Note of the author : The professors at S and W are supposed to speak both japanese and english (as english is an international language) for they want to be understood by each of their students. As you are here reading the english version of this story, I’ll just put the supposed ‘english’ part in italics – do not mistake it as some kind of ‘repetition’ that I forgot to erase while correcting my text.

*

These guys are crazy.

“Everybody is all warmed up? Everybody is all warmed up?”

The ten or so kids in my class nodded, breathing hard. I had expected them to give up on the third lap, crying that it was too hard, but no: they chewed their way through the exercise without so much as a whimper.

The instructor clapped his hands.

“Good! All right! I want everybody to sit in a circle. We're going to do presentations. Circle up, we're going to do presentations today”

Since most of the students were from abroad, the teachers had no choice but to adapt so that everyone could understand the instructions. I got used to it quickly: my brain hardly responded to English anymore.

“Who wants to start ?”

I was at the crescent end of our semicircle. The teacher pointed to himself with his thumb.

“I am Mizuki-sensei, your certified close combat instructor. In my class, you will learn to defend yourself and run away from potential attackers until help arrives”

He pointed to the first student to his left.

“Your name, why you are at this school and if you have an alter that is useful for your survival”

The boy had blond hair and dull blue eyes.

“Patrick Bate. My aunt thinks I should learn to defend myself since I was almost kidnapped. No useful Alter”

The teacher didn't seem the least bit surprised to hear that a four-year-old had been kidnapped. He smiled at him and then translated for everyone.

A small blonde continued.

“Valentina Legdara. Assassination attempt. Telekinesis”

The next boy continued in broken Japanese.

“Genma Shiranui. Uh, hostage situation ? No useful Alter”

The following presentations were no different. None of them were there to be heroes. The most surprising thing was that almost none of them had a useful Alter.

The teacher turned out to be a gifted polyglot. He could speak Russian, French, English, Turkish, Chinese, Spanish, and, of course, Japanese.

From the ease with which he was able to switch from one language to the other, I suspected that it was due to his Alter.

He pointed at me with his chin.

“Your turn”

“Shoto Todoroki. Fire and ice”

“Two Quirks, not common”

He gave me the same smile he gave to everyone else.

The two English twins to my left stirred.

“I saw him last week. His father is the number two of Japan”

“He's the only one who didn't say why he was here. Probably because nothing serious has happened to him”

“Only a matter of time”

Mizuki clapped his hands to get our attention.

“Now that we know each other a little better, let's start with our exercises. Who has knowledge of martial arts ?”

Three-fourths of the students raised their hands.

*

Our third teacher of the day was a blonde with arms so thick she could have crushed my skull like a walnut between the crook of her elbow and her biceps.

“I'm training Sergeant Sarah Connor. Welcome to Sword and Cross, rookies”

She spoke Japanese with a heavy American accent.

“In my class, you will learn how to survive in hostile terrain until help arrives. I will teach you how to feed yourself with what you find, how to heal yourself, how to blend in with the local population, and how to make a phone out of spare parts”

The American, Patrick, raised his hand.

“What if help doesn't come ?

She smiled and the scar at the corner of her mouth stretched across her skin, making her look like a disturbed clown.

“This is what we teach in the third year. Try not to be gone by then”

*

The cafeteria was upscale, like everything else in the school. It was located at the foot of the dormitories and had a huge bay window that gave a bird's eye view of the lawn. I assumed it was bulletproof.

“First year group, come here”

Maoki lined us up, trays in hand. I was at the back of the group, next to the American with the dead eyes.

There were only six tables with students like us. There were between eight and twelve in each class, and all of them ate with a teacher. The upperclassmen seemed to be more talkative than the freshmen.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Just over sixty students. I wonder how much each family pays per student.

We sat around a rectangular glass table. The chairs were handmade and the baskets embroidered with gold thread.

Maoki sat at the head of the table and smiled at everyone. The twins were just to her right, waiting for her permission to start the meal.

I sat as far away from her as possible, putting the big German between us.

I ate without bothering to wait, hungry. Since I had started school, I decided to get up early to do my physical training before going to school.

I would have to adjust my schedule, but I already had to change it since it was outdated.

“So how was your morning ?”

The twins exchanged glances.

There were more or less enthusiastic answers in return. Maoki did not give up:

“And Ms. Connors, what did you think of her ?”

“She’s scary”

The students giggled and looked at the little blonde who had spoken with a mixture of admiration and surprise.

Maoki smiled, pleased that she had managed to elicit a reaction from the stoic children. She leaned in like a conspirator and drew in a breath:

"I'm a little afraid of her too, but you won't tell her, will you?"

The children shook their heads. The grumpy one in the group folded his arms over his chest:

"And if I tell her, what will you do ?"

I finished my miso soup in silence and turned to see Maoki's reaction.

She leaned back in her chair, shrugged and looked away, her smile never leaving.

“If you tell her, does that mean we're not friends ?

The child's answer was firm.

“We’re not friends”

The atmosphere was awkward. The students returned to their gloomy expressions and their eyes lost their sparkle.

“Well, that's too bad, because I had a great pony ride planned for this afternoon”

The grumpy boy sat up, his interest piqued.

The twins exchanged glances.

“Ponies ?”

“A whole bunch, enough for all of you. (Maoki shrugged) I also had planned ice cream and a great movie, but that's just for my friends, so...

The small Italian blonde raised her hand.

“I want to be your friend !”

“Me too! Me too!”

A wave of cheers rose from the children. All of them had lost their sullen, unapproachable looks and were demanding to know a whole lot of details about the afternoon ahead of them.

I finished my salmon.

Military training in the morning and daycare in the afternoon…

*

“Is everyone here whose parents signed the permission slip ?”

The professor turned to his assistant. Notebook in hand, he scanned the list with his fingertips.

“They are all here”

“Very good. Are there any first years among us ?”

I was the only one who raised my hand.

“Rookies who were not there last year ?”

All of the second-year students and some of the third-year students raised their hands.

“Make two groups. Newcomers on my left and those who were already there on my right”

The group on the left was the biggest.

“I am Geralt de Rives and I will be your swordsmanship teacher for your years at Sword and Cross. You are here today because your parents or guardians have deemed you worthy to handle a sword without endangering yourself or others”

He patted his auburn-haired assistant on the shoulder.

“Tanjiro here is my assistant instructor. He will be taking care of the group of those who are already familiar with our training methods”

Tanjiro stepped forward.

“This group, with me. We'll continue from where we left off last year”

Eight students followed him, chatting quietly among themselves.

“I hope you trained well during the holidays, otherwise...”

The comment quieted them.

He pulled out a black box and handed out wooden swords.

“Put on your protective gear and let's go”

Professor De Rives blocked our view of the other group. He turned his golden pupils on us.

“Since you only have two years left to learn the basics of the craft, this is going to be an express training”He looked straight in the eyes,”Your name?”

“Todoroki”

“Since you're the only first year, you'll have to keep up the pace. If it's too hard for you, just let me know and we'll see how we can go on from there.”

I nodded, although I had no intention of giving up.

I was at a dead end in my personal Kenjutsu training because I didn't have a real teacher to interact with - this elective was a godsend and I wouldn't let this opportunity pass.

“At Sword and Cross, we pay special attention to the safety and well-being of our students. Swordsmanship will be your common foundation: next year you will be able to learn how to handle another weapon. If you're very good, you'll even get to learn a third, but don't get your hopes up. It's a rare occurence”

There was one girl who was showing off because she already knew how to use a dagger and a sword, but she was not good. It must have been basic, but it was impressive considering the average age of the students was five.

“In addition to handling a blade, you will learn how to maintain it and keep it in good condition. Remember, in hostile territory, your weapon is your most valuable ally”

A hand went up.

“What about our Quirks ?”

“Nowadays, everyone relies so much on their Alter that they forget the most important thing: our body. Our body is our most precious weapon, and I can guarantee you that a well-trained body is worth infinitely more than an Alter that we would like to believe is all-powerful”

His comment caused quite a stir among the students.

“Would you like to see me demonstrate?”

They all nodded. I myself was very interested in the rest of the class.

“Who here has an offensive Quirk ?”

I and another boy raised our hands.

De Rives indicated him with his chin.

“I can move the floor a bit”

“You?”

“Fire and ice”

“Two Quirks ? Come here”

I crossed the group until I was facing him.

“Tanjiro !”

The other teacher threw a wooden sword at De Rives without even turning around.

“Todoroki, do you know how to use your Quirks ?”

To answer, I let the temperature in my immediate vicinity drop before setting my left side ablaze. I still had trouble using both sides at the same time, but I was making progress.

De Rives held up his hand in front of the students.

“This is my Quirk”

His fingertips lit up. It looked like green fireflies had just come to life under his nails.

“Not very impressive, eh? In our scenario, Shoto is the one who has the advantage”

The girl from before raised her hand.

“But you are an adult”

“It's true”

De Rives put his right hand behind his back and hopped on one leg.

“Now I'm a crippled adult missing an arm. Does that look fairer to you ?”

“Yes !”

The shadow of a smile hovered on the professor's lips. He faced me, his eyes anchored in mine.

“Let's see how long Todoroki can last against such an adult with such a good Quirk”

His expression became serious.

“I want someone to count out loud so that we know how long it is going to take. (He didn't take his eyes off me.) The boy with the glasses, yes, you there, hiding behind your girlfriend. Do the count”

I crossed my legs, my Alter bubbling in my stomach. Since I'd started training, I'd never gotten to face anyone, let alone a grown up.

“Me? Uh, okay”

The boy inhaled sharply.

“One...”

I didn't even have time to open my hand before the woodsword was at my neck. A gust of wind blew through my hair.

I opened my eyes wide.

The carotid artery.

The students were silent. De Rives remained motionless until everyone realized that he had beaten me in a second.

A. se.cond.

I didn’t even had time to blink.

He put his foot down again and motioned for me to join the group.

“What I just did is what everyone here will be able to do with practice and discipline”

This guy was good, very good. I wanted to learn from him.

“It won't be easy. You'll have to put in a lot of time and energy, but if you follow my teachings to the letter, nothing and no one will be able to stop you”

He looked around our small assembly. The air was charged with electricity.

“Who would like to begin ?”

Everyone raised their hands