CH. 35 - Time For An Extra Lesson

Another early morning…

Wolf sits up in her bed with sleepy eyes and messy hair before she yawns and stretches. There's a knock at her bedroom door.

Phoenix "Wolfy~ Time to get up, we've got class in a bit."

She calls from behind the door.

Wolf "Aright.. Coming.."

She says with a tired sigh before getting out of her bed with new blankets, posters and shelves now on her walls, and heading towards her door. She opens it only to be met by a face pressing against hers.

Killian "Hallo."

He says with a weird voice causing Wolf to scream and fall back into her desk. 

Phoenix "Must be Killian again."

She says with a smile wearing an apron while making breakfast in the small kitchen. A bit later, Killian giggles outside of their apartment door as Phoenix and Wolf step out, Wolf rubbing her head with an irritated look on her face. She looks at Killian giggling and mocks him.

Wolf "Yeah, ha ha ha, so funny. It's been a week and you've somehow managed to freak me out every morning since we got our rooms."

Killian "Hey, I'm just excited to be your neighbor, main. Saika couldn't even sleep the first couple nights and that's saying something."

Phoenix "That boy loves his sleep."

They walk down the hall before entering the community area where the others wait. Wolf looks at Phoenix for a moment with a flat look before punching her in the arm.

Phoenix "Ow! You cunt, what the Hell was that for??"

She shouts as Wolf shrugs.

Wolf "I can't punch him so I gotta punch you."

She motions towards Killian.

Phoenix "The Hell you can't! Why me?!"

Wolf "Cause if I punch him, at least four other people will punch me back. If I punch you, only you punch me back. It's a simple calculation-"

Phoenix then punches the back of Wolf's head into the ground leaving her twitching with steam coming off her head.

Phoenix "Or you could just not punch anyone at all?? Ever think of that?"

Dante shakes his head while stepping up to them.

Dante "Still think the trade was worth it?"

Wolf weakly gives a thumbs up as Phoenix huffs and walks away. In the academy, Tadashi walks up to Cole with a smirk as they shake hands firmly, catching up with the rest of the group.

Alston "Yo."

Yoko "Finally! You guys took forever!"

They shout with a big smile while jumping onto Phoenix with a big hug, rubbing their faces together.

Saika "Yeah, Wolf had a slow start."

Moshiro "As usual."

Wolf "You try having the first thing you see in the morning be this guy's face. It'll change a human, oh yeah."

Killian "And what's that supposed to mean?"

He shouts, offended. They bicker while taking their seats in the large classroom as most of the class already has. 

Killian "You're ugly, main."

Wolf "What the fuck??"

Tadashi "You're both ugly."

Killian/Wolf "hUh??"

They look at him with shocked looks at Tadashi smirks. Then the large doors of the class open and close as Professor Nobody walks into the class and leans against his podium at the center. He doesn't say a word as he reads a book in a calm fashion. The class stares at him with a sweat drop.

Angie "A normal entrance for once?"

Jeni "I'm shocked."

Suddenly, Nobody comes running into the classroom through the doors again and RKO's the cardboard cutout of himself reading a book into the ground. The class is shocked as Nobody gets up and dusts himself off.

Nobody "Never fall for the cardboard cutout trick. They'll steal your information. Trust me, I know."

Ivailia claps excitedly with a happy smile on her face but slowly stops in embarrassment when the other students look at her. 

Nobody "Thank you, thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me."

He then walks out of the classroom. The class is in awe.

Law "Are we getting punked right now?? Hello??"

Yoko busts out laughing as Cole grits his teeth in frustration.

Cole "This is not proper education…"

Nobody comes back in while holding a woman in his hands by her shoulders and places her down in the center of class. The woman is stiff like a statue as Nobody places his hand on her shoulder. 

Nobody "This is Ms. Anais. She will be your substitute teacher for a while as team 1 of our class requires some extra attention. She didn't agree to this but.. Well I guess there isn't really a but, she has to be here. Say hi."

Anais "Muh."

She grunts ever so slightly, still totally stiff.

Harley "Uh, sir? What's wrong with her?"

Nobody "She's just shy. Tell her a funny joke and she'll loosen up. In the meantime, team 1, let's roll out."

Galen "Yeah, roll out lameos."

He says playfully and sticks his tongue out as Phoenix does it back with a smile.

Rye "Hey, Yoko, bring me back something cool, yeah?"

Yoko smirks.

Yoko "Well, if the human insists, I suppose I can listen."

Jeni "Try not to die."

Killian "No promises."

Law "Later losers."

She waves coolly as they exit the room leaving the stiff Anais and the rest of the class. They look at each other confused and unsure what to do as they sit in an awkwardly long silence. 

Somewhere deep in the woods, a silver energy portal opens up as Teach steps through first, followed by the team and the other teachers before the portal closes behind them. Killian watches intently as it does.

Killian "Woah, way cool."

He says with a smile.

Killian "Will you be teaching us that one day, Teach?"

Teach "Perhaps, but first you have to get through this."

Wolf "Yeah yeah, this dumb remedial lesson or whatever."

She says with a frustrated look as she crosses her arms. Moshiro bumps her aggressively.

Moshiro "Don't be rude."

Teach "I understand your frustration Wolf and Phoenix. Seeing as you two didn't fail, this might seem unfair but it is very important for you to grow as a team."

Phoenix "I understand sir. I don't share the same feelings as my partner."

She says while giving Wolf a slight glare. Wolf clicks her tongue and looks away.

Nobody "Good, because this lesson will be extremely important. Fail this mission and you all will be expelled."

He says with a serious tone as the class stares at him blankly.

Saika "You're just being a kidder, right? Just like how you said we'd fail the Eval Tournament even though we couldn't have."

Alston "That's true, he's probably joking."

Nazuna "Professor Nobody is quite the jokester, isn't he?"

They laugh a bit before Nazuna suddenly stops.

Nazuna "No but seriously, he isn't joking this time."

They stop before freaking out.

Saika/Alston "What??"

Cole and Moshiro's eyes widen.

Cole "We will be expelled?"

Moshiro "This just got way more stressful.."

Nobody "Hey, don't freak out on me now, we still got work to do. Let's go."

He marches on, leading the class down a dirt trail. They walk along as Wolf doesn't look phased at all. Dante comes up to her with a worried look.

Dante "Well you don't seem concerned in the slightest."

Wolf "Why should I be? I'm not the one who failed my mission. This is gonna be a breeze for me."

Dante glares at her a bit.

Dante "Yeah, well, suck my big toe."

Wolf "Hey now, don't get all aggressive like that."

She says, putting her hands up in playful defense.

Moshiro looks at Nazuna for a moment before speaking up.

Moshiro "Ms. Nazuna, I have a question."

Nazuna "What is it?"

Moshiro "I'm aware that Teach is a Director for Southpaw and a 5th Tier agent which is why he doesn't need a partner but I'm curious where you and Professor Nobody lie."

Nazuna "Ah, I see. Believe it or not, Nobody is my partner."

She says with a soft smile as Moshiro looks a bit surprised.

Moshiro "I see."

Nazuna "Yeah, we may not be Directors but we take being teachers at the academy very seriously."

She looks ahead at Nobody walking next to Teach as he points at Teach's shirt only to flick his nose when he looks down, infuriating Teach. Nazuna sweats a bit.

Nazuna "Well, one of us takes it seriously.."

Moshiro looks down a bit with a soft look.

Moshiro "So most teachers at the academy have partners too?"

Nazuna "Of course. The system even applies to some Directors as well. Being strong doesn't mean being alone."

Moshiro looks at Nazuna with bright eyes by her words as Nazuna winks at her. 

Nobody "Now let me give you a breakdown on your mission here today."

Yoko "Are we gonna fight?"

Nobody looks at Yoko for a moment.

Nobody "No."

Yoko pouts.

Yoko "Pussy."

Nobody vein pops but quickly composes himself.

Nobody "Anyway-"

Alston "Are you gonna actually give us all the information to do it right this time?"

Nobody vein pops a second time.

Nobody "Yes, I will-"

Killian "Professor, can-"

Nobody vein pops three times.

Nobody "Okay, you know what? You go ahead and explain it to them since they wanna hate on me so much."

He huffs to Teach before walking away a bit.

Killian "I was just gonna ask if I can go to the bathroom…"

Teach shakes his head with a smirk.

Teach "I'm so gonna mock him for that later.."

He says under his breath before clearing his throat and preparing the breakdown.

Teach "Ears up here."

The team then turns their attention to Teach.

Teach "As you know, the Academy of Superior Abilities' primary goal and focus is defending the civilian population from threats of every kind. Whether it be a villain, monster or even natural disasters, the academy will be there to help those who need it. With that being said, sometimes the monsters can take many forms and sometimes you have to be able to defeat even the most unconventional enemies."

Yoko "Don't you worry old human! I, the great dragon Yoko, can handle any enemy you throw at me! Ah ha ha!"

They laugh proudly.

Teach "I'm sure your strength has convinced you so but there's more to success than just defeating an enemy."

The others get intrigued by his lesson.

Teach "Protecting civilians, guarding property and well-being, if you cannot manage to stop an enemy while minimizing damage, you aren't cut out to be an agent of the academy."

Cole's eyes sharpen a little.

Cole "What is our mission?"

Teach "Today, you will trek into the Okar Woods, a haunted area of the forest you now stand in, and handle the haunting. For years this place has led to many disappearances and even deaths."

Phoenix "I assume there's more to it than that. We can't exactly fight a forest."

Saika "Unless you want us to chop all the trees down which is just sad."

Teach smirks.

Teach "You're right. We know there is a spirit haunting the woods and is specifically manipulating the forest to become so dangerous. I want you to go in, find the spirit, and dispatch it before it becomes a Torn while minimizing damage to the forest since the people of the nearby town value it regardless of the hauntings. Fail this mission and you will be expelled."

Wolf "Haunted huh?"

Saika "I didn't know ghosts were real! That just made this so much more scary…"

Alston "I'm more concerned with getting expelled.."

She says nervously as Wolf smiles at Saika, rubbing his head in reassurance. Tadashi pushes up his glasses.

Tadashi "I imagine normal physical attacks won't work. Any lessons on how to stop it?"

Nazuna "Yes actually. We brought something along for you all to aid in your mission. An ancient powder made from flystone. It enables people to interact with the intangible."

She says as she reaches into her bag but after a few moments of digging around, she looks confused and focuses more on finding the powder.

Nazuna "Not that.. You'll need it exactly.."

Killian "We won't?"

Nazuna "Well.. not you either but the others.. Might- could you explain? I can't seem to…"

She says distracted and waves Nobody over.

Nobody "Tadashi, Killian, Moshiro and Cole won't need the powder."

Killian looks confused as Moshiro speaks up.

Moshiro "Our Spirit Shield, Killian. The metal you wrapped around your arm in the Eval Tournament?"

Killian "That's what it's called? I had no idea."

Cole "Since the Spirit Shield is made of Seniron just like Forge Type's items, you can interact with such things. For me, it is my Soul Shell that does the same."

He says while forming one of his energy tentacles as an example. 

Tadashi "The soul metal just has those properties."

He explains to Killian who seems to understand.

Teach "Ah, my bright students never leave me unimpressed."

He says with pride in his voice.

Nazuna "Did you pack the powder like I asked you to?"

Nobody "You asked me? Ah! I totally forgot! Oh no, what ever will we do??"

He says with sarcasm in his voice leading both Nazuna and Teach to glare at him.

Nazuna "Nobody, this isn't-"

Nobody "Anyway, guess we better go back to the academy and get some. By the way, you're, like, already in the middle of the forest so good luck. See ya!"

He says before whooshing away with intense speed.

Nazuna "Hey! That's not-"

She yells while doing the same, chasing after him. Teach sweats while quickly thinking about what to do.

Teach "That fool.. Uh- just, stay right here. We'll be back."

He then disappears as well. The team stands there with blank stares for a moment before they start to freak out, realizing the situation they're in.