Miltia Infinitus (Open)

[ChocoRem]

Time to get the ball rolling...

Snazzy new outfit, snazzy new outlook on life. Rem Aoyama fit in perfectly well with the well-groomed, well-adjusted students at Public High School #42. It was a vast difference from the usual shady-looking characters, thugs and social misfits that populated his former school #259. Yes, indeed, did look up. A new school, a clean slate, a blank page with which to commence writing a brand new story. With a new, driven focus in his eyes, Rem pulled out his cellphone and flipped it open, his thumb quickly spelling out a mass text message. It hadn't taken much to get the Principal's secretary to give up the entire student body's cell phone numbers... for those who had cell phones anyways. He'd sent a text message to the student body informing them of Militia and the gang's principles. This new message was just a location should anyone be interested in joining, or re-enlisting (if they'd been members at #259). The message:

"Militia; Library; Now."

And now, to wait.

[Olesya]

Bzzzt. Bzzzt.

Olesya looked up from her math homework, her cell phone buzzing on the library table. Picking it up, she slid it open, clicking open the text and looking at it. The Militia...what Nazi boy was talking about? But this wasn't his number because it would have come up as him. Les was struck with curiosity and a slight bizarre feeling since she didn't know the number. Whatever, if it was the Militia that he had been talking about, then it was probably alright.

And besides...it gave her an excuse not to do her math work.

Closing her notebook, she slipped it back into her back. Well fancy that, she was already in the library...but where were they meeting? And who? Keeping her math book, she began to read, keeping her gaze around her though for any signs of gathering.

[seishounohana]

"I should ask for a locker that's not so darned hard to find..." Emily muttered under her breath as she put in the books she had used for the day. God, they were heavy. That's the price of the Medical Sciences, which was more or less worth it.

The subject was just... very... extensive and intensive: not for the weak-hearted too. Layla was being strict on her again, as usual, and of course she had her private lesson with the doctor late that afternoon: Suturing.

It's not really as easy as it looks.

*Ring!*

A sound Itoshiki Nozomu's minuet rung through her cellphone. Ah, a text.

*Beep Beep*

...

Militia? In San Francisco?! COULD IT BE?!

Shoving her bag into the locker (ungraciously), she slammed it shut and locked it before making a dash quickly toward the library. She had run over a teacher, and stopped to make an apology before running off again. Arriving quickly, the girl slammed the library door open, almost forgetful of her own strength, and caught the attention of a very irritated librarian.

God, she can only screw up so much in such a short span of time.

Looking around, she got disappointed. No "Unfettered."

...

Walking inside, she took a seat beside Olesya, not recognizing her because of her current mental... preoccupation.

[Riley]

"It's like chasing the very last train when it's too late..." Riley's right hand hovered in midair as he reached up to grab some books from his locker for English, only to hear his cellphone go off in his pocket. Blinking once, Riley looked around, seeing no one around besides him, he lowered his hand and reached into his jeans pocket, pulling his cellphone out, and touched the screen, seeing that he had a text message. He opened the text, and read it, as his eyes slid back and forth, reading the text, he raised one eyebrow, Militia huh? Slightly curious, and slightly interested, Riley slid his cellphone back into his pocket, slammed his locker door shut and locked it, before he picked his shoulder bag up off the ground, and slung it over his shoulder, as he headed towards the library, the location specified in the text.

He passed a few students in the hallway, some of them purposely jostling him, all because he was a transfer. "Hey, watch it transfer!" one student growled, as Riley gave the guy a look that immediately made him shut up and continue on his way. Continuing down the hallway, Riley reached the library after a few minutes, and quietly walked in, earning him an approving nod from the librarian at the counter. Walking around, Riley looked around, wondering just where the hell he was suppose to go. He walked down a couple aisles, and then spotted two girls at a table. He was still slightly uncertain, but all the same, he sat down at the table beside theirs, and rested his elbow on the table, resting his cheek on his hand, as he waited to see what would happen.

[Patrick O'Connor]

Patrick, the delinquent that everyone thought was dull and likely to end up in jail after school was actually in class. He was paying attention and actually fufilling his duties as a student. Contrary to the stereotyp he portrayed this was actually a man of some intelligence. How could he not be? In the past he had tangled with the mob, coming out on top, avoided police suspicion for multiple murders and even had gotten to work undercover for a man that at his old, old school, 552, been known as the devil himself all this while running a small buiness that had been fairly successful. That being said Patrick did have to intellegence to carry him through his classes with high grades. Not bad seeing as when he entered high school he had barely been literate. All of his teachers in 259 had been suprised at his grades, when he did decide to participate but here they were just waiting for him to slip up.

Today happened to be that day actually. As his cellphone vibrated in his pocket he did the thing that every student knew. He flipped it open under the desk. it read:

"Militia; Library; Now."

Militia. Now that sounded like a gang. In fact Patrick was pretty sure that it was a gang from 259. Which raised the question, 'How the hell did they get my number?' He wondered what they wanted with him. They could not know. He had just joined before he left 259. It was still an unknown. He thought about just staying in the class that he was in but loyalty to his gang, what little of that that there was bid him to go. Well that and he wanted to kick the snot out of whoever had gotten ahold of his number. So yeah, there was likely multiple reasons for his going to the library. So without even asking the teacher he just got up out of his chair and left the room, not a word was said. Apparently it was expected by the teacher.

Patrick made his way to the library amisdt the stares of hatred and discontent. He was a transfer so what eld did he expect? Nothing really. He only hoped for once that he wasn't stopped. He didn't want to waste time. Fortunatly he did make it to the library. Upon entering he saw two familiar faces, from 259. What the hell? Was this a new 259 breeding ground. It was beginning to turn into 259 again, where him and a bunch of others were from 552 and hated. The two he recognized was the girl named Emily, the stuckup idealistic one and the guy named Rem, the one he had drank with and had a contest with. He considered them to be on fairly good terms, as far as his terms went. And frankly, that wasn't too terribly far.

Time to see where this went...

[Gabriel Seran]

As if things couldn’t be bad enough, Gabriel had spent the morning working out the last deficit of his bills. There seemed to be a stifling problem in the market, Sales were dropping across the board, the whole thing was a nuisance. “All right then,” Gabriel thought, “I suppose we’re back to the black market.”
*BZZZT*
Gabriel moved a fist down to clasp his phone.

"Militia; Library; Now."

Gabriel cupped the phone closing it swiftly and then pocketing the small device before suiting up and walking out the doors to his large estate.

Just the thought of “Unfettered” back with the usual crew made him smirk a bit. The Nazi hadn’t been all too much of a talker and that much Gabriel could relate to, he was hoping to see him again, soon. Gabriel marched his way to the Library after ditching his car in the lot, he’d upgraded again to Black Lotus. Walking into the library filled him with such nostalgia despite the fact it wasn’t #259. Though there was no “Unfettered” but still there was Rem. He hadn’t seen Rem in what seemed like ages. Enough to almost crack a smile.

[ChocoRem]

Rem, who had been sitting at a table near the rear of the library with his open copy of Dante's Inferno in hand, turned a full 180 on the swivel chair he occupied to face the five students that had gathered. Five, a manageable number. He had expected more, but had also taken into account the gathering of less. He set his book down and leaned forward, his elbows on the table and his chin resting on the back of his interlocking hands. Three of the people he knew. Emily, obviously disappointed that her Unfettered wasn't here; Patrick, the youth he had shared an enjoyable afternoon getting enebriated with, and Gabriel, once his equal in Militia, hopefully his subordinate in the near future.
Rem remained silent for some time, analysing the ones he did not know. Then, after readjusting his glasses, he spoke.

"Some of you expected a certain white-haired, eye-patched individual. If you did, then I'm sorry to inform you that 'Unfettered' Winters will not be joining us today."

He paused, his eyes running back and forth between the small group to gauge their reactions.

"I think most of you know my name by now, but for the sake of clarity, I'll say it. I am Rem Aoyama. The new leader of Militia."

Another brief pause. Rem rose to his feet, idly digging his hands into his trouser pockets, and moved to lean his rear against the table, facing them all now.

"Tell me, all of you, what does Militia mean to you. And I'm not talking about the etymology. What do you think of when the gang 'Militia' is mentioned."

[Olesya]

It seemed that she didn't have to look afterall; the meeting came to her. First was a girl, and Olesya did a double take as she sat down, her face breaking out into a bright smile.

"Emily!"

She exclaimed, though in a library whisper. Not all of the 259 students had made it it PHS 42, they were scattered about to neighboring schools, and in all the chaos of moving, she hadn't gotten a chance to check on Emily, though she was one of her closest friends. Some friend I am, she thought shaking her head slightly, Oh well.

Another boy joined the table soon followed by two more. She didn't recognize any of them, and there was one more who had been there the whole time, though she failed to notice that he was part of this meeting. Les kind of felt like the student who walked into the wrong class, though she hadn't moved. She felt better than Emily was here, but she didn't know much of anything about Militia other than the brief meeting with her, Emily, Jon, and David.

"Some of you expected a certain white-haired, eye-patched individual. If you did, then I'm sorry to inform you that 'Unfettered' Winters will not be joining us today." Jon wouldn't be here today? Okay...Les looked from Emily and the boys she didn't know back to the one that had been talking. She wouldn't say anything, but her eyes were attentive. [/i]"I think most of you know my name by now, but for the sake of clarity, I'll say it. I am Rem Aoyama. The new leader of Militia."[/i] Rem Aoyama, huh? The name was information to her, but what interested her more was that he was the new leader of Militia. What did that mean? Where was Jon? Was he alright? She made a mental note to text him after this meeting, just to make sure he hadn't run off to join some neo-nazi community or something...

"Tell me, all of you, what does Militia mean to you. And I'm not talking about the etymology. What do you think of when the gang 'Militia' is mentioned." Les didn't know what to say to this. 'Um, well, I was asked to join and since my friends are apparently in it I figured I'd give it a shot even though I really don't know anything about it? That wouldn't fly, she guessed. Olesya knew her beliefs and she knew what she stood for, but she didn't know what that meant in the standing with the gang.

[seishounohana]

"Emily!" Emily turned around. Why, it was Olesya! Emily's eyes lit up.

"Les!" Emily said, hushed though excited. "Oh, god. It's been so long since I've last seen you!"

So what Linda said was true, huh? Her smile suddenly dropped, and she just gave a light smile. She was too anxious to celebrate -- no, not without seeing that "Unfettered" was alright. She was slightly hoping that he would just be there, lurking.

But--... she was feeling a mix of disappointment and happiness in seeing who she just saw: It was Rem. Ah, he was the guy a few days ago. God, he had changed so much she couldn't recognize him.

It was not a matter of bond, Emily was not psychic... and she wouldn't have known until he said his name.
"Some of you expected a certain white-haired, eye-patched individual. If you did, then I'm sorry to inform you that 'Unfettered' Winters will not be joining us today."

Emily blinked. The new leader of Militia? What happened to "Unfettered"?

"I think most of you know my name by now, but for the sake of clarity, I'll say it. I am Rem Aoyama. The new leader of Militia."

As far as Emily was concerned, she was a fellow co-founder of the organization. She was no leader; just a follower, who only followed one person. He even stated that she, Olesya, and David be his Elite Guard and take no orders from anyone else but him.

That, of course, is thanks to David.

But orders are orders.

"Tell me, all of you, what does Militia mean to you. And I'm not talking about the etymology. What do you think of when the gang 'Militia' is mentioned."

"... an organization whose goals are to empower the student body into protecting themselves should the current hierarchy be incompetent in protecting it." She stressed the word organization, the word Gang made them sound violent.

[Riley]

Right after Riley had entered the library and sat down, two more guys came in after him, one after the other. After they had sat down, Riley saw back of a swivel chair turn, revealing a guy with platinum hair sitting in it, it seems he was the one who had called them all here. "Some of you expected a certain white-haired, eye-patched individual. If you did, then I'm sorry to inform you that 'Unfettered' Winters will not be joining us today." Riley's expression, which had been one of polite curiosity, did not change, even after hearing this, partly because he did not know who "Unfettered" was. Hell, he didn't even know anyone here. But that's part of life, meeting new people. He couldn't stick around the same people he knew forever. "I think most of you know my name by now, but for the sake of clarity, I'll say it. I am Rem Aoyama. The new leader of Militia." Rem Aoyama. Riley made a note of that name, as well the fact he had said he was the new leader of Militia.

Based on that, he assumed that "Unfettered" had been the former leader of Militia, considering he was the first name Rem had mentioned. "Tell me, all of you, what does Militia mean to you. And I'm not talking about the etymology. What do you think of when the gang 'Militia' is mentioned." "... an organization whose goals are to empower the student body into protecting themselves should the current hierarchy be incompetent in protecting it." That was the girl with white hair, as Riley waited a bit, before speaking. "A group of individuals dedicated to protecting and aiding those who cannot stand up for themselves, while maintaining tabs on individuals who are deemed of interest."

Riley didn't know why, but the words he spoke, had come naturally to him, he knew exactly what it was he wanted to say. It was mostly due to the fact he had been in Visions before, according to what Matrim had told him. He didn't know what Militia's goals were, but he knew that was what he believed in.

[Patrick O'Connor]

"I think most of you know my name by now, but for the sake of clarity, I'll say it. I am Rem Aoyama. The new leader of Militia."

That was it. After Class Patrick would be having a talk with this so called leader. He would have a nice long talk about gang boundaries. When he said talk he meant his fist in Rem's face and when he said boundaries he meant stay out of Reaper territory. Now Patrick dodn't often go out of his way to target someone. For him it was live and let die but Rem was a special case. He was a leader of a rival gang. What little loyalty Patrick had to the gang held him to this action. Normally he was a loner but this time he figured that as a reaper, the member of a feared gang he would be left alone most of the time, save times he had to do anything or was challenged. And in his opinion this was less time this way.

Patrick stood leaned up against a bookcase, seemingly out of the way. In the conversation yes but still distanced. The look that he wore on his face said that he was thinking of an answer for the question. At least, this is what he showed. Acting, a little skill of his, one he had perfected back in 552 when his very life had been on the line for keeping his cover under Vaughn Clarke. At least this was not all that was at play. He wasn't quite pretending to think. He actually was but not about the answer. He listened and waited for everyone else to speak.

His answer to his pondering was clear. This organization, was not fully formed. It was weak. He did not need the entire gang or even anyother back up to end this so called militia. Rem was the only head it seemed. Though he did not doubt the potential for powerful fighters among the unknown faces they were uncoordinated. The only known threat was Emily. Possibly the others but there wasn't enough decisiveness to be strong. The others seemed to be joining for the sake of friends or not quite wholeheartedly. Cut of the head, Rem, and the chicken would run about and eventually die. Break te will and they would leave well enough alone. That might not be enough for the idealistic Emily or that other guy but that didn't matter. Alone Emiliy stood little chance against anyone else in the Reapers, and the other guy looked weak. Patrick would take the fight to him if need be.

Regardless it was all pointless now. Patrick merely listened in and looked at the group pensively as if contemplating joining the group...

[ChocoRem]

"... an organization whose goals are to empower the student body into protecting themselves should the current hierarchy be incompetent in protecting it."

Rem cast his sister a blank look, bringing a hand to his face to slide his glasses back up into position.

"I agree that we are in dire need to improve our reputation, Emily, but don't get it twisted, Militia is a gang. We can use as many euphemisms as we want, it won't change this fact. However, for the most part, you are correct."

"... an organization whose goals are to empower the student body into protecting themselves should the current hierarchy be incompetent in protecting it."

Rem's let his hands fall to hang lazily at his sides.

"Perfect answer, succinct, without exposition."

The Japanese youth cast his eyes to the others present.

"We are, for lack of a better term, a failsafe."

He pushed off of the desk he was leaning on and began pacing in front of those gathered.

"Still... how can we take care of others, if we can't take care of ourselves?"

The question was rhetorical, and Rem continued without waiting for an answer. He had his back facing them now.

"We first need to strengthen the bonds between ourselves before we can hope to be of help to anyone else."

He spun around and pointed his index finger directly at Emily.

"To be truthful, the only person I would risk my life for in this room is Emily..."

He gave them all a sly grin, almost sinister.

"...Let those without sin cast the first stone. I'm sure none of us here would take a bullet for the other. Sure, we can say we will, but when the time comes, do we act upon it? It's easy to say that we would when the chances of us actually having to make good on it are slim to none."

Rem remained silent for a minute, to let the weight of his words bare down upon the others.

"Don't get me wrong. I am in no way taking aim at your loyalty. Simply put. We need to strengthen our bonds. We need to show this school that we aren't just a group of thugs...all in for our own."

He spread his hands out toward them.

"For this... I need your help. I need you. For now, we will work in pairs. Is this acceptable?"

Not that it actually mattered, of course, but Rem would rather have consensus than have to pull rank.

[Gabriel Seran]

Gabriel simply sat there, blank expression he had little focus now, the Militia he’d known had been so mixed up and now what was being done? Rem was trying to establish a cooperative study group? Getting to know each other as buddies? It made him scoff at the notion, the only way we’d attain close bonds is through battles, through war… as “Unfettered” had put it before #259 had suffered structural damage, and we need to train. We need to become better than the dragons so that we can establish order. No amount of bonding would save us from their tyrannical hierarchy.

And then to what made us any better than them at that point, all men fall to power as soon as we were to attain the position I see nothing stopping Rem from manipulating the Militia to his own needs and dictating his own agenda. Such hindsight made Gabriel far too cynical. Could he stay with them? Even if he was under a man like Rem? They worked well enough back at #259 what made things so different now? Was it the power? Or just the fact that Gabriel felt intimidated by Rem’s newfound power? Such questions could only be answered with time. Now was the time to act upon what we know.

“What makes us any different from the Dragons?” He said finally speaking up in a dismal fashion much unlike himself.

“Are you giving us an option, or an order?”

[ChocoRem]

“What makes us any different from the Dragons? Are you giving us an option, or an order?”

Rem gave Gabriel an eerily serene smile, closing his eyes and clenching his fists. When he reopened his eyes, they gained a sinister quality, one that would make even the most stout-hearted of punks.

"That depends, Gabriel."

His voice suddenly took a very dark tone.

"What do you think..."

Then, he chuckled, lightening up significantly.

"We are stronger together than we are divided. We won't be idle during this time. I can assure you my friend."

[seishounohana]

Yes, Emily was sitting there. Now distracted from her talk with Olesya, she would cross her legs and her arms over her chest. Rem's intentions weren't clear to Emily just yet.

Why the sudden interest in Militia's leadership?

What's with the sudden change in appearance and demeanor?

Everything was just puzzling to the girl just yet, and was full of doubts. Heck, she wasn't even so sure even if she should open her mouth. If there was anyone who was close to "Unfettered"'s strength in this room, it was her -- no matter how much she would deny it.

And there it goes, she opened her mouth saying: "Stronger together than apart; I agree. However..." she trailed away, looking at her brother with the same eyes she always had. Emerald orbs filled with hope and determination. "I have a few questions."

She would look away for a moment, assessing the people inside the room within close proximity. She would recognize a lot of them, save for Riley -- whom she had not yet met formally. Emily did not notice Patrick though.

"First and foremost, I'd like to know why you're assuming leadership. Does "Unfettered" know about this?"

The truth was, she wanted to know if he was alright, but her question worked for another purpose too.

"Don't get me wrong, I do believe that the buddy-system would be alright but I'm just curious as to why you're suddenly taking the spotlight."

...

"Anyways, I think if we're to do that it should be for training purposes. We train with someone we're not familiar with in the group... ah... and have the partner rotated every now and then."

... Yeah that's what was on her mind. She just hoped that Rem wouldn't take offense. Rem knew her better than that.