Work Text
“A time-traveling serial killer ?!
Time travel has been a dream of mankind for centuries. Who hasn’t wished they could go back and fix their mistakes ? Or travel to the future to see how technology evolves ? For most people, it’s nothing more than a wild fantasy.
But what if some men secretly traveled through time ?
And what if we had proof ?
Twenty murders across five centuries. All twenty-five years apart. All of them were important political figures, killed in their bed with a similar weapon.
So… who killed the queen of Kalos ? Who killed the emperor of Kanto ? And who assassinated Unova’s first president ? We might never get the answer, but the mysterious time-traveling killer might still be walking among us !”
---
“What a waste of paper…”
With a sigh, Clavell tosses the magazine into the trash. He can’t believe his students actually read this drivel, but with how popular it is, he can’t justify removing Occulture from the school’s shelves. Maybe some lessons about misinformation and conspiracy theories might help sharpen the kids’ critical thinking skills. Surely, reading this garbage isn’t good for their brains.
A knock on the door.
Ah, with how asinine this article was, the director almost forgot about the interviewee he was expecting.
“Please, come in.”
A young man walks in, a big smile across his face, reaching all the way to his eyes. Clavell gets up, shakes the blond’s hand and ajusts his glasses.
“I’m glad you could make it mister-... what was your name again ?”
“Please, director, you can call me Volo.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
As the director opens the door, Volo’s eyes immediately begin scanning the room.
As promised, all the teachers are present. Many unfamiliar faces, all looking at him with surprise and curiosity. All of them but one, busy scrolling on his phone.
It’s him.
Volo smiles, but his attention is caught as Clavell claps his hands.
“Teachers, please meet Mesagoza Academy’s new literature teacher, Volo.”
Many smiles are exchanged, some of his new coworkers rise from their seats to shake his hand and offer him kind welcomes. Volo plays the part well, pretending to be bashful around them and thanks them, but his focus is kept on him.
The only one who hasn’t bothered to look up.
“Volo comes all the way from Sinnoh and can speak six languages !” Clavell announces, proud of his new recruit.“¡ Hola ! Good morning ! Bonjour ! Ohayō gozaimasu ! Guten Tag ! Добрый день !”
Although he can see a woman in a black tracksuit roll her eyes at his linguistic display, the eyes of a well dressed man light up with excitement.
“That is VERY impressive, Volo ! I’m Salvatore, I teach languages at the Academy.”“Oh, please, it’s nothing !”
Before the conversation can go on, Clavell raises his voice.
“And this is Professor Jacq. Professor Jacq ?”
Hearing his name, the man on his phone jumps, almost dropping his device. If it wasn’t for the Rotom inside, the thing would be smashed on the ground.
He adjusts his glasses, looks at the blond from head to toe, then at the director, meeting with a stern glare.
“Oh ! Excuse-me, sir ! I-I’m Jacq, the biology teacher, nice to meet you, uh…”
Clavell sighs in mild annoyance, but Volo just laughs.
“Don’t worry, sir, I’ll take it from here.”
The older man hesitates for a bit.
“All right. Please forgive Jacq. He’s a great teacher but he can be… distracted,” he says with a small amused smile before taking his leave.
As everyone goes back to their occupations, Volo gets a seat - right next to the flustered professor. He stares at him with a wide grin, making him noticeably more uncomfortable.
How cute.
“Hmm… I guess I owe you an apology. As Director Clavell said, I can be kind of… an airhead sometimes. I’m actually working on-”“Volo.”“E-Excuse me ?”“You didn’t ask for my name. My name’s Volo,” he says, his expression playful, wagging his index.
Jacq stumbles over his words, sweat beading on his forehead. The blond chuckles and pats him lightly on the back, making his coworker jump.
Not used to physical contact, are you ?
“I’m so, so, sorry… I’m… not great with social stuff. I’m more of a science guy , you know ?”“Haha, don’t worry, I know how it is to get yourself lost in a book.”
Finally, Jacq seems to relax and a shy smile appears on his lips. That’s one good thing done, Volo thinks - until he notices someone glaring at him.
“You look… so familiar.”
This would be Raifort, if he remembers right. And Volo always remembers names. The history teacher. She’s looking at him with intense curiosity -
like a kid, trying to set a Joltik on fire with a magnifying glass.Pretty unnerving. He forces a smile and waves dismissively.
“Oh, I know. Champion Cynthia from Sinnoh, right ? I get this all the time. I guess we’re distant relatives.”
This, at least, is partially true. If he let his hair down and donned a dress, he could easily pass for her.
“No, no… from somewhere else. Guess I should reread my own books, huh ?”
Volo frowns. He’d expected to get along with Raifort, based on what Clavell told him about her love of myths and legends. Instead, she just seems… intrusive.Ignoring her completely, he snaps his head back at Jacq, his expression softening.
“Say, how about you make up for your… introduction, by showing around the school ?”“Ah ! Of course !” the grey haired man stutters, “just let me get my things !”
The teacher hurryingly fills his pockets to the brim with everything on the table, still visibly flustered.
“All right, just follow me !”
The perfect excuse to get out of Raifort’s nosiness and a great opportunity to study the curious case that is Jacq. He seems like a rather ordinary guy and weirdly enough, not the kind of person Volo is used to dealing with.
He pays no attention to the tour. Actually, Clavell already did this for him. His eyes are glued on Jacq and Jacq alone, watching attentively his every move, the way he gesticulates, the way he talks, the way he avoids his gaze and the way every smile makes him uncomfortable, as if human emotions were a mystery to him.
For a biologist, he seems rather ignorant of basic human behavior.
“And… this is where you’ll be giving your classes.”
The brand new literature classroom, already decorated with posters of famous classics and shelves filled with books Volo has read over and over, with nothing better to do.Some of them smell like ancient paper. He likes that. Sometimes, he does feel like an old book himself.
“So, that’s it. Can I help you with something else ?”“No, thank you. I should head home already and get ready for tomorrow. It’s been nice meeting you, Jacq. You’re a very… interesting man.”
Before Jacq can question him about that comment, Volo walks away, wearing his usual warm-yet-cold smile.
This is going to be fun.