Author's space: Sorry for the late update, school started in January and this year I have a big exam coming up at the end of the year. But I'll update every 2-4 months.

In this chapter and the coming chapters, there will be more reference from FFTA2 as this part of the story will begin the real now?

As you all noticed, this chapter is longer than any other chapters. Why? I wanted to introduce clan system a bit more earlier so that I can get quest ideas and any suggestions. All I need is-*Whistling sound*

Did you hear anything like a whistle? Like an incoming bomb? Or cannonball?

BOOM*A cannonball from out of nowhere came down the roof, causing a big crater in the author's writing space*BOOM


"Dan, Dan! Wake up!" Shadow called out. It was the middle of the night.

"What is it? Why wake me up at a time like this?"

"I need to tell you something. It's about Ann."

"Yeah, what do you wanna say?"

"I sense that she has great potential. She is good at drawing and uses her creations to attack enemies. It's a useful ability. She can practically draw out anything from her sketchpad. "

"Yeah, so?"

"It's just a comment. Anyway, this Franco guy she speaks of…. I feel that there's something off about him, something strange…."

"Stop saying that name. I get heartaches just hearing it!"

"That's half the point, heartache part aside. I know how you feel for her."

" I don't –"

Shadow cut him off. "I'll be frank. I think Franco has something. Something powerful…"

"Whatever, I don't care for him."

"Fine then, I'll let you go to sleep now…"

Dan slept until the following morning.


"Aaaahh, I haven't slept so well in ages!" Ann yawned, stretching her arms. "Wake up sleepyhead!"

"Wha– ? Morning already?" Dan groaned. He rubbed his eyes, vaguely noticing a thin curve of light above the mountains.

"Just get up already!"

"O.K., O.K., I'm up!"

"Now get yourself clean! You smell bad!"

Dan groggily stumbled to the lake. With only his boxers on, he jumped in.

"Brr." He slowly swam in the water, eventually getting used to the cold. He didn't mind the low temperature; he actually kind of liked it. The morning mist veiled his surroundings, making it impossible to see the other side of the lake.

"It's hard to see anything in a place like this."

"Who cares, just enjoy the water. Oh wait, you can't. Too bad." Dan continued to breaststroke as he cleaned himself off.

"For your information, I can swim, but it's too cold here. Just being in the lake makes me shiver!" Shadow was looking a bit fuzzy down at the bottom of the lake.

"Alright. I'm about to finish my bath anyway." Dan crawled out of the water and dried himself off with a towel, putting on the same uniform he had worn yesterday. He walked back to the campsite with the towel slung over his shoulder.

"So what's the plan for today? Stay here for the rest of our lives?" Ann asked.

"No, I plan to go back to my headquarters after breakfast. What is for breakfast anyway?"

"Do you think I'm your mother or something? I have no food for you."

"I'll have my rations then." Dan put the towel in his bike's clothes carrier and hesitantly took out some biscuits from his rations. He ate a few.

"Here, you want some?"

"Sure. I have nothing else to eat." Ann smiled.

So that's the reason she scolded me about breakfast.

After breakfast, they packed up the tent and stored it in the tent carrier of Dan's bike.

"So where are you going next?" Dan asked.

"I'm not sure…"

"Are you gonna continue your misadventure?"

"No. I got bored with it."

"Then why don't you follow me back to headquarters?"

"O.K, fine. I have nothing else to do."

Dan looked around to make sure he had packed everything. Once that was done with, he retrieved his helmet from the box at the back of his bike and started the engine.

"Do you have a helmet? You don't want to get caught by the police or prefects."

"Err… no. But I can draw one." Ann drew an open face helmet on her sketchpad. It was similar to Dan's own, the only difference being it was white instead of blue. She tore the drawing out to make it real, folding her long hair to fit it beneath the helmet.

"We're all set." Ann climbed onto his motorcycle, but the four carriers made it hard for her to position her legs.

"You have too many things on your bike. I think you should get rid of these," she said, pointing out the boxes on the side of Dan's bike.

"They aren't things; they're carriers. I need them."

"Why? What do you put in them?"

"I have one to carry my radio, one to hold my tent, one for clothing and rations, and one for weapons and ropes."

"I don't think you need to bring all that."

"Well, you see, I used nearly all of it during the past two days."

"Ugh, fine then. At least I found some space for my legs," the girl said, squeezing her legs between the carriers.

"Then off we go! Hold on tight." Dan felt Ann tighten her grip on his shoulder a second later. He switched his gears from neutral to first, riding up the ledge they had come down yesterday. The road flashed beneath them; the motorcycle jolted every now and then due to the uneven terrain.

The wind blew against the two riders as they rushed down the mountain. Trees lined the side of the road, causing fallen leaves to scatter in the motorcycle's wake. Gradually, the scenery began to change.

Forests started thinning after a few kilometers. Houses began to appear more frequently and soon they arrived in a city. The streets were bordered with five-story buildings, shops, and street-side cafes with tables and chairs scattered on the sidewalk. Patrons occupied tables, drinking coffee or eating lunch under the shade of an umbrella. School students walked in groups, window-shopping as they headed home.

Cars bustled about on the street, sometimes not moving for minutes due to traffic lights. Dan tried his best not to hit any of the cars, but eventually his side mirror scraped another vehicle's side mirror.

"Dang! My mirror! I just polished it a week ago." Dan touched the slight scratch mark on the metallic back of the mirror.

"I think you should use a lighter motorcycle. They're thinner; you pass the traffic easily with them."

"I have one, but I use this one for long journeys. It has a better fuel capacity and holds more stuff."

"Whatever… At least I gave you my advice."

Dan spotted the school a few minutes later. It consisted of a few tall buildings, some decorated differently than the others.

They arrived at the school gate, guarded by a security guard as usual. Normally, the guy let anyone into the school as long as they didn't cause trouble. But today was different. Dan noticed the person in the guardhouse looked unfamiliar, almost lizard-like. He proceeded on until he reached the guardhouse and waved to the guard.

"You look different today. Are you new here?"

"Yesss. I'm Rubay, a bangaa. I come from Ivalice, but I'm now working here as a guard. They sssay the pay here isss higher." The bangaa replied. The bangaa had scaly skin and a long mouth with a split tongue. Some facial hair could be seen on his ears, rather odd for a scaly creature.

"Hmmmm…" Dan looked at the new guard in wonderment. "I don't know about that, you look like a lizard to me."

"Don't call me that! We bangaasss hate being called lizardsss. We're much bigger and stronger than those mindlesss creaturesss"

"O.K., I'm sorry."

"You sssay that one more time and I won't let you in ever again," the bangaa mashed the button to open the gate, all the while shaking his fist in anger.

"That was a strange guy," Dan commented once they had passed the gate.

"They're bangaas, a race from Ivalice. It's strange to see them here. It's quite costly to come here by airship and it's risky to come by boat unless it's well-built. Still, we have to accept him. He's new here."

The two rode up a path to the scout's headquarters, passing the headquarters of the other clubs and societies. The headquarters of the Chimbian orchestra, the most outstanding one in the school, had a tree with pink petals out front as decoration. Some of the others were also decorated according to their insignia.

After a few minutes, they reached the scout headquarters. To one side of the building, there was a dense strand of trees suitable for camping or forest creatures to dwell in. On the other side a small hangar and runway for planes was situated. Lastly, a dock was located around back where river boats were moored. The building itself was four stories high and decorated with the scout's fleur-de-lis insignia. A communication tower was near one of its walls. Dan drove up to the headquarters and parked in a reserved space.

"This is it! My headquarters!"

"That took too long!" Ann scowled.

"At least we got here safely." Dan placed his helmet in the back carrier of his bike; Ann's helmet disappeared into thin air. The scout took out his towel. They walked towards the doors of the scout headquarters.

"Hey everybody, I'm back!" Dan announced. Just as he finished his sentence, a book flew through the air and hit him in the face.

"Is that the customary way to greet a troop leader?"Ann asked.

"LOOK AT IT! All our expenses are making us bankrupt!" A Nidian girl wearing a grey scout uniform, the same as Dan's, was at the counter fuming.

"Relax, Tisha. All problems can be solved."

So this was the "small" problem she mentioned yesterday.

"Just check the book!"

"OK fine..." Dan started to flip through the pages of the Scout's ledger. "Well, to be honest… I don't even know what all this is."

"Oh, right, you know nothing about accounts. It shows we spend more than we actually make." Tisha pointed out that the credit side of the ledger was larger than the debit side. "We didn't earn anything this month, but we still pay the training for your precious badges. That also includes you!" She pointed her finger at another two boys, the troop leaders of the air and sea units. They had already been scolded by her yesterday, so they just ignored the angry girl.

"Yeah, we haven't done much for the past few months… heheh…"

"I knew it, you are too lazy to work!" Ann exclaimed.

"So, this is the girl you were talking about. It's about time you had one… heheh." Tisha smirked at Dan.

"Ann, please entertain her while I find a solution to the debt problem," Dan whispered.

Tisha looked at Ann. "So, what's your name?"

Dan interrupted. "O.K., you guys get to know each other while I go to my desk. Get Xiang, Loong, Phing, and Yin over here as well."

Tisha called over her other colleagues to meet Dan's new friend. All of them surrounded Ann while Dan headed to his desk and sat down in a chair beside it.

What can I do to solve this? It's not like we earn much money in the first place…

"You shouldn't use more than what you earn, save some for rainy days."

"But I love rainy days!"

"Not the rainy days with rain! The days when you really need the money! Anyway, I think you should check today's newspaper, you might find a suitable job for the scouts."

"What can we find there? I don't want to end up as janitor or something."

"Just give it a shot!"

Dan picked up the newspaper on his desk. Most of it was untouched, but the entertainment segment was missing. Tisha and the other girls had probably taken it. He flipped through the pages, observing headlines such as "Man Crashes into Gas Station after Refueling" and "Government Wants Unity."

"What is there to find?"

"Just keep searching."

Dan continued to flip the pages until he saw an advertisement.

"Enter an Enticing World of Epic Adventure and Danger.

Have you ever dreamed of something more than the humdrum of everyday life?

With magic, swords, and technology, the clan system of Ivalice welcomes new adventurers and seasoned veterans alike to take up arms beside their friends in quests to restore peace to the land.

Now is your chance to heed the call and create your own clan!

Registrations are Available Tomorrow in School Canteens Nationwide.

Pay Varies Depending on Quest."

This might work.

"Hey, everyone! I think I have the solution to our bankruptcy problem! Take a look at this." The scouts who had been talking to Ann swarmed to Dan's desk, in particular Vee Xiang, Hsein Loong, Xiyin, Hsein Phing, and Tisha.

"So what's the plan?" Vee Xiang asked. He was a Chimbian boy with spiky hair wearing the light blue Air Scout uniform. He's the troop leader for the air scouts.

"Yeah, what can we do?" Xiyin, a 16 year-old girl wearing a white sea scout uniform, pitched in.

"Look." Dan showed them the advertisement. There was silence for a few minutes as they studied it.

Eventually, the Sea Scout troop leader, Hsein Loong, spoke up. "So you want us to form a clan to earn money?"

"Don't tell me you want us to work as janitors," the short air scout girl called Hsein Phing said. "I don't want to do anything too tiring."

"I don't know about that, but we can check it out tomorrow. Oh yeah, Phing, make an announcement for all the scout members to gather in the field tomorrow afternoon."

Phing unwillingly went to her computer to issue Dan's instructions.

"O.K., as I said, we'll check this out tomorrow. But first things first. I have to register Ann to the school."

"I never said I wanted to join!"

"Is that so? Why don't you continue on your misadventure then?"

"Oh, yeah…"

"We have to do this in secret. I don't want anyone to know about you. Teachers might ask questions if you register officially."

"So when will we go?"

"Maybe tonight when everyone has left."

"Then what do we do now? Sit here and do nothing?"

"Maybe we should apologize to the new guard. What's his name again...?"

"Can we get something to eat first? I'm hungry…"

"I thought you could cook."

"I feel kinda lazy right now…heheh." Ann said sheepishly.

Dan sighed. "Then let's get something to eat."

"Hey, everyone!" Dan announced to his colleagues, now all back at their desks. "Ann and I are going out for lunch. Want anything?"

"Nope, nothing," Tisha replied.

"Bring us both a burger," Loong and Xiang said.

"Make that three!" Yin added.

"Hasn't lunch time passed already?" Ann asked.

"We get cravings now and then."

"So, three burgers. Let's go, Ann."

The two walked out of the headquarters, letting the rest get back to work. They walked over to Dan's motorcycle.

"Hey Ann, wait for me, will you? I have to switch bikes."

"Can't you just use this one?"

"No, I need to use the other one; it's more convenient compared to my cruiser here. I use my cruiser on long journeys, but I use my moped in the city."

"That's such a waste!"

"In my opinion, I think it's a waste too, but I still like your Honda Shadow."

Dan started his bike and let Ann on.

"Aren't you gonna wear a helmet? Do I have to draw two now?"

"No, it's O.K., we're in my area. Nobody is gonna bother us."

"Lawbreaker!"

Dan merely sighed in response. The two rode to the garage near the headquarters.

The garage was a medium sized building with a zinc roof and an exterior designed to reflect the tropical heat typical during this time of year. Dan and Ann got off the bike, pushing the zinc gate aside so they could get through.

The gate made some noise due to the rust on its metal wheel and railings. Once it was out of the way, three underbone motorcycles appeared.

"Why do you have so many bikes in your garage? Are they all yours?"

"No, my bike is that Honda Wave on the end there. The others belongs to Xiang and Loong."

Dan pointed to a blue Honda Wave sitting on the far right of the garage. It had a mostly blue body with some black towards the back. The signal lights on the front looked like sharp looking eyes and the foot peg holders had a silver metallic finish. It also had a box at the back and two carriers by each side. The exhaust pipe pointed upwards with a 40 degree angle, making it suitable when riding through puddles because water couldn't get in the pipe. It was shiny, probably because Dan washed it before he went to earn his martial arts badge.

Dan pushed his Honda Shadow in the garage and started the Honda Wave. He took two helmets off the pegs attached to the garage wall.

"Here you go, now you don't have to draw one." Dan handed a helmet to Ann.

"I prefer drawing my own." Still, Ann accepted the helmet, impatient to eat.

The two sped off, heading out the gate and onto the main school grounds. They navigated through the winding roads until they reached the school's canteen. Dan parked near the door.

The canteen was where the majority of students, and some of the teachers, would buy their meals. Still, some preferred to buy their food from the stalls in the far edges of the place since most food in the canteen was the same everyday. The stalls were lined up to the side of the canteen, selling a variety of food including rice, burgers, ramen, and sandwiches. On the other end sinks were provided. Metal seats and tables occupied the center of the hall.

Sellers bustled about in the back of their stalls, cooking their wares. Some food was already displayed on the counters and some was cooked upon ordering. Overall, the place was nearly empty. The lunchtime rush had ended.

"Order what you want at the counter. I'll pay."

"What are you gonna eat?"

"Maybe some curry rice."

"I'll take what you want; I don't know what to choose from. There are too many choices"

"Then let's go." The two walked to the curry rice stall, owned by a Nidian-Chimbian couple.

"What do ya want?" the tall Nidian man, about age forty, asked them.

"I'll take the 300 gil curry rice." Dan ordered. He then turned to Ann. "Tell him what you want," he whispered.

"Ummm…"

"Come on! I don't have all day for just the two of you!"

"What do you have?"

"This is the curry rice stall! What do you expect?" the seller screeched.

"Look, there are two things on the menu, 300 gil rice or 500 gil rice. You pay for what you get," Dan whispered.

"Fine, keep your pants on! I'll take the 500 gil rice. Happy now?"

"One 300 and 500," the man yelled at a Chimbian woman at the back. She quickly scooped up their portions, adding fried chicken to the bowls and pouring a ladle of curry on the rice.

"You want any cucumbers and chili?"

"Just the cucumbers."

"Extra chili on mine!" Ann ordered. The woman added chopped chili mix onto the plate with the bigger portion.

"You know, it's going to be very spicy."

"I like spicy stuff. I ate a lot while I was in my misadventure."

"That'll be 900 gil. An extra 100 for bad manners."

"What? Apologize to him now!"

"No! I'll pay the extra 100."

"Haih…" Dan handed 800 gil to the seller while Ann unwillingly handed over the 100 gil "fine".

The two took their plates and chose a spot to eat. Once his food was finished, Dan went to the burger stall and ordered four burgers. He refused to bring Ann along because he didn't want to pay extra and she hadn't finished her rice yet. After ordering, Dan returned to his seat.

"You shouldn't treat people like that. People here value respect. When you respect others, they'll treat you better."

"I'll say what I want! The way he talks is too irritating. Come on, should people yell at their customers?"

"He is a bit impatient, but that's 'cause he has a lot of customers and needs to make sure the crowd gets their food quickly."

"There's only the two of us, so what was the rush?"

"He's used to rushing people. Just get used to it and watch your mouth."

"Whatever…" as Ann spoke, the burger salesperson called for Dan, saying his order was ready.

"That'll be 668 gil."

"Here you go," Dan paid for the order.

At least I don't have to pay a fine with her around…

"Why did you buy 4? You need an extra one for yourself?" Ann asked when he returned.

"Nah, this one is for Rubay, the new guard."

"Oh yeah, him…"

They noticed that a new stall was being set up in a corner, far away from the food stalls.

"Wonder what that stall is for?" Ann pointed out the said stall.

"Maybe for the clan thingy. We'll check it out tomorrow." Dan thought of the newspaper advertisement.

They came out of the canteen. Dan placed the food on the metal basket on his bike. They rode to the guardhouse to visit Rubay.

"Hey Rubay! We got something for you." Dan took out a burger from his basket and handed it to the bangaa.

"Thanksss, but what is it?"

"It's a burger, you can eat it," Ann mimicked picking up a burger and taking a bite.

"We shouldn't have called you a lizard," Dan said. Rubay's face furrowed as he remembered the incident. "We came back here to apologize."

Dan extended his hand and after a moment Rubay shook it.

"Never mind. Ssssometimesss people make mistakesss, esspecially when they haven't ssseen a bangaa before."

"How about you have a taste of that burger? It's still hot."

The bangaa opened the paper wrapping of the burger and started to eat it. "Mmmm… It tastess good! I never tassted anything like this!"

"Glad you like it."

"So, what made you come here? Is the pay really that good?" Ann asked the newly-made friend.

"Compared to Ivalice, the pay isss higher by a few hundred gil."

"What makes you want to get the extra hundred? It's not that much of a difference."

"Actually, I never liked there. There are too many ssstrange contraptionsss. Essspecially the onesss made by thossse mindlesss mooglesss. They make the worsst things I've ever ssseen! And they have to put their ugly facess on them!"

"Errr…." Dan floundered for words. He didn't know what the bangaa was referring to.

"So did you do in Ivalice?"

"I ussed to be in a clan called Clan Gully. It wasss lead by Lussso, a very young boy, but a brilliant persssson! I accepted a worker transfer program to come here. It was a long journey. This place is far southwest of Ivalice."

"Wait a minute, did you say clan? Is it the one that is coming to canteens nationwide?"

"Yesss, that'sss the one. I used to be a cannoneer back there."

"What's a cannoneer?"

"I usssed hand cannonsss in battle. Here, come up to my watchtower to sssee a demonsstration" Rubay took the two into a lift, bringing them to a small booth a hundred meters above the guardhouse. It was surrounded by a balcony for the bangaa to observe occurrences taking place around the school.

"Here isss my hand cannon," Rubay lifted up a bazooka-like weapon that had been leaning on the walls of the booth. He placed it on a stand affixed to the railing as he looked about for a target. Finally, he pointed out two figures on the sport fields.

"Look, I'll ssshoot them with my hand cannon."

"Won't you kill them?" Dan asked, but his voice was lost in the boom of the cannon.

"BLAM!"

The shot's rebound caused the wooden railings, booth, and floor planks to rattle. Rubay's eyes trailed the cannonball as it whizzed through the air.

"Oh hell…" the two humans froze. The ball flew to the target and hit the ground, causing dust to rise up in a cloud. Birds flew away from the scene. When the dust cleared, Dan noticed a large crater had formed.

"Why did you shoot them?"

"They were bad mouthing me. They had to be sshot!"

"But - killing them? Isn't that a little harsh?" Ann asked.

"I didn't kill them. I only load soft cannonballss which break once they hit the ground, but won't caussse damage to anyone. The force isss only directed to the ground."

"Also, how on earth did you know they were bad mouthing you? They're too far away," Ann pointed out.

"For your information, we bangaasss can hear from far distancesss. For inssstance, I know you scoutsss have a financial crississs."

"O.K., you've got me convinced."

"Um, how often do you shoot people with that gun?" Dan pitched in.

"Thisss isss the firssst time I've ssshoot sssomeone with my hand cannon."

"Don't do that often. Just attack the real threats if possible."

"Fine. Thanksss for hearing me out."

"Maybe we should get going. We have to deliver some stuff to the headquarters."

"Yes, your colleaguesss are waiting for their burgersss."

The two bid farewell to the bangaa once he led them down to the ground floor, getting back on the moped and heading off.

"Here ya go! Your burgers!"

"That took too long! It's almost time to go home!" Yin exclaimed.

"Never mind. He had a lot of work to do with Ann. Right, Dan?" Loong said.

"No, not that! We just went out for lunch, that's all!"

"Yeah, we just went out to eat, nothing special!" Ann protested.

"Whatever, we'll just eat on the way home" Xiang responded.

The school bell rang, signifying it was 430 P.M., the time students who were staying afterschool had to clear out.

"O.K., time to leave. Bye everyone."

Xiang, Loong, Yin, Phing, and Tisha departed. Sounds of motorcycles could be heard as Loong and Xiang sped away on their bikes. The girls typically would walk out to the school gate to wait for their parents or a bus.

Ann spoke up. "So now that everyone's away, what do you want to do?"

"Let's clean ourselves off and put your name on the school's list already."

"So where is your bathroom? And where's your house? Don't you have to go home too?"

"It's upstairs, let me take you there." Dan led the way to a staircase in the corner of the building. They climbed up the steps and unlocked a door, revealing a decent sized apartment that was more than enough for one and sufficient for three. It was a combination of an office and an apartment. On the north side there was a kitchen with the basic appliances and a large window overlooking the school grounds. The living room, beside the kitchen, had sofa situated across from a television and a black coffee table with some stationary piled atop of it. Dan's room was located on the south side with a bed and a desk underneath the window.

Ann surveyed the apartment. "So this is your home. I think it needs more cleaning."

"I don't have much time to clean it."

"I'm sure you're very busy."

"Hai… just go take a shower, I think you haven't bath for three weeks."

"For your information, I bathed before we left the woods!"

"Whatever, I can last without a bath for a week, so you go first."

"Fine…" Ann took a towel and a change of clothes from her pack and went to the bathroom. Dan plopped on his sofa and switched on his computer to check on a social networking website. Nothing much was there. By the time he was done, Ann had finished bathing.

"O.K., your turn!"

"But I was going to rest for a while!"

"No buts, just get in and clean yourself up."

Dan picked up his towel and went to the bathroom while Ann explored his apartment.

"So how 'bout going to the registration now?" Dan said, post-shower.

"All right, but I still don't feel like registering to this place."

"Just come, if not, you might die in battle. At least with a school you'll still be alive."

"I'll register," Ann muttered in defeat.

Both of them went down to the garage and rode to the main headquarters of the school. The sky was dark, the moon smiled down on them, and the stars hid behind clouds. With only the headlights of Dan's underbone guiding them, they sped along the empty roads.

The main building of the school, situated in the middle of the school compound, was where all roads met. The building itself was three buildings joined together, comprised of the prefects' headquarters, the teachers' building, and the school's administration center. The three buildings formed a triangle.

Beside the administration center, a large sign had Chung Cheng Secondary School written on it. An electronic announcement board beneath it was used to show announcements from other administrations and uniformed societies. The time for the scout meeting Dan had instructed was also displayed on the board thanks to the scout's secretary, Hsein Phing.

The two got off the Honda wave and walked to the entrance, which was now locked.

"Shadow, let us in the building," Dan instructed his guardian.

"I'll send you into my world, from there, just walk to your desired destination and I'll send you back up to your world. I detect someone in the building, but I think it's safe."

The two went into Dan's shadow, allowing them to walk under the door and without anyone noticing. They proceeded to the main office. In it, tables were cluttered with papers and forms. A hulking machine sat in one corner, probably the supercomputer that stored all the school's information.

Dan shuffled through the papers to find the registration form.

"Let's see… absentee slips, transferring schools form, co-curricular form… Aha! There it is, the registration form."

"Are you sure this is legal? Wouldn't a clerk know?"

"No, they won't. Just fill in the form and I'll shove this in the super computer, where it will take the data and put your name in the system."

"If you say so." Ann started to fill her information.

"What about the address? Should I write down the one for my old house?"

"Just put the scout headquarters address."

"Done." Dan took the complete form and put the form in the machine's scanner. The machine hummed and started vibrating, then after a minute there was a ding. A brilliant light illuminated Ann, registering her to the system and giving her the ability to survive death in battle.

"All complete."

"What! It's that easy? Why don't more people register to the school secretly?"

"No one can enter the building without someone opening the door for them. Most of the time the door is locked. We just happen to be lucky enough to have Shadow.

"Now it makes sense."

They left the office, but while leaving they heard someone's footsteps. They hid in Dan's shadow to observe the mystery person, finding out it was one of the head prefects, Chee Kiat. He probably wanted to check on the machine due to all the noises it made a minute ago. He left when he saw nothing.

Dan was about to call out to him, but Ann clamped a hand over his mouth at the last moment..

"Are you crazy? If he knows that we're here, he could report us!"

"Oh, I didn't think about that. I just want to call out my friend."

"Idiot. Anyway, I wonder what he's doing here."

"He probably had to work overtime. A prefect's life is tough, especially if you're in charge of nearly everything like he is."

They left after the head prefect turned a corner, riding back to Dan's apartment quickly.

"Ahh… what a day we had." Ann flopped on Dan's bed, past the point of caring if it wasn't her own.

Oh well, looks like I have to sleep on the floor. Dan pulled out a mattress from under his bed and got ready for bed.


Dan woke up to his alarm clock, which rang at 7am. He walked up groggily and pressed the off button. Ann was still sleeping on Dan's bed with the blanket and pillows on the floor.

I think she hasn't slept on a bed for some time.

Dan shook her to wake her up. Ann threw a pillow in response, forcing him to leave her to sleep. He went to brush his teeth and get ready for the day. To wake Ann up, Dan poured a cup of water on her face.

"What do you do that for?"

"To wake you up! It's eight already! We have to be at the canteen to meet Tisha and the rest of the scouts so we can register for the clan system."

"Oh yeah. I'll just be a minute." Ann quickly got herself ready and ran down to where Dan was waiting.

The two sped off to the canteen. When they arrived, everyone else was already there.

"So let's see what this clan system in the paper is."

"Hope it's not one of those schemes where they trick people into doing their dirty work," Xiyin said.

"I don't think so, why would it be advertised in the papers in that case?" Xiang replied.

"Hmm… you never know. Maybe they have tons of blood money to pay for the advertisement space," said Hsien Phing.

"Just give it a try!" Loong exclaimed, bringing an end to the conversation as he led everyone inside. The stall Dan saw being built yesterday was now crowded with smartly-dressed officials running it. Pupils in the canteen gawked at the sight, their uncertain voices reaching Dan's ears.

"That looks like a new stall. Wonder what is sells?"

"It doesn't look like it's selling food, that's for sure."

"Aww... I thought it was going to sell exotic food. I'm bored with the food here."

"Well, I don't see any kitchen behind the counter."

"There's bottles lined up behind the counter, maybe it's selling drinks."

"We'll check it out once its officially opens."

The scouts sat on the chairs and waited for the new stall to open. Dan idly observed the crowd, bored. He saw a thin boy with a sword sheath attached to his belt wearing Chimbian clothing, accompanied by a slightly taller boy wearing gloves with white and black symbols emblazoned on them. There was yet another boy in this trio who was overweight and had brass knuckles tied to his belt. All were wearing the same clothes. Come to think of it, they looked familiar.

"Hey, Way Peng! Yam!" Dan called, finally recognizing the Wushu Temple members.

"Hey Dan," the three walked over to Dan's table. "What are you doing here?"

"We're going to register for the clan system."

"We're gonna do that too!" the trio sat next to the Dan's company.

"Oh ya, I haven't introduced you to my comrades. These people are Vee Xiang, Hsein Loong, Xiyin, Tisha, Hsein Phing, and Ann. All of them are my scout admins except for Ann. I met her in the woods on the way home.

Everyone, this is Way Peng, Yam, and Kian Yee."

"Yeah, and before I forget, here's your badge, you forgot to take it back when you left and…" Way Peng's voice grew softer. "Here's the bill."

"Here, Tisha, put this in the ledger," Dan handed the bill to Tisha, whose eyes widened upon looking at the slip of paper. He must out of his mind. We're in a deficit and he's still adding debts to the account. No wonder he flunked accounting.

She then accepted the bill with a fake grin on her face to lighten the situation.

"So, what brings you here?" Loong asked the wushu members.

"We are a part of this school too, it's just that our headquarters is a temple in the mountains."

"Oh, that's why our seniors always recommend the temple for the martial arts badge," Xiang deducted.

"I think the stall is opening now." Ann pointed to the stall, which was increasing in activity. They rushed to the stall in an attempt to be there early.

The main stall operator was wearing a turban on his head and a white robe. He had a goatee on his chin.

"Listen, you imbeciles! I have worn my feet out traveling here from Ivalice and I'm dog-tired. So your sorry little souls better appreciate it and not give me any trouble." The man cleared his throat. "I am here to introduce you to the clan system. If you don't listen to my explanations and try to ask me questions afterwards, you're going to regret it. First, when you register a clan your records will be hooked up to the school system, so registering will be quick and idiot-proof. Once you register, you will be given a device called a Grimoire, which will keep track of everything and will solve most of your problems about this system as it has a tutorial installed. Also of note, our clan system is slightly different than the one in Ivalice. You can now ask for help from other clans if you need it. Not that its' going to help you. Vehicles are also permitted if you have a license. If you register now all you have to do is pay a small fee and you will earn a substantial amount of money."

"What's with that crazy turban guy?" Hsein Phing asked the company.

"He did say he came from a far away country. Maybe he faced some problems while coming here. He might settle down tomorow" Xiang replied back.

"Do you want to join?" Dan asked his comrades.

"How about we spilt up," Xiang suggested. "That way we can earn money faster."

"Yeah, good idea," Loong agreed.

"So, how are we gonna spilt?" Dan asked them.

"Maybe we can split by Land Scout, Sea Scout, and Air Scout. Each of us perform better in the fields we're in," said Xiang.

Loong frowned. "What about the name? We need a name."

"How about KB28 Land, KB28 Sea, and KB28 Air. It tells what we are and where we're from since it has our district code in the name," Dan suggested.

"Good idea."

"Loong, can I invite Zhi Jing to our clan? He can be useful," Xiyin pleaded. Zhi Jing was the name of her boyfriend.

"All right, just make sure he does what I tell him to."

Everyone went to the counter to register their clan. The operator was scowled at them as he collected the forms and hooked it up to the school system for registration.

"Take your Grimoire and learn its functions yourself. You should know how use a cellphone, so you should know how to use this," the operator handed Dan a brown device that resembled a book on the outside. However, if you opened the cover there was a touchscreen inside instead of pages. It also had an antenna protruding from it. "Have a nice death," the operator muttered as Dan walked away, examining the device.

Dan's eyes widened. "Oh no, not another charger-based device, my house doesn't have enough electrical outlets to charge everything."

"Come on, just check out it's functions," Ann insisted. Tisha was also looking at the new device.

A menu was shown on the main page. Options like contacts, messaging, clan statistics, log entries, and quest entries were shown on screen. Dan checked on the clan statistics.

Leader: Dan(Land Scout)

Title: KB28 Land

Members: Ann (Red Crescent Moon Member/Artist), Tisha (Land Scout)

Clan points: 0

Clan funds: 10,127 gil

Clan skills: Negotiation: 1

Aptitude: 1

Adaptability: 1

Teamwork: 1

Vehicles: Honda Shadow (motorcycle), Honda Wave (motorcycle)

"Quests will be available tomorrow" The operator said.

"Looks like we have to come back tomorrow for taking some quests" Loong said in disappointment.

"We have to go back to the headquarters to tell the scout members that we will not be operating anymore" Dan reminded the company about the announcement he is going to tell the scout members.

"Yeah, we can't conduct any activities when don't have time since we are busy with this" Xiang pitched in with his Grimoire in hand.

"And money" Tisha added while staring at the three troop leaders.

"We'll meet back at the headquarters after lunch" Dan instructed the other two clan leaders.

KB28 Scout and company's space


Dan: Since when did so many people come in here? And what happened to the name?

Ann: Yeah! This is our own private space!

Loong: Hey, we can't just stand outside the whole day

Xiyin: Ya! The sun is burning hot today! We'll get sunburn if we stay outside one more minute

Xiang: There's air conditioning here too

Tisha: Don't you that cost money. Did you use the scout's money again?

Dan: Noo. I stole this space from the author.

Hsien Phing: Bad boy…

?: CowaBangaa!

*Rubay crashes in from the air, Hand cannon in hand*

Dan: Now how did you know about this place?

Rubay: I heard your conversssation just now and I want in.

Ann: Hmmm…

Loong: What's that you're holding?

Rubay: Thisss? Itsss hand cannon. Let me ssshow you how it worksss.

*Aims hand cannon at the top of this page, fires it*

BLAM!

Dan and Ann: Oh hell… Not again…

Loong: That can be useful in my boat.

Xiyin: Stop thinking violent thought!

Rubay: I aimed at the author up there!

Tisha: Why'd you do that? He the creator here.

Hsein Phing: He's no god, just a plain writer with some no good internet connection.

Xiyin: yeah, he sometimes has to send emails twice to make sure it arrives.

Tisha: But seriously, Rubay. Why did you do that?

Rubay: He wasss talking bad about the readersss up there.

Dan: he had some problems with reference of the game, since we are all OCs, and most of this is his idea. Lousy ideas…

Rubay: Wait, I think I can hear the author sssaying sssomething. I'll get a long range camera and microphone for you all to sssee.

Author from the top on the charred floor with one hand weakly raised up: please…. help… need…good…forum…with…people… in…it…for… quest… ideas… and suggestion...

Go... www(.)fanfiction(.)net/forum/School_Tactics_Advance_forum/87684/ ... to...give..quest ideas..and stuff... and please review...