Early morning training (Pvt)

It was pretty early in the morning, something close to 4 am, but with all the excitement of finally being within the walls of Syne Academy made sleeping really hard for Daphne. Instead of spending all day in her room, she figured that going for a walk and explore the school for a while. Leaving her dorm as silently as possible in order to wake up anyone, she made her way through the hallway.

It wasn't the first time that Daphne was among these walls, but it was the first time since the academy was complete as she used to come see her father and grandfather when they were building Syne. She basically saw it grow into the impressing school it is today, just with huge intervals of time, like an uncle or a distant relative visiting once in a while. It brought a smile on her face to think that her family was a part of the bricks surrounding her, a little piece of history that she would never forget.

Not really minding where she was going, after a while Daphne ended up in the training area of the school. They were targets in one corner, a table that would probably have some equipment on it usually but it was probably still too early for anyone to be here besides her. There was a large space in the middle, probably used for sparring matches between students or something. Daphne figured that she could practice her shooting a little so she placed herself facing the targets, being as far as she could before aiming down the sight and began firing. Her rifle wasn't super loud, not firing conventional bullets and something closer to energy rounds. What looks like a magazine on the gun is instead a cooling system so while she never really need to reload, Daphne needs to be careful about her gun not overheating. She stood there for a while, not noticing time going by or if anyone would show up by that time either.

Today started rather unusually for Sakura. It was barely 4 AM when she was woken up by a call on her scroll. Sakura then sleepily got up and answered her scroll. Sakura was extremely surprised that the person calling was Nyx. This was a big surprise for Sakura since Nyx and her had barely just reconnected after about 11 years. Sakura and Nyx had barely started to hang out together and interact with each other. Despite of this, Sakura handed Nyx her scroll number just in case she wanted to call her.

During the call, Nyx had invited Sakura to hang out with her in the afternoon. Sakura quickly accepted the offer since it has been a long time since they had hung out together. Nyx then gave her the address for a high class restaurant located in Central Bellmuse. Sakura quickly wrote down the address on a piece of paper before ending the call. After fending the call, Sakura tried to get back to sleep. However, she couldn't fall back asleep no matter how hard she tried. It was then where she decided to head over to the Training Arena.

As she left her dorm room, Sakura quickly changed into her usual outfit and grabbed the case which held her shields before leaving for the Training Arena. After about five minutes of walking, Sakura entered the Training Arena.

It was mostly quiet and empty. This was to be expected since it was barely 4:10 AM. Currently, the only person in the Training Arena was a woman who was practicing her marksmanship using her ranged weapon. From her angle, Sakura began examining the weapon. It looked like an extremely high tech assault rifle which was on par with the equipment Caledfwlch Techniques supplies to military forces around the world. After looking at the woman's weapon for a bit, Sakura decided to approach her after making sure to approach in cautious fashion, so she didn't get shot.

"Good Morning to you, Miss... I hope that this morning finds you well." Sakura greeted in a very polite fashion.

Daphne must have been more focused than usual, probably due to the safe environment she was in, as she didn't noticed that someone else had entered the training area until she could hear a voice greeting her. Glancing over while still in her focused aiming position, the blonde girl looked directly at the new person with a piercing gaze before suddenly turning to face her with a cheerful smile. "Heya there! Good morning to you too! I couldn't sleep so I decided to roam about, found this place and told myself why not train a little, so that's what I'm doing. Couldn't sleep either or are you just an early bird?" did Daphne reply with a smile. She clearly didn't act as serious as she looked.

Daphne slowly walked towards the girl with pink hair, gun pointed down while forwarding her hand while introducing herself. "I'm Daphne, I just arrived yesterday and I'm so excited that I had a hard time not getting out of bed. I'm glad I could train a bit, didn't want to get rusty." She turned to her target, a single visible intense burn mark could be seen at its center as if none of her shots went elsewhere. "And I guess I'm not, so that's a good sign. I haven't practiced for a while with all the preparations to come here."

Daphne then gave a quick look at the girl, especially at the large case she was carrying with her. The blonde girl figured it had to be a weapon of some sort because what else would she bring to the training ground? Snacks? Probably not in that kind of casing except if it was some sort of portable refrigerator and that ice cream was in there, somehow. Pointing the case, Daphne had to ask "So what's this? Weapon? Armor? Refrigerator?" She had to mention that, even if she would probably be wrong at least it might get a chuckle out of her new acquaintance.

It took a few moments before the woman replied to Sakura's greeting. The woman seemed to be too focused and absorbed on her practicing her marksmanship that she hadn't noticed that Sakura was there. However, the blonde-haired woman soon turned her head towards Sakura. Initially, her eyes had a piercing glare which could see into your soul. However, this was soon replaced with a a cheerful look as she smiled at Sakura before replying to her greeting.

"Heya there! Good morning to you too! I couldn't sleep so I decided to roam about, found this place and told myself why not train a little, so that's what I'm doing. Couldn't sleep either or are you just an early bird?" did Daphne reply with a smile. The blonde-haired woman replied while smiling. This gave Sakura an impression that the woman was not as serious as she looked. Soon after, the woman continued on to introduce herself.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Daphne. My name is Sakura Aegis Brynhildr." Sakura replied politely after the woman had introduced herself as Daphne. According to what she said, Sakura learn that she was a new student at the academy.

"It is quite lovely to see a fellow early bird like myself on campus. It is quite uncommon to see someone up at this early time of day." Sakura replied to Daphne's question about what she was doing here. As she was replying to Daphne's question, Sakura noticed that she was taking a quick look at her. Daphne's attention was soon drawn to the case Sakura carried with her. Soon after, Daphne pointed at the case before asking Sakura about it.

"So what's this? Weapon? Armor? Refrigerator?" Daphne asked. Sakura let out a smile before speaking. It was a bit unusual for someone to ask about what she was carrying in her case. Sakura was a bit amused at Daphne's question.

"This case I have on me hold my most treasured possession." Sakura replied as she set her case on the floor before opening it. Inside were her pair of Aegis MK 10s. The Aegis MK 10s were a set of extremely high tech shields which her father and Caledfwlch Techniques built specially for her. These shields were Stratos Blue and White in color and were as tall as Sakura. However, Sakura could wield then extremely easily due to their specialized alloy and construction. In addition to this, they provided unsurpassed protection due to its built in shield generators.

"Daphne, I would like to introduce you to my Aegis MK 10s." Sakura added with a smile.

"Pleasure is all mine, but please no "Miss", makes me uncomfortable a bit, just Daphne will do. If it's by habit... well I guess I'll have to get used to it." Daphne said with an embarrassed smile, not wanting to make Sakura feel about it. The blonde girl wasn't used to be addressed with such politeness and didn't feel like she was deserving of it.

Daphne immediately became curious when Sakura mentioned that the case contained her most precious possession and crouched down near the case as the pink-haired girl opened it. Her blue eyes stared at the pair of impressive shields as they looked both beautiful and highly functional. It took a moment for Daphne to have the obvious thought cross her mind and her turned her eyes to Sakura with a confused look. "Two?" was the only word that came out of her mouth, but it was pretty clear that she was questioning the usage of having two shields at the same time. While in theory it was obvious that you could block more and have a bigger protected surface, it had to be a hassle to carry both around at all time, plus the fact that how are you supposed to attack back if you're busy blocking constantly.

Another thought crossed Daphne's mind which brought her eyes back to the shields. Sakura did came in here carrying the case with one hand, so they had to be seriously light, especially since the girl next to her didn't look at first glance like an heavyweight lifter. The blonde could totally be wrong, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

"It would be very unladylike for me to call you by your first name, Miss Daphne." Sakura replied in a polite manner. Sakura had been raised to be extremely polite by her parents, so she made sure not to call a person by their first name under any circumstances. Soon after replying to this, Sakura then continued on to open the case which held her shields.

As Sakura opened the case, Daphne couched down next to it waiting to see what was inside the case. Sakura could tell that Daphne was quite curious about her Aegis MK 10s. A rather impressed look appeared on Daphne's face as she first saw the shields. However, a look of confusion soon appeared on her face as she looked at Sakura before asking "Two?". Sakura nodded her head in a affirming fashion before speaking.

"I received these shields as a gift from my father. He had his Engineering Team at Caledfwlch Techniques custom built them for my use. He said that "It would be the perfect fit for my super defensive fighting style"." Sakura explained with a smile on her fact. Sakura had always looked up to her father as a brilliant engineer and a man of strong moral character. Sakura was determined to make sure that she used his shields to the fullest potential.

"My hope is that I make up for the biggest regret and failure in my life by protecting everyone with these shields." Sakura added in a rather sad tone. However, a look of determination appeared in her eyes soon after. She was determined to make up for her failure to protect Nyx during their time at the Atlach-Nacha facility. Sakura was never going to let anyone down ever again.

It seemed like Daphne would in fact have to get used to have "Miss" right in front of her name whenever she would be with Sakura. It wasn't such a big deal, nothing too hard to get used to but it just felt weird to her. It would probably take some time for the blonde in order to not mind it at all.

Daphne's focus returned to the shields, looking at their intricate design while nodding her head slowly when Sakura explained that two shields was perfect for her and her defensive style as her father told her. There was something that came to Daphne's mind when the pink-haired girl mentioned the company for which her father works for. Turning her head to her rifle, the blonde looked at it for a second before handing it to Sakura for her to look at it. "I think that's where my gun is from, Caledfwlch. My mom gave it to me for my 17th birthday, she had it custom made by a company but at the time I didn't memorize its name but Caledfwlch sounds familiar."

Daphne didn't comment on Sakura's hope to make up for her past, everyone has their reasons to fight and move on and she didn't want to intrude in her personal life. It was nice just to now that she was someone with a strong conviction and it was enough to get Daphne's respect. It not like those who decides to be huntsmen because they get to be heroes and be remembered throughout history. Daphne wanted to be one to better help others and to work with like-minded individuals in order to bring an end to the Grimms if that was even possible.

"It is extremely likely that Caledfwlch Technique had built your Assault Rifle, Miss Daphne. Father often talked about this special assault rifle that someone has personally commissioned. He would often ask me for advice on how to design it. I then tried my hardest to give him advice." Sakura explained politely after taking a detailed look at Daphne's assault rifle before thinking about it. She had remembered seeing the prototype for Daphne's assault rifle in her Father's study. Sakura hadn't seen the final design of the assault rifle, but she had seen the almost completed design and it look almost identical to the assault rifle Daphne is wielding currently.

"I hope that you are satisfied with the quality and performance of your assault rifle, Miss Daphne. My father's company had always valued providing the customers with the best equipment available." Sakura added in a formal tone. She had always felt a sense of happiness and pride whenever she sees people satisfied with the equipment that they acquired from Caledfwlch Techniques.

Daphne suddenly beamed when Sakura told her that her rifle was made by the company her father owns. It was funny for her to think that Remnant is such a small enough place for such a thing to be happening. She randomly came across the daughter of the man who worked on her weapon. "Oh I sure am! I never go anywhere without it, it's like my baby or something. And it's top notch quality too, never had to make any tweak or even repair it! I am taking good care of it too, but still, never had to replace any used part or anything. Thank your father for me if you can? Please? I'm sure he would love to know!"

While Sakura was still inspecting her rifle, Daphne had her eyes back on the pair of shields. She wondered how efficient and heavy they were. While she wasn't the type to carry around large things, especially while flying, it gave her a potential idea for some kind of protection she could be using in the future but tests would be needed. The blonde raised her head back, looking at Sakura while pointing to one of the shields. "Can I? I want to see how heavy it is and all." She would be testing more than that in reality, but nothing that would damage the shield or disrespect its user or its creator, just some size and mobility tests.

"Oh I sure am! I never go anywhere without it, it's like my baby or something. And it's top notch quality too, never had to make any tweak or even repair it! I am taking good care of it too, but still, never had to replace any used part or anything. Thank your father for me if you can? Please? I'm sure he would love to know!" Daphne beamed excitedly after Sakura had explained that Caledfwlch Techniques had built her assault rifle. Sakura could tell by this that Daphne was more than impressed with the quality of her assault rifle.

Soon after, Sakura noticed that Daphne had returned to looking at her shields with a lot of interest. Sakura could tell by the expression on Daphne's face that she was thinking about something. Soon after, Daphne looked directly at Sakura before pointing to one of her shields before asking "Can I? I want to see how heavy it is and all." Sakura didn't really mind Daphne trying out one of her shields since she seem to be a nice person.

"I have no objections to the idea, Miss Daphne." Sakura replied politely before handing Daphne one of her Aegis MK 10. Sakura keep her hand holing the lower edge of the shield just in case. Sakura had gotten used to the heavy weight of the shield. This weight was due to the Quantum Titanium Alloy which her father developed specially for Sakura's Aegis Mk 10s. This material was extremely strong and was indestructible. in addition to this, the Quantum Titanium Alloy also negates the concussive force of any blow that hits it. This allowed Sakura to wield it without any worries of breaking any bones in her arm.