Chapter 1 - Part II

When Mirai thought about her relationship with Eiji, she was certain she could pinpoint when her feelings for him grew beyond those of a simple crush.

But though she nurtured them over time, they weren’t feelings that matured over many years.

Eiji and Mirai were not childhood friends. They had only met at the beginning of last year.

Eiji had been a second-year high school student, majoring in the engineering curriculum.

Mirai had been a first-year high schooler who’d just passed the entrance requirement to join one of the eight Faery teams fielded by Asakusa Academy.

With Eiji a member of the mechanics assigned to keep Crimson Force’s Faeries in working order, he had crossed paths with Mirai on many occasions.

Little by little those occasions became more often, and when she was chosen to compete in last year’s Winter Tournament, Eiji had worked closely with her and the other girls sharing the Battle Faeries.

Along the way, Mirai’s feelings for Eiji had steadily developed, but she had chosen to keep them confined within her heart. She would wrap herself in a tight Etheric cocoon and bottle those feelings up so that they wouldn’t leak out on the flowing Ether. Yet while she could contain her emotions from the Ether, she couldn’t hide her feelings from the other girls. Unlike boys, girls were a lot more sensitive to the body language of their peers, and it wasn’t long before Mirai’s secret was out.

While her fellow team members were somewhat supportive, she realized there were many other girls that weren’t. Eiji was a person of romantic interest for many of the girls, not just those who were members of Crimson Force team. Consequently, Mirai understood she faced stiff competition. However, coping with antagonism and rivalry from the female student body was one thing. Coping with Eiji’s feelings was another because around the time she realized her feelings for him were true, she sensed Eiji feelings for her had also changed, and Mirai no longer believed hers was an unrequited attraction. Thus with the start of a new year, she had resolved to confess to Eiji, but before doing so there was one thing she wanted to achieve – victory in the Summer Tournament. Perhaps it was misguided, but she believed that with the help of the goddess of victory, her confession would be successful.

With so much at stake, she had pushed herself hard to make the Summer team and compete for glory…and for love.

But as she watched him leave her behind, Mirai felt her world crash down around her.

This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.

She had decided to surprise him on the first day of the tournament, and walk with him to the Academy. She already knew that he preferred to walk rather than take the maglev to school. Her ambush had been perfect, but then the situation had gone downhill and she blamed herself.

Walking dispiritedly in his footsteps, Mirai muttered despondently, “Why did I have to say that to him?”

She hadn’t lied to Eiji when she said he couldn’t hide his feelings from her, but those words had been a mistake and she couldn’t take them back.

It was the one thing every teen oriented magazine she’d read had told her.

Never tell a man he was like an open book.

To be told by a woman they couldn’t hide their feelings was something men had grown to despise, and that’s exactly what she’d said to Eiji.

“I am such an idiot….”

The Ether was her ally, but it was his enemy, and her words had cut him deep.

This wasn’t something isolated between her and him.

It wasn’t something that affected just the guys and girls of Asakusa Academy.

It was a grievance expressed by men across the colonized world of Pantheon.

“I really am an idiot….”

But it wasn’t the only grievance. With the determination that women were best suited for opposing the Genjitsu threat, courtesy of their Ether Empath talent, the balance of power between the genders had shifted in favor of the fairer sex, driving a wedge between men and women as the former believed it was their place to protect the latter. The status quo that had held for millennia across the ages, had been upended and tossed on its head…and it hurt.

Mirai understood this.

She could feel it too – an undercurrent of resentment beneath the feelings of many of the male student body, and she could feel that resentment in Eiji as well.

It wasn’t Eiji who would be protecting her, but Mirai who was chosen to protect him simply because she could wield the Ether as a shield and a weapon against the Genjitsu.

He resented her. He envied her. And yet he cared for her. Of that she was undeniably certain.

She could feel it in the Ether that flowed through him, she could see it in the effort he put into her Faery, and she experienced it during the long hours spent working with her to produce a Battle Faery that was perfectly in tune with her.

So why the Hell is it so hard to tell him how I feel?

Why is it so hard for him to tell me how he feels?

Mirai stopped walking and looked up, seeing the Asakusa Academy entrance with its glorious silver arch supporting a curved banner.

“Summer Tournament…,” she mumbled. “This wasn’t how I planned the morning….”

Abruptly, she sensed two swirling masses of Ether storming just beyond the entrance, and looked down to see a couple of girls running toward her. One wore her hair in a short ponytail, while the other had it styled with a boyish cut.

“Sayaka…Minori…,” Mirai muttered. “Why are they here…?”

The two girls stopped quickly in front of her, then the girl with the short ponytail, Sayaka, raised a palm-slate to her ear.

“Yes, she’s here, just like the tracking app said she was.” The girl listened to the other party for a moment, nodding quietly in slow succession. “Not a problem, Senpai. We won’t let her out of our sight.”

“Eh?” Mirai leaned forward, looking puzzled.

Minori circled around her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Right. Time’s a wasting and Kanata-sama is royally pissed at you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you said you’d be here early. Instead, you’ve been wandering around for almost an hour.”

Mirai’s expression broke into confusion. “I what?”

Sayaka looked annoyed. “I said, you’ve been wandering around outside the Academy for almost an hour.”

“I have? Wait—how do you know that?”

“Because Kanata-sama has been tracking you via your palm-slate.”

Mirai remembered the app she and the other girls had been ordered to install on their palm-slates when they first entered the team. “That’s an invasion of privacy.”

“No, it’s just Senpai being worried about you.” Sayaka grabbed Mirai’s left arm. “Let’s go. The briefing is already happening. We were sent to ensure you didn’t walk around the Academy again for a second time.”

Mirai frowned. “I walked around the Academy? The whole Academy?”

“Pretty much,” Sayaka replied. “You didn’t circle as far as the arenas, but you covered a fair amount of ground. Now hurry up. Kanata-sama won’t wait for us to start the briefing.”

They hurried into the Academy, and Mirai caught sight of a large holovid clock circling slowly above a monument commemorating the bravery of the Faery Knights who fought to protect the city-state of Pan-Pacifica ten years ago. In honor of one such Knight, the school had been renamed Asakusa Academy.

The time on the clock read seven fifteen am, and a quick glance at her wristwatch confirmed it.

Maybe I really have been wandering around without realizing it.

In the company of the two girls escorting her through the Academy grounds, Mirai sensed her head and thoughts grow clearer. The heartache and emotional pain was still there, but at least she her mind was out of the clouds. As her head cleared up, she grew more aware of her surroundings and saw that the open spaces of the Academy were now home to plethora of festival stalls that had sprouted up seemingly overnight. They were all in response to the Summer Tournament, and would ensure to keep the visiting crowds entertained and well fed.

However, the more she looked about, the more she felt the Academy had become a showground, especially after spotting the dozen odd rides set up for children.

“This is a travesty,” she muttered. “It’s like people forgot the reason why Battle Faeries even exist.”

Sayaka raised her eyebrows, but Minori released a startled gasp. “Wow, coming from you that’s just harsh.”

“Really?”

Minori nodded. “Or course. You’re rarely cynical, and you tend to point out the positive rather than the negative. For you the glass is a quarter full, not three-quarters empty.” She tapped a fingertip to her lips. “For example, we would expect you to say, ‘oh how nice. Rides for the little children. I should go round and photograph that.’ That’s more the usual you.”

Mirai gave the observation some thought. “Have I become jaded?”

Sayaka threw her a wide-eyed look. “You? Jaded? The heavens forbid. You’re so cheerful and pleasant they should name an ice cream flavor after you.”

Mirai’s mouth fell open. “That hurts….”

Sayaka waved a hand dismissively while clicking her tongue. “Tsk.”

Minori peeked at Mirai. “Let me guess—not that I need to since it’s pretty much written on your face—but I’d say your plan to come to school with Eiji didn’t pan out.”

Gloom descended upon her again. “I torpedoed myself and sank.”

Sayaka snorted, then asked, “How did you manage that?”

Mirai took a deep breath. “You know the list of top ten things a woman should never say to a man?”

Sayaka gave her a fleeting nod. “What of it?”

Mirai took another deep breath. “Well, I jumped straight to number one…and blew myself out of the water.”

Sayaka snorted again, then started to chuckle. Then she started to laugh, and she couldn’t stop herself.

“It’s not funny,” Mirai protested weakly. “Seriously. It was a disaster. All hands lost at sea.”

Minori smacked Sayaka’s back. “Stop that. You’re being rude.”

Sayaka pointed at her. “You can’t wipe that smile off your face.”

“I know. But at least I’m not laughing.”

Mirai regarded the girl carefully, and noticed that Minori was turning red trying to hold in her laughter. But true to her word, she wasn’t laughing, though her cheeks had ballooned out giving her the appearance of a ripe tomato.

Mirai complained, “You guys are being cruel.”

Sayaka palmed her face and tried to compose herself but failed. “Wait a minute. Let me get this right. Orange flavored Mirai told Eiji Seiun he was small?”

Minori’s cheeks popped and she burst into laughter.

Mirai blinked, her face falling into confusion. “Huh?”

Between laughs, Minori wheezed out, “Mirai—how could you?”

Abruptly Mirai realized what the two girls meant, and blushed crimson. “No! That’s not what I meant at all. I did not call him small!”

Realizing their loud voices were attracting attention from the few girls and guys walking along the path, Mirai slapped her hands over her mouth.

Meanwhile, Sayaka wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. “Then what did you mean? That’s number one on the list isn’t it?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Mirai embarrassedly whispered.

“Then what are you talking about you?” Sayaka snapped.

Minori waved a hand. “Give the girl a chance to answer.”

“Thank you,” Mirai cried out, then pressed her hands to her chest as she took a deep breath. “I told Eiji he couldn’t hide his feelings from me.”

Minori gasped while Sayaka arched her eyebrows at Mirai.

“Good move,” Sayaka praised. “That’s bound to set off any man these days.”

Minori nodded in agreement. “It’s almost as bad as a girl saying she’ll protect her boyfriend from danger.”

Hearing that, Mirai’s shoulders slumped. “Now do you understand why I’m feeling this way?”

Minori shook her head slowly. “Mirai. Mirai. What are we going to do with you…?”

After another deep breath, Mirai declared, “I need to apologize to him.”

Sayaka snorted again. “Yeah, good luck with that.” Then she stopped as though struck by a sudden thought. “Wait a minute. There is a way you could make it up to him.”

Mirai stared at her intently. “Please, tell me. You have to tell me.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“Then name your price,” Mirai stated firmly.

Sayaka folded her arms and returned Mirai’s intent stare. “Okay. If you do this, you’ll be sparing me the trouble so that’s payment enough.”

A slight frown creased Mirai’s brow. “What do you have in mind?”

“Eiji Seiun is a closet otaku, right?”

“Well…yeah…I guess…,” Mirai grudgingly admitted.

“That’s your ticket,” Sayaka said. “You just have to feed his otaku passion.”

Minori appeared to catch on before Mirai did, and clapped her hands. “Oh, that’s an excellent idea.” She glanced at her slim wristwatch. “But first we need to hurry.”

Sayaka agreed, and the two girls grabbed Mirai and began to run down the winding path, turning right at an intersection, and onto a new path that led them to a big oval shaped building that resembled an arena yet wasn’t one.

The large building was the Faery Nest, where the teams had their briefing rooms, change rooms, and training centers. Having qualified for a team, Mirai’s studies curriculum included several classes a week on piloting and combat theory, and courses on basic Faery maintenance. Once the basics were covered, the focus shifted to physical piloting and combat training. What couldn’t be performed at the Faery Nest, was carried out at the arenas of which Asakusa Academy had four.

The Faery Nest was also where the Battle Faeries were stored in underground hangars known as the Faery Pits. Thinking of those hangars, Mirai knew that Eiji was down in the pit allocated to the Crimson Force team, undoubtedly working on her Faery and those used by the other girls.

Swallowing down her turgid feelings, Mirai bowed her head a little and followed Sayaka and Minori into the Faery Nest. Unlike when entering the main academic buildings, there was no need to change their shoes in the Faery Nest so the shoe lockers were non-existent in the lobby.

The trio climbed the wide steps of a stairwell up to the second floor where the clubrooms were situated, and turned down a broad corridor. One wall of the corridor had doors affording entry into dozens of rooms. The other wall was made of reinforced glass-steel windows facing the building’s inner courtyard. Though not as large as a training or battle arena, the hundred meter long courtyard served as a testing ground. The oval shaped roof of the building was open at the moment, but could be closed in the eventuality of rain.

Mirai looked through the glass-steel windows and saw that a number of girls were already suited up and merged with their Faeries, running through tests while engineering students supervised them. From the team insignias and emblems emblazoned on their Faeries, Mirai recognized them as a mix of Lunar Force and Celestial Force teams, but no Crimson Force girls and that surprised her.

Continuing down the corridor, they arrived at the clubrooms allocated to Crimson Force. Sayaka pressed the door chime, counted to three, then opened the door. Mirai followed the two girls into the room that was furnished as a meeting room, briefing room, and center of operations. A number of holovid projectors were mounted on the walls, and a couple sat on desks manifesting holovid bubbles above them.

Sweeping her gaze over the interior of the room, Mirai counted twenty-six girls, including one standing at the front of the room beside a particularly large holovid screen. Most of the girls sat at the smartdesks, while a few girls leaned against walls, and some sat on the desks themselves like rebellious teenagers.

Mirai walked up to an empty chair, pulled it back from under the smartdesk, and sat down. She settled her backside into the memory form chair and kept her expression innocent.

At the front of the room stood a girl with long black hair tied partly to the left with an orange ribbon, and wearing red half-rimmed glasses. She had the poise of a refined, well-brought up young lady, but there was a hint of fire in her eyes, and she had a no-nonsense aura about her.

She was a third year senior, the captain of Crimson Force team, and her name was Kanata Hoshikawa.

The girl pushed up her glasses unnecessarily, and spoke in a dry voice. “So nice of you to join us, Miss Suenaga.”

Mirai felt her stomach clench.

Miss Suenaga? Oh dear, she’s pissed.

She bowed her head politely. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

“You will explain what happened later,” Hoshikawa informed her, eliciting a wince from Mirai. Turning slightly, girl pointed at the holovid projection on the wall using a photon wand. “As I was saying, you’ll need to be mindful of your power consumption and your hit points. Should either be depleted, you will lose. In addition, they changed the rules this year. The batteries won’t be military grade. Apparently the expense of using military spec fusion cells was considered unjustified. So you’re back to the standard cells we use for training.” Kanata waved the wand around. “That said, those cells are good for an hour, and your matches won’t exceed twenty minutes. So there shouldn’t be any problems.”

The holovid image floating in front of the wall showed a three dimensional representation of a Battle Faery. The bipedal armor was somewhat skeletal, with a collection of ball-jointed chains connecting the limbs to a frame that doubled as a spine and body. However, there was no cockpit. Instead, the pilot or Faery Knight would insert their legs up to their thighs into a pair of armored sheaths that connected to Battle Faery’s legs by more of the ball-jointed chains. An effect-field would then manifest around the pilot’s body, keeping them in place thus preventing their body and legs from tearing apart.

A Battle Faery could accelerate and change vectors in excess of twenty gees, so without the effect-field a girl’s body and legs could easily go their separate ways. That said, safety systems would also ensure to release the girl’s legs from the armored sheaths, or separate the sheaths entirely from the Battle Faery. However, the best hope for remaining intact was the effect-field. In fact, the Battle Faery employed more than one effect-field to maintain its pilot’s structural integrity.

Introduced two years ago, the current fifth generation of Battle Faery sported six Faery Wings, an improvement on the previous model’s five wings. The wings were attached to a ring that in turn connected to the skeletal body of the Faery. Despite the extra wing, the machine remained relatively light, and was faster and more agile than its predecessor. Its power distribution was more efficient and delivered better protection courtesy of stronger barrier-fields.

Having a sixth wing also improved its ability to amplify a pilot’s innate Ether Empath Weaver talent. During training, Mirai had recorded a jump of five hundred and seventy percent in raw weaver ability. When combined with her already monumental natural ability, the Battle Faery elevated her talent to a monstrous level.

However, all of this was essential when combating the Genjitsu. In short, when facing he Etheric giants, one could never have enough power.

Mirai dipped her head as she folded her arms under her breasts.

If I’d had that much power ten years ago, I would have faced that Genjitsu on my own and won.

Kanata Hoshikawa waved the wand, pointing at the vector thruster pack that emerged from the Faery’s back and passed through the ring supporting the six wings.

“Full output has been maintained at training levels.”

Some of the girls groaned in dismay, and Hoshikawa raised a hand to silence them.

“The request to switch the Faeries over to military mode was considered, but ultimately rejected by the Battle Committee. I know that we’ve been training with output settings between training and military modes, but for the tournament it was decided as excessive. The Committee stated that the purpose of the tournament was to demonstrate skill, not raw power. I know that sounds like a bit of a waffle, but their decision is final. It won't make a difference, but feel free to lodge a protest.”

Sayaka wore a frown as she asked, “When did they pass judgment?”

Hoshikawa was still for a moment, before releasing a heavy sigh. “Last night.”

A number of girls stood up and yelled, “What?”

Hoshikawa shut off her photon wand, and held up both hands. “Calm down. I can hear you without yelling.”

Minori shook her head in disbelief. “But all this time our Faeries have been tuned at a higher power setting. We’ve all graduated from the minimum training levels. We can handle the fifty percent increase in power.”

A girl with short, reddish hair banged her smart desk. “Why do this now? Why not decide this last week?”

Hoshikawa again raised her hands. “I don’t know. But basically the decision was centered on pilot safety. I’m sure you all heard about what happened during last weeks’ Summer Tournament held at Pan-Alexandria’s Elysium Academy.”

“We’re Asakusa Academy,” the redhead stated proudly. “We’re better than those girls from Elysium.”

“We don’t make mistakes like them,” said another girl with long hair sporting a bluish tint.

“Like I said, feel free to lodge a protest through formal channels.” Hoshikawa wandered off to a nearby water cooler and filled herself a cup of water. It was probably her way of saying the matter was closed, deal with it.

Mirai felt her stomach sink as an obvious realization settled squarely in the center of her mind.

Eiji must be pissed.

With this release, I'll know how many readers are following this story.

Then it's just a matter of working from there.

Part III will be posted sometime next week.

_________

Simkin452