POV: Aria Akari
I don't know why the three of them are here, but I'm sure they're up to no good.
"Ah, so many students are visiting me this morning. What can I help the three of you with today?" The Headmaster asked as Ms. Jennifer activated her Aspect, concealing her Aspectual Force in the midst as with the mere pivot of her hand, she fully healed every injury among Jordan's group as her scarlet red aura illuminated around each of their bodies.
Her insight into her own Aspect will never cease to amaze me.
"Thank you Ms. Jennifer, but me and my friends were just assaulted by this black haired student earlier! Before Ms. Jennifer healed our injuries, he broke a few of my ribs, Seth's nose and Andy's jaw!" Jordan exclaimed as his act in playing the victim disgusted me.
Are you serious right now?
"Are you perhaps talking about this boy?" The Headmaster asked as he showed them the same overview sheet of Rai that he had shown me earlier.
"Yes, that's him! Not only did he brutally injure us, but he assaulted a noble when he's just a mere commoner at most! I think his actions should call for his expulsion, right Headmaster?!" Jordan asked with a nervous smirk, fidgeting with his hand as his lackeys were struggling to even keep their composure calm.
Even after being defeated fairly, he still resorts to lying.
As a noble, he should be ashamed of himself.
"Oh that's just terrible Jordan. So you want me to expel him for assaulting you and your friends and also because you're of noble blood?" The Headmaster questioned in a sarcastic manner as Jordan deluded himself into grinning from thinking everything was going in his favor.
"Yes! A student like that shouldn't-"
"Absolutely not." The Headmaster uttered coldly, silencing the room as his sudden shift in his demeanor left Jordan and his lackeys petrified.
"I don't discriminate against any of my students, so why should I allow you to stay after your disgraceful actions today?" The Headmaster asked sternly, approaching Jordan and his group as the three of them were enveloped in cold sweat.
W-What do you mean sir?" Jordan questioned with a nervous chuckle.
"Do you take me as a fool, Jordan? I'm the Headmaster of one of the four most prestigious academies on this continent. I know of your ruthless bullying towards Everett and I am also aware 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 answered, glaring in disappointment at Jordan, who avoided eye contact as he was more comfortable having his eyes glued to the marble tiling of 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 wouldn't be good for the growth of his students as once we graduate and gain our license to become a hero, we won't be mere students anymore, but full fledge heroes that won't have the luxury of being saved as it's our duty to maintain the peace and protect the innocent.
"Jordan, if you come to me with another blatant lie again, there will be consequences. Do you understand?" The Headmaster admonished, waiting silently for Jordan's response.
"Yes sir. It won't happen again." Jordan replied, bowing his head as he tried to hide his frustration by biting his lip.
"You three are dismissed." The Headmaster said as Jordan and his lackeys quietly left the office.
With a deep sigh, the Headmaster walked towards his desk and sat into his chair, grabbing a nearby pen to fidget with as he directed his attention towards me.
"I apologize for the unexpected commotion, Aria. Do you have any more questions?" The Headmaster asked as he began spinning a pen around his fingers.
"No sir. Class is about to start within a few minutes, so I'll take my leave now. Thank you for your guidance today." I answered politely, bowing my head as I left his office and began heading towards the stairs that led to the first floor.
I didn't understand anything that the Headmaster was trying to say!
He wants me to invite Rai into the Student Council, but whose to say that having him as a member will even solve my problems?
From his actions alone, I get the feeling that he doesn't want to be bothered by anyone, so even if I do invite him, what if he just declines my offer?
Even if he was interested, there's too many factors that I have to think about as for one…
I don't even know what kind of person he truly is.
He may have saved Everett, but the brutality he used towards Jordan and his lackeys are unacceptable for a member of the Student Council, regardless of the severity.
There's just too many unanswered questions!
I know he's not weak as he was able to defeat Jordan, a noble of the Fuchai family that takes pride in combat, not to mention, Rai didn't even need to use his Aspect against him.
I'm ranked twentieth within the academy and I'm certain that I can defeat Jordan without the use of my Aspect, but to say I can do it in the same manner as Rai would be an overstatement.
Although he's not weak, I doubt somebody like that can replace Avery, who was the pride and joy of this academy and also…
I don't even know when I'm going to see him again!
With a sigh of defeat, I arrived inside my classroom as I was greeted by several of my friends, but amidst my greeting, I noticed a familiar face sitting at a desk beside my own, which had been empty since the beginning of the school year as the one sitting at it was none other than Rai, who eventually noticed my gaze as his eyebrows furrowed.
Ah…
It's him!
POV: Rai Shinsei
So she's in my class also.
What a strange coincidence.
It's as if fate is trying to test me.
I shifted my attention back to the window on my left as I began staring outside of it, watching the petals from the vibrant cherry blossom trees dance gracefully throughout the air as their performance allowed my mind to drift away into daydreaming about nonsense.
I'll be in this peaceful environment for at least four more years.
It's only been a day and although my emotions towards achieving my goal haven't changed, who is to say that within a year, let alone a few months by living within this environment, I won't become too complacent?
For nearly two years, I haven't trained in mastering my Aspect, let alone even learn any techniques with the exception of one.
Although my goal is to remain invisible within this academy, can I truly achieve-
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" A soft voice said from my right as I turned to find out it was from none other than the girl from the Akari family.
I guess avoiding her isn't a possibility anymore.
They're pleasant to look at." I replied nonchalantly as I noticed Arthur entering the classroom, which led to us exchanging glances as my appearance roused a grin across his face.
I wonder…
"Hey, how much do you know about Arthur?" I asked curiously as she was surprised by my question.
"I don't know much about him, but is there a reason why you're curious?" She questioned.
"He's my roommate." I answered.
"Ah, I see! I heard that most students avoided sharing a room with him because they think he's a cold hearted monster like his father, but the truth is that he's a normal teenager just like the rest of us, so I don't think it's right to treat him like an outcast because of his power." The girl stated with sympathy laced in her tone as the two of us glanced at Arthur, who began doomscrolling on his phone with his legs kicked up on his desk.
While I don't disagree with what she's saying, a sixteen year old who is more powerful than nearly every student within this academy without any noble blood flowing through their veins is bound to be an anomaly.
"But if I remember correctly, there were rumors of Arthur sparring with Mr. Jack, the teacher of Class-1C and a retired A-Class hero around the beginning of the school year and I heard that they were fairly even." The girl added as I continued to watch Arthur, who stood from his desk with a yawn before leaving the classroom.
The Hero Association is ranked with several categories.
Joseph Akari, the strongest hero on this continent and the current leader of the Hero Association.
The Grand Four, who are the top four strongest heroes in Jiyu that are beneath Joseph as they are called upon for catastrophic events only.
Below the Grand Four would be the Executives, who are the top fifteen strongest heroes that work under Joseph directly and are the ones who are usually called upon for any serious event that threatens the lives of many innocent civilians.
Then there's the rest of the heroes, who can be ranked from F-Class and all the way up to S-Class, with F-Class obviously being the lowest and S-Class being the highest.
The average hero within Jiyu is C-Class and yet, Arthur is as strong as an A-Class hero at the mere age of sixteen.
In order to achieve that level of strength, I'm sure he was placed through rigorous training.
With a yawn, I glanced towards the girl beside me, whose attention was taken away by one of her friends as they began conversing with one another.
I assumed this girl was full of herself since she's from the Akari family, but it's good to know that she's not the same as her family, who is known to be consumed by arrogance for being the strongest among the Ten Noble Families, although…
Her appearance makes me uneasy.
She looks just like-
Abrupting my train of thought was three students entering inside the classroom as instead of searching for a desk, they were scanning the classroom until I locked eyes with who I assumed was the leader of the group as his eyebrows furrowed while his expression intensified from noticing my gaze.
Someone doesn't seem too happy.
POV: Arthur Kojiro
After a pleasant bathroom break, I headed back to my classroom with an absurd walk as I sighed from boredom.
What is the point of me coming to class?
I ace every exam and the teacher repeats the same thing everyday as if she's a broken record.
Should I just skip class again today?
Nah, maybe something interesting will happen today~
As I arrived inside the classroom, three students who weren't from our class began to approach Rai as several students whispered among themselves while I felt a grin of curiosity creep onto my face.
I was right to not skip class today, but I'm curious…
Do they know Rai?
Curious to find out an answer, I walked towards Everett, who had bandages wrapped around his fingers and wrist with a large bandage covering a dirty bruise on his cheek.
"Everett, do you know what's going on?" I asked casually, rudely interrupting his conversation between him and his friend Julian as the two of them looked at me nervously.
"A-Arthur? I'm not too sure myself, but if I had to take a guess, I would assume that it's because Rai defeated Jordan and his friends earlier." Everett answered hesitantly as I glanced at Rai, who remained unfazed despite Jacob's attempt to intimidate him.
"I see. What was his Aspect?" I asked, wondering if Rai lied to me last night after his evaluation exam.
"Oh, uh, Rai didn't even use his Aspect. He defeated Jordan and his friends without it." Everett answered as I was taken aback by his answer, rousing a grin of excitement from me as I shifted my attention towards Rai.
Rai defeated Jordan without even using his Aspect?
Defeating Jordan isn't an impressive feat, but for someone who is ranked two hundredth in the academy, defeating a mid-ranker without the use of their Aspect is unheard of.
I knew from the moment I met him, something was off about him.
"Thanks, Everett." I said, his answers leaving me in a great mood as I placed my hand on his shoulder as a gesture of gratitude before focusing solely on Jacob, who was glaring down at Rai with a visibly annoyed expression.
Now it makes sense why they're here.
Jordan is Jacob's best friend and despite all of the arguing they do, they always look out for one another, but there's something that doesn't add up…
Jacob is only one rank higher than Jordan, meaning that their power is relatively the same, so why is he trying to pick a fight with someone who could defeat them effortlessly?
The three students that approached Rai were Jacob, April and Oscar of Class-1C.
Jacob towered over Rai by a few inches with a physique that rivaled a professional athlete's, making me sometimes wonder if he was truly the same age as us.
He had a chestnut complexion with a clean buzzcut and lazy black eyes, but as for his attire, it was your standard school uniform with the exception of a gray blazer as his white long-sleeved dress shirt was tailored short-sleeved instead.
The other two stood an inch shorter than Rai as April had a golden complexion with long straightened black hair that was tied neatly into a thin ponytail as she bore sharp brown eyes while her attire consisted of your standard school uniform for a female.
As for Oscar, he had a beige complexion with dark green hair that was slickly combed back and dull green eyes as his attire was also the standard school uniform for a male.
I'll admit that I am quite curious.
What will you do in this situation, Rai?