A/N: Chapter 2 of Eighty-Six. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Chrome Shelled Regios belongs to the rightful owner.

Chapter 2: Capture the flag

The next day...

"Lift your arms a little more!"

"Yes!"

"Put more power into that strike! You'll only suffer from the rebound!"

"Yes!"

"Keep your thumbs on the outside of your fists! If your punch connects you'll break them and it'll only hurt you and not your opponent."

"Yes!" I wiped the sweat from my brow and took a quick sip of water. Since yesterday I learned that I couldn't wield a DITE but instead change the appearance of my arms into that of a beast..a Filth Beast. The leader of the 17th Platoon Nina Antalk decided to teach me the basics of fighting, everything from defensive stances, attack stances to attack maneuvers and how to control my kei.

"You still have potential as a Kei user it's just weird that you can't use a DITE. If I have to judge, you probably have an unusual amount of External Type kei." She said, pointing to the blackboard like a teacher. When I'm not practicing my techniques I'm studying the books.

"External..type?" I tilted my head in confusion, a notebook with pages of notes lay flat on my little desk, a pencil twirling between my fingers. Whenever I'm with the platoon Nina would make it her top priority to teach the new members the basic knowledge about the Military Arts.

"External Type kei which lays mostly dormant within your body is used for attacking. It would take the form of a blast which would affect the surrounding materials." She looked to where the males were doing something else and pointed to the man with the tea-colored hair. "Layfon Alseif over there has Internal Type kei, it is used to strengthen parts of the body during battle or to speed up regeneration. He claims it's the 'bread and butter' for the receivers."

"What about her?" I tilted my head to the silver-haired girl who leaned against the wall with an expressionless look. She noticed that I was staring and walked off with a silent huff, I guess she doesn't really like newcomers.

"That was Felli Loss, her brother is the head of the Student Council. She has Psychokinetic kei and because of that we call her an Nen-I user. She can communicate telepathically as well as move objects around with her telekinetic ability. Unfortunately she cannot use External Type kei or Internal Type kei because it's a combination of both."

"That makes sense, how intriguing." I nodded at her words and started to scribble some more notes.

"I was wondering, what's wrong with your eye? Why do you need that eye-patch?" Nina asked. They were sincere questions but I felt my insides tense up.

"...Sorry I don't want to talk about this eye yet...not until I'm ready." I placed a hand over my eye-patch and looked away.

"...Very well." She spoke after a long time of staring at me with calculating eyes. "But I want some clear explanations when you're ready."

"Yes Ma'am." I replied and we continued the session before the school bell rang as a warning that first class was about to begin.

"Don't forget, we have practice first thing tomorrow morning. Don't be late. See ya." Nina waved goodbye and left.

After school...

Once the bell rang signaling the end of the last class, I walked back to my dorm with my bag over my shoulder. Usually I'd take the train back to the station since the girls dorm wasn't that far away but today I realized a tiny pound on the other side of the campus and it was hidden from view unless you look vary closely so I decided to check it out. Settling underneath the comfy shades of the tree I splayed out on the soft grass and looked at the sky above me in silence. The wind played with my red hair lazily and I closed my eyes to take a quick nap. I started to dream and within my dream I saw a silhouette of people dressed in dark robes. I tried to see what their faces looked like but they were hidden behind some kind of mask. I tried to speak but nothing came out and then I realized that I was floating within an experimentation tube.

"Her conditions are stable, no abnormalities." A female voice spoke. "It's amazing."

"Did you except anything less?" A male's voice countered. "Out of all the specimens here, this one was a rarity."

"How did you get her? Where is she from?" The female asked.

"The records show that she was found in another town." A much younger voice spoke as it was accompanied by the shuffling of papers. "Somehow the government was able to take her before she was fully developed. Of course it wasn't cheap, we had to pay big bucks for this one."

"We tried to fuse her blood with a couple of others but as you can see.." I watched as they turned their heads to the side and I followed their line of sight, my breathing stuck in my throat as my eyes widened in horror. Through the glass container I could see mountains of corpses that went from the floor to the ceiling. There were some twitching limbs here and there and as revolting as it seems I couldn't tear my gaze away from them. "they weren't the perfect candidates to be catalysts."

"This type of blood has already adapted to her body, responding to her and her alone." The female replied as she scribbled some notes on a clipboard. "That's what makes her rare."

"What happens if she loses control in the future?" A male's voice asked and they looked back at me. "Do you think she'll turn just her ancestors before her and become a destroyer of humanity?"

"No matter what path God has laid out for you..."

"You are in charge of your own fate."

"Some roads are going to be thorny..."

"But there's always an alternative solution to walking them."

"It doesn't matter who you are, it only matters on what you will become. Everyone has their own sins and struggles to carry, you are no different!" Their voices echoed and I awoke with a jolt, my heart thumping against my chest painfully. Somehow those words felt like needles stabbing into my ear and I shook my head constantly to get it out.

"Hey check this out." I looked up to see a group of boys approaching me. "Such a beauty all by herself, I wonder if she's feeling lonely." Sitting next to me, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Listen here baby, let's say you and me...tonight at my house. What do you say?"

"Uh...no." I nervously replied, trying to detach his arm from my shoulder. "Who would want to go out with an idiot such as yourself?"

"You...you...you look like an idiot too!" He stumbled over his words, it would seem that he's not use to insults since nobody actually talked to him like this.

"Oooooh, that one cut deep." I responded, lacing the tone of my voice with sarcasm.

"I'll show you a deep cut!" He growled and whipped out his DITE, getting into an attacker's stance. I took a defense stance like I learned from today, both arms raised on either side of my face. He lunged forward, thrusting his sword towards my face. I ducked as the weapon sailed overhead and slammed my palms against his body, pouring some of my Kei into his body. He flew back in surprise and landed against the ground with a grunt. I was so preoccupied with him that I didn't notice his buddies circling me. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain on the back of my neck and I fell forward, hitting the ground hard. I lay there wincing before receiving a kick to my ribs, knocking the breath out of my lungs. I curled up as more blows rained down upon me, covering my head with my arms the best I could.

"You bitch!"

"Take this!"

"Grovel in the dirt like the pig you are!"

"Why don't you grovel in the dirt you bastards!" A new voice shouted and the blows suddenly stopped. I decided to take a peek after a few minutes of anticipating the next hit.

"You are..." I looked up to see Layfon standing in front of me, his DITE drawn with an angry expression on his face. The man was wailing, waving his stump of an arm in panic. I spotted his dismembered limb lying in the dirt.

"I don't know what happened here but no one is allowed to bully a team member. Get out of here." Layfon ordered firmly, his eyes blazed with determination. The men looked at one another before looking at their leader who scowled, holding his wounded arm.

"I'll never forgive you...neither of you! You just watch I'll get you both some day! Let's go." The man backed off and walked away with his group in a hurry.

"Are you okay?" Layfon asked as he put away his weapon, holding out his hand.

"I think so." I said and I accepted his hand, getting back on my feet. "Thanks for...you know saving me." I avoided his gaze and I swear my face was starting to heat up. We stood there in awkward silence before he held my hand lightly. I looked up at him in confusion as he pulled me along.

"Let's get you cleaned up."

"Ah! Wait my bag!"

Layfon's room...

The walk to the boy's dorm was not as close as I thought and it was surprisingly bigger than what I had expected. Layfon's room was on the second floor and at the end of the hallway. I stood inside his room as he moved about cleaning away some left-over food; my eyes gazed at every little thing in detail like I was trying to memorize the layout of his living space. The difference between his room and mine is that mine has a little more space than his but he has a kitchen; other than that we have almost identical rooms.

"Here. You can use the bath and wash up. I'll get you some spare clothing." He smiled as he held the door open for me. I shuffled in and locked the door behind me. The bathroom was beautiful with its white tile walls. The shower had a ceramic tile floor and the tub next to it was big enough to fit two people. Overall it took my breath away and I saw that there was water in the tub that was still warm. Placing my bag near the door and easing out of my dirty clothes I gently eased into the water, releasing a sigh as the soothing liquid flowed over every inch of my skin. I grabbed the shampoo bottle and lathered it in my hair, massaging my scalp. Soon the bath smelled like fresh coconut mixed with tropical Hawaiian fruit and I released a sigh of bliss, sinking lower into the water with my eyes closed. After a few minutes of soaking in I decided to get out before I turned into a prune. Wrapping my body with a towel and drying out the droplets from my hair as I exited the bathroom, I looked up to see Layfon standing near the door with something in his arms.

"Hey!" The door swung open, smacking Layfon unexpectedly in the head and Nina stood there with concern on her face. She looked at me in only a towel before noticing that Layfon was on the ground holding his face in pain. "What the hell are you doing behind the door Layfon? Well never mind that, Rias I heard you got into a fight..." She walked over and stood before me. "Are you hurt? Let me see." She then proceeded to remove my towel.

"EEEEK! What are you doing?! Keep your hands to yourself!" I moved out of reach and darted behind the couch, fixing my towel so it wouldn't slip off my body. I glared at her with an angry and embarrassed expression. "I'm not even dressed yet and you want to inspect my body?! I could consider this as an assault!" And Layfon's in the room as well, I don't want him to see me butt naked. I thought with disgust.

"Don't be stupid." Nina barked back as she inched closer. "There's no way in hell I'm letting those men go after they attacked a new member of Platoon 17. If there is so much of a scratch on your body I will take care of them personally!"

"Captain she didn't get hurt as badly as you may think. Just some light bruising but they will heal in no time." Layfon said after making sure his nose wasn't broken. "I found you a spare uniform, I think it'll fit nicely if not loosely." He handed it to me and I disappeared to get dressed. The spare uniform was a bit large on me but it'll do for now.

"JUST some light bruising?" Nina was still in a heated argument when I came back out. "I think they're trying to pick a fight with us."

"Isn't there a mock battle coming up soon?" Layfon asked. "Aren't we their opponents? Maybe we can get them back in that fight."

"Perfect!" Nina nodded her head with glee, "The perfect opportunity for us to show them what we're capable of. Very well we'll show them how strong the 17th Platoon is."

"So who are our opponents?" I asked with curiosity.

"The 16th platoon."

The next day...

The arena was filled with students as they chattered excitedly about the match. Layfon's little cheer squad were also in the stands front and center. I waited anxiously in the waiting room with the rest of the squad, looking at my hands in deep thought. I have never participated in an actual fight competition so I wasn't comfortable on unleashing my hidden power. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain shoot from underneath my eye-patch and I inwardly growled, trying to suppress it.

"Just relax." I looked up as Nina smiled at me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Be confident in yourself." Suddenly there were sounds of footsteps and our captain quickly rushed up to stand before the other squad, her shoulders squared and heels together in perfect form.

"I look forward to our match." Nina spoke confidently to the leader of the other squad who happened to be a former teammate from her mission from 2 years ago.

"You think we're equals just because you lead a platoon? I'd be surprise if your platoon would last even 5 minutes out there." was the reply and he shoved her out of the way while the rest of his buddies snickered.

"This match will determine our next standing in the next challenge." Nina turned to us, brushing off the other leader's attitude. "So stay sharp." As we walked out onto the field I noticed there were 6 of them and 6 of us...the perfect fit.

"The rules are simple. Treat this like a real battle. The 17th platoon will attack and the 16th platoon will defend. Now take your positions!" The head of the Military Arts Department Vanzeh spoke. At the sound of a siren the match was on.

"The only way we can win is to wipe out the enemy platoon or take down the flag planted behind their lines." Nina informed us as we ran, "Felli, keep a sharp look out for anything suspicious." As a tactic, our captain split us up into two groups, Felli and Harley on defense and the rest of us on the attack.

"As defense, what conditions have to be met to win?" Layfon asked as we ran towards the other end of the arena.

"Protect the flag till time runs out, or knock down the enemy leader till he cant get up anymore. The enemy will be after me, so I'll act as a decoy to lure them in." She looked over her shoulder at us, "Remember, if the captain falls then the squad loses."

"Looks like our captain is acting aggressive today." Sharnid chuckled.

"Layfon, you take front line. Sharnid, you cover him." Nina snapped. "Rias you follow Layfon and keep your eyes peeled."

"Roger." The orange-haired gunman replied.

"Enemies detected. They are approaching quickly." Felli's voice floated around us. Looking up we noticed almost all of the members-minus the leader-standing above us.

"Restoration!" Nina said and summoned her weapon as they jumped down, weapons raised over their heads.

"Ma'am!" Layfon shouted before blocking an attack.

"Stand back!" Nina growled as she knocked one of the members away. "Sharnid! Why aren't you backing him up!"

"Better said than done." Sharnid gritted his teeth as he looked at the two combating men through the cross-hairs of his scope. "He's too close for me to get a clear shot."

"WAAAAHHHHH!" I yelled as I was knocked off the cliff and disappeared into the under bush.

"Rias has been blown off-course." Felli's voice whispered through the transmitter in Nina's ear. "I don't know if she got hurt."

"The newer students in this group are terrible." Vanzeh spoke through the phone as he watched the fight on a large screen."Watching them channeling their inner power is a travesty, especially the boy. What are you hiding Kalian Loss?"

"Zuellni only ever gets the fighters who haven't come into their own yet." The voice of the head student council spoke through the phone. "To him, this may appear little more than child's play."

"Well we're giving this child's play everything we've got."

"All cities have the same desperation to survive. That fact doesn't seem to be reaching him."

"It's not just him. There's your younger sister, Sharnid and that...girl. The whole platoon is nothing but trouble. You need to assign Nina Antalk to a different platoon, let her get brought up right." Vanzeh growled through the phone.

"She herself opposed the idea. Also, it can't be said that failure produces nothing." Kalian replied.

"So the whole platoon is to be sacrificed for the greater gain?" Vanzeh asked, leaning forward to observe the screen more closely.

"Whether or not that's the case will depend on the outcome." was the reply.

Ugggh...this isn't going as planned. Nina bit her lips in frustration as she watched her enemies with caution. However when she was occupied with one, another person slipped behind her and slashed her back. Tumbling forward, she glared back as memories from her last mission 2 years ago swam through her head as she knelt on one knee, trying to catch her breath. Summoning the last of her strength she avoided an attack from one of the last members before knocking him out immediately however after pulling off the stunt left her breathless, forcing her back to her knees.

"You haven't changed at all from two years ago, maggot." He said as she struggled to her feet.

God damn it...I growled as I climbed back up to where the fighting was. Struggling to catch my breath, I watched in horror as Layfon was kicked away by the other team's captain, his body disappearing into the forest. If I don't do anything, Captain's going to lose! The time is now, I don't care how anyone else perceives me as! The 17th Platoon is going to win this competition! Biting my lip I willed my legs to move as the man raised his weapon high over his head, charging up power.

"This battle is mine!" He roared and brought his weapons down. Nine raised her own weapon in an attempt to block it but suddenly she saw a body stand before her. "What the-?!" He growled as I stood in front of my captain, dragon-like arms raised to grab the weapons and stopped the attacks in their place. "How did you-?!" I pushed against him with my enhanced strength and wrestled the weapons away, throwing them to the ground. Growling I proceeded to attack back, the speed of my punches were too fast for the naked eye. Without his weapons he was utterly defenseless against my fists. I was so focused on him that I didn't sense the approaching figures coming in from behind me but Layfon took care of them, his DITE glowing brightly from the over-flow of his KEI.

"Flame..." Pulling my right arm back I channeled my inner KEI so that it congregated into my right fist. "Stryker!" Taking a step forward with my left leg, the ground crushed underneath my foot, I punched him square in the face and boosted by the power of my KEI cause a fiery explosion to occur. The man fell back with his face burned, smoke coming off of his entire body. Not even bothering to make sure he was okay I raced further into enemy territory to find their tower unguarded. Eying the flag blowing on the top, I latched on to the tower and climbed my way to the top. Once I got to the top, I cut the flag stick in half and jumped down. Landing in a crouch I planted it by my side as the siren wailed indicating the end of the match.

"And the winners are...the members of the 17th Platoon!" The announcer's voice rose above the cheers of the audience. I breathed heavily and glanced around in mild surprise at the roar from the audience. Sharnid, Layfon and Harley rushed up to congratulate me but Nina held back and I had a feeling that she wasn't too thrilled.

"Umm...Captain?" I asked meekly, waiting for her approval. Sparing me a glance she turned on her heels and returned to the locker room without another word. I frowned, looking at the ground and berated myself for disappointing my captain. My right eye has settled down a bit but I ended up being self-conscious and placed a hand over it in an attempt to ease the pain.

"Are you okay?" I looked to see Felli standing before me, a concerned look on her face. "Don't worry about our Captain at the moment. At least be happy that we won so...get rid of that frown."

"Party!" Harley and Sharnid crowed with happiness as they made their way back to the locker rooms.

"Let's go." I looked up to see Layfon extend his hand for me. I lowered my hand and smiled.

"Okay."