"Do you think they'll put us in the sa class at this new academy?!" Himiko's innocent question hung in the air, just as it usually did. Reiji just looked at her, wondering whether to burst her bubble or play along a little longer.
"Who knows, the scholarship I got was based on academic performance. We might be in the sa class." Clearly that wasn't the case, but Reiji decided to play along.
Hearing her brother's words, Himiko's eyes sparkled with excitent. Could she really spend ti with her brother during class? That would be… Magnificent! Reiji could help her with all her subjects, even take the tests for her, and best of all:
They'd spend the whole day together!
Reiji just chuckled to himself. He wanted to see Himiko's expression later when she found out that wasn't actually the case; then he could pretend he didn't know and get away with it.
"Look, we're almost there!" Before the siblings stood an imposing academy. The entrance was swarming with hundreds of students, but sohow, everything looked deeply orderly.
No wonder—it was a private academy, after all. After Reiji agreed to join the public safety commission of heroes, he received notification that he had "won" a scholarship due to his outstanding academic performance.
Himiko had received a scholarship as well, highlighting the potential she might have in the future. An excuse not to separate them—which was the only condition Reiji had imposed.
Reiji was surprised that they had accepted his request, especially considering his young age. However, Keigo Takami—Hawks' real na—had ntioned that he had helped him out a little with it, much to the boy's good fortune.
Of course, the Toga parents were extrely happy and proud of their two children, and since he was being admitted to one of Tokyo's most prestigious academies, they undoubtedly accepted without hesitation.
Reiji's gaze fixed on the faces of most of the students; for the most part, they looked like children from a high social class—it wasn't just their faces; their postures and manner of speaking also gave them away.
From his previous life, Reiji had developed a distaste for this type of person. After all, most of the people involved in experinting on him were high-status individuals.
'We'll just have to see what lies ahead for us here...'
***
Reiji and Himiko were being led by the academy's secretary to their classrooms. It seed excessive to send a secretary just to take them to their classroom, but Reiji thought it must have sothing to do with the true purpose of his scholarship.
"This is Miss Toga's classroom. I hope you get along very well with your new classmates," she said elegantly, slowly opening the door as Himiko looked on, bewildered, and glanced sideways at Reiji.
The boy just shrugged, feigning ignorance. Himiko frowned and puffed out her cheeks but said nothing; she simply turned around and decided to go in. Although the matter hadn't been resolved, Himiko was sure Reiji knew perfectly well she wouldn't be in the sa classroom, judging by his expression, which wasn't the least bit surprised.
'He'll pay for this…' the girl thought as she crossed the threshold and her expression changed completely; this would be her first impression on her new classmates, and she wanted to make a good one. The teacher paused the class for a mont, aware of the girl's arrival at his side.
Before Reiji could see his sister's introduction to the class, the secretary closed the classroom door and began walking in another direction; naturally, Reiji started following her at his own pace.
"We've assigned you a special schedule; we'll give it to you after your first class. Until then, behave yourself." The woman spoke eloquently; Reiji just nodded beside her, and they continued down the hallway.
***
"So, how was your class?"
As soon as Reiji stepped out of the classroom, adjusting the strap of his backpack while dodging a couple of students who were still talking about him, a figure casually stepped into his path.
The boy raised an eyebrow, recognizing him imdiately. ssy blond hair, a relaxed posture, that faint smile that seed to never fade… And now, a perfectly regulation school uniform.
"What?" the boy said, tilting his head with a half-smile. "Are you surprised to see your superior here?"
Reiji simply looked him up and down.
"Are you a senior?"
Although Reiji already knew that Hawks wasn't an adult yet, seeing him dressed as a student wasn't sothing he'd expected today.
"Yeah," Hawks replied nonchalantly, slipping a hand into his pocket. "And since I'm your supervisor, it's my job to help you adjust."
Before Reiji could respond, the blond slapped a sheet of paper against his chest with a quick motion. Reiji caught it on reflex, imdiately looking down.
"Let's go."
Reiji began walking alongside Hawks without stopping, reading the docunt as they made their way down the hallway. It was a schedule. Not just for classes. There were blocks that didn't correspond to the regular academic program. Physical training, evaluations, sessions with no clear specification.
"Himiko is surely looking for right now," he said quietly, more as an observation than a complaint.
"Don't worry," Hawks replied without looking at him. "Being new brings her a certain fa that will keep her busy. That's exactly why I looked for you as soon as class ended."
Reiji didn't argue. It made sense.
Leaving the classroom had been more complicated than expected. Constant questions, curious glances, clumsy attempts to strike up a conversation. It's not like Reiji was overly sociable; he only allowed himself to be that way with Himiko—and now with Hawks.
"So? Where are we going?"
Hawks smiled faintly.
"Let yourself be surprised."
He didn't add anything else.
They walked.
The hallways began to empty as they made their way toward less-traveled areas of the building.
'This place is huge... It looks different from the outside.'
The academy spanned nearly four city blocks, as expected; even with the number of enrolled students, they couldn't fill the entire campus.
Finally, they turned a corner and stopped in front of a door that didn't stand out at all. Worn wood, a small tal plaque reading "Janitor's Office." Nothing out of place.
Hawks opened it without touching it. They both entered at the sa ti.
The interior was as expected. Tools, shelves with cleaning supplies, an old desk with papers scattered about. Nothing to suggest anything out of the ordinary.
Reiji knew he wouldn't bring him here for nothing, so he began looking around for the real reason.
Hawks walked straight to the back, ignoring everything else, and stopped in front of a seemingly normal wall. He placed his hand on a specific spot.
A click. Faint.
Almost imperceptible.
The wall slid back. Revealing a staircase leading down.
"Are we in a movie?" Reiji asked, seeing the all-too-familiar scene.
"I guess so, if you have a sense of humor," Hawks teased as he began to descend.
Reiji didn't move right away.
"Are you coming or staying there?" Hawks said a few steps below.
Reiji followed him.
The change was gradual.
With every step, the atmosphere transford. The air was different. Cleaner. Colder. The walls went from plain concrete to smooth, reinforced surfaces with integrated panels that emitted a dim light.
When they reached the lower level, the contrast was stark and highly unpleasant.
Screens. Control panels. Equipnt that Reiji could easily recognize, whose purpose was obvious: monitoring, analysis, control.
There were no staff in sight. But the place was active.
Reiji stopped. His hand clenched into a fist and his eye twitched slightly. The mory of his torture was still vivid, even though it wasn't under the sa skin he wore now.
"Not bad, right?" Hawks remarked, spinning on his heels to survey the place with pride. Unnoticing his companion's small gesture. "For sothing that doesn't officially exist."
Reiji didn't answer right away. He relaxed his body and cleared his mind with the image of Himiko. The only way to forget his past was to focus on his future—or at least, that's what Reiji thought.
"Is this where I'll be training?"
"Basically," Hawks confird.
Reiji took a few steps, touching one of the panels.
"Isn't this a bit excessive?"
"Maybe so, but you're not the only one who's been chosen as an agent. I, for example, was just one on a long list of candidates. Though you'll rarely run into anyone else, not even I know who the other chosen ones are. That's why you have to follow your schedule to the letter."
Reiji took in the information without interrupting.
He didn't ask for details. He didn't need them yet.
"Well, then I have to prove I'm better than all of them, right?" he asked with a smile, though his gaze was fixed on the tal's reflection. A cara was pointed directly at him, and who knows how many more.
'I should act according to my ideals until I find my own path; it doesn't matter as long as they don't interfere with Himiko.'
"I thought you'd say that," Hawks smiled, though Reiji's gaze on the tal didn't go unnoticed. Still, he said nothing.
How can you judge soone who thinks the sa way you do?
Unlike Hawks, Reiji did have reasons to fight beyond himself. For that very reason and his peculiar personality, he had asked to train him personally as his first personal assignnt.
That's the sa reason why Reiji's recruitnt has been so easy for the boy, but of course, Reiji didn't know that yet.
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