The Terafuwa Stories

Chapter 9 - Leadership

There are a lot of things to consider in what makes a ‘leader’. Battle experience, command capabilities and of course; commradery. Knowing your allies is knowing yourself, and knowing your allies trust you is the key to victory.

So how does one pick a leader, you ask?

The majority of people would spend days, weeks or maybe even months observing, watching each and every person in a group and see who they follow; sheep to the shepherd. After that, you pinpoint the qualities that are necessary for them to be in a position of leadership; trust, courage, determination, bravery. Everything. Once you’re certain they’re the man, or woman, for the job, you go ahead and pick them out. Over time you’ll see the results of your selection and discover whether or not you’ve made the right choice in that person being a leader.

So then, Terallian, how do you pick a leader? Well I’m flattered you asked.

“Only one team will be surviving the trial. Those who don’t make it within the time frame will be disqualified and removed from the frontlines. Understood?”

There was a nod from all the participants of the trial.

“Alright, let’s go over this one more time. It’s currently <<5:00>>. Pm. You must be back before <<7:00>> pm or your team will fail. You will have nothing but your choice of weapon and a set of leather armour in your inventory. You’re free to attack the other contestants in the designated conflict areas on the floor. Remember, the fifty seventh floor is very large, so don’t expect to make the journey in a couple of minutes. Vote your team leaders in field, best of luck to you all.”

There was a nod of agreement from everyone, a few “gotcha’s!” and “count on me’s!” here and there. I’d broken the three groups up into sets of four, with the members of each team assigned with their friends and closest teammates. The first team; Gokudera, Hthiy, Vengeance and Shiru. The second; Foxhound, Asuka, Kuma, Griffith and Sen. The third; Azuto, Zephyr, ZeXo and hooded midget.

Hang on.

“Excuse me,” I began, grabbing the short, cloaked figure by the collar and dragging him-

That’s not a he…

I caught side of a flowing pink lock drifting carelessly in the wind against the player’s will to keep it hidden.

“Serah, what on earth are you even doing here?” I asked, pulling the hood off and being met by the face of a grumpy, disapproving young girl. Before I could ask again, a scream broke out from behind the trees to my left.

“Unhand her, scum!” Screamed one of the voices, belonging to the guard, Caesar. I shook my head as a second guard, Tamotsu, materialized beside him.

“Mistress!” Yelled the other.

Before this event quickly turned into some kind of a cliché anime scene, if it hadn’t already, I spun around drawing my rapier and plonking Serah down on the ground as I knelt.

“Listen,” I started as the pair of guards halted at the sight of my blade. “None of you are participating in anything to do with the Guild today. We don’t have room for…”

I glanced back to the three teams, realizing I’d assigned Serah to properly fill the group. If I didn’t keep her in, I’d have to find a replacement quick, though there weren’t a huge number of options. I considered having Serah join and even considered Tamotsu and Caesar. Although Serah wasn’t the ideal player for a frontline group, I was yet to see her perform in the field and on the other hand, that duo couldn’t even catch an injured drunk. Making my decision, I chose the former over the latter and gave Serah the option.