In the dark hallways of the prestigious Rensai High, a tall slim man walked through, red eyes and eye bags made him look like he was yanked from sleep to come to the meeting.
Tenko Yagi — homeroom teacher of the new first years, professional insomniac, and unofficial school cryptid.
The meeting room was just a large room with a conspicuous round table and a projector board.
It honestly looked more like some villain hideout than a meeting room.
Sitting round the table were the rest of the faculty members, or at least… the current main faculty members.
The principal, a pale, short man was at the head of the table, a smile, seemingly permanent on his face.
The second year's teacher, a tall, muscular man, with fur on his skin hidden by the white turtleneck he adorned, was to the principal's left.
A tall, beautiful lady with a hoodie, concealing a bit of her features, was to the principal's right.
Another short man, well into his years, guns on him, and looks like he sleeps with his eyes open, was beside the woman.
And finally… a man who could legally be classified as a literal flamethrower.
"Where's Akido?" Yagi asked after taking a seat, seeing that the head examiner was the only one missing.
"That's what we are going to discuss now" the principal said, dropping a few folders on the table before him.
"About Mr. Akido," the principal started "he was confirmed to have put malevolent spirits in the golems for the exams. We have no confirmation if they were all malevolent form the start but either way, he knew he put unstable spirits in an exam for high schoolers."
He cupped his hands together and propped his jaw on it before continuing "it's clearly against the code of conduct of the school faculty and as thus, he has been punished" he finished, gesturing to the spear that laid forgotten at a corner, blood staining its tips.
Everyone flinched a bit but only the muscular man raised his hand. "But, how can we truly be sure that he knew? I mean, it could be an accident for all we know!" he asked the head.
"I understand your reasoning, Mr. Sasori, but I needn't remind you that these things don't happen just like that, a spirit's state can be sensed by its summoners and besides," he countered, sighing before displaying a set of blueprints from one of the folders.
"As head examiner, he didn't have the rights to make blueprints for our golems, that was the job of the architects, but he was allowed to inspect it, send reports and send it to the engineers" he pointed out, gesturing to the blueprints splayed on the table.
"This design wasn't the one our architect designed and sent to us. This one is more internally durable and its core stone is different form the standard of our exams. Perfect for malevolent spirits."
Gasps were heard over the table, but the woman continued. "It looks like Akido wasn't working alone either." While everyone looked towards her, causing her to flinch a bit at the attention.
"How so?" the principal asked.
"Considering the blueprints were significantly different from what we normally use, he wouldn't have been able to get the engineers to work on it, meaning someone else must've done it." She continued, shoulders gradually relaxing, but still tugging subtly at her sleeves.
The old gunslinger clicked his tongue. "But who? No known group has the finances or influence to pull off construction on this scale. We're talking a thousand apartment-sized golems!"
The principal leaned back slowly, smile fading just a fraction—enough to betray concern.
"It's baffling, Sora. Anyways, for now, I will personally review and send all blueprints and schematics to the engineers. Keep your eyes open for any shady activities that may hint at the collaborator, I will do the same." The principal continued, his smile returning suddenly.
Heat rippled from the flamethrower-man as his irritation rose. "If someone's poking around our school, I'll turn them to charcoal."
Yagi rubbed his face. "Please don't burn down the school again." He spoke before facing the short man at the head of the table.
"What about the student who wiped them out? Please don't tell me he's gonna be in my class" he drawled, making the other faculty members sit up in recognition.
"Oh yeah, I heard about the kid"
"Yeah, he was crazy"
"Flattened the test city in one attack apparently"
The principal smiled. Like a genuine smile.
No matter the situation, one thing always made his day.
Joyfully fucking with the tired homeroom teacher.
"Well… yes! He'll be in your class Mr. Yagi! Along with the rest of the examinees" he chirped happily, seeing Yagi's face morph from "tired of being awake" to "tired of life."
And knowing that the man drank his way to unconsciousness after seeing the exams while muttering something about "Fucking broken ass abilities"
Hiding his smile behind his hands, he continued "and for now, his technique will be under investigation by me personally. His records don't register any technique so I'll take over his investigation."
"And as such, all staff are prohibited from approaching him for questioning, or harassment" he finished, voice dropping a few octaves for a second, before going back to his usual peppy tone.
All staff sweatdropped nervously.
This year's gonna be interesting.
-TENSEI'S POV-
I made it home a few hours after the vending machine quest. The voices in my head, really just the man, yelled and spat intricate and, quite frankly, creative as hell curses at me after I ignoring them for two hours.
The woman was a sweetheart.
After an attack overly loving hug from my parents, celebrating my acceptance to the school, I went to my room and laid to think.
"Okay, who the fuck are you again, and why do you decide to torture my mental space?" I asked to the voices, who took a while before answering.
"Like we said earlier; we're your first two predecessors, the first two people who wielded your powers and, depending on who you asked, your ancestors" the woman replied, while the man scoffed.
"Boy, it will do you well to show some respect, we are about a thousand times your age." He spat.
That was… disturbing and unnecessarily ominous.
I sighed. This was going to be trouble, isn't it? Besides…
"I only respect people stronger than me, which, quite frankly, not even that much" I said nonchalantly, plopping down on my face, already feeling the sweet pull of unconsciousness, dragging me into the abyss of-
"Wanna bet?" the man smirked… at least, I think he did.
"Do NOT have the strength right now. Tomorrow, anytime, anywhere, then you explain where the fucketh you came from." I yawned and fell asleep.
Asshole.
-MAWATA'S POV-
I plopped face first into my floor.
I aimed for my bed though, still, I didn't move and opted to groan into my carpet like a failure of epic proportions. Today sucked. Physically, emotionally, spiritually… probably socially too, if that even counts.
Using my powers over long periods? Draining. Almost dying? Yeah, that's also draining. And mentally? Forget it. I feel like I've been run through a blender set on "please end me now."
And of course, the idiot who saved me, Tensei, is probably sitting somewhere thinking, "Eh, just another Tuesday."
"Tensei…" I muttered into her carpet, slowly crawling over to her bed like a war veteran in an inspirational AMV.
'He said he won't leave me,' I whisper to myself. Not in those exact words, because of course not. But… close enough. Damn it.
I squirm into my pillow. Not elegant. Not graceful. Definitely not cute. But I don't care. My brain's a mess, my body's a mess, and my stupid pink hair has the audacity to exist.
I roll over onto my back and stare at the ceiling like it personally owes me money.
I'm in love with him. With my best friend. And now I have to somehow deal with that fact without passing out or yelling at him, or both.
"Fuck," I mutter again, because apparently that's my new theme song.
Even though I still blush.
-TENSEI'S POV-
Morning hit me like an oversized truck. I dragged myself through my usual routine of self-loathing and a staring contest with my ceiling. The kind of ritual that made me feel productive even if it didn't solve anything.
Then, that familiar gruff voice cut through my haze:
"Brat! Get your stupid ass outside. We fight now."
I briefly considered the health benefits of drinking bleach.
"I wouldn't recommend. It tastes pretty bad" the woman giggled.
Twenty curses and a headache later, I was out in my front yard I usually train in (or zone out in), staring at a tree like it personally offended me.
The tree… stared back judgmentally. Great.
"So… why am I here again?" I asked the mysterious fucker in my head.
"We're here to fight, brat"
"Oh! Cool. Small problem though…" I twitched. "How do you fight… a voice in your head?!"
The woman stepped up (I think) and explained. "Close your eyes and tell me what you see"
I did as she said, and in the usual void I see when I close my eyes, two figures were staring at me, one male and one was female, both looking younger than I expected.
"Okay! Now feed that image a bit of energy and push it out"
… Okay…
I tried it once… and wobbled instantly.
Not from exhaustion however, from pressure. Intense energy pressure, weighing down on everything.
Trees swayed, birds flocked away, and the temperature was both hot and cold, like a furnace and freezer had a kid with anger issues.
Then a deafening 'BOOM' echoed in the air, windows shook, my ears rang and I closed my eyes on instinct.
By the time I eased them open, I was met with the most terrifying sight I've seen in a while.
The exact image I saw in my head, the man and woman I pushed out, standing in front of me.
The woman had black, long and wavy hair. Her irises seemed like a vast blue void, and she was in one word,
Beautiful.
The man, however, was a long-bearded, calm faced man. The complete opposite of how he sounded in my head.
Both of them had something in common, however.
The universe itself seemed to warp around them, swirling around their frame endlessly.
"Welp… you're hot" I said, masking my fear behind bravado and facing the woman who just, in turn, giggled.
"I know, love! Though, try not to fall in love with me" she teased, playfully.
Heh, jokes on you, I'm unfortunately already taken by a pink haired speed gremlin.
The man coughed audibly before starting "Well, brat. Are you ready" while he put his hands in his pocket.
Honestly… no.
If I'm being real here, I am what people would call, abso-fucking-lutely terrified!
I know I talked big last night about respecting only stronger people, but, goddamn! This guy looks tough. Just his energy signals are enough to make me sweat.
"Fine." I drawled as I got into a fighting stance.
Oh well, can't take it easy on him now.
I let energy flow nonstop in my bloodstream, in my bones, in my flesh, and in my muscle fibers. A little handy trick I learned a while back, makes me almost indestructible, physically, at least.
I felt a familiar hum beneath my skin. Heat emanated from my skin as I readied myself.
"START" The woman announced.
Instantly, two things happened simultaneously.
First, the sky itself turned black, heat and gravity seemed non-existent.
And my head fell off my neck.
Piercing cold and white hot pain shot through my neck towards very part of my body sans my disembodied head.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as my head fell towards the grass. For the second time, I felt the cold breath of death on my neck, or what's left of it anyways.
My world finally turned black.
And I felt nothing