Part 1

“No! Please stop! Don’t hurt her!!” A mother pleads for the life of her child to be spared.

A line of people are on their knees, some sobbing on their own and murmuring, others are lying lifeless on the ground.

Armed men with rags covering their heads stand behind them with guns on the ready. Some of them hold back the mother who could do nothing but watch. The spectating crowd of tormented souls is kept at bay by the majority of their forces.

“Be quiet!” one of the men knocks the mother down with the butt of their rifle.

“MOMMY!!!!” the child cries out, but is immediately silenced when a gun’s barrel is pointed at her.

The life in the alleys of the city is isolated from the world in the streets; almost like a separate world exists within the city itself. Similar to how they can’t hear the problems of the outside, the screams of the dwellers of the alleys cannot be heard in the plane of reality outside of theirs.

Armed men have invaded this once remote sanctum that is content with their life of peace to bring the chaos of their world upon them.

“Now then…I will ask all of you again! Which of you has the Alter we’re looking for?”  The man who appears to be in command demands.

“I told you, we don’t know anything!!” The mother insists as more of the armed men try to subdue her.

“Really now. Well…” The man pulls the cocking lever on his rifle. “…say goodbye to mommy, kid.”

The mother screams at the top of her lungs, when all of a sudden, a gust of wind blows the men who were holding her down.

No…it wasn’t wind…

What has really blown them away manifests itself behind her: a humanoid form mirrors her movements as she stands up from being pinned down.

Although the Alter itself is invisible to these armed invaders, the wake caused is enough for a grin to fade itself into their commander’s face.

“That’s what I wanna see. Everyone, take her out!”

The armed invaders fire their weapons countless times, but she remains unfazed. Unbearable pain fills the mother's body as their shots strike her, but she fights through all of them with unrivaled tenacity.

As soon as the firing stops, her knees caved in. The sensation on her legs flees from her as she crawls towards her daughter.

“Don’t worry…I’ll be okay…” Her mother blatantly lies with a false smile on her face.

The wounds all over her body start to close up, but at a slow pace. The commander steps on the mother’s back, takes out his pistol, and shoots her right back of her head. Crimson fluid splatters across the cheek of the now orphaned girl.

Alters are psychological manifestations that imbue anyone who possess them incredible abilities. However, should the brain be compromised, their Alter abilities are rendered ineffective. In some cases, they hold a tragic side effect: death.

“MOMMY!!!!!” The child screams as she frantically stands up and run towards her mother’s lifeless body.

“Hey!” The gunman behind her shouts as it rattles its gun to aim at the fleeing girl.

“Don’t—!!” Their commander tries to uselessly stop his subordinate.

But it is too late…

The gunman pulls the trigger on the rifle that is aimed at the back of the little girl’s head. The bullet flies from the barrel of the gun towards the defenseless kid. Once contact is made, a head rocks violently from the impact.

It’s like the bullet swiftly changes direction upon making contact with the girl's skin. Afterwards, gunman collapsed like a ragdoll, lifeless like those around them. Everyone, including the gunmen, is stunned by what they have witnessed.

As the young girl cradles the body of her mother, a single tear rolls down her stained cheek. Her body trembles in uncontrollable sadness, and more dangerously, fury.

“…I’ll kill all of you!” A growling voice from the little girl threatens them.

At the same time, a ghastly form manifests itself behind her. She glares at the people who have killed her mother with contracted pupils.

"Hey, how did--!!"

“She’s got to be an Alter carrier too! Aim for her head!!”

Every gunmen rain fire on the little girl, but just like before, every bullet that comes in contact with her changes direction immediately after coming into contact with her skin, knocking down whoever has fired them.

As soon as the noises start, they suddenly stop. All of the gunmen fall lifelessly to the ground without an ounce of energy on them.

The now orphaned girl stands from the sea of scarlet that she has created with an uplifted spirit. She has vanquished the evil forces who have laid waste to their once peaceful lives. She has defeated the villains who have slain the members of their community.

…so why? Why is it that the people who she has saved looked so frightened of her?

The girl gets up and steps towards the frightened group of people who have bunched themselves together to try and protect each other. The young girl is confused by the sudden reaction.

She sweeps her vision among the crowd and all she sees are faces of terror. They are scared of the unexplainable occurrence that has supposedly saved them.

Another sight catches her eye. It actually has happened a few times. Wounds appear on some of the innocent people she was supposed to protect. They’re not fatal, but they are dangerous when if left unattended.

Not sure of what to do, the young girl runs away with her bare feet splashing at the red puddles. She runs along the dark alleyways she has once called her home, her world, and did something none of them have ever dreamed of: willingly head to the light.

The sensation of her legs start to leave her, but she continues to desperately run out to the world outside of the alleys. A numbing sensation overwhelms her as it uses up every last ounce of her strength. But it will all finally pay off.

The light of the city is within her sight. Bright sunshine enters her eyes which is blinding at first, but now, it’s her only salvation from her inner torment.

She staggers with what little strength remains in her body. Suddenly, an armored vehicle pulls to a stop just outside the alley's exit. Out of it, more armed men block her path as they point their weapons at her.

They appear to be better equipped than the people who attacked earlier with complete dark blue bulletproof body armor and with better weapons compared to the worn down, possibly salvaged guns. Helmets with reflective face shields on them like those worn by metal workers obscure their faces.

The young girl stumbles as she frantically turns around and run the other direction, but her escape is cut off yet again by another group of armed men.

She looks at both directions as the two groups close in on her. She isn’t sure how she has defeated her earlier assailants, so she doesn’t know what to do.

“All of you stand down!” A voice came from behind the first group of armed men.

All of them obediently lower their weapons and instead have them set by their chests. The person who has given them the order steps through the first group of armed men to personally meet with her.

The person wears a black suit and tie similar to the average salary man. His hair is kept trim and proper and wears a pair of spectacles with thick black rims to match.

“We come to respond to what happened. You are who they are after, correct?”

The girl gives no answer. She turns her head back at the direction she has come from scared. Red footprints lead from wherever that frightening scene has taken place.

“It appears we have arrived too late.” The man then goes down in one knee and places a hand on her shoulder.

He gives a sigh and continues to talk.

“But here’s what we can do. We know the reason why they were after you. We can help you make your power stronger beyond what you can imagine. I am sure you have suffered a great loss by their hands. However, should you choose to come with us, we can assure you that you will be able to protect those you care for. No person on earth will be able to harm you, or anyone you should hold dear ever again. We will show you how to control it, use it, and make it your own.” The man continues to persuade the little girl. “What do you say?”

The girl looks through the man’s thick glasses. Her eyes are red from crying and exhaustion.

“Who…are you?” The girl asks the strange man she is seeing for the first time.

“My name is not important. What is important is who I represent; the company that will grant you what I offer…”

The man stands up and extends a hand towards the little girl with a smile of questionable authenticity.

“…Lance Corporations.”

Part 2

Yaaaaaaaawn…

Just like any other school, the bells chime the start of the day. The students of AEGIS lug their small bags into the campus along the courtyard. One of such students is the other male student of this school: Alex Kenningway.

“Heey!! Alex!” A voice calls out to him.

Alex turns towards the voice that has greeted him.

“Oh. Good morning, Mister Kiyabu.” Alex greets back.

Katsuo runs to catch up to him. Once he did, he continues the path towards the school’s campus walking side by side.

“Oh man, what happened to you?” Katsuo comments on Alex’s appearance.

Despite it only being the start of the day, Alex looks exhausted and out of strength. The bags under his eyes and sluggish movement makes that all the more evident.

“My apologies, it seems like our work as event organizers are already on full swing. The tournament does start this weekend.”

As the pair, walk by the courtyard, there are various preparations already indeed in place. More of the posters they’ve seen yesterday are plastered on the notice boards and some windows, and stalls for registrations of last minute teams are in place on some corners.

“Never knew that this kind of event will bring in so much people.” Katsuo wonders in amazement at how much of the students are abuzz with excitement.

“From what I heard, this kind of competition is a time for the students to really show their best. After all, it’s not always when they get a chance to show off how much they have gotten stronger.”

“That reminds me of someone I know…” Katsuo mutters to himself, thinking of a particular Short Fused Shocker.

“Oh, right. You’re entering the Battle Tournament with her, right? Any luck finding a final member?”

Katsuo bows his head in defeat.

“Nothing. We can’t even get enough money for the entrance fee. We’re going on a mission after school, but there’s no telling if we’ll even get the reward money in time.” He responds to Alex's question.

“I see. So what kind of mission are you and the girls doing?”

Katsuo is about to give an answer, but then…

(“…I think what I can do is the reason why they’re so afraid of me…)

…he remembers that people flee just from the utter mention of her name.

“It’s…nothing important.” Katsuo brushes the question aside.

“Is that so? Well then, looks like it’s useless to ask any further.”

(“…after all, there are things I would rather not discuss. Especially with you…”) Alex continues in his mind.

As soon as they dismiss the discussion…

“Kenningway! Kiyabu! You’re late!!” an athletic woman with her arms crossed barks at the two boys.

She has her hair in buns on either sides of her head and wears a tracksuit jacket like a cape.

“We’re sorry Miss Rin, but late for what?” Katsuo stares confused as he scratches the back of his head.

Miss Rin is one of AEGIS’ physical instructors and she handles the freshmen year students in particular.

“I’ll let fill you both in later. Head to the lockers and get changed.” She storms off down the hall as she flutters the jacket that’s resting on her shoulders.

“Any idea what’s going on?” Katsuo sighs.

“I’m afraid I’m at a loss as well.” Alex looks at him worried.

Katsuo grimaces at the thought of whatever could be in store for them.

“Please tell me that deranged woman has nothing to do with this…” Katsuo says under his breath.

Meanwhile, a sneeze suddenly resounds inside a certain dimly lit office.

Part 3

Earlier that day…

“Okay everyone, today we have a special announcement for you!” The teacher zealously informs everyone.

Unlike the rest of the class who are already abuzz with murmurs, Kanade stares outside the window beside her seat located at the back row with a cheek on her hand and an elbow on the table.

“So annoying…” Kanade mutters in solitude.

The desk beside her that belongs to a certain young man is noticeably empty.

(“It’s not like I worry about the guy. I just feel like something is up”)

All of a sudden, a woman with her hair tied in buns on either side of her head bursts the door open with a scowl on her face.

Silence overtakes the entire class as the imposing presence of the physical instructor is felt. She walks to the desk which the teacher slowly backs away from.

Miss Rin slams both her palms on the surface and whole class sits straight in attention.

“Listen up! Today we’ll be having a joint training session with Class 1-A. As you know your class has the lowest physical data score among all the freshmen years. I hope this will at least get your act together.”

More murmurs are heard, but the tone this time is different. Some are scared, some are blaming, and others are just accepting the fact as they know the reason.

“However…” With a loud bark, Miss Rin is able to bring the class to silence again. “…I know that you wouldn’t be motivated fighting another class, so I decided to set up a little show featuring the academy’s male students.”

Nearly the entire class erupts in cheers.

“You mean we finally get to see our dear Katsuo in battle?”

“Get real. He wouldn’t stand a chance against Alex.”

“Traitor!!”

The entire class pointlessly bickers and cheers on who they feel would win.

Miss Rin starts to lose her patience with the unruly bunch. She tries to hold her anger in by crossing her arms and bowing her head down. She is so furious that she feels like a vein in her head is about to pop as she clenches her teeth.

And with a slam of both hands on the teacher’s desk…

“EVERYONE SHUT UP!!!!” Miss Rin shouts at the top of her lungs.

Her voice is so loud that everyone not properly braced down loses their balance.

The entire room vibrates violently and the glass in the windows starts to shake. All the students and even the class homeroom teacher have to cover their ears unless they want to risk losing their hearing.

Every loose sheet of paper flies into the air and is scattered around the classroom.

It’s a good thing Miss Rin has held back when she used her Alter Ability.

The entire class gets the message. Everyone sits back up on their seats suffering only messy hair from the deafening scream.

Miss Rin coughs to get things back on track.

“As I was saying, as soon as the sparring match between Class 1-C’s Katsuo Kiyabu and Class 1-A’s Alex Kenningway, everyone will be expected to win a one-on-one with the other class. I’ll be seeing all of you in the training complex.” Miss Rin storms off from the classroom.

Part 4

For physical education classes, schools would normally have students change into gym clothes. Depending on the school, that attire consists of a combination of a loose cotton shirt with shorts, bloomers, or jogging pants.

For students of AEGIS, it’s a skin-tight leotard that goes halfway down their forearms and calves. It’s mostly white with dark grey patches on the shoulders and waist and purple from the neck down to the chest, but there are also color coded accents on the suit and boots depending on what year are they from. In this case, for freshmen years, it’s green.

Katsuo and Alex each emerge from either archway in the stadium pit like gladiators about to engage in a life-and-death match.

They have been brought up to speed as they changed into the appropriate attire. This accentuates the contrast in body builds between the two boys. Katsuo’s body is lean and toned while Alex is more thin and sleek. However, despite these stark differences, both of them show determined faces.

The stadium roars rather weakly given the relatively small number of people compared to the arena’s actual capacity. Both classes start to cheer for their respective representatives; others even go as far as chant their names. While a great number take advantage of having the gigantic arena for themselves, she instead seats from the top row farthest from the overwhelming crowd.

“Here are the rules of the sparring match: On my signal, the match will begin. The first one to submit, or to be no longer able to fight will lose the match.” Miss Rin clarifies the terms of the duel as the two competitors approach each other.

As soon as they do, they firmly grasp each other’s hand between their strong faces.

“Let’s make this a good fight.” Katsuo commends his opponent.

“Likewise. I never imagined that the time I promised would come so conveniently.” Alex responds.

The cheers grow louder as more screams react to the sight at the center of the stadium. The chants of their names sing stronger than before. 

“Fighters, get into position.” Miss Rin’s voice echoes through the intercom.

With a great leap and a slide, Katsuo and Alex distance themselves from each other for a fair advantage.

“Ready…”

Alex places his left hand by the right side of his jaw with his palm facing outward. Katsuo cups his right hand by his left waist like he’s about to draw a sword.

An air horn blares to signal the start of the match.

Alex pours all his strength to his legs and runs towards Katsuo.

He responds by forming a tonfa in his cupped hand. He gives it a twirl and redirects Alex’s palm strike towards his side.

Alex counters by sweeping a foot across Katsuo’s legs which causes him to topple over.

Alex leaps and rolls in the air and drives a clenched fist down at Katsuo’s face.

He quickly flips out of the way causing Alex’s attack to hit nothing but dirt which kicks up a lot of dust which obscures his vision.

Alex looks around for where the attack will take place, heightening his senses to try and anticipate Katsuo's next move. He inhales heavily ad rapidly amidst the dusty air to catch his breath.

As he scans the thick cloud surrounding him. the sound of something like glass breaking alerts his ears.

The bright light confirms where Katsuo is, bursting out while as he charges in with nunchucks. He twirls to the side. then swings them at Alex, alternating his attacks between the two dull bludgeoning rods.

But every move he makes, no matter how fast, gets immediately swept to the side.

Alex’s eyes snap as he sees a lag in Katsuo’s movements. He gives a grin and high kicks him right across his right shoulder with a trail of black smoke streaming out of his ankle.

Katsuo is knocked to the side and struggles to get up. However, the pain from the impact is the least of his worries.

From the point of where Alex’s attack has connected, Katsuo starts to feel a numbing sensation similar to hundreds of needles pricking his flesh. It slowly and gradually inches down towards its elbow as Katsuo is slowly consumed by the numbness.

("Oh dear me. I hope I didn't rough him up too much. I know for sure I held back on my Abilities.") Alex thinks to himself.

“Giving up already, ol’ chap?” Alex asks his opponent.

Katsuo grabs his right shoulder with a hand as he winces from the paralyzing pain. He rubs his shoulder to try and get his blood flowing again. He can start to feel his arm properly for a bit, but as soon as it gets back, it just as easily leaves.

“It’s useless. I took away your arm, only I can bring it up again.” Alex notifies Katsuo.

The two boys glare at each other with piercing eyes. Burning passion and courage shines bright in Katsuo's eyes, despite the pain he is going through. Upon seeing this, Alex recognizes and accepts Katsuo's resolve.

"I see, you want to push through with this. Very well, I commend your chivalry!"

With that compliment, Alex runs towards Katsuo ready for another pounce.

As he dashes towards his target, Katsuo twists his upper body and uses his limp arm to strike him at the neck.

Katsuo coils his right foot up and kicks down one of Alex’s shins. This messes with Alex's balance which allows Katsuo to bring his entire weight at Alex’s jugular as he clotheslines him down to the ground.

This is enough to take Alex off of his concentration that Katsuo can feel the sensation in his shoulders coming back.

The crowd continues to get riled up by the stunning display. The voices of those who cheer for Katsuo resound louder than before. Those who cheer for Alex are shouting in anticipation for him to make a comeback.

“Biological disruption. That’s your Alter Ability isn’t it?” Katsuo says as he rotates his shoulder to get his blood circulation on track.

“Interesting theory…” Alex commends as he slowly tries to stand himself up. “…But there’s no way you could have figured that out in one attack.”

“Don’t have to.” Katsuo replies in confidence.

Katsuo sweeps a hand in front of him. As he does, a bow staff smoothly comes together from the pieces that materialize out of thin air. He then twirls it a round and sweeps it to a set position behind his body and rests a palm upward.

“You’re gonna prove it for me.” He continues his earlier remark as he beacons at Alex for an attack.

Alex wipes the corner of his lip with a thumb and runs towards him at full strength.

Katsuo responds to the immediate threat by spinning the staff forward and sets it by his hip while holding with both of his hands.

He thrusts the staff forward which Alex quickly turns away from. Using the same momentum from the spin, he winds up a hook and lets it loose at Katsuo’s face.

Oddly enough, Katsuo uses a bare palm to catch the fist hurled towards him mere inches from his face.

Before Alex can use his ability, Katsuo shoots a kick right at his chest.

Alex bends backwards to dodge then continues into a somersault.

He uses the momentum to flip backwards once and get into a squat. This causes him to store energy like a coiled spring which he unleashes with a huge jump up in the air.

Alex clenches both his hands into a fist and cocks one back for a jab while he uses the other to aim his course.

Once he gets a bearing on where he will land, he weighs down and lets the punch he is building up loose. The same black mist appeared, this time in his wrist.

Katsuo sees this and blocks the attack with the bow staff instead. The force transferred from the drop is so great that Katsuo’s knees almost caves in halfway.

Tensions are high as the whole stadium gasped from suspense. The two glare at each other as one tires to overpower the other.

With a growl, Katsuo pushes upwards and tosses Alex behind him.

He reorients himself by flipping in the air and lands with one knee and one hand on the ground with his other hand swept behind his back. The horizontal momentum lets him skid backwards as he maintains his center of gravity by arching forward.

Katsuo spins the staff to the side and stands firm.

“What you did to my arm wasn’t mere paralysis. Nerve impulse, blood flow, muscle contraction, it’s almost like you rendered my entire arm useless. You managed to do all that with just one touch.” Katsuo shares his observation.

Alex grins as he stands up from his landing.

“As I have expected of you, Mister Kiyabu. I actually thought I’d be able to fool you into thinking that it’s all mere paralysis. You’re more knowledgeable about this than I thought.”

Alex’s glare glows more intensely. He uses his hand to comb his hair back, and using the same motion, sets his hand by his waist and snaps his fingers.

“Destroy, Necrosis!” Alex calls out.

In thin air, a ghastly figure made up of black smoke appears like a mirage. A hood forms over its head as the apparition shows its full form. At long last, Alex Kenningway’s Alter shows itself to Katsuo.

He replies with a lighthearted smile despite the grim stakes.

He tosses his bow staff to the side which shatters upon impact with the ground and then raises his hands partway.

“I submit.”

Another airhorn blares to signal the conclusion of the match.

“Match over! Winner…Alex Kenningway!”

Alex’s eyes widened from surprise as his Alter disappears from behind him like fog dissipating.

“Wait…why?” Alex asks bewildered.

Katsuo walks to his side and places a hand on his shoulder.

“We both already did what we came to do. No use prolonging it now, is it?” He gives a brief reply.

He walks forward to the archway he used to get into the arena to leave the stadium pit. Once through, someone was waiting inside: a girl with twintails and a pair of glasses who has her arms crossed and leaning against one of the walls.

“What was that?” Henrietta asks Katsuo as he passes by.

“Is there something wrong? Miss Thompson?”

“You throwing the match. The moment you figured out how his abilities worked, you just ended it like that? Why?” she continues to interrogate further.

Katsuo gave no response other that turning his head away from her.

“…something’s bothering you, is it? Look, whatever it is, you can always tell—“

“If something goes wrong, we might end up killing each other. He can stop a heartbeat with a touch. I can make things that can impale a person. I don’t want him to shoulder the guilt of taking another person’s life. You have no idea what it’s like.”

Katsuo can't help but recall to the dark moment in his past. This very memory that has haunted him all these years.

But then...

“So what?!” Another voice called out from the tunnel’s darkness.

“I can fry a guy with more than a hundred thousand volts. But you don’t hear me moping like an idiot. We’re all works in progress. We come here to learn and get stronger.” Kanade adds as she emerges from the other end of the tunnel.

“She’s right. Even the most dangerous of abilities can be of help if wielded properly. Don’t take this school so lightly.” Natalia comments as she comes from behind Kanade.

“Honestly, you really are an idiot, aren’t you? “ Kanade says with a smile.

“And don’t worry about whatever burden you’re carrying with you. We may not understand what it’s like, but so long as we are here, we will help you carry it.” Natalia assures him.

Katsuo looks at all the people who have his back. It fills him complete confidence almost like his spirit has lightened.

“Everyone, thank you…” he says with a nod. “…but I won’t be able to let go of it so easily.”

“Then I’ll help you every step of the way.” Kanade walks towards him and places a hand on his shoulder. “You meddled with my problems, and now I won’t stop bugging you with it. After all you said it first, right? You can always tell me anything that’s bothering you.”

Katsuo is taken aback by his own words being echoed back at him. He looks at the people before him and sees smiles all around.

Kanade places a hand on her waist while she uses her other hand to aim a thumbs up at Katsuo.

Henrietta tries to hide her smile by pushing up the bridge of her glasses.

The weight on Katsuo’s heart is lightened, but not eliminated. It feels like they really are each carrying a piece of his burden with him. He grabs a hold of his chest over where his heart is and takes a deep breath. Katsuo opens his mouth, but no words come out no matter how much he tries.

“It’s alright. You don’t have to stress yourself.” Natalia assures him.

Meanwhile at the locker rooms…

“And that’s all that Katsuo knows?” The person from the other end of the call Alex has received.

“Yes headmistress, anything that can be easily attained by the Disciplinary Committee’s search.” He replies promptly.

“I never understood the need for such an elaborate setup in the first place. It’s counter-intuitive to maintaining your cover.” Miss Violet inquires.

“I made him a promise to share my ability when the time is right. A gentleman is honor-bound to keep a promise.”

“Yes of course…” Miss Violet emphasizes with a hint of sarcasm. “…A gentleman is indeed honor-bound to do so.”

Part 5

Noon arrives and things aren’t getting any better since the aftermath of the duel.

“This just proves that Alex is best boy!”

Senseless arguments about the match outcome are all over the place for some reason. It’s gone so out of hand that here-say from other classes who weren’t present during the match are commenting on it.

“Get real! Katsuo just went easy on him! He can waste him no problem.”

“Oh yeah? Then why didn’t he?”

But that’s not all of the chatter that he’s hearing.

“Hey, have you heard?” A female student futilely whispers to her group of friends as her voice is still loud enough to be heard from the other side of the room.

“Yeah, this one person I talk to…who knows this person, who is now in intensive care.”

“What happened?” Another interjects.

“I heard that the senior Natalia Lenhoff is the one who did it to her.”

“For real?!”

Her other friends hush on her to keep quiet. Nevertheless, a couple of heads briefly turn at their direction.

“We should get out of here. Never know who might listen.”

“I know. She’s just so scary.”

“I know, right?”

And as they chatter away among themselves, they promptly leave the classroom to not attract any more attention to them.

Katsuo stands up from his desk, then places both of his hands in his pockets. He walks out of the classroom to get away from the noise his rowdy classmates are making.

He looks around the wandering students that walk down the corridor. Surprisingly, Henrietta is nowhere to be found to pick him up.

(“Must be her off day. Even the vigilant head of the Disciplinary Committee needs time for herself.”) He thinks to himself as he continues to walk down the hall.

As he comes across a corner, an emergency exit suddenly opens. A hand reaches out and pulls Katsuo in by the neck, and into a dimly lit stairwell.

He is slammed against a nearby wall, and pinned to it with a hand inches from his face.

“Hey what are y—“ Katsuo tries to speak, but it’s like his throat won’t let him.

His only company is a girl with flowing pink hair. She wears a mask that covers the upper part of her face.

The girl gives a hush to tell him to keep silent. Katsuo tries to fight back by forming something with his left hand, but it’s immediately grabbed by the wrist.

“Don’t move and I won’t have to sever the link in your brain stem.” The masked girl threatens him.

The sudden surprises freezes Katsuo stiff. At the same time, he can feel slender fingers inching their way to his nape as a familiar numbing feeling that envelopes his hand.

“Y-you’re…” Katsuo mutters under his breath.

“Don’t act so surprised. It’s not uncommon for people to have the same Alter Ability. After all, you share the same powers with your mentor…” The masked girl lets go of her grip on Katsuo to let him collapse to the floor.

Katsuo can feel the numbness crawling faster across his arm as it is the one that has caught his fall. All the air in his lungs is pushed out on impact, and he doesn’t have the strength to scream.

“…isn’t that right, Gilded Saber?” She finishes her sentence.

The legendary hero only heard of in urban legends, Gilded Saber has once roamed the streets stopping crime as an enigmatic vigilante. The last person who has ever donned that mantle is standing before her.

“H-how did you…?”

“We spent the past five years looking for you. Creating so much noise even under a guise wasn’t such a good idea.”

“What do you want?” Katsuo continues to grimace from the numbing sensation in his arm.

Katsuo’s voice becomes hoarse and soft. Should he try to speak any louder, all that would come out is air.

“Simple. Call off your friends after your first match.” She gives her demands.

His eyes widened shock.

“Let’s face it. You and I both know what is coming." The masked girl informs him as she paces around the quivering Katsuo. "Even the so called Academy’s Strongest is no match for her. Save them the trouble and their lives, and tell them not to interfere.” 

Katsuo struggles to stand up amidst the pain engulfing the left half of his body.

“I’m the one you want. If my death means saving them, then kill me here and now.”

The masked girl hides a wide smile with the back of her hand and laughs under her breath.

“Oh did you honestly think that you can get out of it so easily? A silent assassination will never shout the same message it whispered. There is only one form of death that befits you: an execution.” The girl laces a finger across her neck.

“You see, I’m under orders not to kill them now because I know having them watch you perish will resound your death even further. There will be no way for your death to be easily swept under the rug. Not like it’s the first time they will try to do so.” She continues her explanation.

Katsuo did not follow at first, but then he remembers…

(“I came home one day to find everything engulfed in flames…”)

…he knows someone who has supposedly died…

(“Not a word to the rest of the students…to me …”)

And like the smoke of that fire…

(“… even the headmistress didn’t want to say anything…”)

...she disappeared without a trace.

“What does Tsubaki Ishihara have to do with this?”

“Hmm? That’s a name that sure doesn’t ring any bells.”

The masked girl walks towards the window which is the only source of light in the stairwell. She takes the latch from its side and swings the window open outward.

“Now then, let’s get back on subject, do we have a deal?”

Katsuo glares through her mask with spiteful eyes.

“Just don’t lay a finger on any more innocent people.” He grimaces from the pain that is almost consuming the entire left half of his body.

“Oh believe me…” The masked girl sits on its frame.

“…ol’ Deathwish promises you. Cross my heart and hope to die.” She introduces herself as she draws an X on her chest with her finger.

Immediately afterwards, she leans back and falls out of the window. The moment she’s out of sight, the pain engulfing Katsuo’s body has disappeared.

He rushes towards the window where the girl who calls herself Deathwish has fallen out of.

However, the moment he peers outside, no trace of her could be found.

All of a sudden…

“There you are!” a voice calls behind him.

Katsuo turns around and sees Henrietta who has burst through the emergency exit.

“I was worried when I came to your classroom and you’re nowhere to be found. Did anything happen?”

Katsuo slowly walks away from the windowsill.

“No…nothing’s wrong. Sorry for the trouble.” He sincerely apologizes.

Part 6

In a dimly lit office, a lady clad in violet spins a pen between her fingers as she continues to stop herself from snapping at the incompetent people she is talking to.

“Director, I will say this again. The inmate Call Sign Inverter escaped while under your custody. I at least expect to show some form of initiative on your part.” She reminds the people at the other end of the secured line.

“I sincerely apologize, but our unit is simply not designed to secure inmates of this level.”

“Then can you explain how did you even manage to contain the strongest Category 4 ever officially recorded?”

“I’m afraid that’s classified.”

Miss Violet rubs her temples at the constant dead ends she’s encountering.

(“If I still have my connections with your superiors, you would be court martialed right now.”) Miss Violet continues to try her earnest to suppress her rage.

“Will you at least be able to assist in capturing the escaped inmate?”

“We’re currently unable to deploy any form of force since the escape. Reinforcements are en route from HQ.”

“And that’s all you asked requested from them?”

“A-affirmative.” The director stutters for its answer.

“You’re lucky this channel is encrypted, Director, otherwise the brass will have your neck for divulging sensitive information like that.”

“My apologies, I sincerely felt that you deserve to know the true gravity of the situation. It’s the least I could do for the colonel of Team Z.”

“You know I no longer have that rank. My days tied to the military are over. Besides, Team Z is long gone.” Miss Violet taps the end of the pen to the desk’s surface at a regular beat.

“But still, orders are orders. There are still things that even I am not aware of which is why I am not able to report on them.”

“Rest assured, Director. Should you, your unit, or anyone from the military fail to resolve the mess you have created by the time the threat arrives in my school, we will take measures as drastic as possible.”

“Colonel, apprehension of Call Sign Inverter is a matter of national security. Even if AEGIS is a military subsidy, you don’t get to have a say in the matter.”

A long stream of cold dead air looms between the two. The director of the military installation feels the sudden chill from the deafening silence despite being a few seconds short.

And then, two words chillingly leave Miss Violet's lips.

“Watch me…”

These two words are the last to echo in the military installation's director's ears. Afterwards, Miss Violet cuts the transmission.

Miss Violet leans back on her chair. Her weight slightly swivels it to the side. She crosses her legs then clasps her fingers between each other and places them on her lap.

(“For a guerrilla squadron, they sure are well-trained. It’s not every day you hear about a group of renegade thugs being able to level an entire military base, let alone break out an inmate.”) Miss Violet ponders on some of the irregularities in the situation.

“You’re hiding something from me. You know you’re not supposed to do that.” She eerily whispers to the lonesome darkness.

Aside from AEGIS, there is one other group capable of creating such a fearsome threat. Apart from her institution, there is one other that can provide the means to unleash this kind of terror. Only one other such organization exists. At least, it used to…

“How much are those ghosts paying you to keep your lips sealed? You’re so determined to keep her existence under wraps that you wouldn’t contact your authorities for assistance? You know very well that such a dangerous kind of prisoner has to come from only one place. After all, their ashes are where we were reborn from.”

She didn’t need to see the redacted information on Inverter’s data. Everything she needs to know is established fact from her past experiences. There is nothing to narrow down.

"Lance Corporations...you sly fox. Just how deep do your fangs go?" Miss Violet whispers to the silence.

All of a sudden, a call comes in which breaks the one-sided noise. She presses a button on her intercom to answer it.

“I assume you’ve made progress.”

“Yes. We managed to replace all of the broken hardware and reconstructed all vital circuitry on the device. All we have to do is get the internal software’s bootstrapper operational and we can proceed with extraction. This sure is a lot of work for a proprietary piece of hardware.” The person on the other line responds.

This is the move that has driven Miss Violet on the defensive. An infiltrator that goes by the name Toshiko Sakawa tried to make off with a piece of communication technology salvaged from a village attacked five years ago. All efforts have been thwarted and the perpetrator is under hospital arrest after a failed assassination attempt.

“It's to be expected. This is the last one of its kind left. Everything else was destroyed during the downfall of Lance Corp. How long until we can get the device up and running?” Miss Violet inquires.

“A few more days. We need to overhaul the system code to respond to the implanted hardware. The important thing is that the hard part is over.”

“Excellent. Keep me posted on whatever you find. There has to be a reason why they want this thing intact.” Miss Violet gives her usual chilling grin.

She hits another button on the intercom which hangs up the call.

“So, Lance Corp. is going on the offensive. Well then, so will I.”

A crackle echoes within the walls of the dimly lit office. Both sides have laid down their chips. The clock strikes closer to the eventual endgame.

“Let the games begin…”

Part 7

After school…

“Come on, move it faster!” Natalia motivates her partner.

Katsuo lets loose a jab aimed squarely at her face.

She leans to the side and grabs him by the forearm, then flips him on his back using his own weight.

Katsuo winces from the impact, and the moment he opens his eyes, he sees Natalia coming in for an axe kick.

He quickly rolls out of the way in the last moment and her foot slams hard on the ground. The impact kicks off a lot of dust which surrounds her for a brief moment.

In that short instance, she loses track of Katsuo.

Suddenly, a sharp crackle litters the air. Natalia turns her head to the source of the sound to find blue lightning arcing across the air towards her.

She bends her body to the side to avoid the attack. But then…

“HEY!!!” Katsuo calls out.

She turns her head upward to face him, and sees him about to swing down a broadsword.

With a growl, he places all his strength to his attack, which is quickly put to naught when she catches the blade over her head with her palms pressed on either flat side of the blade.

Katsuo leaps away, but leaves the sword in Natalia’s hands.

Kanade shoots off another bolt of electricity at Natalia who tosses the sword in the air, grabs it by the handle, and stabs it to the ground. The sword catches the lightning bolt and dissipates it across the ground.

Natalia clenches her fist and runs towards Kanade.

She arches her back and a cage of lightning emanates from her.

Natalia crouches and swerves and leaps and rolls between every bar of the cage made entirely of electric energy.

She closes the gap on Kanade is about to land a jab, however, a wall of light stops her from doing so.

Kanade gives a grin, and that is when her Alter, Circuitbreaker, appears out of nowhere and counters her attack with a jab of its own.

That punch, however, is blocked by a single hand that didn’t even require turning her head to its direction. Her attention is instead fixated on the one who has deployed the wall of light.

She leaps backwards then turns her back on Kanade in order to face Henrietta.

She dashes towards her, then jumps in the air and extends a leg for a kick.

Natalia changes her footing and prepares a counter. However, to her surprise, an Absolute Territory comes between the two of them, thus blocking the attack; an Absolute Territory that Henrietta herself has created.

Natalia is puzzled at first, but then she feels someone lunge at her and wrap their arms on her waist.

She looks over her shoulder and sees Kanade grinning like a madman.

The moment their eyes meet, a colossal surge of electricity runs between them. Hundreds of volts flow across their bodies. It may not be enough to cause any lasting damage, but her long dreadful and visceral scream reflects the pain of the attack. Violent electric sparks arc across their bodies that crackle and buzz with powerful energy.

Kanade finishes by lifting Natalia off the ground while still keeping a tight grip on her waist, then arches her body backwards for a suplex.

Once the crackling sparks stops, Kanade lets go of Natalia. Her muscles go limp enough that the rest of her body from the shoulders down collapses to the ground.

She tries to stand up, but an Absolute Territory restricts any room for her to do so.

She tries to roll away, but a small bolt of lightning barks at her to not make any moves.

She rolls to the other side, but comes face to face with a rapier’s tip.

Natalia bows her head and closes her eyes.

“I submit.” She calmly surrenders.

The three of them gives in to their last breaths, drop on their knees, and fall face first to the ground with their arms sprawled to the side.

Katsuo drops the rapier he has made, which shatters into shards of light upon falling to the ground.

Henrietta’s Absolute Territory dissipates which breaks Natalia’s restraints.

Kanade is unable to produce even a small spark at her current state.

A single round of applause resonates within the confines of the training room where they are holding the three-against-one sparring match.

“Well, I say it could have fared worse. Glad you didn’t decide to throw in the towel this time, Kiyabu.” An instructor with her hair tied in buns on either side of her head commends him.

“Please don’t…take me…so lightly…Miss Rin…” Katsuo talks under his breath without lifting his head a millimeter.

“Well…I say there’s substantial improvement, to say the least.” Natalia commends the three as Miss Rin helps her stand up.

“So…now that we beat her…” Kanade is about to ask something.

However…

“No. I told you, the classification system doesn’t work that way. You can’t raise your Alter Classification by defeating someone of a higher classification than you.” Miss Rin cuts in for the reply.

Muffled angry groaning can be heard from Kanade afterwards.

“Thanks for coming to assist us with this, mentor. We really needed a proper way to see if we’re making any improvements.”

“Tch, are you kidding? These two are still as much of a slacker as ever!” Miss Rin gestures between Katsuo and Kanade.

“Still, it’s commendable all of you last this long. Never seen someone keep up with me for fifteen minutes.” Natalia praises the efforts of the three.

“No way! …That was…fifteen minutes?!” Kanade blurts out in rage.

Apart from her legs and arms feeling a little numb, Natalia more or less comes out relatively unscathed.

“Do you see me breaking a sweat? Still, I have to level the playing field to some extent, so I didn’t go all out for your sake.”

“And speaking of holding back…” Miss Rin brings up the subject. “Ishihara, you need to work on how much electricity you produce. Remember, keep it under 10 milliamps.”

“Well sorry! My Alter Abilities don’t come with a built-in voltmeter.” Kanade sarcastically replies as she tries to stand despite her sore limbs.

“I kept on telling you over and over again: volts don’t kill people, current does. You need to get used to how much of it you need to dish out.”

Kanade crosses her arms and puts a pout on her face with sparks of electricity arc across her hair.

“Good thing I was able to dampen the current I received from that attack of yours. It still left a rather painful sting though.” Natalia admit as she cracks her shoulder back in place.

“I still got plenty of paperwork to handle. If these two troublemakers give you any more problems, let me know.” Miss Rin greets off as she hands Natalia the stack of papers she is carrying around.

Afterwards, Miss Rin turns around and walks off with both hands in her pockets.

“Jawöhl. Danke, Miss Rin.”

Miss Rin responds with a wave with one hand that she takes out of her pocket and leaves the training room with her back still turned.

“What should we do next?” Henrietta takes off her glasses and uses the end of her blouse to wipe the lenses after sitting up from the ground.

“Just rest for a while and regain some of your strength. You just pushed yourself far from your breaking points.” Natalia advises them as she assesses the data Miss Rin has handed her earlier.

“Oh by the way, Miss Natalia, there’s something I need you to look into.” Katsuo requests her.

She gives a sigh as she crosses her arms.

“I think I know what this is about. Come on; let’s head on to one of the simulation rooms.”

She drops the stack of papers she has been examining, then escorts Katsuo out of the big training room.

As soon as the door closes behind them, Henrietta picks it up and shuffles through the collected data. However, as soon as she gets to Katsuo’s, her eyes widened in shock.

(“Impossible! His projected growth is that much? And yet he’s only classified as a Category 2. Given his ability, how can a Weapons Construct ability have so much room to grow?”)

Part 8

“This is about the Arsenal incident, isn’t it? I’ve read the incident reports and the headmistress has filled me in on what happened.” Natalia notifies Katsuo with a hand on her hip.

Inside the simulation room are three people: Natalia, Katsuo, and a faceless projection created by the enclosed space.

Katsuo forms a rapier with his Alter Ability, the same rapier he used during his confrontation with Arsenal.

“Miss Natalia, I can clearly recall this very sword stabbing a person through the chest. But for some reason, it didn’t shed a single drop of blood.”

Katsuo takes the rapier and stabs it right into the projection. As one would expect, it behaves like any weapon would. The dummy eventually succumbs to its wounds and falls to the floor.

Natalia calls up the data collected from the projected dummy.

“Severe blood loss, severed spinal column, perforated heart. He’s definitely beyond dead.” Natalia gives him a breakdown of the effects of his weapon on a person should he have done so.

“And yet she survived all that with no wounds at all.” Katsuo states the inconsistency.

(“What…did you do?! Arsenal…is fading!”) Katsuo remembers the screams of a certain person who has tried to kill him.

“I recall tests being conducted on the material your power creates from the data I was given earlier. They can’t identify what it’s made of, but it reacts similar to hardened steel.”

“Any ideas how Miss Sakawa is still alive from being pierced through the chest with this? I thought for sure that the weapons I make have no special properties.”

“So do I. A lot of things are not quite clear regarding Alters up to this date. That’s the whole reason why this school is here in the first place.”

Katsuo bows his head and disperses the rapier he has made with his powers.

“Look, you’re still getting used to your Abilities. I may not know what you experienced during that fire or what it was like. But for their sake…for yours…we have to step forward and strive to face tomorrow’s challenges.” Natalia assures him.

“Hey, Miss Natalia…where do you get such optimism? You know, with people being afraid of you and all.” Katsuo asks her out of curiosity, but that is when he realizes the kind of topic he’s brought up.

“Uhmm, I mean, if you don’t want to talk about it…”

“No, I do. But…just out of curiosity, what’d you hear?”

Katsuo senses a taint of bitterness on her voice. The air is heavy enough as it is, but as soon as Natalia crosses her arms and leans on a wall, it becomes unbearable.

Her face shaded from the angle her head is tilted down at.

He gulps in and tells it to her outright. However she will react will be on him.

“They said that you knocked some guy into intensive care, or something like that.”

Natalia bows her head deeper, and her shoulders start to quiver.

Katsuo starts to move in closer to try and cheer her up, but what followed actually stops him from doing so.

The sound that comes out of Natalia next caused a great deal of surprise to him: a chuckle.

Natalia clutches a hold of her waist with her arms still crossed as he gives a sincerely joyous laugh. The sound of genuine happiness echoes within the room as big as a regular classroom. Tears drip from a corner of her eye which she promptly wipes with a finger.

“Ahahaha… Really? I’ve heard more believable tall tales from the past years I’ve studied here.”

Katsuo is confused by the stark difference in the reaction he had expected.

“Listen. If I let every dumb rumor affect me, I would have lost my temper already. I’d be lying if I said that they never bothered me at all. I guess what I’m trying to say is that only a kind heart can overcome a troubled heart.”

(“A kind heart, huh…”) Katsuo gently clutches his chest with that thought.

At that moment, a few quick short beeps are heard. Natalia looks at the tablet computer that monitors the simulation data to answer the call coming from the other side of the door.

“Hey, you done in there? You’re not up to anything funny, are you?” Kanade speaks through the video feed.

Beside her is Henrietta who is simply standing quietly while scrolling through her phone.

“Nothing that important. You actually came at a good time.” Natalia browses through the windows on the tablet computer to open the door.

After filling up a form on it and submitting, Kanade and Henrietta enter the simulation room.

As she looks at the three students that have accepted her request, Natalia sets the tablet computer to the side and places both hands on her hips.

“Thank you for your hard work. You’ve help me a lot these past few days. You’re actually almost done with your mission.”

Kanade’s eyes widens in surprise.

“Are you for real?!” She asks dumbfounded.

“There’s just one question before I hand over the reward money to you. You intend to use it for the registration fee, correct?” Natalia aims a glare at Henrietta.

Since she is the one who has initially suggested taking on missions to earn money for the Battle Tournament, Henrietta steps forward to answer that query.

“Yes, and we intend to face you with our full strength should our paths meet during the tournament.”

Natalia bows her head, closes her eyes, and gives a wide grin.

“Maybe you don’t have to.”

Surprise envelopes everyone in the room.

“See, there’s a four person minimum each team for the tournament. There are only three of you. Similarly, I’m looking to form my own team. I’m not exactly required to, but disuse can leave me feeling rusty. So, how about it…” Natalia glares at all three of them. “Shall we help each other out?”

Katsuo knows the real reason why she wants to compete.

(“All I need is a chance to show them that they can be my equal too.”)

She wants to prove to them that despite her dangerous ability, she is not to be feared. She can’t approach anyone and no one would talk to her face to face. 

Nothing but deafening silence fills the wide room. The four of them stare at each other wondering what the next person’s move is going to be.

(“I knew it. They’ll never accept someone like me. It’ll be too intimidating.”) Natalia thinks as she crosses her arms, a bitter expression fades on her curling lips.

Katsuo steps forward with his left hand clenching his overflowing determination.

“I say we let her join!”

Natalia gasps in surprise, and so did Kanade and Henrietta.

“Think about it. If we have her on our team, we’d be at a tremendous advantage.”

“That doesn’t seem hardly fair to the other competitors.” Henrietta brings up.

“So what? They know coming in that there is a possibility of someone stronger than them who will be their opponent. Besides, I don’t think it’s against regulation to have an unbalanced category scaling.”

Kanade tilts her head to the side briefly.

“As much as I really enjoyed fighting against you, I have to admit, it’d be less of a thorn on my side if I was fighting beside you instead.” She admits honestly.

Henrietta places a finger on her on her chin as she thinks.

“The sheer advantage of having the Academy’s strongest is indeed rather imposing. And having her cooperate with us does not violate any of the rules.” After much thought, Henrietta too arrives at a judgement. “Very well. I’ll agree as well.”

“Then it’s settled! Natalia, welcome to our team.” Katsuo extends a hand towards her while giving his widest most sincere smile he has ever given.

The same feeling of heartfelt fancy fills her chest upon seeing his face. A hint of red brushes across her cheeks, which she quickly shakes off.

Natalia slowly reaches for his hand then grasps it to shake each other’s hands.

And with this, the two of them give their joyous smiles.

“Well…congratulations, you three. I officially declare this mission complete. I suppose you wouldn’t mind if I would be the one to run all the paperwork. After all, it’s the least I could do. As for the reward money, I think I’ve found a suitable use for it that benefits all of us instead. How does that sound?” Natalia offers them.

And so, the three of them cheer for a job well done.

Part 9

In a rundown cabin at the corner of the school which is being used as the temporary boy’s dormitory, Alex is stowing away a spare set of uniform that he has hidden in a chest under his bed.

“Maybe someday I’ll let you know…” He whispers to the lonesome night.

He crawls into bed and tucks himself in. He stares up at the bare ceiling while reaching his hand towards it.

“But I’m just like you…I’m under her orders.”

He remembers how close Katsuo is to everyone. No matter how rowdy they can get, the smile on their faces are genuine. It’s not a façade much like what he is forced to put up.

“I hope the day will come when I’ll tell you…how I feel.”

He turns his body to the side and turns off the lamp that’s between him and the now vacated bed.

As the night engulfs the secluded shack, a previously unexplained emotion swells within his heart: envy.

But not towards Katsuo…

…but for everyone else.