Unsurprisingly, his phone had barely rung once before he was connected to an operator. "We found a dead body," Masashi answered before he turned around as more people were drawn to the scene, probably by Asumi's shriek. "Uh... just down Jukishi Street," he continued talking even as he raised an eyebrow up at Chen's suggestion. "Sort of already on the phone with the cops here," he pointed out, a bit calmer now after being talked to by the operator on the other side. "Yeah, sorry, just more people showing up. Oh, yeah they just showed up. Alright."
There had been a patrol in the immediate area just like the operator said so, and with their arrival Masashi finally hung up his phone and tucked it back into his pocket. A somewhat incredulous look was aimed at Hoshiko as she went full motor mouth, before he stepped up to the officers and tried to get their attention. That was just a bit hard when Asumi had been thrown under the bus though. Nagi was going to be pissed when she found out about this. With a grunt, Masashi turned his attention back to Asumi instead and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Breathe Asumi. We're in this together," he tried to reassure his blubbering friend as he blocked the cops out from her view.
He kept a hand on Asumi's shoulder as they were shoved into the same cruiser and taken over to the station for questioning. Given her current state of mind, he took the initiative in letting the two missing know their study party had been shelved. "What? Just letting some friends know our plans have been cancelled. I didn't tell them anything else," Masashi fired back as the cop driving them narrowed her eyes at the use of his phone. He wasn't going to blab about the details of a crime like that, at least not when it wasn't in-person. It was a bit odd that his messages still hadn't been read by the time they got to the station though...It was really odd that they still hadn't seen the messages a good two hours later once their group were finally free to go from the station. Given the murder they had just stumbled across, Masashi couldn't help but feel at least a bit of concern. It was probably unrelated though, and given the general mood of the group? Voicing that concern seemed like a great way to set Asumi spinning off again, so he just bit his lip and kept quiet about it. Complaining about how Saitou hadn't seemed to like... any of them was pointless as well. That had probably been a bit of his own fault, but then again he didn't have much to say. He kept his answers to a bare minimum and didn't bother to hide his annoyance at being held up. They seriously needed to question each and every single one of them? Between Okamoto and now this? He was about done with the day and just wanted to head home and bash things with his stick for a bit to clear his head.
The prospect of a free home-cooked meal was pretty tempting though, and he wouldn't even have to suffer under Asumi's gruelling tutoring before it either! Silver linings he supposed. Even if he didn't chime in with Asumi's question, a rumble from his stomach voiced Masashi's agreement well enough. He shrugged off any looks that were sent his way. Given it was well past the time to start eating dinner, how was it his fault he was hungry?
Apparently not! It was looking like he would have the most stuff around once he picked them up from the inn, and it was a bit of an odd feeling. Then again most of his squad mates had homes in the country, so it wasn’t like they needed to bring their possessions with them to the Academy. A deep sigh escaped him as his thoughts wandered for a moment before he shook off the sprouting recollections of his past and focused on the present instead.
Liesse and Dot had squirreled themselves away in their room and the protection offered by the magic infused into the door. The specifics may have eluded him, but the arrays were common enough in Lanhelm to be familiar to him. The blend of an academy and production city meant that apprentices couldn’t just be allowed to wander freely as they pleased. While physical barriers and deterences were the main source of security for Valefor as a nation, the extra layers offered by magic were well worth the cost. Access passes allowed passage through some of them, while buildings like the female baths had simple yet stringent requirements. It was a bit odd that their room alone had the enchantment, but it wasn’t his business to dwell on. Seemed more like Rossweine’s to know what made two of his squad members special.
Speaking of their squad leader, Signar peered into the lavish and more spacious room that housed him and the third seat. Kaiser was… he supposed odd was the best word to describe the other boy and his mannerisms. Clearly he had energy to spare given how he had scampered around the entire shared space earlier, but now he was curled up atop his bed like it had become a makeshift fortress. If their eyes met, it was only for a moment as he finished his sweep of the room and turned his attention to the last room of the four.
The absolute glorious mess that couldn’t have been anything but intentional. Whatever the higher ups might have planned, just getting over it certainly didn’t seem to be in the books for their squad’s second seat. From what little interaction he had with Julian though, he figured the blonde would be just fine. As easy as it had been to rile him up with cheap jabs, the other trainee also had plenty of spunk to spare. Hopefully the two could figure something out before it escalated into something actually nasty. Be a terrible way to start off their time together.
“Anybody else wanna head to supper with Zen and I?” He extended another offer to the entire squad, and there was a bit of a pause before he added, “Well, once we figure out where it’s even served. Shouldn’t be too hard if we follow our noses.” with a shrug.
A brief look of confusion flitted across Masashi's expression, but after a blink he once more looked rather impassive about the whole situation. He had gotten her name right at the least. As for her question, he only considered it for a moment before he shrugged noncommittally. "Softball? Probably not. Haven't practised on anything that moves with an actual weapon yet." His lips might have curled upwards at the prospect, but it was hard to be sure.
Ramen was great as always at Obi's, even with the added distraction of a hungry crow begging for some scraps. He paid it little mind despite having minded for it before entering the store. As usual, he was pretty quiet throughout the meal and only really chimed up if the topic of video games came up. Apparently the game centre had gotten a pair of new machines last week, but he hadn't gotten the chance to test them out yet.
Despite Asumi's decision, Masashi still ended up sending her an e-transfer after the group had parted and gone their separate ways. The chime that followed shortly afterwards let him know she must have auto-deposits on, and he let the matter fall out of mind afterwards.
April 24th, 2025
It took quite a tremendous force of will not to react as the bitch didn't just leave them alone after dragging out that slog of an excuse for a class. It wouldn't have been bad if she was just boring, but something seemed to have jammed the stick even further up Okamoto's rear today. An extra dose of unpleasantness that even his earbuds couldn't fully drown out. His eyes closed, as if that would somehow make the drawing she was holding up disappear, but it was still there when he opened them. How the hell had Munehisa let that slip out of his possession?!
With the blonde looking for any sign to even pounce on, Masashi shook his head slightly to cover up the earbud he had in and slumped a bit into his seat as he waited for things to blow over. He kept up the bored expression and did his best not to acknowledge her presence as she stalked past his desk back to the front of the class.
"Hmph." Now that was a bit too much not to react to. Thankfully the bitch seemed to have her head so far up her ass to even notice the derisive reaction he had towards her grand proclamation. Yeah, she was going to get an entire class of students expelled over a single drawing. Unless the blonde had some serious dirt on the principal, he didn't see how she wasn't going to get laughed out of his office after making such a demand. To say nothing of the absolute hell that would get raised if such an absurdly disproportionate punishment was handed out.
Dismissing her threat as inconsequential as the rest of her rantings, Masashi did spare a glance over his shoulder once the bitch finally left them alone. Asumi was... spinning from what he could see. Nagi seemed like she was about to kill Munehisa. As for the guilty party in question? Well, he at least had the decency to look a bit sorry about the damn mess they were in now. His eyes narrowed a bit at the blonde as if to drive home that yes, this was his fault in some way, before he turned back to face the front. They'd have to figure this shit out after school.
Nagi seemed pretty quick in dragging Munehisa out of the classroom once school was over for the day. By the time he had packed his things up and looked back, the two were already nowhere to be seen. It wasn't like she was going to hold anything back on though, so it wasn't a big deal. Kendo club wasn't meeting up today though, so that left him with a few options to spend his afternoon. It had been almost two weeks since his last visit, so he could check out the game center. He noticed Asumi had struck up conversation with one of their other classmates, and her mood seemed to have done a smooth reversal, so nothing to worry about there.
He was pretty much ready to leave the school when a message in their group chat gave him pause. His name had been mentioned in specific and he grumbled a bit in annoyance. To be honest, he had pretty much all but forgotten about the test until he had just been reminded of it. Which was probably why Asumi felt the need to call him out specifically. It was a better use of time then what he had planned though, and he didn't doubt that the bitch would go out of her way to bully anyone who failed in her class. She seemed petty like that. While her opinion was ultimately irrelevant to him, her classes were already a chore to begin with and earning her attention would probably just compound it. "God damn it, why can't we just get plain old boring teachers instead," Masashi mumbled under his breath as he let Asumi know he was waiting by the entrance for them. "How are you going to study if you're spinning this much?" Masashi remarked with a sour pop in his mouth. He was following right behind Asumi as she was the only one who knew where they were going. "The bitch is just power tripping, and we'll figure something out once the other two show up." It was going to be hard to plan anything when they didn't know how Munehisa had even lost his damning drawing after all.
He was close enough that he probably could have made an attempt at catching Asumi as she stumbled. Her mood was sour enough without adding in a humiliating fall into garbage, but his hands were a bit full with the drinks they'd brought along as well. As such he only managed to start reaching out to help her up when he noticed it. Her fall must have shifted around some of the bags that had been covering up the body.
It wasn't Masashi's first time seeing a dead body, but he had certainly never been this close to one that had been killed. The grisly wound across his neck sure as hell didn't look like an accident. The fact that they had been dumped under garbage bags was even more damning. He was tunnel visioning hard on the body as he just stared, eyes wandering up and dow-
"Fuck!" Masashi threw a hand up and over his ear as Asumi's bloodcurdling scream finally snapped him out of it. The cloying scent hit his nose and he realized he had taken a few steps closer to the body instead of retreating like Asumi had. He had to pat his pocket a few times before he finally managed to pull his phone out, and even then he struggled with getting the pattern right. "What the shit is this," he muttered to himself as his eyes flicked towards the corpse again and he just hit the emergency dial button instead.
@Psyker Landshark@AmbraWell damn. He hardly blamed Munehisa for sharing an umbrella with Tanimoto. The first thing he had done before the group had stepped off into the rain was pop in one of his earbuds again and start one of the podcasts on his phone. Course this meant that when Asumi decided to rope in a soaked junior, it was on him to share the umbrella with her. Not the end of the world though, even if it meant getting a bit wet. @DJAtomika@Solace
"Ebina-san, right?" He greeted her with a slight nod before he extended the umbrella to include her in its cover. It had only been a quick glance, but he did recognize her as a member of the softball club. It had been one of his responsibilities to filter out the students that had already joined a club when the kendo club had gone recruiting. @Fabricant451 Stepping under the canopy in front of the store, Masashi closed his umbrella and shook some of the water from it before he used it to poke and prod at the pigeons. "Shoo, shoo." They weren't quite as fat as those in Tokyo, but they certainly already knew how to gather most of the scattered feed. Even with him bothering them, none of the fluffy birds bothered to fly away or throw up a real fuss as they just waddled out of the way with heads a-bobblin'. With pigeons a bit more scattered now, he glanced upwards at the crow before he stepped into the restaurant after the others.
Taking off his blazer, he brushed down his shirt a few times before he slipped past Nagi and the two extended family members. At the table he ended up taking the further seat on Asumi's side while the one directly in the middle was left empty for Nagi to take. He was busy rolling his sleeves up a bit before Asumi's despair earned a snort out of him. With Yuri approaching their table for an order and Nagi slotting herself between them though, his amusement at her misfortune would hopefully be water under the bridge and all but forgotten.
"Extra spicy miso please," Masashi added onto the order before he peeked around Yuri at the fridge by the entrance. "Ginger ale too," he added on after a moment of deliberation before he scooted his seat backwards. Might as well wait and see if anyone else was going to get a drink as well and grab it in one go.
Unfortunately for Ryuuko, it seemed like the interruptions weren't quite finished for her yet. Turning the corner after she left Bunga to her own devices brought her almost face to face with another pair of students. "Hey, Ryuuko. Just who I was looking for." For someone with enough bandages that he wouldn't have looked out of place next to Nazca, it sure didn't seem to affect his mood. "Just hoping you could shed some light on what happened last night with Miss Whitehall," he explained as he cut straight to the point instead of dancing around it. "I think that's what Miss Zhukova is interested in too, although she's also looking for Miss Bordeaux."
"Indeed. Miss Higashiakemi, was it? I believe we met in the sushi restaurant yesterday." Valeriya nodded politely to Ryuuko. "To make a long story short..." She lowered her voice, making sure they weren't overheard by anyone passing through the hospital hallway. "We've had yet more midnight encounters on campus grounds past curfew. Similar to the Frenchwoman, and by the looks of it, Nazca as well. We'll explain more soon, once we can inform her as well. I don't particularly care to tell the same story twice."
Whoa, what? She was walking rather fast, as it was starting to dawn on her that a missing Jeanne can be a very serious trouble if the French women ended up getting herself into trouble again, and thus was not expecting another interruption. Still, she did stop and raised an eyebrow up upon seeing the bandaged Shou along with Valeriya. "Good day Shou, Miss Zhukova. Huh, what happened to you, Shou? Anyways..." She crossed her arms under her chest. "This is very sudden and I'm honestly in a hurry. Now, yes, if you want to know what happened to Nazca then I'm the best source there is considering I was there with her last night and she herself, believe me, is not in the mood right now to receive yet more visitors asking things and disturbing her already painful predicament further. So if you're offering an exchange of information..." She paused briefly. "I know you said you don't want to tell the story twice... Still, I'd appreciate it if you can tell me first about the midnight encounters you said that you guys had."
"Well she already told me, and I don't mind," Shou answered with a shrug even as the motion caused him to scratch at his wrappings. "In short, Miss Konigsmahne had an encounter with a Bat-inspired Egoist. I either caught the attention of a Polymath that can manipulate the mist, or it's alive in a sense and sought to suffocate me." His voice was similarly quiet to prevent anyone from overhearing or eavesdropping. Even Valeriya probably would have been hard pressed to catch his soft whispers, but a fellow Egoists should have at least some boons in that area even as a side-effect.
"We can go into more details if you'd like, but you have something urgent to attend to?"
...A Bat-inspired Egoist? Hearing that, Ryuuko can't help be intrigued. She leaned in closer, also lowering her voice to match Shou's. "No, never mind the urgent thing. I'm interested in this... Let's talk more then." She then walked to a nearby chair placed by a wall and sit there. Beckoning for the two to also sit down. Regardless of whether or not they took a seat, she then speak up in a low voice again once they're closer. "I am also looking for a Bat-inspired Egoist that lurked the mist during the night, and I am pretty positive the one Miss Konigsmahne encountered must be the same one... Additionally, I also have experience of being attacked by mysterious things within the mist. Do tell me more of your encounter, Shou."
"About the bat," Valeriya interjected, folding her arms as she also spoke quietly. "Lucretia's meeting with the bat-man was...odd. He was drinking, for one. And seemed to have been stalking her until he realized who she was, at which point he engaged her in conversation and backed off." She tapped her chin with a finger in thought.
"He even brought her back to the dorm."
"Bit of a shame that. A second trial for the second day would have been a riot," Shou mused unhelpfully as he took a seat opposite of Ryuuko. "As for my own encounter, it happened down by the beaches. Two hours or so before the end of curfew. After exiting the waters, something followed me up onto the sand. I hoped that a sunrod might give enough light to reveal it, but whatever it was snuffed the glow out almost immediately. In the end, I just managed to leap off the sand and away from it before I was engulfed."
"Huh. That sounded way more cordial than..." Ryuuko paused, thinking. Could it be a different Manbat?... Naaah, what are the odds of two different Manbats prowling the night? Must be the same one. She continued speaking after. "Sounded way more cordial than when he attacked and knocked Jeanne out. Weird." She then turned to look at Shou. "So you didn't actually saw what attacked you then. Pity, I wanted to cross check it... See, last night around midnight, I was attacked by creatures. Unnatural creatures that seemed like they were made by some crazy polymaths or some such. One looked like... A pitch-black living and flying seaweed. Another engulfed people in equally pitch-black spider silk-like cocoon. Whatever they were, they attacked me and Nazca. I came out fine. Nazca, not so much."
"I imagine it's a lot easier to be polite when a building isn't being set on fire." Considering the damage that led up to the burnt library and how Jeanne's opponent could simply fly around the obstacles, it did seem like the Frenchwoman had given pursuit rather than the other way around. That probably wasn't an angle she wanted to hear as part of the JSDF though. A slight chuckle escaped Shou as he considered how quickly titles had been thrown around for the ragtag group that rose up against Robespierre.
"Not clearly, but it wasn't pitch black," Shou replied as he hummed in thought. "It definitely didn't resemble silk or cloth either. More a slime or gel, and it was rather slow. I imagine your flames would have little trouble burning it away."
Valeriya barely managed to suppress a scoff at the thought of the Manbat being more polite to a dimunitive German girl than a French psychopath. Just because it was more than likely that Jeanne was innocent of this crime didn't mean she was going to suddenly have the French bitch's back.
"What did happen to Nazca, anyway?" She raised an eyebrow at Ryuuko. "The receptionist wasn't quite so forthcoming about what she was in here for, only that she'd been in intensive care."
"Heh. I suppose so..." Of course, Ryuuko didn't actually agree. Not fully anyway. The cover story was that the Manbat provoked Jeanne after all, regardless of whether that was true or not. "Anyways. I see... Slime or gel huh... Different from what I encountered, but yes. The seaweed thing and the cocoon both were quite easily dispatched with my flames. Still... Gosh, what the heck are they hiding with this island and why? Tsk, I don't like this one bit."
"As for what happened to Nazca, Ms. Zhukova... As I said, we were attacked by the strange creatures. Nazca couldn't manage to protect herself as I did myself, and she ended up being captured by the cocoon I previously mentioned. I freed her out of it, but she was severely wounded regardless. The time after curfew on this island is dangerous even for Egoists like me and Shou... It ended up being too much to handle for someone like Nazca."
"...Wait." Valeriya raised an eyebrow, immediately noticing the discrepancy in Ryuuko's words. "You say that the cocoon was dealt with by your flames, but that Nazca was wounded while you were freeing her." She resisted the urge to groan. Friendly, literal, fire? By God. Even the people around Jeanne were arsonists.
"Miss Higashiakemi, please tell me that we're not here because of you." Valeriya sighed, raising a hand to pinch her temple in a futile attempt to stave off her oncoming headache. "How bad are Nazca's burns?"
Valeriya might have had the composure or courtesy, but Shou couldn't help but laugh aloud. His night had been a bit strange, but it hardly seemed to measure up to the outright disaster he was learning about. "Ah well, I imagine they might contact Hana or another pharmaceutical focused Polymath if it's bad enough. It'll be another favor in her book if she learns about it first though," Shou mused as he raised an eyebrow at Ryuuko.
Ryuuko raised an eyebrow up in turn. She might have indeed mentioned to Nazca that burning the cocoon was never a good idea; just the best of the worst, but it was annoying that people keep bringing it up. They didn't even know the circumstances yet they so easily judge. This is getting irritating... She raised her right hand, index finger pointed at Valeriya. "Uhh, no. You're not here because of me. What are you talking about?"
Was there even a need to explain it again? Would they even believe her? "She's alive and is able to move and speak. Of course, she's also in considerable pain, burnt all over her body and singed hair throughout. But yes. She's alive." She emphasized the last word of her sentence, sounding clearly annoyed. She sighed after that, taking a few seconds to think. "Anyways. Unless there's anything else you can tell me about last night's occurrences..."
"We were originally looking for Jeanne. Evidently, she was supposed to be here today." Valeriya shrugged, not seeming too bothered by the finger in her face. "Don't worry yourself too much over it. Trading notes with you is honestly preferable to dealing with her. In any case, we should be thanking you. More information about this Manbat is all I wanted in the first place." She paused, checking her timepiece.
"Have you eaten yet? It's about lunch time."
"Nothing more from me. If you're going to continue with your night time investigations though, I was hoping we could cooperate on that matter," Shou offered as he cleared his throat and started to speak at a more reasonable level again.
"We can figure that out later if you still have that urgent business to attend to?"
"Well. Glad to be of assistance then." Ryuuko said to Valeriya, silently glad the Russian didn't continue bothering her with minor details. "As for the matter of lunch... I will have to do so at a later time." Then she turned to look at Shou. "Cooperation hmm? I'd be interested in that. In fact, I was already planning for such an occasion with the help of another Egoist. Still, having someone as capable as you around would be a boon, Shou. But yes... Let's figure this out later. For now, I need to go."
If there was one part of Julian that wasn’t small, it must have been the pair of lungs he possessed. Even Signar, whose hearing must have been somewhat damaged by the years of roaring forges and ringing hammers, could still hear the lingering echoes of the blonde’s furious protests. He rubbed his ear as he stood and waited with the rest of his squad to receive the keys for their new accommodations. They were quite nice compared to what he was used to growing up, but it would have been quite difficult to beat the spartan buildings and furnishings back at Lanhelm.
As the minutes started to pass by without any sign of their squad being called up, Signar moved to one of the windows and opened it to let the gentle breeze in. He certainly couldn’t tell if the air was any fresher outside, but the sun’s warmth was welcomed now that the curtains had been brushed aside. With his slightly more comfortable position now, Signar took a deep breath and settled in for a slightly productive way to pass the time.
He drew the steel rod that hung from his belt and muttered a few words under his breath as he ran his other hand over its length. With a slight shimmer, the metal seemed to melt away and lose cohesion as it fell downwards. It stopped after just a few centimeters as Signar’s expression furrowed in concentration, and from there he began to manipulate the liquified steel. It slowly trailed after the path he drew in the air with his finger before he started to mold it into a variety of shapes.
He was almost too focused to miss when his name was finally called out. The lapse in attention caused his current model to fall apart and nearly splatter against the floor, and he had to bite back a curse that was instead muttered under his breath. With another quick few words though, Signar returned the steel rod to its original shape and brushed a few strands of hair aside. The practice tool was tucked away onto his belt again and he quickly approached the gruff knight in charge. Apparently even the slightest of delays warranted an extra pointed glare from the man, but Signar didn’t flinch as he accepted the key before he made his way up the stairs to check out his new living quarters. Well the furnishings might have been nicer, but the room was smaller than he had expected. The addition of a bed that was meant to accommodate him meant there was barely any room for Signar and his roommate to move around at the same time! Not to mention how he had to duck a bit to avoid cracking his forehead against the doorframe. He could already tell it was going to get old rather quickly in the mornings, and he cut loose a heavy sigh as he rubbed his forehead.
First impressions revealed that the uniform seemed to be a proper fit as well. He had no idea if they’d stand up during the rigorous training he had heard about, but a quick test fit had seemed in order given how much larger he was than the usual candidate. Without any complaints after a little twisting and stretching about, Signar quickly changed back out of the uniform. The fabric had been quite nice and the tailoring solid, but he was going to be in those clothes often enough in the coming days.
@pkken Smoothing out his clothes once he was fully dressed again, Signar finally directed his attention to his roommate. “Signar Wayland. You can call me Sig if you want,” he introduced himself with a grin as he clapped his fellow countryman on the shoulder. “There’s probably a bunch we could talk about, but frankly this cramped room is already getting to me,” he admitted with a shrug before he stepped past Zenshin and opened the door to let some fresh air rush in. “So why not over supper, eh?”
He paused long enough for his roommate to give a response before Signar turned his attention to the rest of his squad mates. “Anyone need a hand with their things?” It didn’t seem like there was much room for personal belongings, but maybe the nobles had gotten cushier accommodations? He also didn’t know what they would have even brought with them to warrant an extra set of hands in carrying, but… nobles. Speaking of personal belongings, he’d need to find some time to head back into town to pick up his personal belongings from the inn he had been staying at. A matter to tend to after supper though.
@DJAtomika@Psyker Landshark@Solace@AmbraSeeing as Nagi had already raked Munehisa over the coals, Masashi just settled for a raised eyebrow at the stammering boy. He had a few songs from some of the VTubers, but he had never really gotten into the scene after being introduced to it by artistic boy. What was there to be embarrassed about anyways? Nagi was just being her usual bitey self, and frankly Munehisa had practically given her the opportunity.
"Gonna clean out another challenge bowl?" With how burnt out Asumi looked, Masashi fully expected that she could do just that. It had been a while since he last ate there, so he didn't mind the group's decision either. Leaning backwards into his seat and rocking it onto its rear feet, he managed to catch himself before he bumped his head against the classmate Nagi had called over.
Looking up at Akira's hooded face, Masashi greeted her with a wave as he balanced his chair precariously once more. A soft "Hup," escaped him as he swung his chair around noisily before he stood and grabbed his bag. "I've got my own down by the lockers." Speaking up, he rolled his eyes a bit before they settled on Nagi. "That's more your thing anyways. Or was," he retorted with a slight huff.
Speaking of the shitty weather, Masashi checked up on it with his phone once Akira mentioned it. An annoyed groan quickly followed as he rubbed his eyes before he tucked the phone into his pocket. "Supposed to go all night," he grumbled before he started to lead the way out of the classroom. Naturally this meant he ended up holding the door for them to all file through.
Laughing heartily along with Julian’s enthusiasm, Signar clapped the blonde’s shoulder a few times. With the difference between the two of them, he probably should have held back a bit as each clap felt like it might have compressed Julian’s spine a bit! Maybe it would help if he thought of it as training? Surely he’d go through worse with the Knight’s strenuous curriculum!
If he noticed the slip up, Signar made no comment about it and simply nodded instead. “Aye. It’s quite the strange group we’ve found ourselves in,” he mused as he reached up and rubbed the stubble on his chin. The disparity between the highs and lows of the 13th squad was quite stark, even if he merely judged it from a Valeforian perspective. Maybe they thought that the presence of talent would help pull up those that needed the extra training?
The reasoning of the Knight Commanders was beyond Signar though, and he didn’t dwell on the possibilities for long. The arrival of their newly appointed Captain helped to cut those musings even shorter and he met Rossweine’s gaze as the prince addressed him. Certainly, it didn’t seem like he was looking for a conversation so much as he was making himself known to those under his command. Nonetheless, Signar gave a polite nod to Rossweine as the prince finished. “Of course, whenever you have the time.”
Even if he hadn’t bothered to glance down at the blonde, Signar certainly heard Julian’s somewhat flustered response. That was probably the normal reaction at being addressed by a member of royalty, but it just didn’t really click for him. While Rossweine didn’t seem to mind Signar’s lax response though, he knew that others probably wouldn’t feel the same. A Valeforian treating one of the country’s royal scions so casually? He could imagine the fit some people who were too big on appearances might just throw. ‘Just treat him like a client,’ he thought to himself. Framed in that sense, it made a bit more sense to be put on a more professional demeanour when dealing with the prince.
With a heavy sigh, Signar glanced down and met Julian’s gaze before he looked back up and watched as Rossweine called over and addressed another of their peers. The name came as something of a surprise for him though! Another Valeforian craftsman? What were the odds of that? He knew of the Ferros and their work when it came to alchemy, but the exact specifics of Zenshin’s circumstances weren’t something he knew. He had heard there was a genius among this generation from them though, so perhaps this was an attempt to escape their shadow? Whatever the case might be, Signar would have to find out if the other man had any skills as an alchemist. It would definitely be a boon to his own work if Zenshin was able to produce certain reagents and refiners.
“Well, he certainly has a way with words,” Signar remarked as Zenshin’s confidence soared with little more than some eloquent encouragement from the squad’s captain. “It’ll probably mean more eyes on our squad than usual, but you could always think of it as a chance to make a name for yourself. Maybe something better than Sand Sprout?” Chuckling a bit, Signar was almost certain that terrible nickname would at least get a rise from Julian. With the general aim of the group being steered towards the barracks now that Rossweine had spoken with most of the members, he supposed it was time to get a move on as well.
“Let’s get going, eh? The sooner we’re done settling ourselves in, the sooner we can see what sort of food they’re gonna be feeding us.” The sandwich might have served as a delicious meal for Julian, but Signar needed a bit more than just that to have his fill!
Thankfully he had something to keep himself occupied as the herald's long winded speech just seemed to drag on and on. Even listening to his various teachers drone on had been a bit less tedious than this since their lectures actually contained bits and bobs of knowledge and theory. Not to mention how it seemed rather unwarranted given the selections hadn't even been made yet. Forcing them to stand and listen without even knowing if they were going to be chosen in the end? Bit cruel to drag things out for the nervous ones among them in his opinion, but he was terrible unqualified to comment on their glorious traditions and historied ways. He bit into his sandwich and slowly savored the bite, even if it had cooled by now, as he waited for the main point of this gathering.
Oh good, he was almost out of his little distraction. Signar's eyes opened a bit wider as the exposition finally came to an end and names were called out instead. Granted, he held no expectation that he wouldn't be relegated to one of the last few names called out. The more important ones usually came first, and that seemed to be exactly the case if the clothes of those marching up with heads held high were any indication. He popped away the last bite of his sandwich, brushed off his hands, and settled in to wait some more.
Unperturbed even as the numbers of hopefuls slowly dwindled around him, Signar cast his attention around the courtyard and raised an eyebrow. Two figures perched themselves atop fence posts, opposite of one another, as if they were gargoyles overlooking the space. A bit odd, but maybe that was one of the reasons why they were still here with the rest of them. With the finality of this last squad announced, Signar sighed audibly and turned his attention back towards the herald. It would be a shame to fail his entrance even after he had been graced with a generous opponent, but he would have to accept the matter.
The status of those in command of the squad was more than a bit odd, but he supposed even the most noble of houses had an odd duckling here and there. Certainly, the way the blue-haired boy had descended from his perch when called had been more wild than noble. Taking a deep breath as his name was called, Signar couldn't deny that he felt a bit of relief. It was good to know that his effort had not been wasted. Though he marched towards the podium once his name was called, he didn't just simply abandon the blonde after striking up a conversation with her. "Breathe." His voice was far softer now, just barely audible, and his hand clapped down firmly on Julain's shoulder. A firm, confident squeeze and then he stepped past him. Maybe it was unwarranted and unwelcomed from someone who had been accepted to someone who was still dangling on the edge. The squad's second had gotten quite the thrashing from the pint-sized blonde though, and didn't that at least warrant a chance?
It seemed it did. Biting down a yawn as no more names were announced, Signar settled for a relieved sigh that the ceremony was finally coming to an end. Their Commander, whose name he should probably learn before the day was over, was right in that he had heard too many speeches today. Even his own, short as it was, nearly passed in one ear and out the other. He did manage to keep a hold on the question though, and he supposed it was a good one as any. The louder instructions did a good job of ringing in his head for a bit as Signar nodded to himself and let out another sigh.
"Whew... Gods, we're probably going to have to put up with worse on ceremony, won't we?" Signar thought aloud to no one in particular as he threw his hands up and felt something pop in quite the satisfying way. He was a bit distracted that the mop of blonde hair didn't catch his attention immediately, and he could hardly be blamed with all the other trainees milling about around him. It was only natural that they'd flow around him instead of trying to jostle him out of the way. He raised a hand to shield his eyes and looked towards the sky, gauging the sun's position to check just how much ti-
He looked down at the familiar voice, and didn't hesitate to grin as he raised a fist towards Julian before he realized that he probably wasn't familiar with the gesture. He let his hand fall with a quick shrug before he nodded. "Yeah, congrats to the both of us. Now we'll just have to stick around, eh? You can call me Signar or Sig if you want."
The constant pitter patter of rain throughout the day had been a welcome distraction. The irregular cadence it set against the windows had helped tune out the eccentricities of their various teachers. It seemed to be split about.. half and half in his opinion? A look down at his notebook as he flipped through what information he had jotted down seemed to reinforce that opinion. The amount corresponded with just how much he had actually caught on to what was being said, and.. well, history looked like it was going to be a bit of a write off. He snapped his notebook shut, cleaned off his desk, and packed everything away into his bag.
He looked ready to just get up and leave, and to his friends it wouldn't have even been much of a surprise. Sometimes when they weren't paying attention and he didn't bother to say bye, he'd already be on his way to the club before they even noticed! Not the case today though as he just sat in his seat with his arms crossed. Rather relaxed in fact as he leaned his head back a bit and let it bob to some unheard beat. He didn't even seem to recognize Asumi's question at first. Could he...
Yup. As the song must have come to an end, Masashi brushed aside a bit of hair from his left ear and popped out a small earbud. How many periods had he been listening to it? Who knew. As he placed it into its charging case, he looked over his shoulder and saw that some familiar faces were waiting around. With a slight push backwards, he leaned back on his seat and swung it about so he could face the three of them. The chair's legs came down on the ground with a sharp clack and he raised an eyebrow at Nagi.
"No? We had to cut down on practices. Our membership is too small to keep the space everyday." It wasn't that big of a problem per say, but the issue was if things compounded from there. If the remaining members weren't as motivated because they didn't get enough time to practice, they might not stay commited. If the club lost any more members than it would have to disband. He wouldn't be able to attend any of the school based competitions, and those were most of his opportunities right now!
It was a pain to think about though, and there wasn't much Masashi could do about it. He had already toned things down to stop scaring people off, but the damage was already done and the reputation wasnt going anywhere anytime soon. He couldn't even really do anything about the slackers just coasting along to say they were part of the kendo club when it won. They needed to meet the membership count after all... "Fuck..." He muttered under his breath as the thought rankled him before he shook his head.
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