A/N: Well, here we are. Now, time for responses.
drake202: Yeah, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last one.
GoldStar77: That it is, very screwed up. Greyworth will have her work cut out for her. Don't worry, Kamito is in a better place.
I hope all of you enjoy the chapter.
After signing my soul to the Witch that is Greyworth, my sneakers make no sound on the floor contrasting with my guide's hurried and loud clicks resounding in the hallway as her boots hit the marble tiling, pointing out certain things as I watch her ponytail sway with her movements.
"The instructors' building and the students' building are connected on the second floor's hallway." Ellis Fahrengart explains, guiding me through the area with the Toons following my every step, the visible ones anyway. "The cafeteria is located on the first floor."
Again, she glances back before returning to look forward, while I was signing things, Greyworth summoned her and assigned her to be my guide to this labyrinth. Something she didn't seem very happy about, but her serious personality didn't allow her to complain or abandon me midway.
Rolling my shoulders, my bag rustles as I frown. Some of the Toons seem more...visible for some reason, like they're in a forest or something and they suddenly gained the ability to light up. Not to mention the architecture itself…
It has no rhyme or rhythm, no symmetry, nothing, it spits on the face of what little I know about architecture for people. Yet, the Toons seem to be having a blast here as they play around on occasion.
Like it was meant for them and not for humans…
Well, the place is the Areisha Spirit Academy. There are Spirits here too, so maybe that's what the architecture's for.
Still…
Slowly, I look at my hand, the mark visible as I pour some of the energy I use for the Toons. It feels like something's stopping it, but I get vague feelings on occasion. In the end, it's better left for my own time lest I fuck up something and blow up.
Ellis stops suddenly as I nearly run into her, she whirls around, stern face set in a frown and a hand on her waist. "Are you listening or what?" She asked sternly, scowl in place before adding, "It's for your own sake that I'm explaining these things."
"Ah, sorry, just thinking of things, feel like I'm getting lost in my own head walking through this place." I note as she harrumphs.
"Of course, Spirits are a diverse and chaotic bunch," she explains, "the architecture for such Spirits and Elementalists reflects it, the anti-thesis of human architecture and nature. For those unused to such a thing it is a very unnerving thing to experience, but it is courtesy." She answers, looking around at the architecture, "Elementalists contract with Spirits, not the other way around. For bestowing us with the ability to use their powers, enduring a bit of discomfort for theirs is the least we could do."
"True." I concede, "Still, there's a lot to see…" I trail off, looking at the occasional trinket decorating the hall.
Meanwhile, Ellis mumbles in confusion, "A lot to see…"
Suddenly, her face begins to flush as she seems to come to a strange conclusion and I slowly step back, ensuring some distance between us as I reach for my pan.
"You!" She growls, unsheathing her sword and pointing at me, her face flush in anger and embarrassment as she stalks forward, "What exactly is there to see, huh?"
"Not enough for me to deal with this." I grumble as I grab my pan and brandish it, glaring at her as she doe the same, "And put that thing away! You'll hurt someone!"
Before I can say anything else, she moves and I do the same, evading the swing as I can't help but notice how conscious she is of me, it seems to be a common theme among the students here. Even the little firecracker seemed overtly shy.
Finally, she stops, huffing as she glares at me, still flustered, "Listen, don't misunderstand anything! I have not accepted you. I'm guiding you because I have no choice but to comply with the Headmistress' orders!" She elaborates as she sheathes her sword and I put away my pan.
"That's fine with me, but I am still a student here," I point out with exasperation, "I ain't asking you to roll out the red carpet, but gimme some credit! I ain't an enemy."
She continues to glare at me, "I'll never accept you." She starts, and seems like she wants to say more but I interrupt.
"I heard you the first time. If you've got a complaint bring it up with the Headmistress or whatever." I retort as I roll my eyes, this is getting really frustrating.
"Don't speak of the Headmistress in such a way."
"Oh, now you're just nitpicking Blueberry." I retort as the girl pauses for a second before a blush comes over her face as she glares at me.
"B-Blueberry!?" She asks and I lean forward.
"Yeah, it's fitting with your blue hair." I point out as she leans forward, the two of us glaring at each other.
"Ah, romance, how youthful?" Daffy asks as I whirl to him and he yelps.
"There is nothing youthful about this." I hiss as I turn around and look out the window, ignoring Ellis' glare softening before it returns, for some reason.
"It reminds me of a young couple." Granny says to my shock as she laughs.
Before I answer, I notice something, "Hey Blueberry-."
"It's Ellis!"
"As long as you refuse to accept my existence, you're stuck as Blueberry, Blueberry." I retort as I continue, "Anyway, where am I sleeping?" I ask, not really expecting much since I am the only male in an all-girls Academy.
"Well," she starts, puffing her chest out in pride, for some reason, "the Academy prepared a great lodge for you. A part of the endowment had been especially allocated for the construction cost."
I look around the grounds, searching for this lodge that is, most likely, not as advertised. Not like I'm not used to roughing it out in the forest if need be. Still, I don't think that's a very good idea, if the Spirits are anything like the Toons…
"Can I even see it from this window?" I mutter the question out loud as Ellis grunts.
"Of course. See?" She starts while pointing at a certain location. "At the corner of the plaza square."
Suddenly, lights and signs pop out, some of them saying 'Here!' or 'This one!' as they point to a building in particular with a large roof and its own bath.
"...I swear to God if you're pointing at the stables Blueberry, the name is sticking." I swear as she sputters.
"Are your eyes empty? Look closely." She suggests as I look at her in disbelief as I look again.
Wait, the signs are moving, dust is being kicked up as its slowly dragged to the side until its pointing…
"That one?" I ask, pointing to the rickety shack beside the stables as Ellis nods with pride. "Was it built in three days?"
"Don't underestimate my contracted Spirit." Ellis warns with pride clear in her voice. "It took three hours."
"…" There's a lot I want to say, mostly cursing and so much more. Slowly, I look at her and she looks at me, confused at my clear dissatisfaction.
"You seem dissatisfied."
"Do I at least have somewhere to go to the bathroom? Bathe?" She says before opening her mouth and I stop her, "You know what? I don't wanna hear it." I say, stepping back with my hands up. "Fuck this." I grumble under my breath. "At least it's a roof over my head." That thought nearly made my soul float from happiness, it's been a while since I've slept under a roof.
"Are you complaining?" She scowls at me and I have to stop myself from cussing her out. I just shut my mouth in hopes of letting my frustration roll over at this entire situation. She's a sheltered girl, she probably couldn't ask for help if she tried.
Okay, I'm getting way too heated about it.
Neither of us say much but her eyes continue landing on my frying pan, for some reason. "What's up?" I ask, surprising her. "You like to cook?"
She seems to relax a bit, unaware of my effort to stop from bursting out in laughter, "Yes, it's a hobby. Someday an ideal gentleman will take my hands for marriage, and to please him with my cooking, I'm usually training for it."
"Really? Huh." I mutter in interest, "Mind if I try a bite one day?"
"Yes." She starts proudly, "If there's a chance, I would like to demonstrate my proud cooking-What!?" She notices what she's saying and whirls around to me with a glare.
"What? Not like I'm looking for your hand in marriage." I answer as she pauses before glaring at me again.
"Are you saying I'm unfit for marriage?!"
"If the shoe fits!'' I retort before she can swing as she seems confused at the saying.
"...Pardon?"
"Whatever." I say with a shake of my head. "What about class. Where am I going?"
She harrumphs while sheathing her sword, "You were assigned the Raven Class. It's the class where the extraordinary problematic children gather, perfect for you." She says proudly as I can't help the feeling that's bubbling up at the description of 'problem children'.
"Extraordinary problem children?" I mutter out loud, "Seems to fit you perfectly." And someone else I know…
"As if!" She retorted and swung back only to hit nothing as I lagged back before speaking up. "The Fahrengart secret-."
"What class are you from then?" I ask as she shakes her head and glares at me.
"I am from the superior Weasel class!" She says proudly as I nod along, unsure as to the significance of the classes of why there's a floor in between each one. I asked this and she answered a very obvious answer in hindsight.
"All the students here are princesses from noble families." She elaborates, "Though this might seem a bit strange to you as a commoner, there are some who hold a grudge against each other. Though regulations forbid personal disputes are prohibited, incidents like dueling haven't stopped." She says, before adding, "We, the Sylphid Knights, will protect this peaceful Academy from the perpetrators."
It took a lot in me not to jump on that, especially since she was so genuine about it. Like she wasn't swinging that sword around a few seconds ago with reckless abandon but I took a moment to reflect.
My very existence causes problem, sure she wasn't very good about it but the fact that I'm here will inevitably cause problems and she is in charge of making sure it all goes well. Inwardly, I can't help but apologize for all the problems I will cause, whether on purpose or because of the Toons, but good luck to her.
Soon, we reach the room as I open it, spotting an empty room in an auditorium-like fashion. Seems like no one is here, strangely enough. "Well," I start, "we're here. I'll hear the rest from my classmates. Thanks for showing me around." I say as I lean on the wall beside the entrance.
She said something, but it'd shatter my previously newfound respect for her, so I ignore it and watch her go. Hopefully my classmates aren't like that, though its an inevitability at this point.
Opening the door, I was about to enter until something coiled around my neck, "Gah! Not ag-argh!"
I was pulled back, grunting as I landed on my back and hiss as I look up to see my captor. "E-Ethan!" She yells as I struggle, "Y-You-You-!"
"Came back for more?" I mutter out loud with a smug grin, "Didn't take you for the type-gah! Air! Air!"
Desperately, I tapped away at her whip as she tightens it around my neck, her face as read as a tomato, "Shut up you…!"
Closing my eyes, I manage to hack out, "Wh-Black. Black! Skirt!"
Claire seems confused for a second before releasing what I said, "Th-They're not black! I only wear it on occasion! It's whi-what am I saying!?" She yells out as she finally crumbles to her knees, tears edging her eyes as I can finally breathe normally once more. "I can't become a bride anymore~!"
Now I just feel like an asshole. Especially since Granny looked a few seconds from whooping my ass as all the others Toons gave me disapproving looks and I ignored them.
"Sorry, that was my bad." I say, trying to comfort the girl and also trying to remove the whip around my neck, "So don't cry...please?" Claire takes a second to wipe her tears with her uniform sleeve before glaring at me, hand back on her whip as I can't help but shake my head.
With a glare like that, makes you wonder why she needs fire magic.
"Ethan." She hisses out, her voice a facade of calm over the anger clearly bubbling up from within.
"Hm?" I hum as I tilt my head.
"I-I'm quite generous, so I'll give you a chance to explain." She says with a glare and a twitchy hand, "Earlier, why did you escape?"
"Felt like it." I answer honestly with a shrug. "Felt like it was insulting to be pulled around by a whip like some slave."
"O-Oh, is that so?" She starts, her bangs shadowing her eyes before they widen and a flame can be seen in her eyes, "Then there's only death for a fugitive slave Spirit!"
"In your dreams." I retort as she pulls on the whip and I cough again as she pulls me to eye-level, a displeased look on my face as I can see it reflected in her ruby eyes.
"By the way," she starts with narrowed eyes and a displeased look, "You were talking to the knight's group Ellis Fahrengart, you seem to be getting along well. What does that mean?" She says with a cold tone as I groan.
"If that's friendly to you, I don't want to know how enemies look like in your eyes." I mutter but it must not have been the right answer as she glares at me and tightens it as I raise my hand. "Right, she was a guide. I'm transferring here."
"Wha-," she starts, surprised, "How? You're a man!" She says as she looks at my uniformed figure as I cough out in an attempt to get some air back.
"Your guess is as good as mine, all of this Spirit nonsense is beyond me." I answer as I finally manage to remove the whip and rub my neck. "Still, you saw me contract that...sword thingie out there. So I'm technically a male elementalist, though no last name. Its why Greyworth brought me here."
I stand up as Claire holds a finger to her lips, muttering under her breath as I can't help but note how normal she looks when she isn't screaming up a mess. I was about to enter the class before she pipes up, "Um, because you are here, perhaps, you are also in the Raven class?"
I pause and release a long, suffering sigh that is unable to truly reveal the depth of my feelings as I ask, "So you're in the same class?" I ask as she seems cheerful despite the entire situation.
"Yeah. I'm also from the Raven class." She says happily, to my dismay, with a deceiving smile on her face that'd ensnare anyone who's unaware. "Say," she starts, "since it has turned out this way, I'll give you another chance, Ethan."
"Another chance for what?" I ask, already aware of where this is going.
"Contract." She summarizes easily, "Without a doubt, this time become my exclusive contracted spirit."
"Claire," I interject, placing a hand against my face, "the best bed I slept in the past week isn't even a bed." I remind her as she stiffens up. "I don't know the language needed," I remind her of my horrible pronunciation of the ritual, "and I don't even know the process. On the off chance that maybe, in some far off world I would have accepted, I don't even know how to do it."
She freezes in place, suddenly realizing how bad of an idea this is, "Oh…"
"Yeah, 'oh'." I retort as I enter the classroom and she follows. "But maybe you can show me how it's done, if only to know how it's done."
She perks up, "R-Right, for a high-level humanoid, you need-." She freezes suddenly, almost as if remembering something as her face goes red. "Y-You need…"
She stutters but I look at her at her sudden bout of shyness as I shake my head. This is going to be troublesome, isn't it?
Soon, Ethan is standing atop a platform, being watched by Claire, who was glaring at him, and all the other students who looked on in curiosity or anticipation at the only male Elementalist. Behind him, a woman in her mid-twenties looked at the young man in disinterest with a suit under a long white robe as she lets her students gossip.
Not like they got the chance to meet males of their age, especially considering his style and general attitude as they spoke.
"Is that a male elementalist?"
"He looks so vicious…"
Some of the rumors being spread were hurtful.
"Seems like he already raped Claire Rouge."
Others were downright unbelievable to Ethan and he had to stop himself from visibly reacting. He knows that these are sheltered princesses who didn't interact with the other gender a lot, but some of the rumors being thrown around were absurd.
Out of the fifteen students, he can occasionally see a flicker of fear in the girl's eyes, for some reason. Maybe he should ask Claire about it.
He glances at Claire and quickly asserts that's a bad idea. He left her to her delusions and couldn't get an answer beyond 'no' out of him so now she's angry at him.
He could hear her muttering curses at him.
"Stop chirping, be quiet!" Freya Grandol, the professor interjects as she slams the class list against the desk, "Do you bunch want to lose credit?"
There was no answer as she nods and turns to Ethan, "You, introduce yourself, quickly."
He swore he could see Freya's eyes glint under the light shining off her glasses as Ethan nods.
"So," he starts off, smiling as he scratches his cheek, the only one aware of Daffy and Bugs making signs as they help him though it, "my name is Ethan, I'm sixteen. I'm a male Elementalist and re-." he has to stop himself from reading 'single and ready to mingle' as he ignores the cue cards supplied to him by the two. Yosemite Sam has the good sense of using it as target practice with Elmer as they chase after the duck and rabbit. "Let's get along."
There was a beat of silence as Ethan waited for a reaction.
"That…"
"That was kinda ordinary. Not much of a demon king."
At those words, Ethan blinks as the Toons glance at her, that was a very worrying thing to say for someone who has no idea what's happening.
"However, seems like I've fallen for him~." One of the girls swooned, to Ethan's confusion as the others nod along in agreement with a slight blush on their faces. Still, it was a bit confusing to Ethan who was expecting more...negative reactions.
Freya notices his confusion and walks up behind him, "The princesses have a different type of common sense than the commoners. After all they're constantly handling the most puzzling neighbor to humans: Spirits. Well, rather than criticizing you as male elementalist, they are just curious in many ways about a young boy of the same age."
Well, that's a bit strange, but who is he to judge?
"U-Um," one of the girls starts while timidly raising a hand, "E-Ethan, you…"
"Yeah?" He asks as the girl manages to finish her sentence.
"Wh-What's your favorite food." She manages as Ethan gives her a confused look.
"Er, I guess…" He trails off as all the students lean forward in interest. "Fried fish with some spices."
"Ordinary!" One of the student yells out in shock as Ethan nearly leaps out of his skin. Similar words ringing out.
"I thought he'd like Nyoitaimori!" Ethan did not know what that was and he was fine with that.
Though soon, the questions that were initially innocent in nature became a bit more...strange as time went on.
"Where is your hometown?" One asks as another interrupts before Ethan can even remember what Greyworth said.
"What are your three sizes?" Another girl asks excitedly as some squeal at the question and Ethan's brow raises since he's not sure if 'large' was the answer she was looking for.
"Ooh! Ooh! Who's your favorite role model?" Buggs started, suddenly in front of him with a microphone to his face as the others joined in like paparazzi with cameras and everything as he tried to keep his face flat from showing any reaction from the Toons.
"Which color is your favorite bub?"
"A-a-at what t-t-time do you wake up in the m-m-m-morning?"
"Where do you wash first?" One of the students asked what was practically harassment as he ventured to ignore that question as the students continued to clamor.
Finally, someone asked the question that caused silence and peace to come for a singular moment, "Have you decided on your team yet?"
There was a second as the students tried to find who asked the question, but Ethan interrupted them, "I'm sorry, teams?" He asks, confused as he didn't know what she was talking about.
Thankfully, another student answered, "The team for the upcoming Blade Dance, obviously." She said as Ethan nodded along to this new information. Seems like he's going to need to try and make a team before the Blade Dance in two months. With his Toons, he's pretty adaptable but he has no idea what the sword does, and it's bothering him a bit, not to mention everything the Toons can do that he doesn't know.
Guess he's gonna have to start on that sooner rather than later, but for now, "Nah, nothing at the moment, guess I'll have to see how that goes." He says with a slight accent as he scratches at his cheek with a bit of worry.
Then, a girl asked, "Is it true that you tamed the sealed sword spirit that no one else has been able to contract?"
Suddenly, his eyes landed on the girl in confusion, because he was sure that the only ones in that clearing were him, his Toons, and Claire, but he never said anything, and his Toons...well...they wouldn't put his well-being at risk...actually, they would spill the moment anyone asked. And Claire…
He has a feeling that it'd be a different question if she spread it.
"Yeah!" She starts as Ethan can feel the realization hit him like a train as he glances to the side to see Buggs and Daffy downtrodden, a track at their feet but no train to hit him with as he inwardly smiles at that but quickly returns to Claire. "And I," she says, emphasizing the word and puffing out her nonexistent chest in pride, "am the one who tamed Ethan!"
"You must have slept in if you're confusing reality with dreams." He grumbles under his breath, Claire, possibly sensing that Ethan didn't say something good about her personality, glared at him as the other students clamored question after question on their relationship.
"Ethan, what's your relationship with Claire?"
"Master and her slave spirit."
"Unwitting fool and spoiled princess." He says, louder than he was supposed to as Claire glares at him and he narrows his eyes at her.
"What an insolent slave spirit." Claire notes as Ethan huffs under his breath.
"Why don't you come here and say that to my face? Want me to get a footstool for ya?" Ethan snapped back as the two glared at each other to the point that sparks were visible…
Sparks that were actually yellow yarn as Granny quickly knit a scarf while chuckling, "Oh, young love." She mutters under her breath so Ethan doesn't hear her.
It must have been a common thought because the other students squealed and cried out at their banter as control was being lost.
Until Freya snapped her clipboard against her desk, frustration clear on her face as her brow twitched, "Cut it out!" She snapped, her eyes quickly landing on Ethan's position to already see him moving as she nodded sternly.
He was heading to the back of the room, or top, good view and maybe there will be normal pe-.
His leg slips out from under him as he hears the sound of a leather whip. "Ha!" He cheered, hiding behind a desk as he peeked over to see a frustrated Claire glaring at him, "Only an idiot falls for the same tricks more than twi-." He couldn't finish as the whip got his leg and forced him out of his hiding spot. "What are you doing!?"
"Where are you going?" She asks sweetly, "Your seat is next to me." She states with intent and a willingness to argue. Sadly, Ethan has that exact same idea.
"In your dreams!" He retorts as he begins crawling his way. "Let go! You're gonna cut off circulation!"
"Trying to oppose me?" She harrumphs as she pulls the whip. "I'll show you who's the master!"
Moving his leg, he tries to unwind the whip but Claire is weirdly good with it as he stops every attempt as he's thinking of just tackling her.
Then, the sound of something cutting through air rang out beside him, hitting the whip as he nearly falls back as he gets back to his feet, sighing in relief as he looks at what helped him.
An arrow, not out of wood or steel, but out of ice if the way it reflected the ice was any evidence.
Finally, a voice rang out behind him, "A disgrace, Claire Rouge." It was aristocratic, prideful like Claire's but colder, in a way.
Looking behind him, a beautiful platinum blonde stood, bow in hand and green eyes glinting with amusement along with mischief with a charming smile all in one beautiful package. Before he could stop his eyes, they take note of her...existent chest in comparison to Claire.
"What do you want, Rinslet Laurenfrost?" Claire asked lowly, practically growling as the blonde brushed her hair back.
"Give up," she warns, a premonition crawling up his spine as she comes down, "because he has already said that he wants to sit next to me." She declares, hand over her chest and prideful smile.
"Please don't tell me…" Ethan mutters under his breath as he sighs for a long moment at the premonition continuing.
Before he could say anything, she was in front of him, her eyes scanning him before bending forward, her green eyes on him as he leaned back from the pretty girl, "Hmm," she hums, "your face isn't bad…" She notes as Ethan gulps and prays that it isn't what he thinks it is.
Finally, she leans back, satisfied, while nodding to herself, "You!" She says, pointing at Ethan, "Do you want to become my servant?"
He knew it. It was so obvious, that it was stupid to think otherwise.
Before he could answer, Claire runs up and grabs him by his arm, surprising him that he can feel something as he blushes slightly, "D-Don't lay you hands on him as you please!" Claire warns with a flushed face. "This guy is my slave spirit!"
"When did I agree to this?" He asks out loud as she glares at him.
"Be quiet." She orders and pulls him along, the elastic feeling on her chest causing his heart to quicken a bit.
Before Claire could pull him along, Rinslet catches him, his blush practically impossible to hide as a softer and sizable feeling courses through his elbow.
"Ah, he doesn't belong to you, does he?" Rinslet asks as she pulls him to his side as the Toons are already taking bets on this impromptu tug of war, unable to say much to suppress the embarrassment and the enjoyment he was getting out of it.
"Release him, you fool!" Claire growls.
"What did you say, flat chest?" Rinslet retorts as Ethan was still stuck in between them.
Before anything could be done, another voice rings out as Ethan turns to the person, "A-Awawawa, milady, don't bother the transfer student!" As Ethan looks to see who was saying that as his thoughts stopped for a second.
A maid, what a maid was doing here was...well, he was a male in an occupation that is supposedly female-only so seeing a female maid in a school of rich girls...That makes more sense than his existence here, admittedly.
Anyway, there was hope, maybe, just maybe, he can get out of this-.
"Kya!" She slipped going down the stairs as Ethan's hope sputtered.
"Carol!" Rinslet cried out in surprise as her face paled.
Meanwhile Foghorn burst out, "This ain't the time to be skittish boy, I know ya are, probably know that better than anyone, I do, but ya gotta be a man son." He says, rearing back a hand, or wing, and slapped his back, "Go be a man son! Help the poor lass, I say, oh yes I do."
Turning, he shrugs, "Good kid, but girls turn that boy yella, I swear."
Foghorn's hit moved him to action as he caught the maid and took the tumble down the stairs with a groan as he looks at the maid, "You oka-!"
He couldn't finish as two soft things rest on his chest, larger than Rinslet's and tears in her eyes as the maid apologized, "I-I'm sorry! I-." She tries to get up and slips, surprising Ethan as her chest lands on his face and as she continued to try, the more her chest was beginning to suffocate him as his hands tried to find some purchase.
A cry rings out in the classroom as cries of 'Pervert!', 'lewd beast', and 'reincarnated Demon King' ring out as Ethan tries desperately to get them to stop as his hand lands on what she thinks its her thigh. Though it was too supple to be a thigh and it caused her to moan as he squeezed her rear and forced her breasts further onto him.
"What do you take of this?" Buggs asks Daffy, the two in professional suits reminiscent of wrestling commentators.
"Good form." Daffy comments, "Sadistic too," he adds with his usual lisp, "give him time for air but not enough while suffocating him again, truly a master of the art."
"Doc's response could use some work." Buggs adds as Pepe was crying behind him, rain falling as he yells to the heavens.
"It should have been me! Not him!" He says as Ethan finally manages to shove Carol off of him with a blush and a wish to dig himself a hole.
Slowly, the earth trembled as he saw Claire wield a flaming whip and Rinslet's smile wasn't any brighter as she strum the string of her bow, their expressions promising nothing but pain as Ethan gulps.
"Um…" He starts, as he tries to look for a way out. "It wasn't my fault?"
Wrong answer.
He might not have been here for the first half of classes, but the second half is already looking to be a practice in futility. Claire was diligently taking notes as her hand was imprinted on his face and it ached while his Toons were asleep. Granny, Marvin, and Wil. E. were awake as they seemed to be doing their own things with Buggs asleep on an empty desk.
At this point, he didn't even try to make it look like he understood what was being taught. He had nothing to take notes on, nothing to take notes with, and an understanding that no matter how hard he tries, he'll never be able to understand what's being taught beyond the basics.
Sighing under his breath, he glances around, hoping to find something interesting, he spots Elmer in hunting clothes stalking Buggs as he looks around, his eyes locking with me a she shushes me and I lean forward, "Shhh. Be vewy, vewy, quiet. I'm hunting wabbits." He says before laughing cruelly as he spots his target, Buggs sleeping away on the table.
Slowly, the hunter stalks towards his target, a xylophone going off with each step as he holds his gun and looks around the desk for anything. Once he finds nothing, he laughs, hiding behind the desk as he holds a hand to his mouth to hide his amusement.
"Say your prayers." He says as he aims and then pulls the trigger.
Only for Buggs to plug both barrels with his fingers, the barrel extending before going back and firing into Elmer's face, causing Sam to sit up and begin shooting at the sky.
"Where is he!? Where's that varmint huh?!" Sam yells as Marvin turns and begins shooting at Sam, as Sam turns to him as he shoots back.
Elmer's face goes red in anger as Buggs opens an eye, "C'mon Doc, gotta try better than that."
Finally, Elmer had enough, bringing out an axe as he tries chopping Buggs but without avail as the swift rabbit makes an escape around the room and Elmer quick on his heels, the room descending into chaos and only Ethan could see it as he has to rest his head on the desk to hide his laughter, Claire giving him a worried look as similar shenanigans ensue during the class.
Laying on his bed roll set over a straw bed within the shack that's become his home, Ethan is in a far better mood than he was previously, Marvin the Martian walking around and inspecting the building. No Claire to bother him as Freya made her and Rinslet stay behind to be scolded for the trouble they caused. Admittedly, he would be eating out to celebrate, but…
"What was with those prices!?" He yells out loud as he sits up, his outrage clear in his voice, "I mean come on! It's a joke, has to be! Or else it's bullshit!"
He's now going hungry due to the prices for the lunches there. They're absurd! Completely absurd.
"Yeah Doc." Buggs agrees, inside hole in the earth with a carrot in hand, "I've seen some of those luxury places cost less than here."
"That's right, it's time to lead," Daffy said lowly before extending a fist up into the air, "a revolution!" The other Toons cheered and threw stuff around but none of it was real so he wouldn't be able to eat any of the foodstuff that was thrown around in outrage.
"Might have to ask Ellis for a tour of the town." Ethan mutters under his breath as he reaches up to the ceiling. "Should I go to the forest? Maybe try to hunt something?"
Slowly, something permeated the room, one by one, Marvin, Buggs, Daffy, Leghorn, Granny, Tweety, Pepe, and the rest of the Toons popped up like the ticks and tocks of a clock as they smelled the air before Ethan snapped up and his eyes landed on the door.
"Fish." He said as he smelled further, "Fried, not breaded." He said as drool began to accumulate in his mouth. "Is that...no. Bread."
Slowly, he swallowed his drool and stalked to the door and slowly opened it as he looked out suspiciously.
Fish.
Whole fish cooked in oil, just how he likes it, the skin was easy to remove from the bone and tasty too. A heavenly aura surrounded the fish and he swore he could have heard someone singing, Daffy and Buggs wearing robes with wings on the back and a rope around their waists. Immediately, the golden aura was gone as soon as they opened their mouths, sounding more like punishment rather than salvation.
Ignoring them, he reaches out for him and it moves, to his confusion as he realizes something.
The aura didn't come from the fish itself, but the platinum blonde behind her, amusement in her eyes along with interest, Carol behind Rinslet as Ethan's brow twitched. "What the hell is this?"
She released a breath of air, "You must be hungry, right? Ethan?"
"Very much so." Ethan answers with a nod and half-lidded eyes as he leans on the doorframe.
Puffing out her large chest, Rinslet continues, "Then bark, woof, and swear that you'll be my slave-."
Ethan closed the door on her before she could finish. "In your dreams." He says as he begins to head towards his bed before flinching as the sound of Rinslet kicking the door rings out, to his frustration.
"Hey, wait a second, you insolent man!" She yells all the while trying her best to rid Ethan's home of a door.
With how rickety his home is, she just might. So with a heavy sigh, he opens the door, "You gonna give me the food first?"
"Of course." She says with a bright, innocent smile, "As soon as you lick my foo-Why are you closing the door again!?" She asks as Ethan is in the process of closing the door.
Slamming the door close, her foot is caught in it as she yelps. "Ow! That hurts!"
"Are you alright, Milady?" Carol surges forward to help if need be, thankfully it wasn't as Ethan opened the door and looked at the two, Rinslet glaring at him with tears in her eyes.
"How can you be so insolent to someone trying to reach out their hand in kindness?" Rinslet whines as Ethan's brow twitches.
"How ca-." He stops himself and sighs in resignation, "Never mind." He says as he reaches up and places a hand to his head.
Meanwhile, Rinslet was looking into his shack as she asks, "Why are you living in the stables?"
"It ain't the stable." Ethan explains with a shrug, "It's the other building, this is my home." Which was true, and it's a very good home in his books, not many can reach the level this shack has reached in his time in this world.
Rinslet, meanwhile, gives him a pitying look that made Ethan feel a bit self-conscious, "What?"
"Rather than living in a condition like this," Rinslet began with a pondering tone until she snapped her fingers and perked up, "you should come to my house. I'll specially hire you as a servant."
Already, he wasn't liking this, it only got worse when Carol smiled kindly, "Ah, milady, I believe he will look great if we dress him as a maid."
He couldn't help but wonder why all these girls were so...troublesome.
Finally, Ethan sighs as he lets his hands rest to either side of him, "Your sympathy is appreciated, but I ain't going to throw away my pride."
Rinslet seemed displeased with her frown as she narrows her eyes at me, "So, you won't become my servant?"
"No. The thought is appreciated though." Ethan admits as Rinslet raises a brow, shifting her weight and crossing her arms.
"So full of yourself even if you wag your tail at Claire Rouge?" Se notes as Ethan turns to her incredulously.
"I'm sorry, when did that happen?" Ethan gapes at the blonde as he hopes he isn't caught in between anything strange between her and Claire. It'd only come to bite him later in the future.
Finally, she sighs before clearing her throat, "I got it." She says as Ethan perks up, "That's fine with me if that's how you want it." Finally, she places the fish on the ground as his eyes focus on it like a predator stalking his prey.
"Hmm?" He hums as while looking at the blonde, a new halo coming over her form from a mysterious source, AKA the Toons and flashlights.
"I'll leave the fish here. From the very beginning it was because Carol cooked too much of it and it will be a shame to waste the leftovers." She says with a blush as Buggs appeared and wiggled his brows as she adds, "You should be grateful for my benevolence."
Then, she turns gracefully and begins to make her exit, her hair following her as Ethan walks out and grabs the fish, staring at it as he grabs the fork and takes a bite. It's a bit cold, but it's really good.
Before she can leave completely, Ethan calls out, "Hey, Rinslet!"
Rinslet winced and turned around surprised, "W-What is that? Suddenly calling people by their first name-."
"Don't get it wrong, I ain't gonna be your servant." Ethan states firmly before adding with a shrug, "But 'friend' ain't off the table, if you're up for it."
Rinslet takes a moment to decipher his words as her green eyes widen and a blush blooms from her face, "Eh?"
"Thanks for the worry and for checking up on me. Very appreciated." He says as he takes a bite out of the bread that came with the fish. After swallowing, he adds, "You too Carol, this is delicious."
The maid smile lights up as Rinslet yells, "Wh-Wha-! You insolent-. O-Of course that's not true!" She says with a bright blush on her face and looking away from Ethan as he continued enjoying the fish.
Meanwhile, Carol covered her mouth and giggled, "Fufu~, milady is so…"
Before she could say anything else, a different voice rang out along with the sound of metallic cans hitting each other, "Rinslet Laurenfrost!"
Before a pile of canned food was the fiery redhead that was Claire Rouge as she steps forward and extends a finger in challenge, "Don't feed my contracted spirit without permission, you thieving dog!" She accuses while Ethan sits down, cross-legged and enjoying his fish.
"You-!" Rinslet starts, "Who are you calling a thieving dog!?"
"What's that? Isn't your family crest a dog?" Claire insults with superiority and Ethan ignores them in favor of playing a game of cards with the Toons while eating the fish.
It was good, meanwhile, the girl's insults went back and forth, even summoning their spirits as he moved back a bit to see the two fight and taking notes, glancing warily at the neighing horses as they kicked from the commotion.
The two brought out their Elmental Waffes and their Spirits, duking it out while Ethan sighs at the insults they were throwing at each other, "It's like they're two lovers fighting for a man.
"Quite true~." Carol says as Ethan turns to her with a raised brow.
"Sure you shouldn't stop them?" The area of thir fight is extending too close for his liking, especially to his house.
"It's fine. The two have a good relationship." Carol says with a smile and Ethan looks at the girls fight and insults as he wonders if relationships are just different here.
"So, have they've always been like this?"
"Yup." Carol confirms with a smile.
"Well, with friends like those who needs enemies." Ethan says, taking a bite out of the fish as the two Spirits, Claire's Hell Cat and Rinslet's Dire Wolf, Fenrir, clashed once more, the exhausted Scarlet jumping back and…
"Wait, that's my fucking house!" He yells as he places the unfinished plate aside and ran in, grabbing his rucksack, bed roll, and guitar case before running out to see the Toons scrambling in firefighter gear.
"Fire!" Daffy yelled as he splashed water onto the fire with a bucket. Suddenly, the sound of sirens roar as a fire truck, being driven by Granny, parks and then the hose points at Daffy and hoses him into the fire, the others filing out in firefighter gear and yelling 'fire!'.
"Wait, Rinslet, fire!" Claire says as she points behind her.
Rinslet harrumphs, holding her hands to her hips, "As if I'd fall for such a-Oh wait." She blinks as she turns to see Ethan standing in front of him burning home. "It really is burning."
The fire is spreading quick, about to burn down the stables but Ethan was just worried about the roof over his head as he saw the ashes rise up, "My home…" He whines under his breath, plate of fish still in hand as he takes another bite to comfort himself.
"Calm down." Rinslet started confidently, a bow of ice in her hand as the Spirit Fenrir disappeared. "A fire of this scale, I'll put it out in no time. Fenrir!"
An arrow of ice appeared in her hand as she nocked it and began to chant in the language of the Spirits, "Oh, freezing ice fang, pierce your target! Freezing Arrow!"
She pulled back the arrow on the bowstring and released it as Ethan stepped back, the arrow becoming mist before reforming into multiple shards as each one hit the burning rickety shack with he force of a bullet.
"Hmph." Rinslet harrumphs as she strokes her long blonde hair and puffed out her chest proudly.
Ethan stared in abject shock, fear, horror at the ashes of what was supposed to be his home, built with money given to him by the school as he can feel the number go down. The silence that followed couldn't even be counted as awkward, it was the silence that came with finding a corpse, and with how pale Ethan was, he might as well have been one.
The worst part, one of the shards hit the fish out of his hand and left it unfinished as his pride wrestled with his more primal voice to either eat it or leave it.
His knees hit the floor as the two supposed princess found it hard to look any longer at the form of the young man. Claire coughed dryly into her fist and Rinslet couldn't help but note, "...I might have gone a bit too far."
"'A bit'? Don't you have controls over your power!?" Claire started as Rinslet whirled around.
"You-! You burnt it down first!" Rinslet retorted as the two old friends fell into their usual banter and arguing while Ethan was a corpse, the Toons putting him on a steel table as his body floated in real life, to the Toons surprise, and they began the operation.
"We're losing him!" Tweety announces as she hits the heart rate monitor. "C'mon! Put it back to the normal numbahs!"
"C'mon, it's time to perform resuscitation!" Buggs announces as she grabs him by the cheeks and puckers his lips before placing them on Ethan's mouth, the blonde's eyes lighting up as he rolls out of the operating table and onto the floor, spitting as the others sigh in relief.
"Jesus Christ Buggs." He murmurs as he hears some more feet on the floor while wiping his lips with his sleeve.
"What are you doing!?" Elllis asks as she rushes towards their location with two more girls wearing the same thing she was with minor variations. "It is prohibited to duel for private matters in schoo-huh?" She stops what she was saying as she took the scene in.
Well, she took in the scene of Ethan's 'house' being nothing but ashes while he was on the floor, wearing his ruck sack. "This…" She trailed off in disbelief, her voice tinged with pain, "What is this?" The disbelief became anger and outrage as she charged at Ethan with a sword in hand. "You-."
"Me?" Ethan points at himself in disbelief, too slow to stop Ellis from pointing her sword against his throat.
"Do you hate the house I made that much? I this an act of protest?" She asked as Ethan raised both hands.
"Wait! Waitwaitwait! It wasn't me!" Ethan begs as he points to his side where the two 'princesses' stopped their arguing.
"It was this stupid dog who blew it to dust." Claire said while pointing at Rinslet as she turned to her, gasping and looking personally offended.
"Before this pitiful chest lit it on fire!" She countered while pointing at Claire as the two got back to glaring at each other.
There was a second as Ellis releases a heavy and long sigh, her eyes turning to Ethan with understanding, and a bit of pity, in them. "I understand." She says, stepping back and removing the point of her sword from Ethan's throat. Instead, she turned to Claire and Rinslet, "So that's how it was. It was your work, like always."
"Knight Commander," Rinslet noted, "your greeting is more enthusiastic than usual."
"It is the usual greeting isn't it?" Ellis snapped at her before adding, "Problematic students of the Raven Class."
Soon, the other two reached their location, a brown haired girl and a dark-haired tomboy. "Hell Cat Claire, Ice Wolf Rinslet."
"What did they do this time?" The other said, their faces scrunched up like they ate something sour. "These guys from the lowly Raven Class."
Even Ethan had to admit that the last bit irked him a bit, not enough to show it, but just a slight frustration at the way she referred to his Class.
"...What did you say?"
"What did you utter just now?"
Claire and Rinslet's anger was far more notable, their expressions darkening to the point that Claire's glare was heated enough to feel like it's freezing while Rinslet's was cold enough to cause burns.
Still, the other two Knights ignored the in favor of Ethan as they checked on his downed forms, "Are you that newly transferred male Elementalist?"
The dark-haired tomboy scrutinized Ethan, to his dismay, "Oh not bad, very handsome." She notes.
"Wait!" Claire said as she glared at the two, "This guy is the Slave Spirit that I caught!"
"I tamed Ethan!" Rinslet declared at the same time as Claire, "He is my servant!"
The brown-haired girl scoffed with disdain, brushing her braids tot he side, "Alas, because nobody wants to form a team with you, you use your sex appeal to seduce the transfer student. Such a fitting style for countryside nobles."
Rinslet's face was no longer frigid outrage or calm, it was just angry, "You dare call me a countryside noble!"
"Sure I did." The braided girl says while crossing her arms as Ethan internally pleads for Ellis to tighten the leash she has on her members lest it get to the point where things that shouldn't be said are said. "The Laurenfrost family only has a big name, they're only country bumpkins."
"You-You-!" Rinslet stutters in pure rage as Carol frets beside her.
"M-Milady, please calm down-!"
Chuckling darkly, Rinslet responds, "Carol, I am quite calm." She says with a bright smile that has more resemblance to a slasher's than a young lady's.
The dark-haired tomboy scoffs as she glances at Claire in derision, "As for Claire Rouge, although she is a noble, isn't she the sister of the traitor?" Ethan's eyes land on her, confused at what she's talking about, "Really, why did the Academy accept this person for admission-."
"Shut up. Or I'll turn you to cinders." She snarls quietly with anger clear in her red eyes.
The two girls snapped their mouth shut at the change of atmosphere as Ellis shook her head. "You went too far." She chided them before turning to Claire. "In short, I will report this instance to the knight headquarters. The charge will be using Spirits to start a small fire and causing property damage. We'll give you notice for the specifics of the punishment at a later time. Please refrain from doing such stupid things again. We are busy, you know?" She says, finishing before turning to the other two, "Let's go."
Ethan watched them go, and a part of him was hoping the two prideful princesses would let it go. Clearly, he wasn't hoping for much since he already knew what would happen.
"Hold on!" Claire declared, "Ellis Fahrengart, are you trying to run away?"
Ellis stops in her tracks and slowly turns around towards Claire. "What did you say just now?" She asks lowly while narrowing her eyes.
"Oh you heard it?" Claire said mockingly, "I didn't expect the Sylphid Knights to be cowards!" She added as Ethan felt something bubble up as he was about to stand up to try and stop them.
"Claire Rouge," Ellis starts while drawing her sword, "do you think I'll just let it go if someone insults the Sylphid Knights." The other two do the same as Claire glares at them.
"I'll return that line intact right back at you. You may insult me as you please, but I will not forgive anyone who insults my sister." She says, raising her whip up before striking at the floor with a loud crack.
"I request a duel, Ellis Fahrengart, with the other two as well." She adds as an afterthought.
"Let me join as well, Claire Rouge." Rinslet asks, staning beside Claire, "It is the Laurenfrost family's injunction to take revenge at those who dare smear the Laurenfrost family name." She says while ruffling her hair and an undaunted smile in face.
Ethan, on the other hand, was feeling very daunted. Incredibly so.
Finally, Ellis pointed the tip of her sword at the two, "Well, it will stain the name of the Sylphid Knights if we are accused of running away. I accept the request. I can't stand the mess of your Raven Class any longer."
"Wait," Ethan interjects, the attention on him once again, "isn't it prohibited to fight for private matters?"
"Within private grounds." Ellis corrects him, "I have no intention of doing it here."
"Well, where else can it be?" Ethan asks, confused but was summarily ignored.
"The time will be two AM tonight, in front of the Gate. I'll leave it to you to decide the format."
Claire is silent for a second before answering. "One-on-one is too much trouble. How about a three-man match."
"That will do." Ellis says as she and the other two sheathed their swords and left, leaving Claire to glare at their backs with vicious intent.
"Well, I will definitely make you regret it. Especially that short-haired girl. I'll definitely kick her ass." She grumbles.
"Such a good opportunity." Rinslet starts, "I have disliked the bunch from the Knights since long ago."
"Rinslet, try not to be a burden."
"Huh, who are you saying that to?"
Meanwhile, Ethan finishes setting up his bedroll on the floor as he rests on it, after all, none of this involves him, right?
"Slave Spirit/Servant!" Claire and Rinslet said at the same time as he flinched at their voices as he slowly looks to the two, their eyes on him with anticipation and expectation as Ethan sighs.
"Please...just let me sleep…" He whines under his breath despite the knowledge that it'll be for naught.