One year passed, then two. I received one letter from my parents a month after I came to the school, but never any more. To be honest I didn't really care. While other kids pined away for their families, the only sore spot in my heart was my inability to see Nana, and I could clearly see that Ryuu was hurting more about that than me.
By the time that Ryuu, Mika and I moved into the middle school section, Ryuu and I were both two stars, Mika was a three. Mika worried me. For the past two years, I had watched her closely, but it wasn't until middle school that I really understood. Mika was in special class not only because her Alice was too strong to be in the regular class, but also because it enabled her to do special tasks assigned to her by the principal himself. She got yanked out of class increasingly from when we turned eleven, until she was rarely even able to come to the special classes anymore. When she came back she was sulky and moody, snapping at other people more than usual. Sometimes she came back with scrapes and bruises, like she had been fighting.
Ryuu and I seemed to be her only friends. Despite the friendly atmosphere of the class, most people steered clear of her, not wanting to get affected by the pheromones that seemed to swirl around her like exotic perfume. Ryuu and I could deal with it because I could catch her out. If her Alice started to pulse, I would instantly know that she was trying to use it on us. There were a variety of ways to deal with her, but the easiest way was to jab her in the ribs when I caught her trying to manipulate us. That being said, she didn't try to use it on us very often. I think she was grateful for the company; she must have been lonely before I arrived.
When we graduated from the elementary school, Mika began to disappear from class even more. Once she was gone for a whole week. She came back looking like her soul had been sucked out, and no matter what we said, she refused to tell us what had happened.
She wasn't the only kid from the special class that was doing these assignments either. More and more kids with strong Alices were being transferred into our Alice class. There must have been at least six of them, and all of them refused to talk. The middle school was a breeding ground for rumours, and awful things started to spread about these kids in the Special class. Soon they got their own name: Dangerous Abilities. People whispered that they were the Principal's dogs, doing unspeakable things outside the school. Murder and dark ops became the mutters that followed the Dangerous kids around. Mika bore it all in silence, neither confirming nor denying the rumours.
However, they were just that: rumours. No one actually knew what the Dangerous students got up to. It was the number one mystery of our small school, and none of the people in on it were willing to tell.
I had a quiet niche in the Academy. I kept out of most of the disputes and fights, my grades were nothing to sneeze at, and I didn't cause trouble. If I didn't have such a strange Alice, no one would notice me at all. I didn't mind, I was happy to just live my life coasting in the current of the school. I didn't want to stand out, and for the most part, Ryuu agreed with me. We kept to ourselves, and out of trouble. We both clung to the goal of finishing high school without any trouble, then leaving this place forever. We talked about it sometimes when we were sure we were alone. We just had to get through middle school and high school, then we could both apologise to Nana in person. We only had to tough it out for five more years. We could do it. It was possible.
I was called to the principal's office just after the start of my second year of middle school. I should have felt happy that I was missing out on maths, my least favourite class, but my knowledge of the rumours surrounding the Principal's activities left a bad taste in my mouth.
He was waiting for me when I arrived at the main building, sitting behind his massive oak desk with a small smile on his face. He gestured for me to sit in one of the chairs in front of him, and I did so, perching awkwardly on the hard wood seat.
"I have heard a lot about your Alice, Yukihira." The principal stretched his lips across his face in a vain attempt at an easy-going smile. "It really is incredible, the ability to see Alices like you do."
It took all my self-control not to glare at him. This man was treating me like a child, beating around the bush in order to sugar coat his words. I took a deep breath, trying not to think of Mika and her scrapes and bruises. "I suppose you could say that." I replied cautiously.
The Principal leaned back. "You must be frustrated, not being able to do anything with such a great Alice." He went on. "You must be envious of your peers somewhat, as their Alices can be put to use much more easily than yours."
"I believe that one day my Alice will be of use, I just have to wait for the right circumstances." I said slowly. What does he want?
"How would you like me to present you with the right… circumstances?" The Principal's eyes glinted. "Your Alice could prove to be perfect to help with some situations outside of class time."
I narrowed my eyes. I did not trust this man. There was something about his aura. His Alice was a dark threatening green. It snaked around him like dark vines, twining around his wrists and ankles. I wondered what kind of Alice would give a person such an aura, like he was tainting the air around us.
"What kind of help?" I asked.
The principal leaned forward. "As you may have noticed, our school is not very big." He told me. "It is hard to find children with Alices to fill our roll. Many have subtle and hard to judge powers, and unfortunately, it is impossible to grant a child access to our school without confirming that they have the Alices that they say they have. Up until now, we have been relying on clairvoyants and people like your friend Nakaomi that can see liars to find students for our school."
Ahhh. That's what he wants.
"I take it that you want a more reliable method of picking out Alices from the general population." I said flatly.
The principal slapped the table enthusiastically. "Exactly!" He said eagerly. "Do you think you could do it?"
I blinked. "I don't know…"I trailed off. "I think it's kind of wrong."
His face snapped into a scowl in an instant. "What do you mean?" His voice was deadly quiet.
"What if I discover a kid who doesn't want his Alice to be discovered? If a person has to leave his family because of me, I wouldn't like that at all." My heart pounded as I said it.
"What person would not want their Alice to be discovered?" The Principal asked firmly. "What person wouldn't want to find out that they are special? Your help in this field would do much more good than harm." He was glaring at me. He did not expect me to deny him his wish.
I stood up sharply and bowed. "Can I have more time to consider this option?" I asked as politely as I could. All I could think about now was escaping that room as quickly as possible.
The principal's eyes flashed, but he ducked his head slowly. "As you wish. Come up with an answer quickly though. I will ask you again shortly."
I could feel his stare burning into me as I walked out of the door, and it made my knees weak. I went back to my dorm room instead of the classroom after that. I knew that if I saw Mika and Ryuu, they would instantly know that something was wrong. I didn't want to make them worry, especially Mika, who has her own problems. This was my problem. I could deal with it alone.
Hope the story is starting to get interesting now. I'm starting to bring in all of the darker aspects of the academy that we all know exist, I'm just hoping that it won't make the next few chapters horribly depressing!