1 I: Fitting In

"So, this is it huh?"

"Yeah. It sure is."

Two individuals stand outside Liànyù High, a high school that was well known in the city of Nantou for not only the high acceptance and graduation rates, but also their programs and sports records. You were either lucky to get in, or worked your butt off just to get through the doors, and these two were the latter. Around the two, herds of students split around them, only to merge back together a few feet in front as they flooded into the school. "It's our first day and I already regret coming here." One says with a sigh. This was Wang Feng, the younger brother of the other individual, Wang Ju-Long, by a couple of hours, and it seemed like a couple years by the couple inch height difference. They both wore the usual school uniform: A short sleeve black shirt with grey pants. However, both adjusted the uniform in their own way to make it a tad more comfortable, Feng with a zipper jacket and Ju-Long with his RIOT bomber jacket. Ju-Long looked over to his brother with a raised eyebrow and a scoff. "You can go home now and explain to mom why you missed the first day...." he said, knowing fully what would happen if it came to that, and so did Feng. Ju-Long held a fist out to his side, getting to his second option. "Or we can show this place how us Wangs hands pressure."

"With courage and a fighting spirit." Feng said with a low chuckle, meeting Ju-Long's fist with his own in a soft pound. "That's the spirit! Now, lets go figure out where our homeroom is." Ju-Long exclaimed as he marched on into the school, Feng trailing behind. The hallways were bustling with other students, some new like the duo and were rushing around trying to figure out where to go, others being the returning students, either helping out the newer students who were confused, some even trying to make friends to be guiding hands throughout the school years, or just doing nothing at all. However, there were a select few that saw this as an opportunity to fish out the weak. As Feng and Ju-Long waded through the crowd of people, one of them got a little too close and bumps into Feng forcefully, causing him to stumble and almost fall. As he caught his bearings, he eyes the assailant, a white haired boy who was quickly walking away. "Hey!" Feng shouted, catching the attention of the boy, Ju-Long, and nearly everyone else within the hallway. The boy turned his head, looking back with a smirk. "What do you want?" He asked, now turning towards him. His hands were in his pockets, his posture lazy-like, as if he doesn't have a care in the world. "Why'd you bump into me like that? A bit forceful, do you think?" Feng said, starring at him with gritted teeth. The boy only shrugged before stating his case. "I dont really care if it was or not. Fresh meat like you two need to know your place in this school."

Feng took a step towards the kid, ready to punch his lights out. A burning sensation filled his body and mind, the only thought racing was to drive this guy into the dirt. However, he felt a tight grip on his shoulder, one that made him calm down. He expected Ju-Long to be that hand, but looking over, he saw someone else. Next to him was a taller and older man, dressed rather formally with a vest, dress shirt, and black tie. His hair was a silver white color, which seemed natural. He also had a goatee and icy blue eyes, which hid behind oval framed glasses. His appearance made the entire hall quiet, a few murmurs here and there, some even shuffling out to get where they were going. "You're a new face here, I assume." The man said, his voice radiating stature. He didn't face Feng when he said it, but Feng knew those words were for him. "I hope you wont cause trouble for our newer students, and I hope the newer students will not cause trouble for your upperclassmen. This school is built upon cooperation, and I expect for all of you to keep that same ideal. Hurry along now." He released his grasp on the boy's shoulder, giving him a pat on the shoulder before walking off. Feng didn't notice until now, but in his other hand was a cane, the grip of it being a golden crown, the shaft made of dark wood. As he walked off, Ju-Long signaled Feng that they needed to go. The white haired male was already leaving, as well as the several other students who wanted to see the conflict play out. With a heavy sigh, Feng decided to go with Ju-Long. "Man, you really need to control that temper. I actually thought it would've grown out of you by now." Ju-Long said in a low tone.

"Let's just head to homeroom. The sooner this day is over, the better." Feng responded, walking a bit ahead with his hands in his pocket. Just thinking about it made him feel a bit embarrassed. He never liked to fight anyone, but feeling disrespected, both directly and indirectly, just made him feel angry. Keeping a level head wasn't really part of his vocabulary. After taking a few corners, they made it to the door of their homeroom: Room 101-A. However, after stepping through the doors, the bell rang. "Saved by the bell." Ju-Long whispered to himself, a sigh of relief coming from him. Looking around the room, everyone was already seated, a few of the students looking at them while others were busy conversing with one another, sitting on desks and such. As they shuffled inside, a man bustled passed them through the door, only to stop and turn his head, studying them. "You two, come here." He said before turning back around, placing his things down on the podium at the front of the class. Like the man before, he was well dressed, only this guy had a white blazer on with a black dress shirt. His skin was a bit on the tan side, and his jade eyes came off as playful, along with the rest of his face and attitude. His hair was a snow white, mostly covering his right eye if he slightly looked down. Both Feng and Ju-Long looked at each other before following behind. He motioned for one of them to stand on one side of the podium, the other on the other side. Once they were situated, the man clapped his hands together. "Good morning everyone!" He said in a cheerful expression, which was echoed dryly by the many students in the room as they sat down in their seats. "We have two new students here today. You two can introduce yourselves if you want." the man said, looked towards either. Feng and Ju-Long looked at each other, Feng pointing to Ju-Long before Ju-Long could point to him. With a defeated sigh, Ju-Long looked towards the class and spoke up. "My name's Wang Ju-Long. The other one is my brother, Wang Feng. We just moved here from Puli, so if you can, please show us some hospitality or something. That's pretty much it." He said, keeping it kind of short since he didn't know what else to say.

"It's nice to meet the both of you." The man at the podium would say to chime in the silence. "You may call me Mr. Li. I'll be your homeroom teacher for your remaining time here at Liànyù. Now then, there are a couple seats right in the middle. Make yourselves comfortable!" He says, pointing to the middle of the class. Sure enough, there were two desks that were right next to each other. Shuffling past the other students, they would take their seats and finally relax. "Now then. Let's get on with class, shall we?" Mr. Lin would say. And so, the school day went on as usual, the two trying their best as to keep up. It was fairly noticeable that Ju-Long wasn't an academics kid, but Feng was there to help him whenever he didn't understand something.

Once lunch came by, Feng and Ju-Long sat at one of the only round tables in the cafeteria. They were by themselves, which they didn't mind. Their plates only had a burger, an orange, and a carton of milk. The burger itself wasn't bad, but they could've done better. "So how do you like it so far?" Ju-Long says, one ear uncovered from his headphones. There was faint music playing, but it wasn't loud enough to disturb anyone. "The food's alright." Feng responded, which caused Ju-Long to chuckle a bit. "I'm not talking about the food. I'm talking about the school."

"Jeez, you sound like mom." Feng said with a somewhat disgusted look on his face.

"Well, she was gonna ask anyways. Might as well ask now instead of later." Ju-Long replied.

"The school's nice I guess. People are okay...to an extent. The classes are interesting and they have a bunch of interesting clubs. So, nice." Feng said, standing from his seat. "I'll be right back. Gotta use the bathroom." and with that, he walked off. Ju-Long just sat with his headphones in and his phone out, not really caring about the atmosphere of the school.

Feng arrived at the bathrooms, but all wasn't exactly as expected. Upon entering, he saw the white haired boy from before, as well as two others, surrounding another kid. "Look, just give us some money for protection. Pay us and we'll make sure no one else gets to you. Simple as that." The boy says, grabbing the other kid by the collar while the two others just snickers. Feng narrowed his eyes and sighs, heading to a urinal. The second he took a step, one of the boys turned to stare at Feng, tapping the white haired boy's shoulder to get his attention. Turning his head, he saw Feng and grinned. "Nice to see you again, new kid. How about we reintroduce ourselves from earlier, without the eyes of an audience." The boy said, yet Feng ignored him, already finished and heading to the sink to wash his hands. The boy, who was now stating to get angry, paces over to Feng and lays a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I'm talking to yo-"

"Rule One, Broken." Feng interrupted, flicking his wrists to dry his hands before jumping backwards, pushing the boy back heavily into the other two. The previous kid that was being threatened quickly scampers out of the bathroom, now with the opportunity. Feng completely turns to the boy, his stance low with his hands up to his eyes, although they weren't in fists, they were out and imitated claws. The boy pushed off the other two to stand upright. "Fine. I see how it is. You'll pay for trying to cross us."