Hey! Christmas break has finally started (erm, as of last friday) so I hope to finish at least two or three chapters in the two weeks away from school. So uh...oh yeah, if any of the characters go out of character please let me know! I mean, it gets on my nerves sometimes when characters are seriously ooc, so I'd rather not be a hypocrite. And thanks a lot for the reviews! Glad to see people actually like this, woohoo! Also, I will probably switch Neko-sensei's name to Mr. Cat whenever he is referred to because I have no idea about honorifics so if I won't be using honorifics for anyone else, then I might as well keep the continuity. So...hehe?
I do not own Princess Tutu or any of its characters.
The next morning, Fakir knocked on Ahiru's door bright and early to make sure that she didn't sleep in, after all, it wouldn't look particularly good if she was late for school before she was even admitted into it. Returning to his room, Fakir quickly got dressed for school and headed down towards the dining table where Charon sat already eating breakfast.
"Ah, Fakir, up already?" Charon asked in a light tone. Fakir nodded and sat down beside him. "So, did you figure out what all that screaming was about last night?" Fakir froze suddenly for a moment as he went to grab a piece of toast from across the table.
"She was just having a nightmare." After having heard an answer, Charon seemed to drop the conversation but after a few moments of silence, asked, "Is she alright?"
"Yeah, she's fine." Just as Fakir finished speaking, Ahiru walked in and quietly sat down at the table.
"Good morning." Ahiru greeted with a smile, yet, her tone was heavy. As she began eating her breakfast silently, Fakir stared at her worriedly. It wasn't like her to be so subdued no matter what the situation. Although Charon had only just met Ahiru, as far as he knew, he could still see that something was obviously wrong. Charon leaned in slightly towards Fakir and whispered, "She doesn't look fine to me, Fakir." Fakir could only nod in agreement.
Suddenly, after finishing his small meal, he stood up and pulled Ahiru up by the arm. "C'mon, we're going." Ahiru gasped as she was pulled into stride behind Fakir and dropped her half eaten sandwich on her plate. "F-Fakir!? But I'm not done eating breakfa-" Ahiru was cut off as Fakir reached down onto her plate and shoved the rest of the sandwich in her mouth. However, even though the sandwich stuck out of her mouth, making speech rather hard, she still insisted on complaining although it came out as muffled ramblings. Fakir, paying no attention to Ahiru's complaints, dragged her through the door, leaving a confused Charon at the table.
Fakir pulled Ahiru in the direction of the academy and as they neared it, Ahiru took a bite out of her sandwich before finally pulling it out of her mouth. Once she had swallowed, she pulled her arm free of Fakir's grasp, causing him to turn around. "Fakir, what was the big idea, huh?"Ahiru demanded.
"What do you mean, 'what's the big idea'? You're the one who came down to breakfast depressed this morning." Ahiru flinched at the sternness in his eyes and in his tone and looked down.
"Well, I just, you know, had a lot to think about..." Ahiru mumbled. Fakir sighed and crossed his arms. "About the dream?" She nodded.
"Look, I know you're probably going to say something like, 'Moron, it was just a dream. It's pointless to get so worked up over something like that.'" Ahiru mimicked in the best 'Fakir' voice she could do and then lifted her head to look Fakir in the eye. "And I know that I shouldn't get too worried about it since nothing's happened yet but I can't help it! You remember what I told you about those two dreams I had, right? In the first one, Princess Tutu told me that there would be challenges ahead. And now, I have a dream about Mytho being..." Ahiru closed her eyes, not wanting to remember her most recent dream.
"Ahiru, calm down." Ahiru's eyes snapped open and she stared at Fakir with a frown. "I understand how you feel. After being in one of Drosselmeyer's stories, it's hard not to feel paranoid. But, I'm not saying that you shouldn't. All that's been happening is making me suspicious as well but until we really know what's going on, there's nothing we can do. We'll just have to keep our eyes open." Ahiru's mood seemed to lighten slightly at this but Fakir could see that she still seemed worried. So, he added, "And...if this is another one of Drosselmeyer's sick tragedies, or anyone's for that matter, then we'll be there to keep the story from going down that path." Now, Ahiru really seemed to brighten up.
"Yeah!" She yelled excitedly with a fist in the air. "That's right! If the two of us work together, we'll definitely make this story have a happy ending too! I don't know why I was even so worried in the first place!" As Ahiru began marching onward to the academy, sandwich still in hand, Fakir smiled. She was definitely still the same Ahiru, so full of hope.
When Fakir and Ahiru arrived at the academy, there were already students beginning to wander the halls, wasting time before lessons started. Although there were only a few students here and there, Ahiru felt as if there were hundreds of eyes staring at her as they made their way to the headmaster's office. Every time the two of them would pass a small group of students they all turned their heads and stared at Ahiru, some glaring, some with wonder. As this began happening more and more as they walked down the halls, Ahiru began to shy away behind Fakir.
They're probably just staring at me because I'm new here and I don't have a uniform yet. That's probably why...Ahiru thought to reassure herself. At her new start at Kinkan Academy, Ahiru didn't want people to start thinking she was weird right off the bat like before. Absorbed in her thoughts, Ahiru hadn't noticed when Fakir stopped and lightly bumped into him. "Moron. Watching where you're going." Ignoring the face that Ahiru shot at him, he turned towards the door in front of him and knocked on it.
"Come in!" Fakir opened the door and followed in behind Ahiru. Ahiru smiled as she took in the familiar office. She had been her once or twice before, the first being when she first enrolled in the academy. However, a few things were different. Instead of Mr. Cat waiting for her behind the large wooden desk, it was a very human man with neatly combed black hair that somehow still looked messy and round glasses. In one corner of the room was an average sized basket lined with a blanket where a white cat lay tending to her litter. Sitting just outside the basket was a very familiar purple cat staring lovingly at his family.
Ahiru smiled and she giggled mentally. It looks like Mr. Cat got his happy ending too! He finally found a bride. Fakir nudged her slightly, bringing her out of her thoughts again. "Hey, don't blank out like you usually do." Ahiru pouted at him, mostly because he was right. Ahiru wanted to make a good first impression on the new headmaster.
"Ah, Fakir, good morning. Who's this?" The headmaster adjusted his glasses and smiled at Ahiru.
"This is a friend of mine. Her name is Ahiru. Until recently, she's been living out of the country but due to special circumstances, she was sent to live with me and my guardian." The headmaster nodded with understanding and then said, "And you thought it would be best if she spent her time here in Kinkan at school?" Fakir nodded and the headmaster got up and headed towards a tall shelf against the wall. Running his index finger across the rows of books and folders, he finally stopped at a certain folder and brought it back to his desk. As he flipped through the pages he asked, "So, what is it that Miss Ahiru wants to take up here at Kinkan?"
"Ballet!" She answered quickly with excitement. The headmaster nodded his head and began scribbling on one of the pages in the folder. After, he flipped all the way to the back of the folder where a labeled map of what looked to be a building was taped to the back cover. His eyes scanned over it and then he stroked his chin. "Hm, well, this may be a problem."
Ahiru froze. "A...problem?" The headmaster nodded and tapped his finger on the paper.
"Yes, it looks like we don't have anymore available rooms in the girls' dormitory. There have been quite a few new students enrolling in the academy recently, not to mention we have a few former students coming back for a while..." Ahiru sighed with relief. It was simply a problem of living arrangements.
"Well, I could, maybe, continue living with Fakir and Charon." The headmaster seemed to stop to consider this for a moment. "Well, I don't know. I rather think that...a boy...and a girl..." As he continued speaking, Ahiru could feel a change in the atmosphere and in the headmaster's tone. "...living together in the same home...is something that is done only after m-m-marriage!" Ahiru cringed and in her mind, all she could think was, Boy, if this guy was 's owner before the story started, well, it would definitely explain Mr. Cat's marriage proposals. Almost immediately, the headmaster caught himself and cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose that would be fine. Now then," The headmaster got up and opened a small cabinet in the room and produced a neatly folded uniform and handed it to Ahiru.
"Follow me. I'll have to inform the ballet teacher of the new student. She will introduce you once classes start. After, we will see about getting you the proper dance wear." As the headmaster walked around the desk, he held out his hand to Ahiru who took it happily. "Also, I am Mr. Dion." From there, Mr. Dion led Ahiru and Fakir to the lesson room and opened the door to see the teacher going through her stretches before the class arrived. She immediately took notice of them and turned to them.
"Oh, good morning, Mr. Dion." she greeted in a light tone. He nodded his greeting back to her and stepped aside to introduce the new student. "Miss. Lorna, this is Miss. Ahiru. She will be joining your class today."
"Ah, it's nice to meet you." Miss. Lorna smiled brightly at her and then looked back to the headmaster.
"Thank you for informing me, Mr. Dion. I'll take it from here." Mr. Dion nodded and headed back to his office. "Ahiru, welcome to Kinkan Academy. If you don't mind, you'll have to come with me. We need to find you a fitting leotard and a pair of ballet slippers." Ahiru nodded and followed Miss. Lorna out of the lesson room. Fakir stayed put and watched them as they left.
It hadn't taken long for class to start and for everyone to arrive. After everyone had finished their warm-ups, Miss. Lorna gathered everyone to one side of room. "Everyone, today, we have a new student joining us. Ahiru?" Ahiru opened the door and popped her head in. Shyly, she made her way over to Miss. Lorna and waved awkwardly to everyone. "Um, it's nice to...meet everyone!" Again.
"Ahiru, would you like to dance a little for us?" Ahiru jumped. "Ah, n-no, it's okay! I wouldn't want to waste time to-"
"Oh, no, it's quite alright. Please, go ahead." Ahiru giggled nervously. Oh no...With a gulp, Ahiru waited until the pianist began playing. Here goes. But Ahiru was so nervous that she couldn't think of what to do. Her legs wouldn't move because she had no idea what to dance. But as the music played, Ahiru found the tune familiar. Then, she thought back to the pas de deux that she had danced with Rue before. And so, Ahiru closed her eyes and mimicked that dance as best she could, making up steps to replace the parts that required a partner.
The dance had turned out almost exactly like Ahiru had remembered. Even the made up parts seemed to fit in alright. However, just as Ahiru had remembered it, her dancing also still seemed to hold duck-like qualities. So, as Ahiru's dance ended, she opened her eyes and saw the expressions on her class's faces. Some were surprised, others were just blank and others were obviously trying to hold in giggles. Ahiru gulped and looked down at her feet. It was definitely not a particularly good start to her new life at the academy. But then, suddenly, she heard someone clapping. When she looked up and searched the crowd for that one person, she found that it was Fakir. Then, one by one, everyone else followed suit, even the ones her were trying not to giggle. They were obviously just trying to follow Fakir, but it still made Ahiru feel better.
Ahiru made her way off the dance floor and sat down beside Fakir. "Thanks a lot, Fakir." Ahiru whispered gratefully. Fakir could only smile slightly in response.
"Alright, now that our new student has been introduced, let's get on with today's lesson. Today, we will be working with the barre again so, if you would..." Miss. Lorna motioned towards the barre and everyone took their place at the barre and began the exercises. Ahiru had taken her spot at the back and copied the exercises. It wasn't long before she found herself surrounded by a dynamic duo.
"My, my! The new student is so adorable! So bold too!" Ahiru felt shivers down her spine as she recognized the high voice of her old friend, Lillie.
"She's right. Your first day and you're already making moves on the wonderful Fakir." Ahiru turned her head to the purple haired girl in front of her. "Ah, no! Me and Fakir, we're not like that. Fakir's just a really good friend of mine."
Pique made an almost inaudible sound, somewhat like a sigh of relief, but it was so quiet that Ahiru had barely heard it. "I see. Well, by the way, I'm Pique. The one behind you there is Lillie." Ahiru beamed.
"It's nice to meet you two. I'm Ahiru."
"Oh, I can just tell, we're going to have so much fun together!" Lillie exclaimed. Miss. Lorna glanced in their direction and crossed her arms. "Girls, please focus over there. I don't want to have to give the three of you cleaning duty."
"Yes ma'am." All three said in unison. Once Miss. Lorna turned her attention towards another student who was having difficulties, Pique leaned in slightly to Ahiru. "We'll talk after class. You have to tell us all about yourself and how you know the wonderful Fakir!"
After class, Ahiru had met up with Pique and Lillie and they began walking around the school grounds aimlessly. "So, Ahiru, how do you know Fakir?"
"Are you childhood friends with a tragic past!? Were you two suddenly separated by hateful families?" Lillie asked full of excitement. Ahiru could only smile nervously. It was already feeling like old times.
"Well you see..." Ahiru tapped her chin. Oh, how did Fakir's story go? "Uh, do you know Mytho and Rue?"
"Of course. Apparently Mytho really was a Prince. Go figure. And I guess it was only natural that he would go and whisk away Rue as his princess." Ahiru nodded.
"Well, I used to live in Mytho's kingdom. I was a good friend of his." The two girls on either side of her gasped.
"What is it like over there?" Ahiru began giggling nervously. "Well, you know, since Mytho hadn't been to his kingdom for a long while things got kinda out of hand. Most of the time I was hiding."
"Hiding?" Ahiru grew focused again and tried to remember how Fakir had said it. "Well, you see, back in Mytho's kingdom, there were some people who were after me."
"You mean they wanted to kill you!?" Ahiru nodded and continued. "Y-yeah, and so, when the Prince returned and found me hiding in his castle, he decided that...um, since he would be pretty busy with rebuilding his kingdom, that the safest place for me to stay for the time being would be here in Kinkan town since it was far away. So, since Mytho didn't really know anyone too well here, he sent me to live with Fakir and Charon."
"So...wait, that means...you're living in the same house as the wonderful Fakir!?" Pique asked in a whisper. Ahiru nodded but suddenly she felt a choking death grip around her neck. "Oh don't worry poor Ahiru! We'll protect you!" Ahiru pulled at Lillie's arms until she finally let go. As Ahiru gasped for breath, she asked, "P-protect me? From...what?"
"Ahiru, you didn't know? Well I guess we can't blame you since you're new. Ever since Mytho left, Fakir has been the prime target for nearly all the obsessed fangirls in school. I'm a Fakir girl myself, but you're really lucky that I'm not as scary as the others. Some Fakir girls can get pretty....uh, you probably don't want to know."Ahiru felt light headed. She desperately hoped that simply living with Fakir wouldn't get her into too much trouble. Just hearing about it from her friends was already starting to frighten her.
As they continued walking, Pike and Lillie gave her a tour of the school and for some reason, Ahiru found it quite hard to pretend as if this was her first time seeing each building and school landmark. Eventually, the three of them had decided to have a break at the fountain and sat down on a bench.
"So how has-"
"Ahiru?" All three girls twisted around in their seats. However happy Ahiru might have been to see the two familiar faces behind her she couldn't help but jump up from her seat with a 'quack' when she saw both Mytho and Rue standing there in their school uniforms.
Oh boy, sorry this chapter was so long. 3000 words. Oh my...in any case, I hope you like it. I didn't really mean to make this chapter so long, but for some reason I had a hard time figuring out where exactly to end this. Oh well. Oh yes! And I'm very happy with people's comments, I'm glad people have taken an interest in my story. Don't be afraid to critique though! See ya next time!