AN: As Karasu and Soma have their talk, let's introduce the final new student to the academy.
"Okay, so the new kid is a ninja and tried to steal from the secret vault underneath the school," Aurora asked Karasu as the two sat in the schoolyard.
Saras and Soma where there as well, with the wolf looking like she wanted to be anywhere else but here.
"Basically, yes," the raven replied.
"And you knew that she would do this how…?" Saras asked.
"Ninjas can tell if someone else is a ninja," Soma explained. "When we locked eyes, we felt a connection that only ninjas feel between each other." She turned to Karasu. "Are there any other ninjas I should know about?"
The raven took a thinking pose. "I don't think so, but that ram girl, Riku, has shown that she knows ninjutsu. I think it's just the two of us."
The wolf huffed, standing up from her seat. "Well frankly, as nice as it is to not be alone in this, I don't think I need to play hero with your little group. I have my mission, and I won't be as merciful if you get in my way next time." She gave them a slight smile. "I hope we can stay friends, however. See you."
As the wolf went away, Aurora thought about what Soma had said. 'A special connection?' the jackal thought.
"It might be time to do the thing," Anubis said.
"Do what?" Karasu asked.
'Crap. He could hear that,' Aurora thought. She gave an awkward cough, a tinge of red coming to her face. "Well, you know that the Valentine's Day dance is coming up, and no one has asked me yet, so…"
"Sorry, I have something else to do on that day," the raven said. He gave her a smirk. "However, if you want to come with me I won't complain."
"YES!" Aurora shouted, giving her the attention of everyone in the schoolyard. She noticed, blushing and lowering her voice. "I mean, sure, I'll go with you for this."
Saras gave a longing sigh. "And I have officially been moved to 'Third Wheel' of the group. Great."
[***]
Out in the city, Jintien was training with some of the younger students at her parent's dojo. Po and Xing were there as well, recording the lesson for the Jade Palace Academy official website.
"…and, closing stance!" Jintien shouted, taking her stance as the students copied her. "Good job today, students. We'll meet again next week to work on Crane Style."
The students gave a bow and went to go change out of their fighting gi's. One of the older students, a frog with green skin and black markings, came up to the komodo dragon. "Master Numa, I heard about there being an opening at the academy and was wondering if I could apply for it?"
"You're Hideo, right?" Jintien said. "Of course you can apply! In fact, Master Oogway wanted us to look for students, and your Capoweria fighting style will help you stand out from the crowd."
"Sweet!" Hideo exclaimed, doing a little spin. "I'll show everyone who's the strongest when I get there!"
"Geez, there's a lot of students that want to be the strongest, aren't there?" Xing said, sweatdropping.
Meanwhile, outside the dojo, Shen was walking towards the city park, taking note of all the stares he got from everyone. The peacock positively hated when they did this. It wasn't his fault that he was born this way. He couldn't focus on the negative, however. He' been down that road before and promised his parents to never go overboard again.
Entering the park, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom as Shen walked over a small bridge, a few petals falling softly onto the water. It was the soothing calm of nature that reminded Shen of his family estate. That calm was immediately interrupted by a scream and a splash of water, followed by the sound of kids laughing and running away. Investigating the situation, the peacock found a beetle, one he thought he recognized from school, drowning in the lake.
"I'll save you, citizen!" shouted a voice. It was Hideo, whom used his long legs to leap into the air for a perfect swan dive. The frog grabbed the beetle and threw him up onto the shore, right in front of Shen.
"Is his safe?" Jintien asked, Po and Xing running up behind her. She eyed Shen, giving him a glare. "Did you do this?"
"Don't assume anything, and don't get in my way," the peacock replied with his own glare. Shen put a wing to the beetle's chest, then swiftly thrusted it into his gut.
The beetle spit up all the water, gasping for air and bolting upright. "What just happened?" Koji asked, looking around confused.
"Those punks from downtown pushed you into the lake," Shen said. He gave the beetle a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you from an island? Why can't you swim?"
"Never learned how to," Koji replied. "Thanks for saving my life."
"You're welcome, future acquaintance," Hideo said, taking a heroic pose.
Jintien grabbed Koji's arm, dragging him off. "Okay, you just had a near-death experience, so let's get you checked out to make sure you're fine."
"Jintien, wait, let go!" I'm fine, really!" Koji said, struggling in the komodo dragon's grip.
[***]
Up at the school, many things were happening. The teachers were getting ready for the upcoming Valentine's dance, and the students were going about determining who was the cutest couple in the school. Tai Lung's group was planning on which of the three Dragon Warrior candidates they should take out first, and the Furious Five were protecting the city.
Po and the video club were uploading more videos to the school's official channel, with the panda looking at the video he had taken of Hideo and Shen saving Koji. He felt a strange connection to the peacock, like thy had known each other in another life. But that was impossible, as the two had never formally met until today.
Karasu was getting ready with Saras and Aurora for some night training, focusing on the fox's transformation powers tonight. The raven was thinking of possibly adding another member to their team, especially with all of the craziness with the Legendary Warrior and the rumors of the "problem students" forming a group. He could sense a conflict coming.
Over in the headmaster's office, Kai was going through the application form of Hideo and Soma when he got a call on the telephone. "Jade Palace Academy, Headmaster Kai speaking," the bull answered.
"Hello Mr. Kai!" came a voice on the other end. "How would you feel about lunch this Thursday? There is something we need to discuss."
Author's Note
It's been a while, but I'm back!
I want to give a thanks to lionkingfactsguy3 for the use of Hideo in this story. This frog's moveset will bring a new dynamic to the academy I hope!
Who was calling Kai? Guess you'll have to wait to find out…
Next chapter will be a special Valentine's special, with a focus on the romances of the school. Karasu and Aurora will be hanging out, as well as Sora taking Song on that date he owed her. What other couples do you want to see at the dance? Leave a review to let me know!
