As Koro promised, he did not attend any class through the remaining days of the week, and soon, Friday and the April Student Assembly that came with it arrived. It was for class 3-E a dreadful day, one they surely wouldn't mind missing, and if not for the fact that their grades were the lowest of the low and they didn't wish to get kicked out, they would have skipped.

It was during those moments that 3-E felt most jealous of Karma.

Absent, as he had promised, the redhead was skipping.

From the other side of the crowded gymnasium, leaning on one foot and balancing his weight from side to side, Byakuran boredly gazed at the people around him. It was his fifth day of "school," including Monday when he got introduced. Apart from the main building's reaction to his limousine and money, nothing interesting happened.

His purple eyes swept over the crowd, trying to better size the place as he carelessly went over each student. He didn't bother to record them, knowing that if needed, the information would just pop out somehow and merely counted the rows like one counted sheep before going to sleep. All of the third-years were called to attend the monthly event, and they stood in ordered rows in front of the stage where some no-name teacher gave an inspirational speech.

If Byakuran had a piece of chewing gum in his mouth, he would have blown a bubble.

Fortunately, although he did not have a piece of chewing gum, he had mini-marshmallows— enough to calm his insatiable need for sugar and marshmallows. He brought one of the cube-shaped white treats to his mouth, enjoying the way the sweet melted atop his tongue and how his favorite flavor flooded his mouth and invaded his palate. From one eye, he spied on his classmates and the crowd, easily ignoring the attention on him as he brought another white cube to his mouth.

To Byakuran's dismay, not only was he bored, but he also had no one to serve as his sidekick. The students he usually hung out with, namely Asano and Sakakibara, were both parts of the student council and therefore had to participate in the conference. His eyes traveled the crowd for the nth time, he wanted to get away from there and move, but his brother's words prevented him from doing so.

"I am so happy Ran-chan is attending middle school!" the older had squealed.

Byakuran could not bring himself to disappoint the now blond man. Speaking of which, it reminded him that the reason his brother even came was a group of students or their teacher. The ex-Millefiore Boss was no fool. He could feel that Yucca hadn't come for only his target, and from this fact only, he felt his minute interest in Kunugigaoka's infamous 3-E grow.

He had heard of them in passing, a low buzz amidst the gossip. But with the assembly closing in, the whispers grew clearer, becoming obvious jeers now that the target of the rumors presented themselves.

3-E, from what Byakuran heard, was a class of misfits.

His Funeral Wreaths, too, were misfits.

The class of around thirty students was known throughout the whole building as what they should strive not to become. They were the fuel to the machine that was Kunugigaoka Junior High. They served it in energy and allowed its students to better themselves by feeding on self-worth and boosting their ego. From an external point of view, it was a horrible system. But from the school's point of view, it was insurance— a guarantee of success. By comparing themselves to 3-E, the main building would strive to do better because how dare they stoop as low as those mere ants?

As for Byakuran's point of view, he didn't care.

Truthfully, this kind of cast-like system, he used it in more than one parallel dimension while ruling over the world. He had to admit that with the right balance of carrot and stick, it worked pretty well.

It was a price like any other to pay for perfection. While some people would never accept it, Byakuran was not selfless and kind enough to refuse it. Tsunayoshi and Uni would surely complain; both were such understanding Skys after all. They were not like him, a ruthless Sky—

Byakuran brought harmony through chaos, a tantalizing masterpiece.

Uni and Tsunayoshi brought harmony through understanding and acceptance, a touching symphony.

Maybe that was the reason why so many people would follow their causes.

The sudden eruption of laughter broke Byakuran out of his musings. His purple eyes blinked as if just remembering where he stood as he followed the other students' eyes to look to his right. He hadn't noticed the paper handed to him during this time, a sheet that summarized the reviewing material for the upcoming midterms. The sheet was compact with information, and apparently, 3-E hadn't received it.

They were the target of the laughter— not so surprising, and currently the victim of blatant bullying. The student council was unconcerned by the problem, their lips quirking into smirks as their eyes narrowed with haughtiness and pride.

Byakuran rolled his purple eyes, finding the situation more tedious than anything as a yawn escaped his mouth. He brought a hand to cover the lower part of his face, stretching his back as he did so and allowing his eyes to momentarily close.

A dash of yellow, accompanied by a gust of wind.

With a start, his Sky flame flaring from the depth of his being, Byakuran snapped his violet eyes open. They glinted, purple turning to a vivid orange before melting into a gorgeous red. Storm flames were the most vindictive, best for offense and defense for Byakuran, a fervent believer that offense was the best defense. His Sky flames, as his main attribute, were the most potent and easy to control. They always came in first, paving the way for the more destructive moves to come.

Though, as quickly as his eyes turned red, they went back to their regular purple. There was no killing intent. The sudden flare of power was only pressure that came from overwhelming strength. It disappeared in a blink, having lasted a mere fraction of a second.

Byakuran could assure that none of the students should have noticed the anomaly, perhaps another gust of wind, but that would be it. He could not say the same about the three teachers on the stage that suddenly zeroed their gaze in 3-A's direction. He ignored their stares, focusing on 3-E as he imagined their eyes roaming the rows in search of the hostile source.

3-E, who previously didn't have a paper in hand, proudly waved the sheet to the student council, the very sheet they were supposed not to have.

Was this the work of their teacher?

His brother's target?

Most probably.

His purple eyes slid to the stage to look at the 3-E teachers. Only now did he get a good look at them. His brother was no part of the trio. The man probably worked on paperwork or caught up on sleep. Who knew?

The trio was weird but within Byakuran's range of expectations after reading their files. The woman, platinum blond with wavy hair that reached the small of her back, wore a revealing white outfit. The kind of dressing that made his brother dizzy before either puking or fainting. Yucca had a weird allergy of sorts to well-endowed women, especially when they put so much effort into highlighting their curves. She held some kind of knife and moved her hand at a fast pace as she tried to stab the tall teacher by her side.

The target, Byakuran deduced. It wasn't hard for the whitehead to guess as much with such an improbable built and face. The target easily dodged each thrust, its body twisting, and curving, not allowing the blade to even graze his form. Though both moved so fast, it was hard for untrained eyes to follow and understand what the blond teacher held and what the homeroom teacher did.

Finally, probably because of the commotion they were causing, the blond got escorted by the third teacher—a man in a simple black suit. Black hair and a severe look painted on his face as he dragged the woman outside of the auditorium like a criminal. He was the government's agent: Karasuma Tadaomi, their link in case of a problem.

Byakuran remembered this part well. His brother spent a lot of time making sure that he'd at least pay attention to that.

The small commotion brought a smile to 3-E's face, making them chuckle and whisper between themselves as the student council went on with the assembly. Feeling as if there was nothing else to look at, Byakuran turned his focus to the speaker, Araki Teppei. The boy with dark green hair, a shade somewhat similar to Daisy's (though Daisy's was obviously better), was rather plain if one didn't include his hair. He wore the regular Kunugigaoka uniform, leaning over the lectern to speak into the microphone as he readjusted his pair of oval glasses.

He told them about the upcoming midterms, visibly flustered by 3-E's stunt before wrapping the conference up, leaving Asano Gakushu, the student council president, to deliver the last words as per tradition.

Overall, Byakuran felt like 3-E was mildly exciting and okay.

::

Byakuran felt like 3-E was indeed a worthless bunch.

Walking out of the auditorium with the last of his marshmallow pack in his hands, the whitehead planned on going to the vending machine behind the gymnasium to buy some more snacks or a drink to parch his throat. He threw a piece of white fluff in his mouth, absently chewing as he counted the hours left before the weekend. Head in a mild daze, he rounded the building's corner to go down to the vending machine.

His purple eyes flickered to look at two of 3-E's teachers talking outside. He flashed them a toothy grin, the kind he'd give Tsunayoshi when he ruled over the world, before leaving and ignoring them. He saw three other students from afar—none whose name he remembered but whose faces he retold.

His earlier scan of the gym had been beneficial. Two were from 3-D, and one, the one with eye-catching blue hair, was from 3-E. Perhaps because the boy's hair reminded him of Bluebell, another of his Funeral Wreaths, Byakuran felt his pace hasten as he closed the gap between himself and the trio. With sharp ears and trained senses, he quickly heard the conversation.

It made him scoff. Some people had a lot of time to lose, it seemed.

Not that he could talk, he was attending middle school when he could literally skip to higher education already.

One of the two 3-D boys, the chubby one with freckles and short spiky black hair, grabbed the bluehead by his collar. He lifted him with relative ease, slamming the more petite male against the wall by the vending machine as he began to curse at him in a much louder voice. His friend, taller and with rectangular glasses, snickered, his condescending eyes looking down on the other boy as he nodded in agreement with his peer.

"Say something, class E!" the male bellowed, visibly annoyed by the bluehead's despondent reaction.

He was like a doll, lifeless. His eyes were glazed over and devoid of shine as they dimmed in used servitude. The boy was so used to being at the bottom of the food chain, he didn't even know how to fight back. Although he clenched his fist, the only act of rebellion against his aggressor to show he hadn't completely given up yet, he didn't protest or move either.

Byakuran felt himself grow disappointed. He saw how the bluehead's light blue eyes met his own purple ones before he blanched and looked back at the ground.

"I'll kill you!" the 3-D teen continued to threaten.

The whole ordeal was seriously annoying Byakuran, who just wanted to get something from the vending machine. By now, rubbing his temple and closing his eyes to mask his temper, the whitehead felt as if he'd explode. Nothing was interesting, the bluehead teen was a real eye-opener negatively, and he was craving sweets.

Perhaps, had his eyes been open, he would have seen the flicker in Nagisa's eyes as he readied to fight back. Had he been less trained, he would have felt the killing intent, clearly not enough to be registered on his radar as it was no threat.

In a fraction, he was right behind the 3-D students, startling them both and the bluehead who widened his eyes at the sudden proximity.

"You," Byakuran uttered, laying a hand on the chubby teen. "What's your name?" he asked, his voice calm and a broad grin on his face. There was no answer, only still silence. So the mafia teen hummed, urging him to respond as he flicked his gaze to the taller of the two in silent questioning before looking at the blue head with the same intent.

"S-Shiota Nagisa, class 3-E."

Byakuran's smile widened. Nagisa felt the weight on his shoulders slightly lighten.

"T-Tanaka Nobuta!" the chubby one replied, suddenly standing straighter. "Class 3-D!" seeing as his friend wasn't answering, he replied for him. "A-and Takada Chousuke!" he screeched, voice getting high pitched by the end of his sentence.

Byakuran hummed. He nodded. "I see."

With a speed none of the three could follow, he pulled his fist back and punched the chubby one straight in the guts, making him double over before choking and falling to the ground, breath cut short. Byakuran's purple eyes narrowed, glinting a stormy red as he felt himself coat his fist in the said flame.

He clicked his tongue, eyes disdainfully narrowed as a smirk overtook his previous fake broad smile. "Well, well~" he sang, loving the way the taller of the remaining two shivered. "And here I was wondering how to blow some steam.

Takada began to stutter something out, but Byakuran ignored him, favoring his fist as he brought it straight into the glasses-wearing teen's face— breaking both the spectacles and his jaw in the process. A bruise of green and blue bloomed on the skinny male's cheek, painting his pale skin in vibrant colors. Byakuran did not doubt that the other boy, Tanaka, also had a beautiful flower blooming on his abdomen.

He shook his hand as if to get some dust off as his eyes zeroed onto Shiota's figure. Red danced with purple as he came to a halt. "You know Shiota, I really hate wimps like you~" he grinned, the tone of his voice and smile not matching the air around him. "But what I dislike the most are leeches sticking to my brother~" he admitted with a defeated sigh as if it wasn't his fault but Nagisa's.

His fist was about to rain down on Nagisa. Still, seconds before the impact, its trajectory changed, aiming instead right behind him as he twisted on his form to punch the intruder in the throat. His eyes took note of Karasuma being his target. In a fraction, the red in his eyes vanished, and deep blue overtook him— slowing the trajectory of his fist and making for a very soft hit.

Byakuran blinked and his eyes went back to their regular shade. He observed as the agent let go of his fist, a stern look on his face as if to silently berate him.

"Oh, my~ I hadn't seen you there!" Byakuran sang, bringing a hand to cover his mouth in faux surprise. He fake gasped, looked at his watch, and gasped again. "Time is ticking. Break is almost over! Better hurry and get my snack then?" he rhetorically said with a tilt of his head as he pulled a coin from his pocket and slid it into the vending machine as if there was no issue.

Karasuma glared down at the teen. The next second, another "man?" stood beside him, his face painted a violent red. It was his brother's target.

"Your attitude will be reported to the headmaster's office, young man," the target seethed, his voice severe as Byakuran raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"There is nothing to report, Sir," he denied with a shake of his head as he picked his drink up from the vending machine. Plucking his straw in his pack of apple juice, he took a probing sip. With his foot, he went to nudge at the two laying students on the ground. His eyes shone with a yellow tint, Sun flames coursing through his being as he forced it to radiate from his foot to heal the two's bruises.

He doubted they'd catch his use of the flame as he forced a thin veil of mist to cover the changing color of his eyes.

"You can check the cameras if you want, Sensei~" he added with a lilt before twirling on himself and walking around to enter the main building.

It was true. There was nothing on the cameras. Mist flames were extremely useful when it came to bending reality like this.

Σ(ノ°▽°)ノ

Not me making Byakuran more OP by giving him access to all type of flames