Zenless Zone Zero: The Front Line
Chapter 8: Best Partner
It took another two days for Shion to cross paths with Crystal again; this time in Lumina Square again instead of the Hollows.
It was a normal Saturday afternoon. Shion was prepared for Crystal to make another trip into the Hollows like she had last night, but this time she was on her way to Lumina Square...and she had someone else in tow with her.
Another girl that was visibly younger and a little bit shorter than her. Presuming that this was Cynthia after all, it appeared that Crystal did indeed have a younger sister:
Her face had a similar structure to Crystal's but with a slightly different nose. Her hair was brown and was tied in both braids and two buns on top of her head. She looked up at her sister with a sideways smile every time she spoke.
After doing some shopping, the two of them stopped to have lunch at the coffee shop – the same one where Crystal had met with that guy from the Verdict gang before. He couldn't help but find that interesting that she was comfortable going to these same places with a family member in tow.
This seemed to indicate that Lumina Square wasn't a common meeting place for either Crystal or the Verdict gang.
After having lunch, they started making their way back towards the metro station. However, halfway there, the girl with Crystal started pointing at the HIA Club building. She appeared to be asking if they could go inside to play some games.
Crystal seemed hesitant to oblige with this request but finally caved and they made their way into the entrance. Shion took a moment to fix his clothes before going inside shortly after them. He got in line just behind them and waited.
"Yeah, we'd like to do something with an ice specialty to it." Crystal requested.
"Got it. And how old is Cynthia here?" The lady behind the counter asked.
"13." Cynthia answered.
"Alright, perfect. Now usually these training sessions are conducted in teams of 3. Are you comfortable with having a third person be assigned to you to round out the team?"
"Yeah that's fine." Crystal agreed with a shrug.
"Great. Have a seat for now and we'll call you up when a room is ready." The lady behind the counter directed the two sisters to have a seat. They walked off and sat up against the wall.
While listening to this, Shion couldn't help but remember what Manami was saying to him the other night about boundaries and not crossing any lines. Considering where he was and what he was doing now, maybe Manami had a point...
Nevertheless, Shion got himself registered as a single participant and specifically chose his parameters so that he would be chosen to team up with Crystal and Cynthia, which of course he immediately was. The lady behind the counter even gestured to them so that he could meet them.
Shion knew that he would have to approach this interaction very carefully so as not to alarm Crystal in any way. There was no reason for him to assume that she would have any familiarity with his normal voice or his regular mannerisms.
As long as he kept control over the what they talked about, he would be alright.
"Hi there! Are you Crystal aaaand Cynthia?" Shion asked as he approached the two sisters. Crystal raised her head from her phone to look at him and immediately tensed a little in a silently defensive manner.
"We are. Can I help you?" She asked.
"Oh okay! I'm Shion, nice to meet you. Bertha assigned me to your group for the VR training since you only have two." He explained with a polite smile.
"Nice to meet you, Shion! I'm Cynthia! Welcome to the team!" The younger sister greeted him with a handshake and a big smile.
"Heheh, thanks. What are you specialties?" Shion asked curiously.
"Ice." Crystal answered.
"Ether! I'm pretty quick with my guns," Cynthia giggled. "What about you?"
"I prefer physical but I also have fire as a backup." Shion answered in reply.
"Cool! Which one are you gonna use for the match then?" Cynthia asked.
"I'll go with fire. I need to shake off the cobwebs with it anyways." Shion decided with a chuckle.
"Sounds like you come to this place a lot, Shion. What do you train for?" Crystal asked.
"Eh, nothing in particular. It's just fun. I don't know if my ether aptitude is high enough to become an investigator one day, but making some money wouldn't hurt either. What about you?" Shion asked in return.
"I don't really have an interest in going into the Hollows. I just come along with Cynthia because she enjoys it." She answered, managing a small smile afterwards.
"I could totally be an investigator one day! Or maybe work in Public Security since my aim is so good." Cynthia said with a smirk.
"Yeah, so good we have to turn off friendly fire." Crystal teased in reply.
"Hey!" Her sister exclaimed, pouting afterwards. This made Shion chuckle more.
Finally, the three of them were called up for their turn in the VR arena. Crystal led the way with Shion and Cynthia following close behind. Once they were hooked up the equipment, the simulation started almost immediately.
Crystal took on the same weapons that she used in the real-life Hollows: twin blades that emitted freezing temperatures at a high velocity. From this vantage point, Shion would be able to get a better look at her skills and fighting style.
Cynthia, meanwhile, had two standard issue Ether blasters, one in each hand. As soon as they appeared in her hand she began to play with them, spinning and twirling them on her fingers to indicate that she was very familiar with using them.
Shion decided to forego his shock primers and instead equipped himself with one long sword that emitted fire. It wasn't a weapon he was unfamiliar with by any means, but it had been awhile since he'd used it. Hopefully that wouldn't cause any issues for this training session.
Crystal opted to lead the team. Once the Ethereals came into view, she didn't hesitate to start attacking. Shion paid particular note to how quick she was to react. Her level of awareness on the battlefield and her quick dodges made her seem untouchable.
Her real world experience betrayed her claims about not being interested in the Hollows.
Cynthia mainly played a defensive role, staying back and laying down cover fire. Despite the earlier teasing, her aim was actually pretty good, and she knew how to reload her weapons fast enough that there wasn't much delay between her onslaught of shots.
For his part, Shion felt pretty good wielding his fire sword. He wasn't quite as elegant with it as he used to be, but he still knew the right moves to get the job done, allowing him to work in tandem with Crystal fairly seamlessly.
Once the training session was over, the three of them exited the HIA Club to briefly discuss how everything went.
"That was so much fun! Thanks for the game, sis!" Cynthia thanked Crystal.
"You're welcome. Now no more whining for the rest of the day, deal?" Crystal requested with a chuckle.
"Hmm...I'll think about it." Cynthia joked.
"You two are pretty good. I wasn't expecting you to be so quick." Shion complimented them both.
"No you were actually so good though, Shion, what the heck?! You were doing all these flips and stuff!" Cynthia pointed out.
"You were a good teammate, Shion. It's nice to have a partner that doesn't slow you down." Crystal commented, expressing her approval at Shion's skills.
"What?! When was I slowing you down?!" Cynthia exclaimed in offense.
"What? No, I'm not talking about you, Cynthia. I'm referring to the people that we usually get paired up with." Crystal clarified quickly.
"Oh...ohh yeahhh that's true. Okay because I was about to say!" Cynthia laughed it off when she realized her misunderstanding. Crystal rolled her eyes and smiled again.
"Yes, you're still my best partner, don't worry."
"That's right!" Cynthia exclaimed in agreement.
"You two are funny," Shion commented with a chuckle. "It was nice to meet you both. I wouldn't mind matching up with you two again sometime."
"Oh?" Crystal tilted her head curiously.
"Yeah! Mind if we add each other on Knock Knock?" Shion offered, pulling his phone out.
"Uh..." Crystal hesitated, surprised by this sudden offer.
"Come on!" Cynthia nudged Crystal with her elbow immediately upon sensing her sister's hesitation. The peer pressure was enough for Crystal to begrudgingly take her phone out.
"Alright. Here you go, Shion." She said before the two of them exchanged contact information.
"Cool. I'll see you guys around. Have a good one!" Shion said before waving and going off on his own way.
"You too, Shion! Nice meeting you!" Cynthia waved back. Crystal silently waved as well as Shion made his way to the metro station.
"Dude!" Cynthia nudged her again once he was gone.
"What?" She gave her a little sister a weird look.
"He was really cute!" Cynthia pointed out. Crystal's cheeks started to heat up at such a bold statement.
"Cynthia! Don't be weird." She brushed it off.
"I'm being weird? I can't believe you were about to reject his number. That's crazy." Cynthia shook her head in disappointment. Crystal rolled her eyes and shook her head once again.
"We need to get you home already before you start trying to chase him down." She teased.
"Yeah! If we hurry we can probably catch up with him!" Cynthia played along, rushing towards the metro station.
"What am I gonna do with this girl?" Crystal said to herself as she followed behind at a normal pace...