PREP Highschool

[Gold]

[The 12 Turns of Duelmas]

Micah smirks and shakes his head. "Come on, Aikobaz, how could you expect to win a game you don't know the rules to?" Actually, Micah himself has done that at least once before. Anyways, he continues "I suppose today, we learn what it really means to 'get schooled'."

Micah draws a card, takes a glance at it, puts it in his hand, takes a closer look at it, and immediately sets it face-down in the Spell and Trap zone with a hint of a grin on his face. Then, he puts both Nekroz of Areadbhair and Left-Hand Shark in Defense Position. "I don't see an opportunity to attack, so I suppose my turn ends there. Your move."



Turn 11, Battle Phase


Monsters:
Maha Vailo [1550 ATK (3500)/ 1400 DEF]

Spells/Traps:
-Wave-Motion Cannon (3)
-Metalmorph (Equipped to Maha Vailo)
[???]

Graveyard:
-Final Countdown
-Witch of the Black Forest
-Kunai With Chain
-Mystical Elf
-Raigeki
-Magician of Faith



Monsters:
Nekroz of Areadbhair [3300 ATK/ 3200 DEF]
Left-Hand Shark [1300 ATK / 1500 DEF]

Spells/Traps:
[???]

Graveyard:
-Night Beam
-Gunkan Suship Shari
-Little-Winguard
-Gunkan Suship Ikura-Class Dreadnought
-D. D. Trainer
-Preparation of Rites
-Nekroz of Brionac
-Reinforcement of the Army
-Shurrit, Strategist of the Nekroz

[Ironsmith]

[Wizardry Practice]

Oh hey.

Arthfaelis being kind of sputtery and surprised.

Yeah, that's about what Khannie was thinking would happen.

"Of course I am, you doofus," Khannie replies with her typical friendly barbs. "At first I thought you were just kind of sulky and annoying but you're way cooler than that. You had a bunch of really bad stuff happen to you so I guess the attitude makes sense. Everyone copes different. But after seeing you stand up for what you thought was right when you go the chance, that impressed me. You wanted to help me out. You knew it would be hard and dangerous but you did it anyway and that really means something. That makes you cool."

Taking a stand for good is the BEST way to be cool. And being cool is pretty important in Khannie's book.

"So, like, you like me. And I like you. So I wouldn't mind being your girlfriend if you're okay with it."

Bam.

The words have been uttered and now they can't be taken back.

Several students nearby go "Ooooooooo!" and begin discussing the new ship amongst themselves. Khannie shoots them a venomous look for their trouble.

[Wizardry Practice]

"That makes you cool."

"I like you."

"So I wouldn't mind being your girlfriend if you're okay with it."

pafata!

Is the sound of a dozen or so cards falling out of Arthfael's sleeves. Which rather appropriately accompanies the look of shock on his face.

"...You're... you're serious?" He grabs ahold of Khannie's shoulders and gives her a little shake. "You have to tell me if you're not serious. If you're messing with me, that's not funny. That's as far from funny as anything can possibly be."

...

"...You're... you're not kidding." Arthfael breathes. "Holy crap, you're not kidding! She's not kidding! She's not kidding!"

glomp!

"...Yes, please."

Dragon Disguise Hunting
Well. "How did you get to be empress of anywhere if you keep doing stupid things like that!?" Mary pounces after Aiko (if she has any sense she should be surrendering or fleeing now). "I am a dragon, you're just lucky I'm not also a murderer!" It would be trivially easy for her to just breathe fire and incinerate the would-be thief.

[Dragon Disguise Hunting]

...seriously?

Khannie heaves a long-suffering sigh and whispers to the green girl's shadow, enticing it to lash around her and leave her hopelessly tangled up as she starts trying to run away. This is pretty basic shadow-sorcery stuff. The kind of thing Khannie is REALLY good at.

"It's the protagonist thing. Some kids are so used to winning they haven't dealt with people on their own level. Makes 'em do dumb stuff."

Especially when it comes to pranks.

[Dragon Disguise Hunting]

"Right of birth, same as you." Aikobaz grumbles, from her position face-down on the ground, tied up in her own shadow. Even bound up as she is, she's not letting go of the raiment; while Mary probably theoretically could hurt her, practically speaking, she also couldn't; if her response is too disproportionate, retaliating against Aikobaz's theft of her stuff could end with her being suspended, expelled, or at its most extreme, result in higher authorities getting involved. And whatever she can still do, Aikobaz is willing to suffer through if it means she walks away just a bit more powerful than she was when she started.

With that in mind, she holds the raiment in both hands, locking her fingers to prevent herself from letting go.

[The 12 Turns of Duelmas]

Micah smirks and shakes his head. "Come on, Aikobaz, how could you expect to win a game you don't know the rules to?" Actually, Micah himself has done that at least once before. Anyways, he continues "I suppose today, we learn what it really means to 'get schooled'."

Micah draws a card, takes a glance at it, puts it in his hand, takes a closer look at it, and immediately sets it face-down in the Spell and Trap zone with a hint of a grin on his face. Then, he puts both Nekroz of Areadbhair and Left-Hand Shark in Defense Position. "I don't see an opportunity to attack, so I suppose my turn ends there. Your move."

[Lucky 13]

Doesn't see an opportunity to attack?

Aikobaz almost doesn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. There's no way he missed it, is there? Metalmorph's effect only gives Maha Vailo the needed attack power to beat out Nekroz of Areadbhair when she's the one attacking. If he were to turn around and attack her, he could beat out Maha Vailo easily and use Left Hand Shark to secure the game. After his lecture about her not knowing the rules, it would be more than a little ironic, not to mention unlikely, for him to just not see the game-winning move sitting right in front of him.

So what's he doing? Some form of pity? Passing on the opening created by her blunder in an attempt to make the game more interesting? Maybe it won't seem like a real victory if he exploits her weakness? Or is he just trying to be nice?

...It doesn't matter. She'll take it.

"...Well, as it happens, I do see a way to attack." She replies, with a small smirk. "Your trap only slowed me down for a turn. I'm still going to execute Areadbhair. Maha Vailo, Sacred Lightning!"

And again, the mage raises her arms to the sky, lightning shoots down to them, and she hurls the attack toward Nekroz of Areadbhair...



Turn 13, Battle Phase


Monsters:
Maha Vailo [1550 ATK (3500)/ 1400 DEF]

Spells/Traps:
-Wave-Motion Cannon (4)
-Metalmorph (Equipped to Maha Vailo)
[???]

Graveyard:
-Final Countdown
-Witch of the Black Forest
-Kunai With Chain
-Mystical Elf
-Raigeki
-Magician of Faith



Monsters:
Nekroz of Areadbhair [3300 ATK/ 3200 DEF] (Defense Position)
Left-Hand Shark [1300 ATK / 1500 DEF] (Defense Position)

Spells/Traps:
[???]

Graveyard:
-Night Beam
-Gunkan Suship Shari
-Little-Winguard
-Gunkan Suship Ikura-Class Dreadnought
-D. D. Trainer
-Preparation of Rites
-Nekroz of Brionac
-Reinforcement of the Army
-Shurrit, Strategist of the Nekroz
-Negate Attack

[bc56]

Dragon Disguise Hunting
"Well, then how'd you manage to stay empress then?" Mary asks, with a mocking tone, "Oh right. You didn't. You made a stupid mistake and now you're here, where you're powerless, and that makes you desperate." It's a low blow. But Mary is angry right now. Angry enough that her Raiment begins to burn red-hot. "Just because you lost your power doesn't mean you get to steal mine. If you want it, prove you can handle it!" (even if Aiko does endure, Mary has no intention of letting her keep it)

[Rebonack]

[Wizardry Practice]

Wait.

Does he not believe her?

Does he really think she would just mess with him on something like this?

Oh wait, no, never mind. He got it. And now he's hugging her. Cool. There's a little thrill from that butterflies feeling as she returns the hug. Cool. This is definitely cool.

...okay what does she do now?

Just... keep hugging him?

Sure. We'll go with that.

If the conversation hadn't attracted attention before Arthfael had started yelling it sure has attracted attention NOW. This will definitely get the teen gossip mill churning.


[Dragon Disguise Hunting]

...does something smell like it's sizzling?

Khannie sniffs a couple times, looking around to try to figure out where the smell is coming fro-

Oh.

Okay that's what it is.

"Mary you can't hurt her over this," Khannie whispers. "You'll get in trouble."

[Gold]

[13 Is A Happy Number And A Lucky Number]

Truth is, it's none of those things. Micah is trying to illustrate to Aikobaz that a good Duelist has to consider the opponent's face down cards when deciding if she'll make an attack. Though, he can't help but wonder if he's being a bit too subtle. Maybe a loss is all she needs to learn.

Micah intercepts the second lightning attack by revealing his face-down card. "Zero Gravity!" he calls, as the monsters on the field begin to float slightly. Then, as soon as they rose, they drop back to the ground. Nekroz of Arheadbair and Left-Hand Shark have returned to attack mode, and Maha Vailo is in defense mode. with her ball of lightning having dissipated. "The positions of all face up monsters are changed. That means your Maha Vailo is in Defense Mode and cannot continue her attack."

[Ironsmith]

[Dragon Disguise Hunting]

"You... you insolent-!"

The ex-empress doesn't get much further than that. She screams as the raiment heats up in her hands, but paradoxically, just holds it closer to her chest, squeezing the relic tightly despite the sizzling of flesh and the visible smoke rising from her and her dress.

She's not letting go. Not over a little third-degree burn, at least.


[13 Things I Hate About You]

Aikobaz's eyes widen as the trap goes off, putting her in... an awkward position. In defense, her Maha Vailo was much, much more vulnerable. Now when she changes turns, Micah's going to wave her off the board like noth-

"...Claire, let me see that rulebook again."

"...Um... okay..."

Aikobaz claims the book and leafs through it, settling on a page and letting out a satisfied little "ah". Of course. The solution couldn't be simpler.

"Well, I'll just switch Maha Vailo back to attack position, and... oh. Oh, never mind, I can't do that." She sighs, setting another card in her hand face-down. "I'll just leave her with a little friend, then, and end my turn."




Turn 13, End Phase


Monsters:
Maha Vailo [1550 ATK (3500)/ 1400 DEF] (Defense Position)
[???] (Normal Set)

Spells/Traps:
-Wave-Motion Cannon (4)
-Metalmorph (Equipped to Maha Vailo)
[???]

Graveyard:
-Final Countdown
-Witch of the Black Forest
-Kunai With Chain
-Mystical Elf
-Raigeki
-Magician of Faith



Monsters:
Nekroz of Areadbhair [3300 ATK/ 3200 DEF]
Left-Hand Shark [1300 ATK / 1500 DEF]

Spells/Traps:
[Empty]

Graveyard:
-Night Beam
-Gunkan Suship Shari
-Little-Winguard
-Gunkan Suship Ikura-Class Dreadnought
-D. D. Trainer
-Preparation of Rites
-Nekroz of Brionac
-Reinforcement of the Army
-Shurrit, Strategist of the Nekroz
-Negate Attack
-Zero Gravity

[bc56]

Dragon Disguise Hunting
"But then HOW ELSE am I going to get this PRICELESS RELIC back!?" Mary snaps at Khannie and continues pushing more power into the collar.
This is where things stop hurting and start getting weird. Mary's uncontrolled power isn't shapeless. And it can easily be absorbed through the skin. Scaly patches begin to appear on Aiko's hands where she's touching the Raiment and spread from there.
Mary said she couldn't curse Aiko, but her rage, combined with Aiko's physical contact with a piece of her essence, is enough of a connection to do it... Unfortunately Mary has no idea what she's doing.

[Rebonack]

[Dragon Disguise Hunting]

"We tell any of the faculty that this jerk stole your stuff and they force her to give it back," Khannie retorts without a moment of hesitation. "This is a protagonist school but we don't have to do EVERYTHING ourselves."

Just most things!

Running to the teachers at the first sign of trouble is pretty lame but this is moving beyond a simple prank and into darker territory.

And Khannie definitely doesn't want to see Mary getting into trouble just because this green weirdo decided by be obnoxious.

She isn't even paying attention to the curse or anything else that's going on, Khannie's attention is fully on Mary.

[Keeper]

Dragon Disguise Hunting

"You guys are making this all really complicated." Kol observes and trots over right to Aiko's face. He opens his jaws wide and-
breathes right in her face.
Kol likes to eat fish. The smell is probably not great.

It also will probably inflict Aiko with bad luck for several hours but that's neither here nor there.

[Ironsmith]

[Dragon Disguise Hunting]

Oh, gross!

Aikobaz can't take the assault on her senses any more and releases the raiment from her grasp, stumbling back and holding her hands under hand arms.

Her scale-covered, claw-tipped hands.

"Heh... ha... ha ha hahahaha!" Aikobaz crows triumphantly. "It worked! It worked! I know it's a curse, but I don't care! I finally have something! Hahahaha! Hahahaheeugheeughackheeugh-"

Aikobaz doubles over, coughing dryly as smoke pours out of her mouth and nose. Tiny embers flick out of her mouth and across the hardwood floor, thankfully lacking the capacity to catch and ignite.

Just her luck. She manages to get a curse and it's not even an awesome one. Just a bad case of literal smoker's lung.

[Rebonack]

[Dragon Disguise Hunting]

That doesn't seem great.

"I'm gunna go get a nurse to make sure she doesn't choke to death or something," Khannie says before hurrying off to do exactly that. Some part of her thinks this jerk deserves whatever curse she got but even then Khannie isn't going to just stand around and let someone die.

A hero saves everyone they can.

Even if everyone includes villains and jerks.

Khannie will probably be back in a minute or two.

[bc56]

Dragon Disguise Hunting
"I'll take that!" Mary snatches the collar off the ground and fastens it back onto her own neck before returning to her humanoid shape. It's much harder to forcibly remove an entire school uniform. "It's a curse you numbskull, did you really expect to benefit from it?"

[Ironsmith]

[Dragon Disguise Hunting]

"Heughheugh." Aikobaz coughs in reply, sulfurous smoke still pouring from her mouth. After a few moments, she seems to have enough control over herself to hold the smoke back, massaging her throat to soothe it. "...Oh, I don't know." She says finally, swallowing hard between that sentence and the next. "With the right- eh-heugh -right application, maybe..."

The ex-empress turns on Mary and retches up a cloud of smoke, aiming for her face so as to blind her. She's not going to be able to steal the raiment again and try her luck, but she's also not going to just stand there and let the demon princess mock her over her apparently terrible life decisions.

When the smoke clears, Aikobaz is gone. She couldn't have gone far, and she certainly couldn't have ran (not with that respiratory system), but she's no longer in sight.

[Keeper]

Dragon Disguise Hunting

"Well. I think justice is served. Or something." Kol mutters.
Frankly he's not really sure what's going on with that girl. But he doesn't think she's going to be okay with that outlook of hers...

[Gold]

[I'm 14 And This Is Deep]

"I'll draw," Micah says, placing the card in his deck. He takes a brief moment to consider the game state. Aikobaz' Wave-Motion Cannon is halfway done charging, isn't it? And Final Countdown ticks ever closer to an early demise for him, too.

He can't lose his confidence, though. Slow and steady will win the race. "I'll set one card face-down," he says quietly before doing so by putting a card in his Spell and Trap zone.

Then, in a comparatively louder voice, he calls "I attack your Maha Vailo, with Nekroz of Areadbhair!" The armoured swordsman begins to dash forward to initiate the attack.

[bc56]

Dragon Disguise Hunting
"Yeah." Mary doesn't sound to happy about it. "I feel sorry for her, really I do. She seems lonely." Aiko seems like she's pushed everyone away by trying to be better than them at everything and getting upset when she isn't.

[Ironsmith]

[Dragon Disguise Hunting]

Gaudia gives a sage little nod at that. Aiko was clearly going through something when they arrived. It's almost enough to make the gardevoir forget that she framed her for grand theft clothing and nearly got her mauled by a dragon.

Almost.

Gaudia holds out her hand to Mary for a congratulatory handshake, and if she recieves it, she'll turn and leave, her business here concluded.

[Ten-Four]

"Oh, dear, what ever am I to- KUNAI WITH CHAIN!" Aikobaz declares dramatically, flipping the trap card face up and watching as the titular weapon goes flying in an arc around the swordsman. "You didn't think I didn't have a plan, did you? Silly Micah."

[Rebonack]

[History Class]

Why.

Why.

HOW!?

Khannie LOVES history.

But somehow her professor manages to make some of the coolest, most interesting things totally bland and lame. She's doing her best to keep her eyes open but that droning voice is putting her to sleep. Soup, the hot-blooded but good-hearted ki warrior, has already lost his battle against droopy eyelids and is laying passed out on his desk. Teloum the Master of Marbles looks like she's about to be lost to slumberland at any moment, too.

And Khannie is definitely nodding off.

Maybe she needs to get more sleep than she does even if she maybe technically does need it thanks to Ghost-Type and everything.

Still droning.

Her head lolls forward briefly. Just as quickly she snaps upright and blinks. C'mon, Khannie. This is the last class of the afternoon. You can do it. Just... just gotta...

It's only for, like, two seconds. She loses consciousness, her human disguise dissolves, and she bangs nose-first into her desk. The rest of the class gets a great view of a surprised zoroark's snoot getting smooshed into fog.

*****

As soon as class is over Khannie is back looking human again, clutching her books and hurrying as fast as she can without actually running, her face flushed with embarrassment. Everyone saw. EVERYONE. Except that doof, Soup, who slept through the whole thing. Khannie tries to play the pokemon thing close to her chest but obviously it's going to spread like wildfire now. Everyone will know. She'll get harassed by trainers and people will ask if she wants berries. There will be pokeball jokes. Jerks talking about pokemon breeding really loudly when they know she can hear them. She can already imagine it.

Ugh.

THIS is why she wished to be human.

To avoid this garbage.

As she storms down the hall, wearing that unmistakable look of embarrassment and anger, it's pretty clear to everyone looking that now is the time to stay out of her way. She hardly even notices the weirdos totally out of school uniform skulking around in one of the hallways.

[Ironsmith]

[Hallways]

She doesn't have to imagine it. The local bullies' club has already latched onto the incident and is doing what they do best.

"Oh my god, did you see that? Her face came clean off! Gar-ross!" One of them taunts.

"Wow, Valarm. Falling asleep in class? That's an awful look on you." A certain empress adds, snickering.

"Hey, Valarm. How'd you like to get up in one of my Luxury Balls?" Another chortles.

"WHOA!" "HEY!" "HENRY!"

"...What? She's a pokemon."

"Oh." "Right. Whew." "You do realize how bad that sounded, right?"

"Hey. Khannie. Would. You. Like. A. Berry?" A familiar green, stubby-fingered hand comes out in front of her, holding up a pair of Payapa berries.

[Rebonack]

[Hallways]

Khannie doesn't dignify any of those comments with an answer.

Well. Aside from the one about the luxury ball. That gets a look of such utter, unfettered bitter malice that 'Henry' might feel like his blood is about to freeze. Not an attack. Not quite. But wow that was close. Considering how Khannie balls up her fists and and takes in a sharp breath it sure LOOKS like she's about to say something but instead she gives a disgusted snort before stomping off.

Jerk.

Jerk.

There's no way he could even imagine what it must be like. To be trapped like that. It's just a game to most of these kids they have no idea-
-berry in her face.

The girl leans away, having to throw out one foot backwards in order to prevent herself from toppling over. She ALMOST shoves the extended hand away but-

"I don't eat pokemon food," Khannie practically hisses through clenched teeth. "Okay? I never eat pokemon food."

Another deep breath as she closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"It's... sorry I'm being a jerk, you were just trying to be nice. You and your friends enjoy 'em, okay? That stuff isn't for me."

In spite of being a pokemon, yes. Khannie tries to distance herself from anything pokemon-y for the most part. Which is why she is also changing the subject.

"You're getting better at the talking thing, you get a new voice-box?"

She keeps moving, passing another small group of weird looking kids in black outfits emblazoned with yellow derpface decals. That's like the third group she's seen today. Is this some club or something?

[Ironsmith]

[Hallways]

"I. Video. Called. Ron. And. Told. Him. I. Was. Having. Trouble. Talking. So. He. Sent. Me. This. App." Gaudia explains, patiently hunting and pecking through an array of buttons on her watch's display. "Are. You. Sure. You. Don't. Want. Any. Berries? They. Always. Help. If. You. Are. Under. A. Lot. Of. Stress." The gardevoir smiles. "It. Is. Not. Like. You. Can't. Eat. Them. Any. Pokemon. Can. And. So. Can. Any. Human." If Khannie's going to be made fun of for being a pokemon, she might as well get to enjoy some of the benefits, right? As it stands, she's sort of getting the worst of both worlds.

Besides, who would actually be picky enough to dismiss berries to be strictly pokemon food? Granted, pokemon tended to find them much more useful- so there wouldn't be much point in a trainer eating berries themselves, compared to feeding them to their pokemon- but they're not exactly processed kibble that only appeal to every species of animal in their world that isn't a human being.

Of course, Gaudia's so wrapped up in this that she hasn't noticed the derp-faced kids running around. And she probably won't, until she properly runs into one of them.

[Rebonack]

[Hallways]

"Well it's way better than trying to make words out of pokemon names," Khannie says, turning her head to watch the weirdos doing... whatever they're doing. Eh. She has other things on her mind right now and they don't LOOK like they're causing any trouble. Probably just some weird club. Probably no weirder than the cheese-making club. Then Gaudia gets a somewhat exasperated look. "Okay obviously I can eat them I just don't, okay? I don't eat berries and poffins and stuff. I eat human food."

And life-drain animals every couple days or whatever but that hardly counts.

Then?

She sniffs a few times and makes a disgusted face.

"Besides, those things smell sour."

Khannie really dislikes sour food.

Which... she's pretty sure is very definitely a pokemon thing. Even as a tiny kid she knew everyone at the village had SUPER specific tastes. Humans seem like they much more subtle preferences than pokemon do.

Opening her mouth to say something else a student shouts, "Hey Vallarm! You want to do a pokemon battle?" He sounds earnest and honestly not malicious at all but it still gets under Khannie's skin.

"No! I don't even HAVE pokemon! I'm not a trainer why would I want to battle with you, huh?" she demands, shooting a venomous look at the kid.

"But I heard you're a-"

"HUMAN! I'm human, okay? In every way that matters. I don't do battles or lurk in tall grass to ambush people or sleep in a pokeball or whatever the heck it is pokemon do in those things. So stop bugging me," she retorts before giving her hair and dramatic flick and stomping off.

"...wait does that mean she's a wild pokemon...?"

[Ironsmith]

[Hallways]

Gaudia shrugs and pops the berries into her mouth. If Khannie's not going to eat them, eh, that's fine, she can. They're a couple of her favorites anyway. Nice and tart. Still chewing, she turns her attention back to her watch and taps out a message. "In. That. Case. Do. You. Want. To. Go. To. The. Cafeteria? They. Should. Have. Something. Nice. There. And."

The gardevoir frowns and hesitates before tapping out a different message. "Never. Mind. Come. Up. To. My. Room. It. Is. Quiet. And. You. Can. Get. Some. Time. For. Things. To. Cool. Off." She gives Khannie a little hug from behind, in the hopes that the gesture will be at least somewhat reassuring. "Please?" She adds, tapping the button on her watch once, then several times in rapid succession, sounding like a much younger schoolgirl trying to get her way with sheer persistence.

[Rebonack]

[Hallways ==> Gaudia's Room]

Ugh.

Really?

Is this sort of begging really needed?

Khannie WAS going to go to one of the workout rooms to punch inanimate objects until she felt better but maybe...

She gives a deep sigh.

Maybe hanging out with Gaudia and her friends would help a little?

It might not be very healthy for Khannie to expend so much energy yelling loudly that she's human. Her dad was pretty insistent that he loves her no matter what. And her REAL friends don't care. This has always been HER hangup. This has always been her ideas about what humans were like, legends that they were.

And of course it had just turned out that they're mostly regular people.

Maybe the problem isn't being a pokemon. Maybe the problem is that she's been fixated on a goal that's just-

Ugh.

Whatever.

"Sure, fine, just stop mashing please it sounds creepy," Khannie relents. She'll follow Gaudia back to-

...her dorm room.

There's a whole dorm for pokemon trainers, isn't there?

The mysterious derpface students, meanwhile, continue their club activities.

[Gold]

[Skills Sicker than the 14th Century]

Micah grins. "Good move, Aikobaz. Now watch as I make a better one!" he announces, taking a card from his hand and revealing it. The card depicts a swordsman who looks physically very sinilar to the one on the field, but is wearing a different set of armour that appears to be themed around some sort of ice dragon.

"By discarding Nekroz of Trishula from my hand, I can prevent your trap from working!" Micah explains. As he does so, the man featured on the card momentarily appears in order to destroy the kunai and chain before it can bind Areadbhair, before disappearing to the graveyard.

Free to make his attack, Nekroz of Areadbhair will then proceed to bring his weapon down upon Maha Vailo.

[Gullara]

Snek Lunch

"Hah! No, most everyone felt that way when they started. You staring late means you gotta bit of catching up to do, is all." Though some people probably were pretty used to being schooled in this way, there's also exiled empresses, pokemon masquerading as trainers, clockwork cyborgs, magical girls, and royal street urchins at this school as well.

[Snek Lunch]

Natharia smiles at him gratefully. "Yeah probably... All the regiment and schedule is pretty different, but it's okay. Just... need to get used to it, you know?"

[Ironsmith]

[Hallways ==> Gaudia's Room]

Ugh.

Really?

Is this sort of begging really needed?

Khannie WAS going to go to one of the workout rooms to punch inanimate objects until she felt better but maybe...

She gives a deep sigh.

Maybe hanging out with Gaudia and her friends would help a little?

It might not be very healthy for Khannie to expend so much energy yelling loudly that she's human. Her dad was pretty insistent that he loves her no matter what. And her REAL friends don't care. This has always been HER hangup. This has always been her ideas about what humans were like, legends that they were.

And of course it had just turned out that they're mostly regular people.

Maybe the problem isn't being a pokemon. Maybe the problem is that she's been fixated on a goal that's just-

Ugh.

Whatever.

"Sure, fine, just stop mashing please it sounds creepy," Khannie relents. She'll follow Gaudia back to-

...her dorm room.

There's a whole dorm for pokemon trainers, isn't there?

The mysterious derpface students, meanwhile, continue their club activities.

[Gaudia's Room]

Gaudia smiles. Maybe not the effect she intended, but she can't argue with the results!

It won't take long for them to get back to Gaudia's room, which Khannie will be able to smell long before she sees. Not that it's so bad... but strong, a fruity bouquet that rolls through the hallways like an overexcited jigglypuff. Though in complete fairness, Khannie's olfactory senses are a lot stronger than most people here, Gaudia included.

Nevertheless, when Gaudia gets to her dormitory and clicks the lock open (without needing to use a key, apparently), the smell will hit with renewed force, this time mixed with the sweaty, grimy scent of a poorly-maintained room. Right next to the door, there's a wicker basket full of various kinds of berries, which thankfully are quite fresh, sitting on top of a pile of other, empty baskets that reach up to Khannie's waist. The room is littered with various wrappers and small toys, as well as a half-dozen blankets that are scattered seemingly with no rhyme or reason to them, apart from the bed itself, which has a pair of pillows and a single comforter, crumpled up in a ball near the foot of the bed. In one corner, there's a desk with a computer on it, into which is plugged a familiar-looking, six-socketed device that comes standard in every pokemon center. There's a short stack of textbooks and an open notebook right next to it, the latter covered with illegible streaks of graphite.

"Make. Yourself. Comfortable." Gaudia invites, closing the door behind her.

[Skills Sicker than the 14th Century]

Micah grins. "Good move, Aikobaz. Now watch as I make a better one!" he announces, taking a card from his hand and revealing it. The card depicts a swordsman who looks physically very sinilar to the one on the field, but is wearing a different set of armour that appears to be themed around some sort of ice dragon.

"By discarding Nekroz of Trishula from my hand, I can prevent your trap from working!" Micah explains. As he does so, the man featured on the card momentarily appears in order to destroy the kunai and chain before it can bind Areadbhair, before disappearing to the graveyard.

Free to make his attack, Nekroz of Areadbhair will then proceed to bring his weapon down upon Maha Vailo.

[That's Pretty Dang Sick]

"N-nani?!" Aikobaz gasps, stepping back and covering her mouth with her hand. "Since when can you do that?!"

It just reeked of bull to her. At least if Micah had set a trap, there was a chance she could anticipate it and work around it, and there'd be some head game to be played there with the question of what the trap could be, if it was something that would actually be useful, or if her opponent was just bluffing, and so on. But a hand trap? What the hell was she supposed to do about that? There were never any circumstances under which Micah didn't have something in his hand. What's she supposed to do, always act like he's going to pull a random effect out of nowhere?

"...Hmph." The empress scowls, crossing her arms as her star monster is shattered to a million pieces in front of her. She says nothing else, turning up her nose indignantly at the game and waving for Micah to continue. She already knows what's going to happen.



Turn 14, Battle Phase


Monsters:
[???] (Normal Set)

Spells/Traps:
-Wave-Motion Cannon (4)

Graveyard:
-Final Countdown
-Witch of the Black Forest
-Kunai With Chain
-Mystical Elf
-Raigeki
-Magician of Faith
-Maha Vailo
-Metalmorph
-Kunai With Chain



Monsters:
Nekroz of Areadbhair [3300 ATK/ 3200 DEF]
Left-Hand Shark [1300 ATK / 1500 DEF]

Spells/Traps:
[???]

Graveyard:
-Night Beam
-Gunkan Suship Shari
-Little-Winguard
-Gunkan Suship Ikura-Class Dreadnought
-D. D. Trainer
-Preparation of Rites
-Nekroz of Brionac
-Reinforcement of the Army
-Shurrit, Strategist of the Nekroz
-Negate Attack
-Zero Gravity
-Nekroz of Trishula

[Rebonack]

[Gaudia's Room]

That's what Khannie gets for having a great big pointy fox nose under all that shadow illusion.

Her sense of smell is great even when she doesn't want it to be.

Case in point? Like, right now. Khannie doesn't make any commentary as she gets closer, remembering what the others had said about Gaudia's lack of smell. Which... considering that she doesn't have a nose Khannie guesses that makes sense, right? Once they're both into the room and the door is closed Khannie lets out a long sigh and allows her disguise to slough off, the shadows retreating from her like a second skin and melding into any of the darkness around the room.

There.

An H-zoroark. The first time she hasn't been disguised in any way around Gaudia and her friends. Her clothing is no disguise, though. And it looks like she gave that giant red poof of long bristly fur that naturally grows around her shoulders a pretty hefty trim so her clothing actually fits well. She's like the opposite of Gaudia's room. Trimmed, cleaned, and smelling more of nicely scented shampoo than wild pokemon. Even what would normally be a wild mess of ghostly hair on her head is orderly and tied off with a purple ribbon. Nine tails twitch and fidget behind her as if they all had minds of their own. For some reason they clip right through her pants.

Probably some sort of ghost thing.

<Listen you don't have to talk using the watch if you don't want; there isn't anyone to listen in,> Khannie points out, reverting to pokemon noises now that she doesn't have her human disguise to speak through. It actually feels kind of nice when she can just let her guard down. When she doesn't even have to bother with ghost sounds to make herself understood.

Ugh.

She still feels like an idiot, though. Nodding off in class and causing her disguise to break. Absolutely dumb. She shouldn't have eaten so much turkey for lunch.

Anywho!

Room.

First?

Holy heck the smell.

Second?

Holy heck this place is a mess.

<Uh... do you want some help cleaning your room? No offense but this place is a dump,> Khannie observes, ever the diplomat.

[Gold]

[There Are Not Many Ways To Use The Number 14]

Micah shakes his head and smirks. "Ever since the Kuriboh card was released, Aikobaz."

Without further ado, he calls "Left-Hand Shark! Taste-test her face-down card!" The grimacing shark swims forward through the air and begins to take a chomp out of the targeted card.

[Earl of Purple]

[Snek Lunch]

Natharia smiles at him gratefully. "Yeah probably... All the regiment and schedule is pretty different, but it's okay. Just... need to get used to it, you know?"

"Can't... really say I had that problem, y'know? Family life back home's pretty regimented, and there was a lot of pressure on me from early on. There's still pressure, here, but... not as much, and it's easier to get away from it." Being the destined heir of a warlord who conquered a quarter of the world results in quite a bit of pressure and danger from those whose territory was conquered the first time around.