Chapter 2:Welcome To SeRAPH
I
Junshin gritted his teeth. How could his brother greet him so cheerfully, as though nothing happened? He wasn’t ready to accept life here at SeRAPH yet.

“Oh, you’re still frowning at me, Junshin?” Kazuki teased. “You know, I thought sending a cute girl to retrieve you would help soften the blow, but I guess even that isn’t enough to make you forgive me.”

“Cut the crap, Kazuki,” Junshin said. “You’re so cheerful for someone who ruined my life, you know?”

“Did I really though, Junshin,” Kazuki said, before a more somber expression came across his face. “I was only showing you how things are to take you out of your complacency.”

“Now now, Junshin-kun,” Hina said, trying to mediate the blow towards the two brothers. “Kazuki was assigned a big mission, and he can keep an eye better on you here while you’re at SeRAPH.”

“So Kazuki is a big shot now?” Junshin said, while Hina clapped her hands together.

“You can talk with Kazuki-san so casually like that. I admire that, Junshin-kun.”

“Don’t think I’m impressed, Kazuki,” Junshin said with a frown. “I still have a bone to pick with you.”

“But ah, you and Hina-chan are friends now, aren’t you?”

“Well true, but…”

“No buts about it, Little Brother. Hina is the divine intervention in your life, the angel of mercy that will take you out of your stagnant life and spur you on towards greatness, I’m sure.”

“Kazuki…why didn’t you tell me about SeRAPH sooner? Why did you keep me away from such a place when it could’ve helped me?”
Kazuki paused for a moment, before saying, “Well, Junshin, father and I were actually mediating over you so you would get tangled in SeRAPH politics. With your powers, you can wreck an entire city landscape, especially when under stress, but Father and I mostly were able to handle you without stressing you out much because things didn’t change. However, as I’m now your elder brother and caretaker, I thought I would need more assistance—and I’ve also got promoted in the ANGeLs as well. I might be on my way to becoming a teacher like Reito-sensei.”

“Slow down, you said that you were keeping me from SeRAPH and me finding out about my powers because…of SeRAPH politics?”

“It’s complicated, little Bro. Don’t worry your head about it. Because I know if I say anything, you will fret and stress over it. However, your powers have been growing even stronger by the way, and I guess it was about time that we introduced you to SeRAPH. Personally, Father didn’t want you to be part of SeRAPH, because he didn’t want you to live the kind of life that I had to go through, but I’m giving you no choice. You have to stay at SeRAPH and train.”

“You upended my entire life…just for that reason?”

“Don’t think of it as upending your life. Think of it as a lifestyle change. Honestly, Junshin, what would’ve you done in your old school? Stick around with friends who would probably abandon you because you have psychic powers? Stick around with teachers that don’t truly understand you or your situation?”

“There was you,” Junshin murmured, before Kazuki ruffled Junshin’s hair playfully.

“Come on, little bro. You can’t stay mad forever.”

“When you two properly make up,” Hina said while clapping her hands together. “Kazuki-san…do you think that Junshin-kun is ready to meet them?”

Kazuki put a finger to his lip.

“I don’t know, to say for sure. But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt, would it?”

“Meeting who? “Junshin said.

Kazuki grinned.

“People you ought to meet.”

Junshin still grumbled.

Kazuki put an arm around Junshin’s shoulder.

“First you need to meet Reito-sensei. But bro, I’m pretty busy, so I’ll have to go off on an ANGeLS mission soon. You will be assigned with Reito as your mentor to help you control your powers better.”

“Why didn’t you send Reito to me directly instead of trying to bribe me by sending a nice girl like Hina to do your dirty work?”

“All will be explained in time.”

“You need to explain everything to me,” Junshin said, annoyed with his brother’s seemingly uncaring attitude towards his life being upended. He was sure somewhere in that general douchebag demeanor that Kazuki cared about him somewhat though Junshin wasn’t willing to be reasonable with Kazuki just yet. This was a big life change, and to move from an entire different school and make new sets of friends, of which he hasn’t really particularly made any yet, much to Kazuki’s insistence…it grew wary on the nerves after a while.

“Don’t be that way, little bro,” Kazuki said. “Reito will most likely explain everything after you get situated and whatnot. Do you need Hina to show you a tour through the school?”

“I don’t need a babysitter monitoring my every single move,” Junshin said a bit coldly.

“Well, that doesn’t matter,” Kazuki said while he patted Junshin on the soulder. “You’re going to start training pretty soon, actually, so we need to file in the paperwork for your ANGeLS license. We’re going to be playing a few games for that, okay?”

“Games? “Junshin said, somewhat intrigued, though he had a feeling that this was Kazuki manuevering and that there was something under these games that would try to coax Junshin into doing something for these ANGeLS.

“Yeah, no problem, right?” Kazuki said with an easy grin, before he led Junshin into a room and showed him an assortment of objects in the room, from notebooks and pens to children’s toys and other knick knacks. “Choose one of these, please.”

Junshin looked towards the stack of things in the room, wondering what Kazuki was playing at. This wasn’t really so much a game as a test, though Junshin noticed through the assortment of stuff that some of them seemed to have some colors swirling around them. Some of these colors were concentrated strongly on some items more than others, and Junshin was drawn towards the pen that had a vibrant swirl of colors.

“There are some colors around these things,” Junshin said. “Especially around the pen.”

Kazuki nodded. “Good good, Little Bro. So you can see the remnants of psi on these objects? You obviously have a strong sense for sensing psi. Now if you can see these colors and Auras around objects that a Psion have left imprinted on these things like fingerprints, can you touch an object and leave an imprint on it?”

Junshin wondered about that, though he picked up the pen, which was the object that he was most drawn to, and decided to touch it. It felt light in his hand and then suddenly Junshin saw a memory within that pen. Of students writing with this special pen, many equations and complicated notes about various subjects, from science to history to English and Japanese and more. The psi imprint that he felt most strongly on this pen was…

“Kazuki,” Junshin said. “This is your pen.”

“I entrust this pen to you, LIttle Bro,” Kazuki said with an easy grin. “Beginner Psions usually need an object for a ‘focus’, something that has particular meaning towards them and whatnot. You were drawn to the pen because it was the pen that I used pretty often during my elementary years in SeRAPH. That and, well, I think we’re drawn together because we’re brothers.”

Junshin huffed a little. He didn’t want to prove his brother right or inflate his overly large ego or anything like that, but still—there was a bond between the two brothers, that was for sure. Even in a room with an assortment of objects, he could feel the psi imprint that his brother left on the pen and sensed the energies and beautiful aura that his brother exuded.

“Okay! So next game, Little Bro,” Kazuki said with a twinkle in his eye, before he said. “This will test your mental fortitude, Junshin-kun. Are you prepared?”

Junshin nodded.

Kazuki then created an illusion of multiple girls surrounding Junshin, all wearing bikini swim suits. Junshin didn’t bat an eye. So Kazuki tried an assortment of various handsome men in speedos. That didn’t work. Then Kazuki decided to give an illusion of Hina about to kiss him on the lips, and Junshin started to sweat.

“Oh I see what you like, Little Bro,” Kazuki said with a grin, before he dispelled the illusion. “Next is your greatest fear. You sure you can handle that?”

Junshin nodded his head.

“I’m ready for anything.”

Kazuki flipped through Junshin’s mind frightening images of things that couldn’t be mentioned. Junshin withstood it, though his hands shook when he saw a particular image of a mangled corpse. After a while of this, Kazuki nodded his head, before he said. “You did well, Little Bro.”

Junshin swelled at the approval but then remembered—he was pissed at his brother. Yet Junshin didn’t know whether he should hold onto the little bit of praise that Kazuki gave him would be enough to make up for his general assholeishness. Or should Junshin forgive him? Junshin wasn’t the type to hold grudges for long, but to be honest, Junshin was actually scared. He was scared of the change in his environment, scared of the people that he would be working with and underneath, and scared of being seen as a failure. He felt that at his last school, he made a good impression, worked hard to build a reputation that was hard-working, smart, and popular with the other children in school—and then Kazuki took all that away from him. But some part of him realized that Kazuki had a point. How well would he have flourished in such an environment, when he had powers and abilities that were beyond human? Who would truly understand him? Who would he go to if his powers went out of control and he accidentally hurt someone?

“Thanks,” Junshin said after a long while, before Kazuki through an arm around Junshin’s shoulder with a grin.

“Little Bro,” Kazuki said. “I think it’s about time that you met Reito, okay.”

Junshin nodded.

“All right,” Kazuki said, before he cracked his knuckles. “We’ve got your paperwork and everything registered. You will eventually be registered in the school system for your vocation as of the ANGeLS.”

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to take on some missions?” Junshin said, a little startled.

“They will only be D Rank Missions for now,” Kazuki said soothingly. “But mostly, what’re you thinking about…one such mission that Reito will probably assign you will be a fun one. You’ll see.”

III
“You are potential rookies,” a teacher said as he examined the rows of students that were lined up. There was a glare in his eyes that indicated he was not satisfied with this current lot of students. “The training will be rough and rigorous. We have higher standards when it comes to this academy. The people who got the good grades into the school will be cut in half by the time that I’m through with sorting out those who are the right fit for this Academy.”

Junshin gulped, and he looked around and noticed the sweating faces of several students, who dared not step a toe out of line when it came to this teacher. Junshin brushed a few strands out of his hair from his eyes, before redirecting his attention to the teacher again, who was already against a sweating student.

“You there,” the teacher said in a soft tone. “Why do you think that you’re here?”

“U-Um,” the student said, fumbling for an answer as the pressure of the teacher’s steel grey eyes bore and penetrated through him. “We were selected because we’re the best of the best, right?”

The teacher looked disappointed for a moment, before he strode down the line of students and muttered something to himself while he analyzed each student who immediately parted ways for him to come through. He stopped at Fujimoto, before he said. “You, redhead. Why do you think we’re here?”

Junshin blinked. “There are many ways to answer that question, I feel, and I’m not sure what to narrow down the possibilities to, but I think what you’re looking for in a recruit is someone who can think independently and make snap decisions when the pressure is on. You don’t want students who are obediently follow and cower under a challenge and want people to face you head on.”

The teacher looked at him for a few moments, before a slow smile spread on his face. Junshin wasn’t sure he liked that smile, because he felt it was a directed attack towards him.

“Maybe one of you has brains,” the teacher said. “But it’s not just about brains, you see. Though it is true that intelligence and education is an important factor to be able to make the right thoughts, right actions, right deeds, and everything else. I’m glad that one of you isn’t a complete dunderhead. Though Junshin, you are still lacking. Do you know what that is?”

Junshin thought for a moment, trying to analyze his answer.

“It’s hesitation,” Reito said, noting that Junshin took a while to examine his possibilities. “You may be able to recite a good answer after thinking through and calculating all the possiblities, but on the battlefield, the enemy isn’t going to give you time to think. You will be pressured to make tough decisions that you’ll have to make at a snap’s notice. Sometimes you’ll have to choose between the mission itself and your comrades. But let me make one thing clear.”

The teacher gestured to all of them to lean close and listen to what they say. Every student hung on with bated breath.

“Don’t expect the answer supplied to you,” the teacher said with a hint of irritation on his face. “You have to actually use the grey matter between your ears and consider…why am I here…if I do not have the will, or fortitude…to do what must be done. And currently, quite frankly, none of you have what it takes.”

The teacher stalked in the room, before saying, “if you don’t want me to think of you as mere academics who stand in their ivory towers debating pointless mechanisms while the real soldiers are out on the battlefield fighting the real fight, then you will show me, in a computer simulation, what you will do when you have to work in a competition. Only half of you will make it through the elimination—and the rest of you will be cut out from the school.”

Whispered nervousness among the students.

“Then I will only take the top ten students as my personal entourage,” the teacher said, silver grey eyes piercing. “You will be made into the best hand-picked ANGeLS selection team in this generation. But that means you’ll have to be willing to crawl over the bodies of your various fellow peers, who are now your competition. Do you want to be the best, the top of the school? Then think through carefully of what exactly what I want out of this exercise. When I ring the timer, I expect you to go into the computer simulation room and try to complete the course inside.”

The teacher ushered them into a room for them, before disappearing into another room to watch the simulation take place while the rest of the student went into the large room where the computer simulation was running and showing an endless terrain with no end in sight. Once all of them entered inside, they heard the teacher’s voice booming through the stereo system installed throughout the school.

“Don’t rely on luck, soldiers. Make your own fortune.”

When they entered into the simulation room, they found that it was an endless field. Reito’s only further instructions were, “You are to reach the finish line in this simulation. I gave you a hint towards this exercise. Figure it out.”

Then when the intercom clicked off, the students were left baffled. They marched in the simulator, some jogging on ahead and others hanging back and keeping their pace. Though Junshin though his initial impulse was to run as fast as he could to the finish line, there was no finish line in sight, and besides, you don’t spend all your energy running when you don’t know what your destination is. Those students were likely hotheaded and would jump into something unbidden, before eventually getting shot and killed in a real battle.
The people that he noticed lingering back were a few individuals that caught his eye.

One individual was the brunette girl from before, Hina Kihara. She moderated herself at a steady and consistent pace, sometimes taking some deep breaths and conserving energy to make her way towards a big sprint later on. Junshin averted his gaze from Hina’s chest, flushed on his cheeks and neck, and cleared his throat. He turned to look to any other figures of importance in the simulation exercise and saw a couple that stood out.

A black-haired girl with silvery blue eyes lingered behind, her slender and aerodynamic form sauntering with the willowy gait of a doe. The dynamic lines of her body and the unobtrusive muscularity could’ve easily outpaced the ‘fast’ runners from before, maintained her leisurely stroll because, she too, knew there was something underneath this exercise other than ‘race to the finish’. Her elfin features poised with grace and athleticism and flexibility that complemented her slender limbs, from her dainty arms which ended in pianist hands and fingers, to taut thighs and sleek calves. Not a single bead of sweat stood out on the pallor of her skin, which contrasted her lustrous black hair. The school uniform hugging her waif-like body gave her a sense of deceptive fragility, though Junshin noted underneath her delicate frame, muscles quivering with tension could erupt with lethal precision and force.

Junshin also averted his gaze away as quickly, feeling that something was awakening in him that he didn’t quite understand.
Another boy lingered behind, a white-haired pretty boy with crimson red eyes that had a similar dynamic and slender build to the black-haired girl. His pale skin seemed smooth and youthful, indicating his white hair wasn’t a sign of age but simply a genetic anomaly. The white haired boy’s body supple with a lithe tension coiled in his body, as though he were a wolf or mad caged dog that would snarl and snap at anyone who would provoke him. Yet despite this, he kept pace with the black-haired girl and lingered by her side, to which he murmured something softly to her. The girl nodded before they hung back in the dead last position taking their sweet time. Junshin noticed, while they lingered back, that no matter how far they’d progressed, the supposed finish line wasn’t getting any closer at all. The students who ran further on ahead apparently started to gasp and wheeze, out of breath and stamina already while those who had conserved their energy started to walk on past, as the students that spent their energy tried to gasp for breath.

While Junshin continued on walking, the wheels within his mind began to churn. IF the students who ran at their top speeds weren’t able to find the finish line, then there was some sort of condition that had to be unlocked before the finish line would appear. But what would that condition be? Junshin figured it had to do with Reito’s earlier words, which he thought of before.

Junshin noticed a straggler from before that was out of breath, her red hair in an array of angry spikes jutting from her head. She also sported a slender body and wore shorts that capped her thighs nicely. She didn’t seem to have a bosom to speak of—it was as flat as plywood, though Junshin didn’t necessarily see anything wrong with that. Her cat-like cerulean blue eyes blinked a couple of times, before they narrowed forbiddingly at anyone who caught her in a moment of weakness. Junshin noted the pride in her stance and the tilt of her head as she took a deep breath. Junshin slowed down to match her pace. He offered her a water bottle, before saying, “Do you think that there’s a deeper meaning behind the exercise?”

“Hah?” the redhead took the water bottle and frowned. “The teacher said he’s going to cut us in half if we don’t reach the finish line, right? And the top 10 students who make it to the finish line will be in his personal entourage!”

“Is this teacher that big of a deal?” Junshin said, while the red head looked at him funny.

“He’s only the best of the best, of course! Most people would kill to be mentored by someone like him!”

“Is that so,” Junshin said, before the girl shook her head and said.

“I don’t have time to waste,” the girl muttered. “Gotta make it to the top!”

Then she jogged off, leaving Junshin behind. Junshin let out a sigh, wanting to have helped someone, but it seemed that she didn’t want or wasn’t willing to receive help. But as he thought about it more, the situation was deliberately set up to put students against one another, wasn’t it? That was suspicious in itself. Though the exercise probably wasn’t a straightforward race to the finish exercise like the teacher claimed it was.

“Sometimes you’ll have to step over the bodies of your comrades,” Junshin thought, as that line in particular stuck him as particularly odd. Another thing that pointed towards the heavy competition to get towards this SeRAPH Academy, which is said to be the cream of the crop.
He looked towards the brunette girl, Hina, who looked towards Junshin and sidled up next to him as they walked at an even pace with one another, conserving their breaths.

“Do you think there’s a deeper point towards the exercise?” Junshin murmured to Hina, to which Hina looked at him with a twinkle in her eye.

“You have to look underneath the underneath,” Hina said in a chipper tone, before she said in a lower whisper. “A few others have figured it out as well, but don’t you think it’s odd that they’re trying so hard to pit students against one another? I mean a highly trained mentor that is respected throughout several schools and academia, cutting the class in half, a race to the finish without an end in sight? There has to be a certain condition to unlock the finish line, right, but we haven’t figured it out what it is yet. Though of course, we need to think of Reito-sensei’s words carefully and consider what he’s trying to get us to think of.”

“His name’s Reito, huh,” Junshin said, before getting the feeling that this teacher had some special sense of sadism towards his students at times if he’s going to make them work this hard just to get entry into SeRAPH. “I will remember that.”

The black haired girl and white haired pretty boy eventually lingered nearby towards where Junshin and Hina were, and once they formed a four man group, the black haired girl looked on ahead before saying, “The condition to unlocking the finish line is very simple. If my hypothesis is correct, you need to form a certain number of people, and cross the finish line together with that number of people, before this endless track goes on to finish. Otherwise it’s going to keep on going forever, this simulation, until someone smart enough figures out the hidden conditions behind this exercise.”

Junshin lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper with the blackhaired girl. “So I was right about there being an underlying condition to unlocking the supposed finish line, and that there was more to the exercise than just racing to the finish like some of the students here believe.”

“The people here are all bright students,” the black haired girl said as her silvery blue eyes analyzed everyone around here. “No one would be here if they weren’t. However, sometimes the burden of knowledge can act as a blind spot at times, because going to the obvious and most simplistic answer is usually what people would go with first. It makes sense to go with obvious and simple to eliminate the most common factors, before going onto the more highly improbably answers. Though it’s only natural to conserve energy and not spend up all your energy towards running to the finish, correct?”

Junshin nodded.

“Well, Reito set it up, through scarcity, that people will be cut in half if they don’t complete this exercise and being a highly desired tutor among students in SeRAPH Academy. People have a fear of missing out and when resources are scarce and viewed as valuable, this will naturally lead to competition among others. So people, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to be tutored by by Reito-sensei, will rush on with their full burst speed and try to make it to the finish before everyone else.”

Rika held up a finger though, as she explained her reasoning. “Though if one were to exhibit patience and conserve their energy and linger back and observe their surroundings, they will notice that the simulation is meant to run on forever, and no finish line will come across unless if certain conditions are met. What are those conditions? Well, think it through and the meaning will become clear.”

Junshin thought for a few moments, before he shook his head in disbelief. “My initial assessment of the teacher was wrong. Perhaps he’s not as sadistic as I thought.”

Rika gave him a small smile in turn, before the white haired pretty boy scoffed at Junshin.

“Don’t think you’re all that for figuring it all out, redhead. It was obvious when you put the pieces together and thought about it.”

“Teamwork,” Junshin muttered, before the white haired pretty boy gave him a thumbs up and grinned.

“Bingo,” he said. “So…that person that you were trying to help out, earlier? She seemed to be rushing on ahead.”

“Do you think that she’ll accept our line of thinking?” Junshin said, while Hina put her hands together and said.

“Remember, no one left behind,” Hina said as she gave a cheerful grin towards Rika and Shizuya. “Right?”

“Comrades are precious,” Rika said, as she clenched her hand into a fist. “It’s not the individual but the bonds we make and create with others that truly make us strong. Shizuya is my partner that I would trust with my life, should it come down to it. He the same for me. Do you guys have anyone that you trust unconditionally?”

Junshin looked towards Hina, who giggled at Junshin’s intense gaze.

“I suppose,” Junshin said, while Hina giggled again.

“Right thoughts, right actions, right deeds,” Rika said, before she walked at a steady pace towards the redhead that raced on ahead before and now was straggling behind like them. “Kanna-san, how is running on ahead holding up for you.”

“This damned thing is meant to run on forever,” Kanna said while she paced herself again, though this time she didn’t seem to want to run off like before. “No matter how fast I made it to the supposed finish, there is no end in sight. So I think it’s probably because there must be a certain condition that must be unlocked before the finish line appears.”

Rika nodded in satisfaction. “You got it.”

“So,” Kanna said while she stepped in pace with the now five man group. “We’re supposed to work together?”

Junshin nodded. “Though I have to say, thank you Kanna for confirming a theory for us. You were in first place for a while, though after not reaching the finish line for so long, you realized that something was up and you confirmed to us that there are certain conditions that must be met together.”

“Besides that,” Hina said, while she smiled and held hands with everyone. “I’d rather fail together with all of you rather than succeed alone. Ne?”

“Friends…” Kanna said, before her eyes shimmered, before she let out an angry huff. “Don’t think that we’re friends or anything. I’m just using you guys so that I can get a spot in the top 10 with Reito-sensei!”

“Why do you admire Reito-sensei so much, Kanna?” Junshin asked, before Kanna’s eyes glimmered with admiration towards the man.

“He is a prodigy or prodigies that worked so hard to establish the best ANGeLS members in his generation, including models like Kazuki Fujimoto…speaking of which…Kazuki-san is your brother, isn’t he, Junshin?”

Junshin nodded.

“Kazuki was a direct student underneath Reito-sensei himself,” Kanna said, before her eyes shone. “He’s also…erm…someone who saved me at one point, and I vowed that I would learn underneath him and become his pupil so that I could pay back his kindness one day.”

“That’s rather wholesome,” Hina said with a smile and thumbs up. “Okay! Because Kanna-chan’s dream is to repay back the kindness of Reito-sensei, we’ll make sure that we’ll all help her get there together!”