This is the first fanfiction/story whatever that I've published to this site. It's the first actual "story" that I've written. I don't know how to explain it.

I wouldn't say you would really need to know the characters that much, as this story builds on that aspect — a standalone, if you will. That being said, you need an appreciation to enjoy this thoroughly. Chapters are mostly at least 3000 words or more.


It was a cold time for him when all hope has been lost. Where can he possibly turn to? You would expect him to know where he was going, but you couldn't possibly have known. And yet, when he felt betrayed and cold inside, he still had no sympathy left for anyone.

He was an ordinary man living alone in the suburbs of an ill-treated metropolis. It was only just then did he realize his mistake for his actions. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That was Isaac Newton's third law.

"You can't hide from yourself forever," his self-conscious told him. "It'll haunt you until the day you die."

That wasn't the exact words of hope that he was looking for. He forced himself off the cold floor and began to walk towards the door of his room. As he stepped out into the hallway of his apartment, he had no memory of what he was doing. Yoshiki had no ability to recall the last thing he was doing last night.

When he reached the kitchen, there was a little glimmer of light coming from the direction of the window. He hastily went over to his phone lying there on the counter. His hands were trembling nervously when he went over to pick it up. He switched it on, the time reading 6 AM along with a new text message.

"Hey, I know what you're thinking. I know how you feel, young one. I know you, but you don't know me. You don't know yourself."

He didn't have any clue what the cryptic message meant. He put the phone down and wandered around to inspect his living quarters some more. Everything else seems to be normal; nothing out of the ordinary. He sighed as he went back to his bedroom, eager to continue his dozing sleep from where he left off.

Yoshiki was never a believer in lucid dreaming, but he could probably induce it if he tried. He's already done part of the technique yet, all he needs to do now is doze off while concentrating on dreaming.

Another hour went by as he lay there, motionless in his bed. He woke up again with a loud thud. He'd just rolled off his bed and was trying to put the pieces together.

The clock read 5 AM. "Wasn't this 6 AM, or is this clock backward?" he thought. As Yoshiki figures out the truth, he found out that the last time he was awake was in fact in dreaming. He didn't forget this particular dream. He didn't forget this dream. "Why?" Yoshiki thought once more. "Why would I be able to recall this specific dream? I don't have..."

His willpower was cut off from a sudden lack of energy. He hadn't had the faintest idea and just before he was able to realize what was happening, his surroundings abruptly dropped in darkness.

It was a Wednesday morning when he awoke.

Yoshiki Kishinuma didn't roll out of bed this time; he merely fainted on the ground from when he was last awake. He started questioning reality, but those thoughts soon passed over.

"It's 7:47. Haha, I bet I'll be pretty late." Yoshiki chuckled again and again on his way to the bathroom.

He was able to finish his preparations for school and started to prepare his breakfast. Everything had happened so fast that he wasn't able to process it all. He still felt drowsy from his absolute lack of sleep these past two days. Yoshiki then donned a white shirt and over a gray hoodie. He preferred to leave it unzipped. He proceeded to put on some black pants and shoulder his backpack.

When he was sure he was done, he opened the front door and stepped out into the thoughts went through him and just like that, he was in the stairwell. His home was only on the second floor, so he didn't have that much of descent. The stairs were thoroughly covered with patches of dust on the sides. The environment seems rather dull for such a spacious building, as there was a worn out sofa in a room of which was once the lobby. That was the only piece of furniture on the first floor.

Yoshiki stepped outside into the real world. He wasn't actually dreaming this time. His lack of sleep has done things to his mind. It mostly lacked brain power, and his thoughts became number as he trudged away on the concrete sidewalk. He checked his phone for the time, which read 8:12 AM. He wasn't going to be as late as he thought he was. He decided to pick up the pace when the rain started to piss down.

The academy eventually came into view in the midst of the pouring rain. He was met with a sudden rush of fatigue as he slowed his pace. "Man," he thought, "I haven't been keeping in shape." It would make sense, having been lazy the last few days. Yoshiki drew another conclusion that his lack of sleep could be to blame.

Yoshiki proceeded to open the door leading into the high school, and he felt a rush of indoor air over his face as he did so. He continued to put away his shoes and swap them for indoor shoes and found a bulletin board with a list of all the students in which homeroom along with various posters about school clubs scattered around with the random anime drawing. Surprisingly, the board wasn't crowded with people at all.

Finding his name on the 1-5 homeroom class list, he proceeded to skim the names to find no one that seemed familiar. He scratched his head and walked around the new high school. The delinquent didn't know how he got into high school; he was barely able to pass the entrance exam required for all first-year students.

Ayumi Shinozaki was sitting around on one of the various benches in the school. He noticed a blond boy walk by as she was browsing her phone waiting for class. The time on her display read 8:23 AM. Was that bleached?

Shrugging off the thought, she continued to read about ghost stories on the web. She has been particularly interested as her family had a history of occult topics, not to mention her hobby of reading ghost stories. Her family was always considered weird by many, but she shrugged those remarks off ever since elementary. She was just about to finish reading when the bell rang, signaling homeroom period. Finishing up and closing her phone, she made her way to her homeroom, 1-3.

Yoshiki was just entering his homeroom when he was hit in the head by a wooden stick affixed across the doorway. He ducked under it as his head was bruising, silently cursing it in the process; the classmates behind him were quietly giggling while trying to not get hit in the process. Eventually, Yoshiki found a seat near the back of the room. The date on the board read April 2nd, 2007.

The classroom was littered with many postings about the samurai. He figured the teacher was either interested in the samurai or he was a history teacher, the latter being his most logical choice to go with. A kabuto hung from the wall the front of the room along with various pieces of bamboo armor and a katana. He debated if the katana was real or not.

The blond was almost finished observing his surroundings when the bell rang a second time, signaling that homeroom had started. The teacher, seemingly in his mid-30s was a tall one who was clean-shaven. He was also well toned, which gave the impression that he was also a PE teacher.

"Alright class, listen up. My name is Mr. Hosokawa," the teacher started, "I understand that this is your first year in Kisaragi High. I am your homeroom teacher for the year, 1-5. I'm also a history teacher and the PE teacher for second-year students."

The class was seemingly paying attention due to his authoritarian-like voice. The impression of his voice told the class that no one should be messing around with somebody like this. Yoshiki, however, had thoughts in his head that were against his message.

"Now, I expect all of you to attend class on time, be dressed appropriately in your uniforms—which I will hand out shortly—and also follow my rules and the school policy every day. As long as you go by my words, we should all get along." the teacher finished.

Yoshiki was still in his train of thought, only half of the attention focused on his words; the other part of his attention span was focused on his future in school. He wasn't interested in school at all. The blond's eyelids began to close as he started to drift off into sleep.


"I am what I am, a believer at that. Believer of none but of lack. Lack of the knowledge that is precious here. Can anyone tell me who I am referring to?"

Ayumi was in her homeroom when the teacher walked in and asked that riddle. She was still trying to comprehend the teacher's riddles. She was never a big fan of solving them. There was a sense of frustration around the classroom as everyone else tried to explain it.

"A dropout?" one student asked.

"Correct," the teacher replied with a slight grin forming on his face. "I expect all of you to not become what a 'dropout' or a 'delinquent' is. That is one of my expectations."

The class exhaled out as a sign of relief. The old man was going to be a pain to talk to, she thought. She hated teachers in general, and this one was on her nerves.

"Hehe, I haven't introduced myself have I? My name is Mr. Yamada. I am your homeroom teacher, also teaching ethics here at Kisaragi." The teacher began to hand out the school uniforms and IDs. "Now, as you may have noticed, the school uniforms at senior high are different from junior high."

Ayumi picked up her uniform and name tag and observed them for a while. It was a tan-colored sailor outfit with a blue-collar and a yellow bow attached to a blue brooch to the top. It was also along with a blue skirt. She stowed her ID along with the uniform in her backpack for now.

Ayumi looked around her class. She was sitting in one of the front row seats with Naomi and Seiko not too far behind. "They were bonding well," she thought to herself. Both of the girls were friends since junior high and Ayumi were classmates with them before.

"I have some things to announce, like the school opening ceremony and the entrance ceremony for you first years which will happen in around,"—the teacher paused to look at his watch—"five minutes from now. The entrance ceremony will occur after lunch." Mr. Yamada began handing out school schedules as well as he continued. "You're all going to be here for three years. Get comfortable." He finished off with a smile as the bell rang.


"Kishinuma!" Yoshiki awoke with a start when the teacher yelled in his ears.

"Y-yes, sir?" he stumbled at the unexpected scolding from his homeroom teacher.

"So, you're the slacker I see. Is that correct?"

Yoshiki was thinking of an answer to give to his menacing teacher. "Uh... not exactly, sir."

The teacher grinned. "Ah, I see you walked right into the stick in the doorway. Haha, you remind me of one of my ancestor's pupils when he was a sensei himself," the teacher said, jokingly. "Both of you had blonde hair, but he was from England apparently…" Hosokawa was displaying an effort to remember the stories his parents had told him before. "Bah, enough about that. You're off the hook for now since this is the first day, heh."

Yoshiki sighed as his heart thumped. He was legitimately scared.

"Thank you, sensei."

As the teacher went back to handing out uniforms and IDs, Yoshiki noticed his uniform and schedule on his desk. It was the Kisaragi dark gray gakuran uniform. He decided not to take off his gray hoodie, even though some of his classmates were already wearing it.

As the bell rang, everyone stood up to follow the teacher. Yoshiki, not knowing what to do since he was asleep, followed his classmates out the door. Mr. Hosokawa eventually led the class to the auditorium where the entire school gathered for the school opening ceremony. "I guess this was what I was not listening to when I was asleep," he thought.

As they all walked into the auditorium, Yoshiki noticed a podium on the stage area along with Japanese flags and a banner that said 'Kisaragi High School Entrance Ceremony.' All the homerooms sat together as they were grouped by year.

The ceremony went by in a blur, with many speeches from various faculty members and the vice-principal along with the principal. Lunch eventually came, and the hallways became parades of people from the dispersing out of the auditorium.

The cafeteria soon became the most populated place in the school, which was expected during lunch hour. Students from all the years soon stood in the line-up to buy cafeteria food, then either find a seating area in the cafeteria or eat in their homerooms.

Among the people in the line was Yoshiki, waiting to buy lunch. The line eventually shortened, and it was his turn. He picked up the lunch trays and proceeded to add a bowl of rice on his plate along with some utensils and nothing else.

Yoshiki began to wander the halls of the high school when he found a sign called 'roof access.' He proceeded to follow the direction of the sign into a stairway leading up to a door that he assumed to lead to the roof. He slowly moved the door ajar when suddenly he was caught in a fresh breeze on his face. It's been a while since he has met the sensation of the outdoor air.

Stepping out onto the roof, he noticed that he had a pretty clear view of the city and the rustic surroundings. He slowly crept forth to the handrails that prevented people from simply walking off. Yoshiki decided this place would be a good place to eat his lunch. After all, he hated eating inside the school with other people; he preferred to be alone.

Ayumi was on her way to the auditorium, where the entrance ceremony was taking place. She was nervous since the entrance ceremony was also when all the class representatives had their speeches. She was told that people who wanted to be class representatives had to prepare a speech during the summer and send a copy of it to the council. The auditorium was looking different from the first time they went in for the school opening ceremony.

There were some women in the doorway leading to the auditorium dressed in kimonos standing along with suit dressed men, plus some other students. Ayumi assumed that they were their mothers, knowing that they are proud of them for attending high school since high school wasn't mandatory.

Everyone was given time during lunch to dress up in their school uniforms, and she looked down at hers. It fit her nicely, and she liked that. She never liked uniforms that exposed too much. She found her homeroom, and she paraded in along with the rest of her class into the auditorium.

The vice-principal began the ceremony with introducing the principal. The principal then delivered a speech that addressed the first years in the school, personally wishing those best of luck for the next three years.

Next are the new student introductions where they introduced all the first year students. They went over the homerooms in numerical order, with the entire homeroom going up on stage and having each person's name called out to bow to the principal, with the principal returning the bow.

When it was 1-3's turn, Ayumi was told to stay behind for her speech. She was given her cue card to read from as she remained in the curtains. Shortly after 1-3 was done and 1-4's, it was 1-5's turn.

"Yoshiki Kishinuma," the principal called out.

There was no answer from the crowd of his homeroom. The principal asked again.

"Yoshiki Kishinuma?"

Silence. He wasn't present at the ceremony. Ayumi noticed the homeroom teacher looking around for him but seemingly to no avail.

"It appears that he is absent for this ceremony."

It soon returned to normal, but the school was still dwelling on that thought. Missing such an important and formal ceremony was shameful. Whoever this person is will be starting off high school with a reputation, she thought.

The rest of the ceremony eventually went on, finishing the introductions and moving onto the speeches. It began with the Board of Education's speech, followed by the student council. The last part of the ceremony was the speeches from all the class reps. When it was Ayumi's turn, she was nervous, but she calmed herself down in the moments before her turn. She stated in her speech that she cared about the well-being of others, thinking of Yoshiki at that moment. What was Kishinuma's deal?

Her speech was soon over, and she went to sit back down with her homeroom. The last part of the ceremony was the teacher introductions. She noticed 1-5's homeroom teacher looked pretty menacing. If Kishinuma had that person for his homeroom teacher then he's in for a rough ride, she lingered. The ceremony closed with another speech from the principal, and the students were taken back to their homerooms.


The bell rang, and Yoshiki woke up and glanced at his phone. It was 4:00 PM, the time when the school ended. He glanced around, trying to remember where he was. There was a lunch tray with a rice bowl from the cafeteria next to him. He soon realized he fell asleep on the roof.

Getting up, he stretched and cracked a few bones and went off the roof back down the same stairwell he used. Walking out of the school, he went straight to the music store he worked in. A part-time job was what he needed to do if he wanted to afford rent and pay his phone bills.

The blond stepped into the guitar shop, seemingly dressed in his casual clothes. He didn't change into his uniform at the school since he had no idea of the entrance ceremony.

"Why hello, Kishinuma."

A voice came, and he looked over to his manager who was bowing. Yoshiki briefly returned the bow.

"Ready to start your shift?"

Yoshiki nodded as he took his place at the cashier's stand. Yoshiki kept looking over at the wide variety of guitars laid about the place. There were acoustics, electrics including famous brands such as Gibson and Fender. Also among the choices were bass guitars and several of other guitar accessories like bags and straps. "Playing the guitar is the only thing I'm good at," he thought, "it's the only thing I don't get yelled at for doing."

The clock struck 7:00 PM as Ayumi was walking down the steps of the high school. Her student council meeting was over, and it was droned on a bit late, but she didn't mind. Walking down the streets of her neighborhood in the silent night, she noticed a lone person walking on the sidewalk. It was a blonde haired boy with gray eyes, couldn't be older than 17. "Wait," she thought. "Isn't this the same person I saw at school?" They both walked by each other, looking at each other in the process.

"She's wearing the school uniform," Yoshiki thought as he was walking home from work. Not like he cared anyway. He never cared.


I decided to make it 2007 because one of the in-game photos show 2008 on the day that they were in Heavenly Host.

First chapter revamped a little bit.