Chapter 2: The Library

Another explosion sounded, causing Tatsumi to take cover below his desk while the other students in his class looked at him peculiarly.

"What was that explosion?" He exclaimed, looking around and noticing no one had moved a muscle from their desks.

"That's our school's bell." Najenda informed. "But don't worry, the explosions are out in the distance so no harm will come this way."

"Unless the vice-principal decides to start attacking this school." Chelsea teased, panicking Tatsumi even further.

"Don't worry Tatsumi, as your big sis, I won't let anything happen to you!" Leone happily shouted, hopping out of her desk, joining a distraught Tatsumi.

"As will I!" Bulat proudly proclaimed, also joining the two.

However, Bulat's size was too big as the desk sat on his shoulders, now hanging in the air.

"Why would this school use explosives for their bell?" Tatsumi asked, still ducking underneath his now floating desk.

"We're not sure." Lubbock replied. "Rumor has it, that when the original bell broke, instead of fixing it, the vice-principal opted to use military grade bombs to signify when school starts, ends and when lunch is."

What is wrong with this place? Wouldn't it be easier to just fix the bell? Tatsumi thought.

"Anyway, the school's bell isn't of any concern to us." Najenda said, ending the conversation. "What should be your concern, Tatsumi, is learning more about the school."

Tatsumi looked at his teacher puzzled. He was sure he learned what he needed to know during orientation and the public library, in the capital, gave him plenty of details about the school's history and the success rate of students graduating.

"Um, what else do I need to learn?" Tatsumi asked, slowly coming out from under his desk.

"Well, for one, you should know a little bit of the school's history." Najenda explained. "There are also the events we hold, the dorms, and teigus."

"Teigus?" Tatsumi questioned, looking around to see if anyone else was confused on the word.

"They're specialized items the school uses." Bulat answered. "But you can learn more about it in the library."

"I can take you, if you'd like?" Sheele softly spoke up.

"Are you sure that's something you're okay doing?" Mine asked worryingly. "After, you lost that last student when taking them to the library."

She lost someone! Tatsumi thought, staring at Sheele in horror.

"I promise it won't happen again!" Sheele cried, bowing profusely to Mine.

"Well, I guess I'll allow it." Mine replied, eyeing Tatsumi. "After all, it wouldn't be such a bad thing if you lost this one."

"What do you mean it wouldn't be a bad thing?" Tatsumi asked but Mine ignored him.

"Then it's settled!" Najenda spoke. "Sheele will show Tatsumi to the library!"


Tatsumi was taken aback by the enormous size of the library. Rows and rows of books, in a seemingly never-ending maze, lined the giant-sized walls and space. In the center of the room stood a large, wooden square shaped desk, that sat directly underneath the large skylight. Most impressive, to Tatsumi, was that this was only the first floor. Two additional floors were located above, each with it's own balcony, overlooking the service desk.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Sheele asked, noticing Tatsumi's speechless look.

He could only nod his head.

Sheele smiled. "And the best part is, you actually get to view it since I didn't lose you!"

Once again, Tatsumi could only nod. This time, he did have something to say, but didn't wish to rain on Sheele's parade and mention the fact that they spent nearly an hour trying to find the room.

"Come on, the book we'll need is down this row, and it'll take two of us to carry it." She said as she began walking down one of the many rows of shelves.

How big is this thing? Tatsumi wondered.

The two walked for several minutes before stumbling upon a large pedestal containing an even larger, leather-bound book with the school's symbol on the front cover; a red and white patterned shield with a red dragon circling it. Underneath the symbol read 'Established Year 20.'

"Is this even a book?" Tatsumi asked, bewildered by its size.

Sheele nodded her head. "Yup! Could you please help me take this down?"

Sheele proceeded to grab one end of the book, slowly lifting it up. Not wanting her to struggle, Tatsumi walked to the opposite side and began lifting it. Much to his surprise, the book wasn't as heavy as it seemed.

I could probably lift this on my own. He thought to himself, noticing Sheele struggling to hold it up.

"Oh, don't let go!" Sheele warned as they finally lifted it off the pedestal. "Two people are required to lift it. If not, then the book becomes 10x's it's weight, crushing any who try to steal it." She smiled.

Tatsumi looked at the purple-haired girl in horror. She couldn't have mentioned that before?

Several more minutes went by before the two found a big enough table to place book on. However, as they did, Sheele lost her balance and fell back, crashing into one of the bookshelves and toppling it over onto the others behind it, causing a domino effect.

The students, present in the library, all looked toward the direction of the loud crashing, all looking at Sheele who was recovering from her fall.

"Are you okay?" Tatsumi asked.

"I think so." Sheele said, rubbing her butt. "Luckily this bookshelf stopped my fa- "

She stopped after noticing half of the library's first floor was in ruin with toppled over bookshelves. Some unfortunate students were also seen sticking their arms and legs out from the piles of books that lie on top of them, pinning them down.

"Hey you! Did you do this?" A large, muscular woman approached Sheele. Attached to her shirt was a small pin that Tatsumi could read that said, 'Library Protector.'

Sheele became increasingly nervous and worried as the Library Protector walked up to her and pulled her up from the back of shirt to put her face-to-face.

"You're going to clean this up and put every book back in its original spot." The woman growled. "You don't get leave, eat, or sleep until that is done!" She barked as she threw Sheele into the pile. "Now get started!"

"Yes ma'am!" Sheele cried as she started to fumble with the books, picking them up. "Go on ahead and start reading, Tatsumi. I might be here for a few months."

Tatsumi could only nod his head as he walked back to the book and lifted it open.

Empire High was established during the reign of the first Emperor Metitumeliorus Vandelius I after the death of his first wife, whose wish was to set a new age in learning for future generations to come. This book marks the very beginnings of the school and must remain open to all who wish to view its contents and add to the school's vast history.

Impressed with the fact the school is 1,000 years old, Tatsumi flipped through some pages before stumbling upon a section labelled 'teigus.'

"Oh, this is what Najenda mentioned earlier." He told himself, now confused as to why he was talking to himself.

Teigus

Created by Metitumeliorus Vandelius orders, 48 Imperial Arms were built to protect the Empire during its early years of rule. During the reign of 12th Emperor, in 416, the Empire achieved total peace and retired the teigu users to protecting the school. 20 years later, the teigu users formed the first Teigu Arts Tournament, competing to see who the strongest user was, thus starting a yearly event. Overtime, many other fighting styles were welcomed to what is now known as the Empire's Strongest Tournament (see page 2039). A record of all the teigu created can only be accessed by Empire High's current school principal and emperor. It is against school rules for any student to have their teigu equipped outside of the school sanctioned events.

"Empire's Strongest Tournament." Tatsumi repeated the line, flipping through until coming across the page.

Empire's Strongest Tournament

Formally known as the Teigu Arts Tournament, the Empire's Strongest Tournament is a yearly tournament for current students of Empire High that started in year 436. Anyone is allowed to enter, including an entire dorm (see page 1024). Rules for the tournament are determined by the current principal and vice-principal of the school. In the past, the tournament was to help current teigu users additional training in the event of an attack on the school. Now, the tournament is for entertainment and to also help train students who wish to pursue a career in the Empire's military.

"Huh, I didn't know this school had dorms." Tatsumi mumbled to himself.

"You must be brand new if you didn't know that." A voice replied.

Tatsumi turned around in surprise to find a boy, taller than him and possible a few years old, standing behind him. The boy had blue hair and blue eyes and instead of a tie with his uniform, he wore a red scarf with an anchor embroidered on it.

"Sorry," The boy replied. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," Tatsumi said. "I probably shouldn't be talking to myself."

The young man held his hand out to shake. "My name is Wave."

"Tatsumi." Tatsumi shook his hand.

"So, Tatsumi, are you enjoying learning about the school?" Wave asked, noting the large historical text.

Nodding his head, Tatsumi turned back to the book. "There's a lot more here than what the rep, who came to my village, told me and my friends."

"That sounds about right, those guys only tell you the fun things about the school." Wave chuckled. "I'm sure if they started really telling people about this school, our admittance rate was plummet."

Tatsumi laughed as he continued scrolling through the many pages. There was more, detailed information about the school and additional events that take place throughout the year. Much to his relief, there were dates of posted exam days and breaks between semesters.

"What's this section here about the 'Dark Year?'" Tatsumi asked, noticing 10 whole pages dedicated to the event.

"Oh that?" Wave wondered, looking at the pages. "Hmm, I'm not to sure about it but it looks like it did recently happen. It's possible some of the older students would know."

"Would know what?" A girl with auburn-colored hair asked.

The woman was dressed in the average uniform with a green-arm band wrapped around her left arm with the letter 'P' inscribed on it. Both her arms and legs, however, were both made of metal, much like Najenda's only they were grey colored and much smaller to match her frame. Next to her feet was a tiny white dog with brown ears that was giving everyone a blank expression.

"Oh, Seryu," Wave said. "Do you know anything about the Dark Year?"

Seryu looked through the pages and politely shook her head. "I'm sorry, but maybe the student council president would know?"

Wave face turned blank. "Let's not ask her." He said, his body shaking with fear.

"True, she would skin you alive for not knowing about it." Seryu laughed before noticing Tatsumi. "Oh, a new student?" She wondered, getting a closer look. "Hi there! My name is Seryu Ubiquitous, and this here is Koro, we are members of the Empire High's Police Force!" She smiled with a salute.

"H-Hi, I'm Tatsumi." He cautiously said while looking at Koro. "I didn't know you could bring dogs to school."

Seryu looked at him in astonishment. "Koro isn't a dog, he's my best friend and comrade-in-arms! It's thanks to him that I stay safe when hunting down perpetrators!"

"Speaking of hunting down perpetrators." Wave recalled, looking back at Sheele as the clumsy girl had managed to get one bookshelf up. "Are you here for?" He pointed to Sheele.

Seryu smiled and saluted. "Yes sir! The Library Protector called and asked me to watch this rule breaker! As long as she can fix her mess, then I won't have to take her in!"

"That's… nice…" Wave sighed before looking back at Tatsumi. "Seryu and I are both in class 1B, so if you need any help or have any questions feel free to let us know!"

"Thanks, Wave! I might take you up on that offer." Tatsumi smiled, relieved that he was starting to meet a normal person at the school.

"And if anyone breaks any rules, no matter how small, you let me know!" Seryu saluted once more. "I'll be sure to give the correct corporal punishment to those wrongdoers!"

"R-Right…" Tatsumi awkwardly thanked.


After putting the book away and regrettably leaving Sheele to fix her mess, Tatsumi was then instructed, by Najenda, to speak with the school's counselor regarding his status as a student. According to the woman, every student is required to join one dorm, something the school's rep also failed to mention.

"Well, here goes nothing." Tatsumi sighed as he reached the counselor's room.

With a few knocks, he slowly turned the knob to open the door, peeking his head inside.

The room was just a bit smaller than the classrooms and there was only one large-sized window that overlooked the school's side courtyard that led to another building. Just in front of the window was a medium sized desk with two empty chairs in front. Sitting behind the desk sat a young man with blonde hair and golden eyes. Unlike the students, the man wore a white robe with a black under shirt. Pinned in his hair was a large feather, just behind his left ear.

"Ah, welcome!" The man warmly greeted. "Please take a seat."

Tatsumi accepted the offer and sat down in one of the empty chairs.

"Now let me see…" The man began searching through his papers. "Your name is Tatsumi, right?"

"Yeah." Tatsumi answered, surprised by the correct guess. "How did you know?"

The man smiled. "Yours is the only application I haven't gone over yet. All of the other new students have already met with me and have been assigned their dorms."

"Oh," Tatsumi replied, not sure if it was such a bad thing he waited until the end of the school day to talk to him.

"By the way, my name is Run. As you can tell, I'm the school counselor and I am also class 1B's teacher."

"Class 1B?" Tatsumi repeated before recalling his most recent encounter with Wave and Seryu. "Does that mean you teach Wave and Seryu?"

Run looked at Tatsumi with a surprised look on his face. "Why yes, have you met them already?"

"Yeah, Wave was kind enough to go over the school's history with me and Seryu… was making sure nobody was breaking any rules." He thought back to Sheele destroying half the library.

"That's good to hear." Run smiled. "I'm glad they're having a good first day back to school." He then opened one of the drawers to his desk and began searching through his files. "Now, as I've mentioned before, you're here to be placed in a dorm and I know of the perfect dorm for you."

"Oh really?" Tatsumi excitedly asked. I wonder if it'll be in the same dorm as Wave or someone else who's normal?

"Yup!" Run smiled as he pulled out a file. "And, luckily for you, you've already met the members of this dorm."

"Who is it?" Tatsumi sat on the edge of his seat.

"Night Raid."

Hey all, thank you so much for reading. I have great news! I managed to recover the first chapters to this story so I will be reposting but updating a lot of them. The chapters will also be updated the same time as Two Halves of a Whole so be on the look out for that as well.

Please be sure to leave a review and I will see you all next time!