Toukotan High.

If the Asterisk was considered a state of the art facility, then you would be hard pressed to find anything more advanced than Toukotan High within the massive sprawling cities among the space rock. It stood as a marvel of human engineering, dwarfing any wonders of the ancient home world of Earth.

It was a shame Lili thought differently of the pompous–and likely rich–assholes that happened to inhabit the Asterisk. Natural talent and bribes could get you anywhere on the Asterisk, but actively training for a place on the Asterisk? To those that shed blood, sweat and tears, achieving the chance to join those among the stars was no laughing matter. No one cared if you spent days or years learning how to master your MAID; no, the Asterisk was a corrupt husk despite its noble intentions.

"A nobody like me won't be able to change anything..." Lili uttered to no one in particular, leaning backwards onto the park bench and staring mindlessly at the fabricated sky dome that covered the entirety of the Asterisk. The clouded sky and the surrounding area was rather calming, even more so with no one in the general vicinity.

Crack!

Lili looked both ways, as if she was crossing a busy street, yet she could not identify what made the sound.

Snap! Crack!

If the sound wasn't made obvious to Lili yet, the appearance of falling park trees were as they shattered and hit the ground. "W-What the hell?!" Lili shouted as she ducked for cover behind the park bench, her pink hair nearly scorched by a ray of magical fire. Poking her head out from behind the cover, Lili noticed two individuals duking it out within the park, rather than the Asterisk-administrated stadiums throughout the city used for battles between student and student.

What are they doing?! B-Bunch of lunatics! Lili thought, angrily shaking her fist behind the safety of the park bench. The girl thought about intervening, but was it worth being considered an accomplice after all she had worked so hard for?

No, of course not. Finding herself content with staying on the Asterisk, Lili continued to hide behind the park bench to avoid being hammered with magic, or worse, an expulsion from the Asterisk.

Can't someone enjoy a meal in peace?

Zander Pyralis hadn't been on the Asterisk more than a day when he found himself asking himself this question immediately after getting sent flying towards the ground after a midair collision. This is what happens when you leave the orphan to his own devices without a supervisor. Well, this is what happens when the orphan in question disappears into the sprawling city after his first day at school, at least.

It hadn't taken him long to find what he assumed to be the meteor's resident chain restaurant along the side of what appeared to be the school's park. The shop's proprietor welcomed Zander warmly and had begun working on his order (even if Zander had taken a good five minutes just to find out what a 'cheeseburger' was.) before a group of three more students also found their way into the establishment and began to hover around where Zander was seated, with the leader of the group taking a seat opposite Zander and not too subtly eyeing him up behind glasses and snow white hair.

"Nice jacket."

"Thanks."

Zander hadn't had the opportunity to change out of his school uniform more-so than throw his black and gold jacket over it.

"Millennium Group, huh."

The distaste in his classmate's voice wasn't particularly well hidden.

"So you must be the charity case everyone's talking about."

Zander knew an attempt to get under his skin when he saw one, and in this instance, the sudden grin that appeared on his face seemed to throw the boy across from him off guard.

"Yeah. Who might you be?"

His newfound companion didn't get the opportunity to say much more than "My name is Sylas-" before his head had an impromptu and rather violent meeting with the table.

From there, everything became something of a blur of motion to Zander. Sylas' two compatriots didn't waste time jumping to his aid, but chopsticks to the eye had been more than enough to get Zander out of his seated position. Before long the quartet had spilled out into the street in front of the restaurant, which soon became covered with scorch marks before Sylas and Zander took to the sky. It was surely a sight to behold for any below them, but sadly it wouldn't last long, as Zander only managed to shoot one more ray of fire at his opponent before he found himself flying through the air on the receiving end of a gale forced punch.

He crashed into a park bench and was effectively out of it when he noticed a crowd growing around him, not to mention a vaguely familiar lump of pink hair he seemed to have knocked over.

"Hey....don't I know you from somewhere..."

One thing was for certain. Zander still didn't have his cheeseburger.

They called it a marvel of human engineering. A singularity of how far humanity’s technology had reached. A state birthed from the collaboration of geniuses all over the universe, a metropolis that put the brightest of jewels to shame. With towering skyscrapers and the luxuries of a thousand galaxies presented on every corner of the street, there was no doubt that if it wasn’t an asteroid meant for education and politics, it’d certainly be the greatest shopping and entertainment district in the Neutral Rim. An epicurean world, drenched in riches.

But for Merringo, all that wealth just pissed her off. The air was artificial shit, the lights were too bright, every block on the way to Toukotan High was rife with electronic dickbags trying to sell her crap she didn’t want, the whole color scheme of the place was dreadfully metallic, and most of all, she could hardly hear her own mind amid the constant buzz of white noise that spilled out from every which direction. Not a bird in the air, nor a beast on the ground. Each tree was manicured to uncanny perfection, while artificial turf was a poor substitution for the real deal, no matter how glossy and green it was. Really, it had to be asked...

How the hell were you even expected to stay sane here?

…

Or maybe Merringo’s just being particularly nitpicky and pissy that particular day, considering how some JACKASS decided to start a magical fight with another FUCKBOI and ended up scratching her goddamn BIKE with their bullshit MAIDS. With a twist of the handlebars, she grounded her vehicle before another blast of wind could send it into the side of some restaurant, hissing as the landing gear failed to burst out in time. Metal screeched against the pavement, sparks flying up and burning small holes in the ridiculous black stockings that served as the fetish uniform they made all girls wear, but Merringo was past caring about that.
Fuckers scratched her bike. Fuckers scratched her bike! And they’re still fucking going at it like a bunch of Neanderthals! For a moment, she considered drawing her blade and knocking them out of the park, but the surge of righteous wrath was reined in with a clenched fist.

So instead, Merringo Saljinon, like some 21st century social media addict, took out her phone and recorded the brawl between the redheaded fuckboi and the snobbish jackass, marking the GPS location whilst streaming it to the authorities and verbally narrating off-camera scenes to add to the drama, such as…

“Oh no! That tree just fell down where one of the students were taken cover!”

Or…

“Wow, isn’t this…damn, hope no one was inside the room of that building.”

And maybe some...

“Oh god, those two have sticks sticking out of their eyes!”

A bit extra?

Yeah.

But hell, the less competition she had, the better, and if these saccharine theatrics could cement the expulsion of these bike-scratching punks, then the auburn haired girl was alllllll for it.

'Intelligence is the ability to adapt to changes'

Said one of the most brilliant scientists of all time thousands of years ago. And never once the true power of its meaning had been shifted. Human beings are always subjective to a mindset of constancy. Their visions are always constant and straight, with stability nd predictability being their building blocks of their own imaginative world. But nothing is further from the truth. The only stability found in life is its instability. And failure occurs when one were unable to anticipate and be fully prepared for it. It is a lesson that not many are capable of understanding.

And changes are happening right now, in this universe. Being the future of the world he came from, this silver-haired wheelchair-bound man was had no intention of falling into the same category. He would be taking the reins of history sooner or later.

---

The sight of a modern electric wheelchair rolling down the pavement on the street was hard to miss. The large silhouette of the chair, the label of disability, was enough for people to slide out of his way. Even if this world is often unkind to strangers and the lower class society, nobody would dare to risk being labelled an ableist or a complete dickhead in the face of others. The power of esteem are powerful enough here to leave this man, An Shirada, an ingenious mind from the peaceful worldship of Jotunheim, alone.

Orientation was basically the same as everywhere else in this universe: long and uninformative, assuming An had already researched everything before he arrived. On his left hand was still the book that he had been reading ever since he arrived for it. His right hand was being more active, however, as the tip of the fingers were touching the hovering ball on the right armrest of his wheelchair, slightly adjusting and rotating it. If one paid attention, the ball was actually the control center to his entire chair, his so-called legs in this mortal world. Turning at the corner of an intersection, An slightly tilted his hand to the right, thus rotating the ball clockwise. The command were executed, the wheelchair turned.

He soon arrived at a sushi shop downtown, overlooking the park nearby. As he arrived at the door to the shop, the stairs, which were designed for the able-bodied, suddenly formed a transparent ramp overlapping the steps. Anyone new to this technology would be in awe, but An had seen a lot of it already back in his home world, where technology like this is just common practice.

The order was simple: a dish of Salmon Sashimi with some Dynamite Roll. While waiting for his order, he continued to read the book he was carrying, and simply getting lost in his own world. The world of endless possibilities. The land where he was not bound by mortal laws. If only he could extract a few of those into reality, he could advance himself and his people further than he could ever imagine.

CRASH!

But still...

CRASH!

If these knowledge were to be implemented, it would have to be for the good of humanity. And the two knuckleheads who were battling against each other outside were a stark reminder what NOT to follow.

An gave a long sigh as he watched those Neanderthals bashing their heads against one another. This is the first day and such 'entertaining' activities were already available as a welcoming committee. How peculiar. But then again, the reminder of the Jotunheim's Education and Cultural Department were, to some extent, real. This place isn't as civil as it looks. And that Jotuheim's choose process isn't the universal method for the enrolment. Among these talented magicians, there will be some fools who got lost here. And the population of the latter may far exceeds that of the former. He just couldn't know.

He was here on the Asterisk not to bash heads. He could've just ignore that, finish his meal and the book he was carrying and move on. But after seeing the destruction that they had caused, this may turn out a lot worse if he does not intervene.

His palm opened, as his two fingers pressed onto the two poles of the ball on his wheelchair. The ball quickly glowed green as a one-sided earphone sprang from the headrest of his wheelchair. At the same time, the number pad appeared before him. An immediately put the earphone on his right ear while he typed in a certain and specific set of number into the pad. The predictive text algorithm soon showed the destination An was calling before he even finish his typing: Campus Security.

"Sir, we have a conflict going on here at Tokotan Park. An unauthorized fight it seems. Please come as fast as possible. Thank you."

He said calmly through the mic once it was put through. That should do it. He'd keep that mic on if there is anything else necessary, but that's all for now.

---

---

On an ordinary day, the park was quite a beautiful, peaceful place.

Indeed, Princess Lukarya Amarant, for all her dignity and pride, could easily afford to stoop to give such a simple place as this that much praise. Naturally, it paled in comparison to the size and awe-inspiring magnificence of the Golden Garden which sprawled across an entire deck of the Worldship Rysslind. A single one of the exotic specimens populating that glorious landscape was likely worth more than this entire plaza. In fact, even the small "green room" aboard her yacht was put together with a greater variety and a keener eye for art than this haphazard arrangement of a few trees, flowers, and shrubs.

Nevertheless, the simulated breeze was calming. The plaza wasn't frequently very busy, and as such, the air was very quiet and still, silent save for the rustling of the leaves in the trees. The grass was green and well-tended, and all in all, it was the perfect place to sit in quiet contemplation, and perhaps compose a few lines of a poem, or hum the tune of a beloved song. In short, it was the closest thing to a place of true culture and beauty the Princess could find on board the painfully artless and practical Asterisk station, and as such, she had begun to make a custom of frequenting the park whenever she had little else to do, as an aid both to her relaxation and to her art.

...Of course, all of this was only the case on a normal day, and today was anything but normal. With an obnoxiously loud yell of exertion that completely shattered her pleasant reverie, one airborne figure slammed headlong into another across the street. A torrent of fire was scattered by a spiral of invisible air, sending a double helix of sparks and ashes raining over the park, singeing the green boughs of the trees, tragically decimating the vibrant green grass, and, worst of all, getting soot in her meticulously styled hair.

"Just what do these barbarians think they're doing...?!" Princess Lukarya hissed, gawking at the spectacle with her eyes wide and her jaw slack. Her astonishment was only momentary, however, as her teeth very swiftly gritted themselves to stifle an unthinkably vulgar growl. Her outward show of disbelief was already well on its way to becoming a most un-ladylike rage before she even thought of composing herself - by which time, one of the two airborne figures had already been knocked straight out of the sky and crashed headlong into a nearby park bench, shattering it in a shower of split planks and splinters.

The raised heels of her boots clacked against the pavement as the red-eyed girl strode purposefully towards the fallen combatant, taking a deep breath and calming herself as best she could. Her hand twitched slightly, and the red ribbon wrapped around her left forearm flashed brightly as the winged black crest emblazoned upon it began to glow. Of course, if these imbeciles had any propriety whatsoever, they would surely know this emblem as the personal sigil of the Amarant family's youngest Princess, their fellow student and natural superior. Surely, they would recognize this obvious fact, and, if she simply exerted her authority, she could put an end to this nonsense. As a proper lady herself, she was the highest authority present on the scene. As such, it was her responsibility to correct her fellow students' misbehavior. After all, it was her duty as princess to protect and uplift the lower classes, was it not? This little farce had gone on for far too long as it was. It was a public safety hazard and a smear upon her own reputation as a student of the Asterisk!

But of course, she couldn't just throw herself into the middle of such an unseemly brawl. That would make her no better than an uncultured pig herself. No, she could afford to wait. After all, one combatant was already down, and would need time to rise again before the fight could continue. She could simply interpose herself and demand both parties to stand down before the battle could resume. She wouldn't even need to get her hands dirty. Yes, yes, this would do nicely! So reasoning, she strode forward, standing directly in front of the fallen boy who'd crashed into the bench, staring down at him with brilliant red eyes as her silver hair fluttered in the last echoes of the wind that had carried him hence. That would be sufficient for an entrance, and given his current position on the ground beneath her, the Princess could forgive the boy for not bowing of his own volition. Thus satisfied, she turned her attention to his airborne adversary, who, touching down a short distance away, began to approach slowly, hands still clenched into fists. It seemed now was her time to act, and thus, the princess spoke up.

"I demand that you cease this nonsense at-"

Princess Lukarya didn’t have the opportunity to finish her sentence before she was unceremoniously cut off by the very person she’d been trying to stop.

”Make way. This is between me and the delinquent.”

The Princess’ eyebrow twitched.

“...Do pardon me, I must have misheard you.” She gave a rather disturbingly forced laugh, staring him down with barely controlled outrage that only, after a few seconds of struggling to regain her composure, gave way to an absolutely unconvincing smile. “Surely you didn’t say what I think you just said. Just to be clear, you - some two-bit fighter who I have neither seen nor heard of before - did not just order me to ‘make way.’ That would be absurd!”

The boy in question couldn’t be bothered to muster much more than a disappointed frown, although he did have the dignity to halt his approach and place a now broken pair of glasses into one of the pockets of his uniform before addressing her again, with about as much disdain as one could possibly muster.

”I’ll have you know I’m Sylas Flaurience.”

He allowed his statement to linger in dead air for a few seconds for emphasis.

”Can’t say I’ve heard anything about some pretentious little girl getting in other people’s business.”

The “little girl” in question couldn’t help but find that her hands had, at some point, clenched themselves into fists. Her expression was frozen as it had been a moment before in that same painfully forced smile, as if her face was having trouble keeping up with the sheer incredulity and rage she now felt. What… What had he just called her? What had this complete imbecile hotshot with his unspeakable delusions of grandeur just had the sheer, inconceivable audacity to call her?!

“Well, well, fancy that!” Her voice practically oozed with false politeness as she all but spat her words through gritted teeth. “Now I know your name, and I still haven’t the slightest idea what makes you worth so much of my time as I deign to give to the gentleman who shines my boots! Are you unaware of who I am? Are you simply an idiot? Or perhaps, despite your earlier words to the contrary, you are attempting to pick a fight with me.” She gave another forced laugh, craning her head slightly and raising a hand to cover her mouth as she performed the most ear-piercingly shrill and scornfully derisive cackle she was capable of.

“Ohohohohoho~! I’m right, aren’t I? Very well, then - you leave me little choice. Consider this an honor! Since you so stubbornly refuse to respect your betters, I suppose it falls to me to educate you!” As she spoke, the ribbon around her upraised arm unfurled itself completely, stretching outward and draping itself over both of her shoulders, seeming to float there of its own accord like the raiment of an oriental goddess. By now, she had completely forgotten her original purpose. In its place, a smug sneer slowly crept across her face as, at last, her fury overturned all attempts at composure. The Princess spread her arms, the long strand of ribbon behind her slowly spiraling and wrapping around them as she entered a relaxed, open posture not unlike the stance of a dancer taking her opening bow. She raised her head, slowly bringing up her arms as the ribbons began to twist and spiral into the air.

“I, Third Princess Lukarya Ahn-Rysslind fon Zahria Amarant, will put an end to your impudence!” She declared, then brought down both arms violently downward. The ends of the ribbon cracked like a whip, descending violently from either side of Sylas with unexpected force and weight, more like the strikes of a flail than the lashings of a flimsy bit of cloth.

Sylas’ expression had, up until that moment, been one of smug assurance, and even, for a moment, mild amusement. He hadn’t bothered to move from his position even as his new opponent had begun deploying her M.A.I.D., eyeing her ribbons with scorn. As a general rule, M.A.I.D.s were in some sense a physical weapon, and how much damage could a bit of cloth possibly do? However, upon hearing her name, his expression had contorted slightly, eyes widening in momentary surprise for just a split second, realizing only too late that maybe - just maybe - he'd bitten off more than he could chew. In an instant, he released a blast of wind from his palms, launching upward into the air and slipping between the descending ribbons, flipping head over heels and bringing down a mighty cyclonic punch towards the girl, hoping he could knock her down and then quickly distance himself, disengage, and come up with some kind of plan before it was too late.

But the dancing Princess had never stopped moving, even as her attack missed. She spun, the ribbons retracting themselves in a red blur as she whirled about like a dervish, crossing her arms as the ends of both ribbons jumped up and wove themselves together into a cross-shaped barricade, then hardened, intercepting the incoming fist. A shockwave spread outward around the point of impact as dust and rubble shot into the air in all directions, but Lukarya merely grinned, standing secure at the eye of the storm as her coat flapped wildly behind her. She uncrossed her arms, the ribbons attached to each continuing to stretch and twist around her assailant’s outstretched arm. Lowering herself, she twisted the ribbon from both ends, and Sylas let out a cry as his body spun like a top before being rather indecorously slammed downward into the dirt. In that very instant, the Princess had already dismissed her M.A.I.D., the long red ribbon spiraling around her and shrinking back into her armband once again as she tossed her hair with a flippant air, and let out another long, mocking laugh. Sylas looked down and realized that he was kneeling, and his face flushed with anger and shame.

“So you can show respect, after all!” Princess Lukarya exclaimed through her now all-too-genuine laughter. “That wasn’t so hard, now, was it?” As she spoke, she pivoted, arms spread wide in a theatrical pose as if inviting applause. When none was forthcoming from the hushed, confused crowd, she let out an irritated sigh and dropped her hands back to her sides. As her temper cooled, she began to wonder what exactly she had been doing, and realized that she had completely forgotten her original intention of breaking up the fight. Well… even so, the fight was technically over now, so she had succeeded, right? She decided not to think about the part where she had stooped to the same level as the “uncultured pigs” she had been trying to stop, and thus instead moved right onward to the more comfortable step of cementing her victory.

“Well, then!” She exclaimed all-too-cheerfully, clapping together her gloved hands as if dusting them off. “I do believe that concludes this little squabble, yes?” She gave a sly smirk to her defeated adversary, as if daring him to stand back up and try again, but then turned her attention to the dazed boy who was at last hauling himself out of the rubble. “Unless, of course, there are any other objections,” She added, rather pointedly patting her armband and staring him down.

But at that moment, she was slightly distracted, because she heard some rather loud sirens getting very close all of a sudden.

“...Eh?”

'An interesting turning point...'

Sitting in the comfort of his chair, his meals ordered and delivered, safely inside a perfectly barricaded and visible building, the man in the formal Asterisk uniform was in deep observation mode. Whilst the fight that took place earlier before wasn't anything too particularly interesting, the sudden intervention of a certain figure caught his attention. Not really because of how she completely send these goons back to their mommies - the fact that she did also intrigued An, but because of her identity. An could not hear directly from the secluded spot inside the sushi shop, but he could still know what is going on, thanks to some unauthorized streaming of the incident, going from a particular user who was standing somewhere among the group to the West of the park. The sound was a little clogged up with each other, but An still knew the identity of this lustrously pretty silver-haired girl, thanks to her loud boasts and trademark laugh.

Princess Lukarya Ahn-Rysslind fon Zahria Amarant.

'Hmm...'

He had heard that name.

Amarant. He had heard of the name Caius Anh-Sahaak fon Euna Amarant I. A former warlord with an established protectorate over the Amarant Cluster of the Neutral Rim. Considered a 'hero king' amongst the people, he was someone to be noticed and treated with care. The Amarant Cluster is too near Jotunheim for comfort, so a bit of actions from this former warlord could have consequences. He was quite surprised to see the assumed daughter of this warlord here, though it is natural that he would send her children to a place like this. Hopefully, for someone raised in the noble environment, the Princess would turn out to be a decently knowledgeable and approachable from a formal perspective...

Well, she already showed herself to be quite a person of 'justice'. Just not the justice An was looking for. Also quite a gloat. But he still held hope somehow (in vain). He was also putting up with these goons breaching the peacefulness of the park after all...

It had been ten minutes since he called the security. If they really were decent people, they should be here in...

Whee-whoo whee-whoo

There we go. Right on time.

The disabled man looked with a bit of amusement as the officers and security workers leapt into the battlefield and apprehend all the students involved. It wouldn't take a genius to know that one of the student's nightmares is apprehension by police officials. It would reflect badly on their reputation and a permanent record that would stain for an eternity, quite a long time you would say.

Anyway, An was also among the witnesses. And he was confident he could provide an unbiased recall of the event. He could simply doesn't give a thing about this and do his own stuff, but there were things that called for his attention. And he need not worry about being called to the brig. He was standing on the right side of the law after all...

Quickly finishing his sushi order, he quietly returned the dish back to the waiter, made his payment before gradually rolling down the ramp out of the sushi restaurant, with the view of the battlefield directly visible to his bare eyes this time. Noticing this officer who were calling a few of the students in for questioning, An commanded his wheelchair to roll over to him.

"Do you need witnesses, officer?" He asked rhetorically. "I've happened to be observing the fight from start to finish. Pretty clearly if you would like to ask."

This young officer seemed a little puzzled, and a little reluctant. But eventually, the man agreed to take him as witness, along with the dudes who just had the hope of escaping the interrogation, only to be utterly crushed as they drag their body to the police cruiser. The day turned out to be more interesting than he imagined.

Who the hell was this fuckboi?

Out of nowhere, some lanky fellow who was even pastier than herself joined in on the commentary, slinging mad puns like an inappropriately comedic newscaster. For a moment there, Merringo contemplated tossing out a middle finger before sticking a rod up his ass, but such pointlessly spiteful actions were quelled easily by the fact that, hey, if they got into trouble for this, she could split the blame!

“Indeed, Mr. Goutrev,” Merringo chimed, making a name up on the spot, “It truly is awful for children to be getting into unsanctioned fights right at the start of school! This must reflect quite poorly on the planets they’re representing, as well as their own character. Oh, to think that the Asterisk, a symbol of humanity’s unity and an academy for raising the brightest amongst the stars, would devolve into a delinquent’s paradise so soon!”

But then, out of nowhere, a new challenger arrived, and with all the drama of a badly produced movie’s shaky cam, Merringo swivelled just in time to catch Princess Lukarya Ahn-Rysslind fon Zahria Amarant’s dramatic entrance. An errant wind caused her hair to billow dramatically, while her heels clicked above the noise of the rabble, announcing her every step. If it wasn’t for the live streaming, the auburn-haired youth would have been tempted to slap on some tense, heroic soundtrack right there, but alas, twas the burden of live journalism.

“What’s this? An exciting new development, folks! It appears that her Excellency, the third Princess of the esteemed Amarant Dynasty, has arrived to quell this f- Nope, here we go again. As expected of an imperial warrior-princess, lashing out immediately once words fail her! A decisive attack! But it looks like Sylas Flaurence, as that man claims himself as, isn’t out of th- Nevermind! He is! Wow, if the Third Princess of the Amarant Dynasty, Lukarya Ahn-Rysslind fon Zahria Amarant doesn’t get herself expelled for this, we can certainly expect bright, combat-centric performances from her in the near future, whether sanctioned or unsanctioned! Now, let’s have a play-by-play of that amazingly fast duel. Goutrev, back to you.”

But such things could only last so long before the authorities arrived, clad in power suits and official-looking badges, dispersing the crowd and dragging key witnesses or suspects or whatever fucking else into the cars.

…

Well, she supposed this was a natural consequence of recording the entire fight while offering commentary as well. What a life.

“Hey, seeing how I know where the police station is and all, I can head over there on my bike, yeah?”

A non-committal response, befitting of a lawful drone.

“Cool.”

---

---

”Ok, remember. Your toothbrush is in the right small pocket, so brush your teeth regularly. Remember to eat veggies as well. Don’t stay up too late. Always smile to other when you see them. Follow the smartest kids in class. Try to raise question even though you know the answer to start a conversation. Join in with your class activities. Don’t fight with others. It is best to accept your defeat than pick a fight. Always wear warm clothes...”

“Ok, darling. I think he got it.”

The robot voice shifted to a lower tone, as the speaker changed from a woman in her mid-thirty to a man in suit. He was old, bags form under his eyes and hair begins to change to a light grey. The tips of fingers are indurated, as hinted by its abnormal puffiness and stiffness. To be truth, the man doesn’t share much characteristics with his son except for his earlobes and nose. And maybe, it is for the best. He is too busy to care any way.

”All I want to say is that have. Love…”

The sentence was cut short as an explosion happen. Tree shaken. Men and women scurried to find places to hide. Children screaming. And the planet still spins perfectly on its axis.

Yes, Masaru did notice the fight in the school yard. Of course he knows damned well how dangerous the situation is. Well, for others that are still on the school yard. They may be harm. They may be injured, if not death. But why should he be compassionate? He was never born here. The people he knew are thousands of light year away. And the people here, they don’t share the same traditions and value that he has. The buildings were too techy, too much metal and not very green in and outside. The coffee tasted disgusting and having more water than coffee inside it. That reason alone would suffice these people deaths. Beside, why can’t there be silence in here? Yes, the students with magical and destructible abilities are fighting against each other, unleashing their unscientific and irrelogical abilities in harming the environments more than the enemy. But shouldn’t that be somewhat familiar to these so called “natives”? After all, mankind is an emotional being and any acts of restraining one self would only harm the others as the process of containment prolong.

And Masaru is not any difference. He also has his needs. But being hero is not one of them.

Huh, I guess they are all gone. As Masaru continued to contemplate his reasons not to join any shit hole, the coffee was cut short. Hey, it’s pretty good Masaru thinks as he appreciated this chaotic event. After all, the fight just cut him at least a few minutes staying in the line and having to suffer these insufferable sights and pending judgments from these aliens people.

Buying another cup of whatever this planet defined as coffee, Masaru travels inside the coffee shop, trying to find a place to hide himself from the curious gaze from these strangers. Outside, the police were capturing the school students, Masaru guessed before looking back at his holographic scene. Life is not gay, but it’s suck nonetheless Masaru thinks as he realized that he had not yet buy the local sims to install in his TP(terrestrial phone) and holographic programs. Thus making the screen of both to go blue as annoying as fuck female voice rang in his ears.

”Your equipments is not supports here. Please locate our nearest store to buy our newest sim, able to call and having infinite data with no data speed cap, for only 15,99$ a month... “

”Fuck”

Masaru said before packing his stuff and go into school. Next to him, a woman was surprised by his unreasonable outburst toward her and had begin eyeing suspiciously toward him. But he could give more fuck about that. If his mother’s dagger glare couldn’t bring a sweet out for him for 5 years, what would an outsider glare brought to him in 5 seconds? But still, judging others based on your own is a bad thing. But he is caring too much. 5 years in the dark had taught him well. 5 years in his own delusion are but the dream of the past. And… fucking nothing. Maybe he should have read it. But it too sucks. Maybe he should go there. But where? Maybe he should have a conversation with the woman in front of him. But why? Maybe he should go to school. Maybe he should. Maybe he should not. And beside, he is too lazy.

But yeah, maybe he should go to school. Just maybe.