[September 2, 2418 - Sunday, 5:00 PM]
North Haven, a bar tucked within the neon plaza of Kabetori, a kaleidoscope of lights gleaming in the orange evening sky. Men in tailor made suits and women flaunting their bodies strolled around, signs advertising their deals blinking to capture attention.
Dior stopped in front of the bar and sighed softly with her hands in her pockets. "I'm gonna split so I can see my friends, poyo. Good luck in your meeting."
I watched as Dior walked inside first then looked at Lotus. Lotus shrugged at me with a smile before walking inside the bar with a hum. I followed behind Lotus with Riggs and looked around, the smell of fruity alcohol along with floral scents filling my nose immediately.
"Welcome to the main hub of Kabetori, at least one of them. The North Haven is where you'll meet most of the connections you're looking for. This is how the Chi-Teck-ii makes their business," Riggs said, looking around his stomping grounds with a smirk.
"Somehow, I'm not surprised. Look at the tech in here, I'm sure you all contributed?" I asked, looking up at Riggs with a raised eyebrow.
Riggs chuckled softly and walked ahead, gesturing for me to follow him. "Come with me, kid. The others are waiting."
I watched as he went ahead then followed behind him, squeezing in between a few people to eventually make it to the table where Karma sat. Tsubami glanced over at me first then gave me a smile, gesturing for me to go to her.
I made my way to Tsubami and took my seat next to her then grunted as she wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled me closer to her. "Silverella, you're...choking...me."
"You didn't think I would feel a sudden increase in your spiritual energy? I was super worried about you! What game could possibly be that serious?" Tsubami asked, looking down at me and tilted her head.
"From what Fists was saying, he was going hardcore. He was out there winning game after game without spending a single coin! At NekoP1 is impressive," Heido applauded, letting out a soft laugh.
Riggs stood at the head of the table while lighting a cigar in his mouth, a puff of smoke leaving the corners of his mouth. "As impressive as that is, we should focus on what we know so far."
"Well..." Madam B began, looking at her nails with a smirk on her lips. "My sister and I were out and about, and we happened to catch a few shady deals going on."
"You're nothing but shady deals. Have you seen the prices of your sister's place of work?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Madam B.
Madam B giggled softly then leaned over to me, tapping the tip of my nose with her finger. "There's a difference between an unlawful deal and a corrupt one~ Tactile Dreams is unlawful."
"That...doesn't make it any better," Lotus said, quietly clearing her throat.
"Well? What was this supposed deal going on?" Riggs asked, looking at Madam B with intrigue.
Madam B sat up straight in her seat and gently flipped her hair, closing her eyes and exhaling softly. "It seems that satura flows in and out of Rosa und Grün and they go to three warehouses. One of them is at Midas Casino. We don't know who the cook is though."
"Midas Casino? Like the casino Averice owns? Why the hell would a gambler and a chess grandmaster need satura?" I asked, closing my eyes as I began to think.
"Kanna thinks there is some shady business going on within the Big Three despite being one of them. She seems to be out of the loop," Madam B said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Out of the loop...yet has unrestricted access to certain areas of Kabetori. Sounds like a Queen Piece to me..." I muttered under my breath, my gaze lifting up to look at Madam B.
Fists and Riggs noticed a discerning light in my eyes, wondering why I was suddenly analyzing Madam B. Madam B glanced at me and tilted her head, wondering why I was looking at her so intently then touched her face, thinking something was on it.
"I have a question..." I said, sitting up straight in my seat and looked around the table.
{Chapter 33: Matsu Starter}
Tsubami glanced at me and hummed with curiosity. "What's your question, Oto?"
I looked around the bar once again, seeing all the technology around then brought my gaze to Riggs. "The Chi-Teck-ii contributed to this place, so I'm curious to know how much you've contributed to Kabetori. NekoP1 is still on my mind..."
"Why? What happened in there?" Riggs asked, raising an eyebrow at me and blew a bit of smoke from his mouth.
I glanced at Lotus then placed my hand upon my chest, the vivid memories of the VR Combat Simulator playing in my head. "Those games...the intelligence of the AI. The Virtual Bodies. Apparently, Averice built that thing in there...but.."
"You're suspecting us for helping with it?" Fists asked, leaning back in his seat and took a sip of his wine. "Yes. I was one of the lead developers of the VR Combat Simulator. It was originally used for training and fun."
"Then Averice and some dumb secretary took it over. I used that thing often to train for my movie roles and actual missions. He wanted US to pay a crazy fee for something WE built," Madam B scoffed, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.
"Really? So you managed to built a machine that can perfectly copy bio-data and recreate it? How do you explain one of the superbosses in there knowing my parents, my history, and what we are doing now?" I asked, my gaze focusing intently upon the Chi-Teck-ii.
"Wait what? Someone figured out what we are doing?" Tsubami asked, glancing at me quickly. "We just started today!"
Riggs stared at me, noticing my eyes flashing gold with conviction then glanced at Nachah, noticing his right scarlet eye opened. He smirked and closed his eyes, taking a drag out of his cigar. "We have no part in that. Whatever technology was added to it, it didn't come from us."
"Our tech and architecture does have security features, but if you're explaining it how I believe you are... Well, just know Averice has the money to acquire developers from the Judgement Organization. You're dealing with spiritual tech, something we can't do," Riggs explained, setting his cigar down then gave me a serious expression.
"However, I can say this...if the technology was able to know you're an Izuna and recognize your parents, that means your parents entered into the simulator after Averice and the secretary took over," Riggs finished, his gaze locking onto mine.
I looked down at the table and exhaled softly, closing my eyes. My answer was right there. As I suspected, my parents did enter into the VR Combat Simulator. I began to enter deeper into my mind, wondering who this secretary could be.
Suddenly, my brain produced a small spark and I gasped softly before standing up from my seat. "No way... It's Tenshi. There is a 90% possibility that the secretary sent to take over your stuff came from the Mato Clan."
Madam B noticed a few people turning around to look at me then chuckled softly, reaching over to me to gently pull me back down into my seat. "Calm down, sweet boy..~ But, you do raise a good proposition."
"Ahh, Tenshi. I know who she is," Heido said, leaning back in his seat with his hands behind his head. "That fine cheetah is always in Kabetori when she's not being Jeht's little side piece."
Tsubami nodded at Heido's statement and gently stroked her chin. "That's true, but she wasn't anywhere around today. That means she's still in the Matsugaya, Hojin, and Itakatsu areas with Jeht."
"So, what I'm hearing is that we head back to Matsugaya to find Tenshi? I mean, that was my original plan anyway," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Yeah, let's go try that out. You could also investigate more into that Amon guy I've been hearing about around here amongst the kids. Seems like he's a big pusher in the industry," Riggs said, grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair before throwing it on.
"I already know he is...and maybe he knows exactly where Tenshi hides out at. We're going back to Jeht's board and I think I know an opener we can use," I said, leaning forward against the table. "It's called the Matsu Starter."
"Where you push your c4 and e4 forward at the same time? That leaves your King and right Bishop exposed though. It's commonly regarded as a terrible play," Lotus questioned, raising her eyebrow at me with confusion.
"Exactly..." I said with a smirk on my face, thinking back to how terribly Hanna played and still won. "It's a bad play no one would be expecting...and Amon most definitely won't expect it."
[September 3, 2418 - Monday, 7:49 AM]
My alarm blared in my room while I was in a peaceful dream state, my eyes slowly opening as I rolled over and grabbed my phone. I turned off the alarm then looked at the time on my phone, my eyes widening as I noticed I was ten minutes from being late to school.
I jumped out of my bed then rushed around my room to get dressed then hurried out of my room, looking down the hall to see Aisha's bedroom door was wide open. I hissed at myself since I missed her wake up calls then hurried down the stairs.
"Nachah, get up! We're late!" I called out, hurrying out the front door.
Nachah rose one of his ears then hopped up before sprinting after me, the door slamming shut behind him while I locked the door. I began booking it down the road, my feet stomping along the ground with swiftness. I looked down at my phone, noticing I was only five minutes away from being late.
"Crap! How could I oversleep at a time like this? Lord, help me reach the campus on time!" I called out to the sky, continuing my sprint down the sidewalk and slipped through multiple people.
I grunted as I noticed the thickening crowd around then saw my Sovereign Butterfly fluttering ahead of me and slipped through the crowd. As I began squeezing and shifting my way through the crowd, faint light blue silhouette were left behind each graceful step.
I watched as my butterfly zipped forward before flying over a wall, a silhouette of the butterfly hovering at the peak of the wall. I looked at the silhouette then took a pencil out of my pocket, looking down at it with contemplation.
"Do I really have this ability outside of the simulator..? Only one way to find out, I suppose," I said, throwing my pencil over the wall then noticed a butterfly symbol made from spiritual energy forming on the pencil.
Noticing it, I immediately attempted a Warp in real life, my body becoming a light blue silhouette before reappearing to the pencil in the air. I grabbed the pencil out the air, thinking I was aura farming in my head before looking down and seeing how high I was.
"Oh fu—" I began then groaned as I fell into some scaffolding within the back campus of Matsugaya High.
Reiko let out a yelp and looked back at the scaffolding, holding onto Satoshi as she watched a few metal bars roll off the pile. "What the heck was that..?"
Heido stood up and looked back at the Hounds, noticing they had witnessed the same thing. As he approached with caution, he jolted back as he noticed my hand reaching out of the pile as if I was an undead zombie.
"God...thanks for not letting me die, but I might need a nurse," I groaned as I crawled out of the pile.
"Damn, my dawg! You good?" Heido asked, trying to stop himself from laughing as he helped me and Nachah up.
"Yeah, I think...." I groaned softly, seeing a few tiny sheep hopping around my head in circles. "Oh yeah, I think I need that nurse..."
Heido laughed softly as he helped me to the main building while everyone else wondered how I just fell from the sky. The two of us made it to the main building, Heido literally having to drag me step by step into the nurse's office and sat me down upon one of the medical beds.
"Ugh...I was not expecting such a crash landing. You think I'm alright?" I asked, rubbing the back of my aching head and grunted softly.
"You know, you shouldn't be touching your wound so casually, sweet boy~" A familiar voice called out to me with a playful giggle.
I paused and slowly looked to my right, my eyes locking onto the nurse wearing a black face mask over her nose and mouth. My jaw dropped to Sheol as I recognized the woman nearly immediately and jumped up to my feet.
"Onii! Do not tell me that's Madam B under that mask," I said, looking at Heido with high confusion.
The woman chuckled softly and took off her mask, revealing herself to being Madam K. "Don't get yourself so riled up, boy. I'm just here to aid the school with my abilities to get the basketball players ready."
"Oh. Hell. No. You are the LAST thing I need at this school! Madam B, Madam K, shit A B C D E F G, don't matter! I can not have you here!" I said sternly, pointing at the ground.
"Unfortunately, we don't have a say this, Otouto. She was literally hired by Dean Okabe. Plus, I personally don't see the issue here," Heido said, looking at me with a smirk. "For once, this school has a fine nurse and of course they come when I'm just hanging around."
"Mhm, and I was informed that you dropped out. Since you're not an official student here and only here due to connections to Student Council President Tsubami, I can't treat you professionally," Madam K said in a matter of fact tone, shrugging her shoulders with sass.
I sighed softly and rubbed the back of my neck then hummed softly. "How long are you here for?"
"Until basketball season is over. I'm here for the training, the actual games, and the finals if you all make it. It's good you got me and not Bellatrix. At least I'm Valkyria certified and can operate in areas like this despite being Chi-Teck-ii," Madam K answered.
"That's from September to February... however, you know we have that deadline," Heido said quietly to me, nudging my arm with his elbow.
"I know...and I suppose this could work out. I just...we can not let Aisha or any of Nanako's hosts find out about her. I'm 100% certain that Nanako will flip out bad," I sighed, sitting back down on the bed.
"Don't worry. I'm not like my sister at all as you know. I'm not interested in catching a young cub, and no I'm not playing hard to get, White Wolf," Madam K said, walking over to me and gently laid me down on the bed to begin the recovery procedure. "I'll send him to Mr. Hoshido when I'm done."
Heido chuckled softly and coolly waved at me before turning around to leave the nurse's office. "Yeah, yeah. Just be sure to go easy on him."
[September 3, 2418 - Monday, 8:40 AM]
Mr. Hoshido was teaching his class, going over more of New Japan's history, specifically going over the topic of Valkyrias and Strijders. Most of the class was very attentive due to the exciting topic which was different from our usual history lessons.
While he was teaching, the classroom door slid open, everyone looking over at the entrance. I walked inside while rubbing my wrists, looking at my hand as I balled and opened them a few times. I still could not believe how effective Madam K's Soothing Touch truly was.
"Motosaki!" Aisha beamed, standing up quickly from her seat with a bright smile.
Rebecca quickly looked up at Aisha's sudden boost of energy, letting out a nervous chuckle. "I haven't seen you this excited about seeing Motosaki in a while despite living with him."
"I haven't seen him in an entire day! Why are you three jumping out of your seats?" Aisha asked, looking at Rebecca with excitement, her pupils faintly flashing magenta.
Amon sat in the back of the class with his arms crossed, his gaze focused on me with light confusion on why I was so late to class. "Where has that guy been..?"
Mr. Hoshido pushed his glasses up as he looked at me while holding his book in his other hand. "Mr. Izuna. I'm glad you are actually able to make it. Is there a reason you're so late?"
"I overslept a bit this morning, but I'm back in action here. A few extra minutes of sleep never hurts anyone," I said, giving Mr. Hoshido a smile.
Mr. Hoshido noticed a slight shift in my energy, noticing a more joyful light in my eyes. He hummed softly and chuckled, gesturing for me to take my seat. "Alright. Just make sure this doesn't become a habit."
I nodded at Mr. Hoshido then walked off to take my seat beside Otsuki then sighed, leaning back in my seat with my hands behind my head. "What all did I miss?"
Otsuki looked at me with a gentle smile, sliding her notes over to me. "We're going over the history of the Valkyrias and Strijders. It's really interesting information actually."
"Valks huh? I know my fair share of knowledge about them," I said, picking up Otsuki's notebook and read over them. "Hey, Mr. Hoshido, why learn from a textbook when we have a Valkyria currently roaming the campus."
"You mean, Miss Nomura? I doubt Hisumi would be up to give demonstrations, especially since she's only here during the Investigations," Mr. Hoshido answered, setting his book down upon the podium.
I shrugged my shoulders and slid Otsuki back her notebook. "I dunno. I saw her monitoring the halls on my way here and she looked kinda bored."
"Oh yeah! I spoke to her this morning! Maybe we can get her to show us what her abilities actually do! It's like learning from the real thing!" Aisha said happily, clapping her hands together.
Amon scoffed lightly and rolled his eyes at me and Aisha, sitting up straight in his seat. "As if she'd waste her time showing off to you, Izuna. Can we get back to the lesson?"
I waved my hand at Amon dismissively. "Just mad because she don't like you, Mato. Just like maybe 70% of this school. Don't hate because you aren't me."
"Right! Keep quiet back there, mooch!" Aisha called out, turning around to face Amon.
"Alright, alright. Calm down class. I suppose we can see if Hisumi is willing to show us something. It would be nice to show you all what such abilities look like up close. In this Generation, it's important you all learn at least one spiritual ability," Mr. Hoshido said, closing his book with a smile.
The class cheered as we were now moving on to a visual learning setting, as long as Hisumi agreed. While everyone gathered their things to head outside to the track and field area, I began brainstorming ways on how I could begin my Matsu Starter play.
----------------------------
Hisumi stood outside with a sigh and looked down at her watch to check the time before looking up at everyone sitting at the bleachers. She glanced at me with slight irritation, knowing it was my idea to have her demonstrate some of her abilities to us.
"Sorry for the short notice, Miss Nomura. I know you were busy monitoring the halls and dealing with the investigation around here," Mr. Hoshido said as he walked to Hisumi.
"It's whatever. At my academy, we have Combat Training and Promotion Battles against other Valkyrias and Professors of St. Fraskia. We show what we've learned often, so this is just another Monday to me," Hisumi said, keeping an annoyed gaze upon me.
Aisha glanced at me with confusion, letting out a questioning hum. "Why is she looking at you like that?"
"Because I dragged her outside. Plus, I know it would be a good show for us. We'll be able to see what all a Valkyria can do. I remember when Okaasan was showing us her Abilities," I said with a nostalgic sigh and leaned back in my seat casually.
Naomi watched with high interest, holding her phone up to record. "I have to see something like this up close...my father is gonna lose his mind when he realizes we still have Valkyrias around!"
Rebecca gave a bright smile while keeping a graceful gaze upon Hisumi, also curious about what she could do. "Obassan Nousagi is a Valkyria, but I've never really seen her power. Finally, I get to see what is possible beyond the world of books."
Amon groaned softly from all the excitable chatter between the students and slouched in his seat. He took a glance at me, noticing how casual I was as I talked with Aisha and the others. 'Something about this guy is different...he's not the same guy I first ran into.'
Hisumi flipped her hair then pointed to me, her eyes glowing with irritation. "You, Motosaki! Come down here! You will be my punching bag to show everyone what a Valkyria can do!"
'Perfect... I'm sure Amon remembers how I fight. I'll probably just sandbag this? Nah, that's a bit too foolish. I could just go very easy on her,' I thought to myself with a smirk while standing up from my seat.
I walked down the stairs of the bleachers with my hands in my pockets, my open blazer flowing behind me with every step I took. "Alright, I know you're mad, but you looked so bored in the halls, 'Sumi."
"Yeah, I was bored, but that doesn't mean I want to do this. But, since we are already here..." Hisumi said, generation a line of lightning with her fingers before grabbing the bolt and transforming it into a wooden katana.
'Oh shit...' I thought to myself, not expecting Hisumi to start at level 10 from the jump.
Mr. Hoshido noticed me glance at him then rose his hands up. "Nope, don't look at me. I wanted to go by the books. This one is all you, son."
"Uh... Don't worry, Motosaki! She's not gonna hurt you!" Aisha cheered, letting out a nervous chuckle as she saw Hisumi's serious expression.
"I'm gonna send you back to Nurse Kanna when this lesson is done," Hisumi said, pointing her wooden sword at me with cruel intent.
"Please don't...I literally just left from there like ten minutes ago," I said, clearing my throat and rubbing the back of my head.
"Lesson One of being a Valkyria! You must always have Zanshin at the forefront of your mind. Always be sober, be vigilant! Even when you're attacking!" Hisumi called out, swiftly swinging her sword at me and caught my cheek.
I grunted as I stumbled to the side, my hand holding my cheek in shock. I looked back at Hisumi with genuine surprise. "What the hell? No warning?"
"Oof...that one looked like it hurt," Rebecca flinched, holding her fist over her mouth with a winced expression.
Hisumi continued to chase me around the field while swinging her sword, yelling out names toward me while I continued to dodge and evade each of her attacks. The class was split between cheers and ahhs each time Hisumi got close or when I dodged.
I performed a back handspring to dodge Hisumi's low slash then I instinctively countered with a roundhouse kick. Hisumi ducked under my kick then grabbed my leg and shoved it upward to make me lose my balance.
'Jesus, this girl as actually making me try here..!' I thought to myself as I followed my momentum into a handstand before following with a backspin kick.
Hisumi leaped backwards to dodge my kick and smirked at me, moving her hair from her eyes then began unbuttoning her blazer. "Alright, I suppose it's time for lesson two!"
"Things seem to be heating up around here! I knew I felt excitement around here!" Kaido howled, leaping up onto the bleachers then squeezed in between Naomi and Benji.
Benji slid over to make room for Kaido and looked back to see where he came from. "Kaido? I thought you were skipping class with the Hounds to be with Heido."
"I was, but I heard some cheering here and had to come watch! Looks like Motosaki is sparring with Hisumi. Hey! Kick her ass, Honorary Hound!" Kaido yelled, clapping his hands loudly while rooting for me.
"Lesson Two! In 250 B.C. the first Valkyria of Qutsade was created from the rib of the first Strijder, Addis. With the assistance of the Holy Spirit, known as Ascea in Qutsade, they formed the first Ark!" Hisumi revealed, pulling a yellow diamond shaped orb from her pocket.
"An Ark! Don't those give people like us special abilities to use?" One girl asked curiously.
"Not exactly. It's not the orb itself that grants you the ability to use it, but the knowledge contained within them. Just by holding an Ark, you can learn the abilities within them," Rebecca explained knowledgeably, an air of intelligence filling her tone.
"Oh? Wait, Motosaki doesn't have one of those. How the heck is he gonna fight against that?" Kaido asked confused, leaning forward with surprise.
I watched as Hisumi placed the Ark within a slot in her sword which began generating lightning around the wooden blade. "Come on. This is a little crazy, don't you think?"
"We're still going down the basics! So get ready! This is your warning!" Hisumi called out, taking a step forward before dashing toward me at lightning speeds.
My body tensed up at her immense speed, the airs upon the back of my neck standing as my body instinctively braced itself for the attack. I grunted as I barely dodged her lightning slash then stumbled backwards, my eyes trying to track Hisumi as she darted around me.
"So fast!" Aisha gasped, standing up from her seat. "I remember her speed from Fujioka, but this is something else!"
Amon watched the spar with crossed arms, his gaze never leaving from my figure as he began wondering what I would do. He noticed my gaze becoming slightly more sharp, as if I was actively studying Hisumi.
'Hm...there's that analytical look he does. He's done nothing with it so far, so how the hell did he catch Hideyoshi..?' Amon asked himself mentally, exhaling deeply with light frustration.
Hisumi continued zipping around me at lightning speeds before appearing to my left and charging toward me. I looked to my left then dodged her slash and grabbed her arm, using a military disarm technique then pushed her back with a shoulder check.
I flourished Hisumi's sword in my hand before taking my father's stance, my Insight now activated against Hisumi. "Looks like we're going for the aggressive version of Matsu Starter."
Hisumi smirked at me then hopped up and down, rolling her neck slowly before getting into a running start. "Cerebral, you ready?"
"Always," Cerebral replied, a shadowy paw forming beside Hisumi with cool, black and gold aura forming around Hisumi's body.
Mr. Hoshido glanced at me, noticing white lightning crackling around my body then hummed with interest. 'What's this...? A spark within his spiritual energy?"
I took a step forward before lunging forward into a full sprint then leaped forward with a fast slice, but Hisumi dodged my attack with a backstep and countered with a knee aimed at my stomach. I blocked her knee with my palm then used my other hand to push her head down.
Vaulting over her back, I struck her back with a slice then pushed her forward. Hisumi staggered forward while holding her back and looked back at me with a chuckle, her fingers twitching as she unleashed a hidden technique.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down upon me, dealing a surprising jolt around my body. I groaned softly as I fell onto one knee. "What the heck..?"
"Lesson Three! Unique Abilities. Every Valkyria and Strijder has a special ability they can each use. Some shared across families and generations, other completely original from the Lord above," Hisumi said then performed a hand sign.
"Ten Shadow Gardens Technique: Ruinous Bunnies!" Hisumi called out, a pool of shadow energy forming at her feet while a horde of white rabbits began emerging from the pool.
"Whoa! What the heck was that?" One guy exclaimed with excitement, watching all 100 bunnies surround Hisumi.
I glanced up slowly, my eyes flashing golden as I began to stand up and smirked to myself. "Bunnies huh..? Based on the sheer numbers, this is a Distraction Technique."
"Correct, and I have ten techniques within this single Stigmata," Hisumi revealed, moving her hair to expose the glowing stigmata on her neck.
I looked at Hisumi's Stigmata then closed my eyes, humming softly with intrigue. "I see, and this lesson is on unique abilities right? Well, I have one that might peak your interest."
"Other than your discernment?" Hisumi asked, placing a hand upon her hip.
I glanced back at the cheering class and looked at Amon, noticing he was watching me intensely. I looked back at Hisumi and chuckled lightly. "Yeah, other than my Discernment. Everyone's watching me, and I know I can't hide certain things...so I'll give them a show."
Hisumi watched as I threw her sword at her and grunted as she dodged it. She groaned lightly as a slash struck her back, her surprised gaze turning back to notice me already behind her. She looked ahead, noticing my dissolving light blue silhouette.
Aisha rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times. "Uh, girls? Did you see how Motosaki got behind her? I literally blinked and missed it..."
"I couldn't catch it either...it seemed almost like an instant. I don't even know what he did," Otsuki answered quietly, her mind trying to rationalize what I may have done.
Amon's gaze became more focused, his mind also malfunctioning after witnessing my Warp. "What in the world was that? I didn't even see him move..."
Kaido stood up and whistled with his fingers then began cheering loudly. "Woooo! What in the world was that?! That was tight, yo!"
Hisumi noticed I tossed her katana back to her then looked at it, humming softly as she stared at the Ark. "Some type of teleporting technique? I'm well versed in such moves."
I reached into my pocket then pulled out Aurum's coin then flicked it in the air before catching it. "Really? Well, class is about to end soon...so why not end with a bang?"
Hisumi smiled at me then chuckled before taking on her stance, her bunnies circling around her once again like a defensive wall. "Hmph, let's go!"
Hisumi rushed forward at lightning speeds with a blinding slash, but I evaded with a back handspring before countering with a breakdance sweep to her leg. Hisumi leaped over my kick then somersaulted downward with an overhead slice that I evaded then a row of lightning began striking down toward me.
I took off my blazer then tossed it at the last lightning strike before dashing forward with a rear body uppercut which Hisumi blocked with her hand. She countered with an open palm strike to my face, but I slipped past her attack with a shoulder strike.
Hisumi stumbled backwards and noticed Aurum's coin flying toward her at high speeds. Warping toward the coin, I caught it and launched a speeding cross punch which Hisumi dodged at the right time before slashing past me within a blink of an eye.
"Yuta Technique: Seven Decrees!" Hisumi exclaimed, swinging her sword to the side to flick off a bit of lightning energy from her wooden blade.
A flurry of seven delayed slashes struck my body before knocking me forward with a slash to my back. I grunted as I hit the ground and placed my hand upon my back as I stood up. "Another unique ability..?"
"Come on, Saki-kun! You've got this! Remember Okaasan Mikoto's Flow Motion!" Aisha called out, using her hands to amplify her voice.
"Don't give up! The camera is still rolling!" Naomi cheered with a giggle.
Mr. Hoshido heard the cheers of his students split between me and Hisumi while keeping an eye upon my spar with Hisumi. 'Hm...that Warp technique reminds me a lot about Erik. Did he inherit that..?'
Hisumi pointed her sword at me with a smirk. "You still haven't even seen what my rabbits can do. Maybe I'll let them join the fun."
I turned around to see one rabbit charging at me like a speeding bullet and strike me upon my stomach. I groaned as I was launched backwards and rolled backwards along the ground onto one knee. I looked up to see a group of Ruinous Bunnies charging at me.
I dodged the first wave before parrying another two to the side. I ran forward then performed a B-Twist to dodge another horde before leaping forward and flicking my coin forward. I warped toward my coin before striking another two bunnies with a split kick, my focus mainly to reach Hisumi.
'I'm too high up and they can counter me at any time up here...so I'll just do this!' I thought to myself, flicking my coin to the ground.
The coin bounced off the ground then rolled past Hisumi before landing behind her. I noticed the last horde of bunnies grouping together to form a hand then grab me from the air. Swinging me around, they slammed me against the ground with a large smoke cloud forming.
Hisumi watched closely and braced herself in case I retaliated. She hummed softly as she waited, noticing the stillness in the air. 'Did I win?'
Just as Hisumi lowered her guard, a twinkle of light shined within the smoke and Nachah flew toward Hisumi like a ray of light and struck her stomach to knock her back. She stumbled backwards to stand behind the coin then I warped in front of her with a thrusting knee to her stomach before following it with an high kick to her chin.
Flowing into my next motion, I swiped my coin off the ground then flicked it in the air before warping toward it and struck Hisumi's stomach with another high kick to send her to the ground. Hisumi groaned as she hit the ground and recovered onto one knee.
I began descending to the ground with no way of stopping myself, but before hitting the ground, I flicked my coin downward to warp safely back onto the ground, not wanting to have Round 2 with Madam K anytime soon.
Hisumi began to slowly stand up and laughed softly, dusting herself off. "Hm...you've managed to knock me down. Seems like you do have potential to become one."
"That's my plan. I'm just waiting for Granny Hisu to approve of my spiritual training, though I don't know how that will go," I said, picking up my crispy blazer from the ground.
"I see...well, I hope that goes well for you. I've got to get back to my job," Hisumi said before walking off, her wooden katana dissolving into small bolts of lightning.
I watched as Hisumi walked off and smiled at her then looked at my classmates, waving my hands in the air as they cheered for me. I noticed Naomi's phone then smirked, my eyes flashing golden then I gave a charismatic pose just for the cameras.
Amon kept a close eye on me, humming softly as he stood up and walked down from the bleachers then left. "The Izuna knows how to teleport...didn't Dad say something about a detective that was able to teleport also?"
Amon stopped walking then looked back at me, noticing Rebecca and the others hurrying toward me. He stared at Rebecca then scoffed, turning around before walking off. "If he could do this, why didn't he use it against me when I had Rebecca at point blank with the nail gun?"
[September 3, 2418 - Monday, 10:30 AM]
I sat in Ms. Eika's theater class, watching as Naomi and Aisha were doing an improv for the class. I slouched in my seat as I watched and listened, glancing at the time to see when class would end. Ms. Eika glanced at me and noticed my exhausted demeanor then snapped her fingers at me.
I looked at Ms. Eika then sat up in my seat, grunting softly as the small wound on my back became irritated due to the wooden back of the seat. Ms. Eika noticed my struggle to sit up and rose an eyebrow then finally noticed the cuts upon my arm.
She hummed as she got an idea then looked at Aisha and Naomi, clapping her hands together. "And cut! Let's try something a bit different. Since this month is all about the history of Valkyrias and Strijders, we should do something to fit the history!"
"Oh no. I am not playing another knight in some princess improv," I said, laying my head down upon my desk.
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad," Ara scoffed at me, flipping her hair toward me with sass.
"You and Naomi brought up family scandals and Clan rivalries in the middle of improv. It was messy as hell," I replied dully.
"Word," Kenji cosigned, laughing out loud and leaned back in his seat.
Ms. Eika giggled softly with the rest of the class then held her hand up before standing up from her desk. "Don't worry, it's none of that. In this improv, I want you to play the role of a Strijder who just got back from a big mission!"
"Why me?" I asked, raising my head to look at Ms. Eika. "You literally have Kenji and Benji here."
"Because you're the most theatrical and dramatic guy here? Your skill set is priceless in the world of acting! Besides, I thought you liked acting? Student Council President Tsubami said you have a knack for acting," Ms. Eika hummed, tilting her head at me.
Of course she did.
"Alright, fine. I'll do it, just don't expect me to have many lines to spit," I said, rising up from my seat and stretched my arms.
I began walking up on the stage, looking at Naomi and Aisha while holding my shoulder, grunting softly with every step. Aisha stared at me for a while, a memory of my father walking into the Izuna share house while battered.
Naomi noticed I was bringing in real emotions into the improv, her eyes noticing my aching expression as I dragged myself across the stage. "Motosaki..! You're back! What happened to you?"
I looked at Naomi then at Aisha, my hand remaining upon my shoulder. "I...just got back from a dangerous mission. I fought against a renown Valkyria and barely made it out..."
Naomi gasped and looked toward the class with a surprised expression. "Was it...The Boltstriker? She's known as a highly skilled Valkyria of our time!"
"Motosaki..." Aisha spoke, walking quickly to me and grabbed my shoulder. "You look so much like him..."
"Oh shit," Kenji said, becoming immersed into the story and sat up straight in his seat.
Ara rose an eyebrow at Aisha's line, tiling her head to figure out who I looked like. "What?"
I stared at Aisha, noticing her studying every part of my body before her eyes locked with mine again. "Like who?"
Naomi rose an eyebrow at Aisha, noticing she was now staring at me intently. "Aisha-chan, who does he look like? Maybe it's that legendary Strijder? The Famous Unmasked Man? We should let him rest and recover. Who knows what he just went through.."
"Erik..." Aisha spoke, Nanako's voice spilling into her tone.
Suddenly, the lights began to flicker in the classroom, breaking everyone's immersion. The temperature in the room began to gradually lower, a few students in the classroom beginning to shiver from the sudden cool.
"Sheesh, is it me or did it become chilly all of a sudden?" Ms. Eika asked, rubbing her arms as she walked to the thermostat. "Jesus, 65 degrees in here? The malfunction must've messed up the AC."
I stared at Aisha, but could tell it was Nanako staring right back at me. I glanced behind Aisha, noticing the faint silhouette of a girl standing behind her. My heart skipped a beat for a moment, but when I blinked, the silhouette was gone.
Amon watched from the back of the class then sat up straight, also noticing the silhouette behind Aisha. 'What the— Who the heck was that? Why was she behind Aisha?'
"Continue with the improv, everything is alright," Ms. Eika said, standing at the back of the class beside the thermostat.
"There was another at the house," Nanako spoke through Aisha before turning her head to look at Amon. "Someone associated with him..."
"What is she talking about?" One student asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Someone was at the improv house before Motosaki got on the scene?" One girl asked, trying to piece together the plot.
I looked over at Amon then back at Aisha, noticing her magenta pupils. I decided to play along, but felt as if Nanako was actually trying to reveal something. "Someone was here before I got home?"
Aisha nodded quickly and gripped the sleeves of my shirt. "A woman...there were two people here, and they both escaped. She had a tablet..."
"U-Uh, yeah! The person that was here before you conducted an interview and asked about you. But since you were on the mission, she left," Naomi chimed in, trying to figure out where the improv was going.
I glanced back over at Amon, humming softly to myself. 'A tablet...did Tenshi really go to New America when my family moved there? Did she help murder my parents as Nanako is suggesting..?'
The lights began flickering again before the temperature gradually returned to normal, everyone looking around the classroom once again. Amon felt a chill go down his spine and grunted softly as he began feeling an extra presence within the classroom.
Ms. Eika looked up at the lights and sighed. "We might need to move over to the regular classroom and continue there. I don't know why these lights and the thermostat is acting faulty."
I looked back at Aisha, noticing her normal smile at me then smiled back at her, wondering if Nanako actually revealed the information to her as well. Just like the other improv, this one went off script again but this time, I had something more to look into thanks to Nanako.