AKARI

"Left, right, uppercut, sidestep," Gambit repeats as she walks around Sora, her eyes focused on him as he whirls his staff around.

"What do you think of this?" Merrick hums as he stands next to me, several feet away from Gambit and Sora.

"You know already what I think of this," I say, my lips pursed as I cross my arms before I glance pointedly over at him. "Question is, what do you think of this?"

"Me?" Merrick sighs and takes off his fedora to run his fingers around the brim. "Oh, who knows."

I frown and return back to watching Sora and Gambit. The two of them have been training for at least an hour now, Gambit deciding to run slightly into the free time of Sora's other class because he's been doing so well and she wants to see how far he can go. Besides, it's not like he has anything picked out yet so he would've just been doing that right now anyway, which he can do after they finish because Gambit refused to tell him how that works until she's satisfied with his skills.

Merrick has been unusually quiet for most of the time, his eyes surprisingly focused for once. It's been making me uneasy because I know he knows the truth and I don't know what he intends to do about it, but I know for certain that I won't hesitate to fight him if he tries to lay a finger on Sora. I don't know why I'm so protective of him considering I've only known him for about two days, but something in me just doesn't sit right with letting an innocent being get hurt simply because of what they are, who they are, or the potential they have. So, I refuse to let anything happen to him, even if that means crossing the academy.

"Alright," Gambit sighs and places her hands on her hips. "You've got the basic maneuvers for fighting with a staff mostly down, but you still need to learn how to use the energy within the staff. We'll go over some more basic maneuvers tomorrow and once you learn how to do those as easily as breathing I'll start teaching you some basic energy movements. I wouldn't worry about it though. You're a natural, kid. The staff really knows how to pick 'em, as it should."

"Thanks," Sora grins and runs a hand across his forehead as he lowers his staff. "You certainly make it look easier than it is, but I think I'm getting the hang of it."

"Right," Gambit nods before she glances over to Merrick and me, "Merrick, would you mind teaching him about picking a position and how to pick his other four classes? I know I'm supposed to but I had to miss lunch today and I'm starving."

"Sure, go ahead," Merrick says and Gambit smiles.

"Thanks," Gambit replies before she glances back at Sora. "Don't let him try anything. If he does, you have my full permission to lodge that staff inside of him."

"Got it," Sora laughs weakly before Gambit runs off, his attention then going to Merrick. "So, could--"

Sora trails off whenever the light in the room turns blood red with a faint magenta hue to it and I glance pointedly at Merrick, who is currently in the process of putting his fedora back on and tipping the front of it down.

"Merrick," I warn, readying myself to reach for my scythe that's strapped against my back.

"What's going on?" Sora asks, his grip on his staff becoming tighter as his eyes look around guardedly.

"I suppose it's true that the mighty do fall far," Merrick sighs and raises his gaze to meet Sora's, a pair of blood red and grey angel wings unfurling from out of his back as he holds out his hand and a silver chakram with magenta trim forms in each one of his hands.

"Merrick, enough," I command and draw my scythe, my eyes burning into the side of his head.

"What? Can't I have a little fun?" Merrick pouts and Sora clenches his jaw as he stands in a more defensive position. "After all, a child of Wrath has entered our midst. You know what that means, don't you, Akari?"

"I won't let you do that," I say firmly and reach for the trigger on my scythe. "Stand down, Merrick. I won't hesitate to take you down."

"So uptight," Merrick clicks his tongue and tips his fedora so that burst of magenta energy sends me flying into the air, my scythe clattering to the floor in the process before the magenta energy transforms into silver chains that glow with magenta energy and they suspend me there. "Stay put like a good prodigy, won't you?"

I git my teeth and attempt to knock my gauntlets together to activate them but my arms are being pressed too tightly by the chains for me to move them.

"She has nothing to do with this. Let her go," Sora says firmly.

"My dear, she has everything to do with this," Merrick raises his eyebrows before he grins and begins to bow down. "Now, let the true show begin."

"Sora!" I shout, watching as Merrick takes off rapidly, wind bursting off of him as he flies towards Sora.

Sora raises his staff diagonally and Merrick slams his chakrams into the staff as he billows full force into Sora, making Sora slight back several feet. Merrick then swings to the right as he spins on his heel and sinks to the ground in the process, sending lethal cuts of magenta energy off of his blades that knock once more against Sora's weapon. Sora grits his teeth and stands his ground, the rays of energy rolling around the staff as a bright green energy field forms around Sora to protect him and my eyes widen.

"He's already able to use the staff's energy..." I say quietly.

Merrick's lips turn into a sly smile at seeing Sora use the staff before he sends a major wave of magenta energy off of his body that slams into Sora and knocks him from his feet. Merrick then takes the split second opportunity to grab Sora by the collar of his shirt and fly him up into the air.

"Come on," Merrick taunts. "Let's see those brilliant flames of yours."

"Knock it off!" Sora shouts, wind bursting around him at his outburst as he manages to grab ahold of Merrick and spin them around before he slams Merrick down into the ground, dust flying up everywhere.

"You know you want to," Merrick grins and rolls them around once more, his hands going to Sora's throat and squeezing around it. "Just do it already. Do it."

Sora claws at Merrick's hands and thrashes around underneath his hold, desperately attempting to get out.

"I'm not like that," Sora grits out. "I'm not, I wouldn't--"

"Do it!" Merrick shouts and lifts Sora's head up only to slam him back down into the ground, making Sora cry out.

"Merrick, stop it!" I shout and struggle within the chains, my anxiety clawing at my throat.

"Just do it and it'll all be over," Merrick coaxes as he repeatedly slams Sora down into the ground and Sora continuously yells out until with one final slam a burst of bright green fire burns around him and Merrick instantly flies upward, leaving Sora go.

Merrick hovers in the sky above Sora, his wings flapping back and forth as he watches Sora lie there, fire burning all around him and radiating off of him, Sora's eyes tired yet determined, filled with something I can't quite place as he gazes up and breathes with ragged breaths, his uniform messy and torn in multiple places.

"Geez," Merrick sighs and slowly flies back down to approach Sora. "Took you long enough."

"Don't come near me," Sora snaps and Merrick rolls his eyes as he lands and walks through the blazing green fire without a care.

Sora's eyes widen whenever the flames die away with Merrick's touch and Merrick sighs as he makes his weapons vanish and extends a hand to Sora, who looks at him with a guarded expression.

"Oh, come on," Merrick sighs. "You didn't honestly think I was going to kill you, did you?"

Sora remains silent and Merrick deadpans after another sigh.

"Just take the damn hand, would you?" Merrick grumbles and Sora reluctantly takes Merricks' hand, the rest of the flames dying away.

I watch as the wounds on Sora and the tears in his outfit mend themselves and he reaches up to touch the cut on his cheek that vanished, his lips parted slightly in surprise as he does so. Then, the chains around me vanish and I begin to fall to the ground. Startled, I nearly don't manage to make a rolling landing, but I somehow achieve it anyway.

"What the hell was that?!" I snap as I march over to where my scythe is laying and I pick it up.

"I wanted to be sure," Merrick says quietly before his eyes flicker back to Sora. "I sensed within him that he truly didn't want to hurt anybody. I felt how much he held himself back against me, how much he tried to restrain his Wrath abilities. That's all I wanted."

"You could've just said something!" I retort.

"It wouldn't have been the same if any of you knew what my intentions were," Merrick shakes his head. "This way, it seemed real. It was real enough, anyway. I can almost guarantee that anybody else will not be as kind." 

"Why didn't you actually try to kill him?" I ask, my voice lowering.

"Because," Merrick yawns boredly before he stretches his arms above his head. "I know what it's like to be...different. Besides, I don't believe in killing someone who isn't wrong at heart. That's not my style. I'll agree to help you two keep this thing a secret. Akari, would you mind teaching him about the classes and stuff?"

"What're you going to do?" I ask, eyebrows furrowing.

"I have some...things to attend to," Merrick says, his lips curving into a smile before he walks off with a wave.

"Sure...things," I mutter under my breath before I turn to Sora. "Alright, let's go then. We can walk to the headmaster's office together and I'll explain on the way."

"Got it," Sora says and jogs over to me whenever I start to leave.

"Alright, so now you've got a staff. Starting off, you have four positions you can play. Offen--"

"Offense, defense, support, and healer," Sora interrupts. "I know. I brushed up on some of the information earlier in my spare time. So, what all determines your choice?"

"Quick study, I see," I muse as I walk and clasp my hands behind my back. "Alright, so what're you thinking you'd like to do?"

"I think I'd like to either be offense or defense," Sora says and I nod.

"Alright," I continue. "Envy abilities are typically best for offense because they sap the power from others. They could also make good defenders because of this. I myself use Envy imbued weapons, not as strong as yours though of course, and I'm offense. If you choose offense, an additional training class will be added to your schedule to focus on your offensive skills alone. You'll gain both offense and defense skills in Aptitude Training, but having another class in offense will help you sharpen your skills faster and you'll get to learn things you normally wouldn't in Aptitude Training. Aside from that, you'll get to pick three classes that you're generally interested in. So, one of the four slots is based on what position you choose and the other three are based on interests. Granted, the additional classes can be more beneficial to certain positions than others. For instance, healers would benefit more from a class in herbal medicine than someone on offense would, but both parties would still benefit."

"I think I got it," Sora says. "So, what all options are there to choose from?"

"For a first year," I hum in thought. "Herbal Medicine, Mechanics, Alchemy, Ancient Script, and Arts and Humanities."

"Ancient Script?" Sora glances over at me as we begin to head up the stairs to the headmaster's office.

"Ancient Script teaches the old language and how to write runes. Runes can be used to make charms, protections, and whatnot. The language itself can be used to open some of the sacred doors in the academy and there's always a need for people to write letters for others to send to loved ones," I explain. "Plus, if you enjoy writing and reading in general, they do a lot of that in there too."

"I see..." Sora trails off in thought once we reach the doors before he turns to me. "Well, thanks for everything, Akari. I'll let you know what I choose."

"No problem," I send him a small smile. "And sure, I'll be looking forward to it."

Sora smiles before he heads inside the headmaster's office and I sigh. Today was certainly a whirlwind, I'd say. Hopefully after this first week or so things calm down. Yeah, hopefully...In the meantime, I suppose I'll go see if there are any more urgent missions to go on. I always did like the nighttime better, anyway.