Author: Phoenix
Disclaimer:Bastard!! is copyright of Kazushi Hagiwara, as are Kall Su and Dark Schneider.
Disclaimers & warnings: See author's forward.
Authors note: Thank you very much for the reviews everyone! I'm really sorry this took so long, but school and life has been eating up my time... I'm not too pleased with the results of this chapter, but I promised it a while ago, so I figured I would post it anyway. Also, I don't want you to think your reviews go unnoticed; thanx to a review (I don't have them in front of me so I don't remember who wrote it, sorry), the kid Lucié will show up soon. The quote at the beginning has nothing to do with the story, I just had quotes on every page of my agenda in sec5, and decided I would put one up per chapter.
Chapter Three: Setting the Stage
"That's just disturbing" --an M&Ms add.
I cant believe the little brat turned my alarm clock off! I'm going to kill her; oh yes, she will suffer. Good thing Mom's signature is easy to fake, so I won't have a problem getting into class, but that doesn't guarantee that the evil English teacher isn't going to bitch at me about it. Why do my first two classes on Wednesday have to be English?
"Well, Kall, how nice of you to join us." Just let the Kall slide, she's the teacher and she can make your life hell, just let it slide. Try to act as if you don't care, come on, you can do it. "Well, seeing as how you have a note from your mother, you may go sit down, but make sure it doesn't happen again, Kall."
What the? Someone's sitting in my seat. Little prick. Damn it, the only place available is in the front row... Not fun. I'm really starting to hate this class. I have the feeling this is going to be a long day. "Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Yeah yeah, I know I interrupted you, no need to glare at me like that, "this year you will have to write the English Arts exam if you want to succeed in this class, and if you fail this exam, you can't leave high school. The exam consists of two parts: a response to a piece of literature and a creative writting part. We will spend Wednesdays trying to prepare for the exam. Seeing as how you don't know which type of form you have to write in for the creative writting half of the exam, you will have to learn all possible forms. Today we will study poetry..."
Oh my God, is she going to talk about poems for the next hour and fifteen minutes? Someone please shoot me... And I'm in the front row, so I can't sketch during class, or she'll see me and get all bitchy. Ooh... She's handing out papers, maybe I can doodle on the papers and make her think I'm taking notes. Lady, we don't care about the theme of the poems, please just stop... Okay, might as well put this time to good use. I already have the profiles from Ashes, Gara and Yohko, that just leaves Lucié. I'll have to track him down to get it, I was supposed to have it by Monday. Oh God, I'll have to talk to him alone, what'll I say? Calm down Kall Su, just walk up to him and ask if his profile is ready. Yeah that'll work, it's simple, no way can you mess it up.
Ashes is going to be a hybrid type of elf, half dark elf, half something else. She's an orphan, so I can try to use that to my advantage. Elves generally have magical capabilities, and live for a long time, that can be used too. Gara wants to be a ninja master; he wants to be a leader of a group of ninjas as well. Maybe he'll have an army of capable and loyal ninjas? Hm, Ashes can have an army as well, maybe of outcast hybrids? Or maybe women, she can be the leader of the only unit in an army with women in it. Maybe the two can be at war against each other? That's something to think about. Now what about Yohko... She wants to be a priestess fighting for a good cause. Perhaps she can be stuck between the two warring armies? Trying to stop the war because of all the harm that it's bringing everyone?
I think I deserve a pat on the back, I just figured out the basis for the plot. I just hope Lucié likes it... What if he doesn't? No, I'm sure he'll like it. But it's such a stupid plot, he'll hate it.
"All right, that's it for today, remember; for next Wednesday you must have a poem written about yourself, it can be anything about you. See you all on Monday." Huh? Class is over already? Okay, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Damn it, Lucié already left. Guess I'll talk to him in computer class, gee, I've got a whole two hours to chicken out of talking to him.
God, I'm so tired. That French class has got to have been the single most boring class of my life. One more class then I'm free for lunch, I'll be able to simply sit and relax while listening to music. And it's not like computer class will be strenuous either. Just sit in front of a computer screen and do whatever the teacher is doing up front. Good the last computer in this row is free, I'll be able to see everyone else and not be seen much. Oh, Lucié just walked into class; I wonder who that girl he's talking to is, I don't recognize her. Ack! He's looking this way! He just smiled and nodded, was he smiling at me? He actually acknowledged me? Little, insignificant me? What do I do? What do I do? Okay, he smiled and nodded, so just do the same. Was I smiling? Oh, no, I don't think I was smiling, what if he thinks I'm upset at him or something? Oh who am I kidding, he wouldn't care if I were upset.
Uhoh, teacher's looking at me weird. Was I talking out loud? No, or else people would have been mocking me by now. "Kall Su, please pay attention!" Oh, that's why he's looking at me. Just nod and pretend to be paying attention.
Thank God, computer class is over, I never thought it would take so long to explain how to do a background color. The teacher is just insulting our intelligence by taking so much time. Okay Kall Su, now's the time, don't back down. "Um, Lucié?" Damn it, don't sound so scared.
"Oh, hey Kall, what's up?" He's so sexy, no wonder everyone wants to be with him, and he's so nice too.
"Kall Su. I was wondering if you had your profile for English with you?" Good. Back to your calm uncaring self. Maybe he won't have even noticed my slip up in the beginning.
"Oh, yeah, um, about that," he's so adorable when he scratches the back of his head like that, as if he were ashamed about something, "I was kind of having some troubles coming up with one. I don't suppose you could help me after school or something?" Is he embarrassed about asking for my help?
"After school? I can't, I have to work. Are you free any other time?" Yeah, don't show that you just want to take him into your arms and cuddle him, way to go Kall Su!
"I'm free now seeing as how it's lunch, do you have any plans for lunch period?" And he's back to his confident self. It's amazing how he can switch so quickly, as if one were a front, but which one is it?
"Um, no, I guess not." There go my plans for relaxing during lunch break. "Where do you want to work?"
"The caf is pretty noisy, so probably not there. Come to think of it, I've never seen you in the caf before, where do you eat?"
"I don't like eating in the caf much; I tend to eat on the fire escape." Great, now he's going to think I'm some type of hermit, or antisocial person. Damn it, this just isn't my day.
"The fire escape? Wouldn't that set off the alarm?" he asks sceptically.
I just shrug and mumble an "Apparently not."
"Okay, lets eat there then." Lucié exclaims and heads for the fire escape door. As I'm following Lucié, I can't help but feel apprehensive. I've never been alone with him before, it's so odd. And yet a part of me can barely contain my excitement, the part of me I'm afraid of letting out, for fear of it being hurt beyond repair. Of course, if I ever were hurt, it wouldn't be Lucié's fault, after all, he has no idea how I feel for him. "Kall? Ka~all?"
"Huh? What?" Oh God, I've done it again, this is starting to get dangerous. I should really pay more attention to my surroundings.
"We've been sitting here for a few minutes already. Shouldn't we get started?" How reasonable he is, and hard working too; has he no faults?
"Of course." I pull out all the necessary things from my bag to work. "Now what do you have so far?"
"Well, I want to be powerful, a sorcerer or magician or something. Ruler of the world would be nice, have everyone obeying me, have all the money in the world, and all the women too!" Lucié, ruler of my heart, starts to laugh with all his might, and all I could manage was a weak chuckle. There really is no hope for me, is there? Fight the tears Kall Su, don't let him know he's hurt you so much, get back to normal.
"So in other words you have about the same as what you had on Saturday." There's a slight quiver in my voice, please don't notice. He just shrugs apologetically. "Okay, having you start off as the ruler of the world might not be such a great idea. Then again it might work with what I already have in mind."
"What do you already have in mind?"
"Well, Gara can be a ninja master in charge of an army that's fighting against Arshes' army, and Yohko is a priestess stuck in the middle of the war, trying to stop it. What do you think?" Please say you like it. Please.
"Not bad. What type of a world is it in?"
"I was thinking of going with a futuristic world that has suffered a type of apocalypse which has allowed the emergence of new races and magic and stuff. It kind of brought the world back to a dark ages type of time period." He didn't sound too enthusiastic, but at least Lucié didn't insult the idea.
"What brought on this apocalypse?" He asks seemingly getting into this.
"I don't quite know yet. Maybe the resurrection of a god? Or perhaps an epic battle of some sort? What do you think?"
"Maybe it can remain a mystery. Something that the characters discover over time. Something that has been forgotten because it occurred so long ago."
"Good idea." That's one problem solved.
"Why are Ashes and Gara fighting?"
"Good question. Perhaps they both want to conquer the world? Or one of them wants to and the other is defending the world?"
"What if they were fighting together to conquer the world for someone?"
"And you would be that someone?" Lucié nods sheepishly. "And then Yohko would somehow meet you, start changing you and you suddenly want to stop? Too cliché and not believable." I sigh, this is going to be harder than I thought.
"Then how do we make it not cliché?" He's asking me as if what I have to say is important. Can it be that he really thinks it is? So far he has been paying attention to what I've been saying, maybe he truly does care about what I have to say.
"Maybe you can start off on another team, already Ashes's and Gara's enemy. But not quite Yohko's ally either."
"How did I wind up on another side?"
"You're a sorcerer?" He nods not too sure where I'm going with this. "We'll make you a wizard, more powerful. What if you were resurrected only to find that your old comrades are trying to conquer the world you once tried to conquer?"
"Okay, but why don't I join them? Why do I fight against them?"
"Um..." Damn, he's got me there.
"I would need someone to resurrect me, wouldn't I?"
"Right! And you could feel as if you were in debt to whomever resurrects you."
"Which could be Yohko, that'll explain why I'm helping her. But I'll help her for selfish reasons, claiming that I'll conquer the world after."
"But how did she resurrect you?" I wasn't planning on working out the details so soon, but this is good too. For some odd reason, I don't feel uncomfortable anymore either.
"To be resurrected, you need to die first. Maybe I could've been conquering the world before and I got killed by someone really powerful, or a group of people, but at the last minute cast a spell to resurrect me."
"But we need to give Ashes and Gara time to start conquering the world. Maybe you somehow saved your soul, but it was weak and took refuge in someone's body. Does that make sense?"
"Yup. And it could be a baby's body that I'm stuck in, so when it's growing up, it gets to know Yohko, so that's how she'll get dragged into all this." he looks so thoughtful.
"And the kid you're stuck in can have feelings for Yohko, and because your two souls would share the same body, your soul can feel attached to her as well. That way, you, the wizard you, wants to conquer the world, but the kid you wants to protect Yohko."
"Yeah, and they can both have opposite personalities. The kid can be timid and meek and the wizard..." He trails off unsure.
"Egotistical and powerfull?" I ask, I hope he's not insulted.
"Yeah! Perfect. So how do Ashes and Gara come in? And what about you?"
"Ashes and Gara can each be taking care of different parts of the world to conquer. I guess my character will be helping with that as well, but I'll hang back quite a bit. One of them could be attacking the village where you and Yohko are living and as a last resort you're resurrected."
"Hm. An army with three commanders? How about four?"
"Four? Why Four?" Did I miss something? Lord how I hope he doesn't think I'm stupid.
"Yeah, four, it's the number of death. Kind of like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."
"I guess I can create a fourth one. The imagery of that will probably please the teacher. What about you? Can't you be the fourth one?"
"Nope! I was the leader, you guys served me!" Such confidence, how I adore thee.
"Okay then. I'll create a fourth one, but he'll hang back too. How did you come to have four generals willing to do your bidding?"
"I'm charismatic, they flocked to me." He grins an irresistible grin and I have to chuckle.
"No deal. Ashes is an orphan and knows magic, she'll have to have learned it somewhere. Perhaps you picked her up as a child? And Gara is a ninja... Maybe he went to try to stop you early on and was defeated and decided to serve you?"
"Because I'm charismatic?"
"Fine, you win, because you're charismatic." I relent with a small smile.
"What about you? How did you come to be with me?"
"I don't know. I haven't thought about my character much really. I was thinking of being a wizard that has a bloody past as a child. Maybe I witnessed my parent's death, maybe my parents were cruel towards me, maybe I'm just sadistic and killed them. Don't know."
"Then you'd be an orphan as well. So I can find you and raise you as well, and teach you your magic. If I'm raising you and Ashes, does this mean I'm old?" He asks looking dismayed.
"Not really. In most stories wizards tend to age slowly, so you can be really old and still look young. Same with me. Ashes is and elf and they live for quite some time as well. The only ones out of us who don't live forever are Yohko and Gara. Gara could've joined the group shortly before your death, and Yohko can be young as well."
"Shit, lunch is over. I'll see you Saturday. Later." And Lucié is gone. I don't even have time to say good bye and that hurts quite a bit. But it was a good lunch, I like spending time with him. He has a good imagination. We make a good team, I'll have to run my ideas for the rest of story by him as our book develops. Oh well, off to physics.
It's short, but like I said, I wanted to get this to you. Next up in chapter four: Lucié and Kall spend some more quality time together, the prologue for the book is written and more!
Review please!