Chapter Twenty-Seven
Damian sat on the tram looking out of the window onto the afternoon sky. it was bright and orange and somewhat glaring. It had taken a little longer than planned to get out of the academy as Nathan spent a while complaining about his lack of casual wear. Damian preferred his simple red hoodie, t-shit and cargo pants to the tight fit and somewhat bland uniform they had to wear. Damian blinked and turned to the rest of his team, the sun finally becoming too much for him to bear. Ryu wore a similar get up to himself, a plan green hoodie a white shirt except he wore tight fitting trousers. Nathan on the other hand was wearing jeans and flannel shirt. Lastly Gagana was wearing her normal purple and red hooded body warmer to round off the colourful, yet completely uncoordinated, set they had going.
"Next stop is Ever Green Gardens; this tram will terminate at Ever Green Gardens. Please mind the gap when leaving the tram." The disembodied voice said robotically before the tram came to a stop. The four students walked out and onto an alien looking garden, it had a rainbow of trees at the entrance, each bearing different shaped fruit. In the distance there were dozens large domes made of glass. There was a flat stone path leading away from the tram stop. As he stepped on the first stone it stated to glow faintly yellow.
"Ooo. Fancy!" Nathan said following in Damian's wake. After a short walk they arrived at a lake front with a few benches. The team sat down and took in the view.
"I'm really surprised there is this much flora in a city like this." Gagana said absentmindedly.
"Yeah it's so green!" Nathan exclaimed, he flicked his arms out to reinforce his point. Damian felt a gust of cold air, it would seem that all this greenery could not hide how far north they still where, he thought. He noticed there was a vender of by the side of the path next to a small lamp. He walked over leaving his team were they sat.
"Back in a minute." He said back to them. The vender did look a little out of place but it was minimalist, Damian couldn't decide whether or not he liked it, but what he did like the look of was the chocolate bread buns and warm milk it had on display. He inserted ten Lien and input his order. The machine quietly chugged away as it processed his order.
"Hey Damian fancy seeing you here." A voice called. He turned as was surprised to see Yuki. Damian decided not to think too much about what exactly Yuki meant by seeing him and instead said,
"Hi Yuki, what brings you out."
"Probably the same reason you and your team are out, I don't really like being cooped up in my room all day. Well I swear we spend more time training but that's another story."
"Yea today was quite a struggle." Damian replied exhausted.
"Well in also here to see Ebony Triton." He said trying not to sound to make a deal out of it.
"The guy who saved you from Bianca?" Damian asked.
"Yea I heard from Ross and Ulrik that I'd be able to meet him here."
"He's also with that faunus Protect Society right?" Damian asked as he remembered something about the card he had revived from Ross.
"Oh so you know about them too?" Yuki asked.
"Yea Ross invited me on Ulrik's behalf. He replied.
"Well maybe you could drop by latter?"
"Might do but no promises." Damian said as he gathered all his snacked. He returned to his team to find Gagana looking quite uncomfortable with Ryu and Nathan leaning on her snoring. Damian stifled a laugh.
"Want a hand?" He asked. She nodded enthusiastically. Damian picked up Ryu in a fireman hold and placed him on the floor, under the bench then propped up Nathan so Gagana could get out before laying him on the bench. He then picked up one of the foil boxes of food and passed it to Gagana. The two of them sat on the grass and opened their food. When they opened the boxes a puff of steam escaped which caught them both by surprise.
"I guess these will stay warm for whenever Ryu and Nathan walk up." Gagana said taking a bite from her roll.
"So wha-," she covered her mouth with her hand and swallowed, "So what did Yuki want?" She asked.
"Oh he was just saying hi while he was passing through." Damian said taking a sip of his drink.
-clink-
Damian turned round just in time to see a baseball fly his way. Ulrik then jumped over a hedge and ran towards him. Without a word, Damian picked up the ball and tosses it to Ulrik who jumped and grabbed it then immediately bounded back over the hedge from where he came.
"I guess that means all of them." Damian said to no one in particular.
"All of who?" Gagana asked.
"The faunus protection society." He said simply. Gagana gave a look suggesting she wanted some more information. Damian shrugged.
"I really don't know, I assume it's something within the realm of people, probably faunus. In a society where they attempt to protect other faunus."
"You want to check it out?" Gagana asked.
"Might do latter." He said lying on the grass.
-clink-
"Ouch!" Damian shouted as he got hit by a baseball. Ross hopped over the edge and bound towards him.
"You guys are not very good at catching are you." Damian said, rubbing his head.
"Or our batter has a really good arm?" Ross replied, "sorry about that." He added.
"What's taking so long Ross!" Cheshire said as she appeared next to them. Gagana jumped out of surprise, having never seen her ability to phase from place to place.
"When did Ross and Chesh get here?" Nathan asked as he sat up, awoken by the noise.
"Who, Ouch, what's going on!" Ryu said as he also got up and smacked his head off the bottom of the bench.
"Oh hi Ryu what are you doing down there?" Nathan asked?
"I have no idea!" He said as he shuffled out from under the bench. Ulrik, Amber, Yuki and Ebony then walked round the hedge to join the ruckus. Ulrik and Ebony waved, Amber scampered over to Ross's side and Yuki tried to make it look like he was simply passing by.
"Ahh." Nathan said now fanning shock, "Where did all these people come from?"
"Hello DRGN, I see you're also enjoying the gardens." Ebony said in a surprisingly light and cheerful voice, considering his shape and stature.
"Who are you?" Nathan asked.
"Oh sorry, I'm Ebony Triton, chairman of the faunus Protection Society, too meet you …" Ebony said politely.
"It's Nathan." Nathan replied.
"So what's with all the base balls?" Damian asked.
"We were playing bass ball." Ulrik said bluntly. Damian squinted at Ulrik, he was very bad at reading him and couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
"Yeah we had just finished a meeting and decided to have some fun." Ebony clarified.
"You guys should play!" Cheshire said then gave a toothy grin.
"I'm surprised you'd want to play with humans." Nathan said abruptly. Damian moaned, here we go again he thought. Ebony stepped in quickly.
"Some organisations do end up like that, but, I feel like if you help anyone subset to the point in which they are above another you're really just wasting your time. Because before long the ones lower down will want the same. So when I strive for equality of the races I mean it in THE most literal sense of the word, in poverty or riches where ever we end up." Nathan got up and walked over to Ebony.
"You know what. You may be the first activist I actually didn't think was a bit off their nut." He said extending his hand out. Ebony smiled.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Sorry but I'll have to pass." Ryu said with a yawn.
"Yea same here." Gagana said rubbing her eye.
"Maybe we should get an early night? We have a lot to do tomorrow." Damian said to his team. They nodded in agreement.
"Sorry Ebony maybe another time." He said apologetically.
"No problem." He said then turned to the other first years.
"You lot should probably tag along with them." He added.
"What about you?" Yuki asked.
"Oh I live of site with the rest of my team." He said and got confused looked from all his underclassmen.
"Okay I'll explain it quickly. Myrtle, my team's tactician but not leader, decided that we should put some of the lien we earn from missions into a fund to buy a flat off site."
"Why would you want that?" Nathan asked.
"It's bigger, it's cosier and we can make it whatever colour we want. We also get our own rooms, which is one of the things Myrtle was pushing for, and I can guaranty after a year shearing the same room you lot will want the same." He finished with a hearty laugh. With that the first years headed back to grab a tram. The trams were only big enough to hold six people so after a quick round of Rock Paper Scissors; Damian, Ryu, Nathan, Gagana and Yuki entered the first tram and waved goodbye to URCA. After the tram had departed Nathan asked.
"Do you think we'll still be sharing a room next year?"
"God I hope not!" Ryu blurted uncharacteristically. He coughed, "I mean I hope we could get some better accommodation."
"Is this about the bunk bed?" Nathan asked.
"No it's not about the bunk bed." He replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Well maybe a little."
"Ah ha! No we see where you stand. Damian are you pro bunk?"
"I'd say I'm pretty bunk neutral."
"What about you Gagana? How do you feel about this bunk discrimination?" Nathan asked.
"I don't exactly use it, but it is kind of an eye sore."
"Aren't you the reason he has to build it?" Ryu sneered.
"There needs to be a divide between boys and girls of our age it's only natural." She said defensively. Nathan turned to Yuki.
"What's your thoughts to this bunk or no bunk debate?" He asked using his scroll like a microphone. Yuki pulled off his headphones.
"Sorry what?" He asked. Nathan pulled up a picture of their dorm with the dividing curtain and the triangular bunk bed. Yuki sat they're silently looking intently at the floor. After a good few seconds of silence it occurred to Nathan what was wrong and he looked like he had just stepped on a land mine.
"Oh I'm really sorry." He flustered, "your normally pretty good at, you know seeing, that I forget your blind. Actually if you don't mind me asking, how do you see?"
"No it's fine I inflict it upon myself. I don't see the way you do, I see via vibrations in the ground and sounds in the air. It gives me a fully three dimensional of everything around me up to a couple meters. I do have problems distinguishing details such as facial features though." He added sounding almost upset with himself.
"Wait how did you recognise me earlier?" Damian asked. Yuki didn't speak but just tapped the end of his nose. "You should try using more of your faunus senses Damian they can really help."
"Doesn't using faunus senses diminish your human like senses?" Ryu asked.
"To an extent, faunus who excessively use their sense of smell have problems with intense food and people passing wind in their presence." Yuki said.
"Yeah and faunus who use their nigh sight all the time can lose their colour vision." Damian added.
"Nathan you were asking about my sight and I'd like to try something." Yuki said somewhat abruptly.
"Sure go ahead, I'll help in any way I can." He replied. Yuki stood up and walked in front of him then squatted so third faces where level. He then started making clicking sounds as he wiggled his ears intently. After a couple seconds he stood back and Nathan gave a perplexed expression.
"I now have a more detailed picture of your face," Yuki said mater-a-factly, "that or I just spent the last twenty seconds clicking at you for no good reason, you can decide."
"Do I look good?" Nathan asked taking Yuki by surprise.
"Yea you look great." he said with a laugh.
"Oh back to what we were saying about the bunk bed." Nathan said abruptly. "it is entirely Gagana's fault as Ryu said, it's not like we could fit them all side by side."
"Well you could actually." Gagana said, growing tired of being accused.
"I disagree." Damian said.
"Strongly disagree." Ryu added, backing him up.
"How so." Gagana asked.
"Well for a start if all three are clumped together it would hardly count as personal space and what if we need to go to the toilet. Nobody wants to crawl to the bottom of their bed when they can just hop out the side." Nathan said.
"You guys know this is a really petty thing to argy about." Gagana said defensively. Ryu stood up and pointed at her.
"Says the person who benefits most form the system!" he barked angrily. Yuki started to laugh.
"You guys seem pretty close."
"How'd you figure?" Nathan asked.
"Well you all talk together about stupid pointless things but your all clearly enjoying your selves." He sighed, "unlike BLYD. We don't exactly talk much."
"Isn't that just because you and Maya are the only ones who do talk?"
"True, that is the case but Maya is so out of it most of the time."
"huh the more you know, I always thought we had a kinda shitty dynamic, no offense guys." Damian said aloud.
"Nah I know what you mean." Nathan replied.
"Yea same." Ryu added.
"See your even agreed with how shit you are at getting along, which is somehow better communication that what my team has." Yuki said angry. "I'm gonna let you guys in on something, my team kind of like yours was picked and assembled before we even did a test. We are not friends we are just similar anomalies that have been put together for testing purposes." DRGN looked on in shock.
"Am I gonna be hunted down for knowing this?" Nathan asked cautiously.
"Nah I haven't told you anything that couldn't be worked out by looking at my team's bios." Yuki replied.
"Next stop is Atlas Academy; this tram will terminate at Atlas Academy. Please mind the gap when leaving the tram."
"Oh where back already." Gagana said sounding a little surprised.
"So it would seem." Yuki said as he got up. "have a good night." He called back as he walked off.
"Come on guys, we have to get up early for tomorrows event." Damian said as he got up and headed back to his room with his team.