Jack and Beatrice were doing some target practice with some new prototype magical weaponry. Magic was used in two different ways, those being through either Runes and Sphera. Runes are innate magical abilities that some people, known as Maguses, naturally possess. Sphera are mysterious crystal orbs that allow the use of magic. While Sphera can be used on their own, they're best used when attached to an Arbiter, a device that channels the use of magic. Nobody understands the true origins of Sphera. Despite being known about since at least as early as the Roman Republic, they were scantily used or studied throughout history, only being truly rediscovered thanks to modern archeology and technology. Sphera are usually found in ancient ruins and are thought to be the remnants of a lost magically advanced civilization.
The device being tested today was referred to as a "magic rifle," an Arbiter designed as a gun which could fire magic rounds with the assistance of a Sphera.
Jack was comfortable with guns, and the magic rifle was no different. However, Beatrice, despite being a good shot, wasn't too keen being still too shaken up by the spy incident two days ago. She watched as Jack confidently loaded the gun, lined up his shot and fired, nailing the target with a blast of fire. Jack hadn't mentioned the incident at all since it had happened. Beatrice had really wanted to talk about it, but Jack was still silent.
Eventually, Beatrice just decided to speak up. "Jack…about the spy…"
"Hm?" Jack kept reloading the weapon.
"They haven't told me anything specific about the investigation, but…" She paused.
"But what?" He lined up his shot.
"It's just that…" She was interrupted by the firing of the rifle.
"It's just what?"
"It's just… Why aren't you upset?"
"Upset about what?"
"About what happened! You almost died! And we watched him kill himself!"
"What about it?"
"What do you mean!?"
"People die everyday. And if you're a soldier then you're either the victim, the perpetrator, or a witness.." He fires a shot. "You oughta get used to it if you plan on sticking around."
"I know all that, but still! You almost died!"
"What of it?"
"Well, what if you did!?"
"Then I would've been dead."
"What?"
"Everyone dies one day. Doesn't really matter if it comes sooner rather than later."
"Jack, that's awful!"
"How? It's the truth."
Beatrice couldn't believe he was being so callous about this, but her train of thought was interrupted by Jack picking up her magic rifle and pushing it into her arms. "You haven't fired a single round, you know. How about saving the therapy session for another time?"
Still upset, Beatrice pushed those feelings down and took the rifle. "All right…"
***
After school that day, it was another standard student council meeting except for one thing.
"By the way, everyone, Yuki and Shawn will be coming back today." Beatrice announced.
"Yuki and Shawn?" Jack asked.
Thomas leaned over and explained, "Yes, Yuki is our Treasurer and Shawn is our Communications Officer."
"I see…"
Celine walked over. "I think they were, like, in some special training program. Radiology or something?"
"Radio communications…" Thomas corrected.
"Yes, that's right," Beatrice chimed in, "they'll be a little late, though, so there's something else I'd like to discu–"
Before Beatrice could finish, two people entered the room. The first was a young Asian woman and the second was a young man who looked like a lost puppy.
"Hello, I'm sorry we were gone so long." The girl who was presumably Yuki said.
"Oh, no it's fine. Welcome back." Beatrice said as she greeted them.
Everybody went to greet them except for Jack who stayed sitting on the couch.
After the initial greetings, the young man presumably named Shawn pointed to Jack and asked, "Who's this guy?"
"He's Jack Richter, our new disciplinary officer."
The two looked over at Jack. Shawn was very skeptical while Yuki was more curious.
Jack sighed, stood up, and walked towards them. "It's nice to meet you two."
"It's nice to meet you too, I'm Yuki Tadasu," Yuki said.
"Yeah, it's nice to meet you…I'm Shawn Whipped."
Jack could tell that Shawn did not like him. Jack didn't really care about being disliked, but it was at least nice that Yuki was a bit more pleasant.
The student body of Oleander was fairly diverse as it was a joint effort between the Allied Nations of Britain, France, Belgium, Russia, and Japan. However, most students were still either British, French, or Belgian with only some being from Russia and British Dominions such as Canada and Australia. However, very few were from Japan. Yuki was only the second Japanese student Jack had ever seen at the school. Jack thought it was strange. Japan was still a fledgling nation, you'd expect their government to send as many students abroad as possible in order to soak up valuable information and bring it back home.
"Anyway, now that we're all here, it's a perfect time to get started." Beatrice was eager to continue on being interrupted by Yuki and Shawn's early arrival. "I believe that this year, we, the student council, should all join the European Youth Martial Tournament together."
The reaction was varied. Thomas seemed indifferent, Celine confused, Shawn worried, and Yuki cautious.
However, no reaction was as negative as Jack's who groaned and asked, "Why?"
"Well, it was actually requested by the headmaster. We're supposed to be the creme de la creme of Oleander, so it would be good to display that for the world to see. Not to mention, less students are signing up this year, so it'll help boost numbers. The headmaster doesn't require that we enter, of course, but he strongly suggested it."
Jack crossed his arms and closed his eyes. This is one thing he did not want to do.
Thomas was the first to voice his concerns. "Do we really have to? It's very time-consuming to compete."
Shawn jumped in, "Y-yeah, exactly! And it's really dangerous too!" Although his main concern differed from Thomas's
"You don't have to compete, but you know how the headmaster is with these kinds of things."
Thomas looked irritated, but it was clear he had already resigned.
"Did he specify what we had to compete in?"
"No. You can compete in whichever category you want, or even multiple."
"I see…" Yuki seemed to be hit with a tinge of excitement.
"I'm not competing…" Jack said abruptly.
Beatrice was slightly surprised by the sudden declaration, but she quickly realized that it wasn't at all surprising coming from Jack. "That's fine if you really don't want to, but I would still recommend you try."
"Well, I really don't want to."
"All right…"
Beatrice and the others continued the discussion. Jack was already familiar, though. The European Youth Martial Tournament was an annual competition where various military academies from across Europe competed in different war games. Only the most prestigious schools competed, and those who brought home the gold were not only welcomed as heroes, but guaranteed a promising military career. Of course, Jack had no interest in such a thing. He had no desire to become a hero or pursue a prestigious career.
The discussion continued longer than Jack expected. He wasn't even listening, though, just tuning it all out. Eventually, though, the meeting was over and Jack could finally go back to his dorm room.
***
It had been a few days. Jack wasn't really paying attention to the Tournament, but Celine and Shawn were joining the sniper contest and Beatrice was joining the magic contest. He hadn't heard what Thomas and Yuki were doing. He honestly was a bit curious, but he wasn't about to ask them.
However, that night, Jack was hit with insomnia. Whenever there was a night he couldn't sleep, he'd usually go out for a walk. Oleander technically had a curfew, but it wasn't as strictly as enforced as you'd expect, and as long as you stayed away from the main areas, you'd be fine.
Jack's wanderings eventually took him near the garages. They stored the various tanks used for military exercises. However, he noticed light peaking through the closed door. His curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to approach. He heard some clanking coming from inside. Presumably an engineer working late or something. Just before he was planning on leaving, the garage door started to open. It was being lifted up by a girl, he could tell by the uniform. Slowly, she lifted the door, and once she had it over her face, he realized it was Yuki, but then she looked straight ahead and saw Jack right in front of her face. She screamed out and fell backwards, dropping the door causing it to slam into the ground, letting out a massive crash.
"Are you all right!?" Jack actually was worried.
"Yes, yes, sorry, you just scared me."
"No, I'm sorry."
Jack heard her get up. "Here, let me get the door for you." She lifted the door open again, letting Jack enter the garage.
"Thanks." Jack entered the garage and Yuki carefully lowered the door.
Jack had an interest in military matters, although he paradoxically never showed it at Oleander. However, even he was impressed by what stood before him. It was a tank, but while most tanks were quite rudimentary, this one was very sleek and distinctive much unlike anything he had ever seen.
"What do you think?" Yuki asked with nervous excitement.
"It's a very impressive tank. What model is it? It certainly doesn't look like any British or French tank I've ever seen."
Yuki smiled, glad to hear Jack take an interest. "This is the Tadasu Mk. II." She walked up to it and put her hand on the armor. "My father, Sakichi Tadasu, created the very first Japanese tank. It was a very clever design, but unfortunately not very practical, so my father continued his work. He spent years designing and eventually started building the Tadasu Mk. II. Unfortunately, he passed away before he was able to finish his work, only leaving his blueprints and this prototype. I came to Europe to finish his work. I wanted to study the technology and engineering of the West, and with that knowledge, create the tank he always dreamed of."
"I see…" Jack was rarely ever touched, but he had a soft spot for stories like Yuki's. "That's very noble of you."
"Oh, no, it's nothing." Yuki turned around.
Jack walked around the tank, examining it closely. "So you've been working on it while you've been here?"
"Yes, but recently I've been trying to prepare it for the tank competition."
"Ah, I see."
The tank competition was probably Jack's favorite war game from the Tournament. Two tanks from rival schools are put into an arena and would fight with training ammunition. It was also probably the most dangerous of the war games, having several injuries every year and even a death from before Jack attended Oleander.
"I assume you pilot it?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Hm. Who's your team member?"
Yuki paused for a moment. "I don't have one…"
"Ah, I see…" That was unfortunate to hear, but it made sense. The tank competition was dangerous and the Tournament was less popular this year to boot. Still, it was sad for a tank like this to stay in the garage.
"Um, Jack…" Yuki said.
"Hm? What is it?"
She paused and looked down before looking right at him with eyes full of determination. "Can you please be my teammate!?"
"What?"
"Can you? There really isn't anybody else…"
"Uh, thanks for the offer, but I'm not exactly good with tanks…"
"That's okay, you've gone through training, and we still have time to practice."
Not a single time since Jack had arrived at Oleander had he felt obliged to do anything beyond the bare minimum, yet somehow Yuki managed to compel him. Jack saw through all the artificiality and false platitudes that existed in the world, but Yuki had an earnestness that he couldn't resist.
Against his own better judgment, he accepted. "All right…"
Yuki smiled. "Thank you, Jack."
Jack was jaded. The world was full of fake smiles, false promises, and comforting lies. For a long time, he saw everything as fake, but sometimes he wondered if he saw the world as it really was, if he was right about there being no light left. His mind had not yet been convinced, but his heart had been swayed.