It was the 5th of September. The summer heat was slowly turning into the autumn cold and the bright green leaves began to turn into a spectacle of color. And so, when Class C gathered in their classroom, they were told to follow Miss Nagako into the Simulation room.
Today would be the day of the first class battle, something every student was surely excited about in one way or another. Rei personally was very relieved when he had found out that his class wouldn't have to go first; this battle was to be fought between Class A and Class D. In other words, this was the perfect chance to get an insight into how the whole process of the battle would look. Surely he could learn something important from watching this fight, that he could then apply to their own upcoming fights.
The students, including Class A and D, met up in front of the simulation room, with the Director standing in front of them.
"Welcome everyone, to the first class battle. When we go inside, the Class A and Class D students will please sit down in the Simulation seats as per usual. I ask the other 2 classes to follow President Imato to the monitoring room."
With a minimal explanation as usual, the Director opened the doors, and as told, Rei followed Imato past the simulation room through another steel door. Before he left, he looked at the two classes that were about to fight. Some looked nervous to the point of feeling sick, others sat down with a sense of confidence. Rei already had a guess on who he thought might win - or rather who he wanted to win - but nobody could foresee the results with 100% certainty.
The monitor room was equipped with a bunch of comfortable looking seats, all turned to a collection of large monitors that were fixed onto the wall in front of them. Rei also found a tablet on each of the seats.
"Please choose a spot and sit down. Within the simulation, there exist various imaginary cameras fixated at certain spots. The most common and useful perspectives will be shown on these big screens, while each student will have their own tablet to switch between cameras individually," President Imato explained. His cool demeanor made it seem like he had no interest in any of this, even though he himself probably went through the exact same thing during his training.
"Imaginary cameras? That exists?" Akari mumbled to herself, plopping herself on the seat next to Rei. He also wasn't quite sure how something 'imaginary' could produce real imagery... then again, calling recordings of a simulation 'real' wasn't entirely truthful either.
In other words, this was their chance to learn from the mistakes of the other two classes. A chance nobody should allow themselves to miss.
"To give you also an explanation. Each battle will be held on a different map, and both teams will wake up at random locations on that map. The goal is to eliminate every student of the opposing class. The time limit is 5 hours," Imato explained, his voice strict and serious.
"What happens if the battle hasn't concluded after 5 hours?" Akata the redhead, who was sitting behind Rei, asked.
"Nothing. the battle is over - in other words, there doesn't need to be a clear winner."
That really fit in with how the rest of the exams worked, there rarely seemed to be a winner at all. Instead, it felt like they were put into competitions only so that the Director could observe on how they would act. That also gave a lot of insecurity to the classes.
Even if you had won your class battle, it didn't necessarily mean that you left the best possible impression. You could never be 100% sure that you were in the lead in this battle among classes - the only person who would know being the director himself.
With every question answered, the students of Class B and C waited for the fight to begin, spending their time predicting on how the battle was going to play out. Finally, the tablets and screens in front of them lit up, showing what seems to be a northern looking forest, with a big, open field right in the middle. On some other cameras, one could see the students of both classes; the imaginary cameras seem to be following the students around like drones, monitoring their every action. On the tablet, one could even select a specific student to follow. With this many angles, it really felt like they would be able to see every little detail, though it was a shame that recording these battles was forbidden.
Rei kept on scrolling through the various perspectives on his tablet, until he reached the one labeled 'Hyoudo Moena'. She was wearing the same outfit that Rei had seen her during their training. The large, darkly glimmering sword was sheathed away behind her waist, half-hidden behind the traditional robe. Her ponytail flung through the air as she walked through the woods, the rest of her class following tightly behind her.
"Make sure to stay in cover, we don't want to be attacked before we even spot the enemy," she explained, her team nodding along.
"Do you really think our strategy will work, though? It feels a little... risky," Aguchi Ouma asked, walking next to Hyoudo.
"Which is exactly why they won't expect it. It will work. If it doesn't, you won't have to follow my lead ever again," she returned, her voice brimming with confidence. Ouma sighed but follow along anyway.
"You're quite the stubborn person, do you know that?"
"Do you dislike that about me?"
"Not as long you lead us in the right direction."
Hyoudo had a slight smile on her face. "Nothing to worry then."
The group made it's way through the forest, seemingly heading for the clearing, probably having figured out in which direction the forest thickens. Before entering in view of the open field, they all stopped on Hyoudo's command.
"Duck your heads, we don't want anyone to die before even engaging in a fight," she said as she herself poked out her head from behind the cover of a tree. The field stretched out in front of them. Carefully and slowly, Hyoudo slowly moved her eyes over the vast grassland, her eyes scanning for any clues of enemies. She squinted as the sunlight was reflected into her sharp stare, averting her gaze swiftly and hiding back behind the cover.
"Who bought the binoculars?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, somehow soft yet sharp at the same time. Maya, a fellow Class A member, quickly handed her leader the binoculars. Hyoudo then turned around again, pointing the binoculars at the spot where the light was previously reflected from.
"There they are. One of them seems to be carrying a big, stainless steel gun, something like a minigun. That's where the reflection of the sunlight came from," she mumbled to herself. The rest of the class tensed up at the mention of the enemy. They all tried to calm down, taking deep breaths as Hyoudo took time to make a decision on their next steps.
"We'll go in offensive," she decided.
"With the smokescreen I assume?" Aguchi wanted to confirm, to which Hyoudo nodded, keeping track of the enemy class. They were all grouped together, making their way along the border of the forest. They seemed conflicted - they have probably seen Hyoudo train with her sword, so taking position in an open field would be a good idea, yet that would obviously expose them to gunfire. Their faces weren't too visible, even with the binoculars, but they seemed to still be discussing things with each other.
In other words, now was the time to strike.
Handing the binoculars back to Maya and telling everyone to swiftly get into the position, Hyoudo carefully made her way to the edge of the forest, Aguchi following her closely. Three other classmates followed her as well, albeit a bit further in the back, while the rest of the class setup their own positions along the tree line.
A sort of quietness creeped in as everyone waited in position, looking at their leader to give the sign. The only thing they could hear was each other's breathing, the singing of the birds and the rustling of the trees. And then, Hyoudo slowly lifted her right hand, raising it into the air... and balled it into a fist.
At once, the students who followed her began to run. Aguchi ran slightly in front of her to her side, making sure not to block her view of the enemy team. The three other students were sprinting behind her, all of them carrying their heavy gear as well as possible.
This is what they had trained their bodies for.
Meanwhile, still staying in the forest, Maya observed Class D. Her heart was beating fast and the adrenaline created an almost creepy smile on her face as her green eyes were glued onto the scene. Her job was to tell Ririka - the girl with long, blonde hair and big blue eyes kneeling next to her, when and where to fire the smokescreen. The two of them had practiced this almost every day, so despite them being nervous amateurs, the big, long smoke screen launcher sitting on Ririka's shoulder felt almost natural at this point.
This was all thanks to Hyoudo's philosophy and guidance. From the beginning she had told them that in order to work as a team, they would each need to have specific roles to fulfill in each strategy that they would come up with, each of them playing to every students' strengths.
Of course, all of them had undergone some basic training as well, so that even if the plan went off tracks, they wouldn't be completely useless, yet the main idea persisted: given that they only had a short amount of time to prepare, it was more feasible to do one or two jobs well rather than be prepared for any and all scenarios. The strive for a perfectly executed fight and strategy, with the class members working together, each of them a well oiled component of a bigger, stronger machine.
That didn't mean that they thought their jobs were easy. If Maya or Ririka messed up, it could easily lead to their loss. If Maya gives the signal too early, they would end up announcing their attack. If it would come too late, the attacking members would probably crumble underneath the gunfire. That also meant that Ririka had to react to the signal as fast as possible. There was also the aspect of accuracy; although the binoculars had an indication of distance and the smokescreen launcher had the option to set the range, things could still go wrong in the heat of the moment.
And then, it happened. Through the binoculars, Maya observed a white haired boy of Class D turning towards the attacking group of Class A. His mouth flapped as he yelled something at his teammates, pointing at the approaching enemies in a panic.
"32 degrees, 370 meters," she spoke quickly, and in sync to the few words leaving her mouth, Ririka adjusted the settings. Only a second after the last sound Maya made, the grenade was shot out of the large metal tube, causing a deep explosive sound that the two girls were very used to. The black-ish metal ball flew through the air in an impressive speed, perfectly aimed in between the spearhead of the offensive operation and the defensive position of Class D, who were all caught off-guard. Before the opposing students could even aim their weapons, the large grenade suddenly started to release a terrifying hissing sound, with a thick, dark smoke immediately following suit. Stunned by the sudden colors and sounds overwhelming their senses, the students forgot to pull their triggers, and before they had even registered the situation, the charging attack had disappeared behind the smoke-screen.
"Enzo! Mow them down!" Yoichi yelled in a panic haze, aiming his own gun into the smoke. "Shoot! Just shoot! They can't see us either!"
His last few words were drowned out by his own gun as he started to spray bullets into the dark void, hoping that they would hit anything. Every now and then, he took a couple steps back, slowly try to vanish into the woods, with his teammates copying his steps. The smoke was following him, crawling on the ground as if it was trying to catch him. His ears were ringing as Enzo's minigun fired one deadly bullet after another with an impressive fire rate, creating holes in the otherwise thick blanket of smoke. Suddenly, as if pushing it's cover away, a large, blue shield emerged from the smog. Behind it, Aguchi was running straight ahead, gripping tightly onto the shield, Hyoudo sprinting right behind him.
"Focus the shield! Break it!" Yoichi gave another command; an idea that wasn't so stupid. With the heat resistant layer of the shield being relatively thin, the protection would eventually give in, if a lot of bullet would hit it on the same spot. And yet, both Aguchi and Hyoudo were closing in at an incredible speed, mostly thanks to the boots on their feet. Those shoes were another item of interest for Rei; with their force sensors and hovering abilities, they would appropriately add more force to each and every step. The more power between the leap, the more the shoes would enhance it. And so, like an arrow, Aguchi and Hyoudo were shooting towards Enzo, who followed his leader's command and started to shoot the shield in front of him. The other students, even though in a panic, were able to follow the example, all of them doing their best to break the blue material. Soon, multiple holes started to appear, and Aguchi was hit in the shoulder.
"It's going to break," he groaned without slowing down.
"Keep running," Hyoudo simply replied, holding onto her dark sword. The glass lines that were running through the surface like some embroidery were now glowing in a bright tone of violet, with a burning heat being emitted from them, causing the surrounding metal to reflect the glow.
Suddenly, a few shots from behind them could be heard, and in the next moment, two members of Class D fell onto the ground, blood running out of their heads.
"Shit!" Yoichi growled to himself, taking another steps back.
"How can they see us!?" he thought to himself, and he could feel his mind starting to spiral into negativity. To his luck, Aguchi's protective shield finally gave away crumbling apart as the bullets of Enzo's machine gun tore through his body, almost shredding him apart. They had put a large amount of their budget into said gun, and now it was paying off. And yet, it was too late.
Hyoudo was just a few steps away from Enzo, ducking behind the mangled, bloody remains of her friend. Blood was sprayed on the left side of her face, dripping down her chin, and she herself seemed to have been hit in the arm, through that didn't stop her from pointing the tip of her sword upwards at her enemy. She had a strange contraption on her head, attached to the wooden hair pins that held her ponytail in place. A thick sort of cable or tube was sticking out of the bottom of the sword handle, which was in return fastened to her backpack. Enzo's eyes met her, and for a moment, he couldn't move. Her fierce, violet eyes were leering at him through the blood, and he couldn't help but think back to the bloodied face that he had punched into. The images ran through his mind, and this distraction caused his aiming of the barrel to be just a bit slower, giving Hyoudo the crucial advantage she needed.
Stomping on the ground, she grit her teeth as she propelled herself forward, the head of her weapon flying towards the minigun like a spear. And to Enzo's horror, the hot, glowing sword dug itself deep into the steel of his gun, lifting it upwards in the process.
"Wha-!?" Even he couldn't help but be taken aback. He had prepared himself to not underestimate the girl in front of him ever again, and yet nobody had foreseen for that sword to be able to cut through metal with such ease. The cable attached to the sword grip started to almost pulsate as Enzo's barrel began to glow. Hyoudo took a step forward, her sword and Enzo's gun raised above her head, before she put all her force into swinging the weapon towards him. Like a knife in butter the sword began to cut through the steel, charging towards him. Ribeiro tried to let go and jump back, but it was too late; the sword reached him, slashing his left shoulder. The first thing he felt was an intense heat and burning; it felt like his insides were being molten, like skin, meat, muscles, bone and cloth all became one. After that came the pure, unfiltered pain. Pain that ran through his entire body, making him forget all about the heat as every fiber in his body screamed in agony. He collapsed, unsure why, hitting the ground beneath him. He didn't even have the energy to scream,, and slowly the world around him started to become less and less alive. He tried to feel his wound, yet he had no orientation to lead his own hand. Only when he managed to put his palm on his belly was when he realized just how far he had been cut; he wasn't sure what he was feeling on the tips of his fingers, but it must've been one of his organs.
Yoichi could only watch as everything played out within a couple blinks of an eye. He could feel the grip on his gun weakening, the iron sight shaking around in a blur. Before his friend had even hit the floor. Hyoudo had already looked ahead, right into his soul. Her body was stained with blood, with thick, dark-red mass dripping from her sword, most of it vaporizing immediately, steam rising from the blade.
She is a monster.
"K-Kill her! Shoot her! Stop her!" Yoichi's high-pitched yelling was strained and filled with desperation as he weakly raised his weapon towards his enemy, as did his fellow teammates. Miwami walked in front of him, her eyes glinting as she aimed her own rifle at the foe in front of them. But it all went too fast. Blue Bullets shot through the smoke, almost instantaneously killing another three members of his class. Yoichi watched in horror, not understanding how the bullets were hitting them. And even though he only glanced towards his dying friends for a split second, when he put his attention back on Hyoudo, she had disappeared from her previous spot. Instead, she was standing right in front of him, her wide sword barged deeply into Miwami's chest. She had an expression of disbelief and pain on her face, the gun barrel sitting on the ground, cleanly cut away from the rest of the weapon.
How did this happen?
This moment might've proven to be his chance to finally shoot the unstoppable force that Hyoudo Moena seemed to be, yet he already knew that it was over. And so, with Yoichi unmoving, the glowing sword cut upwards through Miwami's shoulder, before coming back down towards him. To his luck, the pain - although intense - only lasted for a couple seconds, until his decapitated head finally hit the floor.
With a bullet in her left arm, thanks to Ribeiro, and two additional bullets that hit the right side of her hips, fired by Miwami, Hyoudo stood tall. Covered in blood, with aching pain all over her body, she still had the same determined look in her eyes, looking as if she did not know weakness. She lifted her fiery sword into the air, the reflections of it's own light dancing over the steel-surface.
Class A had secured their first victory.