Episode 18

"Umm, well... You see, we don't actually have the ti-" Before I could even give a reply, Asumi cut me off mid-sentence while clapping both her hands together and bowing, "Oh, come on! Please, I've been searching for ages and I finally found someone!"

"... If you agree, it'll really help her out... Besides, she won't stop asking if you refuse..." Her partner Yamato added, his head still facing somewhere else.

"Alright, if it's that important to you Asumi, we accept your challenge." Momoi spoke up.

"Man, why do we have to continue getting caught up in all these problems?!" Nagi, as usual, began whining, his tone filled with annoyance.

"It's just our luck, quit making a fuss about it."

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!" Asumi cheered.

"Well, after we realized that you wanted to do this so badly, we couldn't just leave you hanging. So, umm, how do we do this 'challenge' exactly?"

"Oh, that's simple! We basically need to teleport to the noise's area and whoever defeats most of them wins! But, of course, only one of you four is allowed to challenge me."

We all glanced at each other, choosing which one of us should be the person to go until I decided to speak.

"Guys, I believe I should be the one who confronts Asumi. I mean, I still need to study my powers a bit more since I haven't fully mastered them yet. You three have been here for far longer than I have, and I don't quite know as much as you all which is why I suppose it should be me. And besides, it's not like anything bad would happen if I fail, right?"

"Are you sure?" Momoi asked to which I nodded my head in confirmation.

"Okay Asumi, I accept your challenge!"

"Thank you so much! Yamato, wait for me till I come back." Yamato slightly nodded his head, still seeming like he wasn't paying any regard to our ongoing conversation.

Then, Asumi and I both brought out our pins and pushed it at the same time, and as always, we teleported to the site of the noise.

(Alright, here goes nothing!)

I slapped my cheeks with both hands, pumping myself up as I scanned the area, discovering all sorts of different noises scattered all around.

"Ready, go!" Asumi shouted, indicating the start of the test.

At her signal, I looked towards the first noise that was in front of me and cut it with a few ice shards which caused it to vanish into thin air, leaving only a slight amount of ash flying in the place it once stood in.

"Yes!"

"It will still take more than one noise to beat me! Hyaaaa!" Asumi yelled as she skillfully handled her spear and easily struck multiple noise at once.

I stared in awe at how gracefully Asumi wielded her weapon, using the best kinds of techniques to attack a large quantity in the least amount of time possibly needed.

(Wow, she may be young but she's an expert in battle... I wonder how long she's been stuck in this world, it makes me feel kind of down knowing kids like her and Nagi need to go through such a painful struggle... Urgh, there's no time for feeling melancholic, I've got to concentrate if I want to win this! It's apparent that it will take a lot more than what I know to beat her!)

Nagi's POV

A while had passed since Haruka accepted Asumi's challenge and left for battle. In the meantime, we all waited in a nearby cafe for their return, well, except for Momoi since she went to buy snacks for our journeys and other stuff that we needed for later. I wish she didn't leave me alone because it was super awkward since neither Tokiya nor Yamato tried making any sort of conversation.

(Man, why'd I have to be left in this kinda situation?! I can't stand being with people who don't talk...)

I decided it was about time someone broke the ice, so I tried coming up with a question, "So... Umm... Yamato, how's it like being partners with Asumi?"

"...Why are you asking...?"

"O-Oh, uh, I'm just sorta curious, that's it!"

"...It's alright, I guess..."

(Man, he's clearly a guy of few words!)

"Okay... So... How old are you exactly? I'm fourteen and Tokiya here is twenty!"

"...Twenty-one..."

"Hey Tokiya, did you hear that? He's a year older than you!"

"So?" He replied plainly, showing no interest whatsoever as he continued staring out of the window next to him.

"Oh c'mon! Why aren't any of you trying to come up with a conversation? This silence is extremely annoying, y' know?!"

"...Sorry..." Yamato apologized with a slight bow while Tokiya, on the other hand, didn't bother the least bit as he mumbled, "Whatever..."

" *Sigh* This is gonna be a long, long wait..."

.

.

.

Back to Haruka's POV

It had been a while since I began the challenge against Asumi and now, there was only one more minute remaining until it was over. Turns out, there is also a time limit to these sorts of challenges too.

"*Pant**Pant* This is exhausting... I can't feel... my palms anymore..." I spoke out of breath, glancing at the frozen tips of my fingers.

(I didn't know that overusing my powers in a short amount of time could actually have an effect on my body... My arms feel stiff and it's as if I'm stuck in a large block of ice..."

"Heh, I'm so gonna win this one!" Asumi exclaimed, looking completely unfazed by the constant amount of running while the number of noise she defeated was steadily increasing.

(I can't let this reaction get me down, I need to push past my limit if I want a chance to actually succeed!)

And that's when something that I had never once before done unexpectedly occurred. A sudden surge of energy flowed through my body and a powerful gust of wind enveloped me, causing my hair to float and dust particles to fly all around me.

"Aaaahhh!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, and just as I did, a small ball of crystals began forming in front of me.

The moment it reached its maximum size, all the pieces of ice shards that were clustered together instantly shot each and every noise in all directions.

"What...? Did I really just do that...?"

The second that attack had finished, we teleported back to Solaire.

"Huh...?" I looked down at my hands, still not fully grasping what happened back there.

I was still in a daze and was only brought back to my senses when I heard my phone beep.

"A-Ah!"

Upon turning it on, I read the following message:

50 noise defeated.

Congratulations, you win.

"Oh my gosh, I actually did it!" I threw my fist into the air with a light jump, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

"What, how is that possible?! I was so sure that I had it in the bag... *Sigh* Well, I wanted a challenge, it looks like I got one. Heh, congratulations Haruka, you deserve it!" Asumi calmly admitted her defeat as she stood in front of me and held her hand out for a shake.

"Thanks, it was a good match. Maybe we can do this again if we meet sometime?"

"Hah, I'll be training so that I'll definitely win next time for sure!"

"...It's okay, Asumi... Don't be sad..." Yamato came out from a nearby cafe, patting Asumi gently on the head.

"H-Hey! It's not like I'm depressed or anything you idiot!" Asumi yelled as she hit him on the arm.

"...Sorry..." He apologized, a wry smile on his face.

(They sure are a nice duo. I wish that someday, I could feel that close to Tokiya too...)

After thinking that, I waved goodbye to Asumi and Yamato, who decided it was time for them to continue their mission.

"Congrats, you actually did it!" Nagi congratulated as he suddenly came running towards me, the other two followed behind him.

"That was really great Haruka, you did quite well for your very first challenge."

"Hey, what about you Tokiya, aren't you going to say anything, hmm?" I spoke teasingly, a smirk on my face as I stared at him.

"*Sigh* Nice work."

"W-Woah, I didn't really expect you to praise me! I thought you would say something like 'whatever' but you actually agreed?!"

"W-What...? Do I always sound that harsh to you, I still have feelings you know?"

"Well, it's nice to know that THE Tokiya has a heart too!"

"Ugh, whatever..." He muttered that usual word as he turned his head to the side.

"*Giggle*"

(Wow, he actually complimented me! Why does that make me so happy for some reason...? I guess maybe it's just because it's unusual for him to do something so nice like that. He really is opening up to me little by little, maybe this partner thing might actually work?)

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