Van was standing in a row with about a few thousand other students. Today was the day of the opening ceremony where the school’s headmaster will give a speech and welcome everyone to the new school year. Malon Taldor himself was going to arrive and give the ending speech.
So despite the surprisingly hot day, everyone around him was standing as still as possible, waiting with small beads of sweat for the head of the aggressive faction to arrive. As the day wore on, and each teacher had a chance to say something, then Taldor arrived…
Van was expecting someone with a bit more presence… Malon wasn’t a very imposing man. Wearing a simple suit of black and red, he was about average in looks with about any other male you could find. Yet when he spoke, it was with a booming eloquence that forced you to hang on his every word against your will.
“Ladies… Gentleman… Of all walks of life and backgrounds… Of high houses and low… I welcome you all to the East Branch of Bloodhaven in my beautiful city of Akeldama. Long ago this was nothing more than a minor town on your way to the capital of the Nilfan Empire. Now it is a bastion, a home, and a shield! Between the ravenous hordes of evil beyond these walls… And everything that our great civilization has built…”
During his speech, he gestured with his hands, and his words echoed throughout the entire school campus. Not a single student made a peep. Not a single fly buzzed. The small presence of the Malon slowly grew until it pressed down on the shoulders of everyone attending.
“In this school, you will learn what it means to have loyalty for your country. Duty, to uphold our culture and way of life. And responsibility on how to wield the powers you will grow while you are here, in such a way you do not abuse it, nor dishonor your family, your house, or this school…”
“When you are here, all doors are possible. When you are here, you are free. When you are here! You can do anything! If you wish to cut down a mountain! You can do that! If you wish to become a Knight! You can do that!” He stretched out his hands to encompass everything. “Everything is possible if you have the will. Anything is obtainable if you can sacrifice enough for it. Want money? Men? Power? Fame? All of it! This school will give you and more!”
His eyes turned red and his words turned into a deadly whisper that was still heard by all. “If you're willing to climb upon anything or anyone in your way…” He let his arms drop. “Make no mistake. Those who break the rules of the school will be expelled without mercy. Some of you may even lose your life…” He let his words linger. “But for everyone else… Grab it! And don't let go! And never look back!”
“For a better Alcray! For the future of the Alcranien Empire!”
All of a sudden Van was assaulted by a huge amount of cheering and applause. So much so that it hurt his ears. It confused him greatly why everyone would yell so loudly for an above-average speech, at least in his opinion. But he couldn’t deny that there was something in the way that Malon Taldor said it that gave you goosebumps. And when Van saw into the man’s eyes, it was like being pierced by a hot skewer. Plus from what he saw from the faces around him, it was like the students just heard a speech from their favorite idol.
But more than that… Van felt a feeling of resonance with the man like he should know him very well… It was to the point that he even felt a little dizzy and light-headed. He forced himself to stand, but he largely lost everything else that Malon said after.
Afterward, Malon Taldor continued talking for a few minutes more, silencing the crowd almost immediately. He talked about how every student should do their best, promising rewards and positions of power and respect for the future for those who proved themselves. There was even a quick blurb about the Alcray Youth Club, which was supposed to be all about the greatness of Alcray and supposed to teach and train you to have a better understanding of how great it is to be an Alcranien and what you can do for all of Alcray.
Van had a bad feeling about that club and promised himself to avoid it at all costs in the future. After that, the speech was finally over and he could finally go back to his dorm with his fellow roommates.
As he made his way through the bustling crowds still talking about the speech that Malon Taldor just did. He couldn’t help but think about everything that happened this past week since the incident with Magnolia and those thugs. Since then, Luna hasn’t really been herself and she and Magnolia haven’t really been on speaking terms, though it did seem that Magnolia was true to her word in that she didn’t blame Luna for what happened. It seemed she really was used to this kind of thing happening to her.
Though she did seem to get along better with Anna. So perhaps that was an improvement. Either way, Luna was in a bit of a depression, she even stopped doing her sex ed thing. Which forced Van to take up the slack…
“But you know what? I think I prefer it this way… I never actually needed Luna to help me get laid. I just never wanted to push myself out like that. But it’s not so bad once I get used to it. At least it makes the girls listen to me more…” Van thought. “Now the only issue is how to make Luna feel better again? I really hate seeing her like this…”
He didn’t think having sex with her would resolve this issue like it did the others. She actually didn't feel in the mood for lovemaking at all in actuality, which was a big shock for him. A Luna not wanting sex went against the natural world order or the laws of nature, it was like the world was ending or losing sense. Though he respected her decision and carried on her lessons without her since that was her wish.
He had talked about it with Ren. And surprisingly he said that this kind of shock might just be what Luna needs to shake things up inside her psyche for things to properly settle. He then went on to explain how Luna looks up to Van in a massive way, thinking that she needs to throw countless women at him, to serve him and obey him, because to her, he was a larger-than-life figure. The incident with Magnolia just reminded her of her own past traumas that she used him as a shield for, and when she tried to create her happy ending by proxy, it blew up in her face and now she was dealing with the fallout.
Entering the dorm, he went to check the mail and saw a few things labeled for him. Sifting through the papers he quickly scanned through everything and gave a firm nod to himself, deciding to deal with these right away. He then opened the doors to the other half of the dorm, the barracks, and went about looking for Ashina and Karmine.
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As he did so, he got a few stares from the many soldiers and followers, he rarely passed through here, so his presence was noteworthy. It didn’t hurt either that in their view, he was easy on the eyes, even the Fandorians thought so.
Looking around and not finding them in their room, he scanned the surroundings until he noticed them by the exit door. No doubt going out to train like they usually did, there was a bit of a competition between them and the other groups, and Karmine and Ashina did not like falling behind the Fandorians.
“Karmine! Ashina! Just the girls I was looking for.” Van said as he walked up to them.
The two of them turned and, gave a respectful nod to his presence.
“Van, what are you doing here? How can we help you?” Karmine asked.
“Good to see you, Van, here to watch us train? I can show you a few things if you want.” Ashina said playfully with a wink.
“Maybe we could put on a show for him together.” Karmine teased.
“Yes yes, you both want sex. I know.” Van rolled his eyes as the two women snickered. Karmine and Ashina got along perhaps a bit too well for his liking…
Van blinked. “Oh, sorry Adela, didn’t see you there, how are you doing?” He asked Ashina's little sister.
Adela blushed and muttered something incomprehensible.
“Umm… That’s good to hear?” Van said, unsure of what she said. “Anyway. I have important news for you two.” Changing the subject and handing out the papers he received from the envelopes. “I’ve finally been able to get you girls a professional trainer to really help upgrade your skills and put the girls through the ropes. I practically had to beg Cerina, and used my connections with my wife, Rosalyn, to be able to get you your own personal instructor. I hope you both look forward to it.” He said with a smile.
“Umm… Thanks?” Karmine said, unsure of what to think about this situation. “But not to sound ungrateful… But with me, Ashina, and now Kella working with us, I don’t see why we need someone else to help train the troops.”
Ashina nodded.
Van smiled. “Oh… She’s not here just to train the girls… She’s here to train you three as well…” His smile widening. “I’m even thinking about figuring out an excuse to get Isa on the action. After all, this isn’t just any instructor… But a Vampire Knight! Instructor...”
Their eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “No way! You didn’t!” Karmine exclaimed, looking down alongside Ashina at the papers in their hands. After a few minutes they exclaimed once more. “HOLLY HELLS! YOU DID!”
“How in the world did you pull this off…” Ashina asked, unable to believe her eyes.
“Like I said, lot’s of begging and lot’s more begging…” Van replied.
“Cerina must really like you…” Karmine stated, eyes still glued to her paper, rereading for the second time.
Van thought about that. “I’m… Not… Sure…” Even he couldn’t get a read on Cerina or what was going on in her head. She might like him, but only so much as she could use him. Probably... Maybe…
“Anyway. The instructor is coming next week, so make sure you're ready for her arrival. I want you girls at your best, make sure you use this opportunity that I have given you. That is all. See you girls next time.” He said his goodbyes, gave a little wave to Adela, and went back to his side of the building.
With that done he decided to go to his room, Luna should be back by now. Like him, they all went to the opening ceremony but were broken up into different groups. All the guys went and took up one corner of the campus grounds, while all the girls the rest. Probably so a bunch of guys wouldn’t find themselves surrounded by hundreds of women when the speeches were over.
But instead, he found that there was a bit of discussion going on in the main dorm room, it seems like they only had one day left to decide what their dorm name would be, and everyone still couldn’t agree on what that name would be. In the end, they went for the try-and-true method of picking a bunch of names and throwing it all into a hat. It was to this he walked in on.
“And the name of our dorm will be~” Cerina read the slip of paper after taking it out of the hat. “Black Sun!”
A few cheers were had, a few boo’s and a variety of different levels of enthusiastic clapping were had all around. Van felt a little weird out that it was the name he had chosen, what were the odds?
And then the bickering between Tabitha and Cerina began over the fairness of the decision.
Van tried to sneak his way through the edges of the room to his door. Upon entering the bedroom, he went to his bed to find Luna snuggled up in it. She must have been very tired from standing up for so long with a bunch of boring professors droning on and on.
He then sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled up a few things from his soul realm. They were forms and papers of all the classes he would be taking for the rest of the school year. He wanted to go through them one last time to make sure he got everything right, making a mental map of where everything was and a list of everything he was going to need.
As he was reading, Luna mumbled something in her sleep distracting him. He looked at her peaceful sleeping expression with a gentle smile and patted her ass before going back to his reading. Not long after that he heard the door open and someone walk in. The steps continued until Van saw it was Magnolia.
“Hey Magnolia, too noisy outside for you to?” He asked.
She paused. The relationship between them was… Odd… To say the least. Van, at least from Magnolia's perspective, seemed a bit too comfortable talking to her in an informal manner. Something she was not used to. But she didn’t really dislike it either. It was hard to place her feelings on the matter. But she thought it was… Nice… It didn’t hurt that he was Anna’s master, and she respected Anna, and was greatly thankful for her, putting her life on the line for someone like Magnolia. It actually made her jealous of Luna, which was another reason why she found it hard to get along with her. That and her childish attitude…
Finally, though, she answered his question after a long and deliberate thinking. “Yes… It was too noisy…”
“Would you like to talk to me? Or do you just want to be left alone?” Van asked. He gently patted the bed next to him unconcernedly.
Magnolia froze, unsure if she was being played or if Van was truly unaware of the complications and hidden meanings of a male asking a woman to sit next to him, especially on a bed. But from little she knew of him, she knew he didn’t mean anything bad by it and so hesitantly sat herself down onto the soft covers.
Once that first step was done, it took Van a moment to gather the courage for the second step. “Look… I just wanted to apologize for what happened a week ago. I know you said that you were used to it. But honestly… No one should be used to something like that… You don’t deserve… To be used to something like that.” He said seriously.
“I know things are strained between you and Luna right now… But she really did mean well… She’s been through a lot… Which makes her act… Weird… Sometimes…” Unsure of how to best put it.
“You know… Luna’s ears… It used to be they were… Well… The tips were cut off…” He flatly stated, deciding to just pull the bandage off. “It took a lot. And I mean A LOT, to get them back to normal…” He turned his body to her direction and gently took her hands into her own.
“She used to have scars all over her body… And was terrified of sleeping alone at night…” His eyes fogged up, as if seeing something from far away, distant memories coming into his view. “And we have been through a lot more after that…”
His eyes focused on Magnolia. “So please… Try and give her the benefit of the doubt. Give her a chance… I know she would be eternally thankful for it.”
Magnolia looked down on Van’s hands where they held her own. They were soft and warm and felt pleasant to the touch. It was a nice feeling she didn’t believe she ever felt before. A feeling she wished could continue. Another new thing she was now envious of Luna…
But perhaps just maybe… They could work something out…
She looked Van in the eyes and gave a small nod. “Alright… I’ll try… I’ll give Luna a chance to see if we could become… Friends…”
Van smiled. “That’s all I could ask for….”
During this time, Luna had woken up and heard everything. A lot of thoughts going through her mind.