It was time for History.

And Ara didn’t mean the normal ones like the Cold War or the Korean War, but the one that pertained to her society now. Yuna groaned beside her.

“History is so boring,” the girl dragged out her last word to emphasise her point. “They always repeat the same thing over and over again every year.”

Ara, for one, had only a vague idea about the entirety of the topic, because it had been a while since she touched a History book. She figured this class would be a good way for her to recall some of the things she might have forgotten.

“Then would you like to teach the class instead, Ms Shin?” their teacher, Mr Park, gave the complaining girl a stern gaze. Giggles erupted from some of the students as the girl, now caught, straightened in her seat.

“Sorry, Mr Park.”

Ara tried to stifle her laugh as Yuna elbowed her in the side. Mr Park resumed talking.

“As you all know,” Yuna rolled her eyes at Mr Park’s choice of words. “The cards that we have now have been around for millions of generations,” the screen showed a series of photos, dating from the oldest to the most recent. Mr Park turned his attention back to the class which already looked bored out of their minds, except Ara. “But do you guys know how they came about?”

A collective chorus of ‘yes’ came out of the students’ mouths, a dull tone in the way it was said. Mr Park continued despite their answer, flipping onto the next page of his History book. The rest of the students followed.

“Even so, let me just give you a brief review,” simultaneous groans were heard, and Ara saw Yuna bury her chin into her arms, ready to sleep. Ara looked at the screen.

“The Warriors that we have now were known criminals back in the day, causing chaos and wreaking havoc in our peaceful society. With the powers that some of them had, they were feared for the destruction that they could cause,” Mr Park clicked away on his computer, and the next few slides came on.

A series of pictures depicting the disasters caused were shown, and Ara gasped. There were earthquakes, massive floods, typhoons, widespread fires, epidemics, everything! It was like their powers were behind most of the natural disasters back in the day. Ara gaped as she saw the caption underneath a picture of a cyclone.

Destruction by a powerful Air Element.

The obedience and respectful behaviour of Warriors now had made Ara completely forget that Warriors were tagged as ‘criminals’ back in the day, and Sehun’s power flashed through her mind at that instant. He was capable of that much destruction?

It’s a little hard to believe that Sehun, who was terrified of me at first, would do anything to that extent. Or Baekhyun.

Mr Park flipped onto the next page. “And so, in order to contain these disasters, some sorcerers banded together to seal them away. They believed that by controlling their actions and behaviours, the world would be a better place. The more formidable their powers were, the harder it was to seal these criminals away. And that is why our cards are identified by rank. The worst of the worst are at the top, the S-ranked. While the rest are classified A-rank and below.”

Ara still couldn’t believe her ears. There was no way the timid Baekhyun would do something like that. It just didn’t make sense.

I should ask them later.

Another slide was shown. “The one that showed such bravery to contain these criminals is none other than Aurora, or otherwise known as the Temptress. She was the one that managed to seal away the first batch of hardened criminals, and the one that started it all. In order to continue her legacy, the Council was created to oversee all matters pertaining to this society. And now that these cards could be used as weapons of destruction, the Academy was built to train you students to prepare for what might happen in the future.”

The school bell rang just then, startling some students awake, including Yuna. Upon seeing the unsatisfied expression on Mr Park’s face at being ignored, the whole class started to applaud, trying to show that they appreciated the lesson. Mr Park’s face brightened a little at that, and he cleared his throat while trying to settle the students. His foot was halfway out the door before he paused and looked back at the class.

“I almost forgot. There will be a field trip to the Labyrinth Forest next week, so make sure to let your parents sign these approval slips,” Mr Park announced as he handed a stack of papers to the student sitting at front. He then took his leave.

“Oooo, the Labyrinth Forest. I’ve never been there before,” Yuna commented as she looked over the approval slip. “I’m so excited.”

Ara just stared at the paper, her eyes skimming through but not really reading. Her mind was still on the History lesson they just had.

What could Sehun and Baekhyun possibly have done?

♤ • ♡ • ◇ • ♧

After returning from school, Ara changed into some comfortable shorts and a sweater before heading into her patio. She made three cups of hot chocolate before summoning her Warriors, giving each of them one. It was getting a little chilly nowadays, and Ara figured that the both of them would appreciate the warmth of the sweet drink. They made themselves comfortable on the beanbags as they looked out at the backyard.

“So, I learnt something new in school today,” Ara informed the two as they sipped on their drinks. She didn’t bring either of them to school today because there were no training lessons. She wondered how the two of them managed to spend time together, given their obviously strained relationship. Judging by the silence that had filled the air since they sat down, and also Sehun’s refusal to look at Baekhyun, the day probably wasn’t as fulfilling as hers.

“What?” the voice belonged to Sehun, whose eyes were still trained onto the backyard. His eyes had flickered over to the girl for a second out of curiosity, his voice a little muffled from having the cup over his mouth. Baekhyun stopped drinking and faced her, his full focus on what she had to say.

“Before I start,” Ara finally realised how ugly her words would sound, especially to supposed ‘criminals’. “You guys wouldn’t get mad, would you?”

“Depends on what you tell us,” Sehun said truthfully as he finished up his drink, his body now turning to face Ara. He stretched out his long limbs before propping his elbow on the top of the beanbag, his hand supporting his head. Curling his legs up so that his feet wouldn’t touch the coldness of the wooden floor, Sehun was now paying full attention on the conversation they were about to have.

“So, what is it?” the blonde was getting intrigued by the way Ara phrased her words, and also her little pause before she spoke.

“We were told how most natural disasters happened back in the day,” Ara started slowly, her hands intertwined tightly and lying on her stomach.

Both males had stiffened visibly once the words left . Sehun’s relaxed position had melted into a more tensed one, his feet touching the floor again and his elbows on his knees. Half of his face was covered by his clasped hands as he stared down at the patio floor.

Baekhyun’s grip on the cup’s handle had tightened slightly, the cup refusing to leave the table top as Baekhyun stared down at his mug. There was slight tension growing, and Ara had a feeling she knew why.

“Those responsible for them were punished for their wrongdoings,” Ara had deliberately left out the part about imprisonment.

But Baekhyun certainly caught the hint, and his eyebrows pressed together as he glared harder at his unfinished hot chocolate.

“Is that really what the Academy teaches you? That we’re criminals?”

It was the first time Ara heard the quiet boy use such a frustrated tone. Usually Sehun would be the more expressive one, but this time, he was the one that was quiet. She winced.

“I…” Ara didn’t know how to continue, although she should have seen this coming. She just indirectly called them out for whatever crimes that they did that landed them in this state.

“Even if we are,” Baekhyun said as his eyes flickered to Sehun. “Don’t you think that this punishment is too harsh? Especially for those that got dragged into it?”

A million questions flashed through Ara’s mind at that moment. What was he talking about?

“I’m going in,” Sehun stood up suddenly, his finished mug dangling from his fingers. He had said nothing this whole time, although his body language screamed everything that was wrong. He met Baekhyun’s eyes in a silent staring contest before he forced himself to tear away.

Ara had also gotten to her feet once Sehun left through the doors, wanting to ask him if he was okay. But Baekhyun put out his hand, signalling for her to just leave him. Instead, he took one last gulp of his drink before heading towards the door.

“Ara,” Baekhyun called out as his body was halfway through the door, his hand gripping firmly onto the handle. The girl looked at him. “This world’s sense of justice isn’t as great as you think.”

With that, the boy left after Sehun, leaving Ara to think deeper into his words.

Baekhyun spotted the boy at the sink, his mug already overflowing from the amount of water that was gushing in from the tap. He hadn’t seemed to notice, his eyes fixated on the black marble countertop.

“Your cup’s drowning.”

That broke Sehun out of his reverie, and his hand reached out to close the tap. The shorter male placed his now empty mug beside Sehun’s filled one. The blonde snapped his head towards Baekhyun.

“You were one of those that asked for it, you know,” Sehun had said that as a statement instead of a question. His tone was harsh and sharp, but Baekhyun could still see how much Ara’s words had affected him with the way his hand shook against the counter. Baekhyun let out a frustrated sigh, but he knew there was truth behind the taller’s words.

“I know.”