And so it begins, a new era! As promised a few weeks ago, I've gone through and started updating the story, and this is the start of the result! I actually had help from a beta reader this time, who may or may not continue onwards depending on how busy he is, so I was only able to get four chapters as opposed to five, but I think you'll all appreciate the second opinion having it edited better than usual.
Newcomers seeing this being posted to the archive won't care, but those who were around for the old story, things will be fundamentally different. There'll be actual arcs now as well as updating everyone's personalities and overhauling dead-end characters from last time. Basically, treat this as a different story. It will still be darker than canon, Nemoskull, but this time it will hopefully actually make sense instead of being a confusing mess of random plot points!
The cool mid-August air was a welcome sign to the residents of Sainan that the impending chill of the soothing autumn winds was close to blasting away the blazing heat of summer. It was an uplifting start to the new semester, helping to offset the grim reality for the younger generation...school was starting once again.
Sainan High was no exception to this. The main locker room and hallways were filled with chatter as people got into their circles, each talking about what had gone on during the summer and what might happen during the remainder of the year. Everyone had chosen to, at least for the duration of the back-to-school excitement, ignore the incident that had happened the previous May, just before summer break had started.
The school was mostly untouched, but the grounds around it had scattered sections of new concrete, marking the scars that had been dug into the ground by the "Darkness Transformation". Throughout the city there were buildings still unusable after Darkness' attacks, as well as Momo's beanstalk used late in the battle. That was ignoring the dozens of female students who needed therapy after Darkness' unfounded obsession with the female body, which Yami had yet to explain.
Since the attack, the way the many aliens at school were treated appeared the same on the surface, but there was still some lingering tension. The three Devilukean princesses, who were all witnessed by many to have been actively fighting against the transformed Yami, were still generally accepted, living their life normally. For the generally harmless Ren and Run, things couldn't get any better. Especially so, for the young idol, whose fan-base only grew in the months following the attack. The incident had apparently forced the Japanese media to finally acknowledge the existence of extraterrestrials.
Murasame Shizu, the ghost-turned-cyborg who had also helped defend the school, was likewise elevated in status, and at least in the second year, where most of the aliens had their classes, her name was actually known now.
Somehow, Tearju Lunatique,the second-year teacher who had recently been outed as Yami's creator, still avoided retribution, possibly thanks to her being so clumsy and airheaded that nobody really quite believed that the connection was true, despite their physical similarities.
Of course, not everyone came out well after the incident. Kurosaki Mea had vanished without a trace before everything could die down, and her master was still at large. While Yuuki Rito's group, primarily Nana and himself, were affected by the disappearance, the Trans' absence had a fairly minimal effect on the rest of the student body, as she'd gained a reputation for having very little sense of personal space before then.
In the same vein, the school's principal had also disappeared after being warped away by Darkness. However, that was celebrated rather than ignored. Nobody had liked the principal, and while they didn't openly say it, some of the aliens probably hoped he had somehow made his way to another world and been subject to Devilukean law. He certainly deserved it, considering that, while his antics were far less common than Yuuki's, he had done everything intentionally. It really was good riddance, and the one act of kindness Darkness had performed.
Speaking of Darkness, Yami had been the most drastically changed by the incident, which made sense seeing as it was her own loss of control that caused the whole issue to begin with.
In the blink of an eye, what little reputation she had was shattered. In the week between the incident and summer break, she was actively avoided, suddenly public enemy number one despite painstakingly visiting everyone Darkness had affected to apologize personally. Now, after a few months to cool down, reaction would likely have died down, but she appeared rarely enough even before it had happened. Now, it was doubtful whether she'd show up at all to test that theory.
Over the summer, she had visited the Yuuki household and regained some form of shaky friendship with Mikan. However, the twins were much more vocal about their annoyance, despite understanding that Yami had not been in control at the time.
Rito, on the other hand, had uncharacteristically chosen to pretend she didn't exist. No matter how hard she tried, she never seemed to be able to find him so she could apologize and thank him for the major role he'd played in saving her from herself. It was an odd choice for the normally incredibly forgiving boy, but it was one that no one could decide but himself.
Still, the blonde Trans being missing on the first day of the new semester was nothing particularly unusual. Only time could tell what would happen with her. Today, life was not about aliens or attacks, it was simply about getting back into the school mindset and reuniting with friends.
"Hey, Nakamura-san!" called an excited boy, waving his hand in the air in typical exaggerated fashion as he ran up to his taller classmate. Though, just like usual, he'd been ignored by the boy who setting his outdoor shoes into his locker. "Oh, come on, we haven't seen each other all summer, say hi!"
"You live next door to me, Okamoto." Nakamura Hiro blankly stated as he turned and walked away.
"That doesn't count," Okamoto complained as he tried to tag long, "you can't call seeing each other when we get mail to be interacting!"
Though, rather suddenly, Hiro stopped dead in his tracks. Again he turned around, but this time to face the boy, and held his hand out. Not understanding, Okamoto stopped too, though all was made clear when Hiro pointed down and promptly said, "Change your shoes."
Okamoto blinked, still in a daze, before chuckling. "Right, sorry! I got so excited seeing you that I forgot!" he said as he rubbed the back of his head. Swiftly, he scampered over to his locker. "Wait for me!"
But of course, having heard that, Hiro would do no such thing. Instead, he turned away once more and made his leave, though not before letting out what he really thought of Okamoto to himself. "Annoying kid."
He was a first-year like the annoying Okamoto Rin, but unlike the short kid's fun-loving nature, he had become known as someone to keep away from. Being half-Canadian, he was more than a foot taller than every other student. He was also quite lanky, which was nothing to boast about, but that didn't matter to matter. He didn't need a huge build or bulging muscles to get any type of message across. He simply needed his eyes. His bright silver eyes. Eyes that when provoked, let out the most threatening and heart-stopping glare at anyone he directed them towards. A glare so frightening, it was only rivaled by that of Golden Darkness. However, he didn't feel the need to use this on just anybody. He chose to use it only on those he thought were causing trouble. So when the time came, he quickly dealt with them, bearing witness to their shattered bravado as they hid their tails between their legs before he'd quietly slip back into his normal routine.
He hadn't actually been present during the incident, or even during the following week, so he only knew about it from word of mouth as well as the news coming out about it during the summer.
He had been right in his distrust of the many aliens in the school. Though he didn't know any of them personally, he had seen how they acted before. Mea, with her lack of personal space. Nana and Momo, both acting way too innocent and cute for their own good. Run...well, he didn't have much to complain about with her. She seemed, for the most part, pretty laid back, and he liked her music so he didn't press as much with her.
Yami, on the other hand...well, that was a completely different story altogether. He outright hated her, and he was genuinely surprised that more people didn't. Constantly absent despite being a student, refusing to follow basic rules of conduct, and indiscriminately violent to anyone who so much as looked at her at the wrong angle. She was a recipe for disaster, and he enjoyed knowing that he had been absolutely correct. She was a threat, and the recent incident had proven without a shadow of doubt that she did in fact have the capacity to do some major damage.
It was his mantra, and it continued to play in his head even now. Aliens could not be trusted.