{THE NEXT DAY}

Nozomu and Tanjo could be seen walking west continuously, in an ostensibly infinite forest. Eventually, the two reached the edge of the forest, spotting a sight that made Nozomu exhale in relief. It was the sight of a wooden sign posted in the dirt, with the name inscribed on the front.

"Buraun Village."

XXX

Walking up to the village, Nozomu and Tanjo, who was fixed on his back by being strapped in a red cloth sling that tied around Nozomu's torso, were stopped at the entrance. A red barrier appeared, halting Nozomu in his tracks.

"State your business." An unfamiliar and raspy voice demanded.

Looking to Nozomu's left, a small room was present, with glass covering the top half of the front. Nozomu was only standing there dumbfounded, seemingly not understanding the order.

"I said, state your business." the new voice repeated, agitation lacing his words.

"I'm looking for a place to stay; our last home was raided, and we have nowhere to go currently." Nozomu responded, now fully describing the situation.

Accepting Nozomu's answer, the man in the concession-like room grabbed a pencil and started filling out a sheet of paper. The man also nodded and continued.

"How many are with you? Is it just the child?" The man inquired, his gaze drawn to the infant strapped to Nozomu's back.

"Yes, sir." Nozomu swiftly replied, slightly turning the strap on his torso to make the newborn more noticeable.

The strange worker resumed filling out the sheets of paper before him, humming in acknowledgement as he inscribed Nozomu's information. It took seemingly forever, but eventually, the man in the small room lifted his head and stared Nozomu in the eyes, his face sagging.

"Very well. To become associated with us, you must go to the Village Information Center and speak with the people there; they will help you in your situation." The man informed Nozomu, smacking the end of the pencil against his desk repeatedly.

"Thanks..." Nozomu never caught the man's name.

"Miru." Responded the man, seemingly knowing the problem.

"Got it, thank you." After Nozomu thanked the man, he continued walking into the village due to the barrier being dropped momentarily.

Nozomu and Tanjo are now heading along a village route that leads directly to the Village Information Center. As they walked, Nozomu observed all of the buildings, businesses, restaurants, and other spots, taking mental notes on their surroundings. When they arrived at their destination, they arrived at the doors of the Village Information Center and opened them. The two went inside and noticed three different queues established in front of the reception windows, with people in each line receiving what they had requested.

Books were also piled everywhere; tons of shelves were placed, forming isles similar to those in a library. Nozomu then walked up to the far right of the line, waiting for his turn to walk up to the window.

"Wha- waaa!" Nozomu then heard the newborn start to wake up from his slumber and cry, making everyone in the information center look in his direction.

"Shh, Shh—please be quiet!" Nozomu whispered, attempting to calm down the infant.

Nozomu then tried gently rocking the kid, first taking him out of the strap and cradling him. Hoping that the baby will simmer down, "Please, at least stay quiet for a few moments longer!" Nozomu pleaded.

"Next!" Hollered out the female receptionist at the window, alerting Nozomu that he was next in line. He then quickly walked up to the window, whilst still attempting to calm Tanjo.

Noticing that Nozomu walked up to the window, the receptionist started, "State your name and needs." The receptionist requested, seemingly not caring about the half-wailing baby,

"Kaminari Nozomu, and the child's name is Tanjo Ketsu—" Nozomu slightly stuttered, 'Shit, what name do I give the kid? I never thought about this much.' Nozomu mentally panicked, confused as to how to continue. Nozomu then breathed in and out, then he finally answered the receptionist's question:

"Tanjo Nozomu, and we're here to acquire a home....."

XXX

Currently, Nozomu and Tanjo were standing in front of a small house designated near the village walls on the east side. The house contained a stereotypical triangular asphalt shingle roof, white walls, and windows being placed all over various locations.

"The home isn't that bad," stated Nozomu, who was checking out the place. "Now, let's get moving." Nozomu pointed to Tanjo, who is now in his left arm.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

{SIXTEEN YEARS LATER}

A sixteen-year-old boy with dark black hair and indigo blue eyes can be seen laying down in a dark room, only lit up by his one window at 5:45 in the morning. He now appears to be sleeping. However, the boy was promptly startled as a loud voice bounced off of the room's walls.

"Tanjo! Time for school!" A deep voice called out to the jet-black-haired boy, making him groan sluggishly and get up slowly in response.

The boy moved from his bed and went to do his morning routine, such as showering, brushing his teeth, and such. Once the boy finished his daily necessities, he left his room and was met with the sight of a middle-aged man sitting on a chair at a table.

"Old Man, what time do classes start?" Tanjo asked groggily, scratching the back of his head.

The "Old Man," now revealed as Nozomu, was reading a magazine but slightly craned his head at Tanjo's voice. "You have to be there by 6:15; once you're there, they give you a schedule and proper directions for the year." Nozomu calmly answered, somewhat distracted by a newspaper article.

Buraunmajikku Academy, named after the village itself, Buruan, is a school for learning how to utilize the Aura Sense, the inherent power that resides in all humans. Tanjo can be spotted running down a path in said village, heading towards the academy. After running from his home to the academy, he finally arrived at the school.

"F-finally made it." Tanjo huffed, feeling slightly more awake and energized from the run there. Oddly, he felt no exhaustion, but merely the rejuvenating feeling of using more energy than usual.

Once he arrived, he saw multiple kids his age walking in, most likely starting the school year just like him. The school accepted students from their first year to their third year.

"Hey! Watch out!" A new and unfamiliar voice warned, making Tanjo turn around and feel something traveling at high speed slam into him, knocking him into the stone ground.

"What the hell?" Tanjo says he got up and saw a boy with dirty blonde hair, yellow eyes, and his own age on the ground. Once the realization struck the jet-black-haired boy, it became clear that this strange kid was the cause of the topple.

"Sorry!" The random teen exclaimed, now standing up. "I was trying to ride my bike here, and I was in a rush, and... you see how that went! Heh, heh." The boy chuckled as he proceeded to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.

Calming down, Tanjo reasoned with himself, not finding the energy to be annoyed with the blonde. "Oh, it's fine. Nothing hurts."

After the reassuring words, the blonde-haired kid's face brightened up. "Oh! The name is Naguru Akogare!" The teen randomly shouted, a goofy grin stretching his lips. "Nice to meet you!" He greeted, sticking his hand out for supposedly a handshake.

"Yeah. Tanjo Nozomu—nice to meet you as well!" Tanjo hesitantly responded, shaking the kid now known as Akogare's hand.

"Well, we should probably get going. They're potentially addressing our homerooms soon!" Akogare announced. The two kids, reminded of their duties, strolled into the academy, traversing through the large building.

XXX

A huge room can be seen; columns of seats are getting filled up by students, ranging in age from first-year students to third-year students.

"Alrighty then, where to sit?" Tanjo questions himself. After 5 minutes of searching, he found a seat next to a blonde-haired girl and surprisingly, the kid he ran into moments ago outside.

Tanjo then walked up to the people he spotted and spoke audibly, "Hey, mind if I sit here?"

Not even a second after requesting to sit down beside the two blonde-haired kids, Akogare had sprouted from his seat with a bright smile.

"Oh! It's you again! And sure, I don't mind." Akogare hollered arbitrarily, only to then calmly answer the question. It was odd, observing how the blonde male could easily transition from excited to calm.

'Is he aware he does that?' Tanjo mentally wondered as he then began to sit down.

After roughly ten minutes of patiently waiting in an extremely talkative and loud room, a microphone could be heard getting tapped, causing a sound to echo throughout the area.

"Hello, hello? Hey! Here we go! Allow us to welcome you to Buraunmajikku Academy!" A very excited woman with brown hair on stage hollered. "Now, some of you were here last year and the year before that, and I am glad to congratulate you for managing to make it to the second or third year of this school!" The woman praises before joyfully clapping. "For those who don't know, I am the principal. My name is Ms. Manabu!"

The principal smiled gently at the crowd before her, her eyes sweeping over every person that sat in the room. Manabu had high hopes for the current year, tapping her foot against the floor with enthusiastically.

"Now, attached to your seats are little pockets. I want you to reach into them and take out the pieces of paper that are inside!" The principal gave the order while clasping her hands together. "On the first sheet, write down your name and Aura Sense; so either blue, yellow, red, or purple! Then on the second sheet, it shows the school layout and where to go, depending on what's written on the first sheet. Blue Aura Senses go to the northeast side of the school, yellow to the northwest, red to the west side, and purple to the rooms east of here! Does that all make sense?"

The room then got filled with a plethora of "yes" and "yeah" before going somewhat quiet once again.

"Great! You all catch on so quickly! Now, enough chatting. GO HAVE THE BEST YEAR OF YOUR LIFE!" The principal shouted happily, flinging her arms in the air.

XXX

Tanjo, Akogare, and the blonde girl that was sitting next to them stood tall in the nearest hallway, standing off to the side as a swarm of students flooded the building, rushing to their designated classrooms.

"Well, that surely was something." Akogare said, a little shocked.

"Yeah." The blonde girl said, also feeling a little shocked.

"Oh! You two never met!" Akogare hollered once again, startling the two other teenagers.

'That answers my question from earlier, I guess.' Tanjo thought to himself.

"Her name is Apiru Naderamu!" Akogare informs, wiggling his hands as he presents the blonde girl. "And this is Tanjo Nozomu!"

"Hey!" Tanjo greeted the girl with a smile and a soft wave. It felt odd to speak to other kids his age—it was a tad nerve-racking but also immensely relieving.

On the other hand, the girl merely remained quiet for a brief period of time before inevitably sighing and said, "Yo."

Naderamu did not appear to be the most sociable person in the world. Her visage was bleak and it was clear that she did felt generally indifferent about the current situation of being accepted into the school.

"Naderamu and I are going to the same classes since both of our Aura Senses are blue!" Akogare gleefully announced.

"Oh, that's cool!" Tanjo complemented, his eyes lighting up.

Without warning, Akogare tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, asked an interesting question...

"Tanjo, what's your Aura Sense?"

XXX