Settling In

The drive was about an hour-long, but the time was passed well between the two siblings. Shizuo had given Opal control over the music, which she blasted and sang along with to her heart's content. The Academy was located on the southernmost point of its own separate island just northeast of the main. A thin archipelago connected the two from the west of GATE's island to the north of the main's. Half of the drive was spent passing through the city of Arcadia while the rest crossing the extensive bridge joining the two landmasses. The wide bridge consisted of two four-lane wide highways separated by two high-speed rail trains that made their rounds to and from GATE and the main island every half hour. Nearing the end of the bridge, the GATE Academy started to come into view, a large dome noticeably protruding from behind its main campus.

Opal, who took note of the change in scenery ahead, sat up on the edge of her seat to get a better look at the approaching academy.

"It's crazy to think I'm finally here..." she said, slightly awestruck at the sight, "I've seen GATE in videos and pictures, but it's so much bigger in person!"

Shizuo looked over to catch a glance at his amazed sister's face, a smile forming across his own. He couldn't blame her. Even though he spent the last two school years here, he always took the time to appreciate the magnificence of it.

"I'm glad you decided to make the transfer here. I know you'll have a great time. You're going to love this place, and my friends!" he said enthusiastically, pulling into the right parking lot of the school. There were only a few dozen cars in either lot, many of which he identified as the faculty's. Most students didn't have cars because of the inconvenience of transporting it to and from home, but the trains and Arcadia's public transportation options make for easy ways to get around.

Shizuo parked his car in one of the rows closest to the school, getting out and stretching. Opal did the same and took an extra moment to admire the academy before joining Shizuo behind his car to unload. Between the two of them and Shizuo's added bags, there were no longer enough hands for their luggage. This became quickly apparent as Opal asked what they were going to do, but Shizuo was already on top of it. After pulling out his phone to call someone, he raised it to his ears, waiting for them to pick up.

"Riku! What's up, man? How's it going?" Shizuo stood there for a few seconds as his friend went on a small tangent, his cheerily loud voice slightly audible to Opal though the line.

"Haha that's great, man. Hey, my sister and I just pulled up to the school and we could use a hand with our bags. Think you can help?" He asked, watching Opal wait impatiently, leaning against his car with crossed arms.

Another few seconds passed before Shizuo replied, "Sweet, see you in a second!"

Opal uncrossed her arms as her brother lowered his phone to pocket it, "Now we wait?" She asked.

Shizuo slung his backpacks over his shoulders, one on each, and grabbed his bags, "Not for long."

Puzzled, Opal looked back at the school and to Shizuo, "The school's huge, he probably won't be here for a minute."

Shizuo smiled to himself, "It's time to meet my best friend, Riku."

A burst of wind rushed past the two as a tan teen appeared beside them, his verdant eyes gleaming brightly, his long maroon hair fashionably swept back in an undercut. His facial structure and skin tone made it obvious that he was of Hispanic descent, but slightly smaller, slanted eyes hinted at some Asian in him. Just an inch shorter than his friend at six feet, one inch, he had a more muscular build over Shizuo's lean, muscular frame. He sported a red muscle fit shirt, black gym shorts, black compression pants, and a pair of black and red running shoes. Riku had control over rocks and metal, as well as the power of super speed. Assessing the situation, it was made apparent to Riku that Opal was the one that needed help with their bags.

Opal nodded her head slowly, "Ahh, that makes sense. He's Sonic the fucking hedgehog!" she said, letting out a short laugh.

Shizuo and Riku laughed alongside Opal before her brother spoke up, "Opal, this is my best friend, Riku." He gestured to him, "Riku, my little sister, Opal."

Riku pocketed his left and extended his right out to Opal to shake, a gentle smile playing across his face "Riku Deleon. Nice to finally meet you, Opal. Your brother's told me a lot of good things about you."

Opal took Riku's hand and shook it firmly, glancing over to her brother "That's actually really nice to hear... pleasure to meet you, Riku."

Riku took his hand back and made his way between the two to grab three of Opal's bags in one hand, his left. Seeing as nothing was left in the trunk, he closed it, turning back to face Opal, who only had her rolling bag in hand.

"Yeah, he told me about how you guys like to train together at home. I think that's awesome! I miss training with my older brother, but he's long gone now, sadly," he said.

Opal mistook his words for a tragedy and hung her head slightly, "Oh. Sorry to hear..."

Riku, realizing the misunderstanding with his tone, waved his free hand in a disregarding manner, "No no, my bad! He's completely fine, he's just in the military now," he said with a light chuckle, "US Spec Ops: Utility Level. Just don't tell anybody I told you, somebody might take you out."

Riku lowered his head and jokingly looked around, as if making sure they weren't being watched. Opal and Shizuo laughed at his silly gesture before Shizuo started ahead towards the school, the others to follow.

"Your brother's a SOUL? That's crazy," Opal said. US SOUL was a spec ops team, like the Navy SEALs, that was comprised solely of talented soldiers, but not just any, only the most elite amongst them.

Riku responded, taking pride in his brother, "Yeah, he's really inspiring. Who knew a kid from Miami could make it out there?"

"You're from Miami?" Opal asked, "Cool."

"Yeah," Riku replied, "My dad's in the Navy and got us a place out there while he's out doing Navy shit. I was supposed to go to CAP, Florida's academy, but it was too much of a party school, so my parents sent me here."

As the reached the entrance to the school, Riku grabbed the door for the two siblings.

"It's not all that bad though," Riku added, "GATE's been pretty lit, I wouldn't have had it any other way!"

Opal thanked Riku as she and her brother walked ahead. She waited for Riku to catch up to continue their conversation.

"That's pretty funny. I just met you, but I can already tell not going to a party school was probably for the better," she said. Ahead of them was a large dark oak door, to which Shizuo set a bag to the side of. Shizuo gestured for Opal to step up and opened the door for her.

"This is the office, you just need to finalize your registration and they'll give you your ID, which doubles as your room key. It'll be a few minutes, you mind if I drop off my bags at my room? It's just down the hall."

"Not at all!" Opal said, "Are you going with him or staying with me, Riku?"

Riku looked between the two before responding, unsure of how to answer. Not taking the time to come to an actual decision, he said the first thing that sounded right, "Uhh... I'll just stay with you, I guess."

He looked up at Shizuo, "Sorry bro."

"You're good man, just make sure she's all set!" Shizuo said, grabbing his dropped bag and turning face to head down the hallway. A double door that led to the boy's dorms stood before Shizuo. Having his hands full at the moment, he used his right elbow to push open the right door. Being this year's junior class president, Shizuo was given priority with his dorm. He chose Room 104, which was the second room on the right once you enter the male dorm wing from the main office building. He set down a bag to retrieve his wallet from his back pocket, holding it up to the key card reader. A light chirp from the reader signaled its unlocking, to which Shizuo opened, shoving his floored bag into the room with his foot.

The room was emptier than he was used to, but it was home nonetheless. The dorms had been cleaned, maintenanced, and repainted over the summer, bringing a freshness to them. Dorms are assigned one per student, a luxury afforded to not many other academies. Comfortably sized for one, each dorm included a full bed, a large desk, one three-person couch, a single recliner, a coffee table, two medium-sized drawers, and a medium-sized TV that sat on a third, low dresser. A high countertop with sink on the other side separated the room from the kitchen, which was equipped with a full-sized fridge/freezer, a microwave mounted over a four-burner stove, which was part of a larger oven, complete with a broiler beneath it. High cupboards held a basic set of crockery, waist level sliding drawers contained basic cutlery, and low, grounded cupboards held a variety of kitchen accessories, such as toasters, toaster ovens, and blenders. On one end of the kitchen are a small pantry room and supply closet. Next to the fridge is the door to a full bathroom with a large mirror overseeing the sink, which had a cupboard beneath it. Next to and above the sink is a multi-leveled medicine cabinet, fitted with a mirror on its exterior and interior.

Shizuo set the rest of his bags down and wondered if he should start to unpack now or save it all for later. Opal would still be a few minutes, so he decided to just use the bathroom before heading back.

In the office, Opal was handed a Manila envelope stuffed with informational pamphlets outlining the variety of clubs and communities the school offered, a brief history of the academy, and points of interest around the island to visit. Also inside the envelope was a packet that laid out the schedule for orientation, along with it detailing where transfer students would be able to skip out on some of the workshops or activities that the freshmen would have to partake in. Orientation would start the following day, Monday, and continue on through the week, giving all students enough time to adjust to the academy, as well as life on the island, before the start of the school year. In addition to the Manila envelope, Opal was given a plain green folder with her schedule, her locker number and combination, and a list of textbooks she would be required to check out from the library.

Being a transfer student, Opal didn't exactly fit into the Combat Level system that GATE used to categorize its students by power level. The STAT Academy created portfolios behind-the-scenes of students to rank and divide them based on their performance and progress throughout the year. This portfolio was sent over to GATE with the transfer and, after review by GATE staff, was determined that Opal would be placed into Combat Level 9, or CL-9, the second-highest CL on a scale of one through ten.

Opal received a verbal run down from the school receptionist of what was in the packet and folder as she handed them over. Opal was receptive to the information she was passed on and made mental notes to double-check things later. The last order of business was her dorm, to which the receptionist pulled out an aPad with a layout of the girl's dorm wings, showing which rooms were still available. She ended up picking one on the first floor that was close to the cafeteria and cafes, as well as the student lounge. She didn't know what was there, but it interested her and Riku had hyped it up. After confirming her selection with the receptionist, Opal was handed a blank, white card that was to serve as her temporary ID, allowing her access to her dorm, the library, and the student lounge. Shizuo, now empty-handed, stepped into the office.

"Did I miss anything important?" he asked.

"Nah," Riku said, looking back at him, "She just got her room key, so she's pretty much set now."

Shizuo backed up and opened the door behind him, "Alriight, let's get you all settled in then!"

Opal thanked the receptionist and filed out of the office after Shizuo, Riku to follow. Shizuo grabbed his sisters rolling bag and one other while Riku took the rest. Opal took charge while looking down at a map of the school.

"This is all pretty neat," Opal said, "You guys seem to have a lot of things to do around here."

"Yeah," Shizuo replied, "And once the school year kicks off, we don't stop. You got to learn how to balance school, requests, and your downtime to get the most out of this place. We'll be here to help out, of course, so don't feel like you're ever alone in this, alright?"

Opal was touched by her brother's advice, but didn't outwardly show it. She continued on through the doors that lead outside into the quad, which she had to cross to get to her dorm's wing.

"So when do I get to meet the rest of your friends?" Opal asked, "I remember you mentioning something about a catgirl? What's that all about?"

Riku laughed, "Does she mean Falen? That's funny..."

Shizuo joined Riku in a quick laugh and sighed. "Yeah, but she's not just a catgirl. She's a cat demon, or neko demon. You guys didn't have any at STAT?"

Opal slipped her school map into a folder and made her way into the wing, sure of where she needed to go.

"I think we had one, but I think she was just a weirdo dressed like a cat..." she said unsurely. Arriving at their destination, Opal retrieved her temporary ID card from her folder and used it to open her dorm. One look around the room was enough to impress even Opal. While things weren't furnished as ornately as she would've liked, the size of the room, layout, and the kitchen extension were plenty for her.

"I could get used to this," she said shortly.

"Good," Shizuo said as he tossed her bags into her room, "Because this is home now!"

Riku walked ahead to gently set Opal's bags down where Shizuo had tossed hers.

Opal walked in further into the room, checking out every corner and space to take it all in, "I feel like I'm in college now... no, this is even better."

Shizuo sat himself down on the arm of her couch, "Just so you know, there's a form you can fill out with Facilities to have your furniture removed so you can put your own stuff in. Knowing you, you're going to want to switch things up."

Opal, who was then in the kitchen, crouching down to see what was in the lower cabinets, "Oh you know me soo well, Shizuo," she said sarcastically.

She popped up from behind the counter and looked at her brother from across the main room, "Where... where can I find this form anyways?"

Shizuo scratched his chin, thinking, "The boy's and girl's dorms mirror each other, so the RA for this side of the wing should be Room 150, at the end of this hall. Your Resident Advisor, usually a senior, should have all the forms you need in a wall letter tray outside of her door and a dropbox to leave it."

Opal "Ahh"-ed and slowly crouched back down, resuming her scan of the kitchen. In all honesty, she didn't plan on using many of the things she saw, but it still fascinated her to see all that the school had gone through to provide. Done with her sweep of the kitchen, she peeked into the pantry and supply closet. Nothing too special there for her to see, so she moved on to the bathroom. Again, nothing too special, but nonetheless comfortable. She returned to the room and took a seat atop her bed, which was neatly fitted with a white bed set.

"I could get used to this," Opal said, continuing to look around the room, already planning how she could decorate it, "But enough of this, I'm already tired of you being in my room. Do you have any girl friends here? No offense, Riku," she nodded to him.

"None taken," Riku replied, leaning against her door. He flashed a peace sign with a relaxed grin. He looked over to Shizuo and continued, "I was kicking it with Falen and Keita earlier. Falen said she was going into town for some school clothes shopping and Keita's, well, Keita."

"Is that your other demon friend, Shizuo?" Opal asked.

"Yeah, he's a bit quiet at first, but once he warms up to you, he's actually pretty chill," Shizuo said.

Riku chuckled, "Don't listen to him, man's a stone-cold killer. He'll gut you inside out and walk away without so much of a greeting!" Riku made a mockingly scary face at Opal and broke into laughter. Shizuo laughed along with him, "You sure you're not talking about Kane? Keita's not one for all the gore."

"Right, right" Riku said, "I guess he'd just shoot you in the face with a lightning bolt or somethin'!"

Opal watched the interaction between her brother and his friend, not knowing what to make of it. "Uhh... Tell me more about Falen, the cat demon," she said. Whoever these Kane and Keita guys were, they didn't seem too friendly to her, though she wasn't opposed to meeting her brother's other guy friends.

"She's real cool, you'll like her," Riku said.

"Thanks, that doesn't help at all," Opal said, "What's she like?"

Shizuo shook his head, a grin forming from his sister's snarky comments. He was glad that she was seeming to warm up to Riku, but not in the way he had hoped.

"She's been our friend since freshman year. We've gone on many requests together and is as cool as they come. She's a bit quiet at times too, but that's because she actually takes the time to think before speaking," Shizuo added to Riku's attempt at a description of Falen.

"Thank you," Opal said, looking to Riku, "She does seem pretty cool, maybe I will like her."

Riku laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "I mean, everyone could use a kick-ass cat demon as a friend, right?"

Shizuo stood up from the arm of Opal's couch and pulled out his phone, checking the time, which was around five o'clock, "We'll I'm going to head out then. If you want some food, the cafeteria closes at seven. There's a twenty-four-hour snack bar there and in the student lounge, but you wouldn't want to miss out on the good stuff!"

Riku got up from off the door and pocketed one of his hands, placing the other on the handle of the door, "Food's actually pretty good, I wouldn't rule it out just yet, but hey, I'ma head out too. It was nice meeting ya, Opal! I'm sure I'll catch you around." Riku opened the door and waited for Shizuo to catch up.

As Shizuo crossed the room, he approached Opal with open arms, "Come here sis, give me a hug before I go,"

Opal may seem brash to her brother on the outside, but she truly loved and appreciated him. She got up from her bed and hugged her brother back.

"Thanks for everything, Shizuo..." she turned her head to the side against his chest, squeezing him tighter, "It's going to be hard getting used to all this new stuff, I'm already missing my old friends..."

Shizuo rubbed Opal's back affectionately and sighed softly, "I know... don't worry though, you're in good hands. Big bro's hands." With a light chuckle, Shizuo pulled back from his sister and ruffled her hair a bit. Opal swatted his hand away and slapped his chest.

"Way to ruin a perfectly good moment, dumbass." Opal said shortly, jumping back onto her bed and pulling out her phone, "Get out, I already said I'm getting tired of you being in my room."

Shizuo gripped his chest as he followed Riku out of his sister's room, "Love you too, Opal! You'll meet the rest of my friends tomorrow!"

"Fuck off, loser," Opal gave Shizuo the finger as he and Riku left her room.

Shizo and Riku shared a laugh upon exiting Opal's new dorm. The two decided to grab dinner at the cafeteria before it's closing and headed off in its direction. Talking about Opal at first, their conversation quickly switched over to how their summer vacations went. Neither had done anything too crazy, aside from the occasional parties Riku went to. The duo of friends enjoyed a well-prepared meal before parting ways. Shizuo wanted to unpack everything before he lost the motivation to and needed to rest up for the following day. Being in ASB/student council (Associated Student Body) and the junior class president, he would be hosting a few of the orientation events. He already made plans to meet up with the rest of his friends, who would be flying in later tonight or the next day, during lunch or after orientation.

As much as he loved his friends, he couldn't wait to see his girlfriend, Faith, above all. They had spent some time together over the summer, but it had still been a few weeks since their last meeting. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be flying in until tomorrow night, but Shizuo didn't mind. He knew he would have plenty of time to spend with her during the school year to come.

Shizuo laid in bed after successfully unpacking all of his belongings, having slipped into a pair of soft, gray joggers he used as pajamas. After connecting his phone to the surround sound system he had set up, Shizuo started a playlist of lo-fi music to play quietly in the background and ease him into sleep. A lot was in store for him this week to come, but he knew, with a steady approach and driven mind, he was about to kick off one of the best years of his life.