The hum of the train as it sped off, left Sora with a hallow feeling inside. His thoughts were clouded with that of despair. He hadn't a single clue where to go next - yet, he had clear instructions written on the paper that he now clutched in his fist. Looking down at the paper as he brought it close to his face, he squinted into the dim light. The moon above was full, and gleamed brightly. But not bright enough it seemed. Sora still had a tough time being able to comprehend what was typed out on this perfectly white sheet of paper. He could feel little grainy particles stuck to the surface, and absentmindedly began wiping them off; though none would ever come off. Sighing, Sora finally gave up. He vaguely had an idea on what he was supposed to do next, and put one foot in front of the other; or rather, large boot in front of the other. Though he had abandoned his old outfit, for one more cliche with the environment, he still could not leave behind his signature boots. They had to be big, with enormous toes on the ends protecting his own, hidden within. They flopped loudly onto the concrete ground beneath him, and made him stick out like a sore thumb. A timid breeze whispered on by, picking up a few strands of his hair and placing them in annoying spots on his face. His upper lip curled slightly in disdain, his index finger swiping at his brow to remove the locks. With ease they quickly flipped up into his spiked hair - that too, had changed. It was shorted now, and a bit flatter - though still spiky as always. No one could change such little details in Sora, as they made up his very character. The downright personality of him.

A large clock shook the ground, vibrating the area around him as it chimed out loudly. The pendulum swinging back and forth slowly, almost taunting the young boy as he stopped in his tracks. Staring at this large city-center clock in awe. He had never really witnessed something like this. . and the way it rung out made him want to cringe, but he couldn't help but open his ears more to listen to the clamorous chimes of the clock. And with that. . the world immediately went quiet. It were as if this tower ruled all, and decided with those final chimes of midnight that the world would shut down.

Sora could feel his brows furrowing together in confusion. Though it was quiet before once he had gotten off the train, it hadn't been this quiet. Not dead quiet. . eerily dead quiet. Shuddering to himself, he rubbed a hand up and down his arm and continued his way. Down the sidewalk the male flip-flopped, stopping often to readjust his clothes on his small frame. He wasn't used to such attire, though he was sure to get used to it within due time. His soft pink lips parted to breath out a deep sigh of air, which formed a steamy white cloud in front of him. Chuckling to himself, he could feel a timid smile crack on his lips; which then, of course broke his dry lips. The faint taste of blood tainted his mouth, and quickly took away that one moment of joy from him. Sora had never felt this gloomy, and hoped to never feel this way again. Having to travel to a whole new universe almost. . to look for something that wasn't clear or obvious. He had such a great mystery to solve, and just felt too tired to do so. But he knew that he had to. It meant a friend's life. And for that, he would give his own.

Ahead, in the night fog that had begun with his journey down the empty sidewalk, Sora spotted a silhouette. It was quite square, and stood absolutely still. Thinking it to be a random object, Sora quickly rushed over to it and gasped. It was a very large casket that seemed to glow a luminescent green. This caused great contemplation in the brunette. What was this thing doing here? And in the middle of the street as well - just standing still there, upright yet almost tilted at the same time. It rung bells in his head, louder than that of the clock, his feet reaching behind him to stumble. The ground shifted beneath him with his shock, and the world began to spin. A casket. . a casket. Weren't those for the dead? What was a dead body, or so, empty body-holder doing in the middle of the street, in this city that was too new to him? Too new to be real even!

Gulping in deep gasps of breath, Sora turned around and raced off into the fog. He didn't truly care where he ended up, he just wanted to be anywhere but there. His gasps of air, turned into quick and fearful pants. His legs began to ache as he turned corners, and ventured down alley's. Praying that no one would take the chance to jump him, even mug him - though that didn't seem likely, since it was still dead quiet. The silence was getting to him. He could feel sweat drip down the side of his pale face, beginning to form on the back of his neck as he ran. . and ran. And then off, in the distance he could finally see it. A light shining through the fog, giving him some sort of hope inside. It was a pair of street lamps, sitting lonely beside each other. But at least they had one another to keep company. Keeling over, Sora placed his hands on his knees - really, he began to claw at them for balance. His mouth was wide open, swallowing and choking on the oxygen he desperately wanted to intake. Finally, he was able to catch his breath and flick the sweat from his forehead. The night air chilled the perspiration at the back of his neck, and he had to shake himself down to fully gain control of his mental state.

His gaze began to scan his surroundings. Currently, Sora was standing in front of a dorm room. The numbers nailed to the front looked oddly familiar. . taking out the piece of paper he had stuffed in his waist band in a rush, he unfolded it and then read over the details in the street light's glow. Printed on the surface of the grainy sheet of paper, was the address that he now stood at. Feeling the greatest heaps of relief pile atop him, he gladly urged his way up the rock staircase to the dorm room. It was dark inside as he opened the unlocked door, only a tiny desk light left on, at the front desk. With a questioning expression, Sora ventured his way deeper into the dorm before he was stopped. He could feel the horrid, gut-dropping sense that someone was staring intently at him. Turning around, there stood a small boy. He was dressed in what looked like prisoner's clothes, decked out with black and white stripes. Appeared to be a one-sy. A full body outfit, that was even supposed to cover your toes; though, not in this case. The foot part was cut off, replaced with socks and sandels - quite the bad fashion mix-up. He had ink black locks, that resembled night. His big bright blue eyes shone, though there was little light for them to shine. A small smirk - or timid grin - was placed on his small lips, until finally a giggle rippled between them. Sora cringed at the sound, though it was sweet and light; despite, Sora felt as if this young boy were taunting him.

"Hello there" The young boy said, tilting his head slowly to the side. His hands were linked together behind his back, a very childish posture.

"Uh. . Hi." Sora said slowly, wondering if he should continue deeper into the dorm, or even find help. But what if he were a resident here? Sora was so absolutely confused that he could feel his temples throb, and he would even talk to a strange boy to be able to alleviate it.

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time." The young boy giggled once more to himself, and slowly the hands behind his back shifted. He seemed to draw a piece of paper out of thin air, and then began to direct it towards Sora. "If you want to proceed, then please sign here. It's a contract" He said bluntly, his expression dulling. The boy must have interpreted the look on Sora's face - though there wasn't much to decipher - as he then said "There's no need to be scared." Dumbfounded, Sora stayed silent as the unknown boy continued. "It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions."

Finally, out of sheer curiosity Sora took the page from the unknown boy. Printed on the sheet was "I chooseth this fate of mine own free will." Bewildered with this way of English, Sora spotted the blank space below. A dotted line, for him to sign. If I sign this, will this all be over with..? Sora thought to himself, shaking his head and placing the sheet on the nearby counter. Coincidentally, there was a pen right beside it. Picking up the object, Sora quickly scribbled his name upon the sheet and turned to look at the ink-haired boy.

"Very well," The boy said, taking the sheet carefully. He seemed to analyze it for a brief moment, before turning his glimmering eyes onto Sora once more. "Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away." What a weird thing to say, Sora thought. . wishing he hadn't signed that sheet. With an almost mischevious smirk, the last thing he said was "And so it begins. . " And then he disappeared within thin air. He'd melted into the darkness.

"Who's there?" A female voice said, breaking through his muddled consciousness. Jumping, Sora jerked around quickly to lay eyes on a young female, wearing a school uniform with a bow alike his own. Her eyes were harsh, cold even. Not one ounce of welcome within them, as she shakily brushed her short locks from her face and behind her ear. A slight flash of recognition crossed her face, and she began to mutter something to herself in a shocked tone; a gun was clutched tightly in her hand, hidden by her side. Staring at it, wide-eyed Sora was completely speechless. Just when Sora felt this female close in, with the eagerness to rip off his face, another female voice entered the battle.

"Wait!" She said, and then the lights flicked out. Cringing with the abrupt brightness, Sora's eyes laid on an older-looking female with long red hair. It curled over her shoulder, brushed over one side. Her expression was full of unknown expressions, though wasn't as harsh as that of the other female. "He's meant to be here. He is the new resident that will begin to live here with us." The female said, directing each word to the other beside her. The girl seemed to calm down, and take a few steps back. "I am Mitsuru Kirijo, I hadn't expected you to arrive so late. But I am one of the students who live in this dorm."

The other girl sighed and seemed to curl her shoulders up at Mitsuru's explanation. "Hi, I'm Yukari," She finally said, reluctant to give up such information. Mitsuru then began to explain how Sora would attend their school within due time. Feeling a deep sleep tug at his insides, he could no longer cage the yawn within him. His mouth opened, and it burst out like a lion's roar. Mitsuru laughed, a small grin spreading across her red lips. They were just a shade lighter than her hair, and were so pretty.

"I see that you must be tired from such a long trip. I'll show you to your room" Mitsuru said, following Sora's gaze that continued to wander to the gun at Yukari's side. Her hand pressed into the small of Sora's back, directing him to the staircase that lead to the rooms. Her gaze was sharp, and accurately displayed her emotions. She was scolding Yukari for holding that gun, despite her efforts to hide it. Sora had seen it, clear as day. And though his slow mind began to wander into the thought of why she had it, he couldn't hold onto the thought firmly enough. Within time, the two were standing outside a door. "Here is your room" Mitsuru said, opening the door and helping Sora with his bag of clothes and other objects that he had taken with him on his travels. Placing it delicately on the floor, she said a few words of goodnight, before shutting the lights out and closing his door. He swore he could hear the faint locking of it, but he knew it was only his imagination. He had had such a crazy night. Shedding his clothes quickly and eagerly, he flung himself into bed and fell asleep before his head hit the pillows.