POV: Aria Akari
After Rai conveyed his message, we all stood in silence, watching him approach his dormitory in the distance as Ms. Jennifer cleared her throat, grabbing our attention.
"Before the three of you go, the Headmaster wanted me to tell you three that he expects you all to report back to him before the night ends. I know your mission didn't go as expected, resulting in you all suffering from the Hero Association's lack of preparation, although I must congratulate you all as you completed an A-Rank mission, despite this being your very first of the year. This is an extraordinary feat for mere students to achieve." Ms. Jennifer said as I felt a sense of joy swell within my heart from accomplishing such a feat, which would advance me a step closer to achieving my dream as I was unable to stop smiling.
She's right.
Despite everything, we all completed an A-Rank mission, but as happy as I am, I can't really take much credit as I know that in order for me to achieve my dream, I need to focus on becoming stronger as I shouldn't have to rely on Rai and Arthur to save me.
"Also, I'm sure you all are aware, but there is no class tomorrow for all first-years, so please rest well and enjoy your three day weekend. If you have any questions, feel free to see me in the infirmary or the Headmaster's office." Ms. Jennifer added as she said her goodbyes, dismissing the driver as she headed towards the entrance of the academy, leaving the three of us alone as I glanced at Sarah, who seemed dispirited as her head was lowered, her loose bangs covering her face as her dejected demeanor naturally prompted me to try and comfort her.
"Sarah, are you alright…" I asked softly as I approached her, but upon her raising her head, I was perplexed, unable to respond to such a sight as she faced me with an expression that I would have never imagined her wearing.
"What?!" Sarah responded sharply, flustered with a scowl as her face was relatively red with tears welling within her eyes.
Huh?
"I know Rai can come off cold sometimes, but I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt your-"
"Shut up, Everett! Do you even know what you're saying right now?!" Sarah sputtered as Everett immediately went silent, his body tensing with apprehension as Sarah placed her hands over her face, peeking through her fingers with her eyes as she slowly began regaining her composure while I continued to observe her unusual behavior.
That's weird.
I've known Sarah since junior high and yet, I've never seen her this flustered before, let alone cry.
I know Rai's words were quite harsh, but Sarah isn't the one to cry over something like that.
"I'll be going to our dorm, Aria. If you need something, just text me." Sarah said rather quickly as she paced towards our dormitory, every step laced with urgency as her departure left me alone with a baffled Everett, who tried to ask me a question, but my mind was elsewhere as I watched Sarah approach our dormitory in the distance.
There's no way…
Right?
POV: Atticus Fuchai
"So what you're telling me is that you want my help even though you couldn't even handle a nobody?" I questioned irritably as I struck my punching bag with a powerful straight rear-hand strike, causing an echo to reverberate throughout the entire gym as I turned to face the two of them, who were both sitting on nearby weight benches with Jordan sitting in a formal matter as Jacob chose to it in a more relaxed manner, kicking his legs out with his hands inside his pockets.
"Atticus, there's no need to even bother with this matter. I still don't understand how Jordan and his friends even lost to him. When I fought him, he was all talk and no bark." Jacob said, doomscrolling on his phone as Jordan clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Coming from the guy who he didn't even bother to fight. I don't want to hear anything from you" Jordan sneered, provoking Jacob as he stood from his bench and approached Jordan with eyes bearing animosity.
"That's funny, because the last thing I remember is you losing to a guy that didn't even need to use his Aspect against you." Jacob said, snapping back with a conceited smirk as he grabbed the collar of Jordan's shirt, prompting him to stand up from his bench as he matched Jacob's actions.
"He may have defeated me, but at least I wasn't being mocked while pummeling him into the ground. I mean come on, how weak can you possibly be for the guy to laugh at you?" Jordan countered with a conceited smirk of his own as the two of them glared intensely at each other.
These two morons have zero manners and the worst of it all is that one of them is supposed to be a noble.
"Enough. Jordan, what did Jacob mean when he said the boy didn't use his Aspect against you?" I asked with an irritable sigh as April and Seth broke the two of them apart.
"When we fought him, he never used his Aspect once and even though we were all physically enhanced from our Aspects, not only was he able to overpower us physically, but he defeated us without even being touched." Seth answered amidst pulling Jordan away as him and Jacob traded petty glances back at each other while April sighed from their childishness.
Jordan may be weak compared to me, but he's fairly strong overall.
If a nobody was able to defeat Jordan without the use of their own Aspect, then that would mean that he's at a level where his power could potentially rival my own.
Now I'm curious.
"Jacob, what did the boy do whenever you fought him?" I asked as I began unwrapping the tattered bandages from my fists.
"He didn't do anything besides laugh and mock me while I pummeled him against a wall." Jacob answered as he plopped back onto his bench.
Well that doesn't make any sense.
Jordan and Jacob are only one rank apart and in terms of power, they're basically equal.
This boy is able to defeat Jordan and two other mid-rankers with relative ease and yet, you're telling me that he allowed Jacob to defeat him?
There must be a reason why.
"Jordan, why did the boy fight you in the first place?" I asked, wondering if Jordan provoked him or if it was an entirely different matter as I wiped the excess sweat off of my torso with a towel.
"Me and my friends were teasing Everett, the weakling we usually pick on to pass time, but then out of nowhere, that boy suddenly appeared and as you already know, he defeated the three of us." Jordan answered as I began buttoning up my white dress shirt.
I see.
The mistreatment of the innocent provokes the boy's emotions as otherwise, he would sacrifice his own pride in order to keep a low profile.
Even after breaking it down, his actions still don't make any sense as who in the hell would want to be beaten by someone weaker than them?
Despite his strange actions, I'm not aware of his rank, but I'm assuming it would be quite low as he's most definitely a false ranker for reasons that are unknown as of now, but there's no need to think about this any longer…
If my assumptions are right about the boy, then this whole situation will be much easier to deal with than I initially thought.
"What class is the boy in?" I asked with a malicious grin as I was somewhat excited to put the boy in his place.
"Class 1-A." Jacob answered with an uneasy expression as April obnoxiously popped a bubble of gum.
"Alright, starting at the beginning of next week, you're going to keep the boy in check and as for you, Jordan, I want you to gather as much information as you can about him and once that's done, I'll handle the rest." I ordered amidst heading towards the exit of the facility while April and Seth followed behind, leaving Jordan and Jacob alone inside as the moment we stepped outside, I bursted out into laughter, startling April and Seth as I covered my delightment with my hand and gazed into the starry night sky.
With many students joining Zayn's faction, I've been quite bored as there hasn't been anyone worthy of putting down, but now there's a new student who dares to defy the hierarchy?
Jacob is under the delusion that the boy is weak, but in the near future, I'm sure he'll find out that he is gravely mistaken.
Even if Jordan and Jacob combined forces, they wouldn't stand a chance against him, although that can't be said for me as there's not many who can rival my strength.
It's truly unfortunate.
If you had defeated anyone else, maybe you could have avoided my gaze, but it seems fate itself is begging me to end your defiance.
A nobody such as yourself…
Should know their place.