POV: Rai Shinsei
Traversing through the spacious halls of the academy, I found myself lost a few times as amidst my search for Ryan's office, I pondered on my actions from earlier.
I didn't expect the news to travel through the academy this fast.
Ever since I stepped into the academy, I felt the eyes of many students glued to my existence, whether it be from curiosity or even animosity, but regardless of what they felt towards me, I wasn't very fond of the unnecessary attention as my sole focus upon enrolling into this academy was to avoid as much attention as possible.
Saving that boy was a mistake on my part as telling a nearby staff member or even a teacher would have been the smartest solution, but watching those bastards pummel on an innocent student was a sickening sight.
"Excuse me!" A soft, gentle voice shouted from behind, grasping the attention of a few students as I turned around to find a beautiful girl, who stood several inches shorter than me with a pale ivory complexion and long wavy blonde hair that ended just above her waistline.
Throughout my life, I was never interested in appearances as I believed one's personality determined their character, but to say the girl standing before me wasn't attractive would be a lie.
Her face was as clear as freshwater while her eyes were a coruscating golden hue filled with pure intentions while she boasted a slim frame, paired with fairly developed features that would have any immature adolescent boy begging for her attention.
As for her attire, she was adorned in the academy's gray blazer with a black ribbon tied around the collar of a crisp white dress shirt, which was tucked nearly under her pleated black skirt that was complimented with long, thin black socks and black dress loafers.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to shout at you, but I was calling out to you for nearly a minute." The girl apologized sincerely in an awkward manner.
"There's no need to apologize. I was the one who was lost in my thoughts, but is there something you need from me?" I asked as her appearance lingered on my mind.
Wait a minute.
"Yeah, I wanted to thank you for saving Everett. There's not many students who would have intervened or even care to save him since it's none of their concern or because they are scared of Jordan, so when I arrived to find you saving him, your actions made me happy as I was grateful to know that there's another student with a kind soul such as your own." The girl answered with a genuine smile as she bowed her head in gratitude, but despite her kind words, I felt a strange sense of familiarity from her appearance until I realized her identity as a wave of nausea overwhelmed me, urging me to swallow dryly as I felt my composure suddenly collapse.
No…
She looks just like…
"There's no need to thank me. I just did what I believed was the right thing to do." I replied, turning away from her as I began searching for Ryan's office once more, ignoring her calling out to me as involving myself any further with the academy would only be detrimental to my future.
I'm certain of it now.
She's from the Akari family.
~
After spending ten minutes of searching for Ryan's office through this enormous academy, I eventually arrived outside of his office as I opened the door to find him diligently working at his desk while his assistant stood beside him and greeted me with a silent nod.
She was the one who healed my injuries last night.
Ryan's assistant stood around the same height as myself with a smooth porcelain complexion and distinctive straight turquoise hair that was kept neatly in a ponytail.
As for her facial features, she seemingly looked to be in her mid-twenties with sharp scarlet eyes that were framed with black rimmed glasses and as for attire, it consisted of a black blazer with a black tie and a white dress shirt that was elegantly tucked into her black mini skirt, which was complimented with black high heels.
"Ah, well if it isn't Rai! I'm surprised you haven't tried to run away yet!" Ryan teased with a grin while stacking paperwork together.
"I'm not in the mood to hear your sarcasm now, Ryan and besides, I'm sure you're well aware that I can't even escape this academy even if I wanted to." I replied as I noticed Ryan's assistant sharpening her eyes towards me.
"Watch your tone and address the Headmaster with respect when you are in his presence." Ryan's assistant scolded sternly, retaining her glare as if I was an undisciplined child.
I suppose she's quite prickly when it comes to Ryan.
"It's alright, Jennifer. I don't mind if he addresses me by my name when we're alone, but in front of others, I do need you to address me as "Headmaster", Rai." Ryan advised as he stood from his chair and adjusted his collar before walking around to lean on the front of his desk.
"Yes, yes, I understand, "Headmaster.", but I know you didn't call me here just to chat with me, so I'm going to assume that you called me here to tell me my class and give me a key to my room, right?" I asked as Ryan stared at me silently with a blank smile while I sighed from his incompetence.
He forgot to make me a key… again.
"You know, I still wonder how somebody like yourself became the Headmaster of a prestigious hero academy." I remarked as Ryan laughed sheepishly while Jennifer shook her head in disappointment.
"Anyways, you're going to be in Class-1A this year and coincidentally, you'll be in the same class as Arthur, but more importantly…" Ryan said as he shifted his gaze towards me with a curious grin.
"I've heard you were involved in some trouble this morning." Ryan added as I narrowed my eyes in surprise.
He's already aware?
"Why would you assume it was me?" I asked, testing to see if he was jesting or if he truly knew that it was me.
"Well for starters, we obviously have cameras scattered around the academy and two, Jordan is ranked 62nd in the academy. There's not many students who can overwhelm a mid-ranker at that caliber, especially without the use of their own Aspect." Ryan answered as his response bothered me to a degree.
What a conundrum.
You're telling me that bastard is ranked 62nd in the academy?!
Had I known that prior, I would have used my Aspect as the only reason I fought him without one was because I thought he was just your average low-ranking bully who projected his misery on others.
It's no wonder that I was gaining the amount of attention that I was, however…
He's ranked that high and yet, he has no respect for others.
Now I can see what's wrong with this academy.
If someone at that rank has the freedom to relish in bullying others in order to satiate their own pleasure, then that means there's no one above that's trying to make an effort to change anything.
"Rai, I allow my students to have as much freedom as they want with the sole exception that they don't violate any rules such as killing a student." Ryan added as I noticed Jennifer growing skeptical of my existence.
"That's odd. From my understanding, this boy is ranked two hundredth within the academy, so how is it that he's able to defeat a student who is a hundred ranks higher than his own?" Jennifer asked, furrowing her as her unnecessary prying urged a sigh from me.
She's beginning to annoy me.
"I can assure you that the fight wasn't an easy one at all. One hit from Jordan and I would have been the one unconscious as I didn't have my Aspect active at all during the fight. Luck was the main factor that allowed me to come out as the victor." I answered calmly, but despite my answer, I was unable to resolve her suspicions as her skeptical gaze remained focused on me until Ryan broke the tension with a clap.
"Going forward, Rai, I would prefer if you tried to not knock out, let alone break the bones of any student who wrongs you as it's inconvenient for my nurses and my lovely assistant, Jennifer, who is the chief of them." Ryan chided in a casual manner as he began discussing a frivolous topic with Jennifer while his response fouled my mood.
Inconvenient?
No, what's inconvenient is that students are discriminated against because of their strength and upbringing.
Students are suffering because you have mindless bastards running around and abusing their power to prey on the weak for their own satisfaction.
Ryan, I expected you of all people to understand.
"You should be more grateful that I cleaned up your mistakes." I uttered irritably as my sharp, cold tone left Jennifer astounded.
"Who do you think you're talking-"
"There's a boy who can't even believe in himself because you allow these students to abuse their power for the sake of their own amusement." I added, ignoring Jennifer as I approached Ryan and grabbed the collar of his shirt, clenching it tightly as Ryan's expression remained the same.
"Can you imagine what these students think about every morning when they wake up? They question their own existence and lose hope in themselves because you allow these worthless scum to belittle them every chance they get!" I said in a raised tone before taking a deep breath to regain my composure, eventually releasing my grasp from Ryan's collar as I headed towards the exit of his office, but as I opened the double doors, I was met with the same girl who had thanked me earlier.
Out of all the people I could have ran into…
It had to be her.
POV: Aria Akari
As I arrived outside of the Headmaster's office, the double doors had opened from within as I was met with the boy who had saved Everett earlier, but his once nonchalant demeanor was nowhere to be found as he glanced at me coldly before walking past me.
That's the boy who saved Everett.
"Ryan, are you sure you're sane? What were you thinking when you enrolled that boy into this academy?! His manners are god awful and he's a loose cannon!" Ms. Jennifer berated the Headmaster, who sighed deeply as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Should… I come back another time?" I asked in a concerned tone as the Headmaster shook his head and matched my gaze with a smile.
"No, you're fine. What can I help you with today, Aria?" The Headmaster asked as I smiled awkwardly, afraid if I came at the wrong time.
"I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation, but I was wondering if there's any news on Avery returning?" I asked, however, the Headmaster shook his head as my smile was soon replaced with a frown.
"I see." I muttered.
I hope you're okay out there, Avery.
"You're concerned about the state of the academy, aren't you?" The Headmaster asked as I nodded in confirmation.
"The academy changed immediately after Avery left and because he was the strongest and the Student Council President, everyone stayed in line and followed the rules he enforced, but now there's no proper leader and because of Zayn's influence over the academy, there's even more students who disregards the Student Council's authority, so now I'm beginning to think Avery made a mistake making me the President of the Student Council." I explained as the Headmaster's smile widened.
"There's no need to worry about such a thing as I can assure you that Avery made the right choice, but as for the state of the academy…" The Headmaster said as he showed me an overview that had a picture of the boy who saved Everett today.
His name is Rai Shinsei?
"You've met Rai once already. I won't go into detail, but if you're able to change him for the better, then your goal won't remain as just a mere dream anymore as I'm certain it will become reality."
"Although Rai may seem cold on the outside, he's truly a softie on the inside as if he wasn't, he wouldn't have even bothered to save Everett today." The Headmaster added with a chuckle as his vague words left me confused.
When I talked to Rai earlier today, his eyes weren't as cold as they were a minute ago, but as for the Headmaster's suggestion…
"I'm sorry, but I don't really follow-"
"You're a bright girl, Aria. When the time comes, you'll understand." The Headmaster assured me as a group of students bursted into Ryan's office, prompting me to turn around to find out that group was none other than Jordan and his lackeys, who were sweating from running as each of them had bandages covering their respective injuries.
What are the three of them doing here?
Are they…?