( The Seventh Surge has arrived! Is it going to be Seventh heaven? Let's find out!)
Surge 7
It was the next day and everyone was talking about the match that happened. As Noel, Makoto, Tsubaki and Hunter walked through the hallways, they heard the students talk among themselves as they couldn't help but overhear the various conversations. Some were rather pointless information that they knew already while others were talking about the events of that day but they could agree on one thing, Sora is becoming the talk of the Academy...and a rather unpopular one.
Male Student: Hey did you hear, that new kid took down all of those guys yesterday.
Female Student: Yeah. I heard he did without ever casting a single Ars Magus spell.
Male Student: That's just crazy...where was he from?
Female Student: He's from that excuse of a hierarchical city, Akitsu-Otsu.
Male Student: Akitsu Otsu!? You mean that city where all the gangs love to hang around?
Female Student: Yeah that city.
Meanwhile, another group of students mostly consisting of beastkin had their conversation about Sora.
Male Beastkin 1: He hangs around beastkin?
Male Beastkin 2: Yeah. Rumors has it that he only talks to beastkin.
Female Beastkin: He sure sounds friendly...
Male Beastkin 2: He does, but I don't like the sound of it.
Male Beastkin 1: You think he might use us like how humans use beastkin all the time.
Male Beastkin 2: Of course I do. You can't trust humans at all.
Female Beastkin: You got that right.
As the various conversations of the students echo through the room, Makoto couldn't help but feel sorry for Sora. He just had to fight off a whole group of people who tried to kill him and actually win but now has to suffer all this back talk behind his back. 'I can't believe that people are talking about him like this...this is just terrible.' Makoto thought as the various talks continued throughout the hallways and into the classroom.
As they took their usual seats, they noted that the three boys that Sora had fought were no longer there. According to Tsubaki, those same three boys were actually expelled for actually bringing a whole gang to attack one of the students. "There's going to be a lot less students in this class." Hunter noted as the students began to enter the classroom. Noel herself noted that too as everyone looked at Makoto's face and noticed the look she had.
"Makoto. Is there something on your mind?" Noel asked Makoto as she snapped out of her daydream, "Oh! It's nothing Noellie. Don't mind me." She said as Tsubaki herself noticed. "You know, you have been thinking a lot since yesterday. Are you worried about Sora?" Tsubaki asked as Makoto was shocked by that observation. She simply nodded as the three of them noted Makoto's growing fondness for Sora. "You sure love talking to him don't you." Hunter said as Makoto herself flustered up a bit by Hunter's words.
"I-I-I-I guess so! I mean he's an interesting guy to talk to!" Makoto said in a hurry in her usual voice which made Noel, Tsubaki and Hunter smile. As soon as the teacher came in the class, everyone decided to keep quiet as they sat down as class was about to start. "Alright Class. I hope you all finished the homework assigned to you a few days ago." The teacher said as everyone in the room groaned, Makoto and Hunter included.
But just before the teacher could ask for the homework pieces, another person entered the room and everyone went quiet. From the door it was revealed that person to be Sora, who was covered in bandages underneath his normal school uniform which Tsubaki had come to begrudingly accept. As he walked into the class with a bit of pain, he handed the teacher a piece of paper that was his homework. The teacher herself took it as she had her eye on him.
"Morning Mr Minakaze, I thought that you were given permission to be excused from class for a few days?" She asked as Sora just looked at her with his normal look and gave her a smile. "Oh don't worry about me. Just teach on like normal." He bluntly said as everyone in the room just stared at him with shock. He was taking the risk of going to class even though he was injured so badly.
As he took his seat at his usual place behind Makoto, he heard the students talking all about him. Some of it was about his fight agains the three guys but most of them were mostly shit about him which annoyed him to no end. ' Sigh...will everyone just shut up about me already...I don't like this one bit.' Sora thought as he finally took his seat, leaning on the table a bit as he looked at his hands. These same hands were the ones that he had used to defeat many people before but the battle yesterday made him think a lot.
' Now that I think about it...When I fought yesterday, that was the first time that I ever felt incomplete when I fought... does this mean that I didn't fight with my hands two years ago?' Sora thought as Makoto noticed him thinking deeply. As she continued to stare at him, he was not aware of her as he looked at the clock and muttered something. As soon as he did, He took something out of his pocket with his bandaged right arm which she saw was a silver casing. Opening it, he took out a red pill from that case and took it. Drinking it down with something from his silver flask, he finally noticed Makoto looking at him as she quickly turned back to the board to focus on the lesson.
Sora simply scratched his head as he focused on the class, 'Looks like I would have to do some explaining to do...if she ever asks about it...' Sora thought as the lesson began
As soon as lessons were over, everyone breathed a sigh of relief the moment the teacher left the classroom. "Man...today's history lesson was just being dragged on..." Makoto complained as she placed her head on the table and rubbing her temple on it. Noel worried a little bit about the lesson as she tried to recall what she learnt. "Uhhh...Tsubaki what was the saying Sun Tzu said?" Noel asked as Tsubaki sighed while Hunter himself was the same way. "Yeah Tsubaki...do you think you can help us?" He asked as she sighed once again.
From behind, Sora stood up a little but then he felt the pain course through his body as Makoto noticed and helped him up. "Hey man. Don't push yourself." Makoto said in a worried manner as Noel and Hunter heard Makoto speak Japanese becoming baffled as they scratched their heads. Tsubaki however went all excited as she looked at Makoto with a huge smile on her face, "Wow Makoto! You can speak Japanese!? That's going to be an extinct language soon." She said as Makoto actually blushed at that compliment and everyone noticed.
Sora simply shook his head as everyone notice a small smile on his face as he started walking back to his place. As he did so, Makoto stopped him midway as he looked at her in the face. "Uhh Sora, Do you think we can talk?" Makoto asked as Sora then began to think for a bit. He then nodded his head as he said, "Sure Makoto. Why not." He said as Tsubaki's smile went even wider as she squealed. "Ahhh! So Japanese isn't dying after all!" The moment Sora heard this, he couldn't help but scratch his head.
"Oh don't worry about it, Tsubaki just adores languages that's all." Makoto said as Sora just nodded to that before leaving the room, prompting Makoto to chase after him. " Sora! Oh geez...See you guys later!" She said in her cheerful hyperactive voice that the three of them had gotten accustomed as Hunter couldn't help but feel worried for her. Not because of her safety but because of the guy that she was talking to. 'Why...Why does he smell of blood?...' Hunter thought as we cut back to Sora walking along the corridors with Makoto just managing to catch up.
"Geez Sora you walk too fast." Makoto said as she pouted. Sora just scratched his head in confusion as they walked, "I walk fast? Is that a good thing or bad thing?" He asked as Makoto just shook her head. They began to feel the multiple eyes at the hallways stare at them, human and beastkin as they began talking once more. "Did I become too popular all of the sudden?" Sora wondered in his mind as Makoto looked at his face and saw worry in his eyes.
She thought for a little bit before asking, "Hey Sora...we're you trying to keep a low profile in the Academy?" The moment she asked that, Sora looked at her with semi wide eyes before slowly nodding his head to her words. "Well...that was what I was trying to do before that all went downhill. Now I've become the talk of the town...not a good one by the sounds of it." Sora muttered as Makoto felt the slight annoyance at it's pitch which helped her know that he didn't like it one bit. "Well... give it some time and it will all die down. Trust me it always die down fast." Makoto said as if to reassure him that things would be alright.
Turning to a corner, they saw more students which Sora didn't want to deal with. Stopping Makoto mid walk, he led her to another place which left her baffled. "Let's not go through the massive group of people now." He said as Makoto looked back and noticed that it mostly consisted of humans, leaving her even more baffled as they ended up at the rooftop. As Sora opened the door for it, they felt the fresh cold air hit their faces as the sun shined brightly.
"Wow...Today's sun looks really good." Makoto said as Sora continued to walk to a bench on the roof itself. Beckoning her to sit down, Sora continued to stare at the sun as she did so. Some minutes of silence pass them by as Makoto noted his movements as began to notice small changes that she never noticed before. In class or when there were people around, he was completely stiff or in better words to say, he would be rather discreet with his movements like his silent loner type personality. But when he was just with her, his movements become a lot more relaxed as she notices that he smiles a lot more, not much that it would different from his usual style but more never the less.
"You know...You act a lot more differently when it is just us two." Makoto said as Sora looked at her a bit confused. "What do you mean? I don't think it's that different." Sora said as Makoto made a small sigh. "What I mean is...you seem to be more open to me rather than other people." Makoto said as Sora's mind suddenly flashed an image to him that made him feel nostalgic yet sad. Snapping out of it, he focused his attention to Makoto once more as she decided to ask some important questions.
Makoto: So. What's Otsu like?
Sora: Otsu huh... Well for one thing it's considered a part of Akitsu-Ko. Hell they didn't even bother trying to show that Otsu is a seperate hierarchical city from Ko and just slapped the Akitsu brand on it.
Makoto: I see... anything else?
Sora: Well... For one thing Otsu is supposed to be taken care of by the higher ups of Ko but they choose to ignore the city. That's why criminals love flooding the place, it's a perfect hiding spot for them.
Makoto: ahh... Did you have to fight a lot in Otsu? Is that why you're a good fighter?
Sora: Well to be honest... While I fought a lot in Otsu, maybe a lot more than the average joe... I feel like that it's not the reason why I can fight the way I can.
Makoto: Huh? What do you mean by that?
Sora: No clue myself...but I am trying to find that out.
Makoto herself was confused when she heard that last part, "What do you mean you're trying to find that out?" She asked but Sora kept quiet as Makoto figured that was something he didn't want to talk about. Noticing a slight shift in his movement, She decided to ask another question. "Say Sora... you never told me the reason why you hate humans." She asked as Sora looked at her a bit before scratching his head. "And you remember that...I thought you had forgotten about it by now." Sora said as she couldn't help but pout. "Geez Man, I may look like a ditz in class but I am smart you know." She said as Sora was puzzled.
"You know I wasn't presuming that you are dumb." Sora said as Makoto realized what she said, as she went red like a tomato. Hiding her face with her hands, Sora continued to look at her with interest. Suddenly the image from before appeared in his head again. Slowly, an image of a girl began to appear next to Makoto in his eyes. She was wearing a black jacket and a modest shirt which exposed some of her cleavage. She also wore a short skirt and black boots as he noticed that she had the same ears that Makoto had minusing the tail.
As Makoto was going to continue her conversation with Sora, she noticed that Sora's expression was slowly becoming something completely different. Instead of the silent loner expression that everyone was used to see him have now, He now had a face of slow shock appearing as she decided to get his attention. "Hey Sora. You there?" She asked as she waved her hand in front of his face. As she did that, Sora continued to focus on the girl that was next to Makoto in his vision.
Slowly, memories of that girl began to appear in his mind. Memories of her trying to talk to him, memories of the times that they spent together despite it being short, memories of a time where he was reluctant for some reason. All of these memories began to flow back into his mind as he focused back to Makoto. "Ah! Sorry Makoto, I was thinking about something that's all." He replied as the figure sat next to Makoto as he decided to answer her previous question.
"Right...about me hating humans...I can't really tell you the specific reason why I hate humans...but for some reason, I feel like I also know it but just can't say it." Sora said as Makoto thought for a bit. "So...You hate humans...but don't know why?" She concluded as she looked at Sora once more in the eyes. Sora nodded his head as he looked back at the sun. "I just feel...that I was most likely betrayed by them in some way." Sora said as he scratched his head. As he said this, Makoto's mind finally clicked as she said loudly something that shocked him.
"IS IT YOU HAVE AMNESIA!?" the moment she shouted that, Sora's mouth just dropped to the ground. He couldn't believe that she managed to guess that right as her face was in shock as well. Simply nodding yes, Makoto couldn't help but feel a sense of pity go into her as she looked at him sadly. "You don't remember much do you?" Makoto said as Sora didn't even face her at that moment. "Yeah...to be honest...I don't really remember what happened to me two years ago...all I remember was waking up in a hospital bed with some stuff...that's all." He answered as he recalled the day that he woke up on that bed, and the subsequent day he left.
FLASHBACK
SORA POV
After staying just a few days in this damn hospital, I was finally able to leave. Not wanting to worry Otou-san and Oka-san, I decided to tell them that I would meet them at the Moonlight Cat of Midnight bar that Pikaka ran. Not that I would remember where it was or how it looked but I didn't mind wandering Otsu again. As soon as I got out of my hospital garb, I wore a simple black shirt and jeans that Oka-san had left for me with black boots.
' This feels comfortable...did Oka-san made this for me?' I wonder as I felt the fabric. It must have mesmerized me a lot because before I know it, I was called by the nurse to claim the stuff I had with me when I came to the hospital. As soon as I approached the counter, I saw a man who wore a doctor's uniform as he looked at me with a small smile. "Ahh! You must be Sora right?" He asked as I just nodded my head as he grabbed a box, most likely containing my stuff and placed it at the table.
I then opened the box, revealling objects I wasn't familiar with...yet they bring back such nostalgia to me. The first thing I grab from it was a charred book, the moment I opened to look at the pages I notice a letter from Nee-san which shocked me as I took it and look intensely. I saw that the seal was opened which suggested I had actually read it before and how it was done in such a way that only I could undo the seal... Which for some reason was natural for me as I undid the seal but kept the letter in my pocket. 'I should read it later...' I thought as I notice the doctor looking at me with the same smile on his face which began to creep me out.
"Can you stop smiling at me like that..." I said rather bluntly as the doctor simply chuckled. "My apologies, just continue overlooking the items in the box." He said as I just continued to do so without him having to say that. As I continued to rumage the box, I found various objects like black gloves with a web like design of white, a silver belt with holsters for something round and straight respectively though the buckle looked like it was going to break, a picture of me and four other people and the black charred box containing the goggles Nee-san wore as it was supposed to be returned to them after I had a look of it and I could finally claim them today.
I then reached the final items of the box, one of which was a combat knife which shocked me gently as I had never expected a knife of all things to be one of the things I carried around. Taking it out of it's sheath, I was surprised to see crimson red greet me instead of the usual white steel I was used to seeing. Quickly placing it back, I kept it in the box as I looked at the other item, It was a white heart shaped figure that I had honestly never seen. As I held it in my hand, I felt a warmth that I had never felt as the doctor said something to me that I for some reason couldn't get it out of my head.
"Do you have friends that you miss right now?"
FLASHBACK END
As soon as he finished recalling that day, Makoto couldn't help but feel sorry for him as he noticed her look of pity for him. "That's terrible...I can't believe you have amnesia." Makoto said as Sora simply shook his hand. "Don't worry about it, just because I have amnesia doesn't mean I can't live my life to the fullest. Besides I'm sure my memories will come back to me someday..." Sora said as the girl he was seeing before made a smile to him. A smile that Makoto was giving now.
"That's good to know. Hey, since we know each other why don't we become friends!" Makoto said frankly as she stretched her hand to shake his. Sora felt reluctant to shake it but Makoto simply just took his hand from his pocket and shook it tightly. " Come on Sora. We're going to see each other a lot more from now on, so the least you can give me is a handshake." she said as the images flowed into his mind as the rest of the memories that he had with the same girl came back like wildfire.
He recalled the various attempts she made to talk to him and how he would push her advances away, just like how he was trying to do the same with Makoto here but couldn't for some reason. He remembered the times that Sora had to spend his spare time with that girl as she tried to become friends with him...until he remembered the day that he held her in his hands and her blood that covered his hands. He felt like crying at that memory because he realized that one of the people that was linked to his past is actually dead but knew he had to be strong and looked at Makoto with eyes of a strange kind of happiness.
"Yeah you're right. It's at least natural for friends to give each other handshakes." Sora said as Makoto felt a bond being formed between her and Sora. She felt that she was beginning to know Sora better as she felt the kindness he usually gave her flow into her as she realized that he was different from most people who viewed beastkin. Sora meanwhile was almost remembering the tail less squirrel beastkin that for some reason looks like Makoto but with longer hair and pure brown hair instead of Makoto's various white and black stripes. He then finally recalled the name of the girl as she smiled right at him and he muttered one word only."R-Reiko."
The moment Makoto heard that, She looked at him puzzled. "Did you happen to say Reiko?" Makoto asked as Sora simply just shook his head. "Oh it's nothing, we should head back to the dorm before it gets dark." Makoto looked at the time on her watch and panicked. "OH NO! IF WE DON'T GET BACK TO THE DORM WE WILL MISS DINNER!" She shouted as she ran off the roof, leaving Sora all alone there as he looked at the figure standing there.
As she smiled right at him before fading from his view, he took out the heart shaped item from his pocket and stared at it before raising it to the setting sun. It made a nice gleam despite the fading light from the sun as Sora felt the tears finally came out off his eyes as he simply muttered to himself in which only the cold wind and the setting sun were the only listeners to what he said.
"Thanks for watching over me from heaven...Reiko of the Code Zero Squadron."
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION! I hope that you all have been enjoying reading Academic Surge right now. I am honestly having the time of my life writing it for you guys. Though I wish I could know what you guys think since I mostly don't get reviews on my review wall, I tend to wonder if you guys are alright with it or not. Regardless I will still continue writing the way that I want despite what you guys may say but at least some input is most welcome. I am not asking for you guys to shower me praises or any of the sort, just give me your honest opinions that's all. With that said, CONTINUE READING ON SHEEP! And stay tuned for the 8th surge.
