Kingdom Hearts: Daybreak Academy
Chapter 2: Twenty Paces
Twenty paces apart.
That was the condition Astrid set when she agreed to take Galeo to Daybreak Academy. Her arms were crossed and her shoulders were stiff. She had no idea what would happen when they arrived on campus. Would Master Ava thank her and tell her that she did the right thing? Would she reprimand Astrid?
Astrid shook her head at the thought, then turned around to make sure Galeo was still following her. He wasn't.
"Ugh!" The blonde balled her fists and stomped her feet, frustrated by the boy's unannounced disappearance. "Where did that misfit run off to?"
She thought for a moment to herself about returning to the tower, but instead retraced her steps in search of her acquaintance. It did not take long for her to find him standing in front of a small restaurant, talking to a waitress.
The waitress, a woman with small eyes and an unnerved smile framed by chestnut bangs, nodded along as he explained to her that he was from out of town and did not have any money. She was clearly uncomfortable by the boy that wore tattered clothes and was covered in dirt. It did not take long for the cook to come out from the kitchen, waving his hatchet back and forth as he yelled at Galeo to leave.
The boy jumped back and summoned his Keyblade reflexively. This made the chef drop his knife and take a few steps back, the woman retreating as well while using him as a shield.
Astrid sprang forward and stood between them with his back to the chef and waitress. "Are you out of your mind?! You can't just draw your Keyblade on civilians!"
Galeo looked distraught, but disarmed as he lowered his Keyblade and pointed a finger at the man. "But he tried to attack me!"
"Because you won't leave the restaurant!" Astrid snapped back.
Shaky violet eyes flickered back and forth between Astrid and the restaurant employees. "I-I just wanted something to eat...I haven't ate in days…"
Astrid's eyes narrowed. "Even so. They have the right to deny your business. Do you even have any munny on you?"
"What's that?"
Now her eyes widened with disbelief. Even a beggar should have known what munny was. This boy was becoming more and more peculiar the more time Astrid spent with him. She shook her head and responded, "Look, we need to get you to the academy before anything else."
Galeo's head slumped in defeat. He had to admit that he did want to go to Daybreak Academy, after all. "Okay...let's get going."
Astrid nodded. "Good. And put your Keyblade away. It'll raise concern. As a Keyblade wielder you should know what distress brings."
Understanding what Astrid was referring to, Galeo seemed to perk up. "Oh yeah! You mean the Heart–"
Astrid's legs move on their own. As did her hand, which covered Galeo's mouth before he could finish the word. "Are you stupid?!" she hissed. "Didn't you hear what I just said about distress? Just the mention of them will cause panic!"
Galeo turned his head, puzzled by her concerns. After all, he didn't know much about Daybreak Town, its people, or how they behaved, so he just nodded.
Astrid, on the other hand, had finally realized that she had touched the vagabond's grimy face, which made her reel her arm away in disgust. "Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" She shook her hand, trying to get the dirt off her hand, but found that it would be much harder to do that. "Ugh! Come on, let's just get going. I'll wash my hands when we get to the academy. Just remember to stay twenty paces behind and don't wander off again!"
Galeo nodded again and did as she said, following her all the way to the clocktower at the center of the city.
"Woah!" he said as they approached the base of the tower. "This is Daybreak Academy?!"
Astrid gave him a sideways glance and nodded. She then faced forward and approached a cobblestone mural on the floor, one with several animal heads in circles, all inside a larger circle. As she stepped onto the center, something on her arm began to glow with a bright pink color along with the corresponding symbol on the floor. Despite wearing a long-sleeved shirt, the symbol of a fox appeared clear as day. After several seconds, both the symbol on her arm and the one on the floor dimmed and a door at the base of the tower opened. Astrid turned to Galeo and said, "Come on."
As Galeo stepped forward with Astrid, she stopped and quirked an eyebrow at him. "Are we forgetting something?"
"Hmm?" Galeo looked back to the mural and asked, "Am I supposed to stand over there too?"
"No, but that would be nice. Twenty paces, remember?"
"Oh! Right…" Galeo sighed as he sluggishly walked over to the mural and waited for Astrid to walk through the door before following her inside.
Galeo found himself passing through a small corridor that opened up into a large, multi-storied chamber that could best be described as a stairwell with a web of bridges overhead.
All the boy could say was, "Woah…" He walked to the center of the room and slowly turned in a circle to gaze upon the magnificence of the school. The clock tower was large from the outside, but it seemed like a city all on its own on the inside with students walking all about, chattering amongst themselves.
Unable to contain his excitement, Galeo threw his fists into the air and shouted, "I made it!"
His words echoed throughout the chamber as conversations quickly ceased one after another until all was silent. At that moment, Astrid realized that Galeo was no longer following her. He had stopped in the center of the bottom level while she had begun climbing a set of stairs, so she had reached the second level when the boy made his outburst.
Underneath her breath, Astrid hissed, "What is he doing?!"
Galeo was filled with a sense of exhilaration as he raised his hands in triumph, only to then be filled with unease because of the hundreds of eyes now on him. He had never seen so many people before in one place, nor had he had this much attention at once. It was nauseating. His vision blurred as time seemed to slow down for the wanderer. His head hit the ground and then everything was pitch black.
When Galeo came to, he found himself lying on a soft bed with the bright rays of midday light spilling through the billowing curtains. He had to blink a couple times so that his eyes would adjust. A small groan escaped Galeo's lips as he sat upright in the bed rubbing his weary eyes. The squeaking mattress springs must have been loud enough to reach the next room because a woman in pink and white robes soon walked in. She wore a white fox mask with glowing topaz eye holes and the ears poked through her hood.
"Oh! You're awake," she said. Her voice was soft and full of concern. She sounded happy to see that he was conscious.
Galeo blinked once more and nodded. "Y-yeah...where am I?"
"I brought you to my personal quarters," she answered. "You caused quite a commotion in the east tower lobby."
Galeo's eyebrows pinched together as he looked down at the thin sheet lain over his body, clearly disoriented and trying to find the words to ask the questions he had.
The robed maiden held a hand up and said, "I'm sure you have many questions, which I'll answer, but would you like something to drink first? Water? Tea?"
Now that she had mentioned it, his voice did feel rather coarse. He nodded and cleared his throat. "Yeah! I'd really like some water, or whatever you have."
The young woman nodded with a gentle smile gracing her cherry blossom lips. She then disappeared into the other room, but returned shortly after with both a glass of water and a tea cup, balanced perfectly on a large plate. She set both on the nightstand beside the boy and went to have a seat on a nearby chair, her hands laid on her lap as she waited patiently.
Galeo spared no time at all in grabbing the glass of water and feverishly gulping down every ounce. With a hearty sigh, he set the glass down and wiped his lips. "Thanks a lot, miss…"
"Ava," she said, while maintaining that delicate smile of hers.
"Ava," he repeated, trying the name out with his own voice. "Thanks a lot, Ava!"
The woman giggled, which confused Galeo. "Something the matter?"
She waved her hand and said, "Not at all. Now then, you had questions?"
"Yeah. Well, you told me that I'm in your room, but why am I here? How did I get here?"
"I brought you–with some help, of course. I wanted to make sure you were well cared for. How is your head? From what some of the other students said, you took a rather hard fall."
Once again, the young woman's words brought awareness to Galeo as he reached for the back of his head. He winced when he felt the sting of a large bump, which made Ava let out a small gasp, clearly concerned for his well being.
"It seems like you suffered from an injury. Could you roll onto your stomach for me so I can take a look at it?"
Galeo tilted his head in confusion but did as she asked, resting his cheek against the soft pillow.
"Now then, close your eyes and take a few slow and deep breaths to relax your body." Once again, he did as he was told, putting his trust in this woman. She hadn't given him any reason to distrust her, after all.
Suddenly, Galeo felt a warm sensation tickling the back of his head. He opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of a green glow in the corner of his eye before Ava reassured him, "Don't worry. This will help you feel better. Just relax." For someone who wore a mask, a tool for concealment, she was very honest. He could tell from the way she kneeled at the bedside with one hand placed gently on his shoulder to comfort him while the other hovered over his head.
Galeo closed his eyes again and allowed the warmth to pour into him, but it was not long before that warmth faded. "Alright, that should take care of it," Ava said. She then touched her finger on the back of his head, lightly tapping it in multiple spots to check for a reaction.
The boy was expecting to feel another sharp sting on the back of his head but it never came. The skin was still tender, but it did not hurt like it did before. When he reached around to feel it for himself, he found that the bump was completely gone.
Galeo had never experienced something like that before so he pushed himself off his stomach, kneeling on the bed, and turned to Ava with wide eyes. "What did you do?!" he asked in amazement.
Ava smiled as she explained, "I used a simple spell to heal your injury."
"Cure…"
Though her face was covered, Ava was clearly shocked. Her body had stiffened and her mouth slightly was slightly left agape. "Yes…" She went silent for a moment, before regaining her composure. The woman offered another smile as she said, "Galeo, I must be honest with you. When Astrid told me that you came from the outside, well...it did raise some concern among myself and my colleagues."
"Astrid?" He looked puzzled.
Now Ava shared his look. "Well, yes...was she not the one who brought you to the academy?"
"Oh! The blonde girl! Well, she never told me her name," he said with a shrug.
Ava giggled. "I guess that is like her. Anyways, that's another matter. As I said, you are a person of interest. We have questions for you as well."
"We as in you and others?"
"Yes. The other union masters."
Author's Notes
Hello everyone! I would like to start by saying that I would like to apologize for keeping you all waiting for so long for this chapter. I didn't predict how busy I would be during my winter break, but I did want to give you guys at least one chapter before I go back to school.
Thank you for being patient, especially those of you who are itching to see your characters appear. While it may be a bit of time for that to happen (longer for some than others), I do encourage you to keep up with this story since I'm focusing on Astrid and Galeo for right now so that later down the line, I can focus on your characters and give them the time and attention that they deserve.
Question of the Chapter (QOTC): Now that Galeo will meet the other union masters what union do you think he will join? (If you know the answer please don't give it away, lol)
Responses to Reviews:
Wow! Thank you to everyone who dropped a review! I really appreciate the support! If this keeps up, I might have to start picking a few people to respond to at random. For this chapter, I'll make sure to respond to everybody, though!
WolfieRed23: I'm glad you're excited to see how they develop, because I'm excited to make these characters come to life on these pages.
FallenFeather92: Is Galeo just as adorable in this chapter?
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Yeah, you hit the nail right on the head with these observations.
ShadowWolf223: I know I responded to you in PM, but I just wanted to clarify it here as well in case anyone else was confused about that. Galeo does not have a twin sibling. It was just a random thief in Daybreak Town that took advantage of Astrid being distracted while arguing with Galeo to steal from her.
Eternal Rain Spirit: I'm glad you enjoyed their contrasting personalities. I hope this chapter was able to keep up that same dynamic with those two.
Whispy Despair Donut: Yes, she does have a surname. I actually decided on the surname for this character before I came up with anything else for her: first name, personality, backstory, Keyblade, abilities, etc.
