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Dear Sir or Madame,
It is our pleasure to announce that your son/daughter is now of age to attend Perimo Academy. In our establishment, we assure you that your son/daughter will get the most thorough and substantial education possible to survive in our world, be they inheritors or carriers of your family’s Gift. We look forward to your son/daughter’s enrollment, and await his/her arrival on August twenty-fifth. Please fill out the attached registration sheets so that we may know what to expect with your son/daughter and ship it by July first.
Sincerely,
The Perimo Board of Admissions
Child’s name: Kiraiya Sakaio-Dawson
Sex: Female
Active (if yes, elaborate): Yes, Sakaio Reading and Dawson strength
Father’s name: Jared Dawson
Clan type (if relevant): Patriarchal
Active (if yes, elaborate): Yes, Dawson strength
Mother’s name (if clan member, note maiden name): Nariko Sakaio (deceased)
Clan type (if relevant): Matriarchal
Active (if yes, elaborate): Yes, Sakaio Reading
Father’s education: Perimo Academy
Mother’s education: Circle Academy of China
Father’s standing: Headman in Dawson clan
Mother’s standing: Former Matriarch of Sakaio clan (again, deceased)
Other comments, concerns: Yes, well, Kiraiya is unique, in that she inherited my Active Gift as well as her mother’s. I kid you not, she has Dawson strength. Do NOT, under any circumstances, underestimate her because of her size or sex. It should be noted, as well, that she is subject to Dawson-esque tempers, in which many things break. I would suggest putting her in a room for our Active family members, despite the fact that the rest of our clan are young men; less damage will be done to the property. I give you my full permission to send for me (you have my cell phone on file) at any time to help control her. Good luck, Perimo; you’ll need it.
-Jared Johan Dawson
“You wish. I am not wearing that thing.¨
“Kiraiya Reina Sakaio-Dawson, you put that skirt on! ¨
“Iie!¨
“Don’t you take that tone with me, onna. I’m you’re father, and you’ll do as I say!¨
“Kami! If I have to go, at least don’t make me wear that stupid skirt! ¨
“Kiraiya…….¨ Jared Dawson growled as he held a pleated, green, plaid skirt out to his daughter. She was already wearing the matching tie and navy blazer, but she refused to exchange her jeans for the skirt. He was a tall, broad-shouldered, bear of a man in his late thirties, early forties, with short, sandy blonde hair and brown eyes. His features were sharp and angled in a rugged, almost dangerous way, set in a scowl directed towards his teenage daughter.
Kiraiya simply glared and crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest. She was tiny compared to her father, average height for a young woman her age and thin in the extreme. Her black hair was something of an art project, with its ice blue streaks all around and its red tips only on the left side. Her thin, Asian, eyes were a washed-out-almost white-blue with a rim of darker blue both around the edge and her pinpoint pupils. Only the expression on her delicate features resembled the man in front of her: she was scowling too.
“I’m not wearing that, no matter what you say,¨ she replied coolly.
“You’ll do as you’re told, Kiraiya. The skirt is part of the uniform. You have to wear it to go
to Perimo. And don’t you give me that look; you’re going and that’s that!¨
“Yeah, whatever.¡¨
Finally fed up with his daughter’s impudence, Jared grabbed her arm, steered her into a nearby closet, shoved her-and the skirt-inside, and locked the door.
“Let me out!¨ Kiraiya yelled, banging on the door as hard as she could. Her father simply put all his weight on the door and pushed as hard as he could against her.
“Not……until……you change! ¨ he grunted. “And if you break this door…..Kiraiya Reina…...you will not be taking your iPod with you to school.¨ In fact, Kiraiya was close to breaking the door. If Jared hadn’t been counter acting her strength, she would have with her first push. A furious scream came from inside the closet.
“I hate you, damn it! ¨
“Put your skirt on, dear.¨
There was furious silence and some banging and shuffling behind the door, then, “It’s on you-!¨ Kiraiya started.
“Don’t you finish that sentence, Kiraiya.”
“Whatever,¨ she growled, “it’s on.¨
“Swear it.¨
“Dad!¨
“Swear it on your Slayer name, Kiraiya.¨
“All right! I swear on my Slayer name, the damn skirt is on!¨
This seemed to pacify Jared; he opened the closet and Kiraiya tumbled out, the skirt flying up as she fell. Absently, he nudged his daughter with his foot.
“Get up. Go get your stuff; we’re leaving.¨
“I hate you,¨ she said to the floor.
“Learn how to wear a skirt,¨ her father answered. “Now go and get your suitcase.¡¨
A few minutes later, Kiraiya and her father were in his car, a very nice, new Mercedes, driving towards the Berlin airport. Kiraiya herself was pouting in the front seat while her father manned the wheel. Every now and then, she sent a vicious glare in his direction, but Jared was obviously used to this, as he didn’t seem to give it a second thought. All humor aside, the last place Kiraiya wanted to go was Perimo, the European Slayer Academy. Sure, it was on a lovely, privately-owned island near Italy, but she’d had her eyes set on the Asian Academy off the coast of China. Her father, the overbearing ass, had insisted, however, that she attend Perimo. All Dawson’s went to Perimo, and apparently she was a Dawson before a Sakaio.
“I hate this,¡¨ she reminded her father. Again, Jared ignored her. “Why can’t I go to China?¨
“Because, this is closer, and it’s where our family has always gone.¨ Jared’s voice was tired as he answered her, probably due to the fact that he’d been forced to answer it more times than he could count.
“But I’m a Sakaio, too, Dad.¨
“Perhaps, but this is still closer.¨ She glared at him for a moment, before finding a form of revenge.
“You’re carrying my bags,¨ she huffed, arms crossed over her chest once more.
“You’re quite capable of carrying them yourself, dear,¨ Jared reminded her.
“Yes, but wouldn’t it look strange is all of me,¨ she said, gesturing to her small frame,
“was carrying all of that?¨ She pointed to the back seat, where a rather large trunk along with a slightly smaller suitcase, and a duffel bag took up the whole bench. Jared was unfazed.
“Not if they have rollers.¨
“They don’t.¨ Now he turned to face her, suspicion and confusion on his face.
“Yes they do,¨ he said slowly, not taking his eyes off his daughter except to check the road every few seconds. “The trunk and the suit case both have wheels; I checked.¨
Kiraiya grinned evilly. “Perhaps you bought them with rollers, but I could possibly have had one of my sleepwalking episodes and accidentally removed them.¨
“Kiraiya!¨ Jared exclaimed angrily.
“It’s not my fault I have a sleepwalking problem!¨ she protested, putting on her best angel face.
“Sleepwalk my ass,¨ he grumbled to the steering wheel as they pulled into a back lot at the air port, the one for private planes.
“Daddy!¨ Kiraiya exclaimed, pretending to be appalled. “You shouldn’t use such language around your impressionable young daughter!¨ She opened the door and slid out of the black car, immediately producing a pair of sunglasses as she left the safely tinted interior for the bright sun outside.
Jared scoffed at her, but let her win one battle as he lifted the trunk, duffle, and suitcase from the back seat with ease. He scanned the landed business jets for one-there it was-with a symbol. He found the small plane he was looking for, and it looked like the Ivanovs had upgraded since he’d last flown with them.
“Over there, Kiraiya,¨ he said, pointing the plane out to her. She growled something rude under her breath, but walked towards the indicated plane. The hatch, however, was closed.
She stood there for a moment, willing it to open. Then she started tapping her foot impatiently, warning the door that it was in its best interests to open before she lost her temper. A moment later, the door had not yet opened, despite Kiraiya’s threats, and Jared came up behind her, only to find his daughter glowering at an inanimate object. Again.
“Are you going to ask them to open the door?¨ he asked, exasperated. His daughter simply continued glaring at the closed hatch. He sighed. “I don’t know how you got this way,¨ he muttered. “Ivanov!¨ he bellowed, dropping Kiraiya’s bags to reach up and bang on the hatch. “Open up, Dmitry!¨ It only took a few seconds for the hatch to open, and Jared looked at his daughter as if to say, “See how easy that was?¡¨ before greeting the dark-haired man in front of him. “Hello, Dmitry, how’ve you been?¨
“Fine, thanks,¨ the man almost Jared’s size said as he opened the hatch and let the stairs down. “I’m sorry for not having the plane open for you, Jared, but you’re uncharacteristically early.¨ Dmitry Ivanov was smiling as he held his hands out to take Kiraiya’s luggage from her father. He was bearded and sturdy with blue eyes and a distinctly Russian accent.
“Yes, well, there’s a first time for everything,¨ Jared answered as he slung the last bag, the duffle, over his shoulder and motioned to Kiraiya to make her way up the stairs, which she did with not a little haughtiness, sticking her delicate nose into the air primly. “Kiraiya, say hello to Dmitry,¨ Jared said tiredly as she made to walk right past the other man. She stopped abruptly and looked at Dmitry.
“Hello, Mr. Ivanov,¨ she said with cold politeness. “I really don’t see the need for pleasantries, as I plan on jumping off the plane as soon as we start to take off, but hello nonetheless.¨ She breezed past the stunned man without a second glance.
“Kiraiya Reina Sakaio-Dawson!¨ Jared bellowed. Dmitry didn’t appear to notice his friend’s fury. In fact, he started laughing. Kiraiya was not amused; she leaned around the partition between the hatch and the seating area, glaring as she tried to figure out how her words-which should have made this man angry or insulted-had instead made him laugh. She wasn’t partial to people laughing when she wanted them crying.
“What in the world is so funny?¨ she demanded sharply.
“Jared,¨ Dmitry forced out between laughs, “she’s just like you!¨
That was definitely not something Kiraiya wanted to hear. He was laughing at her, and now he was accusing her of being like her father? Jared also looked aghast as he stared, open-mouthed, at Dmitry.
“She is not!¨ he said emphatically, still standing at the bottom of the stairs with Kiraiya’s bags around him. “I wouldn’t have lived to this age if I’d been like that as a teen!¨
“Jared,¨ Dmitry said, still smiling hugely, “miracles can happen; the fact that you survived your teenage years is proof of that.¨
Jared grumbled some extremely rude German curses as he finally boarded the plane. Most of them were less-than-complementary to Dmitry and his relatives. What he didn’t realize was that Kiraiya was doing very much the same thing from her seat, in Japanese, so they didn’t understand why Dmitry was laughing even harder.
“Where’s Mirko?¨ Jared asked in between profanities. Dmitry looked up from his laughter to Jared
“I sent him out for food about half and hour ago,¨ he answered. “He should be back soon-¨
“Father, could you please move?¨ a gruff voice called from the pavement.
Mirko Ivanov was built like his father, tall and broad, but he had a closed, stoic face and piercing blue-gray eyes. His hair was also fair instead of dark and just long enough for him to have to flick it out of his eyes every now and then. Right then he was partially obscured by a large bag of various snacking items, but he was wearing a uniform that complimented the one Jared had forced Kiraiya into about and hour ago. He, too, had a navy blue blazer, white shirt, and green tie, but instead of a skirt-thank God-he was wearing khaki slacks. Dmitry quickly stepped out of the way to let his son board the plane.
“Sorry, Mirko, you remember Mr. Dawson?¨ he said as the tall boy put the bags down in a cabinet right across from the door.
“Yes, are you well, Headman?” he asked politely as he straightened up. His accent was slightly thicker than his father’s, but his voice was just as deep.
“I’d be better if my daughter wasn’t an insolent, self absorbed saumench,¨ Jared answered with a pointed look to Kiraiya, who was completely deaf to the world as she had her iPod headphones firmly implanted in her ears. Her father growled angrily, stomped towards her seat, and yanked the headphones away from her.
“What the hell?¨ she demanded angrily, glaring furiously up at Jared. Her courage was to be admired, though; anyone else would have been too intimidated by his size and anger to antagonize him further.
“Would you please act like you have some manners! You were brought up in a temple for
God’s sake; surely you have some sense of etiquette. I thought you Japanese were all gung-ho for politeness and the like!¨ he exclaimed. Kiraiya was unfazed.
“Perhaps, but the Germans are known for quite the opposite, right Vater?¨ She stared defiantly up at Jared, her eyes still concealed behind tinted lenses, yet somehow managing to smolder visibly.
“And tempers,¨ Dmitry added mildly from the entryway. “Don’t forget the infamous German tempers.¨
Jared straightened at the sound of his friend’s voice, seeming to pull himself together, but he glared at Kiraiya out of the corner of his eye. “At least have the decency to introduce yourself, Kiraiya,¨ he forced out from gritted teeth, “or I will take the iPod away.¨ The small girl looked over at Mirko with obvious disdain.
“Hello,¨ she said flatly. “Is it just me, or did someone here forget his Midol this month?¨
“Onna,¨ Jared growled, “you had better be talking about yourself, especially since you’re the only one on this plane who could have a use for such medication.¨
“You keep thinking that,¨ Kiraiya muttered. Before Jared could respond, Dmitry had a large hand planted firmly on his shoulder.
“Why don’t you go ahead and leave, Jared?¨ he suggested warily. “I can take it from here, and I’m sure you have something you need to be doing.¨ That doesn’t involve killing your daughter he added silently. He knew full-well the huge German’s anger issues. Kiraiya raised a delicate eyebrow at the Russian.
Interesting, she thought as her father reluctantly told her to behave and left, thankfully without her precious iPod. She looked down as if to make sure she was still in one piece. She was, which was quite an accomplishment after insulting her father like that. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who wasn’t afraid of Jared Dawson’s temper, and here she’d thought she was unique.
Sex: Male
Active (if yes, elaborate): Yes, Ivanov smithing
Father’s name: Dmitry Ivanov
Clan type (if relevant): Patriarchal
Active (if yes, elaborate): Yes, Ivanov smithing
Mother’s name (if clan member, note maiden name): Anastasia Ivanov)
Clan type (if relevant): N/A
Active (if yes, elaborate): No
Father’s education: Perimo Academy
Mother’s education: N/A
Father’s standing: Second in Ivanov clan
Mother’s standing: N/A
Other comments, concerns: Mirko has expressed a wish to not attend Perimo for more than one year; he would prefer to finish out his training by way of an apprenticeship. I am willing to oblige, if he excels this year. I would appreciate if his instructors would assist me in this matter by sending me detailed reports of his progress over the course of the year. Please take care to make these as critical and as real as possible, as they will be the basis of my decision. I thank you in advance.
-Dmitry Ivanov
He shook his head, determined to rid himself of any complimentary thoughts regarding this girl. Quite frankly, he wanted as little to do with her as possible. She struck him as an obnoxious piece of work, who would only get in his way at school. If he did well enough his first year, he could convince his father to let him come home and learn in an apprenticeship like it had been done in the old days, when you didn’t have to deal with the pointlessness of high school while you were supposed to be training.
“Okay, let’s get some things straight, pretty boy.¨ Mirko looked up sharply. Apparently, while he’d been thinking, Kiraiya had taken her headphones out and deigned to speak to him.
“Excuse me?¨ he demanded, once he realized she was addressing him this way.
“You heard me, Ivanov,¨ she said, brushing off his tone carelessly. “I need you to understand some things, if we’re going to spend several hours in a confined space together.¨ Mirko raised a pale eyebrow. “Item one: you stay on your side, and I’ll stay on mine. There will be no physical contact. Item two: you will not attempt to make conversation. I don’t want to hear your grating voice for the whole damn trip; you’ll disturb my music, and we can’t have that. Item three: we will not be friends at Perimo. I am not going to be friends with anyone, much less your pathetic self. Item four: no matter what our fathers hope, we are not getting together. I refuse to be set up with an arschloch, such as yourself.¨ She seemed to be finished, so Mirko stared speaking before she could again.
“First of all,¨ he began angrily, “this is my plane, and I will go on it where I wish. Secondly, why the hell do you think I would want to talk to an insufferable creature like you? Thirdly, I believe that goes without saying, as you are a total cyka. And fourthly, for God’s sake, woman, what in the hell would suggest that I would want to go out with you? Furthermore, what was that about our fathers?¨ Kiraiya looked as if she was on the verge of laughter, which only infuriated Mirko, who was not used to being laughed at for whatever reason.
“What is with your accent?¨ she asked incredulously, laughing perhaps more than was necessary. Mirko glared violently. So what if his accent wasn’t perfect, and it may get a little carried away when he was frustrated? Who was she to scoff at him? He was about to say this when she said something else through her outburst. “Seriously, where did you learn English? You do realize that the letter that looks like two v’s put together makes a completely different sound, right? It’s called a ¡¥double u’, not a ¡¥double v’!¨ A growl rose in his throat, and he was tempted to throttle her. Before he got a chance to, though, the wench opened her mouth again.
“As for your…..interesting points,¨ she began, amusement still in her haughty voice. “Our fathers are trying to set us up, and I was just letting you know it wouldn’t happen. Ever. My opinions on items two and three are concurrent with yours. In regards to item one, however, I feel it only fair to warn you that, should you try to get too close to me if only to prove a point, I am stronger than you, and I would not hesitate to give you a good beating.¨ Mirko doubted this. He doubted so much that this tiny girl could whip him that he went so far as to scoff.
In half a pulse’s time, Kiraiya was on top of him. He fell back into the seat and was suddenly afraid that she would be so stupid as to break something in his father’s plane. The worry was quickly replaced by fury when he registered that she had actually attacked him. Immediately, he retaliated by using his chair as leverage, pushing off the ground, and flipping it so that he was on top. Then he went about pinning her arms and legs to the floor with a loud thud, cursing violently in Russian as he did it.
“What the hell were you-” He started to berate her, but before he could finish his sentence, he realized she was smirking. In an instant, she had somehow managed to throw him off her and throw one impossibly fast punch to his jaw. If he hadn’t stepped backwards at the last possible moment, it would have done more than just clip him. He was positive it would have shattered his jaw. As it was, he was thankful Kiraiya seemed to think she’d proved her point, because as she stepped away, back to her side of the jet, he had time to stroke his sore jaw where she’d made much less contact than intended. Clearly, she hadn’t been exaggerating, and neither, for that matter, had the rumors.
“Damn, you punch like a Dawson,¨ he muttered. He instantly regretted it; Kiraiya smirked even more broadly.
“Yes, well, I happen to be one, dankeshon.¨ She paused for a minute. “I guess your father was right about German tempers. We are a little testy.¨ Without so much as another glance in his direction, Kiraiya-Rai-stuck her headphones back in and shut him out. Mirko decided the smartest thing to do would be to just sleep, so he did.
