"Will Emanuel Martinez-Orion please report to the headmaster's office. I repeat, will Emanuel Martinez-Orion..."

"Well, then," Haleford paused his lecture. "That sounds rather important, Mister Martinez. Mister Orion? I don't believe I've ever actually referred to you by your last name. Which would you prefer?"

"Uh," Emanuel stuttered as he stood up. "Let's go with Martinez."

"As you desire. Should your meeting run overly long, I would be happy to review the materials of today after class, although I would suspect you would prefer to meet with your classmates instead."

"Yeah, hopefully it won't go that long to begin with," Emanuel said as he left the room.

"...And yet, something tells me that this meeting may be particularly long."

"What do you mean by that?" Maria asked.

"...I had heard from the Chrysanthemum dean earlier this morning that Mister Solomon Orion is on campus today. Should that be the case-"

The classroom shot to attention. Even Dory managed to hear the words "Solomon Orion."

"He's here? Really?!" Maria exclaimed.

"The man himself?" Ken asked.

"What is the occasion?" Dory asked.

"Yes, he is here in the flesh," Haleford confirmed, "if my source is to be trusted- and trust her I most certainly do. Miss Hund and Solomon have quite the entangled relationship with one another- not to say the two are romantically involved, I must elaborate. It is not my place to speak upon her past life, but she would not be where she is today without him. But I digress, such matters are better kept in confidence. Today we will study..."

"Emanuel?" A wizened voice asked from behind a distinguished desk. Emanuel looked up and down, but could not for his life find the source of the voice. Risking the faux pas, he leaned over the desk, and was surprised to see an ancient-looking man staring up back at him. The man sat comfortably in a chair that seemed to be larger than his entire body, the tiny man who barely reached over three feet who Emanuel could only assume to be the headmaster of Mavella. He glanced at the name placard on the desk: Richmond Esposito.

"Uhm, yeah, hi, that's me." Emanuel stuttered. He was under the impression that humans couldn't be this small, and for his life thus far was certainly correct. "I heard the announcement to come up?"

"Yes, of course." The headmaster coughed. "You have a very important guest, it would be best you don't keep him waiting. Go right on in to the door behind me, into my study. The two of you can meet in private."

Emanuel looked behind the old man to the two doors behind him.

"Uh... which door?"

"What do you mean?"

"I... never mind."

Emanuel tried the door on the left first, and was shocked to see an elegantly furnished room- but empty- room, complete with an even more distinguished desk, an even larger chair, and a completely unnecessary number of books, which filled every wall. Emanuel poked his head in, and checked around- perhaps this special person was tucked away in a corner? No dice. Emanuel slipped out of the room, closing the door as quietly as possible in an attempt to pretend he never checked it to begin with. He snuck over to the other door, checking the headmaster- who seemed either unaware or willingly ignorant of Emanuel's plight- and opened the other door.

Emanuel was shocked, first and foremost, by the perfectly identical room that he opened the door to. Same desk, same chair, same books- even the titles. The exact same everything, except of course the man currently perusing a dusty tome from one of the shelves.

The man was elegant, with long black hair that trailed and gracefully fell upon his shoulders. His face was softer than would be expected of a man with such a toned physique, but did nothing to detract from his handsome appeal. He was taller than anyone Emanuel had seen in all his time in Mavella, maybe taller than anyone Emanuel had ever met. He wore an elaborate coat over a surprisingly simple t-shirt and pants, and on this coat Emanuel recognized the crest of the constellation Orion. The man turned to Emanuel, and smiled.

"Emanuel?"

"Yeah...," Emanuel replied, somewhat intimidated by the man's dignified appearance. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Oh, right. Makes sense you've never seen me before, if you just moved here. I'm Solomon. Yes, that Solomon." He flashed Emanuel a TV smile.

Emanuel's surprised expression rapidly shrunk down to a hateful glare.

"You." He snapped, and began to march towards Solomon.

"Me?"

"You..." Emanuel said as he got really close to Solomon. "You fucking pompous, arrogant, piece-of-shit 'family matters' goody two-shoes golden child 'all eyes on me' self-entitled ass-kissing shit-eating political machine motherfucker!" Emanuel caught his breath. "You're the asshole that put himself in charge of the whole family, and roped me into your stupid way of life, and took two whole years of my life so you could ship me off to some school I've never been to before! You're the reason I got my ass kicked every day for two years straight, and had to cram every night for dumb fucking tests, and nearly lost both of my legs fighting a Feeder way past my level!"

Emanuel clenched his fists, and Solomon smiled back at him as he closed the book and set it down on Richmond's desk.

"Is it out of your system?" Solomon said softly as he turned his cheek to Emanuel. "Or do you need something else?"

Red sparks scattered across the room as Emanuel's fisted cracked into Solomon's face. Solomon spun in place and collapsed against the desk behind him.

"I didn't think you'd actually do it, I'll be honest," Solomon said between a mixture of laughter and coughing as he stood back up. Once on his feet again, he turned his other cheek to Emanuel. "Need another?"

Another blow landed across Solomon's face, this time unaccompanied by Chalion. Solomon staggered slightly, but retained his footing. He inhaled deeply, and turned his cheek back to Emanuel. "One more? For the road?"

Emanuel clenched his fists, but then relaxed them.

"Nah. It's... not doing anything for me anymore."

"I'm glad to hear that. I think."

"So why the fuck did you call me up here? Come to give me some bullshit assignment? I bet you wanna pit me against a four-star or something insane like that, since 'I'm an Orion' and all."

"Well, let me first begin by saying..." Solomon took a bow in front of Emanuel, surprising him and causing him to step back. "...I'm sorry."

"Come again?"

"I'm sorry. As much as I'd like to be, I can't be everywhere, and I can't watch over every member of my- our- family. If I had known your tutors were so... unkind, I would've had them removed and replaced immediately."

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"You what? Why?"

"Tell me, what do we as a family gain by punching down on each other? What do we gain from attacking each other at all?"

"Nothing, obviously."

"Yes, obviously. Obviously. And yet, every Orion seems to have forgotten that. The Family has gotten so big, we've started fighting amongst ourselves, and letting our petty differences get in the way of our common goal. A lot of that is thanks to our last head, Ezekiel. Not a great guy, that one- real obsessed with the 'purity' of the family line and all. He went against what made our family so powerful in the first place- and more importantly, he alienated many of our family members."

"And that's where you come in, I'm guessing? To undo all of the mistakes and prove to everyone that you're the best?"

"No. Well, yes, but not for those reasons."

"What's your reason, then? Power? Ego? Money?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was none of that? I want to see our family succeed because it's my family. I want to see everyone in it, and the family as a whole, succeed, and I want that because it's my family. And not just that, I don't want it to stop at my family- I want everyone, and I do mean everyone succeed."

"Why, though? Like, why do you care so much? If someone wants to fail, isn't that their choice?"

"If someone wants to fail, then yes, that's their choice to do so. I can't change that, nor should I- it's not my place to tell people how to live their lives. But what I can do- and what I most certainly should do- is help everyone who doesn't want to fail. Let me ask you, Emanuel: how many people on this planet do you think want to fail? Like truly, actually, want to see nothing come of their lives?"

"I can think of one."

"Just one. One person out of all the people you've met. And that, logically, means that everyone else doesn't want to fail. Everyone else you've met wants to succeed. And I want to help all those people, and make that happen."

"But why?"

"Because they deserve it. They deserve to live, be happy, and achieve everything they set out to do. And for a long time, people in power have kept that from happening. I'm not saying I'm gonna rule the world- I'm not even sure I can be put in charge of a city (too much paperwork, y'know). But what I'm sure I can do is start somewhere, and start helping people now. And that, is why I called you up here."

"... I don't follow."

"What I'm asking you is pretty simple: what do you need help with?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Are you? You have everything you want to do for the rest of your life planned out, and you have all the resources you need to achieve those plans, and you have backup plans in case something comes up, and you have all the resources you need for those backup plans?"

"Umm... no..."

"Of course not! I don't even have that much of my life ready. But I have more than anyone else I know, and more than most people deserve. So I'm going to share it with you, and with everyone else I can. So, once again: what do you need help with?"

"...I don't get you. What's your deal? Like, where do you get off acting like a saint for other people?"

"I don't need to 'get off' to anything. I'm doing it because I think it's something that should be done. And I'm hoping that other people will see what I do, and follow suit, and that someday the world will be even just a little bit of a better place to live."

"But... why?"

Solomon sighed. "Because it matters to me. Because I think it's important. Because I believe in it. And I'll keep reiterating it as much as you need me to. The world could be a better place, and I'm going to do my part to make it so. So once again, Emanuel: how can I make your world a better place?"

"You're weird."

Solomon nearly collapsed. "Sure, if you say so."

"No, seriously. It's weird to care this much about other people. Like, don't you do anything for yourself?"

"Of course I do. I'm still a human, and I still spend time on myself. I never once said I only help other people."

"But then why are you so... insistent?"

"Because you're so resilient!" Solomon smiled. "The more you want to push back against me, the more I can tell you need me to help with something, but you've grown and adapted to say no to every hand offered to you."

"You don't know me."

"You're right, I don't. But I want to get to know you."

"Why? Like, I keep asking, but you still haven't given me an answer I like."

"Why? Because we're family, that's why."

"Are we? I just met you."

"But you're an Orion. That's all I need. Heck, I'd still be this pushy even if you weren't an Orion. But you're an Orion, and that means that no matter how distantly we might be related, however many seas might have separated our places of birth, and how far apart we might be aged, you're a brother to me."

Emanuel stopped. He thought he started to feel tears well up in his eyes, but blinked them away. "Seriously, you're weird." Emanuel paused for a bit, breathing in deeply and then out deeply. "I... I don't know what I want to do with my life."

Solomon smiled. "Well, what do you like doing?"

"I like basketball... but I'm not tall enough to play professionally. I kinda like being a Slayer... but I don't like the thought of risking my life every day. And I kinda like doing... math, to be honest. But I don't think I'll like it for much longer if it gets much harder."

"Well, I'm glad you have something you like doing. Now, why don't we start with basketball. What makes you think you can't be a pro? There's plenty of pros..."

The final school bell rang.

"Oh, shit," Emanuel said, interrupting what he was saying earlier. "I didn't realize how much time had passed."

"Neither did I," Solomon said, as he stood up from the fancy chair behind the headmaster's desk. "I should probably let you go, I bet you've got a club to go to."

"No, not really."

"Seriously?"

"Nope."

"Join a club. They're good fun, and you'll meet plenty of people you wouldn't meet otherwise. You might even find something you want to do."

"Uh, sure. Which clubs do you recommend?"

"No clue. I don't go here." Solomon laughed. "If I remember right though, all the clubs will be doing a signup drive for all of next week. You should find one then."

"Sounds good." Emanuel stood up to leave, and when he turned to the door, he remembered something. "Hey, by the way..."

"Hm?"

"Why does the headmaster have two private studies? Two of the exact same private studies, no less?"

"Honestly? No idea. I get weird vibes from the guy, honestly."

"Good to know..." Emanuel said as he stepped out of the room, pulling his phone out to ask his classmates for all the notes he'd missed.

Once he left, Solomon exhaled, releasing the tension from his body. He finally let himself check his face in the glass of one of the windows, and rubbed the cheek Emanuel had punched first. He looked at the deep purple bruise that was starting to form.

"He really got me good."

Emanuel was surprised to see his roommate when he returned to his dorm. Today was his fifth day in Roma, and despite that the first day Emanuel had seen the boy.

"What's, uh, what's up?" Emanuel said as he walked through the door and set his things down.

The boy lay on his bed, reading a book. He took a deep breath, and staggered to his feet. Emanuel was shocked to see numerous scars dotted across the boy's arms, legs, face and neck, and he assumed everywhere else he couldn't see. The boy was Japanese, with a slim but sturdy build and long black hair. He wore a sleeveless shirt, and from the sweat on his body Emanuel could assume he had just finished a workout- at least, that's what he hoped. As he came face-to-face with him, Emanuel was shocked to see the boy was blind in one eye, with a deep scar through his eye to match.

"What's up?" The boy greeted back. "You my roommate?"

"That's right. I'm Emanuel."

"The Orion, right?" The boy stretched out his hand to shake. Emanuel shook it back. "I'm Shinzo. You're a freshman, right?"

"That's right."

"I'm from the year ahead of you. Lily Class. What about you?"

"Chrysanthemum."

"Oh, nice. My girlfriend's in Chrysanthemum, and she's an Orion too. My year, though."

"She's an Orion? What's her name?"

"Liz."

"How'd you two meet if you're in different classes?"

"Arranged marriage."

"They still do those?"

"Your family does, dumbass. It's sorta the whole Orion thing, y'know? Marry people with strong Mods into the family?"

"Not gonna lie, I'm not super involved with Orion stuff. I'm only half Orion, and I wasn't in the loop 'till Solomon took over."

"How's that work?" Shinzo asked as he threw himself back onto his bed.

"New head, new rules, I guess. I dunno the details myself, to be honest."

"Maybe Liz knows something about it. I'll ask her about it next time I see her."

"Sure." Emanuel thought about how he totally could've asked Solomon when they talked earlier today. Thinking about their talk, Emanuel remembered they still hadn't settled on something for him to dedicate himself to.

"Hey, Shinzo," Emanuel asked as he pulled out his notebook and opened his friends' pictures of their notes. "What do you plan on doing after Mavella?"

"Slayer, duh."

"But why?"

"Cause I got a good Mod, and cause it means I don't gotta learn any more math or science or any of that bs."

"But what about..." Emanuel glanced at the scars across Shinzo's body. "Y'know, all the danger?"

"What, you scared of a little bloodshed?" Shinzo laughed.

"Not really, I'm more scared of getting killed by a Feeder."

"If you're good enough, you won't get killed. And if I do get killed, so what? What else was I gonna do with my life? I was gonna die anyways."

"Huh..." Emanuel said as he stopped copying down notes. "I guess you're right. Wait, what about your girlfriend?"

"She'll be sad, I'm sure, but that's her life and her choices, not mine. She'll live her own life however she pleases, whether I'm dead or alive."

Emanuel paused for a while, thinking about the advice he'd gotten from Shinzo and from Solomon. More advice today than he'd gotten in the last few years combined- if you didn't count getting beat over the head by a stick advice.

"Why the questions?" Shinzo asked abruptly.

"I've just been trying to figure out what to do once I graduate."

"Do you need to know right away?"

"It's better to know now, isn't it?"

"Yeah... but I mean, will knowing one month, two months, one year, two years, really make that much of a difference?"

"Won't it?"

"You're still going to classes, aren't you? You're still gonna get the same diploma at the end of everything, right? Who cares, y'know."

"Who cares... y'know." Emanuel smiled to himself as he got back to work copying his notes.