“Ugh… Do I have to wear this? It’s super itchy at the collar.” Roy stretched the collar of his new uniform away from his neck, an uncomfortable expression pasted to his face as the itchy material popped back into place, which caused him to groan in agony.

“I know it might not be your style or very comfortable, but we all must wear uniforms—even me. Now, hold still.” Aurora said, her gentle voice hitting the back of Roy’s neck as she worked on his dark red tie.

“Psh, I look like a total chimp wearing this! I’m not about that monkey see, monkey do life, Aurora.” The samurai folded his arms together, only opening his eyes once he heard Aurora chuckle. “What’s so funny?”

“Well… While I understand how you feel, you’ve got to remember that it’s just a uniform. I’d say you constantly put yourself in far more uncomfortable positions in your daily life. I mean, wouldn’t you agree that fighting in duels to the death is more dangerous to yourself than wearing something you don’t want to?” Aurora leaned in and began to fidget with Roy’s tie. Her soft voice caused him to shiver as it echoed through his eardrum.

“C’mon, we both know there’s a massive difference in that! Who cares if you die? Sure, the people around you get all sad, but I’ll be dead! If I sit in class, though… I’ll be bored. I’d rather be dead than bored.” The samurai stated bluntly, tossing his arms into the air as his new manager’s fingers ascended from his tie to his collar.

“Hm. Is that why you do what you do? So you won’t be bored?”

“Nah. I do it because… I’m a goddamn action hero.” His eyes shot open as he leaned away from the girl and confidently pointed at himself with his thumb.

“Action hero?”

“That’s right. Fighting for all things good, saving the day, getting the girl, all while kicking ass the whole way through.” His triumphant speech about himself was interrupted when he felt a hand slap the back of his shoulder.

“Easy there, little man. You’ve been fast-tracked into the big leagues… Assuming you’re Roy McCoy?” The samurai shrugged despite not being able to see the speaker behind him.

“I dunno… Who the fucks asking?”

“Ohhhh! Little man is a firecracker! Haha, that was a good one. I’m Keith.”

“Keith? A voice like that, and your name is Keith? Either you’re pulling my leg or straight out of a choir boy practice. Whatever the hell your deal is, I don’t see what it has to do with me. So run along. I wouldn’t want to get my new uniform dirty with your blood.”

Roy spun around, somehow unsheathing his katana and slashing all in one move. At first, his eyes widened when he noticed a giant metal arm had blocked his strike, but all the shock was soon erased from his face and replaced with a wide grin as his blade clashed with Keith’s steel limb.

“Keith was my old man’s name, too, y’know…” Grunted Keith, an equally twisted smirk spreading across one ear to the other.

“Cute. Maybe they’ll put your grave next to his, rust bucket.”

“Both of you, stop!” Screamed another student. Roy watched as two hands wrapped around Keith, only lowering his guard momentarily when he felt a pair of cold hands on his waist.

“Really, Keith? We’ve got an image to uphold.” A tall blonde dressed in the same girl’s uniform as Aurora scolded the afro-haired behemoth, resulting in a cocky smirk from Roy that soon got wiped away by Aurora stepping in front of him.

“Monica.”

“Aurora.”

“You got a duelist just in time for Homecoming, hm? Living life on the wire now, are you?” Underneath a hoity-toity tone, the blonde's voice had venom beneath the layers of fake pleasantries and acted manners.

“You sound upset. Hoping I would’ve missed out on the deadline?” Calmly responded Aurora. Her blush red eyes didn’t dare even blink as Monica approached.

“The opposite. After that unfortunate incident last year, I’m happy you won’t have to drop out again at the last second…”

“Thank you for your sentiments.”

Despite everything seemingly concluding that this is a friendly catchup between the girls, Aurora and Monica’s eyes dance around each other like a pair of venomous snakes getting ready to strike for the kill. The standoff finally concluded as Monica wrapped her slender arms around Aurora, who reciprocated with a hug of her own.

The two girls then kissed each other’s cheeks opposite each other before returning to stare blankly into each other’s souls. “Do you think he can get the job done?”

“I’ll take my chances.” The brunette stated with an empty smile on her face.

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“Great. The theme is Halloween. Good luck… And Happy Homecoming, Aurora.”

“Likewise.”

The two once again leaned close, giving each other farewell cheek kisses before Monica waved Keith over. The giant of a teenager made sure to bump Roy’s shoulder as he passed him, resulting in a quick flip of the samurai’s middle finger. “Hey asshole, next time your girlfriend won’t be here to stop me from killing your ass!”

“Roy.” His manager spoke calmly, nodding her head as if talking him down.

“B-But…”

“It’s fine. Leave it be. We should get to class before we’re marked tardy.”

“Those dudes walked right up to us and gave some serious attitude! I could probably kick both of their asses before the bell rang if you gave me the chance!”

“Roy. Be a good boy and drop it.” Aurora tilted the samurai’s head down so the two would be face to face. Her eyes twinkled into his slowly widening pupils, her calm smile never leaving her face as she gradually let him go.

“Y-Yeah… I-I got it.” The samurai took a step back and crossed his arms. “You top dogs confuse me. Are you cool with each other? Do you all hate each other? What’s the big deal there?”

“I don’t think it matters much, Roy… Especially since we already have what we need.” The manager gave a slight nod as she politely walked past Roy, who cocked his head as he slowly followed behind.

“I don’t get it. What did we get from those two besides dirty looks and passive-aggressive kisses?” Aurora immediately stopped in her tracks. Turning herself back to the samurai, a sly grin spread from ear to ear as she pointed to her cheek.

“I’ll make you a deal, Roy. Just keep your sword ready for my word, and I’ll let you get some cheek kisses of your own.”

At this proposal, Roy’s cheeks lit up bright red. “You’re shitting me. Be on your word to kill someone I already want to kill, and you’ll smooch me up like an action hero? Count me in. I take it those guys are pretty high-ranked, eh?”

“Ranked? Hm… No. I don’t think they’re ranked.”

“So I’d get nothing for cutting that metal bastard’s arm off and selling it off on the internet?”

“Let’s walk and talk,” Aurora blankly answered as she turned and began walking briskly.

“Fine with me.” Her duelist agreed, following close behind her. “So… If they aren’t ranked, what the hell is their deal? That pair didn’t seem like your typical bullies.”

“Bullies? Roy, you’ve seen too many TV shows! Hehe.” She couldn’t help but giggle at the notion. This caused her duelist to slow his walk down to an idle shrug.

“Uh… Thanks?” He shook his head before quickly sprinting to catch up with Aurora. “Okay then, who were they? Not interested in ranked battles, not normal jerkasses… Not that any of you are, just those two reeked of smelling their breaths.”

“They’re as you said a moment ago, Roy.”

“Jerkasses?”

“...Topdogs.” Aurora corrected, her eyes focused on an upcoming set of lockers. “The elite of Sleepy Hollow. Either due to who their parents are or by an absurdly high social standing. That homecoming dance those two spoke of, what most students see as simple, is more like crowning royalty for those elite. All of it is set up by a group called the Order of Six, comprised of this school's six most powerful students.”

Aurora’s explanation stopped once the pair arrived at her locker. Her small hands meticulously fiddled with the combination lock until the large door swung open. Out of respect for her privacy, Roy backed his foot onto a locker behind him. “So this Order of Six… You in it?”

“Nope.”

“Those assholes back there?”

“Hm… I doubt it.”

“Crowning royalty? Can we circle back to that? Why is Homecoming so damn important to these people?”

“Roy… Homecoming is important because whoever wins King and Queen will be given complete control over the school. The crown holds unlimited power but can only be combined once all six pieces are united. Meaning,”

“This Order of Six… I’m going to have to fight them, aren’t I?”

Aurora gently shuts her locker, her eyes wider than Roy’s ever seen.

“R-Right? I didn’t get that wrong, did I?”

“You’re not just going to fight them, Roy.”

“I-I’m not?”

“No. You’ll need to kill their duelists, then steal the crown pieces away…”

“No shit?”

“By any means necessary.”

“No shit.”

“This will be the hardest challenge you’ve ever faced, Roy. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

“Good… Now, let’s get to class. Enjoy this peaceful time while you can because we’ve officially invited ourselves to challenge for the crown.”

The samurai outstretched his hand and pointed his thumb to himself. A shit-eating grin accompanied the confident gaze he shot at his manager. “Trust me. I’ll replace the silver spoon up these guys asses with my steel.”

As the samurai gave his word to his manager, the bell rang. The two exchanged a final glance of shared confidence before splitting up in separate ways…

The road ahead would be long.

It would be deadly…

But would it all be worth it…?

…

…

…

Elsewhere in the halls of Sleepy Hollow…

“You think that skinny little boy-toy of Alucard’s has what it takes?” Huffed the goliath of a man, his metal arm wrapped firmly around the skinny blonde.

“Pfft. No! He’s mostly done ranking fights… Not big ones, either. Get this before Aurora wrangled him in at the last minute. He was– Keith? Keith?!” Out of nowhere, her boyfriend had slumped to the ground. All of the massive muscle seemingly left his body as if he deflated.

“KEITH!”

As she rushed to his side, he’d already become a shell of his former self. Just seconds ago, he was talking shit while standing at a hulking 6’6, two-hundred and eighty pounds.

Now?

He looked disheveled as if all the meat in his body had been sucked out with a straw.

“M-Moni–ca…”

“Keith!” Monika dropped to her knees, scanning his body for an entry wound– or at least a sign that’d tell her how this happened. Of course, there was none of that to be found. Nothing but a malnourished skeleton remained in his place…

“Shame… Shame… I guess the metal arm was just for show. Here I was, thinking he’d be a badass. Do you know if he had any lasers equipped for that thing? Maybe a machine gun?” Monika hurriedly backed away, tears streaming from her eyes as the figure casually came closer.

“Y-You! What did you do to Keith?!”

The shadowy figure gave a dramatic gasp as he leaned in closer, finally revealing his face to the terrified blonde. “Well, I’d let you in on the joke… but I find it better to demonstrate my gaffs rather than tell them.”

He looked more maniacal than he sounded. With the voice of an overzealous magician combined with the looks of a demonic jester, face paint and all, Monika’s fight or flight reaction kicked in. She speedily crawled before popping herself up to her feet. She tried her hardest to sprint away but soon found herself on the ground again. As she desperately tried to stand up, it was as though her legs turned to mush.

“Ah~! Like a fly trapped in a web.” Taunted the killer clown as he mimicked her squat from moments ago; kneeling to her side, he wiped the oncoming river of tears away from her cheeks.

“D-Don’t hurt me…”

“Afraid that decision was made up a while back. Oh, come now, don’t cry! It’s quite beautiful. Did your mother ever tell you about what happens to you after you die? Your body becomes one with the Earth, feeding the worms, fertilizing the soil… Your death will lead to much, much bigger things. Ohhh? Whoops, I suppose I went a little too hard. Ms. Homecoming Front runner seems to have stopped breathing.”