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7 - someone i'll care for.

The school bell rang as the entire class sat at their desks, facing their vice-principal, a man who looked like he was in his 40s. Him being in their class instead of the assembly hall meant he had an announcement to make for them. Chris silently shifted in his seat, being only able to contain a slight amount of excitement.

"Students," the vice-principal said, "Today, you'll have a new transfer student in your class."

Everyone started cheering after hearing those words. They may be a group of disorderly kids, save for Chris, Klein, and Arielle, but they were overprotective of a new student. Chris tried to remember the time he was a new student a year ago. The moment he got attacked by someone from another class, 4 of his classmates immediately rushed to the scene and assaulted the bully.

"Now, now please contain yourselves. She's a foreign student, but she can adapt really well to a new classroom. Please come in."

The door opened, and in came a girl with her ginger hair tied into twin ponytails, wearing a blouse and a shirt along with ice skates that had Ice implemented onto them for faster transportation.

"H-Hi, I'm-"

She slipped because her skates weren't meant for slow speeds, but Klein quickly used his Blood ability and solidified it for her to grab on right before she hit the ground. Chris quickly approached her and helped her to her feet as he said, "I think you might wanna take off your skates while in class."

"Okay."

The girl took off her skates and faced the class before bowing. "My name is Chizuru Manaka. I'm 15 years old, and I'm from サンライズランド (Sanraizurando)."

"Bro, Sanraizurando?!" one of the students asked.

"Yeah. It's far to the east of this place. That's what it's actually called, but it's so long the governments around the world decided to name it the Sunrise Land as the official foreign name," another student answered.

"My ability is Universal Communication. It allows me to understand and speak foreign languages instantly."

The class was amazed. Arielle, sitting at the back, replied, "That's very useful when going to other places with other ways of speech. Do you mind telling us more about your experiences before coming here?"

The girl put a finger to her mouth as she thought for a bit, before saying, "I made a few friends before moving, and I'd like to see them someday, but that's alright. I hope to be friends with you!"

Arielle smiled and said, "That's a good hope. Come sit beside me. There's an empty space here."

"Thank you!" Chizuru said as she bowed and took her seat next to her.

"Please be sure to help Chizuru get used to this school for me, will you, class?" the vice-principal asked, opening the door.

"Yes, sir!" everyone shouted.

He smiled before walking out as another teacher walked in and started the class.



Break time came and everyone walked out of their classrooms. Chris accompanied Chizuru as she walked out, her skates being held with her right hand. Together, they leaned on the wall next to the door.

"You're the boy who helped me earlier, right?" she asked.

"Yeah. My name's Chris Yacht. If you're wondering about my ability... Well, it's nothing useful, that's for sure."

"I thought everyone used their abilities whether or not they were useful?"

"Not really."

"Back where I came from, everyone wouldn't be ashamed of their abilities. The Sunrise Land's citizens were very positive, save for a few children that liked to abuse them to their fullest."

"That's nice. Here, there's way more people who want to cause trouble. If they try to attack you, try to run as fast as possible."

"Mm... I could say the same thing. Some mean kids once pushed me down the stairs when I was 11... Ugh! The audacity!"

Chizuru looked like she was very stressed, so Chris patted her on the back to calm her down. "Don't worry. If you're in trouble, I'll help you as much as I can."

"Hey, Chris!" a boy shouted from their right. "Got yourself a new girlfriend?"

A group of boys were approaching the duo, and Chris immediately recognized them as the boys who kept on bullying him back when he was a new student.

"Oh, for goodness sake, of course it's them... What do you want, Sam?" he asked the boy wearing a purple shirt with black shorts. Sam was notorious back in his early days for terrorizing even the teachers. It took a powerful man just to subdue him thanks to the sheer amount of power his Energy Whip can deal.

"Heh, nothing much. We're just here to tell her what happens when she gets near you."

Sam threw a punch right at Chizuru, but he quickly blocked the attack with his right hand, before countering it with an uppercut. He gestured to her to get behind his back as he readied himself for a tough battle. Having slightly distanced her from the fight, he felt at ease, seeing as he could swing as much as he wanted to without anyone stopping him.

Sam told his boys to back up, before pulling out an energy whip he created with his ability. He went first, flinging it at Chris, but he grabbed it despite knowing how painful it would be and pulled it towards him. Letting it go, Sam created another one and started whipping Chris in numerous places. The latter didn't react – he just kept his arms crossed in front of his face despite the blows going to his sides.

"What's wrong? Going a little too defensive?" Sam said.

Behind Chris, Chizuru remembered that she could deactivate the ice and retract the blades on her skates. She quickly put them on, not forgetting to retract the blades first, and ran in just as the whipping finished.

"Chizuru!" Chris shouted.

"Oh, you're approaching me?!" Sam exclaimed, preparing a massive blow.

Chizuru reactivated the blades and the ice on her skates and swiftly sidestepped the whip breaking the floor before doing an axe kick. The blade left a wound that was slightly deep on his face down to his chest.

She backflipped as she retracted the blades once more, and said, "Let's fight together, Kurisu."

"Um, actually, it's Chris..."

"Sorry about that. My mother tongue has its own way of pronouncing foreigners' names."

The other boys charged in just as Sam fell unconscious. Chris braced himself again, even though he was already wounded in numerous places, and Chizuru reactivated the blades.



Meanwhile, Klein was playing basketball with his friends when an explosion sounded down the hall. Instantly being worried, he quickly led Arielle and a few of his classmates to see what that was about. By the time they arrived, Chris and Chizuru were raising their fists into the air, claiming victory over the boys as the crowd gave a massive round of applause. The both of them were wounded, yet they managed to pull through.

One of his classmates started clapping their hands. Then another followed, and then Arielle, and eventually the entire group started clapping. Arielle approached the duo, who had put down their hands and were just about to head to the infirmary to get patched up, and said, "Damn, Chris, those wounds really messed up your uniform, huh?"

Sure enough, Chris' formal attire got shredded by the countless attacks he endured.

"Hey, at least there's no scratch on Chizuru," Chris replied with a shrug.

"My finger's bleeding a bit," she said.

"?!"

"Haha, don't worry. I just touched my skates in the wrong place by accident."

"Phew. God, you had me worried."

She apologetically bowed her head.

"Well, Arielle, I'm leaving her in your care now. I gotta get myself back to full health, if you know what I'm saying."

"Of course."

As Chris left for the infirmary, the rest of the class headed back into the classroom. The lessons went back on track as if nothing had happened at all.



Eventually, school finished for the day. Chris was heading back to his house with Klein and Arielle, who usually hung there at times, when he saw Chizuru staring blankly at the sky while sitting on a bench. He approached her and said, "Hello, Chizuru."

"Ah, Chris."

She sighed as she scratched the back of her head, and said, "I don't really have a place to stay. I mean, it's alright if you wanna stay, but-"

"Do you mind if you sleep in my house?"

"Eh?"

"I can make a space for you if you want." He sat down next to her as he smiled.

"But what about the rent? Not to mention the showers, the cost for the new bed, and..."

"It's alright. I've got a bed in the closet, I've got enough for at least a year's worth of rent, and everything's on me. Just bring your luggage."

"O-Okay!"

In an instant, she skated into the school and came back out with a blue suitcase being dragged after a few minutes. She retracted the blades on her skates and said, "Here's my luggage."

"Now we're set. This way. Don't worry about my friends, they also wanna come to my place."

"Alright!"

The group then started their walk to Chris' house. Unbeknownst to them, a sniper was watching from the shadows of the schoolyard...