Kenmei awoke with a start, quickly sitting up in her bed and clutching her clovers to her. Breathing heavily, she looked around the room, the sunrise casting a dim glow across the surfaces that surrounded her. Remembering where she was, she took in a few deep breaths, reaching her hand up to wipe the sweat from her face. A nightmare, she guessed, must have shaken her from sleep, although she could not remember what it was about. She typically never remembered her dreams, but it was also uncommon for her to have a nightmare in the first place.
As she relaxed her body, her hand falling back into her lap, she released a sigh. Looking to the window beside her bed, she could see a bit of sky through the curtains. It was barely sunrise, the dark violet clouds starting to grow a pink hue as the sun rose. Kenmei scooted herself closer to the window, grabbing the curtains and pulling them open to allow more light into the room. The view of the sky instantly calmed her, observing every cloud in her line of sight. It greatly reminded her of the clouds she has seen the morning before, the ones that had calmed her on her trip to the Academy.
After watching the sun rise for a few moments, she closed the curtains back into place and moved to the edge of her bed, placing her bare feet onto the cold stone floor. This made her shiver as she stood, thinking to herself that she needed to purchase a rug to cover that area, finding the cold undesirable so early in the morning. Still a bit disoriented from her nightmare jolting her awake, she started to make her way towards her luggage still resting on the floor. The largest suitcase was still open from last night, her clothing a bit of a scattered mess just from the small amount of digging she had done.
Feeling annoyed at this, she flipped the light on and dragged the suitcase closer to the dresser in the room. By the current state of the sunrise, Kenmei assumed that it was still only around six o'clock in the morning, so she had some time to put her luggage away. Though it was a boring task, it helped Kenmei calm her nerves from her nightmare, finding that the repetitiveness kept her mind focus on that task. Before she even realized, she had put all her clothing away, most in the dresser and some hanging in the wardrobe that rested next to it. Her luggage was stored at the bottom of the wardrobe, the bags and smaller suitcases all inside of the large one and tucked away nicely.
Kenmei smiled a bit as she placed her hands on her hips, feeling accomplished, even though it was such a small task. Getting her clothing put away made this room feel more like home, and it was easier for her to adjust. She glanced over towards the window, able to see behind the curtains that she sun was now much higher in the sky. Becoming nervous she would be late, she grabbed pieces of an outfit and the supplies she had brought with her for general self-grooming and hygiene.
From what she could remember, she had been told that each floor level shared a bathroom, although she could not remember where it was. A bit embarrassed that she would have to ask one of her roommates, she made sure her nightgown was covering her body and started to head out of the room into the main living space. Before she could even take a step out, she gave a screech, nearly dropping all of her things as she tried to cover her face.
"J-Judar! What are you doing, where are your clothes!" Kenmei's voice, though quite shrill, was muffled by the clothing she pressed against her face. Judar turned to look at her from the position he was standing, not surprised or shocked at all by her screaming. He continued to work a toothbrush in his mouth as he brushed his teeth, staring at her with a blank and tired expression. He was dressed in nothing but some dark red boxers, his long hair falling loose behind him.
"What's your deal?" Judar spoke through a mouth full of toothpaste, starting to head towards the small restroom connected to the living room. Kenmei kept her face covered, feeling her heart pounding through her whole body and her face burning. "W-why aren't you dressed?" She only lowered the clothing to peek out when she heard him spit into the sink and the water running, guessing he was in the restroom.
After a moment, Judar finished washing his mouth out, placing his toothbrush back into the small container on the sink that was his storage. "Maybe because I just got up? You're not really one to talk, you're still in a nightgown." Kenmei covered her face again as he came back out of the restroom, too embarrassed to look at him. "That doesn't matter, at least I'm fully covered!" Judar rolled his eyes, starting to head towards his bedroom.
"Whatever. You should probably hurry up, we only have an hour until we have to be at the Broom bullshit." He stopped at his door to look back at her for a second, catching her eyes as he saw her peeking over her clothing again. His ears flattened back against the top of his head and he quickly walked into his room, closing the door. Kenmei frowned, lowering her clothing down away from her face. To her, that was an odd reaction, as he hadn't cared about her seeing him just a moment before.
She wasn't sure what it could have been that upset him, but she didn't have time to think about that. He was right, she had to hurry and finish getting ready or they would end up late. But, she still did not know the direction of the bathroom. Timidly, she walked over to his door and knocked, hoping he wouldn't be too irritated with her. "Judar, I don't know where the bathroom is..." Within a few moments, the door opened a bit, Judar staring down at her with an irritated glance.
He had his beanie placed on his head and his hair was pulled over his shoulder, in the beginning stages of his large braid. "You don't what?" Kenmei felt her face flush again, looking everywhere but at him. "I don't know where the bathroom is..." Judar was silent for a moment before he sighed, rubbing his face. "It's uh... The women's one is down the hall to the left. It's big doors and even has a sign. You can't miss it."
Kenmei took a moment to glance up at him as she nodded. "Thanks... Did I upset you a second ago? When you were out here?" She couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty, though she wasn't sure if she had actually upset him. Judar raised an eyebrow at her, and Kenmei could see one of his ears twitch behind his beanie. He opened the door a bit more, leaning on the doorframe.
"Did you upset me? What makes you think that?" He tapped his fingers on the door as he kept his grip on it. Kenmei shifted in her spot a bit, unable to help a glance at his torso. "I don't know, you just ran into your room and your ears got all-" "Wait, wait, wait-" Judar interrupted her, waving his hand in the air a bit. "You saw my ears?"
Kenmei frowned, giving a small nod. "Yes?" Judar's expression shifted into one of frustration and he started to shut the door, waving her away. "Just go get ready, you're going to make us late." Before Kenmei could reply, he shut the door on her, causing her to take a few steps back in surprise. A frown crossed her features as she heard the music inside get louder, guessing he was completely done talking. She held her clothing and bathing items closer to her, staring at the door for a moment before turning and starting to head out to the hallway.
Nanami bounced in her spot, clasping her hands together as a smile almost broke her face. "I'm so excited! I've always wanted to fly a broom!" She bumped into Kenmei gently, looking up at her, hoping she was sharing her excitement. They were standing in line outside of a door, waiting for their cue to enter. Where this door went was a mystery to most in the line, especially all the new first years. Kenmei could only muster a small smile, her nerves getting the better of her. "I have, too." She knew that she couldn't hide the nerves from her voice, starting to feel a bit sick to her stomach.
Truthfully, it wasn't the flying that made her nervous. It was what Judar had told her the night before, about how everything could end for them if they couldn't get the broom into the air. She was scared that they wouldn't be able to do it, and the fact that he hadn't said a word or even looked at her since that morning only made her nerves worse. She still didn't understand what she must have done to upset him so much, and she had been too scared to ask.
Nanami frowned when she noticed Kenmei's lack of enthusiasm, nudging her in the side gently. "Hey, what's wrong?" Kenmei only shook her head, giving a sigh. "Nothing, nothing." She lowered her voice, glancing at Judar before she leaned down to whisper to Nanami. "I think I pissed him off this morning somehow... Where were you, by the way?"
Cupping her mouth as to be quieter, Nanami whispered back. "Hakuryuu had me up early learning practicing how to balance out our Aura wavelengths. He said it was really important to this task, since you can't fly without that power." Another huge smile stretched across her face, seeming proud of herself. "We were able to do it I think! You and Judar didn't try anything like that?" Kenmei frowned, standing back up straight as her anxiety about the situation only grew. "Uh... No. No we didn't."
Nanami gave a bit of a wince at her words, placing her arms behind her back as she stood up straight. "Ouch... Well, just hope for the best, I guess." Kenmei sighed, reaching up to run her fingers nervously though a lock of her hair. "Yeah..." She took a chance to look up at Judar, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw him looking down at her with an icy glare.
She crossed her arms, turning to face him a bit more. "What are you looking at me like that for? Why are you so mad at me, anyways?" Her eyes were drawn to the top of his head as she once again saw a twitch, though she didn't get to look for long as Judar reached up and waved a hand in her face. "Hey! Stop looking at them." Kenmei blinked a few times in confusion, watching his hand before her gazed moved back to his face, a frown once again returning to her features.
"What's wrong? It's just your ears, why can't I look at them?" She grabbed his arm to make him stop waving his hand, though he only snatched it back away. "Because I don't want you to! You weren't even supposed to see them this morning." He reached up and adjusted his beanie and Kenmei could no longer see any sign of his ears. She sighed, rubbing her face.
"Well I did see them, so you might as well get over it. It's not my fault you forgot to wear your stupid beanie." After she removed her hand from her face, she moved her gaze back up to him, once again feeling a shock rocket through her body as his glare pierced through her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she turned back around to face forward, taking half a step forward to be closer to Nanami.
Kenmei could feel her heart racing, pounding so hard she could feel it through her whole body. This was never going to work, she knew they would never be able to be true Partners. This whole Broom task was going to be a complete failure, and she would end up without a Partner and behind held back a year, all because Judar was stubborn and just downright mean. As her anxiety began to spike and her chest began to tighten, she heard someone speak loudly to the group, though it sounded like a muffled yell though her ringing ears.
The door in front of the group opened, and Kenmei knew this was going to be the end.