These ranking tournaments are wild. The whole academy stops when these begin. Of course, there are skirmishes and sparring matches across campus at nearly all times, especially among upperclassmen. There are rules they follow for it I haven't gotten ahold of yet. These fights, even team fights are incredibly tame compared to the ranking tournaments.

This is a huge event very much like a festival, near the main stadium there are food stalls, games, and many booths selling nearly everything. There are folks from the many stores and restaurants on the island, people from off the island who paid an exorbitant amount to bring their booths here, and finally, nearly all clubs have a booth, some two.

The tournament also has some spicy rules, mostly honorable combat things, like no cheating and whatnot, but flight is banned and so is armor-piercing weaponry. I dunno what they consider armor-piercing as anything with enough force can be considered that. The main rule I like is the upperclassmen have the first few days to complete, then it goes down a grade from there. From what I read this is to give the freshmen a good feel on what clubs or groups they should join by victories or showboating. The freshmen go last so that the clubs or other groups can recruit based on what gaps they need filled. Then a week after this individual tournament there is a club tournament where clubs have 3v3 or 5v5 matches.

As for me, I'm just happy to have a week and a half off of school. I still work out and sometimes have to knock on Seraphina and Genevieve's doors to wake em up for our workouts. I have been physically assaulted for this but I have been hired to do a job so I will get it done. Aside from this I will be continuously working out and every now and then connecting and having conversations with Wendigo. These talks have to lead to the hammering out of problems with the AMS as well as an increased understanding of all systems. I think he got it to nearly 100% capability. It's apparently even better than when it was new now. It was just difficult convincing the engineers to do these upgrades and tweaks without saying the AI told me to.

Today is a lovely Monday, the day before the tournament begins. Considering the temperature I note to myself how good today would be for fishing. I don't know where to get a rod or any other gear for fishing though. This makes me sad, but I decide to drown my sorrows with a nice hour-long lift.

As I walk to the gym I notice someone walking behind me fairly close. I ignore it for a second before stepping to the side and saying,

"Oh sorry! I didn't mean to walk so slow."

I give a small smile, understanding that I may have been walking at a slow pace enjoying the outdoors and wonderful landscaping of the campus. I look to see my tail isn't one person but two. Its the space women. Genevieve looks at me confused and says,

"What? There's no problem. The empress just decided she would go with you to wherever you go after our morning meetings. Neither of us are completely comfortable with earth customs. "

I nod and reply,

"I was going to do a strength workout. What I've been giving you both was a conditioning workout mostly with little strength aspects like pushups. I like to lift weights, makes me feel happy."

She nods and Seraphina asks,

"Well can we join you?"

I nod and we continue to the gym. The clerk seems incredibly surprised to see the divine empress and her follower entering the gym but I pay it little heed. It's Monday, leg day. This may be the hardest thing these girls will ever do in their lives. I will make sure of it.

I simply just teach them how to back squat, front squat, deadlift, RDL, and box jumps with weight. I stand in front of them while they do these lifts. There are mirrors. I do not want to be considered a pervert, and as a man, and them fairly attractive women in workout pants, I would not be able to avoid lowering my gaze.

I leave them exhausted and barely able to walk. When they complain about this I laugh and say,

"Wait until tomorrow morning"

I see fear cross Seraphina's face as I turn away and say,

"Well, a lift is useless unless you eat afterward. Go find something to eat, preferably eggs and some kind of meat."

I head off to the small cafe I frequent due to their cheap prices and good coffee. I sit at my usual outdoor table and just relax sipping on the black liquid. As I sit I contemplate my memories again, nothing specific, but I find myself constantly digging in my mind for the information I desire. I never find anything, no fog, not darkness, just nothing. They aren't there despite knowing they should be. Like a missing piece of a puzzle. Not a hidden piece, just gone and it's noticeable as it ruins the picture you are trying to make.

As I sit I almost miss that someone sat across from me. I shake away my thoughts and see to my surprise its Genevieve. I look around and don't see the empress anywhere. I ask,

"I thought you never left the empress's side? Where is she?"

Genevieve with a stoic face and neutral tone replies,

"She is with some nobles eating breakfast. There is no need for my protection or counsel. Plus its a noble only affair."

I nod and ask,

"I thought you were a noble?"

She shakes her head and replies,

"No. I am merely the favored servant of my lady. I don't even have the rank of knight. My lady has been unable to knight me despite her best tries. To much noble pushback."

I nod and say.

"Well, that sucks."

She nods. I say to her smugly,

"So you felt alone and decided to sit next to me for comfort?"

She glares and replies,

"No. I just don't know anyone else here and don't care to. The only reason I give you a second thought is that you are useful to myself and my leige. Nothing more."

I laugh and say,

"Makes sense I guess."

I sit in silence as my food arrives. She orders but gets caught up ordering clearly not understanding what most of the food available is. I butt in and kindly say to her,

"Get the American or English. I recommend the coffee to drink or water."

She nods and orders an English and a coffee. The drink comes quickly and she takes one sip and grimaces saying to me,

"How the hell do you drink this stuff? It's so bitter and hot!"

I laugh and hand her two of the small creamer cups in the basket on the table and say,

"I'm used to it. Since you are not put there in there. Makes it easier to drink."

She does this and seems to accept the new flavor and temperature. I finish my breakfast fairly quickly and mop up the rest of the grease and egg yolk with my last piece of toast almost to the horror of Genevieve. She says to me apprehensively,

"Th-That's horrible. So ignoble, and barbaric. Is this what Earthers do for all meals?"

I stuff the toast down my throat and reply after swallowing,

"Yeah, kinda. Tastes good. I only do it when I'm not eating fancy."

She accepts this answer and when her food arrives she eats it carefully and incredibly daintily. I just sit around watching the TV hanging on the wall nearby. The news is on and I am mostly concerned with the weather. She eventually finishes her meal and says to me,

"That was wonderful. So much meat and other animal products are on one plate. These things are very difficult to come across in the empire, and it's so cheap here on earth. I am truly impressed."

I just nod along content with myself for the moment. I think about what to do for the day since there is no classes. I think I will go find some fishing gear.

I stand up paying digitally and ask my device if there are any outdoor stores nearby. It gives me directions to a familiar companies store. One with a big ol' bass on the logo. Genevieve asks me,

"Where are you headed?"

I reply,

"I'm going to try and go fishing today. I am bored and fishing is a good way to waste time."

She cocks her head and asks,

"What's fishing?"

I reply,

"It's a sport for people on earth. It's where we catch fish for fun or consumption."

She nods and asks sheepishly,

"May I observe you in this pastime?"

I nod and say happily,

"Hell, you can join me if you wish."

She seems surprised at my answer but who am I to deny someone the joy of fishing? I head out to the tall roofed log cabin-shaped store. Inside is what I expect it to be. I feel truly at home. I of course go look at the aquarium they have and use it to figure out what fish exist in the surrounding waters and in the few streams on the island. I decide on basic shallow fishing. I have to look up good ideas for lures and baits and go and get them.

Genevieve is clearly out of her element. She is absolutely amazed at the building and all the animals on display. I find her, after I get the fishing gear I want, palms pressed against the aquarium glass staring intensely at the slowly swimming fish. I smile noting how precious of a sight it is. I guess they don't have an outdoors in space. Makes sense when your capitol is titan, a literal ball of ice.

I gather her and head to the checkout, two rods and reels in hand, some line, and a box of lures. She continues to stare at all the stuffed animals and dioramas of nature. She then asks me,

"This is an outdoor store? This is amazing, live fish, examples of large animals, and this rustic feel. I don't know why but I feel extremely comfortable in here... I don't understand."

I chuckle and reply,

"It's meant to feel cozy and almost euphoric. This is my favorite store chain. My father used to take me here all the time."

She looks at me wild-eyed and says,

"This is a chain?"

I nod and reply,

"This is a fairly small store too. The one I know back in the midwest is multiple times bigger."

She shakes her head in acceptance. I make a mental note to tell her about aquariums. Maybe she and Seraphina can go enjoy it. As bad as people are sometimes, I really enjoy people's smiles and wonderment. I finish my purchase and notice how empty the building is. I guess not many people need outdoor gear here. I shrug and head outside. I think for a moment before pulling up a map of the island. I scan it for a moment before finding where a stream lets out into the ocean. I mark it and begin walking.

After about ten minutes of walking through the suspiciously clean and easy-to-walk through woods, we arrive at the spot. It's incredibly nice. I look into the water and see small baitfish swimming around near the bank. It's not a beach as there is a retaining concrete wall all around the island. I even notice a couple of bigger fish swimming around near the outlet looking for easy food. I set my stuff down and sit down. I begin to rig up both poles as Genevive watches intently while gazing at the water every now and then.

I rig the poles with some moderate-sized jigs with small files of anchovies on them. I take the smelly fish bits from a small tub I bought of them. I attach a high-visibility bobber and scan the water for a moment. I set the depth of the lure to about half a meter. I toss the rigged line into the stream and let it float out into the ocean. When it goes to a point where the movement is at a minimum I tighten the line and hand the pole to Genevieve. She seems surprised and confused. I tell her,

"When that floater goes underwater, jerk the rod back a little and wor the crank there to reel in the line. The fish will fight so just keep the pressure on. It's twenty-pound test line so I hope it can handle anything we catch."

She nods and stares at the floater intensely. I rig up my own pole and toss my line out into what looks like a kelp patch or just some thick seagrass. I myself am excited to see what we catch. I've only a few times fished in the ocean but they all have been in the Atlantic. I wonder what I can catch in the pacific.

After a few minutes, my bobber shoots underwater quickly. I jerk my pole upwards and the fight is on. The fish takes a few dozen feet of line and I keep my rod tip up. As I reel I bring it downwards and then repeat the up and down pull and reel motion. The fish begins getting close to shore and I realize I don't have a net to scoop it up. As I'm thinking the fish suddenly dives hard. It takes another dozen or so feet of line and I have to redo much of my hard work.

I notice the fish is running towards some of the vegetation so I attempt to steer it back towards the open water. Eventually, the fish tuckers out, and I muscle it in. I go to the bank and grab the odd-looking fish by the gill as I notice some nasty-looking teeth. I set it on land. The fish has a bright red stripe around its midsection and a flat pug-like face. I take out my handheld and look up the features of the fish. I find an online fish scanner that can identify fish and tell you their weight and length lust by a picture. I set the fish sideways and scan it.

The program says the fish is a California sheephead. A very odd-looking fish. The device also says it is sixteen inches long and weighs generally around fifteen to seventeen pounds give or take one pound. I feel proud of myself. Genevieve stares at the fish in wonderment. I hold it up for her to look at it and I take a picture of myself with it. I toss it back into the water happy I actually caught something.

Genevieve suddenly jerks backward and her pole bends sharply as her line is stripped extremely quickly. She is clearly struggling to keep the rod in hand. I go up behind her and don't touch anything but explain,

"Keep your rod tip high, and when the fish isn't running reel quickly and lower the rod as you do so. Pull it back up after you reach the bottom of your reeling and repeat. Only pull and reel when the fish isn't running or diving."

She nods and continues. The fight goes on for quite a while. Eventually, the fish tires and she is able to pull it in with the odd tug back. When the fish gets close I see a large and very toothy mouth. I go to grab the fish by the gills but feel a sharp pain in the fingers I stick in there. I jerk my hand back swearing and stick my thumb in the fish's eye socket. The eye presses back without any issue and I yank the fish from the water by its skull. On land, the long eel-shaped fish writes side to side. It has a cool coloration with a brownish-colored skin with some greenish-blue specks up and down its flanks. I use the program on it.

The program states it's a lingcod fish. I've heard of them before, apparently, they are great gamefish. Also, this is a kinda rare blue lingcod. I don't know the difference but it looks really cool. The length comes out to be around thirty inches long and about forty to fifty pounds. I thank the braided line for its unnatural strength. As cool as the fish is I am confused about something. The shape of the fish is clearly a bottom dweller. I have our lines rigged to about half a meter. I guess nothing is impossible but still, it is odd. Maybe there is so little pressure of fishing here the fish are out of wack.

Genevieve is absolutely giddy with excitement about her fish. She is smiling with excitement and even lets out a couple of cheers after that long fight. She is poking and prodding the fish looking it over and over. She asks me questions about this fish and I tell her all I have learned so far. I ask her if she wants a picture with it. She nods and excitedly says yes. I tell her how to pick it up showing my bloody fingers as proof of my initial mistake. She is hesitant at first but eventually relents picking up the fish and posing with it. I take a picture with both our devices.

After taking the picture I research the fish a little further and see that we are actually able to keep and eat the fish. I wonder if there is anywhere that would cook it for us or let us use their kitchen. I decide to ask someone I'd rather not talk to but they probably know. Using my handheld I find Libertys number and contact saved on it. I ring her up. After a few moments she answers and I say,

"Hey, this is Mike. I was wondering if there is a place that would cook up a fish someone caught or at least would let us use their kitchen?"

I hear her pause at the odd question. She then replies,

"Of course you were fishing... but yeah there is. I'll send you the place that will."

I thank her and hang up and tell Genevive the good news. She looks happy and I tell her to keep the fish alive on the shore for a bit as I will go grab a cooler. I run back to the store and buy a large cooler and fill it with ice. If I were a weaker man I would not be able to carry it back. Once back Genevive kills the fish with a knife through the skull and I help her slit the throat to bleed it a little. We place it on ice and continue fishing.

The rest of the day isn't as interesting but we catch a few smaller seabass and rockfish of different species and keep one of every different one we catch. By supper time out cooler is full. I have Genevieve carry the fishing gear while I lug the cooler to the place Liberty told us to head. The place is a seafood restaurant on a small dock made for it. It's a standard seafood restaurant theme with nets and rods everywhere. I go to the back door like Liberty stated in her text and knock four times. A huge man opens the door and asks my business. I say,

"I heard you guys cook up fish people catch. We got a cooler full from our day of fishing."

The man opens the cooler and gives a big smile and says,

"I'm happy to see students actually fishing. Ill of course cook this up. Hell, I'll do it for free, cause of this impressive Lingcod."

I nod and inform him,

"The lady here caught that one."

His smile widens and he says,

"Then I'll work extra hard on this then."

She takes the cooler and I take Genevieve inside. She chooses a four-person booth and tells me Seraphina will be joining us. I nod in understanding. I guess that noble meeting is over. Also, I am still surprised Genevive spent an entire day away from the empress.

The pretty waitress takes our drink orders and I get myself a nice glass of water. I also order a large basket of hush puppies and fries for the table for when the fish come out.

Seraphina arrives eventually and looks pissed. Genevieve stands and bows to her until she gets seated. She then sits next to her. Seraphina looks at me and says pointedly,

"Why is he here? "

Genevieve responds,

"Because he taught me how to catch fish today. All the fishes we shall eat today were caught by either me or him."

This calms Seraphina down a little and she exhales and says,

"I apologize for my antagonism. Today has been long. Dealing with uppity nobles even as both God and empress is difficult."

I nod along and drink my water just now realizing how thirsty a day of fishing has made me. After thirty minutes the big man comes to our table with a huge tray with all our fish on them, all scaled, scored, and lightly fried. The lingcod is the centerpiece. The tray takes up most of the table. We are given plats and the sides are set down on the leftover space. The big man returns the cooler, cleaned and empty. I thank him and he says,

"Enjoy everyone. I worked hard on that. I'm just happy people are still fishing these days,"

I laugh and respond,

"I can't think of a day spent better than one with a rod in your hands."

He nods and leaves us to our supper.

I take photos for the girls as they both fawn over the platter of fish. I just sit there and wait for them to take some before I get myself some. Overall it is a good supper. The girls talk between themselves like normal people, not overly proper nobles. This makes me pretty happy to be honest, I didn't think they had it in them to be normal.

Eventually, supper ends and I take apart all the fishing gear outside and put it in the empty cooler. I begin to carry it back to my room when Genevive comes up to me. She to my surprise is smiling. I was starting to think she couldn't give big smiles like that. When she gets to conversation range she says,

"Thank you for taking me fishing. It was a great new experience for myself to do. I hope, situation forbidding, we are able to go fishing once again."

I nod and reply,

"No problem. I enjoyed myself as well."

She gives one last look before hurrying off back to Seraphina. I lift the cooler up onto my shoulder and carry it back to my room. Once inside I set it down and go take a shower. In the shower, I think about the next few weeks. It is about to get crazy, like really crazy. I decide to watch the tournament like it is any other sport and disregard the insanity at military hardware getting used as a sport. Then comes my involvement. Should I compete at my full capability?

In the end, I cannot decide what to do on that last question. I head to bed and curl up under the covers. I feel my metal legs clank together as I do this and swear a little to myself. I roll onto my back and lift my left hand to the sky and stare at my incomplete hand. I hate these injuries, but at the very least they mean my past happened. I may not be able to remember everything, but it is comforting that I know it happened at the very least.

I bring my arm down and turn off the lights. I close my eyes and sleep comes quickly. I have no dreams tonight. Just a black void and suddenly, it's morning.