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UmbraSight

UmbraSight

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Her manager had informed her of a lot of little things that she shouldn’t forget; wear a nice kimono (was it right over left or the other way around?), show up at 1400 sharp to the cafe, and that her partner’s name would be — oh, that last one was probably pretty important wasn’t it? Oops.

It was a lazy day, couples passed on the street outside, arm in arm as the strolled. Sunlight peeked through drifting clouds, chasing after people as they strolled. Masami watched them, cup of tea in hand as she watched for a face. She wasn’t quite certain what the face was she was looking for, but witches couldn’t be too hard to spot, could they? They’re always so magical really. At least that’s how they always seemed to her in school.

Steam drifted from her cup as she waited, as slow and lazy as anything else was that day. Masami’s kimono was fancy, black with gold lace for trim, embroidered across the shoulders and sleeves with delicate spider lilies, it was, clearly unknown to the girl wearing it, tucked incorrectly with the right side slid over the left. A spread of cookies and small treats sat in the middle of the table, waiting for the arrival of one other person.

Now, if only Masami could remember what her name was.
 
Himiko hadn't liked the idea of being stuck with a partner. It wasn't just that it was someone else to share the spotlight with, but it was someone else who she had to deal with on the battlefield. Okay it was mainly about sharing the spotlight, but Himiko had been persuaded to look at it from a different angle, of twice the star power. She reluctantly agreed, internally laying the condition that her new partner couldn't surpass her.

So she strolled to the arranged meeting place, dressed a bit more formally than she normally did. Her sequined dress glittered in the light, ending around her thighs. She enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her bare arms and the exposed part of her back. A little prism necklace rested against her chest; a reminder of who she was and a promise to herself. This new partner wouldn't outshine her, nobody could. She was Himiko Yamaguchi, she was Iris, she was– at the cafe. Himiko stepped inside, idly searching for her new partner. Eventually she spotted a girl in a very fancy black and gold kimono, beautifully embroidered, that was absolutely tucked the wrong way. There was a spread of confections in front of her, as if she was waiting for someone.

"Masami Takemoto?" Himiko asked tentatively, unsure if this sleepy girl who looked as though there wasn't a single thought in her head could really be her partner.
 
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“Oh, hello,” Masami said, raising a hand in greeting to the sparkling girl that approached her. She looked properly magical, glittering like that in the light, or was it just pretty? Being pretty was sort of like being magic wasn’t it? “The blueberry cream tart is really yummy.” Masami added, what remained of one lay crumpled on her plate as she pointed at a second one that sat waiting in a collection of other sugary treats.

“I’m Masami Takemoto, oh, you already said that.” Her brow knit as she seemed momentarily lost before she brightened again. “Your necklace is really pretty in the sunlight, Miss Himi, your dress too. I don’t think I could do a look like that..” Wait, was that the right name? It felt right but also it didn’t feel right at all?

“I just signed up a few weeks ago, so I’ll be in your care.” Masami said, with a bow of her head. She sat back in her chair after a little moment. “So, should we share our powers, or something now?”
 
Himiko did not get to where she was by being easily dumbstruck. The girl reacted to the name Masami, but instantly switched to another topic entirely. Himiko maintained a composed mask, but was internally indignant. Was this really who she was to be paired up with? She had assumed there was at least some threshold of mental capacity required before joining the DDC. Regardless, she took the compliment in stride, sitting smoothly down across from the girl.

"Thank you, Masami. It's one of my favorites." She flashed a small smile. "Although it's Himiko, not Himi." She gently reminded Masami. That was going to be the only gentle reminder, although she felt as though there were going to be a lot of them. She purposefully ignored the aforementioned blueberry tart and firmly put her attention on the girl across from her.

"I think it would be beneficial to share our powers with each other, yes. Why don't you start?"
 
“Himiko,” Masami repeated, with a faint crinkle of the nose. It didn’t last too long however before her smile returned and she possibly had the name locked away in some part of her mind. Which was probably good, because it meant she would remember it for later. Probably. The girl however did show a lot more interest in the tart than Himiko did as she took a large chomp.

The timing was unfortunately bad, as Himi wanted her to introduce her powers first. Masami chewed quickly before washing down the tart with a sip of tea.

“Ah, uhm, I have a sword.” Masami said, before quickly taking a breath. She held her fork up, it wasn’t really like a sword, but it was sword adjacent. Sort of. “And I can, uh, sort of see the best way to cut something.” Perhaps to prove her point, Masami cut another slice of the tart off with her fork.

“Teachers say I haven’t unlocked my other powers yet, but my sword is very very sharp so that’s fine then!” She finished cheerily, eating the bite of tart.
 
Did Himiko's eyes deceive her, or did this little brat just wrinkle her nose up like she'd smelled something awful? Himiko was tempted to storm out of this meeting and request a new partner immediately. But that would make a bad impression, solidify her reputation in the DDC as a diva, and that simply wouldn't do. Besides, it could be entirely possible that Himiko had mistaken the whole thing. Simply strike one against Masami, that was all.

Her indignation quickly switched to stunned silence as Masami revealed her power. That was it? "That's it?" Himiko let slip out before catching herself. Calm, collected, remember? "Well I'm sure that once you unlock your other powers, they'll aid far more." She had a sword, lovely. Now factor in the 50% chance that she'd probably end up stabbing herself or Himiko with it, and things were looking down. She'd probably have to work twice as hard anyways.

"Is the sword touched by magic? Or do your powers allow the sword to kill Grimm with the same efficiency?" If it was neither, maybe she wouldn't have to deal with Masami as her partner for very long.
 
“Huh? Is that not good enough?” Masami said, her confusion evident in the scrunch of her brow. She had never had an adult tell her that her sword wouldn’t be sharp enough to cut something. Was that just because Himiko never saw her use it? Should she show her? But, she wasn’t supposed to use it in public places when there wasn’t a monster nearby. “The recruiter said it was very impressive.” Masami added, tapping her fork handle against the palm of her hand.

“It’s a magic sword so that’s fine, right? I can make it when I transform.” The girl said, looking a little more hopeful that maybe her sword was actually fine. She hoped her sword would be fine, she quite liked it, it was a very nice sword when it existed. “What about you Miss Himiko? Can you do something cool?” Masami asked.
 
Well, a magical sword was more impressive than some generic sword. The fact that she made it when she transformed meant that it most likely would cut through Grimm. She wished the girl had just said that from the get go, instead of just ‘I have a sword’. If she was going to have to drag every answer out of this girl, this was going to be a short partnership.

Fortunately, Masami managed to change the topic to something Himiko was very good at talking about: herself.

“You could say that, yes.” She said with a flaunt. “I can control light, drawing its power into myself to create weapons, including swords, and even fly around.” Himiko gave in to temptation and lightly grabbed the other blueberry tart, setting it on her plate and cutting into it, taking a prim bite.

“So, how long have you been with the DDC?” she asked, waiting politely to finish chewing before asking.
 
“You can fly? That’s really cool!” Masami said, perking up while her new partner was chewing on a bite of tart. “Wish I could do something like that, I can just see how to cut something.” She said, cutting off a far less dignified bite of her sweet to eat. There had been a girl in her class that could control wind that had flown her up to a roof before, which had been fun. Miss Himi didn’t seem like the type to fly for fun though.

“Oh, uhm!” Masami swallowed quickly, not expecting the question. Her eyes flicked up to the ceiling for a moment, her lips moving before she spoke again. “Two and a half weeks I think? Maybe three.” She said, looking back to Himiko with a cheerful, confident, nod.
 
It wasn't her fault. Himiko just had to remember that this girl wasn't intentionally trying to piss her off. She'd assumed that her assigned partner would be someone with a little more experience, someone who could start by showing her the ropes and finish with her blowing past them in popularity. Still, a relative newcomer presumably wouldn't have their die-hard fans locked into place, which meant Himiko could potentially swipe them right out from under her.

And she would, if she had her way.

"Well cutting something can still be quite useful." Himiko said, her tone shifting to one of faux interest. She had to get on this girl's good side before stomping all over her. "Can you show me? I'd love to see! They don't just let anyone in the DDC after all, so you must be able to cut things really good!" The insult was buried under layers of saccharine sweetness, but Himiko could probably have insulted this girl directly and it would have washed over her like a wave on an empty beach.
 
“You want to see me cut something?” Masami asked, with a momentarily troubled expression. It wasn’t like she could cut anything here with her sword, unless it was just a custard or something, but it wasn’t very impressive cutting custard with a sword, a spoon could do that much. Also, her manager had said she needed to come to this cafe, but they hadn’t said if they were allowed to leave part way through. That was probably allowed wasn’t it?

If Masami had caught any of the undertones in Himiko’s words it certainly didn’t show in her expression, which was likely for the best. Probably. Well, maybe not the most healthy dynamic for their budding relationship, but Masami was very distracted with trying to decide on what it was she should cut for Himiko.

“I don’t think I should cut anything here.” Masami said, with a look around the room. “Oh, but we could go to the training center and I could use my powers there if you’d like.” She smiled at that, clearly liking the thought of showing off for her new partner.
 
Was this doubt? That look that Masami gave, as though her cutting something could actually be dangerous in a public setting like this, was that making Himiko doubt herself? That maybe Masami wasn't as weak as she thought? No, that couldn't possibly be right. The girl obviously just overestimated her own skills. That much was evident by her worried glance around, as though simply mentioning her ability to cut things would slice some poor patron in half.

"What a great idea!" Himiko exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Then I can show you my powers too!" It'd be a great chance to both show off and properly assess the "cutting prowess" of this dopey girl. "We should go right now! I can't wait to see what you can do."

Himiko's grin was perhaps closer to that of a shark than that of a well-meaning partner. Just a little too much exposed tooth and a hint of malice that shouldn't have been present. She would see what this girl could do. And she would destroy her.
 
Himiko seemed like she was really interested in her powers which was… really exciting wasn’t it? Some of her teachers had been interested, but in that teacher-ly way where they really wanted to see what else she could actually do, because a sword on its own was very… swordlike. But, Himi-ko seemed like she was actually interested, Masami has certainly never seen anyone smile so wide before when she mentioned that her power was her sword.

“Okay, um, yeah if you really want to see it we can go now.” Masami said, sliding up to her feet. She brushed out the wrinkles in her kimono’s skirt, which didn’t actually didn’t do much to unrumple the rumpled part. Masami did, more importantly, pluck up a cookie before she left.

~~-~~-~~-~~

The lobby was… well a lobby. There was a wall of TVs to the left as one entered, each showing coverage of a different DDC channel while the reception desk sat opposite the main entrance, flanked by several cardboard cutouts of rather popular girls.

“Welcome, how may I help you two today?” A rather prim young woman said, looking up from her computer.

“Hi, uh, miss Himi… ko and I wanted to to rent a room.” Masami said, certainly not forgetting Himiko’s name.

“A partice room for two?” The receptionist stood and held out a hand. “IDs please, and I’ll see if we have a suitable room open.”

“Oh, yeah, right.” Masami said, her hand vanishing into the sleeve of her kimono, she felt around for a moment before pulling out her ID and passing it to the woman.
 
Himiko nodded along as Masami finally seemed to understand that she wanted to see the powers first-hand. Surely the DDC wouldn’t let in someone whose only ability was being able to swing a sword around. Of course, she could do it, but when Himiko swung a sword it was refined and elegant. Masmai almost certainly had to try to remember which parts were sharp before swinging.

As they moved into the lobby, Himiko’s gaze skimmed over the TVs, each broadcasting a different idol, a different fighter, a different member of her competition. She’d take care of them all, in time, but for now she’d be satisfied with showing Masami up. Then maybe the DDC would rectify their mistake and pair her with someone who was actually qualified.

“One of the bigger ones, please.” Himiko flashed a perfect smile at the receptionist as she handed over her ID. “One with enough space to stretch my wings.” And to properly humiliate this dope.
 
“Of course,” the receptionist said, picking up the two ID cards and looking them over. After a moment she returned Himiko’s card, and the faint edges of a troubled frown dipped her lips as she flipped over Masami’s ID to glance at the back. After a few seconds she returned that card as well and tapped a few keys on her computer as Masami slid the card back into her wallet. “Right, one large room that’s in the Mosh. Looks like we do have one available.” The receptionist stood and motioned for them to follow.

It wasn’t a long walk really, down the hall and through a pair of double doors into a courtyard, and through a different pair of doors. The training facility was far more utilitarian than the lobby had been, and there was an odd mix of distant music and the sound of training in the air.

“Room fourteen is yours. If there’s anything you need or any problems, please use the intercom by the door.” The receptionist said, slowing to a stop.

“Thanks.” Masami said, stepping inside the room. “Um, do you want to go first or should I?” She asked, looking back over her shoulder.
 
Himiko didn’t fail to notice that the receptionist needed to look twice at Masami’s ID, while hers simply needed a single glance. No doubt because she actually looked the part of someone who belonged in DDC, whereas Masami should be dozing in the back of a classroom somewhere. She beamed at the receptionist as she stood and led them down the hallway to their training room.

"Thank you!" Himiko bubbled, eagerly stepping inside the training room, only slightly annoyed that she had to go after Masami. “I will, if you don’t mind.”

Himiko untucked the prism necklace from her shirt and brought it to her lips before letting it fall back down. Small splashes of rainbow clung to her lips and fingertips, spreading out from where the necklace fell against her chest. She ran her hands up over her face, bright blue skin trailing in their wake. They ran through her hair, shortening it and filling it with color before flicking the rest out.

“Iris.” she introduced herself with a little bow, basking in the glow of her transformation. She didn’t have the wings out yet, those would come later.

“Go ahead,” Iris gestured towards Masami. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
 
“Oooh, very pretty!” Masami said with a chirp of amazement in her voice as the girl stepped forward. There was a touch of smoothness in her motion as she passed Himiko, though that didn’t stop her from gawking just a little at the beautiful gemstone hanging from her neck. It was just a little gawk. Was that rude? “Is it part of your powers?” She asked, before stepping forward to the center of the room. She was a few sword lengths away from her partner, which should be enough space.

“Right. Okay.” Masami said, drawing in a breath. Her manager always said she should save the pretty version for when the camera was on, but this was a special occasion, wasn’t it? Masami drew her right arm up above her head, her index and middle finger extended in a straight line.

“Hah!” Masami brought her hand down in a straight line before her and there was a rush of air as the blade in her mind sliced through the empty space. There was a moment’s stillness as her hand reached the end of its arc. A line split through her kimono as the cloth slid from her frame. There was a KRAK as the split air came back together, sending the cloth twisting into the air before it wrapped back around her in a newer, pinker, kimono. The girl held her hands up, catching her sword with a metallic thunk as it fell from the air above her.

Masami looked back to Himiko and bowed her head.

“Kūsho” She said.
 
“It certainly is.” Iris said brightly. The prism necklace wasn’t present when she was transformed, but she could still feel its ever-present weight. “It was a gift from my parents, a reminder of the first time my powers manifested.” In truth she’d gotten it for herself, but such a sweet story would certainly boost her ratings.

Iris raised an elegant eyebrow as Masami stepped away from her, bringing her hand up and launching it downward. For a moment, nothing happened. Iris’s mockery died in her throat as Masami transformed, a slice in her kimono causing the air to rush and form back into a new kimono, bringing a solid sword into her hands.

‘Kūsho’, she called herself. Void, empty space, much like that between her ears, Iris imagined. It certainly paled in comparison to her own transformation. Iris gave the slightest of bows in return, then brought her hand tot he center of her chest and pulled. A slender, rainbow staff emerged, and as she placed a second hand on it and pulled further a wicked spearhead emerged, leaf-shaped and razor-sharp.

“Not bad, Kūsho. So you can cut anything, right?” She remembered the girl’s earlier words in the cafe, now was the time for her to put her money where her mouth was. Iris twirled the spear in her hands before pointing further into the training room, where various training dummies were set up.

“I’d love to see it.”
 
“Alright, I can do that.” Masami said, fiddling with the ends of a loose strand of hair before she brushed it behind her ear. She slid her katana into a sash on her hip, resting her hand on the hilt of her weapon as she ambled over to the training dummies. These should be fine to cut, they existed to be cut, so the nice lady up front shouldn’t get angry about it right?

“Okay, like this.” Masami said, drawing in a breath. The girl shifted her weight forward and with a smooth whisper of metal she drew her sword from its scabbard. The blade caught the side of the training dummy and slid neatly through with barely a tug. She stepped to the side as she sliced through the second with first and upward and downward slice. She turned on her heel as she spun towards the third, her blade extended in a horizontal slice.

Masami straightened as the blade passed through, and she returned her sword to its sheath. The thumps of the dummies falling apart came a moment later, and the girl looked up at her partner, giving her a cheery smile.

“Is that good?” She asked.
 
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