Student 32: Sunset Shimmer

by Show Stopper

Arc 6.4: Chapter 60

Believe it or not, there was a time when I lived every day as the center of attention.

My mother is a hairdresser. For as long as I can remember, I’ve admired her work. The ways she can shape hair into pieces of art. Like most kids, I hated getting my hair cut. But it wasn’t because it was boring or because I was scared of the scissors. I just wanted my hair to be as long as possible so Mother could do more with it. My earliest memories are of Mother styling my hair while I sat entranced in front of a mirror.

When I started school, everyone looked at me. I thought that I was exceptionally beautiful. Looking at pictures of myself back then, I was definitely adorable. Cute. Everyone complimented me and said how pretty I was. A few boys even said they liked me. Heh. Little kids are like that, I guess. Able to say what they think without hesitation or embarrassment. It doesn’t take long to grow out of that. Those first couple of years of school, everyone knew who I was and that I was the cutest girl in my grade.

We lived in a small apartment at the time. Apparently, it wasn’t up to code. My parents were out on a date, and my older brother was watching me. It was during the summer, a really hot one. We didn’t notice anything was wrong until the alarms started going off. By that point, the building was ablaze. I don’t remember much about that day, but my brother and I got separated. Something fell on me and knocked me out. They tell me that it was a bit of burning ceiling. Thankfully, they found me and pulled me out before the fire could do me in. But I was in surgery for a while as they removed splinters from my back. They say I was lucky to make it out without a shattered spine.

Instead, I made it out with a scar.

My hair was a mess of uneven char. Mother did her best, but there was only so much of it that she could save. It took a long time for it to grow back to what anyone would call a normal length. By then, there was a new prettiest girl in my year. She had beautiful, long hair like I used to have. And she didn’t have a giant, ugly scar on her back. A lot of the boys wanted to hear about the fire, but I didn’t like remembering it. I tried to talk with people about other things, but they would always come back to the fire. I finally decided to just stay quiet until they forgot about it.

Eventually, they kind of just forgot about me.

Years went by. I entered middle school. I still didn’t draw attention to myself; there were always so many pretty people around me, you know? It’s not like I had anything that could compete for their attention anymore. Well, nothing positive, at least. It took a long time before I was comfortable enough to let other people see my scar. I never tried growing my hair back out, either. What was the point? By the end of primary school, having long, pretty hair wasn’t the only thing that made a girl pretty or popular, and I didn’t have the body or personality or confidence that my classmates had. I was a wallflower, the background character in other people’s stories. And I was fine with that. After all, most people are background characters. Only a few people really shine.

So it’s really no wonder that when Nichibotsu called us out to the World Tree Plaza to rip into us, the best (and worst) that she could come up with was my unremarkability. I was a little relieved that she didn’t mention my scar, but I understand now; she’d never talk bad about someone being hurt in a fire after what happened to her. Anyway, it surprised me when she pulled me aside after that to apologize. I’m pretty sure one of the other girls put her up to it. Still, I’m glad she did. Rather, I’m glad of what came after that. Somehow or another, Nichibotsu and I became friends. She loves my music, even if I’m not sure I’m as good as she says I am. She’s helped me a lot in class, and it turns out I’m actually pretty smart if someone helps me understand things. She called me cute. It’d been years since anyone outside my family did that. I owe a lot to her.

Still, nothing could have prepared me for what happened that day.

*****

“I’m in love with you, Izumi Ako.”

The World Tree was doing something, probably glowing again, but I was too distracted to notice. My heart was suddenly racing, blood rushing to my face. All I could think about was the person in front of me, and how much I wanted to be near her. How much I wanted to see her smile. How scared I was for her to think poorly of me. How much I cared about her, saw how wonderful she was, and wanted her to see it too.

But… it was strange. The feelings were distant. Muted. Like they were calling out while wrapped up in velvet. Far more clear were my own feelings: confusion, surprise, and with embarrassment starting to set in, along with the flutterings of something that I wouldn’t notice for a while, and wouldn’t be able to name for a while after. Nichibotsu had just confessed to me. To ME! Izumi Ako, the plain, uninteresting, totally average wallflower. Hikaru Nichibotsu, one of the most unique, bombastic, and attention-grabbing girls in the school, had just said she was in love with, of all people, me.

And, hadn’t she just said something about confessions being a really bad thing right here and right now?

“Nichibotsu!”

Nichibotsu turned to frown at Takahata as he approached, and woah! Those muted emotions were very different now, and a little overwhelming. I turned to see Takahata walking towards us, frowning. On the surface, I felt the usual respect and - I’ll admit it - a little bit of attraction. Not nearly as much as Kagurazaka, but it’s hard to deny that Takahata looks handsome. But beneath that were much more powerful emotions. Respect was still there, but it was of a different flavor, harder and more familiar. But there was just as much contempt; I felt that he should be doing more. I was disappointed in him for not living up to his full potential. Awed by his power. A little jealous of him. Most of all, I hated - absolutely hated - how he reminded me of someone.

“Takamichi.” Nichibotsu never used surnames or honorifics. “How goes the patrol?”

“It was going well,” Takahata said, a very slight reprimand in his voice - I’d heard him use it on Kagurazaka and the Class Rep enough to recognize it. “Until now, that is. I assume you know the significance of what you’ve done?”

Nichibotsu rolled her eyes at him. She’s probably one of the few students in the school with enough guts to do that. But I guess that makes sense, considering she isn’t actually a human middle-schooler. “Of course I do. I’m the one who lectured Wildfire about it, remember? But this sort of power isn’t dangerous if used correctly. I’m not asking for reciprocation, or even an answer. I just wanted to make sure - beyond a shadow of a doubt - that Ako knows how I feel.” She gestured to me, her cheeks coloring slightly. “From the way she’s blushing and the fact she hasn’t gone all doe-eyed on me, I’d say it worked.”

Oh, right. My blush. The embarrassment had finally dominated my other emotions as I fully registered that I’d just been confessed to. And Takahata saw it! Oh, kill me now!

Takahata stared at me for a moment - a really uncomfortable moment - before turning back to Nichibotsu. “Still, I will have to report this to the principal.”

Nichibotsu shrugged. “Do what you need to. But don’t you have more important things to be worrying about? Like Chao?” She pointed behind him. “Or that couple that’s walking towards the plaza? That guy looks pretty determined, and that girl looks like she’s expecting something.”

Takahata looked over his shoulder and sighed, giving me and Nichibotsu one last look. “We’ll discuss this later, Nichibotsu.” With that, he turned and walked away.

Nichibotsu grabbed my hand and started leading me away from the plaza. She quickly brought me to a deserted ally and came to a stop, sighing. “Sorry about that,” she said, leaning against one of the walls. “Just be glad it was Takamichi. Someone less professional would insist on lecturing me for an hour while you watched.”

“I-it’s fine.” I certainly wasn’t up to getting a lecture right now. “I was just a little, well…”

“Shocked?” Nichibotsu asked. “Surprised? Overwhelmed?” She smirked at me. “Embarrassed?” I felt my face heating up again, but I was gratified to see that her cheeks were pink as well. “Well, those are the usual reactions to a confession. Still, the Japanese language is terrible when it comes to expressing affection. Far too few words for things like ‘love’. I had to make sure the real message got across.” She looked away, her cheeks turning from pink to red. “It, um, looks like it worked.”

I looked away as well and nodded. Those feelings were back, the ones that made my heart tighten and soar at the same time. “Um, yeah. I-it did. I feel…” I thought I might pass out from all of the blood rushing to my head; there was no way I could say what sorts of things I was feeling!

“You don’t have to say it!” Apparently, Nichibotsu was almost as embarrassed as I was. Maybe even a little more. “In fact, please don’t! If I have to hear all of these cringy things I’m feeling put into words, I swear I’ll melt right through the pavement and bury myself alive.” The feeling was mutual. “I just… I just wanted to make sure you knew exactly what I was saying. And that I meant it.” She took a deep breath and looked up, her face still red. “No offense, but you aren’t very good at taking compliments at face value.”

“Y-yeah,” I admitted. “I guess.” To be honest, if it hadn’t been for whatever was going on, I probably would have dismissed her confession as teasing. Or maybe making fun of me, or me mishearing what she’d said. Anything but what was filling the space beneath my heart right now. Gah! I needed to change the subject. “I, um, was surprised by how much you respected Takahata-sensei. You usually seem to dislike him.”

Nichibotsu sighed and smiled, some of the red leaving her face; I guess she was happy to talk about something else too. “That’s new, honestly. Just since the tournament. Seeing how he used his power was- wait!” She sprang off the wall and grabbed my shoulders. “How did you know about that?!”

The cocktail of emotions beneath my heart had shifted, concern surging to the front, as well as a bit of fear. “I, er, when you were talking with Takahata-sensei, I stopped feeling what, um, you feel for me, and started feeling something else. A lot of respect, but also… anger? Or maybe disappointment? It’s a little hard to put into words.” I hesitated. “And… maybe some hate?”

Nichibotsu wasn’t blushing anymore. Her sigh was full of frustration this time. “Great. General empathy. Or, I guess since you weren’t feeling his emotions, targeted but non-specific empathy. You can feel everything I’m feeling. Not just for you, but for everyone.” She let go of my shoulders and took a step back, looking back towards the plaza. That mix of anger and respect came back. “I think ‘contempt’ is the word you’re looking for. He’s got a lot of power, but he wastes his time here teaching middle-schoolers when he could be off making a difference in the world. Those with power are duty-bound to use it for the good of…” She trailed off with another sigh. Nichibotsu sighs a lot, each one a little different; I almost think sometimes she could communicate entirely in sighs and everyone would still understand her. “Sorry, you don’t need to hear that lecture. And you don’t need to worry about that hate, either. I don’t actually hate him. It’s just… he reminds me of someone. And I really don’t like thinking about her.”

Oh! Wow! And I’d thought that her feelings towards Takahata were strong. This set. This set was powerful enough to overwhelm my own emotions.

Thankfully, Nichibotsu realized quickly what was happening and stopped thinking about whoever it had been before I could really start to understand what I was feeling. “Sorry,” she said again. “You really don’t need to get caught up in that emotional mess. Thank Tenko for my mental training, or this would be torture for you.”

“Y-yeah.” I have to admit, I was curious to know just who she felt that powerfully about. And who this “Tenko” was. “So… what now?”

“Nichibotsu!”

We were saved from the awkward moment by the arrival of two of the Library Exploration girls: Miyazaki and Saotome. Nichibotsu’s attention turned to them and two sets of emotions bubbled up under my heart. For Miyazaki, a powerful fondness, high expectations, and the vestiges of a ghost of what she felt for me, more like a memory of emotion than anything else. Her feelings towards Saotome were a little mixed: equal parts annoyance and amusement. Annoyance was the more powerful emotion at the moment. “Honya. Haruna. Sorry, but this isn’t really a good time.”

Saotome leered at us. “O-ho-ho. I see, I see. We’re interrupting the mood, aren’t we?”

Miyazaki studied Nichibotsu for a moment before blushing. “Um, I don’t think so, Haruna. Nichi-chan would be a lot madder if we were interrupting… that.”

The twinge of embarrassment from Nichibotsu was slight, easily eclipsed by my own. “Yeah,” she confirmed, “the confession already went down. But I was hoping we could continue our date.” She had excellent control of her voice and expression, but I felt her emotions spike as she said the word “date.” “So if you’ll excuse us-”

“Um, I’m sorry, Nichi-chan!” Miyazaki interrupted. “But we need you to come help us! Chao-san is going to-”

“Expose magic to the world? Yes, I know. Got to say, I’m impressed you managed to avoid whatever trap she had in place to keep you all out of the way. But I’m a neutral party in this.”

“Actually,” Saotome rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, “we didn’t dodge her trap. She sent us a week into the future. We’re actually really lucky that we managed to get back here at all.”

Nichibotsu raised an eyebrow. “Good for you.” She said it sardonically, but she was genuinely impressed and curious. But more than that, she had an urgency to leave. “But I’m still-”

“Code: Black Sun!”

Dread. Shock. Determination. Nichibotsu straightened immediately, saluting Saotome with her eyes pointed straight ahead. “Sir!” she called. “Awaiting orders!”

We all stood motionless for a moment, staring at Nichibotsu as she stared straight ahead at attention. Eventually, she snapped out of it, embarrassment and anger flooding out of her, evident to all of us, not just me. She stormed over to Saotome and grabbed her by the collar. “That. Never. Happened. And you will forget that phrase. Where did you even hear it?!”

“Y-you gave it to us.” Nichibotsu’s eyes snapped to Miyazaki, and I was surprised she didn’t quail under the intensity of her gaze. “You helped us get back here. Before we left, you said to tell this you to help us.” She closed her eyes. “‘Tell me to help you. Tell her that Chao’s plan will bring nothing but Discord. Tell her ‘Code: Black Sun.’ She’ll know what that means.’”

Nichibotsu stared Miyazaki down for a moment before releasing Saotome. She took a step back, shaking her head. “Black Sun,” she muttered. “Of all the things. And to even invoke ‘Discord.’” She glared off into the distance, anger and betrayal coloring her heart. “So, your plans are folly after all, Chao.” She shook her head again and turned to me. “Sorry, Ako. It looks like I need to go help them deal with this. You should probably-”

“I’m coming with you!”

Nichibotsu was shocked. Miyazaki and Saotome were shocked. Honestly, I was a little shocked at myself. But still, I knew what I wanted to do. “I don’t really know what’s going on, but this has to do with magic, right? I haven’t seen the magic side of you, Nichi-chan. I… I want to get to know every part of you.” Nichibotsu blushed, her heart filling with those fuzzy feelings again. And something else too. Something deeper. More raw. Something that made me start to blush too. “N-n-n-n-n-not like that!”

Nichibotsu quickly shut that feeling down, looking away, her face flaming. “R-right! Obviously.” She cleared her throat. “Well, you heard her. Lead the way, Honya!”

*****

Nodoka and Haruna led them to the middle-school library before leaving to “spread the word” about something. Sunset led Ako inside and was surprised to see only three people waiting for them: Yue, Chisame, and an unconscious Negi.

“I’m guessing coming back wasn’t quite as easy as Haruna made it sound,” Sunset said.

“Ah. Nichibotsu.” Chisame nodded in greeting. “Good. We need another level head at the top of all of this.”

“And what exactly is ‘all of this’?” Sunset asked. “Honya and Haruna were pretty vague about the plan to stop Chao.

“Here,” Yue said, handing Sunset a flier. “We’ve decided to take advantage of the festival.”

Sunset examined the flier, her eyebrow raising at the title. “Notice of Change for the Mahora Festival Joint Event: MARS ATTACK vs MAHORA MAGE ORDER.” She nodded. “I see. Use the festival-goers as our troops to fight their army of robots. I assume you have plans to provide them with…” She read further down the flier and nodded. “I see. Minor protective gear and internally-powered magical weapons. Assuming you’re actually able to get all this stuff, it’ll be a huge help.” She looked up at Yue. “How much did the other me tell you all about Chao’s plan?”

“She was an invaluable source of information,” Yue admitted. “They’ll be fielding twenty-five hundred robots, along with six colossi. She said that Takahata-sensei called them ‘demon gods’ and that they were covered in some sort of high-tech armor that let Chao-san control them. She’ll direct them to six points around the World Tree and use their power to fuel a ritual that will make everyone in the world open to the idea of magic’s existence. This combined with a powerful internet information campaign and video of the Martial Arts Tournament will convince a lot of people in a short amount of time that magic is real.”

“A mass suggestion?” A shiver ran down Sunset’s spine. “That’s terrifying. We should count ourselves lucky that the first person to figure out this is possible wants to use it for something so relatively benign. I assume we have plans to send a strike unit after Chao herself as well?” Yue nodded. “Good.” She hesitated. “I… it feels a little petty, but I agreed to stand aside so long as I got the chance to fight Takamichi. Did the other me mention…”

Yue rolled her eyes. “Apparently, he was less impressive than you’d hoped. Out of practice. But he still managed to put up a satisfying fight before you beat him.”

Sunset smirked. “Well, I’ll take that, then.” She looked back at the flier. “All in all, this is a good plan. But there’s one major thing missing.”

“Oh?”

“Organization.” Sunset set the flier down on a nearby table. “At present, the plan consists of turning a mob of civilians into low-level adventurers and sending them off to be heroes in loosely-formed bands. Those sorts of units will inevitably fall apart in the face of a determined foe, especially once those colossi take the stage. Everyone will think of them as something for someone else to handle and ignore them to focus on the soldiers so they can ratchet up their point count.” She turned to Chisame. “You are constructing a scoring system, right? Prizes for top scorers?” Chisame nodded. “Then yeah, you need people to take charge.”

Yue raised an eyebrow. “It sounds like you have someone in mind.”

Sunset grinned.

Comments

[Xenophylia]

kinda confused at first and was like "wait... i already read that... before remembering what hapenned last chapter Xd. great work like always, and now i'm on my way reading the next chapters.

[Joe Toon]

........... I waited long for this. I was not disappointed.

[Pinklestia]

Ah yes, let's turn this into a videogame!

[Shalifi]

Great to see an update. Love this story.

[WatermelonRat]

How much do I love this story? So much that when new chapters come out, I wait until my Christmas break to read them so that I can properly savor them.