Inside>Out! Ch. 1Fed Up! pt. 1
"But--! My King! You cannot leave us! Not now, when we need your guidance!"
"You need my guidance less than you might think. You are King, now."
"Sire, I--! I cannot be King...I am of common blood..."
"But you are not. You are the son of my father's brother, and rightful heir now that both he and I are gone."
"But...my Liege--!"
"Please...just Yatemo. You are King now, and you must behave like one."
"..."
"You are a noble soul, despite your trials. You will be a wise King. And now, I must depart."
"No! Please, I--! I need your help!"
"Farewell...King Setsou..."
Shinta awoke with a start. He looked outside at the sunrise and realized he was late. Rushing over to his wardrobe, he yanked out the shirt he washed the night before and hurriedly slid it over his head. Without skipping a beat, he pulled on his pants and tied the waist tie as fast as his paws could manage. Then he ran out his bedroom door, yanking on the strap of his bag as he made his way to the kitchen. Skipping his morning tea and breakfast altogether, he closed his paws around his sword bag and bolted out the door and down the road.
"That's the third time this week..." he thought to himself, racing down the unpaved street.
*****10 Minutes of hard running later******
"You're almost late again, Shinta. Better watch your tail or I might just start chewing on it." warned the school bellringer as he chimed the second to final bell. This meant that class was to begin in 3 minutes. Pounding into the lockers as fast as his paws would carry him, Shinta crossed the line of the door just as the final bell tolled. "Another close call..."
Not daring to was another moment, Shinta made his way to the tiny metal box mounted on the wall that was supposed to be his locker. Opening it and slipping into his uniform, a purple martial arts gi with green about the collar and sleeves along with a pair of baggy pants of a darker shade, he wondered why of all the students' uniforms his was larger than it should have been. With every step the pants became trapped under his paws, and his forepaws were constantly covered by the length of the sleeves. Shinta sighed at the familiar sight, and shut the locker.
"Hey Shinta!" Gonna' get another perfect score on the Spell Inspection today?" called a voice from behind. Turning, Shinta could see one of the stronger athletes in the school casually strolling up to him, trailing his usual chain of dedicated "apprentices" behind him. "But how about the Strength and Striking Test? You know that technique is only so good. It's worth nothing unless you have my kind of power behind it," sneered the leopard.
"What do you care anyways, Leo?" Shinta retorted.
"Because the matchslip says your facing me today. And that's Leopold to YOU, half-breed." As he spoke, a large smirk began to cross Leo's face. "Try not to run home crying, little cub." Putting his nose up into the air, Leo and his gang strolled out the door and to the exam area. Deciding not to let Leo bother him as much as usual, Shinta breathed deeply and walked into the bright morning sunlight.
Entering the outdoor exam area, Shinta looked about, searching for his master. Instead he spotted his crush and lifelong best friend, Iwako, a silver fox of 17 born in the summer of the same year as he was. Despite the fact that the family of silver foxes living in the area was known to associate with higher society, Iwako was a roudy tomboy. She had undeveloped manners, was sometimes overly blunt, and had a bad habit of--
"OUCH!"
"Shinta! You slept in again!" cried Iwako, slugging his arm a second time for good measure. "Master Seijuko didn't even bother showing up on time because of you!"
"I hardly see why it's my fault..." Shinta muttered, looking down and away. "Master never shows up when we expect him to."
"And it's a valuable way of teaching you to expect the unexpected," proclaimed a deeper voice from behind the two. Turning slowly, Iwako and Shinta looked up into the eyes of their master: a tall white dragon with red wing membranes, and eyes that glow a piercingly cold blue when he gets upset. "Besides, a new wine came in today, and I just had to stop and try it."
"One of these days Master, you're going to get drunk again," Iwako said, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"You remember what you did last time you got drunk, don't you?" Shinta chimed in. The Master put his claw to his chin and closed his eyes in remembrance.
"Yeah...the still won't let me back in. I even helped them rebuild the place, and still they treat me like this," he stated.
"You were the one who ripped it up and tore it to the ground in the first place," Iwako pointed out, leveling her eyes at the Master.
"You may have a point. Still," the dragon sat in the seiza pose on the cushion that had been placed for him, "it is time to prepare for testing. Iwako, you're to take your Strength and Striking Test first. Then you will take your Weapon Mastery Test, and finally your Spell Inspection Test." looking to Shinta, he continued. "Shinta, you don't begin until later. You'll take your Spell Inspection first. Yours should be relatively short anyway. Then you will take your Weapon Mastery Test at the same time that Iwako will take her Spell Test. But your Strength and Striking..." the dragon paused, considering how best to proceed, "..has been rescheduled. It is now the Featured Match of the day. That means your test will be the last one for the day. It begins at sunset."
Shinta couldn't believe his ears. _"Could today get any worse?! It's not even midmorning and this is the second-worst day of my life!" _
"Yes! That means I can come to watch you, Shinta! I can't wait to see how much you've improved!" Iwako exclaimed, her eyes taking on an unusual shine.
"I recommend that you prepare for your Strength and Striking Test, Iwako," the Master said. "Not that you need it..."
"Yes Master!" With that brief parting, she raced off to the Strength testing field. Shinta rose to go, but was stopped by a claw on his shoulder.
"Today is going to be tough on you, Shinta. I won't lie...Leopold is far stronger than you are. No one will blame you for suffering defeat." Shinta nodded, looking down at his master's feet. "But perhaps...you have a chance. One fleeting chance to win." This statement was foreign to him, so Shinta looked up. "Just look at Leo as a whole...keep in mind his weakness." With that, his master turned from him, and paused. "I look forward to seeing this match. Don't disappoint me by giving in." The Master strode away.