[IC] Before the Dark - A Star Guardian Tale

[KatKook]

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"A new day."

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Location: Song Residential Home, Valoran Academy

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A new sun rose from the horizon, the air was still cold, the morning winds flowing through Ahri's hair as she stared off into the sky, the great unknown. Ahri let out a sigh, the fur on her tail looked like it wanted to go where the wind yet, but knew they couldn't. She clutched something in her fists, a yellow gem, she didn't know what it meant but it called to her to protect it. She stared into it trying to find out what it was, but then her phone buzzed in her pocket, it even almost slipped out since it was in her pajama pants and those aren't made to hold phones. It was her morning alarm, telling her to wake up, she was already awake so that meant it was time for her to get ready. She got up from the roof, and climbed back in her window, she placed her phone on her desk and turned to the small white furry thing on her bed, resting soundly. She smile and placed her hand on it and said, "Time to get up Kiko." The vulpine guardian squeaked in a tiresome manner and sat up, actively rubbing his eyes since he was tired.

Ahri grabbed her uniform from the closet and moved to the bathroom, she took a shower and came out in a towel. She was drying her hair as she spoke to Kiko about the that same yellow gem that appeared in her bedroom a few nights ago. "I know, I know, I just don't know what it means yet, can you at least give me a hint of what it could be?" She asked Kiko, Kiko shook his head and told ahri that she had to figure that herself or she won't learn. Ahri just laughed but ended up with a playful smile as she playfully pushed Kiko away. "Okay, if you won't tell me, at least cover your eyes you little pervert." Said Ahri, Kiko blushed and covered his eyes with his hands as Ahri began to dress herself in that neat blue and brown uniform. It was boring and plain but it did the job. She walked back in the bathroom and proceeded to do her makeup, before heading out the door and downstairs into the main living area of the home. Her father had already left for work, so Ahri had to prepare her lunch box for on her own. She didn't feel like having rice later, so she made a few mini sandwiches and prepared some greens before putting it all in her bento lunch box. She grabbed her bag, slipped on her shoes and left the house, locking the door behind her.

She took out her phone from her pocket and texted Xayah.

---

To: Xayah
From: Ahri

Meet me by the gate, we need to talk about, you know. 💎🌠🛡️

---

Ahri then put her phone away and made her way to Valoran Academy, it was a good fifteen minute walk but it was usually the fun time of enjoying the breeze in her face. Her bag then flinched, and she knew exactly what was going on, she opened the zipper and Kiko came flying out. "Hey! Hide yourself, people will see you!" Ahri called out, Kiko then shook his head since he appeared to be a bit dazed from being in the Ahri's bag, all the fumes from Ahri's makeups and perfumes must have made him dizzy. "Okay, you look like you're going to throw up, maybe stay on my head for awhile, but if you throw up on my head-" Ahri was immediately cut off by Kiko throwing up on the side of the road, it was glitters, but still, no one needed to see that. Ahri sighed and picked Kiko up, "I told you not to go in my bag, can you hide yourself now?" Kiko after collecting himself for a few seconds nodded. Ahri thanked him, and said "I promise to give you some churros later." Kiko then vanished as he made his happy noises.

Ahri arrived at the gate of Valoran Academy, pretty early, there was a good forty-five minutes (45) before class started, so she waited at the gate for Xayah.

[Veluda]

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~ 𝓧𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓱 ~

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Location: Xayah's House, Valoran City

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*RING RING RING RING*

The phone's alarm was blaring. Why'd she set it that loud again? Oh right, because of the endless amount of homework that her teachers have been giving which, unfortunately, has been making her pull some crazy all-nighters. She slowly tried to reach for her phone, only for her hand to swing at the air. She tried a few more times but always ended in failure. At this point, her head just hurt from the noise. It wasn't long however before her avian companion decided to spare her from further suffering. It landed on her phone and gave the snooze button a nice little tap. Xayah's eyes opened a bit at this. "Thanks Saki." The bird happily chirped and flew over to her face for some nuzzles. She laughed and hugged the bird close. After a few minutes, she grunted as she sat up and got out of bed to prepare for school.

"So, nothing special to do today Saki?" Saki simply shook its head and told her that today was going to be a boring one. "Ugh, what a drag." With that, Xayah took to taking a shower with Saki flitting around the window. As she finished, she saw the bird trying to drag the blanket up in an attempt to fix it. This made her chuckle as she made her way to the bed to help Saki. The house wasn't so lonely anymore with the bird being around.

As she was about to start putting her make-up, her phone rang. "Saki, could you hand me that?" The bird took the phone and gave it to her.

---

To: Xayah

From: Ahri

Meet me by the gate, we need to about, you know. 💎🌠🛡️

---

The bird chirped and asked what it was about. "It was Ahri. She said she wanted to talk about something." As she finished her make-up, she grabbed her bag and headed out while Saki followed from above. She'd just get food on the way to school. On the way there however, Saki swooped in and sat on Xayah's head. "Saki? What have we talked about showing yourself in public?" The bird simply replied with a happy chirp and made itself comfortable on her head. She couldn't help but laugh at the bird's adorable behavior and reached up to ruffle its feathers. As they passed by Xayah's favorite fast-food chain for breakfast, she couldn't help but wonder about what Ahri wanted to talk about.

[KatKook]

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"Drama I won't get into today."

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Location: Valoran Academy

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Ahri waited, waited, and waited, but Xayah was apparently taking her sweet time getting here, and a solid ten (10) minutes have already passed; Ahri's legs started to tire, so she kept shifting her weight, as she held her bag in her hands, She let out a quick sigh and pulled out her phone to see if Xayah has a replied; she hasn't. She then maybe thought that maybe she should sit down or something, but all of a sudden, she felt someone's fingers against her back. The person spoke, "Hands up captain," that voice was very distinct, it was her second in command, no one other than miss Sarah Fortune herself. "Would have shot you dead by now if I was one of those monsters." Sarah added, as she pulled her fingers away. "I would have reacted but I don't think school girl Sarah is a threat." Said Ahri as she turned to face her friend. Sarah crossed put her bag down and crossed her arms and gave Ahri an annoyed look, "Right, but you know who is?" Ahri took a deep breath and tried to diffuse the aggressive tone from Sarah, She's just a bit unpredictable, and he's... Well, I don't think even I can handle that." With Ahri's honesty, Sarah backed down, she picked her bag back up and gave Ahri an apologetic look, things got awkward real fast. Ahri being the charismatic, quick witted, fox we all know and love tried to fix it with, "Anyway, you're here early, something up?" Sarah flinched, Ahri noticed, Sarah being early was definitely odd, "Hey! I'm early sometimes!" though the very obvious flustered look was spread across her face, Ahri was immediately getting into her head just like that. "Right, but never this early, you're meeting up with someone aren't you?" Ahri smirked and tried to get her point across while implying as much as she can with just her facial expressions.

Suddenly, "Hey! Teach!" A boy called out, blonde hair, and definitely confident just from his tone. He ran over to Sarah and Ahri immediately recognised him, since she was head of the Valoran Academy yearbook team she practically knew everyone; it was the new transfer student Ezreal Nottingham, rich family, really good with people, and big desire for selflessness through wanderlust. Sarah gave Ezreal a playful shove "Library, now, we'll start after I'm done talking with Ahri." Said Sarah, Ezreal nodded and peaked over Sarah to have a glimpse of Ahri, Ezreal gave a hesitant smile and stuttered with his words, "N-Nice to finally meet you." Said Ezreal as he took a step back to balance himself. "And I you, listen to Sarah okay, she means well, she's just scary." Sarah smiled at that comment, but Ezreal in his overconfidence mixed with nervousness he blurted out, "But not as scary as you Song Ahri!" He exclaimed, Ahri was taken aback, she was confused so she just stood there, raising a brow trying to process Ezreal's comment. "Uhh... I mean, uh... I'm going to go to the library now." He then zoomed off.

"Okay, I see your type of boys now." Ahri said with a huge smug grin on her face, inching her way towards Sarah to annoy her. "Shut up, I'm just tutoring him." Sarah defended herself, though it was true, Ahri didn't want to let it go. "If Syndra finds out, she's going to have a field day with you." Sarah then felt the weight of that statement, "You better not tell her, or else I'm gonna-" Sarah's phone then buzzed, she sighed and turned around, "-We'll talk later, I got tutoring to do." She waved at Ahri as she walked away. Ahri laughed and waved back, now it was back to waiting for Xayah.

[Veluda]

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~ 𝓧𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓱 ~

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Location: Streets of Valoran

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As Xayah approached the academy, a thought crossed her mind. 'Rakan hasn't texted me yet.' She quickly brings out her phone and notices that she hasn't replied to Ahri. "Oops. Better late than never I suppose."

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To: Ahri

From: Xayah

Sorry for the late reply. Me and Saki were having fun earlier and we bought breakfast. This burger's very delish by the way. Don't worry, I'm almost there.

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"Now that that's over..." She swiped to another contact.

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To: Rakan

From: Xayah

Not even a good morning? And where the hell are you?

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"Right behind you." Xayah nearly choked on her burger. Saki on the other hand was shaken off her head. The cyan-clad Vastayan appeared out of nowhere, and apparently with company. "Ahuhu, bit off more than you could chew?" Xayah took a swig of cola before responding. "Fancy meeting you here Syndra. And you're not helping." came her cold response. "As for YOU..." She pointed at Rakan. "Do you want to get me killed? I'll have you know that death by choking on a burger isn't the way to go." Saki also annoyingly chirped at Rakan as it went back to Xayah's head. He immediately went to her side to hug her. "Hey hey I'm sorry okay? I was also running a bit late so I had to rush to get here. My bad if I wasn't able to text." He kisses her forehead which makes her blush a bit. *Sigh* "Just don't do that next time okay? I don't wanna die too early." She hugs Rakan back. "Now come on you two. I gotta meet Ahri for something and I've kept her waiting long enough." The three then start to head for the campus.

As Rakan was fiddling with his phone, Xayah asked a question. "That reminds me, how'd you two meet up?" Syndra was the first to answer. "Well, I was just about to finish drinking some coffee at a cafe when I saw your lover here dashing towards the school like a madman. So fast that he didn't notice a mother pushing a carriage which was in his way." Xayah looked at the man in question. With a goofy smile, he responded. "I wasn't kidding." Xayah just shook her head and laughed. "Anyways... If I didn't manage to place Multi by his feet, the carriage would've been sent careening. Instead, we got to see a bird flying in all its glory... Syndra suddenly snickered before continuing. ...before seeing it flop on its ass." Xayah couldn't hold in her laughter. "HEY! I thought we agreed to not talk about that!?" The other Vastayan was wheezing and couldn't even finish her drink. Syndra also wasn't able to control a few chuckles from coming out. "Haaa, I'm sorry I'm sorry. I just couldn't NOT tell your girlfriend." Rakan was sweatdropping. "Ugh. What a way to start the day..."

As they neared the school, Xayah finally saw Ahri near the gate. "You guys go on ahead. I'll meet with Ahri for now." The two nodded and began some small talk as they walked past. "So, did you miss me?"

[KatKook]

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"Finally."

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Location: Valoran Academy

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Ahri was pretty much surprised at the sudden voice that came from her side, it was familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on it until she turned to face her. It was Xayah, thank the stars she was here already, she really needed to talk to her about team coordination. "Well you took your sweet time getting here, let me guess, those two held you up?" Ahri said gesturing her head at Syndra and Rakan who were walking away. Ahri didn't seem too bothered with those two but the discussion about star guardianhood is something that needs to be elaborated a bit more.

Ahri heard Kiko communicate in her head, and she turned her head to reply to him softly, "Fine, but I better not miss first period." she then grabbed Xayah by the wrist and pulled her to the back of the building, no one should be in sight. Kiko then appeared from above Ahri and flew around Ahri, whispering stuff in her ear. "I know, I know, I'll handle it."Ahri then turned back to Xayah and said, "You need to be a bit more of a team player, you can't just rush in there alone, that's what teams are for, like do you expect you can handle everything by yourself?" Ahri called out, almost scolding Xayah for it.

[Veluda]

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~ 𝓧𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓱 ~

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Location: Valoran Academy

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Xayah scoffs at Ahri's tone. "Oh please spare me the rant mom." She begins to play around with a quill blade she materialized. "I've told you many times that I can handle it. If I get in trouble, Rakan'll be there to cover for me. It's just that simple." Saki also adds that Xayah is perfectly trained for situations like that. "What Saki said. Before the First Star chose me, I was nothing but a rebel." She stopped playing with the quill. "For years, I had to fight and kill just to survive. People weren't as kind as they were now." She clenches her fist before continuing, a scowl beginning to form on her face. "They didn't know what it felt like...to have your whole world crumble before you..." The outline of her wings suddenly appeared, although opaque.

Xayah threw the quill at a wall behind Ahri in anger. Saki, worried, flew and landed on her shoulder. It nuzzled her face in an attempt to calm her down. Xayah began to think about happy thoughts to remove the hatred in her heart. There's a reason as to why she was chosen as a Star Guardian, and revenge wasn't. Not anymore. "Hahhh...thanks Saki." She ruffled the bird's feathers in appreciation. Said bird was happy to have helped her partner. "*Sigh* Point being, I'll be fine Ahri. Before a Star Guardian, I still have the heart of a rebel. This is how I've lived for most of my life. I mean sure, Rakan makes things a lot easier and he's certainly a wonderful partner, but this is just who I am." came her words as she caressed Saki.

[KatKook]

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"Please, just... Listen."

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Location: Valoran Academy

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Ahri was taken aback by the sudden anger that was came as an outburst by Xayah. Ahri felt the wind of the dagger go past her and hit the wall behind her and she immediately went defensive, her tails extended revealing the full nine, and Kiko put himself in the ball in Ahri's hands. Ahri lowered her stance, and was very much ready to defend herself if she was ever going to end up fighting her friend. "I know, I know... But that's the thing, you don't have to be alone anymore." Kiko then moved back into a passive mode and Ahri's tails converged back into one as she stood upright. "I promise, no- I promise my life as a star guardian I won't ever leave any of you. You guys are family now, all of you, Sarah, Rakan, Syndra..." Ahri extended her hand for Xayah to take. "Please, don't you trust me?" Ahri asked, sincerity in her eyes.

Ahri then made another point, "You won't see anyone you love get hurt ever again." She smiled, she hoped Xayah would understand and trust her by taking her hand, though she is not so sure if Xayah is ready to join the next mission if she goes full on rebel again.

[Veluda]

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~ 𝓧𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓱 ~

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Location: Valoran Academy

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"..."

She stared at the hand extended to her. With a grim look, she thought long and hard. After a while, a smile made its way onto her face. "...fine." She takes the hand. Saki cheers for its companion. "I'll try to do what I can. But in return, I'm gonna hold you to your word. You better keep that promise of yours you hear me? I don't wanna be at arms against you someday." Saki also chirped at Ahri. "Saki says that it'll also watch you." She gives a genuine laugh as a feeling of relief washes over her. It's been a while since she's felt like this. She brings out her gem which serves as her certification as a Star Guardian. "Y'know, I never thought that things would end up like this." Her smile grows warmer. "Me going to school, meeting Rakan, enjoying life as a teenager; I never would've imagined that becoming a Guardian would introduce me to such a nice life." Her eyes turn toward the sky, where the clouds cover the space beyond the unknown. "Maybe that's why the First Star chose me." She looks back to Ahri and gives her a smile, probably one of her brightest yet.

"If it weren't for you, maybe I wouldn't have changed this much."

[KatKook]

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"That's the spirit!"

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Location: Valoran Academy

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Ahri smiled back, her eyes met Xayah's and she knew that her promise she will hold close for as long as her life serves her. She was caught in the moment, so she wasn't sure if maybe it was the adrenaline talking but her promises are never broken so lightly, Ahri's promises are known to be held up unless it is world ending. "Hey, I... I don't know what your living situation is but, do you maybe... Uhm, want to have a sleep over... At my place? We can bring Syndra and Sarah, and anyone else that isn't a boy that you have in mind." Said Ahri, to try and raise some moral. All of a sudden, the bell rang, first period was about to start.

"You have the whole day to answer, but come on, let's get out asses to class before the teacher chews us up, you know how first period is." Ahri said with a chuckle as she gestured for Xayah to follow her as first straightened her tie before walking towards first period.

[Veluda]

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~ 𝓧𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓱 ~

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Location: Valoran Academy

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Xayah thought about Ahri's proposition as she fixed her bag from her...outburst. 'Hmm...a sleepover huh?' She hasn't had much experience with sleepovers as a child, what with her constant struggle for survival and never-ending worry for the fate of her kin, so she's still getting used to it. "Hey Saki, what do people do at sleepovers again?" The bird seemed baffled at her question. It asked if she was serious. "Um, remember the fact that I was waging a personal war against the humans who might've done something to my tribe?" She retorted back while putting her hands up to show her exasperation. "Yeahhh that really messes up your childhood y'know?" Saki facepalmed with its wing. Xayah on the other hand tried her best to remember what happened during sleepovers. "Let's see here..." She also starts walking towards class as to not be late.

"When I last heard from Sarah, she said that they talked about boys? What, like, their favorite colors or something?" Saki was having the time of its life listening to its partner. "Um, Syndra said that they discussed something about how to get anyone to do your bidding. A weird topic but..." At this her companion swooped in and chirped worriedly. It said that that's not what goes down at sleepovers and Syndra was simply joking. "Woah woah calm down Saki. No need to be that worried. And besides, even if it isn't part of a sleepover, I already know how--" As she was passing the door into the hallway however, a presence made itself known. "What's cookin' good lookin'?" For the second time today, her soul nearly jumped out of her body. "For GOODNESS' SAKE RAKAN!" Both Xayah and Saki were fuming. "YO CHILL CHILL! I was just looking for you since first period's about to start!" Rakan had his hands in a defensive formation just in case his love had decided to do something rash. Riku, who was behind his neck, chirped nervously. "Yeah what Riku said. We were just worried." Xayah just rubbed her temple while Saki flew over to the two and pecked them both in annoyance. "You know what, whatever. Let's just get to class." She continued walking, Rakan trailing after her.

"So what'd you two talk about?" Rakan asked. "Sleepover." Rakan raised his eyebrows. "Oooooh can I come?" Xayah lightly slapped his cheek and answered as dryly as she could. "Uh, no."

[KatKook]

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"What could it mean?"

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Location: Valoran Academy

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Ahri waved goodbye to Xayah and also apparently Rakan as well since he arrived, since she was going to go ahead to first period because she needs to tell Sarah about the sleepover tonight. Knowing Sarah, she would have her phone on 'Do-Not-Disturb' and would probably not answer at all; knowing this, Ahri had to talk to her in person, in the first period. She made her walk there but something in pocket was slowly getting warmer and she was definitely feeling uncomfortable. She aggressively patted at it and said "Kiko, stop doing that it's starting to hurt." Kiko communicated with Ahri telling her that he wasn't the one doing that nor does he know what it could mean. Ahri's pockets started to glow a very bright hue of yellow and she was getting worried- The gem, it was that gem. Ahri fished it out of her pocket and it was glowing like a light bulb. It was warm so Ahri had to lightly hold it, she didn't know what it meant but she attempted to see what she could do as of this moment. She'll be on her toes just in case.

Ahri made her way up the stairs, but then she walked past someone as she climbed up the stairs, a girl with short hair that was all different colours, pink, orange, green, yellow, it was crazy. She didn't recognise her and that was surprising to Ahri because she knew everyone, she turned to her but the girl seemed to have changed, to have Soraka's exact hairstyle from the back. Confused, and baffled Ahri just assumed it was her, she didn't want to confront her since they weren't close, though she did wonder why she was still around the halls this late, Soraka's usually an early bird.

Ahri arrived at the classroom, first thing she saw was Ezreal and Sarah arguing about maths. "It's a simple truth table solution, why are you making it harder?!" Sarah exclaimed, aggressively pointing at ezreal's notebook. "I told you this was how we did it back in my old school! Come on it's the same answer, get off my back." Ezreal retaliated. "But it takes you like double the length if you don't use the truth table formula, do you want my help or not?" Sarah stated then asked. Ezreal seeing that he was unmatched then just nodded and replied, "Yes... Please help me, Sarah." Sarah then smiled and leaned back in her chair for a second to adjust the way she sat. "Okay, now let's start from the-" Ahri then put her face right up Sarah's and cut them off with, "Hey, you two lovebirds seem to be doing well." Ezreal laughed nervously while Sarah just playfully pushed her away.

Ahri then just laughed but gestured Sarah to follow her to the corner by the windows. She pulled out the yellow gem which was glowing yellow permanently as this point and asked if she knew anything about this, Sarah response was that she didn't know either and they decided that maybe Syndra might know about this. The two then made their way to Syndra who was reading a book and snacking on some oreos as she did, but before they could get to her the teacher walked in and asked everyone to sit down. The two went back to their seats which were right next to each other. Ahri and Sarah quietly conversed with each other through whispers about what it could mean, you could hear Sarah saying "There's no way every guardian just converges here right? There are other planets that need help." and Ahri reply with "I don't know yet okay, I'll look into once I-" but the teacher caught them and shushed them audibly. "Okay class, I'd like to introduce you to a new student." Said the teacher, who gestured at the person behind the door to come in, "Come now, don't be shy." Ahri could sort of make out the person behind the door, she wore a white face mask and her eyes were large and green. Before the girl walked in, she swore she saw her hair change from long and pink like Luxanna Crownguard in the other room to short and blonde like Ezreal's. The girl stood in front of everyone before looking back at the teacher, "Don't be afraid to show your true self now." Said the teacher, The girl then pulled her face mask down and her changed in front of everyone to her normal hairstyle. "Hello everyone, I am Neeko Oovi-Kat, Neeko is very glad to meet you all!" The girl said, introducing herself.

Ahri's eyes widened, that was the girl she saw on the stairs, "You can sit right next to Miss Song." Neeko looked at the teacher and asked, "Neeko sit next to the pretty blonde fox girl?" The teacher then nodded, Neeko then sat next to Ahri and Ahri just looked her up and down. "Neeko is sorry she changed at the stairs, Neeko got scared because Ahri so pretty." Ahri just nodded at that statement and then proceeded to shake her head trying to understand the situation. Neeko then leaned towards Ahri and whispered "Neeko would also like her star guardian shiny. Neeko is was told to come to you." Ahri was more than surprised at this point. Ahri turned to her and whispered back "You're a guardian?!" Neeko nodded, "Neeko is first in a many new!" Neeko's broken english made it difficult to understand her sometimes but Ahri decided to deal with this after first period. But, Ahri fished out the gem and handed it over to Neeko, the gem then stopped glowing as soon as it landed on neeko's hands. "Neeko was told she would be a part of team Ahri." Sarah overheard this and exclaimed loudly "WHAT?!" Said Sarah, but she was immediately shot down by the teacher.

[Veluda]

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~ 𝓧𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓱 ~

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Location: Valoran Academy

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Xayah blinked in surprise. She just witnessed this new transfer student transform from the oh-so-famous Lux into one of her classmates, then into what is apparently her true form. "Did she just..." She was really in disbelief at this. She turned towards Rakan to see that his jaw was wide open. Said Vastayan slowly looked towards Xayah and pointed towards the newcomer. "Did she just..." Xayah could just nod. She looked around and it seemed like they weren't the only ones surprised. "What the heck is with that girl?" came one student. "Is that supposed to be normal?" came another. The teacher lightly tapped the board to gather the class's attention. "Alright class listen up. I know that you all are curious about Neeko here, but please give her time to adjust before starting to ask her questions okay? As you have seen, she is quite nervous around new people and tends to mimic the looks of others to blend in. Speaking of which, did you know that it is a trait that is--" Xayah was already starting to get bored of the teacher's endless droning and put her forehead against her desk. She reached into her pocket to bring out her phone and decided to get the opinion of a friend.

---

From: Xayah

To: Syndra

What do you think?

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Syndra's phone buzzed from under her desk. She grabbed it and read the message that was sent to her.

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From: Syndra

To: Xayah

I'm interested.

---

After replying, she returned the phone to its previous location while Xayah checked her message. 'Hmmm...' From her right, Rakan poked her. "Hey babe?" She turned to his direction. "Something feels off about that girl." She, knowing her lover's attitude towards newcomers, especially females, assumed that this was simply Rakan acting like Rakan and replied with a nonchalant face. "Yes, I know she's cute. Yes, I know that she can be anyone a person wants her to be." Xayah could go on, but Rakan stopped her. "Nono, I mean it this time. I'm picking up some strange mojo from her." At this, she took on a more serious look. The only times Rakan was serious about girls was when it was about her. She then takes another look at the newcomer who was whispering something Ahri. "Neeko Oovi-Kat huh...?" She started pondering about Neeko and paid no attention to the teacher in front.

As lunch break arrived, Xayah and Rakan decided to go to Ahri to get some info about the transferee since both of them seem to be acquainted to each other already. "It's her first day here and she already on good terms with cap? She slick." Riku also chirped from inside Rakan's shoulder bag. "Tell me about it." Xayah rolled her eyes. Saki said that it might be because they were friends before she was chosen by the First Star. "Yeah. I'm guessing that it's that "I haven't seen you in a long time" sorta thing." Rakan then rubs his chin. "Doesn't explain that little outburst from Sarah though. You think she knows something?" She just shrugs. "Dunno."

[KatKook]

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"So that makes six?"

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Location: Valoran Academy

---

So that makes six total star guardians that are in Valoran as of this moment. Ahri and Sarah talked as they made their way to the cafeteria with Neeko following them. "You ever had Cafeteria lunch before?" Ahri asked as she turned to Neeko while they continued walking. "Neeko was told that it wasn't good all the time, Soraka gives good advice, or is Neeko wrong?" Neeko replied, Ahri just chuckled and told Neeko to follow and order what she orders since she practically knows the meals like the back of her hand. and boy Ahri is not proud of that. "Your first lunch is on me." Said Ahri, Sarah had already went ahead and grabbed the pasta for herself, while Ahri got her and Neeko a delectable Chicken dish that was pretty good if it was hot; Thank the stars it was.

Ahri sat down and started eating her lunch as Sarah and her started discussing with Neeko about her origins. Neeko told them that she came from this planet but she doesn't know a lot of the human customs, she said she was still trying to get to know that. "We mean't your star guardian origins kid." Sarah corrected, Neeko then smiled and swallowed her food before answering, "Shiny came down on neeko, with little frog creature, Neeko was told his name was Towa." Ahri then turned to Sarah and shrugged "Towa does sound like a guardian name, maybe it was those writings we saw in that temple on that weird blue planet a few months ago." Ahri pointed out, Sarah then remembered, "Oh, hold on, I snapped a pic." Said Sarah as she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her gallery, she then placed the phone on the table and slid it towards Ahri, the writings were of a language they've never heard of before along with five shooting star paintings next to it, with multiple colours. Neeko's eyes widened she almost choked on her food as she saw the writings. "Neeko can read! Neeko can read!" She called out, "It is a prophecy, Neeko cannot read them all but Neeko can read." Neeko stated, Ahri and Sarah shared glances before sliding the phone to Neeko. "It is said that when the first fail, there will be those that take their place, and then another, and another... Neeko cannot read past that, Neeko thinks this means five new guardians." Neeko said as she pointed at a specific part of the writings on her phone. The picture and then minimised and Neeko was shocked, she moved away from it was scared, yet intrigued by it. "What is this... Magic box? Neeko thinks it is evil." Sarah just laughed as she pulled it was from Neeko, Sarah then began showing Neeko the phone, "It's a phone, see, you can touch the screen and it can do a lot of things." As Sarah continued to explain, Neeko got intrigued by the second.

As Ahri watched them, two hands slammed down on the table, "Song, who's the new girl?" Said the girl, two long pigtails redder than the blood moon, it was Jinx Zavan, first year trouble maker. "Her name is Neeko," Said Ahri as she turned to Neeko who was too intrigued by the phone to notice what was going on, videos were weird to her, and a video of a cat eating a sandwich was still making her question life itself. "I suggest you leave her alone." Ahri stated, Jinx smiled and said, "Aww come on, stop being so uptight Ahri, it's just a little fun, look, watch." Jinx then walked over behind Neeko and placed her chin on her head. Neeko confused just sat there, Jinx opened her mouth and closed her mouth as hard as possible. Neeko pulled away and held her head, "Ahh! Neeko's head!" Neeko said, Jinx pulled away laughing, suddenly someone grabbed Jinx's ear and pulled her down, Ow, Ow, ow, stop, stop, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Said Jinx, It was Luxanna Crownguard, first year, the one making sure Jinx does not cause any trouble. "Ahri excuse us." Lux walked away still pulling Jinx away. Ahri turned to Neeko and rubbed her head, and Neeko immediately melted onto Ahri's shoulder. Sarah just smiled and took her phone back, they just enjoyed lunch, just the three of them.

[Veluda]

---

~ 𝓧𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓱 ~

---

Location: Valoran Academy

---

As Xayah and Rakan were heading towards the cafeteria, Rakan pondered about something. "You ever think there're other Star Guardians besides us?" Xayah raised an eyebrow. "It's just...Are we the only ones who're capable of defending the planet? Do we have to do all the work?" From inside his bag, Riku asked if he was just feeling lonely. "Nah, I've got you and Xayah so why would I be lonely?" His lover blushed a little. "What I mean is, is the First Star gonna choose other people someday? Or do we just protect the planet until we die?" Xayah put her hand on his shoulder. "Babe, you shouldn't think about these things because 1) you're stressing yourself too much, and 2) it doesn't suit you." She then proceeds to remember what the First Star told her when she was chosen. "When the First Star chose me, it said something about stars being plenty and spread out. So if we take that into consideration as well as the fact that we're called 'Star Guardians', then maybe there are other Guardians out there. We just don't know who and where they ar--" As she was finishing her sentence however, she bumped into someone, their books dropping on the floor. "Oh! I'm sorry!" Once Xayah understood the situation, she immediately crouched to help the student gather her books. "Oh nono, it was my bad. I wasn't looking on where I was going." When the student got a closer look of Xayah, her eyes widened. "Oh. My. Gosh. Xayah-senpai I didn't know it was you!" Rakan's eyes turned to his lover. "You know her?" Xayah looked at who she was helping and paused for a bit. Then a smile appeared on her face. "Oh hey! It's you!" As they both finished gathering the dropped books, the two hit up a conversation while walking to the cafeteria, Xayah completely forgetting that Rakan was there. Riku and his companion looked at each other and shrugged and just followed behind.

"So how've you been? Has school been treating you well?" The small girl beside her gave a sheepish smile. "Eheh, I'm still getting used to my schedule. It's completely different than what I'm used to back from where I previously studied. But other than that, I've been enjoying my time here!" Xayah gives a smile and pats her head. "That's really nice to hear. You'll get used to things around here soon." The girl nodded with enthusiasm. "So, have you made any friends?" The young girl's eyes brightened. "Oh yes! She's part of my second and third periods. When she introduced herself and said where she came from, I was delighted!" The girl clearly loved her new friend with all the giddiness she was showing. "Well, she didn't mind me at first. But after a bit of convincing, I managed to hang out with her and we've been together ever since!" As soon as she finishes, another girl called out. "Lulu! There you are!" She came running towards Xayah and the aforementioned Lulu. "I've been waiting for so long! Where were you?" Lulu rubbed her head in embarrassment. "I'm really sorry. I accidentally bumped into Xayah-senpai so I got a bit held up." When the other girl heard "senpai", she immediately bowed her head and apologized for her friend. "Please forgive my friend for disturbing you. My name is Poppy Orlon. It's nice to meet you!" The girl named Poppy also extended her hand out for a handshake. Xayah and Rakan sweatdropped, with awkward smiles on their faces. "Um, nice to meet you too. And it's okay to speak without the formality. I don't bite. Name's Xayah by the way." She took Poppy's hand and shaked it. "So, shall we go?" Lulu perked up and looked at her senior. "Oh yeah! We'll be going now. Thank you for accompanying me Xayah-senpai!" The two girls left the couple with Lulu and Xayah waving each other goodbye. "So you never answered my question but who's that girl with the green hair exactly?" Xayah turns back to Rakan as they continue walking. "Lulu Fae. She's a first year." A sound of agreement comes from Rakan. "Seems like a nice girl. How'd you two meet?" Xayah gave a small laugh as she replied. "Oddly enough, exactly the same way we met earlier. It was right after the welcoming ceremony for the freshmen a few months back. She was getting lost left and right. Then she happened to bump into me around a corner. After hearing her out, I gave her a small tour around the campus. Since then, she started calling me senpai as you've heard earlier." Rakan lightly pats her back. "Heh. Babe's got a junior under her already." he says with a smug face. "Oh shut it you. Now come on, we still gotta ask Ahri about her 'friend'."

They arrive at the cafeteria and started to look for Ahri's table. "There." Xayah pointed at a table off to the left. But there was a small problem. "Crap. Our POI seems to be with them. What do we do?" She thought for a bit. "Let's just ask Ahri discreetly." The two then proceeded to approach Ahri. Once close enough, Xayah tapped Ahri's shoulder and leaned in. (whisper) "Hey, can we talk for a bit?"

[KatKook]

---

"Star guardians are not usually as discreet."

---

Location: Valoran Academy

---

As Ahri sat there, letting Neeko rest on her shoulders she was suddenly tapped on the shoulder, she leaned her head back to see Xayah and Rakan’s upside down faces, "Oh, hey." Said Ahri, Xayah said they needed to talk and the tone of her voice made it sound hella urgent. For a second Xayah reminded Ahri for herself about three hours ago by the gate, was it Ahri’s turn to get infuriated and angry? No, Ahri’s life was not as rough as Xayah’s therefore she couldn’t compare. "Hold on a sec," Ahri tapped Neeko’s head and her head immediately was upright again, Neeko rubbed her eyes and with a very tired sounding voice said "Neeko was sleeping soundly, Was Neeko hurting Ahri?" She asked, Ahri shook her head and replied, "No no, you were as light as a feather, I just need to talk to these two." Said Ahri as she pointed at the two lovebirds behind her. "Whoa! Vastayans! Neeko is very glad to meet you two-!" Ahri had to cut her off, it was urgent business so she couldn’t waste any time, Ahri placed her finger on Neeko’s lips and calmly said, "You can talk to them later, I just need to talk to them first about something okay?" Neeko then sat back in her seat and asked "Is it about Neeko’s Shiny?" Ahri then turned to Xayah and Rakan and examined the emotion in their eyes, Ahri was really good at this. "That would appear to be the case." Said Ahri. Neeko then nodded and walked over to Sarah, she immediately started bugging her about her phone.

Ahri stood up from her chair and grabbed both of them by tricep, Ahri was shorter so she needed to be intimidating in some way. She dragged them both out to the part of the hall where not a lot of a students walk passed. "Okay, so this is obviously about Neeko so ask away." Ahri commanded as she opened her arms ready for all the questions that was about to be thrown at her.

[Veluda]

---

~ 𝓧𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓱 ~

---

Location: Valoran Academy

---

"First question. Who is she exactly?" Rakan was next. "Second. What's with the skinship cap?" Xayah continued. "Third. She immediately knew we were Vastayans. Is SHE a Vastayan?" There was a bit passion in her voice when she said that. And finally... "What the hell is a shiny?" Even both Saki and Riku were interested about Neeko as they both flew into the open. Xayah looked over Ahri's shoulder to take another look at the new girl. She seemed to be asking, almost crossing the line of pestering, about Sarah's phone, much to Sarah's dismay. The way she acted reminded her of young children. Always curious and inquisitive about things. "Certainly a weird one huh?" Xayah nodded. "I know right? It's like I'm looking at a baby in a teenager's body. A uh, very colorful teenager might I add."

[KatKook]

---

"The truth."

---

Location: Valoran Academy

---

Ahri let out a sigh and just decided to drop the big thing that should explain most of it, "She's a guardian. She's like us, first star chose her and even she doesn't know why." Ahri then turned wrapped one hand on each of their companions and held them like stuffed animals near her chest so if anyone walked by they would think they weren't real. "As far as I'm aware she's a long lost race of Vastayan, Sarah and I read about Vastayans last year and Oovi-Kats are apparently supposed to be extinct, but there she is." Suddenly, Kiko appeared as well, and Ahri just couldn't keep them all from view. "Kiko can you help me, can you convince these two to hide themselves?" She asked, raising the two bird companions up to Kiko who was on her head. As Kiko worked on that, Ahri tried to explain further. "Remember that temple on planet J6-092? The weird green planet with the silver water, apparently she could read the writings on that and apparently it's a prophecy, she can't decipher it all but she's trying her best-"

"Yo." Sarah called out as she walked towards them, "Fortune- I mean, Sarah, what about Neeko-" Ahri was then cut off by Sarah's palm to her face, which then immediately turned into a finger pointing at Neeko who appeared to be more intrigued than before. "I re-installed Bejeweled on my phone while she was sleeping on your shoulder since I knew she was going to ask about my phone again," She turned to Neeko who was making huge swipes on her Sarah's phone " I think she's on level 8-" A loud ding then came from her phone, "Neeko is Shiny master!" Neeko exclaimed as she raised both hands up in the air. "Ur... 10, level 10." Sarah then saw Kiko struggling to keep the Vastayan familiars, so she got Boki and Baki to help out as well. "Anyway, I'm your second in command, so I was hoping to get more insight on whatever's going on." Sarah interjected, Ahri then looked down, and replied "Right, sorry."

[Veluda]

---

~ 𝓧𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓱 ~

---

Location: Valoran Academy

---

One blink.
A second blink.
Then a third.

Finally...

"WHAT?!?"

The two Vastayans' minds were completely blown. They looked at each other in disbelief. "That girl's a GUARDIAN?!" Xayah's eyes were wide as an owl's. This was completely out of the blue after all. "Holy crap. This is unreal." Rakan was as surprised too. He was holding his head in shock. "No way..." The female Vastayan was still perplexed as to how things came to be as is. "So l-let me get this straight. Neeko was chosen by the First Star and she so happens to be transferred to our school. The school where literally EVERY STAR GUARDIAN CURRENTLY KNOWN GOES TO FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" She rubbed her temple in stress. "So the 'shiny' she was talking about was..." Rakan starts. "It's her gem. Of course it is." Xayah facepalms after not realizing sooner. On a side note, Riku and Saki have listened to the other familiars and decided to hide among their partners' clothes.

As the four members were talking, a fifth made her appearance. "So that girl was chosen too huh?" Xayah looked to her left. "Oh thank god you're here Syndra. I guess that means there's less explaining to do." Rakan was shaking his head. "Still, this is pretty unbelievable. We were just talking about this too. About if we're the only Guardians on this planet." His lover gave a small laugh at this. "I know right? First Star's got our work cut out for us."

[KatKook]

---

"A starry convergence."

---

Location: Valoran Academy

---

"Syndra... You honestly have to announce your arrival or something, my ears are going to be stiff from your surprises." Said Ahri, her ears did flinch when Sydnra arrived, Sarah then interjected after the two vastayans finished their ramblings. "Well she did say she was actively searching for Ahri, so she probably enrolled specificly because of that, guardians are stronger together after all." Ahri smiled after hearing Sarah say that, she was her second in command for a reason and being both a hard headed commander and good friend were two of them. Ahri's ears then drooped down a bit as she said "I'm expecting more info soon... I invited her to the sleep over-" Her ears then went back up as she peaked pass Xayah and Rakan to look at syndra and quickly added, "You can come if you want-" she then continued her thought "Anyway, As much as I want you to come, girls only." Ahri said to Rakan, stiffening her ears to show some authority. She gets slightly taller than Xayah once her ears are fully erect.

"Though if you have any more questions, you're always free to ask her yourself, Neeko doesn't bite-" Said Ahri but speak of the devil, Neeko arrived holding Sarah's phone with both of her hands, "Neeko loses..." She said, offering the phone back to Sarah, Sarah just smiled and patted her head, wrapping her arm around her. "Well, now's the time to ask." Said Srah as she gestured at Neeko.

[Veluda]

---

~ 𝓧𝓪𝔂𝓪𝓱 ~

---

Location: Valoran Academy

---

"Hey hey, I know it's girls only." Xayah pats Rakan's head at this. "Don't worry babe. We'll spend some time together too afterwards okay?" The two share a hearty laugh. "Anyways..." She turns towards Neeko. "I don't really have anything to ask you. I'm just...I'm just happy to see another Vastayan besides us. A different tribe too." She gives Neeko a smile. "Yeah. It's pretty refreshing to see a new member which has links to our race. Makes the team feel more homely." says Rakan as he gives a sound of agreement. The two bird familiars were also happy for the new member. They once again flew into the open and stuck to Neeko, chirping happily. "Heh. Looks like we aren't the only ones who're happy to see you here kid." Syndra gives a small chuckle at the small act of festivity. "That solves it then. Neeko is now officially part of our team as a Star Guardian." She then turned towards Ahri. "And to answer your question, yes. I'll definitely be there." she says with a mature smile. Xayah then asked. "Sooooo, should we eat? We've got about 40 minutes till next period."