“Dodge!-”
“Too late! Killian is done for!”
Sport.
“There are just seven of us remaining! They are only two!”
“They might be two, but she is here! We are doomed! I knew this would not end we-Aaah!”
“Jun! No!”
“Uwawawa…”
Sport was a must for young high schoolers. It allowed them to interact with their surrounding in different ways than usual and it was a superb tool for socializing with other people. Its competitive aspect was also a strong stimulus in order to awaken in them the desire to achieve something.
Or at least that was the case when it was not a one-sided slaughter.
“Talia, I think you are being heartless here.”
“Of course not, Sanya. I just teach them a lesson that the next time they try to hit you with the ball, they have to accept the consequences.”
Inside the schoolyard, Talia’s class was having their sports period. For 40 years now, ability training had coexisted with physical activities all around the world. So, most schools decided to alternate weeks for the two activities. This way, students would still be able to practice sport while training their ability.
And today, the sport was dodgeball. Its big advantage was that there was no need for a lot of space, so it could be played both inside and outside. Of course, the use of abilities was prohibited.
Talia put her foot forward as her hand was squeezing the ball with a firm grip. She was wearing a white sports shirt with the school emblem on it and a navy shorts. Behind her and wearing the same type of clothes, Sanya was looking at her lover with a wry smile. ‘This should have been a normal period. It was finally only the two of us, but then one of them tried to hit me...From this moment onward, the result had been set.’
Her eyes then wandered to the poor enemies, especially one of them. The group in front of her was composed of boys and girls from her class, meaning that she at least knew who they were. Nevertheless, one of them was a friend of her. The girl was also wearing some sportswear alongside a thin black hoodie. Her eyes hidden behind her bangs were darting around, unable to do anything.
‘Zesty, I’m sorry.’
The groups had been decided based on the alphabetic order. In the end, Talia, Sanya, and Ellen had been put inside the same team while Zesty had to face her three friends. Well, three had quickly transformed into two, as Ellen had used her ability the moment the ball approached her. The little girl was now sitting with other eliminated students while hugging her legs looking with great interest at the massacre. Compared to her, the fellow kids were stunned by the situation. Same for the young teacher who had no idea how to handle the situation.
“!-”
“Aaaaah!”
The sound of something really fast passed just in front of Zesty. The next second the boy who was next to her was crouching on the ground while holding his belly, a ball rolling just beside him.
Cold sweats formed on Zesty’s back. She had been barely moving for all the game, but she still managed to survive up until now. It seemed Talia was doing this intentionally. Still, the sight of her falling comrades was frightening. It was not an exaggeration to compare Talia to a kid playing around with ants. Their lifespan was decided by her whim.
To make the game more dynamic, the teacher had innocently allowed a total of three balls to be played. There was currently one under Talia's arm and two on the other side.
Two boys gritted their teeth and picked the balls that had slain so many of them. They gave each other a glance and nodded. Seeing this, Talia smirked happily. ‘Oh? They will at least try something different? bring it on.’
The silent tension broke the moment the two boys took a step forward. With a war cry, they launched their respective ball in Talia's direction!
‘They are trying to block me from dodging.’ One of the balls was making its way toward Talia's head, while the other was aiming at her feet. This way she could neither jump nor crouch to dodge. Even more, with a ball under her arm, she could not catch both of them.
The distance between the two groups was less than 10 meters. Meaning that the two projectiles were covering the distance in a very short time. Seeing the still immobile Talia, the two boys had a smirk across their face. “We got her!”
However, they literally got the bitter taste known as celebrating too soon.
With a lighting-fast spun of her upper body, Talia began to rotate horizontally. The two sure-hit balls missed her by an only a few centimeters, letting them continuing forward.
Nonetheless, the blue-haired girl was not done. After three complete rotations, her foot stomped on the floor in order to stabilize herself. She used the momentum built up to sent the ball that was in her hand straight to the two boys.
The scene was so surreal that the two confident male students could only stand there shocked. They only came to their senses the moment they felt the pressuring impact on their respective shoulder. There was a slight angle between the two of them. One which Talia took advantage of to make the ball bounce toward the second boy after hitting the first one.
It was now three against two.
“...” Silence once more took over the place.
The students were already aware that Talia was no longer some simple girl without an ability. Still, her attitude had been so peaceful the entire last week. The scene before them made them realize that the cute little kitten was just hiding a ferocious tiger. And if one wanted to wake it, they only had to target her treasure known as Sanya.
However, the general feeling among the students was not one of fear. It would had been the case if Talia had been so proactive since the start of the activity. Instead, she had shown her fangs the moment the person she held dear was targeted. A vague feeling of respect for the strong had begun to spread inside most of the students.
WIth a fearless posture and overbearing presence, Talia’s eyes darted toward the remaining enemies, two girls and Zesty. The three poor lamps took a step back under the pressure.
‘...Talia.’ Sanya looked at her lover a tad tired. Despite having done almost nothing during the entire match, she felt Talia’s overwhelming protection on her shoulders. Out of boredom, she picked up one of the balls that had rolled up to her feet. The final act was about to unfold.
The two girls beside Zesty looked at each other with a drop of sweat tickling along their temple. Suddenly, one of the girl’s hand became nearly transparent, like light was passing through it. She exclaimed with an oblivious fake unhappy voice. “A-Ah, what a shame! I used my ability!”
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The other girl’s hair started to move by itself, like a group of snakes dancing around. This girl heaved her shoulders with the exact expression as the previous one. “S-Same here. Guess, we are eliminated, right?”
“Yes, so let’s get out of here!”
“Awawawa!! W-W-Wait!” Zesty‘s hand tried to reach toward them, but they were already leaving the battlefield. Still, the moment they saw Zesty’s face, they slowed down with guilty expressions. Nevertheless, any trace of it was wiped by Talia’s presence.
“...” There was only the frozen-up Zesty in front of the blue-haired girl.
Talia remained silent for a moment before sighing out. She picked one of the balls and made it bounce against the ground a few times. “What are you going to do? I don’t want to hit you with a ball nor do I want to lose.”
Sanya shook her head with her eyes closed upon seeing the scene. ‘How childish of her. Maybe her time at the Stellar Temple made her more competitive. Nonetheless, let’s end this.’
Unknown to Talia and Zesty, Sanya took a step forward. Meanwhile, the two other girls still had their own standoff. Zesty knitted her eyebrows as she slowly picked up a ball. Her eyes were resting on it before lifting up. With both an unsure and firm light inside them, she stared at Talia.
“Wow, that's a surprise and definitely not a bad one.” Talia put her hand on her hip and let the ball fly up a few times in the air. The tension between them rose each time the ball landed back on her palm. The final was drawing closer. With a tense face, Zesty bent her legs clumsily as to prepare herself for the inevitable end.
Talia smiled and nodded. Her voice resonated across the field. “The most scared ended up being the bravest. Good job. But, this will be the e-”
“Talia, here.” Sanya appeared just beside Talia and interrupted her in the middle of her speech. Talia readily turned her head only to open her eyes wide. She had, of course, sensed Sanya approaching, but there was no reason to be on her guard. So, the moment she saw her girlfriend, who was less than half a meter away from her, sending a ball in her direction, her reaction was obviously delayed.
No, it was also wrong. Even with just pure reflexes, Talia could have avoided this without a problem. She did not do so because she trusted Sanya.
The ball touched her and hit the ground under the eyes of the silent audience.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Talia lifted her arms and made her way out of the field, the ball dropping on the floor. A little smile was on her lips. “Hit, I guess.”
Only Zesty and Sanya were left now.
“...Eh?” With a disbelieving expression, Zesty was holding the ball in her hands. All the tension that had previously built up was now gone.
Still, even with Talia eliminated, there was still one last enemy in front of her. Sanya once more picked up the ball. Her eyes glanced at the confused girl. Her mouth opened as to dispel her interrogations. “Sorry for Talia acting like a bully. It’s partially my fault. It’s just the two of us now.”
“Ah!” Zesty straightened herself after hearing those words. She looked at Sanya with a bit of a surprise. It seemed that the final boss was not the feared blue-haired devil, but her girlfriend. The level had decreased a whole lot, but she was still unsure if she could do anything against her.
Sanya took a stance with a foot forward and brought the ball backward. Her eyes were firmly on her friend right now. “Let’s go!”
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“Aaah, I lost… How can I trip on a rock and hit myself with my own ball.” Zesty let out a long sigh as she took off her sports shirt. She was in the girl changing room with the other female classmates of her. While she was displaying a figure that could easily be considered amazing compared to the fellow girls, she recalled the end of the activity with a dose of bitterness.
Basically, the grand finale had ended up with Zesty trying to make the first move. But, the moment her arm had moved to send the ball, she clumsily stumbled forward. Due to the panic, she had let go of the ball but had done her best to not fall. She had succeeded, however the ball still had touched her, eliminating her in the process.
Talia, a meter away from her, was tying her shoes. She lifted up her head. “It’s really a shame indeed, but don’t let it get over you. You might not have been the strongest physically, but this still takes courage to stay standing when you are the last one of your team.”
“...Thanks.” Zesty’s cheeks reddened slightly upon being praised. A thin smile was decorating her face. She then looked for her uniform to change in. However, her shirt was nowhere to be found.
“This is too big...No, I’m sure I will also grow to be like Zesty.” Hearing her name made Zesty turn her head toward the little girl on her side.
Ellen was wearing the oversize white shirt. The piece of clothing was reaching past her knees, making it look like a dress more than everything. Ellen was flapping the sleeves cutely like a penguin with a slightly annoyed expression. When she noticed her friend’s eyes on her, she silently took it off and handed it back. “...Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Zesty stared at the shirt in her hands for a second. Then, she put her hand on top of Ellen’s head and patted it a few times. Her lips were displaying a kind smile. “You will also grow, don’t worry.”
“...Hmph.” Ellen put on her hoodie and sat on the bench next to her.
Meanwhile, Sanya was taking peeks at Talia while she was changing. The area that she was looking was mostly the top half, at the torso. Now, knowing that the two of them were dating, it would not have been an exaggeration to suspect Sanya to have some unpure thoughts, but this was not the case actually. ‘She didn’t change her shirt. Guess she doesn’t want others to see the scar.’
Talia had a scar on the side of her belly from one of the fights that she had in the past. She had decided to keep it, even though it would be hard to explain if found out. Nevertheless, today’s level of physical activity was nowhere enough to make her break a sweat. Changing was not so necessary.
Talia stopped moving all of sudden, bringing Sanya's attention as she was observing her. She then slowly turned toward Sanya, her cheeks a shade of red. “...You keep looking at my chest. Is this a way to get back at me for last Monday?”
“...W-Wha-! Of course no, you dummy!” Sanya waved her hands in front of her in denial. It was true that from an external observer, she was taking peeks at Talia’s chest. Sanya fixed her skirt and coughed a few times, trying to hide her embarrassment.
As to dispel the silence, she brought up another subject. “I was thinking about this, but do you plan to see the school competition? You seemed interested last time.”
Talia lightly looked away. The plan was that she would participate, but this was supposed to be a surprise. She scratched her cheek and somehow replied. “Yeah, I will maybe take a look. What about you?”
“Me? Not really. We still didn’t get the composition of the team representing the school though. I wonder who will it be.”
Talia stopped in her tracks, a dumb expression on her face. “...They will announce the representatives?”
One of the girls inside the changing room next to her overheard her question and explained. “Yes, that’s correct. They generally announce them a month prior to the event, so we should know shortly.”
Another girl added more. “I wonder if Baptiste will participate. With his ability, it’s almost guaranteed that he will win the running race.”
“Yes! There is also Alice from the second years.”
“...”
Despite hearing unfamiliar names, Talia’s mind was on something else. ‘It seems I have to check with Garcia later.’
The girls finished changing a few minutes after this.
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"Anastasia? Lilly? Or even Tyffany? Which name do you prefer the most?"
"...I don't care. Just tell me the plan for the competition. Besides, what are you doing?" With her arms crossed in an exasperated manner, Talia glared at Garcia. The place was the headmaster's office. Three people were present. There was Talia, standing in the middle of the room. Yui at the table, with her eyes glued on the pieces of paper, trying to not look up. And finally, Garcia looking outside the windows with his usual handsome smile.
He turned toward Talia in order to reply to her question. "Me? Oh, just taking a break and watching some youthful, energetic high school girl running outside"
"...Creepy."
"Hahaha, it's indeed a way of saying this. But, let's get back on your question." He advanced to position himself next to Yui. With his hand he pointed to the stack of paper.
"As you can see, we have quite a lot of paperwork to do. Most of it is for the competition and the forgery of a realistic fake identity for you. As for the information, don't worry you will be contacted in time. This, I can guarantee."
"Fine." The blue-haired girl sighed out. The moment she began to walk out, Garcia's smile grew deeper.
"I heard." He began.
Talia stopped and just turned her head. Yui was too busy to stop the pen in her hands. Still, this didn't stop the room temperature to lower as Garcia continued. "This year is going to be very wild. Especially the second day."
Talia just shrugged and resumed her steps. "Is that so. Regardless, I don't get my hope too high with high schoolers."
She exited the room and closed the door behind her. The room returned to its calm as the sound of the tip of a pen scribbling on a sheet of paper could be heard. After a moment, Garcia looked once more outside and whispered with a chuckle. "I never said it was about a participant...It's bound to be a good show."