Chapter Text
She was busy playing with her Bucchimaru pencil than paying attention to the lecturer standing in front of the Shujin Academy classroom. It was a fine summer’s day, perfect for the beach and to relax under a nice little chair. A nice pair of sunglasses on her cashew eyes and have her hair down as if the school was officially over. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for simple Eiko Takao, as her mind was elsewhere that day while the teacher went on and on about sciences and the many aspects of our realities. Something of that sort she didn’t bother to pay attention. She moved around her pencil now between her fingers and looked away at the measly chalkboard and looked out the window from where she sat down. Good thing she sat by the window so she was able to get a nice and clear view of the summer July day. Plus she was waiting for summer vacation, just two weeks away.
The teacher then grabbed her attention now as she called her name. “Takao? Are you paying attention dear?” she asked Eiko calmly despite knowing she was holding in her anger that her student wasn’t looking her direction. Eiko sighed and then nodded slowly despite lying, and as if God was there by her side, the bell rung and the day was officially over. “Okay, class! Remember your assignments that are due next week! It’s a big one!” she told every Shujin student who walked out of the room. They all responded with a simple yes as they left.
“Yay,” Eiko said as she stretched her arms and fixed her side ponytail and large heart earrings. The rest of the day was finally hers and she could do either head to her new work that was the Central Street Diner since her old one had some complications. As well as a toxic relationship in which thank the heavens Makoto Niijima, a dear friend of her now, and her boyfriend Ren Amamiya helped her out against the forces that was Tsukasa. She still didn’t give them a proper thanks. “I should find Mako-nee,” she said to herself as she walked around the third year’s hallways. She looked around to see her friend and deduced finally that Makoto would be in the Student Council room.
Eiko headed there, and to her luck, Makoto was sitting there writing away and at the same time reading a book, as it was held with her left hand as she was busy writing with the other one, seeing what looked like an essay on the matter. Eiko then read the title. “ Ancient Secrets of the Mesopotamian Gods?” she tilted her head, and by saying those words stopped Makoto from her tracks and looked up to see Eiko curious. “Eiko? What are you doing here?” Makoto asked, her red eyes blinking away. Eiko dropped her stuff by the chair that stood in front of Makoto and sat down, yawning quickly before addressing herself. “Came here to see you Mako-nee.” she yawned again before she placed her head on the table. “I’m so tired today too. It’s hard to actually pay attention and focus hard on studies now.” she grumbled. Makoto chuckled. “Is that so? You seem to be doing a good job.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You’re tired, which means you’re using your head to think more instead of going with the flow.” Makoto smiled and continued reading and writing. Eiko looked up to see her friend. “You know Mako-nee if your essay is about the gods and goddesses, you should note about the Mesopotamian culture as well as a connecting paragraph.” Makoto stopped and then looked back at Eiko with a confused look. “Eiko...I never thought of that.”
“Really? Ms. Smarts didn’t decide to write that in her essay?” Makoto shook her head. Eiko then smiled and began to proceed about the various cultures in Mesopotamia and why their gods were as such. “Anat was a goddess of fertility, and it makes sense since the civilizations were mostly around deserts and between two rivers.” Makoto nodded like she would in a normal classroom setting as Eiko continued on. After a few more minutes of Eiko ranting about history, Makoto smiled and stopped writing altogether, grabbing Eiko’s hands and clapped them together with hers. “Eiko...that was amazing!” Makoto said in awe. Eiko blinked in curiosity and then let go of Makoto’s hands and blushed lightly. “It’s nothing,” she said shyly.
“Nothing? You could write a textbook with all that you just said.” Makoto then thought for a moment and continued. “Did you study this recently?”
“Barely. We touched upon it and then we just continued onwards to Egyptian gods, which by the way, we had a test on them two days ago and I nailed it!” Eiko high fived Makoto, who was still lost in thought. “What about your other studies, Eiko?”
“What about them?”
“How are you holding up?”
“They’re alright. Stagnant besides history.” that lit up Makoto’s eyes as she put the book away and then looked at Eiko, her red eyes staring into Eiko’s cashew colored ones. “Eiko...have you considered looking at scholarships for history?” Eiko shrugged, and again blushed lightly in embarrassment. “I may have...but I don’t plan on doing history Mako-nee! Sure it’s my best subject by far, but I want to do something like being a fashion designer, or something like that.” she grumbled loudly now, and Makoto giggled.
It was then that a knock on the door came, and Ren showed up. “Eiko?” Ren said while Morgana went back inside the bag. Eiko nodded and then saw Makoto putting away her things. “Leaving because Prince Charming stopped by? Typical.” Eiko teased as Makoto waved her off in a friendly manner. “Truth be told, I made sure he stopped by so I don’t go overboard with my studies here.” Makoto whispered to her before she headed out the door. Then she looked back at Eiko. “Eiko, I think you’ll realize soon enough that what you want to become, and what you already are will be shown more discreetly,” Makoto added as she said goodbye to Eiko and left the room. “What I want to become and what I already am…? What’s that supposed to mean?” Eiko said as she tried to wrap her brain around the subject matter, and continued to do so for days on end, until finally, that summer vacation when she heard about Medjed and the Phantom Thieves’ affairs that she soon realized that history was her true passion all along.
And six years later, she remembered that scenario, that moment with Makoto Niijima in that Student Council room, and the talk she had along with the several historical discussions and theories she had in mind in the days to come after that fated encounter with the Niijima girl, now married with the same boyfriend who saved Eiko. As she went through those years in her head, she was also busy looking at an old European map of what was once the directory of the most famous castle ruins known to England.