The sound of footsteps smacking against the hard ground reverberated throughout the halls of Buraunmajikku Academy, with the silhouettes of numerous students racing down the walls of the hallway. Each student in particular accoutered chalkboard-gray armor that emitted audible rattles with every subtle movement and blue headbands that were tightly fastened around their heads.
After a short while, the class of students emerged from the academy doors with the sun beaming down on them. Instinctively, the students positioned themselves, facing forward, awaiting further orders.
Suddenly, someone had cleared their throat.
"Ahem,"
Perking up, not an inch of slouching visible, the students' eyes drifted to the sound. Presently, the blue-haired, sword-wielding instructor named Mr. Oshieru stood tall.
A smile stretched across his lips.
"Ah, look at you all—so grown."
Out of all the students, Naguru Akogare started to break down into sentimental tears. "We couldn't do it without you, Mr. Oshieru!"
*SMACK!*
"Stay in position, idiot!" Ninki Meisei scolded, an annoyed scowl and harsh glare etched upon his features.
The pink-haired Utsukushi snickered in the distance.
With a strong clap of his hands, Oshieru redirected the attention of his students back to him, prompting the instructor to then fold his arms.
"As you all may know, more missions are being dished out for you all; I need to make sure that you are all prepared and punctual—your performance on these missions can boost your combative prowess and drastically raise your ranks. Some of you may even graduate from this academy as High-Class warriors." Mr. Oshieru announced, his tone snuffing out any frivolity.
Tentatively, Shizen Utsukushi raised her hand. "Are we going to be in danger at all on these missions—like, serious, danger?"
Mr. Oshieru stood still, his head swaying from side to side. "Uhhm… depends."
'So monotone…' Apiru Naderamu noted quietly, her face falling slightly.
Utsukushi blinked repeatedly, her body frozen. "...Well, it can't be much worse than the invasion, right?"
"I'll let you figure that out," Oshieru asserted, closing his eyes gently.
Silence encompassed the area around them, giving everyone a moment of thought. Missions were to be expected, of course—just not so suddenly; it was odd for the students to comprehend that their careers are finally forming.
Another hand was sprouted into the air, the student's armor clanking with the motion. "This may be unrelated, but who will be teaching us once we become second years?"
Such an innocent question was unexpected from Naderamu, catching Oshieru off guard. Obviously, the query was not so serious—to the students, of course. Oshieru never once stopped and thought about the end of the year, when his students would potentially make it to graduate from their first year and he would be able to congratulate them.
Something he was unable to do with his previous class.
"I'm sure that Principal Manabu will have that covered, Naderamu. Any other questions before you all are dispatched?" Oshieru shrugged the question off, unnerved from his own mind.
"Excuse me, Mr. Oshieru," Senko Sukudo said abruptly. "But what is our mission?"
'Finally, a question I can work with…' Oshieru sighed.
"Today we got information of a rogue trespassing on Buraun's territory; he isn't any ordinary person, but any crucial information is being kept closed from us—don't ask why, just go with it." Oshieru answered, a yawn breaking out from the instructor's mouth.
Akogare became perplexed. "So, what are we assigned to do?"
Closing his mouth from his yawn, Oshieru lazily eyed his students. "Keep him from escaping until the proper unit arrives."
XXX
The house was quiet; the sounds of the house settling could be heard, as if the home itself were wailing for something other than complete bleakness. Ambling smoothly across the wooden floor, a man with white hair that was black at the tip of each individual strand put his lips up to a cold bottle of alcohol, his body falling into a blue chair and sinking into the seat comfortably.
Retracting the bottle from his lips and refraining from taking another swig, the man craned his head backward, resting the back of his skull against the chair. A light groan emitted from his throat.
'Every time I take a sip, the alcohol tastes more and more abhorrent—but the radiating numbness purges it.'
Kaminari Nozomu was not in the best of moods, his mind tainted with the beverage in his hand.
'Brother, mind my words, but you can't get drunk. The numbness you feel is of your own fruition.' A voice spoke out within Nozomu's conscience.
"Is that right?" Nozomu grumbled, swirling the bottle around before returning it to his lips.
The dragon in his mind had begun inputting his thoughts when he deemed them necessary—ever since the lightning beast of Nozomu's past awoke, and even after Tanjo left, leaving Nozomu in a state of mental disarray, he started to pitch in much more often.
'Surely you have better things to do, Kaminari.' The dragon's voice boomed once more, making Nozomu sling his head downward.
"Yeah, labor?" Nozomu retorted, placing the bottle of alcohol on a mini-table beside the blue chair,
'No, finding your so—!'
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!*
A voice pierced through the front door. "Nozomu! It's urgent!"
In an instant, Nozomu recognized the voice of the man standing outside his front door, knocking against the wood loudly. It was Commander Haishi. It took less than a millisecond for Nozomu to appear in front of the door with a flash of lightning, twisting the knob and opening it entirely, being greeted by the village chief's presence.
"What is it?" Nozomu asked with utmost brevity, his voice stolid.
With a heavy breath Haishi said, "We found Tanjo."
XXX
Mizuki had never been so delighted, a chirpy smile gracing the young boy's countenance. He was finally surrounded by his brother and sister, enabling him to bask in the love of a family once again—Mizuki missed it dearly.
"So what happened next!?"
With the exuberant but horrified voice of Sona, Mizuku shifted his gaze to his sister, who was mildly intrigued with the story of his abduction.
Mizuki stuttered, "I-I was then kept in a smelly cell for a long time…"
Toshiro's analytical eyes were glued to his brother. "Did you keep track of time by carving on the wall?"
"N-no, I did not." Mizuki answered, rubbing his arm softly.
A disappointed hum was emitted from Toshiro's throat, his eyes drifting downward. Nevertheless, Sona brushed her clever brother's inquiry aside with a bright smile.
"What about your escape!? How did you get out of the castle!?" Sona leaned forward, her eyes wide with interest and curiosity.
Mizuki struggled to recall every detail of his perilous kidnapping; he was certain that death would arrive at his cell at any moment. Mizuki merely huddled in the corner with his eyes closed for the duration of his confinement.
"I w-was saved by a warrior." Mizuki revealed, his mind flashing back to the moment the masked stranger appeared in the dungeon. "I thought he was another one of t-those villains, but he said he was there to rescue me!"
Sona pumped her fists repeatedly. "Did he heroically blast you out of the cell and escape!?"
The dark-haired child could still recall when one of the rogue's swords pierced through his hero's chest, splattering blood all over the room. It was frightening and traumatic; however, the next thing Mizuki knew was that the very same masked savior pushed forward and blew a hole in the ceiling.
"You could say that, I suppose?" Mizuki contemplated his sister's words, craning his head to the side.
"Awesome! I can't wait to be a warrior like that!" Sona exulted, jumping up to her toes.
Mizuki's breath hitched. "Y-yeah, me too—!"
"Okay, kids! Go continue your studying! Mizuki, stay put, please." Lieutenant Kou barged into the conversation, swatting her hands to usher Sona and Toshiro away.
"Aww," Sona whined. "What do I even need math for, anyways!?"
Kou stared at Sona sternly. "A lot. Now go."
Sona stomped away, returning to her previous task, closely followed by a silent Toshiro. Mizuki averted his gaze from the departing sight of his siblings and cast a glance at Lieutenant Kou.
"What d-do you need, Ms. Kou?"
Lieutenant Kou sighed. "Just call me Kou, Mizuki."
"Okay… Kou." Mizuki said tentatively.
Kou smiled. "Good. Now, I have a few questions to ask—if you don't mind."
Mizuki grew perplexed. "About what?"
Kou's expression became increasingly monotone. "Your 'savior'."
XXX
"So, are you ready to head to Shanti?"
Asami and Tanjo had just started leaping through several branches, taking it quite slow to prevent being spotted by nearby warriors. Who knows what security a village has in today's world—all of the bloodshed in the nation was quite daunting.
Tanjo heaved an exasperated sigh. "Ready as I'll ever be, Asami. I just hope I can sew myself a new sleeve or procure a substitute."
What he was referring to was his exposed arm; the sleeve that originally concealed his limb was sliced off the moment he had lost his arm, so now his regrown arm was visible.
"I'm still shocked that your arm suddenly grew back. Even warriors of the High Class struggle to regrow missing limbs. The most some have been able to materialize is a missing eye or ear; limbs are quite taxing and would take up more magic than it would seem." Asami spoke informatively, matching Tanjo's pace while hopping from tree to tree.
Tanjo acknowledged Asami's words. "Hmm."
"Tanjo, hold on!" Asami said, halting. "Warriors, all around. Perhaps we should've gone faster."
The masked boy's blue eyes scanned the area intently, his Aura Sense flaring as he attempted to sense any nearby warriors. It took only a second for Tanjo's body to ping down several presences; his eyes broadened upon feeling the darting sensation throughout his body.
Tanjo turned to Asami. "We have to get out of here, Asami! Hurry—!"
*WHOOSH!*
Before the masked teenager could finish his order, an arrow of blue magic flew right by his eyes, and the heat that radiated off of it could be felt for the split second it neared Tanjo's mask.
Emerging from the leaves of the trees, an armor-clad individual landed on a branch. In his hands was a blue bow conjured by the blue Aura Sense, soon restocked with blue magic-filled arrows.
"Freeze!"
Tanjo's body froze as fear gripped him. It only took a moment for them to be immediately surrounded by the rest of the warriors, revealing something tremendously drastic.
"Tanjo, you know these guys?" Asami whispered, her body leaning toward the masked boy.
"Yes," Tanjo uttered. "They're my old classmates."
XXX
Dun, dun, duuun! The Fifth Volume is installed! We are starting off fairly heavily, and I did not want this to be too short—long enough to fill y'alls heads with what's occurring! We saw Kaminari Nozomu conversing with Kanden, the Dragon of Lightning; Mizuki, who is now officially reunited with his siblings; and now Tanjo, who has to unfortunately face his old comrades. Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_