Chapter 6: Arc 1 Chapter 6: New Faces
In the depths of slumber, she saw visions of dragons in a scorching desert, the sand blemished by the blood of humans and dragons alike. The blades of the people that had given their lives in the battle were used as tombstones. Yukina's eyes gradually opened, trying to adjust to the light from the sun coming from her window.
"W-what was that..." Yukina muttered to herself, trying to recall the dream she had. Her long fluffy snow-white hair pointed in every direction like a signpost because of her sleeping posture.
She began her daily routine to get ready for school, fixing her bed-induced hairstyle. Yukina's hair extended down to her back rather than an omnidirectional mess. A black-highlighted bang hung between her eyes. After getting dressed in her school uniform, which consisted of a white buttoned shirt, a black skirt, and a black cloak with golden trim, she walked downstairs and out of the smithy. Her ear twitched at the sound of a rustling coming from the building next door.
She walked next door to see a tavern, curious about the owner. She opened the door silently. The interior was decorated with wooden walls, with paintings of Vulpians scattered on the walls as a display and an abundance of empty wooden tables surrounded by seats. Yukina turned her cyan-eyed gaze towards the bar and saw a fluffy, golden blonde tail swaying above the counter; her face contorted in confusion. She inched her way ever closer to the counter before her boot came into contact with a loose floorboard, causing a creek which in turn made Yukina grimace and her ear fold in irritation.
"Hm?" a voice uttered from behind the counter.
The golden tail descended, and in its place was a Vulpian with golden blonde hair tied into an elegant ponytail and golden ears to match. "Hey, sorry we're not open yet; we're open from six in the afternoon to two in the morning." The Vulpian said; she seemed to be the sole owner of the establishment as she was wearing a dress with a white apron over it and was the only person in the building.
"So they finally got this place built, and it turns out to be a tavern...guess I'll have to deal with extra noise when smithing..." Yukina complained, accompanied by a heavy sigh as she turned around to walk out the door.
"Wait, you're the blacksmith next door?!" The Vulpian exclaimed with astonishment.
"Yeah, but all I can do right now is repairs, nothing special," Yukina replied, gesturing her thumb pointed towards next door where the smithy was; the buildings were so close in proximity there wasn't space for a back alleyway between them. Instead, there was a back alleyway at the back of the buildings; each establishment had a back door to the back alley. Around the corner, one could go around the side of the buildings and reach the back alleyways that way.
"Whoa, that's so cool. My name is Lily Alecia; you probably could get that I'm the owner of this tavern!" Lily introduced herself, wearing a bright grin on her face; Yukina, being targeted by the introduction, sighed, knowing that she would have to respond to the introduction with one of her own.
"I'm Yukina Sako, the blacksmith from the smithy next do-" Yukina was interrupted by the sound of the door being slammed open from behind her. Both Vulpians turned towards the door slowly in shock. In the doorway, there was a silhouette of a Vulpian with a long ponytail and a jacket only worn on her shoulder like a cape.
"Yukina...we were supposed to meet up ten minutes ago!" a familiar voice said before walking into the tavern. Her footsteps shook the floorboards as she made her way towards the white-haired Vulpian; once towering over her, she picked Yukina up, holding her under her arm before sprinting out the door at full speed.
Yukina, who was the victim of this 'kidnapping,' felt wind thrashing against her face, forcing her to close her eyes as her hair danced wildly due to the velocity she was being carried. "Akko, put me down, dammit; I can walk by myself!!!!" The achromatic-haired victim exclaimed, flailing her limbs in frustration at the contemporary situation. "Yes, but if we walk to the academy, we'll be late!" Akko said as she was weaving through the crowd of Vulpian pedestrians on the sidewalk, gaining some awkward stares from other citizens; Yukina looked up at Akko before commenting.
"Hey...Akko, you do realize that people will think you're some kind of trafficker..." Akko didn't respond; she was too busy dashing throughout the town. They arrived at the silver gates of the academy, surprisingly, without bumping into a single pedestrian or interrupting traffic on the road; Akko came to a skidding halt as there were now knights that were pulling the gates closed,
"Oh, hell no, I'm not being late because of you!" The scarlet-haired Vulpian exclaimed before cocking her right arm back, holding Yukina, who was positioned beside her head.
"A-Akko, wait, are you about to throw me over the gate?!"
Yukina questioned Akko in her newfound consternation. Akko exercised her abnormally high strength to her advantage, heaving Yukina over the gates before jumping after her; the gates closed behind them as Akko landed on the ground before Yukina since she jumped at a lower angle.
"Akko, why?!?!" The tintless-haired Vulpian exclaimed in futility since she knew she wouldn't get an answer, but it was evident that Akko was frustrated. Akko caught Yukina effortlessly and put her on the ground before the two of them walked into the entrance hall of the academy.
"Akko, what the hell are you doing manhandling me like that? I thought I was gonna die!" Yukina complained to Akko.
"Well, you didn't die, and you're not injured, so it's all good!" Akko replied as if nothing had happened; the two of them walked into the dining hall as they were the last two the arrive.
"Yeah, but the ends don't justify the means, dammit." Yukina said quietly before sitting down next to Akko, where there used to be two empty, now occupied by the two of them.
"Now that everyone is here, I would like to discuss an important matter..." said a grey-haired Vulpian man with a beard that covered his mouth and split left and right. He was sitting in the seat at the head of the room with knights beside him and other arcanists who sat beside the knights.
"As headmaster, I have to take the initiative to inform everyone of our situation; there have been rumors spreading around about some Inkindled roaming around the school...we already had a casualty." The headmaster hung his head before inhaling and exhaling to gather his thoughts and face the students of the school again to give them the unfortunate news.
"A Vulpian by the name of Pamela Wilsons is no longer with us; she was found on the school grounds deceased..." Some of the students were crying, which were probably her friends. The rest of the students were murmuring in disbelief as Yukina was sitting at the table, gritting her teeth before the headmaster continued.
"Quiet down, everyone..." Once everyone had settled down, he carried on with his speech.
"So from now until further notice, no one is allowed to be around the forest area of the school, and if for whatever reason you have to go be on the perimeter, you'll have to have one of the Vertelian Knights; around to accompany you."
After an hour of all the students listening to the announcement for customary changes to rules so that would keep everyone safe and alive, Yukina walked to Mr. Suzuki's class; Akko followed behind her as she sat next to Yukina in the classroom. Once everyone took their seats, Mr. Suzuki began speaking;
"Alright guys, so today we have a new student..." the door to the classroom opened as a man with fiery orange eyes and short hair that was spiked in every direction, including in front of his eyes to form wild bangs, ivory skin, and black horns and an orange thin draconic tail.
"Finally, time to introduce myself. Greetings, my name is Adeodatus Moltus; I can't wait to fight you guys!" Akko leaned over to Yukina and whispered to her.
"This Draconian's a fuckin' meathead..." Adeodatus sat down next to Yukina as he wore an arrogant smirk on his face.
"My, aren't you a cute one." Yukina's face recoiled in distaste; she was appalled by the advancement that this Draconian made.
"This was about to be a long day," Yukina thought to herself as class was about to begin.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone