The gymnasium was packed. We were lined up in our classes in gojuuon order, so I was in the middle of the line. Standing behind me was Tadokoro, and in front of me was a girl who had left the class without giving an introduction. Her appearance and attitude made me think she was a gyaru.

At the front there were five students with regal purple ties sitting down. Next to them were a few important members of staff, such as the vice-principal, but most importantly, there was the Headmaster himself.

It was about five minutes until the ceremony started.

Stepping to the front with a microphone in his hand was the Headmaster, Satsubatsu Kirigaya-sama. He is a very important man in this school and in-charge of everything. I'm sure a lot of students already liked him because of the treatment he's given them.

"Good morning once again, first years. My name is Satsubatsu Kirigaya, and I am the Headmaster of GEN Academy. It's a pleasure to meet all you. Congratulations for overcoming the entrance exam and being admitted to this school. I am sure many of you are very proud of yourself and will go on to achieve great things in society. Right now, you first years are diamonds in the rough, but we will polish and refine you into a sparkling diamond that's worth thousands. By the end of graduation, all of you will go onto to get your dream job or go to your dream university. That is our promise to you, and we will stop at nothing to achieve those dreams. You are elite. You are Japan's future leaders."

Headmaster Satsubatsu-sama smiled as he looked at everyone's faces.

Even though the entrance ceremony is usually a tedious thing no one likes, this man somehow managed to rouse the souls of all of us with his powerful declaration. He was a brilliant public speaker, utilising hand movements and a confident tone to command the speech.

What struck me most was GEN Academy's promise of graduating and going into our dream professions or the higher education of our choice. It seemed to be another reason why people saw this school as amazing and wanted to enrol here.

"At it's core, GEN Academy is a school of freedom. Students, please don't hold back and enjoy yourself to the very fullest while you're at this academy. As an educator, I want to see everyone transform and blossom into something beautiful. No matter what, you can achieve great things if you work hard and strive to become the best. Who else would be best to talk about that than our very own King?"

One of the students with purple ties stood up. Pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, he walked over and took the microphone from the Headmaster. The atmosphere of the gymnasium shifted from warm to cold the moment he stepped at the front.

Settling the microphone into the speaking podium, the boy began to speak.

"Good morning, first years. My name is Kishou Arashi, a third year in the nation Dust Purple. I am King of GEN Academy."

Those icy words settled in. It felt like a storm had blown past us and left us paralysed.

The pressure the King gave off was insane.

My heart was shaking with fear.

He struck me as an upstanding young man who had earned his way to the top. He didn't brag about his status, nor did he completely disregard it. He had a perfect balance when it came to his level of self-awareness.

"I would like to thank the Headmaster Satsubatsu-sama for giving me the chance to speak with you all today, and thank all of you for listening to me. Ever since I was enrolled into GEN Academy, I have been able to achieve things I didn't think were possible. I am very familiar with this position known as "King". I was the former King in my middle school too. However, this title does not dictate who I am. In this school, the gap between the King and his people is minuscule. That is because the school will turn everyone into a worthy rival to me, the King. That is the kind of growth you and your teachers are aiming towards. Each day, I must continue fighting - I cannot be comfortable as the King. I am merely a gatekeeper, who's position could be swept from under my feet at any given moment. So I, like you, will continue evolving and fighting to become someone even greater than who I was yesterday. Thank you."

After that decisive, humbling speech, the air had changed once more. This King had admitted his weakness in front of everyone, which was not an easy thing to do. Furthermore, he used that as a point to inspire us.

Just who was this King anyways?

Stepping up after him was a smaller girl with bright pink hair. Her pale skin and ruby eyes made her look like a vampire.

Picking up the microphone from the stand, she tapped it and smiled sweetly. She was cheerful and much different from the King who had just spoken.

"Hello everyone! My name is Satsubatsu Himura, a third year from Dust Purple. I am speaking here today as Queen of GEN Academy."

It felt like the students wanted to break out into chatter after learning this girl was our Queen. She looked and felt extremely unfit for this job. Her speech pattern was cutesy and she looked far too weak.

Yet, her name being Satsubatsu... that's the same as the Headmaster. Was she his daughter?!

Feeling that realisation sink in just like everyone else, we first years sank into a dark silence. She laughed gleefully and continued to talk.

"It's great to see so much emotion and vigour from everyone. I'll keep it short, since there's a lot more interesting aspects of GEN you should explore in your free time, but my main message is that I want everyone here to work hard to become successful! Success can mean many things. It can be big, such as getting your dream job, or small, like winning a game of Vanguard. But you should treasure each success as it is proof of your growth and your worth. Each small step you make along the way will add up, so make it count!"

She left the podium and handed the microphone to the next person to speak.

It was another girl. She was breathtakingly beautiful. I had to pause and take a second look to appreciate how wonderful she looked. Her hair was long and silky, pitch black and cut to a modest style. Her large, gentle eyes and small smile was heart-warming. Her uniform hugged around her hourglass figure. She looked just like an onee-san.

"Good morning. It's a pleasure to meet you, first years. I am Hina Hikari, the Jack of GEN Academy. My nation is Dust Purple, like my colleagues, and I am a second year. Welcome to GEN Academy! I hope you will enjoy your time here, and follow the advice of our King Kishou-sama and Queen Satsubatsu-sama. What they have told you is very valuable. Remember!" She smiled brightly to everyone. "Always do your best. I'm rooting for you!"

While it was appropriate to break into loud cheers over such a cute girl saying those words, being at an entrance ceremony meant everyone shut their mouths and listened. I found this girl extremely impressive, since she was a 2nd Year and not a 3rd Year. It seems what the King said earlier about anyone stealing the top spot from him was true.

Following the Jack was another boy. He was large and looked athletic. Running across his nose was a large visible scar. Picking up the microphone, he spoke into it. His voice was unnervingly deep.

"Hey. My name is Hagane Kimeru, and I'm a third year in Dust Purple. I'm GEN Academy's Ace. As the Royalty who specialises in sports, my message goes out to all the athletes out there. Some of you may not have wanted to come to this school, and wanted to go to a school tailored towards your desired sport, but let me reassure you the staff at GEN are more than capable enough, and can even be better, at making you shine in your chosen sport. Despite not relentlessly focusing on sports, GEN Academy is always a big name in the inter-high football and rugby leagues, and last year our school won the inter-high basketball league and got second in the inter-high volleyball league. Do not doubt your teacher's strengths, and rely on them more to become better. Their words are wise and absolute. That is all."

A very casual entrance followed by a passionate talk about sports. The Ace gave off the impression he was a solitary, hard-working man, yet he felt like he didn't fit with the three that were introduced before him.

Finally, the last boy stood up. His dark blue hair and cheeky smile was something I was all too familiar with.

"Hello. My name is Shinsei Ken, and I am Joker of GEN Academy! I'm a second year from Dust Purple, and it's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me! I love Vanguard, and if you do too, then you'll love this school. The War Time course at this school is the best and will really improve your abilities in the game. It was because of my performance in War Time that I managed to become Joker! I'll be waiting for you all to dethrone me."

With that challenge, Ken sat down. He's the same as ever, that guy.

The Headmaster walked back to the front and exchanged some parting words.

"May your lives at GEN Academy be prosperous. Good luck students."

After a few more "thank yous" and other dull exchanges were passed around, we had concluded the entrance ceremony with a giant round of applause.

We were dismissed, and droves of students began leaving the gymnasium. A few harsh comments about how boring it was and some more pleasant ones about the Royalty were being thrown around. Most of the boys were talking about the Jack of our school, Hina, while some of the girls talked about how cute Ken was.

Not in a rush, I decided to hang round at the back and wait for the crowd to die down. I watched the faculty begin to clear up the set-up.

"Yuuto, good to see you got admitted." Ken walked over to me and slung an arm around my shoulder.

"I'd like to keep our relationship a secret." I said, pushing his arm away from me.

"E-eh? Why?"

"I don't need a troublesome person like you hanging out with me. It's better if people didn't know we were related anyways."

"Well, at this school, I can't really hang out with you that easily. After all..." Ken looked at his tie and chuckled. "Forget I said anything. But isn't that a bit too extreme? We're family, Yuuto. We can't pretend like we don't exist."

It's easy for me to pretend you don't exist. No... you never existed to me ever since I understood our situation.

"Don't call me Yuuto. It's Takanori."

"But you call me Ken-"

"Not anymore. From today onwards, we're strangers. You're Joker Shinsei-sama to me, and I'm Takanori-san to you. Got that?"

Ken frowned and nodded slightly. "Alright... Takanori-san."

I turned away from him. "Thanks."

"What a tsundere." Ken shrugged and left.

Since we were able to do anything we wanted for the rest of the day, I decided to swing by to our dormitory and claim my luggage and room. After all, I still had that ticket on me from earlier.