(3rd person)
Kazuha's first day at a new school was tomorrow, he had been made to switch following an.. event.. at his previous school.
'Mm.. my alarm is so loud.. but it does it's job I guess. New school, new people and.. a sparkling new reputation, it.. can't be too bad,' Kazuha thought, wiping the sleep from his glazed red eyes.
He reluctantly pulled the blankets from his body, slipping from his bed as he stood up. His form soft and passive, slinking over to his desk, catching his reflection in the mirror.
'I forgot to tie my hair before I slept.. this'll be an ordeal then..'
He picked up his hairbrush, dragging it through the almost white-blonde strands. The deep red portion had different feel, slightly rougher. He had first gotten the section stained with blood, upon enjoying how it looked, he took to dying it under the guise of 'it simply reminds of my mother's hairpin'.
Such an answer was satisfactory to most, leaving little room to question as Kazuha's mother often happened to be a sensitive topic.
With minimal work of untangling knots with his hands, the brush was able to glide easily through his hair, so he set the brush down.
The aforementioned red streak was something most could remember him by at least, a matter that dragged him into trouble. At most as troubles such as school guidelines to less than welcoming opinions.
He tied his hair back into a low ponytail, the pieces too short to accompany the rest falling to frame his face. Some fell down to his chin whereas others drifted across his forehead.
Kazuha's eyes glanced across the room, landing on a messily folded pile of what looked to be his new uniform. This school, unlike most in his area, had uniforms although the rules appeared to be fairly lax as long as the basic elements were there.
A white dress shirt, any pants of dark colour (shorts being allowed but a less travelled path due to the general cold climate of the area along with not many students wishing to bother themselves with rules that followed them), and a deep blue, closer to simply black, blazer. The one firm rule was the tie currently thrown atop the pile of clothes.
Kazuha couldn't tie a tie if it was means to save him own life.
But when disregarding that, it's fairly high-quality and weirdly comfortable for such a formal attire.
He adorned the clothing, his tie simply slung around his neck, beneath his shirt's collar, untied until he could spare the energy to learn how to tie it. His blazer was likewise slung over his shoulders, the padding in the fabric keeping it in place, fairly firmly.
"Hey, Kazuha! You awake yet? Don't wanna be late on your first day!" Beidou called up the stairs, the same, pleasant but not really specific, tone thick in her words.
"Yeah I'm up, I'm just.. uhh.. figuring out my uniform!" Kazuha replied, eventually giving up on following unclear tutorials on how to tie ties.
There was far to many different types of knot.. and they meant different things.. all far too complex, especially when the tutorials moved all too fast, not to mention people's hands being constantly in the way.
Beidou, Kazuha's adoptive mom, was kind-hearted. Her intentions were never anything less than positive, even if her aura was most overpowering and perhaps intimidating at times.
Kazuha's other mother, Ningguang - also adoptive, was.. far less present in his life, only returning a handful of times per month. She was.. and still is, unfathomably rich. The blaring red siren of an issue was that her methods were in the grey area of the law, alas her wealth nonetheless secured Kazuha a shiny spot in one of Inazuma's star schools. It wasn't all money, his academic smarts were no less then any other student's.
Despite this, Kazuha had in fact been held back a year, the same.. event.. from the previous school warranted head turning bad grades. Kazuha tended to keep his biologically family a secret, there was dirt on their names.
"Kazuha? You doin' okay up there?" Beidou asked, the hands of the clock resting the wal ticking closer to when her son would have to leave.
"Sorry mom! I'm.. I'm just sorting my uniform out!" Kazuha said, frantic as he let his tie fall back to lay on his shirt, still completely untied.
He simply gave up at this point, fastening the last button as his shirt as he hurried out of his room and down the stairs, seeing him mom stood busy in the kitchen.
"Hey there kiddo!" Beidou waved, turning her head to look at her son instead of whatever else she was doing.
"Good morning mom.." Kazuha said, tired as he continued to fiddle with his tie, deciding it now more worth his time.
"You excited for your new school? Brand new people, new experiences?" - Beidou asked, a supporting smile shining on her face.
"Yeah.. kind of but I don't like the introductions" Kazuha replied, his voice still quiet as he rubbed the nape of his neck.
"C'mon kiddo it'll be fine! You're an amazing person! Everyone will like you!" Beidou walked over to Kazuha, her hand ruffling his hair.
'Yeah.. amazing person.. that did all that to some kid that dared to speak of my biological parents, in a way less an pleasant' Kazuha thought, his brow furrowing at simply the memory of it.
"Thanks.. I guess. Where's mother? I thought she promised she'd be back today." Kazuha's voice dropped, not noticing his mother's confident aura anywhere near.
"The.. the deal didn't go as planned.. she she'll be back when you return from school at best and... probably tomorrow or the day after at worst. She's okay though, nothing violent happened" Beidou answered, her happy tone faltering as her eyes grew sad.
"Fair enough.." Kazuha's voice reminded quiet, he missed his mother, he hadn't seen her in almost a month now.
"So... written anything recently? I know you enjoyed writing in your pass time, still do that much?" Beidou asked, switching to the subject of one much lighter.
"No.. not yet.. nothing has really piqued my interest recently" Kazuha gladly jumped on the new subject, finding it much more comfortable than the awkward silence once present between responses.
"Or maybe someone in it~" -Beidou teased, a silly smirk on her face.
Kazuha knew what she was implying, his love life had been interesting at best and.. complex at worst. Girls seemed to flock to him as if some sort of god. He never managed to feel anything back to them, despite how much they flirted or straight up told him at times, he never felt more than discomfort as he awkwardly turned them away.
"Mom.. you know that's not gonna happen" Kazuha mumbled, his pessimism warranted as through all of his 18 years, he had never felt anything liken to such feelings that people described to him. He felt love, as in he loved his parents but.. that wasn't what they all meant. Something deeper, more... intimate but.. what really was that?
"C'mon kid! Be more enthusiastic! You'll find someone or something to write about, a new school, especially such a high-class one, is bound to have at least something to interest you!" Beidou added, her optimism.. nice but it didn't seem to help much as she clapped her hand over his shoulder.
"Thanks mom... I know... I'll try but.. still" Kazuha saw his view more as pitiful realism than anything pessimistic. In his eyes, nothing would come of it, nothing ever will.
"Good. Now get a bite to eat before you leave. You don't want to be hungry in the middle of class" Beidou suggested, her smile now returned.
"Yes... I will..." Kazuha decided
"And, Kazuha, you might wanna find someone to help you tie your tie, I would but I don't know either" Beidou chuckled, she - just like Kazuha - had never had much of a father figure.
Kazuha laughed a laugh more self-deprecating chuckle than a laugh but... still. He reached into the cabinet, pulling out a box of cereal.
After he ate breakfast, he shoved his books haphazardly into his bag, slipping on his shoes as he prepared to leave.
"Goodbye mom!"
"Cya later kiddo!"l
Shoes weren't included in the uniform policy, warranting no rules.
The school was a rough 20 minutes away, there was a bus he could hop on but the route his wished to take happened to be a most scenic one. The cold bit softly at his cheeks, painting his face a light pink shade as he walked.
The wind was calm, passive as it danced through the trees. Kazuha relied on the wind for many things, during his younger years, he would sit outside in the garden of his house. He would close his eyes, his senses remaining alert as all things, smells, sounds, feelings and occasionally tastes, present on the wind.
As for today, nothing stuck out. Nothing to worry about, which should be relieving.. but it was weirdly dull, unsettling even. There was usually something, no matter how small but.. there wasn't much.
There.. a small feeling of something.. warm. A welcoming emotion but one not at all familiar.
(20 mins later - at the school)
It was now or never, pinning a metaphorical smiling mask into his cheeks, he stepped into the building, the first corridor ornate and cold.
A girl, wearing mostly purple clothing, hair also a faint shade of purple. Her hair was twisted into shapes resembling cat ears, the remaining hair falling into long, straight twin-tails.
"Hello. I assume you are the new student?" The girl clad in violet asked, her features soft, contrasting her sharp tone.
"Yes, I am!" Kazuha's lips remained in a soft smile.
"In that case, I'm Keqing, a member of the school council, nice to meet you," Keqing said, extending her hand to shake the boy before her's.
"The feeing is mutual, my name is Kazuha," his smile remained still, shaking the girl's hand firmly.
"Welcome Kazuha. As the student council president and am here to give a your locker number, a simple map of our school and your schedule." Keqing said, her face remaining serious as she handed over two folded pieces of paper.
"Ah- thank you. May I ask if there's anything I should know about this school beforehand?" Kazuha asked, slipping into his old habits.
Inside rules were always an advantage, when one is thrust into a new environment, learning the unwritten rules of such a place made the entire experience much less tedious.
"Sure. A few unspoken rules are, don't ask about the rumours around some of the kids here. 2, if you see Albedo, blonde hair, blue eyes, eating spiders or being weird just don't ask. And 3, don't try to talk to Scaramouche. He's the short purple haired kid." Keqing supplied the necessary information.
"There's a kid that eats spiders..?" Kazuha asked, slightly unsure of what he had heard and whether he had heard it correctly.
In such a prestigious academy, there would certainly be a number of people who stuck out from the rest. Be the reason bad habits, a less than positive reputation, or - the more expected reason - exceptional intelligence.
"Yes. He's a genius, nightly skilled in mathematics and sciences but he has some disturbing habits and things to say" Keqing confirmed.
"Thank you for the information, have a good day" Kazuha said, his smile widening slightly.
"No problem, good day to you too. Before I go, tie your tie before somebody with opinions of the uniform policy shows up" Keqing returned the pleasantries, bringing light to his tie, still slung around his neck.
'Yeah.. I should do that. Perhaps.. this school is weirder than I though. What's up with that 'Scaramouche' guy? Does.. does he have a similar reputation to my old one? Why aren't you supposed to talk to him?' Kazuha thought, walking briskly to his locker as he unfolded the paper that was the map, an arrow pointing to where his locker was. Locker 37, lockers 36 and 38 were.. decorated. 36 being covered in stickers of all sorts, from wine bottles to extravagant harps. While 38 had some kind of.. blood red liquid spilling out of it.
'Im.. not gonna think too deep into that'
Kazuha swung open his locker, placing his books inside. He unfolded his schedule.
'Huh.. the one class I actually excel in. That's.. good I guess'