Clone Girls

Twelve clone girls wearing red track suits were lined up in order, their eyes looking at Ticia with expectations.

It was the afternoon, just after the clone girls had managed to ‘convince’ Ticia to train them, they all gathered at the training ground on the second floor. At the beginning, Ticia still hesitated, she blurted out an excuse that the clone girls did not have clothes in which to train into. This argument of hers was quickly shot down when A-4 appeared with newly made track suits for the clone girls. Now she was sure that the AI was on the clone girls' side from the beginning. If there was a thing that consoled her, it was seeing the girls wearing track suits. She felt healed when they wore them. Meanwhile, Ticia had kept her skinsuit and just removed the rest of the armor. She was too lazy to change.

"Now then, I will ask again, but are you sure you all want to be trained?" Ticia asked. This would be the last chance for her to stop everything. However, the clone girls had already made up their minds. They all nodded at her. Ticia sighed.

"...I understand. But just so you know, we won’t stop the training after we’ve begun. It will be something done everyday, is that clear?"

Again, the clone girls nodded. Ticia’s attitude then suddenly changed, her posture changed from a relaxed pose to a tense and rigid one, she then told the clone girls. "First, we will train your bodies and learn some self defense moves while being unarmed. It is important that you girls learn to defend yourselves first. Second, during training, I will treat you all like soldiers and not as little sisters. I don't want to see one of you fall back behind, so until I am satisfied with each of you, we will not learn anything else."

All the clone girls nodded again, but some had disappointed expressions on their faces. Ticia did not care and continued on.

"Then we will begin by doing laps of the training ground, right now."

The clone girls were startled by the change in atmosphere, they did not move, they only looked at each other. Ticia then harshly yelled.

"What did I just tell you, soldiers!? Get on the move! Now!"

The clone girls were startled again by Ticia’s harsh tone. She had never raised her voice like this before. This time, they all followed her order. The clone girls started to run, and Ticia accompanied them. Ticia’s objective was to see the level of endurance the clone girls had. She had read in the reports done by A-4 that clones had a stronger body than normal human children, but she didn’t know to what extent. There was also the fact that each clone girl also had a specific set of genes enhanced, meaning there would be differences between them.

As for Ticia’s harsh voice, it was to clearly mark a difference between training time and her everyday self that the clone girls knew. Because she spoiled them a lot, there was a risk that the clone girls would not take her seriously. Besides, every drill instructor she had during her training was like that, even her superior, Rika, treated her harshly when the both of them were training together. Her harshness was so strong that Ticia questioned whether she was doing it on purpose. I think I remember she even smiled… Jeez, was she on that side of the spectrum? Ticia, let out a quick wry smile, remembering something silly again. She then made an expressionless face, silently looking over the clone girls who were running alongside her.

The clone girls stuck together as a group, but she could see some differences that told her that every girl had their own pace. The ones that were at the head of the group were Willia and Lidia, while those that were lagging a bit behind were Nicia and Ticinia. They continued on for a while. As they were about to finish their third lap, Ticia noticed the girls at the end of the group were reaching their limit. She slowed down little by little, and when they finally finished the third lap, she said in a strong voice.

"We will stop here for now, good job everyone." All the clone girls slowed down, some of them even sat down or lied down on the spot, breathing hard, but still not out of breath. Just when they thought they had finished…

"What are you all doing? Go drink some water and come back within five minutes, we’ll do some stretching." Ticia clapped her hands as she said that.

The clone girls that were down immediately got up and hurried over to A-4, who brought water bottles who knows when. On her side, Ticia also drank a mouthful of water. She was surprised none of the clone girls had yet to complain. From what she had seen before while she received military education, kids around their age would usually always complain, even refusing to move. This would provoke the ire of their drill instructors, but that is another story. Whether it was because the clone girls were very motivated or because they were too scared to complain, Ticia did not know. Still, they were, after all, children, so Ticia had prepared herself for some complaints. But it would seem she had underestimated the clone girls’ stubbornness. Even after coming back, none of the clone girls began to complain. Ticia taught the girls some easy stretching moves, and they all did them without a hitch.

Then, after a bit of time, Ticia stopped stretching. The girls also stopped when she did.

"Now, let’s learn how to fight unarmed."

This was what some of the girls were waiting for, and it showed in their expressions. The clone girls all nodded, waiting for Ticia’s instructions. Ticia opened her arms wide, then she said. "For the next ten minutes, I will fight you all together, so give me everything you have."

This confused the girls yet again. What did Ticia mean by that? They did not know how to react. From the group, Ria, which had by this point become the one her sisters looked at when they wanted to ask a question but were too timid to ask, raised her hand and spoke out.

"Uhm, big sis."

"Call me instructor while we train."

"Instructor, what do you mean by ‘giving you all we have’? You did not teach us anything yet…"

"That’s right, I did not teach you any moves." Ticia affirmed, making the clone girls even more confused. She then continued. "You see, as you are right now, teaching you my movements would only hinder your progression. It would be better for you all to begin by developing your own fighting style, then, we can talk about me teaching you some moves. With that being the case, attack me."

The clone girls did not move, hesitant looks on their faces, it’s not that they could not attack Ticia. No, it was because they knew Ticia could beat them all quickly if she wanted.

"...A-4, set an alarm to ring in five minutes."

"Orders received: Setting alarm to ring in five minutes."

After saying this to A-4, Ticia looked back at the girls.

"From now on until the alarm rings, I will only defend myself, so feel free to attack me."

The clone girls looked at each other hesitantly, something inside them made them reluctant to attack Ticia. But as they hesitated, Willia suddenly charged out, surprising the others.

"Hyaaaaaah!" She punched Ticia with all her power, only for Ticia to stop her right fist with ease with the palm of her left hand. Willia did not give up however, she immediately made a roundhouse kick with her left leg. Ticia left Willia’s right fist alone and just jumped back. Willia pursued her, she continued to exchange kicks and punches with Ticia until Ticia suddenly sidestepped to the left. She had just dodged a sidekick coming from behind! And the owner of that leg was none other than Lidia! While the others were still looking at the fight, she had sneaked out behind Ticia without anyone noticing!

"...I missed…" Said the girl silently before retreating.

Ticia smiled. Interesting, she timed her kick just at the right time. If Ticia had not noticed the girl from the beginning, Lidia’s attack might have worked. Unfortunately for her, Ticia was still way ahead of her in terms of skills.

Ticia continued to exchange some hits with Willia, who seemed to be having fun, for a while, until the other clone girls finally joined the fray. After a bit of hesitation,  their instincs took in. The girls slowly encircled Ticia, who now defended herself from continuous blows. At first, the clone girls just striked hesitantly, wherever and whenever they could, not thinking much. Ticia dodged and blocked their blows with ease, but as time passed, the girls began to coordinate their strikes. From the group, Ticia particularly noted the amazing coordination Miria and Tiria showed up. In terms of coordination, they might be the best. They striked her simultaneously from different sides, forcing Ticia to take a step back each time.

The other girls did not fall behind however, some girls showed an either aggressive or opportunistic aptitude with their own knacks. Ria and Nicia were good examples of that. Both of them tried to hit Ticia’s vitals. But while Ria tried it when she made a continuation of strikes, Nicia, who seemed to be weaker than her sisters, waited instead for an opportunity to arise when Ticia was submerged by other blows from other clone girls. Faced with that Ticia had no room to play anymore and began to defend herself seriously.

Then, after a while, Miria and Tiria suddenly grabbed both her arms and pulled with all they had. As Ticia resisted the pull, she suddenly heard a cute yell coming from behind.

"Yaaaaaah!" Something, or rather someone had jumped on her back, small legs locked on under her chest and hands around her neck.

"Eheheh! I got you! Now I have the high ground!" Nia had managed to get herself on Ticia’s back, then she began tickling Ticia around  the neck. Nia did this because she knew that Ticia was sensible to tickling, she sometimes did this to Ticia during playing time. It did not seem to have the wanted effect however, and as she readied herself to execute her next move, an alarm resounded.

"Notification: Five minutes have passed, owner Ticia."

"Eh?" Nia froze for a moment, she then felt two hands grabbing her ankles, forcefully removing her lock. Then, those same hands grabbed her wrists, and the next thing she knew, she was brought in front of Ticia. She only realized what was happening when Ticia princess carried her. "W-wait, uhm, big sis…"

Ticia smiled at her. "I didn’t know you liked high places Nia. How about we play a game called plane?"

Cold sweets appeared on Nia’s forehead, something told her Ticia was dead serious right now. Nia might have flipped a switch without knowing it. "Pl-please wai-Whooaaaa~~!?"

Ticia threw Nia high in the air, letting the poor girl scream at her first experience at flying. Still smiling, Ticia looked at her next prey. Nicia had frozen the moment Nia was thrown into the air, and now, Ticia ‘gently’ tapped the back of her neck "Guh." Nicia lost power in her legs as her vision troubled. She fell unconscious on the spot.

"Now, who wants to join Nicia and take a nap~?" Ticia asked, still smiling, and the remaining clone girls' faces paled. Nia had definitely flipped a switch!

Lidia made her move from behind, supported by Tiria and Miria, they striked at Ticia from three angles. Ticia dodged Lidia’s high kick by lowering herself, she then grabbed Tiria’s right leg and Miria’s left leg. As she did, Mia was about to give her a kick with her right knee. Ticia just raised her hands, still grabbing the duo’s legs. Miria and Tiria let out small screams as they lost balance and fell on the ground. Then Ticia closed on Mia who could not stop her action. She also got a ‘gentle’ tap on the back of the neck, and joined Nicia into dreamland.

Ticia then held out her arms, catching a still screaming Nia. They looked at each other.

"...Wanna do it again?"

"Eh? Wait! Noooooo~~!"

Nia was back into the air.

Ticia then set her eyes onto Willia and Nillia, Willia rushed at her, she directed her left fist at Ticia’s stomach. Ticia immediately reacted, sidestepping, but as she was about to grab the girl’s arm, a kick from Nillia stopped her movement and she had to sidestep again.

"That’s a good move you made, Nillia~. Defending your allies is important too, you all~."

"Fueh?" Before Nillia knew it, Ticia was whispering in her ear. Right after hearing that, she began to feel sleepy and fell on the ground.

"Nillia!" Willia exclaimed and rushed again, she charged, putting her left shoulder first. Ticia just sidestepped again at the last moment, but this time, she also gave a ‘gentle’ tap to Willia’s neck and put her right hand under the girl to hold her fall. She slowly put her on the ground, just as a familiar scream was coming close again. Ticia held out her arms yet again, catching Nia, who was by now crying.

"Pl-please, big sis, I-I’m sorry? Don’t do it again~." Nia begged with tears in her eyes.

"One last time then." Ticia was merciless.

"Noooooo~~!"

Ticia passed on full offensive mode, she rushed at Ticinia who tried to punch her with her left fist, and grabbed her left wrist. Ticinia then tried to do a palm strike with her free arm, which Ticia caught too. Defenseless, Ticiania let out her ultimate weapon.

"B-big sis, you’re scaring me, please stop…" She made her cutest puppy eyes.

"...Sorry dear…" But Ticia did not stop. The plan had failed! Ticinia in a panic tried to kick Ticia, but she had already left her hand alone and was targeting her neck. Ticinia joined the other sleeping clone girls.

Right at that moment,  Miria and Tiria came back, but Ticia didn’t even let them begin their assault, they were taken out immediately.

Now for the third time, a scream came back from the artificial sky. Ticia held out her arms yet again, but this time, she immediately put Nia to sleep.

"Now then…" Ticia looked at the remaining clone girls. Only Licia, Ria, Lidia and Vinia remained. They had stuck together so as to help each other.

Ticia immediately approached them, she began with an assault of blows, which the girls somehow blocked and avoided by helping each other out. They’re really doing a great job right now. Ticia thought. But it’s time to end this. She first struck Ria, taking her out immediately. Licia, Lidia and Vinia tried to fall back and regroup, but Ticia grabbed Lidia before she could join the other two, and she joined the sleeping group. Only Licia and Vinia remained now.

"I have to congratulate the both of you, you might be the most talented of the batch." Ticia said, smiling fiercely. There was no doubt to the two remaining clone girls that Ticia actually enjoyed this training session.

"...12, can you make a distraction?" Licia suddenly said. Vinia frowned a bit, Licia had not used her name but her identification codename. She wanted to complain, but there was no time for that so she simply nodded, then began to move in Ticia’s direction. Ticia was ready to intercept, but Vinia had more than one trick in her bag, she feinted a roundhouse kick with her left leg, but then went for a palm strike to Ticia’s stomach. Ticia saw through, so she dodged the palm strike… Only for Licia’s foot to enter her vision.

"!!!"

Ticia narrowly escaped the blow, she smiled at the girls. This was a great combination, those two learn fast. But I have a reputation to hold, let’s finish it with the next move. Ticia made a roundhouse kick toward Licia, the girl dodged by crouching, but while she did so, Ticia had already launched her next blow towards her! She escaped the punch, but then that punch changed direction and headed towards Vinia!

""!!!""

Vinia managed to block the strike by crossing her arms. But that was all Ticia needed as she quickly went behind Vinia’s back and made her join the sleeping group.

"..." Left alone, Licia was overpowered and joined the other clone girls in sleeping wonderland.

"Notification: Ten minutes have passed since the beginning of the exercise."

"Phew…" Ticia calmed down, she looked all around her. All clone girls were on the ground, unconscious. "...Did I overdo it?"

"Answer: Owner Ticia definitely overdid it."

A straight answer coming directly from A-4 was rare, it made Ticia scratch her head.

"I guess I grew too excited…" While waiting for the clone girls to wake up, Ticia reflected a bit.

After a while, when everybody had recuperated enough, Ticia said to the girls. "All right, you all did a good job, you all passed the first step."

The girls sighed in relief, they wouldn’t have to do it again… Or so they thought.

"Let’s do another two rounds of spars now! This time, I’ll take each and one of you one on one!" Ticia declared, and the faces of the clone girls paled, all of them thought they had awakened a demon! All but one. Somehow, Willia was happy that she would be able to do other spars.

The afternoon continued under the cries of the clone girls. The lesson they had gotten from today was to never trigger Ticia during training.

Also, for a week, Nia stopped tickling Ticia when they played together.