“Alright, it seems you can maintain your Natura without any problem so far, although, Shin’s seems to fluctuate from time to time.”

“Aww, man!”

“But I guess we can advance to the next stage now.”

Hannah started to explain. It had been two weeks since their first day, halfway till the monthly exams. She explained that, the minimum requirements for a student to pass was to execute two Pure Natura skills, one that affects the user, and another that affects something else. Theoretical exams were just like any other school, so there wasn’t anything to say about it.

“Oh, I see! In that case, I’ll go with improving my offense and speed! It’s ideal for the best hunter of our island. What about you, Diav?”

“Of course, offense. I’m not gonna become the strongest man on earth with telepathy, am I?”

“Hey, were you listening? I said you’ll have to display a self-affecting and an externally affecting skills to pass the test. Boosting your offense and speed lie in the same category.”

“Well we can worry about that later! But now, we’ll focus on getting stronger! Right, Diav?”

“Hmph,” he smirked, “We finally get to fight on a different level.”

Hannah sighed, “It can’t be helped. You guys are fighting freaks after all.”

“Um, I’m not that much into fighting, so…” Yukio timidly raised his hand, “May I learn improving defense instead? And, I want to protect my friends if I’m needed.”

“Yeah, of course! In fact, this just makes things easier. I was worried that if all of you wanted to enhance your attack power, I’d be running out of punching bags. What do you say? How about the two of you try fighting Yukio while he defends?”

Slouching, the two thought of the same thing, “Fight with Yukio….?”

“Hey, what’s with that disappointed look?”

“Ehehe! I’ve never fought my friends before. They’re too great! But if it means getting better, I’ll do my best!”

“We’ll be at your care then, Yu!”

The next day, after all classes were over, everybody was packing up to leave. Of course, among them, were the four friends too.

Leaning back on his chair and stretching his arms up, “Man, Math is so hard! I don’t get it!” Shin complained.

“You think so? It’s quick easy for me…” (Hannah)

“Well of course it is. Back home, all I’ve done is hunting for the village and wrestle large animals. We don’t have that many people either, so apart from the basics, we don’t really need it. I guess you could say we’re kinda like, uh, what was the term again? A self contained ecosystem?”

“Well if you want, I can help you out with it at home.”

“Ah, you will?! You’re a lifesaver! Thanks!”

“However…”

“Eh?”

“If you ever do that again…” she looked down on him with a menacing glare, “I’m going to castrate you in the worst way possible.”

Sending shivers down his spine, and also...his groin, the glare made him remember the previous evening when Shin unmindfully entered the bathroom while Hannah was still in it.

“Oh boy, you’ve really got bad luck on you, huh,” Diavolo sent him his condolence.

“Shut up.”

And so, as soon as they were done preparing to leave, “Prez, we’ve got trouble!” a girl wearing spectacles and braided pigtails came rushing in, “Claude’s gang are attacking another newbie again on the roof!”

“WHAT!! Those jerks! You three head home! I’m coming later!” Hannah pushed away her chair, “Which way is it?!”

“Yes, come with me,” and the two run out.

…...

Sighing, “Well then, let’s leave.”

“Huh? Diav, aren’t you worried about her?”

“A girl like that couldn’t have become a President if she couldn’t handle herself. I’ll trust her judgement.”

“That’s right! Hannah is strong! Don’t let it bug you! I thought you knew that after getting beat up so much!”

“Yu, I am so gonna…!”

The three laugh it out. However...

“Huh? Hey, you guys are Ms. Rose’s acquaintances right? Aren’t you gonna go watch the action?”

They look at the boy who was addressing them and noticed that several other, basically all, students were running in a specific direction in the hallway.

“Come on! We’ll miss it! Let’s go!”

Somehow, the three were quite easily coaxed into what he said. Perhaps seeing everybody going piqued their interests as well. And thus, they subconsciously followed him.

Halfway there, Shin spoke out, “But I don’t get this, though.”

“Yeah?” the boy replied.

“Why’s everyone getting so psyched up to see the ruckus on the roof?”

“Huh?! You mean you didn’t know?! At times like this, we get to see a battle between two of most skilled Material Natura users!”

“Hannah knows…” (Shin)

“...Material Natura?” (Yukio)

“Ms. Rose didn’t tell you?”

“N-No. Not yet.” (Shin)

“Oh my god! Come here!” he said as they arrived at the rooftop and pushed through to the front of the crowd, “Watch…”

There in the middle, Hannah and Claude stood face to face, with a beat up boy sitting behind her.

“As usual, I never seem to understand why you’re so eager to help these worthless losers.”

“They’re not worthless. Everyone has their own talent! You’re just a bully who attacks the weak for fun and when they’re off guard.”

“Nonsense. In this world, you must never be off guard! Whoever lets their guard down is not fit to be a warrior. Natura is for the strong! Not for useless trash like them. Whoops! I almost forgot. You were the same as them too, weren’t you? Only, a bit more gullible, perhaps?”

For some reason, that line angered Hannah to no ends, “SHUT UUUPPP!!!!!” she stretched her arm out and gusts of wind collected around it.

『Anti-Unit Enhancement Technique; Material Natura: Gas』 Hannah mentally announced.

“No matter how angry you get, the result will always be the same, Prez!” Claude taunted.

“That is not Natura. I can clearly see it! It’s wind!” [Diavolo]

“Natura is not just about energy. It’s also about controlling the various things that carry it, like the wind. That is…Material Natura,” the boy explained.

“Now that you mention it, she did tell us about another type of Natura in the beginning, didn’t she?” (Yukio)

As the wind built up momentum around her fist, Hannah further added wind around her legs as well.

『Impulse Dash』 and she sprung at him at a really fast speed and 『Boosted Impact』 aimed right at his face. However…

『Counter Anti-Unit Parrying Technique; Material Natura: Gas』 Claude announced as he quickly brought his palm up; 『Wind Impulse』 and stopped her fist in its tracks.

“He blocked it!” (Shin)

“Yes. They’re both Material Natura users. That’s why everyone gets excited to watch this. Some think they can learn a thing or two. Others just enjoy watching the fight.”

With an attack approaching at such high speed and force completely repelled in an instant, the impact of the parry flung Hannah’s arm back and made her lose her balance.

Claude did not waste his chance. There was no need to stop until she regained composure nor a need to show off his superiority. This was merely a regular routine. So he did not care about appealing to the crowd watching them at the moment.

And thus, he kicked her abdomen with his knee. Continuing on with a barrage of punches, “This routine is getting really boring. Just because you know the basics of Material Natura, doesn’t mean you have a chance to beat me. You lack experience, so stop showing off. Just give up. You are weak. Women are weak. And until I find someone worthy to make me use full power….” he straight kicked her in the belly “…stop getting in my way!”

"Guah!" Hannah’s lungs let out most of its air due to the pressure and she fell to her knees. "Cough! Cough!" she bent down and held her belly, trying very hard to recover from the pain, and also hide the unsightly scene of the saliva that was forced out her mouth.

“Tch! That jerk!” enraged, Shin was about to charge in.

“No, Shin!” Diavolo grabbed his shoulder.

“But Diavolo, he—” he stopped as he turned around to see that Diavolo was angry himself, grinding his teeth. “Oi, aren’t the teachers gonna do anything?!”

“No. Personal duels are allowed as long as it doesn’t threaten the school.”

“Dammit!”

“P-please, stop!” the bullied boy pleaded.

“No. I don’t want to see such faces again,” she stood up.

“As expected of Ms. Rose! She’s tough!”

“Y-You’re the worst…Claude...” Hannah muttered under her breath. She spread her arms wide, “I will…” and the clouds above her started swirling around, “...never forgive you!!”

『☆ Anti-Group Offensive Technique; Material Natura: Gas; Affinity: Storm』

The sun was slowly hidden and the day turned dim.

“Whoa~! What the heck is that?!” (Shin)

“Hmph! You can’t be serious! After all this time, was this the oh-so powerful skill you’ve been developing to win against me? Just what are you hoping to accomplish by performing this large scale attack? If you have the time to try and scare me, think about the consequences that you’ll have.”

Hannah’s arms twitched.

“You call yourself the President, and yet you forgot that such an attack won’t leave the building unscathed.”

Coming back to her senses, Hannah felt depressed and she stopped the attack midway. She brought her hands down and the sky slowly started to open up again.

“I knew it. ‘President’ is just a name. You’re the same trash as the others.”

“Eh? What happened? She lost?” [Shin]

“Well...technically yes.”

“But that looked like a very strong attack. I’m sure if there were no rules here, she would’ve won, right?” (Yukio)

“No, not necessarily. The only reason Ms. Hannah is not dripping blood is because there are restrictions here. If you exclude that attack she was gonna use, overall, Mr. Brandt is actually more powerful.”

“What?! But she’s the President. Shouldn’t she be the strongest among the students?”

Hannah fell to her knees again.

“No. Ms. Rose is strong, definitely, but it’s because of her will to maintain order and peace that she’s the Student Council President. If Mr. Brandt was a little more disciplined, I’m sure he would’ve lead instead. Moreover, I don’t think he’s stupid enough to wait for a sure-kill attack to charge up. From the looks of it, Ms. Rose’s attack would’ve taken a while longer to be unleashed. He would’ve attacked her before she did, so—.”

“So in other words, he’s gone easy on her every time.” (Diavolo)

“Yes.”

“And you!” Claude addressed his bullying target.

“Y-yes?!” he jittered.

“Hurry up and get lost!” he ordered with an intimidating glare.

Afraid, he ran out like crazy through the crowd, leaving Hannah on her knees crying. The commotion was over and everyone, including Claude, were taking their leave.

Before the thought of helping her up even occurred to Shin, “Let’s go back, Shin. I know you’re worried, but I think getting seen by us in her current state would only make things worse for her right now,” Diavolo advised.

“Y-yeah…” he sighed, “I understand…”

Later that day, the boys diligently sat waiting for their instructor a.k.a. Hannah, to return. Soon enough, she entered, albeit with a glum look.

“Yo! We were waiting for you!” said Shin cheerfully, not bringing up the topic.

Hannah instantly switched to a more cheerful look, “Oh? Such disciplined students I have. Let’s get started then.”

Their current session started. With maintaining a sufficient amount of Natura stably, for an acceptable period of time already learnt, the next step was to learn how to focus it.

“I focus my Natura on my fist like this, right?” Shin asked Hannah once everybody was done with the warm ups.

However Hannah did not answer. She stood there, staring blankly at the ground.

“Hannah…?” (Yukio)

“Oi, Hannah!” (Shin)

Not answering, she remained in her thoughts. Diavolo then walked up in front of her, “Hannah.”

“Huh?! What?! Oh, sorry! I was just thinking about something. Y-Yeah, you guys are doing well. Just like that!”

“Just forget it.”

“...Eh?”

“You can’t change the past. Wasting your entire day just because you lost once won’t help.”

“You were there?! I thought I told you guys to head home!”

“Stop screwing around!” his voice roared throughout the dojo, “People lose all the time, but that doesn’t stop me. Losing means you should try to get back up and win!”

“This isn’t just about about losing! He—”

“I know! He attacks the weak. You don’t like to see them suffer, so you want to make a difference. Isn’t that why you decided to train us?! After so long you’ve found people who are successful in learning Natura. And until we become strong enough, their suffering will continue. There’s nothing you can do about it! But if you can’t focus on what’s more important and just mope around, then you don’t deserve to teach us at all…”

His words pierced right through her. Utter guilt and sorrow filled her heart.

“Hey, that was a little too harsh, don’t you think?!” yelled Shin, but Diavolo walked out of the dojo and slammed the door behind him. Shin sighed, “Honestly…”

“Why?” she whimpered, “Why am I so pathetic?” and tears ran down her cheeks.

“Aw, c’mon! Don’t cry. It’s not your fault.”

“But he’s right. I decided to devote myself in training you guys but all I was thinking of was what happened back today.”

“You know,” Shin said scratching his head, “Diav wasn’t always like this.”

“Huh?”

“You’re kind. You care for others. That’s why you don’t want to see them cry. But as for Diav. He has already had something precious taken away from him,” Shin paused for a moment so Hannah could calm down a little, “His mother...was murdered right in front of his eyes.

Before that, he was a lively and fun loving boy. The two of us always challenged each other in the woods. That was our daily lives. But then one day, while we were hunting, we heard a huge explosion from the village. By the time we reached there, everything was in flames.

He ran towards his house. We don’t who or what caused the flames. Only a bunch of black figures could be seen flying above our heads. And the next time I saw his face, he had a look so shattered that even I broke out in tears before I could process what might’ve happened.

Since then, Diav personally decided to take the entire island into his responsibility and trained on his own to become strong. Strong enough that none of his comrade would even be scratched while he was around. That’s why he was so serious when he blocked Mr. William’s strike. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when he showed his Natura on our first day. And that’s why he said what he had said to you just now.

The past is the past. You can’t change what has already happened, neither can you forget them. But what you can do is prepare yourself for the future to prevent the same thing from happening again. A future where you will not have regrets.”

“I…I didn’t know that!”

“He knows pain and loss better than any of us.”

“I must apologize!” and she immediately made her way to the exit.

“I don’t that’s really necessary. He won’t mind something like this. But if you still feel that bad, then I guess I can’t stop you. Just remember not to ask him for details. I’d hate to see him feel worse and all.”

“Okay, I got it,” she went out.

“...Will they be okay?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. Hannah is strict, but she’s got a kind heart. Diav can be harsh from time to time, but he means well. They’ll get patch up in no time.”

[Hannah POV]

She ran some distance and stopped, “Where did he go?...”

“Oh, sis! We’re almost out of fire-wood, can you get some? Stanley is busy helping in cooking.”

“Yeah, sure. Hey, did you see Diavolo anywhere?”

“Diavolo bro? Ah, he told me to not use ‘bro’ anymore, right? Well, I saw him heading towards the forest in the valleys a moment ago.”

“Thanks!” and she went the pointed direction.

“Hey, calm down! Honestly, everyone’s busy with their own work....”

[Diavolo POV]

He was sitting on a tree, reestablishing his goals and whatnot. Seemed like he really did not worry too much about Hannah’s unmindfulness. Soon enough, he heard footsteps and panting noises.

“Diavolo! Where are you?!” she bent down and put her weight on her knees to take a breath.

“Yo!” he hung upside down from a branch almost immediately after Hannah stopped running.

“Kya!” she shrieked and punched him in the face, flinging him away around two meters away.

“...Somehow, I think I’ll have to get used to this…” he said under his breath, lying down with bruised nose.

“I’m so sorry! You startled me!”

Ignoring what just happened, he quickly sat upright, “So, what did you wanna say?”

“Well, about what happened before…um…”

“Don’t bother. Shin told you, didn’t he, about my mom passing away?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Don’t worry about it too much. I just wanted to snap you out of it. Besides, I bet you have your own reasons for thinking so much about the school’s incidents. If anything, I should apologize if I said too much.”

“No, it’s not your fault,” she shook her head, “You were right in what you said. Hehe, I’m glad everything’s fine now! Say, we’re almost out of firewood. Wanna help me get some?” she quickly changed the topic to avert awkwardness.

“Nope. Everything’s not fine. You could use it, but you never even demonstrated it to us.”

“Huh?”

“Material Natura. That’s what it’s called, right? The power you two used.”

“Oh, that. I was planning on telling you later.”

“Well, whatever. So when do we start learning it?”

“Whoa, hold your horses! You can’t just jump to learning Material Natura so early! You’ll have to wait until you master focusing the pure one first! And I doubt it’ll be before the revision exam!”

“I see…” he sighed and walked a little deeper into the forest.

“Where are you going?”

He stood in front of a large tree, almost a meter thick in diameter, and took a fighting stance. He took a deep breath and focused his Natura on his right arm...then fist. Once ready, he gave a hard punch at the trunk and two seconds later… with cracks and rumbling noises, the tree fell down with a loud reverberating thump.

Dumbfounded, Hannah just stood there with a poker face.

Exhaling, he looked at her, “What? You needed wood, right?”

“Y-yeah…”

The next day, the three were training, with Diavolo and Shin on offense and Yukio on defense.

Hannah slammed the door open and announced, “Listen up, you guys! We’ll be starting a new lesson! And that’s…Material Natura!”

“OH HELL YESSS!!!” Shin jumped up in joy with the sudden news.

Hannah smirked. After seeing Diavolo’s progress the previous day, Hannah took some time to reevaluate her pupils. Perhaps, it was the years of prior failures that made her lessen and lessen her expectations on her fellow classmates’ abilities.

Diavolo stood smiling in satisfaction, but he twitched a little from the pain in his right hand. Indeed, it was a farce. He had simply shown off to rush things a bit more, ending up stepping over his boundaries.

“Isn’t this great, Diavolo?!” (Yukio)

“Yeah...” he looked up, “Mom, I hope you’re watching…”