章 3: She's the Protagonist [2]

[Academy's Dormitory]

[August, 1st, an hour ago]

---

A certain girl opened her abyss-like eyes and lifted the blanket from her body. She briefly glanced at the light switch which flipped on by some invisible force through the distance to reveal a room with the bed, walls, and even rug all in a bizzare assortment of different shades of purple.

The wheelchair by the polished closet adjacent to her rolled to the bed, and again with the aid of telekinesis, she lifted herself onto it and moved to the bathroom.

Like every other day, she went through with showering without lifting a finger. When she came out in a towel, she rolled to the vanity table and applied all that needed to be applied, then made her silver hair-which had already dried by unknown means-into a neat ponytail, her ink-black eyes carrying the same cold gaze as always.

The closet opened and her uniform floated out of it, coming to a stop front of her, before she was lifted from the wheelchair into the air and spread-eagled to change into the Academy's female uniform, grey pleated skirt and blazers that had golden threads woven into the edges of the fabric.

After dressing, she took a watering can and went to the windowsill, to do the one of the only two things she loved doing. There were several purple irises planted in a flowerbed, and she paid her attention while tending to them, her gaze distant as if she was seeing something, or someone, through the flowers.

She wheeled herself to the bedside drawer opened it-this time with her hands-and out of the stack of different photos of the same woman, she took out the newest looking one. In this photograph the woman was having a face-off against an A-rank Monster, the Ironback Gorilla. This was her second hobby, photography, which was reserved for only one special person.

In the photograph. The bodysuit this 'special person' wore clung tightly to her skin, her whole body was crackling with lightning, with the bo staff in her hand bashing into the head of the 12-feet tall monster.

Even while in battle, her black silky hair was still in a neat bun, and her glasses never came off, accentuating those calculating purple eyes, with the mole underneath her left adding a whole new kind of charm.

Neesha ran her hands through the picture, her cold expression softening by a fraction, and a faint smile lingering on her face.

There was only one thing on her mind.

'Meredith. Meredith. Meredith'

Her sunlight, the one who gave her the strength in her toughest times, and the only person she truly cared about.

If the person in the picture saw this scene she would be shocked. Why? Because it was the last Monster she killed while she was Outside, before coming back to the Core in heed of the Principal's request. It got one wondering how an Academy student in the Core was able to get a shot of someone beyond Citadel's walls.

Tack-!

The drawer closed after putting the photograph back, not forgetting to kiss it. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't watch the picture forever, she had to attend the opening ceremony.

So her wheelchair barreled out of the bedroom to the living room, then outside her apartment, with the metal door closing in her wake.

She made her way through the hallway of the dormitory that was made in a metallic grey, and reached the elevator on one end of the hallway. Just before entering, she focused her gaze on the window at the other end of the hallway, and her vision magnified, bringing into view what was happening outside the dormitory, and saw her mistake.

Everyone was out, she had spent too much time simping on the photo.

But she didn't panic, and still moved at her pace, reaching the stadium 8:30, there were still ten minutes before the Ceremony.

She entered through the stadium entrance and looked to the place meant for the Alpha Class. The scrambling students she passed by subconsciously made way and quietened down, squirming as she moved to her classmates them, but she was indifferent to all the changes. She understood why she was feared.

Number 5. Since her entry into The Academy last year, she had never gone lower not higher than the fifth position. She could easily get first if she wanted, but the number five had it's own special meaning to her, which she couldn't give to anyone.

But that wasn't the reason why they feared her. It was an incident that while she was still in Year one.

When she reached the Alpha class Section, she rolled her wheelchair to the space between Otis and Lesley, the 4th and 10th rank, they had no particular sitting arrangements per se, and she didn't need a bleacher because she was already sitting on her wheelchair.

"Morning Neesha!"

She turned to her right, but the recipient of her cold gaze didn't flinch, only smiling like an idiot, so she reluctantly replied.

"Morning."

Lesley was the only one who actively communicated with her, only increasing it when she found out she was a 'fan' of the S-rank Hunter Meredith Blaire, and advising her on how to be a 'better' fangirl.

Aside from Otis, the bear as he was called, there were others at her left like the overly optimistic Aiden-his kindness was a weakness, but she never bothered to tell him.

Beside him was Avery, who always carried that friendly smile, but was a deceitful and sly snake behind the inviting facade.

Farther left sat the snobbish and self-entitled idiot-Lucas, though his arrogance had turned down a notch, it was still there.

At the end was Maia, an ebony beauty, with the scar on her left eye not destroying her allure, but only making her face more exotic, and in conjunction with her lithe body, making her more Amazon-like.

When Neesha turned to her right to continue her observation, she had to stop, because of Lesley, the green-eyed busybody distracting her again.

"Soo, how was your morning?"

"Okay."

Holding a smile and a mischievous glint in her eyes, there was suggestiveness in her voice as Lesley inquired.

"Did you, you know...rub one off?"

"Lesley."

"Okay, okay, sheesh."

Lesley flicked her golden locks and was about to drop the topic when she saw the faint emotion that flashed in Neesha's eye. She smiled, and shuffled closer, but not too close, because her tsun-tsun friend minded personal space.

"Oh? So you wanted to, but stopped because you thought you'd be defiling her?"

With pursed lips and a nearly unnoticeable blush on her expressionless face, Neesha turned to the podium, her 'leave me alone' aura nearly diminished. She just couldn't figure out how Aurora could know what she was thinking without her exposing anything.

This was it, the satisfaction she got from teasing her. Lesley always wondered why everyone restrained themselves, and so she did what she always did in this case. She sat up straight, and cleared her throat, as if she was about to give a sermon. Well to her, sharing the gospel of masturbation was a sermon.

"I've been telling you, there's nothing else that comes close to the liberation you get, no need to feel guilty at all! For example, you can imagine how stressed I was when my mom called yesterday. You know what I did? I simply searched the best photos of Sir George and-"

"Lesley, will you please keep my dad out of your perversions?" A helpless voice from her right stopped her from completing her words.

"Is that jealousy I smell, hm? Aaron? Do you want me to-"

"Just shut up, why would I want you to masturbate to my pictures? Besides my dad's a married man, how many times have I told you?"

The frustration was visible even with his eyes behind glasses. Aaron just couldn't understand why out of all the men in the world, she selected his dad as the epitome of manliness and included his photos in her 'stress-relief' exercises.

They were about to start one of their usual arguments when they felt killing intent beside them. They simultaneously looked at Neesha who was emitting it, glanced at the mangled bracelet she always wore, and traced her gaze to a particular student at the back who was trying to disappear into the crowd. Then they understood what was happening.

"Neesha, calm down, we're in public."

Her words immediately made her the target of the killing intent, Lesley's heartbeat sped up at the thought of Neesha truly killing her. But her worries were unfounded as all traces of the killing intent disappeared and Neesha went back to tenderly rubbing the bracelet.

Lesley exhaled the breath she only just realized she was holding, slumped on the chair, and thought back to the incident that gave Neesha the nickname Silver-Devil when they were still in their first year.

She still remembered vividly. Since she knew Neesha, she was never displaced from the 5th rank. During exams, she was always the fifth position, and even on [Field] trips, her Monster kills got her fifth position everytime.

It was as clear as day that she was always holding back, and could take snatch 1st rank if she wanted to. But it was only after an incident that the whole Academy knew how much she valued the fifth position, and how cruel she could be.

At the beginning of the 2nd semester(schools use the semester curriculum in Citadel), there was a transfer student who came from one of the MEIs(Mutant Educational Institute) in the Inner Circle.

It was impossible to enter the Academy midway, but there were rumours that he was the grandchild of one of the Council Seats. The rumours only got stronger as he blitzed through the Year One rankings and became the 11th rank within a month of entry.

He didn't stop there, he turned his eyes to the Alpha Class-the top ten, and made a decision he would regret. He challenged number 5.

Who would want to miss such a grand challenge? No one, and that caused a crowd, so they had to use the Stadium instead of the training facility.

In the challenge, instead of the exciting scene they expected, they only saw the courageous Ryker Graham being lifted up into the air, and slammed into the ground several times before he collapsed on the spot. But that wasn't the end, when Neesha turned back to leave the platform, he shot a crystal spike at her.

Caught off guard, Neesha had created a forcefield to stop the projectile. As a testament to her quick reaction, she wasn't hurt, but a shard of the crystal still penetrated her defense, and slashed at her raised hand cutting the old bracelet everyone including him, had seen with her since she was known.

Then and there, the whole air turned cold, an intangible dome was created to stop interference, and Ryker was lifted into the air, marking the beginning of a live torture show.

In the presence of students, and teachers who were desperately-to no avail-trying to enter the dome, Neesha started with his hands, they folded backwards and broke at the shoulders, coming to hang by the skin on his sides.

The barrier Neesha created didn't isolate sounds, so they heard the pops as his joints were dislocated one by one.

His limbs bent at impossible angles, and his bones protruded out of his skin as he was twisted in a way that he could be mistaken for a contortionist, that was if only he wasn't screaming his lungs out with tears and snot all streaming down his face, and the result of bladder failure wetting the rags that were called uniform before he climbed up the arena.

His voice had turned hoarse, but the perpetrator of his misery wasn't even looking at him, her blank, absentminded gaze only stayed on the bracelet while ignoring his every plea and cry.

When she returned from wherever her mind wandered off to, she dispelled the barrier and dropped the mangled body whose life or death was unknown.

And with cold indifference, she rolled her wheelchair out of the scene with scrambling instructors and gagging students in her wake.

In the aftermath of the incident, no one was surprised that she wasn't expelled, because the Academy valued strength.

"Lesley, hey Lesley!"

Smack!

"Ow! Why'd you hit me?!"

Aaron pointed at the podium and replied.

"The Principal's on stage already."

Lesley was fuming inside, but she held it in not to cause a scene and because it wasn't his fault that she was absorbed in her thoughts.

Even from far away, they heard his clear, booming voice.

"Good Morning students. I'm here to welcome you to The Academy...is what you thought, but I'm not going to spend a long time on stage here. The Academy is cruel, so those of you who aren't sure of themselves should withdraw after the Ceremony..."

He paused for some effect and emitted pressure that seemed to triple the gravity in the place. He then continued, his voice turning cold.

"Of the 2000 that are accepted into The Academy every year, only 15% graduate successfully. And of the 85% failures, 50% of them die during [Field] trips."

There were gasps and shivers among the Year Ones, but their seniors just smiled, they too had been through this.

"Year Ones, at the beginning of the 2nd Semester, you sign a death waiver, so make your decision before classes start this morning. Thank you."

Matias Kyne stepped down the podium to be replaced by a white haired student, dressed in the school uniform. The black indicated his Year Three status, the golden inlaid in the uniform further announcing his status as an Alpha student.

His voice carried a charismatic tone, and his smile was jovial. But his indifferent words contradicted him.

"That's it, you heard what the Old Man said, people will die, it's inevitable. So let's forget about that and proceed with the awarding Session."