"Ouch."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
During lunch as the five of them were having their lunch at the roof top, Hiro appeared with a big goofy smile on his face.
Yet just as he approached them, Astra stood up before giving him a strong kick on his calf making him sit down in pain.
After doing this, she returned to where she sits and continued eating as if nothing happened, leaving her four friends agape and speechless by this action.
Though they were already used to this because of that time when they brought her uniform, seeing it again and knowing that he was now their teacher, they couldn't help but to still be shock.
"What was that for?" Hiro complained once the pain subsided.
Astra looked at him and raised her eyebrow as if saying that he knew the reason behind the kick.
"What? It is training right? Then what I tasked all of you are justifiable," he understood what she meant and answered back.
At the same time he brought out his packed lunch and sat with them.
"Why are you eating here?" Astra looked at him again and asked.
"Can't I eat with my sister and her friends?" he replied while bobbing his eyebrows up and down.
Astra squinted her eyes and was ready to kick him again, in the stomach this time for he was sitting close to her but Hiro stood up fast and moved away from her while hugging his lunch.
"Bullying is rampant here, with your smile do you think those girls would leave us alone once they find out that you are eating with us?" she didn't follow him and just said sharply.
"I can just tell them that you are my- I understand!! I understand!!"
Just as he was saying his words, Astra stood up and so he could only relent. No one knew their relationship and she didn't want them to know for it was just troublesome.
"Go and look for a teacher instead of dining with your students," she sat down once again.
"But I couldn't see Daiki anywhere, I want to eat with him for he was closest to my age," he pouted as he said this.
The next thing they saw was a fork flying towards him hitting him in the forehead.
"Ooof!!"
He held his red forehead, "Why are you so much harsher today?"
"I already told you, your training sucks," she answered.
"I already told you it is justifiable," he said again.
Kaname, Takao and Shinobu all wanted to cry, 'Justifiable? We are not monster like you are!! Please spare us teacher!!'
"You have to remember that currently it is physical training. PHYSICAL," she said, emphasizing the word physical.
A few seconds of silence followed before Hiro hit his left hand with his right fist.
"Oh!" he reacted.
And if a light bulb was above his head, then it would have lit up to match his reaction.
The other four furrowed their brows, not understanding what these two are talking about.
Astra looked at them and sighed before giving Hiro another glare.
"Fine I'll go and look for Daiki now, he must be in a different room instead. How hurtful that my younger sister does not even want to eat with me."
*CLANG*
He shut the door closed right after saying this, so the spoon that Amber threw hit the door.
"You two are really close," Shinobu couldn't help but comment.
Astra just shrugged.
"But why does it feel like your age are reversed?" Takao asked next.
And for the second time Astra could only shrug, that was Hiro's personality from the get go.
"So what did you mean by your conversation a while ago?" Kaito asked, he was more curious about this than their relationship.
He was their neighbor and so he witnessed more than what these three have just seen making him immune to the interaction between the two.
"Hiro was not only using his physical strength while doing all those exercises a while ago, he was also using his wind ability," she stood up and picked up her utensils.
She threw them but in the end she was the one picking them up.
"His wind ability?" Takao started.
"Could it be the way he runs? Allowing him to move fast?" Kaito continued.
"That and the fact that it allowed him to jump over those hurdles with much ease for his legs aren't the only ones working," she explained patiently.
"Then even the jumping jacks?" Kaname asked this time.
"Yes."
"But then, wouldn't that make us tired even more or drained? Kikune, who tried to hinder you back then, was drained by just using her ability. I mean with proper training then it would be possible and all…"
Kaito slowly stopped when Astra smiled at him though he had seen her every look, it was not always that he would see her smile.
He didn't fell for her or course, for it was like she was complimenting him with that smile.
And Astra smiled at him for he truly was the only one who got the crux of the matter.
Fighting with abilities is normal, truly. But training, especially so for them who are still first years, doing what Hiro did would surely be difficult.
"Hiro took the training into a whole different level. Us first years were here beginning our real training as players. What we learned before coming here were only preparation, basics. And in reality what Hiro gave us should have been given to second years or third years. That is why I had to knock some sense on him, our physical isn't as strong as the others yet. It is still lacking compared to adults."
She packed up her lunch as she continued explaining.
"Some of us do have special abilities but that doesn't mean that even our physical bodies are special."
As she said this she was looking at Shinobu who has the same ability as her. The purity allowing one to become stronger than normal players.
"If we train our bodies together with our abilities we, who just started, would surely be drained. It won't look as easy as how he did it. But if we are able to do what he just did then our strength would rise faster than the others who stayed with the conventional way of training."
"So if we train that way, we'll become stronger faster?" Kaname couldn't help but ask.
Shinobu who was beside her, knocked his fist lightly on her head.
"We can't do it instantly, we will surely die and that is why she had to knock some sense on our teacher," he then reprimanded making the other two laugh.
Astra didn't laugh but she had a smile on her face.
"Train with your ability," Kaito then couldn't help but to mutter.
"Others would train ones physical strength then their powers before training both at the same time. But if you use your powers on a daily basis, in everything you do."
She pondered for a bit before continuing, "For example using your wind at the sole of your feet while walking everyday no matter how short the distance is. Or always surrounding your hands with a thin layer of water in order for dirt not to get to your hands. Or using heat to exchange with a thick jacket."
She thought for more examples.
"Using earth as an elevation while you walk or while you remain standing. All these little things will allow you to slowly strengthen your powers becoming more acquainted with it. Indeed absorbing the essence will allow your powers to reach new levels but will your body allow you to use it freely?"