah, well, when I was growing up, it was kill or be killed. Put me in a position which forces me into that mindset again and I’ll kill. Devin Girard did just that. You saw the results. Simply put, I can’t trust myself to be in a real combat situation where I should keep my opponents alive. If I’d joined the SSF, it would have ended in blood.’
235/3/6.
Nava’s apartment signalled that someone was seeking admittance at twenty past midnight, which seemed odd for a number of reasons. Melissa was likely in bed by now. Nava was preparing to do the same, a little late. Melissa had, in fact, spent a couple of hours in Nava’s apartment earlier, so it seemed strange that she might need something now. It was also raining, heavily, which was likely to put off anyone else seeking to visit so late.
Shrugging, Nava opened the door and was confronted by a dripping wet Mitsuko. Her hair was plastered to her head and neck, and water ran across her chest in thick droplets. Her dress was quite resistant to rain, but there were rivulets of water running down from her bodice to her skirt. She looked miserable, but apparently that was not due to her soaked condition.
‘I can’t sleep,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I tried. I can’t.’
‘I’m absolutely positive that you can work an Umbrella cantrip,’ Nava responded.
‘I… didn’t think of it.’
Nava shook her head and stepped back to let Mitsuko in. ‘Go and dry yourself off. I’m not cleaning up a puddle.’ She indicated the bathroom door and Mitsuko vanished through it. ‘I thought you’d be able to last one night without me,’ Nava said through the door. There was no answer, so she wandered off to watch the rain running down her window.
She heard the bathroom door slide open a minute or two later but did not turn around. A pair of high breasts were pressing against her shoulder blades a second after that. Arms wrapped around her waist. Nava got the distinct impression that Mitsuko was now naked.
‘Apparently, we both overestimated my resolve,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I’ll get over it. Well, I hope you won’t be a complete stranger now we’re not under one roof, but…’
‘It’ll be harder to keep this a secret now.’
‘I don’t care.’
Nava was fairly sure that Mitsuko would come to care. Or maybe not. Others would probably care. There was no way a relationship like this could last, not in the society of the Clan Worlds or that of the school.
‘I want you,’ Mitsuko said.
Nava turned around. Sure enough, Mitsuko was not wearing a stitch of clothing. Her nipples were already standing out. Nava’s lips shifted to find one, but first she said, ‘Since you went to such trouble to have me, I can’t think of a reason to deny you.’
Mitsuko’s response could not have been described as words.
~~~
‘So, you’re sleeping with Suki, right?’
Nava glanced at Melissa, who was walking alongside her as they headed for their apartment building after lessons. It sounded like she just wanted to be sure and lying seemed pointless. ‘Yes. What gave us away?’
‘Uh, well, the walls are thin and she’s loud.’
Nava made a mental note to buy a gag for Mitsuko. ‘Did we keep you awake? You did look a little bleary-eyed this morning.’
‘Yes… Yeah, the sounds woke me, I think, and then…’ Melissa’s cheeks were getting redder by the moment. ‘I couldn’t stop listening.’
‘Huh. We were that entertaining?’ That just got a mumble in response. ‘Well, next time, come around and ask for admittance.’ And that got a squeak. Melissa’s cheeks looked like you could fry eggs on them. ‘Suki
