Chapter 15: The new Beginning.
He adjusted the glasses on his head so that they were held tightly in case of action, but not so tight that they would be a nuisance in case his eyes needed protection. Looking at the dim reflection of the crystalline window, he noticed that from among his beautiful hair, a single strand stood out like a bad yarn in a garden. Moving his hands faster than the human eye, he took a comb from his pocket and forced that unruly hair to return to its brothers in the same position.
Now it was perfect. One last look at the beautiful image of his face confirmed that he was ready. His teeth shone with a fleeting flash characteristic of people as handsome as him. In a few moments he would step off the aircraft and begin his career as a Huntsmen.
He could already sense that it would be quite an adventure, not only were the girls on the ship very beautiful, but they also had the presence of the four-time undefeated champion of the Mistral Tournament, Pyrrha Nikos among them. He would be lying if he said that didn't influence his choice of academy even a little.
The beautiful red-haired warrior clad in bronze armor stood right in front of him, surrounded by a crowd of admirers. It was a shame, he would have liked to have a conversation with her, even if it was just to ask for an autograph and take a photo. But he did not let himself be discouraged, the year was just beginning and he would have many opportunities to talk to her.
He adjusted his gloves, closed his red coat, snapped his fingers, and watched as the hatches of the flying vehicle opened, revealing the sight of Beacon in all its glory. He was one of the first to leave the ship, and he allowed himself the luxury of staying there for a few moments to appreciate the beautiful view of the gardens, the architecture and geography of the place. How he wanted his brother to see this.
"Neptune this will be your year" And there was no better way to start than being crushed by an unknown weight that fell from above, hitting the ground face first and receiving a banana peel in the hair.
"I'm sorry!".
"Stop that monkey!" The Security lair shouted, As soon as that sentence ended and the blonde Faunus fled at full speed leaving the young would-be huntsmen processing what happened. But once Neptune saw the silhouette disappearing into the crowd of students, he jumped up and ran after him, all while still having the fruit peel in his hairstyle.
He pushed his future companions aside roughly in his eagerness to dispense justice to the one who had dared to defile his blue hair. But once the pack of hopefuls disbanded, it was revealed that the ruffian had escaped without a trace. For a brief moment Neptune thought he found him vomiting in a trash can, but in reality he was a different idiot, blonde, but different. He was about to return to the hunt when the sound of laughter and murmuring caught his attention. It was obvious that the event had been a fun show for the newcomers, and even one red-haired girl was struggling to breathe through laughter as she held on to her more stoic Not-boyfriend.
He took a deep breath, raised his hands to the height of his chest and exhaled the air from his lungs to calm himself, and in the process, he removed the banana from his head, it was not something attractive to ladies.
"Calm down Neptune, it's only the first day. When everyone sees you in action, they will forget what just happened." It was not too late to save his image, and he saw the perfect opportunity to do so in the form of two girls chatting animatedly in front, oblivious to the clowning act that had just happened. One of them was blonde, with the most beautiful hair Neptune had ever seen, curled with strands of fiery gold that reached below her back.
"Wow" that escaped his lips without intention. Maybe it would be better to start with something not so high level. He was a second away from turning around to look for other options when the girl extended her arm back without looking and grabbed his hip to drag him towards her in an almost crushing hug.
"Actually! I've already made friends and we're going to hang out! See you!". Everything happened so quickly that he didn't even have time to think about the fact that the girl had dragged him around like a rag doll without any problem. Just as the blonde stopped, the two of them were now a good distance away from the entrance, in the middle of the campus next to the water fountain.
"Thanks for that man!, and I'm sorry for dragging you down." Neptune, who swirled, turned and fixed his image as much as he could to finally adopt a pose more suitable for someone as cool as him.
"No problem, although I usually prefer to be the one to take a lady on a date." Such a choice of words amused the amethyst-eyed girl so much that she had to hold her knees to avoid collapsing from laughter.
"Not so fast! I was just trying to get away from my sister… that sounds really bad out loud."
"Yes, like a jerk." Neptune didn't want to sound so blunt but he just couldn't find the right words.
"I deserve it! But she really needs to socialize. Anyway, I'm Yang!" She extended a hand which he accepted in a friendly shake. She had a good grip, a very strong one at that.
"Neptune Vasilias! at your service!" Before she removed her hand, he leaned in and placed a short kiss on her knuckles.
"Be careful cowboy, that's a dangerous area." If her strong grip and the pronounced knuckles under her gloves were any indication, this girl was a Fighter.
"We are going to be Hunstmen! Danger will be the order of the day!" Winking at her, Yang could only sigh in amusement as she shook her head.
"Okay okay, enough games! Tell me Neptune; Do you know where the hell we are?" Looking around, she could only make out the trees and marble fountains but any possible route to the welcome room was unknown to her. Maybe she shouldn't have gone so far from where she had left her sister.
Neptune saw this as an opportunity to show his most cultured side. Before arriving in Vale, he had read all the magazines and articles related to the most iconic areas of the kingdom between the mountains. And the Emerald City was no exception, least of all Beacon Academy. Pretending to cough, he began to recite from memory.
"We are in the West Gardens of the campus, where our future classmates come to enjoy the fresh air and the view of the beautiful flora that decorates the academy!" With one arm behind his back, he took a few firm steps forward.
"These gardens are connected to the main hall through… That path!" It had taken him a moment to look for it, but the route to welcome was to his right. Yang swished, impressed, but only a little by his display of knowledge, and gave him a dramatic round of applause.
"Someone read the pamphlets! Are you sure you're not a teacher?" He had achieved it, if such a cool girl had such a high impression of him, conquering the rest of the Academy's public opinion would be a piece of cake. Neptune was tempted to raise his fist to the heavens in triumph when…
"Actually it is the left, that path leads to the dining room." A cold, tired and almost apathetic voice reached both of their ears from behind. Turning around, they were greeted by a silver flash of cold light like sword metal that briefly blinded them. They were like two fallen stars that descended into the world in the form of two beautiful eyes resting on a cracked marble statue with hair made of long copper chains tied in a simple bun.
That magnificent symmetrically molded monument was only desecrated in the form of irregular scars that did not do enough to mitigate the beauty of that face with reddish lips and pointed ears. Such a presence was almost overwhelming for both teenagers, but once the brightness dimmed, they were able to visualize in front of them someone only a couple of years older, ridiculously handsome, and dressed in a somewhat old-fashioned way.
"Come with me, it wouldn't be good for you to miss the Director's speech." Said that beautiful being that awakened new, strange and confusing emotions in Neptune. The blue-haired young man just looked at the blonde, finding the same perplexed expression on her.
"Is he real?" They didn't need telepathy to know what the other was thinking.
As the trio of Hunstmen candidates walked at a leisurely pace towards the auditorium, Neptune couldn't help but glance more askance at the mysterious redhead. Although that first impression would remain in his mind until his death, upon seeing him up close, he noticed some more mundane details about him.
He was tall, probably the tallest he had ever seen. His figure was hidden from the back by a deep red cape that wrapped around his neck and broad shoulders. However, he could still make out the black fabric beneath it, as well as the faint metallic glints of the chain mail under that dark leather, in addition to the obvious metallic prosthesis. He figured maybe that was his weapon.
Neptune was intimidated, he wasn't going to lie. A somewhat shameful part of him didn't want such a man to be on his team, but he shook his head and got rid of the thought.
"So... I'm Yang!, Yang Xiao Long!, and this shy boy here is Neptune." The blonde had wrapped her arm around him again, he would have to thank her later for breaking the ice of that conversation. The redhead didn't turn around, but from the subtle movement of his pointed ears, it was clear that he had heard them perfectly.
"I am Daegred Swinsere." That was a cool name, the blue-haired boy was beginning to doubt his own image. He had to figure that out before his self-esteem was ruined like a troll sailor.
"Now that we are at the presentation! Why don't we show off our weapons?" He was observant enough to realize that the bracelets on Yang's wrists weren't just accessories. He already had an idea what they were supposed to be, he just needed to confirm it. Of course, plans rarely go the way you want.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to leave the surprise for the initiation! "A girl should keep her secrets." To make her point clear, the Fighter raised her index finger over her mouth. Neptune was not going to complain about that, it was logical, besides, his plan was for them to start and he, being the last, will use the same argument as Yang.
"But what about you? I can't say exactly what your style is." Neptune debated whether he should do it or not, but seeing his new friend waiting impatiently and Daegred stopping to watch, it was impossible for him to refuse to show off. The assault rifle on his back was an engineering marvel, which he invested blood, sweat, tears and a lot of money to create. It was the greatest pride of his life in the form of a weapon, more valuable than any superficial attribute such as reputation or beauty. Something the other two seemed to recognize.
"I'm not a gun nut like my sister… but I know this is awesome."
"I know, I plan to name it once I pass the initiation, as you can see this has multiple functions, but I will save them for action." He took some exaggerated poses from video games and Atlas ads to show off. He always brought joy to his heart as people recognized the genius of his weapon.
"Maybe you can teach us a few things, Neptune, your weapon intrigues me." Damn, if they continued, he was going to turn red like his coat, but he accepted Daegred's compliment.
"And what about you?" Thank god he didn't take another step, a strong current of air hit him as the image of a metal spike rested inches from his face. The brilliance of that white sword was such that for a moment he thought it was made of solid light. Yang acknowledged that too with a long, exaggerated whistle.
"Now, that's a sword!".
Yang seemed like a lovely girl, a little sassy and mischievous like Amber, but there was definitely a lot more to her amethyst eyes than just beauty. In a way, her beautiful hair reminded him of his half-cousin Galadriel's. Golden, bright as the sun and long beyond practical, but her walk was not hindered in any way.
Neptune on the other hand seemed stiff, and if the fleeting glances he gave him were any indication, he was intimidated. That wasn't news to him, but if that alone was necessary to make him hesitate and turn around, then the boy had better turn around and go back to wherever his strange accent originated from.
Daegred sighed, perhaps he was being too hard on them too soon. They were just kids about to risk their lives, he wasn't much better. No, he was worse than everyone present. They arrived at the auditorium without many problems, although he was still curious about the blue-haired young man's weapon, he assumed that he would soon receive his answers, he could wait another day.
"The director will speak in a few minutes, we arrived quite early."
"Great! Because I have some questions!" That raised an eyebrow, but the elf let the blonde continue.
"Why would you put Foe Hammer on a sword?".
"I didn't do it, the sword earned its reputation by its merits."
"Is it a family heirloom?".
"You could say, it used to belong to my half cousin."
"How do you get your hair to look like that?" This time the fighter couldn't help but reach out to caress his copper-colored hair.
"Yes, I actually have the same question." And she was joined by the boy with the glasses. Now, that was a bizarre image, two children stroking the hair of a Prince of the Noldor. Daegred had to fight the urge to cut off those hands, it would be too bad to start the year by killing two potential students.
"YANG!" Before a tragedy could occur, the shrillest voice that his pointed elf ears picked up came to the rescue of those suicidal teenagers. He recognized that this tiny girl had good style, wearing black leather clothes and a bright red cape. However, she looked very young, at least a couple of years younger than the rest of the student candidates.
"Hi sis! Have you made friends?" Any possible anger in the hooded woman disappeared to be replaced with what sounded like shame and humiliation.
"It was horrible! That girl kept yelling at me, it made me feel very bad and then I exploded! and…". Perhaps she should breathe more when speaking, but from what Daegred understood, the young woman and another student had had an argument.
"She doesn't lie!" Out of nowhere, a blonde with a monkey's tail fell from the ceiling among everyone present. It was then that Neptune and another unknown voice rose in an accusatory tone although with different objectives.
"YOU!" Both the blue-haired man and the strangely white girl shouted.
"OH MY GOD!, SHE'S HERE! PROTECT ME YANG!" The tiny girl shouted as she jumped into Yang's arms. Such a movement caused her red hood to fall, revealing her dark red hair with black tints, but despite that unusual color, what caught the Prince's attention was not that, but the slightly pointed ears that rested on the sides of her pale head...
"Damn man, you have strong arms!" Any doubts had to wait, first he would get rid of the Monkey boy who rested in his arms like a princess.
Mae Govannen Eruhini~✨
Salutations!~✨
Well, you can guess where this is going. From now on many new things will come. I don't really plan on writing scenes that would happen the same as canon... unless it's absolutely necessary. By the way, do you think the names of the new chapters make sense to you?.
Any criticism or review is welcome.
Namárië!~✨