Student

Aki stood in front of the fusuma and took a long, deep breath. He was wearing the official school uniform, it was like a normal Japanese high school uniform except it was looser, surprisingly very stretchy and not restrictive, both boys and girls had to wear black trousers with black blazers and a white shirt with the school logo. It had only been a week since he found out he was an exorcist and became an official student of Gyoko High. He had had a week to prepare and now he was finally standing in front of his first class. He could hear the sounds of chatter and laughter coming from inside, making him even more nervous. He quickly brushed his short black hair aside before taking another deep breath and opening the fusuma.

His heart skipped a beat and he could feel the cold sweat on his face as he stepped inside. The room fell silent and all eyes were on him. He looked at the other students and was honestly surprised, there were only three students, not counting Kelain and Nabara. Nabara and Kelain both made faces he could not read and the other students just went back to chatting, completely ignoring him.

Deciding not to make a big deal out of it, he quietly walked to the back of the classroom and sat down at the farthest desk. He settled down before looking around, for such a large school, the room was surprisingly small and quite normal, just a normal Japanese high school classroom with not-so-normal students.

He rested his clenched fists on his lap and looked out the window. The view was amazing, unlike anything he had ever seen before. He smiled a little when he saw Nabara and Kelain talking, or rather arguing. Kelain had told him about the structure of the school after the meeting with Motoyama, he explained how on the outside the school actually looked like a normal Japanese looking and sized high school, only gifted humans, spirits and exorcists could see past the illusion. He also explained how normal people could not see exorcists using their powers in and out of the school, because the moment they used their powers, the barrier that separated the worlds, the living and the dead, reality and illusion, was activated, the barrier automatically prevented a normal person from seeing them. Aki did not expect anything Kelain told him, honestly, it all sounded unreal, even fake, but he had seen it all with his own eyes, so there was no denying it.

He turned to look at Kelain's face again, Kelain had refused to tell him anything about the stone, anything about why he had lied to Motoyama, no explanation, just a cold hash "None of your business...".

The door suddenly slid open and a well-dressed man in a black double-breasted suit, black tie and dark orange shirt walked in. He didn't look old, he looked to be in his late 20s and extremely tall. His expression was cold and serious, his short black hair slicked back neatly, with only a strand left on his forehead. He was pale and his eyes were dark brown and piercing. Aki could feel his Ora, it was powerful but nothing compared to Motoyama's.

The class was dead silent as he stood in front of the teacher's desk, his dark, cold eyes scanning the room. He was silent for a while before adjusting his already perfect tie and speaking in a deep monotone but serious voice, "My name is Kunjiko Nami, your new and permanent homeroom teacher. I will be with you from your beginning.....to your end." The last line was unsettling, but it seemed that Aki was the only one who thought so, as no one else even moved, they just looked at Kunjiko-Sensei with the same dry, empty and bored expressions. "You are all First Grade Exorcists, barely anything," Kunjiko continued, his tone still the same but his eyes narrowing on them, "You are all still so young.....and so weak." A few of the students shifted and flinched before Kunjiko continued unperturbed, "This school cares for nothing and no one but the best... the strong. You have the title of Gyoko High students for a reason, but you can also lose that title and in a heartbeat....As exorcists, your job is to protect and put to rest."

Aki was confused by the last line, "put to rest", did he mean to put to rest the ghosts or the people who would die if they failed to protect? He thought about it while Kunjiko continued to talk about something, but he barely listened until the end when everyone left. He got up quickly in confusion and followed Kelain and Nabara, he was scared, he did not hear anything Kunjiko said.

Kunjiko looked at Aki, his eyes narrowing as he left the room, Kunjiko frowned before closing the door.

Aki walked next to Kelain and Nabara while they talked or maybe argued about a mission or a rescue, did they have a mission or a rescue? He wasn't sure.

Suddenly he felt a dark and powerful Ora behind them, he felt watched and stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide open and dripping with sweat.

 He slowly turned his head back to see a boy with ....a monster? standing there, his eyes dark, lifeless and cold, his skin greyish and pale, his lips dry and his hair unkempt. He had his hands in his pockets, his uniform was wrinkled and a little dirty, but he seemed unconcerned, his back was slumped.

He locked eyes with Aki before he walked past them. Aki's eyes landed on the misty, dark and cold monster behind him, its eyes were blood red and its teeth massive.

He watched them walk away until they were out of sight. Nabara suddenly slapped his head and he looked at her, "Stop staring!" she said, her face disgusted.

"S-sorry...but who was that guy?"

"Kumaichi Rukia, 4th Grade Exorcist...."

Aki was silent, wondering if the others had seen the monsteer, was it normal to see something like that here? and looked at the empty corridor before Kelain shouted "Let's go!" in annoyance before Nabara dragged him away.