"Sakura... I..."

I honestly had no words...

I couldn't quite wrap my head around what I wanted to say. I was simply too nervous and anxious to articulate even the simplest of words...

But while my mouth remained stagnant... My mind surely wasn't... In fact, it was racing a little too fast for its own good...

'OK!!! REIKA!!!... calm down... calm down... It's just a random person you don't know... Just a random person you don't know... Just a random person you don't know...'

I was trying, unsuccessfully, to mentally prepare myself to follow-up my incomplete wording...

However... before I could even continue with my sentence, I was interrupted by the consequences of my stupid actions...

As I kept delving into my thoughts... I heard a pure voice utter a deathly sentence... I really need to learn to control my mouth...

"Do... I know you...?"

...

...

...

'I seriously messed up now...'

Immediately as I heard those words...

I froze up...

I had not quite realized, but I had just blurted out her name... mindlessly...

I'm supposed to be a total stranger to her, yet I'm already interacting with her as if I've known her for my entire life...

I had made a huge blunder...

And as silence dropped inside the room, where now everybody stood silent, I plunged into anxiety...

'Oh no... Oh NO NO NO NO!!! WHY DO I DO THESE THINGS SO INSTINCTIVELY?!?!'

I could only sulk in my stress and self-pity, as I could clearly see Sakura becoming even more confused through my reaction...

'Oh no... she couldn't have found out, right...?'

I could not even think straight as I condemned my stupidity and terrible timing skills...

'HOW DUMB CAN YOU BE REIKA?!'

I could only hold my head in desperation, while everyone looked at me with wry smiles on their faces... I bet I looked incredibly weird with my nearly immediate switch in tone and attitude...

I literally went from cutting down magic with my sword... to an emotional and uncertain MESS...

It was quite obvious everyone's sights were currently fixed on me...

But, as I was concerned and absorbed within my thoughts, I was snapped back into reality by Sakura speaking once again...

"...You... seem familiar...?"

"..."

'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!'

I could only scream in my head as I became desperate because of her sentence...

'NO NO NO NO NO NO!!! PLEASE, DON'T FIND OUT ABOUT ME!!!!!'

I was having a mental breakdown, as I could only fathom the shock and disgust Sakura would feel from seeing me like this...

I mean, who expects their childhood friend to become a girl!? AND A CURSED ONE AT THAT!

I could only, sink in the possibilities popping in my head as I stared in terror at the confused Sakura...

"...Wait... I've... seen you...?"

"..."

I had no answer... Seriously, what am I supposed to answer!? Hello, I'm Reiki, your childhood friend, but I turned into a girl and half-killed a hero party...?!

No, of course, I can't!

'Ugh... I'm in so much trouble...'

I could literally feel my problems swirling and struggling around me as they became greater by the second...

It was as if a storm was placed directly above me... and its only purpose was to make my life miserable...

And of course, this did not affect Sakura only...

As my ongoing headache became stronger... My torment peaked... because the moment I began feeling my issues tying me down... they only worsened...

"Yes, you do know her, you PEBBLE!!!"

"Reika〜 PLEASE〜! let us kill such a lowly being〜!"

Hearing those deadly words... I turning around in anguish... Only to find Myria and Scarlet with veins popping on their foreheads... An ominous aura of hate and frustration surrounding them and the entire atmosphere around us... And a stupid amount of hatred in their bloodshot eyes...

To call them angry, would surely be an understatement...

"REIKA〜 Why do you stop us〜? This pebble hurt you, right〜?"

"You, out of all people, had to get bullied. abandoned, and KILLED! By these stupid beings... THEY DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!"

"..."

I had no words... I could only stare in awe and perplexion at my friends who were angered to an absurd degree...

I could see, their anger leaking from their bodies...

And as all of this went down, Sakura wasn't done either, as she kept creeping closer to my identity by the second...

"...Wait... Bullied... Abandoned...? Killed...!? We never did such things to anybody...?!"

I was in a pit of agony as I felt the walls of my friendship crumbling down on me... I had just prevented a catastrophe from happening with the aid of Boukyaku... yet, another one was about to happen...

And I was sure I wouldn't be able to prevent myself from losing control this time...

I had no choice but to ready myself as things escalated once again...

But... just as everyone began raising their hands, their staffs and amassed magic in order to strike...

A young, feminine, dictating, voice rang out throughout the guild room...

However... it wasn't quite like any other voice I've heard before...

This voice was filled to the brim with a compelling effect... A beautiful, harnonic melody that forced me to obey...

I couldn't describe it properly, but I felt as I was being called to submit to it... even though, neither the tone nor the content were the nicest...

...

...

...

"STOP! RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!!"

...

...

...

The room immediately became silent, as we all turned to face the source of such melodic scolding in awe...

I hadn't quite expected it, but for some reason, the voice was both, strong enough and compelling enough, to force ALL OF US, to turn our heads silently towards the source...

And surprisingly enough, the source of such a strong and compelling voice was none other than Kira...

I really hadn't even considered the possibility of her having a skill like that... after all, I don't tend to use [Master Appraisal] when unnecessary...

It was partly my fault for not knowing, but it still surprised me that she was able to single-handedly prevent a catastrophe from occurring...

...

...

...

'Wait...'

If she managed to stop the tensions from arising with a single use of a skill...

"WHY DIDN'T YOU USE THIS SOONER?!"

I could only yell in anger to Kira as veins became highlighted on my forehead. Seriously, if she had such a practical skill, why didn't she stop the tensions before they even began last time?! I COULD'VE SAVED ALL OF THIS DRAMA!!!

I was left wondering about the skill she had used and the possibilities it entailed. But as I was trying to decipher why she wouldn't have used it before... I kinda got my answer... indirectly...

I remained to stare at Kira, just like everyone else. But, as I frustratingly complained about her skill, she did not answer, but rather, smiled faintly... until... without any forewarning...

The curly brown-haired onee-san... slowly closed her eyes... and...

*THUD*

...

...

...

Just seeing the picture laid before me, a single thought entered my mind:

'Ok... I kinda understand why she didn't use it before...'

We were all left staring at Kira, who now laid sprawled on the floor...

Of course, we all knew she was not dead...

But, the reason behind our intense staring... was how much power that skill just held...

We had all felt it... and we had been unable to do anything about it...

Seriously, even I had not enough power to prevent myself from turning around and becoming silent after her voice rang out...

Seriously, that skill had abnormal amounts of power for such a thing to happen...

And luckily, all tensions between Myria, Scarlet, and Sakura, seemed to have died down due to Kira's skill... So there's that...

And analyzing the situation before me... an optimistic thought crept into my mind...

'I guess, in the end, things do go right for me...?'

,,,

But seriously, how naive can I be? I should've learned my lesson by now, yet I never do...

THINGS NEVER GO MY WAY!!!

As my friends' anger died down, and Sakura became less intrigued by my persona... a brief moment of calm was created...

For a second since entering the guild today, silence and oeace had finally be achieved...

...

Only to be shattered into pieces

And of course, it had to be him!

As if pulling me back from my awe, Pietro, that stupid half-baked guild master, loudly  proclaimed:

"Perfect! Now that, everyone seems to have calmed down... We'll proceed with the trial!"

...

...

...

'Huh?'

...

I was a little unsure if I had maybe misheard...

Ehhh, no I don't seem to have misheard...

'Is this guy stupid...?'

I tried to slowly become concentrated on reality once more, when I was finally able to catch what was probably one of the stupidest things I've heard all day! NO! In fact, I would probably compare this to Callum challenging me to fight in terms of stupidity!

'Didn't this guy almost get blown into pieces by tensions between us alone?! Is this guy suicidal?'

...

I was... with lack of a better word... disappointed...

This dude... thinks... after all of this...

That he can take us on trial... and not expect things to escalate?

...

SERIOUSLY! I'm not even speaking about myself here!

I can feel Sakura and my friends glaring each other right now!!!

If you put them against each other on trial it will be a bloodbath!!!

...

And do not misunderstand me either, I couldn't care less about what might happen to this Pietro-guy, but if things escalated like they did today... without the help of Kira or mine, this entire place would be obliterated in a second. Without sparing, Sakura's, Kira's, or Callum's lives either...

And I'm guessing my anguish had become apparent on my face, because the moment I made eye contact, with a still perplexed Callum, he immediately turned to Pietro. And without hesitation, he tried to convince him...

And bear in mind... emphasis on the word... TRIED

  ※  

I was currently sitting with my hands handcuffed once again, alongside my partners and friends, Myria and Scarlet.

We were currently surrounded by a mob of adventurers, merchants and peasants alike...

All whispering, staring and mumbling different things...

...

Sadly, Callum had been unable to properly deal with Pietro's demand for a trial... and in the end, he was forced to accept it...

One thing leads to another, and here we are...

About to be judged for our 'crimes'...

With none other, than Pietro as the judge...

And Sakura, as our opposition...

...

I could only sigh at our current situation...

Neither, Myria or Scarlet seemed scared or nervous at all, yet I was!

Of course, they both thought the trial was completely irrelevant with Myria being the princess and Scarlet being able to steamroll that ant of a guild master and puny second-in-command of the hero squadron...

But...

I was still scared...

But I wasn't scared about the trial or the mob or the punishment...

What scared me the most... was the cold and decisive gaze that was targetted directly at me... from none other than Sakura...

*Sigh*

"Just how much worse can this get..."

(AN: Hello there! I just wanted to say... I'm saddened ;-; (and tired)

First of all, I'm really sorry for not uploading for yet another day, it's getting to the point where I no longer have any control over it... And I really must apologize to those who have to keep up with my stupidity and delays. As such I have a really important question:

Would you rather have "daily" updates with some days missing and update here and there or nearly immaculate bi-daily updates?

I want to know your opinions before sticking with my current upload schedule or perhaps changing it for another, it depends on you.

Anyways, with that out of the way, thanks for reading, voting and sharing my story so far!

Thanks)