"Of course, ma'am, let me get that for you."
The man pressed a button on his forearm, starting a whirring sound loud enough to force Kichirou to dispel the symbol's effects. Shortly after, he used that same arm to pick up the suitcase by its bottom, lifting it in his palm effortlessly.
'Woah… I guess with technology like this, anyone can have super strength and the like. I really need to stop by here and get something if I can make the time.'
"I'll be back in about 10 minutes. It doesn't take very long to install some basic FloaTech engines to something like this."
With that, the man turned around and walked into the back room of the weapons department.
"Thanks for helping me out with this. I never got your name, by the way. What is it?"
"I'm Kichirou Suzuki, what's your's?"
'I did all this without even knowing her name? I guess I'm a little too easygoing…'
"Amy Vi."
'Maybe I just missed her, but wasn't she not at the examinations last week? Maybe I'm missing something here.'
"Were you there at the examinations last week? You are a normal student here right?"
Amy immediately looked as if she had an idea.
"Maybe we were in a different area? They separated us by grade level. How old are you?"
Kichirou, being a 15-year-old boy, answered honestly, before asking her for her own age.
'Wait… aren't you supposed to not ask girls that?'
Amy, though a little surprised, wasn't offended by the question.
"I guess I'm the older one, huh…so you'll have to listen to me, then."
Amy used an almost flirtatious tone, enough to make Kichirou jump in his seat despite knowing she was only joking around with him.
'First the suitcase and now this… This girl may be the death of me…'
"Enough with the jokes, though. I'm 16, so they probably put me in with all the 16-year-olds while you were with all the 15-year-olds. It makes sense considering we'll probably be in different classes moving forward anyway."
'Now that I think about it, we were split up by age. Who would've guessed that everything would've worked out so well with me just blindly following Victoria like that? If she were just a little bit older…'
Kichirou shuddered at the thought of being disqualified just for being in the wrong arena.
"It does make sense they'd split us up like that since they probably want a good number of people for every grade level."
Amy nodded her head in agreement.
About 10 minutes passed with the duo chatting as they had been, when the same black man from earlier walked out the door fitted with a new glove and the massive suitcase floating behind him, the corners of it now stuck with little pads on both sides. It floated sideways, with the handle facing the walls rather than the ceiling, though that did make it much easier to wield.
"Thank you, sir."
Amy walked over and shook the man's hand.
"No problem, ma'am. Here, take this."
Just then, the man set down the case on the ground somehow before pressing a button on the back of the glove, taking it off, and handing it to Amy.
"This glove acts as the control unit for Prototype C-9, take care of it well."
'Prototype C-9… She must have quite a creative weapon sense if she's running around wielding a whole prototype as a weapon, I mean, it doesn't even have a name!'
Just as Kichirou was amusing himself with the lack of a proper name for the object, Amy, as if to spite him, decided to come out and
"Hmmm. I think I'll call it 'Canvas'."
'A strange name… though she does seem to be a more artsy person considering the way she's dressed. Maybe it's just she wants a weapon that's like her.'
The man who just upgraded The Canvas spoke out.
"It seems like a great name, especially considering just what this puppy is capable of."
Amy placed the glove on her left hand and pressed the button on the back of her hand, and the FloaTech immediately hummed to life, and the suitcase began to float a few inches off the ground.
"That's so much better. Lugging this thing around was starting to get on my nerves, so I'm glad we got this sorted out."
The man flashed a proud smile.
"I'm sure you'll love how it works. I put my heart and soul into it, and it works great this time!"
"That's great. I'll make sure to test it out to the best of it's abilities at our first combat training class."
The man in the lab coat began heading back to the workshop.
"I'm sure you two should be getting to orientation by now, so you'd better leave soon if you wanna be able to find them. They're supposed to leave the courtyard soon. If you plan on catching them there, the two of you better get headed soon."
The man walked back into the workshop, and Kichirou quickly exited while Amy leisurely followed.
'Doesn't she want to make it on time? Why isn't she hurrying like the guy said?"
"What's the rush? They're only going to be coming right back in here. The guide on our acceptance letters came with a schedule, and this is the next area they'll be."
Kichirou remembered when he first read the letter, realizing she was right.
"You're right, we don't have to rush."
The two walked calmly towards the main entrance of the building until they saw a large group of people coming their way.
"Hey, we're here for the orientation. Sorry, they needed to fix this thing so we're a bit late."
Amy patted the suitcase and waved her hand in front of her to bring it forward from behind her.
Kichirou just nodded along with whatever she was saying, trying not to bring any attention to himself. A black man who seemed to be leading the group stepped forward. He was much older than the other people who were crowding in the hallways. He appeared to be in his late 40s or early 50s, as he had a gray beard and graying hair. The wrinkles on his face did not show that time had done its toll on him, rather, it looked as though he had become a more refined person as time went on. He was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt, with black slacks covering his legs and, brown shoes, on his feet. Despite his age, it was clear the man was in great shape. His muscles were visible through his clothes, and the scar going down his left cheek told the tragic tale of a young soldier.
"Alright, then. Try to be on time from now on, this academy won't excuse tardiness without an excuse."
The man closer examined their faces, but it was clear that his eyesight was not the best, as he had to squint to see him a mere few meters down the hallway.
"Wait a minute… are you two in the Advanced Program?"
The two spoke in unison.
"Yeah, why?"
The man ceased to squint.
"I'll be seeing you two tomorrow, then, for our first CQC class."
The two gave a confused look.
'Wait… aren't we supposed to have different classes if we're in different grade levels?'
Almost as if he read his mind, the older man spoke exactly about what Kichirou was thinking about.
"For our advanced combat classes, all grades in our high school level curriculum are put in the same classes, you don't need to think so hard about it. Now get over here and join our orientation group."
Amy and Kichirou joined the older man's group for orientation and walked around the entirety of the school's campus, following around. Eventually, the orientation came to an end, and all the students were let guided to their dormitories, where they'd be residing for the next few months.
"Hello, Kichirou Suzuki, correct?"
The man at the desk looked down at his computer, confirming Kichirou's identity.
"You're in room 403, due to your advanced placement. There's a brochure in your room that'll lay out everything in this dorm for you."
The receptionist handed Kichirou a plastic card with his picture on it.
"This will be used around the school like you would use the band outside. It will hold all your funds, as well as act as identification should anyone need to know who you are. Make sure not to lose it, as there's a $10 fee for replacement should it be required. It will also give you access to special areas, considering your placement as an advanced student"
Kichirou took the ID, placing it in his pocket.
"Alright then. Thank you."
He walked over to an elevator, swiping his newfound ID through a card reader that was placed at a gate between the receptionist's desk and the elevators. After waiting for it to arrive, he pressed the button for the 4th floor on the elevator. Stepping out onto his floor, he realized his room was at the very end of the hallway.
'This walk is gonna be annoying one day…. I can just tell.'
Finally arriving at his room, he tapped his ID on the card reader outside, granting himself entry. He quickly closed the door behind him.
"Sigh, Finally."
Kichirou threw his bag on the floor, and flopped onto the bed. Looking outside through a window, Kichirou realized it was already quite dark outside.
"I've got classes tomorrow, so I better get to bed early."
After quickly getting ready for bed, Kichirou fell asleep, preparing himself for an all-new type of day, in an all-new area.