“Yoiya? Are you okay?”

  Mia touched my forehead as she lifted my back off the bed, supporting me.

  I let out a groan, mentally drained despite having just woken up.

  ~I spent the whole night running from a few phantoms…

  “Think you’ll be okay to go to school? I might be able to get your transfer date postponed a day or two.”

  ~School? Right. I start today… If I remember correctly, it’s an educational institute for mortals.

  “Yeah. I think I’ll be alright.” I crawled off the bed, getting to my feet.

  Mia continued to stare at me with concern. “Alright.” Letting out a small sigh, her face returned to its usual gentle smile. “Make sure you put on your uniform and get your bag.”

  “Right.”

  ~Uniform? I think I recall her mentioning something like that last night.

  I looked over to the clothes hanging on the door as she left. Black jacket, white undershirt, and black pants.

  ~At least it doesn’t stand out.

  I got to my feet and walked over to it, pulling it down to put on.

  It was pretty easy to equip but…

  ~Seems a little tight. A bit hard to move in…

  “You get it on alright, Yoiya? I have breakfast ready.” She peeked back into the room. “Oh, wonderful! Now come and eat. You don’t want to be late, lil bro.”

  “Right.”

  ~What was that spell that Vessa would often use on Soul? Right.

  I grabbed the collar of the jacket, acting like i was adjusting it as I whispered a little incantation.

  “Growth.”

  With that, the jacket grew a little larger.

  I adjusted my sleeves after that, folding the cuffs in a bit more before I sat down at the table.

  “Hm?” Mia stared at me with a hint of confusion, a piece of toast in her mouth.

  She gazed intently at my jacket, her eyes darting around it.

  “What is it?” I asked, trying to mask my nervousness.

  “Oh nothing. It’s just you look so nice in everything you wear, lil bro!”

  “Oh… Thanks…”

  ~All I’ve worn lately is black hoodies and white tshirts, though…

  With that in mind, i began to eat.

  Once we ate, Mia washed the dishes, finishing up our usual morning routine.

  With a quick glance to the clock, she patted me on the back and smiled.

  “Time to go.”

  I grabbed my bag and followed her out the door.

  …

  The morning air was cool when we stepped outside, the kind that clung to your skin and made everything feel a little too sharp.

  Mia locked the door behind us, humming softly as she adjusted her bag.

  “First days are always a little scary,” she said, glancing at me. “But you’ll be fine. Just stick close to me til we get there. I’ll be introducing you to the teachers in the faculty office first. I am your guardian, after all!”

  She smiled with pride as she spoke that last sentence, her face brightening more than I’ve ever seen it before.

  I nodded, though my mind was still fogged from the night’s visions.

  The phantoms lingered at the edges of my thoughts, their whispers fading only when Mia’s footsteps filled my ears.

  We walked down the quiet street together.

  Other students passed us in pairs and groups, chatting, laughing, alive.

  I tried to mimic their pace, their posture, their ease.

  I found it surprisingly easy to mirror once I memorized them, but it still felt a bit unnatural.

  ~Mortals really are something else…

  Mia nudged me gently. “You’re spacing out again.”

  “Sorry.”

  She smiled. “It’s okay. Just stay with me.”

  I did.

  Because the closer we got to the school gates, the brighter the world seemed to get. It was much unlike Void I grew up in and I wondered.

  ~Am I truly ready for what comes next?

  …

  As soon as we passed through the gates, whispers and murmurs arose.

  “Is that…?”

  “Who is he?”

  “New student?”

  “But isn’t that…”

  “Just like the pictures, isn’t it?”

  I ducked my head down, averting my gaze to my feet as I walked alongside Mia, trying my best to ignore the voices.

  Mia, noticing my reaction to the whispers, grabbed me by the hand and pulled me close. Picking up her pace, she hurried me along inside, down the halls, and to a room with a sign labeled “Faculty.”

  With a whoosh, she slung the door open.

  “Good morning! I came by for a visit, teach!”

  Within the office-like space, many adults rose their heads in surprise to Mia’s grand entrance. But they all simply smiled and let out a chuckle, with one man in particular bursting out in laughter as he stood to his feet.

  He approached us, holding out his hand to shake Mia’s, who shook it rather enthusiastically.

  “I heard you were stopping by, but you haven’t changed a bit, Mia. My, has it been a long time.”

  “What do you mean? Me and the girls were here just a few months ago for the annual Golden Week culture festival like we have every year since we’ve graduated high school!”

  “Right, right. And this is?”

  “This is the one I talked to you over the phone about! My lil bro, Yoiya!”

  I nervously smiled and raised my hand to greet the man.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “H-hi… Yoiyami Yuruichi. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

  “Wow. Such formality for such a youngun.” The man said, his smile beaming almost as brightly as Mia’s.

  I averted my gaze away.

  ~That was just some greeting I memorized from some television show…

  The man held out his hand once more. “My name is Yoshito Morita. I’ll be your homeroom teacher, just as I was for miss Yuruichi in the past.”

  “I told you to call me Mia, teach. I’m an adult now, you know?”

  “Right, right. My apologies, Mia.” He bowed slightly a couple of times to Mia apolegetically before returning his gaze to me. “Homeroom will start in about twelve minutes. Perhaps your sister can show you around the school befo-”

  “Crap!” Mia suddenly shouted, looking at her watch. “I’m going to be late for work! Uhh… Yoiya…?”

  Mia stared at me, pleadingly yet clear with worry.

  I gave her a smile. “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”

  She returned the smile, but still seemed a bit hesitant. She approached Yoshito, gazing up at him closely. “If anything happens, call me immediately! Got that?”

  The teacher, surprised by her sudden intensity, backed away a bit. With a gentle expression of his own, he assured her. “Yes, yes. I will do just that.”

  “Good!” She rushed over to me, giving me a tight squeeze. “Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll come running. So be good and look out for bullies, okay?”

  I gave her my usual simple nod in response.

  With that and a pat on the head, she hurried out of the faculty office, leaving not a trace behind.

  As I looked over to Mr. Morita, he held a handkerchief to his forehead, wiping his sweat.

  “She seems even more intense than back then. You sure seem to be in good hands with her, mister Yuruichi.”

  “Aha…” I let out a small, muddled laugh.

  “I’ll have your class representative show you around the school during homeroom, but you can feel free to explore on your own until then, mister Yuruichi.”

  “Okay… Thanks…”

  I left the room, shutting the door behind me quickly with a thud.

  ~Oops. Guess these slide doors are a bit hard to handle.

  I began to walk down the hall.

  ~Actually… Come to think of it… Mia has always opened doors for me before now.

  “Is that him?”

  “Word is that he’s Mia’s brother.”

  “So is he a prodigy, too?”

  “He’s so handsome, too.”

  “I know right. That white hair and those golden eyes are unreal.”

  The whispers of the nearby students brought my mind back to reality.

  Embarrassed by their comments, I once again ducked my head and picked up my pace, twisting my bangs as I tried to make my getaway..

  Though, my escape was quickly brought to a halt as I bumped into something— looking up: a person, another student.

  His facial expressions seemed twisted, like he was mad about something.

  “Problem?” I blurted out quizzically, unaware of how it sounded til the words had already left my mouth.

  Though I only meant to ask if he needed help with something, it seemed I had only made him angrier. With a single hand, he quickly pushed me against the wall.

  “So you’re the new guy everyone seems so excited about, huh?”

  “And?”

  Once again, I blurted out only the necessary words as my mind fumbled nervously for a proper response. And with that, his facial expressions twisted even more. Even I, who had not had much experience with emotions, could tell exactly what he was feeling towards me: disgust.

  “It seems I might need to knock you down a peg, transfer student.”

  “Oh?”

  Behind me, in the window, the shadows of my backside’s reflection unfurled without notice, flinching as the hall fell silent.

  The boy grabbed me by the collar and raised his hand, clutching his palm into a fist.

  Though, mere seconds after he began to throw it at me, my hand wrapped around it.

  I began to squeeze it, smiling at him with a piercing gaze that seemed to glow a bit.

  “Mind telling me what your issue is? Perhaps we could solve it together.”

  ~Finally. I managed a proper response!

  Though, my inner joy immediately shattered as I noticed the boy’s face twist from disgust to pain. I glanced over at his hand, subtle popping and cracking noises coming from it.

  ~Oh right. These are mortals. Mortals can break.

  I quickly let go. The boy stumbled back, clutching his hand, eyes wide with something between fear and confusion.

  “Sorry.”

  And I continued my escape.

  ~Mortals are a lot more fragile than I expected.

  I continued down the hall, trying to steady my breathing.

  But the whispers followed me like a tide.

  “Did you see that? It was too fast to see.”

  “He stopped his punch with one hand.”

  “No—did you see his eyes? They were glowing.”

  “Is he… dangerous?”

  “I heard he’s Mia’s brother. Maybe he’s like her.”

  “No way. He’s scarier.”

  My footsteps echoed too loudly in my ears.

  The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, flickering just enough to make the shadows twitch.

  ~Great. Now they’re afraid of me.

  A group of girls hurried past, glancing back at me with wide eyes.

  “He didn’t even flinch…”

  “He looked like he was smiling.”

  “Do you think he’s some kind of prodigy?”

  “Or a delinquent?”

  “Or cursed?”

  I ducked my head again, twisting my bangs between my fingers as I walked faster.

  The reflections in the trophy case warped as I passed, stretching into shapes that didn’t match my posture.

  I forced myself not to look.

  ~Mortals sure talk a lot…

  Eventually, I found myself alone in an empty hall, a set of doors to my left.

  I looked up, reading the sign.

  “LIbrary.”

  Then the bell rang, resounding in my ears as it bounced across the walls.

  …

  “Finally found it. Class A-5, right?”

  Walking away from all the students, I had found the library but I had also found that I had gotten myself lost.

  Thankfully, the principal had walked by and had mentioned that I was supposed to be in classroom A-5. He seemed a bit quirky but he was a nice guy.

  I took a deep breath.

  Inhale.

  Exhale.

  Then I opened the door.

  Ssht. THUD. The door opened loudly with a slam.

  ~Crap. I did it again.

  I looked into the classroom.

  Every pair of eyes immediately locked onto me, like an archer with his target in his sights.

  There was dozens of them and not even a single one of their eyes blinked.

  Yoshito cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses with a shaky hand.

  “Ah, mister Yuruichi. You finally made it. I suppose I didn’t tell you where homeroom was. My apologies. Uh… You can take the empty seat in the back by the window.”

  I stepped in side, trying my best to gently close the door behind me. But it still clicked in too loudly.

  A few of the students flinched, jumping a bit in their seats at the noise.

  ~Do they think I’m going to kill them? This can’t be a great start, can it?

  I silently sobbed internally as I made my way to my seat.

  “Ah right. Almost forgot…” Yoshito said with a nervous smile as he placed my hand on my slumped shoulder. “Please introduce yourself to your fellow classmates, mister Yuruichi.”

  ~Ah right. Introductions. Maybe I can turn this around?

  I swallowed, making a small cough to clear my throat, but it felt a bit dry.

  “Uhh… My name is Yoiyami Yuruichi.”

  My voice came out much softer than I intended or what I expected.

  “I transferred to this school today. I hope we can get along.”

  Silence.

  Then the whispers started up again.

  “That’s him…”

  “He’s even paler up close, like a vampire.”

  “His eyes— look at his eyes.”

  “Is he the one who…”

  “Shh. He’ll hear you.”

  ~Actually, I can hear all of you. Thanks for trying, though… I guess.”

  Yoshita clapped his hands once, trying to regain control of the class.

  “Alright, alright. Settle down, everyone. Yuruichi, you may take your seat now.”

  I once again began to make my way to my desk.

  Then, in that moment, one female student leaned over her desk to whisper into her friend’s ear, but she spoke too loudly.

  “He looks like he walked right out of a fantasy novel.”

  I nearly tripped, but I quickly caught myself,

  The little maneuver I did to regain balance did not go unnoticed either, as the class had once again locked their eyes on me.

  I gave a nervous smile, and quickly sat down.

  ~Mortals sure have wild imaginations…