MR1/MK1 Chapter One: Gathering of Teammates
Unknown place, Unknown time
The teen shot the alien-like creature, eradicating it in one blow. He avoided the acid another monster spat at him and sliced the monster in half.
"SIMULATION COMPLETE," a voice announced and the teen took off the helmet with a sigh while staring at the now blank screen.
"You seem out of focus," a silver haired teen commented while leaning against the simulator screen.
"Do I? It's just your imagination," the raven haired male returned indifferently, trying and failing to keep up his mask.
"We both know that's not true," the silver haired youth told the other with a fake smile. "You haven't been home for three weeks… of course you'd be unfocused. You haven't even slept for five days! Ah, but you'll be going home tomorrow… right, Echizen?"
Echizen Ryoma looked away from the screen and at his comrade. "You'll be going home, too; I don't see why it's so surprising."
The silverette scoffed and handed Ryoma ten files. "Whatever."
"…What are these? Don't give me useless stuff, Kiryu."
Kiryu Shinju scoffed. "Well, excuse me for obeying my commander's orders. Those are the people who need to be recruited."
Ryoma looked through the files and raised an eyebrow curiously. "Seven of them are from Seigaku… my tennis team to be more specific."
"Yeah, the commander said they had a lot of potential because of their intelligence, strength, perseverance, determination, stubbornness, insight, etc. If we don't report back to the commander, we might not be able to give these out. C'mon, it's getting late."
Ryoma jumped out of the simulator and walked up a couple of staircases with his comrade. "You called, Commander Ayazumi?"
The man tilted his cap up. "You could say something like that. I realize you will be going home tomorrow."
"Yes," the teens confirmed with a stiff nod.
"You'll be handing out the files and reports… right?" Ayazumi asked with a smile.
"Of course we will."
"Good. Then you may leave early if you wish."
Ryoma bowed and Shinju did the same. "We will be taking our leave then, Commander."
Ayazumi nodded and watched as his two star pupils left. "They seem to be nice kids," a soft voice noted.
"They are," the captain replied and a thin male teenager materialized in a chair.
"So they are your strongest students, interesting. Therefore, Ayazumi, please see to it that they stay safe and… I want you to inform them about… the trouble in Utsutzushi."
The man nodded. "Yes sir. I shall inform them when they come back."
"Good. See you tomorrow then, Ayazumi," said person nodded again.
"Goodbye, Sir Mazuoshi."
Runway of Utsutzushi Academy, Unknown time
Ryoma buckled the seatbelt and grinned. "Umm… are you sure you learned your lesson on how to pilot the Myriasmh?" Shinju asked as he himself clicked his seatbelt on.
"Don't worry, I've been taking classes ever since I got here."
The white haired youth groaned. "Yeah, and blew up the second, third, fourth, and seventh fields… every single day!"
Ryoma smirked wickedly. He just loved flying the Myriasmh. "Well, you can't argue now."
"Oh shiz…" the silverette moaned and prayed for his safety.
"Myriasmh R-1, ready for take off?"
Ryoma grabbed the mike. "MR-1 is ready for take off. Please clear the passageways so we can leave."
Shinju sighed. "Are there any aspirins in here?"
"The passageways are clear, and yes. Launching MR-1 in five… four… three… two…"
"ONE! Launch!" Ryoma exclaimed after flipping a bunch of switches and pressing some buttons.
Shinju muttered under his breath, "Oh dear kami-sama… if I survive, I'll love you to the ends of the earth."
Upon hearing the short half prayer, the raven haired teen smirked and controlled the plane steadily for a while. But that was before he went into a series of loops and spins. "Someone please save my life from this psychotic maniac!"
Ryoma chuckled darkly. "Like you're one to talk, Kiryu."
Shinju glared at Ryoma. "Well, I guess it takes one to know one, brat!"
Suzuko Airport, Sunday 2200
Shinju gasped for air as soon as he was out of the stuffy plane. "Thank god I had the aspirin and pain reliever."
Ryoma calmly walked out of the machine. "Hey, your parents are here, aren't you going to leave?"
Shinju nodded. "Bye Echizen, see you here in a week. Oh yeah, don't forget about the files."
The younger teen waved the ten files. "Don't worry, I've got it under control."
"See ya!"
"Bye, Kiryu," Ryoma watched his friend leave with his (Shinju's) parents.
"Oi, seishounen! Hurry it up! If we leave now, you'll be able to reunite with your cat."
Ryoma glared at his father. "You didn't bring Karupin with you?"
Nanjiroh scoffed. "Course not!"
With a sulk, the teen sat in the passenger's seat. "You couldn't just bring him? Damn baka oyaji."
Nanjiroh shrugged and began the drive home. "So, did you have fun during those three weeks you were training?"
"Is Karupin a dog?" Ryoma asked sarcastically.
The Echizen patriarch nodded his head in understanding before widening his eyes at something. "Oh, by the way, your tennis team kept bugging us to see you… so you kind of have to pretend you have a sore throat. We told them you had streptococcus."
The teen rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I didn't think you'd know what that was," Ryoma sighed before he answered hoarsely, "Is this fine?"
"Just perfect!" a female voice chimed in.
"Nanako-san?" Ryoma said while looking back.
"Ehe, welcome back Ryoma!" said teen looked up at the starry night sky and almost smiled.
"…It's good to be back," he opened the window and let the wind blow across his face. 'I was training for so long… I was driven to the point where I almost forgot the color of the sky.'
"—as your captain," Nanjiroh finished and Ryoma snapped out of his reverie.
"Uh, sorry, what'd you say, oyaji?" said man sighed before saying once more.
"The person who actually visited the most was your captain. He doesn't exactly look the concerned type, though…"
"Buchou…? I would think Oishi fuku-buchou would visit more often…" Ryoma leaned against the back of his chair and sighed irritably. "Oh whatever. I'm going to get some sleep. G'night."
Nanjiroh scoffed and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ryoma drifted off to a deep sleep.
Line break
'…It's so… warm.'
Ryoma opened his golden brown eyes and widened them when he saw a magnificent fire burning in front of him. "This fire…! It's similar to the one… six years ago…" Ryoma held his head in pain and a large dragon monster emerged from the flames.
Its scales were pitch black and stained with blood. "So you are the Echizen Ryoma, huh? Not very impressive," the dragon snarled after analyzing Ryoma.
"What are you… who are you? Why is this fire here… in my dream?"
"You already know the answer to those questions, Echizen. I'm a dragon… and I've been sent by Ayazumi to relay a message from Mazuoshi, emperor of Utsutzushi."
Ryoma blinked. "What message?"
"Don't drag the war on for long or else—
"—Wake up!"
Echizen Household, Monday 0000
The teen's eyes opened abruptly at the sound of his father's voice. "We're already home, so wake up and get your bags into your room."
Ryoma sighed and dragged his bags into the house. "I'm only going to be staying for a week… not even! Karupin!" the raven haired teen hugged the small Himalayan cat with love. "I missed you so much!"
Karupin playfully pawed Ryoma's hair. "Meow~!"
"There you are Ryoma!" Rinko hugged her child. "We've been waiting for you to come home for weeks!"
"Yeah, it was only three weeks, kaasan…"
Rinko smiled. "Get to bed early, okay? Tomorrow is a school day!"
Ryoma sulked. "Oh man, my first day home in three weeks and you talk to me about school? And technically, it's today," the thirteen-year-old huffed and walked toward his room. "Anyway, I'm going to bed before Ryoga and Kevin wake up to greet me."
Nanako chuckled. "That's a great idea, Ryoma. Good night!"
Echizen Household, Monday 0500
Ryoma sat up in his bed quickly with sweat pouring down his body, waking from his horrible nightmare. "Hah… hehe… hahahaha!"
The young teen covered his face with his left hand and shook his head while tears streamed down his face. "I never knew… dreams could feel so real," Ryoma looked up at the blank ceiling of his own bedroom with boredom evident in his eyes.
"Then again… I suppose it was a nightmare."
"Oi, Ryoma! You awake yet?"
"Yeah!" Ryoma called back to his brother and threw the covers off of him.
An older version of Ryoma leaned against the doorframe. "What's wrong? You usually don't wake up till noon," Ryoga teased his younger brother.
"Shut up…" Ryoma grumbled as he dressed into his school uniform and picked up his tennis bag. He paused before turning to the ten files on his dresser.
"Tsk, working for Commander Ayazumi is such a pain," Ryoma muttered as he took the files and left his room to run down the stairs into the kitchen.
"Aren't you going to eat? It's still very early," Nanako asked and commented as her cousin packed his school bag.
"No, I have some work from my commander. I'll just bring some toast with me, see you after school!" Ryoma called as he snatched a buttered toast out of his brother's hands.
"Hey! That was mine!" Ryoga growled.
Ryoma saluted his brother mockingly. "It's mine now, thanks," and with that, the prince of tennis closed the door and ran off.
A Stream, Monday 0510
Inui looked up from his notebook. "Echizen? What are you doing here? Isn't your throat sore?"
Ryoma nodded and pulled out a file. "You want to know where Kaidoh is?" boy wonder nodded again. "Ah, he should be at his house, it's still a bit early for his usual training," Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah, you don't know where he lives. I'll give you his address."
Ryoma added hoarsely afterwards, "I need the whole team's addresses."
Inui wrote down the addresses. "May I ask what for?"
"None of your business." Ryoma snapped quite rudely and snatched the list from Inui's hands before running off in the direction of the Kaidoh residence.
Kaidoh Household, Monday 0530
Ryoma knocked on the door before a woman opened it. "Yes?" Ryoma held out Kaidoh's file. "What is this—oh… oh my… dear, come here."
Kaidoh's father walked over to them. "Ah, you're the freshman tennis player in Kaoru's team. What do you need?" Mrs. Kaidoh showed Mr. Kaidoh the file. "Wait, you want us to send our son to Utsutzushi Academy? I went there before, and I don't exactly plan on sending my son there," Mr. Kaidoh said sternly.
"The last generation of the academy was the second… and a great mistake, no offense. Many things have been fixed and this time… the academy really does need the help."
"Why?" Mr. Kaidoh asked suspiciously. "What does this other world's military academy want with my son?"
Ryoma sighed in irritation. "Actually Mr. Kaidoh—"
A voice interrupted Ryoma's. "Utsutzushi has finally been 'broken.' It is like the center painting on a stained glass window," a silverette teen said as he jumped off of the ledge/wall. "I see Utsutzushi as the main attraction of Earth… which I interpret as stained glass. If the main attraction of the window breaks, then the whole window is utterly destroyed. There is no use for it, and it will have to be replaced."
"Why not just 'fill in the gap?'" Mr. Kaidoh asked in annoyance.
"Ah, you're very smart. However, if you fill in the gap, the cracks in the glass surrounding it will remain. It will not be restored to its true beauty. That is why the window must be demolished and replaced by a brand new one. Well, that's my theory, though your theory works as well, as I said, the quality won't be as great and it doesn't fit perfectly.
"We cannot create repair the world… that's preposterous. The enemy of the Utsutzushi nation have made their move and declared war. We'll only need a few soldiers and a couple of years, months if they're quick learners, to have the soldiers ready to take on the monsters."
"…So we have no choice…?"
"Of course you have a choice," Shinju told the man.
"What are you doing here, Kiryu?" Ryoma asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at his comrade.
"Quiet Echizen, this is the good part. If Utsutzushi is destroyed, many natural weather disasters will take place until finally, the queen Feitocon will wrap her web around the Earth, trapping it within her evil dome. The spiral web will bring the world closer and closer to its demise as time passes until, finally, the ground crumbles beneath our feet.
"We will be left burn within the core of the Earth, and that is when the Earth will be replaced by a new kingdom. And when I say recreate itself, I do mean literally 'recreate itself.'
"Ah yes, and as for your question Echizen, I'm here on a job from Commander Ayazumi. I'm supposed to help you hand out the files. It's quite convenient actually, since we both go to the same schools."
"I never knew you went to Seigaku."
"Well, I was in Utsutzushi Academy for two years consecutively… so there was no chance of you knowing," Shinju pointed out. "Mr. and Mrs. Kaidoh… if you are sending your son to the Academy, I recommend sending him to Suzuko Airport at three in the afternoon on Friday."
"…I see," the Kaidohs murmured. "We will think this over."
"Goodbye then, we have much to do," the silverette bowed before he waved and walked away.
Fuji Household, Monday 0550
"This is…" the Fuji parents widened their eyes. "Utsutzushi is in trouble?" Fuji's father asked in concern.
"Yes. The Feitocons are making their move… and quickly. We ask that you will consider this offer of sending them to Utsutzushi Academy… for the good of the world, I suggest you do send them."
Fuji's mother took the files. "Both Yuuta and Syuusuke, right?"
Ryoma and Shinju nodded in unison. "We're not forcing you to do this, but…"
"Don't worry Echizen-san. I can't let my home world perish knowingly. Also, if Utsutzushi disappears… the Feitocons will move onward to Earth, and we can't have those monsters after us here, where the people are defenseless."
Shinju smiled. "Then I take it you will be sending them to the Academy?" the Fuji parents nodded. "I thank you for your consideration."
"No, thank you for telling us."
Ryoma nodded and bowed. "Please have your children at the Suzuko Airport at three o' clock in the afternoon on Friday."
Shinju waved to the couple. "Goodbye then, we have much to do ."
Inui Household, Monday 0600
Ryoma knocked on the door and was met by Inui. "Echizen? I thought I already gave you the addresses—"
"Are your parents home? I need to talk to them. Tell them it's about Utsutzushi."
Inui looked at Ryoma and Shinju suspiciously but nonetheless called his parents to the door. "Utsutzushi… I'm afraid I can't send my son there," Inui's father answered quietly.
"And why not? You of all people should know that Utsutzushi is in real danger this time, and not like last time as a false alarm. The Feitocons have already declared war and we've been getting more attacks than usual recently. I just ask that you take this into consideration."
"We will… but it won't change our minds much," the Inuis told the Utsutzushi Academy students.
"I see, well, if your minds DO change, send your son to the Suzuko Airport at three in the afternoon on Friday. Now, we have much to do, so I bid you goodbye," Shinju said politely while bowing and leaving afterwards.
Inui's father sighed. "What should we do…? We can't exactly send him into that dangerous world. I've been keeping it a secret for so long and now… this problem comes up."
"Utsutzushi was where we met, where we were born. We can't have it destroyed or taken over by the Feitocons. Please, let's just send Sadaharu there."
Said son stepped forward. "I think this is the right time to say that… I'm going. Whether you like it or not, I'm going to the Academy. You may have thought that you kept that world a secret from me, but I knew about it. I studied it and found out about everything. Please, let me go… father, mother."
The two aforementioned adults were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Kawamura Household, Monday 0620
"No." was the flat reply. "I'm not going to send my son to that dangerous place ever. NEVER! Now get out of my restaurant!" Kawamura's father yelled.
"If you ever change your mind, we'll be meeting at three in the afternoon at the Suzuko Airport on Friday. Thank you for your time, anyway," Shinju murmured as he bowed. "Come Echizen, we have no time to lose. We've got much to do."
"But, we have to—"
"It's fine," Shinju whispered distastefully as he walked away.
"…Che, whatever," Ryoma muttered irately.
Oishi Household, Monday 0630
"Utsutzushi is in TROUBLE? We just HAVE to send our son!" Oishi's father yelled loudly.
"Err, please not so loud lieutenant Oishi…"
Said man sighed. "Former lieutenant, please don't forget that. But why our son… why…?"
Ryoma smiled. "Please don't think that he inherited your position… though I see where he gets his worrisome trait from. Anyway, it's because Commander Ayazumi sees potential in these ten people. I also feel that they are up to the challenge. And we DO need all the help we can get, so please take this offer into consideration."
The Oishi patriarch smiled. "Don't worry, we will definitely send our son to the Academy."
"Thank you. Please send Oishi Shuichiro to the Suzuko Airport at three in the afternoon on Friday. We must take our leave now; we have so much to do… I bid you good day."
Oishi's parents smiled. "Goodbye, and thank you for informing us."
Kikumaru Household, Monday 0640
"Hoi, hoi! What are you doing here ochibi?" Eiji asked while glomping the younger teen.
"Kiku….Kikumaru-sempai… can't… breath…!"
Shinju chuckled. "He's turning blue Eijiko, you should probably let go of him."
Eiji dropped Ryoma and gaped at the silverette with wide eyes. "Shinjuko! What are you doing here?" Eiji asked in amazement while squeezing the life out of Shinju.
However, the latter did the same to the redhead. "It's been a long time Eiji, ne?"
Ryoma rubbed his back, which was probably bruised. "You know Kikumaru-sempai?"
Shinju nodded to confirm the other teen's suspicion. "We knew each other since fourth grade!"
"But he disappeared two years ago somewhere… I wanted to file a missing persons report, nyaa~! But his parents said he was at some boarding school far away, nyaa~!"
Shinju chuckled. "Are your parents home? I need to speak with them."
"Let me get them!" Eiji invited his two friends into the house. "Stay here~!" the redhead ordered childishly while running up the stairs calling, "Mom! Dad!"
Ryoma sat on the couch and looked at his watch. "We don't have enough time to go to buchou's house… and Momo-sempai isn't supposed to be going so I can't mention Utsutzushi during training."
"Why don't you go over to his house after school?" Shinju asked while leaning against the back of the couch.
"Wha?" Ryoma stuttered. "Wh-Why would I? It's just… I mean, I can't… why should I go to his house just to deliver the letter?"
"Unless you want to wake up early tomorrow too."
"I'll have to anyway, to go all the way to Yukimura-buchou's and Sanada-fukubuchou's houses."
"Let me deal with those today. Besides, I have to drop off this other letter I was given. So I'll leave the Tezuka and Kikumaru residence to you. Give me Yukimura's and Sanada's files so I can send it to them."
Ryoma reluctantly gave his senior the files and watched Shinju leave. "Eh? You're leaving already Shin-kon?" said person smiled.
"I have something to attend to. I'll be going back to Seigaku for a couple of days before going back to my 'boarding school.' Goodbye."
"Boarding school…? That wouldn't be Utsutzushi Academy, would it? Has something happened? Did the Feitocons already declare war?" Eiji's father asked curiously.
"First of all, yes. It is the Utsutzushi Academy and second… something did happen. This something is what you just mentioned. The Feitocons have declared war and Utsutzushi is in danger. We ask that your son attend Utsutzushi Academy along with some others."
"Nyaa~! I wanna go! Ochibi and Shin-kon are already going, right?" Ryoma nodded as Shinju walked out of the Kikumaru household. "Can I go then, nyaa~?"
"…Okay. But let me tell you, it won't be… easy classes."
Eiji giggled. "It's okay, as long as Oishi's going too, nyaa~!"
"He is going. Well, see you at school sempai. Goodbye Kikumaru-san, Kikumaru-kun. And before I forget, Kikumaru-sempai is supposed to go to Suzuko Airport at three in the afternoon on Friday," Ryoma informed as he bowed and left Eiji's house a bit too quickly.
"Tsk, if I don't head for school now I'll be late for morning practice… maybe I should've asked if Kikumaru-sempai's parents if they could drop me off," Ryoma rushed toward the school quickly.
'I've got to get to practice early and meet with buchou…'
Seigaku, Monday 0700
Ryoma panted and leaned against the wall. "I… never knew… Kikumaru-sempai's house was so far… away from the school…!"
"What were you doing at Eiji's house?" Oishi asked when he popped out of nowhere. "Does it have to do something with the boarding school my parents mentioned?"
Ryoma leaned his head against the wall. "Where's buchou?" he asked, totally ignoring the question.
"Tezuka? Well, I'm guessing he has a meeting with Ryuuzaki-sensei. It was weird though… his father and grandfather were there."
"Parents?" Ryoma widened his eyes. "Oh… I'm so stupid!" Oishi sweat dropped.
'Of course! Tezuka's grandfather was the leader of the Academy in his time, as well as his father! Of course they'd be able to sense something wrong happening within Utsutzushi! I have to go to Ryuuzaki-sensei's office right away, though they'll probably be expecting me…'
Ryoma ran off toward the office and reached to open the door, but it opened by itself. Resulting in Ryoma crashing into another person's chest. "Echizen? I was just about to get you—"
"Sorry for crashing into you buchou, and not right now. I need to speak with Kuniharu, Kunikazu, and Ayana Tezuka."
"My father and I are present, but my wife was out when we sensed it," Kuniharu, Tezuka's father, said and Ryoma nodded.
"So you really did feel there was something wrong with Utsutzushi Academy," Ryoma muttered before searching his pockets. "I was asked by Captain Ayazumi to deliver this to you," he handed his tennis captain's father and grandfather an envelope.
"It's a report on how Utsutzushi is fairing. Long story short, the Feitocons have declared war and we need to have some people trained at the Academy. Whether you would like to send buchou… your son… is up to you."
"I think the answer is pretty obvious," Kuniharu chuckled. "My father and I both were the leaders of that particular army when we attended… I would think I should allow my son to experience the thrill of a Myriasmh, no?"
Kunikazu nodded in confirmation. "That's precisely right. Where should we send my son and when?"
"This Friday at three in the afternoon. We'll be leaving from the Suzuko Airport."
Kuniharu chuckled. "Suzuko Airport… that place brings back a lot of memories…"
Kunikazu nodded in agreement and then looked inside of the report folder. "Hold on a second, what is this?"
"Oh, that's an invitation. Because you two were the previous leaders of Utsutzushi Academy, you are invited to come to the Academy whenever you wish… as long as you have that invitation with you. You're able to bring others, too," Ryoma told them while bowing. "Thank you for letting your son go to the Academy."
Kuniharu smiled. "Thank you for informing us about this."
"I heard the same from your former lieutenant. It's my job, and that is simply that. Tomorrow, the other student who had been at the academy will be attending this school. Ryuuzaki-sensei, he's going to be in the tennis club for just three days, is that okay?"
"You're not going to be waiting until tomorrow," Shinju announced with a smile as he entered the office. "Hello Ryuuzaki-san, it's been a while since I've seen you. How is your granddaughter?"
Sumire shrugged. "She's the same timid girl as ever. How have you been?"
"Working myself through the night and risking my life just to teach this guy how to fly properly," Shinju said while wrapped his arm around Ryoma's shoulder and the latter frowned.
"I can fly the Myriasmh just fine."
Shinju scoffed. "Yes, crashing into almost all of the fields every week is the perfect way to fly."
The raven haired teen growled. "You… did you get the other files sent?"
"Course! It was pretty easy, actually."
Ryoma frowned again. "You used the Kriiark, didn't you?"
"…Maybe," Shinju replied and grinned nervously at his junior's glare. "But what difference does it make? No one saw me and the only ones who did were the ones that are going to the academy. They'll learn how to handle the Kriiark, Seirifka, and the Myriasmh fine! Hopefully better than you…"
"Che, whatever," Ryoma said while giving up the useless argument.
"It's nice to see the leaders from the previous generations… Kuniharu and Kunikazu Tezuka. My name is Shinju Kouen Kiryu."
"Nice to meet you as well. Your father is Intaro Kiryu, I believe? He was one of my best companions."
Shinju chuckled. "Yes, he was quite the pilot… I heard."
Kuniharu smiled at the memories. "Yes, he definitely was."
"My mom told me a lot of things about him."
"Yes, she… what?" Kuniharu looked at Shinju, who had a distant look in his red eyes.
"She told me many things about my father."
"Oh… he… died?"
"…A Feitocon killed him as he was leaving the Academy a couple years back," Shinju reported sadly. "But that's not what we're here to talk about. So, you have agreed to send your son?"
"Yes. We must send him," Kuniharu and Kunikazu said in agreement.
"Very well. If you have anything to do here, Tezuka, please do so within the next four days," Shinju bowed. "Now, I have some things to do, so have fun, Echizen."
Park, Monday 1200
Shinju leaned against the tree trunk and sighed as he looked up at the sky. "Are you freakin' serious? I don't have time for this!" he looked at his phone one more time before groaning in annoyance and covering his angry face with his pale hands.
"…First the war against the demons, then the Feitocons, and now this? I can't participate in three wars, one right after the other you know!" he hissed viciously.
"No thank you, I kind of need my own time too."
The phone rang and Shinju flipped it open. "Hello?" he asked tiredly.
"Are you okay? You sound dead."
"Che, speak for yourself," Shinju said with a smirk and then frowned. "Shiro, I can't take part in the war. I'm too busy with things over in the other world… plus my home world. I may be strong, but three wars is a bit much, I hope you guys over there understand. I can still feel the pain from that demon king's blade. After this battle, I might not have enough strength to drag myself to Soul Society."
"Shinju…"
"I might not even be alive." Shinju said seriously. "These Feitocons aren't exactly filled to the brim with mercy. They'll kill anything in their sight, unlike hollows who only eat to ease their soul and demons who are civilized enough to make contracts."
"I know," Toushiro sighed on the other end. "Shinju, don't worry about it. We'll be able to get through the war, with or without you. If you ever have the time or strength, though, you're always welcome."
Shinju smiled brightly. "Yeah, I know. See you later, Shiro."
Unknown place, Monday 1210
"See you soon, Shinju," Toushiro turned off the phone and he turned to the person inside of his room.
"Very soon," he whispered and then cleared his throat before dialing another number and waiting for the person on the other end to pick up before saying, "Ayazumi-san… I accept the offer to go to Utsutzushi Academy."
Barababum! What's going to happen next? How will Ryoma's teammates fare against the harsh training of Utsutzushi Academy? Will they be trained in time to be able to fight well enough to fend off and hopefully eradicate the Feitocons? What's up with the ending? Does Shinju have a secret life tied with other worlds? Why am I asking pointless questions that I know the answer to? Find out the answers to my pointless questions and more in the chapters to come!