Magnanimous (Blue Exorcist ~ Yukio Okumura)

Chapter 2

My alarm clock rang at five in the morning. I curled onto my side under the blankets and tried to muffle out the beeping. I peered out from under the sheets at the clock I had strategically placed across the room.

I don't want to get up.

I threw my pillow at the clock to stop the beeping. It fell to the ground with a thump, but continued to beep. I groaned and finally stood, turning off the alarm and placing it back on the desk.

Once I had quickly showered and dressed in my uniform, I ran out of the dorm building, not sure how long it would take to get to the classroom.

Class starts at eight, I recalled, it's seven, that should be plenty of time.

I straightened out my button-down shirt and tied my tie, tangling my hands in the black and red cloth as I tried to tie it into the bow I had seen the other girls wear.

I sighed to myself as I stepped out of the building. Fuck it. I tied the striped tie into a Windsor knot, and the flat bottom hung just above my waist. I fixed the strap of my leather messenger bag and began walking towards the bridge to get to class.

Gazing down at my phone messages as I walked across the dirt, I used my peripheral vision to watch for the bridge.

Thump!

"Ah!" I stepped back as I knocked into someone. "I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, it's okay! I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." I looked up at the boy's face. It was Yukio Okumura, the boy from the other dormitory. He had his phone in his hand, which he was probably looking at, also.

"Yeah, me either," I gave him a small nervous laugh.

"You're going to class this early?"

"Yeah, I don't know how long it'll take to get there... Well, I don't know how to get there, exactly."

"What's your first class? I can probably help you get there, if you'd like."

"Uhm...." I looked down at my folded schedule. "AP Chemistry with... Mister Amaterasu."

"Oh, perfect. That's my first class, as well, so we can walk together. I just have to drop something off at another classroom, first, if that's okay."

"Really? Okay, thanks!" I smiled at Okumura. He gave a small smile back and nodded before he turned to walk across the tall bridge.

"So, where are you from, Katai?"

"Uh, just Akilina is okay. I just got here this year from France."

"Really? Your Japanese is very good. Where in France?"

"I moved around a lot, mostly just in the Aveyron area."

Okumura nodded. "My dad used to tell me about the places he went, France was one of them. He used to take a lot of cases there. He was a higher rank exorcist, so he went internationally, sometimes."

"Wow, that's cool. So did he pressure you into doing the same, or did you just want to study?"

"I chose to. I started uhm, a few years ago," a small smile stretched his mouth. "What about you?"

"I started learning a few years ago... I was eight, they used to scare me a lot... The demons, I mean. I'd run off from a Coal Tar," I laughed nervously. "I never got official training or licensing, though."

Okumura nodded. "They used to scare me, too. I was afraid of them, and I wanted to protect my brother, so I learned. He didn't receive his Temptaint until about a month ago or so. I got my Temptaint when I was much younger."

I nodded in reply.

"So, uh, are you in all AP and honours classes?" Okumura asked.

"I think so, that's what my schedule says. Maybe we have a couple together."

"Probably. This is a large school, but it is difficult to be accepted to begin with. That's why the AP classes are usually much smaller, or so I've heard. We probably have a few classes together if we're both in all AP and honours."

"Okay." I thought about the fact that he was the school speaker. "So, not to invade or anything on your scores, but did you really make perfect scores on the entrance exams?"

Okumura chuckled. "It's okay, and yes, I did." He held open the building door for me and we began walking down the corridor. "I studied a lot before-hand. I'm surprised I didn't fry my brain, to be completely honest."

"Oh, really?" I laughed. "I probably should have considered studying more than I did, in that case."

"Most people don't, the school doesn't really expect you to. Nobody really knows what's on the exams, but since I've already studied a lot of the subjects offered here, I could study. I probably had an advantage, too, since my dad knew the headmaster. My dad was the one who helped me study for some of it, so that probably helped a lot."

We stopped at a classroom, and Okumura slid something out of his bag as he unlocked the door. He left a paper-wrapped package on the desk and turned to walk out again. "Okay, Chemistry is this way."

I followed the other student down the corridor again, taking much larger steps to keep up. Okumura noticed this and began to walk slower to match my pace, his much longer legs taking smaller steps to help me keep up.

Okumura removed a ring of keys from his pocket and selected one that looked like my own. He unlocked a door with the key and led me down another hallway before we reached a class room. The large door was wide open and the chattering of talking teenagers echoed from inside. "This is it," he introduced, nodding at me.

"Thanks." I carefully stepped into the classroom. It was a large room, open and lit by ceiling lamps and windows. Tables meant for two people scattered the entire room, filled with test tubes and containers. Most tables were already being filled by students in uniforms, and they turned and talked to each other.

I reached the back of the large laboratory room and carefully sat on one of the stools by a back table. I made sure my skirt did not come up and left my bag near my feet.

"Okumura!"

"Yukio! Hi, Yukio!"

"Come sit with me, Okumura!"

"Over here, senpai!"

I looked up to see girls waving at Okumura and hounding him. He gave an awkward smile at the girls and tried to pass by. One girl pushed a boy off his seat and smiled at Okumura.

"Senpaaiii!"

"Okumura, come sit over here!"

Someone's popular.

I could see their starry eyes following him, and Okumura seemed understandably tense under the harassment. "Is it okay if I sit over here with you?" He asked gently, a nervous smile on his face.

"Yes, of course." I pushed my bag with my foot so it would sit just under my seat, and I propped my feet back on the bar that supported the backless round chair. Okumura left his bag on the ground and sat on the other chair next to the rectangular table in front of us.

"Thank you," he nodded appreciatively. "They, ah, get... A bit much sometimes."

"It's okay, I understand," I grinned at him. "At least you won't have an issue getting yourself known around the school."

Okumura chuckled. "I guess that's the problem," He used his two fingers to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I would say I'm more afraid of the people here than the demons."

I laughed at his sentence. "I can definitely agree with that."