Head-desk Festival
Archery had been hell. It was one thing to work your muscles over and over, tightening, holding, releasing. It was another to do it when you could sport a brand new pair of nipple rings. Damn, they still stung. Every time she moved, it hurt. Bandaids only helped so much. And all that pain, not to mention the bandaids, and the constant movement… ugh. They were sensitive as hell. She had tried to spend most of the club assisting the kohai, but things hadn’t gone as well as she’d liked, and she’d had to do enough demonstrations for the new members to make her want to scream.
The only saving grace was not having to deal with that loud-mouthed idiot, Matou-kun. It wasn’t odd for him to skip club, and normally she’d be pissed, but today… Today she praised the gods for giving her mercy. She couldn’t handle his stupidity today. She’d have killed him outright. Ugh. Whatever happened to the days when he was actually tolerable?
Dragging herself into homeroom, she sat in her desk with a heavy thud. Maybe she should be more worried about her figure? She was gaining weight in muscle mass, and she didn’t want to end up looking masculine. She’d lose her bet with Tohsaka if that happened.
And that was really not something she wanted to do.
But that was in the future. Right now, she knew how she felt. Honestly. From the depths of her heart and soul. It was a truth beyond words.
Those girls were evil.
She was weak, she was tired, she hurt in ways that she had never hurt before. And she was scared. In all her life, she had never felt so truly helpless. Those… those things were so far beyond the scope of humanity that she couldn’t even begin to compare. The way that one, Euryale, moved, dancing from rooftop to rooftop like a ballerina, rolls and flips and pirouettes to make the greatest of Olympic Gymnasts give up the art. And Stheno, her strength was mind-boggling. To watch a little girl rip a slab of concrete out of the ground and throw it like a discus… Reason had left her at that.
She had fled in the face of that madness. She had hidden inside the school as those three monsters had tried to rip that little girl to pieces. She was ashamed, but…
She was glad she did. Because the moment she heard the first howl, she knew. She could never have stood out there. She would have died the moment she saw that thing, whatever it was. She had actually… leaked. Uuuuuuggggh. And it had only been the beginning. The smallest one, that tiny Medusa, who had bounced and leapt and cartwheeled with that ridiculous chain and daggers like a circus performer, had become something that went beyond reason or understanding. Just seeing her from behind, she knew with absolute certainty. This was real. None of it was a dream. The clash of steel, that glimpse of black blade and bronze meeting in the night. The sparks of metal on metal and the crush of great impacts.
War had come to Fuyuki, and she had witnessed it.
Heaving a sigh, Mitsuzuri Ayako let her head slump to her desk. Glancing over to where her eternal rival Tohsaka sat, she noticed something funny. Tohsaka-chan was doing the exact same thing. She looked pale, anemic really. And dead tired. Yeah. That was funny. There was no way she was putting up with something insane like this. What reason did she have to be that tired? A bit surprised, she looked around the room a bit, only to find the phenomenon there, too.
Makidera was just as enthusiastic about the love affair between her face and her desk as they were. And Himuro? And Saegusa? Was there something going around? This wasn’t normal. But…
She was too tired to care. Kuzuki-sensei would not be happy, but he was a disciplined man, so it was ok. He would understand if she said she was feeling sick. Though with this many…
She heard a bell for a moment. Not the normal school bell, but a faint chiming. Glancing around from her desk, she noticed a cute kitten on the windowsill, looking into the room. It looked well-cared for, with its big bow and little bell. But it was gone almost as soon as she saw it.
At which point Kuzuki-sensei entered the room. He asked for roll, and the class rep handled it perfectly fine, as usual. At which point he went on, in that hypnotic monotone of his, to explain something unusual.
“Beginning today, your class will have a new student. Please give her the same respect you give each other.”
“Thank you, Sensei.” Looking up from her desk, Ayako saw something truly…
She had hair like a croissant. Huge, dangling ringlets. It was just so ridiculous. How much time did it take to make your hair stand out like that!? Even simple care could take a lot of time, if you were thorough. Mitsuzuri did have her pride as a woman, after all. She wasn’t going to abandon her appearance totally in favor of her athletic development. She knew about good hair care. But something like that would need to be carefully styled and prepared, and it would need help.
Then there was that vivid blue dress. And those heeled boots… She was like something out of one of those eroge things some of the boys in the club played. She was too over-the-top. It was surreal. And to top it all off, there was one more thing.
She was beautiful.
If she had been only a little attractive, she couldn’t have managed that look. But she had it. Curves in all the right places. That regal bearing of status, and clear signs of wealth. It was like she was looking at someone who would fit that title Ojousama. Someone who would conquer the school with her good looks, charisma, and wealth.
They were going to have one of those relationships. She could tell.
They were only going to be friends if they went at each other with everything they had.
This woman was just like Tohsaka-san.
Speaking of which, Tohsaka looked like she had already reached a similar conclusion, but… Was that recognition in her eyes? Did they know each other? Nah. Couldn’t be. I mean, why would Tohsaka know this foreigner? As far as she knew, Rin had never left the city, let alone the country.
“Introduce yourself to the class.” It was a straightforward command. “Of course, Sensei.” She turned to face them all. Wait. Was she staring at Tohsaka? “Hello, my dear classmates. Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Luviagelita Edelfelt. I would be most grateful if you would welcome me into your class.” It was elegant, refined, and rehearsed. It wasn’t natural at all. But she bet she, Tohsaka, and maybe the Track Squad were the only ones aware of it.
Luviagelita Edelfelt. This one was going to be trouble.
With disturbing unity, the heads of five worn girls returned to their desks. The thump was stereo.