Reborn Kumos
haku“Haj! We’re going to be late, you codswallop! Get out of bed already!” Corah yells as she bustles through my room. “The induction ceremony is today, and we can’t miss it. I’m being inducted as a priestess, and you…” Her keening voice paused as she finally took stock of my beleaguered and fatigued face. “Did you…no... please tell me that you did NOT do a mission last night?!”
“I did not do a mission last night,” I chuckled as I stretched. My arms were aching and so was my back, but I was sure there were no broken bones or injuries severe enough to warrant my absence for the ceremony today. There were calls going off all night for spy and assassin jobs, and they always paid well, especially those done overnight. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make a quick buck, especially since Corah’s priestly robes had costed me an arm and a leg just last week. She stood at the end of my bed with an uncharacteristic frown. “Haj, you’ve gotta stop doing these. We’re in the academy now... we’re not street rats anymore...” I got off the bed swiftly before she can continue and gave her a quick hug. “I know, but old habits are hard to break, my sister. And I’ve got my debts to settle.”
Unbeknownst to my sister, street...or gutter rats like us didn’t make it into a prestigious academy like this under a simple “scholarship”. Under no circumstances was I ever fooled that my presence here was for academia or scholarly pursuits. The principal, an old, persnickety but thorough fool, had hired me to keep the students safe while in their classes. My sister’s attendance here was due to the fact that I’d stupidly signed off five years of my life under their direct rule and labor. Not that she will ever know about that. So morning or night, asleep or awake, whenever there is a call, I must answer.
