Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

Hitori grabbed his chopsticks, "thanks for the good," He prayed before he started eating the udon that was placed in front of him, "Uhm! Amazing," He lifted his eye sneakily to look at Kiku.

Kiku did not reply. Hitori glanced at her face. Her mouth was closed, her eyes fidgeted as if she was scared of something. And her chopsticks sank into the bowl of udon.

"Kiku-san?"

"Aah! T- thank you," She snapped out. She forced a smile on her face. She pulled her chopsticks out and started slurping the noodles down her mouth.

Hitori on the other hand just shrugged and continued eating his food. He tried his best to ignore the stare he could feel from Kiku.

The sound of Kiku slurping her noodles stopped suddenly. Hitori raised his head and saw Kiku spacing out and staring blankly at him once again.

"This is it." He banged his chopsticks on the table, "What is wrong?" He pushed his chair back to get up from the dining table, "Tell me what is wrong, Kiku-san," Kiku's eyes met with Hitori's blue eyes.

"W- why? Nothing is wrong, keep eating," She lifted the bowl and gulped down all of the udon in one go. Some of the soup fell down but suddenly stopped in between and came back to her bowl.

After a few minutes, Hitori had finished eating his dinner. He kept his bowl on the counter and headed to his room.

"Hitori-Kun," He stopped walking as soon as he heard Kiku's voice, "How was your day at the academy today?"

'And I was wondering why she had not asked that question yet.' Hitori turned around.

Kiku cleaned her hands and walked toward Hitori.

"I lost…" He replied, "I lost all of the matches, I told you I am not qualified for this," He lifted his head and gave Kiku a smile.

"And why did you come home so late?"

A frown appeared on Hitori's face, 'She is… acting sus.' Hitori declared.

"I was hanging out with a friend," He turned around and took a step forward.

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"You have a friend?" Her question made Hitori stop once again.

"Just made one today at the academy," Hitori replied, "Saved him from some bullies in the academy,"

Behind him, Kiku slowly clenched her fists, 'He did not even hesitate.'

"The bullies must have got you then?"

"Ah, yeah, they got me…" He turned around, "How do you know–" He was interrupted by Kiku's counter reply.

"Of course they did," She walked, "As you do not have your wand to cast any magic spells and protect yourself," She stopped a few feet away from Hitori.

Hitori gulped, "What are you saying?" He saw the coldness in her eyes. A pair of eyes that Hitori had never seen in his life.

"Leave that aside," she pulled her hands behind her, "Where did you meet your new friend?" Hitori saw a smile unfolding on her face.

Hitori took a step back. Kiku leaned down a bit and stopped in front of Hitori, she closed in the distance between both of them.

"Hm?" She raised the corner of her mouth, "Where did you save this friend of yours from the bullies?" A smile appeared on her face which did not look forced at all.

"Eh, where you ask-" Hitori looked past her.

"Obviously," she got a lot closer to him, "Not in the academy, right? As you did not go to the academy today, so where?" Her eyes pierced Hitori's soul. At least that is how he felt.

"You… followed-" He was once again interrupted.

"Where did you meet him?" She repeated her question, "In the city Vr-cade? It can not be possible, can it?"

Hitori moved his head forward, his eyes started opposing Kiku's stare, "You followed me," He declared, "You did-" he stopped when he saw a wand flying inside from the washroom.

Hitori glanced between the wand and Kiku till Kiku grabbed the wand.

Kiku slightly lifted the wand in her hand and pointed it behind Hitori. He turned his head to follow the direction of the wand's tip.

Creak.

Hitori watched as his room door opened slowly with a creaking sound. It did not take Hitori another second to realize what had happened.

"You intruded into my room,"

"Do not put it in that way," she sighed, "I went inside your room to clean it." She started, "But then…. My eyes caught an empty wand case hidden beneath your bed."

"You did intrude my room," Hitori's angry eyes glared at Kiku.

"I was had almost left the room when my eyes again fell on your console station from where… your game card was missing." An empty wand case came out from the washroom at Kiku's command.

Hitori was speechless. He could not come up with a counter with so many proofs against him.

"Now… young master… would you please tell me the reason? Or perhaps, reasons?" Kiku raised her head with a serious expression on her face that had no cute smile plastered on it.

"I went to the academy,"

"Oh~"

"I did go to the academy. I fought all of the matches but lost them! In order to relieve my frustration, I went to the Vr-cade. I did not want to get mad at you for my own loss…"

"And? Continue."

"I was on my way back when I saw two boys bullying a timid guy, I tried to stop them but got myself pulled in"

Kiku scoffed, "Hitori-Kun," She smiled again, "Did not you say that you met your friend at the academy?"

"..." Hitori took a step back. Taking a big gulp down his throat, he replied, "Did? When?" he tilted his head.

"I wish I had a spell that would record our actions and words," Kiku sighed, "or maybe a CCTV," She closed her eyes for a few seconds.

Kiku took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and asked, "Then… why did you go to the Vr-cade when you could have played the game at home even with a maid at your service?"

"Cause I was afraid that I might vent my frustration on you," A quick reply from Hitori, "I knew you would try to lighten my mood but it would only piss me off."

She pulled down her smile. With coldness in her eyes, she stared at Hitori as he stared back at her. None of them made a move for the next few seconds.

"I will go back to my room-"

"Your wand." Hitori was petrified in his place, "Your wand must be with you then, right? Show me your wand," she demanded.

Hitori did not reply to her, he moved his eyes away from Kiku's stare and tried his best not to look directly into her eyes. For some reason, he could not bring himself to move around and head straight into his room.

"Show me…" She repeated. But when she received no reply from Hitori she decided to blow the covers up, "When you threw your wand in the river, you should have taken care of your wand case too," Kiku finally blew up the covers.

Kiku took a step back, "Why would you do such a thing, young master?"

Hitori finally brought his eyes back to Kiku, "Do you not know how much Saibai-san and Kaori-san trust you? How much faith do they have in you? You are literally breaking their trust and faith."

She raised her voice, "They do so much for you! And yet you act this way!" She threw her hand, "Why?!"

Hitori diverted his eyes from her, "I do not need to tell you,"

"No, tell me!" she demanded, "I have been taking care of you for almost since you were a kid! I have always been friendly with you, I am like your big sister, Hitori-Kun!"

"You are not my sister…!" Hitori shouted then lowered his voice, "You are just an unemployed woman hired as my maid by my parents' money,"

Kiku's eyes went wide after she heard that. Her mouth dropped open, she felt a strange stinging pain in her chest.

"There is no use doing this shit!" He shouted once again, "I will never win these shitty matches! I just do not want to! I hate magic, I hate this world…" He lowered his voice once again.

In her right hand, a thin wand slid down. She grabbed her wand and pulled it beside her.

"You still do not understand," her voice turned cold, "Young Master, you must face the reality or you will be eaten by those deadly monsters, or worse… you will be captured by the crazy science users."

"I do not care," That was not the answer she was looking for, "I am not a good mage and that fact will never change…" He pulled his head down, hiding his eyes with his hair bangs, "I am not a good mage… I am a failure as a mage–"

"You!" She shouted, "You are not a mage!" her wand raised up in front of her, Hitori lifted his head, "You are a freaking pure-blooded wizard!"

Boom! Blast!

"Ugh!" A bright ball of psychic energy came out of Kiku's wand. The distance between the two of them was not more than six feet so her attack inflected a great deal of damage on Hitori.

"Psychic blast!!" The chant of her spell rang through the drawing hall.

Hitori felt a strong blow against his upper stomach area. It knocked all the air out of him, he felt his feet leave the floor and his arms swing forward.

In a second, he was sent flying to the drawing hall from the dining hall. He did not stop till he crashed on the sofa and fell down.

Hitori grabbed his stomach with both of his hands, he struggled, "F-fuck," He raised his head and slowly off the floor.

Pain covered his stomach, his arms felt like weak twigs, Hitori could not muster the strength to stand on his feet. It felt as if he was hit by a wooden log, that knocked all of the air out but did not kill him.

Kiku stood steady in her stance. But her wand trembled with her shaking hand.

Her wand had changed into a faint pinkish-purple shade due to her mana that flowed through the wand.