Chapter 49: Childhood Friends Part 1
Cooro and the gang are shoveling dirt for money, Cooro singing about how he's gonna get paid.
Cooro, Husky and Senri are paid for the week and Nana joins them after babysitting the foreman's daughter. She didn't get paid much but she got cookies and bread! Nana thinks to herself that from now on...hm...that's the thing: what now? Will they keep traveling together? Grow up together? She thinks her friends are hot but she also wants to marry into a rich family (The Classic Dilemma). Marrying Husky will be marrying rich...but screw shipping, there's a flier for the 1st Yellow Valley Race. And it's Anima only!
So, as you have probably guessed, the race is a scheme to scout out low-rank retainers for Asteria's Anima division or something. Basically, they need messengers. One guy in the army goes "Wow, Anima sure are more accepted these days" only for another guy to correct him: if Anima figure out how powerful they are, they'll lord over others with their obvious superiority. So they need to get them under control first. Another guy points out it's the research facility that deals with Anima, specifically Research Facility Eight. He then begins to talk about the head of Facility Eight...who shows up right behind him. It's Fly!
At Yellow Valley, the group marvels at all the Anima they see around them. So the Yellow Valley Race has two categories: The Air Race and the Land Race. You have to visit three checkpoints on your way to the finish line. Nana, looking at the map, says it'll take two days to go to the finish line, Husky saying that they'll probably testing stamina and nighttime activity. When Cooro questions the "testing" part, Husky says the fine print details that Astaria is looking to hire Anima based on their scores. You get a job, you get rights. That's why there are so many Anima.
So some Seifer-looking tool with wings shows up to taunt the group, saying they're going to lose and he's going to win so fuck manners. He's The Great Jesso and you're not.
That's 10,000 gillah prize is as good as his so give up now and save everyone the embarrassment in watching you fail. Cooro is still going to enter anyway: the race is free to enter and even if you lose, you get a prize just for participating. Senri is taking part in the ground race. Nana and Husky are sitting out so it's on with the race including the mysterious shadowy figure watching them on a roof!
Whoever the hell this is.
The group spots her quickly and Cooro seems to recognize her as a girl named Lyra. He runs up to greet her and she says hi...and sprouts wings, saying she won't lose to him before flying off. She's a swallow Anima and Cooro says he knows her from the church he grew up in. But he's a bit surprised because she wasn't an Anima while he knew her. So that means the Trauma happened. We cut over to Lyra who is just as shocked to see Cooro only to steel herself by saying she won't lose to him no matter what.
The race begins and the contestants are off! Cooro analyzes his chances, acknowledging that there are fifteen contestants other than him and that they're all bigger than him. He sees Lyra and wishes her luck in the race...only for her to fly off, ignoring him. Poor Cooro thinks she hates him...
Meanwhile, in the land race, Husky and Nana (mostly Nana) cheer on Senri. When the ground racers run off, Nana asks about Lyra. She wants to talk to her later about how Cooro was when he was little. Husky has to tell her for what has to be the umpeenth time that she needs to mind her own damn business in these matters. If Cooro wanted them to know about his past, he would tell them. Everyone has shit they don't need others prying into. He adds that if it weren't for extenuating circumstances, he wouldn't have talked about himself either. Nana counters that Cooro's mysterious, and that he's different from other Anima. Husky thinks he's different alright...in that he accepts himself and his Anima identity. That's something that's always confused him...
Back to the Air Race. Cooro is coming up to the first checkpoint. He then sees Jesso attacking another contestant with a goddamn knife, ultimately stabbing him out of the air.
Jesso states out loud to himself with no one around to hear that when you have someone on your level, you take them out first. That's what his big brother taught him. Then he spots Lyra...
Cooro swoops down to help the person who was stabbed, who tells him that his wing was slashed. He can't fly in that condition. He then tells him to beware Jesso, the Hawk Anima.
The chapter ends with Jesso creeping in on Lyra, who has just made the first checkpoint...
Swallow Anima: You can fly. Cool. 7/10
Hawk Anima: I don't usually do this but I infer you also have talons. Cooler. 8/10
