Ail

I never liked school that much; it wasn't ever too fun or interesting for me. Yet for some reason, I always got kind of excited when going to a new school. Maybe it's because I would always wonder how different it would be compared to my last one. I don't know why I always think this, since each one turns out being as dull as the last... And this time was probably no different.

When I moved to the center of the Neturus region, I honestly wasn't expecting much out of the school I was transferring to, Neturus High (especially since it had such an original name). Not surprisingly, it appeared to be just as typical looking as any other school I've been to. I guess it'll always be this way...

--

It looked fairly large enough on the outside, but when I went inside it looked even bigger. Good thing my room was on the first floor, since having to climb the stairs every day would be a huge pain in the rear.

"If I remember correctly, my first class is in room 17."

When I went in the room, I sat down in a vacant desk in the front row. The room was abnormally warm, even though it was already the middle of September. So no one was very enthusiastic about coming to class that morning, that's for sure.

Our teacher, Ms. Reachet, came into the room, not looking too cheery herself. "We have two new transfer students today." She said in a monotone voice. "The both of you should introduce yourselves."

I wasn't very surprised about having to introduce myself, since I've had to do so all the time, but I didn't expect there to be another transfer student. That was a pretty odd coincidence, since it's not like this school is very well-known (even if it tries to be by naming itself after this region). As I wondered who it was and what their introduction would be like...

"You." Ms. Reachet said to me. "Introduce yourself first."

Oh, but of course... I thought to myself.

I got up, then said my 'well thought-up' introduction that I put together in 5 seconds.

"I'm Ail, 16 years old, and have just moved here from southern Neturus. Nice to meet you all, I guess..."

Then I sat back down, slightly satisfied.

"Is that all you're going to say?!" Ms. Reachet gave me a not-too-happy stare down.

I was pretty sure some of the other students gave even less original intros than I did, so I decided to ignore her.

"... Oh, well." She pointed to the kid sitting next to me. "It's your turn now."

The boy stood up slowly. He appeared rather short and effeminate, and seemed shy looking. Even though it was over 70 degrees in the room, he was wearing a sweatshirt for some reason.

"M-my name is Tear..." He stated, with about as much volume as a water droplet.

"... And?" Ms. Reachet said, giving him an irritated look.

"Uh... um..." Tear uttered, trying to think of something else to say. "I-I'm 15 years old, and I've just moved to Neturus..."

A foreigner, huh?

"... Anything else you'd like to add?" Ms. Reachet asked, not looking any less upset.

"No..." Tear answered, then sat back down quickly.

He must not like talking much. Either that or he's scared of the teacher, which I can't really blame him for. I'm kind of annoyed he copied my intro, though...

I glared at him, which he noticed, so he backed away from me. As much as he could in his small seat, anyway.

"E-eh?" He stammered.

"Uh oh, he's dead meat..." "The poor guy's a goner!" Two students commented, thinking I couldn't hear them.

Yeah, I'm not the most liked person in this school, apparently. Heck, I'd only been in the room for not even 10 minutes and almost all of my classmates were afraid of me already. It didn't bother me too much, but I found it a bit ridiculous.

"Why can't anyone give a proper introduction anymore?" Ms. Reachet sighed. "I've only been teaching for about a year, and I'm already beginning to get overstressed..."

Are you sure it's not the heat that's stressing you out?! I hope she's not like this all the time...

"It'll be my pleasure." A boy in the back row said out of nowhere. He stood up, with a smirk on his face. "My name is Barry Fesch, but please refer to me as..." He took out a spatula and held it up in the air. "...the Master Chef!"

... Who is this imbecile?

"We already know who you are, Barry. Why are you introducing yourself again?" Ms. Reachet asked.

"The Master Chef is aware that he introduced himself already." Barry said, speaking in third person for some reason. "But the transferees have not had the pleasure of hearing the Master Chef's introduction, have they? The Master Chef merely felt sorry fo-..."

"Enough. Sit down so we can start class." She cut him off, not caring at all about what he was saying.

Huh, maybe she isn't so bad after all...

--

We had a pretty long first lecture that day, most likely because of the two new transferees (one of them being me, obviously). So we ended having lunch break right after it.

There weren't that many tables in the cafeteria, so it was hard to find a place to sit. Everyone was too scared to sit with me, of course.

When I thought I'd finally found an empty table, I realized that someone's bag was on one of the chairs.

Whatever, they can move.

I thought, while taking out my lunch.

I really don't feel like moving after finally finding somewhere to sit. It's their problem if they don't want to sit with me...

"I can't believe I forgot to bring money to buy lunch..." Tear said to himself, walking toward my table.

So it was him who left his bag here? What are the odds...

"I'm so hungry..." He sat down while holding his stomach.

"You expect me to give you food? 'cause I'm not."

"Eyah!" Tear exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing here?!" He asked, finally aware of my presence.

"Eating lunch. What does it look like?" I responded, before taking a bite out of my sandwich.

"I see... E-excuse me for asking."

"Where's your food?"

"I-I already ate..." Tear's stomach growled, which caused him to blush out of embarrassment.

"Liar."

"D-don't mind me..."

Like I couldn't figure out you were hungry before, stupid.

"Go get food from one of your friends and leave me alone."

"I don't have any friends..."

"Then make some."

"B-but I'm not good at making friends. I couldn't even make any at my last school..."

... Seriously? Jeez, what am I supposed to do after hearing that?

I sighed. "Here, you can have this." I said, handing Tear a pear.

"F-for me?! R-really?"

"Yeah, just take it already."

"T-thank you so much!" Tear took it, and ate it happily.

"Jeez, no need to be so happy over a pear."

What a weirdo. But at least he's not as strange as...

"How does the Master Chef's soup taste?" Said Barry, the stupid chef boy from earlier. He was sitting a few tables away from us with three girls from our class. "Delicious, is it not?"

"Very delicious, Master Chef!" The girls responded in unison.

He definitely had to be the most pompous guy I'd ever met. How so many girls liked him was beyond my comprehension.

"Alright, now that the Master Chef has finished eating, he must go wash up. After all, the Master Chef can't be a Master Chef with filthy hands!" The flirtatious chef boy said before going to the washroom.

Whatever, I'll just ignore him and finish my sandwich...

As I finished my lunch, Tear got up, apparently looking at something.

"What is that?" He said, looking really curious about what he was seeing.

"What are you talking about?" I looked in the direction he was looking, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"There's a weird light over there..." Tear walked away, toward... whatever it was that caught his interest.

"Hey, where are you going?!" I exclaimed, thinking he had gone delusional.

I decided to follow him to see what he was looking at. While I ran towards him, I began to see a strange light. Wondering why it took me a while to see it, I asked: "Is this the thing you were talking about?"

"I-I wonder what this is...?" Tear poked it.

"I don't think you should tou-..."

All of a sudden the light started to grow, until it covered everything in my line of vision.

"W-what's happening? AHHH!!!" Everything seemed to disappear, as I apparently blacked out.

--

When I woke up, Tear and I were in a strange room...

... In case you're wondering, Tear was the one who screamed, not me.

"What the heck is going on!?"

"W-what is this place? Where are we?" Tear hid behind me, like he was expecting a ghost to pop out or something.

"I wonder how this happened..." A third, familiar voice said.

"Hey, that's..."

"What's the stupid chef boy doing here?!"

"The Master Chef was just washing his hands, when he was suddenly flashed with a bizarre white light!" He explained. "It is most perplexing..."

That's pretty much the same thing that happened to us...

"Welcome." Said another familiar voice.

Four people, one of them being Ms. Reachet, were on a scaffold-like platform above us.

"Tell us what's going on!"

"Calm down, we'll explain everything." Ms. Reachet said in her usual dull voice. "... Paint, Treble, and Culinary. Do these people's names sound familiar to any of you?"

"Why is that important?!" I was mixed between anger and confusion, although the anger probably came from the confusion.

"U-um, they sound kind of familiar..." Tear scratched his head.

"Of course, the Master Chef is aware, unlike his two peers here." Chef boy cut in, acting like he knew everything. "They are the three mythical heroes spoke of in Neturuan legend, are they not?"

"Correct. Well done, Barry."

You didn't need to further boost his ego, Ms. Reachet. And what's the point in saying 'mythical' and 'legend' in the same sentence, chef boy?!

"You three have been chosen by one of the Spiritual Guardians to become the next trio who will protect this land."

"U-us?! The three of us?!" Tear said in shock and disbelief. "A-are you serious?"

"A Spiritual Guardian, huh? The Master Chef is not surprised that one of them noticed his greatness." Chef boy added.

"Why would it choose the three of us, of all people?" I asked.

"Because your passions for certain things meet the requirements."

"Huh?" I said, even more confused.

"Tell me, what is the one thing you each have the most passion for?"

"Do you even need to ask? The Master Chef's passion is, of course, cooking!"

Ms. Reachet pointed to Tear. "What about you?"

"U-um... It's painting..."

"What about you, Ail?"

"Music, I guess." I said, noticing a pattern going on.

"Just as I thought. Your power comes from your passions. To use the power of Paint you must love painting, to use the power of Treble you must love music, and to use the power of Culinary... well, you get the idea."

"I'm having a hard time understanding this, bu-..."

"The Master Chef asks, how exactly will we use this power?" Chef boy cut in, interrupting me.

"I was going to ask that!" I said angrily.

This guy is seriously pissing me off!

"The leader of our group should be the one to ask the questions. And since this group contains the Master Chef, it is only natural that someone as great as him become the leader. Correct?"

"Nothing you said just now made any sense!" Nothing you say does, come to think of it...

"Enough, both of you!" Ms. Reachet exclaimed, irritated at us. She then pointed to the three people standing behind her. "These teachers are Ms. Pensil, Mr. Musico, and Mr. Kooc. They'll be your art, music, and cooking teachers, respectively. They'll also teach you how to fight the monsters."

"M-monsters? W-we have to fight monsters?!" Tear asked, scared.

"Yes. Monsters are starting to appear in Neturus, just like in your ancestors' time. You are the only ones with the power to defeat them. But you should of already realized that by now."

"You... can't be serious." I said questioningly.

At this point, I was starting to think this was all a dream. I mean, I've had plenty of weird things happen to me before, but nothing like this!

"The Master Chef wonders if these 'monsters' are edible... Can they be flambéd, he wonders!?"

"What is wrong with you?!"

Seriously, tell me. Just how can you be relaxed at a time like this?!

Ms. Reachet lowered the platform down. "Alright, are you three ready?"

"Wait, you never even asked us if we wanted to do this or not."

"To be honest, the Master Chef would rather not do this either. But do we really have a choice?" He said smugly.

"Exactly. If you refuse, they'll be no one to stop the monsters." Ms. Reachet explained.

I hate to admit it, but they have a point. Even though this whole thing seems crazy, if it's actually true, then the best option would be...

"... Fine. Just give me my weapon already." I said, giving in to the madness.

"Here you go." Ms. Reachet gave us each a small emblem. Mine looked like a music-note, Tear's looked like a palette, and chef boy's looked like a small spatula.

We all stared at them in confusion. "What are these things for?" I asked. "You said you'd give us weapons."

"You'd look suspicious carrying around weapons, obviously." Explained Ms. Reachet. "You'd all stick out like sore thumbs. This way, you can all hide your weapons but still be able to carry them with you."

"So we have to do this in secret, huh?"

"Of course. Unless you want to start a riot that badly. Go ahead, tell everyone else about the monsters..."

Hey, there's only room for one deadpan snarker here!

"... Anyway, it's better the existence of the monsters is known only to the ones here in this room." Ms. Reachet continued from where she left off. "For everyone's sake, you should all take care of this problem as soon as possible without anyone else know what you're doing."

"Yeah, we got it..."

"Um, b-but how do we use our weapons?" Asked Tear.

"Call out the power of your ancestor."

"How?"

"It's simple. Just say their names."

"Culinary!"

"P-Paint!"

"Treble!"

All three of us transformed our emblems into weapons. Mine turned into a sword.

I held up my sword. "Wow, it actually worked..."

"So, you got a sword. It's a cliché weapon, but the Master Chef thinks it suits you." Chef boy scoffed.

"At least it actually looks like a weapon..." I replied, looking at Barry's weird tool. "Seriously, how do you expect to fight with that? It's just a giant spatula!"

"Oh, but it is not merely a spatula..." He paused, then held up his weapon high in the air. "It is a dual-headed spatula! A perfect weapon for the Master Chef!"

So the fact that it's giant doesn't matter to you...?

I sighed. "Whatever, I give up at trying to understand you, chef boy..." I turned to Tear. "Did you at least get a good weapon, Tear?"

"I'm not sure..." Tear uttered, holding a giant paintbrush.

"... Guess not." I feel kind of sorry for him...

"H-how am I supposed to use this...?" Tear asked himself nervously.

"Alright, that's good." Said Ms. Reachet. "Put your weapons in your pockets to change them back."

"Like this?" I put my sword in my pocket, and it changed back to emblem form. "Well, that's pretty convenient..."

Tear and chef boy did the same.

"Alright, next period is starting soon. I'll guide you all out of here." Ms. Reachet showed us how to get out of the weird room.

--

Later that day, we went back to learn how to use our weapons. The other teachers actually talked to us this time. Mr. Musico taught me the basics on how to use the sword, which only took a couple minutes.

"Alright, I guess I kinda understand how to use this now." I said, holding up my sword. "I'm better at this then I thought I'd be..."

"Well, it isn't very difficult to wield a blade. The Master Chef bets he could learn in the time it takes to make an appetizer." Said the pompous cook.

"Would you shut up already!? You're wicked annoying!"

"S-so, these different color paints all have different effects?" Tear asked Ms. Pensil.

"Right. Over time, you'll be able to use more kinds of paints."

"I see..."

"So when exactly do we need to fight a monster?" I asked Ms. Reachet.

"When a monster appears."

"No, really? I meant how will we know when one does appear?!"

"Trust me... you'll know."

Wow, how specific. You realize this could be life threatening, right? I mean, this might be cool in a fantasy story or something, but this is real life!

"So... we finished with training?" Asked chef boy. "The Master Chef can't keep the ladies waiting."

"Yes, for now you may leave. I'm sure you all know the way back this time... Dismissed." Ms. Reachet left the room.

"Finally, I'm so tired..." I said, then left with the others.

--

I left the other two and sluggily walked to the office to get the key to my new dorm. I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible so I could finally get some rest...

"Good evening, young man." A woman sitting at a desk greeted me as I walked into the office lobby.

"I'm here to get the key for my new dorm room."

"Oh, you must be one of the transfer students, then." She got out a key from the desk. "Here you are."

"Thanks." I grabbed the key and walked out.

... Well I tried to walk out, but I, quite literally, bumped into Tear.

"Ah, s-sorry." Tear said, almost losing his balance.

"Here to get your key? Already got mine."

"I-I see." Having nothing else to say, Tear got his key from the lady.

"You two make sure to get along, now." Said the lady before we walked out.

"Just what was that supposed to mean?"

"Um, what's your room number?"

"Well, that's a random question." I looked at my key. "39, why?"

"T-then I guess we're going to be roommates from now on..."

"What?!" I'm starting to get sick of these coincidences...

End of Chapter 1