The Village Disciples

"How do I put this on!?"

It's been one week since the announcement of the school trip was made. We can currently observe class 1AB putting on their armor in preparation for their journey.

"You need to clip the top half of the chest plate to the bottom half, idiot!"

In a very poor manner.

*CLICK*

With the exception of his arms, legs, and head, Akogare was able to link his remaining pieces of armor together, covering his entire body in blackboard grey armor.

The blonde with yellow eyes then stretched out and grabbed a blue headband from a short wooden pole attached to the wall. Wrapping it around his head and fastening it tightly.

"Y'know, I kinda thought that the academy was going to force us to drag our armor home and bring it on the days we needed it. Having this room to store all of our stuff is really helpful."

Meisei voiced out loud to his classmates, glancing around the room a few times as he clipped his remaining armor together.

Naderamu tightened her blue headband to her liking, leaving her long blonde hair dangling over the top. "You really thought that they were going to have you haul all of this stuff back to your home?" She questioned with a tinge of mockery in her tone.

"Well," Tanjo began from the corner of the room, already fully geared. "I don't ever recall them mentioning this room. At the end of the class v class match we did; we just dropped off our gear at the academy."

The pink-haired Utsukushi huffed to the side, folding her arms over her breastplate. "You guys did. I was brought to the infirmary. The people there had to take my armor as I was resting."

Utsukushi then looked towards her classmates. "How did we even win? Before that crazy chick with the bombs could do much, I blacked out."

"When we were in the training field, the instructors declared our victory over the PA system. We weren't all together at the time, so I suppose it would've been right to assume that all of the red aura's were taken down by Tanjo." Sukudo explained, gesturing his hand over to the jet-black-haired teenager leaning against the wall. Waiting for his classmates to finish gearing up.

"I only took out some big red dude." Tanjo clarified, his gaze falling on the brown-haired student with red face paint.

Akogare suddenly perked up. "Meisei, Sukudo, and I took down some people with spikes as aura prints. It was really cool! At one point, Meisei shot an arrow over one of their heads, AND I CAUGHT IT WITH MY WHIP! I redirected the arrow to nail one of the red aura's in the back!" Akogare enthusiastically narrated one of his occurrences.

A clap was then heard all throughout the room. Looking over to the source, Mr. Oshieru was standing in the doorway, wearing his normal instructor uniform. A blue tunic with a black undershirt, tight light-grey pants, and a blue headband wrapped around his long blue hair. "Enough chit-chat. We have to get going soon. We'll be departing with Mr. Akushon's class.."

"Yes, Mr. Oshieru!" In a chorus, all of the students in the room spoke.

"When you get all of your gear on, meet me and the other class outside. When we're all there, our trip will begin." Mr. Oshieru directed, proceeding to walk back outside, leaving the door open.

Tanjo, Naderamu, and Akogare all began traversing to the door, leaving the rest of the class as they finished gearing themselves up in their academy-instituted armor.

XXX

"Alright! Now that we're all here, I'd like to say a few words."

Mr. Akushon, or the instructor of class 1AR, stands between class 1AB and his own class 1AR. Mr. Oshieru standing right beside him with his arms folded, a stern look on the blue aura instructor.

Mr. Akushon cleared his throat in preparation to speak, holding a clenched fist up to his lips. "Regarding our trip to Ryakudatsu; I, enforced by the academy, have to lay a set of ground rules for our trip." The red aura instructor notified, straightening his arms to his sides. Mr. Akushon then breathed in.

"First; As we're leaving, dispatched warriors ranging from mid-to-high class will be sent along on our travels, tasked with the responsibility to protect us if any dangerous situation makes itself known."

"Second; Both of the first-year classes will be separated at a split pathway within the forest we'll be traveling through. We have the whole forest mapped out, so we know the terrain in case of emergencies."

"Third; If I, Mr. Oshieru, or any of the warriors catch you doing anything you shouldn't, we will not hesitate to either apprehend to send you back to the academy, putting your attendance at Buraunmajiiku at risk as well."

With Mr. Akushon finalizing the standard rules of the trip, Mr. Oshieru put a hand on the red aura instructor's shoulder. "Nice job, Akushon." Taking his hand off of Akushon's shoulder, Mr. Oshieru clapped to garner the attention of the two classes. "Now, we'll be beginning our trip. The mid-to-high class warriors will be joining us right before we enter the forest."

A bright orange-haired male student of the red aura class raised their hand, getting Mr. Oshieru's attention. "Hi, Isho Fumetsu! I was wondering what forest it is?"

Mr. Oshieru, with his arms still folded, answered. "We'll be traveling through the Fukuga forest."

With Mr. Oshieru's answer, the orange-haired student with the name Isho Fumetsu nodded in acknowledgment. Mr. Oshieru then looked all around, a curious glint in his eyes. "Any more questions about where we're going or what we're doing? Perhaps why we are going on a trip?"

The enveloping silence was the blue-haired instructor's answer. "Alright, then! We'll be going now! Remember, stick to the path and follow me and Mr. Akushon!"

XXX

'I haven't had to wear armor in years.'

As of now, we can see a familiar white with black tinted-haired man adjusting various parts of his newly acquired armor. 'I'll still have to thank Reberu for sneaking me in here.'

This man was Kaminari Nozomu.

"Hey!" A masculine voice called out to Nozomu, prompting him to look to the side.

Another man, who looked to be around his 30's-40's jogged over to Nozomu. "You're the new guy, right?" The man had dark black hair that was tied into a long ponytail on the back of his head. "All of the other guys are waiting on the students at the entrance of the forest. I saw you were just standing here, so I thought I'd ask if you were coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming. Just had to adjust my armor a bit." Nozomu was quick to reply, rolling his shoulders to play off the ponytailed man's query. "What's your name?"

The ponytailed man started turning around, seemingly heading back to where he came from. "Haishi. Now, come on. We have to be ready for the academy students." The ponytailed man who is now identified as Haishi informed, waving a hand behind him as he walked away.

Nozomu proceeded to follow Haishi, leading Nozomu towards the other warriors who are all presumed to be tasked with the same job.

"Okay, men!" Haishi started, calling out to the group of warriors sitting around in wait. "Listen up! This is one of our new guys, his name is…" Haishi paused, looking over to Nozomu.

Nozomu glanced over to Haishi as he was being questioned. 'Should I give my real name? I'm not really well known. Besides, they know my face already.' Nozomu sat in thought for a few moments. "Kaminari Nozomu." The white-haired man finally introduced himself.

"...Kaminari Nozomu! So, with that said, I don't want you guys to question who he is and why he's here. Did you all catch that?" Haishi finished informing the other warriors, getting copious non-verbal nods in response. "Good."

A female with short dark brown hair suddenly looked off into the distance. "Hey, Haishi. Those academy students are on their way." The female warrior announced, getting the attention of all the other waiting warriors as well.

Haishi nodded, clearing his throat. "Okay! Our journey begins once they arrive. From there, it'll be a non-stop walk to Ryakudatsu. Are you guys ready!?"

"Yes, sir!" All of the warriors, Nozomu excluded, asserted, standing up in the process.

Haishi laughed in mirth. "See these warriors, Nozomu? With men like these, our world has a fighting chance at keeping the peace. What do you think?"

Nozomu's eyes remained glued on each of the warriors, contemplating how to answer. 'These men aren't enough for what's to come. I'm not even sure if I could ever be enough.' Nozomu coughed, setting his mind free from his thoughts. "Sure, yeah."

"Ah, you'll see. You'll see." Haishi smiled, looking off into the distance at the incoming students. 'It'll be a good trip.'

XXX

Here we go! I'm stoked to begin this new arc of the story. I have this all planned out and I can't wait to start writing away! Stay tuned for more!

Have a Good Day!

Peace - Cr1ticalz_