"Some people break down doors.Some knock until the hinges give out.Rin chose the latter."
Scene: East Corridor – After Evaluation Day
The evaluation was over.
Aeris had passed.
The crowd moved on.
Now, she walked alone down the east corridor—her case in one hand, datapad in the other. Her plan was simple: get to the dorms, unpack, avoid people.
Low profile. In. Watch. Out.
But fate had other plans.
As she turned the corner—a stack of colorful flyers exploded in front of her.
"Agh—no, no no—!"
A girl scrambled across the floor, arms full of paper, desperately trying to pick them up before they flew into passing students' legs.
Aeris stared.
The girl had long brown hair tied with a loose ribbon, a school armband, and an enthusiastic messiness that made her impossible to ignore.
On the ground between them was a flyer.
S.T.A.R. Club – Join the only Tactical Recon team open to all years! Learn skills! Save people! Build a team! Current members: 1.
Aeris (quietly):
"...One?"
The girl looked up—saw her—and lit up.
Rin (grinning):
"You read it! You looked at the flyer! That means you're interested, right!?"
Aeris:
"I was reading the number."
Rin:
"Perfect! That means you noticed we only need one more person to stop the club from being shut down!"(She held up two fingers.)"Technically three, but if I count the advisor as half and the ghost of my dignity as another—then yes, you'll do!"
Aeris blinked.Tried to walk past.
Rin (desperate):
"Wait wait wait! You're new, right? You just transferred? I saw your duel earlier—you're incredible! You moved like shwoo-shha–bam! Like, how did you block that saber with a relic!?"
Aeris:
"It's not a relic. It's mine."
She kept walking.
Rin followed her—backwards.
Rin:
"Okay okay—hear me out! I'm not asking you to lead the club. Or fight for us. Or fill out paperwork. Just… wear the pin! And maybe come to meetings. And not let it die alone in the corner of campus like my dreams."
Aeris (dry):
"You're not selling it."
Rin:
"But you haven't said no."
Aeris (flat):
"No."
That did not stop her.
For the rest of the week:
Rin showed up during lunch and sat beside her.
She walked with Aeris between classes, pretending to talk about "homework" just to slip the topic in.
She placed flyers in her locker, on her bed, under her door.
She even tried to tape one to Aeris's case—until Aeris quietly unsheathed the blade and Rin immediately reconsidered.
Finally, during a rainy evening at the rooftop lounge, Aeris stood looking over the city.
And Rin arrived.No flyers this time.
Just a small umbrella.And a cup of warm canned coffee.
Rin (quietly):
"I know you don't want to join.But I saw your eyes in that fight.You weren't showing off. You were… surviving."
Aeris (staring at the rain):
"Why does that matter?"
Rin:
"Because I'm trying to build a club for people like that.Not the top fighters. Not the popular ones.The ones who don't have anywhere to belong… but still show up anyway."
Silence.
Aeris accepted the coffee.
Didn't drink it.
But didn't throw it away either.
Scene: Outer Campus Storage Block – Saturday Evening
The rain had cleared, but clouds still hung low over Ironvale's west sector.
Classes had ended early, and most students were out enjoying their break.
Not Rin.
She was knee-deep in a maintenance room, dragging a dented equipment crate toward a broken doorway, muttering under her breath.
Rin (grumbling):
"I said I'd fix the drone hub by Sunday…Of course I said it in front of the Vice Principal...And of course I dropped the only spare part in the back lot…"
She sighed, wiping her brow.
That's when the sensor lights clicked on.
Someone was here.
She turned—and nearly fell backward.
Rin:
"Waa—!? A-Alina?!"
Aeris stood there, arms crossed, case strapped to her back.
Aeris (flatly):
"You're bad at fieldwork."
Rin (grinning):
"I knew you cared!"
Aeris:
"I don't."
But she stepped into the room anyway.
Rin stared, dumbfounded.
Rin:
"Wait… you're actually here? Helping? Does this mean you're—"
Aeris:
"I'm not joining."
Rin:
"You say that… while helping me carry a 40kg part through a hallway that smells like expired noodles."
Aeris:
"I didn't say I wouldn't carry things."
Cut to: Side Alley – Retrieval Area
The task was simple on paper: retrieve a dropped energy relay module.
But by the time they reached the dark side lot, campus strays had already found it.
Two defense drones—decommissioned, but twitching. Someone had reactivated them.
Their lights flickered red.
Rin (alarmed):
"Oh no—they're not supposed to be active!"
Aeris (already drawing her weapon):
"Stay behind me."
Rin:
"Wait, you brought your rifle?!"
Aeris (calm):
"You said it wasn't a mission. I brought it anyway."
⚔️ Mini Combat Scene
One drone lunged—Aeris moved first.
She sidestepped the charge, raised her SKS with fluid motion, and slammed the butt into the drone's core, flipping it sideways.
The second fired—Aeris pulled her revolver—one shot. Direct to the emitter.
Sparks flew.
Both drones collapsed, twitching.
Rin peeked out from behind a crate, blinking.
Rin:
"Okay.You're not just cool.You're terrifying."
Aeris (sheathing weapon):
"You owe me coffee."
Later: Back in the Club Room
They sat in silence, sipping canned drinks.The room was still mostly empty—folding chairs, cables, dusty shelves.
Aeris looked around.One room. One girl. One club....A disaster in progress.
Rin (nervous):
"So… about joining—"
Aeris:
"No."
Rin (chuckling):
"Not yet, right?"
Aeris didn't reply.
She stood, picked up her case, and walked toward the door.
Right before stepping out—
Aeris (quietly):
"If you break anything else…call me first."