Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Three: Roommate

Inside the S-1 Mansion…

"Come on, you two! Correct your stance! Hips square! Arms raised! One foot in front the other!"

In the training room, Ayana was busy attempting to teach combat to Dachii and Marachii, both of whom didn't seem as enthusiastic as she did.

"Uhh, how does this help us in a real fight?" Marachii asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Ayana replied. "In a real life or death fight, you've got to be sharp, able to react quickly and with maximum efficiency. You'll need to be able to block, counter, and attack, all at once."

She got into a fighting stance. "Like so. Try attacking me!"

Marachii looked to Dachii, who barely moved, before he relented and threw a punch at Ayana. "Alright…take this!"

He tried to throw a right hook at her jaw, but she easily blocked it and countered by grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back. "Ow!"

"See? Perfect stance."

She turned her attention to Dachii. "How about you, Dachii? Do you want to practice the stance?"

Dachii barely looked at her. "What's the point of this…"

Marachii's eyes darted between them. "Yeah, I don't think you'll get much out of him. The only time he trains at all is by himself. In his bedroom. In Batango."

Ayana confidently stepped up to Dachii. "That's okay. We'll have him in good spirits in no time! Dachii, remember our little match in the Raijin Race? I know you remember how fun it was!"

His eyes barely registered the information she was saying.

"Hmm. Maybe a little pressure might jolt him. Go grab one of your friends, Marachii."

"Which one?"

"ANYONE."

Marachii left the training room, and Ayana took the time to approach Dachii. "How have you been doing? I know with all the chaos and loss that it must not be easy, but you're a strong-willed guy, aren't you?"

"No," Dachii replied. "I'm not."

"Of course you are! Remember the Arena? You saved your brother! You saved us all from an eternity in those portals!"

"Yeah, the difference is, you're all alive."

She took one of his hands. "Sure, you can't change the past, but you can improve the future! You can honor Sir Morino, just like he'd have wanted!"

"There's nothing more to want," Dachii stated. "He's gone. Just like me."

She sighed. "I see. This won't be an easy task, not one bit."

Marachii came back with Luca behind him. "Here, I got Luca! He's the least likely to cause any trouble or complications with your session, so here you go!"

"I just wanted some beef…" Luca muttered.

"Perfect," Ayana said. "He'll do."

She tugged his arm, pulling him toward her. "You can stand right here. This won't take long, it's a simple lesson."

"Eh. If you say."

She pulled Marachii to stand right in front of Luca, analyzing his position before nodding. "Yep! Right there is good! Now Dachii, you come stand in the middle."

She pulled him into the middle between Luca and Marachii, right before wrapping a blindfold around his eyes. "Mhm, mhm! There!"

"Why…?"

Then she stood to the side of him. "Combat can be unpredictable. Senses matter just as much as your skills. If you become a liability every time you can't SEE exactly what you're fighting, then there's no point in you even becoming a warrior."

She looked at both Luca and Marachii. "Okay. One by one, I want you two to attack him. As hard as you can."

"Really?" Marachii asked. "Won't that be dangerous?"

"I'm sure Dachii can handle it. If not, then we'll call it off."

Luca shrugged. "Alright then."

He instantly summoned an axe and charged at Dachii, who stood still.

"Useless…" Dachii thought. "All so useless."

He evaded Luca's strike, listening again for his next swing, which came from below. He jumped over it, summoning a gauntlet and knocking Luca away.

"Nice moves, Dachii!" Ayana cheered. "Go get 'em, Marachii!"

"Uh…"

He shifted his arm into a cannon, pointing it at Dachii. "Blast him, Elara! Rapid fire!"

"Rapid fire engaged."

A barrage of plasma blasts shot out at Dachii, but to Marachii's surprise, he dodged all the attacks, landing perfectly back in the center. "What the—-?"

Luca threw an axe at him, but Dachii side-stepped it. Marachii shapeshifted into his vehicle form, weapons appearing out of every crack and corner of it.

"Fire!"

"Firing," the computer confirmed.

As each weapon unloaded at Dachii, he jumped into the air, slowly descending to the ground as the weapons missed him. Once the car stopped firing, Dachii quickly slammed into the ground, causing a massive shockwave that caused Luca, Marachii, and even Ayana to fall over.

"He's gotten better," Luca remarked.

"A LOT better," Marachii added. "What's he been DOING in that bedroom?"

Ayana clapped her hands. "Nice, Dachii! You've taken a few steps since the last time we met!"

"Oh," Dachii stated. "I didn't realize."

She picked up her sword. "You and me now! Don't worry, I won't go all out!"

"Wow, that makes me feel SO much better…"

She and Dachii both sized up each other and then she got into her stance. "Ready? Let's go!"

Marachii and Luca got out of the way as Ayana came at Dachii, her sword bouncing off his gauntlets. As she repeatedly slashed at them, they held up. "These look different than last time. An upgrade?"

"A reminder," Dachii corrected, narrowly avoiding her next strike.

She unleashed a quick flurry of strikes, nearly knocking Dachii off balance, but he managed to keep himself upright. "She's still as quick and nimble as ever, how great…"

Marachii and Luca continued to follow the fight with their eyes unleash Dachii went sliding across the floor, remaining there even as Ayana set down her blade.

"Come on, Dachii! You've got to give more effort than that!"

"No thanks."

Marachii and Luca helped him up.

"Well, doesn't seem like this lesson has done much for his mental state," Luca remarked. "Good exercise, though."

"Yeah, you're right," Ayana said. "Maybe we should take a break. You guys want some water?"

"That would be nice, thanks," Marachii responded.

While Ayana grabbed some nearby water bottles for the three, Akari, Aoki, and Hikari were busy spying on them from the hallway, peeping from behind the door.

"What are they doing?" Akari asked. "Anything we should be worried about?"

"Umm, it just seems like they're practicing," Hikari answered. "She just beat Dachii in a fight."

"Is that all?" Aoki questioned. "That's not exactly SHOCKING news. Just look at him."

"Either way, it's our job to make sure she doesn't hurt him," Akari stated.

Both girls nodded in response.

Inside the training room, Ayana handed the water bottles off to the trio, before sitting down, popping open one for herself. "I meant to ask you guys, how does it work being in a military squad? Do you guys have to live in this place all the time?"

Luca downed his water in one gulp. "Something like that. I came from the woods, so this isn't a deal-breaker for me."

"The woods, really?" Ayana wondered. "What about you two? How'd you end up here?"

"Our grandfather," Marachii answered, while Dachii blankly stared ahead. "He brought us here from a place called Estrium. We sorta went broke and needed a home."

Ayana took another sip of her water. "Estrium, that's the other side of the world, right? I haven't been there, but I've always been told humans like me live on that side. Free of all this violence, struggle, and war…"

"Yep," Marachii confirmed. "It's very peaceful over there. Well, as much as you can get. Instead of battles, Elements, and magic, we have to deal with homework, evictions, and taxes."

"I would love to go someday," Ayana said. "It sounds nice. A land full of only humans…almost too good to be true…"

She seemed lost in thought before shaking her head, snapping back to reality, and turning her attention to Luca. "What about you? Have you ever been there?"

Luca shook his head. "They don't freely let us cross the ocean. The only ones who do are granted special permission, or rebels seeking to flee the nation. Most of us have no clue what awaits us on the other side, much less taking a visit there."

"Interesting," Ayana commented. "Very interesting."

"What's interesting is that they've invited a human to the Masquerade," Luca said. "They don't even open their doors to us regulars, this new approach they're trying this year, inviting other races, I've never seen it before."

"Maybe they're changing?" Marachii suggested. "More open to peace?"

"No clue. The Royal Family is built on power. The only reason they'd allow others into their private events is if it benefits their interests."

He gestured towards Dachii, who was barely even paying attention, just facing the door. "And now that everyone in this entire place has seen what those said interests are…"

"What do you mean?" Ayana asked.

Luca simply shrugged. "We'll see. At least I don't have to sneak in this time."

At the door, the girls were still spying on the four in the training room.

"Can you tell what they're saying?" Akari asked.

"Nada," Hikari whispered back. "I'm not like Luca, who has ears in the back of his head!"

"Move," Aoki demanded. "Let me try."

She knelt close to the door, pressing her ear to it. "They seem to be talking about…their hobbies?"

Inside the room, Marachii, Luca, and Ayana continued to talk.

"I love adventure!" Ayana professed. "Maybe I could take you guys on one sometime?"

"I love dirt," Luca stated. "Mud, and grass, and wildlife."

"Okay…that's not exactly what I meant…but what about you Marachii?

"Erm, I guess?"

"Good enough! How about you, Dachii?"

Dachii pointed to the door. "My friends of the female gender are spying on us as we speak."

"They're WHAT?" Ayana blurted out.

Everyone immediately stopped and turned to him, before looking at the door. Behind it, Akari, Hikari, and Aoki immediately retreated behind a wall.

"Did he see us?" Akari asked.

"I think so!" Hikari responded.

"Nonsense," Aoki said. "There should be no way he's able to tell we're here!"

Inside the training room, Dachii got up, neglecting his water bottle. "Doesn't matter. I'm going now."

"Wait—!"

He opened the door, watching as Akari, Hikari, and Aoki jumped back once he did.

"Dachii!" Hikari stammered. "How nice to see you!"

"Everything going well?" Akari added.

"I need sleep. Goodnight.

And then he walked upstairs. Aoki just slapped her forehead. "Ugh. I hate this."

Ayana, Marachii, and Luca walked out of the training room as well. Marachii just folded his arms. "You girls are just like the ones back at my home, spying and creeping like bats!"

They shared a look.

"It's part of the duty," Akari stated. "We've…got to monitor everything that goes on in here."

"It's fine, really," Ayana insisted. "Is there…a room I can sleep in or something?"

Akari pointed upstairs. "You'll have to go in the guest room down the hall. FAR down. Which means no touching the room with the white crown on it by any circumstances, okay?"

"Okay, I got you."

Once she was gone, the remaining five walked into the living room, where Akari immediately started questioning Luca and Marachii.

"What did she tell you?" Akari asked. "Don't tell me it was anything suspicious!"

Luca yawned. "Just the usual. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"I sure hope so," Akari said. "I don't trust her."

Aoki stared after the steps. "The little princess is right. I don't know about her. She seems…odd. Even for a human."

"Me and Dachii don't seem odd to you?" Marachii asked.

Aoki scoffed. "Not at all. You're both abnormalities. Not odd. She…is someone to keep an eye on. She shouldn't be sleeping under this roof."

Meanwhile, upstairs…

Dachii walked out of the bathroom, fresh off of brushing his teeth. He prepared to walk into his room when he heard a weird screeching noise coming from Ayana's room.

"Great. Don't tell me this is another one of her tests."

He casually approached her door, peeping through the crack. And once he did…

…he found her room empty, her window open, and a pool of blood lying on the floor, with a single blade lying next to it.

—-