Of Ceremonies and Dorm Rooms
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Wow… There are a lot of people here. Large masses of returning students had gathered inside the auditorium and had taken their seats alongside the staff. Meanwhile, the rest of us had gathered on stage and sat in seats specifically for us. They even had our names taped onto the chairs. How nice of them.
On my left sat Inuba, and then Ciel. To my right sat Leo and a few other students that made it through initiation with us; Ruby Rose's group and Jaune Arc's group.
"Come on! We've been waiting her for like minutes! The marathon is starting in like an hour!" Ciel whispered to Inuba, Leo and myself.
"I agree with Ciel… I'd rather be elsewhere right now…" said Leo as he looked around awkwardly.
"Well if you stop complaining, Fate may be kind enough to wrap this up quicker. Besides, this is a proud moment for us all. Aren't you excited?" I asked them.
"Well…"
"Not really." responded Ciel.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah, cool, we made it. Woohoo. Just send me out to crush stuff so I can just chillax later." said Ciel as she folded her hands behind her head and leaned back into her chair.
"You do realize we also have schoolwork. Homework, projects, tests?"
"Yeah, but that stuff's easy work! We're already fanfriggintastically smart enough that stuff like that is like a quick five minute warm up."
"Although in your case, it would thirty minutes." retorted Leo.
"Hey!"
"While it is true you posses the same capability of intellect like brother and myself, you surely do not use it the majority of the time."
"Careful there Leo. I'm a lot smarter than you think I am..." she replied.
"We'll see when classes start, won't we?"
"Five hundred Lien says I get all A's this Semester."
"Oh? All A's you say? Are you sure you wish to issue this challenge?" asked Leo with a coy smile.
"Hell yeah I'm sure, dork. You know what? I don't like your attitude. So now it's going to be a thousand Lien. Not only will I get all A's, but a higher grade score than you at the end of the semester."
Leo almost burst out laughing had he not controlled himself in that instant.
"Very well then. Just know that when I win, I am definitely spending the money I earned from you on many useless things."
"Why you little-!"
"Cool it you two. Save it for after the closing ceremony." I said.
They both glared at each other, but only Leonard was the one smiling. Pissing off Ciel was never in anyone's best interest, because if you do piss her off, her best interest will then be your actual, physical heart.
She hasn't Mortal Kombatted anyone. Yet.
But despite Leo's confidence in his intelligence, underestimating Ciel isn't something he would do easily unless he was sure he could best her at whatever it is they were competing for. He shouldn't underestimate her intelligence period. I know Ciel doesn't seem like the kind of girl that has a brain in her head at times, but like I said before, she is actually very smart. When she's actually trying and putting in effort, she's able to be even smarter. She almost beat me in chess once actually…
I turned my head to look at Inuba, seeing her fidgeting around slightly. She seemed...nervous.
"You okay?"
"H-Huh? Oh, um...peachy?"
"Peachy?"
"Y-Yes! Peachy!"
"Just making sure. You seem a little on edge there partner."
"Well...this is all rather...different. New things tend to make people nervous and the such."
"Relax. It's only an congratulations ceremony."
"But what if we didn't-?"
"We made it. We grabbed chess pieces just like everyone else did. Although we had less opposition compared to everyone else, we still did what was required of us. So relax. We passed."
She remained silent as she looked away from me for a moment, then took a deep breath and exhaled.
"You're never nervous in situations like these. What's with the jitteriness all of a sudden?"
"It's...well… This is an important step forward for the four of us. And I'd like for all of us to move forward together from here onwards. Which is why I'm worried as to whether or not we actually passed. I want all of us to be here together."
"Well, you don't need to worry about that Inuba. We'll be together for practically forever."
"H-Huh?! W-Wha-?! D-Do you mean-?!"
"Thank you all for joining us here today. Let me be the first to welcome all initiates back to Beacon. You did well retrieving those artifacts, however simple or difficult the task may have been, was a means to analyse your characters, your abilities, and your decisions."
Ozpin glanced around the room as he spoke, making it seem as if he was addressing each student personally, without actually referring to any of them by name. If anything, he was effective at captivating an audience, for all eyes had been on him. He even managed to hold my attention. And quite frankly, I'm not a big fan of speeches. At all.
Still...there was something else...odd about him. His speech's aim wasn't to enthuse or brighten anyone's spirits in the slightest. In a way, it's like he was basically giving us the ultimatum here and now.
Keeping fighting and moving forward. Otherwise, you will be left behind in the dust.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned in the slightest.
Initiation was more or less his way of seeing what we were made of as a collective whole of students. Or at least those that needed to be at their absolute best to pass. For people like Inuba, my siblings, and myself, even Edgelord Ezdeil, something like that wasn't entirely possible. We still had far much more to show than what we presented. Either way, we have his attention.
"That said, your teams will be forged around your choices for which relic you decided to return with. Many of you realized this, given its simplicity, but few of you realized the true driving factor behind the chess pieces you turned in."
"Soooooo, what? The pieces basically determined our team and stuff?" asked Ciel in a whisper.
"Not only that, but in some form they also collectively represented us." said Inuba.
Not a bad assumption...
"Each piece depicts a subconscious decision within you, whether you aware of it or no. Chess plays by a spectacle of novel rules and architectural ingenuity. Through your choices, your morality was tested, your innate desires were pulled, and your personalities were derived. Each of your personal pieces depicted some combination of these three traits."
"Meh, I was close." said my sister shrugging her shoulders.
Sure.
So it wasn't a simple test of our might. It was a test for...well, almost everything. Ozpin was studying each of us closely and carefully, trying to take in and learn as much as possible. And if he already had some prior general knowledge of us the students, whatever he saw at initiation simply added to his reserve of knowledge on us. Granted it wasn't everything, it was still a lot. Which begs the next question I had in mind…
How much does he know of me? How much did Kareina, Inuba's mother, tell Ozpin about myself and Inuba? Everything? Or just what he needed? Either way, future interactions with him will tell me of how much he knows and understands.
"This initiation gave us a prime example of what to expect from all of you. But keep in mind that anything is subject to change under the slow advance of time. So I implore you to take the energy within you and give it a purpose, rather than wasting the potential you may very clearly possess."
Ozpin paused for a moment, using this brief period of silence to take a hushed breath.
"Now, your teams will be formed under the rules of four. Four members, four letters, one name, and one leader. Please make your way to the stage in the order you are called."
"This it peeps! Moment of truth!"
I wasn't really paying attention all too much. I was mostly waiting for him to call our names. Frankly, I wanted to just leave right now. Like leave as in "get out of the state" leave. Sensing Ezdeil's Aura was like letting a massive ocean wave crash into you and swallow you whole. Was I afraid of his Aura? Or him for that matter? No, not really. Intimidated slightly? Yeah, sure. Who wouldn't be concerned about Aura of that nature? Correction, what sane person wouldn't be concerned?
Looking towards Inuba, I could tell she couldn't feel his Aura Signature. Neither could Leo or Ciel. Or anyone in this room for that matter. Which was odd since my Aura Sensing was worse than my partner's and my sibling's. So how is it I can sense you? Speaking of which, where even are you exactly? I can feel you somewhere around the school… Skipping already on your first day? Tut tut tut.
Oh well. Can't be helped. I heard that an ally assigned to them got injured during initiation. Her partner wasn't as lucky…
Ozpin did warn us that there's a possibility of death.
"Shit! Kyzal! What the fuck are you doing?! Are you trying to get our asses kicked?!"
My eyes moved towards the hushed whisper of frustration. Not that far down the aisle from us I could see two people arguing over...a bottle? One of the guys wore a purple beanie, a purple hooded jacket with a zipper that had brown, slightly padded shoulders, close-fitting jeans, and a pair of midnight purple canvas shoes, the rim of his shoes, where the soles are, were white. It didn't seem as though he ties his shoes. Did he tuck in the laces? Wow. Lazy enough that you won't even tie your shoelaces? And what's with all that purple? Are you auditioning to become a pimp or something? Cause the last pimp I saw was at the supermarket about a month ago wearing all purple. From the strands of hair I could see emerging out of his beanie, he had blonde hair that almost looked like gold, and violet eyes.
The other guy he was fighting for the bottle had black, shaggy hair that reached around his ears, and his bangs slightly cascaded over his eyes. His eyes were a bright shade of gold that seemingly reflected any light that hit them. His clothing was plainly all black, consisting of black baggy sweatpants, black running sneakers to p and a cotton jacket with equally black fur trim around its collar. The jacket had...slits near his back? What for? He also had his hood up, and the shadow that it casted over his face was darkened so that it would completely conceal his face. Unfortunately for him, I can see in dark rooms and spaces. He had to be around 5'7, three inches shorter than I was, and seemed to be of average build. Now that I think about it...I could swear I've seen this guy somewhere before.
What's so important about this bottle that they're arguing over it? Wait, is that-?
"Are you freaking serious right now..?"
"Hmm? Master?"
"What's up broham?"
Inuba, Ciel and Leo leaned forwards and looked towards me as I pointed my thumb to the pair of idiots down the aisle.
"Those morons brought alcohol with them. A strong brand too."
"Well, that's pretty gutsy." said my sister.
"Foolish if anything." retorted Leo, "Surely they can't expect to not be caught. Not with a bottle that large."
"What could have possibly possessed them to bring alcohol to this event?" asked Inuba.
"Who knows? Maybe they're the type to celebrate to greater extents compared to everyone else."
"But...alcohol Master? Here and now?"
"It's like I always say Inuba. Never underestimate the power of stupidity. Otherwise you'll always be caught off guard."
It's true. Once or twice in my life I did exactly that. No, this I stupid. No, something like that can't possibly work. Well, I was wrong in those instances. Needless to say, I was caught off guard both times.
"Oh, looks like beanie dude got the bottle back." noted Ciel.
"Looks to be the case." replied Leo.
"Oh, dude! That black haired guy that beanie dude snagged the bottle from looks totally smashed beyond recognizing his own name! Think he's gonna start tagging the walls with chuke before or after he gets on stage?" asked Ciel.
"If we're lucky, hopefully neither." I replied.
The four of us kept the corner of our eyes focused on the two morons to our right as Ozpin made official one of the top teams during initiation. Team RWBY. Oh? Ruby Rose made leader? Not bad Ruby. While deceptively small, no doubt you're a serious damage dealer and a fighter. A scythe that's also a high impact sniper rifle? That's definitely something I've never seen before. All I know is that given her size and the recoil of her sniper rifle attachment, it's going to give her attacks large momentum boosts for high damage. She's definitely a promising student. Same thing for her team from what I've heard. A team definitely to keep eyes on.
"Gabriel Stryker, Ray Chroma, Scarlet Rubine and Kyzal Drave, please make your way to the stage."
We heard a girl squealing next to the two idiots as she was the one who quickly stood up first. The girl known as Scarlet wore an armoured, carmine sleeveless tunic that extended to just below the waist. It also had a pair of black tails near the rear that fell to just below her knees, and on the rear was a small keyhole revealing a portion of her upper back and shoulder blades. Below the waist she wore a pair of form-fitting, black leather pants that reached the middle of her calves, each leg having a dark, cherry red strip running down the length at the sides. Her footwear consisted of black, red laced combat boots and a Templar cross badge secured to the tongue of each boot, the cross red with a black outlining and made of metal.
Her accessories consisted of a black utility belt that would hold her weapon, a couple of magazines for said weapon, a carabiner for grappling or abseiling, a reel of steel wire, and a multi-tool kit. Well, safe to say she's prepared.
I finally spotted something rather...odd around her neck. It was a black chain with a pendant attached to it, where the pendant was in the shape of an eye, white in colour, and had the same red Templar cross situated in the center where the iris would be.
What was really odd was the Aura Signature she gave of. It was giving me chills, just like Ezdeil's Aura… That's two people with really weird Auras. Can anyone else feel it? Or is it seriously just me? I don't know about Ezdeil, but this Scarlet person's Aura Signature felt really familiar. Like you know you've seen it somewhere before, but it's not exactly what you think it is, only that it's close in nature to something. And strangely enough, she's very...positive. Almost Nora Valkyrie positive, who I heard rode in on an Ursa, which I admit, would have been pretty cool to see if I was there. Either way, I'm being a bit careful around her for now. Same with Ezdeil.
The final noticeable features I took note of was that she had long, scarlet hair that reached her shoulders. And look at that, scarlet colored eyes as well.
"Here goes nothing." said another as he stood up before the two morons did.
He had to be Gabriel Stryker. From what I saw, he had long brown hair that fell just above his shoulders, and had purple eyes. He also stood at my height, 5'10. His attire was certainly...interesting to say the least. Pinkish/Purple light body armor underneath an open brown trench coat, black trousers and metal knee and shin guards, brown boots that looked like a combination between cowboy boots and combat boots, and a metallic belt with black gloves, where the pointer finger and pinky finger were exposed on both hands.
Okay. Interesting fellow already. Cool. Possibly flamboyant. Won't be sure unless I talk to him some other time.
We turned our heads towards the purple beanie dude as he slowly heaved himself out of his seat like he was about ready to walk in to his execution. This constantly angry person seemed to be Ray Chroma, who at the moment was helping the heavily wasted person we all assumed to be Kyzal Drave.
"They're so getting busted right now." said Ciel.
"Agreed." said Leo.
"You never know. Again-" I began before I was cut off by my siblings.
"Never underestimate stupidity." The two said in unison.
"Good."
Ray had a messenger bag on him as he continued helping Kyzal to the stage by acting as a crutch for him. From the surprised look on his face that quickly shifted to his bag, I could only assume something he had inside it was missing. Ray then turned to Kyzal and began questioning him sternly, and yet Kyzyl was doing his best to ignore him until he no longer could. Considering my positioning, when Kyzyl slightly unzipped his hoodie, I could what it was Ray was so concerned about.
"You are absolutely joking right now… Really?"
"What?" asked Ciel.
"That dude in black that's smashed, Kyzal, has another bottle in his hoodie."
Ciel had almost burst out laughing had she not slapped her hands on her mouth while only Inuba and Leo sighed.
"Y-You serious?!" Ciel asked still trying to contain herself.
"Dead serious."
"They are absolutely doomed." said Leo as he cupped his hands around his mouth and rested his elbows on his knees, watching with both interest and suspense.
We half expected Kyzal to topple over at the stairs, but instead, they actually made it to the top of the stairs and stood in an orderly line in front of Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch.
"You four retrieved the white pawn pieces, this reflects in your ability to appear to be mere cannon fodder, though, in reality, you have the most potential out of any other piece. Silent, yet deadly, the humble pawn can be the most dangerous piece in the entire game if its opponents underestimate its abilities."
While Ozpin delivered his speech, we watched Ray and Kyzal subtly wrestle over the bottle of champagne, Ray very keen on the idea of repossessing his bottle of champagne.
Oh my god those idiots... Don't they realize it's a carbonated drink?! If they shake it that much-!
With all the quick motions the two made in order to take the bottle of champagne from one another, it had begun to build in pressure, and at any moment was going to pop.
They are so fu-
"From this day forward, you four shall be known as team R-"
A loud popping sound traveled through the entire amphitheatre as the small wooden plug fired out of the bottle of champagne like a bullet.
The rest of us sat in silence, some, if not all of us watching in complete surprise and horror as the cork landed straight into the cleavage of Professor Goodwitch.
I did as Leo did and cupped my hands around my mouth, our eyes darting back and forth between the team on stage and Goodwitch.
Ozpin, surprisingly enough, took a moment to look at the cork firmly embedded into the crevice on Professor Goodwitch's chest.
I don't know what it was Kyzal had said at the moment, but all I could see was that he slowly handed the bottle to Ray and shuffled himself nervously to the side.
You know how you could look at someone, and they just have that expression of pure murder on their face that was so strong you felt like they could melt away all of your skin within a matter of a second? That's the expression professor Goodwitch had right now. Scarlet and Gabriel, in the heart of this disaster, tried their hardest not to laugh, Scarlet by far the worst at her attempt since her chest was shaking rapidly and her face flushed behind her hands. As for Gabriel, he was desperately fighting off a grin as the corners of his lips twitched in resistance, the boy's hands never once leaving the pockets of his long coat.
So what of us? Well, Ciel's eyes were watering as she desperately tried to hold back her muffled laughter in her hands while leaning forward towards her lap so she couldn't been seen. I couldn't help myself either as I let out a silent chortle and leaned forward in a similar fashion to avoid being seen. My eyes were closed as I bit back my laughter. Leonard slowly crept into a smile and placed a hand on his face to hide his smile. Inuba was the only decent one among us that didn't laugh, and was instead trying to persuade us to stop.
"M-Master! Please!" she whispered to us.
"S-Sorry… Sorry… S-Shut up you two… It's not funny… Hehehehehe…"
"I-I can't stop..! Kehehehehe..! I'm...not...sorry!" whispered Ciel in a giggle.
"I'm sorry… I know I shouldn't be laughing but...I can't help myself either…" whispered Leo as he covered his face with both hands to hide his laughter.
Ozpin, a man highly respected for his patient and stoic image, held a tiny glint of amusement in his eyes as he turned to his infuriated assistant.
"Are you alright, my dear?"
Not only was he able to maintain a straight face during what was likely to be the most humiliating moment in her entire career at this school, but he had the sheer tenacity to poke fun at her.
The four of us, after recovering from our laughing fit, watched as Ray's shoulders involuntarily shrunk, trying to make himself as small as physically possible. Honestly now, it wasn't like it dissuade her bad mood, and very likely murderous intentions toward him. Luckily for Ray, Ozpin was quick enough to take his head off the chopping block to resume his speech.
"As I was saying…" he began, "you will be known from this day forward as team…" The man paused for a split second, eyeing the four quickly before deciding on what he should name their team, "Renegades."
Not bad, not bad. Kinda fits well.
"Led by, Scarlet Rubine."
Oh.
Oh!
Yeah, they're doomed.
Clearly Ray was thinking the same thing I was at the moment given that look of "WTF?!" on his face right now. Still, I must admit I'm a bit surprised that he and Kyzyl weren't murdered on the spot. But good fortune and all that. I guess. Well, good luck to you guys.
"Next to the stage please."
Please be us. Please? Who am I kidding… Of course it won't be us.
"Bailey Lianna. Musashi Ryūjinhōno…"
No way. Bailey, the girl that was looking for Leo, is on the same team as that Dragon Faunus Musashi? Considering the order of their names being called, they must be partners. How about that… Well, Bailey did say she was going to look for someone on her level of skill and abilities. If anything, I think Musashi meets that quota. Now only time could tell whether or not they'll get along.
"Kaliel Sapphira. Nori Andel."
Oh? Now who might those people be? Let's see…
Obviously the girl walking next to the tall dude was Kaliel, and the tall dude had to be Nori.
Kaliel seemingly stood at 5'4, had light brown hair that reached her shoulders, azure colored eyes, and an azure blue hair clip to keep the hair in front of her face parted towards the left side. For apparel, she wore a sleeveless azure blouse and pair of white jean shorts along with black thigh high socks and white shoes. On her left side, she a wore a simple brown leather satchel.
Nori had to be somewhere around 6'5, and had shaggy brown hair that was chin length and light brown eyes. His choice of clothes were simple really. A pair of grey trousers with black sandals that had grey soles. The only thing out of the ordinary was the sleeveless grey haori he wore that was tied together with a black cloth obi. Overall, despite being tall, he was fairly lean and muscular. The only other oddity I could spot was the red, sandalwood Buddhist priest prayer beads wrapped around his arm in fifteen loops, which meant there were five hundred beads strung together in total. Could that be his weapon?
In any sense, Bailey, Musashi, Kaliel and Nori had all gathered on stage, standing by each other's side as they waited for Ozpin to say his part.
"The four of you retrieved the white queen pieces. Argueably, the queen piece is the most powerful piece on the board, having unlimited movement in any direction. Like yourselves, the Queen represents the power of Nature, whilst reflecting the light of the King, possessing unlimited potential. From this day forward, the four of you will be known as team LMKN (Lymirikan)."
Well that's a fairly odd name. But I'm pretty sure I've heard it somewhere before… Ah, now I remember. The Lymirikan was an ancient wyvern that headed a clan of dragons that the White Knights of Remnant hunted and fell to. This particular wyvern happened to be the most powerful and held the highest position amongst the creatures of its immediate race. Definitely something I wouldn't want to mess with unless I needed to.
"You will hence be led by Bailey Lianna."
Oh wow! Nice job Bailey! No really, I'm not being sarcastic or anything. I'm actually legitimately clapping for her. In a way, she kinda seems the type who doesn't like to lead really unless she's required to. Either way, I wish you luck Bailey.
"Now then...for the next team to be named this evening…" spoke Ozpin.
That would be us. Like Ciel said, moment of truth.
"Please step forward… Dante. Inuba Kitsukami. Ciel. Leonard."
I gave them all a nod as they nodded back while they stood up with me and began walking towards the stage. There's virtually nothing that can make feel uncomfortable...unless all eyes on the room are trained on me. When people do that, it makes me feel as though I've done something wrong. Yes, I know this isn't the case right now at the moment. But it's the feeling that counts. I guess. I don't know.
Something that made me slightly annoyed was the amount of people staring at Inuba as she walked behind me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a spotlight hog or something like that. All the girls eyeing her and admiring how beautiful she looked and how elegant she was, which I admit, is the same thing that goes through my head virtually each time I look at her, was fine and all. But the comments, as well as the eyes of some of the in the auditorium, that some of the guys made were erratically stirring my inner murderer. He's been asleep for a long long time now. Please don't wake him. I don't really want to go through a whole months supply of Windex and Swiffer Floor cleaner wipes just yet.
What couldn't be said in words at the moment was clearly translated by the quick look of murder I gave some guys as we walked on by. They stopped staring at Inuba directly soon after.
Good.
All of us had gathered on stage and stood side by side, waiting as Ozpin glanced over each and everyone of us. I swore he almost chuckled with how enthused Ciel was.
"The four of you retrieved the white King pieces. This is the piece the whole game revolves around and represents our deeper selves. The divine spark within each and everyone one of us. Although only capable of taking a step at a time, the potential to succeed and transcend is greater than all. Underestimation of any of you will always lead to the defeat of those opposing you. From this day forward...you will be known...as Team DICL (Dicilius)."
Well that sounds made up.
"The Knights of Dicilius, Knights who long ago had fought off Grimm incursions. Dicilius, the head White Knight, swore an oath to protect the innocent from the clutches of Grimm during ancient times. He single-handedly led his allies through the Grimmlands to destroy a nest of adolescent Grimm Dragons before allowing them to evolve and wreak havoc across the villas of his homeland. He may have killed them all, but sadly, at the cost of his men due to the adult dragon arriving to protect its young. He wounded the creature, but it took the lives of his entire batallion. Dicilius was the only one to make it back alive, but he did so with the eye of the dragon that killed his allies. He had the eye fired and molded into a gem that was encrusted into the hilt of his white blade, and with it, he took it upon himself to aid those under siege from the Grimm in the villages he traveled through. It is to you brave four that I bestow upon you his name. Carry it with pride wherever you may go."
See, now I was biting my lip a bit and retracting my previous statement. But despite that, I found myself smiling a bit when everyone was cheering and clapping for us. For the most part, my attention, and the attention of my three others were focused on those very same people applauding and congratulating us for our accomplishment. That was until I noticed Opzin's hand move directly in front of me.
"Congratulations young man. I hope you find what you are looking for during your years at our school."
All I could manage at the time was a sheepish nod before I extended my hand towards his and shook it briefly without saying a word in response. Was it intimidation? No, not really. I just didn't know what to say at the moment.
He gave us all a nod as we returned to our seats shortly after, as we were sure he was going to announce the final team. But that was the problem. Ezdeil wasn't here. Neither was his team from what I could tell. Why was th-?
"Unfortunately, our last team is unable to be present at the moment. Earlier today in the forest, one of their teammates had suffered and lost his life. As such, they have been excused from attending today's ceremony."
Right… Almost forgot about that… I wonder though...is the person that died the one that-?
"The current standing members are as follows. Niro Ezdeil. Anoel. And Kitsuki Aeolus, forming team ELA (Elandrial)."
Niro, huh? At least I know his full name now.
"With that, we conclude the ceremony. Classes begin tomorrow at nine. You can find all the books you need for your classes at the bookstore. As for your dorms, they will be assigned to you as soon as you leave this room. Expect a notification to appear on your Scroll. With that, I bid you all good day."
As soon as he finished, people started getting up and out of their seats and filed out the doors quickly. All, if not the majority of students eagerly chattered with one another as did so, the fours of us quickly trying to file out as well. We had a marathon to catch afterall. Unfortunately, with the high volume of people inside, it was tough to try and get through without pushing anyone forward.
"Yo! Big brother! What now?!"
"Uh… Here, you go get the food and stuff with Leo! Inuba and will set up the room in the mean time! Got your Lien cards with you?!"
"Uh..!" I saw Ciel check the side pocket of her skirt before she quickly gave me the thumbs up and said "Yep! How much we buying?!"
"Enough so that we don't leave the room tonight!"
"Got it!" Ciel then turned to Leo and grabbed his arm, "Alright tall and proper, let's go!"
"Wait just a seconnnnnnnnnnddd!"
Leonard's voice trailed off into the distance as we watched Ciel leap up into the air over all the students, with Leo in toll, and bounce off of the walls until she was st the head of the line, running out of the building with Leo.
"Well that's one way to do it. Right then, Inuba, let's- Huh?"
She was absolutely nowhere to be seen at the moment. Where the heck did she go?
"Um, e-excuse me please!"
There's her voice. But where was my fluffy tailed partner?
"Pardon me! I need to move through!"
Follow the voice, follow the voice, and…
"E-Excuse-!"
I quickly shot my hand towards Inuba's before she could sink deeper into the sea of students and grabbed hold tightly. By the way her head jolted up, it was like she wasn't expecting to see me.
"M-Master..!"
"You okay?"
"Y-Yes, I'm fine..!"
"Alright. Don't let go, okay? I'll guide us right out."
"Y-Yes…" replied softly as I gently pulled her towards me so that we could walk side by side.
I think she might be a little tired or something. It almost felt as though she was weak in the knees for the moment as we continued making our way through the crowds of students, moving ever so closer the exit. Eventually, freedom was achieved as the two of us both saw the blue sky once again.
"That was a pain to get through… You okay? I hope they didn't push you around too much."
"No, I'm...fine. Just fine…"
"If you say so. Well, let's go get our stuff and set up then."
I made to let go of her hand. Oddly enough, that didn't happen, for now it was Inuba who was grasping onto my hand tightly. I looked back at her for an answer, but ill received in return at the moment was her turning her reddened face away from me, trying her best not to make eye contact with me.
"I-I still don't quite know my way around here… S-So… I would l-llike to hold on longer until we get to our dorms… If you don't mind…"
"Well, you have a point. We only just got here and still aren't used to how big this place is. So if you really need to, then hold on tight and don't let go."
As soon as I said this, I noticed her face get redder and her mouth hung agape slightly before I moved on with Inuba in tow. I couldn't help but notice how her hold on my hand grew even tighter than before as I led her back to the garage space.
(Ciel POV)
"That's about everything… What do you think?" I asked.
"We've quite literally bought a cascade of food drinks, so much so that we have no need to go to the store for two months at most. So yes, I think it's safe to say we have everything we need." said Leo.
True enough. But hey, we can eat as much as we want and not get fat. Well, except for Foxy. She's the only one who actually needs exercise to retain that beautifully slender and curvaceous form of hers. She doesn't need to exercise like at all, but you know, I think she'd get more exercise with big brother in the b-
"Alright then Ciel. Take use back to the dormitory entrance." said Leo.
"Cool. Which one was it again?" I asked.
"Did you really forget which room we're staying in?"
"Dude, I don't even know which room we got."
Leonard only sighed as he hand me his share of the bags of stuff we bought. The weight wasn't so much an issue, but the amount of bags was. Literally, I was carrying like fifteen really full plastic bags in each hand.
I watched my brother bring up the holographic display of his HoloScroll and open a tab to messages from our brother, where even I could see that he found what it was that he was looking for. Me? I'm just trying to figure if I can carefully remove some chips from within a bag in a bag to munch on. I think I can… Alright, historical testing commencing in three, two-
"Got it. Room 304. Third floor of the First Years dormitory."
"Cool cool. So where is it exactly?"
"Really?"
"Hey, I'm not the smartest of us or the most attentive of us, but I'm good enough as is. Besides, details like that is usually up to you and big brother anyway. Remember the Royal Decree after the Monkey, Eagle, Orange showdown?"
That caught him in his tracks.
"I really hate you for suggesting that incredibly stupid game…" he said.
"Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game. Or whichever order it was. Is it the other way around?"
"Just get us to here please…" he said as he moved the screen in front of me.
"Oh! It's that ting between the other tings and..! Yeah, got it."
I snapped my fingers as a circular portal of black Aura opened up in front of us and we stepped through. Soon as we did, we were already back at the front entrance of the dormitory. Being able to teleport is freaking sweet. So is being able to stop time. But that's like uber cheating, so I only use it when I feel like winning.
So we took a walk inside, walked past a few students that waved hi at us, and we eventually got to the third floor where we were staying at. Along the way, we saw a little reaper in red along with her team scurrying in and out of their room, very likely trying to set up their room and stuff before tomorrow. Luckily, we had Foxy and my big brother for that. Big brother isn't a super neat freak, but he does like to keep things in an orderly shape. Which is cool and all, don't get me wrong. It's just a bit annoying sometimes. Cause then I have to do more work and so forth and so on. If possible, I'd like less work thank you very much.
Before I could think of anything else, my eyes snapped to Leo, who was just about ready to open the door to our room.
"Wait a minute there cowboy. Knock first." I said.
"Why?" he asked, "We have two changing closets inside. If either brother or ms. Kitsukami is changing then-"
"You got the two subjects right, but not the action. Think about it."
It took him a hot second or two, but he did get it.
"I highly doubt-"
"Hey, Foxy looks about ready to go into heat and claim him at any moment. Do you really want to walk in on them if they're doing bedroom gymnastics?"
"Y-You're right… For once…"
"Hey, I'm right a lot of times. Just not always mr. Knowitall."
"I am not a knowitall."
"Sure. Keep telling yourself that."
I moved past him and knocked on the door twice, and not a second later did Foxy open the door for us.
"Oh! Hello you two. Is that everything?" she asked looking at the bags in my hands.
"Everything we'd need and more." I replied.
"Do you need help, or-?"
"Nah, I got it." I peeked my head inside quickly, unable to find my big brother in the room, "Where's big brother?"
"Oh, he needed to take care of documents and confirmations to finish up our moving here."
She moved aside and let me through, allowing to take a deeper look at our new room. At the Kitsukami Estate, we each had our own rooms. But now, we were bunched up in one room. Near the window sills, we saw four dark wood grain desks side by side one another with plenty of books, paper and pencils and other desk supplies we'd need for school assignments. On the walls of our room, we had some of our own posters and wall art we brought from home that we're now added to the walls here, so in a way, it almost looked like an awesome combination of all four of our rooms.
We had a decently sized walk in closet that held all of our clothes, and two drawers that was pretty much likely for our underwear and such. Big brother and Leo had one drawer while Foxy and I had the other. To save up more space, it looks like Foxy and big brother took the beds that were already in here and made them into bunk beds. The joints were perfectly aligned and sealed together so that it pretty much looked like an awesome bunk bed. After peeking inside RWBY's room, we saw that they had really bootleg bunk beds going on, so I'm thinking Foxy and big brother got the idea from them.
Lastly, the two most important items we had in the room. One was a decently sized black refrigerator that was definitely going to hold all the food and stuff we bought. The other was a 90 inch black bar attached to the center back wall in between the window sills. That...was the all mystical holographic TV display our brother had made and brought with him here. High definition audio and video to deliver awesomeness for days on end. It was on that glorious piece of machinery that we were going to watch our marathon of Samurai Jack.
"Nice work Foxy. You and big brother sure know how to set up a room alright…"
"We did try to make it as homey as possible, so we took different aspects from each of our rooms back at the Estate and combined them together here."
Yep. I was right. I was about to turn around and ask Leo something, but he wasn't there. Where'd he go all of a sudden?
I quickly opened the fridge and took everything out of the bags and rapidly put them in one after another, then tossed the bags on top of the fridge. I made sure to quietly peek my head out the doorway and saw exactly what I expected to see. My brother Leo. What I didn't expect to see in extra...was him talking to a girl. Him. Going up and talking to a girl.
THIS IS COMPLETELY OUT OF MY EXPECTATIONS.
Not to mention, it was that girl from LMKN, Bailey Lianna. Oh~ Good taste Leo. Usually I'd say this one is out of his league...but now...I'm not all too sure. Besides, the way the conversation is going, it looks like she's interested in him too. Kinda hard to tell with that weird blindfold she's wearing. But hey, good for you man. Do your best.
By the way, I'm totally teasing the hell out of you every chance I get. Just like with Foxy! The fun will never end!
"Oh? Who is Leonard conversing with?" asked Inuba as she peeked her out a bit as well.
"He's talking with the leader from LMKN."
"He's conversing with a girl?!" she asked in a hushed tone.
She was just as surprised as I was.
"Yup. Better pick up the pace Foxy. If Leo can snag a girl this quickly, there's no telling how many girls will be drooling over big brother. Who knows? He might even get the really aggressive type that'll just drag him off somewhere so they can-"
I immediately stopped saying anything and looked at Foxy in shock as soon as I saw her hand clench the door frame and splitter it entirely.
"Wha-?! Oh no! Um..! Oh dear…"
"R-Relax… I got this…"
I don't get shaken up easily. Seeing Foxy crush the frame with her bare hands without even trying really? That scares the absolute shit out of me.
"Okay…"
I extended my hand and blanketed the frame with my white and black Aura, then snapped my fingers to force it to disperse. And voila, door frame good as new.
"There we go. Try not to break anything else, yeah?"
"I'm sorry…"
"No no, I kinda did cause that, so…yeah… Oh! He's coming back! Inside! Inside!"
Inuba and I quickly stepped inside and were just messing around with things, acting as if we were doing something.
"Ah! It seems as though you and brother got everything in order. Well done ms. Kitsukami." commented Leo as he stepped in and looked around.
"So Leo… When'd you become a ladies man?" I asked nudging him in the sides.
"W-What do you mean?"
"We saw you talking to that lovely outside. Bailey, was it?"
"Y-You saw nothing..!"
"Oh I saw everything. What were you guys talking about, huh?"
"Nothing. I simply asked if she was settling in nicely and the such and how her team is. She kindly responded everything was moving within expectations, and congratulated both myself and the rest of us for making it through as well. Then we spoke of the classes we would be taking and so forth. It would seem as though we share the majority of our classes together."
"Oho! Lucky you!"
"Please stop."
"What? This is a good thing! Now we have something to celebrate, so let's get some glasses and-!"
Before I could say anything else, the door quickly opened as my big brother charged on rough and roughly closed the door.
"Quick! Turn it on!" he said pointing to the black bar that was our HoloScreen TV.
"Why the rush?" I asked.
"Marathon, remember?!"
I gasped loud enough for all of them to hear me. I seriously can't believe I forgot the marathon.
I instantly spun around and brought up the holographic display of my HoloScroll and found the TV app that I had installed and pressed the power button. Within an instant, a 90 inch holographic display emerged from the black bar, already tuned in to the channel of interest with a countdown to under a minute left.
My big brother whipped out four white and black, leather bean bag seats and quickly moved them to the center of the room and hopped onto the center left bag while Foxy sat next to him on the outer left bag. Leo sat on the outer right bag, leaving the inner right for me.
Okay, "time" to be the coolest little sister ever now.
"Time be still!" I whispered as I snapped my fingers.
Everything around me turned grayscale and remained frozen. No one and nothing moved, not even the pigeons frozen in midair outside our window. Being able to stop time is freaking awesome. Unfortunately, my limit is thirty seconds before my time stopping ability dips into my Aura reserves. So within the thirty seconds I had, I opened the fridge and brought out a two liter bottle of soda for each of the four of us, our favorite ones respectively of course, and a few snacks, like giant bags of chips, cookies, etcetera. As soon as I had them in my hands I bumped my rear against the fridge door to close it and moved towards my two frozen-in-time brothers and our very fluffy friend, lying out our drinks and snacks in front of them before I too plopped atop my bean bag seat.
"Time resume!"
And with another snap of my fingers, time had resumed once again, and the three of them looked in front of them in awe and wonder.
I know, I know, I'm awesome.
"Thanks for that Ciel." said my big brother as he cracked open the massive two liter bottle of root beer.
"No worries. Now, let's get this viewing marathon started!"
The Teams have been formed. The fun will now begin. These main teams I just showed you will be a point of focus throughout the story, especially since they'll be interacting with my characters a whole bunch. Like always, they too will have an important part to play in my story besides just being friends that just hang out with each other. Allies and the such through hard times and situations. Look forward to the greatness.
So, to clear things up a bit, Team ELA (Niro Ezdeil, Anoel, Kitsuki Aeolus, and another member soon to join them) belong to the totally spectacular Xera Stark and his story Rogue Huntsmen, which this story is being written in tandem with events and happening in RH. That's not all, but remember Team Renegade/RGDS (Ray Chroma, Gabriel Stryker, Kyzal Drave, and Scarlet Rubine)? Well, they belong to the fairly new author HydraFlow and his story Lost in Binary. He, along with Xera Stark and myself are centering our stories happenings and events around each others, so in a sense, each of our three stories now is a kind of group effort. Just like you'll be seeing their characters a bunch in my story, you'll be seeing mine a bunch in theirs.
That's all I have to say.
So with that, I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing collab Xera Stark and I are currently working on concerning his story XSRA's Flame. His story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you read from the very start. But, if you're just interested in the awesome collab our two minds put together have created, then mozy on down to chapter 53 of his story for the start. I've said it once and will say it again, you won't want to miss out on this story, and especially this exciting story arc we've created. Not only that, but check out his other awesome and highly entertaining story Rogue Huntsmen as I mentioned above. It's just pure awesomeness bundled into one story. Trust me, you'll love it. And hey! Go check out HydraFLow's story Lost in Binary! It's equally as awesome and entertaining, definitely worth spending the time reading and enjoying.
Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.
Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!
Bye-bye now!
