In the academy building, A blonde female student walked through the empty hallways, counting each step. Her green eyes glowed faintly, behind her, the Prime minister and a group of brawly men followed, In the Prime minister's palm lay a photo of the elite class, with one face highlighted- Aki Hoshino
"Alright. As discussed, I need you to make your entrance in the last match, got it?"
The leader of the men, one with a large scar on his face, grinned at the Prime minister. "Of course. Just make sure you come through with our pay, as for the kid. Want us to do something about him?"
"No, he's my evaluation subject, so I need him in peak condition"
"With one of the files already missing, I'll have to use other means"
His gaze darkened at the memory, but his mind was filled with confusion, he had hired those kidnappers, so anything they got should've came to him, but they hadn't delivered the super human sampling document they received
'I'll have to deal with them once this is over. Trying anything now may cause them to expose me"
They soon walked into the council room, the Prime minister rummaged through the drawers, eventually finding the documents he wanted
"Rin, these is all the information available on Aki Hoshino in the academy, as for anything on the internet or city documents, the Hoshino family has scrubbed all traces of any of the children's public identities"
Rin's eyes glided over the text, her brow furrowing. "Sir. This isn't enough to work with. A tier three student, tier ten in academic brilliance only, no records of any affinities. It makes it impossible to fully gauge him properly"
"Don't worry. Let's equalize that tier to tier three soldiers enhanced with the SHS, it should be around tier eight, probably higher for the brat, so do eight+"
"Understood" Rin looked subtly at the Prime minister, then shook her head slightly. 'He's too greedy for his own good'
Meanwhile, Snow stirred from her sleep, her eyelashes fluttered, eyes focusing on Aki, who was sitting quietly on a chair, eyes closed
She reached out a hand, intending to wake him up, but a tentacle sprung from his shadow, blocking her hand. Sensing movement, he opened his eyes
Seeing the tentacle, he grabbed it and calmly tossed it into his shadow, then he smiled faintly, he rose, leaning closer and closer, Snow instinctively leaned back, but instead, he just picked up the glass of milk chocolate and handed it to her. "Drink up"
Snow looked at the glass, it was still warm. Slowly, she took a sip, occasionally glancing at Aki, who was quietly scrolling through the council group chat
*Milan. What time are you guys meeting up for the last discussion?* he typed the message, sent it and sat his phone on the bed.
"How are you feeling?"
"Alright." She took another sip, before looking at him. "Uhm, Prince? Yesterday‐"
"It's fine. I've thought about it. That was my fault"
"you know" Snow handed him the glass. "It's not that I was scared or anything. The reason was because of what happened 15 years ago"
"What happened?"
"Don't you remember? The first time we met?"
"The first time?" He thought back through countless memories. Until it dawned
15 years ago, age 4, sitting in that room, surrounded by his tentacles, then a young girl his age entering, screaming loudly, causing his tentacles to nearly react violently
"Oh. I see"
He downed the glass in his hand, then stood up. "I have to take care of something, get some rest"
He left, completely oblivious to the person behind him's reaction- Red-face
Aki went to the home gym, and began stretching for a while. Preparing himself for the festival starting the very next day
That evening. He stepped out of the room, towel wrapped around his shoulders, face trickling with sweat
Glancing in the living room, he saw Snow curled up on the sofa, watching TV, Ragnar lay on her head, sleeping peacefully
He reverted his gaze, then made his way to the bathroom, after a while, he stepped out, drying his hair with a towel, wearing a vest that was clearly a size too big, and some shorts
He went and sat on the mat. Directly in front of Snow, leaning against the table, his hands typing away on his screen
Snow grabbed a chunk of his damp hair, tying it up into braids, he said nothing, only smiled slightly, continuing to type in the group chat
*Council members, let's all meet before the festival– Downford plaza*
Aki looked at the message, smiled then left a thumbs up. He turned around with the smile on his face. "Wanna hang tomorrow?"
"Hang out?"
"Yeah. I'm meeting the rest of the student council at Downford plaza, before the festival starts"
"Oh" She thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Sure. I've been thinking of getting some new clothes anyway"
"Alright. Eight AM." He got up from the floor, and walked to the stairs, at the edge, he turned around. "Good night"
"Good night"
His footsteps faded up the stairs, Snow lingered in the living room for a moment, before turning the TV off and climbing up the stairs
Early the next morning. Aki got groggily dragged himself out of bed, glancing at the clock on his nightstand, he saw the time was 7:20
He immediately went to the bathroom, freshened up, and changed into compression long sleeve, a plain grey shirt, and some shorts
Checking the time again. It was 7:55
Seeing that Snow wasn't awake yet, he pushed her door open, and walked up to the bed. He watched her for a second, before softly poking her cheek. Ragnar, who had slept on her head, lunged at him
"Shh" he pressed a finger to his lips, gesturing to the kitten he caught lunging at him
Later. The two walked side by side out house. The sun shone warmly, clouds filled the sky, giving it a grey shine
"We're already late" he placed a hand over his face, sighing. Then he gave Snow a sideways glance. "Are you fine with this?"
He activated relocation, his tentacles rose, wrapping his legs upto his waist
His gaze was locked intently on Snow's face, gauging her reaction
"I was never scared" she stepped closer, offering a hand. Instead of taking it, he decided to press her to himself, holding her closely by the waist
"Don't even think of squeezing her. Alright?"
Downford Plaza
The student council members were already seated in a café, drinking coffee
Sam sat arranging documents, while Milan and Mike discussed strategies
Rin entered the café, flanked by two bodyguards. "Excuse me"
She bowed slightly, giving the others a apologetic smile. "I apologize for the late arrival"
"It's fine." Milan spoke without looking up. "We're still waiting on the Vice president. So we hadn't begun anything"
Sam looked up at the door, his senses tingling, he could feel an abundance of mana approaching them. "He's here, with someone at that"
The door chimed, and Aki walked in, looking calm, Snow in tow, also calm
Everyone looked up, seeing the streamer. They stopped what they were doing, and instead exchanged glances
"Sorry I'm late" He scanned the table, his eyes landing on Rin, who was watching him
"Who's this?"
Sam tapped the desk, getting the attention of everyone. "Vp, sit down. We'll do introductions once everyone is comfortable"
A waiter came by, and got everyone's orders, after he left. Sam began the introductions. "Everyone, This is Rin Ortega. A state recommended ace, she'll be participating in the festival along with Milan and Claire for the female division"
"Thank you for having me" Rin bowed slightly. Her eyes held a calculating glint as she gazed upon everyone around the table. ' Sam Wilson, Age nineteen. Tier eight+, wind and earth magic dominated affinities. Multi elemental potential'
'Aki Hoshino, age nineteen. Supposedly tier three, with tier eight+ potential. No known affinities yet'
A sharp, piercing pain shot through her head, and she struggled to remain calm
Aki glanced over, before retracting a second later. Her probing had, which was authorized by the Prime minister, one with bad intentions, unintentionally triggered Retaliated Omen
The Prime minister, who was kilometers away in his private home, collapsed, Clutching his head, he screamed in pain, bodyguards rushed into the room to find him rolling on the ground, face contorted
"Sir! Are you alright?! Call the medics, Now!"
Back in the café, The pain finally subsided, taking a deep breath, Rin steadied herself, at the same time, Sam turned to Aki, raising an eyebrow at him
Aki stood up and introduced Snow to everyone. "This is Snow" that was it, nothing else
"Vp, I'm not trying to be rude, but this is a academy members only matter"
Hearing Milan's words, he glanced over at Snow, then at Rin, and finally on the bodyguards standing behind her. "What about them?"
"Those are my security unit" Rin pointed out, pointing a finger at them. "What's your excuse?"
"My excuse" Aki raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth rising slightly. "Do i have to announce it?"
Sam chuckled, before waving the tension away. "Let's all calm down, it's not like we're discussing state secrets or anything. Both extras can stay"
"Actually" Snow spoke up, pulling out her phone from a pocket. "I'm already enrolled"
"You're enrolled?" Sam glanced at the student ID, before nodding. "Alright, our fault for not knowing"
"It's fine"
With the awkward tension out of the way, the meeting finally began, revisions and reminders were shared among the group
"Vp. Your situation is really bad, two fights per match, as well as the written academics test. Feeling nervous"
"Don't worry about me. Worry about the opponent instead"
"I like the confidence Vp, don't let it slip, alright?"
"Got it"
The meeting concluded soon after, the time was only 10 AM, so the ground decided to browse the plaza for a while
"President" Aki called out, putting an arm over Snow's shoulders, then pointing to a nearby designer shop. "We have to buy a few things, so we'll catch up with you guys later"
"You're actually going shopping? Fine, mind if we join?"
'I didn't want to be the one to suggest actually buying anything, especially since today's festival day. But luckily, I have my Hoshino friend here who's not to filtered'
Hours later
The group were seated in the council room. The prime minister stood before them, presenting a heartfelt speech to them
"Students, you are the image of our future. Set an example, the greatness of today is the birth of a better tomorrow, so don't fight just to fight, fight to win. Show them why you are the elite class of Central academy"
Aki and Sam listened with one ear each, the others plugged with buds, listening to some soft lyrics music
Snow was in the VIP section, along with Alice, Alicia, Chloe and Rose, as for Maria, she was in the conference room of the academy, seated on the round table, listening to the board and headmaster make up excuses of how one of her research papers was given away
"Your wife was kidnapped?"
"Yes ma'am, so I had no choice but to-"
Maria cut him off with a wave, the air swirled around, and slapped him hard across the face
"Super Human Sampling, the contents of that research are extremely dangerous, you gave them away to save your wife, what about the countless civilians you've potentially doomed? Don't they deserve to live?"
"Tell me. Do any of you know- The youth program?"
The headmaster pressed his lips together, eyes widening
Maria continued. "Yesterday, a hired spy was caught in my building. Then, a Youth program ace happened to be present, and he happened to be on a call with. Jonas Creed. Make what you will with that information. As for you" she pointed a finger at the headmaster. "When this little competition ends, you best resign, and tell your little friends- my son is not their lab rat"