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Unravelling

Ryuusei found himself with the day off as a Guidance counsellor and decided to track down Setsuka and get cracking on this whole secret file business.

He approached her door and knocked gently, file in hand as well as the Sage Legend printed and in it's own file to show his partner in case she didn't believe him or he forgot a few details.

Setsuka answered, still dressed in her nightwear, consisting of dark blue silk pyjamas and a matching house robe. She looked put together somehow. Maybe it was just her natural elegance and chilling beauty…

"I assume you have a lead?" Setsuka questioned as she stood in the door way, but shifted to let the black and red haired young adult in the room.

Ryuusei entered the room and opened the folder with the Elemental Sage Legend in it and handed it to the Ice Queen. Setsuka took the printed pages and read them over as she sat on her bed, leaving Ryuusei to just awkwardly stand there while she read.

When she finished reading it, she put the papers back in the folder and looked up at Ryuusei.

"This is a strong possibility. In fact, I think this is what she's after." Setsuka informed, to which Ryuusei nodded, relieved that she agreed with his idea.

"The question now becomes: why? Why does she want to find these Sages?" Setsuka continued as she stood up and walked around the room a bit.

Ryuusei shifted his weight, pondering the question. "Well, in the legend, the Sages were brought together to protect the city, which they sacrificed their lives for. Do you think that's what my mom is doing? Gathering a group of protectors for Neo Domino?" Ryuusei offered.

Setsuka considered the observation. "That would mean Neo Domino is in danger."

Ryuusei's eyes widened slightly for a moment before returning to normal. How could Neo Domino be in danger? His father was watching over the city. The thought that the city was in danger frightened Ryuusei a great deal, though he wouldn't show it.

He hoped to Crimson that it wasn't the case.

/

Xerxes grumbled as she slowly and blurrily became conscious. She curled up under her blankets, finding new appreciation for the warmth the bedding brought her. She opened her eyes to take a glance at the clock on the wall above her and Alexianna's desk.

8:14 am

"Why…" the bluenette groaned as she repositioned herself and pulled the covers over her shoulders.

Alexianna walked out of the bathroom, all put together and ready for the day to begin.

"Morning!" she called to her roommate cheerily.

Xerxes lifted her head a little to give the french girl a drowsy glare and returned to her dormant position.

Alexianna rolled her eyes as she gathered a couple items and put them into her Arcadia Academy book bag.

"You should get up." Alexianna advised.

Xerxes threw the blankets off the top half of her body and sat up in frustration. "Why would I do that?" she asked, an underlying tone of annoyance and possibly anger resting under the phrase.

"It's Saturday! The earlier you get up the more free time you have to enjoy." Alexianna offered before slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"The later I sleep, the more sleep I can sleep." Xerxes responded tiredly as she fell back into her pillow and pulled the covers over herself again.

Alexianna shook her head at her roommate and left the dorm room, making sure to slam the door on her way out. The french duellist was pretty sure she heard Xerxes shout 'YOU BITCH' as she walked away from the room and down the hall.

Alexianna navigated her way through the school to the familiar lunching spot where she had promised to meet Takeshi. She arrived to find him already there, waiting for her. The meeting was an unspoken, unofficial date. At least that's how Alexianna viewed it.

She had been confused about the boy ever since the first fight they had, but the fog around the subject of Takeshi was starting to lift. She liked him. She was attracted to him. They tended to argue, but overall she really liked spending time with him. If he asked her out 'officially', she'd most likely say yes.

Takeshi turned when she entered the garden and smiled when he saw her. She hadn't done anything out of the ordinary with her appearance, he was just happy to see her.

"Hi." He greeted, still smiling.

"Hey." She responded. She couldn't help but smile back at him. He had an amazing smile, it was light and simple, yet brightened up any situation. It was also rare to see Takeshi genuinely smile, she cherished the moments when he did.

"You ready?" he asked, approaching her.

She nodded as he came within a foot of her. The proximity was making them both slightly anxious, her more so than him. He smirked a little and took hold of her hand.

"Let's go then…." He offered slowly as he started to lead her out of the garden.

She let him tug her along for a little, being in a jittery dream-state. He shook his head slightly at her. She was obviously nervous. It was… cute on her.

They reached the front of the school and walked out the main doors, Alexianna's brain finally catching up with her feet as they got into one of the cars Arcadia Academy owned for the students when they were allowed to leave the school on weekends. They still had curfew and they couldn't leave the city, but it was a shred of freedom and trust from the school that students appreciated.

"So where exactly are we going?" Alexianna managed to ask as she buckled her seat belt in the passenger's seat.

Takeshi slightly smirked again as he turned the engine of the car on and started driving. "I think you'll like it…"

/

Hino banged on the door for about the thousandth time.

"XERXES GET UP! IT'S 11:30 FOR CRIMSON'S SAKE!" Hino shouted through the door.

Xerxes threw something at the door that managed to pierce it's way halfway through the door. Hino opened the door, not caring if Xerxes got mad at her, and peered around the room to find Xerxes mangled up in her sheets, her pillow pulled over her ears.

Hino took a look at the object lodged in the door. It was either a large knife or a short sword. Hino yanked it out of the door and scanned it before returning her attention to the semi-dormant teenager.

"Why do you have a giant knife?" Hino asked as calmly as possible, not impressed with her friend.

"It's a sword." Xerxes grumbled.

"Why do you have a sword?" Hino asked with more intensity, correcting herself.

Xerxes sat up in annoyance, mush like she did when she was talking to Alexianna earlier that morning. "In case I have to kill someone." Xerxes replied matter-of-factly.

"You can't keep a sword in your room, Xerxes!" Hino chastised, gesturing largely to the weapon in hand.

"UGH, you sound just like my old foster mom!" Xerxes grumbled, falling back into her pillow.

"I don't care- Wait, what?" Hino began to lecture, but stopped when she realised what Xerxes had said.

Realising what she had let slip, Xerxes grabbed her pillow and pulled it over her face before letting a scream escape her lips and muffle its way through the pillow. She lifted the pillow off her face and sat up again.

"I was adopted." The bluenette admitted.

Hino put the sword down on the desk and shut the dorm room door behind her before sitting cross-legged on the end of Xerxes' bed. "I had no idea…"

"I wouldn't expect you to." Xerxes gave dumbly as she began fiddling with her covers.

A moment of silence proceeded between the two. Hino looked dead on at Xerxes, who avoided eye contact and continued to fiddle with her blankets.

"It's no big deal really. I mean, I'm not with them anymore, so…" Xerxes trailed off, hoping that would suffice for Hino and they could get off the muddy topic.

"Were they- … Did they hurt you-"

"No! No. I-… They were fine. I just- Well… We didn't get along. That's all. So I went back." Xerxes interrupted and clarified.

"Back?" Hino inquired.

"Yeah. To the orphanage." Xerxes informed.

"Oh." Hino gave awkwardly, not really knowing what to say.

"Like I said… No big deal." Xerxes re-iterated.

Hino nodded with sad eyes, feeling deeply sorry for her friend. She must have gone through a world of pain. At least she seemed okay now… Or did she?

"I-I was bullied at my old school." Hino offered, wanting to reciprocate for Xerxes opening up to her about something so personal.

"Yeah?" Xerxes lifted her head and made eye contact with Hino, who wasn't so confident with the visual connection now that the focus was on her.

"Yeah. I hurt a couple boys who were teasing me with my powers. They called me a freak from then on. Nobody liked me anymore… They were-"

"Scared… I know the feeling." Xerxes finished for her and related.

Hino smiled and gave an awkward, breathy laugh. Xerxes managed to smile a bit as well. The two girls took a moment to appreciate their newfound trust before they resumed their earlier scenario.

"You need to get rid out of bed!" Hino broke their silent moment and grabbed a pillow to whack Xerxes with playfully.

Xerxes blocked Hino's initial swings and grabbed a pillow of her own to start beating her friend with. Hino started to lose sorely in the cushioned battle and got off the bed. Xerxes started to follow, but once she stepped off the bed she realised she was up.

"Now get dressed!" Hino instructed as she threw her pillow at the icy haired girl. "Or I won't pay for dinner tonight!"

"Wait, dinner?" Xerxes asked, perplexed.

"Yeah, we're going out tonight." Hino informed.

"We are?" Xerxes asked, still perplexed.

"Yes! Now hurry up! I want to hit the library before we go out anywhere, alright?" Hino instructed.

Xerxes sighed and raised an eyebrow at her friend before finally admitting defeat and decided to start getting dressed. She waited for Hino to leave before undressing, hoping that her friend didn't notice the blood that began to trickle down her arms and legs, staining her full length pyjamas.

/

"Sigi Jones?" Aki asked as an overly-bedazzled and glamorous girl strutted into her office.

The decked out disco girl nodded as she posed with her hands on her hips. The girl wore a gold onesy that was glittery and shimmered wherever the light hit it. She had sapphire platform boots that went up to her knees and were just as glittery as her onesy. She had a silver hooped belt that shined, and a purple and pink feathered scarf that had glitter all over it. Her hair was a bright red that was done extravagantly; strands and sections of hair went every which way and made her hair look like an exploding star or an elaborate fountain. Her make-up resembled her attire: glittery, disco, and unbearable to look at directly.

Aki nodded slowly, shocked to say the least at the girl in front of her. It was as if the entire 70s decade of attire came together and formed one giant monster of an outfit to represent the era.

"Welcome to Arcadia Academy Sigi-san. Here is all the information and supplies you'll need to attend our school." Aki welcomed as she handed Sigi some papers and a bundle of supplies.

"Thank you." She thanked before turning out of the office, a little rudely.

"It was nice meeting you…" Aki muttered as the girl disappeared.

Aki shook her head as she re-opened a file she had glanced at earlier. It was the file that contained the profiles of the suspected 9 Sages.

"Dear Crimson, if that girl is the Spirit Child, so help me…"

That was when she passed out.

END

Muahahaha! Cliff hanger! Love them. They keep you on you toes. If you submitted an OC, I need you to PM me as soon as you can. I must discuss top secret things with all of you! Until the next chapter, farewell!

Oh, review please!