"Shiro. I'm Yamazaki Shiro." I introduced myself to the class. As a moved from beside the teacher's desk to my own seat, I got malicious glares from all of my new classmates. It makes sense, considering that I'm the only guy in the class, and the entire school.
Let's backtrack.
Yamazaki Shiro, sixteen years of age. Black hair, red eyes, height 5"12, only child. My first name means white, which is ironic, because my soul is darker than anything else I know.
When I was eleven, the first of an unknown species of monsters, now named Ash Wraiths, appeared on Earth. The very first one appeared in my hometown. Ash Wraiths are large, soulless creatures that seek nothing short of total annihilation. They started with my village, and finished when there was nothing left. But as it was withdrawing, I sensed a connection from the creature in my heart. Based on its reaction of turning around as it was ready to leave, I figured that it sensed me. As it inched closer to me, I fell to the ground from the vibration that its marching caused. Once it was in my face, I was trembling with fear. Mortified even. But, in my heart, I felt a strange comfort. Though I feared for my life, I stretched out my arm, and laid my hand upon the Ash Wraith. When I did, it appeared to shrink before my eyes, gradually, until there was nothing left. I thought it had retreated to wherever it was from, but what actually happened was that I ate it. "Ate" may not be the appropriate term for it, more like "Consumed"? Either way, I had absorbed that creature. The only surivors of that attack that I knew of were me, and my long time friend Natsumi.
Since that first attack, there's been a wave of humans who can use a portion of the Ash Wraiths' power to manipulate that energy to their will. Weapons can be made, "Magic" can be cast, all sorts of cool things can be done. It depends on the person, but there's not a lot that can't be done with this ability. The people who bear affinity for it are called Rooks, and they use their ability to create means of fighting against the Ash Wraiths. The interesting thing about these Rooks is that all of them are female. Except one. Me. My power is slightly different than the typical Rook. While a normal Rook's abilities come from light and focus on creation, my abilities are the converse. I wield the darkness, and are made to destroy. I can use typical Rook abilities just fine, we'll call them "Light Rook Power", so I hide that I can use "Dark Rook Power" at all costs. The cause of my unique abilities is thought to be because I absorbed an entire Ash Wraith, that also happened to be the first to appear. I pretend to be a normal Rook, because I surely would be looked down upon by anyone who knew the true nature of my power. Note that my Dark Rook Power has nothing to do with the fact that I'm the only male Rook, nobody knows why somebody like me is even possible. Boy, that sounded weird.
To summarize, I'm the most powerful Rook, wielding both creation and destruction, light and dark, but it's a secret. Nobody knows about the dark nature of the Ash Wraith's essence, and nobody knows of the one male Rook except my friend. That's how it used to be.
"You want me to enroll in Ataraxia?" I said to my friend Natsumi, who woke me up at two in the morning with a phone call.
"Yes Shiro, that is what I want."
"But that's an all girl's school."
"No, it's an all Rook school. There's no rule that prohibits males from enrolling. It just so happens that all Rooks are girls, except for you. Therefore, you meet the only criteria needed to join the academy. It's as simple as that."
"But I'll be an outcast."
"Don't worry about it. I'll have someone show you around on your first day. I've already sent you your uniform anyway. I've basically finished the enrollment for you."
"Fine, I'll show my appreciation for you going out of your way for me to attend there, by going along with your idea. Wait, how did you send my uniform without getting my measurements?"
"I already know your measurements."
"That's creepy. How would you feel if I suddenly told you 'Bust 84cm, Waist 54cm, Hip 83cm'?"
"How did you know?"
"Lucky guess. How do you know my measurements?"
"We grew up together, we're like family," Ouch, that would have stung if I had romantic interest in her.
"So of course I know your measurements. We've bathed together." To keep my reputation spotless, I will state that we bathed together when we were little, that's it. That still doesn't explain why she had my up to date measurements.
"I've felt very inch of your body."
"I don't recall you doing such a thing."
"That's because you were asleep."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Well, anything else I should know?"
"Yeah. You start tomorrow."
"That early? I don't even get a tour of the campus beforehand?"
"Sorry. I figured the better you start, the better." Absolutely not true. I would have loved to chat with the headmaster or someone knowledgeable before my time at Ataraxia began.
"Also, Is this even okay? No one except for you, me, and a few government doctors know that a male Rook exists."
"It'll be fine, think of it as your debut. You'll be famous among the students." She was right about that.
"You said I start tomorrow?"
"I did, but I just realized that it's two in the morning, not before midnight, so allow me to correct myself. You start today."
"Then let me get the next few hours to rest."
"That's fine. Bye, love you."
"Don't just throw around 'I love you' to someone you're not seein-"
She hung up on me. The nerve of that girl.
Skipping over my morning routine (you wouldn't be interested), that bring us to the start of this story. Now that I've got all the background information out of the way and the stage is set, we can begin.
"Alright class, we have a new transfer joining the class who will be training alongside you to become Rooks. Please treat them well." The teacher said.
"Are you sure about this, Natsumi?"
I was speaking to her through an earpiece.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine."
The teacher began "Please give them a warm welcome, your new classmate is-"
I entered the classroom.
"A guy?"
Confusion was audible and visible everywhere in the classroom.
"Natsumi, you didn't tell them a guy was coming beforehand?" I murmured softly.
"Sorry, I didn't want to ruin the surprise for them."
"Shiro. I'm Yamazaki Shiro." I introduced myself to the class. I felt malicious glares down my back from all eyes while I walked from the teacher's desk to my own. "I don't approve." A girl stood up and assertively stated.
The teacher said "Miss Sugimoto, I understand how you feel, but-"
"Cool it, Harumi." A sharp tongue from the back of the classroom split the teacher's words, and the disapproving maiden's temper. The girl who I later learned to be Sugimoto Harumi sat back down in the most obstinate way I'd ever seen someone sit down. The one who shut her down, was "Ice queen" Tajima Yuka.
"Shiro might be a guy, but this isn't a girl's only academy. This is a Rook only academy. All Shiro needs to do is prove that he's a Rook, and he'll have a right to be here. Can you do that, Shiro?"
I don't know what overcame me, but I surged with confidence at that moment. I set my arm out and opened my palm. A prism of light manifested in my hand.
"This Ash Wraith element should be proof enough that I'm a Rook."
As cliche and corny as it is, the classroom gasped in unison.
"If more proof is needed, here." The light prism in my palm took the shape of a handgun.
"That gun is totally useless against Ash Wraiths." A girl in the class said.
"Yeah, but it works on humans just fine." That line may make me seem like a psychopath, but I'm not, I assure you. In the situation I was in (my strength was being assessed), I made a handgun that was empty, and not only that, it was on safety and it was a model gun to begin with. Though I could make the real thing just fine. Now that I think about it, this is a wonderful opportunity to tell you that I had been working as an assassin for the government up until I enrolled at Ataraxia. That's part of why I made that "Yeah, but it works on humans just fine" comment. Though, I think that line scared the class a bit.
"If you need proof that I can make weapons to take out Ash Wraiths, here." The handgun molded back into a light prism, then into a katana.
"I call this Sekkarou."
There was chatter among the classroom, until the teacher settled them down.
"I'll be Damned Shiro, you really are one of a kind. I welcome you to Ataraxia." Yuka said. The rest of the class wasn't so welcoming. They just kept their malicious glares.
The teacher introduced herself as Saegusa Mizuki. She hadn't seemed to have fully accepted me yet, but she wasn't on the "Reject Shiro because he's a guy" bandwagon like the rest of the class minus Yuka. The morning bell rung, and ended homeroom. As the students were leaving the classroom, I could hear them badmouthing me.
Natsumi said I would be famous, and she was right. Starting that morning, I was famous for being the outcast at Ataraxia. I started my life as a reject that day. But, things weren't going to be all bad.
"Shiro, got a few minutes?" Said a voice from the back of the classroom. While most had already left into the hallways, Tajima Yuka hadn't.