1894 Perth, Australia

"Damn students couldn't tell the difference between a grass stain and pile of shit."

Akio's broom skittered across the floors. It was a Sunday morning, so the hallways were mostly empty until class would begin again. From a distance, it seemed like he was angry at the floor.

"Fuck'n Anarchy. I'd kick'em in the groins if I had the option."

Akio didn't have the highest respect for his fellow classmates. Despite him being a senior, many students still looked down on him for being asian. Swooping at the ground, a pamphlet swept up to his head.

SALLY: LOST DEVIANT: IF FOUND PLEASE RETURN

Akio raised an eyebrow. He crumpled the pamphlet and tossed it to the nearby trash bin.

Before going missing, Sally was infamous for her promiscuity. She'd slept around with several boys, and even a few teachers. More likely than not, Sally ran away due to the constant bullying.

Akio almost returned to cleaning before someone tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned his head back, and a finger pressed against his cheek. "Chieeeeeeeeffff."

Akio groaned aloud. The girl's name was Jade. She was among the newest body of students in the Akademia. With Akio being a year senior to her, she was always a nuisance whenever they met.

"Go away," Akio turned his back to her. "And stop calling me chief, only club members call me that."

Jade stepped in front of him and smiled, "you said that I could become a member when I cleaned the courtyard. Guess what, chief, I just cleaned it up. That means you have to initiate me!".

She grinned at him. Jade looked down at him with a confident smile as he squinted at her. Akio said, "I gave you that task an hour ago, you couldn't possibly-"

Jade tapped her finger over his lips, "shhhhhhhhh...... Don't ask questions, sensei. That's irrelevant."

Akio glanced up for a moment. "You used your powers, didn't you?"

"Well you didn't tell me not to."

"Jade, I gave you that job to test your discipline. Using your powers defeats the purpose."

"Well you should've told me that before I burned the courtyard!"

"You burned the courtyard?"

Jade pointed towards his nose. "I did exactly as you said. You owe me a committee spot!"

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"I don't owe you anything. I said I'd think about recruiting you if you cleaned up the courtyard. You cleaned it, but you cheated. Now I have even less reason to initiate you."

Jade lowered her arms and pouted her lips. She would've been cute if she wasn't such a pest. Despite him being her senior, Jade was a few centimeters taller than him. While people commonly mistook them booth as blood relatives, they both actually originated from two different nation states.

Akio had enrolled a few years earlier after leaving his home country, Ezo. Coming to the school with scraps, Akio had to work twice as hard to prove himself worthy as the only asian scholar in an Australian school.

Jade originated from Taiwan. Her state was occupied by the Taiping dynasty, and she actually derived from an aboriginal tribe that didn't even speak Chinese.

The only thing they had in common was that they were immigrants in Australia, but their worldviews couldn't be further apart.

"How could you not accept a deviant?" Jade growled out to him. Her foot tapped fast as she continued speaking. "For the first time in history, the colony is accepting deviant students. And you won't even have one in your club?"

"That's exactly why I won't have you in our club. Deviants are dangerous. We uphold the peace against your kind. We can't keep things stable if we have to watch behind our back to see if you'll explode."

"I will not explode!" Jade shouted.

Even their attires were opposite. Akio's hair was a natural black raven color. He went out of his way to never stick out, and made sure that his black school uniform was kept clean and simple to forcefully blend in with the other students.

Jade's eyes were pink tinted, and so was her hair. Whereas most people were desperate to conform, Jade seemed content with desperately trying to stick out in whatever way she could. Her uniform was taylor made with bright beads at the edges, shimmering extra colors that should've been against school policy.

The school had relaxed its uniform policies ever since super powered children roamed the halls. Not only had Jade replaced her cuffs and buttons of panda-shaped pins and straps, she also marked her uniform with symbols. They were zodiac animals which were associated with China before the Taiping's purges.

"You just yelled at me," Akio said stopping in place. "I've had people throw trash at me and I still stayed calm. If some students you like garbage, how are you not going to want to kill them using your powers?"

Jade cracked her knuckles, "I only need to kill one to get my point across." Akio gestured at her, proving his own point. Jade waved him off, "oh hush, you know I was kidding."

Jade's frame was tall and thin. She was well developed for her age, and was attractive to most boys in the school. Akio, however, was skinny to a sickly degree. People often belittled him for his size, bullying him and constantly implying that he was no better than a cripple.

It was why he'd joined the Edict Enforcers. Being the only oriental student in Australia was difficult, but joining the club had earned him the foundation of friends who had all come to respect him. He was now president of said enforcers, and Jade was truly testing his patience.

"All deviants are the same. You're all dangerous. I can't have one in my group."

Akio returned to sweeping. Jade grabbed the broom and extruded green crystalline from her fists around the utensils. The broom entrenched into the floor, cementing the tool with bright emeralds encased around it.

"I have complete control of my powers," Jade hissed. "I've arrested actual criminals in Taiwan. I'm experienced, you need me and you know it."

Akio rolled his eyes. He pulled out a crystal from his pocket. He tapped the broom and disintegrated Jade's crystalline into dust. "Look at what you did, your powers made dust, and now I have twice as much to clean as before. Which serves as a perfect example of how deviants only cause messes."

Jade flung her hands back. A scream suddenly stretched across the hallways. Akio turned back and glared at Jade, to which she said, "that wasn't me!"

The scream sounded off again. This time Akio dropped his broom and sprinted towards it. Jade followed behind him.