One month later:
"Kaede's mood has finally normalized since the incident," Riku said, staring excitedly at the training field.
"You're right. I didn't know what was up with him either, but Mr. Watsukawa said it's okay if he just watches at first. But look, I think they're about to start," Shiro replied, looking at the field.
Training:
Kaede stood with his arms crossed on the muddy grass. His hair was still half-wet from the rain, his mood at its usual rock bottom. He was here for one reason only:
"200 Rull. Just because of those damn 200 Rull…" he murmured quietly.
Next to him, Yuna was restlessly hopping in place—not because of excitement, but because she was trying to keep as much distance as possible from Mr. Watsukawa.
"Why is HE here again…" she whispered. "I don't want to survive another one of his 'attacks.'"
Kaede yawned. "Then put on three jackets. Or a sign around your neck. 'Do not grope.'" This brat is unbearable.
"Wua, now you're on his side too, Kaede."
"This isn't funny! I hate him! That look he gives when he grins… like he's already searching for an excuse to act like a perv!"
Mr. Watsukawa waved from a distance and cheerfully called, "We'll be starting soon, kids! Hope you all put on your underwear properly!"
Yuna nearly gagged. "SEE WHAT I MEAN?!"
But Mr. Watsukawa just laughed kindly. He knows how to provoke her. At least now she follows his instructions – effective, I should remember that, thought Kaede.
Yuna hid behind Riku.
God, how embarrassing can you be?
"I'm not embarrassing, I'm securing myself."
"You'll protect me, right, Riku?" she looked at him with that "Oh no, I'm just a poor helpless girl" expression.
And there he goes, looking like a proud knight again. "You're safe with me from that pervert."
Stare.
Stare.
Stare.
What a playboy knight.
Meanwhile, Shiro sat down next to Ichigo on the bench. As soon as he sat, Ichigo scooted half a meter away.
"Go. Away."
"Huh? I'm just sitting here…," Shiro replied, confused.
"Then sit somewhere else."
"Why are you always so aggressive with me?"
"Because I can. And because you're annoying."
Kaede: She's so obvious that it's actually subtle again. Getting her and Shiro together is impossible with how she treats him. Like a landmine – get too close and boom.
"Really sad when someone's so in love they forget they're in love and end up hating the person," I muttered dryly.
Then a whistle blew.
"Kaede versus me!" shouted Mr. Watsukawa.
Kaede sighed. Why do I never get anything normal?
He stepped onto the field. Watsukawa stood opposite him – legs spread, grinning, holding his infamous Shockball in hand.
"If you win, you get 200 Rull," said Watsukawa. "If you lose… well. Losing is expensive and punished with training – along with your team."
"You in, Kaede?"
Ding ding ding – M O N E Y – of course I'm in.
"I won't even need to touch you," I said, clenching my fist. One hit with Explosion Magic, and it's over.
Watsukawa raised an eyebrow. "Go on, then."
Kaede charged forward. Just one punch. Explosion-enhanced fist. Straight to the stomach.
"Wow, taught yourself that?" Watsukawa taunted – and sidestepped with an elegant spin.
Kaede didn't flinch. Instead, he aimed his left hand at the ground.
"Explosion!"
A shockwave blasted him forward – his right fist shot toward Watsukawa's shoulder.
"Creative!" praised Watsukawa, ducking and slamming his elbow upward.
Zzzzzzttt!
A jolt of electricity surged through Kaede's body. He convulsed and collapsed to his knees, gasping.
"Damn… what was that?!"
"Body Overload, Level 1," said Watsukawa, satisfied. "A trick you should remember."
Kaede tried to move – but his muscles were numb.
"I… I can't even trigger an explosion, my body's too numb…"
Watsukawa bent down toward him.
"You've got good instincts, Kaede. But you rely too much on brute force. Think. Tactics are everything. If you keep being this stubborn, it'll take you forever to catch up to the others. If you don't fight for something and go all in, you won't win."
Kaede gritted his teeth. "I just wanted the money…"
"Then learn to fight better, kid. I want to see you strong – not burnt out or helpless."
"Got it… Sensei…" I groaned.
Yuna watched the scene in horror. "He grilled him like a damn chicken!" she whispered.
Mr. Watsukawa stood up again, brushed the rain from his jacket, and looked at the group.
"All right. Everyone back to work! Kaede, you'll keep practicing your minefield magic today."
"If I must," I replied flatly. Another day, another failure. This is more exhausting than school, and I can't even skip. Last time, Watsukawa kicked my door in and threatened to take away my bed.
Well, not much has happened over the past month—at least not at the academy.
Riku and Yuna are now meeting more often—who would've thought. Ichigo keeps showing Shiro clearly that she hates him. Shiro thinks that's my fault. Great, Shiro, real smart. Blame me for this psycho chick. But sure… whatever.
I grabbed a cola and headed back toward the training field.
Mr. Watsukawa has been training us for a month now, and I have to say: no one can hold a candle to him. Sure, he's pervy and makes weird jokes—but that's just his way. It's not like he actually spies on anyone or anything. Normally, I hate guys like that—the ones who act like class clowns. But fine… I'll make an exception for him. After all, he's the one who got me to use my Explosion Magic when I had a crashout.
Kaede clenched his fist, now unconsciously wrapped in black shadows.
I swear, I'll kill every single member of that organization until I find him.
"Kaede, Kaede, come here already! Stop wobbling around and help me fetch water!" Ichigo called as she ran toward me with empty bottles.
"I just drank something."
"You know, there's this thing called teamwork."
I grabbed the bottle with annoyance. "'There's this thing called teamwork'—mimimimimi."
Zap, zap, zap, zap—all filled. "You can carry them yourself."
"Hey! Not so fast! Get back here, Kaede! I wanted to apologize for back then. You know, it's all my fault I blackmailed you and stuff."
Ichigo brushed her hair aside with a regretful look.
"Aha, okay, then that's good. Took you long enough."
I stood up and was about to walk away, when she said:
"Hey, Kaede, could you maybe hel–"
"Nope." I stepped back and proudly said, "I knew it, I knew it! You lying little psycho only apologized so I'd help you! But you know what? You can't be helped. I could make it easy and say I think Shiro's into you. But nope—not giving you that satisfaction I thought."
"What's that supposed to mean, 'nope'?! Because of me you finally used your Explosion Magic!"
I turned around, annoyed, and looked into her eyes. She's dead serious—can't be real.
"Ichigo, listen..."
Pause.
The way she's looking at me...
Pause.
"Could it be that you've lost touch with reality?" I stood in front of her, pointed at her, and went off:
"Look, if anyone got me to do it, it was Mr. Watsukawa and definitely not you, you little psycho. You only wanted to hurt me and nothing more."
"That's not true, you ungrateful grumpypuff!" she yelled and yanked my hair.
I tried to break free but the pain wasn't worth it.
"Okay, that's enough." I took a deep breath as I finally freed myself from her grip on my black hair.
"I'll help you, okay but let me handle it, okay?"
"Okay," said Ichigo, nodding with satisfaction. Like a different person.
"Shiro! Come here!" I called across the large field. He gave me a suspicious look—but when he saw Ichigo, he walked over all dreamily and nearly tripped.
Now that I think about it Shiro still hates me for the dojo incident.
"Yo, what's up, Kaede?"
"Well, Ichigo wanted to ask if you'd go to the city with her tomorrow for some ice cream—since the weather's nice. I'll leave you two alone for the rest."
"What?! Kaede! KAAAAEEEEDDDDDEEE WAIT!"
Haha her nervous expression. Serves her right she asked for it, not me.
I could still hear Shiro say, "Well, I'd be okay with that…" but that was it. Now I've been waiting five minutes for him to come back.
I was sitting on the hill beside the training field
"How long have you been waiting for me?" asked Shiro suddenly. "And why even bother, you grumpy dude?"
How fast didn't even recognize he was coming.
"At least I called you and played Wingman. Well, tell me how'd it go?" I asked, trying not to show how bored I was.
He got quiet and let himself fall onto the little hill where I was squatting. Then he laid in the grass, sighed, and began:
"She insulted me. Ice cold."
Shit. That means she's not going to leave me alone, I thought.
I didn't say anything. Already stopped listening.
"So if you want, we could go to the city tomorrow."
She was quiet at first but then suddenly snapped at me. Said before she'd go to the city with me, she'd rather hang herself said Shiro in a depressed tone.
I just nodded and said "real shame," though I didn't even know what we were talking about anymore.
In the distance, I saw Yuna approaching us.
"Shiro, Kaede, you need to come to the school! There's an announcement she yelledover the trainings area."
"What does the school want from us again?"
We stood up and went to the school. Please nothing bad please nothing bad I whispered.
The room was quiet apparently, we weren't the only ones who didn't know what was going on.
Ms. Susuna looked serious—rare for her. That meant one thing: effort. I sighed and wiped my own snot away.
"What's going on?"
Students whispered.
Some talked about war rumors.
Others just stared silently at the teacher.
Shiro was depressed, and Yuna and Eiku… well, they were just being themselves.
"Dear students..." Ms. Susuna's voice echoed through the classroom. You could hear the seriousness in her tone.
Upon entering the school a year ago, Ms. Susuna had said: "Have you formed combat groups yet?" She looked at the students like she was worried.
"This school is a preparation for higher combat classes in the military. That means: in the event of war, we will also be targets."
Her expression revealed that something had happened.
"As some of you may have heard, our two northern neighboring countries Sparia and the Kingdom of Peria started a war last night.
"Under these conditions, after your special training at the Velmaria border, in four weeks, you'll receive your early military participation license as support—1-star rank special fighters. That way, you can fight if necessary."
You could see Susuna was uncomfortable—just like many of the students. Especially Kaede, who looked stressed. He stammered:
"More work? Nooooo…"
Everyone knew that Velmaria—unlike the last hundred years—wouldn't be able to avoid the war so easily this time. The country had become an important player in trade, with all its banks and stock exchanges.
All four countries surrounding Velmaria knew: whoever controls Velmaria, controls part of the market—and even the students were aware of that.
In the corner of the classroom, a student was typing on her phone—not stressed, not even nervous. Then she quietly laughed.
Message:
It has begun.
Kaede:
"Wait… what? No, I can't do that. I'm already training enough, and now I have to practice for the military too? No way."
"Miss Susuna, may I speak with you for a moment?"
Kaede appeared polite, gentle, and tame—at least on the outside.
"I don't want that military ID. I'm not ready for war. So I don't have to go—this has nothing to do with school."
"Yes, you're right, Kaede."
Miss Susuna seemed like an angel in that moment.
"But tell me, Kaede… you did sign the academy contract, didn't you?"
"Of course…" Is she stupid? Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten the apartment. – Guess she's no angel after all…
"Well, then everything's fine, you lazy slacker. You signed up for military service too – that's what this school is for."
Kaede's body trembled, and his knees gave out. In just a few seconds, his world collapsed.
His gaze slowly fell on Shiro's pencil case.
"No… I'd rather end it."
His hand reached for the case.
Zap! Susuna quickly snatched the case with the shiny scissors and shook her head in annoyance.
"No jokes about that."
"But that wasn't a joke…," said Kaede weakly, his gaze lifeless.
Then he reached again—completely possessed—for the scissors. But Susuna just rolled her eyes and walked away.
Pock. Pock.
"Kaede? You still there?"
Yuna knocked on his head with a confused look. But just like Riku and Shiro, she had no idea that Kaede was in shock. A reflex.
Border Zone:
Ding. Ding. The sound echoed through the wind. The ground was dry and cracked. You'd think no one had been there in ages.
Beneath the ground it went deep, and only a small railing kept people from falling.
"Oh oh! Silva, look what she wrote me on my phone! It's starting!"
A super sweet, cheerful voice could be heard.
"Oh yeah? And what's so great about that? Means more work…," the man grumbled.
"It means I finally get to see him again…"
Crunch. Crunch.
The girl happily munched on a pink raspberry Pocky that matched her hair and smiled with joy.
"I bet he doesn't even remember you."
"But that doesn't matter," she said firmly.
"Hey, Silva – can you catch him?"
the girl asked sweetly, swinging her legs as she sat.
"Yeah, if I have to. I've been itching to stir things up with someone strong again."
He grinned wickedly.
"But tell me… why me?"
"Oh, I just want to observe everything closely."
"Why's that?"
She grinned.
"Oh, no reason."
"If you say so…," he said, puzzled, wondering what she was plotting this time.
"Just don't do anything crazy."
"Okay," she replied in a sweet voice—continuing to munch her Pockys happily.
Finally, it's time, Kaede. I'll eliminate everyone who gets too close to you…
"Are you coming already?! You're taking way too long!" said a third voice.
"Yeah yeah, we're coming."
"Jeez, we still have to prepare. Let's go!"
"Okay, okay, party pooper."
The girl looked once more into the abyss. Her pink eyes lost in it.
Then she began to climb down the tall, 50-meter ladder of the tower.