The next day, Fera awoke from what little sleep she managed to get to the sounds of Anita dragging something down the hallway. Curiously, she opened the door and saw her partner with a familiar trunk on the floor in front of her. It was made of wood, most likely, but wrapped in black leather. Gold trimmings were all over it, from the corners to the latches that locked it shut, and in the center of the lid was stamped the school’s crest of a golden phoenix.
“What are you doing?” Fera asked groggily.
“Our new uniforms just arrived so I was bringing mine to my room.” Anita answered cheerfully, while tugging on the leather handle on the side of the chest.
“Two things,” Fera started. “One, they have wheels. Two, can’t you just lift it with your power?”
Anita looked at the side she was lifting from and noticed two black wheels on the bottom. On the other side of the chest was another leather handle. “Hmm, so it does.” she said amusedly. Then, growing slightly abashed and defensive, she dropped it on the ground and puffed her cheeks. “Why have a handle on this side, then?” she questioned. “If it’s meant to be moved from the other, then… then…” Anita stopped as she noticed Fera’s exhausted, but grinning expression. “What?”
“It’s probably so people can carry them.” Fera pointed out. “But that’s not… It doesn’t matter. So, is mine out there too?”
“I did say ‘our’ didn’t I?” Anita asked, giving a twirl of her finger to encircle the chest with a current of wind.
It lifted from the ground and she easily guided it towards the door at the end of the hall, following it to make sure it got to its destination uninterrupted. In the interim, Ferain headed for the living room, where she saw her own black chest sitting on the floor. She was so tired and distracted the previous day, she didn’t even realize it had been missing from the foot of her bed, which is where it always was during the previous year.
“Why did I get new uniforms?” she asked herself, curious as to the reason. Of course she grew a bit, and she had filled out a form on the school’s website the previous months about her new measurements and requests, but she even put a note in saying that she didn’t need new clothes. Her difference in size wasn’t enough to warrant a new wardrobe, and she liked her coat and style the way it was already.
“Didn’t you see the memo?” asked Anita, before bumping her head with a fist as she realized something. “That’s right, you didn’t come here with me yesterday. It was posted on the door. Everyone is getting some new uniforms this year, something about adding things to tell one year apart from the other. I forgot that you didn’t see it.”
Fera opened the chest and pulled out a coat, one that wasn’t dissimilar from her old one from the previous year. It was the same shade of blue, was just as thick and durable, and it had buckles and buttons in all the same places. The only differences she saw were a badge with the school’s crest sewn into the left sleeve, right at the shoulder, and on the right arm a little lower down she saw two black rings sewn into the fabric that wrapped around the sleeves. These too appeared to be a durable cloth-like material, similar to the coat itself. As she examined the rest of the clothes, she found more subtle changes.
The black pleated skirt looked mostly the same, but this one had a school crest on it too, near the hem at the waist, just below her stomach. As for the shirt, the sleeves were decorated in the same way the jacket was. The left shoulder had a school crest sewn in while the right had two blue rings, which she assumed filled the purpose of distinguishing the students’ years.
“Small changes.” Fera murmured.
“Yeah, not as bombastic as I thought they would be.” Anita agreed. “At least they didn’t change the colors. I don’t know about you but if they started making us wear black all over, I’d leave.”
“No you wouldn’t.” said Fera. “You’d just ignore the rules and do what you wanted.”
“I feel like your image of me is that of a troublemaker, Fera.” Anita said, putting a hand on her hip. “I don’t break that many rules, not as many as you anyway. Need I remind you of the registry incident last year?”
“No, you don’t.” sighed Fera, folding the clothes she pulled out so she can return them neatly to their original home. After buckling the chest, she lifted it by the proper side and made sure to smirk in Anita’s direction while she wheeled it into the hallway.
“Keep it up, Hirigaya.” Anita warned.
“Or what?”
“Or I might tie you up again. I know how much you liked it last time.” her partner teased, giving her a playful wink.
Fera stuck out her tongue while turning the corner into the hall. After setting the chest down, she decided it would be best to try to take the day a bit slower. It was their last day without classes for a while, and after another restless night, she didn’t want to snap at Anita again out of frustration or exhaustion. Better to take things easy for the time being and pray that this helped with her rising lack of control over her emotions. Anita apparently took note of this since when Fera returned, she gave her a joyous grin while setting a small breakfast of rice and eggs on the table.
“You seem to be in a better mood.” she pointed out.
“A bit.” said Fera, and to be honest, she didn’t actually know if this was a lie or not. She felt a bit better, true, but there was still that hunger and anger that was constantly gnawing on her insides. Even so, for the moment at least, her mood was significantly better than it had been the previous night. “So, what are we doing today?” Fera asked, stabbing a silver fork into one of the fluffy eggs Anita prepared.
“What makes you think I have a plan?” her partner questioned, diving into her own meal. “Maybe I just wanted to take it easy today, ever think of that?”
“I suppose I didn’t.” said Fera.
She then stared down at her food, thinking about how she would like to spend the day with her friends. She still had Maple and Victor, and obviously Anita was always there, but she missed those that weren’t. Yarin, Lili, even Kiko to some extent, had his memory not been tainted by his actions. There was also Mana, the quirky girl she met on her first day aboard the ship, just like with Anita. Mana was odd, but she was a good person that she strangely grew attached to, even if they didn’t spend all that much time together. Fera was busy with constant training sessions and Mana was secretly helping her father on the murder case.
“Thinking about something again?” asked Anita.
“Mana. The others too. It’s going to be weird this year without them.”
“It will, but Lilipa will be back eventually, and we can always give Mana a call someday and find out what’s going on with her. The others… well… I guess they’re a bit more complicated, huh. I’m not saying this will replace them, but maybe we’ll meet a few new people this year to help fill the gap.”
“Always the optimist.” Fera said.
“Somebody has to be, Ferain, or else life would be way too gloomy.” Anita said, waving her fork around.
When they finished, Ferain decided on something for a change, and to both girls’ amazement, she picked a shopping trip to occupy their time. She wanted to buy some more tights, seeing as she literally burned through some of them the previous year, and she wanted another ribbon or two for when her hair grew out enough to wear them. During the trip, she found some tights that were black, just like her usual pairs, but they had a couple of electric blue rings on the upper right thigh which she thought fit the uniforms this year pretty well. Anita thought it was an odd style choice, but without having much sense for fashion, Fera decided to use her own personal judgment and bought a pack of them.
She also found several new outfits, as well as a couple of new hats. She didn’t wear them often, but she enjoyed them from time to time, and her only other one was getting up there in years. Anita found some items of interest as well, though most of it was underwear of the very girly, lacy, and frilly variety. When night came, she decided to sleep with Anita again. After a few nights without her partner’s company, and with her nightmares getting worse every day, she didn’t see any harm in accepting her partner’s offered comfort. It couldn't hurt, quite the opposite, actually. At this point, she only saw it as a positive.
Rattled by a few minor dreams, she still somehow got several hours of somewhat decent rest. She still woke up with some dark rings beneath her eyes, but all was well besides. After getting dressed in her new uniform and wrapping her arm in white bandages, she was ready for the first day of classes to begin. The schedule she received the previous day showed her that she now had a new teacher, which was all well and good. For Lvl-Studies, Mr. Haris was a bit lacking as a professor. Most of her academic lessons remained the same, it was really just her morning class that was changed. Though, as much as Haris was a terrible teacher, it made her nervous about how this new one would be to study under. Anita and herself made sure they had all of their necessities before heading out with the other students currently leaving the dorm.
As she predicted, not seeing Yarin or Lilipa waiting in the lobby for them was… painful. Her expression darkened as she bit her lip furiously, imagining Kiko standing there by his favorite pillar, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his false smile fooling all of them. Her breathing hastened as her powers buzzed within her violently. They only ceased when she felt a soft touch in her left hand. Looking over, she saw Anita’s warm eyes looking knowingly into her own.
“I know it sucks.” Anita said. “But… I don’t think Yarin would want you to be so upset.”
“That doesn’t help.” Fera murmured.
“I know, but it’s the only thing I can do.”
Fera took a breath and tried her best to calm her fraying nerves. After a muttered apology, she flashed a smile and grasped Anita’s hand. “Sorry. I’ll try harder.”
“Ferain, this isn’t about trying, it’s… It’s…” Anita shook her head and let go of Fera’s hand. “I’m sure you will. We should probably keep moving. It would suck to be late on the first day.”
Anita turned and started for the door, leaving Fera’s left hand empty and partially raised, as if reaching for her partner’s comfort. Her fingers twitched and her hand shifted a little further out, trying to grab Anita, but in the end, she let her go. Her heart felt like it was on fire, her body seemed to be full of rage and was trembling from pain and fury. Her brow furrowed, Fera glowered at the floor before following in Anita’s footsteps, giving one final, low glare in the direction of Kiko’s favorite spot in the lobby. For a second, she thought she even saw a ghost of him standing there, grinning at her as she walked away defeated. A small crack of blue lightning arced within her glowing eyes as she passed, leaving the lobby behind her.
There wasn’t much conversation between Fera and Anita during the walk through District-B's densely packed streets. There was even less once they crossed the checkpoint into the school’s district. The grounds were as they had been before, which made sense when she remembered that only a month had passed since last being here. The patches of green that separated the curving concrete pathways were as perfectly maintained as they always were. The usual outlying buildings were still in their usual places as well. In the center of the district resided the four-story tall school building of blue and black and gold colorations, and surrounding it was the arena, where duels and tournaments were held, and the cafeteria, which was connected to the main building by a roofed walkway. Some hedges were scattered around in a few places, and off in the distance was the field for events and classes that needed more space than classrooms or gyms could offer.
All of the walkways that branched off towards these separate structures connected in the middle, where there was a large stone crest carved into the ground that resembled the school’s phoenix of choice. Entering the main building while mixed within the crowd of new and returning students proved to be somewhat difficult for her, but Fera managed it well enough. The entryway had rows of lockers in the expansive amount of space, where people traded out their exterior shoes for some more interior-appropriate counterparts. Fera swapped her scuffed and time-worn boots for a pair of flawless black loafers that must’ve been new, and more than likely provided by the school. As Anita closed the locker next to her, already changed and apparently ready to move onto her first class, Fera found enough courage to grab her wrist.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Hey, I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to bring down the mood or anything, I…” She saw Anita’s saddened, helpless expression as they locked eyes, making her stop talking before she was able to finish.
“It’s okay.” Anita said. “Like I said, we’ll work on it. For now, though, I have to go. I don’t want to be late. Can you let go of my arm?”
Fera tightened her grip at first, but soon bobbed her head as she let go. “I’m sorry.”
Anita stepped closer and kissed her on the cheek. She looked like she was about to say something more, but that dark gleam was back in her eyes, showing her hesitance. After a final grin that even people that didn’t know Anita could tell was false, she turned and headed for the center set of stairs just past the entryway. Fera watched her rise up one flight before turning and climbing the other, leaving her sight until the first half of the day would come to an end. Fera gritted her teeth, clenched her jaws, and slammed her locker shut, leaving a small dent in the door where she had to pry her hand free.
Hoping the morning would get better but quickly being proven wrong, she found herself walking into her new classroom with a similar looking interior to her previous teacher's. The only real difference was that this one was on the second floor, whereas the other remained on the first. Also, the blinds along the large rectangular windows were lowered as she walked in, giving the entire space an ominous atmosphere that made her bones quake and her muscles shiver. Even worse, as she stepped past the sliding door, she found the watching eyes of her new professor. It was a man she’d never seen before, not once throughout the entire first year.
He had a thin, sallow sort of body, looking somehow ill in the face, if the sunken cheeks and the dark rings beneath his eyes were any signs to go off of. His eyes were a deep, petrifying red, and his hair was stark white, as if any traces of color had been sucked out, along with whatever traces of life he might’ve once had. If not for these sickly features, he might’ve been rather handsome, and at least to Ferain, he didn’t appear to be all that old. He might’ve been in his early thirties, though again, it was hard to tell. These, while unsettling, weren’t the things that set her nerves into high-alert. It was primarily the way he looked at her as she entered. His pale, sickly irises marked her the second she was found, and they didn’t leave her as she walked across the room to find a seat by the window, preferably in the back corner. It was the same place she sat in Haris’ classroom, but her hopes were quickly dashed as she heard her name called out in a dark, poisonous tone that caused her blood to boil.
“Hirigaya.” She took a steadying breath and looked over her shoulder, staring daggers at the teacher who was currently leaning against his desk, front and center of the class. “I know Haris is… loose… but that won’t be a similarity I share. Your seat is here, in front of me.” he hissed, lazily pointing a finger at a desk directly in front of his own. It was in the second column from the window, and at the very front of the room.
Her eyes narrowed as they took on an illuminated state, which seemed to catch his attention, as well as the attention of all present and currently arriving students. The excited conversations of her surrounding peers all went into hushed whispers, which then devolved into almost complete silence as they watched her and the seemingly fragile professor stare each other down.
“Is there a problem, Hirigaya? Are you hard of hearing?”
“No, sir.”
“Professor.” he corrected, with a wicked grin shifting his features into an oddly terrifying visage. “And if that’s the case, I recommend you take your seat, we will be starting soon.” Ferain felt her chest heaving as her heart pounded against her ribs. She felt crossed, resentful, infuriated, and all of it was becoming harder and harder to keep in check as she saw the sneer he possessed. For a moment, it reminded her of Kiko. The lazy posture he took, the prideful, smug expression. The tone in which he talked to her, as if she was less than himself. “I will say this one more time. Please take your seat.”
Her right hand clenched into an electrified fist, but her senses finally won against her otherwise senseless emotions. With quiet steps, she walked between the desks before ending up in her new assigned seat, never taking her eyes off of the man in front of her. The expression he wore made her head ache as her powers coursed within her veins. He looked satisfied, as if he’d won some sort of mysterious game, as if he had just made sure she knew who was in charge. He was the dominating figure here, and she was powerless. Soon after this tense meeting, the rest of the class had fallen into their seats, which to Ferain, seemed to be freely chosen. Once again, she felt singled out. It appeared to her that it didn’t matter where she went or how well she did, things would just always be different for her. When all were comfortable and the bell had finally chimed, the professor stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets, taking on a faint slouch to his posture that was all too familiar for her liking.
“Good morning, class.” he started, eyeing everyone in front of him. All eyes were on him, but none more fiercely than Fera’s. “My name is Seven Itani, and before you ask, yes, like the number. This must be a pleasant, or in some cases…” he said, looking at Ferain, “...unpleasant, surprise. In fact, this is my first time stepping foot in this school. Unlike all of you, I was not a student here. Another small fact about myself, this is also my first time teaching, so I hope you forgive some of my more… unfavorable… quirks. It will undoubtedly take some time to iron out my wrinkles as I settle into my new position, and I am hopeful you will all be accepting of this. Now, I know it’s typical for you all to make introductions as well, but seeing as you are all second-years, I don’t feel there’s a need. You should all know each other, and I have already read through your files rather… thoroughly.” he added, glancing at Ferain once more. “Besides that, I’m sure that simply working together will prove to be enough to get to know one another on closer levels as time goes on.”
He finally left the space in front of Ferain, heading for the opposite side of the room, closer to the door. “I also feel it unnecessary to explain what this class entails. You should all know by now, and in that knowing, I imagine you have at least some semblance of control over your abilities. If that’s the case, then you may ask me what the point of this class is. To that, I answer honestly. There isn’t much of one. That is, unless you’re willing to put in the work required to go past your limits and to surpass any boundaries you have personally set up within yourselves. My job this year is to push you until moving is no longer possible. It will be hard, and some wills might be broken, that much is entirely true. I won’t lie to any of you, I do not plan on holding back. I heard that combat lessons are a separate, more elective class in this school. I have news for all of you, some that most might find disappointing.” He turned and stopped his pacing with his back to the class, and then looked over his shoulder with narrow, venomous eyes. “That will change.” came a dry sort of hiss.
“How so?” asked a girl that sat a few desks back from Fera, in the column just to her right.
Professor Itani turned around fully now, giving his undivided attention to the tall, purple haired girl that had the gall to be curious enough to ask a question. “How so?” he repeated, stepping closer to the collection of desks. “How do you think?”
“I… I don’t know.” the girl responded, unsure of what he wanted her to say.
“Of course you don’t, because you have never been in a situation where you’re pushed. I will ask you another question, and this one, anyone is permitted to answer. If somebody is pushed to their limits, if you are backed against a wall and you have suffered a loss incomparable to anything you’ve experienced before, what do you do? When you see no signs of victory, when defeat is all but certain, how do you react?”
“I… I…” the girl stammered, unable to shake the nerves that were undoubtedly washing over the entire class like some sort of tidal wave.
He shook his head, appearing to be extremely disappointed. “Nobody here has an idea? Not a single person?” He eyed Ferain, who glowered back at him with the same contempt she held for people like her father and for Kiko. She couldn't tell what it was about this man, but even with his obvious similarities to Yarin’s murderer, she still shouldn’t have held this much hatred towards him. He was a stranger to her, and hadn’t done anything to harm or wrong her yet, so why did she feel this way so vividly, so violently? Her fingers curled into fists and a spark of light snapped around her. He smirked in her direction, and stepped closer to her.
“You, Hirigaya, do you have an answer for me? I feel that you, out of everyone here, should have some idea. Go on, tell me what you think.”
“You push back.” she growled.
“Is that what you did?” he whispered, making sure she was the only one who could hear her. Her narrowed, furious eyes widened as he stepped away from her. “Push back, hmm? In some ways perhaps, but that’s not the answer I was looking for. No, you accept that loss. When you have finally done that, you learn from it. You let it drive you into being better, into being stronger, and when you do that, you can find the strength to swap the positions. The pushed becomes the pusher. The fallen rise up and become champions. It takes hard work, and it takes determination and a drive that few possess, but it’s doable.”
“Professor, I… I still don't get how that relates to us.” said the girl from before.
He faced her with a vicious contortion on his face, making him look pleased, crazed, and interested all at once. “My young student, it means that I will have to break you all before I can build you all back up. I will show you all what defeat feels like, and when you are at your lowest, we will find your highest.” His attention turned back to Ferain as a terrifying hunger appeared in his dull, bloody eyes. “I’ll start with you, Hirigaya. Stand up front.” he ordered.
Ferain, with her boiling hatred rising to an all time high, hoisted herself from her seat and stepped in front of the room.
“But, sir, her arm, she can’t–”
“Her arm is fine.” stated Itani. “I saw you moving it since you came in here, isn’t that right?”
“A little. I still can’t–”
“You can.” he growled. “You will, or you’ll be spending the rest of the day in the infirmary.”
He pulled his hand from his pocket and in a flash, something was flying towards Ferain. She barely had enough time to raise her left hand to meet it. With an electrified backhand, she swatted what looked to be a round bullet away. There was a loud crash as it struck the wall behind his desk, and before she had the chance to move, there was another coming at her. This one struck her in the stomach, throwing her off of her feet and onto her back. She crashed hard, and rolled onto her side while gasping for air. Drool trailed out of her dumbstruck mouth as a surging wave of unimaginable pain radiated through her body from the point of impact.
“One down.” the professor said coldly. “Two more and you’ll die. Of course, I’ll stop at one, but I doubt you’ll be able to stand for a while after that. I recommend you get a grip if you want to leave this classroom unassisted.”
Professor, you can’t–” started a boy, but with an evil glance from the teacher, he was cut short.
“She will do this alone, or she will suffer the consequences. Don’t you fret, this is merely a demonstration for all of you to learn from. It will be your turn soon enough, so take notes.” He eyed the struggling Ferain with a pitying expression as two more balls swirled above his upturned palm. “Stand up. You will avoid them, deflect them, or be hit by them, the choice is yours. However, I will not permit you to lay down in my class. I read what happened last year, I know what you’re capable of. Stand up.”
Fera, with tensed jaws and muscles, silently screamed within herself as she planted both hands against the ground. Electricity coursed around her violently and the ground was growing burned where her palms pressed against it.
“Get up!” he ordered loudly.
Fera snorted out a stream of electrified smoke as she growled loudly, forcing herself to her hands and feet. Looking up, her glowing eyes glared through her light curtain of messy bangs to mark this man as an enemy. He was no professor, he was no friend, he was no ally. He was no better than the worst people she’d known in her life. In fact, he was worse, using his authority to humiliate her in front of everyone, despite her handicap. At that though, Fera’s eyes went wide as she felt a powerful hatred towards herself now.
“Handicap?” she hissed with her mind. “I’m not broken. I’m not weak!” Her chest heaved violently as she watched him closely. “I’m not weak.” saying this in the open, for everyone to hear.
“Show me, then,” said Itani.
He threw another ball at her, but in a bright blinding flash of blue and white, she was gone. She found herself perched atop his desk, but somehow, he knew where she would be. Another of his projectiles was coming for her. She leapt again, this time moving towards the door, but she didn’t land on the floor, she latched onto the wall. Her speed and momentum kept her there momentarily, while the electrified nails of her left hand carved their way deep into the material. She dodged two more before finally running out of luck. It wasn’t that she failed to avoid any more of them, it was that he changed his strategy. Instead of aiming at her, she saw his eyes shift to the corners, marking a new target. Her head darted in the same direction, seeing the girl who had asked him questions only minutes before.
Before she even had the chance to think about the consequences, she flew forward. Luckily for the girl, she made it in time, but unluckily for Ferain, her instincts caused her to do something she shouldn't have. As her feet touched the ground, and only just barely, the ball connected with her outstretched right hand. Her body slid backward, pushing the desk she stopped in front of further back as well. The feet screeched, and the girl sitting in it shrieked. In only a second, everything calmed down. Fera remained still, her right hand sparking horrendously, even to the point where her bandages were beginning to singe and drift towards the ground as tiny glowing embers. Her hair was standing up everywhere, much worse than was normal, and her eyes were filled with a murderous drive that only belonged to the monster that lived within her heart.
In her right palm resided a smoking silver pellet, about the size of a golf ball, which turned to dust with a powerful squeeze. When her trembling hand uncurled, the powder that remained behind fell to the floor at her feet. Breathless, Ferain let her right arm fall, what remained of her bandages falling loosely around her limp limb.
“Well done, Hirigaya. As I said, you can use it. We’ll keep working on you later, but for now, I say you deserve a rest.”
Fera growled as she took a weary step forward, her vision growing tunneled as she kept her gaze locked on the man in front of her. His image was flashing between his own and a slouching Kiko, though both shared the same conniving, smug, disgusting grin.
“I’m going to take her to the nurse’s office.” came a boy’s voice, and one that she recognized. Before she could look to confirm her suspicions, her arm was being seized and she was being shoved towards the door.
“She’s not dismissed.” said Seven Itani, glowering in their direction.
“She can barely stand. I’m taking her and that’s that.”
“Here, her bag,” said a girl.
She tried to look again but was once more shoved forward. Only when they were in the hallway and the classroom door was several feet behind them was she allowed to peek. She looked back and saw a boy with long black hair, somewhat shaggy, and covering his left, bone-colored eye just slightly from view. The matching right one stared ahead as they walked, and he seemed to be biting his tongue from saying something.