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Chapter Text

Prism University, the place where ‘dreams come true’.

The peak of education in terms of quality in service and in offering some hefty pedigree for its successful students, those that had managed to win over the various obstacles along the way of true success.

An establishment that gave to many the chance of achieving even the most-complicated and nigh-impossible job opportunities with proper preparation and study.

Important and influential people in modern society had studied there in the past, obtaining impressive points to their respective curriculum that saw their career skyrocket to reach the highest class of elite, beyond the expectations of many born in riches.

Of course all of them had praised highly the impressive curricula, having more than once donated part of their non-negligible patrimonies.

Still, it wasn’t an easy feat to conclude the various years of study there.

The various courses had different spans of years to see their finalization.

Sometimes even dragging for a little less than a decade of studies but the requirements and efforts were all well-rewarded with quite the ultimate diploma that paved the way to many high-level works early on in the former students’ careers.

Many thousands of young men and women would flock eagerly to try their best to secure an enrollment to Prism Uni from all over the world, from poor upbringings to the richest ones.

But the real issue was the earliest obstacle, the selection of those that were to be enlisted and those that ended up being denied.

There wasn’t much of a clear explanation over the mysterious system used to select the proper documents from those trying to get in the Uni, but it was effective enough to keep a large majority out, and to not overpopulate the magnificent campuses there for the students to use during their stays at the facilities.

Such an important place where anyone could achieve the top with proper dedication and hardwork.

Yet I found myself embroiled into what could be considered a… rare circumstance.

What many should already know about this important establishment is that it is located in Prism, the capital of the Newer Continent and where the Prime’s government resided.

It shouldn’t be too difficult to see how odd it would be for a young human to not only try his luck at getting enrolled, but also being accepted without an apparent reason.

To be fair, I hadn’t been the one that compiled and sent the subscription form to the Prism High. I knew about the impossible means to be accepted into the school.

In fact, my main targets early on had been Stanford and Berkley. They were both fairly important on their own, and were also close to where I lived, New Pasadena.

The true culprit behind it all was… my own mother.

She had always been the kind of individual to take strange initiatives in her life, and this behavior had been there since she was a young girl.

None of the crazy escalations that would then ensue from those weird trail of thoughts ever deterred her from pursuing the next wacky adventure. Not even dad would try and reason with her over the crazy attempts she would aspire for.

So, when she decided to give a thorough look for any good colleges to send me to study via her ‘trusty’ laptop, her attention had been drawn towards one of the many advertisements for Prism Uni, and she was compelled to learn more about the establishment.

Ignoring the blatant signs that it was a Primes-only school, the lovely woman with seemingly zero common sense decided that it would have been a great idea to instantly send a properly-compiled form right away, without telling anything about it to anyone until much later, when dinner was starting.

Stumped’ failed to sufficiently understand the immense bewilderment that this sudden development caused, but my thoughts were dismissed. Such effort shouldn’t have garnered the attention of anyone relevant in particular within the administrative branch assigned to deal with this stuff.

A month passed, and I now find myself trying to understand the newest letter sent back to me.

Announcing my acceptance at Prism Uni and the proper date when I had to present myself to start my years of study there, this letter was a testament of how fate had decided to reward mom a rare victory for her... unique approach.

She was over-joyed that her ‘little boy’ had been accepted by one of the most-renowned schools in the world, blatantly missing the true shocking element that was rendering this whole mess even more surreal than a simple acceptance news.

Ignoring the fact related to the slim hopes I would have gotten in trying to get in a school that was meant to accept only Primes, I was subsequently floored over the veracity of the message despite my efforts to prove it a false/prank response.

The first thing I did before succumbing to the undeniable shock of this development was to check if the signs displayed there were the correct ones and, much to my growing dread, it was a true document of acceptance.

I tried to see if it was some complex prank, if it was just a joke, by also checking if the stamps and other elements in the letter matched with the proper acceptance file, all the efforts culminating in a single thought.

I was accepted at Prism University.

With this news sinking in my brain and the various ramifications slowly riddling my thoughts for the next few days, I finally conceded that reality had surrendered itself to an absurd circumstance, which saw me being sent in the heart of Primekind.

I had no issues with Primes as there were some friendly folks that lived here in the little city where I lived, New Pasadena, and I had some friends here which I shared some early elementary years with that were Primes.

The issue here was that I was going to be one of the few humans to go into the capital of the Kingdom of Prism.

Was I nervous? Immensely so.

But refusing to take an opportunity just because of a few obstacles in front of me? It would have been foolish of me to do so.

Prism Uni was still a top-notch college and, despite the odd situation that got me accepted by the school, I still had to give a try to what seemed to be my best shot at life.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that I was incredibly unsure what I was supposed to do in a place like the one I was meant to go since I have never traveled that far from home, but my mind was now set to make an attempt and so were the documents for my trip right into the next chapter of my life.

Thus, I took one of the flights available from San Francisco. After a few hours of uneventful sleep, I finally reached the grand capital of the Newer Continent.

I’ve seen New York once when I was just a child during a family trip, but the sight which I was bestowed when I disembarked from the plane and made my way out of the airport was truly immense.

There were multiple skyscrapers visible from just outside the airplane, and I saw some of the many trees located in the various parks spread over the humongous city.

A sublime harmony of technology and nature that none of the human cities had been able to rebuilt since the birth of Neo-Earth.

I was mesmerized by the scenario I was presented with, almost drowned by it, but I still managed to get through my early awe and get moving out to reach where my temporary flat was supposed to be.

A very small place, just somewhere to crash and rest until tomorrow.

The big day, the starting point for my years here at Prism.

Leaving the three bags I had filled with the most indispensable stuff for my long stay here by the little bedroom I had in that pseudo-flat, I decided to spent the whole day indoors to get through the little case of Jetlag I was experiencing in those moments.

'Incredibly drained by the flight, the bed looked like a nice place to hang out for my first day here at Prism. Regardless, my attention was mostly focused toward the laptop I had brought with me for this occasion. I used it to confirm some of the topics here that I was still doubtful about.

I went to sleep earlier than usual that day, hoping to get to wake up early the next morning.

Oh right, how rude of me. Before I forget, I think I should introduce myself.

My name is Frankie Parker and, right now I’m undoubtedly going to be-

LATE!!

I admit I should have set up an alarm instead of believing the whole ‘sleep early, wake up early’ crap, especially since I had tried this stuff in the past for some important exams.

I could still remember the panic I had back in those occasions and now I was feeling much worse about it all as I skimmed through the various streets in front of me, minding just barely about the cars that were coming around while I rushed across the roads.

With the three bags safely hanging by my arms and neck, I proceeded to pull what many experts would consider to be a ‘super-human feat’ by bolting around the city with every ounce of strength I had in my legs.

I was supposed to reach a place that was about half an hour away from where I currently was in less than ten minutes.

It was alright, it wasn’t that much of a pro-

I needed to do a miracle.

I could already see where it was, but it was so distant and so… close!

I wasn’t going to bite the dust without putting everything I had in my body.

To the surprise and amusement of those witnessing my dash through the districts, I had been running pretty fast for a human with three bags in tow. Sadly, it wasn't enough to make it in time for the grand ceremony planned for the beginning of the school year.

I took a brief pause by one of the intersections, a barrier of cars stopping me from continuing in my heated march and…

I’m so going to turn up late.

Groaning quietly at the realization that I was literally losing too much time there, I felt like things were just set against me in that precise circumstance.

I had dealt with bad luck more than once in the last few years, but this was the first time I had to deal with quite the horrible escalations of things.

Just as I let the realization that there was no way for me to get there in time I-

Beep Beep

I almost jumped at the sudden honking noise coming from the street nearby, my wide eyes snapping my attention right to look at my right side and-

“Hey pal, you seem to be in quite a rush,” A Cat Prime pointed out with a certain eased tone from within a yellow-colored car.

He had shoulder-length silver-hair and a pair of light-amber eyes.

He was wearing an unbuttoned light-brown jacket that make way for a pale-yellow shirt; I could see some dark-blue jeans, but his shoes were hidden from my current perspective.

“Where are you going with so much stuff around anyway?”

I blinked, losing just a second to recollect myself back to reality and- the panic resumed its turbulent presence within my brain.

“I-I was-” I paused a moment in my response, glancing at the still ongoing traffic in front of me. “I need to get to Prism Uni.”

He frowned. “With so many bags, 'it's either a chick you're helping, or some good buddy of yours.”

I shook my head. “This is all my stuff as… I got accepted at Uni.”

…

“You kidding, right?” The guy asked with a confused look. “I mean, I know that there are some people that fakes their acceptance but-”

I proceeded to show him the little plasticized card I had been given together with the letter, with the photo that had been sent together with all the general details about myself.

The Prime blinked, eyes fixed on the unquestionable bit of proof I had on myself and… he blinked again, looking up back to my face. “You mean that you got accepted-”

“Yep.”

“Even though you are a human?” He asked with more surprise than else to which I gave a nod in response.

“Yep.”

He leaned back for a moment in his seat and looked at the traffic already starting to unfold.

“And you are trying to get in there by foot?”

“I forgot to set up an alarm and woke up late,” I explained quickly as my attention was taken by the fact the cars were finally making way for some space to rush through.

My legs were preparing for another mad sprint to try to continue with my run, but just as I prepared to conclude this refreshing conversation in a friendly way, the Cat Prime nodded and spoke up again.

“Ya know, I can give you a ride there?”

The proposal was swift to enter my adrenaline-dominated mind, causing me to freeze at the words before I turned my sight back to the young man and… to the plasticized card with his own details.

“I’m a firsty myself,” The Cat continued with a smile now on his face, giving a shake of the card. “Hop in, buddy.”

I stood there in utter surprise at the curious development, unsure if I should pick up his offer or not.

The card was legit at a proper study and he seemed to be genuinely friendly with his mannerism…

I decided to accept the offer, well-aware that any further delays would have costed me the chance of arriving on time to the ceremony.

My next task was to put my bags in the car’s trunk, carefully not pressing over the ones that were already there, and I rushed to the seat beside the driver’s one.

With the little door closed, the vehicle started to move through the main street that concluded right where Prism Uni was with a moderate pace.

My nervousness was slowly subsiding with the certainty that we were going to turn up punctual for the initiation event and avoid any reprimands or outright expulsion.

“I think it’s odd that you, a human, got accepted in there-” The young man resumed the conversation. “No offense of course-”

“None taken,” I interjected with a calm tone. “I understand myself that it’s quite the unexpected situation- I mean, it was mom that sent the form and-”

“You still got accepted, I bet it had to be quite a shocker,” He interrupted with an amused tone, drawing my little uneasiness down even more.

“Quite so and...” I blinked, staring as we were getting close to the school. “Do you think I will get some attention once we get there? I thought about the fact others might-”

“You might get everyone’s attention, dude,” The Cat continued with quite the sureness in his tone. “But I can’t help but feel envious that you might get some ladies’ attention too, if you catch my drift.”

I caught that very easily, in fact the little blush at that comment was more than a good answer to his words and soon he let out a chuckle at my embarrassment.

“C’mon, you mean to tell me you haven’t thought about the chances of getting some girls here?” He pressed on with a certain interest. “You don’t like Prime girls or what?”

“N-None of that!- It’s just that I...” I stopped for a moment, my mind having some trouble to elaborate the very simple issue about that stuff. “I never had a relationship before.”

I expected him to gloat, maybe because he seemed fairly versed over women so much that he had to have experienced some romantic and non- relationships.

Yet I was surprised by a shrug from my part. “Same, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try out now of all times,” The guy replied with a hum. “I mean, you know how many hot chicks study there?”

It was no secret for anyone that Primes were generally attractive and… I did have some crushes in some pretty girls back home that were mostly Primes at that.

I sighed. “I guess so...” I concluded with a blink, but then I realized that I had forgotten to do something about this. “By the way, I’m Frankie Parker.”

“Miles Lionheart,” He returned my introduction with his own. “And I can tell that we are going to be good pals, dude.”

And I couldn’t help but nod eagerly at that statement, feeling like that this was really going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

~Change of POV~

The big day has finally come and… she couldn’t believe it.

With her pink scooter coming to a halt by one of the free slots in the private parking lot assigned to students, a certain dark-haired prime disembarked by her vespa and took a sigh of relief as she removed her sunglasses, revealing to the world her bright green eyes.

Hope Ravenburst had finally arrived at Prism University, mere minutes from the start of the initiation event planned to occur this very day. Obviously, she was quite excited, and yet, she was nervous over the final chapter dedicated to her studies.

Not a sad one for sure, as she had planned every single contingency she thought was needed for spending the next few years at one of the greatest colleges ever for primes.

She didn’t expect to make many friends early on, especially after the little slow start she had to experience back in high school, but she wasn’t deterred from the fact that surely she would end up befriending someone new in her first year.

Of course, part of the glee she had for these next few years would be the many, many opportunities to her to be this close to... him.

Shin Aryoko, one of her first friends and her crush.

It would be a massive understatement to say that she was 'just' a little elated to receive the news that he was also going to have his first year at Prism. She literally rush back to her room moments after finding this out from her mom, so as to hide her squeals of delight from her little sister.

Joy was still young but terribly quick to tease her around when the ‘Shin’ topic was brought up to her attention, which was quite ironic considering how clueless she was about love herself.

An unexpected surprise, but a welcomed one to say the least.

But now it wasn’t time to lose herself in memory lane as she had many things to do even now.

So when Hope concluded the parking procedure and got hold of her bags, the girl proceeded to make her way towards the entrance of the main building, her genuine anxiety rising just a little from within her chest the more steps she would take towards the beginning of this next step in her life.

The one that should cement her start in adulthood and introduce her to the improvement of her natural affinity, her melodious singing voice that Lady Ambar herself had said was quite beautiful to listen to as she sung some of her own songs.

Of course it wasn’t going to be an easy path to success since becoming a singer was quite difficult nowadays and… her main objective made things even more important for her.

Singing was… meant to lit the hearts of people, to bring them peace and joy, to give them hopes and dreams against the dreadful obstacles that life offered to those that dared to achieve the most ambitious futures in this big and varied world.

A hum started to build up in her throat, her nervousness urging her to at least whisper some of her songs as to soothe her excitement and yet she held herself from doing so.

The reason why the young Prime decided against it was standing right by the building’s entrance and was now waving at her with that gorgeous smile of his.

A White Tiger Prime with blond-hair and light-green eyes, wearing a half-sleeved blue t-shirt a pair of black jeans.

Shin was already there, with his own bags lying by the floor nearby and looking to be quite excited himself of making his first steps at Prism.

It wouldn’t be a lie to say that the son of the Crest of Light was one of the smartest young men in his generations… if not for several of those before him.

A lovely bookworm that would also show no hesitation in learning some bits of social life, balancing himself between books and experience while managing to get through numerous adversities without breaking a sweat.

A testament to this impressive intelligence of his was how he had managed to skip enough grades to reach her same school level, his interest in studying for long here at Prism Uni having been a subject of various conversations in the last few years but…

This was incredibly surprising and oddly lucky for her.

She had the chance to conquer his heart, and maybe get a stronger relationship going.

Her first romantic relationship to that and… she had to give her best!

The only issue about this matter was the age gap.

While she was 19 and legally an adult before the laws of the Kingdom, Shin wasn’t.

Having celebrated his sixteenth birthday just four months ago, he was still considered a minor and thus… not someone she could approach with a complete relationship.

Which was bad because she really wanted to get together with him ever since their first few encounters thanks to their families meetups.

With her mom being a good friend with Kate Aryoko, it was quite common for them to have some time to spend around together ever since they had met each other.

But she was still forced to deal with the fact that she needed to wait at least two more years to see and try some serious attempts.

An annoying circumstance that faded when she was around the lovely person that was Shin.

The younger Prime was smiling as she got close enough.

“Good morning, hope,” He greeted eagerly and she couldn’t help but smile herself at his giddiness.

“Hello, Shin,” Hope replied mirthfully. “I see that you can’t stop shaking at the chance of diving into some new books.”

He snorted. “I-It’s more than just ‘new books’, Hope,” The young man replied with faux irritation. “It’s about getting to know some of the most renowned professors and scientists of various subjects all reunited in a single place.”

The girl nodded, knowing well-enough how this was the kind of topics that would get him this much interested in the world. Studying and… studying.

There was nothing wrong in being an intellectual and it wasn’t bad enough to become a nag for her, so she merely grew accustomed to his own hobbies just like he did start to appreciate hers.

They were still close friends and as such they both learned to respect their respective merits and flaws after so much time spent together.

It felt just so natural, yet it didn’t felt as accomplishing as the great idea of trying to break through and… form a romantic bond with this dense Prime before her eyes.

A pity that he failed to catch her subtle hints.

But there was also another instance of discomfort about this static sensation over their bond.

“Is there something worrying you?”

This. This was another issue.

Hope blinked, her eyes widening a moment as she realized how she had been zoning out from the conversation until now.

Her cheeks flared red and she gave a quick shake of her head. “N-Not truly- Just thinking about the fact we are… the last one waiting there.”

A smile replaced his worried line and he blinked away to stare away from her.

“Well, I thought this too but-” He pointed at where he was looking at and the girl shifted her sight in that general direction, noticing two approaching figures. “It seems like this isn’t the case.”

Surprise filled her as she had indeed thought that they were the last ones for the ceremonial event and her shock grew a little more when said individuals got close enough to properly see the details of their appearance.

One was a Cat Prime that was giddily being the lead of the duo, dragging his own bags in his hands with ease while following closely behind was a human, also a male, quite winded by the paced speed they were both going at.

The human had short, curly dark-hair and a pair of light-blue eyes that just looked a little… mesmerizing.

He was wearing an open half-sleeved red jacket with a white shirt and a pair of dark-brown baggy pants.

“Seems like we got there just in time!” The Cat pointed out with a happy smirk. “And I didn’t have to park close just like you wanted-”

“I would have appreciated not having to go through another march after the little marathon of mere minutes ago,” The human interrupted with an annoyed voice.

“Then you should have set up an alarm like you told me a while ago!” He shot back with a long sigh, gaining a huff from the human as he turned his attention back at the two other Primes. “Still, it’s good to see a fine lady and… her little brother?”

Hope felt her lips twitching at that familiar comment, having heard of people mistake Shin as a younger sibling or cousin and the young man was quick to reply to this.

“Actually no, I’m one of the first-year students,” The fellow feline answered with a polite smile. “And I’m actually surprised you need to bring so many bags at once, did you ask your friend here to-”

“Nah, he is a student too.”

There was a moment of silence, and Hope was quick to pick up the issue on her own.

Both Shin’s and her eyes widened in surprise as they turned their attention back at the human, a little red hue on his cheeks at the embarrassing focus he was receiving.

“I- Surely there had to have been a mistake-”

“I-I had to triple-check to make sure it was right, so no mistakes,” The dark-haired man replied with a hesitant shrug. “Mom decided to sent the form with picture and all other details, ending up to get the acceptance letter.”

To add further legitimacy to his words, he slowly went to pick up the plasticized Student ID from his pocket and… it was a real one.

“That’s quite the unusual circumstance,” Shin admitted with some awe. “But I don’t think there is truly a Prime-only restriction over students trying out to access to Prism.”

But it shouldn’t be as unique as it was if it was the case.

She had never heard of a human managing to sneak in as a student to Prism Uni and she was fairly sure that her mother had mentioned that there was actually a ‘Prime-only’ restriction to the enrollment.

Maybe it was best to give her a call once the ceremony was over.

“By the way, we almost forgot,” The human intervened with a softened tone of voice, devoid of any of the annoyance she had listened in it. “This here is Miles Lionheart,” The Cat Prime gave a flashy smile but the friend was already pointing at his chest. “And I’m Frankie Parker.”

“My name is Shin Aryoko and it’s nice to meet you.”

The White Tiger Prime gave a little polite bow before turning his attention to her and… she sighed.

“I’m… I’m Hope Ravenhurst,” She introduced herself with an uneasy tone, causing Frankie to frown.

“Did we say anything wrong?” The young man asked with a concerned voice, her green eyes widened when the other guys looked at her with different degree of worry, making her blush a little more.

“N-No, it’s just that I- I didn’t expect to make some friends today and… I’m still nervous about the ceremony.”

Shin nodded kindly while Miles gave a silent shrug-

“There is something else,” He guessed with an intrigued tone of voice. “Something got you by the edge.”

The girl tensed up, panic surging at the possibility that her little annoyance over her little time with Shin having been ruined by their presence to come up so suddenly and without warning.

But instead of pressing for that moment of weakness, Frankie leaned back with a sheepish expression.

“I suppose I might have sounded a little bit unpleasant a while back with Miles but… we are good friend-”

“Frankie here is my first buddy!” The Cat Prime said while lightly nudging at the human’s shoulder. “And while he sound a little exasperated, it’s because the moron decided to wake up early without an alarm.”

“I thought going back to sleep earlier than usual would have done the trick.”

With this curious diversion, Hope’s mind momentarily forgot about the close-call and she found herself fascinated by the explanation provided by the human.

“But that doesn’t work as a method,” She said with a calm tone.

“I know,” Frankie replied with a little whine. “But I was tired for the Jetlag and I was being dumb and prideful about it all.”

“B-But,” The young woman paused as she had her free hand reach for her lips, trying to contain a burst of giggle from leaving. “That sounds incredibly awful.”

“Yet you are smiling,” He pointed out with a fake pout. “And I see you’re not nervous right now.”

Surprise reappeared on her face, but she quickly blinked it away at this realization.

“And I think we should also get going,” Miles said while looking at the watch he had on his right wrist, “Just two minutes to begin the ceremony and all of that so we better get going.”

They all shared a nod and entered inside the main building, while Hope’s mind continued to ponder over this situation.

Not only did she was happy because Shin was here too, but also now she got two new friends so suddenly.

Miles looked a little over-confident, but overall a nice guy and… Frankie was nice.

The sole human did seem to sport some real concern when she tried to deflect the attention she was getting over her little annoyance but it was nice to see him back away without pressuring her too much.

What an odd beginning for her first day here at Prism University and…

The day wasn’t over just yet!

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: It’s like High-School (Without Musical)! (2)

The large amphitheater was truly a fascinating sight to look at.

It took me a moment after entering the building to realize that I had been stuck mesmerized for two solid seconds, everyone having already moved to pick their respective seats by the remaining chairs in front of the center-spot.

The presentation room had a circular inner section that was currently containing twelve tall statues showing the twelve Crests that had fought bravely against the Emperor back centuries ago.

Heroes of their time that had battled for ages before the final conflict, and that were still living among us after defeating one of the greatest threat directed at the galaxy as a whole.

It would be incredibly lucky for any Prime or human to find one of them in a normal circumstance as only the Crest of Fire and the Crest of Wisdom were known to the public, while the rest had mostly disappeared from known sight to enjoy their private life away from annoyances.

The former of the two being a major businesswoman about anything related to fitness products, while the latter was the High Prime herself, the current leader of the Kingdom, Lady Ambar.

Just as I took my own seat beside Miles, I glanced around at the lines of young men and women sitting in front of us and waiting for the ceremony to truly begin.

But in that very glance, I also noticed that the room the new students were the only one occupying the massive room.

The seats placed all around the outer ‘ring’ of the room were mostly occupied by other Primes, students from the other years that had been invited to personally watch the unfolding of this ceremonial event.

I felt a spike in my nervousness at this development as I hadn’t expected this circumstance, but I managed to steel myself from showing any signs of my inner distress before I glanced at the Cat Prime sitting on my left.

Miles looked pretty chill about this detail, incredibly so as he was grinning eye to eye while trying to catch glimpses of the various older girls that he could eventually hit on after today was over.

My attention then moved to see Shin, the blond merely give a thorough look over the room with some awed expression at the presence of so many people at once but seemingly unfazed by the elevated number of people staring back at us.

I couldn’t see Hope’s reaction from where I was sitting.

With both Miles’ and Shin’s (mostly Miles’) bodies hiding her from my sight, but I could only guess she was faring alright as well.

Focusing my eyes at the currently vacant podium as I tried my best to keep my mind away from thinking about the fact we were being watched by so many people at once.

Seriously, I thought that this was supposed to be a private ceremony, not one meant to be visioned by hundreds of students!

I took another sigh, this one trying to get my breathing under control to not spiral into some unneeded panic and… I felt someone pull at my shirt.

I turned to glance at Miles as he gave me a supportive smile.

“C’mon pal, we are here to win now,” He half-whispered while softly patting at my shoulder, causing me to relax a little more.

We were here to win now.

With the acceptance to come here confirmed and validated, with the fact we reached Prism Uni in time… yes, we were here to begin our school year!

Excitement slowly started to replace my nervousness and I noticed that an old woman, a Puma Prime, had taken her place in front of the podium.

She had her dark-hair combed in a small bun and her gray eyes were hidden behind a pair of black spectacles; she was also wearing a formal gray business dress with a skirt that reached low below her knees.

“Young students of Prism University, today we are here to introduce the newest batch of young men and women that will join the literate life of this illustrious academy to our honorable establishment-”

There was a pause and I could hear a little noise coming from afar right by the direction where the woman was giving her speech, just a little bit more further from her.

Was that a… giggle?

The Puma Prime glanced around back and settled her eyes in a particular spot not-so far away from the podium as two other individuals were approaching from behind with a modest pace.

Both were Bear Primes with red hairs and, looking closely at the scene, I could say that they looked to be related to one another.

The oldest of the two had a light-brown fur with a lighter spot around her left eye and, speaking of her eyes, both were mostly closed, enough to keep their colors hidden to any looker; She was wearing a blue Chinese dress with golden details.

My attention moved to the second of the youngest.

My focus was initially taken by the strange yellow four-pointed star-like spot she had by her forehead before switching to her semi-formal set of clothes made by a dark shirt and a pair of light-blue shirts that reached down to her formal shoes.

As I tried to return my attention back to what was going on by the podium, I couldn’t help but find myself fixed on her face once more.

It wasn’t any elements that truly got me freezing, but the fact that she was currently staring back at me with her blank-looking light-blue eyes.

I blinked and she blinked back, but didn’t do anything else from moving away her stare and thus I did continue with the situation as I was… confused as to what to do about this circumstance.

I could recognize the older Bear Prime, having seen pictures of Lady Ambar before, but this was the first time I saw the young woman beside her.

They were related, or maybe they weren’t? Did Lady Ambar have a family?

I wonder what’s her name.

She looked bored… but also not. There was something odd about her dull-looking expression as her eyes seemed to show more emotions compared to her own face.

It was an odd situation for sure, but one I didn’t felt that much weirded out about.

Maybe it was because I was already nervous and I couldn’t perceive much of it, but the mere staring had quite the soothing effect on my mind and… I almost lost myself in that predicament.

“L-Lady Ambar, I thought I was allowed to have some peace during the speech,” The Puma Prime pointed out with some hesitation, drawing another giggle from the Crest of Wisdom.

I felt pulling once again, this time Miles looked slightly confused.

“You alright?” The Cat Prime asked with some interest. “You’ve been staring at that strange chick for some time now.”

I blinked, a little red hue on my cheeks. “I was just looking at her and… she was looking back, I don’t know,” I shook my head in ignorance at what had just happened and the guy patted my back.

“Worry not, maybe she is just surprised at finding someone like you here.”

Yeah, someone ‘like me’.

I glanced up at him and gave a quick nod. “I guess that’s the case...”

“And I think I’m not saying anything that should disrupt your ‘peace’, Madam Jacqueline,” Ambar replied with a certain confidence in her tone. “But please, continue with the speech. We wouldn’t want to delay the presentation any further.”

The dark-haired woman nodded and returned her attention to the podium.

“A-As I was saying, today is the beginning of your new life here at Prism University and I, Madam Jacqueline, the Deputy Headmistress, can assure you all that the staff will actively help you through the obstacles presented by your days here at this outstanding college,” She resumed with a small smile. “But mostly important, today will also be remembered as the day where this university accepted the first human student in the first year.”

I tensed up a little as her attention was now onto me.

“I would normally ask for Mr. Parker to come here and give a minor speech, considering the monumental weight behind such predicament,” The Deputy Headmistress continued with a nod towards me, causing me to pale a little more. “I’ve decided to accept Lady Ambar’s fair point that giving too much pressure to a first-year student might be too much and thus we will avoid creating any discomfort to Mr. Parker.”

Still, I got my name publicized to the entire school.

What a funny development.

“To wrap up and conclude this important event, I wish for you young men and women to know that Prism University will be the staircase that will lead you to true maturity and a good way to access to your future as young adults,” The Puma Prime concluded, drawing a lengthy clapping from the various people within the room, even the students merely looking at all of this unraveling. “And now, I would direct you to follow Mr. Hawthorne’s lead as he will take you all to the vacant sections of the campus where you will be able to pick the room with one or two fellow students that will be your roommates for your stay in the dormitories.”

She gave one last nod. “Once more, Welcome to Prism University.”

We were already standing from our chairs and moving as a single group while following this ‘Mr. Hawthorne’, the Collie Prime with white hair and chocolate-brown eyes seemed fairly happy of the task given to him.

Randal was one of the oldest students here at the college, in his last year to obtain a degree in Agricultural Advanced Management so that he can help back home.

How was I aware of this much information about this genuinely friendly man? While he was taking us all to the dormitories, the Collie had taken his time to talk about himself, how the campus is structured and how lessons were usually scheduled.

It wasn’t boring to listen to the easygoing nature of his words while he gave us a proper tour of the entire university.

Actually I found myself fascinated in the exhaustive way he was describing the life here at Uni, but I think I could understand the interest from everyone to actually rush to their new rooms and settle down their things.

“By the way, Frankie.”

I almost tripped at the sudden call and I glanced behind to see Shin trailing close with Hope, the girl looked a little exhausted from dragging around her own bags and she didn’t seem to have that much experience in pulling this much weight for so long.

“Yes, Shin?”

“Can I ask you… why were you staring at Nae- Lady Ambar’s daughter?”

I blinked at the query, confused at the fact that I hadn’t stared at- Wait, that means that the girl with that blank-looking expression was-

“You mean to tell me that I just stared at… Lady Ambar’s daughter?!” I let out the last bit with a panicked outburst.

The White Tiger Prime gave a slow nod and then showed a surprised look.

“Wait, you didn’t know who she was?” He asked again and I shook my head. “But you were looking at each other for a while, at least until Miles pointed that out.”

“S-She was the first one staring, I was just looking at them like everyone else and before I could look back at the Deputy Headmistress, I noticed her eyes on me,” I tried to explain with some bits of nervousness, still unsure about the whole ‘I just shared something of a staring contest with the daughter of Lady Ambar’.

Like, was I going to receive some dangerous message anytime soon or was this situation going to be forgotten by the young woman?

“Still, that is quite odd,” The White Tiger Prime pressed on with a certain hint of curiosity. “I wonder what could have gotten Naerie’s interest on yourself.”

...Her name is Naerie?

“I’m still surprised that Madam Jacqueline had initially planned to have you give a speech on our first day here,” Hope piped in with a little shiver. “That would have been quite embarrassing and nerve-wracking.”

I nodded, the prospect of being put before this much attention so soon causing me quite some uneasiness to spread into my expression.

“I saw you pale when she mentioned that,” The girl continued with a concerned voice. “Are you sure that you are alright now?”

I almost tripped at the genuinely-worried inquiry and I felt my lips twitch about it all.

“I-I’m alright,” I tried to dismiss this unexpected effort, trying to not sound impolite with my tone.

I glanced at her green eyes and gave a quick nod, a small smile appearing on her face.

“Good, I guess we are even now about what happened a while ago,” She said while giving a brief bout of giggles before turning her attention back to Shin, leaving me to contemplate about what she just did there.

But before I could waste enough time to ponder over this surprising behavior, I felt someone wrap their arm around my neck and bring their lips close to my ears.

“You know,” Miles whispered in a teasing manner. “If you don’t want her to notice that you are crushing on her, you might need to turn down a little the blushing.”

I was blushing, but it wasn’t because of Hope’s words. It couldn’t be… couldn’t it?

I mean she did look quite cute and friendly, maybe it was because of how lovely she was about interactions…

Yep, my brain is failing right now.

Instead of trying to escalate things even more by either denying or ignore that tease, I decided to go for a distraction.

“S-So, if there is a bunk bed, will you pick top or bottom?”

Please take the bait, please take the bait, please take the-

The Cat Prime hummed, his face moving away from mine as he thought about this ‘incredibly complicated’ dilemma.

“We could have Shin stay on top and you stay on the floor,” He pointed out amusingly, ending up drawing a confused frown out of me.

“Why the floor?”

“Because the weather is warm nowadays and I remind you that we have fur," He explained with a comical sigh. “Do you know how horrible it is to be sweating with fur while sleeping on the floor?”

I blinked. “Pretty awful considering you are literally leaving me the floor.”

“I’m not leaving you to the floor, pal,” He chuckled a little, giving me a shake while I was still in his hold. “I would offer the couch first if there is one.”

“Jerk,” I snorted before sharing a chuckle with Miles over the situation.

Then I turned my attention right at Shin as the younger Prime was lost in a conversation with Hope.

“How old do you think Shin is?” I mumbled out of curiosity, this time not as a distraction and more of a genuine curiosity since just now I was noticing that the White Tiger Prime looked far shorter than the other students around him.

Golden eyes showed the same curiosity I had about this topic and Miles hummed about it.

“I suppose we could ask the runt,” He said before turning to the young man. “Hey Shin, how old are you?”

The blond looked surprised at hearing the loud question, but he gave a sheepish smile and nodded.

“Oh right, I guess I do look younger than others,” He admitted with a certain degree of nervousness. “I’m 16, by the way.”

I was ready to ask something help, but froze in surprise as the answer ultimately sunk within my brain, causing my eyes to widen at the White Tiger.

“W-Wait how did you-”

“Skipping grades,” Hope interrupted with a small smile, glancing briefly at the slightly-nervous friend of hers. “Shin is incredibly smart.”

“He literally skipped High School,” The Cat Prime commented with a fair amount of shock. “I think that is just a little more than ‘incredibly smart’.”

The boy blushed while the girl giggled at the genuine praise directed at the fellow Prime.

“I-I’m not that smart.”

“Shin, skipping four years of education is being ‘that’ smart,” I countered his attempt to dismiss the flattering words. “But I can assure you that it ain’t anything to be shy about, especially with us.”

“Really?” He asked with some surprise.

“Yeah, I mean. We have all met smart people in the past few years at school and you don’t seem overly nerdy about stuff so I will say that you are super-smart also because you were friendly and quite supportive back there,” I replied at him calmly. “But you have to promise me that you will not allow Miles to copy from you during tests.”

The Cat Prime sported a betrayed look on his face. “What? But… what about the Bro Code?”

“After you ‘offered’ me the couch?” I shot back with a smug smirk on my face. “I think you dropped your copy of the Bro Code down the trash can, you prick.”

A round of chuckles followed from both Shin and I, while Hope giggled at the sudden conclusion of it all as Miles huffed at the unexpected sentence, trying to fight back a smile from forming on his face.

This sure was going to be a fun several years to spend with these guys.

~Change of POV~

It wouldn’t be a lie to say that she was now interested in how things were going to develop from now on with a human here at Prism Uni.

Sighing while moving out of her chair, the young woman started to make her way towards the exit.

She felt someone giggling beside her but she didn’t need to look at the person in question to know who it was and she hummed quietly.

“Did you see how cute he looked there, Vixy?” The slightly-taller Tiger Prime mirthfully commented while giving her a full stare with her green eyes. “I mean, he looked so adorbs when he thought he was going to give a speech in front of everyone.”

Try with ‘utterly terrified’, and rightfully so considering that a first-year should never be subjected to that kind of attention.

Not many were prepared to face the burden of going through that kind of duties so early on.

Vixy merely nodded, her attention mostly directed at a little ruffled spot of her cheerleader uniform that prompted her to fix it properly.

The Fox Prime then reached to adjust one of the rebellious golden locks that had tried to stray from the way she had combed her red-and-yellow hair.

Tracy Biggs, better-known to the cheerleaders’ club and other with her affectionate nickname as ‘Tiggs’, gave a huff at her friend’s lack of verbal response over her words.

Moving away some of her purple locks from her sight, the Tiger Prime decided to speak once again.

“So you don’t think much of this new development or-”

“Of course I find it interesting, Tiggs,” Vixy ultimately interceded with a minor scowl. “But I was thinking more about the troubling ramification his presence here will bring with the ‘balance of power’.”

Tiggs blinked in surprise, but gave a positive nod as the two moved through the campus alone and without any distractions. “You think Davin will try to approach him?”

“That moron wouldn’t find him an interesting individual,” The most popular girl of Prism Uni answered with a certain sureness. “Albeit he would be curious about the human, I think his main priority will be Ms. Ravenhurst.”

The taller woman nodded at her well-pondered thought… before frowning and giving her a quizzical look.

“Who?”

The Fox Prime sighed at this, but conceded to the fact her interlocutor was unaware of whom she was talking about.

In fact, this very information was came from two different sources, one more biased than the other.

Her mother had been incredibly vocal in their last call just a few days ago, mentioning how she needed to keep away from approaching Hope Ravenhurst, once again pointing out how disappointing the Ravenhurst family was with their ‘stupid Love Clan tactics’.

Her father had been a little more restrained, but while he had voiced some caution as usual with children with Crests’ parents, he had also been keen to point out that both Hope and the little runt walking beside her, Shin, were both people that she could trust in case of need.

Especially Shin as he was the son of the Crest of Light and someone that her dad had met a few years ago while visiting the Aryoko household in Japan.

“The ‘Gazelle Prime’ that was sitting beside that White Tiger Prime, the same last line where the human was,” Vixy explained, drawing a minor snort as her friend nodded in recognition.

“She looked quite pretty,” Tiggs commented with a small smile. “Green eyes and dark hair, but… she didn’t seem to be that much to get his attention.”

“It’s not her appearance that would be his priority,” The young woman continued to explain. “Hope is a natural singer. She is not ambitious enough to try and establish herself as a pretender to my title, but still her ability is nothing to scoff at.”

“Oh?” The Tiger Prime looked surprised by this detail, but not enough to press for more about it as her attention was slightly taken by the fact that they had finally reached the entrance that led to the locker room of this part of the campus.

A training session for the club was supposed to start very soon as it had been delayed from earlier that morning for the ceremony that had just finished.

The other girls were surely inside, ready and waiting for them to arrive too, but Tiggs decided to resume the conversation by changing the topic by just a little.

“Should we try to recruit Hope in our group then?” The proposal was sudden and the Fox Prime paused with wide eyes at the offer. “I mean, I don’t know if she would be good as a cheerleader but-”

“You would want me to use this as a pretext to take a shot at Davin’s popularity?” Vixy inquired with a certain confusion. “Even though the excuse is too weak as, like you said, we don’t know if Ravenhurst is good enough as a cheerleader?”

“Uh- I mean, wouldn’t it still be an effort against him-”

“He would ignore it, Tiggs,” The girl interrupted with a sigh. “While a good slight would get him pissed, one that is half-botched would actually be seen as his own victory against us.”

The taller Prime nodded as she started to carefully fix her clothes and pick her pom-poms from her locker.

“Then… what if we try to...” She stumbled a little, unsure what she should propose to her leader, but then she got an idea. “What if you use your contact in the Singing Club?”

Vixy sighed, ready to shot down this new proposal as she knew that the club in question was suffering from a major lack of funds to sustain itself… but then the girl remember about some of the last words she heard from the leader of the club.

The Wolf Prime with dark-gray fur and black eyes had been so desperate in trying to find some new singers that could boost their current ranks as a good show happening in their weekly attempts to draw more donations would probably lift them from the ground.

If Hope was sent to join them and help them up, not only would it be seen as a favor scored in Vixy’s favor as she would be the one presenting the younger girl to the group, but she would also remove her from dealing with Davin’s attempts at get the Ravenhurst in his little clique.

“It could… work,” The Fox Prime ultimately conceded with a fascinated tone, glancing at the giddy look on Tiggs’ face. “But it would require some meticulous effort to get the plan to perfectly work.”

Nonetheless, the fellow cheerleader nodded while letting out a little giggle, turning towards the main room where the session was meant to happen.

“Okay, I will be checking on the girls then,” The Tiger Prime commented with some eagerness. “Wouldn’t want to see them slacking off now that we are here.”

Vixy nodded back and stood behind as she was finally left alone in the locker room while her mind decided to delve back in the issue created by the presence of a human here at Prism.

Maybe the origin of her personal worry about the matter was related to the fact that neither her mother, nor her father had told her about this new situation and she was quite sure that at least one of them would have commented about the subject itself.

Her mother would have spoken about it for sure, especially with how her perception of humanity was a mixed one.

To her, humans were simply weaker than Primes but their adaptable nature make them apprentices as good as normal Primes in her fitness projects.

It was a novelty for sure, but one that the leader of the cheerleaders was unsure how to pick properly.

Humans were inherently unpredictable wherever they were and the individual that was Frankie Parker looked to be fairly reserved about his own manners.

He seemed to be shy and yet it was also possible that this attitude was one born from the important event he was present by and Vixy was certain that any indirect attempt wouldn’t get anything out of him.

Not only was he forming bonds with both Shin Aryoko and Hope Ravenhurst, but he did seem genuine in his efforts to keep away from the spotlight from the way he paled at the possibility of having to give a speech on his first day here at the university.

But which reasoning could be used so that she could approach him in a friendly manner and get a proper reading of what he was like?

A blunt approach now would be seen more as a power move.

Something that she was well-aware to not force now that there were so many interested people from the more relevant groups that are staring at this oddity from afar now and pondering her same dilemma.

Sending Tiggs in her stead would also be seen as a blatant attempt from her part to maybe ‘recruit’ him in her clique, which wouldn’t be a smart idea since she was still uncertain over his worth here at the school.

And while there was a considerable thinking behind the fact that he, as a human, was picked to join the school years here at Prism, there was quite the major mystery behind the methods used to decide which of the possible students would get to be picked to join the school.

It would be silly to gauge his ‘weight’ from this circumstance alone and, after spending some time in the social circles of Prism Uni, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that she was well-accustomed with the riskiness behind any moves of this caliber.

A wrong step could easily shatter one’s reputation and for the sake of her current peaceful standing, it was best to not shake the boat so suddenly and so brutally.

There was just a chance that would give her the means to personally approach Frankie without getting the attention of anyone even so remotely dangerous to her leadership.

And that was by finding him at the end of one of the classes he had picked for his specialization.

It would take some day to get the schedule properly compiled, but while the process would be painstakingly slow, it was the only way to get a safe mean to approach the young man without triggering some unwanted alarm.

Putting on her pom-poms, Vixy closed her locker with a final sigh, her blue eyes turning her attention right at the door as she prepared to face the first training session of the year, ready to give some motivational words to the gals before beginning with the usual routine.

She smiled inwardly as she left the locker room to find Tiggs waiting for her after concluding some discussion with the other girls.

The rest of the cheerleaders were looking eager and ready for another year of impressive actions.

And as the leader of the group, she couldn’t help but be excited herself about it all.

For now her little concerns would have to wait, not only for the sake of giving proper guidance to her group but also to enjoy for herself the peace of mind that these practices would give her every time.

Away from the pressure, away from her mother’s ambitions for her and… away from the fact that she was once again single after what happened last summer.

She hid a scowl at the mere mentioning of that dreadful detail, the circumstance itself still fresh in her mind but the girl managed to perfectly hid it away from the other girls.

This was a good day after all, and she couldn’t certainly allow to spoil it for herself and the others.

Chapter Text

The start of these beginning days at Prism Uni proved to be fairly normal, considering the new disposition I had to get accustomed to.

While Miles was still fairly eccentric with his ‘main priority’ when people were around, he surprised me when he turned into someone more manageable to deal with once we were away from public sight.

When I first took notice of this unexpected mood swing, I decided to inquire about while we were setting up the content of our bags in the proper placements within the room.

The answer was surprising, but I could see some logic behind this behavioral stunt.

The Cat Prime was ‘flexing’ this confident posture to gain the attention of the young women that were studying there, maybe even gain some date out of it since ‘chicks dig confident guys’.

This wasn’t a bad idea, as I have heard of former classmates getting into a relationship by appearing to be confident in various instances where their fiances were around.

But perhaps he was taking this piece of advice a tad bit in the wrong direction, as the only thing that his attitude would spell out to others is that he was terribly arrogant and quite vainglorious.

Of course this wasn’t the case, as the guy had been very friendly and not as rude as his giddiness would suggest. However, one view was the truth of what a person truly was, and another was the public image that other people created from these interactions and sights.

We ended up striking a conversation with Shin as well, doing so while immersed in concluding the ‘preparations’ for our temporary home for a year or two.

The White Tiger Prime proved to be very meticulous in pointing out that it was best for the three of us to try and get a flat before the end of our second year here, mostly because of the issue presented by the curfew.

If we were to try and find a part-time job during our stay here at Prism, there was a high chance that it would be mandatory to apply for the late shifts because of the tight schedule pushed by the school week for the daytime.

It was a gloomy realization that I had just barely thought about since my mind had been mostly fixed over the importance of making a good appearance for the first few days.

Yet I wasn’t incredibly bothered by the instance for some good reasons.

I had some general plans to finish a large number of the first-years subjects before the end of the year, enough to free my workload enough to keep up with any job prospect that could happen by my second year at the Uni.

With I moved out of California, I deprived of the opportunity of keeping my previous job as a junior technician at a supermarkets close to home.

It had been a temporary situation anyway, but now I was deprived of increasing my currently-limited amount of money at my disposal.

So while I could manage to handle my savings for a full year, there was a legitimate worry in the form of securing some job because of the fact that this was Prism.

The city was blossoming with new activities and openings in old ones, but those were swarmed by newly-qualified Primes that were patiently waiting to get in some well-paid position that best represented their qualifications.

So yes, it was going to be quite the tough situation to face about in the next year, yet I was confident enough that some work would still pop up for me to take and get some coin out of it in the long-term planning.

Still, my conversation with Miles and Shin allowed me to learn more about them.

The former stated that he had been living in one of the minor cities near Prism ever since he could walk, and that this wasn’t the first time he had been in the capital. 

The latter provided some fascinating details about where he came from.

Shin was born in a traditional Japanese household where his father was usually busy going oversea for business trips, leaving him and his younger sister to live under the care of their mother.

He was also particularly careful with his words while he was mentioning both of his parents.

Not only did the White Tiger Prime blatantly ignore some of the questions about what kinds of people they were, he was also swift in shifting the conversation to the fact that he had known Hope for several years now. This was because her parents were friends with his.

The youngest of the trio was also very reserved when describing the ‘uneasy terms’ he had to leave his home with for the sake of having a chance to study there instead of taking in the duties of heir to the family.

But what actually surprised me was the fact that there was actually a family of Primes that lived by the rules of ancient Japan.

Many traditions from the older Earth had gone mostly extinct after the conclusion of the War and it was odd that someone would stick by those life’s laws, especially if the people in question were Primes.

Yet the most curious fact was about why Shin was so nervous about giving out even a little more about his family, almost making it appear that some unpleasant predicament had happened before he had left for Prism.

In the end, I didn’t press him for more info about this as I felt that would have been quite the dumb move from my part to try with someone I had been friends with after just so little time.

After we were done with preparing our room and after everything in our bags had been carefully put in the proper sections of the place, we decided to meet up with Hope to spend lunch with her.

It would be an understatement to say how relieved she looked when she spotted us entering the little restaurant we had agreed to go for lunch & dinner. She almost rushed over just to greet us.

A surprising attitude from what I had seen being a fairly-shy young woman with people she wasn’t that much attached to, but one that was easily motivated once she explained what had happened after we had left for our rooms.

Her little narration shed some light over how she had spent her time the moment she had reached her dorm room, her first objective being fixing her bed and placing her own things in her side of the place.

The other girl that had been picked to share the room, a Shark Prime, had merely left the room without trying to fix anything about her own side, leaving these chores to a later date instead of freeing herself up of this burden early on.

Silence and boredom had weighed a lot on the Gazelle Prime’s head as the awkward development had left her pretty much lonely while she had gone through her tasks, leaving her a little disappointed about whom was going to be her roommate.

Thus, when Shin called her to mention the fact that we were planning to share lunch and dinner together as a group, Hope had been quick to accept the proposal and spend some time with us.

I was also given a partial glimpse of the dark-haired girl’s life during this opportunity as she partially mentioned how her sister would have loved how the meat was served in the restaurant.

She was as reserved as Shin was with her family, if not worse as she kept the topic of her discussions stuck to the present instead of bringing up other details about her own background.

Once both events were concluded, we decided to make our way back to Uni and straight to our respective rooms to catch some early rest for the big day that waited for us.

Sleep came quickly and the next morning I woke up with quite the insufferable development to deal with.

I recall opening my eyes to this partially-familiar ceiling of the dorm room. The recollection of events that occurred slowly entered my mind, but I still recalled fast enough that I wasn’t alone anymore.

Miles and Shin were still sleeping as it was still fairly early in the morning and…

Did I just end up getting up way too early?

Yesterday I had overslept, and now I had woken up four hours before  lessons started?

I held back from groaning at the infuriating circumstance, knowing how futile it would have been to waste time getting annoyed by this development.

Picking up the uniform that had been tailored to best fit my sizes, I walked inside the single bathroom and closed the door behind me.

I let a sigh leave my lips before I went through the usual routine I was most accustomed with.

The cleanup process took me about twenty minutes of serious attention, my thoughts diverted away for the period of time as I carefully prepared myself for what was going to be one of the more important days for my stay here at school.

First impressions were still something that mattered a lot for many teachers and, while many would deny this, I wasn’t going to make a poor figure of myself since I was the only human in this University.

Once I was done with the bathroom break, I walked outside with my folded Pjs under my arm and I quickly noticed that Shin was already sitting on his bed, clearly awake.

There was still some sleepiness on his face, yet I could distinctly see that there was also some shock at the sight of me coming out of the bathroom.

“You’re... already awake?” He asked with a hint of confusion.

I shrugged at his surprised query, knowing well myself that it was a true surprise.

“I just woke up early today,” I replied curtly, unwilling to think that I somehow managed to get up before the “Also, I’m already done with the bathroom.”

The boy gave a solid nod at my response, glad that I had vacated the place as he slowly got up from his own bed to get his own uniform, smiling a little before closing the door behind himself once he was inside the bathroom.

I turned my attention to the slowly-awakening Miles, approaching him quietly as he started to blink silently at the ceiling.

“Morning.”

The Cat Prime glanced to give me a look, staring at me for a long time before displaying a hint of panic on his face.

“Please, tell me that I didn’t wake up late-”

“You didn’t,” I interrupted with a quiet hum, surprised by this misunderstanding. “It’s barely 6 and… Shin got inside the bathroom a little while ago.”

He eased his posture a little, relief washing upon his face.

“Oh, if that’s the case-” The Cat Prime tensed up again and his golden eyes were once more staring at me, this time in shock. “Wait, if it’s that early, when you did get up to get yourself ready?”

I frowned. “I… woke up half an hour ago?”

“What? But then how did you deal with the fur and- Oh right.”

Miles was so close to face palm as I grinned at his little mistake he had been so close to go with.

“Funny to consider that I don’t have to deal with that much maintenance,” I smugly mused, enjoying a little the faux-glare coming from him.

“Oh, shut up,” He replied smartly before getting up from his bed. “Ladies love finding a well-cared fur and good hair in their possible future boyfriend.”

“Well, not everyone can be as handsome as you are, I suppose,” I mirthfully ‘agreed’ to him, causing him to scoff in mock-irritation.

“By the way, why do we need to wake up this early?” The Cat Prime inquired with some true irritation over the subject. “While I understand that this is the first day, I don’t see how waking up three hours before lessons can’t help us with-”

“The place is massive,” I interjected with a serious sigh. “And the timetables don’t have much info on how to get in the right classrooms for the lectures.”

He frowned at this.

“Wait, I remember you saying something about reading multiple times the map of the Uni-”

“As I said, the University is massive and we were surely going to deal with some big crowds if we decided to wake up later than now,” I pressed on with some insistence. “Plus, we might not share together all the classes.”

Before Miles could have commented about this, another voice piped in the discussion.

“I know that Hope has to deal with Maths for the first two hours,” Shin intervened as he left the bathroom in that very moment, catching both me and the Cat Prime by surprise at how quick he had been with his routine. “While Frankie and I have ‘Last Age of Old Earth.’”

…

“How did you get clean so quickly?” Miles asked loudly, eyes wide open in unexpected shock. “Y-you fur and everything you- you are clean but-”

The White Tiger Prime sported a sheepish expression before nodding back at us. “I-It’s a secret.”

The fellow Prime seemed ready to pressure more about the subject, clearly interested in the mysterious way the younger student had managed to be this fast with his routine, but I decided to poke at his shoulder.

“You can ask him later,” I muttered to Miles, the young man glancing at me quizzically and a little craze-looking by the odd circumstance itself. “You should probably focus on quickly get done with the bathroom stuff and-”

“Yeah, yeah...” The Cat Prime huffed at the fact he couldn’t get any answer from that. “But you better tell me how the heck you pulled that one, Shin!”

The door slammed closed, leaving a confused Shin to turn his attention back to me.

“W-Why is he so concerned about-”

“‘Ladies love well-cared fur and hair in their future boyfriends’,” I quoted Miles before sighing. “He isn’t angry or anything, just shocked.”

The blond nodded slowly at my response, his green eyes turning to the door with still some uncertainty.

“Do you think that… I’m too young to stay here?” He asked as he glanced back at me. “I know that I’m short and a little younger but-”

“You are doing fine, Shin,” I interrupted with a kind smile. “I understand you are a little nervous about being belittled, but I promise you that neither Miles nor I think less about you being a little more younger than us.”

A genuine smile appeared on his face and Shin nodded again. “I- I see, thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----

~Change of POV~

A few hours later…

The classroom was almost filled to the brim with old and new students of the various years, everyone having already taken their seats in the various seats by the benches available for them to occupy.

They all looked to be fairly at ease with the situation, if not a little nervous over the fact that this was the first lesson for everyone here at Prism Uni.

Most of them were also unaware that the professor that was supposed to be hosting this first lesson was one of the most dreaded teachers in the entire University.

All except a small group that included a certain Tobias ‘Toby’ Wainwright.

One of the most famous football players in the school, the young man had dark-red hair and vibrant yellow fur; his eyes were a careful green, tempered by years of training, studying and dealing with the shenanigans at school.

The Lion Prime had been facing this topic for two long years now, and it was the only ‘First-Year’ subject that he hadn’t passed yet.

The main obstacle was the fact that the teacher himself was incredibly pretentious from his students.

He always demanded double over the limits everyone had, and these would usually see a lot of his students either failing or dropping the subject entirely. 

Toby had yet to surrender to the seemingly unreachable requirements that the man responsible for this class had set for everyone to try and achieve, almost dared by the bored stare on the teacher’s face to keep going until the very end.

Professor Aker was one of the scariest Primes the young man had ever encountered, truly an imposing figure that had the haunting pair of yellow eyes.

With shoulder-length dark hair that mixed well with his beard, the man was rarely approached by any of his students and for good reasons too.

His background was shrouded in utter mystery, no one among the students knew much about this unknown character.

The only thing that was sure about this man was that he was incredibly aggressive in his teaching and no lessons was spared by the fact he would target someone to show his impartial capacity as a professor here at Prism.

So when the chattering all around him came to a halt in a mere instant, Toby knew that he had finally arrived.

With a calm but guarded pace, Professor Aker proceeded to reach for his desk while giving a silent glance all over the classroom before setting his sight right to a specific spot among the benches.

The Lion Prime carefully trailed the stare back to the man’s target, his own attention directed at the lone human that had joined the school just the day before and was currently sitting beside a young-looking White Tiger Prime.

Frankie Parker was quite an anomaly compared to the usual first-year students.

Someone that has already caught the attention of the group of people Toby was usually hanging with by just existing within the circumstances that led him here to study of all places.

Davin had been just barely surprised by this development as he didn’t care much about this kind of situations, yet he had shown some undeniable interest in seeing what the human was capable of doing and what kind of person he truly was.

Many questions were partially answered by a quick search made by Tiare on her own initiative, thanks to her special info-gathering means.

The Feline Prime had been quick to delve over what was publicly-known about the newest addition to Prism Uni with the help provided by her Nano-Zell Spirit, Era.

Then, once she had gotten enough to file a little report, she had been earnest to describe to the rest of the group the various important details that she had found about this curious individual.

A young man that hailed from California, Frankie was best known for having won two Surf competitions at the age of 14 and 16.

There were also some recommendations from old teachers from his former highschool about his ‘impeccable’ knowledge over advanced informatics and logical analysis that were cemented by the digital and physical presence of some official certifications that offered much more details over his prowess he had over both subjects.

Sadly, there was no correlation about Frankie with football and very little about a little effort in getting to play some soccer, which made him quite difficult to see as a possible candidate for their team.

Tiare was also deterred from pursuing a deeper approach over the study about this young man, growing disinterested about the human after finding out that there was nothing about him having any minimal grasp over the topic of Nano-Zell.

Which was a quick turn-off for the passionate Nano-Zell researcher as she valued ‘true potential’ by that specific branch of technology.

The other members of the group showed little curiosity over the young man and so the matter was left forgotten…

Until now.

“Good morning,” Professor Aker said with his usual silky voice, drawing a quiet pause to let his first words sink in everyone’s mind. “And welcome to the first lecture of this year. A warm welcome to the students that have been studying for so long in my class-”

His yellow eyes returned to glance at the human, the young man shivering in response at the attention he was receiving from those haunting orbs.

“ And those that are joining us starting today .”

Once again, a pause ensued at that comment and it left many perplexed over the ominous scenario built by the teacher’s presence and simple words of ‘introduction’ to his class.

It was what truly made the mysterious man stand out the most among the other teachers, despite the roster of quirkier staff member that were known to everyone at the school.

“The subject that I will host with various lessons, ‘Last Age of Old Earth’, is the sublimation of the final years of the Galaxy-wide conflict that saw Old Earth becoming the main battleground for the forces of evil facing against the brave group forged by Primes and… Humans,” The professor continued smoothly, glancing once again around. “This isn’t meant to be considered an ‘easy’ subject that anyone can pass without giving their best, as I take major concern in preparing my students to the arduous tasks of preserving the memories of those that are no longer here to tell their tales.”

It was the same as every year, just a handful of words changing from his usual speech and yet, somehow, it seemed to carry the same weight and importance as it did the first time Toby had heard about this.

A strangely mesmerizing explanation that would snare everyone’s attention to this creepy Prime’s words and thoughts.

“But this year we are also blessed with a unique development that will bring up even more opportunities to retain the beauty and the burden of history itself,” The man switched his tone to one of partial intrigue, showing some rare emotion which got many of his older students to frown upon. “Something that I find quite fascinating and worth exploring.”

He stood up from his chair, glancing directly at the human for the third time since he had entered the classroom.

“Mr. Parker, can you please stand up?”

It sounded like a question, but the pressing tone was enough to make it clear that it was a demand.

Frankie gulped nervously, but complied to the request as he slowly proceeded to stand up.

“Please,come closer to my desk.”

Once again, there was no room to refuse the teacher, and the human made his way down the staircase to the side that led right in front of the teacher’s desk.

It was a morbid scene to look at.

There was a lack of any major sounds as only the whispering of some distant students managed to slightly distort the silence reigning over the humongous room, leaving the predicament to unravel with such a… unnerving pace.

Finally, the human was standing in front of the desk, the teacher nodding as he resumed his speech.

“Mr. Parker, your presence here is quite important to define the context of what will be the general theme of these lessons, especially since your role here will give foundation to the essential bond between Primekind and Humanity,” Professor Aker pointed out. “In fact, correct me if I’m wrong, but one of your ancestors fought in one of the major battles back during the final battle for Earth, right?”

So this was just because one of the young man’s ancestors had fought in that old and mostly forgotten war? But… why?

Why would someone like him be interested in something like that?

Still, the human nodded while trying to keep his nervousness down to a manageable level over the sudden proximity with the intimidating Prime.

“Y-Yes, sir.”

There was no quick follow up after that response, the teacher merely taking a seat back to his chair as he glanced thoughtfully at the first-year student.

“Can you please state his name and what made him unique compared to many others?”

Frankie frowned at the two queries in that sentence, but after gulping again he proceeded to answer those.

“He was… Sergeant Edward J. Parker and...” The young man stopped for a moment to ponder well before continuing with his reply. “And I think it was because of his nickname, the ‘Grim Maverick’.”

Toby had to blink twice before accepting the final bit of that answer, surprised by the unexpected nickname given to someone that was somehow… important.

Once again, there was no clue in their interactions that offered some explanation to what was going on.

This looked to be the yearly surprise test that the teacher was known to give to an unsuspecting student, but there was none of the infamous pressure that he would exert against his targets.

In fact, there was just something softer, lenient, about the manners the man was using in that specific scene.

“Mr. Parker, while I will forgive you this slight as this is your first day and I’m subjecting you to quite the non-negligible pressure by having you in front of your peers’ attention, I will tell you the first rule that my students should know about my class,” Professor Aker paused as he glanced to the rest of the classroom. “There is no ‘I think’ or ‘I suppose’. You either know what you are talking about, or you don’t. This is the only warning you will get, and any situation of this kind will be reprimanded with a proper grade.”

…

“But yes, Mr. Parker, you are indeed correct in saying that Edward J. Parker’s nickname had something to do with the importance behind his role during the war, but you are failing to bring up the reason behind such a dreadful nickname,” The man continued with a calmer voice. “Of all humans fighting together with Primes, there were just very few that were bestowed with the glorious honor and draining hardship of supporting the Crests in every battle.”

Everyone was already starting to connect the dots of the clues dispensed so suddenly by the teacher, the Lion Prime having to ponder deeply about what was happening before drawing his own conclusion over the linear explanation.

It seemed like not even Frankie had been aware of the topic itself, the human sporting some surprise at what was slowly unfolding before the class.

“The ‘Grim Maverick’ was one of the soldiers that fought under the command of the Crest of Death, a rare human among the loyal group of warriors pledging their lives to the holder of such a dangerous power,” He finally revealed with quite the fascinated tone before turning his stare back at the rest of the classroom. “And this is why Mr. Parker’s presence brings up the main theme of this subject. The never-ending question about the origins of everything and everyone, and how our presence came to exist like it is right now.”

Professor Aker stood up from his seat and approached the blackboard behind his desk, stopping just a moment from writing into it to glance at the young man.

“Mr. Parker, you may return to your seat and… please take notice that your intervention is considered appreciated for the topic of our first lesson,” The teacher said, stopping from continuing his speech so that Frankie could have returned back to his seat. “Which will be about the first contact and the outbreak of the war upon Earth, the Battle for Lyon.”

From there the true lecture began and everyone started to take notes over the next words coming out of the mysterious professor’s lips, even the human and the White Tiger Prime beside him.

Yet Toby restrained himself from actually giving too much attention at the lesson as the shock born from what had just happened was there to keep him distracted with what the two new students were doing.

Not only did the young man avoid facing the usual brutality that the teacher was known to display before new students, but he also looked far calmer than any other students that had faced the same instance as his.

The Lion Prime was impressed, confused but, most of all, fascinated by what had just happened as this was the first case ever that someone managed to ‘survive’ the pressure of being around the ominous-looking Prime.

It was a noteworthy sight that proved that there was truly something peculiar about Frankie, and that rekindled once more the interest over the kind of individual this curious fellow was.

Maybe it was curiosity, maybe it was fascination or… maybe there was truly something that couldn’t just be explained with such a distant approach.

So instead of silently studying the case as he had done until now, the Lion Prime decided to see by himself what kind of person this Frankie Parker was by planning to interact with him once this lesson was over.

Who knows, maybe this guy had still something that made him much worthier than he had made him to be.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: It’s like High-School (Without Musical)! (4)

~Hope’s POV~

When she took a seat beside Miles, she had thought that things wouldn’t be too horrible to deal with today.

It was a strange degree of optimism that strayed from the calm exuding from the Cat Prime, Shin, and Frankie about the lack of concerns for today’s activities.

The first lesson, Math, wasn’t one of her best subjects.

In fact, not only did she dread the return of calculus after the difficult topics she faced in high school, but that this wasn’t even the worst way she could have started her first day here. 

In comparison to the places she had been at in the past few years, the classroom was massive.

Housing about fifty to sixty other students in various chairs set in five large counters that served as desks for entire lines of people sitting close to those, the place looked top-notch in terms of design and construction.

The walls looked to have been repainted quite recently, the benches and chairs were undamaged and seemingly new, and the class itself seemed to calm down once the teacher had arrived in the room.

Placing down her notebook, pens and some erasers, the young woman had planned to give her utmost attention to the lecture, ready to write down hundreds of words in her notes so that she could already start her experience at Prism Uni in the best of situations.

And maybe Shin would praise her for her hard work.

But of course, this thought was secondary to her inner worry of messing up this early, and… her uneasy state didn’t seem to influence much of what Miles was doing.

Doodling on  pages of his notebook while giving the barest attention to what was meant to be just an introductory session to prepare students to the topic they were meant to be starting from this year.

Professor Bellman was a gray-haired dark-furred Mouse Prime with dark-blue eyes.

He had a little bit of belly on his sides, but that barely seemed to break the kindness his expression and overall appearance was displaying to the class.

Rather soft-spoken, he started the lesson by making use of a microphone despite the utter silence domineering in the classroom.

The explanation for this necessity came together with his presentation speech.

The old man started to calmly point out how some medical circumstances got him incapable of raising his voice above a certain pitch, and that he would resign from his post at the end of this school year to retire with a lengthy career.

It sounded fairly sudden for a decision, at least for something that was meant to introduce students to his class, but some of the older students there seemed to not mind it.

In fact, a large majority didn’t seem to actually care for this knowledge, and decided to merely roll with it without any inquiries.

Kind of saddening, but maybe Professor Bellman truly deserved some peace after working for several decades.

The lesson began with a steady but easy pace that managed to get her interested in the topics detailed by the teacher’s words about the basis required to properly begin the study of Uni-level Math.

Some exercises that were meant to be taken as some early homework for the first week were assigned to all first-year students in order to give some preparation about the difficulty the lessons were planning to be once the school session was in full swing.

Nothing too burdening, but still, it was quite surprising for Hope that she had to already sign down some homework… while also urging Miles to do the same.

He seemed highly-receptive of her annoyance when she voiced the importance to at least writing down the homework that had just been left.

Just like Frankie had told her in a brief moment of privacy before parting ways in the two different groups, the Cat Prime’s act was mostly a smoke-screen meant to gain attention and that he was actually polite enough to accept her help if he seemed to need it.

Whispered queries from the young man about some bits of the lesson further cemented the idea that he was somehow still paying attention to the lecture itself.

There were no notes there yet, but Miles was putting genuine effort in keeping up with both his act and what the teacher was talking about.

Briefly sighing  while taking a moment to glance back at her notes, Hope nodded at how well things were faring, considering how nervous she had been earlier that morning.

Her green eyes then looked to the side as Miles stifled a silent yawn behind his right hand, lips quick to close up as he returned to stare with a hint of boredom at Professor Bellman’s desk.

It was about an hour in the lesson, another hour left to pass before the first lecture had wrapped  up to a closure, but the Gazelle Prime could see why the Cat Prime was having difficulty to keep up after so much time.

Despite the incredibly well-explained topics detailed by the elderly teacher, the strain of enduring two hours each lesson was fairly tiring for anyone that hadn’t been experienced in long waits.

Hope’s saving point was how she had developed something of a strong patience that stemmed from dealing with lengthy singing lessons.

Her voice was harmonious alright, but proper practice had been a must in refining her talent, in what she now felt sure was her main nature.

Singing was relaxing, soothing and… it wouldn’t be a lie that her wish was something she would truly fight for to the very end.

Not only for herself, but to those back home that had shown her support.

Her mother, her father, her sister- everyone that she knew back in New Boothbay.

Another calm sigh left her quiet lips, her stare resuming back to follow the teacher’s figure as the old man continued to explain the formulas that were going to become a must to learn by memory.

Yet, instead of being fully dragged back in that tiring lecture, her attention was spurred by a poke to her elbow.

She glanced back at Miles, and his golden eyes were staring back with a curious look.

“So… wanna talk a little?”

A perplexed expression fell on her face, her eyes narrowing in minor confusion at the unexpected request, but she blinked and… nodded.

“Only a little,” The young woman conceded.

While the two were seated fairly far away from where the teacher was and their distracted selves were covered by some other students, the risk of getting caught not following the lesson wasn’t something she was interested about.

Yet curiosity had started to slowly gnaw at her interest over the subject, her mind now shifting to see what the fellow Prime had planned to talk about.

“You know, I think you aren’t being too  subtle about that thing you are trying with Shin.”

...Nevermind, returning back to the lesson at once!-

“I-I don’t know what-”

“Look, Hope,” The Cat Prime interrupted quietly, almost sounding like a half-whispered voice. “I understand that there is some stuff I don’t know about, but even I’ve noticed that you look at him quite intensively. So what’s up with that?”

Her lips parted to reveal surprise, but no words left her mouth.

Actually, nothing was on her mind over what she was supposed to do now that she had been called out so suddenly and without much notice.

“I-It’s… private?”

He stared at her for a little while, silence still reigning over while the lecture was still going and the young woman felt cracking a little at the pressure exerted by those golden eyes.

Part of her was curious beyond the state of fright she was going through, about what the young man was now going to say with her weak defence when-

“Okay,” Miles hummed quietly before staring back at Professor Bellman, his mood moving away from the discussion and leaving a shaken Hope to face the strange lack of other escalations from that point.

“W-What?” She almost squeaked, but her common sense long overruled her little moment of fear and she gave just a curt whisper.

“I mean, I understand that I shouldn’t be prying into private matters and… I think it wouldn’t be right to poke too much over this very topic,” The Cat Prime explained quietly, still glancing at the teacher. “But I just found it odd that you were staring at him so much.”

...He wasn’t suspecting anything from the attention she gave Shin?

No, there had to be at least something  in his mind about that possibility, and yet he was trying to sound as if he wasn’t aware of the predicament she had been dealing with in the last few years.

“Why?”

There was no way she was just going to ignore this new development as it was.

With Miles now aware that something was afoot between her and the White Tiger Prime, the chances of having to give an explanation in some inopportune moment might end up becoming a dreadful reality.

He seemed to barely notice her quick question but he sighed.

“Feeling like we can both find an agreement about this circumstance,” The Cat Prime admitted with a small smile. “You see, I’ve seen something that might help you with… whatever you want to do with Shin.”

She took a long sigh and asked. “What do you want?”

His smile faltered a little and he groaned. “It’s nothing about me as… me,” He started to explain. “It’s more about helping someone that might help you. And that isn’t me.”

… “What are you even talking about?”

Nothing of what the fellow Prime was saying was making sense to her, but for some reason her worries seemed to dwindle away as he showed a sheepish look.

“You see, I’ve noticed earlier this morning that Shin is slowly getting warm with Frankie. In fact, I could say he looks up for advice from our mutual humane friend,” Miles finally answered multiple of her inner questions at once. “Given time he could get to know him on a deeper degree that you can since he is a… dude.”

Hope nodded as she knew about what he was mentioning about, but she gestured for him to continue.

“Well, you could ask him to help you with this situation,” The young man pressed with a sigh. “In return, you can help him find a girlfriend himself or something like that.”

Thinking well about his words, the Gazelle Prime took a moment to ponder over the information she had just been given and… there was some logic behind Miles’ plan.

She had long tried to rope someone else to give her some more details about Shin’s private life, but her closest confidant until now had been Shin’s younger sister and… she was just ten.

Very smart, but still too young to understand what kind of thoughts her brother might be having when he was alone and properly give her news about those.

And Frankie did seem like a trustworthy individual.

The little moments spent at lunch and dinner had brought out more of the personality she had just seen only glimpses about, and there was no denying that the only human of Prism Uni was someone that she could count on about this matter.

But while her acceptance of asking for help from Frankie was undisputed, the issue that truly weighed much on her head was why Miles had given her this kind of support.

“And you don’t want nothing in return?” The young woman pressed on with a careful tone, getting a snort from the Cat Prime.

“You see, if Frankie manages to get his first relationship going, I can ask him for help in getting a girlfriend myself,” He replied happily. “The issue of me directly helping you is that I have a pretty normal situation with Shin, nothing about trust just yet and… Frankie can help you as much as you can help him.”

“So you want us to cooperate to solve our respective love issues,” The girl started to summarize quietly. “Because you can then ask for advice from Frankie… without having to give him anything  back.”

“That’s correct,” Miles said calmly, smiling widely at that correct statement.

…

“How exactly are you and Frankie friends anyway?”

He huffed. “Now, that’s kind of rude, you know?”

“You seem quite irritating when you talk to him, yet he just...” She trailed a little, unsure how to conclude the sentence.

“Doesn’t do anything about it?” Miles guessed with a hum. “You can say that it’s just… something between boys. Nothing that can be exactly explained in public.”

What kind of stuff was he referring to? Only for boys?

She shook her head, unwilling to pester him for more explanations as she was starting to already feel the beginning of a headache the more she continued to think about this convoluted trail of thoughts.

Instead of continuing the discussion, Hope’s attention returned back to the teacher and… the lesson that would be over in less than 30 minutes .

Surprise was painted on her face, but the girl merely accepted the fact that she had missed a quarter of the lecture for this conversation.

Not only now did she have something, or rather someone that she can ask help from, but she was also given an outlet away from the boring sensation grating her mind before engaging in that talk.

With a pleasant tune playing on her silent lips, the young woman resumed writing down some more notes while her mind started to formulate how she was supposed to share a private discussion with the human.

And while the general line of planning was simple, Hope found out pretty quickly that creating a proper diversion to share that discussion would take more than a few moments of quietness.

Thankfully, something will come up to her just in time.

~Frankie’s POV~

After the History lesson was over, I found myself dealing with quite the share of strange circumstances to ponder about.

Starting from the odd instance I was dragged into when Professor Aker started his lecture with my ancestor being the initial point, I was quite confused as to why the man had thought it correct to actually put me in that spotlight.

I didn’t mind too much, since the only reason why I was forced to stand out was because of my ancestry rather than something about me being a human being here at Prism Uni.

Was I a little shaken by the unexpected development? Just a little bit.

I wasn’t angry, not even irritated, but I was annoyed by how things had unfolded so suddenly and without a warning.

Shin had been keen to inquire how I was before overwhelming me with comments about the ‘Grim Maverick’, something that was as heartwarming as draining on my already-stressed brain.

It was just the first lecture of the day and I was already forced to endure these tiring circumstances, but I wasn’t giving up so easily, and without putting up a fight before truly collapsing.

Just as we both reached the nearby exit to leave the classroom, we were stopped by someone I had never seen before.

Tobias Wainwright was, in a correlation that many could see as enlightening as confusing, the lighter version of Miles.

Very friendly, but also an extrovert that knew how to strike a conversation with someone he didn’t even know on a normal basis.

His mannerism was on spot, maintaining a degree of politeness and easygoing that made him quite the fascinating fellow to get to know.

The Lion Prime was part of Prism Uni’s Football team, and that was quite the important role considering how impactful the sport was in the continent.

It had been quite surprising  when I first heard about this detail, about how well-based football was in this Kingdom- actually Queendom from what Shin had told me before the beginning of the lesson.

I was mindful to not give out my trust to this still-unknown individual as I had my fair share of those that looked to be trustworthy, but turned out to be just some devious pricks waiting to strike at the opportune moment.

Yet my early carefulness mollified the moment Toby decided to keep his interaction limited, merely inquiring how I was feeling after that little close encounter with the fright-inducing teacher, and if I was getting accustomed well with the campus life here at Prism.

The conversation only lasted for  a couple of minutes, as the Lion Prime mentioned having some unforgiving schedule that needed to keep up with before bidding us a pleasant day and delving away into the mass of Primes crowding the hall we had been standing by.

Nodding at each other, Shin and I decided to make our way to the little spot we were meant to regroup together with Miles and Hope.

With the schedules having our group split in various two-members combinations, it was easy to meet-up somewhere so that we could best coordinate  our presence in the various classrooms with people we knew about.

Of course, this situation was only meant to last until we got to know more people from the various classes, thus making our lives easier to go by without having to make some crazy runs left and right just to not be late for the other classes.

I yawned a little, but Shin decided to hum a little about the situation.

“It is quite overwhelming,” The White Tiger admitted nervously. “I didn’t expect the pace to be this draining, at least not to this level.”

I blinked at that and nodded. “Uni is a big step beyond High School, Shin,” I replied kindly. “And while you might have the requirements to fit well with the various classes, you still will need some time to grow accustomed to the rhythms with your body.”

He returned the nod, but his green eyes strayed back to the direction we were walking by.

“Do you think Hope and Miles are doing well with Math?” He inquired quietly. “I know Hope is good at it but-”

“It’s just the first lesson, and Miles will probably pay it little concern, but at least give it some  attention for the sake of not failing the subject so early on,” I answered slowly. “He knows well-enough that screwing around too much will end up with him hauled out of the school.”

The Prime opened his mouth, but then he closed it in quiet contemplation about my comment.

Finally, he spoke up. “But why wouldn’t he pay attention? It might be boring for some but… this is Uni.”

I sighed at Shin’s little confusion over the mind of the Cat Prime but I just shrugged.

“Miles is lazy,” I hummed quietly. “Differently from many, he has yet to learn that duty should come before fun. But he will learn it, trust me on that.”

The blond nodded, giving no continuation to this last topic as we finally ended up right to the meet-up place and… Hope and Miles were already there.

The two other Primes slowly started to approach us and soon some words were shared.

“Frankie, it was horrible!” Miles whined, almost falling into my arms but I pushed him to stand up. “Math is boring!

“Of course it is, but that doesn’t mean you have to behave like a child about it,” I huffed back at him, then I glanced at Hope. “Did he create any issues?”

The girl’s green eyes widened just a fraction, but she swiftly shook her head. “Not truly, no.”

I sighed in relief at that, while Shin merely pressed on with a polite tone.

“Was the lecture difficult?”

“Actually, it was pretty easy to listen to,” The Gazelle Prime admitted with a smile. “Professor Bellman is quite exhaustive with his words and I think it will do alright on my own.”

The blond nodded happily. “That’s good to hear.”

“We will be able to see it by ourselves since Math is the last lesson for today for us, Shin,” I pointed out with a quiet hum. “But now we should focus on… Prime Literature?”

I paused for a moment as I finished reading the title of the subject, my brain losing a couple of instants to try and connect what kind of subject it truly was.

Maybe it had different topics compared to English Literature? Or perhaps it was the same but with a different name?

My confusion was drowned away as I saw Hope walking closer to me and… grasp at my left arm.

“We share the same subject,” She said swiftly, starting to pull at my limb. “And it’s best to get going already.”

I was surprised at her sudden interest in reaching the class so early on, but before I could even try to have her calm down a little, her pulling got stronger and more difficult to hold up with.

Getting dragged around by someone that was shorter than me and fairly small with her figure, I find myself shocked that I was being literally yanked around across Prism Uni by Hope.

I had just the chance of glancing at the two other Primes, with Shin looking incredibly surprised by this development while Miles…

He was smiling, smugly so, while he waved at us leaving and I knew that there was something wrong about it all.

My nervousness increased as I noticed that we were taking some turns that actually strayed away from the correct path.

It was after  five minutes of walking that  I was finally granted leniency in the form of her letting go of my arm, and taking a few steps away from me.

I took this little pause to recollect myself and my thoughts, my mind quickly picking up the fact that we were in some deserted corridor of the building and… she was looking at me with a blank look.

My panic intensified even more at that stare, and I gulped nervously.

“Uh… is- is there anything wrong?”

Hope blinked twice, but then sighed and nodded. “I want your help for something important.”

...What?

“Something important?” I parroted thoughtlessly, trying to make sense of what was going on.

“Look, Frankie, I don’t want to sound too creepy or anything,” The girl continued with a now-nervous tone. “But I want you to promise me that you are not going to tell anyone about this. It’s really important.”

I frowned and blinked at her words as I felt drawn more and more in this neverending confusion.

“Is it… anything worth of concern? Like anything dangerous or-”

“Nothing dangerous, no,” She assured me with  a quick nod. “But it’s important… to me. I’m asking you as a friend and, while we haven't known each other for long, I think I can trust you about this… in exchange for help.”

“Well, if it’s something this important and private to you, I don’t see why I should divulge it to someone else,” I admitted with a kind smile. “I suppose it’s pretty big if you got all this secrecy going.”

The Gazelle Prime sighed and nodded. “Thank you for that and… I guess I can already tell you that-”

Her eyes looked so intensively into mine and I felt a paralyzed by that strong, unexpected stare.

“I love Shin.”

Three words were more than enough to twist something deeply in my chest in that strangely-intense moment, and I blinked.

“You love… Shin?”

She nodded and I blinked again, this time pondering about the situation as a whole.

I was particularly shocked, yet somewhat still confused and also a bit disappointed as I had expected something else, but I thought back to the day before when Hope had felt nervous about something.

And it hadn’t been something about the school as I had expected. Not at all.

“And… you want my help for… set him up for you?” My breath felt a little bit itchy, but Hope seemed to ignore that particularly strange instance I was going through, giving me another nod.

“I know it sounds bad that two friends should conspire about this,” The young woman started to explain. “But I’ve been trying for years to get something accomplished and… I’m still stuck as his best friend.”

Weren’t they like childhood friends? Wasn’t that quite the lengthy friendzone? 

Suppressing the surprise, I managed to give her a confused frown.

“And you are asking me for help… why?” I inquired quietly, knowing exactly that she had no reason for picking me as the best candidate for such a predicament-

Oh…

I thought about that smug smile present on a certain Cat Prime’s face, about the way he was waving at us like a moron, and my mind picked up quickly on those little clues now that there was a foundation where to settle these pieces.

“It was Miles,” I replied to myself and she showed some surprise at my tone. “He had this giddy grin on his face, I bet he said something about-”

“Shin trusts you,” Hope interjected calmly. “And I’m not asking you to deceive him or anything, but that you help me with this.”

“I would still have to go behind his back to pass you information,” I pointed out firmly. “And I think Shin is insecure enough as he is right now to be dealing with this kind of stuff.”

“It wouldn’t be that ba- wait, what are you talking about?” She stopped herself in her charge as the last words of my reply reached deep in her mind. “Insecure? Shin?”

“While he might appear polite, he is still facing the reality of keeping up with people older than him,” I said with a strong voice. “He is expecting some bullying already, and he thought that Miles disliked him about a cheeky comment he made early this morning.”

Her jaws dropped a little, but the young woman seemed to take a more serious stance.

“Do you think he needs some space then?” The Prime asked with some worry.

“I think he just needs time to adjust to the pace and the new faces around,” I assured her with a sigh. “Nothing too concerning, but I was thinking of organizing a study group after school hours in our dorm. You are free to join if you want.”

Hope smiled at the proposal and nodded. “I will be there and…” Her lips closed momentarily as she seemed to be thinking about something.

“Do you accept or not giving me help about-”

“Two conditions,” I said, biting down a groan at her pressing. “Without these confirmed, I will outright refuse any help, but I will not tell him anything about your feelings.”

Her eyes narrowed in a mix of surprise and suspicion. “And those are?”

I held my index finger up. “We’re not going to pull the fake couple act… ever,” I muttered with a resolute tone. “It never works, and it tends to create awkward situations to face without a plan.”

With that first point, her face eased a little bit and nodded, sporting a brief sheepish look.

“That is quite the horrible case, yes.”

I nodded back and continued. “If he feels uncomfortable about these advances and I tell you to back off, you do that,” I hummed quietly. “If you ‘love’ him, you will understand that you can’t just burn the path ahead of you for-”

“I-I know what love is, and I will not do anything that sounds too creepy,” She admitted with a light stutter, but then stopped at my amused snort. “And what’s that about?”

“Do you know where you took us?” I replied with a flat tone, gesturing over the deserted corridor and… her green eyes scanned around, widening a little more as she concluded her little analysis.

“I-I wasn’t exactly looking for the creepiest hallway,” Hope admitted with a huff. “Plus, why would I of all people sound like a creepy individual?”

“‘I have something important to tell you’ and ‘You need to promise me that you will never tell this to anyone else’ kind of did the trick there-”

She gave a light-punch to my arm and I recoiled in mock-pain. “Ouch, you know that’s true.”

“A little,” The Gazelle Prime admitted. “And I guess I accept your little conditions.”

I nodded at her with a thankful glance and…

…

Wasn’t I forgetting something important?

…

Oh right, there was the little issue about-

I tensed up in sudden panic, Hope looking surprised at my mood swing as I got hold of her hand and started to walk away from that corridor.

“H-Hey, what are you-”

“We lost too much time talking,” I interjected firmly, my mind shifting all of my attention right on remembering the correct track to follow for the classroom. “We risk being late for the second lecture and-”

“That would be bad,” She jumped in while she kicked up her own pace to match up with my speed. “Really bad.”

I nodded and we both rushed away from that deserted hallway and back to the more crowded areas of the building.

Thank God, neither Hope, nor the rest of the students noticed that we had been holding each other’s hands until we were in front of the classroom’s door.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Friends, Trials, and Chaos! (1)

A brand new day started here at Prism Uni, yet my mind still hasn’t digested what has been happening over the past couple of days. 

The first day had concluded well enough for everyone and we were quick to enjoy some study sessions together. With Hope joining us, the session managed to maintain at least some seriousness as we struggled with some of the early homework from the first subjects.

It was nice that some entertaining banter had started by the time we were close to conclude our tasks, and they were just enough to get everyone’s spirits high to finally bring an end to that day without distracting us too much from the main troubles.

The pleasant first day was then followed by the second day here, which mostly followed the same pattern as the first one considering that it had relatively new subjects to deal with and that meant more ‘first lectures’ to face about.

Prime Literature ended up being just a study over the mix of Old-Earth/Old-Prism poetry and tales that were salvaged by the destruction of both original planets. It was quite the relief considering I had expected to find myself dreading some of the topics about the modern-contemporary style of present’s literature.

That, I knew, wouldn’t have worked well with how difficult it felt to try and understand on my own.

The teacher of this subject, Professor Dorion, gave a well-summarized explanation about highlighting correlations between the two different lines of thought during her first lecture, despite the fact that there were plenty of noticeable differences between the two cultures back then.

The Polar Bear Prime had shoulder-length, dark-gray hair and a pair of attentive, but relaxed blue eyes. She was still in her mid-thirties, but her personality made her seem much more mature and wiser than her real age.

The woman also stood pretty tall, always sporting a confident but humble approach with her teaching despite her celebrity status being known to anyone that had been going to high school since a few  years ago.

Having gained quite the impressive achievements with her degrees and renowned examples of literature masterworks, the bespectacled woman had respectfully accepted the offer to teach the subject here in Prism Uni just five years ago.

She had long stopped writing, mentioning right at the beginning of the lesson that she had long found the work as a teacher here in this illustrious establishment far more entertaining than her past ‘gloomy career’.

Quite the sudden development considering how excellent her books were. (A sudden development counts as 5 years old? Kinda questioning the logic here, but it’s your story to tell) Most of those were focused on slice-of-lives kind of comedies, drawing an authentic depiction of the difficulties of lives for young men and women while also dropping some amusing content here and there in her works.

Still, her decision seemed to have been correct as she ended up becoming my favorite teacher, with Professor Bellman coming up second place in terms of genuine interest in their careers and capacity to teach people.

What rendered this experience even better was the way Hope had helped during the notes-writing.

There was quite the synergy in that situation, the teamwork reaching a degree of intensity that just rendered the lesson quite the easy thing to understand without ending up bored.

But while Maths and Literature ended up becoming subjects that the dark-haired girl was capable of keeping  up with, the same couldn’t be said for History of the Old Worlds.

Either because the unnerving nature of Professor Aken or for the complexity of his explanations, Hope had some trouble in keeping up with the notes and brought this up when the study session back on the first day had started.

Thinking back at the discussion I had with the girl and how it now saw the two of us allied for a ‘common goal’, I was quick to slowly push Shin to consider tutoring his childhood friend about the subject.

The results ended up being a mixed success. The blond was receptive of the idea, finding a positive reply even from Hope, but he was quick to try and rope me in too as I ‘was a little more experienced with the subject’ compared to how he was about it.

Oddly enough, it was a logical alteration as the young man had given no little praise over my understanding of History.

Miles turned out to be a saving grace as he quickly jumped in with the fact that I was already busy with the fact I had to tutor him until he got a better handling of the subject itself.

Which was… a lie, especially with how well the Cat Prime had understood the topics of the first lesson compared to Hope.

Shin was saddened by the fact I couldn’t give him much support, but still accepted the idea that I would have offered help with the tutoring if he needed any.

Hope was elated by this development, but she was mindful enough to not try anything more out of this little victory she had gained thanks to this minor effort from my part.

She did thank me about it, yet her genuinely satisfied words left me feeling perplexed and somewhat confused. There was no real reason to feel like it, yet the unknown feeling was there.

Nothing too concerning. I quickly shrugged it off from my shoulders as I went on to deal with the second day.

Things were pretty much the same as the one before, but the lessons were new ones and… I admit I wouldn’t have expected  Chemistry to be this much difficult.

Shin had to help me around more than I felt well with and, despite the good-will of the young Prime, I still felt disappointed over the fact I hadn’t been careful for so many issues at once.

Noting down on my personal bucket list to do some extra homework to fix this problematic discovery, asking the teacher of this class for some assistance about the matter.

Professor Bayer, an old, bald Lizard Prime that was mostly known for his strict but incredibly helpful mannerism while teaching, was more than happy to accommodate me with a few advised parts of the textbook I needed to study from to bolster up my current situation with his subject.

With this first subject dealt with, we quickly moved to the next one.

Miles was quite eager about this one in particular, bringing up more words of wisdom over the importance of learning… Spanish.

Having grown up in California, I was pretty much adept in speaking the language proficiently and soon the entire class turned out to be a breeze for me.

This first lesson was a brief summary of the simple rules of grammar, and I was careful to help out Miles as the Cat Prime seemed to be surprisingly focused by the ‘words’ leaving Professor de Diego’s lips.

The teacher was a Leopard Prime with a voluptuous form, her long red hair reached down by her lower waist and chocolate-brown eyes.

She was stunning and fairly capable with her job, there was nothing wrong to say about the way the young woman was conducting her lecture… except the dress she was currently wearing did an amazing job by not hiding her cleavage.

I was careful to ignore glancing down for as long as I could manage, due to the fact that I still had to pay attention to  her lectures, but this thought wasn’t shared much by the rest of the male students in the classroom.

Miles himself was mesmerized by the sight, but much to my surprise, the Cat Prime managed to still understand everything that the Spanish teacher was saying, and his notes proved to be substantial compared to previous predicaments of the same kind.

The lecture itself was decent and, once we were done with this too, we ended up meeting up with the rest of the group.

Shin and Hope seemed to have been fine with Chemistry, and once we were all together at the usual meeting spot, we proceeded to check on the final subject for the day.

This one was quite special compared to the others since it was one of the optional ones that students  had to decide before the beginning of the school year.

“ I got… ‘Photography’,” Miles announced happily.

“ Same,” Hope hummed quietly, her eyes briefly flashing curiosity while glancing at Shin.

“ ...I have ‘Old Earth Literature’,” The blond admitted, deflating a little as he glanced at his schedule. “I found it like an interesting subject to expand with Prime Literature.”

I gave him a nod, my hand patting at his shoulder. “That’s good-thinking,” I commented calmly, a small smile on my face. “I actually picked-”

“ Something about sports?” The Cat Prime jumped in with an amused tone, to which I frowned.

“ Actually… it’s something of a little hobby of mine,” I hummed with a hint of embarrassment at their collective staring. “I picked ‘Cooking’.”

…

“ Wait, really?” Miles pressed on with a surprised tone. “I thought you would have-”

“ Picked something a little more practical?” I interjected with a sigh. “I just found ‘Cooking’ a little more interesting considering that I have some experience about it, and a certification to attest my current level wouldn’t be bad to have in case of any Plan Bs about working.”

“ So it’s more to cover your bases rather than expanding what knowledge you currently have, right?” Shin inquired with some fascination and I nodded back at him.

“ That, and I might  actually get to learn some more recipes out of the lectures,” I quietly replied . “I’ve heard that the teacher for the course is actually some good chef that had retired, so hoping to get some extra knowledge about cooking wouldn’t be that impossible.”

Ultimately, we had to split up to reach our respective classrooms before the end of the half-day break, and I ended up reaching the room quite early on considering how close it was to the section of the building I had started to walk from.

Some students had already arrived and put on the standard aprons available by the entrance, so I quickly took one and began putting it on myself.

It was a simple white apron with Prism Uni’s logo on it, nothing truly special about it that I could see other than that detail.

I took my stand by one of the free counters, waiting patiently as the rest of the students started to pour in and… finally the teacher arrived.

Professor Cracco was something of an oddity among the various teachers at Prism Uni, as the man had been one of the few ones to make a reputation as a good instructor despite the fairly limited number of students frequenting his class.

The gray-furred Wolf Prime entered with a small smile on his face, his stature being the first thing that caught my attention as I was surprised by his relative shortness compared to other Primes.

With charcoal eyes glinting at any chances of spotting any potential among his students, the man gave a glance around by his desk before beginning his first lesson.

“ Good morning to everyone, and welcome to your first lecture about the sublime art of cousine, cucina, or like everyone knows it best, ‘Cooking’,” The man started to talk, his voice displaying a hint of fascination over the presence of quite a large amount of people in the room. “And I see that this year we have a big batch of new people joining us in these lessons.”

There was a brief pause, then the Wolf Prime sighed and continued to speak.

“ Before we actually begin, I have to give you all a fair warning about this class,” Professor Cracco explained with a serious tone. “While many of you have joined this course with the hopes of getting an easy grade, then I’m sorry to say this, but this will not be the case. This is a serious class and I will administer proper retaliations for any of those that defy the main rules for this classroom. You’ve been warned.”

Another pause, this time the room got quieter than before as the man looked around and… then eased down with his small smile.

“ Good, then I guess we can start to form groups and-”

Before the short Prime could have concluded his sentence, loud footsteps interrupted him as someone entered the room in a hurry.

The collective attention was directed at the newcomer, my eyes narrowing blankly at the tall young woman that had emerged from the door.

She was a Tiger Prime with dark-purple hair. Her eyes were a bright green and her face seemed to be showing a mix of embarrassment at the lateness and some tiredness at the little run she had to make to get there in time.

The girl bowed her head a little. “Sorry for being late, Professor.”

Blinking at the state the newly-arrived student was, the teacher couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head at the circumstances.

“ I suppose you were late because of the cheerleaders’ practice, Ms. Biggs,” The short Prime pointed out and then nodded. “Since you managed to reach the classroom in time, I will not admonish you more than just warning you that I will give you detention  if you end up being late for the next lessons.”

The Tiger Prime nodded with a hint of relief at his words, quickly picking one of the available aprons before wandering to the side of the room in the attempt to find any free seat to take.

It took her a couple of seconds, but finally she ended up stopping right by the counter I was occupying alone and… she paused.

Her eyes were now displaying a curious flurry of inner emotions from surprise at seeing that I, the only human at school, had a free seat beside mine that she could take, to hesitation about actually doing that.

I stared back, feeling a little uneasy about having to eventually address the fact she looked fairly tall.

Not that it was a bad thing, just that I was surprised to meet a fellow student taller than any I had met until now.

She blinked, possibly waiting for me to say anything, and I was sure that if I had kept quiet the girl would have taken it as a sign of negation and… I sighed inwardly.

I merely glanced at her and gave her a solid nod. No verbal input, no awkward interactions as first contact.

Only a mere gesture of acceptance.

Her posture finally eased up at my ‘reply’, and she eagerly took a seat beside mine. From there the difference of heights was more pronounced, but I was still mindful enough to keep my mouth shut about it.

It wasn’t just… proper. Or better, respectful towards the normal individual sitting right near to where I was.

I distracted myself by looking back at Professor Cracco, my eyes picking up quickly how the man was keeping himself busy by helping some of the students over the divisions in various 2-people teams working for each counter and… I realized that we were going to be ignored considering how we were already two individuals by a single counter.

I was swiftly brought back to the close reality of the situation and I thought how to best introduce myself to the young woman without messing things up.

To be fair, I was slightly nervous of blurting out anything bad with a lengthy presentation, thus I settled for a curt and informal one.

My lips parted and… I spoke.

“ I’m Frankie-” “I’m Traci-”

Stopping  at the same time, we stare  at each other with mutual surprise at the shared introduction.

“ Jinx-” “Jinx-”

More surprise at the repetition of the same word at the same time, our eyes widening in a mirthful display of shock at the scene unfolding.

Finally… we both cracked in smiles, giggles, chuckles. Her arms reached down to her sides at the odd predicament but soon enough we both started to calm down before attracting too much attention.

“ N-Nice to meet you, Traci,” I hummed happily as I got a grasp over myself.

“ S-Same, Frankie,” The Tiger Prime replied with the same degree of amusement as mine.

There was a moment of pause, just some time to get through the last bits of entertainment we had displayed to one another.

“ Still, I hope that it’s not much of a problem if I sit here,” The girl continued, her tone deflating into a hint of sadness. “I know that I might seem a little...”

I blinked at that sudden swift of mood and I shrugged. “Fun?”

She frowned. “No, I mean that I’m-”

“ Nice?”

A huff leaving her lips, Traci stared me down with a mix of annoyance and renewed amusement.

“ I mean that I’m big.”

“ And?” I poked quietly back, getting a surprised glint off from her green orbs.

“ You’re kidding, right?” She asked, seemingly caught off-guard by my disinterest over her point. “I mean, I understand being funny and all but-”

“ I don’t have any trouble with that, Traci,” I interjected calmly and politely, making her pause with her words. “I understand the concern, I’m glad for it, but I’m really fine with it.”

Another round of silence, the Prime shuffled on her seat a little bit before letting out a nod.

“ Understood, Frankie,” She said quietly, but devoid of that deflated voice she had up until now. “By the way, how good are you with… this?”

Traci gestured over the counter, pointing generally at the instruments left there that were meant to be used during the lessons.

“ I did cook a lot back home,” I admitted with a nod. “I think I know how to use pretty much everything here.”

The positive response got her to lighten up with some more hopes… for some reasons.

“ Really? Is something about your parents maybe owning some restaurant or you decided to make it a hobby?”

Her queries were met with a wider smile.

“ I guess it’s a hobby,” I answered, thinking that it did start like one. “It’s something that I’ve picked up after a period of being forced to stay back at home for a while after I got a little negligible injury-”

“ If it was ‘negligible’, you wouldn’t have been ‘forced to stay at home’,” The Prime chided mirthfully, getting me to let out a faux-annoyed groan.

“ I suppose it was a little serious… but I still recovered- and the main topic is that I just ended up picking up the interest of cooking from helping around mom with the kitchen,” I huffed at the poking, causing the girl to giggle at my reaction.

“ Oh, I did start by helping around my mom too,” The young woman muttered with a hint of giddiness. “In fact, it was mom that pushed me into the hobby and… I just love it.”

I nodded back at her, my smile still up, but before I could have continued, Professor Cracco’s voice disrupted the discussion as he began speaking back to his desk.

“ Now that the groups have been made, I guess it’s time to move on to the real lesson of today,” The teacher announced with a solid nod. “And our first lesson will be focused on… your best dish.”

…

What?

Chaos rose from that unexpected development, but the Professor was quick to bring silence back to the room.

“ Since for many this will be the first lesson at Prism Uni, I wish to know more about the personality of each of you by your favorite recipes,” The man continued to explain. “I know that many are somewhat adept in preparing food, and for those that aren’t much versed in preparing without their own recipes, I can offer some cooking books for the lecture so that you may prepare your favorite dish ever. This is just a ‘presentation test’, so I will not grade anyone on this occasion.”

That sounded odd… but still fair considering that there was not going to be any grading for those that weren’t much capable of cooking so early on.

I was sure, at least from the nervous looks coming from other students, that some just didn’t seem to be prepared to do anything without having some written instructions to follow.

I glanced at Traci with a quizzical look. “So, any plans with what we could make?”

She seemed to ponder about it for a while, shaking her head with some doubts.

“ I would like to do pancakes,” The girl admitted bluntly, before shaking her head. “But next we have lunch, and that would mess up our chances of eating the delicious things offered by the cafeteria.”

I nodded at her logic, understanding that it was up to me to find the proper kind of dish that we could prepare… without ruining our appetites.

There were a couple of interesting ideas that hovered within my head over what we could do now and… I blinked in realization.

Why not settle for something as simple as pancakes… that are not just regular pancakes?

“ But perhaps we can do pancakes,” I hummed with a devious smile, getting a frown from the girl about my suggestion.

“ I just said it wouldn’t be good if-”

“ I wasn’t talking about sweet pancakes,” I interjected with an amused tone, making Traci’s confusion increase until I finally told her what I was planning to do.

Her eyes widened in a mix of surprise and realization, but then she gave a quick nod at the plan I had prepared and soon we were allowed to pick all the ingredients needed for this lesson from the large fridge attached to the room.

I was the one going to pick the stuff we needed, the Tiger Prime pointing out how many times she had gotten stuck by the entrance because of her size. Quite tragic to hear, but I was still determined to make quite the good impression with a simple dish.

I picked a couple of eggs, a carton of milk, some cheese, and a small cup filled with yeast before returning to the counter and starting the process of preparing the food we were planning to serve.

Despite her noticeable clumsiness while moving around for the various tasks, I was surprised when I found in Traci someone that could quickly and perfectly complete any activity she would have to do in our split work.

Much to my surprise, the entire preparation turned out to finish faster than I had initially planned it to be as we finished about thirty minutes later.

Still, I couldn’t help but stare in minor awe at the little tower of salty pancakes that we were able to create with what the limited ingredients allowed us to make.

We took a couple of seconds to sit back to our chairs and admire our results as we knew that we did make quite the perfect dish for the current period of time.

“ Do you think it is delicious?” Traci asked distractedly as she continued to stare at the tower. “It looks and smells good, but what if the taste is off?”

I shrugged. “I’m sure it’s fine,” I admitted with conviction. “And if not, then we tried our best at it. In the end, that’s what truly matters.”

She nodded, smiling a little at my words. “You know, I never had a stable partner in this class.”

“ Really?” I inquired curtly, partly surprised by this discovery.

“ Since I have cheerleaders’ practices keeping me busy most of my free time, I generally can’t connect well with other guys and girls,” The Tiger Prime explained with a nod. “That and I look fairly intimidating.”

I blinked. “Is that about your height?” I asked carefully. “I mean, I can see that being a bit of an issue, but after talking with you, I know you are a nice girl.”

Her lips twitched at that, a snort soon following after at my praise.

“ Flatterer much, Frankie?” The young woman retorted with a mirthful voice. “I bet you had girls swooning at you back at high school.”

I flinched a little at that eager retaliation, feeling a little uneasy at thinking back at the attention I had back at that stage of my life.

I had some girls trying to get my interest but… it never worked out well. Always trying to aim at the sport-guy and-

And that’s why I just decided to stop trying my chances at surfing.

Not only did I have the pressure to keep up the pace with some of my former instructors, but I was also irritated by the spotlight I would end up being put on by some of the girls.

I lost a couple of friends just because of that stupid attention.

Still, it wasn’t a reason to create issues to Traci’s excited inquiries, at least not with her just trying to be friendly with her.

“ You could say that...” I replied tensely and, instead of being pressed on with the matter, the girl actually ended up letting out a sigh.

“ Was it really that horrible?” The girl asked with a calm voice. “I mean, I get quite the attention from guys all the time I’m cheerleading, and I can see being quite annoying sometimes.”

I blinked, my eyes showing some brief worry. “I hope nothing bad-”

“ Oh no, it’s all positive and-” Her happy trail briefly interrupted as she noticed my look. “Wait, you thought that… they were bullying me?”

I tensed up a little. “Kinda?”

…

Her lips twitched happily at my honest reply. “That’s nice to know. You know- having someone else worried about me and-” The Prime stopped once again, this time to sigh. “You know, you should call me ‘Tiggs’ from now on.”

...That was quite sudden and… odd? I was confused by this last request, enough to show some legitimate surprise at that detail on my face.

“ Why?”

Her smile widened. “You know, friends call me that.”

I blinked, and my brain took a little while to connect the dots about that nickname.

“ Well… then it’s nice to be your friend, Tiggs.”

She giggled, but before she could reply to this, we stopped as Professor Cracco was finally inspecting our table.

“ I see that you two have made quite the team,” The man commented jovially before he settled his stare upon the tower of pancakes, taking a brief sniff before nodding to himself. “And you have also prepared something light by taking under consideration the fact that lunch is going to start quite soon after the lesson.”

He took one of the untouched forks by our counter and took a quick bite from the pancake on top, munching at it for a while.

“ The salt is just enough to bring out the main element of this plate and… I think there is just a little issue with adding too much cheese to the pancakes,” The teacher commented with a happy smile. “Truly a fascinating idea. Continue like this and you will receive top marks for this class in no time.”

…

“ T-Thank you for the kind words, Profe-”

“ It’s the truth, Mr. Parker,” The Wolf Prime interrupted calmly. “You did a good job. Bask a little in this achievement and… actually, I think I will take these with myself,” The teacher hummed as he carefully took the plate up from the table. “I just got a good idea and… you will see very soon.”

While the last words left me confused about what he was referring to, I was still too excited by this positive praise that I failed to compute any follow-up question about it.

The short Prime walked away from the table with the Pancakes after nodding happily at the two of us, my surprise reaching its zenith when I saw Tiggs giddily vibrating in her seat.

“ W-We did it!” She commented eagerly, her smile shining quite brightly while some giggles were being barely contained behind her lips, causing me to snort at the adorable sight.

“ Yep, we did it,” I said before letting out a chuckle at the happy display from the Tiger Prime.

To think that I would end up making quite the amusing friend out of that first lecture about Cooking, and one as unique as Tiggs.

When the lesson came to an end, we eventually had to split up to regroup with our respective friends, but not before leaving each other some contacts in case we needed to talk with each other over this subject.

I thought it would take a couple of days to see her again, or perhaps it would have happened by chance if I ended up wandering around where the cheerleaders were practicing… but surprisingly enough I was proven wrong when we both had to go to the cafeteria.

In that sea of students that should’ve rendered the possibilities to find ourselves in that humongous place close to zero, we actually ended up finding each other because of a unique event unfolding right by the area where food was displayed for students to pick to eat.

Among the various, different plates, there was one that stood out to the others for two small pieces of papers set right in front of it.

There was no doubt about it, the tower of salty pancakes was there and… the teacher had indeed gotten the good idea as he had left written in those papers the names of those that had prepared them.

Mr. Frankie Parker – 1st Year

Ms. Traci Biggs – 2nd Year

Primes of all kinds were flocking at the tower, almost demolishing it with their intrigued attention at picking moderate pieces out of it and soon… it was gone.

From this sudden development that saw me approach the zone together with Miles, Shin, and Hope, I soon found myself tackled up and pulled in a hug by a certain giddy Tiger Prime… followed by a confused Fox Prime with red-and-yellow hair.

But the only thing I could think about is… God, Tiggs is madly strong with her hugs!

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Friends, Trials, and Chaos! (2)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

~Vixy’s POV~

She couldn’t believe it, no matter how tangible the situation was before her eyes.

There was no doubt about it. This was true, it wasn’t an illusion, and it wasn’t something she just imagined up on the spot.

And yet, Vixy just couldn’t believe how her luck had given her quite the good situation in order  to finally make some concrete steps forward, as one of the most popular girls in Prism Uni.

It would all be done by her hand. No longer affected by the early boost offered by her parentage. It would all be done by her own genuine interest and effort.

Tiggs had been honest about her positive approach towards the human, with not only the dish they had allegedly prepared together having dominated the interest of the entire cafeteria for about two hours  being good proof of it, but by Frankie’s own admission when they ended up sharing the same table.

Odd just didn’t fit how surprising this escalation went, especially with how ‘normal’ it actually was.

She didn’t feel under pressure, but noticed that a few curious students stared at the scene from afar. Surprisingly, no strange rumors about the situation were brought up. 

The logic behind this encounter was simple, thus disproving any follow-up theory connecting her presence to the table.

The real reason she hadn’t received any backlash yet was due to the mutual state of friendliness shared by both the Tiger Prime and the Human.

Traci was… ecstatic. There were only a handful of things that could actually get the big girl to react this giddily. This was unusual, considering that it was someone relatively new to both that had gained this much interest from the smiling tigress.

Frankie was outright amused by the affectionate approach directed at him, returning the kindness with his own, except maybe offering some moderation considering the playfulness displayed by the girl keeping at his side.

Sitting on the other chair beside Tiggs’, Vixy couldn’t help but be partially mesmerized by the scene as the two interacted quite amicably to each other.

It just sounded so genuinely good, and that made her both happy for her friend but also confusedly suspicious over the human’s lack of further motivations.

Not that she had any reason to doubt Frankie just yet, but for the big girl to become friends with the human so suddenly and without much planning behind it just felt…

Incredibly convenient. Far too convenient for her tastes.

Still, the Fox Prime had no reason to be annoyed by this development, and so she merely sported some acceptance over the matter.

Her attention was also directed at the rest of the occupants of the table, with her green eyes carefully trying to keep some discretion while studying the other three Primes sitting there.

Hope Ravenhurst and Shin Aryoko both looked quite surprised themselves over the display of affection between the two, perhaps impressed by the sudden friend Frankie had gained without much notice on their parts.

The former was also showing some recognition while looking at the Fox Prime. There was no doubt that it was mostly the closeness in appearance between Vixy and her mother.

It wouldn’t be much of a surprise for her to discover that the Gazelle Prime had heard about Carmesi from both her parents, as it was hinted plenty of times that Kayin Ravenhurst had been at odds multiple times with the Crest of Fire.

‘ An old rivalry.’

That’s how Vixy’s father had regarded this very predicament, and the Fox Prime had no reason to see it otherwise.

Her mother’s behavior over the topic matched well with this curt answer, as the waves of fiery anger and irritation coming from the mere mentioning of the Ravenhurst family were honest and impossible to persuade otherwise.

The Aryoko family had also been a subject of annoyance from Carmesi, but they never reached the same degree of reaction that the woman would dispense towards the Love Clan.

Shin either didn’t care or know about any bad blood between the Crest of Light and the Crest of Fire. Thus, there was no reason to think warily about him.

Miles Lionheart was fairly simple to study, as there wasn’t much to say about him.

He was a normal student, something that matched well with the chemistry created between himself and the human.

Both struggled at the same level, without having to prove anything to anyone and… the only thing that really made a difference in terms of importance was Frankie’s lack of fur.

Very careful, but also flirty, maybe there was also a difference between personalities, one that just would get overlooked from afar.

While Frankie was friendly and didn't try to flirt with everything that was female, moving and incredibly gorgeous, but he was also flawed in social situations which helped a lot in creating a bond with Traci.

Both were outcasts for their own reasons, and so they found common ground where to share a good friendship.

The Cat Prime was the ‘opposite but also not’ to the human.

While he was mindful to never exaggerate with his cheesy compliments, Miles didn’t seem to be the kind of person that would just shy away from quipping and flirt whenever possible.

Very endearing… up to the point where the cheesiness came to play.

Despite this little weakness, there was a pleasant note coming from his peaceful personality that just seemed to make him an interesting individual to have around.

Nothing special, but far from just ordinary.

The discussion between Traci and Frankie continued onward, mostly around the experience they had during their shared Cooking lesson and the praise they then received by the stern Professor Cracco.

An achievement, there was no reason to see it otherwise, with how demanding the teacher was with his students, but the real issue right now for Vixy was something completely different from that.

She had yet to make steps in securing the support from Hope through this connection. The first steps.

Having already contacted her ‘friend’ in the Singing Club, the Fox Prime just needed to seal the deal by pleasantly introducing the argument to the young Ravenhurst.

The plan was meant to be simple, there wasn’t any reason for the girl to at least make some thoughts over joining it.

Just giving out some summarized good points for joining it, putting some good faith about it, and then hopefully things would go for the best way possible for the Fox Prime.

But just as she prepared to begin this ‘theoretically’ simple plan, Vixy found herself finally bringing up the human during the conversation, with Traci introducing the topic of her duties as a cheerleader.

“ Still, it’s impressive that you’re capable of going through all the duties so flawlessly, Vixy,” Frankie finally turned his attention to her, his smile still present on his face as he seemingly failed to notice her surprised look. “I’ve met some of the girls responsible to organize the exercises and the formal appointments for the cheerleaders back in High School. It’s a tough job already there, but I bet it’s even more complicated here at Prism Uni.”

The Fox Prime blinked, green eyes looking back at the human. “I… I suppose it can be stressful. But I’m quite determined to not disappoint both the school and my own cheerleaders.”

“ Vixy is super tough,” Tiggs praised eagerly, some minor embarrassment developing within the facial features of the girl being mentioned. “In fact, she has taken the responsibility of setting up study groups for the few girls still having some trouble here at school.”

“ Keeping up with grades is part of the contract for Cheerleaders,” Vixy replied quietly. “I’m just doing the right thing.”

“ It’s not that easy as you make it, Vixy,” Frankie rebutted with a quick nod, a small smile still present on his lips. “I’ve also heard of Cheerleaders’ captains that end up shying away from this burden, sometimes they even bribe the teachers that are meant to make the contracts be respected so that they don’t get called out for their bad behaviors.”

...Is that really something that happened in other cheerleaders’ teams? It just sounded… so dumb.

Why would someone disregard the important bits of their works? If they like this hobby, there shouldn’t be a reason to actually ditch these duties.

“ This is why what you’re doing is quite admirable,” He continued determinedly. “Putting so much effort to make things right… it’s not something that everyone can just do as dutifully as you do.”

“ I...” Her lips closed instinctively, her mind failing to conjure anything to accurately respond to this strong compliment without some pondering. It felt just that… it needed much more thoughtfulness from her part.

Yet Vixy settled with something curt. “Thank you.”

Traci giggled as Frankie nodded back at that response, but then the Tiger Prime seemed to remember something important as she turned to look at Hope.

“ By the way… Hope, right?”

The Gazelle offered a slow, hesitant nod. “Yes?”

“ I’ve heard that you’re a natural singer.”

The Ravenhurst looked tense at this comment. “I am,” She replied carefully, getting a smile out of Tiggs with it.

“ Well, Vixy mentioned to me that she was friends with the president of the Singing Club here at Prism Uni,” Traci started to explain. “And since you’re good at it, I think she can put a good word for you to join it.”

Hope’s eyes widened in surprise at this. “Can we join clubs already? I thought that it was reserved for second years and older.”

“ There are clubs with that kind of requirement, but it’s only for those few clubs that actually request from students trying to join them a copy of the first year’s grades since they only accept those that can keep up a certain quota of grades and have early proof that can prove their genuine interest about it,” Vixy properly replied, then offering a nod to the girl. “But there are also clubs that already accept firsties. The Cheerleaders and the Singing Club are examples.”

“ I don’t want to sound… disrespectful,” Hope continued with a nervous tone. “But I guess it would be awkward for me to ask you now that I know. At least so soon and… without having contemplated the choice.”

“ You don’t need to make a decision now,” The Fox Prime assured quickly. “But if you wish to try, I can put in a good word for you so that they can evaluate you properly.”

“ That’s good to know, thanks.”

Vixy nodded. “You’re welcome.”

Miles hummed about this. “Still, I’m surprised that you never told us about this.”

“ It didn’t come up until now,” Hope replied with a nervous chuckle.

“ She is very good at singing,” Shin vouched with a small smile, causing the Gazelle Prime to blush at the praise. “And she loves it too.”

“ Well, that’s a pretty talent to have,” Frankie commented with a nod. “I suppose you’re trying for a professional take over this.”

“ I would like to, yes,” The girl admitted happily. “But I don’t want to sound too...”

“ Pompous?” Vixy guessed quietly, gaining a nod from the Ravenhurst. “I don’t think you fit well with that adjective. I think you should give it a try nonetheless.”

“ We’re at Prism Uni and, like Madam Jacqueline has mentioned during this year’s speech, we’re supposed to strive to achieve our ambitions and dreams,” Traci added with a determined tone. “We should all try to conquer our very dreams.”

“ Th-Thank you both,” Hope stammered a little at the quick-paced succession of compliments. “I will give it a serious thought and… I will contact you once I’ve made my decision.”

“ I understand,” The Fox Prime confirmed. “And I will wait for your response. It’s an important life-changing decision to make, after all.”

The discussion then strayed away from these topics, shifting back to both the Tiger Prime and the human keeping some conversation going while the others finished the food by their plates.

Vixy was happy with the results gained from the interaction, feeling like she had made real progress in cementing her role as someone relevant within the school’s circles.

A small step, but still a step towards the proper path to success.

But just as she felt ready to conclude this situation for good with that victory, her attention was once more attracted by one of the topics brought up during that discussion between Frankie and her friend.

“ Who is this ‘Davin’?” The human had inquired suddenly, making the Fox Prime pause in the midst of one of the last bites to the salad she had picked from the cafeteria.

“ Oh, he is the quarterback and the captain of the football team,” Traci started to explain, her tone assuming an uneasy beat. “He’s quite popular here, but I wouldn’t want you to come too close to him without some warnings.”

“ Fair warnings?” Miles asked with some confusion. “Is he dangerous or something?”

“ It’s more like he isn’t just the stereotypical jock,” Vixy muttered with a sigh, knowing that this very subject was going to be a thought one to explain properly. “His family is rich, and he is known to skip lessons and important tests for partying or unofficial football training sessions.”

“ You mean that his parents pay the school… and that makes him invulnerable to disciplinary actions?” Hope asked with a hint of surprise, her eyes widened a little more as the Fox Prime nodded at that. “But… I thought that Prism Uni-”

“ There will always be someone that can break the rules with proper reputation and economic leverage,” Miles commented with a sigh. “Still, I’ve to ask. He just doesn’t get any flak about skipping lessons?”

“ While he isn’t in class, he is recognized as a good student as he had been responsible for… helping with some troubling cases,” Tiggs replied hesitantly. “Some people at this school are a part of his group, the little clique he leads.”

“ And you’re not part of it,” Shin guessed correctly, getting a nod from both cheerleaders.

“ He tried recruiting both me and Tiggs, but… it wasn’t for our capacity as cheerleaders,” Vixy commented, drawing some allusion with her words.

“ That sounds dreadful,” The human said while frowning at the girls’ recounting. “I guess we will keep an eye for any strange stuff about this. Thank you for bringing this up.”

“ There’s no need for that,” Tiggs replied quite quickly, sounding a little chiding in the process. “After all, I don’t want my friends to get issues about it.”

And hopefully they will avoid having to deal with problems created by Davin and his group.

There is just so much that can be expected from them, and Vixy prayed for none of that to truly come and become a reality. 

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~New POV~

In the peace and calm of her dorm room, a young woman was happily continuing with one of her solo projects.

It was rare for her to be experimenting on herself, especially with so many canvas wandering around Prism Uni that she could try out with her artistic mind.

Yet there was no hurry in rushing to pick some from the newest batch of students that had just joined the college, as there was so much that she herself had to do before she could go doing some fun diversions.

Angel Loveridge was carefully enjoying some lone moments away from dealing with the gossip and the nagging of the people living around the dorm.

It wasn’t like the Bunny Prime herself wouldn’t like to talk about the dreadful, yet amusing, circumstances happening at Prism, but she also had plenty of maturity to divide her free time to spend with people from the free time she wanted to dedicate to herself.

Everyone needs to be selfish at least once in a while on a daily basis, and Angel had long learned that lesson thanks to her unique experiences.

Dipping the bristles of her small brush in the small container filled with light-gray color, the young woman carefully approached the section of her fur on her right arm where she had previously stopped working on just an hour earlier.

Painting on herself, just like it was for every other Prime she had the chance of body-paint with, was quite the difficult task that required some steel-like patience and a degree of precision that stemmed from many failures and messy attempts.

Now her skill was mostly flawless thanks to her determined interest in improving over this delightful art she had discovered just a couple of years along.

The silence, the sensation of the wet brush reaching for her skin, and the warmth born from having done a proper work out of some lengthy sessions spent doing this.

It wasn’t something that required some heavy thinking, nor a fortification of her body.

This skill just needed the user to be able to grasp at their own core, to keep themselves still and mindful from making any mistakes on it.

Yet precision was still something that mattered a lot in those kinds of operations.

Painting over the fur was a curiously-messy business if the artist was unable to carefully understand the ‘direction’ and the proper pattern to adopt for the sake of keeping a homogeneous correlation with the rest of the artistic development impressed from other sessions.

Thinking, improving, changing, and finally deciding the final design to apply.

Her mind would always lose itself in this first step, and yet Angel was glad that she wasted so much time about it.

Tough decisions were meant to take as much time as possible, to be digested, elaborated, pondered, and ultimately made.

A single mistake, a little regret. It only takes one small detail to mess up everything and jeopardize one of her more complicated projects.

Patience, she would think while her mind tried to get her to look away even for a moment, her pink eyes growing a little irritated by the soft flickering of the small light she was using to illuminate the spot she was working onto.

She should’ve got that one looked up and fixed before starting this, and now she was supposed to work with it.

Cursing her past self for messing things up (again), the Bunny Prime tried putting more effort to just not mess things up now that she was mostly done with it.

Her legs, her left arm, and her torso. She had already gone through these sections and now what was left was her right arm.

And she was supposed to conclude this crucial bit without her favorite hand.

Huffing at her own issues, Angel didn’t notice at first the presence of someone else entering the room, her attention mostly directed at her current project.

Then her long ears caught footsteps within the area and she stopped her session by the wrist, trying to see whom it was through the darkness of the rest of the room and-

The intruder turned the main light of the room on.

The Bunny Prime groaned at being suddenly bathed in light, eyes closing instinctively at the situation but soon she was able to properly see the culprit behind this annoying development.

“ Are you done with your job for today?”

Pink eyes stared quietly at the Feline Prime moving by her side of the humongous room, a small white figure floating behind her with some papers.

“ Mostly. But I can interrupt for now,” Angel replied calmly. “I suppose you’re also done with Professor Bellman’s parting gift you wanted to give him, Tiare.”

Tiare Mehran adjusted her glasses while sighing, her attention at first directed at her laptop.

“ Almost,” The young woman answered with a sigh. “In about twenty minutes, I will have it checked, verified, and sent properly to him.”

“ Thank the Gods,” The Bunny Prime muttered under her breath. “I wouldn’t have survived another night helping you through your insomnia-related cases.”

The bespectacled girl stopped herself from reading the paper offered by her Nano-Zell Spirit, Era, at hearing these words. “Helping?” She sarcastically inquired, getting a hum from the fellow woman.

“ I reckon I was awake through your entire post ‘mad scientist’ moment when you were done working yesterday,” Angel reminded with a somewhat chiding tone.

“ You were awake for your own reasons, I recall you whining badly about being bored, not being seriously sickly as I was back then.”

Pink eyes narrowed at this. “Wait, boredom isn’t a sickness? What is this madness?”

“Cease with your distractions, Angel, I really need to get this done before Davin manages to get me distracted again like it happened yesterday,” The Feline Prime interrupted quickly, her sight returning to the screen of her laptop.

Angel shrugged. “I mean, it’s not like you can tell him no if you think this personal assignment is that important,” The young woman pointed out. “Perhaps it’s not just a ‘distraction’ like you always define those moments of… heat.”

The bespectacled Prime didn’t reply at that, her mind having zoned out of reality as she focused her whole attention at the task at hand.

Rather annoying considering that the Bunny had wanted to play a little more with her friend, maybe tease about her own reluctance a little more to admit the fun she had been enjoying the day before.

There was no reason to say that Davin was just… good when he wanted to bring ‘happiness’ to girls.

Yet, there was this small thought in her head that tried convincing her to pester the intellectual into  joining her for a private session of bodypainting crumbled within her mind at the fact that they had already done something like this already.

It wouldn’t have been just fun to repeat the same stuff, despite how hilarious it would be to get the nerdy girl all flustered and nervous once more.

It was rare nowadays to get an awkward-correlated reaction out of Tiare, the Feline Prime having grown fairly accustomed to Davin’s and Angel’s teasing methods.

It wasn’t just as fun as it was in the first couple of days. What an irritating detail to be living with.

Yep, she was now starting to feel it. The utter boredom was once more looming over her sleep-deprived mind.

What a tragedy! The horror!

Yet, in that moment of eternal dismay, a novelty popped out of the door with a dazzling smile.

“ Hello ladies,” Tobias’ head appeared by the doorstep, the Lion Prime taking a step in and gaining sudden interest from the Bunny Prime.

“ Tobi, long time no see,” She greeted happily.

“ Angel, I see what Davin meant with you being in need of some rest,” The young man smugly commented, getting a groan out of the woman’s lips.

“ And I see that you’re still a prick,” She retorted, arms crossing beneath her exposed chest. “What do you want?”

Tobias was about to answer quickly, but his eyes were mesmerized by something way below her eyes.

“ I...” He blinked, suddenly shaking his head as he realized what had happened, and flushing red at the smug smile now plastered on the Bunny Prime’s face. “I need to ask Tiare some questions.”

Angel huffed at this. “She’s busy right now with some unneeded school assignment. Should be done in twenty minutes.”

“ Shucks,” The Lion Prime sighed tiredly. “Really need this piece of info fast so I don’t need to worry for tomorrow.”

Now… that was something that quickly got her interest.

“ You’re planning anything important?” Angel inquired intrigued, then she let out a fake gasp. “Don’t tell me, little Tobi finally got herself a babe?”

“ I wish, right now I got nothing on that. Let’s just say that’s a work in progress.”

It’s been like that for a year now, and the Bunny Prime wondered about the possibility of the dummy’s mother to finally put him under some pressure over the matter.

“ I just need to know where a particular dorm room is,” He admitted quietly. “I wanted to ask some people if we could organize some study sessions for Professor Aken’s subject.”

“ I thought that nobody was capable of pulling that kind of miracle,” Angel pointed out with a hum. “Are you sure you aren’t getting scammed there, Tobi?”

“ Pretty sure that it’s legit,” The young man replied with a serious voice. “Still, I’m not sure if he would accept the offer so suddenly.”

“ C’mon, you’re part of the football team, I don’t think that there is someone that can turn you down about this,” Angel commented, knowing full well that everyone would just sell their soul for even a small bit of clout in this college.

“ The thing is that I know they both like Football and… I’ve barely talked to either of them up until now.”

“ You’re sounding hesitant, who’re you asking? Some fangirls?”

“ Oh hell no.” He replied with a huff, shaking his head at that eventuality. “Just Shin Aryoko and Frankie Parker.”

Her eyes widened in recognition at both names. “Parker is the human, right?”

“ Yes, why do you ask?”

Indeed, why now? Well, considering how bored Angel had been feeling in these last few days, the Bunny Prime couldn’t help but remember the article she read about body-painting for humans.

The sessions would be easier considering the lack of fur and the skin was smooth enough to preserve a vast array of designs without messing things up.

She had always painted on Primes, but humans? Now her interest had been piqued and the fact that Prism Uni had now one studying as a firstie was enough to garner her success.

Boredom was an ugly beast to face alone… perhaps with some persuasion she could get a ‘friend’ out of this.

“ Projects,” She hummed quietly, then blinking as she recalled the previous words. “Still, I didn’t think you knew about him already?”

“ I’ve met both him and Shin at the end of the first lecture with Aken, the human rocks history flawlessly and I really need to gain some grades with that teacher,” The Lion Prime explained. “Mom has been asking me to increase my efforts to get that specific C up to a proper B+ or more.”

“ Sounds tough,” Angel said while giving him a nod. “I mean, you shouldn’t be getting that kind of pressure-”

“ Despite what Davin might say, not everyone can ditch lectures whenever they want,” Tobias returned with a frown. “Mom wouldn’t just forgive me if I did.”

“ Maybe you should disappoint her just for once.”

“ Or maybe I should just live within my own limitations,” The young man muttered. “Just like you do with yours, both without having to deal with unwanted critics.”

“ If you call utter freedom a ‘limitation’, then perhaps you do need a critic.”

There was a little bit of irritation at this escalation. She hadn’t wanted this to happen, and maybe she could’ve shut her mouth way earlier instead of bringing some instigation from this.

Angel knew perfectly that Tobias loved to death his sole parent, and his mother loved him back like a proper ‘cub’.

Everyone had their own context in their lifestyles, and some just failed to grasp at the pretty fruit without any price at it. All for the sake of preserving the ‘goodness of their heart’.

What a silly idea. For people to be inherently good and all of that crap.

But, before the situation could’ve exploded from there, someone pushed the Lion Prime inside before closing the door behind himself.

“ Seriously, I was just walking around and I return to see two friends of mine butting heads over something silly,” The red-haired Raccoon Prime mused with a mirthful tone. “Both of you, what’s up?”

“ Just being silly with Davey,” She giggled as the newcomer stared right where she wanted. “And I see that you’ve got your own silliness to that.”

“ Oh please, as if I would consider silly staring for some hours at your undeniable beauty, sweetheart,” Davin chuckled mirthfully while reaching out to plant a kiss on her forehead. “Still, to what do I owe you this visit, Tobi?”

“ I needed some info from Tiare, nothing too big,” The Lion Prime muttered quickly.

“ Then let’s ask her for some help,” The Quarterback replied calmly. “I’m sure she can spare time for this request.”

The two guys approached the slightly distracted Feline Prime, with the bespectacled girl having already finished her own task from her lack of interactions over the laptop.

She glanced to the side and sighed. “I see that you’re back, hon.”

“ Only needed a fresh walk around, nothing important,” Davin answered with a sigh. “Still, Tobi here needed something from your expertise.”

“ Nothing serious, I hope?”

The young man shook his head. “Just needed to know where Shin Aryoko, Frankie Parker and-”

“ -Miles Lionheart have their dorm room?” The Nano-Zell Spirit that had kept quiet up until now interjected. “I’ve kept this detail as you’ve asked, miss Mehran.”

“ Thank you, Era,” The Feline Prime said while sighing in relief, knowing that some little work was cut from that. “Then please relay the information to Tobi.”

“ Understood,” The Nano-Zell Spirit concluded before turning at the Lion Prime and providing him with some directions.

Angel’s ears twitched as she listened to this information for herself, knowing that it would come useful once she decided to make an effort of ‘friendship’ about the Sole human of Prism Uni.

Perhaps tomorrow she can give a proper look of how lectures truly are nowadays at the college.

Once Tobias was done with this kind of information, and had left the dormroom with a curt salute, Davin proceeded to lie down on his bed, patting to the side while looking at Angel.

“ C’mon babe, I think you will enjoy some cuddling and resting.”

She frowned. “Nothing else?”

“ Perhaps I will offer you something once you’re up and running as normal. But you need to sleep a little bit,” The young man replied, causing the Bunny Prime to sigh.

“ I suppose I can spare… two hours-”

“ Three-”

“ Goddammit...”

Despite her annoyance about this, Angel complied with the request and carefully moved up over the mattress before settling herself cuddling close to the Raccoon Prime.

Tiare sighed while staring at the situation from afar for a couple of moments… before then turning off her laptop and moving to the bed.

Perhaps some rest could truly help her recover the few hours she had lost yesterday because of that assignment.

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AN

The first collisions, the first ripples echoing in the pond… it’s only a matter of time for the entire plot to surface!

And I wonder how much it will take for Tila to make an appearance.

Probably in a couple of chapters. I can guarantee she will appear before the end of Year 1.

Noice~

And with that, I’m going to sleep.

Okie~

...And you’re fine with that?

For now, yes.

…

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Friends, Trials, and Chaos! (3)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

~Frankie’s POV~

Only one day remained before the first weekend away from home began.

I wasn’t expecting anything concerning school-related matters, and I was already making plans on how I wanted to spend Saturday and Sunday.

I had some ideas, yet none of them were complete or important enough to put more thought over this circumstance.

Friday, surprisingly, lacked any of yesterday’s pressure, and I was quick to notice the fact that I was slowly growing ‘accustomed’ to the schedule of the first year.

While there were some things that I still haven’t accepted fully in my new daily life, I felt particularly sure that it was just a matter of time before I had everything under control.

But what truly made this last day a blessing after the rest of the week had gone by was the fact that there were only two lectures that I had to deal with.

I thought it was some form of leniency, a reason to spend some more time studying the complex structure of the Prism University. But while this good idea had spearheaded my positive mood up until the first lecture started, I soon found out that someone else had already made some plans that involved me.

As I quietly took a seat beside Hope before the lesson of Prime Literature began, I realized that the Gazelle Prime had finally decided it was time to make the first steps in our recently-formed ‘alliance’.

“ I have a plan.”

A few words, some determination making them heavier than they sounded like, and I spared her a curious glance while I opened my notebook.

Blinking for a moment, I perplexity made a brief appearance as I thought back at the fact I had accepted this very situation.

To be fair, I wasn’t even sure how convenient it was for me to keep this situation going… as I knew way too well that I would eventually get burned by offering assistance.

Shin was offering me his trust- or better, he was giving me trust as I was proving to be a good friend and roommate to him.

I didn’t belittle him for his age, nor did I feel annoyed by his voracious curiosity. I was actually impressed by his personality, a mix of mature wisdom with childish fascination over science and other mind-related arts.

He was polite, respectful, but also very quick to provide his opinion over the matter.

Despite Miles’ quick jabs at the young man’s height or intelligence, there was no doubt that the Cat Prime gave out these comments in a somewhat restrained manner.

He was irked by the interest the blond had over his path here at Prism Uni, but not genuinely disliking the kind of personality that was unique to our mutual roommate.

Maybe there was more to that, yet it didn’t seem that Miles had any genuine issues with Shin over the decisions on studying their shared subjects.

Returning back to that simple morning, I stared at the girl for some time, drawing an awkward look out of her.

“ What?”

“ Just... forgot for a moment what was the topic,” I replied quietly, looking away as I prepared my pens. “So, what’s the plan?”

Hope nodded, glancing at her own side of the table and opening her own notebook at an empty page.

“ You know that Shin is Japanese, right?” She inquired, glancing to the side and settling her green-eyed stare on my hands. “I suppose he did tell you that.”

I blinked. “He did, and I really hope you’re not planning to do something dumb.”

A huff left her lips as she shook her head at the comment, smiling again as she doodled a little on the upper side of her notebook.

“ Nothing dumb… or at least, I don’t think it’s dumb,” She replied with a nod. “Since you’re good at cooking, I wanted to ask if you wanted to help me make some Japanese sweets for Shin.”

This time I actually looked up at Hope, the girl glancing back at me, her confusion rising up at my silent glancing.

“ Is that dumb?”

“ Not really. No,” I admitted quietly. “I mean, it wouldn’t be too odd for you to use the excuse that you want to try out a recipe you saw while browsing the net with your phone.”

The Gazelle Prime, her smile returning with a stronger intensity. “That’s why I think that it will work well. It’s simple, it’s harmless and-”

“ It will take a lot of time to get some Japanese food,” I interrupted with a sigh, bringing her happiness to a quick stop. “While the idea is good, it doesn’t mean that it would have difficulty because of time itself.”

A frown adorned her face, surprise mixed with some confusion.

“ Then why not bring Traci to help us as well?” The girl suggested, making me take a brief pause from writing the beginning bit of the lesson.

While I pondered over this, Hope used the opportunity to summarize in her notes the introduction part of the lesson, with Professor Dorion making use of the interactive blackboard to describe the historic period we were currently studying.

“ While Friday is a peaceful day for us, I think Traci has practice with the rest of the cheerleaders,” I pointed out slowly. “I can send her a message to see if she has some spare time after lunch, but I’m not sure what her schedule is so I will not lift up your hopes about it.”

She sighed, scribbling furiously over her notebook.

I glanced at her paper, noticing that she was ‘cutting’ some words she had written without thinking about it.

We were both getting distracted in this conversation, especially Hope as she looked fairly interested by the main topic.

Perhaps it was also the ‘importance’ of succeeding with this new ‘plan’ that factored in as well, so I merely shifted the attention away from the present.

“ You know, you never told me how you started to...” I paused for a moment, yet her attention was still on me. “You know, how did you start to love him.”

She tensed a little, glancing around as to see if someone was eavesdropping at our discussion.

“ I… I think it was when we were still children,” The Gazelle Prime started to answer. “It was a senseless crush, one that I didn’t give much thought to in the first few times...”

“ Then?” I pressed quietly, still paying some attention at the lecture.

“ Then the ‘crush’ continued to be a constant element for years, from Elementary School to High School,” She muttered with a sigh. “We didn’t spend much time together because we didn’t go to the same establishments, but we found solace in each other's company.”

“ You don’t need to answer this, but you didn’t have any problem about friends-”

“ The opposite actually,” The young woman interjected with a tiny smile. “I’m a social butterfly, but I ended up losing many friends from High School by deciding to study here. I still hear from them from time to time.”

I nodded at her answer, thinking that this little suspect of mine was just quite silly and-

“ But Shin wasn’t as lucky as I was,” Hope continued much to my brief surprise. “He didn’t speak much of any friends he made during that time. He’s rather reserved about the topic, but I could see him being a loner with how shy he can get with new people.”

Frowning at this addition, I offered another nod, this time glancing at Professor Dorion as she continued with her lesson.

“ Thank you,” I muttered quietly, causing the girl to give me a surprised look.

“ And for what?”

“ You might not think much about it, but the fact you were so available to offer me this much information is… nice,” I admitted while looking back at her. “I mean, it sounds like some of this information is quite private between you and Shin-”

“ Nah, it’s… I would say it’s more of something that not many tend to see while looking at him,” The young woman interjected, shrugging a little at my words. “Plus, I know you mean well, and I also know that you care for Shin.”

Giving her a nod, I pondered over her comment for a while, but before I had the chance to finish the conversation, I felt her hand reach out for my sleeve and give it a tug.

“ By the way, what about you?”

The question this time caught me by surprise, a frown swiftly appearing on my face as I designed her with a confused look.

“ Mhh?”

“ I think we should also start thinking about your own ‘problem’,” Hope pressed on with some curiosity dripping from her words. “We’re equal partners with this alliance, and I don’t see why I should be the only one making progress.”

I leaned on the chair, trying my best to not show any displeasure at the fact that I was literally unprepared to face this kind of situation right now.

“ Wouldn’t it be prudent to wait for you to get some progress made instead of complicating things too much-”

“ Don’t use that excuse on me,” She interjected with a huff. “You aren’t getting away from some proper interrogation over the kind of girls you like.”

I gulped nervously. “I’m not really-”

“ Don’t tell me that you actually haven't thought about it,” Hope pressed on with some surprise. “You didn’t think about the potential relationship you could have with… Traci? You both seem quite loving to each other.”

I stopped to think at the possibility of going a step further with the care I had for the funny Tiger Prime.

Tiggs was nice, beautiful, and quite friendly. Yet I couldn’t see her more than a close friend.

Maybe it was a thought born from the fact that it was only the first week here at Prism, or maybe it was something more and-

I stopped at this trail of thought as the only certainty I could draw was that it wouldn’t work… right now.

“ I see her as a close friend.”

“ You hug each other a lot,” The Gazelle Prime pointed out with some skepticism.

“ We both like to hug our friends. I suppose you are the one that starts hugs with Shin, rarely the opposite.”

She blinked, realizing that it was the truth. I remember Shin mentioning that a few days ago while talking about Hope, but I never found a situation up until now where this information could actually help me.

“ What about Vixy?” The girl asked again, seemingly unwilling to ditch the topic.

“ What about her?”

“ She was looking at you for a long time yesterday,” Hope tried bringing this detail up as proof of something happening with her and… I sighed.

“ She’s just giving me the same long look many students have when I’m around,” I retorted with a huff. “I’ll remind you that I’m a human-”

“ Bah, she looked more than just ‘oh, he is a human’ interested, she ‘oh, he looks quite interesting’ interested.”

…

“ I think you’re seeing more than there is,” I rebuked calmly, her fingers tugging again at my sleeve. “And can you stop with that?”

“ Not until you show me a proper mindset for your own situation,” The girl demanded, pouting a little at my lack of genuine interest in this matter. “If you continue like this, you will never be able to get a relationship. And it’s not like girls will approach you if you don’t start making a serious effort about it-”

As she concluded with these words, I noticed her green eyes moving away from me and right to the owner of the shadow looming from behind me.

The sudden realization that someone was waiting there was enough to make me slowly turn around and see who was standing there and… I blinked at the sight I was bestowed with.

“ Can I help you?” I inquired calmly, addressing the quiet Bunny Prime behind me as she seemed to be waiting for my input.

She had waist-long black hair, her fur was a shade of dark lighter than her hair, and her pink eyes bored into my face as if trying to see something more than just my appearance.

The young woman calmly nodded, pointing her stare and index at the chair next to mine, currently unoccupied.

“ Is this seat taken?” 

The question was simple and incredibly curt. 

So curt that I offered her a positive answer in the form of a slow nod.

Letting out a small smile at the ‘reply’, she then moved to occupy the chair in question, placing her small bag by the table.

I expected her to bring out a notebook and some pens to follow the lecture, yet the Prime merely fished out what looked to be a sketchbook, a pencil and some markers from it.

It wasn’t truly a stunning development, especially since I’ve met some students during High School that were known to give little interest over lessons.

Those were either part of the group made by troublemakers, or they were people that didn’t have to worry about getting bad grades after getting caught in the matter for one reason or another.

Yet the fact that this was happening now within the walls of a college was a different situation altogether.

It was all correlated to the rules of Prism Uni, which were surprisingly lenient compared to the ones of a common High School.

Teachers weren’t meant to be punishing students that were distracted during their lectures, as lectures themselves were, at least not until the behavior itself ended up getting disruptive enough to make it difficult to continue the lesson itself.

If this had happened all by a standard exam situation, perhaps it would’ve caused more of a kerfuffle than just some frowning from my part.

But instead of questioning the Bunny Prime’s current actions and creating unnecessary issues, I decided to return my attention to the lecture, my pen scribbling once more as I tried my best to keep up with the new details on the blackboard.

We were halfway done with the first of the two lessons for today, and I was quite certain that the conversation with Hope was finally over with that arrival.

Yet I was proven wrong when I started feeling someone tugging at my sleeve… again.

I frowned while turning to gaze back at the Gazelle Prime, spotting a small smile on her pretty face early on.

She didn’t say anything, looking particularly confusing at first as she limited this interaction to merely glancing at behind me as if suggesting me to-

Yeah, I wasn’t going to do that.

I mouthed a quick ‘no’, but the girl didn’t pause in her new ‘duty’, huffing mutedly as she gave me a heated glare to try and push me into a situation I really didn’t want to be part of.

An opportunity for me. 

That seemed to be what the young woman was trying to ‘tell’ me, despite my continuous reluctance to do anything with the newcomer.

It wasn’t like she was someone I was unwilling to approach, but there was a problem with the general tact of approaching this situation.

The atmosphere was getting awkward from my current predicament, thus making any first steps wouldn’t be convenient at all for-

“ Your name is Frankie.”

A familiar voice quietly stated as I turned to glance at where the Bunny Prime was sitting by, yet I wasn’t met with her own eyes.

She was still paying much of her attention on her now-open sketchbook, a half-done drawing visible on the page where she was currently working on.

A curious pattern, I was fascinated by the design as it did seem quite familiar at first look.

I blinked at the fact that it wasn’t a question, more of an affirmation. 

“ Yes. And you are?”

Hope poked harshly at my elbow, probably trying to bring up the fact that I was being too direct about it.

Yet I knew that already as I proceeded onwards with this kind of attitude. 

It wasn’t an attempt to appear rude, but to try and match up with the kind of curtness present in that mannerism.

“ Angel,” The woman answered calmly, not showing any irritation at the way she was being interrogated with.

“ Nice to meet you,” I said with a quick nod, trying to appear at least somewhat interested in my tone.

“ Likewise,” She muttered quietly, staying silent for some time as I continued to stare at her drawing.

I waited for a while, staring as Angel continued with her own business and I decided that it was about time to address the curious work on her sketchbook.

“ Is that for a tattoo?” I finally asked, my curiosity peaking as I had slowly come to realize that this wasn’t just a simple drawing.

The design and style screamed of ‘Tattoo’ or something similar like that.

Her ears twitched, and her pink eyes darted slowly to look at me. “Not truly, no,” The Bunny Prime admitted. “But I wish that would be a possibility.”

“ It looks good,” I praised quietly. “If it’s not asking too much-”

“ I do body-painting,” The young woman interrupted with a sigh, settling her pencil down. “I guess you’ve other questions?”

I blinked. “Do you want me to ask more questions?”

“ It depends,” Angel hummed at my words. “Can I ask questions myself about you?”

At this point? I think there wasn’t a reason to back away from this situation. 

Hope was listening to the entire conversation in utter silence, trying her best to appear uninterested… yet I could see the Bunny Prime looking her way and giving a fairly-curious expression over the matter.

Still, I offered a shrug over the query. “I don’t see why not.”

My reply was met with a small smile, her full attention now on me at the chance of probing back for some more info.

“ Then we can try.”

The remainder of the hour was spent in simple questions. Nothing that dug too deeply into her character, just like she kept herself from pressing for anything too personal.

In the end I was provided with a curious new acquaintance, a phone number… and an appointment for some body-painting for tomorrow.

Hope called it some progress to my part, but I don’t know why I felt it was more different than some romantic opportunity.

Still, Friday was far from over and we had yet to go ahead with the girl’s plan for the day.

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~Hope’s POV~

The very moment the second lesson came to an end, Hope’s plan had started.

Miles was assigned to the ‘simple’ role of keeping Shin distracted and unaware of what they were doing away from their respective dorm rooms.

The Cat Prime had been keen in accepting the role, at the price of a share of the food they were going to prepare.

And with Frankie managing to get permission to use the kitchen within the Cooking Classroom, Hope felt that things were going to end up well.

While she had been having doubts about actually succeeding with this plan, she couldn’t help but be glad that Tiggs had joined them when the human had asked about her interest in taking part in their initiative.

The big girl wasn’t explaining the real reason behind this situation, but the excuse that the young man had decided to use was correlated to boredom-induced curiosity over the means to accomplishing this dish.

The Tiger Prime had displayed a degree of eagerness over the opportunity of trying out a dish she never thought of trying out before, and her determination was further intensified by the fact it was a sweet-based food that they were aiming for.

The fact that there weren’t any practice sessions for the cheerleaders for the rest of the day also meant that the big girl had no issues in staying for the entire duration of the process.

Browsing around for any good recipes and finding the ingredients around in Prism took about an hour, yet she was glad that she ended up finding everything that was needed for the creation of some Dango sticks.

The idea had sounded interesting when she first started reading the page, especially since the concept reminded her much of how marshmallows looked and were regarded as.

Yet those were far from simple marshmallows as the various unique ingredients made the difference.

Frankie had to read and re-read the recipe together with Traci for quite some time in order to properly understand how they were supposed to go through the instructions listed on the page.

Both had appeared quite confident in being capable of making something like this, yet the positive news had yet to come to a closure as there weren’t just three people working on this culinary project.

Vixy’s presence had been a surprise for the Gazelle Prime, but one that Hope had instantly welcomed  as the cheerleader had been quick to muse over her interest at trying out one of the resulting sweets.

With the full team now composed, the preparation began without interruption.

…

Or at least that was how Hope had wanted things to go from the very beginning.

While she had been confident in trying to do a good job over the planned steps to take, the girl had sorely forgotten a small detail that was actually… bigger than she needed it to be.

Her mother was an excellent chef, being the one that did most of the work by the kitchen while the young Prime was still back home.

But while the woman was someone capable of moving around her kitchen, the rest of the family had been cursed with Kayin Ravenhurst’s unique cooking style, or lack thereof.

It wasn’t really a curse if the girl had to be honest, but rather a degree of involuntary unwillingness to make the correct choices for the preparation of food was what tended to mess up… everything.

Which translated into her current disposition, with her side of the kitchen suddenly becoming a chaotic mess right after ten minutes had passed. .

Tiggs had quickly moved to help her out, or at least offering as much support as she could while Frankie covered for her vacated position.

Where Hope made some clumsy mistakes that she was failing miserably to stabilize on her own, Tiggs would try to balance with the best of intentions, ending up with fixing the messes only partially.

And with their timing less than optimal from the Gazelle Prime had wanted for it to be because of her initial flaws over her role, Vixy proved to be more competent than she was by handling her own station quite decently. Still, it was a little slower compared to both of the Cooking Class students.

Harmony in that chaotic situation was found twenty minutes after that predicament had started, with Hope still struggling with her own role as two sticks with three Dangos were each laid down on a big plate.

Four more were needed to satisfy the completion of their planned quota, so the preparation was almost halfway done.

While the pace wasn’t the ideal one, they were going pretty fast considering the difficulties that had crippled their capacity.

But as the Gazelle Prime grew more attentive with her own actions and getting more confident with her chances of finally getting a grip over her station, another tragedy struck.

Vixy let out a sudden yelp of pain while retreating away from her station, the girl holding her right hand close as her face sported a pained look for a few seconds.

She waved her palm to try cooling the small burn down, then blew some air on her damaged finger before reaching for the sink.

“ Are you okay?” Frankie asked while looking at her, the Fox Prime merely sighing as she let the cool water on her finger.

“ Mostly, it’s just the shock now but… seems like it’s nothing to worry about.”

The positive response did little to solve the fact they were down a member because of one little burn.

Quite ironic that it was the daughter of the Crest of Fire that got that kind of injury.

Yet the human decided to make a unique decision.

“ Vixy, if you manage to get the situation under control, I can leave you part of Tiggs’ original tasks,” He offered with a hum. “Just the ones that don't have you straining the finger.”

The young woman seemed to ponder about it, but she eventually seemed to give a slow nod at the proposal.

“ I think… I will be back in two minutes.”

“ Understood and- Thank you,” The young man stated before returning his attention on his side of the kitchen.

Hope sighed in relief as not everything was lost because of that unexpected development, with her control over her own tasks increasing more and more.

It was arduous to ultimately regain the full bearing of the situation, but after another ten minutes Tiggs was finally relieved to return to help Frankie by sharing the burden created by the station vacated by Vixy.

Their hardships went on for another hour, with the preparation of the sixth and final Dango stick on the now full plate.

With their initiative now finished without any major issues, it was time to examine the product finally complete… but not before calling for the two wayward Primes meant to take part at this final test.

Miles was contacted shortly afterwards by Frankie himself, and told to bring the unsuspecting Shin right to the kitchen, as they were just waiting for them with the preparations finally over.

With the two starting to make their way to them, Hope couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous over the results obtained from their hard work despite the fact she had some pride over the content of that large plate.

The dumplings looked delicious by sight, and the sweet aroma was quite a tempting element in the Japanese dessert.

To see the blond appear so surprised when presented with the food that had been waiting for him was quite a great scene to envision from afar, and it was easily surpassed by what followed that moment.

Shock swelled in Shin within that moment of stunned silence, yet the White Tiger Prime seemed to recover quickly the instant he was offered one of the Dango sticks to eat from.

Hope felt anxious as Frankie muttered to the blond something about the Dango he was offered having been ‘prepared by Hope with lots of care and attention’, making her internally panic at the possibility of the teen discovering her real motivation.

Yet, just like it was now expected in her long history of efforts, Shin ignored the hidden meaning in the human’s words, and she stared at her love interest taking the first bite out from the top dumpling.

Her anxiety vanished moments later as she eased up at the sight of his eyes widening in genuine awe at the taste.

With victory confirmed after much time and effort had been put into creating these delicious things, the girl then started to enjoy her own stick, humming happily at the delicious flavor created by the sweet ingredients.

Her eyes wandered away from her dumplings as she studied the reactions from the rest of the group.

Miles was talking quite rapidly with an amused Tiggs, with the Cat Prime to get some more insight over the ingredients used to make the dessert, which the fellow Feline was more than happy to provide at a more normal pace of voice.

While Frankie was… quietly putting a small band-aid on Vixy’s burned fingertip.

“ I should’ve been more careful,” The Fox Prime muttered with some annoyance.

“ You should, but at least it’s nothing to worry about,” The human commented back with a nod. “At least you didn’t get blisters.”

The girl flinched at the mere thought. “And now I’m losing my appetite.”

“ Then does that mean that I can take your stick?” The young man inquired with a little grin, a snort leaving Vixy’s lips as she snatched the second stick out from the young man’s closest hand.

“ Nope.”

A chuckle left his mouth, making the small smile within the Fox Prime’s lips widen up a little more at the development.

Hope blinked, pondering well over the scene happening so close to her.

Her own words over helping Frankie with his own dilemma were now echoing in her mind as she thought about the possibility of pairing him with Vixy.

While she wouldn’t deny the fact that Angel had seemed like an interesting individual with good intentions, there was just something that made the Gazelle Prime doubt that what she had seen in that encounter was completely genuine.

Something was off and… Frankie had apparently noticed it from the very beginning.

Yet the human didn’t seem as cautious as she was right now over the matter.

In fact, he had sounded quite serious with his willingness to go meet with the Bunny Prime for tomorrow morning.

With her suspicions hindering her capacity to offer good support for that kind of endeavor… Hope saw in Vixy a candidate that was a little better to get a read of.

Or at least she hoped that it was the case.

The Fox Prime didn’t look to have inherited the Crest of Fire’s well-known hatred for her family, which made interactions with her possible without any animosity.

Plus her overall behavior suggested that she was a friendly individual with just a couple of ambitions over her main role here in Prism Uni.

Then there was the fact that Tiggs counted as the best proof Hope had about the younger girl’s good intentions, and with the interaction she just finished witnessing, she could see something sparking with a few nudges.

Perhaps Vixy was the best candidate for Frankie to date and go for a romantic route, as they both seemed to have enough chemistry to work as a proper couple.

But while Hope felt like she had accomplished a good victory today, the girl failed to notice that something was indeed off from her initial speculation.

Instead of capitalizing on the fact that Shin was now well-distracted and easy to talk to as she had planned to do, the Gazelle Prime had turned her complete attention over the predicament happening to her ‘partner’.

But the reasons driving her to prioritize this detail were unknown even to her as she stared and… contemplated over the oddity that was Frankie Parker.

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AN

This chapter is over and-

Did you know that I made a new acquaintance?

...I think I know whom you’re referring to.

Really? Did she make an appearance in the notes too?

She did, and I think we need to talk about you being irresponsible in giving that kind of power to certain individuals.

It’s not that bad.

I swear, if I end up dealing with someone like Francesca Prelati or Rizevim Lucifer, (or Gods forbid, HIM ) I will not go to Paraiso.

Now, it wouldn’t be that bad if-

That’s the line. Pass over it, and I will take drastic actions.

...Meanie.

All for the greater good- I mean, yes, new chapter and we got some action going. Could it be that Angel is meaning well? Maybe, or maybe not.

Do you think I should appear in the story very soon?

It all depends by two circumstances and… I think you might appear a little later than two Crests I plan to introduce in the next arc.

Wait- I don’t remember reading about-

I’ve changed the locks and moved my notes. Sorry.

. ..Meanie.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Friends, Trials, and Chaos! (4)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

~Frankie’s POV~

Body-painting wasn’t something I was well-versed in.

Sure, I had heard of people having gone and made experiences through this oddly-intimate art. Turning one’s body into a canvas sounded poetically interesting, yet there was still the practical issue of showing skin during the process. And I’m not referring just to arms, legs, and the face.

Torso, upper and lower back… stomach. And even more.

While I wasn’t overly shy in showing some of my chest around on specific occasions like visits to the beach or some fun by a swimming pool, the fact that I was doing this for the sake of painting felt quite awkward. Not unpleasant, just embarrassing.

Still, I had made a promise to Angel, and had no reason to back away so suddenly about it. After we finished cleaning up the kitchen area, I proceeded to walk alone by the section of the dorms where the dark-furred bunny had mentioned to be staying at.

I quickly took notice of the ‘change’ between the various zones assigned to the students from the other years. Angel might’ve been a year older than me, yet I would soon learn that her dorm room was way better than my early expectations.

Once I  arrived at the door, I proceeded to deliver three quick, but soft, knocks. Backing away, I barely heard a muffled ‘a moment’ from the other side and soon footsteps started to approach. The lock was unlocked, and the door was moved to allow the young woman to peek outside. She blinked, a small smile on her face.

“ I see you’re punctual.”

The comment was met with a nod, but I delayed verbally responding only for the time to enter inside, right as she stepped aside and allowed me passage. I hummed, eyes giving a quick scan around the room.

“ I didn’t have much to do up until now,” I muttered quietly. “How are you?”

The query was met with a blink as Angel closed the door and reached for the queen-sized bed to pick a small box. Her ears twitched at the words, but she seemed fairly calm.

“ Peachy,” She replied distractedly, before offering me a little more attention once she was done with checking on the box. “Genuinely so. I’ve had a particularly smooth day. What about you?”

I shrugged. “Helping one of my friends with some cooking. Nothing too burdening.”

Pink eyes sported a degree of interest at my response.

“ Is that so? Was it… Hope?” She pressed carefully. Her tone was restrained, holding back much of her curiosity as I nodded.

The lack of a more elaborate answer seemed to stop the brief conversation, with the girl gesturing for me to follow into… another room connected to the main one. I’d always thought that dorm-rooms weren’t meant to have more than a single room for each group.

Yet this seemed to be a unique case and… I found myself standing before an artistic workshop, one filled with plenty of curious objects to study. Various designs were framed with some signatures, some having Angel’s name on them while others having differing signatures. A small section was dedicated to contain the equipment, and I could already see brushes and cans of colors there that waited to be used.

“ I don’t think I’ve asked you about this. Have you ever tried this before?” The Prime inquired with a quick glance in my direction, her sight returning to the now open box as she patiently put the various substitute pencils together with the rest.

“ Not yet, - only heard about it,” I admitted without lingering too long over the question. She seemed a little bit annoyed by this, yet the dark emotions vanished in her features as she nodded in understanding.

“ I suppose that would do. You don’t need to do anything after all.”

She placed two pillows down, sitting by one while gesturing to me to follow her example, before taking a seat by the unoccupied one. She had a small drawing board, pencils, pens and brushes being kept by her left side and some colors on the other side.

“ I had some thoughts up until now. Right now, I can offer you a look at a couple of sketches I was working on. Nothing too complicated,” Angel commented as she turned her board around. I started to give it a proper look and… I was awed by the examples there.

One had a vine-like complex with a dark-gray and white thematic alternation. It’s pattern was enticing enough to make me almost pick it up instantly. The entire complex would look pretty neat if limited by one of my arms and then go ‘hiding’ behind my shirt. Glancing lower, I then studied the two other styles.

The next one looked like some small-character writings that were interrupted by vertical bars once every couple of centimeters. I could imagine it being quite cool if drawn around the middle of both of my arms, just a little higher from the elbows.

Finally, I took some seconds to analyze the heartbeat-like motif used similarly to the first style. It looked pretty nice, but not the kind of stuff I would try out because it didn’t match well with my own ‘theme’.

Deciding between the two choices got me silent for a little while, with Angel continuing to stare patiently and seemingly understanding my slow decision-making. Maybe this wasn’t the first time she had to deal with someone as indecisive as me.

In the end, I stuck with the first option. Something that gained a smile out of the bunny as she nodded at my choice.

“ I was thinking the same. Let me guess, you didn’t feel the third one much?”

I blinked, but gave a genuine nod as she sighed.

“ The last pick was kind of a random one. I was distracted when I thought about it and… it became that.”

Putting her board down, she started preparing the small brush and the small can with the dark-gray color, her attention divided between me and her final steps for the preparation.

“ You should start to remove your shirt,” The Prime hummed calmly, her head tilting a little as she sighed over the blend smoothly coating the brush. “The design will end just a little bit before your neck but… it would be best to remove it now, instead of risking ruining the entire process.”

I nodded, flashing a nervous look as I slowly started to pull up my shirt. I had expected this… yet I still felt rather awkward by the prospect of being bare-chested in front of someone I barely knew. Especially if said ‘someone’ was a gorgeous girl like Angel.

The bunny didn’t seem to mind much about my uneasy self, her sight fixing momentarily by my chest, half-mesmerized by the toned stuff there and… she turned to my left arm, her hand reaching to carefully lift it up.

“ Stay still like this, please.”

I nodded, holding the limb stretched as she gave it a proper look around as to plan out where she was supposed to start with the motif. Soon Angel started to paint by the left side of my hand, carefully building up the style vertically for a few centimeters. Then the girl slowly turned the line diagonally on the right, starting what looked to be a spiral.

The more she progressed, the more she was forced to make brief pauses to pull the pillow and herself closer to where I was sitting. I wasn’t minding much about it at first, but then she grew quite close to me and I couldn’t help but stare a lot at her focused expression. She just looked so… passionate with the current project.

I was forced to turn my stare away multiple times as I really didn’t want to make this more awkward than it needed to. The Prime shifted a little more closer, to conclude the section above the elbow, but she was ultimately forced to go around and settle on my left side as to conclude the area that reached up to my arm-joint.

Finally she reached for my upper back, near my neck, as she prepared to conclude the careful operation. I was unsure how much time had passed since we had begun, yet I was quite sure it was well beyond the half an hour I had estimated up until we had started. Angel didn’t seem to mind the lengthy amount of time spent in this endeavor. She actually seemed to enjoy it from the tiny smile present during the entire process.

A pleased sigh left her lips as she retreated one last time with the brush, and I knew that we were finally done with the painting. Now, it was time to wait for the color to dry up. She stood up from her pillow, picking it up as she moved back to her initial position as I took a moment to look at her hard-work.

“ Truly a masterpiece, Angel,” I commented bluntly, drawing a nod from the girl.

“ It’s a little easier compared to fur-painting, but I had to be careful to not brush too hard. There were some close calls of me getting to ruin this- but yes, it’s a nice work.”

She took her board in her hands, scribbling on it for a while as I glanced back at the drying paint, feeling unsure of how I was supposed to keep up a discussion with the bunny. I knew that she seemed quite attached to body-painting, yet I wasn’t much sure that I could keep up a decent conversation without making things turn weird.

Yet, I still tried and the results were… interesting to say the least.

“ Is this your first time body-painting a human?” I inquired quietly, glancing back at Angel as she stopped with her writing.

“ It is,” The young woman confessed without hesitation. Her pink eyes stared up from the board and up to my face. “I’ve studied the concept for some time now, and I’ve come to realize that humans were the ones that sparked the interest within Primes to try and experiment with this.”

I frowned at that. “Wait, you mean that it wasn’t a common custom?”

“ Not before the first decades of life in Neo-Earth,” The Bunny continued with her explanation, showing quite the knowledge over the topic. “There were attempts. I remember studying sometime ago that there were rituals for the Dragon Gods that made use of paints to apply to the body… but these traditions were limited to that.”

“ I suppose it might be… related to the fact Primes have to paint over their own fur,” I suggested, starting to get fascinated by this very subject. It wasn’t the first time I learned something more about Primekind that up until now I wasn’t aware about.

“ I couldn’t find anything to support that idea, but I too feel that it might be the reason why the practice didn’t spread that much,” Angel added with an eager voice. “Either that or it might be related to the whole ‘Narakhan’ situation.”

I felt stopping at that very term, confused as this was the first time I heard about it.

“ Narakhan?”

She blinked, surprise adorning her face. “You’ve never heard about the tribes? I… I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that humans don’t know much about them.”

I gave her a curious look, spurning her to continue with this new topic. There was a hint of uneasiness at starting to discuss this, but she indulged without any complaints.

“ Narakhans are… kind of the generic bad guys. Not all of them are evil but they were on the same side as the Emperor,” The bunny explained with some hesitation. “They still exist, some having forsaken the old connections to the big guy. These in particular have some administrative holds away from the major hubs to create any diplomatic incidents, but they all have to deal with some magical bond with what’s left of the Emperor’s… evilness.”

“ Magical?”

“ Okay, it’s complicated and- how about we play a game?” Angel suddenly proposed. “You offer questions, but I get to ask my own questions too.”

I blinked, surprised by this little ‘strong’ development, but I eventually shrugged. “Sure.”

“ Let’s start with something simple,” She said before easing up her posture and offering me a smug look. “What is ‘Hope’ to you?”

...Oh boy, it was going to be one of those days, wasn’t it?

“ A friend,” I calmly answered, only for the bunny to lean closer and narrow her eyes in a teasing light.

“ Is that so? Are you sure that’s the correct answer?”

Is there even a correct answer? I was just answering truthfully to her queries. Could it be that… she was suspecting about something more?

…

Doubtful. Very doubtful.

“ Yes,” I dryly remarked, before giving her a calm look. “Now, what were you talking about with this ‘magic’?”

“ As I’ve said before it’s quite complicated. The only thing I can mention right now is that the Crests have their clans and from there the Knights are ‘created’,” The girl replied with a huff. “Magic is something from the Dragon Gods, I really don’t know how and why, but it does exist.”

I nodded, but I noticed quite quickly that she was getting rather annoyed by talking about this very subject. Perhaps I should be switching topics again back to body-painting.

“ Now, next question… since Hope is just a ‘friend’, you wouldn’t mind if she started going after someone that isn’t you, right?” The bunny asked quite fiercely, maybe in the efforts to get a rise out of me. “It’s hypothetical, but how would you react to that?”

“ With a smile and perhaps helping her… just like I’m doing right now.”

I had to hold back a snort as I saw a confused look appear on her face, then slow realization melted her lack of understanding in the purest form of clarity.

“ Is she already going for someone?” The Prime asked with utmost surprise. “But- She didn’t seem to- I mean, you two do look fairly close.”

“ I’m helping her with that very situation,” I admitted with a sigh, trying to hold back any other unpleasant thought to linger further from there. “Since I know the guy she is interested in, she wanted an ally to trust and rely on, and I accepted her request.”

“ That’s just plain dumb. Why would you even want to do that?” She pressed on with some indignation. “You wouldn’t gain anything out of it-”

“ Actually, we agreed to help each other with our romantic issues. I help her with that and she helps me find a girlfriend,” I interrupted with some insistence. “I’m not really making it freely.”

“ And how is your part faring right now? Have you made any progress yet?”

“ Kind of?” I half-answered, still unsure if I was making ‘progress’ right now.

“ I’m half tempted to call you out on this very situation. I think I can see that you’re heads over heels with that ‘happy girl’,” Angel said, my posture tensed up at her words, but she wasn’t done yet. “But I think there is more to that. Maybe I’m wrong about you being infatuated with her, or maybe you’re just delusional about it.”

“ I’m just a friend to her.”

“ But you wouldn’t mind meaning more to her,” The Bunny rebuked calmly, taking a moment to sigh before standing up. “The color has dried up. And you should start going before you end up turning late.”

I blinked at this unexpected attempt to conclude the discussion. I tried to protect, but her hand quickly reached for my mouth as I stood up and took a step towards her.

“ We will talk later. I think we will have plenty of occasions to share more meaningful conversations,” Angel continued with a small smile. “I find your plight interesting. Mind you, I find no amusement in gossip and rumors, but I do find the occasional story like yours to be endearing to see unfold. If you need someone to talk to, don’t hesitate calling. You have my phone number, and I will be available mostly after the lectures.”

This very conclusion felt… confusing. It was odd, strange and- and I was unsure what to make out of it. Was she offering help, or was she just trying to milk as much entertainment she could out of this very situation?

I hadn’t admitted to any of her accusations, yet I hadn’t actually replied to any of those. Silence was tacit agreement for many, and I could see the Prime make use of that to win any debate I could make against these thoughts.

“ Why?” I ended up asking. There were many questions storming my mind, but those all boiled down into that simple but complicated mess of a word.

She blinked, delivering a sigh before giving a proper answer.

“ Because I want to. I want to see how this goes on, how will you deal with it? Will you be rewarded, or will you not?” She pinched at my cheek, then patted it. “Now go, I really need some time alone right now.”

I gave her a confused glance at these last words, but I ultimately was forced to nod and comply with her request. Once I was done putting on my shirt, I reached for the door, closing it behind me with a soft noise.

Sighing at this confusing predicament, I continued pondering over it up until I reached the dorm-room. Distracted by my thoughts, I entered inside without paying much attention to my surroundings and… soon I found myself swarmed by a certain Gazelle and Cat, both teaming up to try and pestering me up with questions related to how the body-painting session had gone.

At least the day was mostly done for…

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~Change of POV~

Prism City was… a dreadful hive of Primes and Humans. A hideous creation that represented everything that her kind hated the worst about the ‘winning side’ of the war. She had heard the tales about the happiness and joy filling the heart of those born after the alliance had melted into a full-fledged cultural union.

…

What a squalid thought, to see two kinds of parasites enjoying each other's company so closely. It almost made her belch… but she couldn’t let ‘childish ideas’ damage her way of success.

The elders had seen fit to give her the most glorious of missions. Something born from the luck favoring her and those that had been born and grown to adore the deeds of the magnanimous emperor that once wanted to dominate the galaxy.

Ifera was one of the youngest members of the newest generation of Narakhan warriors, her tribe having long favored her ascension to a higher rank because of her devotion and her undying loyalty to the one true God that once roamed the universe.

A simple Coyote with long dark-blue hair, her dark marks were well-spread over her left arm and the left side of her face. A mask and some proper cloth from her dark-violet dress served to cover the tale-telling signs of her affiliations, thus neutralizing the chances of getting discovered by any Knights defending her targets.

And while her prodigious mind and skill with daggers had proved to many of the leaders that she was worthy of being granted a higher rank, they had still decided to send her in this arduous quest within the heart of the newer continent. Yet she couldn’t whine about the difficulty, as she knew that the rewards were all worth it and much more.

She was shocked, no- she was giddy at the fact that she was bestowed with the chance of capturing the daughter of Love, and the son of Bravery and Light. The second target was the bigger treat, and a must to capture considering the circumstances behind his upbringing.

With the fact that he was the best possible source of information over who was meant to become the next Queen, Ifera had to at least try and capture the young man before he had the chance of getting a proper squad of Knights to defend him and his little friends.

Almost groaning at the mere thought that someone would actually go as far as befriending the children of those that were the puppets to the fake Dragon Gods, the Coyote tried attaining a peaceful posture as she quietly continued to sit alone in that mostly deserted park. The place was just pleasant enough to allow her to find enough serenity to corroborate a decent plan to kidnap the two individuals.

Prism Uni wasn’t that far from where she was, yet there wasn’t any rush to see the completion of this mission. Right now nobody knew about her presence here, and if she ended up pushing her luck by trying with a quick, badly-pondered attempt, the Narakhan knew that it would only see things get more complicated than she needed those to be.

She needed to focus and make a grandiose plan. She needed to make sure that there was accurate attention to every detail, even the most insignificant of those and… she needed to see what kind of people the Crests’ spawns were.

What they liked, what they despised, their loved ones and… their flaws. The Coyote needed everything that could help her with her success, and then things would turn properly in her favor.

The council of elders had granted her plenty of resources, from money to underground informants that pended to her orders. This was going to be the greatest mission ever funded since the end of the war.

It was a grand honor to have been chosen to head this important task, and the Narakhan was ready to go through with it and make sure that there were no issues between her and the completion of such a monumental victory.

Her happy musings came to an end when she noticed a small rubber ball rolling quietly right by her bench, her stare turning to the simple toy as curiosity swelled at the unexpected arrival. Yet her surprise turned in tension when her ears caught some footsteps approaching her.

Two children, both Golden Retriever Primes. They seemed to be twins. Brother and sister. They paused for a moment when they finally got sight of where their ball had gone, the boy behind in front while his sibling hid behind his frame, still peeking over his shoulder to look at Ifera.

The Narakhan frowned at the standoff, feeling particularly annoyed by the fact that they were interrupting her happy thoughts of bringing back the legitimate ruler of the galaxy and killing all the Crests.

Should she make these two examples of her wrath? Taint the green hill with red? It would just be proper Narakhan’s custom to return hatred with hatred. But… considering that her current mission depended on her anonymity early on, Ifera was legitimately concerned over the opportunity of messing things up because she couldn’t muster up some good act to keep the two from pestering her.

“ Take the ball and leave,” The young woman ultimately muttered, staring away as to not get herself irked by the two disgusting brats. She didn’t need to deal with this, not when her life was gaining even more meaning and purpose. She was ascending to a degree well beyond what a normal Narakhan should expect and-

“ Why are you all alone here, miss?”

…

Still with her mask on, Ifera turned to stare at the girl, now standing distant from her a couple of meters, as she seemed to be waiting for some answers to that sudden question. Her brother had gone to slowly pick up the ball and was now standing beside his sibling, giving the woman the same curious look.

“ I was minding my own business, like you two should,” The Narakhan replied coldly, trying to convey her chilling glare through the full-face mask.

Sadly, her hopes of being left alone were dashed away when the young boy frowned.

“ But… you weren’t doing anything,” He commented calmly.

“ I was trying to rest.”

The quick rebuttal was met with wide eyes as both looked surprised and embarrassed by the situation.

“ I-We’re sorry then, Miss. We didn’t mean to disturb you,” The girl apologized quickly, while her brother bowed his head a little.

“ W-We will go back playing Basketball then.”

But as the two prepared to retreat back to the field to play a little more at their games, the Narakhan stood up and silently stared at them. The sudden development was enough to draw both children to a pause, both keeping their wide eyes onto the now scary woman.

“ While I appreciate your humble apologies… I find myself willing to ask you a simple but important question.”

She leaned a little towards the two.

“ What is this... ‘Basketball’?”

Minutes later, Ifera found herself staring at the strange contraption of glass, metal and rubber standing a couple of meters above the ground. Surprisingly enough, both Primes proved to be quite cultured over this curious subject, highlighting the true nature of this deceptive play.

They had been trying their best to get a score out of the high target, yet none possessed the might to throw the ball high enough to reach the precise spot which would dignify a ‘point’. It wasn’t the full-fledged game, the Coyote discovered while the two continued to talk alternating their speeches, and that this was a fraction of what the true play was.

But even this little task looked fairly difficult for the two and, feeling the need to finally ‘return the kindness’ by ruining their silly game with her own superior skills. Being offered the ball, the thing that was supposed to go through the hole to ‘score’, Ifera took a few moments to calculate the proper strength and height which the ball was supposed to have to gain a quick victory to her.

It was within her grasp. It was her destiny to be victorious after all.

So she crouched a little, mustering some strength in her legs and… she threw the ball. Her gloating smirk, already building up at the thought of having shredded to the ground her opponents waned the moment the ball was deflected by the metallic ring. Her red eyes trailed down to the rolling ball, and muted confusion replaced her sureness.

A couple of seconds passed, enough to see the ball recovered and given once more to her hold. She could feel that she had to put more strength, the ring had been too fierce, enough to repel her majestic shot.

So when the woman threw a more powerful hit towards the dastardly ring, her hopes of having found the solution to this childish dilemma soon were crushed when the ball pushed against the ring, the ring pushed back. Brutally and unforgivingly so.

The ball returned back to the sender, the power still there and catching the Narakhan by surprise as it slammed squarely on her mask. She recoiled a little, her attention faltering momentarily before she actually started to realize what had just happened.

“ Miss, you should throw the ball to go through the ring- not against it-” The female Prime tried to advise, but Ifera only perceived it as a reason to try with even more vigor. A child wouldn’t ruin her good mood because of this blasted game.

“ I-I know!” She said, her stutter induced by the leftover of that unexpected retaliation from the inanimate target. This time her mind was meaning it, with her brain having finally realized through unknown means that the ball had to go through the ring, not to slam into it.

This time the shot seemed to come close to score as the ball moved around the ring and… fell off to the ground. A scowl slowly replaced her smile. Now, now there was a reason to see how this happy day was going to be ruined for her.

Without wasting more time lingering on the newest failure, the Coyote prepared for her next attempt. Soon time started to fly away as the remaining few hours of the afternoon went by and those were spent in getting that little ball through the cheeky ring. The young woman could feel aggravated by the close calls, knowing that it was all a trickery to distract her from her real duties, yet the activity had slowly occupied her mind and was now driving her to see it accomplished.

Hours passed and then, as the moon was up in the sky and the children had long left the park to return back home, Ifera started with wide eyes and trembling body at the ring as the ball finally fell through it. It was possible, her success was there for her to see and… she could feel excitement at the results achieved.

This- This meant a lot. She had just done something new and accomplished it in such a little span of time. It was something that sharpened her skill to throw things, to properly improve her capacity in using long-range weaponry.

Yes. She needed to continue. Her mind and fate demanded it!

Without questioning much about the safety of persisting through the activity well beyond midnight, the Narakhan continued with her exercises, knowing to have found a new training task to add to her daily sessions.

And from there, the world shall bow before the Emperor and the one that bravely brought him back! Yes, she could see it happening!

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AN

We got the bad gu- Girl. The evil-doer.

She doesn’t seem to know how the world truly works.

Things tend to be strange in isolated tribes.

But… she seems fairly naive.

So was Minos, but then he became all smart and wise.

Centuries worth of pranking him into the right path. You may thank me now.

Maybe.

Well, at least I’m not the one writing a silly villain.

She’s trying!

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Family Matters (1)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

It was Sunday morning, and Hope was feeling incredibly excited for the opportunities today would offer her.

There were a myriad of plans she could make use of, all hovering over the small steps needed to press Shin into recognizing her intentions. All without sounding… pushy.

The Gazelle had long embraced the idea of being moderated with her affections, all for the sake of not messing up her current situation. Shin considered the girl a trusted friend, a pillar of light that was there to help him in case of need.

Which was good, considering how difficult it had been to arrive at this very point. But it was also bad, as it also put a limitation in her capacity to act from this point onward.

And this is why, once she had felt ready for what was going to be a big day, Hope had gone to quickly search for the one that was supposed to offer her extra insight over her romantic problems.

Frankie was surprised when he found the girl standing in front of the door when he went to open it up. From what she remembered from the last conversations with the human yesterday, the guy had planned to have a quick walk around the campus before doing anything substantial. Shin was still busy inside the bathroom, while Miles was happily enjoying more hours of rest before facing the ordeal of the homework for Monday.

The human didn’t even have the time to greet her before the Gazelle swiftly moved to pull him away from the doorstep. Surprise kept him quiet as the girl took the lead by marching both of them away from the dorm rooms, and right to a ‘safer place’ where she wanted a good discussion away from privy ears.

She needed some planning done, and she needed the human for that.

“Okay,” Frankie hummed, finally drowning away the last bits of his confusion. “What’s with the rush and- why are you looking at me like that?”

Hope sighed. “It’s Sunday. I believe I’ve told you already that I wanted to make some meaningful steps with Shin today.”

“Yeah, but… I thought that you already had something ready,” The young man commented back. “I mean, you were quite sure about it yesterday.”

“I thought so at first - but then I spent more time thinking about it before going to sleep and...” She sighed again, this time her shoulders sagging in a moment of self-disappointment. “I don’t think it would work- which is why now I need your input on some ideas I got.”

“But why?” He pressed on slowly and lacking enough certainty over the topic, only received a huff from the Prime.

“We’re together in this, remember? Plus a different perspective might help me realize if there are any issues with those,” Hope rebuked quickly and calmly.

Shrugging at the request, Frankie conceded to her points as they walked up to a pair of chairs that had been there.

“First idea: I was thinking about asking for more private tutoring,” The Gazelle started to list up her possible plans. “I really have some issues with the Last Age of Old Earth, but for it to be private it would need for you and Miles to-”

“We can be out of the room only after lunch. I don’t think there’s a good enough reason to avoid Shin’s suspicions over something more than that,” The human interjected calmly, his assurance offering Hope some relief. Still, he wasn’t done yet. “But, that would only work after lunch, which leaves plenty of time before that to do much more than that.”

She frowned. “I thought you said that I shouldn’t rush things.”

“And that still stands as a main rule, but that doesn’t mean you can try with more subtle stuff,” Frankie agreed with a small smile. “The weekends are golden days to try and deepen any bonds, especially the one you share with Shin.”

“You mean that-”

“Since you’re close friends already, I don’t see why he would refuse hanging out with you,” He continued, ignoring the girl’s surprised tone. “Also, he doesn’t have anything planned for today except for some study sessions. On that very note, while he might be free during this specific weekend, I suggest that you check with me to see if he’s free or not to consider.”

Her eyes widened in realization of that very notion, her head offering a distracted nod as her mind wandered away for a little moment.

Shin was free for the entire day, and he wouldn’t shy away from a friendly date set around Prism city. Of course, the main purpose of such a ‘date’ was to get a ‘proper layout of the place’ without having the pressure of turning out late for lectures.

Oh my, she could already see plenty of opportunities that could develop from there. Visiting a nearby restaurant, spending an hour or two by one of the many parks in there and… maybe resting by the shade of some trees.

She sighed happily at that very thought, yet her fantasy collapsed at the mere sound of someone snorting in clear amusement at her current expression. She blinked, her green eyes swiftly finding the perpetrator of such a ‘heinous’ deed in the form of the very individual she had put so much trust into.

Frankie’s smile mirthfully twitched on his face, drawing a degree of entertainment from her current look that just made it difficult to reply to. So Hope drew her arms crossed and beneath her bosom, a faux pout appearing on her lovely visage.

“Jerk.”

Another snort, but the young man seemed to finally wake up from his staring.

“Sorry Hope, I didn’t mean to look like a prick by- Seriously, I bet you know that you look cute when you make that kind of face.”

...What?

Her jaws dropped a little. “You- You’re kidding. I mean, sure this isn’t the first time that I react like this… but cute? Really?”

“I mean, you looked so happy back there with whatever you were thinking about and… yeah, that’s it,” He replied with a note of slight uneasiness. “Look, I’m sorry.”

“Oh no, buster!” She exclaimed with renewed curiosity. “We’re not done yet- In fact, why don’t we talk about what you plan to do about Vixy today?”

The human blinked at that sudden counterattack, but he seemed to be prepared well enough for it by the lack of major distress at the topic.

“Tiggs mentioned that Vixy was planning for a card game after lunch and that they were looking for players- nothing too strange, just a few hours of time spent together and… that’s it.”

“I can say there’s more to that,” The Gazelle rebuked giddily, a bright grin shining from her lips. “Come on, tell me! Is there going to be alcohol? Maybe it’s a strip-poker session too-”

“There’s just alcohol,” The young man quickly muttered, looking rather flustered at her teasing as she leaned closer to him. “Nothing else.”

My, oh my~ How ‘adorable’ he looks like when he’s this nervous~.

“Are you sure about that~?” She giggled, feeling quite amused by how easily she was going through his shell. “I bet you wanted it to be more~.”

It was exhilarating. This was the first time she found herself in such a circumstance. To tease someone so shamelessly about something so beautiful like love. Her mother had told her so much about it, and how important it is to help people experience it.

She had thought that the gratification of such good deeds would only make the Crest of Love this endeared by the chance of helping young people with their love problems… but right now, Hope’s entire focus was directed not at herself, but at the rather interesting human that was currently facing her own dilemma.

So handsome, so kind and… he looked quite fragile. It would be so easy for her to just tickle him around until he accepted the fact he needed to-

“Y-Your phone.”

His voice, still displaying high amounts of awkwardness brought her out of her little reverie. She blinked, her mind snapping out of what had felt like a daydream.

“W-What?” Hope muttered, only to realize that her phone’s tune was now playing by her pants’ pockets, slightly muffled by the place it had been left. “Oh- One moment.”

She leaned back, quickly scooping out the device and bringing it up in front of her. It was a video-call… from home.

Which would mean, considering the timing and the fact that only one person from there had been calling her through the home’s communication device, that her mother was calling her and- Her eyes widened again.

‘Oh Gods, mom’s calling!’

Panic swelled at the development, her lips twitching nervously as the Prime looked back at Frankie, the young man still recoiling nervously from the previous teasing.

“It’s… it’s my mother,” The girl ultimately muttered, drawing a surprised look from the human. “Don’t… make any strange comments. Don’t even mention what pact we have over our romantic interests… and that’s it. Don’t be a dummy.”

With him giving a quick nod, Hope braced for what was going to be quite the awkward situation to go through.

The young woman started the call, and was indeed bestowed with the patient look pleasantly put on her mother’s face.

The older Gazelle had her pink eyes brimming with undeniable kindness and happiness, while her beautiful visage made the entire sight one could never be tired of.

Grace Ravenhurst, the Crest of Love, smiled as she noticed her daughter’s nervous disposition.

“Sweetie, good morning.”

“Hi mom,” The girl mentioned with a tense tone. “Good morning to you too.”

A brief giggle. “I suppose you were busy. You seem quite… oh?”

Hope held back a groan as she saw his mother quickly looking at the quiet young man sitting beside her. Frankie offered a surprised but moderated look, keeping silent as the Crest of Love addressed him.

“And I suppose you’re… Frankie Parker?” The kind lady finally continued, her smile widening as the young man nodded at her query. “Hope mentioned your situation. How are you doing, dear?”

Just like she would usually do, the older Gazelle was behaving motherly with everyone her daughter’s ages. Something that had been particularly awkward to endure when friends would come to her home for study group sessions and… the young man barely seemed surprised by this.

Actually, he looked fine with it.

“It’s been a little difficult at first, but I made a couple of good friends already,” He answered calmly. “In fact, I think things have been going better than I thought.”

“That’s good to know,” Grace muttered with a relieved tone. “I assume you didn’t have any major issues over the current circumstances. Hope didn’t say much about it, but she did mention that you were fitting well at Prism.”

“I expected something like that myself, but up until now, things had been… fairly calm.”

“Still, I’m happy to know that everything is going well for both you and your friends,” The woman continued, her smile twitching for a moment in a brief hint of amusement. “In fact, I’ve heard that Shin is adapting well to his whereabouts.”

“H-He’s been doing well. He’s already among the best in his classes,” Hope curtly added.

“But what about friends? You still haven’t told me if he made some already or not,” The Crest of Love pressed on. “In fact, I’ve received some questions from Bengala about this very matter and he sounded quite insistent.”

Now, that was quite the interesting discovery. So Shin’s father was actually keeping track of him after what had happened between the blond and his mother? Not a major surprise, but this very detail suggested that the man might make a visit very soon considering how close he was to his son.

Before Hope had the chance of saying anything about it, it was the human that decided to speak up.

“Mrs. Ravenhurst, did Hope tell you that Shin and I are roommates?” Frankie inquired quietly.

The older Prime looked slightly surprised by this discovery, and shook her head at this novelty.

“Not truly, no,” Grace admitted quickly, giving a quick and momentary curious glance at her daughter about this. “So you can tell me a little more about how he’s faring socially-wise?”

The young Gazelle wanted to jump in and stop this from unfolding, knowing that offering too many details to her mother would just pique her interest even more. But then again, as she pondered about it, the girl couldn’t exactly say that Frankie didn’t know how to speak with people in this particular case.

So she waited… and prayed that he really knew what he was going to say without messing things up.

“I would say that he’s been a little uneasy over the stares he got from some other students. Nothing beyond mere staring had happened, but I’m helping him whenever possible,” The young man answered smoothly. “Right now he can count as friends Hope, me and Miles-”

“The... silly Cat?” The woman interrupted with a fascinated tone. Hope almost facepalmed at the fact she had told so much to her mother and… now things were just so complicated.

Maybe she shouldn’t have answered the phone. Maybe she should’ve feinted a simple case of oversleeping. The small smile twitching by Frankie’s lips suggested that the curious way she had addressed the lazy student had struck a mirthful note in his mind.

“I think ‘silly’ is an understatement, but yes, he can be quite ‘silly’,” The human commented happily. “Still, I can say with certainty that Shin is enjoying his stay here.”

“I will hold you by your word then when I speak to his father,” Grace said while nodding. “He’s rather worried that Shin wouldn’t have found much friendliness there at Prism, but I guess you’re good friends from the way you’re talking about him.”

The young man nodded at that, yet he sported a minor frown shortly after. “Also, if it isn’t too private, I would like to ask about… his parents.”

Hope felt surprised at this sudden twist, yet her mother barely looked fazed by this request.

“You were told about the discussion he had with his mother. That topic… I would normally keep myself from offering too many details about it, considering it’s between a mother and his child. It’s family matters,” The Crest of Love described carefully. “Still, can I ask why you would want to know more about it?”

That very question burned  within Hope’s mind, but the girl restrained herself from inquiring about it too since the query had been advanced by her mother. Frankie offered a calm sigh before sporting a serious look on his face.

“While Shin’s been enjoying his stay here, I can’t help but… think that he is expecting something bad to happen,” The young man confessed quietly. “It’s odd but- I can see that he’s tense all the time, but I’m so certain it’s not about school and-”

“You think it’s related to what happened back to his home.”

The quick interruption from the older Gazelle got a quick nod out of the human.

Grace sighed. “You’re… correct. I’ve heard what had happened from Shin’s father, but I can assure you the situation isn’t as terrible as it might seem. In fact, you might be able to catch more from the man when he comes around to visit.”

“He’s visiting soon?” Frankie blurted out in a brief bout of surprise.

“I know for a fact he would check on Shin to make sure everything is truly fine there,” The Crest of Love added. “Which is why I will not offer anything else other than this. As I’ve said, it’s something private for Shin’s family and only someone that is part of it can tell you more if they feel like it.”

There wasn’t much to do about except to wait for Bengala to pass by. The man was jovial most of the time, but things could be different because of the subject itself.

The conversation didn’t last any longer, especially because Joy had just returned from School with dad and… Hope didn’t want to have her father make any overprotective statements against the ‘clueless and innocent’ young man.

It was a miracle that the discussion had kept a serious line instead of straying towards awkward attempts to bring up her crush for the White Tiger.

The phone call ended there, and Hope felt rather drained suddenly when she returned the device to her pants’ pocket. The situation had been pretty heavy, and she wasn’t ready yet to ponder about these specific topics.

Still, despite her unwillingness to continue that conversation with the human, she still regarded him with a few more words.

“You know, I feel like I should be thanking you for what you’re doing for Shin,” The Gazelle admitted softly. “And I’m not talking about the whole romantic attempt, but the fact that you’re helping him up with the social issues.”

The human shrugged. “Can I ask you to not do that? I… I appreciate the words, but I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”

Always the kind guy, the young woman mused tiredly. Still, her smile widened a little bit at that reminder of what kind of individual that the Prime was talking to. They both stood up from their chairs, with the young man reminding her that she was wasting time in silence when she had to go through with her plans for today.

Just as the two prepared to leave, Hope decided to make a simple move. Frankie tensed up a bit as she went for a quick hug.

“Good luck with your hang out,” She mirthfully muttered.

He smiled shyly. “Same. For your date.”

They shared a warm smile together and then… they went for their respective ways.

And now, to find a certain lovely bookworm and ‘convince’ him to go around town with her.

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~Frankie’s POV~

I should’ve expected things to be more complicated than a mere poker game with Tiggs and Vixy when the former had informed me about the ‘card game’ session. Especially when the Fox Prime had talked about dices when I saw her yesterday.

I also should’ve expected that when she had also mentioned that when there would’ve been good drinks to enchant the fun time, she was actually referring to soda drinks.

So here I was, playing a crazy game of Monopoly instead of going through the dramatic moments only a poker match would offer. Taking a few sips from my orange juice, I tried my best to ignore  the gawking unfolding beside me.

This ‘fight’ wasn’t as easy as it sounded like from a general depiction, since I was paired with a completely distracted ally that outright sabotaged our chances of winning.

Miles was so lost in the present, or rather, in his current efforts of trying to stare up at Tiggs’ cleavage, that he made horrible moves in the process. The Cat Prime was being an idiot at this point to believe that his ogling had gone unnoticed, especially when it was clear from the Tiger Prime’s smug smirk that it had been her intention to show him this much of her modesty.

All for the sake of making things harder for me ,as I was having trouble dealing with Vixy’s brutal understanding of the game. She was investing a lot in the various activities in important parts of the board and… I was having issues with the fact that Miles was spending lots of our shared cash on investing in cheap properties.

My glaring wasn’t making much of an impact compared to the power of cleavages, and I was left in a state of slow-paced defeat because of this issue.

Half of the board was now owned by the ‘Cheerleaders Team’ while we only had three cards of different colors and a couple of ‘Hundred’ pieces as our treasury.

This… this just wasn’t a fun game anymore. Where was the sportsmanship? Where were the little moments of honor- and why was I restraining myself from manhandling the distracted moron!?

I sighed, leaning back on my beanbag. “We can’t win this.”

“What…. a shame.”

Yep, Miles was brain dead as of now. But maybe- just maybe, there was something I could do about this.

“I hope you understand that I will find your shampoos and burn those to ashes,” I commented again, finally getting a reaction out of the receiver. A massive dead glare mostly ignored on my part.

“It’s just a game, why would you be so invested in it?”

“Other than the fact that there’s a bet about it?” I reminded him through rhetorical means. “Or maybe because it is a dare that will be imposed on us.”

“It couldn’t be that bad-”

“Oh, it will,” Vixy interrupted giddily. “In fact, I think Tiggs had plans for you, Miles.”

The development got a curious look out of the Cat Prime as he stared up at Traci. “Really?”

She nodded happily. “I was thinking of having you try violet hair like me and-”

The lovely girl didn’t have a chance to finish that Miles was pulling and whining at my arm.

“We need to win- you can’t let us lose!”

I almost chuckled, but then again, I was going to face the dare too if I had lost. And I wasn’t sure about what I was supposed to do with how screwed we were already. The board and the money were against us, and I couldn’t see any way to pull through that difficult situation.

Which meant that… I had to try and cancel the game somehow.

What would work well with both girls in trying to get them to not continue with this match on Monopoly?

Truly a troublesome question, but one with an answer I easily found after some moments of quiet introspection. This one was just too enticing to be refused by both and… it was the only way out.

“What about a game of Truth of Dare?” I blurted out in a moment of incredible nervousness. “It’s clear we’ve lost- but we could lessen a little bit the Dares so that we can play to it.”

“But we’re winning, why should we back away from clear victory?” Vixy inquired, but still appeared interested by the proposal.

“Well, we get to deal with some dares early on, and then the rest is decided through bottle-spin.”

“I like where things are going,” Miles muttered quietly, his elbow calmly tapping at my arm.

“Do I still get to color Miles’ hair violet?” Tiggs asked with a hopeful tone, making the Cat Prime flinch at the mere thought of such a thing happening.

“ And now I regret it. ”

I gave a small smile. “I was thinking about something that doesn’t go… sexual. We set up some limits and-”

“Kisses are permitted,” Vixy rebuked quickly. “But we can’t remove any clothes.”

It was still awkward, but I could get behind that line of thought, and so I nodded. Miles looked grateful, and also interested in the whole ‘Kiss’ situation as the board was set aside and an empty water bottle was brought between the four of us.

“So, there’s still the dares for you two boys,” The Fox Prime reminded before anyone had the chance to spin the bottle. “Do you have any idea we could use, Traci?”

The Tiger smiled eagerly at the chance of doing something at us, especially at me from the way she was looking at me.

“I want Frankie to… show off his muscles.”

Vixy frowned. “What?”

“He has some!” The girl exclaimed truthfully. “I could feel them through hugs and… I really want to see ‘em!”

I gulped nervously at the request, and soon I found myself stared by the rest of the room’s occupants. There wasn’t a way out of that situation and… I pulled my shirt above my head when-

Tiggs whistled and giggled.

“See! I told you that he had a toned bod!”

Miles was frowning at the sight, slightly confused by the athletic frame I had while… Vixy was staring at my chest with her head nodding.

“You trained properly, I can see that your muscles have developed well and...” She blinked. Her eyes widened at the realization that she had been staring at my naked chest for a long time, and a blush exploded on her face. “A-And I think you should put your shirt back on.”

“Maybe next time I can dare him to stay shirtless,” The big girl thought out loud, making me shiver for a moment.

I dreaded that very possibility, but now that I was done with that issue, it was Miles’ turn to suffer a dare.

“And for Mr. Flirt, I was thinking that… he should wear something on his hair,” The vixen mentioned as she stared at the white locks. “What about a… pink bow?”

The resulting situation was that Miles now had quite the stylish headpiece matching with his murderous glaring and ‘dead inside’ state of mind. And yes, I did ask for a picture before the game started.

The bottle was spun by Vixy, with the girl claiming the first turn. The spinning lasted up until… the bottle pointed right up at me.

“Truth or dare, foolish human?”

I snorted in amusement at her faux arrogant voice. “Truth.”

She nodded and… grinned. “Do you like it when Traci purrs during her hugs?”

...Oh. So that’s how things are going to be?

“Yes,” I admitted without hesitation. “Her hugs are the nicest for sure. And the purring is…”

“Just top notch, I know,” Vixy ended that sentence for me, and we both shared a mutual agreement over the amazing quality of the Tiger’s embraces.

Tiggs actually blushed at the double compliment, and her wide smile confirmed that she was enjoying all of this attention.

Next up was… Miles. The Cat Prime was quiet as the bottle spun around and… stopped right towards the leader of the cheerleaders. A smile adorned his face, but before he could ask the simple question, the girl spoke up.

“Truth.”

A grimace adorned his face, but he didn’t let the opportunity go to waste.

“Does the carpet match the drapes?”

I narrowed my eyes at the smug and lewd inquiry, but Vixy didn’t seem particularly annoyed by it. In fact, she smiled back with a smug look.

“No.”

Miles’ jaws dropped at the quick reply and I tensed up at the escalation, knowing perfectly that the pace slowly picked up as we continued going through the ‘simple game’.

It was Tiggs’ turn and she spun the bottle. It landed on me again.

She smiled and I sighed. “I suppose I will go with Dare.”

“I want you to… stand up and hug me.”

I frowned at the demand, but slowly complied to it as I approached the still sitting Traci and… started the embrace. She stood up, a happy grin adorning her face as she happily accepted the hug and we stood there for a couple of seconds.

“You know you don’t need to Dare me for a hug,” I reminded her quietly, getting a sigh in return.

“I just forgot to ask earlier today. And I really need a hug.”

Dammit, she’s slowly turning into my kryptonite.

Once we were done with the embrace, I found myself sitting back to my previous seat and… it was my turn to spin.

The bottle rolled once more, but this time the one that was selected was…

I stared up at my current target, and she looked incredibly interested by what I had in mind to do. She hesitated from saying what she wanted to do with the usual question… but she decided to take a risk to see what I had in mind for her.

“Dare,” Vixy said with a convinced tone and… I thought about what I was supposed to do with her.

I wasn’t certainly going to try a crass approach like the one that Miles did and… I decided for something fairly tame.

“I want a normal hug.”

There was silence, and the Vixen looked fairly surprised by my decision. Tiggs chuckled at my words while Miles shook his head at my ‘damn luck’.

The girl and I both stood up as we both approached and… we engaged in a pretty awkward hug. Differently from Tiger Prime’ special ones, this one wasn’t as soft as hers. With the Fox Prime being shorter than I was, her head was safely nestled by my shoulder while I wrapped my arms around her upper waist.

I waited for a moment, kind of surprised that it felt particularly despite not being as cuddly and easygoing as Traci’s own ones. It just reminded me of… the one Hope gave me before leaving for her date with Shin, except that it was lasting a little longer and…

The hug ended silently, but I noticed a little blush by Vixy’s face as we both returned to our respective seats.

The entire game continued for a solid three hours, with the Dares and the Truth not going further than the ‘limits’ fixed by the first few turns. Miles knew that he wasn’t going to get something more than some more peeking during the Dares and some interesting answers to perverted questions, but he still had fun like the rest of the people there.

But just as we proceeded to bid farewells to the girls as to return back to our dorm room, Vixy decided to imitate Tiggs in her own mannerism just for once and give me another hug while offering a quick ‘bye’.

I was confused, incredibly distracted and blushing immensely at what just had happened.

If only I had been aware that this was just a sign of something more than a mere hug.

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AN

And thus the fun time that is college begins.

I wonder who will start… doing the fun dance early on.

Who knows? Also… Lemons. There are plans about it.

Just like there are plans about you being thrown in Paraiso, Bukharin.

I’m beset by regrets. But this one? I will probably-

Love it?

I was saying dislike, but I guess you’re going to keep up with the promises- no throwing me in crazy stuff.

Yep! But still, things will be fun. Think that I spoke with Messiah and-

(To be continued… in BaTB2?!)

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: Family Matters (2)

Beta-reader: Ant0nius

The loud buzzing coming from the nearby streets was a quick reminder on why she had long opted staying away from big cities’ affairs.

The comfy mattress of the queen-sized bed and the warmth exuded by the wooden floor didn’t help in soothing her own uneasiness at being within a large urban region like the one here in the Newer Continent.

But perhaps, it was a long overdue visit, just like her husband had told her.

So much… conflict was unfolding inside her head.

Sitting with her legs crossing by the bed, Kate Aryoko pondered over the situation at hand… and she was having a hard time keeping herself from falling into a wave of nervousness that had wrapped around her since she left the airplane.

The blonde sighed, uncertainty painting her face while her orange eyes barely glinted at the turmoil festering from within her core.

Things were changing… quickly. The balance was starting to shift, and this time, the causes to this instability weren’t clear to the High Prime.

Kate had been one of the few Crests to perceive it. Her deep connection with the Light enabled her senses to notice that something was wrong with the status quo.

But she had rightfully kept herself from acting on her own just like she had in the past. Many of  her mistakes were done out of overconfidence… and misunderstanding.

Patience had been refined and sharpened by peaceful understanding of the current times. The time of War had long passed, but compared to her younger and ‘naiver’ self, she couldn’t just regain a proper zenith of her emotions.

Peace through meditation was no longer an option, and her only concerns as of now were to the present. And to her children’s future.

Another sigh, this time her posture lessening to a more ‘proper’ sitting position. A tired look replaced her impassive one, but this wasn’t due to a need for rest.

She was awake, and still capable of going through a couple more hours of other affairs before seeking quiet sleep. The issue stemmed from something she just couldn’t find any solution to.

And the main theme to it was her first child.

Shin was… gifted. Kate wasn’t an expert in the modern world’s understanding of the intelligence her son had been bestowed with, but it would be silly to say that the woman hadn’t expected him to yearn for more than just the tranquil life back at home.

Her child was a fast learner, and tremendously curious. And yet, he was also lonely.

It had been one of the issues of living so far from civilization. While this lifestyle had worked well back when it was just her and Bengala, this wasn’t the same when her son and daughter came around.

Curiosity wasn’t a trait unique to Shin. The Crest of Light herself had craved to see more of the world around her.

She had wanted to know if there were people like her. That she wasn’t alone in that large but uncharted land.

She knew that there were so many people around already, but her father had wisely kept her from trying and befriending the locals of the nearby village back home.

Kate thought of that restriction as a punishment when she was still immature, but as she first saw the cruelty of mankind with greedy ways of ambitious clans aiming at her Clan’s sword, a sense of clarity had steeled her understanding beyond the mere ‘feeling’.

Logic was an element required in understanding an entity, may it be a single being or a group of individuals. That’s how she had learned to properly care for mankind, her ‘adoptive’ race. And it was through proper thinking and feeling that she ultimately saw it fit to join the arduous task of defeating the greatest of evildoers.

It was a gruesome deed that took much from her, both in spirit and in the material world. A worthy sacrifice for the sake of everyone’s freedom.

The world had been saved… mostly. Earth was lost because of a futile last attack from the Emperor. One that had been meant to turn their success into a hollow and pyrrhic victory.

It was a horrifying discovery that had everyone’s minds filled with dread and dismay… and only when the Dragon Gods blessed them with Neo-Earth as a reward for their victory over the shadows, did they finally find happiness over the war’s conclusion.

But with peace came a sense of aimlessness for most of the brave warriors that had fought by her side and were now without purpose. Only a few managed to make a healthy recovery from the mental toll suffered in the galaxy-wide war. The rest had to take slower steps in a newer path.

For her… things became a notch more complicated than she had hoped. Maybe it had been delusional on her part to expect her planned burden to just disappear at a mere whim.

Ambar had been right with her serious words, but back then, Kate had barely listened to her. Now, she was stuck with a tragic situation, unsure of how to untangle the mess.

Shin was going to be the bearer of her Crest if something happened, while Hikari was meant to take the greater burden that her mother had so firmly refused.

There was no means for her to change this…

Which infuriated her as she never was much of a believer of prophecies. Even back when she first met Bengala… she had been reluctant to go through with her duties as Crest only because of some ‘destiny’.

One’s destiny should be made by actions, not by words from others.

You fell from the Heavens. Like a falling star. That alone told me that your destiny was to do more than get dirty working at the forge.

And it turned out to be something greater than that of mere metalworking, father.

But it was still all done by her own choice. That right was hers and hers only.

Shin was... just trying to break free from that cage she unconsciously put him and his sister to live within. She should’ve seen this happening much earlier than now, and maybe, she could’ve avoided the heated exchange she was forced to have with her son.

While her child was soft-spoken most of the time, there were times where his need for independence would spark in brief moments of disagreement. But what happened just before he left home? That had been a sudden blow she hadn’t planned of taking at her heart.

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“ Okaasan, I wish to leave to study at Prism Uni.”

The house was mostly silent as of that time of the day. With Hikari having gone to the nearby river to fill some buckets with fresh water, only the woman and her oldest child remained in there.

“ We’ve already talked about this, Shin,” Kate reminded him with a sigh. She had been in the middle of finishing a prayer directed to her deceased father, and the sudden intrusion had left her rather irritated but still capable of holding a serene conversation. “And I thought I had told you that I wasn’t open for compromises over the matter.”

The room grew quiet for a moment, and the Crest of Light expected for her eldest child to leave the topic be for the time being.

Bengala had shown some insistence in letting their son go study far away from home, even knowing that Hope was going to be sticking by his side during that long period.

It was too far from home, and he needed to stay home to train and-

“ Okaasan, I don’t want to be disrespectful but-”

“ You’re already doing so by keeping up with this nonsense,” The older Prime interrupted with insistence. “Lunch will be prepared soon, so I hope that you’re done with your exercises by the time food is ready-”

“ Why?”

… “ What?” She asked back, surprised by the swift query.

“ Why can’t I go study there?” Shin elaborated with some insistence. “I don’t want to make comparisons, but Hope is allowed to go there.”

“ She is capable-”

“ And I’m not?” He rebuked with surprise. “Okaasan, you’ve trained me for years. Even father said that I would be able to keep up with a Knight if I put my best effort into doing so.”

Kate sighed. “Your father might train knights, but he wasn’t there to train you and see your progress.”

“ He gave me this assessment after I had sparred with him last time he visited,” The young man argued. “And he said he wasn’t allowing me to go just because you don’t want me to leave.”

…

“ It’s not up to debate,” The Crest ultimately stated. “I can’t just let you go- what about the dangers? What if-”

“ I will be safe. The High Prime-”

“ Will be busy during those few days,” Kate interjected with an unnerved tone. “And I wouldn’t trust her to keep a careful eye over your wellbeing, especially since she would consider you ready enough to not have a knight to keep watch over you.”

…

“ I want to go.”

“ And you have to stay,” The mother replied curtly. “Now please, let me be.”

…

There was a frustrated sigh leaving her son’s lips.

“ Then I will… take my leave.”

She nodded, her attention returning to the little shrine that had been built to remember Shintaro Aryoko’s memory.

Back then, she thought little of her firstborn’s final words- but then she would soon realize how serious he had been about it.

Especially when her daughter couldn’t find him anywhere in the house, and a small note was found in his room, containing his brief apologies to explain his departure cemented her worries.

She had pushed too hard, and life had shoved back even harder.

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“ We’re back!”

The loud proclamation came right as the door of the hotel room opened and closed prompted Kate to stare at the smiling face owned by her husband. Hikari was beside him, a wide smile encompassing her face as she giggled at her father’s antics.

A jester. A strong and handsome one at that.

Bengala looked giddy as he walked inside the room. He was holding two large bags filled with various clothes and the grin on his face directed at the Cat Prime wasn’t just suggesting that not everything he had brought was meant for himself or their daughter.

“ Dear husband-”

“ I brought you stuff,” He announced eagerly while he settled the bags at the edge of the bed.

She sighed. “I could tell...”

He snorted, quickly taking a seat close to her so that he could steal a big hug. The woman didn’t regret the affection, but she tensed up at the sudden contact.

“ To think that we would be spending time together like this!” The Tiger Prime mirthfully commented. “Heck, I showed Hikari the Arcade and she fell completely in love with that place.”

A thought bubbled up at the curious detail. She had heard about these places where children would go and play some… videogames.

“ Okaasan, it was so nice! There are so many nice children and- it was so fun playing with the pinball!”

What an odd name for a game… but she was glad that her daughter had enjoyed that rare trip around the city. She had thought that the young girl would’ve been having some trouble dealing with the new environment, but her concern seemed to vanish at the big smile on Hikari’s face.

At least someone other than Bengala was enjoying this visit…

“ By the way, should we go and check on Shin after lunch or a bit earlier?” The Crest of Courage inquired suddenly, making Kate sigh at the dilemma.

The first choice would make any discussion she would get with her son quite limited. The other one would make her spend more time talking  with the boy… if only to be seen by either Hope or Carmesi’s daughter.

It was quite a surprise learning about this development. To think that someone as prideful as the Fire Crest would’ve allowed her only child to not continue her apprenticeship as a Knight.

“ We will visit once we’re done with lunch. Did you have time to contact Ambar?”

Her husband nodded. “She knows we’re here, and has already dispatched some knights to redouble the patrol around the city. We will be safe while we’re in the capital.”

She returned the nod with one of her own. That was some good news, and enough to lessen her worries to running  into some unpleasant encounters with the forces of darkness that still lingered in Neo-Earth.

To think that the cult of Chaos was returning among the Narakhan’s tribes was concerning, but considering the state of dissonance that the majority of tribes had with their past, it was all up to chance itself if this was going to develop into either a serious issue or a short-lived rebellion.

In the end, the two Crests decided to spend the rest of their time in that room talking about what they were supposed to do once they ended up meeting with their son…

But it was more Kate getting some pep talks from her husband, much to the glee of the latter. The Tiger Prime was just immensely happy in getting his wish of spending quality time with his family away from home.

Still, as the two adults continued with their conversation, a certain young girl had carefully opened the door and sneaked out to the near hallway.

With a small backpack she had brought filled with various important objects and resources straddled on her back, and a bright smile and determination driving her to face the immensity of this uncharted territory, Hikari Aryoko was set for quite the interesting adventure to find her elusive Oniisan!

And as she departed from the hotel with the small map she was holding in front of her helping her find Prism Uni distracting her from what was unfolding in her proximity, a certain Narakhan assassin had taken notice of the odd girl wandering near the park.

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~Ifera’s POW~

This has to be a sign from their Lord. It has to be.

She couldn’t help but notice the absurdity of the situation, but she wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.

Ifera had waited patiently for a chance to strike, and with the youngest child of the Crest of Light and the Crest of Courage happily wandering around without any knights escorting her. It was just a sight that made her almost salivate at how useful her kidnapping would be.

Plus it was a good way for her pride to recover from what had happened two days prior. This sight had appeared as alluring as it had been when she ended up seeing both ‘Shin Aryoko’ and ‘Hope Ravenhurst’ spending some time together, without anyone keeping a solid guard over them.

It smelled like bait, but she still had moved to make sure she ended up closer to the two. Slow and steady, one step at the time… and she ended up preparing an ambush by an alley they were passing nearby .

With daggers clenched tightly in her hands, the Narakhan was ready to intervene just as the two Primes were passing by and… she was frightened by quite the unexpected development.

While the young woman walking beside him was distracted chatting with him staring in front of them, the White Tiger Prime was looking right at where the Narakhan had set her flawless hideout.

The real fear-inducing element was the powerful green-eyed stare that hit her. It exuded power, it exuded might… it exuded light.

She was forced to look at the unflinching glare silently and completely still as the two wandered away from her planned ambush, leaving her alone with her thoughts of what had happened.

This  was a frustrating development to be subjected to, but one that confirmed a suspicion she had held  up until now. The child of the Crest of Light was not only capable of  perceiving Chaos-related energy, but he was also accustomed to fighting people like her.

It was a novelty that both raised the difficulty of her mission, but also intensified the worries of dealing with more knights in the near future. Hopefully, she would be done by the time the High Prime actually sent more guards over the city.

Still, the fact that the young man had been trained beforehand was bad news for her because that directly translated that immediate confrontations were now crossed out of her plans. But it also helped her noticing this crucial detail before a future ‘successful ambush’ ambush.

While all Clans’ powers were effective against Chaos-based powers, Light was the worst element to deal with, with Fire being the second issue.

This information was still precious enough to make her reluctant to try and press on with that very instance, and her patience was big enough to tank a couple of ‘missed’ opportunities. Ifera wasn’t petty, but she was certainly going to make plenty of plans to make up with her streak of bad luck.

But there was still a problem currently manifested as she continued to trail down the ‘little kitty’ going merrily for that erratic path. While resisting the temptation to groan at her failure was easier considering the elements that led her to be inactive for some time, the same couldn’t be said about the golden chance that had just fallen in her hands.

There was no way that someone as short and young as the child was capable of defending against external threats!

Especially when her objective looked as clueless and unaware as she could.

Jogging calmly and patiently, Ifera knew that she couldn’t just rush at her newest target and hope to avoid any attention from the other people walking within the park. The girl was distracted as she kept looking at that small map of the city, offering the Narakhan the possibility of keeping a close trail of her.

The young woman could almost feel success around the corner. She just needed to be patient but attentive for any hints of a trap.

Because, while the previous situation had lacked any other dangerous element to be wary of, she couldn’t exactly exclude that this one was a more convoluted plan to capture her.

The young Aryoko had to have alerted his parents of what had happened. Or else things would just be stupidly easy for her.

Which is why, instead of rushing for a quick victory, she settled for a slow and careful analysis of her surroundings. Everything seemed to be quite normal, except for some frowns she was getting from people noticing her mask and attire.

Perhaps a disguise would help her avoid that kind of attention. Maybe the creation of a ‘soft-spoken, shy’ Narakhan would allow her to avoid more suspiciousness than she needed to deal with during this important mission.

Just as Ifera continued to ponder over this very notion, her attention was suddenly returned to the young girl as she saw the Prime starting sprinting towards two individuals. Surprise swelled at this unexpected sight, but the assassin proceeded to keep a low profile despite the lack of people in the area.

Her eyes narrowed at the duo, both being students. A Prime and a human.

The filthy earthling was leading,  quickly stopping as he took notice of the young teen rushing at them and stopping right in front of them.

But while the Narakhan had no recollection of the dark-furred Cat Prime, she still froze up at the scene as she thought about an ugly possibility behind this interruption. What if those two were Knights? What if the girl had spotted her early on and led her straight to a patrol.

Panic replaced the shock as Ifera quickly realized that the situation had escalated way too quickly and, without wasting time gawking at the circumstances, she dived into the nearby bushes and waited there patiently. She even lowered her Chaotic energy to avoid alerting the trio of her presence as she stared at the scene.

“ Excuse me, can you tell me where Prism Uni is?”

…

These weren’t knights. She had jumped like a frightened cat for nothing and… now she knew that there was a window of opportunity.

Ifera just needed to jump at the right moment now...

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~Frankie’s POV~

I blinked in surprise at that sudden question.

Everything had taken a strange turn ever since we were notified that Professor Aken wasn’t going to give a lecture at the planned hours. It was odd for the punctual man to make such a change of plans without warning.

From there on, the situation unfastened into quite the odd circumstances. Starting with Shin and Hope deciding to spare some time together by the library, and ended with Miles coaxing me to go for a walk by the nearby park.

There was no real reason to do so, but from my simple understanding of his mind, I knew it was more of a whim  to get away from Prism Uni for some time.

Still, the fact that someone this young and donning such a unique dress like a kimono was currently standing in front of me was already an unexpected sight to be greeted during said talk.

And that she was now inquiring about Prism Uni was more than enough to create plenty of suspicions about why she wanted to go in there specifically.

She was a White Tiger with a Japanese-based set of clothes. Plus, there was just something familiar in her cerulean eyes. But… why?

I blinked, and she blinked back. Oddly enough, she was studying me too while I went on my own studies of her appearance.

“ Frankie,” Miles called with a confused frown plastered on his face. “Is everything alright?”

I blinked again, realizing that I had been staring for some time.

“ Yeah, kind of,” I replied to the fellow student before I returned to look at the younger Prime. “And Prism Uni is just out of the park from ‘that’ entrance and right to the left corner. There will be a large road that will lead to the main gates.

The girl smiled and nodded. “Thank you-”

“ But-” I stopped with a calm voice, prompting the young teen to not march away at the end of my answer. “I wished to know. Do you know Shin Aryoko by any means?”

There was a pause. The girl’s eyes widened and I saw her tensing up at the name.

“ You know Oniisan?”

From what I could remember from my basic understanding of Japanese, that directly translated into ‘Big Brother’. I took a moment to stare in surprise at that as I connected dots about it.

“ You’re Shin’s little sister?” I inquired back, getting a nod from her. “Well, we do know about Shin-”

“ Only know? We’re the guy’s roommates,” Miles quipped with a huff. “But I would’ve thought he would’ve told us that his family was visiting.”

The little girl shook her head at that. “It’s a surprise.”

My eyes widened at that response.

“ Is that so?” I asked, getting another nod in return and… I started wondering about this revelation.

If the young girl was there, then there was a high chance that either her mother, her father, or both were currently in the capital and… the girl was here alone, without adult supervision.

I frowned at this thought. “And can I ask you why you are alone right now?”

She tensed up again, sporting a nervous look but still replying to the query.

“ I… I wanted to surprise Oniichan.”

...Oh. That makes some sense.

“ Your parents weren’t planning on a surprise. You were.”

The girl nodded, but then froze as she realized that she had just confirmed that both her father and mother were there within the city too.

I took a moment to remember some of the words Hope’s mother had brought up in our conversation. All about the situation that drove Shin away from bringing up his family during a normal occurrence.

And they were there now… after just two days Grace had told me that someone would’ve visited sooner than later.

Soon, my mind returned to the discussion and I nodded.

“ We’re not planning to tell Shin about the surprise,” I assured quickly.

“ ...Really?” Miles muttered with a skeptical frown.

“ I mean, maybe we can tell him that his parents are there once… uh, I know that it’s awkward, but I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves.”

“ My name is Hikari,” The young Prime answered eagerly. “Nice to meet you two.”

“ Likewise, Hikari. I’m Frankie Parker, and this is Miles Lionheart,” I replied with a nod.

“ Hello,” The Cat Prime replied coolly.

“ Still, we need to make sure that Shin isn’t busy for the surprise,” I pointed out, carefully bringing up my phone. “And I think I know whom to call.”

Hikari looked surprised by my words, while Miles nodded as he himself knew who I was going to contact now.

The waiting was brief, but soon Hope answered the call.

“ Yes?”

“ Hope, I know it’s quite sudden but… is Shin still with you?” I asked calmly, part of me praying that he hadn’t left for other reasons.

“ He is… why?” The Gazelle Prime asked and I sighed.

“ Let’s just say that he got some visitors,” I answered cryptically. “Don’t let him hear her? It’s kind of a surprise.”

“ Hear who-”

“ Hi, Hope-nee,” Hikari took that question as a cue to finally talk.

“ ...Oh- Oh my. You mean that-”

“ Yep,” I answered curtly.

“ And that they are also-”

“ Yep.”

“ ...This is going to be quite the troublesome situation,” She judged without hesitation and I nodded in agreement to that.

“ Which is why I would need you to have Shin back to the dormroom since we will have to talk about this,” I requested implicitly. “Tell him that it’s urgent.”

She sighed on the other side of the call. “I will see to notify him of that. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“ I think I do.”

… “ That’s good enough for me. For now.”

“ See you soon, then-”

“ Bye.”

The call ended there and Hikari stared at me with a surprised look. “So we’re going to surprise Oniisan?”

“ Yep-”

Just as I said this, I felt something bolting out of the bushes and right towards us. My eyes widened as I locked my stare at the approaching blur. A white mask, several markings spreading all over the attacker’s arm and… daggers.

Dread filled my thoughts as I saw the aggressor prepared to land a life-threatening blow on me… but I managed to fight back the sudden shock before rushing right at the masked figure.

From the way her posture straightened, I was quite sure that my approach was as unorthodox as unexpected.

The knives were still far from reaching me and I took the opportunity of her entire self being in my range to throw a strong punch right at her face.

The hit landed, and the attack was more than enough to cause the girl’s momentum to drop to nothing. A yelp echoed around and I saw the masked attacker fall backwards at that, her hands reaching for her mask while I took a serious guard against her.

Adrenaline offered me plenty of energies before this situation, but it was my boxing instincts kicking in that I felt my resolve steeling itself against the recoiling jerk.

I stared at the scene, with Miles taking a step closer.

“ Who is she?”

I blinked. “I don’t know but… her marks. I’ve seen those before.”

The Cat Prime snapped his attention at me. “Marks? Aren’t those Tattoos?”

I couldn’t tell in that moment, but it was Hikari’s calm comment that offered me a better  understanding of what was going on.

“ Narakhan.”

The word reminded me of everything I knew about the topic and- Yep, this situation has definitely gone down the drain as of now.

“ That hurts...” The still-masked aggressor commented and I snorted.

“ Trust me, it will be worse. Why are you attacking us?”

“ As if I would care to answer your questions, foolish earthling.”

I frowned at that ‘insult’. “Aren’t we all earthlings?” I glanced at Miles. “Aren’t we?”

“ Fairly sure all inhabitants in Neo-Earth, from humans, to Primes, and Narakhans, are earthlings.”

“ Nonsense!” The woman responded vehemently. “The Tribes are the true owners of these lands. Only we were  meant for these gifts!”

Pretty sure the Narakhans were among the losers about the Galactic War because of their affiliation to the Empire and… I’ve never heard of a person of a Narakhan actively supporting the old ‘cult’. The very group that was considered to represent the Emperor’s surviving will on Neo-Earth.

“ I think you missed some history lessons. That’s a lie,” I retorted almost too swiftly. “And my questions are still valid.”

“ I refuse to stand up to this comedy. This slight will not go unpunished when-”

There was a pause, and I stared as I noticed the Narakhan started to tense up at me, some shivers going down her spine as she kept looking at me.

...What is going on?

I couldn’t help but see how the young woman needed to use the bathroom for how terrified  he appeared to be.

Frowning at this strange instance, my shock swelled even more as I felt a big hand strongly grasping at my shoulder. I heard a sigh and then a word.

“ Go.”

The voice was familiar, but the target of such a comment was still trembling before this newer intruder. The message wasn’t directed at us, but only  to the assassin.

There was no sound, no malicious promise for a rematch… only silence.

The hand gave two pats at my shoulder.

“That was a good job, Mr. Parker,” Professor Aken mentioned as he continued to stand behind me. “But I reckon you should probably get young Ms. Aryoko to her brother. Wouldn’t want to make a bigger ruckus than the one that is currently brewing.”

“ Professor-”

He offered one last pat before walking away. “You will need to be ready for the storm around the corner, Mr. Parker,” The Lion Prime pointed out. “And you will need to be attentive for any dangerous developments. Stay brave and determined.”

I was gawking at the retreating form of the teacher, still confused how he had managed to appear so suddenly and without making any noises. Or why he was here in the park and not offering any lessons.

Yep, this situation was getting crazier…

And now I had to help young Hikari to find her brother. Hopefully, the family reunion wasn’t going to end in a fiasco.

-------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-------------

AN

The Narakhan strikes… but she is repelled by Professor Aken? I wonder why?

Something about him is just familiar, don’t you think?

Perhaps.

Hopefully, little Hope can get Shin to calmly reach the dormrooms… just as Frankie hopes for.

Nooooo-

Hehehe- Oh? No, Naerie, I wasn’t bullying Bukharin with puns. Please don’t give me that look.

You’re a big bulli.

*Snort* That’s ridiculous! I’m the High Prime, the Crest of Wisdom and-

A big, cuddly bear?

That’s right!! By the way, dear readers, the second chapter of ‘Summertime in Heaven’ is now out.

Indeed. A story that portrays closely to an unofficial sequel ‘Breast are the Best’ and it’s a NSFW story. Which means that underage readers shouldn’t go and check it. But if you’re an adult by your country’s laws, then go ahead and check. I accept suggestion about lemons in that regard.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: Family Matters (3)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

Hikari entered the dorm room without saying a word. Cyan eyes opened wide as she explored the modest-sized room with utmost fascination and curiosity.

I stared calmly as she swiftly looked around, trying to get a proper thought of what kind of place her older sibling had been living in for the last few weeks.

The beds had been prepared in a proper fashion, and anything that had once occupied the floor had either been moved elsewhere or put in the trash earlier that morning.

The room had been fixed before we had left. Miles wasn’t someone that liked going through this on a daily basis and so early in the morning, but the Cat Prime had long learned to respect a decent degree of hygiene while we shared the same room.

Not only would we not end up having the trouble of fixing the room once lessons were done, but we would also not have a messy room to show to any guests visiting.

The latter case was perfectly exemplified by the current predicament, and it will certainly be used as a good reason to keep up with this habit.

The little girl wandered around for some time, ultimately settling herself on the couch and… bounced a little bit from feeling how comfy the pillows were.

“This room is so big!”

Her quiet exclamation got my smile to twitch in amusement. She was incredibly active despite the silent and polite personality she displayed during the walk.

I could only guess that the wonder had easily outmatched her nervousness and I took this opportunity to get to know her a little more.

“Uhuh,” I agreed with a nod. “It has to be big so that it can house three individuals at once.”

She glanced at me with an inquisitive look, and I almost confused her curiosity with the one that Shin would get while reading the newest argument by his textbook. It’s quite impressive how similar these two were in both appearance and attitude.

“How big is the school?” Hikari asked quickly, and I took a moment to reach her by the couch before answering.

Settling myself on the unoccupied side, I decided to not get too close to her for the sake of not putting her in an uneasy stance.

“Well, Prism Uni is pretty massive,” I replied with a kind nod. “Since it’s a famous academy, it receives lots of funds from various rich people and the various governments in the world as to make sure everyone studying here has a comfortable stay here.”

“But why is this school famous?”

Oh my, she got quite the pressure going with her queries. In normal circumstances, this very trait would’ve been troublesome to satisfy. But instead of feeling unnerved by the stream of questions, I continued to answer her in each turns.

Maybe it was connected to the fact that Hikari just acted like the innocent child that just wanted to know. And not like some brat just trying to get people annoyed at her.

The conversation that ensued was nice and simple, with Miles mostly keeping quiet as he settled by his bed and entertained himself with his phone. Either he was playing games, or he was checking on some pictures of girls living in the campus.

There were some suggestive ones uploaded by a couple of students, with most of them having plenty of censors to avoid getting insta-banned on the online page.

Still, the current situation took a good turn as Hikari leaned further and further into the pillow behind her. I took it as a sign that she was slowly growing more trustful of me.

“So Oniisan was nervous during the first day?” The girl asked with an intrigued tone. “But he’s smart. Why would he be nervous, Frankie-nii?”

“Well, I guess it has to do with the fact he is studying with people much older than himself,” I replied calmly, hiding the mirthfulness exploding at being referred to with that specific honorific.

I wasn’t someone that watched too much anime nowadays, but there was a time that I did when I was a kid. But, hearing the honorific delivered with her adorable tone was enough to make my heart melt at the sound of it.

“Shin is smart. Miles and I have noticed that, but he is also incredibly insecure about making a good impression with others and not appearing arrogant about his accomplishments,” I continued to explain.

She nodded, understanding what I was saying, but before she had the chance of continuing, Miles decided to quip some words himself.

“He is book-smart, but not life-smart,” The Cat Prime suddenly pointed out, drawing the girl’s attention. “He can easily solve a complicated problem in the homework in mere seconds, but he fails to get a proper grip over himself when he is dealing with talking with new people.”

I blinked in surprise at how on point that depiction was. I glanced at Miles, but the guy graced me just a brief nod before resuming his browsing.

“Miles is correct about this. Shin is a genius, but that doesn’t mean he gets friends really easily,” I added with a sigh. “He is nice, but also reluctant to show around how nice he truly is.”

Hikari hummed. “But you two are his friends now, right?”

“Yes.”

…

“Were you nervous as well on your first day at Prism, Frankie-nii?” The girl asked, quickly switching the topic elsewhere since the previous one had grown stale.

“I was. In fact, I almost turned up late for the initiation ceremony that very day,” I said with a nod. “But I think my greatest worry was that I was, and still am, the only human student here at Prism Uni.”

Her eyes widened again, her jaws dropping a little as I mentioned this last bit-

“You forgot to add that I was the one that saved you from lateness, prick,” Miles piped in once more, eyeing me with a frown. “At the very least, don’t exclude my incredible intervention.”

I snorted, shaking my head at how ‘aggravated’ the Cat Prime looked in that very moment. “Yes, Miles offered me passage to the entrance. He had a car and-”

“Weren’t you scared?”