The Next Gatekeeper

Adjusting

  I've been standing in this spot for a while now. Hands crossed over my chest, my foot repeatedly tapping on the hard marble floor out of frustration. I'm getting pissed about the instructor as he kept on clicking his tongue out of disgust at us newcomers. Like, anyone can read the distaste plastered all over this man's face. Why put it on display?

  When he turned in my direction, I turned my gaze back to the front while trying to restrain myself from thinking of strangling him. He only looked at me briefly before turning his attention back to the other newcomers.  When his inspection was over, he explained what we should remember and do whenever we have missions.

  The first thing he taught us was jumping, which was annoying cause even toddlers know what jump means, so learning such a thing would be a waste of my brain cells. When our disrespectful inspector finished his storytelling and bragging about himself, we were called to go to the announcement hall because the principal would introduce us as the new reapers.

  I was about to take a seat when I felt someone touching my shoulder. I tilted my head to the side to look at the person when my line of sight met amber ones just like mine. His eyes glittering with pure curiosity and joy scrutinize my face as if he knew who I am.

  I was about to ask him what he's doing when he gave me a subtle smile before walking away. I stared at the back of the retreating figure as he left without a word. His smile reminded me of someone whom I can't seem to remember. Unbeknownst to me, I just found myself blankly staring at my feet, only to return to my consciousness when we heard the footsteps that were heard throughout the hall. We all turned in the direction of the sound in which the headmistress can be seen, causing us to stop breathing for a second.

  Her eyes landed in my direction, causing some of them to stare back at me, then shifted back to the headmistress when she started the announcement introduction.

       "This won't take long. Time is crucial, and Mistakes are f*******n in this line of work. One wrong move or, I'll throw all of you to the abyss, and always remember, never, ever go outside your rooms when the bell of death chimes. Only the chosen ones are allowed to go outside unless all of you have a death wish. Now, Leaders! I'll give you enough time to get to know each other, those you think fits your group standards recruit them, and for those who can't find a group today, I'll be the one assigning you to your groups. Ciao. " That's all she said before walking out the room.

  We were all introduced one by one to the team leaders. The first team to approach me was the RA1 group which was led by Neviah. The only person I could recognize in the group was Licht and Julia. They both gave me a thumbs-up before going back to their seats, which I returned with a genuine smile.

  I was about to retreat to my room when someone stopped me from my tracks, causing me to scowl at them. Seeing my reaction, they all bowed 90 degrees from the ground before apologizing in a synchronized manner. I appreciate their gesture, but isn't it embarrassing? I was about to take the initiative to ask when the guy from before stopped me to it.

       "I'm sorry for my lack of manners from before. I'm Art, by the way, nice to meet you," he said, his hands extended in my direction.

    I gladly took his hands to shake them, " Psyche, that's my name, nice meeting you," I said before extracting my hand from his grasp.

  He smiled at me before going straight to the point.

       "Please allow me to be your official trainer," he said, his eyes begging for me to take his offer.

   I was about to inform him that I'll think about it when a hand caught my wrist, pulling me backward, making me stagger at my steps.

   I turned to see who it was when I saw Neviah standing in front of me, her hands crossed over her chest with Julia, who suddenly seize Art into a hug. Confused by the events turning in front of me, I broke the silence with an "eh...?" causing them to shift their attention back at me.

  I gave them all a questioning look leaving them to explain the situation.

      "This is RA1's leader, and he's a kid, so, I don't know what to say, but he just got back a few hours ago for this ceremony. So, yeah." Licht said, shrugging his shoulders and giving Art a teasing grin.

      "Ok... Can I go now? " I asked, eyes staring at the exit.

      "We'll come with you," Julia answered, beaming at me before encircling her hands in my arms. Neviah, on the other hand, gave an approving nod, only following us after Art left to change his clothes.

  Starting that day onwards, I'll wake up when the first bell chimes, then go straight to eat breakfast, and after that, I would meet with the group doing warm-ups inside the training grounds.

  I just got to our training room when a group of reapers rushed into the portal room. I tried to figure out what's happening when I overheard one of them mentioning the arrival of death.

     "Don't try to follow them," I heard someone saying, their hands placed over my shoulder.

  I gave that person a nod before entering the training room. I first saw Neviah and Art talking in the corner. I quickly approached them, making them turn to me. When Art saw me, he gave me a smile which I reciprocated with a grin. It's been months since I started bothering Art to teach me how to wield a scythe, and it's been months since he kept on declining me.

  The only reason why I kept up with this setup is that I want to learn how to hold a scythe. I'm amazed since you need incredible arm strength to wield a weapon taller and much heavier than you.

       "Anyways, what's with the fuss outside?" 

   I asked both Art and Neviah, who only gave me a nod, saying that it's an important matter that we can't discuss freely.

  I just raised an eyebrow at them before going straight to the place where Licht and Julia were sitting and talking while the others were staring at what they were doing.

Third person's point of view

  In a dark hall where only candle lights, illuminated the darkness sat a man who seemed overjoyed at what he had learned from the spy, he had sent inside the reaper's mansion. No one could comprehend what this man's thinking, especially when this man found another play toy.

      "Your majesty, what in Heaven's name are you up to this time? This is no time for any more of your funny businesses. You have been neglecting your duties for the past month, and now you want to create more chaos? Can you please behave just for once and do your work correctly?"

  The man groaned as a response, giving a deathly glare towards his adviser before bringing himself to his office to start reviewing the stock of report papers piled on his desk.

  Nearly finished reviewing half of the reports, the man suddenly grinned to himself. A ridiculous idea suddenly popped out of his mind. With his silly plan in mind, he continued with his work, a mischievous smile plastered on his face.

  The adviser could not do anything but be dismayed because he knows that no matter what he does, the man sitting in front of him would never listen. He wonders why he accepted this man's proposal to take him as his adviser when he only knows how to give his works to others.

  His subordinates can only bow their heads out of shame for his majesty's action and their lack of guidance to correct their master's bad habits. They can feel the dark aura coming out of his majesty's adviser, making them shrink out of fear, hoping that their heads can still be intact by the end of the day.

Back on the headmistress office~

  The upright headmistress of the reapers mansion can only stare at the letter in her hands. She's not even shocked that the man he once taught as a child became this mischievous. After rereading the letter a few times, she called for an urgent meeting amongst the leaders of the raiding teams. She hopes that they could find a solution to this impending chaos before everything falls out of place.