Chapter 1.

J

State your reason for wanting to attend RAD:

My purpose for attending the Royal Academy of Diavolo is to ensure the relations of Human and Demon are further secured by interwoven cultures throughout. I believe that it is in the best interest of Said Academy that all students must bring with them three things; a mind hungry for knowledge, a heart thirsty for tolerance and a spirit brimming with pride in one's achievements. It is through these three things that any success in such an esteemed school could take place. The prime objective of RAD is to develop relations with others of different backgrounds, and I firmly believe that I am suitable to assist in tat primary objective.

State Your academic achievements below:

I have won several prizes for my Botanical research and medicines developed. I have also surpassed the curriculum in my current school. I am the current head of the student council and I have volunteered at the wildlife protection agency in my home town.

Please check 1 Race below:

_Human _Demon _Celestial being

This was the only area I had hesitated on; demon or human…in actuality I was both, my parents are both half-demon. I could choose both, however it wouldn't make sense for a demon to be accepted into a demon school exchange program This application on my desk was so much more than a piece of paper in this moment, this was my chance to get out; I needed to advance my knowledge, to expand my horizon and this school would do just that.

"Hey Jetea, I was wondering; you see we will be seniors next year and a bunch of us will be going out to celebrate passing the exams and I wanted to know if you would be my plus one?" I had learned early on how to decide if a person was worth my time by reading their body language as well as their past motives. It saves me a lot of time and embarrassment of error: Harumi Mineta, age: sixteen, current position in life: classmate, current posture: slouched, arms crossed meaning he's insecure. Eye contact: none, past offenses: bullied me in middle school. Conclusion: Uninterested.

"I will pass; thank you for the invitation." I went back to my application and he didn't leave but instead leaned closer.

"Do you not know who I am? Do you not know how lucky you would be to be on my arm at a party? Someone like you, has no chance with a guy like me; but I see what you like to do with favors….Calculator Brain." I looked back up at him; he was attractive by typical standards, sandy brown hair and blue eyes, and he was an athlete so he had a toned physique. I showed no emotion to his insults and it only served to agitate him more and took the time to inhale and really measure my words before speaking.

"Someone like me will go home and continue to study because it would be deemed foolish to celebrate when our learning is not complete. Someone like me will go on to make medicines and botanicals to help others thus enriching their lives. Someone like me will go on to BE someone on this earth before I am reduced to carbon and ash, while someone like you will go out and drink alcohol and intake illicit pharmaceuticals to feel good in the moment. Someone like you…if no action is taken now, has peaked and will from this point on wither like a faded sunflower in winter. You say I have no chance with a guy like you; why yes you are correct, I am uninterested in what you have to offer which is absolutely nothing." He was absolutely red in the face as the other students jeered at him. He saw that I was writing and snatch the papers from my desk and I respectively kicked his feet out from under him, causing out classmates to laugh at his embarrassment. I grabbed the papers back from him and continued on with what I was doing.

"Robot Girl took out Harumi!"

"Way to go Calculator Brain!"

"She did grow into that red hair, she actually has some fire under all that ice."

"You know, she's really pretty..."

"Too bad she has the personality of a wet towel." Their 'compliments' were messing with my concentration and I excused myself from the classroom with a stone cold expression I had perfected after years of dealing with these people. I sat in the library all alone like so many lunches in middle school and I began to cry. Damn you, this isn't constructive! I wiped my tears and smooth my application out again and checked the section declaring Human for my race; it was what they were looking for anyway. Why deny them or myself of the opportunity?

I then placed the application with my current transcripts and letters of recommendation into an envelope and put it into the mail. I stood in front of it for a moment deep in thought as though I were saying a silent prayer…please…all I want is to be accepted….by someone.

L

"Lucifer look, new applications have come in from the human world!" I looked up from the stack of applications that were in front of me to see the new papers in Diavolo's hand. I had to check over each and every one of them and check their credentials as well before coming to him with the final decisions for him to choose from. Inside I groaned but outside I took them pleasantly.

"Wonderful, it seems they made the deadline just in time."

"Yes; isn't it funny how humans will wait until the last moment to turn things in? I think it may be that way for a lot of things, how would they ever get things done?"

"Precisely; although I know it isn't just humans that carry the trait of procrastination."

"That is very true; hey I hate to do this to you but I need you to choose six by tonight." There was a total of two hundred applications in front of me. I needed to read each one, check their credentials and contact any references they had written down. On top of this I had to plan two fund raisers, write the minutes of the last meeting and check over the treasury report that needs to be formatted and on Diavolo's desk the next morning.

"I thought we were choosing three?"

"I had chosen one already, sorry I hadn't relayed that to you; made a good impression, sent a video application. I want to look over your choices before a final decision is made for the final two. Do you think you can handle this?" I would be working until morning at this rate.

"I have it under control."

"I knew I could count on you!" i spent the rest of my day doing my usual duties and then took my dinner to my room to work on the applications. I eliminated the first twenty because they were not completely filled, then I eliminated another forty because they didn't put down any references. By midnight I was left with about eighty who had the complete applications and references with working numbers and current school information. I pulled a particularly thick envelope out of the stack and curiously read through it, this girls responses were remarkable and thought out, she had three letters of reference, her transcripts were remarkable and her research on botanical genetics and medicine was remarkable. From the looks of it she would go on to become an elite plant geneticist. A human girl with this any qualifications at sixteen was very impressive indeed. She was even president of her student council. She was amazing and stood far beyond the rest and as I held her application and all of her information in my hands I felt that this girl would be a fantastic addition to the program. Good, I had found one; now to simply find another five suitable candidates by morning; unfortunately after seeing this one I would have a hard time finding a student with the same potential.

J

I made the four mile walk through the surrounding forest to our family home deep in thought. I hated every last one of my classmates they were not constructive, they didn't look to their future with any sort of plan but squandered their abilities with superficial things like parties and indulgences and slothful behavior. They didn't care about their purpose in this world at all...and I envied them for it. My mother stood in the kitchen getting dinner ready all smiles as she had been for weeks now. Her dark brown hair that was pinned back cascaded behind her in waves as she moved from one space to another My mother was just as passionate about psychology and human nature as I was with my plants; only she didn't take her passion as seriously as I had. She does work as a psychologist; but I feel if she had conducted more studies then she would have been so much more. Nonetheless she always looked happy; my past sins aside, I knew my mother loved me without question whether I saved the world or not.

"While you're standing there you can hand me the sage; how was school?" She never turned around she must have sensed me. I plucked a few sage leaves from the plant in the window and handed them to her.

"Same as usual Mother."

"Meaning….?"

"I have to go study…" She grabbed my arm and looked at me with soft brown eyes.

"You can keep that at bay long enough to talk to me Jetèa; I know you want to get it off your chest."

"If you are going to read my mind then there is no point in talking about it is there?!" her eyes flashed from brown to blue and back again. I knew better than to talk back to her; especially in that tone.

"I only know that something is bothering you; besides didn't I say I would give my children their privacy now that you're older?"

"Sorry Mother….Harumi Meneta asked me to go to a party with him."

"Wasn't he the one who threw garbage on your desk in eighth grade?"

"The very same."

"What did you say?"

"I told him no of course, then he got mad and took my papers from me."

"And then what?"

"I put him on his ass."

"That's my girl; never let anyone get the better of you. I don't know how many times I have been to the principal about this but I get the same excuses every time! I wish you would give me their names."

"I don't need my mother to get charged with assault." The salt shaker floated from the far cabinet to her hand and she began to add the ingredient.

"You can't get charged with something no one saw you do."

"I don't need you to fight for me mother, hopefully soon I will be away from them."

"So you submitted it then? How long until we should hear back?"

"I don't know, maybe a few weeks, are you upset I may be leaving?"

"I only want you to be happy; if this is what you want then I'm all for it. Now it's your father who will be sad to see you go. You've always been his princess, spoiled rotten from the beginning and he never stopped. Goes all over to find the rarest seeds for your research and hell this whole forest is at your disposal."

"And I would give her more if it suited her." My father walked in upon hearing our conversation; he was a spirit fox living as a human while my mother was simply half demon by blood. What if I told them what I had done with the application….would they approve?

"Daddy; I may be spending the next year at the Academy…" His green eyes flashed with sadness for only a moment but then he smiled.

"You have more than enough qualifications to make it in; this is a good opportunity for you."

"Thank you Daddy…I won't let either of you down."

"We never suspected you would." And there it was, that familiar pain…they never suspect I would let them down? This means that failure is not an option; I will ensure the success of another year a RAD no matter the cost; maybe I'll receive a scholarship for my research and can really get the ball rolling.

"I have to go study."

"But exams are done; there is nothing left to do."

"There is always new information to be learned." My parents looked at me and smiled as I went upstairs; odd though…they seemed a little sad too.

L

Diavolo looked over the choices carefully reading each detail until he had gotten to the thicker one and pulled out its contents. The more he read the more impressed he seemed; when he finished he handed it back to me.

"This one is remarkable! Her grades are perfect, her extracurricular activities are impressive and she even took the initiative to get three letters of reference. Ohh and she is the president of the student council in her own school too. Very nice; wonderful job spotting her!"

"Thank you Diavolo."

"These others seem good as well, it's a shame to cut it down to three. But this girl…Jetèa Minamino, she most definitely gets to the top of the list. While I make the choice on the third, I have sent Barbatos to retrieve my first choice. Lucifer I want you to contact him to retrieve Jetèa Minamino and see to it that they receive a warm welcome."

"As you wish Diavolo." I got up to leave eager to get this list of things done.

"And Lucifer, thank you; I knew I could count on you."

"Thank you."

J

It had been several weeks since I had put my envelope in the mail; I hadn't received a letter of any kind and I began to wonder if my efforts were for not. No matter; I would simply continue my studies and fulfill my goals with or without the academy. I had come home from the Library after another study session alone, carrying a stack of books in my bag I intended to study over the summer when I spotted my mother running towards me in front of the house.

"Guess what, guess what! 'Tea you got in!" I was shocked; I knew that I was thorough in providing my information but still thee had to have been hundreds of applicants if not many more…and they chose me? My mother hugged me tightly and squealed. She started to pull me inside still talking like an excited child.

"That is good news; what did the letter say, when do I leave?"

"You are to leave immediately Miss." A man with green hair and eyes sat with my father in the study. He looked at me intently as though making sure I was who I said I was before standing.

"My name is Barbatos; I have been given the task to escort you to the Academy. There you will proceed to go through orientation and syllabi for the courses coming in the following month. Your parents have taken the liberty of packing for you as you see time is of the essence." My Father handed me a suitcase and duffle bag and gave me my pot with my favorite plant Vivi.

"I know you wouldn't want to go anywhere without her, and I got you this as well." He placed a rose hairpin in my hair.

"To remember home; do your best dear and write often." They both hugged me close and barbatos grabbed my bags.

"But… Laika and Kiomè…. I won't be telling them goodbye?" Not that they would care if I did; I wasn't the best older sister to them.

"Your brother and sister aren't home honey; but we will tell them for you okay? Call if you can, my baby is growing up so fast!"

"Mother please stop crying; I'm going to school not outer space." He laughed and wiped her face.

"We shall be going now." Barbatos stood at the door; I guess this was it…I was going to rad. He opened the door to a limo and I stepped inside; another human a male sat on the other side. He had short blonde hair and brown eyes; his posture told me that he was relaxed yet anticipant.

"So are you excited?" He has a slight smile on his face; I didn't know him…but then again he hasn't wronged me so it may be alright to speak.

"Yes actually, I am quite exhilarated to be attending a school with RAD's caliber; I can only imagine the new information I will have to learn, the activities I will engage in and the new research I will uncover. i am a botanist you see and I am so excited to see the many new specimens I could collect!" Reel it back! Remember seventh grade…

"Are you always this articulate?" He laughed and I felt a stab in my stomach, not even ten minutes and he was laughing at me.

"Please forgive me, I mean I have never met a girl who is so well spoken and obviously smart. My name is Riley." He held out a hand to me and for the first time I felt like I was in the company of a person who finally understood what it meant to be proactive in their endeavors. I took his hand and shook it firmly.

"I am Jetèa." I looked out the window thoroughly excited of the new lessons I would learn.