An Esper (超能力者) is an individual that possesses psychic or paranormal abilities, they have appeared through folklore. The source of those abilities can vary but one thing is consistent and that is Espers are powerful so must be respected.

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Standing in front of a blackboard brimming with kanji and hiragana was a teacher, the homeroom teacher in a beige, tan colour cardigan & light green skirt whilst holding a piece of white chalk. Her dark brown hair was styled into a bun.

Outside the window was a flock of birds all chirping, but all of that was drowned out by the sound of children talking loudly behind the teacher who stood there watching the board.

"Look at my new notebook!"

"Chi-chan, that's a great drawing!"

"You ripped my heart out!"

"I see a goat outside!"

It was a loud atmosphere as all the children were competing to be heard. This was accompanied by a paper airplane flying through the air as one of the children chanted "we're going to the moon!" The teacher is unaware of the paper airplane sailing through the air, yet she senses how disruptive they all are with her ears. Putting the chalk down she turns to the class giving a vicious glare with her dark green eyes to the handful of boys standing by the window.

| Pachi pachi pachi!!! | パチパチパチ

Teacher: "Class, face the front!"

The sudden raising of the teacher's voice and deafening claps caused the sound of rowdy children to dissipate. This abrupt silence was followed by many students walking to their chairs. Even those boys by the window stepped away and back to their seats.

Teacher: "Right class! Today is the day our new classmate arrives. I expect all of you to be welcoming. If I hear bullying of any kind, parents will be notified. Is that clear?"

"Yes"

Only a few students responded causing the teacher to ask again this time louder.

Teacher: "Is that clear!?!"

Class: "Yes Tomita-sensei!"

Now, satisfied with the answer the teacher steps back, she stands no more than a meter away from the blackboard to her back. With her malice look evaporating, the teacher made herself appear more welcoming to the class and folding her hands together.

Tomita-sensei: "I'd like you all to give a warm welcome to Miyano Hoshi. Our new classmate!"

With a slight grin, the teacher takes her left hand to present the person entering the classroom. She gently faces the class, her fingers straight and below her waistline which should be the height of the approaching student.

Coming into the room from the entrance was an adult wearing similar attire to the teacher though the cardigan was darker & a red skirt with braided hair. This was another teacher.

However, the reaction from the class was confusion, believing this to be their new classmate rumours began instantly.

"Otake-sensei?"

Spoken by a male student who made sure his whispers were heard.

"Is the geography teacher our classmate?"

Other students began wondering.

"Ohh did Otake-sensei lose her job?"

A female student voiced her concern to her friend, she carried a feeling of grief.

The sound of muttering amongst students reached the teacher and brought upon an uneasy feeling, unaware of the situation she turns to greet the new student only to find the geography teacher Otake-sensei.

Seeing Otake-sensei brings a look of pure shock to the homeroom teacher which causes her to lose her composure.

Otake-sensei: "hehehe"

Otake-sensei puts her hand to her mouth and gives a small laugh before taking that same hand to the door to present the actual new student. Slowly stepping into the classroom was indeed Hoshi, the air flowing through her gold hair causing her purple ribbon to dance and expose her adorable face.

Hoshi's cute look would warm the hearts of anyone however here her face expressed little emotion as she grabs a piece of chalk beside the blackboard and proceeded to write her name (見矢野 星).

Finally in the middle Hoshi slowly turns to the class. Placing her arms to her sides she gives a small bow to the other students before introducing herself.

Hoshi: "Good morning. My name is Miyano Hoshi, nice to meet you"

All the previous rumours were silenced at the introduction of their new classmate. This level of politeness impressed the homeroom teacher who returned to her soft smile. In the far-left corner sat a boy, with brunette hair, crimson red eyes & a black hoodie slouching on his chair giving off an aurora of carefreeness as he stared at Hoshi

Boy: "Your name is Hoshi, like a star?"

Confusing her name for the twinkling dots in the night sky this boy spoke out questioning the new girl with a defensive frown on his face. Behind Hoshi, the teacher prepared to discipline this student however she was cut off.

Hoshi: "Yes, my name indeed refers to those big balls of gas across infinite space"

As soon as she said that a look of shock appeared on not just the boy, not even just the teacher but the entire class was surprised to hear this fact.

One girl next to the window had her lavender-shaded eyes wide open and began to breathe heavier. She took her hand to one of her twin tails whilst maintaining her view on the new girl.

Tomita-sensei: "Well Hoshi…chan that was a very…interesting fact…"

The homeroom teacher struggled to find words to compliment Hoshi for pointing out something previously unknown to the class. Perhaps she's shocked that a seemingly young girl of 7 would even have the words to describe this in that way.

Otake-sensei: "Tomita Sensei…why not start the register now that Hoshi-chan is introduced?"

Otake-sensei by the door suggested a way out of the predicament with an almost equal level of shock.

Tomita-sensei: "Right. Hoshi-chan why don't you sit at that empty seat there"

Tomita-sensei points toward the empty desk in the middle of the room and prompts her to move forward with a small pat on her shoulder.

The gentle pat causes Hoshi's eyes to widen again displaying its orange glow and getting the attention of the other students.

Hoshi: "Yes, I will. Tomita-sensei? Is that correct?"

Turning to face the teacher, Hoshi confirms the name of the woman behind her. Tomita briefly smiles before turning herself to find her desk. Hoshi marches to that empty desk quickly, hoping not to draw more attention. "Why did I respond like that? This is not good for my image. I stand out now" Hoshi thought to herself whilst maintaining her calm persona. Finally taking her seat Hoshi faces forward, sitting up and not moving at all. Even keeping her breathing to a minimum to avoid becoming noticeable to the other students. However, Hoshi can't help but feel a strange sensation emanating from the boy's direction, something that spelled familiarity and unease. Hoshi felt like she was exposed to the radiation from a powerful sun.

At the far corner, we have the boy from before, his red eyes fixate on the new girl's golden hair. Looking seriously as he fiddles with a pencil. As registration commences with students orderly making their presence known once their names were called another person gazed at Hoshi. To the window, sits the girl twirling her twin tails. Facing the front her eyes keep peering toward Hoshi with a small level of fear in them

--

It was 2 minutes after the bell rang for recess and Hoshi sat by herself on a bench underneath some trees. Letting the wind gently flow through her shining golden hair as she reminisces on the lessons she just had and things she learned. Starting with Kanji lessons, their homeroom teacher Tomita-sensei led the class through the N1 level Kanji characters. Hoshi had no issue with catching up with the class as she was there when those characters were being configured into the Japanese language.

Hoshi's real problem was not letting the rest of the class realize how great her knowledge is, this was achieved by leaving carefully placed mistakes in her radicals and intentionally fumbling her pronunciations. She even accidentally dropped her pencil halfway through the class, all to give off the elementary schooler illusion rather than being exposed as the vessel containing colossal power Hoshi truly is.

Whilst in thought Hoshi runs her hand through her hair and tries to locate the sun for company. She sits alone on that bench a good distance from the other students, before looking up into the clear blue-sky Hoshi looked at the crowd of children playing in the courtyard.

She got a sense of their personalities by their actions towards others. The gentle ones would walk and skip along whereas the confident, boisterous ones play rough amongst friends. With all the dog piles and games of tag, there are a greater handful of extroverts than introverts. Hoshi can only pick out several familiar faces from her class however, all along with the other students combining to make loud cheers as they played.

Either way, those were all happening apart from where Hoshi sat by herself…but not for long. With her eyes fixated on the small number of clouds accumulating above her, Hoshi fails to notice one girl from her class edge closer to where she was sitting. This was the girl with twin tails from the window side of class, making her way to Hoshi with her pink shoes and green overalls matching the colour of the grass. This girl's twin tails swayed side to side as she walked on.

Though she could appear confident from a distance, the truth was quite the opposite. The face of this girl displayed anxiety and dread; her eyes faced the hard concrete floor as she seemingly shot all other things out of her presence. All except herself and the new girl she walks towards.

Hoshi still pays no attention to her approaching classmate and peers up at the sun with a tender smile on her face, even when she's just 2 meters away.

???: "Oi! New girl!!"

A loud malicious voice entered the soundscape, filled with antagonism aimed at Hoshi. The Esper sitting on the bench twisted her head to face the origin of that voice and so did the other girl who let out an "eck" as her anxiety worsened. This voice was coming from Hoshi's left, as they both looked at who called the two girls were met with a boy. The eyes of the two girls widened as the boy began approaching the bench, he was the same one from class, the boy slumped on his chair and confusing Hoshi's name for a star. That ionising feeling radiating from him returned to Hoshi's senses like a bolt of lightning.

His fiery red eyes confronted Hoshi's soft orange ones as he walked with confidence and at a quicker pace than the nervous girl to Hoshi's right. This boy was not alone, he marched with three other kids behind him. "An entourage maybe" Hoshi's thoughts were filled with confusion then anxiousness. "I thought I made a plausible impression during the lesson. This one clearly thinks differently, what could he want from me?"

Hoshi's mind spirals with the thought of being caught out by who appears to be the head honcho in school. There was no time to think as his steps began to rattle the ground around Hoshi. Now the distance was closed, Hoshi remained seated on the bench. What began as a standoff …?

Boy: "You're on my seat new girl"

His voice was quieter than before yet his threatening nature was still present. Whilst the intended effect was felt on the girl in green overalls the target was Hoshi who was left feeling surprised more than threatened. Hoshi kept sitting on the bench as she watched the boy furrowing her brows while she did. "Well, this rude attitude would be acceptable decades ago and even most places in today's age" Hoshi was detailing the rudeness of this boy. "I could teach him proper manners but"

Hoshi: "Have you always claimed this bench as your own?"

Hoshi met the bashful statement by calmly questioning the logic behind this boy's rhetoric.

Boy: "Hoshi everyone knows this bench is mine so hand it over"

The boy's follow-up kept Hoshi curious, "At the very least he uses my name". Hoshi turns her head away from the boy and prepares to depart from her seat. She could take him down a peg however that could lead to retaliation from others and make Hoshi stick out even more than now which she can't have.

Hoshi: "Alright then, you've won. I don't want to embarrass you in front of your entourage"

The Esper chooses not to employ her vast knowledge or her psychic abilities even though that's completely off the table here, Hoshi moves off without taking a peek at the boy's reaction to her words. Not witnessing his glaring eyes…

As she steps away from the shaded area Hoshi is now met with the girl to her right who anxiously waited for the previous confrontation to end. Hoshi turns to face this seemingly troubled girl while maintaining her pace causing the other girl to keep up.

Hoshi: "Was there something you wanted from me? Sugimoto-san"

Sugimoto Chieko (杉本 千恵子) is the name she heard from registration so Hoshi grabbed her attention with that name.

Sugimoto Chieko: "Eh? You're the new…Miyano-san?! yes!"

Flustered by Hoshi's question, the girl formally referred to as Sugimoto was left shaking in front of Hoshi. Twirling her fingers around each other and directing her lavender eyes away from Hoshi's orange ones as she struggles to speak. Hoshi takes notice and so she strategizes her approach. "I see directly answering isn't working here, I must try something else"

Hoshi: "I saw the way you wrote insect Kanji (虫) this morning, your brushstrokes were quite admirable"

Her move here was to feed Sugimoto with a compliment hoping that would cause her to destress.

Sugimoto: "Ah yess. That was Chieko…always good with those Kanji"

Sugimoto's answer was accompanied by a bright smile, Hoshi was satisfied with the result of a warmed-up Sugimoto. "Good, I have broken through her anxiety. I must proceed further"

Hoshi: "How do you fair with N2 characters? Chieko-chan, is that correct?"

Chieko: "Yes Chieko-chan! Chieko seen some of them so she can draw them well"

She shows a smile bursting with pride, Hoshi was pleased that they can now talk on first name bases however noticed the confidence in her voice faded.

Hoshi: "I would like to see your skills with the pencil. If you couldn't tell from that lesson I'm not experienced in this form of writing"

"Obvious lie" she thought while requesting help from Chieko

Chieko: "But you're smart, Hoshi speaks like a grownup"

Finally, Chieko's smile returns as she praises the new girl. This praise causes Hoshi to feel downcast. "I've stood out too much for the first day"

Hoshi: "I'm not…a grownup. I'm 9"

Her face expresses distress at the thought of being singled out for any reason at the school, she gets enough of that from the other monster girls at home.

Chieko: "Chieko thinks you can count to 100!"

This once nervous girl now becomes the ball of light in front of Hoshi who stands there with a hopeless look on her face.

Chieko: "Ohh no! Did Chieko say something bad?!"

Hoshi: "no…you didn't"

Chieko was visibly concerned for Hoshi's feelings, this brought her to widen her eyes allowing Chieko to see how orange they are.

Chieko: "Ohh"

Chieko: "Oh yes. Chieko needs help from you"

The girl in overalls returned to her previous anxious state as she voiced her true reason for coming to Hoshi in the first place.

Hoshi: "You need help, is that it?"

Hoshi jumped at the presence of a goal in their interaction, having something Hoshi can help with would be a good way to forge a relationship with Chieko.

Chieko: "Yes! Chieko keeps hearing voices coming from…a tree"

Hoshi takes a step back; the thing Chieko needs help with is delusional. Hoshi would call fanciful even.

Hoshi: "Trees don't…talk though"

The Esper of 1500 years is in doubt. Indeed, trees don't talk to mammals, there's no arguing this. "But it's also true that children always play make-believe with each other. Could this be an extension of that?"

Chieko: "No it talks! Chieko heard it!"

--

On the far side of the school field sat a tree soaring over the two girls, branches stretching out like unkept hair and covered by green leaves.

The Chieko faces its dark brown bark with anticipation while Hoshi stares in confusion. "I promised I would take a look at the situation until the bell rings" Hoshi thoughts while peering at the trunk.

Chieko: "It talks I promise…when no one's around I'd hear a scary voice from it"

Chieko turns left to Hoshi, staring with watery eyes as she tries to explain herself.

Hoshi takes note of this and things for a second. "Alright if I entertain the fact that Sugimoto-san is truthful in this matter then…it's more than likely that a monster would be the origin of these voices"

Hoshi: "What would this voice say to be exact?"

Chieko: "It would make scary noises & say you must be delicious & let us taste…I only hear it at recess when I'm alone and no one listens to me!"

Seeing her distressed face Hoshi proceeded to face this tree and shut her eyes completely, she held her breath. "What is this?" she thought, "I'm getting a reading" Hoshi's inner voice was saying as she felt something that shouldn't be there. Hoshi used her brain like a sonar to detect traces of supernatural activity, which is used to locate nearby Monsters and Hoshi would utilize this information to prevent any exposure to Human society.

Hoshi's eyes remained closed and breath was mute, "I don't understand, why is this reading so strong now?" her mind became plagued with questions, "why does this essence feel foreign yet familiar? What coursed it to get this big? And why does it spread out across the school grounds?"

Now within arm's reach of her Hoshi raises her hand to the top of Chieko's head and proceeds to head pat.

Hoshi: "Chieko, I am a believer in these voices you speak of"

Of course, was Esper willing to accept this account of the supernatural lifts her hand from Chieko's head and lets out a friendly smile.

Hoshi: "I will succeed in putting an end to your worries if you become my companion" (Companion = Mikata)

A brief burst of light came from Chieko's forming smile until it disappeared along with that smile leaving a confused young girl.

Chieko: "What's a Mikata?"

Coming into contact with a word she has not heard before Chieko holds one of her twin tails as she lowers her purple eyes. Hoshi realizes her use of this word was confusing so she backpedals.

Hoshi: "Friend instead, let's be friends"

Hearing this Chieko lights up again and becomes ecstatic.

Chieko: "Friend!?! You mean it!?!"

Hoshi: "Of course"

Hoshi gives out a small chuckle when confirming to the girl in overalls.

Chieko: "Yes! we have class together; we can be in a group!"

This girl was so excited, the thought of having such an unusual girl in her circle of friends caused Chieko to jump in celebration. Her celebratory star jumps matched the bells in the distance, this was when the two girls realized that their time outside has ended and lessons must commence.

Hearing the bells Hoshi turns to the school and points her finger toward the main building. Chieko was too distracted that she was completely unaware of them until her jumps concluded. Now her feet were on the ground, Chieko was silently staring at Hoshi as she pointed to the school.

Chieko: "Ehh!"

Finally understanding what's happening Chieko lets out a sound of shock and agitation with her twin tails pointing sideways. This was the first time Hoshi has seen her display any emotion other than happy or sad.

| Ufufufu | ウフフフ

Hoshi: "It's alright, we can return in due time"

The golden hair of Hoshi swayed with the wind as she giggled at Chieko's reaction, in response Chieko can only laugh with her and so the two girls make their way back to class with the tree behind them. Recess maybe over but Sugimoto Chieko made a new friend so the mood was positive.

They must be 20m away from the tree by now, without any glances toward the tress direction a large head raises from behind. Lacking any hair, this was a creator twitching its pointy ears and sniffling with its huge snout. As all the children disappear into the school's main building the beast grins displaying its mighty fangs.

Beast: "Ahhhh they truly smelt wonderful"