Fate/Extra: The Midnight Sea

**Xyphos** · September 23rd, 2012, 12:48 PM

Fate/Extra: The Midnight Sea

Summary:
The Moon Cell. Host to 417 Masters vying for a wish in a tourney where only one may be granted. From the start, a Master with fragmented memories and no wish is thrown into the fray. How to survive against, or work alongside other Masters are not his only problems however, when even the system itself threatens to go haywire in this Holy Grail War.

FF.net link
I'll update the story in sync with the ff.net version.

Chapters

Prologue

Awakening: Binary Heaven

Arousal: Border Alliance

Appendix

Beware of spoilers.

Player Servant Saber

Player Servant Caster

Week 1 Opponent Servant

Customary (perhaps useless) disclaimer:
I do not own Fate/Stay night or any other affiliated universes created by Nasu/Type-Moon, including Fate/Extra.
Of course, please expect spoilers, most concentrated at the beginning and less so near the end when things get jumpy.

Thank you Laith for being the beta reader for this story's retardedly long chapters.

____________________

I originally kept this to ff.net while the banner competition was ongoing. But now it's ended, I decided I may as well chuck this thing on here and see how good my skill with the pen is compared to my skill with PS. Feel free to critique/discuss/~~derail~~!
Please note that I'm writing this as though you've never even heard of the Fate series, let alone Fate/Extra. Of course that's impossible considering you lot, but you never know who might find this...

The first post I made for this story on the forums was a flop, because I had only written one irrelevant section out of the entire thing, so now I made a new thread that's organised properly. The profile name on ff.net is different from the one here but I can assure you they are one and the same.

**Xyphos** · September 23rd, 2012, 01:18 PM

Prologue
__________

Act 0: Scene 1
3 Days Remaining

Chimes raise curtains on normal days
Precious they are as Golden Dust.

__________

It’s a bright, sunny morning. The air is filled with the joyful laughter of students.

There’s more activity than normal in front of the school gate.

A crowd is forming as students are being called over.

I wonder what’s going on.

When I peer into the centre of the crowd, I see my friend, Issei Ryuudou, resplendent in the unique Black uniform of the Student Council, with the badge signifying him as its President shining almost blindingly against his black shirt.

“Good morning!” He greeted me as I walked up to the school gates. “Lovely weather we’re having, don’t you think?” He paused for a moment as he studied my face.

“Hmm? Why do you look so surprised?” He noted, raising an eyebrow. “We announced at last weeks’ assembly that this month the Student Council would strictly enforce school rules. For now, I’ve been tasked with performing inspections to ensure students are in full compliance with school rulings.”

“Now it goes without saying that everyone, is subject to inspections, even old friends like you I’m afraid.”

With that, he stepped in closer as his hands reached out and began patting down my plain, standard brown uniform, muttering as his eyes and hands worked with experience.

“Collar, check! Pant hems, check! And your socks… check!” He stood up straight before putting out a hand towards me.

“Now then, next up is to check the contents of your bag…”

Without a moment of hesitation I complied, taking it off my shoulder and passing it over to his outstretched hand. Within moments he had already dissected its innards while muttering at the same time, as before.

“Notebooks, textbooks, pencil box! Yes, yes, not even a whiff of contraband!” He replaced everything quickly into the bag and handed it back to me, before standing back and placing a hand to his chin, evaluating me one more time.

“Your nails are evenly cut, and your haircut is sensible as well.” He smiled as he finished his evaluation, looking me in the eye as he began again.

“Indeed, quite remarkable. You’re truly a model Tsukumihara Academy student. Not many I’ve caught this morning can earn that accolade! I’d recommend that you consider a future as a member of the student council. You’d be perfect for it! Though, I’d never try to coerce you into joining up; we aren’t like that.”

Letting his hands fall down to his sides, he stepped up beside me, his eyes evidently already locating the next set of unsuspecting students.

“Now then, off to your classroom! I’ll see you later on today, alright?” He patted my back once, before he left for the next student, long before I could reply.

As I made my way through the crowded school courtyard, my eyes slowly wandered over the heads of my fellow students on their way to class, at the school campus that I should know like the back of my hand.

The main building that housed all of the classes was situated on the far left across a sanded courtyard. A three-story building shaped vaguely like a blocky U, there wasn’t anything special or unique about it… But then again, it would always hold a special place in the hearts of its graduates, above all other schools.

On the far right corner of the campus, directly next to the main building was the Archery Range. It was unusually large for most schools, owing to the high performance history of its members: The club was apparently established on the day of this school’s founding, and every year its members never failed to achieve excellent results in external competitions.

Slightly below that was a second entrance to the school campus across a river. It’s not used much by the students coming to and leaving from school. Instead, it’s mostly used by the students on gym practice, as it leads out to a large sports field that can be adapted to suit the needs of the class, as well as a large pool situated off-campus. Apparently the pool was built sometime after the main building, in another area owing to the lack of space on the main campus.

And below that, directly to the right of the main gate, was the Sports Hall itself. Although, perhaps to be more correct it can serve a multitude of roles other than an indoor sports area, as most gym classes took place outdoors. Assemblies and announcements are usually held there, as well as some exams on occasion. And let’s not forget the plays that some of the students host.

All in all, a pretty ordinary school, attended to by your run-of-the-mill students like me.

‘A gently bustling morning like always.’ I thought to myself as I entered the school building and made my way up to my classroom by instinct, drilled into me by the unknown number of times I’ve made the trip.

‘Another peaceful beginning for another peaceful day.’

__________

As I entered my classroom, 2-A, on the second floor of the building, I saw Shinji Matou sat at his desk, surrounded by a bunch of girls as he normally was. Whenever I see scenes like this, I can’t help but ask myself, what was the secret of his popularity…

He wore the same uniform as all the other students in Tsukumihara academy, although it was certainly far less formal than what many others were sporting. Practically half open, it showed a body that was thin, yet not excessively so. Some muscle, though again not enough to disfigure him. Couple the perfect condition his body was in, alongside the dyed blue hair he sported and a face worthy of his playboy status, certainly his physical appearance lent credibility to his popularity with the girls.

But still…

“Hmm?” He said, cutting off the girl’s chatter around him as he heard the door of the classroom slide open.

“Ah, you.” He said as he noticed me, waving a hand beckoning me to come closer, as my feet obeyed. “You’re so quiet and dull that I wouldn’t have noticed you without the door.” As I arrived next to his desk, he continued again, ignoring the fact that the girls from before had made a clear distinction between my space and theirs right next to him.

“Despite the fact that we’ve been friends since…” He raised an eyebrow as he attempted to remember, before a smile cracked across his face. “Yeah, we’ve been friends since our freshman year, right? Well anyway, don’t sweat the fact that you’re as boring as dirt. Not like someone as simple as you could help it.” He chuckled at his attempt at reassurance.
“Well, I mean anyone would seem boring and stupid when they’re always compared to me, right girls?”

He turned his head to the throng of girls behind him, flashing a smile at them as they almost immediately went head-over-heels for him.

Yes, though it’s a bit early for so much abuse, this is Shinji Matou we’re talking about, so it can’t really be helped: The arrogance and hubris he exudes was almost palatable. Though he does have a good physical form I must admit, I truly don’t understand how he can remain so popular with the girls after he opens his mouth.

Truly, his popularity is a complete mystery to me. Or perhaps I should say it is more, unnatural, than it is a mystery…

Still, I shrugged my shoulders and endured it. From any person’s standpoint, he speaks the truth about me when compared to him. Maybe he’s just someone who’s overly honest.

“Yeah, there’s not much I can say to that.” I replied, giving a sheepish smile as I scratched my head, looking down at his desk as I noticed the papers uncharacteristically strewn over it. “What’re you doing now anyway? Class is about to start.”

“Oh, this?” He picked up one of the gridded papers nonchalantly. “I was just doing a little math tutoring. This stuff is beyond easy… Well, for me anyway.” He smiled as he passed the paper back to one of the girls behind him, likely the one that asked for his help.

Eagerly she received it, before starting to pour over the numbers as though it was signed by a personal idol. However, you could almost visibly see the mood on her face crumble as she read the answer he had written.

“Wait a sec… Hey, Matou, isn’t the answer to this question like, completely wrong in every way?” She turned the paper around and pointed to the offending question, the girls next to her looking at it, and evidently agreeing with her somewhat.

Shinji, initially caught off balance, had to re-right himself from his unstable chair, before standing upright and pointing at the girl directly.

“Wh-What the hell are you spouting?!” He began. “I’m the one who solved that! There’s no way it could be wrong!” His victim cowered in fear from his outburst, before she glanced again at the writing on the paper and pointed to a part of the question in response to his outburst.

“But… But, look at this: Since when did two plus two equal five?”

It looked as though Shinji was lost for words for a few brief moments.

“…I’d never make such a stupid mistake! It’s all your fault! You’re the idiots here, not me!”
Which didn’t last very long.

As Shinji began shouting at the poor girl, the remainder of his crowd panicked and ran back to their desks, leaving only me and Shinji alone.

“Tch.” He clicked his tongue and sighed, before sitting back down at his desk properly. “I hate dealing with the peasantry. Especially when they get full of themselves and think they’re my equal. Truth be told, they’re all worms. Pathetic worms that can’t even stand the light of a brilliant sun like me, Y’know?” He paused for a moment, before he raised an eyebrow at me and continued.

“That’s why I like you so much compared to them.” He stretched his back after he uttered his praise, looking at me. “Even though you’re boring, you know your place at least: The ultimate sidekick I could ever ask for.” Shinji flashes me a smile as he finishes his compliment with that slightly sour dash of insult.

Even though I comment on how strange it is for his solid popularity with the girls, I must admit it’s equally, if not even more, strange that I never take offence at the way he talks to me.

And indeed, like how he said before, Shinji Matou and I are friends, along with one other classmate. How this unholy trio happened… Well, I can’t quite remember how. And I’m not sure if I want to remember, lest my opinion of him takes a 180 degree turn. I’m too boring to find another clique anyway.

Coincidentally, the bell signalling the beginning of classes rings, accompanied by stomping feet and the sound of the sliding door that signals the class’ final arrival: Our homeroom teacher, Ms Taiga Fujimura, secretly known throughout the school as ‘The Tiger’.

“I made it!’ She gasped as she closed the door behind her, the ringing bells stopping short as soon as she did. She took a few brief gasps of breath, before stepping forward towards the desk at the class’ front, shouting out a greeting, “Good morning, everyo – ”

Before brilliantly tripping over the small platform at the front of the classroom, painfully falling onto the floor as her head strikes the corner of the lectern at the front of the class with an almost sickening thud.

The classroom fell dead silent, with every student’s attention focused on the twitching body of our homeroom teacher at the class’ front.

A few brief moments of silence, before a few students dared to say anything about Ms Fujimura. Eventually, a handful of other students brave enough stood out of their desks and approached her fallen body, making a number of comments and calling out to her.

“She isn’t moving…”

“She hit her head on the desk; is she alright?”

“Should someone go and call the nurse?”

Finally, one student got close enough and shouted into her ear.

“Ms Fujimura! Wake up!”

“Ughhh… Huh?” The response came back positive, as Ms Fujimura shot back upright as if nothing had happened.

“Huh? What’s wrong everyone?” She asked us, completely ignorant of what had just happened. “Class is about to start, so hurry up and return to your seats!”

The students dutifully followed her advice, ignoring what would normally be considered a serious injury.

‘Well, this has happened almost everyday after all…’ I thought to myself, slouched over my desk. ‘And she always gets back up properly, so there isn’t anything to worry about…’

As I and my fellow classmates left it at that, Ms Fujimura then began taking attendance and starting the class, the day proceeded almost without a care.

“Now then, today we’ll be talking about the biography of a talented physician known as Dr. Pieceman…”

__________

The bell signalling the end of school rings as the orange light of the afternoon sun filtered into the classroom.

I stretched my back as I thought about the lesson today. While not too boring, it was still a relief that it was over. Though I guess any student would think that.

I looked around at my fellow classmates as they began to break off into small groupings. Standing up to leave, I saw Shinji coming over to my desk.

“Thank god that’s over.” He began, his face clearly mirroring his words. “I was honestly getting sick of listening to the teachers.” He rubbed his temples for a little bit, before continuing.

“Being a student sucks. The worst part of the whole deal has to be attending these stupid classes as well. Though come to think of it…” He looked at me in the face seriously, leaning back as he placed a hand on his hips. “You’re still here though? No plans prepared? Like a date or something?”

I stood in almost dumbfounded silence at his comment, before he smiled and laughed.

“Hah, I’m just messing with you! You’re too boring to get a date anyway!” He flicked his hair off of his face, as if emphasising the difference between us. “You’re as plain as dirt anyway, so that much is obvious. And you don’t mind staying that way either. As I said before, that’s what I like about you.”

He picked up his bag from his impeccably neat desk, before turning back towards me. “Well, you’re going off to your Journalism Club now right?” I nodded in response.

“You see, that’s the good thing about you.” He repeated himself, giving me his usual smile. “You know your place on the ladder, and you stay there, not bothering anybody else.” With that said, he turned towards the door, bidding me farewell.

“Well then, see you tomorrow!” Without turning back to look at me, he briskly walked out the door of the classroom.

I sighed in slight resignation. Certainly, Shinji is on a completely different level to me; just comparing how many people recognise our faces is enough to illustrate his point.

My thoughts were drowned out amongst the chatter of my classmates as I packed up my things however, and before long I felt a tap on my shoulder as a classmate began talking to me.

“Yo, the Chief’s asking for you, seems like something big.” He smiled at me amusedly, his brown hair covering his eyes slightly. He was a neighbour, and a friend of mine; the other person with the fortune, good or bad, of also being a friend of Shinji Matou. He probably overheard our conversation as Shinji left.

“Anything else she may have said about it?” I asked him as I returned his crooked smile.

“No, she just seemed really excited as usual; you better go and take care of it.” He replied. “Honestly, she’s like a raging wildfire in a dry savannah.”

“Yeah, but there’s not much I can do about it I guess.” I shouldered my bag as I nodded to him in affirmation. “Right, thanks for that.” I gave him a quick pat on the back, before leaving the class to search for the Chief.

“Ah, there you are!” I heard a voice shout out almost as soon as I left the classroom; it seems as though she was already searching for me.

“Yo, Club Ace; why’s it you’re always late like this?” She asked immediately as I turned to look at her. “You know the deadline for the next issue’s coming up so you really ought to get a move on!”

The Editor-In-Chief, nicknamed Chief by the members of the Journalism Club, possessed long brown hair that almost reached past her skirt, alongside enough energy to run around the entire campus with it trailing behind her. Unlike many of the students, she was a dual member of the Journalism Club, as well as the Student Council, and hence sported the black uniform unique for its members: The amount of energy needed to keep going for such roles, on top of being a second-year like me, must be staggering indeed.

‘Well, considering how she’s a member of both clubs, she’d need the energy to keep going alright.’ I thought wryly as I looked her over. ‘I suppose it is inevitable that such a link between student governance and student journalism must exist somewhere, and the Chief is it.’

“Deadline?” I asked her, slightly confused as I moved to the side of the corridor so as not to obstruct the path, the sunlight from the windows warming up my back.

“Whaaat?” She pulled a face as she placed a hand on her hips. “Did you forget? You’re supposed to write an article about the ‘Unsolved Mysteries of Tsukumihara’. The deadline’s already coming up with the exams and all. Well, whatever; your work’s always good so I’ll leave you to take care of it.”

I nodded in response, the pace of her thoughts and words I could just barely grasp.

“In any case, I’ve done some of the initial investigating, the rest is up to you.” She began again. “The first preview edition we’ll be releasing’s entitled ‘Gateway to the Paranormal’. So, listen…” She looked around at the passing students, as though not wanting anyone else to overhear. But as this was the time where all the classes were emptying for clubs, it wasn’t exactly very empty.

“You seem a bit on edge, Chief.” I asked out of concern. “You alright?”

“O-Of course I am!” She cried in indignation. “Well, anyway… There’s supposed to be an entrance to the Spirit World at the rear of the Archery Range. One time, a male student who got bullied a lot was told to pick up trash there… And then vanished completely! Everyone’s completely convinced that something paranormal is going on back there!” As she ranted on about the story, her eyes slowly took on a glazed, fearful look.

“Seriously, isn’t that scar-I mean, ridiculous? And as the club’s Ace, I’m sending you to investigate! Leave no stone unturned! Sniff out the truth, understood?” She ended her statement as she prodded my chest several times, waiting for an answer.

“I think the only thing paranormal here is you though, Chief.” I replied with a smirk.

“Grr…” She pulled a face at my joke, clearly miffed. “You’re supposed to answer ‘Yes Ma’am’! Now, hop to it! I gotta go and find some of the other slacker reporters probably ditching club! Geez, without me I don’t know what you guys will spend your days doing!” With that said, she’s already moving on through the crowd of the school, likely looking for the next club member to bug.

“Geez, the Chief’s as energetic as usual, huh.” Another girl sighed behind me. “Somehow you’re the only one who can keep up with her.”

“Well, not much I can do about that, huh?” I replied, turning to look at her.

“Well, I better go and chase after her.” She said, sighing again. “I wish I could keep up with her as well as you can. Being the Vice-Chief is really tiring.”

“Don’t worry about it; you’re doing just fine as it is.” I said reassuringly. She gave me a quick smile before rushing after the quickly disappearing Chief.

“Well then, I better get started.” I took a quick look at my watch, planning my route of investigation. “Start from the top, work your way to bottom as they say. I’ll start from the third floor of the School building, the Student Council office should be there. Can’t start from the roof since it’s off-limits.”

‘But, I wonder why though…’I thought idle thought passed by as I made my way towards the stairs.

On the way up the stairs, I happened to notice a bulletin board with a large piece of paper stuck to it, words scrawled across it in energetic handwriting that could only belong to the Chief. It reads:

“Tsukumihara Times Preview Edition 1.”
“A special feature will begin the day after tomorrow…”
“Cracking the Unsolved Mysteries of Tsukumihara Academy.”
“Don’t miss it!”

I sighed inwardly at this; clearly she’s making a mountain out of a molehill with these rumours, asking a single reporter to go and shoulder such a prominent set of articles.

__________

“Hey, d’you notice how that girl in the Nurse’s office is always wearing long-sleeves even though it’s the middle of summer?” I heard a third-year’s voice speak as I approached the third floor.

All of the Third Year classes are situated on this floor on the left wing, alongside the Multimedia room, the Student Council Office, and a number of other rooms reserved for clubs on the right wing. Most of the building’s layout is similar; classrooms on the left wing, and special reserved rooms on the right wing.

‘If Issei’s in the Student Council Office, I may be able to ask him for a few details concerning the bullying part of the story.’ I thought as I recounted the information.

“Yeah, Sakura Matou, isn’t it?” Another voice responded to the first voice that spoke when I arrived, piquing my interest.

‘Hm? Shinji’s got a younger sister?’ I thought, raising an eyebrow as I overheard the conversation, before standing still to listen in, telling myself ‘Though eavesdropping is bad; as a journalist I can’t let even a little bit of info escape my notice.’

“Oh, Sakuraaa!” A different voice wailed. “Why must you be Shinji’s little sister? If you weren’t under his thumb so, I would gladly ask you to marry me! Every day I’d wake up and see your beautiful face! Every day I’d be able to eat your wonderful cooking! Ooh, why cruel fate, WHY!?”

“Stop acting so dramatic.” The first voice replied, exasperated. “You ain’t the only one with those sentiments.”

“Though honestly, if you aren’t willing to put up with Shinji as your brother-in-law you don’t deserve somebody as cute as her.” The second voice cut in.

“Aren’t you interested in getting her as your girlfriend?” The first asked.

“Unlike YOU lot I do have a plan to win her heart!” The second spoke confidently. “I don’t spend my time wailing about how much of a complete prick Shinji is! I spend my time devising a plan to take her away from his evil clutches!”

“Yeah, now YOU’RE the one being dramatic…” The third voice sulked. “Though I bet Shinji abuses her at home, so she has to wear that coat all day to cover up the scars on her arms!”

“That’s why I, as her shining knight, vow here and now to take her away from the evil clutches of that accursed villain!” The second proclaimed without a shred of doubt as he was probably striking some cliché victory pose.

‘Huh, now that I think about it…’ I thought silently as they continued, ‘this story’s nothing new really. Oh well, I better get back to work…’ Turning, I took a left down the corridor towards the Student Council office, leaving the three to keep talking about their crush, Sakura Matou.

‘Although, I didn’t know Shinji’s sister was the origin of that story. And for that matter, I didn’t know he even HAD a sister… But he can’t be THAT bad that he bullies her even at home, right? His personality may be down the drain, but I’ve never known Shinji to harm anyone directly like that…’ I dispelled my idle thoughts on that conversation as I reached the Student Council Office.

“Excuse me.” I called out as I slid open the door.

“Oh…” A girl in the characteristic black of the Student Council asked as she saw me. “Are you here to see Issei?” She must recognise me as part of the Journalism Club wanting to interview the president.

“Yeah, is he here right now to talk for a little bit?” I replied in confirmation.

“I’m afraid that he’s already left.” She said with a crooked smile. “Rain or shine, you can expect the president to be out in the field taking care of any problems coming up.”

“Yeah; someone should pull the stick out of his butt so he can walk off and do something else!” Another member of the Student Council piqued up idly as she was tidying up some papers. “Still though, for a stickler to protocol and detail, he’s surprisingly popular. What’d you want to talk to him about anyway?”

“Oh, I’m investigating that rumour about a Gateway to the Spirit World behind the Archery Range.” I replied, pulling out a pen so I could write some notes on my hand for later reference.

“A gateway behind the Archery Range?” The first Student Council member asked sceptically. “That old story about a bullied boy disappearing into thin air?”

“Yeah, that one…” I confirmed. “You have any idea about where I could find some leads?”

“Ms Fujimura’s the advisor for the Archery Club.” The second member answered nonchalantly, still busy with her papers. “She’d probably have some details about anything related to the range.”

“I see then, thanks for letting me know, and sorry for disturbing you.” I replied as I wrote down Ms Fujimura’s name, then Advisor, before closing the door and turning around.

“Ms Fujimura’s the advisor for the Archery Club?” I whispered as I played the words over in my head. “If that’s the case, she’s probably there right now cleaning up; the Archery Club’s put on temporary hold right now for the exams, so nobody should be there except the advisor…Okay, at least I got another lead.”

Gearing myself up, I headed back for the stairs down to the first floor.

__________

“Hey, Sakura!” I heard an unmistakeable voice shout as I arrived.

Turning in the direction it came from, Shinji Matou stood out like a sore thumb in front of the Nurse’s office down the corridor from my position. Before him, there was a girl I couldn’t remember seeing beforehand.

She wore a long labcoat that covered up the brown girl’s uniform of Tsukumihara Academy beneath it. The coat’s hems reached up to her thighs alongside her skirt, with its sleeves covering the entirety of her arms. Stunningly long purple hair reached all the way down to her ankles, making her form even more recognisable than Shinji’s.

‘Sakura? Then, Sakura Matou? Shinji’s younger sister that those third years were talking about?’ I couldn’t help but think to myself, just as I remembered Shinji’s words. ‘Yet, why is it I can’t remember seeing her until today?’

The girl known as Sakura turned around to face Shinji, though her face looked as though she wanted to turn right back around again.

“Oh… It’s you, brother.” A small voice leaked out from her lips, barely audible at the distance I was away from them. But they were at least audible enough for me to confirm my suspicions.

“I heard that you’ve been skipping out on the Archery Club’s morning practices lately!” Shinji’s tirade began, clearly infuriated at something. “Why haven’t you been showing up? And where do you get off taking a break without my say so?!” His tirade stopped there; surprisingly short considering its Shinji. But very quickly his voice rose again in anger

“Ah, I get it now… You've been going to ‘their’ house again, haven't you?” His voice contained venom that I could not remember ever coming from Shinji, his hands clenching into fists.

‘Their house?’ I couldn’t help but think as I continued to eavesdrop, still remembering the words I had spoken to myself previously in reassurance that eavesdropping was alright… even if it was my friend.

“… Yes… Yes, I have been going there, but I just wanted to help and…” She began, trying to defend her position.

“Let me guess…” Shinji cut her off, shaking his head as he rubbed his temples. “You felt obliged to help, right? Goddamnit, why must you always be so naive? Tch, anyway, if someone gets hurt, just leave them to suffer: Just do what I tell you to, and things will be A-okay.” He waved his hand with confidence, as though he could see and control the future directly.

“I mean, it seems like people get some kind of perverse thrill from getting in my way like this. To force one of my… err… my dear little sister to miss valuable practice time…”

“No! No, that’s not how it was at all!” She cried out, trying to overturn her brother’s conclusion as she brought a hand to her chest, clearly disturbed. “I wasn’t forced to help or do anything out of obligation… I just wanted to help! But… Brother, why… are you so against… Why is it so wrong to help those who need it?”

“Ha!” He laughed in scorn. “Isn’t it only fools and weaklings that manage to hurt themselves somehow? That kind of trash doesn’t deserve any help in the first place!” He flicked a lock of hair to the side, as though to emphasise his superiority.

“And why help anybody out in the first place?” His tirade continued shortly afterwards unabated. “Will that same person ever pay you back or help you in return? Of course they won't; they’ll just take your help and leave you on the roadside when it’s your turn to come begging for it! And if you think otherwise, you're an idiot! I won't be used by anyone. It's better to treat others as cattle and just use them as necessary. And isn't it time for you to come around to seeing things my way?!”

“But…” Sakura began stuttering during a pause in Shinji’s tirade, her figure seemingly growing smaller by the minute under the overwhelming presence of her brother. “But, for me… that option… that is…”

“Shut it, Sakura.” Shinji began again, his mood clearly close to breaking point as he swung his hand in the air, before jabbing a finger at her with finality. “I don’t care what you have to say, and I am only going to say this once: Stop going to that house Sakura, got it!?”

“Is my pathetic Grandson stirring up trouble again?” An elderly voice shocked me out of my stupor just as Shinji’s final words echoed in the air. Almost as though by command, my body snapped around at attention to look at the owner of the voice.

Its origin was an ancient man, his wrinkled skin and hunched back evidence of the many years he had weighing upon him, so much so that he barely stood up to my chest. Wielding a weak-looking, yet surprisingly sturdy cane, and wearing a dark green kimono underneath a long, loose black coat. Honestly, I was surprised that he was capable of coming to this School from wherever he lived: He looked so frail that a single gust of wind would be able to knock him off his feet.

Yet even after saying that, his voice earlier held a commanding tone that instinctively caused me to come to attention, and a sickly aura around him that sent shivers up my spine like I could never remember. His physical age clearly had no impact on his actual bearing…Rather, instead of bogging him down, it instead served to strengthen him instead, like the rings of an ancient tree.

“Ah…” Apparently the same aura this man exuded did not go unnoticed, as Sakura’s dejection was immediately replaced with something else, her body almost visibly stiffening. “G… Grandfather… Welcome… ” She took a standing bow to the diminutive man beside me.

“Wha-!” Shinji’s shock was almost entertaining to watch, had it not been for the complete fear that blanketed his face at the sight of the old man. “G-Grandfather! You didn’t need to come all the way out here if you needed us... !” Shinji’s discomfort was obvious from the moment his mouth opened as his previously arrogant attitude took a complete U-turn.

“Hmph; I need not concern myself with the two of you.” He answered Shinji’s worry with disinterest. “I… just felt that I needed to take a walk, and ended up here. I expect the two of you to return home immediately after you have finished what you needed to do at school.” Although he had the full attention of the two siblings, he was clearly more interested in the school building itself, for whatever reason. His eyes were carefully scanning every nook and cranny of the concrete, as though searching for something...

“Y… Yes, Grandfather.” Sakura said simply, still keeping her head bowed and her face hidden, though from my position, it looked as though her body was… trembling slightly.

“O… Of course, Grandfather!” Shinji’s voice perked up again, seeing as he was in no danger, it seemed as his body became slightly livelier. “I was just telling Sakura the same thing!”

“I’ll be on my way then.” The old man they had referred to as ‘Grandfather’ walked past the two of them as though they were nothing but statues, his attention clearly fixed on something else entirely.

“Hah… Haha…” For some reason, Shinji Matou began laughing as the aura of the old man slowly disappeared from the area. “W… Well, remember what I said, Sakura; and go home immediately afterwards.” With that said, Shinji immediately bolted for the exit, not caring anymore about his little sister who was still standing, frozen bent in a bow as though the old man was still before her.

“Seems like Shinji ran off then, eh?” A voice came up from behind me, shocking me again out of my mystified state.

“D… Did you see that?” I asked him as I turned around, recognising my mutual friend of Shinji walking down the staircase with his bag slung over his shoulder.

“Yeah; I’m honestly as dumbfounded as you are.” He answered, his partially hidden eyes underneath his hair illustrating his confusion clearly. “Maybe we’ll have to ask the Chief whether she’d be willing to investigate the Matou household for stories; they’d probably have more mysteries than a library has books.” He tried to crack a joke to loosen up the awkward atmosphere left behind by the old man’s appearance.

“Eh, I don’t know if that’d work…” I replied, scratching my head as I responded to his joke, albeit half-heartedly.

“In any case…” He shook his head as he came down to stand beside me. “Don’t you have that story you’re supposed to take care of for the Chief?”

“Oh… Oh yeah!” I couldn’t help but smack my fist into my palm as I realised I had completely forgotten about it.

“You got anything new then?” He asked as he tapped my back.

“Yeah, I went and talked with some of the Student Council members.” I began recounting what I heard on the third floor when I went to look for Issei.

“I see; you better get going then.” He said, nodding in thought. “Ms Fujimura’s probably at the range by herself, cleaning up after the club members since it’s so close to the exam period.”

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly…” I replied as my gaze slowly shifted to Sakura, who was still standing rigid and bowed over for some reason.

“I’ll take care of it.” He sighed as he followed my gaze. “She probably just needs a little chop to the head after having Shinji go at her like that. Go and take care of the Chief’s story, she’ll probably be livid if you don’t finish it in time.”

“Got it, thanks.” It was all I could say after a pause as I flashed him a smile, before heading off out the school doors.

It was clear that he could recognise my worried state; after hearing about how high Sakura Matou was on the list as everyone’s desired girlfriend, leaving her in such a stupefied state would be dangerous.

But I knew I could trust my friend in getting her back in shape, without anything undue happening.

__________

On the way to the Archery Range, I had to pass by the Sports Hall, next to the second entrance. For some reason, my feet slowed as I passed by the entrance, my eyes turning over to its large, wooden doors.

Almost as if triggering a negative reaction to my stare, the doors of the hall burst open, as a man slowly stepped out of the shadows.

His clothes were completely black; from his fur-lined coat to his gloves all the way down to his pants and boots, in eerie sync with his jet-black, short hair and equally black eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His voice; deep, dark, and menacing, only served to cement his threatening stance.

His aura was intimidating, to say the least… Well, until he turned his gaze to look at me. And in that instant, his intimidating aura was replaced by one of overwhelming danger that sent waves upon waves of terror all over my body. That cold, blank stare of his conveyed no discernable emotion, yet in its place was an unbridled killing intent, as though he was deciding which was more expedient: Breaking my neck, or skinning me alive!

“Odd. Your name doesn’t appear to be on the list, but I had better make sure…” His cold voice came again to envelope me, after his stare had nailed my feet firmly to the ground.

He began to mutter under his breath as he reached out with his right hand towards me. Although he didn’t move from his position at the doors of the Sports Hall, his very aura made it feel as though his hand was slowly, slowly, coming ever so closer towards me. As waves of nausea and vertigo threatened to overwhelm me, I felt like a rabbit watching the wolf drawing nearer and nearer for the kill…

“You’re not even trying to fight.” He spoke again, the note of disgust within it obvious as he lowered his hand. “My instinct’s aren’t as sharp as they used to be… I need to rest.”

The paralysis that held me rooted suddenly fades away as I tried to hold back a sigh of relief, although the man still continued to look at me with those dead eyes of his.

“My name is Mr Kuzuki.” He said simply, as though unaware of the very terror his presence causes to others as he introduced himself, turning his body towards the entrance to the main school building.

“I will be teaching at Tsukumihara Academy starting from tomorrow onwards.” He continued speaking, his ominous gaze still locked on me. “The campus is about to close soon: If you have nothing else to do here, I advise that you go home immediately. There have been rumours of a slasher stalking the school grounds at night, so you should return for your own safety.”

With his final words spoken, he detached his murderous glare from me and left the area, sparing me no second thought.

‘Great…’ I thought to myself as I sighed inwardly in relief, my knees almost giving way as my hands were still slick with sweat from that man’s overwhelming presence. ‘Now we have a teacher with obvious murderous intent teaching at our school…’

‘Darn it, look at the time…’ I glanced at my watch as I remembered my original purpose here. ‘I really got to find a way to stop myself from being side tracked like this…The Chief’s not gonna be happy tomorrow if I can’t find enough to appease her.’

With that… eventful, meeting done and over with, I quickly hurried over to the Archery Range, hoping that whatever is behind there won’t take up too much more of my time.

__________

The light of the setting sun basked the Archery Range in a golden glow.

It’s interior was made of two covered sections, separated by a long, grassy field in-between. From the entrance I came in from, I could just barely see the target mounds underneath the opposite covered section. On the section where I stood, rows upon rows of unstrung bows lined the walls, with small boxes packed full of arrows dotting the wooden floor.

The floor gave a pleasant, welcoming creak as I took a few steps into the building, my eyes scanning the area for where to begin my investigation. And just as I did so, a familiar figure appeared, stepping into the shaded area holding a large number of arrows in her hands.

“Ah.” Ms Fujimura said as she noticed me standing there. “You caught me in the middle of cleaning: Those kids nowadays don’t even unstring their bows! The worst is when they leave their arrows stuck in the target mound. I usually make the kids do it, but there's no club activities leading up to exams, so I end up having to do it.” She quickly moved to dump the arrows back into the boxes before turning back to face me again, as though emphasising her point.

“There’s not particularly much you can do about it, I guess, Ms Fujimura.” I said matter-of-factly, not really sure how to console a teacher for having to do her job.

“In any case, what are you doing over here then?” She asked smiling at me. “Exams are coming up in just four days you know, so you really shouldn’t be stalling over here!”

“Well, I’m here on club activities actually…” I replied, scratching my head sheepishly. “The Editor in Chief’s asked me to investigate a story about the Archery Range.”

“And here I just said you shouldn’t be stalling here.” She said sceptically. “In any case, since I’m here, what’s the story about then?”

“Err…” I pulled out a pen again in preparation to write down some notes of anything she could tell me. “There’s been a rumour about an Entrance to the Spirit World behind the Archery Range going about; have you seen anything yourself, Ms Fujimura?”

“Huh? An entrance to the spirit world?” She looked at me incredulously. “That's just a rumour, it's not real! Come on now, stop focusing on fantasy stuff like that and focus on your exams! Four days remember, Four! So go home and study already, shoo, shoo!”

Following her direction I quickly left the way I came in, with Ms Fujimura chasing me out.

‘Well, it seems I had my answer to the disappearing boy: He probably got shooed away by the Tiger-I mean, Ms Fujimura.’ I thought to myself as I looked up at the sky afterwards, recounting what I’ve heard this afternoon. ‘Though she doesn’t like the nickname us students have given her, she’s certainly earned it on more than one occasion…’

‘And it’s not entirely surprising that she’s behind one of Tsukumihara Academy’s rumours…’ I laughed inwardly to myself. ‘Maybe I should write an article after the exams are over about why does she keep falling over at the start of class…In any case, I’d better talk to the Chief tomorrow about what I heard; I’d better get back home now.’

With that final thought, I left through the main gate, ending just another day at school.

__________

**Xyphos** · September 23rd, 2012, 01:54 PM

Act 0: Scene 2
2 Days Remaining

Humans know such humble days are precious
Yet, where are the buyers for such excess?

__________

“Morning.” I called out to my friend as I reached the school gate.

My seat neighbour, and mutual friend of Shinji turned around, smiling as he saw me.

“Morning, you get anything from the Archery Range yesterday?” He asked as I reached his side.

“Yeah, the Ti-ugh, Ms Fujimura was there yesterday as I went to investigate.”

“Really now?” He raised an eyebrow as he heard me, probably coming to the same conclusions I had yesterday. “Well, the Chief’ll probably be relieved to hear that.”

“Yeah.” I smiled in response. “I’m surprised that the Chief’s actually so scared of such ghost stories, even though she’s so gung-ho about getting this series of articles out.”

“You seem pretty gung-ho about it yourself actually.” He shrugged his shoulders as he began moving towards the main building. “We’d better hurry; classes are about to start. Don’t want to end up like Ms Fujimura, right?” I quickly followed him as he threw that last comment out.

As we entered the building, a very recognisable sight caught my eye.

Even though yesterday was the first time I’ve seen her, it was already impossible for me to mistake Sakura Matou’s figure for anyone else.

She was standing by the shoe-lockers, apparently trying to sift through a number of envelopes while trying to find her indoor shoes.

“Looks like she’s got another bunch of love letters.” My friend commented, smiling wryly as he opened his own locker; completely empty in comparison.

I kept quiet as I looked into my own empty box, switching out my shoes before turning to him again. “Erm…”

“Yesterday, right?” He asked as he closed his locker, already reading my mind.

“Yeah…” I answered his suspicions sheepishly.

“She’s fine.” He turned and smiled at me reassuringly. “As I said, she just needed a little chop to the head to bring her back.”

“Have you… talked to her before?” I asked him as I too closed my own locker.

“Me? Ha.” He laughed at the thought. “I’m just as much in the dark about her as you are. We’re just boring idiots under Shinji’s shadow anyway. Yesterday’s the first time I talked to her, as well as seen her.”

He took a quick glance at the girl in question, before turning back to me and whispering something, apparently sensing the hidden meaning of my words. “It’s best if we don’t delve into family matters too deeply; you may get caught in something you won’t be able to get out of.”

“But still though…” I couldn’t help but turn back to her figure still standing by her locker, focusing on the long sleeved coat she wore as the words of those third-years from yesterday came back to me.

“Haah.” My friend sighed as he saw my worry, before patting me on the shoulder as I turned back to look at him. “Think about it rationally; you only saw her yesterday right?” I only nodded in silence as he began speaking, trying to reason out with me. “You haven’t even talked to her once before, right?” Again, I nodded in reply.

“You only know that Shinji likes to keep her under his thumb constantly. Perhaps he’s being a bit pushy about it, but some brothers are like that. We also know that their grandfather seems like a very strict man: Again, no concrete facts about how their home life is like, and nothing to say for certain, right?” I couldn’t deny his logic as I nodded again in reply.

“Then right now there’s not much you can do about it.”

“But still-!” I turned around to face him again as Shinji’s words from yesterday popped up in my mind. I didn’t expect my friend to share his opinion about not helping those in need.

That is, until he gave a light chop to my head, silencing any words I had in my mouth.

“Shut it: I’m not done yet.” He spoke grumpily as I stared at him. “Right now, there’s not much you can do about it. But later on is probably a different matter entirely, isn’t it?” He gave me a knowing grin as I understood the meaning of his final words. “Get to know her a little better for starters; I’ll be cheering you on, alright?”

“Heh, sure thing.” I rubbed my forehead where he hit me as I returned his grin, before a surprised yelp echoed through the corridor.

“Hm?” My friend was already scanning the area for the source of the voice. Sakura had apparently left already as I was being lectured, but that voice was unmistakeably hers.

Immediately both of us were already moving through the corridors looking for her; apparently all of the other students had already disappeared for class, the corridor deserted aside from the two of us. And although we too should be following suit, it seemed my friend shared the same worries as me about Sakura, and the events from yesterday.

But we didn’t have to wait for too long.

From the entrance and turning to the right, towards the Faculty and Nurse’s Office, we quickly saw Sakura’s collapsed body on the floor.

“Sakura!” I instinctively shouted out as I ran over to her fallen figure, crouching beside her. “What’s wrong?”

“Ah…?” She blinked several times before looking at me, clearly in a daze. “Is…Is something the matter?”

“You… You just collapsed in the middle of the street.” I replied, incredulous that she didn’t even realise it herself as my friend reached us.

“Is there anything we can do for you?” He asked calmly as he stooped down. “Classes are about to start soon; do you need to take a rest?”

“Oh… yeah…” She replied softly as she tried to get up to her feet, before I gave her a hand to help her up. “Thanks… Yes, sorry about that, I… haven’t been sleeping… very well the past few days.”

“Should I take you down to the Nurse’s office?” I asked her worriedly as I held onto her small hand.

“Yes… please.” She replied slowly, her eyes still unfocused.

“I’ll go and tell the teacher’s you’ll be late.” My friend said, nodding his head. “What class are you in, Sakura? I’ll go and tell them you’ll probably be taking the first few lessons off.”

“Oh, no, don’t worry…” She began as she turned her head to us, smiling. “I’m stationed at the Nurse’s office, not at a classroom.”

“Oh… alright…” My friend had a slightly puzzled look on his face, before it was replaced by a twinge of pain and then reverting back to normal. “Well, I’ll tell Ms Fujimura that you’ll be a bit late then; don’t take too long.” He gave us a quick wave before heading back to the stairs for our homeroom.

‘What was that?’ I thought as I replayed Sakura’s words over in my head, and the subsequent variation in my friend’s expression. ‘Ugh, I think I feel a headache coming on… already so early in the morning?’ I shook my head to try and get rid of the thoughts and the headache, before turning back to look at Sakura, still standing there.

“Sh… Should we get going then?” I asked, a little bit nervous now with the two of us alone in the corridor.

“Yes… Sorry about this…” She murmured as she looked straight ahead, apparently still in a daze. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time…”

“Oh please, it’s no problem.” I replied quickly. “My homeroom teacher’s pretty late herself, so I should be able to get back before she does for roll call.” Keeping a hold onto her hand so as to prevent her collapsing again, I began walking towards the Nurse’s office.

Even with Sakura’s slow pace, very quickly the two of us reached the door to the Nurse’s office.

“Is… Is there anything else I could do for you, Sakura?” I asked her as I opened the door, letting her go through.

“Th… Thank you for your concern.” She turned a tired, but still gentle smile at me at the doorway after she had made her way in. “But I should be fine after a bit of rest.”

“Al… Alright then…” I stuttered, my wits already leaving me even after my friend’s encouragement. “I’ll… I’ll see you later then Sakura…”

“Yes... See you later.” She replied, before turning towards the beds in the office, presumably to take a little lie-down.

Slowly I closed the doors, before going back down the corridor and up the stairs towards my classroom.

“Damnit! I didn’t even tell her my name!” I almost shouted in fury on the way, after the fact dawned on me.

__________

It seemed that, even with the distraction down on the first floor this morning, Ms Fujimura still wasn’t here, the bell having yet to ring… I had to count my lucky stars for that. But instead, something else was out of place.

The girls that normally flocked around Shinji Matou’s desk aren’t there this morning. The person in question himself seemed to be in a pretty bad mood too. I gave a questioning glance at my neighbouring friend, who shrugged in response. Apparently he wasn’t willing to go into the lion’s den, so I’ll ask him…

Though I had better keep it a secret that I was trying, and failing, to hit on his younger sister.

“Yo, Shinji, did something happen?”

“What?” He snapped at me as I came close to his desk. “Like I’d tell you if anything happened to me! Which, it didn’t. Nothing happened at all.”

I gave a wry smile at his failed attempt at denial, apparently triggering the next set of floodgates to open.

“Hey, you know that Ice Queen Rin Tousaka?” He started. “She thinks she's so much better than everyone else. At first, I thought that she would be the only one who understood how lonely it is at the top. I tried talking to her yesterday, but I got nowhere. Maybe I just intimidate her or something. I might've lost a few points for getting violent, but girls who talk back to me get slapped!”

I sighed inwardly as I heard him recount his side of the story. Though I don’t know of the girl in question, this Rin Tousaka had probably shot Shinji straight out of the sky as soon as he tried hitting on her.

“I’d never hook up with such a violent, stuck-up bitch like that, no matter how hot she is! She’d be perfect if she’d just keep her mouth shut. And why’d she take a shot at me anyway? I thought she was gonna spinning-star kick me next!”

As he continued to whine, I could only imagine just how sleazy Shinji was with her. Though normally his super-aggressive approach works, but as they say, you can’t fool all the people, all the time.

Still, with that said, life’s just that little bit more interesting when it’s got these little shake-ups now and then, like this morning with Sakura, and now this with Shinji.

At that moment, the bell began to ring. And right on cue, Ms Fujimura dashed through the doors at the last second as I took my seat between my two friends.

“Phew, I made it!” She declared triumphantly. “Good morning everyone!” She waved energetically to the class as she took a quick glance around.

“Alright, no one’s absent, and since there are no announcements to make, let’s just start homeroom.”

Taking a few steps forward while reaching towards the blackboard, she tripped again, falling over as she always does.

This time however, as she fell, her fingernails scratched along the blackboard in an attempt to grab onto something, emitting a horrifying screech that sent me cringing even more than how she normally hits her head.

And thus, another normal morning for another normal day began anew.

__________

“…and though the Great War had finally come to an end, regional conflicts still persisted.”

Standing behind the lectern today, is the school’s newest teacher, Mr Kuzuki.

Who I had the, rather terrifying experience, of meeting yesterday.

“Despite the suffering of the previous generation, battles once again commenced thirty years afterwards.”

Although he’s supposed to be teaching math, his lessons have apparently gone off on a tangent, instead talking about European History from the early 20^th century onwards.

“Now instead of armies, attacks in ever greater numbers are being carried out by terrorists. And in an attempt to supress these terrorists groups…”

Just before he began detailing the strategies used, the chiming bell signals the end of classes. And with it, the tension in the room nosedives immediately, as though its strings had been cut.

“All right, let us end here today.” He looked at the class as a whole as we rapidly began to pack up, before he began speaking again.

“…Oh yes, before I forget. There is an announcement from the Student Counsellor. Recently, a rise in the number of slashing incidents has made the surrounding area dangerous. With that in mind, keep any detours to a minimum and head home as quickly as possible.”

Repeating the same words from yesterday, he then left us students to our own devices. But although he speaks good advice, I still have to finish those assignments for the Journalism Club…

Though why I have such enthusiasm for it, on par with the Chief’s, is a mystery just as my friend had mentioned this morning…

Shinji bolted at the first chance possible, and my friend’s probably already off doing some inane task the Chief’s asked of him. In that case, I better go report to the Chief about what I saw yesterday as well.

As I exited the classroom, I began hearing the rumourmongers of the school selling their wares to the people with the most open ears: The new teacher, Mr Kuzuki; the differences between comic books and manga; the upcoming exams in 3 days; rumours of the slasher who’s apparently been targeting students at the Academy; a girl named Rin Tousaka; Ms Fujimura living with a student …

‘Wait, what? My body stopped as my mind kicked into gear. ‘Rin Tousaka as in, the girl who shot Shinji down in mere seconds?’

I turned my eyes discreetly over to the source of the last rumour; a group of three girls were huddled over near the staircase as my ears began filtering out the remaining chit-chat, focusing on their own discussion.

“She’s in Class B, remember?” One of them was commenting. “I’m surprised you’ve never heard of her: Pretty; athletic; smart; classy… Or a stuck-up Ms Perfect who all the guys adore and all the girls despise. Ring a bell anywhere?”

“It wouldn’t be unrealistic to call Rin Tousaka the most popular girl in the whole school.” A second voice chimed in.

“…Are you trying to pull my leg?” A third questioned the both of them, clearly sceptical.

“Honestly, you’re as dense as a brick; you wouldn’t feel it if I did try to pull your leg.” The second teased.

“Whaa?” The third responded in mock horror. “I… I’m not dense… not that bad anyway… But still… She wasn’t wearing our school uniform. She was wearing red. How’d you explain that?”

“Really?” The first asked, doubtful. “I didn’t notice.”

“Eh?” The third squeaked. “Maybe I’m remembering wrong…”

“Knowing you, you would.” The second replied, teasing her again. “C’mon, let’s head over for club.”

“Ah… Yeah…” The third replied in confirmation, still clearly perturbed at the discussion as the three left the scene.

“Again, like Sakura; another mystery girl shows up out of the blue eh…” I muttered under my breath as I raised an eyebrow incredulously.

“Hey!” A familiar, overcharged voice barged into my thoughts as I turned around, seeing none other than the Chief staring at me intently, her long brown hair splayed behind her as usual.

“Yo, Club Ace; did you find anything yesterday?” Without even pausing long enough for me to respond to her greeting, she’s already jumped to the topic about the article. But since I had nothing else I could respond with at this point, I just went with it and told her what I found yesterday at the Archery Range.

“Interesting…” She nodded in thought. “So it was Tiger!” Of course there’s no entrance to the Spirit World!” She laughed it off, even though she seemed very skittish yesterday after talking to me about it.

“Right then, thanks to you, the article will be great! Are you ready for your next assignment?”

She’s already off on the next topic?!

“The next unsolved mystery is a pretty recent one: Yesterday, there was a girl dressed in red on the rooftop.”

‘Huh, that sounds a little bit familiar to what those three girls were talking about…’ I thought. ‘Could she be the one behind it?’

“Rumours about ‘Little Red Rooftop’ are spreading quickly.” The Chief continued. “Go find out what this is all about: A journalist lets the news guide their feet, so hurry on up to the rooftop! I’ve gotta find your friend; he’s late with taking care of that other article for me!” With that said, she’s already racing off through the crowd, leaving me behind sighing as the Vice-Chief came up right behind her.

“Still as energetic as always.” I shook my head as I commented to her in passing. She flashed me a wry smile before she too disappeared after the Chief.

‘Come to think of it though,’ I thought to myself as I took a look at the staircase, ‘since I have a little bit of time before I need to go and investigate, maybe I should give Sakura a quick check-up…’

With that in mind, I quickly head down the stairs to the first floor, instead of going up as per my original target.

While on the way down the stairs, I couldn’t help but notice the bulletin board from yesterday. Apparently the Chief’s already changed what was pinned up there. Today, it reads:

“Tsukumihara Times Preview Edition 2.”
“A special feature will begin tomorrow…”
“Cracking the Unsolved Mysteries of Tsukumihara Academy.”
“Check it out!”

“…She really does love putting on the pressure doesn’t she?” I sighed as I finished reading it out to myself. “Although, the Chief looks like she’s starting to push herself a bit; the handwriting seems even sloppier than yesterday…”

“Yeah, the Chief really does seem to be pushing herself a bit…” A familiar voice came from behind me. I turned around to see my friend, staring intently at the bulletin board.

“Seems like you’re under a lot of pressure to perform eh?” He joked as he saw my face, repeating my words previously.

“Eh?” I looked at him quizzically. “Wasn’t the Chief looking for you?”

“Yeah, she caught me.” He sighed. “Handed her the article I was supposed to write, before being slapped with another assignment right off the bat.” I thought I saw him physically age for a moment as he recalled the task set for him, before he turned to look at me. “You assigned that ‘Little Red Rooftop’ story now, right?”

“Yeah, I am…” I replied.

“But isn’t the rooftop, that way?” He asked, deadpan as he pointed upwards. “Instead of that way?” He continued, pointing downwards to the first floor, which I was clearly headed for.

“Uhhh…” I fidgeted under such a blatant questioning of my motives.

“Heh, I’m messing with you.” He grinned as he patted my shoulder. “There’s only one reason why’d you be going downstairs instead of up, and that’s to check on Sakura, isn’t it?”

“You can read me like an open book, can’t you?” I sighed in defeat. Well, it’s not like I was trying to hide the fact that I was going to check up on Sakura Matou.

“Well, more like it’s just an obvious fact, considering you.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ll come with you to check on her as well; I got a bit of time before I head off for the next assignment.”

__________

I pushed aside the door to the Nurse’s office, the glow of the afternoon sun filtering through even to here.

“Excuse me.” I called out automatically as I made my way in, my friend following me close behind.

“Oh, welcome.” A now familiarly small, gentle voice called out in response.

Sakura Matou was seated at a table in the centre of the room, an open book in front of her. On the far side of where we entered were a number of beds, presumably for any students who were feeling ill.

“What can I do for you?” She asked as she stood up, her purple hair framing her figure alongside the labcoat she wore, and the uniform underneath it.

“H… How are you feeling, Sakura?” I asked, tentatively; it seemed as though she didn’t remember what had occurred this morning.

“Oh, it’s you two.” She commented after a short pause. “Sorry I didn’t recognise you for a moment; I was suffering from a lack of sleep this morning so I couldn’t really focus on my surroundings.” She bowed, both in thanks and apology. “Thank you for taking care of me, and sorry for causing so many problems so early in the day.”

“Oh, please, it wasn’t a bother!” I instinctively responded, shaking my head. “But more importantly, how are you now?”

“I’m fine, thank you.” She gave me a warm, gentle smile. “I just needed a little bit of rest, so now I’m feeling much better.”

“I see, that’s good to hear…” I responded, nodding as I returned her smile, before a slightly uncomfortable silence descended between us.

“Well then, sorry for bothering you.” My friend decided to break the ice after a little while. “Good to see you’re feeling better, Sakura. We’ll see you tomorrow.” With that said, he quickly ushered me from the room, him following suit as the door slid closed behind us.

“You feeling more relieved now?” He asked me after a brief pause.

“Yeah, I guess…” I scratched the back of my head as I looked at our surroundings, before spotting Shinji at the end of the corridor.

He was looking intently at the door at the corridor’s end that apparently refused to budge, although I myself have never seen anyone using said door before.

“Hm, what’s Shinji doing?” My friend voiced my thoughts for me. “You gonna go and ask him what’s up?”

“Yeah, since we’re here.” I replied as I straightened up. “You gonna come?”

“No, don’t think I can.” My friend motioned to the opposite direction down the corridor, and as I followed his gaze, I spotted Ms Fujimura. “My next assignment involves Ms Fujimura, so I’m afraid I’ll have to split here.”

“Alright, thanks for accompanying me then.” I waved him goodbye as he left, before I turned over to Shinji.

“Hmm…” I could hear him muttering as I drew closer. “That’s weird… Why won’t it open?”

“Hey, Shinji.” I called out to him as I stepped closer, the blue-haired young man turning over to look at me.

“Huh?” He greeted my appearance with a dour face. “What, you haven’t left yet? Hold on, don’t tell me…” He squinted, looking carefully at me up and down. “No, never mind. Losers like you shouldn’t be on campus right now. Who knows; you might get whacked by that killer on the loose.” He flicked his hair as he finished. “Hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

As I was already quite used to his abuse, I didn’t bat an eye. Instead though, I couldn’t help but ask him directly:

“What’re you up to, Shinji?”

And almost as though he saw a pit viper, Shinji reared up and almost started shouting.

“Sh-Shut it, you! It won't mean anything to a nerd like you, but I? Wait wait… why am I explaining anything to you? Just get the hell out of here already.”

“Aw, come on; can’t you just share a bit?” I asked him, trying to see whether I could help him or not.

“No, don’t bother trying to help.” He stated clearly, holding out one hand to stop me while rubbing his forehead with the other. “I’m the genius here; I can figure this out myself. Just go play reporter or whatever the heck it is you do in your club.” With that finally said he turned around and went back to intently studying the door.

I gave a little shrug of defeat as I turned around again and started walking back down the corridor to take care of my original assignment.

“ME?!”

And was quickly met with an incredulous cry by Ms Fujimura echoing down the corridor, my friend stood in front of her cringing at her outburst.

“Me, living with a student?!” She cried again. Apparently he had the horrifying task of interviewing Ms Fujimura about that rumour I heard on second floor, about her living with another student.

‘I pity you…’ I couldn’t help but shake my head with a wry smile as I stood by, listening in. ‘Although, Ms Fujimura, you’d do well to keep your voice down if you don’t want this rumour getting out of control…’

“Aaagh, no! I’m his guardian! Just his guardian!” She was clutching her head, in embarrassment or shame I did not know, as I saw other students in the area turn to watch her…“The child of one of my parents' friends had been living alone, so I've been helping out: I go over to his house on occasion to check up on him, but that doesn’t mean I live there with him! I don't! Not at all!” From here, even I could see the sceptical face my friend was pulling.

‘Why’re you defending it so vigorously?’ Was my only thought at this point. It was a sentiment likely shared by my friend, still standing his ground before the Tiger.

“…Hey! What's with that face?!” Ms Fujimura’s likely picked up on that as well. “You don't believe your own teacher?! You're a good kid. You don't even know what those bad kids mean by ‘living together,’ right? RIGHT? And now, your teacher needs to give those kids who are spreading these rumours a little educational guidance…”

“Oh boy…” I couldn’t help but mutter to myself as I shook my head, a kendo sword appearing as though out of thin air in Ms Fujimura’s hands, as she stormed off up the stairs to find the girls who were spreading that rumour. “God bless your two souls…”

“It’s times like this that she earns her nickname without fail, eh?” My friend evidently saw me and came over, clearly frazzled by his wild encounter. “Ugh, I better report to the Chief about this.” He shook his head before giving me a quick glance. “You better go and take care of your own story too; it’s getting pretty late.”

“Yeah, you’re right…” I confirmed as I glanced at my watch. “See you later then.” I waved him goodbye again as I quickly stormed up the stairs to the third floor, hoping that whatever awaited me up there didn’t take up too much of my time.

‘…Déjà vu much?’ I couldn’t help but think to myself as I climbed up the stairs, remembering how side tracked I got yesterday too.

__________

As a rule, students aren’t allowed to go up onto the rooftop; only the Student Council Office and the Faculty Office have keys for the door.

And luckily, today Issei was there on the third floor as I arrived up the stairs.

“Issei!” I called out to him as he just finished speaking to a group of Student Council members dressed in black like he was.

“Hm?” He turned over to look at me, before smiling and coming over. “Good afternoon; sorry that I couldn’t talk to you yesterday about the Archery Range; the members at the Office yesterday informed me of your arrival.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, your stand-ins were very helpful.” I replied, setting his worries to rest.

“I hope that you didn’t find anything… suspicious over there, did you?” He raised an eyebrow as he inquired about my investigation.

“Well, unless you count Ms Fujimura suspicious, no.” I laughed as I told him that. “Although she herself could be the subject of a million articles alone!”

“I see.” He smiled in response. “Well, what brings you up here today then? More work for the Chief and Journalism Club?”

“Yeah; the Chief’s really busy these days it seems, trying to get as many articles as she can ready for the next issue.” I replied. “Today’s about a rumour of a girl on the rooftop…”

“A girl on the rooftop?” He repeated what I told him, before his eyes lit up. “Oh yes, her. She just happens to be up there right now: I saw her going up there holding the keys to the Rooftop a moment ago. She probably got them from the faculty office beforehand. You can go and have a look now if you’d like.”

“Alright, that saves me a lot of trouble then.” I nodded in response. “Thanks for filling me in about that, Issei.”

“No problem.” He waved me farewell as I went up the last flight of stairs to the rooftop, pushing the metal door open soundlessly.

Flooding the rooftop was the golden light of the setting sun. Situated atop of a hill, Tsukumihara Academy’s rooftop had a breathtakingly spectacular view of the town below; being perhaps one of the tallest buildings in the area accentuated this fact. But I wasn’t captivated by the view of the glowing city below me.

No, what had captured my attention stood far, far closer to me.

“What a beautiful sunset…” She said to nobody in particular.

A young woman dressed in a bright red, high-collared shirt, its tight sleeves extending all the way to cover up even her palms. Dead centred on its chest area, was emblazoned a bright, white cross. The black miniskirt she wore just barely covered the tops of her thigh-high boots, its colour matching her equally jet-black hair that could reach all the way to her waist, had it not been tied into the two tails that hung from the sides of her head.

She stood at the edge of the building, leaning on a set of railings that was the only thing preventing her and a drop from three stories high. Under this golden sun, it was as though I beheld a painting before me; her almost perfect figure shining with almost the exact same glow as the surroundings.

“I can only imagine how captivating this sight must be for the people who live here.” Apparently still unaware of my presence, she continued speaking softly to herself. “It is indeed a very beautiful scene… But it’s a shame that it doesn't really exist. On the surface it seems like such a benign, peaceful world.” She paused for a moment, taking in the sight one more time before she restarted her almost sobering monologue.

“But at the same time, this place is merely an idealized imitation of the real world… An imitation world that would end soon… And one done in poor taste I must say. I have to wonder, whether there really is any value to a memory that can only be observed and then left behind… Then again though, that’s the entire point of a memory, isn’t it?”

She turned her head towards me as she finished, as though she was directing the question to me. But she didn’t give me a moment to ponder over the possible meanings of her words as a small smile formed on her lips.

Her unwavering gaze was different from Mr Kuzuki’s yesterday. Not menacing, so much as scorching; burning with a purpose, an intensity that rivalled even the glowing afternoon sun that shone down upon us. An unwavering gaze that, I felt, could burn away all the chaff around her, and see things invisible to common people like me.

And I’m saying this, even though they were coloured a bright blue aqua, instead of something more fitting for this rising star.

“What’s this?” She asked as she cocked her head to one side, looking at me. “A notice from the system? Thanks for bringing it to me.” Confused, I stood silent and still, watching her as her face took on a slight hint of confusion.

“Hm, that’s not it?” She queried at my lack of response. “That means you’re probably one of the generic Masters… Well, if one of the irrelevant Masters can get here, I guess I’ll have to find another hangout for the remainder of this dull preliminary period.”

She continued to mumble under her breath as she quickly approached my still-frozen body.

“Well, I guess this is a good time as any for me to look one of you over.” She spoke clearly again as she reached my position. “Stand still and don’t move from there, could you.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, her hand reached up to just barely touch my cheek. At that moment, a sudden surge of power, like electricity, erupted from the point of contact, forcing us apart.

“Wha-!” She stepped back in slight shock at the reaction, even though I stood stock still, completely unable to comprehend what was going on.

“Is this a warning from the system?” She began mumbling to herself again as she placed a hand to her chin, clearly in thought. “Direct interference does break the rules, after all…”

And in the next instant, her figure disappeared from sight.

It was as though nobody was there to begin with; her figure disappeared from one moment to the next, without a single trace.

“…A ghost?!” I stepped back in surprise, almost falling down the stairs behind me as my body suddenly became active.

But still, whether she really existed or not, the image of her standing and watching the town below under the golden light of the setting sun, was indelibly burned into my mind.

“Oh, you’re still here?” A voice spoke behind me from the staircase as I turned around to look.

Issei Ryuudou was standing there, alongside my friend who must’ve gotten curious about my assignment.

“It’s almost time for school to close, so you should prepare to go home.” Issei’s voice snapped me back to reality as I nodded absent-mindedly before going down the stairs, walking past him and my friend.

As I heard Issei close and lock up the door to the rooftop, my friend had already reached my side.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, clearly concerned at my silence. “You seem a little pale…”

“Eh?” I shook my head in an attempt to reorient myself. “Ugh, I must be tired or something…” I turned to look at my friend as we descended down the stairs to the first floor of the school, telling him about the sudden disappearance I just saw on the rooftop.

“Damn; the Chief’s gonna be in for a shocker about this when you talk to her tomorrow!” He exclaimed in surprise as I finished.

“Yeah…” I couldn’t muster a more convicted reply, as the headache I felt growing this morning when I helped Sakura to the Nurse’s office suddenly took a painful grip on my brain as we made our way out of the school.

__________

**Xyphos** · September 23rd, 2012, 02:19 PM

Act 0: Scene 3
1 Days Remaining

An auspicious star, its dazzling light
Drowning out even the chimes of bells

__________

For some reason, the headache I had from yesterday refused to leave; there was still a dull, throbbing pain at the back of my head. But as it was small, I didn’t pay it too much attention on my way to school.

I entered the classroom this morning to see all as it should be: My friend slouched over his desk, waiting for lessons to begin, and Shinji Matou surrounded by his usual house of fangirls.

“’I’m telling you; you don’t have any talent.’” He commented, apparently recounting some event that had happened recently. “’Give up before you end up looking like a retard.’ So can you guess what he said to that?”

“What? What? What did he say?!” The girls were busy crowding around him, eager to hear the next part of the story. “We’re dying to know! Tell us!”

“This wuss goes all boo-hoo, and says-“ Shinji began putting on an act, probably trying to imitate the poor soul he was insulting. “’I’ll keep practicing until I get better. I can at least get better than you, who skips practice!”

He flicks his hair out of his face as he finished. “Sorry, don’t make me laugh! Anybody knows that you can’t ‘practice’ your way into being a genius! If he wants to practice something, he should practice not sounding like some broken tool!”

I heard my friend give a small, brief sigh, before smiling uncomfortably at me. I couldn’t help but return his smile, I suspected that he was the sad soul Shinji was stomping on. Evidently they must have talked to each other a bit yesterday after I left for the rooftop. Probably too distraught to reply back to Shinji’s retelling, all he could do was try and hide his shame in the corner of the room at his desk.

“Though I gotta admit, he ain’t a complete maggot, but trash is still trash; and trash like that only belongs in a garbage can. He should realise sooner or later that people aren’t created equal: Even people who are born above average can never reach the same heights as the naturally gifted!”

His air of superiority is a complete 180 turn from yesterday’s sulking, after being put down by Rin Tousaka.

“You must be sooo talented if you don’t need to practice, Shinji!” One of the girls squealed. “I can’t help but feel bad for the poor guy.”

“Trash can’t help being trash.” Shinji replied, matter-of-factly. “It should learn to stop dreaming of turning into something better.”

As he finished speaking, the bell for class rings as his clique of girls shuffle back to their own seats.

As we waited for Ms Fujimura to arrive, I found myself replaying Shinji’s words again for some reason…

Whether or not Shinji actually has the talent that he claims to have, it seems pretty clear that I can’t hold a candle to him in comparison. I mean, I’m a veritable nobody, with no goals in life. Even if I were to try and think that far ahead into the future, I can’t help but get overwhelmed by it all.

With that being said, I’m just content as it is to plod along my daily life, eventually reaching my completely average future, the same with tens of millions of other people. Yay.

Though I have to wonder: Are there actually people who can break that mould? And if so, how?

“Haah.” I shook my head in resignation; thinking how to break the mould even though my future’s already been cast. I shouldn’t bother worrying; for me, it was just another day on the road to an average future.

At least, I thought it would’ve been just another normal day…

Ms Fujimura had already entered the room by the time I had finished my inner monologue, and had already finished wishing everyone good morning.

“Well, kids, this is a little out of the blue, but today I want to introduce to you a new friend.” She called out as she reached the lectern.

For some reason, the throbbing in my head from yesterday began pounding harder and harder, as my heartbeat began to accelerate, my muscles tensed up on their own and my hairs stood on edge. And I could tell I wasn’t the only one who felt this way: All around me, my fellow classmates also turned to high alert, even my friend next to me had straightened up from his earlier humiliation. It was as though a lion had suddenly entered a closed room full of sheep.

I know that this wasn’t a reaction to Ms Fujimura’s arrival.

Nor was it a reaction to the fact that she did not fall down this morning…

No… It’s someone else.

He was dressed in an overly red version of the Tsukumihara Academy’s uniform, with unusual black gloves and white boots that reached partway up his shin. He didn’t look as old as many of us here in second year, yet his pair of emerald-green eyes observed us all with calm certainty beneath golden locks that descended to just below his chin.

It was the boy that Ms Fujimura had brought into the class with her.

This blonde boy was the one triggering my fight-or-flight instincts.

“Go on, Leo.” Ms Fujimura continued, apparently not recognising the sudden change of mood throughout the class. “Introduce yourself.”

He turned to her, apparently not understanding the meaning of her words as he asked her without concern: “For what purpose?”

“Huh?” Ms Fujimura seemed dumbfounded that a seemingly simple request was shot down so quickly. “Well, Leo… You’ll be attending the school with all of these people, so I’m sure they’d like to know who you are.”

“Ah, of course.” He nodded in understanding. “These good people do not know my name yet.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, without a shred of stage fright that normal students would have felt when placed in his position, the young boy named Leo turned around to us and began speaking in a clear, calm voice.

“Everyone, my name is Leonardo Bistario Harway. Eventually, it will be a name known throughout the World, but for now it is the name of your classmate. I’m pleased to meet you all today, and hope we may enjoy our time together.”

I couldn’t do anything to respond to his introduction.

My friend couldn’t help but blink in shock.

Even Ms Fujimura was lost for words.

The entire class couldn’t do anything to respond to the overwhelming amount of confidence this young boy exuded. No jabs at his strange, outlandish manner of speaking. No cries over how pretty he looked. No questions about how young he seemed, nothing at all.

Not even any mutters about how strange it was for a student to come in so close to exam time.

Absolute silence reigned in the class, entranced by his regal bearing and speech, as though our poor presence had been graced by a King.

It was at that moment, that Shinji’s words came to mind, and in seconds, I was hit with an epiphany…

This is what it means to be on a different level.

This is what it means to break the mould.

None of us, not even Shinji, could even hope to reach the platform that this young boy stood on. The gap between us was just that great: He is a King that was destined to look down upon us, his mere subjects.

I couldn’t help but wonder: How did he end up here, among us plain commoners. There must have been some sort of mistake somewhere. The pounding in my head however, kept me from thinking about it too deeply.

“Ahhh… Umm… ” Ms Fujimura had finally found her voice again as she fumbled for a way to break the ice. “Anyway, everyone, please make Leo feel welcome. If you could, please take a seat Leo. It looks like the third seat in the second row from the right is open. Is that alright for you?”

‘The third seat in the second row?’ I couldn’t help but think. ‘That’s three spaces in front of me, at the furthest back seat.’

“… Leo?” The boy turned around to Ms Fujimura, as though he didn’t know that people liked to shorten long names like his. “Ah, you’re addressing me. I see no reason to not allow you to call me Leo, as it didn’t feel awkward to hear it from you. If you have the chance, I’d very much like for a delightful woman like you to visit my country one day.”

Out of the blue, he threw that invitation to Ms Fujimura, sending her into a fluster.

“Wh-Wha?! J-J-J-Jeez, don't joke with your teacher! To your seat, Leo! I won't smack you since… Well, it was kind of flattering of you to say that.”

“Of course.” He replied, unperturbed. “I appreciate your diplomacy, Ms Fujimura.”

At that moment, the boy named Leo cracked a smile. It was an easy-going, uncaring smile that only children are capable of. And in response to such a simple smile, the tension that had frozen the entire room thawed immediately. Even some of my other classmates began to smile themselves.

Perhaps, he’s not so much a King, but more a Prince. Though he is clearly on a different level to us, he has a natural skill and charisma that could bring us up to his level easily. But as with many other things; it seemed as though even this Prince was unable to sway all of us…

“I don’t like him.” I could hear Shinji’s muttering voice coming from the seat next to me. “Flirting with the teacher already? That arrogant little twerp.”

If you have any questions, ask anyone in the class or myself.” Ms Fujimura continued, her mood soothed over like the rest of the class. “Er, I mean come talk to me first; there’s no need to be shy.”

“Yes, I understand.” Leo nodded in affirmation. “I’m pleased that I will be attending such a good school from today onwards.”

At a relaxed pace, Leo walked over to his seat two spaces in front of me. Just as he reached his seat, I thought I felt his attention shift over to me. Not to my friend next door, not to Shinji who was still badmouthing him under his breath, but to insignificant me, alone.

Even if it were for just a second, there was no reason for such a superior being to have recognised me out of them all, so I ignored that fleeting feeling as classes recommenced.

__________

Nothing else of significant interest happened today, although the arrival of Leo alone was enough to set the school off in a buzz. In my case, a sense of unease had clouded my heart ever since this morning, as though the cogs of life had suddenly been misaligned. On top of that, the headache I was feeling since yesterday had slowly grown in intensity too.

Then again, this is probably the result of overexcitement that, for once, something out of the ordinary had happened

Excluding yesterday’s event on the rooftop of course.

Speaking of which, I should probably go and-

“Yo.” My neighbouring friend called out as he came over to my desk, his bag slung over his shoulder already. “You off to find the Chief?”

“Yeah.” I nodded as I stood up. “You already on your next assignment?”

“Nah.” He replied, shaking his head. “I couldn’t catch her yesterday to report about Ms Fujimura, so I’ve got to report today.”

“Alright, both of us can talk to her at the same time then.” With that said, we headed for the exit.

“You think the rumours of that slasher could be true?” I asked him as we exited the class. “Fewer and fewer people have been showing up for school nowadays.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” My friend glanced around the corridors, the markedly fewer heads compared to two days ago, when the rumour first surfaced, clearly noticeable. He shook his head, as though trying to clear his brain of something. “Don’t know if it’s true or not, but I guess it’s better if we just be careful.”

“Yeah; can’t do anything if we’re busy being cut up into 17 pieces.” I joked, just as I noticed someone at the end of the corridor.

Even though he was a new arrival at the school, his entrance and introduction made it almost impossible for anyone to forget about him. His red uniform already stood out enough, but the lack of students in the corridors made him even more prominent.

“It’s Leo.” I muttered as my friend followed my vision.

“Yeah…” My friend noted.

“Want to go say hello?” I asked, looking back at my friend. “He might be a little lost, being in a new school and all.”

“Maybe, yeah.” He replied, albeit half-heartedly. Ignoring that, I began walking towards him, my friend following close behind.

But as we approached, it seemed as though someone else was already talking to Leo.

“…And there you have it.” A voice told Leo. Although we couldn’t see who was speaking, the voice definitely belonged to Mr Kuzuki’s, the newest teacher. Clearly my friend realised this too, and the fact that we may have stumbled into something we shouldn’t have.

But, as the Chief always said: ‘One must never avert their eyes from Life’s mysteries’. And now that we were here, we had no choice but to stay until its end. Quietly, we moved in behind a pillar that blocked Leo’s view down the corridor to remain hidden as we listened in.

“To summarize, about thirty percent of the participants have already overcome the computer's brainwashing.” Mr Kuzuki continued, the two clearly unaware that we were eavesdropping from a distance. “These individuals have now completely regained their memories, and can all be classed as rank A magi.”

Unlike previously when he spoke to the rest of the students, and to me outside of the sports hall, Mr Kuzuki was speaking politely, and almost… reverently, to Leo.

“One girl in particular made quick work of the brainwashing; you could say she's a natural, and therefore more adept than magi who have been more sheltered. Unlike those domesticated sheep, she's a wild mouflon: Stronger, rarer, wilder. She couldn't even bear to put on the school uniform the other sheep mindlessly wear for the remainder of the preliminaries… But as novel as that girl's wildness is, wild things end up in cages. Still, I ask you to keep your distance and your guard up.”

Only one person comes to mind who could possibly fit this description: That girl that I saw on the rooftop yesterday. Apparently she was no ghost then, although that leaves another mystery as to how did she just disappear into thin air yesterday.

“This Rin Tousaka.” Leo began speaking now, while providing me another piece of the jigsaw puzzle for the ‘Little Red Rooftop’ story. “The Harways in Asia have voiced some concerns regarding her presence: She is the daughter of a noble family, which makes her unruly behaviour even more unbecoming of her.”

“I simply just…” Mr Kuzuki seemed lost for words suddenly. “She is a failure, like the other dropouts… And hence is just below your concern…”

“No, Teacher.” Leo responded calmly. “There's nothing in this world that doesn't concern me. But more importantly, I wonder what a domesticated being like me can learn from her wild bravery.”

“There is nothing you can learn from a beast like her.” Mr Kuzuki denied Leo’s curiosity vehemently. “Because you are already perfect: What you lack, the world itself lacks in its entirety.”

“That was a joke. It's been a while since I've been scolded.” Leo waived Mr Kuzuki’s praise as he continued. “I think I enjoy it coming from you. But in any case, I'll heed your warning about her. So are there any other important happenings at this school before my arrival?”

“… An elderly man named Zouken Matou.” Mr Kuzuki replied after a pause. “Though he may seem frail, it appears it is only a façade. According to the agent investigating him, he is like a ‘bottomless pit of secrets’. There is suspicion that he may even try to do something to jeopardise the entire system itself, although for what purpose he has been very meticulous in concealing...”

“Interesting…” Leo nodded as he digested what he had heard. “While I would like to see what it is he has planned, it would likely be too late to do anything about it once he has set them in motion: The Moon Cell must remain intact for the Harway Family’s usage. I trust that you will be able to take care of him for us.”

‘Moon Cell?’ I couldn’t help but pick out those few words as I digested the conversation. ‘Why does… Why does it sound so familiar? Ugh, it’s like I’m trying to grab hold of jelly thinking about this.’

“Of course; you need not worry about a shadow like him.” Mr Kuzuki replied simply without hesitation.

“Continuing, is there anything else that we should pay attention to?” Leo asked again.

“It's worth noting the doll sent by those alchemists.” Mr Kuzuki continued. “I have yet to confirm anything personally, but a different agent has confirmed that she has also managed to overcome the system’s brainwashing already.”

“Hmm…” Leo tapped his chin in curiosity. “I don't believe I've ever seen how an alchemist fights: Their charms, or their symbols, rather, are quite unusual. This would be an interesting opportunity. Aren’t you curious yourself, teacher?”

“Please wait until we have more information about this Alchemist assassin first.” Mr Kuzuki asked in response, although his voice didn’t sound particularly interested. “Those are the ones we are paying most attention to. However, there are others with excellent abilities as well. As I said, those who have managed to overcome the system’s brainwashing can all be classified as rank A magi, even those that manage to just before the preliminaries end. And there are a number of them already, aside from those three.”

“Hmm, I don’t see the need to worry or rush.” Leo replied nonchalantly. “I think there's much to be learned from observing this school. I'd like to take my time and enjoy, for instance, the beauty of things like the garden behind the school: They seem to employ quite the skilled gardener. It may do you good to come and have a look sometime, Mr Kuzuki. Or should I say, Brother.”

“I must respectfully decline.” Mr Kuzuki cut off. “I still have unfinished business to attend to for now. And so ends my report.”

“I see.” Leo said in acceptance. “That’s too bad. But on the other hand, it would be best if we had as little contact as possible for the remainder of this preliminary: It is unusual for a teacher and a student to meet like this.”

“I understand.” Mr Kuzuki replied. “Please be careful.”

“Yes, I will.” Leo responded. “You too, Brother.”

Following those words, the two of them disappeared perfectly in sync, as though into thin air like the girl on the rooftop yesterday.

“I had no idea what the heck they were talking about.” My friend shook his head slowly in a dumbfounded expression. “But I know for sure we weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“I think I’m going to have to tell the Chief not to be so eager about sticking her nose in everything…” I nodded in agreement, my face probably also just as stupefied as my friend’s.

“We’ve already picked up that bad habit it seems though, sadly.”

“It seemed that the old man we saw two days ago really was their grandfather though…” Even though we weren’t supposed to hear it, my friend and I had picked up quite a lot of interesting titbits as my friend reminded me of that incident.

“Yeah, and it seems you were right about the Matou family having more secrets than a library has books…” I nodded, grimly.

“Eugh, in any case we should probably try and forget what we heard…” My friend rubbed his temples tiredly. “It sounded really dangerous for one thing.”

“Yeah, that’s true…” I nodded in agreement as I took a closer look at his face. “You don’t look so good though, anything wrong?”

“No, just a headache.” He continued rubbing his temples. “It’s pretty light though so nothing too bad, though it’s been throbbing there for a while now.”

“My head’s been throbbing slowly too since yesterday’s encounter with Little Red Rooftop actually…”

“I read a notice pinned up next to the Nurse’s office yesterday.” He continued. “Said that a lot of students are getting these migraines too; probably due to exam stress it says.”

“Really?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “I haven’t even thought about them really…”

“Me neither.” He pulled a tired smile before turning around and walking off. “Come on, we better go find the Chief.”

I nodded in agreement as I turned around along with him.

“Club Ace and Club Ace #2!” A familiar voice shouted down the corridor as I made eye contact with the Chief, her small body already rushing towards us like a runaway train, her hair flailing again behind her like a makeshift cape.

“Can’t you call us by our real names?” My friend sighed in exasperation as she reached us, almost knocking into him in the process.

“Calling you guys Club Ace and Club Ace #2 is faster.” She already shot off her answer before going on the offensive. “Where were you?! I’ve been running up and down the entire school looking for you two! I need the info on your stories, stat! Ace #2, you first!”

My friend almost smacked his head into the wall out of irritation at how fast she can rattle on, but still delivered his report about Ms Fujimura only helping out another student on occasion, instead of living there directly with him.

“Uh huh, I see…” She nodded her head in acknowledgement. “Great, thanks for that; I knew I could count on you!” She flashed a smile, before starting again. “Your next assignment’s-“

“What, already!?” He cried out in shock.

“Up on the third floor.” She continued without heeding him.

“Listen to meee!!!” He almost collapsed in a pile. “You aren’t even gonna give us a single break? Not even with the exams looming?”

“Ace #2.” She pouted at him as she continued talking. “This is why you’re Club Ace #2, and he’s Club Ace.” She pointed at me as she finished. “He can keep on going and going and going, and by that time you’ve already dropped dead. So put some spirit into it!” She punched the air to emphasise her point as her energetic aura washed over the two of us.

“Guh, Why did I join this club…” He could do nothing but slap his face with his palm, letting her pin the next assignment on him.

“Right, next one’s on the third floor…” She repeated as her voice began to die down suddenly as she read the paper she was holding. “Uhmm… Your contact there’ll give you more details.”

“Is this another ghost story?” He asked her dryly.

“Y… Yeah… Got a problem with that?” She snapped back defensively.

“That explains why you’re reluctant to talk about it…” He commented under his breath.

“Shut it!” She retorted. “In any case, I’m leaving that to you, so chop-chop, go!”

“Yeah yeah, got it Chief, cya both later.” He gave us both a quick wave, before heading for the staircase.

“Right, now Club Ace: What’s your story?” She asked, turning to me as the Vice-Chief arrived at the scenes behind her.

“Honestly you aren’t going to believe what happened yesterday.” I took on the scariest face I could muster. “Little Red Rooftop disappeared right before my eyes almost the moment I met her!”

“Oh…” She replied, blinking several times. “Little Red Rooftop vanished… before your eyes?” She repeated what I said again, before pausing for a moment as I expected her to freak out any second.

“Well, if she disappeared then there’s nothing much we could do about that.”

“…What?” I couldn’t help my jaw dropping at her very lacklustre response. “Nothing we can do? No freaking out? No ‘Oh my god, don’t scare me like that!?’ Kinda thing?”

“…What are you on about?” She asked quizzically as I ran through the only logical responses I could have gotten from her.

Then again though, the problematic part isn’t her lack of reaction to a ghost story, it’s the fact that she isn’t willing to pursue further a case of a person disappearing entirely!

“In any case, your assignment is investigating the Courtyard Chapel!” The Chief continues on without caring about my confusion…

“Hey, did you know that there’s a chapel on campus, even though this isn’t a mission school?” She continued, ignoring my perplexed face. “It seems the chapel has been here longer than the school. This is just a rumour, but they say that it's haunted and magic rites are performed there.”

‘For someone who I once thought of being drop-dead scared of the occult, the Chief was suddenly very calm about it all…’ I couldn’t help but think even as she talked. ‘Even the disappearance of ‘Little Red Rooftop’ failed to trigger any responses at all…’

“I'm sending you to investigate.” She continued. “If you take a left on the first floor after you come down from the staircase, the entrance to the courtyard chapel is at the very end of the corridor. I’ll leave you to take care of it; I gotta talk to someone about that new kid in town.” Without sparing me another thought, the Chief quickly left.

But it seemed as though she also left the Vice Chief here, who was staring at her now vacant position. There was a look of shock and confusion on her face, probably because she shared the same thoughts as me on the Chief’s sudden change in behaviour.

“The Chief…” She began, blinking several times. “Seems strange today…” Her hand rose up to her forehead, holding it tightly. “Ugh, what? Why do I feel queasy all of a sudden… ?”

“Hey, careful!” I grabbed a hold of her as she almost collapsed onto the floor. “Do you want to go to the Nurse’s office to get some rest?” I asked her.

“Uh, yeah…” She nodded weakly in thanks as she stood up properly again. “I’ll probably have to take the rest of the day off actually…”

“Alright;” I confirmed with her. “If I see the Chief or any of the club members I’ll tell them you started feeling sick and went home early.” She nodded in acceptance as she waved goodbye to me, before slowly going down the stairs.

“…The hell’s up with that?” I asked nobody, completely confused. “And I think my own headache’s slowly getting stronger and stronger as well. Still, I better finish off the Chief’s article though, since I still got a job to do, I guess.

Even though I’m more interested in investigating the sudden change in mood of the Chief more than this…”

Afterwards, I too made my way down the staircase to the first floor. On the way, I happened to look at the same bulletin board that the Chief was using for the past two days. On it was written:

“Tsukumihara Times Special Edition: ‘Gateway to the Paranormal!’”
“Our staff investigated reports that the Archery Range is a Gateway to the Spirit World.”
“Frustrated at being teased, an underclassman opened the door to find…”
“Mr Kuzuki! On top of rumours that he’s part of a suspicious organization, this is too weird!”
“Could he be the one behind the recent disappearance of so many students? Who can say…?”

“... Wait, what?” I couldn’t help but ask aloud. “Mr Kuzuki? No, I found Ms Fujimura there at the Archery Range… At least, that’s what I told the Chief yesterday.” I rubbed my temples thinking of how such a mixup of communication could take place.

“And for that matter, where did that ‘suspicious organization’ bit come from? Or that bit about him being behind the recent disappearances?” I continued to mutter as I dissected the incorrect report.

“Gah, I better report this to the Chief as well the next time I see her.” I flung my hands up in the air in exasperation. “There’s too many things going on right now for me to think about this too much. And I can’t think with this damn headache…”

With that said, I quickly made my way down to the first floor, trying to ignore anything else that may be going on to finish this crazy stuff quickly today.

‘Come to think of it though; Shinji was busy messing with this particular door yesterday…’ I thought as I quickly reached the entrance, looking up and down its metal frame slowly. ‘And for that matter, I never knew that there was a Chapel on campus, like the Chief said…’

As I placed my hands on the door, I felt a sudden, unexplainable wave of nausea assault my brain, as though my body was reacting to something on the other side. Already weakened by the headache that was still persisting, I nearly threw up there and then, before catching myself bent over.

“Guh, the hell?!” I muttered as I struggled to keep the contents of my stomach in. “Oh come on; I just need to get on the other side and I’ll be done… What’s the worst that could happen?”

I tried to persuade my body to push open the door, but it still took several minutes before I could regain enough control to do so.

What I was greeted with, was a beautiful garden made up of a myriad of colourful flowers. A single path cut through, taking a left directly from the position where I stood, and circling round a large fountain. Equally spaced around the fountain, were several wooden benches for people to rest on and enjoy the view. From the fountain, taking a right lead out of the school and past a gap in the school’s perimeter wall into a forest, where a large magnificent Chapel stood.

‘That’s probably what the Chief’s asking me to investigate.’ I thought to myself as I looked around at the beautiful garden and the fountain, convincing myself that there really wasn’t anything to worry about at all. The golden rays of the setting sun gave it all a mystical feeling as I took a few steps forward towards the garden.

‘Yeah, see? There’s nothing to worry about here.’

As I looked at my surroundings, I noticed that in fact the garden occupied most of the hollow cavity of the ‘U’ shape that was the school’s main building. This meant that, for some reason, I never realised that from the main corridors within the building, I could have seen this garden, and the chapel clearly if I wanted to.

‘Why is that?’ I couldn’t help but ask myself. ‘Why did I never realise this garden was here? Why did I never see any of this for who knows how long I’ve attended this school? Was I just that dense to have never bothered to take a look out of the window?’

As I reached the fountain at the centre of the garden, I took another look at the garden, imprinting the beautiful sight into my memory.

Or at least, it would have been beautiful, had it not been for a black figure that seemed to rise from the flowerbeds themselves.

It was Mr Kuzuki, standing in the middle of the road leading up to just before the chapel, his back turned towards me. Apparently the wall that had rimmed the school campus prevented me from seeing him as I entered the area.

‘What?’ I blinked in surprise as the conversation I overheard between him and Leo came into mind. ‘Why is he here?’

I stepped backwards instinctively, remembering the terrifying experience I have had whenever he was around.

And unfortunately, my foot stepped into a flower patch, making a squish noise.

… Squish?! My eyes darted down to the origin of the sound, recognising a hand poking out of the flowerbed that I would have otherwise stepped in.

‘A…. A corpse!?!’ I stood frozen, unable to even choke the words out as my eyes watched on in horror, as the corpse literally dissolved beneath me; black particles of smoke rising up from the flowerbeds where the body had been hidden with a venomous hiss. Following that, was the voice of the person I least wanted to hear.

“Why are you here?” Mr Kuzuki asked menacingly as he turned to look at me, alerted by the sound of the dissipating body. “I’m certain I locked that door. Well, I suppose I’ll test you out.” He had already locked me in position with that cold, dead stare of his, nailing my feet firmly to the ground. He stood there, still for a moment as I felt cold sweat come from every pore of my body.

Then in a flash, it came-

My body was bowled over into the flowerbed behind me, as though struck by an invisible force as Mr Kuzuki stood motionless, still watching me intently. Chaotic thoughts quickly buried my brain like an endless torrent of sand: What happened? Can I move my limbs? What hit me? Where did it come from? Who? Why? How?

My brain was near the limit from the incessant headaches; it couldn’t take the strain of this extra load as I felt my consciousness slipping.

“I see what you are now.” Mr Kuzuki hissed at me, still standing where he was, far out of arms reach. “Though, it isn’t you I suppose.” The last thing I saw, was him slowly raise his hand towards me, the void in the palms of his black gloves threatening to swallow me as I succumbed to the strain my brain was experiencing.

__________

“Guh…” I groaned as I slowly regained consciousness; seeing the flowers that surrounded me immediately brought back the memories of what had happened. “Ugh… What was that?” I stumbled to my feet, swaying slightly as the pounding in my head slowly died down into a throbbing sensation. My eyes slowly scanned the area for any traces of what I remembered seeing.

No Mr Kuzuki.

No corpses.

It was as though what I had just seen was all in my imagination. My body was uninjured, though it ached from lying on the hard ground. Even the cold sweat I felt was gone too. But then, who knows how much of time I was out for.

“Shit, this is really getting crazy.” I shook my head as I rubbed my forehead gently, so as not to aggravate the pain in there. “I’m growing delusional, perhaps I really do need to ask the Chief for a short break, and lose my number one position.” I tried to crack a joke to lighten my dour mood as I went back into the school, intending to go home immediately.

Before realising I had forgotten something in the classroom.

“Aw crap.” I cursed tiredly. “I just want to go home…” But even with that said, I wasn’t willing to leave it there overnight, so I ended up forcing my body back up the stairs to the classroom.

Just as I had finished and was about to make my way down the stairs again to leave, my friend appeared from the third floor.

“Yo…” He greeted me, before staring intently at my face. “You don’t look so good, what happened at the courtyard?”

“Ugh…” I shook my head. “I have no idea honestly: One moment I saw Mr Kuzuki there in the courtyard garden along with a bunch of corpses that disappeared into mist as soon as I touched them, then the next moment I woke up dead on the floor, with no corpses and no Mr Kuzuki in sight.”

“Oh wow…” He looked at me in surprise. “Guess you were heading back home then?”

“Yeah, I honestly think I’m growing delusional, and I don’t think I could take much more of this…” I rubbed my head. “And that headache I told you about before has also gotten worse.”

“Yeah, good idea.” He nodded to me, before he turned to head back up the stairs. “Take care then, cya tomorrow.”

“Actually, what were you coming down for?” I asked him as he turned back up. There was no reason for him to come down just to go back up again.

“Oh, no it’s fine.” He tried to reassure me. “I was actually gonna ask if you were free to come and look for that ‘ghost’ with me.” He turned his head to me, smiling sheepishly. “Haven’t had any luck finding her up on third floor: My contact was busy hiding himself so I wasted time trying to find him. When I did manage to find him, he told me that there’s a ghost of a foreign little girl wandering the third floor.” He looked a bit perturbed as he glanced around, before turning back to me.

“He also said that the ghost’ll suck out my soul if I ever make eye contact with her.” He pulled a wry smile. “Just wanted some backup in case I really do end up falling prey to her.”

“I see…” I thought for a moment, remembering what had happened to me back in the courtyard. “Actually I think I’ll come along.”

“Please, no, its fine.” He put up a hand, shaking it firmly as I began speaking. “You go on back home, you look as pale as a ghost yourself.

“Don’t underestimate me.” I grinned at him as I changed course to go up the stairs instead. “Crazy stuff’s been happening around the school now and if there’s something serious going down, we should probably bring backup with each other on these investigations from now onwards.”

“Ugh, I guess I don’t have anything to say to that.” He flashed a smile at me as I reached him, before the both of us began heading up. “Sorry I wasn’t there at the courtyard to back you up myself then.”

“No, its fine.” I shook my head slowly, not to aggravate the headache. “Just thought of this now anyway, better late than never I guess.”

We quickly reached the third floor and took a look around.

“My contact said that the last place she was ‘seen’ was over on the left wing.” He pointed to the right from our position at the staircase, which would have been to the left had we been standing at the entrance to the school.

“Let’s head over there first then.” I replied, my friend nodding in acceptance as we headed over.

At this time of the day, everyone was either busy at clubs or had already gone home. The latter was apparently the majority, both with exams and the already fairly high population of students staying home because of the slasher rumour.

So up here on the third floor, it really felt like a ghost-town: The silence alone was terrifying. I could understand why my friend went back downstairs to look for some help.

It didn’t take long before the two of us had reached the end of the corridor without seeing any indication of a ‘ghost’ anywhere. Just as we were about to turn around, I suddenly felt as though someone was staring intently at my back.

“…Can you feel that?” I whispered to my friend as I stopped, motionless as I still faced the end of the third floor corridor.

“I think so… What do you think that is?” He too had stopped, probably in response to my own surprised movements.

“There’s someone staring at us.”

“Oh shit.” He sighed as he turned his eyes upwards. “What do we do?”

“Uh…” I blinked for a moment as I tried to reach a conclusion through my headache. “There’s really no other option at this point, is there?” I asked him back.

“I suppose so, eh?” He replied, evidently understanding my meaning.

“Yeah.” I nodded slightly in affirmation. I saw my friend sigh once as he slowly began to turn around, as I too followed suit. Of course, there wasn’t anything there and I was just imagining things.

Or at least, that’s what I wanted to say.

Instead, in the middle of the corridor, there stood a young girl.

Her size alone implied that she couldn’t have been much older than 10, with her porcelain-white face still having much baby fat on it. The clothes she wore put her at complete odds with the surrounding school: A hooped skirt with masses of frills, and a white cap that covered her pure-white hair. Although, with the rest of her clothes looking like something straight out of Victorian-era Britain, it was probably wrong to call it a cap.

As the two of us observed her quietly, the little girl didn’t move a muscle.

It was as though she was a doll, just standing there waiting for someone to play with it.

It was as though she was part of a painting, with her sad eyes staring fixatedly at the two of us.

Then, without warning, her figure began to melt away into the surroundings. And as she slowly faded away into nothingness, the last things to disappear were her sad eyes that constantly stared at us all the way through.

And with her disappearing figure, I also felt the sensation of being watched also disappear.

“Oooh boy.” My friend nearly collapsed into the wall behind us. “The Chief’s gonna wet her panties when she hears about this: She’s almost certainly the cause of that third floor ‘wandering girl’ rumours.”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t help but reply half-heartedly as the image of her sad eyes still remained within my vision, my heart asking ‘Why?’

“Actually, how did she react with the story about ‘Little Red Rooftop’ anyway?” My friend asked, wincing slightly in pain for some reason.

My brain however, still clouded over with a headache and preoccupied with how sad the little girl looked, didn’t register that as I described to him the unexpected reaction the Chief gave.

“Right, something’s definitely wrong somewhere.” He winced again as he thought. “Ugh, we better get home.” He shook his head as he took several deep breaths. “Stranger and stranger things are coming around, and it’d probably do us no good just staying here anymore. I’ll report this to the Chief tomorrow; maybe there’ll be some reaction… Ugh.” He gripped his head in pain, grunting as he stumbled forwards.

“Hey, you alright?” I was drawn out of my stupor as I saw him move unsteadily forwards back towards the staircase.

“Just that headache.” He shook his head slowly. “It seems to be getting worse so I don’t really want to stay here much longer. Thanks for accompanying me up here. Don’t know why I couldn’t find any clues until you showed up. Though this headache just seemed to get even worse.” I could barely catch the last bit after his thanks.

“No worries, let’s go home.” I ignored it as I nodded in affirmation, understanding how annoying a headache could be. Quickly I caught up to him, before we continued walking apace with each other out of the school.

__________

**Xyphos** · September 24th, 2012, 03:42 AM

Act 0: Scene 4
0 Days Remaining

The night is filled with such twinkling light
A sight to behold on a Sea bathed in Midnight

__________

Tiredly I entered the classroom, sliding the door open with no one to greet me as usual. For some reason, the headache that grew throughout yesterday was still there again today, clouding my mind slightly.

But even with that slight haze over my consciousness, it was clear that something was definitely out of the ordinary today.

“Wooow!” A girl squealed. “Okay, then how do you solve this problem, Leo?”

Indeed, today the usual clique of girls surrounding Shinji’s desk had migrated over to the new Transfer Student’s desk, leaving their old idol behind and alone. I looked around for my neighbouring friend, but for some reason or another I couldn’t find him there in the class, or outside in the courtyard today.

“In this case, you substitute this for this, then divide everything by X.” Leo’s calm voice replied the girl, as he fiddled with the paper he had on his desk as the girls watched attentively. “It’s the same equation we used earlier for the other question…”

Well, the reason why the change in locale for the girls was fairly obvious: Unlike Shinji, Leo helps out his classmates without an ounce of condescension or insult thrown at them.

“Whoa, you’re completely right!” The girl exclaimed in joy as she surveyed the paper. “Thanks, Leo!”

Not to mention that Leo actually gets the questions right.

Although, not everyone seemed to share the jovial mood Leo makes with his classmates.

“That bunch of brown-nosing idiots will suck up to anyone who’s got bigger brains than theirs.” Shinji muttered, slouched in his desk as he watched them from afar. “Well, whatever. It's no skin off my back. People who are ugly inside are ugly outside, too.”

I smiled wryly as I heard him, before moving over to my desk. For once, his irritation was understandable. Though, unlike him I never got a share in the attention, so his sentiments weren’t mutual.

“I'll give him this though: That brat is a real charity worker, laying on the charm for those sows.” He turned to me as he continued bad-mouthing Leo as I slouched onto the desk. Not too keen in participating, I guess I could at least lend him an ear to voice his frustrations at being dumped. “He's desperate to appear smarter than me, but I'm real smart one here: I see what he's doing, and he clearly doesn’t have a clue about it.”

Reacting to Shinji’s voice, Leo’s head glanced our way momentarily, before finishing what he was writing and standing up, turning to us directly. Though Leo’s face was inscrutable, it certainly was not hostile as he looked calmly at Shinji.

“Ah, er…” Shinji, who’s mouth kept on rattling on just a few moments ago, was already lost for words under his gaze. And after a few false starts, Shinji finally managed to squeeze out a few words from his lungs. “Wh-What? You need to go?”

Calmly, Leo flashed a smile his way. And although there was no clear sign of an attack coming, Shinji’s body clearly flinched under that soft smile. Unlike Shinji, Leo’s voice and gestures were filled with dignity as he spoke.

“If I have unknowingly given you cause to be spiteful, I offer you my deepest apologies: I had no intention of insulting you in any way.” Coupling this, he gave a graceful bow as an extra sign of his sincerity.

“Shinji Matou, was it?” He asked again as he straightened up, Shinji nodding wordlessly, his face still petrified.

“I’ll remember not to upset you in the future.” He continued after he noticed Shinji’s nod of affirmation. And with his message delivered, Leo then returns to his seat, with no signs of hostility or resentment in any of his actions throughout the exchange.

It was, surprisingly disconcerting, how Leo could respond so calmly to Shinji’s insults, as though he weren’t upset at all… Neither me, nor my friend, who had been putting up with Shinji for who knows how long, would be able to respond like that to him.

And he did it on his first meeting as well!

“Hah.” Shinji let out a small laugh that seemed a bit too much like a sigh of relief. “He knows when to bow down to true authority it seems; a few points for him… Yeah, and since I’m such a nice guy, I’ll just accept his apology. N-Not like he ever did piss me off or anything in the first place…”

I couldn’t help but smile wryly again to myself at Shinji’s reactions, as he double-checked that Leo was again occupied with whatever problem the girls had set him, before feigning calmness and leaning back on his seat.

Just a few moments afterwards, the door opened to admit my neighbour, who looked a bit more worn-out than he rightfully should be. Wordlessly, he crossed over and took his seat beside me, but before I could ask him what’s up, the bell for class to start rang, admitting Ms Fujimura.

“I made it!” She gasped as she turned to us energetically. “Good morning everybody!” Repeating her usual routine, she then took a few steps towards the lectern, before spectacularly falling face-first onto the floor with a crash.

Though most of the class were already desensitised to this morning routine of our homeroom teacher smashing her face onto the floor, I for one couldn’t help but cringe every time she does that. And even though we knew she would get up a few seconds later as good as new, we should probably worry about her more.

But regardless, today is evidently just another normal day once again…

__________

“…Alrighty, let’s pick up where we left off last time. According to Dr. Pieceman’s biography...”

Today, Ms Fujimura was taking the class. I glanced over to my neighbour to check how he was doing, since when he arrived he looked a bit worse for wear.

Just as I did, I notice him spasm, as though he had just been shocked awake, completely unaware of his surroundings.

“Hey; you alright?” I whispered to him, hopefully low enough not to catch Ms Fujimura’s attention.

“Huh?” He blinked several times as he rubbed his temples, before turning over to me and answering. “Ugh, sorry, feeling a little bit tired. Think I dozed off for a second…” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly as I nodded in confirmation.

Although my worries did not dispel at his reasonable answer, I turned back to look at Fujimura and focus on the class a bit more. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him slowly reach down into his pocket and pull out his wallet, before his face visibly relaxed for some reason or another.

“Who here knows what amnesia is?” She asked, breaking my attention from my friend. ”It’s a terrifying condition where an individual loses all of their memories! It can be caused by brain damage, severe trauma, or even infections of one's mucus membranes. The section of the Doctor's biography we just covered touches on this condition…”

“But with that said,” she continued after writing the section on the blackboard. “Using amnesia as a reason to forget your homework isn’t going to work! When I was young, a fair number of my classmates were unscrupulous enough to try this. And before you start getting any ideas, I’m still young! In fact, I’m putting that fact on the test coming up!”

A collective sigh of exasperation echoed in the classroom from all the students still sat at their desks as Ms Fujimura’s lesson begins to go off on a tangent.

All of them, except one that is.

An audible shuffling of chairs drowned out my classmate’s complaints as a figure clad in red obscured my view, Leo’s voice silencing all else as he stood up without being acknowledged by Ms Fujimura.

“Ms Fujimura.” He began, his regal aura already gripping the class tightly as our eyes focused on him. Slowly, he surveyed the room with a mysterious, all-knowing smile as he took in everyone’s startled looks. As his eyes passed over my seat, the headache that had been knocking on my brain immediately burst open to engulf it entirely, a wildfire threatening to burn it to ash.

But I could do nothing to try and ease the pain as I gritted my teeth to try and bear it: Leo’s aura commanded that we do nothing else but look at him.

“And of course, my fellow classmates.” He began again after he had finished his observations. “I am afraid it is time for me to leave. We will probably never meet again, so I wish you all well. Oh, and before I forget…” He spoke out what sounded like a permanent goodbye, before turning back to our teacher. “Ms Fujimura, I think you are still young, even now. Just your presence is enough to remind me of the beauty of youth. Truly, you are a remarkable person.”

“Eh…” Ms Fujimura started, although unlike yesterday she seemed incapable of reprimanding him for doing anything. But before she could continue, Leonardo Bistario Harway took a small bow to her, and disappeared into thin air.

‘Just like Little Red Rooftop…’ I thought to myself through my crushing headache. ‘What’s going on!?’

“Uhm…” After a long period of thick, all-engulfing silence, Ms Fujimura broke the silence, as all the students in the room turned to her again almost mechanically. “Well, then, er… Let’s continue. Please turn to page 86…”

The sounds of flipping pages echoed in the class, as though what had just happened was all part of a bad story book, and we were just skipping it all…

“Heh, showing off like that in the middle of class.” Shinji snorted, one of a few people in the class that did not start flipping through their book. “If you wanted to use the toilet, be a little more discreet, along with that ‘I have to leave!’ junk.”

‘Strange…’ I couldn’t help but think as I gripped my head, trying to soothe the pain as I saw my friend struggling as well from the corner of my eye. ‘This is definitely strange… And impossible… A highly suspicious disappearance in front of an entire class, and nobody seems to care… What exactly is going on?!”

__________

Apart from Leo’s disappearance from class, the lesson continues unabated, as though it were following some kind of script.

Yet for me, everything seems to feel out of place. It’s as though, without me knowing it, the world had tilted ever so slightly, and everything I thought I knew about was slowly sliding off the edge into oblivion.

Even worse was the splitting headache that had been building up over the past few days, before exploding upon Leo’s disappearance: It made it hard to think things through properly; even my vision was covered with some weird static as the pain continued to burn… So much so, even my memories were…

‘Wait!’ I caught myself wide-eyed. ‘What memories…?’ I blinked several times as I tried to recall even the slightest bit of information about me. But nothing came forward.
Not my history, or my age, nor my parents or why I was attending this school, how my actual home looks like or how to get there, nothing.

Not even my name showed up on that blank slate which was my memory.

‘I can’t remember anything!’ I couldn’t help but panic as I gripped my head, doubling over in my seat in bewilderment. ‘My memories had been completely erased somehow… How, When, and Why did this happen!?!’

“No wait; solve the problem at hand first.” I muttered to myself to try and calm down. “Who would know my name… Or anything else about me-” I looked up in realisation.

“The Chief should know at least that… The Club Application form I should have filled out should have my name at least!”

Without wasting another second I got out of my seat, before bolting out the classroom doors and scanning for the Chief’s small figure.

I didn’t have to wait too long.

“Yo, Club Ace!” I saw her figure rush towards me through the, significantly smaller, crowd of students. For the first time, I didn’t feel exhausted as I was exposed to her usual overwhelming rush of energy.

“Did you find anything about yesterday?” She immediately asked as she got to my position.

“Chief, I’m sorry but can I ask you something first?” I cut off her chain of thought, before things got out of hand.

“Huh?” She seemed perplexed at my unusual refusal to tell her what she wants. “Um, yeah sure; what’s wrong?”

“Chief… What’s my name?” I asked her seriously.

“Huh? Your name?” She blinked several times. One would normally start laughing if they were asked directly like that. But instead-

“Just… Look it up in the registry at the Library.”

‘Good point: The registry.’ I thought to myself as I nodded and thanked her, before immediately turning down the corridor, ignoring anything and everything around me. ‘The registry has all of the student’s names from this year and all consecutive years back until the school’s foundation…If I can find my name there, it should jog my memories…’

The School Library was located on the second floor where I was, on the right wing of the U-shaped building. Supposedly it’s big enough to occupy the entire wing on its own, so I’m certain that it should be there.

It didn’t take me more than a few minutes to get myself to the library’s doors, and only a few seconds afterwards to locate the registry amongst its multitude of shelves.

“Tsukumihara Academy Registry.” It was written on its black covering in gold print. Once I find my name in here, I should be able to remember everything about myself…
Immediately I opened it and began turning the pages, scanning each white page for my class and name.

Immediately, I saw something was terribly wrong.

“White…” I blinked my eyes as I kept turning the pages. “Blank…?”

Carefully I placed the book on a nearby table and picked out the registry book for the year prior to mine.

Blank.

I ended up throwing down the book in frustration before I picked up another registry.

Blank, Blank.

And then another.

“Blank, blank, blank, blank! Every single page’s blank!”

Every page in every registry book I picked up was blank. With my final hope of getting an answer fading in a mere instant, I forgot about the books strewn around the area and wandered back out into the corridor, completely stunned by my lack of answers.

“Who am I?” I whispered to myself to the empty hallway. “What is happening here? And why am I here in the first place?”

__________

I didn’t realise it, but it seemed as though I had spent more time in the library than I had initially thought; the entire second floor was already empty.

I stumbled forward from the library door’s entrance to the windows, wrenching the latch open to let a cool breeze flow in, hoping that it will help me calm down and clear my head.

As I surveyed the ground below, I saw the garden from yesterday, occupying the U-shape cavity of the school building, just as I remembered it from yesterday. As my eyes wandered up past the fountain and towards the strange chapel outside of the school gates, I couldn’t help but shudder as I recalled what had happened yesterday, with Mr Kuzuki and those strange corpses on the ground.

I saw no corpses today, my eyes scanning carefully to see if there were any remnants of what had happened yesterday. But instead of corpses, or Mr Kuzuki in the garden, I saw someone else standing before the fountain in the garden; a female student I had never seen before.

“…Is she a student?” I asked. “…No, I can’t label anyone like that anymore with all that has happened… She isn’t even wearing the correct uniform anyway.”

From this distance, all I could make amidst the haze of the golden afternoon sun, was the woman’s long, flowing purple hair waving in the wind, and the white shirt that she wore.

‘That’s definitely not Sakura Matou though; her hair is still far, far too short in length for that…’ I couldn’t help but pulled a wry smile as I tried to sift through my limited memories for an identity to assign to this girl. ‘Shit, like everything else, nothing comes to mind…’

I couldn’t tell much from up here on the second floor, but it seemed as though the girl was meditating, her eyes closed and her hands clasped together before her chest as she stood motionless before the fountain, facing the school. I could hear the faint chatter of students busy at their clubs or heading home, clearly paying little to no attention at this strange girl in the garden.

I couldn’t help but feel a small sense of unease creep up my spine at this lack of attention her foreign presence garnered.

Just a few moments after it began, the girl’s eyes snapped open, as suddenly the world around me was awash with white light as the sound of howling winds surrounded me, pushing me back away from the window and smacking against the wall behind me.

“Gah!” I gasped as I made impact, the building around me shaking madly as shockwave after shockwave assaulted it, a thunderous roar filling its halls and drowning out the students from the floors above and below.

“The hell’s happening?!” I grunted as I tried in vain to shield myself from the shockwaves that poured through the windows; the others along the corridor having been blasted open by the same force.

Amidst all of the chaos and rumbling of the building, my headache and blurry vision threatened to overwhelm me as I took shelter in the doorway of a nearby, empty classroom. There, all I could do was crouch down and clamp my eyes shut, all the while praying that the building around me wouldn’t collapse.

Although such a fate might be simpler compared to my complete lack of knowledge of my surroundings, survival comes first!

The vibrations he felt rocking the building continued for an unknown amount of time, before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. I remained crouched beneath the doorframe for a few more moments afterwards, prepared for any aftershocks, if there were any incoming.

But clearly, none were as I soon opened my eyes to scan the surroundings, trying to take stock of the damage from what he thought was a strange earthquake.

To my great bewilderment, nothing was out of place in the corridor or classroom I had intruded in for safety: No glass shards, no broken desks, and no fallen plaster or concrete.

It was as if the chaos just mere moments ago was just a figment of my imagination, brought about by his headaches and blurred vision.

“This headache is far worse than I thought…” I gripped his head in annoyance. “These hallucinations are getting worse and-”

But before I could finish my sentence, I noticed a person step up slowly from the staircase.

It was the woman I saw out in the garden earlier, just before the shockwaves hit.

“Hmm…Intriguing.” I could barely heard her mutter as she scanned the corridors for signs of damage. “That blast was supposed to be strong enough to destroy everything in range. Yet, this school is clearly standing completely unaffected by it.” Her eyes fixated themselves on my crouching figure for a few moments, before she flashed me a small smile and turned back down the stairs.

‘Strong enough to destroy everything?!’ I could do nothing but blink as that single thought ran through my head. ‘What is this, Magic? Does she have some kind of superweapon she can hide in her bare hands?’

Looking up again at the staircases, I was struck with a thought: She could probably give me some answers I seek.

Without wasting any more time, I scrambled to my feet and immediately began running towards the stairs, first heading to the third floor to see if she was there, before backtracking again down to the first floor.

But by the time I reached my final destination, it was clear that she had disappeared completely.

“Shit; maybe I should just go home…” I muttered in disgust as I stood at the first floor’s staircase, rubbing my temples as I tried to clear away the static and the pain that built up during my chase.

But at that point, I saw something else that caught my eye.

At the very end of the corridor, just as he began turning into the left wing of the first floor, I spied an ever-recognisable red uniform.

“Leonardo Bistario Harway…” I whispered to myself as I recognised his figure. “What could he want with the first years, after disappearing like that so dramatically? There’s only a dead-end down that corridor, so why…?”

Before I knew it, my feet were already running down the hallway trying to catch up with his figure.

And just as he had reached the dead-end of the left wing, I managed to.

My heavy panting behind him, Leo calmly observed the wall at the dead end with an almost obsessive interest, before he spoke.

“The attention to detail is quite impressive…” He began, touching the wall with one finger. “Even the surrounding air is surprisingly substantial. If that is the case, this world is, in some ways more real than the real world it attempts to copy. Still, that’s only my opinion. How about the both of you? What are your thoughts on this?”

I tensed up as he turned around to face me: What does he mean by the ‘both of you?’

“Greetings; I believe this is the first time we’ve had an actual conversation together.” He began speaking again as he looked my face over with a gentle smile. My body began to relax slightly as I realised he was clearly talking to me now: Nobody else was here to listen in.

Well, my relaxed state wasn’t only because of that: Leo’s presence, alongside his smile seemed genuinely friendly and warm; like the rising sun in the mornings, with no sense of hostility whatsoever.

“Attending school wasn't half bad at all. ”He continued. “I've never had the opportunity to go to one before now. And in that respect, this has been quite an interesting experience. But sadly, the time for fun has come to an end, and I did not come here to play at being a student. For no matter how enjoyable the detour, eventually one must return to their appointed path. And for me, the time to do so has arrived. Farewell then.”

With his final words, he turned back to the wall he was so intently staring at earlier, before stopping again.

“Actually, no… That isn’t quite right.” Unexpectedly he began speaking again. “I don’t think ‘farewell’ would be accurate in this situation. For some unexplainable reason, I have a distinct feeling that we will see each other again.”

He glanced over his shoulder towards me as he retracted his previous goodbyes, before issuing another.

“So I guess I should use the more congenial, ‘See you later.’ But in any case, it is time for me to move on, and I wish you the best of luck in the near future.”

Finished with what he had to say, Leo then gently placed a hand on the solid wall before him. For a few brief moments, nothing happened to the figure in front of me.

Then, in the next, before I could even blink, his figure disappeared from view entirely.

It was as though, he had been forcibly removed from this existence.

Or perhaps, the other way around was more correct when concerning Leo: He refused to stay in this existence for a moment longer, and forcibly ejected himself from it.

I blinked in astonishment at what I witnessed, my mind working to process what had just happened, and the events that lead up to it.

“Leo said ‘No matter how enjoyable the detour, eventually one must return to their appointed path.’, right?” I repeated his sentence to myself again. “Beyond this wall is that ‘Appointed Path’ then, huh…?”

‘My name… My identity.’ Those two things that I was worried about before as I found the blank school registry resurfaced once again in my mind. ‘If I follow him, I will almost certainly find the answer to those questions. Even if they are painful, but… Do I have the will to face it, now?’

I rubbed my temples for a few brief moments as the headache that had weighed on me seemed to lift, the static covering my vision also dispelling as I reached the only logical conclusion.

“I want to know.” I spoke those words confidently as I stepped up to the wall, placing my hand on it as I closed my eyes.

For a few brief moments, nothing happened. Just as I thought I was making a fool of myself, I opened my eyes-

And the wall before me shimmered for a few brief moments, before dissociating as though it was made of sand, the little particles that made it up dropping to the floor in an instant.

What stood in its place was another, hidden doorway.

An entrance?

Or perhaps more correctly, an exit to an outside world, completely different to the one I had just been inhabiting.

And a world, that held the answers that I seek.

Ultimately, I’m already committed to seeing this through the end, regardless of whatever happens.

With that knowledge, I bid farewell to the false world that I had been living in for who knows how long, and pushed open the doors.

The room behind the doors resembled some sort of scrapyard; dishevelled boxes and shelves strewn about the room, with a single window letting in a beam of light flood the room. On the opposite end of the room I entered there seemed to have been a ‘hole’ in the wall… I couldn’t be certain it really was a hole, as its edges kept flickering back and forth through a variety of combinations, as though it didn’t actually exist.

And between me and said hole, stood a wooden effigy.

As though it had been waiting for me, the effigy took a shambling bow in my general direction as I took a few cautious steps towards it, before standing up straight so that I may inspect it further.

It stood almost a head taller than me, with stick-thin arms and legs that I’m surprised it could walk on. Covering the entirety of its body were strange markings that seemed to glow softly between red and yellow. On what one would call its head, a single circle was drawn, it too pulsing red and yellow alongside the other markings on its body.

Just as I was wondering what to do here, with this effigy, a disembodied voice rang out in the small room.

“Welcome, potential Master.”

I took a step backwards, looking around for the source of the voice carefully. But seeing none, all I could do was wait and listen for its further instructions.

“That effigy with you is your sword and shield for what lies ahead. It will move in response to your commands.” As it finished, the effigy took a few slow, shambling steps to my side as I stood, watching it move around cautiously.

“Now then, please proceed.” The voice spoke again once the effigy stood by my side, clearly meaning the strange, flickering hole in the wall before me. “The truth that you seek lies ahead.”

Though the reasons for why this voice was instructing me like so worries me, it was also obvious that I would learn nothing by standing here with this effigy by my side. And anyway; I had already committed myself to this path, and I refuse to turn back after coming this far.

With careful, but determined steps, I stepped forward into the darkness of the ‘hole’, hoping to find the answers I seek.

__________

“I made it.” I whispered to myself as I entered the room.

It stood well within the deepest depths of the world beyond that door at that school, past a labyrinth of enemies that I was forced to fight using my effigy.

The room was circular, at least twenty metres in diameter, with the floor an intricate sea-blue glass mosaic. On the opposite side of my entry stood three tall stained glass windows, the emerald-green leaves that patterned each identical window shining as though they were made out of parts of the sun. A strange silence held the room in its grasp; a silence that was reminiscent of a chapel, where the spirits of the dead still linger, observing all who manage to make it this far. And on top of that, a strange layer of purity, as if to ward off corrupted souls that may try to enter and take something.

This place must be my goal.

At least, that was what I thought, until I saw a young man wearing an ever-familiar uniform, flat on the other side of the room with an effigy collapsed by his side.

I took a few tentative steps forward until I reached his fallen position, calling out to him as I did so. When I received no reply, I crouched down to shake him, trying to wake him up. But as my fingers touched his stone-cold skin, I realised that this man was a corpse; no longer alive.

I jumped back in bewilderment and surprise, wondering what the hell could have happened, just as the effigy by the man’s side stood up with a creak.

I turned around again to my own effigy who, with a few strides had already put itself between me and this new effigy.

“An enemy then…?” I whispered as the two dolls stared at each other. “Was it the one who killed this man?” But before I could say anything more, the new effigy had already charged forward, directly towards my own!

I jumped back in surprise, putting distance between myself and the battle unfolding, trying to catch a glimpse of any advantage I could give my effigy during the fight.

The enemy’s charge was reckless, fast and violent. Within a few moments it had already crossed the gap, and was lashing out with a straight hit directly at my effigy’s wooden chest.

Just in time the attack was deflected, grazing my effigy’s wooden shoulder as it counterattacked, spinning on its left foot and lashing out at the enemy’s unprotected head.

But just before contact was made, the enemy demonstrated a superior speed against my effigy; ducking at the last moment and swiping my effigy’s feet out from under it!

Collapsing with a dull crack on the floor, it had just mere moments to roll out of the way before the enemy was attempting to skewer it. With a clatter it just barely managed to roll out of the way and onto its feet, just as the enemy smashed the ground with enough force to send several chips of the ground erupting out.

The enemy then took a few moments to look up at where my effigy had managed rolled away to, and saw it begin its own charge, its feet tapping surprisingly lightly on the floor, before lashing out with a flying kick at the enemy’s still-crouching figure.

But again, the attack proved to be futile, as the enemy quickly dodged to the side mere moments before the moment of impact, before pivoting on its free arm, sending its legs crashing straight into my effigy’s side!

It had no chance to dodge the attack, flying in mid-air as it were. With a resounding crack throughout the room, the attack made contact, sending my effigy clattering across the room alongside several splinters of wood, the result of the wound inflicted upon it.

From here, it was already evident even to me, where the scales of this battle were tipping.

Within mere moments the enemy had already pressed its advantage, racing forward towards my effigy which was just starting to get up onto its knees. But before it did have a chance, the enemy was already there, sending another frighteningly powerful kick straight into my effigy’s head!

Again a resounding crack. Again splinters of wood flew, along with my effigy that was now unable to defend itself, flying backwards in the air as the enemy flew in again for the final, killing blow.

Still in mid-air, my effigy could do nothing as the enemy jumped upwards to its position, before smashing down with its arm into my effigy’s chest. The force was enough to send it crashing down straight into the ground as its chest was pierced through, wooden splinters flying everywhere like a spurt of blood.

A moment passed.

Then two, the enemy still crouching above my prone effigy, its arm firmly embedded into its unmoving chest.

Then, with slow, almost menacing movements, the enemy effigy stood up, its head turning towards me with a creak. I couldn’t help but take a step back as my body was instantly drenched in cold sweat, my mind already knowing what was going to happen.

Almost before I could blink, the effigy was already at my position; its single, glowing red eye staring at me at point-blank range as I stood petrified, unmoving and unable to respond.

And in that instant, I felt its arm pierce my stomach.

I couldn’t help but look down, as my hands instinctively reached to grab the stake that had impaled me, as my crimson-red blood flew out, staining its unblemished wood with my life.

Just as I had grasped the situation, the effigy pulled itself out of my innards with a sickening squelch, as I collapsed face-first onto the cold ground, my legs incapable of keeping me standing.

I couldn’t feel anything anymore. It was as though, with that last attack, all my senses had already shut down in defeat. As my eyes began to dim, a single, disembodied voice was all there was to witness my passing.

“Hmph. You seem to be lacking as well.” Was all it said, its voice containing neither disdain nor crushed hopes, but rather a snide mockery of my futile efforts.

It seems as though I wasn’t qualified to be here. Then again, I would’ve been a genius to qualify without even knowing my own name… And… I’m certainly no genius…

Wait, that’s right isn’t it…

My name… My memories…

I was supposed to remember it all if I came here… The truth that I seek…

It’s here, isn’t it?

I grunted as I tried to get up again, but was only met with a scorching pain emanating from my still-bleeding wound, my red blood staining the beautiful blue floor.

“Damnit.” I could only mutter as I collapsed back onto the floor.

I had no more strength… And… Everything was going…. Dark…

Looks like I won’t be able to get my answers after all, before death claims me…

“Damnit.” I muttered again.

I wasn’t exactly afraid of death…

Now that I stood so close to it, I found myself relatively calm, with the only thing remaining in my mind being regret…

Regret that, even after suffering through those strange headaches and craziness during the past four days, I found only my death at the end of my ‘appointed path’.

Regret that, even after braving through those catacombs, the answers I was promised failed to materialise.

Regret that, even at the very end, I couldn’t figure out anything.

Not even my name resurfaced in my memories.

“Someone…” I couldn’t help but reflexively whisper a prayer with the last of my strength, knowing that the darkness was only mere moments away. “… Anyone… Please… If you make beyond here… Please, don’t… Don’t forget…”

“…My name…”

And as my vision dimmed and my heart slowed to a stop, the last things I could hear, was the echo of two sets of footsteps coming closer.

Presumably, whoever it was approaching had come here to test what fate had in store for them, just as I did…

But, as the cold embrace of death came to claim me, I knew my time was up as the darkness flooded my vision.

__________

“As the night of death claims one short tale,”

“Curtains arise on another man’s story.”

“For no matter how long it must endure,”

“Man will live on through adversity.”

“And no matter how much it must bear,”

“Man will evolve through difficulty.”

“And as how persistently Man lives, so too”

“Shall the Holy Grail War Commence once more.”

“…”

He stood silently atop a pile of discarded stone.

Like a pile of discarded corpses.

Around him stood a forest of pillars, stretching out to the distance for as far as the eye can see.

Like an endless forest of gravestones.

Before him was a metallic screen that floated in mid-air, words and videos playing across it with a green tint.

Patiently, he watched the events unfold, waiting for what he knew was coming.

And on cue, a string of sentences appeared on his screen, causing a smile to cross his face.

[SERAPH Exception Handling subsystems online…]

[An anomalous candidate with two (2) distinct Identification Numbers has been detected.]

[Breach of ‘Base System’ Rules detected…]

[Commencing preparations for deletion of anomaly…]

[Running checks on recently established ‘Exemption’ Rules before deletion is authorized…]

“It seems the time is nigh.”

“Haha, I have high hopes for you, my young protégé…”

[…]

[Checks completed.]

[’Exemption’ Rules are found to be applicable to Candidate.]

[’Base System’ Rules acknowledges application of ‘Exemption’ Rules.]

[Previous commands rescinded…]

[’Exemption’ Rules are now to be applied to Candidate.]

[Preparations for Deletion are to be halted…]

[And…]

[Two (2) cards will be drawn for the particular Candidate, one per Identification Number.]

[Two (2) Servants will be summoned upon successful completion of the Preliminaries.]

[Error detected.]

[New Parameters are incompatible with current ‘War Structure’.]

[’War structure’ requires One versus One Tournament battles.]

[Valid alternative Parameters provided within ‘Exemption’ Rules detected.]

[Running checks on alternative Parameters…]

[…]

[Checks complete.]

[New Parameters deemed valid and applicable.]

[’War Structure’ acknowledges application of Parameters found within ‘Exemption’ Rules.]

[Restructuring previous matchup battles in accordance to new Parameters.]

[…]

"And with that done, it is time for the War to begin."

"And with that done, the mire of the everyday sloughs off,"

"As a war between magi begins,"

"While the wheel of fate turns."

"Weak one, temper your sword,"

"And defend the value of your life."

...

Silently, he continues to watch.
__________

**VirusChris** · September 24th, 2012, 04:03 AM

This looks really promising and it's was a very good read! I look forward to your next chapter, and I'm curious on the name of the Protagonist as well as which servant you're going to pick for this story.

**Xyphos** · September 24th, 2012, 08:09 AM

Act 0: Scene 5
The Day

But as a calm sea hides the brewing storm,
So too must humble days end.

__________

It's bright.

Too bright.

I wake up in the morning as always, already on my feet, on the way to a school that I can barely remember, through a town that I can barely recognise.

Something was wrong.

Everyday that passes feels like the one before it. A breakfast I can't remember tasting, morning exercise I can't remember experiencing. Lessons my brain doesn't register. Friends who's names I don't even know.

Something is wrong.

Now I near the school that was supposedly so familiar, yet so foreign to me. There, in front of the gates, was one of the few friends in this strange school that I can remember clearly.
His name was Issei Ryuudou, resplendent in the Black uniform of the Student Council, with the badge signifying him as its President shining almost blindingly against his black shirt.

Seeing him again made me felt nauseous.

"Ah, there you are!" He exclaimed as I made my shaky way up the path to the gates, the surroundings blurry as the faint smudges of other students passed by. "Come come, class is about to start and I need to complete my inspections."

"...Inspections?" I asked after I reached him, the nausea I felt at his presence increasing even more at the word.

"Yes, don't you remember?" He asked as he looked at my body up and down. "We announced last week that there would be regular inspections by the Student Council to uphold the standards of Tsukumihara Academy. Now, straighten up so I can..."

I couldn't register anymore of what he said, my mind and my sight becoming more and more clouded even as I dimly felt his hands grab my shoulders and patted me down.

Something was going wrong.

Even as my mind thought that, completely ignorant of the outside world, my eyes saw the words Issei mouthed, and my hand reached instinctively to pull out the wallet in my pocket, flicking it open and showing its contents to him.

Mechanically, and automatically.

Wait a minute...

I blinked a few times as I thought about my actions for a brief moment, before slowly turning the wallet in my direction, to see what it was that I had just showed him.

It was a picture of a student, a name, the school's name, and a serial number below it.

An ID card?

My eyes squinted as I tried to focus on the face of the person on the card, even as from the corner of my vision Issei continued talking. Something to do about my uniform, and completely ignoring the fact that I was studying what was supposedly something I should know like the back of my hand.

'This is the first time I've seen this card... But is that supposed to be me?' I heard myself question as I looked at the person's blank face staring at me from the card.

'Damn, I can't even remember how my own face looks like anymore!'

As I thought that, and as I attempted to remember what I even looked like, a wave of splitting headaches assaulted my already clouded mind. As though my skull had been shattered into pieces, my hands reached up to grasp my head in a vain attempt to keep it together, my teeth grinding in an attempt to stifle the pain so that I could focus.

And even then, Issei continued talking about his inspection, completely ignorant of my pain or of my bewilderment.

I gritted my teeth again through the pain. Forcing myself, I pushed past Issei into the school building, no doubt the look of pain on my face clearly visible as the headaches continued mercilessly, the pain ever growing as my mind attempted to concentrate, to remember how my own face looked like.

Yet despite that, despite my ignoring of him, despite my forceful entry into the school grounds, Issei Ryuudou continued talking to a student that was no longer there.

"What is this?" I heard myself groan as I turned to the school grounds, the burningly bright sun still beating down upon me. "This can't be right-"

Then, through the quagmire of pain in my head, an idea came to me.

"A mirror… I have to find a mirror." I muttered as I approached the main school building's doors. "If I can't remember what my face looks like, then I'll just have to see it for myself!"

Just as I thought those words, another wave of skull-splitting headaches washed over me.

Taking in a deep breath, I stumbled over towards the doors, trying to stay conscious despite the ridiculous headache I was feeling.

'Quickly…' I thought as I pushed my way in, the sudden dimness of the corridors forcing me to pause for a moment as my eyes attempted to readjust to the lighting.

It was a good thing that the men's toilets had the characteristic blue man imprinted on it, so I could recognise it easier. But then, completely unsuited to my state of mind, a thought occurred to me.

'Wait a minute… I'm not even sure if I am male!'

"I don't have time to think about this!" I almost screamed out loud in response even as I fought to stay conscious through the pain in my head.

My breath ragged, I pushed forwards despite that almost insulting doubt, through the throng of students that were making their way towards classes, their constant chatter something that my mind phased out even as I heard the bells of the school chime.

'Come on!' I screamed in my mind as the headaches grew worse and worse with each passing moment, threatening me with blacking out if I waited even a moment longer.

With a dull thud I put my entire weight onto the doors of the toilet, forcing my way in as my eyes darted left and right through the unfamiliar room, searching for a mirror.
I didn't have to look very long.

There to my right it was, covering a good portion of that white ceramic wall, the sinks just below it.

And indeed, the face that greeted me there was the exact same face as the one imprinted on the card.

Dressed in brown clothes befitting of a student, with long-sleeves and pants with the emblem of, what was supposedly, Tsukumihara Academy embroidered into the area covering his heart. He stood at roughly five feet ten, give or take a few inches, his unkempt brown hair reaching up to the base of his neck as it partially covered his eyes.

That was the image on the card.

That was me.

That revelation, though answering my initial question, only brought about more questions, coming into my brain faster and faster like a flood of roaring water escaping from a dam:

'How come I can't even remember my face or name?'

'Why did I doubt that was my face on the card?'

'For that matter, what is my name, is it also written on the card?'

'Why did Issei completely ignore me earlier, and continued to talk to no one at all?'

'Why can't I remember anything about this school and the people here, even though I feel as if I've been here all my life, indeterminate as that is?'

Scores upon scores of questions flooded my already beleaguered brain as I lost control, the pain overwhelming my senses as I felt my mind flood itself with darkness in a final attempt to shut off the pain and chaos I was experiencing.

As the face reflected in the mirror began to disappear, a voice at the back of my head snidely whispered to me:

'Well, at least you've also confirmed that you're male!'

I didn't have the time to shout back a reply before I blacked out.

__________

He regained consciousness with a start.

His body twitched as his eyes opened, darting around for a few fleeting moments before he slowly raised his head to observe the room.

"This is… The classroom?" He whispered to no one in particular as he saw the ever-familiar, yet foreign layout of desks before him as the students all sat there, watching their teacher.

'What was that…?' He thought to himself as he slowly let his body relax, trying to get a clear mind as he looked around him. 'A dream? No… It couldn't have been…'

He pressed his fingers against his temples, rubbing them gently as he tried to recall what had happened. His brain throbbed slowly, though it was far, far better than the excruciating pain he could just barely remember experiencing. He then looked again at his surroundings, trying to take in this now-foreign locale.

"Hey; you alright?" His neighbour whispered to him, hopefully low enough not to catch Ms. Fujimura's attention. He shook his head slightly to realign himself, before glancing to the sound of the voice.

It was his friend, and fellow member of the Journalism Club. Apparently his neighbour had noticed his spasm as he woke up out of that 'floating' state, and called out to check whether he was alright.

"Ugh, sorry; feeling a little bit tired. Think I dozed off for a second…" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he watched his neighbour nod in confirmation, although his friend didn't seem that convinced…

'My name.' That thought occurred to him out of the blue as bits and pieces of the morning's-or what he thought was this morning-events slowly came back to him as the voice of his homeroom teacher continued unabated.

Slowly so as not to attract attention from his neighbouring classmates, he pulled out his wallet and, hiding it just under the surface of the desk, he flicked it open and took a long look at the face that stared up at him.

'Yes, that is my face.' He thought to himself as he recalled the image he saw, if only for a brief moment, in the toilet's mirrors. Slowly, his eyes scanned the card, before resting on two words.

'Mihara… Hakuno…' His brain read out the words, instinctively recognising them as his own name, even though he could not recall ever hearing those words spoken to address him before.

"Who here knows what amnesia is?" Mihara's homeroom teacher, Taiga Fujimura asked suddenly, breaking his train of thought abruptly. Out of surprise, he quickly flipped his wallet closed, before stuffing it back into his pocket as Ms. Fujimura continued talking.

"It's a terrifying condition where an individual loses all of their memories! It can be caused by brain damage, severe trauma, or even infections of one's mucus membranes. The section of the Doctor's biography we just covered touches on this condition…"

'Doctor?' Mihara blinked for a moment as he tried recalling what the current lesson was about. 'Dr. Twice H. Pieceman... Yes, I remember now… He could cure amnesia, couldn't he?'

"But with that said," Ms. Fujimura continued, "using amnesia as a reason to forget your homework isn't going to work! When I was young, a fair number of my classmates were unscrupulous enough to try this. And before you start getting any ideas, I'm still young! In fact, I'm putting that fact on the test coming up!"

A collective sigh of exasperation emanated from all the students still sat at their desks as Ms. Fujimura's lesson begins to go off on a tangent.

All of them, except one that is.

"Ms. Fujimura." A regal voice belonging to only one person that Mihara could think of, cut through the quagmire of frustration from the other students.

Leonardo Bistario Harway, his bright, outlandish clothes emphasising how much of a different world he belonged to, stood up from his seat without acknowledgement.

And as if by command, the entire room suddenly fell frozen and silent, as the attention of the students suddenly shifted towards this out-of-place Prince.

"And of course, my fellow classmates." Leo continued as he surveyed the room, smiling gently, yet mysteriously in response to everyone's startled stares.

'What the-!' Mihara's brain was assaulted with a splitting headache reminiscent of the one he had experienced this morning as Leo spoke, even overcoming the surprise he felt at Leo's sudden actions. But despite the pain, all he could do was continue staring at Leo's direction, his hands unable to move to comfort his burning head.

"I am afraid it is time for me to leave." Leo continued as his eyes continued to look around at us. "We will probably never meet again, and so I wish you all well. Oh, and before I forget…" He continued on just as he was about to stop, turning back to Ms. Fujimura at the front of the class.

"Ms. Fujimura, I think you are still young, even now. Just your presence is enough to remind me of the beauty of youth. Truly, you are a remarkable person."

'What do you mean, 'remind me'?' Mihara thought, even as the pain continued assaulting his brain, his body still as solid as a statue.

"Eh…" Ms. Fujimura began, caught off-guard by this abrupt statement.

But before she had a chance to continue, Leo took what seemed to have been a very slight bow, before abruptly disappearing into thin air. And with him, it was almost as though the ability to talk disappeared as a thick, inescapable silence descended upon the classroom.

"Uhm…" Ms. Fujimura was again, the only person who could break the silence, as all the students in the room turned to her almost mechanically. "Well, then, er… Let's continue. Please turn to page 86…"

As though Leo's leaving was a blessing in disguise, the class then resumes on its original objective, the sound of flipping pages reverberating throughout the classroom as students followed her order.

"Heh, showing off like that in the middle of class." Shinji snorted two desks away from Mihara's seat, one of a few number of people Mihara could see within the classroom that did not reach to open their textbooks.

"If you wanted to use the toilet, be a little more discreet, along with that 'I have to leave!' junk." But even though he wasn't one following the majority rule, he clearly didn't feel uneasy about his disappearance at all, as with the rest of the class and their teacher…

'As though he knows something else we don't…' Mihara's thoughts cut through as the pain in his head became worse.

'Wait, what the hell just happened!?' Mihara's brain suddenly kicked in gear as his stopped time scrambled to realign itself. 'Leo's just went up and disappeared form the middle of the classroom! He didn't go through any doors; he didn't say where he's going; isn't this a bit TOO unusual for absolutely no commotion in the classroom?!'

As those thoughts ticked through his brain one by one, the pain he felt became incrementally larger, eventually rivalling that which he felt at the beginning of the day.

'Shit, not again…' Mihara grunted inaudibly as he felt his consciousness slipping in an attempt to cut off the pain. 'What the hell is happening here!?'

That was his final thought before his consciousness slipped away from him once again, before he could delve deeper.

"Gah!" Mihara gasped as his eyes darted open, sweat immediately forming on his brow even though the temperature surrounding him was comfortably cool. Suddenly awake, his body lurched sideways before colliding into a wall which he instinctively used as support.

His heavy breathing slowly calmed down as he quickly took in his surroundings, looking up and seeing the sign above his classroom.

'2-A… My classroom…' He thought to himself, before turning and glancing through the open door.

Not many people were still in there now, the golden orange glow of a setting sun filtering through the windows on the opposite side of the room.

'That late…?' Mihara's brain quickly went trying to process the events that had happened during the day, the panic he had felt from his sudden awakening still lingering, the foreign, yet constant throbbing pain at a minimal level right now.

"Hey, you don't look so good." An unexpected voice called out to him as he stayed still, leaning on the wall next to the door of his classroom.

Turning his head to have a better look, he saw a female student dressed in black: A member of the Student Council with ever-familiar long, brown hair was looking intently at him, her face betraying a hint of worry, yet at the same time a hint of amusement.

It was the Chief of the Journalism Club.

'Does she want the details about the next article…?' Mihara thought to himself as the throbbing slowly grew harder.

"Do things seem a bit 'fuzzy' around the edges?" She asked unexpectedly as his eyes widened slightly. "Hehe, it looks like you're almost there." Unexpectedly, she cracked a smile and giggled at him despite his clearly distressed state, before moving on without a further care in the world.

"…Chief?!" He tried turning around to see if he could ask her for any bit of information about his current status, but she was already long gone.

Her unexpected question, and response, kick-started his brain from its half-asleep state, immediately scrambling to process as much information as he could.

'First, this morning… Issei and the uniform checks, then my ID and my unknown face and name.' He recounted. 'Then during class today, Leonardo's sudden declaration and disappearance… My constant, random blackouts plaguing me throughout today… This is just too crazy to be right somewhere!' He gripped his head in frustration and pain as he felt the throbbing at the back of his head suddenly turn into a small, but sharp pain.

'Ugh, I think I need some fresh air…' He thought to himself as he turned towards the staircases and going up to the third floor. 'Supposedly there's that Garden my friend investigated yesterday, before I asked him to look at that ghost story… Maybe looking from up there will calm my mind a bit more…'

__________

He rubbed his head gently as he reached the third floor, turning to his right, and walking down the left wing of the school to have a look out the nearest window. The supposedly 'hidden garden' that he had been informed of by his friend yesterday being what he desired to see right now.

Slowly, he took in a few deep breaths, before taking several more steps. As again with yesterday, the silence was unnerving: Already, many of the students were busy in club activities, or had gone home, or never even came in the first place due to the 'Slasher' stalking the school…

And as again with yesterday, he suddenly felt as though there was someone watching him.

'Strange…' He couldn't help but think to himself through the static and pain in his head. 'Yesterday…Only my friend could feel it…But today…It's her alright; she's definitely here again…' While his headache was annoying, he was also very curious about the little Victorian girl he had met yesterday with his friend on assignment. For some reason, he couldn't help but remember those sad, sad eyes watching the two of them yesterday as she disappeared without uttering a single word.

'I better let her speak first this time, so as not to scare her away again…' He thought to himself again as he stood still, waiting for her to speak, or for her presence to disappear.

But to his surprise, his feeling neither disappeared, nor did he hear the little girl speak. All he felt was the intensity of her sad, sad stare boring into his back, as though trying to disassemble his workings to understand him.

"…Hey, sorry I scared you yesterday…" He called over his shoulders softly, deciding that he may as well take the first serve.

"…Um…" He got a reply. Her voice matched her small, almost non-existent presence, faint and gentle as she began to speak to him hesitantly, as Mihara kept his back facing her.

"Um… Big brother… Isn't afraid of me is he? C… Could it be that… Y-you came to see… me?" He couldn't help but smile to himself at her small, frail voice. "I-If that's so… I… I'm Alice… I'm always here, so…"

Her voice paused mid-sentence. Worried that she had disappeared already, Mihara turned around slowly to have a look at the person he was talking to.

But she was still there, the little girl named Alice. Dressed as though cosplaying a Victorian girl, her small, quaint figure looked as though it belonged in a painting.

As he turned to stare at her, Alice couldn't help but flinch a little, taking a small step back as she suddenly began to fade away just like yesterday… But after a few moments, her form re-solidified before Mihara, as she then returned his stare.

For an unknown amount of time, both the grown man and the little girl stared at each other, neither moving nor making a sound. Even with his headache, Mihara somehow was able to compose himself enough so as not to startle this little newcomer. Then, out of the blue, he saw a faint smile form on the little girl's lips.

"Hey, big bro, let's have tea together sometime." Alice said to him, smiling innocently just as the faint voice of a young boy reached their ears.

"Alice, Alice!" It cried out as the Alice before Mihara responded to her, as the two of them turned to look down the corridor just as a small boy almost literally materialised from thin air.
'Oh god; another ghost?!' Mihara couldn't help but stiffen in shock as the boy ran over to the two of them.

"Alice; there you are." The boy said as he arrived in front of the little girl, completely ignoring Mihara's presence. "I thought I told you not to wander off, the game's about to begin now and we need to go."

He couldn't have stood more than a metre in height; a head of blonde, almost titanium-white hair shone brightly in the afternoon light beneath a brown Windsor cap. He was dressed in a white, long-sleeved shirt with an itchy, rough-looking, but certainly warm brown checkered waistcoat atop it. Alongside with matching shorts reaching down to his shin and brown leather shoes, he looked as though he just came out from a coal mine; his skin was marred here and there by the black stains, and his clothes looked just as equally dusty. His youthful face still has yet to lose the innocence of childhood as Mihara couldn't help but think that the two little children before him a few decades to a century outside of their original time…

"Sorry…" Alice voiced her apologies with her soft voice as she nodded her head. "I was saying hi to big brother…" She turned her head over to look at the person in question, before the young boy stepped directly between the two of them, glaring daggers at Mihara, who stood almost twice his size.

"Then who are you…?" He spat. "I told Alice not to talk to strangers; so who are you if you aren't a stranger?"

"Oh, sorry; my name's Mihara. Mihara Hakuno." He couldn't help but smile at the newcomer's overprotectiveness of Alice, even though he wasn't there a few moments ago.

"I see…" He spoke cautiously, before turning around to look at Alice behind him, who gave him a small nod to show that she trusted this big brother, before turning back again. "My name's Albert."

"We should have tea together sometime." Alice smiled as Albert introduced himself.

"It's time to go now though, Alice." Albert replied as he turned around, taking a hold of her hand. "We can have tea together with big brother, if he survives the game." He turned his head around to look at Mihara, as though doubting whether they'd see each other again come tomorrow.

"Yeah, let's hope big bro's strong." Alice smiled as she turned back to him. "We'll see you again if you can keep up, big bro!"

With their final words spoken, the two children quickly dissolved into the air around them, their forms disappearing entirely from Mihara's sight as he could do nothing but watch, confounded at their words and their sense of dress…

"Ugh, this is really crazy…" He rubbed his temples again as he turned around towards the window, "What do they mean by 'survive' and 'game'?! Do ghost's really exist either I wonder… Damnit, I should be worrying about what the heck is happening at this demented school, instead of trying to talk up little ghosts…"

He rubbed his head in frustration as he began going back down the stairs, his original purpose of coming to the third floor forgotten as his feet made its way back down to the first floor of the building unconsciously.

'Everytime I feel as though I'm about to push through this crazy quagmire, this bloody headache pops up!' Mihara gritted his teeth as he slowly made his way down the stairs to the first floor. Just as he passed by the second floor down the stairs, an ever-familiar bulletin board showed up before him.

"…The Journalism Club's Announcement Board." He muttered to himself as he slowly scanned its contents, his eyes slowly widening as he read what he least expected to read:

"Tsukumihara Times Final Issue: 'The Bizarre Visual Static'"
"This is an announcement to the remaining students."
"The preliminaries will end shortly."
"Once you've learned everything, head home."
"Or, you may never get to do so again."

"The bloody hell's this on about?!" He reeled back as he finished reading the last sentence. "What's the Chief writing here?" But before he could ponder further the meaning of these cryptic words that the Chief had written there, he heard an ear-piercing screech echo up the staircase from the first floor.

"Sakura!" It was a voice that could belong to only one person…

"What the heck's Shinji getting up to again?" Mihara couldn't help but push the thoughts of confusion from his mind as he turned around and slowly made his way to the base of the stairs, looking around the corner and seeing a somewhat recognisable sight.

Shinji and Sakura Matou were just down the corridor, apparently already devoid of most life save for a few wandering black-clad Student Councillors who seemed not to care.

"Oh… Its you, brother." In an almost exact replica of what Mihara had seen three days previously, Sakura Matou turned from the bulletin board on the wall towards her brother, her face clearly showing her reluctance to do so.

"I heard that you skipped archery practice, again!" Shinji shouted, waving his fist in front of him at the small girl before of him. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I'm… sorry, brother…" Sakura could only mutter those words, her face sullen as she couldn't seem to bear looking at the one she called 'brother' eye to eye. "But I–"

"You're an embarrassment and a disgrace of a little sister!" He continued shouting over whatever excuse she could come up with. "How many times must I repeat myself, Sakura?! Do you really have absolutely nothing up here in this cavity called your skull?! I mean, if you keep listening to others instead of…"

Surprisingly, Shinji's voice lost its vehemence halfway through his last sentence, his words diminishing in volume until no more escaped his lips. His paralysed figure stood still for a moment, as though he just had an epiphany.

"Wait…" He spoke again. "Wait, wait wait wait…" One could almost hear the abacus in his brain tick in the deserted corridor of the school as he seemed to process some new information he had gleaned from somewhere, his fist pressed against his forehead as he went deep into thought.

"… Did… Did I just call you my little sister?"

'What?!' His mind shouted incredulously, despite the static and pain that clouded his vision. 'Sakura Matou is not Shinji's little sister?! What does this mean?'

"I… I mean…" Shinji's voice continued shakily, as though everything in the world around him was crumbling. "I mean, I don't have a little sister, I've always wanted one but, ugh… Damn; things have been getting really flaky the past few- Gah!?" He doubled over in pain suddenly just as he seemed to have reached a conclusion, the gasp escaping from his lips enough to make Mihara step out of his hiding place and begin running over to help.

"D-Damnit…" He could hear Shinji curse over and over as he struggled mentally, his hands grinding his temples frantically. "W-What the hell is up with this?!"

"Ah, Brother." Sakura's voice, silent throughout Shinji's sudden epiphany, came up again. But there was something… different, about the tone of her voice that made Mihara's feet stop dead in their tracks on the way to helping his friend. "You appear to be experiencing fatigue. Inserting apology text… Error detected."

'Error detected?! Mihara's eyes shot open in shock as his body instinctively crouched down, preparing for something strange to happen.

"Please maintain a calm demeanour." Sakura's voice continued as her body took several halting steps forward to the cringing Shinji, who was staring at the girl with terror in his eyes, as if their roles just a few moments before had suddenly been switched. "Brother, please relax. Inserting reassurance text. Error detected."

'Another error?!' Mihara could feel cold sweat beginning to trickle down his body as he tried to process what the hell was going on. 'She's turning more and more into a robot! Who the hell is this person? This isn't Sakura Matou anymore!'

"What's up, Shinji?" Her voice continued, slowly gaining a robotic feel to it as Shinji and MIhara could do nothing but stare in amazed horror. "Whatever is the matter, Brother? Select desired sister personality: Things will get worse if you don't decide. But any choice you make will be the wrong one. S-S-So, why not to-to- totally lose it, Brother? Calm down, down, down-wn-wn… B-B-Bro-"

"UUUAAAGGHH!" Shinji couldn't take any more as he screamed in fear, trying to block out the broken tape-recorder of a robot his 'little sister' had become. "What the fuck is going on here?! Everything's going haywire!" With what little remained of his motor skills, he turned around immediately and began fleeing the scene, before almost running straight into Mihara's stone-still figure.

Gripping Mihara's shoulders with quaking hands, Shinji quickly recognised who had entered the stage. "You! Please, stop her!" He began shouting hysterically. "She's completely nuts! I have to get out of here; stop her!" His panicked face disappearing as quickly as it appeared, Shinji's quickly diminishing figure was all Mihara could see as he turned around, not fast enough to even muster a reply to Shinji's panic.

'Well; he sure runs fast for one thing.' Mihara smiled wryly as he turned over to the 'person' he should be most concerned with.

"Brother, wait!" Sakura Matou lurched forward in an attempt to stop her 'brother', but only succeeded in tripping herself over as her robotic voice continued until she impacted on the ground. "Cease forward progress, male relation constru – "

She collapsed with a dull thud, shocking Mihara out of his stupor as he suddenly realised that all he had been doing was staring at the incredible fleeing Shinji and the horrifying 'School Princess' Sakura turn-robot. He was expecting a more… mechanical, more metallic, sound as she impacted the floor-the dense thud she made was nothing like what he expected of a robot as he suddenly moved forward to try and help her.

"Bro-ro-ro-th-th-th-therr-r-r-r…" Her voice, still full of static called out again to Shinji, who had already ran full out of sight, her head leaning upwards to where she last saw his figure.

"Did you hit your head or something before meeting your brother?" Mihara couldn't help but sigh in exasperation as he stared at her prone figure, unsure as to what the heck he was supposed to do in this situation, his head still having static of its own flitting about inside.

"I didn't expect someone like you to be able to pull off such an act so well!" Deciding on a course of action, he firmly grasped her wrist before forcibly pulling her back up to her feet. "Shinji's ran off already, you can stop the act now…Hey!" He slapped her lightly on the cheek, hoping that something will happen to bring her out of her robotic stupor.

But just as his hand made contact, he felt a slight jolt, as though static had been released…And instead of the crisp slap he expected, his fingers ended up sinking right into her skin!

Both his fingers and her porcelain-white skin had turned into what he could only describe as a blue slime that had merged into each other…What was even more disturbing was that Mihara was just able to perceive what he thought were strange letters and numbers swimming back and forth between her cheek and his fingers.

"The hell-?!" Instinctively he pulled his hand away, before taking a step back as he quickly double checked that nothing had gone wrong with his hands, which had regained their original form.

"Ah…" Sakura's voice had returned to normal as she blinked a few times, as though she had just awoken from some strange slumber as Mihara looked at her nervously, ready to run as fast as Shinji if something ended up happening.

"I'm sorry." She began with a bow unexpectedly, after a few moments of the two staring at each other. "It appears that I was overdue for maintenance and malfunctioned. Thank you for correcting the problem... Hm?" She noticed the perplexed look growing faster and faster on Mihara's face, just as some form of realisation dawned on her. "Oh, I'm sorry again; it seems I was mistaken. You're a Master, aren't you?

"…Maintenance? Malfunction?!" He couldn't manage much more than a squeak at each word; first this girl turns into a robot, then turns into a semi-slime before prattling on about god knows what!

"Oh, please, don't mind me…" She bowed again before turning around to leave. "It seems that it's a bit too early to reveal this…But I do hope you make it through the preliminaries… And… Thank you for correcting that problem earlier." With what she wanted to say out of the way, she quickly left the scene as Mihara stood dumbfounded by this new information.

"What the hell is going on here?!" He finally found his voice once the girl known as Sakura disappeared from his view, her purple hair vanishing into one of the side rooms as the corridor was once again restored to its usual golden hue. "I don't understand anything; and this damn headache isn't helping!"

Out of the blue, Mihara heard the sounds of running feet behind him down the corridor, bringing him out of his train of thought. The first-year corridors should have been empty by now; the few that were here earlier had all been scared away by Shinji and Sakura's more than disturbing act.

Or at least, it would have been empty had Mihara not spotted the bright orange uniform that only one person would wear.

"Leonardo…" He muttered to himself quietly. "The weirdest factor of them all…"

'He shouldn't have any reason to visit any of the first-years, having transferred here so soon…' He reasoned to himself. 'And after that shocking disappearance earlier, what reason does he have to still be here?'

He was walking slowly down the far-end of the corridor; further down he would have only found a dead-end. The only reason he would be here was to visit first-years, which was illogical as virtually everyone has gone home by now.

But he wasn't the only one still here as well. Quickly trotting behind him was another student, one that Mihara could recognise as his friend and fellow classmate.

'What…are they doing here?' His mind began through the haze that clouded it and his vision, as an unknown voice reverberated through his head unbidden, as though in response to his question.

"The truth you seek…"

Slowly, he took a step forward in their direction.

"The reason you are here…"

Silently, so as to remain unseen, a few more steps forward.

"The answers are before you: Do not close your eyes to them."

Then, almost without input from his brain, his body had broken into a jog, following them silently as the pain and haze that plagued his senses finally lifted.

'The truth, the answers I seek, lie before me.' He thought as he saw Leo and his friend stop at the end of the corridor, Leo staring intently at the wall, with his classmate staring in turn at Leo's back.

"The attention to detail is quite impressive." Leo began as Mihara reached them, careful to keep his footsteps muffled. "Even the surrounding air is surprisingly substantial. If that is the case, this world is, in some ways more real than the real world it attempts to copy. Still, that's only my opinion. How about the both of you? What are your thoughts on this?"

Mihara suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine as Leo finished his sentence, as though he was talking to both Mihara and his friend.

Yet despite that Leo continued speaking, seemingly ignorant of Mihara's presence as a rather one-sided conversation ensued.

"Greetings; I believe this is the first time we've had an actual conversation together." His smile was unnerving. Though it contained no sense of hostility, there was in its place a sense of malevolence that Mihara could not figure out, keeping him on edge.

"Attending school wasn't half bad at all." Leo continued speaking to Mihara's friend. "I've never had the opportunity to go to one before now. And in that respect, this has been quite an interesting experience. But sadly, the time for fun has come to an end, and I did not come here to play at being a student. For no matter how enjoyable the detour, eventually one must return to their appointed path. And for me, the time to do so has arrived. Farewell then."

Without a care for those he was just addressing, Leo turned around to face the dead-end once again, before pausing for a moment.

"Actually, no… That isn't quite right." Unexpectedly he began speaking again. "I don't think 'farewell' would be accurate in this situation. For some unexplainable reason, I have a distinct feeling that we will see each other again." He turned his head to look over his shoulder, looking not in the direction of his classmate, but at Mihara's position, hidden from the two of them, directly.

"So I guess I should use the more congenial, 'See you later.' But in any case, it is time for me to move on, and I wish you the best of luck in the future." With that said, Leo turned his head back to face the wall, and proceeded to walk forward.

Before being absorbed by the wall in front of him.

'What!?' Mihara's eyes darted open at the spectacle that unfolded.

More disturbed by Leo's disappearance than at his knowledge of being spied on, Mihara stood dumbfounded as his friend also proceeded into the wall, disappearing in the same fashion as Leo.

"So is this it then…" He spoke to nobody in particular, the corridor as empty as a ghost town.

Slowly, he walked forward to the same position, in front of a wall.

"The answers I seek, the way to the truth lies here, huh?" He muttered to himself as he faced the wall, left alone with his thoughts. "There's probably no turning back now; it's all or never… But do I… really want to know what lies behind…" He shook his head as he realised what kind of thoughts he was voicing.

"No; this isn't the time for stalling." Without any more hesitation, Mihara raised his right hand forward, pressing lightly against the wall in front of him.

And as if by command, the wall before him shimmered ever so slightly, before dissociating like salt being sprinkled onto the floor to reveal a door.

"…I've come this far already." He spoke to himself after a pause, trying to dispel his unease. "It's too late to turn back now."

With that said, he raised his left hand, before pushing the door open, and stepping through.

The room he entered was dimly lit, a single window with light filtering through its drawn curtains the only illumination to be found. It looked more like a storeroom than anything else; boxes stacked upon boxes littered the room, sturdy yet ancient shelves pushed against the wall with contents already covered in what seemed to be a millennia's worth of dust.

It would have easily been mistaken for a storage room, had there not been a gaping hole in the opposite side of the room that Mihara had entered form. It flickered, its edges slowly changing shape over passing seconds, even though the actual size of the hole grew no smaller. Adding to that was a strange effigy standing motionless beside the hole.

Bereft of any facial or bodily features, its simply carved wooden limbs and body had only strange, pulsing red and yellow lines coursing around it, as though it were the doll's blood supply. Upon its perfectly-carven, oval face, was a single circle that pulsed again with the same yellow-red as the rest of its body.

As Mihara slowly stepped closer towards it, the effigy turned towards him, and with a wooden creak, took a shambling bow in his general direction as a disembodied voice began speaking.

"Welcome, Potential Master."

Mihara took a surprised step back as his head turned sharply around the room, looking for the non-existent person that was addressing him. And by the time he had finished a look around the entire room, the voice had already begun speaking once again, completely ignorant of Mihara's confusion and bewilderment.

"That effigy before you is to be your sword and shield for the upcoming trials ahead. It will move in direct response to your command, and follow you faithfully. Now, please proceed through: The truth that you seek lies ahead."

"The truth, huh…" Mihara whispered as he looked up and down at the effigy sceptically. "Well, it's too late to turn back now anyway. Let's get going." He addressed the effigy, although he knew it was pointless to do so, before stepping forward through the hole with the creaking, tapping footsteps of his effigy following him into the darkness.

The dark hole that he had stepped to led through a long hallway through a black abyss; no walls protected the sides of the path, and Mihara was certain that if he fell off of the path, he wouldn't stop falling.

But as with all things, it came to an end as he emerged from the black mire, alongside his silent attendant, into what could only be described as a labyrinth submerged underwater. The labyrinth he had emerged into had see-through walls and floors, with absolutely no roof to speak of. For reasons he could not comprehend, Mihara was in effect standing, breathing, and walking, in water as though it were air. Detached bubbles floated up from the bottom of the ocean, without a care for the new visitor.

As Mihara traced the bubbles down to their base, he saw to his surprise a veritable graveyard: With humongous skeletal bones littering the ground, a myriad of fallen swords that appeared like gravestones in the sand…

It was as if below him was the burial ground of an untold number of soldiers, or perhaps even heroes, alongside the skeletons of the beasts that they had slain during their living moments. He could do nothing but stare at the sight below him.

"Welcome, Potential Master."

Out of the blue, the same voice repeated the three words Mihara had heard before coming through to this labyrinth. And as before, it had no origin, no body and no mouth for which to let the words come from. It was as if the very molecules in the air were the origin of the voice, vibrating as if to some higher-beings command.

"If you are looking for answers, you must reach the goal at the end of this labyrinth." It continued, regardless of whether its audience had heard it or not. "Along the way, you will find what are termed 'Enemy Programmes'. They will attack you on sight, initiating a battle of which your effigy will fight in your stead. I cannot stress to you more, the fact that your body is too weak to fight anything you will meet here personally." The voice paused, as if to allowing his words to sink in properly, before continuing.

"This is the foremost reason why your effigy fights in your place. Should your effigy be defeated in the process of protecting you from the programmes, you will no longer be shielded from harm. To put it bluntly, you will die. So, please be careful." Its last words were spoken without a shred of concern for the newcomer.

'Geez, you'd think you would be a bit more worried about me, wouldn't you?' Mihara thought dryly, although the fact that he could die here seemed a bit…outlandish for him to accept. Most of the things he's seen here look as though it was a virtual world, straight out from some sort of videogame after all…

'Heh, I woke up from some horrid nightmare to be stuck in some virtual world…'

"Now please, step forward. The answers you seek are at the goal you must reach." It repeated itself again, before falling silent, leaving Mihara and his silent effigy alone once again.

"Haah." Mihara sighed, clearly confused at this turn of events. "I guess there's nothing we can do about this…" He looked back to his companion briefly, knowing it wouldn't respond back, before turning forward again and stepping forward into the depths of this underwater labyrinth.

__________

**Xyphos** · September 24th, 2012, 09:10 AM

Act 0: Scene 6
The Day

Where is the Belfry, and that final chime?
In that moment, those gentle days ended
__________

He stepped into the final room slowly, his silent effigy matching his pace behind him. The aura that surrounded him, as well as the very view of the room, was completely different from the catacombs of which he had just emerged from.

Instead of the desolate feeling he had within that veritable graveyard, this place had a far more spiritual feel to it. As though the souls of legends both told and untold, were all stored away here.

The room was circular, at least twenty metres in diameter, the floor an intricate sea-blue mosaic that shone as if made of glass. On the opposite side of his entry stood three tall stained glass windows, the emerald-green leaves that patterned them each shining as if made of shards of the sun’s own brilliance. But although the windows stood upright, they were not embedded into anything that could be called a ‘wall’. Rather, like everywhere else he’s been through, what served as ‘walls’ for this room, was the endless blue of an unmistakeable, unknown ocean, staying unnaturally still in its calmness.

He did not know where he was; and the only ‘thing’ he could ask was his silent effigy companion that had accompanied him through the catacombs leading to this supposedly final destination.

While the young man surveyed the room, attempting to understand what he was meant to do here after being led through that catacombs like a blind man, he saw something that topped his confusion.

There before him, lying in the centre of the room was another person. And Mihara Hakuno had an idea of who it was. In a few moments he was already standing by the body, turning him over onto his back so that he may confirm his suspicion.

Indeed, it was the body of his friend, the one that had followed Leo through the doorway.

“Hey, you alright?” he asked in earnest as he tried to wake him up, gently rocking the body back and forth. And when he got no answer, he could feel a cold hand grip his heart as he thought of the worst possible scenario.

But, there was no wound on him; nothing to indicate a fight. No blood, no cuts, no signs of a struggle at all in this strange void of a room. That was until he saw a speck of red that tainted the blue of the floor. Yet, almost as he saw it, it dissipated into the air, as if it were made of dust…

Slowly, uneasily, he put a finger onto his classmate’s neck to check for a pulse, to give him some reason to brush off his bad feeling. Yet it only confirmed what he feared the most.

This person could no longer be called his friend.

This person was a corpse; as cold as stone.

Instinctively Mihara leapt back onto his feet, his eyes still locked onto the body before him even as he took a few paces back away as fear fought to overtake his mind.

‘Why is he dead? What happened? What killed him? Will I end up like him?’ Thoughts and panic overcrowded his brain. But before he could sink even deeper, a familiar, yet dissimilar creak could be heard reverberating throughout the room.

Instantly his eyes shot up, only to be met by the wooden body of an effigy standing over the corpse before him.

In a fraction of a second he turned to confirm that his own effigy was still standing behind him, before turning back to study this newcomer as he pushed the previous thoughts of fear out of his mind.

‘This is like my own effigy…’ He thought to himself as he examined it. ‘How long has it been here? Did my friend have his own that he brought with him like me?’

He quickly turned his vision down to the corpse again, as if begging it to answer him.

But the only answer he received was another creak as the new effigy stepped closer, disregarding the corpse. And though it had no face, and no reason to be called alive, Mihara felt an ominous air about it as it stepped closer. A feeling which was confirmed by his own effigy, which had in a few moments stepped forward from behind him to confront this newcomer.

‘So it’s an enemy then…’ He thought silently as his eyes narrowed. ‘I can only assume that it was the one that killed him…’ He gritted his teeth as he thought about it. ‘Why did he die? Why did this effigy kill him?’ He shook his head at those thoughts.

‘No, now is not the time for that. I can think about that later; after I defeat this thing.’

With his mind set, he clenched his fists as he glared at the enemy, attempting to read its movement just as he did with the other enemy programmes he had been forced to face.

Yet unlike the others, this enemy was literally as blank as its own face; Mihara could discern nothing from it. But regardless of his own efforts, Mihara’s effigy leapt forward to begin the fray without a moment’s pause, acting on its own.

In mere moments the distance had been closed, his effigy thrusting forward with its arm in an attempt to pierce the opponent’s chest. Though fast, it wasn’t fast enough; the enemy knocking it to the side with its own wooden arm enough to just barely graze its shoulder.

Following the movement, the enemy effigy lashed out with its feet, smashing into the effigy’s side and knocking it off-balance, crashing into the ground with several dull rings. But it didn’t stop there. In the brief few moments that the effigy made contact with the ground, the enemy was already attempting to pierce the effigy’s wooden head.

With movements that belied its lack of eyes or muscle, the effigy rolled out of the way and onto its feet at the last moment, the enemy piercing nothing but solid ground. The enemy turned its head upwards to look at where the effigy had gotten to, only to be met by a kick smashing squarely into its face, knocking it straight onto its back with a dull crash of limbs.

A few moments of silence clouded the room, before Mihara’s effigy slowly made its way towards the downed enemy.

‘Is it finished?’ Mihara thought as he studied the enemy effigy from afar. Throughout the brief exchange he could read nothing of the enemy’s movements, nothing to give his own effigy an edge in this battle. Yet somehow it managed to win.

A thought that was quickly dashed a few moments later, as the enemy’s legs twirled itself around with surprising speed, knocking Mihara’s effigy back with a blow to what would have been its chin, before it stood back up on its feet.

The enemy’s head showed no signs of being pierced by the previous attack as it stood once more in a neutral pose. Mihara’s effigy, though stunned for a few brief moments, regained its composure as it once again faced the enemy, almost daring it to come forwards.

It did not have to wait long.

Barely a moment later the enemy was already on the offensive, lashing out a series of jabs and strikes with its wooden limbs. Evidently it was on a different level than Mihara’s effigy; its speed too fast for nothing but defence, with no counterattacks possible.

Even Mihara’s untrained eyes, unable to forsee anything about this enemy, could see this.

Mechanically, the effigy brought up its own wooden limbs to bear against the onslaught, deflecting and absorbing attacks as best as it could against the enemy. Jab after strike, kick after smash, it continued to withstand the hail of attacks, barely giving way.

But Mihara could clearly see that it could only take so much punishment before its limbs would give out.

Then, through the flurry of attacks, the enemy lashed out one well-aimed kick that penetrated straight through the effigy’s defences, piercing in and smashing its chest.

The force of impact, as well as the effigy’s unpreparedness for such an attack, sending it staggering backwards as splinters of wood could be seen erupting from the point of contact, spraying as if it were blood from an opened artery.

Caught off-balance, and with its defences now crushed, Mihara could only stand and watch as the enemy leapt up into the air, swinging its body for a final, full-powered kick aimed at the effigy’s head!

With no chance to block, with no opportunity to regain its balance, the impact connected, with enough force to completely destroy its head, splinters and misshapen wooden pieces flying everywhere as the effigy’s now-headless body crumpled sideways onto the floor, defeated.

Silence descended upon the arena, as Mihara stared dumbstruck at the rapid, surprisingly brutal battle between two lifeless dolls.

And all the while, the three ‘windows’ watched the display. Silent watchers, waiting for the final verdict to be reached.

“Shit.” Was all Mihara could mutter, breaking the silence within this room after what seemed like an eternity, his eyes glued to the broken wreck that was his effigy.

As if in response to his curse, the effigy that soundly defeated his ally took one, harmless, creaking step forward towards him.

It was enough for Mihara to break into cold sweat.

His eyes darted towards what was clearly a danger to his own life, and instinctively his body crouched ever so slightly, his fists coming up to his face in preparation for what was certainly a fight for his life.

One moment passed.

Then two.

The effigy stood there, waving ever so slightly, ‘watching’ him as he felt the adrenaline pump across his body, his heartbeat crashing in his ears as his muscles tensed, waiting.

It rushed forward faster than he could blink.

The wooden effigy launched itself from its position, crossing the distance between the two effortlessly, its sharpened wooden stake-for-an-arm poised to embed itself deep within his stomach.

Yet, with speed matching the effigy, Mihara’s body reacted, almost without his brain registering.

Ever so slightly, using his left foot as a pivot, he dodged to the left, the stake sliding across the surface of his stomach as the wooden head came ever so close to his own. If it were alive, Mihara knew he would have felt its breath.

But even though his mind was busy thinking pointless things; his hands were already moving.

In that single instant, his hand rushed up to grip the solid wood of the effigy’s face, slowing its movement ever so slightly.

Just enough for his feet to hook around his enemy’s own, bringing them out from under it as his hand pushed forward, driving the wooden doll backwards straight into the ground with as much force as his body could muster.

With an echoing crash, the effigy’s head, and its body following soon after, made contact with the floor, before staying motionless.

Mihara blinked several times as his brain began processing the events that happened. But fearing that the effigy would get up again, he leapt away to the centre of the room, his eyes carefully trained on the fallen doll.

‘I…I didn’t know I could do that…’ he thought to himself as he stood there, his body hunched over as he breathed heavily, waiting for more movements.
He didn’t have to wait long.

Unfazed, the effigy jumped back onto its feet, seemingly undamaged by Mihara’s brutal takedown.

“Oh god help me…” he muttered under his breath as his mind repeated the words that he already knew with the destruction of his own effigy.

‘I can’t take this thing on and expect to live.’

Even though at the start of this journey through the catacombs he doubted the portents of death told to him, he found them surprisingly believable as this effigy, so lacking in any auras of intent, stepped towards him with a clear intention to end his life.

The fear he felt was almost palatable.

Yet even so, he stood his ground, his feet glued tight as his eyes desperately searched for an escape route.

A route that he knew didn’t exist.

His vain attempts were interrupted as the effigy leapt forward again with the same speed and agility, its stake poised to strike into his body once again.

As before, Mihara’s body began moving of its own accord, his body twirling around to evade the initial jab as he attempted to throw a punch with his right, attempting to knock his target off-balance again. But he was a moment too late, as the effigy brought up its own arm to deflect the attack.

Wasting no time, the effigy counterattacked, spinning its own body to send its leg crashing into Mihara’s side, sending him skidding over the tiles as if he were the doll.

He let out a pained gasp as he stopped, the cold tiles only a minor consolation to the burning wound he received. His quivering hand quickly moved to inspect the damage, and although there was none, the pain itself was unlike any he could remember. But his mind couldn’t dwell on that; the effigy was already coming forward in an attempt to skewer him once again!

Mustering his strength, Mihara rolled away from the incoming attack and onto his knees. Just as the effigy had finished stabbing his former position, it jumped up into the air, using its deceptively fragile arms, its feet poised to strike at his kneeling form.

Within an instant Mihara stepped backwards just as the effigy landed, before launching itself forward for the kill.

And Mihara’s body, not used to such rapid exertion and shocking pain, was too slow to evade this time.

With the sickening sound of torn flesh, Mihara found the effigy’s face once again too close to his own to feel comfortable; its single red eye watching him without a shred of emotion.

A moment passed.

Afterwards two.

Then Three.

Then, he coughed blood.

Tainting the wooden effigy with his life, Mihara could do nothing but let his eyes drop down to the stake that was cleanly embedded into his stomach as blood continued to well in his throat.

‘This isn’t real.’

That was all that passed through his mind, as the effigy pulled its stake out from within him, the sudden loss of support sending Mihara’s body crashing down to the floor with a dull thud, his face contorting in pain as his nerves scrambled to process information.

To process the inevitable.

“The fuck – !” He could only mutter between pained breath as blood slowly seeped from his body onto the cold tiles, tainting the once-beautiful blue mosaic with his deep-crimson blood. His hands fumbled to stop the wound in his stomach as his eyes slowly turned up to the wooden effigy that had so cleanly dispatched him.

“Haah.” A disembodied voice sighed in exasperation. “I already told you; normal humans can’t hope to fight enemies here, and yet here you are, thinking you can go off and defeat this thing yourself.” Its sarcastic tone carried no sympathy for the dying man that laid there in the room as it continued to berate him for his stupidity.

‘That bloody voice again…!’ Mihara thought as he gritted his teeth, trying to stop his convulsing body, his rising anger burning through the searing pain at this snide voice.

“Tch, oh well.” Its harsh tirade finally stopping. “You seem to be lacking as well.”
‘Now what…? Mihara thought angrily as laboured breaths bubbled from his throat.

“I think it’s time now. With your inevitable loss, it is clear that this round of preliminaries is over.” It paused for a moment, as if to think of a few sendoff words for this final, failed candidate.

“Farewell then. I pray that you may find peace in your defeat.”

‘Oh go to hell!’ Mihara shouted in his brain, his body unable to actually say the words out loud. ‘First you berate me for trying to live, and now you speak as if you’re a priest at a bloody funeral!’

He didn’t expect a reply to his inner thoughts.

For it was clear, despite how he wanted to believe, Mihara Hakuno was going to die here.

‘This is crazy…’ His breathing becoming more and more ragged as his eyes surveyed the surroundings of his burial ground as his initial anger dissipated.

And then, he saw what he least expected to see.

Corpses, scattered everywhere within the room.

Not just his friend that had been following Leo before, but dozens upon dozens of other corpses, some wearing the distinctive brown uniform of Tsukumihara Academy students, and some in regular workclothes, though no single uniform was discernable.

Yet despite the variation in corpses, Mihara knew instinctively that they were all here for the same reason as he was; a reason that none of them could find.

And clearly, neither could he.

‘Shit…Shit, shit shit shit!’ Despair almost overtaking him, his mind began cursing everything he could think of that had brought him to this situation, even as blood slowly seeped out of the wound in his stomach. ‘No! I refuse for this to be the end!’

Slowly, through sheer force of will through the pain he felt, Mihara moved as best as he could until he shook unsteadily on all fours.

‘It hurts!’ His body screamed in anguish.

“I know; and I don’t care!” His mind shouted aloud in reply through grinding teeth.

‘Let it end! Please!’

“I refuse! This cannot be right!”

‘Please just let it end! This is the limit, and all that can be done, has been done!’

“Lies! I cannot rest in peace here! I cannot die here! This is not nearly all that can be done here!”

Yet despite his denials, his body could not stand; his remaining strength only enough to roll back onto his bottom. There, facing the three windows he sat on the ground, corpses surrounding him as his hand went back to clutching his wound.

“So many unanswered questions…” He muttered to himself aloud now as he slowly craned his neck to look around the room, watching the many corpses and the questions they too came here with; unanswered, and forever unanswerable.

“Why am I here? Why is everyone here? Why did I fight? Why did we all have to fight? Why did we all have to die? Are we all destined to disappear without a trace, like cattle to be slaughtered for some mad man’s whim?!” A torrent of questions escaped his lips ever so softly as he felt the burning pain begin to die down, his vision slowly darkening and turning blurry as he knew what was coming. “My fear of death is nothing compared to my lack of answers – I fear my stupidity more than the blackness of death. So tell me…Tell me–!”

He stopped again to catch his breath, breathing in and out raggedly, before turning to the three silent mirrors and screaming at the loudest his waning body could muster:

“I refuse to just roll over and die without having some answers!”

His anguished voice reverberated throughout the room. But as expected, no voice replied him; the three windows still standing there watching silently. Not even the snide voice from before returned to verbally slap him across the face and into the afterlife.

“Tch!” He coughed once, the force sending him tumbling straight onto his back with a single pained groan.

‘I guess, I still won’t be getting my answers then…’ He thought, his heart sinking into despair even as death came to claim him.

But just as he finished his words, two voices deigned to prove him wrong.

“Well spoken, nameless traveller!” The first voice proclaimed proudly, as if it were a king speaking to a new entrant to an imperial court.

“Indeed! You must embrace your fear of death, and fight on regardless of what fate may await you. And know this; know that even if the world will never hear your voice, never see your perseverance even on the brink of death; know that I do. Know that I admire and respect it! Now, clench your hands into fists! Hold your head high! For your end, has yet to come!”

“That soul over there, waaait a minute! Just a moment, juuust a moment!” The second voice rang elegantly, as though singling out a member of a grand audience at the theatre.

“Though I have no idea who you are or where you are from, I have heard your lamentations, and I have seen your determination. And though other deities may choose to ignore you; know your cries have come straight through my ears! And now, with the God Uka-no-Mitama as my witness, I declare that it’s too early for this soul to move on to the realm of the dead!”

With the two voices finished speaking, a resounding crash of glass swathed the room as two beams of bright light illuminated something before Mihara.

The shock of the two ephemeral voices answering him in the midst of his despair caused him to almost forget his pain. With renewed strength, he pulled his body back up to a sitting position, his eyes widening as he saw the three mirrors changing.

The middle mirror had shattered completely, its broken fragments falling away into the abyss of a suddenly torrential ocean. In turn, the remaining, flanking mirrors were bathed in an almost blindingly golden light from above, the rays of sun cutting through the deep-black ocean to illuminate the spectacle that unfolded before him.

With a gust of wind, two proud figures stood before the remaining mirrors, the back of their bodies materialising out of thin air.

One was a young woman garbed in what could only be described as a Japanese style ero-kimono coloured like the raging ocean behind her, with loose armsleeves draping over most of her arms, leaving her porcelain-white shoulders bare. Black geta-shoes served to increase her height ever so slightly, while her slender legs were covered with matching indigo stockings. Yet the most curious part about her that immediately grasped Mihara’s attention, were a pair of orange ears peeking out through a mass of pink hair, and an equally mystifying tail of similar colour through the folds of her clothes.

The other figure was another young woman, garbed in a military-styled dress of a vibrant red, the golden epaulets and equally stunning golden highlights of her dress matching exactly with her blond hair, tied neatly into a bun behind her head. While not nearly as revealing as the other woman’s dress, there was a gaping hole exposing most of her back. Still, the red of her dress covered almost her entirety, covering all of her arms and almost all of her feet. Even so, Mihara could just about see what he thought were a pair of armoured feet – sabatons, he corrected himself, covering probably most of her legs.

Red, he thought, as he was jolted out of his revelry.

Blood, his next thought was, as he quickly raised his hand to look at the place where his wound was.

Almost mockingly, as soon as he removed his hand, what was supposed to be his wound evaporated into a cloud of black, almost pixelated mist, as though the gaping hole was just an image painted onto his clothes that was now removed. The blood too that had stained his hands, his clothes, and the ground were gone; evaporating straight into thin air, alongside the burning pain of his wound.

“What is this?” Was all he could mutter as his eyes stared in shock at the vanishing black clouds, before he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching him.

He looked up, to see the two figures he saw before walking slowly towards him, paying each other absolutely no heed whatsoever.

Finally, they stopped before his sitting figure, their eyes trained directly on him.

“I will not ask why Miss Shorty was called here…” The pink-haired woman began sceptically.

“And neither will I deign to pay this fox any attention either…” The blond-haired woman continued scornfully.

“But instead, I will ask you directly:”

“Are you my master?” They demanded almost in unison, their voices intermingling with each other almost disconcordantly, yet with surprising harmony.

‘Somehow…’ Mihara thought to himself as his brain raced to process the situation ‘I feel as though I’m in more danger than I was with the effigy!’

For certainly, the two before him were unlike any mortal women he has ever met before. A power far beyond his comprehension whirled within the two bodies before him; he could feel it clearly. Different, yet not completely dissimilar to the feeling he had when he had met the effigy: Their almost oppressive presence was enough to freeze his spine not with fear, but with awe. He was certain that the two that stood before him made the effigy look like a blade of grass in comparison to a mighty oak.

And he was also certain that unless he gave an appropriate answer, he would just be sent back into the abyss that he had just crawled from.

And there was only one answer that could come to mind.

“Yes.” Mihara stated in the most confident voice he could manage, a reply both short and simple.

It was the blond-haired woman that spoke first this time.

“Your words are few, yet beautiful. I like that. For now, I won’t ask how privileged you feel for summoning me.” Her words, though slow and soft, carried a regal air about them that made them have a far more powerful effect than any words Mihara had heard before. She closed here eyes for a brief moment, nodding to herself before continuing:

“Very well: I give you my blessings, and bestow upon you the honour of being my Master.”

While her words were serious, and carried that ever-present regal aura about them, the other woman ignored her completely, exploding with glee and spinning several times, a feat that Mihara thought to be impossible in such tall geta shoes she wore.

“Yay!” She exclaimed as she spun, her voice perhaps the exact antithesis of the blond-haired woman’s, carrying no sense of regality, but instead a surprising sense of familiarity, as though she had known him for all of her life.

“Contract established! I look forward to fighting by your side, my dear Master!”

“…”

Yet even though he gave them the answer they clearly wished to, or perhaps expected to hear, the two women before him were clearly dumbstruck at something else.

Silence covered the room as the two women slowly turned to face each other, their eyes betraying shock and confusion that Mihara would have least expected either to see.

His confusion at the situation grew even worse as unexpected pain then wrecked his body, causing him to double over with a gasp.

As though an iron poker had been pressed hard onto them, a pulsing, burning red mark embedded themselves onto the back of both his hands. And although physically he saw them appear only there, the jolting pain he felt was spread throughout the entirety of his body, as though electricity was sent coursing through his nervous system, activating something within him...

Yet as quickly as the pain appeared, it subsided, leaving only the two deep red, distinctly different-shaped markings on the back of his hands, pulsing ever so slowly, ever so brightly.

The two women noticed this, and their confusion, while still evident, abated somewhat with the appearance of the two marks on his hands.

“It seems we will have to live with this…partnership for now then.” The pink haired woman said, sighing almost dejectedly, a complete 180-degree turn from her mood moments before.

“Grr…I suppose there is little choice for me but to accept this situation.” The blond-haired woman said vehemently, quickly recomposing herself as best as possible, though her unease was still somewhat evident.

Regardless of this, they both reached forward and helped Mihara back onto his feet, even though he was still dumbstruck at the two markings that had appeared on his hands, and the two strange women that stood before him.

“Well, isn’t this an interesting turn of events.” A disembodied voice cut in after a few moments. “It seems you do have something about you at least then.”

‘Oh, its you again I see.’ Mihara thought venomously. ‘Leave me here to die, then come back as soon as I pique your interest again then eh?’

“In this case, how about we give you another test to prove your worth?” It continued, almost as though it could read Mihara’s thoughts, and was punishing him accordingly.

When it finished speaking, an all-too familiar creak could be heard vibrating around the room as the effigy that Mihara had fought before returned back to life, standing motionless as it were on the side of the room.

But it wasn’t the only one that activated.

From beside the many fallen corpses, over a dozen more effigies rose up from the ground in various states of dismemberment and wreckage. Some were missing an arm; some half their head; and some with a large, gaping hole in their torso. The sight was almost like a zombie army of the fallen corpses that Mihara was about to join, attempting to drag him back to the land of the dead.

By instinct, Mihara’s body immediately froze in fear, remembering his painful defeat just a few minutes ago. He couldn’t hope to survive against just one; how was he supposed to survive against this many now?!

“Oh, what a skittish Master I have.” The blond-haired woman said, stepping forward, disregarding the creaking horde before her. “Why are you so flustered?”

“Please Master, if you do not mind, just leave this to us.” The pink-haired woman said, moving forward as well to join her new comrade.

“Though I do not know the combat abilities of this fox, know that with me, victory is all that you will receive, and it is also all that matters!”

In an instant as she finishes her words, an amazingly large sword materialised in her hands, coloured in the exact same, vibrant shade of red that dyed her own clothes. Yet despite its size, she wielded it as if it were no more than a twig in weight to her.

“My blade has been forged as the ultimate instrument! Even the gods themselves can only bow before it: Use it to strike the enemy, Master!”

“Hmph, while I cannot boast such brutal, inelegant strength, know that my powers lie elsewhere, Master.” The pink-haired woman spoke in reply to her companion’s goad.

With a similar effect as with the sword, a mirror materialised from thin air, slowly floating round and around the woman as she moved through a series of elegant acrobatics. The mirror matched her movements almost exactly, and its ornamental styling only served to convey the feeling as if it were but a part of her own body.

“The magic I can use will destroy these wooden toys just as quickly as any blade can slice through them: I will obliterate them from the face of the Earth for you, Master!”

In response to the two women’s goading, three of the less-dismembered effigies rushed forward at the two, who solidly stood their ground between the group and Mihara.

The two stood motionless until the final few steps before the effigies reached them, before MIhara saw a small smirk form on the blond woman’s lips.

“They’re my prey!” She shouted suddenly, before swinging her oversized sword with ease backhanded.

The first strike cleaved right through one effigy’s chest long before it got into striking range. As though it were only paper, its chest was cleaved clean in half, the parts skidding across the room. Not wasting any time, the blood-red sword she wielded spun in her hands to come crashing back down on a second effigy, shattering its head like a nutcracker and slicing it clean in half, no closer to striking her than its earlier partner.

But by the time the second effigy was eliminated, a third was already on top of her, its arm coming down in an attempt to crush her head, just as she had just done to its companion’s moments before!

Just as MIhara was cringing, cursing his lack of ability to help her while waiting for the sick sound of pierced flesh, he heard an unexpected sound: The ringing of steel upon steel.

The blond’s sword, in an impossible feat of speed, had already moved back to block the incoming attack perfectly with the flat of her blade!
“What are you, a statue?!” He heard the blond speak with disdain. As she spoke, MIhara could just barely make out the blur of her sword again as she pushed the effigy backwards effortlessly.

“You can’t hope to entertain me-” She continued while turning towards her left and lashing out with her booted foot.

“With that kind of speed!” As she finished her sentence, the connection was made, and a shower of splinters erupted from the effigy’s chest as it was flung backwards, its entire chestpiece destroyed beyond repair as it clattered backwards helplessly to the ground, completely useless.

‘Fast!’ MIhara’s mind thought as he watched in awe as his eyes could just barely keep track of that red blur that was her blade, and her body’s movements. ‘Is that humanly possible? To swing such an oversized blade at such blinding speeds to dispatch them so easily? No, that’s not right…These two aren’t human in the first place, are they?’

Just as he finished his thought, he noticed a shadow appear over him. Instinctively he looked up, and wished he hadn’t.

Above him in the air, two effigies had somehow snuck by the two women, targeting him directly. Too focused on the blond’s amazing display, he failed to notice the enemies that were already on top of him. And paralyzed by fear, his body refused to roll out of the way even as their falling bodies threatened to crush him

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my Master!” A voice Mihara recognised as the foxgirl’s shocked him out of his paralysis at the last moment. Inches above him, he saw a flash of silver dart at the effigies, slicing both their necks and dislocating their heads completely from the body, a shower of splinters raining down upon the ground beneath it.

But it seemed the attack wasn’t done, before at least another twenty more slices by the strange silver light was dealt to each effigy, still in mid-air above MIhara helpless. And moments later, what was supposed to be two bodies came littering down around MIhara as small, harmless, unrecognisable wooden blocks!

One of the disembodied heads, still vaguely circular, thudded against the ground and began rolling along, helpless. As Mihara watched it roll, he saw the foxgirl step on it, before bending down and fixing it with an accusing glare.

“That’s what you get for trying something so sneaky as to hurt my Master behind my back!” She scolded. It was an almost comical sight, if it had happened in isolation of the ridiculous speed she had demonstrated in slicing it up mere seconds ago. Behind her, her mirror floated lazily around in the air, the weapon Mihara presumed to be the silver light that had done the attack.

‘That was even faster than the blond’s sword!’ Mihara could do nothing but stare at the two women who had dismissed these effigies so effortlessly. And when he compared it to his pathetic attempt at survival only minutes ago, he could only cringe and curse his helplessness and weakness.

“I hope you are not thinking something pointless as to why you are so helpless, Master.” The blond said as though reading her mind, sighing as she turned to him with the remains of the three effigies behind her. “You should know by now that you cannot hope to compete on the same level playing field as us: We servants are naturally far, far stronger than you could ever hope to become.”

“I…I have no excuse.” He muttered as he hung his head in defeat. “But I still-” His eyes darted open as another effigy came charging forward from behind the blond, still facing towards him! “Behind you!”

“I know already.” She smirked again, before spinning her sword in front of her and jabbing it backwards without even looking, again with the same speed she had demonstrated before.

She had timed it perfectly; just as the effigy was mere inches away from running her through, her red blade swung out like a battering ram, impaling the effigy’s chest and stopping its advance. The next moment, she had tugged her blade out of the wooden doll, swinging it and her body around to cleave the enemy clean in two.

‘Small and powerful…’ He could only gape in amazement as he witnessed her complete confidence in herself and her technique, being able to time and target her attacker without even so much as glancing at it!

“Your job as my Master.” She began as she turned around slowly, the effigy she had just finished off collapsing on the ground as a broken mass of wood. “Is to command us in battle, not to protect us. In fact; the role of protector is our job.” She turned her head to him as she spoke bluntly. “Command us well in battle, and you will be rewarded with both your life intact, as well as the ultimate reward: The Holy Grail.”

‘Holy Grail…?’ He could only think in confusion as she outlined their roles so clearly, without any backstory or explanation.

“Oooh; stop taking all of his attention already!” The foxgirl’s energetic voice brought him out of his revelry as she bounced up towards him. “Master; there are still some more enemies left coming at us.”

He turned his head to survey the battlefield. Though he knew not why he was here, why these two women were here, or how did he manage to return from the brink of death, he knew at least what he was supposed to do now.

“At least 15 more effigies are still standing.” He muttered under his breath as the blond stepped back towards the two. “Eight of them have sustained severe damage to their limbs and were unable to attack with the same speed as the last six. The remainder are likely waiting for the correct time to attack.” Indeed, he had counted correctly; 15 effigies were still standing, with seven of them shambling slowly towards the three; their speed not even nearly as high as the last six. The remaining eight were standing watch, their featureless, mangled bodies watching ominously for the right time to charge in.

“I have downed four to your two, fox.” The blond smirked as she heard him. “You cannot hope to win this contest unless you pick up your game.”

“Oho…” The foxgirl sighed in disdain. “Ho, ho ho…That’s because I haven’t even used 5 % of my power yet!”

With her declaration uttered, she leapt forwards, somersaulting in the air once and landing directly between the three and the shambling army. Her geta shoes clopping on the mosaic ground just as her mirror floated lazily around her, she began chanting a single verse. As she finished, she held out her right hand as a spark of light appeared and disappeared, mere moments after each other. Mihara winced slightly at the sudden spark, before noticing that her empty hand now held a small slip of paper.

‘Is that…A charm?’ He thought to himself as he tried to analyse it. ’I can’t read anything on it from here…’

“Let me show you just a bit of my power!” She cried gleefully as she brought the charm to her left cheek for a moment, before throwing it directly at the shambling mass of effigies coming towards them.

Mihara had expected the paper to flop in the air, unable to be thrown any distance due to air currents. But to his surprise, the small charm flew forward like an arrow, landing straight in the middle of the shambling mass, which pointedly ignored it.

Mihara knew this was a mistake, his senses suddenly prickling as he felt an aura of power gather around the charm mere moments as it hit the floor.

The next moment, he saw a strange orange circle expand at a rapid pace to completely surround the seven effigies, who were still on the approach. And just as it did, streams of fire erupted from the ground, as though a volcano had suddenly erupted from beneath them, engulfing the effigies in a bright column of fire that reached straight up into the blue, ocean-like sky. The roar it emitted, alongside the powerful heat MIhara felt standing a fair distance away, made him cringe.

In a few moments after the spectacle began, it was already over, the plume of fire dying down as the area that was engulfed was finally revealed.

The ground, for some reason or another, stood unharmed. It was as if the attack had purposely avoided scarring its beauty. The charm however, had disappeared; MIhara could only assume that it was incinerated with the blast. But it wasn’t the only thing to have been incinerated: Not a single trace of the seven effigies stood in their position.

Save a small portion of what could be assumed to be a hand that seemed to have avoided being caught in the blaze, lying helplessly on the floor. Where it was supposed to be joined to its owner, only black char remained.

‘…Incredible…’ It was all Mihara could comment. ‘Such astounding speed from before, plus this amount of power…this, magic, isn’t it?’ He couldn’t explain it any other way, how such an incinerating flame was summoned to decimate the seven effigies in a mere instant.

“Now that’s my nine to your four, shorty.” The foxgirl smirked as she bounced back to the three with big grin on her face. “You want to admit defeat now? Master’s sure to pick me as his Servant after my brilliant display!”

“Don’t get too cocky, fox.” The blond grinded her teeth in annoyance. “You won’t be able to use such area-of-effect attacks on faster enemies!”
‘She’s right…’ MIhara thought to himself as he surveyed the remaining eight effigies. ‘The only reason why the foxgirl was able to decimate those seven effigies was because they were moving so slowly; against the remaining eight, who are comparatively still at the peak of their power…Such an attack won’t be able to hit them before they got out of the way. But the blond’s sword can cleave through them one-by-one, even if they’re fast…’

“I ain’t just a one-trick fox, you know!” She cried in indignation. “That was only a small show of what I can bring out; its not like you can swing anything else other than your oversized sword!”

“Well then, let us see how well my blade measures up with you on the last eight then!” The blond readied her blade.

“I’m afraid that will not be possible.” The voice from before spoke out again, unbidden and unexpected. Upon the completion of its words, the remaining eight effigies crumpled back down to the ground, the strings that commanded their limbs cut.

“What?! No!” The blond cried incredulously. “I’m not done yet! I cannot, and will not allow myself to be beaten by this fox!” Desperately, she turned towards Mihara, pointing to the recently-collapsed effigies. “Master, bring them back! Bring them back, I say!!! I have yet to settle the score of this competition!”

‘What the heck is she talking about?!’ He couldn’t do anything but shy back helplessly at her desperate attempt to salvage the situation in her favour.

“Just admit defeat already, shorty.” The foxgirl yawned. “It’s as clear as day who is the better Servant between us; and hence who it is Master’ll choose for this Holy Grail War.”

“Impossible!” The blond cried again, pointing accusingly at her rival. “All you did was take out the small fry, and left the hard work for me!” She stopped in her tracks for a moment, before placing her hands on her hips, somewhat in thought as she began to mumble somewhat sulkily. “I’ve been waiting so long for this opportunity too, and yet the first thing I experience is being cheated by a fox in a competition I would have won with certainty…How disappointing…”

“While it pains me to interrupt your little competition, the time to begin the main event you have so longed for is at hand.” The voice spoke out again, just as Mihara felt the marks on his hand ignite in pain again, spreading across his body like a snake’s poison.

“The two markings on your hands are known as Command Seals.” The voice spoke again as Mihara glanced at them, trying to figure out why so much pain was coursing though his body from them.

“Each one is proof that you hold reign over a single Servant: A Legendary Soul whose tale has survived the test of time.” Unbidden, his voice continued to explain the esoteric worth of these two painful markings to Mihara, who forced himself to push aside the pain to listen in as well as he could.

“Each Command Seal you have can be used to give three unequivocal and unbreakable orders to the associated Servant. They are also proof that you have gained successful entry into this Holy Grail War. Should you lose it, or in your unusual case, both of them, you will be disqualified from the Holy Grail War, and die.” Again, the voice speaks of death without a shred of concern for its audience.

Through Mihara’s pain-addled brain, a question formed in his mind based on this observation: ‘Who is this disembodied voice exactly?’

“I am honoured that you are interested in my identity.” The voice replied to his unspoken question, as though it were spelled plainly in midair. “But nevertheless, I am insignificant; merely a part of a larger system that manages the Holy Grail War. All I am, is the voice and personality of a previous participant. And all I will do, is relay a standard message to any new participants in turn. A recording, if you will, of the past.”

“So does that mean any objections I voice will fall on deaf ears?” Mihara asked aloud this time, his hands clenched tightly to keep the pain at bay while the two women near him kept silent vigil.

“Exactly right.” The voice replied again. “I have had this duty for a very long time. And frankly, you are the most desperately helpless Master I have seen in my entire tenure. But in the same breath, absurdly clumsy efforts like yours is what makes my position that much more interesting.”

Unable to retort with the pain enveloping his body, Mihara could do nought but grind his teeth as the voice continued.

“I am certain that my fellows will look upon your growth with great interest, young Master.” Though it was meant to be a compliment, it sounded more like a mad scientist interested in their next experiment, rather than the feelings of a person.

“But for now, let us commence your baptism, an honour you have struggled through much to earn.” Apparently satisfied with voicing its opinions on Mihara’s apparently pathetic attempt, the topic was switched, as the voice gained a different air about it. Reverberating throughout this entire theatre, it was as though the voice had been possessed by a God.

“For many, the monotony of everyday life will continue to replay without end. But for you: Your decision to look beyond the accepted; your ability to go beyond what was established, has earned you the right to exist. But as with many things, this is only your first, small step along your journey. So rejoice young knight, the time to prove the full worth of your existence is at hand, as the Holy Grail War begin now!”

‘I’ve heard about this ‘Holy Grail War’ for some time now…’ Mihara’s brain thought again, the overpowering force of the voice staying his tongue. ‘It couldn’t possibly mean-’

“It is exactly what you believe it to be.” The voice answered his unbidden, unfinished question again. “It is an object of great power, the only artefact of its kind in existence that could grant any desire. Those who seeked it called it the ‘Holy Grail’, and fought without reservation or pause to gain sole possession of it. This War; this System, that you have entered, is the resultant evolution of those struggles. A fight to the death for a wish that you seek: Out of all magi that have entered, you alone must remain standing at the end.”

‘You speak as though the only option for me is to kill.’ Mihara thought, content to let his mind be the whiteboard on which to write his concerns.

“Indeed, it is.” The voice replied again, on cue. “All must perish, save you. For above all else: Only one may hold the Grail.” It paused for a moment to le the gravity of its words sink into Mihara, the words ‘All must perish’, sinking deeply into his heart.

“The Legendary Souls that stand by your side,” it continued finally. “Are the weapons you command in this War to decimate your enemies. They are the arrow that pierces; the sword that slashes; the shield that protects. Their purpose, is to clear your way to the Holy Grail.”

At those words, Mihara couldn’t help but glance over at the two women that stood silent all this while, watching him side-by-side. In response, the blond gave him a confident smirk, while the foxgirl in turn gave him a beaming smile.

“Now young knight; rest.” The voice spoke again as the ‘Command Seals’ on the back of his hands began burning again, searing across all of his senses which began to shut down in response. “You have endured much to reach this point. And you will have to endure much more to reach your goal.”

“Urgh…” Mihara groaned as he fell down to one knee. Soon after, strength left him as he collapsed onto the ground, his consciousness fading once again, just like it did so often during the last four days.

Just before he sunk into sleep, he heard the final words of the disembodied voice that had narrated his most recent struggles.

_____

Now, let the curtains ascend on this Holy Grail War.
For no matter the time, and no matter the era, a person’s worth can only be seen through Victory in Battle.
You Magi that have been invited here by the moon...
You Masters that seek the Holy Grail…
Show me the worth of your Dreams.
Show me the strength of your Resolve.
For what lies at the end of this path, is either Paradise…
Or Death.
__________

**VirusChris** · September 24th, 2012, 12:51 PM

Wow! This is getting really good! I'm happy to see you do something unique with your version of the story, with including both Saber AND Caster as the servants instead of one servant in the story. And the setting is amazing with a real, or virtual, town to explore which is funny because in the original trailer of Fate/Extra it shown you could explore a town as well with a few things different like code hacking doors and a different main menu.

Funny thing, when I was starting my Fate/Extra fanfic I initial planned to have the Protagonist (my own version, instead of the default Male Protagonist from the game) summon all THREE servants from the game, Saber, Archer, and Caster, and a few different events happening in the story later on but still roughly the same instead of picking Caster as the sole servant and following the events like in the game, with the school only, but I still have a few things different like the memory past events. Reading your fanfic, I think when I do make that Fate/Extra fanfic with the three Servants together I might do a virtual town as well to make it different from my Corona Fox story!

I look forward to your next chapter! You're a really talented writer! This is getting exciting!

**mAc Chaos** · September 24th, 2012, 04:35 PM

> ctrl + f "Leo"
> 79 matches

welp

time to read

**kuniKaiRoe** · September 24th, 2012, 04:59 PM

There's not enough Fate/Extra fics out there that I can find, so I most definitely will be watching this.
The presence of Zouken, however, is completely worrying. Wonder what the heck the worst grandfather ever created is going to do.
(somewhat unrelated, as I typed this, my musics playlist started up a song from Fate/Extra... hum)

**VirusChris** · September 24th, 2012, 05:06 PM

Originally Posted by kuniKaiRoe

There's not enough Fate/Extra fics out there that I can find, so I most definitely will be watching this.
The presence of Zouken, however, is completely worrying. Wonder what the heck the worst grandfather ever created is going to do.
(somewhat unrelated, as I typed this, my musics playlist started up a song from Fate/Extra... hum)

Zouken's in this? When did he get mentioned? I know Ciel was cameo mentioned, given the "curry" reference, but where did I miss the Zouken reference?

PS: Loved your Avatar picture! That's from Ib, isn't it? The Horror game made using RPG Maker? It looks great with Ib, Gary, and Mary displayed like that.

**mrkingdomheartsboy** · September 24th, 2012, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by VirusChris

Wow! This is getting really good! I'm happy to see you do something unique with your version of the story, with including both Saber AND Caster as the servants instead of one servant in the story. And the setting is amazing with a real, or virtual, town to explore which is funny because in the original trailer of Fate/Extra it shown you could explore a town as well with a few things different like code hacking doors and a different main menu.

Funny thing, when I was starting my Fate/Extra fanfic I initial planned to have the Protagonist (my own version, instead of the default Male Protagonist from the game) summon all THREE servants from the game, Saber, Archer, and Caster, and a few different events happening in the story later on but still roughly the same instead of picking Caster as the sole servant and following the events like in the game, with the school only, but I still have a few things different like the memory past events. Reading your fanfic, I think when I do make that Fate/Extra fanfic with the three Servants together I might do a virtual town as well to make it different from my Corona Fox story!

I look forward to your next chapter! You're a really talented writer! This is getting exciting!

This is good news i thought you scraped your idea with all 3 servants i now look forward to it.
Also been thinking of getting EXTRA how is the game?

**kuniKaiRoe** · September 24th, 2012, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by VirusChris

Zouken's in this? When did he get mentioned? I know Ciel was cameo mentioned, given the "curry" reference, but where did I miss the Zouken reference?

The old man that pops in during the first scene with Shinji and Sakura, of course. Leo and ~~Julius~~ Kuzuki talk about him briefly as well.

PS: Loved your Avatar picture! That's from Ib, isn't it? The Horror game made using RPG Maker? It looks great with Ib, Gary, and Mary displayed like that.

Ha! I didn't think anyone'd catch that! You, sir, win an emergency escape charm, to be used when trapped in, say, a gallery full of murderous portraits!

**mAc Chaos** · September 24th, 2012, 10:58 PM

Zouken shouldn't exist if it's Fate/Extra, unless this is somehow taking place in the real world... or maybe Zouken is an NPC.

This is a ton of text, and it took a while to read, but I liked it a lot. I was kind of hoping the other MC would survive. The only thing I wasn't sure about was how similar it was to the game text wise, which made it hard to tell how different it was from the actual game. Some parts were practically identical. It was still good though.

**VirusChris** · September 25th, 2012, 12:38 AM

Originally Posted by mrkingdomheartsboy

This is good news i thought you scraped your idea with all 3 servants i now look forward to it.
Also been thinking of getting EXTRA how is the game?

Hmm? Are you one of my readers on FanFiction.net? Well I do plan on doing that fanfic, because there's a spin-off fanfic I'm planning on doing with it featuring the three Servants, and going what I got in my head the starts off different than my Corona Fox story as it starts with the Protagonist getting killed by the Effigy and recalls the past 4 days that lead to that event, which will be shorter than the Prologue from Corona Fox, and the first chapter ends with all Servants appearing and stating "Are you my Master?" altogether.

Makes for a great start!

Originally Posted by kuniKaiRoe

The old man that pops in during the first scene with Shinji and Sakura, of course. Leo and ~~Julius~~ Kuzuki talk about him briefly as well.

Ha! I didn't think anyone'd catch that! You, sir, win an emergency escape charm, to be used when trapped in, say, a gallery full of murderous portraits!

Thank you! ^_^
Hopefully I don't need it. Also nice signature picture... Yoshi is my favorite character of all time!

**mrkingdomheartsboy** · September 25th, 2012, 12:42 AM

Originally Posted by VirusChris

Hmm? Are you one of my readers on FanFiction.net? Well I do plan on doing that fanfic, because there's a spin-off fanfic I'm planning on doing with it featuring the three Servants, and going what I got in my head the starts off different than my Corona Fox story as it starts with the Protagonist getting killed by the Effigy and recalls the past 4 days that lead to that event, which will be shorter than the Prologue from Corona Fox, and the first chapter ends with all Servants appearing and stating "Are you my Master?" altogether.

Yes I remember reading your story's.(However it's been awhile so i might see it again)
And again is Fate EXTRA worth getting, I got some money to burn and I wonder if it's worth getting.

**nitewind** · September 25th, 2012, 01:14 AM

The story is worth it.

**VirusChris** · September 25th, 2012, 01:35 AM

Originally Posted by mrkingdomheartsboy

Yes I remember reading your story's.(However it's been awhile so i might see it again)
And again is Fate EXTRA worth getting, I got some money to burn and I wonder if it's worth getting.

Well I updated with the newest chapter this September since my last update on April 5th, 2012.

And, yes, I would say Fate/EXTRA is worth the money. Right now the Limited Edition I saw in store (sadly got shipped out) was brand new and it cost $20, likewise you can buy the game on PSN Store for a download copy. The story is really good, though not on the same level as the Fate/stay night due to various reasons like it's a T-rated game and it's an RPG. The combat is quite fun, it's a Rock-Paper-Scissor style battle system by guessing which actions your enemies will take and you have to counter them with Skills ALWAYS taking priority (though depending on the Skills which can Power-Up your Servants will be hit by the next attack, unless it was guard).

There's some planning and guessing in the battles, but it's a really fun battle system! The story only makes minor changes to the dialogue depending on your Servants due to their personality, including the Protagonist's gender (the JPN had more distinguished dialogue) and there's an important choice at the end of Week 3 that affects which route you take in the story which will also change which enemy Servants your fight.

**Xyphos** · September 25th, 2012, 02:38 PM

Thanks everyone for reading through that unsightly wall of text. If all goes as planned, the Town's going to be used fairly frequently in the story. I also included it for later so as to emphasise when I say the system goes whack, it really goes whack out of its mind. I may not have much time to update regularly, but I'll try and get an update here once a month...

Zouken's in this, yes. I won't say much right now, but he's using a...slightly different method to keep himself alive rather than worms (which obviously don't exist in this timeline due to the lack of magic). As they say, there's more than one way to catch a fish. And whenever you see some sort of ancient zombie like him walking around in a Grail War, you can expect some pretty bad stuff to happen somewhere down the line.

Originally Posted by nitewind

The story is worth it.

Quoted for truth, although if you fancy playing a decent dungeon-crawler, Fate/Extra isn't what you'd be looking for. Servant-Master interactions you read throughout the game is also very good, with 3 of them to play through with.

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