So here's the little prologue I promised. I'm still accepting submissions, it's just that they won't be as prominent in the story as the characters that have already been submitted. Anyways, on with the prologue!
Recruiting
Aki stood in the front foyer of her freshly built school, an air of pride waving over her features as she scanned the room. This was her creation. This was her pride and joy. This was her triumph over modern society and it's judgemental views on psychic duellists. This was going to be the haven for all psychics.
This would be their home.
She took in a deep breathe, taking in the smell of fresh paint and cleaning product, and actually enjoying the smell for the first time in her life.
Yusei entered the foyer, grabbing Aki's attention as he made his way over to her.
"You did it." He said with a congratulatory tone.
"I did it." Aki beamed back at him. Her smile was broad and gleaming, perhaps the biggest, happiest smile she had ever produced in her life.
"So when does the term start?" Yusei asked, purposely giving fodder to Aki's glee.
"Two days. I've recruited some of the top psychics in the city for this school. They'll be staying in the east wing where the dorm rooms are. They've been divided into age groups for their classes instead of ability." Aki explained as the two signers started to walk down a hallway.
"That's the better way to divide them." Yusei commented.
"Exactly. That way, if the lower able students get to work with the higher able students, they have a chance to learn from them and average out. They grow together." Aki elaborated.
"So what's the staff like?" Yusei asked.
"Well, you already know that I'm the Chancellor and the psychic abilities teacher. There's you as the physics and mechanics teacher, which you also know. I have Carly Nagisa as the English and Creative Writing teacher. Jack as the History teacher-"
"Jack as the History teacher!?" Yusei exclaimed.
"I had to find some way to make the subject more interesting!" Aki joked, making Yusei chuckle a little. "Crow is the Home Economics teacher, and he and Jack both begged me to let them teach Foods. Bruno is teaching Math and Chemistry. Sherry has agreed to teach French for the year. Ushio is teaching Gym and Law. Mikage is teaching Gym as well, and she also asked for Business. I still need to figure out the Geography, Biology, Art, Drama and Music teachers though. You, Jack, Crow, Sherry and I are going to collaborate on the Duelling classes." Aki finished.
"I could teach Biology if you need." Yusei offered.
"Thank you, Yusei. I appreciate the offer, I left those five subjects for next semester though, so I could have time to find the appropriate teachers for them. If I can't find anyone who specializes in Biology though, I think I may have to take you up on the offer." Aki admitted.
Yusei nodded in understanding. "So who's attending here?" Yusei questioned.
"So far we have about 20 students. I know it's not a lot, but it's a start. I'm hoping that people will here about this school and possibly apply here into the term or apply for nest semester." Aki answered with a smidge of disappointment.
The halls echoed for a few moments as the two continued to walk about the empty school. They remained in silence for a few moments before Yusei tried to cheer Aki up.
"Tell me about your students."
Aki perked up a bit at the demand and started to beam again. "I think we have some promising young psychics! The first person I recruited was an interesting individual…"
/
A girl sat on a bench in the Neo Domino park, staring at the pond in front of her where fish were swimming about and ducks were waddling along. She had very pale skin and long white hair, tinted with pink and done in a braid that reached down her back. Her hazel eyes glistened as she watched a family of ducks travel around the pond together, a mother duck leading four ducklings toward the water. She continued to watch them as they glided into the pond, except for one. It seemed afraid or unsure maybe, of the water. The duckling hopped in after a few moments, but immediately splashed and waddled out of the water, too afraid to go any further into the pond.
Aki approached the bench the girl was sitting on and sat down, observing the duckling as she settled herself next to the girl.
"They're cute, aren't they?" Aki commented as the duckling flapped it's feathers dry.
"Mm." The girl responded.
"Not much of a talker, are you Hino?" Aki inquired, turning to face the girl.
The duckling started to shiver a bit from portions of it's body still being wet and cold.
"How do you know my name?" Hino asked calmly, as if she already knew the answer to her question.
"Your parents. They told me you might be here, on your own." Aki admitted, leaning towards the girl a little as she spoke.
Hino didn't even flinch. "What would you like from me?"
"I'm opening a school for… special duellists. Duellists with unique talent and abilities, like myself. I'd like you to attend." Aki explained.
Hino watched the duckling family as she pondered the offer. The mother duck approached the scared duckling and huddled it in her wing to keep it warm.
Hino looked over to Aki, finding comfort in the older woman's eyes and friendly smile. How could a psychic seem so… normal? "Alright… I'll come to your school."
Aki's face lit up tenfold as she grabbed Hino's hand gently, almost motherly. "Wonderful. I look forward to teaching you. I promise, you won't regret coming to Arcadia Academy!"
Aki stood and bowed her head slightly before turning and waving as she left Hino to her peaceful pond watching. Hino blinked a couple times as she watched Aki walk away.
Hino returned her attention to the duck family and watched the mother duck guide the duckling into the water. They swam together for a while before the duckling parted and started swimming on it's own, no longer afraid of the water.
No longer afraid to brace the tide.
/
"Hino Kizana? I've never heard of her." Yusei admitted after hearing Aki's story.
"She was at the top of her class at Duel Academy for two years running before she faltered a little at age 14. Ever since then she's hovered around fourth-fifth in her class." Aki elaborated.
"How old is she now?"
"16, and definitely dresses that way." Aki answered.
"What do you mean?" Yusei inquired.
"Let's just say, it's obvious she's a rock fan. I'm not sure if she has a stabilizer for her powers yet though, I'll have to look into that soon. Maybe I can get her one with Pink Floyd on it or something?" Aki teased the psychic behind her back.
Yusei gave a little smile before continuing. "Who else stood out for you?"
Aki froze mid-stride as she recalled the most… frightening encounter she had…
/
"XERXES! THERE'S A WOMAN AT THE DOOR FOR YOUR!" A little girl shouted after Aki introduced herself at the door.
A young girl with ice-blue hair and different coloured, tired eyes came down the steps to the front room of the building she and a bunch of other orphans were living in. She was extremely pale and had elf-like ears. Though her home and fellow orphans seemed warm and welcoming, she seemed quite the opposite.
"Thank you." Xerxes said to the little girl dismissively. The girl ran off to another room as Xerxes approached the door. "Who are you?" she asked coldly.
"I'm Aki Izayoi." Aki replied, losing her friendly smile.
"And what do you want, Izayoi?" Xerxes asked, not seeming too interested in the answer.
"I'm here to invite you to attend Arcadia Academy this fall." Aki answered, matching Xerxes' chilly attitude.
"Not interested." Xerxes quickly shot as she went to close the door.
"It's a school for psychics." Aki gave at slightly louder volume, hoping it would catch the teenager's attention.
Xerxes froze for a moment, staring hard into Aki's eyes. For a moment, Aki felt herself tremble under Xerxes' gaze, fearing a little for her life and completely forgetting she could easily defend herself with her powers. Just the younger girl's gaze had Aki fearing the worst. Was it such a good idea inviting this girl to her school?
It dawned on Aki though, that this girl resembled herself at that age significantly. Aki stood her ground and stared just as hard in return. Xerxes seemed to relax a little after Aki intensified her gaze.
"When do I start?"
/
Aki entered the Neo Domino Hospital emergency room to find a pale boy with brown eyes and long black hair wrapped up in a ponytail sitting quietly in the waiting area, eyes wide as the sea. He wore a white shirt with a blue vest over it and black jeans. In one hand he held a pair of white goggles, covered in patches of dirt, like the rest of his clothes and face.
Aki approached the boy cautiously. She had seen him duelling minutes ago and had witnessed something she knew she shouldn't have.
Feeling a sense of obligation, knowing his situation all too well, she followed him to the emergency room.
She knelt down next to the shock-stricken boy and put a hand on his shoulder. The boy quickly looked to his arm upon the contact, then looked to Aki, his eyes remaining wide with shock.
"Are you alright?" Aki asked gently.
The boy slowly nodded. "I… think…"
Aki nodded slightly. "Okay. What's your name?"
The boy stared for a few moments before answering. "Takeshi…"
Aki nodded again. "Alright, Takeshi. Do you know who I am?"
The boy nodded slowly. "Izayoi…" he whispered.
Aki nodded assertively. "I can help you, Takeshi. Do you trust me?" she asked, taking her other hand and gently squeezing his free one.
Takeshi looked down at his hand, to his arm, then back at Aki before her slowly began to nod. "Yes…"
Aki smiled sweetly, installing trust between the two psychics. "Come with me." She instructed as she slowly stood up, bringing him up with her and putting her arm around him while keeping hold of his hand. She guided him out of the emergency room and toward the new school she had built.
"I have a new home for you."
/
Aki and Sherry were having a small brunch at Jack's favourite café. They were waiting for a relative of Sherry's to show up to the small outing.
"I'm sorry Aki, she should be along any minute." Sherry tried to assure the up-and-coming Chancellor.
Aki stirred her tea anxiously as they waited for Sherry's cousin's daughter to arrive. My first recruiting, and the psychic doesn't show!
All of a sudden, a young french girl entered the fenced in area of the outdoor café. She had extremely long blue-black hair worn loose under a red beret. She was extremely pale and skinny and had large, round, indigo eyes that were positively captivating. Her lips were very prominent, they were a very dark red, which wasn't natural. She was obviously fashionable, wearing a black top with a black, knee-length skirt that had white poke-a-dots on it and a red blazer overtop the black shirt. She wore black converse, which gave the look a dash of I'm-still-a-teenager.
The french girl sat down next to her relative and started to pour herself a cup of tea.
"Alexianna Jeunesse! Why in the world were you late?" Sherry chastised her second cousin.
"Jean called and got all big-brother-y on me. He wouldn't shut up! I didn't want to hang up on him though! I'm sorry!" Alexianna explained.
Sherry sighed and gestured to Aki. "I think you have another apology to make as well."
"Oh, of course! I'm sorry Aki-san. I'm usually not late like this." The french teen apologized.
There was something about this girl that Aki couldn't resist, and all of her anger seemed to melt away as the midnight-haired teen smiled at her. Aki was so captivated by her- wait a minute, did her eyes just flicker red?
"I'm sorry, did your eyes just-?" Aki began out of confusion.
Alexianna smiled at the signer and nodded. "It's a side effect. I have… special psychic powers."
"Magnetism." Sherry began to elaborate, "She draws people in. It's her strongest psychic ability. Not many have it. That's why I think she'd make a great addition to your school."
"Indeed." Akiza agreed. "That's only if you want to attend though, Alexianna."
Alexianna smiled as her eyes flickered red again. "I'd love to."
/
Aki entered the Neo Domino library with determination. She had been searching for this girl for weeks and had finally pin-pointed her location. This was it.
Aki headed to the spiritual section of the library to find a pale girl with platinum blonde hair that had a couple black streaks in it and was kept half up in a braid. She wore all black; a t-shirt sleeve length, turtle neck, silk black blouse with ruffles at the neck and down the button line, a knee-length, puffy, Victorian-style skirt with lace flowers on it, black fishnet stockings with black roses on them, fingerless gloves, combat boots, and two diamond rings: one on each middle finger. She had black lipstick, nail polish and mascara. Her eyes stood out, coloured hot pink.
The girl was reading a book on witch-craft folklore and was completely immersed in it that she didn't notice Aki walk up to her. Aki tapped her shoulder, which caused the girl to give a small gasp and slam her book shut.
"Hello Cleotra." Aki greeted cheerily.
Cleotra rolled her eyes as she put her book back on the shelf. "Hi." She said dryly.
"I've been looking for you for a while now." Aki admitted, laughing to herself a little.
"I know. I know why you're here too. Lerahni told me." Cleotra gave annoyed as she scanned the shelf of witchcraft books.
"And?" Aki probed.
Cleotra stopped for a moment and pulled out a book giving the cover a glance before nodding and sticking it under her arm. She brushed past Aki to the end of the aisle before turning her head back. "Only if I get to manage the library." Cleotra bartered.
Aki smiled and nodded. "Deal."
/
"Wow Aki, seems like you have a broad range of students." Yusei commented.
Aki nodded with a smile as they approached the dorm hallway. "I certainly do. Most of them are already in their rooms."
"Really? Can I meet them?" Yusei asked.
"Why do you think I brought you up here?" Aki winked as she walked over to a dorm room and knocked on it.
Takeshi answered it and gave Aki a small smile before greeting her. "Hello… Aki-Sensei…" Takeshi greeted slowly.
"Hi Takeshi! Is Jeff in there too?" Aki inquired.
"Mhm…" Takeshi answered as he nodded. Takeshi waved over another boy with dark purple hair kept messily and brown eyes. He wore black converse and dark blue jeans with a purple sweater overtop a green v-neck t-shirt.
"Hey Aki!" Jeff greeted.
"Hello Jeff. Come meet one of your teachers, Professor Fudo." Aki instructed as the two boys came out in the hallway and greeted Yusei.
Aki got Hino and Xerxes, Alexianna and Cleotra out in the hallway to meet Yusei as he chatted with Takeshi and Jeff. Aki also brought out two unmentioned students, Kheika and Grace.
Kheika was a slim, petite girl with tanned skin and waist length black hair streaked with purple and red. She had icy blue eyes and a tattoo of a rose on her wrist. Her outfit included black skinny jeans, red sneakers, a long sleeved blue shirt and two bracelets in her left wrist, one black and one purple.
Grace was the oldest student there. She was quite tall for a girl, 6'1, and had long blonde hair with red streaks in it. She had green eyes that were very pretty. She wore a rose pink t-shirt and rose pink shorts with white combat boots and a purple energy stabilizer bracelet around her left wrist.
Both girls were pleasant to be around and Yusei enjoyed their company. He was a little put off by Xerxes and Hino, but enjoyed talking to Takeshi and Jeff. Cleotra had a bit of an attitude, but was still bearable, and Yusei could tell Alexianna was related to Sherry.
Aki smiled as they all started mingling.
This was going to be a great year.
END
Review please!