Happy Birthday to Matsura Kanan, Kunikida Hanamaru and Sonoda Umi.

Now that we went through the most important part, here is the next chapter.

I do not own Love Live.

Riko: ..The blood was usually used as the medium to perform [Summon]. Ma, recently people would use the crystal instead, for a number of reasons.

The second-years and the first-years were at the library. As there was no one else in the library, they have the place all to themselves.

Hanamaru: That sounds kinda interesting and weird, zura.

As Riko was providing common information from her country, showing the crystal hanging around her neck…..

Chika: jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

The Hyou noticed that the Inu was staring intensely at her with narrowed eyes and a dubious expression.

Riko: What is it, Chika-chan?

Chika: Riko-chan. Is there any else that you are hiding from us?

Riko: …Even if you say hiding, I don't really know what exactly I would be hiding.

The Hyou tilts her head while thinking.

Chika: The fact that your teacher was a giant panther. How do we know that you don't have any more secrets we need to know?

You: But Riko-chan does have a point. I mean, we are already know a lot about her.

Chika: Welll... That is true.

Riko: What is that supposed to mean?

Chika: Sakurauchi Riko, 16 years old. A second year student at Uranohoshi High School, born and raised in Country of Mori. Came to the Country of Mizu due to her parent's work.

You: Her favorite foods are eggs and sandwiches, but don't like green peppers.

Chika: She can play both piano and viola, and pretty good at it.

Riko: What has gotten into you two?

Yoshiko: She is an ardent of the arts, a valiant warrior, and also Yohane's follower.

Riko: And what's with that strange profile?

You: And even with all that awesomeness, she has a cute side with her surprising fear of dogs.

Chika: You should have seen the look of your face when you met the puppy outside a café that we went to the other day.

Riko: Don't be fool by their looks. It's not the size of the dog. It's their fangs.

The Hyou looked serious, but flustered with the blush on her cheeks while her friends had smirks on their faces.

You: Even if Riko-chan has secrets, there's nothing wrong with that. There are some things that people don't want other people to know. As an example, how about I tell everyone here some embarrassing memories about Chika-chan? Like that time when she was 4 and the two of us were the only ones in her house…..

Chika: Wah! Ok! Ok! I'll stop asking, so please don't.

At that point, Chika was sprawl across the desk on her stomach, grabbing the shirt of her close friend to keep her from spilling.

Riko: I don't really mind answering any questions….. if it's within reason.

Riko was looking especially at Chika and Yoshiko.

Hanamaru: I have one. How did you become a disciple of such a powerful creature like Taishu-san, zura?

Riko: Well…. I met him for the first time when I was 10. Back then, I was just learning about aura, so he offered to teach me what he knows about it.

Chika: But he's a [Kizuna]. You said before that they don't usually get involved with people that much.

Riko: He told me that I reminded him of his [Host].

You: His [Host]?

Riko: If I recall, she works as a doctor and a director of a hospital. I actually met her a few times.

Yoshiko: He must have thought you were worthy of being his disciple.

Ruby: Ne, while we are on the subject, how many [Kizuna] are living at your country?

Riko: As far as I know, there are 9 [Kizuna] living freely in Mori.

Hanamaru: 9 [Kizuna]?! That is a lot of fighting power for one country, zura.

Their conversations continued on until it was getting late and everyone decided to go home.

[One Afternoon]

Riko: Thank you for coming on short notice.

Chiba: No problem. I was just surprised when you asked me to practice with you.

Riko: Ma ne…..

It was the weekend on a remote beach area away from the town. Riko was wearing a jersey suit with a white shirt and brought her whip with her. Chiba was in his [Henshin] form, a white wolf with a large build and standing on his two legs.

Chika: Kick his ass, Riko-chan!

Chiba: And it seems that we have an audience today.

Sitting from a distance away were the rest of the girls. Chika and You told them about the training session that happens with the two, so they were interested to see them in action.

Riko: Sorry for this.

The Hyou looked at him with an apologetic expression. The Ookami answered with a calm smile.

Chiba: Not at all, The more the merrier.

After some small talk, Chiba and Riko then face each other, starting by exchanging blows in close combat.

At some point, Riko was able to land both feet at Chiba's upper chest in a kick.

Chiba: Woh!

The kick was not only able to force Chiba to land on his butt, but also launch the Hyou into the air.

Riko maneuvers her body and lashes her whip at the Ookami, allowing it to wrap around his right hand.

As she pulls her end of the whip, the momentum propels her head first towards Chiba as she clenches her fist in mid-air.

Chiba rolls his body, avoiding the punch from Riko, which hit the sand, scattering it and creating a small hole.

As Chiba was tries to stand up, Riko was able to quickly tangle her whip around his neck.

For every sudden tug on her whip, his own fist smacks Chiba on his face.

Chiba: (Whack) Ouch..(Whack) Ouch.. (Whack) Ouch

While all of this was happening….

Chika: Go! Go!

You: Keep at it, Riko-chan!

Yoshiko: Kukuku. Yohane approves such underhanded tactics.

Dia: My word.

Mari: It's so brutal. No mercy. I LIKE IT!

Kanan: It's as if she is a completely different person.

They watch with excitement and express their comments.

Hanamaru: I can't take my eyes off of them.

Ruby: PIGI! I can't watch this at all!

The young girl covers her eyes with both hands as the ground shook from the impact.

After several bouts, the two decided to stop and rest.

Chiba: I feel that there hasn't been much difference in strength since the last session.

Riko: I thought so. To be honest, I don't know how to improve myself.

Seeing the dejected expression on the Hyou, Chiba let out a huff through his nose.

Chiba: …Riko. If it's not too much trouble, would you list the skills that you know so far?

Riko: Eh? Why?

Chiba: I am curious about your level. Also, I don't think I ever ask you before.

Riko: T-That's fine with me.

From there, the Hyou list it out in no particular order:

[Fireball]

[Stealth]

[Summon]

[Scan]

[Heal]

[Lightning Claw]

[Henshin]

[Line]

[Icicle]

Chiba: *whistles* that's a rather impressive skill set.

Riko: I don't really have that many attack skills, so I usually think of myself as an average fighter.

Chiba: From what you told me, you are definitely above average. Some of the stuff you said are advanced skills, which takes years to master and is not something that an average person. If you become fluent, it may unlock beyond their original use.

Riko: What do you mean by that?

Listening in their conversation, most of the girls look confused. However, one of them was particularly interested in something that the Hyou said.

Chika: Wait, did you say [Henshin]? You mean like when Chiba turned into a wolf like before? So Riko-chan can 'transform' too?!

Without any warning, the Inu appeared up close to her face, making the Hyou to take a step back.

Riko: I-I can do a little bit, but only for a short time.

The dark-red haired girl turn her head to the side to avoid direct eye contact with Chika.

Chika: Please show us, Riko-chan! Pllllllleeeeaaassseeeeee….

Knowing that the mikan-haired girl won't stop once she decides on something, Riko could only let a sigh.

Riko: Just… give me some space.

While walking away from the group after Chika back away from her, Riko gather her aura to her core.

Riko: Now, what should I do?

As she turns back to face the others, a light pink light aura starts to envelop the Hyou's body.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The girls stares in awe even though they were blinded by the light.

When the light disappear, what the girls saw next nearly made their jaws drop.

In front of them was a leopard with dark red short fur and amber eyes. The leopard had a medium build with a few stray markings.

You: No way…..

Riko: S-So how do I look?

As the leopard inches closer to the girls, walking on all fours…

BAM!

Riko was suddenly pushed back and finds herself laying on her back.

Riko: Eh?

Next to her on the ground was Chika, who was caressing and squeezing Riko's panther head.

Chika: This. This is exactly what I was talking about, Riko-chan! I'm soooo jealous right now!

Riko: C-Chika?! S-Someone, please get her off of me.

To her dismay, not only did they not help, but some of them joined with Chika in feeling different areas of her body. To be fair, It was a lot for the girls to take in.

Hanamaru: Wah! Her paws are so thick, zura!

Mari: Wow! Her fur is so soft! Like a teddy bear!

Yoshiko: I could sense amazing power from you, my little demon.

prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Riko: S-Stop, I-I can't...

Before she could finish her sentence…

POOFFFFFFFF

An explosion of gust suddenly came from the Hyou's body in an instant, which enveloped everything around her.

When the dust clears, Riko had returned back to her human form, still being held by the other girls.

Riko: Mou! What was that about?!

After regaining her composure, the Hyou was standing with a flustered and annoyed expression. The four girls were sitting on seiza position, reflecting on their actions.

Chika: I'm so sorry, Riko-chan. I'm really am.

Mari: Sorry.

Hanamaru: zura.

Yoshiko: You never cease to impress Yohane with your prowess. Ku ku ku.

With that, the training session ended for that day. On the same note, Riko didn't let the incident with her [Henshin] form go and refrained showing her abilities in front of the others for a bit, although she eventually relents due to Chika's desperate insistence.

[At the Awashima Hotel]

Mari: Tada! So how do you like it?

Riko: …..What is this supposed to be?

The girls were invited to Mari's place for a surprise by the blonde-haired girl. Riko heard that Mari's home was a luxurious hotel on a small island in Uchiura. On top of that, her parents own several hotels located all around the country of Mizu.

After entering, they were lead to a private room, where there were tens, if not hundreds of jewelry and gem stones, displayed around the room, encased behind glass containers.

Shocked was an understatement for most of the girls.

Hanamaru: It's so bright, zura!

Yoshiko: Is this an earth dragon's lair?

Dia: Mari-san. How did you….

Mari: Well, Taichi (=Taishu) said that Kizuna are hidden in gems, right? In that case, I thought that we should start with the ones that have been found. So, I research all the places and people that have gems that came from this country.

Riko: It's true that we don't know if they are still near the town, but this is…..

According to her father, there are many factors that would affect a stationary object like a rock, from carried by water or animal. Considering how much time has passed, there was the possibility that they were not in the country anymore.

Kanan: When did you have the time to…..

It was less than week since their first contact with Taishu.

Mari: Tch Tch Tch. You underestimate Mari too much. I can move mountains if I put my mind to it.

Hanamaru: Somehow, I can believe you can, zura.

Chika: Wow, Mari-chan, how much all of this would cost?

Mari: Hmmmmm… about 100 million G?

100 MILLION?!

Everyone except for Mari were shocked by the answer.

Ruby: I-Is that really ok bringing this much expensive stuff?

Mari: Don't worry! I asked papa if he could bring them to the hotel. Oh. Don't worry. They are on loan for a few days. The only people who know about this is papa and us. And my staff.

You: S-Seriously?

Dia: This is definitely something that Mari-san would think of.

Kanan: Crazy rich people….

Mari: Well, what are we waiting for? Let's check them out, Riko-chan!

Riko: eeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Reluctantly, Riko went through each gem, using the only bracelet as she was the only one who could, to see if there was a reaction.

Meanwhile, the others explore the hotel, including room service, courtesy of Mari.

They stayed there until the sun was setting, after which the rest of the girls returned to their homes by boat.

[That Later Evening]

Riko: In the end, none of them possess a [Kizuna].

Riko was laying on her room, looking at the ceiling listlessly.

In retrospect, it makes sense considering how a [Kizuna] would have awakened from the physical contact from people.

Even today, people still don't know for sure the things needed for the [Kizuna] to awaken or for someone to become a [Host] although there have been several theories on the subject. For beings with powers beyond imagination, it's understandable that their seal shouldn't be broken so easily.

Riko: The key of finding the [Kizuna] is this bracelet.

As she holds up the bracelet up with both hands, a sudden thought cross her mind.

Riko: Sensei once said that [Scan] can be used with more range. Hmmm. I wonder….

Placing the bracelet to her chest, Riko closes her eyes and focuses her aura into the item like how she does with her crystal.

[Scan]

Suddenly, her vision went from black to transparent green, like you would see through night vision goggles.

Even though her body was laying motionlessly, she was able to 'see' beyond the outside of her room and even her home.

Riko: Amazing….

She was able to see shapeless forms of light within multiple sources of town, which she deduct as the aura of the townspeople.

Through some trial and error, she was able to view farther away from the town and into the surrounding areas.

A green dust-like aura was coming from the plants.

For animals, their aura would vary in different and contrasting colors.

As she expand her search into the forest, something caught her attention from somewhere east of the area.

Amidst the green aura radiating from the trees, she saw a round-shaped red-orange aura that was emitting a low, stable pulse.

From what she saw, it was lying underneath a huge tree that towers over the forest.

Just when she was able to pinpoint the exactly location of the pulse….

AH!

The pressure that was building in her head from maintaining [Scan] had reached the breaking point, causing her to snap out of her daze.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that she 'returned' to her room although her thoughts was on something else.

Riko: What was that just now?

Feeling restless, Riko rolled onto her stomach, and press the pillow against her face while kicking her feet in the air.

Riko was happy, but embarrassed and frustrated for some reason from what she saw.

She didn't know what good will come from her out-of-body experience, but she felt like it was in the right direction.

Riko: I think I will tell the others first thing in the morning.

Tired from overdoing it, but feeling good, Riko turn off the lights and turn in for the night.

[The next morning]

At the port of Uchiura, a ship carrying people and cargo from the Country of Mori docks.

So this is Mizu.

One of the passengers, with appearance of a young man, who was wearing a white sleeveless shirt and light brown long pants, spoke in a calm voice as he looks around from the top of the ship.

After adjusting the strawhat that was covering his head, he moves to the ramp and steps into the new land.

Keeping it short and sweet.

Stay tuned.

Reviews, comments, and suggestions are welcomed.