Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

As Soraya had already established, If there was one thing Squad 11-D excelled at—

It was running away.

The three of them tore through the forest as though their lives depended on it.

Because they probably did.

Yesu led by a wide margin.

Carrots followed close behind.

James stumbled after them, struggling to keep pace.

Branches whipped against their faces. Roots threatened to trip them.

Behind them, Squad 11-A refused to let up.

"They’re quite fast!"

"Don’t lose them!"

Another slab of earth shot through the trees.

It whistled past James’s head.

He screamed.

"Ahhh!"

"Stop screaming, damn it!" Carrots barked without looking back. "You’re leading them straight to us!"

One of the pursuing students thrust his arm forward.

Earth spiralled around his hand before condensing into a long, double-edged sword.

With a sharp swing, he launched it.

The construct spun violently through the forest.

Its edges carved effortlessly through branches and bushes, tearing open the dense undergrowth that had concealed the fleeing trio.

James glanced back.

Too late.

The spinning blade grazed his shoulder.

Cloth split.

Skin followed.

Blood sprayed across his sleeve.

He cried out and crashed onto one knee before scrambling upright again.

Carrots barely ducked beneath the weapon as it continued spinning after them.

Their cover was gone. The bushes no longer hid them.

Yesu glanced over her shoulder. Everything registered in an instant.

James clutching his bleeding shoulder.

Carrots narrowly avoiding the spinning sword.

The open path.

Their pursuers were gaining on them.

James was already slowing down. His jacket gradually got soaked with blood.

Even Carrots seemed a bit weary.

The sword was still cutting through the space.

And it was coming for her next.

Yesu stopped.

Then ran straight toward it.

"Yesu!" Carrots screamed. "What are you doing?!"

The sword screamed through the air.

Three metres.

Two.

One.

Yesu sprang and planted a foot hard against the trunk of a nearby tree.

The sound echoed through the bark.

Using the rebound, she launched herself sideways, twisting gracefully through the air.

Her body rotated with the motion.

At the perfect moment—

Her heel struck the flat of the spinning blade.

The impact rang like metal on stone.

The construct spun wildly out of control, veering sharply off course.

It slammed into a nearby tree.

Cracks raced across its earthen surface.

Then the construct collapsed into loose soil, crumbling harmlessly onto the forest floor.

Yesu landed lightly.

One knee bent.

One hand pressed against the ground to steady herself.

The students chasing them instinctively slowed down in surprise.

"What the—"

"A member of 11-D?"

"Isn’t that the Zero we’re after?"

Carrots had already rushed back to James.

Without slowing, she swung him over one shoulder as though he weighed nothing.

"Ow!" He shouted.

She resumed running.

Every step she took jolted his wounded shoulder.

"Ow!"

A root.

"Oww!"

A rock.

"Owww!"

"Stop ’owing!’" Carrots shouted. "Or I’ll drop you!"

James looked horrified.

"Please don’t!" He cried helplessly.

"Yesu!" Carrots called between crashing through branches. "I’ve got an idea."

She jerked her shoulder.

"But you’re gonna have to take him."

Yesu nodded once.

Without hesitation, Carrots flung James toward her.

Yesu caught him in her arms before he hit the ground and held him upright.

Carrots had stopped running.

They stared at her.

"Go!" She thundered.

Supporting most of James’ weight, Yesu immediately turned and they continued running.

Neither of them looked back.

Carrots faced the approaching students alone.

She inhaled deeply.

And waited.

Making sure they were within her range.

Then she grabbed the trunk of a massive tree with both hands.

She pulled.

The enormous trunk shifted.

Barely.

The roots were too thick, holding it firmly to the earth.

Veins bulged across her arms. Muscles swelled violently beneath her skin.

She roared and pulled harder.

The roots groaned.

Then snap.

Snap.

Snap.

The entire tree tore free from the ground.

The approaching students slowed down in alarm.

Carrots lifted it over her head.

Then hurled it with everything she had.

The charging students froze.

The Earth User strained both hands, raising them high.

The ground surged upward.

A towering wall erupted before them.

The tree struck.

The impact exploded through the forest.

The wall shattered.

Chunks of earth burst outward.

The girl amongst them immediately expanded a shimmering Force Field around her teammates.

Rock and timber crashed against it.

The forest shook.

The deafening impact rolled through D-4.

Every member of Squads 11-A and 11-D stopped.

For one brief moment...

The entire battlefield listened.

***

The trio didn’t stop until the sounds of pursuit had long disappeared behind them.

Only then did they slow down.

A broad tree offered enough cover.

James collapsed beneath it with a groan as Yesu carefully lowered him to the ground.

Carrots dropped beside the trunk as well, leaning heavily against the bark.

Both of them were breathing hard.

Both instinctively clutched a shoulder.

Carrots had strained a muscle when she uprooted the tree.

James had gone frighteningly pale. Blood still seeped through the torn fabric around his shoulder.

He looked like he might collapse any minute.

Only Yesu remained standing.

Not a bead of sweat.

Not even a hurried breath.

She looked as though she had merely taken a stroll through the forest and happened to find the two of them resting there.

Carrots noticed.

"Hey." She called gently. "Do you do martial arts?"

Yesu blinked. "What?"

"That move." Carrots gestured vaguely through the air. "With the sword. Jumping mid air."

"Oh... that."

Yesu scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"I do have Martial Arts listed as an extracurricular activity..."

Carrots brightened.

"...But I’ve never actually attended." she concluded sheepishly.

Carrots’ excitement vanished.

"Did you happen to learn it somewhere else? At your previous school perhaps?" She asked.

Yesu shook her head.

"No. They couldn’t have afforded a tutor anyway."

Carrots frowned.

"Someone taught you then?"

Yesu almost laughed.

"I’m pretty sure nobody I know knows martial arts."

"Then how did you—"

James groaned loudly.

Both girls turned at once.

Yesu immediately knelt beside him and took off his jacket.

The shirt beneath was sliced open, stained dark with blood.

"Let me." Carrots reached over.

Yesu handed her the jacket.

With one hand, Carrots tore long strips from the fabric.

Yesu wrapped one tightly around James’s shoulder.

He winced sharply.

"Hold still," Carrots scolded. "The sword only scratched you. Why are you overreacting?"

"If you could feel what I’m feeling right now," James muttered through clenched teeth, "you wouldn’t say ’only.’"

"Then try running faster next time." Carrots said without remorse.

Yesu finished tying the makeshift bandage.

James let out a long breath and rested his head against the tree.

Yesu finally sat down beside them.

She couldn’t help wondering how the others were doing.

Several quiet minutes passed.

Then James suddenly shot upright.

Carrots jumped.

"What now?"

James turned toward them, eyes focused somewhere beyond the trees.

A faint metallic chime drifted through the silence.

Once.

Then again.

His expression sharpened.

"The Scales."

His voice had lost all trace of exhaustion.

He looked at the two girls.

"11-A’s carrier is nearby."

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