Fan Fiction ❯ Judgment ❯ Lariat Cream ( Chapter 4 )

Judgment

Chapter 4 - Instructor Cream

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. High school…gets in the way. LOL

Glimpse Ahead: Lariat's test…his forgotten past…a forgotten lover…

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'It's been one week since the Delmont Mission. So far, everything's been running smoothly. Delmont's almost as good as new; me and Yuki are about to be promoted to full-fledged soldiers, and…'

"Hi, Kevin!" A cheerful voice blared through Kevin's consciousness, completely disrupting his thoughts.

"Hey, Shawn," The soon-to-be soldier replied, turning around to wave at the smaller boy as they prepared to walk to class. He felt something that seemed…nice, as he saw the boy approach.

'I actually made a friend. This is a new thing for me, even Yuki never made me smile, and yet Shawn can. Must be a guy pals thing.'

"Did you finish the essay?" Shawn began, slowing his sprint so he could talk to Kevin, "A four page report on magic and its uses in battle was sorta long. I didn't get finished with mine…" Shawn said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Yeah. I had Yuki help me. You can look off mine and use it for…'Inspiration', if you want," Kevin replied, opening the door for his younger friend.

'Uh oh…'

Kevin knew he had just made a big mistake. Yuki had made it clear the last time he walked to class with Shawn that she did not appreciate him being in company with the new student. Kevin couldn't figure out why she was being so insecure. Sure, Kevin and Yuki's relationship was becoming a bit less platonic, but nothing was for certain. Besides, Kevin still wasn't certain that he was bi. In fact, he was still rather confused about it all, and as a rule of thumb, he generally pushed the issue into the back of his mind rather than dealing with it.

"Kevie! Oh… Hey Shawn," Yuki said, waving the two over (or probably meaning to just wave over Kevin) to the desk. "Oops… Sorry, Shawn, I forgot you have Magic and Sorcery with us. Guess you'll hafta sit somewhere else," Yuki said goofily, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Again? Well, okay. I'll go sit with Jade, then. Talk to ya later!" Shawn said, a new tone of disappointment entering his voice.

"What was that about, Yuki?" Kevin asked, irritated. Yuki treated Shawn differently. It was odd, because the girl was normally so accommodating to everyone. There didn't seem to be anyone she disliked… Save for the new kid… Shawn. Someone Kevin had taken quite a liking to.

"What was what about?" Yuki asked innocently, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

Kevin sighed heavily. Maybe he was just looking for things that weren't there, or subconsciously trying to ruin his first possible relationship, but he knew he saw some sort of 'rivalry' in her eyes. "Nothing, forget I said anything." He let it drop as he sat down, and put his eyes to the front, but there was something else in his line of vision… A head of honey brown hair that glinted in the sunlight…

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The rest of class went off without a hitch. Notes were taken, questions were solved, and equations written.

"Remember, I want those essays turned in no later than Friday!" Instructor Cream said with a note of finality in his voice, stressing the word Friday. Then he walked over to Kevin's desk before the younger boy had a chance to leave the classroom.

"Mr. Device, may I speak to you?" The teacher asked, raising one hand to his glasses and the other hand to hold his elbow.

"Oooh, what'd you do now, Kevie? Heehee… See ya later!" Yuki said teasingly, waving as she ran off. Kevin sighed. What had he done now?

"You wanted to speak to me, sir?" Kevin asked, putting one hand on his hip as he waited for a response.

"Yes. Would you like to accompany me to the training center? I'm supposed to have my monthly physical exam today, and I need backup," Cream said, walking back to his desk and sitting down.

"Exam?"

"Yes. Instructors must take a 'physical exam' every month. It's basically like your field exams, going into the training center and killing off monsters," the instructor said, smiling up at his student.

"Oh… I'll go with you, Instructor," Kevin said, saluting his superior.

The blonde took off his glasses, cleaning them on his white coat as he stood up, smiling. "Please, Kevin. I've been your instructor since you joined Besalt. I give you permission to call me Lariat," he said, putting his glasses back on.

"…Lariat."

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"So, Kevin, tell me. Are you and Ms. Utuda involved?" Lariat asked as they walked towards the training center, a large battlefield complete with manmade versions of most passible terrains (including beaches and deserts).

"Me and Yuki? No. Wait, well, I don't know. Maybe," Kevin answered softly. It was still awkward to be around Instructor Cream outside of class. Plus, Kevin felt a little inferior around him. He was an accomplished soldier, besides being an instructor.

"Don't worry. I wasn't sure of my feelings either when I was your age. It doesn't get easier in time, but it is easier to accept how you feel…" The taller man said gently, adjusting his glasses once more. "We're going in. Are you ready?"

"Yes, sir," Kevin replied, pulling his sword from the sheath on his back. Lariat nodded, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a tessen, an iron fan made for battle. Kevin nodded, and pressed a button on the wall, opening the large steel door that led into the training grounds.

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"I… Won't lose!" The young blonde yelled, putting his weapon infront of him. A swirling vortex of wind surrounded the boy, and he swung his tessen at his adversary. The eddy advanced towards his opponent, trapping him in the cyclone. Green blades of wind, sharp as razors, tore through the enemy over and over, till he crumpled onto the ground in a bloody heap.

On the outside, the boy was happy. He had struck down that which stood in his way on the battlefield, which all soldiers were meant to do. But on the inside, he was a wreck, a sobbing, crying, and miserable wreck. Though he had defeated, possibly even killed, his enemy, he had also defeated, possibly killed his-

"Instructor! Over there!"

Lariat was brought out of his reminiscing by Kevin's yell. He surveyed the area, a manmade forest with few treeless spots, and found what Kevin was talking about. A Roost, a bird-like monster that stood on its hind-legs that had lost use for its wings due to evolution (the wings now protruded from its head, used to help it keep its balance), was standing in one of the clearings, pecking at the ground anxiously.

The two men walked towards it cautiously, their weapons firmly gripped in their hands. The Roost cocked one eye at them, jumping up and about. It jumped away from them, raising its beaked head towards the skyas a sphere of orange electricity crackled in its bill. It let out a screech as it shot a current of lightning energy at the pair, aiming to kill. The duo jumped out of the way, narrowly missing a shower of electrical energy.

"Cocky thing, isn't it?" Instructor Cream asked wryly, standing upward and holding his tessen out infront of him. The blonde started to gather energy from within and around him, as his iron-fan began to glow a brilliant red. A single beam of energy shot forth, hitting the ground. It then moved forward, before going up the bird-like creature; it left a glowing red line of the monster's body, which erupted in a flash of light after a few moments. The beast shrieked in pain, stumbling over itself clumsily.

"Instructor! Aren't these things supposed to be to-" Kevin began, but was cut off by an angry screech. The winged monster bent over slightly, aiming its beak at the two men like it was a gun. An aura of magical energy flowed around it, before it flapped its wings angrily. A strand of lightning zigzagged through the air as it struck Lariat, causing a small cloud of smoke to surround his body as he doubled over, convulsing in pain as electricity shot through his him.

"I-Instructor! No!" Kevin yelled angrily, before turning his head to glare at the monster that had injured his teacher. "You'll pay," he said threateningly, holding his sword out infront of him, gripping the dull end of the blade. He howled in rage, charging towards the feathered fiend, slashing it three times with his sword before holding the blade aloft, he started to feel the haze that the other trainees and instructors called the Rage-Zone, and then Kevin shoved the blade into the ground, causing a shockwave to tear through a small radius of the area. Needless to say, the Roost was no more. It stumbled backwards, trying to cling to life as it let out a shriek of turmoil and pain before it fell to the ground in a lifeless pile.

Kevin ran over to his crouching instructor, helping him stand as the pain from the lightning spell faded. "Are you okay, Instr…Lariat?" Kevin asked, pulling one of the man's arms over his shoulder to help him walk.

"Yes, Kevin, I'll be fine," Lariat, replied weakly, wincing as they began walking towards the exit. Suddenly, there was a loud booming sound in the distance. "Kevin…"

Another loud booming sound tore through the air.

"…Yes, Lariat?"

Another one, this time much closer.

A tree was tossed into the air, landing a yard away from the two men. A large, yellow and green colored reptilian monster charged through one of the heavily woodened areas, knocking trees away like building blocks.

"RUN!"

The two men bolted away, trying their best to get away from the prehistoric-looking monster. As Lariat and Kevin ran, Lariat began to slip back into the past.

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"Zeke!" The smaller blonde giggled, latching onto the older boy. Zeke was a member of the Eldrich Military, and could only come to see his younger friend every few weeks. Lariat held onto the reddish-blonde haired boy tightly, as Zeke lifted him off the ground and spun him around.

"Next weeks the field exam… You gonna be re-"

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"Zeke…Zeke…Oh…ZEKE!"

One more moan, one more cry, one more thrust and another night for the two cadets was finished. Lariat laid back onto the bed, glistening with a sheen of sweat. He panted out his love for the older boy, arching his back as he pulled out.

"This could be our last night, ya know. We're both taking the field exams, one of us could di-"

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"Congratulations, Cadet Cream. You are now a first class Soldier for the Besalt Military," The balding Headmaster said, placing a medal on the young boy's chest. The blonde boy nodded his head, saluting the Headmaster.

Later that night, reality hit hard with a phone call. It was Doctor Siril, and her message was not a good one for the new soldier.

"Hello, Doctor. Is Zeke okay? Wait…what? N-no…No! No!"

Just as Lariat had expected, the special move he had used on the older boy had been fatal. He dropped the phone, letting it dangle on the coiling cord as Doctor Siril asked the nothingness on the other end if it was okay. The smaller boy wrapped his arms around himself, leaning and sliding down the wall in a sobbing fit of hysteria as he realized what he had done. He hadn't known the move would be that bad! He hadn't known he would have to fight Zeke! It couldn't be his fault his friend, no, his lover, had died! That's what he kept trying to tell himself as the tears streamed down his face, and the pain in his heart tore him to pieces. He fought to breathe as the sorrow began to choke him, but as Doctor Siril finally hung the phone up, and Lariat stood up to do the same, the welcoming silence, the absence of telephone conversations with Zeke or the rich bass laugh that would ring out through the dorm during his visits told him one thing - That it was true.

The large, dinosaur-like creature swiped a claw at Kevin, who barely dodged it as the sharp claws threatened to tear him to shreds. Lariat turned around and looked at the scaled behemoth, holding his fan infront of him. The instructor yelled out some kind of ancient incantation that Kevin couldn't understand, and a green wind whirled around him as he concentrated. Lariat had sworn to never use this move again, but he would not lose someone else so dear. He lashed the fan forward at the monster, sending a vortex of green wind charging at the goliath. It captured it, tearing into it with its wind blades many times. But even it wasn't enough to slay the monster. It turned around, and swung its tail at the two men, knocking them over.

'No! It can't end like this!' Kevin's mind screamed, as the ferocious beast opened its fang-filled mouth, prepared to swallow him whole.

"Strike with lightning!"

'The hell?'

Three stands of lightning tore through the air, hitting the monster's snout dead on. It roared in pain, while static electricity crackled around its mouth.

'Yuki?'

Kevin looked up to find the person who had cast the spell standing on a hill next to the monster, and thought he saw Yuki. It was just his mind playing tricks on him though, as the image blurred and turned into who was really responsible for saving the teen and his teacher. It was a girl with rich chocolate brown hair pulled back into a short, messy ponytail while two long bangs dangled infront of her face like curtains over the windows into her soul. She was wielding a nunchaku, holding the bars infront of her defensively.

The girl's eyes glowed in the white shade of ice and snow. She crisscrossed the bars infront of her, and then held them away from each other so that the chain was stretched to the limit as a familiar gust of magical energy radiated from beneath her and disappeared above head. She held the handles of her weapon over her head, again pulling the chain as far as it would go before she finished chanting her spell. Frost filled winds encircled the monster's snout, eddying around it slowly as a large, jagged spear of ice formed beneath it, tore through the bottom of its mouth, piercing its tongue, and finally ripping through the roof of its mouth. The reptilian creature tried to let out a cry of pain, but the icicle impaling its maw was impairing its ability to move its jaws.

The girl again did the odd movements with her nunchaku as another aura of magic flowed around her. "Torch em'!" she cried, holding the handlebars above her once again. A trail of fire burnt its way from her spot on the hill to beneath the large lizard, burning quietly as a cloud of fire suddenly erupted from the beast's chest. It stumbled backwards, kneeling in pain from the trio of spells. "Now!" the girl shouted to the two men who were watching on in awe.

Lariat nodded, and opened his fan as it began to shine an intense white light. A stream of sparkling energy shot forth from the weapon, pounding into the monster's head painfully with a resounding boom with each dazzling impact. "Lightfall!" the blonde cried after closing his fan, a brilliant explosion of light enveloping the reptile afterwards.

Kevin then moved in for the kill, cutting into the monsters chest deeply, digging deeper into its skin with each slash. Finally, the monster opened its mouth, the large shard of ice breaking in the process, and howled in agony as it keeled over, dying. Kevin swiped his sword at the air, sending some of the monster's blood from his blade to the air before tapping it on the ground. Lariat simply stretched in victory, raising his weapon above his head as he let out a yawn of exhaustion.

Their female savior ran down the hill, barely managing to stop herself from running into Lariat as she came to a halt. "Are you two okay?" the girl asked, slinging her weapon over her shoulder as she inspected the two for injury.

"We're okay… Wait… I know you. You're Jade Aroway. From Seventh Period Magic and Sorcery, correct?" Kevin asked, placing one hand on his hip.

"The one and only!" the girl said happily, hopping in place twice as she pumped her hand into the air in glee. "Glad to know I'm recognizable!"

"Ms. Aroway, I have to ask why you are here. Surely you didn't come here to train alone!" Lariat asked, adjusting his glasses while holding his arm up with his other hand.

"Yup. Do it all the time," she replied, grinning at her teacher.

"My, my, I'm impressed. Even I am afraid to come in here alone!" the instructor said.

"Mm, can we talk more later? I'm kind of hungry."

"Of course, Ms. Aroway. Let us leave this dank place at once."