Chapter 40: Fashion Academy

“Is everyone present?”

“Yes, Ms. Scarlet Mage.”

“Alright, please line up and get your costume on the table. You go first.”

“O… Okay.”

Silvie took in a huge gulp as she went to the front of the class. Today was the day they were going outside the Academy, and everything seemed just like any other they when she woke up. Scarlet Mage didn’t say anything to them the day before, just telling them to come to the class 2 hours earlier than usual.

Most of them were confused, of course. They thought that maybe Scarlet Mage forgot that today was a big day for all of them, but as soon as they entered the classroom, they realized they thought wrong.

Scarlet Mage was already inside; beside her was a long table set up on top of the stage, with a number of black boxes each containing a label on top– their name. Some of them almost jumped on the stage and grabbed the box with their name on it, but before they could do so, Scarlet Mage told all of them to sit down and wait until all of them were here.

And now, the moment has come for them to see the fruit of their labors; a costume of their own design, improved and manufactured by the Academy itself. Silvie once again took in a gulp as Scarlet Mage handed her her box.

She didn’t know why, but her hands could not help but tremble. The box was by no means heavy, no; but it felt like the heaviest thing she had ever held in her hands. It might all sound like an exaggeration, but that was truly how she felt at the moment.

“I look forward to seeing what you designed, Mega Girl,” Scarlet Mage smiled as she saw the look of exhilaration on Silvie’s face, “Now go to the locker rooms and get dressed, then go to the Academy Gates so you can help arrange your classmates once they get there, there should already be a space for our class there.”

“Y… yes! Thank you,” Silvie nodded repeatedly before she turned around; looking at Riley and Gary with a smile on her face before heading out of the room. Afterward, Scarlet Mage called the students one by one alphabetically to get their costumes; and just like with Silvie, they were told to get dressed and head straight towards the Academy gates.

“Why… is your costume too heavy?”

“Hehe, because the Dragon Monarch carries the sin of being the mightiest; a sin heaviest of all.”

“…” Scarlet Mage almost stumbled as Gary grabbed the case from her. She didn’t want to admit it; but when she first received her costume, she was more like Gary than any other student so far. She was full of hope and dreams; she didn’t even want to become like Mega Woman, no. She just wanted to help the people in any way she could.

“You are meant to help people, Gary,” she then said as she looked straight into Gary’s eyes, “Once you wear that costume, you no longer carry your weight or your sins. You carry the people, never forget that.”

“That’s…” Gary lightly took in a gulp as he saw Scarlet Mage’s gaze. But afterwards, he bowed his head and clasped his hands together; his eyes filled with a renewed resolution.

“Now go out there.”

“Thank you for the pointers, Sifu Scarlet Mage! The Dragon Monarch will forever remember your guidance as he transcends to immortality and pierces the heavens!”

“…” Scarlet Mage could only watch as Gary left the room with tears trailing from his eyes. But afterward, she let out a sigh and handed the last case to the last student,

“…Why are you always going last?”

“That’s just how it is, Scarlet Mage,” Riley said as he grabbed his case from Scarlet Mage.

“And why is your case so light?”

“It’s made from lotus silk. Lighter but stronger and much more comforting to the skin than cotton and wool,” Riley said as he suddenly opened the case, the white radiance of its content immediately reflecting throughout the room, “Do you wish to see me wearing it, Katherine?”

“W… Don’t call me by my name here!”

“We are alone, no?” Riley muttered as he looked around the empty classroom, “And I wish for you to be the first to see it– as you are my subordinate.”

“That’s–“

And before Scarlet Mage could finish her words, Riley handed him back the case and started undressing.

“What are you doing!?”

“You are my subordinate, no? I feel it appropriate that you help me get dressed.”

“…I feel like you are confusing a subordinate to a servant, Riley.”

“I see. Then subordinates don’t help their boss get dressed?”

“…Just what kind of movies– You know what, never mind,” Scarlet Mage then let out a sigh as she looked at her tablet, making sure the room was completely locked before approaching Riley with his case.

“…” Riley then loosened his arms, allowing Scarlet Mage to dress him.

Scarlet Mage, however, could not help but stare at the contest of the case; looking back and forth between it and Riley,

“This is…”

***

“Oh man, so you went with that one? But where’s the cape!?”

“I… I removed it, I feel it’ll add more air resistance whenever I fly.”

“But man oh man… They did such a good job, you look super fucking cool, Silv.”

“T… thanks, you too.”

Silvie was wearing a blue skin-tight mask that almost fully covered her face except for her mouth going down to her chin; It also had an opening for her eyes, with a material soft enough that it flowed along with each of her blink. The mask accentuated her almost golden hair, which was tied up in some sort of red bangle into a ponytail.

Most of her suit was of a white, almost porcelain color; and although it was not as skin-tight as her mask, it was still enough to showcase Silvie’s well-toned figure. There was also some sort of padding, or perhaps plates covering her shoulders, featuring the same color as her mask that flowed to her wrist. She also had a blue belt, which didn’t really have some sort of use. Her boots were also of a blue color; all accentuated with gold on the edges.

But perhaps the most noticeable of all, was the golden emblem on her chest; shaped in some sort of a star.

“And… I see you kept the cape?”

“It’s made of layers and layers of thin kevlar,” Gary said as he covered himself up with a gray, almost metallic thick cape. His mask was also of a gray tone, covering only the sides of his eyes. As for his suit, perhaps it was better to call it a light armor. He had a black skin-tight suit covering all of his body, covered with multiple plates that made him look more muscular than he already is.

And the most noticeable part? It was the words Dragon and Monarch, each embedded on the plate covering his forearms in some sort of reflective material that will almost blind anyone who stares at it.

The costumes of the other students were also unique; but perhaps because there were thousands of them gathered in the Academy Gate, they all started to look the same– like some sort of superhero convention.

Bella Jackson and Ben Jackson were completely covered in some sort of metal armor, with only their eyes exposed.

There was one, however, who stood out amongst all of the students– Tomoe Reynolds. She was wearing an almost jet-black suit, without any other colors adorning her. But most importantly, her head was covered by some sort of motorcycle helmet;

A costume that was eerily similar to that of Darkday’s. If it wasn’t for the tag pinned on all of the students’ chests featuring their superhero names, then most of the students outside of Class 1-V would have probably panicked.

“So, who’s the creep?”

“That’s Tomoe. Apparently, she likes Dark– W… what are you wearing, Hannah!?”

“…The same as everyone else?”

Silvie could not help but almost leaped back in shock as Hannah approached them. Like most of the female students, she was clad in a skin-tight suit. Hers was a bright pink color, with hints of black on her hand to her forearms, and on her boots. Her black mask was similar to that of Gary’s, but covered more of her face as it had some sort of pink ornament that went under the top of her ear.

“No… but,” Silvie’s eyes were wide open as she looked at Hannah from head to toe. It was true that besides her choice of color, her costume was more of the normal ones. Well, that would have been the case if it wasn’t for her figure.

Due to her strict training since she was a child; Hannah… was bountiful in all the right places, her figure almost shaped to perfection. She had a moderate-sized breast. Her large buttocks, however, almost bounced with each of her movements.

“It’s fire-resistant,” Hannah did not seem to notice the stares she was getting as she even spun around, fully showing her costume to Silvie, “They said it’s even better than the material they used in space rockets whenever they re-entry or some shit.”

“…Your mouth doesn’t really suit that bright color,” Gary said as his eyes found it hard to stray away from Hannah’s assets.

“Wait until I burst into flames,” Hannah clicked her tongue, “I already tested it earlier and it looked nuclear.”

“It… it does look really nice on you,” Silvie slightly stuttered as her eyes darted back and forth between Hannah’s buttocks and hers, “But… why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with your class?”

“Meh, I asked teach Nightcrawler permission to leave. They said it was alright since our activity is schoolwide anyway, so I might as well join you guys.”

“What about your friends in your class?”

“They… they’ll be fine,” Hannah let out an awkward chuckle as she waved her hand, “Anyway, where’s the blankface?”

“He should be here any minute by now,” Gary said as he looked towards the direction where Riley is supposed to come from– and true enough, he was on his way towards them.

“What… the… fuck is that.”

Riley… was clad in white; almost reflecting the rays of the sun as his pearl-like coat that reached to his ankles fluttered with even the tiniest bit of wind. The inner layer was some sort of vest, with horizontal stripes of black almost similar to those that people were wearing in prison. As for the innermost layer, it was a black shirt, with the top-most button not clasped.

He had on a set of black silk pants, then a sharp pair of brown leather boots. Pair everything of that with his white hair and elf-like pale aesthetics, then he looked like some sort of prince in a fantasy world… or as he said to Scarlet Mage as she dressed him– a mafia boss.

“B… bro, I think you’re in the wrong school,” Gary said as soon as Riley stood near them, “Why does it feel like you’re going to sign autographs anytime soon?”

“Damn it,” Hannah then said as she looked at her brother from head to toe, “That looks really familiar, isn’t your outfit from the series we were watching before? You should have told me you were going for that, we could have been twinning right now.”

“We’re not twins, sister.”

“That… that really suits you for some reason, Riley,” Silvie blinked a couple of times as she could not help but touch the soft fabric of Riley’s long coat, “But… where is your mask?”

“…Oh,” Riley muttered as he grabbed something from the pocket of his vest, “Thank you for reminding me, Silvie.”

“No, no,” Gary then slightly backed away as he saw what Riley was holding,

“Fuck… this moment is cool as fuck,” he then muttered as he watched as Riley slowly wore his so-called mask– a pair of sunglasses.

The very same pair he had always been wearing whenever Hannah burst into flames.