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aguuA/N: Inside joke with my friends. ;) hehe. Anyway, here's a (long overdue) update for The Story. I hope you enjoy!
And sorry to be sloppy--I forgot that there was a Prologue, otherwise the story chapters would be correctly numbered.
Edited for clarification!
__________________________
Chapter 2: Humiliation from Across the Ocean
__________________________
7 Years Later
Adrian Nicholas Nagant remembered that day vaguely. Years of pushing everything deeply into the lobes of his subconscious brain had made him forget much of his childhood. Even now he could only remember a small girl, ghost-like and silent, clumsy and stupid within her actions. His pills had fallen to the ground.
Closing his eyes he coughed up more of what used to be his breakfast, washing his mouth out with water and swirling the last of his mouthwash into the sink. Glaring at himself in the mirror, he wondered what women ever saw in him. He was a junkie, a man dependent on drugs ever since he was ten years old. Seven years later he was headed to a backwater country.
"Your next mission is to head to the Philippines...Makati City. Scouting duty." His godfather had sounded cold, like he had always been.
Years of practice had Nagant's skin set like stone, even has he felt the heat of embarrassment punch him in the face.
"Dare I ask what ever did I do to deserve this?"
"Emotion." His godfather spat out the word like it was dirty, common, filled to the letter with disease. He remembered the perfection of the office, from the Persian carpets to the rich wallpaper.
"That was only once." he remembered the pills falling--that had been the cause of it all--Godfather wouldn't let him have his pills for three months. It was enough to make him want to hang himself, all the voices...
"Once makes room for more. Canvas the area. Find me better soldiers." Their eyes met for a brief second before Nagant broke contact. He knew what was on the line.
Swallowing the urge to cap his godfather squarely on his ego-inflated head, he merely bowed and exited the room.
"Of course, Godfather."
Throwing himself one more ludicrous glance, he grabbed his shirt and slipped it over his head. Another breakfast could wait. A clear bottle of his medication fell into his pocket as well as his MP3 player, and cell phone. Running a hand through his fox-fur hair, he swung his backpack over his shoulder, locked the door and walked towards the metro station.
To say that Rosenrot Academy was impressive was a severe understatement. Hiding in what was considered the very armpit of the world was beauty, like an oasis hidden in the eye of the desert.
Adrian held his bag to his chest as the train passed billboards advertising products that either worked or it didn't, adverting his eyes from the boys sniffing paint thinner in bags to distract them from their rumbling stomachs. He had been told that it wasn't as bad as his childhood days back when all he had known was survival, but it was still bad nonetheless.
Give these kids a gun in exchange for food, and they'd shoot up anyone you'd tell them to. So much for all the war that their ancestors fought to free this country...still tethered to America like dogs.
The ride was fifteen minutes long. After he had gotten off the train he plugged up the cries for loose change and food by covering his ears with headphones, and walked towards a grand gate with the words "Le Chavalier Village," in shining silver. His school ID was enough proof for the guards to let him pass.
It was supposedly just another day of canvassing and getting used to being the 'new kid.'
The sounds of a rock medley pounded into his brain as he walked, focused on his destination. With an hour left before class started, he figured he could get a few more winks of sleep.
Bam!
His focus was jolted when a student bumped into him. Blinking he looked down at the person's ID cover color--white. The pure color of students who knew no better than infants.
A freshman.
"Sir, s-sorry sir!" The boy looked frightened out of his wits, and Nagant replied, "Why were you running?"
"There's a girl stuck up in a tree, sir," the boy said quickly.
His interest was peaked. "Oh? I'll overlook your...transgression if you lead me to it."
Sleep was important, but it could wait as long as there was a curiosity in his midst.
~~
Trees were scarce when you lived underground. Elizabeth only knew trees because once a week they were given computers to observe the world around them. Protecting your ward only meant that you had to have perception of the highest caliber.
The smell of the leaves, the left-over rainwater, was unbelievable to her.
"So I have to go..here?" The smell of incense was sickeningly sweet. Her superiors had a unique approach to the company and treated it as a masquerade, wearing costumes and masks to meet with their direct Protectors. Elizabeth didn't mind, as she liked the notion of dressing up.
There was a woman swathed in white and ice-blue, a heavy Bishop's cap on her head and fur around her shoulders. Her mouth was lipsticked in blue and said serenely, seated on one side of the harlequinned throne, "You need to find a certain knight, White Death...one that has been picking away at our stream of customers."
Elizabeth's red eyes were covered in contact lenses, so that they shone a muted purple. She glanced at the woman, one of her superiors and nodded, looking back down at the file.
"Rumor has it that he has been spotted at this school," A man said proudly. He was wearing a white crown with a diamond sparkling in the center. He was seated in the center of the small group of thrones, for a moment looking like a real chessboard. He even had a Queen and two Pawns on each side of him.
"And you want me to infiltrate, and capture?"
"No," breathed the wise bishop-swathed woman. "you are there to observe. Clients dying without one of us is none of our concern...we only want to know if he is up to something...and if it proves to endanger our business in anyway, you must...nip it in the bud."
"So it is like a game, then?" Elizabeth's interest was high. She liked games.
"Yes, my dear. A fabulous game. Pose as a regular student if you must, we will make the arrangements...though it would be wonderful if you would wear something...amusing." With a slight gesture of her Bishop's wand, a white-clothed guard handed her a white jacket. Unfolding it, Elizabeth saw that it had white ears sewn onto its' hood.
"Cute. Thank you..."
"It will keep you safe." Elizabeth smiled and curtsied, her boots clicking as she turned and left the room.
"Hey! Get down from there!" A boy's voice broke her reverie and she looked down at him curiously, peering at the blob of color that was on his ID. The emotions that she got from him were mild and minimal, contributing to her mood.
"I would, but I can't," she said quietly, making a show of looking babyish. Her cat-eared hood protected her from the sunlight. Instead of helping her, he ran away. This continued until a crowd of boys and a few girls had been formed, and she was enjoying the attention, and all the feelings that formed from each of them. Glancing at their faces, she could tell who was feeling stressed, angry, sad, in love, or in the midst of a breakup, and it was starting to overwhelm her.
She was about to ask them to clear a path, or to help her down, when she saw another boy heading towards her. Zeroing in on him, she managed to find his unusual hair, and almost forgot to breathe.
In an ocean of feeling, he felt nothing. Elizabeth loved these people, the ones who could conceal their feelings. They were her personal ports in a heavy storm.
"Hey!" She called, looking directly at him. "Help me get back down!"
The mixed group gasped. "You just asked for *his* help? I'll help you get back down!"
"S-sir Nagant, I believe she's..." The freshman mumbled incoherently.
"It's almost time for class, get back down!"
Nagant looked up in surprise and he thought she was pretty insolent and rude, the freshman forgotten.
"Why should I get you? You climbed that tree. Get down from it yourself." With that, he pulled on the strap of his backpack and turned to walk away.
Browning's interest peaked. Focused now only on his retreating back, she jumped down from her perch and landed on her feet, like a cat would.The jump made her hood slip down, and she touched his arm. He jerked uncomfortably and looked around, and saw her face to face.
She had long white hair and red eyes, with unnaturally pale skin.
"See, I got back down! My name's Elizabeth Browning. Who're you?"
He thought it was better not to reply.
She was relentless, and continued to badger him with her questions.
"Oh, okay. You aren't mute, because I saw you talking awhile ago when I was in that tree. My section's 4-A, and I climbed that tree because the view was spectacular. I'm also Head Medic for the ACP Squadron..." she prattled on and on and on, and finally Nagant couldn't take it anymore.
He was so close to his classroom--they had left the field and the groups of people--so close to 4B, the silence and most of all, blissful sleep.
"...and I really think that we can become great friends, even if you don't talk much..."
Her slim pale finger poked his cheek and that was the final straw.
"What...was that for?"
She smiled.
"I just wanted to hear the sound of your voice." With that she entered her own classroom, leaving Nagant baffled.
"Stupid girl." He mumbled while opening the door of his own classroom. She would be useful for awhile; he mused. He needed some sort of cover to properly search for new recruits, and she was simple enough, and aesthetically pleasing for decoration.
It was only after he had been in class for a few minutes, waiting for his teacher to enter that he realized what she had said.
Head...medic? That incompetent woman...is an officer? I've never seen her before, much less heard that we got a new officer so quickly...I have to consult Garand about this...
Another puzzle had tumbled onto his lap, and he wasn't one to back down from solving it.
No matter how crazy it seemed.
And sorry to be sloppy--I forgot that there was a Prologue, otherwise the story chapters would be correctly numbered.
Edited for clarification!
__________________________
Chapter 2: Humiliation from Across the Ocean
__________________________
7 Years Later
Adrian Nicholas Nagant remembered that day vaguely. Years of pushing everything deeply into the lobes of his subconscious brain had made him forget much of his childhood. Even now he could only remember a small girl, ghost-like and silent, clumsy and stupid within her actions. His pills had fallen to the ground.
Closing his eyes he coughed up more of what used to be his breakfast, washing his mouth out with water and swirling the last of his mouthwash into the sink. Glaring at himself in the mirror, he wondered what women ever saw in him. He was a junkie, a man dependent on drugs ever since he was ten years old. Seven years later he was headed to a backwater country.
"Your next mission is to head to the Philippines...Makati City. Scouting duty." His godfather had sounded cold, like he had always been.
Years of practice had Nagant's skin set like stone, even has he felt the heat of embarrassment punch him in the face.
"Dare I ask what ever did I do to deserve this?"
"Emotion." His godfather spat out the word like it was dirty, common, filled to the letter with disease. He remembered the perfection of the office, from the Persian carpets to the rich wallpaper.
"That was only once." he remembered the pills falling--that had been the cause of it all--Godfather wouldn't let him have his pills for three months. It was enough to make him want to hang himself, all the voices...
"Once makes room for more. Canvas the area. Find me better soldiers." Their eyes met for a brief second before Nagant broke contact. He knew what was on the line.
Swallowing the urge to cap his godfather squarely on his ego-inflated head, he merely bowed and exited the room.
"Of course, Godfather."
Throwing himself one more ludicrous glance, he grabbed his shirt and slipped it over his head. Another breakfast could wait. A clear bottle of his medication fell into his pocket as well as his MP3 player, and cell phone. Running a hand through his fox-fur hair, he swung his backpack over his shoulder, locked the door and walked towards the metro station.
To say that Rosenrot Academy was impressive was a severe understatement. Hiding in what was considered the very armpit of the world was beauty, like an oasis hidden in the eye of the desert.
Adrian held his bag to his chest as the train passed billboards advertising products that either worked or it didn't, adverting his eyes from the boys sniffing paint thinner in bags to distract them from their rumbling stomachs. He had been told that it wasn't as bad as his childhood days back when all he had known was survival, but it was still bad nonetheless.
Give these kids a gun in exchange for food, and they'd shoot up anyone you'd tell them to. So much for all the war that their ancestors fought to free this country...still tethered to America like dogs.
The ride was fifteen minutes long. After he had gotten off the train he plugged up the cries for loose change and food by covering his ears with headphones, and walked towards a grand gate with the words "Le Chavalier Village," in shining silver. His school ID was enough proof for the guards to let him pass.
It was supposedly just another day of canvassing and getting used to being the 'new kid.'
The sounds of a rock medley pounded into his brain as he walked, focused on his destination. With an hour left before class started, he figured he could get a few more winks of sleep.
Bam!
His focus was jolted when a student bumped into him. Blinking he looked down at the person's ID cover color--white. The pure color of students who knew no better than infants.
A freshman.
"Sir, s-sorry sir!" The boy looked frightened out of his wits, and Nagant replied, "Why were you running?"
"There's a girl stuck up in a tree, sir," the boy said quickly.
His interest was peaked. "Oh? I'll overlook your...transgression if you lead me to it."
Sleep was important, but it could wait as long as there was a curiosity in his midst.
~~
Trees were scarce when you lived underground. Elizabeth only knew trees because once a week they were given computers to observe the world around them. Protecting your ward only meant that you had to have perception of the highest caliber.
The smell of the leaves, the left-over rainwater, was unbelievable to her.
"So I have to go..here?" The smell of incense was sickeningly sweet. Her superiors had a unique approach to the company and treated it as a masquerade, wearing costumes and masks to meet with their direct Protectors. Elizabeth didn't mind, as she liked the notion of dressing up.
There was a woman swathed in white and ice-blue, a heavy Bishop's cap on her head and fur around her shoulders. Her mouth was lipsticked in blue and said serenely, seated on one side of the harlequinned throne, "You need to find a certain knight, White Death...one that has been picking away at our stream of customers."
Elizabeth's red eyes were covered in contact lenses, so that they shone a muted purple. She glanced at the woman, one of her superiors and nodded, looking back down at the file.
"Rumor has it that he has been spotted at this school," A man said proudly. He was wearing a white crown with a diamond sparkling in the center. He was seated in the center of the small group of thrones, for a moment looking like a real chessboard. He even had a Queen and two Pawns on each side of him.
"And you want me to infiltrate, and capture?"
"No," breathed the wise bishop-swathed woman. "you are there to observe. Clients dying without one of us is none of our concern...we only want to know if he is up to something...and if it proves to endanger our business in anyway, you must...nip it in the bud."
"So it is like a game, then?" Elizabeth's interest was high. She liked games.
"Yes, my dear. A fabulous game. Pose as a regular student if you must, we will make the arrangements...though it would be wonderful if you would wear something...amusing." With a slight gesture of her Bishop's wand, a white-clothed guard handed her a white jacket. Unfolding it, Elizabeth saw that it had white ears sewn onto its' hood.
"Cute. Thank you..."
"It will keep you safe." Elizabeth smiled and curtsied, her boots clicking as she turned and left the room.
"Hey! Get down from there!" A boy's voice broke her reverie and she looked down at him curiously, peering at the blob of color that was on his ID. The emotions that she got from him were mild and minimal, contributing to her mood.
"I would, but I can't," she said quietly, making a show of looking babyish. Her cat-eared hood protected her from the sunlight. Instead of helping her, he ran away. This continued until a crowd of boys and a few girls had been formed, and she was enjoying the attention, and all the feelings that formed from each of them. Glancing at their faces, she could tell who was feeling stressed, angry, sad, in love, or in the midst of a breakup, and it was starting to overwhelm her.
She was about to ask them to clear a path, or to help her down, when she saw another boy heading towards her. Zeroing in on him, she managed to find his unusual hair, and almost forgot to breathe.
In an ocean of feeling, he felt nothing. Elizabeth loved these people, the ones who could conceal their feelings. They were her personal ports in a heavy storm.
"Hey!" She called, looking directly at him. "Help me get back down!"
The mixed group gasped. "You just asked for *his* help? I'll help you get back down!"
"S-sir Nagant, I believe she's..." The freshman mumbled incoherently.
"It's almost time for class, get back down!"
Nagant looked up in surprise and he thought she was pretty insolent and rude, the freshman forgotten.
"Why should I get you? You climbed that tree. Get down from it yourself." With that, he pulled on the strap of his backpack and turned to walk away.
Browning's interest peaked. Focused now only on his retreating back, she jumped down from her perch and landed on her feet, like a cat would.The jump made her hood slip down, and she touched his arm. He jerked uncomfortably and looked around, and saw her face to face.
She had long white hair and red eyes, with unnaturally pale skin.
"See, I got back down! My name's Elizabeth Browning. Who're you?"
He thought it was better not to reply.
She was relentless, and continued to badger him with her questions.
"Oh, okay. You aren't mute, because I saw you talking awhile ago when I was in that tree. My section's 4-A, and I climbed that tree because the view was spectacular. I'm also Head Medic for the ACP Squadron..." she prattled on and on and on, and finally Nagant couldn't take it anymore.
He was so close to his classroom--they had left the field and the groups of people--so close to 4B, the silence and most of all, blissful sleep.
"...and I really think that we can become great friends, even if you don't talk much..."
Her slim pale finger poked his cheek and that was the final straw.
"What...was that for?"
She smiled.
"I just wanted to hear the sound of your voice." With that she entered her own classroom, leaving Nagant baffled.
"Stupid girl." He mumbled while opening the door of his own classroom. She would be useful for awhile; he mused. He needed some sort of cover to properly search for new recruits, and she was simple enough, and aesthetically pleasing for decoration.
It was only after he had been in class for a few minutes, waiting for his teacher to enter that he realized what she had said.
Head...medic? That incompetent woman...is an officer? I've never seen her before, much less heard that we got a new officer so quickly...I have to consult Garand about this...
Another puzzle had tumbled onto his lap, and he wasn't one to back down from solving it.
No matter how crazy it seemed.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-16 14:06 (UTC)but i was thinking that maybe nagant shouldve been the one that has been there longer...and browning is the new comer...since he already has a reputation...and it has been said that he has been seen in that school...
no subject
Date: 2010-03-17 04:18 (UTC)Now that I think about it, Nagant has been there earlier, picking off at some smaller clients.
Uh, click on the tags "the story." They should be there in order.
Crap. This is chapter two. XD Please excuse my sloppiness, I was writing it at 3Am in the morning.
Prologue < chapter 1 < this is chapter 2