Clone Girls

“Where’s everybody?” Asked a bewildered Willia as she went to the main room of her new house. It was… empty, except for her mother and one ECG seated at the table, both enjoying a cup of coffee.

Willia had just put on her uniform after waking up, she had slept peacefully after exhausting herself yesterday, ‘training’ alongside her mother.

“Morning, Willia.” Ticia said as she sent a warm look towards her daughter. “Your sisters already left.”

“Eh?” Willia tilted her head, not understanding, but then, she finally remembered. “Ah! That’s right! Today’s the first day of school!”

She looked at the clock on the wall, and immediately panicked. “It’s already 7 AM!? Why did nobody wake me up?!”

Rika had told them yesterday that classes would begin at half past seven, so she needed to hurry if she ever wanted to make it on time.

Since Willia always spent all her energy training, it wasn’t unusual for her to sleep late into the morning. As such, Licia, Nillia or Nicia usually woke her up if they needed her. But this time… Why did they leave me behind? That’s mean!

“Why, I wonder~?” Ticia said back with a teasing smile, before her expression turned to a serious one. “You can’t always expect to rely on your sisters for those kinds of things, Willia. Even Nia was able to get up on time. Remember, this isn’t ‘home’.”

“...I’m sorry, mom, I’ll set up an alarm next time.” Willia replied back, reflecting. Mommy is right, I can’t bother my sisters while we’re in a dangerous place…

“Mhm, good girl.” Ticia nodded happily, before getting up and giving a toast filled with honey to Willia. “Here, you can eat this on the way. Don’t wanna get there on an empty stomach!”

“Thanks mom!” Willia said as she took the toast into her mouth instead of her hands, which made Ticia giggle.

“Have a nice day.” She said as she gave a short but tight hug to Willia, before looking at the ECG that had now gotten up. “Keep an eye on your sister, 003.”

ECG-003 simply nodded.

“Now go. You wouldn’t want your teacher to discipline you on your first day, do you?”

“Oh, maybe I should…” Willia began to think seriously on the matter, thinking she could pass more time training.

“And what makes you think she will make you train more? For all I know she could dispense you from all physical classes…” Ticia smirked.

“No way…” Willia paled at those words. Anything but that! “I need to go. Bye mom!”

She rushed out of the barracks without waiting for an answer and began running in the direction of the campus while eating her breakfast. When she looked behind her, she saw that ECG-003 followed closely after her.

“Hey! watch out where you’re going!” Someone yelled at her as they nearly avoided her.

“Sorry! I’m in a hurry!” Willia said back, before continuing on. She kept running for a while, avoiding people on the way. 

“...Sister, we’re going the wrong way.” ECG-003 called out to her.

“Eh? Are we?” Willia immediately stopped and looked around her. Instead of the buildings where classes were held, the gigantic training field stood there.

“Ah, you’re right, I somehow ended up here, hehe~.” She said somewhat embarrassedly, the training grounds were in the opposite direction from where classes were. She scratched her head while laughing awkwardly.

“You do not have lessons here currently, sis-”

“I-I know…” She cut her little sister before she could finish her remark. “Err, well, since it’s come to this, you’ll guide me there, 003!”

“Sister, I do no-”

“Less talking, more moving! Come on, let’s go!” Willia took ECG-003's hand and pulled her, dragging the girl along with her even though she just asked for directions from her.

Minutes passed, and the two of them were still lost.

“Weird, it’s not that way…” Willia frowned, before turning towards ECG-003. “Hey, are you sure this is the right direction?”

“Sister, I am sorry to say that I do not know the way.” The ECG flatly responded.

“Eh? You don’t? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!” Willia protested.

“Sister ordered me to stop talking and follow her.” ECG-003 replied somewhat dryly, and Willia could feel that her little sister was judging her right now…

“O-oh…” Was all she could utter. “Uhm, what time is it?”

“It’s half past seven already, sister.” ECG-003 said, and a small silence ensued as Willia paled.

“...I’m gonna get in trouble, aren’t I?”

“Indeed.”

“...”

“...”

The awkward silence continued for a bit, until Willia could not take it anymore.

“Agh! Why did I have to get lost!?” She shouted out loud, holding her head with both hands. “Nicia! Where are you when I need you!?”

 

***

 

Why do I always end up in those situations…

Evelyn thought to herself as she faced some unwanted people on her way towards class. She really did not like the fact that she was becoming the weak prey of the hunter as of late.

“Hey, didn’t you hear what I said, you Pellian bitch?” The muscular man that blocked her way asked, irritated. “What happened to that bastard Steve? He still owes us money.”

“…” Evelyn opened her mouth, about to reply back, but nothing came out. She would usually get out of those situations easily, but the events from the recent party were too fresh in her mind, and she could not help but tremble helplessly.

Still, she needed to come back to the academy. Her father needed her to succeed for his plans to progress. She did not want to mess up her father's plans more than they already were. She could only blame herself for insisting on not taking any bodyguards…

“What? Cat got your tongue?” The muscular man said with growing irritation, until his face changed like he got an idea and he sneered at her. “Tell you what? Right now, we’re in the old zone of the campus, and if I don’t get my money back, I’ll take something else as compensation…” His look became lustfull as he focused on her breasts, making her fall back a little. “You’re his fiance after all, right? You need to take responsibility for him.”

I’m not engaged to that person anymore. She wanted to say as her defense, but knew well enough it would not change the man's mind. She instead glanced around, hoping somebody would notice what was happening.

“Hmph, none of your underdogs are gonna save you. They’re too scared to become our next victim…”  The man said, misunderstanding her expression. “Now, let’s get thi-”

He froze as he heard noise, two people were conversing with one another, and their voices grew closer.

“... Are you sure this is the way?”

“Based on simple deductions, that would be so, sister.”

“Really?”

Those voices… Could it be… Licia and ECG-046? Evelyn thought, turning back in surprise. What are they doing here?

She could now see two girls, one younger and one older, with similar appearances, and she immediately identified them as the clones she knew. Albeit, she noticed a slight difference in Licia(?)’s behavior and hairstyle.

“If you are so unsure, why not ask one of the people over there for directions?” The one she assumed to be ECG-046, spoke up, pointing towards her group.

“Ah! How did I not think about this before!?” Licia(?)’s eyes grew big, and she facepalmed before looking straight in Evelyn’s direction.

“Excuse me?” She asked, seemingly unaware of the troubles Evelyn was in. “Do you know where Class 38 is?”

“Huh?” The large man suddenly approached the little clone girl. “Stupid clone, you just interrupted my business, do you really think I would answer you?” He said with annoyance in his voice.

“Why not?” The little clone girl tilted her head innocently, and so did the hair strand on her head. The action was so unexpected to Evelyn that she nearly let out the word ‘cute’.

“What would I gain from this?” The man said, smiling as he shrugged. He was not taking this new arrival seriously. “I see no gain in it, so if you want to get your directions, you’ll have to beat me up.” He said jokingly, but would have never expected the answer he got from the little clone girl.

“Oh? Is that so?” Surprisingly enough, the girl replied back innocently, and a fearless smile beamed on her face as she cracked her knuckles. “Hehe! I’ll take you up on that then!”

To the surprise of everybody present, she suddenly headbutted the large man on the nose.

“Wha-!?” The man backed down holding his now bleeding nose.

““B-boss?!””

“Don’t just stand there, get her!” He said to his subordinates who were surprised by the suddenness of the act.

“More people to fight against? Yay~!” The little clone girl seemed overjoyed, and surprisingly enough, she stopped the fists the two men sent her way with her small hands, before pulling them towards her and giving a knee kick to their stomach.

She neutralized two young men just like that?!  Evelyn thought in amazement as she watched from the side. How much strength does she have?!

She then glanced at who she thought to be ECG-046, remembering what happened the night of the party. She had somehow ended up right next to her. She asked curiously. “You’re not going to help her?”

“Sister would be angry if I were to interfere with her fun.” The clone said back, shaking her head.

“... Fun?” Now Evelyn was even more confused. But she had no time to question it, because everything was already over.

“There! I beat you all up fare and square!” The little clone girl said with a smug look, looking down at the large man who was laying on his stomach. “So? Where's Class 38?”

“Ugh!” The large man got up and groaned as he held his stomach. “This isn’t the last time you’ll see us!” He declared as he ran away, his henchmen following after him in a hurry.

“Ah! Wait!” Licia(?) cried out. “My directions…” She said depressingly as her ahoge became lifeless.

“Uhm, Licia?” Evelyn called out from behind, getting the girl’s attention.

“Mh? I’m Willia, not eldest sister Licia.” The girl said back with a bewildered look. “Actually, how do you know my sister’s name? From the ceremony maybe?”

“Uhm, no. My name is Evelyn, and I’ve met your sister before…” Evelyn could only say awkwardly, now feeling ashamed she got the wrong person. If so, the older one might not be ECG-046.

She was a bit sad about this fact, actually. She wanted to thank the both of them  in a more formal way for saving her, but never thought she would get to meet the clones ever again, not that soon at least.

“Mmmmh, Evelyn… Weird, eldest sister didn’t mention anything about you…” Willia said, a thoughtful expression on her face, before quickly giving up. “Oh well, not my problem, I need to catch those guys so that they tell me the directions around here.”

“Uhm, if it’s Class 38, I can guide you there.” Evelyn said, making Willia stop in her tracks. She immediately closed in on her.

“Really?!” Willia said with a look that told Evelyn that she was her savior, which surprised the latter.

“Y-yes, I’m a student of that class.”

“What a small world! Me too!” Willia said, laughing. It surprised Evelyn to hear that the girl was actually a student at the academy. “Then let’s hurry before we’re late!”

“Eh? What are you talking about?” Evelyn said back, frowning. “Class begins at half past eight. Even if we take a detour, we’ll be there on time.”

“...Eh?” Willia froze, looking at her with a ‘you serious?’ expression, to which Evelyn could only nod awkwardly, not understanding why the girl was so obsessed with not being late.

“...” Willia then sent a glance toward the other clone girl, who seemed to be staring back at her with a look that told Evelyn this was none of her business.

““...”” The silence continued for a while as Willia looked down, trembling, but before Evelyn had the courage to say anything, Willia suddenly looked to the sky and yelled out loud.

“I’ve been tricked!”

 

***

 

“Half an hour in advance huh? Truly impressive, I did not expect you to arrive so soon, Willia.” Rika said with surprise as she saw Willia arrive at the classroom. She was waiting for her at the door.

“Rikaaaa~! You lied to me!” The girl immediately cried out, protesting against her fate, but Rika sternly reprimanded her.

“Behave yourself Willia. Right now, we are a teacher and her student, so act accordingly.”

“U-understood.” Willia nodded back timidly, standing upright.

“And for your information, it was your mother who planned all of this.”

“Wha-?!” This information made Willia freeze with a look of disbelief and betrayal. She never expected her mother to do this, but Ticia had done this to teach her a lesson, and Willia somehow understood this. She could only reflect on the events.

“B-brigadier-General.” Evelyn saluted stiffly, not expecting Rika to be here. The latter looked at her and gave her a small smile.

“Miss Mayers, as luck would have it, we meet again.”

“Y-yes, but…”

“‘Why are you here’, is what you were going to say, right?” Rika finished the blue haired girl’s question. “Well it's a bit sudden, but General Fika and I have been put in charge of this class.”

“Eh?”

“The reason is because of Willia and her sisters, but that's not important right now.” Rika looked straight in the eyes at Evelyn with a serious look. “Junior officer Evelyn Mayers, are you truly in condition to be here?”

Evelyn stayed silent, unable to answer Rika, she knew what she was talking about.

“Fueh? What does that mea-Gebu!?” The bewildered and curious Willia received a chop on the head before she could finish her question. Rika did not want to speak about this out loud, and Willia was anything but discreet.

“...Yes, thank you for worrying, but I am alright, teacher.” Evelyn finally answered after a while, and Rika weighed her words by staring straight in her eyes. In the end, she sighed.

“I see. If you're that determined, I won't stop you. But immediately tell me if anything happens."

“...Thank you.” Evelyn said with heartfelt gratitude. She could tell Rika was really worried about her right now. 

“It's fine, you’re my student after all. Now get in, you were the last ones.”  Rika said back, and Evelyn nodded, she entered the classroom with Willia, who had waited for her for some reason.

Evelyn immediately noticed a lot of things as she entered, and the most obvious one was the way the class was arranged.

Although Class 38 had always been half empty, with only thirty students in it (Steve and herself not included), it was a surprising sight to see all of her classmates seated on the right side of the class, while the clones had occupied the left one with the windows to the outside. The only thing separating them was the path at the center of the room.

She could see eleven identical kids at the front rows on the clone side, followed by adult ones behind. As for her classmates, they were in their usual groups of friends, and she could see that her acquaintances had left a seat for her.

Her classmates looked at the clones with warry, yet curious eyes, but did not approach them for a reason Evelyn could clearly tell. The clones were all emotionless, staring towards the classroom's board. They let out an aura that clearly told everyone present that they did not want to talk with them, which seemed to tense things up with some of her classmates, seeing their looks. 

“Sisters!” Unaware of the current mood of the class, Willia called out to her sisters and approached them, beaming a smile. Her arrival changed the Null CG's overall atmosphere they were letting out.

“Willia!? You made it in time?!” Nicia exclaimed in disbelief, her eyes big.

“Hehe~, I knew she would!” Ticinia said from the row of seats behind, laughing happily as if it was her own achievement.  “I won the bet! All of mom's hug time for today is mine!”

““Ugh.”” All the clone girls looked dejected that they lost.

“W-wait, you betted on whether I would make it in time or not and only Ticinia betted that I would!?” Willia exclaimed, feeling betrayed for the nth time in less than two hours. When all her sisters looked away, she pouted. “So mean!”

“Sorry Willia.” Licia apologized, getting up to go console her sister. But on the way there, she spotted Evelyn overlooking the scene with an awkward look.

“Ah! Evelyn!” 

““Eh?””

She immediately rushed towards the blue haired girl, surprising everyone present, even Eveyn and Rika.

“You're in this class too? That's so lucky! Hehe~.” Licia said to Evelyn, laughing gleefully, before taking her hand and pulling her over towards her seat. “Come on, let's sit down next to each other!”

“E-eh? L-Licia, slow down!?” Evelyn had a hard time catching up to what was happening, but before she knew it, she was the only regular human who was on the left side of the class, and on the front row at that! The curious and questioning looks her classmates sent her stung her, but what stung her harder were the looks of the little clones. They too were curious, besides being extremely cute in her eyes. Some seemed wary too, which she could understand, but what she did not understand was why the clone girl with a red headband, who was on Licia’s other side, was glaring at her as if she was her worst enemy…

“Since everyone is here, let's make some quick presentations.” Rika declared before anything could derail further, quieting the class and bringing all attention on her. “As you all already know, I am Brigadier-General Rika, and I'll be in charge of this class alongside General Fika. Excuse him for not being here, there was a meeting at the military headquarters, and he had to participate.”

Unlike Rika, David's rank did not permit him to avoid those kinds of meetings, and everybody understood that.

“There are a lot of things to talk about, and I'm sure you're all curious. As such, I will be answering any questions you have first.” Rika declared. The students looked at each other, unsure, before one of them raised her hand. 

“Uhm, teacher, why was our class selected?” She asked.

“The obvious reason is the number of places available in this class, but there are others, like the fact that this is one of the best classes.” Rika stated. “Ah, on that topic, don't get fooled by the clone's cute appearances. They have the same level of skills as any of you.”

“What about the adult ones? Why are they here?” Another student asked immediately after.

“Any adult clones are part of the ECGs, but as of now, none of them has a name. You can refer to them with that expression when talking about them.” Rika replied. “They act as bodyguards, and since they are not used to Borkians ways, I've decided to let them participate from time to time in the class. Like this they can also bring up their experiences to you all, which I'm sure will prove beneficial in your future.”

Seeing that Rika really answered all their questions, the students who seemed timid at first, were now more daring in the questions they asked.

“How did you become the one in charge of the clones?” A handsome boy asked.

“It's a long story that I neither have the time nor the right to tell you as of now.”

“What makes the little clones so special, besides being more autonomous?”

“I think it's already been told multiple times. If you want to know more, ask them yourself.”

“Is there a chance teacher could recruit us in her brigade?” A boy with glasses asked.

“That depends on your performances this year.”

“Why did you break up ties with your family?”

“That's personal, so I'll be skipping on that one.”

“Can I hug one of the little clone girls?” One of the girls asked, making the Null CGs frown.

“I don't mind personally, but ask for their permission first.”

“Do you also think they're cute?” The girl continued.

“Yes, immensely cute.” Rika replied straightforwardly, to everyone's surprise.

“H-hey!” Nicia raised her voice, face red. “Teacher, what’s the use of those last two questions?!” She glared at the girl who asked those questions.

“I’m just answering truthfully.” Rika said back, still with a serious look. “I have a hard time restraining myself from hugging one of you right now.”

“Wha-!?” Nicia was flabbergasted, and did not know what to say back. Her face reddened as she heard giggles coming from the right side of the class.

She then noticed Nia looking at her with a big teasing smile on her face

“W-what?”

“Nooothing~. Sister, there's nothing wrong with accepting praise~.” Nia replied, her smile deepening.

“You… Don't you dare play a prank on me…” Nicia said back, her eyes becoming sharp, but what Nia said next left her speechless.

“That means everything else is fine, right?”

“...”

It was then that help came from an unexpected direction.

“Don't worry, sister, if she does something to you, I'll just report her last prank to mother.” Mia said with a small smile.

“Mia!? That's betrayal!” Nia overreacted to her sister's words, but Mia kept smiling.

“I know~.”

Now it was Nia's turn to be rendered speechless, before the both of them started to bicker.

Meanwhile, a thoughtful Willia spoke up to Nicia.

“I don't understand. Why are you shy about this, Nicia?”

“Eh?”

“I mean, it's true that you're cute and pretty when compared to me.” She said honestly to a frozen Nicia while scratching her right cheek.

“Yeah, yeah. Sister Nicia is the prettiest!” Ticinia jumped in, nodding strongly.

“Wawawa! Stop it both of you!” Nicia exclaimed, her face red from embarrassment.

And just like that, the clone girls began bickering with one another in front of their stupefied classmates, even Licia and Ria had begun arguing before anybody knew it, though nobody understood why…

“Sisters, stop playing around. We're still in class.” Nillia said sternly, focused on class rather than her sisters. All of them immediately stopped what they were doing, staring at her, and before long, they were all seated as if nothing had happened.

“Thanks, Nillia.” Rika said with a small smile, but Nillia only hmphed at her with a hateful look. Deciding to ignore the reaction for now, Rika spoke to all the Null CGs.

"Well, just like your sister said, this is a classroom, and I am your teacher. Your attitude just now was a complete breach of discipline, so I'll have to punish you…."

Even though Rika had a smile on her face, the clone girls felt uneasy, and for a good reason. This was not the first time they had seen Rika make that expression with this aura behind her. She sometimes made it when she got upset with their mother, like yesterday for exemple…

The clone girls immediately got the message: Be serious during class or face punishment!

“E-Evelyn, save me…” Licia whispered to Evelyn as she clung to her.

“I-I don't think I can…” Evelyn said back, feeling more gazes on her now. How could she do anything?

In the end, after a small staring contest, Rika let out a small sigh.

“I'll let it slide for today, but remember to follow discipline.” She said, and the clone girls nodded their heads strongly. She then turned towards the left side of the class with a smile on her face. “Now, you've seen how they act, right?”

““Eh?”” The students were surprised by the question and change of tones, and so were the clones, but Rika continued with a bit more of a serious look.

“They're ‘humans’, just like all of you, so don't reject them. Please become good comrades to them and learn from each other.”

““Y-yes, teacher!”” The students nodded. They were bewildered, but the bickering the clone girls just had made them more approachable in their eyes…

They were children, not emotionless machines who only obeyed orders, and that… was exactly how Rika wanted the Null CGs to be seen.

“Now, with that out of the way, let’s begin class seriously.” Rika said, changing tone once again. “Attention junior officers!”

Not soon after she had yelled those words, everybody present in the room stood up and saluted her. Rika nodded. “At ease.” And they all sat back.

“For the next few days, class will be centered around orientation and basic officer training, which I’ll be in charge of.”

They all nodded at her words, so far, it was nothing new to the students of the academy.

“My lessons will be both theoretical and practical, so I do hope you didn’t stay on your laurels during the holiday period.” Rika continued. “General Fika will provide some theoretical classes too, but due to his position, his classes might be canceled or moved. Of, course, you’ll be notified in advance, and your schedule will also mark the changes.” She said this as she pushed a button, and the classroom’s board came to life. The schedule of this week was displayed on it. Most of those were filled with Rika’s name as the teacher, meaning that she would handle most of the lessons for the class this week.

“As was requested to us by the principal, we will also be hosting seminars, which will be open to all. In those seminars, we will share our experience on the battlefield.” She said as she pointed towards a time slot on the board. It was for the third day of school.

“As our students, your participation has been heeded as mandatory.” Rika said. “Any absence without proper justification will be strictly reprimanded.”

After a small silence, in which Rika let the student digest her words and look at their schedule, she continued.

“For now, let us begin with a simple lesson: Instilling discipline to your subordinates.” A glint flashed in her eyes, and the Null CGs flinched when they noticed it, while the students were bewildered. That was a strange choice for a first lesson…

“If there is one thing that I learned on the field, that is the importance of discipline.” Rika began her lecture seriously. “By this, I do not mean restraining the liberties of your subordinates, but making sure they will follow orders, stay loyal to you, and never think of ditching training or speaking to you casually while on duty...” There was a strong intent on those  words, making everyone believe that Rika had really experienced those things…

“For this, I’ve called a ‘special’ subordinate of mine to showcase effective disciplinary measures…” The smile on Rika’s face deepened, and after making a sign, somebody entered the room.

“M-mom…” Vinia let out without thinking as Ticia entered the room.

“H-hey girls…” Ticia waived at them nervously, before a quick reprimanding look from Rika made her flinch and stay at attention.

“Here is a question for you, class.” Rika said with a smile. “How do you discipline a subordinate who not only plays pranks on her direct superior, but also jokes on her age~?”

““...”” Everybody was silent. What was this all about? Well, the clone girls knew it all. It would seem like Rika was still angry about what happened yesterday, so much so that she got Ticia out of her day off and now punished her in front of her daughters…

 

“I’ll be listening to any of your ideas on the subject~.” Rika ended her words with a big smile on her face, while Ticia sweated bullets. Either regular humans or clones, all thought the same thing. Brigadier-General Rika was not to mess with!

They gulped, this first day of school would prove to be quite a peculiar one... and it was only just begining...