Yami and Shun settled on their seats while tidying up their lunch box. There were few students in the room since most were still outside.
A female student entered the room and went to her seat. Yami stared at her when he noticed she was the girl he had saved from last night.
"Mei!" Shun exclaimed and hastily went to her. "How are you?"
"I'm well now," Mei stated as she put her bag on her seat. That was when she saw Yami waving at her.
Yami moved beside Shun and looked at Mei, who was panicking upon seeing him.
"Yo! I didn't know we were in the same class," Yami greeted with a friendly smile.
"Ah, yes. I was sick for the past few days, but I am better now," Mei muttered shyly and bowed to Yami. "Thank you again for saving me from trouble."
"Huh?" Shun was confused at the exchanged conversation between Yami and Mei. "How did you two know each other?"
Before Yami could speak, Mei butted in to tell the story.
"I was buying medicine from the store that night when a thief got a hold of me, but luckily, Ying was there and saved me," Mei said with panic evident in her voice as she tried to play it cool.
Yami squinted his eyes upon noticing her actions and covered most of what had happened. He didn't mind it since it was none of his business.
"Yeah," Yami agreed while giving a thumbs up in front of Shun, who was looking at him with wide eyes. "I didn't break bones that time, though."
Shun sighed and darted with concern over Mei. "Don't wander around alone at night again."
Mei nodded while wiping away the cold sweat forming on her forehead. Some of their classmates who overheard their conversation went toward them to gossip.
"Ying saved you? That's amazing! He also beat Feng Bo on the day he transferred here." One of their classmates spoke.
"Yeah, I can't even contain my laughter at that time. Those bullies deserved it."
The gossip continued as Yami returned to his seat since he wanted to take a nap but was followed by them.
"Ying, where did you come from to know such moves?"
Yami chuckled awkwardly since he couldn't say he was a spy back on Earth and didn't know any city or country he was transmigrated into.
"I was trained..." Yami answered, but multiple questions were asked directly before he could continue.
"What activities or hobbies are you doing back in your country?"
That question made Yami think about his past, but it was all bloodshed and dead bodies piled up. A piece of information not suited to tell his classmates.
"Hmm, I don't have any activities except training and doing my job, but my sister likes to play games," Yami answered, and somehow, his smile faded upon mentioning his sister.
"Ehh, training is boring." One of his female classmates stated.
"But if I don't train every day, then I might die during my given assignments," Yami tried to be subtle about his past and made it seem it was all about school.
Shun was silent while listening to their conversation. He knows that Yami wasn't referring to his school but rather his work as a person that made his personality that way.
"But training is good, especially that we are at war with the Raiders," a boy stated with excitement. "Do you know about Raiders, Yami?"
Yami glanced at Shun, who had a hardened expression while waiting for his answer. "I don't know much about Raiders."
"Ten years ago, a black portal appeared at the center of Yazawa City, and Raiders came out to attack humans. The central city was ruined after two days, almost two thousand people died, and there are still more than 500 missings," Shun stated the history of their city with a pained expression.
"Really?" Yami was shocked at the number of deaths, enough to feel goosebumps. He had killed innumerable people before and lost count, but two thousand deaths in two days were too much for him.
The other student continued talking about their houses, whether it was destroyed or not. They expressed their sadness to the families of the victims as well.
"But I was wondering why you're all relaxed here? Your country has a war with those Raiders," Yami asked as he noticed that they didn't show extreme fear about the situation.
"That's because of the Defender!" a student exclaimed with pride. "They were able to figure out about the Raider's technology, a vessel called Soul. It's the item that the Combatants use to fight against the Raiders! Look, that's their base!"
The student pointed out of the window toward the gigantic building from afar. That was the building Yami admired on his first day in that world.
"Multiple portals and Raiders swarmed around the area before the building was finished. Flares were set up around the base area to limit the portal's opening around the city. That means we are safe here!" the student stated while shivering with pleasure. "Ahh, I want to join the Defender and become a Combatant."
"Oh, then you should ask Shun--"
Yami couldn't continue his words when Shun held his mouth to prevent him from speaking and dragged him out of the room. Leaving his classmates in a daze.
Shun went inside a vacant room and let go of Yami.
"You have a strong grip," Yami chuckled while patting his pants from dirt. "I get it. You work as a secret Combatant."
"No... Yes! so don't tell anyone about it," Shun gritted his teeth but looked down with a gloomy expression.
"You should be proud that you're a Combatant since they are like superheroes in this world," Yami shrugged and leaned back against the wall. "But then, Raiders have a terrible reputation here."
Yami's eyes widened upon understanding what he had said, and he stared at Shun. His eyes were cold and distant.
"If you're a Combatant, you should have arrested me by now."
Shun was silent for a couple of seconds before answering, and his face showed honesty. "Because I don't think you are like those Raiders or Soul beast if that's what you call them. I have been observing you silently, and I think you are a good person with the goal of finding your sister. Besides, I owe you for saving me."
Yami hummed and put his hand over his chin while thinking deeply. "Then I should thank you for not killing me. I'm lucky after all."
As they were conversing, a black portal emerged outside of their window. The students outside were frozen on their spot as they couldn't believe a portal would appear in the safe zone.
[EMERGENCY! PORTAL ACTIVITY HAS BEEN LOCATED. CITIZENS, MOVE TO SAFETY!]