Alia's POV

I swear if these messed up mornings become a habit, I'm going to rip out my hair. My hasty paces brought me to my summer sentence out of breath— the fairytale cram school. The very place my father tossed me into, where the idea of mental hospitals made you feel more sane.

Why me...

Oh, right, because it's totally natural to stress over things that are supposed to be nonexistent. It was only a matter of time before blocking it all out failed to work.

I wondered how long it'd take me to fall apart at the seams of rationality holding me together.

Izumo sent me a bitter look before turning away when I passed her desk. She's been pissed at me all morning. Another thing I don't have time for.

All eyes were on me as I took a seat at the back of the class. I hung the strap of my crossbody purse on the bag of my chair, yet it still perched itself on top of the scuffed up tiles. I tried my hardest to ignore it. I'll clean it when I get back.

I wasn't late today, and a repeat of last time was definitely not going to happen again. Thanks to that episode, I was getting unwanted attention. Some weirdo with pink hair further up kept smiling at me. This weird "demon pharmaceuticals" something or other class still had about five minutes until it was about to start. A sigh quietly escaped from me as I carefully opened my leather journal to review my work from yesterday.

8/8/20xx

Heart rate: 74 bpm

Temperature: 37 Celsius

Height: ——

Age: 15

Blood type: ——

Diet: ——

~ Notes ~

- "Demonic" paternal heritage & human maternal heritage

- Seems of no threat—gloves should be worn in the future for proper precautions

- Extremely scarce eye color of brilliant/sapphire blue

- Has fangs, pointed ears, and a long, dark brown, fur tufted tail

I instantly slapped the book shut when I heard the screech of a chair being pulled back from beside me. It was just the dude in the black hoodie. I forgot his name...probably because I was so out of it then.

"What's new, hangry?"

I slowly turned my head towards his faceless appearance, the dark hood concealing him. "What did you call me?" I questioned blandly. I raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. "If I recall our first meeting, you said to call you hangry." I slowly blinked, internally cringing at the memory. Right. Cocking my head to the side, I eyed him curiously. "Who are you again?"

"Yamada."

Ah, right. Loner dude that sounds like a girl.

"Oh. I'm Alia."

I squinted a little to see if I could identify the face under the hood, but his eyes were well concealed. Talk about shady. "You were totally wasted yesterday. Blow out class?" I bit back a retort before refraining the eye roll. "I wish," I muttered. I really didn't want to talk about it. "Vodka or whiskey?"

"Moonshine."

There's no use in wasting my energy trying to convince others of something they won't believe. My reputation already went down the drain anyway. I realized that thanks to Izumo. Besides, downing a jug of alcohol is still nowhere as idiotic as doing so with a bottle of NyQuil. "Damn. Hook me up sometime, will you?" I caught a slight grin on his face. I then decided it was best to end the conversation there.

I flipped through my journal again, not bothering to see if he was looking since he was now preoccupied with an outdated PSP. For a rich kid academy, all lot of these guys here sure seemed broke. Not to mention, this classroom...my tired eyes wandered the paint peeled walls, the warped beams that were somehow still holding up the ceiling, and the chipped tiles beneath my spotless white Vans. My gaze landed on my roommate again, causing me to frown. That girl is so salty, she could swim in a lake and it'd become the Dead Sea. It's almost been a week since I got here and I already have a conflict with someone.

Like this morning, for instance.

It all started with her rotten little attitude at the dorm when I returned from the showers a few hours ago. Still drying my damp hair with a towel, I had simply walked in to the mess of my life. My mouth fell at the sight of my garments tossed across the bunks, belts on the floor, and other accessories of mine carelessly thrown all over the antique dresser. A striped sock was draped over my sewing machine. Not only that, but my covers were also snatched from my bed and concealed most of the hardwood floor. Izumo stood in the middle of it all, not looking the least bit pleased.

She unfolded her arms and placed them on her hips. "You have some explaining to do," she snapped. I gaped, barely managing to keep a filter. "Did you go through my stuff?!" I snarled as I yanked my towel from my hair before throwing it aside. I firmly marched forward so I could meet her eye to eye. Well, more like mouth to eye, seeing that I was currently looming over her. Izumo's violet bangs hung over her darkened expression before she met my gaze. She gritted her teeth and pointed to my wet towel beside me. "See? That's what I'm talking about!"

"I don't know what you mean nor do I care, but if you lay finger on one of my belongings again, I guarantee you, we will have a problem, Kamiki."

Izumo raised her eyebrows in confusion for moment, then turned her cheek to me when she frowned again, slightly beginning to sweat. Her eyes fell shut until she huffed with annoyance. "Are you dense or something? I wouldn't do something so pointless like wasting my time with your luggage," she scoffed while she spun her back to me, her long pigtails almost hitting me in the face. "It hasn't even been a full week and you're already a pain." I opened my mouth to intervene, but she stopped me before I could begin.

Izumo held up a hand as she started to count fingers. "All you do is sleep, you come to class drunk, not to mention wet, you don't take anything seriously, and now you trash the dorm!" She complained.

"I wasn't drunk!" I denied for about the millionth time.

Izumo crossed her arms and turned back around to reveal a smirk. "Oh, really? Then what would you call it?" She asked cockily. I drew a deep breath ready to tell her off, but hesitated. What would I say? I accidentally drank half a bottle of NyQuil? What if the bottle left in the bathrooms was hers?? That would be awkward. When I realized I had no reasonable reply, I knew I had officially left a bad impression on everyone I've already encountered. Her smirk was gone. "That's what I thought. Consider this your last warning: continue to be a slob or show up drunk again, I'll be sure to file a complaint and you'll be moved, or worse; you'll be kicked out."

Wouldn't that be a shame.

"Fine, whatever," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "But I'm telling you, I'm a very well kept person and I'm always organized. I didn't leave this clutter!" My hand gestured to the entire room. Izumo shot me a glare. "Don't be pathetic. We're the only ones here, and it was obviously you. Stop lying and clean up your stuff already."

"I plan to," I said between clenched teeth. I was more than frustrated, but she was clearly telling the truth.

Izumo Kamiki did not dig through my things. But if she didn't, then who did?

I had snatched my purse and a bag on my dresser I got from the pharmacy yesterday evening. Once the door slammed behind me, I only became more troubled. She was convinced I'm guilty, and I had no evidence to prove otherwise. The dorm was perfectly tidy when I left for the showers. But Izumo was still fast asleep as well...what had happened in that time frame?

I decided to figure it out later. When I exited the girls' dormitory and stepped out into the warm sun, I peered down into my bag. I needed a temporary distraction. And that temporary distraction was going to be my new project.

Let's hope it will be temporary.

I sharply exhaled through my nose and closed the journal on my desk again as my eyes drifted down to the white bag peeking out of my purse.

I hardly got any information yesterday. Rin was making this all a little more difficult than I wanted. Especially with his annoying uncooperative behavior this morning. So far, I've met no one who was anything but. From what I could best gather, it appeared Yukio would be the only type of person compatible for me to get along with, but not as long as he were one of my superiors for this cram school I was already lacking in. It looked as if I'd be mostly alone for the long haul.

I sighed and shifted my focus to the narrow strips of windows lined horizontally just beneath the ceiling. Considering how tall the room was, one would only be able to catch a glimpse of the empty blue sky. Not even a view to get lost in.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought my attention to the front of the classroom. Not only did I notice Yukio Okumura was standing in front of the board expectantly; his brother, Rin Okumura, was sitting in the front row beside a small blonde with a bob cut, who was dressed in a traditional kimono. Was there a festival or comic con in town I haven't heard about? She was the only one besides Yamada and I who wasn't wearing a uniform. Since it was still summer, maybe it was just one of those rules that wasn't really a rule.

"Class is now in session, so please quiet down and turn off all cell phones," Yukio instructed as low chatters immediately ceased. He pushed up the rim of his glasses and formally placed his forearm behind his back. "Due to the development of some new enrollments into the class, I will be handing out a pre test to reevaluate what you know. Even though most of you have recently acquired the title of Exwires, this will not be graded and is simply standard procedure." Yukio then grabbed a handful of test forms from his desk to pass around. It didn't take a genius to figure out he meant me. It was considerate of him not to single me out after yesterday's episode, I'll give him that much, but 'some new enrollments,' as in plural? Really?

Such an obvious downplay called for extra attention on me, again, as I could easily feel more glances being snuck my way, which was just plain irritating. But with a little imagination, at least I could probably ace this 'quiz' and maybe earn some good rep around here, because I was in dire need of that. Once Yukio reached the back and passed my paper to me, I neatly signed my name at the top. Let's hope this takes no more than five minutes. I took a deep breath before scanning the first question.

1. What are the three levels of classification for a demon?

I slightly frowned when I realized it wasn't a multiple choice quiz. All written responses. Oh well, something like that seemed like an easy answer. Low, medium, and high level sounded like the best bet, but there was always the possibility they ranked them by numbers. I clawed my nails through a thick stream of my hair. I continued to tell myself it was only a pretest, but perfectionist ideals were quick to take over my mind.

It's not that I had to get them all correct, it's just that it would be really satisfying if I did. But it was a low possibility. Unfortunately, I really didn't know what the majority of the questions were even ASKING. Thanks to all the blanks I left empty, there were teeth marks left on my fingers.

Some people bite their nails, I sometimes bite down on my fingertips. Nail biting is a disgusting habit and I don't participate in those peasantry demeanors. I was on the last problem when something big and black suddenly flew between my eyes. HOLY HELL— I released an obnoxious gasp as I flinched at its abrupt contact with my forehead, resulting in an unceremonious flip from my chair that landed me on my side. I could've cared less at countless stares I was attracting or how stupid I looked, but I was far too busy gawking at the large bug dawdling back toward me. What the hell was that?!! It was round and black, had some weird zigzagged tail, and two huge bulging gree—

I shrieked when it almost touched me again and scrambled to my feet before cornering myself. "OH MY GOD why is there a mini plagg floating after me get it off!!!" I cried. This bug, or demon, or thing, or whatever just touched my face and scared the living shit out of me, now it was trying to get an even closer look at me. I hated bugs or anything that resembled them and the very thought of an unknown creature like that getting up in my face was a bit...unsettling, at the very least. I pinched my eyes shut and covered my face with my arms as I braced for contact again. Instead of help, all I received were outbursts of laughter from my fellow pupils.

How reassuring.

I finally opened my eyes to see Rin standing before me. His arm was extended forward and had just caught the strange little creature by my ear. After retrieving it, he let it go and simply shooed it away. I slowly blinked with my jaw agape. If he was going to catch it, he couldn't have at least sent it outside??? Regardless, I laid a hand on my chest and exhaled. It looked like it was leaving me alone for now, anyway. "Don't worry, these little guys can't hurt a fly," Rin assured me as I watched the thing continue dawdling its way lazily around the class. I shifted my focus to Izumo, who was attempting to hold back a snicker. The boy with piercings and a strip of blonde in his hair chuckled with a shake of his head, and Pinky sent me a wink—wait, what??

Why won't anyone just explain something to me already?!

As if reading my thoughts, Yukio sighed as he crossed his arms. "Miss Tanaki, that would be a coal tar, the lowest leveled demon there is, and completely harmless in few numbers. Would the two of you please return to your seats?"

After setting my chair back upright, I ungraciously dropped down onto it, then gradually massaged my temples. I've never looked like a bigger fool. I gazed down hopelessly upon the unfinished test sheet before flipping it over. My lips parted in surprise when an abrupt pressure began to fill my head. A stress headache was coming on, something that served as a warning. I instantly starting cracking my knuckles before stretching each of my fingers. Deep breaths, deep breaths... If I didn't calm down, I was only about to make things worse for myself. I refused to open my eyes even when I heard Yukio collecting our pretests.

When I had, I caught Rin stealing a glance in my direction. He sent me a toothless grin with a thumbs up. What was that supposed to mean? 'Good job on your performance?' 'I caught the plagg for you, wasn't I awesome?' 'Everything will be okay?' 'Hey, can I hitch a ride later?' Okay, probably not the last one, but you get my point, it could mean a million things or maybe even nothing at all.

I strongly considered ignoring him, but that would've been pretty rude. I may be a bitch sometimes, but I wasn't raised like one. Because all overthinking put aside, I guess Rin seemed like he was only trying to reassure me in some way or another. I flashed a large phony smile, giving him a thumbs up in return, but my eyes were far from smiling. He was oblivious to my sarcastic gesture, but whatever.

My eyes drifted below to something slung around the back of his chair. A final question plagued my mind. Why the hell was there a demon with a goddamn katana attending an exorcist school?

Rin's POV

I tried to continue listening to Yukio's babbling, but as usual, it was difficult and super boring. The difference was, this time, my mind was already occupied. I'm not saying that I never thought anyone else would find out about my identity, but I never thought it would be so soon. I was restless for days now and only wondered what else could happen. Well, Alia technically didn't find out—actually, she doesn't even know the half of it yet.

Yet.

I frowned at the thought, then just shook my head. Everything was fine. But...was she? I snuck a glance at her behind me. Alia was sulking at her table and was holding her temples, as if she was struggling with something. Yukio was grabbing the last of the pretests now, and almost startled her when he collected hers. Our eyes briefly met and I sent her a thumbs up with a smile, hoping to brighten the mood for her. She blankly stared back for a moment before mirroring me. Her beam was big, yet for some reason, it felt like there was a lot of sass behind it, but I couldn't tell why.

Yukio cleared his throat while he neatly stacked the set of papers he gathered upfront on his desk. "Alright, now let's have a review," he announced. "We have roughly three weeks to get everyone caught up to where we should be until the fall semester begins. Ms. Tanaki?" Shiemi and I turned around at the sound of a chair scooting back. Alia had politely stood up at the sound of her name. "Yes, Yuki—Mr. Okumura?" She corrected. "To help you become an Exwire faster, I'm going to assign you a tutor so you'll be ready in no time." Her mouth fell open, but she shut it just as fast. She almost began to glower at his instructions. "I-is that so?" She managed to sputter out calmly, her hands balling into fists at her side.

"Yes, it will be much more convenient if the entire class is able to move forward," Yukio explained as he put his hands behind his back. Damn it, Yukio. Was he trying to humiliate her, or was he just that insensitive? "Now, are there any volunteers?" He called out. Everyone started to shift around in their seats as they awkwardly shot looks at each other across the room, until Shima scrambled up on top of his desk and waved his hands enthusiastically. "I volunteer as tribute!" He yelled desperately.

Bon scoffed at his response. "Tch! Sit your ass down, you moron!" He snapped while yanking him back by the collar of his uniform. Alia stared at him like he was something stuck on the bottom of her designer shoes. I'd help her out myself, but I doubt that would do any good. "Hey, a guy can dream!" Shima whined to Bon.

"I'll do it."

The room went silent as everyone shifted their gaze to the back of the room. Beside Alia, Yamada stood. The loner dude in the black hoodie held up his hand. Yukio stood there for a second to think. He eventually nodded his in agreement. "Very well," he decided. Yamada shrugged, then sat back down. "Cool."

"Seriously? The guy doesn't do crap!" Bon argued. "He and that other slacker literally watched us getting killed last spring!"

"Watched you what?!" Alia blurted.

"Mr. Suguro, please lower your voice. My decision is final. If you have a problem with the way I run things, please discuss it with me after class," Yukio replied, not at all fazed by anyone's outburst. Bon crossed his arms and shook his head, muttering something under his breath. I saw his point, but I really didn't see what the big deal was if he wasn't even involved.

Alia was about to sit down as well, until Yukio called her name again. "Yes...?" She answered uncertainly. "Have you ever received your temptaint? It's mandatory to become an exorcist," Yukio explained. She wrinkled her brows in thought, trying to figure out how to answer as she put her forefinger to her chin. She hesitantly took in a breath. "Um, what's that...?" She asked slowly while her voice lowered a little. It was almost like she knew she was going to regret asking.

Fits of laughter immediately broke out as everyone lost their shit. Bon was left gasping for air as Shima snickered next to him. Shiemi's eyes wandered the room thoughtlessly as she tried to get the big joke. Simultaneously, Izumo was probably the most obnoxious. I've never heard her laugh so loud before, hell, I don't think I've even seen her smile. "She's even a bigger dumbass than you!" Bon hollered at me, wiping one of his eyes. I jumped out of seat and glared at him. "Hey!" I snapped.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Alia dropping down to her seat with her arms crossed, beginning to pout from all of the humiliation. I grit my teeth together. It was one thing for him to be calling me a dumbass, but he didn't have to go insulting her as well.

Yukio threw his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. Before I could yell anything else, he beat me to it. "That's enough!" He suddenly raised his voice before clapping his hands together. "Everyone listen up!" The noise instantly ceased, with a few giggles as an exception. Yukio exhaled, then picked up a piece of chalk and began writing on the blackboard. "A temptaint is a wound or illness inflicted by a demon. Without one, you will never be able to see one or become an exorcist. It's imperative to see all demons of any shape and form from there on out."

I suddenly thought about what he said, and noticed something strange. Alia didn't even believe in any of this stuff last week, but that coal tar...then she shouldn't have even seen it. Something didn't add up. "Rin, are you okay?" Shiemi whispered with a worried expression. "Yeah..." I trailed off absentmindedly. I was getting a bad feeling about this.

Then why...?

Shit.

I gasped loudly at the sudden realization. "What is now?" Yukio snapped at me, growing fed up with everyone. No, it couldn't be.

Was it really all my...

The stairwell.

...fault?

I held my breath as I slowly leaned over the back of my chair to face her. Alia had her head dipped with her fists squeezed on top of her desk. Her brown bangs hid her face, but when she began to tilt it back up, I knew at once I was able to read her mind. Her hazel eyes narrowed and fixed themselves onto me directly. I swallowed as I immediately broke into a cold sweat. I could feel her pierce her venomous gaze straight into my soul. If looks could kill...I was too afraid to even know the rest.

Alia silently leaned forward as if she was fixing her eyes onto me like I was her prey, and placed her hands together across one side of her face discreetly, carefully mouthing something.

I knew I would never forget those words. And that there was definitely going to be hell to pay.

"I'll kill you."

...

Hey hey HEEEEEYY long time no see please no hate me .

My goal was 5,000 words this time since it's been an entire year, but sadly I only reached 4,000...BUT don't forget to like and comment your thoughts! Hope you liked! ;3

~ Sapphire out