Arcadia

Locked-on

With the sensation having disappeared, Yura decided to just ignore it and carry on with club application.

So many choices to go for. What do I do? I have to be careful in picking one that would not conflict with my Aegis jobs.

She skimmed through the clubs one-by-one. 

Theatre club? Not really my thing.

Home Economics club? Nah...

Math club? They can't be serious.

Cosplay club? I've had enough dressing up from last night already.

Even so, one can't help but be amused at the clubs, who are putting out all the stops to attract members. Some gave out freebies, while others went for bonus benefits for school activities, possibly thanks to some close ties to the student council. At least that's what's on Yura's mind for an explanation on how these student benefits came to be.

With her bag full of flyers, Yura navigated the maze-like stall area, checking the club stalls one-by-one.

"Come join the music club!" encouraged a twintails girl seated behind a stall table. She energetically waved her hand in such an exaggerated manner which caught Yura's attention.

"Ohai~" said the girl upon Yura's approach. Her voice was sweet and childlike. "Care to join?"

Right after asking the question, the girl tapped the shoulder of a male student who was crouched down. 

"Application form!" shouted the music club girl, slapping the male in his back. Despite her shouting, there seemed to be a playful aura in her voice, which indicated that she's not really angry.

"You didn't have to do that..." complained her partner, who proceeded to hand over the application form.

The music club girl snatched the form off and put it in front of Yura. "Hi, I'm Ruki. Please sign here..." 

She pointed at a blank area on the paper. "And here too... and here..." She continued pointing at several blank areas while flipping the pages.

"Uhh wait. Hold on."

Yura was quite overwhelmed by this club member, and it showed in her voice. "I-I'll think about it. I'll be sure to drop by again!"

Ruki raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Well, whatever you say."

She returned to her exaggerated routine, acting as if Yura isn't there. Essentially being out of the picture, Yura moved on.

~~~~~

Alerts started flashing in the Aegis' command room.

"Commander! Energy reading detected!" shouted one of the control room staff.

"The coordinates show that it is in the same location as the school!"

Victor sat on his usual position. When he heard the news, he started giving orders.

"Secure the perimeter quickly! As for the anomaly, give me an analysis!"

"Sir, this is similar to the anomalies encountered in the successive nights for the past few days. It would not be unusual if this one is similar to the other ones in origin."

Despite his very assertive tone, Victor remained calm, not even getting up from his seat.

"He's in the school right? I'm sure he can handle it. Right now, we need to mobilize forces to corner the anomaly in case it would try to escape."