[¯\_(ツ)_/¯: New Angel Acquired]
"Tsk... she is not the one," I grumbled under my breath, making sure the armour-clad woman standing in front of me didn't hear. She had reddish, flowing hair and a small mole under her left eye. In her hand, she held a puny rapier, which was annoying because I was hoping for a long-ranged attacker. I could also tell she wasn't as strong as the other Angel.
"For a guy named Seven, I sure have bad luck." God must have a cruel sense of humour, I thought to myself.
She would have to do though, as I was out of options. One-on-one matches were the last test for my hyper-ability license, which already put me at a disadvantage. The unpredictable nature of The Random Angel Generator just doesn't allow for strategic planning in these types of situations. However, failing wasn't an option. It was already embarrassing enough that I had to do the exam two years after everyone else in my class. I accessed the distance between the examiner, acknowledging his abnormal prowess in martial arts and close-quarters combat, then turned to my Angel.
"I've never been good with nicknames, so I'll let you pick," I said to her as the keyboard popped up from the bottom of the dimly light screen of my smartphone, prompting me to enter a name. Frown lines began appearing on her forehead as her mind churned to think of one. The challenge had clearly taken her aback. She definitely wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed compared to my past Angels either. I knew that if I left her to think of a name, we would probably be here all day!
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a hand struck my head. It hurt. My opponent was able to close the distance in such a short space of time and land a fast and precise hit. Blood streamed down my forehead, quickly becoming cold as it reacted with the winter wind. I let my guard down and as a result, created an opening. I got onto my feet and readied my stance, struggling to keep my balance. The injury was worse than I thought. Just as quickly as I got up, I fell back down onto the concrete floor. The room became darker and darker until nothingness consumed me. As I sank into unconsciousness and my surroundings slipped away, memories that had long been locked away began to flood my brain.
I wearily opened my eyes again to the agitating ticking of a clock. Desks filled with tired students surrounded me like an endless horde of class clowns and underachievers. At that moment I realised I was in the one place I hated the most, school. I looked back at the clock, seeing that I only had five minutes until the bell rang.
The black blazer I wore tightened around my chest, almost constricting my breathing, and the tip of my pencil drummed against the table which had been tattooed with doodles I had made whenever my mind wandered during class. My hand lifted off the desk and inched towards the ceiling. "Sir, can I go to the toilets, please." Hoping to wait out the rest of my prison sentence in the bathroom. The teacher's disappointing point to the 'No toilet breaks during class' sign was the response I didn't want but expected.
Slowly but surely, the lesson was ending as the teacher's words faded into the background. Why would a disabled like me even need to take a lesson in Hyper-Physical Education? To be honest, the school probably didn't know how to react to someone not developing any powers at... A loud ringing noise derailed my train of thought.
(DING DONG!)
But my problems were far from over. In fact, they were only just getting started. I threw all my notes into my bag, indifferent to the future me who was going to have to sort through this mess and sprinted for the door. I made it into the corridor without incident and kept running until the south exit was in sight. Hurled over fallen textbooks, spinning past underpaid teachers, and breathed out in relief. I was going to make it out alive. Or so I thought.
In a momentary false sense of security, I had run face-first into Aza, sweeping me off my feet. I couldn't help but sneak in a laugh before getting my stomach pummelled by a barrage of kicks and fists, "I really am an unlucky guy."
"Please wake up, Mr Seven," My Angel knelt beside me, looking at me with a worried expression on her face. Her gentle words were enough to seep through the facade my unconscious mind had created. My eyes, slowly adjusting to the bright arena lights, noticed her hand holding her side as she coughed up blood.
My fists clenched, "how utterly useless must I be to allow someone to get harmed protecting me whilst I slept?" Rage, enough to jolt me up from my brief flashback, overcame me. I would never go back to the way things were before. Especially not after finally gaining a way to stand up for myself. I gripped my phone tighter. But, more importantly, I had to see that 'person' again.
If our attacker was going to punch and kick us, we were just going to punch and kick back twice as much. My Angel got up and lunged forward as if she could tell what I was thinking. The adrenaline in my system made me react on impulse too. Before I knew it, she, the examiner and I were trading blows in the centre of the ring. I didn't endure all those years of abuse to not be able to take a couple of hits. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing I had to consider.
Blood sprayed out in all directions, most of which came from my Angel. Her breathing had become desperate and the time between each inhalation shortened, clearly still suffering from her past injuries. This 'strategy' would not last for much longer. Forget about failing the exam, if I didn't activate 'it' now we were going to die here.
I lifted my phone, every minuscule movement becoming a thousand times harder, and pressed the 'trigger' button. "IT'S NOW OR NEVER!"
[(ง'̀-'́)ง: Your Current Angel '***' Has Entered A Pure State]
[ಠ_ಠ: -25 BaeBucks]
Just saying those words seemed to take almost everything I had. I would not be much help to anyone for a long time. Not that it mattered now, anyway. Once in this state, even an unnamed Angel like her could overturn a building easily. If I'm going to be paying that much to activate it, I expect nothing less. I had to put a hand on the floor in an attempt to regain balance; I was slipping in and out of consciousness again. I wish I could've at least seen an Angel's true form in action. "How unlucky."
When I finally woke up in the infirmary, the match was already over and I had no recollection of what had happened. From what the invigilators told me, they had to step in to stop the match. Apparently, 'The results were clear, there was no need to see anymore.'
Beside me lay a thin blue card similar to a debit card. My name, number, date of birth and picture could be seen on the front of the card. On the back read 'You have been granted use of your ability and are legally required to carry this license on your persons wherever you go.' "Did they really have to take my license picture whilst I was unconscious?" I frowned. My mum will never let this down.
I slipped the card into my back pocket and looked down at my bruised hands, clenching them before having to unclench them due to muscle fatigue. Where was the feeling of joy or relief? Instead, I was drowning in an overwhelming rush of emptiness, my arms too weak to pull myself up. All I wanted was the power to defend myself, but even now I still had to rely on others to fight my battles. Winning didn't really feel like winning. I struggled out of the bed and washed my face. I had to find my Angel and thank her for everything before she automatically despawned.
I walked out and back into the arena where the exam had just taken place. Enormous craters and loose chunks of land covered the entire floor. I didn't even want to imagine what had happened here whilst I was unconscious. Seems I was way off when evaluating her strength. I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover. In the distance, I could see the faint outline of a fairly short, armour-clad, rapier-wielding woman. I ran out towards her, trying not to fall over any bits of debris. Of course, she had already automatically healed most of her minor injuries. Luckily, none were serious enough to require me to spend any BaeBucks on.
"Um... I'm very sorry Mr Seven, I've been trying really hard but I can't seem to think of a name." She turned away from me, her cheeks flushed from having just admitted defeat. I stared back, astonished for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. To think she was still trying to think of a name despite everything that had just happened brought a smile to my face.
"As I said, I'm really not good at nicknames but I was thinking this one might suit you" I pulled out my phone and typed in her name whilst she watched intently. Once done, she stepped back and grinned from ear to ear before slowly disappearing into thin air.
[(⌐■_■): You Named Your Current Angel 'ARES']
[( ͡° ʖ̯ ͡°): Your Playtime With 'ARES' Is Now Over]
[Final Friendship Rating Is: 54/100 ｡^‿^｡]