Exception
By: Aviantei
52. Their Battlefield
And now, a diversion going back a little bit earlier in the day:
"Alright, club. I'm sure I don't need to tell any of you that today is a very important day."
The words were delivered with such an air of seriousness that it was difficult to believe that one Lee Komui was the one to speak them. And yet, not a single one of the assembled Science Club members batted at an eye at the drastic change in behavior. Even Reever, who was often the very first to react to such things by bracing himself for whatever chaotic nonsense was to come or checking that Komui wasn't gravely ill (sometimes both in rapid and rotating succession), stood resolutely by Komui's side, his expression just as intense.
"The fact that we are at war with these Noah is nothing new. After all, we are but the next generation of warriors in this war we've inherited from those hallowed individuals who have attended our school before us. That Reever and I are still able to participate in these great battles is in of itself a tremendous privilege, and one will shall never abandon. We, with all the pride in our glorious Black Order High, always strive to be victorious, no matter what it takes."
All of the assembled Science Club members nodded. A few sent up murmurs of "Here, here" in support. Johnny, the kind soul that he was, was almost in tears, and Tapp offered him some tissues to dab his nose with.
"All that being said," Komui continued, beginning to pace back and forth before the crowd, "we may always be at war with the Noah, but this particular battlefield only emerges once a year. This—this is our place to fight, and we will not stop until we've taken every single one of those Noah('s robots) and crushed them into the ground!"
Cheers erupted from the Science Club, everyone worked up into a frenzy. But Komui wasn't done yet, instead punching his fist into the air, causing the club to mimic his actions. Even Reever followed along, caught up in the mysterious aura of school spirit that seemed to be electrifying the room.
"We can't back down! We can't surrender! We instead must triumph, no matter what it takes. We must go and take vengeance for the tragedy that was last year's destruction of Sir Komlin II as well as all of our other inventions. A moment of silence to remember the fallen."
Yes, Black Order High was ridiculous enough to make this sort of chaos an annual event. If ever asked, Hevlaska would say that it was best to concentrate all of Komui's disaster energy into one incident instead of several, which worked for the most part. However, the last year had ended in Black Order's High unfortunate defeat. Upon remembering such (robotic) carnage that had almost torn their club('s budget) apart, everyone fell into a somber mood, Johnny's tears finally flowing free as Tapp offered him a tissue, the two leaning on each other in emotional support.
"It was a hard loss," Reever said, stepping up to the plate. Sure, letting Komui blow off steam was one thing, but he wasn't about to sit aside while Komui did all the heavy morale lifting. "That said, we all know those damn Noah use a ton of dirty tricks. If they hadn't ambushed us, we never would've gone through that hell. After all, I know there's no better group out there capable of creating the best bots out there. So—are we gonna let those cheaters get away with it?!"
"No!"
"Are we gonna give up before we've even started?!"
"No!"
"Of course we're not! So I want you lot to get out there and kick some Noah ass—"
"Could y'all be any damn louder over there?!"
The interruption of their Very Hype Science Club Rally (not patent pending) would have been enough to throw a wrench in the vibe, but the sudden dropkick of their club advisor just added to the effect. One short but spunky pink-haired woman had arrived on the scene in dramatic fashion, and she still stood atop Reever upon completing her entrance. Yes, it was none other than the Black Order High School Eastern Branch Science Club field trip chaperone, Fo!
"Every year, it's the same mess over and over again!" Fo griped, giving Komui the side eye while she did so. "If you idiots didn't work yourselves up into such a tizzy, you'd have a much clearer head for the real fight. Why don't you ever get this?"
The real testament to the true chaos of the situation was that none of the Science Club members batted an eye at Reever going down for the count. It was pretty much a guarantee any time the two clubs collaborated. Half of them stuck around to watch the show, while the other half busied themselves with greeting their sister school's club members as they peeked their heads in the door and started to mingle.
"Come on, Fo," Reever groaned from the floor, trying to squirm his way around not having Fo's shoes grind into this spine (with minimal success), "Komui was the one making most of the racket; I just got caught up in the moment trying to motivate the kids."
"Bullshit! You're just as bad as he is; you're just better at hiding it. If you're getting worked up this early, it's gonna be a trash fire by the time the event is over, and then I'm gonna get bitched at for it. You need to get your head on straight, dammit!"
Because someone who has their head on straight just goes and drop kicks someone as a form as greeting, a couple of the Science Club members thought, Reever included. He didn't get the chance to drop his retort, though, seeing as he was once again interrupted, this time by a loud and dramatic gasp courtesy of one Komui.
"Reever!" he said, holding a hand to his chest. "I can't believe you've tried to throw me under the boss like this. What happened to being unified comrades in our battle against the Noah. Are you saying you'd let Fo kick me instead of you? I thought we were friends!"
"You try getting knocked over like this and see how you like it." It seemed that the power of friendship was fragile in the face of a short woman's boots digging into your guts. Fo had a disappointed frown on her ace as the main Black Order teachers continued to prove her point. "Oi, Bak, I can see you over there! Why don't ya lend a pal a hand?"
There was a heavy sigh from the doorway, where Bak Chang was standing in wait. While Fo had come along as a chaperone, she was actually in charge of PE and health at BOHS's eastern branch school, and Bak Chang was the Science Club Advisor. The two had known each other for far longer than they'd been coworkers—which was the exact reason why Bak Chang had been trying o stay the hell out of the ensuing argument. Fo was far more than a firecracker whenever she got worked up—she was a whole stash of ordinance, and all it would take was one spark to set the whole thing exploding. Her dropkicking Reever was a pretty tame form of greeting, all things considered. "Fo, please, we don't want to be late. If we're going to beat Millennium Private this year, isn't it best to show up as a united front?"
Fo also sighed, but at least she hopped off of Reever. His organs could survive to do their various organ tasks for another day. "Yeah, yeah, you have a point. Come on, Reever. If you're gonna let something like that get you down, the Noah are gonna eat your sorry ass alive."
Reever groaned, but he sat up soon enough, and at least Komui helped him up (better late than never). Damn did Reever need a smoke, but there wasn't any time for that. He'd have to save that for the intermission, assuming that they didn't destroy everything before then. "Alright, kids, let's get going! We gotta put on a good show and show those Noah what for."
"Right!"
And with their front at last unified, the combined forces of the Black Order High School Science Clubs marched towards their battlefield.
On the Millennium Private High School side of things, the atmosphere was a little bit more subdued.
That was not to say that the MPHS Science Club were not dedicated to winning the Robot Fight Club; they were from a school that prioritized performance and a public reputation for being the best. Each and every member had done their best with designing, programming, and building their bots for the day they would be victorious. It was just that Millennium Private tended to have a culture of individual merit rather than teamwork, so all of their Science Club members were occupied with their own projects. If there was any conversation between them, it was to ask for a rare type of tool the other may not have remembered to bring, but otherwise they were all performing their own final check-ups in solitude.
Lulu Bell did nothing to discourage this atmosphere, instead pacing about the room and calling out any errors she could notice with ruthless efficiency. In her opinion, there was no sense in coddling any of her students, as they all knew what was expected of them. If they still had errors at this stage, then there was every chance they weren't qualified to be a part of the club, and even their enrollment at MPHS would be questionable. So far, things seemed to be in working order, but there were still a few students who Lulu Bell would be conducting a very thorough review on once the day was over.
Such as this new recruit that the Chairman decided to pass onto me…
One Wiseley Kamelot, a fresh transfer in but a few months ago. That sort of thing wasn't unusual in any way—MPHS operated on favoritism, through and through. If you had the right combination of money and aptitude, then you would get into Millennium Private without much issue. Have the right connections—such as being the distant relative of a family who had attended the school for generations-and you'd be even more of a shoe in. Of course, Wiseley's test scores proved that he wasn't just a charity admission, but that didn't change the fact that his work ethic left some areas to be desired.
Example A: falling asleep right on his worktable a mere hour before the Robot Fight Club's first event was about to begin.
"Honestly," Lulu Bell huffed, her heels clicking across the floor in a distinct pattern that her Science Club's members all recognized as a pure danger signal. Pity be to the person who would end up being on the wrong side of their club advisor's wrath. "Noah or not, there are just some things I won't allow to pass without proper reprimand. Wiseley—"
"Auntie Lulu!" Any potential lecture was sidetracked in an instant as Road launched herself at Lulu Bell in a tackle hug. Lulu Bell, being the badass bitch that she was, caught Road with no troubles, not so much as tottering from the force of impact. One look was all it took for Road to assess her pseudo-aunt's mood, and she was delighted by the prospect. "Aw, did someone screw up again? Don't get too angry or you're gonna end up with early wrinkles."
Lulu Bell sighed, but she was more than used to Road's antics. While not related by blood, the Noah tended to know each other well since they were the Chairman's favorites, even when it came to current students interacting with alumni. Recognizing another girl boss upon sight, Road had gotten attached to Lulu Bell instantly upon meeting her, and further time in the classroom had solidified it. Not just because Lulu Bell was cool as hell, but also because she took very little shit, and it was a nice challenge to try and win such a stubborn person over. It had been a long journey filled with many woes, but the end result was undeniable:
Road had been victorious, and there was no way that Lulu Bell could emotionally recover from this.
Thus she didn't shrug Road off, though she did release a sigh. All the surrounding Science Club members were rather stunned by this development, but they knew better than to let it distract them from their final check-ins, so noses to the grindstone it was. "What are you doing here, Road?" Lulu didn't bother to ask how Road had managed to get into a place she technically shouldn't have been; that was just the expected norm for her.
"I came because Allen is here, duh!" It was nice to know that, if nothing else, Road was rather consistent in her motivations, even if she wasn't quite predictable. "But he's busy right now, so I didn't get a chance to say hi." The whole boundaries thing was new, but Road was willing to give it a shot if it meant Allen wouldn't hate her. Besides, Ari Bookman and Lee Lenalee were also present, and there was no point in starting an unnecessary fight—since that was against Allen's wishes, too. Man, the whole being a good person thing was exhausting. "Since I was around, though, I thought I'd come by and say hi to you, too, Auntie!"
Lulu Bell was just another prime example of someone who'd long learned to accept that Road was just like that, and thus she didn't bother to refute any of that. "Just try your best not to make a mess of anything. None of us are gonna cover for you if you can't even hide the body."
Road puffed up her cheeks in a pout. "Don't insult me," she said with about half the usual amount of venom she'd put into such a statement to someone else—say, Tyki for example. "I'm more than capable than hiding a body on my own. I'm not five years old anymore." Yes, Lulu Bell was more than aware of Road's skill. "Besides, today's supposed to be a fun day. Oh, but if you get fed up and need to hide a body, I can help if you're busy! So, so so—who's making my precious Auntie all angry? Do you want me to take care of them so you can take care of crushing those Black Order idiots?"
"Take a wild guess," Lulu Bell said in prime monotone, gesturing to one still sleeping Wisely. It took a moment for Road to process who the target of her aunt/teacher's ire was, but then she found her distant cousin was, in fact, who she was supposed to be looking at. "I'm not denying his skill—" after all, such a thing would be questioning the Chairman's judgement, and that wasn't her intention in the slightest "—but I think you're well aware of the way that I can't stand slackers. I don't intend to tolerate such behavior." And, as if to prove her point, Wiseley let out a quiet snore, rolling on the table to make his complete lack of consciousness all the more apparent.
"Oh, I get ya, I get ya. Still, I wouldn't worry all that much about him." Lulu raised a brow at her pseudo-niece, and Road tapped her (aesthetic and lacy as fuck) parasol over her shoulder. "Wiseley sleeps a lot, but that's just 'cause he complains about headaches if he's awake too much. I'm sure he's just recharging so he has enough juice to make it through today." Road beamed, which did very little to make Lulu Bell feel any better about the situation, mostly because such a smile tended to signal that disaster was more than imminent. "Here, lemme take care of it. Oi, Wiseley!"
The call of his name paired with a poke from the parasol, which soon escalated into a series of ever rougher jabs. Wiseley's metaphorical snot bubble popped, and he came to a bleary awareness. Even in his still half-asleep state, he recognized such an assault anywhere; after all, Road's preferred methods of stirring him awake hadn't changed in the slightest. "Five more minutes…"
"Fat chance. You've been dozing for—hm, Auntie Lulu, how long has he been out?"
"At least an hour and a half. Considering that we had to carry him in from the bus, I'm willing to bet it's been even longer."
"Right. You've been dozing for way too long is what. It's time to get to work." Though they weren't as forceful as before, Road continued to poke her parasol into Wiseley's shoulder until he exerted enough energy to squirm out of the way. "The Chairman wanted you here to win, you know. You can't do that if you're asleep."
"…Can too," Wiseley said with a surprising amount of petulance for still sounding like he was sleep talking, and Lulu was questioning her life decisions all over again. Maybe she'd have to ask the Chairman if she'd done something to upset him; getting strapped with some problematic brat seemed like a pretty reasonable punishment if that were the case. Road went to jab at him again, but he hopped his chair out of the way, a bleary frown on his features. "The Black Order kids aren't anything special, right? That's why we beat them last year."
"Even so," Lulu Bell said, her tone betraying none of the pure agitation that was starting to bubble up inside, "regardless of the opponent, we at Millennium Private High School always show our best. Slacking is not permitted, and even less if you've been chosen as a Noah. Surely even you understand that much, right?"
"'Course I do." The words carried a surprising amount of conviction, and, for the first time, Lulu saw something in Wiseley's expression that made her understand why the Chairman might've chosen him. The boy gave one last yawn, adjusting his turban as he declared:
"That's why I built something that can beat them all."
[Author's Notes]
Oh, hey, it's me doing whatever I want with the Noah, what else is new?
Can you believe September is almost over? Time feels so fake but we're just gonna keep going.
Next time: "53. Playing the Long Game." Please look forward to it!
-Avi
[09.23.2023]