'Just what did I see before the reselection took place? Is it possible that my sight is malfunctioning, or was I viewing a variation of a timeline parallel to ours?' She wondered since the scene she saw back in her office displayed dead bodies, destroyed buildings, and undying flames scattered throughout the campus.
Yet, contrary to expectation, the only casualty and damage the school suffered due to this incident was the loss of Isaac and the liquefaction of some material into lava.
"That's beside the point, President, as the most pressing matter should be finding Isaac Newton. So, where exactly is he, Rin Kurama?" Vice President Calvin asked with a sense of urgency in his voice.
"Not a clue in the world, sir," Rin whistled as he strolled away nonchalantly.
"... Rin, please don't make my job harder than it needs to be," The vice president pleaded with a tremble in his voice as he tried not to create a scene.
"But sir, I'm being honest, I don't know where Isaac Newton currently is," Rin replied as he stopped and turned around to face Calvin.
"Sigh, I hoped it wouldn't come to this," The Vice President muttered before borrowing the microphone from the announcer and informing the audience about the results of the match.
"Due to some unforeseen events, while Rin is the winner... unfortunately, his results will be deemed null until further notice. Furthermore, with the recent disappearance of Isaac Newton, the reselection is now officially over; also, for those who didn't get an opportunity to fight. Rewards will still be issued for your participation; however, with that, we will be using the list of students initially selected for the training camp."
Vice President Calvin said with a pause before continuing, "But with that, thank you everyone, for your support, and may you all have a wonderful evening!"
He said with a bow, before handing back the microphone to the announcer and proceeding to walk out of the cage with Rin trailing behind him. While the crowd took a moment to process his words, before erupting into praise, even though some people could tell this was far from just a simple disappearance.
***
Later that day...
"Sir, is this really necessary?" Rin asked with boredom, as frustration began to simmer within him as he sat across from the vice president in his office.
Which was a mesh of gray and white paint, with murals of elemental spirits hung on his walls, along with a bookshelf that covered all topics from geography to cooking, and even urban legends. Additionally, scattered throughout his office were photos of his wife and child, as well as tiny handprints smeared against the walls in a playful array of colors.
"Yes," Vice President Calvin replied, as he massaged his temples. "Now, just to be sure I got everything right, Rin, could you please repeat the course of events that took place from the time of your match with Isaac to his disappearance?"
He asked as he glanced at this notebook, which was packed with notes and question marks about certain events from Rin's story.
"Tsk," Rin sighed before he started retelling everything that occurred, except for a few details. "Following Isaac's surprise entry into my cage, nothing out of the ordinary occurred besides him getting angry from a comment I made. Which I believe was about his conduct, which somehow offended him, but that is beside the point. So, following that, our fight began, wherein we both tried to gauge each other's limits. Before things heated up and we began to set plans in motion to outsmart our opponent, without exhausting ourselves. Which is what then led to my temporary imprisonment by Isaac, followed by my escape, and his disappearance soon afterward, mysteriously."
Rin said as he finished narrating his and Issac's fight for the third time, even though it was recorded and seen by an audience of over 1,000 people or more.
"Hmm, Mr. Kurama, while you have been very cooperative up until now, something tells me you're still withholding information." Calvin frowned with a scrutinizing gaze as he rhythmically tapped his pen away on his notepad.
While keeping a close eye on Rin to see if he could pinpoint any cracks in his expression or body language.
"And what makes you say that, sir?" Rin asked calmly as he leaned back in his chair with curiosity.
"Intuition," The Vice President replied slowly, "But while feelings can be true… all evidence says otherwise. So, for now, you are off the hook, but since this is still a pending investigation, you will have to be held in solitary confinement. Until it is time to leave for Project X, any questions or concerns?"
"... none, sir, however, can I at least grab my belongings from my dorm before I'm placed in confinement?" Rin asked with a sigh, even though internally he was beyond overjoyed, 'Perfect, couldn't ask for a better chance to plan and create my Varick Star Body!'
"Sure, just let me get someone to accompany you," Vice President Calvin said with a smile as he thought of the perfect person to accompany Rin to his dorm.
"Maria, could you please accompany Mr. Kurama here to retrieve his belongings from his dorm, before taking him to confinement for me?" Calvin shouted as his personal assistant appeared in the room in a flash of blue light.
Zap. Swoosh.
"It would be my pleasure, Vice President Calvin!" A short lady with brunette hair and fluorescent green eyes in a white blouse with black bootcut pants and sandals uttered with a joyful grin. "Also, you may refer to me as Mrs. Maria or Mrs. M for short, Mr. Kurama."
"It's nice to meet you, Ms. M," Rin replied coolly.
'Oh, it seems we have another problematic student who can't appreciate beauty nor talk to women,' thought Maria as the joyful grin she once had disappeared, and what replaced it was a scowl.
"Oh, brother... now, he just had to upset the hornet's nest," Calvin muttered to himself before trying to salvage the situation before it escalated. "Maria, just ignore his attitude and take him to his dorm, which is in area #1, before sending him to cell AX3 for three days of solitary confinement."
"... will do, sir," Maria replied sharply as she left his office with Rin, who just shrugged his shoulders and followed her.