As Cady and Emi joined them, the catgirl’s eyes cast over towards the scarlet-haired girl. 

“Hey there.” Emi gave her a small wave. “Remember me? I ran into you earlier this morning.”

Freya nodded silently. Her tightened lips betrayed her embarrassment. 

Seated back at their table, the five students engaged in deep conversation. Katsumi brought Yuki up to speed on what transpired earlier that morning, starting with Emi finding Freya drenched in coffee as well as her subsequent altercation with Gayle.

“I see,” Yuki said, picking up her chopsticks. As she dug into her bowl of rice, she looked over to Emi. “That explains the odd tension between you two. Sacchan never took kindly to false accusations. Calming him down can be difficult once that temper gets a hold of him.” She paused to take a bite. “He was like that ever since we were little. The only person who could calm him was…”

She stopped herself, casting a surprisingly nervous glance at Katsumi. He put a hand over her free one and gave her a reassuring smile. An uneasy feeling came over Emi. That smile…there was something sad about it, similar to the one he had during their previous conversation. When he’d mentioned the Kageryuu Massacre.

Kat’s response seemed to put Yuki at ease. She smiled back at him before returning her attention to the girls.

“Nanaya.” There was a note of pain in her voice when she said that name. “Kabō’s twin sister. She was the only one who could quell Gayle’s temper.” She looked down at her miso soup. “I always found myself at my wit's end trying to reel him in, but for Nanaya, she made it look effortless. Her patience for him was unmatched.” She let out a small laugh. “I often envied her for it.”

She looked back up, her amber-colored eyes peering into Emi’s. That same searching expression from earlier returned. At that very moment, Emi’s heart rate increased. There was something heavy in the air. The surrounding cafeteria chatter had morphed into white noise and it felt like everyone else around them had just…stopped.

What the…?!

“......”

“......”

After what felt like ages, the raven-haired girl took a sip from her miso soup and suddenly the sound returned as if a pair of earplugs had been removed. Emi could also sense movement around her again. A shiver ran up her spine.

What…was that just now…? Emi couldn’t make sense of what just happened. Was that magic, or was it her anxiety getting the better of her again? Yuki then sat her soup down beside her bowl of rice and folded her hands in front of her.

“We…lost Nanaya during the massacre.” Yuki let that sentence hang in the air for a spell. “Ever since then, Gayle’s been…all over the place…”

Emi remembered where she was on the day of the massacre. She and her mother were staying in Central City, Boone when the headlines caused a lot of unrest in what was originally a nice and peaceful day. The size of the death count had shaken Emi to her core. She could still see the cold expression on her mother’s face when she’d heard the news. That was also the last day Emi trusted her.

“So, when I compare what he did this morning to the mettle he’d shown just a few moments ago…exposing his mana pool like that to protect Ms. Freya….” Yuki brought her fists to her temples and rubbed them. Emi couldn't help but notice how adorable this made her look. “Hmmm. My head is spinning. I don’t know whether I should pop him in the forehead or praise him.”

Emi shook away her impure thoughts. “Wait, you guys saw him help Freya, too?”

“Mm. The two of us were in line with Gayle when we saw what happened,” Katsumi explained. “Despite Yuki’s protests, he rushed over just in time to save Miss Freya. I too was taken aback by the way Gayle handled himself. Typically, he’d have issued the first blow.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Emi looked over to the catgirl in question only to find a peculiar sight waiting for her. Freya was sinking in her chair nervously while Cady was leaning over her nose-first, sniffing her hair.

She raised an eyebrow. “Uh, do I even want to ask? Another ‘beastkin thing’, I take it?”

“Yeppers!” Cady then leaned in closer, holding up a strand of her long brown hair and offering it up to Freya. The catgirl eyed her cautiously. But then, just a few seconds later, she brought her nose over to the strand and took a whiff.

“Mmm…primroses?”

“Yyyep! Freya, was it? The name’s Arcadia Reynoso.” She pointed at herself with her right thumb. Emi’s best guess was for emphasis. “You can call me Cady!”

“N-Nice to meet you…” The catgirl’s cheeks flushed and her gaze veered downward, still too nervous to look anyone in the eye. It seemed to have taken her a lot of courage just to get those words out. Cady, on the other hand, looked plenty satisfied despite it all if her constantly wagging tail was any indicator.

“Say, where did Gayle run off to, anyway?” Emi wondered aloud about the sapphire-haired boy’s whereabouts, recalling his departure shortly after those bullies had left.

Yuki, with a rather nonchalant tone, replied, “Oh, Gayle went to duel with those students.” She took another sip of her miso soup. “The Terra Edict states that in duels on school grounds, only one-on-one bouts are permitted. So even if they wanted to, they couldn’t jump him, not unless they wanted to risk suspension or even expulsion on opening day.”

“You don’t sound too worried,” Emi remarked.

“If he were facing anyone else, say, the upper forms in the PMA rankings, then yes, I would be,” Yuki stated calmly. She set down her bowl and gave Emi a warm smile. “But neither of those sophomores even qualify in the top fifty. And out of that trio, I wager only one of them could stand to compete against Gayle.”

Her smile then faded.

“Even so…”

“Hm?”

“After the stunt Gayle pulled, I managed to smooth things over with Valcour Harvester…” Yuki began, but her voice trailed off. In Emi’s periphery, she could see Freya flinch at the mention of that name. She briefly thought back to those siblings she’d seen in the first-floor halls when Yuki’s voice pulled her from her reverie.

“...but I couldn’t find Radical Red anywhere. His mana signature is just too belligerent to miss…”

◆◇◆

A gust of wind brushed across the well-trimmed grass fields where the four teenagers stood. Gayle was by his lonesome, staring down the three bullies. Their leader had told him to meet them outside earlier, which could only mean one thing. 

“Right, then. Let’s not beat around the bush, shall we?” Gayle cracked his knuckles, eager to release some pent-up frustration after missing out on sparring with Katsumi. “I take it ‘meet us outside’ ain’t a direct challenge from youse, but rather a direct order from your boss.”

The leader simply chuckled. “You’re more perceptive than you look, Mazin.”

“Pshh! It was bloody obvious!” Gayle snarked, looking each of them up and down. “Judging how youse reacted to my mana back there, I knew damn well this wasn’t just youse acting on your own!” 

The boy leaned in close, fixing the younger boy with an icy glare. “You nobles really piss me off, you know that? So full of yourselves all because the gods blessed you with your little ‘gifts’.”

“Your point being what, exactly?” Gayle squinted his eyes in confusion. “Say what you want, but I had to pass the entry exams just like everyone else! And last I checked, only two Project Galanga members have bloodline techniques, so what’s your excuse?” 

“Ignorant brat! Try saying that again after you’ve survived freshman year.”

Gayle waved him off. “Yeah, yeah. You extras are startin’ to bore me! Where’s your boss, already?!”

“Why you, little…”

WHHHOOOO-DOOOOOOON!!!

A massive figure plummeted from the sky, shaking the ground upon landing. As the dust settled, Gayle looked up, eyes widening at the towering figure before him. The subject stood at a staggering six feet and seven inches tall, with red skin, two short horns, and long white hair that cascaded past his shoulders. His sharp, glowing yellow eyes locked onto Gayle.

J-Jaycob of Dargrum…

“Haha! Gayle Taron Mazin!” The red oni boomed, his voice thundering across the field. Gayle could feel his bones rattle with each syllable. “So you’re the little troublemaker Val’s been making a fuss over, eh? Gotta be honest, ya don’t look like much.”

Gayle clenched his fists. Jaycob of Dargrum, a student who had been expelled from Basilisk Academy in New Dragonia for his wild, destructive antics—damaging city property, threatening civilians, even raising a hand to school officials. After serving a five-month detention, he had enrolled at Phoenix Academy for his final year, a controversial decision by Headmaster Blûd Payne.

The epithet “Radical Red” seemed fitting for a young man with his reputation. Gayle looked around and noticed a transparent force surrounding them like a dome. Jaycob saw his confusion.

“Oh, that?” Jaycob gestured to the female red oni standing behind him. “Heh, cousin Marta’s got us covered with her barrier. Layered five times over. Keeps any loony shaman from spoiling the fun.”

Gayle’s stomach dropped. If Marta’s barrier was as powerful as Jaycob claimed, they were practically invisible to the average student mage—and even Phoenix’s strongest mages would have trouble detecting any aura through it. Worse yet, whatever Jaycob planned to do would likely go undetected. Considering his reputation, that worried Gayle most of all.

“Why go through all this trouble, sport? Insulting not only me but Val, too?” Jaycob sauntered closer, each footstep sending tremors through the ground. His aura was overwhelming, like a tidal wave crashing down on Gayle’s senses. He wanted to run, but his pride and his conscience forced him to stay put.

This is what I wanted, Gayle reminded himself, gripping his fists tighter.

“Show any sign of weakness and your target has already won”, his father’s voice echoed in his mind. 

Jaycob held up his MCP smartphone, pressed a button, and projected a large digital screen. On it was a picture of a blackboard covered in yellow spray paint—Gayle’s handiwork. His heart sank.

“Had Instructor Cuthbert forward it to me,” Jaycob grinned. “With his moderate mana pool, it didn’t take much to get him to comply. Heh. The only time you humans seem to know your place is when the gods don’t grant you enough aura to rival the rest of us. Oh, the irony.” 

He turned back to the floating screen. “‘Val-whore and Radical Dread can eat shit and die!’” Jaycob read aloud, his grin widening. “Heh…haha…” He threw his head back and roared with laughter, his lackeys joining in. “Hahahaha!! Very creative stuff! I think ‘Radical Dread’ has a better ring to it, don’tcha think, guys?”

Gayle gritted his teeth at their mockery. After a few moments, Jaycob stopped laughing and stepped closer, his towering form looming over Gayle as he leaned in, scrutinizing him.

“What exactly did we do to piss you off so badly?” Jaycob asked curiously. “Seems to me like you acted purely on impulse. Heh, and I know a thing or two about that.”

Gayle exhaled sharply, summoning the courage to speak. “Jaycob of Dargrum, it has come to my attention that you and Valcour Harvester insulted my lady, and I can’t let that slide.” He raised a finger, pointing straight at the red oni. “I challenge you to a duel, here and now!”

A silence fell over the field. Only the wind whistled softly, the weight of Gayle’s words sinking in.

“Ha! Defending the honor of your lady, eh?” Jaycob chortled, shaking his head. His eyes then lit up. “Oh! Haha! You mean Lady Kageryuu, don’t ya?! Aww, how valiant! Risking your neck for her sake. Truly a grade-A vassal if I’ve ever seen one!” His expression darkened as he muttered, “Y’know, I’ve hospitalized fools for a lot less.” 

Gayle’s heart pounded in his chest. Jaycob then walked up a small hill overlooking the field and sat down cross-legged, letting out a sigh. 

“But alas, if I’m to have a proper bout with Black Fang, I must play by the rules,” he said, folding his massive arms. “Since you’re a freshie, if you want to duel me, you gotta get a few wins under your belt from someone at least a year above ya.” He nodded toward the three sophomores. “You beat them, and I’ll accept your challenge. How’s that?”

Said three sophomores whirled around in shock.

“““W-Wait, what?!”””

“S’fine by me!” Gayle said, cracking his neck.

Jaycob’s grin returned. “Well, then. Let’s see if you can back up those words with action, then!”

Gayle’s pulse quickened. This could go bad—really bad. But backing down wasn’t an option. Not after what they’d said about Yuki.