Notes:

Disclaimer #1:
I've watched all 12 available episodes of High Guardian Spice. While I do not consider myself a 'hater', I cannot defend the major animation flaws and voice-acting/recording problems. That having been said, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the show even during its 'so bad it's funny' moments. Call it a guilty pleasure of mine. So while I'm not saying the show is good by any critical standard, I still find it fun to imagine a version of the story with more fleshed-out characters and a more creative storyline. That's why this fic exists.

Disclaimer #2:
I own nothing related to High Guardian Spice. High Guardian Spice is a product of Crunchyroll Studios. This is merely a work of AU fiction inspired by the 12 episodes currently released.

Chapter 1: Return to High Guardian Academy

POV: Snapdragon

Today was the day. Snapdragon followed the crowds of students as they filed their way in through the gates of the academy. The redhead looked up at the school buildings. It was nice to see that most of the outer damage caused by Mandrake had been fixed. But from what he'd heard, there was still significant structural damage in the back of the main building and even within the walls of the grand academy. The library had almost been completely destroyed by the fire, and the school had been working around the clock to get the place ready for the start of the semester. There was still work to be done though.

Snapdragon sighed heavily as he pretended to listen to Amaryllis' loud complaining beside him – something about the cafeteria being bad enough without budget cuts from the school.

"Snapdragon!" A voice called out from his left. He looked over in its direction to see Sage and her three friends making there way into the school yards as well. He smiled shyly and waved a little which earned him a scowl from Amaryllis.

As the crowds made their way into the school main hall, Sage's group managed to push past the crowds to join Snap and Amaryllis. The purple-haired witch pretended to ignore the newcomers as they all quietly made there way deeper into the school. There wasn't much talking by any of the school body. It was a somber occasion.

The Triad had announced a meeting in the great hall prior to the start of all classes. None of the students knew exactly what was in store for them. High Guardian Academy had suffered a lot of damage, both financial and morale-wise, after the attack. For a few days after the semester's end, Snapdragon was worried that the school would need to close for a time and he'd have to return to warrior training with his brothers at home. Luckily the Triad had announced their intention to open the school at the regularly scheduled time and move forward with the semester as usual. But surely all was not completely well if all the students were being summoned first-thing to a brief from the principals and teachers.

He wouldn't be able to stop worrying until he knew the extent of the changes to come.

Clearly spotting the look of concern on the redhead's face, Sage took his hand in her own, giving it a squeeze. Snapdragon looked up, smiling slightly back at her in gratitude. He appreciated the way Sage always looked out for his feelings. Glancing down at their joined hands, Snap noticed that Sage's other hand was holding Rosemary's on her other side.

He sighed to himself quietly.

Sage was beautiful, and confident, and self-assured. Everything Snapdragon wanted to be… He was jealous of how elegant and yet strong his female friends could be. So many attractive qualities that he didn't share… But just being around Sage had helped him realize how much he really wanted a change in his life. He still wasn't sure exactly how, but at least he was getting a better idea of things now. And even though he knew Sage had a secret thing for her best friend Rose, Snapdragon was still happy she was around to be his friend. It was nice to have someone to talk to over break who was a little less intimidating than his own best friend – Amaryllis.

The purple-haired girl was currently pushing her way through the crowd to get to the front of the assembly. She took Snapdragon's other hand and started dragging him to the front for a better view. He didn't dare try to fight back – and so the six of them were soon standing at the very base of the balcony that the Triad was walking out onto. Snapdragon remembered the beginning of last semester, when they'd all made their own vows to guardianship in this very same room after getting the assignment from the Triad. He had a feeling that this time, the Triad's address to the students would be very different.

"Welcome students! We are so happy to each and every one of you back!" The youngest of the Triad spoke gleefully. "As you must have noticed, not all of the renovations of the academy buildings have been finished yet. Due to the ongoing investigation into the intruders, we had to postpone many of the repairs. But we fully expect all of the repairs to be completed in the next few weeks!"

"Which brings us to our first order of business", the middle-aged Triad spoke. "The financial costs of these repairs has taken quiet a toll on the academy as you all well know by now."

Snapdragon saw Sage putting her head down beside him. He gave her hand a squeeze. It wasn't her fault for the damage. If it weren't for her and her friends, they could all very well be dead. Mandrake was the only one to blame for all of this mess.

The Triad continued, "It is we and the teachers who will bear the burden of these repairs, but we do have a request for our students… Visitors from Mage Country are coming by order of their King, the Archmage. They will be arriving to our esteemed academy shortly to assess the damages and offer financial aid as deemed necessary."

Snapdragon looked at Amaryllis. "Mage Country? Have you ever been that far north?"

She shook her head. "I mean, I've been all around Witch Country and some of the borderlands, but never that far."

Snap looked back up at the Triad on the balcony above.

"Please be kind and respectful to our guests. You are all representatives of our school after all. The Archmage has supported the education of guardians at this school for centuries, so-"

"So don't go embarrassing yourselves or us!" The elder of the Triad snapped at the crowd. "The King is sending a group to scout the academy out and see if we're worth the financial investment! So behave yourselves!"

The other two members of the Triad sighed deeply at their third member's bluntness. The youngest picked up the conversation from there – "Go and attend your studies as normal, but please be accommodating to our honored guests. Aid from the capital of the Mage Country will be critical in determining how long this remodeling will take. And as future guardians, we expect all of you to be professional around such highly esteemed ambassadors."

"So no pressure then", Snapdragon mumbled so only his friends could here him. Parsley chuckled from behind Sage and Amaryllis rolled her eyes.

The students were dismissed, and Snapdragon and Rosemary left there friends to depart for their warrior tactics theory class. It was pretty boring like most first days of class were, but at least it was nice seeing Professor Caraway again. The hour passed without much of note, but as the students made their way to leave for their next period, Professor Caraway motioned to the two of them to come over.

Leaving the line of departing students, Snapdragon and Rosemary approached their teacher at his desk. "Everything alright Professor?" Snap asked with uncertainty.

Caraway nodded. "Everything is fine. I have a favor to ask the two of you is all."

"Really! Like a special assignment?!" Rosemary asked enthusiastically.

Caraway smiled in his usual calming way. "I suppose you could look at it like that. It's very important and I can think of no one better suited to the task."

Snapdragon remained silent, waiting for the ball to drop. He wasn't nearly as optimistic a thinker as Rosemary.

Caraway continued. "Amongst the ambassadors coming from the Mage Country is a student. He will be sitting in on some of the classes and interviewing the students to gain better insight to what sort of help the school needs."

"A kid like us?" Rosemary questioned.

"Not just any child", Caraway corrected. "A trained ambassador of the King. I'm guessing he's either nobility or his family holds some other high station within the kingdom. I want the two of you to be his escorts around High Guardian Academy. Show him around, help answer his questions –"

"-Impress upon him the importance of the King's financial aid", Snapdragon finished for the teacher.

Caraway nodded a bit glumly. "It's important. I know as Guardians, we don't focus on financial profits, we keep our minds on protecting others without reward, but to keep this school running we need to think about these things."

Snapdragon shrugged. "Whatever. I get it. Keep them happy so that the place can stay in business."

Rosemary nudged her friend in the ribs. "Hey, it'll be fun! I've never been anywhere even close to Mage Country before! We can learn a lot from a student like that!"

Caraway chuckled. "That's the spirit Rosemary. I hope I can trust the two of you to be accommodating to our student guest. I know it's a lot to add onto your shoulders right at the start of a semester, but the two of you represent the best of what the academy has to offer. I know you'll make a good impression on the ambassador."

Snapdragon nodded and the two students left to head to their next class.

The redhead walked moodily down the hallways as a chipper, if not oblivious, Rosemary walked beside him.

It was hard to take notes in his next class. His mind was distracted.

It's not that he didn't appreciate the Mage Country stepping into help them. That was great. But he had his own things going on right now… He looked down at his un-painted nails. He didn't really feel like having someone following him around for a few days. Or weeks? How long were the ambassadors staying anyway?

Snapdragon doodled in his notebook as the second class of the day dragged on. He sketched out a dress he'd seen in a shop window last weekend. He imagined how beautiful a female warrior would look in a dress like that. A small smile crept across his lips, but when he realized what he was doing, he frowned and closed the notebook.

All break long he'd been waiting to get back to school, away from his father and brothers, away from the people that would judge him the harshest. He'd been wanting to experiment with a new look. Maybe… try on some new types of clothes? He hadn't even had the heart to paint his nails after returning home for the break. He'd only been painting them for a couple of days before the whole Mandrake fiasco happened and then the semester had quickly ended. And yet… he'd missed having them decorated to eloquently…

He had thought that coming back to the academy and living in the dorms would mean he could have a chance to privately try out a new look. But now that he and Rosemary had some fancy, aristocratic ambassador to impress… maybe trying out a new, unconventional look wouldn't be the best idea. Not if they were trying to impress somebody to earn their school money.

These thoughts kept him busy until the end of class. He followed Rosemary back to the lounge in the dorms, eyes downcast and spirit a little crushed.

He'd waited this long, but… he could wait a little longer.

"Snap? You okay?" A quiet and familiar voice asked him as he entered the lounge. Sage had walked over to them and was looking at him with concern.

Snapdragon smiled to himself. At least he had someone he can go talk to about it.

End Episode 1.

Had to start with a Snapdragon POV. I honestly think he's the most interesting character in the series. Other POVs will be spread throughout the story though. I plan to update as often as I can. With work and holidays, life is crazy of course. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter.

So let me know, have you watched all of High Guardian Spice? Loved it? Hated it? Love to hate it? Hate that you love it? No wrong answers, just curious.

Let me know what you think overall in the comments, I love to here from all the cool people that take the time to comment on stories!