It's interesting. I've heard about Valkyria Chronicles a few times before, but hasn't got the time to check it out. I'm gonna try and get familiar with the world for now, but count me as interested
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An Atom Trying to Understand Itself
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"Remember to look at the stars not down at your feet." Inspired me ever since. Rest in peace Professor Hawking
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Acion Nakamiji
Those planes never appeared again.
”What was that about?”
Was somebody practicing their quirk? And was it had any relation to paper?
The thought lingered in his mind for a while, but had to be discarded as it was distracting him from his training. Soon, he grounded himself and began his next training exercises. And the next. And the next. Until the clock reached the near top: 10 PM.
It was then that he stopped, not because he was too tired to continue, but because he had to stop. Not only he had a certain curfew that restricted his movement, he ought to have a good rest for tomorrow’s class. It would begin at eight thirty, so he wouldn’t want to be sleep deprived. Besides, he had been training for over two hours now, his muscles needed some rest.
Acion, all by himself, in the middle of the night, ceased all activities, as he stood firmly on the ground, resting for a little while before cleaning up the courtyard, as it was littered with sharp feathers that he threw throughout the entirety of the training session. The night was cold, chilly, but for some reasons, the winged boy loved it. It was refreshing enough to clear all the distractions, wipe off all worry and flounders of the day, all the tiredness and immediate physical pain of his workout. But it was also harsh enough, cold enough for him to feel uncomfortable during his quick-paced practicing. It was the perfect setting for the angelic Acion to focus only on his tasks ahead of him: Practicing, perfecting, breaking his own limit, and soaring out to his goals.
It was surprisingly helpful. It may not be a bad idea to do this more regularly.
Acion left the courtyard with that in mind, as he walked back to the dorm. He walked gently and quietly, so as not to wake up anyone, since he was fairly late. Sneaking into his own room quietly, as his roommate had already fallen asleep, Acion grabbed a change of clothes along with his other bathing stuff before heading out and bathed in the common shower. It was public, but since he was in for it really late in the night, there was no one there. It really felt good when he could have it all for himself. But knowing that it was not a good thing to take it long, he only spent around ten minutes in it, before changing in and returning to his dorm
After finishing his bath, he drilled a bit on his assignment before going to bed. It was rather easy for him to remember, being a fairly perceptive kid he was. He quietly slipped into bed, into the soft and squishy mattress, and the warm blanket, his wings wrapped around him as another layer. Having a bed especially designed for himself, the school would be damned if Acion was not satisfied with the staff’s work. He passed out almost immediately.
The next day - 7:00 AM
Five hundred meters
Three hundred fifty
Two hundred.
One hundred
Fifty meters
Ten meters
”HNNGGGG!!!!”
Acion’s previous maneuver nearly costed him his face.
A move considered so devastating that it could instantly decimate his flying opponent the instant he perform it, if everything went well. But the big, big drawback to that was very apparent: It was nigh irrecoverable, and the G forces would turn his brain into an overcooked chicken. And what just happened was the clearest evidence. The move was extremely sophisticated and momentum-consuming that the moment he ended his opponent and reclaimed his throne of the sky, he would have to quickly regain his spatial awareness and regain his momentum. And usually when he did get his awareness back, he was already falling straight to the ground. So his only option would be to pull up before he hit the deck. The real problem lied on the highly-situational value of this move, as flying quirk users were relatively rare, so a true airborne enemy would be difficult to find. Most enemies would be ground-based, so if he were to perform it, he would have to do it in low altitude. And an attempt at that, just nearly costed him a trip to hospital.
Looking back at the armor that his sister had given him, there was a huge scratch on it, caused by the near crash that he just did. Not a good thing for a start, but at least he returned in one piece. It was a good start, for difficult stuff like that.
Checking the watch, Acion decided to stop his training, as class would be starting in an hour and a half. He again, gathered his stuff and left the school’s courtyard. He had a quick shower, returned the set of armor back to his room and headed for a quick and traditional English breakfast before running straight for class.
Arriving in class just less than ten minutes before class started, and yet the class was nearly empty. The only occupants in the room was a girl with dark colored hair tied into a side ponytail, who appeared to be a newcomer, and the teacher, sitting apathetically at his desk. Acion only gave him a slight bow, before recognizing what was up for the day.
”Team Echo. Luelle Hailey, Haruka Sanageyama…” He read ”...and Donny Yang…”
It was definitely a team exercise.
He did not knew the other two. They seemed to be newcomers as well. But Donny...well...He was not bad. An interesting guy at the least. But in the last exercise, he was not highly rated, and to Acion, his method of bringing down an entire building was utterly destructive and lethal. Sure, it had the potential to take out the entire team, but this was a training exercise, not actual combat. Even in actual combat, that course of action should not be done as a first resort. It was destructive, lethal and wasteful of resources. But who could question Mr Akihito here? He was a teacher after all.
The team’s composition didn’t seem quite in his favor, since most of the brawlers from the other exercise were all on the other team. But to Acion, a proper strategy can enable a man by himself, to fend off a thousand men. It was not entirely a dead composition. Donny, to Acion, could still do some nasty damage, as long as someone actually kept him in check. And there were two whom he didn’t know the exact capability. They could be a great asset, who knows.
Jett Haven
Roy Kusayanagi
Acion Nakamiji
Chiwa Hatori
Jett had quickly followed Roy out of the nurse's office, holding the back of his neck as he slowly rubbed the back of his numbed head. As if that would help, but in his mind it was what he convinced himself. His eyes were on Roy mostly because of how he was acting. Jett was creeped out by the bugs for sure, but it seemed it took a more serious toll on him than Jett.
Before he could say anything though, he noticed Acion walking by in full armor getup. He narrowed his eyes wondering why he was wearing it when he stopped and asked what happened to them and if they needed help. Jett shrugged. “We were at the nurses.”
Looking at the dazed Roy. “I had a migraine that needed to be taken care of, and Roy had some lacerations.” Looking back to Acion. “Getting ready for a war?”
”No, not exactly.”
His tone was fairly friendly. At the least, he didn’t feel much hostility at the moment. It gave Acion somewhat more comfort actually talking to him, especially after those speech he gave to the rest of the class before the exercise. It was only a few hours ago, and it felt so far away.
”I am going to train in the courtyard, well since I didn’t have the chance to in the afternoon. Things happened.”
Roy walked trudged through the hall with his arms slumped forward, he was just ready to go to sleep at this point in. This day had been heavily taxing on the mind. As he heard the voice of his winged friend he picked his head up and looked at him. You could tell he was out of it, he placed a hand on Acion’s gear. “Good thing you are covering up, it is chilly outside” the boy said completely oblivious to the boys attire.
Roy let out a long yawn stretching his limbs and rubbing his eyes, he walked past Acion. “I am going to go shower and sleep. I’ll see you later” Roy said moving on along.
Jett nodded, Weight training, which was hard on the body. But he wasn’t his mother. He wondered about what he meant by things happening but he was too tired to ask. “Yeah I’ve had enough training for today, I think Ill go make sure this headache goes away for sure tonight” He said as he also began to walk away. Then he waved his hand casually behind him. “Have a good training session with your fellow birdies!”He said with a slight chuckle and a clear tone that he was just kidding.
A vein appeared on his forehead. Birdies…
Again, he hated being compared to a bird. Didn’t know where or when he got such vibe, but it would be a lot better if he had compared him to an angel, or a plane. But then again, the phrase was coming from Jett, so he wouldn’t be surprised.
’Oh well, what do you know?’
At least he was friendly, and Acion didn’t seem to mind him today. Hopefully, it would be the same for the entire year as well.
With those two appearing ok, Acion walked downstairs, to the courtyard, to begin his training. It had only been the first day, but Acion had already felt that he was being left behind, after seeing how Roy and the others were making their progress.
The first part was purely a muscle training exercise, with a repetition of basic exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, squashes and other things. It was simple, but effective, especially when combined with a couple of extra weight.
While the winged boy did not entirely have great muscles or anything, he was surely a durable one, with a tremendous amount of stamina. It was natural, however, to him, that he would have it, so that he would be able to maintain a good flight pattern.
He repeated the exercise again and again until he felt his muscles beginning to strain. Knowing that he would be getting himself injured if he went too far with it, so he stopped, and switched to the next thing. Or basically a period of rest, by flying around the campus area. His training exercises did not affect the wing muscle area, so it was not a problem at all.
With six powerful wings spread out, he soared into the sky, once more. And as he reached an optimal altitude, he began letting himself loose, and glided with the wind.
After quite a few hours of organizing and personalizing her own dorm space, Hatori sighed and sat back on her bed. She had completely changed from her outdoors attire to a indoors one, wearing a casual blue T-shirt with a spare set of exercise shorts that were basically her PJs away from home. Despite remaining in her dorm for quite a while after meeting up with Dulga, her roommate never came; Hatori wondered if she was somehow busy with something, but it did meant that she had the room to herself...for now.
She had explored the girl’s side of the dormitory for quite a while now; the showers were communal as she would have thought, though it was fairly spacious and high quality, expected of a hero academy’s dorms. There was a small platform and intermediate room to switch slippers, and several open showers with a large bath at the end. On one side, however, were tall shower stalls, presumably for the ones who weren’t into public bathing.
Meanwhile, Hatori had spent her efforts on decorating her side of the room. She had set up a bookshelf next to her table with a few fighter jet models and a random poster she bought at an air show a little more than a year ago. Hatori had also brought a printer of her own, and noticeably a huge stack of paper, which filled up half of a shelf. Of course, anyone who knew about her Quirk would know that the thousands of sheets of paper she had prepared weren’t just for printing.
Her desk was plainer in design, with a desk fan and a small retro-futuristic neon sign, and her bedsheets and blanks were a modern black-grey striped design. Right below the desk was an extension cord, and her laptop neatly placed in the center. And as an extra layer of preparedness, another stack of sticky notes was right next to her fan. After all that work on decorating and designing her part of her room, Hatori couldn’t help but stare at her roommate’s side, which remained empty in stark contrast to her own side.
She sighed and leaned against the window, where lampposts illuminated the courtyard right in front of her. Incidentally, Hatori had gotten one of the rooms that faced the main entrance. She was already getting a bit tired from all that work, and considered calling it a day without actually meeting her roommate.
That is, until she noticed a certain figure standing outside at the courtyard. Hatori blinked. I definitely hope I’m not just imagining things… Hatori thought, quietly observing the person from her room. She stared at him for a moment before the person stopped and suddenly extended...his wings. No, wait...six wings?
Before she could continue her thoughts, the winged person flew to the sky. Who was that person? He definitely does have a Quirk, though that’s the first time I’ve seen a Mutant Quirk like that! she thought, and almost instinctively pulled out the paper she had hidden in one of her shorts. They were pre-creased and ready to throw after a few quick folds, and within no time Hatori was able to fold several basic planes and immediately throw them out the window.
Without the planes being in the line of sight, however, there was no way she could control her planes, and Hatori was quick to rectify that. ”Spyplane…” she muttered as she folded another plane, this one different, and threw it out as well to follow the fleet. She then got into a comfortable position on the chair before pressing her fingers onto her temples. Within a split second, her vision transferred onto her spyplane as the small fleet began to increase altitude and turn towards the direction the winged person headed. Almost telepathically, the fleets followed her command as they flew towards him.
His six sense suddenly triggered. But it wasn’t as powerful as he did during the battle between him and Reina. It was weak, and Acion could barely recognize it. He quickly dismissed that as something of his own imagination, and continued his training
Exercise number 2: Flight training
Feeling his body muscles beginning to regain its strength, he began his descent, gaining more and more speed. And he continued on until he had gained enough momentum, which was when he leveled himself. For the final act, he suddenly jerked himself upward as the wings went completely stiff. The upward thrust was not vertical, but rather a few dozens degrees to the right, as he glided straight up that way, without actually trying to increase in velocity.
After two seconds thrusting, his body and wing’s weight began to stall him. But this was his whole intention, as Acion then did a flip as he suddenly turned his body one hundred and eighty degrees backward. Acion then slammed hard the wings that he had, sending feathers out into the open courtyard, before his body sent him back to Earth. But before it actually did, he flapped his wings again, stabilizing himself, increasing his speed, and flew in the same direction as he just did a few seconds earlier.
”Perfect…”
If that was done correctly, not only he would be able to catch his enemies off-guard, if his enemy was ground-based, he would also be able to send his own reply back, while throwing off the enemy’s aims. For air-target, he would also be able to attack them while getting on their six instantly. A very difficult to master technique, but once he did, it would be very effective and deadly.
Acion then turned himself upwards, after gaining enough momentum. This time he did an Immelman turn, an upward turn that is shaped like the letter C and then leveling himself with a roll, for he knew if he flew any further, he would fly off the school ground, and pretty much broke the curfew thing. It would not be a funny thing to explain toward the school’s staff about it.
There, all of a sudden, from the corner of his eyes, something zoomed past him. Multiple somethings. And it appeared that it wasn’t zooming past him, but Acion was actually zooming past it. Or both.
He turned his head to investigate immediately. It appeared to be very small. He couldn’t register it clearly in the middle of the night, but apparently they were a bunch of paper airplanes. But how come paper airplanes could fly this high, and this fast?
The questions sparked into curiosity as Acion suddenly turned himself again, this time horizontally, towards the direction of the planes. But when he did finally finish the turn, the planes were nowhere to be seen.
”Now that’s odd…”
What the hell was that?
@pkken @Aerandir @Stale Pizza
I heard there's still a bit of a problem with the Warrior of End, so I will just leave it here for the moment. You guys can see what's wrong with it.
Acion Nakamiji
It had been a while since his sister left, Acion was still contemplating about the talk he had with her, sinking the words into his mind. Thinking back then, about how he had acted in front of so many people, his classmate. Damn, he must have been really awkward. Really. He wondered how they would think of him now. Would they be willing to be friends with him now? Probably not for the others, like Jett or Mina, or Ezra, but for consolidation, he might have found some trustworthy friends, those who really recognized him. Reina was the first friend he had made. He wondered where she was now? He had not seen her since Hero Gadget. He wondered if she was ok? It had only been a day but he had already felt the deep tension of competition among the students. He wasn't that all worried for himself, but more for her. Hopefully, she would make it.
For him, there was Roy as well, whom he pretty much considered to be his trusted friend now, after all he had given him. Now that he had remembered it, before Aurelia took him out for the talk, Acion did remember Michiko yelling at him about something, and during dinner, he was fairly off with his physicals. But considering his unnerving personality when it comes to challenges, he wouldn't be surprised if the guy decided to hit the gym and trained until all his muscles had strained out. Now that he had gotten to that, Acion instantly slapped himself. It was the first day and yet he had not proceeded anywhere with his training, while everyone appeared to be doing it. And the thought of falling behind was unacceptable. He could not lose.
Instantly walking upstairs, towards his room, Acion took notice that Roy had not returned. While his mind was wondering about it, his body automatically took out the box of training equipment that his sister had given him earlier in the day, fully equipped them, and headed out to hit the gym. Or even better, practiced right at the courtyard. Nothing better than the old-fashion dirt and rock platform.
As he was heading out of the dorm, the question that he had been asking had been solved, as he took notice of the blonde guy that he called his friend, Roy, walking...zombie-like, towards him. And behind him...was another blonde, this time he was Jett...walking in a similar fashion. To be honest, he wasn't very fond of Jett at the moment, but seeing him like this, Acion couldn't help but had a myriad of emotions. Curiosity, for how he had gotten into that state. Worry, for seeing a student in such a shape. And a few more.
"What happened to you two?" He stopped himself from walking away, and turned towards them. "You need help?"
Acion Nakamiji
Aurelia Nakamiji
The sky had turned red before she realized it. The radiant sunlight of dusk peered into the small glass window of the young female hero’s office as she quickly finished her paperwork for the workplace rental. She wasn’t usually this focused on her job, but rather preferred to take it loose and engulf herself into the night. But today, there was one particular thing that she had to do, had to prioritize over anything.
The papers were finally finished, as Aurelia clicked on the tip of the ball-point pen and literally threw it on the desk where she worked. Stretching her lower back loudly, she obviously had been adopting to this a little bit too much, detrimentally. After all, the Sky Knight’s specialty was more of larger-scaled threats. And not every villain out there were planning to take over the world or extinguish humanity. In fact, those villains that young children usually see on the TV screens were among the rarest of all villains. Crimes now took place at a much smaller scale, and with a lot more difficulties in tracking them. As a result, one who thought that her hero group was a place of excitement of adventure were horribly wrong. In truth, the life of a ‘Sky Knight’ is a constant period of patrols and routined activities, even boredom, with only brief intervals of challenge and danger. Villains seldom act like how they usually do on some Hollywood blockbusters. It was the heroes that must become a hunter, searching and investigating with craft and patience. Successes were often achieved by a confluence of small things: stray facts, overheard conversations and careless small evidence. Only that would the routine be broken by combat.
Now that she had her entire evening schedule emptied, she immediately set off to where her home used to belong. Her second home. After leaving a note notifying her colleagues her whereabouts, she walked to the windows. And from her back, a pair of soft and beautiful white wings slowly spread out, growing steadily in size. The same pair of wings that had carried her through thousands of winds. Reaching her most powerful length, three meters long each, her back muscles began to unleash its magic. The wings flapped, up and down, up and down, gradually but powerfully, with the strength of a hundred men. Her figure looked no different from a guardian angel, preparing to soar through the sky with finesse and grace.
And finally, she took off. The movements that she had practiced for so long, and for so many times felt so light and intuitive. After a second gaining her momentum, she rotated her body, letting the physics do the work, as she turned westward, towards Komei’s Hero Academy. It was far, for a normal commuter, but was near enough for Aurelia, for she had her ability, and the privileges to use it. If she were flying this freely just three years ago, if caught, she would be fined pretty harsh for it. And with all honesty, she thought that the rule to forbade people from using quirks in public is…stupid. Of course, the likelihood of criminal activities, and perhaps some foolish daredevils making a ruckus out in the open, would increase as a result, but this would restrict a lot of services and practices that would benefit society. And if criminal activities increases, what were hero’s groups for? There were dozens of these organizations out there who were looking for a chance to prove themselves, and yet they were rotting in some places out there. Hero’s Academy produces heroes, but the output was simply too much. They simply admitted too many students. This had been something that Aurelia had also been debating, sometimes petitioning the court for it, but didn’t really produce any results.
But for now, it didn’t matter, as the school had come into her sight.
’He’s at dorm 1. If my memories do not fail me…’
She immediately turned to her right, her adjusting her rear feathers so that the airflow would make her body automatically move naturally. Approaching the dorm, the ‘Sky Defender’ landed gracefully onto the hallway of the dorm, the second floor. Figuring that Acion would be having dinner around this time, as he was already used to at home, she headed downstairs to the general dining room, to witness a crowd of students massing at tables, wolfing down their food and happily chatting with their dorm members. And they were all hero students, all bright and promising. For a moment, she was slightly taken away by the feeling that she used to be one of them. Time passed so quickly
Aurelia gazed around the room, noticing the dorm mother, Retha, whom she personality really adored. If Komei was Aurelia’s second home, then Retha would definitely be her mother. She’s kind, warm-hearted and motherly. Her trainings were a little bit excessive though; Aurelia still had PTSD about it, but knowing that she did so because she recognized the girl as a student with great potential, and hoped with her whole heart that she would succeed made Aurelia feel even more thankful. And a part of her feel proud to be standing here, with the infamy of achievements behind her back, and gladly inform her that her dear ‘daughter’ had succeeded. She would definitely be happy. But since her main purpose here would be to talk to Acion, she would have to wait. Nevertheless, she gave Retha a hello wave with a smile, being persistent until the dorm mother had noticed her, before approaching Acion.
”Sister?”
Acion’s face was a definition of surprise, with a little glimpse of fear and nervousness, as the person who had inherently raged right onto his ear a few hours ago were there, without his knowledge.
”Sorry guys, if I interrupt your conversation. Acion, do you mind if we have a walk outside?”
”Of course…” His voice was a bit uncertain, but went for it anyway as the two left the dining room and walked down the hallway.
”You probably have already guessed what I am going to talk to me.”
”The incident earlier today, right?”
”Precisely.”
”You see, I wasn’t intending to-”
”I know.” Aurelia said, as she turned to look at her younger brother in the eyes. ”I know that you honestly want to take out that guy, and get the boy out of there. I know that, because that is in your blood. You have that blood of a hero, that is the most important thing, because it places you on top of everybody else.”
”But I failed to- Acion was about to speak, as Aurelia placed her finger on his lips.
”Yes you did, but can you expect him to still be conscious and has a gun hidden? When I think about it, even I might not be able to anticipate it.” She said, with a gentle and sisterly tone. ”No humans can anticipate everything that happens around us, and no contingency would be able to fully compensate for it. So you can simply boil it down to simply your luck being very dark at that moment.”
Acion bit his lips as he looked away. It was true. After all considerations, the words were pretty much right...And yet, he didn’t feel anymore better. It was still painful. To see that the boy, who should have been with his family right now, was probably in a hospital, full of medical equipment attached onto him, probably motionless and had to to be fed. It pained him just by thinking about it.
”You know what, let me tell you a story…” Aurelia said, noticing the sorrow. ”It dates back to the first year after I get into the pro hero league, and a few months after establishing Sky Knight. At the time, there were less members than we do now. Only Albert, Forte, myself and one more. He used to be a close friend of mine, along side those two.”
”That’s nice.” Acion said, noticing the weird touch in her speech. ”And used to?”
Aurelia inclined her head; her eyes became glassy and transparent, as the sorrow and pain of those time resurfaced to eat her heart once again.
”Used to, because…” She had to take a moment to prepare herself, not for Acion, but against her own painful memory. ”He died on a patrol mission.”
”Died?” Acion was genuinely surprised. ”What happened?”
He instantly regretted his decisions to ask her, but the question had already slipped.
”He ran into the Sword Saint.” She said, as her eyes became more and more distant. ”He was the one of the most notorious criminal of the time, having killed countless heroes before. And his presence in the region placed the entirety of the hero groups into high alert and standby position.”
She said, her head hung lower by the time, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground.
”On that day, all of us sorted out on a mission to search for clues and evidence, just basically scanning around the area for anything. And he voted to take the outskirt region, which was one of the most dangerous place. Albert and Forte protested against going alone, but since I thought it was merely a patrol and scouting mission, I accepted his proposal. He also seemed very determined about it, so I just let him go, without much consideration.” She said.
”Hours later, we receive an emergency distress call from him. But as we were rushing towards the sight, the communication line suddenly went completely silent. I already had a really bad feeling at that moment, but deeply in my heart, and everybody else’s, I still hoped that he was still ok.”
”As time passed by, I became more and more worried, but still believed he was alive and fighting. Scenarios began to play out in my mind of how the com link could be shut off during the fight. Some were very silly, but it was because I dearly hoped that he was still well…But all my hopes were betrayed.”
Acion now noticed a line of tear coming down her left eyes. And another one, coming from her right. It really discomforted him to see his sister like this, but what could he possibly say here that was appropriate? It was uncomfortable, but he let her finish her story.
”By the time the three of us reach his destination, there was nothing left. No sight of the villain, no trace of the escape route. Only his lifeless body remained.” Aurelia continued, the resentment had reached her climax.
”And was he caught?”
Aurelia shook her head lightly. ”Still out there, still killing people.”
”That night, I locked myself inside my room, and cried for hours. Cried until the fatigue and the darkness of the night consume me, cried until I could not cry anymore. The following day I couldn’t bring myself to work, because the guilt was overwhelming me, about my decisions that brought him his doom and how I wish I could reverse the hours of the day back and stop him. But the reality was there. He was dead, and there was nothing that can be done...”
Aurelia finally finished, as she raised her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. And the winged boy was silently watching. It was truly a tragic story. He was Aurelia’s friends, along with Albert and Forte. The quartet had studied at Komei together, had endured through high school lives, had fought together and had been through countless joy and sorrow together. They moved on to work together, and lived the working life together as one. Honestly, one wouldn’t be blamed if he or she would imagine them grow old together, have kids and watch them grow up as well, playing together, like in any fairy tale. But reality was cruel. One mistake and that innocent dream had been ripped into pieces, and the bond of friendship that they had solidly built with theie whole heart now had a hole that could never ever be mended, or refilled. Acion stared at her, as the story, her sorrow, her tears had opened something in him. A realization.
Aurelia turned to look at Acion, her eyes gazed into his with sympathy and compassion, drawing the line for him to go.
”You’ve heard it and seen it. I also did not anticipate that he would run into him. However, I knew that the area was dangerous, but I let him go anyway. And the price for it was a lot more dear than your scenario. While the boy is only someone you just met, in my case he is my best friend for years, and I have to bear the guilt in front of both myself and his family as well. Sure, they weren’t cynical like some, but the feeling like they are resenting you was there. And it hurt.”
He couldn’t believe it.
”What I want to say from the story, you see, is that no one is immune from failure.” Aurelia said, as the door slowly opened for her little brother. ”Even when you reach the league of professional heroes, you will still fail from time to time. You can’t be infallible. And what is most important for a hero is to never dwell on it. You let the memories of your failure to show you the errors of your way, but never let it eat on your heart or your mind. Because there is no use in that. I despise failure as well, but its equivalent in many cases isn’t the end, or that you would fail again and again. I know that because…”
She continued staring into him, pausing a bit to let the words sink, before finishing.
”...because I know you will not let yourself fail again.”
And that was it.
He had walked into the light.
Acion listened to his sister’s words as if it was the words on an angel. To be honest, if he had looked at it more poetically, his big sister may actually be an angel in disguise. There was a little irony, since Acion usually perceive her sister to usually be quite childish, hot-headed and a bit rash, and the winged boy himself was usually the more even-tempered older brother type, but after hearing her words, he couldn’t help contemplating how wrong he had been. She was a lot more mature than he was, and even after all the differences in appearance and actions, she still proved to have more life experience and wisdom than he did, and have been through a lot more than him. And this made everything he had believed in so far felt nothing different from an immature and irrational perception of a child.
It was clear, in the end, Aurelia was the older sibling, and Acion was the younger one.
”Now this is really embarrassing…” Acion said. ”I really hadn’t thought that you would be this way.”
Aurelia’s expression turned drastically. Negatively.
”Huh?! Then what exactly do you think I usually act?” She had returned to her normal self, as she glared at him.
”Not that way…” Acion said, noticing the aura from her glare.
”Your answer doesn’t make any sense! Let me guess, it’s father who told you about me, didn’t you?”
”Uh, yes...” He answered, reluctantly, as Aurelia gave herself a facepalm, and a deep exhale.
”I guess I will be the one to teach you everything about life. He has softened you too much” She said. That also sparked something that Acion had to speak about.
”Hey…” He said quietly, as she turned to him. ”I couldn’t help but notice that you and father don’t really resemble. In thoughts and so. And your words also contradicts his. So was he wrong all the time?”
He wasn’t exactly sure himself. There were two opposite views from two of his dearest family members, and he couldn’t really decide on who to follow. Aurelia found this a bit surprising, but simply smiled.
”There were meanings in his words that was to be perceived in a different way. But he, of course, wasn’t wrong.” She said, as she stopped walking, as Acion stopped in her track as well. ”You do know that you cannot fly until you are the age of nine right?”
”Yeah.”
”And do you know that many people were disappointed because of that?”
Eh?
Acion was baffled.
”Yes. It is the truth.” Aurelia said. ”You used to be a great disappointment to everyone, while I have to compensate for that. But your father and mother refused to let you be influenced by that, and as a result injected you with all that destiny and god thing.”
...
’Was that even real? That mother and father…’
”I, of course, don’t approve their methods. But it surely has proved to be beneficial. You have indeed grown to become a powerful fighter. I mean, if you keep on like that, you are fully eligible to come see me the moment you got your graduation degree. But the inevitable result is that you have become a super awkward and crazy traditionalist.” She looked at him, as he turned away. Embarrassment was the exact word to describe him now, as he reflect on his earlier action during the day, and earlier on as well. He even thought that was cool at the time. How stupid…
”I see…” Acion said. ”I’ve been so stupid…”
”Yes you have. But…” She slapped her palm into his arm. ”You’ve come to realized that soon enough. A lot sooner than I expected. Hopefully, it will make you a lot more ‘appealing’ to the students than you are currently now.”
Acion’s face turned a little red.
”Appealing? What do you mean by that?”
”Look at yourself.” She told him as if she was mocking his own ignorance. ”I doubt no one actually care about how your hairs are good-looking. By your age, the boys are already getting for themselves a girlfriend that they can dick around with for their entire life.”
”Hey! I have a future to work for.” He protested.
”But don’t tell me you do not find anyone around you particularly attractive?”
Her words stunned her little brother, as his face got redder, a mixture of anger and fluster.
”...Two…” He replied. ”There are two that I appeal the most.”
”Geez, you sure are hopeless. Some of the boys are making a harem of their own. Look at where you are right now. Pathetic…” Aurelia shrugged her shoulder as if she wasn’t even paying attention
”Hey, hey! I’m working to get into Sky Knight just like you wished, and what are you complaining?”
The rant back and forth would continue on for a few more minutes, but eventually it died down, and the two siblings once again walked down the hallway of the dorm, as the radiant red of the sun were having its final glory before being enveloped by the starry night.
”You know…I had wished for a moment like this for a while now.”
”You do?”
”You remember the time when you were still all about the strong and the weak?
“
”Ah…” It was Aurelia’s turn to be embarrassed. Those time were pretty much the lowest stoop of her life path. Even mentioning about it made her feel a little bit shameful of herself, since she was prideful of herself, and the Nakamiji bloodline. But after all, everyone had these memories like this, and it was through these that one’s individual would grow to what people would call ‘maturity’.
”You were like that all the time, distant from me, and everybody else. Sometimes, I just wished to have someone of my age to play with, but you were never there. And when you snapped out of it, you were already gone.”
”Hmm…” Aurelia nodded, feeling a little down and guilty.
”If we can remind ourselves of those times, do you mind if you and I can go outside. Tomorrow afternoon, after class. To do me a favor. I was not able to do it today because of, you know, that.”
”Tomorrow is quite a busy day for me…” She mumbled, but after some considerations… ”...but I can manage.”
She understood her brother’s intention.
”However, to prevent clogging my schedule, you would have to patrol the city along with the Sky Knight as well.”
”But you know perfectly well that I cannot go out on my own for the whole semester. I’ll need you to escort me out, and even then they won’t let me go anywhere beyond your sight.”
”Ayy…” The Sky Defender sighed audibly. ”How inconvenient. Fine, I’ll stop by the school by then, and I’ll file you a leave.”
”Thanks, nee-san.” Acion said.
Noticing the sudden and unusual way Acion addresses her sister, Aurelia was believed to give one of the kindest smile she had ever given, as she slowly walked to her brother’s side.
”You probably felt lonely after all those years right? Let me make that up to you...”
She then stood on her heels, right next to her brother, one of her hand placed on his shoulder.
And she kissed him...
On his left cheek.
It was a short one, lasting only a few seconds. But for him, who knows how long it lasted.
”There we go. See you tomorrow, little brother.”
With that, she quickly departed, as her wings once again soared with might and beauty, leaving Acion with a couple of feathers slowly descending onto the dorm’s balcony.
The winged boy, after recovered from Aurelia’s sudden behavior, found himself completely bare. His sadness didn’t completely vanish, but most were now replaced by a renewed confidence. A new Acion Nakamiji. He had become a different person, and hopefully, a better person than he had been before. And he was now ready to face what was to be thrown at him, what was to be taken away from him.
His adventure was soon met with a fierce resistance from the Sahuagin. It wasn't out of the surprise zone, however, as he didn't really expect them to appear this soon. But thankfully, there were his allies. The three of his teammates were preemptive, as they all took on the creatures with finesse and grace. As they were busy fighting, Alexander felt no need to enter the combat theatre. They were handling it well, and his presence would be a hinder.
Instead, he stood firmly on the ground, and analysed through the Sahuagin's movements. Their first entry did not form into any specific formation, as positions were irrational. They also did not coordinate well in their attacks, some of them attacked separately, allowing his allies to mow them down. This may help that the upcoming battles may also have the same tactics, with no particular leaders of the school.
'Their poses.'
Despite the fight escalating into an individual one on one, with each and every combatants being a strategist and tactician of their own, there still existed a pattern, small but visible: the Sahuagin's combat poses. They have the tendency to have their shoulders and heads slightly leaned towards their opponents, their backs angled slightly forward. Their attacking movements were also weird, as if they were trying to cover something.
Something...
Alexander then noticed as Korgath's wolf, Kitty, preying on a Sahuagin, but was suffering from trying to get through to it, due to some sort of scaly armor. But there was also the sword swing by Liv, which cut through the Sahuagin with ease. And there were Korgath's fist onto the fish's jaw at the very beginning. It gave Alexander the strange perception of the Sahuagin's scaled armor being both good and bad at the same time. A wolf's bite, a sharp sword's swing and a powerful uppercut, despite the difference, showed an abnormal contrast.
Connecting the dots together, there was one hypothesis that Alexander had been suspecting.
As the group was busy fighting, two Sahuagins at the very end of the cave began to join the battle as well. Realizing the threat, Alexander charged forward towards one of the Sahuagin. As he was near one, he planted one of his foot firmly on the ground, and rammed the other one onto the Sahuagin. Despite not really a combatant himself, his experience in martial art allowed him to send the Sahuagin tumbling onto the ground. As the other was mildly baffled by the sudden entry of a new combatant, Alexander quickly drew the one-handed crossbow from his waist holster. Pointing it directly straight towards the Sahuagin's head, he open fired. But the arrow simply ricocheted off the scale on top of it. But the force was enough to stun the fish creature for a few moments. Enough for Alexander to deal with the other beast.
The creature had the time to stand up, but not for a counter-attack, as Alexander gave it a beautifully executed axe kick. The beast was stunned, but eventually come unharmed. Alexander then decided to take a more brutal approach. The creature charged at him, as it tried to deliver an upward swing to Alexander. But having seen through the move, Alexander simply took a step back, and took advantage of the move, as he held the crossbow with his two hands, the arrow, having reloaded automatically, pointing forward, and stabbed it into the Sahuagin's lower jaw, direction upward.
The creature froze for a second before falling to the ground, motionless.
Just as he thought...
As the final creature was trying to stand up, Alexander calmly and simply turned to address the team of the result of his analysis.
"These creatures have a weakness. And that is they don't have protection against upward attacks." He said. "Just attack from the bottom up, and we'll mop up the cave of these beasts."
Nearly finished. Just the appearance and the theme songs, and Warrior of End's leader. Have switched the surname
Roy Kusayanagi
Acion Nakamiji
Hitomi Maeda
After only a few minutes sitting down, Mamoru, as energetic as ever, had relocated him to somewhere else. To a table not so different from his former one, with four seats. Three of them were occupied. One for himself, one for Tomoe, the girl previously taking a bite of his own ‘masterpiece’ and one for Hitomi, the girl who kindly patched up his ‘battle wound’. Good grief to know. That he was seated with someone like two of them, who, despite dissing his cookings, was still kind of nice, unlike some. Not that he couldn’t put up with them, it was more comfortable this way. The last seat was empty. Acion did not know whether it was intentional or not, but hopefully the fourth guest would be the same.
He sat down, feeling a little bit better. Yet, the aura didn’t vanish completely.
Hitomi had chuckled at Mamoru’s compliments to her, and blushed when her roommate implied Acion was her boyfriend. Hitomi didn’t even answer that question and just gave a look to Tomoe that said ‘Really? You’re doing this here?’ Turning to Acion and chuckling sheepishy, she broke the ice by saying; ”Don’t mind my roommate. She’s just teasing!”
Tomoe gave a cute giggle while brushing the back of her head with her hand as if she was unknowing to what she had said.
Tomoe soon after arriving at the table implied that Acion and Hitomi were hooked up. The winged boy was pretty much frozen by the sudden statement. What? Ok, he was with her, but that didn’t mean he was ‘with’ her.
”No, no. We are not.”
But thankfully, before any possible misunderstanding could be sparked, Hitomi was already apologizing, kindly.
”Uhh, it’s fine. I harbor no ill-intention against that.”
She was being a lit more kind than he expected. The girl then suddenly took an unexpected course of action, which was to latch straight onto Roy. To most people, with common senses, the scene was rather weird to witness, but to the winged boy, it was...nostalgic. For a moment, he was taken back. Many, many years ago, when all of this hadn’t even started to form.
”Nee-san! I don’t want to go out! It’s cold! I want to stay home and be by your side!”
Acion gave a smile to Roy, but partly because he was contemplating on something else instead. But nevertheless, he was also curious. She said ‘long time no see’. So as it turned out, Roy apparently knew this small girl over here. And cute as well. Kind of suspicious...
”I’m ok. You two seems to be close. Do you guys know each other before we’re here?”
Roy turned back to Acion with a small smile, “Yeah we do. Me and Tomoe were in the same children's hospital way back” he put his hand on his chin trying to think. “About 5-6 years ago, it's some reunion to have from going to your worst physical condition to one where you can fulfill your goals” he said smirking back. He winced once more as the girl squeezed him, before turning back to Acion.
“I Don't think I told you yet about what exactly was wrong with me in the past. Now is a good time as any if you want me to explain..that is if it is alright with her as well” Roy said looking over at Hitomi.
”Hospital?”
That’s a little...unexpected.
”I would like to hear about that as well…”
”Me too, but Tomoe-chan! You didn’t tell me you went to hospital either!” Hitomi exclaimed.
Tomoe opened her mouth and gave a wide yawn looking exponentially more drowsy as minutes passed by. Her head was starting to droop as she seemed more interesting in eating then listening to the conversation the others were having, stories about her and Roy back in the hospital went right past her head. Tomoe picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and dragged it towards her mouth where she started softly chewing the meat. After gulping down the meat she heard the sheep girl call out to her in which she turned her head to the girl giving her a drowsy but happy smile. Without a word she nodded her head twice before turning back to eating another piece of meat.
Tomoe felt too tired to eat anymore so instead lowered her head to the table dropping one of her bangs in her food and closed her eyes sleeping almost instantly. Her arms were hanging from her body while her head supported the rest of her body from falling from the stairs, she softly panted while the rest of the conversation continued.
The Boy smiled and made his way over to a seat next to Acion, he slowly but surely sat down jumping a bit from shocks of pain. Once he finally sat in the chair he took a deep sigh.. “Well remember how during the exercise I told you I can make things from stored sunlight, well the repercussion of that is the more energy I have…” He said looking at Acion.
“My body heat rises exponentially the more energy I have, a double edged sword perhaps. Prior to Pre-K I was fine but as soon as my quirk manifested that was when the health problems came. My younger body was unable to withstand the physical stress of my quirk. On top of that I didn’t know how to release the energy that I stored up so it added onto the problem. I was pretty prone to dehydration and other heat related illnesses, I got pretty much nearly every heat related problem except a heat-stroke” He chuckled a bit.
“Thank God” If he had suffered a heat stroke, most likely would it have irreversible effects on him.
“Fast forward a few years of physical therapy and hard work I was able to grasp some control on my quirk. It was a matter of sink or swim to me. I Met Tomoe back then who was a sleepaholic, it kind of made me a little mad why she chose to sleep so much instead of enjoy life. I would often go to check on her but she would be in deep slumber most of the time. When she was awake we would have fun. Tomoe was one of the few people I enjoyed seeing in the hospital because she was generally at inner peace somewhat. Though she would sometimes invade my personal space without permission, and often forgot about my abnormal body temperatures.”
“I spent my time just watching heroes go out and make the world a safer place. Kinda sparked something in me to get better as well. Though when you're in the hospital for so long you see people go in and out whether it's the appropriate way or unfavorable way. The patients do not necessarily have someone to look up to so I decided I want to be that person. I know the infuriating odds they were dealt, I seen it with my own eyes, and felt it with my own body. So it is pretty cool that I can attend a top hero school with someone I once knew.” He said with a small grin turning to Acion.
“I am able to carry out a normal life now so don’t treat me any different, or i’ll have to hurtcha” Roy concluded to everyone at the table, as he pounded his left fist into his right hand before surrendering to the pain. You could see his eyes get a bit watery.
As Roy was explaining, to Acion’s eyes, he wasn’t seeing just the blonde, or Tomoe latching onto him, but a picture of himself overlapping the guy’s image. A picture of his own self, acting and motioning just like Roy. Even the hand movements, the lips speaking just like him. And the sorrow of his early life.
And that was when he realized…
Roy was nothing different from Acion.
There were significant differences, but after drawing all the comparison, one could see its similarity. Roy had great problems with his quirks when he was little. Him being hospitalized because he was unable to control his quirks. Acion being grounded for nine years because he was also unable to control his own quirks. Roy admiring other heroes, Acion aspiring to be like them, even better than them. And most importantly, the two had gotten over their issues with their own strength. With their own power.
And he spoke like it was nothing. Like it was just a regular story, even chuckling and grinning at Acion. It brought him into thoughts
The winged boy reflected the life he had gone through. What he had done. And what he had become.
Wasn’t he once the boy who never gave in to failures? The one who had crashed so many times in his own self-designed self-training that he could not count the number of crashes he had, or the scars he inflicted upon himself. And the number of self-encouragement of ‘I would succeed this time!’ that he said. And now, only after a mistake that he was falling into depressions. How ironic can that be?
He had tried, he had failed, and he had improved. To the point that he had moved from being a total loser to a champion of air combat, and one of the powerful students in middle school. And it was that that had changed him. He had moved so far in such a little time, succeeded times to times that he soon lost the ability to feel humility of failing. And now that reality was giving him a reminder of that…
What the hell had he become?
As he was being drifted away, silently, the sound of Roy’s fist hitting onto his palm knocked him back to his sense. And the watery eyes brought a realization that the winged boy needed.
”Roy.” He said, as he reached out a hand for his shoulder. But when he already got to it, he started pausing, considering that to say. ”I believe for everything you do, you’ll have one ally behind your back.” Acion then spoke, indicating himself. Not very meaningful, but probably ok.
He did, after all, deserve it.
Roy smirked back at Acion before making a dopey face to his last remark. “Yep, my mother of course” Roy said smiling, soon a piping hot bowl of beef udon made way to him and you could see the excitement in his face. Soon he went blank then slightly depressed realizing that the hand he usually ate with was inoperable. He picked up some chopsticks with his left hand and struggled to eat the beef udon. Every attempt was a failure at picking up the beef. You could see the frustration forming.
Roy stabbed the beef with his chopstick ate a slice in one bite before remembering where he was once more. His face turning a light red, he turned over to the sheep girl.
“I don't believe we have met miss, I am Roy Kusayanagi. It is nice to meet you” he said with a smile.
“Hi!” Hitomi smiled back. “I’m Hitomi. You’re the support student who was transferred to the Hero class, aren’t you? I’m in the support class, but second year. I don’t really have any inspiring stories, I’m afraid. I had a fairly uneventful childhood. My quirk was expected and besides hair trouble and getting into clothes, has been easy to live with. The only unconventional thing about my past was that I looked after the house, did all the cleaning and cooked for myself and my parents, but they were busy with their jobs and I still enjoyed myself.”
Roy smirked a bit, guess news travels fast about a transfer into the hero course. He stabbed another piece of meat and ate it. She seemed pretty harmless overall. He was a bit flustered at the fact she openly compared her childhood to his. He chewed a bit and his face lit up at realizing how the food got better with every taste. Roy sealed then made a remark to her statement.
“As long as you have the will to make the world a better place. You're a hero in the making In my book.” After taking a look at the girl In front of him...she was quite adorable.
“With that fur you must be pretty comfy during the winter season.” He shook his head in disagreement, “I used to love the winter but now I despise it. The sun isn't out as long and I get terribly cold “ he said fighting to grab some rice from the bottom of the bowl with the chopstick.
“That’s a nice, sentiment, but I’m not sure I want to be a Hero. I’m scared the fame would change me, or stop me being so close to me family. Besides, I’ve already planned out my future; I want to finish the support course, then get an internship that one of the costume-making companies. And yes,” She smiled, getting shy. ”I like the winter. I prefer it to summer because my hair grows too long and I have to pay a lot to get it cut or my head gets too hot.”
”Uhh…”
He didn’t catch onto his statement…
Oh well, no matter.
The conversation evolved into another topic after Hitomi joins. And its whether about winter or summer preferences.
”For me, I also like summer, but winter is probably the most productive time of the year. Practices. I am used to flying under the snow, for the sake of hardening my ability to withstand coldness. You can feel it if you go through it.” Acion placed his hand next to Roy and Hitomi, the palm face down, for them to touch. ”Doesn’t look like it, but my skin is harder than most.”
Roy had his last straw with the chopsticks, setting them aside. He did what he should have done a long time ago, making a spoon construct he took a big scoop of rice. He was in his own world as he enjoyed the meal scoop after scoop. Acion broke trance with his arm popping up next to the boy. Saying he preferred the winter. Roy raised an eyebrow as he inspected the boys hand.
“Looks pretty well maintained too me, looks like you had a lot of manicures.” He said teasing the boy as he stuck another spoon in his mouth.
A small vein popped on Acion’s face at that.
’This guy…’
He was doing this on purpose wasn’t he?
Fine. He had had enough of this. As a result of this back-and-forth, he had absolutely nothing in his stomach. And his ‘great friend’ over here was stealing all of it. But he would not let the others take it as well. He grabbed a chopstick and began to grab a piece of meat for himself as well. Hitomi had been taking small mouthfuls during the entire conversation, however, so by the time the boys started fighting for food, she’s already had her fill. Plus that would go some way in explaining why there was so little food left. With the tips of the chopsticks in her mouth, she watched on as Acion wolfed food down.
I'll need to see the sample deck first, and perhaps a bit of the game's mechanic, to get the feel of the balance. Since my deck has that 1 foot tall Heavenly Aegis that will screw every opponent's day once it comes to its final form. I have to know a bit so that I won't make him too OP for an OP lategame card.
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