The other sets of eyes in the council room all followed Siana as she took her seat next to Elijah and Vera.
Haruta: I'll be "quite surprised" you say? These six must be something special.
The woman to the left of Haruta and across from Vera interjected. Her tone was sharp and unforgiving.
Top-chair divinity: They better be special, otherwise there's no good reason to bring children into our line of work.
Siana: I'll let you decide for yourself. *Wink*
Haruta watched as Siana placed her hands on the table and poured Serava into it. Six holograms appeared.
Siana: Where should I start? Vera, Elijah, either of you have a favorite?
Vera: Why don't you go in order of who broke their Serava sphere first?
Elijah: That's a good idea, I second that.
Siana: Perfect, then that means we start with Sakiko, my youngest daughter.
The holograms shifted; Sakiko's grew larger as the others shrank down.
Siana: As the three of you saw down in the sanctum, her proof of contract is the white strands of hair on the left side of her head. Her Blessing appears to revolve around speed, and damage absorption. During training, she blocked the rubber bullets I fired at her instead of trying to avoid them. After I stopped firing she launched herself at me with impressive speed.
Vera: But how's her control? I can't imagine it's that great considering they became blessed yesterday.
Siana: Haha, you're right. After I dodged she shot right into the wall of our training room, she got back up though.
Haruta: Next is the white eyed boy…Seigan is I remember correctly.
Elijah: Ahh, the one I made the headphones for!
Siana: Correct.
Seigan's hologram replaced Sakiko's as the largest.
Siana: As Madam Haruta said, his proof of contract is his white eyes. His Blessing is sound manipulation. As of right now I'd also say he's the strongest of the bunch. My arm is still a bit numb where he kicked me, but that might just be because of his Blessing specifically.
Elijah: That's a strong blessing, he's got enhanced hearing as well right?
Siana: I haven't confirmed that yet, but I believe so.
Elijah: Well I'm confirming it. Those headphones would make the average person or even the average Blessed deaf. His hearing has got to be at least 50 times stronger than normal.
The holograms shifted once again as Siana moved her hands.
Siana: Next one is Inezo. His proof of contract appears to be the small marks under his eyes, they align with his blessing…duplication. Each clone adds another mark to his face.
The man sitting opposite to Siana dropped his elbow on the table and placed his head in his hand.
Middle-Seat Divinity: Duplication and the sound boy is the strongest? Lemme guess this one can't fight?
Siana: Your intuition is spot on…as usual. Inezo is easily the worst in a fight among the group, although his clones all seem to share a hive-mind so he might be able to rise among the group quickly.
Siana: Tamiko broke out next. Just like her sister, her proof of contract is in her hair. The entire right side of her head is black, her Blessing: Ink Manipulation. Not only can she create ink for the calligraphy brush she summons but she can also change its properties, making it slippery or sticky.
Haruta: Make sure you ask her if she can change it any other way. A blessing like that could be very versatile.
Siana: Noted. Moving on to Akida. I haven't seen her proof of contract but she mentioned it was on her back. I'll need to examine her blessing the most out of the 6, but as for right now all I know is the main focus of her blessing…is healing.
Middle-Seat Divinity: Look Vera you've finally got a friend.
Vera: Your comment is ignored. I am glad there's someone else who can help in the medical area but I won't get my hopes up until Siana finds out what her blessing truly is.
Haruta: You're so cautious. Why not just take the girl to the hospital and see what she can do?
Vera: Absolutely not!
Vera's words were stern, even her respect for Haruta wouldn't change her mind.
Vera: Siana, move on to the final one of the six.
Siana: Right. The last one to break their Serava orb was Takuro. Just like Akida, I haven't seen his proof of contract but I do know it's on his chest. His blessing is weapon creation, I'm still unsure of everything he can create as I've only seen him create a sword and spear.
Middle-Seat Divinity: Yet another ability that should put someone at the top of their group. So what's the kids' issue? He afraid of his own reflection or something?
Siana: I was getting there before you interrupted me.
Middle-Seat Divinity: Maybe you could…I don't know, talk faster? Some of us have actual responsibilities on the island besides babysitting.
Siana: That's cute considering you're the head of the Recon Division, yet I always find you slacking off somewhere. Maybe you should just hand the title over to your second-in-command. She does a much better job anyway–
Middle-Seat Divinity: Big words for someone who doesn't even have a Division to watch over, I could take you back to that shitty mountain village you're from, and our meetings wouldn't be any different. Better yet! I'll take both you and your–
Madam Haruta: Rajin. Hush.
Haruta's voice had a calm tone, but the authority behind it made Rajin sweat.
Rajin: My bad…
Madam Haruta: You were saying, Siana?
Siana: Ahem, Takuro has strong combat skills, maybe even the best of the six when it comes to traditional technique. The main issue is his lack of versatility. During our training, he could've landed a hit on me by creating a spear. But he chose to rely on his sword skills, which gave me enough time to counter.
Takuro's hologram shrank back down, falling in line with the other 5.
Siana: That's all I have for now.
Haruta: Well, that's great! I can't wait to see what they become. Does anyone have any questions?
Rajin: Yeah, can I leave now?
Haruta: Does anyone have any important questions?
Top-Seat Divinity: Siana, I'd like you to cover certain attributes of these six, that way we can better assess their relative strength. Just tell us who ranks first in each—unless there's a close second worth noting.
Siana: Got it. Where do you want to start?
Top-Seat Divinity: Let's start with the strongest.
Siana: Physical strength?
Top-Seat Divinity: Yes.
Siana: I'd have to give it to Takuro, even before they were blessed he had the most physical strength.
Top-Seat Divinity: Speed?
Siana: Sakiko is easily the fastest because of her blessing. Seigan is fairly fast as well though.
Top-Seat Divinity: Reaction speed?
Siana: Seigan, easily.
Top-Seat Divinity: Which one is the most tactical?
Siana: I'd say Tamiko, at the very least she would be the last one to dive into anything recklessly.
Top-Seat Divinity: Most potential?
Siana: They all have excellent potential in my opinion. Akida does stand out a tad bit more, if her blessing can do other things on top of healing it'd be a huge asset.
Top-Seat Divinity: So from my understanding…Seigan is at the top of the food chain. Followed by Tamiko, Takuro, Sakiko, Akida, then Inezo.
Siana: I'd say that's accurate, yes.
Rajin: So the duplication kid isn't the best at anything AND he's at the bottom of the pecking order? Well, I can certainly tell you who's going to die first.
Siana: That's where you're wrong. Yes, Inezo is the weakest of the group currently but he has a natural affinity for Serava, he was able to see Serava constructs before he became Blessed.
Rajin: Sure, natural affinities are uncommon but that clearly doesn't benefit him.
Siana: Not only does he have a natural affinity, but during training he made a comment about how the six of them together couldn't defeat me. It might be premature and a bit far-fetched but…I believe Inezo is a Valkyrie.
The room froze. The only movement being Vera's cigarette falling from her lips.
Rajin: Ok…that…that might benefit him.
Madam Haruta: That's quite the assumption. If that's true then it not only skyrockets Inezo's worth but also the group's as a whole.
Siana: I just need a way to fully prove it…would any of you have time to–
Haruta: A mission!
Siana: What?
Haruta: It's simple, you want to know if Inezo is a Valkyrie and we need more data on the group's abilities, so we send them on a mission. Two birds, one stone. Let's say, next week?
Siana: With all do respect Madam Haruta, these kids were normal high schoolers last week. I think a week would be too soon to send them into the field.
Haruta: Three weeks then!
Siana: I understand we need the help but still, three weeks is too soon.
Haruta: Meeting adjourned! Siana, I'll have the mission details sent to you soon.
Siana was speechless as she watched the three divinities across from her accompany Haruta out of the room.
Siana: [Was she even listening to me?]
Vera: Don't worry too much. First missions are never anything the average blessed can't handle.
Siana: I'm sure you're right but I'm still going to worry.
Vera: Just do your best to make sure they're prepared.
Vera rose from her chair and straightened her coat. She waved slowly as she left the room.
Siana: I've got this. Elijah, is it alright if I bring the kiddos to your workshop later? That way they can see where to commission equipment from.
Elijah: That's perfect actually. I need to give them their permanent versions of the X.H.U.C*
Siana: Could you also send some workers over to my place to upgrade the training room in my basement? I think it'll come in handy if it's a Knight-Tech floor** like in here, I'd also like a map table.
Elijah: No problem mate, they'll be over there later.
Siana: Thank you so much!
Without another word, Siana dashed out of the room. She raced home determined to prepare the six new blessed for their unexpected first mission.
As Siana pushed open the gate to her yard, Takuro, Sakiko, and Akida walked out the front door.
Sakiko: Ms.Siana! That didn't take you as long as you said.
Siana: Yeah, it was a quick meeting. Is it just you three? Where are the others?
Akida: The lazy one went to sleep the second you left the house. The other two have been in the basement this whole time.
Siana: Well, five out of six is better than nothing I guess. Did you get some good training in?
Takuro: Yeah. Though it was really just us using our abilities at a basic level.
Siana: That's alright, any training is good training. You girls get cleaned up, Takuro, can you wake Inezo while I grab Seigan and Tamiko?
Akida: Where we headed?
Siana: Someplace fun. *Wink*
Akida: Why'd I even bother asking…?
The three of them all walked up the stairs as the basement door slid open for Siana. But what caught her eye wasn't Seigan and Tamiko exchanging blows in the middle of the room, it was the numerous ink marks and holes in the walls.
Siana: WHAT THE HELL YOU TWO!
Tamiko turned her head in surprise, allowing Seigan to position his hand right by her face. The air around his fist was vibrating with energy.
Seigan: Looks like this round goes to me.
Tamiko: Wrong. This round is mine, Seigan Atasa.
Tamiko gestures for Seigan to look behind him. He turned to see a hardened ink spike nearly pressing against his back.
Seigan: Fine then, it's a tie.
Tamiko: Wrong again. My ink was already there before your fist.
Seigan: I would've dodged it!
Tamiko: Unlikely, since I've already won three rounds in the same manner.
Siana appeared next to them with shocking speed. She delivered a scolding punch to the top of both of their heads.
Siana: I'm glad you're both so adamant about training, but you wrecked my basement!
The two of them looked around at the damage they had absent-mindedly caused.
Seigan: …Sorry?
Siana: You're lucky I already arranged for the training room to be upgraded. But now, it'll take longer, so one of you has to leave an apology letter since they'll have to do extra work.
Tamiko: He should do it considering I won the most rounds with a score of 25 to 24.
Seigan: First, that's a lie, the score was 26 to 23 my way, and second, there's more stray ink marks on the walls than there are craters in the floor.
Tamiko dropped her calligraphy brush, letting it fade away. She held out her hand and closed her eyes, slowly all the ink around the room gathered to her palm before dissolving.
Tamiko: You were saying.
Seigan: Umm…
Seigan: [Sonia, can I…?]
Sonia: [No.]
Seigan: [Worth a shot.]
Siana: Honestly I don't care anymore, both of you write one. Have them done before we leave in an hour.
Siana walked back up the stairs swearing under her breath.
Seigan: I guess we did kinda mess this place up. You want to work on our apology notes together?
Tamiko is already starting up the stairs, not even turning to Seigan as she speaks.
Tamiko: I'll pass.
Seigan: Ok…
Sonia: [She doesn't seem to like you.]
Seigan: [She doesn't seem to like anybody.]
It took slightly over an hour for the six kids to get ready. Seigan and Takuro spent the last twenty pulling Inezo from his bed. They sat on the front porch waiting for Siana.
Sakiko: I wonder what this fun place we're going is? You guys think it's actual fun or like, Hitwoman, trial by combat fun?
Akida: Who knows? I just pray we can finally get some real clothes, I'm sick of wearing this uniform.
Inezo: Especially since we aren't enrolled anymore.
The heavy silence that followed Inezo's words was cut off by Siana exiting the house.
Siana: Sorry about that. Follow me, and try to keep up.
The instant the last one of the group closed the gate to the yard Siana took off in a sprint.
Akida: She can't be serious.
Tamiko: Seems like it.
Seigan: What if we just stay here? You think she'll come back?
Six shots rang out. Rubber bullets hit all of them right in the face.
Siana: I said keep up.
The six of them sprinted after her, doing their best not to collide with the numerous people who were walking the streets. They managed to keep pace with her as she weaved around corners and sped up on straightaways. She finally stopped in front of a modernized castle with a "K" engraved on the front of it as well as on the door, the building itself was hovering off the ground.
Siana: Welcome to the R&D division.
Takuro: This place is…
Inezo: So cool!
Siana: That's the most excited I've seen you since you got to the island.
Inezo: How do we get inside?!
Siana: Oh right, this'll be good to know in advance. For certain buildings on the island, your clearance level has to meet a requirement.
Siana took a step forward onto a circular symbol engraved in front of the castle. The engraving lit up as stairs began to descend from the door.
Siana: This particular building is different. It scans your Serava signature, so some people aren't allowed access regardless of clearance.
Takuro: So where do we have access to?
Siana: Your IDs haven't been authorized yet but you'll get access to the non-civilian floors of the hospital, majority of the training facilities, and levels 1,2,3, and 6 of Xodur's citadel.
Akida: So, where's the "fun" you promised us?
Siana: Aww, I thought we were having fun already. Fall in line behind me, don't get in anybody's way, please.
Siana led the line past many rooms, all of them working on something different. Some of them had closed doors with signs that read "confidential" on them, and others were simply on fire from an accident. Siana guided them to the third floor. The entire floor was one large workshop.
Elijah: G'day!
Elijah slowly levitated down from the ceiling.
Elijah: Just finished up the project for you kids.
Sakiko: You can fly?!
Elijah: Fly…? Oh, no. My arms and legs have anti-gravity functions. I can float around but not fast.
Inezo: Is that the same technology you use to make this place float?
Elijah: Nah mate. The building is floating via magnetic fields, the anti-grav stuff is still in testing when it comes to buildings, wouldn't want any accidents.
Inezo: So cool!
Siana: That's for letting us in on such short notice Elijah, do you have the X.H.U.C.?
Elijah: Yup! Got 'em right here.
Elijah walked over to one of the many tables scattered around the room and returned with a handful of earpieces, and a pair of headphones.
Elijah: Here you all go. These are the official versions of those earpieces you've got there. They work as a communicator as well as a translator.
He handed one to each of them before he stopped in front of Seigan.
Elijah: And these are for you, and you're enhanced hearing. Unfortunately, I'm still working on making the translator work with the noise reduction so you might want to carry the earpiece with you just in case.
Seigan: Got it, thanks.
Seigan took the headphones from Elijah, swapping them with his current pair.
Sonia: [You can trash that earpiece, you don't need it.]
Seigan: [Weren't you listening? I need it for translation.]
Sonia: [Yeah, and I'm saying you don't need it!]
Seigan: [Why?]
Sonia: [Because you're my Blessed. Every single deity controls a concept – their "Territory" as you know mine is sound. Sound itself will do whatever it can to help me, and since we share a body it'll also do whatever it can to help you.]
Seigan: [Now that makes sense, was that so hard?]
Sonia: [Don't push it, kid.]
Seigan reached under his headphone and removed his earpiece, handing it back to Elijah.
Elijah: You alright there mate?
Seigan: I'm just fine.
Elijah was shocked that Seigan could understand him, but it only took a moment before he came to an understanding.
Elijah: Alright then, Siana, you need anything else from me?
Siana: Yes, actually.
Siana walked up to him as she ripped a page out of her notebook. She folded the page and handed it to him.
Siana: These are also for them. I just need them by the date we discussed in the meeting.
Elijah unfolds the paper and scans it for a moment, adjusting his glasses.
Elijah: These shouldn't be too hard.
Siana: You can adjust them as you see fit, based on the information you already have.
One of the screens on the side of the workshop let out a small chime.
Elijah: Ahh, looks like the work at your place is done.
Siana: Already? That was fast.
Elijah: I sent Jazz with the team to oversee the work. You know she's an overachiever.
Siana: Regardless, I appreciate it. See you later.
Elijah: No worries.
Siana hurried the group out of the R&D castle.
Siana: Next we're going clothes shopping.
Akida: FINALLY!
The seven of them stopped by several of Siana's favorite stores before returning to the house. Each of the kids gained numerous items to stock their closets.
The sun was already setting by the time they returned to the house. Siana let the group take their new clothes upstairs before they regrouped in the training room.
Inezo: More training? Do you hate us?
Siana: No, I don't hate you. I'm preparing you for your mission.
Seigan: A mission?!
Takuro: When?!
Sakiko: Where?!
Akida: About time!
Inezo: Sounds exhausting.
Siana: Yes, a mission.
Tamiko: That's fast considering we just got here.
Siana: I agree, that's why every day until the mission we're going to train till you drop.
Siana clapped her hands.
Siana: Practice dummy.
Just like at the Citadel, a dummy rose from the ground.
Siana: The basement is now much better equipped to help with your training, it can give you dummies, weights, and numerous other training equipment. It's also more durable so we won't have any problems like earlier.
She shot a sharp look at Seigan and Tamiko.
Siana: This training might…no it will be tiring, but I promise it'll be worth it.
Siana clapped her hands once more and a platform rose in the center of the room.
Siana: We're starting with sparring matches. Pair up!