And so ended the first year for the S-Class, finishing their mission, they returned triumphantly, expecting glory and rest…

Instead, they got told to get ready for exams.

“No!” Vince, Tony, Edward and Hiiro all fell to their knees, hands grasping their skulls as they looked to the heavens.

The girls just looked on with bland stares with the exception of Liza who nodded with a soft giggle.

The boys were just being melodramatic; they all scored high marks despite how they appeared now.

Plus the way they all did it at the same time made it look kind of like that old slide-out move.

“Brats…” Jonathan sighed, watching the students rush to gather their desks and study while he rested at his chair, messing with his puzzle cube.

Beyond the S-Class, the rest of the world moved.

Yusuf was already travelling; Su-Li and Kim Ellis at his side, with Kim finally admitting that they were all dating to Jonathan, Jonathan just called his son a harem-bastard and let them go.

Bobby and Vera on the other hand were travelling towards Africa, with the knowledge that many Rogue Sages liked hiding on that continent; Bobby was planning on progressing as a bounty hunter in this continent with Vera at his side.

Kevin Brown, their friend from the D-Class back in the beginning of the school year was still training, hoping to reach as far as he could go with his powers, not taking his second chance for granted after he almost got expelled in the beginning of the school year, training with his fellow C-Class teammate from back in the ICT.

Julian Benjamin was in training to become a third year, glad to now possess his fourth Star, and trying to work on his teamwork with his classmates… it was slow going, but they were trying.

Nero, their human friend who seemed to be under that old Chinese curse about living in interesting times, had stayed in the Empire for the end of year/start of year holidays, already planning to visit the Temple and the Wandering Forest in the following year… Yule Argos demanded he be given a Sage escort after witnessing Nero’s luck in action.

Everburn was travelling once more, hunting down Mystic Beasts and teaching those it discovered on its path, having trained Gregory long ago, it felt happy teaching techniques to the next generation of Sages.

And in a room with eleven chairs surrounding a statue of death, ten seats were filled as an eleventh person walked into the room, replacing the Sage that was lost.

And in front of a gathering of Null Sons, a man stood with a black, featureless mask on his face as he raised his hands to the sky.

“To bring everything to null.” And so his words were echoed back to him as he slit the throat of a crying three Star Sage.

To revert everything to nothing. To revert all to null.

Liza was always an observant girl. She remained quiet not because she was shy, but because speaking would colour the world around her.

A person was at their most pure when they were alone, with no others around and no distractions. For in that moment they were truly them and not being forced into a role by the people around them, or the environment around them.

Liza had always seen the world as bright and colourful place, an understandable notion as she possessed one of the most well-known forms of synaesthesia, seeing sounds as colour.

Her own voice looked beautiful, it was a point of pride for her, but unfortunately when she spoke her voice coloured the people around her, making them different from how they should be.

So she became conservative of her words, quiet, listening rather than speaking, and watching the colours bloom around her.

Her classmates possessed interesting colours, she noted as they complained after having been forced to write their exams after returning from that annoying mission.

Tony, stuttering Tony, had a rich purple to his voice, flickering on and off, almost as if he was about to speak to quickly for himself to handle and his stutter was to prevent him from blurting everything out.

It was like watching purple tinted fireworks when he spoke honestly, and it was why Liza didn’t mind talking with Tony whenever he stuttered, because she accepted it.

Leah, who was quiet and shy, Liza was similar except for the latter bit. Her voice coloured the world in a bright, bright blue, almost white at times, it coloured the world as if being painted with silk.

It was soft, and elegant really, Liza suspected that Leah would have a brilliant singing voice, even if she didn’t try in front of everyone else…

Liza handed Leah a wooden guitar one day after school. Leah blushed and said thanks before running off.

Vince, the jokester of the class had a voice tinged with green and flecks of grey, joking, but with a hint of something dangerous underneath it.

Liza was at first suspicious of Vince just because of his voice, but noted that the green, the hint of joy seemed more notable when talking with his classmates, the grey coming to the forefront when talking in battle or to anyone he didn’t know.

Kind to his friends, stern with his enemies, Liza felt that she could trust such a person, for he would make a great comrade.

Jade, the disciplinarian type, had a dark blue voice with hints of blooming yellow, she had the voice that was stern, but when she was surprised her true voice came out, hopeful for happiness and disliking conflict…

But she excelled in conflict when she had to, even if she didn’t want to. Liza wanted to help her, and so they trained together.

Then there was Edward. His voice was a booming red, shifting in hues depending on his tone, but always red, always passionate, always vibrant, he drew attention much like a light in the darkness did, it was no wonder that the classmates considered Edward a ‘protagonist’ or ‘hero’ with his demeanour.

He put his all into everything he did, and while he was aware that not everyone could do such a thing, he got along well with others who did the same…

He expected greatness from himself, and so he expected it from those around him.

And finally Hiiro, Kazuya. The person Liza truly loved, even if he didn’t understand it yet.

His voice, much like Liza’s, coloured the world around him when he spoke, but unlike hers that seemed to override everything… his just accentuated it.

Hiiro’s voice was one that was subdued, it didn’t weigh much on himself, it was what it was…

But when it coloured the things around him, instead of taking over their colour, his voice made the others… more.

It was beautiful. Liza wished she had such a voice, for even if many told her that hers was beautiful, she’d much rather have a voice that brought others up instead of a voice that made her above others.

Hiiro’s voice was something that drew her to him, and then she stayed as she learnt more about him…

Particularly, she stayed because unlike the others, when she spoke, Hiiro was not dyed in her colours… he remained solely himself.

“Liza, are you sleeping?” Hiiro turned his head slightly, looking over his shoulder to look at Liza’s face cradled against the back of his shoulder.

She blinked up at him, watching as the sound coloured the world in a soft violet hue, the other colours standing out all the more because of his voice.

She didn’t even think as she pressed her lips to his cheek softly, then going back to ‘sleeping’ which left Hiiro blinking in surprise with a red face.

Yes… she would sleep. She would dream of a world dyed in soft violet.

Hiiro on the other hand, had to deal with the smirks he got from most of his classmates and the blushing bundle of awkwardness that was Leah.

Liza smiled from his back.

Truly he was ‘Hiiro’. He was one colour. And it would not change.