After Van's Unique Class abruptly ended due to the appearance of one Victoria Gates, Chad and Fred quickly bid farewell to him, riding off on some sort of giant lizard as they returned to their dorms.
Guess it's also time for him to go home as well. And so, with a sigh, he activated his skills and started moving his feet, leaving a trail of smoke in front of the Unique Class-1. However, before he could even pass the gates, he quickly slowed down, almost trotting in the process.
"You guys?", Van could not help but blink his eyes a couple of times. Harvey and Beatrice were in front of the Academy's gigantic gates.
"Eek!", Harvey shrieked and jumped in shock into the air as Van seemingly popped up out of nowhere, almost reaching the top of the gates' pillars.
"Are you two going somewhere?", Van asked.
"Yeah", Beatrice fixed her glasses, "To your house, where else?"
"What?", Van raised his eyebrows in confusion. They were waiting for him? Van knew they haven't been waiting for that long, but that was only because his extracurricular class ended too early. If it didn't, would that mean they would be waiting for him in the gates for more than an hour?
"Of course", Harvey cleared his throat as he composed himself, "We have nothing to do after school but to go to your house", Harvey shrugged his shoulders.
"Hm", Beatrice nodded in agreement, "You can't skip your lessons just because you have extracurricular classes for the day"
"I… see", Van slightly looked down, a hint of a smile slowly growing on his face.
"Shall we go then?"
The three then proceeded to walk to Van's house. But once they were in front of Van's house, the three could not help but look at each other as they felt someone following them all the way here ever since they left the Academy. Van couldn't help but sigh in frustration as he activated his skills.
He then ran all the way behind the one that was following them.
"What're you doing, miss Gemma?"
"Kya!"
Gemma almost choked the pillar she was hiding behind when she felt someone tap on her shoulder. But as soon as she saw who it was, she cleared her throat and patted her uniform.
"I told you…", she muttered, "I won't leave before I find out what happened to you in the arena"
"Van, is everything okay?"
Beatrice and Harvey quickly rushed towards them as they heard Gemma's shout. "This is…?", Beatrice tilted her head as she looked at Gemma.
"Ah! You're the red-head we saw last week!", Harvey quickly pointed towards Gemma. He then squinted his eyes in suspicion, "...Are you stalking Van?"
"What!?", Gemma quickly waved her hand, "No!". She quickly denied. But in her mind, she was also starting to think that she might be stalking Van, but even so, she must know what happened in the name of justice, she thought.
"Fine", if Gemma followed him all the way here, then she probably won't stop until Van tells her something to satisfy her pursuit for the truth. And so, with a sigh, "...Come inside", he invited Gemma into his house.
***
"Something like that happened!?"
Van finally told the story of what happened to him when he visited the academy about half a month ago, how he went to the Academy to ask for help in unlocking his System, only to be led to an arena and be beaten by some student thugs.
Harvey and Beatrice could not help but furrow their eyebrows in anger. "Do you know who they are!?"
As soon as Van heard this question, he slightly glanced towards Harvey before ultimately shaking his head, "No… I don't remember their faces". Of course, he remembers. He remembers each one of their faces. But so far, he had only met Gerald.
"Not even the colors of their hair?", Gemma placed her hand on her chin.
"Sadly not", Van let out a deep sigh.
"Tch", Harvey could not help but click his tongue, "Once we find out who it is, we will beat the shit out of them!"
Van could only chuckle wryly as he heard Harvey's statement. If he finds out that it was his brother, would he still say the same thing?
"Anyway…", Gemma stood up from the sofa, "We haven't been properly introduced… My name is Gemma Hopkins, a sophomore student and part of the Student Council"
"Student council? The school had something like that?", Harvey blinked his eyes in disbelief a couple of times.
"...Yes", Gemma furrowed her eyebrows, "The one who explained about the Systems during your entrance ceremony is actually our President"
"Don't mind him, miss Gemma. He doesn't know a lot", Beatrice interrupted, "I'm Beatrice Williams, Van's classmate", she said softly as she shook Gemma's hands.
"Nice to meet--"
"And I am…!"
Before the two could continue with their introductions, Harvey suddenly raised his arms in the air, "Harvey Lauder, the most strongest freshman in the country", he said as he flexed his muscles, "You might know my brother since he's also a sophomore… Gerald?"
"Gerald?", as soon as Gemma heard the name, she instantly raised an eyebrow, "That psycho is your brother? Must be tough", she said, her tone containing a bit of pity.
"...Psycho?", Harvey slowly dropped his muscles as he returned to his seat.
"Hm?", Gemma tilted her head, "During the first year, he killed the baby gryphons in the pin just because they couldn't fly"
"!!!"
"What!?"
Beatrice and Harvey had their eyes wide open as they heard Gemma's words. Even Van, who knew Gerald's true colors, was a bit surprised.
"Could it be…", Gemma also let out a bit of shock, "...you don't know?"
"That's impossible!", Harvey waved his hand, his gums almost bleeding as he grit his teeth, "My brother… my brother will never do something like that!"
Seeing the denial in Harvey's eyes, Gemma could only shake her head, "Ask any sophomore and they will tell you the same…", Gemma said, "...or maybe they won't, because they are afraid of him"
"If that was real...", Beatrice stepped in to comfort Harvey, "Then he should be expelled by now, but he isn't!"
"...Expel a Lauder?", Gemma snorted, "Expel the heir of one of the wealthiest families in the country?"
"T...this", hearing Gemma's cold words, Beatrice could only sit back down.
Gemma couldn't help but sigh as she saw the mood die down. Maybe she should shut her mouth from time to time, she thought.
"Anyway, I still need to go back to the Academy", Gemma lightly clapped her hands as she slowly stepped away awkwardly.
"Come find me once you remember who did that to you", she whispered in Van's ears before walking to the door. "Sorry you found out this way, Harvey", she muttered before leaving the house.
"..."
The whole house became quiet with the sudden revelation. Harvey, who previously always had something to say, had his head down completely.
In the end, Beatrice as well, couldn't concentrate on teaching Van due to the sour mood. And so, Beatrice and Harvey went back to the Academy, completely dejected.
Seeing their retreating dropped shoulders, Van could not help but let out a sigh. He finally had an insight as to what kind of person Gerald was. He's a monster. A monster that liked to prey on the weak.
Van returned to the living room and sat on the sofa. Once again looking around the house only to notice how empty it was.
"Tomorrow… is a weekend?", he muttered. The NYSA had no classes during the weekends to let the students rest and maybe train on their own. Since Harvey and Beatrice left abruptly, they didn't really have any chance to set up plans for the weekend.
And so, Van let out a deep breath as he came up with his own plans-- visit Andrea and ask her to live with him.
'I… should probably rest early today'