LiBERA (Mairimashita! Iruma-kun Fanfic)

6. This is abnormal. (Day one)

"GET UP!" the wake-up call was loud like an explosion at an atom bomb factory, and Soyo jerks right awake, horrified.

In the room, across every cot in the Student Council dorm wing, bodies were running and flying into place. The boy's dorm was huge, split into two beds per room. It was nice, but it also meant Soyo was stuck with Grave, the scariest of the other three Student Council boys.

"Stop staring there, get up, we need to get ready immediately!"

The girl's rooms were another floor, but Grave's voice was loud enough to shout the countdown for everyone.

"Fold the blanket, put the pillow promptly! GET DRESSED IN YOUR UNIFORM!"

What is this, the military?

Soyo yawns, hurrying to the side of the bed, hopping on his better foot as he finds his assigned closet. Ameri allowed him to not wear the full uniform, but there were still a lot of parts. He tucks his pants into the boots, and the boots into the brace—

"Soyo-kun, is the shoe okay?" Quiche asks, leaning into the room. "I had to do the rushed custom sizing last night, so if there's a problem, bear with it for today, yeah?"

"It's fine," he says. "Thanks for the help."

"130 seconds left!"

In a flash, everyone was pulling on their double-breasted blazers, systematically getting dressed, before leaving the room to line up. Soyo pulls his blankets properly, using magic to rearrange his plush toys, before following them out, hurriedly fastening his mantle in place.

"LINE UP!"

Ameri was already standing before them at her desk, observing them.

"Now tell me! WHO ARE YOU?!"

"WE ARE THE STUDENT COUNCIL OF THE DEVIL SCHOOL, BABYLS!"

"Good! Get me today's agenda!"

How are they so energetic this early in the morning? Well, he sort of figured this was the kind of division the Student Council was. But it wasn't much harder than genuine police dog training in the Netherworld, so Soyo was fine with it.

Soyo yawns, and everyone moves to the conference table, ready to begin to work through the mountains of paperwork laid upon the desk.

"Soyo, get me those papers!"

-

Soyo knew what to expect from the student council, but the morning 'jog' was not part of his expectations. Members are chained to Caymans, which are basically miniature versions of Mario Chain Chomps that can fly, and they have to outrun it if they don't want to get eaten. So, it's not a morning jog, it's a morning run for your life.

"You sure about this, Soyo-kun?" Quiche asks, holding the lever to the cage. "I mean... your leg, and all."

"Stop talking nonsense," Ameri says, "now, let's begin."

What a spartan.

The cage is opened, the carnivorous beasts are released—

—and here's the million-dollar question. Is Soyo, born with an underdeveloped, deadweight of half a leg, capable of outrunning a rabid blood-sucking cayman?

The answer is yes.

His run is awkward, and occasionally, he drops to all-fours. He leaps, more than required, and skips, when he's about to fall. His tempo is strange, but he's not at all slow, and he speeds through terrains with ease, lunging across obstructions with minimal effect. Even when he does fall behind, he dodges easily, and strikes. While the Cayman's frazzled, he overtakes it again.