Scholastic Forums » Rhythm Access (A Forumfic)

SpecterTheGreat · 7/29/2020 11:18 am

👀👀👀
xD TS scared Riri's family lol

Time · 7/29/2020 11:23 am

Steve is my favorite character now. Even just with his first appearance.

Great chapter! I'm pretty happy I was able to read this in an area with internet so now I can respond

Jack · 7/29/2020 11:45 am

the Bellmans when Thunderstorm says she's investigating Bunni's identity:

also, just a general question--is it safe to assume that most of the characters' families are aware of their identities as fighters?

meerkat · 7/29/2020 12:08 pm

s t e v e
we stan automatically there’s no questions
i like ts and riri’s dynamic, it’s interesting to see!! and sis really went out and said “haha i’m looking for bunni” yOU are in her HOUSE ma’am
anyways great chapter!!

EchoDraws · 7/29/2020 1:48 pm

oH HO HO HO- S P I C Y

I stan Steve

autumnlibrarian16 · 7/29/2020 2:18 pm

Steve!!
also :eyes: the dramatic irony!! love it, this was a fantastic chapter

riribunni · 7/29/2020 8:29 pm

thank u guys so much!!!! 🥺🥺 ur words mean everything to me

@jack: it's a rule of RA that all minors have to have a guardian's approval to battle, and the guardians have to show up to sign the contract to approve the minor taking part of RA! so yes all families/guardians know about their child battling

7/29/2020 11:13 pm

I was genuinely so confused because I saw this thread was bumped today but I kept checking the sixth page and I didn't see any new chapter, but then I saw that RA meme thread and came back to check XDD

Oooh, the Bellman family knows Thunderstorm is trying to figure out Bunni's identity!!

riribunni · 7/30/2020 6:33 am

Chapter Twelve

[now playing: Vielle Ville by MoriMoriAtsushi]

If you attended Passiones High School, you knew Kaori's name.

He wasn't popular, per se. In fact, the student was often reclusive to a certain group of friends (read: three people). Not many bothered to talk to him when he was with his friend group.

Kaori was the king of rumors, gathering info from other students through his friend groups. He had a notebook of blackmail material on practically every student that breathed in the school, from the new freshmen to the most popular senior. You could get anything from him, for a price. The last thing anyone wanted to do was make Kaori mad. He had enough dirt on anyone to completely ruin their reputation. Reasonably speaking, he was the most intimidating person on campus that was under six feet tall.

Which lead to this situation. 4:09 PM on the second Monday of January.

"Come on," a junior with dyed-cerulean tips said, leaning towards Kaori. "You genuinely don't have anything on Bunni?"

Kaori shrugged, turning the page in his book from his perch. He took a sip from the juice box that rested next to him on his bench. "Nothing on her that I can confirm is true to date. I've heard rumors that she attends this school, though."

The junior's face lit up, seemingly getting what she was looking for. "She does?! That's great!" The girl jotted down something in a pocket-sized notebook, slipping it in her blazer pocket and turning to leave.

"Wait, you're not done here," Kaori called, bookmarking his page and setting his book down.

The junior turned around, making eye contact with Kaori. "Everything alright?"

Kaori crossed his legs, angling his ankle-boot's tip into the air. "Any tip come with a price. Smallest payment first-- your name?"

"...Thunderstorm," she said, giving an awkward nod to the fellow junior. Kaori returned the nod, reopening his book. He didn't look up till he heard that Thunderstorm had left, the shut of the school doors signaling that the other had entered the building.

Kaori whipped out a notebook and sped to a new page, clicking his purple gel pen and scribbling down the other's name with a scrawl of "looking for Bunni" underneath. Leaving the notebook by his side on the bench, the fire elemental rubbed his hands together, creating a familiar increased warmth.

Kaori could sense the change in the air from the warmth that another person was giving off. Surely enough, the familiar shaggy-haired, pale-skinned sheep hybrid turned the corner and caught sight of Kaori.

"Hey, kid," the sheep hybrid said, sneezing in the cold weather and making a feather on his arm drift off. "What's up?"

"Hi, Corvus," Kaori said, shutting his novel and putting it into his backpack. The boy tucked his legs up to the seat, leaning on them and looking at the taller. "Not much, just got some info on a girl looking into a fighter's identity. You got any tips or rumors?"

"Heard something about a redhead getting an outdated piece of tech in her locker," Corvus said with a shrug, leaning on the back of the bench. "Flirted with a random chick and she told me about how the school might have an issue with funding the next school dance. Nothing sparkly or cool."

Kaori sighed. "Disappointing," he said sarcastically, picking up his notebook and checking to make sure his pen had dried. Shutting the notebook when he confirmed it, he pocketed the notebook. "Have you heard anything from Spec?"

"They got roped into showing around the new girl," Corvus said, flicking open his phone and swiping through notifications. "Think her name is Lia or something like that."

Kaori hummed. "Anything on her?"

"Spec did a Statmix check," Corvus said, typing a message out and pressing the "send" button with a harder motion than the other keys. "No accounts with the name Lia Wilson."

"There's gotta be some sort of dirt on her," Kaori said, taking a final sip of his juice box and crushing it in his hand.

Corvus made a guttural noise of agreement, shutting his phone off. "Everyone here has some sort of issues. It's impossible for her to not have anything interesting in her past."

Kaori nodded in agreement, standing up and picking up his backpack with one hand. "Yeah. Anyways, I'm done with that trade. Wanna hit a coffee shop?"

"You don't even like coffee. You get those weird frapadapadoodles, or whatever they're called."

"Yeah, but those taste good and I burn off the calories working out, it's fine."

Corvus rolled his eyes, moving to walk back through the school building. "Can't believe I do business with a sugar-addicted gremlin."

Kaori gave an offended squawk, turning his head to look at Corvus. "Well, excuuuuuse me, Mr. 'I'm Six Feet Tall, Cower In My Presence'! I am five foot seven and a half inches and I will not let you forget that!"

Corvus shook his head with an amused exhale, pushing the younger's head by a bit. "See? You're angry because you're so short. All that anger is compressed."

"Watch it, I'll fight you."

"What are you gonna do, headbutt me in the nipples? You barely reach my nose."

"...I hate you."

~

Halfway across campus, Lia violently sneezed, causing her wings to shoot out to half their wingspan.

"You good?" Specter asked, turning to the younger Ventus. They had finally reached the main lobby, which was the last point on their tour around campus.

Lia nodded with a sniff. "Dunno why I sneezed, the cold usually isn't that bad."

"Maybe someone was talking about you," Specter said with an innocent smile. "If your ears were burning, then someone was definitely gossiping."

"Huh," Lia said, reaching a tentative hand up to her ears. feeling the boiling warmth come from them. "Oh! They are burning, dear goodness! Guess I'm dying."

Specter snorted a laugh, adjusting their sun guard hood around their neck. "If that's the case, then I've been dead for a long time," Specter said, walking with Lia towards the train station entrance of the school. There was a silence settling the two as they walked, neither knowing quite what to say.

"Thank you for showing me around," Lia said with a smile and a polite, partial bow. "I'll be heading off now, if that's alright."

"You have my number, no?" Specter said, opening their phone. Lia made a noise of confirmation, moving towards the school turnstiles.

"Thank you!" Lia called, waving back and finishing her wave with a dramatic bow. The girl scurried off on the platform, making her way to the train.

Specter watched her from afar before shooting a text to their friends.

[group chat: USO DAYO]
goat dad: hey spec do you have any details on new girl
goat dad: wait who changed my username
goat dad: i'm a sheep not a goat
frapadapadoodle: idk
frapadapadoodle: WAIT
frapadapadoodle: WHO CHANGED MY USERNAME
spoopy: idk man
spoopy: anyways nothing on lia, she seems like a theatre kid tho so maybe you can get something out of them if she joins theatre
goat dad: oo that's not too bad
goat dad: thank you kindly
frapadapadoodle: i'm going to fight whoever changed my name
goat dad: you're aggressively sipping on a non-caffeinated vanilla fratatata or whatever it's called as you type that and it's a sight to see
frapadapadoodle: I hate it here <3

An attachment came through from Corvus. Specter tapped it open to be faced with an extremely angry-looking Kaori (who looked more like an enraged anime girl if anything) typing with both hands and sipping his drink from where it was balanced on the table.

Another message caught Spec's eye.

frapadapadoodle: YOU BETTER DELETE THAT
goat dad: i'm never deleting this because now i have material on you that i can use
goat dad: the ultimate power move
spoopy: kaori u just got vectored
frapadapadoodle: that meme is over eighty years old, shut the up

~

Kaori groaned from his high seat, swinging his legs as he set his phone down. "I hate your guts."

"No you don't," Corvus said, taking a sip from his black coffee and setting it back down on the table. "You keep me around because you're painfully lonely on the inside, and you need someone who has social skills to actually get tips and gossip."

Kaori averted his eyes, suddenly fascinated with the mural on the wall next to him. "Ahaha, whaaaat?" Kaori said, trying to keep his laugh sounding natural.

Corvus rolled his eyes again, taking another sip from his drink. "Whatever. How do you even drink that cold stuff in the winter?"

"Fire elemental," Kaori said with a shrug. "I, like, never get cold. That's it."

Corvus nodded. "That's neat. So realistically speaking, you're the kind of person to wear flip flops in winter?"

"I despise you," Kaori groaned, sliding deeper in his seat. "Yes, I do that. I'm not wearing flip flops now, though."

Corvus stifled a laugh, eyes widening as he brought his hand up to his mouth. "Oh my god, I was kidding. That's gold, wow-- hey, you can't do that! I'm your elder, you have to listen to me!"

"Just did," Kaori said, sticking out his tongue, dangling Corvus' phone over the table and just out of Corvus' reach. "Wanna hit the taiyaki shop on the way home? M'hungry."

"Sure, just give me back my phone you little--"

~

[now playing: ilomilo by Billie Eilish]

Rebel didn't see herself as the type to heist technology from her own school campus, but what was done had to be done. It wasn't like anyone was going to realize that she had taken the walkman from the school. She was pretty sure no one remembered it existed in the first place.

Her father was again busy in the kitchen, the house smelling of homemade pork curry. The smell drifted to her room, almost distracting the girl from her investigation. Her father hadn't questioned it when she had abducted the record player from the living room. Rebel had her excuse regardless; she was using it as a reference for her art elective. Her father had agreed and focused back on washing the rice.

The record player was a simple one. Just vinyl resting on top of metal, with a set of ten buttons on the side. Rebel had never questioned the button placement, but now...

Rebel adjusted her headphone cord over her shoulder, the record player seated awkwardly in her lap. Mom had mentioned my birthday and the record player.

January 11th was her birthday-- making that 0111. So in turn, Rebel pressed the button in the lower right corner, and then the upper left corner button three times in a row.

Off popped the space for the vinyl, revealing a hidden compartment inside of the player.That...was easier than it was supposed to be.

Rebel turned on her phone flashlight, shining onto the inside of the compartment. Dust inside the compartment glowed in the bright light, and Rebel was 90% sure that was a cobweb in there. In the bottom right of the box was a letter, labeled "Rebel" on the top.

Well. That's convenient.

Rebel removed the letter, her hand movements slow and caring. She was taking every effort she could to avoid breaking the record player or set anything out of place, making sure that the paper of the letter's envelope didn't skim the roof or sides.

Rebel let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding as she drew the letter out of the pocket, moving the record player out of her lap and next to her on her bed. The paper had yellowed from how long it had been inside the secret compartment, edges of the envelope curling up. Rebel slid a finger under the flap, pulling it through slowly to tear the paper.

The folded paper on the inside was more pristine and well-taken care of; the protective layer of the envelope giving it the extra preservation. Rebel slid out the letter, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she unfolded it.

April 3rd, 2082
My dear Rebel,

I hope this letter has found you well. It's the year 2100, right? I believe that you've gotten the tape recording I sent out. If I followed my own plan, the drop succeeded.

I'm writing this letter as I'm preparing to pack and leave for a different part of Alda. Our family name isn't welcome anymore in Beat. There are some people who have wronged us and left our name tainted, our history destroyed.

Your father has stayed with you for the past seventeen years or so, and that's a good thing. He came up with the name change to protect you and let you live a normal life. Now, you're near old enough to make your own choices.

Currently, I should be situated in Port Meadunwood. I know it's a--

The door opened and Rebel tore her headphones off, stashing the letter behind her back as quick as she could.

"Hey, kiddo," Rebel's dad said, leaning through the door. "I got those cupcakes you like from that one bakery for dessert!"

Rebel gave a genuine smile, looking at her dad gratefully. "What's the occasion?"

Rebel's dad stared at her in shock. "Did you forget it's your birthday today?"

Rebel choked on air, checking her watch. Sure enough, January 11th was emblazoned on the digital watch face. "Oh my god, I forgot it was today. I'm sorry, dad," she said, looking back up at her father. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," her dad said with a shrug and a smile. "Dinner's ready in ten--why do you have all the lights off in here? What are you, a mole woman?"

"Dad, the only mole lady is the naked mole rat hybrid on floor two and she's a hundred and thirty three," Rebel deadpanned, shifting a pillow to cover the letter as she stretched to flick on the light in her room. "She honestly might be dead any day now."

"Don't say that!" Rebel's dad said with a mock-horrified gasp. Staggering backwards dramatically, her dad dropped the overreaction and moved back out of the room. "I'll call when dinner's ready!"

"Alright," Rebel called, slipping her headphones back on and watching the door close. She threw the pillow off the note behind her, cursing as she noticed the record player was quite obviously open.

Currently, I should be situated in Port Meadunwood. I know it's a long trip from Beat, a good few hours by train. It's your choice if you want to see me again. You can talk to me and I can tell you everything about our family and our history, or you can stay in Beat and pursue your normal life.

No matter the circumstance, don't feel pressured to choose the path to find me. Don't feel forced to go on your own if you come-- in fact, please bring some friends! I'd love to meet you and the people you've surrounded yourself with. It's also safer to travel in groups, you know.

If you decide to stay in Beat, please know that I'll return home one day. I don't know when. You may be in college, you could be graduated from both, I don't even know where you could be in the world by that point.

If you visit Meadunwood, be careful if you ask around from me. If word travels from the people who have tainted us, you could end up in trouble by merely mentioning my name.

Remember to stay strong in the face of danger, and if all else fails, go for the back of the legs. You're my only daughter, my treasure, and I care for you deeply. Hope to see you soon, Rebel.

Love,
Chelsea Starwings
(Or Mom, if you still call me that)

Rebel stared at the letter, folded it, and laid back in her bed.

"...What the heck?" she muttered to herself, picking up the letter and reading it again. What's a Starwings? Is that my actual last name? I thought my last name was Bennett...

Rebel sighed, laying like a mildly claustrophobic starfish in her bed. "This is so much at once," she said to no one, only to the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling. The same ones she'd count as a kid to fall asleep when her mind would run, the same ones that comforted her when she cried as a seven year old.

I wonder what the stars are like in Meadunwood.

Rebel realized the thought after it had slipped through her mind. The fact she was wondering about what it was like where her mother was meant she was interested, meant that she wanted to see what her mother. Meant that she wanted to see her mother.

...She could see her mother. For the first time since she was a baby.

The violent buzzing of her phone next to her snapped her out of her thoughts. The red-head flipped her phone screen to face her, staring at the bright light from the pocket-sized screen.

[Group Chat: there are only two braincells present here]
Doctor Strange has renamed the group chat name to "Happy Birthday Rebel"
Doctor Strange: Read the group chat name
Doctor Strange: Hey what happened to my name
Doctor Strange: Who is doctor strange
get the ark: I'm actually in pain over the fact that you don't know who doctor strange is
get the ark: anyways HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBEL!! CONGRATS YOU'RE AN OLD LADY NOW
this is so sad, alexa play rebel girl: Oh, thanks guys : ) That means the world to me
this is so sad, alexa play rebel girl: Why didn't you mention it at school?
Resident Chad: You were brooding like all day dude
Resident Chad: You looked like you wanted to kill the window you were staring out of
Resident Chad: Also you were listening to your sad classical playlist again
this is so sad, alexa play rebel girl: How do you know I have a sad classical music playlist
get the ark: Just a hunch
get the ark: Also we could hear the sadness coming from your headphones
get the ark: Those instruments just sounded sad idk man
Doctor Strange: Your headphones were very loud on the train this morning, we had suspicions
this is so sad, alexa play rebel girl: Understandable
this is so sad, alexa play rebel girl: Also, what's with the new nicknames
Resident Chad: Oh! My moms played this song called Rebel Girl and it reminded me of you because it had Rebel in the title and it was also a banger so
Resident Chad: Behold, your new title
Resident Chad: Here have a sword

Surely enough, Marshall attached a poorly-rendered JPEG of a sword to the group chat. Rebel couldn't fight the dorky grin growing on her face as she watched the group chat explode with more messages from her friend group, all ranging in depths of nonsensicality. She and Time may share the singular braincell of their friend group, but it still made her happy to watch her friends get along so well.

A thought crossed her mind. She chewed over it for a second, thinking about it, the options and possibilities.

What if I brought them with me to see my mom?

Before Rebel could speculate anymore, she heard her father call for their evening meal. She quickly switched her phone off and shouted "coming!" in return, leaving her phone to spam with messages on her bedsheets.

SongOfStorms · 7/30/2020 7:24 am

👀 ts is one step closer to the truth, it seems
and oooh kaori, corvus, and spec! theyre interesting rumor mill kids!
...also senior squad roadtrip? 👀👀 this should be fun--

great chapter as always!

autumnlibrarian16 · 7/30/2020 7:48 am

Ooh, things are getting spicer and spicer!! As always, this chapter was great to read
I'm very 👀👀👀👀 at the thing with Rebel and her mom,,, very curious about her family's history
also the group chat conversations killed me, they were fantastic

chanchanchan · 7/30/2020 7:50 am

👁👁 voez

kaori · 7/30/2020 8:50 am

aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

this was amazing to read, i absolutely loved kaori's debut

the music choice was astounding as always, (words cannot express how surprised i was to read "ilomilo-billie eilish")

i can't WAIT to read the next chapter ;P

Last edited by kaori (7/30/2020 8:50 am)

xenon · 7/30/2020 9:28 am

marshall has two moms!!!!!

also i love the gc dynamics and the names! and the gossip group! and rebel's development! i just love all of this so much aaaaah

riribunni · 7/30/2020 9:53 am

thank you all 🥺🥺marshall indeed has two names and the gc's KILLED me it was so fun to write hsfjkhdfsjfds

SpecterTheGreat · 7/30/2020 11:03 am

Oh gosh I love Corvus and Kaori and Spec's interactions jfnnghngngn gotta be well-informed.
Also "you just got vectored" haha--

The group chats? Awesome, beautiful, stunning.
And Rebel 👀👀👀

Tbh I was surprised to see a new chapter out xD

TwoPunchAxel · 7/30/2020 12:38 pm

get the ark

meerkat · 7/30/2020 12:45 pm

group👏chats👏yES-
and !!! rebellllllll nosjncsn i’m excited to see where that goes-

great chapter!!

7/30/2020 12:46 pm

You got two chapters out in two days??? I don't know how you do it, but I'm really impressed!!

I like how chaotic the group chats seem to be XDD. Very nice chapter!!

EchoDraws · 7/30/2020 1:04 pm

EHJDOWJFNEKKF yEssssssssss

These friend groups are like 10/10 <3

Jack · 7/30/2020 4:27 pm

dang Riri you've been super productive!! Great work, as always! :0

riribunni · 7/30/2020 8:35 pm

thank you guys!!! im not gonna update tmrrw for yall since im taking an off day, but there hopefully will be a saturday update

autumnlibrarian16 · 7/30/2020 8:40 pm

that's perfectly fine!! you definitely deserve a break after gifting us with all these chapters back to back, take your time

SpecterTheGreat · 7/30/2020 8:56 pm

ghostbunni wrote:
thank you guys!!! im not gonna update tmrrw for yall since im taking an off day, but there hopefully will be a saturday update

You're updating often enough xD take as much time as you need uwu.

HungryCat1 · 7/31/2020 6:10 am

Lmao I love the juice box mafia boss

Also a poorly rendered jpeg of a sword is the perfect birthday present