POV: Rai Shinsei
As I walked through the spacious halls of the academy, I pondered on my actions from earlier.
I wanted to avoid any unnecessary attention, but there's no way I could sit there and watch those scumbags pummel on an innocent student.
"Excuse me." A soft, gentle voice said from behind as I turned around to find a girl, who stood several inches shorter than me with a pale ivory complexion and long wavy blonde hair that ended just above her waist.
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 and a slim body with fairly developed features.
As for her clothes, she was adorned in a gray blazer with a black ribbon tied around the collar of a crisp white dress shirt, which was tucked under her black pleated skirt that was complimented with long, thin black socks and black dress loafers.
"I don't mean to hold you up, but I wanted to thank you for saving Everett. There's not many students who would have intervened or even cared about saving him since it was Jordan attacking him, so when I arrived, seeing your actions made me happy as I was grateful that there was another student with a kind enough heart to save Everett, despite there being nothing to gain from it." The girl said 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 as I swallowed dryly.
She looks just like…
"There's no need to thank me. I just did what I believed was right." I replied, turning around as I began heading towards Ryan's office while the girl tried to call out to me, but I decided to ignore her calling as I didn't want to involve myself with the academy any further.
I'm certain of it now.
She must be from the Akari family.
Eventually, I arrived at Ryan's office as I opened the door to find him sorting out paperwork at his desk while his assistant stood beside him and shot a sharp glare towards me.
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 in her mid-twenties with sharp scarlet eyes framed with black rimmed glasses.
Her attire 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 smug smile while stacking paperwork together.
"I prefer not to hear your sarcasm right now, Ryan. You should know that I can't escape this academy even if I wanted to." I replied with a yawn as Ryan's assistant sharpened her eyes towards me.
"Watch your tone and address the Headmaster with respect when you speak to him." Ryan's assistant ordered sternly, glaring at me as if I was an undisciplined child.
"It's alright, Jennifer. I don't mind if he addresses me by my name when we're alone, but in front of others, Rai, I do need you to address me as "Headmaster"." Ryan said as he stood from his chair and adjusted his collar.
"Yes, yes, I understand, "Headmaster", but I'm assuming the reason you called me here is 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 expression while I sighed from his incompetence.
He forgot to make a key for me again.
"I still wonder how you even became the Headmaster of a prestigious hero academy." I said as Ryan laughed sheepishly while Jennifer shook her head in disappointment.
"Anyways, you're going to be in Class-1A this year and coincidentally, it's the same class as Arthur, but more importantly…" Ryan said as he shifted his gaze towards me with curiosity brimming within his eyes.
"I heard you were involved in some trouble this morning." Ryan added as I narrowed my eyes in surprise.
The news traveled throughout the academy faster than I expected.
"Why would you assume it was me?" I asked, testing to see if he truly knew it was me.
"Well for starters, we have cameras obviously and two, Jordan is ranked 62nd in the academy. There's not many students who can overwhelm a mid-ranker at that caliber without the use of their own Aspect." Ryan replied as I clenched my jaw in frustration from remembering Jordan's actions towards the boy.
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 is bullying others for the mere fun of it, that means there's no one above trying to change anything.
"I allow my students to have as much freedom as they want as long as they don't violate any rules such as killing one another." Ryan added as I noticed Jennifer's skeptical gaze towards me.
"That's odd. From my understanding, this boy is ranked 200th 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 eyebrows as her gaze remained on me while I sighed from her prying.
"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 since I didn't activate my Aspect. Luck was the main factor in that fight." I replied, but despite my answer, I was unable to resolve her suspicions as her skeptical gaze remained focused on me until her attention was directed towards Ryan, who clapped his hands to break the silence.
"Going forward, I would prefer if you didn't knock every student unconscious as it's inconvenient for the doctors and my lovely assistant, Jennifer." Ryan chided casually as he began discussing a frivolous topic with Jennifer while his response irked me.
Inconvenient?
No, what's inconvenient is that students are discriminated against because of their strength and upbringing.
Students are suffering because you have idiots running around abusing their power to prey on the weak for their own satisfaction.
"You should be more grateful that I cleaned up your mistakes." I replied irritably as my sharp, yet cold tone left Jennifer astounded.
"Who do you think you are-"
"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 from over his desk.
"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 excuses of a human being to belittle them every chance they get!" I yelled before taking a deep breath to regain my composure as I released my grasp from Ryan's collar and headed towards the exit of his office, but as I opened the door, I was met with the same girl who thanked me earlier.
POV: Aria Akari
As I approached the Headmaster's office, the door opened from within as the boy who saved Everett earlier 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 his nose.
"Should I come back another time?" I asked 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 curious to know if there's any news on Avery returning?" I asked, however, the Headmaster shook his head as my smile was quickly replaced with a frown.
"I see." I replied in a dissatisfied tone.
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.
"The academy changed immediately after Avery left and since 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 and now I'm beginning to think Avery making me the President was a mistake." I replied as the Headmaster's smile widened.
"There's no need to worry about such a thing because 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 with a picture of the student who saved Everett.
"You've met this boy once already. I won't go into detail, but if you're able to change him for the better, then your goal will soon become a reality. He may seem cold on the outside, but I can assure you that he's a softie on the inside." The Headmaster added as his vague words left me confused.
"I'm sorry, but I don't follow-"
"When the time comes, you'll understand." The Headmaster said as we heard a group of footsteps burst into his office, prompting me to turn around to find none other than Jordan and his lackeys, who were sweating from running as Jordan held his hand on his bruised jaw.
Oh, it's this scumbag.
"So many students are visiting me this morning. What can I help you with, Jordan?" The Headmaster asked as Ms. Jennifer activated her Aspect, concealing her Aspectual Force in the midst as she healed Jordan's group with a mere pivot of her hand.
Her insight in her own Aspect will never cease to amaze me.
"There's this black haired student who just assaulted me and my friends! I'm assuming he's a new student, but he assaulted a noble when he's just a mere commoner at most! He should be expelled for his actions, right Headmaster!?" Jordan asked with a nervous smirk as he fidgeted with his fist.
Even after being defeated, he still resorts to lying.
"Oh that's terrible Jordan. So you want me to expel him for assaulting you because of your lineage?" The Headmaster asked sarcastically as Jordan's grin widened from thinking everything was going in his favor.
"Yes! A student like that shouldn't-"
"I don't discriminate against any of my students, so why should I allow you to stay?" The Headmaster asked sternly as his switch of tone left Jordan aghast with cold sweat beading across his forehead.
"W-What do you mean sir?" Jordan asked nervously as the headmaster stood from his chair and approached him.
"Jordan, do you take me as a fool? I'm the Headmaster of one of the four most prestigious academies in the entire continent. I know of your ruthless bullying towards Everett and I know that Zayn intends to destroy everything Avery built. The reason I never stepped in is because it isn't my place to do so. All of my students are heroes in training and anyone who doesn't have the will to stand up for themselves isn't ready for the real world yet." The Headmaster said to Jordan, who avoided his gaze as his eyes remained glued to the floor.
The Headmaster does make a valid point.
If he intervenes with the affairs of the academy, students will begin to rely on him more, which isn't good for the growth of students because once we graduate and gain our hero license, we'll become a full fledged hero and there won't be anyone who can save us since that will be our duty.
"Jordan, if you come to me with another blatant lie again, there will be consequences. Do you understand?" The Headmaster chastised as he waited for Jordan's response.
"Yes sir. It won't happen again." Jordan replied while bowing his head as he bit his lip in frustration.
"You're dismissed." The Headmaster said as Jordan and his lackeys exited the office.
The Headmaster sighed deeply as he walked towards his desk and sat into his chair.
"I'm sorry about that Aria. Do you have any more questions?" The Headmaster asked as he began spinning a pen around his fingers.
"No sir. Thank you for your guidance today." I replied while bowing my head as I left his office and headed towards my class.
I didn't understand anything that the Headmaster was trying to say, but what I'm assuming is that inviting that boy into the student council will solve my problems, however…
What if he's not even interested?
What if he's too weak to change anything?
There's just too many unanswered questions!
Although, he was able to defeat Jordan, who has noble blood running through his veins without even using his Aspect, so he must be somewhat strong.
I'm ranked 20th in the academy, but even then, I would struggle to defeat Jordan without the use of my own Aspect.
As I arrived inside my classroom, I was greeted by several of my friends, but in the midst of my greeting, I noticed a familiar face sitting at a desk beside my own, which was empty since the beginning of the school year as it was none other than the boy who saved Everett, who eventually set his gaze upon me.
It's him!