'She was like a sun to me...'
Chikane walked the school ground. Class was once again over. Already three days has passed since her classmate has managed to awaken her new power. Their lives were now back and forth from normal school lives to training and lessons about new fighting techniques.
'People admired me but none of these mattered...'
The ravenette had some problem with classes as some of her classmates were already initiated with advanced fighting techniques. Since defeating the Orochi, the Miko lost a good part of her abilities and was still discovering once again.
'All I wanted was for her to keep praising me. Nothing else mattered...'
"Chikane-san...?"
Said girl looked from over her shoulder to see a brunette girl wearing the same uniform as her. Since the special lesson by Kushina, Miyako has gained a little confidence. She still kept one eye covered by her bangs but was progressing little by little. "Hoshino-san?"
"A-are you going to the library?" She asked, pointing to the couple of books currently held by the taller girl.
Chikane nodded and continued to walk, motioning the older girl to follow her. Miyako did and walked behind the lady. The two of them walked in complete silence until the Miko spoke again. "You did gain more confidence lately."
"T-that's..." The brunette stuttered. "I did promise a friend that I will do my best... That's all..."
"Is that so?" Chikane slightly looked down. "A promise, huh?" She remembered the promise she made with the Moon Priestess. "Must be nice doing your best for an important person's sake."
"Huh?" asked the Magical Girl, not hearing what the younger girl has said. "Did you say something?"
"No. I was just thinking about a book I want to look for." The idol lied, forcing a smile.
[-x-x-x-]
'How did things turn out this way?' Rimuru screamed mentally. They were currently at the cafeteria, alone with no one but Goblin Slayer. They felt as if the man was glaring at them with a menacing aura. 'Is it my imagination or he seems threatening?'
The two of them remained in an awkward silence until the armor-clad man broke the silence. "Say... about the goblins."
The slime literally sweatdropped. Just in case, they has asked the teacher about the warrior and Jin explained how Goblin Slayer has created an insane hatred about a certain race of monater. Rimuru did assume not all goblins were good and did believe what happened to the poor man was way too cruel. "W-well... Sir Slayer... T-the truth is it is not as you might believe it..."
"Pray explaining."
"W-well..." The blue creature was at loss of words. It would be hard explaining. "Do you believe in good mobsters? I supposed tons of monster races are evil but I assume you some of them did share a painful past and wish to build a better world."
There was a moment of silence before the warrior spoke again. "Please tell me more." The tone he was using was rather ambiguous so it was hard for Rimuru to know how to process. "It has been a couple of day that we were trapped here and I learned lot of things. There could be cases someone is mistaken for another race that isn't actually yours."
"W-well... if you say so..." Rimuru then explained the man about the goblins they met and helped build a village after being chased around mercilessly. The slime then told everything about how they met with the ogres and made one of then their secretary as well as later the lizardmen and orcs, then dryads, dwarves and spirits.
"I see..." As the slime's story was over, Goblin Slayer took a moment to process. "It is indeed possible that some logic might take part in other words. It would be a mistake to call your friends mere Goblins. I am sure a misunderstanding took place. I think they are indeed an unknown race of creature who are yet to be understood."
Rimuru sweatdropped. "I-if you say so..."
The man then stood up from the chair. "That was a nice talk. It helped me clear my mind about what to do. If we have to face Goblins, I will not hesitate cutting them down so long they are treats for anyone."
"Y-yeah... The pleasure is also mine... I guess..." The bluenette creature sighed as the armor-clad man left the room. 'I am so glad he understood.'
[-x-x-x-]
If there was something Kazuto knew, he didn't like being a coward. While the others has acted to at least try to save Hoshino, he was unable to move due to the aura their teacher waa giving. It was several days since they were in this world and some force was forcing lot of new laws.
First, that force holding their feelings, amplifying their wish to protect the world while calming them whenever they were about to panic. It was odd.
Second, the balance was totally off. Their strength should be varying a lot but they all seemed equal in this world. After doing some research, the elf boy was able to hack into the terminal and found barely anything. What he found were only proofs that their teachers were telling the truth.
"Hey, ain't that Kirito?"
The boy turned to see a girl with long silver hair walking in his direction. They were currently at the library and he was so busy on his thought he didn't see Shin'ya. "Greetings, Banba-san!"
"'sup!" Despite having a female appearance, the assassin identified themself as male, claiming this is not his real body. Everyone seemed a little confused but accepted to go with the flow. "Studying?"
"Not really?" The elf closed the book in front of him. "I was thinking..."
"Yup!" Shin'ya took the seat across the boy and sighed. "Though, gotta say that creep is way too strong." There was no need to be a genius to understand he was referring to Amai Mask. "I say there's something fishy or shit behind this. You seem smart enough so I have a proposition."
Kazuto raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Shin'ya leaned forward to make sure no one was around and spoke with a low voice. "We are all unaware of each other's strength and power. They insist we work together and I need to know what the others can do."
True he had a point. From the ravenette's experience, knowing about the enemies is good but knowing your allies can lead to better victories. "You do have a point. Maybe the two of us could work together and try to get to know the other's strength."
"You got it." Being an assassin, it was primordial to know their surrounding. While not really ready to trust each others, the duo agreed to try to help each others without revealing too much. In other words, they built a temporary alliance.
[-x-x-x-]
Spying was neither boy's talent as Shin'ya was used to aggressive play while Kazuto was someone mix of Str and Agi stat. Sneak was neither of their forte but they tried hard. Getting to know more about Astolfo was rather easy as the crossdresser found them right away.
"Heya, Kirito-kun and Shin'ya-chan~" He waved at them. Since it was not school hour, the knight was wearing a simple shirt and a skirt. Odd, the others thought for a boy, especially a knight but neither commented. "Are you perhaps trying to befriend everyone?"
"You could say that..."
"Then, I will gladly beacome your friend. The best way would be to do a sparing match!"
Kazuto considered and thought it would be great. However, taking the challenge might show his abilities to the others and it won't be good. "I was thinking we could gather as many people as possible and do a little tournament."
"Really? That sound very fun~" The rider had stars in his eyes. "In that case, I should go look Lulu and Nagisa-chan."
"Wait. You already made friends?"
"Lulu and Nagisa-chan are shy so they haven't confirmed yet but I am sure they're good boys. Also, they would look good in a dress~"
A picture of the two boys wearing female clothes crossed Shin'ya's mind and the assassin broke in laughed. "Dammit that sound really funny."
And with that, they separated to find the others. In the end, the only people they are gathered around were Nagisa, Lelouche, Leone, Wendy, Myrrh, Rimuru and Izetta.
Said witch raised a hand. "Excuse me but what are we doing here?" She has been dragged into the training field by Astolfo and was unable to resist.
Said field was oddly covered by grasses while the sky was gray,barely letting the ray of sun in. As Kazuto explained the fake situation of wanting to befriend everyone, the naive people like Wendy fell in and accepted. Leone was a little hesitant though but decided it might be a good occasion to test her new powers while learning about the others.
As they were about to start the event though, Jin appeared and eyed at the students. Said youth got on their guard but no one took the initiative. Eventually, the demon smiled. "I see. So, the best way to grow stronger is by sparing. I applause your determination. I shall be the judge of this small event as to make sure everything is fair."
Nagisa was a little hesitant but he lowered his guard. "So, what about the rules of this event?" He was well-trained by Korosensei and Karasuma and with Kushina's advices, the boy might have chances.
Shin'ya stepped forward with a boy. "Inside this are papers with number from 1 to 9 and a king. The King must randomly pick a number before anyone reveal the result and that person must face th king. The loser will be excluded on the new game as well as a number from the box. We'll continue like that until only one person remains."
The others were still unsure but still agreed. And with that started the first lottery.
[-x-x-x-]
If the tale of dragon and witch was nothing new, Leone couldn't helo but to awe at the match. The spectators has taken cover on the side while the field became a ring of insane fighting.
Up in the sky, Izetta was riding an anti-tank riffle while a dozen of swords flew besidw her. The Sky Maiden remembered a friend who was also able to control swords like these.
On the ground stood a large dragon with thigh scales and breaking fire, trying to hit the agile witch. Everyone was surprise by Myrrh's transformation. The petite was indeed unusual with her wings but turning into a dragon after holding an orange stone was breathtaking.
Back to the battlefield, the witch got some altitude and sent the swords at the dragon. The only hit the scales before being destroyed and another breath went her way. Izetta gained more altitude. She was unsure about how to fight as she didn't want to wound her opponent. After all, a spare match was not war. During war, she had to kill but here, she was unsure.
"You can attack without problem, you know." Jin's voice echoed in Izetta's head. "I did say I will make sure no one gets hurt so fight with your full strength without any restraint."
"But..."
"No buts! Don't you want to be stroner so you could protect your princess."
"Finé...?" The redhead hesitated a bit before nodding to herself. "It will be all right." She turned the riffle in target of the dragon and fired three rounds. The accuracy was insane as all of them hit.
Myrrh did feel it pass despite her insane defense. What followed did not look good though as Izetta summoned a dozen of torpedoes and sending them the dracogirl's direction. The dragon moved around and flew to escaped but the projectiles followed her restlessly. Eventually, the torpedoes hit one after another.
However, the dragon was still standing. Myrrh realized her abilities has increased and decided to fly higher until being almost the same altitude as the witch. She then unleashed a bowerful breath but Izetta avoided by descending. She was met by a hit of claws that sent her almost crashing against a building. The attack did leave an impact as the girl breathed heavily, blood running from her forehead. "What strength!"
Giving up was not an option though and the witch regained altitude, joining her hands and forming a ball of energy. Myrrh won't let her do so though as the dracogirl charged at her. The ball exploded and both of them got caught in the explosion. While the shorter girl regained her humanoid form and regained her balance, she kept flying. On the other hand, Izetta has lost consciousnesa and was falling toward the ground.
"Izetta..."
"..."
"Izetta..."
The witch opened her eyes and realized she was in a dark area with a tunel made of light at the other side. "What is this place."
"Izetta." She turned around to see the princess Otfiné. Said girl had bright blonde hair and innocent blue eyes. "You already did so much for me and there you are again fighting."
The redhead shook her head. "That's not true. I decided to fight on my own. I promised I will protect the world you dreamt of, Princess."
Finé gave a pained smile. "I an glad to hear that but I am also a little sad."
"Princess..." Izetta took her friend in her arms. "Thank you for always worrying about me. It has helped me a lot in the past. I now know what I must do."
"Izetta..."
"Princess, you must promise me that you will always remain true to yourself."
The blonde smile. "Yes!"
As Izetta left the place, the regained consciousness and felt a hand on hers. She managed to fly back before crashing and stood atop the riffle. Her eyes started to glow as she pointed a finger at her opponent. A thousand of normal bullets went the dracogirl's direction at sound's speed and with insane accuracy.
As the shower ended, Myrrh fell on the ground, wounded but conscious. She was instantly healed of her wounds and Jin smile. Leane ran to her. "Myrrh, are you all right?"
"Yes." The girl nodded. "It looks like I lost." She looked up at the sky to see a spected embrace the witch from behind. "I see... So the witch has gained the Princess' love, huh?"
"What?"
Myrrh just shook her head. "Nothing. I just realized that not all Princes are knights in shining armor."
"I see..." The rogue chuckled as she turned to the witch. Izetta has landed and was greeted by the others. She smiled.
[-x-x-x-]
The second match had Rimuru face Nagisa. It was not as epic as the one before but surprise was present. The bluenette had so little presence, he became invisible at times and even erased his own presence. Against that, the slime was struggling, especially since they could turn into humanoid form or call for the Great Sage.
Nagisa appeared from behind, his eyes dull but full of intend to kill. Rimuru flinched and backed away, throwing sticky webs but the assassin avoided by masking his presence. The smile attempted again by throwing a blade of water but it Missed.
The bluenette appeared once again behind his opponent and delivered a nice hit on the small creature. "Ow~"
Taking Rimuru in his arms, the boy smiled. "Caught you." The smile was innocent it would be easy to forget about his dark side. It did mark his victory indeed.
After another couple of matches, Wendy ended up as the winner after Kazuto and Lelouche lost... more like they did hold down a lot as to avoid showing the extension of their strength. In the end, everyone were tired and decided to go back to their dorm room.
During dinning time, everyone gathered again at the cafeteria to discuss. "I was really surprised. You're really strong, Wendy!"
Said girl just chuckled. "Everyone were also amazing. I guess I was just a little lucky." Having experienced all kind of battles, she hasn't been pushed as far as to use Dragon Force for years. Her classmates all had incredible power and she still couldn't believe she made it. The conclusion was that the others held back.
At the other side of the room, Kazuto and Shin'ya were drinking tea. "This is a hella insane." The assassin concluded.
"From what we saw, everyone has incredible power and they still have insane abilities unraveled." The elf sighed.
He could conclude few things; each world had their principles of power but as they are sent into this one, new powers are born while their original magic are amplified.
Lelouche, who took notice of their plan, approached the duo. He was still clad in the new uniform for male but his eyes were still red with the symbol of birds on them. "May I have a word with you two?"
"Sure." The other ravenette nodded and stood up. Shin'ya took more time but the three has managed to get out of the building and were greeted by the cold night wind. "Is there any problem, Lamperouge-san?"
"I wanted to ask if you set the event earlier to judge everyone's strength." The younger boy exclaimed. "You two seemed to hold back a lot as if you are trying to hide something."
They remained in silence for a while as Kazuto was mentally debating. After a good minute, he sighed. "I admit, yes." He then explained. "Since there are too much things we do not understand, we figured some investigation would be necessary."
"In that case," the Britania Prince placed a finger on his chin. "In the chairman's office is a book containing information about all of us. It even includes information about our original worlds. I have managed to take a look inside it once last night but didn't get enough time. I am sure if we work together, the result will be assured. I am not saying we fully trust each others. We just need to work as a team to achieve something."
"That goes for me." Shin'ya agreed.
"So, that was what you all were planning." Another voice interrupted them as Astolfo, Nagisa and Rimuru appeared from the shadow. "I figured something was fishy."
"But that sounds like a good plan." The slime commented. "Count me in!"
"We know nothing about the current situation so working together is the best choice of action." Nagisa still remembered how powerless he was against Amai Mask and wanted to do something.
"All right!" Lelouche reluctantly nodded. "We will work together in that case."
"But before that," the boy in skirt stopped them. "We will be doing a stealth mission so I have a proposition~"
"A proposition?" The others tilted their head.
[-x-x-x-]
"The heck is this?" Lelouche exclaimed, embarrassed as he realized Astolfo's plan was to have them all crossdress.
"I mean it would be fishy if a group of boys were to walk around. We'll be found right away so we need to disguise."
"But nearly everyone knows everyone here and I am pretty sure no one else lives here."
"You just worry too much, Lulu~" Astolfo pushed the boy behind a curtain and entered after. Not a minute later, the two of them walked out. "All done!"
While the knight hasn't changed at all, the Britania Prince was wearing a wig and light makeup to make his masculine traits totally disappeared. Same went with the clothes who were exchanged against the female version of white buttoned shirt and black skirt along with mid-thigh length stocking. "I want to go home..."
Nagisa felt pity but was soon dragged behind the curtains. Seconds later, he was out with his hair untied and the uniform having been changed. "Ew..."
"You haven't changed that much, Nagisa-chan." The rider dryly commented.
"I want to go home..."
Kazuto, feeling the thing, tried to sneak away but was caught midway and got changed. "Noooo!" Seconds later, he was wearing a long wig matching his real hair color as well as the regular female uniform.
Shin'ya laughed his guts off. "Shoot you all look like girls!" Well... he was biologically female and was wearing the female outfit so he was spared by the knight.
"Damn you, Shin'ya! Shut up!" The three now forced crossdressers yelled in unison, forgetting manners for a second to shut the annoying assassin.
"Now, last!" Astolfo was not done as he looked at Rimuru mercilessly.
"Wait! I am not even humanoid."
"I did read somewhere that slimes can copy the appearance of someone. worry not, I will do my very best."
"Wait!" The slime backed away. "Wait I said!"
By backing away, a voice echoed inside Rimuru's mind. "Activation of the program: Great Sage!"
"Wait what!" Everyone yelled in unison at the new voice.
"Wait what?" The slime was shocked as the others seemed able to hear the computer-like voice. "Great Sage, what is going on?"
"Due to lack of pure mana and distortion of logic, the software was forced down. The program was fully updated though." The voice of a woman echoed.
"The hell is that?" Shin'ya wondered aloud.
"W-well... let me explain." Rimuru knew it was going to be a pain to explain the situation but they tried their best, not revealing everything about their past life as Satoru though. And of course, the story about Veldora was not revealed.
"Ah I see!" Astolfo sighed. "So, you do have the ability to turn humanoid?"
"Notice: due to the update of software, transformation skill was erased. Predator skill is till on though."
Rimuru thought an instant. "Well... It looks like I won't be able to transform after all."
Kazuto did know a skill that could change appearance from Sword Art Online but he was unsure these would work here. In the end, he said nothing and Astolfo ended up giving up.
[-x-x-x-]
Later that night, the group of crossdressers managed to infiltrate the chairman's office while Goku was busu training outside. Finding the book took more time and with Lelouche's constant complaints about the skirt's length, it took them more time.
Fortunately, they managed to find it and opened said archive to see its containing. As of the ravenette has said, information about them all were present. Rimuru quickly absorbed the book and made several copies before they put the book back. Without spending too much time, the group quickly left back to their dorm.
Meanwhile, atop the dorm building, Levi was looking at that. Since the chairman's office had glass windows that allowed the people outside to see everything, he was aware what was going on. The soldier, while not unsure about what to do, wanted to do something and wanted to know lot of things. Learning things about their allies like enemies would be a plus after all.
Taking a sip from his cup of tea, the young man sighed. "What do you want?"
A shadow appeared behind him. It was oddly quiet and just approached the Soldier until reaching and enveloped him.
"What is this?" He quickly jumped over the balcony and onto the field. Oddly enough, we was not wounded and looking up, the shadow has disappeared. "What was that?"
[-x-x-x-]
A/N: Since I followed SnK until chapter 115, there might be things I would add. Also, I am following the anime of Fairy Tail but I do not read the manga. And pretty much only watched the anime of the others, meaning I might not include too much from their mangaverse/gameverse.
