I'm back! Well, the story is back. (no one is all that happy to see me...) :p
did you all enjoy the bonus chapter "A day in the life of Jada"? I had a lot of fun writing it because i like Jada's character a lot. Anyway, chapter nineteen of After Spartoi will now commence!
"This is not cool," Emmie muttered to Jamie.
"Just bear and grin it, it'll be over soon," Jamie muttered back.
Emmie grimaced and shifted in her seat. "I cannot stand this. Please Jamie, let's just leave."
"We'll get in trouble if we do!"
"It doesn't matter! Please, i can't keep listening to..." Emmie pointed at the source of the class's misery. "...THAT!"
"Did you know, my legend dates back to the twelfth century?" Exclaimed Excalibur for what seemed the millionth time. The whole class of crescent moon was being held captive by the most annoying creature on earth, the holy sword Excalibur. Blackstar had long since run away, leaving only Tsubaki to keep the class in place for Excalibur's lecture on his life. "My mornings would start with a cup of tea, and a biscuit. In the afternoons I'd enjoy a drive and coffee..."
"Okay, maybe we can leave," Jamie admitted. He had a lot of patience, but this was his limit.
"'bout bloody time!" Emmie growled. She leaned down towards D.K. and his partners. "Psst! Can you get us out of here D.K.?"
"I can leave! I'm the son of the shinigami! How would that look?" D.K. hissed at her.
Emmie looked around at the rest of the class; most people were either sleeping or not paying attention at all. Shiro was folding paper air planes out of his notes, Aria was a red headed blob on her desk; her head down and she was sawing logs. Daniel was hiding beneath his desk, Excalibur had been shouting at him all morning, and Olivia was doodling something in her note book. Tsubaki was the only person even trying to pay attention, but even she was beginning to lose strength.
"D.k., i highly doubt anyone will care if you left right now. In fact i think they'd be jealous," Emmie said flatly. She poked the shinigami with her finger. "Come on! I know you can so do it!"
"Fine! Just stop poking me!" D.K. slapped her hand away. Excalibur noticed their conversation and pointed his cane at them. "Fools! You are not to speak when i, Excalibur, am telling of my glorious past!"
"Yes sir!" They all chorused. Once Excalibur's attention was off of them, Emmie shot D.K. a look. D.K. pulled out his cell phone in response, and sent out a text to someone. A minute later the phone rung loudly, startling the students out of their bored stupor.
D.K. answered it lightening quickly. "Hello? Father? Yes, i understand. We'll be right there!" He clicked it shut and stood up. "I'm sorry, but my father has summoned me and my friends to the Death room. As much as we'd like to stay and listen to your enthralling stories Excalibur, we regretfully must leave."
"I suppose that is reasonable enough," Excalibur huffed. "But to help make up for this, i invite you all to a private recitation in my cave."
'That's the last thing we'd do,' the five of them thought as they bolted from the class room. They ran through the empty halls of the school, heading for nowhere imparticular.
"Why did your dad call you?" Jamie asked as they ran.
"I texted that i needed him to call me. He understands just how terrible it is to be around Excalibur," D.K. answered. Madison giggled and Serena smirked, they knew just how much Kidd hated Excalibur.
"Now what?" Emmie asked as they sat down on the steps of the school entrance. "We don't have class again for quite a while."
D.K. sat down and thought for a moment. "I guess... we could have a sparring match."
"Is that allowed outside of class?" Jamie asked, skeptical of the idea.
"As long as a teacher is present, you can fight whenever you want here."
Jamie nodded. "Sounds good then. I'd like to see just what the son of Lord Death can do."
"No serious attacks though, i don't need you injuring my partner D.K.," Emmie warned. The last thing she needed was for Jamie to get hospitalized.
Line Break!
The five friends made their way across the track where the NOT class were running laps. Sid was taking notes on a clip board, marking down which students needed more improvement.
"Yo, Sid!" Emmie called to the zombie man.
"Emmie, what brings you all here?" Sid asked.
"We need you to supervise us in a sparring match," D.K. said.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class?"
"Excalibur's there."
"Ah, in that case, feel free. It'll be a good demonstration for the NOT class," Sid called the Not students together
and Jamie and D.K. warmed up; stretching their muscle, getting ready to fight. The NOT students chattered excitedly, two EAT meisters were going to fight right in front of them; plus it was between the son of Lord Death and the partner of the infamous White Demon.
That and it got them out of running laps.
"I hope you're ready for this, Jamie," D.K. warned his friend. "I will not be going easy on you."
"I don't expect you to," Jamie shot back. He held out his hand. "Emmie?"
Emmie shifted into her weapon form and flew to Jamie's waiting hand. He caught her and the light vanished. Jamie swung the scythe around, brandishing the long blade.
"Heh," D.K. chuckled, his friend had grown substantially in power since joining the EAT class. It was almost intimidating to see him with fighting spirit in his eyes. "Serena, Madison, transform."
"Sure!" Madison cheered.
"Fine," Serena said in a bored tone.
Light enveloped them both and they shrunk. Flying into D.K.'s hands, Madison was the first to finish and reveal her weapon form, a .44 magnum revolver. The wooden handle fit snuggly in D.K.'s hand, light reflected off the silver barrel. Serena's weapon form was just as, if not more, impressive. The long range barrel of the bor rifle touched the ground as Serena finished transforming. Big, black, and dangerous looking was what someone would use to describe Serena. D.K. lifted Serena up and fastened her to his back with a strap.
"Aren't you going to use both of them?" Jamie asked, confused.
"Nah, Serena is a long range weapon. Not good for close combat," D.K. replied matter-a-factly. He raised the revolver up at Jamie. "I only need Madison for this fight."
"Jamie, be careful," Emmie's reflection appeared. "You've never fought someone like D.K. before, or a gun. This will be different from the other sparring matched we've had."
"I know," Jamie tightened his grip on the staff of the scythe. "How should i go at him?"
"Fast and quick, you have to catch him off guard."
"Ready?" Sid asked the two meisters.
"Ready," Jamie answered, readying himself.
"Sure," D.K. replied, flicking his slightly shaggy hair out of the way. (Some of the girls from the NOT class kawaiied at this)
"Three, two, one, go!" Sid yelled. On Sid's mark, Jamie charged fast and low, aiming to get D.K.'s legs.
"Nope," D.K. said as he jumped easily out of the way. He held the revolver up and shot three times.
"Yikes" Jamie yelped, the shots almost catching him.
Emmie's reflection appeared on the blade of the scythe. "I told you to be careful, now focus!"
"I know!" Jamie gritted his teeth and ran at D.K. again, swinging an attack around at him. A swing up and then down, making use of the double sided blade. Jamie caught D.K., but barely; slicing the tips of D.K.'s black button up shirt.
"Oh man, my father is going to kill me," D.K. grumbled, fingering the sliced edges. He shifted into a martial arts stance. "You're going to need to pay for that Jamie, i hate having to deal with my father's OCD."
"I didn't mean to-"
"Death God Taijutsu: 'Guilty Stance'," D.K. said ominously. He blurred and disappeared from sight.
"Huh?" Jamie twisted his head around searching for D.K.
"Look out!" Emmie shouted.
D.K. appeared behind Jamie, low to the ground. He swung his leg out and knocked Jamie onto his back. Before Jamie could even react, D.K. shot Jamie in the stomach.
"Gyaaah!" Jamie cried out in pain, clutching his stomach.
Girls and boys of the NOT class screamed in horror, Sid did his best to assure them Jamie was fine.
"Bullets like that only hurt; they won't kill you if they aren't intended to!" Sid said hurriedly. The screaming abruptly stopped when Jamie got up off the ground.
"Geez, that really stings," Jamie winced as the spot on his stomach began to turn red. "I thought this was supposed to be a none serious battle."
"I'm sure that if you can beat a witch, you can handle getting shot," D.K. said, cocking an eye brow. "Jada must be really weak if managed to beat her."
"Hey! We beat her fair and square!" Jamie protested. "We are an effective team and we can beat you easy!"
"Them's fightin' words," D.K. drawled in a fake western accent. He held up his hand and taunted Jamie. "You sure you can fulfill that promise?"
Jamie didn't answer; instead he swung the scythe at D.K., letting go of it and sent it spinning at D.K. D.K. dodged the oncoming scythe with ease. What he didn't notice is that Emmie transformed to her human form. She nailed D.K. in the back with more force than needed. D.K. went flying a good five feet, sliding on the ground.
"Hey! That was a cheap shot!" D.K. yelled, wiping dirt off his face.
"Who said anything about me not being allowed to fight by myself?" Emmie said in a mocking tone. "We came up with this new style a little while ago, instead of Jamie doing all the punching, we'd share it."
"Basically, we alternate between her being a scythe and us fighting together," Jamie said, taking his own fighting stance. "Emmie's a lot better at hand to hand combat then i am at the moment, so this works good."
"Tch!" D.K. spat on the ground, dirt had gotten in his mouth. "You two fight dirty, you know."
"No, we fight creatively," Jamie said with a smile. "Emmie! Move six!"
Emmie and Jamie moved as one, charging D.K. at the same time. Emmie transformed her arm into a blade as she moved and Jamie curled his hand into a fist. Emmie swung for D.K.'s neck and Jamie aimed for his ribs. D.K. blocked Emmie's attack with the revolver but was hit by Jamie. D.K. kicked out, sending Jamie to the ground. He turned and grabbed Emmie's hand and threw her over his shoulder. She recovered in mid fall and flipped her legs down before she hit the ground. Securing her grip on D.K.'s arms she returned the same attack to him and succeeded. D.K. hit the dirt again and the air was knocked from his lungs.
"Shouldn't you stop them?" A NOT class girl asked, tugging Sid on his shirt sleeve. "They're going to hurt themselves."
"That's all a part of a fight between meisters," Sid said. He patted the girl on the shoulder. "Don't worry, they know what they're doing. I think."
D.K. flipped onto his feet and raised his free hand up and shouted out. "Beelzebub!"
A black skate board materialized in his hand, a white skull on the bottom. D.K. hopped on it and flew up into the air.
"That's cheating!" Emmie shouted at the air born shinigami.
"All is fair in love and war," D.K. said with a smile. "Now I'm going to get really serious."
Tucking the revolver into its holster attached to D.K.'s belt, D.K. switched weapons. He pulled the rifle off his back and pointed it down at Emmie and Jamie.
"I thought you didn't need me in this fight, D.K." Serena said from within the rifle.
"Oh, be quiet will you. I misjudged them a little."
"Oh come on," Jamie muttered from beside Emmie. D.K. had stepped up the artillery to say the least, staring down the black barrel was terrifying.
"Move baka!" Emmie shouted as D.K. opened fire. The ground exploded where they'd just been standing, rocks and dirt flew everywhere. Blinded for a moment, Jamie faltered and D.K. caught him in the shoulder.
"Gah!" Jamie stumbled and went down.
"Jamie!" Emmie went to aid her partner but was cut off by fire from D.K.
"Just give up already, you can't win at this point," D.K. said in a calm voice. "You two don't know how to counter me. Surrender and train some more, then come back in a few years."
"Asshole!" Emmie swore in response.
D.K. aimed the gun and fired, striking Emmie on the head. She fell backwards and fell over. Blood began to pool around her head. The watching students gasped in horror.
"He's killed her!"
"Sensei, do something!"
"Eek!"
"EMMIE!" Jamie screamed.
"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" Emmie yelled, as she sat up, her hair covering her face. "What the hell D.K.? Shooting me?!"
"Emmie..." Jamie said quietly.
"What?!" Emmie's left eye peeked out from behind her hair, a of pit of anger.
"Your... hair..."
White locks drifted in the wind and settled on Emmie's lap. Emmie's hand went to her head and she felt the missing hair. D.K. had shot off a large amount of hair, she was now missing quite a bit of hair on the right side of her head. Emmie slowly lowered her hands and looked upwards.
"D.K...!" Emmie growled. Blood was gushing from the cut on her fore head, dripping down her face, she looked positively demonic.
"Um..." D.K. froze, shaken by her raw anger.
"Jamie! Maneuver three!" Emmie yelled. Jamie jumped up and ran to the space beneath D.K.'s position in the air. Emmie ran fast and hard at Jamie, who knit his hands together in preparation. Jumping and landing on Jamie's hands, Emmie leapt high into the air and flew up. She appeared in front of D.K., eyes blazing with fury.
"Hey, hold on!" D.K. tried to back away, but remembered he was in the air. Emmie showed no mercy as she twisted in the air and did a spin kick to his chest, sending D.K. to the earth below. He landed hard, losing his grip on Serena, while Emmie landed gracefully on her feet.
She loomed over him, still blazing white hot anger. She spoke in a scarily sweet voice. "This isn't nearly enough punishment for you D.K.~, i think i should give you another few kicks~"
"Sensei, I'm scared!" The once concerned girl hid behind Sid, as did all the other NOT students. They watched as Emmie bent down and grabbed hold of D.K.'s hair and hoisted him up.
"An eye for an eye," She said menacingly. Her arm shifted into a scythe and held in front of his face.
"I give up! I give up!" D.K. cried as she sliced. He shut his eyes, waiting for the pain, but it never came. D.K. opened his eyes tentatively.
"There," Emmie said, satisfied with her work. She released D.K.'s head, letting him drop. "Hope you like your new haircut."
"Hair cut...?" D.K. felt his head, feeling his hair. The left side of his head was fine, same as ever, but the other side...
D.K. frantically dug into his pocket and retrieved a square mirror. He looked into to it and saw... half of his head had been cut in buzz cut style. Nothing but black stubble was left.
Jamie walked over to the two of them, laughing. "Not really how i expected things to go, but you got a nice hair cut D.K."
"Not bad, kinda rebellious looking," Serena chuckled as she shifted to her human form. Madison couldn't even speak she was laughing so hard. The NOT class was beginning to laugh too at this point.
"My hair..." D.K. rubbed it slowly, feeling the spikey sensation. "It's... amazing!"
"Huh?!" Emmie gaped at her elated friend.
"Perfect! So asymmetrical, it's wonderful!" D.K. turned his head back and forth in the mirror. "My father is going to kill me, but whatever! His reaction will be worth it!"
Emmie frowned and helped him off the ground. "I don't get you."
"I don't get you either," D.K. replied.
"Um... if i could interrupt," Sid spoke up from the side lines. "You kinda trashed the field."
The five of them surveyed the area and realized Sid was right. The ground had giant holes in it, and more than enough gouges from Jamie and D.K. getting smacked into the ground.
"Oops..." Madison muttered.
Line Break!
They spent the rest of the day helping clean up the training field and explaining D.K.'s sudden change in hair style. Kidd had almost had an aneurism when he saw both the wreckage and his son's head. After a thorough scolding for both teams, they left the school at four thirty.
"Let's never do that again," Jamie concluded. He hadn't enjoyed hauling buckets of dirt back and forth, his muscles ached all over.
"I can concur to that," D.K. said in a tired voice. The scolding from his dad had lasted a around twenty minutes.
"This whole fiasco was your fault D.K.," Emmie growled at him. "You screwed up my hair and got us in trouble."
"I thought you were going to dodge!"
"Stop bickering you two," Madison said, whacking them both on the back. "We don't need any more fighting today."
"Whatever, just transform so i can fly us home," D.K. grumbled. Once his partners were in their weapon forms he summoned Beelzebub and flew away.
"And so ends yet another day of complicated school life," Emmie said in a fake dramatic voice, raising both of her hands up in the air. "And here i thought we'd never be done."
"Ha ha, it wasn't that bad Emmie."
"Say that to my hair," Emmie said, pointing to her shortened hair. "Now I'm going to have to fix it. Not to mention put a bandage on my face, he really got me!"
"It's not that bad," Jamie said, brushing the hair away from the cut. The sun reflected off Emmie's hair, turning it silvery, it was mesmerizing. The two of them stood there for a moment, Jamie's fingers lightly touching Emmie's cut. He suddenly dropped his hand, finally noticing what he was doing. "Yeah, you should put something on that, definitely."
"R-right..." Emmie felt a bit of a blush crawl onto her cheeks. 'No, no, no! What am i getting embarrassed for?!'
"Anyway, i gotta go. Things to do, places to be," Jamie said. He started running down the steps. "I'll see later!"
"Yeah... seeya," Emmie said, watching her partner disappear down the stairs. She pulled out her phone and dialed her home number. It tolled for moment then Jada picked up.
"Howdy-hoo! How you doing Emmie?"
"Fine, could you come and get me on that broom of yours? I need to get home quick, i have to get ready for something tonight."
"Ooh~ is it a date with someone~?"
"What-? NO! just come and get me!"
"Fine~ fine~" Jada said sing song. She hung up and Emmie lowered her phone from her ear.
"Geez! What a dumb question," She huffed, sitting down on the stairs. 'It's not like anyone would go on a date with me anyway.'
Emmie sat there for a while, contemplating herself and her actions today. It hadn't started out well, but she hoped it would end well. Tonight was going to be perfect, if she could be on time for once.
'I wonder how much longer i can keep the secret from Jamie and the others,' More than once Jada had almost found her costume closet. It had taken some quick talking and a lot of locks to keep her out. 'I hope they don't find out just yet, I'm not ready for them to know.'
A few minutes later Jada showed up on her broom with Scree.
Ooh~! Just what is Emmie's secret? (i foreshadowed this a while back if you look a few chapters back)
I'll be revealing that next chapter! (Maybe, i might just string you along a little longer :3)
About the contest, i realized that there was another way for you guys to enter. (Thanks to someone's suggestion) You could do a one shot using the characters of After Spartoi and I'd judge it. (Just put link in a private message or review) i give you all permission to use my characters this one time!
Please participate! (And follow, favourite, and all that other junk.)