6 June. Almost a month since Yuki’s life in Deckstoru had started, the next chapter in that life was about to begin. And it was going to be a chapter filled with torment for many.

Zoran entered the room and now that they were all together, the torture could officially start. The torture for Earthling Class #1 and their new homeroom teacher.

In the end, the trial of both the lucky seven hot heads (Yuki, Hikaru, Seiren, Saya, Iziya, Graid and Rose) and Zoran had ended with them being sentenced, but luckily the sentence was the most minimal one in existence – six months of forced labor. In the case of Sunbird’s headmaster, there were other consequences as well, however. Due to his criminal actions he was stripped from the title of headmaster, which was passed on to Neana Ilre, the school nurse and deputy headmaster up to that point. The school board still allowed him to remain in Sunbird as a normal teacher and since the Earthlings’ former homeroom teacher had been sent to prison along with the Nightsongs and Ulura’s class, Zoran had decided to take on the task of teaching them himself. He was the strongest person in the deviant academy and they were the most troublesome, as well as the strongest class after the Martians’ demise, after all, so they made a perfect pair.

Thankfully the starting date for serving the sentence was 1 July, so the students and the teacher who were sentenced could finish up the school year properly before being sent to do all kinds of work around Deckstoru. With their hot tempers, though, Yuki was well aware that these final few weeks of school were still going to be quite eventful.

Eventful. That was probably the best word the girl with white hair could use to describe her experience in Deckstoru so far.

Yuki had never imagined when she first woke up not that far from Sunbird’s building she was currently in on 13 May that during such a short period of time she would find so many great friends, the greatest family of all, get into so many fights, kill a person (although undead) and get sentenced in court. Yet all of those things had happened and while she hadn’t enjoyed all of them – rather some were stressful beyond belief – thinking back on them, Miss Iceflame realized she wouldn’t really want to change a thing.

She had found a place and people with whom she belonged. And this latest ordeal had helped her find all the resolve needed to protect them both, so the amnesiac couldn’t ask for more.

As Mr. Lawell cleared his throat very loudly to get all the students’ attention, Yuki stopped pondering the past and returned her full focus to the present. It was time to study History, after all.

Only Seiren couldn’t help but interrupt the Earthlings’ new homeroom teacher before he started teaching.

(Seiren) ‘-So, Lawell-sensei, how’s it feel to be a teacher again?’

(Zoran) ‘-Not as bad as I suppose you hoped I would feel, Seiren. Thank you for the question. Now …’

(Seiren) ‘-And how does it feel to be a criminal?’

A vein popped on the side of the phoenix-morph’s forehead when the pervert asked that question, Yuki almost being able to smell the destruction that was about to be unleashed in the classroom at this point. Its source wasn’t what she she expected, though.

Hikaru, who was on the desk in front of her, jumped at his rival on the desk behind her, having already clad his fists in electricity, gritting his teeth as he was overcome by another fit of comical rage.

(Hikaru) ‘-It takes one to know one, Blackscale!! And stop interrupting class as I still intend to graduate with top marks this year!!!’

(Yuki) ‘-Hikaru, wait! You can’t use your deva yet or you’ll …’

By the time she warned him, the mad genius experienced the usual symptoms that came as a result of overusing his deva during the Nebula Battle as it was now called. He couldn’t even reach the pervert, falling on the floor next to his desk with the electricity around his fists disappearing and a small cloud of steam coming out of his body as he sighed with deep frustration. A frustration that was evidently deepened by his rival’s mocking laughter.

(Seiren) ‘-At least I’m not rolling on the floor without being able to use my deva, Summerbolt!! Ha-ha-ha!!!’

Hikaru was already trying to get up, Yuki helping him to do so to ensure he wouldn’t cause additional strain to his body which was not fully healed, Zoran having appeared behind Seiren now without him knowing.

(Hikaru) ‘-Just you wait, perverted bastard … soon … soon I’ll have the full use of my abilities again and then you’ll be the one rolling on the floor!!!’

(Zoran) ‘-I see that disruptions in discipline have already started … (his voice sounded deeper now, Yuki and Hikaru looking at him in terror as the baby doll helped her friend up, Seiren’s reaction being similar when he turned to face the former headmaster’s menacing glare) ... so I’ll have to take extreme measures right from the start.’

Without any further warning a slap enveloped in phoenix flames was smashed in the young Blackscale’s cheek, crushing him on the floor where his rival had been lying moments earlier, Hikaru laughing at him in return, joined in that mockery by Vega.

(Hikaru) ‘-Oh, I didn’t have to wait too long to see you rolling!!’

(Vega) ‘-Whether it’s Line-sensei or Lawell-sensei, you’re always getting your ass kicked, Seiren! I love it!!’

King in his normal form on the desk next to the drunkard who has just opened up another bottle of alcohol to drink from, took on a very depressed appearance when Tenji Line was mentioned, turning his gaze toward the floor.

(King) ‘-D-did you have to … did you have to mention that name?’

Zoran appeared behind Vega’s desk now, taking the bottle away from his hand before he could sip even a small amount of its contents, Yuki overhearing what he said next as she couldn’t look in that direction anymore. Hikaru and Seiren were at each other’s throats yet again after the pervert had got back on his feet and as usual it was Miss Iceflame’s duty to break up their fight.

(Zoran) ‘-No more drinking in class! Actually no more drinking for you at all!!’

The girl with white hair threw the rivals on their desks with perfect aim and a sigh, now seeing how Vega was reaching out for the bottle held by his new homeroom teacher, having tears in his eyes with a most desperate expression.

(Vega) ‘-Ah … b-but no … sensei … you can’t just … you can’t just take away such a treasure! I need it to stay alive, you know!! And Line-sensei allowed me to drink plenty during classes!!’ (King was forced to enter his giant form, ripping most of his school uniform apart in the process, in order to restrain Vega as Zoran moved away from him with disgust being added to the anger on his face)

(Zoran) ‘-I am not Line, however!!’

(King) ‘-Lawell-sensei, do you need to keep mentioning Line-sensei, too?’

This time Zoran roared loud enough for the whole class to hear him, shocking them with the seriousness of his tone.

(Zoran) ‘-You need to stop thinking about Line! All of you!! Just as you need to stop thinking about the past!!! The future is all that matters and you need to be prepared for it!! (now he singled out the utterly broken Vega) To do that, I’m going to get you all in shape and you’re among those that need the most work, Vega! So as I said, no more drinking from now on!!’

The drunkard burst out crying like Yuki had never seen before, King hugging him and consoling him by whispering something in his ear, the baby doll herself feeling conflicted at that point. She didn’t know if she felt more sorry for her classmate or more confused by her homeroom teacher’s words. As it turned out soon enough, she wasn’t the only one in such a state.

(Tokura) ‘-Didn’t we train hard enough for the Class Battle? We went through plenty of horrific stuff with that, so I think …’ (Zoran had already teleported behind the pseudoknight before he could finish, his fiery slap making the young man who had put his feet up on his desk almost fall from his chair)

(Zoran) ‘-Line trained you only so you could die in that battle! I’ll train you in order to live!! And as unpleasant as it may sound, the traumatic stuff is far from over for all of us!! You have to …’

Mr. Lawell stopped himself at that point and looked away from the faces of all his students, Yuki who had returned to her desk just as Hikaru and Seiren had done, sensing Zoran wanted to say more, but had chosen not to. Instead he had decided to keep something a secret from the Earthlings. And this wasn’t something the amnesiac was unfamiliar with as she often felt the same when talking with the Summerbolts back home as of late.

(Exo) ‘-I have a question before we begin, Lawell-sensei.’ (the phoenix-morph focused on the Earthlings’ techno-genius as he returned to his desk next to the whiteboard)

(Zoran) ‘-Feel free to ask, Exo.’

Exo pointed at the other end of the first row of desks in the room, there being an empty desk there now.

(Exo) ‘-Who is that desk in the first row for? Annabel used to sit there, but was told to move to the second row when we came today.’

Yonira, who was sitting on Exo’s left side, smirked at Earthling Class #1’s chief healer behind her.

(Yonira) ‘-Maybe cuz she’s not good enough to sit at the geniuses’ row anymore?’

(Annabel) ‘-Keep that up and you won’t ever be able to sit anywhere again, bitch.’

Zoran clapped his hands, finally smiling, which simultaneously made everyone feel more at ease and confused them, the former headmaster often causing such polar reactions with his behavior.

(Zoran) ‘-I got carried away with the other stuff and forgot to tell you. While we were away, a new transfer student arrived from Saraley and that student has been assigned to your class.’

(Hikaru) ‘-A new student? Less than a month before the school year’s end? And transferred from Northeast to Southwest Barilia? That sounds ridiculous to me!!’

Zoran scratched his head with an irritated sigh.

(Zoran) ‘-Well, after what we did I think this class will be the main target for harassment of all types, so ridiculous things are bound to happen from now on. (a slight knock on the door was heard then, Yuki managing to hear it with her heightened senses, but feeling it was too quiet for everyone to register it) Oh, there she is! Come in! (he turned to the door that now opened, making an inviting gesture with a polite smile) Welcome! Don’t be shy! Come and join us.’

Around a minute full of tension passed before the newest member of Earthling Class #1 entered the room. That member was a girl with very pale skin, flowing scarlet hair that was so long it almost reached her ankles, her right eye being covered by her hair, the left one being glass green in color.

There were two especially striking features in her appearance, though. The first, which was without a doubt going to be greatly appreciated by both Seiren and Tokura, was the imposing bust this girl had. Even Yuki, who was a girl herself, couldn’t help but feel impressed at the sight of that bust that stood out so much even while covered by Sunbird’s uniform. The second most striking feature of the transfer student was how insecure and timid she appeared, the baby doll actually thinking she had had a very similar expression the first time she had entered this classroom.

The difference was she had at least known two of her classmates while this girl had come to Deckstoru from far away and probably didn’t know many people in the city, much less so any students from Sunbird. Miss Iceflame thus deduced that it was every class member’s duty to make the newest member of their group feel as comfortable as possible – a task many of the Earthlings were not particularly suited for.

The scarlet-haired beauty closed the door behind her and slowly made her way to the whiteboard, her gaze staying fixed on the floor during all that.

(Zoran) ‘-There we are, then. Would you please write your name on the board and introduce yourself to the class?’

A few seconds passed before the girl answered Zoran’s request, her voice being as quiet as the knock on the door earlier.

(The New Girl) ‘-I don’t want to.’

Yuki was certain of it now. This girl had it a lot worse than her when first being introduced to the class. And she seemed more timid than the baby doll had been initially. More timid than even Exo.

(Zoran) ‘-Is there some kind of problem?’

(The New Girl) ‘-I just don’t want to introduce myself. Can we move along with the History class now?’

Mr. Lawell tried his best to keep his composure after that response, even Yuki thinking the new girl was going too far by talking to her teacher in such a disrespectful manner.

(Zoran) ‘-Well, it’s tradition around here for students to introduce themselves, but if you don’t feel comfortable with doing that, it’s fine. (he pointed to the desk next to Hikaru’s) You may take your seat in the first row there and I’ll do the introductions.’

(Hikaru) ‘-Oh, no, you won’t, sensei!! (Hikaru had already sprang from his desk, grabbing the transfer student by the shoulders and jolting her while roaring with a fury-ridden face) This school’s traditions exist for a good reason and all students must honor them! That includes this one over here, too!! (his wrathful gaze pierced her as Zoran attempted to separate them, Yuki going to help before Seiren could intervene as that would only make things worse) If you don’t want to introduce yourself, you better have a good reason! Let’s hear it!!’

While the newest Earthling wasn’t in the right, Hikaru was also overreacting, even when taking his penchant for loosing his temper into consideration. His tantrums had overall become more frequent since the Nebula Battle, his friend presuming this was another side effect from the stress he had put his body and mind through during that event.

(Yuki) ‘-Leave the girl alone! She’ll introduce herself when she’s ready!!’

(Zoran) ‘-I apologize for his behavior, Reimei. Hikaru has some issues.’

(Hikaru) ‘-My only issue is this one not respecting our traditions! So your name’s Reimei? Since we’re done with the introductions, now’s the time for you to explain why you didn’t want to introduce yourself personally!!’

(Reimei) ‘-I just don’t want to!’

With the baby doll’s superstrength and the phoenix-morph’s flames they managed to separate Hikaru and Reimei, but the mad genius was still trying to free himself from his friend’s grip to get to his newest classmate.

(Hikaru) ‘-That’s not good enough!! TELL ME EXACTLY WHY, DAMN IT!!!!’

Reimei now screamed with tears in her eyes, Zoran being so shocked by her reaction that he let her go, the girl barely managing to stay upright on her own as she was shaking due to the accumulated stress.

(Reimei) ‘-Because I’m scared of you!! (she kept screaming, having gone as far as to close her eyes to not look at all the people who clearly scared her) I’m scared of all of you!! Your class has been all over the news ever since I arrived in Deckstoru!! You’re the strongest, most violent and most dangerous deviants around!! And you’re constantly breaking the law!!!’

(Hikaru) ‘-Is that what they’re saying about us?’

(Seiren) ‘-Well, it’s not too far off.’

Yuki glared at Seiren to give him a non-verbal signal to stay quiet, her temporary shift in focus allowing Hikaru to escape her grip and reach the scarlet-haired beauty, only this time he looked completely calm.

(Hikaru) ‘-We may have broken a few laws and caused some mayhem, but that was only in order to protect our family and friends. Of course the ordinari wouldn’t just stand for behavior like ours no matter the reason, which is why they’ve blown our actions during the Nebula Battle of out of proportion. (he gently put his hand on her shoulder now, Reimei finally opening hes eyes and even making eye contact with him) I hope you’ll take my word for it as a fellow deviant, though, when I tell you that the only ones who need to fear us are those who threaten our family. So you’ve got nothing to fear from us as you’ve just become a part of that family. Actually, you should be happy because you won’t be safer in Deckstoru with anyone else than you will be with us.’

(Reimei) ‘-Family? But I … you just met me.’ (Hikaru waved with his hand and a carefree smile)

(Hikaru) ‘-Ah, from what I’ve seen, you’ll fit right in! (he pointed at Exo) Exo over there is a scaredy-cat much like yourself, so you’ll have a friend to panic with right from the start! (he next pointed at Yonira) Yonira has a very long and voluminous hair like yours, so you’ll be able to talk about that with her. (he waved at Vega and King at the back who had both cheered up, waving back at him) The drunkard and the glutton in the back can offer you any kind of food and drink your can imagine, so you can count on them for that. (finally his eyes met hers again) We’ve got a whole class of people who have issues and anyone who’s as insane as us is welcome to join the group! So stay and see if we’re actually as scary as people say!!’

Yuki elbowed the young Summerbolt then to move him away from Reimei as she looked at the new student with an apologetic smile.

(Yuki) ‘-After all that, he still forgot to apologize.Sorry about that, Reimei. And in terms of scary people, Hikaru’s probably the scariest, so now that you’ve met him, you ought to be fine.’

(Reimei) ‘-Hikaru?’ (the amnesiac pointed at the mad genius who was being dragged to his desk by Zoran as he writhed in pain from being elbowed in the stomach)

(Yuki) ‘-His name’s Hikaru Summerbolt. He got so carried away that he even forgot to introduce himself. That’s one more thing I’ll have to ask you to forgive him for.’

Reimei smiled a bit, but Miss Iceflame could tell that smile was genuine and needed no more to be assured that finally the newest member of the class was feeling at ease. While unconventional, Hikaru’s approach had worked.

(Reimei) ‘-That’s OK. As Lawell-sensei said, he’s got issues, so that excuses his behavior to a certain extent.’

(Yuki) ‘-And I’m Yuki Iceflame. It’s great to meet you!’

The timid girl looked away from Yuki now while scratching her head, perhaps being a bit overwhelmed by how cheerful the baby doll was compared to the initially grumpy genius that came before her.

(Reimei) ‘-Reimei Scarlettail. It’s a pleasure to …’

Seiren pushed the ice maiden away before the introduction could be completed, already drooling over the scarlet-haired beauty with a somewhat dreamy grin on his face.

(Seiren) ‘-Get out of the way, so I can meet this scarlet-haired goddess already, Yu! (as expected, Reimei was greatly intimidated by the young Blackscale, luckily Zoran intervening before the girl with white hair could) I’m Seiren! Let me just say it’s a blessing to have an angel such as yourself become a part of our class! I promise that we and especially I will take very good care of you! Could you …’

The History teacher’s burning hand grabbed the pervert by the neck then, forcefully dragging him aside as he had done with his rival, Mr. Lawell clearly being too annoyed to put into words.

(Zoran) ‘-I said Reimei needed to introduce herself, not that all of you need to introduce yourselves to her, Seiren! There’ll be time for that after class is over! Right now we have some things that need to be revised for the upcoming test!!’

Seiren now had the same desperate look on his face as Vega when he was deprived of his alcohol earlier, his reaction not being all too suprising as similarly to the drunkard, the thing he cared about most had been taken away from him.

(Seiren) ‘-But I’d rather talk with Reimei than revise some boring shit like that!’

(Zoran) ‘-I told you, Blackscale! You’ll talk to her later! You interrupt class again and I’ll send you back to the hospital where you won’t be able to see Reimei at all!!’

(Seiren) ‘-Anything but that, sensei!! I promise I’ll be good.’

As Yuki sat behind her desk again, she noticed Hikaru had already started talking with Reimei, the scarlet-haired beauty smiling again.

(Hikaru) ‘-By the way, Mei, if you’ve got any questions about History or any of the other subjects, feel free to ask me. I’ve got detailed notes on everything and can explain anything you find too difficult to understand. ‘

Reimei blushed like never before when the mad genius said that, both him and the amnesiac watching the two being confused by her reaction.

(Reimei) ‘-D-did your just use a shorter version of my name?’

(Hikaru) ‘-Yeah. I shorten the names of pretty much everyone I like and your name’s perfect for shortening. Is that a problem?’

(Reimei) ‘-It … it was just too sudden, that’s all. I wasn’t ready for that. And don’t worry about the school subjects. I was at the top of my class back at Saraley, so I shouldn’t have any problems.’

(Seiren) ‘-See, sensei?! Summerbolt’s already making moves on my girl! You’ve got to do something!!’

(Zoran) ‘-He’s helping her with the school matter, Seiren! That’s something completely normal!!’

(Seiren) ‘-Yeah, sure it is!! You’re far too naïve for someone so experienced and that puts our newest angel in danger, you know!!’

Another interesting character had been added to the mix that was Yuki’s crazy life in Deckstoru and she wondered how Reimei would cope with this new environment. By the looks of it, though, the scarlet-haired beauty was going to enjoy the ride as much as her white-haired counterpart.

A ride of madness that was only just beginning!

 

 

WAR IN PEACE ARC: END