THE ACADEMY’S TRAINING ASSOCIATION
Almost two weeks had passed since I entered the Red-Dragon Academy for Girls.
At the moment, I was not walking to school with Leila. I was leaving the house on my own. This was not due to any bad blood between us; she simply tended to leave at the last moment, which was too late for my liking.
Today, she had yelled at me in her pajamas: “Laika, you traitor! I know this is your rebellious phase!” She did this most days. And a rebellious phase is not against your siblings.
As I ignored her and was about to leave for school, she grabbed me from behind before I could step through the door.
“Sister! You are truly in the way! Stop it!”
“Nooope! You’re being so mean, so I’m not letting you go! Aww, you’re sooo cute and little~” she whined.
I used all my strength to get out of her grasp, but I could not escape…
“You’re soft, Laika. You’re nowhere near strong enough to escape the grasp of the academy’s strongest.”
“Wh-what is the point of all this?! You are running the risk of being even later right now!”
“Ah, naive Laika. I’m clinging to you perfectly aware that I might be late!”
“Why are you so proud of this?!”
She let me go after about five minutes, but because of that, I proceeded to school in a bit of a rush… The student council president should not even consider being late to school. Of course, during those five minutes, she had not even changed her clothes, so perhaps she was wolfing down some toast right about now.
However, though I left home alone, that did not mean I was alone the entire time.
I proceeded quickly along the route to school, one that would most certainly destroy any human who attempted to traverse it, and I found Hialis waiting for me at the third checkpoint.
“Good morning, Sister.”
“Good morning, Hialis.”
Hialis waved to me, and I waved back.
“It was quite a handful yesterday getting so many invitations from all those clubs, wasn’t it? Some of the ones I saw were from the track and field club, the sky racing club, the flame-throwing club, the eating contest club, the chess club, and the quiz club.”
“Yes… I find it painful to turn them down, but…I suppose I went knocking on a lot of club doors, so I guess it is partially my responsibility…”
The Red-Dragon Academy for Girls, of course, had plenty of clubs. We had some that were unique to dragons, such as the ones involving flight and flame, but there were plenty of others that could also be found at human school. Additionally, joining a club was not required, so students were allowed to opt out.
In the spirit of challenge, I’d spent trial days at many different clubs. However, I refused to officially join them until I’d seen what they were all doing, even when I received an invitation.
It was doubtlessly due to how I presented myself that all these clubs were expecting me to join them.
“It is perfectly reasonable for all these clubs to invite you. You set a new school-wide record in the flame-throwing club; almost no one else could light that timber. And you surpassed the records set by the regular competitors in the track and field club.”
“I am happy to have made an impression, but I had a feeling it was not really going to help me grow… I am not entirely sure about joining them.”
But of course, joining a club that did not entirely suit my interests didn’t seem right, either… I wondered what I should join.
“If I may, Hialis?”
“What is it, Sister? Oh, I bought these, so please have one.” She handed me a jam roll, so I took it.
“Nom, nom… Ah, do you think you could stop calling me Sister…?”
It felt rather formal, and we were in the same class. It almost felt as though I had been held back a year.
“No, I must respect someone more skilled than I as my sister. That is my responsibility as the one who lost my own challenge against you. I cannot compromise. Even when both parties are in the same grade, the school’s unwritten rule dictates that whoever loses supports the winner and treats her as an elder sister.”
I had a feeling that an unwritten rule couldn’t dictate anything in particular…
“By the way, Hialis, what club have you settled on joining?”
“Ghost club.”
“Ghost club? Joining a club isn’t required here, so you don’t have to register if you don’t—”
“Its official name is the ghost investigation club.”
“Oh, that sort of club. I cannot say I am the fondest of ghosts…” I hated scary stories.
I saw a glint in Hialis’s eyes.
“Sister, if I told you a scary story during battle, would that ruin your concentration, leading to my victory?”
“No! That would be unfair! And even if you did, I would challenge you again with earplugs.”
It had been two weeks since I started attending the academy.
I was already walking to school with a classmate, so I thought my school life was going quite well already.
“I also have some chocolate buns, Sister. Do you want one?” Hialis had all sorts of things ready for me.
“Yes, thank you. There is a saying that goes: An empty stomach does not lend to battle. It is important to maintain peak condition.”
Hialis munched on her own chocolate as we walked to school. The academy allowed us to purchase snacks and walk around eating them. Dragons were hungry creatures, after all.
Along the route to school, the alpine plants were in full bloom with pretty yellow flowers. I believed they were of, or related to, the lily genus. At the moment, we were walking at a brisk fifteen gilro per hour down Academy Road, which had a festive atmosphere around it.
Ahead of us were two upperclassmen engaged in battle.
“I’m impressed.”
“I could say the same for you!”
“But that lovely little sister of yours isn’t suited for you. I’ll be taking her!”
“Cut the back talk!”
From what I could tell, they were battling over one of their underclassman sisters.
Sister, in this case, was not a sister of blood relation, but simply an underclassman who would follow another around. It was not entirely unusual for students to form pseudo-sisterly relationships within a girls’ academy.
I had heard that these sisterly relationships stemmed from the military systems the humans invented in the distant past. Within these military systems, the men of those squadrons would vow brotherhood to one another and fight side by side, thus achieving impressive results against the biggest enemy armies.
This was incorporated into the warlike world of the red dragons, and we now formed a similar type of sisterhood.
I suppose the girls’ academies of other races would have some type of pseudo-sisterly relations like this, but our battle-oriented approach was unique to the red dragons.
I must add that much like other races, it is much more common to have an underclassman approaching an upperclassman to take her in as her younger sister or vice versa. Even if one is asked to battle, it is perfectly within one’s right to say no.
“We’ve been at school for two weeks now. I think this is about when the upperclassmen start looking to take on younger sisters.”
“It seems so. I cannot say I am terribly interested.”
“That’s probably normal. You already have the president. And not very many people can match her, if any.”
“No, I simply have no intention of doing such a thing… I believe that excelling on one’s path of choice is a more efficient method of training than studying under a single person.”
The academy, incidentally, was made up of six grades, and each school “year” lasted for ten years, which would mean those in year six would be graduating from the academy after sixty years of attendance. Dragons lived very long lives.
“That’s one way to think of it. You are already powerful, and you cannot make weak upperclassmen your younger sisters—and I already am your sister,” Hialis said with a triumphant look.
“I had no intention of forming any sisterly bonds…”
“Think about this rationally. Can an older sister actually choose who her blood sister is going to be? She can’t ask her mother to re-birth her because she doesn’t like her, right? That is what this is about.”
“I find the logic somewhat strange, but…it is just a pseudo-relationship, so…”
“Would you like a honey butter roll?” Hialis produced yet another kind of roll from her bag.
“Yes, please.”
I bit into it. Mmm. I suppose a relationship like this is all right.
But today, my mission was to continue searching for a club that was to my liking.
After school, I found myself surrounded by a great number of upperclassmen.
Some were holding tennis rackets, while others had large hoes resting on their shoulders. Most had stern looks on their faces.
Someone ran by me, one I believe was the same year as myself, screaming, “Ahhh! Nooooo!”
“Um… If I may, I cannot get by with you all surrounding me like this, so could you please move?”
“No,” said the one with the tennis racket. “You’re coming with us. Give us your time.”
“I appreciate the invitation, but I must refuse. I believe I told you how I felt before.”
She stared hard at me.
I stared back at her.
Whoever looked away here would lose. And I would not lose. Now that this was a competition, I had to win.
All of a sudden, she bowed deeply to me.
“Please! Join the tennis club! We could win nationals with you on our team!”
Afterward, everyone else started bowing in sequence, exclaiming how they wanted me to join them.
The one shouldering the hoe joined the fray. “Please come to the farming club! We’ll grow the best onions!” At a glance, the hoe looked like a weapon, so I would recommend not carrying them around.
“My apologies, but I have not yet felt there would be any significance in joining any of these clubs. Please allow me to keep searching.”
It was the only thing I could say to them.
Some held their ground. “You’ll get better with us!” they said. “We’ll help you get stronger!” But that was not the issue here.
“I understand, but my answer remains the same. I can only join clubs where I feel as though I can grow on my own,” I replied bluntly, staring back at the person from the tennis club. Please move out of my way is what that meant.
“Eep!”
She stepped back, creating a path for me. The rest stepped away to create space as well.
“Incredible… Her eyes are full of insatiable drive… I doubt we could handle someone like her in our club…”
“Yeah… Our club might get stronger overall if she joined, but then it would probably transform into something entirely different.”
“She’s basically toxic. No one should be asking her to join if they’re not completely aware of what they’re taking on…”
I had a feeling they were too afraid of me, but…they were mostly correct. If I became the star of a club, then I would receive plenty of praise, to be sure. But if I wanted to grow, that seemed more like the long way around.
If I received nothing but praise for who I already was, then my desire to improve would only dull.
It would be like rounding off the tip of a spear!
As I walked down the hall, I came across Leila approaching from the opposite direction.
No, perhaps it would be best to refer to her as the president now.
She had other members of the student council in tow, and she shone nobly among them.
I almost doubted my own eyes—this could hardly be the same girl who lazed about at home. My sister was doubtlessly the person who garnered the most respect among students here in the academy.
The student council president came to stand before me. “It’s only been two weeks, and I can hear your name echoing throughout this entire school, Laika. Some even say you might be the kind of talent we only see every half a century,” the president said to me as she played with her hair.
I met her gaze with a hard stare. “I thought you were the talent we only see every half a millennium, President. I still have plenty of room for improvement.”
Indeed—I could not rest on my laurels just yet. I had grown up watching Leila, after all.
She was a legendary red dragon, said to have been challenged to innumerable battles by her seniors not long after entering the school. She won every time, stole their badges, then commanded them as her own younger sisters.
One month after starting, she was called the shadow student council president, and after the elections, she was voted in as the real president as a first-year.
That was my sister—Leila.
Despite how mighty she was, her superior position meant I had to do what I could to surpass her; I would not let my path come to an abrupt end!
Furthermore, I had never in my life fought physically with her.
The only time she ever touched me was when she was being excessive with her affection, and I had never attacked her. To be more precise, I had never been able to. Even as a child, I could sense just how limitless this dragon was.
An electrifying atmosphere overcame the hallway, but those standing beside Leila did not seem to mind it.
The people here could likely sense just what I was capable of.
“Such fire in your eyes, Laika. You remind me of the president from years ago,” said one of the girls flanking my sister.
In the next moment, she vanished.
—No.
She was right next to me, with a hand on my shoulder.
“But that’s not enough. You can’t join the student council like this.”
I had not been able to follow her movements at all… I had not even sensed that she was attempting to move… How did she manage such speed…?
“Cut it out, Wyrmspeed Ricuen of the Four Secretaries,” the president warned.
By then, the hand on my shoulder was already gone, and Wyrmspeed Ricuen had retaken her position next to the president.
“I overstepped. I was simply intrigued by your little sister.”
“I understand. I think she’s an outstanding member of her cohort. She’s quite powerful for having just entered the school.” Leila was complimenting me, but the tone was rather cold. “But that’s unlucky for her.” The president laughed the same way my sister laughed at home. “Because it’s hard to grow without a relatively close goal to work toward. The first-years are a bad crop this year.”
I was shocked.
That was true…
It seemed my sister had some classmates from her own year among the student council members. That meant she had people beside her who could work hard.
On the contrary, I had not yet found someone who could challenge me within my own grade.
“But it’s still amazing that people have already stopped calling you the president’s sister. I know it’s not much coming from me, but take it as a compliment.”
Clap, clap, clap.
The president offered me slow, congratulatory applause.
“Of course. I will strive to do even better.”
“I know. You have no choice but to climb to my heights. You have to choose your own path in life, but I know you can reach me eventually.”
The student council walked past me, carrying with them a dignity befitting the best of the student body.
I was certain that each member individually had enough power to single-handedly raze an entire country.
“It is imperative that I choose my club now,” I murmured to myself once they were gone. “Or perhaps I will find that it’s best if I don’t join any of them.”
“…My apologies, but I must decline.”
A member of the philosophy club had invited me to “find the truth of the cosmos together!” But I left the classroom without turning back.
“An admirable spirit, but their approach differs much too greatly from mine.” Sitting at a desk and studying could only improve one so much.
The philosophy club was the last one I visited, and their ideals did not coincide with mine, either. I exited the school building in need of fresh air.
There was a small pond behind the school; it was like a little park. The volcano’s groundwater was said to come up here, and the water was clear. I sat on a bench beside it.
In the end, none of the clubs offered what I was looking for.
Perhaps I had to think on my own about what I would do.
“You seem down, Sister.” Hialis came to sit beside me.
“What about your club, Hialis?”
“Right now, we’re searching for ghosts on campus.”
“Oh…I suppose the ghost club would do that…” I was not fond of that sort of thing.
“It seems like you haven’t found a club yet.” Hialis guessed what was going on from my expression.
“I visited every club, but I could not find one that would help me grow the way I want. I suppose this means I must not rely on others…”
“Did you really visit every club, Sister?”
What a strange thing for her to ask. I looked at her blankly, and she explained further.
“I heard there are some people who carry out their activities far from the active center here in the academy. I think you may have missed them.”
“You ‘hear’? That sounds almost like unofficial club activity.” Hialis nodded and then pointed to a place beyond the pond, the opposite direction from the school building.
She pointed to the cliffs at the edge of the volcanic crater in which the academy sat, where there were several natural caves set into the wall.
“Oh, that is a part of campus, too.”
“It is. They say some of the upperclassmen do nothing but train in those caves. I heard about it while investigating stories about ghosts.”
“I find it highly suspicious that you are phrasing it like a ghost story!”
“They’re called the training association. I’m not sure if they actually exist or not, but if you’re lost enough to come sit on this bench, then why not look for them anyway?”
A sensible suggestion, I realized.
I had not looked everywhere yet; I could not come to a stop just yet.
I squeezed Hialis’s hands with both of my own. “Thank you, Hialis! I will do all that I can!”
“Oh, it’s no problem at all. I’m your younger sister, after all.”
I didn’t much care for the “sister” dynamic—Hialis was my friend.
Of all the many little caves I could choose from, I made a discovery in the first one I checked.
I found (what looked to be) an upperclassman engaging in superhuman—superdragon training.
She did not even wear a school uniform—instead, she wore ripped and tattered clothing, much like the kind I would expect a reclusive monk who lived in the wilderness to wear.
Though the only source of light was from a small lamp, I could see just how dirtied her face was. Her hair barely came down to her neck, and I nearly mistook her for a young boy. It was incredibly rare to find a student here in the academy who did not grow her hair long at all. Though my own hair was not terribly long, I was still growing it out due to my sister’s influence.
But her physique was a trivial matter.
The most important thing was how extraordinary her method of training was.
She was doing push-ups without using her hands at all—her arms were firmly stuck to her sides!
Were they even “push-ups” without the motion of pushing? Yet, it did not seem as though she was using her back muscles at all—how her body moved up and down was the same motion as that of push-ups.
“U-um, excuse me! How are you doing those push-ups?” I had to ask.
This person was accomplishing nothing short of a miracle.
Her head turned toward me as she continued her no-arm push-ups. “I train. That’s it. Once you can freely control all the muscles in your body, this is nothing.”
She gave me an answer without any arrogance—or with humility, I suppose—and replied simply as she was.
“Um…are you a part of the training association?”
“Some call it that. I have been in this cave for so long that I’ve forgotten.”
If she spent all her time in this cave, did she not receive class credit…?
No, perhaps that was a small matter for someone on the road to mastery. Or perhaps, thinking about it logically, they simply came to the cave and trained here after school every day. One could not keep food here, after all.
“What is your name?”
“I do not have a name to give you, and so you may call me as you like.”
I knew it. This person would be able to help me grow!
“Understood. So…please allow me to take inspiration from your hair and call you Miss Pixie Cut.”
“Permission granted,” Miss Pixie Cut said, her face still straight. I think she would react the exact same way if a ghost were to speak to her.
“Would you mind if I train next to you? My name is Laika; I am a new student who started school last month.”
Miss Pixie Cut fixed her eyes on me. There was a strength to her insight that did not seem possible for an academy student. “You are the type of dragon who would stay until I gave you permission, whether or not I initially said yes. I can tell. Do as you please.”
“Thank you!”
I could hear my own voice echoing throughout the cave.
And that was how I became a member of the training association.
From then on, I always made my way to Miss Pixie Cut’s cave after class.
Not only did she do push-ups without using her arms, she had plenty of other superdragon regimens in her arsenal.
One of them was a very slow and deliberate way of training the abdomen muscles.
Once an abdominal exercise becomes easy, one uses all the muscles besides those in the abdomen. This drives the abdomen to its limits during a slow sit-up.
Miss Pixie Cut did this exercise at the speed of a flower blooming. As she did so, she put her ab muscles to work with sheer force of will.
“This is what it means to be able to control your muscles at will. If you master this, you can train at any moment in time.”
“I see! You are truly impressive!” I mimicked her and slowly engaged in the exercise.
This was so I could reach even greater heights, what regular muscle training could not do!
Sometimes, she would sit with her legs folded and meditate.
I would copy her then, too, and meditate beside her. I slowly inhaled, then exhaled, and dismissed all errant thoughts from my mind.
“Listen. Picture your enemy in your mind—a most powerful and great enemy.”
“Yes!”
The enemy that came to mind…was Leila. I did not hate my sister, but she was still great and powerful.
“Defeat your enemy in one blow. Do not flinch, do not fear if your enemy attempts to attack you. You will be attacking as well.”
The student council president was noble and beautiful. There was an aura about her that made anyone hesitate to even approach her. Even though she was just a picture in my mind now, that still held true.
Do not run. The moment you turn to flee, you will have lost.
Face her.
Leila grew in size in my mind as the image of her was approaching me. She readied herself to attack. The most powerful dragon in the academy was going to attack me!
Even though this was all in my mind, fear still boiled up inside of me.
No. I still cannot overcome her.
I had taken it for granted that I could never win against her.
“Stand your ground, Laika!” Miss Pixie Cut suddenly appeared in my imagination.
No, her voice was real. I could feel the sound in my ears.
That very real sound created a change in my imagination.
“Laika, this world only exists in your head. You have nothing to lose. You will not get hurt. Push forward.”
“Okay!”
Leila’s fist was approaching me—which meant she was within attacking range for me, too!
I sent my fist flying toward my imaginary sister.
“Sister! This is all my power!”
I opened my eyes.
It happened naturally, as though I was waking from a dream.
“You defeated your vision, Laika,” Miss Pixie Cut murmured quietly. “But this is not the end. Your training does not stop here. Now do it again.”
“All right! …And if I may ask a favor of you?”
Miss Pixie Cut looked at me and commanded me to speak with her eyes.
“May I refer to you as my sister?”
Was the one under whom I was already studying not perfectly apt to be my sister?
And at this point, I could no longer consider her a stranger. Had I been born a little earlier, perhaps I would have been just like her.
Miss Pixie Cut remained silent for a moment, then slowly shook her head.
“There is someone more suited for that title in your life.”
I had been planning to insist. But when she said that, I had no choice but to agree.
“Do not look to me as your sister. I am still in training. You have your sights set even higher than that.”
Miss Pixie Cut was telling me not to compromise so easily.
“Understood. Perhaps finding someone to be my sister will be part of my training.”
I closed my eyes again to meditate.
Two months had passed since I joined the training association.
“You’ve got a kind of dignity around you now, Laika,” Leila commented as we were eating dinner.
She was overall too relaxed when she was at home; she was already in her dressing gown now.
“Is that so? It is hard for me to tell.”
“Yeah—the same kind of aura as the real big shots. But you’re not trying to force it or anything. You’re at home in it.”
I was happy to hear this coming from her.
“Is it true that you’ve been training in the caves? The training association, right?”
I had nothing to hide, and I had reported as such to the academy, so I gave her an affirmative.
“Uh-huh. That’s strange.”
“Strange? How so?”
“No, it really doesn’t matter to you, so don’t worry about it. I can tell you’re getting stronger. You’ve had lots of people ask to spar you, and you’ve won every single time, right?”
“Yes. Some people will approach me during lunch. They are all second- and third-year students.”
It was not odd among the red dragons to schedule appointments for their battles. Cowardly sneak attacks were frowned upon, of course, so one could say that taking the proper steps to set an official match was commended.
“I think you’ll be reaching the top much faster than I thought. You might even be able to join the student council.”
Despite her praise, I found myself not caring one bit. It was a surprise.
Instead, I replied thusly:
“I am certain I will catch up with you.”
The following day, I arrived at the cave as I always did after classes.
I was still unable to do any armless push-ups, but I had learned how to push myself up with my arms stuck to my sides.
I could do this by pressing my arms against a rock and lifting my body that way. By continuing this, I would one day be able to do it simply by using my muscles.
As I trained, Miss Pixie Cut said something quietly. She often spoke without any preamble.
“You have cultivated plenty of strength, Laika. Spar with me.”
I thought she would one day suggest a match between us, but I imagined this would not happen for quite a long time yet.
“All right. I accept; I will not run.”
“But we will not be fighting with our fists and feet. We will battle in our minds.”
“In our minds?”
Even after training with her for two whole months, I was still confounded.
What happened in my mind most certainly would be different from what happened in her mind. How were we to battle?
“If you enter a deep meditation, we should be able to meet in the depths of our minds. I know you will be able to reach those depths.”
I thought it impossible, but I could not think of any reason she would lie to me.
I did as I was told and closed my eyes.
Slowly, ever slowly, I submerged myself into the depths of my imagination, deeper than the clear pond behind the school building, it felt.
The next thing I knew, Miss Pixie Cut stood before me.
“There you are, Laika,” she said.
She stood not in the cave, but in some field.
She and I were the only ones who existed here. There was no need for either of us to say any more.
Miss Pixie Cut dashed right toward me. There was no hesitation in her movement. She had not even thought of going easy on her apprentice.
And so I would fight back with all I had.
I transformed into my dragon form and spewed bright crimson flames toward her!
This was the world of imagination, which meant I could also change form in the blink of an eye and douse her with searing-hot flame!
This was the most powerful attack I could muster as our hearts clashed.
This was not a battle between flesh and blood, but of heart and mind!
I breathed my flames until Miss Pixie Cut’s image melted before my eyes!
“—You win.”
Her voice woke me, and I was back in the cave.
For the first time, she smiled.
“Though it was only for a short time, you have surpassed me. I give you this cave. I will travel to train in another land.” Miss Pixie Cut quietly stood.
She would not be here tomorrow. There was no hesitation to her actions at all. But that did not mean I could not try to stop her.
“No! You can stay! Please stay with the training association!”
It was thanks to her help that I had gotten so much stronger!
“No, I’m leaving. And I was planning on going somewhere where it is not illegal for me to be anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am not a student here at the academy. I simply wander from place to place as I better myself. I should not stay so long here on campus.”
She was not my upperclassman!
“Farewell. We may meet again someday.” Miss Pixie Cut quickly left.
In my shocked stupor, a thought came to me.
Indeed, the association had been an “unofficial” club… Which simply meant no one from the academy was a member…
On my way home that day, Leila rushed to catch up with me.
Judging from how she patted my shoulder from behind, I could tell she was now at-home Leila and not president Leila.
“Hey, Laika, I was really wondering about all this club stuff, so I took a look at the student club registration records, and…besides yourself, no one else is a part of the training association.”
“…Ah, yes. I would suppose so.”
“But it said you joined an already-existing club, so what’s all that about?”
I pretended not to know. “I cannot say. Perhaps I joined a club run by a ghost?”
Leila tilted her head. “It’s not like you to lie about this stuff. I think you might have some bad influences in your class.”
“If I were to be subject to anyone’s terrible influences, then I would say you already served that role long ago.”
“Uh-uh. I’ve been a great influence. I’ve been leading by non-example. Be thankful.” Leila had made that up herself.
Miss Pixie Cut had never even told me her name. I was looking forward to seeing her again.
“Sister, did you ever meet anyone you wanted to make your pseudo-sister?” I asked casually.
“Aren’t you glad you have me for a sister forever?” she replied.
“That is not what I mean. I mean studying under someone else as their younger sister… Ah, perhaps you don’t want to want to answer…”
“To be honest, no. Because I’ve always been the strongest.”
Leila gripped my shoulder tightly and pulled me into a hug. Though no one was watching us, I felt it was a bit much.
But I knew I still had to surpass her somehow.
Right now, I knew I did not need a pseudo-sister to guide me.
To me, my own sister stood at the pinnacle of all of my goals.
I would aim for where she stood.
It was worth it enough to make such a difficult task my objective.
The End
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