Disclaimer: If you haven't figured it out by now…
Chapter 9: Investiture
A piercing horn resounding in the near distance told Bruce it was time to get up, jarring him from a sound sleep. Bruce's eyelids refused to cooperate at first, remaining tightly shut . 'You have got to be kidding me…' he thought to himself, his mouth turning into a slight frown as he struggled with the fatigue. It seemed he closed his eyes just a moment before, and already he had to get up for his first day. 'Just a few more minutes...'
He had been moved to a private barracks the night before, because they needed to prepare for actual hurt and sick people, the girl had told him. It was considerably smaller than the hospice, but the bed was nicer. At least, there was a small mattress made from chocobo feathers. She had told him that, too. And boy, did he feel them, soft on his stomach and shins, meshing softly against his prone form. That mattress was part of the reason he didn't want to get up. It was so comfortable…
His mind pushed that away quickly. 'If I think about that, I'd be here all day,' he thought, smiling sadly. He had to get up. Better he get up by himself than Turk did. Bruce's shoulder stung for a half an hour after Turk slapped him on the shoulder. And he was nice then. "O-kay," Bruce muttered to himself, "time to get up."
He never was a morning person. Slowly he pushed himself off of the mattress, and threw the heavy sheets off his back. Instantly he regretted it as the morning's cold breeze rushed into his body, chilling him to the bone in a split second. "Wow, now I'm up," Bruce yelled in surprise, his eyes opening fully in reaction. He stood over his bed and gave a large morning yawn to start the day. "What a night," he said appreciatively, rubbing the cold out of his eyes hastily. He began to make the bed. 'Better make sure I make a good impression,' he thought, tucking in the sheets and straightening the pillow.
"Okay, bed's made. So, what now?" Bruce asked himself in the darkness, beginning to stretch out his muscles. He started training today…whatever that meant. He chuckled to himself as he imagined himself being buried up to his neck in mud and being sprayed with water. Nothing could be that bad. Stretching his arms over his head, he sighed with relief as he heard the unsteady creaks of his body starting up.
This was going to be a good day, he decided.
The sun was far from rising, but he could see a bit of light peeking in from under the tent walls. He turned to leave and stopped, smiling. Sitting on the welcome rug was a basin of water. 'Oh, that was nice,' he thought to himself. Walking over to the rug, he kneeled over the basin and began scrubbing his face with the washcloth beside it. "I'm walkin' on sunshine, oh oh, and don't it feel good!" He sang cheerfully, a light fresh scent filling his nostrils as he wet the washcloth in the basin. He didn't know if they had full baths, but at the moment, this was heaven. He continued to hum as he rinsed his face and dried the cloth.
The moment he set the washcloth down the tent flap opened, letting in some of the dark blue light the sky was giving. Standing there was Turk, with a handful of clothes tucked under his arm. "Rise and shine, cadet!" He yelled gruffly, patting Bruce on the head. Bruce looked up, and smiled at him. "I brought you your clothes for today, but don't get used to 'em. These are for newbies." He already looked wide awake. What was his secret, Bruce wondered.
"Oh, thanks…sir," Bruce replied, taking them from his arm and setting it on the bed. "Say, what exactly am I going to do today? I know you said something about a class, but I'm still a little confused," he admitted with a smile as he began to get dressed, hurriedly taking the old shirt off.
"Well, since it's your first day here, you'll be quite busy. I hope you got enough sleep like I told ya," he barked, laughing. "First thing is breakfast. We don't have the best food, but I have tasted worse. They have shifts for breakfast duty, and today's the fourth day in the shift. So, you'll be treated with the white mages' cooking. You lucked out, they have the best food," he continued with a glint in his eyes. "After that, you'll take a quick tour around the camp, and meeting some of the officers and the knights. Unfortunately, I won't be giving you the tour, seeing as I have to train the cadets," he said, apologetically slicking a hand through his burgundy hair. "Then, you'll be escorted to the Hall, where you'll have your placement tests. That's where we'll test to see what kind of training you'll receive while you are here. My guess is you'll be some kind of fighter, based on that weapon you got," he smirked, thumbing his nose. "And after that, you will have dinner with the other cadets, don't be afraid to ask them questions, you hear? Then, a trip to the showers, then off to bed. How does it feel?" He asked Bruce, who had just finished lacing up his new footwear.
"It feels…" Bruce trailed off, flexing his arms. He wasn't about to complain; it was a cream-colored outfit, which didn't upset Bruce too much. He had a tight-fitting white shirt on, regrettably showing off his slightly protruding belly. Luckily there was a loose-fitting white jacket over that, with a series of buttons off center to the left, and a solid white line marking the path from collar to shirttail. His pants were seemingly made of the same material as the jacket was, silk but seemingly tougher. They were bunched slightly at the bottom by white boots, and drawn together at the top by a golden rope, tied in place at Bruce's waist. "I guess it feels pretty good," he announced, working the fabric in a little.
Turk smiled. "Great! Don't get used to 'em, you'll probably get your assignment before the day's end. Well, I gotta run. Wait here until your, erh…tour guide arrives." He stood straight, and saluted. "Work hard out there, cadet." Turning sharply on his heel, he was gone in a quick flurry of motion, with only the soft swish of the tent flap to confirm that he was there at all. Smiling thoughtfully, Bruce sat back down on his bed, running his fingers through his hair.
Ugh. His hair felt horrible. After a few more tries and mild curses, Bruce began to comb his hair with his fingers. 'Aah, I need a bath, badly,' he thought to himself in dismay as he felt his hair beginning to relax as he idly raked his hand through. He began to hear movement from outside as the sky began to give way to the sun. A soft blue hue lit up his room, and he could see shadows of briskly walking feet from the corners of his tent. Occasionally he would hear a group of guys talking as they made their way to their duties, in hushed voices. Sometimes he heard a laugh or two, but the tent cloth was too thick to make anything out.
He didn't know how much longer he spent sitting on the bed before the tent flap opened again, letting in the morning light and assaulting Bruce's eyes. A young man stood there now, smirking at Bruce. "So you're Bruce, eh?" he asked, walking in without any more of a welcome. He was about the same age as Bruce was, he guessed. Maybe a year or two older. He had untamed, spiky red hair, with some dark goggles resting it in place above his face. It looked outrageous, and Bruce smiled in spite of himself when he saw it. He had the same outfit Bruce had on, only his was dark blue, with a gold stripe running alongside the buttons instead of Bruce's white one. There was also a black rope tied around his waist. "I guess I was expecting someone a little taller. The name's Jayden. I'm your tour guide," he said excitedly, grabbing Bruce's arm and giving him a strong pat on his shoulder.
Bruce was a little take aback at this guy's friendliness, nervously making fists at his side. He wasn't the kind of guy to give more than a shallow wave at strangers, but here this guy was, acting like they were best buds. Oh well, guess he'd have to just get used to it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jayden," he replied, subconsciously brushing himself off. "Are you a Crusader here?" he asked, crossing his arms in front of him.
Jayden beamed. "Yup, I'm training for a position as a Fighter First Class. You can tell by my clothes. Mine are blue, see? So, that means I'm a fighter class. The belt," he gestured to the black rope, "means I'm a special weapons class. You'll get this too, probably." He let out a quick laugh. "Guessing on that thing you came in with, I wouldn't doubt it, anyways, considering you know how to use it."
Bruce's features froze. "You…saw me coming in?" Oh, boy. Perfect, he hated attention. He felt his knees shake nervously, but he managed to control them.
Jayden grinned; he looked like a wolf, the way he was grinning. "Yeah, pretty much everybody's talking about you. We haven't had many newcomers join the Crusaders, especially since after the recruits ended last month. Everyone's wondering about that weapon you had, too. But, I guess you'll get to answer them after the day is over, I bet a lot of people will want to talk to you. Including the officers, after they…."
With every word he was saying, Bruce could feel more and more beads of nervous sweat beginning to form all over his body. Talking? 'Oh, maaaan…' he thought to himself. Clearly, he was not doing a good job at keeping a low profile. He sighed inwardly. Everytime there was pressure, he got shy. 'Why does this have to happen to me?' Bruce asked himself, afraid to move. As soon as he did he was sure that his knees would start to wobble, and he'd look like a drunk guy trying topass a sobriety test. It wasn't until a loud noise in front of him snapped him out of his melancholy mood.
He saw a hand waving in front of him. "Hello in there? You still with me?" Jayden asked him, small lines of worry crossing his face. "You feeling okay? Maybe you should go back to the infirmary—"
Bruce shrugged. "No, I'm fine. I'm just…so excited, that's all," he replied, trying to look as calm as possible. As an added thought, he lowered his hands to his sides. 'Okay, Bruce, focus. No time to be shy now,' he chastised himself, grinning at Jayden. Maybe he'd buy it.
"Okay, then, Bruce, let's get moving, before all the breakfast is gone!" Jayden said, flinging open the tent flap. It was beginning to show signs of life, as Bruce left the tent and breathed the fresh air. The sky was giving way to the sun, and an explosion of oranges and purples filled the sky as the sun began its climb upwards. It was…beautiful. Bruce stared at it silently, his eyes taking in the unreal form of nature with a soft peaceful expression. In retrospect, he never really paid much attention to such things as sunrises or nature. He was a techie, and didn't have much tolerance with the forces of nature. But here…
"Hey, we gotta go! Days like this, breakfast disappears man, let's get a move on!" Jayden yelled at Bruce, already halfway up a hill overlooking several buildings in the distance. Bruce blinked surprisingly at the voice, and then started up the hill after him. After ten minutes of walking the terrain the hill gave way to a path, which led them to some buildings surrounding a wide clearing of grass in the middle. Each building was near exact to the other, save for a plaque above each that gave them their identity with a symbol. On the opposite side of the clearing stood an enormous building, looking almost like a church the way the walls towered over the rest, with three heavy iron doors at the front.
As Bruce began to walk into the clearing, he could hear Jayden's boots beside him stop. He turned around to see him stretching his arms out, yawning loudly "Aaah…" Jayden opened one eye to see Bruce looking, and he smiled apologetically. "Sorry, just getting the kinks out. This is the barracks, where everyone rests and studies," he said cheerfully. "You'll be sleeping in one of these at the end of the day, once you get your class." He pointed to one at the end of the row of buildings on the left. "That's mine—the far one. I do my studies there, too. There's a room for us to practice techniques in, and a room for us to study in. Studying sucks," he let out a groan, placing his hand on his head. "But, it's gotta be done. In the middle is the Hall." He pointed to the structure on the far side. "That's where we meet for assemblies and such. It's not used very often, but whenever you hear the horn twice, you better not be the last person in there. They give you garbage duty," he began to fake gag in front of Bruce, emitting a laugh from him.
"Cool," Bruce said, with a hushed voice. "This is gonna be great!" He yelled suddenly, breaking the calm morning with his voice. "So, where's the cafeteria?" He asked Jayden hesitantly. He was pretty hungry.
Jayden pointed a finger behind Bruce. "The building we passed on the way in here. We better get in line quick. I think everyone's been fed aleady…" he began to run towards the door, followed by Bruce. They went up the side steps and opened the door with a soft creak.
A wave of sound hit Bruce so hard, he took a step back reflexively. The aroma of something cooking also attacked his nostrils, and made his stomach give a slight groan. It looked like Jayden was right; everyone was already seated in the large cafeteria, talking up a storm. A wide array of shirts were there, looking like a huge multicolored field of people chattering away. Bruce had to stifle a laugh when he saw one table near the back, seemingly quieter than everyone else. They all were wearing the same black outfit. 'Wonder what their problem is,' he thought to himself, shutting the door quietly behind him and following Jayden around to the line, where the food's smell was enticing him to go.
Bruce grabbed a large plate from the shelf, following suit with Jayden, and moved to the serving area. It seems that they were too late to be served personally, as the textured glass that separated the kitchen from the cafeteria was drawn up and locked. There was a vast array of food in front of him as he went down the line. Vegetables, some resembling carrots and broccoli, down to exotic fruits that Bruce had never seen before. At the end, he thought he saw the yellow look of eggs, sitting in a pan.
A blurry face suddenly appeared behind the glass shield, and after a moment a woman emerged from the side door to meet them. "Hello, and how are you today?" She asked him, smiling warmly. She was dressed in a white dress, the same shimmering fabric Bruce was wearing, with a slimmer white belt loosely tied around her waist. Her shoulders had three golden slashes along the fabric. "Can I get you anything in particular...?" Her eyes met Bruce's, and she let out a gasp in surprise. "Oh, you must be that boy that was washed up on the shore! Welcome, welcome." She gestured behind her softly with her hand, and without warning the faded glass barrier to the kitchen slid down and Bruce was suddenly met with twenty pairs of eyes staring at him.
He felt his face get hot. "H…hello," he said shyly, casting his eyes downward. Most of those eyes were girls' eyes, and they were looking at him intently, as if trying to look through him. "I'm, erh, Bruce. Nice to meet you all." They all were wearing the same outfit, white dresses for the girls, white outfits for the guys. He started shuffling his feet under their gaze. 'Mommy…' he thought, trying hard not to look nervous as he slowly inched his plate down the line. His knuckles grew white as he tried to act as calm as possible as he used the spoon to put eggs on his plate, and reached for some fruit and placed them around the eggs, now making steam on his plate.
The woman seemed to notice his nervousness, and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "Don't be nervous. We are merely curious as to who you are. These are a portion of the mages-in-training. The rest are either already seated or in their rooms, resting." Her smile brought Bruce's eyes up, and slowly he began to smile back. "We are all glad to meet you, and we hope that you prove to be a value to the Crusaders." Giving him another pat on the shoulder, the woman turned back to the mages, giving them a silent nod to go back to their work. They dispersed quietly, but Bruce could still hear their hushed whispers as they turned and resumed work in the kitchen.
Wait…he could hear their whispers? Oh, no. He gulped audibly.
He turned around slowly to see that the entire room had turned silent. He seemed to be the center of everyone's gaze in the room. Rows and rows of eyes stared at him with shameless abandon, and the only sound he could hear above his massive heartbeat was random pieces of silverware clinking softly. 'Why, why, why?' he thought to himself, unable to move from the scrutiny of the room's glare on him. Should he say something? Should he just move quietly down the line? Truth be told, he had no idea. Luckily, Jayden stepped in.
Handing Bruce a glass of orange juice, he whispered, "Hey, let's eat on the green." Bruce blinked, looking at the room nervously. 'Smooth,' he thought angrily. Keeping his eyes locked on Jayden's feet, they left the silent room and out onto the green, swinging the door shut with a click.
As soon as the door shut, Bruce's aggravation made itself known. "I hate being the center of attention!" He shouted, his voice slapping off the far building and returning to his ears sharply. "I really didn't handle that too well, did I?" he asked, looking disdainfully into his glass of juice.
"I think," Jayden replied calmly, wolfing down his food with abandon, "that you did just fine. You sure took the heat better than the last recruit. She was pretty, but very shy. Actually, when she came in for her first breakfast, she took one look around, and ran crying out of the room!" He guffawed, slapping the ground with his left hand. It was very sad, but I couldn't help laughing, you know? She was just so cute, it was hilarious!" Grabbing the plate, he continued shoving piles of food down his throat.
"I…see," Bruce said, settling across from Jayden on the soft grass. Well, at least he didn't cry. That made him feel a little better. But, still…he kicked himself inwardly at the awkwardness of that situation. "So, what happened to her? Did she end up going home?"
Jayden looked sideways at Bruce. "No, she just got over it, I guess. You would hardly know she was the same girl, looking at her now. Still quiet, but able to hold her own in a battle of wits. Lots of confidence. And, I hear she's single, hehe…" He wagged his eyebrows playfully.
The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Bruce calmly ate the foreign fruit with curiosity, chewing each piece slowly before swallowing it. Overall, it was fairly good. Nothing he couldn't eat, anyways. Jayden ate across from him, seemingly the opposite, smacking and making subtle groans of contentment as he downed his entire plate. The sun was now a huge orange sphere, filling the entire sky with orange light. Only a short while before it was up fully.
The creak of the cafeteria doors awoke both up from their silence moments later. Looks like breakfast was over. He saw people eagerly chatting among each other as the chaotic crowd began to emerge, some going back to their rooms while others went on the path that Bruce used to get there. Bruce glanced at the people leaving the room; some of them stopped to stare at Bruce, but moments later gave either a quiet nod or a chortle or a simple shrug as they passed by. Somehow, they didn't seem as intimidating one at a time. He even was able to pull a smile from some of the more friendly ones, mostly the white mages he met at the lunch line.
As the group of people died down to a few, Jayden jumped up from the grass unexpectedly, dusting off the loose blades of grass off his pant legs. "Almost time to start. Lucky for me, I got training off today, I'm showing you around." He reached his hand out, and pulled Bruce up from the grass. "I'd show you to my room, but they have real issues with taking non-Crusaders into the barracks. Something to do with top secret information leaks or something," He gruffly muttered something else, but Bruce didn't think he wanted to hear it. "So, we'll just get going to the training grounds, and continue the overview, okay? Come on, this way," he signaled Bruce with a quick jerk of his head, and they made their way back along the now vacant path and back down the hill.
Bruce didn't know how long they walked until they reached their destination. Truth be told, he wasn't really paying any attention to their surroundings. His head was running on overdrive with the sudden change of events. He was going to be a Crusader. It was hard for him to even grasp the idea that he was even here to begin with. When would he be able to even go back home? The wind picked up suddenly behind him, and he felt an odd sense of peace as the breeze went through his bones, into his head and reminding him that he had no time to mope. 'Rational thought took off when I got sucked into my tv. Time to just go with it,' he reminded himself with a determined look on his face. The wind moved alongside the two of them, until soon Bruce heard the shouts of people over the small hill ahead of him.
"We made it," Jayden exclaimed, wiping a small sheen of sweat off his face with his hand. "Now, let's show you around."
A/N: Mmkay, here's a little relief for you who wonder if I'm still continuing the story. I was going to wait until the chapter was done, but this one is very long. Who knew that one day was gonna take this long? So, I'm breaking this one up. Hope you're liking it so far.
One note: I have noticed that there are a lot of erroneous mistakes in the previous chapters, so I am in the steady process of redoing them. No worries, though, the next chapter is already half done, so expect the next update soon. Thanks again for reading, and replying!