[Raikiri] No. 089

[RayanStiger]

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[Kruck]

His steps, so quiet and quick that they were literally soundless. Steps upto the commons area, or at least thats what the sign said. Steps upto the door, opening the door, entering the indoors. The brisk, cool, air, full of air-conditioning was a sharp contrast to the lazy, thick smog that lived outdoors.

The commons area was quite spotless- a simple desk, cut into a white wall, lay straight ahead of the entrance. A small nameplate read a blunt "Help." The seat behind the desk was empty, it was well after midnight.

The sole lighting in the room belonged to the single elevator that was in left corner of the room. Steps to it and a button pressed. Metal doors opening and bare feet stepped into the elevator. The inside of the elevator had no buttons anywhere. Once the doors closed, their grey metal surrounded by white, the elevator slowly started to move upwards.

Kruck's looked straight ahead, his image bouncing off the left door. Black hair with messy spikes was perched ontop of slanting eyebrows and sea blue eyes. After just arriving his suitcase was gone, which was a long story, so Kruck had no shirt. His only clothes at the moment consisted of patched green pants, which were found earlier in the day behind a bush. The reason his steps made no sound is because his shoes were gone too, leaving bare feet. His right leg supported his weight while his right one lazily bent at the knee as he leaned against the back wall.

With the slightest bump the ride ended, after what seemed like just moments.

Kruck stepped out of the elevator accompinied by a very small sound. He was in what seemed to be a lounge area; a red couch was off to one side next to a floor lamp, two chairs at 60 degree angles facing inward on the other wall, with a table between them. Straight ahead lay the same desk, with the same nameplate, with the same simple word, with the same empty seat. A slow, long sigh with thoughts: Another high school...at least by now I'm starting to get used to this uprooting...

There was two routes to go; first, straight ahead, then to either the left or the right, where there were doorless openings. Kruck walked straight ahead, then chose to go left. A small sign said: 75-150. He quickly shivered as steps went by a air conditioning duct. With no shirt this air was pretty frigid; goosebumpes dotted his exposed midriff and chest and shoulders. Bare feet started to walk down the extremely dim hallway. Honestly, he could barely see anything. There were doors on either side of the hallway, with small nameplates on them with numbers going up. The only lights came from these nameplates, which seemed to have glow in the dark capabilities. He glanced at a few of them, 83, 85, 87.

Suddenly his bare foot connected with something quite hard. A stumble followed a harsh mutter and a hop on one foot, while holding his injured foot which hurt like a butt may I add. And this hopping on one foot led to the moment when he crashed into a door and fell down. The hallway was so dark he didn't even know if he had blacked out or not. So he just lay there.  

[RayanStiger]

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[Kruck]

"Kruuuucccckkk!"
His mom's yell from the house weaved into the forest and made its way to his ears. The yelling you could used to. The hint of despair and the weary voice you could not. He was perched high in a tree, where the wind sailed by with a slight whistle, and his thoughts were guided by the slight rustle of leaves floating across the dirt floor. Streaks of sunlight shot past the tall treetops.

Kruck sighed and thought about what had happened recently. The headmaster of this school had to have the worst sense of humor ever. Though he had no friends, Kruck was known throughout the school- by the students as an entertainer of sorts; his outrageous pranks left everyone wondering what he would pull next. On the other hand, his swift anger and revenge kept those who admired him away. The teachers and the headmaster knew him for the same reasons, but unlike the students they did not appreciate his expertise in the area of big happenings. They liked it even less that he was always one step ahead of them.

The incident with the teachers desk burning to the ground had been one of the ones in the beginning. They couldn't prove it was him so it was forgotten. But when the janatorial closet was broken into and the grounds were flooded by the sprinklers left on overnight, things started to heat up. Then the headmaster walked into his office only to find his safe had vanished overnight. That was today, only one month after they had arrived in their small, two bedroom house. Kruck had skipped school because he was sick, which was true.

It wasn't the first time though. Oh no, the same thing happened everywhere they went, like clockwork. Ever since it had started: he had been framed at his school and gotten expelled. They had moved after he pleaded with his mom, when after weeks she finally understood it was not possible for him to live there anymore.

And they had moved to a new town, a new state, a new school. The first few weeks he made a few friends and got along fairly well. But things would always get screwed up, something would happen and his friends would dissapear, turn their backs on him. The bitterness would come out and then something big would happen: a huge prank, a knife fight with one of these former friends, a burned building. The phone call would come, either from a headmaster, or recently the police. These always signaled another move and another beginning in a new state and town and school. And with each new beginning his skills would grow, and the havoc he wreaked seemed to defy logic. The question that lingered on everyone's mind, every time: What was he thinking.

He sighed and the log creaked when he slowly stood up. He shook his head and sighed and started walking towards the house in the distance, his home, for now. Because by next week they probably would have moved, again. The branches and dewy grass crunched beneath his feet.

"Kruuuucccccckkkk!" I'm coming.
"Can I help you?"

That's not my mom...
Kruck opened his eyes and quickly shielded them from the sudden light pouring from the room. A young man stood there, with bizarre red socks covering his feet. His eyes squinted, still getting used to the light, and he looked up to the face. The young lad seemed annoyed.

It is the middle of the night, and you banged into his door...
Oh yeah.

A hand planted on the ground and a grunt was followed by him slowly clambering to his feet. "Heh...hey there..." What was there to say? I'm lost? Where's a bed that I can sleep in, since I've been awake for over 24 hours? Hello, my name's Kruck?

"Look...I'm sorry for bumping into your door...I'm just looking for a room." By now his eyes were used to the light and he no longer squinted. Once again he found himself in the familiar, lazy stance of basically perching on one leg while the other drooped.  

[RayanStiger]

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[Kruck]

Kruck involuntarily shivered but kept his gaze on the young man. A wave of weariness swept over him when the empty room was mentioned. A fantasy of a comfortable bed and blankets was almost more then he could handle. He quite nearly shouted for joy.

"Are you a new student at Ria High? The edge in the man's voice sharply invaded on his happy thoughts. A slight grimace crept onto his face along with a plethora of thoughts; in high school, it seemed, new students were not quite welcomed with open arms. It had become hard work to fit in with crowds that had known each other for years. Most teachers did not help these tricky social situations at all; some clumsily "picked on" the new students, evidently thinking that this would help the initation process. It never did. Others would ignore the new student unless they were at a certain intellectual level. Kruck, never having too much interest invested in school, didn't fit the bill.

There were gifted teachers out there. Unfortuanetly for Kruck, his last four schools didn't have one. The last truly good teacher he had had had made moving away especially difficult. Moving was always easier when one had no attachments to miss.

With a voilent shake of the head Kruck jerked back to the present. He sometimes zoned out for quite a long time, which was useful during boring monologues but not when things needed to be done. Kruck decided to be honest with this guy and see where it would get him. He sensed that although the man was openly hostile that there was friendliness there.

"Yeah...I'm new here. A room would be really nice.
Kruck's voice was very calm and low; he had grown weary from thinking so hard. He didn't feel the need to divulge information like he hadn't slept for over a day, although he had a strange feeling that soon he would be telling this stranger information about himself sometime in the near future. He shivered again and met the man's intense gaze.  

[RayanStiger]

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[Kruck]

A name
Whose name?
My name..."
Oh...sure. My name's Kruck."
This guy is a teacher?
Curiousity sparked up in Kruck and a number of questions came to mind he could ask: how old are you? What do you teach? Why don't you have your own dorms? Have you ever had a frowned upon but allowed relationship with a student?
He smirked at the last one. It had happened before, more times then one would think. The better teachers usually abused thier powers over school administration. He glanced over at Rayan Stiger and wondered how one set about becoming a teacher. This guy probably didn't go through much on the way to becoming one.

Normally he wouldn't ask any of these questions. Only minutes ago he had met this Rayan Stiger. It was past midnight. Two reasons not to ask questions. But Rayan had turned cordial all of a sudden. It might be worthwhile to have an ally among the teachers' ranks.

All right. Let's see how this goes.

He cleared his throat as one does when preceding an awkward statement or question, wondering all the while if this small emotional cue threw Rayan off guard.

Umm.....what do you teach here?  

[RayanStiger]

Kruck's words echoed in Rayan's mind as he continued to lead him down the hallway. He's certainly at ease around his superiors... Rayan thought. He found Kruck's question to be an easy medium for conversation, and took the opportunity most willingly.

"I teach a swordsmanship class. The students aren't exactly the most orderly bunch... nor do they heed their superiors," Rayan told him. "Naturally, the headmaster won't let me quit teaching the class, despite that hardly anyone there comes with the intent of actually learning anything."

Rayan let his words drop, and for the next few moments he and Kruck walked in complete silence. Wanting to make the new student feel welcome, Rayan decided to give the new student some background information about himself.

"Oh, in case you're wondering how such a young-looking guy came to be a teacher here... I graduated from this school in half the time most students take. While I didn't have the highest grades possible, I did manage to walk away with the highest score of a two year swordsman graduate."

As Rayan walked and spoke simultaneously, he also glanced at the door numbers as he walked past. 96, 97, 98... At last, they arrived at the vacant dorm room- number 99. Rayan silently walked up to the door, fished out his key and stuck it in the door. He jiggled the key and door knob for a few moments, and then shoved the door firmly with his open palm. The door flung wide open, which then thudded lightly against the wall.

"Well, this is it," Rayan declared. "Sorry that its at the very end of the hallway, but this is the only one I'm certain isn't being used. Used to be an informal storage room of sorts, and it hasn't been put to use since the time we moved all the stuff out." Rayan tossed the key to Kruck, and thumbed towards the room. "Here, its all yours. I suppose you don't have too much to move into here with," Rayan commented, referring to Kruck's partially immodest attire. [ xp ]  

[Kruck]

Rayan spoke and Kruck walkes silently, hearing then digesting Rayan's words. So he doesn't like his class....interesting.
By the tone of the sword teacher's voice Kruck could tell that Rayan expected him to be one of these who did heed superiors. This was noted as a fact and not an opinion, at least in the Kruck's mind.

They arrived at room 99."Thanks." and Kruck nodded. The room was given a quick once-over. An idea formed in his skull. A turn, and a walk over to the teacher lingering at the open door. "Excuse me Rayan, do you mind waiting outside while I change?" The teacher's face had confusion written all over it. "Wait! What are you-" Rayan started hesitantly. Kruck just uttered a "thanks" and closed the door swiftly in the teacher's face.

Kruck turned and walked over to a dresser. He had spotted a small flash of brown at the corner of the bottom drawer. He opened it up and found a pair of pants that were a considerable upgrade from the ones he had. They were a color like a mix of brown and red. Drawstrings came out the drong and near the bottoms were small symbols, one on each side. While standing up and admiring the pants he also saw a hat behind the drawer. Odd...

The hat was blue and had small white wings on either side. It also had many cobwebs and much dust perched on it which he brushed away, the cloud of freed dust causing him to cough. Right after hr rembered Rayan was still outside.

Kruck hurriedly changed out of his green pants and carefully folded them and put them in the dresser where he had found the red pants, except better hidden. The hat perched on his head rather comically, though Kruck was not aware of it looking so funny. He sighed and wiped the dust from his palms and opened the door.  

[RayanStiger]

Rayan looked at Kruck in confusion as he brushed past him. "Wait! What are you-" Before finishing his words, the door slammed right in front of Rayan, causing him to blink. He gave the door an unappreciative glare. Rayan felt blood rushing to his head and hands, instinctively clenched into fists.

"I swear, he's just like the students I teach... Last thing I need is another one like them," Rayan hissed to himself. He wrung his hands impatiently for a moment, but then decided to let the matter go, and his arms dropped limp by his side. Still feeling impatient at waiting for Kruck to change when he didn't think the student HAD anything to change into caused Rayan to fold his arms and tap his foot several times.

Note to self: if this one joins my class, I'm going to have the other students mangle him like spaghetti.

Rayan's ears perked at the sudden click. The door knob turned, followed by the door opening. Rayan looked up and saw Kruck wearing an archaic, dusty hat and blazing red pants. He still lacked a shirt.

"...Nice outfit..." Rayan murmured, restraining himself from any further comments. He was beginning to feel more tired by the moment as his patience ran dry for a newcomer student's strange antics. Yet Rayan knew he shouldn't be irritable towards Kruck, especially as a brand new student to Ria High...

Why do all the damned moral struggles in life come at 2 in the morning? he grumbled to himself. Rayan forced his eyes open once again, and gave Kruck a friendly smirk of a smile.

"I'm guessing you enjoy your new room. I would suggest a full fledged makeover before class tomorrow, though."  

[Kruck]

(im gonna make mine kinda short since its just a set-up.)

Class?
"Class?"
Hm...class...
He was so tired right now he doubted he could wake up in less then- when was it his schedule had said the first class had started? 10am...- so less then eight hours from now. And even if this small miracle could be pulled off, he would most definitly end up falling asleep in class, no matter how hard he tried.

Wait! He whipped out his schedule and checked the date. Yes! Knowing about how hard it is to get adjusted, it looked like the administration had given him no classes his first day here. He silently thanked Buddha and Allah by bowing.

"Well." He shoved his schedule back in his pocket. "Looks like I'm off tomorrow...or technically, today." An idea occured to him. He decided to go off on a limb.

"Would you...Are you free later? After I get some rest maybe we could do a little sparring. You know, so I can loosened up before my classes start...or if your busy..."  

[RayanStiger]

Rayan snapped awake at Kruck's shocking statement. He raised an eyebrow. "Wait... you want to spar... with me?" He couldn't help but sound confused. He had challenged many a student to a spar, but they had all turned him down out of fear. And here this newcomer, without having tested his skills at the school yet at all, lands the opportunity right in the palm of his hand. Rayan flashed him a grin.

"Would I ever. There would be nothing that would please me more," he said. Rayan paused for a moment. "You're pretty brave, challenging a teacher on the first day you get here. Everybody else had the sense not to challenge their superiors. You have guts. I like your style."

Rayan turned back towards his room and began walking for a few steps. Then he stopped and gradually turned his head back over his shoulder. "Be at the Dark Prayer arena at two P.M. I'll be expecting you. We can decide upon the rules then." Rayan began walking again, and waved his hand for a sense of flair. "I'm going back to bed. See you then, Kruck. It certainly was a pleasure meeting you." His footsteps echoed as he continued down the long hallway towards his dorm room, leaving Kruck by himself.

[Gone to Arena 2- Dark Prayer thread: http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=593543&page=5 ]