Hello everyone. This work of mine is currently under construction, and is not yet completed. I shall be working on this every so often, so stay tuned. DISCLAIMER: I don't own BlazBlue, any of their characters, etc. I am just using them as an aide of our personal enjoyment.

How Things Used to Be

Day 1: Orientation

Who would've imagined that I, Klaus Yayoi, would finally be accepted into the Military Academy? Well, I certainly wasn't when I received the letter that changed my life forever. When I opened the letter, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It could've just been a mistake; after all, I am part of one of the most well-known families of the Duodecum family. Well... Only a bit, really. I was adopted. My mother was so kind and caring, and so was my sister, Tsubaki Yayoi. My father hated me.

It was a year ago when Tsubaki had left for the Military Academy, a place where young people train to become officers and soldiers for a place called the Novus Orbis Librarium. The Novus Orbis Librarium, or the NOL for short, was a place created to keep the peace in our world. It's a great cause to work for, and my parents were honored. I couldn't believe that Tsubaki left me... But I finally have a chance to get her back... to start over with my sister. A second chance...

"You must be Klaus... correct?" A man was standing outside the academy's front gates. He had blonde hair and green eyes, a bit like emeralds. "The name's Jin. I'm the student council president. A pleasure to meet you." He pushed out his hand, like he was waiting for a handshake.

I was dumbfounded. Not many people back home wanted anything to do with me, much less shake hands with me. All I could do was stare at his hands with my silver eyes.

"Hey." Jin's voice snapped me out of my momentary stance. He still had his hand held out. I had forgotten about it, even though I was looking right at it. I nervously took his hand and shook it. "Sorry. Zoned out there for a moment," Jin's hand was freezing, even though he was wearing gloves. It was a bit strange, but I shoved the feeling aside.

"Don't worry about it. It happens to all of us," Jin sighed as he turned to the front gates of the academy. "You coming or what?"

After catching up with him, Jin showed me around. "Since all of the normal rooms are taken, you're gonna be staying with me for the time being." Jin scoffed, looking amused. "I can't believe I'm gonna be teaching a newbie the ropes. I guess there is a first time for everything."

"Well, it's your job to do that as student council president," A girl walked out in front of us, and I couldn't help but to stare again. The girl had beautiful hazel eyes, as well as short, brown hair. But the thing that caught my eye the most was...

"Your tail... it's so fluffy..." I muttered, lost in thought.

"Yep. Miss Nanaya here is a beastkin. A squirel-type, to be exact." Jin said.

"Oh... that those kinds of people who look and act like animals, right?" I asked, recalling the lesson I learned by using my photographic memory.

"Oh, someone's done their homework," Nanaya muttered, "Anyways, I got somewhere to be. You gonna get out of the way now?" Both Jin and I moved aside, allowing her to pass. Once she was out of earshot, Jin muttered something about a waste of time, and continued. Wanting to see more strange discoveries, I followed him.

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the dorm rooms. We completed the tour, and this was our last stop. After walking such a long way, I was ready to get some shuteye. I ran towards the closest bed and jumped onto it.

"That's my bed," Jin sighed as he walked into the room. He was probably tired of walking as well. He pointed to a bed across from the one I was sitting on. "That one's yours." After I transferred beds, Jin handed me a thick stack of papers. I scanned the first page, and I discovered the thing I wanted to avoid the most was lurking right on the pages handed to me.

"Really? I just got here, man!" I groaned, throwing the paperwork onto my bed.

"They need to be completed by Monday, then handed in to me. Even if there's a singe question unanswered, we'll have to kick you out," I searched Jin's eyes for a way out of this, but his cold, unchanging expression said everything. I sighed loudly, throwing my head backwards and onto the pillow underneath. The beds here weren't like the ones back home. The ones here are softer. The beds back home were soft enough to bounce on, though. I remember when both Tsubaki and I were little, we used to jump on our parents' bed. Tsubaki...

"Hey, Jin," I said, propping myself up so I can see him, "Do you know if a girl named Tsubaki is here?"

Jin looked over at me, his expression changing. Instead of a cold, unwanted feeling, it showed a bit of compassion. "Of course. She sits right next to me in class."

So there is hope... There's a chance things can be the way they used to be, a chance for Sis to wash away all my sins, all my loneliness, all the pain. I couldn't help but to start crying.

"Hey, what's with the waterworks?" Jin asked. He was shocked, as if he never saw another person crying before. I can't blame him; I wasn't expecting myself to cry either. I was stammering now, trying unsuccessfully to place all my thoughts into words. In that instant, Jin walked over to me and embraced me in a hug. It was my turn to be shocked.

"J-Jin? What're ya doing?" I started to regain my senses now. I guess the hug brought me back down to Earth. The strange thing to me wasn't that he was hugging me, but the chill I felt when I first met him was gone. All of a sudden, the chill returned, and he pulled away quickly.

"Tsubaki must've meant a lot to you, if you're gonna cry over her. I just don't like it when people cry."

"Whatever, man. I think I just need some sleep."

Jin grinned, another expression that caught me by surprise. "You do that. Remember to turn in that paper though." At that, as on cue, he walked out of the room. I smiled as I rested my head on the pillow, pulling the covers on the bed over me. It wasn't long until I drifted to sleep, dreaming about Tsubaki and the girl named Nanaya.

A man in a black and white suit looked over the monitors, sighing impatiently. "When's the idiot gonna do something? God!" He slammed his fists on the table, then breathed. "Calm down, you old dog. You gotta be patient if you wanna have things go your way." The man ran a hand smoothly through his hair, as he stood up. He grabbed his black jacket and put it on in one swift movement. He grinned as he put on his hat. "Let the games begin!"