{Date: 9/15 - Thursday}
{Time: 12:00 PM}
Orishi's class had just finished up and the lunch period began for us. I got lunch with Orika, the two of us taking it to the roof and sat down together. Today seemed like a beautiful day, the weather being nice, the breeze was gentle, and the lunch period was rather lively.
{Heart to Heart Sequence Activated.}
{Goal: Raise Orika's Bond Meter to 25%.}
Bond Meter: 15%
Status: Friends
Saito's Mood: Content
"Today's training was really good! I still can't believe how amazing Spirit Energy feels when you're using it. It feels so nice...and I could feel myself becoming one step closer to my goal. When I start to understand myself more, I know I can be able to protect people more," Orika said, looking at the sky and watched the clouds float by.
I glanced at Orika, placing a french fry in my mouth and noticed her introspective gaze. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you like before becoming a Valkyria?"
Orika let out a soft sigh and looked down at the floor of the roof, a soft smile still playing on her lips. "I used to be what that rich girls call a Poverty Girl. I barely had any money, only enough to fund my grandmother's medical needs. At the time, I lived with my grandmother and my cousins, but..."
The pause was heavy, her silence weighing in the air. For a moment there was silence, save for the sounds of chatter around us amongst the other Valkyrias. I didn't speak, giving Orika the chance to speak when she was ready.
Orika let out a soft exhale, closing her eyes. "But...uhm...one day, my grandmother fell very ill. She was hospitalized due to her sickness and the home we once had was gone. I couldn't pay for the bills and soon, we were evicted..."
"I thought all hope was lost when I lost the home that gave me clarity, that acted as my anchor...but that's when the Valkyrias found me. Specifically, Headmistress Yusa and Vice Headmistress Sayoko, Yumeji's older sister. They took me in and gave my cousins a place to stay at a foster home in Shibuya," Orika continued, smiling gratefully at the memory.
The name Yusa seemed familiar to me, but I didn't know where I had heard the name before. I didn't dwell too much on it as I was glad that Orika was able to be given another chance.
I smiled at her, gently patting her leg. "I'm glad you were given another chance. It seems like St. Fraskia is a way for us all to have a second chance at life, to make a name for ourselves."
{Bond with Orika increased.}
Orika nodded, smiling at me and gently placed her hand upon mine. "It is a way for us to have a second chance. I can tell that you were also given another chance at life, a second chance to make yourself better than your past self."
"Yeah," I said softly, smiling at her words.
Orika's words were ironic to me, taken that I did die before coming to St. Fraskia, so this was certainly my second chance at life. My chance for redemption and revenge against Judgement, at least that is the current end goal. I knew as I was now, I was too weak to take on Judgement but was determined to grow strong enough to make my dream into reality.
"I still can't believe that Ms. Newton changed the plans for Friday to be another training day. We did such a good job at Spirit Control training that she's giving us the Friday off to train!~ I know what I'm gonna do," Orika said, beaming a determined smile at me.
I chuckled softly and crossed my arms as I looked into her determined eyes. "I can only imagine what you're gonna do and I'll help you get there~"
{Bond with Orika increased.}
{Goal Complete!}
{Reward: Team Resonance with Orika increased.}
Orika nodded, grateful to have me helping her with this journey. "It would be such a huge help if you did~ I feel like I can learn so much through you."
"Then it's settled, we're officially partners in this," I said, holding my fist out.
Orika nodded happily, giving me a fist bump. "Partners!~"
{Heart to Heart Sequence Successful!}
Orika and I continued to chatting with one another, talking about what we see ourselves accomplishing from now until we become B Ranks, creating tangible goals for ourselves. As we chatted, someone walked by, smacking my lunch tray and causing my foot to spill all over me.
Orika gasped, covering her mouth, her expression one of disbelief. "H-Hisumi!"
I groaned as my uniform was now all ruined then I looked up, noticing Usagi and Arei looking at me with a smirk on their faces.
"Oh sorry, I must've not seen you right there. It's hard to see irrelevance," Usagi taunted, a smug expression playing on her face.
I shot up from my seat, shoving Usagi back, my body heating up with anger. "What's your problem?!"
Usagi stumbled back a bit, surprised that I had shoved her but she regained her composure. "My problem? My problem is that this academy constantly allows weaklings to join...we don't need weaklings like you joining in this day and age. Only the strong survive and the weak fall in this society.."
"Tch...last time I remember, I was the one kicking your ass. So what does that make you?" I asked, looking Usagi up and down.
Usagi glanced at Arei, giggling with her then turned her attention back to me. "You only managed to get those hits off on me because I was caught off guard. You only managed to surprise me the first time, but today...all that changes."
{Entering Combat Mode}
{Goal: Defeat Usagi.}
{Notice: You have Elemental Disadvantage.}
{Usagi's Element: Ice/Earth}
'Huh...that's all you're giving me this time? I guess I can work with this. Besides, gives me a reason to put this prick back on her ass again,' I thought, glancing at Usagi with a serious gaze.
Just like yesterday, the students around us began to make space for us to fight in. Due to entering Combat Mode, a zone formed around us, digital walls forming an arena for us.
{Notification: When a battle happens in a designated area within the Academy, a Battle Zone forms, creating an arena for you and your opponent.}
I read the notification, now knowing that outside areas are designated battle spots. This time, we shouldn't get into too much trouble for having our second bout against each other.
I got into my stance, conjuring my Spirit Energy and calmed my nerves enough to have it flowing around my body. "I hope you're ready to lose again..."
Usagi laughed, backing up and getting into her stance as well. "In your dreams..."
I lowered my stance then dashed toward Usagi, watching her body language closely. Usagi launched the first punch, but I evaded her strike, countering with a swift straight then knocked her into the air with a Burst Strike uppercut. I used the digital walls to propel myself into the air, launching an axe kick toward her.
Usagi opened her eyes, blocking my kick then grabbed my ankle, tossing me to the floor of the roof. I landed on my feet then looked up, using my speed to avoid Usagi's attack. I hopped backwards to create more distance between us.
'I've always been a speedy person, so I definitely take the speed category in this...but she's no sloucher either. I can't let my guard down nor get too excited for a hit,' I thought, standing up straight and rolled my wrists.
"Hmph, what's wrong? Too scared that I might counter you again?" Usagi taunted, rolling her shoulder and smirked at me.
I scoffed at Usagi, getting back into my stance and prepared myself for my next move. "As if...in fact I think I'll try my hand at one of my old skills..."
Usagi prepared herself as well, surrounding her Spirit Energy around her body. "You can try whatever you'd like. It won't work on me..."
I got down into a running start, concentrating my energy into my legs and stared at Usagi, leaning forward the dashed toward her at high speeds. Usagi decided to sprint toward me as well, leaping forward with a spinning kick but I swiftly evaded her kick and slid behind her.
Usagi landed on the ground, turning around and went for a back fist strike, but hit an afterimage, surprising Usagi. I began pummelling her with strikes while moving around her at high speeds then kicked her away, sending her rolling along the ground.
I stopped running and shook my head, getting slightly dizzy from the high speed movements. 'Ugh...Quick Attack is still so hard to maintain without getting dizzy...'
Orika watched in awe as I pulled off my Quick Attack skill, her eyes shimmering from my display of speed. "Whoa...she moved so fast and landed every strike with that speed...that was so cool..."
Usagi stood up slowly, shaking her head and glancing at me, noticing I was still disoriented then smirked, wiping her lip then dashed toward me. I regathered myself, but grunted as Usagi landed a powerful blow to my face, disorienting me once again.
She began rushing me with quick strikes then delivered a clean slap across my face, staggering me then struck my stomach, sending me crashing into the fence of the rooftop. A few of the students cheered for Usagi, especially Arei, as they watched her final get the upperhand.
"Can't you see now?! You're outmatched! That first battle was a fluke and everyone knows it now! You can't beat me! I'm the best C Rank in the academy so far!" Usagi sneered, her voice dripping with arrogance.
"So how about you return to the little alleyway Yumeji and Kikyo found you in, crawl back there, and never attempt to show your face again in St. Fraskia,"
I gripped the fence gently, slowly standing up, my hair covering my eyes. Usagi watched as I stood up, smirking at me and crossed her arms with a soft chuckle.
"Well...seems like someone still has a little fight in them, but sadly this battle is already over before it even began," Usagi said, taunting me even more.
Those words echoed in my mind, awakening the deep seated trauma within me from when Morata spoke those words to me. I grit my teeth and looked at Usagi through the strands of my hair, my blue eyes glowing a dark yellow.
Usagi felt a chill running down her spine, her gaze locking onto my stare of hatred. 'What the hell has gotten into her?'
Faint glimpses of my time with Judgement began to flash into my mind, my control over my Spirit Energy slowly slipping from me then I let out a bellow, my Spirit Energy surging around my body.
Without thinking, I charged toward Usagi, landing a devastating swiping chop upon her stomach, staggering her immediately. I began swiping my arm at her, striking her continuously then thrusted my arm forward, striking her stomach and sent her crashing into a wall.
"What the heck got into her...?" One girl asked, a bit intimidated by me now.
"Her energy is so intense..." Another said, taking a step backwards.
I surrounded my arm in lightning energy then dashed toward Usagi, leaping toward her as I went for a finishing blow. Suddenly, a large robotic arm struck my stomach, knocking me away and sent me crashing into the fence again, knocking all of the wind out of me.
Everyone turned their attention to see who took me down in one strike. They noticed Saito hovering onto the rooftop, lowering her hand so that her robot companion could stand down. Orishi walked onto the rooftop with her, rubbing the back of her head and sighed softly.
"Alright, everyone. The fight's over, time to pack it up for the day," Orishi said, crossing her arms and looked around the rooftop.
The students immediately began to disperse, heading back into the academy building in a hurry. Orika took one more glance at me, not intimidated by me at all, but a little concerned and still amazed by my skilled. She finally walked back inside, following the others.
"Thank you, Saito. You take Usagi to the infirmary. I'll take Hisumi with me," Orishi said.
"Affirmative. Saito will take the troublemaker to the infirmary," Saito said, pointing at Usagi, her robot companion picking her up and the two heading inside the building.
Orishi walked toward me, helping me up and carried me back inside the building. 'You never cease to amaze me... although we gotta work on your anger, girl.... though I do understand where your anger comes from...'
{Time: 1:45 PM}
I grunted softly and held my head, slowly opening my eyes and noticed I was in an office, resting on a couch. I slowly sat up and looked around, noticing Orishi sitting at her desk, typing away on her computer.
"Geez...do you need to type that loud..?" I asked, groggily speaking to Orishi with slight annoyance from her typing.
Orishi turned around in her chair to face me, chuckling softly and crossed her arms. "Well, looks like someone's finally awake. Get a good rest, Sleeping Beauty?"
I rolled my eyes at Orishi's taunt then leaned back against the couch. "Whatever...I already know why I'm in the office. Just go ahead and give me detention and get it over with."
Orishi let out a soft laugh and shook her head. "Detention for self defense? Me and my girls saw the whole thing. We knew you were only defending yourself, even Liao Ru. But, to keep things fair...I have to give you a day of community service for your actions."
"Community Service?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and tilting my head slightly.
Orishi nodded and turned back to her computer, clicking on one of her files. "Errands, Community Service, same difference. Basically it can work as some type of punishment, but I'm thinking about turning this into a learning experience."
"If you didn't know, Saito is having her last concert for now in Shibuya, and she needs guards to basically protect the concert since Demon Order is still hawking her down. I want you to join me and a plus one of your choice to participate in this errand. You will be getting paid for this and it can work as a mission at the same time," Orishi said, her gaze still fixated on her computer.
I stared at her then looked at her computer screen, squinting a bit. "Are you playing minesweeper?"
Orishi smirked at my question then turned her chair around to face me. "Focus, and yes it was minesweeper. That isn't the focus though. For now, you will need to find a plus one for this errand and no it can not be Yumeji nor Kikyo. Plus this plus one will be able to enter the concert for free like us."
I nodded and began to think about possible plus ones that I could bring, or the only person I could bring. "I think I know who to bring..."
"Good, but don't tell me yet. I want to be surprised. For now, head back to your dorms to rest up. You'll need it," Orishi said, smiling warmly at me.
I nodded then stood up, giving Orishi a bow then left the office. As I walked down the halls, I couldn't help but feel a bit exited for this concert as it was going to be a bit fun despite it being flagged as "Community Service". I already knew who my plus one was going to be and couldn't wait to surprise Orishi.