It was yet another day for Trivia. Stuck in the school for assassins and spies. At first, she thought it'd be fun. Sure, learning how to fight, use her aura and be stealthy was great. But it was yet another cage. The personalities of the girls around her were eroded over time, becoming more docile and subservient to the teachers. It was a conditioning that specifically meant for them to be obedient around authority. But when they were alone? Their original personalities resurfaced.
But her? She played the part, fit in. But only just enough to fool her teachers. Beatrix knew better than to fall for her act, so around her, Trivia never bothered to act subdued. They had a certain understanding. Which just meant Beatrix was interested in her enough to let it pass. She knew Trivia's Mother, after all.
It was yet another day, until the class was forced to stand at their desks by their homeroom teacher, Miss Kreacher. Apparently, someone important was visiting their class. And as soon as Beatrix walked in, Trivia rolled her eyes. If that was all, then this display was going overboard.
But she wasn't alone.
As soon as the other woman appeared, Trivia heard a familiar voice echo in her head.
'Wooow MAMA! I thought Beatrix was sexy before. This lady blows her out of the water!' It was her ever present friend, Neo. Some called her an imaginary friend but Trivia doubted it. She was so lively, mischievous and fun. All things she wasn't ever allowed to be.
Her words finally registered and Trivia gulped, thanking whatever God that was listening nobody but her could see and hear Neo.
'Hey! Even you have to admit it. This lady is probably in the dictionary as an example of 'sexy'. What do you think she's here for? Big shot? Another investor? Gangster?' Neo threw out ideas quickly, stepping around Trivia with exaggerated swagger.
Trivia thought about it and took a good look at the woman. Unarmed. The gang members she saw at least had a gun concealed away.
'Gotta be some senator's girl. But.. for some reason..' Neo's doubts mirrored her own.
There was an odd feeling she got from the woman. Perhaps her sixth sense warning her preemptively of some sort of danger. But she couldn't see through as clearly as Beatrix had.
"Today, my children, you'll be participating in a special event. Usually, sparring happens after your lunch period. But today we have a special guest. And should you impress us? A very bright future could be in store for you. Is there any questions?" Beatrix Browning asked, eyes scanning the students.
They knew it was a test. Step out of line and ask questions? That was just one more mark against you. You could be disciplined for such behavior. Thus, nobody spoke up.
Trivia watched as the the Headmistress and the redhead woman took a seat behind the teacher's desk, while Ms. Kreacher picked up a sheet of paper and began to call a few names.
"Melanie Malachite and Silva Bronzewing. Step up to the front of the class and grab your weapons. As usual, when the aura hits red, the match is over." Ms. Kreacher called out, her face stuck in what seemed to be a perpetual scowl.
'Ooh Miss Popular gets to go first. Because of course she does.' Neo muttered venomously.
She felt the same way. She hated the Malachite twins, as the two singled her out and turned the rest of the students on her for reasons she still hadn't understood. They weren't conditioned either, of course. Due to their Mother being Beatrix's partner and the one who funds the Academy.
The fight started, with Melanie, the black haired Mistralian teen in a white dress easily overwhelming the less experienced Silva. With a series of kicks, twirls and maneuvering, she easily beat Silva.
Of course, there was more to it though. Melanie used her legs in her fighting style, incorporating bladed heels just made her quick kicks deadly. While Silva was stuck using a dagger and lacked the range and speed to make any successful counterattack.
'Oh what a surprise.. The bitch basically 'perfects' her. No way Silva would go down that easy. They never do.' Neo stated contemptuously.
Melanie flicked her long hair back and smirked as she glanced back at Beatrix and Ryuko. Beatrix was stone faced, but nodded at her display. Ryuko, on the other hand, simply folded her legs and gave the girl a half-lidded bored stare. Seeing that, Melanie's smug smirk was promptly wiped off her face.
"Fight concluded. Silva, Melanie please return to your desks." Ms. Kreacher ordered.
Trivia had to hide the smirk that was gradually appearing on her face witj her hand. She pretended to cough, hoping nobody noticed.
'Ha! That dumb bitch thinks some acrobatics and some kicks would impress anyone? Silva held back. Because if she didn't, she'll join us on the reject bench. God, what a fucking riot! Did you see the look that lady gave her? Priceless!' Neo cackled on top of her desk, flailing her legs to express her amusement.
Trivia did her best to hide her amusement as more names were called up. Strangely, Miltia wasn't next after her sister. Both of them began to quietly whisper with each other while discreetly sending pointed glares at Trivia.
'Psh! What are you uggos staring at? You're already getting out of here in a week to go work with your bitch Mom. Let the rest of us get a chance to work under Mommy here!' Neo shook her fist angrily at them.
Trivia bit her lip. She wasn't quite sure yet if working under this new woman was actually what she wanted. As Neo said, she was hot. But that didn't automatically qualify her for best boss ever, did it? She could be as big a bitch as the twins. Or she could be a total psycho. She hadn't said a word since she stepped in, so she had no idea what to really make of her.
*Bonk!*
'Hey! You're overthinking stuff. Remember our training! Look at her facial expressions! Her body language. That should tell you at least something about her.' Neo struck her head and pointed out.
( ´ Д `) 'Hey..! But I guess you have a point..'
Trivia clutched her head, not that Neo's hits were painful. But playing along made Neo happy, so she often visibly reacted. Even when doing so made her look weird or 'like a freak' to her classmates. Thankfully, everyone was too busy watching the fight to care.
Trivia looked at Ryuko and saw she was watching her. A sexy smirk plastered on her lips, she was watching Trivia and enjoying her reactions.
'And she doesn't think we're weird.. Or maybe she does? Wait! What if she's into it!? We're eighteen! We can do things..' Neo licked her lips and stared, her eyes (and therefore Trivia's) roaming every sexy inch of the redhead.
(●´⌓`●) 'Calm down, Neo!! You're going to get me in trouble!!' Trivia's face flushed and she forced herself to shut her eyes.
'Tch. You're too innocent. Hm? Wait, I think you're being called.' Neo clicked her tongue, then called out to Trivia.
"Trivia.. Vanille!" Ms. Kreacher called out, her voice tinged with frustration.
Trivia opened her eyes and nodded her head repeatedly. She saw Miltia at the front of the class, looking at her with her arms folded. Her arrogant smirk irritated Trivia, but she was already probably in hot water for angering the teacher and possibly Headmistress Beatrix. She tentatively looked up at Ryuko and Beatrix, the former with a smirk on her face while the later remained stoic as always.
"You will be last. You shall spar with Miltia Malachite. Do you understand, Miss Vanille?" Ms. Kreacher asked sternly.
Trivia's brows creased at the mention of her last name but she forced down the anger and nodded while grabbing a light shortblade she was accustomed to using.
'Stab the bitch! Finally, a chance for revenge! Humiliate this piece of shit. Fight dirty, use every advantage you can.' Neo encouraged, getting up close to Trivia as she activated her semblance.
Trivia's previous scowl changed into a mocking smirk as half of her hair shimmered, turning from brown, to pink. Twirling the blade in her hand, she pointed it at Miltia.
"Tch.. Freak. Fine, I'll put you in your place." Miltia muttered, raising her arms, which were armed with sharp claws courtesy of her bracers.
"Begin."
With Ms. Kreacher's order, Miltia made the first move. Her lips parting in a grin, given she took the initiative.
Trivia knew she would. Arrogant and eager were what best described the Malachites. As soon as Miltia was in range, her bladed right arm thrusted out, aimed at her torso, the largest target a humanoid target had.
*Clang!*
Trivia swept out her shortblade, diverting the thrust harmlessly to the side before striking out with her left foot. Miltia raised her arm to block and took a step forward to try and keep Trivia in her range. But Trivia was fast and nimble. With sudden sidesteps and quick movements, she slipped away from a thrust, a swipe, an overhead swing and a few kicks meant to disrupt her rythm.
"Guh! You-!" Trivia parried another swing and used Miltia as a springboard, launching herself back, close enough to the desks that had been pushed back due to the fight. Miltia held back her urge to curse her out, but when Trivia gave her that smug smile, she decided to teach her a lesson.
'She's mad. Now's the time.' Neo informed, her voice giddy.
Miltia closed the gap and prepared to swing once more. Trivia arched her head back and swiped a can of soda from the desk before throwing it at Miltia's face. It was after lunch and some students hadn't yet put everything away yet when Beatrix and Ryuko had arrived.
Faced with a flying can coming right at her while she was attacking, Miltia diverted the trajectory of her attack to slash the can of soda.
*PSHH!* "Aaaah!! My hair!"
And of course, as a can of soda that had been slashed open, it burst and the sugary drink was spilled onto Miltia. Which gave Trivia the perfect window.
*SWISH!*
Trivia slashed Miltia across the chest and kicked her in the stomach before beginning her own relentless attack. With Miltia's rythm disrupted and forced on the defensive, it was all she could do to defend. Slashes, pokes to her extremeties and kicks assailed her while she kept on the defensive, looking for a way to turn things around.
*RIIIP!*
But Trivia wasn't done fighting dirty. Seeing as how Miltia was about to regain her momentum, Trivia kicked her left leg off to the side and grabbed the hem of her expensive red dress and pulled back, hard. As a result, a large tear formed, going up to Miltia's lower chest, where her lacy red bra and panties were exposed.
"YOU BITCH!!!" Furious, Miltia opted to strike back, while her other hand tried to cover herself.
Trivia grinned and blocked the swipe. Her right leg arced up and struck Miltia in the chin, showing how truly flexible the girl was. She then capitalized on her embarassment and post-kick confusion to grab a hold of her wrist and elbow, using her bodyweight to flip Miltia on her back before stabbing her shoulder with her straightblade, hard enough to shatter her aura and pierce through her skin and muscle.
"AAAAH!! It hurts!!" Miltia cried, bringing her hand up to her shoulder as pained tears came out of her eyes.
"Miss Vanille! That will be enough! Her aura has broken. Return to your seat this instant!" Ms. Kreacher demanded.
Trivia flinched but acquiesced, pulling her blade out of Miltia's shoulder with a pout. As usual for her, she was yelled at.
"Apologies.. Miss Vanille is a-" "A fantastic fighter~" Trivia stopped in her tracks as she heard Ryuko speak for the first time.
Turning around, she looked at Ryuko, who stood up with a smile. The kind nobody ever directed at her. Trivia looked around, just to make sure it was really her she was looking at.
"Yes, you. Of all the student matches I've seen here, you impressed me. Why had nobody thought to fight dirty until now? Battles are not spectacles until you reach a certain level of strength and fight a powerful opponent. You distracted, enraged and executed flawlessly. And I like this.. Neapolitan themed look you have. It suits you."
Trivia's thoughts came screeching to a halt for a few moments as Ryuko spoke and complimented her, saw her. She looked up into Ryuko's golden eye and saw it. She wasn't lying.
'You know what we have to do now, right Trivia?' Neo asked, licking her lips as they watched Ryuko step up to them and tenderly pat Trivia on the head.
(灬♥ω♥灬) Her irises, possibly due to her semblance, literally turned into hearts for a moment as she internally complained. 'Noooo..! Genuine praise and compliments are my weakness..!!'
Trivia shook her head and pouted with a trembling bottom lip while looking up at a very amused-looking Ryuko.
She then pointed up at Ryuko and silently declared, ( ◥◣_◢◤ ) 'I won't be swayed so easy! It'll take more than nice compliments, affection and admittedly great headpats to tame me!'
Ryuko turned to Beatrix while continuing to pat the top of Trivia's head. "I want her. She's the most impressive girl you have here. Adorable too~"
Beatrix tapped her jaw and sighed. "Very well. But I must talk with her Mother first."
[AN: What do you think about me using emoticons for Trivia/Neo given she's mute? Also, gimme your cummies-Stones, I mean]