Emanuel stepped out onto the platform at North Roma Station. He took a deep breath, only to choke on the exhaust of the train behind him. He cleared his breath, and set down his luggage as he took in his surroundings. He looked about the platform, at the people disembarking from the train to conclude their days as evening approached. Emanuel would love to say he was doing something so refined as people-watching, but in truth he was looking for a restaurant, food stand, even a vending machine at this point- he was starving. He scanned across the station, and though he failed to find anything to sate his hunger, he did spot an older man holding a paper sign with his name on it.

As Emanuel gathered his things and moved towards the man, he finally heard his voice and his light British accent over the hustle and bustle of the station, calling out Emanuel's name. The station was not particularly loud, but rather it was the man who was far too quiet for his own good. Nor was he particularly perceptive, because it was not until Emanuel was within a meter of the man that he finally took notice.

He was a short and older man, somewhere in his late fifties or early sixties, whose hair was receding and beginning to turn gray and whose skin was beginning to sag. In spite of his apparent age, the man’s physique was in surprisingly sound condition, his muscles bulging beneath his formal button-down shirt and suspenders. His face was punctuated by several smaller scars, but what Emanuel took particular notice of was his handlebar mustache- as a matter of fact, it was all Emanuel could focus on.

"Are you one Emanuel, Martinez, and/or Orion, by any chance?" The man asked, snapping Emanuel out of his mustache-induced stupor.

"...That's me. Well, all three of them, yes."

"Excellent. I'm Thomas Haleford; I'll be your teacher for your first year at Mavella."

"I'm surprised," Emanuel said as he held out his hand. "I didn't think they'd send a teacher to greet me."

"It's a new policy," Thomas replied as he shook Emanuel's hand. "Now that Solomon is the head of the Orion Family, there has been a shift in emphasis towards community values and the general well-being of people. Given that you are an Orion, I would have suspected another Orion would have been sent to greet you, but this year I was sent to greet all members of Chrysanthemum Class."

"Chrysanthemum Class?" Emanuel paused, nearly letting his laptop slip from his grip.

"Are you unaware of our class division system? Chrysanthemum Class is-"

"I know, I know, I just wasn't... made aware that I was already sorted."

"Ah, yes. Your proficiency in Haonus is information submitted when you were enrolled. Based on that information, we have already sorted all students for this year."

"I didn't- but I didn't submit any information like that."

"I see. It is likely, then, that a family member or other confidant made such a report on your behalf. Unless, of course, you've already received a Grade Ranking?"

"...I did. I don't like thinking about it much, though."

"Ah, wonderful. In that case, your placement in Chrysanthemum was likely inferred based on your Grade. May I ask what your Grade is?"

"Two-star."

Thomas blinked rapidly for a moment, stunned. Emanuel was worried the man would pass out given his age.

"I... see. And you're certain you weren't informed of a change in class placement? No, that's impossible- I would be the first to know."

"I'm sorry?"

"Well, if you must know, a two-star Grade should be placed into the Bellflower Class."

"Is that better?"

"Of course. Bellflower Class is the most prestigious class offered at Mavella each year. I can't understand why your family would not have pushed for you to be placed in Bellflower."

"Frankly, I'm fine with it.," Emanuel said spitefully. "The last thing I need is for them to push for anything. I've had more than enough of that."

"I... see." Thomas stood awkwardly as Emanuel seemed to become caught in his own thoughts and memories, struggling to maintain a grip on his various articles of luggage. "Would it be baseless conjecture on my part to assume you feel this way for the same reasons you do not care for your own Grade Ranking?"

"'Course."

Thomas struggled to find the words to say to the boy, though he wished he would elaborate at least a little. The best he could do was reach out his arm, and offer to carry some of Emanuel's luggage.

"I'm sorry," Thomas at last mustered the courage to say as the load was divided between the two. "If it brings you any condolences, I have heard the current members of Orion's belt are attempting to make amends for the family's former ways." Thomas cleared his throat, attempting to clear the tension. "Now, let us hurry onwards to the dormitories. It would be best if we arrive before dark."

"Sure," Emanuel sulked as the two began moving. "Can we stop somewhere on the way? I've barely eaten all day."

"Ah, of course. Truthfully, we are holding an 'icebreaker' dinner tonight among your classmates. We will attend after we properly situate your belongings in your dormitory, and greet your roommate and dormitory mother if their schedules permit." Thomas paused, considering the tone of his words. "We are able to stop somewhere if you feel the need to do so. If you feel unsuited for a group dinner, you are free to excuse yourself."

"Nah, dinner sounds nice actually, as long as it's just a half an hour wait or so. What's on the menu."

"It will be at a local pizzeria. Truthfully, I have not read their menu in its entirety."

"No problem, I'm looking forward to some authentic Mediterranean pizza."

"Yes, I have heard good things about this particular location. And do not fear if the food is outside of your budget; the meal will be compensated by the school."

"Really?"

"Indeed. Headmaster's orders, straight from Solomon himself."

"Huh.."

Emanuel paused in thought as the two boarded a nearby trolley. Once they were seated, he finally spoke again.

"I've heard a lot of good things about this Solomon guy," Emanuel whispered. "But do you really think he's all that?"

"Of course," Thomas whispered back, though such was his usual voice.

"Well, to me it seems like he's compensating or something. Like, he just got his position as family head, so are we sure he's not trying to set himself up to a good position? Or, maybe he's got skeletons in his closet or something?"

"Ah, I see what you mean. Truthfully, there are many such rumors of that variety, given his young age and the way he so quickly took over the position of family head from Ezekiel, the previous head."

"He's young? How young?"

"I believe that, during the first round of interviews I watched on television, he had been introduced as twenty-seven. That was some two years ago now, and so I believe him to now be around twenty-nine."

"HUH?! My mom's older than he is! Why is he in charge of the family if he's so young?"

"I am not entirely versed in the mechanics of Orion heritage, especially with regards to private matters such as the process of selecting a new family head, but from what I recall of his interviews his appointment was almost unanimous among the upper members of the Orion Family."

"Unanimous? I find that hard to believe. Maybe he's just telling everyone what they want to hear?"

"I would not know, nor do I believe it to be my place to make conjecture of such nature. That said, you as an Orion are free to form any and all criticisms of the man at your own leisure, although I would personally delay in doing so until after having met him face-to-face."

"Have you? Met him, I mean."

"Precisely once. He was... well, there truly are no words to describe his presence. I would liken it to... to a long day sunbathing on the coast, after a particularly busy week. A cleansing and invigorating experience."

"For real? There's no way he's that nice of a person."

"Such were my own thoughts once, and yet here I am lauding his praises. He is a man unlike any I have met before, the kind of man for whom the turn of phrase 'pure of heart' must have originally been used."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"And soon you shall, I have no doubt. I have heard from my superiors that Solomon is personally visiting and introducing himself to each Orion student this year."

"What? Why bother?"

"For my honest opinion? I would assume he is making an effort to assuage the very doubts you now have."

"There's no way he cares that much."

"Ah, but that is where you would be wrong. Were I forced to name a singular flaw of the man-"

"Our next stop is the Roma Mavella Dormitories," the trolley announcer spoke. "Please prepare to disembark. I repeat, our next stop is-"

"Ah, that would be us," Thomas said, and he and Emanuel began to gather Emanuel's belongings.

As the trolley slowed to a stop, the two of them- alongside almost fifteen other passengers- lined up for the door. As those ahead of the pair began to step out onto the sidewalk, Thomas recalled their previous conversation.

"What was I saying... Ah, yes. If I were forced to name a singular flaw of Solomon, it would be that the man cares far too much for others. Not a particularly horrible flaw to possess, I would add."

The two stepped out onto the sidewalk, and stood before an imposing exposed-brick building. It was not very tall, but its wrought-iron fencing and brass fixtures brought to mind those particularly strict private schools one would often see in movies and cartoons. Among the students that lingered around the entrance, the pair found a board where room assignments were posted, and quickly searched Emanuel's room number.

The two entered the foyer of the building, and Emanuel was surprised to find it was far more luxuriously furnished inside than out. The walls were painted in a gentle bluish-white, and the marble tiles of the floor shone with the numerous colors of the stained-glass windows that dotted the walls on every side. The two checked around for the dorm mother, who appeared to be out at the moment, and took the stairs up to Emanuel's room.

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Emanuel's room was surprisingly spacious for a building constructed for so many people, with one large window at the center of the wall and two sets of beds, desks, and dressers. The living arrangement on one side seemed to be quite well lived-in by this point, the bed left untucked and schoolwork strewn about the desk. Thomas informed Emanuel that his roommate would be entering his second year this year, and previously shared the room with a student who had now graduated. Emanuel's roommate was, unfortunately, out at the moment; Thomas also mentioned this particular second-year to be in high demand.

Once Emanuel had finally dropped off all his luggage, Thomas (who did in fact help- as much as an old man was willing to, at least) prepared to leave. The two of them exchanged contact information, and Emanuel was surprised to be quickly invited to a group chat named "Chrysanthemum Year One," which currently included seven members, including himself. He scrolled up through the chat, but not much had been said- just some quick greetings from everyone, and a wall of text from Thomas (who texted in the same long-winded manner he spoke) giving all the details of when and where the dinner would be. Emanuel shot a quick hello to the group, and set to work unpacking in the time he had before their reservation.

Emanuel left his room, and on his way out the door was stopped by an elderly woman. She wore a soft expression and baggy clothes, and her eyes were barely a squint through her round, thick glasses. Her braided silver hair trailed down to her back, and despite being in the middle of doing some kind of bookwork she was smiling to herself.

"Ah," she spoke up as Emanuel walked past her. "I don't recognize you. Are you new here?"

"Yeah, I just moved in. I'm Emanuel." Emanuel glanced at the clock on her desk, worrying this conversation may go on too long.

"Ah, the half-Orion boy. You're in the same room as Shinzo, is that right?"

"I... think? The second year, high demand?" Emanuel parroted back the words Thomas told him.

"Not... wrong, I suppose. He'll take good care of you. Do you have time for orientation?"

"Uh... actually, I'm on my way out to dinner right now. With my class."

"Oh, no bother. I can wait until you come back." She smiled at Emanuel, who did his best to smile back as he left.

Emanuel strolled down the street to the pizza place, Antonio's Pizza. The name sent shivers down his spine, reminding him of his old combat instructor. Emanuel was surprised to see the place was only a ten minute walk from his dorm- if this place wasn't pricy, he had a lot to look forward to in the upcoming years here.

The walk down to Antonio's was peaceful. Emanuel kept glancing around at all of the different small shops and homes along the way, many of which seemed to be combined living and business buildings, where families worked downstairs during the day and slept upstairs at night. Each building was painted differently, giving a chaotic yet homely feel to the street as a whole as Emanuel walked past. Outside of each storefront, people of all ages were mingling- some young children were advertising their family's business, adults were packing up their displays and bringing them inside, teenagers were meeting up and chatting at their favorite spots, and the elderly were sitting down to enjoy their last meal of the day. Emanuel enjoyed taking in the atmosphere, and started to imagine himself really starting to integrate into life here.

True to the map, the Antonio's was only a ten minute walk away. It was a small, homely pizza shop, where the paint peeled away to reveal bricks in many places but did nothing to detract from the atmosphere. Emanuel poked his head inside, and was waved down by Thomas, sitting on the patio among three other people. Emanuel exchanged nods with the hostess, and made his way over.

"Good evening, Emanuel!" exclaimed Thomas, as though the two had not been together less than half an hour before. "Take a seat, I'm glad you're here early. These are Isabella and Maria."

Emanuel shuddered at the mention of the name Maria. He glanced around the table, at Thomas and the rotund man sitting next to him, and at the two girls sitting next to each of them, and sat next to the one closest to the rotund man.

The closer girl, who Emanuel sat next to, seemed to be Japanese, and had astonishingly pale skin, as though today were the first day in years that she'd left her house. Her hair was long, straight, and silky black, trailing down to her back. Her face was surprisingly well-toned, one might even say handsome or chiseled. She wore a high-class dress, betraying her privileged upbringing, and beneath her dress Emanuel could swear to see the outline of muscle on her arms. Not wanting to stare, he diverted his attention to the other girl, who sat across from him.

The second girl was easily 180 centimeters tall, for starters. Her wavy brunette hair hung down to her arms- my word, her arms. Her shoulders were broad and her arms were built, so much so that they intimidated Emanuel, who once thought himself to be of a very muscular build, and was now left questioning his hours at the gym and time with his combat instructor. Although her stature was quite intimidating, all of Emanuel's apprehensions vanished instantly as she gave him a quick smile- a pretty smile one could write poetry about. Not that Emanuel would ever do that, of course.

Lastly, Emanuel looked to the other adult present at the table: another man, this one in his forties, who seemed to be somewhere between out-of-shape and muscular, and more or less bald. It seemed to Emanuel that this man was doing everything in his power to remain out of sight, and so out of sight he would remain.

"Here, have a look at what they offer," Thomas shook Emanuel out of his trance of looking at the others as he handed Emanuel a menu. "I was personally quite surprised by the range of toppings they have available."

As Emanuel poured over the menu, which did indeed have far more options than he was expecting, he was suddenly distracted by Thomas standing up again, to wave down more students. Emanuel turned to look at who was being flagged down: a pair of students, clearly siblings, who appeared to be of Japanese descent.

One of them, a boy his age, was of a shorter stature but respectable muscle. His short black hair was combed and gelled back, but most surprising to Emanuel was the set of deep scars that seemed to be left by a particularly deep bite that dotted the boy's upper-right forehead and lower-left jaw.

The other was a girl, who was the same height as the boy, and surprised Emanuel by being the first person he'd met since arriving in Roma that lacked muscle- the first that wasn't an old lady, at least. Her black hair matched her brothers, and her build seemed almost frail, like she could topple at any moment. Her black hair matched her brother's, cut short at the neck, and her skin was quite pale, but not pale like the girl Emanuel sat next to.

"Good evening, Ken and Dory!" It was now that Emanuel realized Thomas's greeting was quite well rehearsed. "Take a seat, have a menu, their range of toppings is quite something. These are Maria, Isabella, and Emanuel."

The two siblings sat next to each other, the girl- Dory- sitting next to the muscular girl, and the boy- Ken- sitting next to Emanuel. The two nodded at each other, being the only boys at the table. The group looked at their menus in awkward silence, partly afraid to be the first to make conversation, and partly because the menu really did warrant one's full attention. After around five minutes, the orders were finally placed, and the students- now lacking any form of distraction or excuse- seemed ready to chat.

"Well, I believe some introductions are in order," Thomas began. "Our semester together will begin the day after tomorrow, so let us all strive to get to know each other now, and foster good relationships for the year going forward. I'll start: my name is Thomas Haleford, and I'm the primary instructor for Chrysanthemum Class, year one. My hobbies are reading, and I dabble in writing on occasion. Sylvester, would you like to go next?"

"Sure," said the man who was doing his best to avoid notice. "I'm Sylvester Malzone, instructor for Bellflower Class, year one. Due to Bellflower's low turnout this year, I've been lumped in as a secondary instructor for Chrysanthemum. My hobby is watching horse races."

"Thank you, Sylvester," Thomas interjected. "Why don't we continue- to his left, Maria, go ahead and introduce yourself."

The girl sitting next to Emanuel cleared her throat. "My name is Maria Zegi, and I am the single member of Bellflower this year," she said punctually. "My hobbies are studying and reading." She paused briefly. "Is there anything else I need to add?"

"...No," Thomas replied.

"Then I pass," she replied.

Emanuel gulped, realizing it was now his turn. He braced himself for the wave of questions he'd have to answer once he revealed he was an Orion. "Hi," he began. "I'm Emanuel. Emanuel... Martinez... Orion." Emanuel paused, awaiting the questions.

"Orion? For real?" Ken asked.

"Yeah," Emanuel replied, a little shocked by how little everyone was reacting.

"Like, deadass?" the muscular girl, who Emanuel inferred to be Isabella, asked.

"...Yeah."

The muscular girl giggled to herself. Ken turned over and spoke into his sister's ear.

"Really?!" His sister suddenly exclaimed, speaking with an odd speech impediment that Emanuel had never heard before. "You're an Orion?" Dory asked Emanuel.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah- I'm an Orion."

"That's cool!" Dory exclaimed.

"You don't sound too thrilled by it," Maria spoke up.

"Well... I'm not, exactly. It's complicated."

"Big expectations from the family?" Ken asked.

Emanuel blinked rapidly. "Uh, well, yeah. Not that complicated I guess."

"My family's the same- it's part of the reason we moved out here."

Something about this irritated Emanuel, the idea of his suffering being compared to another person's. "Yeah? I lost two years of my life to the stupid training they made me do to get Grade Ranked. They pulled me out of school, I couldn't go out, I had to get my ass kicked every day and then learn some stupid college-level material! I-"

"Whoa, whoa, chill," Isabella jumped in. "It's not a competition."

"...Shit," Emanuel said, snapping back to reality and remembering where he was and who he was talking to. "Sorry, I shouldn't have blown up like that. My bad. I'm just... sensitive about it, is all."

"Well, yeah," Ken chimed in. "Family stuff's sensitive. Don't worry about it."

"Yeah... sorry again."

"For real, don't sweat it," Ken said.

"I'm... uh, I'm gonna go," Emanuel said as he stood up.

"Sit your ass back down," Ken barked with a smile. Emanuel looked at him confused, and slowly sat back down. "Now then, you still need to tell us what your hobby is."

Emanuel sat there, stunned. The waiters brought out the pizzas, and set them in front of everyone. Nobody took a slice, waiting for Emanuel to speak.

"...Basketball." Emanuel finally stuttered out.

"Basketball?" Ken replied as he grabbed a slice. "Never played it before, but it looks like fun. Let's play together sometime." The table looked at him in stunned silence. Maria chuckled a little. "Oh, my bad, it's my turn, isn't it?

"My name's Ken Fujita. I'm from Japan, my hobby is soccer, or do you call it football here? Anyway, and I have no plans for college- I'm gonna be a Slayer for life. My beef with my family is that they wanted me to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or some other cushy desk job like that, and when I told them I wanted to be a Slayer they weren't having it. So, now I'm living out here and supporting my sister and I." Ken paused to finish his slice of pizza. "Man, that felt good. What's it called in English, when you let it all out like that?"

"Venting?" Maria said, being the only one at the table who wasn't still stunned, as she finished a slice of her own pizza.

"Venting? Oh, like an air-con. I get it." Ken looked over to his sister. "Need me to do your introduction?"

"N-no, I'm fine," she replied. "I am Dory Fujita, Ken's twin sister. I have spent less time outside of Japan than my older brother, so my English is worse. Ano..."

"趣味は？[Your hobby?]" Ken nudged her.

"Ah! My hobby is origami." Dory bowed. "I am sorry, my older brother is better at speaking than me... as you have seen." Dory bowed again, and looked towards Isabella.

"O...kay," Isabella looked at Ken. "Nice to meet you guys, I'm Isabella Bianco. I'm from this area... uh, my hobby is hitting the gym. Sorry, I'm kinda reeling from how easily Ken defused that situation, to be honest."

"As am I," Thomas finally managed to interject. "It demonstrates great-"

"Got any family beef you wanna spill?" Ken interrupted.

"Uh... Sure... My parents wanted me to be more girly, and then they got another daughter and now they don't really give a fuck about me."

"That's fucked up," Ken said with a mouthful of pizza.

"Yeah, that's..." Emanuel paused. He wasn't sure if he was ready to admit that it sounded worse than what he had to deal with.

"It's whatever," Isabella continued, "I'm fine with it. It means now they're not breathing down my neck anymore, I guess." She paused, and laughed nervously.

"That's nice, in a way?" Ken said between bites of pizza. "I dunno, sounds pretty tough still. Oh, that's right- Maria, did you have any family beef you wanted to share?"

"No," Maria replied.

"C'mon," Ken coaxed. "We're all doing it! You don't have to be embarrassed."

"I'm not embarrassed to share, if I had family drama I would have shared it. I just don't have anything like that."

"Huh?" Ken paused mid-bite.

"Seriously?" Emanuel looked stunned.

"Nothing?" Isabella stuttered, nearly choking on her pizza.

"Nothing. My family and grandfather have always supported me to the best of their abilities, and love me unconditionally."

"Damn..." Emanuel said.

"Is this the Bellflower Difference?" Ken asked aloud. "Is this how you get into Bellflower? Unfair..."

"I would say their support did drive me to exceed in all subjects, yes."

Ken, Isabella, and Emanuel looked at each other. "Unfair..." they said in unison, and then they all laughed.

Emanuel got home late, slipping past his now-sleeping dorm mother and up to his room. To Emanuel's surprise, his roommate was still out, leaving him to wonder exactly what this mystery roommate was up to. Emanuel started to unpack the last of his things, and while he put his clothes away he got a string of notifications. He checked the Chrysanthemum group chat.

Ken: oi

we're getting ice cream tomorrow

here: 55555 Mobigobi Street

no teachers lmao

Emanuel looked at the texts for a time, and recalled the way he made dinner rather awkward, even though Ken was able to recover.

Emanuel: No thanks, I'm not feeling up for it

Ken: denied

you're showing up

what else would u do?

Emanuel paused for a minute.

Ken: exactly

u r getting ice cream with us

Isabella: they have affogatto!!! i will be there

Emanuel: Wait

Maria: Do they have matcha flavor

Ken: idk

check

Emanuel: Do I have to show up

Ken: yes

Maria: I will be there, what time

Ken: 6

unless we want to go sooner

Emanuel: Why

Ken: why do we meet at 6

Emanuel: Why do I need to be there

Maria: 6 works for me

Ken: you gotta

Isabella: im also down for 6

Emanuel: Why

Ken: show up at 6

or

I will drag you out of your room

we live in the same building stupid

you will be there

Emanuel: Ugh fine

Ken: another Ken W

Emanuel shook his head, and tried to decide if he was going to hate or love these next three years.