How long had it been since the bus ride to the city on their way to Kyushu after getting off that plane? Days? Who knew exactly. They would've taken a train if the thing hadn't broken down but the bus was the next best thing. The Kiryuins at least were nice enough to handle that much. The road was bumpy and the entire world moved past them as the drove along the cliff side towards the town. The whole area was rocky in general but the skies at least were bright blue. Clouds filled the air and the world seemed at ease. There was a smell of sea water from the nearby ocean and at the end of the day everything seemed to just reek of happiness and life. But it was the underlining subtext that all of this was in one way or another connected to the Kiryuins that haunted the bus atmosphere. At the very least they weren't on their way to Honoji Academy for all it's prestige and worth at the end of the day...it was controlled by a monstrous despot who ran under the guise of student council president. Kyushu...it wasn't much different but at least the atmosphere had cleared up since Satsuki moved on from this place. The bus driver was an elderly man by the name of Simon Takeda and was a fairly friendly sort but he didn't say much as he didn't understand much about the kids in the back other than that he was taking them to their new home.

The bus itself was grey with blue colors on the side and inside of it was a rather small amount of seats. The bus itself was fairly roomy for what it was but most of it's room was being taken up by the cargo being brought along with the group. Ever since the group had gotten onto the island a feeling of foreboding was there in some of them. What they were about to do...some people were lucky to get out alive from such an experience. One wrong move...one wrong motion and their world came crashing down around their feet. Kenta Sanshiro was the man having them do this and though he claimed he could help them if they got caught it was still a long way from the safety of Berlin. And god help them if they run into a three star while in their duty. Sanshiro's last words before leaving were simple ones: "Don't forget to watch each other's backs."

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Sitting in his seat rolling and unrolling some tape around his hand Aaron couldn't help but feel disgusted in wearing this uniform. It was if he was being judged for simply being new. Of course the school year hadn't started just yet so he supposed it couldn't be helped. Well it had started but in reality class wasn't in session until a announcement made by their teachers. At the very least he had time to clear his head and just well...hope for the best. This would be an unnerving experience for the young Disney but he was certain he could overcome it. "Just one more mountain to over come...just one more rock to climb over. Go hard or go home." he grumbled to himself as he sat down in his seat and looked over the people inside. He hoped his classmates were good and ready for this. "God help us if we're not." he muttered to himself quietly making sure no one heard. He wanted to say something to lighten up the mood inside but he still felt rather...unsettled himself. Odd seeing as he punched people in the face for a good amount of time back home. "So...are you guys doing ok?" he asked hesitantly.

Reynard was not particularly nervous or stressed out by the current situation, his cold blue eyes staring lazily at the roof of the bus, his arms spread across the headrests on either side with his legs up on the chair opposite him. He stifled a yawn just before he heard Aaron mutter something to himself before asking if everyone was doing OK. Reynard was no genius like his little sister but he guessed that Aaron was asking because he himself was probably nervous, even if just a little. Understandable given the situation. It wasn't every day that you chose to walk into the lion’s den. For his part Reynard was not nervous, excited maybe but not nervous. He turned his head toward Aaron and smiled in a lazy, relaxed manner.

“No problem here boss, just a day like any other,” he said jokingly in response to Aaron’s query. He wondered how tough this guy really was. Granted he was a boxer and from what he had seen a damn good one as well. Which was great…in the ring. Outside of the ring things were never so clear cut. He wondered if the kid had any experience in a real no rules kind of fight. Not that he would hold it against him if he didn't. Against most opponents Aaron would probably dominate, rules or no. But even so he needed to know. He hummed thoughtfully for a moment.

“Mind if I ask you a question? Feel free to tell me to shove it. But how good are you in a fight. I've seen footage of you in the ring, you've got some real sweet moves, no way could I beat you one on one. Not in the ring anyway, but that’s not what I'm getting at. What I mean is do you have any experience fighting outside of the ring?” he asked in a plain, honest tone. He hoped the guy didn't get offended by the question since that truly wasn't his intention. Claudette was so much better at this kind of thing.

"I don't know about you man but I'm stoked to be coming here." Joshua said with a massive grin on his face as he looked over the others on the bus. He didn't know them on a personal level but knew of them. He knew the dude with the blonde hair was Aaron Disney, a boxer who apparently made the boxing club back in Berlin. The person who spoke before him was Reynard. Joshua didn't know much about him other than that he was also a fighter. Though, Joshua picked that up from his attempt at starting a conversation with Disney. Other than him, Joshua only knew of Claudette. She was possibly the biggest nerd Joshua had ever seen in Berlin.

"If this place is as dangerous as they say it is then this will be an amazing chance to test our skills. Disney here is probably more useful in a fight than I am. Heck, I'm better at hitting a fly ball than I am at hitting people." Joshua spoke with his smile fading. He wouldn't be the best fighter they had but he certainly could help if needed. A fight would be his perfect chance to improve himself and it would give him a reason to actually want to get better other than for his own baseball career.

"I've gotten into fights with some thugs in a couple dumbass attempts when said thugs in question were trying to pick on younger or less violent people. My old man and his pals showed me how to deal with people who know how to pick on a guy's weak points when they specifically pick on them. In my case I'm a guy who relies on his foot work. I've never seen a fight where I can't pick out a guy after taking a couple punches. The key is to take'em then give it back two fold. In other words counter punches. Stuff like we're going to see at the academy though? No way man. I've not gotten anywhere near those uniforms I've heard about." commented Aaron as he rolled tape around his fist repeatedly only to unroll them. It was this sort of behavior that he indulged in whenever he was nervous. "But I'm not all time badass even without the uniforms. I'm a unstoppable object not an immovable wall. I may not have a glass jaw but I still will go down if people try to break me hard enough in a fight. What about you bud? I haven't heard much about you." Aaron continued but stopped when Joshua spoke up and he ended up chuckling. "Hey man don't oversell me. I'm good but I'm hardly fit to take on a shit ton of people on my own. I specialize in one on one fights. Clear sight of the person in front of me but no sight to the left and the right. Boxing tends to do that to some people. I happen to be one of those people. But hey if anything goes wrong I got your backs and I hope you got mine. Let's just try to get through the first day got it?" Aaron said with a smile as he stretched his arms. "Man I just can't wait until we get out of this god damn bus."

Reynard turned to Joshua and smiled with an easy, natural confidence. “Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing to be ashamed about,” he said with the same easy confidence that his expression implied. He then turned toward Aaron as he described his experiences outside of the ring. He laughed cheerfully and nodded his head. “Glad to hear it man. Was worried for a moment that you might have seen yourself as some kind of undefeatable ass kicking machine. That kind of confidence has its merits sure but more often than not all it does is get a guy killed,” he said with the voice of experience.

He hummed in thought for a moment as he tried to decide how best to answer Aaron’s question. At first he considered lying but that would never work. These guys were too clever for that if they were even half as smart as his sister. So for now he would skirt around the truth without actually lying to anyone. He had no doubt they would pick up on it but hoped that they would be discreet enough to respect his privacy. Besides, if they were desperate enough to know he had no doubt that they would just go bother Claudette instead. Speaking of which, where was she? He hadn’t seen her in a while now. “I’m nothing special, I’m just here to watch out for my little sister. She’s not the violent type. That’s where I come in,” he said as he looked around bus curiously. Where had she gone to?

“But yeah, when it comes to fighting I’ve got your back, provided you have mine…whe…have you guys seen Claudette? She was here a moment ago,” he said with growing concern, his sentence trailing off as his eyes locked onto his sister. He had to act at once. There was no time to hesitate. Without a moment of hesitation he pulled a notepad from his inner pocket and launched it with surprising force straight toward Aaron. Or to be more accurate the spot just above Aaron’s head. There was a thud as Claudette flew backwards, her eyes spinning as she crumbled onto the seat behind Aaron. Two acupuncture needles fell onto the seat beside Aaron. Reynard smiled triumphantly. “My sister can be…difficult. Don’t worry, she’ll come to soon.”

"Confidence is worth a lot but you still need the skill to back it up big guy. Think about the next step ahead if not that then the step after that step. Have a plan and keeping your eye on the birdy or ball whatever you want to call it." Aaron added in as he looked out the window into the bright blue skies. He only could wonder what in the world would await them at the edge of these islands. "You know I'll have you back what kind of question is that? Assuming it isn't for a stupid reason at the very least. There's no sense in getting into a fight when you caused it for a dumb reason. I expect the same from you. If I do something stupid don't back me up unless you have too. I got to work through my own problems preferably with my own hands. What kind of a man would I be if I just let other people solve my problems?" Aaron said as he looked over for a moment to see what the noise was and the so did the bus driver but Aaron confirmed the girl was just asleep. He reached for the needles and handed them to Reynard. "Your sister has to be more careful bro those could hurt someone bad."

Reynard smiled. “Oh, I think she knows that,” Reynard said cheerfully, holding back on telling Aaron that had he not intervened he would likely have found everything below his neck inconveniently paralysed. Obviously Aaron had proved interesting enough for his sister to become interested in studying him. He pushed himself up to his feet and headed to the seats directly behind Aaron and scooped up his sister and casually hauled her over his shoulder with a minimum of effort, taking the two needles from Aaron. With his spare hand he put them into his inner coat pocket.

It was now, with Claudette hauled unceremoniously over her brothers shoulder that the difference between the two siblings became most apparent. Reynard was tall at just over 6ft2 in height with a strong, well-toned build. His features were much harder and more angular than his sisters and despite being similar in age he looked that much older as a result. His eyes were a pale grey and his hair a deep, dark shade of blue. He wore a long length faded black trench coat over top of a simple white hooded jacket and black jeans combination. On his feet he wore the kind of boots that could kick open doors, or remove teeth.

Claudette by comparison was much shorter than her brother. Had she been conscious and upright she would have stood at a more mundane 5ft7, her build rather slender and lithe with a modest bosom. Her features were far softer than her brothers, with deep amber eyes and long waist length green hair. Unlike her brothers more casual style she was dressed in a beautiful white fur lined winter coat and matching cat eared hat, under which she wore an immaculately well-fitting school uniform. The yellow mittens on her hands completed the outfit splendidly.

Reynard stared toward the front of the bus and out through the front window and into the near distance. They were getting close now, the ominous buildings and walled structures that apparently constituted an academy looming in the near distance, growing taller and more immense the closer that they got. Had he been of weaker constitution the sight might have intimidated him. Instead he just cracked a grin. “We’ll be there soon, time to get psyched man,” he said to Aaron with obvious confidence.

As they group cleared themselves around a corner and up a small hill they came face to face with a breath taking view of the city. There was one large bridge surrounded by some train tracks that were held up by steel supports alongside it. There were two smaller bridges to the east and west of the city undoubtedly made as a precaution in case something happened to the main bridge. However the main bridge itself was newly paved and it was a breath taking sight that stretched all the way onto the island which held their too be school and town which was in-bedded into a mountain. There were three levels of the city and what looked like an entrance area where traffic was flooding in and out. The sea and seagulls flew around the city.

"Sorry we didn't take the faster routes but those weren't usable by our town unfortunately kiddos. Anyways welcome to Kyushu City the place got a lot prettier since the red skies vanished. Those are all over by Honoji now with Miss Kiryuin." the man said and then asked the group politely not to tell anyone he said that. The group took one of the smaller bridges and were behind a long stream of cars. Disney quickly cut the tape off and then sealed it back in it's case which was in his backpack. "Well at least it's beautiful I was half expecting a dump. Wasn't this place just to be the testing bud for Honoji old man?" asked Disney as the old man shrugged. "I suppose so I heard it wasn't scrapped because of it's usefulness and because Lord Nero wanted a place of his own to represent the other side of the Kiryuin family. But that's all speculation my lad." commented the driver as Aaaron thanked him for confirming what he thought was up with this place. Disney however couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful oceans he ever saw a couple of dolphins jump in and out of the water and a school of fish was nearby.

He was amazed about how clean the water was. Probably some sort of water treatment plant nearby that released chemicals that destroyed the pollutants in the air. He had heard the other branch of the Kiryuins controlled the market on science products related to the environment as opposed to the powerful clothes and other things made by the main branch of their family. Which begged to wonder why they wanted in on this whole business? Was Little Lord Nero so vain he tried to prove the other branch was just as good in management as the main branch?

Regardless of Aaron's own speculation they soon entered the city through a toll gate which the bus driver passed by using a special bus pass of his probably because he was shepherding kids into school. Soon entered a crappy excuse for a shanty town...that they'd probably be living in soon. There was a group of older men conversing by the bus stop and there were even a few no star kids hanging out nearby. The town smelt...bad...like pig farm bad. It didn't help there was still whiffs of the salty sea smell coming nearby. Hopefully it got better the closer they got to one star territory. Disney grabbed his bags and other junk and forced himself up out of his seat cracking his back and knuckles as he let the other kids get off first. Before leaving however he thanked the bus driver for his time and wished him a great week before getting off the bus.

Reynard stepped off of the bus and looked around, his sister still tossed over his shoulder. Aside from his sister he also carried a bag of his own belongings as well as two cases that belonged to his sister. Once his eyes adjusted to the light he was able to appreciate the kind of place that they had entered. Not the worst kind of place but far from the best. In short, liveable but not much else. “How does it feel now? Better?” he heard his sister say, causing him to look over his shoulder toward the bus and its driver.

“Ah, thank you miss, best ma poor ole back has felt in years,” the bus driver said cheerfully to the girl draped over Reynard’s back. He tipped his hat toward the two siblings before closing the bus door and pulling away. Reynard smiled to himself. That was just like his sister. One moment she was an evil genius, the next a good girl helping a stranger simply because she could.

“You may put me down now,” Claudette said softly as Reynard easily shifted her weight and placed her gently onto the ground. Once back on terra firma she took a moment to straighten out her outfit before running a hand experimentally through her long hair. As her hand reappeared another set of needles appeared with them which she casually slipped into her coat sleeves as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do. She stood next to her brother and looked around curiously. “We’ve lived in worse,” she said with no particular emotion, her brother nodding in agreement.

Aaron said farewell to Joshua as he looked around to his other two companions. "So this is going to be our home for the next year or so? What do you guys think of it?" asked the two siblings as he looked around at the shanty town. "I think this place is a dumb personally but hey to each their own." Aaron said as he kicked a can into the air and into a garbage can. "Heck yeah one point!" Aaron fist pumped his hand in the air and grinned. "Personally I just want to get to the academy but hey it's always nice to stop for first impressions right?"

“Ah it isn’t that bad,” Reynard replied cheerfully as he looked around with the inquisitive air of someone who was surveying what would soon be his home. The place was dirty, poorly constructed and poverty stricken, a shanty town in every possible meaning of the term. Even the people seemed to mirror this, a collection of dour faces that barely acknowledged the arrival of the newcomers as they went about their buisness. Or so it must have seemed to those less observant and experienced in the ways of such things. Not only would their arrival have been noticed but the news of such would already have spread. It remained to be seen how that would bode for them. He suspected badly.

“Reynard, stop looking for trouble, there’s no point, you know that,” Claudette said as if she could read her brothers mind before casually walking in the direction of the academy, seeking neither Aaron or Reynard's opinion. Reynard laughed at his sister’s lack of concern, offered Aaron a shrug and proceeded to follow in Claudette’s wake, her stride confident and determined though not particularly fast which made it easy to keep pace with her. “What my little sister means is that trouble is going to find us soon enough. I have don’t have to look for it,” he said to Aaron, motioning with a flick of his eyes to an alleyway that at first glance would appear empty, concealing shadows far darker than they ought to be at this time of day. He grinned in anticipation at the shadowy figures, causing the majority to slink away from sight.

Suddenly as the trio started to walk along a small boy was thrown over them where he landed face first into the ground and the rest of his body smacked onto the ground with a thud. "Ow...that hurts..." grumbled the boy as he got up and brushed himself off. Soon to follow were a group of one stars who stood shoulder to shoulder. "One star students are to go to class immediately. No acceptions and no delays. Your baggage can be left with one stars at school." the one in the middle informed the trio as they grabbed the boy who landed heavily in front of them. "As for you Sasaki! What do you get off on trying to skip the first day of school you little bastard." the one star asked him as Sasaki tried to explain himself that he was running errands for people around the no star district and he got side tracked and intended to go to school just a few moments ago. The no star tried smiling though his hair was ruffled up and his nose was bleeding, "Hey big guy don't you think you should let up on him?" Aaron asked as the one stars turned to look at him. The one star informed Aaron that he had no place interfering with disciplinary commity business especially when it came to Sasaki in particular. "Look big guys I don't mind you roughing him up all too much since he is a 'problem student' but you could at least give him the benefit of the doubt and let him off this once it is the first day of school and all."

As if encountering an unknown species for the first time Claudette looked at the boy with a mixture of bewilderment and curiosity as the boy tried to unsuccessfully weasel his way out of whatever trouble he had gotten himself into. For some reason she wanted to experiment on him and only through considerable mental effort resisted the urge to drop him with her acupuncture needles. Besides, it looked as though Aaron might have gotten them mixed up in something that they really shouldn’t have. From what Claudette understood these so called ‘one-stars’ were no pushovers, even for someone like her brother. As if sensing her thoughts her brother reassuring placed his hand on her shoulder before stepping forward alongside Aaron.

Reynard appreciated what Aaron was trying to do but there was a pretty even chance that he was just going to escalate the situation by openly challenging the authority of these one-star punks. Reynard raised his hands in a placating manner to show that he didn’t mean any offense or trouble. As much as he would have loved to knock these guys down a peg they couldn’t afford trouble so soon after arriving. “Sorry, my friend here is a little headstrong. What he meant was you guys don’t have time to be dealing with a little punk like this,” he said motioning to Sasaki.

Without warning he slammed what appeared to be a rib breaking jab into Sasaki’s midsection. The sound was good and there was just enough power to drive the wind from the kids chest. It looked more than convincing. Instinctively Claudette moved in and grasped the boy as if to hold him upright. In truth she had discreetly paralyzed him from the neck down with a well-placed needle to the neck so that he would not spoil the ruse by recovering too quickly from her brothers blow. Reynard turned back toward the one-stars. “Let us deal with this guy. He needs to be punished for giving the rest of us a bad name,” Reynard said as he reached back and without looking grabbed a handful of Sasaki’s hair, clearly denoting the location of the next strike.

A few of the one-stars looked a little sceptical but the majority seemed ready enough to go along with the situation since Sasaki was going to get disciplined one way or another. And Reynard was right in that today was going to be pretty hectic for them. Did they really have time to waste on a loser like Sasaki? Especially with preparations for the upcoming announcement.

Assuming that that was the end of it Reynard would ruffle the kids hair and Claudette would remove the acupuncture needle from Sasaki’s neck, giving him back his mobility. In case the ruse failed Claudette had secreted another set of needles from her sleeves, hidden from sight behind Sasaki. Reynard was ready to grab the nearest guy and break his nose with his forehead. They both hoped to avoid confrontation but were ready for it if need be. They just hoped that Aaron would go along with the ploy.

"Headstrong? Really? Whatever floats your boat dude, if you want to spend time punishing this punk go ahead." Aaron said turning on his heels. He just intended to try and get the kid out of some trouble but it seems trouble was just what intended to find this little fellow. "Well I'm off to school you three hope to see your there when you're done with your new friends." Aaron said waving his hand as he left the trio of Reynard, Claudette, and Sasaki to deal with whatever the one stars had in mind. He really didn't care for getting into a fight or arguing with his new found 'friends' anyway.

The one stars simply gazed at the two newcomers who were trying to impede their duties but the head of the group simply looked at Reynard and growled, "Fine then do as you want no-star. Sasaki is not worth the effort of any of this. Just remember Hojo-Sama wants you to get to school as soon as possible. Don't you dare be late or you'll be next. Oh and welcome to Kyushu." the one stars said dispersing no doubt off to bother other no stars who had yet to get moving. Sasaki due to being paralyzed idly groaned and drooled all over Reynard's shoulder. After the needle got taken out Sasaki wobbled around for a bit and even spun around once before shaking his head. "Well hey guys thanks for the help but did you really need to poke me with whatever that was?" Sasaki grumbled at the two of them as he rubbed his messy brown hair.