The car stopped at the school gate. The driver opened the door for Arion and Akio.
Akio climbed out first, then turned and offered his hand. "Here, young master," he said, helping Arion out of the car.
'I could get out myself,' Arion muttered, but still took Akio's hand as he climbed out of the car. 'Thanks,' he added quietly.
Seeing this, Alica glanced over but didn't say anything.
"Get inside," she said, opening the window.
'Yeah, bye mom!' Arion replied, waving his hand before heading into the school with Akio.
'I didn't notice before, there are so many students in this school,' Arion said, glancing around at the crowd of students.
"Yeah, this school is big so of course there would be more students," Akio nodded.
'How was your previous school, Akio?' Arion asked, glancing at Akio as they walked.
Akio stopped as soon as Arion mentioned his old school. He lowered his head, a sweat ran down from his forehead.
Noticing Akio suddenly stop, Arion called out, 'Akio?'
Arion's voice seemed distant and Akio could barely hear him. Struggling to catch his breath, he placed a hand on his chest.
'Akio?' Arion called out again, concerned in his tone.
Akio wasn't replying, so Arion grabbed his hand. "Akio! Are you okay?" he asked with concern.
Inside Akio's mind, images of children in school uniforms screaming as flames were everywhere. The chaos was in his thoughts until he felt Arion's warm, soft hand. Slowly, Akio lifted his head, his face was drenched in sweat.
Arion started sweating when he saw Akio's face. 'Akio! What happened? Are you okay? Let's go to the nurse!' Arion turned to pull Akio along, but Akio pulled his hand away.
"No! I'm fine. I just remembered something I didn't want to at that moment," Akio said.
Some students nearby began whispering.
"What are they doing?"
"Look at the blue hair!"
Arion looked around at the students staring, 'Let's go, Akio,' he said.
Inside the school hallway.
"Sorry about earlier, young master," Akio said as he walked behind Arion, scratching the back of his head.
Arion turned to Akio. 'Don't worry about that! I hope you're okay,' Arion said with a smile.
'That's our classroom,' he added, pointing his finger to the last corner of the hallway.
Arion stopped at the classroom door. 'What the... he said,' raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"Huh? What happened? Why did he suddenly stop?" Akio whispered inside his head as he rushed his legs.
Inside the room, Kireka was pinned against the board by two boys. No one was looking at them or helping Kireka.
"Hey, how long do we need to ask?" one of the boys said.
"Yeah, just give us your number!" another one demanded as he grabbed Kireka's hand.
'Excuse me, can you please move aside? I want to talk to my friend,' Arion said, standing behind the two boys.
"Huh? What do you wan—" one of the boys turned around but stopped mid sentence when he saw Arion.
Kireka's eyes widened in surprise. "Arion?" he said in a low voice.
"Whoa! Look at his beautiful face!" another boy said, grinning as he looked at Arion.
'Just step aside, please,' Arion replied.
"Yeah, okay, but only if you give me your number! I just want to make friends," one of the boys said, smirking as he asked.
'My number? Okay,' Arion agreed right away. 'I want to make new friends too!' he muttered.
"I didn't think he would actually agree, but oh well, this is like winning the lottery!" the boy grinned.
"Wait, young master!" Akio stepped in, blocking the two boys. "Don't give your number to someone like them," he said, looking at the boys with sharp eyes.
The whole class was watching them now. Everyone stared like it was a drama scene.
"Is that the new student?" a girl said, blushing as she looked at Akio.
"A fight between handsome guys! I'd pay to see this," another girl said, excited.
"Huh? Who are you, punk?" one of the boys said angrily when he saw Akio interfering.
'Hey! You guys were threatening Kireka. You know what will happen if I tell the teacher about this?' Arion said with a smirk.
The two boys started sweating as Arion mentioned the teacher. Without saying anything, they quickly returned to their seats.
"It's not like I'm scared or anything," one of them muttered as he sat down.
"Y-yeah!" the other nodded, his voice still shaking as he took his seat.
'Kireka, are you okay? Arion asked with a worried expression.
"I'm fine, thank you, Arion!" Kireka replied, smiling.
Seeing Kireka was alright, Arion let out a sigh of relief. They made their way to their seats—Akio took the seat in front of Arion, while Kireka sat beside him.
"So, who is this, Arion?" Kireka whispered in a low voice, leaning closer to Arion's ear.
'Uh... he's... my friend from elementary school!' Arion replied, sweating as he lied.
"Oh! I see," Kireka said, leaning back in his seat.
"Hello, my name is Akio Asara," Akio said politely, turning around and offering his hand to Kireka.
"Uh... hi, Kireka Jenn," Kireka said, accepting Akio's handshake.
"He's so well-mannered," he muttered.
"...."
"...."
After the handshake, there was heavy silence. Akio was opening his bag, and Kireka was busy with something at his desk.
'This silence is too loud! Say something, guys!' Arion screamed inside.