August 13th, 20XX I started attending a school for the first time in three years, however, it wasn't a normal school as I was still a soldier, I was assigned to a prestigious military academy high school, Wilhelmshaven, which is located within an Estralan coastal city of the same name.
"I'm Masato Hirose Sgt. in the 1st Platoon of the 12th Special Operations Division, it's a pleasure to meet you." these were my first words to a group of students who looked forward in awe at my black uniform which stood out like a sore thumb in their ranks of green. "The 12th is the PR division for the Special Forces right?, Well I've never seen him before." muttered a self-centered student sitting in the corner "I bet he's a fake." replied another. "Well I sure would be honored to take you in a duel, however, I would prefer to take a seat and not be disrespectful to this teacher." I announced to all "Oh Mr. Hirose there is no need to wait, this school is here to teach practical skill so duels are highly encouraged, in fact, I'm quite excited to see your skill for myself I have heard some intriguing rumors from the other teachers." countered the Teacher "Well Ma'am if uhh... you insist, whoever wishes to duel me please raise your left hand." quickly a dozen hands shot toward the sky. "Ok... Ok. Perfect, you will play rock, paper, scissors to determine who will fight me first, a game in which reading your opponent is key." after a short few minutes a sole victor rose, a blonde short haired boy who's name I had heard in the hall earlier Herold, Vanstreuppen a Estra-born Kriegerin one of the top students who had taken second place in the Estra Kriegerin Competition. "So Hirose, if you are in the military, why did you decide not to take part in the EKC, special forces members under the age of 20 are permitted in the competition are they not?" asked Herold in a condescending voice "I transferred from the Escar Region however I was born and raised in Estral which is why I speak the language and use the term Kriegerin." I replied calmly "Ohhh Sure, I still should have heard of you if you had competed and well… made it somewhere." "I did not participate as I was on a mission at the time of last year's competition." "Oh still keeping the Military Bit up? We all know the 12th SOD is a Public Relation division that does not conduct in actual combat." "Well you are half correct, however, I will show you our skills first hand. So shall we proceed?" I replied condescendingly.
"In the ring, no one can be hurt or killed so excuses for holding back are not acceptable." called out Herold "Yes… Yes I know now shall we begin?" these words were barely out of my mouth before Herold jumped forth attempting to shorten the distance and create a shallow cut with his blade, without even drawing my weapon I grabbed his hand and threw him to the ground while taking a leap backward making up for lost space. "This school has no place for those who run!" Herold yelled "I'm merely creating a space for combat" I summoned my weapon a Katana with a black blade, the students looked in awe. "Hey, Herold I don't think that's a regular Katana!" "Will you be quiet please a Katana is a Katana they lack durability in combat there is a reason it's the most common weapon in the Escar Region" "You insult it yet you know not its full potential" I replied to his bold statement "You talk big but your performance i-" he was stopped short by my blade which cut off his arm and snapped his long sword in half immediately triggering the system to end the duel. "I guess I won?" "What!?! No that can't be possible a simple Katana couldn't cut a long sword in half I request a rematch!" I accepted his request and again ended the duel swiftly with a cut to the femoral artery on his leg. "There, now who is next?" no one raised their hand as slow clapping broke the silence "Excellent Masato, you managed to eliminate the enemy in such a way as to not give away any technique used by the 12th SOD, Marvelous" praised a man in a similar black uniform, as he approached the insignia of Major slowly became visible in the light. "Thank you, sir!" Hirose proclaimed as he snapped to a salute. "At ease Hirose, I was merely here for a meeting with the principal when I heard you had accepted a duel." "Yes and I have to say when your father suggested you come here I told him you would be far too experienced for this school but he insisted you learn here as he did and I dare not deny him." chuckled an older man in a suit who looked to be the principal of the school. "I see that Ms. Fujii has given you an opportunity to show your fellow students what you are capable of." "Oh No Sir I'm just enforcing the policy set in place by the school, however I must say I was interested in knowing his ability as well, unfortunately I see our most powerful student was not enough to get it out of him." replied Ms. Fujii in an embarrassed tone "Of course not, you do know that in his official military record Masato Hirose has only used his ability once on a mission? In fact the only time he has admitted to using his ability was when his squad was ambushed and killed he was the only one to survive, this tragedy is the reason they were made a "PR" division because we did not want them to experience such a loss again, however they are still sent on missions deemed too dangerous for A ranked Soldiers. They are the Best of the Best. Now does anyone still doubt this young man's ability if so step forth." 3 young men around the ages of 16 and 17 stepped forward and Herold did not yield. "Alright, all 4 of you will fight him at once and may use your ability as you see fit." "Pfft there is no way he stands a chance." sneered one of the boys "Hirose you may not use your ability… not that I would expect you would." "Don't underestimate us we outnumber and outgun him." yelled Herold just as 4 throwing knives tore through their chests." "DUEL OVER CONGRATULATIONS GUEST" indicated the machine. "WHAT NO THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE NO ONE COULD THROW KNIVES AT THAT SPEED!?!?!" shouted Herold "Wow Hirose that was slower than usual." "NO ONE COULD HAVE POSSIBLY EVADED THAT!" Herold added from the background "Hirose, throw a knife at me full speed I expect you not to hold back." as soon as he finished his request his hand seemed to move faster than light as it caught the knife perfectly aimed at his left kidney. "Kids you have a lot to learn Hirose almost never throws his knives as it lowers kill chance nearly any of his targets could have deflected or dodged all 4 of those knives." News of the duel between the new kid and the top student quickly spread throughout the school, consequently, students avoided eye contact with Hirose as best as they could. Herold lost most of his reputation after a rumor that a new student who had never competed in the competition had eliminated him within seconds, especially since most of Herold's matches that ended in loss lasted 2 minutes or longer even in the nationwide competition.
At Wilhelmshaven, students are permitted to participate in military duties to earn extra credit and to increase their standing with the military, since Masato Hirose was already a member of the military he was assigned to duties with other students but did not receive extra credit instead it went toward his promotion requirements and his pay. "Alright, students your attention please I will now announce the students who are being assigned to a military detachment for a patrol operation in the Estran country of Ebral Hanada Mitsu, Morikawa Herold, Sando Jiro, Tanigawa Ayako, and Hirose Masato. You are all to report to the Wilhelmshaven military detachment HQ, Hirose I assume you know where it is even though you are a new student?" "Yes ma'am" "Okay, you are all dismissed I will see you all next week except those of you who were assigned to the patrol operation." said the teacher as she escaped through the door. as soon as the teacher was out of sight all the students rushed from the room trampling over each other to get to their dorms, I sat in the room waiting for this monstrosity to end however I was not alone a short, blonde girl, with an intricate pin attached to her hat (which indicated she was a member of royalty), she was also assigned to the mission, she was sat across the room, talking to her portable contact crystal until she suddenly smashed it on her desk when she realized she was not alone she turned beet red. "Y-y-y-you're Hirose Masato right?" she stuttered "A-ah yes, I am" I replied, trying not to sound surprised by her actions "May I ask what you're doing to your crystal?" "I uh was messaging my mother about coming home this weekend to visit but she said my brother took the manatek-carriage to Declar on business, he always does this and takes an extra-large security detachment now I can't even get an escort home!" "Where do you live? I suppose I could take you." "What NO NO NO it's very far away! I don't suppose you know where LaFjord is?" she quickly replied, "I do, in fact, I'm heading there to rent a room in an inn while I attend a language class at the Krudale Military Post, so if you need a ride I insist it would be on my way." "Well if you insist I so graciously accept, I'm Hanada Mitsu and I suppose we should get to know each other better since we are being sent to this mission together." "I suppose you are correct but I need to pack I will meet you at the front entrance in 15 minutes." I quickly ran to my dorm and started packing *Wheew* "I do not have much experience talking to girls outside of the military." just as I finished my sentence, my roommate, Okimoto Kane burst into the room. "WHAT'S UP, DUDE!" He screamed "I thought people from Japan had better manners" "Oh come on man why are you so uptight? Some girl deny your confession?" "What no of course not, I'm here to learn, not to date." I stuttered "Well this girl uuuuh what's her name? Hanada... Mitsu? She was saying you and her are about to go to LaFjord." "Oh uh yeah umm I just kinda offered since I was going to Krudale." "Nice dude you just scored yourself a date on the first w--!" he couldn't finish his statement as I kicked him across the room, "I told you it's not a da-" I was cut off by the shaking of my crystal, I took out the small crystal ball from my pocket and appeared a hologram of my father. "Hello Sir" "HEY SON!" "Yes, Sir is it a mission" "No well uh kinda and don't call me sir when I contact you by this means." "Ok Sir" "Ugh well I was just calling to remind you this is not a military assignment you can flirt with girls as much as you-" I cut my mana supply to the ball and the image disappeared "Ugh shut up dad!, Hey Kane check this room for bugs while I'm gone that was some real creepy timing." "OK boss! I found this cockroach in the hallway earlier!" "You idiot I meant like monitoring crystals" "OH, OK" just then I checked my watch 13 minutes had passed so I tossed 2 uniforms into my bag and started running to the front doors as Kane yelled after me "Go get 'em, Tiger!" "Don't worry I'll kill you when I get back Kane." his face turned pale and he ran back inside. As I arrived at the front doors Hanada rounded the corner from the female dorm stairwell. "Are ya ready to head out?" "Yeah, I forgot something but it's ok I don't need it." "Well if you want to go grab it I will grab a horse and meet you in front of the dorms." "Ok, I'll try and be quick about it" as Hanada exited the building she realized a small crowd had gathered at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh lord I see the new guy is flirting with the girls" but as she approached she realized the horse had a student sitting atop it playing some loud music from a record player, she even started to doubt that it was Hirose's, as she reached the bottom of the steps a black horse that looked like a mount of royalty strode up pulling her horse, Masato was guiding both horses to the stairs. "Well what are you waiting for get on." she was stunned by the mount, she had never seen such a great mare. "How can you afford this?" She asked in a surprised voice. "I didn't my boss sent it to me so I could move around while doing Personal and Military Business." "Wow, it's so pretty!" "Yea it's even got a crystal ball in the saddle so I can receive my military orders on the go! But anyway did you get what you wanted?" "Yes, I did! Thanks for letting me grab it" "Oh it was no problem but throw your stuff on the back so we can go I don't want to attract a crowd." and so their journey began but Masato started heading in the opposite direction, Mitsu was slightly annoyed and asked "do you even know where you're going" Masato replied slightly hurt "Yes follow me we are heading to the stables" Mitsu was confused since Masato had already grabbed their horses but she knew better than to argue with the military transfer student. As they reached the stables Masato went to the back where the flying mounts are kept and Mitsu was still confused there was no way this guy had a flying mount, just then Masato walked out with a Griffon in tow and Mitsu's jaw dropped. Griffons were typically reserved for low or mid royalty how did he get his hands on this one. Mitsu asked, "How do you have such a pure Griffon those are reserved for Mid Royalty aren't they?" "Well yes, but I'm Mid Royalty" Masato replied nonchalantly. Mitsu nearly passed out as while Masato loaded his belongings, it was nearly a twelve-hour trip by horse but a griffon could do the trip in two.
On the trip, Masato and Mitsu talked about their lives, families and even learned that they liked a lot of the same stuff, but there was one thing that Mitsu questioned, whenever she asked what his hobbies were he would always reply, the military and that he does it for fun. As they made their first stop at a family shop in Ogenbargen Masato hopped off the griffon and brought him to a watering trough. "Is there anything you want to eat or drink Hanada?" "You don't have to call me Hanada since we're friends you could just call me Mitsu you know." "Oh, Ok is there anything you would like Mitsu?" "Eine wass- I mean one water please" I looked at her and burst out laughing "WHAT'S SO FUNNY!?" I struggled to talk through the laughing "Y-y-your face when you realized you started speaking Estran was hilarious!" "W-w-well fine I just won't talk anymore on the ride hmpf." Mitsu exclaimed as her face burst into red "Ok, Ok I'll be right back." as Masato got back onto the griffon I he handed her water and she tried to pay him for it but Masato insisted one Copper Coin was not going to bankrupt him "Hey i-i-is it okay if I call you Masato?" "Uh sure just try to avoid it during the mission next week." "OKAY!" she cheered, "I thought she wasn't gonna talk" I said to myself "Oh well her voice is pretty sweet" it took a few seconds but I realized what I said and punched myself she looked at me and started laughing "You okay there fella want an Ice pack?" "No I'm fine I just thought something really stupid and needed to discipline myself" and that was the running gag on the rest of the flight to LaFjord. As LaFjord came into view she pointed to a castle in the center of the city "Oh wow that is a big castle" I praised "Yeah but it's much smaller on the inside would you care to come in for a drink, it's the least I could do." "I would be delighted" as we entered the house a woman pulled Mitsu to the side of the room "You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend when you were talking to me earlier!" "It's nothing like that mother he's in my class and heard what happened with brother and it just so happened he was heading this way so he insisted he could take me here and back." "Oh-ho and what is he coming all the way out here for?" "Why don't you ask him yourself mother, he is your guest." Mitsu snapped back "Hi I'm Hanada Riko, Mitsu's mother." "Hello, I'm Hirose, Hirose Masato nice to meet you." "Well thank you for taking Mitsu home while her brother is away with the carriage, but if you don't mind could I ask what you're coming all the way out to LaFjord to do?" she questioned "I don't mind at all, I'm out here to attend a language class as I'm enlisted in the Military." "OH Wow, you are very young to be enlisted would you mind if I asked what you do in the Military?" "Mother you shouldn't ask so many questions to our guest!" Mitsu snapped "Oh no Mitsu it's perfectly understandable I am very young to be enlisted, I am Hirose Masato Sgt. of the first platoon of the 12th Special Operations Division." "Oh wow, that is quite impressive!" "Thank you, I'd love to stay and chat but if I don't leave now I may be late to my class, thank you for having me." Hirose Masato left quickly after giving Mitsu his contact info. "What a nice boy Mitsu and he's cute, you should marry him." Nudged Riko. "M-m-marry him, mother, Where did that come from!?! Mitsu replied as she panicked, "Well you know I can't have you marrying some poor guy and you're in high school now is the time to think about getting married and having kids so you can produce an heir for the family." "W-w-whatever mother I'm going to my room." Mitsu Stuttered as she stumbled up the stairs.