First things first. That's always been the rule. So, for Infi, first things first meant that his priority was to train until he was unbeatable, kill Knight epicly, sweep the girl he had unwittingly gained a crush on off her feet, and destroy a very annoying silver-haired robot.
Oh wait, he didn't tell you about Eve yet, did he?
Eve was... cruel. Sadistic. Sardonic. Full of ire. Deceptive. Sarcastic. All of those lovely words. Normally Infi would be cool with girls like that - I mean, there's nothing wrong with someone being like his female counterpart - but come on. Seriously? Did his 'female counterpart' have to be the most irritating, nerve-grating, stiff Nasod Queen out there who's set a price on his head?
What did he ever do to her?
...Well, besides call her a useless robot, insult her race, knock her off her feet multiple times, mistake her for her cousin, break her drones (Hey, it was an accident), call her weak, make her short-circuit once or twice, prank her multiple times (Also an accident), and possibly indirectly caused her to catch a virus by uploading videos of cats to her hard-drive (Oh man, that was funny. Eve was speaking cat-language for weeks afterwards).
But besides all that, what has he done to her? Absolutely nothing!
So he wasn't particularly sure why she hated him. I mean, yes, he was an asshole, but he was a lovable asshole, right? ...Right?
Oh goodness, now even his thoughts were getting weird. Someone please make him stop.
Sighing, Infi bent over his swords, before straightening up and waving his hands casually, making them disappear in a flash. Done and simple. Striding - not walking, because that's how Infi rolled - out of the gym where he had been cooped up for the last few days, he hissed as the destructive morning light hit his eyes. Almost fumbling around with his eyes closed tightly, he bumped into some person who hadn't been paying attention.
"Sorry," The man said. "Are you alright?" Blinking, Infi rubbed his eyes.
"I'm okay, you - Wait... What?!" The man was lean, with short, greenish-gold hair and a heart-shaped face, his emerald-green eyes glittering, a sugary smile twisted on his lips. He also wasn't wearing a school uniform, and was probably a good half-foot taller than Infi. Did he mention that he was an elf? "What the El... Since when was the busty elf-chick a cross-dresser?"
Not a smart move.
"WHAT THE EL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"
Knight awoke to the sound of furious screaming. Clambering the best he could out of the infirmary bed (Anne's healing magic had helped him lots), he peered out the window, instantly seeing Infi screaming his head off at a male elf who looked equally - if not more - pissed off than his younger twin. Looking around the infirmary, Knight stumbled towards a pitcher of water, picking it up and half-falling his way back to the window. Was it worth it?
"Yup. It is."
Dumping the contents of said pitcher over the bickering pair, he let out a satisfied chuckle as both men glared up at him. "What the El, Knight?! I swear, I'm not done with you yet, you fucking bastard! Heck, if I weren't in training and planning bigger schemes, you would've been DEAD by now!" Surprisingly, Knight was not as fazed by this display of aggression as he thought he would be.
"Infi, just shut up." The now thoroughly soaked blonde chuckled, pushing a few sopping strands back.
"Well, I guess that we were being quite loud, and in front of an infirmary, too. If you may excuse me, I'm off to go speak to my younger sister." Almost as quickly as he appeared, the elf disappeared. Infi, who was grumbling very loudly about gruesomely murdering his eldest brother - very gruesomely, trust me, Knight was going to have a few nightmares now - trudged off to go get changed out of his soaking clothing, leaving a wet, slippery trail of water behind him. Knight chuckled again. Well. He'd have to admit, it was rather amusing to tease people and such. Perhaps he would have to join Rune the next time he decided to prank someone.
As the door to the infirmary swung open, Anne stepped in, blinking in surprise. "Why Knight, what are you doing up so early? Trying to rendezvous with some secret girlfriend or smoke some... er... weed?" Knight nearly slapped himself. Trust Anne to have the worst impression of teenagers and assume that everyone is like the 'stereotype' she creates.
Smiling reassuringly at the pink-haired woman, he stepped away from the window with the pitcher in his hands. "Quite the opposite, Ms. Anne. There were some pests being incredibly loud, so I... for the lack of a better word, I dumped water on them in order to quiet them." Anne nodded, her short pink tresses swishing back and forth.
"I see." Her tone and expression said otherwise as she scanned him for the drugs or girlfriend she must've assumed his possessed. "Well then, I should go and refill this pitcher." Taking the pitcher with her dainty hands, she looked up at the redhead, blue eyes sparkling. "Oh, and Knight?" The redhead lifted a single crimson eyebrow in acknowledgement. "Please take care of the new girl who just got into a fight and is all battered and bruised up. Of course, I never expected girls to be violent, they should be quiet and proper and polite and good at cooking rather than being little monsters!" Clearing her throat, she nodded over to another bed that was separated by a curtain. "She's sitting behind there, so be nice, or else I'll give you a good flogging and hang you by your sorry arse out the window. Okay?" Knight shuddered, nodding quickly as cold sweat dripped down his back. Anne smiled cheerily. "Good~ Her name is Ara, by the way."
With that, Anne, still gripping the crystal pitcher, left the room in a flurry of swirling skirts and pink hair. The curtain was dragged back, revealing a tall, slim girl with black hair neatly tied in a bun pinned up by golden baubles, two longer pieces winding out from the bottom. Her lips were stretched into a thin, grimace-like smile, golden-orange eyes glittering coldly. "Finally, that annoying as El wench is gone." A long, fresh cut stretched from her left eye to the bottom of her chin, black stitches holding it together. She spat, her knuckles sporting healthy purple and green bruises, the skin split open at some parts. "But damn, that guy was playing dirty. What kinda creep pulls a knife on a girl?! So what, maybe I was kicking his sorry ass, but that was foul play!" Knight blinked, crimson eyes meeting gold.
"I assume you must be Ara. A pleasure to meet you, my name is Knight." Ara's eyes quickly flicked up and down Knight's frame, a smirk rising to her lips. A smirk that was all too familiar to Knight, looking much too similar to the one Infi wore before he made Knight's life a living hell.
"Oh? And what sent you here, dork? Broken rib or two? Pah! I wouldn't even be in this damn place if that pink-haired bitch hadn't broken up my fight! Heck, the loser that challenged me would be headless in a ditch somewhere and I'd just be healing myself." Knight snorted quietly, almost missing the ebon-haired girl's twitching eye. "What'cha laughing at, loser?"
Knight shook his head. "Nothing, it's just the likeness to my youngest brother is remarkable... He said almost the exact same thing to my sister when she broke up a fight between him and some other child. As for why I'm here, my youngest brother simply blew a gasket and unleashed a hyperactive on me. Satisfied?" Ara narrowed her golden eyes, slipping off the bed with ease and marching straight over to Knight, glaring at him frostily.
"You sound like him." Knight frowned, a glimmer of confusion flashing through his cochineal eyes. "I beg your pardon?"
Ara snorted. "You dumbass. Then again, I can't expect you to know." Bringing her leg up quickly, Ara roundhouse kicked Knight squarely in the stomach. Totally unprepared for the sudden attack, Knight felt the air being forced out of him, the sheer power of said kick tossing him backwards."You sound like my idiot of an older brother, Aren. Oh, and for the record..." Ara triumphantly placed a foot on one of the swiveling chairs that were scattered around the infirmary. "The pink-haired bitch said that I was a little monster." Her cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink before she abruptly shook her head, regaining her cool composure. "I am not a little monster. I will soon be the Demon Queen!" Sending the chair crashing into a very stunned Knight (He yelped at that, after all, no one expects a freaking CHAIR to be thrown at them), Ara turned on one heel, shoving Anne out of the way, causing the pitcher of water to crash to the ground and shatter in a thousand shards.
"My," Anne said, dusting off her yellow-and-blue skirt. "She really is a little monster. I bet she does drugs too." Knight internally groaned.
An extremely sleepy Aisha plus a screaming Rena were not a good mix. "OH MY EL REN! WHAT ON ELRIOS ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
Unlocking her door, Aisha trudged out, clutching her silky, fluffy bat-shaped stuffed animal, the golden eyes clouded with dust, eggplant-purple wings fading. Her purple pajamas were in a slight disarray, but it was nothing compared to her lavender hair, which was haphazardly sticking up off her head. "Rena...? Do you think you could keep it down, it's too early for-" She was cut off by the sight Rena, who was dressed in her silky green pajamas, and a male version of her, but more masculine. Eyes widening, Aisha desperately attempted to neaten herself up instantaneously, the bat plushie waving around dangerously as she straightened her pajamas and attempted to quickly tame her hair. "Rena, who's that?" Rena giggled softly, her blonde hair slightly fluffed up.
"This is Ren, my elder brother. He decided to pay a surprise visit." Ren sighed, his green eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Rena, did you forget?" He ruffled her hair. "You're seventeen in human years." Rena blinked, obvious confusion flashing through her equally green eyes.
"And that means...?" Her eyes widened comically. "Oh my El. I am such an idiot. How could I forget?!" Ren chuckled as he watched Rena dash back into her room, shutting the door in his face. Aisha tilted her head, lilac hair cascading down her face.
"What did Rena forget?" Ren glanced at Aisha, giving her a warm smile.
"In Elven tradition, once a warrior turns... Um, to make it simpler for you, I'll use human years. As I was saying, once an Elven warrior turns seventeen, she or he must return to the homeland to receive the blessings of the Yggdrasil tree and the Elders before they can claim their title as a true Elven warrior. It's like a massive coming-of-age ceremony, except without these blessings Rena will never be able to use an Elven weapon." Aisha nodded slightly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "You can go back to sleep if you'd like, Miss..." Aisha gave him a crooked grin.
"Aisha. It's nice to meet you, Ren." Yawning widely, Aisha smiled. "I think I'll stay for a while, it's not every day you meet your friend's elder brother." Ren smirked coyly, covering it with one hand.
"Cute plushie, by the way." A peach-blossom colored blush spread across her face, Aisha burying herself in the soft velvet fur of the bat plush.
"He was a gift from my dad when I was young... His name is Angkor." Ren smiled, examining the old, worn-out stuffed animal, taking note of the loose threads and how worn-out and well-used said stuffed animal looked. Extending a hand, he patted the stuffed bat on its very round, cream-colored head.
"Hello there, Angkor." Starting with surprise, Aisha giggled. Ren blinked, his thin lips twisting into a handsome smile. "Is it really that unusual to greet a stuffed animal?"
Aisha snorted. "Yes, as a matter of fact, it is." Before she could continue, Rena's door was flung open, Aisha blinking in surprise as Rena exited, donning a forest-green dress trimmed with golden threads, feathers billowing out from the bottom. Smiling, the elf turned in a circle.
"You really do have the best taste in clothing, Ren. I almost can't believe that this is armor..." Ren smirked, patting her on the head.
"Neither can I. I got Lucy to pick it out for me." Rena rolled her eyes, a smile curling her lips upwards. "We should be leaving soon, we don't want to be late." Nodding, the two elves quietly exited, leaving behind a still fairly groggy Aisha.
"Wait... Why was Ren's clothing wet?"
Raven was seated on one of the school's benches, quietly chewing on a piece of bubblegum, absently blowing... well, bubbles, the sticky substance ballooning out before rapidly deflating, the process repeating itself. A slightly damp Infi joined him, after changing into a fresh uniform. "What's up?" Raven shrugged, reaching into a small paper bag that he held, scattering broken up, dry bread crumbs for the rather fat, plump pigeons to squabble over, pecking each other with such a degree of viciousness that Infi feared they would end up murdering one another.
"...Dude, why are you even feeding these damn birds?" Infi prodded the nearest one with his finger, sending it into a flurry of angry cooing noises and feathers. Raven shrugged again.
"I dunno. I want to see if I can get them so fat that they can't fly." He smirked. "Now that I think about it, that would be pretty fun..." Infi snorted, knowing that his roommate's... interesting sense of humor was slightly sick and twisted, although when he felt like it, Raven could be a riot.
Sighing, Infi ran a hand through his damp red hair. "Hey, do you know how to kill a person in the most painful way possible? I kinda need to know to plot my most glorious revenge." Raven raised a black eyebrow, letting Infi ramble on for a bit as he muttered something about stabbing people to death and possibly using a shotgun of some sort.
"Should I be worried for my safety?" Raven bit out dryly, eliciting a snort of laughter from his redheaded companion.
"Nah, I'm not murdering you... Yet." Whacking the redhead on the back of his head lightly, Raven chewed pensively on his gum.
"I'm not entirely sure that I would know how to kill someone painfully." He blew another rather large, pink bubble, lost in his thoughts. Infi sent a killer smirk in Raven's direction, rapidly summoning his swords and slashing down on the bubble, popping it and plastering it all over Raven's face. Scowling, Raven wiped it off quickly, punching Infi in the side. "What the El. And here I was, thinking that I would give you possible ideas." Infi's eyes widened.
"You're such a bastard." Raven snorted.
"Says the one who just covered me in bubblegum." Infi laughed, his laughter ringing out over the paths in the park.
"You just make yourself too much of an easy target." Raven sighed, before spluttering slightly, dropping his bag of bread crumbs.
"R-Rena?" Rena, who had just casually sauntered past with her male counterpart, smiled brightly.
"Ah, good morning, Raven." She clasped her hands behind her back, before motioning to Ren. "This is my elder brother, Ren. I have Elven business to do today, so he came to pick me up." Ren smiled, his emerald eyes drifting down to rest on Infi, before frowning.
Raven coughed awkwardly, his tan cheeks slightly flushed. "Y-You look nice. Um... Good luck with whatever this Elven business of yours is." Rena beamed brightly, before giving Raven her thanks. Ren cleared his throat before speaking, eyes still glued on Infi.
"Good morning, Mister Raven. As Rena has said, my name is Ren. Who is your friend...?" Infi snorted, standing up fluidly before leering at Ren, red hair gleaming like a brand of fire.
"So the elf chick isn't a cross-dresser, huh? Maybe you masquerade as her in your spare time?" Ren's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.
"Rena, I hope you don't affiliate yourself with this boy often."
Rena chuckled. "Not exactly. I have seen him around a few times before, however. Should we leave soon?" Ren nodded, turning with a gentle smile, but only managing to take a few steps before Infi insulted him again.
"Oh? Running away, you coward? I betcha that you wouldn't be able to even last one hit." Raven elbowed him hard - with his Nasod arm. Infi coughed violently. "What the El was that for?!" Raven scoffed.
"Stop being rude, you idiot."
Infi scowled. "What? It's not my fault that he's a coward who runs away from his fights!" Ren turned back to them, smiling in a somewhat creepy manner. Taking a few steps, Ren gently picked up one of the fat pigeons, stroking it softly. Infi let out a harsh bark of laughter. "So the sister is the queen of frogs while the brother is the king of pigeons?!" Ren scowled, straightening up with the pigeons in his arms.
"TAKE THIS YOU IRRITATING BASTARD!" Infi didn't know what hit him. Actually, it was a fat pigeon to the face.
Head shot! 100+ points! You leveled up!
"OH HELL NO YOU DIDN'T YOU FRIGGIN' ASSHOLE OF AN ELF! GET OVER HERE SO I CAN CREAM YOUR SORRY ASS INTO THE PAVEMENT!"
"EXCUSE ME? I'D LIKE YOU SEE YOU TRY, YOU LITTLE PRICK! YOU'RE A HUNDRED YEARS TOO YOUNG TO TAKE ME ON!"
"OH YEAH? I BET YOU'D CRUMPLE LIKE THE LITTLE FLOWER BOY YOU ARE IF I SO MUCH AS PUNCHED YOUR UGLY FACE, OLD MAN!"
Rena leapt with a start, wrapping her arms around her brother in a desperate attempt to prevent him from attacking the youngest Sieghart. "REN! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! CALM DOWN, PLEASE!" On the other side, Raven was doing the same to Infi.
"STOP IT YOU DAMN ROOMMATE OF MINE! IT'S TOO EARLY IN THE MORNING TO BE FIGHTING WITH SOMEONE!"
Meanwhile, neither male listened to them, too busy trying to tear each other to pieces to listen.
And now we skip over our other triplet to go straight to where the eldest Sieghart is, because she's really important.
(Somewhere in Elrios an incredibly ticked-off redhead named Rune is busy blowing stuff up)
Elsa sighed, glaring crossly at the Fahrmann man standing in front of her. "Didn't I tell you to leave the camp already, Aren?" Aren simply smiled.
"I believed that you could use some assistance. Besides, I believe that it is quite fair for me to stay here after those barbaric soldiers of yours sold my horse and wagon." Elsa's eyebrow twitched.
"They what?" Aren rubbed the back of his neck, smiling almost apologetically.
"Ah, I must've never told you. After dropping off the medical supplies, I brought my horse to rest as you instructed, and while I was aiding those in charge of the medical tent, some of your soldiers stole and sold my horse and wagon in order to pay off gambling debts."
Wrong move.
"THEY DID WHAT?! AREN HAAN, YOU WILL IDENTIFY THESE FOOLS SO I CAN TOSS THEM OFF A CLIFF AND FEED THEM TO THE DEMONS." Elsa's eyes blazed, hefting her massive sword.
"Please calm down, Miss Elesis. It is no problem, I shall simply have to wait until the next delivery of medicine comes around, and then leave with them." Huffing, Elsa dropped her sword with a loud, resonating clank.
"Understood. However, they still will be punished. I have an inkling as to who would do such a thing..." Whirling around, Elsa marched off, her troops scrambling back to avoid her rage as she stormed by. Aren smiled, before a wracking tremor overcame him. Coughing, Aren stumbled into the nearest tent, silently thanking the Lady El that it was empty at the moment.
Growling, Aren tugged at his hair. He appeared to be in some sort of housing tent, neat bunk beds stretching as far as the tent allowed it to, a shiny, silver mirror hanging on the occasional bedpost, wooden trunks at the foot of each bed. Rounding on the nearest mirror, Aren hissed in pain.
His pale skin seemed to peel off in patches, revealing a dark charcoal underneath. With another pained hiss, his hair thickened, lengthening until it was a mane of raven. Clasping his head, his fingers sprouted long, menacing claws, more skin peeling away, burning to ash as it reached the ground. With a ripple, the ebony mane shifted to a silver color, twisted, blackened horns tearing through Aren's scalp. With a final screech, Aren - no, the thing that once was Aren - straightened up, his eyes snapping open, their eerie, blood-red depth cracking the mirror as the thing stared at itself - powerful, menacing, and dark. He chuckled darkly, flexing his fingers.
"You managed to seal me for a long time, Aren... But, the mighty Demon King Ran will always prevail. No matter what petty tricks are used against me." Ran sighed, running a long, clawed hand through his silver-white hair. "Elesis Sieghart, leader of the Red Knights..." He smirked, sharp fangs glinting in the light. "The lioness shall soon be slain."
Back at Hamel Academy, Rune was busy whining to Chung about his face hurting because Eva slapped him too hard.
"Serves you right." The blonde's sharp words were to the point, eliciting a sharp laugh from Rune.
"Silence yourself, Rune. You are irritating me."
SLAP!
Eva: 13
Rune: 0
Oh. My. El.
Me: DUN DUN DUN DUN! Ran is on the move!
Ara: And yet I'm being particularly bitchy. -.-
Me: It's more fun like this XD Also, I apologize for Infi's foul mouth. It's just who he is.
Elsword: ...
Me: What?
Chung: On a happier note, HAPPY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE! (For those of you who don't know, Rosa is a proud Canadian)
Aisha: Also, no pigeons were harmed in the making of this chapter. JUST THROWING IT OUT THERE!
Me: ...Thanks? So, I think I actually have a semblance of a plot line coming in now!
Raven: You didn't have one before?
Me: Actually, I didn't. I kinda wrote this because I liked the idea of three Elswords, but I never had a solid plotline behind it. And, just as a status update, Elsa's been moved up from a Saber Knight to a Grand Master. So, yeah.
Rena: More exciting news! Oh My El is currently ranked 15th in number of reviews!
Eve: That is a major accomplishment for an author who only attains 4-5 reviews per chapter on average.
Me: Yup! SO, a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, whether your review was long or short, or if you liked or hated this story! Thanks for the support~! Now on to reviewer replies!
Guest - Thank you~! Ah, the drama. Everything will change soon with the appearance of Ran! MWA HA HA HA HA HA - *chokes*
Asian - Sooo... I take it Infi got to you too? ... NO. I REFUSE TO WRITE LEMONS BECAUSE I KNOW I WILL END UP DYING OF EMBARRASSMENT. You'll get out of the infirmary soon, so no worries! :P
ShadisticArchdevil - WELCOME TO THIS INCREDIBLY INSANE FANFIC. NICE TO MEETCHA. ...Should I worry for the safety of Knight for the time being? Or do I have to get my safety scissors?
Awakened Hades - It can still happen :P
RevolutionizedWorld - Thank you very much~! As for which Elsword... YOU SHALL NEVER KNOW! (Actually, it'll become clear eventually XD)
XxArisaxX - Nice froggy ^^ And relax, the... erm... demon won't kill Rune. I think XD
Yami - SAY WHAAAAAAA-? NO. NOTHING IS WRONG WITH YOU. ACTUALLY, THE ONLY THING WRONG WITH YOU IS THAT YOU'RE TOO PERFECT. Couple hinting FTW! All in good time, my pretty, all in good time... (That sounds pretty creepy...)
Rinnearingan - I don't even know how to pronounce your new pen name, so you're eternally Kiyo XD No! You're writing is beautiful too! Very beautiful!
pikachuhats - Oh hello there pikachu - WHO ARE YOU YOU WEIRD STRANGER IN PIKACHU'S ROOM?! O_O
Ephema - Yesh, Knight is hitting puberty XD Lol, you're pretty decisive with your pairings ^^ AND YES! I SAW THAT FANFIC! CN IS THE PERFECT GILGAMESH! And yes, Infi is currently invincible :P
AishaElementalMaster - Not sure what you're trying to say...
Helringo - Well... Now what do I do?
ChungSeiker112 (Guest) - Really? Well, thank you very much for this info! I'll be sure to include it ^^
luigiofawsome (Chpt. 4 Review) - Lol, I kinda came up with that on the spot, but it works! Thank you~
luigiofawsome (Chpt. 5 Review) - You're a zombie demon angel? Cool XD I'm kinda ADD so I hate keeping stories in one spot at a time, but I'm glad you like this style of writing! Thank you~
Me: So, because I'm being lazy and want to hurry up and post this chapter, no more A/N!
Elsword: Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
Rena: Don't forget to R&R!
Aisha: See you next chapter!
Me: Love y'all! Chu~