Permessi
The assembly to announce the start of clubs was much more showy than Lixdite was expecting; it felt more like an event for a convention. Seeing an Italian company as a sponsor was also strange, but he should have expected it considering who is in his class. It was also a good way to see his teachers in a different context; Majestic seems to be an asshole to just about everybody, and Bat-sensei works surprisingly well with Rosethorn-sensei. Seeing all the teachers on stage kind of put into perspective what being a hero entails; will he have to do the same one day? The aura would make that problematic, but there may be workarounds; the PR teacher said so at least. The clubs themselves were nothing new; most students had already applied for them, but seeing some of the stranger ones get funding was a surprise. "I guess the games club will have more competitive people in it now; hopefully it doesn't get in the way of fun."
With all the excitement in the air and all the ads, Lixdite almost forgot the problem in this system; he needed permission from at least two teachers to be part of more than two clubs. Gaming and outdoors are not the most professional or educational clubs; at least they are not seen like that despite having a lot of useful parts as well, so he was a bit worried the teachers would just tell him to give up on one of them, but there should be at least two that would approve, right? "Sugiyama-sensei is pretty laid-back and also is the one I interact with the most; getting his signature doesn't seem that difficult. It's not like I'm doing anything wrong; Japanese culture is interesting, and I need to learn the language better." Starting with one teacher and thinking about the rest later seemed like a better idea than getting stuck reflecting.
The sun is covered by some light clouds; the serpent stops staring at the paper in his hands and stands up from his place on the roof; lunch is about to end, and the students will flood the halls soon. Landing in front of the door Lixdite is stopped by a voice calling to him.
"Aquila-kun, wait! Did you get lost again? You were not in the cafeteria; I didn't see you get food either." The young girl runs up to him; she is smiling but avoids eye contact, a tactic that seems to help with the aura.
"Mieko, she keeps following me. I am pretty sure she is the reason I always feel observed; I don't understand why." "I had some instant food. The cafeteria is... calmer without me." The general studies student made a habit of talking with Lixdite at lunch; when he was alone at least, she never approached when Mochi was there. "I wonder why she keeps her distance only then."
"That's not healthy; you should pay more attention to your diet. Heroes are supposed to be good role models and just healthy in general."
"I don't think anyone would care about what I eat." "I move a lot. Also snake metabolism."
"Do you really have snake metabolism? You should eat a lot less if that was the case; I studied that in biology."
"I don't know. Maybe?" The serpent is starting to get used to the strange conversations with the aspiring medic; he is not sure if she is normally this scatterbrained or if the aura has a strange effect on her. They walk to the classroom while talking.
A short silence fills the air as they walk back; Lixdite starts reading the form in his hands until the young girl speaks again. "Did you not notice anything different? About me maybe?"
"What is this question? She can't be talking about her hair; she changes color on a daily basis, sometimes faster if the mood strikes; her quirk makes it easy. But it's the only thing I noticed." "...Hair?"
"Yes, I had this idea today, and now we match. It will be gone by the end of the day, but I wanted you to see it at least. It's kind of strange you didn't notice."
"I guess it's just today's fancy." "That is not my hair?"
"It's the color of your feathers; it's very vibrant. Some girls in class even asked where I got inspiration from." Lixdite does recognize the similarity, but a slight detail feels off.
"Why the red?"
"What do you mean? It's on your tail and a bit of your wings. I think it's cool, but I could have sworn there was less of it when we first met. Then again, I was not exactly in the right state of mind back then, but I also looked at you around the school a lot..." The flood of words falls into the background as the serpent observes his own tail.
"I really do have red feathers now, why? My feathers never changed color for twelve odd years; even Mom was surprised; she always told me it was strange I never had baby feathers. But this feels different. What changed?"
"Aquila-kun? You dropped your form. Are you joining a club? I heard the hero students can only join two; I can't even find a single one I like. What clubs did you join? Do you think I could join too? Probably not; I need to study too much anyway; medicine isn't easy, you know?"
Lixdite would be worried about being unable to answer most of those questions, but by now he knows she doesn't expect an answer anyway. "Thank you. Games, outdoors, culture if the teachers help. I need... knowledge of language."
"Makes sense; it will be useful. You will finally be able to keep up with me. I was expecting the school to make it mandatory for transfers; it would make sense, right?"
"I don't think I will ever keep up with her, but I don't want to dash her hopes. She will forget about me in a bit anyway." "Yes, it would."
The door to the hero course classroom comes into view, and the young girl excuses herself; her class is closer to the cafeteria, so Lixdite has no idea why she gets so far; maybe she knows a shortcut. The class is empty; he managed to beat even Mr. Rules and his sister. It would be funny to see his expression at finding him there, but the helmet is in the way, and Lixdite doesn't have any ill will for the sister, so shocking her feels pointless and a little mean. Settling into his chair at the back of the classroom, the serpent is briefly distracted by the recent conversation; he finds himself looking over his wings in search of out-of-place feathers; there are more than he was expecting. "How did I miss these?" The sound of the bell snaps him out of it; the last part of the school day is about to start, and his classmates are about to arrive.
The school day is over, and as the class slowly prepares to go back to the dorms, the serpent waits; form in hand, he stares at the teacher's desk. "There are papers on there already, leftover paperwork most likely. The form should only require a signature, but asking him to read my explanation letter may be too much; I don't want to add more work to that pile." The teacher looks up from his paperwork with a tired expression, showing a hint of surprise and confusion when he sees Lixdite staring at him, but just awkwardly smiles a moment later. "Well, I'm out of time. I would rather avoid having to traverse the class with people still in it, but I can't add even more misunderstandings." The serpent stands up and starts heading for the front of the class; he keeps to the outside close to the windows to maximize the distance from his classmates. Kiko makes a strange sound similar to a squeak in the middle of a sentence as he gets near but recovers relatively quickly after she notices Lixdite is not even looking at her. The class rep glances at the situation; he meets the eyes of the serpent; despite the helmet, Lixdite can almost see the stern glare; he shrugs as the chatter resumes; Isao relents.
"Hey kid, to what do I owe the intense stare? I don't have the test results yet, just to be clear."
"Sugiyama-sensei, I humbly request your assistance in a matter of school administration." The serpent bows stiffly.
"Woah there, I don't think whatever you want to ask needs this much formality. I can try to help, but if it's money-related, I think it's better if you ask Michelson-sensei."
"I need permission to join the Japanese Culture Club. I already retrieved the admission form from administration. Which wasn't easy; the clerk almost called security twice and handed me the wrong form four times after dropping a whole stack. I would only need two signatures."
"Well, that's easy. It's a good initiative; I think it started as extra Japanese classes, but I don't know how we got to this point. You should have no problem finding another signature." The teacher closes in and whispers, "Just don't ask Majestic; he wouldn't even hear you."
"Thank you for the opportunity." Lixdite hands over the form, which is quickly signed by Ryusei.
"I am sure it will help with your condition; sometimes a couple of words of encouragement can get over the deepest fear; you just need to use the right ones. And maybe smile a bit more." The teacher hands the form back.
The serpent stands confused for a moment, then attempts a smile; the snake-like fangs glint in the evening light from the window, Ryusei makes a strange face. *"I knew this was a bad idea."
"It needs some work... but don't feel bad about it; we all start somewhere."
"Yes, and I start in the negatives. I can't blame him for trying to help; he's probably right anyway, but then I would have to worry about another problem." "Thank you for the advice; I will take it to heart. Good day." "I knew learning that sentence would be useful one day." With a final less stiff bow, the serpent exits the class after a nod of acknowledgment from his teacher.
With one signature acquired, the next step would be to find a second teacher; Lixdite didn't think this far ahead. Not quite sure who would be willing to let him join a third club, he decides to go for a more general approach; he will go where he knows there should be teachers, the faculty room.
He was lost; it took about two turns in the hallways before all the signs started to blur in his head; the constant stares and worried glances from the students around him didn't help. There is only so much Lixdite can do to avoid people in the hallways, and even then it would only make him appear more suspicious, defeating the point; a bit of attention was inevitable, but being lost was causing more trouble than he predicted. Before giving up and asking for direction again, probably traumatizing a random student in the process, the serpent remembers a last resource he keeps forgetting he has, ODA the AI his classmate made; hopefully it has a map of the school.
"To reach the faculty room, you need to turn right, but I would advise you to just fly out of the window; it would be the most efficient route."
"(Thanks ODA, but I prefer walking; I already attracted too much attention)." Lixdite was glad the AI was able to communicate in English.
"Then I will continue to provide directions. Do I have to recalibrate for a stealthy approach?"
"(No, just walking is enough; I give up on being unnoticed.)"
Now with a guide, again, Lixdite makes his way into the school, hoping the time he lost doesn't make him miss all the teachers. The other students are getting scarce; almost everyone already left or is in the club rooms for those that already started. The lack of people makes traversal easier, but it also means that he's running out of time. His feathers rustle in an unconscious current that pushes him to go faster, but the serpent attempts to remain calm; it's not the case to panic. The door to the faculty office is finally in sight; Lixdite almost glides the remaining distance but stops to calm down instead. As he reaches for the handle, the door opens by itself.
"Wait, that wasn't my wind." Rosethorn stands in the doorway.
"Oh, you are from 1-D right? Did you need something?"
"I was not prepared for this. She seems fine? I should try to be quick anyway." "Sorry. I was... searching for a signature? For clubs." The serpent was unsure how to act.
"You want to join a club? You only need permission for more than two; that is a big commitment."
"Yes? I have the paper. For the culture club."
"May I?" The teacher extends her hand; Lixdite is momentarily confused but quickly passes the form after. "Ryusei already signed this, and the document seems in order. Give me a moment." Rosethorn retreats into the office; the serpent shifts to the side of the door to avoid being seen; better not to take any chances with his aura. After a short time, the teacher returns. "Here, it should be in order. The Culture Club should be a good way to get used to life here; I hope you have fun."
"Thank you for the assistance." Lixdite is confused but takes the offered form anyway.
"Have a good day." Rosethorn offers a smile and goes on her way.
"That was way easier than I was expecting. I feel like I'm missing something." The serpent looks at the piece of paper in his hand, now with two signatures on it. "Now I just need to bring it back. Should I mail it? I don't want to deal with the clerk again, but it would take too much time to get there. Maybe someone else is on shift this time." Still unsure of what just happened, the serpent asks ODA for directions to the admin wing, hoping to find someone else at the desk.
Lixdite is back in his room after the events of the day. "There was a different clerk, but the situation was not much better; at least security was not involved this time. I guess Rosethorn-sensei is just that nice; I am not used to that level of professionalism." The problems at the admin office were enough to bring the serpent back to reality; the normal interaction with the teacher just before left him confused; he is not used to normal. "Club activities will start soon; it means less time to explore, but at least the outdoors club should let me do something similar. My aura should not bother people; outside there is enough space, and it doesn't carry across the web. The culture club is the main problem; I should write a letter of introduction."
With some time still left in the day, the serpent decides to start working on the letter early. The arrival of his roommate goes almost unnoticed in his concentration; Yuudai doesn't interfere with the writing, simply sitting on his bed and reading before going to sleep. A gust of cold air from the window reminds Lixdite of the late hour, so he decides to stop for the day; he closes the window before going to sleep.
"For once I remembered to eat; being ready for bed before I started writing was the right idea."