"Quick — try it out now!"
Laurentina sat on the edge of the bunk and activated the Fruit's effect. Thick blood at the seam of her skin trembled, and a jagged tear opened.
"All right, I'm up."
Alice focused her will on the Fruit. A warm, unfamiliar current flowed slowly at first, then found rhythm. Golden tides rolled and coalesced in her palm, finally forming a glowing orb.
She swung her right hand. The light-ball struck Laurentina's wound.
Initial effect: Healing.
The gold light flowed into the cut. A faint white mist rose — it smelled like spring rain on dust.
"Mmm—"
Alice watched, delighted, as the wound knit closed with surprising speed. She could save people without fear now!
Wait — was that an odd sound just now?
She lifted her head. In the lingering mist, the white-haired, red-eyed beauty — the world-class wonder — flushed strangely. Drops of sweat began to dot her skin. The soft, muffled sound that came from Laurentina was… unexpected.
Night chilled; Alice stood stunned by the bunk as the other girl seemed to melt like wet clay against the sheets. Pages rustled in the dim room. The dorm went completely silent.
Disappointment flickered across Alice's face for a moment — then she broke into a mischievous, guilty grin.
It looked like a scene from some romantic novella: the husband away, the house creaks, and the trousers-repairman knocks on the door. (Alice's imagination worked in odd ways.)
Maybe the Fruit's effect had a weird quirk because of Alice's bad luck—still, it was kind of funny.
She climbed up and formed another luminous orb in her hand.
"Sto—stop! In the name of your Squad Leader, stop this at once!" Laurentina grit her teeth. Her body trembled in resistance.
Humiliation — it was too humiliating.
This kid had turned a perfectly decent ability into a kind of prank — healing turned into something that made Laurentina blush. Laurentina couldn't imagine what a person who had long been oppressed might do if suddenly given power — the fixation, the strange compulsions.
"Assistant?" Alice grinned wickedly and shaped a second orb in her left hand. "Yes, Squad Leader."
"Heal! Heal! Heal!"
Laurentina's protests were drowned in a shower of golden light. The dorm flashed and flickered until it looked like a tiny constellation had descended — any night owl peeking in would have sworn the girls were doing midnight welding.
At last, with a string of embarrassed pleas, the light show subsided.
Laurentina's face was beet-red; sweat glittered across her skin. She looked a messy, flushed mess, as if she'd had one too many sherry refills. The sheer ridiculousness of the tableau was almost peaceful.
"Now you know my power, right? Hahaha…" Alice stood on the bottom bunk triumphant, crowing like a victorious rooster.
Her laughter had barely left her lips when the dorm door flew open.
"You two not planning to sleep at all tonight?"
Dorm duty Major Giyon stood in the doorway, hands on her hips. Even angry, she cut a striking figure in high-waisted denim shorts and long, immaculate legs.
"Gah!"
Alice's laugh died as she saw the supervisor. Her face went completely blank, like a duck caught with its neck pinched.
Giyon's expression froze. What on earth was happening here?
She had a long history with courtesans and shady dealings; she'd seen performances meant to seduce entire crews — but this scene honestly stunned her.
"U-um… sorry to have disturbed you," Giyon muttered, stepping back and closing the door quietly. "Keep the noise down."
She practically tiptoed off in her heels, clearly embarrassed. Giyon decided she must recommend a basic sex-education class for new recruits to Commander Haku in the morning.
No, Giyon — it isn't what you're thinking!
Laurentina reached out a shaky hand, face a combination of mortification and fury. Through the small crack in the closing door she caught a glance from a blue-haired girl across the hall.
ain?
Oh no — her reputation was ruined. Everything she'd built this life on — possibly destroyed by Alice's bad luck and enthusiastic use of a Fruit.
"You are so dead, Alice." Laurentina weakly threw a limp, playful punch.
Alice flinched and ended up falling into Laurentina's arms.
"Wah?!" they both exclaimed.
…
"Not quite formed, not quite right — go practice more."
At the training ground, routine combat drills were underway. zephyr corrected the stances of recruits who had the wrong posture and smiled with quiet approval.
"Sensei, I want to train my Haki." Laurentina — who had been pushing ahead of her peers — raised her hand as soon as zephyr paused.
"It's our Laurentina." zephyr appraised her build and nodded. "Have you got the life-return technique under control?"
Laurentina focused and channeled her will into her body. Under the admiring gazes of other recruits, her hair lengthened, flowing from waist to calves with a soft gleam.
"Nice." zephyr nodded, pleased.
The world has no shortage of talented people — the scary thing is those who both are talented and work harder than you. Laurentina was one of them: talent matched by relentless effort.
"Then practice your Observation Haki." zephyr grinned like a rogue. When Laurentina closed her eyes, he put on sunglasses too.
Bang!
zephyr vanished and a heavy fist blasted forward.
Right? No — left?
Laurentina made the wrong judge and moved the wrong way; the iron fist struck her down.
She sucked in a breath, got up, and said without hesitation, "Again!"
"Listen to the sensation, learn to hear the flow of presence," zephyr said. He struck again with an invisible explosive force.
Laurentina misjudged and the blow sent her flying. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth. She spat and smiled, "Again!"
zephyr leapt into the air, and his brutal blow came down like a battering ram.
This time it was the front.
Laurentina ducked, and the shock wave made ears ring. Had her training over the past fortnight paid off? Hope lifted on her face.
zephyr smiled and promised himself he would not slow down.
Bang! Laurentina was slammed away again.
"Again!"
The drill was harsh. Marines watching wrenched at their faces — no one liked seaing someone fall to pieces. Yet Laurentina's stubborn cry for more erased the urge to help.
"Again!"
"Calm down, kid!"
Bang!
Punch after punch, the darkness inside Laurentina's mind began to show glimpses of light.
Three months later — time had passed.
Today was the final practical exercise. zephyr would lead the Elite Class on their first training cruise.
Roster: Laurentina, ain, Alice, Binz…
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