Alright guys, another Chapter, done! This chapter, where not as action packed as the last, gives you some insight on characters, and is imo much better written then any chapter thus far, so I'd love feedback. Also I'd recommend reading this out of the attached document as it will be much more legible. (PS- Chapter is about 6 Pages long)
Either way I'm proud to present...
Chapter 7
Akio stood near the entrance of the battle dome. It had been a few weeks since he had done battle with his students here. Since then he made use of this room often, he found that pitting the students in simulated scenarios brought out the best in the majority of the students. Some, like Hirle and Josh, didn’t need the simulations to train hard, but even they seemed to prefer the action.
Lately Akio has gotten into the habit of waiting before class for his pupils, especially now that the letters between him and Celia have slowed. Kyto said that the uprising of Shades was getting more serious, and he makes far less runs of mail near Celia, and he couldn’t stray too far from his planned stops, without arousing suspicion. Akio didn’t blame him for not wanting to do anything extreme to try and harbor their letters. “I can’t hold it against him, he’s was already doing them a huge service by sticking his head out to help them, nowadays doing anything of the sorts can, and will be easily mistaken as treason.” Akio thought, and then he laughed. Nowadays… was there ever a time when the Alliance wasn’t on a witch hunt for traitors?
The door beside him opened, Rile walked through. Rile had a thing for punctuality, and knew how to wield a spear as if it was an extension of his body, but he had no control over his Aura, which would prohibit him from becoming much more then a skillful foot soldier. “Good morning,” Akio greeted him, and waited for the rest of his class. Akio had a soft spot for his students who he knew wouldn’t progress, especially when they we’re as hard workers as Rile. But, the true geniuses, where open recipients of his wrath, and where pushed far harder then anyone else. One by one the rest of his ranks filled into the battle room, some early, some barely on time. His watch struck 9AM, and he looked up at the group that had reported, but this morning something was wrong.
“Where is Hirle?” Akio questioned. Everyone looked at each other, there where shrugs, and a murmur arose from them, his answer was clear: They didn’t know. Akio’s blood began to boil, his mind screamed, and he almost let the thought spill out his mouth. He composed himself, and asked another question, “Who was the last one to see her?”
More murmurs, everyone turned to each other, trying to figure out who had seen her and when. Eventually Jaaj stepped forward, “Me. I was talking with her, when one of the school officials said that they needed to talk in private, no one’s seen her since.” Akio’s mind raced, Hirle had seemed set on continuing her training, she was young and ambitious, and Akio’s tough teacher persona was almost a challenge to her. She would never purposely miss class if she thought it would put in her danger of failing. Suddenly, Akio’s rage turned to panic.
“Are you absolutely sure that the person she was pulled aside by was a school official?” Akio interrogated.
“Yes,” Jaaj responded immediately, “The school official… was my father.” There was a brief period of silence after Jaaj had finished her sentence.
“Class dismissed.” Akio announced, turned to the right, and bolted out the door. “First thing’s first, I check to see if she’s left.” Akio thought, and sped toward the central office of the academy.
“Nancy, has Hirle Yassago left the school grounds since yesterday?” he asked the attendant.
“Give me a sec, to check.” The attendant giggled at her rhyme, fluttered through a few papers, and made a few clicks on a computer. “Nah, she hasn’t verified leaving on our record sheets, and the cameras feed hasn’t picked up her Aura either. Is something amatter?”
“No nothing,” he mumbled, and began to walk away from the front desk. Akio began reasoning where should could be, “If she hasn’t left, that obviously means she’s still in the building, but none of my students say they’ve seen her, that doesn’t make sense, I let them out early yesterday, I’m sure plenty of them wondered the halls.” But as he began to determine its improbability Akio’s mind started to wander back to a day months ago. When he had found out he was going to teach at the Academy for a full year, he walked through the entire school, just in case he ever needed navigate through the school. That’s when he stumbled across a room that had yet to be upgraded to match the rest of the school’s uniformity. A time forgone relic, the walls and floors where made out of rotting, termite ravaged wood, if you wanted a place to hide, there would be none better. He made his way to the room, it wasn’t far from him, and in mere minutes he was there.
He approached the door, stopped and listened, someone on the other end was crying. Akio reached for the handle, and twisted, the knob didn’t budged. “A locked wooden door to keep me out? Now that’s a laugh!” Akio said himself. He took a step back, braced himself, and rammed his shoulder into the door. The rusting hinges immediately gave, and the door flung out of the frame, and dust shot out in all directions as the door smashed against the wall opposite of the doorway. Akio walked into the room, and turned to see Hirle narrow eyed, as angry with him as she was sad. “They where going to demolish this room anyway.” He said cheerfully, and walked to Hirle. “Why weren’t you in class?”
“Why do you care? I failed! I know! I would’ve left today and saved myself time, but you need to have flunked out before they’ll let you leave the school grounds!”
“When did I ever say you failed?” Akio said rhetorically. “Tell me what happened.”
“Just leave me alone.” Hirle snapped.
“In that case…” Akio sat down next to Hirle. “I have all the time in the world, and you won’t be leaving this room until you tell me what’s going on.”
“Even if I told you… it wouldn’t bring them back.” Tears returned to Hirle’s eyes, and poured down her face, finally Akio understood.
“Losing people you love,” he started, “can be hard. I know.”
“Do you know what its like to lose everything?!?” Hirle yelled, angry at his attempt to connect with her.
“Yes; and no. I know what its like to never have anything at all. To be shown glimmers of family, to be shown lights of hope, that are always put out, before I get to bath in its warmth. When I was young, my family was killed by the Grippans. The trauma destroyed my memory though; I can’t remember anything about my early youth.” Akio decided not to go any farther with his problems then that, he wasn’t trying to earn her sympathy. “Can you tell me what happened now?” There was some silence, Akio could see Hirle was trying to compose herself, but gave in to a burst of sobs. Akio put his hand on her shoulder. “Take your time.” He soothed.
Hirle fought with her emotions, and calmed herself down, then took two deep breaths before starting, “Shades have been really bold in the west, that’s where I’m from.” Akio nodded, he knew this was true from her profile. “The other day, my town.” Hirle stopped, and coughed, eyes watering back up. “My town, was massacred. Someone was taken over by a Shade, and he killed them all! I had three younger brothers, and they where all killed because of one Shade! My brothers, my family, they where my reason to fight… what is the point now?”
Akio gave her some time, before starting to speak. “Shades, they are the true disaster of our time, but, they have been ignored because of a stupid war that’s far past its own time. Humanity has been too busy fighting with itself to stop the Shades. That’s why this war must be fought, and won, so humanity can make a joint, united effort on the Shades. Against us all the Shades won’t be able to stand ground that is why you must fight. You can ask me ‘what’s the point?’ ‘Who am I fighting for?’ And I’ll tell you ‘you’re fighting to stop your disaster from happening to anyone else’. I know it doesn’t seem fair, but, fate is a dealer of cards, and the hand you receive isn’t always as lucky as the next guy but… I’ve found, if you try hard enough, and play your cards right, any hand is a winner.” Akio stood up, and looked at Hirle, she had stopped crying, it was clear she was considering every word he said. “I expect to see you in class tomorrow,” he said, and walked away. And Akio did see in her in class, tomorrow, and the next, and the next.
Much time pasted since Akio’s discussion with Hirle. Akio’s letters with Celia had picked back up, but despite this, he stood in his classroom early. Akio sighed; he couldn’t wait for this day to be over. He wondered if Palvov went through this as well, but he couldn’t imagine that. As students began to file in Akio turned around, unwilling to face them. He waited until 10AM to speak, even though he knew everyone was already in the classroom. “In two days, we’ll have trained together for 6 months, I’m proud of you all. We still have another 6 months to go, but sadly, for some of us, its not to be. In two days, we will be having, a… Midterm, of sorts.” Akio couldn’t find the proper way to give this speech, so he decided there would be no softening the blow. He would tell the story bluntly truthful. “In this midterm, you will be fighting each other, with intention to kill. Anyone who does this and survives passes, and don’t think I won’t catch you if you don’t fight to kill; if you try that, you will fail.” Akio paused for a brief moment, letting the students take it in. “But, you don’t have to take this test, if you may choose not to. In that case you will fail, but anyone who fails must know, I will not think any less of you… and you will be placed into your places in the military; you have all already proved your worth to the army. If you wish to continue, be here, two days from today at 10AM.” And with that Akio turned around, still not looking at any of his students and walked to the door. He left, for the first time without dismissing the class. The moment he was out the door, he heard an uproar of conversation.
Akio got back to his room fast, depressed from the day’s task, and found Kyto outside his room. Kyto didn’t have mail, he had a week off, but Akio and Kyto had become good friends so he wasn’t surprised to see him. “You look like
,” Kyto said truthfully.
“Then I look how I feel.”
“Come into town with me, why be miserable alone?” Kyto joked. Akio quickly agreed, and followed Kyto out of the barracks. Akio only ventured out of his barracks when Kyto asked him to, and with good reason. The City around to his barracks was called Zyra, a place built out of necessity. Once the Alliance started to push the Grippians back, past the Underworld Gorge, it became clear they needed to start to build cities near the Gorge, in case the Era War continued to last. So near all the barracks cities where constructed, and offering new jobs. But it soon became apparent that the only people willing to live so close to the front line where past criminals, and lowlifes, who where given pardons to help with the frontline efforts. The Cities quickly became slums, and deteriorated. As Kyto and Akio entered the City it was like turning back the clock. The stench of waste filled their nostrils, due to the lack of modern plumbing and treatments. The concrete road turned into a muddy mess, and Akio found himself in the slums. “Almost there,” Kyto assured him, seeing the clear disgust in Akio’s face. Akio couldn’t imagine why Kyto would purposely go to the slums, he was blessed with a countryside house, why squander it? When Kyto stopped, Akio noticed they where in front of a pub, and Kyto walked in. Akio sighed, he had never really drank, but he shrugged, and followed Kyto in anyway.
“Two of my usual!” Kyto called to the barkeeper. Quickly two shot glasses of a yellowish-tan liquid in front of him. “We’re both miserable, so tonight we forget our troubles and drink ourselves to stupor!” he bellowed happily and downed his drink. Akio shook the glass a little bit, watching the liquid curiously, then he sighed, and drank it in the same fashion he saw Kyto. The liquid was strong, overwhelming his taste buds, and burned its way down his throat, but he could already feel his mind detach from the world around him. Kyto laughed, and beckoned the barkeep for more. Akio in a depressed uncaring drank whatever was put in front of him, by the third drink men began to gather around Kyto and Akio, cheering them on as they drowned their sorrow. “The vampires come to suck the life out of the dying,” Akio thought, and it would prove to be the last sensible thing he would think that night. The night continued, the cheers and taunts became and inaudible mess to Akio’s poisoned brain. His head was pounding, and he felt the blood flowing through the veins on his face. He stumbled off of the stool he sat on, fell out of the door exiting the pub, and vomited.
Josh stood with his back against the door of Akio’s room. For some reason, after Akio’s speech, he felt that this was the right place to go, he had doubts about the “test” and had to ask Akio about it.. Josh had snuck out of school grounds unnoticed plenty of times, how he did it was a secret he’d take to his grave. He was surprised when he found that Akio wasn’t in his room, and for another reason he couldn’t explain, he felt he had to wait there for Akio to return.
The sight Josh saw shocked him, Akio, his great impervious teacher, slumped over, drunk, being dragged to his room by a peasant. Josh knew that getting drunk was usually a cry of depression, unless you where an alcoholic. He had to pursue this. “Hey you there kid!” the man dragging Akio called over. “Make yourself useful and help me out would you?” Josh ran over to the man, and grabbed Akio’s other arm, helping drag him into his room, then onto his bed. “Crap, I gotta get going,” the man muttered to himself. “Listen kid, stick around and make sure he’s OK alright? You don’t leave someone that wasted alone a whole night.”
“But I’ll get in trou-” Josh started, and quickly got cut off.
“Listen, just tell him you where doing me a favor so I could get back with my wife and kid, alright?”
“Sure, sure.” He nodded, “Wait, I don’t know your name!” He called out as the man was half-way out the door.
“Kyto!” the man called out, rushing away. Josh turned to Akio who was unconscious on his bed, and shook his head.
Akio awoke in the morning with little recollection of what had happened the night before; he remembered going to a pub, after that, it was all just haze. “Wow, awake from the dead.” A voice called out. Akio opened his eyes, and looked to where the noise had come from, he saw Josh, standing arms crossed.
“What are you doing here?” he questioned.
“Doing Kyto a favor,” Josh responded. He was amazed how instantly Akio’s eyes had switched from scornful glare to an understanding gaze. “Kyto must have Akio’s respect.” He thought. “Is this a habit of yours?” Josh asked.
“If this was a habit of mine, I would’ve came home conscious last night,” Akio answered, jokingly. The answer told Josh what he wanted to here, Akio drank out of depression, and it was clear he was depressed about making his students undertake the task he had given them; the test was the real deal. “Get outta here, I’m fine now,” Akio dismissed him out of the room. Josh began to leave when Akio called out, “Wait… Don’t tell anyone how you saw me, understand?” Akio asked. Josh could almost sniff the shame out of his plea.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that. I understand,” he assured him, and left Akio.
Akio told the students to be there at 10AM, but he had no intention of being early. Akio entered his classroom at 10:20 there would be no suspense in finding out who was continuing. 10:20 was probably over doing it anyone who was serious about continuing would’ve been very punctual anyway.
Akio took a deep breath, and opened the door to his classroom. He peered in, the classroom was nearly empty, the only students inside where Hirle, Josh, Veruo, and Jaaj. Akio closed the door behind him, “Is this all?” he asked. They nodded. Akio laughed, “Excellent, you all pass!” Akio could see the words slap the students in the face, each with a different expression of shock. Akio began to explain himself, “For the last six months, I did more then try and condition your bodies and minds. I was making you all believe that everything I said, every word, I meant one hundred percent literally. When I said if you where late you failed, you saw that it was true, I had to make my word seem like an absolute truth. So when I told you all that you had to risk your life to continue, you believed it. You see, anyone can become strong, as long as they put it above even their own life- its those crazy few individuals, that can become truly great.”
This took some time to register in their minds, Hirle seemed to be having the hardest time grasping it, “Are you telling me those students you failed before we even started, they where just your pawns!?!” she snapped.
“Hirle, filled with a fiery passion only capable by someone as young as yourself… but sometimes it makes you speak at times you should be listening, and seem like a fool. What students? Did you think I’d actually do that? Those four students in the beginning of the year… where just some soldiers I asked to do me a favor!” Akio fired back at her. Hirle’s face immediately flushed red with embarrassment, and anger, and Akio continued his speech…
It took a moment for Josh to put it all together, but once it clicked, he saw the genius that Akio had designed in this test. Everything new revelation that Akio made fit perfectly as a piece of the puzzle. And as Hirle tried to fight it all away, Josh embraced it, Akio had without a doubt, earn Josh’s respect.
Josh had always thought of his teachers as incompetent fools, some trying to slow the learning process to make sure everyone understood quickly becoming useless to the geniuses. The others, in a state of self-insecurity always tried to work the students far too fast, at paces where nothing was learned. But he noticed how Akio had taught the class perfectly. At first glance it subjects appeared to pass at a crawling pace, but Akio always watched the geniuses with a special eye, pushing them into the region of their limits.
This test, separating the people who had nothing else to learn, with those who would continue to grow infinitely seemed so genius to Josh, that he was almost in awe at how simply it worked. Josh knew he couldn’t squander the time he had with his teacher.
Akio trained the students hard for the next 6 months, but he did more then that, he poured his soul into making sure they prospered. He figured out their strengths, their weaknesses and how to improve upon them. He always questioned them on why they joined the military, or about their home lives. Once he could understand them, he could teach them in a way few could. Akio found himself working just as hard to train them, as they had to in order to learn, and become strong. And by the time 6 months had passed, he was able to happily, proudly, shake each one of their hands and say, “You managed to pass the Palvov training style. If the time should ever come that only one of you is left alive, and the Era War continues, I want you to pass it on, as I have done today. Until then, speak to no one about the midterm, or how I trained you afterward. It is the few fighters and strategists like ourselves that could end this war, and for the good of everyone this war has to end.”