[center][img]https://s1.postimg.org/pvkcpuza7/fl36r_OW_75.png[/img] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [img]https://s2.postimg.org/fvjow1qex/title108419120_295x.png[/img] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || [color=#F50A83]#F50A83[/color] ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || [color=#0A8BF5]#0A8BF5 [/color] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬[/center] The exercise seemed simple. Like last time, it would be a matter of fighting off groups of enemies on multiple fronts in order to take and hold a single point within an urban terrain. Furthermore, now that she'd seen videos of most of these students showcasing their abilities, she knew how they fought, barring a few exceptions, meaning she wouldn't be taken be surprise. On the other hand, since all three of her teammates hadn't fought in the earlier exercise, it would be hard for everyone else to figure out what their plan was and what to expect. That gave them a natural advantage. Really, she had every right to feel ready and confident when it came to fighting this battle. But that wasn't what Motome Fumika was thinking about. The strategy that Chiwa had suggested, similarly, was a good one. Saving their own strength for when it would really count, monitoring the situation and figuring out enemy positioning and capabilities, and finally striking without warning when it would really make a difference. By sticking close together and making their move at the best possible moment, they could minimize risk to themselves individually while maximizing their chances of victory. It was a simple strategy, but sometimes, simple was best. But that wasn't what Motome Fumika was thinking about. The only problem with the strategy was that only three of them had agreed to it, since, as expected, the teammate she'd most anticipated working with hadn't shown up that day. Instead, a strange figure clad head to toe in heavy silver armor had arrived in his place, evidently to serve as a replacement. Naturally, she not only had no idea what he could do, or whether or not he would even stick with the plan. And, what was more, she still didn't know why today, of all days, Yoshida hadn't shown up. [b]That was exactly what Motome Fumika was thinking about![/b] Doubt! Anxiety! A hurricane of such dark emotions ravaged her mind, clouding her thoughts until she completely forgot to be worried about the upcoming match. No, in fact, she forgot about it entirely! In the face of the tremendous stress brought on by the absence of an expected person, even the most self-confident of people will at some point entertain a single question, no matter how unlikely it might be in the situation. [color=#0A8BF5]What if it's my fault?![/color] However, while others might have had the presence of mind and the strength of ego necessary to dismiss this possibility, for the timid girl known as Motome Fumika, this struggle between anxiety and confidence was like a [i]steamroller[/i] pressing down on top of an [i]ant[/i]! And the result was... Complete and total defeat! She was mentally routed! Her mind was thrown into total chaos as she reviewed the events of the previous day over and over again! While an ordinary individual would have simply shrugged it off, Fumika's photographic memory allowed her to notice several tiny points where it seemed obvious to her that she'd said or done something wrong. Her mind fixated upon these details, and forced her to the conclusion that it was entirely her fault! She'd latched onto Yoshida immediately, followed him everywhere, caused problems for him during the exercise by refusing to give up, then gotten involved in a fight, forced him to intervene, and then completely refused to explain anything to him! She had generally been an [i]annoying woman![/i] Of course, it was no wonder that an ordinary boy would want to distance himself from such a person immediately. [color=#0A8BF5]So... he must not have showed up because he knew I'd be on his team and I would just end up getting in his way...[/color] [b]Completely wrong![/b] But by viewing everything solely as it concerned her, there was absolutely no way she could come to any other possible conclusion! Because of that, her thoughts gave way into a self-feeding death spiral of gloom. Just as a ship sinks more quickly as it fills with water, so too did her negativity in turn give rise to even more negative thoughts. Every time she found some new mistake she'd made, it only lent more force to her self-condemnation, which in turn drove her to find even more flaws and faults to add more fuel to the fire. Finally, she was faced with the unavoidable conclusion that all of this had happened because she'd been forcing herself into other people's business, and getting in their way. At this rate, all of her pent up anxiety would give rise to a full blown self-persecution complex, and her entire psyche would self-destruct! Of course, Fumika herself didn't know any of these things, but what she did know was that her heart hurt, and that she disliked it. Because of that, she settled upon what seemed to be a simple solution. And so Motome Fumika closed her heart, and stopped thinking about it.