Senran Kagura - The stars foretold a sore relationship

Unbidden praise for the unpraiseworthy

I don't think it's a common occurrence for chapters of only 7500 words to take 6 months to write, but for a series with less than 400 fanfics under it's belt, I'm sure nobody would notice, right?

Next three chapters won't be like that. Probably.

Special thanks to NeoDinglebat, who helped me whip this thing into some actually presentable. Without them, this chapter would mostly likely still not be posted.

Chapter 5: Syuri - Unbidden praise for the unpraiseworthy

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"Oh, good day, fellow classmate Riku!"

"..."

Minutes before midnight, Star Cross Academy locker room.

Although we're only high school students, we did not follow the routine set by a normal high school. Our high school life was all-encompassing, leaving almost no room for anything else.

classes start when the day starts, and only end when the day ends. We wake up, we learn theory, we get through physical training, we follow extra curriculums, and finally, we go back to sleep.

Repeat ad nauseam.

The only way to gain more time is by refusing to go to sleep. And while I can function properly with only 5 hours of rest, I'm not willing to push it.

After school ends, you just want to go to bed.

You're done.

There's no reason left for you to stick around.

So normally around this time, when extra curriculums have already ended a few minutes prior, the academy remains deserted. There's nobody left.

They'd all headed home.

All. Except me.

Because of course.

Today during sparring, this one student single-handedly caused a total of 16 broken bones to their sparring partners. That is without counting the less quantifiable wounds everyone had received from them.

Broken bones aren't a rarity. They're usually not much of an issue. But what would occur only a few times per week, suddenly became an active issue amongst the entire student body in a single day. I think half the class ended up in the infirmary.

Goes without saying, but that one student was me.

I still aim to maintain my humble attitude as this tale's narrator, but if you'd please humour me? just for a single line. It needed to be said—

—I kicked butt today!

Oorah!

Sadly, the instructors couldn't find it within themselves to congratulate me.

Students are seen as mere fodder, so the academy doesn't make any fuss over their deaths. But they say that my 'worth per return rate' is becoming too expensive. I was excessively beating up too many people.

When everyone went home, I was send to the guidance office, where I received my tenth-ish lecture for this school year. I may have been proud of my performance today, but that lecture took most of the glee out of me.

So it was close to midnight and I was still in Star Cross Academy, making a detour to my locker to replace my shoes and go home.

Today's me was finished. Let tomorrow's me take over.

"..."

Standing in the middle of the hallway, less than half a metre removed from my personal locker, stood another student seemingly waiting in one spot.