'This train ride is taking long…' A blue haired boy, by the name of Minato Arisato, thought as he looked at the window of the train and saw the sun setting behind the buildings. 'It'll be midnight by the time I arrive at the dorms.'
Minato was on this long train ride to move to his new school, Gekkoukan High, at Tatsumi Port Island. He received a scholarship after repeatedly achieving top scores on all his tests. But this isn't the first time he was going to the port island, in fact, he lived here before.
Ten years ago, he was happily living with his parents at Tatsumi Port Island, but after a sudden accident that cost him his parent's lives and most of childhood memories, he had been repeatedly thrown to one family member to another. Because of this, he hadn't connected with any of his relatives, much less form any friendship during his short time at various schools. All of these events made him insensitive and cold towards other people.
The reason he accepted the scholarship, not including the stature of Gekkoukan High as a prestigious school, was to try and jog some of his memories from his childhood. He wanted to remember what really happened during that accident and see if he could move on from that. Another reason was to escape the loop of being passed around by his relatives.
A few hours later, the sun had finally set and the darkness had settled in on the sky. Minato checked his watch and cursed when it showed that it was already half an hour to midnight, though he was a bit relieved when he heard that the next station after this was going to be at Iwatodai.
"Due to a malfunction to the switching system…" The train's announcement system stated. "Today's rail schedule has been greatly altered. We apologize to any passengers who are in a hurry. Next stop is Iwatodai…"
As the train closed its doors, Minato saw a beautiful glass blue butterfly fluttering outside the train. As he examined it, time seemed to slow down as everything looked to be in slow motion. Though, that wasn't what surprised the bluenette. His eyes went wide when he saw the butterfly suddenly change from being glass blue to bright red. But before he could examine it more carefully, the train started to move and the disappeared, as it wasn't there a second ago.
Minato closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
'I think this long ride has made me more tired than I expected.' Minato said to himself as he brushed off the earlier phenomena.
Minato tried to put on his headset to try and take his mind off of the butterfly, but before he could do so, he felt something bump into his shoulder. Looking at his left shoulder, he saw a red headed girl leaning on him as she slept. He was confused by this, not because of her suddenly leaning her head on his shoulder, but where the girl suddenly came from. He clearly remembered that all of the passengers sitting beside him or in his row had already left a few stations ago.
Looking at the girl, she was wearing the same uniform as him. He concluded that she was going to be a schoolmate of his. He also noticed that she had the same brand and model of headphones and music player as him, not just that, but the same song was currently playing from both their players.
'Who the heck is this girl?' Minato asked himself as he tried to make sense of things. He was still a bit on edge due the butterfly earlier.
Suddenly, the girl jerked up and seemed to wake up.
"H-Huh? Where am… But isn't this… Why I am here again?!" The girl said as panic crossed her face as she frantically held her head.
Minato continued to observe the panicking girl. He thought that she was just waking up from a bad dream and was having a hard time adjusting from the nightmare. He was going to ignore the girl as he thought that she was just going to calm down in a few seconds. He immediately went stiff as he saw two fierce red eyes stare him down.
"Y-You! Can I ask what day it is?!" The girl loudly said, still clearly unstable from her earlier dream.
"H-Huh? Oh, umm, it's Monday." Minato stuttered nervously, he wasn't sure why she was suddenly asking him that, maybe it had something to do with her nightmare.
"Not that you idiot! What date is it right now!" The red head loudly said as she shook her head frantically. Minato thought that maybe she was some kind of loon or maybe she had a hard case of chuunibyou.
"June t-twelve, and if you wanted the year also, it's 200X," Minato answered, adding the year for good measure; most of the other students who had chuunibyou always wanted to include the year whenever they wanted to know what day it was, as if they had just travelled to or back in time.
"I-Is that so…" The red head said, but looked like couldn't believe what she just heard. After a few seconds, the red head suddenly snapped her head back at him. "B-But you weren't here before, from I remember!"
"I could say that you also…" Minato retorted back as he crossed his arms, clearly annoyed by the girl. "I clearly remember that I was the only one sitting here a few stations ago, and I haven't changed seats since I boarded the train."
The red head physically reeled; she then placed her hand on her mouth in a thinking manner. She seemed to be thinking of a response because after a few seconds she smirked at him and answered,
"How do you know I didn't just sat here while you were, ah, umm, busy staring at the blue butterfly, huh?!"
"Well you could have sat here by that time…" Minato responded, making the girl's swell up with pride, but he then added, "But could you have suddenly sat there and immediately went to sleep?"
"I sleep fast?" The girl answered, clearly bluffing her way out of the conversation. Fortunately, for her, Minato wasn't in the mood to entertain her and her case of chuunibyou.
"Whatever…" Minato said as he placed his headset on to try and cut the conversation. "I'm done talking with you."
As Minato got engrossed to the music playing in his Mp3 player, he started to drum his fingers to the beat of the song. Even though he was often called as 'that broody' or 'Mr. Anti-social' by most of his peers, if someone approached him about his genre of music or what he was listening to, he would always answer them. His love of music spurned the day he bought his music player and headset; he bought it one day when he wanted something to drown out the talks behind his back from his peers or even his relatives. Since then, those two things never left his body, except when he was taking a shower or bath, but if it was waterproof he would have.
A few minutes later, Minato's music session was interrupted by a voice on the announcement system.
"This is the final train bound Tatsumi Port Island," The voice in the speaker said. "Please take care to board before our departure."
As the doors opened, Minato and the other passengers stood up and walked out of the train. Looking behind him, the red headed girl was walking out of the train too. Though, she had a very serious expression on her face, like something ominous was about to happen.
Minato wasn't going to pay mind to it, but the thing he couldn't stand most was a worried girl. It was very unlike him to worry about anyone else, but when it was a girl he would always ask them.
"Hey, what's wrong now?" Minato asked, hoping that it wasn't going to another one of her chuunibyou spiels.
"Three… Two…" Minato heard her whisper as if she didn't just hear him.
"Hey, I ask-" Minato tried to ask, but he cut himself off when he saw that the lights started to turn off.
Not just the lights, but every electronic device around them turned off simultaneously. Even his music player stopped playing and the lights on it had turned off. But that wasn't the only thing that happened, the dark sky turned gained a hue of green to it and there appeared to be some red liquid dripping from some of the ceiling above.
Any normal person would have started panicking and screaming in horror in the state of their surroundings, but Minato wasn't even bothered by it, it's as if he had already seen this and was accustomed to it.
He looked to some of the other passengers around him to see their reactions, but he couldn't, how could he when all of them have been replaced by black coffins that glowed red, except for the red headed girl that is.
Like him, she seemed to not mind the horror around them. The only thing he felt that moment was utter confusion. Why was she the only person who remaining and why was she the same as him, not freaking out over this, unlike her earlier behavior at the train.
Before he could satisfy his confusion, she smiled at him and asked,
"So, where you heading off to? I'm guessing your off to the boy's dorm of Gekkoukan High, right?"
The bluenette was taken aback by her sudden behavior and inquiry, but he immediately composed himself and answered.
"No, I'm off to the Iwatodai dorm," Minato fished out a flyer of the dorm from his pocket and showed it to the girl. "I was promised a free stay there, in addition to my scholarship."
"Oh, that's good then…" The girl's smile got wider as she started to walk off ahead of him, but turned around after a few steps. "I'm actually going there myself, follow me, I know the way. By the way, the name's Arisato, Minako Arisato."
Minato was a bit surprised when he heard that he had the same surname as him, not only that by also her name was just a female version of his, though he brushed it off as mere coincidence. In Japan, the surname Arisato and first name Minato wasn't that uncommon, so it was just likely that they just shared names and weren't related in anyway.
"Then, mines' Minato Arisato, and before you say it, we just share the same name and surname, I don't think we're related in anyway," Minato replied in a monotone with his ever present poker face.
"I wasn't even going to comment about that, smartass," Minako scoffed as he mocked him a bit, earning her a slight glare from the boy. "Anyways, we need to hurry or we'll be late."
Before Minato could react, Minako had walked over to him, grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the station. He was shocked by how easily he was dragged around by her; she didn't seem to be that strong, basing from her body type, though maybe it had to do with how thin he was.
As Minato stepped outside of the station, he saw that the streets were littered with coffins and puddles of red liquid, and he also saw a gigantic yellow moon. But like in the train station, both of them weren't fazed by all of this and just continued to run towards the direction of the dorm, splashing some of the red liquid as they stepped on them.
After a few minutes of walking, or being dragged in Minato's case, they finally arrived at the dorm. Minato confirmed it by looking at the picture provided on the flyer.
The place seemed bigger and grandeur than what Minato expected. The windows were wide and fancy and it also had two large wooden doors that fit the aesthetic of the place.
"Hey blue boy!" Minako called out to him from atop the staircase leading up to the front door of the dorm, throwing Minato out of his reverie. "If you want to stay outside, then be my guest, but I ain't waiting for your sorry ass."
Minato thought the girl had a bit of potty mouth, but she did have a point; staying outside where it looked like a set of a horror movie didn't look like a wise choice, so he went inside the dorm with Minako.
Despite the grandeur appearance of the outside of the dorm, the inside looked like what you'd expect from a normal dorm. It had a front desk, living room and a kitchen at the back; it was partitioned by a small wall with glass. The living room contained a large sofa, two seats and old T.V. set.
As Minato examined the front desk, he noticed that a boy emerged from behind it. The boy seemed to be six to eight years old, and he was also wearing a striped pajama, reminiscent of a prisoner's outfit.
"You've finally arrived…" The boy said in the creepiest and scariest voice possible for a kid his age, but again, the two didn't seem to be bothered by his voice. "I've been waiting for a long time."
Minato understood the feelings of the boy. The boy had been waiting for the two of them, god knows how long, and it was already midnight.
"If you want to proceed, sign here…" The boy gestured to a piece of paper on top of the desk. "It's a contract. Don't worry; it only binds you to the consequences of your actions."
Minato was a bit disturbed by what he just said, though he just shrugged it off and thought that it was incase they broke something inside the dorm or did anything malicious. Minato approached the contract and read the contents of it.
'I chooseth this fate of mine own free will.' The contract stated.
Minato thought that it was a bit weird that the contract only contained that sentence, but didn't complain and signed it. He would use it as a loop hole whenever he had trouble concerning the contract.
Minako approached the front desk after him, but the boy just smiled at her and said,
"It has seemed that you have already signed a contract of yours…" The boy said and produced a contract from the desk and showed it to Minako. "Hmm, it seems that you've already fulfilled it, but never mind that. I think that this contract is still effect, so no need for a new one."
Minako didn't say anything and just nodded her head at the boy.
"Very well…" The boy said, satisfied by the contracts. "Time is something no one can escape, it delivers us to all to the same end. Wishing it won't make it go away…" The boy then smirked and concluded his speech. "And so it begins…"
The boy then suddenly disappeared from their eyes, but before Minato could think about it, a voice from the other end of the room said something.
"W-Who's there?!" Looking at their right, Minako and saw that it was brown headed girl dressed in a pink uniform. She looked at them in confusion then to panic. "How can you be…? But it's…!" The girl's expression changed again, this time she looked at them in an aggressive manner. "Don't tell me…"
The girl then whipped out what seemed like a gun from holster in her leg, Minato was about to push Minako aside, but before he could react, another voice joined in their conversation.
"Wait!" The owner of the voice, another girl with red hair, said as it pushed down the brunette's hands.
The brunette, and both Minato and Minako was surprised by her sudden appearance, but what surprised them more was the fact that lights lit up and Minato's headset started playing again.
"The lights…" The brunette said as she calmed down.
Sensing that there wasn't any more trouble, Minato calmed down a bit also, but still a wary of the girl holding the gun.
"I didn't think both of you'd arrive so late," The long haired red head said in a calm and polite manner, like nothing ever happened a few seconds ago. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijou. I'm one of the students who live here in this dorm."
"Who are they?" The brunette asked, putting back her gun in its holster.
"They're transfer students. It was a last minute decision to assign them here," Mitsuru stated. "They'll be eventually moved to a room in the normal dorm."
Minato was a bit confused by what she said. From the day he received his scholarship, it was stated that he would stay at the Iwatodai dorm, but didn't want to complain as he wasn't very picky in where he stayed at, as long he had a place to stay at.
"…Is it okay for them to be here?" The brunette asked, looking at the two suspiciously.
"I guess we'll see…" Mitsuru said in a knowing manner as a smirked formed on her mouth.
'What the hell are they talking about?' Minato thought as they looked very suspicious to him. He decided to put it aside for now; he wouldn't gain anything if he pushed the subject.
"This is Yukari Takeba," Mitsuru gestured at the brunette beside her. "She'll be a junior this spring, just like the both of you."
"…Hi, I'm Yukari," Yukari introduced herself in a reserved manner. Minato thought that she was either embarrassed by her earlier actions or were still wary of them.
Minato wanted to ask why she had a gun with her, but Minako started talking before he could press about it.
"Nice to meet you, my name's Minako Arisato."
"Uh, y-yeah…" Yukari replied as she seemed a bit taken aback by her friendly introduction, she then matched up her tone and smiled at her. "Nice to meet you too."
"And Mr. Serious over there is Minato Arisato," Minako rudely gestured towards Minato as she introduced him.
"I can introduce myself, thank you very much," Minato rebutted as he crossed his arms and glared at Minako.
"W-Wait, are you two twins?" Yukari asked surprised by their names.
"As if I'm related to this potty mouthed girl," Minato said as he faced away from Minako. "We just happen to have the same name and surname."
"Hmph, I wouldn't want to be related to you also, your bitchyness." Minako said as she faced away from Minato also.
"What a lively pair," Mitsuru chuckled, amused by their interactions. "Anyways, it's getting late. Minato, your room will be at the second floor, Minako yours will be at the third floor, Yukari will escort both of you to your rooms. Both of your things should you already be there, so I suggest you to tuck in for the night."
Minato was relieved to know that he didn't need to unpack all of his clothes, though he didn't have that much so it wasn't that much of bother even if he had to.
"Okay, I'll show you the way, follow me." Yukari said with a smile as she started to walk towards the stairs.
Minako followed up the stairs, leaving Minato behind. Mitsuru looked at him in confusion, she asked whether he had futher inquiry he wanted answered. After giving a cold and almost dirty look, Minato said,
"I'm a bit suspicious of you, you purposely tried to steer off the topic away her earlier behavior. To be honest, I'm not going to bother myself asking whether that gun was real or not, but know that I have my eyes on both of you."
"Understandable." Mitsuru replied, relieved that he wasn't going to press the topic, but she made a mental note that he was more observant than she initially thought.
Minato scoffed and went up the stairs leaving a tired Mitsuru. She shook her head and sighed, because of their little talk, Mitsuru needed to be more careful around the male Arisato least she increase his suspicion further or worse end up not joining their cause.
Up on the second floor, Minako was scolding an annoyed Minato for being late and making them wait to show his room.
"I just had a little talk with Ms. Kirijou downstairs." Minato annoyedly said, clearly not enjoying his talk with Minako.
"And just about what, huh? Care to tell the others?" Minako pressed, she was a bit angry and curious as to what their conversation was about.
"None of your business." Minato simply said, tired from having to talk with Minako further. "So, is this my room? If I'm allowed can I now rest up? Remember we have school tomorrow."
"O-Oh, yes, this is it," Yukari stuttered as she was taken aback by his rude and straightforward way of talking. She then opened the door and gave Minato his keys. "Just make sure not to lose your keys or you'll never hear the end of it. Anyways, have good rest, Arisato-san."
"Just call me Minato, don't want to be confused whether you're mentioning her or me," Minato said as he took the keys and went inside, but before he closed the doors, he looked at the two and said, "Good Night, both of you."