He must have meant it as a gift to you.
It's what we call love at first sight.
I'm sure he's waiting for your answer.
So sweet...
All of this, I'll risk it now
I just stretch out my hand until reaches my ideals
The choices that extend before my eyes
The gears of good and evil go on
Toward just one conclusion
Everything is a Choice of chance
And a signal to the next step
To the edge of possibility
I gaze at that destination
Only one, I don't need anything else
I only want to fix my gaze, to the one
I will never yield this belief and determination
I'll keep them hidden in my heart
Highest, highest, I'm going on
Go to the shadows that are truer than truth
Highest, highest, I'll carry on
Right or wrong, if you desire, maintain your aloofness
#7: A Fencing Tournament of Intrigue & Bloodshed
Is that you, Nu?
Yes, my lord.
You go to school here?
No, I borrowed this.
I'll attract less attention in a uniform.
Makes sense.
About the man in black we apprehended last night...
As expected, a powerful brainwashing had destroyed his mind.
It's a shared trait of the Cult of Diablos' vanguard, the Third Children.
Unfortunately, no matter what I tried,
it was impossible to squeeze any information out of him.
Bushin Festival Student Preliminaries! Sign up now!
His costume was obtained through black market channels...
I already made sure to enter you!
You're welcome!
You are ever so very welcome!
We wanted to enter, too,
but that's not exactly possible with these injuries, you know?
I won't do it.
Why the hell not?!
If you fight in the tournament, you can easily get two or three girls to-
If you attract too many, you can send some of them our way-
F-for some reason, my stomach hurts...
S-same...
They take orphans with magical aptitude and the children of poor families,
and administer drugs and brainwashing to create the Children of Diablos.
The Cult has been doing this for many years.
I suspect the Cult's goal is to use the name of Shadow Garden to lure us out of hiding.
I so don't need this.
I won't do it.
I understand, my lord.
However, I feel I should also inform you
that we recently confirmed the presence of a Named First Child in the Royal Capital.
He's called Rex, the Game of Betrayal.
"Named"?
Yes, lord.
A First Child: one who has maintained his sense of self despite being one of the Children.
And if they're deploying Named Children to the Royal Capital,
it's clear they have some other purpose in mind.
Of course!
Considering the fundamental goal...
I may not be the one who set the stage, but there are ways for me to deal with this.
Lord Shadow?
This is the perfect opportunity.
Nevertheless, it will require some thinking.
See you later, Nu.
I have twenty-four at the moment.
I'll want at least twice that.
In any and every circumstance, he always leads us straight to the best solution.
No, he's had the answer from the start.
This is the Wisdom of the Shadows.
Life at school...
The life I would be living if...
But...
I'd rather have it this way, than live my life never knowing the truth.
Winner: Claire Kagenou!
I knew Claire could do it!
I can see why Princess Iris has her eye on her!
How well will she do against Student Council President Rose?
If only Princess Alexia weren't injured!
Step right up!
If you're not willing to risk it here, what good are you as a man?!
In the six matches so far,
we've had favorites, long-shots, and anything goes free-for-all battles inspiring joy and tears!
You're not going to place a bet, Skel? We Dark Knights can't know the future.
I bet everything on the sure winner of the first match. If we let concern over a few measly coins stop us,
That was a very upsetting upset, wasn't it? we're a disgrace to the town of Midgar!
I'll be eating nothing but breadcrusts until the end of the month.
If you go with potatoes, they're very versatile.
All right, our next match is one you'll really want to watch!
The match fought by our unstoppable student body president,
Miss Rose Oriana herself!
And she'll be up against...
Come to think of it, how is Cid doing? Uh, who was it again?
What? He's actually fighting? Aw, who cares! The payout is-
That's a little harsh, Skel.
President Rose! You can do it!
Who is that guy?
No idea.
He's kinda plain-looking.
Student Council President Rose Oriana...
Princess of the Oriana Kingdom, land of art and culture.
And while being the princess of the land of art and culture,
she is also the best swordswoman in the Academy.
The textbook definition of a named character.
One must be grateful for such good fortune.
My opponent is unparalleled in skill and unsurpassed in popularity.
There's not a single spectator cheering for me.
Now is the time...
The time to reveal the forty-eight master techniques
I have honed through my long and arduous training.
Rose Oriana versus Cid Kagenou.
Ready?
Begin!
Now!
Perfection.
The Background Character Secret Technique:
Spinning Drill Fall: Bloody Tornado.
An unsightly defeat in the first round at the hands of an indisputable champion.
I am truly the perfect bit character!
W-winner: Rose Oria-
Not yet!
It can't be over yet.
I won't let it!
Are you sure you can still fight?
Judge! There's still fire in his eyes.
My sincerest thanks, Miss Oriana.
Let's keep going.
I still have forty-seven Background Character Techniques to show off.
W-winner: Rose Oria-
Not yet!
I can still fight!
Not yet!
No, not yet...
Why are you so determined?
I've slashed you over a dozen times,
and I imbued every one of those attacks with magic.
And yet you refuse to let the battle end.
That's what you're saying, isn't it?
I owe you an apology for having underestimated you at the beginning of this match.
And that is why...
I will end it with this!
That's enough!
Winner: Rose Oriana!
Wait, please!
I still haven't-
No! It's too dangerous to go on!
Get a stretcher! Now!
Hurry it up!
I won the fight. He's lost a lot of blood!
But I am utterly defeated in the battle of our spirits.
Let me go! Let me go!
The patient is in shock!
I still have thirty-three techniques to show off! He's lashing out!
I still have thirty-three techniques to show off! Then calm him down!
Cid Kagenou... It's for his own good!
Hurt him if you have to!
...you have my respect.
Yeah, get him!
Go for it!
All right!
The dark horse...
Can't raise a sword against your betrothed?
I hope I get a chance to show off the rest of my techniques.
I almost just wish I could be in that cliched scene, that's all.
Excuse me...
Er, um...
You're not hurt too badly, are you?
You're...
Who again?
Um, I watched your match.
You did? Thanks.
I don't usually watch sword fights or anything like that.
But the way you kept standing back up...
It was just incredible!
You think?
This girl has unusual sensibilities.
Well, I guess some people are like that.
So, um...
Th-this is for you!
What is it?
I baked some c-cookies.
As a thank you.
A thank you? For what?
Maybe she's thanking me for showing her those sweet background character moves?
Uhh, thanks.
S-so if it's alright with you,
I'd like to start out as friends.
Friends?
I mean, I don't really see a problem with that.
Okay.
Yes! I did it!
Father, we're friends now!
Lutheran Barnett, Assistant Principal of the Academy of Science.
A master swordsman, accomplished in both martial and scholastic arts,
who was once even champion of the Bushin Festival.
He's on the list of people I should never interact with if I want to remain as obscure as possible.
So if this girl is calling him father, she must be...
Sherry Barnett.
Unquestionably a named character.
I always figured I wouldn't really come into contact with students from the science academy.
I was careless.
Are you sure you're not in any pain?
Oh, yeah, I'm fine.
I expect you to go see a doctor, you hear?
Yeah, I will.
Maybe on my way home.
But not really, because they'll find out I'm not hurt at all.
This girl is so devoted to her research.
In fact, she's currently absorbed in a project researching an artifact for the Knight Order.
That's probably why she has no real friends.
Father!
She seems carefree now, but she's been through a lot.
If it's not too much to ask, please be good to her.
Yeah...
No, I'm a nobody background character,
so this whole thing about being good to a named character is kinda...
But look at them. I can't say that to them now.
For now, I'll just use my injuries as an excuse
to stay home for a few days and give us some distance.
The favorite to win...
...forfeited the match because of a horoscope? What the hell?
What has gotten into me?
Cid did say something about a doctor.
I could visit to check on him.
That wouldn't be weird, would it?
I mean, we're friends.
Okay!
Mm, delicious.
Black is the only way to drink coffee.
The way that sweet tooth pours in gallons of milk and heaps in tons of sugar...
It's heresy, I tell you.
Who is it?
Sherry Barnett, second-year student at the Academy of Science!
Can I help you?
I'm sorry to drop in like this!
Uh-huh...
Would you like to come in?
Please, have some coffee. It's quite trendy these days.
If it's too bitter for you, I have sugar and milk.
Oh, thank you very much.
It's so sweet; I love it.
Is that the trend?
Sorry?
Oh, nothing.
I think I can guess why you've come to see me, Sherry.
This is about your artifact analysis, isn't it?
No.
So it's about the student council election schedule?
We don't have ours on the same day as yours.
Oh, I see.
Then what does bring you here?
Well, as a matter of fact,
there's something I'd like to ask you, Miss Alexia.
The thing is I heard that you were...
I was wondering if you were romantically involved with anyone.
Excuse me?
I mean, I heard that you were in a relationship with Cid Kagenou!
And I was wondering if maybe you two were still dating...
We've broken up.
In fact, we weren't even really dating to begin with.
We were just pretending to be a couple for reasons I won't bore you with.
Really?!
That's such a relief!
Actually, I happened to make friends with Cid just the other day.
O-oh, really...
Yes! And so I got to be very curious about the two of you.
I couldn't concentrate on my research, and I didn't know what I was going to do.
But I feel so much better now!
It's so good to hear that you two aren't a couple!
Th-that's nice...
I'm so happy to help.
Yes, you did!
Thank you so much for your time.
And thank you for the coffee!
Thanks!
When I finally went back to class after five days,
I felt like everyone was nicer to me for some reason,
but I was probably imagining it.
Nothing changing the status quo.
That is what a bit character truly wishes for.
Is something going on right now?
They're going to explain how the student election works.
Election?
It's going to be the kids from the highest-ranking families.
The third-years aren't even here this week. What's the point?
Oh yeah, the third-years are out for that extracurricular program.
Lucky stiffs.
If I could go off-campus, I might actually meet someone.
That would be nice! A mature, older woman.
With an adult charm that none of these children could possibly-
Excuse me, everyone.
I would like to thank you for giving us your time today.
We're here to explain the election to fill the vacancy on the Student Council.
Allow me to give you an outline of the upcoming by-election.
Our former secretary has finalized her engagement and will be leaving us before the completion...
Let us begin.
The road to freedom is going to be a long one.
It's closed?
Why are the gates closed?
Classes are still going on, aren't they?
What...
So, um...
What the... So, um...
With all that in mind,
we of the Student Council are always working
I can't work my magic. to improve the lives of all of our students.
And we would like to ask all of you to help us reach that end.
Has nobody else noticed it? We will not ask for nominations of candidates.
As I just explained,
this election will follow the same pattern as...
Here it comes!
Nobody move.
We are Shadow Garden....
and we are taking over this academy.
Don't stand, stay in your seats.
Hands where I can see them.
You don't seem to understand what kind of a place you've invaded.
Take over an academy of Dark Knights?
This is hardly the act of a sane person.
Drop your weapons.
I refuse.
Then you'll make the perfect example.
Miss President?
My magic!
So you figured it out.
But it's too late!
Without magic, you can't parry the sword of a Dark Knight.
Didn't they teach you that?
Stop!
No... No...
People say there is no night with no dawn
But I would think it's better without a dawn
The scars we want to hide
All the memories we want to forget
The sun shines light on all of them
Looking for falling stars
I would wander
Until the moment I met you
Those stars that twinkle in the sky
Lead to a path of hope, I'll go to the end of it
I can go forward with no more uncertainty
I'll chase after the prayers that traverse the dark night
Because even if I can't reach you yet
I still want to tell you
Thank you