RPG Kakashki Academy

[Squall]

The green forest streched for miles over hilltops in Japan. It streached over one entire Island to the north of the main one. In the middle of the island was a clearing, with neatly groomed grass. In the clearing sat one large white dome, connected to smaller domes by circular hallways. In this spot, undiscoverd by anyone but Japan, lay the Faylen, in Kakashki Academy.

To the north of the clearing sat a big grey rectangular building, housing the tall mechas who would someday be on Japan's front lines. In Kakashki, nobody comes, and nobody leaves. The Faylen spend their entire lives there, that's how it is.

An electronic bell sounded, and the students flodded the halls, eager to make it to their next destination. All of them wore the same uniform, White thin jackets and white pants, red spots on shoulders, elbows, and knees. At a distance, it may seem to be a harmless academy, after all the students are fed sheltered, and taught. But it would soon become apparent to everyone, the true meaning of Kakashki Military Academy.
---------------

James yawned as he got out of class, streching and rubbing his eyes. "Ugh, battle tactics class has to be the most boring thing on the academy." He looked down at his wrist, where a small screen sat, attatched to a braclet. "Bebo, what do I got next?" The small screen whirred, and the screen lit up. [color=teal]Your schedule is as followes:

Battle Tactics
Combat Manuvering
Break Period
mechanics
Battle Training
and Situation Control[/color]

"Has my mecha's information been finished yet?" Another whir. [color=teal]Negetive[/color] James sighed. All students were able to create a mecha program that they could insert into VR devices, and get a feel of using them. James's was late. Real mechas were built only for advanced students, and James longed to prove himself advanced.

He walked down the hallway, entering the big dome and exiting to a smaller one. The hallway went to the center of the dome, where a small circular room cut off into the entrances to different classes. He entered one labled: "Combat Manuvering"

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1][B]Lance brushed back his hair, that always seemed to be getting in the way these days. He ran his hands through his hair again, shifting it out of both eyes. His eyes where green, and he wore the same clothing as everyone else around here. Suddenly, one of his friends sped passed him and grabbed his arm, dragging him along.

"We're late!" Patrick, his friend said. Lance laughed and pulled his arm back.

"I know, THAT's the whole idea." Lance replied. Patrick had black hair, and it was down to his shoulders. Shaking his head, Lance's friend ran off. Lance shrugged and looked down at the floor, thinking to himself.

[I]What did I have next?[/I] He asked himself. It would be a lot easier if he looked at his schedule, but being Lance he didn't feel like it. He shrugged and thought it would come back to him in a few seconds, and continued to walk along.

He suddenly looked up at the clock above him, and noticed he [I]was[/I] late.

"Damn..." He growled shaking his head. He looked around to see only a few people, then ran to the class he had next, but he wasn't sure if he was right in what class.

[I]I hope I don't get into trouble, and I hope I'll walk into the right class! No time to look at things now.[/I] He said to himself running down the corridor.[/SIZE][/B]

[Shwa]

Jim walked down the corridors slowly as he looked at his feet on the ground. The hallway was empty and Jim had a pass for being late so he wouldn't get in trouble. Sometimes Jim would stumble and trip on his own feet, he didn't get much sleep last night, he was up until 7 in the morning and school started real early. Jim tried to stay awake by pincking his fingers, but that barely helped.

"You ok man" asked a tall teen as he looked down on Jim

"I'll be ok, thanks for your concern" replied Jim as he continued to walk down the hall.

"Oh i wasn't concerned for you, just to make your your feeling ok for the stuffing" the teen stated as two oher guys like him suddenly appeared. One of them Grabbed Jim around the chest with his arms to prevent Jim from struggling. Then they walked the opposite direction of where Jim was walking.

"You see, puny whimps like you dont have the right to attend this acadamy" stated the same person. Jim was now trying to break free, they went into the lower part of the school to a little dark room, there they threw Jim inside and locked the door.

"LET ME OUT....PLEASE" Jim yelled, but they were'nt outside the room anymore, they had left. Jim was scared of small spaces, he started to panic and yell a lot. Jim placed himself at a corner, he was now having trouble breathing.

[Dead Alice]

Mira looked frantic as she searched everywhere for the piece of paper she had dropped.
"Oh no oh no," she muttered, trying to get past the crowd of students blocking the hallway. "Excuse me... Hey that was my foot!"
Then she saw it, her schedule, in the middle of the floor as countless feet trampled it.
"No! Damn it, I need that..." When she was able to retrieve her schedule, it was destroyed. "Man... Now what?" She grumbled at her lack of coordination. She stood up and began the long walk to the other side of the school where the scheduling office was.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Mira said nervously to the receptionist. "I need a new schedule."
"Why?" said the receptionist dryly.
"I accidently dropped it, and then a bunch of people walked all over it," Mira responded.
"And whose fault would that be?"
"I dunno..."
"Your name, please," said the receptionist.
"Mira... Student #2251." The receptionist pulled up Mira's name on her computer.
"I see you have an impertinent record of tardies and detentions," said the woman with a cold look in her eyes. "Perhaps if you were less clumsy you wouldn't have such luck."
"Can I just get a new schedule please?" Mira was becoming impatient.
"Don't use that tone with me, young lady," the woman sneered.
"My name is Mira. Now please, just give me a new schedule."
"I'm sorry, only one schedule is allowed per student. If you want a new one, you'll have to ask the dean of students, who'll probably refer you to the counselor, who will probably refer you to me..."
"I'm sick of this school! AARRGGGHHH!!!" Mira shouted, stomping out of the scheduling office and slamming the door.

Mira ran, all the way to the empty cafeteria. "I think I'll just sit here and die," she muttered, slamming her head on the table. "Oww..."

[The (Sic) Shape]

Zieg let out a yawn as he walked through the halls, watching as the remaining students quickly ran into their classrooms. Unlike everyone else, he wasn't in his uniform. He had been up all night in VR Training, and he was too tired to even care about his next class, even though he never did. He didn't even know where he was going, he was just simply wandering through the halls. Soon Zieg was the only person in the empty hallways.

Suddenly, he started to hear banging and screaming nearby, obviously muffled. He let out a sigh as he followed the sound to a storage closet of some sort. He opened it to see a young student. At first he thought that Zieg was one of them, but then he just walked away, leaving the student confused of what just occured.

"[i]Another victim of those stupid bullies[/i],"Zieg just thought. Soon he found himself in the cafeteria. At first he thought that no one was there, until he saw someone, the person's head on one of the tables. He decided to take a closer look, and he soon recongnized her. It was Mira, one of James's friends, and she still hadn't noticed that Zieg was right in front of her.

"[i]Strange, it isn't like her to be intentionally late for class. Might has well keep her company. No doubt James will blame me if anything happens to her.[/i]"
Zieg then took the seat across from her and waited for her to lift her head to see who it was.

[Dead Alice]

Mira's thoughts of revenge were interrupted by the sound of a chair scraping the floor. She lifted her head to see her best friend's rival sitting right across from her.
"Huh... Zieg?" Mira muttered. "Why are you here?"
"I don't feel like going to class," he said with his arms folded across his chest. "What about you?"
"My schedule got ruined," Mira groaned. "And that damn receptionist in the scheduling office was being a b****. I hate this school."
Zieg snickered. "Giving up already?"
"I would've given up everything a long time ago if I could... Everyone here treats me like crap. All I have is a few friends and a little hope..."

[Talon]

[color=teal][i]Kitsune dodged the attacks from the three bullies. Nobody messed with his hair and got away with it. Dispatching them one-by-one was his area-of-expertise, so he decided to try them all at once.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Come on! Izzat all ya got?

[i]The arrogant teenager began laying into two at a time, nullifying their attacks and slamming their heads into the third's, effectively knocking them all out. He turned and began walking towards Mira, whose head was down towards the ground. He even noticed Zieg across from her.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Yo, lil sis? Heard about your troubles in the main office.

[i]Mira barely looked up, and Kitsune handed her a slip of paper, grinning broadly. She also noticed the detention slip in his back pocket.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b]I pulled a few strings to getcha that. Ya could be a little more careful, Mira. I mean, I ain't gonna be around here all the time to watch your butt! And save that into your persa-unit. James did earlier. Gotta go. My "Special Elective" is next.....

[i]Kitsune walked off, laughing gently, as Mira realized she was late for class and dashed off, wondering why Kitsune would go to the lengths of getting a detention just to get her a schedule. Zieg sat there, dumbfounded, for a bit.[/i]

[b]Zieg:[/b]Lil sis? What the heck?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[i]Fox bobbed and weaved, his sabre slashing through the trainsim's drones. The red glow in his eyes never ceased as he violently murdered drones made to look like delegates from Japan's enemy nations. A small squad of drones on level three eventually bested him, knocking his armor's reactor core out. The suit fell and the sim was deactivated.[/i]

[b]Shadow1:[/b]Hmm....I'm not impressed.

[b]Shadow2:[/b]His talents are extraordinary, but he is no match for a squad. Without his armor, he would have died fighting the first few drones. And even with the armor, he is not impressive.

[b]Shadow3:[/b]But imagine what a group of our children equipped with that armor could do! If only we had more than one student that could handle the sheer bloodlust the armor imbued in the subject.

[b]Shadow2:[/b]No matter. Given his history, I can say we chall continue on with the experiment. Return him to his quarters. He'll need his rest......

[i]A couple of med-drones picked up Kitsune's half-naked body, dragging him to his rooms in the dorms. They checked his schedule and programmed his sleep-module to force him awake in two hours for his first class of the day.

Mecha Maintenance.[/i]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[i]At lunch, Kitsune could barely walk. He'd only just gotten out of his mechanic's class, and blood still threatened to spill from his lips at any given moment. It didn't take long for Mira and James to notice their friend nearly out of it again.[/i]

[b]James:[/b]Jeez, I hate Battle Tactics. You okay, Fox? You don't look so good.

[b]Mira:[/b]Yeah, bro. What's goin' on? You get in a fight you COULDN'T win?

[b]Fox:[/b]Ugh.....except for James, it ain't possible. Nah...I can't remember, actually. I remember gettin' to my special elective course, then wakin' up in my bed feelin' like I got tooled by King Kong.....THEN I had Maintenance.......jeez. Ah, well. My Mech's doing all right.

[b]James:[/b]You already HAVE your mech?!?!

[b]Fox:[/b]Yeah...ugh.....Phalanx. I'm still tryin' to get his Tactical AI down-pat, but.....

[b]James:[/b]Yeah, you're not the tactical type.....

[i]Fox's demeanor immediately changed as he recognized the insult and began yet another lunchtime brawl destined to end in a draw. Except that Fox was wounded, and it ended with james victorious. Nobody really cared. until the star mechanic of the Academy fell to his knees, coughing blood.[/i]

[b]James:[/b]jeez, I think I shoulda gone easier on him.

[b]Mira:[/b]Somebody call the nurse!!!

[i]Instead of the nurse, the administrator of the academy himself walked into the mess hall, grabbing Kitsune by the collar and forcing him into the wall.[/i]

[b]Administrator:[/b]You little worm! You call yourself a student of this Academy?!?! Get off your damn high-horse, bite the bullet, and swallow the pain! WE DO NOT TOLERATE WEAKNESS!!!![/color]

[Haze]

Haze walked through the corridors of Kakashki Academy humming some tune she had heard. She readjusted the black gym bag that was hanging off her shoulder and just barely suppresed a grin. [I] This is gonna be great.[/I] She slowly meandered down the stairs to one of the many floors of storerooms. She quickly looked around to see if anyone was around, and seeing the coast was clear, she stepped inside room A62. She went to work quickly, setting her bag gently on the ground. Haze pulled out a handful of boxes and began positioning them along the lines of shelves.

After she finished surveying her work, she checked her watch. [I]Crap! I'm gonna be late![/I] She pushed a small red button on one of the boxes, and began to run. [I]Gotta go fast. Gotta go fast. Faster!![/I] As the bell rang, she stepped into her first class, Battle Tactics. The teacher had already begun droning on and on about the different tactics they would be learning for the next portion of the year. She slid into a seat beside James, and began to act as though she was paying attention.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Haze checked her watch. [I] 3....2....1[/I] [B][I] BOOM!!!![/B][/I] The room shook with the force from whatever had just happened. A voice came over the intercom "Attention all faculty and students: Please remain calm. Everything will be fine. We are discovering the source of this as I speak."

Haze allowed her self a tiny smile. [I] What an excellent way to start the new school year.[/I]

"Again Haze?" James said with an exasperated sigh.

"What on earth are you talking about James?" She said.

"Come on! You know what I mean." He said as a big grin formed on his lips.

"Why James! I don't know what you are implying, but I had nothing to do with this!" She said in an incredulous voice.

She put on her best "I'm innocent" face as two of the school gaurds came into the room to escort her to the office.

[Cyriel]

The same time that Haze walked into the office, the administrator joined her, dragging Kitsune behind him.

"Are you Porter?" one of the guards asked.

"The one and the only," she replied nonchalantly. "Why do you want to know? It better be important, since you're wasting my precious class time."

The guard turned to a slender, pale girl with headphone, "Veil, is this the girl?"

Veil turned, her short black hair swinging, and removed her headphones, "That's her." Her voice was toneless, apathetic.

The administrator now turned on Haze, "This is the final warning Porter. Again, and you'll be going in solitary confinement."

Haze stood up, "What proof? You can't just pin something on me with no evidence!"

Veil interrupted again, "I believe that they have proof." She held up Haze's bag. "This is yours, is it not?" She looked coolly at Haze through her black eyes, the blue flecks glinting. Then she turned to the administrator, "I believe that was all you needed?"

"Oh, yes Veil, you may return to class," the administrator said, and Veil walked out, headphones on. Haze was also allowed to return to class after being given a hefty punishment, lecture, and the warning about solitary.

Kitsune also returned, trying to find Zieg as soon as he could, "Hey, Zieg. Are you sure that one kid is ok? She ratted out on Haze."

"Kid?" Zieg asked. "Oh, wait, you mean Veil? She's ok. Don't worry about it. I'll talk to her."

[Talon]

[i][color=teal]Kitsune was having a helluva day. He could barely remember half of it, but as he lumbered off to his Advanced Maneuvers class, he sighed it away. His vengeance would be swift, just as soon as he got into the damned cockpit. Then the Academy would know how bad they screwed up when they murdered Kitsune's parents in front of him. His mind focused hard, blue blood dripping from the various cuts on his bare chest he couldn't remember receiving. His eyes locked onto the individual targets as he finished his test, spinning his VR training module for Phalanx in his program. He was trying to take on a group of American M1-Abrams tanks with a combo of F16s and even a B-2 Bomber. He was getting thrashed, but he still continued on, unfazed by the jarring in his cockpit. Then the sim's voice rang out.[/i]

[b]Sim:[/b]Mission Complete. Pilot Rating: 1. Class:Berserker. Student #1788, Kitsune Tendo, please try to reign yourself in. Your mech may not be able to handle such intense combat tactics next time.

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Sim, just give me my grade and tell me if I get any extra points for the three flips I did over the bomber's platform and the Domino Effect on the fighters.

[b]Sim:[/b]Grade: A. Special bonus: 50 points. Special Deduction: 29 points. An oil rig is normally occupied by civilians and does not make a good shield.

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Noted. Thank you, Sim.

[i]Kit climbed out, walking towards his rooms. He needed rest, and Mira might need some moral support after her day. He also needed bandages. The sim had torn open the gash on his chest a little more.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Damnit, I'm never gonna get rid of these scars at this rate.

[b]Mira:[/b]I dunno. I kinda like 'em, big bro.

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Mira?!?! What...what about History of Warfare?!?!

[b]Mira:[/b]It ended a half hour ago. You might wanna close that up, Fox. You'll never get a girlfriend if you die from bloodloss. Jeez, every week....where do you go, Fox?

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Ah, shut up. Hey, ya know, never do anything around Veil. She's a rat.....and where'd ya put my katana? It was my dad's....

[i]Their 'scuffle' continued on, past even when James returned, complaining about his courses yet again. Kitsune still hadn't told Mira how he felt. Of course, there was always tomorrow.....or supper......or never. He grabbed some bandages and began applyying them, bantering with James and Mira the whole time.[/i][/color]

[Squall]

James sighed, relived that the hardest of his day was over. "Hey, uh, what's that big bro lil sis come from, anyways?" Kitsune turned to him. "I just like to think of her as my little sister, that's all. You've heard me say it be for." James stared blankly. "I know all that, but what's a Si-stah?" His pronunciation made mira laugh. Kitsune tried to explain. "It's part of a family. with brothers, siblings-"

"Famah-lee? Broth-her?"

"Oh, never mind. You'll find out later." James shrugged. He didn't like feeling so stupid, but what choice did he have? Mira was glaring at him. James looked at her confused, and she nudged him in the arm. "Oh yeah. Hey, sorry about all that at lunch. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. It wasn't all that bad."

"I know, but man, if I had known I had beaten you up that much..." He was looking at some of the open scars. "Those weren't from you. They were..." He pasued, leaving James hanging. "Whatever. I had to do that stupid war sim again. Every friggen person was trying on me! I had to reboot like thirty times! I would have done better if I had my own data, but if I had any one of the MPSB's I destroyed today..." He trailed off, thinking of a real mecha.

"Hey, did you hear that big noise this morning? It sounded like an explosion." James gave an all knowing grin. Haze's work had probably been heahr all over the school by now. "That was just Haze's john hancock. So, what've you been up to today?" James asked.

[Cyriel]

Suddenly, Veil walked in, her headphones around her neck. They stopped talking, looking at the odd girl. She ignored them, putting her headphones on. She walked on past them, and was just about to turn the corner to her own room, when she stopped.

Turned, and walked back to them, stopping directly in front of Kitsune. Her voice held no expression, "This is for you. Are you done with the bandages?" She handed a slip of paper to Kitsune, and then took the roll of bandages, walking to her room.

Mira looked to Kitsune, "Hey, what is that? Don't tell me that the ice-girl has a thing for you." She smiled teasingly.

Kitsune rolled his eyes, "Don't even think that. I'll see you guys later." He left, taking the note into his room where he could read it in private. He opened the slip of paper:

Special training session
2100 hours
Do not be late

His mind wondered...another training session? Two hours later? What was this? Then he thought about Veil...what the heck had she been doing with the note?

He looked at the paper again, and then...noticed that on a small corner of it, there was blood. A tiny spot...he realized that Veil had been bleeding. That's why she took the bandages, he thought. He tried to think of more clues, but no more came to him. He would have to wait until the training session. And think of an excuse to give to Mira and James.

In her room, Veil slowly took off her uniform, but kept her headphones on and her eyes closed. When she looked down, she looked at the puddle of blue blood that was pooling on the floor. She quickly cleaned and bandaged the wounds, stopping the blood flow. Head phones on, she lay on her bed, thinking...

Thinking about the small wire that she had discovered in investigating Haze's explosion. She had quickly hooked into it with her wrist-com, downloading the encrypted codes. She wanted to look at them, piece them together, but she stayed still, forcing her body to rest and ready itself for the next training session in two hours. This time would be different...this time there would be others there with her...

[The (Sic) Shape]

Zieg quietly walked through the halls of the Dormitory, looking for Veil's room. If what Kitsune actually said was true, then he would want to hear it from her.

"[i]Strange for her to do something that like that. But then again, she was always like that before we met.[/i]" He stopped in front of Veil's door, and lightly knocked on it. He waited there for a few seconds, then knocked again, this time a little harder. Zieg waited, but nothing happened.

"[i]She must be sleeping. Oh well, I'll talk to her later.[/i]"
As he continued walking he started thinking how else he could get in touch with Veil. He suddenly stopped, and quickly made his way back to his room. Once the door was locked and secure, he started up his laptop on his desk.

Soon he began to type rapidly, and uploaded the data on Veil's wrist-com, unbeknowest to her. He hacked into her files and looked at the most recent data, which were some encryption codes to a small peice of wire, no doubt that student's Haze's work. He let out a smile, now knowing why she did it. Zieg was now at work peicing the codes together...

[Talon]

[color=teal][i]Kitsune walked back into the room, his chest bandaged so that it was reminiscent of a ronin's traditional chest tape, except his was matted blue in too many places. He looked up at Mira and James.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Uh...guys...I've...um...got another...um....special exercise.

[i]The response was immediate.[/i]

[b]James:[/b]No way in hell!

[b]Mira:[/b]What, are you crazy?!?

[i]He sighed and looked at the clock. Eight-thirty. He was gonna have to hurry.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b]I'm sure it sisn't the same as earlier, there'r other people involved. I'm the ONLY person in my "special elective", so there's probably no reason to worry. No, I gotta go. Sorry....and lil sis? Um...there's....a note for you in my trunk. Just.....um.....please don't think I'm nuts, ok? I...uh....just read it. And try not to muss up my clothes.....or my pictures.

[i]He walked out, heading for the training hall. He made it just in time, as Veil approached from the same direction. Kitsune did not fail to notice the bandage on her hand. Both of them walked in to find a small group of students, most of them in the higher classes.[/i]

[b]Voice:[/b]Students, please calm down. To your right, you will notice the veeyar units are running hot. Each of you take the one that holds your Mech's name.

[i]Kitsune got into the "Phalanx" cockpit, running his hands over the controls. He'd only touched Phalanx's controls once before, and it felt good to him. He hated the school's MPSBs.[/i]

[b]Administrator:[/b]When we begin the program, you will all be in formation. battle formation. Your goal is to take out the enemy. You are divided into teams for a reason. We require intelligence, power, and mobility. Let's see what you've got.

[i]Kitsune started the veeyar, finding himself amidst a ragtag group of mechs. He leapt forward, immediately looking at the strategy comm in the upper right of his HUD. The radar in the lower left showed nothing so far, and the ammunitions info on the far left showed he was at full energy and weapons. He grinned. Until the first blast hit him. He felt the jolt in his mech, but more importantly, felt it in his chest. He looked down, seeing that he was bruised in the exact place Phalanx had been hit. He realized it then. The 'special training' was to see if they could fight if their lives depended on it.....because they did.[/i]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile......

[i]Mira dug gently through Kitsune's trunk, eyeing with caution the stack of pictures in the manila packet. She found the note, addressed "Mira" with an intricate design written in Kitsune's blue blood surrounding the name. She opened it.[/i]

[b]Note:[/b]Mira....
I'm sorry about everything I've ever done to worry you. You're the closest friend I have. Every single thing that life's thrown at me, you've been there. And it's been the same for the other way around. But lately (maybe not, I don't know when I'll give this to you) I've been thinking. Maybe I like you MORE than just a sis. Maybe...I need something more than a family I lost. I think I need a new one. I'm only seventeen, but.....well.....given this academy's agenda for us, I think we're never going to know what creating our own family will be like. That's why I'm going to fight them. I need to avenge the family I lost, sure......but I also need you and the others to be safe. That's why I'm telling you this. Because....I think....I really like you. Mira, we need to escape this place. We need to have our OWN lives. But the academy won't let us have them. I've made doubles of all of the pictures in the packet. Take the doubles....they're of me and my family. And please...tell me if you think I could be the guy for you. More than just a brother.

The stars are always there to look to, but it's up to you to reach for them! -Fox

[i]Mira opened the packet and let the pictures spill onto Kitsune's bed, seeing the smiling face of the six-year-old boy looking at her in every one. She saw the boy's mother and father holding him up at the beach. She saw them hugging him when he got his own bed for the first time. She saw them crying worriedly as he was hospitalized for an appendectomy, the first of all his scars. And she saw the most beautiful of them all. A birthday cake reading "Happy Birthday, Kitsune!" with six candles, and the mother and father kissing the little boy's cheeks, one each, and she saw, in the little boy's hands, a painted picture of three stick figures. Two tall ones, one short one, holding hands. The picture read "I'll love mommy and daddy forever. I love them so much!"

Then Mira saw the rubber banded package in the trunk. A VHS tape fell out, just one. The label read "Last Day" on it. Mira put it in the VCR of Kitsune's personal unit.[/i]


[i][u]Kitsune danced up to his parents, hugging them both, and then running over to his large pile of presents.[/i]

[b]Boy:[/b]Momma, poppa! Which one can I open first?

[b]Woman:[/b]Any of them, sweetie! they're all yours!

[b]Boy:[/b]Really!?! All mine?!?!

[b]Man:[/b]Yes, Kitsune! They're all yours. Happy Birthday, my little Fox!

[i]The six year old quickly rushed to the largest of the wrapped boxes, and he picked it up easily, carrying it to the woman.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Momma, you help me with this one!

[i]They both began to unwrap the present when the knock came at the door. Kitsune's father opened the door. Kitsune and the woman started when he lurched back into the room, blood running from a wound on his chest.[/i]

[b]Tall man:[/b]Hosuma and Kyoko Tendo, you are found guilty of withholding your son, Kitsune Tendo, born this day six years ago, as a child of blue blood. Your sentence is to know, before you die, that your son will be a killing machine belonging to Kakashki Academy.

[b]Bleeding Man:[/b]Kitsune....will never.....do such things! We've...already shown him......what a gentleman is!

[b]Kitsune:[/b]POPPA!!!!

[i]The tall figure in the doorway lifted the flame thrower in his right hand as he lowered the smoking Colt .38 in his left hand. He began burning the house, then, caught on camera, began burning the woman alive. Her screams echoed against the little boy's until the man lifted his pistol and fired it through the woman's head. Kitsune, so far unnoticed, was by his father's side.[/i]

[b]Man:[/b]Son.....take the tape in the camera.....hide it in your jacket.....and when they take you, show them what a gentleman you are. Don't ever cry about us, my son. Blame the academy. Fight them and be strong. You are my little Fox....my son.....oh, Kyoko......

[i]Kitsune suppressed a sob as his father died. The last image on the tape before the tall man returned was a burning picture of three stick figures holding hands, the half-charred words "I'll love mommy and daddy forever. I love them so much!" still visible. Then the tape cut off...[/u][/i]


[i]Mira replaced the tape exactly as she'd found it, rewound and everything. She silently cried as she saw in her mind every instant of Kitsune's last day with his parents. His sixth birthday. She was about to close the trunk when she saw a small, burned piece of paper under the clothes. She lifted the clothes only to see it.

It was the half-burned drawing a six year old boy had made because he loved his parents so much.

Mira reread the note Kitsune had given her......[/i][/color]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry I had to RP your character for a bit, there, chaosfaerie. Had to show my character's story and needed the note thing to show it. I didn't post your character doing anything but reading and watching.

[Shwa]

Jim searched the hallways to find the mech repair center, he had to see if the new system link was installed yet.

"Hiya Jim, almost doen the network" said one of hte mechanics

"Thanks, I really appreciate it" said Jim as he left the center. He had to go to his training sessions at night since he missed most of already during the day. It was almost 4 in the morning when Jim returned to his quarters, his body and brain were aching all over. But all he was thinking about was that person who help him out in that room, he forgot to say thanks. Jim slowly went to sleep thinking about that event.

[Cyriel]

Veil laid her hands gently on Shrapnel's controls. She breathed, finding comfort in the scent of the cockpit. This was where she lived her life. She put her headphones on, and then turned to her wristcom. She noticed that Zieg had already broken through the codes. Damn him. He was getting faster and faster. She'd have to study more to catch up. She almost laughed; he was the only person that she had known to be better than her.

Then the warning beep from Shrapnel told her that the session had started. Immediately, she saw Kitsune's Phalanx take damage. "Kitsune, status report," she asked, talking into the com.

He answered, "Shit, this is a bad day." Always so blunt... "Why are you talking to me anyway?"

"Look at your instructions again. You're part of our unit," she answered, making it blink up on his screen.

More shots came out of no where, and they were getting stronger. Veil could see mechas blinking off of her screen. "Report in, please. Just affirm that you're here," she commanded. One by one, panicked voices sounded in, reporting their units. Kitsune was fine, swearing in his grim voice.

"Hey, am I late?" Zieg's voice came in on her com.

Veil readjusted her controls, shifting to take aim at another enemy unit, "No, just in time. But it's not like you to be late for a battle."

She could hear him smile as he answered, "Yeah, well, I found something better to do for a couple minutes. Besides, we've already done this before."

"True, but the commanders won't like your tardiness." She dispatched another enemy, moving quickly through the lines. Then she paused, and said, "Zieg, you know this is live, right?"

"What? Where'd you hear that from?"

"The commanders. They're culling this time," she answered tonelessly.

Zieg swore, and then asked, "What do you mean? Are you serious?"

Veil turned up the volume on her headphones, "I'm serious. They're culling. The ones who pass this session are the ones that stay alive. The casualties are going to be sent out."

"In boxes," Zieg replied grimly. This wasn't training anymore. This "special" session was different than all the other special ones that he and Veil had attended. This time, students were going to die. He could already see their signal lights blipping out. He took aim again...

"Zieg." Veil's voice came again from the com.

"Yeah?" he answered, firing shots.

"Should I tell the fox?"

His mind thought..."The fox? Oh, you mean Kitsune? hmm..."

[Haze]

OOC: Just to let you all know, when I type in italics, it means that Haze is thinking. Also Legacy, that last post of yours made me want to cry. ^^

IC:Haze looked over at her clock. Its neon red lights showed 3:41. She groaned and resumed looking up at her ceiling. Soon she would need to get up and get ready for her morning detention session. For just one little....well maybe big....bomb she had gotten 2 weeks worth of morning and after school detention. Which meant no extra training, no sims, no friends, no life. [I]I hate this school. I wish I could just...leave? But where would I go? My entire life is here. It is all I have ever known.[/I] She got up. [i]I don't wanna think about that. No Mira. No Kitsune. No James...[/i] The thought of no James almost made her start crying right there. [i]No! I won't. I mean come on Haze! You don't need him. You don't need anybody![/i] But no matter how much she tried to convince herself, she just didn't believe. She quickly got dressed and grabbed her shoulder bag with all her books in it.

As Haze stepped into the hallway, she felt a small chill. [i]Should have grabbed a jacket. Whatever. I'll be alright.[/i] She began walking down the hall to where James, Mira, and Kitsune's rooms were. When she was about halfway down the hall, she say Kitsune hurriedly walking in the opposite direction. [i]Wonder where he is off to.[/i]

She knocked twice on the door Kitsune had just come through. James simply yelled "It's open!" from the interior.

Haze walked in. "Heya James!"

"Hey Haze. What are you doing up so early?"

"Heh. Thanks to that Veil I now have 2 weeks of detention, but I suppose I should consider myself lucky. I have one more chance before I go into solitary."

"Ouch! That bomb, that you had absolutely nothing to do with," James paused to give Haze a big smile "was pretty nice though."

Haze grinned sheepishly. "I thought it would be a nice back to school present for the admin.s." [i]Jesus. He looks so cute when he smiles like that. Not that he isn't cute all the time...[/i] Haze quickly blushed from her unspoken thought. "So...uhhh....Where's Mira?"

James gave Haze a suspicious look when she quickly changed the subject. "She's in there" He pointed towards Fox's room. "Haze?"

"What?"

"Are you okay? I mean, you have been acting a bit....off since we got back into classes."

"I'm fine. Don't know what you are talking about." Haze tried to play it off. When in fact, she had become increasingly troubled. First she worried about Fox and his 'secret' new class. Then it was about starting back up with classes. Now it was Fox and Mira and James. From what she had seen yesterday, she was amazed Fox was even up and around today. And Mira because....well, Mira was Mira. And with school starting again, Mira was likely to be loosing stuff all over the place, which meant more trouble for her and the admin.s. And James... [i]Why did he ever tell me about his dreams of leaving the Academy? Now it is all I can think about. What it would be like to be free! No bossy teachers! Just my own time to spend however![/I]

Haze snapped herself out of her reverie when she heard a muffled cry. She looked at James. Then in unison they turned towards Fox's door.

[Dead Alice]

OOC: That was very sad, Legacy... *sniff*
---------------------------------------------------------
Mira sat on Kitsune's bed as she looked over his letter, staining the ink with her silent tears. [I]What am I going to do?[/I] she thought. [I]I guess I'll have to write back...[/I] She dug around in her backpack until she found a pencil and her notebook. After thinking for a minute, she took a deep breath and started writing.

[I]Dear Kitsune,
I don't know what to say... I've considered liking you as more than a friend, but haven't really given it much thought. I hate to say it but... I think I like James. But the thing is, I'm pretty sure Haze likes him too. I don't want to hurt her feelings or yours, but I can't help my emotions. I've known James forever... But I think I've overlooked you because you treat me like a sister. I just need to think...
You don't know how badly I want to get out of this place. It's like a nightmare I can't wake up from. Someday... You and I and James and Haze... We're all gonna bust outta here, bro. But until then... you're my life support.
Love ya,
Mira[/I]

Mira gently folded the piece of paper and wrote Kitsune's name on it. She hid it under his pillow, because she knew he'd find it there.
Mira sighed heavily and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her jacket. She took out her sketchpad and began to draw a picture of James, Kitsune, Haze, and herself.

"Mira?" She heard James' voice coming from the doorway.
"Come in," said Mira, trying to act normal.
"Are you ok?" asked Haze. "We thought we heard you crying."
"I'm fine," Mira lied. "I was just... remembering stuff..." James arched an eyebrow in disbelief.
"You know, Mira," he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "You're a terrible liar."

[Cyriel]

The power shut off on her Shrapnel, and Veil waited in the darkness for the next level to be loaded. So far, she, Zieg, Kitsune, and some others had survived.

Zieg and I have it easy, she thought. They had done all these simulations before, and had been able to train longer and harder with their mechas. The admins had been very encouraging in their sessions together, allowing them practice and time until she and Zieg could work almost as one, each knowing automatically what the other would do. They were almost perfectly synchronized, with a few small glitches here and there. However, at the academy, they were the pair with the highest success rate in synch. The admins were still matching the others up, and hadn't introduced them yet. As for now...the culling was to process which still had skill...and which were expendable. Although, the admins had thought that some of the students would participate in a later session. The group was too big to do all at once. They would wait their turn...to live...or die.

"Hey, Veil, did you tell Fox?" Zieg's voice came in on her com.

"No," she breathed. "He's too unstable. And while you were finishing those last two units, I checked some of his classifieds. You should read it. Very interesting. If I told him, he'd probably try to kill the admins right now, which would be a very foolish move."

Suddenly, the lights blinked on again. The final round was about to start.

[Talon]

[color=teal][i]Kitsune grinned, seeing that when their company leader got nixed, his HUD glimmered into the commander style.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Omega Company, fall back and give me a swath of fire to their right flank. I want them dead and buried before breakfast. Commanders Alpha, Foxtrot, and Charlie, I advise shield activation and cover fire. People, this is the real thing. Give me your best, or else I'll give you mine!

[i]He saw, to his amazement, his unit acting as one as they followed his orders. The other companies took his advice seriously, backing away and activating their standard issue belt-shields. He hefted his own, physical shield and pressed it behind his head, activating the transformation mechanism and amazing the hell out of the rest of the students. He hovered slightly, fixing his engines so that they only pushed him off the ground. He took a shot in Phalanx's head, and he heard screaming as the blood dripped from a slight gash in his forehead.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Omega, sound off! O-1, ready.

[b]O-2:[/b]O-2, ready.

[b]Zieg:[/b]O-3, ready.

[b]Veil:[/b]O-4, ready.

[b]Commander Omega:[/b]O-5, negative. Fox, I gotta pull out. I can't move.

[b]O-6:[/b]O-6, negative. my leg's busted, sir. I'll provide fire with my heavy bazooka, but that's about all I can do.

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Commander, you fall back. O-6, you're my lifeline here. You keep laying into them, boy! O-4, I want you to give them a tight burst of auto-fire with the commander's gatling, O-2, use your damned laser!....

[b]Veil:[/b]Captain, what are you thinking?

[b]Kitsune:[/b]O-6, keep your fire close to my right flank. I'm going in!

[i]Kitsune drew his beam scythe as he shifted from his commanding F180 Humminngbird's presence to Phalanx again, the gash widening as the exertion increased friction in the titanium armor on Phalanx's head. Veil saw it and almost cried out.[/i]

[b]Veil:[/b]Captain, are you all right? You're head's gotta be bleedin' like crazy!

[i]Kitsune was indeed bleeding like crazy as he shifted his Vernea engines to his rear, dashing forward and slashing through the enemy MPSBs. The fire unit O-6 provided was a lifesaver. As the last mech fell to pieces courtsey of Veil's borrowed gatling gun, the sim ended abruptly, allowing the students out of their cockpits. Zieg and Veil were the only ones untouched above the neck, and Kitsune had it the worst. Of the thirty people in the sim, twenty-seven got out. The other three.....[/i]

[b]Administrator:[/b]Congratulations. You've all passed your test. You'll be allowed a week of rest if you so choose. Do not worry for your comrades. They failed the test, and so, they lose their lives. We needed to see if you could give your best under the worst circumstances. Some of you fell but survived, so congratulations of being so hardy. You will notice you were all heavily outnumbered, your mechs were in bad state of repair. Two wouldn't even respond to the controls for more than five minutes at a time. Yet you all still passed. I'm proud of you all. Student Tendo, I must speak with you. The rest of you are dismissed. Get some rest. you earned it.

[i]The rest of the class, including Veil, filed out, failing completely to miss the blatant sign that all of them had been expected to die. A long column of thirty pine boxes lay in the large space just inside the room. They also noticed that three of them were being carried towards the veeyar modules. Kitsune last saw Veil and Zieg leaving the room.[/i]

[b]Administrator:[/b]Kitsune Tendo, you're only allowed a single day's rest and recovery, even though you should have been the first one down. How the hell did you get so damned rsilient, boy?

[b]Kitsune:[/b]I have people to fight for, sir.

[b]Administrator:[/b]Well, congratulations on being so stubborn a nuke wouldn't take you down. Anyway, back to business. The next four days will be spent completely in your special elective. Understood?

[i]Kitsune could barely, but definitely managed to, supress his surprise and outrage.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Yes, sir.

[b]Administrator:[/b]Dismissed.

[i]Kitsune hurried to his room, trying to keep his guts from falling out of the new gash in his left side. An Abrams had got him square in the ribs just as it exploded, ending the sim. As he entered the room, he saw a note crumpled on his pillow. He walked over to the cabinet first, bandaging and applying medicine to his new gashes. He walked from his room, seeing Mira crying in her sleep. He walked over to her, sitting on her bed and cringing from the pain. He brushed her hair away from her face and wiped away the tears staining her cheeks. He hummed a light lullaby, and it seemed to calm her dreams.[/i]

[b]Kitsune:[/b][i]Come stop your crying, it'll be alright. Just take my hand, hold it tight.........[/i] *OOC:it goes on to the end, but I do NOT feel like typing the whole thing. And by the way, Phil Collins is one of my favorite singers, next to Rod Stewart, Sting, and Bryan Adams, so back off!*

[i]Before he could control himself, he leaned over and kissed her. And her eyes opened.[/i]

[b]Mira:[/b]What....Fox?!

[b]Kitsune:[/b]Oh, jeez, I'm sorry! I didn't....I mean....umm...whoa, boy.

[i]Fox hung his head, waiting for the slap to come and hating himself, even as the tears from his eyes mingled with the blue blood still staining his face and dripping from his unbandaged gash.[/i][/color]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Out of one-thousand something posts, I think that is my only real tear-jerker. I gotta focus on giving my character more of a personality than a fight complex. And call me Locke. It's my preferred nickname among friends.

[Squall]

James sighed as he walked down the hall, Haze following him. "Where're we going, James?"

"I'd rather not pry at Mira's problems, I usually...well, never mind. We're going to the Combat VR deck. I gotta see if my MPSB's in, and there's an updated sim reving to go." Haze sighed. "Why're you dragging me along?"

"I need an ally, don't I?"
"Alright. Since you'd obviously do so bad yourself." She teazed. "Hey, knock it off. This is gonna get real dicey, it's supposed to simulate if there was a studen't uprising at the Academy. Half of the students are trying to overrun the school."

"Hey, let's join 'em."

"I wish. You got Whiteblaze?" She held up a disk. "Got the data right here."

"Great. I'll probably be stuck in the Standard beginners model, since they're not going the fastest getting my data formed." They walked into the room and turned on the light. It was quiet, the VR cockpits imbedded in the walls. "Let's get to it." James said with a sigh.

[The (Sic) Shape]

Zieg and Veil walked slowly walked through the halls, remaining silent ever since they left the so-called "training session."

They both seemed to be in deep thought about what happened to the students that fought alongside them, and the fact that they had killed many of the students themselves, yet their faces showed as if they didn't seem to care. Eventually, Zieg broke the silence with a sigh.

"Veil, I need to ask you something."
They both stopped, and she just simply turned to face him, waiting for him to continue.
"Kitsune said that you told the administrators that it was that kid Haze who set off that bomb earlier."
"Why are you asking me?" She asked, "You already know. I know that you hacked into my wrist-com and already broke the codes from that wire."

Zieg let out a small laugh. "Alright then," He said, "Let me rephrase that. Why did you tell the administrators? I know that you did so you could get ahold of the evidence, but why to get that certain wire? I though if it to be useless, since I was able to break through the codes easily and there was useless data. Why did you need that one peice of wire?"

[Dead Alice]

Locke? Alrighty then... Your post actually made me say "aw" out loud. ^^;; Then I kinda laughed because that song was from Tarzan... Hey don't get me wrong, I love Tarzan! <>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm such an idiot..." Kitsune muttered.
"No your not," Mira said reassuringly, patting him on the shoulder. "It's ok. I was having a bad dream..." They looked at each other and blushed slightly. "Hey, you're bleeding everywhere!" Out of motherly instinct, Mira went to the first aid kit and got a roll of bandages.
"Ow, that stings!" said Kitsune as Mira cleaned his wounds with rubbing alcohol.
"You're such a baby!" Mira teased, wrapping him up as if she were a nurse. Kitsune laughed to himself. When she was done, Mira gave him a playful punch on the arm. "Now you quit getting all banged up or I'll have to punish you!"
"Ok, I'll try," Kitsune laughed. "Now get some sleep."
Mira grabbed her sketchbook and stuffed it back in her bag. "You too, Fox. Don't forget to read that note."
Mira felt Kitsune's gentle eyes watching her as she went to her room.
[I]That was... nice...[/I]
No dreams would haunt her tonight.

[Talon]

[i][color=teal]Kitsune closed his door, wishing to Amaterasu-kami that he could have had the guts to kiss her again. But he simply sighed and opened his note. It took him a full hour to read it, a combination of pain in his head and in his chest (it wasn't physical. As a matter of fact, Kitsune knew he'd only felt it once before, when he lost his parents.) keeping him from focusing for any lengthened period of time. When he put the note away, he curled up and cried. He even cried in his sleep.[/i]

[b]Fox:[/b]Mira.....how am I supposed to tell you?! I'm in love with you, I see that now......but.....

[i]The tears didn't stop until morning.[/i]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[i]Kitsune walked out of his room, not even bothering with a shirt. Mira was still sleeping, and James, Zieg, Veil, and Haze were still gone. Kitsune looked at the clock. It was six in the morning. He passed through the halls, snagging a clean white dress-shirt from the laundry room and putting on his best jeans. He walked into the Administrator's office.[/i]

[b]Administrator:[/b]Fox, what are you...oh, your leave. Well, feel free to go to the village down the way. It isn't too far. Oh, and Fox, your first class is at 1800 tomorrow.

[i]Kit nodded and walked down the street, grabbing a bowl of miso from a beef bowl. He grinned when he saw the new electronics in the shop, stopping in and blowing a few credits. He walked out with a small bag and decided to go uptown for a little while. As he passed by the bar, still too young to go in, he saw something that tugged at his very will. A beautiful heart-shaped-sapphire necklace, embroidered with mother-of-pearl roses, on a silver chain with a small embossable platinum bar in the shop across the street. Kitsune immediately drew out his card and entered the shop.[/i]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[i]Kitsune entered the dorm at the academy. He noticed that Mira's bed was empty and remembered she had classes. He left the necklace, now embossed with Mira's name and the phrase "I love you always", with Kitsune's name on the other side. He walked over to bed, leaving his door unlocked and laying down in bed. He didn't bother removing the dress shirt. He didn't even complain about the amount of money he'd spent. Of course, he was broke now. It'd take another four years to save up that much again....[/i][/color]

[Cyriel]

Zieg and Veil were in her room, a panel of the wall removed to reveal the wiring underneath. Both had their wrist-coms and electronics devices surrounding them.

Veil readjusted her headphones, "That wire is one of the leaders to the main system. But since it's so far out in the webbing, the security was really poor. With this, we have our little glimpse at the main wiring of the entire facility, the power, the programs, the sessions, and more isolated records. We can gain access to the most secure programs in the entire country...but..."

Zieg finished for her, "But if we get caught, we're expendable."

She nodded, "Well, yes, but that's not what I was going to say. After you broke the introductory encryption, I watched one of the larger systems. It's not going to be that easy sneaking into the next systems. They're constantly maintained and watched by live operators, who modify the security codes and programming at random intervals. I only looked that far, so I don't know about the main yet."

Zieg whistled, "Wow, so basically, Kakashki is some pretty big shit, eh?" Veil simply nodded, her expression still blank. Then he spoke again, "So, why are we breaking into the Main?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, "Because we have nothing better to do. And there'll probably be some restricted programs that we can load onto our mechas."

He smiled, and put his hands behind his head, "Well, sounds good to me."