Tanren Academy is a prestigious school where breaking rules determine what your status is. Above all, one male stands as the ruler of the students. Labeled the Emperor, he is known to be both feared and loved by fellow classmates.
The Emperor has a...
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You were lost in your train-of-thoughts, deeply immersed in the controversial debates that ran in your mind, taking up most of the space capacity that occupied your head.
Encompassing you were three other Pawns students besides you and Tomatsu, all of whom were labeled as 'real' by the Endo male.
There were the Tachibana twins, siblings that looked nothing alike but shared a bond no one could break. Tsugi, the older one, was a female with long raven hair, eyes of an emerald shade glowing alive. Her brunette brother, Tetsuya, had maroon-hued orbs framed behind glasses.
Like their looks, their personalities also differ. Tetsuya was analytic and calm, the total opposite of his short-tempered sister.
There was also Gima Kiyoto who was amongst the gang, a girl with cedar-colored hair put into braided pigtails, her aquatic orbs just as vivid as the twins. Her appearance, accompanied by round glasses, was lively, a trait similar to that of her bubbly personality.
All in all, the Pawns Class, or what was made of it, looked pretty normal to you.
"[Name]-chan?" Kiyoto called out, worry crossing her features at your absent in talking. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" you blinked, snapping back to reality. "Oh, um, yeah. I'm okay. Sorry, what were you talking about again? I wasn't listening."
"Spirit-energy lines," Tetsuya answered with a smile.
"Cool," you complimented hollowly. "I mean, I don't understand anything about spirit-energy lines, but the concept of that seems cool."
"I know right?" Tsugi giggled. Her small laughter was cut short when a smell appeared in the room, catching everybody's attention.
"Does anyone smell gasoline?" Tomatsu asked, wrinkling his nose at the chemical-like scent.
"Yeah," responded Tetsuya, standing up. He looked around the classroom, curious as to where the increasing odor was coming from.
He spoke his thoughts out loud by asking, "Where is it coming from?"
Kiyoto sneezed. "By the door, I think," she pointed to the closed metal door, the only entrance and exit out of the classroom.
"It's getting stronger," Tsugi noted, covering her mouth with her hands, trying to keep herself from inhaling too much of the aroma.
Tomatsu abruptly began coughing, the ragged sounds fiercely leaving his throat. His eyes blurred with tears, the sudden sight of a gray fog filling his vision.
"Smoke..?" you furrowed your brows, waving your hand in front of your face, a pathetic effort in trying to disperse the fog.
Meanwhile, Tetsuya had wrapped his fingers around the latch of the door and was pulling the handle downward, surprise filling his maroon-shaded orbs when the clamp neither budged nor moved.
