Archer Griffen made sure he was one of the first people to leave the classroom for two main reasons. Firstly, he needed to ensure the people of interest from other areas of the school were indeed accounted for. He lambasted himself for falling asleep instead of looking around and taking note of people's faces. Secondly, he wanted to get some sleep.
So first day of school, some people already know you as the lazy F rank. At least my expectations should be at an all-time low. Archer mused. As he stood at the front entrance gate underneath the massive cherry blossom tree that was a vibrant red and orange at this time of year. He watched as people roamed around the place. Spotting a few faces he recognized from his files he quickly took a few notes on his phone.
Very quickly a small group of people caught his attention however. It was that kid Ran Almer, with a few fellow F ranks surrounding him. Too far away to hear their voices, Archer could at least read their lips. They were all mostly thanking him for standing up to the bullies.
What brought Archer's attention to Ran Almer was the fact that those two, Danson and Kenneth were approaching from behind with an even more massive guy behind them. This man looked to be about six-foot-eight in size.
"You. You're the one that's looking to die?" The big guy seemed to have said when he lumbered over to Ran.
Man, do they all talk like that? Archer wondered. It sounded as though threats to people's lives were going out of style the way they threw them.
Ran now turned around, stopping Archer from being able to read what he was saying. But whatever he replied with did not impress this behemoth of a student.
"You don't seem to understand. The school has a system. You need to fit in, F-ranks like you are trash. You won't get anywhere, so if you want to survive you must respect your betters."
Ran gave some sort of response back. At this point other students began to circle the area and watch this confrontation take place. Archer couldn't even get close enough to hear now if he wanted.
"Oh yeah? Want to make a bet?" The big guy said, a grin appearing on his face.
Ran responded, body language unflinching.
"You think you're worth anything? Prove it. I'll give you a month. At the end of the month, we'll have a fight. We'll make it an event. Let everyone come and watch me crush you. What do you say to that?"
Ran answered with some sort of proposition.
"Hah. Fine. Works for me. Get ready to find a graveyard to be buried in." He said before moving past Ran, giving him a hard shoulder tackle as he walked through him.
Well at least they're facing me now. I can finally read their lips. Archer said, straining his neck to try and watch them. The murmurs of others and the distance away from Ran's group made it nearly impossible for Archer to actually hear them.
"Ran. You don't have to do this." One of his friends said.
"No, it won't stop unless someone stands up to them. We aren't failures, we'll prove it to everyone by rising up the ranks Alex." Ran said to Alex.
As interesting as this conversation was to Archer, something else caught his eye. The Luna girl. It seemed that whatever ailed her earlier had subsided and she seemed to be walking with the rich boy Codrol, laughing and talking.
I remember her running away after a very strange embrace. Archer recalled. Something about the way Luna acted felt familiar to him. But he needed to be closer to verify any of his suspicions.
Slinking after the two, Archer followed down to a quieter area of the school. Archer made sure that no one could notice him. Vanishing up trees, or behind corners, he was used to sneaking around even in broad daylight. As he was hiding in a few bushes he was briefly passed by a shifty-looking guy in his year with an F rank on his chest.
"Once I get into the dungeons I need to get the hidden Easter egg bracer in the third tunnel." He mumbled to himself as he walked past Archer.
What? Archer thought looking back at the person walking in the opposite direction of Luna and Codrol. Worry later. Archer said as he left the bushes and continued his chase.
Eventually the two came to a stop at a far quieter spot of the academy. Luna suddenly froze in place and jerked her arm away from a very confused Codrol.
"S-sorry! I shouldn't be here." Luna said sounding panicked.
"No, no. Don't worry. It's perfectly fine." Codrol said gently offering to caress her face.
"Stop. Please. You're in a relationship." She said pressing herself onto the wall away from him.
"It's fine. It's not official. It's some prearranged nonsense that only happens if we both agree." Codrol said.
"What are you doing?" The voice of another woman was heard.
Before both Codrol and Luna was a girl with black hair tied into a ponytail standing arms crossed looking accusingly at the two. Her A rank could be seen emblazoned on her outer jacket.
"I'm sorry I didn't-" Luna began to protest before being cut off.
"I don't want to hear it." The girl said before marching towards them and directing her vitriol at Codrol, "What are you doing?"
"Enjoying my life Julia." Codrol spat with contempt at her. Archer was surprised at this reaction, especially since Codrol was actually a rank below this girl.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Julia said poking him hard in the chest with an accusatory finger.
"It means that I'm not interested in your horrible attitude." Codrol said turning his face away from her.
"My attitude? We haven't even had a conversation yet, all day you've been ignoring me! Hey! Look at me when we're talking!" Julia demanded.
"There is nothing to talk about." Codrol said still not looking at her.
"Nothing to- Look." She said staring daggers at him, "I am fine if you find no attraction towards me after we get to know each other. But we have not even talked. Our respective parents set us up as potential marriage prospects. Wouldn't it be at least respectful towards them if we tried it out?"
"Your lust for me disgusts me Julia. I said no already." Codrol said folding his arms, still not looking at her face.
"Any attraction towards you has long since disappeared today. Which is impressive considering this is the longest you've spoken to me and I've only known you for a day!" Julia seethed.
"I get you're jealous of Luna, but petty insults are low."
"Jealousy? You think I'm jealous?" Julia stared at him in disbelief.
"No need to pretend anymore. I made my choice in love."
"Love?" Luna said aghast.
Julia closed her eyes for a second while taking a deep breath, "Look. I do not care who you sleep with. But people already know that our families are trying to get us engaged. You immediately going after another woman who nobody knows about and ignoring me completely is bad for both our family's reputations."
For the first time, Codrol looked down at Julia with a look of disgust on her face, "How dare you insult Luna!" He shouted.
"Insult? What?" Julia said putting her arms up in confusion.
"Don't call her a nobody." He said sounding ridiculously upset.
"Are you joking? That's not the point! A blatant act like this hurts both our families! I will not let you insult my parents like this!" Julia shouted.
"Hey! Is that Julia?" Another voice called, "What's she doing to you Luna? Is she causing you problems?" Another man quickly rushed over to the three. He had clearly dyed red and yellow hair and also had a B rank on him.
"Theo what are you doing here?" Codrol asked. Luna at the same time looked to turn even paler seeing him.
"I was looking for Luna, it appears that Julia here came to harass her like you did to the others huh?" Theo said staring at Julia with a look of disgust.
"I- what? What do you mean others?" Julia said suddenly looking alarmed.
"Annaxia Torri told me and others plenty about you." Theo claimed.
"Annaxia? You believe her lies?" She said defensively.
"Oh you deny them then? Aren't you harassing Luna right now?" Theo said as he took a menacing step forward towards Julia. Codrol followed suit, both making sure to keep Luna safely behind them.
"You think you're so tough huh?" Julia said through gritted teeth.
"What are you going to do Julia? Attack us?" Codrol challenged.
"I-" Julia started before stopping and staring at the three. No matter what, this was not a good situation for her, "You both pathetic idiots." She spat before storming off.
The moment Julia was leaving Codrol whipped around, still in her earshot and began to talk to Luna.
"Don't worry she's gone." He assured her.
"Yes. It's fine now." Theo said.
"Theo. What are you doing here?" Codrol asked.
"Looking to curry Luna's favor. You?"
"Same."
"Not a surprise that she charmed you as well she is a wonderful lady." Simon said looking fondly over to Luna.
"Indeed." Codrol said nodding his head.
"Oh, you two are too kind." Luna said, sounding strangely cheerful now before she paused, almost as if she short-circuited, "Sorry I have to go!" She said before running in the opposite direction of Julia.
As the two watched Luna's retreating figure, both wishing to talk to her more they discussed with one another about how they would have a friendly competition to win her heart.
This is the weirdest conversation I've heard this week. Archer thought having watched everything unfold from up on a rooftop. He had laid on the roof casually watching and taking a few interesting mental notes.
"So that Luna is not being herself clearly." He said to himself, "Hmm. Could be possession, the possessor then put a charm on the other two? Maybe. But how?" Archer pondered as he heard the door to the rooftop began to open.
"Time to go." Archer said as he noticed an open window two stories down. Leaping down he slipped through the window and into an empty classroom.
"What are you doing in that classroom?" A familiar voice called from behind him as he exited the classroom.
Turning around Archer was surprised to see Mercy Cowan standing there, arms folded gazing at him suspiciously.
"Oh, hey." Archer said in surprise, "Uh, Mercy right? We met. Before, you led me to the principal's office. She's your sister?" Archer said pointing his finger towards her.
"Yes. I know. Why are you here? This is not your classroom. This is the second floor. Your class is on the first floor. Do not tell me you got lost." Mercy said sounding very cross.
"Oh, no. I wasn't lost." Archer said before looking around, "Well, I guess I sort of am. Don't actually know where the stairs are now."
"What?" Mercy asked looking confused.
"Oh, well as you already know. I fell asleep and got in trouble for that." Archer said pausing to let Mercy agree with him. She met him with silence, "Well, while I was meeting the principal. That is your sister. Everyone else got to tour around the place. Now that the school day is over I thought that I could look around the place in my free time."
Mercy stared at Archer as if she was looking at the dumbest man alive right now, "How did you get into this school?"
"Got lucky I guess." Archer said shrugging, "I've been told that I can be very clever."
"I'm sure they do." Mercy said dryly.
Archer stood around for a moment longer before saying, "I'm going to go now. It was good talking to you again." Archer said giving a polite wave of goodbye before heading down a hallway. Only to realize, he had no idea where he actually was.
"Uh, I'm sorry to bother you again, but… do you know the way to the stairs? The place is, a bit big." Archer asked sheepishly.
Mercy gave the greatest exasperated sigh she could while muttering, "Unbelievable. Follow me." She said reluctantly beckoning Archer to follow her.
"Thank you." Archer said as they walked down the halls.
"Shut up." She said as they walked down the halls and reached the stairwell, "Stairs down to the first floor. Do you need me to tell you how to find the main exit?" Mercy asked mockingly.
"Thank you, no need. Sorry for bothering you. Thanks for the help."
Mercy simply rolled her eyes at him, "I'm doing my job."
"Hey. I know I'm getting on your nerves a little."
"You don't say?"
"So why are you willing to talk to me anyway? I'm an F rank." Archer asked.
"Like I said, it's my job." Mercy replied.
"Oh, I see. It's just that others haven't even bothered to talk to me. Even the homeroom teacher doesn't really like to acknowledge any of the F ranks."
"That's because of how the academy has been structured. I honestly don't agree with it." She said acknowledging the fact, "Just because you don't have amazing combat prowess doesn't make someone useless. Doesn't stop people from acting like it."
"You really think that?" Archer said surprised.
"Yes. You can always achieve more than what others expect from you." She said as she seemed to think about something.
"Well, thank you very much for helping me find the stairs." Archer said deciding to let her be alone with her thoughts. As he descended down the first few steps, Mercy called out to him.
"Hey."
"Hmm?" Archer said turning around to look at her. Mercy had a small hesitant look on her face before she quietly asked.
"Why did she ask to see you?"
"Who?"
"My sister." Mercy said before shaking her head as she realized she had misspoken, "I mean the principal. Why did she want to talk to you?"
"Is that not normally what happens to a misbehaving student?"
"Not a personal lecturing."
"Well… I guess she might have wanted to send a message to everyone on the first day. Helped due to my rank?" Archer said shrugging.
Mercy gave a small nod as she leaned on the railing, "I wonder why she didn't make a big fuss about it during her speech. She noticed you while she was up there. It's weird that she wouldn't make the message clearer to everyone. That's not how she usually acts."
"Oh." Archer said realizing that this girl before him just discovered an inconsistency, "I'm just glad she didn't. The rumors are bad enough already." Archer said giving a small laugh.
"Right. I hope I won't need to see you again." Mercy said nodding her head as she continued to have a curious look on her face.
Oh, she is clever. I need to be careful with her. Archer thought as he quickly scampered down the stairs and away from her. Reaching the first floor he left the stairwell he turned the corner and nearly bumped into Julia exiting out of a woman's washroom.
"Watch it." She hissed annoyed.
"Sorry, sorry." Archer apologized profusely before pausing and staring at her studying her face.
"W-what are you doing creep?" Julia said not liking how hard Archer was staring.
"Were you crying?" Archer asked suddenly.
"What?" Julia gasped looking startled.
"You were crying weren't you?" Archer said before realizing what he was doing, "Sorry. That was really weird and creepy. I apologize, I'm exhausted, didn't get much sleep. I'm just saying random stuff out loud." Archer said quickly shuffling away from her, "I won't bother you again. Sorry, goodbye."
Julia, absolutely confused over the weird rant Archer gave simply watched as he turned the corner and left her alone. After a moment to recover from the weirdness that was Archer Griffen she quickly whipped her head around looking if anyone else was around.
Once she verified that she was alone she quickly took out a small compact mirror and checked her face. She clicked her tongue in frustration as she noticed the slight tint of red in her eyes. Hopefully nobody else notices. She thought.
As Archer walked out of the main building of Trinity Academy he began to contemplate with himself. How important, how important… it's involving someone on the list. There's potentially a possession victim… will they consider this small fry? Probably. Bah, who cares. Archer decided as he texted Phill Doyle to send him some documents.