Sunrays filter through the windows of the hallways, complimenting the foot stomps of both laxed and hurrying students trying to get to class.
"Goto!" I turn to see Yuri holding a piece of paper. "Good morning! I wanted to give you this before we met up." She hands me the note, and written on it are a bunch of names set in an organized list.
"What's this?"
"It's a list of every battlefront member. I'll have you meet with them one on one to discuss and formulate the type of power that would fit them best."
"Sounds great."
"Come to the principal's office right after your classes, alright?"
"I won't take any detours, don't worry."
"You better not. bye for now!"
"Yeah."
I take my seat, watching as the rest of the student body come in one after the other. I catch Tachibana out of the corner of my eye, firm as always, ready to learn, just like a good student would. I'd like to think Tachibana and I are on decent terms, though when she finds out about my involvement with the battlefront, she'll probably resent me. I don't want us to fight, I don't wanna become enemies. I told myself I was only doing this for my own reasons, to quench my selfish curiosity, but that's not entirely true.
I'll never forget Tachibana's expression the day we talked about her responsibilities as student council president, it was one of sadness, powerlessness and disappointment. It was clear she never wanted to fight with Yuri and the others, all she wanted was for everyone to get along and enjoy their time here. Tachibana probably really loves this place, considering how hard she's working to maintain its peace and have everyone get along. Maybe she never had the opportunity to enjoy her school life, and wants to have the chance to finally enjoy it, along with everyone else. The battlefront, especially Yuri, are dead set on their revenge plot. Their anger will never be satisfied, not unless they settle things with God. I'm sorry Tachibana, but I feel like this is something I have to do.
The bell rings and I thrust myself out of my seat, skidding the doors to flee the classroom. Succeeding my scanning of the area, I make do with the information I had and in due course, manage to uncover the location of the battlefront's base. A pair of sizable doors stare back at my nervous filled eyes.
Now for the password. "No God, No Buddha, No Angels." I make an effort to say it at a reasonable volume. However, the giant wooden planks remained unmoved.
Uuuh, should I go in? Nothing's happening… A little later, I hear creaks break out of the door's hinge pins, revealing an unfamiliar face half covered at the bottom with a scarf.
"You may enter."
"...Don't mind if I do." I proceed forward, expanding the picture captured in the wide door frame. New and familiar eyeballs align with mine, extending from the cozy green couches to the framed drawings decorating the room, further shooting up my nerves. At the center layed Yuri, sitting tall behind an imposing desk, in a chair fit for a principle.
"Oh hey, Demo buddy!" Yui shouts from across the room.
"Demo buddy? You two know each other?" Hinata asks her.
"Yeah! We're GirlDemo's strongest soldiers!"
"...I see."
I lock eyes with Yuri. "Right on time, we were just about to finish up. I already went over everything with them. Why don't you introduce yourself?"
"Um, I'm Goto Reo… And uuh… I'll be helping you guys out…"
"Yep! And Takeyama here will lend a hand." A guy wearing thick-rimmed glasses looks at me while firmly holding his laptop. "Everyone, make sure you come up with an enhancement idea that would be comfortable and easy to use. Please avoid any unnecessary or flashy requests, okay Yui?"
"Why are you singling me out!?"
"Alright, any volunteers to go with Goto and Takeyama first?"
"I can go first." Hinata volunteers to be our first subject.
"You already came up with something? I can't really wrap my head around this whole thing." A red haired member speaks.
"Yeah, I guess you could say I have some experience handling spears, so maybe I can work with something similar."
"A spear, huh? It kinda fits."
"Shall we proceed? There's no time to waste." Takeyama says as he goes past us towards the door.
"Right, yeah." I lead the way to the place that'll soon become our base of operations, aka my dorm room.
The first step was to collect everyone's ideas for a rough draft. One by one, Takeyama and I consulted with each member to discuss their weaponry. Some knew exactly what they wanted and felt confident we could implement it, others had no idea, so we had to throw in some recommendations based on Takeyama's knowledge on each member's speciality. There were a few interesting standouts, let's just say some (Yui and Ooyama) had a unique sense of taste.
"A magic rod…?" I stare at Ooyama with wonder.
"Yeah! One that can instantly heal wounds, cast protection against curses and cure status ailments!"
"...Yeah, we can do that, but can you write all that down?"
Now for phase 2, to teach Takeyama the complexities of Angel Player. It was a slow-moving process for sure, but enough progress was made each day to make the time we've spent on it worthwhile, and he wasn't alone, cause even I was learning more about the program, such as things I misinterpreted, more efficient ways to utilize the code, and shortcuts I could use to make the program much easier to handle, to the point where I felt confident enough to claim I knew it like the back of my hand. After some time, Takeyama became proficient enough to use Angel Player on his own. Before long, we felt assured enough to initiate the skill making process, meeting up whenever I had the privilege to avoid Tachibana's watchful lens. I felt bad since Takeyama had to program by himself during the times I was absent.
In the wake of one exceptional work-filled late night, our sore fingers and stiff shoulders were put to rest, and the tenseness in our minds gets driven away by what we accomplished. "...We did it." My head collapses between my crossed up arms.
"We're still brainstorming with Otonashi, got any suggestions?"
"Actually, I've been working on something he might like. I was originally gonna use it on me, but then I came up with something more fitting."
"It's better than… nothing… I suppose…" Takeyama's purplish eyelids slid up and down like a Yo-Yo.
"Didn't sleep well?"
"Not really… I stayed up making adjustments to the code…" He's practically on the verge of collapsing.
"I'm sure Otonashi will like what I came up with. He's the only one left so why don't you head out for the night."
"Are you certain you won't be needing my help?"
"Yeah, I got it."
"Alright then, I'll conclude for the time being, have a good night." Takeyama abandoned our headquarters, and coincidentally, Otonashi took his place soon after.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Yo. I made something that you might like, take a look." Otonashi leans closer to the computer monitor. "...So um, thoughts?"
" …This looks pretty strong, and it kinda fits with what I wanna go for. I say it's a perfect fit for me."
"I'm glad. I'll install it on you right away then." My palms rest at the edge of the keyboard from fatigue as I type, when I'm reminded of something that's been on my mind ever since I stole the computer from the library. "...Hey, weird question, you know Tachibana right? The student council president? I've seen you hang out with her sometimes."
"Uh, yeah, I do. Are you close?"
"I just talked to her a few times. I was wondering if we could convince her to join us. She's not a bad person, she just wants to create a pleasant place for us to lead happy lives here, but you know Yuri and the rest of the battlefront don't wanna see this world in that way. Maybe if we're able to reach God, It'll satisfy Yuri and the others, and hopefully put an end to the fighting…"
"...Yeah, I get what you're saying. I've never seen a drive as strong as Yuri's. That kind of determination isn't easily shaken. This whole operation is still pretty crazy to me, but what can you do, right? Drastic minds require drastic actions."
"No kidding."
Finishing up with Otonashi's business, we move up to the third part of our preparations, flying. I introduced the team to the motion skill I made. Most of them felt content with the design, though others (Yui) had different ideas.
"Make mine like these!" Yui turns her back to me and lifts her hair to show me her vampire wings.
"I mean, I guess you can fly with those, but they'll have to be way bigger than that."
Talking with Yui gave me an idea regarding Yuri's ability, so I met up with her by the time she was available. "Instead of wings, why don't you try these? They're like mini jet wings but with built in mobile rockets, good for maneuvering and speed. The regular wings are more stable and safer of course, but I believe these will compliment your skill much better."
"Hmmm, looks dangerous… but very versatile. There's no harm in trying it out I suppose."
"Great."
And now to actually practice flying. The entire battlefront gathered within the widest clear area in the forest at midnight. One by one, each member dispersed across the sky like a flock of spooked baby birds trying to get familiar with their anatomy, though Yui and Yuri were dealing with obstacles of their own. Yuri's jet wings were fast, but difficult to control. She was seesawing rapidly attempting to balance her distance from the ground. Yui's wings specialized in gliding, but was a stamina consumption behemoth. The amount of strength required to even lift yourself up with these wings would be a strenuous task on anyone, especially for someone with Yui's size. The rest of the team were working with the normal wings I developed, and ran into the same problems I had, though this time they had my knowledge and guidance to lean on.
Later that night, we packed ourselves up to head back since everyone's weariness was starting to get to them. Everything was going according to plan, all we needed to do now was to return without notice. Unfortunately, not everything can go smoothly in life. Reaching the border of the forest, we witness the infamous white haired figure of the school standing just outside the trees ready to confront us.
"What are you all doing out here this late?" Tachibana's menacing presence stupefies the entire group, all except for one.
Yuri confidently approaches the student council president. "It's none of your business."
"As the student council president, it very much is, especially if you're making a ruckus this late at night and disturbing the other students."
"Hm, your sturdiness never ceases to amaze me." Yuri squints. "Can I ask you a question?"
"...What is it?"
"Do you know about the world in the sky?"
Tachibana frowns quizzically. "Huh? What on earth are you talking about?"
Yuri grins at her. "I can't tell if you're being genuine or just yanking my chain. It doesn't matter either way, the fact of the matter is, we found something that's too great to ignore, and I'll be damned if I let you get your way this time around." Yuri's hand glimmers as she draws a small knife from seemingly out of nowhere, taking Tachibana by surprise.
"Let's do this thing!" Yuri launches herself at Tachibana.
"Guard Skill: Hand Sonic." Tachibana does the same, bracing herself for the inescapable impact.
Small trails of dust from opposing sides pursue the two girls, uniting and expanding around their feet upon their embrace. Both weapons were left unscathed; Tachibana's blade was pointing at Yuri's throat, meanwhile, Yuri's knife was barely brushing Tachibana's petticoat. "Now then, how does this go again?" Yuri blurts out. "Ah right… Divine Skill: Grand Evolution." Yuri's knife transforms into a long sword, forged through the gleaming of Angel Player's power, piercing Tachibana's abdomen. Tachibana yelps in pain as her knees drop to the hard, rough ground, with Yuri's sword still sitting static within her wound.
Grand upgrade, a type of power that can't be classified as neither an attack nor guard skill. Divine skills are skills capable of environmental change, meaning they have the capability to affect existence. This particular skill grands its user the ability to evolve or improve anything they touch. Plastic knives can reconstruct into katanas at the palm of their hand, a simple breeze can mutate into a fierce tornado whenever their fingers slice through the air, even a modest cup of water is capable of enlarging and rippling into a violent whirlpool upon the user's touch, nothing is an exception.
"I can make this experience so much worse for you, so no sudden movements, is that clear?"
Tachibana lifts her arms and weakly grips the sword's edge. In response, Yuri returns it to its original state, leaving Tachibana's injury to fend for itself. Tachibana sits on her legs trying to assess her condition, when Otonashi comes forth and rushes to the damaged girl. "Okay, that's enough…" He kneels down to check on her. "Hey, does it hurt bad? Let me see it."
"...I'll live."
Otonashi signs and stares at her for a moment. "...Listen, we're about to head out on a long journey, and an extremely dangerous one at that, so It'd be a huge relief if you came with us." Otonashi's bombshell of a request caused a disturbance within the crowd, all except for Yuri, who was still attentively watching them.
"…Are you talking about going to that world she mentioned?"
"Yep." Yuri breaks her silence. "And now that we possess the same powers as you, it's pretty much futile to try and stop us." Tachibana sighs with her nose.
"...I-I." Tachibana struggles with what she wants to say next.
"...It's…okay, to not want to. I know how much you love this place, and I know how much you want us to get along and be happy here, but… we just… can't do that right now." Otonashi reassures her. "In any case, these guys aren't gonna let anything stop them, that's for certain." Otonashi says almost in a whisper.
"...Yeah."
"Hm?"
"...I have no choice."
"Huh?"
Tachibana straightens herself. "I am- no, I made myself responsible for everyone's well-being, so if I'm unable to prevent you from leaving, then… I'll also make it my responsibility to keep you all safe." Only the sounds of air whips could be heard as a heavy quietness enveloped Yuri and the others.
Otonashi lets out a delighted chuckle. "Thank you, Tachibana. I really mean it." Otonashi turns to Yuri and awaits her answer.
"...It's fine."
"Huh? But Yurippe, she's the enemy. Are you sure?" Noda interjects.
"Yeah, I mean, she could trick us and stab us in the back when our guard's down or something." Fujimaki joins in on the protest.
"Use your heads, we outnumber her by like 20 to 1, even if she were to try something It'd be pointless, plus we need all the manpower we can get." Yuri dematerializes her weapon. "Alright everyone, we have no more business here, so let's head back for the night, and um, Goto, you can update her on what we're doing."
"Alright…" The group decamps from the field en route for their dormitories. Otonashi, Tachibana and I were the only ones left in the area. I hesitantly advance in the direction of the two students.
"Tachibana…" Tachibana looks up at me. "...I was the one who told them. The truth is, I stole a computer from the library, and also you're, uh, Angel Player manual, so… I guess you can guess what happened after that… Sorry…" Tachibana averted her eyes without saying anything, and poor Otonashi was in the middle of our awkwardness. "...I-I'll get everything ready for you by tomorrow…" I had no desire to continue my one sided conversation, and started power walking to my dorm. I think I heard Otonashi calling for me, but I was in too much discomfort from the tension for me to notice. I slept restless until the next day's awakening.
The birds chirped with an out of sync tempo, waking me up from my much needed rest after a sleepless night. Paying no mind to my sluggish state, I fling my sheets to the side and push myself out of bed, mentally preparing to live this day to the fullest, especially because today was the day we deploy for our grand adventure. Yuri wanted to assemble everyone at the school's sports field. Beforehand, she had taken a few days to arrange the equipment we might need for our trip, Chaa had been assisting her with that. Tachibana had already been updated on what was happening. Thankfully, I was fortunate enough to not have been the one to do the informing, that task was left to Otonashi. I don't think I would've been able to handle the thorns further puncturing what little stability our relationship had already.
Tachibana and I have been on weird terms ever since I told her about what I did. She probably felt betrayed, deceived, and I can't even blame her, but what's done is done, and there's no going back now. I still believe this was the right thing to do, and I'm sticking with it. I really hope this sets things right with everyone…
I make my appearance at the field, clothed with the battlefront's uniform, and see that I was pretty much the last one to make it. Yui, Iwasawa, Hisako, Hinata, and everyone else were here. Yuri was surrounded by a bunch of school bags, telling something to the others. "-use them wisely. I've also included other necessities like food and water since we're clueless as to how long we'll be staying up there. See? I took care of everything, so stop worrying your precious little hearts, kay?"
"Yeah, sure, very reassuring." Hinata says without a hint of seriousness.
"Yeeaah! We're so fortunate to have such a dependable leader! We'll definitely come out victorious!" Noda passionately cries out.
The scratching of miniscule pieces of grand sand makes us aware of another person walking towards us. Her platinum, princess-like hair compliments the navy blue and white uniform sewed with the symbol of the SSS. She stood there, anticipating a reaction from the other members.
"...An-Tachibana." Yuri goes to talk to her. "I know you agreed to help us, however, that doesn't necessarily mean I trust you yet. I'll be wary of your every move, remember that."
"...I understand."
Otonashi walks up to them. "You don't have to be so hostile. I'm sure we'll make a decent team." He eyeballs Tachibana for a few seconds. "...T-The um, the uniform looks really good on you!"
Tachibana was taken aback by his compliment. "...Thank you."
"Okay everyone, grab yourself a bag and let's get out of here!" Yuri picks one up for herself, as do the others. I grab a random strap and place it over my shoulder. The gang was scattered all over the field, just chatting and hanging out before we partook on this painstaking journey. "Alright, you guys!" As Yuri turns to face us, everyone's noises get snuffed out. "This is it! This is what the battlefront's been aiming for! Whatever happens next, and whether or not we return from this in one piece, just know that I'm proud of every single one of you, not only for sticking with me, but also for your courage and resilience in standing tall against the unfairness of what this so-called god brought upon us! No more waiting around, now's the time for us to take the battle to them and make them pay for the atrocities they have committed!"
"Yeeaaah!" "Wooooooo!" "Let's dooo thiiis!" A thunderous cacophony erupts from every one of us, providing us with a surge of energy potent enough to cross the heavens.
"Asceeeend!" Numerous bursts of light irradiate the field like flickering fireflies glistening with the morning shine. We catapult ourselves using the tenacity of our wills and the strength of our power, moving upwards towards heights even higher than the sun.
