Destiny Islands Academy for the Gifted (KH/FF)

ｓｅｖｅｎ

The classroom was a wreck.

After hurling magic spells all over the wall with the targets on it, some sections of the walls had been scorched, some frozen, some electrocuted. Mr. Estheim decided that for the last twenty minutes of class, you would all learn from a textbook instead of hands-on learning.

While you sat there, reading about fire spells as the handsome teacher lectured, the wall covered in targets shifted and rearranged so that new targets were in place and the ruined sections were made new.

You had never seen a self-cleaning wall in Twilight Town. That would have made your life much simpler.

For the first time in all your years of schooling, you didn't hear the bell ring. You were so deeply interested in the subject that you only found out it was time to switch classes by the tap on your shoulder.

"You gonna move, princess?"

Ah, that's right. Axel.

You looked up at him and nodded, putting away the textbook under your chair and standing up straight. You put your bag on your shoulder and took out your schedule.

Three pairs of eyes watched while you read aloud what was on the paper. "Weapons with Farron."

All three of your friends shook their heads as you sighed. Xion gave you a small smile.

"It's okay, only one class left and then the day is done," she told you sweetly.

You smiled. "That's true. Which way do I have to go?"

"Ne-" Axel and Roxas both spoke at the same time and looked at each other awkwardly. You rolled your eyes and faced Roxas.

"Roxas?" you asked, having enough of Axel.

The blonde smiled at your choice while Axel pouted. "Next door to the right," he answered. "I gotta go, I have calc. Bye, guys!"

You all waved off Roxas as you walked out of the room yourselves, giving Axel and Xion another smile and goodbye before walking into the classroom next door.

Again, all the chairs were lined up against one end with the teacher's desk on the other end. The difference this time was that there were no targets against the wall; rather, there was a huge table filled with rows of swords. In the center of the classroom were around thirthy dummies.

You looked over at the teacher's desk to see a woman sitting down, her eyes closed and arms crossed over her chest. Her pink hair shone uniquely.

"Hey, [Name]!"

Turning around, you saw Yuffie waving at you. Beside her was another girl with hair that matched the color of the teacher's and Squall.

What the heck is Squall doing with Yuffie? You looked over at the brunette man's face and saw intense annoyance written across it. Oh, of course. She forced him.

You walked over to the small "ninja" and her friends. You smiled at Yuffie in greeting before she hugged you, you hugging her back in surprise.

"Um, hi, Yuffie," you tell her. Squall watches you with amusement in his eyes but the ever-present frown still on his face. You glare at him before Yuffie releases you.

"Yo! Have you met my buds, Serah and Squall?" she asks.

"Squall, not Serah," you reply.

Serah is about to introduce herself before Yuffie does it for her.

"Well, that's Serah. Don't talk to her, she's a total bitch. She thinks she can do whatever she wants since her sister is our teacher and her super-old-and-super-hot boyfriend runs a club here," Yuffie rambles. Your eyes are wide.

Serah rolls her eyes. "That isn't true!" she argues, but she can't help but laugh at Yuffie's expression.

"And, of course you already know that Squall's a total killjoy," Yuffie says again. Now it's your turn to watch him with amusement as he scoffs.

"Whatever," he mumbles.

His word is the last one you hear before the bell rings and you all take your seats. The moment the sound goes off, Ms. Farron's eyes open. She takes a deep breath and stands, moving over to the front center of the room.

"Welcome to weapons class," she begins. "Since it's our first day, we're going to start off with basic two-handed sword training. This will last all week and next week we'll have our performance test and move on to a new weapon."

Ms. Farron turns to the side of the room, where all the swords are set for use. You follow her eyes and look at all the weapons, seeming to be in order of weight from greatest to least.

"There's one sword for every one student in class. If there's a sword left over, I'll call role. Go get them."

Her words are curt, but effective. She continues to stand still as you all get up and make your move toward the side of the room.

Squall instantly goes to the side of the table with the heavier weapons, grabbing a brawny sword and clenching it with two hands effortlessly. You, Yuffie, and Serah all go to the opposite side.

Serah grabs one of the weapons but staggers with it. A voice from behind that you didn't know was there speaks.

"Get the lightest one, Serah," Ms. Farron says. Serah looks up at her sister and nods before doing what she asked.

"Teacher's pet," Yuffie mocks her friend underneath her breath. You softly giggle at Yuffie's joke before she grabs a sword, too.

You're left with three of the lightest swords, and pick up the heaviest one. Your wrists quiver with it in your hands, so you quickly put it back down and grab the second-lightest sword on the table. Even that is hard for you to carry.

You try to act cool as you struggle to go to the center of the room where everyone else was but find it difficult with the clunky item in your hand. You stand next to Yuffie and face one of the dummies as the last few students finish taking their picks.

Ms. Farron scans the room. "Alright. Now, face a dummy if you haven't already. Move your hands around to get a feel of your weapon. On the count of three, do a horizonal slash along the dummy's torso."

You gulp as you stare at the dummy ahead of you. What the fuck is a horizontal slash!? Do I just swing this thing from one side to the other or-

"Three, two, one."

Her countdown is fast, and you do the only thing that comes to mind: trying to cleave the dummy from the left side to the right. It's almost impossible for you to even lift the sword in the first place, much less swing it with any form of finesse, so you end up cutting halfway through the thigh area of the dummy.

You look around the room. Almost everyone else's dummy is perfectly sliced in equal halves. Meanwhile, your sword is stuck inside of the dummy's lower area.

Ms. Farron's eyes land on you as you give her a cheap smile. She doesn't return it.

Instead, she walks over to you to examine what you've done. She gives an exasperated sigh.

"You have no technique. It's not a baseball bat."

You're taken aback from her cold, straightforward language. You can only give her the best smile that one can in your position: being towered over and awkardly hunched as your wrists were in a strange position.

"Haha, I'm new," you croak out.

"I can see that."