Fujiwara Noboru: Dreamtime Dorms

Waking up, Noboru opened his eyes slowly, but didn't get out of bed. His dream had been strange, to say the least. As had been happening with most of his dreams lately, he could remember what happened very well. He had been standing on the hill where he usually saw Prometheus, but the fog had thinned. Small, very faint sunbeams cut through the thick mist in places.

For a while, it had just been him on his own, but then Avalon Erihana walked up to him. He knew it was her, somehow, but he could barely see her; Avalon's entire body was shrouded in fog, except for her green eyes. The Avalon silhouette had watched him for a moment, before morphing into Shinobu. The simulacrum glared at him for a split second, and then stabbed him through the chest with Prometheus' staff. Almost as though it were a movie, he’d woken up when the weapon pierced his body.

With a small grunt, Noboru pushed himself into the sitting position. Groggily peeling off the REM equipment, he pushed back the covers and swung himself out of bed. He went to his chest of drawers, extracted the day’s articles of clothing and threw them onto his bed, and went to have a shower.

Ōta Shinobu: Dreamtime Dorms

A typically jaded-looking Shinobu walked down the stairs, almost silently. He was fully dressed, in jacket and sweater; he even had his school bag slung over one shoulder. Glancing around, he saw Keikoku- he hadn’t learned her real name- and the blonde-haired girl that Noboru had been speaking to pottering around the kitchen, making food. Moodily, he slipped past Keikoku and retrieved a box of some corn-flake-esque cereal and a bowl.

The door opened. One of the residents stepped in, and the blonde-haired girl walked over to greet him. Shinobu watched for a moment before returning his attention to his breakfast. After a few minutes, he heard them both leave. Soon, Keikoku left, too.

Noboru soon emerged from his room, wearing his usual school clothes. He briefly glanced around, and went for the bread in order to make toast.

“Morning, Shinobu,” he said, as he placed two slices in the toaster.

“M’rnin’,” Shinobu replied, through a mouthful of cereal. He chewed quickly for a moment and then swallowed. “Sorry. You sleep well?”

Mentally, Noboru paused. He didn’t really want to mention the fact that Shinobu had stabbed him in his dream. “I slept fine, thanks. And you?”

“Same as ever,” he replied, taking another mouthful of cereal. “That weird riverbend. The fog’s as thick as ever, and it’s still damn freezing.”

“Hmm...” mused Noboru. “Do you think they’re similar to my dreams, of the hill?”

Shinobu considered this for a moment. “Well, maybe. But I don’t see any black figure nailed to a cross.”

“I don’t think they appear the same for everyone,” Noboru said, almost to himself.

The two fell into a contemplative silence, with Shinobu finishing off his cereal, until Noboru’s toast popped up, which he retrieved and buttered. “Well, let’s go,” he said, putting one slice into his mouth, and they headed off for school.

~Toshio Kimura: Shizuka Kaigan High School~

“God, will they just shut up about that rumor already...?” Toshio thought in irritation as the last school bell rang for the day. That was the only thing anybody at school even spoke about now.

“Oh man, I wonder how the killer picks his victims...?”

“Do you think he has, like, some specific way of doing it? Like maybe he only kills people whose names start with B...?”

Toshio rolled his eyes at this particular statement, his back turned so no one could see that he did so. Sure, a murder was something to be scared of, especially if it was slowly becoming a string of them but speculating over them was purely idiotic. Just leave that to police.

“Hey, Kimura!”

Toshio turned in the direction of the voice. “Yeah?” he asked politely, seeing that it was one of his classmates, Takeo.

“Um, you’re not thinking of doing clean-up today are you? I mean...your wrist...”

“Oh, it’s fine!” Toshio smiled, bending his hand back and forth to illustrate his point, “No problem! I can still do my fair share of the work today.”

“Well, I’m glad your wrist is okay but...” Takeo looked around nervously, biting his lip, “What about Ota-san?” He was obviously referring to the fight the two had yesterday well specifically, how Noboru managed to send Toshio flying half-way across the classroom.

It still made Toshio cringe just thinking about it. “I’ll be fine.”

“You sure? ‘Cause I can clean the blackboard for you since Mio’s gonna be more scared than ever to take her old job back.”

“I’m positive. Besides, I already told you guys not to be mad at Shinobu. It was just a big misunderstanding.”

“Jeez, Kimura...” Takeo said, one eyebrow arched, “You really are too nice of a guy sometimes...”

“Whatever! Just go take the trash out now!” Toshio said playfully, waving off Takeo as he left. As soon as the sliding door closed behind his classmate, Toshio released a pent up breath.

“Thought he’d never leave...”

He zipped up his backpack then headed to the blackboard, already seeing that the pail of water and rags needed to clean it were already put out. He smirked as he took one of the rags and dipped it in the water, beginning to wipe his half of the blackboard.

Toshio could already imagine the expression on Shinbou’s face when he came back for clean-up today...

((Yay wall-o-text!))

[Shiraume Makoto & Atsuko Kazumi - Shizuka Kaigan (Classroom 3C)]

As Makoto sat down at his desk, Katsurou promptly got up from his and sat down in the currently vacant seat next to him. He offered Makoto a reach into the bag of vending machine potato chips he was snacking from before class started, but Makoto shook his head.

"So, Shiraume, did you hear about the murder last night?" Katsurou asked between chips.

"What? What murder?!" Makoto asked, a bit more alarmed than was perhaps appropriate.

"Some poor schlub, I don't remember his name. Found dead in the park by the shrine, with no apparent cause of death. Real creepy stuff."

"...so it was natural causes?" Makoto asked after a brief pause.

"Yeah, well - no, I mean, the cops couldn't find anything, but the guy had no medical conditions or anything either, so the whole thing reeks of foul play."

"...huh." And found in the park... in retrospect, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to say I was going to eat with my parents last night... Makoto glanced around, and sure enough, Kazumi was staring right at him, listening intently to their conversation. He quickly averted his eyes.

"Can you imagine being able to kill someone without a trace of evidence, though? I could think of a few people..." Katsurou said jokingly, though the expression on his face looked less so.

Makoto nervously laughed it off. "Watch that kind of talk, or people are going to start thinking you're Kira."

Katsurou promptly reached into his bag for another chip and held it aloft. "I'll take a potato chip..."

Makoto started laughing even before he had the chance to finish the famous line. At that moment, though, Takeshi approached and loomed over Katsurou, wordlessly indicating that the latter should move or be moved. Katsurou complied and returned to his own desk. Shortly thereafter, the teacher came in and the first bell rang.

---

Makoto felt the slight vibration of his cellphone in his pocket. It 'rang' once, signaling him that it was a text message. He slid his textbook slowly towards him, to make it less obvious that he was looking at his cellphone in his lap, and read Hideki's message. He frowned, but having come home late and left the dorm early in the morning, he hadn't heard anything from or about Leon either way. He glanced over to Kazumi to see if she got the message too, and though he couldn't tell for sure, it looked as though she too was discretely checking her phone.

A moment or two later, she glanced back at Makoto, and regarded the questioning look on his face. She frowned and shook her head. Makoto fired off a reply.

"I wasnt there last nite and left
early this morn, but Kazumi
doesnt think hes sick. Will fake
sick and head back to check."

Makoto grimaced as he realized he'd hit "reply all." Sure enough, he could soon spot Kazumi making the motions of checking her cellphone again. She quickly shot him a glare.

"You will do nothing of the sort.
No council or archery after
school, so wait until then.
Toriyama, no funny ideas either."

She texted back to both of them.

---

Makoto opened his bento happily, glad to have taken the time since it seemed more people than usual went to the cafeteria for lunch today. He saw Kazumi among them and saw an opportunity to make up for the fact that he'd managed to piss her off several times today already.

"Atsuko-san," he called out, barely resisting the urge to call her 'Kaz' again, "why don't you join me?"

She turned back and arched an eyebrow, momentarily stunned. "...No thanks."

"Come on, are you that mad?" he prodded, indicating the line just to get out of the classroom.

Kazumi sighed, her shoulders sagging in defeat. "Don't think this means we're okay," she said as she turned the desk in front of him around and sat down. She retrieved a long, thin pouch from her purse and from it, a pair of chopsticks.

They ate in silence until each had eaten about a third. At this point Kazumi set her chopsticks carefully down atop the pouch and pushed her chair back, about to stand up.
"...Thanks," she said reluctantly.

The whole thing was just enough for one person, so Makoto knew she was just being polite. He pushed the box and what remained over to her. "Finish," he insisted. "I'm the one who offered, anyway."

Kazumi pulled her chair back in and picked her chopsticks back up. "What about you?" she asked before resuming her meal.

"I'll be fine. I can always get something out of the vending machine to eat on the way home if I need to."

Kazumi frowned, but otherwise said nothing.

"When we get back...what if Chan-san is...you know."

Kazumi nodded. "If he is, we go in after him. But let's not start assuming the worst every time one of us doesn't show up to school."

"I guess..." But it was the worst two weeks ago... he added silently.

Ōta Shinobu: Shizuka Kaigan

The day drifted by largely without incident, though Shinobu could tell that his classmates were even warier of him than usual. People seemed to be giving him a rather wide berth (not that they didn't anyway), and he could hear excited whispering as he passed groups of friends (not that he wasn't used to that anyway).

...Well, okay, maybe he was just imagining things. But it did seem rather more than usual. He packed away the day's detritus, keeping an ear on the rest of the class. Cleanup again, I guess... he thought. Ahead of him, he could hear someone talking. They seemed to be addressing Kimura. "You're not thinking of doing cleanup today, are you? I mean... your wrist..."

Dammit... Stuck with that hack again. Despite himself, he glanced up. Kimura Toshio was socialising with everyone just fine, quite unlike the glimpse of the vindictive, sarcastic boy that he and Noboru had seen. Yeah, you keep up appearances, Mister Perfect. Shinobu continued to pack his things away. However, as he was zipping the bag up, something that Kimura said caught his attention. "...I already told you guys not to be mad at Shinobu. It was just a big misunderstanding."

He left his stuff by his desk, as usual, and went to the blackboard in order to start cleaning up. Mutely, he picked up a rag and began on his half. Everyone seemed to have filtered out by now, so, once again, it was him and Kimura. What he'd said smacked of weasel words, but still, he seemed to be making an effort to protect him. Shinobu knew, in his heart of hearts, that he didn't deserve it, even if the words were empty- but he countered that by saying that he didn't deserve any of the stuff that the world had thrown at him, either.

His internal turmoil continued for a moment, until he decided that he should at least attempt to apologise to Kimura. It was bound not to work, but at least he could say that he'd made the effort.

"Er... look..." he began, awkwardly. What to say? "I... Sorry. For exploding, I mean." Even as he spoke, Shinobu wondered where this uncharacteristic notion had come from. Maybe Noboru was finally rubbing off on him.

[Renka Kirsa - Shizuka Kaigan (Classroom 2F)]

Kirsa had just opened her bento, very hungry after a particularly grueling physics lecture, when her phone rang. Recognizing it as her other phone, she answered quickly.

"Rufen Sie mich zurück in zwei Minuten." She hung up without waiting for a reply, and, with a sigh, picked up her bento and proceeded to the roof where she could get some peace and quiet.

Just as she settled down to eat, it rang again.

"Ja, hallo," she answered tersely. "Es ist ebenso gut du riefst an. Ich habe einige Fragen, die ich wollte Sie fragen. Wie: Warum sind sie fordern meine Freunde?"

"Eine freundliche Warnung. Du wirst mehr anerkennend sollten; ich brauchte nicht überhaupt etwas sagen."

"Warnen vor was?"

"Vergesst daß. Wir haben festgestellt eine psychischkinetische energie anomalie bei ihr Schlafsaal."

"Sie festgestellt...eine was?"

"Wir haben eine ... Agent auf Bereitschaftsdienst. In wenigen Minuten-"

"Nein! Ich kann damit umgehen! Ich will damit umgehen und sie gebeten, auch! Und ich werde sie ohne jede Hilfe!"

She hung up again - again without waiting for a reply - and just barely resisted the urge to hurl the phone off the roof as hard as she could. Instead, she took her anger out on her bento and finished it in record time. After spending a few minutes thinking over her next course of action, she headed down to 3A and opened the door.

"Sorry for the intrusion," she said to no one in particular, which was just as well since no one was paying attention. Good, he's here. "Toriyama-senpai? Can I have a word with you?"

~ Armada Shun, Class 1C - Some Period or Another ~

As he listened to the professor drone on about whatever subject was being taught, Armada tapped his pencil lightly on the table, his head propped up on the other hand. His mind followed a train of thought and he tapped the shoulder of the student in front of him.

"Hey, Daichi," he hissed, "What day is it again?" The big guy sat still, evidently pondering the question, before finally responding as quietly as he could, which was still loud enough to cause some of the other students to turn their head at him.

"Uh, Tuesday, I think." Armada nodded and began talking quietly to himself in English.

"All right, so there's soccer this afternoon. Wonder if Avalon's going. I'll ask her during lunch." He continued the light tapping, the sound eventually falling in beat with that of the ticking of the clock as the second hand shifted, ever so slowly.

--Lunchtime--
Having finally managed to obtain his food and extricate himself from the line, Armada glanced around, looking for Erihana. He eventually found her.

"Yo, Avalon!" he called out with distinct English pronunciation, and made his way toward her.

"Are you going to soccer after school?" he asked, switching to Japanese.

~ Cannarsa Mya, Somewhere In Japan Other Than Kasaku ~

She stepped lightly off the plane, her half-hooded eyes appearing as if they were focused on a spot on the ground, her blond hair blowing in the wind as the motors shut down. A slight smile was on her face. A man and a woman, evidently the girl's parents, were waiting some distance away from the plane. Behind them, a number of men in suits waited by a limousine surrounded by some black cars and a rather fancy, if eccentric, looking car. As the girl stepped away from the plane, the woman dashed forward and gave the girl a hug.

"Buon giorno, signora. Come sta?" the girl asked fluently. Her voice rang clearly, almost hypnotically so. Her mother released her and began speaking in broken Japanese.

"Yes, I am good. Please do speak in Japanese, Mya, it is a language that it lovely to hear, no? And, I have told to you, address myself more familiarly, please!" As with her daughter's, the mother's voice was pure, though lower in tone. The girl - Mya - blinked, though it was difficult to tell that she did, and nodded politely.

"Very well, madam," she responded, her grasp of the language far better, though still faulty. Her mother gave a sigh, but evidently decided to take the half of her request given to her without complaint. She took her daughter's hand and pulled her over to where the others were standing.

Upon reaching them, the mother released the girl's hand and stood by her husband. Mya gave a curtsy toward him.

"Signore," she said, and her father nodded, much to the chagrin of the mother. One of the servants waiting by the car came up to them.

"Cannarsa-sama," he said, addressing the father, "The bags have been stowed. We are ready to leave once you are." The man nodded once more. He began to speak in a sonorous voice, a trait he evidently shared with the already mentioned Sig.ra and Sig.na Cannarsa.

"Very well," he said, "Shall we be going then, my dears?" Quite unlike the two women, his Japanese was almost flawless. He conducted them over the the limo, opening the doors for them, then headed for the other car himself. One of the servants separated from the group to join him in the car, while another went towards the driver's side of the limo. The others dispersed into the black cars and the air was filled with the sound of motors starting. The cars then drove off, one by one, onto an empty street.

Inside the limo, Sig.ra Cannarsa was attempting to get her daughter to speak.

"You have heard that you can be going to the high school in Kasaku, no? You can be in the dorms for a scientific experiment, something for a good cause, do you not agree?" Sig.na Cannarsa looked her politely in the eyes and nodded, still smiling that smile that had been there since she had gotten off the plane.

"Yes, you have told me quite a number of times, madam. I am joyful of the opportunity." Her mother sighed and gave a weary smile.

"That is good. Once you have relieved yourself of tired, you can be going. School has started there, no? We are sure you can catch up, still. Can a few days be good?" Sig.na Cannarsa nodded, somehow managing to understand what her mother was saying.

~Toshio Kimura: Shizuka Kaigan (Classroom 2D: Clean-up)~

If Toshio expected Shinobu to say anything to him at all, it wouldn’t have been an apology.

“Er...look...I...Sorry. For exploding, I mean.”

Toshio looked over at Shinobu with an amused smile. “How eloquent of you...” he replied airily. He stopped scrubbing for a moment to turn in Shinobu’s direction, an eyebrow arched. “Seriously though, why are you apologizing? I’m the one who made fun of you, stupid. It should be the other way around.” He shook his head as if fed up, “Honestly…”

He turned back to the blackboard, beginning to scrub again. “Still...” Toshio began to say, his tone lightening, “at least you bothered to apologize. I mean, I’m not accepting it since it’s so obviously forced but at least this way we can say you don’t owe me anything and I don’t owe you anything. We’re even.” He decide to leave it at that, not bothering to say anything else until a few minutes later after scrubbing in complete silence.

Toshio sighed and threw his rag back down into the pail, “I finished my half.” he announced mildly to Shinobu. He went over to his desk to retrieve his backpack then headed to the door closest to the board, stopping just before it.

“Hey,” he said out loud, his back turned. Toshio waited for a few moments until the sound of scrubbing stopped, signifying that Shinobu was listening, “Don’t think that I’m doing this all for you.” he said, attempting to make it as clear as possible, “Helping you...saying those nice things...” He chuckled to himself mirthlessly, “All it does is help keep up my image. This is an entirely selfish act.” He turned to look at Shinobu over his shoulder, their eyes locking, “I’d just thought I’d make that clear right now.”

Turning back around, Toshio opened the sliding door with one swift motion of his hand, “Say hi to your tree friend for me...” He said as he closed the door behind him.

In the hallway, more students had left their classrooms and were chatting endlessly near the windows. Occasionally, someone would wave to him or flash him a smile and Toshio returned it. Inside though, his mind was preoccupied with something else.

“We’re going to go to the hospital tomorrow! We still can’t tell if that wrist of yours is broken or not!”

Toshio felt a slight upward curling of his lips as he thought about it. When his grandma learned that he got in a fight yesterday, she was outraged, almost threatening to press charges. However, Toshio begged her not to; mostly because it might get out that he was the one who provoked the fight. She agreed grudgingly but said that if she wasn’t going to get press charges, the least they could do is go to the hospital to have a doctor check his wrist.

It was the worst possible thing she could have done.

Toshio hated hospitals, mostly from how much time he had to spend in them. He hated how they looked, how they smelled, how the people who worked there were forced to give you their sympathy when they should have meant it. And now he was forced to go back.

It wasn’t like there was much Toshio could do and he was sure his wrist was fine so there wouldn’t be any problems . He sighed and decided to suck it up. It was only one check-up after all…

“Kimura-san?” He suddenly heard someone ask tentatively. It was from behind him and turning around, he saw that it was Asuka from yesterday.

“Huh?” he asked a little phased. He was still out of it from thinking about his hospital visit for the day, “Oh, hey Asuka. What’s up?”

“Uh, hi Kimura-san, I was just wondering how you were doing since yesterday…” Asuka said, staring down at the floor, “Your arm doesn’t hurt or anything?”

“Nope, it’s funny because it hurt like crazy yesterday…” Toshio replied, instinctively grabbing for his wrist.

“Oh…well, it’s good that it’s not bothering you then.”

“So, where are you headed?” Toshio asked, staring at her inquisitively.

“I’m just heading back to the dorms…”

Toshio jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, “I was just about to head home as well.”

“Really…?” Asuka asked, “W-Well…why don’t I give you a ride?”

“Me? No, it’s okay. I’m fine walking.”

“No…I insist really…” Asuka said, “You shouldn’t exert yourself right after an injury like that. Please.”

Toshio could see that she wasn’t intending on backing down and it would make the hospital trip a lot less bad if he wasn’t tired from walking home.

“Okay fine…You win.” He said with a sigh.

Asuka gave a small smile, “Okay then. Follow me.” Toshio waited for her to walk in front then together the two made their way to the front of the school gates where Asuka’s driver was waiting with the limo.

~Asuka Hiriami: Near Dreamtime Dorms~

“Bye.” Asuka waved as Toshio exited the limo.

“Bye! See you around school!” he said back, waving as he slammed the door shut. As he headed inside the shop, Morimoto took off toward the dorms.

“So that’s the second time that young man has graced this limo…” Morimoto commented casually.

Asuka nodded absentmindedly, “Yes. It is.”

“Someone wouldn’t happen to have a bit of an infatuation, would they?” Morimoto asked slyly, looking into his rearview mirror.

Asuka sprang up in her seat, “I don’t like Kimura-san!” she said defensively, “I’m just worried about his condition…Besides, I’ve only met him twice…”

“Well that’s a shame. He seems like a very nice young man…” Morimoto replied, turning his eyes back onto the road.

“I guess so…” Asuka said. She didn’t really know much about him except his name and that his grandparents ran a shop near the dorms. The limo suddenly came to a stop.

“We’ve arrived at the Dreamtime Dorms, Hiriami-sama.” Morimoto announced.

“Yes.” Asuka said, opening the door, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Morimoto.”

“Have a nice day, miss.”

Asuka waited until the limo was out of view before entering into the dorms. “Hello?” she called out, wondering if anyone else was home. No one replied.

“I guess I’m back first…” she thought, closing the door behind her. Shrugging, Asuka headed toward the elevator, cutting through the living room for a straightforward path.

“…Look…”

“Aaah…” Asuka said as her head began to throb. She fell to her knees, holding her head in her hands, “My head….!”

“…Right…”

“Right…?” Asuka thought, turning her head slowly in that direction. She was now looking at the hallway that led further to more male rooms. If she remembered correctly both Leon and Keisuke set up residence at the end of the hall.

“Is something there…?” Asuka wondered. Her head continued to throb with every step, forcing her eyesight to go blurry. “What’s happening to me…?”

As Asuka reached the middle of the hallway, her head began to throb even more, making her legs wobble as they struggled to support her. “I can’t take this…” With a pained cry, Asuka fell to her knees, touching her forehead to the ground as she pressed her palms against her temples.

“…Power to…sense…”

“…Power to…see…”

“See what?!” Asuka cried out loud, “Sense what?!”

“…Ahead…”

The pain becoming almost unbearable, Asuka struggled to lift her head up and stare straight ahead, “A…” she crawled a few steps forward, “chair?” There was a chair pressed up against the knob of a door, like what someone would do to lock a person in a room. But then again that led to the question, who was trying to lock someone in and who was this someone?

Asuka didn’t have the chance to find out. As soon as she laid sights on the chair, she felt herself becoming light-headed. Tiredly, she felt her body collapse so she was sprawled out on the hallway, face down.

“What’s…?”

Darkness consumed her and she was out.

Haruki Takehito, Keisuke Yamato & Yuki Yamato - En route to Dreamtime Dorms

Fortunately for Keisuke, Haruki decided to take the short way back to the dorms. Keisuke walked with his head down, thinking about what his bullies said during PE class earlier.

"We saw your boyfriend giving you a piggy back ride this morning. Poor wittle Keisuke can't even walk to school by himself!"

"You okay, Kei?" Haruki asked, concerned. "Kei...?" Keisuke asked. "Uhh...it's a nickname. Do you...not like it?" Haruki retorted. "No, it's not that, it's just...I'm not used to people calling be by anything other than my full name." Keisuke responded. "I'm just thinking about what the guys said in PE..." "What did they say?" Haruki asked. "They...saw us this morning. They made fun of me...and they called you my boyfriend..." Keisuke stammered. "What!?" Haruki shouted. "I...just...wow, I don't even know what to say about that." But somebody sure is cruisin' for a bruisin' Haruki thought to himself.

Keisuke looked back to see Yuki following them, about 5 feet behind them. Keisuke quickly looked forward, trying to ignore Yuki. "Keisuke, you can't avoid me forever, y'know!" she shouted at him. He picked up his pace, with Haruki following him. "She's right, you know." Haruki said. "It's none of your business..." Keisuke mumbled just loud enough for Haruki to hear it. "The guys in PE didn't hurt you at all, did they?" Haruki asked. "No..." Keisuke said. "Good. If you ever need help, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" Haruki said. Time seemed to freeze again for the both of them, as the pair each heard a voice in their head.

"Thou art I, and I am thou,
Thy affinity with the Star arcanum has strengthened,
And as a result I have as well."

"Thou art I, and I am thou,
Thy affinity with the Emperor arcanum has strengthened,
And as a result I have as well."

Things returned to normal as they approached the dorms.

At Dreamtime Dorms

Haruki and Keisuke entered the dorms. Haruki knew something was off. As the two approached the elevator, Keisuke looked over and saw Asuka's body on the floor. "Asuka-san!" Keisuke shouted, running towards her unconcious body. Haruki followed, seeing a peculiar scene. Asuka was unconcious in the middle of the hallway, and a chair was propped up against Leon's door, presumably to lock it. There were two gaping holes in the door, and as Haruki peered through one of the holes, there was the shqattered remains of a metal lamp on the bed.

Keisuke lifted Asuka and rested her on the sofa, Haruki grabbing a damp cloth and placing it on her forehead just in case.

"Leon must've been..." Haruki began to speak. "We should go in after him." Keisuke interrupted. "No, that would be suicide. We should wait for the others to get back first. Makoto and Kazumi should be back soon..." Haruki dissuaded.

Yuki then walked in the door. She noticed Asuka unconcious on the sofa and Haruki and Keisuke beside her with frowns on their faces. "What happened??" Yuki asked. "It's Leon. He's been taken into the mirror..." Haruki said. "We found Asuka unconcious in the hallway." Keisuke said. "We'll wait until the others get back, then we'll formulate a plan of action."

((Dang, I'd wanted Kirsa to leave school early but with everyone making a point of noticing the chair blocking the door, I couldn't have had her go in ahead. This'll have to do I suppose.))

[Renka Kirsa - Shizuka Kaigan (Classroom 3A)]

Kirsa motioned for him to join her out in the hall, away from prying ears.

"You're on the student council, right? I was wondering if I could get permission to leave school early today," Kirsa asked somewhat urgently.

"Are you worried about Leon too?"

"Leon? What are you talking about?"

"He's absent from school today. ...Didn't you know?"

Kirsa's eyes lit up in recognition. "So that's what he was talking about..." she mumbled.

"Huh?"

The look of confusion on Hideki's face made her realize that she'd spoken aloud, though thankfully quietly. "Sorry. I just realized...something. Anyway, I need to get back to the dorm."

"I suppose I could get you permission, but I'd need to know why."

Kirsa froze. "Ugh... If you're not going to help then I'll just go without permission."

"Hold on," Hideki warned, stopping her before she could leave. "Do you know something?"

Right...I'll use that... "Just a vague warning in a phone call. Ask Makoto about it - he got one too. Are you going to give me permission to leave or not?"

Hideki frowned. "No. If he did get trapped, you'd only get yourself killed going in after him by yourself. Wait until after school, we'll get everyone together and...see where things go from there."

Kirsa rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine."

-----

Kirsa raced home faster than usual after school - she knew Kazumi would probably call the others together anyway, but she had reason to get there first. But it was just her luck that there was no parking to be found near the dorm, causing her to angrily speed off to the nearest car park (nearly getting into three separate accidents on the way there), and run all the way back. By the time she got there, it was already too late. Haruki, Yuki and Keisuke were gathered in the living room, with Asuka unconscious on the couch.

"Asuka-chan!" she cried out, running up to them. Thankfully, she didn't seem hurt, though that left how she'd gotten into such a condition something of a mystery. I don't want to, but I guess I've got no choice...

"You three handle things here; let the others know what's going on when they get here. I'm going in after Leon." Contrary to her words, though, she ran for the stairs and up to her room. A few minutes later, she returned carrying a tantō in one hand and carrying a small, metal box under the opposite arm. Glancing down the hall, she realized the battle could easily carry back out here when the Shadows inevitably push their way out of the mirror. "In the meantime," she continued, taking command in the heat of the moment, "move Asuka-chan somewhere safe. Makoto's room should be unlocked, or if you think you can manage it without hurting her, her own room if it's unlocked, or my room if not." She gave a warning as she headed down the hall. "Don't go in after me - someone's got to keep the place secure if Shadows start coming out."

Moving the chair aside with her foot, she opened the door and headed towards the mirror. She could feel her heart setting a record pace as she stood hesitantly before the portal. "Mein Gott this is a bad idea..." she mumbled to herself as she stepped through.

Haruki and Keisuke heeded Kirsa's words and carried Asuka up to her own room. "I...I..." Keisuke stammered. "I-I'm going in after her!" Keisuke exclaimed. "Don't! She tolsd us not to go in after her." Haruki shouted. "You were the one who said it would be suicide to go in alone!" Keisuke shouted. "You stay here and keep an eye on Asuka and Yuki..." Keisuke said as he left the room. "He's never done that before..." Yuki said, alarmed. "Perhaps he's starting to become more independant." Haruki said.

When Keisuke reached Leon's room he started having second thoughts. Maybe I shoulsd wait... he thought to himself. No, I don't want to seem like a coward in front of everyone...it's too late for second thoughts now! Keisuke reassured himself as he dove in to Leon's mirror head first.

[Renka Kirsa – Leon’s Mirror World]

“Well this is nice…” she muttered sarcastically as she eyed the trails of blood seeming to lead in all directions. Kirsa paused a moment to note that her voice echoed quite fantastically – wherever this was, it was quiet and devoid of life… except Leon’s, hopefully.

“A thought to further the distance. A mind’s silence to free the soul.”

The voice came from nowhere, seeming to speak directly into her mind, much the same as Lorelei.

“Lorelei, who was that?” she queried.

Lorelei gave no response, though. Kirsa mulled the words over in her head, but got nowhere. “Further the distance… free the soul…? Sure, Makoto gets an exact replica of the city we grew up in – I get a giant Chinese palace and riddles.”

“Lorelei… you have a sense for trouble – point me in the wrong direction. First things first.”

“As you command.” Lorelei appeared, balancing high on her tail as she gazed out in all directions. Finally, she pointed with her scythe. “The siren’s song shall lead you there.”

Kirsa set off, following the trail of blood that neared the direction she was headed in. All these buildings look alike…if I weren’t following this blood I’d be sure I was running around in circles, Kirsa thought to herself lamentingly. It had been several minutes, and she felt like she’d made absolutely no progress. But the black ooze seeping up through the stones at her feet told another story.

She immediately unsheathed her tantō. Thankfully, the Shadow didn’t transform into any of the other forms she’d seen and heard about, sticking with the simple blob form she knew she could face. As a black arm shot out to attack, Kirsa gracefully dodged the blow, slipping under the extruding appendage and grappled it – using its own momentum, she successfully hurled it over her shoulder and into the wall of a nearby building.

“Lorelei! Now, sing the Dirge of the Mariner!”

Lorelei appeared at her side again, singing a mournful verse in a long dead tongue that rang out through the area and caused the already wounded Shadow to shrink down even farther. Seizing the opportunity, Kirsa moved in quickly and caught her blade underneath its mask, cutting it away from its body, save a few globs of black ooze that clung to the back of it. Lorelei then destroyed what was left of its body with a powerful sweep of her scythe.

-----

The Shadow defeated, Kirsa surveyed her surroundings, panting from exertion already. Yeah, this was a really…really bad idea. Her battle had drawn the attention of other Shadows, and not all of them were simple Mayas either. She immediately turned and ran back the way she came – hopefully it wouldn’t be too long before the others came in after her. I’ll just have to hold out until then.

“Yamato-kun!” she called out, spotting Keisuke up ahead. She spun around, sliding to a dramatic stop now facing the Shadows that had given chase. Two of those golem-looking ones and… what the heck is that? Though she worried and hoped that the Titans weren’t as tough as the one they fought outside the dorm that first time, the one that got her attention was what looked like a huge hand shooting up out of the ground brandishing a sword.

“I’ll yell at you for coming in here after we get out – since you’re stuck in here till then anyway, you might as well fight,” she shouted back at Keisuke over her shoulder. Unsheathing her tantō again, she readied herself for the fight ahead.

[Shiraume Makoto & Atsuko Kazumi – Shizuka Kaigan (Classroom 3C)]

Makoto grabbed his bag and immediately headed over to Kazumi’s desk the moment the bell rang. “I was going to ask Kirsa for a lift, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of her. I’m a little worried.”

“Well, she got one of…those…last time, too, didn’t she? She’ll be okay. I think it’s important we warn everyone else though, so they don’t stumble into things unprepared when they get back to the dorm.”

“Right, I’ll leave that to you – let’s get going.”

“There’s no rush, the train’s not going to leave early just because you want it to.”

“True…”

“Am I to take it that you need a ride home today?” Takeshi interjected.

“Well, not…need, but would certainly really appreciate, in any event,” Kazumi answered before Makoto could reply.

“I don’t mind. Not like I’m doing anything after school today,” Takeshi noted.

“Shiraume…”

Makoto nodded and left the classroom.

“Do you mind if we bring one more person along for the ride?”

Takeshi shrugged. “In for a penny, in for a pound.”

Makoto made his way over to 3A and opened the door. “Hideki! We got a ride back to the dorm – come on.”

Ōta Shinobu: Shizuka Kaigan

“How eloquent of you...” replied Kimura, looking amused. He turned to face Shinobu, raising an eyebrow. “Seriously, though, why are you apologizing? I’m the one who made fun of you, stupid. It should be the other way around.” He shook his head. “Honestly…”

Shinobu said nothing, willing himself to maintain his composure. “Still...” continued Kimura, sounding slightly lighter than before, “at least you bothered to apologize. I mean, I’m not accepting it since it’s so obviously forced, but at least this way we can say you don’t owe me anything and I don’t owe you anything. We’re even.”

Again, Shinobu remained silent, through a combination of not knowing what to say and wanting to remain composed. They both turned back to the blackboard and scrubbed in silence for a few minutes. Eventually, Kimura dropped his rag into the water bucket, sighing. “I finished my half,” he announced. He went to get his backpack, and then turned back. “Hey,” he said, to get Shinobu’s attention. He turned to face Kimura again, rag still clutched in his right hand. “Don’t think that I’m doing this all for you. Helping you...saying those nice things...” He laughed, but the laugh was hollow. “All it does is help keep up my image. This is an entirely selfish act.” Kimura looked Shinobu in the eye. “I’d just thought I’d make that clear right now.”

He opened the door. “Say hi to your tree friend for me...”

Shinobu just stood there, mutely watching Kimura leave. The familiar anger was writhing in his chest. He clenched the fist holding the rag, squeezing water from it, and threw the damp cloth at the blackboard with all his might. It struck the board with a noise like splotch and stayed in place. Shinobu stood there for a moment, breathing heavily to control himself, then peeled the rag off the board. I have to keep calm... Still feeling angry, he began to finish scrubbing the board, but his insides burned. Damn it! That goddamn prick! He wasn’t even sure what he was angry about. Maybe it was the fact that Kimura was far more of a dick than Shinobu thought he himself was, and yet everyone still accepted and even liked him.

It didn’t take long for Shinobu to finish. He dropped his own rag into the bucket and left the classroom, intent on getting away from the school.

Fujiwara Noboru: Shizuka Kaigan

Whispers followed Noboru everywhere he went.

It was even more than usual. No doubt, it was the... event with Kimura. People muttered about Noboru whenever he passed them in the corridors, and in class. They fell silent if he so much as looked at the gossipers with his steely eyes, though. It was beginning to frustrate him somewhat. Noboru, however, would never let it show. Besides, they’d hated and feared him for years. What’d he care if they started to whisper a little more?...

These thoughts repeated themselves in his head as he headed to his shoebox. He’d agreed to go for that postponed ramen with Shinobu today, and they were going to meet up around the shoe boxes.

As he was knelt down swapping shoes, someone clipped him on the back of the head with the flat of a hand. “Oh, look, it’s a little Goth first-year.”

“Masaru-kun, that’s Fujiwara Noboru... You really don’t want to mess with-“

Noboru stood up, interrupting the boy’s warning. Before him stood a group of thuggish-looking third-year boys. The one who’d clipped Noboru on the head was about half a foot shorter than he was. As Noboru loomed, the boy seemed to shrink. “Ah... sorry... didn’t mean to do that...” Noboru just looked him hard in the eye. The boy trembled. “W-We’ve got to be somewhere, don’t we, guys?” His cohorts nodded fervently. “So, w-we’re going now!”

He watched them leave, feeling vaguely satisfied. Seems like they enjoy bullying the weak... Maybe I’ll end up having to fight them someday.

“Hey, Noboru.”

Shinobu moseyed up to him, looking slightly more put out than usual. “Hey, Shinobu... Something the matter?” he said, looking up at him whilst swapping shoes.

“Ah, it’s nothing...” He looked like he didn’t particularly want to pursue the subject, so Noboru dropped it and concentrated on doing up his outdoor shoes. Shinobu had already put his on.

Standing up, Noboru gestured out of the door. “Ramen?” he said, simply.

“Sounds like an awesome idea...” Shinobu replied, smiling a little.

***

The two boys headed back to the Dreamtime Dorms with full stomachs and considerably lighter moods. It was good to take time out and have fun, once in a while. They took the train back to the dorms, not wanting to walk all the way, and arrived at the stop nearest the dorm quickly. Feeling happy, they set off for the dorms.