An Evaluation (Part One)

It was a few days after the bird attack. Shaken as they were, it didn't change their desire to talk. The classroom was full of chatter. Their Geography teacher hadn't shown up in 20 minutes. Angie as the class representative had made a note on the board to keep quiet and she was obeying it by playing checkers with Yukika. Sakura was reading over her Chemistry notes while glancing every once in a while to the manga in her lap.

Silence washed through the room. Confused, Sakura looked up. Someone was at the door of the classroom, pleasantly smiling. She wore a blue jacket with the S.U.N. emblem and a sleek white dress underneath. Her high ponytail swung as she walked to the teacher's desk and took a seat. The whole class had their eyes on her. Or more specifically, her three milky white eyes. If she noticed their stares, she didn't say anything about it.

Her skin had a green tint to it. Her third eye nestled in the middle of her forehead, slightly shrunken compared to the other two. She sat up straight in her seat, unwavering. Her gaze seemed to not be on them, but a faraway object a thousand miles away that was somehow in their class. Her demeanor was relaxed. No, it wasn't relaxed, exactly. It was more like she abandoned all worries about the situation at hand, focusing on some higher plane of existence. She seemed to sit higher than any of them could reach.

"Hello Class 2-A. You can call me Oko," she spoke. Her voice was mystifying. There was no echo in the room, but there was another voice mirroring hers with every word she spoke. "After the incidents surrounding your school, the S.U.N. has decided to take action. As some of you might have suspected, we're at risk of a spirit burst."

Unsure murmurs filled the room. Angie glanced at her. A sickness pooled at her stomach. There was anxiety all around them. Her heartbeat was rapid. She could hear the wind rushing through the fans. She looked down at her feet. Every crack in the smooth concrete was a threat of it crumbling down. She could fall down from her seat and be crushed by the falling debris.

A spirit burst could mean that their house would be destroyed, leaving them to live in a shelter. It could mean attacks each day with a chance of being ripped apart by out of control animals or winds. It could mean their world would be set ablaze, the lands turned to ashes. Her heartbeat was painful in her chest. She rested her head on the hard table, trying to calm down. The murmurs around her swallowed her mind whole. Everything was doomed.

Oko gestured for them to settle down.

"Do not worry. We'll be able to handle this. However, we wish to ask if any of you are interested in joining our forces," she spoke. The anxiety was quickly taken over with excitement. A new opportunity! New faces and experiences and a chance to tackle the spirit burst themselves. Sakura smiled thinking of the possibilities.

"We're recruiting qualified young ones to help in our efforts to fight the rise of spiritual activity," Oko went on. "If you're interested, sign in your names with me and we'll carry out an evaluation to see if you can make the cut. Of course, we're not only recruiting attackers, but supporters like healers, weapon designers and assistants. Don't be hasty, take a moment to decide."

The three friends looked at each other. Did they really want to uproot their lives to join the cause? It was nerve wracking to think about. It would mean something completely different for them all. On one hand, she loved the idea of it. On the other, she didn't know if she could handle it. Her life was just fine right now, she wouldn't be at a loss if she didn't join. Except... perhaps losing a life full of action and fun.

She could imagine swinging swords, slashing through spirits. As if. She would pass out just picking a single sword up. Perhaps she would experiment with different mixtures to fill bullets with. Or maybe she would mix in the wrong chemicals and die in a fiery explosion. She could be a commander, giving orders from the sidelines. And she would lead her team to certain doom and she would die in disgrace.

"I'm going to give it a try," she said. Angie smiled at her and patted her shoulder. Yukika's mouth was set.

"I was afraid of trying on my own, at least we can try together," Angie confessed. They both looked at Yukika. Her eyes were closed, and she thought deeply. After a few seconds, she answered.

"If you're joining, then I am too."

"Yay!" Angie exclaimed. She hugged them both. It was so exciting, thinking of the three of them beating evil spirits together. One, two-three. Her heartbeat raced. She put a hand over her heart and breathed in. She could do this.

They lined up to write their names in for evaluation. The excited chatter of speculation bounced between the students. Sakura felt antsy just standing in line. She didn't want to get her hopes up. She had never been the type to be picked for anything. Why would they pick a weak, short and frail 16 year old, anyway? Yet... perhaps this time would be her lucky chance.

They all wrote their names in and went back to their seats. Some were shaky as they pulled their chairs out to sit. Some were haughty, sitting with their arms crossed, sure they would be chosen. Some were simply excited, sitting up straight as if they wanted to jump out to be chosen. Oko scanned the list of names. She stood up and made a sweeping gesture.

"Alright, I'll call each of you surname first, given name second. I'll call you five at a time. Then, you must follow me. We'll have you go through a few tests, and then you can rest at your cafeteria. Once you're all done, you can return to class. Understood?"

Everyone nodded. Oko pointed her Screenpod at the screen to display the names at the board. She began to call out names. Each name flashed for a few seconds on the board.

"Abbas, Adina. Abbey, Katherine. Allende, Angelita. Baas, Carina. Bach, Eveline."

Angie waved as she was led away by Oko. Sakura resumed reading her Chemistry notes, with her heart in her mouth. She drank some water to help her calm down. The cool liquid helped dampen her dry throat. Yukika helped cool down her water earlier, holding it in her hands for a minute, letting some frost spreading on the sides. She found it amazing how she could do that. She kept taking sips and breathing in and out until Fukumura, Sakura was called out.

She got up and followed Oko. Oko walked with a suave saunter, with one foot in front of another. They went down the steps, passing other classes that were brimming with excitement. Other students waved to the five as they walked past, wishing them luck. Once they reached the parking lot, they saw a lot of double decker buses waiting for them. They made their way to a black bus that towered dauntingly above them.

Sakura entered and saw lots of seats configured with devices. The inside of the bus was a blinding white. It smelled of sanitizer, like a hospital. The sides of the bus were filled with screens that flashed with data. Workers sat at their seats, madly tapping at their screens. Oko assigned her to a seat with someone who wore a white jacket, ready to supervise her evaluation. Sakura's hands were clammy.

Her supervisor gave her a reassuring smile as he hooked her up. He was a chubby man with round black eyes. His hair was tousled up and his jacket was around his shoulders, making him look laid back, much unlike Oko's organized presence. Sakura read his name tag. Amaranth.

He strapped on a pulse monitor onto her and put on two wired patches on each side of her head. He started to take her pulse. She spoke up.

"Umm... sometimes my pulse is irregular."

He looked at her with his brows furrowed. She looked away from his piercing gaze. He got up and walked to the front of the bus to speak to Oko. They spoke for a few moments while Oko looked through something on her Screenpod.

Sakura took the opportunity to look around from her seat. Everything was organised and effective. It was super current and high tech as well. It reminded her of puzzle pieces all fitted together in a board. She had a feeling the bus and everything inside it had been made in City Three. There was data flowing in on the screen opposite her about spirit activity in City Nine. A few buttons were lined up under the screen. She looked to her right to see the other supervisors. One of them was a man with honey brown hair and a curled up beard. He looked up and smiled at her. He had small hazel eyes and looked sturdy like a mountain goat. On a second thought, perhaps that wasn't the best comparison.

Her observations were interrupted by Amaranth returning. She smiled at him nervously. He took a long good look at her. A Screenpod was in his hands. His eyes dissected each part of her. Sakura squirmed in her seat. She hated that kind of look. The knowledge that someone was judging her every move was horribly uncomfortable. He seemed satisfied and placed a screen in front of her.

"You were telling the truth. Cardiac arrhythmia. Is it caused by a weak heart?" he asked. She nodded. She was used to answering questions about her condition that it didn't bother her. He asked another question. "You take any medicine for it?"

"Yes," she affirmed. She told him the dosage of medicine she took. He nodded and typed it into his Screenpod. He put it away.

"You can't be involved in anything too strenuous?" came the next question. She shook her head. He sighed apologetically. "I don't know if we should even consider you for evaluation, kid."

Her eyes went wide. Her mouth opened to speak before her brain could think.

"I don't have to be an attacker. I want to help with the Spirit Burst however I can!"

He looked at her for a long time. The other students and supervisors turned to gaze at her. Normally, having so many eyes would unnerve her. She didn't squirm this time, meeting his gaze defiantly. She was like a mountain, solid and immovable. Finally, he laughed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, kid. I like your determination. We need it in the S.U.N., so hold onto that. I'll go on with the evaluation, but I can't say anything about your results, okay?"

She nodded fervently. He started the pulse monitor. She tried to keep herself steady, breathing in and out. After a few seconds, he typed the numbers into his Screenpod. He unhooked it from her arm. He patted her head and she relaxed in her seat.

The screen in front of her started up. It showed the numbers one to nine in a grid. They flashed in a random order before turning back to a black screen. She realised that it was a memory test. She quickly tapped in the numbers in the order she remembered. The test went on, with the numbers switching positions and orders and disappearing faster and faster. The excitement made her hands sweaty, and she had to be careful that her fingers didn't slip. The test ended as she punched in the last number. Amaranth looked at his Screenpod.

"Not bad at all," he whistled. She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Amaranth," she said. He looked surprised. He smiled back at her. He took away the screen and turned on his Screenpod so it could display a screen. She took a look, but it was hard to make out the letters that were backwards. She felt a little frustrated at not being able to see.

"Interviewing time."

Her hands became clammier. Oh no. Another round of being judged. She tried to keep her mind straight. It wasn't so bad. She had to have expected some kind of interview to make it through the evaluation. She was just hoping that it didn't happen.

"Alright," Amaranth started. "What do you think is your best trait?"

She thought for a while. Words bounced around in her head. She plucked one out that stuck around. "My adaptability."

He typed in her answer. He clicked a button on the Screenpod. It flashed to another question. "What do you value most?"

"The happiness of those I care about," she spoke. She didn't hesitate this time. She thought about keeping everyone's happiness by making sure the Spirit Burst didn't affect them, and she held that in her heart. He looked at her with a kind smile.

Next question. She could feel confidence building up inside her. She could do this. Sakura thought deeply about what it meant to join the fight, about why she wanted to, about who she was and what she stood for. She meant what she said, and hopefully that counted for something. She sat up straight, anticipating it.

"Why do you want to take part in fighting the Spirit Burst?"

She knew why. Scenes flashed by of fiery skies above her, raining down while she stood by, helpless. She spoke in an unwavering tone, "Because I don't want to sit and watch as everything happens around me. I don't want to let it all be destroyed."

Amaranth didn't let his reaction show to her answer. He tilted his head to look her in the eye as he asked the next question. She felt his words deep in her soul. "If you could change anything about yourself, what would you change?"

She closed her eyes. She could pull out a million things she wanted to change about herself. One thing was most evident. She had known it for years, and hated that despite all her efforts, she couldn't change it. "I wish I had more influence to change things than I do right now."

"Interesting," he clicked his tongue. He typed her answer in slowly. Her heart raced. Was that a bad answer? The screen changed to the next question.

"Last question. What do you want to do if you get accepted?"

She didn't have a shadow of doubt. There was no way she would be sitting on the sidelines. She was a direct risk taker. She wanted to take part in epic spirit battles, even if she wasn't the one slashing them down. She was honest about her answer. "I want to be directly involved with the battles against the spirits."

"Not surprising," Amaranth laughed. He typed in her last answer and put his Screenpod aside. He pulled out a headset from under her seat. He put in on her, and her world was enveloped in black. He strapped down her waist. "How is that? Not too tight?"

She shook her head. He turned something on, the buttons clicking to her right.

"Time for the exciting part."

As the darkness swallowed her whole, Sakura felt her consciousness of her current surroundings dissolve. Her inner self was breaking apart piece by piece, falling into the abyss. There was a fear inside her of not being able to exist in the real world. She let it wash all over her. The fear flowed through her before draining away. Her hair stood on its ends, making her shudder in delight. She invited in the excitement of entering a new reality. Once she accepted it, she would find herself entering a new world.