~8 years later~
Morning arose on the new day of summer, the ray of light from the bright sun shining through the window into the bedroom of a young girl sleeping in her luxury bed. The young girl was Itsuki, grown into a teenager, who woke up from her deep sleep. She let out a long yawn while rubbing her eyes with his elegant hands, Itsuki had woken up before her alarm went off, she was too anxious to wait for the morning call. This was a new thing happen, it was a rarity for her since she loved her sleep especially after she would stay up late reading her favorite books again. The book next to her still open was a copy of The Three Musketeers, one of the few she hadn't gotten around to sinc eyeballs read romance fantasy books.
Itsuki wanted to finish it, however she couldn't afford to sleep in today though, It was going to be her first day at Kamui Academy. She worked hard to be accepted for the new school semester. The requirements for it were very strict, on few occasions was leniency given, only to those who were either a scholarship student or once's who applied for financial aid. Itsuki was from high class family so she was given the harsher end of the stick to apply.
In the years she grew up Itsuki practiced non-stop to get accepted, she practiced her magic tediously every day to pass the skill test, while she had written tests that were easy for her to pass without worry she still kept it serious, as overconfidence could have ruined her with even the smallest mistake.
Since it would be her first day, she wanted to enjoy meeting new people at the school she could make friends with now without being judged by her family nobility. Especially with it having more boys from all over Japan entering now this year than before it be nice to not be surrounded by a bunch of jealous girls like she was used to. There was only going to be a small amount since many didn't pass the tests or decided to stay at their respective private schools for fear of being used for reasons not in the admirable way. Itsuki wasn't bothered by the numbers, she was also ready to accept some may not be ideal gentlemen or possibly trying to hit on her when they arrived, but it would be nice to see them anyways just for the change of pace.
Among the boys, she was hoping more than anything that arrivals coming would have one in particular, that was Kousuke of course. It was a small chance but she really hoped he applied to the academy instead of staying at the military school.
She had not seen or heard from him after that night of the funeral when he said he was leaving for the military school. The last memory was then hugging each other before Kousuke and Mana left in the limo to the airport to leave. Itsuki wrote him letters when she found out what school it was he was attending thanks to Major Komon allowing the location to be revealed after Yue agreed to be a emergency contact just in case.
Thankfully more since it wasn't a classified enrollment to immediate friends and family it was easier for communication although visiting him wasn't allowed sixne the school rules said only immediate family could be there.
Mana wrote letters for Itsuki in Kousuke's place since he didn't use the phone for fear of hearing a familiar voice making him feel worse for leaving. She understood the intent and was happy with the letters, the best thing that Itsuki could ask for was having a way to stay in touch and the letters could be kept as a keepsake for her.
Even with her writing letters she barely got a few back and just Mana writing them felt a little hurtful because she wanted to read from Kousuke more, it was disheartening for her at fist but it didn't stop her from sending one once a month until her enrollment date was set for Kamui.
She missed Kousuke, everyday she thought of him and how much pain he must have been and if he made any friends at his school. Itsuki worried about Kousuke on whether he still blamed himself for Akane's death. He was traumatized from that moment when she saw him at the funeral, and the way he spoke to her that night, she could feel the disgust in his tone for himself. She worried if he got counseling to help get through it or if he took his frustrations out on the other students, Ituski wanted to know if he was ok even if it came from a small paragraph letter that would have been enough at least to keep her calm.
Itsuki stopped stopped her thinking and closed the book, she got out bed looking at the scenery before her, taking in the warmth of the sunlight. She grabbed her cleaned uniform for the school, she had it sized and dry-cleaned ahead of time in preparation for day one. It had to be redone since she was still growing, she didn't think she hit a growth spurt in her upper area before the semester started.
'I really hope they don't grow more, they're already a handful now and hurting my back.' She complained as she looked at bust size prefer if they were just average for, bigger wasn't always better in her opinion.
She made her way to her bathroom to get ready, using the wall remote in the room she pressed the start button to play music and start up the shower system for the warm water to run.
Itsuki removed her clothes and stepped in the hot shower, she let the warm water massage her skin as she lathered her body up with expensive body washes and shampoos. Even the towels she owned to dry off with were luxury items to match everything in the room. If she wasn't a spoiled rich girl in the eyes of others already this would just make it worse for her, just her daily beauty routine with her products would have really cemented that in the opinions of her peers.
Itsuki wrapped the towels around her body and hair after she finished up, she wiped the fog off her mirror to see her reflection as she was grabbing her makeup and hairdryer. She really became a beautiful girl in the years that passed. Her black hair was long now passed her shoulders, she put on snowflake hairpins on the long strands of hair on the sides making it look a slim braid, with a large white bow on the back of her hair. Her figure was envy to the people who knew and didn't know her personally. She was slender with ivory skin and no signs of fat on her body, no blemishes anywhere to be seen either.
Kousuke was right in calling her a real-life Snow White, she definitely felt like her counterpart with her looks now.
Itsuki finished putting on her makeup and uniform, she grabbed her book bag all set for her ride to school.
She made her way downstairs to say hi to her family before taking off, Yue was looking over the news on the television drinking her coffee looking for any new information to write down. Ayaka was brushing Kaede's hair, she was getting her ready for her first year of junior high school as well.
Itsuki grabbed a piece of toast before hugging her family goodbye, she wasn't going to stay for breakfast with the excitement she had in her heart. The car was parked outside waiting for her, Itsuki didn't want to arrive showing off with a fancy vehicle but it was the first day and she wanted to get there quickly in case of traffic.
"Be safe getting to the school, don't be too nervous arriving." Yue said taking her eyes off the news to say goodbye.
"I won't, I promise to make it memorable. See you all when I get back." Itsuki said waving them all off as she made her way to the car.
The ride to the school felt long even with the good pace they were driving at, Itsuki felt like time was going slowly from how lost in though she was in. She stared out the window looking at the buildings and people during the drive, she admired the innocence in away of everyone enjoying their lives even with all the actives in the world going on. While she was looking out of the car she saw Mana's old restaurant on the way to the school. She knew where it was when Kousuke mentioned what his parents did for a living, she wished she could have eaten there when it was still open, she didn't consider it at the time to ask cause of being treated by five-star chiefs nearly every day. Now she regretted, it would have been a decent change of pace to taste the home cooking more often like Mana's during the moments Kousuke shared his food with her.
Just seeing it closed and worn out, no one bought the building yet sick with was small and not considered valuable. She heard it was going to be set for demolition soon for a knew property to be built.
Hearing it was going to destroyed soon only made Itsuki miss Kousuke more now when she thought about it. It was the last bit of something that was still near here that reminded her of him.
'Were are you now? Are you really staying at the military school for good? Will you become a soldier like Akane-San? Why haven't you wrote me back still. I miss you so much, Kousuke.'
"Miss we've arrived." The driver announced to Itsuki snapping her out of her deep thought. She responded in turn, she looked out the window to see the sight in front of her, with her eyes lit up in excitement.
Itsuki saw the school in all its splendor in front of her, Kamui Academy lived up to its reputation as a elite school for the gifted all right.
She loved the presence of it as she exited the car, the air around her including the vibe she felt made her feel joy and pride. The image of her walking out of the car down the school walkway looked majestic to the people who saw her. Many of the female students blushed seeing Itsuki in their eyes. She was a little embarrassed but had gotten used to it now with time, she always turned down advances from them when she was approached. Ituski wasn't into that lifestyle really, and there was someone else she wanted instead.
A student made her way to Itsuki, she was the same height as her, with her figure curvier than Itsuki's, even having much larger bust size then hers, which made Itsuki feel self conscious even if she didn't want to admit it. She had mid length strawberry blonde hair with tiny bells tied onto the sides and small ponytail. She gave a bow of respect to Itsuki and then introduced herself.
"Ohayou Shirayuki-San. I'm the new Student Council President Kurenai Natsume. I welcome you to our school." She gave a wink and finger gesture trying to act cute, a trait that always bothered Itsuki. Itsuki thought of it as annoying like it was a way of someone using their looks to get their way. That and it felt like she was trying to be like a idol to Otakus who couldn't get a girlfriend.
"Well, It's a pleasure to meet you Iincho(Class President). May I ask why you're waiting outside here at the front gate? It wasn't for me wasn't it?" Itsuki asked trying to keep it professional.
"Oh no. I'm here to greet the males entering the academy. There's a total of 50 altogether. With two being from the Five Families and some from respected ones or on scholarship programs. I have to make sure there all attended for and welcomed safely." Natsume pulled out her tablet with the class roster on it to show Itsuki. The list of names were all present, Itsuki looked hard at the list but didn't see Kousuke's name on it. She felt that he wasn't attending the school after all and decided to stay in the military one. It made her feel disappointment in her heart more, with Natsume noticing from the look on her face.
"Hmm, are you ok Shirayuki-San?" Natsume asked.
"Hmm, oh yes. It's just there was a name I was hoping to see on the list but it's not there."
"Maybe you will. This list isn't complete. There were two names I was told about that were entered last minute due complications so the roster wasn't updated in time before I got here. Maybe you'll see the one you want here when they arrive." Natsume told her to try and cheer up Ituski.
Itsuki's eyes regained their composure. She was ready to see if it would happen, she wanted to ask Natsume if she possibly heard of who the missing names belong too, but was cut off when a fleet of vehicles arrived. All the girls saw the cars arriving open their doors, and coming out were all the boys who would attend the school with them. They all fawned over at seeing the groups of boys coming their way. Most of the girls attending had never met a boy save for old movies or shows. Others may be one or two if they were lucky enough to have one in their neighborhood or old schools.
The of the boy there three that caught their attention the most, the first one wore glasses with his hair combed over to the side in a dignified manner. He was around 5'11 and breathed an air of refinement and intelligence. Natsume looked through the roster to see his information and photo. She found his photo and history in a minute after searching.
"Let's see, that one is Yagami Hiro. He's from one of the Five Families I mentioned, he's the current head of the Yagami family. His family is the lead in the medical field, even owning their own private emergency response company, they train tactical paramedics for tough cases in the city they police need help with. Their success rate is always a 100%. They also have a successful resort in Kiyoto that's a popular sight for tourists and local families. He's Incredibly intelligent and a winner of many Archery championships specializing in creation magic to make his own array of bows and arrows."
The two others followed right behind him. One looked very intimidating, around 6'2 with a very muscular body with buzzed sides on his hair, and messy long hair on the top. He hadmultiple earrings, a piercing on his eyebrow and a lip piercing. The other one was 5'9, he had an athletic build for someone who practiced martial arts, a tattoo of the Japanese kanji for water on the side of his neck, styled spikey hair, a thin long ponytail down to his back, carrying a Japanese Shirasaya style sword in his hand.
"The big one is Sakurai Ryuji. He's from a family who works in private security so he got a good recommendation, his dad who founded it also ran a biker club many consider as street heroes. He hasn't been able to stay in any of the schools he attends due to his bad behavior. He hasn't suffered any real punishments due to him helping in cases of faculty security or neighborhood watches. From what I gathered he's a decent student so his grades are pretty good and he's a winner of many body building competitions so he does have the money to attend here."
Itsuki felt annoyed seeing him. He made the girls either fawn over his physique or scared them from his taunting face and scowl.
"The one with the sword is Mitsurugi Ren. He's an orphan so there's no information on what family he was born from but he was taken in by the Mizuno family to be the new bodyguard for their oldest daughter and current leader. The tattoo on his neck is a sign of his pact to be her sword and that he's the new successor to the Mitsurugi Style swordsmanship. His blade is a Sacreed Blade, a rare weapon that channels purifying water magic that can kill a Ghast in an instant."
Ren definitely was the most impressive-looking of the bunch in terms of combat aura. Itsuki could feel he wasn't as regal or arrogant, more so like he was just living in the moment as if tomorrow wasn't certain. A modern-day samurai being assigned to attend school to help in his development for future opportunities in the Mizuno family. Although he just wanted to stay by his Master's side, not caring about his education or future.
All the male students lined up for roll call. Natsume went down the list, and Ryuji looked uninterested in any of this. He was bored from the waiting, he tried to scratch his behind before Ren slapped her his from doing the manner. When Ryuji felt that, he got irritated. He tried to stomp on Ren's foot for retaliation but into get a kick to the shin in response. More annoyed now, he was going to calm himself by trying to light a cigarette to kill the time, but not before Ren sliced it in half with incredible speed.
"Oy, ya got a problem spikey you've been on my ass since we've been standing here?" Ryuji asked with his veins bulging on his face.
"No smoking on school grounds. Even a child would know that. Also this is a privilege to be here try and have some decent manners and not be a vulgar person."
Ryuji was angered, he couldn't hold it in anymore. He tried to throw a punch until Ren blocked it by smacking his hand with the sword sheathe. Ryuji was more upset now, he was being treating like a fool and he hated that the most. He used his skill he earned after awaking as an Esper to make the dirt and rock under him form a gauntlet of stone to attack Ren again.
The male students dispersed when they saw the violence breakdown, the female students backed away hurriedly to watch the fight and record it on their phones, they didn't care about the roll call anymore. They wanted to see the boys in action. Itsuki and Natsume were both embarrassed and irritated at the sight before them, this was childish and no reason to start at all.
Hiro sat on a chair the was brought out earlier before his car left, he was observing the two fighting for data on their skills and levels. He was very meticulous on mesmerizing every detail about someone who catch his interest for future endeavors.
Ryuji was a pure brawler in the fight, throwing powerful punches and tanking hits without hesitation. Ren was more technical and calm, he had training in Iado-style swordsmanship including Bujustu, and Aikido, with high-speed movements from his rigorous stamina training. It was clearly a one sided figh, but Ryuji refused to stop.
"Stop it you two it's only day one you'll get in trouble." Natsume tried to yell at them.
Ren wanted to stop, he had no interest in fighting he was acting in self-defense. Ryuji was the only one who didn't care.
"Urusai(Shut Up)! Don't get opportunities like this to finally fight with another guy on my level, and he insulted me I can't let that slide as man of pride." Ryuji yelled while throwing another wild punch. Ren had cut the stone gauntlet off using Ryuji's momentum, but the force caused it to launch it toward Itsuki's direction by accident.
"Oh crap!" Ryuji shouted in a panic. He may have been a brutish meathead, but even he had boundaries he wouldn't cross. He never purposely hit a woman a day in his life, he had principles about hitting women unless it was for training or self defense. Ren looked scared as well, he didn't realize he hit it with that match force, he tried to charge after it to cut the gauntlet before it could make contact. He sped up as quick as he could, but it was already ahead of him before he could get halfway to its position. Itsuki didn't have time to react with a spell either or get out of the way in time to avoid it.
Itsuki closed her eyes, hoping someone would stop it in time before she was hit. Anyone for that matter she didn't care long as she was saved. Her wish was granted in the movement, in a big way.
Everyone saw it, in a flash the stone gauntlet was destroyed in an instant before it hit Itsuki. The gauntlet was blown to pieces, by a brilliant blue flame. Everyone looked to see who did it. Hiro especially, was greatly interested in the one who launched that flame with that much power with such speed.
All heads turned and cellphone camera saw who did that, and the one who did really got their attention most.