The atmosphere had calmed down after Anna got all the statements from the students finished up and situation under control. She wanted to administer fairness to the new students by showing she wasn't putting up with any nonsense at her school. Ryuji grumbled at having the bracelet on his wrist, when he tried to take it off he got an electric shock to his brain as a result. The pain was minor, he got real easy for his actions, he was lucky he wouldn't be expelled since the school rules stated fighting on campus was prohibited unless authorized for training or demonstrations. Afterwards, Anna began to introduce herself to the new arriving class of students. She was solid in her presence standing before them, from her tailored suit and heels, her short-styled hair, her handling of herself said a lot of personality and the life she led.
The students couldn't help admire her, definitely not the image they all had before arriving, they suspected someone older and more feeble with greedy image not someone who was gentle with fierceness in her and young to match.
"Welcome to Kamui Academy everyone. For those in the female student selection who already had their schedules and uniforms handed out months ago, you can make your way to your assigned homerooms to begin class. To our arriving gentleman, we have your uniforms ready. We apologize for the having everything done late we were not expecting so many of you to come this year. We'll escort you to the inclosed area to change into to your uniforms in private and lock up your personal effects till end of day. I trust there'll be no more fighting up till then."
She said with a dark aura emanating around her, asserting her authority over not having any more shenanigans she hoped wouldn't take place. "With that in mind, welcome to our prestigious school everyone. May your fate be decided by your own will and heart." She finished saying in her speech, the same quote former Headmaster Retsu said when she attended in her youth.
With everything calmed down now and the information being passed out, the female students went about getting to their assigned homerooms as instructed, and the boys went to the area Anna made for them to pick up their school uniforms to change in without the girls peeking on them.
Inside the changing area all the boys who saw the fight earlier looked at Kousuke carefully, he was becoming the main interest of gossip after his little scuffle with Ryuji. All the comments were either how cool he looked in the fight or how dangerous he could be if they got on his bad side.
"Hey, that guy is pretty dangerous right?"
"I mean yeah, he completely destroyed that guy's armor like it was nothing. And blue flames. Aren't those rare? I don't think I've seen anyone use that type of flame magic"
The gossiping continued as Kousuke focused on changing into his uniform, ignoring the words aimed at him.
"Who cares, compared to those two who fought before he showed up, he must be the one we shouldn't piss off. Who knows what he'll do." Kousuke could hear them continue talking about him, he didn't care for their unimportant words. He had his reasons for coming to the school and they didn't need to know any of it.
The boys continued to change into their uniforms rushing off to their classes when they were done. Hiro examined Koutetsu's body after he saw him take off his shirt, Kousuke had multiple burns on it on his upper back, abdomen and chest, the type that looked self-inflicted from lack of control over his power. The price a Caster paid for misusing magic. Besides the burns his muscle stature was incredibly developed, Hiro could tell that Kousuke focused on specific muscle groups that worked in tangent with the martial arts style he displayed earlier. From his back muscles like his rhomboid and trapezius, core muscle, quadriceps leg muscles, and shoulder deltoids, each one had been painstakingly worked on with care and preparation.
"Hmm, seems you've been through hell. Wonder what you had to do to get all that." Kousuke ignored Hiro's question. He wasn't interested in satisfying his curiosity and give away anything he could use against him later. Ryuji glared at Kousuke, he was simmering from the earlier loss and humiliation. He couldn't wait till the bracelet was off to start fighting him again, his pride as a man wouldn't let him go out like that.
'Just you wait, when this thing gets off I'm gonna kick your ass blue boy.'
Kousuke didnt have telepathy but he could feel Ryuji's intention toward him. He snapped his eyes at Ryuji, Ryuji could see the glow in them and how Kousuke wasn't taking his attitude easy. Ryuji looked away, he wouldn't say it but that glare scared him a bit. He could feel a hint of killer intent in them.
Ren was the only one who didn't bother him, he was not interested in getting involved in unnecessary drama that would bring shame to the Mizuno family. Kousuke viewed Ren as nonthreatening unless they were going to have a disagreement sometime soon in the future, it made him the only one he didn't mind being around.
Kousuke wasn't meaning to but he saw Ren had scars on his back, his seemed from years of training in perfecting his sword style, only a few that could be recognized as a form of punishment, either from a whip or Bambi brush striking him.
"If you have a question to ask then ask I'm not into people staring at me for no reason," Ren said with a faint tone of annoyance in his voice form being stared at without permission.
"Sorry. No disrespect. Your scars, seems we both have some baggage we wear on the outside." Kousuke commented being respectful in his words.
Ren examined Kousuke's burns in turn. He could tell looking at him that they were similar in how they both carried tremendous weight on their shoulders from their years of training for their goals.
The boys finished changing into uniforms, Kamui had distinction in their designs besides the normal trousers, shirts, ties, and jackets. The jackets with white colors represented those who were Casters, the ones with jade colors Espers. Kousuke's jacket was violet representing him as a Prime Color, once the students saw that they were now more worried to mess him then before.
The students had time before class began, they wanted to socialize before they would head to their homerooms. All the boys couldn't wait to get classes started, they were excited to start the year with all the girls in the school, common now for those of them who wanted to live out a harem-like fantasy. Kousuke had to turn in his gloves to the security office as promised before he could go to his class, the same as Ren for his sword.
Kousuke couldn't believe he was here, or back home for that matter, he was feeling the nervous feeling again. The memories of Akane coming back in a bad way, he was starting to have a hard time breathing. He reached into his jacket pocket to pull out a medical inhaler to use, the medicine in it was used to help with his condition.
The medicine helped him calm down with having a small sedative in it meant to suppress powers in case of a freak out. After two hits he was settled down, he didn't feel nervous or about to burn himself again or anyone in his vicinity thankfully. As he put the inhaler away Kousuke heard footsteps running toward him, his instincts almost made him want to get into his fighting pose after the near episode he had, but he stopped once could tell who it was without turning around, he recognized the scent from anywhere, keeping his promise not to forget her.
"Kousuke!!!"
Kousuke jolted his body around hearing his name called out, he saw Itsuki running toward him teary-eyed at full speed.
"Wow wait." He tried to out his arms out to stop her but it didn't work.
She leaped at him in her rush, practically tackled him at that point with how much force was behind it. His back hit the wall saving him from hitting the ground instead. He could feel the tightness of her hug and tears on her face, she was more than excited to see he actually came to the school like she hoped for.
He wanted to hug her back, but he wasn't ready yet at the moment, it wasn't the right call to make with him being as he was now inside. He instead rubbed his hand on the top of her head, carassing her hear gently to satisfy her.
"Yo, Shirayuki-Hime." He said calling her by the nickname she use to hate so much as a kid.
"I told you a hundred times to stop calling me….yep no doubt about it. It's really you." She gave a bigger smile happy to hear that nickname that used to annoy her. Nobody else ever called her that but him. It was the confirmation she needed to know that was the real Kousuke in front of her.
The grip of her fingers tightened harder, her face wouldn't leave his body yet from how much she wanted it to last.
"Why didn't you respond back to me. Why did you leave me behind after you promised not to. You have any idea how worried I was for you. How much I missed you. Baka, Baka, Baka, Baka!"
Itsuki let out all what she wanted to say from how frustrated she was about his absence. Kousuke felt bad in his heart hearing the words. He didn't rub her head anymore, he gave her a hug now, going through his own emotional worry to help comfort her instead.
"Hey, not to ruin this touching moment, but can you let go now? Only have a few minutes left till class starts."
Itsuki wouldn't let go at first, wanting to cherish every second she was getting back for those lost times, but she finally did after realizing they'd both be marked late if she didn't stop. Itsuki wiped her eyes with her handkerchief, she really couldn't believe Kousuke was standing in front of her after all the years.
"So we're going by first name basis now. I thought we weren't that friendly yet." He said to her with his old sarcastic jokes, still being able to push her buttons.
"Jerk, still as antagonistic to people's feelings as ever. But I'm glad, you're still you after everything." Kousuke wanted to respond to that, there were changes to him she wasn't aware of yet. Ones he wouldn't tell because he was working through them in his way.
Both of them made their walk to their homeroom class together, since they had the same class it was easier for them to catch up on the time they missed.
Itsuki commented how her family worked hard to repent for the incident that happened all those years ago. They started looking into any info they could find about Shiina, looking for any incidents similar to what she did to Kousuke, along with any bearing likeness of her. Their efforts roused the suspicions of the other families who were also worried about future attacks to their own children, an incident like that wasn't meant to be taken lightly, and precautions were made to protect the children who were potentially future targets should they end up in the same predicament Kousuke did.
Kousuke revealed in small detail how he lived at the military boarding school after he left. He went through hell with training trying to control his powers and level, how he broke his bones multiple times or passed out from pain, never disclosing to Itsuki about him keeping the damage on his body. Eventually, he got the hang of getting his discipline together and leveled up steadily with the help he received, he mastered the basic skills and combat training program they gave him, eventually finding a special person who taught him his style.
"That fighting style you used, it was martial arts, right? What kind was that, never seen it before." Itsuki asked curious how he got so tough in his years.
"It's called Ginji Ryu, it means Silver Guardian Style. It was originally developed in China by Martial Artists that worse silver adorned garbs who wanted to practice in the shadows to hide their techniques from the public. It eventually progressed around the world to Thailand, Korea, and Japan were it got its name. It's only taught to a select few to keep the training hidden and evolves from being passed to a new practitioner adding new moves to avoid being copied or countered by enemies"
Itsuki's face looked confused at hearing the explanation, she wasn't too knowledgeable on martial arts styles, so it was too much information for her at once. Kousuke saw her face and chuckled a bit at how adorable she looked confused.
"Basically it's like a bonus character you meet who gives you a one-of-a-kind moveset no one else can have without difficulty" he tried to simply for her.
"Oh. I think I understand It better a bit. Kinda like those old fighting games where all the characters had super moves you had to play forever to get right."
Kousuke nodded. That was the best answer Itsuki could have with her basic understanding. Kousuke racked his brain hard trying to master it in the beginning, he could see how hard it must have been for her to understand with the explanation he gave.
The two made it to homeroom, the teacher called down the roster of the students. Only one was not present, the other name besides Kousuke's who came last to be registered. The class began with a basic history of the country discovering magic, the evolution of the Espers, and the start of the Ghast virus. Kousuke was bored out of his mind, he already knew this from his boarding school days. Also, because he was a good student it felt redundant to hear all this again. Itsuki wrote notes meticulously like always, while everyone tried different ways to pay attention or kill boredom.
After class, the students were allowed to register for clubs and other activities at the school. Being a part of them helped with credits and getting more use for the life goals they wanted outside of school. Itsuki and Kousuke watched everyone go to the multiple booths set up for the students to examine, from cooking, theater, and fashion, even ones for magical theory, and self-defense, among others. Everyone wanted to sign up for their desired clubs, but Kousuke and Itsuki didn't know where to go
"Haven't decided yet?" Itsuki asked.
"Not sure really. If I pick any of the martial arts clubs I'm pretty sure everyone would be afraid of sparring with me after that fiasco this morning. Not looking for another reason for people to think of me as some kind of monster."
Itsuki understood. Kousuke was strong, more than that he had the fighting ability to back it, he may be more advanced than most of the students unless the instructors were on his his same fighting prowess.
The two saw Natsume approaching them, she had her tablet with her looking over information on it, still having her bubbly personality with her.
"There you two are. I've been looking for you guys."
"Hmm, us? Did you need something Iinchou?" Itsuki asked.
"Yes, I wanted to inform you that we have two spots open for you two to join in if you want. Shirayuki-San, I'd like you to join me as Vice-President of the student council, you're scores are exceptional and be a big help in writing reports and helping with the budget issues. And Hayashi, we like you to be the head of the disciplinary committee to keep the students in check if they start acting out like Sakurai did this morning."
"HUH????" Kousuke was bewildered. He did not see that coming at all. He thought for sure maybe he got picked for something meaningless, but the head of the disciplinary committee. That was a gut punch.
"Well, what do you say...Ha…ya…shi-Kun," Natsume asked in a playful tone trying to look cute.
Kousuke blushed a bit, he didn't have that treatment in his old life. Most women were disgusted with his smug attitude, even the ones who did take interest he shoved aside to focus on his studies.
Kousuke rubbed his cheek with his finger nervous. 'Well she did ask and I don't think that be a bad job either, not like I have much of choice here in the matter.' As he pondered his thoughts he felt a cold chill go up his spine. He turned his eyes to look at Itsuki, she looked annoyed at him for falling for Natsume's cute charms. He could see her facial expressions were blank but felt like a reaper mentality behind them ready to kill him.
'Gah, crap I think I pissed her off. Typical, I fell for the rom-com stereotype. Way to go idiot.' Koutetsu stopped the blushing act and smartened himself up. He didn't want to further annoy Itsuki by indulging in Natsume's charms.
"Yes Iinchou, I'll take the job." He said in a shaken hurried tone.
Natsume smiled and handed him and Itsuki their booklets and tickets for their official jackets at the tailors to pick up later. Committee members had different attire setups than regular students, the jacket Natsume wore was an example of what Itsuki would wear.
School finally ended, Kousuke changed back into his regular clothes quickly, and he started making his way to the parking lot to his motorcycle. He saw Hiro entering his personal limousine, Hiro looked at Kousuke before entering it, his curious smile was really infuriating for Kousuke. Kousuke shrugged him off not wanting anything to do with him, it wasn't important at the moment.
Kousuke made it to his motorcycle, he was ready to start it up till he smelt Itsuki's fragrance coming in his direction.
"You know, you can't sneak up on me, right? I can smell your perfume from ten feet away."
Itsuki stood there behind him, she was impressed at his sense of smell.
"Are you heading home?"
"Yeah, I'm heading to my home." Kousuke's voice broke a bit answering her question. He had yet to tell Itsuki the truth of his living situation.
"Well if it's not a lot of trouble, can I come with you? I really want to catch up more on what you've been up to since you were gone, please." She begged staring at him with her honest eyes.
Kousuke was quiet. He didn't want to take her, not because it was a bother or the mental age gap he had worried about before, but more so he didn't want her to feel sad for him when she saw his house. He didn't want to hurt her feelings either, he did enough of that by not contacting her back all the time he was gone.
"Sure, hop on." Itsuki blushed hearing him to her that. She didn't think he say yes that fast. Kousuke handed her his helmet, Itsuki put it on as she climbed on behind him holding onto the bike. Kousuke started up the engine and rode off, Itsuki was caught off guard a bit, holding onto the bike wasn't enough. She leaned forward wrapping her arms around Koutetsu's waist. Kousuke blushed a bit but focused on the road. Itsuki smiled, even if she was afraid of the fast bike, she was enjoying the ride with Kousuke and their long awaited return together.