The next day, Joan trudged to school, feeling as though she had unknowingly embroiled herself in a pot of trouble.
"Rem, how did you do it, huh? That was so cool! How did you carry me all the way back home?" Navier chirped beside her. His eyes held his very own galaxy, filled with stars as he peered at Rem.
His slightly short stature meant he had to look up at Joan to make eye contact with her.
"I do weightlifting," Joan fibbed. However, her lie was somewhat transparent. While her arms were toned and had muscle was woven into every fiber, if she were an average human, she wouldn't have been able to carry Navier back. No human was able to sprint with ease while carrying a 120-pound boy in their arms.
"Woah! Do you? No wonder! Teach me!" Navier begged eagerly. He had never lifted weights, much less exercised until Rem appeared. Before, he spent his days staring at papers, straining both his neck and his eyes.
Rem's sudden appearance opened Navier's eyes to the world outside of studying. She'd nonchalantly saved him from his tormentors, and in his eyes, she was the most admirable high school student to exist. Not only was she good at fighting, but she was also good at studying!
"Mmm. Yeah, maybe," Joan said unenthusiastically. She wasn't sure Navier could even lift 50 pounds, let alone another person.
"I can't believe you beat Mad Dog! He's the Jack of our school!" Navier said excitedly, waving his arms in the air, nearly smacking students who were also on their way to school.
"He's what? Mad Dog? Who?"
"He's the guy that hit his head on the ground. He's the Jack of M High School. The ring leader, essentially."
"Ahh, that guy," Joan recalled him. "He was pretty weak."
"Huh? Weak?" Navier was flabbergasted. Rem had thought Mad Dog was weak? Just how strong was she? "You should be careful. Those three might target you from now on."
"Don't worry, I can take all of them on," Joan affirmed, proudly nodding her head. Somehow, bragging to this kid somewhat fed her ego.
Navier looked at her with worry etched in the frown lines on his forehead. Mad Dog could easily recruit students associated with the White Snakes to pick on Rem. He wasn't sure if she would be able to fight them all at once, even with all her inhumane strength.
"Whatever you say."
***
Ding!
As per usual, Joan rushed out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang so as to avoid the annoying Liu Brothers. She sped down the empty hallways, intending to hide until the bathroom until Navier left the classroom, so they could go home together as usual.
However, as she passed a classroom, the sliding door suddenly slammed open, and a firm grip on her wrist suddenly pulled her inside, slamming the door behind her.
Instinctively, she growled and slammed her fist down on her attacker's hand. The boy who had dragged her in the classroom pulled his fist away from her in pain.
Ah, it was that bastard. What was his name? Navier had mentioned it before. Ah, Jackal.
His feline-like features made him look especially intimidating among high schoolers. Behind him, stood seven other boys. Two of whom she recognized as Mad Dog and Black Dog.
As for the other five, she had no idea who they were. All wore the school's uniform and seemed like students from high school, but she recognized none of them.
The classroom was empty and dark, save for these boys. Solitary desks lined the walls in the unused classroom and the chalkboard on the front wall had clearly not been used in ages.
"What do you want?" Joan spat.
"Huh, so this is the girl Mad Dog wanted so bad? What's so special about her? She's not even pretty," one of the boys said.
Another cackled, agreeing with him, making fun of her wide nose and slanted eyes. Joan frowned. Who did the boys think they were talking about? Her or themselves?
"You two, shut up." Mad Dog stepped forward, extending his hand out to her. "Rem, join the White Snakes."
Joan's face contorted in confusion. The White Snakes? Was she supposed to know what that was? Don't tell me… Did these guys still suffer from eighth-grader syndrome?
Joan almost felt embarrassed for them.
"No!" she firmly said, turning to leave.
Mad Dog frowned. She's loyal to her gang, he thought to himself.
"What gang are you from? I've never heard of you," Mad Dog insisted.
Joan turned back around. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Mad Dog growled. "Feigning innocence, huh? Last chance, babe. Join us, or we're not letting you off easy. You won't be able to take on eight of us at once."
"Host, you should leave as soon as possible," PK suggested.
Joan laughed, ignoring PK's suggestion. "Oh yeah? We'll see." Her bag slipped from her shoulder and to the ground, and she raised her fists to her face.
"Hey, are you stupid? Even you, as a superhuman, can't take on eight people at once!" PK yelled in her head.
Its words were true. Despite being professionally trained and being physically stronger and more agile than the average human, eight on one might prove to be a little too much for her. It'd be a challenge to keep track of all of them at once.
"PK, just trust me, yeah?" she whispered. But in all honesty, she wasn't confident in herself.
The boys made their first move, rushing toward her in sync. Mad Dog, the closest to her, reached her first. She ducked his punch, kicked his leg, and quickly jumped back.
Jackal threw his fist at her as well and she dodged to the side with ease. Jackal's momentum made him stumble past her.
"You're too simple," Joan smirked as she tripped Jackal on his way past her. He fell to the ground in a disoriented mess.
Next, Black Dog and the five mystery boys appeared in front of her, their fists raised. Joan knew she wouldn't be able to handle all five of them at once, so she did the first thing that came to mind: a tornado roundhouse kick.
She spun in a circle, raising her front leg off the ground, and using her back leg to kick the human wall in front of her.
With stunning accuracy, she landed a bullseye on the six boys, knocking them away from her. The clutched their cheeks in pain but retained a determined look.
"So she's a fighter, huh?" one of the boys said. "How exciting."
Behind her, Viktor stood up, intending to catch Joan by surprise. However, he hadn't expected her to turn, catch his fist, and send an uppercut to his stomach. The force lifted him off his feet, sending him flying back into the classroom door.
Suddenly, the classroom door behind her slammed open.
"Master!" three voices called out at once.
The nine high schoolers froze and turned to stare at the Liu Bros at the door of the classroom. Viktor's right arm was in a sling due to his previous encounter with Joan.
"We saw you get pulled in here, so we came as fast as possible!" Turner exclaimed. The three rushed in, trampling over Jackal's collapsed body that laid by the door, to stand by Joan.
"Viktor? What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Jackal growled. "I thought you were apart of the White Snakes. Abandoned us to join this bitch's gang, huh?"
Pablo growled. "Master isn't a bitch!"
Ah, Joan wanted to cry in embarrassment. What kind of cheesy line was this?