POV: Rai Shinsei
After walking nearly five miles, we eventually arrived at the front entrance of the academy as I stretched my body with a yawn, taking a moment to relish in the fresh autumn breeze as several cherry blossom petals brushed across my face.
"So, how do you like my academy? It's pretty nice, isn't it?" Ryan questioned with a smug expression, which was very unfitting for his appearance as he was a tall man with sharp facial features, standing around 6 '5 with an ivory complexion, disheveled, yet short wavy black hair and captivating mint green eyes that seemingly left every woman entranced.
Choosing to ignore his gloating, I refused to entertain him with a reaction as I shifted my attention towards the extravagant academy that stood before me as its pristine condition left me intrigued.
I do have to admit that the academy is quite impressive.
Ryan told me before that this academy existed for over half a century, but from the exterior alone, it's as if it was built just this year.
The custodians of this academy must be extraordinary at their job, but it's to be expected as their boss is none other than Ryan, who pays them extremely well as he's one of the wealthiest humans on this continent.
The academy was enormous as the entrance bore a large, fancy water fountain with several benches and lampposts placed meticulously around it as the abundant, colorful cherry blossom trees scattered across the academy grounds made the scenery truly prosper.
"I prefer to do your rank assessment tonight, so we'll drop off your bag at your dorm first and that way, you can also meet your roommate." Ryan said as he placed a cigarette into his mouth and lit it.
"I don't mind that, but who is my roommate?" I asked curiously as we seemed to be heading towards the boy's dormitory.
"Ah, I forgot to show you. This will be your roommate." Ryan replied as he pulled out his phone and showed me an overview of my roommate, which had a brief description about him as his photo was located at the top left of the screen.
So it's him.
"I'm sure you've heard of him during your days in junior high, but your roommate is Arthur Kojiro. He's a first year student and he's ranked third in the academy overall." Ryan stated as he placed his phone back into his pocket and flicked his cigarette bud into a nearby trash can.
Arthur Kojiro.
I can't recall crossing paths with him before, but from what I've heard about him, he's a genius swordsman who is also the son of Jett, the world's strongest swordsman, but despite his lineage, it's still is surprising that he's only a first year and yet, he's ranked third within the entire academy, although…
"You said he's the third strongest in the academy overall, but are you implying that he's not a member of the Elite Ten, despite the benefits you're given with that title?" I asked.
"That is correct. I'm not sure of his reason, but Arthur told me that he wasn't interested in joining the Elite Ten." Ryan replied as he pulled out his box of cigarettes to be met with an empty box.
"Oh no…" Ryan mumbled as his eyes widened in distress.
"What happened?" I asked, concerned as Ryan slowly turned his head towards me with a grave expression.
"I'm out of cigarettes." Ryan replied despondently as I stared at him pitifully.
To believe that this man is hailed as a savior of this continent baffles me.
Within the minute, Ryan recovered from his depression and began informing me about the academy in perhaps the most confusing manner possible.
"Anyways, the academy which you will be attending your classes at is located in the middle with your dormitories being located on the left side and as for your dorm, you have a kitchen installed inside with your everyday necessities, but if you don't want to use your kitchen, the cafeteria offers free food to all students with the quality depending on your rank as I understand many of you are irresponsible teenagers who spends their money recklessly. If you ever have the urge of exercising, the training facility is behind the academy after making a right from here and then-"
"Ryan, in the future, please refrain from trying to explain anything." I suggested as Ryan tried to argue with me out of pettiness, however, I ignored his tantrum as we arrived inside the boy's dormitory, which was very spacious as the lobby was kept clean with several seats and booths along with a few vending machines for a student's personal use.
After taking a moment to look around, we were greeted by the attendant of the lobby, who was a sharp young man as we began walking down the long corridor towards my room, passing by many portraits of students and events held by the academy itself, ranging from a relay race to even a student being awarded for defeating over one hundred students in a single fight.
A few minutes later, we eventually arrived outside of my dorm, which was located at the very end of the corridor.
Room 260
"Arthur, your new roommate is here. Open the door." Ryan said with a patterned knock as I checked my phone for the time.
"Ryan, it's nearly one in the morning. Are you sure he's even awake-"
The door was opened from within by Arthur, who stood around the same height as myself, standing around 5'10 with a pale ivory complexion as his hair resembled a cherry blossom tree, which was kept into a short, messy tail as his wavy bangs were parted in the middle, resting on his forehead as they ended just above his jawline.
As for his facial features, a prominent scar in the form of a slash stretched from his jaw and across his right cheek, his fluorescent eyes matched the color of his hair and as for his clothes, he wore a simple plain white long-sleeved shirt with gray cargo shorts that ended just above his knees.
"Headmaster, it's past midnight. I thought you said you were going to be here at eleven?" Arthur asked with a yawn as Ryan laughed while scratching the back of his head.
"Something came up and unfortunately we were forced to arrive a bit late." Ryan replied with a laugh.
"I see." Arthur said as he shifted his attention towards me.
"You must be Rai. I'm Arthur Kojiro, nice to meet you." Arthur said with a sincere grin as he extended his hand towards him in the gesture of a handshake.
"Rai Shinsei." I replied as our hands clasped in a firm handshake, but as our palms met, I noticed the distinct callus that covered his skin as well as the pressure he exuded from his grip, prompting me to weaken my grasp as I noticed he was trying to gauge my strength.
This guy…
"I'm sure we haven't before, but for some reason, you remind me of someone that I used to know." Arthur mentioned skeptically as I broke off our handshake.
"Yeah, I get that quite often." I replied as I glanced behind him and noticed two katanas sheathed inside their respective scabbards, which was adorned with intricate gold lettering as one of the scabbards was a deep, mesmerizing black hue while the other shone a brilliant white hue, creating a striking contrast that made me wonder what grade his weapons were.
So those are his swords.
"It seems like you two are going to get along great! I'll be taking Rai with me for his evaluation exam, so he should be back within the hour." Ryan said as Arthur nodded while I took a moment to observe my new room.
The room was commodious with a lavish interior as the kitchen was located on one end of the room, with a side room for laundry and a single bathroom as the living room separated the kitchen from the bedroom, where our beds were positioned across from each other with a soft, white carpet splitting across the middle.
I need to go shopping at some point.
I placed my bag onto my bed and began stretching my body while Arthur and Ryan conversed among one another.
Cracking my neck, I began to lose track of time as I began to reminisce about my time in junior high, putting a bad taste in my mouth as I sighed and regained my focus.
"Alright, I'm ready Ryan, but Arthur, can you leave the door unlocked if you're going to sleep? Ryan never gave me a key to my own room." I asked as I tossed my phone onto my bed.
"I doubt I'll be going to sleep anytime soon so you're fine, but good luck on your assessment." Arthur replied as he pulled out an apple from his pocket and began eating it.
Why is there an apple…
Maybe it's better to not even ask.
"Thanks…" I said, perplexed by his peculiar actions as I headed out the door with Ryan and closed it from behind.
"What do you think about your new roommate?" Ryan asked as we exited the dormitory.
"He's interesting to say the least." I replied as Ryan chuckled.
~
As we arrived at the evaluation facility, memories of sparring against Ryan began to flood my mind as a smile crept onto my face.
I haven't done a rank assessment in a few years, so I'm curious to know where I currently stand.
"How many years has it been since we sparred, Rai?" Ryan asked with a grin while I cracked my knuckles.
"At least three." I replied as we entered the building, encouraging my heart to race with excitement as I felt a draft of wind brush across my face.
"Are you ready?" Ryan asked.
"Of course." I said.
POV: Arthur Kojiro
Nearly an hour passed since the Headmaster took away Rai for a rank assessment and during that time, I laid on my bed and indulged in several apples, which was my favorite snack to eat as I doomscrolled on the internet until I noticed Rai entering inside the room, surprising me as his clothes were in tatters with minor scratches across his body as fell backwards onto his bed and sighed.
"How did your assessment go?" I asked curiously.
"It went well, but unfortunately, I was placed two hundredth in the academy." Rai replied with a sheepish laugh as his rank left me skeptical.
"You said you were placed at two hundredth in the academy?" I questioned once more, wondering if he was trying to joke with me.
"Yeah. My Aspect is a normal-type that only enhances my reflexes and I'm pretty weak physically, so all I'm good for is solely dodging." Rai replied as with his casual tone, he seemed to be telling the truth, but glancing through the tatters of his black short-sleeved shirt, his torso was marred with a variety of scars and toned with muscles that even an adult would struggle to achieve.
Pretty weak my ass.
Anyone who doesn't have their brain in their ass can tell that he's trained his body to its utmost limit for his age.
I'm sure he's hiding something, but I'll play along for now.
"I'm sure you already know, but this academy doesn't tolerate the weak. High-rankers and even mid-rankers will try to assert their dominance over you at any given moment, so if you're truly weak, then I suggest you avoid anyone who is ranked higher than you and keep your head down." I suggested, yawning shortly afterwards as I turned off my lamp and began doomscrolling away once more.
"I'll take your words into consideration." Rai replied as with another yawn, my eyes soon fell shut.
POV: Rai Shinsei
"None of this would have happened if you never existed." An all too familiar voice shrieked with a sinister undertone that reverberated through the air as I turned around in trepidation to find a girl, who emerged from the vast darkness with her face drenched in blood as her eyes were void of any life.
My body jolted forward as I awoke in a cold sweat, clutching my chest with my hand as I scanned the room in a panic while I struggled to separate my nightmare from reality.
As I slowly regained my composure, I took a deep breath and placed my head into the palm of my hand.
It's the same nightmare again.
"Everything alright?" Arthur asked with concern as he stared at me with an apple in his hand.
"Yeah, just a weird dream." I replied, squinting my eyes from the sunlight beaming through the blinds of our window.
It's already morning?
"Hey, when does class start?" I asked with a yawn while scratching through my bedhair.
"In about an hour, but the Headmaster wants you to stop by his office first." Arthur replied amidst buttoning his white dress shirt.
I nodded as I stood from my bed and headed towards the bathroom to start my morning routine.
After taking a refreshing shower, I examined the school uniform Ryan gave me as I noticed it was custom-made to suit my preferences.
I didn't bother to wear the gray blazer as I decided to only wear a crisp white dress shirt with my collar loosened, a black tie with my sleeves rolled just below my elbow to show the white bandages wrapped around my forearm in honor of my late father.
As for my bottomwear, I wore tailored black dress pants with a black belt and black dress shoes to compliment it.
Stepping outside the bathroom, I noticed Arthur had his katanas attached to his belt.
"Weapons are allowed inside the academy?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah, but any student who uses their weapon with the intent to harm another student, they will face consequences and depending on the severity, they could potentially be expelled and sent to the Hero Association's Correction Center." Arthur replied as he grabbed his school bag and headed towards the door.
"That reminds me, you're also a swordsman right? I couldn't help but notice the callus on your palms yesterday." Arthur asked as I glanced at my palms.
He's more perceptive than I thought.
"I used to practice with a sword in the past, but it was for mostly training purposes only." I replied while adjusting my tie.
"I see. Well, I'll see you later." Arthur said as he left the dorm while I stepped into the bathroom and looked into the mirror one last time before I headed out.
My first day of school.
I wonder how it's going to go.