Chapter 9

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Cahaya and Daun were instantly the talk of the school.

Girls swooned when they saw the two, tittering with excitement in their own groups when they weren't looking. Boys all treated them like one of their own, saying hello and patting them on the back like they'd known each other all their lives.

To this, Daun was polite, returning each greeting with a smile or a wave of his own. However, Cahaya, was less than pleasant. He responded each one with a glare, one that sent a clear message: He did not want to associate with any of these baboons.

Per the principal's arrangements, Daun and Cahaya were in the same class with Tanah, which was the first class in school. They didn't argue to this, but Cahaya soon made his displeasure clear when they had their Chemistry class.

By the time it was over, Cahaya had sent the teacher back to the teacher's office in tears.

"You call this a class?" Cahaya scowled, glaring at the empty doorway, slapping the marker back onto the whiteboard.

Around him, the class stared at the board in stunned silence, trying to take in all of the formulas and theories that the elite student had written on it within minutes.

Most of them belonged to a Professor's degree textbook, yet he treated it like he was counting his alphabets.

This was a high school, not some class for genius doctors and engineers!

Tanah leaned over to Daun, who sat in front of him. "Is he always like this?"

Daun looked over, shrugging. "Sometimes worse than others," he said. "One time, he got the principal fired."

For some reason, that wasn't hard to believe.

"But why? Are you smart like him?"

"Me? Nope! I'm barely hanging onto the top five in school, and he helps me with that. He's famous for being a genius student and an unmatchable athlete!"

"Athlete, you say..."

"Yep. I know he doesn't seem like it, but he's also really famous for dominating his competitions ever since he joined school. From what I heard, he used to have a rival, but then he disappeared."

Daun would've said more, but Cahaya returned to his seat, all eyes on him. He sat next to Tanah, not speaking another word. His arms were crossed, fingers drumming impatiently along his bicep, as if waiting for something he did not know.

"So, Tanah!" Daun turned his chair around, his light-hearted expression completely contrasting his serious uniform. "Do you have any friends? How are they like?"

Tanah thought for a while. "I have lots of friends," he said. "But I guess I have one best friend, but he's in another class."

"Sounds great!" Daun chirped. "Me and Cahaya aren't in the same class, either. In fact, we don't see each other a lot until our classes got chosen for this programme. Guess we got lucky enough to be put in the same group."

"But why Rintis High, though?" Tanah asked, genuinely confused. "Why would a school like Celestium Academy come here?"

"Ah, no!" Daun waved his hands. "You got it all wrong. We're in our third year, and this year's tracking year. We dedicate this grade for field checks, so since February, we've been going to different schools around the country."

"How many have you been to?"

Daun counted his fingers, quirking an eyebrow. He hummed for a moment before frowning, then turning to Cahaya as a last resort.

"46 schools," Cahaya said.

"It's May!" Tanah said. "How could you go to so many schools in the span of three months? Didn't the principal say you're staying here for a month total?"

"Most of the times we leave early. There was a couple of times we left after a day or two," Daun answered. "If we think the school is worth a full report, then we'll stay. But so far, we've been going to so many schools I can't tell you how ghastly the food all of them serve."

"Then do you think Rintis High is worth one?"

Strangely, that sentence put Daun into silence. The bubbly teen suddenly grinned awkwardly, as if he couldn't decide whether to respond, or keep secret, especially if both of the options would put him in a bad light.

Unlike before, Daun didn't turn to Cahaya for help, instead, putting on another smile, just as bright as before.

"What lesson is it now?" he asked. "When's lunchtime? There's something I want to see!"

Lunchtime.

Tanah stood abruptly, surprising both Cahaya and Daun.

"Tanah?" Daun looked up, confused. "Is everything okay?"

Tanah looked down to him, sitting back down. "Just remembered something important." He managed a measly smile, but he was sweating. How could he be so careless? "I have to go find someone during lunch, so do you want to explore on your own, or wait for me?"

"We'll be fine on our own." Cahaya leaned back to his chair. The next teacher had yet to come, perhaps preparing themselves after Cahaya's confidence assault on the previous one.

Tanah nodded, glancing at the doorway. It was empty, where a vacant hallway remained. Even the classes nearby fell silent, as if feeling the weight of a humiliated teacher. Normally, they were much rowdier and chaotic.

Their class fell into a shell-shocked silence, occasionally turning heads towards the two elite students, as if they were nightingales in a crow's nest-unique, rare, and out-of-place.

Minutes later, there were still no signs of their teacher in the hallway, nor any indication of any human life outside. Tanah pulled his chair backwards as he stood, looking outside to find their teacher.

He felt a hand wrap around his wrist instead. He looked back to see Cahaya's hand around his wrist, yet his gaze was fixed forward.

"It's too quiet. There could be a villain attack."

Tanah blinked, haven't expected such a response. "No. I think it's because a teacher was sent out crying," he muttered the last part.

"And that's a key factor of akumatization," Daun chipped in. He turned to his friend. "Cahaya, I think you were too hard on the teacher."

Cahaya groaned, but he said nothing more. He let go of Tanah's hand and crossed his arm.

Tanah left the class, heading towards the office. As he walked by the classes, not even the girls that would reach outside and greet him. Either there is an akuma, or Cahaya's presence really stretched that far off into scaring everyone and wounding their pride.

If that's the case, any akuma coming out would not be a good thing, one way or the other.

And that's when he saw it.

The black bird phasing into Petir's pencil.

An outline of wings, the feathers jagged and sharp appeared in front of Petir's eyes, the sinister blue and white chilling to the bone.

Yet no one noticed, not a single soul noticing.

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