Hello everybody! I'm sorry about not posting this past week. There was good news and bad news on my internet deal at the beach. The good news was, I had it. The bad news was, when I tried to upload a document to I couldn't. Arg, that was so infuriating! But to make up for it, I will post five chapters this week, one for each weekday!
This past week was pretty awesome btw. Last Saturday, me, my mate, and part of my family (aunt, uncle, nephew, and step brother) headed out and drove down to Myrtle Beach, SC! We made it finally that evening and went and did our grocery shopping. My dad and step mom came down later that night. Anyways, we went down to the beach and had a great time in the ocean and pool about all week, other than the first day when my mate stubbed her toe in the ocean rather roughly, and it became painful for her to walk that night. But she was up and walking the next day (good old demon blood heals all, lol. That and ice, hehe) and had a good time once again. The rest of the week went off without a hitch. We came back Saturday, which I must say was irritating. Stupid people need to learn how to drive! (/sighs\)
Btw, me and my mate celebrated our first year of marriage Saturday. We went out Friday since we were going to be traveling Saturday. (/eyes cloud over with happiness\) We've had a great year together, and I know it will only get better from here on in.
Last time, the students arrived, and we all found out about Marie's cooking, hehe. Also, at the end, someone seems to have been looking upon the two. Hmm, who could it be? Lol, keep reading to find out!
And at long last, it's time once again! (/Cranks up some kind of music.\) It's review time!!!
Very Swampeh: It's alright. I understand about the wisdom teeth thing. I had mine pulled when I was 15, and it sucked. I couldn't hardly move or eat or do anything for a while. Lol, yes, poor Zane having to deal with the lovebirds. Thanks about the cooking scene. Ah, I'm sure it's not that bad with your cooking. Heh, the mysterious stalker, well, you'll find out eventually.
x-knight20: Thanks. LOL! (/Sees Marie explode with anime flames.\) Pray she never finds you man, or she'll disembowel you with a wooden cooking spoon with burnt rice on it.
Ultimate Legendary Master: The other site I mentioned was just for the last show. It was Cool that you use the same site I do. I use it a lot for research all the time. Yep, I was on vacation last week. Ah, that sucks that you couldn't review all week, but guess what, you missed nothing, lol.
Isis the Sphinx: Possibly, hehe. You never know, it could just be a random person saying that, lol. And yes, poor Marie can't really cook that well. Yeah, Jaden could eat his own hand and wouldn't care.
ardee: Lol, yes, that poor bobcat. (/Ponders if it was a bobcat demon.\) Eh, if it was, too bad for him. Zane's sort of, but not really in some ways. Besides, I had to have him help out with the stuff in the kitchen. Can't leave it all to Illidan… oh yeah, and Marie, lol. Lol, yes, anger management for all! Hmm, to give away if my villain is OC or not… Eh, why not. He's OC. Thanks!
pink-kiss-candy: Yep, sure is spooky.
Alright, that's it for me guys. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. As for me, I'm back to work. I hope to see lots of reviews for tomorrow, and don't forget, I'll post again all week. Enjoy everyone!
Chapter 13
Early the next morning, Illidan awoke to the sun peaking through the window. Laying there in contentment with Marie snuggled into his chest, he happily sighed and closed his eyes once more. A thought immediately came to his mind that the students would want breakfast soon.
Groaning, he gently slid out of the bed, leaving Marie to continue to sleep. He quickly ran into the bathroom and showered. Coming out, he found Marie still sound asleep.
Deciding he'd tackle breakfast alone, Illidan left a note on the nightstand so when Marie would wake up she wouldn't worry too much.
Grabbing his red coat, Illidan quietly crept out of the house and locked it behind him. Checking his watch as he walked towards the dorm, he saw it was already seven.
Chiding himself softly about not getting up earlier or remembering that the students needed fed, Illidan quickly hurried into the Slifer Dorm and entered into the kitchen.
Pulling open the refrigerator, he glanced for food. There was bacon, buttermilk, and eggs in the fridge part. Pulling open the door to the freezer, Illidan found some frozen hash browns as well.
"Hmm, if only I had some biscuit mix…" he said softly.
Shutting the two doors and walking over to the cabinets, he began to rummage through till finally he found a box of Bisquick.
"Good, we're in business now." he silently commented.
Gathering up all the food, Illidan placed it onto the counter and pulled out some pans. Placing some vegetable oil a few skillets so the food wouldn't stick, Illidan placed them onto the large stove and turned the heat on.
Dumping a bag of frozen hash browns into two skillets, Illidan smiled and grabbed some pepper and salt and sprinkled it on. Once finished, he grabbed a skillet lid and placed it on top to keep them covered.
Picking up the biscuit mix, step by step, Illidan prepared the biscuit dough till finally he had enough biscuits cut out and ready to be put into a pan. Quickly locating a few, Illidan moved the biscuits into the pan and dropped them into the oven.
Turning his attention back to the hash browns, Illidan began stirring them, seeing they needed a little more time. Grabbing the bacon, he quickly placed it into the skillet and turned the heat up on it.
Slightly sighing, Illidan muttered "I wish Marie was here to help me. Then again, if she was here, everything might burn. Feels just like home…"
"Is she that bad?" called out a voice from behind.
Illidan jumped and quickly turned around. He had always prided himself on being able to sense others entering the room and not sneaking up on him, but this time he hadn't heard a thing. Turning around, he saw that it was Zane whom had entered the room.
"Don't scare me like that!" Illidan replied with a sigh of relief.
Lightly chuckling, Zane asked "Is she really that bad of a cook?"
Softly smiling, Illidan finally muttered "Sort of. She sometimes tries to rush things, and in that event, she burns stuff, or sets it on fire. Usually though, she's not that bad if she takes her time. She's just usually afraid she'll burn stuff, or gets distracted and actually burns stuff. So, I usually do the cooking just so she doesn't have to worry about it."
Zane couldn't help but let out a laugh at Illidan who only gave an annoyed look, then a look a fear. Paying no attention, Zane only continued to laugh till he felt a frying pan softly tap him on the shoulder.
Looking over his shoulder, he saw an anime flaming Marie, complete with fire flashing from her eyes. Zane quickly realized the danger he was in and instantly decided to run for it, leaving Illidan on his own.
"I should kill you right now Illidan Stormrage!" Marie threatened as she pointed the frying pan at him.
Gulping, Illidan put his hands up in a defensive gesture, saying "Now sweetie, you know I love your cooking and love you, so don't do anything rash."
Patting the frying pan in her hand as she approached, Illidan instantly felt like a deer in the headlights of a car that was about to be turned into ground beef. Still, he was frozen stiff, though his senses screamed to run from his angry wife.
She stood right in front of him and he looked straight at her, hoping for some kind of sign that he wouldn't die. Instead of dying, he got a small tap on the head by the frying pan. It was so gentle that it didn't even make him blink.
Smiling as if she had just won the lottery, she said "There you go. Now, be good from now on, or I'll really let you have it."
Those words made Illidan breathe a big sigh of relief, if not almost make him faint. Marie smiled evilly at him and then walked on over to the stove and began checking all of the food.
Gathering what was left of his sanity, Illidan quickly began checking things as well. Looking around, he noticed Zane had high tailed it out of the kitchen.
"Coward…" he darkly muttered.
Together, Illidan and Marie continued checking the bacon and hash browns till both were finished. Marie even managed to keep the food from burning, which somewhat surprised Illidan, but he didn't say a word with fear of a frying pan making contact with his head.
The two quickly gathered up some eggs and began frying them. Illidan decided they'd fry up only scrambled, seeing how that was the easiest to make for everyone.
After another five minutes, the two finished and began piling the food onto plates. Finally done, they looked out into the cafeteria to see some of the students walking in. Grabbing up the plates, they began placing them on the tables and finally took a seat to eat their own breakfast.
Zane eventually showed back up and ate breakfast, but sat with a few of the students, one in particular. This was the student that Illidan had spotted the day before that had the Winged Kuriboh for a Duel Spirit. The two seemed to be making small talk along with a couple others at the table.
After finishing up breakfast, Illidan quickly went back to the house and wrote up a schedule to meet with the students. It was already eleven o'clock, so he figured he should hurry up and get a list out.
About thirty minutes later, he came back and tacked the list up to the main bulletin board in the lounge so the students could see it. Returning to the cafeteria, he saw that most of the students had already fled to their rooms.
Helping Marie gather up the dishes, the two quickly carted them to the back and washed them up. An hour later, the two finished and went back to get ready for their meetings.
Looking over the list, Marie sighed, saying "I hope this goes over alright."
Lightly chuckling, Illidan replied "Yeah, I know the feeling, but we should try to get to know the students. After all, we can't have them pondering if we even know they exist."
Sighing once more, Marie nodded and headed back with Illidan to the headmasters offices. The two went to their separate offices and took a seat at their desks.
Looking over the list, Illidan noted there were fifteen first year students, fifteen second year students, and five third year students. Marie had the luck of getting only twenty-five female students to interview, in which ten were first year, eight were second year, and seven were third year.
Leaning back in his chair, Illidan closed his eyes, pondering what to ask each of them. Opening his eyes, he looked over a small checklist he had received of things to ask students from the Chancellor.
A few questions seemed pointless to him, so he decided to just have each student tell him a bit about themselves.
"That'd be the easiest thing to do really." he softly said aloud to himself.
Reading over the list of people to come in, Illidan saw that he had ordered the first year students in first, followed by the second, and then the third.
"Sounds easy enough…" he muttered.
After about six students had been through, Illidan interviewed one named Roxas Himora. The student had brown spiky hair, baby blue eyes, and wore a white t-shirt with a black undershirt and grey pants rather than the usual red coat.
"You realize you have to wear the uniform, right?" Illidan asked. Even though he hated the thing himself, he knew that the students and the staff had to wear them.
Nodding, Roxas replied simply "Of course, but that is for class."
"Actually, you have to wear it almost no matter what. So, you should start wearing it, alright?" Illidan said with a semi stern tone.
Sighing, Roxas nodded, and simply replied "Alright, you win."
"Good. Now, tell me about yourself. I see here that you were once a student here, but for some reason you left in the middle of the term." Illidan said with a curious look on his face.
Simply nodding, Roxas said "Yes, I was once a student here about a few years ago, but I left due that I had a problem. Somehow or another, I developed a deep case of amnesia. I went home, hoping to find out who I was, why I was here, and to try and recover my memories. Unfortunately, it didn't help, so this year, I decided to return. I'm hoping that being here I might be able to get back a few memories, if not all of them."
Nodding, Illidan replied "Ok, that's fine. Give it time, you might be able to find them sooner or later."
The two continued talking for a few more minutes before finally Illidan dismissed Roxas. Sighing, Illidan stared at the list that seemed to never shrink.
After finally getting through the first year students, Illidan began down the list of second year students. The third one to be interviewed was an interesting student.
His name was Alphonse Heiderich. He had blonde hair and brown eyes, and had happiness to him.
During the interview, Alphonse, whom preferred to be called Al, asked where Professor Banner.
Sighing, Illidan simply replied "He has turned up missing, so the school sought to put someone in his place quickly, thus me and Marie were hired."
Looking sad, Al muttered "But who is going to continue our studies of Alchemy?"
Feeling for the boy, Illidan replied "I'm not sure. Possibly another teacher can teach that class…"
"It wasn't a class! It was on Professor Banner's own free time that he taught me and Ed." Al was quick to reply.
"Hmm, well then, I don't know. I know nothing about Alchemy, and I don't know of anyone who does. Possibly you could ask the teaching board for an alchemy class." was all Illidan could reply with.
The rest of the interview was quick and soon over. Looking at his list, Illidan saw that Chazz Princeton was next.
The student soon walked in wearing his black trench coat. Illidan instantly recognized him from the day before. He was the one with the three Duel Spirits, or better known as the Ojamas. He also was the one who had said he wouldn't eat Marie's burnt rice, only to get told to eat it by an angry Marie.
Seeing he still had his black trench coat on from the day before, Illidan annoyingly commented "You need to start wearing your red coat."
Shrugging, Chazz simply replied "The Chazz doesn't do red. Black is more his thing."
"Ok, but don't blame me when you get violations from teachers or me and Marie." Illidan countered.
Again, Chazz seemed unfazed. The two talked for a short time, and towards the end of the talk, Illidan asked "What is your goal this year Chazz?"
Smirking, Chazz stood saying "To beat Jaden Yuki in a duel! I lost to that punk last year, but not this one! The Chazz will prove that he is the best, and there is nothing that Slifer Slacker can change about that!"
Sweat dropping, Illidan smiled and nodded, saying "Uh Chazz, you're a Slifer Student as well."
"I realize that!" Chazz quickly snapped back.
Lightly sighing, he smiled once more and replied "Well, that's a good goal."
A few minutes later, Chazz finally left, leaving Illidan a few moments to laugh at the previous interview.
Finally getting control, Illidan noted his next student to come in was Zane's little brother, Syrus Truesdale. Softly smiling at this, Illidan prepared for the next interview.
At long last, the light teal haired youth walked in. Illidan instantly recognized him from walking beside Jaden the day before, and that he sat with Jaden at dinner and breakfast.
After discussing about himself and what he had planned for the year, Illidan asked "So, I have one last question. Do you have any good ideas for pranks to pull on your brother?"
Syrus did an anime fall over at the comment, and replied "Well, that's an unusual question. Hmm, he's terrified of jellyfish due that one stung him long ago, but otherwise, not really."
Smiling, Illidan said "Thanks. I just thought I'd check so I could possibly have something to poke fun at him over. Maybe we should have jellyfish for dinner…"
Syrus could only laugh at the comment. Illidan thanked him for the interview and then showed Syrus out.
A few more students came and went, till finally Illidan was up to Jaden Yuki. Knowing that he wanted to ask several more personal questions, like if he knew where the rest of the Shadow Charms were, Illidan decided to keep things professional and not bother Jaden yet about such things.
Eventually, Jaden walked in and the two talked for a while. Finally, Illidan asked Jaden "What are your goals this year?"
Smiling great big, Jade replied "To duel the best of the best here at Duel Academy and become the next King of Games!"
Lightly chuckling, Illidan said "That's a tough order."
Nodding, Jaden replied "True, but I'm always up to the challenge. I can't wait to find the best duelists on campus and duel them."
Chuckling at Jaden's comments, Illidan looked at him and felt some kind of strange feeling that he knew him. It was Jaden's features that mostly made him feel this way. His brown eyes with brown hair seemed to look familiar, but Illidan was quick to dismiss it.
Finally, Illidan got to the third year students. He was finally interviewing a student named Edward Heiderich.
Illidan soon found out that Edward, who preferred to be called Ed, was Al's older brother. Both had come to the school specifically to learn to duel and learn alchemy.
Ed somewhat grumbled about Banner not being there, leaving Illidan to sigh heavily as he said "I'm sorry that Banner is gone, but we can try to get someone to teach you and your brother Alchemy."
All Ed muttered back darkly was "I wanted to learn from Banner."
Sighing once more, Illidan said "I realize that, but things can't be helped. No one knew Professor Banner was going to go missing. I am truly sorry, but there isn't we can do but try to find a replacement teacher for you. Do you wish for me to find you one?"
Ed pondered it for a moment, but finally said "If you can, I'd like it very much."
Softly smiling, Illidan nodded and said "I'll try."
The last few students were easy for Illidan to interview, with each discussing their plans for after graduation. Once he had finished, Illidan leaned back in his chair and let out a large sigh of relief.
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Marie grumbled as she slowly went through the list of the first year students. The first few were alright, but some seemed so unsure of themselves.
The next student to enter was a young girl with light blue eyes and long blonde hair that was pulled up into a long pony tail. She had a few earrings in each ear, and had a smile on her face that told Marie she thought she was better than everyone else.
Looking at the list, Marie found out this was Ino Yaman, a girl that was said to be a beauty queen, cheerleader, etc, and as Marie figured, a really girly girl. She was also an expert in Tai Chi, which did kind of surprise Marie at the least.
"So, she has a little bit of brawn to back up her brain." Marie mused in her mind.
After talking to Ino for a few minutes, Marie finally asked "What are your goals for this semester?"
Without thinking for a moment, she said "To beat Sakura in rank by the end of the year."
Confused, Marie asked "Who is Sakura?"
Acting as if Marie was the dumbest person in the world, Ino snobbishly replied "She is a brat with a big forehead that can't do anything right and thinks she's smarter than everyone else."
Rolling her eyes, Marie said in her mind "Of course she is, unlike you, you miserable brat!"
Maintaining her composure, Marie kindly said "Ok, but you should work towards a better goal."
Ino only stuck her nose up in the air and passed off Marie's comments as if it was nothing. Sighing, Marie dismissed Ino at last.
"Why me…" Marie grumbled as she looked at the list. She wasn't even halfway through the list and she already regretted setting up meetings.
Looking at the list, she saw that the next person to come in was familiar to her, but was completely surprised to see her on the list. She knew the girl's age was too young for the school, but pondered why it was on the list.
A few minutes later, a young girl with emerald eyes and long straight black hair that came down to her mid-back walked in. She was rather young, almost ten or eleven years old, according to what Marie remembered.
She softly smiled and waved, saying "Hi Aunty Marie."
Confused, Marie asked "Mariah, what are you doing here? Aren't you too young for the school?"
Sticking out her tongue, Mariah replied "Yeah, I'm a bit young, but due that I was in advanced grades, I was able to already graduate junior high school, so I'm more than ready to attend Duel Academy. I'm the youngest one yet, according to the records."
Smiling, Marie nodded. Mariah was that. "She sure gets her intelligence from her father. Then again, Ishizu was no slouch when it came to intelligence. I guess it must run in the family."
After a nice friendly conversation, Marie finally excused Mariah and checked her list. Checking off Mariah Scribe from the list, she saw next was Ino's rival, Sakura Higa.
Five minutes later, Sakura walked in. She had upper back length pink hair, with a small bandana tied up in it. Her teal eyes were full of happiness, but also showed a bit of fighting spirit.
Marie talked with her quietly at first, and sensed the girl wanted to prove herself. "So, you want to prove you're worthy to be here?"
Nodding, Sakura replied "Of course. I want to show I'm not just a girl who studies all the time. I want to show I can duel too, and that I'm a tough competitor as well."
Happy to see some spunk in the girl, Marie concluded the conversation, and finally moved on down the list. Soon, the first year girls were done and she moved onto the next list, the second year students.
The first student to walk in was a young girl named Kari Taka. She had short brown hair that parted in the front, with most going to the left of her head. Also, she had light brown eyes and a slender body.
After a few minutes of discussing things, Marie finally asked what Kari had planned for the year. Taking a moment to think about it, Kari finally replied "I hope to become a better duelist overall, and to remain close to my friends."
"They're important to you, aren't they?" Marie asked kindly.
Kari only nodded in reply and smiled. She was then excused, leaving Marie to look at the long list. Finally, Marie finished the second year students, but knew the third year students were coming.
"This is taking TOO long!" she voiced out loud with great annoyance.
Sighing, Marie read through the list and prepared for the students. The first three were kind, and happy about graduating.
Then there was the next student, who was odd at least to Marie. Her name was Winry Roc. Upon entering, Marie first noticed her brilliant baby blue eyes, along with her long straight blonde hair that came down to her mid-back. Her hair was slightly parted, with two long bangs hanging down the side of her head. In the back, she had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Looking at her hands, Marie noticed they were callused, as if the girl had been doing quite a bit of outside work of some kind.
During their conversation, Marie asked "Did you have a job outside or something this summer?"
Smiling, Winry replied "Actually, I work on machines at my grandma's shop. I'm quite skilled at taking things apart and putting them back together, or vamping them up. Grandma says it's one heck of a talent for someone who had doctors for parents."
Nodding, Marie lightly chuckled, saying "That's a good skill to have. I wish me or my husband were good at fixing stuff. Unfortunately, we're not."
"If you have anything needing fixing, I'll be more than happy to help with it!" Winry replied with a happy look on her face.
"Thank you." was Marie's only response.