mickilennial — Roleplayer Guild

April 7th

The time had come.

After what seemed like an eternity, the upperclassmen that had been casually talking amongst themselves outside had headed inside the assembly hall to take their place among the crowd of students that was ready to begin their first day at Ishin proper. Few students were brave enough to skip out on the opening ceremony, as tedious and pointless as it may have seemed. Ishin's faculty were assertive men and women who didn't take complacency lightly and this year it was no different.

Yukimura Hideaki, the Dean of Students and Supervisor of Ishin Academy, hadn't quite seen a line-up of students quite like the current crop that sat front-and-center, mulling over what Ishin was like and talking to one another for the very first time. During his Profesisonal Hero days he had met a lot of optimistic young men and women, but the days of being The Frozen Hero, The Snowman, was long past him. His hair had grown gray and he had long shadows under his icicle-like eyes. His expression was blank, giving the impression he was unimpressed with everyone else in the assembly hall. The truth of the matter was he couldn't be any more excited to have a new group of would-be heroes at the academy. He moved his hand to the microphone on the podium, tapping it with the backside of his right hand.“Silence.”

His voice boomed across the room. Conversations stopped, attentions shifted, and postures straightened.

“Ishin Academy is the second oldest hero institution in Japan. Sixth in the entire world. This serves as a reminder that it is here at Ishin that we continue a tradition of excellence in preparing the next generation for the future that awaits them. Whether it is a future as a hero or not.”

His eyes moved to the returning members of the student body.

“For those of you that survived the gauntlet that was last year, congratulations. You've passed the first series of tests. You know what comes next and how I'm counting on you to become the very best examples of what Ishin has to offer.”

He pressed his hands against the podium.

“For those of you who are new... well, congratulations on passing the entrance exams.”

The old man looked directly at the more nervous members of the first years. He knew that his tone and appearance was sending a chill down their spine – some of them may have been already wondering what they got themselves into. He was certain that his next few words would make that feeling stick with them. It was a sentiment he was glad to imprint upon them.

“Ishin Academy is a battleground and you will need to prove that you belong here. You should know this just by the merit of applying to this institution, so if you think an acceptance means you have nothing to fear now you are not going to be a student for long. But being a hero is about bravery, tenacity, and humility. Nobody is going to hold your hand here. Your teachers are here to prepare you and nothing else. For those of you that are new to Ishin, you will need to remember that. Should you forget, your upperclassmen will remind you of it very very quickly.”

Hideaki sighed, moving a glass of water to his lips with his left hand, the liquid instantly chilled to perfection as it met his lips. He always did hate monologues and speeches, especially after he had retired from the professional circuit to teach and administrate. It was probably the one singular thing he didn't care for about his years as Dean of Students at Ishin Academy. There was too much talking. But it was the job.

“At the end of the day, whether you are a new student here or have been selected to return you need to remember one thing. Give your best; not for yourself, but for the world. Soar Skyward.” With the glass of water in his hands he gave a glance to his side and to two other faculty members one who was quite small and disinterested and another tall and attentive. “With that said, I’ll leave it to my teachers to take it from here. Those of you who are not first years are dismissed.”

Before long it seemed the hall emptied except for the forty first years.

***

“Kinzokuma Midori. I’ll be teaching 1A.” The smaller woman remarked utterly disinterested as the other woman smiled quietly, “To my right is Hatsune Akio. She’ll be teaching 1B.”

“Follow me if you’re in 1A, alright?”

The woman stepped down from the podium, hands buried in her pockets as she moved toward one of the exit doors. She didn't look behind her to see if the students were following. As far as first impressions went, it didn’t seem she was very interested in getting to know her students, however if Kokone could hear through the noise of the other students there seemed to be a sense of interest in how the students would handle her “test”.

As the group followed their teacher, they passed by the various dormitories that had been constructed around campus. There appeared to be two large buildings with Japanese denominations for men (kansei) and women (josei) written above the doors inside. However, Kinzokuma-Sensei walked right past the dormitories and led them to a large building in the back end of the eastern wing of the school campus. Once inside she looked to a lone upperclassmen with dog ears and a clipboard. 

“Alright. Leave your belongings with Inuhara and join me at the front of the room.” Her hands still tucked in her pockets, she headed to the far wall of the massive empty room that served as the interior of the building. For some it looked like a building that had yet to be renovated. 

“So, you’re the–”

“K-K-Kinzokuma-Sensei?” A voice from the students uttered out, holding a fruit out in his hands. “M-my grandmother said that I sh-should give you an Okinawa Pineapple as a sign of my appreciation for teaching us this year.”

The older woman raised a brow as she moved her hands out of her pockets and retrieved the pineapple.

“Alright.” She said as she held the pineapple with one hand. “Don’t be nervous. You’re at Ishin now. All of you are.”

Was it a hazing incident? 

Victoria Yarwood had experienced hazing before, though not quite like this. The girls back home employed much different tactics, though she wasn’t able to make heads or tails about it. Her hands were buried in her pockets with her backpack concealing the towel that she was encouraged to bring to the location at the end of the dockhouse. The waters were likely not the ideal temperature for any sort of activities, though she felt compelled none the less to show.

“Erm…” Words struggled to leave the tall girl, “I’m not sure I get it, either.”

She sighed as her eyes looked around and she joined the boy’s side with her backpack in tow. It was awkward, weird, it didn’t make any sense. She wasn’t so bold to hoist her towel over her shoulders like others and her eyes bounced across every corner as if trying to make sense of the invitation to the dockhouse. Her words felt like they were glued to the roof of her mouth as she mumbled hesitation and confusion. If she was already being hazed at this academy she felt she had failed to start a new leaf, but at the same time she had been noticed by someone all the same so it wasn’t the same old situation of being ignored either. 

“This is weird.” She finally said clearly, though with about the same confidence as before.

mickilennial Member

Patron Saint of Inconsistency

Status

Recent Statuses

Bio

Most Recent Posts