Amagiri Ayato is always full of energy.
As a male child 12 years of age that is to be expected, added by the fact that he is the sole male in a family who ran one of the most famous dojo in the country it is only natural for him to be so.
[StarPulse Generation] however gave the phrase a literal sense to it.
Not only do they overture the previous natural norm with their 'abnormal' physical condition, they are also capable of the so called super human feats thanks to their aura known as [Prana].
[Prana] was an unknown element that could be found everywhere today capable of increasing a person's durability, strength, and recovery rate, and while a fragment of the group namely [Dantes] and [Stergas] are capable of harnessing it the run of the mill [StarPulse Generation] could only rely on their own reserves.
And for one Amagiri Ayato it just happen to possess a ridiculous amount of [Prana, enough to power ten of [StarPulse Generation] at their prime to be exact.
Amagiri Ayato is literally full of energy, and then some.
But right now for the first time in a while he felt tired, no if he was to be honest he shouldn't even be conscious.
"Uh..."
It took him everything he got just to stand up straight, and he himself is actually surprised that he is capable of walking, of course the fact that his vision continues to get blurrier and his pace that grows slower only supported the previous fact.
But he couldn't fall down just yet.
"Onee-chan..."
Amagiri Haruka, the firstborn of the Amagiri household and Ayato's older sister. Just like him she too is a [StarPulse Generation] and while she does not hold the same amount of [Prana] as Ayato she is one of the few gifted [Sterga] who as stated earlier are capable of manipulating [Prana] directly form nature.
And her ability came in the form of sealing, and albeit she herself despises this power her ability upon utilizing it is undoubtedly unquestionable. She rarely uses this power, firstly due to the lack of targets that could survive the process, and secondly due to her own personal bias.
But today for the first time in forever Amagiri Haruka had finally used her ability in a while.
And the object of sealing was none other than her older brother's power.
Gritting his teeth he fought through the fatigue and opened the sliding door which leads to the corridor. His fear instantly magnified after seeing the scenery, the moon was already up and from what he managed to recall it was right before sunset that he and her sister had spoken.
'How far had she gotten?' he asked himself.
From her tone he had assumed that her sister was going somewhere, the way she acted around his friend and the argument she had with her own lover also supported this theory. And it was then Ayato finally remembered the last actor, the only one who could possibly help to shed a light in this confusing situation.
"Nante Kotto... She really weren't joking about using 'it' huh..."
My word
His head instantly snapped towards the source of the voice, and it was at that exact moment he felt a shred of hope.
"Tsurugi-Nii..."
"Yo Ayato, you look terrible." he casually pointed out.
The older male laxly leaning against the wooden wall of the dojo was Tsurugi Ohtori, the only outsider capable of mastering every single technique within the [Amagiri Shinmeiryuu] and the only male who had ever triumphed over his sister.
As always he is dressed in a Scarlet coat over a pitch black muscle shirt, the later which serve to expose his well toned yet not overly large in mass body. His lower attire consist of a simple jeans, and although not present he could guess that he is wearing his favourite boots.
Any dialogue he was about to share died in his throat, the same thing happening to his legs as he finally lose the battle against gravity.
"Hey now!" The buster half shrieked as he catch the younger boy, while the fact that he managed to traverse a considerable distance in less than a second was completely unsurprising.
"Don't push yourself, not only it is impossible to remove her seal also place quiet a tax on the body the first time around, trust me I felt it and learned my lesson." Following his line the buster then set the boy against the dojo wall.
"Hehe..." Ayato weakly chuckled at his 'brother's' jest. He knew that Tsurugi was referring to the many occasions where he was subjected to her sister's ability thanks to his upbringing if not her jealousy.
Before he can utter another word (or at that point a grunt) Ayato was suddenly engulfed by a sensation of weightlessness, there was no doubt that he's at his limit.
"Looks like this is it huh... Well before it's too late I guess I better tell you know."
The sad and disappointed tone did not escape Ayato's ear.
"Ayato you can't come with us."
He wanted to reject that notion but sadly he has neither the energy or any actual prove that his judgement is flawed.
Tsurugi Ohtori is self centered, boastful, and most of all prideful person, but he is also a man of his word. All of the boast he made are based on his real life occurrence, and his mockery of others is actually a comparison between himself and the other party.
So when he claim that they are insignificant it is just that he is stronger than them.
Tsurugi Ohtori is logical, and his judgement have never been wrong.
But even so...
No words came out of Ayato's mouth but it was enough to convey his message.
"I get it, you want to go too, but the way you are now you'll only get in the way."
"Honestly I have no idea why she is doing this, but I know enough that this is important for her. Of course she also left you behind in order to protect you, and as for the seal... well let's just say it's going to help you in the long run."
His eyelids suddenly became heavy, and his vision began to blur further.
"Well looks like I'm out of time, guess I'll finish it then.
Ayato the seals has three layers, To break the first you must find your purpose, philosophical I know. For the second you need to find someone that you trust your life with, like me with your sister, but try your best to find someone that doesn't strangle you on a daily basis."
Ayato wanted to chuckle but he's barely breathing at the moment.
"As for the third... Ayato you must surpass your sister, you must surpass Amagiri Haruka."
'That's impossible.' he wanted to say, and once again Tsurugi prove that he is an avid gesture reader.
"I know, I know, It's impossible, there's no way I can do that, But the thing is you can do it, and we both know that I've never been wrong."
Letting out a sigh of satisfaction the buster then stood up.
"I'll say it'll take about five years, and until then I'll do my best to protect her. As for why..."
That is another question that he wanted to ask, why? Haruka is one of the strongest person he knows, and with Tsurugi's help there is no doubt that they're almost invincible. So the fact that he's even saying this means
"She might be in over her head in this one, and as much as I love your sister I won't be doing any good if I ended up in the ditch. So I have no choice but to..."
The way he clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white revealed just how much he hated the idea. After a second that seemed like an eternity Tsurugi shook his head, gritting his teeth before turning his attention towards the younger boy once more.
"I've seen my ceiling Ayato, and it's not high enough. But you, you can still grow, all of you has unlimited potential, and one day one day for sure, each and every one of you will surpass the both of us. That I believe."
He knelt down and affectionately ruffled the younger boy's hair, his expression both happy yet sad at the same time.
"I'll see you again Ayato, and please tell everyone that I'm sorry, your sister will most likely try to kill me for this and I don't need anymore knives pointed at my back."
After standing up he began to stride away, increasing the distance between him and Ayato with each and every step, and just when he was about to completely lose consciousness...
"Ah I almost forgot, always ask for help when you need it. Pride wouldn't do much when you're in trouble, but friends sure hell does."
And with those parting words everything went black.
XxX
"I still can't believe that we almost set that room on fire." Ayato tiredly grumbled, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to fend off any sense of drowsiness.
"I'm more surprised that we didn't, considering what we were fighting over for." Lucky remarked before yawning.
"We were fighting over a piece of chicken."
"Spada's chicken." Naga added, now becoming a part of the conversation.
"...Touche."
He does have a point, so lamented Ayato. He was somewhat surprised to find almost everyone in his friends gallery to be present, and that was half an hour before the so called party had even started, imagine his surprise when Hammy revealed that she had been there half an hour before their arrival.
He was honestly clueless about the whole debauchery, until Spada had arrived with the food that is.
Ayato had never understood the so called 'art of gourmet', to him food is something that could only be enjoyed by the sense of taste alone so display was the last thing that came over his mind when it comes to food.
But Spada's food was unlike anything he had seen before, it's mere sight was enough to elicit the hunger that he never know he had, and Ayato was someone with one of the highest rate of self control.
Seeing Lucky and Hammy taking the entire feast as if it was the last meal they'd ever have was somewhat tolerable, but to view the normally blank Naga, and the graceful Julis drooling like a couple of five year old is not really something that you will see everyday.
And then Spada told them to dig in.
If he were to be honest he didn't remember what had happened after the phrase, only the wonderful sensation that washes over his entire existence originating from his tongue.
He was pretty sure that he had consume three times of his regular portions, but all hell broke lose when Spada once again spoke.
"Who wants the last piece of the chicken."
Clearly everyone had wanted it, and only by the time Hammy had swallowed the last crumbs that they realized the mess that they had made.
Since it wasn't an actual school event they were the one who are responsible to pick up after themselves, and so they spent quite a considerable amount of time cleaning up, hence why they are not as active as the previous day.
"By the way Lucky, Ayato, who is this person trailing behind us?"
Naga jerked his thumb backward (no doubt imitating from another old movie he had watched) and true to his word Ayato's roomate Eishiro Yabuki is trailing behind them with his phone camera directed at the three.
"Oh don't mind me, just a reporter gathering material for a scoop." he mischievously informed.
"Hm... Normally I do not mind such thing, but I will be forced to remove you if either of my friend wish for it."
Only Naga could serve such blunt and harsh set of word without a tint of hostility, and luckily Eishiro is someone who ironically respect such a thing.
"Don't worry! I have already asked Ayato for permission, though I kinda make an assumption when it comes to Lucky..."
"I don't really mind. Having a guy who knows what's up like you nearby would definitely help in the long run." was the Lion's reply.
"I see... a relationship based on mutual usefulness. Quite unhealthy but not to the level of hazardous. Then allow me to introduce myself, my name is Naga Rei, and you are?" Naga introduced whilst offering his arm.
"Yabuki Eishiro, A proud prowler of the newspaper club." He replied before taking up his new lunch ticket's arm.
"He's also the club president's boyfriend." Lucky added.
"I see..." Was all Naga said.
"Okay. Might I be informed of how you could possibly know that?" the prowler asked in a demanding fashion, he actually put an effort to cover their track damn it!
Sadly he instantly knew the answer when both Ayato and Naga give him an apologetic smile.
"Just a lucky guess. You confirmed it yourself by the way."
Eishiro sighed in defeat, apparently his luck is really THAT great.
"Well the rummaging of my private life aside you guys are sure an eye catching bunch. I mean first the princess, then the food meister, but also the philoshoper? Next thing I know one of you guys are best friend with the [Fenrir] or something."
And once again he was met by the apologetic smile of Ayato and Naga, the grin that appeared on Lucky's face further supported his theory.
"Okay that's it, is there anything else I should know? Because I'm pretty sure anymore of this shock is not good for my sanity..." The ninja practically begged.
Naga put a hand in his chin, ransacking his head for anymore of this 'surprising facts'.
"Well as far as I can remember Garu is the only other member of our social network who has a recognizable standing. Saya seems to prefer to remain unnoticed at the moment."
"Oh that's right Saya's here too." Lucky suddenly stated, only now recalling the fact.
"That's right, I was a bit surprised, who would've thought that she'd be here." Ayato agreed
"Oho? are you guys perhaps talking about Sasamiya Saya-San?"
Ayato nodded "That's right we were childhood friends, though we broke contact a long time ago."
"But thanks to Garu we managed to regain contact. It's kinda odd though considering the fact that he goes to [Re-Wolf Black Institute]." the Lion elaborated
"Well considering his abrasive personality and martial prowess I'd say it's for the best. Though him having Saya's contact is hardly surprising."
Ayato and Lucky raised an eyebrow at the last sentence while Eishiro looked genuinely curious. Naga then realized that he had almost performed what one calls 'dropping a bombshell'.
"Why is that? Lucky asked.
"Hm... It seems that neither of you are informed about it..."
"About what?" This time Ayato asked, but Naga's reply was the shaking of his head.
"If you wish to know then I'm afraid you must asks Saya herself, she's the only one of the two with the right to publicize that information."
"Oho! A scandal involving two students from different school. I wonder if it has anything to do with the so called 'New type of [Lux]... speaking of which..." Eishiro leaned towards Naga, his phone's speaker directed at the Serpent.
"I'm afraid it does not possess any connection with 'that certain object', and neither do I. The thing I and my significant others are working on are... something else entirely...And I'm afraid I do not trust you enough to handle such information."
Eishiro merely shrugged his shoulders, having half expecting this outcome. But he wasn't done yet.
"Well how about ongoing rumor? Have any of you heard or been doing anything interesting lately?"
"Classified." Unsurprisingly came from Naga
"Not yet." was Lucky's Answer
"Not in a few days." Was Ayato
"Okay what about that last one?"
"Well... I might have pick a fight with a [Page-One]..."
Lucky snorted "What did you accidentally peeked when she's changing?"
"Of course not! And for the record it's a he."
(Record scratch)
"What?"
"Well it just that... I don't know you were into you know... guys." Lucky started
It took the swordsman a few second before fully realizing the meaning behind the phrase
"What!? NO!"
"Don't worry Ayato, none of us are concerned about your sexual orientation. Though I feel obliged to inform you that same sex intercourse are far more susceptible to sexual disease." Naga generously informed.
"Wait what! NO! I MEAN!"
"Newsflash, the transfer student, Is he gay?" Eishiro stated, his hand typing on his phone's keypad.
"Oh for god's sake... I challenged him! I was just walking around and sees him messing with Julis!"
"Arguing with the princess? Are you perhaps referring to Lester Mcphaill?" Eishiro inquired, this time sounding a bit more serious.
"Yeah that's him."
"The big guy with an Axe?" this time it was Lucky who asked for confirmation.
"That would be him."
"Not really surprising when you think about it." Naga started "From what I had heard, he's the only one who would openly challenge Julis."
"Plus every other normal person would think twice about pissing of someone who can send you to the hospital with third degree burn." Lucky remarked "He must held one heck of a grudge."
"No... I honestly think that he's just an earnest person." Ayato stated, nobody likes losing after all.
"Well that is pretty interesting, but I'll wait until the result come out. Nobody likes a one sided slaughter really."
"Underestimating your roomate Eishiro? I'm honestly hurt."
"Julis told me about him, he's pretty much a close ranged powerhouse, but his special attack is a mid range one." Lucky casually informed "You won't have any problem if you go all out.
"I have no intention to hold back of course." Ayato grinned, finally he got a chance to actually cut loose after so long.
"Feeling confident eh? Then do please inform me of the date."
"And would you need me to hasten the construction of your custom [Lux]?'
"Well it's probably be four days from now, as for the [Lux, sorry Naga but let's just wait until after the compatibility test."
The Serpent nodded in understanding "None taken, utilizing privilege is the reasonable act to perform."
"But I heard that there's a ton of document that you need to sign, can you skim me through it Naga?" the Lion requested.
"Well it's basically 'please return it if you don't want it anymore', and 'we're not responsible if you end up dead'."
"...Sounds encouraging..." Ayato commented.
"Do not worry, most of the things you've heard are exaggerations."
"...Most?" Ayato daringly asked.
"Most." Naga nodded "Ah this is my stop, I'll see you guys at lunch then."
The two nodded while Eishiro remained pensive, Naga and Spada was one of the two whose class is different from Lucky and Ayato, whilst Hammy was one year younger than the rest of the group.
After parting ways the party of three eventually made their way to their own class.
"Finally!" Eishiro cheered "Now to get some sleep!"
"You do realize we're walking into the first class today right?" Ayato sweatdropped at his roomate display.
"Well the three things desk are good for are studying, working, or sleeping after all." Lucky jokingly quipped.
"See he gets it." the ninja lazily seconded before opening the class's door "A~ah. So tired...Morning, everyone." was what he said before slumping against his desk.
'Looks like absence matters more than grade' Ayato lamented, pushing the thought out of his head he turned his attention towards his new 'friend'.
"Morning Julis." He greeted
"Yo! Julis." Was Lucky's
"Morning you two..." She lazily replied, looks like cleaning up last night is taking toll on her as well.
In an instant, the previously noisy classroom was filled with silence.
"Hey, did you just hear that...?"
"...T, the Princess greeted someone...?"
"Are we hearing things...?"
"Just what kind of black magic did those guy use...?"
"Rather, that can't be the real Princess, can it?"
Seeing the uproar which had taken ahold of their class, Julis gritted her teeth and slammed her hand to her own face.
Ayato could only sweatdrop once again while Lucky let out a hearty laugh.
"What the heck were you like when we wasn't around?"
"I simply prefer solitude, that's all."
"Wow we really are your only friends aren't we?"
"O...Of course not! I'll have you know that I have numerous social links..."
"Back at home?"
"Oh now that's just sad..." Lucky blurted on the brink of laughter.
"Do...Don't you dare laugh!"
Naturally her command pushes him to do just that. What the two failed to notice is that their interaction serves to increase her classmate's clamor
'She's really open with her friends huh?' Ayato silently observed
This was way beyond expectation.
Their classmates' reaction made plain just what kind of classmate Julis
typically was.
(Maybe this is a rare opportunity to try and get along with everyone?)
Thinking on Julis' behalf, Ayato reminded himself that this was only his
second day.
It was all well and good to worry over Julis, but honestly, he needed to
worry about himself first.
At that moment, Ayato realized that the seat on his left, which had been
empty the day before, was now filled.
There a young girl with beautiful blue hair lay on her desk, fast asleep.
It seemed unlikely that she was like himself, who'd transferred over just
recently. She'd probably just taken the day off.
Though he thought that he'd best greet her as well, she gave no hint of
waking anytime soon.
As he considered his options, the girl suddenly lifted her head.
Nice, here came opportunity, knocking at the door.
"Good morning to you, neighbor. I transferred here just yesterday; I'm
Amagiri-"
Ayato's introduction came to a screeching halt.
Catching a glimpse of the girl's face, he froze.
"S-Saya...?"
"Saya?" Lucky's head snapped towards Ayato, courtesy of the familiar name.
The girl looked on expressionlessly, before at last tilting her head slightly.
"...Ayato? Then that's...Lucky?"
There was no doubt about it. She was Sasamiya Saya.
And then it was Ayato's turn to broke into laughter, of course Lucky quickly followed suit and approached the two.
The racket that they cause was more than enough to awaken Eishiro from his well deserved rest. He was about to ask what's up but after putting two and two together instead chose to address the new girl.
"What's this? Are you perhaps the infamous Sasamiya Saya I've been hearing about?"
His interruption earned him a raised eyebrow from the owner of the name.
"You are?"
Every student inside the class sweatdropped at her counter, and having grown accustomed to her airhead nature Lucky and Ayato recovered first.
"This is Eishiro Yabuki." Ayato introduced, while the ninja greeted with a yo. "He's my roommate and well... your classmate."
He almost cringed at the last part, and her reply that solely consisted of 'Is that so only serve to increase his worries'.
"Still as free as always I see..." Lucky added "Then again your appearance is... really familiar..."
'In other words you haven't change at all' is what he is basically saying.
"Indeed, you really do look the same." Ayato seconded
"Wrong. It's that you guys have grown too much."
Saya puffed up her cheeks sulkily.
"...Don't worry about it, though. I've already decided that I'm going to
grow as tall as you both by next year, so if you two just grow a little, we'll make
quite the group," Saya mumbled to herself.
Unfortunately, whatever her thoughts on the matter, closing a gap of 30
centimeters in a year seemed unlikely, if not impossible.
Appreciating her misplaced enthusiasm Lucky decided to steer the topic away
"But still how did you not realize that we would be in the same class.. or who your own classmates are in that matter."
"I usually kept things to myself, I prefer solitude after all." She casually remarked
"Yeah I've heard that one before." Lucky quipped glancing at Julis who in return glared daggers at him.
"Well that aside where were you yesterday?" Ayato asked curious of the matter.
It wasn't that he missed her presence that much, but Lucky's friend who have yet to know him (Spada) was courteous enough to make the time to greet him. He wonders what could make someone like Saya skip over two of her friends.
He didn't expect her face to grow a tint redder due to the question.
"W...well... I... Overslept..." She shyly revealed.
'But that's not something to be ashamed about right?' Lucky and Ayato agreed in an unison. They knew that something is up.
"Is that so? Then why did you miss out on the banquet? Spada was the one cooking you know?"
Yesterday Ayato would've questioned himself for such detailed delivery, but after tasting the food himself he knew that something was really wrong.
Saya is one who would never miss out on good food, unless...
"...i was on a date" she whispered
"Pardon?" it didn't matter from which of the two did this came from.
"I WAS ON A DATE!" She practically shouted, her face as red as a well grown Tomato.
"EHHHHHH!" The swordsman and the Lion exclaimed as one
"WITH WHO!?"
"WHAT'S HIS NAME!?"
"HOW LONG..."
Their next array of questions overlapped with one another, but the girl simply turned her head away, her still red face being directed to the window.'
Surprisingly or unsurprisingly it was Eishiro who put the pieces together first.
"OHO! So it's like that huh! Ah this is quite the scoop I've gotten!"
Ayato, Lucky, and Saya's head snapped towards the prowler in an instant. The first two was definitely curious, while terror was obvious on the sole girl's feature.
"You figured it out!? HOW!?" Lucky demanded, but Eishiro cheekily stayed silent.
"Tell me Yabuki! I promise I'll treat you lunch for the next two days!" Allowance be damned! He's that curious damn it!
"Well the answer is already there my friends! You must try and remember what our friend the philosopher have said..."
"Naga what does..." Lucky's question came to a halt, his face turning into that of a surprised.
Realizing that he's the odd one out Ayato quickly scanned on whatever Naga have stated.
'Though him having Saya's contact is hardly surprising.'
'If you wish to know then I'm afraid you must asks Saya herself, she's the only one of the two with the right to publicize that information.'
'I WAS ON A DATE!'
Eh? Could it be...
"Bingo." Eishiro blurted, supporting their theory. Then all that's left is...
Still slack jawed, the two turned towards the girl in question, still averting her face from the either of them. But right at that moment a single sentence left her mouth.
"...For a year now..." was all she said.
It took them three second before releasing another outburst
Ayato slumped against his desk, despair filling his entire existence. While Lucky on the other hand was more vocal in regards of the matter.
"Dang it that mutt! to think that I'd be outed by him! in this field!"
Their respective outburst earned them a sweatdrop from the rest of the class, not that any of them cared of course.
"...You two get it together, homeroom is about to start..." Saya kindly informed (her face still red), and several more seconds of cursing the lion grudgingly returned to his seat.
"Well played Garu...well played..." He muttered. to think that his best friend have been keeping 'this development' from him.
"Well congratulations for the both of you..." Ayato offered, actually this is one of the reason why he had came to [Asterisk, and while he is genuinely happy for the both of his friends being beaten by Garu in this type of forte is certainly a blow to his pride as a man.
Especially considering the fact that Garu use to be the most devoted when it comes to the 'we don't need women' and 'bros before hoes' policy.
Then again the tension between him and Saya had always been 'diferent' between him and their other female cohorts, so perhaps it is more appropriate to say that it was a matter of time.
Well whichever it is...
"So at what base are you guys at?" Lucky casually asked, earning him the glare and a dumbfounded stare from Saya and Ayato respectively.
"None of your business..." Saya once again averted her eyes whilst answering.
"Well okay. Then what about the confession? can you give us details about the mood? you know for future references."
"Lucky, I don't think it's fair if we ask her something like that. If anything let's just ask Garu later... I can't wait to milk ALL of the details." Ayato stated, greenish aura of jealousy surrounding him.
"Don't rub your frustration on my boyfriend you two..." Saya commanded.
"But still..."
As Ayato, Lucky, and Saya chatted, Julis, in the seat next over, idly observed their
antics.
