Breakfast.

Leonardo spent a good chunk of the night looking after Lucia. She had yet to open her eyes, but her breathing was even and didn’t look like she was going through any sort of pain. He was too rough with her for her first time, so it was possible she’d be out for longer than Angela was. He had to go to school, but thankfully Mrs. Wisler said she’d look after her daughter.

“Also, about your new Gift of Wisdom,” the old lady told him. “It might be weaker than mine or Lucia’s, but it will nonetheless be an incredible asset to you. It should still make you far more perceptive to people’s feelings and intentions than the average person, but be careful. Don’t simply accept what you see. Question it, try to find the reasons as you try to understand each individual person. I won’t say much more, because I don’t want to impose my beliefs on you. But if you have any questions, people do not hesitate to seek my guidance.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Leo took her advice to heart and went to the kitchen to get breakfast ready. However, this time he did so more self-consciously. He was becoming aware of how long he was keeping things in the fire, how thick or how thin he was slicing vegetables, how much miso he was putting into the soup and so on. He started to question his methods more, but stopping just short of becoming too absorbed in it because he still needed to get breakfast ready in the end. And this time it was not for three, but for six.

It was Mrs. Wisler, Angela and himself as usual, but now… Dammit, did he remember their names right? The girl with the dyed hair was Valerie Dexter, the brunette was Kaede Chiteki and the incredibly beautiful one was Seina Miryoku! Aha! Yes, those were their names. Well, they’d be having breakfast with them from now on, or at least that was how it should be. Seina and Valerie were yet to arrive at the dining room while Kaede had arrived after Angela and Mrs. Wisler. She was wearing the same uniform as Angela, though with only the first button undone. On both her wrists were several bands of different colors, her nails were painted blue, there were a couple of star-shaped pins on her hair and her makeup was maybe a little too noticeable with her long and dark eyelashes, her rosy cheeks and a deep shade of pink lipstick.

“Are you okay, dear?” Mrs. Wisler asked her from her spot at the table. Her tone was sweet, careful and watchful, and it made Leo try and take another look at her. If he focused, he could tell that, under all that makeup, Kaede looked… pale.

The girl glanced towards Leo and Angela before nodding quietly to the old lady, but thanks to Mrs. Wisler’s hint, Leo was able to tell that wasn’t quite right. He couldn’t exactly determine WHAT was wrong, but he knew the girl wasn’t feeling well. There were faint bags under her eyes, which her makeup hid to decent success. Was she nervous about the first day at a new school? That seemed reasonable. Leo set a bowl of miso soup in front of her when she sat, as well as a second bowl of rice and a plate with tamagoyaki. He wanted to make her feel at ease, but something told him trying to cheer her up with words would only make things worse, so he settled for offering her a meal and a smile.

Kaede looked down at her food and gave Leo a small, **** smile. But… how could he put it? It didn’t look like she was forcing herself to be polite. Rather, it was the smile of someone who wasn’t used to it, and it hurt to watch. He looked to Mrs. Wisler, and the old lady gave him a subtle nod.

The group ate in silence, and as they were half-way through the meal, Valerie arrived.

“Sorry,” she said in Spanish as she came into the room. “Nearly slept in.” She was also wearing the same black school uniform as Angela and Kaede. Leo served her breakfast, and again the girl ate with some hesitance at first before she wolfed down her food.

The table was silent, and Leo thought he was starting to understand at least one of the reasons. Mrs. Wisler, Angela, him and even Kaede spoke fluent English. He and Angela were also slowly becoming fluent in Japanese. Valerie, on the other hand, could only speak Spanish, which Kaede and Angela didn’t understand. That alone made him consider if saying something was worth the effort of saying it twice in different languages.

“Valerie, dear,” Mrs. Wisler spoke in Spanish. “Be sure to keep up your studies of Japanese. You’ll need it.” See, it was times like these that made Leo wonder if Mrs. Wisler could actually read minds.

“I know,” the girl sighed, shoulders dropping. “But it’s so hard.”

“Good. It means that even if you can’t find physical challenges, you still have other goals to aim for.”

Valerie blinked at the old lady’s words, and Leo could swear he saw a fire lighting in her eyes. It was both curious and amusing. At least, it was until she turned to him. “Hey, you speak Japanese too, right? Teach me.”

Leo blinked, not expecting to be addressed so… directly, found himself answering by rote. “Umm… sure.”

“Good.” Valerie nodded to herself, satisfied.

If he was being honest, he didn’t like the way he was asked, but had to admit he preferred being relied on than being ignored. It seemed like things were about to become much messier than before.