The alarm on your phone woke you the next morning. It was easier than being woken up, and it put you into the habit more than relying on someone. After taking a shower and getting fixed up for school, you headed downstairs to an empty kitchen and living room. While you were eating a bowl of cereal about 20 minutes later, Cloud trudged downstairs with his hair dripping on his crisp plaid blue shirt. He stopped short at the fridge and raised an eyebrow at you.
“[Name], why are you wearing your uniform?”
“Because I’m going to school?” you took a bite of your cereal.
“Yeah, but today they’re doing the mission administrations.”
You rolled your eyes and banged your head on the counter with a groan,” Cloud, you need to remind me of these things. I don’t know how stuff works around here. From what Leon told us on Monday, I thought we’re just getting a slip.”
He chuckled in amusement,” [Name], that’s only if you pass the exams for it first.”
“Well I blame Leon for not saying so earlier! What do I have to wear then?”
Cloud took a swing of juice before answering,” It’s still uniform, but kinda different. Tifa left them on your dresser last night. You can choose your shoes though, but I don’t really see how that helps."
You sighed and got up,” Alright I’m gonna change.”
“Don’t bother bringing anything to school, you’re not gonna need it,” he called as you walked up the stairs.
Back in your room, you found the change of clothes Cloud was talking about. It was a black tank top and a black plated skirt that had black volleyball like shorts underneath. Thankfully, there was a zipper pocket on the right side which you slipped your phone into. You slid on the black cutoff gloves and kept your above knee high black socks on as well. Since you could choose your shoes, you decided on the black combat boots to complete your ensemble. You made sure your high ponytail was secured tightly before skipping down the stairs. Tifa was there now and so was Roxas.
Roxas’ uniform consisted of a black muscle shirt and black baggy cargo pants, along with black high-tops. He also wore the black cutoff gloves around his hands, and it made you guess that there was probably some kind of sparring since you did have to prove yourself for these missions. You perched yourself on the countertop and began eating the rest of your cereal as Ven also came into the room. He was wearing the same thing as Roxas, but his were black baggy pants instead. Once you took your final swig of milk in the bowl, a question popped into your mind.
“Why do we have to wear these? Can’t we just use our P.E uniforms?”
Ven sat in a chair, taking a bite of toast before answering you,” Nope, we go to a different world for the exams. So we won’t get lost, we wear this.”
“What if the people there are wearing the same thing?”
“They give identification tags to the students so they know who’s who. It changed from stickers to now just dog tags. You’ll get one when you board the airship,” Tifa said chewing on a piece of apple.
“How does the whole thing work though?”
“It’s a bunch of tests. Weaponry, survival skills: it depends really. If you can’t pass at least 75% of them, you can’t go on the missions,” Cloud answered.
Ven scoffed,” Che- as if. Those aren’t even missions. We just go to different worlds, kinda like a tour. Nothing exciting happened before and I don’t think it really will. Someone’s gonna be talking along the lines of blah, blah, bullsh-“
“Language!” Tifa cried out as Cloud smacked the back of Ven’s head.
The walk to school was full of talk about what was to happen on the administration exams. It was a 3 day stay in another world, which meant that you’d be there until Friday. Other than something that all students were excited for, it was also the time of year that they were evaluated on their skills which should have grown throughout the school semester. The whole time though, Cloud stressed that you stayed with the group and not leave for any reason, especially being that you had gotten into trouble rather quickly. However, Tifa said that you didn’t have to worry much being that some college students were coming in order to get extra credits and help with the chaperoning. Ven, Roxas, and you departed with Tifa and Cloud at the gate: the three of you making your way to the auditorium, whereas the other two left towards a gummi ship which was parked on the football field.
The auditorium, like most of the school, was enormous. The floors were planked with the usual checkered design and the seats were wooden. The celling held a glass roof which showed a gloomy day waiting to cast rain from the skies. The walls gave off a more vibrant feeling being that they were painted a fresh coat of orange brown which contrasted well with the red velvet curtains that bordered the stage. Loosing Ven and Roxas in the flurry if students, you stood in the center of commotion, getting glares and stares form a few people.
As you made your way around the crowd, you bumped into a tanned male with black hair. His face held both an annoyed and confused expression,” Hey! Watch where you’re going ya’know!?”
You rolled your eyes and looked around for someone you recognized,” Yeah, yeah, save it dude. Everyone’s bumping into each other here, no need to single me out.”
He was about to say something when a blonde with a black beanie made his way towards the two of you. “Rai, I don’t see my brother, I bet that lamer didn’t even show up-“ he stopped mid-sentence when seeing you and smirked,” Hey there babe, you new here?”
“Yeah, and you are?”
“Seifer, and this guy’s Rai.”
“I’m [Name],” you nodded and smiled in return.
“So, you were bothering her Rai?” Seifer raised an eyebrow turning to his friend.
“She bumped into me,” he frowned, crossing his arms.
“Yeah, well it is crowded,” he rolled his eyes at Rai’s response. “Guess you’ll just havta sit with me then,” he winked at you.
“Actually, I’m kinda looking for-“
“[Name]!”
The three of you turned and saw Axel approaching,” Heya Axel!” you smiled, but it faded when seeing his blank expression.
Seifer rolled his eyes,” What do you want lamer?”
“None of your business blondie. Now go take that beanie of yours and shove it, got it memorized?” Axel glared. He then grabbed your wrist,” C’mon [Name].” Axel dragged you to a seat beside him, Zack, Terra, and Ven; his face was still angry and you turned to the other three guys while he calmed down.
“Hey guys, why’s Axel mad?” you asked. They turned to you and shrugged.
“Yo! You guys see [Name] talking to Seifer!?” Reno called with Angeal in tow.
The three leaned forward in response,” WHAT!?”
“Yeah! Rai too!” he plopped down into a chair beside Ven.
“I don’t see what the problem is,” you mumbled. “He seems like a pretty nice guy.”
Ven’s eyes widened and Axel grunted in response. “He’s a total jerk [Name]! All he does is make trouble and get in fights!” Zack cried out.
“He can’t be that bad though,” you said, trying to reason with their accusations.
“[Name], he’s stuck up. You’ll see for yourself ,” Ven sighed, leaning back.
“Yeah, he might as well be Kairi’s counterpart yo,” Axel laughed, and so did the others along with him.
Shortly after their comments, the lights in the auditorium dimmed and the entire room went quiet as Principal Xemnas took stage at the podium. He was wearing a black suit, and his usual eerie atmosphere was replaced with one of determination.
“Welcome students, to the annual mission administration exams. As you all know, much has changed this year. We have now made uniforms mandatory, and there are also chaperones this time as well. I, however, will not be accompanying you all on this trip, but our known college students and handful of teachers will be, in order to evaluate your progress. A few parents have also attended this year as well. Now, before you all depart, please get into single file formation to come up to the podium in order to receive your dog tags. They have your name inscribed into the metal and you MUST keep them around your neck at all times.”
With that, everyone was called up, row by row, to the podium. You found yourself in line between Terra and Ven, who were both glaring daggers at Seifer who was on the other side of the seats. When you did get your dog tag, you found that it was made out of pure silver. On one side, there was your name engraved in the most elegant script in black, with a thin illustration of your katana on it. The other side was blank, and Terra whispered to you that the insignia of your kudan would be placed there on its own in the same black ink as soon as you had obtained it. Once everyone was seated, Xemnas continued his speech.
“Now, your set location for this year is Destiny Islands. Today you will be situated there. Tomorrow, there will be an all-day evaluation, and on Friday, there will be time for you to explore your surroundings before the trip back. Change in uniform will be provided for you and you will seek rest within the airship bunks. Those of you with family in the area have permission to go to them as long as you tell one of the chaperones before you leave. The tests will be on weaponry, summoning your kudan, survival, and the strength of your gifts. Those of you who have weapons and are undiscovered will be excused from certain ones that don’t apply to you. The bunks on the way there will be arranged in boy-girl order to keep from any conflicts and will be changed every night you are there; I trust that you all will be mature about this arrangement. Please note the names will be posted on each room. Thank you all for your time, and I wish you luck in passing the tests. You may depart.” He left the stage as a round of applause was given to him from all the students authoritatively.
Everyone was herded then, by both Auron and Cid, towards the Gummi ship. It wasn’t the Shera like you thought- but rather another airship. This one was a beige color and was also bigger, but that was only due to the fact that it held many rooms for bunks. The interior was different too. There were still the computers there, but the rows of seats all faced the large window that took up most of the main deck’s roof and the front side of the ship as well.
Cid did his usual 10 minute speech on conduct within the airship before takeoff, and once he was finished, the Gummi ship charged off the football field and into the now raining sky, off from Hollow Bastion to Destiny Islands. In the moments that you were told to remained seated, you learned from Paine that this was the home world of Sora, Riku, Kairi, Hayner, Namine, Xion, Pence, and Olette.
You stood up and made your way to find your bunk room when Cid instructed it was alright to move. You were tired despite the fact that nothing had happened yet, but you wanted to get some rest so you were energized, even for a bit, for the chaotic settling in you’ll have to do later. Walking down the plain beige halls of the airship, your lone footsteps were the only things heard other than the faint sound of the people on the other decks. Neon blue lights illuminated the pathways down the halls and you soon found your name resting on door #297.
The inside of the room, it was fairly small compared to the rest of the ship and had plain beige walls just as the rest of it. There was a lamp and desk on the side which faced the door, whereas one entire side was occupied by two bunk beds. Since you were here first, you guessed you had the choice of choose yours, leading you to pick the top. Across from the beds, there was a good sized plasma T.V. You concluded that there was nothing special about the room as you drifted towards a nice sweet sleep.
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Author’s Note: Well, this is a filler! Sorry if it was boring but I’ll make it up to you guys in the next chapter. Oh! Your bunk buddy is a B.O.C I haven’t introduced yet who also is Noctis’ older brother (both of them didn’t get any votes! D: but I’ll keep them for a bit cuz I like them and the polls are still open lol). There will be another B.O.C revealing himself in the next chapter as well! (maybe 2 I’m not so sure yet). Anyways, thanks for reading!! Don’t forget that you’re comments are always wanted!! :D