Nightfall (IC)

[palad1n]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Shinjuku, Streets

Shiratori is a part of the Great Families...

Of course, Shiratori Kaguya never really thought her family was completely normal; after all, her family is, as some of her classmates put it, filthy rich, but Kaguya never thought that it would be to the point of being one of Japan's Great Families.

She never suspect a thing.

And Izanami Zaibatsu is what is happening...?

Even the naive Kaguya realized that Reign is being enigmatic on purpose.

'Maybe that's because we'll understand what is going on once we arrived...' The Shiratori heiress thought to herself. 'If that's the case, then asking more about it would be pointless. Then...'

"Then... what happened back there?" She finally asked. "Those masked men... why did they... for what purpose did they shoot people in the bar?"

The sound of guns being fired still freshly haunts her even now.

"Were those... related to this strange incident as well...?"

[RacingeR]

Taka Nishi
April 3^rd – Evening
Shinjuku, Toriyama Bar – Back Room

“Uhm…” Hiragami hesitated, obviously not because he didn’t want to tell you about the rumors. You had the impression that he’d tell you his own darkest secrets if with that he managed to obtain the card. “Sorry, I don’t really know much ‘bout the rumors myself. Never paid em much attention…”

However, he continued whispering the data he knew. “There’ve been old rumors about dark deeds, occultism, inbreeding, inhuman blood… I hear that’s since centuries ago. I-I can confirm a bit about the dark deeds… these guys ain’t afraid to use their power for their own benefit, but all rich families are like that at a point.”

“They say that they interbred with oni, youkai, demons of that ilk… honestly, it’s all silly superstition, but there’s definitely one thing that’s true. All the Kurogami are absolute oddballs, all of them. There ain’t no one who’s rational, they’re all so… exaggerated, abnormal, lacking in common sense… no wonder those odd rumors have been around since forever.” Hiragami paused, trying hard to recall his knowledge about the matter.

“I’ve heard that their old ancestor, the one who started the family’s rise to power a buncha centuries ago, was said to have worshipped demons for help in his rise to power, and that his wife was supposed to be some sorta Tengu or something… and the rumors all started from there. Honestly, the rumors are quite wild and you got a lot of variants. The most frequent one is that they practice dark sorcery, shit like that. Boss-lady does have some strange customs, that’s for sure. Right…” His eyebrows rose, apparently having remembered something through his drunken haze. “I’ve heard that the family’s been called ‘House of the Impure God’… probably cause their surname. Kuro-gami, Kuro-kami, get it?” he laughed, somewhat nervously.

“T-that’s all I remember about it, I swear. You probably can get more just asking around. The rumors are pretty spread around nowadays. And don’t worry, I won’t say anything, if Boss-lady hears I’ve been babbling about this shit she’d probably have my hide.”

[RacingeR]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Minato, Streets – Tokyo Tower’s Surroundings

“My, whether they were related to the incidents or not, ain’t that something you already know, Kaguya-chan~?

“And- oh, seems like we’ve arrived.” Reign took a look at the monitors on the side, one of which prominently displayed Tokyo tower. At that same time, the hooded woman at her side leaned over, letting a shock of purple hair fall forwards as she whispered on her mistress’ ear.

“What, Six-chan? Oh, right, these school uniforms are quite conspicuous, you’re right.” Reign nodded to the woman, who took a step back to her normal position, and then rubbed the ring on her hand a few times.

Suddenly, four coats of strange material appeared in the air, as if produced by magic, and floated down to the floor. Reign grabbed them, and threw them over to you. With a better look, you noticed those were like the coat that the woman named Six was wearing.

“Here, put those on. You don’t want people to track you and bring you trouble in your daily life, right~?”

[palad1n]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Minato, Streets – Tokyo Tower’s Surroundings

Of course they're related.

Even before she asked, Kaguya already knew that the shootings are likely related.

Still, she had vainly hoped that that wasn't the case. If a group of armed men were involved, and her own family was also involved, what else could be involved in this strange incidents? The government?

Even merely thinking about it made her head dizzy.

So she shook her head. To avoid losing the sight of what she wanted and to ignore the growing scope of what she is about to unravel, Kaguya tried to ignore the growing paranoia in her mind as she looked at the coats thrown their way.

The fact that they were produced out of thin air no longer surprise Kaguya.

“Here, put those on. You don’t want people to track you and bring you trouble in your daily life, right~?”

Of course she doesn't.

If that happens and the last bastion of sanity in her life was gone...

She might just break.

So she dutifully wore the coat given to her without question.

The normal her would have been excited to wear something like a coat, having been fascinated by them through books and movies, and yet she felt no such sense of fun or gratification when she wore it.

Perhaps it's because this is actually necessary.

There is no fun in being forced to do something, no matter how true and important it is.

"Let's wear them, you three... it's necessary, and it's gonna be okay..."

Still, she tried to stay positive through it all as she encouraged her friends to do the same with a smile.

It was forced, Laura could surely tell, but Kaguya still wear a smile if only to reassure the three. The least that she could do after having them come with her, unwillingly or not, is to put on a brave face and assure that everything is going to be alright.

She always thought that everything will be alright, if she just tries.

But for the first time in her life, she wasn't so sure of that anymore.

[Erlkonig]

Amano Kaede
April 3^rd – Evening
Bunkyo, Sakurai Apartments – Ground Floor

She had made it. Be it bullshit luck, the Gods, or reasons beyond her understanding, she had managed to save Edmund before he was shot by the assassin. It had been mere coincidence that Kaede, following the thunderous noise that the two of them made in their chase, had been able to stumble upon the scene in that opportune moment.

And yet... To her ever growing terror, the nightmare refused to end.

Why won't he stay down!? Kaede screeched in her mind, unable to speak due to her breath being stuck on her throat. Like the fucking Terminator, the man took an extinguisher to the head and didn't seem even slightly winded, pushing Ed away in a scene that looked straight out of a movie.

Then, as Kaede noticed in a panic, the man moved down to pick up-

"NO!" With all the wrath of a hysterical woman, Kaede immediately closed the few steps that separated her from the man and slid to the floor, throwing her whole weight behind her to kick at the gun in a rough slide kick that would probably bruise something later, nevermind the pain she felt from her skin sliding along the asphalt.

Despite her pain, however, the adrenaline rushing through her bloodstream made Kaede barely feel the thing. Indeed, rather than pain she was feeling no small amount of fear... And a rather murderous rage.

Who the fuck are you!? You bastard, you're the reason Yuuta is...! You want to take Ed from me too! Fucking cunt, I... I... I...!

In her rage, behind the hooded man Kaede finally found a target to vent her rage on. Someone who she could pin the responsibility of her brother's disease, the suffering she had experienced because of it, and now the stress and fear for her and her family's life. In her mind, she didn't just want to stop the man- She wanted to hurt him.

A more sensible person might have tried to take after the gun, or hold onto the man's legs to give Edmund the time he needed to recover his wits. But instead, filled with the unholy wrath of a woman scorned, Kaede lashed out and did something that in any other circumstance would have given Edmund pause.

Lips curled in rage, Kaede's hands went between the man's legs, grasped at his crotch until they seized something round-

-And squeezed.​

[RacingeR]

Amano Kaede
April 3^rd – Evening
Bunkyo, Sakurai Apartments – Ground Floor

It could have worked. Had it been any other person, their balls would’ve been squeezed with enough strength to cause even the strongest of men to cry out and nearly pass out in pain.

In fact, your plan and movements worked perfectly until that point. The gun was kicked into the darkness, and you had caught the man completely out of position. Your hand was extended outwards towards his crotch, seeking to grab into his weak spot and crush it, and in fact, you managed to reach into him, feel something round, and try to press, but…

The difference in reaction timing decided the outcome.

The man let out a surprised grunt, detecting on time what you were trying to do, and stumbled backwards just at the same time you were about to grab and squeeze, your hand only managing to scrape his thigh with your nails. It felt like scraping stone. But at the very least, you had forced the man to do a rather ungraceful stumble back, leaving him completely out of balance.

That was the only reason you managed to survive what followed.

You felt your instincts screaming, and, following them, like you had instinctively decided to follow Ed and this man, and attack the gunman with all of your wrath, you rolled to the side.

Somehow, from his position, the man recovered his equilibrium on one leg, and did a powerful step forwards, his foot coming down like a hammer on the place where you had just been before. You watched, eyes wide, as the tile the attack fell into was pretty much disintegrated into a hundred fragments, sharpened debris raining on you and leaving small cuts on your body. The tiles around also cracked and split, the fissures radiating from the shattered tile like a crater of some sorts.

This strength. It definitely was beyond human.

“KAEDE!”

You barely had any time to think about this when you heard Edmund shout in a panic, noticing that you were under attack. He completely forgot about the guns, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to pick his back up on time. So, he simply threw himself forwards, jumping into the attacker with all of his might, and landing on his back. The combination of his strength, weight, and rage was enough to cause the man to stumble forwards, losing his equilibrium once again.

“You’re quite insistent, for a doomed insect…!” The gunman grunted in annoyance, and moved his body, seeking to shake Edmund away from him. But the detective definitely had some combat training, and knew how to play dirty too. His hand found its way to the bullet wound he had caused seconds earlier, and he thrust his fingers in, finally causing the assailant to scream in pain.

You noticed, meanwhile, much to your horror, that you had rolled all the way to the security guard’s corpse on the floor, the light of the lantern illuminating the cadaver in all of its horror. But you didn’t have any time to contemplate this, you needed to help your friend…

You merely have to survive a few more seconds…

You could’ve sworn you heard a small voice whisper inside your mind, but perhaps, it was merely your imagination.

[Erlkonig]

Amano Kaede
April 3^rd – Evening
Bunkyo, Sakurai Apartments – Ground Floor

Kaede ignored everything. The superhuman strength of the man was mentally shelved as just one more oddity in this increasingly more unhinged clusterfuck, as did the whisper that caressed her mind that she dismissed as a hysterical thought produced by her desperation. All the unsettling, but ultimately unimportant things just vanished from her head as only one thing remained.

She had to help her friend.

Edmund had bought her precious few seconds, his desperate scream causing ripples to course down Kaede's spine as she stumbled to her knees. Her hands trembled but moved with determination as she ransacked through the corpse's clothes, the body still warm to the touch even as its heat faded by the second. Her frantic searching, however, struck true as her fingers curled around the grip of the fixed plastic baton on the man's hip.

A murderous look in her eyes, tears of fear pouring freely from her eyes, Kaede wrenched the cold baton from the corpse and took a deep breath to steady herself, as she rose to her feet and glared at the man caught in a vicious grappling contest with her friend.

Then, giving into the rage that still bubbled with her, Kaede took off with all her strength and swung the baton at the man, aiming at where she felt had a good chance of hitting him.

Without hesitation or concern about the damage it could do (she was long since past that point in hysterics), she lowered the baton and swung as hard as she could towards his legs, aiming to unbalance the man so Ed could get a better hold on him.

[RacingeR]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Minato, Streets – Tokyo Tower’s Surroundings

“Y-yes, we know… now everyone, we just got to…” Laura nodded at you, trying to also fake her cheer. She didn’t do it very well, but she followed your lead in trying to comfort the other two.

Both of you wore the cloaks over your bodies, noticing, with some dismay, that they seemed to somehow automatically adjust themselves to your body size. They were baggy, and they adjusted themselves just enough to hide your figures and the clothing you hand beneath. Evidently, this was the exact same kind of cloak that Six was wearing, and you had no doubt that if you pulled on the hood, your head would also be completely invisible to everyone else’s. This piece of equipment seemed designed specifically to hide one’s identity.

“Yeah… come on, Rei.” Rinko gulped, and nodded to you and Laura, before helping her friend up. Rei’s legs seemed to be trembling, and the girl was so terrified she was unable to emit any sound that wasn’t a low yelp. Rinko shook her head, and first forced one of the coats on her friend, helping her to wear it, before putting one herself.

“Come on, you’re with me, right? No need to be so scared… geez, you always get in trouble for following me around.” Rinko sighed. “You even got stuck with the delinquent label because you still stick with me.”

Rei smiled weakly at that. “I-I didn’t want to be left alone…” She trembled a bit, and took Rinko’s hand. “Childhood friends gotta stick together after all…”

“Idiot.” Rinko rolled her eyes, but seemed glad her friend had recovered enough to talk.

“Yes, yes, very heartwarming and all.” Reign interrupted in a deadpan tone. “But now that you’ve made lilies bloom and all that, time to get off the car. Now.”

Rinko had to visibly struggle to not shoot back some sort of acid comeback.

The hooded woman moved, opening the door and preceding her mistress outside. With no other option left, the four of you nodded to each other, and followed the duo. The van had been already emptied, and when you walked outside, you found yourself in an alley, on the back of a restaurant whose main entrance opened directly to the street where Tokyo Tower was at.

The trio from before was there as well, now wearing coats of their own.

“Right, seems like our people are already here. Let’s go in, everyone.” Reign had already extended her parasol. The sky had changed a bit while you were in the van, a red-tinted twilight illuminating the streets…

Streets that should be filled with people, but were completely empty and silent.

It was almost as if you had walked into a world where only you and your disquieting companions existed…

“Taiki, you go to the front. Roman, you take care of the back. I’ve already contacted our people about making this place our temporary base.” Reign spoke out, and Taiki nodded, moving towards the back entrance and opening it, then entering the restaurant. Sherry immediately followed, holding the door open for their mistress to step in.

“M-miss, are you sure bringing them straight to our base is wise?” The tall brown-haired man from before, the one called Roman, couldn’t help but say.

“I’ve already taken a look, and they got no trackers with them.” Reign answered lazily, before showing a coy smile and suddenly stepping up towards the man, who involuntarily took a step back and started sweating. “My, I know what you’re trying to say, you perv~, you want to ‘search’ them, right?”

“Please stop sexualizing everything I say, damnit!” The man couldn’t help but to retort back.

“My, you’re out of control, Ro Ro~” Reign completely ignored his answer. “Maybe I should have Ju-chan take care of ‘that’…”

“No! Please! Anything but that!” Roman started trembling like leaf in a hurricane, nearly passing out from fright. Reign gave a satisfied smile, content with crushing the man’s spirits, for daring to question her, and moved back towards you.

She extended one arm, grabbing your left, and linking arms with you, bringing you under her parasol. She seemed to be very careful of not letting any sunlight touch her, despite the fact that night was about to fall.

“Alright, let’s go in!”

Minato, Tokyo Tower – Sei Kyonatsu’s Ramen Stop

The place was completely empty, except for one table. At this hour, it should be full of clients that had just finished their jobs, and were grabbing a quick bite before going back home. And definitely, there should be employees around.

But there was nobody like that. The only people in the place were in the rightmost table in place, which was near a window where one could see Tokyo Tower in all of its splendor. There, you could see three more hooded figures standing around, taking positions near the table, one placed quite near the main entrance as if to guard it. Taiki moved that way, also taking a position near the entrance before dedicating a nod to the hooded figure. The other two were standing as if to guard the one who was seated in the table.

It was… a very dignified old man, black coat placed over a very elegant gray suit that was in tune with his wizened white hair. He looked like he was in his fifties, perhaps near his sixties already.

And he was consuming some ramen noodles.

When you entered, the old man looked up, and smiled. Then, he stood up, and walked towards you, followed by the other two hooded figures.

“Hey, Sette!” Reign gave an enchanting smile to the old man, who made a very elegant bow in response.

“Salutations, Lady Reign. I’m glad you were able to join up with us before the ‘game’ could start.” He spoke in very fluid Japanese, although there was an obvious foreign accent to his words, although that merely conferred an additional elegance to his speech.

“Hello, Miss Six, Sherry, Taiki.” He continued. Six slightly nodded her head, while Sherry and Taiki answered with a respectful “Hello, Sir!”.

“Mook no.8” He said, directing his eyes to Roman.

“What?! Have I been degraded to a mook now?!” The brown-haired man answered in indignation.

“You always were!” Sherry immediately retorted.

“And, oh my, it seems that you have come accompanied by quite the beauties this time, Miss.” Sette smiled warmly at you and spoke with a joking tone, although you couldn’t help but to detect a certain dangerous glint in his eyes. You had the feeling this old man was as potentially dangerous as Reign herself was.

He calmly walked straight up to you, and then gave a traditional old western welcome, taking first your hand, kissing it, and then doing the same to Laura’s, all before you could react.

“I am Sette, of the Round Table. A pleasure to meet you, misses.”

[palad1n]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Minato, Streets – Tokyo Tower’s Surroundings

It was very heartwarming to see Rinko reassure Rei.

Even as she noted how weird and magical the cloaks are for automatically adjusting its size, she couldn't help but smile at those two. It was interesting to know that Rei is not actually a delinquent at all, merely labelled as such because she hang out with Rinko...

'Labeling someone as a delinquent just because they're friends with one... students sometimes can be so mean.'

Really, even interacting with Rei for a while will make one realize the girl has no mean bone in her at all.

“Yes, yes, very heartwarming and all.” Reign interrupted in a deadpan tone. “But now that you’ve made lilies bloom and all that, time to get off the car. Now.”

Kaguya pouted, but said nothing as she nodded at the others and get out of the van.

She doesn't really understand what Reign means by making lilies bloom, but perhaps its some kind of metaphor she doesn't get.

But more importantly, the street was completely empty and silent.

To say it was eerie would be a massive understatement. A street of Tokyo, completely empty and devoid of life and sound except for them? Even Kaguya instinctively knew that this is very, very wrong.

But with how nonchalant Reign and her people are, it seems that this is par the course.

A restaurant as a base, and her people being here already...

Whoever they are, could they be as scary as Reign?

“My, I know what you’re trying to say, you perv~, you want to ‘search’ them, right?”

Though then again, she couldn't really understand Reign, like how she told the brown-haired man those words and make him immediately back off. She had been searched before, when she's in an airport and rang the metal detector, so she didn't really understand what is so perverted or sexual about the act.

Still, her thoughts on the matter was interrupted as the girl grabbed her left arm and took her under the parasol.

"Alright, let's go in!"

While she dutifully followed, dragged along by the girl, Kaguya noted that Reign seemed to avoid not letting any sunlight touches her, even if it's nearly night and the sunlight is nowhere strong at all.

Her instinct told her that she should remember this fact.

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Minato, Tokyo Tower – Sei Kyonatsu’s Ramen Stop

Just like the street, the ramen shop was empty. No customers nor employees in sight, except for them who just entered and three hooded figures who seemed to stand guard around a very dignified old-man who is eating ramen.

Upon noticing them, however, he smiled, stood up and approached them. After some banter and greetings, the old man - Sette - noticed the four of them and gives a warm smile befitting a kind grandfather-

Though Kaguya, perhaps honed by the experiences throughout the day, noticed a dangerous glint in his eyes as he did so.

But she couldn't dwell on that thought for long before the man greeted her in a traditional old western welcome, before doing the same to Laura. Neither she nor Laura could even react as he did so.

“I am Sette, of the Round Table. A pleasure to meet you, misses.”

"Ah, I am Shiratori Kaguya. A pleasure to meet you too, Sette-san." Kaguya immediately replied before bowing, formal practices and greetings that had been drilled into her since childhood automatically taking over.

"And forgive my curiosity, but..." she began after finishing her bow, "... The Round Table? Like King Arthur's?"

Small talks like this are important when meeting an important figure.

If she could focus on this aspect that she is familiar with, then she can avoid getting anxious and nervous, or at least lessen it to a certain degree.

[Katie]

Mizunoue Mizuki
April 3^rd – Evening
Shibuya, Streets

It was an unusual feeling, Mizuki decided. The feeling of having her life threatened. She’d only ever have impressions of it when she was younger, that a certain moment was when she had crossed the threshold, but it was never as obvert as it was now. Being directly hunted, being directly antagonized—a sense of discomfort she had never knew was possible began settling into her bones. One that almost made her lock up and freeze.

However, those many brushes with killing intent were a boon in their own way. She could keep calm. Her brain had treated this situation as an extension of the others she had in the past. And while she knew that the consequences for this were not trivial, Mizuki couldn’t help but feel somewhat familiar with what was going on.

And, of course, there was a familiar option when things were too much.

“Run.”

[RacingeR]

Amano Kaede
April 3^rd – Evening
Bunkyo, Sakurai Apartments – Ground Floor

You struck true.

The baton was swung with all of your strength, and the material was though enough that even with the supernatural durability of this monster, it was enough to produce a sick crunch that resonated through the darkness and caused goosebumps to go through your body. You hadn’t broken his bones, but you had definitely damaged his right kneecap enough to cause him to lose his balance once again, his legs dropping, allowing Ed to gain a better hold on the man’s body. His fingers kept stabbing deeply into the bullet wound, causing the man to emit a soundless scream caused by the intense pain he was feeling.

Edmund tried to shift his body to climb even more over the man, evidently being a much skilled grappler than his opponent despite the difference in strength, trying to push him even more to the floor to eventually restrain him, but…

“ENOUGH!”

The man suddenly howled, with an intensity that caused your ears to ring, and the world went beyond crazy.

An invisible force struck you with incredible intensity, enough to push you quite a few steps back. Your arm and the whole right side of your body went completely numb, a surge of pain causing you to scream. The baton slipped from your hand as you momentarily lost control of your body. You felt as if you had been suddenly struck with a whip.

Edmund also let out a scream, and you saw him getting pushed away from the man’s body, stumbling backwards, a shallow gash appearing on his chest. The assassin quickly moved, showing that supernatural speed once again as he spun around, and launched a tremendous fist towards the detective.

Somehow, Ed’s trained reflexes allowed him to dodge backwards once again, and the gunman’s fist crashed against the wall on the side, causing cracks to appear on it. At the very same time, you saw something impossible.

Attracted by an invisible force, Edmund’s gun floated in the air in the assailant’s direction…

“Hell no!” Having no time to even begin to understand what was happening, no time to be surprised at the obviously supernatural element of the situation, he reacted faster than anyone could expect, quickly catching the gun in mid-air, pointing it towards the attacker…

Who finally was able to hit him.

Your eyes widened as you saw the hooded figure suddenly rush forwards, as if all the damage he had taken already was naught but a lie. He transformed into a blur that landed just in front of the detective, and slammed onto him, knocking the air out of him. And before the detective could react to what was happening, the figure’s right arm chopped at him from the side, hitting him with such incredible strength, that Edmund was sent flying through the air.

Right through a window and into the street outside, gun and all.

The sound of shattering glass broke you out of your horrified reverie. You realized, with a burst of fear, that you now were completely alone in front of that monster, who was now rushing at you…

“It’s over!”

He was too fast, and you were too hurt and filled with pain, fear and confusion to do anything, and-

And a figure suddenly materialized between you and the assassin.

It was a thin, tall figure, another figure covered in a cloak and a hood that allowed you to see nothing of its identity. It was exceedingly tall, easily surpassing the two meters, and it was so lanky and thin it didn’t seem human, as you would be able to easily put your arm around its chest.

“It’s you!” The assailant stopped in his tracks, and you could hear a note of panic in his voice. “What are you doing here?!”

There was no answer. The thin figure suddenly moved, a blur of speed that was practically invisible to your eyes, and his arm hammered out once, twice, thrice in less than a second, hitting the gunman straight into his chest and causing a breaking sound that you could hear from your position behind the recent arrival.

It was as if the invincible monster that had fought off both you and Edmund together had lost all of his strength, the force of the blows causing his stance to drop and forcing him a few steps back. All he could do was let out a hiss of pain, and start to retreat.

But, it was too late. Way too late.

You only saw the thin figure kick out.

Then, the gunman disappeared.

And simultaneously, the glass of a window near the building’s entrance exploded, and a wall of the building at the other side of the street fell apart.

You were left alone with the thin hooded figure, trying to process everything that had just happened.

[RacingeR]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Minato, Tokyo Tower – Sei Kyonatsu’s Ramen Stop

“I am Laura Leonhardt, a pleasure to meet you too, sir.” Your friend answered as well, giving a straightforward Japanese bow. The man didn’t pay much attention to neither Rinko nor Rei, and the girls seemed rather relieved they were out of focus for now.

“A Leonhardt, and a Shiratori, is it?” Sette raised an eyebrow, but that was all the surprised he showed upon knowing your identities. “How unexpected, how truly unexpected. It seems you’ve been quite busy, Lady Reign.”

“It was mere coincidence. It seemed fun to screw with the Teijitsu a little, and these girls all have quite the potential, so I grabbed them on a whim.” Reign answered amusedly.

“Is that so?” Sette nodded, his eyes examining your face for a moment. “Your grandfather and me are… acquaintances, miss Kaguya. I’d dare say we go from way back then.”

He shook his head. “You don’t resemble him at all, and that’s the biggest praise I can dedicate you.”

“There is no need to excuse your curiosity. After all, to be young is to be curious. Otherwise, I doubt you’d have followed Lady Reign that easily.” He continued. “To answer your question, yes, like King Arthur’s…”

“Heh. Yes, like my supposed mythological ancestor.” Reign laughed out loud, making her folded parasol spin with one hand. “It’s my Round Table! I’m the commander of this little outfit. Six and Sette are naught but my knights!”

“But enough introductions.” She hit the floor with the tip of her parasol, causing a dry noise that caused everyone’s attention to focus on her. You noticed, although at this point you wouldn’t be surprised by anything, that her strange, monstrous shadow from before had been replaced by a normal human shadow, probably disguised by some strange trick, perhaps to make you and the other normal people with you a bit more comfortable. “Give me a report on the situation, Sette.”

“Alright, milady, but… I have the obligation to warn you that ‘She’ is here.” Sette nodded at her and pronounced some enigmatic words, which caused Reign to frown.

“Don’t play coy with me, old man! What do you me- oh. Oh. Oh no. Oh hell no. Fuck no. Tell me it isn’t true…!” Suddenly, Reign’s eyes widened, and she outright paled, her skin managing to become even whiter than it already was. “Shit, shit, shit, shiiiit!”

As you were surprised from seeing this monster being this terrified, and wonder what kind of extraordinary horror could even make this strange ojou-sama behave as if she was about to meet her doom, a loud noise interrupted everyone.

“HELLO, EVERYNYAN!”

The backdoor you had used to enter got kicked open, and a human figure surged inside in a blur.

“Reign-chan’s No. 1 fangirl, Cinque-tan, is heeeeereeee!”

The one who had suddenly intruded and broken the peaceful atmosphere of the ramen shop was none other than a pink-haired foreign girl who looked to be more or less at your same age. She was wearing normal completely normal, albeit flashy clothes, and had a wide grin on her face as she flashed a victory sign to the people inside the restaurant. You heard Sherry curse as she let go of the gun she had been about to pull on the intruder.

“Damnit! Why are you here, Cinque?! I purposefully sent you to the other side of Tokyo!” Reign’s eyes nearly bulged out as she took a few steps back, evidently shaking in fear.

“I’m done with my mission! Aren’t you glad, Reign-sama? I did it as inhumanly fast as possible so I could be with you~” Cinque announced triumphantly. “Now come here! Give your biggest fan and most faithful of knights a big huuuug!”

“Nooo! Kaguya-chan, protect me!” Reign lost her composure completely upon seeing the girl advance towards her, and quickly hid behind you. Cinque then paused a moment upon seeing new faces in the group. Her expression shifted again into a wide grind, and she suddenly took some quick steps towards you.

“Kaguya!” Sensing some sort of danger, Laura moved as if to protect you, but she was far too slow to catch up to the obviously supernatural Cinque, who pounced upon you and… immediately glomped you, catching you into a tight hug.

“Kyaaaaa! Sho kyuuute! Kyute, Kyute, kawaaiiii!” The girl started exclaiming loudly as she hugged you as if you were the biggest stuffed bear in the world. “Who are you? Where did they pick you up? Shuch a kyute kiiid!”

“I’ll never forget your sacrifice, Kaguya-chan…” You heard Reign say from your back as she shook her head.

[RacingeR]

Mizunoue Mizuki
April 3^rd – Evening
Shibuya, Streets

“Ah-!” Once you started to run, the other two seemed to wake up from their horror, and could do nothing but to immediately follow your actions, their instincts awakened by your actions.

And you ran like the wind. You ran like you had never ran in your life. Inoue was running just ahead of you, and Touma was bringing in the rear. You were only a few blocks away from the Sakurauchi house, after all, and you could easily cover that distance within a few minutes, even if you weren’t exactly in shape…

But it seemed that distance was too long.

You heard a cold laugh behind you, and risked a look at the back.

The ordinary-looked youth grinned, a savage smile that showed way too many teeth, and then took one hand out of his pockets, a long, wicked switchblade held on his clenched fist. A second later, he broke into a run, quickly following your group.

At first, he wasn’t that fast, following at the same rhythm you were. But a second later, he started accelerating more and more, covering the distance between him and Touma as he became a blur of speed. He definitely wouldn’t be out of place in the Olympics… no, perhaps, there was no human alive who could move this fast.

You looked forwards again, and put everything you had in your run. Under pressure, all three of you couldn’t help but to forcefully surpass your own limits, pushing yourselves beyond what you believed you could accomplish, knowing that if you didn’t do so, all that awaited you was death.

And it still wasn’t enough. The youth was following closely behind.

You crossed a street, and saw Inoue trip on the sidewalk, the hikkikomori girl evidently hadn’t done much exercise recently, perhaps none in her whole life apart from obligatory PE classes, and it was unsurprising that she was unable to keep up even with a dash this short.

You gritted your teeth and moved forwards, extending your arms, and catching her, before bringing her up against your body. It was easier to just carry her, she was so light that even you could run while carrying her with ease.

Another block was left behind, and you risked another look behind you. The man was still grinning savagely, and was just a few meters behind Touma, who could nearly feel his breath on his back. Your clubmate definitely could run faster than you, especially now that you were carrying a terrified and breathless Inoue, but he evidently refused to leave you behind and exposed to danger.

You wouldn’t reach that house on time, and you weren’t sure a door would stop this guy anyway.

Suddenly, you saw a strange shine in Touma’s eyes, and you understood immediately that he knew he already couldn’t escape this man’s grasp. It was too late for him, so he was definitely going to turn around and buy you and Inoue time, with his life if it was needed. You could already begin to see him turning around…

Suddenly, from beyond your position at the front of the group, came a blur so fast you couldn’t discern its nature, a human figure occupying the space between Touma and the attacker. A man, wearing black clothing, appeared, clad in a strange, stony-looking helmet, wielding a golden sword.

“Halt! You would bring harm to the weak! Your actions cannot be accepted!”

The sword was swung, and a metallic sound reached your ears.

“Fuck!” The assailant cursed, parrying the attack with his knife, but the blow carried enough force to stop his run and send him stumbling a few steps back. “You! How dare you interfere with the Teijitsu’s business?!”

“I don’t care who is it who guides your hand! Your tyrannical actions shall not be permitted!” The knightly man exclaimed righteously, pointing his sword towards the ordinary-looking youth, who spat on the asphalt in obvious disgust.

“As if! You guys are after the Seer, too! Spare me the self-righteous crap, dog of Reign!”

The commotion had caused both you and Touma to momentarily halt in your steps. Above, you could see that the cracks in the sky had branched out, and were in the process of covering the heavens wholly in a net of fissures.

[palad1n]

Shiratori Kaguya
April 3^rd – Evening
Minato, Tokyo Tower – Sei Kyonatsu’s Ramen Stop

“Your grandfather and me are… acquaintances, miss Kaguya. I’d dare say we go from way back then. You don’t resemble him at all, and that’s the biggest praise I can dedicate you.”

An acquaintance of grandfather...?

She had never heard of him, but then again she rarely met him nowadays. The fact that he is her grandfather's acquaintance is the strongest proof that yes, her family is indeed involved in this strange incidents...

Though she still blushes at the compliment given to her.

More surprising is the information that Reign is supposedly the distant descendant of the legendary King Arthur, and named her group after that Round Table. At this claim, even the normally gullible Kaguya had trouble believing those words; after all, how could the descendant of a legendary king be so... eldritch and monstrous?

But seeing that Six and Sette didn't contest her words, Kaguya merely did what she's been doing for the past hour: to accept the bizarre and blatantly wrong as true and right, though she silently thank the girl for making her shadow looked like a normal human.

There is little that she could do besides that at the moment.

However-

“Reign-chan’s No. 1 fangirl, Cinque-tan, is heeeeereeee!”

The peaceful and calm atmosphere was broken by the arrival of a single girl.

The bundle of joy and cheerfulness that is Cinque - so energetic and chirpy that even Reign herself seemed to be scared of her - soon notices her, and barely registering the fact that reign had used her as a human shield-

She was glomped at a speed she never thought was possible.

Even though neither she nor Laura could be considered fast or athletic, Kaguya was pretty sure the speed at which Clinque hugged her was blatantly superhuman, faster than even the student council president of her school...

Nevertheless, unlike the cowering Reign behind her, Kaguya is not averse to hugs and cheerful people, and she was honestly happy that someone so seemingly good and normal was a part of this Round Table.

"I-I'm Shiratori Kaguya..." She croaked, though a smile is present on her face, giving a look to Laura that indicates she got this. "C-Cinque-san, maybe you can... release or lighten the hug? Reign-san is about to... to start the meeting and hear Sette-san's report, so We should all listen to them first... We can chat later if there is time... "

She deliberately let out the fact that she had trouble breathing from the hug if only to avoid potentially hurting her feelings, but if Cinque truly wears her heart on her sleeve just like herself...

Then perhaps they could be friends?

[Erlkonig]

Amano Kaede
April 3^rd – Evening
Bunkyo, Sakurai Apartments – Ground Floor

"No..." Kaede wailed as soon as she could speak again.

The moment the adrenaline of the fight left her bloodstream, the instant that the sound of gunshots and screams of pain and the thunderous roars of fighting faded into silence and memory, Kaede was left with only one feeling in her heart.

It was not the fear of almost having lost her life, nor was it the relief of having been saved from it. It wasn't the rage she had felt for the man who tried to kill her friend, or even gratefulness or awe for the thin figure that had shown up to save her life.

The only thing she could feel was the despair that occupied her heart the moment that her best friend was flung like a twig hit by a freight train and cast to the street.

No, no, no no no... Please, not him too, he's the only one left... The girl staggered to her feet, only to almost collapse again as a stinging pain erupted from her entire side, the damage she had received from the man's earlier strike coming back in full now that the heat of the fight was gone.

Even so, that didn't deter Kaede, as the woman shamelessly crawled on all fours towards the window, forcing herself up so that she could look towards where her friend had landed.

The sight of his jacket draped around him, his body crumpled, unmoving, did more damage to Kaede's heart than the assassin had ever done to her body.

"ED!" Despite her pain, despite the creepy hooded guy staring at her, Kaede forgoed everything about the scene and rushed towards the closest exit out of the building, fumbling with her keys until she could get the lock open. After several slips, she finally felt the familiar click and all but tackled the door open in her impatience.

"Ed!" Half-running, half-stumbling, tears in her eyes, the girl knelt by Edmund's side and stared at him, assessing the damage that the gunman had done in his violent rampage. Her mind, overwhelmed by the fear of losing the last pillar that supported her, screamed at her. Do something!

"A-Ambulance," Kaede whined out, her hands shaking as she instinctively reached out for her waist. "H-Have to call an ambulance..."

When she realized that she had left her phone in the apartment building, she almost died right then and there. No no no, why are you so useless when it MATTERS-

Wait. Ed has a phone. The girl all but tripped over herself as she leapt for the man's old leather coat, sighing in almost desperate relief when she found the cold plastic-slash-space age steel of Ed's trustworthy Nokia in her hands.

Body shivering in the cold outside air, the girl hurried to dial up emergency services. He has to be alright.

He has to.

Or Kaede didn't know what she would do.

[Katie]

Mizunoue Mizuki
April 3^rd – Evening
Shibuya, Streets

The situation was distinctly unusual, as if they had been roped into a subpar fantasy novel. Under the sky, which seemed to be “breaking” with every second, Mizuki glanced at Touma, who was prepared to something idiotic earlier, and mouthed “Move.” Sakurauchi was beginning to feel somewhat heavy in her arms, her stamina be damned, but she figured it was better to keep running even if there was no real destination in mind.

If people were going to keep each other occupied fighting over Sakurauchi, so be it. All that mattered was their survival. If they stopped in their tracks now, death was practically an inevitability. They had to keep moving, no matter what.

But Mizuki could feel her breaths get more and more ragged with every second.

[RacingeR]

Mizunoue Mizuki
April 3^rd – Evening
Shibuya, Streets

Touma nodded at you, breathless, and the two of you continued moving as fast as you could, running away from a world that seemed to have gone completely crazy.

And behind you…

“Stop right there, knave! I shall not allow you to bring harm to innocents!” The boy wearing the helmet declared, a swing of his blade stopping once again the advance of the switchblade wielding man.

“Innocents? You idiot, those two are about to Awaken! It would be better for them to be peacefully Reset, rather than being forced in the game!” The man shouted, apparently trying to convince the knightly interloper to move aside. “All you’re doing is harming them!”

“I care not for your twisted logic, knave!” The knight answered, and his blade shone with an evidently supernatural light.

“I am Duo, of the Round Table. I said that you shall not be allowed to pass… and you shall not!”

“Damn you, dog of Reign! You’ll pay for thiiiiis!” The man let out a crazy shout as he pounced forwards to attack Duo, his knife-wielding arm suddenly stretching out from a distance of many meters.

“En garde, foul knave of the Teijitsu!” Duo parried the attack with some difficulty, and stepped forth with his blade held high to retaliate…

And that was the last you saw of them as your run took you to the next block. However, the shouting, insults, sounds of metal against metal, and eventually, the sound of buildings being broken and glass being shattered, accompanied you for a long while.

You had finally left the immediate danger behind, having ran through a few blocks more, but instinctively, you knew you shouldn’t stop no matter what. However, your stamina was about to completely run out, and your pace had started to slow down greatly. The heat was not helping, and you were quickly covered in sweat. Inoue had suddenly gone from weighing nearly nothing to being a heavy load you could barely keep a hold of. It didn’t help that the girl couldn’t stop moving suddenly… as if she was in pain.

Your legs nearly gave out, and you tripped. Touma arrived just behind you and grabbed you by the back of your shirt, keeping you from slamming into the floor, girl in your arms and all. However, Inoue couldn’t stop twisting and letting out small groans that seemed to indicate she was undergoing some sort of suffering. Yet, you couldn’t see nothing wrong with her.

Continuing to run like this was impossible. The sounds of the fight had vanished a few minutes ago, and you were alone on the street. You had no idea of what to do, or what was even going on. It was as if the world had gone completely and utterly mad, as if everything had just decided to stop making sense.

“Hey! Sakurauchi, what’s going on?!” Touma approached you, and tried to ask Inoue… and at that very moment, the girl let out a sudden, sharp scream of pain so loud that it made your ears ring, and you could even swear the glass on the windows cracked. Then, her forehead opened by itself, letting out a burst of blood that dirtied both your clothes and Inoue’s. Then, in that very opening, you saw what seemed like a third eye, equal in looks to the girl’s other two eyes, except with a more crystalline aspect to it.

But you weren’t even given enough time to react to the horrifying transformation the girl was undergoing.

Because it started for you too.

Above, the sky was completely covered in an irregular web of cracks. The fissures covered the whole firmament, covering the fading sun. You saw that the sun was about to go, and part of you felt that with the sun went any chance of life recovering its rationality again. With the sun, died reality and all your hopes for a normal life.

Everything was falling apart. Everything was breaking, as if it the tissue of reality had been wounded, as if the world was made of glass, and someone had brought down a hammer into it, destroying the frail normalcy forevermore.

The moon surged onwards, replacing the sun, rising from behind the cracks and casting a horrid green light that seemed to replace the world for a distorted version of itself everywhere it touched. A green sphere, like a demonic face, changing the world with its rise. It was as if it was laughing at you, at Inoue, at Touma, mocking you all who were being irreversibly changed by this phenomenon.

Under the mocking moon, you were breaking apart. Your insides groaned. Your blood boiled. Your heart let out sick beat after sick beat, its regularity broken, your organs squirming on their own, out of control. Your skin changed color constantly, alternating between flush and pale. You tried to move, only generating intense pain that nearly made you pass out.

But that pain was nothing compared to the sudden sharp burst of pain concentrated in your forehead. Blood dripped down, covering your face and your clothes, and you knew that you, too, were growing a third eye.

And you could see. Oh, you could now see so much. The distorted other side of the coin. The other side of the world. The place humans did not belong. You could see now, the spiritual side of the world, and at the very same time, you bid goodbye to your humanity forever.

And then.

Night fell.

The skies shattered.

And mercifully, your consciousness was cut.

[RacingeR]

Amano Kaede
April 3^rd – Evening
Bunkyo, Sakurai Apartments – Outside

If you had gotten your hopes up once you grabbed Ed’s phone, they were cruelly destroyed when you realized the phone had no signal.

Why would the phone have no signal? You were in the middle of the city, in one of the most active parts of the whole of Tokyo! This made no sense. Nothing of this made any sense whatsoever.

“Kaede… I’m alright…” Edmund spoke up with difficulty, squirming slightly when he saw you here. Despite having momentarily lost consciousness, the detective had gotten very lucky: his old leather coat, that he had insisted on wearing despite the unseasonable warmth that invaded the streets, had protected him from the shards of glass that would’ve otherwise sliced him up. The tough leather had barely gotten any damage from it, too. That said, he was bleeding from the cut on the back of his head, and had taken some really bad hits. There was no way one of his ribs wasn’t broken, and his whole body hurt like he had just been ran over by a freight train. Which wasn’t too far from what had happened.

“W-what happened? Are you alright?” The detective groaned, as he shifted in the ground and tried to move his weight to sit up, but had to give up when his whole body protested. It was not wise to move, anyway, he wasn’t sure whether he had any internal damage. More importantly… “Where’s the gunman? What happened?”

You didn’t answer, busy as you were panickily fiddling with his phone, trying to get signal by any means and call an ambulance, the police, whatever…

Suddenly, the thin cloaked figure was standing before you.

You hadn’t even seen it move around. It merely was here, all of a sudden, as if it had no need to cross the distance between like a mere mortal. As if he had teleported in and out.

However, once again, you were given no time to react to the suddenness of the situation. The thin man moved, a nearly invisible blur of speed, and a palm suddenly struck you in the spot below your chest, at the top of your stomach. That completely knocked the wind out of you, a strike that seemed to be precisely calculated to not hurt you, but merely make you lose all the strength in your body. The phone slipped from your hands, and all you could do was sit there, unable to move anymore.

“Bastard…!” Ed reacted to seeing you suddenly being struck, and tried to lift the gun, but the horribly thin figure displayed once again its supernatural speed, kicking his wrists and causing him to drop the gun and lose all feeling in his right hand. Once that was done… the thin hooded figure pointed up towards the sky with a gangly limb, then disappeared once again, as if fading into thin air.

You looked up.

To a sky that was breaking apart.

It had started with a single crack that had cleaved the heavens in twain.

Then, from the crack, more and more grew out, slowly covering the sky. Those cracks branched, and in a matter of minutes, the sky was covered wholly in an uneven net that crossed the whole firmament.

The sky was breaking apart.

And so was the world.

The sun was setting. You blinked, looked around you, at the ever-increasing darkness, and you saw that the inhumanly thin figure was back.

It dropped a gun in front of you, the one the assailant from before had been used, and the one you had kicked away during the struggle.

And before you could say anything, it was gone again. This time, for good.

Unable to do anything else, the both of you incapacitated momentarily, you lifted your gazes up to towards the sky. Just as the sun disappeared.

And up surged a demonic green moon that cast a malignant light over the forsaken city of Tokyo.

Under that horrid light, the sky started breaking apart. The world started breaking apart. Everything went tumbling down, as if reality itself was collapsing under the pressure of the green moon, of the eldritch power contained upon that unholy symbol. And you, too, were breaking under it.

Your body went completely out of control. Your let out a gasp as your vocal chords suddenly seemed to disconnect themselves from your brain. Your hands started opening and closing by themselves. Your legs twitched, your eyes bulged, your organs squirmed as if suddenly having grown a consciousness of their own. You could feel how something deep inside your soul was being irreversibly changed, something inside you becoming completely different, in the spiritual sea that was the deepest point of your being.

Your forehead split open, blood falling over your face and clothing. By the time your third eye opened, and let you truly see for the first time in your whole life, you knew you had ceased to be human, and that nothing would ever be like before.

And then.

Night fell.

The skies shattered.

And mercifully, your consciousness was cut.

[RacingeR]

Elora Griffin & Yuu Kurogami
April 3^rd – Evening
Nakano, Amaterasu High School – Student Council room

Akane hadn’t expected her words would create such a conflict. And although it was resolved easily, just like that, there was some underlying tension left in the group as they made their way out the room. And then, the girl locked eyes with Yuu and…

…

She hid at Rika’s side, instinctively understanding something.

“What’s up, Akane-chan?” Rika wondered a bit at the girl’s behavior, patting her head, then looked at Yuu’s direction, and rolled her eyes. For now, she decided to let sleeping dogs lie, and only intervene if it became necessary.

Nakano, Streets - Alleyways

The ice-cream shop the students of Amaterasu High School frequented was a bit of a distance away.

There were some that were closer, for sure. It was the best way to try and capitalize on the population of ice-cream-hungry students that pullulated around the academy, but… they weren’t the best shop. No, the best shop available had no need to use such tricks to pull customers, and students had no problem with going through ten blocks or so to eat the best ice-cream in Nakano.

Of course, most students had learned that there existed a shortcut that easily sliced in half the amount of distance one had to walk to reach said shop: a series of alleyways one could take that connected the academy’s surroundings with the street the shop was at, essentially taking a diagonal route instead of an orthogonal one to reach the delicious treat that awaited at the end of the route. It had been a concern, a few years ago, that there’d be security risks in such a route, but this shortcut was heavily used by students and working adults alike, so these alleys were usually as full of people as the actual streets were. It was fine, there was no problem here… or there wasn’t supposed to be.

At first, everything had been okay. You all had walked out of the academy, talking about minor topics and whatever crossed your mind, joking with each other as you traversed the streets full of other students, teachers, businessmen, and folks of all walks of life. It had only been when you had taken a turn to enter the alleyways that something had started to go wrong.

It was like you had stepped into another world.

At first, it took a bit for the group to notice that there were fewer and fewer people in the alleys as you went through. A few minutes later, there was nobody else but the twelve of you. Naturally, silence fell, as the group slowly realized something was wrong.

And then, all of you just came to stop. There was nobody around, but…

“Miss, we’re being followed.” Kaede informed in a low tone of voice. She had always had very keen senses, so there was no doubt that if she said so, it was very true.

Some of you couldn’t help but turn around. Just in time to see a blur, a silhouette, disappear behind some boxes.

Something was deeply wrong here.

[Airen]

Elora Griffin
April 3^rd – Evening
Alleyways

"...Yes. That seems to be the case."

The thought that it might have been a prank, a particularly bizarre prank but a prank nonetheless, is the first thought that rises to the surface of the council president's mind as she turns, automatically, in response to the announcement that someone was following along after them.

Of course, it's a thought that begins to fall away as the stalker in question blurs back behind some boxes; the alley that was normally filled with voices silent, so quiet that the scene automatically labels itself as surreal in her thoughts.

Had taking the shortcut been a mistake?

Her smile fades to a more stern frown, mind starting to churn with what could only be an intrinsic paranoia born from strange events as she nevertheless takes two steps towards the stalker, body automatically moving to put her closest to whoever it was; making herself the 'closest' target, and thus the most likely one in the event that this turns back. She doesn't have to think to do it, there were members of this group that she was naturally protective of, and so it's an action she would have taken regardless of being aware of it or not, and a hand automatically shoots out as if to block the others from following along after her.

"I saw that."

In spite of feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing, her voice and mannerisms show none of this when she calls out to the blur that had failed to hide itself fast enough. There was something back there, whether it was a person or some sort of stray cat was impossible to tell, but just acting like they hadn't seen whatever it was wasn't the ideal response to this sort of thing; of course, such a situation had few ideal responses in the first place.

If it was just a person, it was probably fine -they outnumbered one person by quite a bit- unless that person had a gun. Shootings had become distressingly common on the news, but calling out to one wouldn't change the general power balance between 'group without gun' and 'person stalking group while having a gun,' so in that case they were in trouble either way but...

"Come on out already. If this is a prank, it's neither funny or cute."

A part of her wants to believe this is all innocent.

Even though her instincts were screaming that this wasn't the case.