Hiya! Next chappie! Remember to review!
Dear ZodiacKitty: What did I say about sending your profiles into the reviews? HM?
Thank-yous to all those who have sent me their profiles and found enough strength to talk with me. Thank you!
And a special thanks to the guys over at Square Insider! I would've never gotten this ready if it hadn't been for the Al Bhed translator on your site! Thank you!
Key:
'Something here' means thinking.
"Something here" means talking.
"Something here" means talking in some other language than English, i.e, Al Bhed.
"Excuse me, ma'am? Is the newest Weapons Monthly somewhere here?" Ione asked from an older looking woman behind a counter. The woman looked at Ione from her magazine, lazily glaring at her. The first thing Ione spotted was a huge mole on her chin. A huge, dark, hairy mole.
'Holy moley! No, Ione, keep the thoughts in check!'
"It's right over there, on that shelf." The woman stated and pointed at a really tall shelf at the side of the store, close to windows. Ione followed her pointed finger and stared at the series of shelves in a slight dread.
"Uh, thanks, mol- I mean ma'am! Thank you ma'am!" She panicked, stuttered, smiled nervously and skulked away to the shelf. As she arrived, she realized the damn thing was at least seven feet tall!
"Drats." She mumbled and stood on her toes, trying very hard to reach the newest issue of her beloved magazine.
'Yes, just a little closer... That's it, that's... OW! Damnit, so close!' She thought and cringed as her right arm was almost popped out of its socket. Again. She spun it around in a wide circle, just to make sure that it was still working. Thank Hyne it was. She looked around for something that might give her at least ten inches more in height. Anything was fine, a cardboard box, a jar, a chair, heck, even one of those office-chairs would do fine! She spotted a funny looking... Thingy. It was completely round, gray, it had a few holes and it was on wheels.
'... Figures, the only available thing is a thing with wheels. Oh, Murphy, I hate you and your laws!' She sighed and grabbed the pedestal, putting it near the shelf, taking support out of it as she stood on the pedestal and said her prayers. To her luck, she actually reached the magazine and took it into her hands. She was eyeing the cover, marveling the beautiful scythe on it, and didn't notice that she was leaning towards the shelf, the pedestal inching away from underneath her... She did notice it, eventually. But too late.
"Whoah!"
THUD!
"Owww..." Wow, getting your magazine was such a hard work to do.
'That's gonna be bruised in the morning...' She thought as the pain in her butt began to get greater and greater. Out of all the ways to land, she landed on her butt.
"Hey, are you okay?" A smiling blonde girl asked and extended her hand towards Ione. She grabbed it and the blonde pulled her on her feet. Ione hissed slightly as she was pulled on her feet. She steadied herself and wiped some dust off of her.
"Yeah, apart from the nasty bruise and a bruised pride, thanks."
"I'm Rikku. Who are you?" The blonde asked and smiled, revealing a small gap between her front teeth.
"I'm Ione. Are you from the Al Bhed-tribe?" Ione asked, shook her hand and looked at Rikku's eyes, squinting slightly.
"Yeah! How did you know?"
"Well, those pupils are a dead give-away." The brunette stated and let go of the blonde's hand.
"Oh yeah. Oops." Rikku said and rubbed the back of her head while grinning sheepishly.
"Cu, fryd yna oui tuehk rana?" (So, what are you doing here?) Ione asked in fluent Al Bhed.
"Oui cbayg Ym Prat!" (You speak Al Bhed!) Rikku asked, clearly surprised.
"Oayr, sus yht tyt vunlat sa du cdito ed." (Yeah, mom and dad forced me to study it.) Ione answered, taking the magazine she had reached for in the first place.
"Dryd'c cu luum! Famm, du ouin vencd xiacdeuh, E's kaddehk cibbmeac vun so vencd clruum oayn eh dra Eternia Academy." (That's so cool! Well, to your first question, I'm getting supplies for my first school year in the Eternia Academy.) Ione's head shot up so fast that Rikku swore she heard her neck crack.
"Oui duu!" (You too!)
"Oui duu? Ur so Kut! E'ja kud du damm so luiceh! Yunie!" (You too? Oh my God! I've got to tell my cousin!) And so, the blonde, short girl begun to search for her cousin in the bookstore, dashing in-between the shelves and dodging random people. Ione stood there, clutching her magazine in a dumbfounded way and stared into space. The blonde's energy-levels are scarily high... She turned her attention to her magazine and flipped some pages. Yes, an article over rifles!
"Here she is! Yunie, this is Ione, Ione, this is my cousin Yuna." Next to Rikku stood a slightly taller brown-haired girl that looked about a year or so older than her cousin. Her hair was short, but she did have a long hair-wrap that ran all the way to her shins and close to her feet. She was smiling kindly, and her eyes shone in a bright way.
"Hi."
"Hello." Yuna said and she and Ione shook hands. There was a small silence between them.
"Soo, does either of you want to go and get a soda?" Ione tried sheepishly. Her newfound acquaintances smiled and nodded.
"So, you're only half Al Bhed and you're a full Al Bhed?" Ione asked, pointing at the girls in turns and swallowing a mouthful of apple pie. They both nodded.
"Yeah, that's why my other eye is blue and other one is green." Yuna said and pointed at her eyes. Ione leaned in closer to look.
"Oh man, those are so cool!"
"Really?" Yuna asked, a bit startled.
"See, I told you they were cool, Yunie, but did you listen? NO!" Rikku ranted fourth and neither of the brunettes really listened. They just smiled knowingly and waited for the blonde to cool off a bit. Yuna took a spoonful of strawberry ice cream she had in a small plastic cup and glanced at her cousin.
"Rikku, your ice cream is melting."
"It is? Ohmigosh!" And the blonde began to shovel her precious treat into her mouth with a great speed. Ione paused from her glass of soda and stared at Rikku.
"Don't you get a brain freeze?"
"Oh no, I've been eating ice cream like this for... Well, forever! I'm used to it now." She managed to say between bites. Ione looked at her new, crazed friend and the corner of her eye twitched.
"...Riiight."
"Hey, how 'bout we exchange phone numbers? It could come in handy." Yuna suggested and Ione nodded in agreement, taking out her clam-type, metal-blue-colored cell phone with a small R-2000 mascot attached to it. Rikku put her spoon into her mouth and whipped up her bright yellow phone, along with a small trinket that looked like a claw of some sort. Yuna's phone was white with a kanji of "life" on it. They all switched phones, clockwise and typed their numbers. When they were done, they switched the phones again and typed the numbers. Then, finally, everyone received their own phones.
"So, the school starts in a week. We'll talk in the phone, okay? I gotta go now, or my mom is so gonna have my head in a silver platter." Ione said and stood up, picking her messenger bag with her.
"Okay, we will. Talk to you later!" Yuna said and smiled. Ione smiled back and waved as she left the table.
'Yes, at least I won't be all alone in the Academy...' She though and smiled to herself.
'And I even got new friends! Things are looking up for ol' Ione!' She grinned happily and hissed a 'yes' as she pumped up her fist. Unfortunately, this huge multi-tasking of walking, thinking, using one's arms and hissing took so much brain-capacity out of Ione, that she forgot the use of her eyes and bumped into someone. She ricocheted backwards and nearly fell over, but regained her balance, after a short moment of flailing arms and grunts.
"Sorry, sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going!" She hurriedly apologized and bowed slightly.
"I don't mind, it's not every day a beautiful girl bumps into me." The man said with a charming smile. Ione looked at the man she bumped into and her eyes widened. It couldn't be... The man wore a long, light brown trench coat, brown pants, fingerless gloves, blue-ish shirt and a black cowboy-hat. His hair was on a long ponytail and his mischievous eyes were green.
"Irvine? Irvine Kinneas?"
"Oh? You know me?" The man asked, slightly lifting his cowboy hat.
"Duh, you were my neighbor for five years, damnit!"
"... Ione? Holy Hyne, is that you! You've... Grown..." He said and he kept looking Ione all over.
"Kindly say that while looking at my face, thank you." The girl said and smacked Irvine's shoulder.
"Ouch, sorry." He winced and lifted his hands up in a sign of surrender. Ione glanced at her phone's clock and panicked.
"Oh shit, mom's gonna kill me! See ya later Kinneas!" And with that, she sped away with great speed.
"Uh... Yeah... See ya." Irvine answered, standing there dumbfounded and watching his newly found old childhood friend scurrying through the crowd, probably towards her house. Little did they know, that they'd meet sooner than they expected...
It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning, the clock striking 10:00 AM. At the airport, at gate 79, a familiar family was saying their see-you-laters, along with many others, basking in early morning sunlight that filtered through the huge, floor-to-roof windows. Outside, at the runway, big planes and some space shuttle like crafts moved around or stood still. One that drew the attention of many was a big ship that slightly resembled a red dragon. It was beautifully designed and decorated. It glistened in the sun, and many young students-to-be took this vehicle as an emblem of freedom and adventure. This vehicle would carry so many hopes and dreams into the Eternia Academy; this giant craft was known as "Ragnarok". But, back to the family known as Umino.
"Mom! You're choking me! Dai-kun, you're stopping my feet's blood circulation!" Ione cried out as her mother and brother decided to latch themselves on her. Her mother was crying, as well as her brother.
"Guys, stop it! You're making me teary-eyed too!" Now Ione was sniveling alongside with her family.
"I'm so proud of you, honey! Imagine, my little girl, so grown up!" Her mother said between sobs and let go of Ione. She took a handkerchief and wiped her tears away, still sniveling. Daisuke was still attached to his sister.
"Dai. Let me go, I need to board the Ragnarok."
"I dun wanna, who am I gonna annoy if you're not there?" Daisuke cried out. Ione kneeled to the level of her sibling.
"Look, Dai. When I'm in the academy, you need to protect mom. You're a big boy already, and dad would be proud of you." Daisuke stopped crying and looked at his older sister.
"He would?"
"Yeah, I know he would be. Like I am and mom is." She wiped some of Daisuke's tears away and smiled. Daisuke wiped his nose and the rest of the tears, got a serious expression, straightened up and saluted his sister.
"I'll protect mom, I will!" Ione stood up and saluted her eager brother.
"Carry on!" Ione's amused eyes met her mother's. She smiled happily.
"I'll send V-mail and write, okay?" Nyoko nodded and smiled through her tears. Ione began to walk backwards. (V-mail video-mail)
"Bye guys! I'll call when I get settled!" She turned around after seeing her mother nod, wave and her brother waving as well. She had already sent her trunk to the ship, and she had her backpack with her, containing many small things she might need on her trip. Given, the Ragnarok was fast, but it would still take some time to actually reach the academy. Ione's family watched as she gave her boarding pass at the door, then turned and waved, before vanishing into the doorway. Nyoko wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye, giving a one-armed hug to her son.
'She truly is her father's daughter.' She squeezed Daisuke's shoulder.
'No doubt about it!'
"Let's see, B-2, B-2, B-2, B-2, where are you?" Ione walked on the aisle between many cubicles inside Ragnarok. The cubicles had two benches facing each other, and between them was a table. One of these cubicles housed up to four people.
'This place looks more like an aeroplane, or a bus!' She thought to herself, apologized to a boy she accidentally bumped into and kept her eye out for B-2.
"A-37 to A-40, A-41 A-44, A-45 to A-48, A-49 to A-52, B-1 to B-4, bingo!" She slid herself to a chair next to the window, sighing happily and taking her bag off her back, put it on her lap and looked out of the window. She saw her mother and brother through the windows faintly, but she did. A sad smile surfaced on her lips.
'Kinda bittersweet feeling, innit?' She thought and rested her right cheek on her right palm.
'But, I'll talk to them later today!' She reasoned and her sad smile turned into a happy grin. She reached for her small, yet spacey navy-blue bag and drew out a magazine. She paused to look at the cover. Typical of her, it was Weapons Monthly. Her grin got even bigger, if possible, as she placed her bag into a small corner of the wall and the bench, putting the magazine on the small table and opening it. This young girl had a passion for big, loose shirts; hence she was wearing a dark green pullover with long sleeves that continued past her fingertips. She had picked a navy blue skirt that went below her knees. She also loved boots, so she had picked her very favorite, black and sturdy boots that ended half way to her shins. In her auburn hair was a brightly yellow hair-band, holding her braids away from her face and keeping them in check for her. She flipped a page and continued to read.
A sudden shuffle of someone getting on the benches snapped her out of her gun-littered world and she lifted her gaze up, only to find out that a girl had taken a seat before her. The girl had nifty, black, spiky hair with red tips, blue-gray eyes and full lips. Ione made a mental note that she looked like she had been weight lifting all her little life, no gal would've been that fit had she wasted her life lying around. And to top off her slightly dark look, she had a pentagram necklace. Ione hadn't realized that she was staring at her, until she graciously pointed that out.
"What the fuck you lookin' at, kid?" Ione looked her square in the eyes.
"Your hairdo."
"Ya ain't the one to talk, kiddo."
"Stop calling me kid, Goth-gal, or I swear I'll kick your ass."
"You and who's army?"
"Mine. I have trained me an excellent army of hamster-commandos! Fear them!" At this, the girl before her cracked up and begun laughing and Ione joined her, clutching her stomach. As their all-out laughter had dissolved into occasional giggles, Ione decided to introduce herself.
"Hi, the name's Umino Ione."
"Mine's Kichi Nohikari. Nice to meet'cha!"
"Ditto."
"What'cha reading?" Ione lifted her magazine so that Kichi could see the cover.
"Niice."
"Innit?" As Ione browsed the magazine, she hit an article over claws and daggers.
"Hey, excuse me for a sec? I'm gonna try and find a friend from this thing." She knocked the wall of Ragnarok for emphasis.
"Yeah, sure." Kichi waved her hand in a dismissive gesture and took out a book. Ione, on the other hand, grabbed her backpack, took out her phone and begun dialing a number of her blonde techno-enthusiastic friend, Rikku. As the phone rang, she began walking around.
"Yello!"
"Hey, Rikku! It's me. Where are you? There's something I need to show you." Ione talked into the phone, trying to scout for Rikku.
"I'm on the seat H-34, I think it's pretty much at the back." Rikku's voice rang from the phone, slightly cracked and distorted by the phones.
"Okay, I'll be right there! Bye!"
"Later!" And so, Ione embarked her miniature quest to find the seat known as H-34.
And that was that! I still need OCs, but to make few things absolutely clear:
1) DO NOT SEND YOUR PROFILE IN TO THE REVIEWS! I REPEAT, DO NOT SEND THEM INTO REVIEWS! That way, you won't get accepted, and if you send it again by e-mail, I'm not sure if I'll let you in.
2) No Mary-Sues or Gary-Stus! They are annoying, they have nothing to learn and they might as well be booted out of the Academy the minute they lay their foot inside the premises. Read my rant/article about Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus over on my website, if you dare.
3) Again, if you send a character, think it over, make sure it's perfect for your liking, tweak it, modify it, just be sure to think it through. No quickie-characters, please!
4) You are free to review my story, yes indeedy, just don't send your profiles in the reviews. I live and feed on reviews, don't kill me in starvation!
5) I also need teachers into the academy. If you like to torture teenagers more than to be one, teaching is for you. n.n
Ja ne!
Tenshi-Hikari