#academia is a hell of its participants' making and once you realise that you have to have compassion for the ppl stuck in it with you

[flamagenitus]

Spent a half hour typing a speech about studying in the tags of a post 👍 I'm a normal person who's had a normal time in the academic system

[ridiculously-expensive-milk]

The Day Our Bench Was Lonely - 01

Summary:  As one would have expected, coming of age isn’t quite easy when you’re a Yato. Kagura goes to an Alien Hunter school and Okita longs at the sky.

Chapters: 2 previous next

#Aboard_AMC003_CRIMSON ##Log_00_Kagura Space 's lonelier than Kagura thought it would be. 

Sitting on the window ledge she stares at the infinite universe sparkling with planets and stars passing through ever-so-slowly. The ship 's silent since she's the only crew here, though there's the main computer humming quietly in the background as it calculates the trajectories and energy management for her. Umibozu bought the ship on her fifteenth birthday, something about her being old enough to start her career as an alien hunter. He told her about an academia opened by the association two years ago, stationing some galaxies away and welcoming every species so long they are strong and motivated enough. Obviously, it's a huge opportunity for her and even if she loves the Earth she needs to move on and become stronger, everyone's becoming an adult and she can't get stuck being a kid.

Even the meek Shinpachi’s growing up, he's become a lot stronger than before and as of late he even teaches the neighbour kids at the dojo on how to wield the sword. He trains hard every day with Gin-chan and fights a lot more during their nonsensical Yorozuya job, he's no longer the weak big brother she used to protect.

Gintoki grows too, though differently, he's much more like a grandpa and she kind of expect diabetes to hit him soon but besides training with Shinpachi he doesn't participate as much during battles as before and it's as if he's passing his soul to Shinpachi instead and she knows; it's because he's all too tired to continue being a warrior when he's a useless, sugar-addicted earth dad.

And then there's the other idiot too, acting all cool because he's just so close to becoming a vice chief like he always wanted to be. It's not for right now but Kagura's been told the gorilla will eventually retire— maybe to marry Anego— and that means Toshi will be the chief and the Sadist the vice-chief. Kagura thinks Edo's doomed if someone like him gets such a high rank within the police force.

And then there's her walking behind all of them, there's nothing for her to do on Earth. In Edo she's a Yato and besides destroying the park with the Sadist she doesn't know what to do, she's only good at fighting, breaking things so when Umibozu comes with a flashy, new model of spaceship she doesn't think much more and jumps in.

This brings her here. It's been two days since she entered the ship for the first time and she spends her time eating, napping and maybe study a bit. She will arrive at the school in a week, it's her first time going to one and it makes her as much excited as she's anxious. How are people there? Are they mean like back in Rakuyou? She bites her lips, her throat feels sour just by imagining those eyes. Monster, they call her.

"Daily analyse report available," the computer warns in its female though robotic voice.

Kagura gets up and sits down at the helm; there's a wide window panel allowing her to see what's in front of her and a giant screen floating. She leans down and reaches for the floating sphere, glowing slightly blue and immediately, as the computer identifies her fingerprint the report shows up on the screen.

Status: normal Temperature: 22°C | 28°C Solar Room | 0°C Cryo Room... ...

Her eyes wander on the table before she finds what she needs; the manual of the ship with Umibouzu's notes. He wanted to come along and teach her himself how to pilot the ship but Kagura refused; she wants to do everything by herself and there's always the emergency call if something goes wrong. It's not that hard since everything 's almost automatic— though she needs to learn how to do manual piloting as well, in case the computer fails to calculate and when big rocks decides to fly towards you. Each note left by Umibozu are clear and concise, she compares the data of the computer with his and everything's in the normal. She's not going to die from lack of oxygen anytime soon.

The daily routine now done Kagura moves onto the messages, ancient ships have lags between when the message's sent and when it's received but her's all new and very expensive, if it's messages she'd receive them in a day. Other media such as audio or videos can take a lot more time, though.

=====START_OF_TRANSMISSION===== Sender: Umibouzu Object: How are you? <3 -------------------------------------------------- Kagura, it's your beloved Father (she wants to throw up!) How are you doing? Do the daily report well, it's important. I'm sending you files for exercises and a mail from the Association's school, there should be materials you need to study. Don't forget to take care of the Solar Room too.Dad loves you! -------------------------------------------------- Attached files (4): exercises_1.pdf, welcome_to_the_association.pdf, universae_lesson_1.pdf, universae_wb_1.pdf =====END_OF_TRANSMISSION=====

In a flick of a finger the control sphere opens another window— this time; however, allows the holographic keyboard to materialize. It’s a thin, very thin layer of blue light and she’s still amazed by the hard, cold touch of it. Her fingers slides between the keys as she starts answering Umibouzu’s message with a rather humble one-liner, “thank you”. It’s not like she can write letters. She doesn’t know nearly enough kanjis for that.

Once she’s done with replying Kagura downloads and checks out the files. They must be pre-requisite for the students who should be, like her, travelling in space until they reach the station. From her father’s talk it seems like the Association’s station's very big and the space left for the students are new and renovated, as the school program's recent. It’s a hard cursus with interuniversal students, which leads to the official language used by the school.

The versa's created and used by the Association only, both written and talked it helps the communication between all the different species. Her ship’s core software's in Japanese for now but soon she will have to update and install the versa language instead; all her textbooks and homework will be in versa and it's going to be expected of her to talk fluently the versa by the end of the year. It’s a shame since she wants to learn the Japanese first, she could finally read the JUMP without the help of Gin, then.

Kagura decides to do what’s the easiest for her first: read the welcome file of her future school, carefully translated by her father.

“Welcome to the Association,” it reads in a bright and bold red font. The first part 's rather boring, passing over the history and origin of the Association, the school. There are pictures of the classrooms which are spacious and very modern, in white and minty shades, of the training areas… They’re things Kagura’d rather discover with her own eyes rather than through pictures.

SCHEDULE: - 8:00 Presentation - 10:00 Uniforms hand-out - 14:00 Test - 18:00 Cadets Classes

Her right brow cocks, nobody told her that there’s going to be a test on the first day. And what the hell are cadets classes? She skims through the file, her eyes landing on a chart. Each term ends with examinations on the subjects as well as the simulation of a mission, the latter being more important. The examination leads to a grade which would determine your class; a class 's a group of students of the same level, they will live in the same dormitory and possess the same privileges. This brings her remaining brow to raise too, she’s not really used to all that hierarchy others love so much. The Sadist tried to explain once but she never understood the point

Food.

If there's food as a prize it's only a matter of course that she wins through the S rank solely for it, the benefits all look nice too. She wonders if it’s easy to reach the top ten, being a Yato and the daughter of Umibouzu and Kouka she's only fated to be amongst the best. No, even being part of one of the three warrior race’s big enough of an advantage in this kind of career. The stronger they are, the better it is, such is the rule of the Association— revolving around fighting, and for the first time she realises it's revolving around people like her.

People who are ridiculously strong. People from bloodthirsty races who have to choose between either the path of destruction or salvation, with nothing in-between and for the first time people like her are not cursed as monsters but instead sung as heroes. It’s a whole different world from the Earth, even though she’s met her most important people there as well as the kindest, it's now in a climate where Amantos are seen as threats and enemies from the previous war against Utsuro.

Within the Association fighting abilities are praised, glorified above all, and many Yatos have gone through this path like her father or chooses the opposite side in the Harusame like her brother.

It's now time for her, Kagura, to trace her own path and though she only has vague ideas about her future very soon she will have to choose and act upon it; the Association 's here to help her. Umibouzu used to tell her so; people like them have power. She; however, doesn’t understand what’s more about them than being about to kill people easier than others.

“If only Gin-chan was there,” she mutters with a bitter tone, “I’m sure he knows. They all know, anyway, besides me.”

Kagura glances at the endless darkness through the glass, she’s promised everyone she’s going to come back stronger but she doesn’t know how and she’s scared. They say that around fifteen the people from their race are becoming adults and are the most unstable, they are neither kids nor adults but something else that's far scarier.

She closes her eyes. The humming of the computer, the emptiness of space disappears slowly and are replaced by the drumming of rain, the cold and wet floor from her old house. The loneliness of that house, once so warm despite the rain, despite the cracks and everything in the world. She’s filled with the memories of the laughs, the cries left on that lonely planet. And then—

— the surge of pain, the anger, the sadness, the incomprehension. There’s the smell of sickness, the sour taste of wait and longing, the pang of pain and the burst of anger. Her house, the old house of her memories shattered, the delicious rice, the embrace of a mother, the warmth of a family; nothing's left but utter hate. She remembers every second of it as if living that day again the rain's pounding against the street when she runs out, her mother 's dying, her brother and father are fighting to death.

Finally, she stops them but her Father 's too hurt to even look at her, and her brother— fifteen at the time, doesn’t look back at her either and leaves like all the remains of their old house. The family they’ve once been 's now nothing but a shell of what it used to be; a joke. The bonds now stranded there's now nothing left to keep them together, so they leave all by one and she’s here, behind and she doesn’t understand anything.

A joke.

That must’ve been what she is, back then and now still.