RSE B2 CH 10 (Patreon)

After entering the Clinic, Leo noted that Miss Hastings was the only one there. She was working on paperwork at her desk at the far end of the room. This was the norm for their meeting in the Clinic, it seemed. 

Looking up, from her paperwork, Cherry gave him a bright smile to him and stood up to say hello. 

“Leo! I am so happy to see you! What brings you by, today?”

“Miss Hastings… I…”

She put a finger to his lips before he could say more than her name. Miss Hastings hushed him with a soft coo. “You still want to call me like this after what happened yesterday?”

There was a twinkle of mischief and expectation in her eye when she gave him a candid but roguish smile. Leo’s cheeks heated. Still, he did not argue with her, nor did he shy away from her touch. Once she took her finger away, he softly muttered what she longed to hear. 

“...Cherry.”

“Much better.” The smile on her face was so bright it lit up the entire room. Taking him by the hand, she pulled him toward one of the two chairs set in front of her desk and took the other chair beside him instead of going back behind her desk.

“So, once again… what brings you here?”

Leo hesitated to reply. Why had he felt an urge to see her? Was it because he wanted to apologize for how he’d all but stopped their therapy session and demanded to be taken home? Or was it something else? 

Leo wasn’t sure. Nor could he gather the resolve to clear the doubts that had plagued his mind and robbed him of sleep last night. Instead of admitting his concerns, he opted for the easy way out. 

“I suppose… I just wanted to see you.” He gave her a feeble smile.

“I see…”

Cherry’s eyes narrowed, pinching almost to horizontal slits. She clearly suspected he was hiding something from her.

“Please, Leo… you should know you can tell me anything—as your therapist… or as a friend.”

Leo hesitated, the cogs in his head churning fruitlessly, unable to come up with a good excuse to keep from revealing what had happened after she’d dropped him off at his house, or how much trouble he’d had getting to sleep the previous night.

Abruptly, an idea came to him, and he offered, “Hypothetically speaking, what would you do if found yourself stuck in the middle of a dispute between two sisters?”

Leo proceeded to explain the ‘hypothetical’ situation and the troubles he found himself wrapped up in. He revealed as much as he could without giving out Kira’s and Sakura’s names. He also avoided any mention, even briefly, of the supernatural.

“The older sister attacked the younger sister’s adoptive parents, causing the little sister to lose her home and be adopted by another family? After this happened, the big sister became a criminal. Do I have the gist of it?”

Leo cringed. “Hypothetically speaking, that’s it…” It sounded incredibly cheesy when Miss Hastings summarized the key points. But it was difficult to explain Kira’s life in a way that sounded both constructive and realistic.

When Leo agreed, Miss Hastings frowned. Her brows drew down and she tapped a manicured nail on her lips, deep in thought. She, of course, knew exactly what Leo was really talking about. She’d added wards and charms of protection without his knowledge when he’d come over to dinner that kept her informed about his physical and emotional state, as well as his location, at all times.

She knew he had left his house after she’d started to head home. And though she didn’t know all the details, she knew he’d gotten into a brief fight. She had even noted the strange spike in his libido early that morning… and knew exactly why.

That she was so invested in the young man’s wellbeing might seem a bit extreme—no, even she could admit it was overkill. But one could never know how the gods of other pantheons would react when Leo’s ancestry came to light.

“Leo, we live in a world where, even though people are supposed to be innocent until proven otherwise, they are in fact guilty until proven innocent. People are quick to judge based on what they hear or see. Few make the effort to dig any deeper before casting stones, don’t you agree?”

“Unfortunately… you’re right,” Leo concurred. 

He had faced similar problems after the incident in his youth. After what happened that fateful heinous day, rather than have people off to listen, he had received only insults and animosity. In a matter of days, he’d been excommunicated and banished from the Vatican—even though those at fault were the higher-ups who didn’t stop that man from stealing the sword.

Hastings adjusted her glasses while giving Leo a tender smile. She worried about how quickly he got caught up in his own dark past. She needed to make her point before he spiraled any further.

“Then, before casting a judgment… Don’t you think you should hear the older sister’s side of things? I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw things differently after hearing both sides. If you really want to make the right decision in this hypothetical situation, you can’t do so with one-sided information.”

“I… Thank you, Cherry. Really.”

Those words and the expression on his face made Hastings giddy with happiness. It should have been more than enough, but she couldn’t help but want more from him. He’d given an inch and she couldn't help but want the entire yard.

“Then… How do you plan to repay me?”

Leo was a little startled by her sudden serious question. At least, he assumed it was a serious question, because neither her tone or her expression indicated she was teasing. 

“Alright. How about a date?”

“A date? Another dinner at my home? You were already planning on coming over on Sunday, were you not?”

“No. I mean a real date. Walking around, visiting places, and getting to know one another. I just realized that I hardly know anything about you.”

“I…”

If before, Cherry seemed to be in control of the situation, she now appeared to be at a loss for words. In the end, she could only stammer a little before nodding.

“By the way, just so you know… this will be my first real date in Spartanburg. I’m happy it will be with you.”

Miss Hastings made a weird noise at this assertion, like her brain needed to reboot. It was clear that while she acted brazen and shameless, flirting outrageously at times, when it came right down to it, she was a tender maiden at heart. 

In the face of a direct approach… like she was subjected to right now… her defenses were weak. At the same time, she was surprised that Leo was being so assertive. She felt her breathing quickened and her heart stuttered. Cherry knew she was too close and emotionally connected to the young man, but she couldn't help herself.

She knew she needed to wrench control back on her terms, but surrendered to her indulgence, instead. Taking one step, she plopped down on his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck as she whispered wantonly in his ears.

“Hug me tight.”

She didn’t want much, just to feel cared for. Sometimes, a simple hug was worth much more than anyone knew.

***

When Leo came out of the Clinic and walked towards the school gate, Kira followed several hundred feet behind him.

Thanks to her super senses as a Spirit Cat, she could stay quite far away from him without being discovered. She knew his senses were quite sharp, so did her best to ensure she didn’t have any ill intentions and avoided looking in his direction too often.

This time, though, her sharp senses had heard the start of their discussion from the hallway outside the Clinic.

‘Is Leo is dating Miss Hastings?’

She hadn’t been able to hear anything after Miss Hastings had invited Leo to sit down, though. It was as if her ears had suddenly been blocked—surely by some barrier or spell. That didn’t stop her sensitive nose and while she didn’t recognize the scent of a woman’s arousal at first, when she did, she blushed heavily and ran away from the Clinic as fast as her feet would take her.

Feeling flustered, with her heart thundering in her chest, Kira knew that there was no way she could continue following Leo without getting caught.

‘I should just go home and—’

“Found you!”

‘!!’

Kira was jerked from her thoughts at the exclamation, only to see Leo standing in front of her. Eyes narrowed in a stern gaze.

“I’ve had the feeling I was being followed all day, but it was so faint that I thought I must be imagining things.” He smirked at her. “It seems I wasn’t.”

As he said this, his hand stretched towards her.

Kira closed her eyes, not shying away from the punishment she knew she’d earned, and anticipating the pain that would follow. Instead, Leo had something else in mind.

Pat Pat Pat

“Nyaa!!”

When he gently patted her on the head, Kira let out a mewling cry—something she hadn’t done for years. She wanted to jump up and yowl at him, but she didn’t want to stop this wonderful sensation.

When he finally stopped and she opened her eyes, he was crouching down so that they were at eye level. Her golden and his green eyes locked onto one other, conveying more in that instant than hundreds of words ever could.

“Do you want to come with me? I am thirsty. Let’s walk together for a bit… at least until the park. Alright?”

Kira, blushing heavily, with her heart thundering in her chest, could only nod in acceptance. Gulping, she trotted to catch up to the young man who’d turned her whole world onto its head