Transmigrated as the Villain Between the Heroine and the Villainess

Silas breathed out in a happy way as his eyes was going over the crowd that was breaking up with the feel of a king looking at his land. "My time here will not be so bad after all. There are lots of people in my year who seem fun to me."

He started counting them on his fingers, a big smile stuck on his face. "First, that elf princess with her group of fools. Then that Elorian smart girl the prodigy they say , the Headmistress's new student. And now this new girl with some hidden powers..." He looked right at Azrael, his eyes staying on him for a bit. "I wonder how many more secrets there will be."

Selyne, standing next to Azrael, made her cheeks big a little. Her face showed she was asking, 'What about me? Am I not fun?'

Aria's voice came in calm and stopped Silas's talks or his amusement. Her violet-red eyes, but they stayed on Azrael. "Talking about secrets, why do you hide your face?"

Her question felt like a direct poke and straight towards him.

He felt her look on him, smart and making him feel uneasy, and for a second, he did not know what to say. He opened his mouth to talk but Selyne seeing a chance to help jumped in with all the clumsy way of a kid who trips.

"Well, did you forget, Aria, what I said when he came in?" she started, her words coming out fast with no breath. "He makes trouble everywhere he goes! And of course, he made trouble here too! He had... um... a small fight with Aelira, and then things happened, and now he has to hide."

She stopped, her eyes getting big as a new idea came to her. "But I do not get it. What is the point when he has to meet her some time at the classes? Or wait... is he going to hide forever? Will the academy even let that? Would that be like a ninja? That sounds good."

He gave her a look that said, 'Please be quiet for once.' His eyes were strong enough to stop anything hot.

Silas's face went from bored to excited like a kid all at once. "So you caused the mess! I thought Nia was just getting bored and found fun as she would have found a slight opening for her amusement and got Aelira." He rubbed his hands fast, his eyes bright. "Darn, we missed it. We should do it again! What do you think, sister? Should I bring Nia and you call Aelira? That would be so much fun. What do you say?"

Aria did not answer him at all. Her face stayed calm and cool like her brother's silly words were just noise she did not hear anymore.

Azrael knew he could not stay with them. Their fun trouble would get him in real danger. He turned to Selyne, his voice low and strong. "Selyne, let's go. The orientation is done. We can go back."

Aria moved her head a little, her look sharp. "Go back? together? What did he mean by that, Selyne? And I forgot... who is he to you?"

Selyne got scared. Her mind went empty all at once. What was he to her? The question kept going in her head, loud and bad.

"He is... um..." she said slow, her cheeks turning bright red like they were on fire. 'Friend? No, he is a boy and if I say that rumors will circulate like he is my boyfriend. Mom would be mad. He lives with us, so... family? No, I do not know him or his family.' Her eyes got happy as she thought of a safe answer. It was silly. "He is just a stranger! Yes, a stranger!"

She turned to Azrael, trying to hide her red face with mad words. "And hey! Stranger, can you not go back alone? Why pull me in?"

Azrael just turned his back like he was going, looking tired. "Fine," he said. His voice had no feeling. "But remember, you said Aunt Ilythia will come home in her own car assigned to her by the academy. The one we came in is for us. So I take the car for me. You can get a ride from your friends. Okay?"

Selyne thought about his words. She remembered her mom's words as she parted ways, to get back together in the car. She remembered Azrael's smart smile that made her mad. 'It is a trick!' The thought hit her hard like a push.

"No!" she shouted, her voice going out a bit in the room that was getting empty. "You are not taking my car! You can not!"

He waved goodbye over his back without looking. His voice came back cool. "I can."

She looked at his back going away, then at the faces of Aria and Silas who looked like they liked the fun, then back at Azrael getting far. With a mad sound that came from deep inside her, she ran after him. "Wait! I come too!"

Silas laughed loud and real as he saw her run. He looked at Aria, a big smile on his face. "She is the same as always."

"She is," Aria said. She stopped, her face showing she was thinking as she looked where Azrael went. "You were right, brother. Time here will be fun."

"What do you think of the guy with the mask?" Silas asked, his voice getting real for once.

Aria just looked where Azrael went, her mind busy, putting together the small things she saw that did not fit.

"I mean, he is in Class 1-A with us, but I feel he is weak," Silas said more, making a face. "Just like that cat girl. So I thought..."

"Like I said," Aria cut in, her voice low but sure, "this year will be fun. I put him on my list already. And that too, at the top. Lots of things do not fit."

-- -- -- -- --

Hours went by.

Azrael was back at the Halloway house for an hour, sitting in his plain white room, feeling good in the quiet at last.

He lay on his bed, looking at the top, thinking about the day again. The mess, the new people, the danger that was always there.

The meetups with the heroines.

It made him tired.

'At least it is quiet here,' he thought, shutting his eyes. 'A few hours of no noise before the big problems start tomorrow.'

The first Class of Ethereal Nexus Academy.

Then

BAM!

His door hit open hard, making a big noise on the wall.

It was Ilythia.

Her face was cold and mad. Behind her, Selyne shook, looking scared like he felt now. He did not know what this was, but her face said she did.

He sat up fast, his heart was hitting hard in his chest. He swallowed. He thought fast through lots of bad things he might have done. 'What now?'

Ilythia had on her nice teacher clothes, but she did not look like a teacher. Her eyes were full of mad fire. She moved fast and then pulled her tie loose at her neck. Then she took it off all the way and, in two fast steps was right by him.

She put the cloth around Azrael's neck pulling it tight with a hard pull.

He made a choke sound, his hands going to his neck as his world started to look gray.

He could not get a breath.

"Aunt... what is... this for?" he said with hard breaths but his voice was low and hard to hear. The pull was too much. Black spots moved in what he saw.

"Mom, he will die like this!" Selyne said loud, her voice breaking from fear. "Stop! I can tell what happened! There's a misunderstanding"

"Your words will not fix things, so be quiet," Ilythia said sharp, her look staying on Azrael's face.

Selyne knew it was no use. Things were bad. She knew her mom's mad side too well. She got quiet then tears coming to her eyes, her hands over her mouth as she looked in fear.

Ilythia let go at last. Azrael fell to the floor, taking big breaths, his neck hurt and marked. He made a cough sound both rough and loud in the quiet room, his lungs feeling hot.

She stood over him like a person with full power that scared him. "I told you one thing," she said, her voice was low and scary. "And you did not do it. You failed!"

She got down close, her face was right near his. He felt the hot from her mad skin. "I said keep my daughter out of your trouble. And you pulled her right in."

Azrael's mind went fast, putting things together as he tried to breathe. Selyne's fear. The school. Trouble. There was only one thing. The mess that he had started with Aelira.