Chapter 1
You've seen what's above, but have you ever wondered, what lies beneath?
-/-
Ever since I was little, my future was already decided. Until now, I've lived up to the expectations asked of me. I've tainted my hands with blood, a machine made to injure and capture those who cause chaos and crime in this world.
My parents bestowed this burden upon me, saying that I have to continue my father's footsteps. They made me happy throughout my childhood, allowed me to practice ballet and have fun with some of my friends in school. But, everything changed when I turned 8.
Since then, my life turned upside down; from a bright and cheerful life, to a dark and forlorn life.
-/-
In a dark alley in a secluded area stood five men cornering a teenage girl with cerulean eyes and blonde hair in a high ponytail. Her head was down, eyes covered by her hair.
The blonde was leaning on the alley's wall, her hands in to her jacket's pockets as the men continued to corner her, bringing out their weapons to intimidate her.
Eli paid them no heed as they approached closer; she then brought her hand to her earpiece and pressed on the button situated on it. A blue holographic triangular-shaped screen appeared in front of her face, showing her the details about her mission.
=== Current time: 10:59:01 pm
=== Operation no. 103
Target: Criminal group no. 112 - Human Trafficking.
=== Status: Initiating
=== Agent: E.A. (Rank 1)
=== Utility Activate: Night Vision
She pressed the button again to deactivate the screen. One of the men approached the girl carelessly, twirling his gun on his finger and holding a knife in his other hand.
"Looks like we got a good catch 'ere." The man announced, making the other men laugh in agreement.
The leader? Eli noted as the man came dangerously close, hovering knife on her forehead, making a cut just above her left eye. "A blonde huh? You could make us a fortune." He laughed, as he gripped her shoulder and threw her in the middle of the alley.
Eli anticipated the action and maintained her balance and composure. The leader of the group smirked; he raised his eyebrows to two of his mates. "Restrain her." He ordered.
The blonde saw the two incoming men approach from her front and back. Eli made no movement.
=== Utility Activate: Defense Barrier
"Deflect."
A few feet away from the blonde, the men hit the transparent barrier and were thrown hard onto the alley wall.
"What the―" The leader tried to say but was interrupted by a sudden jolt from the two thrown men. He looked at the blonde, her arm was raised, hands covered with black fingerless gloves holding onto a pistol.
Eli's eyes were blank as she shot the two men, aiming at their shoulders rendering them unconscious. Blood splattered everywhere, the two men were unmoving as blood continued to spew from their wounds.
"You..." The same man from before said angrily, bringing out his gun and gesturing the others to do the same. The agent stopped shooting and lowered her arm; she stared at the blood that was on the floor as if she wasn't in a dangerous scenario.
The three remaining men charged at her fast as she continued to stare down. The barrier did its work and threw the men onto the floor. With unnatural speed and agility, she injured each of the men one by one, making them fall to the ground in pain.
Eli stood still, watching the men shake in pain as blood continued to flow from their new wounds. She walked to the leader as she shot the remaining conscious men in their arm.
The agent then kneeled down; scared eyes met sharp and stoic ones. "P-Please! Don't kill me! I'll... I'll pay you! I have many s-slaves that can work for y-you! Just p-please!" He pleaded frantically, raising his arms in surrender.
The blonde's eyes remained emotionless as she kept her gun and drew out a knife. "P-P-Please!" The man begged as the blonde lowered her knife to make a huge gash in his thigh. She then punched the man in his cheek with great force making him slack to the side, unconscious.
Eli got on her feet, looking at the bloodied alley as if nothing was wrong. She pressed the button on her earpiece again.
=== Current time: 11:04:57 pm
=== Operation no. 25
=== Status: Complete
"Data send, RSC. ID Code 03-020"
The agent sighed, wiping the blood on her face. Eli then hid her knife then leaned on the alley wall, waiting.
=== Incoming Call: RSC.
"Initiate." Eli whispered the command as she slid her hands into her jacket's pockets again.
"Good work, Ayase." A deep male voice said in her earpiece as she started walking, having done this work before, she already knew what would happen next anyway.
"You have another job to do tomorrow; I'll give you the details later, knowing that you're already heading here." He spoke, the sound of paper flipping was heard through the earpiece.
"Don't overwork yourself, Ayase. You still have something to attend to tomorrow." And with that he ended the call as she continued to walk.
Elite Force Organization otherwise known as EFO, works in collaboration with the police and recruits only the most skilled and promising agents. Each cadet ranked, with only less than twenty agents, aging from twenty-one to twenty-eight.
Those who pass the preliminary tests, are pushed to their limits, making them go through brutal training sessions for a span of ten days and at the last day, an imitation mission. Each cadet will be given only a dagger for fighting seven armed men. Only the best of the best pass.
The ones who are successful are assigned to a captain and given gear and attire for missions and training. Before going into missions, a universal chip will be inserted into the agent's brain. This chip connects to all facilities in the agency and other agents; this is useful for missions, emergencies and special abilities such as night vision and defense barriers.
Eli then arrived at EFO's disguised building; she entered the so called insurance company. As she went through the security check, she pulled out her ID from her pocket and showed it to the guard. He nodded and let her through.
She then headed to the elevator and entered a code, it then brought her to the designated floor. As she exited the elevator, all faces turned to her, realizing who she was, some returned to what they were doing and some blurted out whispers.
"That's Rank 1 isn't it?" A man said out loud, keeping his eyes glued at her as his colleague nodded.
"She seems to be called 'Ace' because of her excellence in her missions, not to mention the higher-ups acknowledging her skill and natural talent."
"Pffft. Maybe she's just here because someone forced her to or maybe she's just being used puppet of someone close to her."
Eli continued walking, just staring ahead, ignoring the whispers said behind her back. She made her way to her dorm and changed attire for training. Before heading to the training facility, she made a detour to her captain's office.
She knocked twice on the door. "Come in." The same voice that came from her earpiece said in reply. Eli entered, seeing her captain sitting in his chair, flipping through some papers in his desk.
"Sonoda-heichou." Eli saluted as he looked up. He had navy blue hair and light amber eyes. Papers were piled up neatly at the side of his desk and a picture frame was displayed in front of it, containing a photo of his family, which included someone very familiar for her.
"No need to be so stiff, Ayase. You know you could call me Ryuu." He said as he gestured the chair in front of his desk. Eli sat down without a word.
Ryuu then handed her a brown folder, the blonde opened it and scanned the contents for a minute. "Consider it done, sir." Eli said as she closed the folder and gave it back.
"Great, now to more important matters," He said, putting the folder aside.
"We have a meeting with the higher-ups or should I say, the heads, soon, they'll be assigning you an important job to take care of. They'll be discussing the details with us."
Eli nodded. It was their usual routine anyway, he informs her of their schedule the next day then dismisses her nonchalantly; business as usual. She stood up to take her leave.
"Wait, Ayase."
Eli stopped abruptly as she was steps away from the door. She stood there surprised but didn't show it. She stared at the door as he continued to speak.
"Like I always tell, you. Don't overwork yourself, and..." He paused, looking for the right words to say.
"Don't forget the reason you became an agent."
-/-
After the small talk with her captain, Eli headed to the training facility and started with her usual―brutal workout. She was trained to maintain her physical form and be in top shape each day. Although the agency holds training sessions for the agents every day, her, being in school, interferes with the schedule, so the agency had strictly ordered her to have her own training sessions.
Three hours passed and Eli finished training and arrived home, finding her little sister sound asleep on the couch, seemingly waiting for her. Eli smiled, kissing her sister's forehead before she scooped the younger blonde and transferred her to her room.
=== Current time: 02:35:19 am
Sighing, Eli slumped down onto her bed, feeling the ache in her muscles and the emptiness of her stomach as she remembered that she skipped dinner again today.
It's not like I'm not used to this...
Eli slowly sat upright, reaching for the bottle on her bedside table, she popped out several pills and consumed it in one go. The blonde grimaced at the bitter taste of the nutrient supplement; however it was normal for her to take these medications due to her habit of skipping meals.
She took out her earpiece from her ear and put it back onto her bedside table along with the bottle.
Without much thought, she slumped down again onto her bed, curled herself in and slept.
-/-
"I cannot allow this. She's too young; going to that school will scar her for life!" A woman with a dry voice and dirty blonde hair said as she stood up, banging her hands onto the table desperately, looking right into the eye of the one across her.
"You cannot do anything about it, nor will I even allow you, mother. The papers are set, she's going and that's final." A man with blonde hair and dark blue eyes said, closing off the argument.
The door was ajar, from there stood a seven year old Eli, a worried expression plastered on her face. She had been listening to the conversation of the two just now.
"Papa? What's wrong? What are you talking about?" Eli spoke, hesitation evident in her voice as she pushed the door open slightly.
The two occupants of the room turned to the sound of the meek voice; the woman stood up and kneeled in front of Eli, maintaining eye-level.
"Nothing, sweetie. You should prepare for your ballet lessons now, Elichika." The woman said, smiling as she pinched Eli's cheeks gently.
Eli looked at her father, eyebrows still furrowed. Her father gave her a nod and a small smile, Eli smiled back.
"Okay, grandmother! I'll be ready in a minute!" Eli said cheerfully as she ran off.
―――
"Where are we?" Eight year old Eli asked her father. They were at the gate, in front of huge building, on the right was a big field, and on the left was another building designed like a school.
"This is a academy, Eli. You'll be staying here for awhile." Eli's father, Ayase Raiden, said with a weak smile.
"Is that why I had to bring all my stuff? What about my ballet?" Eli questioned.
Raiden patted the head of Eli as he smiled and said "You'll be taking a break from ballet, you'll have to focus on your studies first."
Noticing the hesitation in her eyes, he said "Don't worry, it'll be fun."
Eli was silent as the words he said processed in her mind. "Oh... Okay!" The young blonde said, with a cheerful smile
―――
Eight year old Eli entered the school and was immediately taken to a room to be oriented together with the other kids. She was seated in the front row.
"Welcome to the Russian Military Academy, also known as RMA. I take it that you all are 7 to 10 year olds?" The man in front said with a stern look.
Eli gulped but nodded, after hearing the word 'military' she tensed up, and sure enough, the other kids did too.
"Alright. Your course will take up to 6 years. In this Academy, we implement proper discipline, no playing and no fun. Any misbehavior we see will be punished accordingly." The man said, eyeing each one of them until his eyes landed on Eli.
"You," He said and Eli flinched, fear present in her eyes. "Stand here." The man said, pointing to the floor, just a meter in front of him.
Eli stood up slowly, trying not to show fear as she walked to where he pointed.
The man approached, suddenly, he raised his hand and slapped Eli's cheek, hard. Shocked, Eli put a hand to her cheek as tears started to form in her eyes. She stood there, petrified.
'Papa... I thought this was going to be fun...' Eli thought as tears spilled, not being able to contain it anymore.
"Look up." The man said, emotionlessly. Eli stayed there, crying. The man roughly grabbed her chin and tilted it up. Without much remorse, the man punched her in the stomach. Eli gasped as she fell to her knees, hands clutching her stomach, head hung as tears continued to fall from her cheeks.
"This is a military. We form skilled and disciplined soldiers, not crybabies and immature children." He said as he grabbed Eli's shirt and stood her up then shoved her back to her seat.
"You will all take up academic education, martial arts lessons, and weaponry training, and we expect you all to excel in all of these aspects, if not, you will be punished."
'Grandmother...' Eli cried internally as she sat down, missing the warmth and care her grandmother gave her as she continued to cry.
'Help me...'
―――
"Ayase! Keep up! You won't be eating your breakfast at that pace!" Eli's strict instructor yelled at her as he continued to watch over the students. They were ordered to do fifty push-ups as their last workout before they eat breakfast but many of the kids are only at their fifteenth to twentieth push-up, not to mention that they were already exhausted from the other workouts they did.
Eli did her seventeenth push-up tiredly. Her arms weak from the planks, pull-ups and obstacle course they did.
'At this rate...' Eli breathed heavily as she did her nineteenth push-up. 'I'll be having another punishment...' Eli thought miserably as she did her twentieth but the sound of the whistle made her stop and stand up.
Another blow of the whistle ordered her to line up together with the other students. "When I call your name, you will line up here in front of me horizontally." The instructor said his face stoic as he looked at the papers he was holding.
He called the names of the unfortunate children that were going to have a punishment from the instructor if the number of push-ups they did were below thirty.
"Ayase." He called. Eli tensed up as she moved forward and lined up. The instructor approached her. "You only did 20, am I correct?" He asked.
"Yes, sir." Eli said, a tinge of fear present in her voice as she looked straight, avoiding the eyes of her instructor.
"A 30 minute punishment together with another 30 minute workout after your last class later at night, proceed to Activity Room 89, I will be there to deliver your punishment. No breakfast today. You'll start with your martial arts lessons for now, you know where to go. Dismissed."
―――
Eli sat on her bed in her dormitory, breathing heavily. She had a gash on both her arms and several cuts and bruises from her punishment, about forty minutes ago.
"Hah...ah...hah..." Eli's breathing was labored as she tried to even it out. She reached for the first aid kit next to her phone, opened it and started wrapping her left arm with the bandage.
She managed to clean and treat her wounds well enough for it to last until the next day. Eli then looked to the side and as if on cue, her phone lit up, signaling a call. She quickly picked it up, careful not to hurt her already injured arms. Not even seeing who it was, she answered the call.
"H-Hello?" A familiar voice from the other line said. It was her grandmother.
"G-Grandmother?" Tears filled up Eli's eyes as she responded. Hands shaking as she held her phone to her ears, not caring about the strain it was giving her arms.
"Elichika! Oh my... I was finally able to contact you." Her grandmother said, her voice cracking as she inhaled a shaky breath. The sound of was crying present. Speechless, Eli let her tears freely fall from her eyes.
"I've been trying to contact you all day... How are you?" Her grandmother asked her voice slightly hoarse.
Eli's throat constricted. She didn't want her grandmother to know about the experiences she's been having in the school, yet, she also did want her to know. The training and the beatings, she wanted to let everything out, all her pain, to just cry there without a care. But she decided against it.
"I've been fine. The people here are very...interesting. They like to talk to me a lot." Eli ended her sentence with a forced chuckle. A sigh came from the other line.
"Take care of yourself―" A cough, followed by another.
"G-Grandmother...?" Eli asked, worried as she heard more coughs.
"I-I'm sorry, sweetie." Another cough. "I'm in the hospital right now."
All of a sudden, for Eli, time stopped. 'Hospital? What...' Eli thought as her whole body tensed. She stared ahead but her vision was blurred by tears as she heard the continuous coughs of her grandmother.
"S-Stay strong, my cute and clever..." Her grandmother whispered. "E-Elichika." The sound of the phone falling together with a beep was then heard.
Only the sound of scrambling footsteps can be heard in the background as well as the shouts of the people arriving. It's as if Eli forgot how to breathe. What did she just hear? What just happened? She put her phone down, not bothering to end the call. Eli stayed in her position for awhile until everything finally sunk in.
"Grandmother..." Eli whispered silently as she cried there, head hung.
―――
"Argh!" The boy gasped out when ten year old Eli threw him down.
Eli locked him onto the floor with her leg and delivered the final punch to his face and knocked him out. Eli stared emotionlessly at the blood running down from his nose as she heard the sound of the whistle, ordering her to step out of the mat.
The other students stared at her as she sat down on her place, quietly.
Ever since the incident with her grandmother, Eli changed. She lost her joyous personality and positive thoughts and became distant and cold, even up to the point wherein she ignores the calls and messages sent by her father. She didn't do anything but work and train, she didn't even eat much, only a meal a day, the rest she relied on nutrient supplements and water. And it all paid off, Eli became the youngest and best student in the academy, excelling in academic education as well as in various martial arts and weaponry.
―――
After her time at the military school finished, she was finally released and brought outdoors. Fourteen year old Eli stood at the gate as a car pulled up by the pavement. Raiden stepped out of the car and gave a weak smile to Eli in which Eli responded with a shrug.
Eli then met her father's eyes in which Raiden noticed the drastic change that happened to her. Eli's eyes were drained of all the optimism and shine she had before; her eyes were blank and empty.
Raiden assisted Eli with her bags as Eli rode the car wordlessly. The trip to her house was quiet; it wasn't long before they arrived there in about six minutes.
"We're back." Raiden announced as he and Eli entered the house.
"Onee-chan!" A small and meek voice exclaimed. It was Alisa. Eli's eyes widened at the sound of Alisa's voice and unknowingly, her eyes started to glisten. Alisa ran to Eli and hugged her, repeatedly saying 'Onee-chan!' over and over again as Eli's shirt started to wet with tears.
"I've missed you...so much..." Alisa whispered as she hugged Eli tighter.
For the first time in years, Eli showed emotion. The older blonde had tears trailing down her face as she kneeled down and hugged her younger sister, head buried into the crook of the younger blonde's head as she cried.
"Welcome back." Alisa said sweetly as she smiled to her sister.
"I'm home." Eli responded through tears.
―――
After a month, Eli and Alisa transferred to Japan. For a week, Raiden accompanied them, after that the two sisters managed on their own. It was their second week in Japan when at noon, Eli ran at the streets after she received a call from her sister, stating that she was near two dirty-looking men staring at her.
When Eli arrived at the place where Alisa stated she would be, she found no one but Alisa's bag, seemingly thrown onto the floor. Eli looked around and saw an alley wherein footsteps where present. Eli approached the alley and put her back against the wall as she listened.
"What should we do to her? The usual?" A low and dry voice said, followed by a chuckle.
"Yeah but...make it worse." Another voice replied evilly as a muffled gasp was heard.
Eli took a sharp intake of breath, as she heard the small gasp. Immediately she knew that was Alisa. Eli then tilted her head slightly to get a small view of what was happening.
"Oy! Don't you even try to run away!"
Eli's body tensed as she saw Alisa run; unfortunately luck wasn't on her side as she was easily restrained by the two men. Suddenly, one of the men brought out a dagger as the other held Alisa onto the wall.
"Onee-chan..." Alisa whispered, crying as a rough grip held her arms. "H-Help me..."
Eli had enough. As the man raised the dagger, Eli quickly pulled the man holding Alisa, making him let go of the young blonde. Shocked, Alisa's eyes widened as she was pushed out of harm's way.
The two men were no match for Eli as she swiftly moved to dodge punches and occasional attacks with the knife. With Eli's agility and strength, she managed to deliver hard blows that left the two men on their knees, however, the man with the dagger made a last effort to stab Eli's shoulder as he fell unconscious.
Eli gasped as she felt pain radiate from her shoulder, she pulled out the dagger from her shoulder, suppressing another pained gasp as she did so.
"O-Onee-chan!" Alisa shouted as she ran to Eli.
"A-Alisa..." Eli managed to say as the pain in her shoulder worsened. She fell to her knees as Alisa approached her.
"Onee-chan! Y-Your...shoulder..." Alisa said in disbelief as she saw the bleeding wound.
Eli cursed as she felt the blood seep through her clothes. Suppressing a pained groan, she pressed her hand onto her wound in an attempt to lessen the bleeding. Her body felt weak and sure enough, she lost her balance making her use her good arm to support her weight when she fell over.
"Onee-chan! Onee-chan!"
The older blonde barely even heard the cries of her younger sister. Everything was going too slow for her. Eli blinked; her vision was getting hazy as the pain intensified. It was getting dark.
"Onee-chan..."
"A-A...lisa..." Eli said as she succumbed into darkness. The last thing she saw was a man with navy blue hair approach.
―――
Eli's eyes fluttered open, seeing an unfamiliar white ceiling. She was lying on something soft, a bed? 'What...? Where am I?' Eli thought as she blinked more to clear her vision.
"Onee-chan!" Alisa exclaimed.
Eli immediately turned her head to the sound of her sister's voice as she tried to get up, only to wince as she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, she looked at her wounded shoulder and found it bandaged neatly, almost as if a professional doctor did it. Nevertheless, Eli continued to get up and managed to sit upright.
"Don't... Push yourself too much, Onee-chan." Alisa said worriedly as she held her sister's arm.
Eli smiled at Alisa and used her good arm to pat her head. "I'm alright, don't worry." She paused. "Where are we?" Eli asked.
"I'm not sure but... Sonoda-san said we're at EFO." Alisa said unsurely.
"EFO..." Eli whispered. Her eyebrows furrowed as she remembered what EFO is. 'Papa worked here before... Wait... Who's Sonoda-san?'
"Ah. You're awake." A male voice said.
Eli looked at the sound of the voice and saw a man with navy blue hair and light amber eyes approach. He was holding a folder in his hand and a pen on the other.
"Yes, Sonoda-san. Onee-chan's awake." Alisa said, smiling. "Thank you for bringing us here and helping Onee-chan."
"You're very welcome." The man said, he turned his heel and faced Eli. "It seems like you have a very wonderful sister, Ayase Eli-san."
Eli stared at him, shocked. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" Eli asked bluntly.
"Ah. I apologize for not introducing myself, I am Sonoda Ryuu. Your father, Ayase Raiden, has informed me of you. I'm guessing you already knew of your father working here before, correct?"
Eli nodded as she sighed. 'So this is the company I'll be working for?'
"Here," Ryuu said as he opened his folder and brought out a document and handed it to her. "You already know what that is." He stated.
Eli scanned the paper and without a second thought, she signed the contract. She handed the paper back to Ryuu.
"Are you sure about this?" Ryuu asked.
"It's not like I've got a choice."
-/-
Eli jerked awake, breathing heavily as sweat rolled down her face. She closed her eyes, as she tried to forget her dream, or rather, her memories
"W-Why..." Eli mumbled. She forced herself to calm down, shaking off the dream she just had.
After awhile she fixed her composure and figured that it'd be best to prepare for school.
=== Current time: 05:29:12 am
Eli took a shower to clear her mind. Once she was finished, she dressed up and made breakfast and packed lunch for Alisa. She sat on the dining table chair as she placed her earpiece back on her ear, scanning some papers to keep herself busy since she usually goes to school later.
After a few minutes, her phone vibrated in her pocket, signaling a text from someone. Eli looked at the message and smiled slightly. It was Umi.
[Sonoda Umi] - Good morning, Eli. Sorry to bother but I'd like to know what time you'd be at school. I'll be having my usual morning practice but I prefer to prepare earlier for the announcement later.
Eli replied quickly.
[Ayase Eli] - Good morning Umi. I'd be at school at around 7 am or maybe earlier. Good luck to you, Kotori and Honoka later!
-/-
=== Current time: 06:49:27 am
Eli arrived in school and headed to the auditorium to check on things for the announcement later. It wasn't long before Umi arrived as well.
Umi spotted the blonde who was talking to some other students, occasionally pointing at specific places and saying instructions. "Eli!" Umi called.
The blonde turned to the sound of the familiar voice after she had finished talking with the students.
"Umi! Good morning." Eli replied, smiling, contrary to her usual attitude at the agency.
"What brings you here?" Umi asked as she lowered the papers she was holding, looking around and seeing several students making preparations.
"Just checking some things..." Eli said. "After the announcement, I'll see you in the council room alright? There are things I still need to teach you."
"Thank you. I'll see you then, Eli." Umi smiled.
"No problem." Eli said cheerfully then turned to one of the students. "Hey! Could you move that just a little bit to the side? There! Much better. Good job!"
Ever since Honoka had been decided to succeed Eli as Student Council President, Eli and Nozomi had been teaching the Second Year Trio how things work in the council. Eli and Umi were the ones mostly working together, after that, all the things Umi learned, she would pass onto Honoka and Kotori.
"Eli, are you sure?" Umi asked. Despite Eli's helpful and kind nature, Umi noticed that the blonde pushes herself too much; the dark circles under the blonde's eyes and her tired expression when she looked at her gave it away.
"Why would you ask me that? Of course, I'm sure." Eli replied, avoiding the archer's eyes.
"You've been helping me these past few days and you seem to be overworking yours―Hey!" Umi flinched as the papers she was holding were snatched by the blonde who smirked playfully as she looked through the papers
"Huh? You're not yet finished with this? I told you already what to do in Honoka's house." The blonde teased. "Here, change your answer, and analyze the question better."
"Eli! Don't change the top―"
"Also this question. It's very easy you know how could you not get this right?" Eli chuckled, writing onto the paper.
After several minutes of Umi trying to take the papers back and Eli teasing the archer, the blonde finally let go and gave back the papers.
"Okay, okay, Umi. Here." Eli said, handing the papers back to Umi who took it hastily. "You should get ready with Honoka and Kotori. Make sure everything's alright especially Honoka's speech." The blonde ended.
"Y-Yes..."
"Anyways, I'll be off. Good luck later!"
-/-
(In Episode 1)
"If something comes up, feel free to call us. We'll help out with anything." Eli said.
"Thank you!" Honoka replied cheerfully to Eli's offer while Umi and Kotori smiled.
"Come to think of it," Umi said, turning to face the blonde. "Eli, you wanted to teach me about something?"
"Yup! We should get started." Eli said, walking over to the archer and grasping her left shoulder gently. "Nozomi, you can teach the other two about what we talked about, I'll just have a word with Umi then I'll teach her about it."
"I'm on it!" Nozomi replied, scooting over to Honoka and Kotori.
"Thank you." The blonde said to Nozomi before she held the archer's wrist and lead her outside the Student Council Office.
As Eli and Umi exited the office, a sudden headache hit Eli, causing her to accidentally tighten her grip on Umi's wrist and grit her teeth. Not again... Eli cursed internally as she remembered the events of yesterday, some EFO staff checked and tweaked the chip in her head.
"Eli...?" Umi asked, noticing the action. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Nothing, just...wanted to ask." Umi said smiling awkwardly. The blonde forced a smile in response as the pain in her head continued to throb.
"Let's get started then," Eli said, masking the pain in her head. "I just wanted to advice you with something..."
-/-
After a long day at school, the members of μ's were walking home together after they had decided as a group that they will enter Love Live! and aim for victory.
"Everyone! Let's give it our all!" Honoka exclaimed energetically, raising arm with her hand clenched into a fist.
"Yeah!" The rest of the members said altogether as they continued to walk.
Eli smiled at the group's enthusiasm upon the event; however, it would become a great burden on her since more practices and rehearsals means less time for agency work, leading to less sleep.
Sighing, the blonde reached up to her earpiece and pressed the button situated on it.
=== Received Message: RSC.
"View." Eli commanded in a whisper, careful not to catch the attention of the other members.
=== [Ayase, be at the agency in 30 minutes. A meeting with the higher-ups will commence by that time. Don't be late and be prepared.]
The blonde sighed once more, as she turned around to face the one nearest to her: Umi.
"Umi," Eli said, quickly drawing the attention of the junior. "Can I go ahead? Alisa's waiting for me at home."
"Oh," Umi replied. "Alright, take care okay? And..."
The archer pulled out a small paper bag from her school bag, avoiding the blonde's eyes in the process before she continued. "You...seemed tired since morning so I figured..." Umi says in a meek voice as she handed over the bag.
Umi is really caring. Eli thought, smiling as she patted the archer's head.
"I'll be going now. Thank you, Umi."
-/-
"I'm home." Umi announced, slipping off her shoes as she entered the household.
"Welcome back." A gentle and female voice replied.
Walking into the kitchen, she found her mother cooking dinner. The dinner table was already set, with Umi noticing that there were only two plates. She frowned.
"Is father not having dinner with us?" Umi inquired, already expecting the same answer she had had several times before.
"I'm afraid not dear; he has a meeting in the agency, he even left the house in a rush." Her mother replied with a sad tone.
"Oh," The archer mumbled, pausing before she spoke. "I'll be in my room."
"I'll call you when it's dinner time, honey!" Her mother said in an attempt to cheer her up as Umi left without another word.
Entering her room, the archer set her bag on top of her desk and removed her blazer, hanging it neatly in her closet. She then sat on her chair, grabbed a piece of paper and pencil, and proceeded to write down her schedule.
Love Live... Martial Arts competition... Archery tournament... Dance exhibit...
The archer sighed. "Another hectic schedule, huh?" She mumbled before hanging the written schedule and starting on her homework.
-/-
Eli stood at the side of her seated captain as the other people in the room continued to discuss.
"Sonoda," said the head of the laboratory department. "Ayase, will be tested and experimented in various ways if chose to take on this mission."
"I am well aware of that and I'm sure Ayase is too." Ryuu replied, no emotion evident in his voice.
"A pain endurance and training session will be added to her schedule as well." Another head said, scribbling onto some paper in the process.
"Regarding that, I will need to see through the plan." Ryuu said, although he maintained his stoic demeanor, he appeared to be quite defensive.
"So, what will it be then?" said the overall head. "Ayase, will you take on this mission?"
The whole room was then silent, waiting for the blonde's response. After discussing many aspects of the mission and the preparation needed before the mission will commence, all it takes is for Eli to say no and the mission will be abandoned.
"I will do the duties expected of me, no matter how dangerous or risky it will be."
-/-
Taking a deep breath, Umi held her concentration on her target as she released the arrow. With a loud thud, the arrow missed the bulls eye for an only about several centimeters.
Umi stared at the target for a few seconds before she sighed and set her bow down for a moment. She then loaded another arrow and proceeded to shoot at the target once more, aiming for the center once more.
Discipline. Focus. Those were the things she was taught ever since she was little. Her parents trained and raised her to follow those two concepts. While training for martial arts, traditional dance or archery, she would always be reminded to be disciplined and focused, especially in archery.
Sighing, Umi sat down onto the dojo's floor after shooting the last arrow which almost hit the center. After minutes of complete silence, Umi then stood up and kept her archery equipment before she headed towards the martial arts dojo.
I'll just train for a few minutes before going to bed...
-/-
The meeting ended about an hour ago, Eli was now being interrogated by each of the department heads otherwise known as the higher-ups. As always, Eli stayed stoic as ever, it was almost as if she was a robot, always giving intelligent and logical answers while emotion was not present in any way.
Another hour passed and finally, Eli was dismissed and was now left alone in her dorm. She leaned onto the wall and covered her eyes with her hand, exhausted from putting up with her emotionless mask and stoic demeanor.
Eli sighed as she stood up, knowing that she isn't doing anything productive, she brought out her training uniform and started changing. Her uniform is mainly composed of black boots, pants, and a navy blue shirt if training alone or a black shirt when training with other agents. After changing, she headed for the training facility.
"Oy! Ayase!" A voice called making Eli stop abruptly, the same emotionless mask present on her face despite the fact that she dreaded to see the one that called her: Satoshi Hiroki
"Ayase, what are you still doing here? It's already late." Satoshi mentioned with a somewhat concerned tone, approaching the blonde. He was a boy in his early twenties, he had brown hair and dark green eyes, contrary to Eli's stoic and reserved disposition, he was carefree and open; he always had a smile plastered on his face whenever out of duty in work.
"Mind your own business, Satoshi." Eli replied nonchalantly, not even bothering to look back. It was true though, it was already eleven at night, she even had school the next day but nonetheless she didn't bother, having used to it anyway.
"Whoa, easy there, Ayase. That's not how you talk to someone older that you." The brunette said, chuckling and holding the blonde's shoulder in the process.
Eli didn't respond, simply waiting for him to not mind her anymore.
"So, I heard you have an important mission to take care of, how's it going?" The older of the two asked, slinging his arm over Eli's shoulder and poking her cheeks.
"It's none of your concern." The blonde spat, having enough of him and walking away without another word.
"I'm never going get a straight answer from you, huh?" Satoshi mumbled with a sigh. "You're the same as always." The brunette laughed to himself, walking away as well.
Eli sighed internally as she finally arrived at the training facility. The facility was basically a very large room; there were white spots on the floor indicating the places where the agents should be during training programs. Since the organization uses more refined technology, the facility has many advanced features that can be used by the agents and trainers, namely, agent training and analysis, custom workouts, fight imitation, and many more.
Using the chip inputted in her head, she connected to the facility and started up her training program, acquiring a slight headache from it.
She looked around before clutching her forehead, the pain intensifying. Why is it hurting again? This is the 3rd time for this week. The blonde pondered.
Once the pain had lessened, Eli breathed deeply and started with the program, not minding the continuous throbbing pain in her head.
=== Current time: 11:58:49 pm
-/-
Thud. Eli's beaten form fell onto the concrete floor, blood dripping from various parts of her body while bruises and cuts littered everywhere. The blonde was breathing heavily as a figure towered over her.
The figure kicked the blonde at her abdomen, causing her to groan as pain wrecked her entire being. The figure then kneeled; roughly grabbing the disheveled hair of Eli's and pulling it up, bringing their faces closer, the figure inspected her face before smirking and banging her head down with great force.
Eli's head made contact with the floor, hard, making her head spin and her ears ring. The pain was too much. The blonde could barely see anymore; it was all blurry and before she knew it, a sharp pain pierced her forearm, feeling liquid run in her veins.
A new sudden searing pain erupted in her chest, almost as if she was being burned alive. She thrashed around, gasping and rasping, trying to suppress the scream that was trying to claw out of her mouth; she was never going to give anyone the satisfaction of hearing her scream.
The pain continued for what seems like hours, it finally stopped but left a lingering pain all throughout her body.
Without much remorse, the figure grabbed the blonde's neck and lifted her up, bringing out a small knife. The figure aimed his knife directly at her heart and thrust the knife through.
-/-
Umi bolted upright, eyes wide, drenched in sweat, and her heart beating fast. She gripped the blanket that was covering her lower body, trying to control her heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat before she whispered.
"Eli..."
-/-
AN: Woah, looks like you've made it 'till here. Well, I hope you enjoyed! It's been awhile since I posted a story here *cough* i deleted the one i posted *cough* But anyway, I was just wondering how y'all would think of this story so I decided to post it.
Main characters are Eli, Umi and of course, the rest of the μ's members...but this story will focus more on Eli and Umi.
Please tell me if you'd like me to continue this! (Since I don't have motivation at all, haha...)