Spirit Pulse : Mugen No Sekai [IC]

[Airen]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

"..."

At first, the youth does not know how to handle this sort of naivety.

Indeed, while the Student Council President had seemed -likely due to her position- as the sort that has more or less seen every possible type of person throughout her years as a student, there is a certain innocence in everything about you that gives pause to a certain scarf-clad senpai, because...

---It's almost too innocent.

It's an approach to life that a newborn would use, a defiance of things that would harm oneself not through resolve, but rather the simple lack of understanding about what is dangerous and what is not... If it came down to it, you might just be the type that wouldn't see a problem with opening a door out into the depths of space, because the 'concept' of that sort of danger holds absolutely no meaning to you...

Yes.

It takes him a few moments to comprehend this, and then a few moments more to decide on a course of action to the staggering display of innocence in front of him, but when he does...

He sighs.

While he is not quite as used to dealing with newcomers as the president is, the boy certainly still has the heart of an 'elder student,' and to that end-

"I see, holding your breath it is."

-he grabs your wrist, and pulls you down towards the bottom, to sit across from him along the floor of the pool, and when he does-

"Let me guess? This is Kaori's spartan training right? Sink or swim?"

-the ability to 'breathe' returns to you.

A consequence of the boy's spell-casting, a subtle, low-rank ability that he used simply for the purposes of meditating far away from everyone else, even so-

"Before you dive into water you should take a deep breath, if you mean to be under for awhile you should use magic or equipment, or you'll just wind up passing out when you can't breathe, and well... No, I guess you seem to have your swimming form more or less down, you're capable of moving around in the water at least. I'm assuming you had something of a sheltered childhood?"

He explains it almost like he would to a kid...

While the boy was somewhat thin and lean, the muscles were quite pronounced; most Tamers are built well of course, the nature of the job more or less guarantees that your body will become far more toned over time, still...

In the water you can properly see his face, the crimson scarf losing some of it's power as a shield for his expression, and it's-

"Still, swimming lessons aside... Wanna see the president freak out?"

-a mischievous, boyish face.

"Give it a good ten, twenty seconds down here, and even if there's no real danger of drowning... You'll get to see her panicked face, hehehe..."

One that seems to find some odd joy in teasing a certain council president...

[Satehi]

Eva Ellet
Velvet Room
World Designation: Xanadu
???

A mistake has been made.

Looking at Agatha’s actions, it is not hard to identify the ritual she has been attempting to perform. Light force on the head, words of encouragement and concern… put together, there is only one such action that Agatha could be attempting to imitate here.

While she said her knowledge of it was not imperfect, there is no problem here with her execution.

The error lies elsewhere…

“Umm… this is a headpat, right?”

… and peering up at Agatha, whose hand still rests on her head…

“Perhaps you are unaware, but I believe this is an action only performed onto a young recipient, such as a little child… it’s not to be used in general.”

…Eva corrects the perceived mistake.

Namely, the fact that Agatha’s source of information seems to have neglected to inform her about the appropriateness of headpats. To perform this action on anything other than a little kid would be very embarrassing, mainly for the recipient- but since Agatha isn’t familiar with the custom, it’s not really such a big deal… thinking that, Eva doesn’t make any attempt to stop Agatha’s little ritual. The intent of her actions, at least, is obvious enough, even if the execution seems to have had a mishap.

The possibility that Eva is being considered a young child and is thus actually the intended target of such an action is one that has completely escaped her notice.

“Well… You’re basically telling me to take care of myself, right?”

“I will. Thanks.”

[Spinach]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

"I see, holding your breath it is."

“Blrghblghrl- I do not kn- wah!” The girl’s response, a stream of bubbles, suddenly came out as real words once more as she found her wrist suddenly grabbed, and her body pulled down to sit opposite the boy. “I can speak again! Yay!”

"Let me guess? This is Kaori's spartan training right? Sink or swim?"

Hyakka nodded back.

“Soon I will master swimming. Though, it is odd… when I swim, there is this, uhm…” she poked herself, right where her lungs would be. “Feeling, here. I don’t think I like it.”

"Before you dive into water you should take a deep breath, if you mean to be under for awhile you should use magic or equipment, or you'll just wind up passing out when you can't breathe, and well... No, I guess you seem to have your swimming form more or less down, you're capable of moving around in the water at least.”

“I see… I see…”

“I'm assuming you had something of a sheltered childhood?"

“Maybe. I don’t know. Nobody seems to know…” Once again, that topic of the past came up. As always the girl could only answer the truth, that she was ignorant to it all. After all, before coming here, she only had memories of… “I never learned swimming at the orphanage. Onii-chan never told me about swimming either. This is my first time. Is that what sheltered means?”

“Almost, Hana.” The cool voice of Camelia interjected. “Well, Nakahara, let’s just say that Hana here is a bit different, and leave it at that.”

"Still, swimming lessons aside... Wanna see the president freak out?"

“Hoho?” The temperature of the water fell as the AI locked into the amusing idea. “That sounds rather interesting.”

“E-eh?”

A tiny voice interjected with confusion and shock.

"Give it a good ten, twenty seconds down here, and even if there's no real danger of drowning... You'll get to see her panicked face, hehehe..."

“Very interesting indeed. I do think that sounds rather fun, so-“

“Nuhuh!” Raising her voice, Hyakka interjected. In a heartbeat she rose from her seated position, now standing at the floor of the pool. “Nakahara-senpai, thank you for your advice, but I don’t want to tease Kaori-senpai. And Tsubaki, you don’t have to be so mean to Kaori-senpai like that. I know you’re upset that she asked you to let me swim on my own, but that’s no reason to pick on her.”

“…”

At something of a loss for words as she was scolded by her partner, the AI fell silent. At the same time, Hyakka looked upward, then back to the boy.

“Senpai, you’re one of those tricky, prankster style heroes, aren’t you?” Describing the boy as she would describe characters in a manga, the small girl crossed her arms and smiled at him. “You’re a good person. After all, you were so quick to give me advice, and you even made that burning feeling in my chest go away, but you should be careful. If you play too many mean tricks on people, people will have a hard time seeing you as a true hero.”

“… Hana.”

“Did you think over what I said, Tsubaki? I hope you don’t think I’m mad at you. I just want you to get along with Kaori-senpai.”

“Hana, it’s not that.”

“What is it?”

“… It’s been well over 20 seconds.”

“U-uweh?”

[Airen]

Blaise Pendragon
???
??? ~ Full Moon

---As expected, it was mostly a scrapbook of her pets, one that seemed to be ordered from the point of their birth, to what you can only assume is the "current day."

To that end, it is a book that starts off rather plainly, with simple images of baby rabbits -albeit rabbits of varying colors and fur types- that don't look too different from what the average everyday rabbit would look like here on Earth, but after a few pages...

---Their form shifts just a bit.

Eyes that had been somewhat dull and animalistic become more intelligent, and some of the rabbits disappear from the group photos in their purest form, instead appearing as humanoids with rabbit ears... This, naturally, makes their nature as something closer to a 'Demon' than a true rabbit obvious, supernatural rabbits rather than normal rabbits, who all seem to gather around the white-haired girl in the photos, one who you can only assume is Kagura...

They do so protectively, even in the images... Much like how one can instinctively comprehend the nature of a dog that is being protective of their owner, the body language of the 'rabbits' in the photograph was shielding in nature, always around the girl in the four cardinal directions, ears shifted away from where their eyes were looking, as if they were listening for potential dangers in the distance...

Much like bodyguards in a sense...

Moon rabbits guarding a moon princess perhaps?

---It wouldn't be out of place, considering the nature of the modern world, still-

One of the rabbits... Seem surprisingly familiar...

Namely...

...This one.

You recognize this one.

This is... One of Saki's maids at the Ryuumonbuchi Residence?

The photo this one is in is a bit different from the others too... While the earlier years of the rabbits lives seemed to have taken place inside of some sort of pitch white palace, this particular photo seems to be from the front yard of the Ryuumonbuchi Residence... The younger Kagura is there, as are five of the rabbits, but there's someone else next to Kagura, about the same age as her, and-

-it's strange.

They are right there, in the photograph, but you can't process their face.

It's almost like a censor being applied by your brain, a sudden burst of static and noise that flares up and falls away as you try to regard the photo in it's entirety...

You can see everything else, everyone else, but

yourself

that person

...

"They weren't allowed to learn anything extra until they finished their combat training, but the Rice Cake lessons are on full blast now~"

Meanwhile, Kagura herself...

Is maintaining her far more down-to-earth disposition...

"So I'm happy, I'll drill as much fun as I can into their heads while I still have the time~"

A pause, then-

"We're technically in town for more recipes actually, trying to gather as many of em as we can from here before the Robe Ceremony back home."

A brief flicker of some other emotion -one that's hard for you to place- crosses her face at this, then-

"But now that I think about it, I should have dragged them with me to see you too; they probably would have liked it. Although you seem like the type that might get a bit... Hands on... With the ears..."

She mimes grabbing the air above her head at this, one eye closed in a perpetual wink at you...

...Yeah.

She's certainly human-like too.

[Verg Avesta]

Blaise Pendragon
???
??? ~ Full Moon

"But now that I think about it, I should have dragged them with me to see you too; they probably would have liked it. Although you seem like the type that might get a bit... Hands on... With the ears..."

"Oi."

While the scrapbook was certainly... interesting, and while it did raise much more questions than it answered (just who was this person to have such a cadre of demon-bunnies protecting her, for starters?), Blaise could only focus on one thing properly at a time. Which meant that first he had to address this slander that had been thrown his way. Namely, this idea that he might have done something untowards and downright rude if presented with a cute sight like these rabbits.

"Hmph, as if. I'm not the type to do something like that. I only get 'hands on' if someone is making trouble and doesn't listen to a voice of reason," Blaise grunted in response, folding his arms across his chest. "Besides... you can't just go disturb something cute because you think it's so. If you want to pet an animal, for example, you've gotta let it get used to you, and come to you of its own volition. Slowly build trust in other words. It's the same principle as feeding wary vampires, really."

Still, this girl... and this scrapbook of hers. Just what were these pictures inside there? Why was one of Ane-san's maids there? Did she moonlight as a rabbit along with her day job? And what was this 'Kagura's' connection with the Ryuumonbuchi residence in the first place? And most importantly, why did his head hurt when he looked at that one person in the photo?

Why did it make him mentally his in pain?

Just what was going on?

"............"

--- No, better not open doors that warn against opening themselves.

Nothing good ever came of being overly curious or nosy.

Blaise was quite happy and content with the life he had, and to invite more trouble with questions like that was something he wanted to avoid.

So, instead...

"... Recipes, huh? Well, if you want, I can help you with that," the blonde youth said, making a vague gesture with his hand. "Been practicing making Japanese sweets quite a lot over the years, so, yeah... I know of few ways that you might not. I mean, if you want, I can even show you. Just swing by my family's restaurant and I'll reserve part of the kitchen for us. Easier to learn by doing, right?"

... Weird.

Why was he actually inviting her to visit his home?

Blaise never asked people to visit his home, unless they were a customer.

Even Isamu or Tsukiko, he had yet to...

---- Then why didn't it feel like a big deal at all when he casually suggested it to this girl?

[Airen]

Eva Ellet
Velvet Room
World Designation: Xanadu
???

"I see. I'll keep that information in mind."

She smiles at you as you correct a self-perceived flaw in her logic.

Of course, the Velvet Room attendant was a strange person, both shy and outgoing, wise and foolish, her mannerisms are certainly those of a strange person, and for every bizarre fact she knows about the supernatural, there is some aspect of "mundane reality" that she seems to have no true knowledge of, but...

---In this, there is no mistake.

Of course, in that contradictory way of hers, she knows enough to not tell you this, indeed-

“I will. Thanks.”

-she simply smiles right up until the end of the dream, and-

"That's all I can ask! So, cya later, as the kids day!"

-sees you off with a little wave, a tiny one that persists as the world blurs together, the sound of crashing waves disappears, and-

---

Eva Ellet
Eva's Room
Night

---You had been dreaming a lot lately.

Waking up in your room in the middle of the night, the air of an open window bringing a natural, fresh feeling to your surroundings, it takes you a bit to recover from the sudden shift back to the "normal world."

---After all, all of that had been a dream, of course...

Your dreams were bizarre, as the heavy feeling of a 'fatigued' body persists from dream to reality.

---The Velvet Room was a strange place, but one full of wondrous things-

"Hmm, midnight. Big day tomorrow with the mission, so rest up!"

-wondrous, bizarre things, like an A.I that has certainly followed you 'home' from the depths of a dream, providing a form of decisive proof that you didn't really need anymore, indeed...

A strange place.

Even so, as you move to -perhaps follow, perhaps defy- the advice of the second Agatha, your gaze is drawn towards your open window for a moment, or more specifically, it's drawn to the sea of stars outside in the sky.

---You don't know why.

It just feels like you should look, and that is perhaps reason enough, either way...

The stars are the stars, humanity's constant companions, an image that represents hopes, dreams, and wishes in equal measure, and...

---You see something bizarre, on that otherwise pleasant end to a bizarre day.

It happens quickly.

So fast that you are not sure you had even managed to see it at all, but...

---A star blinks out of existence.

Like a lightbulb going out, a single flicker, and then nothing...

You only perceive it from the corners of your vision, and in the endless deluge of stars that reign above, it is difficult to see if one in countless has suddenly gone missing, but...

---It gives you a strange feeling, a sort of drowsy confusion, or dim nostalgia...?

---One that makes it difficult for you to sleep for a time, as the night slowly ticks away...

Towards a certain form of tomorrow.

Eva Ellet
Zero Seal/Empty City
END

Next time...

Death of the X-Cross/Future Lost

[Airen]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

“Senpai, you’re one of those tricky, prankster style heroes, aren’t you?” Describing the boy as she would describe characters in a manga, the small girl crossed her arms and smiled at him. “You’re a good person. After all, you were so quick to give me advice, and you even made that burning feeling in my chest go away, but you should be careful. If you play too many mean tricks on people, people will have a hard time seeing you as a true hero.”

---To this, the boy responds only with the closing of a single eye, a perpetual joking wink from someone who is already well aware of those sorts of things.

"That's fine. I'm not really the true hero type, that's more Shuichi's thing."

He admits it rather easily.

Of course his actions remain that of a good person, but-

"Being the trickster type is more fun, lets me have a bit more of an edge to me. Hero teams aren't complete without the more shady one after all, need that guy who's willing to break a few rules. Makes you more popular than the others in the popularity charts."

He laughs.

It's a good natured laugh, one that goes along somewhat with your 'description' of him as a 'manga character,' and-

-when he hears that it's been over twenty seconds.

When he realizes that things are going to play out in an interesting way 'regardless,' he laughs even harder, before scooting back from you just a bit, and-

-up above, a staggering amount of spiritual power is released all at once, so much so that the waves of the pool begin to bubble and churn like they were caught in the center of a roaring storm.

Yes.

It happens quite quickly.

An explosion of force as a Student Council President comes tearing into the center of the pool like some sort of crazed monster; there is no hesitation in her movements, in one instant you can still sense her up above, but in the next-!

There's a sound of roaring water, as the supernaturally charged girl splits the pool in two on her path to you.

She is quite sensitive, considering she takes the shortest path between you and her, proving that she had always known where you were down below, and before you know it...

One arm beneath your legs, another supporting your back.

You can't talk.

Neither does she.

She's simply moving too fast for all of that, indeed, by the time the water attempts to come rushing back in, it is forced out in a cataclysmic explosion as the girl pushes against the bottom of the pool with her legs, and becomes a rocket.

Yes.

A rocket that comes exploding out of the pool, past the school roof, and then up towards the clouds where-

"Got you-! Are you okay?! Why didn't you come back up for air?! Breathe! Breathe!"

-she finally uses her words to assess your condition, however...

Doing this in a princess carry...

A good 100 meters or so up...

Is perhaps not the best place?

Either way... You almost think you can see the beginnings of worried tears in the corners of her eyes...

---The President was an honest person.

[Spinach]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

"That's fine. I'm not really the true hero type, that's more Shuichi's thing. Being the trickster type is more fun, lets me have a bit more of an edge to me. Hero teams aren't complete without the more shady one after all, need that guy who's willing to break a few rules. Makes you more popular than the others in the popularity charts."

“Hehe… Senpai, I kind of like you.” With such an open honesty, Hyakka couldn’t help but giggle and tell the truth of how she felt as well. “You are probably right, there’s a need for heroes like that too. But, ah, uhm, Senpai, why are you moving away?”

The calm at the depths of the pool shattered with a stormlike eruption of spiritual power. As if to cleave the entire body of water in half, the entirety of Ikushima Kaori dives down to the bottom of the blue in an instant.

She doesn’t leave any time to react. Rather, Hyakka is too stunned to react at all. The suddenness was one thing, but the overwhelming force of her rescuer, the intensity of the power behind her dive, leaves her at a loss for words.

In the space left behind by absent words, only actions remained. Without knowing why, Hyakka found herself practically scooped up. One arm taking her legs, another at her back.

Another explosion. Wind and water whip past the girls as Kaori transforms into a missile aimed for the clouds.

"Got you-! Are you okay?! Why didn't you come back up for air?! Breathe! Breathe!"

Finally, the student council president speaks.

In the corners of her eyes… those water droplets aren’t from the pool. Yes, from the tone of her voice, the questions she’s asking, the way she’s holding the small girl, Hyakka can tell.

A slender finger reached out and wiped away the welling up droplets in Kaori’s eyes.

“Senpai, I’m okay! I was just talking to Nakahara-kun, and he was teaching me about this thing called holding your breath, and then he wanted to play a mean trick on you, and I was going to come up, honest! But first I needed to scold him, and then he just laughed.” Running her mouth to try to get the point across that she was okay, Hyakka took a glance down. “So high up… Senpai, you’re amazing! You can get this far without any wings at all!”

“…”

Intuition struck, and Hyakka sensed that her partner had something it wanted to say, even if it was intentionally not saying it. Likely, Camelia would choose to stay silent unless pressed. After making the choice to keep her thoughts to herself, that was just the way she was.

“Tsubaki? Is there something wrong?”

But just as well, Hyakka had her own mind. If something was wrong she would ask.

“No… nothing is wrong. Well, I guess if anything is wrong, it’s me.” The cold voice answered back with a sigh. “Just being forced to admit that I was mistaken.”

Suddenly, the black wings reemerged into the world.

“I’m sure you’re confident in your landing, student council president, but I’ll lend a hand anyway.”

[hero]

Amamiya Sho
Junes Holding Room ~ Aoyama
Friday - Evening


This is not the first time nor the last Amamiya Sho will be taken into custody.

It's the sort of development that would surprise no one and perhaps disappoint a few. Some people say that, during these scenarios, the culprits are locked up and left alone, so they can think back and reflect on their actions. As far as I am concerned, only part of that saying applies to me. After all, I've been thinking quite a lot for the past few minutes, no doubt about that. However, it would be a lie to claim that any of those thoughts serve to portray any sort of regret regarding the unfortunate confrontation that took place outside. My mind is already thinking on the future ahead, and how to avoid the worst case scenario.

That is, I had to make sure I recover everything I've purchased today, because if my stuff gets confiscated indefinitely, the shock might just tear ten years off my current life span. For those in similar economic conditions than I, getting a negative balance at the end of the month can prove to be lethal, so I'd like to eliminate that outcome from the chart, if only for a week or two.

I'd also like to avoid a break out the hard way. While I am certain such thing is possible even under our current predicament, a lifetime ban from Junes would hurt me just as much.

"Justice, huh? Call me Amamiya." Normally I would laugh at the irony but, reading the mood, I make an effort to suppress any sort of disrespectful reaction. "Looks like you've been accidentally thrown on the wrong side of the equation. I... Honestly hate when that happens, so I'm going to help you just this once. Don't get me wrong: it's not like I care... I am just putting things into place..."

Rose Cross. Saria Justice. Nadia Starr.

I need to learn how these three dots are connected, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so.

"What's a tamer doing trailing Nadia...? And don't give me the 'I am just a cute, cute fan' excuse, we're are way past that. What's the story...?"

I know a shady person when I see one, and while this girl stepped on just about every landmine that could make her a suspicious individual, there are also a lot of clues that contradict the possibility of her being a stone-cold agent from the Rose Cross.

For starters, someone like that would simply kick my ass, no problem.

But there is also some pieces of our conversation that makes me feel like there is more to this situation than what I believe. I can't say I trust her yet, but at the very least, I'll gladly listen to what she has to say.

Yes, right now, that has to be just about the only course of action where our interest align.

A somewhat more inquisitive look and...

"How are you two related...?"

[Airen]

Amamiya Sho
Junes Holding Room ~ Aoyama
Friday - Evening

---A straightforward request for the truth.

Indeed, while many a Tamer has the unfortunate habit of taking methodical, circular paths towards the information they want, you are actually the sort that cuts straight to the heart of these sorts of matters... It's an unorthodox method that doesn't work very often, but by that same token, it is also not the sort of method that is outright destined to fail, after all...

You would be surprised at how agreeable some people can be if they're just talked too, and more than that...

This woman doesn't seem to mean anyone any real harm, as could be evidenced by the fact that she didn't fight back quite as hard as a Tamer should back there in the main sections of Junes... If she had truly wanted to evade capture, she could have probably made it happen if she didn't care about collateral, but she had quietly submitted to the arrest instead in the end...

It's bizarre.

Add on her 'sillier' traits on top of that, and the image of some sort of cold hearted assassin becomes quite difficult to maintain, still...

"...Hmmm."

At first, she just makes a thinking noise in response to your request, hands still busied with her slime-ruined hair...

Truly the hair was the real victim in most Kyp-related crimes...

"If saying I'm a fan won't work, what if I instead, said..."

She cracks a grin, just a bit of one...

But it's a bit sad, fitting her more 'sulking' mood...

"She reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago?"

---Well.

She had certainly said something like that back in the mall, but since she had done so like a machine gun, it had been a bit hard to pick up back there...

"Or maybe... Someone I lost? Yeah, that's a better answer."

---It's hard to tell if she's being serious or not, but if she is, she's a pretty agreeable person, just admitting to it like that...

"She fits the profile to a T. But she doesn't remember me, so it's a wash."

So saying...

She shrugs her shoulders, as if to say 'that's just how it is.'

"I won't be bothering her again, was gonna slip away earlier actually... But then you caught me, and..."

Eyes darken, as her horrible, horrible spy performance plays out across the surface of her mind...

"Things got... Complicated..."

[Airen]

Blaise Pendragon
???
??? ~ Full Moon

"Oh? Inviting me to your home, hmm?"

---Her face seems to be stuck in a perpetual wink, the small smirk of someone who feels completely at ease in your presence, in spite of the bizarreness of the situation, yes...

Her existence is one that continually dredges up memories that do not wish to be recalled; this itself marks her as the center of some sort of contradiction in your mind, a manifest hypocrisy, someone who can make you 'feel' two different things simultaneously... Like it is fine for you to be around her, indeed, like this person is some sort of friend of yours, and also...

...That you should not be around her, although that particular feeling...

Is impossible to be source.

Is it because she carries that aura of danger, the silver smile of a manifest moon, or...

Had something else happened in the past to create this 'wall' in your mind...?

...No.

Such things are unimportant, at least right now...

Your life is already strange enough as it is, you can compromise with the contradictory feelings and arrive at a middle ground conclusion that surprises even you...

Invite her to your home...

An idea that has her giggling to herself after she repeats it aloud, as if unsure if she had heard you correctly, then...

"Very well, that sounds like a fun enough time to me."

...She struggles to put the airs of a princess back on through a smile, although, there's also something strange in that smile...

"I will arrive on the night of the 14th of December... It'll be near the end of my journey, but there should still be some time left remaining for the both of us at that point. I will bring the rabbits, and we will fall on the Soba Shop like a storm, a localized tempest that will rival that produced by your mother in one of her hunger moods."

There is... Some odd word choices in there, but...

"I will pay for all the ingredients we use of course, it would be a shame to finish off the store after it's managed to endure for this many years..."

She laughs.

Like always, it's a silver, infectious laugh, but...

The world shakes along with it, even if only for a moment.

Or rather, the world trembles...

Like the night sky itself was struggling to hold itself together, the brief tremor of the plains is something the both of you notice, and one that the girl regards with little more than a tired smile, before she sighs aloud to herself...

"It seems maintaining this world is rather tiring... That's a bit of a shame. I thought my stamina was better than a handful of minutes."

[Airen]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

"...I see."

These ever so common words are accompanied by a valiant attempt at hiding the deeper breaths that would inevitably come from a burst of tears, yes it is a valiant effort indeed, a heroic smile appearing as she throws her head back for a moment to hide the odd breathing, but one that does little to hide the beginnings of a crimson flush on her face...

"So it was Nakahara then..."

Although, because the Student Council President has recently revealed herself as a very emotional -and honest with those emotions- person, the sudden wave of malice that exudes from the woman as she glares down at the boy below -held aloft by Tsubaki's wings- is a palpable one that you can almost see as a physical crimson flame, a sign of spiritual power that is, perhaps, a bit too strong?

"Seriously Nakahara?! You're trying to corrupt her already?! Do you exist to be a pain in my side?"

Even so, she releases some of these feelings as shouts at the boy as you descend together, but the youth in question...

"Ah, you're always so serious prez-! Come on, it's Spartan Training right? If you're too softhearted to let the simulator take care of it if they fail, don't act like you're throwing em to the wolves yourself-!"

Is laughing.

He hasn't stopped laughing since all of this had started, and indeed, while a feeling similar to death feels like it is approaching him from above, the senpai that has proven to be a bit too much of a trickster even goes out of his way to mess with her further, holding up his COMP -in its lower power form of a phone- and showing an image of her half-crying face, apparently a memento he had taken during her dive, and...

"It's just dishonest! Although this pic is great, had to use some magic to get it, but I finally have proof that you're not so tough-!"

He finishes with a dramatic bow.

Now, this is certainly teasing, although it is on the meaner side of it, however...

That is not all it is, for Nakahara Hiroki, not-so-legendary prankster of the school... Has also chosen to rise to his feet in this instance, because...

Death is approaching... It is not in his nature to let it just catch him, but...

"Besides, I'm sure Hyakka-chan thought it was a cute face, right Hyakka-chan? Our Prez is a real 10/10 catch! So let's not fight okay? It's definitely okay to be so... explosive... With your feelings-!"

...Ah, so it's like that.

The closer Kaori gets to him -her feet now on the ground, and taking a slow approach to him- the less confident his teasing and stance becomes...

Indeed...

It almost feels like he's getting ready to run...

[Spinach]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

“Nakahara-senpai… you’re very mean.”

As Kaori reached the ground, Hyakka too returned to her feet. Seeing the picture that the older boy was showing off with so much pride it might have passed for a picture of a trophy, the girl looked at him with a light frown.

“Kaori-senpai is very cute, but there’s no reason to take mean pictures of her without her permission. Especially when it’s just to tease her…”

Unlike the older girl beside her who was radiating an aura of death, fueled by anger, Hana just stares at the boy with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“Maybe instead of the trickster type of hero, you’re the villainous hero, Nakahara-senpai…”

From the way events were unfolding it wouldn’t be long before the scarf-clad troublemaker tried to make an escape. From their training bouts, Hyakka knew how hard he could make it to pin him down. Moreso, the logical thing to do, as a hero-in-training, would be to talk the situation out. Get an apology out of Nakahara, and perhaps a promise to behave better in the future. Then she could go back to her swimming lessons with Kaori.

However.

“Fighting between classmates is bad…”

There was a blue heat as a spell was cast. The support spell Sukukaja enveloped Kaori, giving the older girl an encouraging ‘go get him.’

“But bullying is even worse.”

[hero]

Amamiya Sho
Junes Holding Room ~ Aoyama
Friday - Evening


"Hmmm..."

If Saria Justice thinking was loud enough to be heard, then the noise Amamiya Sho makes has to be even louder. It does not exactly mean that I am thinking harder than she was, but there is something that is bothering me in what she said. Now, don't get me wrong, I am well aware that each person has at least a couple of secrets to keep, and opening up to a stranger is not the wisest nor the easiest thing to do. Life has taught me to be adamant and cold when it comes to the problems of other people so, believe me, I don't want to pry into this issue any further than I need to. Truth to be told, any believable excuse would have done it, I don't really have what it takes to be Nadia's bodyguard, and if Saria really held some sort of grudge against her, I can't say for sure that I would be able to do anything about it.

But...

That thing she said... Kinda bothers me, so it's a little harder than usual to let go.

"Yeah. That's a lie. Has to be." I reply, just slightly annoyed. "What I don't know is if you are just lying to me, or you are trying to lie to yourself, as well."

It's hard for Amamiya Sho to make friends.

Not only are the odds always stacked against him, his public image ruined from the start, but he also always makes an effort to make that first impression a lot worse than it should have been. It's in his very nature to confront and oppose others. The two girls he's met today are just examples of how encouters like this usually work.

Even now, I have to close my eyes and take a deep breath to ensure that I don't antagonize Saria any further, so the message I am trying to convey can get through.

"... I've also lost people I hold dear. In the blink of an eye, bam: They were gone without a trace, leaving me behind and forcing me to carry a heavy weight on my shoulders." I sigh. "Honestly... I no longer care where they are or what they are doing, assuming they are even alive. I've got way too many things to worry about to have to go out of my way and search for them. Life just won't give me a break."

Lot of bad things were said about mom and dad.

A lot of those bad things passed down onto me, too.How could I, the only son of two agents who've betrayed everything a Tamer stands for, ever become a Tamer worthy of praise...?

"Even so..."

In the end, the practice itself was forged hundreds, if not thousand years ago. The exact method may change through the years, but a lot of beliefs shared by the ancestors still carry over to the present day.

That makes 'Sin' hard to forgive.

That makes it so once a member of the family is tainted, the rest of the tree will be seen as 'cursed' as well.

That makes it so those who've been cursed... Have difficulty in gathering lots of friends.

Yes, it's a new age.

Not everyone shares the beliefs engraved in stone ages ago.

But you'd be surprised to find just how many people do, and how strong that prejudice can be.

"If one of them were to show themselves before me, even if it was just someone similar in appearance, even if it was nothing but an illusion... I know I wouldn't let them leave me alone again. So you are lying now if you are saying you intend to leave things as they are and never get close again."

One final sigh to dispel the dramatic air that has filled the Holding Room.

"You should talk things out with Nadia. Even if it turns out that this whole thing was a complete misunderstanding, I am sure she'll lend an ear if you make it honest. Another friend would do her good. And... Well, in the hypothetical case you happen to be a villain, I should warn you that she once shattered a boulder with her bare fist, without COMP aid or anything. At least, that's what Jack told me. So I probably have nothing to worry about."

[Airen]

Amamiya Sho
Junes Holding Room ~ Aoyama
Friday - Evening

"..."

She blinks in surprise.

Considering the nature of the events that had led to the two of you being stuck in this room together, it is perhaps unsurprising to find that she finds your behavior to be somewhat unexpected...

Yes.

Amamiya Sho is the type who goes out of his way to antagonize others to a degree, but...

"Hah... Didn't expect that... Guess you might be a nicer guy than I thought, eh?"

It's not like you couldn't be empathetic when you felt like it...

Because you've gone out of your way to try to relate to her story on a more personal level, it seems the young woman is having a hard time actually disregarding those words... Yes, she's the sort that seems to be naturally innocent in a sense, someone who panics easily, takes quizzes as a personal challenge even when she doesn't have too, is bad at lying, and well...

"But still... Lying to you and me, huh?"

...can't help but take the observations of others somewhat seriously...

"Maybe... I guess..."

She laughs -somewhat tiredly at this- then closes one eye again as she regards you... She doesn't say much to your suggestion to talk to Nadia -at least not immediately- but when you bring up how she smashed a boulder with her bare hands -a story that a certain Jack Frost loves to tell- she can't help but laugh more cheerfully at it, as if that was the sort of thing that was 'to be expected from that person.'

"Probably nothing to worry about yeah, if she's going around crushing boulders with her fists!"

When the giggling fit passes, she shakes her head a bit to clear it, and...

"Well, I guess I might as well give it a try. If she can look past the whole 'stalking' thing and be my friend anyway then... Maybe I should be a bit more concerned about her being way too nice, but I guess I won't complain too much about it..."

---Somehow, you convince her to change her mind, or rather...

You reveal what she had actually wanted to do, by pushing on her mental barriers a bit...

Naturally, it's hard to tell what the exact connection between the two is down to it's specific details, but it's probably family...

Their facial structures look alike, and they're close to each other in age, so...

Your story had perhaps been shaped to take advantage of that theory, and...

Well, it seems like it had worked?

Still...

Before things can continue too much further, with the girl regaining some of her cheer -even as she leans forward a bit to finally ask you how the hell you get this slime out of hair- the door opens, and-

-someone comes in, a young woman -shorter than you- whose intelligent eyes scan the room automatically as she enters, the hum of an activated COMP present on her person, however...

These is something wrong with this person's eyes.

Call it something you notice out of sheer similarity, but there is an obvious distaste for the world around her in that gaze... No, as her eyes take in everything about the room, as they land on Saria and she lets out a "Stand Saria, I'm here to pick you up," and then as they fall on you...

It somehow becomes more clear.

It's not a distaste for the world no, it's a distaste for humans...

Yes.

While you are the sort that normally sees everyone around you as 'looking down on you' in some way, with this person, that feeling...

Is entirely justified...

She's not sneering or anything obviously malicious like that no, but her eyes...

When they look at you, even as a glance...

They are eyes that instinctively designate you as "trash," just because you happen to be around, and-

"They sent you to come get me? Tch... Just my luck..."

It seems Saria doesn't like her too much either... And for some reason...

Looking at her...

Draws a static sort of noise across the surface of your mind as the mark on your hand heats up...

One that gets so heavy you can't fight it off.

One that envelops your physical vision just as easily as your mental vision, and one-

"Hey, Sho, you okay?"

-that fades what seems to a moment later, to a kneeling Nadia waving her hand in front of your face.

---Other than her and Jack, the room is empty.

Completely empty.

Had you... Missed the other two leaving somehow...?

"Managed to snag a few Phoenix Red's statues on sale while you were in here," mostly oblivious to the odd state of your mind, Nadia seems to be acting as cheerful as always, "Sorry about all of that by the way, but I managed to keep it off the records... Got that girl's phone number too for some reason? Guess I managed to turn her into a real fan, eh?"

[Airen]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

"H-Hyakka-chan?!"

---Fifteen minutes later, a victorious Kaori is continuing your training in the pool, the remarkably emotional girl back to being her usual, cheerful, knightly self as she encourages you to do laps around the pool...

In contrast to this, on the side of the pool...

Like a defeated Nakahara-Senpai...

Unlike the battles in the simulator, the boy had -either out of choice or out of fear- been unable to use that bizarre 'stasis' power of his, and thus Kaori had managed to corner him quite decisively. Of course one of the safety measures employed by the school was a background simulator, so it was more or less impossible for anyone to take any serious damage inside of the school building, but...

They could still feel it, and thus...

"I apologize... I now see... The error of my ways..."

The "sudden duel for my honor" Kaori had challenged him too had ended in his swift and decisive defeat, with the girl ultimately defeating her opponent by tricking him into walking on a certain sigil behind him, in other words...

She had intimidated him into losing...

...It was sort of scary.

But at the same time, while fighting between classmates is bad, bullying is worse, and thus there can be no regrets here...

Even Nakahara seems to accept that he probably deserved it, and indeed, he doesn't seem too upset by the fact that he had lost to Kaori and had his precious photo forcibly deleted, if anything...

His dim chuckles from the side of the pool seem to indicate he had found it about as amusing as he did painful...

Is this what it means when it says some people are mean to those they like? Had he known this would be the outcome all along? Had he baited out this outcome on purpose? Were there people in the world that would do that sort of thing?

It's a difficult question, and being the way you are...

It's difficult for you to answer that, even so...

"Anyway... Putting my grievous actions aside... Hyakka-chan, Prez, have you two heard about that weird "Amala.net" thing people have been talking about lately?"

If there are two things Nakahara-senpai seems to have in spades...

It's persistence, and a lack of shame...

As could be judged by how he's still trying to talk to you, and how...

"No."

Kaori still... Answers him...

...Connections are strange.

[Spinach]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

“That Nakahara boy makes no sense.”

While the Tamer-in-training did her laps around the pool, her form improving with every repetition, her partner idly talked to her about her strange classmate.

“First he helps you, then makes use of you to rile up the class president, picks a fight he can’t win and lays around chuckling as if it was all for fun.”

Hearing it put that way, Hyakka giggled.

“Is it that funny?” The COMP asked. “He seems rather deplorable to me…”

“I think it’s fine. Kaori-senpai punished him, and he apologized.”

Answering back without hesitation, Hyakka dove under the water. This time she took a proper breath, inhaling deeply and closing her lips tight. Practice was paying off.

“That is a valid way to see it. In the case of your classmates, you should try to forgive and forget. Or maybe sometimes, forgive and remember. But you know, Hana,” speaking beneath the water’s surface, the AI’s voice reached the mind directly. “Outside of this school, it might not be so simple. People might fake an apology, or no amount of punishment will change their mind. Not everyone is going to be friends with everybody else. There won’t always be a peaceful resolution.”

The girl’s hands and feet stopped, and she rose up to the surface. Treading water, she rubbed her chin.

“That’s a good point. If a villain won’t see the error of their ways, won’t alter their course… I would have no choice but to defeat them, as a hero. Even if I want to be friends, that doesn’t mean they will want to be friends with me. Right?”

“And if you can’t defeat them?”

“I can defeat anyone! As long as we’re together.”

The AI of the blue brooch smiled.

“Then, what if defeating them isn’t enough? What if they persist, even after they’ve lost? What will you do? Sometimes, you have to do more than defeat your enemy…”

“More than defeat…?” Though naïve and young, the small girl understood, at least on some level, the moral quandary being presented to her. It was one she had heard of when she was taught what it means to be a hero. That heroes are sometimes faced with tough choices, and they always walk a fine line between good and evil when those choices appear. “I came to this school to learn that.”

“Good answer. Your swimming has improved too.”

“Thanks!”

With a big smile, the small girl returned to her training. Adjusting her posture when Kaori called out for her to do so. Changing the timing of her strokes when she was told to. Learning to surface temporarily to take a new breath.

"Anyway... Putting my grievous actions aside... Hyakka-chan, Prez, have you two heard about that weird "Amala.net" thing people have been talking about lately?"

As Hyakka swam along the side of the pool that the mischievous boy was laying at in his defeat, he asked a question to the two girls. The white-haired girl swam over to the edge of the pool, resting her arms along the dry concrete above the water level.

"No."

“I have not.” To the surprise of nobody at this point, Hyakka freely admitted to not knowing something asked of her. “What is “Amala.net”?”

[Airen]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

"Alright, cool."

So saying, the defeated boy pulls himself back into a sitting position...

While Aoyama Gakuen is a school built for people in pursuit of the supernatural -in one way or another- the fact that it is still an Academy will not change, and thus things like gossip and rumors are perhaps to be expected to be passed around by the teenagers attending the Academy... You had heard a number of them in your time here, ranging from stories about a Fairy Fountain out in the woods, the ghost in the courtyard that shows up at night (whom you had personally seen) and even to a certain Goddess of Humanity who apparently hangs out at the nearby arcade on Friday nights, but Amala.net was new...

Thus...

When his question is answered in the negative, it seems the youth becomes excited to spread the information around a bit, as teenagers are known to do, and...

Raising his hand slightly to reveal his COMP's current form as a watch -a relatively common power saving mode- a hologram etches itself into the reality above the swimming pool as both you and Kaori turn to regard him with at least mild interest...

"So it's some sort of video service, has the tagline [Through the Looking Glass] on the main site, although it only really seems to be usable between midnight and 1 AM."

What appears in mid-air could perhaps be best described as a mind-map of sorts?

In the center of the chart is a topic labeled [Xanadu] and branching off of it in three different directions are slightly smaller nodes reading [Revolution], [Ruin] and [Lunar] respectively, all connected to each other by thin blue lines... There seem to have been further branches off of these other nodes at some point, but the nodes themselves have gone dim as if they are no longer 'selectable' in the purest sense, and their names are no longer present as a result, instead reading the blanket statement [connection currently lost.]

"They seem sorta battle oriented, kinda like the Phoenix Rangers show, so I know you'd like it Prez. All of the nodes show a different sort of place with different characters, and there are these crystal monster things that attack every now and then, but they lose every time... Although the quality of the footage is sorta grainy, and some of the channels have disappeared... I also don't recommend watching Ruin... That one seems like a horror show... Might not fit Hyakka-chan's tastes..."

He chuckles:

"Can't say I'd feel like a good guy if my recommendations wound up giving nightmares..."

[Spinach]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

Nightmares. As innocent (or perhaps not innocent) as the boy’s joke (or perhaps not joke) was, the thought of even more plagues upon her already tumultuous dreams caused Hyakka to look at the floating [Ruin] node with eyes full of caution.

Though not a violent display of worry, it was obvious for a moment that the small girl froze up. As if the very word floating there, [Ruin], might come to life to haunt her if she moved in a way that drew its attention.

“[Through the Looking Glass]? Whoever’s in charge of this Amala.net sure likes pretty language.” With a scoff Camelia tried to take her partner’s mind away from such thoughts. “Though, this is curious. You compared it to a television series…”

While Camelia went on, Hyakka began to think more about it. Crystal monsters?

Somehow, it felt like something she should pay attention to.

“Is it fiction?” The AI continued. “Or is it normal to be so intrigued and excited by a regular show that you would become this eager to tell others about it like this?”

A rare display of curiosity from the unsociable COMP. Normally, she went out of her way to be as blatantly disinterested in other people as possible. But sensing that something the boy said had caused an abnormal, unintentional but certainly unwanted emotional response from the white-haired girl, the AI with the cold personality took over in conversation to give her partner some breathing room.

“What is this [Lunar]?” Breathing room that had been taken, as Hyakka interjected, her finger pointing toward the node. “I guess the connection is lost so you can’t show me it now though…”

[Airen]

Hyakka Onjouji
Aoyama Gakuen, Swimming Pool 4B
4th Period Class, Phys Ed. Swim (Combined Class)
Noon

"I'm pretty sure it's fiction."

Ultimately, the damaged boy seems to come to that sort of conclusion on his own, or rather, because he is aware the [Phoenix Rangers] takes place in reality, he had considered this particular angle of the site already on his own...

"None of the cities they talk about on the show are real, and the governments are pretty different too... In Revolution for instance," he taps on that particular node with his finger, "Demons are all kept bound in that setting by some weird "Tower of Babel" thing instead of COMPs, and the whole world lives on a single continent, so it's pretty fantasy."

While it's possible someone might not notice a Tower of Babel somewhere (and in today's society even that would be questionable) he seems to feel that everyone would have noticed if they were all living on a single continent, which was... A fair point...

Although it still bothered you...

"As for Lunar..." adjusting his -somewhat burned- scarf slightly, the youth pauses for a moment in thought, then, "That's the one about this massive human society on the moon, it's a pretty sterile place, sorta emotionless... Well, except for the Moon Princess and her squad of moon rabbits, they were pretty lively while they were on screen, but they sorta vanished a few episodes back. Now it's all politics talk... Real Star Wars prequels vibe, you know? Bring back the space battles already..."

...He seems to know quite a lot about these things, and...

"I see... So you're still a kid at heart, huh Nakahara-kun? Are these your nightly shows? You seem quite excited about them-!"

---He had managed to play it off when the A.I had asked about it, but the question being rerouted through Kaori seems to breach his defenses before they can go back up-!

"I guess... Don't make fun of me, fight scenes are cool!"

Turning slight embarrassment into laughter, the boy that doesn't ever seem to get too bothered by anything shakes this off too...

"While I'm at it... Ruin is about this Aesop girl traveling around a world of mud... Lots of monster effects in that one, although the footage quality is pretty bad, full of static, like a worn down VHS tape."

He pauses for a moment at this...

"...VHS?"

Kaori tilts her head, and...

"...It's an obsolete format. Don't worry about it."

"So Nakahara-kun is an antique nerd too..."

"Shut up..."