Draco: Stupid. Worth it. If you're seeing the name Keys and Crosses for the first time, check my page for Season I.
Alright, let me get something out of the way before we start the story. Someone is going to die. They have already been decided, so don't bother trying to coerce me. They are actually going to be dead, they are not going to become Kyonshi, it will not be someone who died in their source [Kingdom/Fantasy]*, and it will be someone major (to K+C, anyways). I am saying this now because several of you are Genre Savvy connards who do not know how to react appropriately to implied character death, and at least one of you is a clueless metagamer who verifiably refuses to believe anyone is dead without seeing the body go still firsthand. And quite frankly, it pisses me off. Nothing ruins a dramatic scene more than the Genre Savvy fils de pute saying "There's no way he's dead" or "She's got to be a traitor". Including when the fils de pute in question is my own mind. I don't know what you guys enjoy about picking that Mulch out ahead of time.
*Characters who have temporarily died in their source [Kingdom/Fantasy] qualify as "someone who died in their source [Kingdom/Fantasy]", so if I kill off, say, Tidus, then that doesn't qualify as the someone who is going to die. However, that does not exempt said characters from permanent death, so if I do kill off Tidus, that does not guarantee he will become a Kyonshi. (Yes, I know that Tidus does not qualify as a major character, I just need an example of temporarily dead and he's the only one I could think of off the top of my head).
On an unrelated note (#SincerityMode), there will be spoilers for Final Fantasy Type-0 later on. Grab the game while you can. If you don't have the game but have been waiting for this, feel free to read the first few chapters. I'll leave a warning when I start including the 0-ers for those (like me) who prefer to know next-to-nothing when they begin a game, and then a warning when I start including 0-er spoilers for those who just prefer not to get plot twists ruined.
On another unrelated note, I'm going to be making Sword Art Online references. Some of them may be spoilers. You might want to binge the anime. It's on Netflix.
Characters, weapons, origins © Square Enix and Disney. Monsters, setting, and encyclopedia © Akihisa Ikeda.
Chapter 1: Revival at Yokai
Large cities often have a lot of winding, twisting alleyways. The upside is that they're easy to lose pursuers in - the minus side is that they're easy to get lost in. A dead end can spell trouble for anyone who hasn't managed to lose their pursuers yet - which meant that the girl charging her way through the back alleys of Anvāsu was very displeased when she found herself taking a corner and finding a brick wall looming in front of her.
"There you are, you bitch!"
A curse emerged from the girl as she turned round, reaching for the weapon she had slipped through the back of her belt. She had made the mistake of trying to take a shortcut through what turned out to be yakuza territory; now the gang had cornered her, revolvers drawn. The leader stepped forward at the head of the gang, levelling his weapon on her. "You're gonna regret ever setting foot in this city."
"I'm not here because I want to be," the girl insisted. "This was just... temporary habitation. If I had the choice, I never would have come back to this place. I plan on leaving tomorrow."
The yakuza snickered. "Let me punch your ticket early, then," he observed, setting a finger on the trigger. "You're not gonna get a tomorrow."
The girl growled low. She really didn't want to have to do this, especially not to people with a justified (well, for Anvāsu, anyway) reason to be angry at her... but if they refused to listen to reason-
"Hey!"
The voice from behind caused the yakuza to halt, pulling his finger away from the trigger to ensure he didn't misfire from the distraction.
"Leave her alone."
The entire group turned to see another, younger girl standing behind them. She had red hair that danced at shoulder length, and was dressed rather simply. Braced against the ground with one hand was a wooden staff, weather-beaten and worn, with a snail-shell curl at the end; she had a bag over one shoulder, several envelopes and a manga volume peeking out the top; and around one arm was a series of chains, from which dangled what looked like a padlock.
The yakuza leader scoffed, turning away from their target. "Who are you to tell us what we're doing, girlie?"
A smile rose on the girl's face. "Coffee shop, cold night, nice stick."
The gang members exchanged perplexed glances. "What the...?"
Their confused response only prompted newcomer to sigh, adjusting her grip on the staff so she was holding it near the center of the shaft. "Must be a different gang."
She drew her bag off her shoulder and tossed it over the yakuza's heads, causing the girl they had been chasing to catch it fumblingly.
Then, the girl with the staff rushed forward, and none of the members could even raise their guns, let alone fire, before she slammed a knee into one guy's stomach, causing him to double over and drop his weapon. She kicked it away and dropped low as the others fired, their bullets slamming into the buildings around them ineffectively; then she lashed her staff into one, two, three gun hands, forcing them to drop the weapons. The last guy managed to level his firearm on her, but she only kicked it with enough force to send it flying skyward, landing on the nearest roof.
Their attacker quickly thrust the point of her staff into the leader's weapon with enough force to pop the chamber.
"Still want to mess with me?"
The leader was visibly trembling as he tried to glare at her; but he realized it was pointless and quickly pulled his gun away, pocketing it inside his jacket. "Let's ditch this place!"
The group was taking off in short order, and the girl quickly set her staff against the ground again, hand going to brace it by the head again as she approached their victim - a girl who looked a few years older than herself, with rose-pink hair tied in a tail to her left side. As the redhead approached her, the rose-haired girl only shook her head. "Thanks for the assist."
"Yeah, sorry if you didn't really need it," the redhead admitted. "It's just, these guys are rangers, and I know from experience how much of a pain it is when you're not."
"No, really," the rose-hair insisted, "thanks."
The redhead offered her hand. "What's your name?"
This earned her a sharp glare from the girl with the rose hair.
She rolled her eyes. "What's your callsign, then," she corrected. On receiving a surprised look, the redhead added, "I'm Oblivion Oath."
"Sif," the rose-haired girl replied, taking the hand and shaking it gently.
Oblivion Oath raised an eyebrow. "Any relation to 'Frigga'?" she asked.
Sif handed her the bag she had thrown before dealing with the yakuza. "Well," the rose-hair observed, stepping past her, "Frigga is Thor's mother, and Sif is his wife, so, not by blood." Turning to Oath; "Why, do you know a Frigga?"
A smirk rose on the redhead's face. "Tachibana Academy is a bit heavy-handed with mythology lessons," she admitted. "I always get the Norse ones wrong."
"So you're using a rescued yakuza victim to cheat on your tests," Sif observed. "Dignified."
"Are you kidding?" Oath protested. "I left Tachibana."
Sif blinked twice. "Isn't Tachibana Academy the highest-ranked school on the continent?"
"You sound like my father," Oath muttered. "My problem wasn't the classes so much as the students. The jocks and the cheerleaders and even the nerds were smacking me across the hall because I was focused on my studies. Not to mention the number of taunts because I wasn't dating a musclehead."
"I'm engaged to a musclehead," Sif admitted, "so you'll forgive me if I can't sympathize."
Oath shook her head. "Nothing against it," she insisted.
The two of them started out of the dead-end, Oath taking a left and Sif taking a right. "So," Sif called as they parted, "if you left Tachibana, where do you go now?"
A smile rose on Oath's face as she turned to respond.
"Yokai Academy."
+x+x+x+
Kairi Chikai Bōkyaku arrived home with a heartbroken-heartwarming expression on her face. Her father, Shin Bōkyaku of Oblivion Enterprises, noticed her mood as she stepped by the kitchen; after a moment's contemplation, he called to her. "Did something happen?"
"No, Father, I'm fine," Kairi insisted. "I just finished that manga."
Shin winced - having gone through a fair number of series with unpleasant endings himself. "Did you remember the mail?"
"Oh, right here." Kairi backpedalled to the kitchen, drawing the mail out of her bag and handing them to her father - who was quick to shuffle through them.
"Bill, bill, spam, business letters, spam... oh," Shin called, offering his daughter a pair of envelopes, "these are for you."
Kairi accepted the letters. A smile rose on her face at the first letter, the return address of which was Seventh Heaven, Edge; that smile quickly became an expression of shock when she saw the next one came from Yokai Academy, and she tore the envelope open in short order.
"Yes!"
Shin chuckled. "Let me guess..."
"Yep," Kairi confirmed. "Yokai's reopening. Didn't even have to wait 'til the middle of the year." School season had been approaching, and she had been worried that the school would still be closed by the time she needed to start classes again. Continuing to read, Kairi found herself giggling when she saw another point of order. "Well, I kinda figured there'd be something about that..."
"About what?" Shin asked.
"Nothing," Kairi insisted. "Hey, can you ask around at your company for something?"
"Something for...?"
+x+x+x+
Dear Kairi,
How have you been? I hope things have gone well with your father. Looked into his company; apparently he made some big changes around the time you got back. I didn't think it was possible to fire that many employees in short order.
Did you hear? Yokai Academy is already reopening! Time sure flies when class is out, huh? Can't wait to see you for the sophomore year! And it looks like the staff wasn't the only thing that got changed...
Well, I save the surprise for when you get your letter.
Talk to you when we get back to school!
~Sora
P.S. - Keep your blood pumping, snack tray.
+x+x+x+
"Your school's holding a cosplay meet?"
Shin's reaction only got Kairi chuckling. "We didn't have school uniforms last year," she explained, "and they're gonna change that. All the returning students show up in costume, and they fit us for uniforms."
The businessman only shook his head, incredulous. "Why not just ask you to send in measurements and then send you uniforms before you go?"
Of course, the legitimate answer was probably something along the lines of 'Some students can't exactly measure that', or 'That's not the kind of data you want the mail staff to end up reading' - but Kairi knew better than to tell her father as such. Instead, she only shrugged and replied, "Because this is more fun."
Fun it was indeed. Amidst all the unkind memories Kairi had of Tachibana Academy, there were a few pleasant occurences. Even the worst bullies that the school hadn't let petty targeting get in the way of appreciating a good cosplay around Halloween, and being daughter of a big-name CEO meant that Kairi could spare no expense on a costume. A chain of bothersome web searches had culminated in Kairi finding and enjoying a particular video game with a particular character who was particularly well-suited for Kairi to make use of, and it hadn't even taken her a whole week to get an outfit together.
"And you're sure you won't get in trouble for taking our prototype stun rifle?" Shin demanded.
"It's fine," Kairi insisted, hooking the weapon's strap over her shoulder. "The shock is non-lethal, right?"
Shin sighed nervously. "That's where 'prototype' becomes an issue," he insisted. "Please don't use that unless someone is threatening to bring you serious harm."
Kairi bit her lip, remembering her past experiences at Yokai Academy. "I won't," she assured her father.
Granted, 'serious harm' is not exactly out of the realm of possibility...
+x+x+x+
It took some convincing, but Kairi eventually managed to convince her father to let her meet the Yokai bus on her own. With a large bag over her shoulder and her wooden staff in hand, she made her way out of the city on foot; she had lied slightly about the date for the pickup, so as to give her a day's grace to get to the park near the edge of the city. It was dark by the time she arrived - the park was empty, and with a light spring in her step, Kairi made her way to a familiar tree whose trunk was covered in rough carvings - initials trapped in hearts.
M.S. + T.A.
A.D. + E.L.
K.K. + T.A.
Z.T. + D.
Y.S. + M.A. + T.A.
With a smirk, Kairi drew a small knife that she had brought for precisely this reason; then, she carved a pair of initials into the tree for herself, and cut a different heart around them - its arms not joining at the top, but arcing into curls.
N.K. + R.K.
+x+x+x+
She spent the night in the park, as she had before; the next day, she was walking along the highway's edge. There were surprisingly few vehicles on the road today, but Kairi was not particularly surprised - as the sun arrived at noon, she was greeted from behind by an engine's roar, and she let her pace slow as she turned.
A large bus slowed to a stop with the door directly in front of her, and as it pulled open, a driver with silver hair turned to her.
"Are you lost?"
The echoed words from their first meeting had Kairi fighting back giggles despite herself. "Rain just threw off my direction," she countered, despite there being not a cloud in the sky. "Which way to Anvāsu?"
The driver gave a slow chuckle, beckoning toward the back of the bus to show he had come from the city.
Kairi glanced at the wooden staff in her hands, uncertain; then she planted it into the dirt and stepped onto the bus. The driver closed the door behind her, and she took the first seat as the vehicle began moving.
"Might I recommend that you not arrive with a firearm over your shoulder?"
The driver's words only earned him a scoff. "It's not a firearm," she insisted.
"But neither is it a simple prop, either, correct? Walking in with a weapon in such plain sight will earn you no favours."
Kairi turned away from the window as the bus entered an unnaturally dark tunnel. "Are they being a little stricter about that, now?"
"It is not the faculty that you should be concerned about, so much as the students."
He turned to face her, his golden eyes gleaming.
"You made precious few friends the last time your life was on the line."
+x+x+x+
The tunnel emerged at an oceanside cliff road. The driver brought the bus to a stop near a leafless tree, and Kairi, with a smile on her face, picked up her bags, got to her feet, and stepped off the bus with a light hum. No sooner had she hit the earth than the door of the bus closed behind her, followed the road into something of a U-turn, and took off again down the tunnel.
A crack of lightning illuminated an unfamiliar structure - it seemed that Yokai Academy had received a serious restructuring while it was closed - but it was nonetheless a welcome sight, and Kairi did nothing more than smile in response.
"Feels good to be back in a school of monsters."
+x+x+x+
It felt like Samhain, walking around at Yokai with costumes everywhere. Some outfits she knew well, others she recognized out of fame, and still others were vaguely familiar - but deep down, Kairi was on guard out of the simple fact that she knew, under every one of those costumes, there was a monster who could kick her human hindquarters in short order.
That didn't stop a beaming smile from lighting up her face when a familiar voice called over her shoulder, "Got jealous of everyone else's weapons, so you brought one of your own, huh, Kairi?" Turning round revealed a boy with spiky brown hair that would put a mace to shame, ocean blue eyes... and a necklace dangling from a choker around his neck - a loop of chains hooked to the crown, joined to a single chain that went to his choker.
"Sora!" Kairi stepped forward, giving him a once-over. "Is that armour?"
"Faux-armour," Sora corrected. Said faux-armour was dark blue, with pauldrons that hung down to his elbows and a brighter blue cape that split in two; a pair of bright blue belts were tied at his waist, and another pair each tied at the top of his sabatons, which were a simple pale steel. His hands were covered by fingerless blue gloves with large white cuffs, and a sword hung at his hip - with a bright orange basket-hilt and a waved blade (it wasn't sheathed so much as just hooked in a loop). "Kratos Aurion, Tales of Symphonia."
Kairi scoffed, reaching into her bag. "Leave it to you to give me a stark reminder of your otaku-dom," she observed. Drawing out a plastic bag full of manga; "Here's your Chibi Vampire. You're gonna recognize almost everyone here, aren't you?"
"Pretty much," Sora agreed, looking around. His gaze returned to Kairi as he added, "Except you. Who are you?"
"Princess rifleman time mage from an apparently unknown PS3 game," Kairi replied. Her outfit consisted of a minidress in pink and white, with a simple gold design around the collar, as well as black thigh-high stockings, a black opera glove on her left hand, a white opera glove on her right hand, and a simple belt with an hourglass hanging from it. The prototype stun rifle from Oblivion Enterprises was slung over her right shoulder, and she had her crimson hair tied up in a high ponytail. "I can't find a decent walkthrough."
Sora sighed, knowing from experience how unpleasant it could be to not be able to find a decent walkthrough. "Wonderful," he murmured. Then, changing the subject; "You seen any of the others yet?"
"Hey, guys!"
Like the devil had heard his name, the voice called to them; Kairi and Sora both turned to see a familiar helm of windswept blonde spikes approaching. The would-be war god raised his hand in greeting. "Roxas!"
"What are you wearing?" Kairi demanded.
Roxas only chuckled, spreading his hands to show off his own outfit - which was little more than a long white toga which bared his chest. He also had a very impressive pair of feathered wings extending from his back, and on receiving their attention he set one hand against his hip - causing the chains there to clatter lightly - and held the other at his side like he was clutching something. "Call me Master of Synapse."
"Okay," Sora reprimanded, "I know for a fact that you didn't know what Synapse was when we parted ways."
"Welcome to the internet era," Roxas reprimanded, lowering his hand.
Kairi shook her head. "Mind filling me in?" she asked.
"He's Minos," Sora explained, "the main villain of Heaven's Lost Property."
Roxas nodded. "Me and Shi-oh found it not long after Yokai closed," he added. "We went through the whole anime and the whole manga six times trying to pick costumes."
Sora chuckled. "Nice," he praised. Hooking his hands behind his head; "You get Poseidon?"
"The what now?"
"His weapon."
An angry groan passed through Roxas' lips. "Damn it, I thought that looked like it jumped!"
Sora laughed, drawing his hands down. "Missed that much, did you?"
Roxas lashed his hand down, and a dark mist flowed from the palm. When it faded, he had a weapon of his own - a jet-black shaft with a hollow gap, filled with a chain of dark gold. A jewel lay in the hilt between demon wings that guarded his hand, and at the tip it spiked away to form kanji.
闇 Yami.
Darkness.
Sora's smirked, his hand going for the sword at his hip.
He was interrupted when a light emerged from behind him. A burst of shining mist missed the left side of his neck by inches, parting into twin shafts. One formed a gentle heart, underlining the other - which arced up and split to form kanji of its own.
光 Hikari.
Light.
"What are you doing to my master?"
Sora glanced over his shoulder. "...Xion?"
His gaze followed the twin shafts. They met at a hilt that divided into angel wings, guarding the hand of its owner - a girl with black hair and icy eyes. However, at present, the only indication that she did have black hair was a few strands that were prodding out from under a head of icy blue hair, tied into twintails that trailed down to her waist. She was garbed in a form-fitting white outfit with some black patterns dancing about it, and from her back emerged a pair of translucent blue wings that wavered slightly as she stood there.
"I asked you what you were doing to my master."
No sooner had Xion got the words out than Sora broke down laughing, and she pulled her Keyblade away, dismissing it as Roxas faded his own. "Wrong Angeloid," he reprimanded, "wrong master - but you can definitely pull it off."
Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Angeloid...?" She glanced between Roxas and Xion before asking, "Same series?"
"Yep," Sora confirmed. "This one's Nymph."
"Remind me to check it out," Kairi requested.
This had the surprising effect that Sora, Xion, and Roxas all turned beet-red.
"Sora!" The familiar voice caused everyone to turn as its owner called to them. "Roxas! Xion! Kai-"
She fell quiet as Kairi turned, finding herself looking in what she could have sworn was a mirror. A minidress in pink and white, with a gold design around the collar. Black thigh-high stockings, a black opera glove on the left hand, a white opera glove on the right, and a belt with an hourglass hanging from it. Hair done up in a high ponytail - one was red, one was blonde, but other than that the outfits were identical. The redhead wore a rifle over one shoulder; the blonde instead had a knife hooked on her waist behind her.
Sora snickered at the mirror image. "Not so unknown if you and Naminé picked the same character, huh?"
There was a moment's more of quiet; then Naminé and Kairi each raised their white-clad hand, pointing at the other.
"Toki!"
"Towa!"
The words emerged one-two; then the two girls broke into laughter.
Roxas glanced between them, confused. "Wait, so it's not the same character?"
"Not quite," Kairi confirmed.
"But you're wearing the exact same thing!" Xion protested. "And you've even got an hourglass in the exact same place!"
Naminé smiled. "And when Sora's crown comes off, the clawslinger wears the exact same thing the Keyslinger does, right?"
Sora's hand went to his crown; then he raised his gaze to Naminé. "Wait, what?"
Kairi nodded. "Two souls, one body. Same gear, same clothes, different attitudes. I know, it's kinda creepy how similar it is to Sora's rosario, but there's enough differences to make it matter."
"I can give you a rundown of the nuances later," Naminé promised.
"What's up, freshies?"
Kairi glared sideways at the comment. "Riku," she reprimanded as she turned, "we're not freshmen anymo-"
She and everyone else fell quiet. Riku was standing there in a gold jacket; his chest was bare beneath, with a red ribbon tied just under his arms, and around his waist was a crimson kilt of sorts, tied with a white bow. Armour in dark red decorated his arms with gauntlets, his shoulders with pauldrons, and his legs with greaves; a horned mask sat high on his head, and in one hand was a bright red signal fan decorated with an emblem of four diamonds, arranged to form a larger diamond.
"That's a bit... audacious," Roxas observed after a moment.
"What the hell are you wearing?" Sora demanded.
Riku raised an eyebrow. "I'm holding an Ifrit-damned war fan," he reprimanded, waving said fan slightly. "Who do you think I am?"
"I'm not asking who you are," Sora reprimanded, "I'm asking what you're wearing."
Kairi turned to him. "Horned mask? Signal fan? He's Takeda Shingen. Come on, Sora, even I know that one."
Sora lashed a hand at Riku. "But why that Shingen!?"
"Because this is the only one I could find that wasn't a fat badass or muscled like a steroid ad," Riku explained. "I don't have a body like the Tiger of Kai, okay?"
"So you picked the fire dragon from Sengoku Otome?" Sora demanded.
Riku narrowed his gaze. "Otome? I thought it was Sengoku Basara."
Sora shook his head. "No," he observed, "I think Basara Shingen was fat too."
"Whatever," Riku insisted. "The point is, I'm Shingen and I'm not fat. Can we move on to explanations about your costumes now?"
Everyone turned to Sora, suspecting he had a reason for being so surprised as Riku's choice of cosplay - and indeed he did.
"Riku... the whole premise of Sengoku Otome is that all the famous feudal warlords are female."
The war fan fell, and Riku's jaw shortly followed. "WHAT!?"
Sora facepalmed. "Didn't you look into it?!" he demanded.
"I was looking for Shingen!" Riku insisted. "I only needed, like, three reference pics! He- She was hugging a chick in one of them! And in ribbons in another!"
Xion raised an eyebrow. "Why would a warlord be dressed in ribbons?" she murmured.
Sora groaned. "She wasn't," he explained. "The credits were designed to sate the cheap fans before things..." He gave a long sigh, then concluded, "...got interesting in the main story. Strategically placed ribbons were perfect for that front."
"I blame myself, for asking," Xion observed.
"The actual anime isn't that bad," Sora insisted, "I assure you."
Riku was fuming. "Great," he muttered. "Now I've gotta walk around until the uniform fitting like... like this."
Naminé shook her head. "Oh, come on," she assured him, "it doesn't look that bad."
"Really?"
"No, not really," Naminé admitted. "You look like a stripper."
+x+x+x+
On the warning bell's sounding, the six of them parted ways. Riku and Naminé had been assigned to the same junior class, while Kairi, Sora, Roxas, and Xion found themselves all filing in to the same room of sophomores.
At the front of the classroom was a woman of most peculiar appearance; tanned, with hair a brighter white than Kairi had ever seen before, and twin-streaked markings upon her face. She was garbed in a white top with baggy sleeves, blue leggings, and a pair of black boots; she stood aside the teacher's desk rather than sitting at it, her gaze on a list as the class seated themselves. When the second bell rang, she stepped away from the desk, centering herself before the desks and turning dark cyan eyes on the class.
"Well, I'll not feign disappointment," she admitted. "A shortage of tardiness is always a pleasant sight."
This earned her a chorus of quiet chuckles.
"I should hope that all of you are meeting me for the first time," she continued. "I am Y'shtola, you homeroom teacher for your sophomore year. Forgive my unfitting attire; I'm new to the faculty, and thus was not asked to partake in the... procedure, as the returning staff was.
"May I welcome you all back to Yokai Academy, school and haven for monsters of all sorts!"
Everyone had been holding it in; now the class gave a loud cheer, several students throwing confetti.
Y'shtola had a smile on her face at their reactions. "Never seen a school in the human world that earned such a display at the start of the year," she observed. "Now, I should hope none of you need any reminiscence on the basics of this school, but to my mild dismay I'm asked to reiterate them regardless. Rule one: maintain a human appearance-"
She was silenced when the door flung open with astonishing haste, causing everyone to turn as a boy with long white hair stumbled in, dressed in a red business suit and red sunglasses. "Am I late?!" he exclaimed.
"Yes," Y'shtola confirmed. "But nonetheless, I believe you've mistaken your map. I've as many heads here as names on my list."
"Senior Class A?" the newcomer inquired.
"Sophomore Class A," Y'shtola corrected. "The senior classes are at the other end of the school."
A foul utterance emerged from the redhead as he left; Y'shtola only rolled her eyes at the door he'd left open behind him. "First day of a new year," she observed to her class, "I'd be more surprised if there weren't someone getting lost."
+x+x+x+
As had her freshman year, the first period of Kairi's sophomore year ended with instruction to the class to wander the school grounds as they saw fit. The students dispersed in short order, and Kairi and the others found Riku and Naminé waiting for them as they stepped out.
"All four of you hit the same room?" Riku observed.
"Looks like it," Sora admitted.
"Everyone with the knowledge of what these do is here to watch 'em," Roxas mused quietly, holding his hand before him.
Kairi reached for the arm of one of her opera gloves. "Yeah," she agreed. "Anyone else thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That Rokusasu probably should have picked a costume with sleeves?" Xion offered.
This earned her a blow to the back of the head from Roxas.
Naminé shook her head. "The headmaster must've pulled some strings," she theorized, her voice low. "Making sure we're here to watch out for the weaker ones."
Kairi chuckled. "I'm not complaining."
No one argued to that.
"Hey, you all!"
The voice caused everyone to turn. The blonde who had stumbled into Y'shtola's class by accident was stepping towards them; his red sunglasses were hooked on his collar, and on his face rested a more modest pair of spectacles. "Can we help you?" Sora inquired.
"I think so," the guy replied. "You're last year's news club, aren't you? Chikai, Kingdom, Kioku, Kurai, Kaigara?"
"And Karui," Xion added.
Riku sputtered. "I forgot we were famous," he muttered.
The blonde snickered. "After a fashion." Offering a hand; "I'm Tenshi Hoshi." Kairi took the prompt to shake it; he released her grip before continuing, "I was wondering if maybe you could help me with something?"
"What do you need help with?" Roxas asked.
"You remember that cave from your first issue last year?" Tenshi asked. "I was picking around there the day before the school shut down, and I came across something I need a hand with. Could one of you come with me?"
Everyone exchanged glances. "Depends," Naminé insisted. "Did you see a time for the uniform fitting during your little lost episode?"
Tenshi hissed through his teeth. "Yeah, I suppose you don't want to miss that," he admitted. "No, I didn't, but-"
"It doesn't happen 'til fifth period."
The voice from over their shoulders caused everyone to turn, pulling away. Sora, Riku, and Kairi all went for the weapons on their costumes before they recognized the face bearing a scar between the eyes. "Professor Leonhart!" Kairi greeted.
Riku chuckled on seeing his cosplay of choice: a leather tunic and shorts worn under what appeared to be a massive apron, adorned in pseudo-ritualistic patterns, with bandaging on his arms, leather greaves on his legs, and a pair of sandals on his feet. "You're..."
"Some kind of emo dancer," Leon admitted.
"I was not going to say that," Riku defended.
"I am saying it," the teacher argued. "It was Rinoa's idea."
Sora blinked. "Some kind of-" He snapped his fingers, pointing at Leon. "Wander!"
Leon nodded, a smile on his face. "Right," he observed. "Otaku. Yeah, Wander."
Xion gave Sora a look. "Um, 'Wander'?"
"The main character of Shadow of the Colossus," Sora explained. "Pretty much the only video game swordsman in existence who doesn't know how to use a sword." Turning back to Leon; "Which mean Professor Heartilly is..."
"Yeah, she's Mono," Leon confirmed. "Anyways, you mentioned you wanted to know about the uniform fitting? It's not 'til the fifth-period timeslot, so you don't have too much to worry abou-"
He was cut off when something shot up from under his hairline - and everyone had to fight a laughing fit when a pair of tiny horns emerged on his head. Roxas was the one who voiced their incredulity; "How the hell did you even-?"
"It was Rinoa's idea," Leon insisted, reaching up to the horns. They seemed to be entirely self-contained, so he simply slipped them back down as he wondered, "Why does she keep doing that?"
He stepped past them as they turned back to Tenshi. "Anyways, we've got that kinda time," Kairi observed. "Yeah, I'll come with you."
"Thanks," Tenshi sighed. "Meet you there?"
"Sure."
The blonde took off, and the news club waited until he was out of earshot before commenting on Kairi's choice. "Tell me you've got something up your sleeve," Naminé pleaded.
"Well, this isn't just a simple prop," Kairi admitted, tapping her rifle.
+x+x+x+
It was almost noon as Kairi to arrive at the entrance to the aforementioned cave. Tenshi was waiting for her as she stepped down, rifle still in hand. "You came after all," he observed. "I was worried you were gonna stiff me."
"Well, you know," Kairi admitted, "new school building, I wanted a little time to get used to the layout. They change the dorms?"
"Doesn't look like it," Tenshi admitted. "Come on." He started leading the way through the familiar tunnel.
A long moment's quiet; the blonde was the one who broke the silence. "This is where you found that succubus chick, right?" he asked.
"Yeah," Kairi confirmed. "Think she was a Yokai graduate."
Tenshi chuckled at that. "Put up a fight?"
Kairi angled her head from side to side. "A little," she observed. "Charmed our SiC, but he was a short-order takeout. She put up a bit of a better fight, but it was largely just a matter of landing the right blows." A smile rose on her face as she added; "After the fight was the real problem; news deadlines are a pain."
They had arrived at the large arena where the fight in question had taken place. "So, you're a tough fighter, then?" Tenshi asked over his shoulder.
His words dropped Kairi's smile in short order.
She quickly leaned back as Tenshi lashed a hand towards her, missing her by inches. A short hop kept her balance as she stepped back, the boy drawing off his spectacles and drawing out a glasses case. "You're looking for a fight," Kairi realized.
"I do hope the famous news club was smart enough to send their toughest," he pleaded, slamming the case shut with his glasses safely inside before tossing it aside. "I've been sitting in the human world for ages, itching to let it loose."
Kairi sighed, drawing her rifle off her shoulder. "Thing about a fight is, you gotta get a good look at your opponent," she insisted.
Tenshi's smile dropped. "You brought a firearm to Yokai Academy?!" he demanded.
"No," Kairi replied. "I brought a taser."
She pulled the trigger.
Voltage sparked along the weapon as small dart shot from the barrel, flying forward. Tenshi had time to raise a hand before him as the dart flew, driving lightly into his arm - and electricity ripped through his body at the contact.
Kairi's heart sank when the shock faded, and he simply lowered his arm.
"You were saying something about a good look?"
He lashed his arm down - and his body began to bulge, ripping through the red business suit of his cosplay as muscles tore across his arms and chest. His eyes became voids of gold, black patterns arcing across his face from between them, and horns emerged on his head as his blonde hair became a wild mane of gold. His hands became massive claws, and he drove one hand into the stone beneath him as he smirked.
"You can't take out a thunder beast with a taser," he reprimanded.
Kairi sighed, lowering her rifle. "In my defense," she insisted, "I've never actually seen a thunder beast."
Tenshi shrugged. "Eh, this is high school," he countered. "You learn something new every day."
He rushed forward, voltage ripping up about his hand; Kairi only just managed to move herself out of the way as it slammed into the wall. She quickly hopped back while he was stuck, bracing the rifle before her and wishing desperately that she had not left her staff at the road. "Two days of fight club at the start of the year," she insisted, stepping away the whole time, "the one thing I learned was how to dodge."
"Is that all?" Tenshi snapped, drawing his hand out with a spinning blow - only to find Kairi out of range. "I heard you could kick ass."
"That's a common misconception," Kairi admitted. "That I was the one winning all those fights."
"Oh, for f-"
The thunder beast was cut off when something cold slammed into his leg. He yelped, leaping away - and slipping on the landing on seeing ice had covered his foot. He raised his gaze back up the tunnel as Xion stepped out - her kanji-tipped Keyblade in her left hand, claws of ice adorning the other, and thin wings made of frost wavering about on her back.
"See, this is how the fights usually go," Kairi admitted. "I keep someone busy, then the real fighters move in. I once made the mistake of fighting an abominable snowgirl like Xion Karui at a lake."
Tenshi growled, lashing his hand forward; Xion quickly moved her Keyblade in front of her and Kairi as a bolt of lightning ripped from his hands, slamming into the weapon - but possessing enough charge that the snow fairy, not wearing her usual gloves, was forced to release the handle. Her opponent quickly charged forward - only to get a solid kick to the gut when he was halfway there.
Riku had appeared out of nowhere, his face canine and his body covered in fur that was all too visible in his female Shingen outfit; as Tenshi stumbled back, he quickly raised his right hand at his side, and a dark mist gathered around it as his dragon-edged blade appeared in his grip.
"Or fighting a werewolf under the full moon," Kairi added. "Riku Kurai might be predictable, but you can only use that to your advantage if you know where he's going to be before he starts moving."
An attempt at charging the werewolf in question got him two solid strikes with Soul Eater; an attempted third, however, was interrupted by voltage ripping up about Tenshi. He quickly growled, lashing his hand forward to strike Riku while he was stunned - and something appeared to bind his hand to his shoulder, throwing his punch off-course.
A spider web had appeared from nowhere on his body. He tried to pry it off with his other hand, only to get that hand stuck; he raised his gaze as Naminé stepped in - her garb was identical to Kairi's own, but the opera gloves were not quite long enough to obscure the glowing blue chain that was all but fused to her right arm.
"And as it turns out," Kairi continued, "witches can take a lot of punishment. Or at least, Naminé Kioku can. A bullet to her shoulder, flames up and down her arm, torture from a trio of one-winged angels - I mean, damn."
Unfortunately, more voltage proved to be enough to get rid of Naminé's web. She quickly thrust her right hand forward, palm-out, causing a massive gale to kick up in the cave; then her left hand went to the knife at her hip, and she drew it with a flourish - releasing it before her so it spun in the air before she grabbed it with her right hand and braced it before her.
Tenshi lashed his own hand forward against the gale, a ball of voltage flying from his palm - but it was shortly interrupted by a bolt of fire, and flame and thunder exploded violently on contact with each other. Naminé quickly ceased the gale as Roxas stepped out from behind her, his own kanji-tipped Keyblade in his right hand as flames formed a pair of fox ears upon his head.
"On the subject of burns," Kairi observed, "don't even get me started on yoko. I mean, there's a cut, and there's a bruise, and there's a crack in your bone, and then there is fire. Roxas Kaigara is the one who showed me that fire hurts."
The thunder beast gave an angry roar, causing all of them to raise a hand before them. "You are mocking me!" Tenshi roared. "You are rambling, and you are pissing me off!"
"Yeah, give him a break, Kairi."
Sora stepped in, still adorned in his faux-armour, and his own Keyblade - a simple silver shaft with a crown for the teeth, with a golden guard around the handle - propped over his shoulder. Kairi sighed, stepping back. "Fine, fine," she insisted. Turning to Tenshi; "You wanted a fight with the toughest one, right?" she asked. "Then let the toughest take you, one-on-one."
"Less jaw, more claw, right?" Sora asked.
Kairi hooked her hand around his crown necklace - upon which a cross was shining clearly. "You know me so well."
She pulled - and the loop connected to the crown disconnected from the single chain linked to his choker.
A burst of sheer power ripped up around Sora as he stepped forward, the Keyblade vanishing from his hand. His fingernails lengthened, becoming long claws, and cuts dug into them, making them reminiscent of the blades of pin tumbler keys; his hair went jet-black for but an instant as a fiery red emerged from the base, not reaching the tip of his hair. His eyes fell closed; when they opened, they were shining gold for an instant, only for the gold to recede and divide his pupil from the blood red of his iris.
His hand went to the sword sheathed at his hip, and he drew it with a slide of wood on wood - the weapon was bright orange, with a waved blade, and he levelled it on the thunder beast before him.
"You think you can take a vampire?"
Tenshi slammed his hand against the floor of the cave. "Screw you!"
He charged forward.
The clawslinger leapt up, landing a solid kick on the thunder beast's jaw.
Everyone was surprised when Tenshi only turned back to counter the momentum, throwing a blow of his own; an attempt to guard it with the waved blade got the sword broken as he skidded back from the force of the blow.
"He took a hit," the vampire observed.
"He took a hit!" Kairi exclaimed.
With a shake of his head, the clawslinger returned the charge. Tenshi lashed his right hand forward, only for the vampire to catch it in his right hand; an attempt to attack with his left hand only got Tenshi's attack stopped on the vampire's foot. A moment passed before the clawslinger slammed his foot down and lashed his right hand to the side, throwing the thunder beast into a spin - but he didn't expect Tenshi to attack with his feet, which got him a solid kick to the chest,
And cracked his faux-armour in the process.
Skidding back, the clawslinger saw the gash in his armour and sighed in relief. "Finally."
His hands went to the gash, and he tore the restricting equipment off of himself, throwing it to either side - and revealing that he was wearing a long black tailcoat underneath it that proceeded to unfold now that it was not contained. His hands slipped under the leggings, and he quickly ripped them apart as well, revealing smooth black pants beneath; kicking off the sabatons revealed some nice dress shoes had been hiding beneath them.
A set of knives was clenched between the fingers of one hand.
A set of forks was clenched between the fingers of the other.
Tenshi got to his feet and was thoroughly confused by what he saw. "What the hell are you supposed to be?" he demanded.
The clawslinger chuckled. "'The hell' is most appropriate," he admitted.
He raised the hand of forks before him.
"I..."
He hurled the hand of knives forward, driving them into the thunder beast's legs.
"...am a devil..."
Then he hurled the forks after them, and Tenshi found his arms driven into by the cutlery.
"...of a butler."
His opponent had no time to react before he charged forward, landing a solid kick - unhindered by the armour he had been wearing before - that sent the thunder beast flying into the deeper tunnel like a shot from Kairi's rifle.
The entire rest of the news club broke into a fit of laughter on seeing the vampire's cosplay of choice. As he turned back to them, Naminé managed to compose herself. "Holy Shiva," she exclaimed, "you're Sebastian!?"
"Totally worth wearing a tuxedo and cutlery set under my armour for the past eight hours," the clawslinger admitted.
Xion shook her head. "Ladies and gentlemen," she called, "the other bloodsucking otaku."
The vampire rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he insisted, "let's just get out of here." As the group started out, he turned to Kairi; "Can I have my crown back, snack tray?"
Kairi chuckled, turning back to him and holding out the rosario.
"No problem... Van."
+x+x+x+
"Is that a uniform for students or soldiers?"
Sora's comment on seeing Roxas outfitted was a bit overt - but only a bit. The uniform in question consisted of a slate-grey jacket and leggings, black boots, and white gloves. Just under the collar was a curious heart emblem in silver; it didn't join at the top, the arms arcing into curls. The same emblem was also on the back of the gloves, and as Sora looked him over the yoko rolled his shoulders weakly.
"Well, as least Shi-oh can't give me crap for not having sleeves," Roxas admitted. "You're right, it's a bit much, but it's pretty comfy."
His comment prompted Sora to raise an eyebrow.
Roxas raised a hand. "You can get the gloves fingerless if you like."
The Keyslinger chuckled. "Alright, maybe it's not so bad."
"See what it looks like on a girl, then."
Xion's voice caused Sora to turn around to see her and Kairi approaching them. Their outfits were almost identical to what Roxas was wearing; the sleeves were slightly less baggy, and the boots had a slight heel to them, but other than that it was the exact same suit.
Sora only chuckled. "It looks pretty good," he admitted.
Kairi held one arm before her. "It looks pretty serious," she admitted. "You could scare someone with this."
"I think that's the idea," Roxas countered.
"Kingdom, Sora." The voice from fitting room Roxas had vacated prompted the Keyslinger to step in.
Xion elbowed Kairi in the side. "What do you think of your first day back at the new-and-improved Yokai Academy?"
Kairi only smiled in return. "I wish I had never had to leave."
Draco: Deepest apologies if Y'shtola seems mischaracterized, one can only get so much out of a game they haven't invested time in. I do promise, however, that I shall do such temporal investing quite soon (that does not mean I'll be playing, though, so don't bother asking for my info).
I had the idea for this cosplay meet pretty much since Season I concluded. Enjoy the selection of costumes.
Kairi and Naminé are dressed as Toki/Towa Chronowind from Time and Eternity. After a few hours of brainstorming, I turn on the game and I realize that I have a blonde and a redhead that are otherwise identical. How, exactly, could I not have Kairi and Naminé cosplay them?
I'll admit that I planned on making Sora's Tales of Symphonia cosplay be Lloyd Irving, but I eventually decided on Kratos Aurion. My reasons are petty: Sora isn't supposed to be dual wielding yet.
Roxas and Xion missing Minos' weapon is shameless self-reflection. First time I read the Heaven's Lost Property manga, the site I was reading on didn't have the last chapter. First one I found with the last chapter missed the first ten pages or so. Which means I completely missed his big frickin' spear.
Riku as Sengoku Otome's Takeda Shingen was the first thing I decided. When I did, I was on a laptop with horrendous quality and screencaps of Shingen mid-episode looked a lot more masculine than she really does (She does really look that masculine in the credits, by the way). Let's assume Riku had similarly horrendous quality when he did a search. And that Sengoku Otome screencaps show up a little sooner than they do when you search "Takeda Shingen Sengoku".
I seriously put Leon in a Wander costume just so I could make the joke "You're some kind of emo dancer". YouTube "Shadow of the Colossus with lyrics".
"Devil of a butler" is the line as it is said in the official translation of Black Butler, as of Volume VII.
The new school uniform is based off of the Hollow Bastion guard uniform, as seen in KHBBS.