The rest of Yuriko’s morning run was slow and relatively uneventful. The twins lagged behind along with Krystal and Mikel. Heron kept pace with her easily but mostly because she had slowed down to accommodate the others.

“I should run another lap after this,” Yuriko muttered.

Heron raised an eyebrow. “They’re too slow?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll join you, if you don’t mind?”

“Sure.”

Heron grinned while glancing back at the others.

They arrived at Yuriko’s house where the three boys and Krystal staggered to a halt, breathing heavily through their mouths.

“I’ll go another lap,” she said and took off at a sprint. Her stride ate away at the pavement and the breeze carried her hair in a long stream behind her.

“Hey, wait!”

Yuriko glanced back and saw Heron falling steadily behind, losing a pace for every second. She grinned and with a cocky twitch of her head, she ran even faster. Her Animus flowed around her body, forming the second circulation pattern of the Golden Silhouette’s version of the Strengthen Physique technique. Everything around her seemed to slow down.

The next moment, she pulled away from Heron by fifty paces and the next, she had rounded the block. She felt her Animus drain away while power flooded into her body. She laughed, letting go of everything holding her, everything weighing her down. She dodged around pedestrians, who gasped in surprise.

She rounded another turn and felt her Animus dip dangerously low. With a sigh of regret, she stilled her Animus and the world around her lurched to its normal speed. Fatigue flooded into her body and her knees buckled. She caught herself on a lamppost before she could fall on her face.

Pinpricks of pain stabbed into her legs, sides, and back. Shaking her head, Yuriko resumed a slow jog, turning around the next corner that would lead her back to home in the next turn. Sweat trickled down her face, soaked her shirt, and made it cling to her skin.

“Yuri!” Heron rounded the corner and pulled up next to her. “What?”

She shrugged.“Flexed my Animus.”

“Oh.”

By the time they reached her home, she had recovered her breath. She led them wordlessly to the backyard. Braden sat at a deck chair, his face still pale. The rest of them proceeded with bodyweight exercises over the next half hour.

“Urk,” Krystal groaned while lying flat on the grass. “I hate this.”

“Give over.” Mikel moaned. “This thing helped us survive in the wilderness.”

“No, our weapons and rations did.”

“Right…”

“Well, thanks for joining me in training,” Yuriko said. “Stay for breakfast?”

“What are we having?” Krystal asked.

“Waffles and honey. Maybe some ham.”

“Sure, I’ll help.”

“Thanks. What about the rest of you?”

“I wouldn’t say no,” Heron said with a slight smile.

“Hungry…” Orrin said, while Braden nodded.

“I’ll stay, too,” Mikel said.

Yuriko and Krystal walked into the kitchen, finding Kato already awake and fixing a cup of kaf for himself.

“Morning,” he muttered.

“Good morning,” both girls replied.

Kato pointedly looked at the backyard door. “Friends?”

“Teammates.”

“The camp is already over.”

Yuriko shrugged. “Friends then.”

“Hmm.”

Krystal grinned at Kato and nudged him with her elbow while whispering. Kato’s eyebrow practically smashed together. “What…but..:”

Yuriko didn’t pay him any mind and she started making batter for the waffles while preheating the waffle iron. Krystal took over after a while, grinning to herself. Kato walked out into the backyard.

There was still some ham in the cellar. She grabbed about a couple of Jin in weight, thought it over, and doubled the amount. She could already feel her tummy gurgle and her mouth salivating. After pan-searing the slices, she stacked them on a platter. Krystal had created several piles of waffles and set them on the kitchen island. A couple pitchers, one of lavan juice and another of cool water, completed their preparations.

“Breakfast!”

The five boys wandered in from the backyard and descended on the food like a swarm of locusts. Kato heaped his plate full while the twins and Heron were more modest in their portions. In the middle of the preparations, Rami wandered into the kitchen. They didn’t quite have enough space on the kitchen island so Krystal, Mikel, and Yuriko grabbed their plates and wandered over to the barely used dining room and ate there. Yuriko prepared a cup of kaf, with a generous dollop of honey, to help her Animus recover from her impromptu boost.

“What are we doing the rest of the day?” Krystal asked over a mouthful of waffles and ham. “I looked for Armsmaster Byrne yesterday. He should be at the training hall later.”

“You think he could help me?”

“As our instructor during the camp, he could give you options.”

“I suppose. Da told me before he left that Armsmaster Byrne knew my training plan.”

“There’s that. Maybe we could look for Leader Yoran too.”

“She’s probably at the Watchtower.” Mikel observed, “Not within easy reach.”

“Armsmaster Byrne then.” Yuriko said.

“Well, let’s go get rid of those boys and head over to school then,” Krystal said decisively.

“Get rid of us, why?” Heron asked from the doorway separating the dining room and kitchen.

“Private business,” Krystal said primly. “Well, it's really up to Yuri if she wants to share it with you.”

“Perhaps later,” Yuriko said after a moment.

“Oh.” Heron hesitated. “Well, you can always tell me when you’re ready. Thank you for breakfast and for leading training today.”  “You’re welcome.” Yuriko squeezed out a smile.

“Good food.” Braden said, “I couldn’t help but overhear you. My, er, our sentiments are the same. After what we’ve gone through in the woods, well…” Braden trailed off with a grimace. “Anyway, see you to--” he broke off with a cough.

Heron and Orrin caught him before he doubled over in a coughing fit. Once it subsided, he grunted, “I think I overdid it.”

“Sit down and use Recovery,” Yuriko said, guiding him over to a sofa in the living room. Braden winced when he sat down.

“It hurts when I use this,” he complained.

“Better that bit of pain now,” Yuriko said. “You really shouldn’t have pushed yourself.”

“I wanted to become stronger. I apologize for this.”

Yuriko shook her head, then looked over at the others. “You should do your post-training Recovery meditations too.”

She watched as all of them made themselves comfortable then activated her version of Recovery. Pinpricks of warmth ran all over her body, fixing muscle tears, and draining away fatigue. The drain from Recovery evened out with the boost the kaf she drank gave her Animus reserves.

A few minutes later and she was done. Braden was grimacing in pain and he had bitten into his lip. She used a kerchief to gently dab the blood off. He didn’t stir at her touch. She hoped he could return to his previous condition soon; looking at him now was like watching a sickly puppy and it pulled at her heartstrings.

“Yuri, a word,” Heron said from behind her.

“Oh.” She stood up and turned to face him, “Sure.”

Heron looked towards the front door so she followed along.

“What is it?” she asked when they were on the front porch. Heron took a deep breath and his eyes kept dancing.

“Do you, uhm, do you have a partner for the Dance of the Sun and Moon?”

“Eh?”

“During the Harvest Festival.”

“Yes, I know,” Yuriko shrugged. “I don’t have a partner. Why?”

Heron’s face reddened. “May I be your partner for the dance?”

Yuriko shrugged. “Sure, why not.”

Heron blinked. “You will?”

Yuriko nodded. “I don’t have a partner anyway.”

“Oh, uh, great!” Heron grinned. “Thanks for accepting!”

“Sure.” She went back inside the house and found the others still in meditation. Heron was shifting on his toes outside.

“Uh, I’ll go home and bathe. See you tomorrow for training, or, uhm, would you like to spar in the training hall later?”

Yuriko shrugged. “I don’t think I have time later. You can join my training tomorrow if you want.”

“See you tomorrow then.”

“Bye!”

A few minutes later, the others were finished with their meditations.

“I’ll meet you at the campus after lunch,” Krystal said before she left.

Yuriko took a quick shower in her ensuite bathroom after dumping her sweat-soaked clothes in the hamper.

Afterwards, she sat on her bed and activated her Facet. However, the Golden Silhouette didn't show her anything new, so when she woke up, she grabbed Fri'Avgi, went back to the backyard, and drilled herself with the sword dances adjusted for the greatsword.

"How did you even learn how to wield one of those? Da never taught us with anything other than side-blades," Kato asked.

"Not with your friend today?" Yuriko asked drily.

"She's busy."

"My Facet."

Kato tilted his head in confusion.

"It showed me how."

"Ah. Want to spar?"

"Sure, but we don't have a wooden greatsword."

"Just use that one," Kato grinned.

"You sure?"

Kato nodded, heading back inside to bring out a practice blade from the armoury. He placed himself about five paces away and held out the sword extended in front of him with his body turned sideways.

"Begin," he said simply.

Yuriko nodded and circulated her Animus in the second dance, the one focused on defence. Rays of translucent light radiated from the red gem on the artefact’s cross-guard while she advanced in a sedate pace.

Snorting, Kato channelled lavender-coloured Animus into the wooden sword and started circling around her. Yuriko shifted easily and as soon as he came within reach, she swung horizontally. Kato back stepped just enough to avoid the tip and rushed towards her, thrusting the blade as he did so. With a turn of her wrists, she twisted her waist, shifted her stance, and swept Fri'Avgi to parry.

"Chaos!" Kato cursed, danced back and tried to avoid their blades from clashing.

Yuriko twirled Fri'Avgi freely, the artefact weighed almost nothing in her hands and nearly as agile as a side-blade. In short order, she forced Kato on the defensive and from there, disarmed him.

"Another round?" She asked with a grin.

Kato shook his head ruefully. "No thanks, I've seen enough." He reached over and ruffled her hair which undid her ponytail in the process.

"Hey!"

Kato frowned. "Why is your fringe uneven? I didn't notice before."

"Ehehehe."

"Hmmm, at least even this out." He stroked her hair. "Well, this looks fine too. So, what happened?"

"Swarmlings."

"Ah." Kato nodded. "Looks like you're already better with the sword than your marksmanship."

"Yeah," Yuriko said dejectedly. "My Facet hasn't revealed anything regarding ranged weapons yet."

"Don't be greedy. Focus on one thing until you reach a wall and only then should you branch out."

"Stop parroting Da." Yuriko poked Kato's side.

"Heh, his sayings are worth repeating."

Kato left soon after while Yuriko practised for another half hour. Afterwards, she circulated her Animus in the pattern the Golden Silhouette taught her to use after training. Most of the reserve she regenerated was used up afterwards. She felt a warmth inside her and along with the sunlight, it made her feel a bit lethargic.

"Lunch!"

Rami's voice startled Yuriko out of an unplanned nap. Her younger brother peeked at her from inside the kitchen and smirked. "Wipe the drool!"

Flushing, she did so on a kerchief. Rami had made a garden salad with boiled eggs and a strawberry vinaigrette.

"Just this?"

"There's more ham if you want, you carnivore," Rami huffed.

"No, no. This is fine. Ehehehe."

After lunch, she freshened up, put on a button-down blouse and trousers to go with her ankle-high boots, and left for the campus. A half-hour ride on the Circuit Tram later and she met with Krystal at the school gates.

"Armsmaster Byrne should be in his office," Krystal said by way of a greeting.

They entered the building through the side door. The schoolyard had dozens of makeshift shelters for the townsfolk whose homes were damaged in the Wave.

Trevor Byrne was indeed in his office with a stack of paperwork in front of him. He had an assistant helping him sort through it due to the fact that his right arm ended up in a stump halfway down his bicep. It was capped with a silvery metal that had four green jade studs equidistant from each other and connected with slightly glowing runescript.

He glanced up when they knocked and peeked inside.

"Cadets Davar and Zorin. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Good afternoon, Armsmaster. May we speak in confidence?" Yuriko asked.

"Of course." He waved his stump at the assistant, and the young man with a halfway decent moustache nodded and left. "So?"

Yuriko cleared her throat. "I'd like to have your advice, sir, in the absence of my father…" She quickly described the contents of her mum's letter and concluded with, "My dream is to join the legion, just like Da did, but mum is blocking that path." Her mouth was dry as dust while she waited for his reply.

Armsmaster, for his part, frowned and looked deep in thought. He crossed his arms, a habitual move, only to realize he didn't have enough arm to cross.

"Swarm fodder!" he growled, shaking the offending limb.

He sighed and looked her in the eye. He started to say something but hesitated. His eyes darted around the room before he stood up and closed a window. He even closed the messenger crane access at the top of the door. Then he gave both of them a weighing look before he sat back on his chair.

"There is a way," he started, "But it would take a fair amount of luck, as well as hard work if you want to try it. Odds are very low though. Minuscule."

It was enough for Yuriko to have the slightest bit of hope. As long as there was a path, no matter how narrow, she could walk it. "Please tell me."

"All you have to do is score at the top percentile of the comprehensive examinations for the Academies."

"But…" Krystal spluttered, "that's nearly impossible!"

Yuriko let out a huge breath. At least there was a path.