After what feels like an eternity, Chihaya and I pull apart. I can feel my cheeks fming, my chest heaving as I catch my breath. My Pandora smirks at me warmly.

  “So, how was that for your first kiss, cutie?”

  I blush, opening and closing my mouth like a fish. Chihaya teases me, “Well, I didn’t expect THAT much of a reaction! I must be better at kissing than I thought!”

  I huff and pout. “H-heeey, mean! You’re lucky I’m already making dinner, or I wouldn’t feed you!”

  Chihaya giggles, “Oh no! I’d have to fend for myself! How could my girlfriend be so cruel?”

  I internally melt when she calls me that, before I resume preparing our meal, my cheeks maintaining their crimson flush.

  After dinner, Chihaya and I watch a film, but I’m not really in much of a position to pay attention to the screen, since Chihaya’s cuddling me, which is really, REALLY distracting for several reasons! I can almost guarantee Chihaya knows, too, since she keeps giggling softly under her breath and squeezing me around the waist.

  I don’t even remember how long the film pyed for, but at some point, I found Chihaya and I kissing again, before we ended up going to bed. And, instead of sleeping on opposite sides of the room, Chihaya joined me in MY bed, refusing to stop snuggling me. It’s… nice. I hadn’t expected she was so… touch-starved. When morning comes, I wake to find myself still ensconced within Chihaya’s arms, her fme-red hair spyed out across the pillows.

  Slowly, I extricate myself from my girlfriend’s embrace, slipping into my running clothes and heading downstairs, leaving a note for her so she knows where I’ve gone.

  After my run and a brief stop at the Simution Centre sparring against a couple of data-clones of random Pandoras, I drop in on the medical centre. As I approach, a familiar blonde figure is hobbling out of the door on her crutches. I beam.

  “Dora! Did they discharge you?!”

  She smiles and nods. “Yeah! I’m still on the mend, but I can manage to attend csses again, which I’m looking forward to. You have NO. IDEA how boring lying in bed for days straight is!”

  I smile. “You’re right, actually. I’ve been lucky enough to never get sick or injured enough to need a prolonged hospital stay.”

  I give her a very gentle hug, surprising us both, but the sweet smile I get in return from Dora is wonderful. I then drop some extra good news on her.

  “By the way, I’m…. now dating Chihaya-senpai…”

  Dora squeals, her eyes lighting up. “Ohmigod, congratutions, Akari! I knew you’d be a good couple!”

  I blush. “Well, she actually thought we were ALREADY dating and just taking it slow…”

  Dora giggles, hopping along with her crutches as I walk alongside her. As we approach the dorms, Chihaya emerges, dressed in her Volt Texture, smiling at me. “Hi, honey!” she coos, and hugs me, completely unconcerned that Dora’s there. I blush and hug her back, as my Pandora turns to the friendly American girl.

  “Hey, Pandora! You’re up and about again? That’s awesome to see, you were a big help in the fight. That hammer’s impressively powerful!”

  Dora smiles and nods. “Thanks, I appreciate you saying that. Still sucks that I missed so much schooling because I was stuck in the hospital!”

  Then, the day takes a turn from wonderful… to awful. From the direction of the main campus, a figure I was hoping not to run into for at least a while appears. Dishevelled and clearly furious, Miyabi Kannazuki prowls towards me, eyes almost bzing with untrammelled rage.

  “Shimizuuuuuuu…. You made me look like a fool…. I’m going to get you back for this…” she snarls, stomping past me and heading for the third-year dorms. I watch her go, feeling a chill run down my back. That look in her eyes…. I’ve only seen that sort of look of pure hatred once before. And it ended… in death…

  Chihaya nudges me. “Hey, Akari? You look pale and kinda wigging-out. Are you okay?”

  I swallow. “Honestly, not really. That look in Miyabi-senpai’s eyes was one I have seen before. A student at my grandfather’s dojo sought the title of successor. He wanted to be the heir to the school after Grandfather retired, but when he found out that I was being raised to inherit the Shimizu-Ryu school, he… lost his mind. He tried to strike me down with his katana when I wasn’t armed, but Grandfather intervened. He didn’t intend to, but the student was so frenzied, my grandfather had no choice but to cut him down to protect me…”

  I shiver. Chihaya hugs me again, rubbing my back softly. “Oh yikes. That sounds like it must’ve been hard to watch… and you think Miyabi’s started heading the same way?”

  I nod. “I don’t want to, but I feel like her resentment of me is only going to build up and fester away within her heart. I’ve never used my bde on another living thing with the intent to kill, but… I don’t know if Miyabi will take any reasonable course of action…”

  I head to css, the sense of unease from Miyabi’s reappearance lingering, to the point I have trouble focussing on the lessons. Lunch passes by unremembered, and I notice several pairs of eyes on me. Rinslet Channing, Annabelle White, and Kaho Hiiragi.

  Not all the gazes are friendly, though. The three Limiters that svishly follow the Limiter Eater, as well as a couple of third-years as well. Arnett winks at me, but the other, the girl from the duel against the Sshing Trickster, Creo Brand, is giving me a slightly perturbed look. After lunch, she approaches me with a warning.

  “Shimizu. You’re in trouble. You need to beg Miyabi Kannazuki for forgiveness, or you’ll receive severe punishment from another one of the third-years.”

  I shake my head. “I’m sorry, Creo-senpai, but I can’t do that. Miyabi-senpai is out to get me and all I would get for any apology I might make is a beating. If this other third-year is reasonable, I might be able to expin.”

  Creo’s short white hair rustles as she shakes her head. “I see. Well, I warned you. Be ready, Shimizu. I don’t think you’re a bad person, so I went this far. Don’t expect me to step in, though… even I would be hard-pressed to stop them…”

  I tilt my head, looking up at the tall amazoness. “Who, Creo-senpai?”

  She frowns. “There are two you should be on your guard for. The first is the weaker, but far more malicious. Her name is Attia Simmons, the Maniputive Schemer. While she’s not the strongest third-year, she’s STILL a third-year, so beware. The other is-”

  A harsh voice rings out, “Ingrid Bernstein, the Invincible Defender of Order.”

  Creo and I turn to see a tall, well-built girl with red hair of a deeper shade than Chihaya’s. She’s gring at me. I hold my ground as she steps forward, her fists clenched. She looks right into my eyes, her chocote irises locked on me with hawkish intensity.

  “You are Akari Shimizu, yes?”

  Her accent is slightly thick, despite her fluent Japanese. Perhaps German?

  I nod, bowing slightly.

  “That’s me. we’ve already met, in fact. You were there during my duel with Arnett-senpai. May I help you, senpai?”

  Creo puts a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

  “Ingrid, don’t go overboard. I’m only giving you a little advice.”

  She leaves, and I’m alone with Ingrid Bernstein. She glowers at me as she almost hisses, “You need to atone for your actions, first-year. I will judge your crimes and administer castigation for what you’ve done.”

  I calmly blink at her. “Might I know what crimes I am being accused of?”

  The red-haired third-year snarls, “You disobeyed a direct order from Miyabi to meet with her, then you beat her viciously. Juniors must obey seniors. For your insubordination, I will beat obedience into you. Now… come this way! We’re going to use the Simution Centre’s room 5 arena.”

  I swallow, falling into step behind the older girl. I can tell there’s no other choice. If I run, I’m only going to make the senior believe that I am truly guilty, and thus make it much harder for me to try talking her down. As we enter Room 5 in the Simution Centre, I face off against her.

  “Ingrid-senpai. Do you have any idea why I refused to meet with Miyabi-senpai?”

  “I don’t care about your reasons, girl. I care only about ensuring order is upheld. Now, arm yourself and get. Ready.”

  I try anyway.

  “I refused to meet with her because she had her Limiters wait outside the GIRLS’ BATHHOUSE after training to try and get me on my own. I embarrassed her by performing well enough at my assigned training to draw Ms. Yu-Mi’s attention. I helped Rana Linchen learn how to perform the Accel Turn. Miyabi-senpai… went and fooled around without teaching us. I just wanted to survive against the Nova. I don’t want to die because of an incompetent instructor.”

  Ingrid raises her Volt Weapons, a matched pair of bded tonfas, and I sigh, calling forth my Odin.

  Dropping into a ready stance, I fix my gaze on Ingrid, before she moves, pulling off an Accel Turn. I instantly respond in kind, the two of us zipping through the arena, bdes cshing, sparks spraying in all directions.

  Dropping out of her Accel, Ingrid raises an eyebrow. “Hmph. You’re not too shabby. But how about this?!” she blinks into four, appearing to be in four separate pces at once. I leap back in another Accel, and my eyes widen as multiple sets of gouges appear in the floor.

  My brain works overtime. What the hell is THAT technique?! Those copies aren’t simply illusions, Ingrid’s moving fast enough that she’s making PHYSICAL afterimages!

  The next time she tries, I’m ready for it, and boost straight into my Double Accel. Then, I switch at the st second to pull off my finishing strike, my bde flicking in four directions in less than a fraction of a second.

  “Zantetsuken!”

  The copies dissipate, and the real Ingrid skates back, pnting one of her tonfa bdes in the ground to arrest her backwards momentum. Blood drips from several deep cuts in her upper arms and chest. Despite the accuracy and force of my blows, Ingrid’s managed to block them from inflicting anything close to an incapacitation. I tighten my grip on Odin’s tsuka, the handle of the bde firm and comforting.

  Ingrid is staring at me. “How did you… you managed to strike at me through my Tempest Turn?!”

  I make a note of that name. If I can learn that, I’d be able to push my developing Pandora/Shimizu sword-style to the next level…

  I slow my breathing, controlling my heart-rate like my grandfather taught me. “I’ve been lucky to have a VERY good teacher all my life. And adding to that, I’ve been lucky to train with exceptionally-skilled seniors and teachers here. So let me reiterate, Ingrid-senpai, I do NOT want to die to the Nova. I will follow orders. I will fight as hard as I have to. However, I will NOT endanger myself by allowing myself to be put into situations where I am in danger from my own erstwhile allies.”

  As Ingrid recollects herself and prepares to renew her assault, I slip Odin back into its saya, hand resting lightly on the elegant grip, ready to quickdraw like the Iaidoka I’ve been trained as. When she comes at me once more, I vault aside, using Accel Turn in quick boosts to get me out of the way of incoming harm. Some blows still nd, but the force is nothing compared to what it would be if she managed to nd a direct hit on me. Then, someone intervenes.

  “Back the hell off, Ingrid!”

  Arnett’s scythe is locked against Ingrid’s tonfas, the Sshing Trickster interposed between us.