Chapter one
"Teiko High School is different from others"
"Welcome to Teiko High School" The office lady behind the rickety table pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at me before handing me a crumpled sheet of paper "That's your timetable – Takiya will show you around" She said as she shuffled through some papers that were sprawled across the wooden table. She gave me one last glare through her horn rimmed glasses before spinning her chair around towards the manual paper shredder. This wasn't exactly the 'warm welcome' they had promised in the brochure. I didn't exactly expect a song and dance but she could've been more helpful like telling me who or at least where to find this 'Takiya' person. I examined my timetable and moaned quietly as I noticed that I had history first period. There is nothing worse than having history first period – especially on a Monday.
"Show me your timetable so I can go to lunch" A voice interrupted my thoughts.
I turned around and saw a petite girl with bleached blonde hair looking at me with a small smirk on her face. She sent me a mocking salute and gave me a look that clearly told me she didn't want to be here. I eyed her cautiously; taking in the rumpled hair, the tattoos running along her arms and the cigarette that was daintily resting in between her fingers. Her uniform (if you could even call it one) consisted of a white crumpled button down that was rolled up at her elbows, dark jeans that were ripped at the knees and a red hoodie that looked far too big for her tiny frame (she looked as if she only stood at five foot two or an inch or so taller). I guess this is why the uniform lady nearly died of shock when I asked for a uniform (I hadn't wanted a uniform but my dad thought it'd be a 'good start to change your outward appearance so your inner self can also change'). The girl took a step forward and snatched my timetable from hands and gave it a quick search.
"You have History first – that sucks shit" At least she shares my distaste for history "You're excused though since you're new here although no one even shows up – including the teacher"
She ruffled her hair and blew out a smoke ring; she strode past me and jerked her head forwards as an indication for me to follow. I wrinkled my nose slightly and felt my stomach lurch as the reeking stench of smoke reached my nose; I've never ever been fan of tobacco – she opened the office door which led us to the wide hallways. I followed her and noticed that most of the walls were covered in graffiti and the classrooms that we had walked past were particularly raucous and there didn't seem to be any teacher supervision. I flinched when a loud crash from my left sounded – peering over, I saw a black haired boy's head being slammed in between a door and the doorframe. This also wasn't mentioned in the brochure.
"I'm Takiya Terumi but everyone calls me Red" She ran a hand through her unruly hair and threw her cigarette down, putting it out with her foot "You don't look the kind of girl who'd be at this type of school"
I shrugged and looked away – I don't really want to be here anyways. My dad thinks this place will 'set me straight' and that 'it can change me' – my mum thinks I should be sent to a military reformschool. I think they both think I'm an idiot. This place is pretty much a juvenile detention centre – it's for teenage delinquents and they think that once I come out I'll be some sort of saint. I've been to heaps of places just like this and trust me; the only thing it does is make me hate them even more. This place is supposed to 'teach young people how to act and behave correctly' (well that's what the brochure said) but they'll try and brainwash you to make you think and act differently but you're still the same person. They'll fix you up on the outside and make you nice and pretty but on the inside you'll still be same. This is just like all the other ones – trust me, I would know.
"You don't talk all that much" Red snorted when I shook my head as a reply "What's your name then?"
"Takasuki Rin" I've never liked my name – It's always been too much high class sounding name for me. I wouldn't mind having a nickname like Red.
"Well, how'd you get in here?" She sent me an interested look and lit another cigarette that she had fished from deep within her tattered pocket "What's your rank? I'm ranked number 36"
"What do you mean?" I stopped walking for a moment and looked at her with curiosity. Does she mean rankings according to test scores or something? "You're number 36 of what?"
"You don't know? Well, once you enter this school – you're given a ranking" She explained whilst trying to light up her cigarette "According to the records that were leaked last year; there are roughly 300 students attending this school. The lowest rank is obviously 300 or whatever and therefore number 1 is the highest. So the higher you are the more... volatile you are. If you're in the top hundred then you're alright but nothing compared to the top ten. The second hundred usually only fight amongst themselves or maybe if they're bothered then they'll fight with the third hundred. The third hundred tend to try and keep to themselves since they're lower on the food chain"
"And you're rank 36?" She nodded proudly at my query, finally managing to light her cigarette "That's pretty high – what'd you do?" She grinned at me and pulled her shirt up, revealing a scar that ran from underneath the curve of her left breast to the top of her left hip. It was shaped like the letter 'S' and it sort of looked like a snake – there was a tiny flick at the end of it where her hip was.
"I used to live in Tokyo" She smoothly traced the scar with her finger and laughed quietly "They use to have these huge parties at this place called the 'Serpents Den' which is where they used to deal some serious stuff with this other gang called Four Suits. Anyways, I got mixed up with some of the people there and well I danced one dance with this guy and I didn't know that his girlfriend was one of those crazy ones and she got real angry at me and her brother was the owner of the club – which was just a front for the gangs meeting place – and they attacked me. I don't take shit from anyone so I got into a massive brawl and I shot three of the guys that jumped me including the one who gave me the 'snake bite' –"
"Snake bite?" I cut in; looking at her scar intently hoping she didn't notice the small grimace that ran across my face for a split second after she had mentioned Four Suits. I noticed that the scar was stitched from her hip but the stitching stoped and half way and the rest of the scar was just a long curved line.
"That's what it's called when someone from the Den cuts an 'S' on your body – a snake bite" She pulled her shirt down and took another puff of smoke "Pity none of the guys that I shot died – I probably would've been ranked higher. But they won't take you in and rank you high for just one thing like that; you need to have a bit of history with the law"
"How do you know what your rank is?"
"It should say on your timetable since all teachers need to know what rank you are in case they want to call in security if your rankings particularly high" She looked down at my timetable sheet that she previously taken off of me; she flipped the paper around and unrumpled it in an attempt to see it clearly.
"What does it say?" I inquired; I wonder if I'm ranked according to my records or not.
"Holy fucking shit – what the fuck did you do?" Red's mouth opened in surprise which sent her newly-lit cigarette falling to the floor "You're ranked as number 11"
"I'm ranked as number 11?" I promptly pulled my timetable from her tattooed hands and saw the black stamp that evidently read 'NUMBER 11' "That's pretty high"
"Are you being serious? It's more than 'pretty high' – you must be fucking crazy" Red gave me an incredulous look and pulled out another cigarette (she seemed to have an endless supply) and this time she easily lit it "There are only fourteen people in the entire school who are ranked higher than you!"
"Don't they teach maths here?" I asked, ignoring the incredulous expression that was still apparent on her face and taking a step forward to stomp on the cigarette she had dropped earlier "If I'm ranked 11 then there are only 10 people ranked higher than me"
"Don't you know? There are five students here that are all ranked equal as number 1" She shook her head in disbelief again "How is it possible that you're ranked so high and yet you know no nothing about the ranking systems or pretty much anything about this school?"
I shrugged which caused her to mutter something that I couldn't make out before she grabbed me by the upper arm and started to drag me down the hallway. This is a turnabout to how she first was. When I first met her she was all 'I don't give a flying fuck about you' and now she's all interested in me. The ranking systems must be really important here; I wonder who the number 1's are and what they did. We came to a sudden halt in front of a door that had the words 'Class A' written across it in red spray paint. Red let go of my arm, threw her cigarette away and told me to stay put before she jumped in the air and kicked the door so it went flying off its hinges. A loud groan could be heard from someone who had been unfortunate enough to be standing behind the door just as Red kicked it open – though she could've just opened it; there doesn't seem to be a lock on it.
The plump boy who had been behind the door groaned once again and lifted the door off himself and stood up right before collapsing at Red's feet. Red just ignored him and moved him over with her foot so she could walk over to the back of the room. I peered through the doorframe and made sure to step around the unconscious guy who was cleanly knocked out from the kick which Red had obviously put a lot of strength in.
"How many fucking times have I told you, Red?" A deep voice from the back of the room rumbled "All you have to do is open the goddamn door"
"Save it, Kagami" I looked over and saw a tall red haired guy lazily lounging around on the seats with a deep scowl on his face. There were two others beside him who were engaged in an intense arm wrestle. In front of the two who were arm wrestling were three girls who were using rolled up blunts as chips in a game of poker. Huh, this is a lot more lenient than the previous centres I've been to. I watched as Red bent down – not at all phased by the furious look on Kagami's face – and whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened in shock and his head whipped around to face me. Wow, I wonder what she told him. He stood up brusquely and pushed past the other guys who were all now looking at me curiously and came towards me and pulled me out of the classroom and back into the hallways with Red trailing behind him.
"You're ranked as number 11?" He looked at me before slipping a large hand into Red's back pocket and pulling out a cigarette and lighting it with his own lighter "You look like a third gen"
"What's that?"
"It's what some people call the students who are ranked in the 200-300's" Red snatched the cigarette from Kagami's mouth and placed it in her own. They're obviously very comfortable with each other "This is Kagami Taiga by the way"
"I'm ranked as number 7" I nodded, not at all shocked – I wouldn't even be shocked if he told me if he told me that he was ranked as number 1. He looks like an absolute beast. If his bulging biceps, carved abs (which I could see from the way his shirt clung to his body) and long legs didn't give you the impression that he was a dangerous guy then the chain that was around from his neck with a bullet hanging from the end of it will.
"She doesn't even know about the Miracles" Red added much to my dismay. I feel like this is a bad thing and that they think I'm really stupid but I don't really know why.
"How are you ranked that high but you don't know about the miracles?" What miracles? The only miracle that could've taken place at this school is that no one's been killed.
"That's what I said!" Red exclaimed, clearly upset that I was less than enthusiastic about my ranking and the so called miracles "She's only four ranks lower than you!"
"Let's go the library then" Kagami shoved his hands in his pockets and spun on his heel and started to walk to where the office was "You've caught my attention and you'll be bound to be noticed by many more with that ranking"
I sighed and let Red drag me by the arm down the hallway. Kagami and Red began to talk about some brawl that had taken place the day before between some two second gens. I tuned them out and tried to focus on remembering where we were going so I could come here without anyone having to drag me. We took one more left and arrived at a large two door room that looked like the entry to a Country Pub. Kagami shoved open the wooden doors and walked straight past the three girls who had waved over at him – they were sitting around a long with a bong in the middle of the table. This isn't what I had in mind when he said we were going to a library.
I looked around and failed to find even the slightest trace of a book. The room was the size of three classrooms stuck together. The walls were painted bright red and straight ahead there were five small whiteboards all hung up beside each other – names listed down on all of them. To the left side of the room; there were six round tables joined together in the shape of a 'T' – there were eleven different people seated around the large table who all taking part in passing around a purple coloured bong. The stench of weed did not fail to pass through the air but neither Kagami nor Red seemed to be affected by the smell while I on the other hand, had to pinch my nose so I didn't gag. Behind the T-shaped tables were glass cases containing large trophies and medals all of which were dusty and slowly peeling off. To the right of the room, there was a large noticeboard which read things like 'TRAINING AT EIGHT' and 'NO WEAPONS PERMITTED'. I don't have any idea to why someone would refer to this place as a library.
"This is the list of every single student at this school and what their ranking is" Red gestured at the large list before us "The librarian must've added you as soon as you were enrolled" I looked closer and noticed my name in clear neat handwriting beside the number 11.
"Who's the librarian?"
"No one's ever seen her" Red shrugged "Or him – which ever. They just update the list every time someone leaves or joins" She pushed herself onto the wooden table that was right in front of the list and laid back to stare at the ceiling. Kagami took a seat on the computer chair that was tucked in behind the table Red was lying on.
I looked up and saw five names listed as number 1. They're names were written in bright red while the others were written in black.
Aomine Daiki. Kise Ryota. Midorima Shintaro. Murasakibara Atsushi. Seijuro Akashi.
"Isn't Aomine Daiki the best then if he's listed first" I pointed at the name which was written first right beside the number 1.
"The Miracles are written in alphabetical order" "What year did they enrol?" I looked over to Kagami who had snorted loudly. "If you're top 50 – you're not enrolled" He gave me an amused smile "You're forced" "Huh? I was enrolled"
"Well, it depends. At first they send a brochure to your parents and a massive scholarship and if your parents accept they don't force if not then you're... apprehended"
"Right, of course" I do remember my mum being a little hesitant to send me to a boarding school but she thought it'd be better and cheaper than sending me to a military school.
"To get into the top 50 you need to do some serious shit" He kicked the other computer chair that was adjacent to him and gestured for me to take a seat "Take me for example; I've been on their radar since I was eight. My first 'crime' was that I stole a loaf of bread from a dairy which is pretty petty but as I got older – it got a bit more serious. When I was fifteen – I killed a dealer who I owed money to that's when they began to actually try and capture me. They finally caught me last year after stole a police car and shot two officers who were trying to apprehend me"
"Did they die?"
"Why do you think I'm ranked so high?" He gave me a wry smile and spun around in his chair. He didn't seem to be bothered by my question at all; he continued to spin in his chair, creating a small circle of smoke around him with his cigarette.
"But this place doesn't seem too bad – there doesn't seem to be any discipline at all" There weren't any teachers and they can't be too serious with control if there's a place like this 'library' in the school.
"That's because today's the first day of term" Red stretched her arms up and looked up at the ceiling "Every year, they let us do whatever we want in the first day. They get us to sort out the hierarchy pretty much and then the next day the real shit starts. By tomorrow, this library will be back to its normal training room, the graffiti will be clean, anything that's broken will be fixed and anything illegal will be confiscated"
"Are the teachers any good?"
"The teachers are as good to you as you are to them" Kagami turned back around and stretched "The enemies aren't the teachers. It's the people who run this place"
"... Don't the teachers run this place?"
"Listen, Rin" Red glanced at me with a serious look "Teiko isn't a normal high school. It's not even a high school. It's a prison – a prison for people like us. If you wanna survive you need to follow the rules. First rule – don't listen to any of the bullshit you saw on that pamphlet they give to your parents. Second rule – we don't fight amongst each other. I know it looks like we fight each other all the time but it's just to distinguish who's the boss. We can't cause any major riffs between each other. Third rule – don't mess with the Generation of Miracles. They will not tolerate it. Final rule – don't get killed by the guards"
"What guards?"
"There are four types of guards that 'look after' us" Kagami propped his elbows against the table and offered me the same look that Red had given me "First types of guards are the Keepers, their names are pretty self-explanatory. They keep us within bounds and make sure none of us escape they're harmless unless you try to escape. If you try to escape you will be shot or bought back to base and tortured and then you're shot. Either way – they'll be a bullet encased in your skull"
"Second types are the Sweepers; they just make sure none of us have an access to anything that can get us into serious trouble so hackers are banned from computers, dealers are banned from any substances and there isn't much they can do about the prostitutes. If you're found with any of those in your possession, you will be severely punished" Red crossed her legs and offered me a cigarette; I shook my head and sat down. I knew this school was shifty as fuck but this takes it to the next level.
"There are prostitutes here?" I've never met a prostitute that was around my age – well, not in Japan at least.
"There's everything you can think of – number 49 is a Pimp and number 3 hacked into the Japanese government and leaked some of the military weaponry to the US" Kagami replied, pointing at the lists "And I've heard that number 18 created a nuclear weapon that was strong enough to destroy a small city with military parts that were stolen by numbers 19 to 30"
"What are the other types of guards?" I urged them to go on. I need to know what sorts of people will be watching over us.
"Third types are the Hunters; they're the ones who bring in students" Kagami continued "They're given a person and then they go out and the find them and bring them back. You won't see much of them around here but if someone is brought in then you'll be sure to see them, they'll kill anyone who gets in their way"
"And the last are the Reapers" Rin murmured "They only ever come out for one reason and one reason only – to kill. If you're starting to be too rowdy or you know something you're not supposed to, the Reapers are called in. Once you're taken in by a Reaper then you won't be seen again. There are only five people who have been taken in by the reapers and have come back out" She pointed up at the top of the list where the large number 1 was. So that's why their called the Miracles.
"They didn't say what happened in there but when they came out" Rin shivered "They were different, I think they got tortured real bad. I don't know but whatever happened to them scares the shit outta me"
"What happens once you graduate?" Red's face went grim and she looked over to Kagami to help explain.
"You won't graduate here. If you're in the top 50; Once you turn eighteen you're either killed or you become a guard" I stared at Red, half expecting her to crack a smile and tell me she was kidding and that once we graduate they just tell us not to do anymore of the crazy shit we used to do but instead her face remained forbidding. Are you being serious right now? What the fuck sort of school is this?
"What about the rest?"
"They're let go but they're usually given a new identity or they're permanently put on watch and if they step out of line then they're executed"
"What about your parents, don't they wonder what's going on?" I questioned, surely you would notice if your kid died.
"They're usually told that you died in some freak accident on an excursion or they make you send a video or letter telling them you've decided to run away now that you've graduated"
"Why though?"
"Why do you think? This is a government based operation – they're trying to fix up the streets and get rid of people like us. So, tell me what you did and I'll tell you more about this beautiful place I call home" Kagami stopped spinning on his chair and looked at me, waiting for an answer.
"I did ... a lot" I responded uneasily "I guess my first 'crime' was when I was about twelve, I threw kid out of a two storey building"
"Wait – you threw a kid out of a two storey building at age twelve?" Red looked at me with incredulity "I call bullshit"
"It was out of self-defence" I explained which caused Red to slowly nod her head as in a way to say 'that's more legit'.
"And then after my sister was killed" I looked away and shrugged "I got into a lot of fights and I got mixed up with some people called the Four Suits-"
"You were in the Four Suits" Kagami looked me up and down, his eyes wide with shock "I heard all about them – they were the gang that –"
"Killed half of the 'Kings of Tokyo'" I nodded "I was there when it happened. I didn't kill anyone that night but I'm guessing they must've noticed me since after that I was caught by the police a lot. But the brochure came to my mailbox after the night that I set the 'House of the Dragons' on fire"
"You set the House of Dragons on fire? Twelve people were killed in that fire and seven were burnt beyond recognition" Rin yelped in astonishment "You are one crazy ass motherfucker"
"I only did it because they were the people who shot my sister in cold blood" My voice was raw and my tone was feral; Red just looked at me; completely shocked "So, tell me more about this place – where are the dorms? This place doesn't look big enough to even house half of the student population"
"That's probably because this isn't the school" Rin laughed "If this were the school then we would've broken out a long time ago"
"Then what the hell is this place?"
"This is a called a front" Kagami smirked "Do you think that we'd be allowed to graffiti and break down all these doors?"
"But you said earlier that you'll need to clean everything up before the guards come"
"We will because this is actually a base for training. We're placed here on the first day of term so that our parents – well the few of us that are lucky enough to have parents – come here and see that there's an actual school here. Once they're gone; we take down all the shit that's been placed all
around here and we turn it back into a training base. We usually just bludge around for the first couple of hours then we get to work"
"Where's the real school?"
"We don't know" Red heaved a sigh "They put us in a bus with blacked out windows so we don't know where we're going but number 18 managed to make a small device last year but the most it could tell us was that it was somewhere near Kyoto. We think that sometimes they just drive us in circles to get us confused on how long it actually takes to get there"
"Who's making sure we don't escape right now?"
"There are guards around every block and if they see us then they'll just pretend to be police officers taking you back to school for truancy. Even that office lady – don't be fooled. She could take you down with one move"
"Where are all the students? When we went around, I counted 92" I eyed them questionably, I need to know if they're lying or not.
"You counted all of them?" I nodded at Red's question. I wasn't entirely fazed by this school at first but now; I need to take extra precautions.
"Only some of us were permitted to leave" Red clarified "Those of us who aren't too dangerous and that can't get past the guards"
"Then why are you two here?"
"We've been behaving well and they reward good behaviour but they still take the necessary precautions" Both of them simultaneously pulled the left leg of their pants up to expose a thin silver band around their ankles "If we attempt to move out of the area that has been marked, the bracelet goes off and we're given an electric shock that's strong enough to knock us out for a couple of days"
"Shit" I bent down and inspected the two lights that were flickering "They've even enclosed it with a stronghold lock so the only way to open it is through a chip so that it can't be picked" I ran my fingers along the top of the bracelet and felt it heat up beneath my fingers.
"Is there a needle pierced in your skin?" Red only nodded and rotated her foot around.
"When I served some time at the Suna Correctional Centre, I had an inmate who had been put under house arrest nearly her whole entire life so she knew a lot about these kinds of things" I explained "They lied to you – if you try and escape you won't be shocked. You'll be killed; the needle is placed so that they have direct contact to your bloodstream. The red light means that the drug is contained"
"How do you know the drug will kill us?"
"The bracelet is too thin to contain any drugs that could only knock you out- drugs that are this concentrated are usually lethal"
"How do you know that?"
"Four Suits was a gang a very special gang. We specialised in making drugs – proper ones; not ones that are made in your backyard"
"When you first got here- you didn't seem like you knew anything about being a criminal"
"That was before I knew how batshit crazy this school is" I turned to Kagami who hadn't spoken the entire time I had been studying Red's bracelet "I can tell that you guys have a plan to get out of here. I want in"
"You were in the moment you entered this school" Kagami exhaled "We're all helping each other to get out of here – we need everyone's help"
"So, even the second and third generation help the first gen out?"
"Look at you; already picking up on our lingo but yes they want us to get out as well" Red laughed lightly before checking the time on her watch "The guards will be here in twenty seven minutes – I'm sure you'll be bunking with me"
"How are the dorms chosen?" I really don't want to share a room with crazies but this school (well if you can call it that) seems as if it's completely based upon your ranking.
"By ranking" Of course it is.
"No offence but there's kind of a big gap between 11 and 48 so how do you suppose we'll be in the same room?"
"There are ten people in each dorm and now that you're here there are exactly ten females who are ranked in the top 50" Red counted off her fingers "There's me, you, numbers; 31, 21, 16,9,22, and 46"
"Wait, if I'm now number 11; doesn't that push everyone after me back one number?"
"Oh no, you must've replaced the previous number 11" Kagami shook his head "I can't remember his name but he seemed like a cool kid. I think he was a hacker – I didn't know he was taken down. It must've happened during the monthly check ups"
"I'd hate to be number 46 though" Red sighed sympathetically "Imagine just making it as top 50 – if the Miracles weren't equal first she would've been ranked 51"
"What did she do?"
"I think it's something to do with putting making a grenade and throwing it at her ex-boyfriends house or some shit. I forget" That reminds me of a girl I met at Fukushima Juvenile Hall; she made a couple of tiny explosives and threw it into her ex-boyfriends house and his new girlfriends house. And then she stole his car and pushed it into a lake – Cherry Daniels was her name. Her father and mother were businesspeople and they sent her to live in Japan with her great aunt when she was three or something. She was one heck of a girl.
"Are the classes normal?"
"Your classes are also based on your rank – everything at this school is. If you're first gen then you don't get to take home economics and art instead you have to be trained in different forms of fighting"
"Why do teach us how to fight if they don't want us to escape?" Why would they strengthen us only for us to be contained?
"It doesn't matter how well you can fight" Red shook her head "You can't fight snipers and bombs. They just teach us the basics if they need us to become guards but there's this rumour that if you've reached beyond the skills of even a Reaper then you're sent to the government and you're used there as a military weapon. If that's true then I'm sure they'll be taking the Miracles"
"What did they do to get in here?" They must be real hardcore to pull this shit off.
"No one really knows except for the guards and they don't really talk to anyone outside of their group" Red frowned "They only ever speak if we're discussing how to escape but I've seen them talk to Number 9 a couple of times. But trust me, the only one who'll really give you any time of the day would be Kise but it'd only be to get in your pants. I'd need a calculator to count all the girls he's slept around with – I bet he was pimp or a male prostitute"
I shook my head and turned to look at Kagami who had been staring at me for the last minute or two. I raised an eyebrow in his direction which didn't stir a reaction. He heaved a deep sigh before slouching backwards into his armchair and putting out his cigarette against the oaken table.
"I call bullshit on you, Rin" Kagami stared at me, his voice calculating.
"What do you mean?" I knew exactly what he meant. I didn't talk all that much when I got here but now suddenly I know a shitload of stuff on this kinda shit? I've was kind of ... followed this one line in life – You can't win a game if you don't know your players.
"Me too" Red nodded in agreement and gave me another once-over "When you first came here, you seemed as if you've never seen anything even remotely close to this school but you've been a Correctional Centre. You also knew a lot about our bracelets and the drugs. But you can't even seem to handle a little bit of tobacco"
"You two just assumed I've never done even close to any of this bullshit" I shook my head "I know a lot, okay? I'm ranked as number 11 for a reason. I may not come off as some delinquent but I know what I'm doing and how to do it"
"And you're taking this really well for someone who just found out that she's been sentenced to die once she turns eighteen"
"I always knew I was going to die young"
"ALL TEIKO STUDENTS REPORT TO ROOM NUMBER 10" A loud voice boomed through the room disturbing our discussion; I looked around and saw four large speakers in each corner of the room. As soon as the voice was heard, the girls who were sitting around the table scrambled up and started bustling to take down the lists and the notice boards. Poor librarian, they must work really hard to
set this all up and then it has to be destroyed. Although; I'm sure the guards would put cameras around to survey what's going on. Wouldn't they? I made a mental note to ask Red about it later.
"I guess the fun is over" Red sighed and slid off the table she was sprawled across "Come on, we'll continue this conversation later"
I guess this is it; to be completely honest I've had this gut feeling that there was something off about this place but that doesn't mean I'm still not completely shaken. I mean, it can't all be that bad – once you're in a place you don't like you tend to exaggerate on what happens. I straightened up and took in a deep breath; I spun on my heel and followed Red out of the library and down the hallway. Once we were near where the office was; we came to a stop as we saw that the wall before us was lined with bulky men who were all shrouded black uniforms and had guns clipped to the side of their black leather belts. There were another five outside of the glass door, waiting by the five different yellow school buses that were aligned in front of the rusty school gates– they were not wearing the same uniform as the men within the 'school' but were instead dressed as police officers. Students were grouped all around and none of them said a word – they stood soundlessly and waited for one of the men to speak.
"You will be called outside to enter the bus according to your rank" A short woman dresses in the same black uniform suddenly stepped from behind the shadows of the men who were lined up; her voice was clearly projected through the crowded corridor "If you are ranked within the top fifty – you will be seated beside a keeper"
The guard who was closest to me called over both Kagami and Red and proceeded to press a tiny chip into their bracelets. The bracelets snapped open and a drop of their blood trickled from the end of the needle that had pierced their skin. They nodded their head in appreciation and muttered a word of thanks before shuffling back to their original positions.
"Kagami Taiga" As his name was called out - Kagami yawned loudly before sauntering past the woman who didn't fail to give him a sharp glare that could've bought a grown man to tears. He simply ignored her heated glower and whistled merrily as he roughly pushed the door open and made his way onto the first bus. Red rolled her eyes at his brashness and nudged me; I'll be going next I guess.
"Takasuki Rin" A soft murmur ran through the small pack of students but was swiftly silenced by a deep scowl on the woman's face. I ambled forward and kept my head down but before I could get past her; her hand shot out and grabbed me by the forearm.
"Look Takasuki" She whispered heatedly into my ear, her hands gripping my arm tightly "Do not go around making friends with the wrong numbers. You may be ranked high but that doesn't mean anything anymore – it's going to be different this year. Don't give us any shit or we'll cancel you as soon as we get the chance."
She abruptly let go and gave me a small shove; I felt her eyes follow me as I was ushered before the second large yellow bus. She's just ball sunshine, isn't she? Just as I was I about to enter the bus – the 'police officer' stopped me and gave me a small nod.
"Put your hands up" I looked at him quizzically but followed his orders "I need to check if you're in possession of any weapons, drugs or devices that can be used to communicate with people outside of Teiko High School"
He ran a scanner over my body and gave me another approving nod and tapped the door which opened. I wonder how they managed to sneak that home-made chip in then. They probably placed it at the roof the mouth – you can't sense anything there or set any alarms off in scanners.
Once I entered the bus, I noticed all the windows were completely blacked out with a tint and that there were two guards assigned to the front and back of the bus. I was unexpectedly pulled down by one of the female guards onto the seat right behind the driver's seat. Her red hair was tied up into a tight bun while her face was shadowed by the mask that concealed the bottom half of her face; only her dark brown eyes could be seen. She didn't look at me but only tapped the gun that was strapped onto her belt beneath the sheath which I guess is holding her knife.
"You try to make a move" Her voice was raspy and crisp but her Japanese didn't sound like her native tongue "I'll kill you. Understood?"
"Understood"
"Good"
I watched as more and more students began to pile into the bus – many of them didn't seem all that bad. The only one who caused any trouble was a small boy with large blue eyes who looked as if he were aged twelve or so – he refused to sit beside one of the guards but was efficiently silenced with a swift kick to the ribcage. Once everyone else had boarded and was seated in their appropriate seats, the driver slid down a plastic cover between the back of his seats and the front of ours to block the view of where we would be driving. I leant back in to my seat and closed my eyes, hoping to catch up on some hours of sleep I had missed out on because I had been packing all my clothes last minute. Although speaking of clothes; I left them in the office – I hope that office lady told someone to bring them in because there isn't a chance in hell that I'm staying in this hideous uniform. Whoever thought that yellow and blue went together on a plaid skirt was clearly blind. A light tap on my shoulder caused me to open my eyes and turn with questioning eyes to the guard beside me.
"Put your seatbelt on" I sighed and pulled the seatbelt and clipped it into the side before slumping back into the warmness of the soft seat and closed my eyes once more.
I hope Kagami and Red were just exaggerating with how bad all the shit is there at that school.
"Wake up" A cold hand was pressed against my knee and shook me "We're here. Get up and get out"
I jolted out of the seat and stood up, blinking rapidly trying to adjust my eyes to the bright lights that had been turned on in the bus. The guard behind me gave me a hard shove and told me to get out. The door slid open and I stepped down and looked around in confusion. There was a metal large gate running around a large heap of land but there were no buildings, no facilities and no dorms
anywhere to be found. The large gate (that had a sign reading 'HIGH VOLTAGE') seemed to be guarding nothing but a large mass of land.
"The school's underground" I turned and looked down at the small boy who had caused trouble on the bus "In case you're wondering"
He grinned toothily before shaking his wrists, making the shackles that the guards put on him jangle noisily. I nodded my head in appreciation to the information he had provided me and was about to open my mouth to ask him how we get inside when suddenly a dark cloth was wrapped around my eyes. I spun around and was about to let my left foot fly before a sharp knee to the gut made me stop mid kick.
"Do not be alarmed but with the new principal – there's new rules" The guard who sat beside me on the bus muttered as she tightened the strip – I relaxed my muscles and sighed "We need to take extra precaution with how much the students know about our location. Most of the higher ranked numbers will most likely need to be taken down; they're usually more prone to violence so they'll be acting out once we start to blindfold.
Just as she said this, I heard someone who sounded uncannily like Red scream out twenty different profanities in one sentence and there was a loud grunt and a groan. Before I could strain my ears to try and listen to what was going on my wrists were pulled back and felt something cool against them and I heard a familiar click. I haven't worn handcuffs since almost three months ago; I almost forgot how uncomfortable they are.
"Walk forward" A rough shove bought me out of my reverie and I began to cautiously take small steps, careful not to trip over anything - it's usually a lot easier to move with coordination when you can actually see. I was guided on what felt like a cement floor, I tried not to move too fast in case I fell but the guard behind me didn't seem to like the pace I was going at so a hard jab to my side caused my feet to move faster. We walked about a hundred metres before we came to a stop; I felt the presence behind me shortly move and I heard what sounded like a crackling speaker phone.
"We're just bringing in the students who were at location number two" The guard stated firmly, there was a silent pause that was broken by a small buzzing sound and the sound of a gate swinging open – I was pushed forward again and we slowly moved until we came at yet another halt about another two hundred metres from the gate. She moved away from behind me again and I heard some clicking sounds and a gust of cold air suddenly rushed to meet me; I took a hesitant foot forward and heard felt the ground beneath change; I was on tiles. I continued forward and heard a small 'ding' – I was sure I had stepped into an elevator.
There was the sound of a button being pushed and I braced myself before we were rushing down. We were moving much faster than a normal elevator goes, before I had the chance to steady myself at the surprising speed, we came to a sudden stop and I heard the door open. I was pushed out quickly and so I slightly stumbled; the guard yanked on my handcuffs to pull me back earning a sharp hiss of pain from me. We walked down what sounded like an empty corridor – where are the rest of the students? – She stopped me again and leaned over and I heard a door open. I was shoved in again and I could faintly hear the chattering of others further down the hallway. I felt cold hands against my (now bruised) wrists and they were released after a gentle prod with a chip. Finally, these
things were killing my wrists. I shook my hands and quickly ripped off the blindfold – I blinked a couple of times to let my eyes adjust to the sudden change in light.
I was in the middle of a long corridor – everything looked quite modern and new. The long walls were tiled with pure white ceramic tiles. The floor beneath me was completely white and not a speck of a dust could be seen. On the right of side, there were three large double doors that led to other rooms while the left side had nothing but the tiles. The corridor went for nearly fifty metres before there was a fork in the middle – indicating that you could either go left or right.
"Walk and turn left" The guard cleared her throat and nodded her head towards the left side "The right leads to your dorms but the new Principal wants to make a start of year speech in the main hall"
I nodded my head and followed her instructions. How did all the other students get in? Is it just the top fifty coming in this way or is each individual just being led to the main hall through a different route? I walked through the left turn and looked around and saw two large oak doors at the end of the hallway that looked out of place. I gave a questioning look at the guard who nodded her head and jutted her chin to the doors.
"Go through those doors, tell the guard at the door your ranking and sit down where he tells you too" She stopped in front of the large doors and readjusted her belt. I just stared at her blankly; do I just go in? Not that I wanted a parade but I don't know it just seems a bit casual for an uppity place like this.
"What are you waiting for?" She snarled at me, obviously annoyed at my blank stare "Get inside"
Talk about attitude. I gave her a small bow and pushed the doors open, clutching the blindfold hard. I stepped into the large room and observed the gigantic hall before me. Nearly the entire hall was lined with seats with and there had to be at least fifty guards standing by, a large gun resting against their hip. There looked as if the entire school population was seated in their respective seats; I looked around and even managed to see the top of Kagami's head – he was sitting in the third row. The first and second rows of twenty were filled with guards; at the front was a long stage with a wooden podium on it.
"What's your rank number?" A deep voice from beside caused me to jump in shock; I turned to see an extremely tall (and I'm talking like two metres tall) guard staring down at me. Shit man, this guy has to be at least a hunter; he's a fucking beast.
"Um, eleven" I replied "My rank is number eleven"
"Row three, seat fifteen and it starts from the left" I nodded and walked forwards, counting the rows as I walked. Most of the students were speaking amongst themselves. Wait a minute, if I'm at seat fifteen then that means that each 'miracle' will be right at the end. I squinted my eyes and looked up ahead to see five different coloured haired people seated at the left side of the third. The first (who I guess would be Aomine Daiki) had deep blue hair and was lounging lazily against his seat; his back slumped against his steel chair and his hands deep within his pockets. The red haired beside him was noticeably smaller and was sitting up straighter, his leg crossed over the other and his held high – he looked as if he were sitting in a throne rather than a steel chair. The blonde beside him had turned
around to face the girl who was seated behind him so I could clearly see his face; I can see why he's so popular with all the girls; he's a stud. He was grinning flirtatiously at the girl behind him who seemed to be going along with it and was giggling like a little school girl. You'd think this was just a normal high school and not some facility that is run by the government and a bunch of stormtrooper looking motherfuckers with giant ray guns. I shook my head and moved my eyes along to the green haired male beside him; he was looking straight ahead and pushed the rim of his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. The last one was a tall (perhaps even taller than the guard who gave me my seat number) purple haired male who was leaning forwards, his elbows lazily resting against his knees.
I manoeuvred my way around so that I'd be getting to my seat through the right side rather than the left – I don't really want to walk past those guys. As I was about to walk through the row to my seat, I was so focused upon finding my seat; I had accidentally stepped on the girl who was seated at the end (number sixteen, I'm pretty sure). She hissed in pain and swore loudly; I looked down at her, expecting to see some sort of street looking hood chick but was surprised to see a normal looking girl – actually, she was kinda pretty (which isn't usually an adjective you'd use on teenage criminals who are most likely murderers or thieves or prostitutes). Well, I can't really tell with that scowl on her face – her hazel eyes were glaring at me intensely, obviously angry that I had clumsily trodden on her foot (and still hadn't gotten off due to the shock of seeing someone ranked that high and not looking like a piece of shit).
"For fucks sake" She shoved me off roughly, she winced slightly as she looked at her foot then glared back up at me "Were you planning on trying to fucking amputate my foot?"
"Uh, sorry" I muttered before sliding my way through the people who were already seated, it looks like I'm one of the last ones to be seated. I muttered quiet apologies and hurried to my seat, ignoring the curious looks that were being directed in my direction. I counted the fifth seat from the right and took a seat between an extremely thin guy who looked as if he were my height- his eyes were magnified with his glasses and he was quietly talking to himself, moving his hands and making hand gestures. On my left was a short boy who seemed to be taking a small nap, his head was lolling to the side (thankfully not on the side I was sitting on) and a tiny amount of drool had escaped the corner of his lip and was about to drip on his shoulder.
Just as I sat on my seat, a woman of average height marched to the podium – her back was completely straight and her uniform was impeccable, not a single strand was left out of place. She cleared her throat loudly into the microphone, causing the chatter to slowly die down. She was a very nice looking woman - nice curly auburn coloured hair and pretty sea green eyes but the moment she opened her mouth, I knew that she was a straight out bitch. Her voice was one of those 'follow as I say' voices and I don't do too well with those in authority.
"For those of you who aren't aware" Her voice was clear and crisp "I am Nanasaki Yuri but you will only ever refer to me as Principal Nanasaki. I am the new principal of this school – before I was appointed this position, you students here seemed to think that despite the fact that you're all criminals – you have free reign over what you do whilst attending this school"
She looked around with a strong glare on her face. Obviously, she doesn't like us; though her eyes seemed to only wander across the first four rows. Once her eyes landed on the 'miracles', they narrowed even more and her lips curled in distaste.
"However, you are gravely mistaken" She continued "Now that I am your new Principal – there will be a few changes around here. Starting with the replacement of all students who are ranked from the numbers 101-304"
What the hell is this lady going on about; the boy who was slumbering beside jolted awake as the students who were seated behind us (the ones who were ranked 200-304, I'm guessing) all stood up and began to yell out the most explicit and foulest strings of cusses I have ever heard.
"Quiet down" Principal Nanasaki thundered, slamming her fist against the podium so it shook slightly "All those who are ranked those numbers will be replaced with students from another school just like this one. They will be replacing those numbers and will be treated the exact same as you students are. They are currently being briefed in the second hall room. Under my authority; this year and the ones to follow will be just as they should've been from the start. You are here because you are criminals; you are not special and will not receive any special treatment. You will accept the punishment that is given to you"
A silence filled the room as Principal Nanasaki gave us one final firm stare before dusting off her skirt and signalling for the woman who had met us at the 'school' to come forward and address the school. The stout woman marched up onto the stage and stood before the podium and gave us all a hard glare.
"You all know me as Maria and that's the way it'll stay" She spoke clearly into the microphone "All students who are required to leave, get up and follow the guard appointed at the doors. You are not to speak and you leave in an orderly fashion row by row"
Slowly, without question or protest – the back rows filed outside the door that was on the left side of the hall. Well, I guess this can't be too bad – if there's a new school maybe they have a ranking system just like ours and maybe they'll help top fifty ranks escape as well. I looked over behind and saw Red with a look of pure surprise written all over her face. I looked around and noticed that most of the students who were staying, were all looking less than pleased about the new 'replacements', the sleepy boy beside me was even more distraught and was shaking his head and muttering 'no' beneath his breath. Just as I was about to ask him what the deal was, all the replaced students were out of the hall and through the back door walked in the replacers.
Whoa, now those are what you'd expect actual criminals to look like. There were probably a total of one hundred of them and each of them sauntered in, tattoos running across their whole bodies and some even had their faces completely covered in tattoos. They were all wearing the customary orange jumpsuits that prisoners generally wore. Each of them took an available chair and stared back at all the Teiko students who were all ferociously glaring at them – okay, I was not aware there were rivalries here because you know; I kind of thought it was more Guards vs. Students not Teiko vs. New Students.
"This is not good, not good at all" The thin boy on my left stuttered, his left leg shaking up and down as he shook his head over and over again; his long raven coloured hair shaking wildly.
"Everyone has been briefed" Maria called into the microphone "Make your way to your dorms and you may remain in them or the common rooms until the bell is rung for mealtime"
And just like that, she and all the guards in the row in front of me turned to their right and left the hall. Leaving us, about twenty guards who looked as if they couldn't care less about we did and the replacements. The miracles were the first people to stand up; they all stood up simultaneously and casually walked past the New Students and completely ignored them. Both the boys beside me breathed out a long breath of relief and stood up, ready to leave. After the departure of the Miracles; the rest of the Teiko Students stood up and followed their lead. I have no idea how to get to the dorms- I got to find Red. I stood up and slowly moved through the chairs, trying to see over everyone's heads.
"There you are!" A small hand grasped at my shoulder and sent me spiralling backwards. Red had her hand firmly holding my right shoulder.
"Oh, hey" I gave her a small wave and let her push me through the crowds of people who were all trying to leave the hall.
"So, I guess it's a neutral then" Red called over the loudness of everyone, I spared a glance over my shoulder and raised my eyebrow at her. What is she talking about?
"I have no idea what you're talking about"
"The new kids – we're staying neutral" She looked at me oddly "Didn't you see the Miracles walk past them?"
"Uh yeah, I saw them walk past" What does that have to do with anything? "Is that supposed to mean something?"
"You know nothing" Red rolled her eyes and gave me a final push that sent me barrelling out of the doors and into another long corridor "So, think of the Miracles as our gang leader – I guess you can say that – and the newbies are another rivalry gang. By walking past and not greeting the newbies or starting trouble; the miracles pretty much stated that we want nothing to do with them and we won't start anything unless they do"
"How did you get that out of the Miracles just walking past?" I shook my head, I'll never get this bullshit "And don't we want as much help as possible to escape?"
"Rin, you got to understand" Red shook her head and led us to through another corridor "We're Teiko students, we stick together and we don't know anything about those newbies. As a matter of a fact – they replaced one hundred of our own. That isn't acceptable but if the Miracles think nothing of it then neither should we. If they want to escape – they'll need to figure it out on their own"
I shrugged and continued to follow her around; she's right. A gang is a gang no matter what and I guess it's follow the leader at all times.
"Hey, Red" "Mm?"
"Who is number sixteen?" "Oh, you mean Asami?" She snorted "Uh-"
"The tall pretty one – well, pretty when she's not making that face" Red rolled her eyes "Yeah, did she yell at you? Don't worry if she did, she's just like that. I rarely see her fight but I heard she's hard to land a punch on. Got a horrible temper, that one has"
"Yeah, she yelled at me for stepping on her foot"
"She can be-"
We came to a sudden stop as there was a small crowd in front of us in the shape of a circle. If I'm correct, that's the standard 'there's a fight going on' circle. Red and I squeezed our way through the masses of people and found ourselves at the front to see Aomine Daiki yawning before three boys who were (judging by their orange jumpsuits) new to the school.
"We decline your neutral treaty – you either join us willingly or we make you" The tallest of the three roared (dramatically, might I just add), his bright green Mohawk seemed to sway as he shook his fist aggressively in front of Aomine's face.
"Isn't a guard going to come?" I asked Red, surely they'll have to stop a fight- isn't that kind of their job?
"No way, they'll only ever get involved if it's something really serious" Before I could inquire about what would be considered as 'serious', I felt someone shift beside me. I turned over to see number sixteen watching the scene before us with mild interest. She is pretty tall; she's at least four inches taller than I am. She caught me staring and didn't even bother to glare; she just looked back at what was going on before us.
"Asami, I heard you gave our newbie quite the fright!" Red laughed, leaning over me to give her a small friendly punch.
"Please don't touch me" She swatted Red's hand away; Red only laughed and rolled her eyes before turning back to what was happening.
"Get out of my way" Aomine grumbled, scratching the back of his head in annoyance.
"Oh, I hope he kicks their asses" Red squealed from beside me "I can't remember the last time I saw one of the Miracles in a fight"
"I hope he gets his ass kicked – he's such an asshole" Number- I mean Asami muttered "Always thinks he's so good at everything"
Just as Asami muttered that sentence - the green Mohawk guy jumped up into the air in an attempt to kick Aomine in the head; Aomine dodged the kick with a surprising amount of grace and sent his own strong punch into the guy's stomach. He dropped to the floor, on his hands and knees and before he could even splutter – Aomine sent his foot flying straight at his face. My face twisted in
disgust as blood was splattered all over the floor; before the other two jumpsuit guys could move; Aomine grabbed the one on the left and literally threw him across the room and flipped the other one over his shoulder.
"Don't waste my time like that again" He looked down at the three in disgust before walking away with his hands in his pockets.
"He's such a cocky bastard" Asami rolled her eyes beside me; she obviously isn't a huge fan. No one seemed to care about the three who were beaten up and just walked past them to where I assume the dorms are.
"Asami, Rin – we're going to the common room" Red gave Asami a pointed look before making her way down the hall and past the dorms; down where Aomine had walked. At the end of the corridor was a large sliding door – she slid it open to reveal a large dimly lit room that had sofa like chairs near the entrance and the rest was quite bare. There weren't any posters hanging or anything like that. There was a small space to sit and the rest of the floors were covered in training mats.
"We're supposed to train and stuff in here so there aren't any guards patrolling here or anything" Red explained, gesturing to the emptiness. The miracles were all seated in the five largest chairs; Kagami was also there – lounging on the right hand side of the tallest Miracle. There were only perhaps around thirty people in the room, all sitting down and all looking at us as if they were waiting.
"So, you're number 11" I looked up and saw the red haired Miracle staring at me, his tone demanding control and demanding everyone's attention. I tried not to gasp when I noticed that each of his eyes were a different colour; he tore his gaze away from me and looked around.
"Any takers?" He gestured towards me, I turned to look over to Red to see if she made any sense of what was going on but she had already sat down beside Kagami and another girl. I then turned to Asami to see if she would help me out but she had already taken a seat beside in between Red and Aomine and was gazing at me with amusement clear in her eyes. I shuffled along and sat in the chair slightly behind Red. What the fuck is going on? What does he mean by takers? I have no fucking clue what is going on.
"Alright, we'll settle this with a random pick" The red haired stood up and pulled out a small cup filled with small pieces of papers. Is this like a lottery draw or something? I nudged Red with my foot but she was too busy covering her mouth trying not to laugh. He finally pulled out a piece of paper and a small smirk appeared on his lips when he read it.
"Sixteen – Asami, you're up" As he stated this, Red burst into a fit of giggles which earned her a swift kick to the knee from Asami.
"Red, what's going on?" I whispered heatedly, I watched as Asami groaned and glared heatedly at the guy who pulled her name out but before she could stand up – Aomine grinned and placed a kiss on her cheek and wished her good luck "Seriously, Red I'm really confused"
"Huh? Oh yeah, Asami and Aomine have this weird relationship thing but it's actually pretty cute and you'd never have guessed it since Asami's always calling him a bastard but yeah they've been together for nearly three-"
"NOT ABOUT THAT! WHAT'S GOING ON!?" I cut her off; I don't give to shits about their relationship – yeah it wasn't all that obvious but still! I don't know what the fuck is going on. Red laughed and pulled me to my feet and led me to the mats where Asami was standing – arms crossed and eyes glaring at me with obvious dislike.
"Try not to get killed, Rin"
"What are you-" Before I could even ask what she was going on about, she ran up to me at an impressive speed and jumped and sent her knee straight to the side of my neck. I stuck my hand out and flipped myself backwards so that I landed on my feet. WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?
"Don't take this personally" Asami shrugged as she rolled her shoulders "This is just your initiation" She gave me a small grin before running at me yet again. Well, fuck me dead.
A/N: I never planned on posting this but yolo. Sorry if it's kinda bad; this is sorta the first time I've tried to write something like this. I haven't abandoned Ace, I'm just suffering from writers block - Yes, Asami is in this. I just had to have her in this (I really like her character) but nothing is connected to Ace but her character and appearance is the exact same. I hope you guys like this and leave a review about what you think :) Also, sorry if it's kinda rushed - I hadn't planned on writing this (it was a spur of a moment thing after watching Mission Impossible 3). Anyways - review or leave and never return - lul kidding but yeah. And thanks for reading.