"Eh? You want me to do what?..", Kazuma clarified as he stared perplexed at Seijurou, who stood in a defensive stance a few paces away.
It was another of the first years' practical sessions held at the open grounds of FSG. Copper stained leaves rustled beneath the students' feet as they honed the skills they learned from the previous summer. While the clanging of clashing steel reverberated throughout the front yard of the renowned academy, fire, water and air seemed to have erupted harmoniously with the songs of a mock battle.
"Shoot spells at me, Toho..", answered Seijurou with a smug look on his face. "Any attack would do.. just don't blow the place up like you did last semester."
Kazuma almost popped a vein as he got reminded of his past error. "Hah?! Don't talk as if I'm reckless with my magic, Erida. I can do concentrated spells too, you know."
"Then just do it..", insisted Seijurou as he braced himself. "Hayama-sensei paired us for practice duels.. I can't exactly attack you.. and if I did, I might be the one ending up on burning the place up."
"Are you sure?..", Kazuma hesitated.
"Yeah, come at me."
"Fine. I'll start with a basic one first.. don't wanna end up killing you..", grumbled Kazuma while he weaved a "Download Hand Gesture". "Download Mizu no Jumon (Water Spell) sixteen.. Mizu no Taihou (Water Cannon)."
As the blindingly fast ball of water approached, Seijurou crossed his armguards at chest level to protect himself. However, the impact knocked him flat on the foliage as soon as it hit him.
While he rolled back to sit down, Seijurou coughed as if someone had punched him in the gut. "As I thought.. the physical aspects of some spells can still hurt.. have to dodge instead."
Worried for his classmate's sake, but more for his since it might get him into trouble, Kazuma ran frantically to Seijurou's aid. "Erida! Are you okay? Sheesh.. you'll get us both in trouble. I warned you, man.."
Seijurou stood up and cleaned himself of the dried leaves that were still stuck on him. "I'm fine. Let's try something else."
But before Kazuma could even answer, he noticed something that froze him stiff in place. Everything around them was drenched in water caused by his spell earlier except for Seijurou. "Erida.. how are you not wet with what I just did to you?"
Turning pale as if he was about to vomit, Seijurou slumped while he replied. "Can you rephrase the question? That just sounded so wrong coming from you.."
"My water spell! What my water spell did to you, you baka!..", fumed Kazuma with veins slightly popping out. "That's just sick, man.."
Seijurou inspected his hands first and the rest of his body to confirm if Kazuma was right. However, he was not surprised at all since he already knew the reason he stayed as dry as the leaves scattered throughout the field.
"You're right. I am dry..", confirmed Seijurou while still staring at his palms. "Since the water that hit me is created from magic.. my resistance to it kept me from getting drenched."
"That's ridiculous.. even if you have high magic resistance, you could at least be a little damp..", answered Kazuma in disbelief. "Did you just get stronger last summer? Wait.. of course you did! You saved a freakin' town.. but are you immune to magic now?"
Disclosing his new ability he gained from his mother's heirloom was something Seijurou shared sparingly. He was still reluctant to give this kind of information to anyone save for his closest friends and family. Instead, he decided to answer vaguely. "Well.. I did finally reach level ten.."
"You what?..", asked Kazuma with a lot of doubt in his tone. "All this time you were behind in class in terms of Player Character level? And you pulled one big trick off in Shizuoka with that?"
Seijurou just scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah.. I guess.."
"Oi! What are you two chattering about there?!..", yelled Hayama from a distance, causing both Seijurou and Kazuma to stand shocked in attention. "This is a practical class, Erida, Toho! Get to work and move!"
As the two bowed in apology to their sensei, Seijurou made another request from Kazuma. "Toho.. can we try spells without physical damage next?"
"You're kidding right?..", asked Kazuma as if his ears had just deceived him. "One basic spell almost knocked the lights out of you.. now you want an advanced one?"
"That's why I'm asking you to try something that wouldn't knock me over..", answered Seijurou blankly.
Kazuma sighed right before he prepared another spell reluctantly. However, their little practice drill was suddenly interrupted by Hayama calling Seijurou out.
"Erida-san! Someone's looking for you..", called Hayama as he glanced at a tall girl in school uniform standing behind him on the sidelines.
Most of the boys gasped the moment they saw the woman with a pixie hair cut. She had a stern gaze from her crimson irises with white skin that seemed to have reflected the waning autumn sunlight. Even with her high school uniform on, her physical characteristics screamed a kind of maturity beyond her age.
"What a bombshell..", muttered Jax while he groped and blushed at the stranger. A resounding bang came after as Kanae bashed Jax with her shield, bringing him back from dreamland.
"Xi! What are you suddenly stopping for?..", asked Kanae with some annoyance in her tone. "Concentrate!"
But Jax kept his unyielding stare at the mysterious girl like he was not bothered by Kanae at all. "Who is that beauty?"
As Kanae shifted her attention towards where Jax was referring to, she just simply shook her head. "Oh that.. happens every time she pops out.. we were affiliated with her through Yoshiki-taichou in Shizuoka.. a second year senpai."
"Nishida Aya..", Aya introduced herself with an offered handshake as soon as Seijurou came within a pace's distance. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Erida Seijurou."
"You're tall..", mumbled Seijurou as he realized he was slightly looking upwards to meet Aya's piercing eyes. And then, he panicked in embarrassment, grabbed her hand, and bowed several times. "I.. I mean.. pleasure's all mine, Nishida-senpai!"
Aya shot Seijurou a deviously seductive grin. "Pleasurable indeed.."
"Eh?..", reacted Seijurou while steam began to rise from his ears.
"Oi, Erida! You cheat! Since when did such a hottie look for you?..", teased Kazuma, causing some muffled laughter throughout the playing field. "Perks of being a hero, I guess?"
While he fumed even more, Seijurou yelled at Kazuma furiously. "Shut up, Toho! It's official business!"
Aya covered her mouth with her fingers as she giggled to herself. "Oh my.. what a lively class you have.. anyway.. follow me. Our kaichou is waiting."
As his senior started walking away, Seijurou immediately followed. "Hai, Nishida-senpai.. but what does Yanagi-senpai want with me?"
"You'll see..", Aya teased with her playful tone as she pressed forward. "And Seijurou-sama.. Nishida-senpai is too long.. call me.. onee-chan."
"S.. sama..?"
It took a while before Seijurou could even speak a word. As him and his newly acquainted senior walked past the seemingly endless but bright corridors of FSG, he followed silently with his head tilted a little downward. Even with Aya glancing back from time to time to smile at him, being comfortable in her presence was not something he could pull off immediately.
"Besides Kinjou and Yanagi-senpai, she's the only other member of FSG's Seven I've met..", thought Seijurou while bashfully observing Aya walk in front of him. Even as he tried to avert his gaze, he repeatedly found himself staring at the imposing but overly attractive person in front of him. Besides being literally shorter than her, he could not help but feel smaller in his senpai's presence. "I can understand why she grabs so much attention. She's gorgeous.. but more importantly.. the way she carries herself.. that posture.. she's seen countless battles far more I can imagine."
As they arrived by the door of the "Seven's" office, Aya opened it and showed her junior the way in with her arm. "Make yourself comfortable.. it's on the door to your right. I'll be back after I change my clothes."
Seijurou looked at his senior with confusion. "Change? Is something wrong with your uniform?"
Without warning, Aya pulled Seijurou towards her and sniffed his neck and ear. "Why? You want to watch me dress up?"
The action caused all Seijurou's blood to rise towards his head, making him shiver as if the blood loss throughout his body dropped his temperature. He desperately kept a nosebleed from spraying out by breathing in deeply before he answered. "No, Ni.. onee-chan.. that would be inappropriate."
"By the way, you smell good.. reminds me of kaichou-sama..", added Aya before cupping Seijurou's face with her hands and licking her lips slowly with her unnecessarily stimulating tongue. "Now please get inside before I get punished for bringing you in late."
"Punished?..", asked Seijurou with a baffled stare as he watched his bewitching senpai wink at him and walked towards the locker rooms.
"What in the world was that about?..", thought Seijurou while he entered the council room.
As he entered, Seijurou was greeted by a large circular table made of oak. Just beside him was an iron chair with a dragon's head sculpted on top, and across the table was a chair taller than the other six that were positioned equally throughout its circumference.
"So, this is what a 'Sacred Round Table' looks like..", pondered Seijurou in awe.
Scattered hanging on the walls were portraits of notable students who once made the room their second home. As Seijurou looked closely, he realized that these images belonged to people who sat on the helm before. And in one corner, he saw a picture of an overly familiar and sheepishly smiling black haired girl.
"Erida Masako.. FSG'S Helm from the year 1997 to 1999..", read Seijurou with a cheery grin on his face. After that, he took an image of his mother's portrait with his "console command". "I didn't know you were once this school's strongest, Mama.. I'll show this to oyaji later."
All of a sudden, an overwhelming pressure brought Seijurou back to his senses. It reminded him he was not there for sightseeing, and that he should be meeting up with the Helm. He glanced towards a half opened door to the right side of the room where the mighty presence was coming from.
"Right.. that's why Kinjou was missing from the practical class.. they have a meeting..", thought Seijurou as he hesitated to walk towards the inner office. "But why didn't they hold it here on the round table?"
Seijurou slowly approached the entrance of the Helm's office. As he reluctantly peeked through the narrow opening, he assumed to see more of those incredibly formidable figures like Aya. But the moment he saw the interior of the room, his expectations went downhill.
Seated at the edge of a couch was a humongous orange haired boy, snoring for all the world could hear. Sleeping on his lap was a tan skinned boy with cherry blossom colored hair. At the opposite side of the room was a tiny blue haired girl who was seated on the floor, reading multiple thick books; and beside her was a blonde girl who just tinkered with her console command. And at the far corner was a copper haired boy who laid down while playing a stringed instrument.
"I was anticipating something a little bit more impressive..", pondered Seijurou as he broke a droplet of sweat. "They all look like ordinary students in uniforms minding their own business.. no one would've thought they're among the nations most powerful soldiers."
At the far end of the room by the window was the Helm's desk. On it was Yanagi Shinsuke, who was currently drowning in all the paperwork.
"Kinjou-kun.. I can't take this anymore..", cried Shinsuke with half tears coming out of his seemingly tired eyes. "There's so many application forms for the Autumn Festival. When did we have this many clubs in school? Can you do this for me, please?"
"No can do, kaichou!..", answered Satsuki as she emerged from the shelves, bringing a fresh stack of papers. "It is your duty as the Helm. You can do it! I'll cheer for you!"
"Then as the Helm, I order you to handle this..", commanded Shinsuke but did not sound commanding with his faltering tone.
"As your right hand, it is my duty to remind you that your signature is needed for all this..", shot Satsuki back as she dropped more paperwork on the desk. "So.. I can't do it for you. Besides.. if only you came in earlier, you wouldn't have this much backlog anyway."
"Why? Kinjou-kun, why? How can you be the worst and the best at the same time? You even push me around even more than Haguro.."
Satsuki giggled before something caught her eye from the office's entrance. "Erida-kun! Why're you hiding? Come in! Yanagi-kaichou's been waiting for you."
Shinsuke tilted his head to the side to peer through the mountain of papers in front of him. "Oh.. you're here. Come in!"
"Well, if it isn't the fireworks hero himself.. the 'Blazing Blink' was it?..", added Shouya gleefully. "Why please.. make yourself at home!"
The lame hero moniker got Seijurou hesitating again. As he entered, he slowly moved his feet forward with his head hung low. Looking at all the seniors around him only made him uncomfortable. He had never thought trudging forward in a small room could feel like walking a mile.
"Besides Kinjou-kun, Aya-neechan and I, I believe you haven't met the other members of the Seven yet..", stated Shinsuke while gesturing towards his fellow councilmen and women. He started introducing each of them. "The one on your right.. that's Rika, my classmate."
"It's an honor, Erida Seijurou..", acknowledged Rika with a nod before continuing with her reading.
"The one beside her is Nagano Mariya from the second year class..", Shinsuke continued.
Mariya glanced up momentarily. "Yo.."
"Here playing his lute is our resident Bard, Shouya."
"Greetings, good sir..", greeted Shouya with a bow.
"Lastly, my two other classmates on the couch who are currently unable to respond.. Natsuo the big one, and Gouro.."
"(Snore..).."
Seijurou bowed abruptly at ninety degrees after the brief introduction. "It's with great honor to meet you all, senpais!"
"I like him already, Shinsuke..", commented Rika with a plain face, which made Seijurou blush a little. Then, she threw a book towards Natsuo, waking him up in a daze. "This quest giving is classified information. We must all leave."
"Wait. Quest?..", asked Seijurou in confusion as Mariya pulled Gouro's leg with a thud to drag him out of the room, which really did not wake him up. Shouya also followed shortly after.
"Yup, Erida-kun! We've been given a quest..", answered Satsuki with her usual cheery smile.
But something bothered Seijurou. "Senpai.. counting all of you here makes seven. If Nishida-senpai is part of the student body's seven representatives, how does that make sense?"
Out of nowhere, someone from behind placed a tray with three cups on it on the desk. "Funny that you asked.. you really are interested in me, Seijurou-sama."
Seijurou had to prevent a nosebleed from spurting out again the moment he saw who just spoke. She was wearing a revealing version of a maid outfit. Aya smiled endearingly at him before she poured out some tea into the cups.
"Eh?! A maid cosplay?!..", reacted Seijurou while blushing, causing Satsuki to laugh at him.
"And I already told you that's onee-chan for you..", insisted Aya. "To answer your question.. I'm not an official member of FSG's Round Table. I'm their servant."
Shinsuke scratched his head awkwardly with a droplet of sweat. "That's actually more of a secretary, nee-chan.."
"Oh.. do you want me to change into a secretary outfit instead?..", inquired Aya with a bashful expression. "It's my fault for not knowing.. can you punish me, kaichou-sama?"
"That won't be necessary..", replied Shinsuke with some awkwardness lingering. After the short banter, he focused his attention to Seijurou. "It's good that you want to know about Aya-neechan, Erida-kun.. because she will captain your quest. Along with Kinjou-kun here.. you three have orders from above to form a temporary 'Trinity'.."
While Satsuki shot another smirk, Seijurou and Aya nodded to each other, acknowledging their newly formed alliance.
"Aya-neechan is one of Jihon's most formidable assassins..", Shinsuke continued. "She grew up in the shadows and was taught in the stealthy arts at an early age.. so young that she was already given sabotage quests as early as the age of eight. Before she even reached her teens.. she already had a decorated career enough to fill this room.. and enough to catch Yoshiki Mizuki's attention to make her an apprentice."
"This is not punishment, kaichou.. too much flattery..", interrupted Aya with a frown, but Seijurou stared at her in awe.
"But that meant missing plenty of time for childhood..", Shinsuke pressed on. "After taking countless of missions, nee-chan decided to go to school for her own development.. she is five years behind in terms of academic grade level."
"Ni.. onee-chan, you should've taken supplementary classes instead if you really wanted schooling..", added Seijurou with some concern in his tone.
Aya simply smirked before she spoke. "That's not punishment enough for neglecting my studies.. but I did want to experience school life myself like everybody else. Now you know why everyone addresses me as an elder sister.."
"And it's also the reason she's an honorary member of FSG's Seven. It would be in bad taste not to involve one of the most powerful students in the council..", added Shinsuke. "Which leads me to my next point.. her capabilities are perfectly suited for this quest. It's going to be an intellectual sabotage mission.. and a main quest."
"So, it can get ugly?..", asked Seijurou.
"Better to anticipate the worst..", replied Shinsuke. "But I don't think it's going to be as bad as the last time.. since this one will be at Nerima, where military presence is prominent due to its connection to the Minami incident..
"The objective of this quest is for you to find out what the Shirogane Syndicate was looking for.. and find its connection to the writings inside the Minami excavation."
Seijurou squinted as skepticism began to cast doubts. "If we get cornered by the Yakuza, do we even have enough manpower to engage?"
"Aya-neechan's infiltration skills are enough to get you out of harm's way.. Kinjou-kun will be the weapon and the one to safeguard the asset.. and the asset is the information and the brains of this quest, you.."
"So, are you with me on this, Erida-kun?..", Satsuki asked with a more serious look this time.
Seijurou smiled at his partner and shrugged his shoulders. "Do I actually have a choice? I'm in, of course."
"That settles it then..", Aya concluded as she nodded at both Seijurou and Satsuki. "Now, Seijurou-sama.. do you have what it takes to give me apt punishment?"
A tinge of red began to rise up to Seijurou's head as he fumed. "Why the hell do I have to punish you?!"
With Seijurou's almost violently stiff reaction, the other three in the room started blurting out laughter.
"Oi! That's not funny! Stop laughing!..", demanded Seijurou, but it only made them laugh more.
Seijurou just crossed his arms and shook his head as he stared at his laughing comrades. He flashed an awkward grin as he pondered to himself.
"Why does it give me an impression that this is going to be another long adventure?"
Character Description:
Nishida Aya – an honorary member of FSG's Round Table of Seven. She's currently a second year, but due to her serving the military first, she is already 22 years of age (that's why everyone calls her onee-chan). Her name literally translates into "beautiful western rice field". I created this character for a bunch of many reasons. However, I plan to reveal her purpose in the succeeding chapters, indicating I have really big plans for her.
Being an assassin for most of her life, Aya exhibits a twisted kind of personality. For some odd reason, she finds pleasure in pain, which isn't something normal for an ordinary individual. However strange she is though, she follows orders to the dot and executes quests flawlessly. Her concept of friendship isn't fleshed out yet, but she does show some protectiveness towards those who are younger than she is (which is almost everyone). I can say for certain that she has one of the most interesting personalities in the story with all the characteristics she has shown so far.
But one thing unique about Aya is her "Blood Art". Besides being a prolific user of different types of blades and ranged assassination weaponry, her special technique allows her to manipulate the blood of others as long as she can smell it and comes into contact with her skin. She can change its shape and constitution at will as long as the amount of blood permits it. So far, she was able to use blood as a suit, make spikes out of it, and even write incantation texts with it. It has its limits though, as seen how she was left only in her underwear upon losing her blood suit to the fire.
Aya's general appearance is where it gets interesting. Aside from the standard FSG school uniform, she wears a variety of costumes depending on her current taste. It was probably caused by her habit of disguising herself in different infiltration missions, or she just really loves to cosplay. Her height is 175cm (our tallest girl so far), and she weighs in at 51kg (she's a bit of an oddball here since she approves of disclosing her weight). Her favorite food is anything with rice. You all know what her other favorite things are (to punish, cosplay, to be punished, and punishment).