Honoka Kousaka, middle school second-year, Class 4.
The finish line for the relay race lay ahead in her sights, but she could not run to it. The race had only just begun, and Honoka was the red team's third leg. She waited, but had to be ready at a moment's notice for when she got the baton. Any minute now, Honoka thought, glancing over her shoulder, looking to the horizon and Kotori Minami, one of her two best friends and the team's anchor.
"This is so frustrating," Honoka muttered to herself. She thought the relay race was going to be huge, the main event, a race packed with nonstop action where you can't lose focus for even a moment. But it was just waiting.
"I actually think it would be a great idea for Honoka to be in the relay," she remembered Umi say. "For her, it's all or nothing. That and her energy are sure to get us our victory. Kotori, let's hope she gets you a good head start."
Honoka had to set her heart on winning, but since the red team was already far ahead, and a victory for the white team here wouldn't change that, this race wasn't going to be anywhere near as much of a spectacle as she was making it out to be. The baton was passed to the second runner. If only Umi-chan was actually in the relay, Honoka thought, still in a readied position. Umi-chan is so cool, and I bet she's fast. Too bad the archery event's right after, and she's supposed to be doing that. Well, I guess that makes sense, with Umi-chan being in the archery club and all.
"Kousaka-san!" Honoka heard a voice call out. Wow, that was fast. All right, now to get the red team to a further victory.
Honoka dashed off, a blood red baton in hand. Must...get...baton...to...Kotori-chan! She could feel her heart and footsteps pounding at the track as she began to break a sweat. She was becoming neck and neck with the white team's runner, and kept going with a strong desire to pull ahead. Honoka could see Kotori holding out her hand, and with a quick pass of the batons, the anchors were off.
"Kotori-chan, you can do it!" Honoka shouted, before bringing her hands down to her kneecaps. She took a few deep breaths and wiped the sweat from her brow. Come on, Kotori-chan...
Kotori dashed across the finish line, but whatever material it was made out of didn't break, and she fell towards the ground. Honoka could see a flash from Kotori's right arm as it stuck into the ground, catching her. Hang on, catching? Umi dropped her end of the line, and Honoka dashed down the final leg to see what happened. She didn't think she'd have to run two legs, but this was important. She could have sworn something strange happened back there, and she desperately wanted to see if Kotori was okay.
"Kotori-chan, Umi-chan!" Honoka called out as she approached.
"Pretty much everything's fine, Honoka-chan," Kotori replied. "Since both me and my baton made it over the line first, we won! But my arm..." she said, holding up her right arm. From the elbow onwards, it had transformed into a glowing silver arrow. Honoka screamed, not in horror, but in excitement. She knew exactly what this meant. Kotori Minami had partially transformed into a Demon Weapon, and from the looks of it, if she fully transformed she would be a bow.
"Kotori, do you know how to get your arm back to normal?" Umi asked. She seemed to be far more nervous about this than Kotori was.
"No, this has never happened before," Kotori replied. "But I'm not worried. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to control it..." she began, looking at her arrow arm and focusing really hard. It didn't change back. Honoka and Umi gasped.
"Honoka-chan, what do I do?" Kotori asked. Honoka knew Kotori would turn to her for something like this. The Kousaka family had been purely archery weapons for many years, the gene never skipping a generation. But neither Honoka or her younger sister Yukiho had transformed yet, though Honoka was just getting to that age where it could happen any day now, and Yukiho would likely follow in the next two or three years.
"Well, Mom's first accidental transformation went away on its own, but Dad's stayed like that until he went to DWMA and learned to control it there," Honoka replied. "He had a bow string coming out of his arm for a whole month."
"A month?" Kotori and Umi asked.
"That's what he told me," Honoka replied. The school nurse then ran over to the three girls.
"Minami-san, come with me," she said, helping Kotori up. "I'm going to have to call your mother about this."
Honoka and Umi watched the nurse lead Kotori off until the two were out of their sight. Umi looked at Honoka with worried eyes, clashing with Honoka's unbridled enthusiasm. Honoka gave Umi a quizzical look. How could Umi-chan not be excited that Kotori-chan's a weapon?
"I know Kotori's mother, she's definitely going to send Kotori off to DWMA to learn how to control her power and transformations so she can't accidentally hurt someone with them," Umi said. The realization hit Honoka like an arrow to the heart.
"Kotori-chan'll be going to DWMA... but isn't that all the way in America?" Honoka asked. "Then the three of us will be split up! I thought we'd all be best friends together forever, but with Kotori-chan gone... ahh, I don't even want to think about Kotori-chan being gone."
Umi said nothing, but Honoka could tell by the look in her eyes and her quivering lower lip that she was upset about that possibility too.
"The archery event begins in five minutes," one of the teachers announced off in the distance. "I repeat, the archery event begins in five minutes,"
"Ah, I have to go get ready!" Umi exclaimed. "Honoka, don't fret about Kotori right now, we have a victory to keep in our hands."
By the time it was Umi's turn to fire her arrows, Kotori had returned from the nurse's station, her arm back to normal. Honoka sighed with relief. Thank goodness Kotori-chan's okay. Umi drew her bow, and her first arrow hit the bullseye dead center. Her second arrow split the first. Her third arrow split the second.
"And the winner is Umi Sonoda of the Red Team!" a teacher announced. "Three completely perfect shots!" Honoka and Kotori gasped, Kotori especially having a certain glint in her eyes. Honoka grabbed Kotori's arm and pointed to the target.
"Kotori-chan! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Honoka squealed.
"I know! I saw!" Kotori said, a huge grin on her face.
The red team was able to hold their victory through the rest of the sports festival, thanks in part to Umi's perfect archery. But on the ride home, Honoka's happiness began to fade. She was so glad that her team won, but the thought of Kotori leaving was just too much for her. Umi's mother dropped Honoka off at home, and Honoka said goodbye to Umi. Honoka immediately walked back up to her bedroom and flopped down on her bed, letting out a wail of anguish.
"Come on, Honoka, transform," she said, tensing up her arm muscles.
"What's wrong, sis?" Yukiho asked, opening Honoka's door. Honoka told her everything.
"I'm hoping I can force myself to transform so Kotori-chan and I can go together, and we won't... wait," Honoka said.
"Wait?" Yukiho asked.
"Shoot, if Kotori-chan and I both go, Umi-chan'll be left alone! What do I do?" Honoka asked in return.
"I don't know," Yukiho replied. "You may just have to choose which of your friends you'll have to leave behind. If the gene did skip a generation with you, then Minami-san is the one you'll be leaving behind, while if you do transform, it'll be Sonoda-san you'll have to leave. You have a tough decision ahead of you, sis."
"I know," Honoka said, frowning. Tears welled up in her eyes. She had known Kotori for longer, but she loved Umi just as much. The two of them were her most precious friends, and Honoka could see no way out. She and Yukiho kept talking about it until dinner was done, and the two went down to eat and Honoka told her parents everything about what happened at the sports festival.
Kotori and Umi came over the following day so the three could study together, but Kotori's transformation was still a pressing subject that Honoka wanted to push at any opportunity.
"I understand why you're so pushy, Honoka-chan, Umi-chan and I talked about it a little last night, too," Kotori said.
"Kotori really wanted me to be her meister if she ended up a bow," Umi added. Honoka's eyes widened in surprise. Well, I guess that mean's I'm the one getting left behind after all. Is this what they call irony? A cruel twist of fate? God, I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you think I deserved this.
"Eh?" Honoka asked, feeling a twitch in her arm.
"Umi-chan's the best archer I know, and I know I'd be much more secure fighting evil if I had a friend I knew and trusted by my side," Kotori replied.
"Kotori, there is a non-combatant course you have to be in until you can get your powers fully sorted out and under control," Umi said. "We will not be fighting anytime soon if that makes you feel better about it."
"Thank goodness," Kotori sighed.
"But we have to get you to fully transform so I know for sure what kind of bow you are," Umi said. "Your arm turned into an arrow, which is rather vague. You could be any type of bow, such as..." Umi started listing what felt like every type of bow that ever existed. Honoka admittedly tuned out here. Especially since her arm felt weird. She scratched underneath it, expecting it to just be an itch.
"What about a crossbow?" Honoka asked.
"That is a possibility," Kotori replied.
"A possibility I have no idea how to wield," Umi sighed. Kotori tried to transform, but she didn't go all the way. Her right arm partially transformed the exact way as it did at the relay race, and her left arm did the same. Part of her hair turned into what looked like a backpack strap. Which was not a piece from a bow by any means.
"Kotori-chan, your hair loop!" Honoka exclaimed, getting up to touch it. "It's become some sort of strap!"
"A strap?" Kotori asked in surprise.
"A strap?" Umi asked in a more quizzical tone. "What kind of weapon involves a strap and arrows... Kotori?"
"Yes?"
"Seems like you're a quiver," Umi said. "Which means I can either take my own bow with us or..." Umi never finished that sentence, her eyes trailing down to Honoka's arm. There was a string coming out from her wrist she seemed to be unaware of, and it ended at her armpit. And it was not only much thicker than a loose thread from her shirt sleeve could be, but a different color than it as well. Honoka noticed how Umi seemed to be looking at her upon noticing this.
"Umi-chan, what is it?" Honoka asked.
"Your arm..." Umi replied. Honoka looked down to the string. "...it almost looks like a bow string came out of it while we were all talking."
"What? Really?" Honoka asked, letting go of Kotori's hair strap and tugging the string on her arm. "Ow," she said, letting go of the string. "This hurts, so it's definitely part of my body, which means..." Honoka gasped in excitement. "...I've partially transformed too! I'm a weapon! A bow! Umi-chan, you can wield me and Kotori at the same time, it's the perfect setup! Yay, nobody's gonna be leaving anyone, I have to go tell Mom and Dad!" Honoka exclaimed, dashing out down the stairs. "MOM! DAD!" she called out.
"Kotori, the three of us are going to have to focus a lot more on English during our study sessions from now on," Umi said.
"Mhm," Kotori replied. "But, going to DWMA together's going to be really fun."
"Wait, Kotori, didn't Honoka say her dad's first partial transformation caused him to have a string in his arm for a month?"
"Oh dear, poor Honoka-chan..."