The Ice Princess

- Jiro-Kun, can you come over? I will be handing out the trainings for today. - The manager called Jiro back to the reception, already gathered in a circle were 4 people, the manager and the girl who had entered the hotel at full speed.

- For today Adashi-San will be in charge of you, Jiro-Kun, he is in charge of the bar and room service at the hotel. Please learn as much as you can. - said the manager pointing to one of the people inside the circle, a man of about 35 years old.

- Okay Jiro-Kun, are you ready? - The man addressed Jiro in a very friendly manner.

- Of course! I'm in your care! - Jiro responded with a small bow.

- Oh, how polite. - The manager mentioned with a smile and watching Jiro only for a moment and then continuing with the indications. - Inoue-San, you will be working with me, I need your support in management and doing some accounts. Is that okay? - The instant the manager mentioned her name Jiro's head and heart pounded, Inoue was the name of the person who had come in first place, the person who had surpassed him. Could it be?

- Of course, no problem. I am in your care. - Inoue answered with a calm voice, she seemed motivated and focused on the task, Jiro couldn't stop watching her out of the corner of his eye and during this time at least in a split second their eyes met. Or so he would like to believe.

During the work there was not a single moment for Jiro to ask Inoue if she was the girl who attends his high school as they were working in different areas. "She definitely looks her age" he thought.

It was 5pm, the training ended and Jiro was waiting at the lobby to have the opportunity to ask that girl if she was who he thought and to be able to officially introduce himself as his classmate; however, sitting in the same place the same thing happened again, in the blink of an eye he could only observe how that shooting star disappeared from his sight. Inoue ran through the lobby to leave the hotel in an unknown direction. This time she didn't turn around to see him, she simply left.

- Is she always in a hurry...? - Jiro asked himself in a very low voice.

There was no point in waiting any longer so Jiro set out to go home. On the way back he texted Hanae to see how she was doing and if she needed anything he could buy it on the way home.

Jiro lived in an apartment that was a little more than 20 minutes walking from the high school and a little more than half an hour from his new job, it was not very spacious because there was only one room and a common space. When he arrived at the apartment, he opened the door and let his tiredness spread throughout his body.

- I'm home, Hanae! - Jiro shouted as he took off his shoes.

- Welcome home, Onīsan - Hanae came out to greet him with a smile and her hands behind her. A short girl, no more than 5 feet tall, short brown hair. She was wearing light blue shorts and a white T-shirt, all covered by an apron. - How was your day? I don't have dinner ready yet, can you wait a bit?

Jiro and Hanae lived alone in the apartment, this had been going on for a while now so Jiro was the one who mainly took care of the food. However, because Jiro would now have more responsibilities Hanae was trying to be helpful and started to learn how to cook from a couple of months back.

- Don't worry Hanae, I'm not hungry yet. Today was just introductory days so I'll be coming home later tomorrow. I shouldn't get used to eating so early. - Jiro said looking at his little sister and entering the house to head straight to the kitchen. - Do you want me to help you with anything Hanae? - Jiro said as he opened one of the frying pans on the stove.

- Onīsan! Get out of the kitchen! It's my turn to cook today, it's a special day - Hanae said to Jiro while pushing him out of the kitchen.

- Special? Are we celebrating something today? - Jiro didn't know exactly what his sister was referring to.

- Shut up and get out of here –

- Okay, okay - Jiro finally gave up and went to sit in one of the couches in the living room while he waited for the food. Immediately his mind turned to that image that had been captured in his mind, that girl with the golden hair... "Inoue Rei... right?" he thought inwardly. It wasn't that Jiro didn't like girls, in fact, he was quite popular; however, he had decided that he wouldn't have a girlfriend until Hanae entered college, he had promised himself that he would make that his top priority and so far he had been able to fulfill it to perfection. During junior high school a total of 12 different girls proposed to him on different occasions; however, he didn't plan to break his promise for anything in the world, besides he never liked having a relationship with a stranger; in other words, he had the philosophy of being able to get to know the person before being together.

- The food is ready Onīsan! - Hanae shouted calling Jiro to come to the table, in front of him was a large plate of curry with rice and some tea.

- Oh, it looks really good Hanae. Thank you for your effort - Jiro said giving an honest smile to his little sister.

Hanae smiled embarrassedly trying to avoid her brother's gaze, then turned to stare at him - Onīsan Congratulations on your entrance to Shinsei High School, you're really awesome! - Hanae knew how hard her brother had tried, it was natural to be proud and for her it was truly important that he could enjoy a normal life in high school.

- Thank you so much Hanae. - Jiro was truly grateful for the congratulations, all his daily effort was for his sister, he had managed to enter with a full scholarship to the most prestigious high school in the region, but one of his dreams was that in three years when his little sister went to high school she could go to the same school. That meant having enough money to pay her tuition if Hanae didn't make the top places, and that was something he didn't want to push his sister into at all. At that moment he pushed back a little from his chair to extend his arm so he could pat Hanae's head gently.

- Thank you very much -

Jiro helped to wash the dishes and decided to take a bath before going to bed, thoughts were overflowing him. "What am I going to do? I hope there is a club that will allow me to keep working... Although, now that I think about it Will she have the same problem? Sure... in case she's the same girl from my school.

He spent almost half an hour in the bathroom but Jiro couldn't find a solution in his head so he decided it was time to rest. Tomorrow he had a long day ahead of him as he would finally start regular classes and he would have his full shift at work, it was important for him to be rested.

April 12, 2033

- Oh! Did you really come from that far away? - Adachihara Hibiki and Chiba Kaito a couple of Jiro's classmates who had decided to talk to him.

- Yeah... I don't think it's that uncommon. The school has a lot of people coming from out of town, right? - Jiro didn't find it remarkable that he had moved to the city in order to attend this high school, even though moving seemed like a hassle he was grateful that Hanae's change was going well.

- Well you're right about that. - Kaito began to speak, - Hey Jiro and tell us... Why did you lose a year? - "Oh, here comes the big question. I'm surprised you waited so long to ask it" Jiro knew it was a topic he couldn't avoid, people are curious to know something so strange nowadays; although for Jiro it wasn't such an easy topic to deal with, he had a personal policy of never lying, always saying what he thought to everyone around him; however, despite this he did have a total of 2 secrets, none of which he would like people to know and these secrets had a little to do with the question his classmates were asking him. So he tried to be as honest as possible without giving too many details. "Half-truth" he thought.

- I have a little sister, I had to take care of her for a while and I couldn't get in for a year. -

- Oh! How responsible! I don't have a good relationship with my sister, she's a demon Hahaha -

- Who are you calling a demon? - Suddenly a girl hit Kaito's head.

- Ow, ow, ow - Kaito turned his head only to meet the eyes of his sister Chiba Natsumi and next to her was Mio who was looking at Kaito with eyes of knowing he was lost for calling her sister a demon.

- Oh... Kaito, I will attend your funeral - Mio said as she forced them to move a little so she could sit in her seat.

- Oh! Are they twin brothers? - Jiro asked after realizing what was happening.

- Yes, though... - Kaito leaned closer to Jiro to whisper something in his ear. - It's not as good as it seems Jiro, she's really is a demon. –

- I HEARD YOU KAITO, YOU'RE DEAD! - Natsumi proceeded to try to get him for a punch, but Kaito quickly started running all over the place.

- Help! Somebody save me! -

Jiro watched the scene with some nostalgia in his mind, how long had it been since he could enjoy a normal high school day like this?

It wasn't long before the bell rang and everyone began to take their seats, but something was off. "So... She didn't come today neither?" Jiro thought as he turned to look at the empty seat next to him.

A moment later the teacher was entering the classroom to start the class, and as if had reads Jiro's mind she began to speak.

- Guys we are finally complete, please welcome your new classmate, Inoue Rei, the person with the best score in the entrance exams this year. -

Finally, there she was, the same girl with a hard and determined look he met at the hotel, although in uniform she looked totally different. "She looks... cute" Jiro thought almost out loud, so much so that he felt ashamed of his own thoughts.

- Good morning everyone, my name is Inoue Rei, I'm 16 years old, I left school for a year after school for personal reasons which I wish you wouldn't ask... - "Wow that's straightforward... So she missed a year too?"

- I hope we get along very well. - Finishing her speech Inoue Rei smiled, the benevolent smile of a princess, that was all they imagined which set off a chain reaction, as if a series of volcanoes exploded in different parts of the world one after another.

- WHAT A BEAUTY! - shouted one of the boys in class.

Everyone began to whisper and make more noise amongst each other, from shouts of excitement to praises towards Rei who didn't seem to mind at all.

"A smile...? But... Why does that smile give me a bad feeling?"

- Thank you for your introduction Inoue, please move to your seat so we can begin class. - The teacher gave the indication, Inoue quickly approached the last seat right next to Jiro, and at that instant when she was passing right next to him they crossed glances; but without mentioning anything she simply sat in her seat.

- Uh... Do you remember me? We met yesterday. - Jiro began to say in a soft voice so that no one else could hear, he really had no communication problems, he wanted to greet her properly since from that moment on they would sit together and if everything went well in their work they would also see each other after school. It was normal for him to want a good relationship with her.

Rei took a second before turning to look at Jiro, not with the smile she had shown in front of the whole class, but with that deep, serious and determined look he met at the hotel.

- Yoshida-Kun, right? I remember you, I also know that you are the person who came second in the entrance exams. -

- Just that one! Since yesterday I wanted to introduce myself to you, I hope we'll get along well. - Jiro tried to be as natural as possible, he really thought it was important for them to get along. - Also... there's something else I'd like to ask you, if it's not too much trouble. -

- huh? What is it Yoshida-kun? - Rei completely ignored Jiro's wishes and concentrated on what he would like to ask her.

- I'll ask you to call me by my name; Jiro, is that okay with you? - Jiro smiled at Rei, he truly prefer people to use his name, he had made that request many times over the years and although sometimes people were surprised or found it awkward he convinced them that it was all right, that he liked it that way... But until that day, he never imagined that someone would react like that.

Rei stood up, clenched her fist, her hands were shaking a little and her eyes were filled with anger towards Jiro, and the next thing she said was so clear and loud to be heard at least in the whole classroom and the classrooms next to it.

- I will never call you by your name! I will never lower myself in calling you that way! -

"What the heck just happened? What is this?... She looks so angry... but at the same time... she's... afraid?"

And so at that moment Jiro experienced firsthand the rage of the ice princess Inoue Rei, his rival, classmate and co-worker.

Chapter end