The Sharpest Blade (My Vampire System Fan-Fic)

Day one of.... Not actually sure how many days there were until winter break, Vorden just knew that he was more than ready for it and already counting down the days... Metaphorically speaking, of course.

After making his way to the building where the staff quarters were designated on the campus map displayed on his communicator the evening prior, he double checked his room assignment and just hoped that it was soundproof. He was used to the calm and quiet of his new subterranean apartment, and didn't know how he would fare having to adjust quickly if need be.

He glanced once more at the 221 listed on his communicator. It was extremely simple to find the room with the logical, practical and efficient layout of the academy structures. Whom ever the architect and team of engineers were, they clearly sat down and had an actual collaborative brainstorming session. Basically, the gist is that the whole campus was designed with functionality and the needs of the eventual inhabitants in mind. So Vorden made his way there without haste. He chose to utilize the stairs instead of the lift, still wanting to avoid running into any of the others just yet.

With a quick glance around the corner and peek down the hall, Vorden saw that the coast was clear and then continued down the corridor of the second floor scanning the doors as he passed by each one, looking for his number. Once he saw it, he stood outside for a brief moment, took a deep breath, and paused....

Why does this feel so familiar? Hmm

He shrugged off the feeling of deja veu and waved his wrist over the locking mechanism. After the beep he opened the door, and slipped inside. After one last glance down the hall, he made sure the door closed completely and locked it.

"Well, home sweet home... again" He said to himself as he turned to find the light switch and illuminated the surprisingly dark room.

The room was honestly nicer than Vorden had been expecting. Sleek, modern, neutral tones, lots of wood furniture, brushed metal fixtures, natural stone counters and elements, etc... It was actually a surprisingly spacious and minimalist refuge that was designed to promote relaxation or tranquility, more than likely. There was a small kitchenette with sitting area. Including a high table large enough for the two chairs that were placed with it to be utilized. The table had a rather nice view of the courtyard garden below, which could be seen out of a large window, adjacent to the table.

Vorden thought it was a suitable space for anybody wanting to live and work in peace, and that would do nicely for him. He went ahead to check the bedroom, which to his pleasant surprise came complete with a black out shade function built in to the bedroom window. This would be very helpful as Vorden had been used to living underground back at the Blade complex. All in all his accommodations were warm and inviting.

He noticed that his luggage had indeed been brought up to the room already, and his bags were at the foot of the bed. Vorden sat on the end of his new bed and decided that it was as good a time as any to unpack and get settled, then he would maybe go explore a bit. Perhaps locate the gym and canteen at least, so he could get in a workout and eat dinner before calling it a night.

After all of his clothes were put away, and his personal effects were set where they suited him, he took a look at the campus map for a few minutes and familiarized himself with the general layout one more time before setting out to take a look around.

Cautiously Vorden exited his new residence, and examined the hall, carefully glancing left and then right before venturing further. The brief melting of his brain that resulted from meeting Jade in the waking world shook him to his core.

It wasn't that she was exceptionally beautiful or anything, except he did find her quite attractive if he was being honest. However, beauty is dangerous. All he knew was that in his mind, nobody, no matter their beauty, had any business in his dreams. It had to be some ability or some other things Vorden simply didn't know about. It was unsettling to say the least.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs he again peered around the corner before walking calmly towards the door of the building. The strangest part of the whole situation is that, unsettling as it may be he wasn't frightened, or even concerned. He was embarrassed. Vorden felt like his shock and subsequent state of dismay most likely made him look like a creep or something. He was mostly just not ready to face Jade again, not yet with how much of a fool he made himself look like. Especially because she was actually very attractive. He couldn't help at that moment but to roll his eyes and groan at himself as he remembered the incident. His ears turned red as he felt the same exact emotions wash over him all over again, and his palm went straight to his forehead.

He took his time walking around the campus, taking a stroll down one of the beautiful paths they had created between buildings. Enjoying the time outdoors in the actual sunlight. After living in the body of a beast, and then spending a large chunk of time in space on the former Blade Home Base ship, and with the orphanage being in a region that on average was cursed with less desirable weather, time just spent in the sun and warm was a long time friend to Vorden he had not gotten to meet with in what seamed like forever. It reminded him of his childhood actually, good or bad, nostalgia was undeniable in the end.

After a while longer spent enjoying the sunlight Vorden finally made his way to another building and headed indoors to locate the various facilities he would need to make use of. Once he found the gym and browsed several other sections of the building that housed many useful areas and items for various types of entertainment or leisure, as well as day-to-day needs. Once he thought he had a good handle on where the things were that he would need to know he left the building. With nothing else that he had to accomplish before the day's end he added one last stop to his little expedition.

He found the appropriate building and scanned the doors until he found what he was looking for. Standing in front of the open door in relative darkness he could feel his heart beating loudly against his ribs. He took in shallow breaths as excitement and anticipation swelled up inside him. This was it.

All the memories of his own military academy experience began to wash over his mind in waves. It was all so long ago. A sudden panic in the mix as he recalled everything that Quinn, Peter, and he had put their school through. All they had put Leo through. He shuddered remembering the Red portal fiasco and then the Peter situation after their first portal outing. The stress of that time, no matter how far in the distance it might be, could not be forgotten. Vorden slowly started to smile, it was a hell of a time.

This classroom would be his. All of the class doors in the building were propped open, as the janitorial crew had recently been through with their large waxing machines prepping the facility for the start of term. Now the whole vacant building was very dim. It wasn't too hard to see however with the buildings all having very generous windows, and the last gleaming rays of the sun still clung to the horizon for dear life.

The ominous twilight was just enough to illuminate the outlines of a swath of desks on one side of the massive classroom. He looked across the room, as he stood in the darkened doorway. He stepped inside, careful not to make too much noise and go on undisturbed. He slowly walked through the first row of desks, running his hands across the tops of the desks as he passed by, his outstretched fingertips gliding seamlessly along the smooth glossy surface of the brand new surfaces. He took in the smooth texture, of the unmarred material that would no doubt be riddles with scuffs and marks, or small doodles of graffiti left by bored or disgruntled students.

Leaving the row of desks he made his way to the other side of the large classroom where a clearly defined combat area was clearly defined by the large expanse of mats that lined the floor. The area was positively massive. More than enough room for pairs of students to be sparring simultaneously.

Vorden glanced over to the doorway, and through the windows to the hall to make sure there wasn't any sign of others in that hall. He smiled, and took a deep breath. Slowly, and breathing deeply as he closed his eyes he felt a well of power building up inside him. He brought his hands in close to his chest, and lowered himself into a fighting stance. The energy started to swirl around between his hands and the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up on end as static accumulated in the air around him. At that moment a certain brown haired dream girl passed by the door without making a sound.

As Vorden came into view she stopped dead and slowly stepped back so he was visible clearly. She noticed the faint glow of blue light coming from what appeared to be a blonde man standing in the center of the open area of the room. Noticing a metallic scent in the air and feeling the tingle of charged ions rolling off of him she grew curious.

Just then, Vorden leapt up, high in the air, spinning his body around as hard as he could, tendrils of lightning emitting from his fingertips as his hands formed some kind of bright energy ball between them. As his body whipped around his hand spread apart quickly sending out a large and powerful strike of super condensed and potent electricity. The practice dummy was struck clean between the eyes and spun around on its post. A charred spot was clearly smouldering on its forehead as Vorden's feet touched back down on the mat, as he landed crouching down in front of the foux foe.

"Wow..." She accidentally said aloud, forgetting to keep her mouth closed as she tried to observe unnoticed. However her genuine reaction escaped her lips as she stood stunned staring at Vorden through the doorway. Vorden's face snapped towards the door. A sudden look of panic overtook his face and he shot back up to a standing position.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be nosy, I was just passing by and noticed you there, that was.... Very impressive. I wasn't.... I didn't ... I'm sorry.... ". Her mouth opened and closed another time or two as she tried to think of something to say. "I'm ... Uh ... Sorry". She smiled awkwardly and started to walk away with haste.

"No wait, don't go", Vorden reached out pleading for her to stop. "I was just..." He quickly made his way back through the desks and through the door, out into the hallway. There Jade was hurriedly trying to reach the door of the next classroom before Vorden could make it out but to her dismay she failed. Before she could even take a handful of steps he was right behind her with a hand on her shoulder. "Please wait, you didn't have to run off, I was just checking out my classroom". Vorden sheepishly smiled, with one hand he rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I couldn't help myself, I saw that brand new training doll sitting there fresh and unscathed.... I must have gotten carried away" he chuckled lightly to himself. Suddenly aware of Jade's presence again he blushed slightly.

God, was she this pretty earlier?

He shook off his thoughts and looked back at the beautiful young lady standing in front of him.

Her piercing gaze examined his face for a moment before she spoke. "I can understand. You... Your form was incredible, I haven't seen any of the wielders of the Grailash ability in some time, let alone one as skilled with the power as you seem Sargent". Her face was still bathed with measured scrutiny.

"Oh, really? I guess I haven't seen any in quite some time as well come to think of it. But then again I haven't been back to one of the Grailash planets in quite some time now that I'm thinking about it". Vorden crossed his arms while he looked off into the distance, as if searching his brain for the information.

Jade looked confused at his words. "Wait, then how do you have the ability?" She spoke with a cadence of someone who was thinking about their words before saying them.

"Oh, hahaha, that's easy. My brother Shiro! He saw me off earlier so, when I shook his hand I was able to copy any that he had on him, and that one, well, it tends to be a family favorite. I also copied the Sunshield ability from my brother Raten if that interests you?". Without warning, Vorden held out his hand and snapped his fingers, causing a bright burning flame to flicker into existence, from his thumb, like some sort of mythical lighter. His smile widened at her look of astonishment.

Her mouth was agape, and her eyes open wide. The flabbergasted woman couldn't think of the words to say. "That is, just incredible, truly astonishing! I mean I have read the stories, sure... But they don't go into great detail about your ability". Vorden merely chuckled again, about to explain how that is typical when her words fully sank in.

"Stories?" He asked with a grimace. Shaking her head vigorously, Jade suddenly had a gleam in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Oh yes, don't you know? You are quite famous after all". She smiled brightly and when noticing the horrified expression Vorden made in response she let out a sinister little laugh. "Oh no!" Jade placed a hand over her mouth as she understood that he, in fact, had not known. With a sympathetic stare while trying to stifle a giggle, she pat him gently on the back. "Well, have you got some time? I actually had the same idea as you, and was just heading to check out my room too! Guess we're actually neighbors. You can come on with me and take a look". She smiled with a kind and warm demeanour as she gestured to the adjacent classroom.

They took a few more steps down the hall and Vorden could see the sign on the plate next to her door, which read:

SGT. J. BRIGHTMOOR

History of Human Abilities/ Combat Strategy