Hello and welcome to my story! If like manga, written or drawn, this is the place for you!
- Created By Tamster224
Chapter 9 ~|Who's_who|~
The sunlight shone through the large stone windows, it's beams waking Alfie. He shifted in his bed before sitting up. Everyone was still sleeping. He glanced over Renee. She was using the feather bed. It was a very peculiar bed, shaped like a shallow bathtub. It was filled with soft, fluffy feathers, which kept anyone who slept in it warm and cosy.
Renee tossed and turned a bit, sending feathers drifting over the edge of the bed and onto the floor. But before they could even touch the floor, they spiraled upward back into the bed. Alfie had once slept in that bed, to try it out. The pillow was fixed to the bed, just peeking out of the sea of feathers and located near the top. He didn't like it, he kept breathing in feathers and almost smothered himself. Mr Nekozawa had insisted that Renee should use it, for some bizarre reason. She seemed okay, as she showed no signs of discomfort. I guess some things suit certain people better. He thought, slightly annoyed that Renee wasn't the slightest bit uncomfortable.
Renee suddenly sat up. She looked at Alfie and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Last night wasn't a dream then. She thought, as the last traces of dreams were banished from her mind. Alfie got off his bed and came over to see how she was.
"Morning Renee." Said Alfie, whilst trying to tame his shock of blond hair with a well-used hairbrush. Renee was seated on the edge of her feather filled bed. She still looked very tired. She stretched, just like a cat when it wakes up. She stretched her wings as well, and tidied up her feathers. So soft. She though, idly fingering a feather. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat perched carefully on the side.
"Morning... Alfie. When's Breakfast?" She cast her eyes around the room and noticed there were more new faces. She opened her mouth to speak, but Alfie beat her to it.
"Hey, Renee," Said Alfie conversationally, appearing not to have heard her question, "are you going to change your clothes back to normal? They're magical. Most things here are magical anyway. Just think about how you want them to be." Renee's arm warmers had merged with her top, which had extended over her midriff and merged with her shorts. The front was festooned with large black buttons and the sleeves of her top were laced up with ribbons.
"I'll try. But before I do that, who's that?" Renee pointed to a boy with short blue hair.
"Osami. Ice Wizard."
"Okay, what about that person?" She said indicating to a girl peacefully snoring away. She had light pink hair and was halfway to falling of her bed.
"That's Mizuki. She's a vampire. Like those twins we saw yesterday."
"She's a nice vamp isn't she?" Asked Renee cautiously eyeing Mizuki.
"Yeah. The Freak Academy takes in all those with darkness in their blood. The Nekozawa Academy does the opposite."
Renee looked thoughtful for a moment. Then why did they come after me? She thought.
As if Alfie could read her mind, he said, " Sometime it's an even mix in people. Like you. Which reminds me." He pulled out a slim purple collar with a bell. "Mr Nekozawa said to give this to you. You gotta wear it in case something provokes your dark side and cause you to awaken your dark powers."
Renee glared at him, as if saying "What makes you think I'm gonna wear that? "
"It doesn't mean we own you or anything!" Alfie hastily added, shrinking back under Renee's killer glare. She grabbed the collar from him, but instead of putting it around her neck, she put it around her tail. Alfie opened his mouth to talk, but Renee silenced him with her glare.
"Can I use a shower? If there's one around here, I mean." Renee felt like she hadn't washed for months.
"The bathroom's over there." Alfie replied pointing his hairbrush at a door Renee hadn't seen the night before.
“Thank you.” Renee muttered, jumping of her bed and walking to the bathroom.
Chapter 8 ~|More_Magic|~
Renee trotted after Alfie down the corridors. She stifled a yawn. Alfie stopped and looked at her, a concerned look on his face.
"You must be exhausted." He commented. Renee looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"Isn't it a bit obvious?"
Alfie didn't reply and started walking down the corridor again. Renee followed, not wanting to get lost. After a few minutes of walking through numerous corridors, they soon came to a large wooden door. Renee sniffed and her stomach rumbled.
Alfie was about to push open the door, when someone else opened it. Yuki. The side of his jaw was bruising nicely. "Hey Alfie, if you wanna eat you better hurry, the tables are going away."
Renee looked into the hall. It was humongous and many tables were scattered across the floor, some occupied by students. Something caught Renee's eyes. Some tables were moving away!
"Those tables are magic aren't they?" Alfie fixed Renee with a look, which seemed to say, It's a bit obvious isn't it?
"I'll see you in the dorm later." Yuki sauntered down the corridor.
"Alright, you heard Yuki, we better hurry, the tables are clearing away fast." Alfie strode into the hall with Renee trailing behind, unsure of what to expect. Alfie choose a table and sat down. The table was round and it's legs ended in lion paws. On the surface of the table beautiful pictures of the Chinese Zodiac were carved in. "Okay, here's what you do, just say what you want to eat out loud. Very simple." The table started edging away, but Alfie with stopped it, pulling it back with a sharp tug.
Renee stared impassively at Alfie. Alfie stared back.
"Chicken and salad please table." Asked Alfie. The Zodiac pictures whirled in a circle and after a few seconds, the requested food appeared. Alfie tucked in.
"Erm, soup please?" Renee questioned politely. The Zodiac picture formed a ? shape. "Uh..... any type of vegetable soup." The Zodiac symbols once again spun and Renee was presented with lentil soup with a chunk of bread. Yummy, She thought, My fave! She hungrily wolfed down her soup and in seconds there was nothing left except a few breadcrumbs.
Renee pricked her ears and glanced over to a table opposite her. A boy and a girl were seated there. She could hear them talking about a new student. Probably her. The girl saw Renee looking and waved. She wore a simple white blouse with a pink tie and a short black skirt with black fishnet tights. She got up and skipped over to the table, her silvery coloured hair bouncing along. She leaned on the back of Alfie's chair. He carried on eating not caring about the arrival of the girl. "Hello! You must be the new student! My name's Maori. Yours is...?"
"Renee." Added in Renee, blinking blearily. She couldn't wait until she could sleep. The events of the day were really getting to her. How can she be so energetic when it's so late? Thought Renee.
"I bet you'll be staying in the same dorm as me. I stay with Alfie, Yuki and Derrick. Oh and Osami and Mizuki of course. I'm a Gravity Witch. You're a Neko aren't you?"
"And an Elemental Master. Well that's what Mr Nekozawa said. Could you show me where your dorm is? This place is like a maze."
Maori laughed. "It is a maze. Magical as well. No one really knows their way around here. Mr Nekozawa probably does though. If you wanna find dorm, you just have to think about finding it. But I'll lead you to the dorms this time. You look like you're about to drop dead!"
"You're to right." Renee muttered. Yawning loudly.
"Alright! Let's go!" Maori grabbed Renee and dragged her through the food hall door. Renee must have dozed of, because when she woke up she was tucked up in a cosy but strange bed. She stared at the ceiling. The last thing she could remember was Alfie saying, "Fine, just leave me here will you." Before going of to sit next to the boy on the other table.
Chapter 7 ~|What's next?|~
Renee thundered down the large stone corridors, taking a few random turns. She stopped. She was lost and no one was around to ask for directions. Where is everyone? She thought. Her stomach growled. She was hungry and she couldn't remember the last time she ate.
Her nose twitched. Something smelt good. Her stomach growled more persistently. She followed the tantalising aroma, using her new and improved sense of smell. She trotted down the corridor following her nose, when she came to a fork in the corridor. There, she picked up a familiar scent. Alfie. Wow, She thought, He smells nice.
After a few minutes of thinking, Renee decided to find Alfie. After taking the right corridor she soon came to a large Gothic looking door. Here, the scent of Alfie was strong. Renee tentatively knocked on it. It sounded very hollow and the sound echoed down the stone corridors.
A young man wearing a black suit opened the door. He looked like a teacher. Ignoring him, Renee looked past him and spotted Alfie sitting on a chair facing a desk. He noticed her and smiled.
"Renee!" The teacher turned and looked at Alfie.
"You know this girl?" Queried the teacher.
"She's the very reason as to why I'm sitting here right now." Alfie said flatly. The teacher looked confused.
"The one born in the other world?" Prompted Alfie. A look of realisation dawned on the teacher's face.
"I guess you should see the head then, Missy." Said the teacher moving away and striding down the corridor. Renee entered and looked for a place to sit. There was only one chair and it was occupied by Alfie.
"You can sit on me if you want." Offered Alfie. Renee politely declined. She stood and faced the desk. Suddenly a man slowly materialized. A mass of particles swirled around, forming a vague human shape. Next, a face and its features slowly appeared and the rest of the detail. Renee was captivated, her mouth open in a "o" of surprise.
An old and wizened man stood behind a chair. His hair was grey and he wore a pure white robe. "Hello, My name is Felix, but most students call me Mr Nekozawa. As you may have guessed, I am the founder of the school. Now, i believe you have some questions to ask?"
"Yeah I have quite a few..."
"Go on, I will answer all of your questions." Mr Nekozawa said, smiling kindly.
"Ok, first of all, why did Alfie have to lick his finger and wipe it on me? Couldn't there have been an easier way? I mean, to get into my true form?" Said Renee in a business-like manner.
"There could have been other ways, but you see, most marks are activated by Taint DNA."
"Er o..k. And also, why wasn't I born in this world?"
"Sometimes, a Taint is born into the other world. And that happens only once every thousand years. That makes you unique; those who are born into the other world have remarkable gifts, meaning they are extremely powerful. You are what we call an "Elemental Master". And as to why you are a Neko, I do not know. Any more questions?"
"Yeah, when can I eat? I'm starving." She asked, a pained expression on her face as she clutched her growling stomach.
"Oh, I am terribly sorry," Mr Nekozawa, or Felix if you prefer, turned to Alfie who had been silent throughout the whole conversation, "Alfie, would you care to take Renee here to the Food Hall? I'm sure you're just as hungry as she is." Alfie's stomach rumbled.
"Yep I'm just as hungry as Renee. C'mon let's go." Alfie beckoned to Renee to follow and walked out of the room.
Chapter 6 ~|Beware_of_your_powers|~
Renee, who was still sitting on the bed, shivered. "Can someone tell me why I'm here and why I'm dressed like this? I'm freezing!"
"The Head'll tell you what's going on. But first, we need to warm this room up. Your mark was multicoloured which probably means you can control the elements. So let's start with fire!!!" Said Derrick merrily, ignoring Yuki's moaning.
"My mark?" Renee looked down at her right thigh. "Oh that one. I thought my friends put it on me as a joke when it was my 12th birthday. Turned out to be permanent."
"Bet your mum had a heart attack! Anyway, cup your hands like this," Ordered Derrick, walking over to Renee and showing her what to do. Renee obediently obeyed.
"Now," said Derrick, "Close your eyes, imagine a candle. Now, focus on the flame, imagine that it getting bigger and warmer." In the palm of Renee's hand a small flame flickered into existence. Seeing that, Derrick encouraged Renee more, "Good, you're doing great! Now imagine the flame growing bigger, so that the heat is enough to melt ice.
Suddenly the flame in Renee hand flickered and went out. But then, without any warning a flame rushed out with a whoosh, greedily licking the ice-cold ceiling. She opened her eyes and stared in shock at the flame cupped in her hands. It was larger than any flame she had every seen and was rather hot as well. A drop of water landed on her head. She looked up. The ice was melting and was rapidly evaporating. Yuki stood up, free from the icy grip of the floor and rubbed his sore butt.
"Um," said Derrick nervously, pushing Renee's hands together, "You can call quits with the fire now." The flame flickered steadily, licking at the now parch-dry ceiling. Renee blew on the flame, it didn't move. She glanced up. The ceiling was beginning to catch on fire. In the end, Derrick saved the day, summoning a powerful gust of wind, finally blowing out the flame after a few unsuccessful attempts. "I think you need to work on your self control..." Muttered Derrick.
Yuki walked over to Renee. "Hey." he said.
"Hey." Replied Renee.
"Can I see your mark?" Without waiting for a reply, Yuki grabbed Renee's leg and pulled her closer. He looked up Renee's shorts.
Derrick, seeing Renee's discomfort said," It's ok, he's gay." Renee relaxed a little.
"Hey," murmured Yuki without thinking, "Nice pants." A human wouldn't have been able to hear it, but Renee, with her super hearing heard him. Ker-crack! Renee's fist connected with Yuki's jaw with a sickening crunch, sending him skidding across the floor.
"I THOUGHT YOU SAID HE WAS GAY!"
"Er, well he was the last time I checked." Replied Derrick, taken aback at Renee's sudden show of violence. Renee crossed her arms and glared at him. Derrick suppressed a shiver. Jumping off the bed, Renee stormed out of the door, ignoring Derrick and Yuki's protests.
Chapter 5 ~|New_Faces|~
Somewhere in a dorm at Nekozawa Academy, a portal opened.
Alfie stepped out of his portal and was hit with an icy blast of cold air. He frowned, that wasn't right. The whole room was frozen solid.
"Welcome back Alfie!" Greeted a voice. A boy with vibrant yellow short hair with streaks of red and orange and equally yellowy-orangey-redy eyes sat on a nearby bed. He was wearing a dark blue body-gripping suit and was wearing soft looking boots, which were laced up at the sides. He jumped of the bed and ran over to hug Alfie. Well, tried to anyway. He took one step on the cold ice, slipped, landing on his butt. Sighing, Alfie placed Renee on his bed and put Derrick down on the floor.
"Hello, Yuki." Replied Alfie. My gay little friend. He thought laughing. "What's with the ice?"
"Osami. Ice spell gone bad. He scampered as soon as he heard the portal coming. Now you gonna help me up or not?" Said Yuki crossly rolling his eyes, as his butt was beginning to freeze to the floor.
"Don't i get a greeting, Yuki?" Derrick indignantly asked, cautiously rising to his feet. The cut on his head had already healed.
"Oh, sorry! Hello Derrick!" Yuki said looking miffed. "Now can you help me up? I'm getting frostbite here!"
"One second." Alfie carefully picked his way over to Yuki.
"You gonna drop the illusion yet, Alfie? Seeing you in those clothes makes me shiver." Questioned Yuki as Alfie tried to ease him of the ice-covered floor. Derrick watched in interest. Having heard Yuki, Alfie stopped pulling him for a few seconds, pulling a stone out of his pocket. Derrick did the same, tossing them on Yuki's bed. As soon as they left his hands, he immediately resumed his normal form.
"W-where am I?"
Stuttered a bleary female voice. Everyone stopped what they were doing, their eyes searching for the source of the voice. Renee was sitting up on the bed and rubbing her eyes. When her eyes had finally swam into focus, the first thing she noticed was Osami's 'in-your-face' hair. Then she saw some familiar faces. Alfie and Derrick. They were exactly as they were before she had fainted, not including their sudden clothes change.
Alfie wore a sleeveless dark blue top, which was open at the front, showing his low hanging round pendant, with his name etched carefully into. On his bottom half, he wore black trousers open at the sides, which were kept together with dark blue straps, to prevent it flapping all over the place. The trousers were kept up with a black belt, an assortment of pouches attached to it, along with his razor sharp sword. His arms were wrapped tight with white satin ribbons, which were part of his light blue and black fingerless gloves. Derrick was bare-chested his firm muscles on show. He wore lose dark blue denim shorts kept up with a lose red belt. Around his neck he wore a loosely wrapped red scarf and a intricately sculpted gold medallion of two dragons locked in an eternal battle. Lastly, he wore a long flowing black jacket
Renee opened her mouth a few times in an attempt to speak. "Good morning," Smiled Yuki, "The name's Yuki Arai. What's yours?"
"Renee Yamashina" Replied Renee evidently regaining her voice. She looked at Yuki, opened her mouth to say something else, but decided not to.
"I guess I’ll go tell the head's Renee's up then. You stay here, Derrick." Said Alfie briskly, dropping Yuki's arms.
"WHAT!!?? YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE ME STUCK TO THE FLOOR LIKE THIS!" Shouted Yuki, instantly changing from friendly to mad.
"Renee'll sort it out. You can't always rely on me, Yuki."
"Yeah, I'll get Renee started then, should I?" Chipped in Derrick.
"Sure." Alfie turned and left the room.
