“Hoshimi! Wake up”!

“Hoshimi Shirogane! Wake your ass up”!

The boy jolted upright, hair plastered to his forehead, eyes unfocused. His sheets were twisted around his legs like restraints. Standing over him was a tall, broad-shouldered woman, her ginger hair cascading past her collarbones in a fiery mess that caught the morning light.

Reina

The slight shine of the sun came from behind her and lit her up, making her look more vibrant than before.

“Hoshimi, it’s time for your entrance exam~”.

Her tone slipped into a velvet purr as she leaned in closer.

She grabbed him by the shoulders as she shook him, her tone of voice dropped into a sultry and seductive tone, The teasing lilt in her tone darkened into something sultry, almost taunting.

One hand wrapped around his waist and another softly grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him in as her breath lingered on his ear.

“Wake up or I’m going to kiss you”.

Hoshimi bolted upright, stumbling out of bed like a prisoner breaking free from his chains.

His eyes widened as he slipped down from his bed, landing face first onto the ground.

This wasn't the first time she tried to kiss him after all, and most of the time, she succeeded. Reina’s laughter erupted. She clapped her hands together in rapid succession, like a child delighted by a cruel prank.

“Happy 17th birthday, Hoshimi”.

“I’d rather kill myself than let you kiss me”.

“Brat.” Her grin widened. She always said things like that—creepy, half-joking comments that blurred the line between affection and harassment. Maybe it was her messed-up way of caring. Maybe she just liked tormenting him.

Before he could put more space between them, Reina lunged, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. Her warmth pressed against him, suffocating, her chest pressed up against him causing a soft blush in his cheek.

“One more year and you’ll be mine”.

She traced her finger along his chest eventually wrapping her fingers around his cheek.

“Get off me you pervert”.

He shoved her hard. She toppled back, landing with a dull thud against the wooden floor. The impact made her wince, her hair falling over her face as she rubbed her back.

“Ow, you didn’t have to do that”.

"I was just teasing, relax". She gave a half-pout, half-smile as she stood, brushing dust from her oversized T-shirt. “But you’re still a brat.”

"An adorable one".

She smiled softly at him and stood up quickly, fixing her loose t shirt and dusting off her shoulders.

“Now now, get your ass to the academy”.

Survival of the fittest.

That’s exactly what the academy is, they’re not raising students, they’re building soldiers to be sent on suicidal tasks, they’re using the witches like tools, only the toughest slaves are left alive.

They’re not human, they’re livestock.

The car engine purred like a beast waking up. The city blurred past in streaks of steel and glass as Reina steered them through the outer districts, one hand lazily draped over the wheel. Her other arm rested against the window, knuckles tapping rhythmically.

Hoshimi sat back, violet eyes fixed on the scenery. Vendors shouted from the sidewalks. Children darted between alleys. Smog hung over the city like a veil. He leaned his head against his hand, expression blank, watching the people live lives he would never have.

Hoshimi stared out the car window, the scenery of the city blew past him as he leaned on his arm, staring blankly at the people.

“Hey Hoshimi, your mana pool might be absurd but it is still unstable, what makes you so sure that they’re not just going to execute you”?

He stared at the sidewalk, wondering what it would be like to become normal.

“The entrance exam will be a free for all in a forest won’t it? They won’t know that I can’t cast but just in case, I still have my reincarnation ability”.

“You sure are confident, you’ve always been a smart kid”. Her eyes stared at the car in front of her. “I’m sure you’ll find a way”.

He reclined in the leather seat, exhaustion tugging at his eyelids.

“They paid a huge amount for me to be here, even if I fail, there’s still a use for me”.

Reina kept her eyes on the road but her tone of voice became sharper.

“But that doesn’t stop you from getting killed by the other witches in the exam”.

“They’re all novices, none of them experienced the hellhole that you put me through, miss Reina”.

Reina sighed as her grip on the wheel loosened.

“It’s kill or be killed, you’ve never seen what desperation is like, people stop fighting properly when their lives are on the line”.

“What’s stopping me from hiding for the entire duration of the exam”? He turned his head, his violet eyes glowing faintly as they reflected on the glass window.

Reina glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

“The exam is a point based system, you collect points from around the forest and steal from one another, the one with the most points wins”.

Hoshimi shrugged his shoulders.

“I can still hide it out, nothing’s stopping me”.

“The rooms for the lower ranks are piss poor, they basically give you a closet, if you manage to score a high amount of points then you’ll get a 5 star room just for yourself, they even have a bidet”.

“You sold me on the bidet, I can’t lie”. Hoshimi admitted. “I’ll find a way to get into one of those rooms somehow, trust me, I’ll make you proud”.

“Now that’s my boy”!

Reina smiled as she patted his back, launching him forwards.

“I’ll give you some pocket change too if you get within the top 5”.

Hoshimi wiped away the spit from his mouth, her slap was too much for his body to handle, it was like a train crashing directly into his back.

“Now you’re asking for too much”.

Reina slightly nudged him with her shoulder as she pointed at a girl on the sidewalk.

“Hey Hoshimi, don’t you think she’s cute”?

“Why are you even asking me this”?

Her tone immediately became sharp.

“Answer the damn question”.

He reluctantly and quickly answered, his lips twitching.

“Yea she is”.

The car stopped at the traffic light as she leaned against the window, her eyes staring at the girl.

“I wonder if she’s going to like me back too”.

She traced her finger across the glass, her nail dragging across the window.

“This is why you’re single”.

“Shut up you brat”.

She slightly pushed his shoulder, his entire body launched towards the car door, his eyes widened as he felt every single muscle in his body ache.

The car stopped suddenly right in front of a large white building, the sunlight shone through the large windows of the building. It had the appearance of a large modern facility.

“We’re here, the exam starts in a few hours, there’s a restaurant nearby, let’s go eat”.

“I’m not hungry”.

She smiled with her eyes closed as she dragged him out of the car by the collar.

Her tone dropped.

“We’re going”.

They sat down at a fast food joint.

“Eating fast food all the time is going to make you fat”.

Reina pointed her fork towards him with a stern look on her face, her mouth full of food muffled her words as her eyes narrowed.

“Shuht Uhp”.

She closed her eyes and swallowed all the food at once.

“I have a quick metabolism, I’m not going to get fat”.

Reina placed her fork down on the table, as she leaned against her own arm, she pointed at him.

“So aren’t you nervous at all”?

“About what”?

“The entrance exam”.

Her finger trailed along the desk, getting closer towards him.

He took a slow bite out of his burger, his deadpan expression looking into her.

“No, not really”.

Reina smirked as she spun around a fry between her fingers.

“You little sociopath, you’re so charming sometimes, I can’t help but just”.

She intertwined her fingers with Hoshimi’s.

“You’re assaulting me”.

Hoshimi’s face changed into a look of disgust as he quickly removed his hand.

“That says more about your type than it says about me”.

She leaned closer and whispered dramatically.

“I love em when they’re all emo, type shi”.

“You’re going to stare at me between bars in the next couple years for assaulting a random minor”.

“Hey! I’m not diddy bruh”.

A short silence hung in the air. Reina leaned back with a small sigh, her joking demeanor fading just a little.

Her smile faltered. Not like before, this was different. Her eyes were sharp, not teasing.

Her eyes stared into his as the world itself seemed to stop for a split second.

“Are you ready to kill someone”?

Her words echoed into his skull, as the surrounding seats turned dark.

It was as if only she and him were sitting in an empty black void.

Flickers of his dad’s cold fingers shot past him, his warm blood flowing underneath him.

He remembered every single second of it so vividly.

His father had died because of him.

Hoshimi glanced at his own reflection at the restaurant window, watching his own violet glow in his eyes flickering.

“Of course I am, I’m ready to kill”.

“Of course of course, you definitely look the part”.

Her tone was filled to the brim with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes.

She reached down into her pocket for a handgun as she handed it to Hoshimi.

Reina grabbed his hand and pointed the gun towards her forehead.

“Prove it, prove that you can kill”.

His hands shook as the grip on the gun started to be filled with sweat.

“I’m not doing that! That’s insane”!

Reina stared at him with an uncomfortable look in her eyes.

“You will have to even kill the people you trust most, the kids in there will do anything to survive, failing means dying in that facility, you will have to eventually kill even your friends”.

He stared at the barrel.

Then at Reina’s eyes, cold and stern.

It was quiet, not even the hum of the kitchen fans.

The sounds of the other customers in the restaurant were drowned out by the ringing in his ears.

All he could see was his father’s cold, dead eyes.

Hoshimi put the gun down as he sighed.

“I’m not going to kill you, it’d be a waste of bullets”.

He shrugged his shoulders.

Reina paid for the food and stood up from the table as she leaned against the doorframe of the restaurant.

“You’re not ready to kill, just at least try to survive will you? I’ll be sad if you die, I’ll be waiting in the car”.