There were two ways to react to getting stared at. The first of which was to simply ignore it and move on with your day. This sort of thick skin was the one you were either born with or went through hell and back to obtain. Unfortunately even if the back streets of Midgard weren’t exactly a slum, Ash wasn’t in the position to stop caring about who was glancing his way. Thus, he fell into the second category: Becoming hypersensitive to every single look and stare.

It was to be completely expected, really. Not for the fact that he was the only male on campus, although that most certainly was a factor. It wasn’t even because of his white hair that gave away his status as a Vintrkind, which of course was quite striking. No, the main reason he assumed all the girls he passed by were looking at him was quite simple.

Ash Whitelund, even at the tender age of fifteen, stood head and shoulders above most of the students here. It just could not be helped that he’d be getting looks, the human eye was just attracted to him in general. And once they noticed that then they’d start paying attention to all the other factors, which sparked all the whispering and gossip at speeds that would make light jealous.

Of course, he wasn’t sure just what exactly the general consensus on his status was. Perhaps it was simply too early to say? Looks of scorn were being mixed with mere curiosity and… something else. What it was he couldn’t tell, but all the attention made him fidget his arms and glance around.

“Man you are so lucky you got to skip all that Orientation stuff.” Kyouko declared, pretending to not notice where everyone was looking. From the way she held her head up high, though, Ash knew exactly how his friend felt on the matter. “It was super boring, basically just the handbook with a bunch of meaningless nonsense stacked on top.”

“Maintaining tradition is an important part of cultural identity!” Leissa retorted, adjusting her glasses. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the attention either so… Maybe the first type of person? “It also helps foster a sense of school unity and pride!”

“Man, don’t get me wrong, being a Valkyrie-in-training is cool and all but…” The black haired girl shrugged. “Did they really need to spend thirty minutes explaining how the money system works here? I could’ve gotten my lunch faster if they hadn’t wasted so much time, it’s the only thing here that's free anyways.”

Leissa let out a sigh of frustration and Ash knew from experience that they had had this argument before, during, and after orientation. “Just because you might be a statistical outlier does not mean that other students do not require guidance on how they may educate themselves in this academia.”

“If they needed someone to explain every little detail, that would just be disappointing.” Kyouko gave an exasperated sigh before turning towards Ash. “Back me up here buddy.”

The white haired boy rolled his eyes. “You aren’t everyone, Breaker. That would just be terrifying.”

“Ugh.” She groaned, grabbing her chest and wincing back in mock-pain. “That’s cold Vargr. Real frosty right there.”

There was a gasp, from all around campus. It was almost like those words had frozen everyone in ear shot as it all came to a complete standstill. Leissa and every other girl within ear shot’s jaw dropped as they all registered what the Midgard girl had just said. Not even bothering to adjust her glasses, Kyouko’s handler was the first one to react as she quickly clamped her charge’s mouth. “Miss Kyouko! You can’t just say that about someone! Especially not to someone in Ash’s situation!”

The boy in question was the only one who kept his cool in the frosty atmosphere. Even if he was a Vintrkind this kind of reaction was… “Don’t worry about it so much. I don’t really mind it since Breaker doesn’t mean it as an insult.”

“Mmmh!” Kyouko squirmed as she broke free of Leissa’s grip. “Yeah! See! I have permission!”

Which isn’t saying much considering she probably would do it without or without but it was the thought that counts.

“If this is a case of habitual behavioral patterns then that just makes it worse.” The alfheim girl muttered as she reluctantly glanced at Kyouko. “Goodness knows what someone from one of the more violent realms would do if you were to compare them to a Jotun so casually.”

“Break my nose.” Kyouko said confidently, and he knew it was warranted because Ash was there when that had happened. “Whaddaya take me for anyways Leissa? I’m a fool but I’m not suicidal.”

“Just drop it already.” Ash chimed in as he pulled out the manilla folder and flipped through the pages. The material felt foriegn in his hands, and he could help but fumble with the paper as he scanned it over. At this point he didn’t think he’d ever get used to Asgard extravagance. “Says here that I’m supposed to be heading to class…?”

“Oh! Right! Let me see! Let me see!” His childhood friend cried as she leaned over and examined the paper. “Same class as me huh? Hey Leissa, is that a coincidence or what?”

“I can only presume it was intentional. Perhaps the school thought surveillance would be easier with two monitors watching you at all times?” The green haired girl hypothesised as she tapped her chin. “Though, since there is no location to meet with Ash’s partner I can only presume that she is currently being informed about the situation herself.”

“I have one too?” Ash let out, only for both girls to give him a look. A frosty sigh escaped his lips. “Right, dumb question.”

“There there, Vargr.” Kyouko reached up to pat him on the head, though the grin on her face was anything but comforting. “You’re in school now! You’re here to learn! We’ll make sure that all that knowledge gets shoved into your meat head of a brain!”

Ash grunted, silently slapping her hand away and rolling his eyes. “Let’s just get to class already.”

This was going to be a long day, he could already tell.

There was a tense energy filling the room of class 1-A (Or at least what he thought was 1-A. The sign displayed α in this weird font and for some reason people kept referring to it as the ‘Alpha Class’), though Ash didn’t know if it was nervousness or excitement. It was probably a mix of both, this was Valhalla after all. If you didn’t feel anything at all after making it in then you probably had special circumstances. Even Ash wasn’t immune to it. The only reason the young boy wasn’t freaking out himself was the constant chills of winter he used to calm himself down and focusing on what was familiar.

Namely, how his classmates had already begun to form gangs- No wait that’s right schools called them cliques. Regardless, everyone had to talk to someone and it was always easier to open up with those who are similar to you. Commonality was the key to social activities, and in this case the biggest commonality that most people had was what realm they were from. Ash could already see shared heritage uniting students together. It was by no means a hard and fast rule though, there were always the social butterflies who talked to everyone and the loner who talked to no one.

Or you could be like Kyouko and have everyone actively avoiding you. If the looks they were giving him were of curiosity then the looks they were giving his partner was scandalous.

“Seriously what the hell did you do once we split up?” Ash mumbled under his breath as he tapped his fingers on the synthetic desk in front of him. Not that he actually wanted to know. With a sigh, he glanced around the classroom trying to get stock of the situation. Due to the administration's distrust, his assigned seat had been incorporated at the very front of the classroom rather than in the back where he would’ve liked. Kyouko herself had been placed far more in the middle, with Leissa sitting right next to her. Despite the fact that he was only a few seats away from her, Ash felt like he had been cut off from his only lifeline. Wait, was this intentional or was it just because his name started with ‘A’?

“A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L- Tch.” Ash clicked his tongue before grumbling to himself. “Checks out.”

He didn’t know why they would do that (Kyouko wasn’t even an english name!) but these idle, nonsensical thoughts served as a distraction from the world around him. Keeping him entertained long enough for the school bell to ring, causing all the students to rush to their seats and sit straight up. It was almost unnerving to see so much unity, let alone how none of their shoulders were relaxed in the slightest. At first Ash assumed that was because of eagerness. His thoughts changed when the teacher came in announcing her presence with a literal bang.

Ash instantly winced, covering his ears as the tiny slip of a woman entered the classroom. She was small, barley even reaching Ash’s chest while he was sitting down. Still though, her dark blue eyes were a steely cold as she adjusted the cowboy hat that sat on top of her dark blue hair. That wasn’t the most eye catching thing about her though. No, that would be the myriad of pouches that sat strapped to her instructor’s outfit, the spinning revolver in her hand indicating exactly what they were for.

“So you’re the new recruits this year?” The woman spoke with a slight drawl to her voice as she approached the desk at the front of the class and tossed herself on to the teacher’s chair. Her eyes scanned over the entire class, and though the Vintrkind appreciated how she just took him as part of the crowd, it was still a gaze that sent a shiver down his spine. “A bunch of brats huh? Can’t say I expected much, yet somehow I still find myself disappointed.”

Ash could feel the wince that went through the class’s collective pride. Not that the instructor seemed to care as she continued talking, tapping a button on the podium causing the holographic screen behind her to flicker to life. Her fingers blurred as she typed her name on the screen. “The name’s Ray Rivers, your homeroom teacher and instructor for the next year or so. It’s my main job to make sure you girls are actually Valkyries worth a damn so you can actually proceed to your second year. That goes for you too, Whitelund.”

The Vintrkind remained silent as Ray spun the gun in her hands. “But let me make one thing absolutely clear: I can not and will not babysit you. Whether you end up as a Wing or just a beefed up Muspelheim soldier is entirely your own responsibility. What I will do is simple, I won’t tolerate any nonsense. But in case you’re denser than a glacier, I’ll say it again.”

She caught the spinning revolver in her hands before pointing it directly at the class, adjusting her cowboy hat to hide her eyes. “If you cause trouble for your fellow recruits, I’ll shoot you. If you drag others down, I’ll shoot you. Doesn’t matter how rich you are or who your parents are, cause any trouble and I’ll put you down myself. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes Ma’am!” The class said in unison, though Ash could hear one of the girls whisper behind him. “Why did we have to get stuck with Outlaw Justice…”

“Um, excuse me ma’am!” Leissa, brave soul that she was, raised her hand. “If you were to assault us, especially with a kinetic weapon, would that not hinder our ability and potentially cripple us?”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Miss Rivers reached into her pouch to pull out a pack of ammo. “These are disciplinary bullets, specifically designed to do little more than bruise. And I swear upon Yggdrasil that I shall only use them when the situation calls for it. If I have to pull out more fatal hazardous ammunition, then you’re already dead.”

“Ah, I see.” The green haired girl nodded as she adjusted her glasses. “How fascinating, is your gun a-”

“Stark.” The instructor interrupted as she put down her gun. “You’re a Wing Candidate, but you’re no exception. No SMART glasses in class.”

“Yes, apologies ma’am.” Leissa blushed, turning her head away, not looking the teacher in the eyes replied as she continued to fiddle with her glasses.

“Now that that has been established.” Miss Rivers went on like nothing ever happened. “We’re going to be starting off this year with an assessment test.”

“Whaaaaat?!” The class complained, only to be silenced with a glint of the cowgirl teacher’s revolver.

“I don’t care how well you did before coming here, I need to see what you can do now.” She activated a command on her podium and a mechanical whirl could be heard throughout the classroom before a hole in the ceiling opened up. A white drone carrying a package floated down, hovering over Ash's desk before dispensing a piece of paper and what looked to be a writing utensil onto his desk and moving on to the next student. “Don’t worry about this affecting your grade, it’s a physical test. Completely off the record, my eyes only. Though I will be giving points for those that manage to impress me, so don’t write this off.”

The Midgard boy picked up the writing utensil with fumbling hands, unsure of how to hold it. It had been literal years since the last time he had to physically write anything down; most just used the data network these days, and in the streets of Midgard without such tech, your word was more important than anything else. The only people who could even afford paper were those who lived in Asgard. But he could read so he just had to write down the letters right? Ash had written his signature often enough so he could probably write his name down…

Five painfully slow and agonizing seconds later he found himself looking at his barely comprehensible name, more akin to chicken-scratch then actual writing.

“You have until the end of homeroom.” Miss Rivers declared. “Begin.”

A wintry chill left his body as he began to read the first question. The air around him only proceeded to get colder as he moved to the next, and the next, and the next, until the girls around him were visibly shivering in their seats. Not that Ash particularly cared at the moment, he had a much bigger problem on his hands.

He had no idea what anything on this test meant.

Crap.