//------------------------------// // Pilot Episode 0.2 - Orientation // Story: EQG: Sword Art Online - Ruby Palace // by Mindrop //------------------------------// Episode 0.2 - Orientation September 2 - Friday The Nakamura household was less than a twenty-minute walk to school. Even if it was raining or very cold, it wouldn’t be a bad walk. She was the closest to school out of her friends. Unlike back home, their exchange parents didn't have to live in the same school district as the school. The requirement was simple: the student had to be able to get to school on time and safely within a reasonable amount of travel time. None of them were too far, but they were more spread out than back home. On Monday, classes would start. Today was their orientation for exchange students. Then they would have the weekend to make their final preparations. They would get their school uniforms today, which was covered in the cost of the program. For orientation, they just needed to dress nicely. Sunset snapped a quick selfie outside of the school before heading inside. The school was ready for them. There was a sign welcoming them with each of their names and they had uwabaki slippers for them to wear. Even at school, outside shoes were not worn in buildings and the school had lockers for the outside shoes to be stored in. The pair of slippers with her name above them was the only ones left, meaning the others had already arrived. As Sunset was changing footwear, a man came down the hall. He smiled at her. “And you must be Sunset Shimmer,” he said, in English. Sunset finished getting the second slipper on before bowing to him. She reciprocated his chosen language. “Yes, sir, I am.” “I am Mister Sasaki, the head of the exchange program here,” he explained as he opened a locker for Sunset to store her shoes in. “We are glad to have you with us for our second trimester. We will get your locker assignment later and those are your slippers. The rest of the uniform we will get at the end, after we come back from the orientation lunch.” “It is an honor to be here,” Sunset said. “I am looking forward to it.” “Orientation is this way,” he said, starting to walk there. “Your friends are already here. I’ve read your exchange program file, but it has been a while. You are staying with Nakamura Isoraku and Nakamura Riko, correct?” “Yes, Sir,” Sunset said.  “It’s been two years since their son, Haruki, graduated from here,” Mister Sasaki said. “And Himari still has a few years until she comes here. It is good to have someone from their house walking these halls again. My son, Yoshiro, is friends with Haruki. It has been a while since I have seen either of them, but I am sure they are making you feel very welcome and comfortable.” “They are, sir,” Sunset said. “They didn’t mention that Haruki came here, but they did tell me that the school doesn’t have a cafeteria and that Missus Nakamura would be making me a lunch to take. I guess that is how they knew.” Mister Sasaki chuckled. “I remember her cooking fondly, so I am sure she will be providing you with excellent lunches.” It was Sunset’s turn to chuckle. “She is thrilled Himari is out of elementary school so she can make her lunches. From what she has already made, I am certain that I will be well taken care of. I know she isn’t trying to show off or impress me. She did enough of that the first night I was here.” “What did she make?” Mister Sasaki asked.  “Ramen, from scratch. It was fantastic.”  “I’m certain it was,” he said as they stopped in front of a classroom. “Orientation is inside here. I’ll give everyone a tour of the school, after you meet some faculty and such.” Sunset knew it would, but she was still not ready for the door to slide open, rather than swing. It was a stupid thing to get excited about, but it made everything feel permanent as she entered the classroom. A few teachers were talking together in the front by the chalkboard and the others were sitting at desks, chatting. It was good to see them.  "Sunset!" Pinkie Pie yelled, waving frantically. "Over here!" she called in Japanese. She got some concerned looks from the teachers. The noise level and enthusiasm were out of place for a Japanese school. Students reportedly got rowdy, but few people were ever at the level of Pinkie Pie. Sunset rolled her eyes with a smile. "Pinkie, I'm twenty feet away and no one is blocking us from seeing each other." "For being the closest you certainly took your time," Rainbow Dash retorted in English.  Sunset kept with Japanese, as was proper. "I'm still ten minutes early, which is what matters." "But this is the first time we get to hang out together," Rainbow Dash whined. This time it was in Japanese. "And we still have a whole day ahead of us," Rarity shot back.  Sunset wasn't the only one to hang her head in shame and embarrassment as they got another scolding glance from the teachers present. The door slid open and in walked Kudo Kōchō-Sensei, the principal of the school. He was a few minutes early as well. The girls bowed to him in greeting and he came over to them. "Good, all of you are present," Kudo Kōchō-Sensei said. "We are happy to have you with us. We have never had more than four exchange students at once, so it took some adjustments, but we got it done. We also have never had the exchange students all from the same school, let alone friends. I know you will bring something special to our student body. These are your room assignments and the order of your classes." They each got a piece of paper. Unlike back home, students didn't move classrooms. The teachers did. Applejack and Fluttershy were in the same room, Pinkie Pie and Twilight were together in another, Rarity was with Sunset, and Rainbow Dash was alone. Most of their classes were at the “junior” grades because senior year was very different in Japan. Most seniors were prepping for college exams, and filling sporadic classes. Only up through junior high school, ninth grade, was required in Japan. Upper secondary school covered grades ten, eleven, and twelve, and had a heavy emphasis on preparing students for universities.  Principal Kudo explained the assignments. “Miss Rainbow Dash, several of the students in your room are all in the volleyball club. That is why we chose you, out of your friends, to be in a classroom alone. I was told that you are already getting along well with the club during the meetings you have had. You will still have ample time to see each other. Besides, during school, your focus should be on your studies, not who you are sitting beside.” “They are amazing people, Sir,” Rainbow Dash said. “They have made me feel very welcomed.” “Wonderful!” Kudo Kōchō-Sensei exclaimed before heading to speak with the other teachers.  Rainbow Dash gave them all a concerned look. Every weekday, since arriving, she had been practicing with the volleyball club. Many of the clubs continued to meet even when school was on summer break. That is especially important for the sports clubs when students were competing. Dash had been making friends and doing well with the club, but she was the weakest when it came to the Japanese language. Being the only one without a friend in the class was not making her feel any easier about it. “You will be fine,” Rarity assured her. “We all will be.” “We were accepted because both schools believed we could handle it,” Twilight added. “Yes, there will be differences and trials, but we can do this. And when we go back home, we will handle the transition just fine.” “It’s natural to be worried,” Sunset said. “I don’t think they would expect any less. But like Twilight said, everyone thinks we can do it, or we wouldn’t have been accepted. I’m sure it looks worse on paper than it really will be.”  Several more teachers came in with seven students, all girls, and the orientation officially began. The teachers gave a brief overview of their job, as well any school clubs that they advised. After school programs were led by students, but they still had faculty advisors.  Along with being the head of the exchange program, Mister Sasaki taught math. Mister Shinmi was their history teacher and also the homeroom teacher for Sunset and Rarity. Miss Ono taught music and would be Dash’s homeroom teacher. Mister Hirano was in charge of the physical education classes in the school, as well as the Volleyball Club’s advisor. Home Economics was taught by Missus Maeda, who would be the homeroom teacher for Applejack and Fluttershy. Their science class would be with Mister Nakagawa and he was also the homeroom teacher for Twilight and Pinkie Pie. They would be expected to address their teachers by their last name followed by “Sensei,” something they were all used to from taking their Japanese language classes at CHS. A homeroom teacher also served as the councilor for the students in their homeroom. They were kind about spelling out the decorum differences expected by the school. Students were expected to keep their uniforms in good shape all day and they were reminded of social norms in Japan that others would automatically expect of them. The teachers were well prepared for them to make mistakes as they made the transition, but outside of the school, others would see the uniform and expect them to behave like typical Japanese students, not foreigners. Poor behavior by any students would reflect badly on the school they attended and their uniforms would have school patches on them. They also were introduced to other students. Each had volunteered to mentor them through adjusting to a new school, schedule, and anything else they needed. The students were in the same classroom as each of them. Sano Fusae was paired with Fluttershy, Egawa Atsukon was paired with Applejack, Shinozaki Ichika was matched with Pinkie Pie, Izumi Mayumi was matched with Rarity, Amemiya Katsu was paired with Dash, Chiba Honoka was paired with Twilight, and Natsume Kure was paired with Sunset.  They were given a tour of campus by Sasaki sensei, along with their partnered mentor, so they could get to know each other. They found which rooms they had been assigned to, other rooms they would need to know, and went through some other suggestions that Mister Sasaki or the students had to help them make the adjustment. They also got their shoe locker assignments. Mister Sasaki would be available if they needed anything and, unless they were in class, he preferred that the exchange students address him as mister, rather than Sensei. "Now for the fun," Mister Sasaki said. "The Tokyo Exchange Program Lunch. It will take us a bit to get there, but it isn't that far." Along with Mister Sasaki and Kudo Kōchō-Sensei, Ono sensei, and Shinmi sensei led them and their mentors to the train station. They took it to Shinagawa Ward. The lunch was being held in a hotel conference room. Each school had a designated table, or tables, for them to sit at. There were students from all over the world and walks of life in attendance.   There was a brief ceremony at the start, welcoming everyone and congratulating them on making it into the program, but everything was centered around lunch. Sunset remembered the head speaker because he was on the acceptance committee that interviewed her. Kudo Kōchō-Sensei and Sasaki sensei made their respective rounds to exchange pleasantries with several other heads of schools, other exchange program heads, and important individuals. They wouldn’t be seeing any other exchange students unless they attended the same school. The committee members also made the rounds, using the lunch to meet the students they had accepted face to face. They were excited to have them in Japan for the semester. After the lunch, they headed back to the school. Their mentors would be free to go for the day and the girls just needed to get their uniforms before they were released.  On the train ride back, Sunset sat next to Mister Shinmi. "Shinmi sensei, you said you were the advisor for the Iaido club, which was a Japanese Martial Art, but I am not familiar with it." "Iaido is the art of the sword, specifically the Katana," he explained.  "I thought that was Kendo," Sunset replied.  "Kendo wishes it was Iaido," Mister Shinmi laughed. "But in all seriousness, Kendo is about combat with the sword. Now-a-days, that combat is strictly regulated and has been reduced to a point system for hits. Iaido is about the form of the sword. Typically, the forms are centered around quickdraws from the sheath. The individual and the sword start sheathed and unready. Kendo doesn’t worry about the draw of the sword.  “Iaido does have competitions and while I enjoy them and believe in them, there are others who do not. For those, they are performed before judges, where two individuals do the same form at the same time and are judged on all aspects of the form. But it is more than just properly swinging a piece of steel. There is a respect for the blade, an art to how you handle it, and a reverence for what you are doing. The student must be disciplined, strong, agile, and quick to perform the forms properly. Iaido has many aspects applicable to life. We use real swords and the advanced students use sharpened blades. There can be no error." "That sounds cool," Sunset replied. "I looked at the club list ahead of time, but none had caught my eye." "Our students are well skilled," he warned. "But they can teach you a lot. I know they would gladly welcome you to join them. They will initially be distracted with final preparations for the upcoming exposition and competition. It is an individual competition and the competitors will come from all over Tokyo, but the club is dedicated to each other and making sure they are ready, even if that means some of the members have to face each other in the competition. I would be happy to step in and help you begin your journey while they focus on what they need to do." "I think this is an opportunity I can't waste," Sunset replied. "I can't do this back home. I don't even know if there is a dojo or school or whatever it would be called near me. Even if it is only for a few months, it sounds like I will be building more than just good memories." "I have practiced since I was young, both Iaido and Kendo,” Mister Shinmi said. “I was nationally ranked in Kendo in my younger years, but Iaido became my real passion. I love the bond between the practitioner and the sword. Kendo didn’t give me that. I believe, even in the short time we have, we can pass on the philosophy of Iaido to you in a way that you will never forget it.” “I would like that very much,” Sunset said.  “Miss Natsume is your mentor, correct?” He asked.  “Yes, Sir,” Sunset nodded.  “She is a member of the Iaido club,” Mister Shinmi explained. “She will be the most appropriate person to use to contact the head of the club, Mister Sugieda, about joining. She has his number and it is Friday afternoon. He won’t be hard to get in contact with at this time.” Once they were off the train, Sunset spoke with Miss Natsume about joining the Iaido club. She got very excited. Iaido wasn’t a popular club. It was niche, which is why Natsume had not mentioned it. Kendo was practiced in most schools, but Iaido was rare to have as a school club. The only reason they had one was because of Sugieda Masazumi, who had been practicing it for several years independent of any school programs. Without Mister Shinmi also being a practitioner, Sugieda never would have started it. The club had grown, but was still small. Adding Sunset, even just for the semester, was exciting. Sunset gave Natsume permission to give out her phone number if he needed it. Natsume had a family engagement she had to attend in the evening and had to leave, otherwise she would have waited to see if they got a quick response back, but she was certain that Sunset would be accepted.  The teachers headed to wherever they needed to go. Mister Sasaki took the girls to get their uniforms. They were given enough sets to make it through the week. The pleated skirts were a navy and green plaid with matching crossover ties. The blazers were navy with the school’s green and silver patch on the front pocket. They had white blouses and white leggings, but the leggings could be swapped for any standard white socks or lighter weight leggings, so long as they were tight fitting, not loose. For the colder months, they had a white sweater to wear under the blazer. The last part of their uniform was the navy penny loafers to be worn to and from school. They already had their uwabaki slippers for inside the school. Mister Sasaki followed them to the front to ensure they remembered their locker combinations, and then they bowed to him and said their farewell. They were free until Monday morning. They were going to take their uniforms home and get them in the wash or hung up before meeting up again. All seven of them were finally able to spend time together in Japan and they were not going to waste the moment.