Umbra II

Before reading, please read the post below this one.

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Lise and Treyle had luck on their side. For one, they ran fast enough to get to the station at exactly 7:35, the departure time. Also, the lady driving the tram, who had seen them, was nice enough to wait for them instead of leaving at the appointed time. After getting a short lecture from the driver, the twins chanced upon some vacant seats in the last car, after two other girls kindly made room for them. As soon as they sat down, the tram left the station.

After sitting down, they took their time admiring the campus speeding past them. However, this tranquil moment did not last long, as they realized that their fight was not yet over. Lise fired the first shot.

"See, if you had woken up a little earlier, we wouldn't have had to rush to the station like that. We would have been on time."
"Hey, at least we got on!"
"It was a lucky break. We wouldn't have needed it if you weren't so careless."
"Whatever. Besides, you could have started cooking, then gone to wake me up. If you had taken the time to think a little, then we wouldn't have had problems, either."
"Sorry for being responsible! Not everyone has the time to think like you do. Especially when you're too lazy or you're not around, I have to make choices for you. Seriously, you need to be a little more-"
"A little more what? Like a prude? Bah, no one likes you because you think everyone should be a little do-gooder like you are. You're so high-strung, it's no wonder you don't have a boyfriend."
"Hmph. At least I'm not willing to jump at the first piece of scum that says your name!"

To some degree, both of them were right. Despite them being identical twins, Lise and Treyle were almost polar opposites. Lise was indeed a prude, but for good reason. With both of their parents out of their lives, Lise (being older) was in charge of taking care of her sister. Unfortunately, Treyle's lackadaisical attitude towards just about everything turned her older sister into the busybody she was now. And due to the focus she spent on keeping them together, Lise didn't get a grasp on education like her sister did. On the other hand, since her sister was looking over her, Treyle was allowed more time to focus on school and education, and also the opportunity to grow infinitely lazy. Because of this, she was one of the best student-athletes in her grade. Nevertheless, she wasn't perfect at everything. With Lise taking care of household chores, Treyle never learned to be self-sufficient or responsible. She dated almost any guy who asked, only to break off in less than a week because of dissatisfaction.

It took some time, but the twins finally realized how much noise they were making. They were about to apologize to the others, but by this time, their car, as well as the others, had been traumatized out of the general quiet into a center of conversations. With their bickering over, Lise and Treyle turned their attentions to the latest news and gossip.

When the tram arrived at the north lot of the Academy complex, Lise and Treyle got off only to find a large crowd of schoolgirls trying to push their way towards the center of the mass. Lise noticed that there were onlookers to the scene, so she went up to one of them.

"What's going on here?"
"I'm not really sure, but some girl found something on the ground and called her friends over. Soon enough, it turned out like this."
"And do you know what she found?"
"Nope. But whatever it is, it must be interesting."
"Ah, well. It doesn't concern us. Come on, Treyle..... Treyle? Where are you?"

Lise hadn't noticed, but as soon as they saw the gathering, Treyle ventured off to see what was worth all the fuss. Not caring about the other girls, she callously flipped skirts and violated the limits of privacy to get to the center of the attention. As she blazed forward, Treyle noticed that the girls were quieter closer to the center. Straining their necks, they were trying to see or hear whatever was causing all of this.

Finally, Treyle forced herself into the innermost ring of the mob but what she was dumbfounded at what she saw, or rather, what she didn't see. There was nothing in sight. But there was sound. Clearly audible, as if the source of it was right in front of her.

---Start---

'...And I'm telling you, he's only a child! He couldn't have possibly have-'
'Oh, he has. And he will. He's a born killer.'
'But-'
'But what? Are you saying what is before your eyes isn't real? That he efficiently and effectively slaughtered fellow humans in cold blood?'
'Surely someone-'
'He has no friends. He has no guardians. He has no family. He has no heart. He's perfect.'
'He's only a child, sir.'
'A child who singlehandedly stopped an invading army with limited supplies for TWO weeks until evac. A child who's outdone all of our greatest strategists and tacticians. A child with the greatest potential to become the most powerful weapon in this world's arsenal. He's a genius. He's made for THIS.'
'Sir, I must deeply obj-'
'Quiet, Lieutenant. I'll hear no more of this subject from you or your subordinates. I may not like this, either, but I am in no position to complain. And if I'm not, neither are you. Am I clear?'
'I understand, sir. I'll speak no more of this.'
'Good. You are dismissed.'
'Thank you, sir..... Oh! And sir?'
'What is it?'
'I'm glad I'm not one of your heartless superiors.'
'I'm glad I'm not, either. I just hope they won't destroy the poor boy.'

---End---

The audio then repeated again. Still puzzled by this mystery, Treyle went ahead and tried searching for the source of the sounds. Like the others around her, she first tried feeling the airspace where it was coming from for some sort of transparent device, but there was none. Then, she felt the ground for some sort of hole or perforation where sound could come through, but it was uncontestably solid concrete. Frustrated, Treyle did not give in and continued searching.

Lise finally managed to politely make her way towards where Treyle was. Seeing her sister on the ground, she became worried, so she had to ask.

"Treyle?"
"Yeah?" she responded while not abandoning her search.
"What are you doing on the ground?"
"Searching, obviously."
"For what?" Lise was not paying attention to the sound coming from the center.
"Hidden mikes or something."
"Hidden what? Nevermind that, we gotta go."
"Go where? The opening ceremonies don't start for another fifteen minutes."
"There was an announcement just now. Before the ceremonies, there's a special event happening."

Disappointed that she could not continue her search, Treyle joined Lise and the other girls as they reluctantly headed towards the Academy. Treyle was still not satisfied with what she had discovered, for it had only brought up questions she could not answer. However, she was happy that something like this happened. 'This year's going to be interesting, I know it,' Treyle thought giddily. Lise noticed her sister's glee.

"What's wrong?"
"Hehehe... nothing."
"Seriously, you've never been this silently happy about anything."
"It's nothing, really.""Come on, spit it out."
"Nope!"

They and the other girls headed towards the indoor auditorium for the announcement of their lives.