🕊 Chapter Fifteen: Cram School🕊
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"Meet your First-Year Class Representative, Yukio Okumura!"
My eyes widened in surprise. 'Yukio!?'
"That means he got the top scores in the entrance exam! Wow!"
"Do you see how hot he is?!"
I stared down at the girls in front of me as they talked about my brother. It was strange. From the shy bullied kid to the guy girls swoon over. I chuckled as I listened to him speak in front of the large room full of students.
"To be able to join you here at True Cross, a school I've long admired is something that's both thrilling, and sobering. I urge you all to study hard and be diligent to live up to the standards of this special place. I'm your Freshman Class Rep. Yukio Okumura."
"Psst..."
I jumped at the sudden noise, Alaina stood in the row behind me with her uniform on. "A-Alaina! Wh-What're you doing here?...!"
She smiled, "It's weird to think, right?" She looked down towards Yukio who was now walking off the stage back to his seat. "Your little brother grew up well, don't you think?"
I smiled, looking down at him as well. "He was your brother too, you know. You might not be related by blood to us, but you will always be part of the family." I looked back at her, seeing her looking at me with happy eyes.
She nodded, "You have a point. Thank you, Rin." She placed a quick kiss on my cheek, making me chuckle nervously, blush on my cheeks as I rubbed the back of my neck. She giggled.
"Ms. Ejiri, would you please be so kind as to take your seat?"
Alaina stood up and bowed her head. "Yes, sir! My apologies!"
She bent back down to my height and smiled at me, "See you outside,"
I nodded my head, returning her smile, "Cya."
She stood up and turned around, walking back up the stairs to her seat, throwing out apologies to people who she had to pass.
The orientation went on for a little while longer, all boring stuff I didn't really care about.
We were dismissed and we made our way outside where kids gathered to talk to their friends and whatnot.
Alaina ran over, her hand waving in front of her. "Rin! There you are, I lost you once we got outside."
I turned around, the Komo sword being wrapped around my shoulder.
She stopped in front of me, resting against her knees as she caught her breath for a moment. "Weird isn't it? I never thought there'd be another day where we'd be going to school together. I'm sure you're not looking forward to the school aspect of this." She looked at me and chuckled.
My cheeks flushed, "You're right about that..." She always knew what I was thinking. Living and growing up together for eleven years has its perks I suppose. I smiled at her, her eagerly returning it.
"May I have your attention, please!" The both of us turned toward the loud voice that boomed from across the courtyard. "I will be taking you on a tour of the campus as part of your orientation."
"Told ya," Alaina smiled at me cheekily, making me roll my eyes.
"Y-Yukio. Which class are you in?"
We turned around, seeing those two girls who swooned over him speaking to him. Yukio turned to them with a faint blush on his cheeks. "The... advanced class."
"Oh, I should've known!"
"Wow! You're so~ tall~!"
I smiled at him, remembering the time when I caught him labeling a plant in the kitchen. He was so nervous I had found out, he began shaking. Alaina and I had always supported him in his dream of becoming a doctor someday.
My eyes narrowed over at him, 'He doesn't have a clue about anything. And I'm not gonna drag him into it. No. It's my problem. Alaina shouldn't have to deal with this. She should've been able to go to school like a normal person, not as some demon.'
I looked over at her, she had a smile on her face as she stared at Yukio while he spoke to those girls. She always cared about us, and continuously tried her best to make us smile. It was rare to see her fail.
I smiled. 'Same as always,'
We eventually made our way to the entrance hall, a large open room with a red-carpeted staircase in the center leading up to the higher level, with two up-and-down escalators on each side of the stairs.
"Race you to the top?" Alaina asked, staring at me with a small smirk.
I looked over at her, a smirk growing on my lips. "You're on."
She yelled 'go' and we both sprinted as fast as we could up the large number of stairs.
"I won!"
"No way! I totally beat you!"
I glared at her and she returned it, getting in my face.
She suddenly smiled, her eyes closed. "A tie as always."
She began walking away, following the guide to the first stop.
I chased after her, "I still won!"
"Whatever you say, Okumura!"
We followed the guide into a large dining hall, the ceiling was tall, and fancy chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
"Woah~ Would you get a load of those chandeliers? It's like a fancy-schmancy restaurant!"
Alaina laughed and stood behind me, looking around, "It does, doesn't it. At least we know we'll be getting a good lunch." She said, walking over to a vending machine, soon sweatdropping. She stared at the vending machine where you bought a ticket. "So expensive..."
"Attention! We will be moving on to one of the classrooms!"
Everyone began following the tour guide into a large classroom. The ceiling was high just like every other place in here.
"Damn. You think they could've made this room any bigger?" I looked over and pulled out a chair, sitting down with a cheeky smile, "Hell, even the desks here are bigger than the ones at the monetary!"
"What's that guy's deal? He's freaking out."
"I know. What's a weirdo like that doing here?"
I glared out of the window, resting my chin in my palm.
The guide leads us back downstairs, "That's all for today. Classes start next week so you should go back to your dorms and get settled in."
"Hey, Rin," I looked over and saw Alaina standing there with a smile on her face. She turned her head and looked behind her. "I was gonna head to the library. Wanna come?"
I stared at her, grimacing slightly. "Ugh, the library? What for?"
Alaina smiled, staring at the list of things to check out in her hand, "I want to see if they have 'To Sleep In A Sea Of Stars.' I've been looking for that book everywhere."
I stared at her with an awkward smile, "You always did like to read."
She nodded with a laugh. "Yeah. I really liked reading with you when we were little then you got all rebellious and was like, 'No way! Reading is for nerds!'." She laughed at her attempt at imitating my voice.
I felt my face flush from embarrassment, "Wha-?! I never said that!"
She giggled, folding the paper and put it in between her sweater and button-up. "Sure you didn't. If you don't want to come that's fine, but I'm going now!"
I shook my head, "Nah, I'm good. You go ahead." I waved my hand as she left for the library. The library was of course another place in the school that was a lot bigger than any other library I've seen.
I continued my way downstairs, my hands stuffed in my pockets as I turned into a hallway. 'After junior high, I was just gonna get a job or something. I don't care about any of this high school b.s. All that matters now... is becoming an exorcist.'
I stopped in my tracks, turning around suddenly, "Wait! Where the hell are the dorms, anyway?! No one tells me jack around here!"
I looked down, hearing a small whine. A small white shaggy dog stood, staring up at me.
"Who let you in? W-Whoah!" I stumbled on my feet, the small dog running by my legs. It stared back at me, the same symbol that the old man used to stab himself was on this dog's collar. It began running away,
"What the-...?" I chased after it, mumbling to myself.
It ran outside and down a curving road. It jumped onto a streetlamp, struggling to do so. The dog suddenly combusted into a cloud of pink smoke, making me jump back, surprised.
"Pardon me, but it would be unseemly for the director to be caught prowling around the halls during the day."
I stared at Mephisto, surprise lacing my voice, "You shapeshifted! Does that mean exorcists can shapeshift?!"
"God no! Although, I am an exception." He pulled out a gold key from his jacket, throwing it at me. I narrowly caught it from the swift throw. "That key allows access to the Cram School through any door at any time."
"Cram School?"
Mephisto jumped down, landing gracefully on his feet as if he just floated down. "It's where you'll train to be an exorcist. Each day you'll attend normal high school classes, but afterward, you'll train at the Cram School to become a page. While you study exorcism, you'll be considered an exercise in training."
He smiled and walked forward, "Your high school classes don't begin 'till next week. But Cram School? Well, that starts today. I trust you're ready to begin?"
"Never been readier."
"Indeed," He held up his finger, poking my chest with a smirk, "I must warn you though, it would be best if you kept the whole 'Son of Satan' thing confidential. Say what you want about your ears, fangs, and tail, but the flames are a no-no. Control yourself."
I frowned, eyes narrowing. "Okay. I'll do my best."
"Fabulous!" He turned around, jumping on the edge of the small bridge street.
"Hey, wait a second!" He looked down at me, a small hum leaving his throat as he smirked at me, "What about Alaina? She's becoming an exercise too, so where is she?"
He covered his face with his hand, staring at me through his fingers. "My, you're a worry-wart, aren't you? She'll be fine, don't worry your demonic little head off. She's currently making her way over. An exorcist has notified her about Cram School classes."
"Hmph... Fine."
"Very well! Let's get to it, then!" He jumped up, falling down the side of the ledge.
"H-Hey!" I ran over, peeking my head over the side.
"Now then!" He stood on the dirt ground, looking up at me, "Use that key of yours to try and open one of these doors, if you would be so kind."
"Uh, y-yeah, sure." I vaulted over the side of the bridge, landing harshly on the ground. I stood up and brushed off my uniform, walking over to the door with the key in hand. I inserted the key and twisted it, hearing a loud click.
I opened the doors, staring inside at the large hallway doused in many gloomy-looking colors. "Wow..."
Mephisto entered behind me, the door closing. "The freshman classes are in 1106. This way~,"
I turned around, running over to catch up as he walked along. "O-Okay..."
We stopped in front of a large door. Room 1106. "Here we are. Oh, and, I'll be sitting in with you today."
A bead of sweat ran down my temple to my chin. My heart began to race, "Ah, shit... Now I'm getting nervous..." I mumbled, trying to take a breath to keep myself calm.
"Eins, Zwei, Drei!" He snapped his fingers, a poof of pink smoke engulfing him. When the smoke dissipated, the same white dog was left behind. He turned to the door, "Alrighty, let's go."
"Wait! You can talk?!"
The dog looked up at me with lazy eyes, "You sure you want to be an exorcist? You better make up your mind before you open that door~,"
I looked down at the door handle before reaching my hand out, gripping it tightly. I pushed it, the dark door opening. I looked in, seeing not even ten people. 'What a dump...' They all looked at me, so, I greeted myself. "I'm Rin Okumura. Nice to meet you."
I walked inside, the door closing behind me. I took a seat in the front middle desk, glancing at everyone in here, as I mumbled to myself. "What's with these guys?"
Mephisto jumped up onto the desk, "They're exorcists in training. Here to learn the ropes just like you. Some of them haven't received their Temtaints yet while others have already been afflicted."
My eyes narrowed down at the white dog in curiosity, "What's a Temtaint?"
"It's a wound or disease inflicted by demons. Since being infected with a Temtaint enables one to see demons, it's sort of like a right of passage every exorcist must undergo. Well, of course, in your case there's no need for it is there? I mean, you are a demon after all."
My eyes narrowed down at him. Does he have to keep rubbing it in?
The door opened once again, making Mephisto turn his head. "Ah. It seems your instructor has arrived."
My eyes glanced over at the man who closed the door behind them. They turned around, making my eyes widen. They walked over to the front desk, placing down his briefcase.
"I'm your instructor, Yukio Okumura."
I choked on my spit, standing up in surprise as I pointed at him in disbelief,
"Y-Yukio!?!"
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