"I art thou

And thou art I

From the sea of thy soul,

I come
Call upon my name and release thy rage!

Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own,

though thou be chained to Hell itself!

I am the pillager of twilight,

Arsène!"

My eyes shot open as I struggled to breathe.

"What was that all about? And that name, Arsène? Like Arsène Lupin from those novels?" I whispered out loud to myself.

I looked around the dark attic. This room would be my place of residence for the rest of this year huh? Oh well I can't complain. I'm in no situation to complain. I took a deep breath and could taste the dust. I need to clean this place up soon. I grabbed my phone and turned on the screen. Five in the morning. No point in going back to sleep. I got up and went to get myself ready for school.

I finished getting ready by 6, at which point my guardian – Sojiro Sakura - had already opened the coffee shop for the day. We shared a short exchange in which he offered me breakfast – his famous curry, which has quite the divine flavor if I do say so myself – and then I was out the door. I took a minute to scan my surroundings. Yongen-jaya, what a quaint place I've gotten myself stuck in. I took another deep breath and took to a brisk pace as I made my way to the train station. The quicker I made it to Shibuya, the sooner I could find my way to the connecting train that would take me to Aoyama-Itchome, and subsequently my new school.


I had just left the station when I noticed it was raining. My luck truly is wonderful. I pushed through the rain not caring if my clothes or hair got wet. At this point none of it truly mattered. I stole a glance at a blonde girl who had taken refuge under an awning. I soon heard a vehicle of some sort pull up. Probably someone who knows her I presume. Within a few moments, the vehicle went off and I was left to the rain and my footsteps; this momentary solitude was quickly interrupted as a boy with a uniform similar to mine came running up behind me.

"Damnit… Screw that pervert teacher," he mumbled to himself.

Instinctually I mumbled "pervert teacher?"

He had heard me.

"What do you want? You plannin' to rat me out to Kamoshida or somethin'?"

"Kamoshida? Who is that?"

"Huh? Did you not see that guy in the car just now? That was Kamoshida."

"I didn't pay that car much mind."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah"

"Man, that Kamoshida, acting like he owns the place; like he's some king of a castle or somethin'. Don't you agree?"

"Once again, who?"

"Don't you go to Shujin?"

"I think? I don't know, I just transferred here recently."

"Oh, you're a transfer student. No wonder you don't know him. Huh, you're a second year as well? We're in the same grade. Well anyway, the rain isn't too bad we should hurry up and get to school before it gets worse."

"Alright"

I didn't know where I was going, so I followed the boy – who decided to take a shortcut for whatever reason.

"Oh right, the name's Ryuji, Ryuji Sakamoto. Nice to meet ya!"

"Akira, Akira Kurusu."

"Man, you're a bit of a bummer, aren't you?"

"Well when you've been through what I've been through, you kind of become a bummer."

I had finished speaking my last word when we reached the gates of the school.

"Well I got to get to my class, catch you later Akira; don't be a stranger, I'll tell you all about the school later."

"Alright"

That boy confused me. He's gotten pretty chummy with me and we've barely even spoken. Maybe he's one of those types that are friendly with everyone. Then again, he clearly had a hatred for that Kamoshida fellow. Oh well, might be interesting. I took a glance at the sky before I entered the school building. I quietly made my way in and asked the nearest staff member where the faculty room was. He gave me a long-winded lecture on how the school was taking a chance with me and that I'd better not let them down before he finally pointed me to the third floor. I leisurely made my way to the room. No rush after all, I got here early. While taking my sweet time I overheard a group of students murmuring about me. It seems my criminal record got leaked. This year is truly going to be a huge pain in the ass. I let out a loud sigh and kept walking.

I stood outside the faculty room door. I stole one glance at my phone and opened the door; I proceeded to make my way to the teacher with the yellow sweater and denim skirt.

She turned to face me and said, "At least you're here on time. Maybe this won't be such a pain after all, as long as you behave that is."

I stayed silent. I've found that, sometimes, silence is the best answer.

"Alright, two matters to discuss: classes end after 5th period today due to the subway incident, and I'll have you introduce yourself when class starts. You're in class 2-C so you can wait around there. There's still 10 minutes left before classes begin."

"Alright"

I quietly left the room. This year truly is going to be a little slice of hell. I'm treated like a nuisance by everyone. Oh well, it'll be a test of my resilience. I made my way to the door of the classroom and leaned against the wall near it. I pulled out my phone and was about to look through social media when I noticed a strange app. The icon was an eye-like thing with a red background. The app-name simply said Navigator. It was creeping me out, so I dragged and deleted it. I noticed the time and put my phone away. I let out another sigh; man, I sound like such an edgy bastard. I leaned against the wall as the teacher passed by and told me simply to wait until she called me in.

A few minutes passed before she came back out, to which I was greeted with such a friendly first sentence.

"Take this seriously now okay? Even if you're lying through your teeth. I don't want trouble; you don't want trouble. Let's keep things simple okay?"

I nodded my head. At that moment I realized something kind of funny. I don't even remember her name. Oh well, I'll find out soon enough. I followed her in, wrote my name on the board, and gave a simple introduction, "I'm Akira Kurusu. Nice to meet you all," and then took a bow. My introduction was met with plenty of murmurs about the rumors that had already started circulating in the school.

"Hmm sit in that empty seat over by the window," the teacher instructed.

I wordlessly followed the instruction and sat down. No point in making myself stand out any more than I already do. I stared out the window as homeroom commenced. Today was going to be a long day.


As soon as the bell rang to signify the lunch break, I immediately got up and left the room. The best place to avoid attention would be an unlocked roof; if the roof isn't unlocked, the area before the roof is the next best. My plan didn't exactly bear fruit; Ryuji caught me at the door and insisted on spending lunch with me. I couldn't exactly deny him; after all, he's most likely the only guy who'll even talk to me what with my record being the main topic of gossip in the school.

Once we reached the roof, Ryuji asked, "So, how's your first day at Shujin been? Any run-ins with Kamoshida?"

"I have not had any run-ins with this Kamoshida fellow"

"Consider yourself lucky then, he's a straight asshole."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Also, I uhh… heard those rumors. Are they true?"

"Does it really matter if they are?"

"Well, no, not really; it's just that if they are true we might be more similar than I originally thought."

"I'd say they're half-truths, like many rumors tend to be. I'm far too tired and would rather not recite the events from that faithful night. Long-story short, I was framed for assault."

Ryuji yelled with a scowl, "What the hell!? That's messed up!"

I put a hand on his shoulder and told him to calm down.

"There's no use in getting angry over it now. I already got pissed off enough for anyone and everyone who gives a shit about me. I just have to live with it."

"You better tell me the whole story at some point."

"Yeah, yeah, I will. For now, just calm down."

He let out a sigh and said, "Alright I'll calm down. Anyway, want to go get some lunch? The line for the bread store should be short enough now to get something without too much effort."

"I'll be fine. I don't eat much."

"Suit yourself," he replied with a shrug, "more bread for me."

He left after that, leaving me with myself and my thoughts. This year will be a pain but at least I have somebody to talk to. Then again, is that a blessing or a curse? I pondered this question for several minutes before giving up on it. I can't come up with a definitive answer. Ryuji still hadn't returned so I stared off into the distance. At that point it finally dawned on me, this is really happening; I'm stuck in Tokyo on probation with a criminal record. If someone told me that this would happen a month ago I would have scoffed and walked away. Life is strange…

A few more minutes passed before Ryuji came back. He had a large grin on his face and was holding 2 packs of bread.

"Jackpot! I was able to nab 2 servings of Yakisoba bread. One for me and one for you," he said smiling as he reached out to give me a pack.

I grabbed it, thanked him, and dug in. He already went out of his way to buy me food, might as well eat it. Right?

"Hey, so, like, uhh…" Ryuji hesitated.

"Hmm?" I grunted with a bite of bread in my mouth.

"I know we've only known each other for less than a day now but… like… how's your love life man," He hesitantly finished.

"Currently? I got back-stabbed after I was framed, so I think I'm out of the game for a while." I begrudgingly responded.

"For real!?" He exclaimed.

I was taken aback. I did not expect his sudden outburst.

"Yeah. For real," I confirmed.

"That's messed up man. Ah, you're probably thinking about why I asked you," He said with a smile on his face. "I was going to ask if you knew any chicks you could hook me up with but that's out of the picture now."

Afterwards he feigned being hurt by it and then started laughing. I couldn't help but chuckle as well. This guy isn't half-bad, approachable and a goofball.

Before I realized it, the bell sounded ending our lunch break. That was fast!

Ryuji echoed my thoughts, "Ehh!? Lunch is over already!?" He sighed and continued, "Hey Akira, wanna hang out later today?"

"Why not?" I responded. I don't really have anything better to do. Do I? Oh well, I'll worry about that later.


The rest of the day passed slowly. At one point I was distracted out the window and a teacher threw a piece of chalk at my head to get my attention. It was embarrassing but it made some people question if I was really as dangerous as the rumors said. So, the embarrassment I was supposed to feel was replaced with… a feeling of gratitude for reducing the heat surrounding me. As soon as classes were over, I stood up and stretched – no one paid me any mind, thankfully – before walking out to go find Ryuji (or for him to find me, rather).

It didn't take me long to find him; he was standing at the staircase waiting for me. He gave me a smile and thumbs up before motioning to the roof. I guess he wanted to talk on the roof a little before we left. I gave him a nod and we both started climbing the stairs. I had the notion that someone had seen us climb the stairs, but I put it to the side. No point in fretting over that now. Just two delinquents hanging out on the roof, right? No student in their right mind would want to bother us and no teacher would go out of their way to deal with us. Who wants to deal with the paperwork, right? Ryuji opened the door at the top of the stairs and left it wide open; naturally, I turned around and closed it. When I turned back, Ryuji had pulled a chair for himself had put his feet on an empty table.

"What's up?" I asked. I mean, he couldn't have just called me up here for no reason, right? Right?

"I wanted to give you the deets on Kamoshida. Don't worry, no story exchanging today just thought maybe you'd like to know why I can't stand the guy," he explained.

"Alright lay it on me."

"Kamoshida is the current coach and the king of this school, Shujin Academy. He walks around like he owns the place, and he pretty much does at this point. Kids dig him, the shitty adults here think he can do no wrong. He's also a serious perv. I've seen the way he stares at girls and his girlfriend is a girl in your class. He's responsible for ruining my life as well as destroying the track team. Oh, and he thinks he's a hotshot just because he has an Olympic medal."

"I see. What's his first name?"

"Uhh… Suguru? Why're you asking?"

"Just curious, is all. Suguru Kamoshida, the pervy king of Shujin academy huh? Seems like someone we should try to avoid at all costs."

"Definitely. Although it's hard to avoid him in his castle," he finished with a laugh.

I felt a sudden vibration in my pockets followed by a robotic voice:

"Destination set, now routing destination."

Mere moments after I heard the voice, my vision was obscured and distorted by odd black and red blobs which, frankly, burned my eyes. I shut my eyes once I couldn't take it anymore.

Once I reopened my eyes, I saw Ryuji rubbing his eyes in front of me and what looked like a huge tower behind him made of cobblestone. I looked around and noted the surroundings had changed completely. The, once, orange evening sky had turned into a devilish purple. The school building had been completely replaced by a stony castle, and the roof had moved higher. It was a sight to behold; the whole world had just changed in mere seconds and we were now on the roof of some castle. Remembering that my phone had vibrated prior to the event I pulled it out of my pocket. Lo and behold, the creepy navigator app was not only back, but it was open. On it, the destination read:

Suguru Kamoshida, Pervert King, Shujin Academy, Castle

This whole scenario just kept getting more and more confusing. I looked at my phone's status indicators: no signal whatsoever was reaching me. I looked up to see a dumbfounded Ryuji looking around.

"A-Akira you see all this shit right!? I'm not going crazy!?" he frantically asked.

"I'm seeing all this, so, either we're both crazy or neither of us is crazy. I'm going to put my chips on the second one. Look at my phone, seems this creepy app eavesdropped on our conversation and set destination for some weird address," I responded before showing Ryuji my phone screen. "Wherever we are, it's nowhere normal that's for sure," I continued.

"I-I see. Maybe we should look around? Who knows maybe we'll find a way out of here?"

"Maybe, yeah. I guess I'll lead the way since I'm closest to that door, which I can only presume leads out of here," I said while pointing at the aforementioned door.

"Sounds like a plan to me man."

I walked towards the entrance to a staircase and started making my way down. The stairs looped around until they reached a door. I opened it and went through only to discover more stairs that continued to loop around. I continued my descent until I saw the entrance to a hallway; there were more stairs that lead downwards, but they seemed to lead to a dead end. I walked through the hallways until I found an open door which I walked through. Looking around, two things were made apparent: first, we were standing on a raised area, and second, there was a huge statue of Kamoshida in the front of room. Looking around I realized I had stumbled into a building of worship dedicated to Kamoshida. I stole a glance at Ryuji who was also looking around; he had the deepest, dirtiest scowl on his face I'd ever seen him produce.

I continued looking around until a sudden realization came to me. There was no easy way to descend from this raised platform. We were trapped. I was about to voice my concern with Ryuji, until I saw him hop right on down after he, presumably, noticed the same thing. I peered down and saw him just fine and followed him down. We made our way to the middle of the room and took a better look at the statue.

"This… this is disgusting. A huge ass statue dedicated to Kamoshida with all these benches. It's like he thinks he's some sort of god or something," Ryuji spoke with venom in his voice.

"I don't know where this is, or who made this all, but whoever did must really love that prick," I responded in disgust at the lack of humility.

"Hey, is that a person over there?" Ryuji asked pointing at a set of armor that was approaching us.

"It seems like it's a person, after all when have you ever seen armor moving around on its own except in that one show about those alchemists?" I jested.

"Well, I don't know anymore man. This shit's weird!"

"I wonder if it notices us. Hey buddy can you hear us? How do we get out of here?"

The armor did not respond. Instead, it kept approaching us slowly until it stopped right in front of us, wordlessly.

"Uh… hello?" Ryuji asked. "Do you happen to know the way out of here man?"

The armor did not reply and the room was silent, or so it seemed until the sound of metal clanking surrounded us. It seemed that we had been surrounded by these armor suits, who now I suppose are knights if they're following the castle motif.

Just as I was about to ask them something the knights closed in on us; one knight knocked Ryuji out with a direct hit from its shield while another kneed me in the guts. Air escaped my lungs and I fell to the floor. The circle of knights picked us up and started carrying us somewhere. I couldn't tell where they were carrying us as I'd lost consciousness soon after they picked me up.


A/N: Howdy folks. Just wanted to say that this is my first time writing for pleasure in quite a while. Please do leave your honest reviews and tell me where I messed up, where I did well, etc. This is a fic that'll be sporadically updated as I do not have any set schedule with which I can work on new chapters. Also, apologies to the rare person who reads this and has also read my previous work; I'll eventually get back to that, I promise. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter of a story I'd hopefully like to continue.