In the weeks after arriving in the snall town of Arcadia, Jugo was able to find a job and get Raioten signed up for school. He was placed in the 7th grade. Jugo and Raioten had to sleep at his place of work until he could afford a small apartment for the two of them.
Jugo: Finally! Home sweet home. Sorry it took so long. What do you think?
Raioten: It's no problem Jugo, thank you. Can I ask why you didn't use the money the military guy set up for us?
Jugo: That relief money is for extreme emergencies only. We can survive without it, so we will.
Raioten: Oh, I see.
Jugo: Hey man, how are you feeling about school?
Raioten: Oh, I. . . I don't know. I'm pretty nervous.
Jugo: Don't worry kiddo, you'll be fine. Just relax that face of yours and you'll make friends easy.
Raioten: I'll try.
Raioten spent the last remaining weeks preparing to start school. On the morning of his first day, Raioten arrived a bit early. Jugo told him that he should always arrive a few minutes early no matter where he's going. As the other students and teachers began to approach the school, Raioten's head began to hurt. The intense pain got worse and worse, until it prevented Raioten from even walking. He dropped down and clutched his head. Though the spectators wanted to help, not a spul was able to approach him. They all felt death radiating from Raioten and their bodies refused to move towards him. His head continued the pulse over and over, until he couldn't bear it anymore. As Raioten was ready to scream out and run away, a hand was placed on his shoulder.
Morgan: Hiya! Whatcha doing down there?
Raioten looked up to see Morgan and his headache slowly faded as he focused on her. The crowd of spectators Raioten gathered began to whisper.
?: What the heck is wrong with him? Is that guy some kind of freak? His hair is blue, what else could you expect?
Seeing the sorrow in Raioten's eyes, Morgan threw a book of hers at one of the boys talking about Raioten. The boy fell back eith a bloody nose.
Morgan: Oh no! My hand slipped, sorry.
Morgan walked over to help the boy up. As he took her hand and rose to his feet, she whispered in his ear. Raioten couldn't hear what she said, but the boy immediately took off running for his first period class.
Morgan: Hey there Short Stack, do you know where your classes are,
Raioten: No. I have the classroom numbers but I don't know where they are.
Morgan: Let me see your schedule...... Room 602 is this way follow me!
Morgan took off in a sprint, forcing Raioten to run after her. She maneuvered her way through the crowded halls with precision, leading Raioten to think that it wasn't her first time. He also noticed that his headache had completely disappeared after she arrived. Raioten followed Morgan to his first class and she made her leave, promising to be back after his class. As soon as Raioten stepped into his class, he felt like every pair of eyes shifted straight to him.
He quickly scanned the room for an empty seat and found one all the way in the back of the class. Raioten still felt nervous about school, and those nerves flared up every time one of his classmates turned to look at him. When the teacher began the lesson on mathematics, Raioten noticed that he had already learned it in the Tower. Since none of the information was new to him, he slowly began to nod off. The teacher watched him of of the corner of her eye, just waiting for him to go to sleep. She had a ritual of sorts for whenever a student of hers went to sleep. If she caught anyone sleeping, she would take a large textbook and slam it on their desk to wake them up with a shock.
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When the other students saw her grab a textbook, they began to snicker quietly. They all couldn't wait to see Raioten's reaction. The teacher stood over his desk and raised the book high above her head, but it never came down. Raioten had started to have a nightmare about the Tower and his raw emotions struck fear into the classroom. They all felt like they were face to face with a monster as he began to toss about.
The teacher slowly backed away as Raioten began to grunt and growl. Inside his mind, he saw himself as a small child again, fighting for his life everyday. Endless waves of adults rushed at him to take his life. He fought brutally, killing each and every one of his aggressors. Raioten saw one body squirming in the ground and ran to finish the job. He turned the body over and saw Yona, crying.
Yona: I was wrong? I really thought you were more than that little Blue but I guess you really are nothing more than a monster.
Raioten lost it and began roaring out loud. As he let his guard down, dream Yona plunged a knife into his heart.
Raioten: Wh- Auntie.. Yona?
Yona: Don't ever say my name you freak! Die!
Yona twisted the blade and at the same time, Raioten fell out of his chair. The crash to the ground forced him awake from his nightmare. He rose to his feet, more embarrassed than anything. Seeing all of the fearful faces staring at him made him feel more and more like an outcast.
Raioten: I'm.... I'm sorry.
After his apology, Raioten blitzed out of the classroom and down the hall. The track coach saw him sprinting.
Coach: Hey! No runn- Holy cow that kid was fast, gotta get him on the team for sure!
Raioten ran and ran until he felt safe. When he finally stopped, he was up on the roof of a totally separate building of the school. Raioten looked around to see the small town and felt at ease.
Morgan: So, you stalking me or what?
Raioten turned and saw Morgan, eating breakfast.
Raioten: Morgan? What are you doing here?
Morgan: I don't have a first period, Shrimp. I come up here to enjoy my food in peace. The real question is, what are you doing in my special spot?
Raioten: I...
Morgan: You know you'll get in trouble for skipping class right? You have to stay in the classroom until you're dismissed.
Raioten: I know, I just couldn't stay anymore.
Morgan: Also, there are like 5 stairwells in other buildings closer to your class that lead to the roof. I think you came to like, the farthest one you possibly could've from your class.
Raioten: I wasn't following you, honest. I was just running, I had to get away.
Morgan hopped down from her cozy spot and stood in front of Raioten. She got uncomfortably close to him and stared into his eyes. Surprising him, she, ever-so-gently slapped his face. Her soft hand slowly brushed over the massive scar on his cheek.
Morgan: Quit being so hard on yourself ok? You don't even have to pay attention in class, which is an awesome thing trust me. Just focus on relaxing and making friends and you'll learn to live school, I promise.
Raioten: I'll try.
Morgan: I'm glad. If you would've said no, I would've kicked your ass. Now go on back to class and apologize for leaving ok?
Raioten: Yes ma'am.
Morgan: Good, I'll see you after class Tiny.
Raioten ran back to class in order to apologize and to start over. He sped past the Track Coach again, who was in awe of his speed.
Coach: Wait! Come back here!
When Raioten returned to class, he already expected all eyes to be in him. He stood outside of the door, preparing himself for the humiliation. When he entered, the entire class was frozen. Raioten bowed his head and apologized.
Raioten: I didn't mean to disrupt your class. I'm truly sorry.
To his surprise, the students expressed their worry for him. The majority of them thought that there was something really wrong with him. A few even asked for permission to leave class in order to find him. When they didn't see him in the nearby bathrooms, they assumed that he had gone back home.
?: Its totally alright young man, I should be the one to apologize. I received an email about your transfer from the principal but I didn't read it until a few minutes ago. If you ever feel sleepy, please feel free to stand up and walk around back there.
Raioten: Yes ma'am, thank you.
With the terrifying aura that surrounded him having vanished, Raioten's classmates felt like they were able to speak to him more. His first class experience ended positively. As class ended, all of the students began to pack their things. As they did, a young girl approached Raioten.
Moira: Hi there, I'm Moira!
Raioten: Oh, hello. My name is Raioten.
Moira: It's ao nice to meet you! I have to be honest, I was really scared to talk to you.
Raioten: Scared? I'm sorry! Please don't be scared of me, I won't hurt you.
Moira: I know. It's just that your eyes and that scar make you look a little mean. Which by the way, does it still hurt?
Raioten was in his own world of sorrow hearing that his face looked mean.
Moira: I'm sorry! You seem really nice to me.
He continued to fake cry at having a mean face.
Raioten: No, the scars don't hurt any more.
Moira: I actually came to ask if you- if I could... be your girlfriend?