Chapter 2- Culture Shock

1 month later:

Ryu was flying once again, but this time as a passenger. His summer break was off to a fantastic start, if you could call having to pack all your things, say goodbye to all your friends, and catch a plane at 7 am "fantastic". At least the guy on the other side of the aisle was excited. He had friends on the Zuikaku. Ryu had nothing. In any case, the Avro York they were on would take another hour to reach their destination, so Ryu decided to catch up on some sleep. Unfortunately, his mind was dead set on something else.

Was he wrong? Well, of course he was. There was really no excuse for endangering the life of another like that… but it's not like they even took the time to listen! Really, they only let him speak twice… who was he kidding, he got what he deserved… even though they really didn't bother to think for more than… 5 seconds before expelling him. And now he's at a no-name school… with no sentouki-do program… oh, come on, he knew what he was doing… and he still did it… the only one… directly responsible… for his situation… was him…

He was suddenly jolted upright. Looking outside, he could see the plane's tires rolling on the concrete airstrip. Apparently, he did manage to get some sleep, though he wouldn't be able to tell if they were still in the air. The other passengers were now scrambling around to get their luggage, most of them excited to see friends or family they left on the Zuikaku. But for Ryu, there was one thought on his mind: There was no going back.

Tsubame watched from her office. Behind her, the Vice President asked her one final time. "President, do you really think this is worth it? You saw what he did in the finals last year."

Tsubame sighed before glancing out the window behind her. "I did, Akihito. I saw the good, the bad, and the potential. This may be a gamble, but our chances only go down if we don't take everything offered to us. We can't just rely on the other two schools to win their tournaments. And things are already in motion."

He released a short sigh. "I hope you're right about this. We can't afford to be wrong." and left. She put the papers back in their drawer and looked back out the window. She followed him a few minutes later.

"No, no we can't."

"All right, block 19, building 3, 9th floor, room 9. Welcome to Oarai." The check-in lady smiled at Ryu as she handed him her keys and a map. He rushed down to catch the bus to his block. Thank God it hadn't left yet.

The buses Ryu saw before him were different from the double-deckers he remembered. These buses were weird. Maybe his experience was the weird thing and these buses were normal. Well, this was a sorry excuse for a bus regardless of whether it's normal or not, but still. As he awaited their departure from his window seat, Ryu couldn't help but think of how different it all was. When he checked into St. Gloriana, the whole process was much quicker and more elegant. Then again, St. Gloriana has a lot more money than Oarai.

He was interrupted by a mechanical screech. The bus closed its doors and took off. As they went along the road, Ryu noticed the distinctly modern Japanese style of the Zuikaku. Just as he was getting accustomed to St. Gloriana's amalgamation of Victorian, Industrial, and modern British architecture, he was forced back to this style. As they moved further into the town, where there would have been rows and rows of townhome-style dorms there were instead utilitarian blocks of concrete which barely resembled anything more than a cinder block with windows. This was going to be a long few years.

Ryu took a good look around at his finally-finished dorm room. The St. Gloriana flag, a British blue ensign adorned with the Gloriana shield, proudly stood guard above his bed in the corner. A kettle sat in the kitchen and some tea packets stood to its right. Standard desk and chair in the other corner, a small table in the middle, a few pictures scattered around. Ryu picked up one next to his laptop. Lemongrass sat on the wing of a P-51 as Ryu, Haruka, and Saunders' commander "George" stood on the ground. This must have been from one of the friendly air shows the Co-Ed schools often do. Wait, no, it was from the exhibition match they did at the start of last year. Good times.

He put the photo back in its place and opened the blinds for the first time. The hangars were in the background, almost mocking him with their mere presence. As he moved to close them, Ryu's eyes caught several large trucks bringing something into the hangar. Each flatbed was covered with a tarp. If they were transporting large equipment, then that could be… no, no, no. There's no way Oarai could have a sentouki-do team. The sport's been dead on Oarai's campus for at least a decade, probably two. And even if they did, there's no way he could be part of it. Surely the school would know what he's done and reject him. Not like a fleet of trucks is evidence of a sentouki-do team anyways.

The possibility of sentouki-do would have been the primary thought on Ryu's mind as he walked to school that first day. But it competed with the mountain of differences between St. Gloriana and Oarai. A single day isn't enough to adjust, apparently.

Ryu was least prepared for what the school itself looked like, however. The architecture of St. Gloriana was based off of Oxford University, and it was beautiful. The intricate stone pillars made students want to pursue excellence. Oarai was strictly practical: it didn't really have a theme. Just the standard Boys' school, Girls' school, and Co-Ed school each designed to get students in and out. The basic concrete columns made students want to leave.

Ryu walked into the building half-expecting a swarm to greet him. He apparently forgot he wasn't a pilot anymore. Wait, wasn't St. Gloriana unique in how it treated its pilots anyways? Not that it mattered regardless: it certainly wasn't the case here. Well, as nice as it would be to be recognized for his work, at least he didn't have to deal with people. Actually, in this case, his "work" would earn him more controversy than praise, so it's probably for the better regardless.

Ryu looked down at his schedule. Class 2-C, floor 2. Fair enough. As he made his way down to the classroom, the idea of an Oarai sentouki-do team invaded his mind again. When he took his seat, however, someone behind him audibly set a book down. His instinct screamed at him: something was wrong. He quickly looked around but all seemed normal. Well, a girl with white hair isn't exactly "normal" per se, but it's nothing was wrong.

Michiko put her book down more gently this time and looked at him again. The Dragon of St. Gloriana's was here at Oarai? There was only one thing he could be here for. The thing she had been preparing for all summer, no, all her life. Sentouki-do.

Author's Note: Thanks for waiting for chapter 2 to come out. I know it's not as early as I'd like. As much as I'd like to put it all on everything from an unexpected snowstorm to a busy spring break, I really can't say that's the whole picture. I will try my best to do better, but in the meantime, thank you for your patience. Again, a big thank you to Rihnoswirl, Rosy the PIAT-teer, and DiscountTomasBoltun for their input. It truly means a lot.