(AN: Jeez, I know it's been some time since I last updated, and I very much apologize. This month has been me trying to do stuff, procrastinating, and then falling asleep without doing anything. Hell, I've been sleeping on Art Fight stuff and its done in 7 days. Better get started soon, but first, here's the new chapter!

And yes, your eyes are NOT decieving you, not only is this a new title (thank you neonbrambles on twitter, my proofreader, for coming up with the title), but also there's a new cover! And sure enough, if you haven't guessed it, this lovely piece was commissioned by none other than BaneWade, creator of the Riot Boys AU. I wanna thank them so much for making this, as I feel it completes the remake as it is!

With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy as we're still in introduction land!)


Espio stared at the road in front of him, eyes blinking as a light was shining on him. He looked to see a large, metallic object with wheels drive past the two chameleons, softly blowing their hakamas. He looked around at the rich foliage and plants around him, and even the occasional person that passed by.

This… was this the outside world? This was the place his mother warned him about?

Espio wasn't going to lie… now that he was out here… he was scared. All the times his mother warned him about the outside world replayed in his mind, reminding him about all the times she told him never to think about leaving. Was life here truly different than the village?

He felt himself getting cold feet, but before thinking of running away back to the village-

"Espio-kun, come on. We don't have much time. We have to be in Central Mobius in three hours, and if we're on schedule, we should be arriving to the border at sunrise, and then spending the next few hours driving to Mobius University," Valdez said. Now what he was saying confused Espio more. He did hear Mobius University, but Central Mobius? Where was that? And where were they going? How were they going to get there?

The fuchsia chameleon followed the blue one, holding his luggage in one hand and his stomach in his other. He could feel butterflies in his stomach as the sound of his geta shoes clacked against the pavement. He could feel another light shine on him as another large metal object with wheels passed by. Espio turned to face it as it drove off.

"Valdez-san…" Espio tugged on his mentor's hakama. "What is all of this stuff?"

He pointed to a parked car. Valdez smiled.

"That's called a car. In the outside world, this is how people usually travel. At least, here, cars aren't very common, because people either walk or bike. But in Central Mobius, cars, buses, and trains are used."

Now he was getting his mind blown. He remembered all the long walks he had taken with his mother and sister each time they went to Genshu Village, often accompanied by their guards which would take hours. And the people in the outside world could travel so easily?

"I…" Espio began. "Valdez-san… I don't know if I can do this…"

Valdez turned around to see the chameleon stopped in his tracks. "Espio-kun? You've barely walked out of the entrance to the Historic District and you want to go back?"

"I'm… I'm sorry!" Espio bowed in response. "I feel I am not worthy to be a student at your school. I… I feel so conflicted. These things are new to me and I… I don't know what to think of it."

"Espio-kun… I know it's hard, but surely I know you are stronger than this."

"That's what I thought too, Valdez-san. But I am not ready… I…"

Espio opened his bag, revealing the copy of 'How to learn English, sixth edition' Valdez had given him. He got on the ground, crouching below his family's friend. "I couldn't even understand this book! I… I can't learn another language, and… and I thought I was perfect to go to your school…"

Valdez frowned as he brought Espio up. "Espio-kun… surely you haven't been feeling like this and haven't told me?"

Espio was silent.

"But of course… that's how you are. Look, even if you couldn't understand the book, even if things confuse you, I'm sure once you arrive at school, you'll realize how amazing everything is. It's a very different from yours, yes. But you're an intelligent man, Espio. After all, weren't you bragging to me that you got an impressive time destroying wooden dummies because you were the Bride's son?"

Espio nodded.

"That's the Espio I want to see, confident in his abilities. You're representing your village, and everyone is depending on you, even if they aren't there. Now come, we're almost to my car."

Espio continued to look at Valdez as he turned away, but smiled as the blue chameleon began to walk off. Following him behind, the ninja watched the blue chameleon stop in front of a grey vehicle, a 'car' as Valdez called it. He didn't know his family's friend had one…

"Come on, let's go in," Valdez said as the car suddenly made a loud noise. Espio jumped, quickly bringing out a kunai knife.

"A-A kunai?! Espio, what did you bring?!" asked the blue chameleon.

"…what you told me to bring."

"I said your clothes mainly, and some of the things I got you in the village. What else did you bring?"

"…my knives."

Valdez sighed. "Very well. Just… don't cause trouble at school. Carrying one of your kunais on campus is VERY dangerous, okay?"

"Won't there be villains?"

"There may be some rude people there, but nothing to attack someone over. Many people are friendly. Anyway, we're wasting enough time as is. Let's go, quickly."

Valdez opened up the driver's side door as he started up the car. He rolled down the windows.

"Well? Don't be shy, Espio-kun. Get in!"

Espio looked down at the passenger side door. How was he supposed to get in? Maybe he was supposed to crawl through the window? It was a little small, but maybe he could…

Just as Espio was about to stick his leg through the window, Valdez stopped him. "No no no! Just open the handle on the door!"

Espio retreated his leg from the door and looked at a metal bar on the door. Was this how you opened it?

Grabbing it, he began to push it, which did nothing. It was when he pulled it did it open. Espio made an 'Ah!' noise as he began to open and close the car door, almost like a child learning how to open a door for the first time.

"Consider this your first lesson in knowledge of the outside world," Valdez said. Espio continued to open and close the door with stars in his eyes. "Okay, Espio-kun. You can stop now…"

Espio shook his head and looked at his mentor, nodding as he got into the car, shutting the door as hard as possible. Valdez bit his tongue as Espio looked around, fascinated by everything surrounding him.

"Maybe… not so hard next time…" Valdez said. "Okay, Espio-kun, before we leave, this is very important. You'll need to set up your seatbelt first, as it'll protect you in case anything happens, okay? Your seatbelt is-" Valdez grabbed his seatbelt. "-right here. Can you get it?"

The ninja turned to his side and grabbed his seatbelt, softly tugging it.

"There you go. Now, look for the device on the side of your chair," the blue chameleon said. "You'll put the metal part of the seatbelt in there, and that'll lock it in place."

Repeating what he said, Espio locked his seatbelt in place as he suddenly felt…

Trapped…

He began to grip his hakama, feeling sweat drip down his back. The ninja was known to not be afraid of nearly anything, but a fear he had yet to grow out of was claustrophobia. Being in this car that locked him in place… He didn't like it…

"Don't worry about it, Espio-kun. It seems scary at first, but you'll be fine. Just try and think about something else, 'cause we'll be here for some time," Valdez said. Espio's eyes widened as he grasped the side of the chair just as the car began to move.


Still continuing to panic in his seat, Espio made no noise and rode in silence with Valdez, down the road back to the main city of Ryube. They passed by trees, scenic fields, and rivers as the sun began to slowly rise amongst the dark blue horizon. Espio rubbed his eyes, trying his best to fight off tiredness.

"Valdez-san…" Espio began. "Is learning the language hard?"

"I thought you didn't read your book."

"I didn't but… I assume there will come a point where I can no longer run away from it, correct?"

"Well? Why not give it a read while we're driving? It's going to be some time until we'll reach Central Mobius."

Espio reached into his bag and pulled out the copy of 'How to learn English' and turned to page one. As soon as he did, he squinted as he tried to read, but the car was a little too dark for him.

Now this made him panic more, at least, until Valdez pressed a button above him that turned on a light. Espio looked in amazement.

"Valdez-san… what's this?" he asked, pressing the button and seeing it light up.

"This is called electricity."

"Electricity?"

"It's what the people use in the outside world for light. They don't use candles very often."

"They don't?! Then how could they see with… electricity… this small?"

Valdez smiled as he knew he was close to driving up to Downtown Ryube. "They can. With lights like these."

As soon as they drove into downtown, lights of all colors filled the car as Espio looked out of the car in pure bewilderment. There were electric signs, billboards, lights from every corner and every angle of the city of Ryube. Reading some of the signs, it seemed they were advertising stores, clothing, so many different things Espio hadn't heard of or even SEEN in his life before. There were women in revealing clothing advertising a drink, an image of someone with a camera, and a large billboard with many multicolored people on it with weapons.

As they drove through the city, Espio turned around, hoping to get another look.

"Valdez-san… I want to see more…" he said. "That was beautiful… Is my school like this?"

"Don't get your hopes too high, the university is well funded, but we're not THAT rich," Valdez replied. "We're almost out of the main parts of Ryube anyway. After that, there's more countryside until we reach the border. And then another hour or two until we reach the school," he turned to face Espio. "Are you feeling a little better?"

Distracted by everything around him, Espio ignored the blue chameleon. Valdez huffed, glad that Espio was able to calm his nerves.


After driving past Ryube and through highways and some local villages, Espio was sound asleep next to Valdez as the sun finally shone through the car. He knew the fuchsia chameleon wasn't used to being up so early NOT doing something that wasn't training, so it was cute to see.

Even if he still hadn't read his book…

With time passing and more miles driven, the two had finally reached the border to Central Mobius. Valdez pulled up to the booth to the border as a voice spoke through a speakerphone.

"Identification?"

Valdez reached into his wallet and got his driver's license, showing it to the person working in the booth.

"And purposes of driving through the border?"

"I'm returning after a business trip from Northern Mobius, I have a family friend with me. His first day of university is today."

The attendee looked through the glass to see Espio asleep, and then back at Valdez.

"What… are you wearing?"

"Erm, it's complicated."

The attendee raised an eyebrow but opened up the gate to let them through. Valdez picked up his phone and unlocked it, seeing that it was now 6:46. There still was plenty of time to go before they would reach Mobius U, and it seemed they would get there almost at 8. Considering that he still had to introduce the school to the OTHER international students, that meant it was time to hurry…


SOME TIME LATER

…e…pi….

…Es…io…

Esp…o-kun…

"Espio-kun, wake up. We're here."

Espio opened his eyes and looked around, realizing that he was being shaken awake by Valdez. He saw that the car was parked in a place he wasn't familiar with. Immediately, he turned invisible in response.

"Espio, you're fine!" Valdez said.

"V-Valdez-san, where am I?!" Espio replied in a panic.

"We've arrived. This is just where I park. Now come on, we need to hurry up to the campus. I need to find the other international students, as I need to introduce you all to the campus. Come on."

Turning back to normal, Espio gathered his bag and tugged at the seat belt. He tried tugging as much as possible, but it wouldn't come out. He was so confused… why could he put it in, but not take it out?

Valdez, who had taken off his hakama and geta, revealing a polo shirt and jeans under his Northern Mobius attire, walked over to Espio and clicked the red button where his seatbelt was attached.

"Alright, let's go."

Espio held onto his bag and quickly grabbed his book from the floor, getting out of the car as Valdez took out his keys, locking the car with a strange device. The fuchsia chameleon quickly followed behind Valdez, who had a stack of papers and folders in his hand. Going down a flight of stone stairs, there were MANY more of these 'cars' parked everywhere, causing Espio to turn his head and look at all of them before they reached outside.

As he did, Espio noted that this area looked VERY similar to Ryube, but had no Japanese anywhere. Instead, it was all that 'English' he read in his book.

"It's just down the street, come on!" the blue chameleon said. With that instruction, Espio followed behind as they turned a corner.

And there it was, gated in a black fence with a VERY large courtyard with so many different things he'd never seen before, and a large and tall brick building in front of the two…

Espio looked at the sight in front of him as Valdez looked down at him and smiled.

"Espio-kun… Welcome… to Mobius University."


MEANWHILE…

A large green figure tapped his fingers on the side of his steering wheel, waiting for the light to turn green. He huffed as he checked the time on his car's clock.

"C'mon, I ain't gonna be late for this crap!" he complained. Just then, the light turned green, and the person slammed it on the gas. The engine of his car burst to life as he sighed in relief, raising up his sunglasses as he felt the wind blow in not just his face, but also against his shirt and chain. One hand on the wheel and the other resting on the side of his red convertible car, he grinned as he knew where he was headed.

Pulling into a parking garage, he quickly drove past and cut off someone who was about to pull out. Said person slammed on their horn and yelled out, "HEY! LEARN TO DRIVE, DICK!"

The sunglasses-wearing individual simply ignored the whiny person, giving him the finger as he quickly found a place to park. Turning off his car, the individual got out of his seat and looked at himself in the mirror, pulling down his sunglasses and winking.

"Lookatcha, Vector Crocodile… Never seen a man as handsome as me?" he said. Of course, not like anyone else could compete. After all, here he was: Vector the Crocodile, star quarterback of the Mobius University Badniks, returning sophomore, and big man on campus. What wasn't to love?

Spinning his keychain in his index finger as he walked over to the backseat of his car, Vector placed his keys in his pocket (not before locking it!) and grabbed two cardboard boxes; one for each hand. Walking out of the parking garage, he made his way down the street and turned the corner, finding his alma mater right in front of him.

"Gawsh, welcome back, Mobius U. Yer star quarterback is back!" Vector said, continuing to hold both boxes without a single sweat. After all, with all the training he had done over the summer with the team, it would frankly be pathetic if he lost his strength. He started to make his way towards the A building, walking along the stone path. He passed by freshmen looking at maps of the school, friends seeing each other after the summer, and as he passed by the Gerald Robotnik Memorial Fountain, he saw a blue chameleon with about twenty people around him, all of whom looked VERY different from most of the students who attended.

"…this right here is the campus grounds, and this fountain, known as the Gerald Robotnik Memorial Fountain, named after the grandfather of our current headmaster, is in the middle part of the campus grounds, just in case you get lost-" Vector overheard him say before walking away. He had seen people that looked similar to them last year, so perhaps they were exchange students?

Not like it mattered to him, because he hadn't had an exchange student in any of his classes. Vector continued to walk toward the building as he noticed a group of girls on the steps up to the A building. He recognized them as some of the girls on the cheerleading team, who waved in response.

"Hiiiiii, Vectorrrrr!~" they said in unison.

"Wassup, ladies?" the crocodile replied, clicking his tongue and winking. The girls giggled and pushed each other playfully in response. Vector knew how much a heartthrob not just he, but a VAST majority of the players on the team were for the cheerleaders. Not like he minded, at least, as long as SHE wasn't here again…

Finally making his way to the top of the steps, he passed by the open doors with a sign that said 'STUDENT SIGN UPS ß'. Here he was in the main lobby, the same marble stairs, same brass robot statue holding a spear and shield, and the many, MANY doors and people walking around which still hadn't since last year.

"Better get mahself signed in," Vector said. "I ain't even sure what room I got."

But his plans to sign in were thwarted when Vector saw members and friends from the football team. Most notably, Thrash the Tasmanian Devil; Wide Receiver, Rotor Walrus; Defensive Tackler, and Connery Horse; Running Back. But alongside them were two other people that were closer to Vector since their days in grade school; Knuckles Echidna; fullback offensive tackler, and Mighty Armadillo; who often hung out with Vector, Knuckles, and their friends on the football team, despite being on the school's wrestling team.

Connery, who had his back on the wall close by the entrance to the Medical Students' hall, turned to face the crocodile and smiled softly. "Ah, look who's come to join us," he said.

Everyone else turned around to see Vector walking up towards them. Knuckles and Mighty ran up to the crocodile.

"YOOOO, what's up, Vector?!" Knuckles said excitedly. He held out his fist for his usual fist bump, but had to make do with just tapping him on the hand due to the boxes he held.

"Still surprised yer on the team, Knuckles?" Vector teased. "I know how much of a blockhead yeh can be. Ya know coach doesn't like 'em!"

"Yeah, and that's exactly why I kept my grades high enough you dork!"

"Imagine it, us making fun of Knuckles so early in the morning," Mighty replied, laughing along with the others.

"You two at least have best friend privileges. What about you three, huh?!"

Rotor, Thrash, and Connery tried to look innocent while breaking all eye content with Knuckles.

"Speakin' of coach, yeh seen him all mornin'?" Vector asked.

"He was just by here about ten minutes ago. Looks like he'll be busy all day, what with setting up everything for our first practice, but also probably because it's required for all staff to be busy in SOME capacity," Rotor replied.

"Even if they're fakin' it. I saw that lady who works the front desk in the student services' building on a smoke break before 9 am. Guess she's gonna have a long day," Thrash replied.

"Poor children, not being able to learn how tuition works until the day they actually arrive. I almost pity them," Connery chuckled. "Well, almost."

"Speaking of signing in, shouldn't you get started with that, Vector?" Mighty asked.

"Aw, crap! I probably should. The lines are gonna be long as hell though," Vector replied.

"I wouldn't doubt it, but they have all the RAs from each hall, as well as some other staff working at the registration counter. All you really need is your name, student ID-" Rotor said in a tone more quiet than his teammates, before being interrupted by Vector.

"Rotz, uh… this ain't the first time I've done this."

"Aw, look at us," Thrash said. "We have a resident blockhead, and a resident nerd on our team. I think this year's season is looking to be the most diverse we've had."

"Oh, I'll tell you what's diverse. What your next nosebleed is gonna look like when I get to you, you ass!" Knuckles yelled, chasing after Thrash as he chuckled away.

"Well, I suppose one thing IS right. This year's season will certainly be… interesting," Connery said. "Anyway, I should probably go and find Monk and Rudy. I haven't seen them all day…"

"Aight man, see yeh… at lunch? Are they even doin' lunch today?" Vector asked.

"They are, it's just gonna be later today cause of all the sign ups," Rotor replied.

"That, or next practice in case ya don't wanna be seen around me!"

"Oh, don't worry, Vector. I have no reason to ignore you," the horse running back replied before walking off.

"Knuckles and I already got our room, we're rooming together too!" Mighty said. "Just get in line and hurry it up, I wanna see if we're close by."

"Yeah, remember how last year, we roomed in like West Hall and North Hall?" the crocodile asked.

"Oh, how I certainly don't miss having to take the stairs each time."

"Definitely. Anyway, gonna take mah leave now. See ya guys later!"

"See ya, Vector!" Rotor and Mighty called back as the crocodile turned around and made his way down the hall. Past the marble stairs, there was a sign that said, 'STUDENT REGISTRATION AHEAD'. With a line of people waiting for their turn to register, Vector got into the back of the line and waited with everyone else as the line inched closer and closer to the quarterback's turn.

Finally, after what felt like an hour of waiting, Vector was at the front of the line. The student volunteer, a small beetle with a shiny shell, smiled at Vector as she stood atop a stool.

"How are you, today, sir?" she said in a happy tone.

"Oh, uh… good," Vector replied.

"That's wonderful to hear. Well, there you go sir. Go talk with Sally, she's the chipmunk right there-"she pointed at the very tired looking chipmunk girl. "She's the only one with space open."

Vector nodded and began to walk towards her. Of course, not like he needed her help, as Sally had been his RA last year since he roomed at West Hall. Sure enough, he was expecting Sally to be in her constant catty mood, and when he did walk up to her, he was right.

"Well, look who's back," she said, trying her best to sound excited as Vector set down his boxes next to him. "I thought you would have dropped out but looks like you're serious about your career. Welcome back, star quarterback."

"Aye, drop the rude act, okay?" Vector said. "Surely ya already ain't done with life where yer depressed on the first day? Let it wait till like… Sunday, ya dig, Sally?"

"Oh, trust me Vector, once you get to be me, you realize there's nothing worth living for."

"I mean, it IS yer last year, no?"

"Yeah, and I'll be treating myself to a nice vacation once I'm done. In the meantime, I'm still here. Anyway, let's get all the technical bravado I'm supposed to get out of the way first. I need your name and student ID," Sally turned to face the laptop by her.

"Vector Crocodile, and mah ID is…" Vector scratched his chin. For Gaia's sake, he never COULD remember what his ID was, and always had to use his student's debit card to remember. Sure enough, this was another situation that called for that, so he pulled out his wallet, grabbed his student's debit card, and read off the number.

"001382"

Sally typed away on her laptop. "And is your phone number and email the same as it is here?" she proceeded to show him the screen.

"Yeah."

"Alright… just putting that in… now, we do have financial aid set up and we also do have a monthly payment plan too, that's good. I'm sure Whisper wouldn't like it if people bothered her all day… And we do also have a meal plan too, okay."

Sally reached under the table for a card, and using a scanner by her, scanned the card and handed it to Vector.

"There you are right here. Your meal plan card will work all school year and is renewable both on campus and online, so if you wanna blow it all away today, you can. Remember that if it gets lost or stolen, report it to us and we'll freeze your account before getting you a new one. And finally, your schedule…"

After some more typing on her laptop, a printer by Sally whirred to life and slowly printed out Vector's schedule. She handed it to him, the crocodile reading off the same classes he had seen on his schedule online.

"And there we go, we're signed in. As for the very last thing, your room number assigned to us is Room B-103. Look at that! Looks like I'm gonna be your RA again. Now, I'm sure you remember the rules, and I better hope you do. I'll be nice the first complaint, but if I get a complaint about you a SECOND time, I'll come by each day and send you each rule in large text. And trust me, don't THINK I won't do it."

Vector raised his hands up. "Why, treatin' me like a criminal when ya know I wouldn't do anythin' small. Ya know I'm a perfect angel!"

"Vector, I've been at this school long enough to know even perfect angels are mischievous eventually. Just… try to be on your best behavior, okay? Last year I dealt with far too many cocky freshman and seniors who think because they're new or because they were about to graduate meant that they could do whatever they wanted."

"I wasn't one of those, right?"

"For how rowdy your football buddies could get, I'm surprised you weren't. Anyway, get outta line. I gotta deal with another chump."

"Alright, see ya."

"Likewise."

Vector placed his meal card and class schedule in his pocket and grabbed the two boxes again, heading out of the line and up the marble stairs. Knowing that he had to go to West Hall, that meant going to the third floor and heading left. After passing by some normal students and just as he was about to reach the stairs to the third floor, he could see and hear someone struggling to get their luggage up.

"Come… on…! Come on!..."

The person was a short, portly brown tapir wearing glasses. He was trying his best to get his luggage up, but it seems that either his arms or legs gave out. He let go of the luggage and gasped as it fell down the stairs.

"Oh no!"

The luggage landed right in front of Vector. He looked down at it.

"Aye, kid! This yers?"

"D-Don't touch it!" the tapir replied in a nasally tone.

"I wasn't. Want some help though?"

Vector placed his boxes down on the floor and stacked them atop one another, then placed the tapir's luggage atop of the boxes. Carrying the three, the tapir could only watch in amazement as Vector made it up the steps with no issue.

"There ya go," Vector said, putting down the boxes and handing the tapir's luggage to him.

"O-Oh… th-thank you…" he said. "You're really strong…"

"Thanks. It's called workin' out and bein' on the school's football team. Say, what's yer name, kid? Ya def scream freshman to me."

"M-Mark… Mark Tapir… and yeah, it is my first day, and as usual, I'm forced to kinda figure everything out by myself."

"Hey, dun sweat it kid. College might seem hard at first, but once yer in the hang of it, ya got this!"

"…you think so?"

"Yeah. Now, go on to wherever ya need to go! Perhaps I'll see ya soon!"

Vector grabbed his boxes and left Mark behind, making his way west toward West Hall. After passing by the double doors and down the hall, Vector opened the door towards the skyway connecting A building to West Hall, and walked past some more students chatting away. Making his way inside the dorms at West Hall, Vector looked around for room B-103, and found that the first few numbers were at the very end of the hall. Opening the door to B-103, Vector placed down his boxes and grabbed the room key on the desk, glad that it was still here as sometimes, some of the more mischievous students would enter vacant dorms to steal the key and lock the owner of the dorm out.

"Well, guess I'm the first here before mah roomie. Time to get organizin'!" Vector said, pulling out his phone, setting up his music app, and pressing shuffle as loud music burst from the speakers. Vector got on with opening the first box, pulling out bundles of clothes, shoes, personal hygiene products, alongside his textbooks, backpack, and other supplies. Going over to the school's supplied drawer, Vector wrapped each bundle of clothing and threw them into the drawer without much care, hoping that his roommate wouldn't mind the mess. After finishing with the drawer, Vector crouched down to the school's supplied mini fridge and microwave, setting both of them up as they whirred to life.

After that, it was time to set up his desk as his phone switched to a heavy rocky song…


AND SOME TIME LATER…

In the middle of placing up photos from last year's season on the bulletin board, Vector's song was interrupted. The crocodile sucked his teeth.

"Man, seriously?! I love that song…" he bemoaned. He walked over to the desk and picked up his phone, the caller ID reading 'MA'.

"Oh snap! Forgot to call ma!"

He fumbled for the answer button, quickly placing his phone on speaker.

"Ma, you there?" Vector asked.

"Oh Vector, are you doing okay?" Vector's mother, Martha, asked.

"Yeah ma, I'm doin' fine."

"Oh thank goodness, I just hadn't heard from you in a bit and you DID say you'd call me by 10… it's 10:38 right now!"

"Sorry ma, just organizin' mah room."

"Oh, I should have figured! I'm sorry, honey."

"Nah nah, it's fine. I'm almost done anyway, but I shouldda called ya."

"Has your roommate arrived yet?"

"Yeh know ma, strangely, I dun seem to have one this year."

"You don't? Oh, my poor little Vector will be all alone…"

"Aw, don't say that…" Vector could feel his cheeks lighting up.

"You know you used to not like being alone. You always loved coming out with me and your dad."

"I did, I did. But hey, I'm a big croc now, no?"

"That you are. And tell me, do you already have everything?"

"Yeah, I went and signed in earlier."

"EVERYTHING? Your meal plan, schedule? And did your box fall apart?"

"Yeah, I got all of those. I won't starve and I won't look like a dunce tryin' to figure out what classes I got. And trust me, I made sure they were sturdy. I'm fine ma, really."

"Aw well you never know, honey. I'm just making sure my special boy is prepared for his first day of his new school year."

"Aw ma…"

"Well, I shouldn't be interrupting you while you're still cleaning the place."

"That all?

"That's all."

Vector nodded. "Aight ma, thanks fer checkin' up on me. Bye, I love ya."

"I love you too, son."

"Oh, and uh, say hi to dad fer me, okay!"

"No worries, I'll let your father know!"

Vector's mother hung up as the crocodile sighed, getting back to organizing the room.

"I wonder when mah first class is…"


MEANWHILE…

"…and right here," Valdez pointed to a building just across from the student services building. "…is the K building. This is the student center building, and this is where your meals will be had each day. They serve three meals a day, and alongside our lunch hall, we have a student store, in case you need to buy anything for your classes or something like that, and we even have an entertainment portion for your downtime."

The foreign exchange students looked at their maps, remembering where the location of the K building was. They had spent the last hour being toured around the campus by Valdez, explaining where each location was, how to get there, and what the place is like. All of them easily understood, all of them, sans Espio. He continued to look lost as he looked uncomfortable and lost among the sea of students from places like Mazuri and Knothole (amongst others). The map he had held in his hand would have been foreign to Espio, had it not been for Valdez coming up to Espio and writing down each location in Japanese for him on his map

And yet… even then, it still felt like it wasn't enough. So much about this place was just confusing him. Why was it that everyone BUT him could get it? He just wanted to look around, see what all these new objects are… He saw students carrying some kind of rectangular device in their hands, looking at it intensely even if it came at the expense of crashing into other people. He saw people of all shapes and sizes, wearing clothes he wasn't used to. Being so used living in Gojo, everyone dressed like him.

But when he was out here, the only one in hakama and haori… he felt uncomfortable… He felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb and judging by everyone looking at HIM and not the other foreign exchange students, it made him feel… insecure for the first time.

Neither his mother nor his senseis ever taught anything about insecurity, but only ever explained it as a weakness of cocky individuals. Is that what he was? Cocky? He never considered himself like that, but-

"Espio-kun, did you hear me? I said this is where the K building is, and where you'll be having your meals," Valdez explained in Japanese. "Here, lemme circle it for you."

Taking out a pen, Valdez circled the building and wrote "K building, eatery," next to it in Japanese. Handing the map back to Espio, Valdez clapped his hands.

"Alright, that's the main tour of the campus! Now, we'll get you all signed up in just a minute, but did any of you have questions?"

One student, a dragon from Chun-Nan, raised her hand.

"Ah, yes, Dulcy. What is it?" Valdez replied.

"How will… we know when our first class is?" she replied slowly, still sounding like she was learning English for the first time.

"Ah, well that's why after here, we were going to head on over to the A building to sign in. That'll give you your schedule, meal card, room number, and we'll also give you your school debit card. You'll need that to not only make purchases, but also it'll tell you your ID number, which you'll need. Do you all have your books?"

Everyone sans Espio nodded.

"Alright, good. Then let's head to A building and get you all signed in."

Valdez started to walk towards the building as Espio followed behind everyone else. He didn't know why, but even in an open field like the one they were in, Espio felt the walls around him close in.

He didn't understand this place. Where were they going? What were they going to do? And why would no one tell him what was going on?

The ninja sighed. It was a common feeling he felt all his life. No one wanted to interact with him as a person outside of the dojo, and when they did, it was treating him like a god for being the bride's son. Being at this school… it only further made Espio realize how lonely he was, how far away he was from Gojo.

Would he even survive a day here? Let alone a year?


With all but Espio signing in, the lines for student sign ups had shrunk since earlier that morning, and Valdez had made sure each student understood the sign in process and what each thing means. Finally, it was Espio's turn, and the chameleon walked up to the table.

"Name and student ID?" a lavender cat said, getting ready to type on her keyboard. Espio simply looked at her, confused at what she said. The cat continued to wait for an answer but got none.

"Erm… hello?"

Still, Espio couldn't understand her, and stayed quiet.

"Sir, you need to speak eventually-"

"Sorry about that, Blaze-" Valdez said. "This is the last student of mine."

Blaze blinked at Valdez. "And… why can't he speak?"

"Ermm… how can I put this… he only knows Japanese."

"ONLY knows Japanese? You mean he can't speak English… at all?"

"Not at all."

Blaze sighed. "Where do you get these people, Valdez… alright, what's his name and ID."

"Espio Chameleon, student ID should be 008420."

Blaze typed away on her keyboard. "Okay… so, his tuition… it seems its all paid for as a part of the Foreign Exchange Student Grant you set up, so that's good. Does he have a meal plan?"

"Not at all."

"Alright, lemme set one up with him. Then like… explain it to him since uh… looking at him, I don't think he's QUITE seen a meal card before."

With Blaze handing Valdez Espio's meal card, he handed it to the purple chameleon. "This card is how you're going to eat, Espio-kun. I already put money on there, so when it's time to eat, use this. Of course, you'll probably need me to explain it to you."

Espio still had a look of confusion on his face, but grabbed the card. He looked at it and turned it around. "Valdez-san…" he said. "How will this feed me? It's…" he flicked it with his finger. "…made of the same kind of material the Gossamer Clan uses."

"W-Well, don't worry about that for now. I'll tell you how it works later."

"If you're done with him, Mr. Valdez, there's two more things I should mention," Blaze said. "The first is his room and board. You still have yet to set up a room for him, and I'm afraid we don't have much space left."

"Do you have at least ONE open place? I'm sure he'd like to be left alone, but if he has to room with someone…"

"Well… looking at it here, there are fewer than five rooms with no one in them, but a few more with only one occupant. Here, how about we put him in Room B-103. That's in the West Hall, and…" Blaze squinted her eyes. "Huh, looks like he'll be rooming with the quarterback of the Mobius University Badniks."

"Who is that? Sorry, I don't follow the sports scene around here."

"Big green crocodile dude? Built like a statue of Erazor Djinn?"

"Can't say it rings a bell."

"Never mind. Regardless, I'm sure you'll meet him later. Besides, I think you might need to explain your little predicament to him. Finally, I have his class schedule here. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, he'll have Advanced English Literature, then Algebra 101, then Psychology I, and finally, Environmental Studies 102. And then Creative Drawing I, Biology 102, Social Science 101, all three of those being on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and each Thursday, he'll have a meeting with an ESOL instructor. What a schedule, goodness."

"It's likely not going to change much. He's in General Studies only for a year."

"For a year?"

"His mother's wishes."

"A momma's boy?"

"More like someone who almost killed me by suggesting I bring him here."

Blaze looked at Espio again. "…where did you say he's from again?"

"Northern Mobius. Specifically, a very hidden and cut off part of it that's centuries behind in technology and society. That's how they prefer it."

"…right… well, in the meantime, here's Mr. Espio's schedule. Since classes are going to be a bit later than normal, and shorter, I'd recommend you high tail it to… D-112, that's where the Advanced English Literature lecture hall is."

"Alright, thank you for you help, Ms. Blaze," Valdez turned to Espio. "Espio-kun, come on."

Espio looked at the cat RA briefly before following behind. Blaze simply stared at Espio, confused.

"Man, what a kid, no?" The North Hall RA said. "I could see the confusion just in his eyes."

"Still, no knowledge of English? I don't think he's gonna last."

"Really?"

"If it isn't the classes that get him, it'll probably be the students that will. We better pray to Gaia he'll learn how to use a computer or a phone by the end of his time here."


MEANWHILE

As the clock almost reached towards twelve, Vector got off his bed and grabbed his schedule. "Better start headin' off to the first class of the day!"

Grabbing his backpack by the floor with all the things he needed for today's classed, Vector walked past the multitude of people heading out of West Hall and to their respective classes. Vector checked his schedule and saw that he had Advanced English Literature with Professor Finitevus in room D-112. Not like he needed a map, as he had that same instructor last year for his basic English Literature class.

After heading out of the A building and to the back courtyard of the school, Vector walked past the B building, past the Technology Center, and past C building, and found D building in the most Northwestern part of the campus.

Entering inside, the lobby was filled with various students on their way to different classes in the multitude of lecture halls. Making his way to the right part of the building, Vector found room D-112 and headed inside, seeing various people already taking their seats. Vector even recognized a few people from last year, and one open seat was by a familiar bat.

"Hey there, Rouge," Vector said, taking his seat to his left of Rouge the Bat; one of the most popular women's volleyball players at Mobius U, or as he'd come to know her, 'Knuckles' simp magnet'.

"Ah, hello, Vector. It's been some time," she said. "Still set on that future Law degree?"

"It's gonna happen some day, I'll tell ya!" Vector took out his notebook and a pencil, wondering when class would start or where Professor Finitevus was.

"I thought you were content with your football scholarship."

"Oh, I am. Just a little back up mah law degree will be in case I turn out to be one of those washed out football players."

"Well, look at how responsible you are. I can't say that for most members of your team."

"Yeah, they're more busy chasin' girls than they are chasin' grades. Personally, I'm of the belief that yeh can do both!"

"Look at you, a smart thirst trap."

The crocodile grinned as he slouched in his chair, pulling out his phone and checking his social media while waiting for class to start.


AT THE SAME TIME...

"So don't feel like you have to stop for him," Valdez said to Professor Finitevus just outside the lecture hall. "I'll be there explaining everything to him."

"Of course, of course," the white echidna professor said. "Well, it's quite an honor to meet you, Mr. Espio. Last year in one of my classes, I had an exchange student from the Eastern Mobius city of Lost Hex, which is a bit surprising since you don't see Zeti too much around here in Central Mobius, but it was an honor to teach him. But you? I feel like this is an even greater opportunity."

Professor Finitevus held out his hand, but Espio didn't take it. He instead only looked at it.

"D-Does he greet?" the professor asked.

"Hand shaking isn't much of a thing in Gojo. Just bow and he'll understand."

Repeating what he said, Espio's expression noticeably changed as he bowed in return.

"I'm surprised he knew what I meant to describe while not understanding me."

"A bow is a very friendly gesture in the historic district. It's how people greet one another, say goodbye, other things. It's a universal sign there, so he knows you mean well. Alright, well, I shouldn't keep your class held up too much. Will you be okay introducing him? I don't mind doing it myself."

"Of course, of course. It's an honor to have him in my class after all. Espio, wait there and I'll let you know to come out so you can be introduced to your classmates, okay?"

With Valdez repeating what he said to Espio in Japanese, Professor Finitevus did his quills, rubbed his eyes, and took a deep breath before heading out of the hallway and into the lecture hall. Espio only stood by as Valdez walked off to the back of the hall, leaving him by himself.

With nothing left to do, he got on the ground and started his daily meditation, knowing that his mother probably was fuming that he didn't do his early morning ones…


END OF CHAPTER 1