Chapter Text
Luna Nova University has always been my dream school. That's where Shiny Chariot went to study. Although Shiny Chariot is just a theatrical persona, she has always been my icon! I don't know who the real person who plays her is- that's always been a mystery. I'm not so sure that it really matters or if it'll ever matter. All I need to do now is focus on being the best athlete at Luna Nova. It was really tough trying to get accepted here. Apparently, it's a legacy-based school. Kid's whose parents' parents' parents went here. Outside non-legacy students don't really get the chance. I got lucky though. I was accepted as a student athlete. My parents were somewhat nervous with the idea, since LNU was the only school I was banking on. Now, they fully support me! I'm super excited to become an LNU student!
"You ready to go at freshman orientation?", Amanda stretched out her arms. She's my roommate this year. We met a few months ago this when I got signed here. Since, we're both track and field athletes, we were grouped together. She's the coolest person ever! Her hair is fiery red and yellow with a personality to match! She's actually pretty good at a lot of sports, which she does in her spare time. I hope we can become best friends this year.
"You... KNOW IT!", I was dressed fully dressed in Luna Nova gear. I had a Luna Nova hat my parents gave me when I got committed, a lanyard I ordered online, my track shirt the school sent, and even socks patterned with 'LNU'! Needless to say, I was fully prepared for freshman orientation.
"So excited at 7:30 in the morning...", Amanda snickered. "You look like you could be on the spirit team with that."
"You know it! Let's go, Amanda!", I ran out the door with Amanda following suit.
When we arrived at the arena, there were tons of students there. Amanda pointed to one of the group orientation leaders.
"You know, with that fit... you could totally pass as one of them!", she pointed towards a young student wearing an LNU polo tucked into khaki shorts with knee high socks.
"Yep, it's totally the new style!", I exclaimed.
"You really stand out. Everyone will know you're a freshman from your socks," she chuckled as she pointed to my socks.
"What's so wrong with that?", I inquired.
"Good morning, are you two ready to check in?", a woman with a clip board asked. From the looks of her outfit and lanyard, she was one of the orientation leaders.
"Yes," Amanda and I both said. We both checked in.
"Oh, and by the way, great spirit wear you got on!", the woman gave a quick wink and thumbs up.
"Thanks!", I gladly accepted the compliment.
Amanda ignored me and proceeded to keep laughing. I can't believe that she was making fun of me, but I don't care if I look stupid! I worked hard to get where I am today. A piercing tone from the speakers echoed in the room. It was the dean of the school, Dr. Miranda Holbrooke.
"Good morning, students! I'll keep this short so you all can get going an explore this beautiful campus. Hopefully, you all are excited to start the next chapter of your lives! This is a new chapter of self discovery by developing independence, forging new relationships, and most importantly, honing your academic capabilities. We, at Luna Nova University, pride ourselves in being one of the best universities for over 150 years! With a plethora of academic studies, sports, clubs, and campus activities, I assure you that you will find your home here! Welcome to Luna Nova University!", she announced. "You can all go to with a group leaders!". The people in polos waved towards the crowd.
I had no idea what I was doing. Where did Amanda go? I tried to look for her in the crowd, but I couldn't see over anyone. Well, I guess I'll just join this group. There was a girl with mauve pink hair with extremely pale skin. She almost looked like a corpse with her sunken eye and hunched over posture.
"So, are you one of the group leaders?", she asked.
Damn it. Amanda was right. My outfit kind of does look like the orientation leaders, but I can never admit that to her.
"Sorry, nope. I'm just a normal freshman student," I tried to laugh off the comment. "We can walk around and find a group though!".
She didn't respond, but I followed her anyways. Wow, she can walk pretty fast! "Wow, you walk pretty fast!", I exclaimed, trying to start a conversation. "My name is Atsuko Kagari, but I go by Akko! My major is communications in media studies and I got committed to the track team!".
She seemed pretty quiet. I'll learn her name eventually I suppose. We were weaving through the crowd until she unexpectedly stopped in the path. We joined with another group. Before I could catch up to her, I accidentally bumped into someone.
"Ow!", I blurted as I got knocked into the ground. When I looked, I saw a girl with short orange hair and freckles. She looked somewhat frightened.
"Oh, gosh! I dropped my glasses!", she exclaimed.
"Hold on. Don't move," I said. I knelt to the ground before anyone could stepped on her glasses.
"Oh, thank you so much!", she said.
I grabbed her glasses. Luckily, there weren't any scratches anything.
"My name is Atsuko Kagari! I go by Akko though and run for the Luna Nova University track team!", I declared with enthusiasm.
She smiled at me. Wait, it's pretty obvious that I'm a student here and I'm even wearing my track shirt I got. "Sorry, I've just been saying that to everyone," I said somewhat embarrassed.
"Haha, that's fine. My name is Lotte Jansson," she said. "Thanks for getting my glasses."
The three of us continued with a group leader man. He was talking about the history of Luna Nova. "As many of you know, Luna Nova was founded during the Golden Era. The nine founders had secret tunnels and laboratories. There are many rumors of it being haunted, but I have yet to experience anything supernatural. It's just a story that gets passed down through the generations. They don't really want students near this area. Honestly, I probably wouldn't want to go in there, because of the asbestos," he announced as he paused near the place. He continued to lead the crowd to another place. We continued for with a crowd as the girl began to whisper.
"You know he was totally lying," the girl with puce hair said.
"What are you talking about?", I asked.
"It's actually haunted," she said.
"No way!", I exclaimed with curiosity.
"Yeah, it is. I'll totally show you," she said as a grin grew across her face.
"How do you know?", I whispered.
"I've been here a million times when I was a kid. This place was a secret hideout for witches. The nine old founders were actually a bunch of witches. To hide their cult activities, they made it into a school. Apparently, there are still believers of this cult...", she replied.
No way this is true! I thought I knew everything about Luna Nova. The nine founders built this school as a women's only school. It had to get rebuilt a few times due to fires and people who opposed the university. Now, it's a co-ed school for everyone. I questioned whether this girl was truly lying or not.
"Won't we get in trouble if we get separated from the group?", I asked.
"We're college adults. They probably don't get paid enough to care," she stated.
Her offer was lingering on my mind. Is there actually something about Luna Nova University that I didn't know? My curiosity got the best of me and I agreed to go with her.
"If we do get in trouble, we'll just say we needed to go to the restroom and got lost," she offered.
"Alright, I'll go!", I said. As I turned around with mysterious girl, I made eye contact with Lotte. I guess she wanted to tag along to. Who wouldn't want to check out the secrets of Luna Nova University?
"I really think that's a bad idea," Lotte said as she followed us.
"Nah, we'll be fine," the mauve haired girl replied nonchalantly. "Just follow me."
We arrived at a super old building. It looks like it was there since the school's founding. The girl took us to a small doorway that lead into the basement.
"It's here. This is the secret cult's hideout," she opened the door. "You first, Akko."
I was hesitant to step in, but I did anyways. It was musty with cobwebs surrounding the corners of the walls. I felt a hand that pushed me further down the basement. The whole place was dark without any outside light. I should get out my phone flashlight. Scanning the place, I didn't see any cult rituals. It was an concrete room with a bunch of storage junk.
"Uhhh, what is this?", I asked.
"This is just the main entrance. I can't get in though," she said as there was a rattling of the door knob.
"I'M STUCK DOWN HERE?", I yelled. No way! This was totally a bad idea. Why did I agree to this?
"There's another door in the room. If you find it, you can get up to through a tunnel that leads to another exit," she yelled.
I scanned the flashlight on a door what she was talking about. "Okay, I see what you're talking about," I said.
I slowly twisted the knob, which was luckily unlocked. My knees buckled. There were footsteps coming from an unknown direction.
"Come on, Akko. Don't lock your knees!", I said to myself. I tried to convince myself that the footsteps were a part of my wild imagination.
They weren't I heard stomping noises as if there were hoofed animal. Is that some sort of monster or person? "Are you two there? Anyone? Lotte?", I called out. There was still no response. I relaxed my shoulders, since the footsteps stopped.
"I'm totally just hearing things," I smirked to myself.
A cold hand touched my shoulder. That was the girl, right? Did she just find a way to come down here? I looked around, but didn't see the face of the girl. It was a witch! She was right. I can't believed that I came down here. The witch looked exactly like the stories! She had a huge triangular hat with a cloak that draped to the floor. My knees locked. I knew I had to run. I had to run faster than I could've ever imagined. Too bad this couldn't be a PR. Wait, I shouldn't focus on that now. I turned around sprinting. The adrenaline was rushing through my entire body, but I fell. I tried to get up, but the witch stepped on my leg. The witch had a firm hold on my leg as I made fruitless efforts to slip away from her grasp.
"You can't outrun this one," she said her voice was raspy.
"AHHHHH!!!! Someone help! Lotte!!!", I screeched in horror.
"That's enough, Sucy", I heard a voice from afar. It was the voice of my savior!
I saw a bright light, which illuminated the witch. Her face was still covered by the massive hat.
"Oh, yeah. My name's Sucy by the way," the witch spoke in a normal person voice.
"What?", I muttered out.
"Sucy, I can't believe you would do that to someone!", Lotte scolded.
"Well, I can't believe someone would actually believe me," Sucy snickered.
"T-t-the witch?", I asked.
"Oh, yeah. That story is totally made up," Sucy said.
"WHAT?", I yelled.
"I can't believe you fell for it too!", she continued to laugh. I couldn't believe that someone could have such little regard to my emotions. I felt like I was almost getting killed by a supernatural witch and it was just a stupid prank!
"Fuck you," I said as I dusted myself off.
"Why didn't you run, trackstar?", she continued to push.
I grunted in frustration, but I didn't say anything. Before I could mutter an insult, Lotte interjected.
"Alright, let's just get back up. I'm sorry about her. She's my roommate. She can get a little carried away with her activities...", Lotte held out her hand to help pick me up.
"Thanks," I said.
Lotte jabbed Sucy in the side. "Sorry for scaring you so much," Sucy half-heartily replied.
"It's fine," I mumbled reluctantly. To be honest, I didn't really care. The adrenaline was still pushing through my veins.
We walked back towards the original entrance. It wasn't actually locked. Sucy was just pretending to have the door locked.
"So, what even is this place?", I asked.
"It's just the old performing arts theatre's storage room. That's how I found these," Sucy held out the witch's costume.
"So, everything you said about the witches is 100% fake?", I asked.
"Yep," she replied.
Ugh! I can't believe I fell for that!
...
Besides from that incident, I'd say freshman orientation was super fun! I got to learn so many opportunities this school has to offer. In a few weeks, this will begin my new journey as a student athlete!