"Uh, Yang?" Sora asked.
"Yes, Sora?" She replied sweetly.
"Thinking back, things could have gone a lot better." Sora and Yang sat in the office of Glynda Goodwitch, surrounded by papers and books all shelved with precision that it seemed a robot had done it. Glynda herself was looking very intimidating, glaring down at the two friends. She held her riding crop in one hand and kept smacking it against the other in a threatening motion. As Yang had anticipated, she wasn't happy that Sora was at Beacon. As Yang hadn't anticipated, Glynda had actually found out that he was at Beacon. Yang wanted to sneak Sora through the school and get to Ozpin without incident, but she found herself being found out by the Huntress, who seemed to have the eyes of an eagle. If she hadn't had an almost inhuman eye for detail, Yang surely would have succeeded in her plan.
"How exactly did you get this boy into Beacon, Ms. Long?" Glynda asked testily.
"I intimidated the pilot."
"You did what?!"
"You know, he was all like 'and why should I let him on the ship?' And then I was like, 'I'll give you five reasons, blockhead.' And then I held up my fist and, well, you know. Stuff happened." Glynda put a hand to her head. She looked like she had a migraine.
"You are aware that this 'stuff' that you did is against the rules, correct?"
"Uh...maybe," Yang said innocently.
"And you...Sora. Why did you allow this? Surely, even without knowledge of what Ms. Long was doing, common sense would be to intervene and come to the rescue of the pilot," Glynda asked. Sora shrugged.
"She wasn't gonna hurt him. Besides, I really, really need to talk with this Ozpin guy," he said. Glynda gritted her teeth.
"This 'Ozpin guy' is the headmaster of Beacon, and he doesn't have time to talk to a stranger who came to Beacon without permission. Such an offense can be dealt with by myself."
"But I gotta tell him about the Heartless!" Sora protested. Glynda narrowed her eyes.
"Heartless?"
"They look like Grimm, but they're not. They invade worlds and stuff," Yang explained poorly.
"What she means to say is that the Heartless, beings born from the darkness in people's hearts, entered your world and are trying to destroy it. I have to stop them," Sora told Glynda, explaining things better.
"Heartless? What exactly do these Heartless look like?" Glynda asked. She did know that beings that were thought to be a new species of Grimm had recently started attacking cities. While relatively weak for the most part, there were those who had strength that no ordinary Grimm, or even some of the more powerful ones, possessed. She knew it was probably nothing, and that Yang and Sora, whoever he was, were playing some kind of prank on her. But his odd dress and mention of Heartless made her, just for a second, wonder if he was right, and if there was anything she'd learned from Ozpin, it was that you can often find the most unexpected things in the unlikeliest of people.
"Well, they vary. One of the most common kind of Heartless is small, completely black, and has claws and antenna. There are a lot of others that have a lot of different appearances and abilities, but most of them have a red heart symbol on their body somewhere," Sora said, thinking hard before answering. At the description, Glynda's stony facade faltered. She'd seen enemies of that description. Part of her doubted Sora, but it was most likely that he was, in fact, telling the truth.
"Professor Ozpin needs to see you two," Glynda said bluntly. Yang pumped her fist into the air, and Sora jumped off of his chair and grinned widely.
"Really? Alright!" He turned to Yang and the two high-fived.
"And she didn't even see the keyblade," Yang said. She then frowned, as did Sora.
"Keyblade?" Glynda queried.
"...We really need to start thinking about these things," Sora sighed.
"Where's the fun in that?" Yang asked, her trademark grin coming back. Sora couldn't help but give her a grin in return.
"So, you say your name is Sora and that these new monsters we've been encountering aren't a new species of Grimm, but are instead a group of entities known as Heartless, and that these Heartless are created from the darkness in the hearts of human beings?" Ozpin asked.
"Yeah. That, and there's the stuff with the keyblade. You know, the whole thing where I save worlds with it," Sora added. Ozpin smiled.
"I've heard crazier things from crazier people. Sora, do you have any proof of this?" Yang and Sora shrugged.
"No proof? I see. This is quite a predicament. I want to believe you, but without proof, I can do nothing," Ozpin said sympathetically.
"Come on! Can't you make an exception or something?" Yang moaned.
"No I cannot, Ms. Long. I require evidence, even just a little."
"How about the keyblade? You saw me summon it," Sora tried. The keyblade was held in his hand, and he twirled it for effect.
"I'm not too interested in the keyblade. I'd rather know more about these Heartless," Ozpin replied. Sora fell back into his seat, the keyblade vanishing in a flash of light. Yang was already sitting down, her head propped up on her palm. The headmaster of Beacon looked at them. He was certainly a disarming man. He had a kind smile, old glasses, and a well-worn mug that he grabbed tightly but comfortably, as if he'd done so for so long that it became almost second nature to him.
"Sora? Ms. Long?" He prompted. They still said nothing. Sora's thoughts turned towards Donald and Goofy. Maybe they could help him. Of course, he'd have to get them to Beacon first, and that seemed fairly difficult, considering the fact that Yang didn't think it was a good idea for people to see them. He wondered if they could use the Gummi Ship to get to Beacon, and that's when he remembered. He did have proof.
"The Ansem Reports!" Sora shouted, jumping from his seat. Yang got up as well, startled.
"Huh? Ansem what?" She asked. Ozpin smiled.
"And there's the proof. What are these Ansem Reports?"
"A man named Ansem studied the Heartless and wrote papers about them," Sora explained to an intrigued Ozpin.
"And what do these papers say?" He asked Sora.
"Uh...Heartless...something about the keyblade...okay, I didn't really read them. Research papers are pretty boring," the spiky-haired boy admitted, shrugging nonchalantly. Yang grinned.
"No matter. I don't think I'd be satisfied with simply taking your word, anyway. If you can bring me these papers, I can ensure that you stay at Beacon until your...situation improves." Sora grabbed Ozpin's open hand and pulled it from the table, shaking it roughly.
"Yes!" Alright! Thanks, Ozpin!" He shouted. The headmaster gently pried his hand from Sora's grasp. Behind the two, Yang was laughing. Glynda seethed at the informality, but said nothing.
"Are these reports in the Gummi Ship?" Yang asked after a short silence. Sora looked at her and sighed.
"They are. Hey, do you think you could find a brightly-colored ship and bring it to Beacon in secret?" He asked Ozpin.
"Why?"
"Uh...Yang, can I tell them?" Sora asked. Yang nodded.
"They're nice," she said.
"Alright. So, I have friends who apparently look like fauna, and Yang told me about...how they're treated. I want you to bring them to the school without anyone knowing. They're at the ship I mentioned, and the papers are inside it."
"But if they look like fauna, why not just bring them? At Beacon, the worst that can happen is that they'll be teased by the students. While unfortunate, it's surely not something to hide from," Ozpin noted.
"They look...well, a lot more like animals than the fauna we're used to. I don't know what people would think," Yang explained.
"That's quite thoughtful of you, Ms. Long. I shall have them brought here tonight, when we shall see if you have the proof you say you have."
Donald and Goofy sat in the Gummi Ship, looking for the Ansem Reports. Sora was with them, and Yang had to go to bed, as she had a mandatory curfew.
"Where are these darned papers?" Donald muttered, kicking around debris. Goofy was searching higher up, and Sora was checking the usual compartments. In one of them, he found a paopu fruit. Sora pocketed it, hoping no one saw. He then kept looking.
"So...how was the wait?" He asked.
"Donald really wanted you to get back. He kept asking me how much time had passed," Goofy explained.
"You sure took your time, Sora," Donald muttered.
"Sorry, sorry. This wasn't like the other worlds where I could just waltz in with the keyblade and do whatever I wanted. Things are going to be different this time, guys."
"Hm," Donald said, not easy to forgive.
"Come on, Donald! I tried!" Sora protested.
"Then you should have tried harder," was the testy reply. Donald moved a block covering a small space underneath the cockpit, and found a whole lot of nothing.
"Rats!" He kicked it and it bounced off of the wall and hit Goofy in the head.
"Ow!" The dog yelped, swinging his shield and conking it into Sora's head, as the spiky-haired teen happened to be close by. Sora stumbled back into a pile of debris. He fell and papers flew up. Donald ran towards them, shouting with glee, when he rammed into Goofy in his hurry to get to Sora. Goofy fell and Donald was right behind him. Sora tried to scramble up but he slipped on a Gummi piece and fell on his face. Goofy landed on top of him and Donald fell on Goofy. More papers flew up, and Sora groaned.
"Gummi piece...between my legs..." He squeaked pitifully. Goofy rolled off of him and Donald fell off of Goofy, landing on his head.
"Watch it, Goofy!"
"Sorry, Donald!"
"What about me? Ow ow ow..." Sora muttered.
"Get over it, you big baby," Donald said absentmindedly, picking up the papers that had fallen. Sure enough, they were the Ansem Reports. Goofy cheered along with Donald, and Sora moaned.
"I'll get you for this one, Donald..." He said, rolling around on the ground. Sora painfully got up and looked at the papers over Donald's shoulder, well aware of the towering figure of Goofy that loomed over him.
"Here they are!" Donald said proudly. Sora grabbed them and glared at the duck, who glared back.
"Now now, no violins!" Goofy chastised.
"It's violence, Goofy," Donald corrected.
Ozpin looked over the papers as Sora, Donald, and Goofy watched eagerly. He adjusted his glasses and made noises when he found a particularly interesting passage. The three friends were looking very hopeful. Donald's mouth hung slightly open, Goofy was holding his shield close like a pillow, and Sora was grinning with anticipation, holding an ice pack in between his legs. After a while, Ozpin turned to them.
"Interesting. Very interesting. After reading these papers, I have decided upon a course of action." The three friends didn't speak. They waited for Ozpin to talk first.
"Donald. Goofy. You two shall stay in a more...secluded area of Beacon along with Sora. However, during the day, I want him to be doing something other than simply residing at Beacon. I want you, Sora, to teach a class on the Heartless. I will be paying you the same rate I pay the other professors," he said. Sora balked, dropping the ice pack in surprise.
"W-W-What...?" He stuttered.
"Sora? A teacher?!" Donald exclaimed.
"That's great!" Goofy cheered. Ozpin smiled at the three.
"I'm...I'm gonna teach? About Heartless?"
"Yes you are."
"So...I'm gonna have to get lectures ready and stuff?"
"Yes you are."
"Am I gonna have to grade papers?"
"Indeed." Sora lowered his head and sighed, his upper body drooping towards the ground.
"And you're sure I have to do this?"
"Who better to teach about Heartless than one who's task it is to fight them?" Ozpin asked. Sora nodded, caving to his logic.
"We can help, Sora!" Goofy assured him.
"Yeah! After all, you are gonna need it," Donald added on.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked. The three friends begin to half-argue and half-support each other, and Ozpin smiled.
"This is going to be very interesting..."
"So this is the mystery class," Pyrrha Nikos noted. She had striking red hair and gentle but powerful green eyes. Next to her, a blonde boy sighed.
"Man, knowing what class we're gonna have is bad enough. This could be some weird thing, like the study of Grimm mating habits or something for all we know," he moaned. Next to him, Yang chuckled.
"Heh. Good one, lady killer."
"Can you stop calling me that?"
"Nope."
"Well...maybe it'll be cool? Maybe we can build our own weapons like at Signal?" A girl in a red cloak with crimson hair to match wondered.
"Ruby, I don't think that's it," Yang said. Ruby huffed.
"I can dream, Yang. Besides, wouldn't that be fun?"
"We already have weapons, though," the blonde boy reminded her.
"Jaune, you too? I'm just saying that understanding a weapon isn't just about knowing what to do with it, okay? It would be good to know how it really works," Ruby told him. Behind them, a girl with a large black bow who was reading a book spoke up. She somehow managed to navigate through the throngs of students despite having her face buried in her novel.
"It probably has to do with the boy Yang brought in," she said.
"Oh yeah, I did hear about that. Glynda was pretty, uh...not happy," Jaune sighed.
"Is she ever?" Yang sighed. As the friends sat down next to each other, they were joined by a white-haired girl, a boy with black hair with a purple streak through it, and an orange-haired girl who just couldn't stop moving.
"I wonder who it is? Maybe it's Ozpin. Maybe it's one of us! Ren, are you hiding something from me?" She asked the black-haired boy.
"Nora, none of the students are secretly a professor. Calm down," he said.
"That's exactly what an undercover professor would say!" As Nora spoke, a noise could be heard from behind the desk. A flash of light could barely be made out from it. Yang grinned. She knew who the teacher was, at least. From behind the desk, Sora flipped out. He landed on it and kicked aside random papers that wafted to the floor. He held the keyblade triumphantly above him, and Yang cheered.
"Go Sora!" Flames, ice crystals, and sparks of lightning flitted around the keyblade, creating a small but elegant magic show. It vanished, and Sora turned to his class.
"Alright. My legs hurt from crouching behind that desk for so long, so I'd really like it if you gave me your attention. Now, I am your professor, Sora. You can call me Sora, or professor Sora, or Sora the Great and Mighty. I'm here to teach you about...Heartless!"
AND THE SECOND CHAPTER IS DONE! NOW THAT THE STAGE IS SET AND THE PLOT IS ESTABLISHED, I CAN BEGIN WITH ALL THE FORMING OF FRIENDSHIPS, THE COMEDY, AND SORA AND YANG'S BONDING AS THE CUTEST COUPLE AT BEACON. AS USUAL, I'D LIKE FEEDBACK, ESPECIALLY CONCERNING HOW THE PLOT OF THE STORY TIES INTO THE KH UNIVERSE. I WANT TO KNOW IF I MADE ANY MISTAKES OR ANYTHING.