Delusions of the Heart

Chapter 3

Present day

"Niwa Hisahide repeatedly was refused an audience with the Shogun, he sought out Lady Guujin for help. All she could promise was to mobilize the Shogunate and send ships to aid the people in Tatarasuna. Niwa had no choice but to return to the island alone and decided he, himself, needed to enter the core zone of the furnace and shut it down. At the cost of his life, he succeeded in shutting down the furnace and prevented the rest of Inazuma from suffering from the black smoke that had already taken so many lives of those living on Tatarasuna. 

Wanderer concluded his lecture. He groaned inwardly when he saw his fellow classmates already raising their hands to question him. "Yes? " He called on one.  

The student raising his hand was called Kimiya, and he rather liked to shame others to appear smarter. He lowered his hand and spoke. "Even if this is true, aren't you claiming that your own deity failed to take action and deal with the problem?"

Wanderer chuckled before his fellow classmates. He crossed his arms. "Tell me, where was your precious deity during the 500 years you lot were being brainwashed and controlled by the akasha?"

"Kazachi, remember where you are. This is the Akademiya, the heart of all Sumeru." His professor called him out. "You must show your utmost respect at all times."

Wanderer scoffed. "Yet, it is okay for my classmates to pass judgment on the nature and laws of other lands?" He eyed Kimiya again.  "Answer my question. Where was your god?" 

"Kusanali was imprisoned. It wasn't her fault."

"It took 500 years for Kusanali just to be remembered, saved, and finally rule her nation as she was meant to. Five hundred  years for her own people to think for themselves and take matters into their own hands. It is easy to judge her for being a lousy leader, isn't it?" 

"Kazachi!" The professor yelled and slammed a ruler on his desk. "You can be arrested for uttering such words. You will automatically fail this class if you speak another harsh word against Kusanali." 

Wanderer clenched his fists. They were all entirely missing his point. He wasn't even calling Nahida a bad leader.  

He turned his direction towards the center of the small auditorium. There, his eyes focused on Aurora, who was raising her hand. She didn't even wait to be called in and stood. "Much was going on in Inazuma at the time. We have no way of knowing the electro archon's full circumstances and why she couldn't face the problem right away. The same applies to Kusanali. She was thought to be reclusive and uncaring, but the fact of the matter was, she really couldn't do anything. I believe that that's what our ...charming speaker is trying to say." She then turned her gaze at Kimiya, who first questioned Wanderer. "Like it did for Kusanali's sake, it fell on the people to take action...namely Niwa." 

"Aurora, you were not called on to speak. Sit down. "

Her brow flattened, but she did as she was told.  

The teacher turned his attention back to Wanderer. "However, your grade might have just been saved. You really need to work how you convey your thoughts." 

Wanderer rolled his eyes. It seemed like he was about to open his mouth and speak again, then managed to hold his tongue in. Rather, he refused to answer any more questions and left the platform he was speaking from. He shifted his gaze momentarily and saw that Aurora was still watching him. She quickly averted her gaze and suddenly became much more interested in the notes she had been taking. 

_Was she taking notes from my lecture?_ He wondered. Most students here were present just because they had to be and give their own presentation to be graded by the professor.