Chapter 2: Arata Dawn highschool?

Derek completely lost the cops and returned home, the young hero immediately ran to his Grandpa to protest what he informed him over the phone.

"It's so not fair though, you guys taught me everything I know, which is more than enough to continue doing what our family does best alone. I can handle street scum and petty crime." Derek protested angrily but tried not to yell disrespectfully, "I don't really care and I don't really want you ending up like a picture perfect copy of your father, anti-social, always refusing to associate with anyone but the girl you love, I don't want our onus to the innocent, to the Brotherhood, to our fathers before us, to just be your existence too, live for Derek Grayson wiley for a school year, meet a nice girl and make some friends." His Grandpa calmly responded back.

"But… but… What can this school even offer me?" Derek questioned, "Something more valuable than what I and the purlieu could never, an actual life. Kid, trust me you'll eventually love it because I noticed that you thankfully take more after your youngest uncle, thankfully, than your father or that other one." His Grandpa answered him quickly.

Derek eventually got the message after going round and round in a circle with his Grandpa about the public school decision and walked back upstairs to the living room and plopped down on the couch next to one of his little brothers, Henry Wiley.

Derek gave him a soppy smile while he was focused on playing an FPS video game on their big screen, Henry was tryharding, hardcore at it, not paying attention to his older brother.

"Well, where are you guys going?" Derek asked really curiously, "The Purlieu down in Russia need us for a case. Hopefully. at max this is going to be a year but we might solve it earlier or later than that, I can't make you any promises." His Gramps answered, Derek looked and felt surprised, "I thought all of you retired though." Derek replied, "I guess the old bastard thought if we all can train and teach you, we're healthy enough to solve one final problem before retirement, but this is just our responsibility anyway. They fund you and the rest of our Brotherhood, we sort of owe them what we can give." His gramps returned.

"Oh…" Derek murmured as he thought about his words, "BUT, hey, Grandma'll be here watching and taking care of your training alone, keep practicing the uniform convoking while I'm gone." His Grandpa continued before he Chuckled while having flashbacks of their good old days, "Got it, hours will be dedicated." Derek responded with a smile.

He then left back upstairs to tell his wife, Lidia Wiley, something which left Derek with old Wiley memorabilia such as signature weapons his family before him used and his Great, great grandfather's journal that he was always forbidden to look inside of which only made his curiosity grow much stronger and eventually unstoppable. Wiley's natural investigative curiosity takes hold of him.

He looked inside the book and on the first page that he seen, nothing but a few words were written on the page but the rest were empty, it read: "Four children of smoke and Ashen, possessing each quality of truly heroic, dangerous, intelligent and fuming that belongs on levels of very few men, their only wrong deed is a celebrated and necessary execution, bringing such a sweet end to a great deal of futile revolution!" Except before he could think of what the words could have meant, his Grandpa came back down and an awkward exchange of confused staring took place after Derek jumped up, dropped the journal, startled after getting caught.

Derek's Grandpa grabbed the book while keeping his look of puzzlement, "It's time for bed, for your first day of high school tomorrow, you have to get your rest." He told him while the young hero observed that he held the book tightly, "I'm leaving tonight, so behave for your Grandma, be a good role model for your little brothers, alright Dare?" His Gramps asked him towards the end, "Be a role model for the world!" Derek replied, "My man!" His Grandpa yelled proudly while they did their own handshake.

His Grandpa took the book Derek was checking out with him and left with his co-workers, "Ugh, school starting tomorrow?? This is unfair, my dad didn't do it, he didn't need it!" Derek murmured his real feelings when he knew his Grandpa was fully out of any hearing range. Derek's little brother Henry came down moments later.

"Grandpa said shut up, you'll see this is gonna be good for you!" Henry repeated to him while trying his best to mimic Grandpa's voice.

"Wow, age really doesn't affect our hearing, huh?" Derek said aloud when he was trying to think it as he had his thumb and index finger on his chin whilst looking below at his feet.

Henry shrugged and started walking back upstairs but Derek stopped him, "You've been doing this school thing for a while, right?" He asked Henry, he nodded his head and yelled "yep!" Enthusiastically, "So, what's it like then?" Derek asked with genuine interest since he's ignorant about how school works.

"It's pretty lame and stupid, and the work's practically effortless but the old man's correct about the friends part, just make a lot and they'll distract you from the inessential classes and stuff, but I'm sure you'll have zero issues with that!" Henry answered his eldest brother, "Thanks little bro, I needed that since I'm a little scared they'll make me go to school until I graduate or something when he returns." Derek revealed as the reason he's been a little down and depressed, "Think about this, even if they did… by the end of this year, you wouldn't have friends, you'd have fans!" Henry replied with the same enthusiasm.

"Yeevsh, I sorta hope not." Derek said as he gave a bummed out sigh as he sat back on their couch.

"Why?" asked Henry, confused with his brother's arrant distress.

"We can probably talk about that when you're a little older and ready, cause I don't think I even am, enjoy being 11 and Go get some sleep!" Derek responded.

Derek gets woken up abruptly by a kid slamming his plate down while he's sleeping alone at lunch time then the kid sits down at the other side of the table.

While Derek looked terrible as he's barely able to see, like he's been mauled by a bear, and his face says it, the kid waves and smiles at him, as friendly as he's ever been waved to.

"This is as awkward for him as it is for me, but he's way more nervous than I am." Derek says in his head as he stares back with a slightly nervous smile of his own.

"Haiyo, I'm Liam tannahn, you look kinda lonely dude." Liam said in a chill voice while he held his hand out for a handshake, Derek thought he sounded like a stoner, Derek stared at him for a second thinking to himself as usual, "I hate this, thanks gramps, what do I say here?" Derek thought to himself.

Derek shook his hand but remained silent and a little shy, he was sweating a teeny bit and couldn't control his strength too well so he squeezed Liam's hand stronger than he meant to, Liam didn't say anything about it and kept his pain to himself as he held it but he quickly recovered.

"I saw you struggling after each class to find the next, I was gonna help but-" Liam informed as he tried to get him to speak, Derek took a moment to calm himself, he didn't know what was going on with him but his self control came in handy, "The Henry way, the Grandpa Phil way!" Derek repeated in his mind before he spoke to Liam while trying to calm himself. Derek's palms was heating up and he was slightly sweaty, his heart was beating faster.

"Um, yeah, I'm Derek wiley, or Derek you can call me if you want." Derek blurted nervously, "Sorry, I've never done anything like this at all and shouldn't there be labels or something for each class?" Derek admitted way calmer and controlled and asked unsure.

"Yeah, someone keeps removing them and pulling a bunch of other pranks around here, wanna be friends?" Liam responded then swiftly asked out of nowhere.

Derek seen the girl that was chosen to be his guide this morning walk by with her friends laughing and conversing but he didn't care for any of that, he goggled at the girl like she was the girl of his dreams.

"Ah, A crush on Kamila methadonna, huh?" Liam asked when he noticed Derek gawking at her, Derek sucked in his drool and blurted out, "S-SURE?" But it was in response to Liam's question about being friends.

"I mean, no, wha—?" Derek gainsaid Liam's question about his crush, "I don't have time for that mess, anyway." Derek said aloud but he meant to keep it in his head, "fifteen and you don't have time for a girlfriend…?" Liam asked him, very perplexed and confused. "Huh, oh yeah, I have a ton of…. Very after school activities that keep me busy until bedtime!" Derek replied but he kept nervously stuttering the whole way through.

"Sounds like ya got alotta weight on your shoulders then…" Liam replied, "Oh, you have no idea about the expectations." Derek murmured.

The bell rang, everyone chaotically began leaving the cafeteria to their next classes and so did Derek, "See ya!" He said while waving as he left backwards, his heart was still racing.

"Wait, lemme show you to your classes actually so you don't look like a moron!" Liam yelled as he tried to catch up to his new friend because Derek naturally walked quickly and walked the wrong way.