Lyra stood, taking in the site before her. Dinn Dee almost stood lifeless. It was as if strings were attached and he was being controlled from above. It was just like that time…

Dinn Dee was being controlled by the Haikizoku. The sight before her brought back vivid memories. While the memories were vague, her body was tense and her heart was racing. All she could think was the time Noemi was attacked by a man with a similar aura.

Noemi… it was because of that event…

"Lyra! Watch out!"

Multiple strings came firing towards her. Lyra barely had time to move away. She had just landed when she was forced to move again with another string coming. It was as if the Haikizoku knew exactly where she was going to land before she even moved. With the last set, she had just landed when the strings were there. Lyra started to run to her left, but she wasn't fast enough and two went slicing her arm.

Lyra hissed, as she felt the stinging sensation run through her arm. She then let out a blast of kei to block the rest from hitting her. The strings hit the wall of kei and were thrown off. Lyra was panting while watching the strings retract. The blast caused her head to throb. She took the time to calm herself to allow her headache to stop. She really needed to be careful, especially with this headache. This wasn't just a platoon match anymore.

"Watch out!" She suddenly felt an arm around her waist pulling her back. Lyra was carried back, finally out of range of the attacks.

"Are you okay?" It was Layfon, arriving near her to help her. He let her go, making sure she was standing on her own before moving back.

Lyra nodded her head, taking a few deep breaths to slow down her heart. "Thanks."

They both looked up at the lifeless form of Dinn with the glowing goat floating above him. "That thing is controlling him…" Lyra mumbled.

"What?"

Lyra nodded, "we need to separate them…" was all she said. Flashes from her past appeared in her mind. The biggest image was the large, muscular man, with a strange dark aura surrounding him, looming over Noemi, the flower-like doll, who was cowering in fear.

Immediately, Lyra stood straight.

Noemi…

She needed to stop this Haikizoku. Ignoring the stinging pain in her arm, Lyra raised her sword and began to increase her kei.

"Wait, Lyra," Layfon stopped her and moved forwards. Lyra blinked. That's when she noticed. His DITE was different now. It was a katana. Lyra knew Layfon's feelings regarding the weapon. She was actually surprised to see that he was willing to wield it, but it made sense. If Layfon planned to use the Psyharden technique, then it was best to use a katana. But now it wasn't just Dinn that they were facing.

"Please don't keep me back, Layfon," Lyra immediately protested, "I'm still angry that you didn't bother to involve me before."

"Lyra, I did it for a reason," Layfon insisted. But Lyra ignored it and began to increase her kei again. Seeing that she wasn't going to back down, Layfon let out a sigh and then stood next to her preparing as well.

"I'll cover you then."

Lyra nodded her head. The idea was still intimidating, but this wasn't new to Lyra. She had seen this once before and Layfon knew that.

"That's my prey!" A voice suddenly appeared, firing an attack. Lyra sensed the attack and immediately moved forwards to block it from hitting Layfon. Lyra squinted from the light that came with the energy colliding with her DITE. With a release of her kei, she pushed the attack back.

"Haia!" Layfon called out. Up until now, due to Sakkei, his presence had been hidden, but when he sent the attack, Lyra sensed him and moved forwards to block.

"As promised, the Haikizoku is ours."

Promised?

Before Lyra could ask, numerous chains flew out as Dinn escaped into the sky. Haia leaped out of the cloud of sand and forced Dinn back to the ground. Lyra had to admit, she was impressed with his quick moves.

The chains bound Dinn tightly the moment he landed. The goat remained the same.

"What's going on?" Layfon demanded. Lyra stood ready next to him.

Men she had not seen before held the chains that bound Dinn. They must be members of the Salinvan Guidance Mercenary Gang — Haia's subordinates. When did they infiltrate the battlefield?

No, they didn't have to infiltrate the field. Karian must have given them permission to use the dormitories. It wasn't difficult for experienced Military Artists to head over to the battlefield from the dormitories.

"'What's going on?'" Haia mocked, "We're just capturing the Haikizoku."

"But isn't the Haikizoku that thing over there?" Layfon looked at the goat.

Lyra blinked at the question. He didn't know?

The goat didn't move in the face of Haia and his subordinates.

"Even I can't capture that thing. No, even you, a Heaven's Blade successor can't do it either. Our dear Queen is the same," Haia explained.

"What do you mean?"

"But it's different with the host," Haia went on, "once we capture the host, the Haikizoku can only wait and let us take it. It's the same when the Haikizoku couldn't do anything to the filth monsters that attacked the city."

Lyra had her eyes narrowed. So it was true…

Haia didn't look at her. He continued, "It's fortunate that the Haikizoku came to the Academy City. There are people with ideals but never enough strength to make them come true. They have the Haikizoku but they don't know how to use it. By itself, the Haikizoku would never have come to us."

That's when she realized. This Haikizoku was looking for a host to live through. It had found Dinn due to Dinn's desire to get stronger — the oath, beat Sharnid… and now that it had found a host, Haia would be able to take it.

But that would mean taking Dinn as well…

"Just what do you plan to do with Dinn there?" Obviously at some point, they would have to separate Dinn from the Haikizoku

"This is unrelated to Layfon-kun. You can't even return to Grendan," he laughed smugly. He was mocking Layfon. Lyra did her best to not express her annoyance. Looking over at Layfon, she saw he was controlling it as well. Instead, they waited for Haia to continue, as he obviously had more to say. He was just enjoying it.

"I'll give you a hint. Why do you think Grendan's always in the danger zone? The answer is the same as that thing there," He answered his own question, indicating the Haikizoku.

Why…?

Grendan was always in the danger zone. They already knew that fact. It was something she learned very quickly, arriving in Grendan. It was the reason why it had such strong Military Artists. The existence of Heaven's Blade successors came from the need to survive in such an unusual place. That was natural.

However, what Haia said… the reason behind Grendan in the danger zone…

She had never thought of it.

"Well then, we're taking it," Haia ended the conversation himself.

"That would mean taking Dinn Dee," Lyra protested, "that can't have been part of the agreement."

Haia had finally turned towards her. "What do you plan to do?" he mocked. "I know your position and the strength you hold, but if the Heaven's Blade successor can't even stop me, then how will you?"

"But he's a student of Zuellini's…" She expected Layfon to say something as well, but there was silence. She then tensed. He couldn't have agreed to this… could he have? Lyra looked up at Layfon. His expression was hard to read. He didn't know…

Haia had said to Karian that he'd capture the Haikizoku and transport it back to Grendan. It was unclear whether Karian knew how Haia was planning to do that. So he planned to transport Dinn along with the Haikizoku. Did he obtain Karian's permission beforehand… Lyra had no idea. Layfon had been unclear what they planned to do from the beginning.

It frustrated Lyra that she hadn't been part of the discussion.

But Layfon had yet to actually move or say anything. Did he truly not know either? If he didn't know then that made their next steps difficult. Were they supposed to just give Dinn Dee up? Lyra couldn't help but feel that wasn't right.

A presence came up behind.

"Wait a minute," Nina called. "You can't take Dinn Dee."

Lyra felt relief hearing the Captain's voice. Afterall she had been part of the initial conversation. But Haia didn't seem phased by her arrival.

"I won't listen to you. You're just a student."

"Dinn did do something wrong, but it won't change the fact that we're classmates. I won't allow his fate to be handed over to you," Nina announced.

Looking at Dinn who was bound by chains, Nina didn't think Haia and the Mercenary Gang would take care of him through normal means. She raised her iron whips. "Let go of Dinn Dee."

"An immature girl who is all talk. What a headache."

Lyra couldn't help but smirk to herself. Haia was about the same age as Layfon, Nina, and Lyra, but his attitude sounded like an old uncle's.

"What if I don't let him go? Wanna fight? Fight with the real Military Artists here? We've 43 people in the dorm," Haia taunted.

They couldn't let the mercenary group take Dinn. He may have held a grudge against them all, and he may have done something illegal, but he was a student at Zuellini and so the consequences would be dealt by Zuellini.

But was it wise to make enemies with the Salinvan Guidance Mercenary Gang?

Like Layfon and Lyra, the Mercenry Gwng had fought numerous filth monsters and other Military artists. While their numbers were much fewer than those of Zuellini, they were far more skilled in terms of fighting.

Whether Layfon would agree with her or not, Nina had made her decision and so Lyra had as well and readied her DITE.

Haia smirked at the group. Lyra knew he knew all this. Not only that, he knew that the Military Artists here would not be able to resist the Mercenaries. Haia and his gang could leave in the chaos quickly. They had their own roaming bus. The self confidence showed ok Haia's face.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Layfon suddenly spoke up, putting the Dite back into the weapon harness.

"Did you say something? Former Heaven's Blade successor." The mockery was heard in his voice. While it was targeted at Layfon, it still bothered Lyra as well.

"I'll be your opponent, against all 43 members of the Salinvan Guidance Mercenary Gang. That number should be enough to test my skill," he said, having chosen the words that suited a Heaven Blade's successor.

"Heh, don't hog all the glory now," Lyra smirked, stepping up, "I'd like to join as well."

Layfon nodded his head. Then, softly he added, "they're going to make sure Dinn stays in their hands. You need to figure out how to release Dinn from the Haikizoku's control."

Lyra nodded her head.

Haia was still relaxed, but the people around him were different. They didn't utter a word, yet the entire atmosphere had changed.

They were angry.

Lyra watched as Layfon had stepped forwards. He pulled out his DITE only this time it was the Sapphire DITE. Lyra didn't understand why. The Katana would have been a better option since this was the Mercenary Gang they were dealing with.

But then she realized that this is what Haia wanted. He was provoking Haia. This way Layfon had reduced the possibility of Nina and Lyra getting involved.

The smile disappeared from Haia's face as expected.

"You're very good at making light of others," Haia said.,It worked. With Haia's full attention on Layfon, Lyra could now focus on working with Nina to free Dinn.

The Gang's concentration was on Haia and Layfon, but their concentration on guarding Dinn hadn't slipped. Dinn couldn't move and the chains around him showed no signs of loosening.

The golden beast stood behind Dinn.

The creature that Layfon witnessed in the ruined city, a creature of mystery. Haia and his organization appeared because of it. What did they plan to do after taking it back to didn't know. They just needed to capture it and take it away, which was fine with them if not for Dinn.

She then glanced at Nina, "we need to get answers from the President."

Nina nodded her head. "Felli," she said softly to the flake.

"I'll try contacting him now," Was her response.

Karian was the one who made the deal with Haia. But Lyra hadn't been there for any of it and it was obvious Nina and Layfon didn't know the entire situation either.

"I understand the situation," Karian's voice came through the flake.

"Did you predict that this would be the outcome?"

"He was unusually reluctant to provide information on the Haikizoku. He didn't reveal how he was going to capture it."

"Of course not…" Lyra mumbled to herself. She knew the captain was frustrated as well, but they couldn't express it. They needed to make sure not to attract the Gang's attention.

"I finally understand what they're planning," Karian said. " I said they could take it but I did not permit them taking Dinn."

"Then what do we do?"

This was the most urgent issue.

"The problem is Dinn. If we can peel away the Haikizoku from him, then everything's perfectly solved," Karien went on.

"But to do that, we must first understand why it chose Dinn," Nina added.

"I know why," Felli's light voice cut in. "Haia said it himself - Here, there are people with ideals but never enough strength to make them come true."

Haia said that when he was capturing Dinn.

Then it clicked for Lyra, "That's right…The core of a Haikizoku is something to do with the mind, right? Because it's a mad Electronic Fairy of a city, it must have wanted to protect the city."

"So it takes over Dinn… but then, why did it choose this timing to pick Dinn? Why Dinn?"

"Think about it, when defeated by Layfon, Dinn revealed his sense of mission to protect the city. He had the mission but his feeling for it could have intensified at that moment," Lyra explained, "this is exactly what an electronic fairy of a destroyed city would look for."

"But isn't it impossible to take the Haikizoku away from Dinn right now?" Nina asked.

"In that case, we can only destroy his heart," Karian said coldly. "Since it's his stubborn heart of protecting the city that caused the Haikizoku to choose him, then we just need to remove his sense of conviction. In other words, make him let go of his mission."

"But how…" Lyra was glad that she didn't have to say what needed to be done. The fact the President understood that. But Nina was right. How would they do that? If any of them tried to say anything, it would anger him more. Unless…

"Can you leave it to me?" a new voice cut in.

Lyra jumped as she heard his voice through a flake "Sharnid?"

Sharnid and Dalshena were closing on Nina's location, being very cautious not to attract the Mercenary Gang's attention. Sharnid's voice came through the flake, but soon she saw them coming into view.

"Do you have a way?" Nina asked.

"You never know if we don't try," Sharnid shrugged. He was wounded.

Dust covered Dalshena's clothes but she didn't look injured. It seemed she had won the battle. She looked at Dinn. Dinn remained conscious but he hadn't done anything to resist the chains. Looking at the side of Dalshena's face, Lyra felt a shock in her chest. Eyes like a mirror, exuding unbelievable light. Dinn was staring at the ground. Pain filled Dalshena's face.

"Can you do it?" Nina asked, noticing the pain filled expression as well.

What they had to do was to completely uproot Dinn's purpose. This was the same as taking away his life for someone who looked at his mission as important as his own life. For these two people who truly knew Dinn, could they do it?

"We have to try, right?" Sharnid's bitter smile showed a bottomless hole.

Nina was also looking at Dalshena.

"I'll do it," Dalshena replied curtly.

With that, they started to head that way, splitting up to confuse the Gang. No one bothered to question how Dalsienna would do it and they didn't have time to justify and conclude the conversation. The goal was to break his will and she was the only one that could do it.

Layfon had given them the chance by keeping most of their attention on him, especially Haia's. Feeling the kei released by Haia, they knew they had to hurry.

While Dalsienna's goal was to make sure that she got to Dinn safely, the rest would make sure to protect her from surprise attacks.

Lyra ran on ahead to clear the path. Nina had engaged a few off and the rest of the tenth platoon had engaged others. At this point, it was good that they had the drugs in their system or else who knows if they could have handled the mercenary gang.

Lyra was ahead and focused on the path for Dalsienna. She was almost there. However, that's when Lyra noticed another presence in the trees. Myunfa!

Of course the archer would be ordered to stop Dalsienna After all, if they manage to free Dinn, capturing the Haikizoku would become difficult. Further behind, Dalsienna, was Sharnid. Lyra saw his eyes widened, as he must have noticed as well.

"Sienna!" he called out to the Vice-Captain. At this point, Dalsienna was already past Myunfa, who was aiming at her back. The arrow soon released.

Lyra soon hurried forwards. Sharnid wouldn't be able to make it in time, but she could. As the arrow reached Dalsienna, Lyra soon stepped into the way and allowed the arrow to strike her. She let out a large breath as the arrow hit and released a large amount of kei to keep the arrow from piercing her. She was pushed back slightly from the pressure of the explosion from the arrow colliding with her kei.

As the dust settled, she turned to see Dalsienna was still running unaffected. On the other side, Sharnid was relaxing as the vice-captain was out of danger.

Lyra took a few deep breaths to calm herself as well. Release that amount of kei caused her head to start throbbing. Hopefully Dalsienna could end this.

She slowly started to head that way. As she got closer, she could hear what Dalsienna was saying to Dinn.

"You've done enough. It's all right now."

Dinn's lips trembled. Tears rolled down in his eyes.

"Dinn..." she called again. "I loved you."

The emotions that were expressed in her voice. Lyra had always seen Dalsienna as such a poise, and composed girl. And yet now… Lyra could see her vulnerable, broken state as she broke what the three of them had for so long. An oath that they believed would last… gone now…

"I loved you. And, goodbye," she said with trembling lips.

As soon as she said those words, there was a sudden blast and the goat disappeared.

And with that, the match was officially over. The bell rang, signaling the end. With the External Kei flow now coming to a stop, the sand and dust soon began to settle. Part of the crowd was cheering, as they saw Dinn Dee on his knees with Nina, Layfon, and Sharnid standing before them. The female commentator's voices could be heard, announcing the winners to be the seventeenth platoon. While everyone above was cheering, the group on the ground was quiet.

Lyra looked up at the crowd, wanting to protest them to be quiet, but Sharnid placed a hand on her shoulder. He just shook his head and both turned to see Dalsienna walking towards them.

"It's not worth protesting," she started. "Obviously there's no way that we can have a rematch with Dinn's condition. Please accept it." Dalsienna then offered a hand to Nina.

Lyra watched as her captain struggled to accept it, but soon Nina accepted the hand, shaking it. Medics soon arrived to place Dinn on a stretcher. Lyra watched as Nina, Sharnid, and Dalsienna spoke with a medic. She wasn't sure what to make of their expressions.

"It's because of the Haikizoku…" Layfon mumbled. Lyra looked up at him. Layfon was watching the group as well, thinking, "because of the Haikizoku his future in military arts is over…"

She knew what he was thinking. This time it wasn't even his intention. She reached over to take his hand briefly, "you did what you had to do. The rest is out of your control."

Layfon nodded his head, "how are you? I know you haven't been feeling well."

Lyra nodded her head, bringing a hand up to massage the top of her head, "yeah I have the headache, but hopefully now with all this over, some rest will help."

"Don't take it too lightly Lyra, you should get it checked out." he remarked.

Lyra nodded her head, "don't worry. I will, if it gets bad."

Layfon then looked up as Nina came over, "well done overall," she praised them. It was obvious she still wasn't happy with the decision, but it was as Dalsienna said. It wasn't worth it.

"Anyways, it's best to just accept it and move on. Time to head back inside," she ordered everyone who silently followed.

Dissatisfaction was felt among the members. From the beginning this match was a complicated one that would not have resulted in a positive win, but the Haikizoku entering by chance caused more problems.

Lyra nodded her head. Not many words were being exchanged among the group and it was obvious why. As they entered the locker room, Layfon went off to decompress. He had been injured during the fight as well. Blood was caked on his face from where one of the strings had struck him. It looked as if he was just going to ignore it, but Felli was soon there, treating it even though he tried to protest.

Lyra let out a sigh. She should treat her arm as well. Heading to the first aid kit, Lyra grabbed the antibiotic ointment and a few cotton balls. She then went over to the bench to treat her wound, first removing her gear so that it would be easier.

She flinched as she sat. Her body felt sore. Just reaching across to treat the wound was too much work.

"Here, let me," a voice spoke. Lyra looked up to see it was Nina before her, offering her help. Lyra just nodded and allowed her Captain to treat her. Initially it was quiet between the two as Nina worked, but then she spoke.

"This is what she meant, isn't it? When she pulled us to the other dimension…"

Thankfully Nina had just dabbed her arm with the ointment when Lyra flinched. She had forgotten Nina had experienced that as well.

"I'm… honestly not… sure…" she replied, thinking.

"Sorry, I can't help but bring that up," Nina apologized, "I mean, with all that's happened… first the incident in the machineries here, then everything in Minerva… and now this? She did say this was the beginning…"

"No, you're right," Lyra nodded, "I mean, whether this is what she meant or not, this is something we have to be careful about. And those mashed men could come here again since they were after it in the other city as well," she reminded.

"In that case, I'm going to continue to keep our training going. We can't afford to relax," Nina decided. She had finished up and was now putting things away. Nina was right. Also, knowing her resolve was to protect Zuellini, she wasn't going to just forget that moment.

"Lyra," she looked over, hearing her captain call for her. Nina had a very serious expression, "I want you to promise me that if you sense anything you come to me immediately."

With how serious her captain was being, Lyra could only nod her head. She wasn't comfortable with the idea since this was technically what she had been trained for. She couldn't just involve the students of this city and have them risk everything just for her mission. But with how things went with the Hakizoku, could she handle this all by herself secretly?

"Anyways, you should go rest up now. Harley will take a look at our DITES and repair them. I'll reach out to you when I know more about Dinn's condition."

"Okay." Lyra responded. Now that her wound was dressed, she sprayed it with a water proof protector. A shower was definitely needed, especially to get all the sand out from her hair. Her glasses would definitely need a good scrubbing too. While she had been proactive and sprayed them in advance to keep the sand from settling on the lenses, the rest of her frame was pretty dirty.

She then headed to the showers. Lyra just let out a sigh and quickly disrobed and stepped into the shower.

The cold water was soothing. Lyra closed her eyes, taking it in.

While she did her best to relax, she saw the goat-like Haikizoku appear before her. Lyra jumped and opened her eyes… It was such an eerie feeling, seeing the creature there floating over the paralyzed body of Dinn Dee.

The Haikizoku escaped, but Dinn Dee was left destroyed.

Lyra quickly finished up and soon headed out.

~xXx~

It was evening now. Lyra stood outside of the hospital. After the match, everyone went home to wash up and change. It was after that, word came from Nina explaining that Dinn was taken to the hospital and Sharnid was there. To show their support, everyone decided to come by to visit and see if he needed anything.

While everyone else had headed off now, Lyra ended up waiting. She stood at the spot where the tram would pick them up, but she never got on the two that had come. She wanted to wait more. Sharnid was still there. That was because Dinn Dee was still there and they didn't know if he would ever be able to come out — on his own that is. Due to the drug overdose along with the combined power of the Haikizoku, it was too much for his body to handle and after the Haikizoku left, Dinn Dee was left in a vegatative state.

Even though none of this was her fault, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She was a part of the plan that was meant to make Dinn unable to continue in the platoon matches this year. Yet, none of them ever meant for it to be taken this far. Layfon had told her how he had planned to use the ultimate Psyharden technique to make it so Dinn would be unable to use his kei organ for half the year. But none of them expected this.

How was Sharnid handling all of this?

She heard the door open and that's when she saw Sharnid come out followed by Dalsienna. Suddenly Lyra felt stupid. Should she have waited? After all, what Sharnid told her about the two of them, what if they were going to use this time to make that up again? And here she was stupidly getting in the middle of that.

However, the two spoke at the door and then Dalsienna turned and left. Heading down a different path away from the tram. Lyra was pretty sure Dalsienna glanced her way, but her long, blonde curls came in her face before Lyra could confirm. Either way, Lyra felt relief that she wasn't interrupting something.

Lyra looked back at Sharnid who was staring at the door to the hospital. His hands were in his pocket. Soon he turned away and started to head towards the tram pickup spot. She saw him look up and their eyes met. He was then smirking.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked as he came up to the bench.

"I… sorry I don't mean to be nosy… I just wanted to know how you were?" she tried to explain. "I mean this was obviously not how any of us expected it to end so…"

She stopped as Sharnid let out a sigh, "there's really no point in saying that, you know?"

Lyra looked up, confused. "I mean yeah, the Haikizoku coming wasn't expected, but the drugs, kei usage, damaged mind and body… these are the consequences of taking the drugs," he went on.

Lyra nodded her head slowly. She was looking in the direction of where the tram would be coming from. It was really just a focal point as she tried to understand Sharnid. He had already accepted the outcome.

"But are you okay?" she asked, looking back at him.

Sharnid just smiled, placing a hand on her head, "don't worry. I'm fine. I appreciate the concern."

Lyra blushed when she felt him place his hand on her head. The response was genuine so she would stop. Seeing her satisfied, Sharnid then let out a sigh, moving his hand to his pocket and looked in the direction of the tram that was supposed to come. "Alright, we have a celebration in order and I really feel it's pointless to wait for a tram, especially with you. Come on, it's not that long of a walk."

"Wait, why?" Lyra asked, as he started to walk.

Sharnid stopped and looked at her, "the win may have been given to us, but we managed to stop the Haikizoku so that counts," he replied.

"No, not that. I mean the tram part?" she clarified.

"Oh, that's because knowing your luck the tram will end up getting us lost." He was then walking again.

"Hey!" Lyra protested at his response. Sharnid just started to laugh, "come on. Let's go!" He called back to her.

"How many times do I have to ask you to walk slowly?" she grumbled to which Sharnid laughed.

"Oh, come on, Lyra. You don't seem to have this trouble when on the battlefield," Sharnid remarked.

"Well, I would rather not have to run all the time," she grumbled, though thankful he decided to slow down a bit. She was able to walk next to him now.

"Yeah… I keep forgetting I have to accommodate a short person now," he remarked.

Lyra scowled at that.

"You know, at this rate, you're going to end up with wrinkles by the age twenty," Sharnid warned.

"Yeah, and I'll have you pay for my cosmetic procedures since it'll be your fault," she replied.

"Oh Lyra…" Sharnid laughed.

Lyra ended up smiling at his laugh. It was nice to see the normal Sharnid back again. The past week had been strange with how serious he had been. Although normal Sharnid also meant the teasing was back. She knew he meant well and yet she still couldn't help but let it get to her.

"So where are we going, exactly?" she asked, looking around.

They were near the downtown area of the city. Considering the next day was a weekend, many students were out on the street. Some were talking about the recent events and how strange they were and others Lyra didn't pay much attention to, as she was trying to guess where they were.

"Come on, Lyra. Don't tell me you're that forgetful now," Sharnid suddenly laughed, "we were discussing this in the locker room after training."

Lyra ended up furrowing her brows confused. She wanted to ask what he meant, but that would just mean he would tease her even more. She was about to protest how half the time they were being secretive so that she barely saw them in the locker rooms.

"Actually, no. You wouldn't have known considering you were too busy guarding your glasses," he corrected himself before she could say anything.

That made Lyra frown again.

"Oh, Lyra dear, no need to get so angry," Sharnid insisted.

"Hmph," was all Lyra said as she crossed her arms. She knew he was teasing her and yet she couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"So do you recognize the place?" he asked her.

"Yes," Lyra replied dully, "it's where we came to eat for the first time after training."

"Excellent!" Sharnid cheered and then laughed at the annoyed expression Lyra had, "Oh don't be so angry, Lyra. I'm just teasing you," he insisted, holding the door open for her, "Nina said that they would be in the back, past the partitions."

Lyra nodded her head, slowly. She couldn't help but wonder the entire time. Has she really been a part of these conversations? If so, why couldn't she remember? There was no way. Sharnid had to have been messing with her. Lyra knew she wasn't that dumb to forget.

However, her mental investigation was disrupted. When Lyra entered past the partitions, it was there she heard small horns being blown along with streamers and confetti being thrown, and lastly a very loud:

"SURPRISE!" Everyone suddenly jumped out - minus Felli, who was sitting in the back. It was an amusing sight to see someone with such a serious expression sitting there with a birthday hat on and streamers floating around them.

Lyra wasn't able to say anything for a bit. She was still trying to take in the sight before her. Everyone was gathered, Nina, Harley, Felli, Layfon, Reina, Clarissa, and Naruki and her friends. They all had party hats on and streamers were put up everywhere with confetti falling.

"Wait, what's going on?" she asked. Her eyes fell to the item in the center of the table. It was a cake and on it was written in all capital letters:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYRA!"

"That's today?"

Behind her Sharnid let out a laugh. Lyra looked back at him. "I can't believe you didn't even realize your own birthday was coming up."

Lyra did her best to comprehend the situation. But Sharnid laughed again, grabbing a party hat and placing it on her head, "come on. You can ponder that later. Let's party!" he cheered, guiding her in.