I'm back in action with chapter 2~ Now, I've had certain people read my stories up to chapters not on here yet, and they've said this is the most confusing one. So don't get upset at me that this one is confusing because I KNOW IT IS. If you could help me make it less confusing please tell me. Thank you~
New Year resolution: make it into Kumi Academy. That's the only thing I'm focused on- for today at least. Daiki and I keep running and running.
"Ugh! I can't believe I forgot to say it!" I shout.
Daiki snorts, "It's okay, you'll say it tonight." I give him a glare. I'm still pissed he didn't wake me up.
We can barely see in the darkness, but there are a few street lamps guiding us. We then saw a stop place Daiki and I planned, the South East dump. When the dump came into view, we stood next to a street lamp and ate some beef jerky. We both took only a sip from the water bottle, and then we were off again.
We begin to just fast walk now; we should be there before 500 are at this rate. After an hour, we take a break- eat and drink- and then we go again. It's so cold we speak rarely. 30 minutes past after we started walking again for the second time, and we see the academy. I rarely see the academy, maybe only 3 times in my life. The walk is tiring.
"Wow." I hear Daiki say. I get out of Memory Lane and see what Daiki's looking at. My mouth opens. There are a lot of people already lined up. We both walk to the line- while praying we'll get in. I look at my clock, 3:34 AM. I calm down a little. I tilt my head to the right and I slowly estimate the number of people ahead of us.
"Near 400. We're okay." I tell Daiki bluntly, "Many parents are with them, that's why." Daiki makes a small noise that sounds like Hnnn, but the end of it comes out a bit high pitched. I burst out laughing. He then seemed a bit embarrassed. I stop laughing when I notice a few people looking at us. Then Daiki and I just talk the whole time.
The school doors open at 7 AM, so we had 4 hours to do nothing but wait. Once in a while, we would eat some jerky and drink some water. We'd then just talk and do anything to take our minds out of waiting. The line was piling and piling, it seemed a mile long. By the time we ate half of our jerky and drank half of our water, it was 7.
The doors opened. Everyone stopped talking and turned their heads to the Academy. A middle-aged woman and man came out. The man raised a gray staff he was holding, and says some kind of spell. All of the sudden, black speakers next to him were summoned. There were about 5 of them. The man then summoned a mike, and gave it to the woman.
"Thank you for coming. I'm saying thank you to the 13 year olds. Parents or guardians- whoever, please leave your children now." she says calmly. The non-13 people hugged their child and left reluctantly. A force field was then put up between every parent to not let him or her hear anything. She continued, "Okay, here's how it's going to work. When you reach the door, give the guard your birth certificate. If it's verified, the guard will give you a sticker that says a number from 1-100. Put it somewhere on your shirt. 500 people will be in groups of 5 and there are 100 groups. So the number we give you will be your group number. That's all you need to know for now."
I hope Daiki and I aren't in the same group, not trying to sound arrogant or anything. The whole getting in the building takes an hour before we get to the front. When we're finally there, the guard looks at mine, and says 'pass'. He gives me a sticker that says 47 on it. Daiki is up and the guard says pass after a few seconds. He gives Daiki a sticker that says 48. Yes! We're not in the same group, they're going number ordered periodically. We went in the building. Wow. It was the fanciest place I've ever been in. Velvet carpet and huge space. It looked about 60 feet long and wide. On the left and right had doors; in front had stairs. The left and right sides had soft benches. There then was a bunch of chairs and tables spread out.
Daiki and I sat down on a sofa next to a wall. We awed at everything and waited a half hour. When about a half hour was up, 500 hundred people were settled in. It sucks for all the people that didn't make it. Finally, the doors were closed. The woman talked with a microphone through the speakers I just noticed were in every corner of the room.
"Congratulations, you got accepted- to try out. Two groups will go at one time. We have the MPR, which is straight up the stairs on the left. Remember to come when your group number is called. The most time will take 10 minutes. The least- is up to you. 10 groups should be finished in approximately one hour. Be ready." she says.
The tryouts start. People come and go. At the end of each battle/round, the winner is announced. The winner always gets out first and some people clap. The losers go out looking a bit shameful and many feel sympathy to them. I can tell many are nervous. When participants come out, some look a bit worn out. I think the technology of the academy gives you a super fast cleaning so no clues can be given about what we have to do.
I hear a few 13 year olds talk.
"This try out should be nothing." a girl says.
"All we have to do is follow the rules!" another girl says.
"I know, so easy." the first girl says. I raise my eyebrows. I know 2 people who aren't going to make it. Daiki and I trained our butts off since we were- I think- 5 years old just to get into this academy.
Time flies, Daiki and I eat and drink a little. And finally, after almost 5 long hours, my group number gets called. I get up so fast; I accidentally spill someone's coffee. I turn around.
"Sorry!" I say so embarrassed. I pick up the remaining of the cup and give it to him. I remember him. Was his name Kent? No, it was Ken. He won a round about an hour back, but why is he still here? I then notice his face. He had bright purple eyes. He would look like an innocent pretty boy except for his dark red hair.
"It's okay," he says very gently, smiling. Okay he is an innocent pretty boy despite the hair. I give a small bow and head off.
"Good luck!" Daiki says. I wave my hand facing the other way. I go up the stairs and get into the left room.
There's a guard at the door. "You're on platform 5." he says. I'm the last one. I nod and get in the room, still big. I could tell it was really long. I went to platform 5. 4 people were already there. The room was separated into 5 lanes going all the way to the end of the room.
"Welcome. This is group 47. This race is simple. You just have to get across to the other side of the room. However, there will be 5 obstacles to go through. This is a race and a test. First person at the end gets to be in this exclusive academy. Good luck." I recognize this voice as the man who summoned the speakers.
I look to my opponents. There's a tall guy next to me. He notices me looking at him and puts his bottom eyelid down and his tongue down. I widen my eyes. Don't kill him. Don't kill him. Don't kill h-. "Go!" the man shouts. Dang it! Lost a few seconds, I think as I'm running. I run so fast I almost crash into a wall. The wall is see-through and magic made. On the top of the wall, it says kick and spell the word, user. Letters appear, in keyboard order. I move quickly. I kick u, s, e, r. The wall disappears. I start running again.
After another 15 or so feet, I come across three hurdles. I dare say- I swiftly jumped over all three and moved on.
Then, only a few feet later, another obstacle comes. A floating computer screen. It says answer these five academic questions (press enter). Where's the keyboard? As I'm thinking that, a keyboard comes down from the ceiling, into my hands. I press enter. 26+89+34. My jaw drops. I calm down. A mini white board and dry erase marker appears from the ceiling. I hastily figure out the problem. (A/N: This obstacle is kind of like there's no gravity except for the person, everything falls from the ceiling) After 2 minutes, I get and type in 149. Phew, got it right. The next question came out of speakers, which apparently were behind the computer screen.
"Spell euphonium." a fake voice asks. I take a wild guess and I get it wrong. I try again, thinking a little bit, and get it right. On to the next question. The screen says to put the square root of 169. I quickly type in 13. Next asks, on the computer, do you italicize or bold the title of a book? I really have no idea. I take a guess, bold, and it says wrong. I then type italicize fast, and get through. The last question asked 245-67. I get a mini white board and dry erase marker again. I get 178, and type it in, correct! Every tool I used for this obstacle disappears and I move on. (A/N: Just so we're clear, Shizu is good at math, bad at language arts.)
I've heard a lot of noise from my opponents so far. I hope they're not ahead of me. I hear a guy far off shout at the top of his lungs, "Yes! I'm only about 30 feet away suckers!" I then hear him trip, fall, and cuss a little. I almost burst into laughter, but I remember my goal. I see my next obstacle after 15 feet. It's a man-made mud pool. Disgusting! There's a rope hanging from the ceiling. Super quick, I grab the rope and go across, it's only 10 feet long. Pass! I then hear some girl falling into water. Water? My question is answered.
I'm in front of a 24 feet long man made pool with 6 rocks spread out on top. Ignoring any bad feelings I have of water, I tip toe and jump from rock to rock. I almost slip on the last one, but I get through. Yes! I run and run, happy that all the obstacles are done! My mood gets turned around when I see my place separated into to halls. I have to go through one. On the top it says, 'the rest is luck'. Whatever, I randomly pick the right one, run about 10 feet, and I'm there!
"Congratulations to Shizu Sanu! Platform 2 was only a few seconds late! You are accepted, Shizu. Please come here tomorrow, at the latest noon," the magic man says. I know this is speaking to the people in the waiting hall too, so I'm a bit embarrassed. I sit in the supposedly winner chair and it moves magically above the arena and stops in front of the exit. I get off and go out.
I hear clapping. I give a closed-mouth smile and sit at the place I was sitting at. The coffee guy is still there, and he gives a smile. "Congrats." he says. I think he smiles a bit too much. But whatever, I got my New Year resolution completed!
I look around, and Daiki's standing up next to me. I guess his group is being called now.
"I knew you'd make it, but step aside now, cause it's my time to shine." He said.
"Heh? Do your best then?" I said grinning. He nods and goes ahead.
After 7 minutes, the speaker announces group 47's winner. "Congratulations to Daiki Mori! Almost lost to platform 5, but you got there first! You are accepted, Daiki. Please come here tomorrow, at the latest noon." I'm really pissed at how they say platform blah was so close; it ruins the second place's spirit. A few seconds later Daiki comes out hands in his pocket, grinning. Trying to look cool, I can tell. He comes up to me, and we slap hands, the cool way. I guess by my face, he can tell I got in too. As I start to head out, Daiki touches my shoulder.
"Why don't we just wait here? Might as well savor this fancy place before we start walking back right?" Daiki suggested grinning.
"You have a point." I replied. During the tryouts, I ran as if it was for my life, but in this case, it was for my family. I was still tired from it. We rested there for about an hour, and then started walking back to home.
As we walk, we both talk about our group race. We say how hard and easy obstacles were. We finish the rest of our jerky and water. By the time we're done taking an overview of today, we reach our home in 2 and a half hours. I check my watch, 5:07 PM. Akio runs up to us, as usual.
"Well, did chu guys make it?" he asks. The whole family is outside.
"We... made it! Both of us!" I shout as I jump up. Our family gives us thumbs up or say 'good job'. We all go back in the tent. The snow stopped but it's still very cold.
"I knew you guys would make it!" Ryuta says. I give a grin.
"Oh yeah, happy new year guys! Sorry I forgot to say it this morning." I say.
"It's alright. You were in a rush." Yuina says calmly. I smile genuinely.
After I few more remarks, we have a little celebration. Ryuta bought a pack of food and water while we were gone. So, we're eating like a real family in the tent. Ryuta manages to get a fire going outside the tent at around 6. Most of us sit outside around the fire. We talk and laugh for quite a while. Family members go back in until it's just Daiki and I.
"Nice weather for us, right?" I say to break the silence. Daiki gets one of those serious faces.
"Listen, Shizu." Daiki starts.
"You're going to say something about the academy right?" I say, cutting him. He pauses, but continues.
"This is hard to explain but, in the academy, let's break apart." Daiki says. I give a confused look. "I mean, I want us to rely on ourselves, we're going to live our own lives there. We can say we're cousins and help each other a bit, but no relying."
I laugh. "You're a bit of a hypocrite you know Daiki? I'll say the circumstances. We'll help each other, and we'll make our own legends there." I give him my hand. He grins as I bring him up.
Daiki speaks. "But I'll still be cooler than you there." I give a little snicker and smile.
Daiki is about to go back in when I stop him. "Wait, tell Chou to come out." I say. He nods and goes back in. Chou comes out a minute later.
"You called?" she asks.
"Yeah, well there were a few things I wanted to tell you." I state.
"Is it the duties I have to do while Daiki and you are gone?" she asks again. I smile and nod.
"Watch everyone. Make sure the family limits how much they eat. Maybe you can steal food, but don't go without Souta. I thought about trying out for the school for a long time. Please respect my choices." I say sincerely.
"I understand Shizu. I think the academy is a great opportunity for anyone. Be careful there." she says.
"You be careful too. And I want you to have this." I say as I give my waterproof watch to her. She gasps.
"Thank you! I'll use it every time I can." she says giving me a big smile.
She gets up, and turns towards the tent. "Tell Souta to come please." I say. She continues walking. A few seconds later, Souta comes out.
"What is it?" he says with wonder. I give a laugh.
"You know already. You were eavesdropping on my conversation with Daiki and Chou." I say smirking. He blushes a bit.
"Don't speak of it! I was concerned!" he shouts. I calm down a bit.
"Keep your voice down, bud." I say. He closes his mouth.
"There are a few matters I want to discuss. Yes, it's about your duties." I say. Souta is about to speak, but closes his mouth again. "Daiki and Ryuta will be gone most of the time. You, unfortunately, will be the oldest male around." I say seriously. He gives a serious face back.
I continue, "When you think the time is right, steal some food. Be very cautious, and never show your face. You've been with us before; remember the other things you do. If you don't want to go alone, take Chou, protect her too." There's a moment of silence.
"I got it, I got it. We don't have to get all serious," he says, to get rid of the awkward mood. I nod my head.
"You can go back in now." I say. He gets up, smiles, and goes back in.
I stay looking at the fire for a few seconds. When I'm about to get up to go back in the tent, Ryuta comes out.
"You wanted me to come?" he asks.
I raise my eyebrow. "No, I didn't."
"Well, I wanted myself to come." he states and sits beside me.
"So, what do you want to say to me?" I ask, cutting to the chase, "Let me guess, it's about the academy. Why don't you bring Daiki out too then?"
He does speak for a bit, smiling. "Nice questions. I talked to Daiki already."
"Of course. So what is it?" I ask with wonder in my voice.
"I just want to same some things within the academy. Let's see. When you go in tomorrow, some kind of sensor will tell you which user you will be. I'm sure I told you all 4 of them but I'll tell you again. Swordsman, shinobi, savager, and sorcerer. All hail the S's." he says. I give a small laugh.
"You will then be assigned uniforms and dorms. Sorry but you'll have to get 4 people dorms, and you have to pay $50 per month even for that." he says more seriously. I get worried over this.
"But. Ask the principal tomorrow; he might give you a job. Also, there's a chance you might get bullied if people know you're poor. I think you can take care of them." he smiles evilly. I give a genuine smile.
He continues, "The rest will be explained at the orientation tomorrow. No classes tomorrow, just orientation and getting settled in. I wish you the best of luck."
I nod. "I'll do my usual best."
Ryuta nods and speaks, "That's the Shizu I know." He pats my head, how corny. But I guess corny is good once in a while. He gets up. "It's about time we go to sleep. It's 8:30, you need rest from today and for tomorrow." I get up and we both head inside the tent. I help tend the two babies with Yuina and by the time that's done, the family's ready to sleep.
We're all set tight in the tent. The fire's blown out and it gets a little colder. I try to sleep between the coldness and my nervousness. After maybe an hour of pure thinking, I fall into a slumber.
~~~The Next Day~~~
Someone's shaking my shoulder calling my name. I open my eyes and see that it's Chou. "What time?" I ask whispering.
"It's, uhh, 9 AM." she says. What? Why am I sleeping in a lot these days? I get up fast. Kazue and Chou are up and that's all.
"I got to go now." I say fast. Chou gives me a small bag of nuts and I drink a few sips of water, not bringing the bottle. "Where's Daiki?" I ask.
"Umm, he left about an hour ago." Chou states.
I raise my whisper voice, "That son of a-" Kazue coughs.
I blush, "Sorry."
"We'll miss you, dear." Kazue says as I continue getting ready.
"I'll miss you guys more. We are family." I say. I grab my jacket, but pause for a minute. "For... extra warmth, I'll give my family my jacket. It's really not that much, but it'll provide a little bit more." I give the jacket to Chou. She smiles.
"That's what Daiki did," she says. "I think I'm going to cry, Shizu." I pat her back and then I hug her.
I get up. "Bye bye, tell the rest of the family I said that. Promise me you'll all be okay." I request. Chou nods.
"Promise ME, you'll both be okay. Let's promise each other." she says. I give a sorrowful smile, and give out my pinky. She gives hers out, and we make a pinky promise. I go out of the tent.
I start running out of the dump, not looking back. Now, I think I might cry.
So basically, they made it into the academy, pretty much all you need to know. Oh, and the main guy (Ken) debuted in this chapter!
Ken: That's right bit(beep)es.
AFF: Hey! No cussing in this after chapter chat thing. And hey! I decided not to even have these before and after chapter chat things!
Ken: R & R! Or else you'll (beep) and (beep) in hell!
AFF: Well, one cuss word is fine for this chat thing right?
(And this chat thing itself was a spoiler of Ken)