"That can't be. Do it again," The Principal instructed.
This time, the teacher placed a palm over Nero's forehead and the other over his heart. Nero felt another weird sensation run down his body, this time more intense than the last time, and his head spun a bit.
The teacher frowned this time, "I'm not sure, but from what I can feel it should be between a two and three,"
"Even though he's a dual Quirk user?"
"Yes," He nodded.
The teacher stepped back, and Nero's attention came back to the Principal. She didn't seem convinced and had her stern, small eyes on him.
"There are not very many fire users around," She began, "And nothing syncs about you, Nero. How can you be a dual Quirk user and still have no aura? No one in this world has an aura. It always starts from a Ten and Above..."
"I was born that way," He replied.
With a deep sigh, she added, "You're excused, Mr. Blade. Return to the assembly grounds,"
Nero quietly left the vicinity, only releasing a huge breath when he was sure he had put so much distance between. Questions stirred in his head, but he had also learnt new things from this conversation.
Apparently, some people can't feel the reaper's cold presence, and these powers that people possess in this world are referred to as Quirks.
Assembly was over when Nero got back, and he looked around and finally saw Rowan. He was by himself, staring at a bunch of students who had gathered around someone. They seemed excited.
"Hey," Nero ran up to him.
Rowan's eyes lit up, "Silver,"
"How are your injuries?"
"I woke up all healed. Can you believe we actually defeated a Minor threat?"
A chill ran down Nero's spine just thinking about it, "And I hope I never run into one again. Infestations are far easier to take care of,"
Rowan chuckled and looked down at his palms in awe, "That was actually the first time I was able to move so much with just my mind. It really knocked me out,"
"I'm just glad we made it out alive,"
Rowan lowered his voice this time, "You possess a Fire Quirk, right? It wasn't just in my head?"
"What about it?"
"It's amazing. I've heard about those blessed with the rare fire quirks, but that was the first time I was actually seeing it in person. You're mad strong...you have to be at least a grade four or higher,"
Nero was eager to change the topic, "What's going on over there?" He pointed at the small crowd of students.
"It's the bald-headed girl, Anne. They heard she encountered a Minor threat too and are eager to know how she defeated it."
Nero scanned through the crowd, and there she was in the middle, looking very disinterested. She had a dull look in her eyes and was trying to get away from them. "What's that thing on her forehead?" He asked when he noticed a red imprint on it.
"That's the mark of the Gyro Clan. She's supposed to be their youngest daughter, I think,"
"Supposed to be?"
"Rumour has it that she's adopted,"
"That's not bad."
As the conversation kept going, Anne's apathetic eyes lazily moved about till they landed on Nero. Nero wasn't looking at her and was saying something to Rowan, but he felt a prick on his back and looked, locking eyes with her.
Nero was stunned. She was the first person to notice him on her own. Others barely knew he was there, and he kinda of preferred it that way. He loved having Zero Aura Points.
Then, she strode up to him, leaving the crowd behind and watching.
"You're from the Blade family," She said, her voice holding a tang of apprehension in them, "What is your Quirk?"
"Why do you ask?" He retorted.
"Because I want to have an intense sparring session with you. I want to know if you'll be part of my competition, or you're just a bystander."
Nero shoved both hands in his pockets. "We are here to learn how to fight and defeat demons, not ourselves. Let's not get ahead of that,"
Her glass eyes dimmed even more, "Fine. I'll assume you don't wanna get your ass kicked that's why you are talking this way. The Blade Clan are known to be fierce competitors,"
"The Blade Clan surely are known to be a lot of things," He murmured that under his breath, then replied, "That won't work on me. Tag me as a bystander or whatever,"
"Are you sure about that?" She didn't seem like she was going to give up, and her palm suddenly stretched toward the ground.
Nero felt the ground beneath him vibrating. Did she have an Earth Quirk?
"Do you have something against the Blade Clan, and you're trying to settle it with me?"
"Are you gonna come to the sparring room now, or shall I force you to fight me here?" The earth trembled even harder beneath him, and he gritted his teeth.
"I'll give you a Sparring session, then."
The look in her pretty eyes only got colder.
"But right now, you need to stop this before you draw any more attention to us. Or would you want to get into trouble on your first day of school?"
His last statement seemed to do the trick. She dropped her palm, and the trembling stopped instantly. Her cold eyes turned into their regular, glassy, uncaring state again, but this time there was a slight hint of confusion as she looked around.
Then, without sparing Nero another look, she left like he had suddenly become invisible again.
"What the hell was that?" Rowan muttered next to him.
"Beats the hell out of me,"
"Maybe she knows you from somewhere,"
"Naa, I'm pretty sure she has a grudge against the Blade Clan and just wanted to beat the hell out of me," Nero replied.
"She's been so quiet since she came here, I thought she didn't speak," Rowan said.
"How did you know...," Nero was asking when he turned to Rowan and caught a fading blush on his cheeks, "No wonder you've been staring at her. You didn't even leave the assembly hall,"
Rowan shrieked, "Wait, what? What do you...,"
"Nothing!" Nero defended, "But I should warn you. It's hard getting girls who are way above your level. What Big Clan are you from again?!"
A mixed look of realisation and embarrassment had Rowan frowning at Nero, "I know, I know...ugh, whatever. Can we just go back to our dorms or to class, or whatever?"
They left the assembly hall together.
Nero thought back to his time at the Principal's office. The reaper's hold on him had worn off long ago, and he wondered if he had successfully lied his way out of it without getting caught.
Speaking of the devil...
An image flashed in his mind.
Mission: One Galloon
Description: One Gallon of Blood must be shed before the end of this week.
Reward: #300,000, and a trip back to Earth.
Where the heck was he supposed to get a whole gallon of blood from? He would have to kill someone and drain their blood for that to happen.
Then, another image popped up.
"Shadow Heir, Your Strength Grows"
"Shadow Heir, Your Hunger for Blood grows too."
And then, he could hear it.
It began subtly, a faint rhythmic thrumming that seemed to vibrate through the air.
Then, it intensified.
Thump-thump, thump-thump. Nero could suddenly hear everyone's unique heartbeats, echoing in the external world around him. Everyone he walked by could hear clearly the sound of their heartbeats.
But it didn't stop there.
A soft, insistent whooshing sound emerged, a liquid whisper that seemed to emanate through air itself, and it took a second to realise what that was: Blood rushing through everyone's veins, pumping back into the arteries and around their bodies again - he could hear everything.
And it called unto an unnatural sense he never knew he possessed.
The sound beckoned to him and stirred a primal, unfamiliar hunger. The lifeblood flowing through them seemed so accessible, so desirable.
His gaze fell on Rowan, the frantic heartbeat of his amplified in Nero's sudden keen senses. He could almost visualise the crimson tide coursing beneath Rowan's skin, just waiting to be tapped.
A horrifying image flashed in his head, from his own raging thoughts of his hands outstretched in a silent predator gasp as the warmth of blood would spill onto his palm, a dark mesmerising drizzle.
The thought sent a jolt of revulsion through his conscience, dreading the monstrous impulse. Dreading the push that wouldn't stop beckoning, like a siren's call to obey the calls of this new, overpowering feeling.
The lines between observer and predator blurred fast, and Nero stumbled and fell on his knees, his breathing fast and sharp.
"Hey, you good?" Rowan asked as he extended an arm to his new friend.
Nero looked up at Rowan, nodding as he took his hands, "Yeah, I'm good."