A soft, near-musical voice floated through the mostly empty hallways of Hamel Academy, attracting the attention of the nearby students. The few who glanced over stood rooted to the spot, eyes bugged out comically as they gaped at the speaker.
"Could you please tell me where the Principal's office is?"
Infi yawned, leaning back in his chair and staring with very little interest as his math teacher, Ms. Vanessa, wrote some things on the black board. It was mostly a jumble of numbers and letters - not that he could understand any of it in the first place.
Who uses letters in math, anyways?
Putting his ear buds in, he casually turned up the volume, letting Vanessa drone on and on about... what were they learning about? Infi didn't really care.
A sharp, shrill shriek suddenly rang out, resounding through the hallways and causing Vanessa to start.
Infi felt a smirk forming on his face.
Yup.
It looks like Knight found his little 'gift'.
Rushing out of the classroom, Vanessa blinked in surprise as Knight, paler than a sheet, stumbled out of the little men's room, knees wobbly.
"Knight, what's wrong?! What happened, you look like you saw a ghost!"
(At this point, Infi had taken out his headphones so he could hear the conversation which would, undoubtedly, result in hilarity.)
Rune shot a suspicious glance at Infi, before turning his attention back to the extremely stiff Knight.
"Th-Th-The-The-The-"
Vanessa sighed, visibly face-palming, before walking over to Knight and shaking him lightly.
"Get a hold of yourself, boy! Now tell me, what's wrong?"
Knight took a shuddering breath, voice incredibly small. "There's a frog in the toilet."
Vanessa sighed, rubbing her temples.
"Knight. It's just a frog. Relax."
Knight shook his head, red hair falling into his face and covering his slightly teary eyes. From behind him, Infi could hear the worried whispers of all his fangirls - seriously, when did he get so many?
"Do you know how unnerving it is to sit on a toilet only to see eyes staring back at you?! Besides, it's not just one frog, Ms. Vanessa. The entire bathroom's filled with them."
Infi suppressed a chuckle, watching as everyone craned their necks to peer into the bathroom. An explosion of green and brown met them, the many, many frogs staring back at the students, equally curious.
One girl shrieking, stepping backwards onto another student's foot and causing him to yelp in pain. He fell to a floor with a loud thud, the sound more than enough to startle the frogs into motion.
Soon, the entire class of 1-A was swarmed with frogs. The mass of panicked, screaming, and shrieking students flailed about, trying to find out how to escape their green pseudo-attackers.
"AAAAAAHHHH! I STEPPED ON A FROG! I STEPPED ON A FROG!"
"WATCH OUT FOR THAT - GET IT OFF! THERE'S A FROG ON MY FACE! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!"
"UWAAAAA, SOMEONE GET THESE THINGS OFF - KYAAAAA! IT'S SO UGLY!"
Mass pandemonium broke out, and, much to Infi-s amusement (he was now literally rolling on the floor with laughter) - their normally stoic teacher had decided to partake in the 'fun', too. Vanessa was shrieking, hopping around, and even cursing alongside the students.
Infi cackled. Suddenly, the loud stop of a foot and an imperious voice rang out.
"Enough! What have these poor creatures done to deserve this treatment?" There was almost a nostalgic feel to the way the newcomer spoke, like a mother chiding a child.
Turning, Rune instantly spotted the speaker, as she stuck out like a sore thumb. And he was definitely liking what he saw.
She was taller, probably taller than him, with long, blonde-tinted-green hair, a heart-shaped face, and a slender figure. Greenish-gold eyes glittered with a mixed look of irritation, exasperation, and mothering. Two feathery clips attempted to hold back her long locks out of her face, but some strands still escaped and hung in her face. Did Rune mention her bust yet? He only had two words.
Big. Boobs.
What probably stood out the most, though, was her lack of a school uniform and her ears.
They were long and pointed, leading him to only one conclusion: The strange, big-breasted girl in the hallway getting mad at them for freaking out over frogs was an elf.
Just great.
The elf flipped her hair behind her shoulder, before clapping her hands briskly. "Alright everyone, I believe it would be safer for you all to stay outside. Go on, leave now."
The frogs croaked sadly in unison, before detaching themselves from the limbs of the students, hopping down the hallway rather dejectedly like an abandoned puppy. Or, in this case, a swarm of abandoned puppies.
Wait. The big-chested elf is the queen of frogs?
The elf smiled brightly, while bowing. "My name is Rena Saulnier. I just transferred here from Velder, but have yet to settle in. It's nice to meet you!"
Before anyone could say anything, the elf, Rena, sauntered off while cheerily humming a tune. Leaving a trail of very confused, somewhat dazed students in her wake.
"An elf? I thought they went extinct a few years ago..." Vanessa cleared her throat, before clapping.
"Everyone! Please settle down, as class will continue after we re-organize our thoughts!"
Infi sighed. Just a few more minutes of pandemonium and he would've been able to ignore the rest of the math class. He smirked, eyes settling on the purple-haired irritation.
Aisha sniffed with disdain, fixing her hair so that it was at least somewhat contained in her hair ties. Beside her, Rune snickered, earning a glare.
"What? What could you possibly find funny about this?"
Rune grinned cheerily. "Oh, everything? But mostly how such a stoic, quiet, flat-chested bookworm screams even louder than everyone else."
Aisha flushed looking away from him.
"By the way, we've never been formally introduced. The name's Rune Sieghart, in case you didn't know. Little Miss Purple."
Aisha glared at him, whacking him with a book. Rune groaned in pain, rubbing his head.
"Where'd you even get the book from?!"
Aisha chortled, tapping her book lightly. "I always have book. Plus, my name is Aisha Sibell, not 'Little Miss Purple.' And hasn't your mother ever told you that it's rude to bring up a person's chest in a conversation?!"
She almost instantly regretted her choice of words as a wave of... sorrow, such deep sorrow that you couldn't even see it's depths, washed over him. But it was gone in almost an instant, before she say anything. Casually, Rune draped an arm around her, eliciting a few nasty glares from the girls he had previously flirted with.
"Nope," he said, a cheery - yet painfully fake - smile plastered on his face, looking so unreal and plastic that it sent a shiver down Aisha's spine. "Mom never really told me much."
With that he was gone, talking to some girl with purple hair, purple eyes, and a big chest, winking every now and then as he chatted. What was her name again?
Ah, Rosean. The older sister of Richian - who was the roommate of Knight. Speaking of Knight...
Infi snickered. "You couldn't even tell Vanessa that a frog was in the bathroom. My, my. What a surprise."
Knight sighed, opting to fix his red hair so it wasn't in his face. Infi took the opportunity to speak. "What, cat got your tongue?"
Have you ever had one of those moments when you suddenly feel braver, bolder, and carefree? Like you couldn't be bothered by the repercussions of your actions? Well, that's exactly what happened to Knight.
"Infi, you're depriving some poor village of its idiot."
Infi blinked.
Knight blinked. And promptly slapped a hand over his mouth to shut himself up.
Infi glowered at him, red eyes gleaming angrily. "...Did you just call me an idiot?"
Knight shook his head. "No! I never said that! Never, never, never in a thousand years!" He giggled nervously, cold sweat running down his neck.
Infi opened his mouth to say something, a malicious look scrawled across his face, when the bell rang. He huffed. "I'll forget it if you give me half of your lunch."
Knight nodded rapidly, shaking slightly as he trailed after Infi, head low like a scolded puppy.
Oh. My. El.
Infi, after collecting half of Knight's lunch (he would've taken all of it, but he didn't want to fend off his rabid fangirls), joined Raven at the cafeteria table.
"Making trouble already? I knew I liked you."
Infi smirked.
So Raven had heard about the frog incident. He thought he might.
Leaning forwards, Raven blew a stray strand of dyed red hair out of his face. "Why frogs?"
The red-haired male laughed, chewing noisily on his food. Raven wrinkled his nose at his roommate's poor manners, leaning backwards in an attempt to avoid any bits of food that may or may not be spraying out of Infi's mouth.
"Because frogs are easy to sneak in."
Nodding, Raven made a small noise of acceptance before picking up his bottle of Kool El-Aid, taking a particularly large swig. Midway, his eyes widened, and, putting the bottle down with a dull thud, sprayed the blue liquid all over Infi, coughing.
A perfect spit-take.
Mouth agape, Infi - alongside the rest of the cafeteria - incredulously eyed Raven.
"S-Seris? When did you transfer back...?"
Turning, Infi caught a glimpse of blonde hair, green-gold eyes, and sugary pink lips turned into a confused frown.
The elf, Rena?
"Seris? Who is that?"
When Chung sat down to eat with Rune, he did not expect him to be chatting with a certain silver-haired beauty. Nor did he expect him to get along with her.
"Oh, hey Chung! Have you met Eva before? She's in your class, apparently."
Eva Sadleri, a Nasod from the Royal Family of Altera, and her cousin, Eve Sadleri, were very much the same in terms of appearance. One could mistake Eva for Eve and vice versa. Personality wise, they were polar opposites.
Eve was more finely tuned to battle cries, her programs and systems geared towards battle. Rowdy and somewhat boyish, Eve maintained a cold, unforgiving air about her that was yet to be broken by any person.
Eva, however, was much less severe, and although she was still terrible at showing her emotions, she was much kinder and less suited to battle than strategies and planning, her servants doing most of the fighting for her due to her weaker body.
Essentially, Eve and Eva were meant to be copies of each other, one more suited for one aspect of being Queen, the other suited for a differed aspect. Both Eva and Eve were meant to ascend to the throne together; however, Eve would only play the role of the Queen when Altera was at war, when Eva was undergoing maintenance, or when there was a possible chance of peasant rebellion.
The Nasod were infamous for being ruled by two Queens; the Battle Queen and the Regal Queen. Eve and Eva were another example of this.
Rune, at the moment, was talking to the Regal Queen.
Chung nodded. "I believe we haven't met formally, Miss Eva, but it's a pleasure to meet you." His words came out strained. "My name is Chung Seiker."
Extending his hand, Chung's eyes flicked over Eva. Pale, artificial flesh, golden, seemingly emotionless eyes, blue markings enhancing them, silvery hair tied in tight buns on either side of her head.
Yep. Definitely Eva.
Eva studied his hand for a moment, before briskly shaking it. "Eva Sadleri. Seiker, as in the Guardians of Hamel?"
Chung chuckled, glimpsing Rune's utterly confused face,
"Yes. I am a member of the Guardians of Hamel. Not a full-fledged one yet, however."
Nodding briskly as ever, Eva laid a pale hand on Rune's shoulder, giving him a gentle smile unlike any Chung had ever seen from her before.
"It was a pleasure talking to you, Rune Sieghart. Perhaps we can chat again some time."
Turning around, Eva walked away, stone-faced as ever, her shoes clacking on the ground.
Rune leaned forward, eyebrow cocked as he stared at Chung.
Chung huffed, turning around to look at Rune, blue eyes meeting red eyes. His eyes went slightly dreamy, as if remembering the past. He sighed.
The two of them seemed to share a silent conversation as they sat in silence, starting at each other.
Rune nodded, pushing his food around on his plate.
"Wow. I didn't realize the situation was so serious." Chung nodded, tugging at his 'ears' nervously.
"I know. I mean -" A clap of thunder, a tiny cloud floating down from the sky and glowing slightly.
Wait! You can't just do that!
Chung tilted his head, golden mane of hair swishing. "What the-? You can't just do that!" The cloud glowed again.
Yes I can. This is Rosamanelle, the author.
Rune choked on his drink, coughing as he pounded his chest.
"Whoa, whoa! You can't just break the fourth wall like that! What about the readers?"
Around them, seemingly a result of breaking the fourth wall, students were slowly beginning to turn into cows. Chung looked around, spotting a boy with cow ears and a cow tail.
"What is this, Pinocchio?" Another clap of thunder, followed by a flash of lightning, the thundercloud trembling violently.
Hey! No one but me is allowed to break the fourth wall! Now shut up and listen!
Both Rune and Chung turned to face the thundercloud, eyes wide.
None of the readers will know what on Earth - I mean Elrios - you're talking about if you don't communicate! So get on with it, speak out your silent conversation!
A bright light burst into existence, blinding both boys as the thundercloud disappeared.
Rune leaned forward, eyebrow cocked as he stared at Chung. "Eva doesn't seem to like you very much."
Chung huffed, turning around to look at Rune, blue eyes meeting red eyes. His eyes went slightly dreamy, as if remembering the past.
"Hamel and Altera have been on shaky terms recently, and with her being the next Queen, she isn't too fond of us citizens of Hamel..." He sighed. "But still... I'm worried she might send Oberon or Ophelia to go murder me now because I'm from Hamel..."
Rune nodded, pushing his food around on his plate.
"Wow. I didn't realize the situation was so serious." Chung nodded, tugging at his 'ears' nervously.
"I know. I mean - Wait, are you getting a sense of déjà vu?"
Rune nodded. "I feel like we've already done this before..."
While Rune and Chung were contemplating their déjà vu, Raven was busy trying to hid his utmost astonishment, while Infi (still covered in Kool El-Aid, thank you very much) was laughing.
"I'm so sorry Miss, it's just that you look a lot like Seris, my ex-girlfriend..."
Rena smiled, flashing white teeth. "It's alright. My name is Rena Saulnier. And you are...?"
Raven ran a hand through his black-and-red hair. "Raven. Raven Somerfield. This laughing idiot who's covered in Kool El-Aid is Infi, my roommate."
Nodding absently, Rena walked off, tray of food in hand. Infi turned to Raven.
"I didn't realize you had a girlfriend before. What was her name? Seris?"
Raven nodded, taking a another sip of his drink. Infi warily backed off, inching to the side just in case Raven decided that his drink would prefer to be all over Infi's face again.
"Seris and I were a couple since junior high. People envied us. She came her to this academy, but..."
Taking a deep breath, Raven continued with his heart-wrenching story, oh, how sad. (Note the sarcasm.)
"Last year, Seris dumped me and left me for my best friend, Alex, and both of them transferred over to Velder Academy. She was probably just using me, but I loved her. And now, seeing someone who looks like Seris but isn't Seris... It hurts..."
From over where Infi went, Infi heard a loud shriek, followed by a slap and screaming.
"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH ME IN THAT PLACE?! I AM NOT THAT KIND OF WOMAN! COME HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT, SO I CAN BEAT SOME MANNERS INTO YOU!"
Rage seemed to explode from every inch of her body, causing the poor boy she was yelling at to cower in fear.
Raven sweat dropped.
"Definitely not Seris."
Oh. My. El.
[A/N:] EDITED 2016/02/17
Editing this while staring at Elsword ads plastered all over my screen and hysterically laughing because I'm running off of three hours of sleep, a truckload of candy, and two cups of tea. Send help. A basic overview of the original A/N:
I updated! I can be productive! Yay! Double Eves because I'm indecisive af when it comes to pairings!
Moving on, onto REVIEWER REPLIES! (Original responses have been transcribed)
GoldLine - Thank you very much! ^^
Ever - Truthfully, I kept laughing while writing Aisha's line :P Let's see, how many ways can Knight be tortured... Infinite? How many ways can Rue get the ladies... Also infinite. You don't even need to ask about Infi X3 I don't know, people seem to like random plot bunnies!
xKishii - Aww, thanks ^^ *rolls around with you*
Asian - No worries, Richian won't give you a makeover. Just Knight :3 I guess a punch would do, but he miht blow up at you... :O EVE! NO SLAPPING PEOPLE FOR NO REASON! *slaps Eve and then runs for my life*
Tsu-Chan - PEOPLE CAN CHAAAAANGE! Also, did you like the special previewing? :D I don't know how I got this many reviews, though! IT'S A GIFT FROM HEAVEN!
KoraDora - Fate loves to slap poor Knight XD I LIKE THIS TOO! :D Yes, he'll be annoying Aisha. With Rune. (I didn't say anything! OAO) Banthus is normally gym teacher because in ElType, there's a couple pages on the school life of the Elgang and Banthus is the gym teacher in it. It's mainly so they can beat him up :P
skullsmash86 - Can I say that I like your pen name? Don't ask me why. I've got big plans for this story, so no worries :D And I will definitely continue updating!
Yami - STOP DYING ON ME! YOU'RE WASTING ALL MY RESSURECTION STONES! JK, but seriously, stop dying. Random question, would you consider us to be friends? ...Okay, now I feel awkward. Meep.
Snow - You, the almighty Snow, author of the most reviewed Elsword story, gets lazy? Eh, we all do XD Did I? Whoopsie daisy I fixed it now, but thanks for pointing that out! Ah, words of wisdom. I'm sure they'll follow your advice ;) Thank you for the compliments!
Den51 - Part of it is now, some of it is later. I'm glad you liked it~!
supergirl156 - Thank you! :DD
RevolutionizedWorld - I just realized I butchered your pen name the last time I responded. I'M SO SORRY! *bows* I've always liked the idea of the 'bad boy good girl' relationship XD Only time will tell... Thank you~ :3
xXHakuraXx - ...Is that good or bad? *stares back and gives you cookie*
Awakened Hades - I'M SO SORRY, I MUST NOT HAVE SEEN IT! SO SORRY! SORRY, SORRY, SORRY SORRY (naega naega naega meonjo - /shot) SORRY, SORRY! Ahem. I shall respond now. *le gasp* Your brother acts like Richian? Well, he must be an... interesting character...
LadiesofBlood - I kind of feel bad for LK too. JOKES! I couldn't find a better looking chibi IS, but when I do, that one's gone! Gone with the... WIIIIIIIIIND~
Ruby - Me? Perfect? You must be kidding. But thank you! GO INFI! GO RUNE! Knight... Just do whatever, 'kay? XD Pro... God-like... Stories? No, the one with pro god-like stories is you, Ruby! RAISE THAT DARN SELF ESTEEM! ONLY I'M ALLOWED TO LOWER MY SELF ESTEEM THAT EASILY! Typos? I barely see any! Everyone repeats their words! I cringe when I read my own stories! Thank you, and here's an update~!
Chapter edit done! Once again, thanks for all the reviews! So! Don't forget to R&R, follow and favorite if you want, and see you all next chapter!
| Rosamanelle