Seiran Academy

Chapter 1 – Welcome to Seiran Academy


“This… this is an outrage!” Minako exclaimed, looking at the class lists for her second year of high school. She stood outside on the warm spring day, beside her best friend Mariko, and nearly wanted to cry. “This is the first time you and I have not been in the same class since… as far as I can remember.”

Mariko patted her best friend on the shoulder with a sullen smile and a sigh. “It was bound to happen one year. Besides, you took academic, and I was only on shaking grounds to going to academic this year. I take it I was not approved.”

“That is likewise an outrage,” Minako said, turning to Mariko and placing her hands on her friend’s shoulders. “That is the first possibility that you and I will not go to the same college. That you and I will be…”

“…separated,” Mariko finished for her. The dark brunette nodded while the blonde sighed. The two had been inseparable since their first admittance to Seiran as elementary students, and seeing as Seiran was a private school, they took no entrance exams to enter the great high school, they had been ‘escalatored’ in and were introduced to the high school building without much of a worry. The only problem was that Minako had always been destined for the academic ropes while Mariko had been destined for lesser things. If it had not been for the money from her politician father Mariko would never have been going to the academy, since she was the second to worst student in the entire school. In the last year she had tried her hardest to raise her grades and had only faltered at the last minute in hopes of trying for academic, in hopes of not being separated from her best friend. It had failed.

“This means we will be in separate dormitories this year as well?” Minako asked, though she knew the answer.

“It means you will be with the elite, and I will be with the… not-so elite,” Mariko finished. “But look here, your room assignment this year is with Belle Dufrain, she is beautiful, and looks very much like the Disney character her name came from.”

Minako crossed her arms across her generous breasts and sighed again. This was not the beginning of the school year she had been hoping for. And worse, looking to the listing of names that went down in her class assignment, she was with the duo, Nemesis and Sage. The two of them were Hell in high school. Every girl loved them, they put little effort into their school work, and they still stayed in the top four ranking, Belle and Minako the two giving them a run for those top four spots. Minako would have screamed if she had a voice left in her.

“It will be interesting,” Mariko continued, “to see what will happen with the four of you in the same class, vying for the top spots. It might help your competition.”

Minako shook her head and had no time to lament over lost innocence, she had to rush to her class or have the fear of being the one of the four of them who were late. She walked into the class and felt her knees buckle and her whole body still. There they were, in three out of four of the seats all in the row closest to the window, leaning over and talking to one another as if they were old friends, and from what Minako heard, they were. The three of them had all entered at high school level and had easily taken on the school in their first year, becoming three of the most popular people. Now here they were, looking like the dark devils Minako thought them to be. Belle was the lightest of the three, pale skin and beautiful soft brown hair and soft brown eyes. She was not beautiful, though she was not ugly. Minako had often remarked to Mariko that Belle would have made a better man, though Belle still made a striking woman. Sage had a dark brown coloring to his hair and beautiful green eyes, with medium skin tone and a muscular, but not too large, build. Nemesis was the most handsome, while being a bit beautiful and a tone of meterosexualness to him. He had pitch black hair and dark black eyes and tanned skin that was almost brown enough to come from the Middle East, except that Minako highly suspected it was a fake base tan that he probably rubbed on at night. She had always wanted to glimpse his palms to see if they had fake-bake residue upon them.

Compared to the others Minako stood out like a sore thumb. She was shorter than all of them with long golden blonde hair that reached the back of her knees and that she often kept up in a deep blue ribbon that matched the Seiran Academy uniform. Her crystalline blue eyes were often mistaken for a lilac or even white depending on her moods, though today she could must no happiness or anger, just defeat, and so blue shone.

To Minako’s awkwardness the three of them looked up to her, standing there, barely able to move towards the only empty seat within the entire classroom, the one right in the front, in the row with them.

Minako walked in silently and sat down at her desk. To her surprise she felt Belle’s long fingernail tap her on the shoulder. Trying not to shudder Minako turned around and faced the girl who smiled viciously. “Looks like we are going to be roomies,” she said with a smile. “Perhaps you would like to join our study group?”

The entire class seemed to be watching the interaction. Throughout her freshmen year of high school Minako had avoided these three as best she could, and not being in the same class as them she did so well, though she often caught them watching her in the hallways. She was aware of the whispers, of the rumors. Minako had been, and still was, the most popular girl in school. Now the most popular girl was seated, and nearly teamed with, the most popular group. Would she join them? Everyone was holding their breath in anticipation.

Minako’s sigh of relief at the teacher’s entrance was heard by all, but Belle was not finished speaking. “Maybe you can make your decision later,” Belle whispered quietly, “since that was not really a ‘no’.” Was she pressuring Minako or threatening her? It nearly sounded like a threat!
Her first day of the new school year did not go so badly. She was able to pretty much ignore the Dark Trio, as they were often referred to as, and at lunch she was happy to escape and rush to the roof of the school, hoping to meet up with Mariko. Mariko was not there. Minako sat on one of the benches and quietly awaited her friend. She could be running late, or maybe she was buying something from the cafeteria. Minako opened her bento and picked at the rice cake she had made herself, not really as hungry as she had hoped to be.

“That looks good,” a deep voice said from above her. Minako nearly through the food in Sage’s face as she jumped back and looked up, even more horrified to see that Sage, Nemesis, and Belle all stood over her and were smiling their dark smiles.

The three of them took their seats by Minako, who raised to stand and walk away from them, but Nemesis’s hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back to sit next to him on the bench. “You seem like you are in a hurry to get away from us,” he pointed out to her.
“Believe it or not,” she said snidely, “not everyone is dying to spend their every waking moment with you.”
“You’re right,” Belle laughed, “I don’t believe it. You are a perfect addition to our little group, after all, I know all about you Minako Aidan, and I know what makes you cling to Mariko so much, and not open up to other friends.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Minako hissed. She pulled her hand away from Nemesis and stood up on the roof. “Mariko is my best friend and she will be up to join me in a minute.”

“Calm down,” Sage laughed. “We aren’t up here to make a mess of things for you. We want you to be our friend. The golden key to the dark trio. You look shocked. We know what everyone calls us. We decided we need some light.”

“And as I said,” Belle continued, “you would make a perfect addition, considering your past. You have a dark past for such a golden girl.”

Minako shook with anger, and fear. Did they know? They could not possibly know. Could they? “I have to go,” she began and tried backing up, but Nemesis was too fast for her and standing behind her, locking her arms at her side before she could go anywhere.

“Just listen to what we have to offer you,” he whispered in her ear, his voice tickling the back of her earlobe.

“You mean besides your incredible show at friendship?” Minako asked sarcastically.

“She sure does have a biting tongue,” Belle pointed out.

“I could think of other things she could use it for,” Sage remarked lecherously.

“Just be our friend and we will keep your secret for you,” Belle said casually.

“What’s in it for you?” Minako asked. She wanted to call their bluff, to prove they did not know what they claimed they knew, but she was too afraid. Too afraid they did know and they would say it aloud.

“Why, your friendship,” Belle said, “what else would we need?”

“You know, besides a little,” and with his words Nemesis kissed the back of Minako’s neck. Her skin crawled, some from disgust, some from excitement. She tried to pull forward and away from the man but he was holding her tight against him and she felt something that she was sure was telling her he was happy to be there behind her.

“Let me think about it?” Minako asked helplessly.

“No,” Belle said definitively. “The answer is either yes or no and you give it now.”

Minako was caught between a rock and a hard place and it seemed to her she had no other option. “Yes,” she sighed in defeat.

“Perfect,” Belle smiled and Nemesis released her. The three of them laughed at her as she raced to the stairs and tried to catch her breath. She would strangle Mariko when she found her.