Waking up the next morning was an odd experience for Ferain. She was used to sunlight waking her up, thanks to her bedroom back home, but that was not the sole reason for the oddity. A part of her could still not fathom that all of this was real, that she was actually here and about to start her classes. To some extent, she felt afraid, but she also felt excited… and nervous, and a little queasy, and maybe a bit impatient. The reality of the situation was that she felt a lot of things that she was not used to feeling, and some things that were familiar but slightly strange at the same time. Fear, for example, was a constant companion for her, but this time it was not the same version of fear, but a different one altogether. She climbed from bed, got dressed in the uniform she imagined herself wearing the day before, and even added a few optional parts to it as well.
To cover her legs, she slid into some black tights, and looped a black bow under her collar, which was the girl’s version of the tie that the boys had the option of wearing. Finally, she pulled on the militaristic coat and smiled at her reflection. It was odd to see herself this way, and for some reason, it made her feel older than she was previously. She obviously wasn’t any different, but it at least felt that way. She assumed it was the less sloppy assortment of attire that made her seem this way, but still, it helped ease her into this new reality. To some extent, it even made her feel a bit more confident in herself. With a light slap on her cheeks, she glowered seriously at the reflected image looking back at her and nodded.
“I got this.” she declared.
Before leaving the room, she tucked the blue teardrop necklace under her shirt and felt warmed by its presence. It was the last gift she got from her mother, the one she was given on her fifth birthday. Before Fera received it, her mom had gotten it as a gift on her fifth birthday from her mother. She didn’t know if her grandmother received it as a gift too or if she was the one that originally purchased it, but it didn’t matter. What was important was that it was a cherished memento that her mom had carried with her for most of her life. Fera was honored to have it, and she hardly ever took it off, unless it was to sleep or bathe. When Ferain left her room, she smelt something off-putting, like something had caught fire. She then heard Anita’s panic-stricken cries as a howl of wind was blowing throughout the apartment. Fera quickly discovered that Anita was the source of all of it.
Her silver-haired companion had the windows open in the living room and she was holding out both of her hands in order to blow a stream of black smoke out of them. She had a worried expression and almost looked like she was going to break out in tears when she saw Ferain standing behind her.
“I was trying to surprise you with breakfast.” she said.
“What did you try to make?” Fera questioned.
To this, Anita looked ashamed and like she was nearing a total breakdown. “Toast.” she quietly muttered, and her voice was sullen from an apparently dreadful defeat.
Ferain peeked into the kitchen and saw that the toaster they had was singed black and she was thankful that Anita didn’t burn the entire dorm down as she slept. Still, it was hard to imagine that somebody could not use a toaster to make something so simple, and she brought it up as they were walking to school.
“I’ve never used one before. I always had people that made most of my meals. I tried cooking before, obviously, but it never turned out well.”
“You handled the microwave fine yesterday.” Fera pointed out.
“Yeah, but they had clear instructions. There’s not a loaf of bread that tells you what setting to use on the toaster.”
Fera couldn't even bring herself to laugh, mainly because she knew that Anita was being serious. For somebody that seemed so competent and capable, it was bizarre to see how helpless she actually was in some things. She then had to stop herself from judging her partner too harshly. There were people that could not do a lot of simple things, like reading analog clocks or using can openers, which Fera briefly found herself wondering if Anita was one such person. In the end, all she could do was shake her head and offer to help her partner learn these simple things, like how Anita was going to start teaching her how to fight and control her powers. Was it a fair trade? Fera didn’t really think so, but Anita surprisingly thought it was an excellent idea and went for it. Apparently, Anita had not been lying about what she said the other day. She was indeed an easy person to please.
Despite almost burning the dormitory down around them, Fera was thankful for Anita being there. This morning wouldn’t have been a possible hurdle to clear if she did not have a distraction. Clearly, they would not be the only people walking to school at this hour, and Fera doubted that she could handle the amassed herd of other students that were also making their way to the academy. Even with her friend there, it was a hard task to complete. She felt woozy at times, and queasy at others. Anita steadied her with a light touch on her shoulder and a gentle smile, and all seemed to go somewhat smoothly afterwards. That was until they had to separate once they arrived at the school. The entrance hall to the academy’s main building was a large open space that had rows upon rows of lockers. It was the place where every student would swap out their exterior footwear for a pair of loafers that were only to be worn indoors.
Fera’s and Anita’s were right next to each other, seeing as they were partners, but that was where their journey together came to an end. They had different classes, most likely due to their difference in level. They did have some classes together later, like physical education, but for most of the day, they would be separated. Anita gave a reassuring show of confidence before hurrying towards the stairs dead ahead of the locker area. Her class was on a higher floor, while Fera’s was on the first. She didn’t like this, not one bit, but it ought to have been expected. Again, she felt the pang of loneliness in her chest and a new tsunami of nervousness and anxiety threatened to drown her under its weight. Luckily, she managed to find the class well enough, but it was an uncomfortable trip. She felt eyes on her as she walked the halls, and they were accompanied by murmured words.
“She’s the one that killed her family.” came some peoples’ voices.
“Only level-4, and she’s a scholarship student?” came another set.
“She’s mocking us. She’s not even bothering to try.” whispered others.
It was another odd sensation. She thought that with her test results being what they were, with her level being what it was, she would be less of a target, but it only seemed to make it worse. They got the wrong impression, and Anita was right once again. She feared that she might have sealed her fate in stone before even having a chance to change it. The thought saddened her deeply, and she pulled up her hood in order to keep her face hidden. She felt safer with it on, like if she was wearing it, nobody could see her. They didn’t exist, they didn’t matter, and she was alone again. The only thing that remained with her was the buzzing, the constant, incessant, aggravating buzzing that came with her pent up abilities.
When she did find her classroom, things did not improve. She stepped inside and closed the sliding door behind her. All eyes were on her instantly. All conversations stopped, and she had the sneaking impression that she was the topic of most of it. It was an unnerving realization, that she was once again the shining star of gossip, as it had been ten years earlier. Quietly, she found a seat in the back right corner of the room, right in a corner, and away from as many of the penetrating glares as possible. She set her shoulder bag down beside the desk before sitting in the seat behind it. After crossing her arms atop the wooden surface, she rested her chin atop them and looked towards the wall to her right. It was not an easy thing to do, ignoring those around her, but she felt like she had no choice. After a few long minutes of staring at the dark blue wall in silence, she heard her peers go back to their topics of conversation, which all seemed to be about things other than her now.
The only thing that made her look forward again was the sound of heels clacking against the tiled floor. She didn’t even notice the door open, but it had, and in came a slim woman through it. She was wearing some black slacks, some glossy black shoes, and a white button-up that had the two top-most buttons undone. She did not have a large chest, but it was enough to cause the boys around the class to stare at the portion of revealed flesh near her collar. The shirt was also untucked, and the sleeves were rolled up to her forearms. Her hair was wild, long, and as dark as pitch. Her eyes were sharp, intimidating, and a dazzling shade of cerulean. She seemed stern and had an expression that made her seem like the type of person that would make a terrible enemy. At once, everyone in the class fell into silence once more, and the woman cast a menacing leer at each and every occupant in the classroom.
“My name is Sara Yakuma.” she said, once she was sure she had the undivided attention of everyone present. “I am your homeroom teacher, as well as your ability instructor. For those of you that might be ignorant of what this class entails, I will explain it. For the duration of the year, I will be assisting you in honing the control you have over your abilities. We also call these classes, lvl-studies. Each level has their own variation of this course, but you lot, the ones near the bottom, have it the roughest. You aren’t quite hopeless, like the lvl-5s, so there’s still expectations to be met. However, you aren’t nearly as good as the ones above you, so those expectations aren’t high. In other words, you’re a useless nobody that everyone has little to no faith in. As for what you will be experiencing after my class today, and for the rest of the year, I will now go over that. After my class, you will have lunch, and then you will have physical education. Afterwards, you will have academic lessons before being sent home. That will be the norm from tomorrow onwards. This evening, to help give you plenty of time to learn the school and your teachers, you will be going to whatever academic lessons you would normally have after lunch. When the break is over, you will go to your final academic lessons before being dismissed. Is that all understood?” she asked the class.
“Yes, Ms. Yakamura.” came only a few voices. Some of the other kids simply snickered, and some others, Fera included, just remained silent.
“Good enough.” Professor Yakuma said, wearily. “With that out of the way, we will start introductions. You, girl, you kick it off.” she said, pointing to the girl at the front of Fera’s row of desks.
“Katlyn Hamer. Pleasure to be here.” said the gold haired girl.
After her, a boy said his name, and then another, and another after them. It continued down the line and it very quickly became Ferain’s turn to speak. This was something she had not done since she was five, at her original school. To say she was scared was an understatement, and it didn’t help that some of the other students were now murmuring even louder.
“She’s the lvl-4 prodigy, eh?”
“She’s a killer.”
“A useless one, then. What a waste of space.”
Ferain bit her tongue and tried to bury herself deeper into her folded arms, but Sara Yakuma was having none of that.
“Hirigaya.” she said, sharply. “Raise your head and speak with your voice. Introduce yourself or I’ll be having a word with the headmaster about your disobedience.” the teacher warned.
That was the last thing Ferain wanted, especially if her suspicions about him were true. She had things she wanted to talk to him about, and it would not be a good start to already have a teacher complaining about her on the first day of lessons. Fera built up as much courage as she could, stood up so everyone in the class could see her, and closed her eyes tight to avoid looking at anybody’s face. If she did, she might remember that they’re real, and that they were all focused solely on her.
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“I’m Ferain Hirigaya. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” she said, but her voice was nearly a whisper. Unfortunately for her, that was as much as her accumulated bravery could get her
“What was that?” came a boy’s voice, one that she somehow recognized. “Speak a little louder, will ya?”
“Yeah, I didn’t catch it. Is that as loud as you can speak?” came another boy.
“Give the prodigy a break, guys. She probably just thinks we're not worth her time or breath.” came a girl’s frustrated tones.
Fera had no more strength left, and her legs were already shaking beneath her. She fell back into her chair and fell silent, hoping that the teacher would just move on, and thankfully, she did. Ferain felt the piercing gaze of the teacher remain on her for a little too long for comfort, but soon, she seemed to gesture for the next row to start and the names continued coming. When it got to the boy who had mocked her earlier, she remembered where she heard the voice from.
“Copper. Copper Callus.” the boy said, sounding gleeful, and in Fera’s opinion, haughty.
The next name that came was also familiar as it said “Marrow Label.” He was Copper’s partner, and they were the people she overheard in the cafeteria of the ship on her first day aboard it.
“Great.” she thought.
She imagined that the only way it could get worse was if Raven was there as well, which she gratefully wasn’t. The last thing she needed now was her most disliked student to show up and add more fuel to the fire, which Raven would have gladly done. Once the rest of the names had been introduced, Yakuma stepped up to the front of the classroom and held up a stack of papers.
“These will be short worksheets about yourselves. I want them filled out and handed back to me before the end of the class. Essentially, this will tell me about your abilities, how much training you already have, and with this we can come up with ways to help you improve. It would appear that you all need all the help you can get, so let’s get this over with quickly. I want to be starting your actual lessons tomorrow morning so we need to have this all sorted out. Hamer, take one and pass them down.” said Yakuma, handing a small portion of the pile to the girl in front.
When Ferain got hers, she read through the questions and confirmed that the professor was telling the truth. They were all inquiring about her abilities and her background, both of which were not happy subjects for Ferain. She still diligently filled it out the best she could and when the dismissal bell rang, she relinquished it over to Professor Yakuma. The woman gave it a quick glance and seemed disappointed in a way, but she didn’t stop Ferain from leaving. Academics were next, or to be more specific, math, which was Fera’s least favorite subject. It was also the one she had the worst time with, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as her experience with lvl-studies had been. The teacher was an older man and seemed kinder than the harsh young woman that was Sara Yakuma. History was after that, and then it was time to meet up with Anita in the cafeteria. On her way, as she was passing a flight of stairs, something tumbled into her, almost knocking her off of her feet.
Something powerful caught her wrist to help keep her up, but she quickly fought off the physical contact when she regained her balance. The last thing she needed today was to fry a student into a coma by accident. To her amazement though, her buzzing was quiet and there were no signs of her powers acting up. So far, this only happened with two people she came into contact with recently. One was Anita and the other was…
“Mana?” Fera gasped, finally realizing who had charged into her.
The dark haired girl gave a wry grin as she tilted her head slightly to the right.
“Sorry, Hirigaya. Mana didn’t see you there.” said the odd girl.
“I-it’s fine. You’re okay, right? I didn’t hurt you?” asked Fera.
“You can’t hurt me. I’m super strong, you know? Mana is very resilient. Even daddy’s powers don’t work on Mana, and he’s really really powerful.”
“Really?” Ferain asked, curiously. “Is it because of your powers?”
Mana seemed to think this one over for a moment, perhaps trying to decide if she should reveal what exactly her abilities were. In the end, she nodded her head.
“Yeah, sort of. I won’t go into details, but Mana has really useful powers. Ah.” she suddenly gasped. “Sorry, Hirigaya, I forgot that I had to be somewhere soon. That was why I bumped into you. Silly me, always a bit of a clutz. Bye bye.” she said, hurriedly, before rushing down the hall and gliding easily around and through the crowds of other students.
Again, Mana called her by her last name. This would not have been such a concern if this was the only time, seeing as most of the people in the school seemed to know her name by now, but this was not the case. Mana used that name the first time they met, and she was sure that was indeed their first meeting. Yet, Mana used her name so casually, as if they had known each other personally for years.
“Something is definitely up with her.” Fera said, watching a student scramble to gather up the papers that Mana had knocked from his arms after running into him.
Fera tried to ignore the wondering and instead decided to focus on making it to the cafeteria in time to meet with Anita. It was in another building on the premises, and it was a large one. Two stories tall with a partial second floor above the lower one. The second floor was more like the outline of a level while all of the inside of it gave a wonderful view of the floor below it. The cafeteria even had some greenery inside, like a few patches of grass and trees that rose to the skylights along the white ceiling. Between the small amounts of nature and natural lighting doing all of the work to illuminate the space, the cafeteria had a very soothing atmosphere to it. It would be the perfect place to spend time in, if it wasn’t full of a couple hundred first and second-year students, all trying to talk over one another about their first classes or their plans after the day was over.
Somehow, Fera managed to find Anita sitting at a table along a wall of windows, the sunlight shining wonderfully in her hair and eyes. She was resting her cheek in her palm as she stared out the window solemnly. Fera had to admit that the scene was almost too beautiful to be real, from the pose to the way the lighting was around her, it was perfect and seemed full of melancholy, a feeling that Fera knew all too well. She set her tray down on the white rectangular table and took a seat on the bench on the opposite side of Anita. Her arrival seemed to start her partner, and Anita showed this by jumping and putting a hand to her heart.
“You can’t sneak up on me like that, Fera.” she said, and her gloomy expression was again replaced by the smile that had been a constant on her face since they first met.
“Sorry.” Fera said. After a brief pause, she forced herself to speak again. “U-ummm, h… How was your day?” she asked, nervously.
“So far, you mean?” asked Anita, grinning at the timid way Fera spoke. “Eh, about what I expected. It’s a lot better now that you’re here though. Why do you ask?”
“You looked a little down.” Fera shyly replied, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up her face. She didn’t know why she was so embarrassed to make casual conversation with Anita, but she did have some suspicions. The primary one, it had been too long since she had a friend. She didn’t know how to talk to friends anymore. She wasn’t sure what would be invasive, what would be annoying to ask, how often she should talk, or what she should talk about. Anita seemed to take it in stride though, and in fact, did look a lot better than she did before.
“It was some stuff in my class, but you don’t need to sweat the details. Really, I’m feeling better now. I have my cute partner back, so how could I not?” she said, with a wide grin and a tilt of her head that caused her hair to shift and cover one of her eyes. “How about your morning, everything alright?” Anita questioned.
Fera contemplated lying, but she wanted to trust this girl. Besides, she already told her the truth about her past so what was some bullying or murmured words when compared to that?
“Not that great.” she admitted.
“It’s about the exams, right?” Anita asked, as if she already knew the answer. She sighed. “I had a feeling this would happen. The second that girl found out about your status here, it was only a matter of time before it got around. Was it bad?”
“No, could’ve been worse.” Fera answered, trying to sound light about it. “Was that what your stuff was about too? I bet you’re getting made fun of for having me as a partner.”
“Not so much as being made fun of. More like, they were asking questions. It’s like I told you, Fera, they’re just curious about whether you’re being serious or not. Don’t worry though, I believe you. Who cares what they all say.”
“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one they’re spreading rumors about.” Fera muttered.
“Fair enough. Look. If you really want to change their opinions of you, you’ll just have to show them that you’re working hard. Tonight, we’ll have our first sparring lesson. I’ll start teaching you how to fight, and I’ll do my best to teach you how to control your powers. A girl in my class said that a team event is coming up soon, so that will be the perfect time to show off what you can do. Even if we lose, it’ll at least make them see that you’re trying.”
“That could also backfire, couldn’t it?” asked Ferain. “I mean, if they start seeing me get better, that might just cement the idea that I was lying.”
“Then let them think that. We know the truth, and that’s all that should matter. Either way, we’ll practice hard and kick some butt in that event, right?”
Fera grinned and then nodded her head. “Yeah. Yeah, we will.”
“Excellent.”
Later that night, Anita found a small gym near their dormitory that had a wide open court that was probably used for volleyball or something. No net was hung up at the moment, but Ferain could see the caps for the holes in the floor that they would stick the posts in. They strangely enough had it all to themselves, which Ferain was happy about. She was wearing a pair of black shorts, a white tank top, and had her messy hair in a ponytail that started near her neck. She always tied them low, it was her preferred style whenever she had the hair to tie. Anita, however, was wearing similar clothing, but her ponytail was high on her head, and the excess around her face was pinned back with a golden hairpin. Fera’s bangs still hung around her face in the same messy fashion they always did, but it never bothered her.
“Okay, lesson one is form. We need to start getting your balance and footing right, otherwise you’ll just be pushed over. These are some of the most important basics. We’ll start developing your style from there.” Anita explained, and she started positioning Fera into a bunch of different stances and positions.
This was all, of course, after a few minutes of stretching, which was already enough to wear her out. Ferain wasn’t exactly unfit, she did work out a bit at home when she had the time, but she was still not used to this sort of thing. Anita continued explaining, demonstrating, and assisting for the next few hours, far past the time when the sun sank and the moon replaced it. When they finally finished, Fera was lying on the floor, her eyes closed, her sweaty hair clinging to her sweaty skin, and her chest rising rapidly with each panting breath. Everywhere hurt and she suspected that she would be feeling this way for more than a couple of days. Anita was soon standing over her with a wide smile on her glossy face. She was sweating a decent amount too, but for some reason, the shine to her skin made her all the more beautiful. Fera instantly felt weird for thinking that about her friend, and about the fact that it was because she was dirty and drenched in sweat.
“You did well tonight, Ferain.” Anita stated, holding out her hand. “You’re still a bit clumsy and a bit too stationary, but it’s your first night so don’t fret too much about it. You did better than I expected.”
Fera reached up to accept her hand but hesitated. Instead, she lowered it again and pushed herself off of the ground. Anita didn’t look hurt by this, but she did seem curious. It was to be expected. To this point, Fera avoided touching everybody, but for some reason, she was more casual with Anita. It was dangerous and she knew it. If she slipped up once, she could hurt her again, just like she did on the ship. Her partner was kind enough to not bring up the refused offer, and instead, gave a short couple of claps with her hands.
“Tomorrow, we’ll focus on your powers. It will give your body a bit of a rest and we can still be doing something important.”
“What’s your plan for helping me with those?” asked Fera.
“Well, I don’t really have one yet, but we’ll figure it out. I think that we should really just start getting you used to using them. You know, to be less afraid of what you can really do. That might be the best first step. We’ll get to it tomorrow. For now, let’s shower and get home. I need some dinner, and then I need to sleep.”
“Agreed.” Fera said, grinning.