Chapter 1: "Shinano Yukihime"
A vision.
It was a vision of the world collapsing in front of her. The pitch dark sky's reality had begun splitting apart. Breaking, tearing, contorting, expanding and finally shattering before her. Was it a dream, or reality..?
Around the festival's perimeter, countless bystanders and civilians could be seen running and shoving one another in a vain attempt for survival. Some lay motionless buried under the rubble, whilst others suffered acute energy-decay crying out for their own guardians. A sight embodying despair itself.
With every passing step, the air felt heavier whilst fog filled every corner of the street and passageway. What day was it again?
"Yumi." A soft faint voice resonated in her soft round ears.
"Wake up Yukihime-DEAR" The faint voice transformed into a loud scream.
"Ah.."
She opened her eyes. Laying on the same bed she had been accustomed to her life so far. Right above her blue and purple faded eyes, a poster of Amaterasu stood hanging on the white wall, her favourite "Entropy".
"Was it a bad dream..?" With a tired morning gaze, Yumi slowly rolled her way out of bed. One slow roll at a time, until she eventually fell down on the heated floor accompanied by a loud thud.
-Thwack!
"Ow, ow, ow.. My back aches." Sitting up painfully while scratching her back towards the sun's almighty rays, Yumi kept trying to alleviate the pain by yawning.
'Mornings..uhh.' Below the sleek wooden floor, a muffled sound echoed.
"That sounded really loud. Are you okay up there, dear?"
"Yep, I think so mom.."
Eventually she made it to the bathroom to get ready for the upcoming school day. Splashing water on her pale face, brushing her teeth and then finally changing clothes. It didn't take more than a couple minutes before she had finished her usual morning routine.
"This will do. Let us go down!" Completing the finishing touches to her silver hair with a red ornament she finally made her way down to the kitchen. In front stood her precious mom preparing breakfast.
"Good morning princess." Her hair colour oozed the silver shade as Yumi and standing at a staggering 183cm, her height towered over Yumi, who herself was 142cm. Furthermore her pale white skin paired perfectly with almond blue eyes captured a sense of serenity and safety, befitting of a motherly figure.
"Good morning mom, what is for breakfast today?" Upon hearing Yumi's words, her mom chuckled to herself before answering.
"Still sleepy eyed heh? It's a rice bowl with grilled fish alongside side dishes dear."
"Oh, really? It is unusual for you to make any traditional food."
"It's important to eat a lot at this stage of your life! You're still growing after all! Plus, the day of assimilation is slowly approaching. It's important to make sure you are well fed!"
'She isn't wrong' Whilst her mom finished putting together both plates of food, Yumi took a seat.
"Thanks! I have been looking forward to the test of assimilation! If I am compatible with more than one Mana Valve I might even be able to meet my idol!" Yukihime proclaimed with excitement, her purple blue eyes beaming throughout the house.
Her mom continued to chuckle slightly upon hearing Yumi's motivated words.
"If you continue to work hard, I'm sure the time will come, dear." Curious about her moms playful mood today, Yumi wondered as to whether or not she had met Amaterasu before.
"Mom, have you ever met her? You used to work as a protector of our coastline after all."
"Hmm, maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. Your mom used to be really cool after all!"
With a big grin on her face quickly reciprocated by Yumi, they laughed together for a short few moments. They're truly inseparable.
Picking up the pair of chopsticks neatly aligned with the trays, her mom clasped her hands together. Likewise, Yumi followed her movements.
"Well then, shall we finally get to eating? Food is gonna go cold if we keep this up."
"Mhm, let's eat!"
Turning on the tv to tune in for the news, they both sat and watched while eating in relative silence.
"Oh right isn't it that time of the year?" Yumi's mom figured it was about time annual awards were given out.
"Right! I almost forgot! I am very excited for this year!" Responding enthusiastically, Yumi picked up the remote and pressed a button changing the channel. They tuned into the broadcast hosted from the continent known as Pan-Pacific. A large continent the rough size of Australia situated in the middle of the pacific ocean. A landmark bridging both Asia and America.
Standing in front of the microphone on the stand was a well dressed announcer. His white bowtie bore a stark contrast in comparison to his crimson red gloves. Likely a homage to everyone who bled and sacrificed themselves for their country and humanity.
"We once again would like to thank everyone who came out here and of course, those who tuned in from their homes and mobile devices. It's our pleasure to once again host this wonderful event from the capital of this beautiful country, A.Terra. I welcome you to the annual Stabilizers and Entropy Ceremony!" With an announcement resonating throughout every street and corner of earth, the award ceremony had begun.
Within the theatrical venue, the announcement was met with varying degrees of applause, although it didn't seem as loud compared to previous years.
"Ah, not as many attendants these years I assume? Maybe they've all moved to just watching it online?" Her mom seemed somewhat disappointed with the audience's enthusiasm compared to the preceding decade.
"It feels as if people are growing too comfortable with life again, taking everything for granted now that tears in reality have substantially slowed down in recent decades.." Clicking her tongue, her eyes seemed to emanate a sense of discomfort compared to usual disappointment.
"I agree mom. As long as tears in our reality keep expanding alongside distortions pouring out, we can not get too complacent. Although convincing the general public of this would require a method similar to shock therapy, would it not?" Putting down her chopsticks briefly, Yumi rested her chin on her hand thinking of various methods.
"That's right. Despite that fact, due to obvious reasons, I'm afraid that will never happen nor get approved." Nodding their heads in sync, they both sighed in agreement. Falling silent, they continued eating until the silence was broken by the television's speakers.
"Ah, they're announcing it now!" Yumi uttered as she noticed they both had momentarily strayed from the event at hand.
"And with the 2014-2015 seasonal statistics coming to an end, a close-ranged fighter with an extensive array of talents pouring onto his flames.. Wielding two pairs of katanas, his aggressive battle-mage style has torn through the rookie rankings. Averaging 2.7 kill shots per sortie, the rookie of the year is.."
Opening the envelope, everyone watched with eager anticipation.
"The rising vanguard from The Sun's Cornerstone.. Ayano Hotaru!" A deafening applause broke out, with mostly individuals from the same cornerstone cheering him on the loudest.
"Wow! 2.7 kill shots a year is really impressive for a rookie, especially coming from a vanguard! They mostly hold off and take the most brunt force for the main line behind after all!" Surprised at his breakout season, Yumi couldn't help but profusely nerd out about the topic at hand.
"I'd have to agree, it seems that their cornerstone is finally recovering from the 2011 disaster during which their previous upcoming superstar got assassinated by an unknown rogue individual wielding a terrific scythe."
"The crime scene was brutal.." Ayanami muttered under her breath.
Steadily chipping away at their breakfast, the brown haired Rookie went up to the podium to receive his reward followed by a speech. Seeming disorganised, or rather, of someone that didn't prepare anything noteworthy beforehand, the Rookie tried to put together something comprehensive.
"Ah! One, two! One Two!" His mic popped several times, followed by a stinging ring that enveloped the entire theatre and lasted several seconds.
"Thank you, thank you everyone! I'm of course honoured to stand here before everyone, holding this magnificent gold award! As you know, I'm a vanguard.. Which means I mainly serve a supportive role in most cases to provide safety for my backliners in today's meta. Because you know.. Safety first right!?"
"Meta?" Yumi and her mother said in unison, unaware of the meaning of his odd lingo.
"BUT, I am here to carve my own path in history! I'll prove to everyone and myself that I won't need backliners with their boring artillery!" With a sudden declaration of independence that would go against typical protocol, a heart wrenching silence ensued followed by strings of boos that were heard echoing around the venue.
Slowly the boos turned into modest criticism until eventually insults were hurled constantly.
Despite the heaps of backlash, his sharp eyes conveyed an absolute sense of conviction and resolution. Hotaru simply didn't care, instead he just picked his ear in wait until the angry audience calmed down.
"Alright! Thanks everyone!" Scurrying back to his table carefully as to not further provoke the crowd, he sat down with a shit-eating grin that beamed of arrogance. Besides him sat his mentor, smiling at him. In an intimidating manner..
"Wow.. His personality is certainly unique.."
"Yes, you'd be correct in that department Yumi.."
Least to say, they were both certainly not a fan of his personality at all, despite his historic accomplishment.
"Anyways. That's not the main event! It's about to start now." Without realising, both of them had finished eating their food. Maybe it was because of their not so fond reaction to Hotaru that caused them to stress eat together.. Or just anticipation of the MVP award.
As the lights in the venue dimmed, and a focused spotlight hovered around the tables in the crowd, the uprooted crowd rapidly went quiet.
"Her excellence knows no bounds.. With a prolonged track record spanning decades and sustained longevity of pure brilliance, she has kept the shores of Japan safe for centuries, helped neighbouring countries, cornerstones and people alike. She is our shining light.. Averaging 10.0 kill shots, 10.0 assists and a combat rating of 10.0 ratio every sortie during this season! She's the first ever to average a triple double! With an unbreakable record of 19 MVP awards and now, 20th. Our sun and the 2014-2015 Susano Most Valuable Person .."
"Amaterasu Hiruko!"
Despite the lack of attendants this year, the crowd more than made up for it, as the entire venue exploded in cheers and awe together. Coloured fireworks filled the starry sky above and everyone was on their feet giving a standing ovation.
Similar to Hotaru. Averaging 5 kill shots per sortie alongside 5 assists is already impressive enough. 10 in any category would mean you're a prodigy. Lastly, despite being able to reach 10 in both kills and assists, exceeding a combat rating of 10 means reaching godhood.
"Oh my god. A triple double!?" Yumi cheered out of her chair, similar to watching their idol hitting a game winning shot.
"That's simply otherworldly, especially considering the lack of Tears in recent memory, but that's not the most ridiculous statistic." Noticing both bowls in their trays were empty, she got up and proceeded to wash the dishes, during which she pondered over the statistics.
"Averaging a combat rating of 10.0 would mean, she's constantly in that state whenever she sorties."
'But what could be the reason for such intensity recently? Is it to prepare for the possibility of something bigger? No, but then again.. She must've been keeping this pace for a while now actually.' Thinking to herself, Yukihime's mom was pondering if Amaterasu's recent increase in activity was a good or bad sign.