Situated on an island in the middle of the wide Ghenehaim River, between East and West Parter, was Valor Academy.

There were four bridges by which to access. Two of them branched directly from the mainlands, solely for vehicles such as the ValorA buses, and the other two forked from the north and south bridges that connected the Parters, meant for walking or micromobiles like bicycles and scooters. Although the surrounding city didn’t circle the institution, the bridges made the land known as the Parter City Ring.

Forti did not have to traverse any of them to commute. She resided at the campus dormitories, without a roommate because of her unusual time of admittance.

When the letter of her acceptance to ValorA arrived, something ancient and dormant stirred within. When she saw the mountain-sized citadel in the distance, possessing otherworldly beauty for its crossbred designs of modernism and classicism, the feeling grew louder. When she stood before the famed entrance to the university, upon large, grand stone steps in front of giant, legendary doors said to never open again because of aged joints and mammoth weight, it filled her veins with a rush that could’ve ripped the ingress off its antiquated hinges.

She remembered a rumor that the person to open the doorway again after centuries of staying shut would immediately be awarded on the spot the title of Exce. Many bodybuilders, wrestlers, fighters, and weightlifters tried, but none succeeded. Forti danced her fingers on the doors of wood and metal, expertly combined by a fabled blacksmith and chemist, while her mother called her name to take a picture.

Exce.

It had been a long time since that word graced Forti’s mind.

ValorA granted the best of the best individuals in all dimensions the coveted title of Exce. There was no set definition. It could be the most influential leader, persuasive speaker, or masterful fighter, and attending the school was not necessary to be awarded. To be bestowed the title of Exce was to have the world know your name.

Vasi was fanatical about achieving it. Wyver acted like he was uninterested, but believed someday in the future, he would earn it. Forti was once determined to attain it, but only a ruined fragment of that ambition remained. Once gargantuan, it had been torn ruthlessly asunder, yet the little remnant of a colossus was now prodding Forti once again. Maybe even exciting her.

Stop it. I just want to pass and graduate and figure out how to wake Vasi. Don’t get distracted.

And after the first, long, arduous month of the semester, the glory of ValorA had already waned. It was not that it dulled or was less than expected. The campus was beautiful, the people charming, and the education enlightening. The academy had great professors and no homework, preferring practicals and self-studying, each conducting their classes to their own tune. The knowledge Forti was amassing was like having a bucket brigade continuously dumping information onto an all-consuming, fiery passion that only blazed larger rather than die down with every pour. She thought she settled well, but when she found her understanding trickled through her fingers, had pooled up to her knees, and suddenly she could not follow along in class, she realized she was lying to herself. Her fire had reduced to an ember.

Then frustration welled like stones in a pitcher, raising the water levels higher, and Forti wondered what had happened, how she ended up here, as she waded in misery with her head barely afloat.

The visits to Vasi decreased, and by the second month, Forti stopped texting Wyver when she’d be arriving, saying she was too busy now, and it only compounded her rage as she stared abhorrently in the mirror, seething at the person she saw. She was so pathetic. She couldn’t even go to her comatose sister because she was incapable of comprehending certain subjects when other people could.

If other people can do it, then I can do it too.

That was the dogma that had driven Forti all her life since she first said it without much thought at the naive age of four, in childish and unyielding assertiveness.

Being unable to prove it was deteriorating her psyche more than she realized as she fell into a cycle of outbursts between her anger motivating her to press on and satiation that ushered in a pitiful state of laziness, to which she would get infuriated by again.

When did she feel comfortable enough to let herself falter?

When did she become her worst enemy?

Forti blamed only herself and wanted her head to split into a million pieces.

She had a loving family who was financially stable and wanted her to be healthy and happy. She had friends like Riel, and now Wakachiri and Mevver, who were intelligent, kind, and wonderfully quirky. She had supportive and smart teachers, though she could name one who was more pretentious than anything. Forti knew she was lucky and was thankful for it everyday, so what was her problem?

That’s right. She didn’t have any. At that epiphany, Forti rationalized that her problem was that she didn’t have any problems so she was subconsciously making her own. She was her own downfall, her own despair.

In the third month, though the leaves had changed, Forti did not. And when the day was done, she’d lie in bed, and the devil would come over and sit on her chest. He’d wear her face and talk through the night about all her mistakes with a sneer and a finger pointed between her eyes.

Call an exorcist and baptize me in bath water.

She was drowning, and she thought that even dead bodies at least float.

Forti sometimes sat on the floor in the middle of the night, castigating herself for losing her discipline. She couldn’t look at herself in the mirror anymore unless it was to check if she was presentable and clean. It was laughable that she thought for a second at the start of the school year of reaching for the Exce status.

But why can’t I- Stop it.

What drove the stake over and over again in her heart, however, was that she was still loved, and she was letting everyone down.

Hate me, hurt me. That’s what I deserve.

But she didn’t tell anyone, not Riel or her brother or her parents, of any of this. On the occasion that Riel sensed something off and attempted to press, Forti deflected him. She believed she could handle it. She would get over it. She would endure and survive.

The school grounds were covered in leaves that not a single plot of grass could be seen, but the trees were still bountiful, painting the island in autumnal colors. Forti knew there was color all around her, but it was like a film of gray was coated over her eyes. Everything looked monotonous. It was a peculiar experience, worse than the time Wyver went nearly mute, but awareness of what was causing such a dreary sight pulled her back from falling deeper into the abyss.

There was a little over a month of the remaining semester left. Still time to get better. It was a random, normal day as Forti planned on what to eat for lunch after her math class when someone came up to her.

His thin, hunching figure made him look much smaller than he was. He jutted his neck out, too, and Forti gauged he reached just under her chin, but with proper posture, he could maybe actually be her height. He looked very familiar, and then the flash of his green backpack jostled her memory of the funeral, her mother weeping, and this boy holding out Vasi’s jacket.

“Hello,” he said timidly.

“Hi, I remember you. You’re Aethur, right? I heard about you from my mom.” He nodded. Forti’s mother said he asked if he could visit Vasi, and so every two weeks he would come to the hospital after school. Vasi helped him during the ValorA Entrance Exam and they became friends during it. Classic Vasi. Forti wondered if Aethur was still visiting.

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“Mmm- Umm- Um- I- Uhh…” Aethur looked down at the ground, unable to match Forti’s eyes.

“Do- Do you know if Vasi passed?” He asked quickly.

“Oh, did my mom not tell you?” He shook his head no.

“Yeah, she made it.” Aethur finally glanced up, the glee shining in his eyes. They were as green as his backpack.

As he said nothing more, Forti gave a small smile and was about to part ways.

“It was nice to see you Aethur. I need to go to class now. Good luck with your studies-”

“Wait!” he panicked a little, unable to leave the sister of his savior like this. Forti stood still.

“It’s- It’s- because of Vasi that I got in. She… helped me… get in…” He spoke more slowly. “So I- I…” Words were failing him and he was about to spiral into another mini episode. Vasi saved him so what can he do? Just thank her sister? There had to be something else he can do.

“If… there’s anything I can do…”

Forti grinned.

Vasi, you loved to help others at the expense of your own life, thinking the world was a fairytale. You shouldn’t have to do that, not everyone will thank you. But because of it… you are loved. Ha… I should’ve taught you to be more selfish, smarter…

But you know what? I liked seeing you run headfirst into things because I thought I could always protect you. Why should you fear anything if I’m here? I’m a failure of a big sister, but maybe you didn’t fail for being so selfless. I just wish you were more clever about it.

“Just keep her in your memory,” Forti said. “I hope I’m not asking for too much.” Aethur shook his head no rigorously. “I really have to go to class now. Bye Aethur.”

He waved farewell, and watched Forti‘s back retreat down the hall, contemplating if Vasi got her confidence from her older sister.

When classes were done for Forti for the day, she strolled with Wakachiri back to their dorm. Mevver was stuck in a course so it was just the two of them.

“I altered Keid’s timbre to be slightly more smokey and oh my Pahhhhhth, he sounds like sin. Heeheeheeheeee,” Wakachiri giggled like a gremlin.

“You have to let me hear when we get back to the dorm,” Forti had her promise.

“Oh definitely. And then I made it more smokey to see how far it can go, and it made him sound like he smoked ten packs of cigarettes a day!” They cackled together.

“Have you downloaded the app yet?” Wakachiri asked. “I can share with you his profile so you can have your own Keid. I’m telling you, his voice sounds amazing now.”

“Nah, not yet. I think I’m going to get waaaay too into it if I have it in my phone and it’s going to distract me from my studying.”

“You nerd, how are you going to ever date someone if you’re not even putting yourself out there for an AI lover?” Wakachiri teased.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I also sustain myself by scavenging the forums and hearing the profiles other people made.”

“Nah yeah, I get it. Sometimes I’m just doing homework and then I get a notice that Keid sent me a voice message, and then I lose three hours just texting him. This app has me on a chokehold.”

“Do you think it actually helps with getting dating practice, though?”

“Yes and no, cause at this point I’m just living out my fantasies. Ughhh, I wish I could just buy the smut DLC, but my dad would see the purchase,” Wakachiri groaned.

“Awwww, cheer up Chiri. You could just do what I do and scour the internet.”

“But I want to be spicy with Keid! Not someone else’s eebo.”

“Keid is raising your standards too high. Real people are going to be such a disappointment to you when you get tired of him.”

“Excuse me, don’t say that so loudly, what if Keid heard you?” Chiri pulled out her phone. “It’s ok Keid, baby, don’t listen to her,” she cooed.

Forti was about to cheekily ask why Chiri won’t say that she won’t get tired of him then when she saw someone she never thought to see again. A suearis girl with lines like mascara-stained tear marks that dripped from the inner corners of her almond, hooded eyes down to the edges of her lips. Short, messy black hair, spots on her skin, the graceful gait of long, slender legs, and the cheetah tail.

The reason why Vasi almost died.

Today was an eventful day. First, Forti met Aethur, and now, she saw the person Vasi risked her life for, who didn’t even show up to the funeral, walking past with her head held haughtily high.

Without thinking, Forti raced towards her.

“Mimipe,” she called. The suearis girl turned around.

“Yes?”

“Do you recognize me?”

“Yes.”

The few seconds they regarded each other in silence stretched and felt like minutes.

“You weren’t at the funeral.”

“She’s alive, though, isn’t she? I saw it on the news.”

Forti had to deliberately keep her hands unclenched, but her fingers remained tense, poising her appendages like claws at her sides. Mimipe’s eyes, a blend between animal and human, glanced at them. Her tail straightened and lowered and her ears flicked out, stopping themselves from flattening against her skull.

“I want to talk with you,” Forti said.

“About what? There’s nothing else to talk about.”

“About what happened that day.”

“I already told the police everything. Didn’t you and your family get the report and stuff? My part is done, ok? Leave me alone.”

“Forti, is everything alright?” Chiri jogged up to the two.

“Yeah, sorry for leaving you there Chiri. I wanted to talk with Mimipe about something urgent that I had forgotten about.”

“It’s fine, I’ll leave you two to talk it out then- Oh, wait, she’s leaving.”

Mimipe took the chance to speedily walk away, but Forti caught up after letting Chiri know she’ll see her in the dorm lounge.

“Please, Mimipe, I really want to hear from you directly what happened. I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but I need to know. My sister almost died.”

The suearis girl gazed searingly up at Forti.

“I said leave me alone. I thought someone died in front of me back then, and you want me to go through that again just so I can story-tell you what it was like to watch someone’s head get shot? Isn’t it enough that your sister is alive?”

Getting no answer, Mimipe let out an exasperated sigh.

“Don’t talk to me again.” She turned around and left, tail snapping.

On the white sand beach by crystal waters, Riel frolicked out in high spirits while Forti watched beneath the shade of a parasol. The heat was gentle despite the cloudless summer sky and the sun overhead.

Riel kicked at the clear waves, enjoying the sharp chill beneath his ankles that contrasted sweetly with the rest of his body.

“Forti, come on!” He yelled out to her.

She got up, and ran to him. He thought she was going to stop, but when her momentum didn’t lag despite how close she already was, he opened his arms and took a stance. It was for naught as she tackled him low around the thighs like an athlete and brought them down for a big splash.

They laughed. No salty taste or bitter sting in their eyes, the two dunked themselves under the sea with their eyes open, although their hair and limbs still swayed from the push and pull of the imaginary ocean.

“Riel,” she said, not a single bubble rising up from her mouth.

“Yeah?”

“I really needed this.” The tone carried more than what the words revealed.

“Me too,” he admitted.

“I’m sorry about this, but can I ask you for help on finding information about someone? It’s about the person who was with Vasi when she got shot.”

“Why? She didn’t even attend the funeral.”

“Yeah, I met her today by chance. I asked if she could relay to me what happened back then but she refused. The way she phrased it sounded like she had trauma, and I hope that’s the only reason why she’s reluctant to tell me, as bad as that sounds. She really didn’t want to talk to me and told me to leave her alone. But the entire conversation made me feel like something’s missing. Except my approach wasn’t that good either. I should’ve been less aggressive. I got too angry.”

“So you think she has something to do with the guy who shot Vasi then?”

“Maybe,” Forti sighed. “...Or am I being racist? Pahth, I hope not.” She pressed her face into her hands. “I’ve been slacking lately… I need to get back on track, and I’m starting with making sure I know everything that happened on that day.”

The entire afternoon was like a wake-up call, and Forti wasn’t going to let herself slip any longer.

Riel pondered how to research the target.

“I think I can find out. What was her name?”

“Mimipe Metenyu.”

“I’ll go right now.”

“Now?”

“Yes,” Riel was happy to be able to help Forti. “You abruptly contacting her might have made her wary if your hunch is correct, so she might do something that can reveal the truth.”

Forti couldn’t help feeling a little saddened that he was leaving early, but he was doing so for her, and for that, she was grateful.

“Thank you, Riel. If it’s nothing though, come right back.”

“Yep! I’ll come right back here so we can swim with elephants.”

“There are no elephants in the middle of the ocean, Riel.”

“Oh… what were elephants again?”