And here comes the obligatory 'Kessie jams her 9 year old Disney OC in a story they didn't really need to belong in.' Plus a bonus cameo from Oswald the Lucky Rabbit because YOLO

I've had this chapter planed for ages. But a lot of it ended up cut. There were three scenes I originally had planned; one with Brain and Lauriam discussing Oswald, one where Sabrina was going to steal something but Oswald stopped her, and the original ending where Oswald and Sabrina remark on their friendship. And yet, despite the cuts, this chapter still ended up being pretty long (1,779 words without the author's note). Yikes.

I will admit to having this chapter as straight up filler, though. My original intent was for it to be an actual breather from the events in chapter 37 and 38. I think it worked out pretty well? It's definitely something different than these past few chapters, especially since we're starting to get into the summer chapters now.

Thank you for reading!

Apparently, being a Dandelion meant that you had to greet future students when they were scheduled to come outside of an open house night. Yes, Ventus had to help. All five of the Dandelions were expected to help. The young boy gave a small groan to himself as he thought the whole ordeal over; how does he continuously find himself roped in this kind of stuff?

"Are we clear on the plan?" Brain asked Ven and Lauriam five minutes before they were meant to start the tour.

"I believe so." the oldest of the boys agreed. "Ventus is to remain with the prospective student and her guardian for the entirety of the escort. You are going to start out with the group, giving them the school's history while leading them to the main building. Once they reach the main building, I'll replace you and guide them to the dorms. On the way, we'll discuss the house system."

Lauriam paused for a moment before looking over at Brain.

"Who did you say the legal guardian was?"

Brain smirked. "Get this, you hear of one Mickey Mouse?"

"Yeah?"

"Apparently its his brother. Estranged, of course, but the resemblance is still there. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit they call him."

A small jolt of realization hit Ven. He looked from Lauriam to Brain in confusion. "So does that mean that the new student isn't human?"

Brain and Lauriam then looked at Ventus as if he had grown a second head. The youngest of them shrunk a little in embarrassment.

"Daybreak doesn't even accept non-human students, Ven." Brain told him- his voice holding a hint of mirth.

"Not yet." Lauriam interjected.

Brain shrugged. "True enough. But we still gotta be on our best behavior. Right Ven?"

"R-right!" the boy stammered. "The very best!"

. . .

Sabrina was a very impatient kid. Bouncing on her toes, she looked everywhere around the front gates for something to do. Oswald, on the other hand, was admiring the school's architecture, mumbling something to himself that it seemed similar to another school they'd looked at. But Sabrina wasn't listening.

"Look alive, princess," Oswald told her, using a firmer voice to get her attention, "I think our escorts are heading this way."

Sabrina jumped a little and turned her attention to the two boys approaching them. One of the boys was dressed in nothing but black, accentuated with a fedora with a single red feather poking out. The other was much smaller than the first -maybe even about her height- with golden blonde hair that stuck out in various directions. Sabrina's eyes widened at this boy. Timid as he was, Sabrina knew that she was going to meet a new friend today.

Likewise, once he had gotten a good view of this new girl, Ventus couldn't stop himself from gawking at her. Her raven black hair laid neatly against her shoulders, her chocolate brown eyes twinkled as she thoughtfully studied him. The girl's light skin only seemed to glow under the sunlight, making her stand out to Ven even more.

"Welcome to Daybreak Academy!" Brain happily greeted the rabbit and the girl, snapping Ven out of his thoughts. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"The pleasure is ours." the rabbit smiled. "I assume that you are our escorts for today?"

"You bet!" Brain grinned. "My name is Brain, and my friend here is Ventus."

Sabrina looked at Brain for a moment before turning her attention to Ven. The boy froze as she headed toward him. Now much closer to him, Ven could barely smell vanilla perfume coming from her. It made his head spin and his heart beat faster than it had been.

"Hi," she greeted, offering her hand out to him, "My name is Sabrina. Despite what the bunny says, I am not a princess."

"You should be." Ven sighed without considering his words. When he did realize what he had said, he quickly shook his head and took her hand. "My name is Ventus." he then told her, a bit too quickly. "But you can call me Ven if you want. Most people do."

Sabrina gave him a warm smile as she shook his hand. "The pleasure is mine, Ven."

"Now Ven," Brain teased, "I told you to be on your best behavior- which meant not flirting with our guests."

"Flirting?!" Ven sputtered, jumping away from Sabrina in fright. "I-I wasn't…!"

Everyone started to laugh at him. Ventus could feel himself shrink. This already wasn't going in his favor- why did he decided to be a Dandelion again? These people were ruthless.

. . .

Oswald was the only one who listened to Brain give the school's history. Sabrina instead decided to walk right beside Ventus the entire time. She kept looking at him as if she wanted to say something, but she never did. It made Ven incredibly nervous, to say the least. It was a small miracle when they reached the main building. Brain bid them all farewell before smoothly introducing (and ditching them with) Lauriam.

"You'll have to forgive me if I say anything out of place." Lauriam told Oswald with a respectful bow. "It's not every day you see someone..." (he paused for a moment, lulling on the correct term) "Not human."

"It's fine." the rabbit claimed with a roll of his shoulder. "You'd be amazed of the discrimination some of us face even when we look the same."

"Oh, really?" Lauriam quite genuinely marveled. "Well, I can assure you that we do our best to combat such issues. Our house system here at Daybreak Academy is meant to bring out the best in students, not to separate them."

And with that, the second leg of the tour began. Lauriam went on about the houses and how students were sorted- making sure to mention that it was common for siblings to not make it into the same house. All the while, Sabrina continued to make odd faces at Ventus.

"What house are you in, Ven?"

Ventus jumped a little at Sabrina's voice. It was the first time she had spoken to him since their first meeting. She was even giving him a curious little tilt of her head. Oswald and Lauriam didn't seem to be listening; instead going over how the dorms were segregated.

"Leopardus." he carefully admitted.

"Do you like it?"

Ven absently scratched the back of his head. "Y-yeah, I guess so." he decided in a wary tone. "Almost all of my friends are in Leopardus. And… and once a month our whole house sets up an art gallery filled with art made by every student. It's pretty cool."

"Is it hard making friends outside of your house?"

"Um… No? I don't think so. I mean, Lauriam and Brain are in a different house than I'm in, but we all get along pretty well, I think."

Sabrina studied him for a moment. "Do you think we could be friends?" she casually inquired. "Even if we were in the same house?"

A sudden shock ran up Ven's spine- which he almost snapped as he turned to gawk at her.

"I..." he started to sputtered. "I would..."

"If you do not mind me asking," Lauriam then curiously brought up- perfectly stopped Ven from finishing his thought. "Would you mind sharing how you two ended up as family? It's not everyday that a rabbit adopts a human."

A fond smile crossed the rabbit's face, but the girl groaned.

"No…" she whined. "Don't get him started..."

Despite her protest, Oswald could not be stopped at the request.

"It was a few years after my wife Ortensia and I were married." the rabbit told Lauriam, a fond grin etched on his face. "She and I tried to have kids, but it just wasn't working no matter how we tried. So we decided, 'maybe we should adopt' and went to several orphanages that spring. Then along comes Sabrina, such a sweet little thing, all alone and wearing this real ugly glare on her face as she watched Ortensia and I talk to the other kids. She refused to talk to Orentsia. But for me..."

"I told him his ears looked stupid..." Sabrina grumbled under her breath. "And he laughed."

"I did." Oswald confirmed- his grin growing wider. "While Ortensia talked to the other kids, I just sat with Sabrina. We didn't say anything to each other- I wanted her to make the first move, so to speak. By the time Ortensia and I had to go, all the kids Ortensia talked to were begging for her to take them home with her. But when I got up to leave, Sabrina took my hand, looked me dead in the eye with this really blank stare, and said 'Are you going to come back?' And at that moment, I knew she was meant to be ours."

"So gross." Sabrina retorted as she pretended to gag.

"It sounds like a lovely story." Lauriam noted, a small smile appearing on his lips.

"Isn't it?" Oswald hummed. "It's one of my favorites."

Sabrina let out another groan of annoyance that lead the old rabbit and oldest student into a hearty laughter. He didn't mean to, but Ven also started to chuckle a bit. The girl pouted, less than pleased that everyone was pretty much making fun of her, but she let it slide with a small smile. She wasn't going to admit it anytime soon, but it was one of her favorite stories as well.

. . .

"Thank you for showing us around today, Ven." Oswald smiled as he shook the boy's hand. "We'll keep Daybreak Academy in mind come late July."

For what seemed like the millionth time that day, Ven gave a sheepish smile as he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Great to hear." he said, sounding even less confident than he looked.

"Promise you'll see me at new student orientations in August?" Sabrina curiously asked, looking up at Ven with wide, pleading eyes. He gulped at her. For a fleeting moment, the words 'how cute' floated in his head before he quickly shook them away. But he looked back at her and found he couldn't resist that curious tilt of her head.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." he admitted, a small grin making its way onto his lips. Sabrina let out a happy little gasp before letting her own bright smile appear. Ven's heart started to beat faster when he saw it. If she came back, he'd be able to see that smile every day. He liked that thought. He might have even blushed at the thought.

So… how long was summer vacation, again?