Blades of Despair

-Chapter One-

The 100th class of Seiko Academy

Fifteen unfamiliar faces turned as they heard the doors close behind me. Having so many eyes looking in my direction stopped me in my tracks and I tried to read their expressions. Some looked away as quickly as they had turned to face me, some smiled or nodded their heads in acknowledgement, but some looked confused. I remembered what Miyagawa had said some minutes before – none of these students knows who I am, since I was sick during the media craze. First impressions are important, so I returned the smiles and nods, only to find myself scowling as soon as my eyes locked onto the dark eyes of Miyagawa Hitomaro, the Ultimate Appraiser. He was still wearing a smug expression, and I turned my attention to the girl who was stood to my right, who had just started talking.

"I guess this is everyone, right?" she said, counting the number of people in the entrance, "Sixteen students. Quite a small class, I must admit, but I won't complain, there are fewer names to remember."

"Well, now that we're all here, shall we formally introduce ourselves? I'd rather not rely on the press for all my information about my classmates," chuckled Miyagawa, the smug look not disappearing from his stupid face.

"Very well. I'm Morihei Ane and I'm the Ultimate Coleopterist," replied the girl, "and before any of you ask, a coleopterist is someone who studies and collects beetles." Morihei was only slightly shorter than I, she had bright pink and blue hair that fell almost all the way down to her stomach, and big, green marble-like eyes. She was, of course, much prettier than me, but she had some... interesting choices in clothes. She wore a pink shirt that matched her hair, which had a large print of a scarab beetle on the front, a full-length blue skirt that was also covered in a print of beetles, and even her blue pumps had small beetle fascinations. Finally, I noticed she was wearing a hair clip that was styled after some sort of orange and red variant of the critter. Morihei saw me looking at it and reached to adjust it.

"Oh, this? It's a gift from the World Entomology Association for my discovery of a new species of beetle, which was then named after me. It's made out of- "

"Rubies and topaz, right?" interrupted Miyagawa, "that's quite the expensive gift to bring to school, isn't it?" I was really starting to dislike Miyagawa as the minutes passed by. Only one student had introduced themselves and he was already interrupting them.

"Yes, it is adorned with rubies and topaz. As for its value, you would be a fool to try and take it from me, since it's a one-of-a-kind gift and there are so few of us. I'd find the thief eventually, and I'd catch you," Morihei laughed at her own joke, but no one else really saw the humour. "Anyway," she continued, "it's impressive you were able to deduce the jewels on a small hair clip from that distance. Am I to understand that you're the Ultimate Appraiser?"

"You'd be correct," replied Miyagawa, "though I can appraise anything, not just jewels. Furniture, paintings, antiques, even people."

"How do you appraise a person?" I asked incredulously.

"I don't mean appraise in the sense of deducing a value. My mother wouldn't approve of me putting a value on human life. I am simply able to read people's emotions or mood very easily. There are also several other factors to a person that reveals a lot of information about them, such as clothing, posture and the way they talk," stated Miyagawa, his smug smile replaced by a serious expression as he discussed his talent.

"You just sound judgmental to me," I retorted, earning a scowl from Miyagawa. I felt distinctly satisfied with that reaction.

"I think that's ironic," he began, "given that- "