Yo, what's up everybody? This here is a remake of my 2+ year old fanfiction with the same name of The Scarlet Winter. The storyline will be mostly the same but I feel I've improved on my writing since I started the old version and I feel I can tidy some things up here and there.
I'm going to mention some of the manga characters here and there just so expand the cast (no I do not read the manga, I might do, but I'll be taking their personalities from the wiki if anything, for the most part they'll just be mentioned here and there).
Okay, just to clarify quickly, this fanfiction is a High School AU and is set in the UK - which means I will be using English names for stores and such instead of the usual Americanisms (I'm British, lol) and I will also be referring to my school's lesson timetable for progress throughout the school day.
We clear? Good. I will also be using my school's system for some character ages too (e.g. Alois being in the year above Ciel since he's older and I worked this out from their birthdays in the old version). I know it sounds a bit complicated and hectic now but I assure you, I'll do my best to keep things clean. Also going to switch between Ciel and Alois' POV.
Alrighty, let's get to it!
The day started off in what most would call a rush. But not a particular boy. A student. Weston Upper had been graced with his presence for a year already now, and he had quite the important reputation amongst the social standing. He was a king. A king walking amongst peasants. He thought at times that they might as well roll out a red carpet for him whenever he arrived. His platinum blond hair and sky blue eyes were a sight to behold. The long purple jacket that flowed down his back was warm and kept him cosy. His green pinstriped shirt and infamous black shorts hugged his figure nicely when he walked. And in addition to the (what some may call reidiculous) outfit, he wore black stockings and almost knee-high black boots decorated and tied with luxurious purple ribbons.
As soon as the sleek, black Jaguar pulled up at the front gates, the boy of fourteen years old threw the car door open and stepped out. The sunlight beamed down as if God himself was gracing his arrival, causing his hair to seem a little brighter than usual. It also seemed to reflect his shining grin and he couldn't help but give a tiny laugh before he turned back to the car and tilted himself at an angle to look back inside.
There sat a small boy with auburn hair and dark chocolate eyes that sparkled with pure innocence and joy. He was his younger brother, to whom he loved and cherished more than anything in the world. He had vowed ever since they were young that he would forever protect his brother, making sure that no harm came to him. They had lost their parents at an age so young that the boy could barely remember their voices and names, and he doubted that his brother even remembered them at all. They had been taken into foster care before a man had adopted them - though he refused to share his surname with them.
The man was named Claude Faustus, and was a Math teacher here at Weston. The boy was extremely well known as Alois Trancy, and the boy sat in the care was named Luka Trancy. Their middle name was Macken, having taken the name of their foster family for awhile, and Alois also had a middle name of Jim.
"Alright Luka, I'll see you later when school's finished. Be good and have a great day!" The blond leant inside the car to give the little boy a hug, grabbed his rucksack and pulled himself out. He shut the door firmly and waved as the car drove away. "D'aww, and I didn't even get to say goodbye to Claude before he came back". He mocked a pout with hands on his hips before he grinned again. He turned toward the school building and near enough skipped up to the doors and disappeared inside.
The Year Ten student threw open the doors and welcomed the instant turn of heads and excited whispers of the other students in the corridor as he walked by. He kept his perfect smile on his face, emitting happiness to those whom he passed. He couldn't resist a tiny smirk for a moment when someone began calling his name louder than the rest that had begun to trail after him.
"Alois! Alois!" The voice was feminine and light, almost angelic it seemed. Alois stopped in his walk and let the girl catch up. She stopped beside him and paused to catch her breath a little bit. Her name was Stella Rose, and she ran the school newspaper; Weston Reports. She smiled at him and a tiny blush adorned her cheeks. "If I may, Alois, can I ask you to answer just a quick question or two for our front page story?"
"Sure, I don't mind at all! Anything for the loyal readers, eh?" He flashed Stella a smile that had the poor girl a little flustered for a moment.
"A-Ah, right! Thank you! So, first off..." She dug into her pocket and brought out a small notebook with a pencil slid between the binding. She removed the pencil and flipped through the notebook for a short moment. "Okay, how do you feel about this year? Do you believe it will be a good one?"
"Of course! I hope this year is just as good as the last one was - little trouble and more stardom for me" He even winked for good measure before Stella began to write things down. "I want to make sure everyone here at Weston Upper has an amazing experience. So for those of us in the older years, we need to make sure the newcomers get the best welcome and the best first year just like we all did".
Stella nodded in agreement. "Speaking of the newcomers, how do you feel about the new Year Nine students that'll be arriving today?"
"They'll be new to a lot of things, so like I said. we all need to make sure they get the best welcome and the best first year at Weston Upper. We can't do much more than that for them, can we now?"
"You're absolutely right Alois. Thank you so much for letting me talk with you!"
Alois continued to hold his smile in place. "Anytime, you know where you can usually find me for if you need or want me to cover a story for the paper". With that the two bid one another goodbye and Alois watched as Stella ran off down the corridor toward the news room most likely. With a small shake of his head, Alois turned back to where he had previously been going and arrived at his locker a little after he turned the nearest corner into a new section of the corridors.
He walked over to his locker and dug the small key with a tiny purple crown keychain attached to it to unlock the door. He smiled at the picture of him and Luka making funny faces to the camera that was pinned to the inside of the locker door with a small purple circle magnet that had a lighter purple heart in the middle as the design. It had been a gift from his brother on his birthday one year but he had never had any use for it until he started Weston Upper.
He shifted through the half-mess that his locker had become at the end of last year, the books he'd left behind having gathered a thin layer of dust. Once he found the books he needed for his first two lessons - Geography and History, what a way to begin the new year - he firmly shut his locker and twisted the key to secure it's closure. He bunched up the end of his sleeve to wipe the dust off his load but was pleasantly surprised when someone took them from him to do the small task themselves.
He looked up to see the triplets, a trio that followed him around like bodyguards in a way. He was the king of the school, of course, and the king needed protection. The triplets didn't look too different to an outsider, but Alois had noticed the slight difference in their purple hairstyles - the way they sort of parted it. Canterbury, Thompson and Timber. If Alois had a favourite (not that one would know) then he'd say it was Timber purely for his name. It was Canterbury who had taken his books from him and once they had been dusted off in turn, Timber returned them to him. Alois smiled at his friends gratefully and shoved the books down into his rucksack and slung it over his shoulder again.
"Thank you, boys~" His voice light and cheery with the hint of a teasing tone.
"You're welcome, Your Highness" the triplets replied in unison with a slight bow each. It was somewhat of a customary routine that they had wrapped themselves up in since middle school.
"So, who's in first period with me?" Alois asked and Canterbury raised his hand to just above his chest. "Good! We're aiming to make this year as good as last year, so let's keep that in mind, boys, and all will go smoothly".
"What if Ciel Phantomhive is attending this school though?" Thompson had the nerve to speak up. Usually the trio stayed quiet unless spoken to directly or just applying manners to a conversation.
Alois' eyes hardened and he dropped his smile. "What have I told you three about using that name...?" His tone was dark but not too threatening. It was woven tightly together with a warning though. It was not a name he particularly liked the sound of. Thompson dropped his gaze away from his friend as his two brothers stared at him with worry flashing in their eyes. Alois hissed lightly. "Never speak that name to me again unless I bring it up as a topic deliberately".
Ciel Phantomhive was Alois Trancy's long-running rival. Alois was pleased with being a year older than the other boy - who's eyes were a deep blue and his hair a sort of ash grey with tints of blue mixing in. Almost like the equivalent of a Russian Blue cat. And he acted as regal as a feline too. Much like Alois, Ciel wanted to 'rule the school'. Thus why they had ended up as competitive rivals. And the other students loved a good show of an argument taking place in the halls. They lapped it up like dogs thirsty for water.
There were few times when Ciel had gotten a claim to their 'throne' but that was mostly when Alois had had to move onto the next school where neither of them had any competition. Nobody dared get in the way of the two of them. Alois was a fan favourite for sure, and Ciel had once told him that that was only because he had an extra year to get in the know with people and gain their trust and loyalty.
Both of them were like snakes in the grass, waiting for their prey to bounce on by and then lunge out to strike with a near-deathly bite.
Alois could feel the hairs on his neck stand on end as fury travelled in his blood that he swore he could feel beginning to boil. "If that mutt dares to show his face here - my in presence - again, then I will make quick work of him once and for all".
"It sounds as if you're planning to kill him" Thompson said quietly as some students passed them by.
"Oh believe me, if I could commit murder then I would just to get the little brat out of my life" The blond hissed. He then exhaled long and slow to calm himself. "No, if he does show his face here then we'll make sure he regrets it. Not to the point of death but...well, we'll see what happens in the near future". He shifted his rucksack on his shoulder. "Come on Canterbury, let's go before Mr Spears has my head for being late on the first day".
Canterbury nodded and bid his brothers goodbye. He walked with Alois down the corridor until they arrived at a stairway. Ascending up the stairs along with a few other students to the second floor, and turning into the tiny corridor that was bookended by another stairway at the end behind some clear doors with wooden frames. That was what made the school layout confusing for most newcomers - the fact that not only were there three different buildings consisting of West, East and Center, but the amount of stairways that could take you to exactly the same place. Some of the stairways dotted around did lead to specific classrooms that students couldn't reach without crossing through classrooms first. A thing that did not please the majority of the teachers.
Walking over to the room labelled W44 on the door's window, Alois huffed to himself. He hated this lesson, mostly because his teacher was known to make subtle comments to get a jab in at him if he wasn't paying attention or failing to meet his target grade. He glanced back at Canterbury before grabbing the door handle and roughly throwing the door open and striding two steps in with a proud smile.
And then his face quickly fell and his stature slumped slightly when he saw the room full of students staring right back at him. And one of them were his classmates for the lesson. A mild cough came from the side of him to which he looked and saw his Geography teacher, Mr Spears, standing in front of the interactive whiteboard with a stern look in his eyes behind his glasses and arms folded. Clearly he'd been interrupted and wasn't happy about it.
"Mister Trancy...to what do I owe the pleasure of you interrupting my class?" Mr Spears pushed his glasses up his nose gently before folding his arms once more. His black combed back hair and black suit made him look more strict and professional than Alois personally liked.
"Erm...I was here for class...?" Alois asked, making sure to hide his embarrassment with a confused yet possibly sarcastic tone. What else would he come to this god-awful classroom for?
"Well, Mister Trancy, had you not decided to skip registration, you would know that first period is cancelled to help the new Year Nine students settle in and give them all the basic information they need to know. And, of course, you should also know this already from having gone through it yourself last year". There were a few whispered giggles from some of the students in the classroom but both Alois and Mr Spears ignored them. "Now, if you don't mind, Mister Trancy, I would like to continue what it is I was doing before your little interruption. You know where you're supposed to be going now, so off you go".
Alois huffed and strode out of the room with a firm slam of the door behind him. He then walked out to the stairway he had arrived from and turned to Canterbury.
"Did you and the other two know about this?" Alois spat. He suppressed a shudder of anger when Canterbury nodded nervously. "Argh! And you didn't think to tell me?!" He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm himself. Once he felt himself calm down, he sighed. "Come on, let's go wait out the next fifty minutes or whatever until the bell rings for second lesson".
He took the lead once more and the duo got down the stairway and down the corridor into the nearest boy's toilets. Alois immediately went over to the window and took a seat on the windowsill, turning sideways and pressing his back up against the tiny bit of wall he had while bringing his knees toward his chest. His rucksack sat on the floor just below him. Canterbury opted for leaning against the sink.
About ten minutes passed before Alois noticed Cantebury kept taking a glance at him. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Go on. What is it you want to tell me?"
"...Did you not see who was in that class?"
"No. Of course not, they're all dumb little Year Nine kids who don't know any better. And before you say it, no I don't care if some were even from Weston Middle. Why?"
Canterbury took his gaze away from Alois. He kept his head lowered slightly and his voice was quieter as he spoke.
"...Ciel Phantomhive was in that class, Your Highness".
Happy Valentine's Day!