Chapter 3

Observation

Observation log: July 2nd, Galactic Calendar Year 2125;

I’ve been observing subjects T and H for a little over a year and 6 months. They seem to be blending in with the Terrans rather nicely. Subject T seems to be making a name for himself at North City High school while not the most popular of the guys he definitely has a small following. He’s not exactly a straight A student but from what I’ve seen he does seem to give a decent effort, when he doesn’t procrastinate that is. In terms of personality he seems to be a very optimistic type with a slant toward thinking in terms of the big picture almost to a degree beyond the scope most would think reasonable. But it shows he has promise in the coming conflict.

Subject H is a typical high school girl very agile and athletic but also highly intellectual. While she does take part in common extracurriculars such as cheerleading and track and field she also participates in the school archery club. From seeing her performance at a recent event she seems very well suited to ranged weapons.

As progress with the Valion project continues, they begin their initial preparation for the process of being bound to their new “Hybrid Arms” weapons. The weapons were based mostly on native Magia technology but are powered by a combination of Terracite and Valicite, two minorly radioactive compounds that can be used as power sources not unlike common uranium.

Valicite hails from their home world of Valin and Terracite which takes its name from the old greek name for Earth hails from Earth itself. It's primarily powered by Terracite at this point due to Valicite not being organically available on Earth.

The other difference from Magia Sentient arms is that while the operating power for Sentient arms usually is derived from a combination of the user’s mana and that of the surrounding environment these weapons use Spirit energy as a power source for abilities.

The mechanical differences in the two energies boil down to the idea that Mana, while naturally occurring throughout many worlds, the exact concentrations and characteristics of it on different worlds can vary wildly.

Because of that Mana can be a very inconsistent resource. While all beings have a natural supply of mana in most cases it's tied to their life force which means extended over usage of it can exhaust the individual of their life force and greatly shorten their lifespan.

Spirit energy on the other hand is a representation of physical stamina as an extension of the soul. As such, while more limited than mana it can be a safer energy source to use for powering Sentient arm weapons for those who are either not adjusted to the natural mana of their environment or simply lack the natural ability to use mana.

Subjects’ H and T are due to start their initial training on spirit energy manipulation in the coming weeks.

I’ll continue to update these logs as needed but until anything happens this will be the end of this log

Anya signing off.

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Observation log: September 4th GCY 2125

It's been two months since Subjects’ H and T have begun their training. They seem to be adapting rather quickly to Subject T having managed to call out a blank slate Sentient arm from its idle state to combat mode with a little bit of effort.

Blank slate refers to a sentient arm that hasn’t been coded to an individual and hasn’t had an AI partner added to it and bound to the individual’s subconscious.

Subject H has been working with the prototype for her weapon. The trainers are surprised at how adept she is while she lacks her brother’s raw stamina and brute force effort she makes up for it in natural skill and talent.

As the lab team works out the final details of the weapons design she’s made a point to request that its combat mode take the form of something less like a typical gun.

In other substantial news, the cruiser that Dozara had mentioned carrying another refugee crew made it to Earth late last month. It appears their ship was damaged as it took off which caused some complications and delayed their arrival. Aboard the ship was a crew mostly of scientists but there were a few that appeared to be present or former government officials notably one member of the crew, a man by the name of Han was a close friend of Dozara’s and was apparently one of the heads of the former peacekeeping military back on Valin before the war broke out.

Hanjiro “Han” Nisaharra seems to be the hot headed if not somewhat overly energetic type. His son Toushi “Dojiro” Nisahara taking quite prominently after him, but his personality is a bit more stilted than his father’s I’ve picked up some readings on him with my watcher’s eye and I’ve seen there was some great trauma in the time shortly before he left Valin. I asked dad to inquire about it with his father in private.

Turns out according to his father and a few hints from his mother they’re not his biological parents. His actual father being the one who betrayed their group’s whereabouts to the Separatists and forced their premature departure. His mother was captured by the Separatists and her condition is unknown.

His father even went as far to explain that Dojiro wasn’t in fact his given name but rather Toshi was his actual birth name. Dojiro was a name they’d given him in honor of their family tradition of naming the first born males in their family with the suffix of -jiro meaning son in their native derivative of Japanese.

As I’ve observed him I’ve noticed he seems to be good natured if not a bit of a skirt chaser as he is prone to getting distracted by the sight of attractive girls.

At this point in my studies I’ve made sure to keep myself scarce around them as my current task is merely one of observation, through use of illusion spells and disguises. I've been attempting to keep my identity hidden from them to retain an objective mindset in my research.

I’ll continue with further updates as they are needed.

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Diary of Anya Cardiff-Armstrong: January 1st GCY 2126.

Dear Diary;

Recently my father asked if I’d be interested in transitioning in my role from a passive observer to interacting directly with Takaru and the others as part of my continued data collection on them. Knowing it's been a little over 3 years since my run in with Takaru back on the Lunar Hub. It seems doubtful he’ll recognize me after all this time. If I remember correctly at the time he looked to be about 11 or 12 at the time I’m guessing based on what Angela recalls from the incident he seemed to at least have the level of maturity needed to have some semblance of a crush on me.

I can’t remember it clearly myself cause all of what’s been happening in the past year and a half has kinda forced me to push fleeting stuff like that to the back of my mind. If I had to give an estimate right now he’d be about 15 or 16 based on his appearances , I wonder how he’d react to the sight of me now . I guess I’ll just have to find out when I transfer into North City High. ;)

Anya.

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Observation Log: February 12, 2126 GCY

I’ve been living in North City for a few weeks to further my observation. It appears that Subjects T and D appear to be working out pretty well in their training. The time they spend participating in after school sporting events seems to be benefiting them in training.

The mentor my father selected for Subject T has noted he has a great deal of physical endurance and stamina. He also seems pleased with Subject T’s progress in the fighting techniques that he’s chosen to study.

His mentor is currently running him through the basics of a technique known as quick draw swordsmanship. The skill is a basic tactic involving rhythmic sequences of slashes followed by sheathing the weapon then using the momentum to follow through with a quick followup slash from the side across the waist or upward along the mid section.

The technique in and of itself is a very simplistic and almost combat ineffective art as it's typically used in exhibition fights due to the fact that once the enemy picks up on the beats on which the sword is sheathed and drawn it can be easy to force them into a counterable loop of actions.

Subject H has been making similar strides with her weapons training and has already been partnered with her Sentient Arm AI program, an AI representation based on Han’s ancestor Sanjiro Ichinose-Nisaharra. While Dozara patterned Subject T’s AI partner after his ancestor Hayato.

The Hayato type AI is in heavy development and should be ready for bonding with Subject T before too long. He’s already been undergoing the initial mental training to allow him to better support the consciousness of his AI partner without it causing any psychological bleeding.

Thanks to my father’s connections in the military I’ve been informed that the first sight of their pursuers, a group identifying themselves as the Separatist Army of Valin, has been staging small skirmishes with Federation cruiser fleets.

Some members of the Khilari High Command have noted that their ships appear to be a different design than the ones that Dozara and the other Valinians came in. Reports indicate that while they share similar base schematics these newer ships are much more combat ready than either of the Safe Haven ships.

Based on their estimates an advanced scout fleet appears to be nearing the outer fringes of the local system. It will be interesting to see what they’re capable of up close. I’ve already forwarded the reports to Dozara and his team right now; they're in debate as to whether they should accelerate development or keep going at their current pace.

I’ll continue with further updates as things develop.

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Diary of Anya Cardiff-Armstrong Thursday March 11th 2126 GCY

It's been a month since I started attending classes at North City High. I’ve been debating in the meantime whether I should attempt to get closer to Takaru and to a lesser extent Hikari and Toushi. Part of me wanting to deepen the friendships I’ve been building with them over the time since my transfer and part of me wanting to remain distant from them for the sake of scientific objectivity in terms of my studies My belief being that Takaru and the others have some greater destiny than what lies in the conflict with the Separatists.

Unfortunately this is one of the more arduous burdens of being a member of the Fate-Keeper line. The power of being able to see the projected connection of those around you to the greater fate of the universe can be an unbearable weight. But what makes things worse is the idea of the Fate-Keepers oath and how we are bound to limit our direct interference in the lives of those we perceive as having an impact on future events.

I’ve noticed Takaru seems to be picking up on my personal interest in him. I’ve scanned his thoughts on a few occasions and noticed him thinking about the run in we had back at the lunar hub. I wonder if he’s made the connection that we’re the same person yet. I should probably get around to introducing myself with my proper name at some point but it is kinda fun to see him so divided in himself.

He currently knows me by the name Tenaya Reyes. I’ve been leaving hints to my real identity though to see if he’d find me out.

On a side note I can see he has a bit of internal conflict about his involvement in the Valion Project. It's not a lack of will to fight so much as he doesn’t feel he has a reason outside of predisposed obligation from his parents. I often hear him questioning whether he’s meant to be the one fighting this war or not.

I can tell he has the potential of being a great warrior but he lacks a self fulfilling reason to fight. Whether or not he finds a reason to fight may be something that will affect him later down the line.

I’ve contemplated telling Toushi about the predicament with his birth mother and her capture but at this point I’m unsure what it would do to his psyche so for now I’ll remain silent on it.

As for significant events that have happened in the past little bit on the conflict side of things it appears as though the Separatists scout fleets have managed to sneak into the Milky Way, It appears that they are merely an advanced scouting unit as they’re not equipped to fight our cruisers from what our crews have noticed. I’ll keep things up to date as they develop.

Meanwhile in the past few days at North City High preparations have been going on for the junior and senior class Spring Fling dances which are due at the end of the month. To explain the concept, the season of spring is normally associated with love and togetherness as it's tied to the natural rejuvenation after the harsh weather of winter.

It's not uncommon for high schools to put on events like this to allow the students to have some time to socialize and have fun. Hikari has been buzzing around the school helping the student council members with the prep work While Toushi and Takaru have been scrimmaging with the underclass football team and the varsity team to get ready for their respective homecoming games.

Takaru and Toushi are both on the Underclass team seeing as we’re all functionally in sophomore year at this point. Their game is this coming Friday and then the Varsity team is up the following Wednesday with the dance coming up next Friday.

In the time I’ve been here Hikari’s helped ease me into the day to day routine of high school life on Earth and was even able to help pull some strings and get me a try out for the Junior Varsity Cheerleading squad. I’ve got my fingers crossed I can get on by the homecoming game so I can be on the field to cheer T.K on.

But that’s it for now, I think I’ve let this drag on for a little too long at this point so till next time see ya.

Anya.

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Diary of Anya Cardiff-Armstrong Wednesday March 11th 2126 GCY -- Afternoon

It's about 6:30 pm I’m back from my tryouts and things are looking positive. From what the coach and the squad leader said it seemed like I have a solid chance of making it into the squad but it's not known if I’ll be in the formation for the JV Homecoming game or not.

They let me bring home my temporary uniform, the one I’ll be using until my official one comes back from the local embroidery shop. The outfit isn’t that special, just a full length T-Shirt with the school’s emblem on both sides and a short I’d estimate thigh height pleated skirt. The main difference between it and the normal uniforms is that the shirts are only about the top of the midriff on the standard uniforms and the person’s name is embroidered on the front side with their squad number and last name in matching print on the back.

Thankfully I did get to take part in the practice drills they did as part of the homecoming scrimmage match.

The team TK and Toushi will be playing against is the South Harbor Sentinels and the Junior team was scrimmaging against them earlier while we did our drills.

As the guys played I noticed Toushi taking off hand glances at Hikari when he could spare a moment to do so. It was kinda cute, I can’t tell from looking at him but he seems to at the very least find her attractive but there may be more to it.

When the guys finished their scrim T.K. and Toushi stayed on the field and watched us finish up. I can’t help catching glimpses of TK’s eyes wandering, as me and Hikari did a few snippets of the routine.

Once we got to the point of being able to take a break, I had a short chat with Hikari pointing out Toushi’s erant glances. She chuckled and said “I figured as much. He tries to act like he’s not interested but I just have a feeling that he’s got it bad for me. overall he doesn’t seem like that bad of a guy even if he is a bit of a perv he’s just a little ill-adjusted. Their crew’s trip to Earth took a good year or so longer than my family’s so the extra time in hyperspace probably means that he mentally aged a tad faster than us and since they’re stasis system didn’t have the same stasis education system as ours did he didn’t get to interact with others his age aboard the ship until after they arrived.”

I smiled and nodded as she playfully elbowed me in the rib and said “I can’t help but notice the same kinda looks coming from T.K. toward you. I can tell he’s a bit more subtle about it but I’ve heard him mulling things over to himself from time to time. He seems to think you have a bit of a resemblance to someone he ran into when we were getting set up for transfer to Earth at the Hub station. One thing about that which sticks with him is she gave him a peck on the cheek as a reward for helping her. At that age I wouldn’t doubt that would be close to the equivalent to a first kiss. “ as she said that my mind flashed back to the day it happened.

The scene played over a few times in the back of my mind that being one of the major things I’d missed I completely forgot that I’d given him a kiss that day. That explained why the memory stuck with him so vividly. At the time I just did it to show him thanks for helping me find Angela.

He probably took it to have a greater significance since not only did it seem like he was interested in me at that time at least based on my looks. But in the short time we were together I did notice a faint unusual trace from him and that's probably what it meant.

It was a small sign that we had a deeper connection than I could have thought of at the time.

Well I think I’ll end this off before I start getting too mushy about it. I’ll probably update again after the game tomorrow evening.

Anya.

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Diary of Anya Cardiff-Armstrong Friday March 12th 2126 10:00pm EST

I just got home from the Junior Varsity game. Takaru and Toushi played extremely well from what I can tell. The game started at about 7:00 pm local time due to some bad weather in South Harbor delaying the trip back to North City after yesterday’s scrim game.

The game was actually a pretty even matchup from what Hikari and I could tell. It started with North City taking an early lead of 10 to 7 at the end of the first quarter but by halftime they’d swung it in favor of the Sentinels at a score of 24 to 17. Sadly the 3rd quarter was rather uneventful with the score staying the same until the beginning of the 4th.

Early in the 4th quarter North City tied it up thanks to a few really clever defensive plays by Takaru. They managed to keep things locked down till the last little bit of the quarter.

As the final whistle blew the normal game time ended with a score of 28 to 28 forcing a sudden death overtime. The rules of this stage of the game being fairly simple the first team to score an unanswered point wins.

After what seemed like an hour of back and forth North City’s defense managed to force the Sentinels out on downs inside their 30 yard line after a botched punt return from the South Harbor offense. North City could have opted to end it there as they were ahead 3 over time points to 2. As the referee’s filed into the huddle in advance of South Harbor’s pending punt to North City’s offensive team.

According to T.K the refs called in the players and asked them if they felt it was worth playing out for another round for a deciding point or to leave the tie broken at 3-2. After a bit of discussion they decided to play one more drive to see if North City could clinch the win with a 4-2 advantage.

After a sizable kick return by one of the top members of the second string freshman squad. They started their drive from South Harbor’s 45 yard line, First snap Toushi managed to get a solid pass straight down the middle of their defensive line.

As the ball flew I noticed something, it seemed like the ball had a faint aura around it. I glanced over at Toushi and noticed he seemed intensely focused on the ball more so than he normally would be.

I thought back a little to the training he’d been undergoing with his sentient arm. His trainer had been instructing him on using his spirit energy to direct his projectiles by concentrating on the projectile and focusing spirit energy into them and guiding it by force of will.

The ball began to wobble from side to side in mid flight as though he were willing it to evade the enemy players. To be honest at the time I was kinda shocked by the fine control he had over it. While the motions wouldn’t be noticeable to those who were observing without prior experience with spirit energy manipulation or similar techniques it was clear he was intentionally manipulating its flight path.

When it was caught by one of the linemen, the crowd burst into applause as he tore down the field. I couldn’t help but notice Hikari seemed to be quite on edge up till the catch at which point she personally took to rallying the cheer squad to get the crowd riled up.

The 30, the 20, 10, Touchdown!, and with that the game was over Takaru and the guys grouped up in the huddle with a celebratory cheer. After that they walked over and greeted the South Harbor players in the middle of the field to give them a respectable send off.

Likewise Hikari gathered up the girls and flagged down their cheer squad offering a congratulatory presentation to celebrate a good game. Once we were done everyone slowly filed off and headed back home.

Hikari and I met up with TK and Toushi near the bleachers before we left. I walked up. well ok sprinted up and gave him a congratulatory hug. As I stood there holding him close I couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. After a little bit I shook off my nerves and leaned in a little closer to him as he wrapped his arms around me.

I swear in that moment I felt my heart skip a beat or two. A flash came over me, my mind filled with some faint images almost as if I were reliving that old memory. He spoke but for a moment I heard it in his younger voice.

“Anya.” His younger self told the younger version of me I was visualizing in my mind's eye. “Want to hang out again sometime? It was fun hanging out with you and Angela.” my younger self walked away saying nothing in response as he turned away and started toward the security desk where I’d left him to meet up with his family.

In that instance I realized it was a projection of our memories overlapping and something was stepping in to allow me a chance to resolve things. I stepped over and took on the appearance of my younger self and interrupted him saying “Sure, I don’t know when but I’ll try.” as he smiled and nodded before walking away to meet up with his parents.

When things came back to normal I heard his voice whisper to me saying “Think you’d be up to go to the dance next week?” the tone of his voice sounded faintly annoyed as if he’d been repeating himself.

I calmly said “Yes.” and smiled feeling kinda bad that I spaced out. “See you then TK.” as I walked away ready to head home. Taking a little tip from Hikari on flirting, as I walked away I made sure to put a bit of extra sway into my stride to give him something to linger on.

Sorry but I think I’ll end it here for the night I’m getting a little on the drowsy side after all that. --yawn--

Anya

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Diary of Anya Cardiff-Armstrong Friday March 19th 2126 GCY 11:30pm

Yawn-- I’m gonna make this a short entry, probably just gonna follow up on it in the morning, Just got home from the dance. The night went fairly well for me and TK, I think he’s finally picked up on who I am.

During the second or third slow dance, I can’t quite remember off the top of my head. We were in the middle of dancing and as we stood there in each other's arms I finally gave in and started to kiss him. At first it seemed like I’d be able to beat my nerves out and land a kiss on his lips but sadly they got the better of me.

A last second twitch caused it to divert to his cheek, oddly enough I think the same thing happened with him as I felt him kiss my cheek at about the same time. We both kinda stepped away from each other to catch a breath.

As we did I noticed him taking a staggered look over me as I saw him mouth my name, not the alias I’d been using but my actual name. After a few moments of awkward silence he pulled me back in and we started dancing again.

“Anya.” I heard him whisper as I leaned in a bit closer. “Is that you? You really came back?” I let out a small sigh and nodded. I can’t imagine that he wasn’t in some degree of disbelief at that point. After all, for him it was the first time in almost 4 years he’d seen me, or at least realized that it was me he’d been with all that time.

From what I’ve heard from Hikari and gleaned from reading his thoughts he’s always had me on his mind wondering if I’d ever return and give him a chance. Without a second thought, I leaned in and gave him a proper kiss on the lips.

As we stood there it felt like a weight was abruptly lifted from both our shoulders, all the tension that had built up to that moment was finally released. It was amazing, I can finally be at ease that I’ve satisfied that memory of his and allowed him to move on. I wonder what this will mean for the two of us.

On a side note, I've been having strange flashes, I’d almost say they’d be premonitions or at least potential visions based on what impact I had on Takaru.

The most prominent one is a scene of me standing on top of a building, but it's not me as I see myself now. That version of me looks older, or if not older at least more “filled out.” as Toushi would say. The details I could make out of the scene was one of a large battle and it looked like a major fight had just ended.

My future self was sitting on the ground holding an injured figure who I can only assume was Takaru based on his general build. He was laying on her lap clearly recovering from a massive fight, her body was glowing with a faint magical light as though the. Well what I’m calling a growth spurt has only recently happened. As the residual magical energies from the transformation were still present.

Over me and Takaru stood a young man whose face wasn’t visible, his aura seeming to have an odd clarity to it as I felt TK’s life signs go dark.

Yawn--- I think that all I can stand right now. I’ll fill in the rest in the morning.

Anya

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Observation log: Saturday March 20th 2126 GCY Early Morning

Last night I had an unusual dream, if not a dream a vision. It was a sequence where I seemingly woke up in the middle of the night with a strange tightness in my chest which eventually sunk into my stomach.

I made my way to the bathroom thinking my stomach was upset and things only got more unusual from there. I felt a sudden heave and at first nothing came but then another followed by the pain surging back to my chest as I clenched tightly around it to ease the pain.

It eased for a moment but came back, it felt like something was trying to force its way out. After a few moments of struggling another surge came and my chest fell forward with a pull as my bra gave way and my chest fell into my dress.

A wave of pain surged out from there and the rest of me began to expand. My hair fell down to mid back length, my body grew what seemed like an inch or two taller. Within moments I took on an appearance not unlike the version of myself I saw in the premonition I had back at the dance.

The dream abruptly ended after that but I have a strange feeling that it has to do with the link between myself and Subject T. Angela performed some scans on me after I mentioned it and from her initial testing it appears his aura and mine were intermingling on an unusually deep level for how close we are.

I can’t tell if it has any significance at this point but I’ll definitely have to look into it more.

In the meantime later today Subject T is participating in an exhibition fight with a former student of the mentor who’s been training him.

The hope is that we gain a depth for how he’s progressed in his study of the style and how adept he’s become at channeling his spirit energy.

Part of the engagement will require him to call the armor from his Hybrid Arm unit. His ability to accomplish this will be taken as a sign of how he’s doing in gaining the synergy with the weapon to prepare him for bonding with the Sentient Arm AI.

I’ll continue this entry once I’ve returned from the proceedings.

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Observation log: Saturday March 20th 2126 5:00 pm EST

It's been about an hour since Subject T finished his exhibition fight. From the reactions of his mentor and his opponent it appears he may have a strong potential to bond well with the AI although there are some concerns over how internally motivated he is to be involved in the fight.

At one point in the fight he'd managed to summon his armor successfully and fight his opponent to a stand still. When his opponent questioned him with regards to whether he really had any stake in why he was fighting something seemed to snap inside and break his will to continue fighting. It's as if he doesn’t feel he has a personal investment in the fight and that he’s doing this more in the same way a disgruntled soldier follows his leaders in the military out of obligation for his employment rather than for what drives those who join for reasons of patriotism or personal glory.

As his opponent prepared to strike the final blow I felt a strange pull. Like some outside force was acting through me, According to some of Angela’s telemetry data, whatever it was that came over me took control of my body and directed it without my knowledge.

I teleported into the battlefield, my eyes glassed over in white light, walked over to Subject T and began to speak with him, peering into his mind. I knew he was having trouble drawing on a reason to continue fighting.

As it was his current mindset was pretty accurate he was only motivated to fight by his involvement in the Valion project. He had no personal reason to fight whether it was for himself, his family, his friends. It just wasn’t there.

I have a feeling this whole scene was “them” getting involved, As you know my father and I are both members of the Fate Keeper line. “The sole keepers of the balance of fate, life and death.” my father called them, as part of our duties as Fate keeper’s we are treated as vessels for “The Trinity” to enter at any time.

The trinity are the combined consciousness of three powerful Magia who have ascended to a realm beyond life as we know it in this reality who have been joined by the souls of many more.. They represent one of the three great attributes. Wisdom, Strength and Courage. It's considered among the greatest honors of the Magia kind to be selected to join their hallowed union after death.

For those reading these logs who have limited knowledge of Magia lore they would be very similar to the Fates of ancient Earth mythology who are responsible for governing over the lives of mortals and determining when their time has come to move on to the afterlife.

But the trinity also can inform Fate Keepers (who act as their enforcers in this world) of individuals who are destined for great things.

The only reason why we haven’t run across things like this outside of Upper Adultia is due to our lack of involvement in world affairs until the past thousand or so years after Upper Adultia joined the Federation.

I’m thinking one of them overshadowed my consciousness and imprinted Subject T with some small piece of his projected destiny which gave him as the Terrans would say “A shot in the arm.” and helped him power through the rest of the fight.

I can still hear the echo of their voices inside my head talking in faint whispers that I can’t decipher. I’ll provide more information about that situation as is needed. For now I’m starting to think they are leaning for me to become more involved with him.

Until I can rightfully figure it out I’ll leave off here.

Anya Cardiff-Armstrong.

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Diary of Anya Cardiff Armstrong --- Sunday March 21st 2126 3:00 pm EDT

It's been a rather humorous weekend. Aside from Takaru’s training match with his master’s old protegee I think Hikari was left a little stricken by her opponent. To fill in a bit of background, her opponent was Prince Artemis Crownfield of Mirith Herald.

The prince decided to leave things rather hush hush in terms of letting on his position before the match finished. Even going as far as disguising himself and hiding his appearance and voice. His reason for this was to allow Hikari to display her skills without feeling the same stress Takaru felt knowing his opponent was his master’s prior protegee and the expectations that came with that.

In the aftermath of the fight when the prince finally revealed himself I could tell from her reaction that she was more than a bit surprised to see she’d fought a trained prince in combat, much less having effectively fought him to a stand still.

As he removed his armor and revealed his more typical dress uniform underneath I could tell her eyes were doing a bit of wandering as much as she denied it later on. I couldn’t help but find it rather funny. I glanced over at T.K and noticed that he’d been pointing over at Toushi who’d been glaring daggers at the prince since he’d taken notice of Hikari’s expression.

Let’s just say it made for a rather interesting afternoon seeing as the prince was available to spend some time with us over the rest of the day. After their match we went to a local karaoke club and while T.K spent a bit of time up on stage singing, Artemis spent the time discussing techniques with Hikari.

During the conversation I couldn’t help noticing their thoughts wandering from their intended topic as they both spent quite a bit of it trading glances at each other as they compared notes.

I spent most of the time milling back and forth between watching them fawn over each other and eyeing Toushi as he sat over at the bar seething in what I could only guess was a fit of jealousy over Hikari’s flirtations with the prince.

Sadly I don’t have a lot to report beyond that so I think I’ll break things off here,

Anya