Something's not right here.
When Gino Weinberg awoke that morning, the dawn's early light creeping up the horizon, he didn't expect to find what he found on academy grounds. Most people - including the man himself - believe Gino to not be the most observant soldier around.
Despite whatever his fellow Britannians might think, despite whatever thoughts routinely run through Gino's mind, there's no denying what he feels shifting through the air.
Tension.
Pure and unnerving anxiety.
The kind that makes your skin crawl.
He's curious as to what could cause something like that to permeate the air. Looking at his fellow soldiers, he takes in their appearances, their actions. Stricken with fear, they nervously tug at their attire as they glance around with the franticness of wild animal. Considering the display, Gino can feel the cold tendrils of their emotions.
Like frigid talons raking up his spine, the aspiring Knightmare Pilot (one day, he hopes to join the illustrious Knights of the Round, fighting for glory and honor in the name of his beautiful homeland) knows that only three things could cause such a passionate reaction among the fighting masses.
The first is how one of the more acrimonious drill sergeants sought to make an example of one of their own, the poor soldier either arousing the commander's ire or being unfortunate enough to bump into them when they were already having a terrible time.
The second is how their superiors will test their mettle. Through a series of vigorous exercises their superiors will decide by the day's end how many of the soldiers will be discharged from the academy.
The threat of expulsion is often enough to invigorate the soldiers from then on, compelled to excellence so as to avoid such unpleasantness.
The third and final thing that will unsettle the soldiers is anything that disturbs their regular routine.
And judging by the atmosphere and his own sense of intuition, the third option is the likeliest.
Little does Gino know how truly extraordinary this hiccup in their daily regimen will be.
"...Of a high-ranking Britannian official…"
"...Supposed to have unparalleled fighting prowess…"
"...Beautiful and deadly…"
"...Apparently she is a soldier without peer…"
All these and more are some of the rumors - the gossip and the speculation - that Gino hears circulating the academy grounds. From what he's gathered, there's a new female recruit to the ranks of those attending the academy.
The daughter of a high-ranking Britannian official, her fighting skills are unrivaled. Such skills must be incredibly noteworthy for Gino hasn't heard any unsavory rumors arise. Even the most unpleasant soldier hasn't made any comments about how it is more likely that she got into the academy by way of her parent's influence than any talent she possesses.
As for if there are any people spreading unsavory rumors, Gino cares little for such useless chatter.
(Though he has to admit something: his fellow cadets talk of the most intriguing things.)
Hearing most of his fellow cadets talk about this strange, mystifying woman, Gino cannot help wondering what such a person is like.
And as such thoughts percolate inside his mind, he knows beyond doubt that he has to meet her.
It isn't long before Gino has such a desire fulfilled.
Gino, after him and his fellow students were given some time for themselves due to the abnormality that is the newest cadet, decided to have an evening jog.
An evening jog that lead to him hearing a noise come from behind one of the impressive buildings serving as their barracks. A rather loud, cacophonous one.
His curiosity piqued, Gino walks over to the wall before creeping along the edge of it. Peeking out from the shadows, he finds the source of the noise.
From what he can tell, three male cadets are staring down one female cadet. Gino's only just arrived on the scene, yet he has a feeling the identity of the girl.
The mysterious recruit with ties to a high-ranking Britannian official.
No one said she looks so beautiful.
That thought accompanies a sudden influx of heat and color to Gino's face.
Such things do not remain for long as Gino quickly takes in the features of the three male cadets. Features of anger and disgust, their lips curling up in disdain.
"Uh, oh…" he murmurs.
Watching the scene unfold, the first person to speak is the lone female.
"I must admit," she says, her voice having a silken, enthralling quality to it. Her smile is placid and friendly, though Gino cannot help but notice an indecipherable quality to it. To her voice."I did not anticipate such a warm reception so soon after I joined the academy."
Of the three recruits, all of similar height and body shape, a defining characteristic of sorts immediately jumps out at Gino. Of the three - one with a scar below his left eye, one with a shock of dark blue hair, one with a scar along his jawline - it's the one with the scarred jawline that speaks next.
"You shouldn't even be here!" he hisses, voice low and harsh.
"Oh?" is the young woman's simple - dare he say, amused? - reply. Other than that single syllable, a mere exhalation of breath, she says no more.
"The rest of us clawed and fought to get into this academy." the young man with a scar beneath his eye asserts.
"And you," the blue-haired man spits, as if the mere sight of her is nothing but pure, concentrated poison. He raises an accusatory finger. "Come waltzing in like you own the place! Just because your parents were able to pull some strings!"
The young woman parts her lips, but says nothing.
A strangled kind of yelp escapes Gino as he notices the way the one with the scarred jawline - an undisputed leader, he presumes - cracks his knuckles.
At that, the young woman does he indeed speak. A laugh, soft and quick, passes before her lips, the words soon to come.
"Resorting to violence, I see?" she says, taking stock of how the young man with a scar below his eye cracks his knuckles too whilst the other with blue hair - Gino sucks in a breath - pulls out a short blade. "I thought, perhaps, the cadets of this academy were more honorable than that."
"Shut up, you bitch." the man with the scarred jawline hisses. "Time to teach you what happens to those unfit for this academy!"
Gino, fearing the worst, begins to make his way for the four of them. He isn't sure of the physical capabilities of any of them, but the fact remains that it's three against one. The fact remains that one has a weapon and one is unarmed.
However, he isn't sure what serves as a catalyst for it, but he stops. Waiting, watching, perhaps it's how the young woman's posture doesn't change at all. Perhaps it's how, a smile to her lips, the young woman laughs.
Perhaps it's the glint in her eyes, a silent, almost unnoticeable taunt.
The first to attack is the man with the scar below his eye. A fist raised, he lurches forward. As he moves towards the lone woman, she merely stares impassively at him. Then, right as the man is about to land a blow, she springs into action. Almost faster than his eye can follow, Gino watches as the young woman dodges to the left.
With his target evading his attack, his fist goes harmlessly through the air. The young woman is quick to follow up her dodge as she slams the back of an elbow into his back. To Gino's surprise and mild mortification, the attack is all that is necessary: the young man with the scar below his eye quickly falls unconscious. His body crashes to the ground, motionless.
"This is a place to test the mettle of aspiring soldiers." the young woman says; splitting her attention momentarily, she ensures the young man who initiated the assault is well and truly incapacitated whilst his allies are at a comfortable distance. "Even so, one would imagine the hopefuls are more...resilient."
Confronted with the provocation, the man with dark blue hair brandishes his knife and gnashes his teeth whereas the man with the scarred jawline merely glares at the young woman. They otherwise remain silent.
A moment passes before the battle resumes.
Unlike their ally before them, the two remaining aggressors approach the situation with greater care. With measured steps, the two advance on the young woman, their intent to converge on her location clear to see. And yet, she remains calm.
The man swipes left with the knife the same time the man with the scarred jawline seeks to land a punch with his right hand. The young woman manages to not only swerve to the right and below to avoid both of them, but she manages to inadvertently land a blow of her own. Given her foes' momentum, the man with the knife ends up cutting along the back of the other man's hand.
Howling in pain, the man with the scarred jawline glares at his ally. He cradles his injured hand, fingers running slick with blood as it drips along his skin to the ground below. Meanwhile, uninjured save for his pride, the man with the knife continues the assault. This time, he swipes right with his weapon.
Like before, the young woman is prepared to counterattack. Sliding beneath the arc of the knife, his arm cutting through the air, she follows up by ramming her head directly into his chest. The action sending both of them tumbling to the ground, the two grapple for a time. The young woman manages to disarm the knife-wielding assailant, sends the weapon skittering along the ground. Somehow, it winds up not far from Gino's feet, out of the others' reach.
Straddling the man with dark blue hair, the young woman raises a hand and jabs it directly into a place in the other's neck that Gino's unable to see. The young man is summarily knocked unconscious. As two of her three aggressors are rendered unconscious, a smile of triumph pulling at her lips, the young woman is quick to turn her attention to the remaining attacker.
"Shit…"
That muttered curse is all the man with the scarred jawline says. Cradling his hand a moment more, glancing between his fallen compatriots, he flees without a single glance behind him. When at last he disappears, the young woman breathes a sigh of relief. And quickly utters words that shock Gino to his core.
"So, do you intend on indulging in voyeurism," she says, her tone inscrutable. "or, perhaps you could assist me in detaining these scoundrels and notifying the proper authorities?"
"I….ah…" Gino starts, trails off. It's several moments of silence before he formulates a response. "How long have you known I was there?"
"Since one of them revealed a knife." she answers. "I take it subtlety is not your specialty."
Gino feels the back of his neck grow warm.
"You could say that." he admits.
The young woman doesn't respond. Instead, she merely gives him an expectant stare as she sets about binding the wrists of the man with the dark blue hair.
Where'd she have the rope? He wonders.
He doesn't mull over it long, opting to walk over to her to help bind the wrists of the other remaining ruffian.
"Now, let us be off." she says; with the man of dark blue hair in tow, she walks away.
And after a moment, the other in his custody, Gino does the same.
After returning to the Lieutenant General and reporting what they had encountered, Gino learned many things.
He gained a greater understanding, if only slightly, of the hierarchy of the military. He learned that the rumors that speak of the newest cadet's skills are not empty words. He learned that the ruffians that accosted the newest cadet weren't indoctrinated into the ranks. In actuality, they were recently discharged from the enrollment process.
He supposes that makes their animosity that much more understandable.
He learned that the way she handled herself and the entire situation was fairly commendable. That her actions were an accurate, perhaps much-needed demonstration of her skills. Despite his newly accumulated knowledge, there's one thing that bothers Gino.
The one thing being, despite everything, despite how he was present during a majority of the proceedings, he didn't learn the identity of the young woman.
In any event, after the proceedings with the Lieutenant General were put at an end, the colors of twilight reaching its clawing fingers into the horizon, Gino finds himself alone on academy grounds. Alone except the young woman he encountered.
What am I supposed to say?
Standing so close to her, the threat of violence no longer looming overhead, Gino can better appreciate her beauty. Right as he wonders what to say, the young woman before him speaks.
"I forgot to say thank you."
Gino jolts in surprise, shortly mustering his vocal cords to act.
""Thank you"?" Gino repeats. "What for, exactly?"
"For being there." she explains. "Provided the situation took a turn for the worse, it would be helpful for someone to assist me and/or serve as a witness when alerting the proper authorities of what transpired. Furthermore, I could not very well detain both of the scoundrels and transport them without a bit of aid, so you have my gratitude."
"Oh." Gino says in understanding. "Yeah, it wasn't a problem at all. Though from what I saw, it didn't look like you needed help at all."
The comment, the inherent compliment to her physical prowess, elicits a thin smile to pull at her lips.
"Perhaps." she says. "In any event, those three ruffians served as good practice, nonexistent though their skills may be."
"I'll say."
The young woman turns to face him, then.
"Our meeting was most fortuitous." she remarks. "Considering your prior restraint, I look forward to our next encounter…"
Gino jolts in place, noticing the subtlety for what it is. "Gino Weinberg, at your service, milady!"
"Gino Weinberg." she repeats. "I believe I've heard of you."
"You have?" Gino asks, shakes his head. "The Weinberg name is very distinguished. Perhaps the one you're thinking of is my father?"
"Your father?" she says, ending on a contemplative hum. "That may be; the man is quite the accomplished diplomat."
Among other things…
Gino keeps such a comment as well as thoughts of his - at times - stringent upbringing to himself.
"Yes." he confirms. "In any case, I look forward to meeting you again too, Miss…"
He trails off himself, wishing for a reply.
A reply that comes but a moment later, an amused smile ghosting across her lips.
"Luluko." she answers.
"Luluko?" he parrots.
"Miss Luluko." she stresses, though Gino could detect no actual hostility in her voice.
"I see." Gino says.
Luluko nods her head. "Until we meet again, Mister Weinberg."
"Until then." Gino says.
The two of hold each other's gaze - something enigmatic shifting within Luluko's irises - before she is the first to make her departure. Watching her leave, Gino cannot help wondering one singular thing.
Who is the mysterious woman known as Luluko?
Originally Added: May 5th, 2019