Two boys were sitting against a wall, one of whom was twirling a pencil around his fingers and the other writing in a journal. The writer stopped writing, drumming his pencil against his notebook, looking towards his companion.
"Say, what would you rather be in, a world of heroes or a world of villains?" the writer asked.
"Well, would I be a villain if I was in the world of villains or would I be just who I am now?"
"The same you are now, but you will change based on what you experience in that world just like normal life."
"I would join the world of villains. I don't know if I would enjoy a world of heroes for long. I guess it would be boring without conflict. If I was in a world of villains, I think I would try my best to save as many people as I can. Guess I got that hero mentality, wishing for a worse situation just so I could solve it."
"What kind of things would you want to take into that world?"
"Would I be allowed to bring anything? Like the Infinity Gauntlet? Guess that would make it too easy, wouldn't be a struggle. Well I liked to have my phone, but I feel like that would be unfair as well. Maybe a selection of gadgets and weapons from Rainbow Six Siege. I think that would be fair, but I don't think I would want to kill a person, but I guess being in a world of villains would change my mind."
The writer wrote down a couple things in his journal.
"Is this some sort of plot for a future campaign for Dungeons 'n Dragons?" asked the other boy, finally dropping the pencil he'd been twirling. "It has been a while since our last Dungeons 'n Dragons session. I missed those." he reminisced leaning over to pick up his pencil.
"Me too. Maybe we can play again some time. I don't know about now, but one day we can come together to play one more campaign."
"Hey Anthony, do you think that we are ever going to do anything great with our lives?" he said looking sideways to his pal.
"I don't know Shawn. I don't know, but I think that we have the capacity for greatness."
"Yeah, but do you think that we will ever be good enough to be world famous, like Gandhi or Martin Luther King Junior?" he said looking to the warm blue skies.
"You never know for sure. It is always a possibility."
"Yeah. I-I guess it is." Shawn's eyes downcast.
The school bell rang abruptly, ruining the emotionally tense atmosphere. The two boys' eyes met. Shawn got to his feet and helped his friend up into his wheelchair. Anthony looked back to Shawn who was pushing him to his next class.
"Shawn, don't change who you are." he murmured.
I snapped out of my daydream. It has been a while since I last thought of Anthony. It has been three years, two months, one week, and five days since he passed away. I looked down at the homework I was doing. I glanced at my alarm clock. It was getting late, and I was beginning to contemplate asking for someone to send me a picture of the homework. But that wouldn't be what Anthony would've done. He would of stayed up finishing the homework instead of giving up. I threw my papers off of my desk. I threw myself onto my bed, face in my pillow. Why did I think of him? Why was I trying to be like him? I am not him. I am me. I got out of bed and gathered the loose papers scattered about. I set the papers down on my desk and picked up my phone. I texted one of my fellow peers for the homework. I immediately got a picture of the homework. I copied down the homework, relieved to be finished with my homework, but why was I feeling guilty. I laid down on my bed staring at the ceiling. The feeling wasn't going away. I rolled over to my side looking at the picture frame. I reached over and set the picture frame face down. I rolled over onto my other side, closing my eyes shut.
I tossed and turned before sitting up in bed. I put on a jacket and opened my window. I climbed out the window and dropped into my backyard. I hopped over my fence and started running. Maybe I can tire myself out so I can go to sleep. I ran toward the park and ran down the streets towards my high school.
The late night breeze pierced through my thin jacket as I ran. Breathing the cold air was hard, especially for a runner. I ran out of breath quicker than I usually would. I slowed down after my fifth lap around the school grounds. I power walked back towards my home. I couldn't wait to take a nice warm shower, and maybe even a glass of warm milk.
I didn't expect to see the sky when I woke. Did I collapse during my run? I grit my teeth when sharp pain emanated from the depths of my skull. I clutched my skull, hunching over in a fetal position. The pain stopped as quick as it had started. I got to my feet and immediately saw a duffel bag right besides me. A part of me told me not to mess with the duffel bag, but another part of me was drawn towards it, like it was calling me. I ignored the immediate urge and decided to take in the scenery. I surrounded by jagged stone walls that made me feel trapped. I saw two paths, one leading to a river and one which went around the corner to who knows where. My brain kicked in high gear. What would Bear Grylls do in this situation? I ignored the random thought of drinking my own urine. Bear Grylls would follow the river in hopes of finding civilization. Before I could follow the wisdom of Bear Grylls I had to figure out the mystery behind the duffel bag. I opened the duffel bag to find an armory of recognizable weapons and gadgets from the various games I had played. On top of the armory was a single piece of paper with a message scrawled on it. The message read: Good luck. I trust that you know what to do.
All I got was good luck. I didn't even get a formal explanation to why I was out in the middle of who knows where. Why was there some many weapons? How did it even fit in one duffel bag? I pulled out a syringe labeled as Finka's nanobots. I knew that this was from Rainbow Six, but the real question was what I was going to do with these gadgets. Maybe this armory stash was telling me that this place is dangerous. It was probably telling me to prepare to get into a confrontation, but why would they give me so many gadgets? They must care about my safety. I found the activation gloves for the nanobots as well as Ying's glasses and candelas. I attached a pouch full of candelas to my hip as well as a holster for a handgun. I slipped on the gloves and injected the nanobots into my wrist. I pulled out a microtech jagdkommando knife from the duffel bag surprised to see it. I don't remember seeing this weapon from any of the games I played. I shook off the feeling of confusion and strapped the knife behind my back at the waist. I clipped on some 9mm full metal jacket magazines for my STI 2011 handgun that I put in my holster. I finally put on Ying's glasses and slung the duffel bag over my shoulder.
I made my way to the riverbank. I remembered Bear Grylls mentioning to avoid making clothing wet, especially socks and shoes. I wasn't about to get trench foot. I took off my socks and shoes, putting it in my duffel bag. I waded through the ankle deep water, until I came across some brush. I pushed past the brush and walked into a large open space. I looked around and saw pairs of large stone sentinels towering over the wide path. I recognized where I was. I was in Summoner's Rift, more specifically in mid lane. How the hell was I here? I sat down by the edge of the brush, putting on my shoes.
When I was I finished tying the knot of my shoes, I heard some fighting. I unholstered the handgun, setting my duffel bag in the brush. My heart started picking up pace, my gun pointing towards the ground. I didn't want to get in the middle of a confrontation caught with a duffel bag of weapons. Bursting forth from the opposite side brush was two women, swords clashing together making sparks fly. I wanted to stop their fighting and alert them of my presence, but that would put me at risk. I saw distinct features of the women, they weren't from League of Legends. No they were from some other media.
"Esdeath, I will end you!" called out the black haired assassin.
In that moment I knew the people I was staring out. They were Esdeath and Akame from Akame ga Kill, but what were they doing here. I backed up behind a wall, obscuring their vision of me. That is when I felt the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of my head. I immediately tensed up and began to turn around.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." said a familiar voice.
I caught a flash of pink from the corner of my eye. I knew who was behind the gun.
"Drop the gun to the ground and put your hands in the air if you want to live."
I hesitated to dropped my handgun. It was my only form of defense I had on me, but then I realized what I was wearing. I dropped my handgun as well as a candela while I simultaneously activated my adrenaline surge. I turned around, slapping Mine's Pumpkin away of my face while she was still disorientated from the flashbang. I grabbed her wrist and shoulder and threw her to the ground using osoto gari. I transitioned to an omoplata stopping her usage of her Teigu as well as putting me in the demanding position. I took out my microtech jagdkommando knife and pushed it against the back of her head.
"Listen I'm sorry about this, but I don't want to die." I said before prompting knocking her out with the handle of the knife.
I slowly released her from the submission hold and sheathed my blade. I picked up my handgun and put it back into its holster. How was I going to interrupt their fight without anyone getting hurt? I went out from behind cover and recovered my duffel bag. I took out two Grzmot mines and hooked them to my hip. I set the duffel bag down and prepared to confront Esdeath and Akame.
"Hey, cut it out!" I yelled out, mentally facepalming myself. There was no way I would get their get their attention.
I was surprised to say the least when they actually put their fight on hold to stare at the random adolescent who dared to intervene. They looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something. I panic mentally, thinking about something to say. Would they kill me for interrupting?
"Hi there." I began trailing off. "So, I'm happy that you stopped fighting. I just wanted to stop you both from killing each other. No one has to die today and just wanted to say that you aren't in your world right now, so whatever argument you may have can be resolved at a later date." I inwardly cringed at my terrible argument.
"And what if I disobey." taunted Esdeath. "How could you stop me?"
I pursed my lips and wordlessly lobbed a candela at Esdeath's feet. I charged towards her as the candela went off. I drew my hand back for a wild haymaker, but I had to roll out of the way of an ice spike. I activated adrenaline surge and quickly pulled out my STI 2011 firing two warning shots at her feet.
"Don't make me shoot you. No one has to die today." I warned. I've never killed anyone in my life before. I unhooked a Grzmot mine and flicked out the pin out with one hand behind my back and gun trained on Esdeath.
Esdeath laughed at me as if she knew she was going to win. I saw her bring her hands up to use her Trump Card. I threw out a Grzmot mine as well as my last candela towards in hopes of interrupting her Trump card. The Grzmot exploded in above Esdeath's head stunning her. The candela went off blinding her as well. I dashed forward knocking her out with an uppercut to the chin. I pointed my gun immediately to Akame next.
"Listen, I know you want to kill her, but I can't allow that." I said backing away to create some distance between us.
I heard faint movement from behind me. I turned around quickly to see a flying metal fist come towards me. I tried to sidestep the hand, but it still caught my shoulder. I hit the ground and before I knew it I had Akame on top of me with her sword pointed at my throat. She motioned with her eyes to let go of the gun. I let go of the gun and immediately activate the Grzmot mine that I had on my hip. Akame backed away from me with her hands covering her ears. I rolled to the side, picking up my pistol and getting to my feet. I tried to point my pistol at Akame, but the metal hand grabbed my ankle as it retracted back, bringing me to the floor. Akame recovered and stomped on my hand, making me release my grip on the gun. She kicked it far out of my reach and sat on top of my back.
"You're not a target, but you got in the way. I will eliminate you." Akame muttered out bringing down her sword.
I closed my eyes shut, waiting for my impending death. But it never came, instead I heard a faint thud besides me. Akame fell to my side frozen in place, eyes widened in fear. I soon tensed up as well. It felt as though I had been submerged deep under the ocean. My breathing cut off and my eyes bulged out of my head. I felt my eyes roll up into my head as I lost consciousness.
I woke up to familiar sight of an off-white stucco ceiling. I turned to my side, expecting to see my nightstand, but instead I was meet face to face with health monitors. I heard the doorknob turn. I pretended to be asleep. I was glad to be Asian, because no one could tell if my eyes were close. Three summoners entered the room.
"How old do you think that this boy is?" said a man wearing ornately decorated robes.
"He looks like he is in his teen years." said a woman also dressed in ornate robes.
"We should recruit him into the Institute no matter his age is. We have to keep a strict surveillance over him. The technology he used is different and the fact that he showed up with the others with other worldly powers doesn't help. He seemed to recognized the Summoner's Rift as well as the some of the others we found. There are no records of him and he doesn't even give off a magic reading. He is potentially the most dangerous newcomer to this world." the most ornately decorated summoner said.
I decided that I heard enough and groaned in fake pain to signal that I was up. The Summoners became silent as they studied me. I opened my eyes fully and was immediately greeted by what looked like the highest Summoner.
"Greetings there, I'm Summoner Brian. What is your name and age?"
I thought carefully about the sort of information I was going to reveal. They were already aware that I recognized the world I was in as well as the others from Akame ga Kill. I'd have to admit that now unless I want to dig myself an early grave.
"My name is Shawn and I'm currently sixteen-years-old."
"Do you know what happened before you went unconscious?" Brian asked.
"Yes I was in the middle of a fight with black-haired assassin Akame."
"How much do you know about the people you fought and will you be willing to share that information with us?"
"I know all of their past actions and ideals, but I rather keep their secrets unless it is necessary to divulge that kind of information."
"Okay that is understandable." Brian said with a hint of suspicion is his eyes. "So what do you know about the Institute of War?"
"I know all of the champions that reside within the Institute. I know that the purpose of the Institute is to insure that wars don't cause world destruction through the use of magic as well as contain and keep watch over potentially world ending threats such the void creatures. Was my answer satisfactory for your interrogation?" I said through gritted teeth. I was revealing too much.
Brian pursed his lips and wordlessly left the room. His fellow colleagues followed suit. Brian stuck his head through the door one last time to throw my duffle bag at the foot of the bed. I got out the bed and opened the bag and was surprised to see all of my weapons and gadgets inside. I thought that for sure that they would have confiscated my small cache of weapons. But their laziness begs the question, were they confident that I wouldn't cause any disruption that they couldn't stop? They were able to make everyone go unconscious so it would make sense. I found my STI 2011 that I lost in the scuffle with Akame as well as the rest of my equipment. I armed myself once more and exited the room. Brian and his two friends were outside of my door waiting for me.
"Took you long enough to get back out. Come on we have the introduce you and the rest of the newcomers to the Institute. We are going to induct you all as the new Champions."
I nodded my head, no other option to choose. I wonder what the others were going to think of me. Did they want to kill me because of my knowledge? I felt my anxiety growing. I knew I was going to come fast to face with Akame and Esdeath again. I just hope these summoners were experts on restraining other people.
We soon entered a room full of people, all of whom I recognized. They all stared at me, looks like I was the last one to arrive. I stopped myself putting my hand on my forehead in awkwardness. I couldn't stop myself from averting my eyes.
"So Shawn, you claim to know everyone in this room. Care to demonstrate that knowledge?"
"Well that depends how much information I need to expose. I rather not paint a large target on my back."
"Pathetic, he lies. He doesn't know anything." sneered Katarina, the Sinister Blade.
I felt anger bubbling within me. I knew that I couldn't explode at her insult. I closed my eyes and breathed in heavily. I calmed down slowly but surely, until I heard another taunt.
"I knew he didn't know anything." Katarina said to Talon, loud enough for me to hear. That is when I lost my composure.
"Your full name is Katarina Du Couteau, loyal to Noxus, eldest daughter of General Du Couteau, sister to Cassiopeia, and adoptive sister to Talon. You failed to follow the orders of your father to slay a lowly officer within the Demacian Army. You thought the task was beneath and instead slayed the commander in his sleep. The officer you went sent to kill, slayed your father's soldiers. He barely escaped with his life. He shunned you for your mistake, making you seek out to kill Demetrius, the officer you originally sent out to kill, to complete the task in hopes of redeeming yourself. Your task was much harder now. Demetrius was guarded heavily due to his heroic deeds. You were distracted by your mistake, you almost lost your eye to an enemy soldier, but in the end you were able to deliver the head of Demetrius to your father. You knew that your mistake caused the death of many and you should have been killed for your folly. Instead, you were left without your father's approval. Now your father is missing in action. You've been searching for him for a long time, hoping that he isn't dead.
Tell me, was my response satisfactory? Did it meet your expectations of me or did it far exceed them? Do you want to kill me now for what I know or what I said?" I said with cold fury.
"You challenged my intelligence and I retorted out of spite. I too fall victim to the vices of man, but that weakness only makes me human." I turned to look at Brian.
"I refuse to be apart of an organization where the concept of killing others for one's own benefit is promoted. I won't give up my freedoms because you believe that I am threat. I'm entitled to my own opinion and I won't back down from a fight for my rights. I support your motivation to prevent the destruction of the world, but I am not going to slave away for the betterment of society. We as a people are so infinitesimally inconsequential, in the grand machinations of the limitless universe. How many people have lived and died? How many more yet to come? Can we really say that we are the only form of intelligent life to exist in the universe? Physics can explain how the universe works, but it cannot definitely prove how we came into existence or even why we came into existence?" I sighed turning to address everyone in the room.
"I apologize for my rant, I was having an existential crisis due to quite real possibility of me being trapped here with the rest of you. What was I even thinking, stating that I didn't want to participate in the League? Where would I even go? I apologize in advance for my current abrasive nature. It will take me some time to get accustomed to life here. I will open up, revealing my true personality, taking into account that my head isn't squashed like a grape during that time period."
"So you're going to join the League?"
"It's not like I have much of a choice. Fair warning, it is a likely possibility that I am carrier of many diseases that you have not experienced before. So, if I am the cause of a huge epidemic, just know that it was me. But you might have diseases that I haven't experienced before. Hey if any, we have mutually assured our own destruction. However, I don't know if magic can prevent viruses or illnesses. If it can, that would be great."
"Magic can cure sicknesses. As a champion of the League you won't age, you won't get sick, and you won't die."
"Wait for real?" I said in shock. "I was looking forward to dying. That was my end goal to life. I had it all planned out. I was going to jump into a volcano. I'm opposed to being burial. The dead would take up so much space. If the dead really wanted to be buried at least plant a tree over them so that their dead body can feed nutrients to the tree and continue the cycle of life."
My response shocked a lot of people in the room. I awkwardly averted my eyes from some of the sidelong glances from the onlookers. I thought over what I just said. I inwardly cringed when I remembered that most of the people in the room lost friends or family in their life. I muttered an apology.
"Do you have any more comments?" Brian asked with an arched eyebrow.
I wanted to be silent to prevent myself from digging a deeper hole. Everyone saw my face fraught from the inner struggle to remain silent. The mental blockade from my mouth to my brain was being overwhelmed by the many complaints I had. I opened my mouth to spout out a complaint, but I stopped in mid-syllable.
"You know I do have more complaints but I have already too much of everyone's time. I'll just file a complaint at a later date."
"No, no I insist that you continue to state your concerns. It's quite entertaining to hear you talk." Brian said with a smile.
"I'm confident that everyone doesn't agree with you." I said motioning to the other's mildly annoyed expressions.
I frowned at Brian's disappointment. I was not a form of entertainment. I was definitely not a stand-up comedian. Brian had me quickly say the names of the people from the world of Akame ga Kill. I received intense gazes from everyone, and I returned a goofy smile. The next thing Brian wanted to do with me was test my skills to see what made me stand out from the other current champions.
The first test I had to do was a speed shooting competition against some of the gunslingers from the League. I unzipped my duffle bag and attached more speed-loaders to my holster. I put in my ear plugs as well as my earmuffs. I put my hands behind my head. Some of the champions laughed at my starting posture due to it looking like I was surrendering. I told Brian to start the test. He pulled out a modern stopwatch and gave me a countdown. I zoned out everyone out. It was only me and the six metal targets. I had to hit each target twice, reload and do the same process again until I ran out of clips attached to my hip.
Brian said start and I was off. I activated adrenaline surge while bringing my handgun up to shoot. The red dot sight aligned to my right eye, I quickly emptied out magazine after magazine on the targets. I fired the last bullet and looked over to Brian to see how I did. Everyone was speechless. Did that mean that I did something that was impossible.
"How did I do?" I asked holstering my handgun.
"3.68 seconds." Brian muttered out.
"Hey that's pretty good for five magazines."
"Pretty good? That is faster than most marksmen can shoot." Sarah Fortune.
"Thank you. That is a compliment coming from someone like yourself. I honestly didn't think my time was that impressive." I said in confusion.
If my time was impressive than what made the others so special? Was it their special tools and not their affinities? Or was it really just to contain people? Was it really a place where the best of the best fight. The next test was with other firearms. They were curious which was my best firearm. I felt as though it wasn't to test my skill, but to witness the destructive power of my guns. When I was sifting through my duffel bag for boxes of ammunition, I found multiple types of bullets. Some of them , I've never shot before because it was outlawed where I was from. I took out a Mossberg 930 shotgun, the shotgun that Jerry Miculek used in all of his shotgun shooting competitions, as well as the speed loaders filled with slugs. Brian changed the steel targets out for ballistic gel shaped in the form of a human torso.
I knew they just wanted to know my efficiency to assess my danger threat. Should I intentionally mess up or will they know I am handicapping myself? I didn't look forward to shooting the targets, I was losing my competitive edge. I looked at some the champions and some of the members of Night Raid. I pointed the barrel to the ground, getting ready to shoot.
He said go. I pointed up, activating adrenaline surge once again. I hesitated for a brief millisecond, but in speed shooting a single millisecond was a lot of time. After the first shot, the rest of the shots came out naturally. Each shoot tore off a chunk of the ballistic gel. I used the speed loaders making sure to have one slug in the chamber, so I didn't have to rechamber a round after each reload. Each target barely resembled a human torso after I fire my last slug. I took off my earmuffs and earplugs. I packed away my shotgun. It was onto the next challenge.
It was a bow challenge. Everyone was surprised when I demonstrated my ability to curve arrows through my knowledge of arrow trajectories. Even the bow wielders were impressed when I was able to hit a target around a corner. I showed that my extreme accuracy with the bow. But I proved my absolute uselessness at throwing knives, but I was able to redeem myself during card throwing. Though I disappointed the ax and knife throwers, I was able to earn Twisted Fate's respect. I showcased my ability to turn every sword and ax fight into a unarmed battle where I would utilized my mixed martial arts to defeat my opponents. While I failed to demonstrate proper swordsmanship, at least I was able skip my unarmed combat tests.
The next couple of challenges were to test the extent of my intelligence. Little did they know, but in my world common core allowed me to know random tidbits of everything. Although my math, science, reading, and, philosophy were definitely my forte. I feel like my random knowledge of various poisons and the intricacies of the human body caused more alarm than respect. I only made the Summoners feel more uncomfortable around me, the opposite of what I intended.
What happened next distracted their attention of of me, the people from Akame ga Kill had to go through the same challenges. I knew how powerful they were, but no one else did. Most of them didn't reveal their Teigu either, they were holding back their true power. I didn't say anything thought, I didn't want to confront them and make people fear them. But maybe I should. It would get the suspicion away from me, but it would likely make a permanent adversary. Is it worth it though?
"Shawn, I feel as though they are holding back their true power. Am I correct?" asked Brian.
I remained silent.
"I thought so. Don't be afraid to reveal your true power. If you won't demonstrate your power. I will ask Shawn about your power." Brian taunted.
"You can't just shove words down my mouth. I never once said that I was going to reveal everything I know. I actually have respect for people's privacy despite my knowledge of other people's lives."
Brian frowned out my response, but said nothing. He teleported everyone into a large auditorium in front of a council of summoners. He reported that he has completed "interviewing" the others and me. The summoner sitting in the center of council spoke up.
"From this moment forward you are all Champions of the League. You will be provided a room here within the Institute. Any questions?"
I raised my hand. Everyone looked at me. They thought I was thought I was done acting stupid, but they haven't seen anything yet.
"Is it possible for me to start my own country by participating in the League?"
There were some laughter. But the head summoner saw that I was being dead serious.
"If you can beat the other factions you will be able to start your own country."
"Ok, I know what I am going to do for the next couple of years." I looked over at the Night Raid and the Jaegers.
My smile unnerved the people who laughed at me. They had no idea of the devastation I could unleash onto the world. I was going to flip this world upside down. The head summoner dismiss us all. I headed over to Night Raid and the Jaegers, I wanted to see if I could get them to join the country I was planning to create. I had no idea how I was going to deal with the deep-rooted animosity between the two groups. Well, I've got to fake it until I make it. The head summoner gave a quick speech on what it meant to be a Champion of the League and the expectations of being a Champion. Then they spoke a quick incantation and all of the new Champions were highlighted by an ethereal blue glow. It felt as though I was submerged under water. The head summoner welcomed us to the League and us room keys as well as a map of the Institute of War. Once I recovered from the sluggishness from the incantation I headed over to start an alliance system.
"Hello, Najenda and hello Esdeath, I know that you don't me and are alarmed that I seemed to know a lot about you, but may I call for a truce? I wish to make an alliance with both of your groups. I believe that this alliance can be mutually beneficial. I understand if you are unable to accept my offering of an alliance, due to your history of being enemies. Even, if you don't wish to join my alliance for good intentions, you can join it to maintain a watchful eye over my every action. But that is just in case you don't believe me, I yearn for the trust of everyone here."
"You defeated me in combat. The strong can do whatever they want to the weak." said Esdeath kneeling down at my feet. "You can do what you wish with me."
Esdeath's statement shocked everyone around me, including myself. I knew about Esdeath's ideology of the weak and strong, but I didn't expect her to submit herself to me. Her groveling attracted unwanted attention.
"There is no need for this. Please stand up. I don't agree with your life philosophy."
"That doesn't matter. I will follow you until you discard me or kill me." Esdeath said standing up.
"I believe that you are many times stronger than me, I just caught a lucky break. You didn't know what kind of gadgets I had with me and I knew what you could do."
"That doesn't excuse my loss." she stated firmly.
"Ok, ok I get it." I said accepting that Esdeath suddenly became my slave. What was life coming to. "So Najenda, will you be accepting my offer?" I asked.
"Give me some time to consider this alliance." stated Najenda looking at Esdeath and me with disbelief.
"No problem. Thank you for taking the time out of your life to consider my offer. We will reconvene at a later date when you have your answer." I said politely with a small bow.
I walked over to the Jaegers who overheard my conversation as well as seen Esdeath submitting to me. They were wary when I got closer to them. They all had their hands on their weapons. I raised my hands up in the air. They didn't look any less chary. I sighed, they didn't trust me. They knew about my quickdraw.
"So, I guess I am the new leader of the Jaegers. I hope you will accept me as the new leader in time." I began. "I know it will take time for me to convince you that I'm a nice guy, but I'm willing to spend that time in order to convince you all. You don't have to like me or even respect me, but I hope that you will listen to what I have to say. You can contemplate whether or not you are willing to accept me as your leader, but until then I wish the best for you in life."
I walked out of the auditorium and strolled about the criss-crossing hallways with Esdeath following close behind me. I explored the Institute until I eventually stumbled across the mess hall of the Institute. I was feeling quite famished, so I entered the cafeteria to see what kind of food they served here. I saw some Noxians approaching me as soon as they saw me. Swain came up to me and stared down at me.
"I heard that you were planning to make a country. I don't know how easy you think it is to make a country, but I guarantee that you won't be successful."
"Thanks for the words of encouragement. Now if you don't mind me, I'm trying to get some food." I said walking past him.
Katarina grabbed my wrist and held me back. I looked at her. My free hand edged toward my knife. Her eyes showed worry. I knew what she wanted to ask, I moved my hand from my knife, shook off her grip and took a couple steps back.
"I'm sorry. I don't know where your father is."
"No, you're lying. You know where he is." she screamed pointing her blade at my chest
"Why would I lie? There is no reason for me to lie." I stated softly. I saw her heartache when she looked away from me. "Hey, have some hope. I'm sure your father is strong enough to survive out in the wilds."
Katarina's head perked up, she was about to ask another question but I had already walked away. I picked up a metal tray and started scooping food onto my tray. I got myself a portion of rice, chicken and carrots. I sat down at the end of an empty table with Esdeath sitting across from me.
"Why did you choose to give her false hope? Do you perhaps wish to make her weaker through emotions?" asked Esdeath.
"I don't see how it is false hope. It is a likely possibility that her father is still alive. I don't understand why you believe that I would have ulterior motives behind my words."
"Your eyes were very dead, as if you didn't care about you said."
"That is a baseless explanation. What do eyes have to say about conveying emotions? Some people's eyes are dulled due to being broken and overcoming that brokenness whether or not they came out of it better. Also, people keep their guard up when they are distrustful towards other people." I sighed. "Come on, now is not the time to have a debate. I'm trying to eat." I said.
I could tell that Esdeath didn't buy into my pathetic excuse to change subjects. Thankfully she didn't say anything. I ate in silence thinking about the future plans. I reached into my duffel bag and withdrew one of the phones to the drones. I opened up the phones and saw all of the various apps on the phone. I had an idea with the sight of the multiples apps. I opened up Safari and searched up Youtube. Much to my disappointment, the text appeared stating that it needed to be connected to the Internet. I looked up to the heavens silently cursing all of the gods' names. I looked back down at my phone and scrolled to the music application. I clapped my hands together in delight, praising the gods' names. Within the music application, I found a playlist containing all of my favorite songs. I opened up the photos and videos application and almost died in happiness at the sight of my collection of photos as well as various saved Television shows, movies, and Youtube videos.
I looked back into the duffle bag to see if I could find some earphones or at least some headphones, but much to my dismay there were none to be found. I guess I had to play my playlist loud and proud. I scrolled to a specific song, I turned up the volume to max and played the song Through the Valley by Shawn James. Not only did I like the song, but I also liked the fact that I shared the same first name as the composer. While the song was playing I got out another phone and started typing some notes. I wrote up a constitution for the country I was going to create based on the American Constitution. I then wrote up a war plan. I had to act cleverly like Otto Von Bismarck.
The song ended and autoplayed the next song Crossfire by Stephen. I paused my train of thought and realized that I was in a room of soldiers and warriors. I looked around me and saw the stares of everyone in the room. I let the song finish playing before turning my phone off. The rest of the Jaegers sat by my side looking at me like I was a piece of meat. Some of them were intrigued, others confused.
"That was a very interesting song." stated Wave awkwardly, trying to make small talk.
"Way to make the situation awkward for me. Well I guess I can formally introduce myself to you all, if we are going to be working with each other. I thought about doing a team- bonding exercise, but I realize that perhaps that would be useless because you are all comrades in arms while I am the outsider. Well you can ask any question and I will answer to the best of my ability. But if you ask me a question, I can ask you a question. You don't have to answer if you feel uncomfortable with my question."
"How do you know us?" asked Kurome.
"You wouldn't understand. I don't think that you will be able to handle the truth. I'm not going to reveal that information to you all or anyone else in the hopes that no ones starts to doubt their own existence. If don't think that was a satisfactory answer, you have to infer what I mean when I say, 'they would doubt their own existence.' " I said. "If you can't understand that. Come to me in private and I will tell you the truth. I rather not say with a crowd. Anyways I've got a question for you. So I understand that you feel betrayed by your sister Akame due to you believing that she left you for the revolution, but she wanted to bring you along with her so you could fight against Empire together." Kurome tried to unsheathe her blade, but Esdeath stopped her.
"Why is it so difficult for you to overcome your feeling of betrayal in order to reconcile with your sister? Shouldn't the familial bond be stronger than the loyalty to the Empire? After all, what has the Empire really done to you besides mold you into an obedient assassin dependent on a drug. You don't have to answer like I said. I just want you all to reconsider your life decisions. After all, this is a new start for all of us."
"Don't you think your question was a bit blunt?" asked Wave.
"Do you want to me to say sorry? Sorry that I care about restoring relations between siblings?" I stated sarcastically, getting agitated. I turned Kurome. "You know what, I'm sorry that I intruded on your personal life. I was overstepping my boundaries. I was just trying to do what I thought was the right thing." I stated calmly. "I will take my leave now. I'm going to strike up conversation with some of the Demacians to see their political viewpoint of the representation of their people. If you wanted to ask me some more questions just come find me later." What I didn't mention was that I wanted to leave before I made the situation more awkward than it already was.
I got off the bench and strolled on over to the Demacian table. Their eyes rotated towards me as soon as I got within a five foot proximity. Garen and Xin Zhao stood and came to block me from reaching Prince Jarvan IV. Prince Jarvan thankfully called them off. They backed off but still had their weapons drawn. I tried to ignore their hostility, but it is kind of hard to ignore a spear pointed at my heart. I didn't necessarily understand their hostility, I wasn't heavily armored like Garen.
"So I came here to discuss a political issue that I was wondering how you were going to address it. I'd greatly appreciate if you would kindly discuss this topic with me."
"Sure thing, take a seat." Jarvan said motioning to the empty seat across from him.
I glanced at the empty seat. Shyvana was sitting next to that empty seat. I doubted that seat placement had any ulterior motives behind it, but I wasn't so sure with Shyvana's visage. I hesitantly sat down across from Jarvan and right next to the half-dragon. I felt the heat radiating off of her body even though there was a good two feet between us. I shifted around uncomfortably for a while before I finally spoke.
"Would you say that you are a firm supporter of the current existing division of the nobles and the commoners? I understand that the nobles have more expectations of them, but keeping the council of the King just for nobles doesn't allow for the representation of the citizens of Demacia. Also I don't believe it leaves much room for differing perspectives. After all, there isn't the perspective of a farmer or a merchant who might be affected by newer laws or taxes. I know that you are a rather large agrarian society. I would like to know why there isn't that much representation of them. How would you go about addressing this issue? If you are planning to address it, when are you going to remedy this issue, because you are bound to have many more pressing matters at hand? I simply want to know where it falls on a priority list."
"Well I haven't thought about that. You are the first person to ask about this issue. I wasn't aware that there was a lack of representation of my people."
"So would you admit that this a fault of the current constitutional monarchy system?" I questioned, leaning forward.
"I don't know if I can answer that one."
"That's okay. I'll ask again later when you are better prepared to answer said question. Anyways, would you acquiesce my acquaintance? I do hope that we later become friends. I will be taking my leave now. Our talk was quite nice, even though you didn't really answer any of my questions, but that is okay."
"It was nice to talked to you as well. You are possibly the most interesting teenager I've met. Not only are you polite, but also you're quite intelligent for a teenager." Jarvan IV complimented.
I ignored my swelling ego and stated, "You're too kind. I've have to go, see you around some time." I stuck out my hand for a handshake which Jarvan IV kindly returned.
I turned to Sona before I left.
"Hello Sona, as you might have already heard, I happen to enjoy music. I also can play music and create music. So I was wondering if you can possibly give me some blank sheet music and allow me to borrow a piano."
"I'd be happy to support a musician," Sona telepathically spoke in my mind.
It was a weird sensation, hearing her voice within my head. It was as if a feather was tickling the inside of my brain. It felt unnatural and wrong not to see someone's mouth not moving,but registering a voice.
"Stop by my room later this evening. My room is D42. But if you are so eager to play already there is a piano in the corner of the cafeteria." Sona stated pointing behind me.
I looked back to where Sona was pointing to and there it was in all of its magnificence. It was a sleek black upright piano. It reminded me of the upright piano I had in my own home. I made my way towards the piano. I lifted the lid and took off the protective velvet cover. I pulled back the piano chair, sitting down and resting my hands on the smooth unused piano keys. I glance back at the others in the room before looking back down in my hands. What kind of piece would I play? A easy or difficult piece? What genre of music would I play? I decided to play one of my favorite romantic pieces. Liebesleid by Kreisler transposed by Rachmaninoff, a piece made for violin remade to fit a piano.
The crisp sound of the piano rung through the air. The usual chatter within the cafeteria stopped. I could tell that their eyes were on me. I enraptured their attention with my resonating music. I closed my eyes and let my muscle memory kick in. All the repetitive practice lead up to this moment. How could I have foresaw this situation? Why was I doing this? Did I have something to prove?
I striked the final chord, finally realizing that I was unusually calm. My heart would usually beat faster when I played for a crowd. I must have been able to lose myself within the music drifting in a trance as I traveled to another plane of existence. I cracked my knuckles and scooted my seat closer to the piano. I begin to play Chopin's Etude Op. 25 No. 5 "The Wrong Note Etude." I loved the perfect imperfections as it slowly transitioned into the most beautiful melody. When the piece finally ended I was left wondering whether or not I continue to play. What would I play next? Do I continue to play romantic era pieces or should I move on to contemporary pieces? I wish I had a wristwatch, then I would be able to tell when to call it quits. I glance back quickly to Night Raid's table.
I wondered to myself what kinds of music that this world had. Surely the Pentakill skin lore wasn't real in this world. I could only hope that they at least had classical music. So that means I would have to introduce the styles of ragtime, boogie woogie, and jazz. It was my duty as a cultured citizen. I began playing Bluet Rag by Aaron Robinson to fill my quota of ragtime pieces. I played the Boogie Woogie Stomp causing a subtle confusion of change of style. I wrapped it up some jazz through the most modern piece I knew Jump Up, Super Star from Super Mario Odyssey. What better way to show respect to my gamer culture than to play a song from a series that started it all?
I stood up, covered the piano keys, closed the lid, and scooted the bench under the piano. I strolled over to Night Raid's table, ignoring the multiple stares from everyone else. I sat down right next Najenda. I tried to not the situation more awkward.
"So how was that? Did you not expect me to be able to play a musical instrument?" I said to Night Raid.
"That was beautiful. How did you learn to play music?" asked Najenda.
"Well my parents forced me to learn. I never really appreciated the forced teaching until I got good at it." I said truthfully. "Honestly I used to hate performing in front of others, but you know the famous saying. Practice makes perfect. Unless of course it just makes you more nervous about messing up. So Najenda, I have a question for you. How many bones are in a hand?"
She paused, not sure where I was going. Little did she know that I was planning something truly devious. She must have saw my sly grin, because she didn't make an attempt to answer. She looked at me suspiciously and asked me for the answer.
"A handful." I stated before getting up and walking away.
By the look on Najenda and the groans of the fellow members of Night Raid they weren't expecting that answer. I laughed on the inside as I made my way to the exit with my duffel bag slung over my shoulder. Today was a good day. I took out my map of the Institute and calculated the shortest route to my dorm room. From the look of it, Sona's room was on the opposite of my room. I praised my good luck. I entered my room expecting to see a rather spartan room, but instead I came into a lavishly furnished room.
I set the my duffel bag at the foot of the bed. I unpacked laying down all of the gadgets to get a full inventory check. I laid all of my firearms on my bed and all of my gadgets on the floor. I cleaned my guns making sure that they were in tip-top shape. I had to participate in a match tomorrow according to the Head Summoner. I took out a C8-SFW changing out parts to create the most effective weapon. I attached an ACOG scope and Buck's Skeleton Key, under barrel shotgun. I changed out the parts to have a side charger to have ease of reloading. I attached a laser to the side of the barrel and attached a flash hider. I planned to fire in small burst to deal some damage and then reposition. I packed a backpack full of explosives and ammunition. I put back all the firearms and gadgets I wasn't going to use in the upcoming battle. I set down the gear I was going to wear. I was planning to go medium on armor, but I didn't know if I wanted to bring a shield as well. I didn't want to get shot, but carrying a shield would greatly hinder my mobility.
What was more important to me, attacking or defending? I set down Blitz's G52 Tactical Shield by the bedside. It will provide basic defense as well as an offensive tactic of disorientating the enemies. I decided to take it at the expense of losing some of my explosives and ammunition. I sighed leaning against the foot of the bed with my rifle in my lap. I closed my eyes, thinking about the moments I just went through. What possessed me to do all of those things?
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK* My eyes snapped open and I pointed at the wooden door. I slowly got up. There was no peephole, so I had no idea who was behind the door. Who would even try to get in contact with me? I pointed my rifle to the ground and opened the door a crack. I looked through to see Akame standing right behind the door. I opened door all the way greeting Akame.
"Hello Akame," I greeted warmly. "What are you doing at my rather humble abode?" I asked as she entered my room.
She looked at the rifle in my hand and at the firearms strewn all over my bed. I saw her confused expression. I closed the door and set down my rifle against the bed.
"I was preparing for tomorrow where I might have to kill someone for the first time ever." I said to answer Akame's thoughts. "So what are you doing here?"
"I followed you to ask you some questions." she said slowly, studying the weapons on top the bed. Her hand moved to grasp the hilt of her sword.
"Ok. What are your questions for me?" I said slowly noting her suspicion towards me. I backed up a couple paces from her.
"Do you really think that you can create a peaceful country?" she asked worried.
I saw the vulnerability in her eyes. Her longing, her broken spirit. My heart yearned to comfort her, to hug her. But my fear told me to stay away. My hand rose to clasped my chest, my heart hurt. It felt as though fingers were wrapped around my heart. I breathed in sharply. What was this feeling? Empathy? Compassion? I looked down at Akame's feet. What did I really know about them besides what they experienced?
"I live in a world where peace has already been achieved but is under the constant threat of those who seek to upturn the serenity in my world." I said looking up into her hopeful eyes. "I believe that I recreate my world's peace within this world. It won't be perfect. I can't stop all of the evils from happening, but I can stop most of them. Akame, I promise you that I will try my best to save the world from itself, but can you promise me something. If I even step out of line, if I ever fail, if I ever become power hungry, can you end my life?"
She silently nodded and I silently thanked her. I opened the door for Akame as she made her exit. I closed the door she disappeared around the corner. I sat down, laying my back against the door. Tears welled up in my eyes. My teeth grinding together, preventing any sound to escape. What did I get myself into?
