The Child Protégé

After Mr. Murasaki had the students of Youth Class B complete their initial endurance test, he took the students of Class B to their dorms where they were to wait for which room they were assigned to.

The students found themselves within the hall to their respective dorm, still drenched within gym clothes and the aroma of hard work.

Mr. Murasaki's work was nearly done, but he still ascertained his dominant position, something he'll always have within a room full of recruits.

"Now! Since we all finished the endurance test, I will be showing you all your rooms!"

"Thank goodness, I need a bath." Vivian said under her breath as if she didn't enjoy anything that happened on the first day of class.

"I need a nap…" Mitsugi added.

"Please let me get my own room…" Yuki said to himself, hoping for the privacy that he had prior to the start of the unexpected journey.

"This area is Class B's Dorm, these rooms are for only Class B students and this is above the same hall as our classroom. Each room is a gender-neutral shared room by two people."

"Wow…"

"There are a total of 10 rooms, 9 for the students, and 1 for the Inventory. Look for your last nameplates that will be plastered on your assigned room. That'll be all." Mr. Murasaki didn't waste any time exiting the hall, clearly not wanting to spend another second with 18 new students.

The students were left to fend for themselves, left to experience survival, whether it be the first time in their lives or not, this was just the beginning of the youth program.

"Hey kid, can you help me figure out who I'm gonna be sharing a room with?" Yuki asked Kaso.

"My name is Kaso, you forgot already?"

"Uh—my bad, but can you?"

"Sure. your last name is Madota, so we'll see who you're sharing a room with."

Yuki was a bit taken aback that Kaso remembered his first and last name even though he only said it once in his introduction.

"There, you're in room four with Kowal… Kowal!"

"Who's that…"

"Wow, do you know anything about the IJA?"

"Nope."

"Ehh… why are you even here…"

"It's a long story, seriously though, who is Kowal?"

"The poster child of one of the highest-ranked agents here at the IJA, Nicholai Kowal."

"Ok—who's that and why should I care?"

"He's one of the 12 Division captains of the IJA! This man is like one of the best agents here, you should be more interested in this, that man is part of the history here at the IJA. that Kowal your sharing with is his—"

"His daughter." Asami interrupts Kaso's speech.

"Hey, I think we're roommates, right? Ma-doo-ta?" Asami tried reading Yuki's surname off the door, it didn't come out quite correct, but it never hurts to try.

"It's pronounced Ma-doh-ta."

"Oh, well, I'm Asami."

Kaso remained silent, and a bit shy after it was possible that Asami overheard his starstruck comments about her father, maybe it was better for him to remain silent.

"I'm Yuki."

"I know who you are."

"You do?"

Yuki couldn't believe that she knew of him already, this is the first day of class and the first day of his involvement with the IJA, so how could this girl know about a newcomer?

Yuki couldn't take this lightly, he had to take note of this, this is just the beginning, and every student here is a possible threat to his success, everyone is a challenge to the goal he has in his sights.

They all came here for the same thing, and it's almost certain that all will not pass, it'll be a prehistoric battle for survival, and Yuki has to become the fittest to become an IJA agent, or he'll just be like the rest of the fish in the lake.

"Yeah, you're the late kid."

Oof, that one wasn't easy to take, this is the second time someone acknowledged him as that and not his own name.

Hopefully this reputation won't stain like blood, hopefully it can wash off.

"Please tell me everyone doesn't know me as the late kid…"

Asami didn't hesitate to open their dorm, and pretty much paid no attention to Yuki who asked a meaningless question that may have mattered to his self-esteem but nothing more than that.

Asami wasn't distracted by him, and focused on more important things.

"You need to check this out, late kid."

"Huh?"

Yuki looks over at the mesmerizing view that encaptured Asami, and to his surprise, the view was quite beautiful.

The sunset creeping through, lamenting it's everlasting beauty through the clear window.

The two beds were within the same room, similar to a decent motel, and something sat upon the window sill, glaring at both Yuki and Asami.

"What is it, a cat?" Asami asked.

"No—"

"So You've finally decided to show up?" Trivy said as he sat upon the window sill.

"Trivy? What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?! That's the first thing you ask?! Not, oh Trivy are you ok?! Or, oh Trivy, I'm sorry, I just forgot you at home!"

Asami looks confused, attempting to analyze something she isn't familiar with.

"A talking cat?"

Yuki, on the other hand, realized his mistake, only to be lamented by the voices within him, which happens more often than not based upon the decisions he makes.

"My bad Trivy, just calm down… I… I asked them if I could go back and they said no… I wish I could've gone back, I swear."

"You know I'm going to have to do it, right? It's only fair."

Yuki puts his head down in disappointment, more so at the current predicament that he found himself in rather than the simple mistake he made that could've easily avoided this altogether.

Not only does Yuki now have to face the consequences of the mistake he made, but he also has to hear the constant disciplinary demands from the souls of the past.

To put it simply, this was not an enjoyable day for Yuki, who not only placed last within the endurance test over something that he somehow had no control over, but now, he has to deal with the ultimate punishment of breaking the unspoken rules.

Trivy's chest opens up, and a sphere, as large as Yuki's hand, pops out of it and into Trivy's hands. He has to use both of them because his hands are comparable to the size of a toddler's and probably smaller.

"We've been working on this for how long again?"

"2 years…" Yuki is still disappointed, which can easily be heard through his mellow tone.

"And it still doesn't work!" Trivy swiftly beams the sphere straight at Yuki, perfectly aiming at his chest. The sphere ricochets off Yuki's chest, and softly lands into his hands.

"Crap…"

The ball lights up, illuminating the entire room in the process.

A fluorescent shade of blue, a color quite alluring to one who doesn't know the outcome.

The ball dramatically explodes, similar to a fizzing firework, creating smoke large enough to cover Yuki's entire head with ash.

"Holy crap, what the hell was that? And who is that?"

"Who? Trivy?" Yuki's canvas is still deeply covered in the ashes of Pompeii.

"Me?"

"Yeah." Asami is surprised at their compatibility, even though she had just witnessed a small altercation.

"He's a droid."

"And Yuki's only friend too!"

"What… hehe… that's obviously a lie, right Trivy?" Yuki is a bit embarrassed at the truth of near-complete loneliness, giving Trivy an intimidating glare through the motion of timidness.

"Yeah... whatever, jerk…"

"Listen, I'm sorry.."

"Fine, I'll just be over here, after all this is where you'll be living for the moment, right?"

"Yeah."

Asami took a back seat to their relationship, not knowing what to say, or even how to comprehend quite a sight.

Something she has never seen before within all of her shielded life, something that she doesn't quite understand.

She hasn't witnessed companionship ever, so with this being her first interaction of that sort, it was almost overbearing, strong enough to almost push her flat onto the hardwood.

A special bond that was vastly different from her and her father.

So much so that envy was inevitable, and the yearning of it grew immensely.

How can this be, something that she had never experienced just a couple of minutes ago is now at the forefront of her desires.

Will it ever wash to the shore, or will it be crushed by the disastrous waves?