With the situation around the Capital resumes to be controlled in these past two weeks, Sara can breathe easy without having to do any extra on-field duties. Though likely as the situation demands of new recruits, Sara happens to have her hand full with trainee orientation duties.

It’s easier when you’re busy, though, as it means you can ignore the voices around you—and the voices of your own mind.

After finishing up to herd the trainees, when she’s not in Center’s Guiding duty, she finds solace in Guide Center’s training room. It’s a large practice hall located one level underground, carpeted and equipped with sound-proofing walls. Anyone can freely use weapons, dummies, or request for target range practice private rooms for shooting or accuracy testing.

Sara never knows that hitting a practice dummy is actually a good stress reliever, while also getting her endurance training menu ongoing. The plus with her infamous badge of honor is that no one shall get into her space, so Sara can solely focus on her own regimen.

“M-Miss Khalida, h-hi!”

It’s not hard to guess, as if anyone will dare to come closer to greet her, it’s Penelope. She’s also in her training black and yellow-striped tracksuit, holding a practice wooden sword. Her sight is for sore eyes, as she beams and politely bows.

The voices around them in that mixed use training area, though, are nowhere nice.

“Look, it’s that Stutterbox and Bond Breaker.”

“She is using a sword? Never seen here before. Does her small body even handle monster’s beating?”

“Penelope.” Sara purposely raises her voice, silencing the others. Penelope nearly jumps.

“Y-Y-Yes?”

“Hit me with everything you got.”

“E-Ex–Excuse m-me?”

“We’re sparing.” Sara takes up two rubber batons from the nearest weapon rack, making an x with both sticks in front of her face. “Hit me with your speed, let’s see if I can handle parrying or dodging your attacks.”

“A-Are, are you sure? I-I have Speed affinity, y-you know?”

Sara smiles. “Mhm. Don’t worry.” She opens her legs in a ready stance. “In case we have to handle clusters like the tricycle monsters from the other day.”

Penelope seems to take the hint and accepts Sara’s invitation. “O-Okay, here—here g-goes!”

Sara remembers that as she blinks, Penelope will likely be ‘gone’, or she can’t just see the direction where the nimble lady will swing. She is correct—she can’t catch the blade the first time and it hits her right side, THWACK - wow it stings.

Penelope hesitates for a bit after hitting, but Sara keeps up with her stance, her sharp glare urges Penelope to keep with it. On the next few swings, Sara can only manage to duck or dodge, with the hotness of blade’s trajectory searing her skin.

Right, no, left—right—no!

Sara grunts with a narrow dodge to her side. Penelope doesn’t seem to be moving away from her initial spot, and just her Speed speaks with the wooden blade being her extension.

This time—left!

Sara trusts her reflex and swings in a broad arc to protect her left. The wooden sword clatters as it hits the rubber body of her baton, and Sara can see Penelope smiling as Sara does it.

“Y-You shouldn’t do that next t-time, Miss Khalida.” Penelope says. She stops and lets Sara catch her breath. Only then she realizes her hands trembling just from keeping up holding her batons. “But g-good job, you managed to c-catch it.”

The people who were mocking them earlier stand around in awe. Sara glowers at them to disperse, and she turns back to Penelope, who beams and nods to herself.

“Are you sure you’re not a trained warrior or something?” Sara lets go off the practice baton, stretches her wrists, checking if she happens to injure her arm without realizing it.

“W-Well, no-not exactly,” Penelope says, she lowers her voice. “It-it’s just, m-my family had a-a martial arts school.”

Had, not a good keyword. Sara chooses her reply carefully, “Is it because … the breach?”

Penelope nods, taking the sword back to the weapon rack before she joins Sara on the corner of the room. “W-We lost o-our training g-ground. But S-Shura had it bad. S-She lost her h-home and f-family.”

Sara blinks. Penelope frowns when she speaks Shura’s name, either because of the past story or because of their fights. Sara never sees Shura around the Guide Center anymore whenever Penelope is around. Oftentimes before the scouting mission mishaps, she’d see Shura bounces around the area, likely visiting for Guiding need. 

“S-So my m-mom decides to t-take Shura in. W-We're coming from a fellow martial artist family, y-you see. T-that’s what I-I once said about Shura is like a l-little sister t-to me.”

The great Capital breach happened twenty years ago, meaning they’re likely together for quite a long time. Sara assumes. 

She waits as Penelope still has a say, or just gives her time to sort out her thoughts and perhaps stop telling Sara anything.

“W-We’re awakening—online in around the same y-year. I-I’m a G-Guide, and she’s… Esper. The G-Guild takes her earlier for t-training.” Penelope sucks a deep breath. 

“W-We’re meeting a-again when she t-turns twenty. I’ve Guided her a-a few times by then, a-and suddenly, she doesn’t want me to Guide her anymore.”

Sara can sense a pang of pain in Penelope’s voice, but her eyes are resolute. She clutches on the hem of her jacket, but as she recounts about Shura, never once does Penelope seems sad.

“M-Miss Khalida, y-you’re the first c-colleague who doesn't m-mind having me s-stuttering,” Penelope smiles wide. “I-I can tell t-that you’re a really kind person.”

Sara pushes up her glasses, “Huh? Where did it come from?”

Penelope grins, “Y-You’re worried about m-me and Shura, right? M-Miss Angkara does too.”

Why does she have to do with this? - is what Sara wants to say but she decides to just change the topic. “That girl really avoids you, so I guess you didn’t get to talk to her?”

Penelope hangs her head low, and shakes her head. “W-We will, eventually. S-She’s busy. S-So am I.”

Sara scratches her nape, “... Well, then. Make sure you and her talk properly, alright? Let’s—let’s continue with our training.”

“H-Hehe, you’re e-embarrassed, M-Miss Khalida.”

“Penelope.” Sara picks on her glasses again, not making eye contact with the grinning black-haired Guide. “Also you can call me Sara. It feels wrong to know you’re older than me but you’re still calling me ‘Miss’ when I don’t.”

“O-Okay,” Penelope glances over to the weapon rack, pointing to the wooden sword. “W-Want another?”

“Ah, n-no, let’s just practice positioning with dummies!”

✥ ✥ ✥

They are done with training after another half an hour with training dummies, and changed back to their regular uniform.

Penelope invites Sara to have a snack together in the cafeteria, and Sara gladly accepts her offer, as they mostly talk about random things in leisure.

When they exit the training area, about to head back to the main hallway, they pass a deserted junction near the Onboarding Area. They happen to bump into a familiar Esper. However, Mr. Mortimer Angelo is nowhere looking like his usual chipper self, his eyes are bloodshot and he is clearly breathing hard from all the running. He wipes his forehead from excess sweat before he speaks, clearly distressed but wanting to exercise his calm.

“Ah, Miss Khalida. Perfect timing. Can you help patch with my wife—I mean Mrs. Angelo? We have a situation.”

Sara pulls out her tablet in a hurry. Mr. Angelo straightens up. He barely returns from his on-field duty with his team, he says. A few are injured with a few barely conscious.

“We have one case of Mental Out and one partial Zone in the rehab room. It’s already quite a hassle to relocate them to a different rehab room.” Mr. Angelo says. “The Mental Out Esper overloads their hearing, and is unresponsive at the moment, but continues to deploy a force field so our communication tablets aren’t working.” 

Sara types as fast as she can, not discounting any details.

“The Zoning one is a Defensive Esper with Teleportation abilities. Right now we have a few Espers trying to immobilize her so that she won’t try to teleport a glass or other sharp objects and we can have her under control, but no Guide can’t keep up with her speed.”

Sara finalizes the messages and send it quickly to Mrs. Angelo as directed. Meanwhile, Penelope seems to be … restless. As if she realizes something is wrong.

“Is–Is the-the one with Teleportation is—S-Shura?”

“Ah, yes, the Esper’s name is Shura Varia, Miss. She’s a member of my temporary team.”

Sara pales to hear about Esper's identity. Penelope, however, looks determined.

“L-Let me help!” Penelope says. “I-I’m a Speed affinity Mentalist a-and I’m ac-acquainted with Miss S-Shura Varia.”

Mr. Mortimer Angelo regards the black-haired Guide for a moment, then turns on his heels. “Follow me. You can go with us too, Miss Khalida, but make sure to keep your tablet out of the Onboarding Area.”