School Days

By Dominus Princeps

Chapter One: Yu-Yu Meets Marty

"I'm gonna talk to...her today."

"Yeah, right. You never manage more than a stuttered 'Hello'."

"S'what you think! I'm gonna talk to her today!"

"Fine. Your gateway to eternal damnation wreathed in unending hellfire."

"You make life so pleasant, Kratos."

"My job, Yuan."

The boy sitting across the table from Kratos sighed. Kratos wore a dark purple tee-shirt with a pair of crossed swords—one red and one blue. He had on pants of the same color purple as his shirt. Kratos' hair defied gravity in ways no one had ever dreamed of. To boot, the high-schooler also adored Twinkies, and ate every single one he could find. Yuan gagged as Kratos shoved another one of the excruciatingly sugary morsels into his mouth. Yuan, on the other hand, wore more colorful clothing, and had on a different set of clothes every day. Kratos, it seemed, wore the same shirt and the same pants every single day.

"Well? You gonna go talk to her?" Kratos asked skeptically, crumbs of the Twinkie in his mouth spilling out onto his lunch tray. Yuan finished the milk carton held in his hand and set in on his tray before picking the tray that held his trash and going to throw it away. As he walked off, a gorgeous young woman with pale blond hair came over to sit beside Kratos.

"Um...Twinkie Kid?" she asked shyly. Kratos looked over at her whilst stuffing his namesake into his mouth. The girl cringed, but masked it well.

"Your friend...um, Yuan, right?" she prompted. Kratos nodded mutely, chewing.

"Is he nice?" the girl asked. Kratos swallowed.

"He's alright. He so loves you", the rusty-haired boy replied.

"Um. Really? O-okay..." the blond stammered. At this time, Yuan turned from the trash and saw his friend Kratos talking casually with...her. Yuan froze as a number of different possibilities ran through his mind in half a second. One. Kratos and she have been dating this entire time, which is why Kratos is so skeptical. Two. Kratos is trying to ask her out, and thus is skeptical. Three. He is buying me time so that I can get all spiffed up. I have...reasonable trust in my buddy, so I'll go with three. Yuan turned and ran into the bathroom.

"Hey, was that him?" Kratos' inquirer asked.

"Who?" Kratos responded through a mouthful of Twinkie. The girl bit her lip to keep from saying something about his eating habits.

"No one. Never mind", she sighed.

ooo

"'Kay, Yuan. Get yourself together. Martel is just talking with Kratos. So...gotta act cool. Okay. Let's see...'Hey, Martel, you like movies?' ...No, too direct. 'Hi, there, Martel. Say, you doin' anything after school?' ...No, too roundabout. 'Hey, Martel, how are you? Hey, just wonderin'...got any plans this afternoon?' ...Perfect!" Yuan muttered.

"Dude, shut up! I'm trying to take a crap here!" a voice came from a stall.

"Sorry!" Yuan hissed. He splashed his face with water and checked his blue hair to see if it looked presentable. It did, and Yuan planned out how he would respond to Martel's various questions. Dating was harder than it seemed, he decided.

ooo

"Say, Twinkie Kid...what's your real name?" the girl asked Kratos finally.

"...Kratos Aurion. You're Martel Yggdrasill , if I'm not mistaken", Kratos replied.

"Yes. Um...you have any advice on what I should say to Yuan?" Martel inquired.

"Well, he's kind of shy, but not so much so. Be firm, but not direct. But then again, not too indirect. Say something like, 'Hi, there, Yuan, how are you? Hey, just wonderin'...got any plans this afternoon?' Something like that", Kratos advised sagely. Martel nodded. She smiled at the boy, but her smile was not noticed. Kratos was busy unwrapping another Twinkie. Martel rolled her eyes at the rusty-haired student. His nickname was well-earned. She turned and saw him come in. His blue hair looked...wet and floppy. He was walking like a Meltokio gangster...but it was funny. Maybe that was what he was getting at...so Martel began to laugh. Yuan turned bright red and scratched his head.

"Um...H-hi, M-Martel...doyoulikemoviesI'mfreethisafternooncanIpickyouupsixo'clock?" it came out in one long, horrible word. Martel laughed harder.

"You're-hahaha-funny, Yuan. Really funny! Ha ha ha ha ha!" she giggled, wiping tears from her eyes. Kratos gave Yuan a sarcastic thumbs-up whilst savoring what had to be the thirteenth Twinkie he'd eaten in the past ten...make that seven minutes. Yuan glared at his friend and sat down across from Martel. She gave him a dazzling smile.

"Six o'clock, you said?" she beamed. Yuan nodded, mouth hanging open from the power of that smile. She giggled at him again.

"Okay. See you then! Oop, lunch is over! Bye bye, Yuan!" the beautiful girl smiled. Kratos licked his fingers.

"Dude, you so totally blew it. Guess she likes dating people who are limber...because you somehow got both feet and your ass inside your mouth", Kratos grinned. Yuan glared at him.

"Sh-shut up! Don't see you with any dates!" Yuan snapped. Kratos laughed, a rare occurrence.

"Why date girls when you can spend that time eating Twinkies?" the spiky-haired boy asked as he grabbed his pack and practice sword from behind his chair.

"Humph. See you seventh period, Kratos", Yuan grumbled.

"Until then, Yuan", Kratos replied. He strode out the door. Kratos stopped by his locker and was abruptly slammed against it by a muscular man with extremely eccentric red hair.

"Nebilim, cut it out. It's not funny", Kratos glowered, giving his aggressor his best frightening glower. Nebilim chuckled.

"You just wait till after school, Twinkie Kid! I'll beat you up bad! Heh heh heh!" the bully grinned toothily. Kratos shook his head and put several textbooks into his pack (A Magic Swordsman's Guide to Magic and Swords, How To Be Mysterious and Unreadable, The Complete Book on Your Secret Hidden Personality, and Twinkies: The Perfection Behind the Pastry). Kratos grabbed a box of Twinkies from his locker and left for his next class: Magic. Kratos liked that class. It was fun. Especially "accidentally" aiming Grave at his partner Nebilim. That was a very fun day of class. Kratos always paid attention to the professor. Especially now that they were going into the more advanced magic techniques.

ooo

Yuan, however, was completely ignoring whatever the teacher was saying about the healing arts. He was busy staring dreamily at Martel, who sat a row ahead of him and one row to the right. Her blond head was dutifully down, and taking notes. Yuan sighed. He loved a hard-working woman.

"Yuan! Tell me the incantation for Revitalize!" a harsh voice snapped. Yuan, startled, whipped up and babbled the first thing that came to mind.

"I call upon thee in the land of the dead, to unleash thy fury of thunder?" he said, remembering something Kratos had told him about a really cool spell he had read about.

"Yuan, Yuan...you'll never pass this class if you don't pay attention!" Yuan only listened to the last part of the sentence: "don't pay attention". He only heard that part because he was too absorbed in Martel's stifled laughter. She really liked him! He blushed.

"Now, I know you are embarrassed because I called you out, but remember, studying and paying attention is key to passing this class. Good things will happen if you do these things, and you might go to war and realize you love healing sick people!" the teacher droned. Yuan only heard, "Good things...happen...to...love...sick people!" Yuan nodded dreamily and sat down. Satisfied, the teacher went back to demonstrating the practical uses of the spell Healing Stream. Yuan returned to his gazing at Martel. She is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo gorgeous...I'm in love!

ooo

Kratos trudged onto sixth period. Sixth period was cooking...and today was tomato day. Kratos hated tomatoes. It was a strange thing...but as much as he loved Twinkies, likewise did he hate tomatoes. Kratos pondered what disgusting dish of tomatoes would be cooked today. Perhaps spaghetti...or tenderloin...Kratos shivered. Tomatoes were yucky and red. They were also wet and prone to bursting. Kratos shivered again and shoved a Twinkie into his mouth. The Twinkies were good to him. They never lied...they always made Kratos feel better about life. Twinkies never cheated on someone...they were always faithful. Kratos wondered what Yuan saw in Martel, but decided not to worry. Besides, Yuan's problem if he got his heart broken. Kratos stepped into sixth period and sighed. Tenderloin and spaghetti. Life sucked. Kratos ate another Twinkie to keep his mind off that fact and sat down in his chair in the back row. Tomatoes sucked. At least the bliss that came with the Twinkie kept that thought at bay.

ooo

Yuan stepped out of sixth period (History, yech!) and walked down the hall to his next class. He found Kratos waiting at the door, munching obliviously on a Twinkie.

"You know all those Twinkies are really bad for your health", Yuan remarked.

"Well, I'm going to grow up and be an angel, so then I won't have to worry about that", Kratos retorted through a mouthful of sugary ecstasy. Yuan rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, right. Like you could ever become an angel! Besides the fact that only half-elves so far have been angels!" the blue-haired boy argued.

"And I'm gonna be the first human to be an angel, so there. Now leave me and my Twinkie in peace", Kratos pouted, shoving the rest of the treat down his throat. Yuan almost gagged.

"So, you did your Spellcasting homework, right?" Yuan asked. Kratos grinned and held up what had once been a teddy bear. It was now charred and tattered.

"Eruption works like a charm...'cept it's a spell", the rusty-haired boy smirked. Yuan held up his to match. Both stuffed animals were equally incinerated...just in varying spots. The pair walked eagerly into Spellcasting. It was a fun class.

ooo

Kratos and Yuan staggered out of Spellcasting, hair standing on end (well, Yuan's was noticeably raised; Kratos' was just a tad more strange than it usually was).

"Thunder Blade...is soooooo cool..." Kratos spoke for both of them. He grinned for a split second before stuffing a Twinkie into his mouth. Yuan nodded.

"I know...it goes like, 'BOOM! And then BZZ-ZZ-ZZ!" he agreed. They grabbed the books they needed to take home, then strolled out the front doors...and were faced with a spiky haired man wielding two blades and greaves, not to mention an ax across his back and a mean-looking long sword. He was also sporting a hairdo to rival Kratos' own.

"Nebilim", Kratos and Yuan both said the name with equal spite and distaste, as if it were one of Kratos' attempts at spaghetti (which, this afternoon, was actually not so bad).

"Heh heh heh! I toldja I was gonna beat ya up bad, Twinkie Kid! Maybe your buddy can share the fun! Heh heh heh!" Nebilim chuckled, twirling his two swords.

"Leave us alone, Nebilim. It's not funny, seriously", Yuan grumbled. He and Kratos moved to pass him, but Nebilim blocked their way with his swords.

"Nope, can't run from me!" he smirked.

"Hey, leave 'em alone!" Yuan's knees wobbled as he heard the defiant, nigh-angelic voice. She was coming to their rescue! Yuan gave her a stupid grin as she stood beside them.

"Oh, so Marty wants some fun too, eh? Well, I guess you all want some!" Nebilim sneered.

"Hey, leave my sister alone!" another voice came. Yuan and Kratos turned to see a lone, blond boy come running up, a kendama clutched in his grip. Martel had taken out her staff.

"Well...let's do it!" Nebilim said. Kratos drew his sword, and Yuan took out his double-bladed sword.

"I will show you...my true power!" Nebilim howled as they charged him. Yuan and Kratos ran up close, whilst Martel and her unnamed brother sat back and cast magic. Kratos was caught off guard by Nebilim's uncanny ability to switch weaponry seamlessly, and while performing a counter to Nebilim's twin blade attack, was nailed in the stomach by three powerful kicks. The red-haired combatant was surprised, however, by a prompt, if somewhat poorly cast, Thunder Blade. The huge sword of electricity crashed to the ground (BOOM!), and unleashed three pulses of electricity (BZZ-ZZ-ZZ!). Kratos felt an aura surround and refresh him, and thanked Martel quickly for the needed First Aid. Nebilim, caught up in gaining vengeance on Yuan for the Thunder Blade, was completely blindsided by Martel's brother's powerful, if unexpected, Absolute. Kratos watched in wonder as a perfectly shaped ice razor stabbed through Nebilim, then burst into a thousand shining shards, causing further pain and anger. Kratos shook the feeling off and charged forward.

"Demon Fang! Fierce Demon Fang! Super Lightning Blade!" he cried out as the Techs flowed seamlessly after his three slash combo. Nebilim staggered as a shockwave hit him, followed by a bigger, more forceful shockwave, followed by a stab and a lightning bolt. Nebilim rounded on Kratos and hit him first with a Tiger Rage and Raging Beast, then switched instantly to his ax and dealt a shockingly powerful Rising Punishment and Eternal Damnation. Kratos was sent spiraling to the ground, stars dancing in front of his eyes. He tasted blood (and gravel from Eternal Damnation). Again, Martel soothed his wounds, along with Yuan's, with a well-thought Nurse. Nebilim saw the strategy and dashed at Martel.

"No!" Yuan cried.

"You won't get my sister! I'll show you your powerlessness!" Martel's brother yelled to compliment Yuan. Kratos gasped in horror as he recognized the power booming from the chant that Martel's little brother had just uttered. Could it really be...?

"Indignation...Judgment!" came the cry. Nebilim froze in terror as lightning bolts rained from the sky, sending electricity coursing throughout him. Then a winged, magical sword crashed into the pulsing rings of light surrounding Nebilim. The sword exploded in energy, launching Nebilim into the air and sending him flying into the brick wall that enclosed the school. The unfortunate red-haired warrior careened through the wall and tumbled down the hill behind it.

"Well, that's that!" Martel's little brother grinned, flashing the "peace" sign. The other three gazed at him in wonder.

"What? It wasn't that hard...it was like...the spell just came out of my mouth!" the short, blond kid said, blushing.

"Good thing we had you with us, Mithos. Otherwise...that would've hurt", Martel smiled gratefully.

"Shucks, sis, it was nothing!" Mithos grinned. He faced Yuan.

"So...you and my sister are going to the movies, huh? You better treat her nice!" the kid growled. Yuan nodded, terrified.

"Course I will! Just don't cast on me, please!" the blue-haired boy pleaded.

"Well...I'll see. Yuan, I think we'll be great friends!" Mithos smiled. He looked at Kratos...who was munching happily on a Twinkie.

"You're...Twinkie Kid, aren't you? My sister says you're kinda-" Mithos started. He was cut off as Martel's hand clamped over his lips. Kratos granted Mithos a blank look.

"You like Twinkies?" Kratos asked, offering a soft, golden fat-pill. Mithos took it with a look on his face that, had anyone else seen it, said, "Get this guy away from me."

"Don't worry about him. He's a good guy, despite...well, the Twinkies", Yuan whispered.

"Did someone just say 'Twinkie'?" Kratos asked in a fanatical tone of voice.

"Martel...let's just go", Yuan sighed. He and the blond girl walked off, talking. Mithos took an experimental bite of the Twinkie. It was actually quite delicious.

"So...where do you get these Twinkies?" Mithos asked. Kratos gave him a wide-eyed glare.

"I'll never tell you where the Twinkies come from! NEVER! You'll steal them all, and not give any to me! They're mine! Mine! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Kratos cackled.

"You can get 'em at the shop down the street. 10 gald a box", someone said. Kratos shoved another Twinkie in his mouth nervously. Mithos sighed. His new friends were...wierd.