Mitsuko was about to turn when she felt hands grasp her breasts from behind. She looked down and there were clearly fingers pressing into her flesh, but there was nothing there to see. ‘It’s like I’m being molested by a ghost.’
‘Let’s hope Mel is sound asleep.’
‘W-why?’
‘Because I think the ghost is a total pervert.’
235/3/24.
Combat training did not happen in any shape or form for the support students until after the late spring holiday in May, but Nava had been issued with an outfit designed for it. Essentially, this consisted of a one-piece bodysuit in blue with some white-and-red detailing and boots with flat heels. It was made from a reactive material which hardened under impact. It actually worked best against sharp impacts over most of its surface and so was a little more useful against bullets and knives, but the elbows, knees, and spine were reinforced against blunt trauma since its primary purpose was to stop students getting hurt too badly in falls.
It was perfect for playing MagiTag in, so Nava had dragged hers out for a Saturday afternoon spent evaluating the MagiTag Club for real. She had provisionally joined during recruitment week, and then been too busy with Mitsuko to actually attend any of the meetings. She had been free of that obligation for a couple of weeks and had finally decided to get it over with.
The weather was fine this Saturday afternoon, and the seniors who ran the club had decided to make this an outdoor meet. The school had a couple of woodland areas on the grounds, one of them maintained as a combat training area. When the weather was fine and everyone could be bothered to go the extra mile, the MagiTag Club would set up slightly more realistic game sessions in the woods. The artificial environments they usually used were more controlled but, as a result, they tended to be somewhat abstract, less real. Staging a mock battle in the woods made the gamers feel like they were really fighting in some sort of guerrilla war.
The extra effort needed came in the form of deploying an array of drones into the woods to monitor the combat. These essentially allowed those not currently in a game to watch those who were, but their technical purpose was to allow the judges for a match to look out for rule violations and call the result at the end.
Francis Goretti Orlando was one of the judges for the current match. He had made something of a point of getting Nava to stand beside him while he watched the array of monitors which had been put up outside the woods. Nava suspected that his motive was not simply to ensure that she stayed in his favoured club. Mitsuko would not be pleased to discover she had competition, but Mitsuko was not here and Nava did not really flirt. Frankly, she was too busy watching the screens.
The current game was a three-way battle based around point controls. Each of the three teams had four members and there were two areas in the forest designated as capture points which had to be taken and held. There were three teams because this kind of game could degenerate into a team claiming one point and sitting on it while a second team did the same at the other location. You ended up with a draw, but you did not lose either. A third team, ensured of losing if they did not claim a target, could be guaranteed to act aggressively under those circumstances. In this particular case, aggression was not the issue.
Nava recognised Siegmar Tate Orlando from Mitsuko’s class and he seemed like he was the same playing MagiTag as he was in the classroom: arrogant, aggressive, and irritating. By whatever means, he seemed to have made himself the leader of his team and he was pushing them hard to take out as many of their opponents as possible. It was, in fact, about the only strategy that worked if you wanted to win; eliminate the opposition and there was no one to try to take your captured points. Unfortunately, Siegmar’s leadership skills were lacking and his team was not really good enough to pull off what they were trying to do. They were all wiped out within five minutes and the game devolved into a hold-and-draw situation.
‘I suppose he has potential,’ Francis said as the teams walked back to the control point, ‘but he needs to get rid of that attitude.’
‘I don’t believe that,’ Nava replied.
‘Which part?’
‘He has little potential because he will never rid himself of his belief in his own abilities. Perhaps if he were to undergo military training… Here, I doubt he will ever realise he loses matches like this due to his own faults.’
‘You… may have a point.’ Francis sighed. ‘We’re looking for people to take part in this summer’s war games. There are a couple of hopefuls, but I’m not sure he’s among them. He’s not much of a team player.’
‘Neither am I.’
‘Well, that’s a damn shame. With your skills you’d be a shoo-in for the team.’
Francis said it at exactly the wrong time. Nava had heard Siegmar approaching – he was berating his teammates with a list of their deficiencies – and it so happened that he arrived just as Francis gave his opinion of Nava’s skills. The only part of what happened next which surprised Nava was that the tall, blonde first year had noticed anyone but himself speaking.
‘You really think she would be a good choice for the school’s team, Francis?’ Siegmar said, sneering. He did give a pretty good sneer.
Francis turned to look at his clansman. The Orlando clan was one of the bigger ones. They were strong, powerful. They were on the Clan Council, unlike the Sonkeis, and had a loud voice there. However, the Goretti family were more highly ranked than
