First off, I would just like to acknowledge the fact that this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, so hopefully it goes well and everyone enjoys it. Leave a review if you have any advice or just want to tell me how I'm doing. Also, huge shout out /u/AdviceWithSalt - thanks for getting me off my arse and motivating me to actually write this. Huh, Reddit was actually useful for once, strange.
Just a few facts, there will be spoilers, lots of spoilers, starting in the first paragraph, there will also be some author speculation from me on certain subjects. There will also be a large amount of mind-screwing (metaphorically) in the explanations for certain aspects of the story. You will need to know the story of Kill La Kill well in order to understand somethings, since I will be assuming that you have seen the anime and that you will understand what happened in the space where I miss sections. Oh, and expect some spelling mistakes, MS Word doesn't always pick up on everything. Anyway, enough of my rambling, let's get this story started.
Disclaimer: I do not, nor do I claim to, own or have any control of Studio Trigger, any of its works, including Kill La Kill, or any other works in association to Studio Trigger. All rights go to their respective owners, and I do not claim to own any of it. Although sometimes I wish I did. The only thing I can claim ownership of are the characters of E, and Ethan.
Honnouji Academy– 2 years ago
The helicopter journey had been quiet, except for the rhythmic whumping of the helicopter's blades and the chatter from the cockpit radio. The 5 teenage occupants of the helicopter, and 1 older man, didn't have much to say, though the solemn attitude of a certain Raven haired girl didn't help the mood. Satsuki Kiryūin used the time to think about her plans and the events that led up to their current situation. Ragyō Kiryūin, Her mother, if she could truly call such a monster so, had murdered her father, Soichiro Kiryūin, and her baby sister, who hadn't even been named. Her father had told her about Ragyō's experimentation with Life Fibres, a semi-sentient, parasitic life form that resembled a cloth fibre, hence the name. It was when her baby sister was killed that her father decided to oppose Ragyō, although he didn't get far before he was killed, but he got far enough, informing a then 5 year old Satsuki about her mother's plans and convincing her to fight her mother in secret.
Satsuki was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when one of the other occupants spoke up.
"We're almost there. I can see the academy now." The speaker, Ira Gamagōri, was a monster of a man, who could easily be mistaken to be twice his actual age, and soon to be member of the Honnouji Academy Student Council as the Disciplinary committee chair.
"We'll be touching down soon, although I think we still have some time for another cup of tea." Said the elderly man among the teenagers. Mitsuzō Soroi, Satsuki's family butler, loyal servant to his charge, and renowned for his tea making skills.
The other occupants of the helicopter nodded silently, all of them having gained a glimpse of the academy and were too busy thinking of the future to talk at the moment. Nonon Jakuzure, a short girl with pink hair, best friend of Satsuki, and soon to be Non-Athletic Committee Chair. Uzu Sanagayama, a green haired teen with a shinai on his back, ex-Northern Kanto Gang leader, and current Student Council Athletic Committee chair, and finally, Hōka Inumuta, a teen with electric blue hair and glasses, soon to be Information and Strategy Committee Chair.
Five Minutes later
The academy was a hive of activity, people moving everywhere in order to have the campus finished on the deadline. In all the Activity, no-one noticed the teen sitting on a pile of construction materials that was currently placed at the foot of a makeshift helipad in the middle of the academy grounds. The sound of a helicopter could now be heard, and the boy simply smiled, although no-one could see that behind his Guy Fawkes mask.
"I've been waiting for a long time to talk to you, Satsuki Kiryūin." He said to no-one in particular. As a group of workers went past, he pulled up the hood on the jacket he was wearing, lay back, and simply waited for the helicopter to arrive.
A few minutes later and the helicopter was just starting its decent to Honnouji Academy, in doing so, giving the occupants a perfect view of the trespasser awaiting them, and for a split second they were confused, how had someone gotten passed all the people on the island without being noticed and detained by security, although these thoughts quickly turned to curiosity as to how this person had done so.
"I will deal with this impotent delinquent for you, Lady Satsuki." Offered Gamagōri, but to his surprise, he was denied.
"No, I will deal with this myself, Gamagōri. It is my academy and I will be the first to enforce its rules!" She said sternly, but not overly so.
As the rear cargo ramp opened, she took an instinctual grip on the hilt of her sword, Bakuzan, sensing an imminent incident, although of what nature, she couldn't tell.
"I hope you have a good reason for trespassing on Kiryūin Conglomerate land, or you'll be leaving without any ground to stand on, if you can stand at all." She stated, staring at the masked trespasser while keeping alert for any danger.
"Ah, the infamous Satsuki Kiryūin, heir to the Kiryūin Conglomerate, and student council president of this fine establishment that we find ourselves in. I too, hope that I can convince you that I have a legitimate reason for being here, or this situation will end very badly for one of us, here's a hint, it won't be me." He said, with a hint of subtle confidence.
"YOU DARE MOCK LADY SATSUKI?" Roared Gamagōri, his presence, while already massive, was beginning to make everyone feel like ants.
"Silence, Gamagōri, I will handle this." Satsuki ordered Gamagōri to stand down, and turned her attention back to the intruder in front of her.
"I will only ask once more, why are you here?" she asked, her presence forming a blinding backlight of heavenly proportions.
"Tsk, tsk, getting a bit pushy aren't we, fine, I'll answer your question. I'm here because I want to join you, or more specifically, your student council. I have my reasons, but those are private, and all you need to know at the moment is that it would be a very poor idea to attack me." He replied rather pointedly, not even taking notice of the blinding light shining in his direction. "However, I will tell you that I've already had a talk with your tailor and he has been, how should I put this, 'extremely co-operative' with my quite reasonable 'requests'."
"Take note of who you are talking to. I am not just some rich brat spending on whatever or whoever I please. Your demands mean nothing to me, now leave my academy and never return, or I will see to it you leave in a body bag. Sanagayama, Jakuzure, go find Iori and make sure he's…" Before Satsuki could finish, she found her sword missing from its sheath, despite her having a hand on its hilt the entire time, and the boy in front of her sighed before talking again.
"It is a shame that it had to come to this. While I would have liked show my potential in my own time, I guess you've forced my hand." He said disappointedly, while pulling Bakuzan out from behind his back, out of seemingly nowhere, and lightly stroking its surface. "Heh, nice sword you got here, hardened life fibres, oh that's really nice. I suppose you'll want this back." He said, and then disappeared when she blinked only to find the boy standing behind her back.
"Is there anything more I need to show to you people that will convince you to let me join you?" He whispered in her ear. "Because I could do a lot more that could prove it to you, but I won't unless you try my patience, which you are starting to do." He hissed. Only now did Satsuki notice how deep and un-natural his voice sounded, almost as though it was being played though a voice changer that was dropping its pitch a few octaves.
"By the way, I never introduced myself, I'm "E", nothing more, and nothing less as far as you need to know right now." By now, the rest of the student council had gotten over their shock at how he had seemingly broken the 4th wall, and started to move in to attack this perceived threat. Said threat, however, noticed.
"I really, wouldn't do that if I were you, unless you actually like the idea of having a vacation on the world of pain." He threatened softly.
There was something off about this boy, he was too confident for someone his age, he only appeared to be about 15, but he spoke as though he had been to hell, and came back when it proved too boring. She realised that there was something about this boy that was promising, dangerous, but promising. It was then that Satsuki felt a strange feeling, something she hadn't felt around anyone but Ragyō, fear. It was almost as if it was coming from the strange boy behind her.
"Ah, so I see you've figured it out. Yes… that fear you're feeling is coming from me." A voice in Satsuki's head said. Satsuki would have turned to face the boy, if her limbs weren't suddenly frozen. "Don't bother trying to move, it won't work, and before I forget, I should probably mention that if you try to fight me, not only will you be defeated completely, utterly, and in a horribly un-sportsmanlike manner, you will also experience the pain of having ones cells ripped apart one by one." The voice said menacingly.
"What do you want?" Satsuki said…..err…..thought.
"You know what I want, I've already told you, although I suppose you want my motives, I guess I can let a few thing become known. First off, I want to be here because someone, very special, to me will be arriving here in 2 years, I need to be here before then and have an established position so that I can meet them under the proper circumstances, and secondly, because I seek the same goals as you. The destruction of the life fibres, which in my opinion are potentially much more of a threat than your mother realises. She only seeks to spread them, but if handled properly, they can become something much more powerful, not just as clothing, but as an entity that could potentially transcend space and time as you know it. I think that you can understand why I want to join you, oh, and your friends seem to be preparing to attack me. I would suggest you call them off, it would only end badly for them." His voice carried an authority that Satsuki found extremely difficult to ignore. Finally she relented.
"Stand down." Ordered Satsuki, and she re-iterated that message stronger when the student council protested. "Please, I'm curious, what would I gain from allowing you to join my student council?" she queried him.
"Oh, a great many things, but that's the future, right now, I need a simple yes or no, and I promise you, if you say yes, you won't regret it." He said matter-of-factly.
"You know how to win a war of words, don't you?" this statement caused a great deal of confusion in the student council, who hadn't heard the mental conversation the two had just had. "Very well, as of now, you are officially a member of the Honnouji Academy Student Council. Your position is yet to be determined, but a test fitting for Goku uniforms will still be required. Follow us… E." She relented.
The rest of the day went without incident, with the test fittings for the Goku uniforms a success and the familiarisation with the campus was done. Over the course of the day, E had shown he had a great deal of knowledge on many of the areas that happened to appear during the campus tour. This had led rather quickly to him being referred to as the Vice-President, despite having no position at all yet
Later that day, Satsuki reflected on the day's events: a strange boy had shown up at the academy, utterly destroyed any sense of normality about himself and gotten himself a spot on the student council. The results of the Goku uniform test fittings had shown that Gamagōri, Jakuzure, Sanagayama, and Inumuta, all had an upper limit of 30% life fibre composition in their uniforms. E, however had shown a much higher tolerance, maxing out the scale, which was designed to only show a maximum 60% resistance, and so a 4 star uniform was created for him, as there was no need for a higher composition. He had also received his position, chair of academy operations, and was essentially the Vice-President, in all but name, due to such a position lacking existence. He can and would impose such powers when needed, but otherwise just acted as an overspill for normal club operation, normally providing logistical support for the Elite Four. There was still one thing that vaguely un-nerved Satsuki, and that was E's refusal under any circumstance to remove his mask, even when they had passed though finished sections of the Academy, the specialised multi-function security cameras had been unable to see through his mask, even on high power X-ray mode. So as far as any of them knew, he was a faceless boy, with about the same personality as a brick wall.
"He's going to be a major asset in the fight against my mother." She thought. "I wonder where you came from." Little did Satsuki know that her question was going to be answered during one of the most significant events of her life.
Honnouji Island, lower slums – Present day
A boy of slightly above average build with grey eyes and dark brown hair and probably about 17, woke to find himself on the ground in the middle of an alley, and no recollection of anything other than his name, Ethan Trayner, his Australian origins, the fact that his parents were almost never around, his recent enrolment in a "Honnouji Academy", and the strange feeling he was forgetting something extremely important.
"Alright" he thought. "How the bloody hell did I get here!"
As he got up, he took note of his surroundings, a shanty town that seemed to extend up the hill he was on, before giving way to apartments and what appeared to be a massive fortress at the top.
"Honnouji Academy" he whispered under his breath.
Without even knowing why, he set out towards it, something seeming familiar about the place. Five minutes later he found what appeared to be a tram station straight to this "Honnouji Academy", although the tram seemed to be two stations down, so he had time to wait. It wasn't long before he heard a commotion behind him, and he turned to find a group of people in an alley, apparently fighting, or at least one of them was. A short brown haired girl was wrestling a younger boy that seemed to be her brother, if Ethan's keen eye for detail proved anything, the other people were two younger kids, and girl about his age, with nothing that spectacular about her except for the bright red streak in her hair. Before he could intervene, the kids started running down the street, and the brown haired girl was apparently talking to the other before he heard a bell ringing behind him. Turning, he saw the tram leaving the station packed with kids. It was at that exact moment that he heard a scream, and felt something, or someone rush past him and onto the tram, all the while yelling about being late.
Turning back to the other girl, he could tell by her face that she was just as confused by the events that had just transpired as he was. Well that as good a reason as any to make a new friend. As he got closer he studied her a bit closer and he noticed that she wasn't wearing a school uniform, something he had missed in his earlier inspection, and that she was carrying a guitar case on her back. It was only when he was almost right beside her did he realise that her irises weren't normal. Instead of the circles they should be, they reminded Ethan of mechanical gears. At that moment the girl said something.
"You got any idea what just happened, the people here are crazy!" she said, her voice still full of confusion.
"Not a clue, hey you heading up to the academy? Cause if so, want to walk together, it's not exactly like we seem to belong here." He asked. The girl looked at him as if deciding whether he was worthy before nodding her head.
"Sure, got nothing else to do, might as well talk to someone in the same boat as me right now." She said, "By the way, my name's Ryūko Matoi." She smiled.
"I'm Ethan, Ethan Trayner. So what do you know about the academy, because all I know is that I woke up about half an hour ago and seem to have forgotten the last few weeks of my life." Ethan said, putting semi-sarcastic stress on the last part.
"All I know is that there have been reports of strange things happening there, but no-one knows the specifics. Not that it really matters, I'm only here because I'm looking for someone." She replied, "So you can't remember the last few weeks of your life, huh."
"Well, more like most of my life is fuzzy, but I can't remember the last few weeks outright." he said, "All I can remember is that I have an enrolment at Honnouji Academy, my name, where I'm from, and a few vague reasons of why I'm here, although none of them make any sense at the moment." He mused.
"Well, looks like that's one more mystery to discover, but we should probably get to the academy before we get started alright?" Ryūko stated.
From then till when they got to the academy gate, they talked about their lives, and anything that happened to catch their interest on the way up.
When they reached the gate, the noticed someone hanging from the upper sections of the wall, completely naked and beaten half to death. A sign hung from his neck, which read 'This is a naked pig who dared to defy Honnouji Academy, justice has been served'. Ethan was visibly disturbed by this, while Ryūko simply read the sign and made a comment about how the school was dangerous, and something about finding answers, Ethan however, was still staring at the student hanging from the gate.
"You coming?" Ryūko yelled back to him.
"Uh, Yeah sorry." He said, running to catch up to Ryūko. "What do you think he did to deserve that?"
"I don't know, and I really don't care. I'd rather just try to find some answers and get going." She replied plainly.
"Oh, okay." Ethan said, hurrying to catch Ryūko.
Honnouji Academy, Main Block
As the duo entered the main block of classrooms, they were greeted by an unsettling sight, a masked teen in a uniform with four stars on it. Just as Ryūko was about to ask, he spoke.
"Welcome to Honnouji Academy, I will be taking you to your first class for today as well as giving you a rundown of how things work here. As a member of the Student Council, I wouldn't normally be giving new students their introductions, that's the disciplinary committee's area, but I needed something to do, and you two aren't normal transfers, obvious due to your late arrival, but consider yourselves lucky I noticed you two before someone bothered to check the attendance sheets. Don't expect another exception, or the disciplinary committee will be paying you a visit." His voice was un-naturally deep, something which the pair found deeply disturbing.
"Riiiiiigggght, we gonna get going?" Ryūko said after a few seconds.
"Of course, follow me." As he spoke, Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that he was grinning under that mask.
As the group started climbing the staircase, Ethan just had to ask the question.
"Soooo, who are you, I assume you're on the Student Council from what you said earlier?" He asked.
"My name is of no concern to you, but I am a member of the student council, the academy operations chair." He stated matter-of-factly, almost sounding as if he grew tired of having to explain this to people. "Now, I need to explain to you how things work here." He went on to explain the class schedule, and the general introduction to the academy.
Ryūko stopped listening shortly after he started, and Ethan was lost after the first mention of capital punishment.
"I suppose you'll be happy to know we have arrived at your first class, I'll just let the teacher know. Wait here." He commanded.
E then entered a door, closing it behind him. From inside, the two transfers could hear a startled yell, followed by a large amount of paper shuffling and hushed whispers from other students. This went on for two minutes before E returned and informed them that they were allowed to go in, but before he left, he pulled Ethan aside.
"Before I go, I need to inform you that a standard dormitory room has been arranged for you. It contains standard amenities, bed, bath, kitchen, and etcetera. However, you are required to stay above a minimum of B grades in order to keep this privilege." Leaning back out, he signalled to Ryūko to listen. "And one last thing before I leave, both of you will be required to submit a blood sample within a week for profiling. You can supply it in any form, either dry or liquid, although the lab techs prefer liquid. Now, I'll let you get to class." And with that, E started down the corridor, turned a corner and was gone.
"Thank god he's gone, there's something not right about him." Muttered Ryūko. As much as Ethan was trying to stay neutral on that opinion, he had to agree. A few minutes later, both teens were seated in class, Ryūko being barraged by the girl sitting next to her, and Ethan gaining the respect of the student next to him, when he started a conversation about the action figures the kid was hiding behind a textbook.
Student council chambers, A few minutes later
The mood in the student council chambers was empty, the only people inhabiting the space were Satsuki, Soroi, and E. Everyone else was in class, Satsuki wasn't because her mother private tutors had already taught her the entire curriculum plus the basics of some university level material by the time she was 10, she was exempt from classes anyway due to the non-standard nature of her job as student council president. E would have been in classes, if his knowledge of the curriculum subjects wasn't already greater than some experts in their field and as always, E provided no explanation as to how he gained such knowledge, only stating that he wasn't going to tell them because they didn't need to know, plus it wouldn't be beneficial if he started spouting random minor tid-bits every waking moment.
E was leaning against a wall, detailing his meeting with the two new students, and just what he was expecting their role in the plan was. All this time, Satsuki was sipping her tea, and making comments about certain aspects and asking for clarification where needed.
"So, I feel that when push comes to shove, these two will be a welcome addition to our forces, however I can't say for sure until the bloodwork comes back, and that could take a few weeks, depending on when they receive their blood samples." Finishing his report he stood up to leave, when Satsuki posed a question, one which E was reluctant to answer.
"I remember that two years ago, you told me that you were waiting for someone, someone who would arrive in two years, and it's currently exactly two years since you told me that. So, is one of these two the one you are looking for?" Satsuki said calmly, noticing how E visibly tensed at the question.
"Nothing gets past you does it, Satsuki? I won't answer that question, but know that from now on, things are going to change, but for the better or for the worst is for us to decide. A word of warning, don't expect me to always be there when you need me, I still have my own goals, and despite what you may have heard from some of your informants in the no-star population, I do not go around planning to overthrow the Japanese government, American Government, or any other organisation with any kind of political power. Seriously, I don't even know what they think you would even do about it, it's no secret that I put Uzu into a 4 day coma that time he 'forgot' that there was a reason I had a 4 star uniform." E answered ominously.
"I understand, you can go now if you want." Satsuki said.
"Thank you, milady." E replied, calling her milady for the first time as a member of the student council. Needless to say, Satsuki was internally shocked, this boy who had never referred to anyone in the school by any title, had just called her milady.
'This is intriguing, I wonder what else you're not telling me.' Satsuki thought.
2nd year Class K, Sometime later
To call Honnouji Academy's bell a bell was an understatement, no doubt it doubled as an air-raid siren, something that it undoubtedly got used for, an unsettling thought to say the least. As the kids left the classroom and move out to the grounds for lunch, Ethan was just trying to keep an eye on Ryūko. He decided that she looked like she could handle herself in a fight, which was becoming a more and more likely possibility. He almost lost sight of her, when he spotted a blur in the shape of the girl that was sitting next to Ryūko in class, and the accompanying crash that announced that she hadn't hit her intended target. Quickly catching up to the pair he decided to join their conversation, currently focusing on the 4 Star who had escorted them to class.
"You know, no-one's ever seen him take a personal interest in anyone, not even that time he put one of the Elite 4 into a coma!" The sugar-powered coconut head babbled. "Some even say he has plans to rule all of Tibet!" Immediately Ethan noticed the confused expression that plastered Ryūko's face, and decided to save her the trouble of responding.
"Be that as it may, what good would ruling Tibet be? It doesn't even have its own government, and is claimed by China." It was this statement that startled both girls, Ryūko spinning around and assessing the threat, while the other just clung to one of the pipe clusters on the roof. However the situation was defused when Ryūko recognised the kid from before.
"Seriously, don't sneak up on people like that, you're worse than Mako over here, because at least you can tell when Mako's coming, you're some kind of ninja or something." She huffed. Spotting the confusion on his face, she continued "Oh, that's right, you haven't met Mako." At this point the aforementioned Mako decided to enter the conversation.
"That's right, I'm Mako Mankanshoku. You must be Ryūko's friend, oh were going to have lots of fun, do you like games, cause I like games…" at this point Ethan stopped listening, letting the girl talk to herself while he turned his attention back to Ryūko.
"Yeah, I've only known her for about an hour and she's been like this the whole time." She explained. Ethan just nodded and the trio continued on their way, all the while Mako asking questions about the two, whether they liked certain things or did interesting activities. The Rambling was interrupted when Ryūko asked about the hierarchy at the school. It was at that moment that the student council decided to make an appearance, Mako hastily bringing the two transfers to a bow, well, mostly, Ryūko just sat on the ground, and Ethan fell over when he wasn't expecting ground ground to become the only thing in his view. When he recovered, Ryūko spoke.
"He looks like a bigshot." She said. Ethan instantly following her line of sight and saw one of the largest men he had ever seen walking down the newly formed lane of students. Mako started saying something about how he was a three star, but Ethan zoned out when he found his gaze locked onto the same masked teen from before, only this time standing next to an extremely stern looking girl. Despite the fact that he couldn't see the boy's eyes, he could have sworn they made eye contact. His daze was broken when Ryūko suddenly decided that bowing was too mainstream and suddenly appeared in-front of the girl who Ethan assumed to be the Student Council President.
Honnouji Academy, Main grounds
E was having a pretty good day, no one challenging his legitimacy, or his right to wear a mask inside. One person had implied that he may not have even been male, but a swift knee to the groin always silenced such nay-sayers. That was, until a certain transfer student decided that today was a great day to open up a resistance movement against his Superior. Oh well, he might as well go golfing today if it weren't for Honnouji Academy's lack of golf courses, or his lack of golf clubs. He watched on as the transfer student, what was her name again, Ryūko, that was it, was pummelled to within an inch of her life by the captain of the boxing club. Then he realised something, her death wouldn't be very beneficial to his goals, so he decide to correct that.
"FUKURODA! STAND DOWN! I wish to have a little chat with our rebel here." While ordering around his underlings was fun, he did have his reasons. Walking up to the beaten form of what was once a proud Ryūko Matoi, now reduced to a bleeding pile of pain and flesh, he thought about what he would say. Crouching down, he just dodged a sloppy attack by her scissor blade, and countered by punching her in the stomach.
"Ryūko Matoi, I had expected better of you, and on your first day too. Such a shame… oh well, never fear though, I have plans for you, and most of them involve you remaining in an un-deceased form." Ryūko just grunted in reply. He lowered his voice from its already quite whisper, to something even quieter. "This is just the beginning, I hope you know just what you're getting into here. You will find the answers you're looking for here, but I have a feeling you won't like them. I will not actively attempt to stop you though, because you remind me of myself in better times." His tone immediately darkened "Be warned, from here on out, your life won't be the same, and it never will be if you keep heading down this path." When the only reply was a haphazard blade swing, followed by Ryūko getting back on her feet, he sighed.
"Be quite, I came here for answers, not a lecture on my life got it?" She panted. E, for what felt like the first time in forever, smiled under his mask. Not just any smile, the smile of achievement, he was hitting a nerve.
"Oh, I apologise for telling the truth, but I have a feeling that Lady Satsuki will have a response for you." Which, true to his word she did.
"While I admire your courage, it's driven by a thirst for revenge. And your means of getting to your ends are weak and pathetic. You do not know how to wield your weapon. Take away her blade." This last order was directed at Fukuroda, who was now moving into take the sword. However, in his overconfidence he let her get away. E only stared at the gate, knowing what was about to transpire would signal a massive change in the direction of events, and with that, he began to prepare for the next stage of his plans.
Honnouji Academy, Boarding Student Dorms, 1 hour later
As a result of the earlier conflict between the Student Council and Ryūko, classes for the rest of the day had been cancelled while the Student Council dealt with their dissenters, however most students this meant being confined to their classrooms to maintain order. Boarding Students were luckier than most since it was considered easier to manage them if they were in their dorms, then at least the Disciplinary Committee didn't have to keep an eye on them. That was now the job of the Information and Strategy Committee's CCTV division.
Ethan had taken this time to get acquainted with the academy rule book, and to take a blood sample for processing, or whatever they did with them. Ethan didn't really care, he was still processing the events of the earlier altercation. What had even happened… Ryūko had been next to him one moment, gone the next. Everything after that was a blur of activity ending in Ryūko running off to who knows where, leaving one pissed off delivery man in her wake, as well as the entire Disciplinary committee on her case. Last thing he'd seen of Mako, she was mentioning something about food, and then ran off back to class when the Student Council ordered them back to class.
Sighing, Ethan put down the rulebook, he wasn't really reading it so he might as well find something else productive to do. Going over class notes would be a good idea. Picking up his notes, he quickly decided that he needed to learn to take better notes, all he had written down was that some angry German dude with a moustache started a war. But who cares, because he already knew most of what happened. He remembered the Australian education system got him into this kind of stuff, and he searched it on his own. Those memories were hazy at best, but he got enough of an idea that he could do well enough in most of his subjects.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. As he got up to answer it, the door suddenly decided that hugging his dorm fridge was a better idea than standing on its hinges all day.
'Well there goes my security deposit'. He thought sarcastically, if you can even do such a thing.
"ETHAN TRAYNOR, YOU ARE BEING DETAINED FOR YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH AN ENEMY OF HONNOUJI ACADEMY!" the booming voice of the 3 star Disciplinary Committee chair came into the room, shortly followed by its owner, who looked like he shouldn't be able to fit through the door at his size. Before Ethan was able to argue, he was tackled by three brutish 1 stars and dragged out of the room. A few minutes later he found himself face to face with a very angry Fukuroda, standing next to a very confused and slightly scared Mako.
"Your friend was less than helpful in helping me find the new girl. I hope you have a better answer for me or you'll both be used to make an example of those who cross lady Satsuki." Fukuroda growled.
"How am I supposed to know where she went? For all I know she went and jumped off a brid-GAH!" Ethan was cut off as Fukuroda's fist collided with his abdomen.
"BULLSHIT! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" Fukuroda took a moment to compose himself before he continued.
"Sheesh, I was just trying to break the ic-AHH!" Ethan was again cut off by a punch to his left cheek. He was seriously starting to wonder if being a smart ass around the club presidents was a good idea. After a second of thought, he decided that continuing would probably just mean blood stains on his carpet when he got back, so he quickly decided to co-operate.
"Okay, look." He started. "I only know that she came from off the island because she was just as confused by the slums as I was. I don't know anything else I swear, or do I have to kiss your ass before you'll just let me go." He said, hoping his quip would make it past Fukuroda without him getting punched.
"Typical, the only people who I can find that know anything about the new girl, no nothing at all about here, WHY CAN'T YOU JUST KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER!" He raged. "Fine, if you can't tell me where the new girl is, I'll just have to use you as bait." He said while smiling deviously.
"Huh, what kind of bait, are we worms, colourful lures, I wanna be a lure, can I, can I, can I, can I!" Mako babbled, Ethan just looked on in astonishment that the girl could be that thick.
"That girl is either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid." From out of the darkness, a new voice came. He was a Student Council member, if the number of stars on his shirt on it was anything to go by.
"S-Sanagayma, why are you here." Fukuroda stuttered. His worry was duly noted by Ethan, apparently even two stars feared the Student Council.
"Calm down Fukuroda, I'm just here to make sure that you don't screw up again. Lady Satsuki's got me on a pretty tight leash to make sure that the new girl is dealt with." He smirked. "And to be honest, it doesn't seem like you seem to be getting anywhere with this."
"Well I do have one more idea sir. I just need some time to set it up." Fukuroda said, trying to regain his air of control.
"Well then, see that you do, I'll be seeing you again when whatever it is you're gonna do is ready." Sanagayama said. He obviously wasn't expecting Ryūko to be much of a problem, Ethan was beginning to doubt that she could get out of this one.
Honnouji Academy, Later that day
'Well this is a fine mess that you've managed to get yourself into, Ethan.' He thought to himself, looking into the crowd of faces, all the while Fukuroda was using the island P.A. system to lure Ryūko out of hiding and get her to face him.
Beside him, Mako was struggling against her bonds and saying something about not wearing her sexy underpants or something, he wasn't really listening, the only sound he could hear was the constant 'YOU FUCKED UP' looping in his head. He was shaken from his thoughts when he recognised a face, or more accurately a mask. The owner of the mask sighed before speaking.
"I really expected more from you. You have potential, though I won't help you, because whether you escape here is your own choice to make, but know that if you do, then we will talk. I have need of your services, as the only other person to have talked to the new girl Ryūko, is Mako, and getting her to follow instructions is like explaining quantum physics to a goldfish, which I have done successfully mind you. But you…you can follow direction. Plus I see a bit of myself in you, in some places more than I'd like." He said, putting emphasis on the last line. "If you manage to make it out of here, I can make your stay here more…agreeable. But only if you help me."
Ethan didn't like the sound of what the four star was suggesting, but to be honest he didn't really want to be dealing with the student council more than he had to, which is what it sounded like to Ethan.
"I suppose you're not offering me a choice? Well then if I get out of here, I suppose I might accept your offer…If I get out of here." He sighed.
E chuckled, or at least that's what it sounded like, his voice was distorted so much that it wasn't really possible to tell either way.
"You're smart, but it may surprise you that you can turn down my offer at any time, but I don't suspect you will once you get a taste of what I can offer you. For instance, I can make sure that you get preferential treatment when dealing with the Student Council. I can also offer you some amount of protection from the clubs, although I wouldn't count on it, I have my own problems to deal with, but I can try." E said.
Ethan couldn't believe it, a Student Council member was offering him protection, well he certainly wasn't going to refuse, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was some other reason for E's…it wasn't kindness, no, Ethan wasn't that naïve, it was something else, interest perhaps.
"I await your decision." E said as he disappeared back into the crowd and off to who knows where. All Ethan knew was that he probably wasn't going to see him for a while.
All of this didn't matter right now, because it seem that Fukuroda had decided to have battered shrimp for dinner. Only it wasn't going to be shrimp that as frying, it was going to be the two students being used as bait.
A/N: Well this has been interesting, took me a few months to write because of massive cases of writers block every few sections. It wasn't fun, but now it's finished and I can start writing the next chapter, or something, I really hope I can continue this story, but life, as always, will probably get in the way. I have a lot of ideas for this story, and I really want to continue it.
If you like it, leave a review telling me how much you like it, or how much you hate it, or just anything you think I could do better. It's really you choice. Also constructive criticism is welcome, and any ideas you want to suggest are lovely.
Signing off, The Author.
