Of Storms and Uniforms

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"Man, reliving the series, then the first episode was so kick ass! I LOVED IT!" shouted Ciel as she plopped on the bottom part of her bunk.

"Agreed." said Leonard as he tucked himself in on the bunk bed atop Ciel, "Reliving Samurai Jack's past glories and adventures made it all the worthwhile while we waited for the newest episode of the fifth season, which, did not fail in the slightest to entertain or impress. What did you think, brother?" He asked turning his head towards me.

"Definitely like the new Jack. No way was he going to stay the same after such a long time. Well Inuba, what about you? How did you like the whole four seasons and the first new episode?" I asked from the bunk bed below her.

I saw my partner peek her head out from above to look down on me.

"Well, I can certainly understand why the three of you very much enjoy this show. After all, I too enjoyed it. Especially interactions between Samurai Jack and the Scotsman."

"Ah, the Scotsman. Bless that magnificent manhax of a man…" I said.

"Dude's insults are top. I should take a page out of his book…" said Ciel.

"You're still pretty beneath his level of insults. Besides, Scottish method of insulting wouldn't fit you well."

"What, so what my way of doing things is good as is?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"If you say so… Either way, I'm gonna improve my witty remarks as I go."

"You'd rather improve that than anything related to school? I'm surprised Ciel. If you devote too much time towards that, you might end up losing our wager." cautioned Leo.

"I can do both."

"Are you so sure?"

"As sure as my right ankle."

"What? That doesn't-"

"Whatever dude. I'm gonna catch some z's before class tomorrow."

"Not like it would be beneficial or detrimental to us." affirmed Leo.

"Still, sleeping's cool. The dreams I have… Woah~"

"Something I'm sure we wouldn't like to see or hear of…"

"Besides, a fair young maiden like moi, who's still growing, needs her beauty sleep."

"How puzzling… If anything, I wouldn't use the word maiden."

Oh boy. Here we go.

"Secret technique… KILLER ASS KICKING OUT OF BED KICK!"

I watched as Ciel thrusted the heel of her foot upwards into the mattress above her with enough force to make Leo fly upwards and bounce out of his bed as he rolled onto the hardwood floor with a loud crash, followed by wicked-witch laughter from my younger sister.

"Knock it off you two. It's our first night here and I don't feel like getting a noise complaint so soon. Go to bed."

Leo looked like he wanted to say something, but I gave him the zip-the-lip hand gesture before pointing up to his bunk bed. Ciel continued her silent wicked-witch laugh until Leo grabbed the pillow from under her head and smacked her atop the face with it as he hopped back up onto his bed.

Ciel was satisfied with the results. Need for retaliation was unnecessary.

"Everyone ready for bed?" I asked.

"Yep."

"Indeed."

"Inuba?" I asked since she was the only one who didn't respond.

I heard her shuffling something down below before she responded, "Ready."

"Alrighty."

See, what I was about to do only took me five minutes to set up. Hopefully I don't get in trouble for tampering with the electrical system.

I clapped my hands twice, and immediately after doing so, all the lights in the room quickly faded.

"Ohohoho man! That is so freaking cool! When did you do this?!" asked Ciel.

"When you and Leonard were out buying food. Did a little rewiring and reprogramming, and voila, lights that turn off at the clap of our hands."

"Coolest big brother ever! Air high five!"

Ciel and I did give each other an air high five before we leaned back into our beds and closed our eyes for the night.

"Night everyone."

"Night." I heard the three of them speak in unison.

I have to admit. This is...nice… Going to school...again… Bunk beds… Little brother and sister here along with my trusty partner. What wasn't to like? That, and things were far less hectic than the norm on Primordial. For now anyway. There's no telling what nonsense we'll be involved in the future. But I'm confident we'll be ready to face it when the time comes.

In my case, it was going to be a really steep learning curve considering...well...I don't have my old powers anymore. So now I have to start from scratch and see what these new powers of mine can and can't do. I'm pretty sure I can replicate some of my old abilities and techniques. I mean, I know I can do it, I did so with my most used technique. It's still not as good as it used to be though. As is, Inuba can slice through it simply by chopping it with her hand.

Oh yeah. I almost forgot. "That" was the only thing that remained from my old powers. I guess it's something that'll never go away. Though from what I saw, it's evolved.

Speaking of which, that reminds me of something. When Kareina and Inuba helped me settle here, Inuba's mother decided to take a look at whatever was left of my old power, if anything at all. An extremely faint amount of Dark Essence from what she was able to sense. Dark Essence formed the core of my previous abilities, meaning my powers were of Dark Nature, which is extremely effective against all manner of living and undead beings. It's only weakness, or to be more precise, it's equal is Light Essence, effective against all things unholy and evil. Ironically enough, Dark Essence is its weakness. Perfect for killing each other, no?

Kareina explained to me that I've had dormant Light Essence within me, like my brother and sister. However, I wasn't in tune and balanced with it like Ciel and Leo, which is why they're the only ones with a perfect balance of the two. I was more in tune with my Dark Essence, hence why it formed the core of my powers instead of balancing out to use both at once like my siblings. Now that my Dark Essence has practically faded, it's given room for my Light Essence to grow and develop. I do hope it'll work out in the end. I mean, it might.

Others would at certain parts of my life and say "Gee golly Dante, you sure have a perfect life. You're good looking, you're smart, you kill giant, unholy, unspeakable and unheard of monsters that would usually melt my face off, and girls just totally love you."

I ought to stamp "idiot" on the foreheads of everyone who's ever said any of the above. There would be thousands of stamps. Okay, technically being smart and killing unholy creatures is very true. But believe me, my life has been anything but perfect.

You ever get that image in your mind where something is barely being held together by loads of straps of duct tape? That would be the best way to describe the happenings of my life as far as I could remember. At first, not a whole lot of duct tape was needed. But the last few years before I left my home World Primordial, I'd probably went through hundreds of rolls. Figuratively speaking of course.

Brief periods of happiness is all I ever had really. Which is why when I have a good thing going for me, I secretly wonder when the next train wreck is bound to happen. Hours from now? Days? Weeks? Months? It's the one thing I've never been able to figure out.

Hrrmmm… There I go depressing myself again. I should seriously stop thinking about those kinds of things.

I turned my focused gaze from the ceiling to my siblings, seeing them sound asleep. Ciel was muttering incoherent gibberish, as per usual, and Leo...well… It looked as though he wrapped himself with his bedsheets. Literally, he looked like some sort of bedsheet mummy. Either he sleeps that way or Ciel stopped time at one point to quickly wrap him up like that. I'm assuming it was Ciel. It's the sort of prank she'd pull for sure. Either way, he's gonna wake up really surprised.

As for my partner? I shifted my body to the right so I could peek my head over in an upside down fashion. Considering it was Dark, my Shadow Eyes were active, allowing me excellent visibility in the Dark by highlighting every corner, edge, and gap in glowing white. Though in the case of people, they looked like a grayscale version of how they normally would without with my Eyes active.

It was like staring at a beautiful painting in the museum given my sight currently. See, the only exception to my greyscale sight of people using my Shadow Eyes has always been Inuba. She retained her normal colors, however, she had a more...incandescent glow to her now. Well, "now" would be inaccurate. Whenever I did use my Shadow Eyes and looked at her, she'd have a brilliant white glow emitting from her. It was...well...breathtaking for starters. And pretty bright. But now that she was asleep, the usual bright glow was now a soft, dim, peaceful light. It was pretty soothing really. Plus, the way her fox ears twitched in her sleep was pretty cute.

Well, seeing as everything was in order, I leaned back into my pillow and let out a deep breath as I closed my eyes, ready to rest for the night.

You know, I think things just might go-

A thundering crash echoed outside our windows, virtually shaking them as the sound lasted a good few seconds.

What in God's green Cthulhuean Earth was that?!

The thundering echo sounded off once more, only this time accompanied with a streak of jagged gold light.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Please tell me I'm imagining this…

Another thundering echo and flash of light, this time occurring continuously multiple times for a few seconds, forcing me to hide my head under my blanket.

Fuck me and fuck my stupid fucking subconscious..! Of all the things, why lightning and thunder?! What sick joke is this?!

Another flash and echo made me jump, forcing me to try and cover my ears to block out any noise.

I swear… If ever I figure what's caused this…

Another flash and another earth shattering echo made me plant my forehead to the wall on my left, a dull thud lost in the noisy storm. I don't have any headphones with me… Tonight is gonna really suck… It's gonna suck more than every other time I've been shot, stabbed and whacked at. And while not being able to feel pain from all those incidents, it still feels a tad bit uncomfortable, like if you wore a thick sweater to the beach. Or if you went skinny dipping in ice cold water.

Mother Nature, you are a very cruel bitch at times. I love you and respect, but also despise you for the nonsense you've put me through over the years. And now is the time I despise you the most. Like any other time you decide to throw a storm my way. Thanks! Pretending like it's not there really isn't going to help. Not. In. The. Slightest.

Great. I'm screwed….

Or at least...I thought I was.

I felt something pressed against my back. More specifically another back against mine. I was so out of it that I didn't even realize someone crawled into my bed. And given that something warm and fluffy just wrapped itself around my waist, I had a pretty good idea as to who. Still, didn't hurt to check.

"I-Inuba?!" I whispered in surprise.

Calling her name seemingly made her jump a bit.

"Y-You're awake…"

"C-Clearly I am..! What are you doing here?!"

"Um…sleepwalking..?"

My left foot sleepwalking…

"I… I've known for some time now, Master…"

"K-Known what..?"

"Of your subconscious fear…"

"That's silly… I don't-"

"There were oblivious signs of it over the years. At first, I didn't think all too much of it. It wasn't until recent years that it became more apparent that you were not appreciative of thunder storms, or enemies that utilized lighting. There was always a sign of you trembling, but as usual, you did well to hide it as best as possible."

"I just don't understand why you hide your feelings so much…"

"It's not to look tough, believe it or not."

"No, I didn't mean-"

"I know. Better to say it either way. I just don't like making people worry about me. And I especially don't like making my problems anyone else's. It's not that I don't trust others or rely on them, I just don't like pushing my problems onto them is all."

Another streak of lightning and crashing boom of thunder made me jump slightly as I gritted my teeth and bared them momentarily, closing my eyes once more in some weak hope of blocking everything out for the moment.

"It's alright Master… I know you think it's troublesome if others are involved with your problems, but it's not always the case. Others like me are more than willing to help you, no matter the situation. So...never be afraid to ask for another's help or accept it."

"I know."

Still doesn't mean I like doing it…

"So...why are you in my bed?"

"I...well… The storm awoke me...then I thought you might be awake as well… And seeing as storms agitate you greatly, I thought I should come up here and make sure you were alright by staying close to you."

I won't lie. I felt more relaxed knowing she was right there behind me. But that fact was also an issue as to why I could feel my heart beating rapidly. We were literally back to back right now. That, and her fox tail had a firm hold of my waist. Then, I felt what I assumed to be her hand brush up against my leg.

"Ah..! I'm sorry..! I though your hand was there, and I...well…"

"I-I get it… So…"

I slowly moved my hand back towards hers, our fingers tapping one another. Not a second later did Inuba firmly grab hold of my hand, her soft and delicate fingers wrapping around my own. It didn't take long for me to the same, having an equally firm hold of her hand as I continued staring at the wall in front of me. I wasn't able to say anything really. Except…

"Thank you." I managed to whisper out against the noise of the raging storm outside.

I heard her let out soft giggle as I felt her fox tail around me tighten slightly, bringing me ever so closer to her.

"You're welcome Master. Now…"

I felt my eyes slowly close themselves as everything around me in the world had gone silent, Inuba's voice the only thing I could hear as too did my consciousness begin to drift.

"Sleep peacefully."


I...actually slept through a storm for once… It's...kind of hard to believe… You know how when cats really get scared of something and leap up and latch on to the ceiling? That would be me normally during any period of time there's a storm with thunder and lightning. Last night though? I actually slept in peace thanks to my partners efforts to calm me.

Though...there was only a slight problem.

"Again?!" I whispered silently as I struggled to free myself from Inuba's grasp.

I don't know how, but at some point during the night, we had not only managed to swap positions, but now she had me in another full body hold, only this time I was positioned slightly below her head, which meant the back of my head was firmly being pressed against her chest.

Considering I as struggling to get free, didn't notice until now how my little sister was grinning and giggling at me like a fool.

"Late night?" she asked with a coy smile.

"Please, you need to help me Ciel."

"I don't know big brother… From where I'm standing, it looks like you're in heaven right now… I mean, in your case, she's like the ultimate boob pillo-"

"Look, I just remembered something I have to go do! And I can't go do that because of this! So please, help me out!"

"You know, if you keep avoiding happy mishaps, people will think you-"

"That isn't the case and you know it!" I whispered while slightly raising my voice.

"I know. I was just messing with you." she then raised up her left hand and snapped her fingers while saying "Time be still."

Within the second she said that, I did indeed find myself free from Inuba's grasp...again… Only now, I was standing on the ground posing like a ballerina.

"Really with this?" I asked as I stood normally now.

"Sorry sorry, I had to. So what's this thing you got to do?"

"Don't know. Ozpin said he wanted to see me before classes today to pick something up from him."

"Classes?!" Said Leo rising up from his slumber in surprise, forcing us both to shush him.

"I have to go pick something up before then. So you two keep it down and don't cause trouble."

"Understood. Wait… What manner of nonsense is this..?" asked Leo as he quickly rotated his body around, unable to move his arms.

He was still wrapped up like a mummy. Ciel and I couldn't help but snicker at his predicament as he struggled to free himself without ripping apart the sheets.

"Ciel, you little devil..!"

My little sister simply shrugged her shoulders with a coy smile before bumping the side of her hip against mine to force me towards the door.

"Well come on, we don't have all morning. Go do whatever. We'll wake Foxy in the meantime after I unwrap our egg roll sibling."

"Thanks." I said.

I quickly put on my black slippers and left our room, taking a quick look around.

Wow...people aren't up at this hour? Then again, my siblings and I are freaks of nature when it comes to whether we need sleep or not. We don't need it, so basically it's a relaxing activity for us. Either way, I for one shouldn't be questioning anyone's sleeping activities.

On my way until to Ozpin's office, I did see a few students who were up and wandering around, whether they were going to their classes, breakfast, or simply hanging out. Of course, first day of school, some are going to like to sleep in before sleep doesn't exist in their schedule anymore. Potentially.

Right… Turn around here and...an elevator. I was expecting an office but...cool..?

I pushed the buttons and the doors opened immediately, allowing me to step inside before I pressed what I assumed to be the button for the top floor; very likely Opzin's office as well. I did wonder what was at the top of the tower. Guess I know now. The only thing I did hate about my ride up was the elevator music; not a big fan of it. At all.

"Top Floor." responded a computerized voice as I felt the elevator come to a slow halt.

The doors opened up, and from the distance, I could see Ozpin working away on his Scroll before he raised his head up and noticed me.

"Mr. Dante. Thank you for joining me this morning. Coffee to start the day?" asked Ozpin as he raised up a silver pouring container.

"I feel like I'm underdressed for the occasion." I said motioning my hands to my pajamas.

"Nonsense. There's no such thing in the case of early morning coffee."

"Alright then." I said sitting in the chair in front of his desk.

Ozpin moved a cup full of coffee towards me along with a tray of sugar and a small container of cream, both of which I partook from to place in my coffee. I always did like coffee. And the different flavors and brews of it. And I have to say, this brew was outstanding. But I wasn't here simply to enjoy a morning brew. Whatever it is Ozpin called me in for, it has to be important.

"Now, the reason I called you in this morning was to personally hand you your new school uniforms."

What now?

"We had to make customizations in the case of ms. Kitsukami's uniform given she has a fox tail. Ironically enough, a few majority of our Faunus students posses tail like appendages."

"So...you called me up here this morning...just to give me coffee, thank you for that by the way Headmaster, and to give me our school uniforms?"

"Precisely, yes."

I simply shook my head and took a sip of coffee before accepting the large box he handed me, prompting me to take a quick look inside.

Not bad. I've had better school uniforms, but…this will do.

"That, and ms. Kitsukami, Inuba's mother, sent you a package as well. I thought it best that it come into your possession as soon as possible." he said as he slid another box across the table towards me.

A package? Did we forget something at home?

Not quite. This… This wasn't at home when we left. Which means Kareina came into possession of this just recently…

What lay inside was a coat that I soon removed from the box, which unfurled itself as soon as I held it out with both hands. It was...amazing. It was a white button up coat with black lining and trim, where the tail end in the back was split in two, the split happening where my tailbone was. Judging by the length, when putting this on, the tails would reach my calves. By lifting up one of the tails, it revealed that the inner part of the coat that was colored entirely black. The coat also had a black collar and black lapels that reached the center of my chest. And from the looks of it, from the lapel on the left side of the coat spanned a longer length of cloth that would completely cover my entire abdominal region. And on the side that the longer span of cloth would cover were three black-metal kite shaped buttons that would close the coat. From the waist down, there was no material covering the front. From what I noticed of the sleeves, they were tight, almost like a long sleeved shirt rather than wide like a normal coat.

"My my, what a splendid gift to receive in the mail young man."

"Yeah… No kidding…"

I looked the coat over once more before folding it back up. But before I could place it back inside the box, I noticed an envelope inside with my name on it, prompting me to set the coat aside and open the letter.

"Dearest Dante. This coat recently came into my possession as soon as you left for Beacon Academy. It was addressed to you and only you. And so I thought it best that this coat came your way as soon as possible. Do not worry, it will not harm you in anyway in case you were suspicious. I too was suspicious at first, but after thorough examination with my magic, I deemed it safe for wearing. In fact, I would recommend wearing it. Do you remember your previous garb whenever you activated your old powers? This coat works in the same manner your old garb did by enhancing your defenses and your resistances significantly, offering superb protection against all types of magic and elements. It also boasts significant protection against physical attacks well. I assume you of all people known what this coat is made of. Wear it proudly Dante. On the other hand, you left this behind on your desk. I'm assuming it must have slipped your mind when leaving, but I would implode you to never leave it behind or forget it again. Keep it with you always from now on. I hope you've all settled in wonderfully. Call back every now and then on weekends when possible so I can see for myself how all of you are doing. Enjoy your time at Beacon. With great love and hope for success, Kareina."

What did she mean? What did I leave behind?

Turning the envelope upside down, something fell into the palm of my hand. Something I immediately recognized.

My ring.

It was a fairly simple thing really. The rectangular stone set in the metal band was obsidian black with numerous diamond shaped patterns cut into the stone. In the center of the stone was a small white metal shield crest with a black background that had the letter "A" in white colored metal etched into the black background of the shield crest. The rectangular metal surrounding the ring stone, as well as the metal band, was colored pure black with intricate white colored etchings carved into the band.

I slipped this ring on my left index finger and gazed at it momentarily.

My siblings had stoneplate rings looking exactly the same, only, the metal bands and metal surrounding the rectangular stones where white metal with black etchings.

From what I saw out of the corner of my eye, Ozpin was quizzically staring at my ring as well with interest. I wonder why…

"Well then, that's all I have for you today mr. Dante. I do hope you enjoy your first day of classes."

"Pretty sure I will. Thanks by the way for, uh, these." I said raising the box of uniforms after finishing my cup of coffee.

"My pleasure mr. Dante. Enjoy the day."

I couldn't help but feel he was being overly nice to me. Not like in a creepy way or anything, but he's being far more nicer than he should be. Who knows? Maybe Beacon Academy is a far more caring administration than I thought originally. I have no reason not to trust him so far. But I still won't entirely remove the possibility just yet. As more time passes, I'm sure I'll be able to fully trust him.

But for now, I'm going to take these back to our dorm. Classes do start in a few hours. Best to be prepared.


"Leo? What are you doing out here?" I asked stopping outside our door to see my brother leaning against the wall, tapping his finger against his arm.

"I've been kicked out until they're done dressing themselves. They're actually waiting for you to deliver the uniforms. Which I'm assuming is inside the box?"

"Uh, yeah. Here, move over."

I knocked on the door three times before saying, "Sepcial delivery!"

"Crap! He's back already!"

"W-What do I do?! Ciel?!"

"Everything alright in there?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, everything's under control. Just a small malfunction! Damn it Foxy, your boobs are too big to fit in this one!"

What the hell is going on in there?"

"Here! Just give me the box!"

The door opened slightly as I saw Ciel's hand burst out, making a grabbing motion. As soon as I placed the box on here hands, it's disappeared back inside along with my sister as the way was shut once more.

"They do realize we also need to be ready as well, yes?"

"Yeah, but rule of common knowledge, girls take a bit longer for whatever reason they have."

"I swear Foxy, other girls are probably gonna want to kill you or something…"

What's this about killing?

"Wait, no!"

"Come on! Get your fluffy tail out there! The world is your apple! Apple? Banana? Cheese?"

"It's oyster, Ciel." Leo called back as he remained leaning against the wall, eyes closed.

"Oyster, yeah, that's the one. Now get out there!"

The door swung open, barely missing Leo. But that wasn't the biggest problem. Along with the door swinging open, Inuba burst out towards me. Option A, she was likely to fall over. Option B, I catch her, but with some considerable consequences to my sanity.

Option B it is.

Before my partner could fall to the ground, I quickly stood in her path and caught her. But as I did, her chest made impact with mine, making my arms lose strength slightly, but not enough to accidentally drop her.

Our eyes meet momentarily, but I couldn't help but glance over her once in her new uniform. A red plaid skirt, full length black stockings from what I could see, and a black jacket with a tan vest and white shirt with a red ribbon tied at the collar. Quickly looking behind her, I could see her white fox tail swishing about rapidly as she kept her hands on my shoulders for support.

"T-Thank you...Master… Huh? M-Master?"

See, my mind was working perfectly fine at the moment. I could think clearly and form basic coherent thoughts at the moment. But my stupid face and stupid body wasn't reacting the way I was telling it to, save for my eyes that slowly drifted off towards the side to avoid her endearing gaze. I honestly can't handle it. Not in situations like these. My restraint to not do something is failing by the second.

"I-I-I need to get ready and s-stuff…"

Brilliant. Master of words Dante. Excellent work.

Idiot.

I only managed to stagger inside and close the door before Leonard could get inside. There must be something seriously wrong with me…

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down and clenched my fists. The cold metal ring around my left index finger reminded me of its presence, prompting me to stare at it. And just like that, I was calm again. My mind was clear, and I felt focused.

Good. I needed to start the day one way or another. First day of school and all that.

Crap.

I just remembered we have to wear uniforms. Well, hopefully they'll be a bit lax with what I have in mind.


Sorry guys, short for time right now, but one announcement. You know how my update schedule is every two weeks (Friday or Saturday for KoWaB, Saturday or Sunday for VotA)? Unfortunately I have finals exactly 2 weeks from now. Then...a long 19 hour drive back home. I need my car for the Summer...so... But yeah, no KoWaB or VotA two weeks from now on the weekend of May 12th-14th. Sorry, but I gotta study and take the longest freaking nap ever when I get home. I will promise you however a release for both stories on the weekend of the 19th-21st, so don't worry about that.

Right then. 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!