Chapter 1: Almost Can't Believe It
The Assassin Academy of Art, Skill, and Technique.
I stared up at the tall, white, brick building before me and took a glance back at my uncle, Sephiroth, who nearly grinned back at me and my cousins. Kadaj looked completely amused, Riku looked determined, and I, well, I couldn't believe it.
"You were serious." I said to, more than asked, the silver haired man.
"Indeed. You guys need to be more tough, and what better way than assassin training?" he answered. This time he did grin, quite widely. I am quite certain that my eye twitched.
Being a good and well-rounded father/uncle, Sephiroth had accepted and supported all three of us becoming homosexual by some rare coincidence.
"But you still have to be manly," he had said, "even if you plan to bottom, let your partner know that you are in control. It's the Slizzee way." he ended the lecture proudly.
Did I mention I despise my last name?
"Hey! I'm tough papa! I'm manly!" Kadaj shouted, quite unnecessarily, into my ear while trying to prove his masculinity to his father. Said father raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really?" When the silver-haired boy nodded vigorously, the older silver sibling smirked."Reno." he stated. Kadaj's eyes widened and filled with tears. I rolled my eyes.
Reno was Kadaj's reverence since Kindergarten, if that even counted, who got older and forgot of my cousin's very existence.
"I have been convinced. I will look for you in the next life, dear uncle." I stated while walking away from the group. I believe I heard Riku mutter "wait up" behind me so I paused and turned around.
"G'bye dad. See ya whenever. Love ya and all that shit." Riku said, after waving and coming to join me. He has lovely grammar.
"Father! I will miss you! Call! Write! Stay in touch father dear~" Kadaj yelled, making a scene as usual. A few other fellow students turned to look while Riku covered his eyes with his tie and I merely shook my hair into my face more.
This was going to make for a long trimester.
Upon first entering the building, we were made to wait in line for a special ID and schedule. After that, we were escorted to the auditorium where a bald man in a suit and sunglasses stood.
"Hello. Welcome to The Assassin Academy of Art, Skill, and Technique. Here, we will train young men and women into the most skilled assassins. That is, if you have what it takes." the bald principal said.
Riku squirmed in his seat with half-lidded eyes.
"I think I figured out how to get an A this semester." he mumbled. Gross. I shifted as far away as possible in my seat, but of course Kadaj was leaning to my left just as I was.
"Hey, this is my space. Use your own." he said while shoving me.
"Actually," I said, pushing him into his seat, "you are intruding my space considering you are hanging in my seat."
A full on shoving match started at that point. I was aware how childish this all was but, I am not one to be proven wrong.
Suddenly, a bright light shone down from above.
"What have we here? Are there children among the group of potential assassins?" the man in the front of the auditorium said over the microphone. Of course several nosy bastards just had to turn around.
Kadaj turned a bright pink color and I surely felt my face heat up as well.
"Children do not belong here. So are you two going to behave or should I call your mommies and daddies?" the man said with a hint sarcasm. I shook my head no. "Excuse me? With words." My face was now on fire.
"No sir." Kadaj and I both said. Riku started laughing as he was holding it in the entire time. The spotlight shifted to him however.
"Do you need to go home sir?" the man asked, "Oh, and refer to me as Principal Rude."
"Ah, Rude. Oh okay. I'm so sorry sir. I did not mean to disrupt. Please do not send me away Principal Rude." Riku said as angelic as possible. He may as well have batted his eyelashes.
"Very well then," Principal Rude said and the spotlights went off, "I hope this will be a warning to all of you not to play around here." he said.
After the initial embarrassment I was quit displeased that I was called out that way. Riku continued to glance over and giggle when he wasn't drooling over Rude and Kadaj had not moved or looked up since the incident.
"Now, refer to your schedules to go to your dorms. There are signs posted about the campus to making finding them easier. That is all."
Noise immediately filled the room and Riku groaned.
"I was really hoping those other buildings were not part of a campus. Too much walking." he whined.
"Shut the hell up, you haven't even began walking yet." Kadaj snapped. There's my normal cousin again. "Let's see, I am in Room 222B in Xehanort Hall. What about you guys?"
"435B in Moogle Hall." Riku responded, "Ugh, that just sounds far." Kadaj shot a glare at him at that. I took this time to look at my schedule.
"I'm assigned to Room 306A. Merlin Hall." I told them. Riku and Kadaj looked at each other, I translated it immediately as panic.
"We're all separated." Riku said quietly, he had a closet case of co-dependency.
"I don't want to live alone!" Kadaj said loudly but Riku and I quickly grabbed him and covered his mouth respectively. It looked weird on the outside but what can I say, it's effective when one is about to go into a fit.
"Now before you panic, remember, we may have roommates. And we will still be able to contact and see each other. Remain calm." I told him. His body relaxed slightly so, after a quick nod toward one another, my cousin and I let go.
"But how am I supposed to find my dorm?" he asked quietly with the saddest expression. I believe I heard Riku sigh just as I did.
Some people may say that babyish tendencies will get you nowhere at a certain age, but being older than and protective of Kadaj, his little pouts usually always worked.
He skipped happily between me and Riku as we followed the signs to Xehanort Hall, lugging suitcases might I add.
The building was only right behind the main one we had just left so this was pointless to me. Riku glared at him.
"Well, here you are. Twenty fucking paces away." Riku grumbled. I cannot think of a reason why he has such a distaste for distances today. It is beginning to be bothersome.
"Here you are. At your dorm. I'm off to find mine. Send a postcard. Chip-chip-cheerio and such." I said while leaving. This time I did not wait for Riku. Oh well.
I reached my building which was pretty far from the main one but I didn't care. I like walking.
I got up to my room to see there were two honey wood doors nearly side-by-side with the bold, black, metal numbers 306 in the middle of a wall big enough for a small room, one door labeled A and the other, of course, B.
I analyzed the A on the door that was soon to be mine a bit. I have an odd obsession with analyzing doors before I pass through them. I was just about to open the door when someone approached the door to my right.
The first sight I saw upon glancing over was bright red hair. Judging on how thoroughly red it was and considering that his eyebrows were red as well, it very well could be natural.
"Oh, hello…" he said in an awkward tone, caught me staring, dammit.
"Greetings." I replied.
A few minutes passed with us just facing each other before the oddly red redhead scratched his head and inhaled.
"So… I'm Axel." he said.
"Zexion."
Insert more awkward silence here.
"I wonder if these rooms are somehow connected. Being A and B and all. One way to find out I guess, uh, see you around I suppose."
He gave a salute and left through the door marked B. I turned back to my door and finally opened it.
Guess it's time to find out where I will be living for the next 12 weeks.
The room was more spacious than I had assumed it to be. A nice sized bed sat in the far left corner with a large closet about a foot or so away. A dresser was placed directly across from that along with a desk in the right hand corner closest to the door. There was a piece of paper sat atop the desk stating that laptops would be handed out sometime during the trimester.
I sat down my suitcase and bag, not worrying about the rest I would have to receive from the dock later. I sat on the bed and breathed in, getting used to the feel of the room.
Right when I was startled out of my skin.
"Oh, sorry. Heh heh, guess the rooms are connected after all. Sorry."
The redhead again. After hearing what sounded like two sets of doors closing, I stood to go open the door which apparently lead to a bathroom. How would this work if we were to both have to go at once?
I simply shut the door again and checked a paper I was given over today's agenda.
It was 12:37 now, and there was supposedly an orientation of sorts going on at 3.
As if reading my mind, there was a knock at the bathroom/tunnel door.
"Yes?" I responded.
"Can I come in here? I don't really know anyone here and I don't feel like unpacking and stuff right now and we don't leave until 3-"
"Sure. Come in." I cut him off. Rambling is a major pet peeve of mine.
Axel walked in and sat down in the middle of my floor cross-legged.
"How do you know the floor is clean?" I asked him. He shrugged.
"I don't know." he said. Good enough for me I guess. I felt the need to sit on the floor as well. Axel seemed delighted and smiled brightly at me.
"Who and/or what sent you here?" I asked the redhead before me. He seemed a bit shocked for a second but recovered quickly.
"I wanted to come here. It's weird because I overheard that quite a few people were forced here against their will somehow. I thought it sounded like a kick-ass place to go." he said. "So what about you? I'm going to assume you were forced."
"Yep. My uncle felt me and my cousins should come here to learn to be more 'manly'," I added air-quotes around the last word.
"Well, it couldn't be that bad. I mean, it's assassin school!" he shouted, again with a big smile and his arms stretched out.
Someone's excited.
"I'm not the assassin type though. I'm… artsy." I explained.
"Gay." he said. I answered before really processing what Axel had said. Something I usually never do.
"Exactly. Wait a second, what ?" and that is why I never answer before processing.
Axel found this all quite hysterical. He literally rolled around the ground laughing while I just continued to stare at him.
"Are you finished?" I asked.
"Hahahaha. You said.. Y-you said you-you're gay! Ahahaha."
Did I say staring? I meant glaring.
"It was nice meeting you, Axel. I should get to unpacking now. Thanks for wasting eleven minutes of my life." I said while standing.
"Huh? No! Zexion! Come on man I was kidding. Don't be so sensitive, bro!" Axel pleaded. I felt his eyes follow me from the floor as I crossed to open the door.
"Seriously?" he asked. I felt almost bad for him. Why? Ask my subconscious.
I sighed and shut the door. The guy literally cheered.
"I'd hug you but I don't know you well." he said.
"I would not enjoy it." I told him coldly.
"Ah, good then." Axel said while nodding. "Say, it's about 1 o'clock. We still have about two hours to kill. Wanna go explore?" he asked.
"Why not?"
There were many reasons why not. Many, many reasons.
Only, I once again acted before thinking it over.
Blame all the red. I know I sure do.