December midterms quickly came by. Mitsukuni felt that apart for his Master Degree, he never worked as much as a student in his former life. It was both tiring and gratifying. Tiring, he didn't know how many afternoons and weekends he spent with Karma, Gakushu, or both, studying endlessly, only taking a break from time to time before diving right back into his textbooks.

His days were full of notebooks, scribbles, equations, and formulas, and sadly enough, so were his dreams. He didn't have a moment to dream of cakes, fearing they would transform into volcano's and begin to teach him the way of geology. It was a fearful moment, honestly.

But it also felt extremely gratifying. Whenever he reviewed something that he already knew, seeing as his speed went up with each time he looked over his textbook. He loved how easily he solved the problems and exercises, needing almost no time to think.

Nonetheless, the most satisfying moment was the one he lived at the moment. Sitting in his chair with third-years of all classes surrounding him, Mitsukuni twirled his fountain pen between his fingers. From the corner of his eyes, he saw some of his classmates. They seemed like addicts, eyes glazed over and nonsense spilling out of their mouths.

Well, it mostly was how they would bring 3-E to their knees and re-establish the hierarchy of Kunugigaoka Junior High. This was the terrifying product of Headmaster Asano's teaching— doctrine. He was some kind of powerful sect leader, his ability to brainwash his followers into doing his bidding was both awe-inspiring and horrifying.

Mitsukuni shook his head, he brought his wrist closer to his nose, taking in the light fragrance of his wristband. He couldn't keep Sweets for the midterms, so he decided to spray a wristband with the same perfume as Sweets' foulard as a substitute.

His shoulders minutely relaxed as the fragrance wafted through his nose and invaded his system. In his room, he recognized five on 3-E's students. They were ordered in alphabetical order, so while both Karma and Gakushu sat in the same room, he rarely got the opportunity to be with them— not like they would converse either way. But some moral support from time to time would be nice.

Of the five students, he clearly recognized three and vaguely recalled the last two. The first one was Kataoka Meg, the girl who helped him on his first day of Junior High, and also the female Class Representative if he remembered right. Her light brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail leaving a straight fringe to cover her forehead. She seemed serious, calm, and collected, but also more confident than before.

The second one, another girl, was Kayano Kaede. With some eye-catching light green hair fashioned in a unique, cat ear-styled pigtails, she was one of Karma's friends. At least, she was introduced as such when they met. Her overall aura seemed childish and cutely determined. Mitsukuni could tell, he was a pro in the domain— cough, he was the infamous Loli-Shota of Ouran! And it was precisely for this reason that he couldn't shake off the strange feeling the girl gave off.

She was so cute. So childish. So innocent— It was so obviously fAkE.

He breathed, he shouldn't think of these things right now. Leaving the pudding loving girl alone, he brought his attention to his third acquaintance. He never properly spoke to her but she came to the Host Club on the festival day, so he got her name. The tall raven-haired beauty was Kanzaky Yuzuki, with a calm and elegant temperament unlike the other two girls, she gave off the feeling of a girl from a good family. In fact, her every gesture felt so despite the slightly casual tone she seemed to have recently adopted.

The last two individuals were a boy and a girl. Mitsukuni guessed their name from the roster Gakushu once sent him and the class picture he asked Karma earlier in the year.

The male, with dark spiky brownish-green hair, was rather common looking. His eyes were a simple shade of black, and his face was rather round. If Mitsukuni was correct, he was one of the Baseball match's key players— not like he saw it, but Karma told him enough, add to it the recording and you have it. The boy, Kimura Masayoshi was supposedly an extremely fast runner. He seemed friendly and full of ambition, Mitsukuni thought his name fit him quite well (Masayoshi's (read as Seigi) name means Justice. ).

The last one was a girl with short, wavy orange hair. She seemed bubbly and friendly enough, and while stress could be read on her face, she tried her best to cheer her classmates up and dismiss it. From where he sat, Mitsukuni deduced she must be caring, and quite good at relaxing others as her classmates loosened up after her talk. Her name was Kurahashi Hinano. Karma quite liked her as she sometimes gave him some interesting pointers on where to find bugs and other insects for his pranks.

Lost in his musings, the sound of the door sliding open pulled him out of them. Silence settled, leaving only the teacher to speak and walk into the room. His sneakers hit the ground, making a squeaking noise each time. He wore sportswear and Mitsukuni reckoned that he was a P.E. teacher.

The male unhurriedly went through the roster before setting the clipboard and pen down. He looked up at the clock that hung above his head on the wall before tearing the kraft envelope open. From it, he pulled a stack of paper, the exam subject. The first was classic literature.

"I'll give the subject out now," the male strictly said. "Don't touch them until I tell you," and he began to walk through the rows of students, setting a paper on each table.

Mitsukuni closed his eyes, collecting his nerves and settling the possible nervousness that built up at the pit of his stomach. He focused his hearing on the ticking of the clock, blocking out the squeaking of shoe sole against the floor.

The P.E. teacher went back to the teacher's desk. He looked up at the clock, swept his gaze over the students, and glanced at his wristwatch. "Okay, you can begin now," as soon as his words fell, the sound of paper moving and pens and highlighters scribbling sounded in the room. "You have three hours, raise your hands if you need anything. 'Restroom is allowed starting the second hour of the test," he recited in a used practice, not really caring if the students listened.

It wasn't their first midterm in Kunugigaoka if they didn't know the rules yet, there wasn't much he could do for them. The man pulled his chair out, and lazily slumped on it. He pulled a book: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and picked up from where he left his bookmark.

Like that, exams went by.

3-A's soldiers strived to beat 3-E–

Prove their supremacy, crush the bugs under their feet and overshadow everything from the top where only the sun shone.

3-E's students battled to prove their worth—

They were the wings of the butterfly, ready to create another storm and provoke a true uprising within Kumugigaoka's system.

Results came in, a revolution was at work.

::

Mitsukuni gazed at rankings with minute surprise, Sweets hung in his arms, leaving his feet anchored to the ground as he swept his honey-brown eyes over the familiar yet slightly foreign names that took up most of the top fifty spots.

One, two, three, four, five— five E Class students stood between Gakushu's ranking and the next 3-A student. Gakushu was third, and Ren ninth. Mitsukuni searched for the other Virtuosos in a religious silence. Koyama Natsuhiko, the Biology Club leader and self-proclaimed science genius got twelfth place.

Mitsukuni wasn't the only one to stand in silence, but unlike the other 3-A students, he didn't ooze an ounce of despair. Right behind Natsuhiko was Araki Teppei, the head of the Broadcasting Club, at the thirteenth place. Mitsukuni's eyes traveled down to search for the remaining Virtuoso, Tomoya Seo their English Master ranked sixteenth.

The "Virtuosos" were spread on more than one-fifth of the top. They weren't even in the top ten for the most part— how ridiculous was that?

He bit his lower lip, eyes glinting knowingly before he flicked his gaze to look at the top three. Because of alphabetical order, Karma's name stood atop his, a proud one recorded next to his name with his overall score of five hundred on the other side. Right under was Mitsukuni's name with the exact same numbers on either side of his name.

He took note of Gakushu's name underneath his. The teen scored a remarkable four hundred and ninety-nine, leaving him only one point behind, and allowing him to topple the other students at third place.

Mitsukuni didn't utter a word. The atmosphere in 3-A was too heavy for him to waltz his way out with a few smiles and giggles. Fluttering his lashes would do little to the tense atmosphere. No matter if he scored enough to rank first, Mitsukuni's performance wouldn't lift their spirit.

Why?

Perhaps instead of goofing around and spending time with the former Host Club, aiding his class and cheering them on would have been better. Despite being the undeniable top student of the whole third-year, Mitsukuni was more of a (high end) mascot than a real student.

He heaved a sigh and slightly nuzzled his nose against Sweet's foulard. His senses were tingling, screaming at him that something was about to happen, and he didn't like it one bit. Too engrossed in his thinking, Mitsukuni failed to notice the predatory air that oozed from him, further dampening the heavy mood that hovered his classmates.

It was the rattling of a chair against the floor that snapped Mitsukuni out of his musings. His honey-brown eyes didn't regain their childish shine, remaining unnervingly still and calculative as he looked toward his childhood friend. His lips stretched into a thin unreadable line, he listened to Class A's spiritual leader.

"Even in High School, I'll win," Gakushu spoke. His voice lacked in power, and although it was riddled with intimate conviction, Mitsukuni could feel the slight tremor in the depth of it. "And keep showing you guys how to do it," he announced, fully standing. It was as if standing gave him his aura back. The charisma previously hidden by his hunched back flooded the room— making even the most desperate students look up to stare at him.

Like a beacon of light in times of darkness, like the Sun, Gakushu shone on them, creating a path for them to follow in those tumultuous moments. Truly, if one thought Gakushu reigned as a tyrant, with his marks and background backing him, then they failed to recognize the true leadership he carried, and the trust 3-A had in him— regardless of everything.

"I'll lead the way!" Gakushu confidently stated, his voice booming through the room. It was unusual for him to raise his voice, but by doing so, Gakushu rid himself of the remaining hesitation that tinted his voice. "So please," it was even more unusual for him to beg. "Keep supporting me," he asked of them.

Nevertheless, he didn't bow his head. Gakushu would lead them to the top if they allowed it, but never at the price of his pride. It was this pride that drove him to become stronger and vanquish his enemy. If he laid it down, he would have nothing left, and 3-A would be left with an empty shell to follow.

Millions of whispers flew over the classroom, awed and embarrassed by the teen's words. They hadn't expected him to push them back up. After all, Gakushu was the only one that didn't let 3-A down, he ranked in the top three, and while he lost a place, it was nothing in the eyes of the students.

Mitsukuni felt his relaxed shoulders grow taut. Headmaster Asano seemingly appeared from nowhere as he menacingly stood behind his progeny. His voice was like the sweet whisper of death, inciting fear and despair. His tone wasn't different from usual, and the smile on his face remained as genial as when Mitsukuni last saw him, yet there was an extremely dangerous edge to his gaze.

It wasn't a glare, but he seemed to delve into the deepest part of their mind as he met each students' eyes. Mitsukuni felt like Headmaster Asano ignored his presence. He didn't know if it was due to his ranking, to his grandparents, or their relationship. He was more tempted to go with the first option.

"—To keep winning to survive," Headmaster Asano told them, his voice smooth and silky, easily entering their ears and resonating in their skulls. There was a pause in his speech, his eery violet eyes drunk the sight of the scared and intimidated students.

"And I am obligated to teach you that," his voice tainted itself with derision as he acted to placate children throwing tantrums. "Until you graduate, I'll be sure to thoroughly work on your minds," he opened, the dissecting look in his eyes unchanging as his lips quirked up into a smile— a blend of helplessness and domination.

Maybe it was the fact that Gakushu previously stood alone against his father, the fear-inducing and awe-inspiring Grand Asano Gakuho, but the moment the Virtuosos spoke up, something seemed to change in 3-A's cognition.

Araki, perhaps the mildest of the group, surprisingly was the one to call out to the chairman. And like a stone thrown into a lake, he created ripples, and soon Ren followed his lead. And without Mitsukuni understanding how they fell to an understanding, the entirety of 3-A bowed to the Deputy Chairman. Only Gakushu stood, surprised, and comforted by their trust.

Mitsukuni could only speechlessly observe, minutely forgetting his worry. "—If you're dissatisfied, please put us in Class E," the entirety of the class asked, in one voice. "We feel like we'd be able to grow better there," their united voice was like a stone, falling and never bouncing back— there was no turning back.

Headmaster Asano remained mute, and something in his eyes changed. The dangerous edge turned almost deadly, and Mitsukuni, who kept an eye on him, felt like he was about to snap. The small sanity that remained kept him from turning into a madman right this instant.

"This is the answer—" SNAP "Mr.Direc—"

The slap flew before anyone could guess it was coming. Even Mitsukuni was left flabbergasted, his reflex only allowing him to catch Gakushu before he was sent flying into the tables and chairs. He didn't know if it was his childish body or the lack of training that made him so slow to see the slap coming.

Truthfully, even the Headmaster seemed confused by his actions. He simply snapped the moment he heard his son's voice, and before he knew it, he sent him tumbling from a simple swat of the hand.

Mitsukuni dumbly looked at his childhood friend's bruised cheek, and he felt like something in him was about to get out. His honey-brown eyes got a few shades darker. He didn't listen— more like didn't hear his friend's voice, as his mouth kept on closing and opening.

Who dares to hit his people?

Who dares?

Who dares?

The question echoed in his overgrown mind. He didn't register the class moving to go out of the room.

"—zuki? Kannazuki?" the hand that fell on his shoulder was roughly grabbed before he sent the person forward with a clean shoulder throw, uncaring of who it was. He was on edge, and the smallest stimuli were enough to break his childish nerves.

The abrupt sound and action brought another pause in the class, Ren laid on his back, hissing in pain as he rubbed his hips to soothe the growing bruise.

"Ah, Ren-chan!" Mitsukuni called, slightly confused.

Ren merely shook his head, a smile on his face. Mitsukuni could see how it twisted from the repressed pain. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized as he stood up with another hiss.

Gakushu looked at them, he flicked his gaze to his motionless father, refraining the scoff from leaving his mouth. "Ren, Mitsukuni, let's go."

And like that, Headmaster Asano was left alone.

On a side note, I dunno if some of you once read Brave New World, I did, and that was one strange book alright.