CH. 13 - A Grand Tour

Saika begins to slowly wake up. He yawns a bit before looking around, eventually getting to the window. He looks out only to see something up in the sky, heading their way. He squints, trying to figure out what it is before realizing it's a person flying at them. Saika's eyes widen as he leans back, trying to get the other's attention. 

Saika "Uh, guys? Is there supposed to be someone heading straight for us through the air?"

He asks softly. Everyone stops and looks out the windows to see the man getting closer rapidly. They start to freak out with worried looks as the driver smirks.

Driver "You better prepare yourselves because you are about to meet someone very important."

They look at him confused as he hits a switch, opening up the roof a bit.

Driver "You are about to come face to face with one of Southpaw's right hands. A Director."

They all look in awe as the man slams down into the bus before them with a cloud of smoke.

Killian "Woah! A Director! In the flesh!"

Tadashi "The highest Tier agents of the ASA. A Tier 5 Hunter or Vanguard."

Saika "I heard they don't even need a partner because they're so strong!"

Moshiro "Not just that, but a direct right hand of Southpaw himself."

They all say in admiration as the smoke slowly starts to clear.

Man "I hope you're ready because soon you will step foot into the Academy of Superior Abilities where you will begin a journey like no other."

He says as he stands up. Everyone watches with anticipation as Wolf too looks excited before she gets a confused then shocked look.

Wolf "Huh??"

Teach gives them a big smile.

Teach "And trust me when I tell you, your limits will be pushed."

Everyone looks shocked.

Everyone "HUH???"

They all shout. Moshiro simply smirks to herself at the others' reactions. 

Killian "Wait, no way! You're telling me you're-"

Teach "That's right. Director Teach of the ASA."

Phoenix "This can't be real. That means this whole time, for years, you guys have been getting trained by-"

Wolf "By a Director…"

She says softly. Tadashi then looks at Moshiro sharply.

Tadashi "You knew about this?"

Moshiro smugly smiles before shrugging her shoulders.

Killian "Hey! That's cheating!"

Saika "No fair!"

Teach "Surprised I see. Don't you worry your little heads, everything will be explained in class. For now, I'm here to give you a quick breakdown of the operations of our-"

He says before Yoko raises their hand and speaks.

Yoko "Hey! These humans seem to be impressed by your stature! Why is that? Should I consider you to be an admirable human?"

They ask loudly as Killian leans over the seat.

Killian "Are you kidding?? He's a Director! They're some of the strongest, most elite agents of the ASA! Anyone can become a Tier 5 but not just anyone can become a Director!"

Saika "Oh yeah, you're not from here, are you? Woah, wait a minute!"

He shouts, finally noticing them and their unique features. Teach looks at them with a confused look.

Teach "Oh, hello. Who might you be?"

Yoko "I am Yoko Tatsuo and I'm a dragon! Bow before me, lowly human!"

They stand up as they command. Teach looks at Moshiro.

Teach "What is this?"

Moshiro "Now hang on. This can all be explained."

She says before pointing to Wolf.

Moshiro "This was all her idea."

Wolf is shocked.

Wolf "You were there too!"

Teach "I don't care whose idea it was, somebody explain."

He commands as Wolf answers. 

Wolf "Well, we found them crashed in the woods behind the dojo a few nights ago. They don't remember anything of their past so I offered them our friendship and a place in the ASA with us..?"

She answers with a slightly worried tone with an awkward smile on her face. Teach stares at her in disbelief for a moment before sighing and rubbing his brows.

Teach "Why am I not surprised? We haven't even gotten to the Academy yet and you've already made my life a nightmare."

Wolf giggles nervously as Teach looks at the others.

Teach "Will they behave?"

Tadashi "In theory."

Teach looks at Yoko.

Teach "Well I can't really send you back now. Just stick with the group and I'll see what I can do but I make no promises, got it?"

Yoko smiles and lifts their fist into the air.

Yoko "Yes, human!"

Teach sighs before continuing.

Teach "Well, let's get started."

He says before continuing on his speech to the crew about the ASA. Not long passes before the bus pulls up to a large building where a few other busses are dropping students off as well.

Teach "Here is the dorm building. For now, you'll be staying in the community area while we figure out your classification and partner system. Then you will be assigned rooms throughout the building."

Phoenix "Wow, it looks like a real apartment building."

Saika "A nice one at that."

Teach "When you exit the bus and grab your belongings, you will be met by another agent who will be your guide for the rest of the day."

Tadashi "And when will we see you again?"

Teach smiles a bit.

Teach "Soon, but just focus on the tour for now and enjoy yourselves. This should be a thrilling, exciting experience."

He says with a smile before they all start to get off the bus. The crew collects their stuff and gathers together, looking around at the other students. 

Phoenix "Some of these people look quite intimidating.."

She says nervously.

Wolf "Yeah, and rich."

She says with a snarky tone before looking away from the others.

Woman "Hello! You all must be from District 12, right?"

An excited woman's voice sounds from behind them as they look over. 

Nazuna "Hi! I'm Nazuna and I'll be giving you your tour today!"

Some of them blush when they see the short woman with bright red hair that's shaved on one side. She has big round eyes and black irises. She gives them a cute warm smile.

Everyone 'So cute!'

They think but immediately notice something particular about her. They examine her cat ears and fox tail coming out of her body. 

Killian "Cat ears?"

Phoenix "And a tail."

They are surprised as Saika jumps forward with an excited smile.

Saika "Are you some kind of cat girl??"

Instantly, her eyes sharpen as she stands over Saika with an intense look.

Nazuna "Is there something wrong with cat girls?"

She asks with a dark tone as Saika shakes his head.

Saika "No way! Cause look!"

He says before jumping back onto all fours and transforming his hands into black fur covered cat paws. A tail and ears sprouting out of his body. Nazuna smiles wide before jumping back and mimicking his pose, her hands transforming as well. They purr a bit before jumping up playfully and bumping paw wrists together with.

Saika/Nazuna "Nyaa!"

The crew watches with surprise and awe on their faces.

Wolf "Did.. you know he can do that?"

Tadashi "Not at all."

Killian "Saika! Since when could you do that??"

He asks, shocked. Yoko watches them confused.

Yoko "What's so special? I can transform too."

They say before their horns grow longer and sharper, their wings growing larger and black fur going up their arms along with claws coming out.

Moshiro "Yeah but we already knew you were a freak."

She says casually as Yoko looks offended.

Yoko "I'll have you know, I am no freak in dragon culture! …I think."

They get an embarrassed look and start pouting.

Yoko "And even if I was, why would you care, human?!"

She yells as the crew focuses on Saika. He stands up straight and looks at his paw. 

Saika "Ever since the attack, I've been thinking nonstop about how pathetic I felt.. I couldn't do anything. So I wanted to get stronger. I just trained hard for the few days we had then one day it all just came out."

He says softly, showing off his transformed parts. Nazuna stands up as well with a casual look.

Nazuna "That's not surprising."

They look at her confused as she explains.

Nazuna "Type powers can be quite confusing. Sometimes people are born and know everything about their powers while others can live their entire lives without knowing they had a power to begin with. It doesn't matter about training or serenity, it's really up to the Soul."

They listen intently as she gives them their first lesson.

Nazuna "You and that one both seem to be Myth Types, as am I. Most Myth Types can transform into their respective creature and commonly have special abilities to go along with them. Is there anything else you can do?"

Saika remembers with wide eyes.

Saika "Oh yeah! I can kinda use electricity."

He says, sparking blue electricity from his hand before placing it on Killian's shoulder causing him to get shocked leaving him charred and smoking. Saika giggles awkwardly.

Saika "Whoops."

Nazuna giggles before putting her hands on her hips.

Nazuna "Don't you worry. Here at the ASA, we will guide each and every one of you with your Souls and whatever abilities that come with them."

She gives them an anticipatory look.

Nazuna "The full potential of your Souls is far beyond what you may think possible now. Just you wait!"

She winks at them before turning around and marching forward.

Nazuna "But for now, let's start with the tour! Come along! We'll check in your bags with the dorms then continue on!"

She says happily as the crew enters the building. They put nametags handed to them on their bags and leave them with the desk attendant. Wolf writes her name down as Nazuna steps behind her and reads the name.

Nazuna "Anderson, huh?"

Wolf looks at her, a little surprised and confused.

Wolf "Yep. Wolf Anderson, that's me."

She says awkwardly. 

Nazuna "Interesting."

Wolf sweats, unsure why she is acting this way before she smiles at her.

Nazuna "Just getting familiar with my students' names."

She walks away as Wolf watches her.

Wolf "Ookayyy…"

She says, slightly weirded out by the interaction. Soon, the crew is guided through the dorms and then into the academy grounds.

Nazuna "And here we start with the main hall! If you're ever lost, just come back here. Since it connects to every other part of the academy, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out."

She says with a smile as Killian, Tadashi and Yoko grab pamphlets of the academy for the new students at a front desk. They then continue through. 

Nazuna "Over here is the mission board. Once you become full fledged students, you'll be sent on missions for the ASA. And in your spare time, if you so desire, you can take missions for more points."

The crew watches as older students and agents review the mission board. Phoenix notices the lack of school uniforms at the academy. She raises her hand before speaking.

Phoenix "Uh, Ms. Nazuna? Is there no school uniform here?"

Nazuna smiles at her.

Nazuna "Nope! Excluding the training attire, you will design your own outfit to your liking and the academy will create it for you. Along with any modifications you make later. You can read about it all in the school's pamphlet!"

She says happily as Killian shoves the pamphlet in her face.

Killian "Yeah forehead, just read the pamphlet."

Phoenix angrily swipes the paper from her face.

Tadashi "It says here that we'll get our outfits after the Eval Tournament? What's that?"

Nazuna "Oh, now that's something special. It is a test we created to see your special skills and talents in real time, creating a more optimal way to figure out your classification. Hunter or Vanguard."

Wolf "How do you know which one you are?"

Nazuna "Now now, let's save all those questions for tomorrow in class. We'll give you a far more comprehensive explanation there."

She says, turning around and continuing forward. They eventually get to the cafeteria. 

Nazuna "And here's our wonderful cafeteria! We only serve the most delicious of food here provided by our esteemed head chef Mr. Takahashi. Everyone say 'Hi Mr. Takahashi!'"

She says as she turns and waves happily to the chef behind the cafeteria window stall. They all wave as he looks at them with a soft smile. The older man with brown hair and a short beard waves back to them. 

Nazuna "He's nice."

She says with a big smile as her tail wags.

Wolf "I think she just likes the food.."

Phoenix nods with a smile.

Yoko "Excuse cat woman! Is there a surplus of chicken here? As a dragon, my appetite is mighty!"

They ask, raising their hand.

Nazuna "Like anywhere else on Airia, food is in no shortage."

Yoko "Yes!"

They pump their fist happily. 

Killian "Main, this place is like a paradise!"

He says happily, throwing his arms behind his head and leaning back exaggeratedly before he feels like he bumped into someone. 

Killian "Whoops! I'm really sorry, I didn't see you-"

He turns around quickly with an apology but stops when he doesn't see anything.

Voice "N-no! It's my fault, I've really gotta be more careful…"

A feminine voice speaks out. They look back confused only for Killian to notice a pair of cleaner gloves and boots standing before him but with no person attached to them.

Killian "Um…"

Nazuna "Ah, Mia! Everyone, this is Mia, our super lovely groundskeeper. Despite how young she is, she does an incredible job at keeping the place nice and clean!"

She says with a smile before hugging Mia tightly. 

Mia "Y-yes. That's what I do, I clean. S-sorry again, I'm still trying to figure the whole place out… I'll be more careful."

She says shyly before taking her mop and bucket away. Killian looks concerned as he tries to apologize back to her but misses his chance.

Moshiro "Was that a Type power she had?"

She asks curiously.

Nazuna "Yes, she has the Meta Type: Invisibility."

Moshiro looks interested by her power.

Moshiro "Can she not turn it off? I've never heard of a Type power that can't be deactivated."

Nazuna "You're right. Although, I suppose, anything is possible and we treat it like a disability she has. We try not to mention it, she seems shy about it. Doesn't change her wonderful personality or work ethic though! Come on!"

She says with a big smile before leading the crew once again.

Nazuna "I think it's about time for the opening ceremony. Why don't we get you all settled in the auditorium?"

She says with a slight smile as the crew follows.