Once Upon the High Encouragement

"Aya doesn't normally make someone cry in submission. I've never seen her lash out like it before that there could only be an underlying vendetta. I'm appalled that I'm taking her side. She's clearly wrong and unreasonable from our perspective, but I don't dislike her train of thought. We know the truth, after all. Miss Ayanami outed as a powerless mage so what she needs to do is prove herself worthy for the school."

Snow White tattled on the obvious.

"Yeah, I get it!" I received Kuzuhara's eyeful─mistrust written on her irises. "But who the heck died and hailed you king, princess?"

Judging from her logic, I should be the queen though.

"I'm looking out for her, like what a good classmate is supposed to do."

"If you say it like that, I don't have anything to counter," she exclaimed, "but if you take your time and think about it, the event only seems orchestrated."

"No! I didn't partake in any of that unsightly execution," I excused, "I only expected it would happen, something similar, for the day."

"It's called wishful thinking, Yukihime. I don't approve of how you'd wish for her to experience dread."

"I don't approve of it as well, but I've seen too much drama unfold in our school."

Kuzuhara curled her lips, knowing well it wasn't our first rodeo.

"Everything that doesn't sound pleasant, they fear and refuse."

Miss Ayanami lifted her head, once and for all, confused over the matter she heard. For the first time in her arrival, she frowned at the thought unleashed. Hell let loose from another soul doubting a supreme presence.

All the fortune deities, the spirits sympathizing in the background, Kuzuhara herself. Eyes churned for a mischievous onrush. Safe to say that the king was embroiled in his own dominion, awaiting judgment under their injurious thoughts─but nonetheless mystified.

Minutes after being told to quit school, the persecuted mysterious student and her searching companion found themselves in my clubroom.

Both of them sat side-by-side on the sofa, but only Kuzuhara attended the spiel. Our cute newcomer, as usual, feigned quietness and directed her sight onto her shoes. Her head raised now, I peered into her eyes─and stared into the abyss.

Spectacle of a recent memory came to mind.

She wasn't exactly the pushover that the bully failed to dominate her mind.

"I'm sorry… I can't do that."

Although the mysterious student couldn't look at her straightly, she shouted her point across.

Aya and her passive friends were taken by surprise.

Utterly and perfectly, disputed for their lack of comprehension on the matter: an inconsiderate action simply erasing the possibility of their demands not being met. Even if she was the one suffering, Miss Ayanami bowed her head and stayed staring at her shoes. Her thoughts focused to ease them of her well-being, albeit her courage and resolve hanging by a thread.

Aya's eyebrows slanted, a shift for the worse.

She grabbed our forsaken damsel in distress by the collar.

"Huh? It's not about whether you can do it or not. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you must!"

"I'm really sorry!" Miss Ayanami looked away, instinctive for her hands to clasp onto the bully's fisticuffs. "That's one demand I can't do. I have to stay in this school, no matter what!"

Her resolve resonated towards Aya's consciousness. Brilliance emitted from its point of onslaught, hardly believable that she's not fighting back despite the event. I could imagine myself to have already retaliated.

Considering I retained my personality while being her, I would have chosen to show Comet Howitzer and shut the proud opponent down.

I say that─but I held back many times too, choosing pacifism instead of yearning for innovation.

She was afraid of the implications, but it also called for discipline.

Commendable for her composition, one I wouldn't agree with─but it's never despicable. Somehow, it was beautiful. Incomparable to each and every hot-blooded, cold-blooded, and iron-blooded decisions I've seen in my life.

A finesse I see in myself, yet too distant for me to even begin hogging for my status.

"Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak."

Basically, the most known quote comes from Sun Tzu and his book, Art of War. I doubt our beloved Aya has realized how powerful Miss Ayanami is as a warrior. However, a sense of estranged power caught her insecurities open.

I can tell.

Her eyes went from a little forgiving to its redundant opposite. Some kind of enigmatic expression, making someone of eerie origin shiver while relishing the comfort in his throne. Her fan produced a cranky sound─all the butterflies staggered in righteous fright.

"You have to stay in the school, no matter what?" Ayase Kyoukaisenjou had her nerves snapped, herein breached by an innocent vouch for belongness. "And why should it be necessary for you to remain: kindly convince me, Miss Ayanami."

"I.."

Aqueous cascade almost dropped down her eyes.

"I'd kindly welcome you if you were a spy or an assassin," Aya took over where she left, raising her questionable points. "You have human blood coursing through your veins, and I'd like to think your allegiance is with them. Say, you're here to extract genetic codes of mages, steal our research, or collect student data for ease of infiltration."

Miss Ayanami skulked her head.

"I'd like to see you try, and succeed. If you're trying to genuinely become one of us, though…"

Aura shifted to the exhaustion of mana, all the weaker butterflies disappeared from sight.

"It's a different story," and so, she finished her sentence.

Notice the class president, she hasn't spoken anything to counter her judgment.

She only looked at her directly in the eyes, disgust intersecting towards sheer silence.

Meanwhile, Miss Ayanami has effectively burrowed herself where she stood.

"I won't, we won't, buy that!" Her voice raised albeit slightly, Aya struck the last nail to the coffin, "Class 3A might accept you because of their peculiar alignments, but it wouldn't change the fact of you being a liability."

Fukurokuju coughed to the sudden derailing of tension.

"It's only your second day, so you must feel lucky I felt like confronting you. I could have kicked you instead. You're so fragile, I wouldn't even have to cast a spell."

Bishamon tilted his staff ever so slightly, and the snake hissed its way out of Benzaiten's hand.

"I'm not a comedian, so I mean what I say even if I have to face a bigger opponent."

There's no change in the situation.

It was still the same.

Aya dominated their exchange, aptly being a burst of monologue but nonetheless a threat none can possibly ignore.

Hotei looked my way, his most worrisome look employed.

Ayase Kyoukaisenjou, smoothing her expressions, relaxed herself and smirked. "Although I doubt, nii-chan won't save you even if you shout for his help… at the top of your lungs!"

Behold, a rattled switch: clouds darkened over Nayami Ayanami's head, and leaped towards the hostile.

Only triggered, none the plan─all because of a point accurately portraying their Strongest Mage.

Although, Aya's conscious take on the matter is slightly different considering the psychical nature of the problem child.

I wouldn't save her even if she screamed─over the slightest chance she could rescue herself.

Feeling the sudden surge of energy accumulated in her opponent's personal space, Aya prompted herself a counter.

All prepared to brute force who she provoked, forthright and unhinged as felt by all other onlooking comedians involved.

"Hey, you proved your point." Kuzuhara nimbly separated them apart, each wrist held as she twirled them the opposite direction. "Enough already!"

Successful otherwise, they persisted.

Whence they've been accrued the most ridiculous person to stand between them.

"Yeah, that's enough activism for today. I guess I've proven you wrong, Aya."

I didn't like the idea of intervening myself, much more of making a flashy arrival at the point perfect for entrance.

But considering the circumstances, I couldn't really leave them alone.

Emotion poured down for Miss Ayanami as she cried inaudibly.

I'd rate my behavior rampaging for the occasion─I subdued help from the devilish governors of fortune.

Benzaiten couldn't have contained Orochi any longer.

Swallowed by the white serpent out of nowhere: for Amaterasu who was equally irritated, I've likely surprised her for how I vanished. Whether she was aware or not, I don't know. All of them in the classroom may as well have sensed the immense mana, but I was too bothered to care if they cared at all.

Time for business.

For Space Magic, you catch everyone unaware.

It's not within my care if I caught them astonished at such an abrupt arrival, whence they could have tripped or flinched at the sight of an aberrant.

"Yukihime, what kept you!?" Kuzuhara yelled from behind, elated without notice of the randomness.

Ayase Kyoukaisenjou, our eyes met then and there: I hate to be talking to her again in such an unkind situation.

We never did fix anything between us, so to speak, and now I'd be the antagonistic force impeding her endeavors.

Without any clownification, I wasn't welcoming her─nor giving her the attention she has always coveted.

"So you intend on protecting her… nii-chan?"

I expected a lot of reactions that would come out from the villain.

She opted to question my path, countenance in utter disappointment.

She turned her back without waiting for the answer.

No action plan was left, but I could only guess it's not the end of it.

Maybe I panicked when I asked for transport once more─but to our club room.

I made sure to report to Amaterasu my next course of action, and she reserved herself. Even if I didn't, there was no escaping the envoy of butterflies. Speaking of which, take note that I told them how we noticed their dilemma─thus erasing some noises.

"So you're finally taking notice, huh?"

Contrary to what I had in mind, she didn't become aggressive.

Instead, she pitied herself.

Looking straight towards the only person she can trust had her reconsider the initial disgust she'd cast.

"I… I don't hate people who only become aggressive if they're threatened."

"And you know Aya was like that from the beginning," I added for her speech, pointing a pen towards her direction. "You're only unsure whether you're right or wrong. You only need to hear the same opinion."

Caught for impression, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Everywhere I go, I've always been an outcast… So yesterday was the very first time I felt welcomed."

"Yet, you also expected that everyone wasn't like our class?"

"Miss Narukami took me to a place I would be secure."

Even if I didn't want to brand myself as some kind of person who understands everything, it was what unfolded in the club room.

"I don't belong."

"You think so?"

"Yes, I'm not brave enough."

Sure does strike irritation, pestering a hatred awake knowing I don't like people who beat themselves for no apparent reason.

Worth the irksome sigh.

"You have the heart to understand the people around you, though." I told her, gratifying a statement that would be misunderstood as a sweet notion.

Miss Ayanami slowly averted her eyes down her shoes.

"I'm sorry I snapped."

"You sure did."

"Thank you for being there, Mister Otogibanashi."

"Yeah, you're too cute not to be forgiven."

"Yukihime…" I received the glare I sought from the beginning.

"Kuzuhara, whatever you're hearing now, please be quiet about it."

"Huh? I can hear the wave of haphazardness rumbling again."

"Now, now, whatever do you mean?"

Our twain of drained bodies huffed their sighs: I've been their comrade for too long─all the pizzazz I've kept passive the whole time were being unstrung.

"You're not planning us to be left out, and you sound the most hypocritical trying to stave us away from what's about to rise."

I only smiled.

I'd excuse myself, though.

I wouldn't involve them in the problem if they stayed out.

We're veering towards a technical, non-poetic dilemma wherein I'd only exploit them because they'd jump onboard all by themselves. I don't care about their safety nor what mental trauma they'd suffer afterwards. When they're listed as supporting characters, I'd best live true to the protagonist she conceived.

Firstly, I'd have to adhere to the message passed over by Amaterasu.

"Miss Narukami expects you at lunch. Please don't let her take your eyeballs, nii-chan!"