A cold sweat drop ran down my temple. “Sir, I can assure you I am Ronin Kassius.”
“Is that so, put your hand on the top of the security bot. We’ll do a palm print check.”
I complied though I was fearful the bot would suddenly stun me if I moved too quickly. Placing my hand on its cold plasteel head, I felt my palm grow warm for a heartbeat, before the officer instructed me to step back.
“Okay. So you’re Ronin Kassius. Care to explain why you’re wearing a female uniform?”
“Ah, no sir.”
“You’re not going to explain?”
“Respectfully, no sir.”
“Fine. I’m logging your objection, however, you’re going to be taken in for questioning—oh, I see here that the Vice-Principal is expecting you.” The guard gave me a look of pity. “Well, young lady I suggest you come in quietly.”
With my arms at my sides, I bowed my head, feeling the weight back on my shoulders. “Yes, sir….”
Just like every ship has its captain, it’s sometimes the executive officer that the crew dread the most. On the ship known as Telos Academy that would be the Vice-Principal, and now I would have an audience with the man most feared by every student on the island.
Would the Gun Princess Royale be any worse than this?
I chose to reserve judgment until after I survived my encounter with the strongman of Telos Academy.
- IV -
My return to Telos Academy, under the watchful eyes of the security bots, was humiliating.
In order to enter the school grounds, I was processed by security through the front entrance, and this included a full body scan. At first I feared that I would be revealed as less than human, but my Simulacrum body triggered no alarms.
My humiliation stemmed from realizing that the body scan revealed my less than manly body, garnering a reaction of stunned disbelief from the two guards manning the security station. Huddled together they peeked at me and the holovid screen – that I couldn’t see from my position – and whispered to each other, before one of them cleared his throat a couple of times, and waved me out of the scanning booth.
“Ah, you’re all clear. Have a nice day, Miss.”
I clenched my jaw as I walked away, and the urge to turn around and spit on them grew when I heard their muffled laughter and their comments about my tight rear end.
The security bots surrounded me and led me into the administration building, escorting me the entire journey to the third floor – the fourth level if you counted the ground floor – and then proceeded to watch over me as I waited outside the office of the Vice Principal. Seated behind her curved desk, the middle-aged secretary wearing a lilac business skirt-suit, glanced at me a few times, then a few more, as though she was trying to decide if I was male or female, though she undoubtedly had already perused my student record and learnt my true gender. Eventually her curiosity overwhelmed her and she asked why I was dressed as a girl.
I thought about telling her truth, then realized it hardly mattered. If I was going to be given a new body in exchange for my co-operation, then I could afford to have some fun.
I stood up from my chair, wary of the security bots encircling me, and replied in the female voice Ghost had burdened me with. “Because I’m a girl,” I replied smoothly and smiled innocently, all the while feeling as though I was knifing myself in the back. In hindsight, perhaps I truly deserved what was to come. The old proverb, you reap what you sow, was aptly fitting.
The Vee-Pee’s secretary blinked to a staccato rhythm, then smiled and said, “Is…is that so…?”
I bowed to her politely then sat down, keeping my legs together and my hands on my lap like I imagined a prim and proper girl would sit.
This is going to bite me in the ass, but what the Hell. I just don’t care anymore!
I resigned myself to wait for my inevitable face-off with the Vee Pee, when I heard the sounds of movement in the ceiling. Looking up, my eyes searched for the source of the footfalls I could hear, fully expecting the ceiling to cave in atop me. But the Vee Pee’s secretary spoke up, and explained there were workmen on the roof of the building performing an inspection. Glimpsing movement to my left, I saw a couple of ropes dangling over the side of the building. They were quickly pulled up and out of sight by whoever was working on the rooftop.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Oh my, haven’t you seen the news,” the secretary asked.
I shook my head. “No, ma’am.”
She smiled at me sweetly, though I considered it condescending. “Well, dear. There’s a storm coming.”
“You don’t say….”
“Oh, but I do say.”
I decided to leave her with the last word, the snarky old bat, and sat back to stare into the distance.
“Princess, a moment please,” ghost intoned, sounding faintly troubled. “I’ve sent you a video file. Please view it on your phone.”
Warily, I pulled my phone out of a dress pocket and tapped on the message link. A short while later a silent recording began to play. The timestamp indicated it was footage of the high school shoe lockers at five am, long before most students or even the staff arrived at the academy, and it showed a girl I didn’t recognize opening up my shoe locker and neatly stuffing it with the uniform I was now wearing. She quickly exited the locker room, and disappeared from view.
“Who is she?” I whispered as I played back the recording and then paused it when she happened to look about in one direction that exposed her face. “Ghost?”
“I have no idea. I searched the school records and found no evidence of her. That is, I was unable to match her face with those of any student attending the academy.”
“So she’s not from our school?” I whispered softly.
“That would appear to be so.”
“Where did she go?”
“To the ground floor girls’ toilets. However, she went in but never came out.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean she never came out. I have reviewed the footage since then and though other girls entered and departed, but there is no visual evidence that she exited the toilets.”
“You mean she’s still in there?” I hissed softly.
It sounded unbelievable that someone would hide in the toilets all day, but what if it was possible?
“No. She is definitely not in the toilets,” ghost replied, then smoothly added, “Perhaps this will explain what I mean by ‘no evidence of her leaving the toilets’. I’ve just sent you another link.”
I clicked on it and opened the second pilfered security file.
The camera had a good view of the interior of the girls’ toilet because it was mounted in a corner of the ceiling facing the entrance. I watched the recorded image of the girl walking into the toilet and then entering a stall.
“And now we fast forward,” the ghost announced.
The video image scrolled forward quickly, the timestamp arriving at eight am in the morning in a matter of seconds. A few girls were in the toilet area, washing their hands or fixing up their hair and light makeup, but one girl in particular approached the stall with the closed door, and noticed it was unlocked. She pushed it open and then stepped inside.
“Ghost…what just happened,” I asked.
“It would appear the stall was empty.”
“What? She flushed herself down the toilet?” I tried not to sound too excited since I was keeping my voice down to a whisper.
“Not at all. Observe.”
The video file rewound, and I realized that the ghost had control of my phone. “Wh—what are you doing?” I glanced up to see the Vee Pee’s secretary watching me, and I gave her an innocent smile that did little to assuage her curiosity though she held her silence by a thin thread.
“Here, this part,” Ghost said.
I looked down at my phone thinking I would have to pocket it soon. I didn’t want it confiscated.
The security recording had rewound to a ti
me before the girls entered the toilet so the room was still empty. Then I noticed something – a shimmer of some sort – appear out of the top of the stall as though climbing out of it. It was ghostly and faint, and distinctly creepy, eliciting a shiver out of me as it slinked out over the stall and down to the toilet area. It was so faint that I almost failed to see it, and could barely make out its presence when it arrived beside the toilet door and then waited. When the door opened and a girl stepped inside, the shimmer slipped out of the toilet area before the door could close behind her.
“What was that…?”
“If I am not mistaken that is a thermoptic camouflage field—”
With a loud whoosh, the door to the Vee Pee’s office opened. Startled, I hastily pocketed my phone and a moment later the Vee Pee made his entrance.
The Vee Pee was a large, imposing man, with a stern expression so overused it had become permanently affixed to his hawkish face. When our gazes met, I swallowed hard and visibly, the action drowned by the loud beating of my terrified heart that had tucked itself into a quivering ball in my chest. Even the security bots shied back and retreated a foot or so.
Regarding me frostily for a long moment, the Vee-Pee then walked up to me with long measured strides, and proceeded to study me from head to toes. His scrutiny was more disturbing than what I’d experienced going through the security gate. That experience had been deeply embarrassing, while this was closer to terrifying. I could feel a cold chill run through my body wherever his eyes looked, and his presence exerted a palpable pressure upon my skin. It was as though he had his own gravity, and I was a small moon caught in its grip. At any moment, the situation would exceed the Roche Limit and I would disintegrate due to the tidal forces emanating from the Vee-Pee’s body.
After sweeping his gaze over me a number of times, he coldly stated, “Kassius, you have some explaining to do. In my office…now.”
My voice failed me, so I nodded haltingly, hoping that would be enough to appease him.
- V -
The Vee-Pee’s office was large, spacious, with one wall comprising floor-to-ceiling windows that automatically darkened and brightened in response to the intensity of outside light. It was a spartan environment, with only the bare minimum furniture entailing a crescent shaped desk, a high backed executive style chair, and a couple of bookshelves that were mostly empty.
I stood a couple of feet in front of the dark, mahogany colored desk, and waited with my hands behind my back for him to finally address me. After entering the office, he’d made a show of opening up my student record on a holo-vid window, while another held what appeared to be a medical report. Glancing at it, I glimpsed the physician’s name as Umi Pearson. Frowning inwardly, I wondered if it was the same doctor Erina had me visit when I first complained to her about my body’s lack of development.
The Vee-Pee sat back in his chair and turned his head slightly my way.
“Three matters have been brought to my attention. Do you know what they are?”
I chose to be honest. “Yes sir….”
“I see. Then explain why you were involved in a scuffle out on the cafeteria balcony.”
“I’d rather not, sir.”
His eyebrows twitched and he turned toward me by a few extra degrees. “Why not?”
“Because it’s personal.”
“Then you should keep your personal business off the school grounds. Is that clear?”
I chose not succumb to relief and remained on my toes, so to speak. “Yes sir.”
“To emphasize that point, you are hereby suspended for the remainder of the week.”
I felt my mouth fall open and struggled to shut it.
The Vee Pee rolled on, clearly not needing a reply from me. “You and your classmates are suspended until next week. Physical violence will not be tolerated in this academy. Is that understood?”
I nodded timidly.
Was I getting off easy with just a suspension? I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t going to argue with the Vee Pee. The path of least resistance is sometimes the best one to follow. I wondered how that related to taking the road most travelled. Conversely, if everyone started to take the road least travelled, wouldn’t it soon become the road most travelled?
I was starting to give myself a headache so I stopped philosophizing.
The Vee Pee turned toward me a little more. “According to our records, you are male. Care to explain why you wearing a female uniform?”
“No sir.”
“Unacceptable. I want an explanation now.”
I stood still and thought furiously through the events of the day, wondering how I could explain or if I should make the attempt.
“Mister Kassius, why are you wearing a female student’s uniform.”
I sucked in air slowly, and tossed myself into the fire. “My uniform was burnt. Someone left this for me to wear, so I had no choice but to wear it.”
The hawkish man’s eyes narrowed. “Your uniform was burnt.”
It didn’t sound like a question, but it felt like it was demanding confirmation. “Yes, sir.”
“By whom.”
“I don’t know sir.”
“You’re not making any sense, Mister Kassius.” He pressed his lips into a thin line for a moment, before continuing slowly. “Would you care to explain properly why you’re dressed as a female student?”
Clasped behind my back, my hands began to sweat in earnest, and I felt moisture trickle down my back. “No, sir.”
“Do you have a fetish, Mister Kassius?”
“No, sir….”
“Are you a man or woman, Mister Kassius?”
“I’m a man, sir.” I swallowed and nervously added, “I just happen to look this way.”
The Vee Pee turned away, sparing the holovids floating above his desk a long hard look before scrutinizing me in silence for a long while, his gaze roaming slowly over me, visibly hovering over my breasts for a telling interval of time before moving on.
“According to this medical report,” he said, “you have a hormonal imbalance that is causing you to develop female characteristics. Is that correct?”
I swallowed as I realized that Ghost had made good on his promise to provide a suitable cover for me. The situation felt surreal, and I felt a little dizzy.
“Mister Kassius?” the Vee-Pee questioned with a deep voice. “I’m waiting for your answer.”
Clearing my throat again, I had to take a couple of breaths before I felt steady enough to reply. “Y—yes, sir. I—I’m due to see another physician soon.”
His eyes narrowed. “This is quite the predicament.”
I couldn’t help the faint frown that slipped onto my face. “Sir?”
“Your situation is the first this academy has encountered in all its years. How to deal with you is uncertain. On the one hand we cannot have you participating in activities with the males in your class, and on the other we cannot have you participate with the females. It’s quite the dilemma.”
He had a point. Swim class would begin next week. Could I expect to participate as a girl or guy? Tobias would suffer a coronary if he saw me in a female one-piece swimsuit. But there was more to consider, such as how would my classmates welcome me. Perhaps it would be better if Ronin Kassius left the academy, and I returned later under a new guise. However, I had no idea when that would be, though Ghost had alluded it could be several days before my replacement body would be ready, and I had yet to choose its appearance.
In hindsight, I realized I was taking to the situation quite well. I had accepted the fact that I had died, and been resurrected in a new, artificial body. I had acknowledged that I was not quite human anymore, and that I was expected to compete for some mysterious benefactor in the Gun Princess Royale. And I was holding up quite well under the tidal forces exerted upon me by the Vee-Pee. Under such circumstances, one could say my mental fortitude was remarkable.
I swallowed discreetly, and took a breath to keep myself calm. “Sir, I c
ould request a leave of absence if my medical condition is disruptive to the learning environment. Wouldn’t that make things easier?”
“Perhaps.”
I hesitated before adding, “I could keep up with classes through home learning.”
“Perhaps.”
“I can always abstain from physical education.”
“True.”
I swallowed. “Sir, would you keep this from my sister.”
The Vee-Pee’s eyes widened before narrowing. “Your sister is registered as your legal guardian here on Teloria. By law, she will be informed of your circumstances.”
I felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dunked over my head and shoulders. “…oh no….”
Ghost’s voice whispered urgently in my ears. “Princess, leave your sister to me. Do not trouble yourself with your sister. I can assure you matters with her can be resolved smoothly.”
I swayed where I stood. “Yeah…but….”
“Mister Kassius, is there a problem?”
I stiffened as I realized my mistake, having spoken aloud to the ghost. “No—no sir….”
“That is good to hear.” The Vee-Pee surprised me by standing up. “Step back from the desk, Mister Kassius.”
Suddenly fearful again, I did as told, taking a couple of steps back, then watched the large man approach me with his hands behind his back, while wearing his usual stern expression. But there was something in his eyes, the light of dark interest, that made my heart tremble and my skin breakout in goose bumps as he slowly orbited around me while I kept my attention dead ahead and concentrated on the scenery beyond the office windows. He was indeed the bird of prey, and I was the field mouse cowering while he circled overhead.
The Vee Pee came to a stop beside my right shoulder. Without resorting to glance up at him, I could feel his eyes were peering down the open top of my dress. When he spoke again, I wouldn’t say his tone was lascivious but it nonetheless worried me with the interest it carried.
“Regardless of the medical data, am I to believe that under that uniform you are still male, Mister Kassius?”
A baleful light dawned in my mind, and my reasons for being afraid suddenly jumped onto a different stage.
Gun Princess Royale: Awakening the Princess, Book One Page 29