Hanae Miyu is walking on the footpath. She is holding a bag full of groceries in her hand while looking at the list.
Her steel lilac hair moves as she walks. Her crimson grey eyes scan the list of essentials she made:
"Alright! I bought everything. Now I can go back and have a chill Sunday."
A sudden shift in the air prompts her to move backward. A big rock flies towards her. Out of nowhere, Marshal yells:
"WATCH OUT!"
She gasps:
"M-Marshal?"
He lands in front of her and punches the rock. The Varkyn says:
"A mere rock can't take me down, human!"
He yells:
"HAAAAA! TAKE THIS THEN..."
Marshal jumps and kicks but the Varkyn holds his leg and throws him away. Marshal hits a wall—it cracks and dust flies. He teleports, grabbing the tail of the Varkyn.
Miyu gets confused while looking at him. She slightly tilts her head and says:
"Is he trying to attack the air?"
Marshal fails to pick the Varkyn by its tail. He grows angrier as he yells:
"DAMMIT!"
The Varkyn says:
"Hmph! Because of your fatigue, you could never hope to pick me up."
Marshal says to himself:
"I should probably call Shi no Karasu."
He gets a flashback of Arai saying:
"Do as I say, stop using Shi no Karasu and force your mind to release more Empo."
The Varkyn hits Marshal and he flies backward. Miyu rubs her eyes as she can only see him not the other creature:
"Wh-What? IS THE AIR FIGHTING BACK?"
He says to her:
"SENPAI! CLOSE YOUR EYES."
"PLEASE!"
She closes her eyes. He converts into his alien form and punches the Varkyn. They both stand before each other in the air.
Marshal flies towards the Varkyn. It runs towards him and they both punch each other.
Both of them fly away from each other. Marshal says:
"You know what? I can do this too."
He extends his arm, and a weapon full of electricity appears in his hand. The Varkyn smirks:
"Hmph! Childish moves."
As the Varkyn summons the same weapon too. They both clash once again, but this time with weapons.
Marshal attacks, Varkyn attacks—both pushing each other to their limits:
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
A massive shock wave reaches Miyu as she speaks to herself:
"This sheer force... I can't move."
Marshal sits down and attacks in its gut. His weapon breaks and fades away. The Varkyn says:
"Hmm? I thought you had good control over electromagnetic force, but it looks like I was wrong."
He gasps, and the Varkyn moves its weapon, managing to scratch his face a little.
The weapon instantly vanishes from Varkyn's hand. It grabs his arm and punches him in the face.
Marshal gains balance, he's out of breath when he says:
"Hmph! Look... I don't have any time to brag here. Let's see if you can potentially beat my domain... COMO TENSEN!"
The Varkyn mumbles:
"N-No, the Como Tensen? How in the world does he have it? Is he..."
Marshal calmly says in his domain as his voice echoes:
"I am what you think of who I am. You could've easily defeated me but I can clearly see that you were holding back. But, your time has come."
Within the domain, the Varkyn is hung in chains as multiple swords hit it and Marshal comes out of it.
Miyu is standing there thinking:
"Should I... Open my eyes now or not? GOSH! I don't want him to get angry with me."
He falls in front of her. She opens her eyes and sees him on his knees. There is blood on his forehead, his hands are trembling, and his eyes are closed.
She tries to pick him up and says:
"Mind telling me what is going on here?"
He gives a thumbs up and replies:
"I am okay, Senpai... Don't worry about me!"
She says:
"Oh, c'mon, you're all messed up!"
He avoids her and says:
"I am good. I can walk on my own."
She mumbles:
"Am I that bad just because I once proposed to you and you rejected?"
He gasps and stops:
"I-I didn't mean it in that way."
Her eyes begin to fill with tears:
"Then tell me what I have done that is making you avoid me every time we meet?"
He stays quiet. She says:
"Is loving you a crime, Marshal?"
He closes his eyes and doesn't say anything. Ashy walks in while saying:
"Tch! Tch! Look at you... Making an innocent cry... You're so dumb, Marshal!"
Miyu wipes her tears. Ashy keeps her hand on Marshal's head and smiles as she says:
"Doing what the people who care about you say—it's not weakness. It's respect. Didn't Arai once say this line to you?"
He clenches his fist and gets a flashback. He is sitting in a garden, meanwhile, Arai is standing in front of him and says:
"Listen, Marshal. Sometimes, doing what the people who care about you say—it's not weakness. It's respect. It means they matter to you. If you don't get that, don't come whining later about how your social life's falling apart. I won't bail you out next time."
Marshal sighs and says to Ashy:
"Sure. I'll do what she wants."
She says:
"Good boy, but don't forget to apologise to her."
He nods, moving backward. Ashy slaps him with a big smile on her face:
"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU HURT A CUTIE LIKE HER... SMART-ASS!"
He falls in front of Miyu again. She holds him and he asks:
"Where are we going, Senpai?"
She looks away:
"To my place."
He asks:
"But, why?"
She furrows her brows and looks at him:
"What do you mean? Can't you see you need a lot of bandages on your wounds?"
After some time, her tone is a little soft as she questions:
"Are you comfortable going to my place?"
He nods:
"I am..."
She gasps and blushes. He is flustered as he says:
"Umm, I mean... As long as you're comfortable having someone like me, I am comfortable too."
She holds him tightly as she mumbles:
"Dumbo, why would I get uncomfortable when I am with you?"
He replies:
"Ouch! Hold my shoulder lightly."
She smiles:
"Okay, but try to stroll... Your foot is bleeding too."
Their voices fade away as he says:
"Huh? How were you able to see that?"
She replies:
"Marshal... The blood is literally coming out of the wound. It was never a question, I can see it."
As they walk away, Arai closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as Ashy appears behind him and says:
"Yo!"
He looks at her and asks:
"Did you manage to reach there on time?"
She nods:
"Of course, it wasn't far away from here."
He replies:
"Well, I am happy I could help him out this time. You see, he rejected her before..."
She says:
"Yeah, I did hear her say that!"
He replies:
"Unfortunately, I wasn't here. I went on a foreign trip and came back a few weeks ago."
She says:
"I see!"
He asks:
"What did you do all this time? I'm pretty sure you and Akuchi didn't meet each other every day."
She replies:
"It's true I didn't meet him every single day. I was focusing more on training and he was handling work related to his clan."
He looks down and says:
"Cool! I think we should join Akuchi now. The work related to Marshal is already done."
She sits down while lighting a cigarette and says:
"I'd like to have some rest. Because I don't have infinite endurance like the rest of you do."
He replies:
"Makes sense. You used to be the most human among us, but it's going to be Marshal now."
She takes a puff and asks:
"Hmm! I already know about it."
She looks to her left, sees no one standing, and mumbles:
"Typical of everyone in this group of four. We always tell where we're going but... We walk away even before one conversation ends."
On the other side, Marshal is lying on a bed as he asks Miyu:
"Mind telling me whose room this is?"
She replies:
"What do you mean by that? It's my room."
He gasps and sits down:
"What the... Why did you take me into your room instead of the lounge?"
She makes him lie down again:
"Don't move. Your wounds will open again. Also, don't worry about the room. I don't sleep here, but I spend most of my day here."
He looks at the ceiling and asks:
"For what purpose?"
She says:
"Huh? Didn't hear ya..."
He sighs and asks again:
"I asked... What purposes do you use this room for?"
She pouts:
"Since when did you get so interested in knowing my life, hmm? I don't think I mean anything to you at all, do I?"
He closes his eyes and says:
"Umm, I don't know anything else but I am sorry for not listening to you before... Senpai!"
She gets flustered and doesn't know what to do now. He says:
"I rejected you... Not because I didn't want you, but I was a little too immature at that time. I still am, that's why I do end up making such mistakes."
She starts blushing and gulps while staying quiet. He continues:
"And... I don't think loving me is a crime, it's more like a punishment. You know, hehe... I mean, I know how to protect, but I don't know how to love."
She stands up and walks towards the door. She's blushing when she throws the towel on him and says:
"I think I am going to make some food for you."
He says:
"Hey! I wasn't done with my speech yet and what do you mean by 'Thinking of making some food', huh?"
She is standing right before the room, her head is down, and her face has a little smile on it:
"Stay with me, Marshal, and I promise to teach you how to love..."
She covers her face with her hands and runs away. He hears the voice of her footsteps and thinks:
"Did I just hear her fall down or is she running here & there for no reason?"
He closes his eyes and hears an echo of an unsettling voice:
"Have we won? Or did we lose?"
(Ending)
Geko is sitting alone in the main hall of Skyward Society. He is deeply immersed in his own thoughts:
"The elders of Skyward Society have made me Marshal's right hand, but I'm sitting here trying to find a way to get there...
... With Arai and Akuchi, it's going to be a headache for me to enter Earth.
... Still, I'll have to find a way to be there. If anyone finds out that I'm consistently inactive with my duties. It will really get me in big trouble!"