Chapter One

Welcoming Ceremony

As it turns out, I didn’t need to attend class today.

On my way to the classroom, I was stopped by Miss Yuuki Fujioka, who will apparently be my homeroom teacher. She was a nice looking lady who constantly smiled and carried herself with the aura of a big sister instead of a teacher. In a way it made her more approachable, but it was off-putting at the same time.

“It’s the first day of the school year, so nothing important’s gonna happen today.” she said, holding a thick book to her chest. “You should attend the opening ceremony for freshmen, Kimura-kun.”

I hesitated, rubbing the back of my head.

“Well if you say so, Fujioka-sensei.”

She smiled and tilted her head, her brown locks bouncing on her shoulders.

“Don’t worry; everyone is still recovering from summer fever. Nobody wants to work on anything in the first week of class. Maybe a few introductions here and there, but that’s about it.”

“I’m surprised. I didn’t expect the top school in the country to be this relaxed.”

She furrowed her brows and pointed a finger at my nose. “This is just at the start of the year! Things get way worse the further we get into the semester.” she crossed her arms and nodded. “Because students are allowed to use their powers, they’re often given big projects and assignments to pass. It’s a nightmare, for them and for me! Ahhh~ if only the school didn’t pay me so much, I’d have already left!”

Her head and shoulders drooped as she stared at the ground, looking completely defeated. But just as suddenly, she pops back up, returns to her cheery self and pushes me back.

“Now I’m sure you’re tired of listening to my nonsense—”

Not really, you’re actually pretty fun.

“—you better get going, Kimura-kun! The opening ceremony should only last for an hour or two! Get back by second period!”

[---

The Autumn Mountain auditorium was massive, easily capable of housing maybe 10,000 people. A large silver chandelier hung hundreds of feet in the air, illuminating the clean floors and modern architecture of the auditorium’s interior. Beside the stage hung two massive banners, one showing the school’s insignia— a snowy white mountain on a field of blue, and the insignia of the Institute— a falcon with its wings spread apart.

Since I wasn’t with my class, I decided to take a seat somewhere at the back. No one seemed to mind when I picked out an empty chair to sit on.

“Uhm, hello…” a tall girl walked up to the podium and gingerly held the mic to her mouth.

A collection of teachers and other important-looking people sat on chairs behind her.

“…before we start, Autumn Mountain Academy would first like to welcome Chairman Isamu Mori for honoring us with his presence today.”

A man who I assume to be the chairman stood up from the crowd of adults. The teachers and students applauded as he waved at the audience. As he sat back down, the girl continued.

“Uhm, on behalf of the Supreme Student Council, I would like to officially, with open arms, welcome everyone here to Autumn Mountain—”

“—she’s cute, don’t you think?” an unfamiliar voice beside me asked.

“I guess.” I cross my arms. “She’s a bit too shy for my liking though. And tall.”

“Ah! So you like short girls, eh?”

I glance at the person next to me, a blonde with a smirk on his face. Two black bars were sewn on the shoulder of his uniform, the same as mine. Looking closer, I see a simple-looking, two-ringed halo sewn on his blazer.

“Uh, is this how you guys normally greet newcomers?” I ask. “Or are you a transfer student as well?”

“Hey, relax!” he leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. “Name’s Kenta Yoshida, and I’m just here looking for a friend!”

“Man, you really must be desperate for approaching someone like me out of nowhere.”

“I couldn’t help it, you caught my attention the moment you walked into campus!”

“For the record, I’m not into dudes. I think I made that clear enough when I agreed that the girl up on stage was cute.”

“Hahaha, aren’t you funny!” he said, reaching out to slap my back. I lean away and make it abundantly clear that I don’t want to that to happen.

“Listen, people like us, we have to stay together!” he repeated. “Especially vulnerable unranked people like you.” he pointed at my chest, right where my rank insignia should be.

I really should drop by the supplies office to get my rank sewn on my uniform. I keep forgetting to do that. But it’s not really my fault though. There’s too much paperwork that needs doing.

“See that girl; she’s Hikari Tachibana, Council Vice President and all-around scary person.” Kenta said. “She may look sweet, she may look shy, but if she’s angry she becomes a terrible force to be reckoned with!”

“So, just like any other girl?”

“Except she has powers!” Kenta said, punching the air. “That makes her much more dangerous!”

“Literally everyone in this school has powers, though.” I point out. “She can’t be that much more dangerous.”

He shakes his head, tut-tut-tutting loudly.

“Despite her looks, she’s A Rank. When someone violates the rules, she comes down upon them with all the force of a hurricane! Few people can survive her overwhelming might!”

“Why are you telling me this, anyway? I’m not planning to break any rules while I’m staying here.”

“Ah, but can you keep your word?” he asked smugly. “Autumn Mountain has a very strict administration. There are rules for everything! Male and female students are often segregated, pieces of illicit literature are banned, and worse of all, the internet connection in-campus is awful!”

“I can’t imagine it being that bad.” I say. Aside from the whole male-female segregation thing, that just sounds odd. I better look into that. “You can always just, you know, go outside.”

Kenta crossed his arms and sighed.

“You don’t understand. Most students live in-campus and those from lower ranks are rarely even allowed outside. We’re funded by the government, so the Institute wants to keep a close eye on us. Getting by and living a normal teenage life is hard, impossible even! Especially with the Supreme Student Council around to enforce the administration’s will.”

Even though it sounds like he’s talking nonsense, this is actually just what I was looking for. I wanted to get a feel for the school. In every place, in every institution, unspoken rules are abound. Failing to follow these rules can be alienating or sometimes downright dangerous.

I don’t know what Kenta’s intentions are. He might be here to recruit me for a cause, or he might be planning to take advantage of my power, or maybe he’s just a genuinely nice guy. I appreciate his insight, but either way, I have to be careful.

“Don’t mess with the student council, gotcha.” I say.

“They prefer to be called the Supreme Student Council.” he points out. “Don’t get caught calling them anything less!”

I meet his eyes and nod.

“Anything else I should know about?”

He seemed surprised that I was actually listening to him.

“There are different factions inside the school, some are sided with the Council, but most are against them, or at least try to stay out of their way.” he took out his cell phone, projecting a hologram of the school in front of us.

I was worried that people would tell him to turn his phone off, but nobody seemed to care. In fact, a few students were distinctly fiddling with their own devices.

Several emblems appeared on the map, as colored grids divided the campus.

“Territories?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Factions are formed for different reasons. Some people group up because they have similar powers or ranks, while others get together because of similar goals.”

“Like what, passing English class or something?”

“Like smuggling things into the school, for example!”

“Ah.”

Kenta turned to look at the stage.

The vice president was stepping aside. A beautiful girl who wore thick-rimmed glasses took the podium. As she straightened her shoulders, the entire auditorium fell into complete silence. Unlike the vice president, this girl carried herself with a more dignified aura.

She resembled a noblewoman in the way she stood. Her eyes wandered at the crowd of freshmen, neither judging nor scrutinizing, just observing. She seemed to glow under the spotlight, more beautiful than a rose blossoming in winter.

“President Ayane Tsukino.” Kenta mouthed out in a voice that mixed awe and fear. “If there’s one thing that all the factions agree on, it’s that she’s someone you don’t want to mess with.”

“And why is that?” she doesn’t look that dangerous.

“She’s an S Rank Overseer.”

“So? What’s so special about her being S Rank?”

Kenta stared at me like I was someone from another planet.

“Are you kidding me? You don’t know what makes S Ranks so dangerous?”

“Nope.” I’d really love to know, though.

Kenta rubbed his temple and turned off his phone.

“I assume that you’re at least familiar with how the ranking system works, right?”

“Of course I am.” I grin cheekily.

“Okay then. Well, if a C Rank Overseer is a kid with a pistol that never ran out of bullets, how would you describe someone in B Rank or A Rank?”

“A B Rank would be someone with a rocket launcher.” I say. “And someone in A Rank would be a dude driving tank.”

“And how would you describe S Rank?”

“Someone driving a slightly bigger tank?”

“No! An S Rank would be an entire army! Trying to defeat an S Rank would be like trying to defeat the concept of war itself.” Kenta visibly shook in fear. “I don’t— I don’t even want to think about what would happen if two S Ranks got into a fight.”

Gotcha— don’t get in any scuffles with the beautiful president lady because we might end up destroying the campus.

“Listen,” Kenta turned to me solemnly. “I know that it can be hard finding friends in this school when you’re new and unranked. I know what it’s like to be isolated because you’re weak, or because you’re different. If you ever need a friend or someone to talk to, feel free to reach out to me. You can just ask around, I’m pretty popular, you know.”

He offered his hand and after a bit of hesitation, I shake it.

“Sure. Thanks.”

He smiled a friendly smile. “By the way, I haven’t caught your name—”

[---

“—I’m Hideaki Kimura,” I say, bowing in front of my new class. “—S Rank. It’s nice to meet all of you.”

It turned out that Kenta and I were on the same class. As I moved to take my place near the back, beside the window, I caught a glance of him looking like he just shat his pants in surprise.