Chapter Text
Yui opened the dorm door and turned on the lights. The room was similar to a standard dorm room—two full beds with canopies, wardrobes, and their own desks with chairs.
Both beds had suitcases next to them. The first bed—the one on the right side of the room—had hers, a light brown suitcase. It surprised her, since she had been taken here without it. It only made the questions pop up more in her mind.
Yui picked it up and placed it on the bed. She unclipped it open. The first thing she saw was her rosary sitting atop her journal. They themselves sat on the clothes inside. She picked up the rosary and held it to her chest.
For the first time since getting here, Yui was starting to feel sad. She thought about her father, Seiji Komori, who had sent her off to the Sakamaki Manor, and hadn’t heard from since. Then she thought of the Sakamaki’s. They had their good moments, kind even, but the amount of blood they drained felt like an overwhelming shadow.
It was to the point she got anemia.
She sat down on the bed’s edge and started crying. The sudden dejection of her emotions came in strong. She brought her knees up to her chest and she buried her face into them.
They felt hot against her face as they ran down.
It was only a few minutes of this when the door opened again. Looking up from her knees, Yui saw a person walking in. It took her a second to realize that it was a boy, and probably Epel, her roommate.
The boy walked in with a grumble, his hand ruffling his hair from the side. He looked over at her lazily, and noticed her tears. “‘Eh-” He started, but he caught himself before continuing.
“Are you okay?”
Yui wiped away her tears and nodded feebly, “Uhm, yes… just a bit overwhelmed…” Epel looked like he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t push. She took a deep breath and fully looked at him. “I’m Yui Komori.” “Epel Felmier.”
He moved to the other bed and started to unpack his suitcase. Yui placed her rosary on her desk and continued hers as well. Journal. Brush. Some skirts and shirts and socks and bras and underwear. All enough for a week. She opened the wardrobe, and put them inside.
She put the journal next to the rosary and sat back on the bed and stretched. The cry made her feel better than expected.
“Felmier-san, do you know anything about the welcoming party?”
Epel nodded once and replied as he put away his own clothes, “A dinner…” he went on to complain about the other students, “…stuck-up snots… oh-so-cultured…”
She thought he was being a bit harsh, but she also only spoke to one other student. “I’m going to go try to meet the others.”
Epel just shrugged, “I’ll see you later.”
Yui brushed off her robes before getting up and leaving. A handful of students had also wandered out and were mingling. Yui found the student that she stood next to in the Mirror Chamber, and approached, “Hello!”
He smiled back, his hood was down now, “Hey! Good seeing you again! My name’s Liam. Liam Marsh.”
“I’m Yui Komori! Are you new here too?”
“Yup, I’ve been waiting for this day since I was a child.”
Yui tilted her head slightly at that. “Really?”
“Yeah! This is one of the most prestigious magical academies.” Liam raised his arms to emphasize his excitement. “Just look at the place!”
Yui giggled at him. Seeing someone so happy over something like this was a breath of fresh air. “That’s really sweet, you know.”
Liam just laughed and brought his arms down to rest his hands on his hips. His face turned a bit more serious, “Komori-san, I don’t want to sound rude, but it is a bit unusual for a girl to attend NRC.”
“I figured, but the last student at the ceremony was also a girl.”
“I saw.” Liam sighed and shrugged. “Oh well, it’s not something worth dwelling on.”
They kept talking, and more students joined as they waited. Yui got to know the names of her peers, both her grade and above. There was definitely less than at a regular school, she concluded that magic wasn’t that common, or at the very least this school was picky about who they chose to attend.
The two hours passed in a breeze, and only then did she see Epel leave their dorm room. It was time for the party!
Some third-years had started guiding everyone to the lounge, it was on the left of the building. It was of equal opulence as the rest of the building, with walnut chairs and a long table setup with a blue tablecloth. The other half was still normal, with plenty of blue chairs and loveseats and gold tables of various sizes.
The feast was being brought out by the ghost chefs, from the kitchen that was behind a door in the corner. The Housewarden, Vil, was directing them, making sure everything was placed correctly. Rook was already there, and started sitting everyone down—first years towards the end, then second-years, then third-years.
Yui sat next to Epel and they both got filet mignons. She cut into it and took a bite. It reminded her of Reiji’s cooking. Perfectly cooked. Delicious.
The party wasn’t particularly crazy. It was a good feast and most got along, including Yui, who had already made fast friends with a lot of the other first-years. Epel was still stand-offish, he was mostly paying attention to his food.
Tomorrow would bring the first real day here.