Enduring Cherry Blossom

"Absolutely..." her voice is distant, the response sounded automatic, "...Dead or not. He's why im here." Her tone is heavy as though she were on the verge of tears but her stance, the look in her eye as she looks over name after name speaks untold determination, "...I need to see it... I need to be able to picture it when I need it most... He gave his very being for this war... he felt like a monument I could never surpass..." her eyes flick to Christabel, "...Even monuments die. However that space leaves room for bigger ones." She sighs, "You'll see Hughie..." her statement didn't feel directed at you. It wasn't directed to anyone.

Malcolm looked around at those who were in fear of his pendant. "Guys, if you know what it means, you're free to tell me. You act like there's a demon in there or something. If there was, I'm pretty sure I would be dead already, so that's not the case."




"It's totally fine, Gatry." Julie said with a smile, giving the cat some more pets. "I completely get it that you can struggle with such things. Look at me, think someone can be this cute with a few tussles? Nu-uh! I worked real hard to get good at making this look. I say it worked out, wouldn't you say?" She then gasped. "Maybe I can give you a makeover and boost your confidence! That will surely help you with your skills! What do you say, let's do this ASAP!" She uses her free hand to grab Gatry's hand to drag her along, before realizing she doesn't know where anything is. ".... Which might take a bit, at lest until I have a dorm to take you too."




Desiree looked at the obsidian plate with all the names of the diseased, trying to count them.

"So many of them..." She sighs. She then looks at an empty spot. What went through her head, you can't tell, but the small smile she gave was not saying something good.

"The group that used that symbol was responsible for attempted genocide of an entire people and one of histories greatest wars" Megan explains to Malcolm "How do you not know this?"

"Well the first reason is, you can see my house from here." Malcolm says with a jokey tone. Then he points at a rock. "It's right under there."

His tone then turned more serious. "I get what you say, but we know so little of the old world, who's to say what the meaning of the symbol is? It might actually be positive, but used to justify it's horrible actions." He looks at his pendant. "It's certainly worth looking into, and opening up that discussion."

He looks at Megan. "Where did you hear about this? Do you know the name of the symbol? I want to look it up, know if I can keep it or need to ditch it."

"I don't remeber where I heard about. Just kind of a random fact I know, but look up swastika and you'll get your answer" Megan answers him "though you're probably gonna want to tuck that back under your shirt just until you learn about it. Less people that are uncomfortable the better, eh?"

Some Sinner wrote:"Absolutely..." her voice is distant, the response sounded automatic, "...Dead or not. He's why im here." Her tone is heavy as though she were on the verge of tears but her stance, the look in her eye as she looks over name after name speaks untold determination, "...I need to see it... I need to be able to picture it when I need it most... He gave his very being for this war... he felt like a monument I could never surpass..." her eyes flick to Christabel, "...Even monuments die. However that space leaves room for bigger ones." She sighs, "You'll see Hughie..." her statement didn't feel directed at you. It wasn't directed to anyone.

"Christabel Hickinbottom" Christabel introduces herself.

Rogue Fire wrote:

Some Sinner wrote:"Absolutely..." her voice is distant, the response sounded automatic, "...Dead or not. He's why im here." Her tone is heavy as though she were on the verge of tears but her stance, the look in her eye as she looks over name after name speaks untold determination, "...I need to see it... I need to be able to picture it when I need it most... He gave his very being for this war... he felt like a monument I could never surpass..." her eyes flick to Christabel, "...Even monuments die. However that space leaves room for bigger ones." She sighs, "You'll see Hughie..." her statement didn't feel directed at you. It wasn't directed to anyone.

"Christabel Hickinbottom" Christabel introduces herself.

She stares off into space for a moment before taking a deep breath and turning to look at you with a weak smile, "Sam Hives. Everybody calls me buzzy though." Theres a tired look in her eye the she tries to blink away as she at the very least tries to give you the happy demeanor she had earlier before letting out a soft sigh, "Honestly... This wall is a bummer..." she scratches the back of her head nervously.

"Swastika, thanks for the name." Malcolm replied. "But I think I won't explicitly hide it. You're the first person brave enough to actually tell me something about it, instead of running away or stooping to agression."

He nods to Megan. "You opened up the dialogue. I like to open the dialogue, even if it's uncomfortable. Especially if it will help to get someone past the stage of uncomfortableness, so more can be found out about that subject, together."

He looks at his pendant. "After all, the sign might have been used by a genocidal group. But they wouldn't have done so if there was no supposed meaning behind their actions. Perhaps the meaning is something good, twisted into something evil. After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Megan gives Malcolm an 'I don't know' shrug, before seeming to shift the topic slighty

"So where'd you get that thing anyways?"

Yui stood for a long moment, holding the bridge of her nose and hiding her muzzle, just blankly staring at Malcolm in flat contemplation, before she finally sighed and exchanged glances with Polly. The yukata wearing Eishi had about the same expression.

"May I?" Yui quietly asked. As Polly nodded to her, both she and Yui spread in a grin.


"Malcolm, congratulations." Yui said, approaching him with a smile, her eyes weren't smiling though, they were anything but:
"You just earned yourself your first essay. Please submit a 20 page paper, by the end of this week, detailing the major wars of the old world in the twentieth century, specifically, the atrocities comitted on civilians, and the symbols that became associated with it. The entire 10 floors of the Academy Library are open to you."


Her smile faded, replaced by a very cold, unpleasant frown. For a cheerful girl that couldn't seem to stop smiling and laughing, this cold frown didn't suit her.

"Malcolm, the symbol you wear on your neck became widely associated with racial based genocide in the old world. It stands against the values of this Academy. It stands against the values of the Eishi, and it stands against the values of the Interstellar Alliance. As a student of this Academy, you represent us to the world, thus it is expected of you, to reflect our values, the best we have to offer to the world. Discipline, honor, selflessness, and the value of human life. Those are our corner stones. Wearing that pendant makes a mockery of us all.


If you're going to wear symbols on your person, it is your job to know what they stand for, before you put them on display. Ignorance is not an excuse.


I don't know if you're doing it for attention or to come off edgy, but this ends now." Yui frowned harder, it didn't suit her.


"Please remove the pendant and keep it out of sight. I won't ask again.

And if you think this infringes on your rights of free speech, by all means, please continue to wear it. Kryuger's private academy also holds the rights to expell students that stand directly against its values. You can take on those values, or you can return to the bus." Yui glared for another moment, before turning and walking toward the front of the group.

Buzzy wrote: "You look like you've been through the ringer and I prefer putting myself at my limit to get better. I think you'll make a great sparring partner!" She says with a bright smile.

"Right on dude," Braxton smiled, knocking his fists together.

"Ugh" Lily hopelessly looked at him "Brax that's not how you address girls... such a blockhead." She mumbled at the end.

Buzzy wrote: "No map! That bus ride took a good few minutes to cross the school and those students looked way older and far more skilled then me. I do NOT want to wander out that way and get struck by MEGA LIGHTNING for accidently picking the wrong direction." She sighs in conserned acceptance, "Dont forget. It is actually really important."

"Sorry," Yui guiltily smiled, closing one eye and clasped her palms together "I'll get it to you by tomorrow afternoon, pinkie promise.

If its any consolation, there are Summoners and Eishi instructors present at every training field, so they should stir you away from any dangerous areas."

Buzzy wrote:She doesnt withold herself from it like the other students, but instead she approaches and trails the walls length, her eyes scanning the names up and down as she looks for a specific name...

'Hughie Hives age 24'

"Hey..." you noticed Yui in your peripheral vision and the girl released a sad, ginger smile, you're not quite sure when she walked over, she was at the head of the group a while ago.

"If that's okay, I wanted to talk with you, after the tour.." she gingerly looked at her shoes, then away, before glancing back at you:

"I... want you to tell me about the person.. you're looking for." Her yellow eyes reflected her sad smile "I want to know what he was like.."

Gladwin wrote:Seeking a way to end this conversation as quickly as possible, Gladwin eagerly returned the offered fistbump.

"Right on man!" Braxton grinned widely, completely oblivious to your efforts to escape the conversation.

Ebenzer wrote:  
"And there's Chimera..." Ebenzer gulped nervously, noting the distance from the academy to the border.

You felt someone elbowing you in the shoulder and noticed Yui nearby, she happily smiled:

"Its not as scary if you're in a team. I'll watch your back if you watch mine?" She spread in a wide smile.

Julie wrote:"Maybe I can give you a makeover and boost your confidence! That will surely help you with your skills! What do you say, let's do this ASAP!" She uses her free hand to grab Gatry's hand to drag her along, before realizing she doesn't know where anything is. ".... Which might take a bit, at lest until I have a dorm to take you too."

"Uuhhhhhhhhh... cool?" Gatry sheepishly smiled, as you dragged her along for a bit. She looks like she has no idea what's going on, but doesn't seem to mind it.

Megan wrote:"So up for grabs, eh? Cool cool" Megan nods with a mischievous smirk

"Another challenger has appeared." Lily subtly chuckled, watching as Braxton groaned:

"You gotta be kidding me."

"Braxton she's one of the most popular girls in school.." Lily smirked, spreading her hands "You have no chance."

"Yeah.. well.." Braxton shrugged, slightly dejected "You know what they say dude - who dares, wins."


"Mmm." Harvie mumbled, quietly looking at Yui.

Megan wrote: "Hope we get to visit there at least once while here, I want to see if peak man made beauty can stand up to nature's" she adds in as the Golden City and its close proximity is brought up

"Oh, for sure." Yui smiled "We can go there this evening in fact! Its the Summer Festival afterall. The entire city will be full of food, souvenier stalls and decorations, you'll get to see it in full glory." She brightly smiled, making her black wings twitch.


"Hey hey," Lily elbowed you in the gut, smirking slyly and whispering so Yui can't hear "They say the couples who go together to the festival, will stay together for life. I wouldn't miss this chance if I were you," she glanced around the group, raising her voice just barely, so Yui won't be likely to hear
"You may wonna make sure you invite someone special, before the day is out. You never know." Lily winked.












"Aaaaalright everyone!" Yui cheerfuly spinned on her heels and proceeded down the corridor "Time to see something really cool!"

Making your way through the wooden ornamented hall, you passed class group pictures of academy graduates, golden sports trophies the academy won on the national stage, competing in Kendo, Naginata, Karate, Swimming and even sharpshooting.

Before long, you came to a juncture where the hallway split into 4 ways. Directly ahead, was a poorly lit hallway, its walls coated in a dim, ominous purple light. And some 15 meters down that path, a strange door stood, seemingly made of glass, yet only dark and smeared silhouettes were visible beyond it. Its features suspiciously resembled a blast door, with some sort of bio-metric lock and keypad at the center.

Yui stopped at the juncture, looking down that hallway with a thousand mile stare. Her arms involuntarily wrapped around her body and she shivered, just barely.


"...what's... down there?" Lily uncomfortably asked.

"That's the old passage to the Forbidden Section." Yui hollowly said "We don't go there anymore..."

"...what's in there?" Lily swallowed.

"Forbidden Artifacts, Tomes with Taboo spells and Forbidden Knowledge, all sorts of high-risk Category 5 weapons and poisons." Yui shifted her weight, still wrapped in her own arms with a morbid expression "After the... incident... the only ones allowed access to it, are faculty professors, for operational use and 12th grade students, strictly for research purposes." Yui winced, looking away.

"I-...Incident?" Lily's voice broke.

"A couple of students once broke inside without permission at night," Yui quietly spoke, her eyes closed "They wanted to explore the Forbidden Section on their own... one of them touched a Forbidden Artifact," Yui horribly winced, a strange sound escaping her lips, resembling a quiet sob:
"...they were cleaning his blood and digging out bone fragments off the ceiling for a week."


"Are you serious?!" Lily exclaimed, looking on the verge of throwing up.

Yui emitted that same sound again, only this time it sounded more like a barely suppressed giggle.

Lily gave her a flat look and slapped her on the shoulder "Okay, you're not serious, fuck you."

Yui finally broke in ringing laughter "Your faces.." she wiped the tears from her eyes, uncontrollably laughing she continued her march to the Forbidden Section "Come on, I'll show you around."


"Uuhhh, Yui?" Polly grew a little nervous, trying to keep up with the girl with small, rapid steps "We're actually not supposed to go in there without supervision!"

"That's why you're here, innit?" Yui looked over her shoulder, smiling and sticking her tongue out "You're a faculty professor, you'll supervise~"

"Ugh.." Polly's expression turned flat as the Eishi deflated "I knew this would happen.. not 5 minutes off the bus, you're already doing something crazy." She grumbled "Shouldn't you be showing them the classroom locations or the library?"

"That's boooring," Yui stuck her tongue out again and approached the seemingly glass door in the ominous hallway. Pressing her open palm to the bio-metric scanner, she waited until the device got a read on her DNA, then she hammered a complicated code on the keypad and you heard a heavy mechanism unlocking inside.


"Welcome, Corporal, Katsura, Yui." An automated voice rang from a speaker somewhere and a green light appeared on the keypad, as the door released a hiss and unlocked, sliding into the ceiling.


"Eeeeh? You have a military rank?" Lily raised an eyebrow "I thought you only get assigned one, after graduation.

"Its not hard, you can get one too, early," Yui shrugged, frolicking into the hallway beyond "You just gotta study a bit ahead of the curriculum in the 'Combat Readiness' Class. If you studied enough, you can take the exam whenever, you don't have to wait until graduation. And if you pass, they assign you a military rank, Private at first, and if you take a squad leadership course, Corporal, but that's only after a year or so later." Yui shook her head:

"It doesn't really mean anything in the school, its just a... 'Contingency'," she made air quotes with both hands "In the event that Damocles Contingency gets declared, in the vicinity of our academy, those with military ranks will get activated and send into combat, but we're so far off the front lines, you can pretty much assume it's not gonna happen."



"Psssst!" Harvie leaned closer to you and loudly whispered "What's 'Damocles Contingency'?"

"...its a military code-word for 'Position will be overrun. Global threat detected in specified region, the military is now authorized to activate all reserved forces in area to suppress the threat asap, and use every weapon in arsenal to liquidate it.'." Lily morbidly said:

"Its usually declared when a new Chimera nest is discovered. Especially if its in a premature state. It needs to be taken out asap, before it matures and breeds biological defenses and Soldier Type Chimeras to take over hundreds of kilometers in every direction."



"Lily, the Chimera class is way later this year, no need to bring up everything in one go." Yui said, still frolicing down the ominous hallway, past the heavy glass door. You started seeing strange objects behind glass cases, with no visible handles or way to open them.

Shelves with glass doors filled with hundreds of yellowing books. Glass cases housing dozens of pendants, jewels and medallions. Some looked extremely expensive, like diamonds on silver chains. Others looked cheap but hand crafted.

One of the objects catches your eye, a simple medallion cut out of wood, its surface filled with carvings of a mighty tree and a dull red gem at the center.










"What is this jewelry?" Lily stopped next to one of the glass cases, her eyes widening in wonder "Artifacts?"

"Mmm." Yui nodded, her expression becoming serious "Those are Eishi Seals."

Polyphony uncomfortably looked away.



Yui glanced briefly at her, sighed, then explained, looking you right in the eye with a rare show of genuinely serious air about her:

"The 'Eishi' are holy creatures, selfless and noble. Their name roughly means 'Guardians' in our language. When they first portalled to Kepler, it took them decades to convince some in our populace that they weren't angels of God, but just fellow star travelers. Humanity reveres them that much. Some still consider them holy, even today."



Yui's expression darkened "But... as with all living things, there are outliers. Eishi who stray from the honorable path. They are rare... but they exist nonetheless." she blinked, growing uncomfortable, her gaze heavy:

"...when an Eishi commits a crime, it stands before the High Eishi Tribunal. And if the crime is grave enough, the Eishi in question is presented with two options.

To be sealed inside an artifact, for a specified period of time. Unable to escape, but able to share its powers with a human.
That artifact is called an 'Eishi Seal'." Yui gestured at the jewelry display case "The Seals you see before you are empty, but they can be used to seal an Eishi inside them. And so long as a human wears such a Seal, he will have access to the entirety of said Eishi's abilities.

His Limit Breaks, Spell list, Martial Arts and Magic Category, Health, Mana, everything.

So long as the human wears the Seal, he will have access to the Eishi's abilities. And if the Seal is removed from his person, the abilities vanish. That is the punishment the Eishi will pay, to be locked inside an artifact, while still using his powers for the greater good."




Mulling things over, Lily uncomfortably shifted, before asking again:

"You said an Eishi who commits a grave transgression, is presented with 2 options. To be locked inside a Seal... or... what's the second option?"



"To be sent to the Penal Colony of Boreas." Yui grimly pointed further ahead, where the hallway finally ended, at a massive and ominously decorated altar, encased in glass. There, between ominously glowing gems, upon a pedestal of stone, filled with carvings of vegetation and flowers, rested a very long, purple staff, its contours filled with carvings, like the scales of a dragon and a very large, jagged, dull and purple gem resting at its head, as if inside the mouth of a dragon.


"That Summoning Staff opens a permanent portal to the world of Boreas. A hostile planet, harsh and unforgiving, far, far removed from our own. When an Eishi commits a transgression grave enough, he is sent to a Penal Colony on that world and is sentenced to stay there, until called upon to serve, once again."


Yui uncomfortably shifted her weight, wrapping herself in her arms and you felt a wave of skin biting cold air wash over the hallway, as the staff in the glass case faintly glowed:

"...the Eishi who are sentenced to live there are extremely dangerous, unhinged or unpredictable, and extremely powerful. They had to commit a truly heinous deed, to be sentenced to a life so cruel. Serial killers, traitors, backstabbers, maniacs, the cruel and the unrelenting. Only the most dangerous criminals are sentenced to go there.

And they are all promised one thing. If they amend their ways and pledge their life once again, to the Eishi cause - the path of self sacrifice for the benefit of others - they may be given a chance to come back to Kepler, and form a Contract with a human.


Such a human needs to be extremely strong of will, unshakable in his resolve, to be able to tame such a dangerous Eishi, and earn that Eishi's respect. And that human needs to trust that Eishi enough, to allow it back to civilized lands, and trust it not to go off the handle again. Because if that Eishi goes off and commits a crime, all over again, both the human and his Eishi will be punished."



Yui looked at you gravely "That is why, when a student graduates from our Academy, and the time comes for him to form a Contract with an Eishi, very very few dare to travel to the Penal Colony, in search of a partner.

And even among them, very few succeed.

That is why, the Summoning Staff of Boreas is only used in very rare, extreme situations and only by veteran Summoners who have lived on the battlefield for decades." Yui finished, releasing a long sigh.


Polyphony looked extremely uncomfortably, supporting the nearby wall, hunched over and arms crossed, the faint glow of the staff faintly reflecting off her transparent orange cheeks. She didn't look at the Staff or the Seals in the glass case. Her fingers digging into the fabric of her yukata.






(//I can hear Dan's mind blowing up, all the way from Canada XD)

//(XD)

She returns the wink though it's hard to tell if it's in response to Lily or at her.


"Well I'm going for Corporal as fast as I can then," Megan grins "everyone else here should too! In fact we should have a competition to see who can get it the quickest and with the highest marks!"


"I assume that's a kind of strength of will that can't be taught and is only really achievable with life experience" Megan nods to the staff "Though I have to ask, is the decades of experience a hard rule or just a suggestion?"

Kaylee Brown wrote:"Malcolm, congratulations." Yui said, approaching him with a smile, her eyes weren't smiling though, they were anything but:
"You just earned yourself your first essay. Please submit a 20 page paper, by the end of this week, detailing the major wars of the old world in the twentieth century, specifically, the atrocities comitted on civilians, and the symbols that became associated with it. The entire 10 floors of the Academy Library are open to you."


Her smile faded, replaced by a very cold, unpleasant frown. For a cheerful girl that couldn't seem to stop smiling and laughing, this cold frown didn't suit her.

"Malcolm, the symbol you wear on your neck became widely associated with racial based genocide in the old world. It stands against the values of this Academy. It stands against the values of the Eishi, and it stands against the values of the Interstellar Alliance. As a student of this Academy, you represent us to the world, thus it is expected of you, to reflect our values, the best we have to offer to the world. Discipline, honor, selflessness, and the value of human life. Those are our corner stones. Wearing that pendant makes a mockery of us all.


If you're going to wear symbols on your person, it is your job to know what they stand for, before you put them on display. Ignorance is not an excuse.


I don't know if you're doing it for attention or to come off edgy, but this ends now." Yui frowned harder, it didn't suit her.


"Please remove the pendant and keep it out of sight. I won't ask again.

And if you think this infringes on your rights of free speech, by all means, please continue to wear it. Kryuger's private academy also holds the rights to expell students that stand directly against its values. You can take on those values, or you can return to the bus." Yui glared for another moment, before turning and walking toward the front of the group.

"Oh boy, I'm already the favorite, if you have such high expectations of me!" Malcolm said in the jokey tone he's used to.

Then al humor fades, like a mask slips off. "But if you expect me to bow without question, you're asking the wrong person. Now, I'm always open to talk, but I expect that those who engage in the discussion to have the ability to explain wht they mean, and not just rattle off what they have been taught, then run before they could hear an opinion that isn't theirs."


Desiree overhears the speech, and seems kind of worried with the verbal combat going on. When it dies down, she dares to skitter by, muttering something in a soft tone. It was pretty much inaudiable, with how she said it.

But it seemed to have triggered something in Malcolm, as he didn't remove his pendant, but tucked it back in out of view. What happened there?

Malcolm spoke up. "Hey, Yui, When can I begin on my personal homework assignment? And where do I hand in the files? If you kick me out, I want the reason to be legit, and not a technicality. Heck I'll even leave myself if I find out I was as bad as you think I am."


Julie just sighs and shook her head at the scene. She decided to go along and find something better to focus on then the hostility between a rule-abiding class president and class clown who was too honest for their own good.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. Her face said the morbid gag was not her cup of tea, not by being grossed out, but by not finding it humorous. And inside of the not exactly forbidden section, she saw nothing she would find "cute".

"Eugh... So droll..." Then her ears perk up at 'honorable'. She raised her hand. "Hey, like, what exactly do you mean by 'honorable'? Is it like some sort of code? Because there are like hundreds of tales where one's honorable behavior actually could be seen as wrong in a certain way, since it does more harm in the long run. Like, those ancient stories of Batman, where he locks up the Joker for the umpteenth time in the easiest escapable prison."

Malcolm raised his eyebrow at that. "You read comic books? How did that happen?"

Julie smiled. "It's a troubled buff man in a tight black outfit, do I need to say more?"

Malcolm makes a deadpan face. "It might've been better if you said less."

"Saying less would have made sure you had less homework." Julie jokes back.

Malcolm gives a small smile. "Touché."

Malcolm wrote:"Oh boy, I'm already the favorite, if you have such high expectations of me!" Malcolm said in the jokey tone he's used to.

Then all humor fades, like a mask slips off. "But if you expect me to bow without question, you're asking the wrong person. Now, I'm always open to talk, but I expect that those who engage in the discussion to have the ability to explain what they mean, and not just rattle off what they have been taught, then run before they could hear an opinion that isn't theirs."

Yui turned on her heels to face you so slowly, it immediately signaled that something was very wrong. Any trace of good will, or cheerfulness was gone. And the scowl she gave you was one of the most piercing, unsettling things you've seen. As if a different person had awaken inside her, something that didn't happen often, if at all. The only thing you could tell for sure, was that she wasn't her usual self anymore, and she was fucking pissed.


"...Opinion?" Yui slowly repeated, you noticed her fists clutching so hard, her nails began to bite into her palms:

"Opinion?" she muttered through gritted teeth, breathing heavily, you could tell she was barely holding herself from lashing out. Her voice was coming off eerily quiet, measured and broken often by pauses:

"...I'm sorry... I wasn't aware, that historical facts were a matter of Opinion." She hissed, scowling horribly:

"Will you ask me to prove the sky is blue, next? Is that a matter of... Opinion? Should we have a discussion about that too?... Or are some facts self evident?" She scowled and took a dangerous step toward you:

"Do you know what I like, Malcolm? When people talk about things they never properly researched... I love that. Especially when-" Her smile became dangerous. You're not even sure when it happened but Polly's firm hand suddenly ended up Yui's shoulder, stopping her dead in her tracks.


"Yui, take five." Polly said in a cold, emotionless voice. Her expression was blank. Yui scowled at her for but a second, before she too became a blank slate and walked off several meters away.


When Polyphony turned to face Malcolm and Julie, her expression remained an eerie, unreadable mask, her voice so quiet and leveled, you could barely hear her:

"...By 'Honorable', I mean not gassing civilians in death chambers, or burning them alive in furnaces, for the great crime of being born.

It happened. The proof of it, is beyond discussion, opinion, or doubt. It happened. And the symbols associated with it, have been burned into the retinas of the survivors and their descendants, until that symbol became a wide representation of that thing. Have I explained myself properly?" Polyphony asked, before shifting her cold gaze at Malcolm:


"Did you have fun? Don't think I can't see what you're doing." She tilted her head "This ends now.
You're on my shit list. You make one mistake, one, and you will find yourself at the Dean's office, explaining exactly what you did, and why. Do you understand?"





In the extremely awkward silence that began settling over the corridor, you became keenly aware of everyone present around you, and how incredibly quiet everyone was. Yui had wandered off to the edge of the group, leaning against the wall with one palm. You noticed her hands shaking. Her expression was slowly becoming pretty miserable.

She slowly looked back over her shoulder and noticed most of the class was looking at her.

"...I'm sorry." She quietly said, looking away to the depths of the corridor. You're not exactly sure what she was apologizing for, but her apology seemed to be addressed to the whole class.



Braxton loudly coughed and scratched his belly: "Don't know about you guys, but I can go for some chow."

Yui weakly looked at him, then stiffly waved "...this way."




Moving back the same way you came, Yui stiffly led you through a labyrinth of corridors and staircases, so numerous, you quickly started feeling losing your way, until you gave up trying to retrace the path here entirely. The castle itself was like a massive labyrinth, rooms leading to other rooms, libraries, art galleries, classrooms, dormitories and training halls, they all started to blend together.

By the time Yui had finally stopped at what looked like a small kitchen, you had become truly and hopelessly lost. It seems without a guide, navigating this place would be next to impossible.

The orange transparent cat on Julie's shoulders emitted something between a purr and a questioning sound, asking for when the food will arrive. Yui for her part, began absentmindedly raiding the cupboards and baskets, somehow fishing out baguettes, vegetables and some sliced ham and cheese from the fridge.


"Its uh.. only one of the 10 kitchens on campus," the girl quietly explained, as her black feathery wings anxiously twitched "This one's used mostly by the faculty professors and most are off at their lectures right now, so we should be able to eat here in peace for a while." She looked over her shoulder:
"Help yourselves, there's plenty of food here, more than anyone can eat really, so you don't have to worry about starving the professors out."


She heavily fell into one of the wooden chairs by the table, sighing, as Braxton and Harvie went to sluggishly fetch some bred and silverware from the cupboards. Yui was sitting with a decidedly empty expression as everyone ate, then absentmindedly picked up a fork and studied it:


"So uh.. this isn't a part of the curriculum for this semester, but its easy enough to pull off." she looked at you sideways "I'm technically authorized to give you extra classes on the side so, if you want, I can get us some Summoning Staves and teach you how to do a Temporary Eishi Summon.
If you have your own Eishi, even temporarily, you'll be able to get some training done with the magic spells, maybe even pick your own spell list for later use. We have a bunch of stuff here you can play with, never know when some of this might get useful." she said, still playing with a silver fork in her fingers.


Her stomach audibly growled and Harvie uneasily asked: "Say... aren't you going to eat anything?"

"Mmm.." Yui tilted her head, studying her fork, subtly glanced at you sideways, the corners of her mouth subtly curved and she nodded "Yeah... I guess I am kinda hungry." She tossed the fork in the air, opened her mouth and swallowed it, with a loud 'Nomth' sound.


Harvie froze with his mouth hanging open, making the salami fall from his baguette to the table.

Yui pointedly didn't look at him, slowly took a knife from the table and studied it in contemplation.


"Uhhh.... Polly?" Harvie called in alarm "Yui just ate a fork..."

"Yui ate what?" Polly looked over from an open cupboard, holding a bag of cucumbers and tomatoes.

"Yui just ate-" Harvie began, then blinked and shook his head, as if he was seeing things, as Yui absentmindedly tossed the knife in the air, pretty high, opened her mouth wide and swallowed it.

"....... she just ate a knife too." Harvie blinked, slowly.

"Oh for fuck-" Polly covered her eyes, exhaling slowly "Can I just have a break?... can I just have one break?"

"Nom." Yui loudly said, taking another fork, tossing it high above her head and swallowing it mid flight.


"....how are you doing that." Lily asked, watching the scene with an expression that said her world was shattering around her, as she knew it.

"Wonna see me swallow a mop?" Yui cheekily looked at you over her shoulder.


Polly looked at her wrist watch to check the time and remembered she wasn't wearing one, then threw her hands up: "Well I guess its been about 5 minutes. Just about time she did something insane."

Yui meanwhile picked up a mot from the floor, which was taller then she was, raised it high above her head and slowly lowered it into her mouth, until she swallowed the entire mop.

"What the f-" Lily almost spit out her sandwich.

"...where the bloody mop?!" Braxton exclaimed, circling around Yui, convinced she was hiding it behind her back somehow, but the mop was just gone.

"Yes, I wonder where the mop went." Yui innocently shrugged, badly hiding a smirk.

"Yui please stop pranking the First Years." Polly weakly called from the other end of the room, she looked extremely bored by the display.

Yui smugly looked at you ".......want me to teach you to do that?"

"Boreas..." Ebenezer shudders, "We are safe with it here, right? Like, no Eishi have ever escaped from there, got back on their own somehow?"

"Why are you so eager to meet one of those psychos?" Gladwin asks Megan incredulously.

Christabel is just twirling around in the corridor outside the Forbidden Section, apparently uninterested in any of the artefacts on display or the ongoing argument.

Ebenezer wrote:"Boreas..." Ebenezer shudders, "We are safe with it here, right? Like, no Eishi have ever escaped from there, got back on their own somehow?"

"They can't escape on their own, they're bound to the Penal Colony by a powerful Curse." Polyphony explained, going to dig for more food, pointedly ignoring Yui's devouring of inedible objects:

"The terms of the Curse state, the only way an Eishi can leave Boreas, is if a human willingly forms a Contract with them."



"You keep mentioning these Contracts, what are they exactly?" Lily asked, tilting her head.

"Its... like a very special bond, between an Eishi and a human." Polly leaned out of the cupboard and articulated with both hands:
"It grants both of them special powers, making both of them stronger, stronger than they could ever be on their own.

It allows humans to use Summoning magic.

And it allows the Eishi to use Limit Breaks.



Something neither of them can do on their own, without a bond.

Now, Contracts can be very different. No two contracts are exactly the same." Polly continued, noticing a loose button on the sleeve of her yukata and adjusting it "They can be temporary or permanent. The Contract ends when you say it ends. If both sides agree that the terms of the Contract have been fulfilled, they can close it, using a special Artifact. I'll show you how it works a bit later.

In our Academy, its tradition to form a special Contract with an Eishi, upon graduation. Humans travel through a portal to the Eishi homeworld and seek a suitable combat-partner there, offering to fight by their side. If the Eishi accepts, the pair returns to Kepler and usually stays together for life, or for many years at least.

The more eh... daring students travel to the Penal Colony instead, in hopes of forming a Contract with a powerful Eishi there.


The terms of the Contract typically include lines like:
"I swear to fight by my partners side, and stand against the forces of evil." Something along those lines, then they're off to go fight in the Chimeran war. That's typically how it go-Yui for fucks sake!"


Yui was holding a wooden bucket with dirty water, used for cleaning the floors and was trying to lift it over her head, seeing if she can swallow something that was larger than her head was.

"How are you gonna get that out?! Do you know what kind of mess its gonna make?" Polly angrily articulated.

"Sorry, can't hear you!" Yui raised the bucket high above her head, opened her mouth wide and spilled the buckets contents inside. She tried to swallow the bucket as well and for a brief moment you saw some sort of purple light around her mouth, but the light quickly faded and the empty bucket just fell on her face and bounced off, making Yui look at it in disappointment:

"Aaaww... it wouldn't open wide enough.."

"I'm gonna be sick-" Lily covered her mouth with both hands, turning green as she watched this.

Polly shook her head with a flat expression, looked at you and waved at the scene: "You seeing this? This is what I have to deal with."

"So the only thing they need in order to get out, is a human sympathiser on the outside to open the door for them?" Gladwin raised an eyebrow.

Her honey eyes flick to the class rep. She scans your features, her gaze is firm but troubled, "I..." her voice catches in her throat a moment and she suddenly seems on the verge of tears, Just as your about to act, just as it seems like a dam is about to break, she swallows heavy and intakes a deep shuttering breath. "If you can remember." her voice comes out cold. She places a hand on your shoulder as if pulling in your joyous aura to make her own and closes her eyes she just stands there a moment. you can feel her tremble, before her lips turn back up into a grin as though the situation is completely forgotten, "Off we go!" she says cheery as ever.



Buzzy seems eager to get away from the wall and she follows close behind as Yui picks the foreboding corridor. She doesn't seem offput and as they enter she examines the markings on the relics and jewelry in detail. Her eyes fall on the staff for a long moment, the storys of criminals being sent there seems to resound with her for a moment before all falls apart and her attention is pulled away to the commotion. She stays out of it for the most part simply watching. As they depart for a second time, Buzzy hangs back and walks next to Desiree. She seems to be trying to remember the turns their taking but begins to fail after the 3rd intersection.


As everyone gathers around in the kitchen Buzzy takes a deep breath and lets out a relieved sigh, the slight buzz in her wings returning to her as the day begins to pull her away from the earlier ordeal. She takes a few oranges and goes to sit down watching Yui's display, "Yui?" buzzy leans over on the table, turning herself sideways on its edge as she regards the girl while also peeling an orange, "Are you bound to anybody?" her head tilts. The question was out of pure curiosity as far as you can tell.

"Because it's the hardest option" Megan answers Gladwin "and the only one I'll even consider now. Life is borring when goals and achievments come easily."


At the Kitchen Megan has somehow manage to make a large plate of poutine with the ingredients there. She glances over to Yui as she makes the offer and the cutlery starts vanishing into the throat dimension "This toutouring wouldn't happen to be one on one would it?"

When they came for him, Malcom was merely frowning. It seemed to mask any emotion he had, and as the words passed, he was still unfazed.

"If I had 'fun'?" He replies robotically. "You really misunderstood everything."



In the cafeteria, Julie had gotten herself some food, and a little extra for the cat on her shoulder. It didn't seem she had actually gotten that much, enough for a new arrival, but less then a normal soldier. She sat down with the largest crowd and fed the cat it's meal.

"Hey guys!" She said in a cheery tone. "What brings you all here?"


Desiree had quietly followed the group, her head down in thought. It seemed that in the state she was in, you could have walked anywhere and she had just gone along. She got a large pile of food, fit for her frame, and sat in a corner, quietly watching while eating.


Malcolm, however, was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen.

Gladwin wrote:"So the only thing they need in order to get out, is a human sympathiser on the outside to open the door for them?" Gladwin raised an eyebrow.

"Its more complicated than that." Polly said, articulating with one hand and making a strand of her hair fall over her right eye:

"There are several layers of defenses in place. Some are invisible or subtly hidden, but they're there. I can't discuss them in detail for operational security, most of the information is classified, but I can say in broad terms that,

In order to access the Penal Colony, you must know how to use a Summoning Staff, you must have access to Kryugers Academy, you have to pass a layer of heavy surveillance in the corridor leading up to the Forbidden Section, your DNA must be entered into the school's security system and you need to have an access code to enter the Forbidden Section.

Once inside, you need to take control of the Summoning Staff." Polly moved the loose strand of hair from her eye and began tying her long hair in a bun, behind her head:

"We may have seen the Summoning Staff and all those artifacts in glass cases, but to actually open those cases, you must first remove several layers of invisible wards, specifically put in place to prevent theft.

The only ones with access codes, that can remove those layers, are the Dean of Kryuger's Academy, the five-star general in charge of the Interstellar Alliance's North Command Post, and the Eishi Ambassador to Kepler. Only those 3 people, so to access the forbidden artifacts, you need at least one of them to be present there in person."



"...aren't there ways to bypass the wards, without access codes?" Harvie asked, taking a bite out of a tomato.


"...there... may be ways..." Polly evasively replied "but those ways inevitably trigger alarms throughout the entire Academy and a rapid security response team is dispatched in seconds."

Buzzy wrote:"Yui?" buzzy leans over on the table, turning herself sideways on its edge as she regards the girl while also peeling an orange, "Are you bound to anybody?"

"Not at the moment, but I've formed plenty of contracts with Polly and other Eishi for training and tutoring purposes." Yui replied as she played around with an empty plate, seemingly trying to weight it, then looked at you and smiled, pointing to her yellow eyes:

"You can tell when someone's under contract by their eyes. If they have a very distinct visible glow, it means that human is under Contract with an Eishi."

She put the plate down and jumped off her seat, smiling excitedly "I even had a Contract once to assist in a field oper-"

"Yui." Polyphony shot her a flat stare, under which Yui immediately cut herself off and started waving her hand with a laugh "-which is classified and I can't talk about ahahaaa..."

"...you were involved in an actual combat operation?" Harvie asked, his ears perking.

"Ehehehe..." Yui blushed from shame, under Polly's increasingly stern gaze: "...I... can't confirm or deny that..."

Megan wrote: She glances over to Yui as she makes the offer and the cutlery starts vanishing into the throat dimension "This tutoring wouldn't happen to be one on one would it?"

"Y-yeah, yeah, would it?" Braxton and Harvie's ears perked immediately, making Lily catch a very flat stare.


Yui stuck her tongue out slightly, scratching the back of her hair with a smile "Ehehe... sorry guys, there's so many of you, there just isn't enough time, it'll have to be a group class." She clasped her palms together, closing one eye "I'll make it super simple to understand, promise."

Julie wrote: Julie had gotten herself some food, and a little extra for the cat on her shoulder. It didn't seem she had actually gotten that much, enough for a new arrival, but less then a normal soldier. She sat down with the largest crowd and fed the cat it's meal.

"Hey guys!" She said in a cheery tone. "What brings you all here?"

"What brings me here, huh.." Braxton lifted his head in thought a little, holding a finger to his chin:

"Well... I guess its my family... I mean, my grandfather fought in the Chimeran war, my dad fought, my old bro, and now I guess... its my turn." he cursed slightly, rubbing the back of his head, making his already messy hair, even more messier:

"...Aah!... I hate this!... My grandpa keeps going on about the good old days, before the war started some 30 years ago, you know? How kids are born these days, who don't even remember a world without a world war. Looks at me with pity sometimes, I hate that." Brax exhaled in frustration.

"Whats the big deal. Everyone fights in the war, its just how the world is. There isn't a household who hasn't lost someone, and our kids will probably fight in the war too."



The cat emitted a melancolic mew on Julies shoulders and started to purr, as Julie petted it and fed it a piece of salami, which the cat devoured quite loudly.

"I want to become a powerful Summoner to preserve our history." Lily said, looking at the kitchen window with a thousand mile stare:

"When the Chimera were created, they were genetically engineered to target any technology and enemy intel they can find. In the end, they just interpreted that as a command to destroy everything - literature, works of art, cultural monuments, any technology larger than a USB Key... USB keys included." She grimly replied and rubbed her face with both hands:

"...they're erasing our history, as if we never existed. The only thing left in their wake are city ruins and red colored earth, where the acid they secrete seeped into the ground... nothing grows there anymore." She looked down "...my parents are calling it the end of the world... the great impact..." she looked down, broken "if anyone's even left alive, thousands of years from now, will they even know we existed?... will they even have a fraction of our culture?"


"Lily.." Yui began, but the girl cut her off with a determined frown:

"That's why... I want to preserve our history." Lily said, collecting her fists "I want to create... what would you call them... Tombs?... Safes?... Vaults?... huge underground bases, reinforced and hidden deep underground, where troves of our knowledge, our tech, our art can be stored, for future generations to find. That's what I want." She clutched her fists harder.



"...you know, I heard rumors that the Order of Architects is doing just that." Yui said in thought "I mean, they certainly have the funding, they litetally built this school."


"Good." Lily nodded firmly "...maybe I'll become an Architect then."

"Are you sure you can, dude?" Brax meaningfully looked at her "The Order of Architects are like, the da Vincis of our time. You gotta be preeeeeetty smart to join them bro"


"Are you calling me dumb?!" Lily scowled, trying to grab Braxton who laughed and leaped a meter back: "I'll kick your ass man!"


Their gazes slowly drifted to Harvie, who stared at his plate of untouched food for a while, mulling things over. Noticing everyone's gazes on him, he nodded:

"...I'm here to win the war."


A moment ticked by before most in the kitchen erupted in laugher. It wasn't malicious, Harvies phrase was just so unexpected and ludicrous, most had burst out laughing on reflex.


"Don't laugh!" Yui scolded them, smiling and waving her index finger. "I think that's exactly the kind of attitude we've been missing."

"Okay dude," Brax snorted at Harvie "Our families were in the war for generations, and it will probably last for generations more, but you're the one who's going to break the Chimeran advance."


"Not alone, no" Harvie replied undeterred "And not in a week. But I think that fresh students can bring fresh perspectives and outside-the-box thinking." He nodded with determination:
"That's why I want to become a great Summoner and join the Interstellar research and development. I want to find a way to beat the Chimera, not just take back captured ground and preserve current borders with them, but actually win. Completely. I want to win the war."


Brax mimiced a gagging reflex. Lily just looked at Harvie as if he were naive.

"Well, I think you have the right attitude!" Yui released a blinding smile and gave a thumbs up to Harvie "Good job! I'll be rooting for you!"

"Ehehe.." Harvie immediately blushed and hunched over, shyly scratching the back of his head "t-thank you.."

Brax looked at him with envy, biting his lower lip.




"What about you guys?" Yui cheerfully asked, looking at you "Why'd you want to become Summoners?"





Polyphony in the meantime began clearing out un-used tables and chairs from the center of the room, creating a wide spacey area. Thinking for a moment and tapping her cheek, she began drawing a pentagram on the floor with a piece of chalk.


"So Yui, how'd you do that trick back there?" Lily asked "You didn't actually drink that floor water did you?"

"Pfffff of course not!" Yui waved at her "What, you think I'm crazy or something?"

Polly gave her a very flat look and blinked very slowly.


"I stored it in Mallet Space!" Yui brightly smiled, lifting her hands to shoulders height.

"The whaa?" Brax stared.

"Mallet Space! I stored it in Mallet Space!" Yui hummed happily "Its like my personal, private pocket dimension, see?"
She collected her index and middle fingers together and brought them down in a vertical line. And in the wake of her fingers, a tear in reality opened.

Like cutting through fabric, her fingers tore open space, creating a purple fissure that enlarged in width slightly, hissed with white noise and the sounds of a rainstorm, and shone with dark purple light. Yui took her empty plate and stuck it inside the purple fissure, making a good part of her hand disappear, right up to her forearm, then pulled out her hand, now empty and the fissure in reality vanished.


Yui is cheeckily smirking at you "Wonna learn how to do it? You can store allll sorts of things there. Its like your personal interdimensional backpack!"

"Yui," Polyphony groaned "Mallet Space is not for storing bullshit. Its a combat utility spell, designed to store first aid packs and tactical gear-"

"Yeah, yeah, totally." Yui nodded to her, then conspiratiorally winked at you.

"Hey! I see you!" Polly shook her fist "I'm looking right at you!"

"Yeah yeah, dude, I agree." Yui nodded, then winked at you again.
Polly checked out of the conversation and returned to drawing her pentagram.



"Wait a second..." Lily narrowed her eyes "Yui you're a pegasus, and your eyes aren't glowing so you can't be using Summoner magic. How did open a portal."


"Heh!" Yui grinned smugly, as if waiting for the question. "I had my genome edited to allow me to access to the pocket dimension."

Unable to reach any of the higher shelves from his seated position, Gladwin settles for food lower down, and makes himself a ham sandwich.

"Can only you access your own Hammer Space, or anyone as long as they know where it is?" Ebenezer asks Yui.

Christabel has helped herself to an odd mix of food from the cupboards and fridge, the only thing they all have in common is that they are yellow, with her plate piled high with sweetcorn, mustard, bananas, custard, lemon, pasta, and pineapple.

She squeezes into a tight gap between a cabinet and the wall, and proceeds to nibble on her meal.

Buzzy eyes Braxton her smile falters with a twitch as you've finally struck a nerve, "You know!..." she turns on him with a start, oh god you know that look. Thats the look of someones whos about to give you a piece of their mind, "Can you imagine the whole world with your attitude? The idea that we'll never win this war?" she tilts her head at him as she confronts his statement, her voice isn't angry, its matter of fact as she sticks up for Harvie, "Can you imagine never innovating your war strategy to make an attempt to finish it?" she shakes her head in disapproval, "Pulling the same old attack. Buying into the war of attrition. Fighting them to a standstill until either they or us innovates and the reality you just presented to me says that they are the ones who are going to drive forward with that innovation." She sighs, "You say most of us aren't going to make it long but... I think that's the fate you're most afraid of Braxton." She says gravely, "Dont project that attitude onto us... Dont try to bring us down man..." she shakes her head in some disappointment before turning to Yui and her funny portals again.

Buzzy quietly watches the quarrel between Yui and Polly, her fingers pulling away an orange slice that she happily eats with a soft buzz. Her honeyed eyes suddenly fall on Polly, "I dunno!" she says cheerful as ever again, "A personal pocket dimension that you can just fill with whatever you want? Kinda seems like you COULD just fill it with random bullshit..." she eyes Yui carefully, "Actually... Kinda seems like the perfect theifs tool. How can you tell what your pulling out of there? Do you just... think about it and it comes out?"

"My reasoning is very close to Harvie's. Though my focus is to improve and invent new weapons that will provide an alternate that is just as powerful to Summoners and not completely wreck the environment" Megan sets down the fork on her empty plate "whether or not our generation is the one to win or it lasts for more we need to start treating it like we are going to win. At the very least we'll make things that much easier for our children and I'd say that is going to be worth every piece of effort"

She stands and clears her own plate along with any others that are empty "Also why Mallet Space? You completely missed out on an opportunity to call it a Bag of Holding."

"erm... Cuz its not a bag?" Buzzy articulates with a shrug, "You could call it the 'Tear of holding' Or 'Dimension of holding' but im still on your side because it doesn't appear to be a space containing mallets, and or hammers."

"What about 'Pocket dimension', hmmmm?" Julie offers to the debate on the name. "After all, Yui first showed it by placing the hole close or in her mouth, so why not a pocket? Dig in there, pull out something really big, boom!"

She seems to get more excited about it. "Oooh, if you know it, you never need to get your pocket picked, since you just close the dimension when someone picks it! And 'bag of holding' will work if you disguise it as a purse! Now you can be hip AND practical! So good!"

Desiree just watches the scene unfolds, finishing her meal. With her hood up, it was hard to read her expression.

As the meal was wrapping up, Malcolm walked into the room, now with a more nonchalant look. "Boy, that was the worst time to be taking a crap! Took me way too long to find this place!"

Julie scrunched up her face. "Ew, we didn't need to know that, what's wrong with you?!"

Malcolm just laughed it off and walked in. However, he passed by Yui and whispered something, before grabbing a piece of fruit and eating it quickly.