Ch 170: Shock and Awe.
Captain Kazama ended the communication, and Tatsuya looked at Miyuki.
"Well, you've heard. Try to get along with them, please."
"I will try, Onii-sama."
Miyuki nodded, feeling a little down. The government had finished their analysis of the armors Akeno had created out of thin air, and their magic, while undisputably effective, didn't correspond to any known magic system. Nor were their demonstrations of Magecraft. There were a few things that were similar to a few old and modern magic systems, but the differences were too pronounced to be just a patchwork of existing techniques.
The experts concluded from this that their magic truly came from another world. And if that was true, they couldn't just assume that the rest of their claims were false.
The government had to act with the assumption that a fragment of a foreign world was on its way to their own, and that those two were their best chance to stop it. They were already using many of their assets in foreign territories to search for any unusual things that might be the mysterious 'puller'.
That Noah, whoever he was, could observe their world from a place they couldn't reach, learning secrets from both Japan and the Great Asian Union, maybe even to some extent predict the future.
And that Akeno and Rin were presumably able to contend with strategic magicians and could summon entities named Heroic Spirits or Servants that sounded even more powerful.
Tatsuya made a tolerant smile as he patted her head.
"I know you're fearing they might reveal our secret. But we don't really have a choice. If we are stuck with them, the odds of them revealing our secret will be lowered if we become friends."
"Yes, you're right, Onii-sama. I will make an effort." smiled Miyuki.
…
Akeno and Rin were the first student to enter the classroom. They didn't need much sleep and had come early to have time to familiarize themselves with the equipment.
"Looks like the places already have been assigned." said Rin as they glanced at the giant screen behind the teacher's desk. It was displaying a welcome message and the seating arrangement.
"Yes. We're both near each other against the wall, that's good. You happen to have Tatsuya-kun to your immediate left, that may not be so good." frowned Akeno.
"Erika and Mizuki are also in this class."
"Have you noticed, Rin?" asked Akeno as she sat on her desk. "There are four classes for Course 1 students, so twenty-five per classroom. But only two for Course 2 students. We have forty-eight classmates."
"More discrimination. At this point, I won't even be surprised if the food quality is different at lunch, or if we have to pay more."
Akeno pressed a button on the side of the steel desk, although calling the device a console might be more apt, and it turned on. It's flat, black top displayed a keyboard, and a two-dimensional holographic display appeared floating above the the top.
"You know, more than the cars and the city design, I think this is what gives me the biggest cultural shock. This classroom is too futuristic by my standards." said Rin as she activated her own desk.
"Me, too. At least we came early, so there isn't anyone seeing us gawk at the shiny toys like country bumpkins. And the interface is intuitive and easy to use."
Akeno was browsing the desk's general settings, then came to the selection of the biggest choice Course 2 students had to make. Course 1 students only had the choice of following the Standard Magic course, essentially teaching them how to use magic efficiently, with an emphasis on combat applications.
Course 2 students could register for it, but they also had the option of following the Magic Engineering course. Magic Engineers were the people who supported combat magicians from behind, tuning and customizing their CADs, and improving magic sequences.
They were like armorers and procurement officers in a classic army, ensuring that soldiers had shoes and uniforms that fitted them, and weapons that would work as efficiently as possible.
Without hesitation, Akeno took the Magic Engineering course. Rin, on the other hand, chose the Standard Magic one.
They were both selecting more advanced options within their chosen specialties when another student entered the room. A tall young man with green eyes and shot dark brown hair.
"Oh, I thought I would be first. I'm Leonhart Saijou. Just call me Leo. Nice to meet you!"
"Hello. I'm Akeno Himejima. Please call me Akeno as well. If I judge by the seating arrangement, you'll be on my left. I hope we'll get along." smiled Akeno.
"Hi, Leo. I'm Rin Tohsaka. Call me Rin too. Nice to meet you." nodded Rin.
"You ladies are already at it, huh? I'll take the standard magic course. My specialty is Convergent Systemic Reinforcement Magic."
"Convergent Systemic Reinforcement Magic? As in, making your weapon harder?" asked Rin.
"Almost. I prefer to fight with my fists. I use Reinforcement magic to make my fists and forearms tougher than steel, and turn my clothes into armor."
"I see." smiled Akeno. "Somehow I have an easy time imagining you as a brawler. You certainly have a fit body for it."
"Thanks for the praise! I train hard every day to stay in shape. How about you? What do you specialize in?"
"We haven't spent too much time learning modern magic so far, so we do not have a specialty yet. We both are proficient in ancient magic, though."
"Ancient magic? Wait, that means you can cast magic without a CAD? Could I have a demonstration, please?"
"…Well, using a CAD to cast magic without permission is sort of against the rules, but since it's only the three of us, and we're not actually using a CAD…" Akeno manifested a half-dozen light swords floating above her head."
"They can cut through steel. You can touch them if you want, Leo, but don't cut yourself."
"Don't mind if I do." grinned Leo as he pressed two fingers on the flat of one blade, then knocked his knuckles on it.
"Neither hot nor cold, and they do feel hard like metal. How many can you manifest? Can you change their shape? How far can you control them?"
"Leave a girl her secrets, will you?" grinned Akeno as she made the swords disappear. "I'll just tell you that I can give those constructs any shape I want, and I mostly use them as shields. I'm taking the Magic Engineer course. Developing magic sequences is quite interesting, although I still have a long way to go before I can pretend to be good at it."
"I'm taking the standard course. So I guess we'll have many opportunities to spar against each other, Leo. I have trained in unarmed combat, so don't think you'll have an easy time." smiled Rin.
"That's great. I don't mind biting the dust a few times, as long as I can use the experience to grow stronger!"
"That's a great mindset." declared Erika as she and Mizuki entered the classroom. "Hi, Akeno, Rin."
"Huh? Akeno, who is that?" asked Leo.
Erika was taken aback. "Calling me 'that' all of a sudden. So rude! I bet you're not popular."
Leo gasped and jumped from his seat. "You're the one being rude! That's no way to speak just because you aren't the ugliest one around!"
"Looks are important! A filthy guy who gets mistaken for a wild animal may not understand that, though." smirked Erika as she waved a finger at Leo.
"What did you just say?" exclaimed Leo with gritted teeth. He stopped suddenly when a yellow sword-shaped object floated in front of his face.
They turned their head toward Akeno, who shook her head and pointed at Rin.
"Leo, you just said some interesting things earlier. Something about Erika not being the ugliest one around. And just what did you meant by that, I wonder…" said Rin as she cracked her knuckles, with a smile that wasn't really a smile.
"N-Nothing at all! I was just referring to the national average, that is all. I wasn't thinking about any of you specifically!" said Leo as he frantically waved his hands.
"humph!" snorted Rin, making the sword disappear.
"Hehehe." laughed Erika, enjoying this a lot. Mizuki was hiding her smile with her hand.
Before long, they were all laughing.
Akeno was glad to have some fun classmates, at least.
Tatsuya entered the classroom next, said hello to the girls and introduced himself to Leo. They started a light-hearted conversation about their future lessons and life goals. More students came, and the classroom gradually filled up.
Eventually, the bell rang, and the teacher entered the classroom. An attractive young woman with large brown eyes and long brown hair tied in a thick braid.
"Welcome to first high, everyone. I am your main teacher, Haruka Ono, and I am also the school's counselor. Please feel free to come speak to me for any issue you may have."
Akeno listened with attention, remembering that Noah had mentioned her, too. A spy from one of the government's agencies, but also a woman who genuinely cared for her students.
…
"I like the lunch service. It's way better than my previous school." declared Rin as they sat down to eat, each with a tray filled with food and a drink.
"I remember you preparing a bento every morning, though." pointed out Akeno.
"Precisely my point." smiled Rin.
"Why are we eating together in the first place, though?" Complained Leo as he glared at Erika, who was sitting in front of him.
"I'm just eating with Tatsuya-kun, Mizuki, Akeno and Rin." replied Erika, her tone implying that she wanted him gone as well.
"Onii-sama!"
Akeno turned her head and saw Miyuki standing close with her tray and drink in hand.
"Can I join you?" asked Miyuki with a hopeful voice.
"Yes, there's room here." smiled Akeno as she shifted closer to Rin, freeing some space in front of Tatsuya.
"Thank you, Akeno." smiled Miyuki. She put her tray on the table.
"Uh, who's that?" asked Leo as he looked at Tatsuya.
"Calling people 'that' again, Leo." scolded Erika.
"My little sister." replied Tatsuya.
"I am Miyuki Shiba. It is niece to meet you." smiled Miyuki with a polite bow, wanting to get along with anyone close to her brother.
"Ah, I am Leonhart Saijou, please call me Leo. Sorry about being rude earlier." apologized Leo.
Miyuki was about to sit when someone called her.
"Shiba-san. Let's go somewhere with more room."
The student who had spoken was part of a group of seven, all Course 1 students. He had purple eyes and short brown hair.
"We shouldn't bother them." added a girl.
"No, I'll stay here." politely said Miyuki.
The student who had first spoken was taken aback by the rejection.
"Shiba-san. You shouldn't share a table with Weeds."
"Hah?" growled Erika.
"You need to draw a line between Blooms and Weeds." said another male student of the group.
"What did you say?" said Leo as he stood, facing them.
"What a pathetic spectacle. This difference between first and second course students really has inflated some egos." sighed Akeno, wanting to divert attention on herself before violence erupted.
"And who are you to say this? You're just a Weed." disdainfully said the first boy.
"I should return you that question. Who do you think you are, to presume to deny a sister the right to eat with her brother? Do you have no shame?"
"Her brother?" asked the youth, shocked.
Akeno pointed to Tatsuya, then to Miyuki, who was glaring at the youth. Understanding he wasn't winning this one, he chose to retreat with a last glare at Akeno.
"I'll see you later, Shiba-san."
"Leo, you really shouldn't fly off the handle like this. You'll get yourself in trouble. You're even worse than Rin in that regard." said Akeno.
"Excuse me?" retorted Rin.
"Is that why you spoke? Thanks, Akeno." grinned Leo.
"Do not mind it. They were getting on my nerves, too. Just a little more, and I would have pulled a prank on their ringleader. Something along the lines of the content of his tray suddenly splashing on his uniform."
"I'd have loved to see this." grinned Erika.
"Well, you still might. I doubt this is the last we hear from them. For now, I'll eat my lunch while it's still hot." shrugged Akeno.
…
Akeno's words were prophetic, as they didn't have to wait long for the second encounter with that group. Only the end of the school day. They wanted Miyuki to walk with them to the train station, while Miyuki wanted to walk with her brother.
Akeno sighed as she stepped in front of Miyuki.
"When will you give up, whatever your name is?"
"It's Morisaki!"
"Well, I'm Akeno Himejima. Nice to meet you, not."
"Weeds shouldn't be butting into Blooms' business!"
"Weeds, Blooms, is there such a big difference?" asked Akeno.
"Of course! We are the elite of the magician world. We…"
"Then tell me, mister big magician." cut in Akeno. "The one who ranked 100th on the admission test is a so-called Bloom, while the one who ranked 101st is a so-called Weed. And yet, assuming a standard statistical distribution curve, the actual difference between those two is likely less than one percent. How do you reconcile a completely negligible difference with your black and white, binary perspective?"
"That's…" hesitated Morisaki, looking like someone had just hit his head, while the three girls in their group adopted a more thoughtful expression.
"…Well, we're waiting." said Akeno, not wanting him to let him off the hook.
Morisaki was getting more and more flustered as he could not find a good counter to Akeno's argument.
"Aren't we all freshman students?" asked Mizuki. "You're Blooms, but right now, how are you any better than us?"
Akeno mentally winced, as Mizuki, despite her good intentions, had offered Morisaki an opportunity to change the subject.
Morisaki made a step back, but his expression suddenly changed. A cruel smile appeared on his lips.
"You want to know how much better we are?"
What he implied was obvious.
Leo stepped to the side and spread his feet on the ground in a ready posture.
"Interesting. How about you show me?" asked Leo with a fearless smile.
"This is bad." muttered Tatsuya in the background.
"Fine, I'll show you!" growled Morisaki. He took from a pocket a gun-shaped CAD and pointed it at Leo.
Tatsuya was about to intervene, but someone else took the initiative. Akeno didn't stand where she previously was. Instead, she was a few meters away, with half of Morisaki's CAD in one hand, and a black Katana in the other. He had barely seen a blur.
"Ara ara, Morisaki-kun." smiled Akeno, her sword disappearing. "I seem to remember something in the school's rulebook about the violent use of CADs being strictly prohibited. And we are still inside the schools' grounds."
Morisaki stared in abject shock at the barrel of his CAD in Akeno's hand, then at the part he still held. The cut was so clean that it was almost mirror-smooth, and it had been only two centimeters from his index on the trigger. If Akeno has been just a little less accurate…
The six other Blooms stared at Akeno with a mix of shock and fear.
"Let this be a lesson for you, Morisaki-kun." smiled Akeno as she handed him the missing part of his CAD. He was almost too numb to take it back. "You should not judge someone just by the result of a single test. There are some people in Course 2 who would crush you in a real fight. Stop this nonsensical discrimination about Blooms and Weeds and whatever. It only makes you conceited, and arrogance will prevent you from reaching your full potential, and get you killed on a battlefield one day."
Akeno turned away and headed toward the gate.
She walked slowly, so the others wouldn't have a hard time catching up. They didn't take long to get over their surprise and follow her.
"What was that, Akeno?" asked Erika. "I thought I was good with Acceleration magic, but this is beyond ridiculous!"
"I don't know what it was, but that was awesome!" laughed Leo. "The face of that idiot!"
"That's a technique called Shunpo." said Akeno. "My boyfriend has travelled around a fair bit, and he collected a number of useful techniques over time. This is one of them."
"Please teach it to me!" asked Erika, attempting the tried and true puppy eyes technique.
"Don't make those eyes at me! I feel my resolve growing weak!"
Erika and the other chuckled, and even Tastuya smiled a little.
"Teaching you this isn't impossible, but there would be some conditions. Maybe a contract to sign, to stop you from teaching it to others without clearing it with me or Rin first. We'll discuss this later."
"Sure. I'd be happy to accept those kinds of conditions." nodded Erika.
Akeno smiled, too, having reached her objective with her little demonstration. She wanted to keep a low profile, but at the same time, she wanted to bait a few pretty girls into signing soul contracts with her.
"And that black sword? Is it a weaponized CAD?" asked Leo.
"It's not a CAD." said Akeno as she took one Eclipse from her inventory and handed it to him. "What do you think about it?"
"What the…" Leo felt strange the instant he took the blade. It was like his body had gotten lighter. He made a few swings as a test, then stared in shock at the sword.
"Anyone else wants to hold it? Just make sure not to cut anyone."
"I would like to try, if you do not mind." asked Tatsuya, and Akeno nodded. Erica handed him the sword and he made a few side jumps and swings as a test before nodding. Then Erika got his turn, before finally giving the sword back to Akeno.
"This sword has to be a weaponized CAD. One with automatic activation, but I didn't feel any drain on my psions. I felt stronger and faster while I held it. And how do you make it appear and disappear like that?" insisted Erika.
"That last part is a personal non-systemic magic. No, I can't teach it to others. But that sword isn't a CAD. Its name is Eclipse, and my boyfriend made it for me. It is what you would call a magic sword, but one of the highest grade. It doesn't just make you stronger and faster. It also repairs and clean itself. It will remain razor-sharp without me needing to perform any maintenance on it."
"Just who is your boyfriend, Akeno? He must be really famous." inquired Miyuki.
"His name is Noah. Unfortunately, you will likely never meet him. He lives far away, and we have a long-distance relationship. But he very handsome and kind and strong."
Akeno took her smartphone and showed them a picture of Noah hugging her from behind. The picture had been taken by her mother.
"Akeno is using the opportunity to brag about her boyfriend." snorted Rin.
"Well, I would brag, too, if I had someone so handsome as a boyfriend." grinned Erika.
…
A few moments earlier, when the Course 2 students left with Miyuki, and Morisaki was still rooted in place, staring at his broken CAD, one girl stared in a daze at Akeno's retreating figure. She had been so strong, and her words left a deep impression in her heart. Akeno had every right to scold and ridicule them all for acting like arrogant fools, as the girl now realized. But she had refrained, only telling them what they needed to hear for her to snap out of her misguided superiority complex.
A hand pulling on the sleeve of her uniform grabbed her attention. Her childhood friend and rival Shizuku was gesturing for her to follow her. When they put some distance away from the other Course 1 students, she spoke.
"Let's not associate with Morisaki-kun anymore, Honoka. He is a bad influence. He will bring us down with him. Instead, let's become friends with Shiba-san, and with them."
Honoka Mitsui thought about it for a few seconds and nodded.
"Yes. Tomorrow, we'll properly apologize to them."