TLDR- VOLUME 3 IS OUT AND READY TO READ

Summer walked down the street towards Najendas' house for what seemed to be the fiftieth time this month, with a sigh she pulled down her hood and knocked on the front door, it was quickly opened by Najenda who smiled at her

"Summer, good to see you." Najenda greeted with a grin "Me and Mine were just talking about you."

"Yeah, how are you feeling? I remember that your health has been dropping." Summer asked as she entered causing Najenda to scoff

"Meh, don't worry about me, I do have the best healthcare in the capital." Najenda said as she pulled the door shut, the front room was bare and minimal, entering the kitchen Mine was sitting with an apple in hand, her outfit has changed a little, while she was still wearing her usual clothing she also had additions similar to tatsumis', Summer sat down next to Mine who pat her on the shoulder

"Welcome back, Empires strongest." Mine commented after she finished chewing

"Is that what people have taken to calling me?" Summer asked with a slight cringe

"Its better you than Esdeath." Najenda said as she joined them at the large table

"Sadly you didn't know her the same way I knew her." Summer commented looking in the distance "She is kind, but she just... had a hard time showing it."

"Forgive me for not believing you." Najenda shot coldly as she grabbed her robotic arm

"Well... its not like my parting with her was any better." Summer said with a slight cringe at the memory

"I'm sure..." Najenda snarked looking at both of Summers eyes and arms

"Hey! She stabbed me in the throat, that just as bad as losing an arm, trust me, both has happened to me." Summer snarked with a false pout

"So, Boss wanted me here to watch her treatment, and I was going to visit Tatsumi later so... you know, can we hurry this up?" Mine asked earning a nod from both woman

"Fine, fine, well do this now." Summer said as she stood and removed her cloak, Najenda stood and removed her arm and shirt and lied down on the table, Summer walked to the corner where there was a basin of water dunking her hands in the water Summer closed her eyes and the water gained a cyan glow and hugged to her flesh as she removed them from the water, turning she crossed the distance between her and Najenda and placed her hands over Najendas' heart and mind causing the woman to let out a sigh of relief and she then fell limp

"Najenda has suffered serious injuries in her life, the pain will never subside completely but I can use my powers to help her relax for a while." Summer explained as she looked to Mine who watched the water with some form of fascination

"So, Esdeath used ice, and you use water... I feel like Empires strongest fits you." Mine commented earning a scoff from Summer

"I can use far more than just water, water is just used for healing, I can also fight with lightning, earth, and fire, ice is also something that I can fight with." Summer explained confidently "But I will say I feel guilty for what happened to Najenda. I had a chance to kill her long ago but... well... I'm too nice to kill someone I care for."

"I still don't know whats so great about her." Mine coldly shot watching Najenda slowly smile

"She needed nothing, and if it helped you help her she would do anything for you. Back in the academy we were... quite close, I think I talked to Najenda like twice but me and Esdeath talked quite a few times..." Summer began

(\_/)

Summer sat down to eat taking a quick look at her food she noticed that it was poisoned, with a sigh Summer pushed the food away from her

"Not enjoying your food?" Esdeath asked as she sat down across from Summer

"Meh, I'd prefer if it had less poison in it." Summer snarked earning a grin from Esdeath

"I wish people tried what they are doing to you with me, it'd be good opportunity to learn some new ways to deal with people." Esdeath said clearly not happy about the nothing happening to her, Summer let out a sigh

"Last night Hauruka tried to stab me in the throat." Summer said after a few moments of silence, earning a hum from Esdeath

"Well that's no good, don't you have anyone to watch over you while you rest? Or have you though about finding somewhere to sleep that no one knows about?" Esdeath questioned earning a nod from Summer

"Yeah I've tried that but, most have people following me." Summer said pointing over her shoulder, Esdeath caught sight of a young man who kept shooting Summer glances, earning a hum of agreement from Esdeath

"If you can teach me how to tell what a persons true nature is then I'll protect you as you sleep." Esdeath offered after a few moments of thought

"I can do that, its not that hard to learn if someone teaches you." Summer agreed earning a pat on the head from Esdeath

"Good, lets go get you some sleep, and once you're awake you can teach me, about how to see a persons true nature!" Esdeath happily said as she dragged Summer away ignoring her protests

(\_/)

Summer opened her eyes and yawned her bedding was quite comfortable, she stared off at the tree she was facing for a few moments, blinking a few times she realized she wasn't in her bed, in her barracks or somewhere safe, quickly sitting up Esdeath placed her hand on her head and stopped her from banging her head into hers

"Careful." Esdeath growled earning a long slue of apologizes from Summer, which caused Esdeath to roll her eyes "Stop, it doesn't matter, you are going to teach me anyways, so I'm more than happy to help you, so long as you don't stab me in the back." Esdeath added earning a slow nod from Summer who repositioned herself to lean against the tree near them

"Right, right... okay, so this is how it goes; When you're sitting around a large group of people you know how you can feel people who stare at you?" Summer asked earning a nod "Okay, so what you do is amplify your aura it doesn't matter if its killing intent or just your emotions, you amplify one and that'll cause theirs to amplify too, I use my emotions because people cant detect those, killing intent can scare people too, or tell them that you're trying to find them, so if you want to do it effectively you need to find something that people cant feel." Summer lectured earning a nod from Esdeath

"I can do that, I expect these lessons to continue." Esdeath said earning a nod from Summer

"HOLY CATS! I COMPLETELY FOR GOT!" Summer shouted before nearly vanishing into thin air

"Holy cats?" Esdeath asked her self as she stood and followed after Summer who reappeared directly in front of her

"WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING HERE!? WERE GONNA MISS THE COMBAT EXAM!" Summer shouted at her she then spoke normally "This is gonna be a little strange but... hold on." Summer said a red glow enveloping her for a moment "Okay punch me as hard as you possibly can." Summer ordered and spread her arms, Esdeath didnt need to be told twice cocking back her fist she swung sending Summer sprawled, quickly standing Summer ordered her to do it again, that happened four more times, she then picked up Esdeath bridal style

"Right, this is gonna look weird, but... you know... hold on tight." Summer said and prepared to run

"I'm pretty sure we could run faster if-" Esdeath began but held her tongue when everything became a blur for a few moments, they then came to a rough stop in front of their Strategic combat class and Summer put her down with a sigh

"Okay... lets... do this!" Summer happily panted earning a smile from Esdeath

"Lets." Esdeath agreed and pushed the door open and gestured for Summer to enter first...

(o)

"That was far better than how we parted ways." Summer said finishing her story

"So... was Esdeaths' chest sti-" Mine slowly began to asked but was cut off by Summer who answered her tone clearly frustrated "Huge? Yes... stupid... genetics..." Before Summer could continue that tangent she changed the subject "So... hows the kids?"

"They are fine, but running an orphanage isn't really how I expected I'd spend my time after the war." Mine complained earning a laugh from Summer

"I'm sure, it doesn't really matter all that much but, if you need someone to help around there I'm happy to help." Summer offered happily earning a happy noise from Mine

"Thank you! After Run... died, I've been short staffed." Mine thanked earning a neutral hum from Summer

"Yeah, about that, you have so much money left over, why don't you hire anyone else?.. cause last I checked it was just you." Summer questioned earning a hum from Najenda

"Well... I... just... don't like paying people." Mine answered earning a laugh from Najenda and Summer

"I understand why you weren't put in charge of any administrative jobs." Summer joked

"HEY! I'm great with money... just not good at letting it go." Mine defended

"I know, now that should do it Najenda." Summer said sending the water back to the basin as Najenda sat up

"Thank you again Summer, its been getting harder to keep up the past few years." Najenda thanked as she pulled on her shirt and reconnected her arm

"No need to worry, after what you lot did for the kingdom, I cant do enough to thank you." Summer waved off with a bright smile

the three girls went on to talk the night away, until the early morning came to tell them that they've spent too much time talking, and that the days work would be hell, a long strand of almost curses could be heard from Summer through out the day, a long strand of actual curses could be heard from Najenda through out the day, and an enjoyable nap came for Mine as thanks from the children she gave shelter to, as penance for the things she'd done in the name of revolution.

A/N VOLUME 3 IS OUT AND READY TO READ, other than that I completely forgot to write up one of these for Volume 2 so this is a bit late to the party, and im sorry for that.