Resonance

LXX. The Smile

"This Resonance recruitment program is so useless," grumbled Sona, putting pressure on her wounds on top of a roof, "My Resonance has already fully developed. I don't need any training for this! Not only that, but I get beat up."

Sona stood up, her dress all dirty. She swiped the air and opened up her hand, revealing an apple. She took a bite out of it and sat down on the edge of the roof, usually watching people as they pass by. For her, it was almost like television, and it was one of the ways that Sona could calm down despite being so angry all the time.

"Hey!" yelled a boy, "Don't you dare!"

Sona quickly turned to the direction of the noise and found three boys. One boy was on the ground, another defending that boy, and another that was trying to attack the boy on the ground. Sona also noticed that two of the three boys were her classmates from Resonance recruitment.

"Motza Lementoff and Chroma Haltori," mumbled Sona, intrigued at the interaction.

"Come on, Chroma," smiled Motza, "The guy took my lunch money. I need that to buy some udon, you know."

"No way!" said the boy on the ground, "That was my lunch money in the first place!"

"Yeah, I didn't think Jobin would steal either," commented Chroma, holding a stick, "Now get away Motza, or you'll have a taste of my deadly demon blade, Balanzia!"

"Why are you even going for weapons first when you don't even know your Resonance?" asked Motza, stepping forward, "You don't even have a Scroll, which is far superior!"

Motza kicked Chroma down and grabbed his stick, snapping it in half. He then kicked Jobin in the stomach once again before proceeding to kick Chroma. Sona was about to come in to help them, but another situation happened.

"Come on, why are you still trying?" asked Motza, kicking Chroma to a further distance, "Huh? Why the hell are you smiling?"

Chroma smiled, slowly standing up and picking the bits of stick fragments on the floor, "Even when I'm down, there's no other reason but to smile. I might not know much Resonance, but I can at least use what I learned today."

Chroma used his thumb to flick the stick fragment at Motza. Normally, a stick fragment wouldn't harm a person, but it was heated using Resonance.

"Our first lesson was to learn how to heat things," smiled Chroma, grabbing pebbles alongside the stick fragments on the ground, "As long as I keep my distance, I'll be able to take you down! Even when broken, my demon blade, Balanzia, still serves me greatly!"

Motza tried to attack Chroma, by Chroma would keep flicking stick fragments and pebbles at Motza, slightly burning him.

"Go Chroma!" yelled Jobin, "You can do i—"

"Shut the hell up!" yelled Motza as he kicked Jobin once again.

"Don't touch him!" yelled Chroma as he grabbed another stick on the ground and ran up, trying to attack Motza.

Motza dodged the rush, kneeing Chroma in the stomach and smacking him down on the ground with his elbow.

"What happened to keeping your distance?" taunted Motza, holding a scroll, "Do your friends really matter that much? I told you to give up already!"

Chroma smiled and swept at Motza's feet with his legs, causing Motza to fall down. Chroma then whacked him with the stick.

"Every disadvantage is an opportunity!" smile Chroma as he slowly stood up.

However, just as Chroma stood up, he yelled in agony, collapsing to the floor. His ankle was grabbed by Motza, who was using his Copy Scroll to enhance the copied Resonance from Chroma, and using it against him. Chroma's ankles began to burn as he cried in pain.

Swish!

Chroma and Motza were separated from each other. In between them was Sona.

"Hey, you're the cute girl that was in our Resonance recruitment program," announced Motza, "Sona Arden, was it?"

"That's right," glared Sona, "I want you guys to stop fighting. You're doing way too much damage for something as simple as lunch money."

"And if I refuse?" asked Motza.

"Then my Exchange will fucking take care of you."

Motza stood up and patted his dirty clothes before leaving, "Yeesh, you really can't argue with those born with talent. Fine, take the lunch money. I've got better things to do anyways."

"Hell yeah!" snickered Chroma, slowly standing up despite his wounds, "That coward is running!"

"And you," complained Sona, "Why would you go ahead and taunt him like that, despite being in so much danger?"

Chroma smiled and grabbed the unconscious Jobin, taking him to the nearest medical hospital, "If I'm going to be beaten, I might as well have fun doing so. Plus, it'll be really nice if you defeat an enemy just by smiling. Keeping calm and smiling in these situations, really displays some form of control. And control is needed in the battlefield. Without it, you'll just be a slave to rage!"

Sona watched as Chroma struggled to bring Jobin to the hospital, and decided to walk the other way.

"He really doesn't understand what it's like," thought Sona, "Not everyone has a happy life, and even I have been through multiple troubles. What other emotion should I express other than raw anger? It just doesn't make sense."

As Chroma, Motza, and Sona continued their lessons in Resonance training, Sona gradually learned how to smile more and enjoy the positive side of life.

Unfortunately, Chroma received the opposite results.