《Chapter 15》
SOMEWHERE IN THE boy's dormitories was Isen typing away at his laptop in attempt to snoop in other's business as usual. His eyes lit up and he grinned when he had finally found John's old file. That was until he read through the information written inside.
HOLY SHIT! He exclaimed, not expecting to see John's stats. That level! That explains how he got into Wellston..and his unparalleled confidence.
Boldly stamped in red was the word 'EXPELLED,' right on top of his picture. Hm, so he was expelled from New Boston High School. How could any school think of expelling anyone with that level? It says here he was terminated two years ago as a second year..The timing doesn't match up! Maybe he took a year off in between..?
He flinched back when he read the next part. He was expelled...for excessive violence?! What the hell?! He single handedly took down half his class..for an unexplained reason..! This guy's not someone to mess with!
Isen continued hacking through hidden files until he found the one he had been looking for. Time to see what Y/N is hiding and if my theory is correct.
"Hey man! Congrats on top story this week!" Blyke barged in out of nowhere, causing Isen to panic. "Whatchu up to?"
"KFFKKDJEDN BLYKE! HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF PRIVACY, GAWD." He scrambled in a feeble attempt to cover his laptop screen. Unfortunately for Isen, Blyke could see Y/N in the corner of the screen. The red head sighed, "Why are you so obsessed with that Y/N girl? I found out she's friends with Remi, and I don't think she'll appreciate you stalking Y/N. I don't want to put any more on her plate right now..She's been acting different since Rei passed...more passive and unually quiet. It's worrisome, you know?"
"Mhm," Isen hummed, not paying attention.
"Could you at least pretend to care?"
"We already talked about this three times!" He complained. "How about taking her to the mall this weekend to get her mind off things?"
Blyke paused and thought for a moment."That could work. We don't have too many assignments this week. Alright, I'll let her know. Don't bail on us, okay?"
"Whatever, I know." Once the conversation ended, Blyke exited the room, leaving Isen to turn back to his screen once more. Now where was I?
There were no files he could find on Y/N in any past high schools, so he figured Y/N wasn't lying when she said the last school she attending was a middle school. She said Edgewood Middle School, if I'm not mistaken. He scrolled through the information on Y/N's profile that wasn't important, such as the date of birth, legal name, teachers, etc.
Jackpot! Upon seeing the section labeled 'Ability,' Isen leaned back and started reading.
Rank: 1
Ability: Regeneration/Pain Tolerance & click to read more
Level: 6.7 [with single ability]
She's a 6.7 with "single ability?! What the hell does that even mean?! Underneath that section was another category. He took a long sip of his soda, which was a horrible fucking idea. The soda flew everywhere as he spat it out and started choking on it.
Level: .. [with combined abilities]
(A/N: lol i ain't revealing shit yet)
What the fuck?! How is this possible?! I knew she was strong..but this is just crazy! No wonder she got into Wellston!
He read on in anticipation. It says here that she...aha! She does have two abilities! I knew it! Hm...regeneration/resistance..I already know about that one. Her other ability is..body link? The fuq? I've never heard of that ability before.
Squinting his eyes, he quietly read under his breath, "Body link...this ability allows user Y/N to link her injuries or pain to anyone she looks at. Any pain inflicted on Y/N, whether it be from herself or from another, will be redirected to her target(s). E.I: If she were to break her arm, her target(s) will immediately have broken arms as well. However, due to Y/N's other ability, regeneration/pain resistance, she can do an extensive amount of damage to her opponents without getting hurt at all. There is not a definite limit known as to how many she can link with at one time, but evidence shows that she can link with over 10 people at once."
Holy shit...that explains how the whole thing with the four mid tiers yesterday..this girl is a monster..
Comments: High achieving student; does not interact with other students much, but is respected and admired by peers; has a short temper and is easily provoked; Note: Do not interfere during a fight if Y/N is involved for safety issues (student will not hesitate to harm superiors during a fight.)
Expulsion due to excessive/unecessary violence to fellow students. (Details further explained on next page.)
So she was a model student, but has violent behavior? How does that make sense? They even left a note telling teachers to not try to get in Y/N's way in a fight..Was she that bad to hit a teacher? Isen furrowed his eyebrows and pressed the arrow to the next page. Wait...it says here that she had a nickname...
The Puppet Master..?
What the hell?! She nearly killed four girls at her school? And before that left all rosters from the rival schools in critical condition whenever they challenged Edgewood? This chick is not someone to mess with!
Who knows what will happen if I expose her?
-
《The next day》
Expulsion on a school record is serious... Isen thought back to the last page of Y/N's files as he snuck around the school in attempt to hide from Arlo.
Final note: Y/N refused to cooperate with authorities during the private investigation and did not show any respect. She spoke no words to defend her actions during her expulsion hearing, and did not seem to show any remorse. There was no improvement shown during her readjustment classes for the first year. It was only until the second year of her classes did she begin to adjust her mindset.
She spent almost two years in readjustment courses. According to what I found, John only spent three months on his courses.. Just how messed up was she to have to attend classes for that long of a time? But what I'm really curious about is...what did they do to her during those courses? He shivered at the thought of it while peeking through the side of the wall to scan the hallway. Right now John and Y/N are happily minding their own business. It's best to keep it that way. Knowing Arlo, there's no way he'll let this all slide..So I'll just have to avoid him for the next week or so-
A hand landed on his shoulder, making him shriek. "What're you looking at?"
"A-Arlo? Uh, I'm really busy this week. See you-"
"Don't even think about running away from me Isen," He said sternly, activating his barrier around them. "You've been ignoring my calls for the past few days. Care to explain yourself?"
Isen gulpes, fidgeting with his fingers. "Uh, just no new intel yet. I didn't want to bother you."
"I wasn't born yesterday. You can analyze the attack pattern of a shadow organization like EMBER, but you can't find basic info on one of your classmates? Give me a break. Now tell me what you find. Don't you want this story to be a success?"
"...I'm dropping the story." Isen declared, avoiding eye contact.
"What?" Arlo's voice was sharp.
Isen continued uneasily, "Right now I think the best course of action is to wait for Seraphina to get back and pretend this investigation never happened. John and Y/N probably have their own reasons for hiding things, so why provoke them? Everything is fine the way it is."
"They're not in they're rightful place."
"Yeah, but who are you to decide-" Isen cut himself off, eyes widening. Shit, I didn't mean to say that out loud!
Arlo grabbed Isen's neck and slammed him against the wall of his barrier. (kinky) If there was one thing that annoyed the blonde, it was when people lower disrespected him. Eyes glowing a defined blue, he threatened, "Let me remind you who's in charge of everything here. Now tell me what you found!"
Isen cried desperately, "I-I can't okay?!"
"Why not?" The barrier user questioned calmly.
"Because I'm afraid you'll do something to them...and I'm afraid of what they'll do!" Isen squeezed his eyes shut, feeling as though he said something he shouldn't have. The blonde stared at him blankly for a moment before releasing him. Looking back at the boy on the floor, Arlo announced, "If you're that opposed to exposing John and Y/N, then I can't force you to help. But I'm not letting all of this go to waste. I'll get to the bottom of this myself."
"W-wait! Please stop! You don't know what you're getting us all into!" His pleads were useless as Arlo already made up his mind.
The sad thing was that Isen was correct. Arlo really had no idea what he was getting himself into.
-
"Can I ask you a question Y/N?" John, who's hair was miraculously ungelled today, turned his head sideways to look at the H/C female. She nodded, signaling him to go on. It was the middle of a school day, so they were walking to their class together. After school they were planning to go to the boba place to hang out.
"What do you think of the hierarchy?"
That was random. She thought for a second before replying, "I have mixed feelings. But if I had to choose a side, I would say I disagree with it. Many can't help with what they're born with, so it's unfair that they have to suffer because of the way society works. Then again, the world's always been unfair." Memories of her chained to the wall as she was interrogated surfaced in her mind while countless images of her victim's limp bodies were played over and over like a broken record, until she too, was broken. I never...want to go back to that time ever again.
John was lost in his own thoughts, voicing out his own opinion, "I see. Well I want nothing to do with it at all. All it does is invoke anger and pain." Y/N nodded, his view making sense to her. After all, he has to deal with numerous problems and issues because of the hierarchy.
"Huh?!" John bumped back, dropping his papers.
Wouldn't you know? It's Arlo..of course. A sense of deja vu hit Y/N. She wondered how many times John had ran into Arlo in the past few months.
John apologized, "Sorry, Arlo-"
"Just-" Arlo rubbed his temple in frustration. "Whatever, I'm used to it." The blonde stared intently at John when he bent down to pick up his papers along with Y/N, who already was helping. The way you present yourselves is so pathetic! You're both high tiers right? So act like it!
Clicking his teeth in annoyance, he tossed an orange binder to the floor in front of the two. Y/N glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow. He's..helping us? A very small, but very much still present, smile found itself on the heterochromatic girl's lips.
"A binder, idiot. Use it. Next time you bump not someone, you won't embarrass yourself." Arlo turned around and walked away curtly after that, but stopped as John called out.
"Wait! I can't just take your stuff-"
The blonde gritted his teeth, "You annoying fu- Keep it."
John wouldn't take no for an answer. "At least let me pay you back or something. Are you free after school?" Hearing this, Y/N perked up. I thought me and John were going to the boba place after school. Unless..
-
"So Arlo, have you ever tried boba before?" John asked with a smile.
"Nope."
You've got to be kidding. Sitting in one of the booths at Woaba Boba was Y/N, John, and Arlo. John and Y/N sat next to each other on one side while Arlo sat cross armed on the other. The atmosphere was awkward and tense, making Y/N wonder why she was even here in the first place.
"You're in for a treat. It's the greatest drink ever created. You should try the mango, it's my favorite!" John recommended.
"Same," Y/N piped in.
"Okay," Arlo said plainly, not taking his eyes off the menu laid out on the table on front of him. A waitress with lilac hair in a neat bun arrived at their table. "My names Aria, what can I get you guys today?"
"I'll have a large coffee," Arlo ordered.
Didn't he just say 'okay' to ordering a mango boba? Deciding to do something about it, Y/N interrupted, "Bruh. You can't just come here and order a coffee."
"I just did."
She sighed. Turning to the waitress, she said, "Scratch that order. Just three mango boba teas please."
"No problem!"
"No, I'd like a large coffee," Arlo objected, glaring sharply.
This made the waitress nervously sweat drop, torn between what to do. I want to go home. Then John joined the argument saying that he was the one paying, so the order would be three mango bobas. Arlo then told the waitress to put it on a separate tab. This went on for a few minutes later until they all reached a compromise, relieving the poor waitress.
Soon they sat with four drinks; the three mango boba teas and the large coffee.
John crossed his arms unamused when Arlo took a sip of his coffee. "You remind me a lot of Sera when I first met her."
"Oh?" Arlo perked up.
Y/N already knew the tale of how the two had met, so she zoned out of the conversation, only drinking her tea and scrolling through her phone. This continued for a bit until John asked something that caught her attention.
"So, what about you? Do you have anyone you look up to?"
"Uh, what?"
"C'mon, there has to be someone. Sera, maybe?" John ushered.
"Her?" The blonde scoffed. "No way."
Y/N pouted, but didn't say anything. Don't be doing my soul mate Serry like that.
Arlo stared out the window before sighing in defeat. "Rei."
"Who?"
Y/N froze mid-sip. Isn't that...Remi's brother? The one who..died?
"He was my predecessor," Arlo explained. "I never agreed with the way he ran things, but it was difficult to dislike him. He had a knack for recognizing other's talents. And he was extremely powerful. If he were still alive, I'd wonder which one of us would be stronger.."
The H/C girl didn't miss the emptiness in his voice as spoke of his deceased role model. The death of Rei is taking the toll out of many people. I wish I could've met him before he died. He sounded like a good person.
"I just remembered I have something to take care of," Arlo stood up, sliding a $5 bill across the table. "This is for my drink."
Oh hell naw! Y/N speedily grabbed Arlo's tea and sprinted after Aro, miraculously spilling none on the way. "WAIT ARLO, TAKE THIS WITH YOU!!"
•••
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