Neige sighed and stretched, feeling like she still hadn't completely managed to shake the drowsiness off of her, and her keen eyes stared into the distance, as if trying to find an answer to the questions that were tormenting her. The weather was surprisingly good on that day, which only made Neige feel less at ease. At that particolar moment, she would have preferred for the skies to be overcast and gloomy, or perhaps even for some rain to start falling. At least at way, the weather would be much more in line with how she was feeling right then.
"Dammit… what's going on here? Where did they take Mayl?" she murmured to herself, pacing back and forth on the campus' rooftop. She kicked away a peeble, feeling frustrated over her inability to prevent their enemies from kidnapping one of their own, and her failure to realize how Luna was feeling before it got too much for her to handle. "If I had just been stronger, maybe I could have taken those guys, and Mayl would still be here… And if I had just seen how Luna felt about me, I could have talked to her, and she wouldn't have felt like she was shoved aside. Man, this is going to be a busy week, I can already see that."
The ice mage took a good look at the campus and at the seemingly limitless green countryside, with the small houses and farms dotting the place. The idea that soon a war might break out and toreate the peace and safety of all those people was terrifying… and it made her realize just how much was at stake there. There were people… real people… living in there. People whose lives might very well be ruined or lost if she and her companions weren't able to stop their enemies. To think that it had all started out as a fun, light-hearted romp in another world with the chance to score with some of her favorite girls…
Clearly, it didn't work like in the anime and manga she enjoyed back when she lived on Earth. In those, some nobody from Earth would get sucked into another world (possibly after having been run over by the ever-present out-of-control truck) and immediately gain incredibile powers with which they would quickly rise to be one of the strongest people in the new world. They might get to be heroes like that black-haired swordsman, or villains like that skeleton dude, but they would almost always be leagues above anyone else from the new world.
That hadn't been the case for her. She wasn't powerless, of course, but it was clear that she was neither unbeatable nor infallible… otherwise, she wouldn't be in the current situation.
"I can't keep thinking negatively." Neige told herself, staring down at the pavement. "Right now, I need to try and find a solution to this mess. I need to find a way to get Lunamaria to listen to me… and then, I needto get good enough to rescue Mayl from those guys. And I'm not going to get stronger by moping about it. Perhaps I should go and get some practice in order to clear my thoughts… and then I'll think about what I can do."
Right then, a quick sound of pacing drew her attention, and the white-haired girl turned to the door to the campus roof, hoping it was not a teacher coming to discipline her. Much to her joy, it was actually Miyu, who seemed to have come to see if Neige was feeling well. It was a welcome visit – Neige really felt the need to talk to someone about what had happened in the last days, and Miyu was the one who was closest to her. She was sure she could tell Miyu everything about her issues.
"Neige! I've been looking for you all over the campus!" Miyu stated, reaching Neige and exchanging a gentle hug with her. Both girls blushed deeply for a moment and held each other close for a few moments before they separated, feeling a little better already. "Then I thought about it, and I concluded you might be in a place where you could cool down and be alone with your thoughts… but I also thought there could be something eating at you, and you might want to talk to someone. So here I am, basically."
Neige sighed in a gesture of both relief and gratitude. She could only appreciate the concern from her closest friend... and perhaps there was something more to it. "Thank you, Miyu… to be honest, I was thinking of everything that happened recently. It started out when that girl Kuro showed up and I didn't really know what to make of her…" She scrunched her nose in anger and annoyance. Right now, she wouldn't have minded the chance to get out there and punch that girl in the face for everything she had pulled.
"And then, when I went too deep into the forest, and we got wrecked by those monsters, and I awakened my powers and froze them all like popsicles… Yeah, I guess that was when I truly learned how strong I could be…" Neige stated. In truth, she believed that was also the moment when she had started developing some serious feelings for Miyu. After getting badly injured in battle, the two of them had spent basically an entire day lying in the sickbay, with the chance to rest together and get closer.
"And then we ended up meeting allthose other girls, and I got in a match with Umi…" Neige continued, her own train of thoughts feeling like it was going on autopilot."…and now Mayl has been kidnapped by those bastards. It seems like everything is falling apart around us, and I really don't like it! This was… I mean… this isn't how it was supposed to go! Ugh, look at me, I'm starting to sound like I'm going crazy here!"
"Calm down, Neige. Calm down! The last thing we need now is to lose our heads and stop thinking logically. That's just what our enemies would want!" Miyu answered a bit forcefully, placing a hand on her best friend's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. The ice mage blinked in surprise and looked back at Miyu, who sighed and went on, this time more gently."I know what you're trying to say. We've been utterly taken by surprise, and we didn't know how to react to these enemies. But we won't take this laying down. Everyone is getting ready for training camp in the mountains. And we've also been looking into where they could have taken Mayl."
"So, how did it go? Did you manage to find the place where they might have hidden Mayl?" Neige asked anxiously, taking a deep breath in order to get herself back under control.
Miyu sighed and rubbed her chin. "We still haven't had much luck, but we did find a few places where she could have been hidden." She answered. "Still, know that the entire academy is doing their best to find Mayl, and we will not rest until we get to the bottom of it."
Neige managed a smile and a wink. "That's great to know. Thanks, it helps a lot to know that." She stated, feeling a little better already.
The black-haired girl nodded and looked away, as if she was trying to find the right words to say what was next. "Well… that, and there was something else I needed to tell you…" she ventured, then stared into the distance, clearly embarassed.
Neige blinked and looked at Miyu in curiosity. "Yes, Miyu? What is it?" she asked, leaning in a little and causing Miyu to blush harder.
Miyu cleared her voice and spoke once again, hoping not to stumble on her own words. "Well… to be honest… even though I understand this is not the ideal moment, and it wasn't exactly how I thought it would go… but I wanted to tell you that… well…"
"Well?" Neige ventured, feeling her heart beat faster. Miyu seemed to be about to say what was on her mind… when Neige suddenly felt something tickle her nose, and she tried to hold herself in… but she couldn't stop herself, and burst in a loud sneeze! A powerful gust of wind blew on the two girls and kicked their skirts up, so that their panties appeared in plain sight. Neige got an eyeful of Miyu's panties and widened her eyes, just a moment before she got a huge nosebleed, accompanied by such a huge blush that the trickle of blood could barely be seen on her face! And a similar blush appeared on Miyu's face, and she glanced away in embarassment.
After a few moments of awkward silence, the two girls looked at each other, and Neige managed a giggle. "Well… somehow, it always happens whenever we're about to say something important!"
"Yeah… looks that way!" Miyu sighed and smiled wistfully. Oh well. It would be for another time. "Anyway… we should get back inside. We still have things to do before we get ready for our training."
ooooooooo
As this was going on, anyway, a lone figure was watching the two of them from another building, a short distance away, but well hidden in the shadows of the rooftop. Serena sighed wistfully as she watched Neige and Miyu getting all embarassed around each other, being glad they at least seemed to be making some progress with each other. However, an ominous feeling was still hanging over her, something she couldn't shake no matter how hard she tried.
"Neige… Miyu… just be careful." The honey-haired oracle girl whispered to herself. "I fear that something terrible is in store for the two of you. This week… might be a trying time for both."
With that, hoping she was doing the right thing not to interfere, Serena turned away and disappeared into the shadows…
ooooooooo
Zoe yelled and channeled more magical energy through her arms and hands, before unleashing it in the form of an howling miniature tornado that burst towards the large stone in front of her, impacting it head-on and drilling through it with shocking ease. The wind blast kept going, tearing through its target and scattering chunks of stone all over the place, then bursting out of the other side and dissipating in the distance, just before it could touch the walls of the training room.
The blond-haired girl sighed and stared at the palm of her right hand. It was quite a satisfying result, but she thought she could still do better. She still had some time before she had to meet up with her companions later, so she decided to make the most out of it, and keep at it a little more.
Zoe unleashed another blast of wind, just to keep the practice… and the force of the wind lifted up her skirts, showing off her panties – for what would be the umpteenth time during that training session. Zoe blushed and used her free hand to hold her skirt down, thankful that no one else was around to see. This small inconsequential incident still caused her to think back of Neige and all the embarassing moments that seemed to happen around her. That girl was like a magnet for this sort of happenings… and yet, she couldn't help but admire how devoted to her friends she was and how she was trying her best to bring back Mayl and Lunamaria. Zoe wasn't sure whether she could say the same about herself, and she knew it would have taken her a lot of effort to be able to get to her friends' level.
"I still have some way to go before I can compare with her…" Zoe reasoned, before sitting down and taking a bit of rest. She had been training intensively for a couple hours now, and she felt she needed to let her body rest for a while. "I swore I would never be a burden on my companions any longer, but right now, I feel like I still need to be stronger if I want to protect Neige. Well… as soon as the real training session begins, I'll push myself to become even stronger!"
Determined to reach her newly-found goal, Zoe carefully stood up and righted herself, then began walking back to her quarters, planning to take a shower and then maybe grab a bite to eat. "And I hope I can gather the courage to talk to Neige about what I feel for her too…" the wind mage whispered to herself. "I've been feeling that way for quite a while now… Heh, Neige is certainly quite the chick magnet, isn't she?"
Chuckling to herself, Zoe went out of the training room and back to her own quarters…
oooooooooo
Mikoto sighed angrily and slammed her hand on her desk in frustration. Once again, her attempts to find Serena had been a total waste of time. The electromancer had no idea how Serena was able to do it, but one thing was for certain – she was skilled at avoiding detection, and in this new world, magic followed rules she was completely unfamiliar with, and with which she was still struggling. Back when she was in her homeworld and she had to tangle with Espers, magicians and strange gods, there were some precise and well-understood rules that allowed her to get a fairly good idea of what she was dealing with. Here, wizards and mages were a lot less bound to rules and nebulous laws, which on one hand meant that they had a lot more freedom on what they could do… but on the other, required Mikoto to unlearn what she had already learned about magic.
Mikoto leaned back in her chair and tried to think of something else to calm down her nerves. For example, the times she had spent bonding with Neige in these latest days… she hadn't really started out with the intention of bonding with the girl, but approaching her and getting to know her had actually changed Mikoto's mind. She and Neige had managed to become friends quite quickly, and they had soon started to spar together, with Mikoto having needed to do nothing to explain herself except the fact that she wanted to help finding Mayl and Luna. Mikoto had found that Neige's ice based magic complemented her own electricity magic well enough, and the two of them had been training together a couple times, eventually coming to a fairly good understanding.
Mikoto had to say, she was quite impressed with Neige, who reminded her quite a bit of herself. Neige was strong, determined and devoted to her loved ones, willing to go to any lengths in order to protect and help in fact, she could also be funny and clumsy at times, but in an endearing way. The only thing Mikoto had something of an issue with was Neige's sneezing…
"Ugh, I don't even know why I get so mad over such nonsense, at times…" Mikoto grumbled to herself, angrily tapping her pen on her desk as she thought back on a couple of those accidents in the previous days. Both times, it had been after an intense training session, and the two of them were tired and sweaty, but happy to have been able to compete with each other. Mikoto had gone to congratulate Neige on her skills, and, well…
oooooooooo
(START FLASHBACK)
"Phew… that was amazing, I must admit that!" Mikoto answered as she and Neige sat with their backs to the wall in the training room, feeling the fatigue of their sparring match, but also being glad to have matched skills against a worthy opponent. "You are a really skilled magician, Neige. I have no idea why I didn't see that before."
"Magician? Oh, right, you mean mage…" Neige answered with a small smile, wiping her forehead. She had seen quite a bit of Mikoto's series, "A Certain Magical Index" and "A Certain Scientific Railgun", and she knew that the series used the word 'magician' to designate those who dabbled with magic. Of course, when one go tinto details, the series got complex and confusing… how did Kamachi ever manage to write something that complicated?
Anyway, back to the discussion at hand, Neige decided, shaking herself out of her mental ramblings.
"Well, anyway, never mind me, I was just… hmm… wondering about the term you used. In any case, Mikoto, I was glad to get to know you and spar against you as well. You really know your stuff… and I've never seen a lightning user do things like those!"
"Oh, let's just say, I have quite a lot of experience." Mikoto answered with a confident smirk. "But even so, I was pretty dazzled with all the skills and the spells you've thought up. You have a way to think of new strategies on the fly… well, I should have known, since you are one of the few people who can give Umi Ryuuzaki a run for her money. To be honest, I didn't think you were that good at first."
Neige combed her hair back. "Well, I have to say, I was unprepared for her at first." She admitted. "And I had to make do with what I had. But in the end, I guess I didn't do half a bad job, did I?"
"I'd say you didn't, girl!" Mikoto answered jauntily. "And I was glad to have sparred with you. It really showed me where I can get better, and gave me ideas on how to do it."
Neige winked, which caused Mikoto to blush slightly. How did the girl manage to be so cute without even meaning to be? That was something that Mikoto had never seen anywhere else… and it was nothing like her infatuation with Touma, back in her own world. Touma had been something unreachable, a saviour that would forever be out of her reach, but in terms of power an as a person… Neige, on the other hand, had a way of making herself relatable that Mikoto had never found anywhere else. It gave Mikoto confidence and reassured her that she could stand on her own and help her friends just as much as they could help her.
"Anyway, I guess we can take a break for now." Mikoto stated, stretching her arms. "I don't know about you, but I could really use a cold drink right now."
"Oh, I agree with you on that…" Neige began to say… until she started to feel that familiar tingling sensation in her nose, and she tried to hold it in. But it was a losing battle, and she ended up drawing a deep breath… and letting out a loud sneeze that kicked up a sudden burst of wind!
Caught off guard, Mikoto could do nothing but stare in surprise and disbelief as the wind from Neige's sneeze kicked up her skirt, allowing the white-haired ice mage a perfect peek at Mikoto's panties! The electric mage got a flustered expression on her face and blushed furiously, then quickly placed her hands on her skirt to keep it down – but it was too late as Neige had already seen enough of it to get a huge nosebleed!
The two of them stared at each other in awkwardness, with Mikoto having her hands on her skirt, and Neige holding an handkerchief to her nose. For a while, the two of them kept staring at each other, not knowing what to say or do… and in the end, Neige tried to break the tension by saying the first thing that came to her mind.
"Er… Gekota themed panties?"
SLAP!
That was the wrong thing to say. A flustered Mikoto had reached out and slapped Neige, leaving a comical hand-sized print on the white-haired girl's cheek!
"Pervert!" Mikoto shrieked in embarassment as she stormed off, leaving a stunned Neige in her wake. The white-haired girl sighed in resignation and cast a simple spell to cool down her aching cheek.
"Okay, mental note. Girls don't appreciate you noticing certain features about their underwear." She told herself.
ooooooooo
Mikoto sighed as she remembered that particolar accident. In hindsight, it hadn't really been Neige's fault. Mikoto had to admit that she could be quick to anger and embarassment, which had caused her no shortage of trouble even in Academy City.
"Well, perverted tendencies aside, Neige is a nice person." Mikoto admitted to herself. "And I'm sure that losing Lunamaria and Mayl is taking a toll on her. That's why I will try to help her as much as I can. And they should be about to meet at the academy gates, so… well, I better hurry up and join them."
With that, the lightning mage hurried back to packing, and began to check that everything was in place before the start of her most important journey…
oooooooooo
The week had finallly come and gone… and the time to start the training journey had finally come. For Neige and Miyu, it was also the right time to check if they had taken everything they needed. Clothes, food, healing supplies… one never knew what could go wrong in places like those, and it was always better to be safe than sorry.
"Alright… I think we got all we need, Miyu." Neige finally said, a small smile dancing on her pale face. "Are you ready? I bet this will be the big one!"
The other girl merely nodded, seemingly lost in thought. She did think it would be a great opportunity for them to train and prepare for the battles yet to come, but she also couldn't help but be glad this would also be a chance to be together… But those concerns could come later, after they were sure that Lunamaria and Mayl were safe, and that their enemies were no longer an issue.
"I think I'm ready, Neige." Miyu answered, living a small smile herself. "So… let's get to it, shall we? I'm pretty sure the rest of the team is already waiting for us by the gates."
Neige nodded and adjusted her backpack on her shoulders, and the two girls left their room and walked through the halls and corridors of the academy towards the gates. Just like Miyu had predicted, their two companions were already there – Zoe and Umi were standing by the gates, and the blonde half-Italian waved at Neige and Miyu as they approached.
"Buongiorno!" she greeted in her native language. "I see you've come on time, girls! Are you ready to take the big step outside of our safe and cozy academy?"
Neige chuckled at that, appreciating how Zoe was trying to add some levity to a serious situation. Right then, Zoe and Umi were wearing their travel clothing with high boots and backpacks, filled with everything they could think of to make their training easier and make sure they would always have anything they might need. "Of course we are!" she answered. "And thank you for joining us. But you should know that what we're about to get into could be really dangerous. Are you girls sure you want to join us? If you aren't convinced, you're still in time to back down, and we won't think any less of you for that."
"I know, and thanks for thinking of us." Umi answered confidently. "But you know we're going to join you regardless. I wouldn't want to back down, not when this academy and all the people I care about are in danger. Besides, I would like to help recovering Mayl and Lunamaria, so… count on my aid for this."
Neige and Miyu nodded in Umi's direction, and the blue-haired water mage elegantly brushed her hair before smiling confidently. "Besides, with all the crazy stuff I've seen from where I come from, I don't think that a simple training camp with rattle me in any way!" she stated.
"Yeah, I'm sure of that!" Neige joked, before taking a good look around herself. It was still early in the morning, and the temperature was a bit chilly, with several stars still visible in a sky that was slowly but surely shedding off the darkness of the night, but all things considered, it was just the right time to depart on their journey. They needed to make their way to the mountains fast enough, and by midday, they should have already covered a significant part of their journey. So she decided that she should wait for a few more minutes, just in case there were some last-moment issues to take care of, and then everyone would be off.
She was about to ask for confirmation and tell everyone to move out, when a sharp voice called for her and the rest of the team to stop.
"Wait up! You're not forgetting about me, are you?"
Everyone turned around and saw, much to their surprise, that Mikoto was rapidly walking towards them, a confident look in her eyes. On her shoulders, she was carrying a full backpack, which showed that she had spent quite some time picking up what might be needed for the journey ahead. "I believe I've gotten involved in this mess enough already." She stated as she got within hearing distance. "And I'm not going to just walk away and let someone else take care of the problem. No way I'm ever doing that again." She said. "Since I can help now, I've decided to join your little party and show those jerks attacking our academy what we're really made of! So, what do you say, huh? The Railgun is here, and she's here to stay!"
She smiled confidently and put her hands on her hips, leaving the rest of the team to stare at her in a mixture of confusion and disbelief. In the end, it was Miyu who broke the silence and spoke up.
"W-Well, I guess having one more ally on our side certainly wouldn't hurt our chances." She stated. "Besides… from what I've seen of her magic, Mikoto is quite a capable and versatile spellcaster. That's fine by me… I think Mikoto is welcome in our party. Don't you think so as well, Neige?"
After a moment of thinking it over, Neige smiled and nodded in Mikoto's direction. "Yeah, I think Miyu makes a pretty good point! If Umi and Zoe are cool with it, I don't see why you can't join us, Mikoto!" she said cheerfully.
Umi smiled and nodded at the electromancer. "Okay, I've got no objection about it."
"Neither do I! I'm sure Mikoto here will make for a great friend and ally!" Zoe exclaimed, glad toh ave someone else around. "Welcome on board, Mikoto!"
"Then, I'm all for it as well!" Neige answered. "You are welcome to join us, Mikoto! I'm sure that with your help we will be able to bring this matter to a close soon enough!"
Mikoto smirked and winked at the team. "Thank you very much! You won't regret bringing me along!" she answered. "So, when are we going to move out?"
"Right now, I'd say." Neige answered with a nod. "We need to cover quite a bit before noon, and we need to make good use of our time if we want to make ourselves useful."
Privately, Neige thought it would also be a chance to make use of her time to confess to Miyu. It had been a while since she had come to that world, but she had never been able to tell Miyu how she felt. It seemed that circumstances always held her back from saying it… and there was still that strange, awful dream she couldn't make sense of. She just wished there was some way for her to get to know more about it…
But for now, her priority was to rescue Luna and Mayl. And for that, she needed to get stronger and better with her magic. Everything else could wait.
Unknown to Neige, Miyu was thinking something along those lines. The black-haired girl glanced at her friend, a slight blush on her face as she thought on how she might confess to her… which Zoe and Umi were able to see from where they stood.
"My, my, Miyu… is it just me seeing things, or you're thinking of something special?" Zoe teased. "Or should I say… someone special?"
"W-What? You… you must have seen something that wasn't there!" Miyu protested in embarassment, loudly enough for Neige and Mikoto to notice. Mikoto thought it was a bit unusual for the normally calm and rational Miyu to act all flustered and surprised… while Neige was honestly surprised and wanted to know more about that.
"Hm? Hey, Miyu, what's this all… about…" she began to say, just before her nose began to itch and tickle in a familiar way! The ice mage cringed, knowing about the explosive effects of her sneezes, and tried to hold it in… but she wasn't successful, and the results were predictable. "A… A… AAAA-CHOOOOO!"
Neige sneezed loudly, and a powerful gust of wind blew past the team, kicking up the other girls' skirts and giving Neige a good view of their panties, all at the same time! As the girls struggled to hold their garments down, Neige stood there in a daze, staring wide-eyed at her companions… and a few seconds later, she swayed to one side as blood burst out of her nose, with enough force to almost knock her back! She was barely able to grab an handkerchief and squeeze her nose shut!
For a moment, the entire team stood there in embarassment and surprise, not knowing what to say or do. Then, the girls spoke up, in a single voice.
"NEIGE!"
"Hahahaaa! My bad, my bad…" Neige giggled innocently, her words muffled by the bloody handkerchief that she was holding to her nose!