Chapter 1
Starting in Asanagi
The wondrous world of Pokemon. A world where mythical and fantastical creatures called Pokemon live alongside humans. Most of these Pokemon live alongside regular human beings as equals or sometimes superiors in their respective habitats. Some humans see this equality as a chance to study them up close, gaining as much information and knowledge as they can about each and every Pokemon known to man. Others keep them around as household pets. There are even those humans to have their Pokemon bout with other humans' Pokemon in battles. These particular humans are known as Pokemon Trainers. Some Trainers work as police officers to protect the citizens and their Pokemon from harm. Others work as Rangers to protect the wildlife Pokemon from disasters. There are also those who work as Nurse Joys to heal and care for injured Pokemon. No matter which way you look at it, humans and Pokemon have coexisted for centuries after their full discovery.
However, as time went on, some of these Pokemon began to develop their own human intelligence outside of the usual Psychic-type intelligence. This type of intelligence further led to researchers frantically trying to decipher each individual Pokemon's brain waves in order to figure out how this new Pokemon intelligence came about. Then, due to some outside force unknown even to this day, these particularly abnormal Pokemon vanished from the world and taken somewhere else. A world much like the previous - lush white grassfields, vast blue bodies of ocean, and large erupting volcanos. And then, it happened. These Pokemon began to take humanoid forms, becoming Gijinkas. Humanoid Pokemon that act and think like human beings, but still retain their respective Pokemon abilities. This new Gijinka race would come to live in this new world, called Futomari, for the next millennium. Which brings us to the present day.
Welcome to the town of Asanagi. A town full of vast open fields, rich wildlife, and an amazing amount of industrial and technological advancements. This town stands as one of the biggest towns in Futomari, with only two other towns surpassing its sheer size. However, its popularity is second-to-none, as its attractions such as its amazing theme parks and its monumentally notorious King Celadon statue are unmatched anywhere else in the world. However, its biggest attraction by far is Asanagi High School, one of the most prestigious schools in existence. This school has an impeccable ability to turn casual students into young prepared adults better than most other schools while still being able to retain its status as a regular high school for students.
It is the day before the start of the new school year for Asanagi, and the subway was rolling around towards its stop at the station. "Now arriving at Asanagi Station. Please hold on to your belongings and hold on to the nearest pole as we begin our stop." The announcement went on over top of the passengers, one in particular being a young 14-year-old male looking to live by himself and become an adult early. What was visible through all of the passengers was that this boy had brown ears, resembling those of an Eevee. He also seemingly wore a shirt that had a long light brown sleeve, and was holding onto a large black suitcase while wearing a rather heavy-looking blue backpack.
As the subway came to a complete stop, the doors opened and all of the passengers were let out. The young boy came out in the middle of the passengers with his belongings. He had short, straight brown hair, a light brown long-sleeved shirt, brown pants, and dark brown shoes. His ears and bushy tail were also brown, with the tip of the tail being light brown and the inner lobes of the ears being a very dark shade of brown. As he walked through the subway station, he grabbed himself a snack on his way out - a simple doughnut, nothing more. He managed to finish the doughnut and throw away the napkin he was holding said doughnut with before he left the station. When he fully entered the town of Asanagi, he looked around with his hazel-colored eyes, breath taken by the beautiful scenery he laid eyes on. The vast grass and flower fields, the rich amounts of wildlife, and the sheer amount of buildings and people walking around the sidewalks.
"Wow, this place looks even better than it did on the pamphlet," the young boy said, still holding onto his belongings as he started walking through the streets. "I could walk around here a multitude of times, and I would still be in awe of this place's gorgeous scenery." The young boy looks at his smartphone in his right hand. The time was 2:47PM. "I just hope I can get to my new house and get everything I need unpacked before 3:30. I do have somewhere I need to be at that time. After all, I did say that I would be available today. Don't wanna disappoint them."
As the young Eevee continued to walk through the streets of Asanagi, he eventually took a turn to his right down another street connected to the 'main' one. Down this street were numerous houses on the right side, and a vast grassfield in front of a large body of water on the left. The young Eevee boy was amazed by the scenery.
"Yep. This is definitely where I'm supposed to be," he said in a happy tone, walking slowly down the street whilst looking at all of the houses and their numbers. "Now I just gotta find my house number, and then I can get to moving my stuff out into their respective rooms."
We was walking for a good 5-10 minutes searching for his number. Then, however, he found it and approached the house.
"137. Yep, that's the one," he said, comparing the house's appearance to that on the sheet of paper he was holding. He then approached the doorway, and opened the mailbox to see what was in it. "Just a bunch of junk mail. I'll look through it later." As he closed the mailbox, a shining plate with "Residence of Keyori Zanpachi" was seen on the lid. The Eevee, apparently named Keyori, took out his key, unlocked the door, and went into his house. "*sigh* Home sweet home."
Through the door, Keyori instantly entered the house's living room, which had a couch against the windows next to the door and loveseat, conveniently placed perpendicular to one another, as well as a high definition plasma TV sitting across from the couch.
"Huh. Guess they moved everything in already," Keyori said, scratching the back of his head with a nervous look on his face with an anime sweatdrop running down his face. He then walked to his left into the supposed dining room, where only a lone dining room table and six chairs sit in the center of the room. "Yep. They definitely already moved everything into this house." He said with the same expression as before.
Keyori then went up the stairs to the second floor. Not much to note here other than that there's a completely ordinary bathroom with completely ordinary items in it. But to the right of the stairs was a small bedroom area. Keyori walked into this bedroom and saw a small bed to his left and a dresser just slightly farther up than that.
"Up these stairs too," Keyori said, laying down his suitcase and opening it. Inside were a bunch of his clothes that he packed, as well as an apron that had a particularly strange logo below the circling words "Reality is what you make it" in Japanese kana and kanji. He put it on, grabbed his keys, and walked out the door. He then locked it behind him, and walked out back into the streets while putting on his apron.
After a few minutes of walking down Asanagi's sidewalks and looking around more at the scenery, Keyori eventually comes to a convenience store right next to the street with all of the households. The logo above the front door was the exact same as that on Keyori's apron.
"Well it's time now," Keyori said to himself with a determined expression. "Time to introduce myself to my boss and coworkers as the newest employee."
Keyori then walked into the convenience store, titled Korono Market, with his head held high with confidence. As he entered, he saw presumably a middle-aged male Stoutland in a professional business tuxedo, whom Keyori assumed was his new boss.
"Afternoon, sir," Keyori said gleefully upon seeing the Stoutland.
"Hmm?" the middle-aged man rected, turning around to see who was speaking to him out of the blue. "Ah. You must be Keyori Zanpachi. Right on time, as you promised. Though I wouldn't really have minded you being late today. You did just arrive here today after all, so it only feels right to cut you some slack."
"Thank you for the generosity sir, but I did promise you," Keyori said, smiling cheerfully. "And I did intend to keep that promise."
"Ahahaha," the Stoutland chuckled a bit. "You youngsters these days. You're always such mixed bags. But enough with the small talk. I haven't introduced myself yet. I serve as the owner of this particular Korono Market location. Mukuro Takafumi is my full name. Pleasure to meet you." Mukuro then stuck out his hand towards Keyori.
"Likewise," Keyori replied with a big smile, holding out his own hand to grab and shake Mukuro's.
"Ahahaha," Mukuro chuckled again. "So then, why don't we go over your new job today while I still have free time?" Keyori nods. "Good. You will be starting off here as a sales clerk, standing behind this cashier stand to take sales transactions from customers." Mukuro pointed towards the nearby cash register as he said this. "But I'm sure you already know what a cash register is. You must've been with your parents at the local supermarket many times when you were younger."
"I'm sure everyone has," Keyori replied, an anime sweatdrop on his blank expression as he took sudden stops at the beginning and end of his sentence.
"I bet you even wanted to take that sightseeing a step further if you know what I mean," Mukuro said with a smile. Keyori simply replied with a large exasperated sigh as he lowered his head's height, his eyes completely covered by black lines the size of Brock's eyebrows. "Ahahaha, I only kid, I only kid." Mukuro sighed for a bit.
"Well, unfortunately my time here is up for now," He said, looking over the corner. "Oh, and it seems we already have customers waiting for you."
"Ah yes, welcome!" Keyori exclaimed to the customers with a smile on his face, turning back towards them. He then walked into the back of the cashier stand to the cash register. "How may I help you today?"
The first customer, a female Raichu who looked like she was a mother, put her items on the countertop - a bottle of Pepsi and a couple of sticks of Starburst candy - and then took out her wallet from within her purse.
"I don't think I've ever seen you around these parts of town," the Raichu said to Keyori. "Is this your first time working here?"
"A-Actually I just moved to this town today," Keyori replied with a smile. "I decided that I wanted to live on my own here after I graduated from middle school a couple months ago."
"Oh, you're gonna start high school here tomorrow, are you?" the Raichu said. "Wow, and already you have a job. You're already an adult, more so than most people your age."
"Heh, thanks a lot," Keyori replied, scratching the back of his head.
"Who knows? Maybe you'll have kids at age 16 at this rate," the Raichu remarked.
"!" Keyori reacted with a look of great shock. [Why would she try and insinuate THAT?! I would never do something like that! Ever!]
"Hahahahahaha, I was just kidding," the Raichu joked. "Ohh boy, I haven't laughed like that in a while. But speaking of high school, I guess you wanna attend Asanagi High, right?"
"Well yeah," Keyori replied. "That's actually one of the main reasons why I chose this town to move to." That and the scenery is amazing."
"You miss your parents yet?" the Raichu asked Keyori.
"Not really," Keyori replied. "Truth be told, I honestly didn't think my parents would support my decision of moving out all by myself."
"Hmm," the Raichu smiled. "Oh. Look at the time. I-I gotta get going, sorry."
"Oh right," Keyori said in a panicked tone, his forehead covered in sweatdrops. "Uhh, that'll be…"
Keyori's voice drowns out at the end of the sentence as the day slowly goes on for him and his customers. He was constantly greeting every one of them with a kind smile, taking their payments for their respective groups of items - usually just sodas and candy, with the occasional biscuit sandwich or Rice Krispy Treat. Eventually sunset came around. It was 7:43PM, and there were no other customers for his shift. Mukuro came out from the back of the store, motioned Keyori to come out from behind the cashier stand.
"That's all for today, Keyori," he said as Keyori came to him. "Thank you for your hard work today."
"Eh? Did I do something?" Keyori asked nervously.
"Oh no no no, it's not that," Mukuro replied. "It's just that your shift for today is over, that's all."
"My shift?!" Keyori said, a look of pure shock on his face.
"Ahahaha," Mukuro simply chuckled. "My apologies, I forgot to tell you your shifts before I left. But I brought with me a sheet that you might need for the future." Mukuro pulled out a piece of paper from his binder and handed it to Keyori. He took a glance at the paper itself, and noticed the days and times separated by rows of periods.
"Huh. So these are my shift times, huh?" Keyori said.
"Correct," Mukuro replied. "Don't worry about having to be here before those times, even on weekends. Youngsters like you should enjoy your youth, and be free. I understand that you want to live like an adult. But your youth still exists nonetheless, and you should cherish it while you still have it. Besides, you start high school tomorrow. You should head home and get some rest so you'll be rested for that."
"Understood," Keyori replied, smiling cheerfully. "Thank you, sir!"
Keyori then walked out of the convenience store, taking off his work apron in the process. He decided to stop by the local McDonald's for dinner. He ordered a McDouble cheeseburger, a medium fries, and a medium diet coke for about $4, which he paid for with a $5 bill that he had in his wallet for snacks and such. He then went straight home and into his kitchen, which had a silver-colored refrigerator and freezer against the east wall, and a counter on two walls with cabinets above, an oven and stove on the south side, and dishwasher on the west. Keyori went to open his refrigerator and...realized that he has absolutely no food or drinks whatsoever. A look of pure exasperation and annoyance came across Keyori's face.
"*siiiiiiiiigh* Just great," Keyori said. "Guess I need to go and get a few groceries for tomorrow."
Keyori grabbed his keys again and walked out the door. Again. He went back to where Korono Market was, and then walked further, all the while looking around at the scenery at night.
"Whoooaaah, this place really is amazing to look at," Keyori said, breathtaken for a bit. "Let's see, it shouldn't be too much farther. I do remember seeing a supermarket on my way home from the subway." Keyori only walked for about two more minutes from the Korono Market when he found the supermarket, called Suketto. "Ah, there it is."
Keyori noticed that there was no logo for this place, unlike what Korono Market had. He also saw the parking lot almost completely empty. So he took out his phone to check the time. 8:49PM.
"Huh. It's not that late," Keyori said. "Guess everyone is trying to rest up for school tomorrow. Me, on the other hand." Keyori sighed as he walked down the parking lot and entered the supermarket. The layout of the supermarket's interior was like that of your typical Wal-Mart, if you've ever been to one before - fresh produce in the back corner, clothing in the middle, and multiple aisles of different food and drink products. Keyori just went and grabbed a small basket to hold his groceries in.
"Let's see, what will I need for tomorrow morning?" Keyori muttered to himself, heading all the way back towards the fresh produce section. "Well for one, I'll want some milk for a breakfast drink and just in general. I might get some cereal for breakfast too. Maybe some cookies for a snack too." All the while, Keyori is typing in his phone the miniature grocery list he was thinking out loud.
Eventually he made it to the milk section, where there were (of course) many different types of milk. 2%, whole, reduced fat, skim, even chocolate and strawberry milks.
"Do they really have to have chocolate and strawberry milks here?" Keyori said with a blank expression on his face. "You can just mix syrups in regular milk, and you would get the exact same thing."
Keyori grabbed a gallon of whole milk from the selection, and walked over to one of the food aisles. Specifically, the one that had all of the cereal selections that everyone spends forever and a half just deciding on ONE cereal, sometimes two or more. Keyori spent barely any time at all there, grabbing a box of his favorite cereal, Fruity Pebbles, and immediately heading over to another aisle - the snack aisle. Then after grabbing a pack of cookies and putting it in his basket, he headed over to one of the checkout lanes and took out his wallet.
"I don't think I've ever seen you before. You look like a new face here," the cashier, a male Kadabra, said. "Tell me, young man, did you just move here?"
"Yeah, I did," Keyori replied with a cheerful smile, putting his items onto the counter. "In fact, I came here all by myself."
"What?" the Kadabra exclaimed. "But you look so young. Why would you come in here alone?"
"It's simple really," Keyori said. "I wanna live life like a regular adult. I know I know, a 14-year-old like me would usually never think of such things. But I want the experience for the future."
"D-Do your parents know about you doing this?" the Kadabra asked Keyori nervously.
"Yeah," Keyori nodded. "Actually my mother supported my decision of moving out here. My dad saw this as an opportunity to get back to doing what he likes. Plus, the high school I would be going to over there...isn't exactly known to be the best." Keyori's expression changed from a smile to a nervous doze-off of sorts.
"I...see," the Kadabra, completely at a loss of words, replied. "So you wanted to attend Asanagi High School, is that right?"
"Yeah," Keyori nodded. He then looked at his phone's time. His expression turned into shock. "Oh uhh, I should get going if that's alright with you."
"Ahh yes," the Kadabra replied. "That'll be $10.45."
Keyori paid for the items as the Kadabra put them into a plastic bag using his telekinetic Psychic abilities. Keyori then put his wallet in his pocket, grabbed the plastic bag from Kadabra's telekinesis, and walked out of the supermarket after waving goodbye. He walked back to his house as quickly as he could, put the milk into the refrigerator, placed the cookies and cereal on top of the refrigerator for now, and went upstairs to unpack a few clothes. Specifically a pair of underwear, shorts, and a short-sleeved shirt.
Keyori went into the bathroom to get changed into his night clothes that he got out. But first, he turned on the shower to clean himself for his first day of school tomorrow.
"Ahhhhhh, this feels so nice after the long day that I had today," Keyori said, cleaning his hair and ears with shampoo and conditioner. Afterward, he cleaned his entire body with soap applied onto a pouf. After about twenty minutes of cleaning himself, Keyori got out of the shower and got changed into his night clothes. He brushed his teeth immediately afterwards, spending another 2 minutes in the bathroom.
After that was done, however, he picked up his dirty clothes and put them into his laundry basket outside of his room before heading in there and falling onto the bed. There was a medium 4:3 television across from his bed, and the remote for it was right next to where Keyori landed. So he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. The news channel was on as the newscaster were discussing Asanagi High School's new year starting tomorrow, and its staff members already prepared beforehand.
"*sigh* Tomorrow's the beginning," Keyori said to himself as he listened to the news. "I've got everything I need for tomorrow all ready to go."
Keyori then turned off the TV after the school discussion was over, set his alarm to wake up, and turned over on his bed to fall asleep.
The next morning…
*BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* *BEEP!* Keyori's alarm went off at 7:00AM sharp.
"Uuuuuuhh...Jeez…" Keyori mumbled as he turned off his alarm clock and yawned as he stretched outward. "Man, that alarm never gets any quieter no matter how many times you hear it." Keyori mustered himself out of his bed slowly, and went downstairs to eat his breakfast. He grabbed a bowl, cup, and spoon from out of the cabinet, got out his milk, and grabbed his cereal and cookies and brought all of that (in that order) to the dinner table.
"*sigh* Might as well eat some of both of these, shall we?" he said to himself as he poured cereal into his bowl, then opened milk and poured it over top of the cereal and then into his cup. He first started off by eating some of his cereal (about a third of it to be specific), then opened his pack of cookies and took out one. The cookies he got were small chocolate chip ones that are about half the width of a coaster. He dipped it into his milk, and then bit into it. The rest of his meal then consisted of switching between eating his cereal and eating a cookie, then finally drinking his milk after three cookies.
"Ahhhhh, that was good," Keyori said, smiling as he put his dishes in the dishwasher and the other things where they were earlier. "*sigh* Now I should go and get changed for school today. It is the first day of the new year, after all."
Keyori went back upstairs and grabbed a pair of clothes exactly like the ones he wore yesterday, and threw them on the bed. Then, after brushing his teeth in the bathroom, he changed into said clothes, grabbed his backpack and phone, and walked out the door. He locked the door, and was on his way to the main street. As he looked off in the distance, Keyori noticed a giant building standing out among the rest to his right.
"That must be Asanagi High School," he said to himself as he walked towards it. "They weren't kidding when they said it was Asanagi's main attraction. It stands out like a sore thumb. But like, in a good way. I wonder if I'll be able to fit in easily enough. Ah, who am I kidding? They'll accept me in due time."
As he approached the school grounds, the school's design became more and more apparent. Much like most other schools, the exterior was made of brick walls with some windows spread out among the classroom and hallway positions, as well as a small flight of stairs leading up to the front doors. A multitude of at least 250 other students of all grades were waiting outside near the fountain in the middle of the grounds, which was surrounded by grass patches and sidewalks, which in turn were also surrounded by grass fields.
"I guess I'm still early despite how much I walked to get here," Keyori said. "Huh. Everyone looks so different from each other. And yet, all the same."
At around this time, a lot of other students started to arrive by car or bus. Keyori soon joined the crowd himself, blending in with all of the different species of Pokemon gijinkas. One of them saw Keyori as someone he didn't recognize, and tried speaking to him.
"Never seen you before," he said. "You new around here, pal?"
"Err, yeah I am," Keyori said, smiling. "In fact, I moved here yesterday."
"Oh, cool," the male - a Cinccino with a short-sleeved shirt, khaki pants and semi-long hair, all white - said. "Hope you enjoy your time here then."
Suddenly, Keyori heard the voices of many students behind him all commotioning about something.
"Oh, she's here," the Cinccino exclaimed, grabbing Keyori's left arm and taking him over to the side. "Come on, we'll be better off over here."
The two of them then looked toward what everyone else was looking at. They saw a rather elegant-looking Espeon girl with long and straight bright pink hair being carried behind her by the wind, as well as long pink ears with black inner lobes, a dark pink casual buttoned blazer, dark grey knee-high boots, and double skirts - the top one being grey, and the bottom being dark pink. All of the male freshmen were falling head over heels for her, but in a way that made Keyori think that this wasn't the first time they had seen her.
"WE LOVE YOU, ESPY!" all of the male freshmen, having hearts for eyes now, shouted in her direction.
One thing was for certain, however. As the girl passed by Keyori, her hair still being blown back by the wind, Keyori's eyes widened in awe of her beauty. He was beginning to fall in love. Not only that, but the girl took a glance at Keyori with a curious expression on her face. She too noticed that he was a new face around here, like the Cinccino did. But she quickly redirected her attention to the school in front of her as she walked up the stairs. Most of everyone else followed her.
"Shall we head inside now?" the Espeon girl said to the crowd as she opened one of the doors. The other three doors opened quickly from the crowd wanting to get in as well. Keyori just stood there for a bit in awe, and the CInccino next to him just smiled.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" he said to Keyori. Keyori nodded back, his cheeks starting to become a little red. "That girl was the most popular girl in middle school during her time there. I guess most of her popularity traveled with her to high school. But I'm curious about something."
"Huh? What's what?" Keyori asked, finally snapping out of his little daze and looking towards the Cinccino.
"Amongst all of that excitement, she looked at you," he replied. "Maybe she didn't recognize you like me. Or maybe, she's interested in you."
"Maybe she is," Keyori said, cracking a smile, "It wouldn't be that farfetched either. I mean, think about it. An incredibly popular girl falling for the new kid in town. What do you think?"
"Heh. I think you might be a little in over your head," the Cinccino replied, looking up at the sky. He then looked back over at Keyori. "Actually I take that back. You're really in over your head there. She doesn't know anything about you. And you don't know anything about her either. Although..."
"Although?" Keyori wondered.
"Now that I think about it, you might actually be onto something," the Cinccino said. "Best of luck to you though. I'm a freshman like you and her, and she is quite hard to please."
"Speaking of freshman, we should probably get inside," Keyori said, sweating a bit.
"You're right," the Cinccino said as Keyori started to turn towards the door. "Wait!" Keyori stopped, and turned back around. The Cinccino held out his hand towards Keyori. "Hayato Kanai." Keyori immediately knew he was introducing himself, and grabbed his hand much like he grabbed Mukuro's hand yesterday.
"Keyori Zanpachi," he replied with his own name. "Was nice speaking to you."
"Same," Hayato said with a cheerful smile. "Now let's head inside. We'll be going to the auditorium first. It's just across from the school entrance when you enter."
"Lemme guess, the freshman opening ceremony?" Keyori said.
"More or less," Hayato replied. "Though all grades will be there. It's an assembly for the beginning of every new school year. I wonder who the speaker will be this time."
As the two of them entered the school, Hayato waved goodbye to Keyori as he went towards the right door.
"Best of luck today!" he exclaimed on his way in. Keyori simply smiled in response and went through the left door.
The auditorium of this school was huge - over a thousand seats spread out among 5 sets of 15 or so rows, each having 15-20 seats in them. Keyori sat in the one between the center and leftmost sets, around the front third of the rows somewhere. The rest of the students all sat wherever they wanted, next to their friends and the like.
[That girl from earlier...] Keyori thought to himself, the image of the Espeon girl from earlier still fresh in his head. [The others called her Espy. Is that actually her name or something?]
Just then, however, a young girl was seen walking across the stage. It was the Espeon girl from before, and it seemed that she was going to be the speaker this year. As she approached the podium, all of the freshmen cheered for her - the male ones having hearts for eyes again. A lot of the sophomores and even some of the juniors were able to acknowledge her beauty as well. The seniors, on the other hand, were a bit confused as to how this new girl gained so much popularity even from people who were freshmen before her.
[No way,] Keyori thought to himself. [She's the speaker?] The Espeon girl then began her speech.
"My fellow freshmen and upperclassmen. It is a great honor for me to give a speech in front of all of you today. I would like to start off by welcoming everyone here, both new and returning, to Asanagi High School. I will admit, I am quite nervous standing up here in front of all of you like this. But I had confidence in this school's decision, and I still do. Much like I have confidence in all of you in your efforts to achieve your greatest dreams. And I don't mean what a lot of you freshmen are thinking of." As soon as the Espeon girl said that last sentence, every male freshman's jaw dropped in a look of pure shock, disappointment, and failure.
"Trust me, I meant no ill will when I said that," the Espeon said with a rather troubled smile, as well as an anime sweatdrop on her face. "But our lives as students of Asanagi High shall drive us to become better than we ever imagined. And to always remember one thing. That there is never an end to growth as a person. And there never will be one." The Espeon girl then raised her left arm up to the air. "And now, it is time. To begin our journeys anew. Once again, welcome. To Asanagi High School!"
Everyone got up out of their seats, and cheered wildly for her speech. Even all of the seniors were impressed. Never in their school lives have they listened to a freshman that was this capable at anything.
[Amazing,] Keyori thought, just clapping.
A few seconds later, the auditorium started to clear out as everyone went to their homerooms for their schedules. The homerooms that everyone had were designated by papers on the school's bulletin boards outside of the auditorium that showed which students would go where based on last name. Of course, Keyori's last name started with a Z, so he ended up in the room farthest back in the homeroom wing.
"I wonder what classes I will get for this semester," Keyori said on the way. "I know I'll have to get English, Biology, World History, another language, Phys Ed or Health, and a lunch period. And I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade, which means I will most likely be getting Geometry as well. Which leaves me with one elective, and I don't remember which ones I picked." Keyori sighed. "Guess I'll find out which one I get soon."
Keyori entered room 219, the room farthest back in the hallway. His last name started with Za-, so he was one of the students in the front row. They weren't there for long, just some announcement about schedules and such. The teacher then handed out everyone's schedules quickly, and left everyone to review them. On the top-left corner of each sheet was also the respective student's vice principal, guidance counselor, locker number, and locker combination.
"Geometry is my first period, eh?" Keyori said. "Let's see...Ahh, seems my elective this semester is Sales Management." A sweatdrop rubbed down Keyori's face. "I don't remember choosing that one."
Keyori disregarded the schedule as an announcement came on over the speakers. "All students please report to your Period 1 class. All students please report to your Period 1 class." The hallways quickly filled up as most of the students were let out of their homerooms. Thankfully, however, they all moved fast enough to where the homeroom wing wouldn't be too full by the time Keyori left the room.
"Alright then, so my Geometry class is somewhere on the second floor," Keyori said to himself. "But I have absolutely no idea where any of the staircases could-" But Keyori stopped himself mid-sentence, as the Espeon girl that he had seen twice now appeared from his right. She stopped walking as soon as she was in front of Keyori, turning her head to notice him. Keyori's face lit up with a smile.
"Uhh, h-hi there," Keyori said to her.
"Hello there," the girl replied. "Need something?"
"Uhh well, I'm new here and don't know where much of anything is," Keyori replied. "A-And I was wondering if you could show me around a bit."
"Oh. Alright then," the Espeon girl said, grabbing Keyori's schedule. "Let's see where you need to be…" The girl looked at the first period class and teacher, and her eyes widened a bit. "Oh. We both have the same first period class. In that case, why don't I walk there with you?"
"Oh uhh, alright," Keyori replied, smiling with a nod. [This could be my chance. I get to walk with the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life.]
The two of them began their walk around the auditorium's entrances. Keyori looked around a bit during the walk.
"So, are you new around town?" the girl asked Keyori.
"Yeah, I am," Keyori replied with a casual smile. "Actually I moved here just yesterday. Got a job and everything."
"Really?" the girl reacted with a surprised expression. "I figured someone like you would be relaxing the whole day."
"Guess so," Keyori said. "That explains why you looked at me funny while we were outside."
"?!" The Espeon girl reacted with a more surprised and slightly embarrassed look.
"That reminds me," Keyori followed up "The other freshmen outside called you Espy."
"Ah yes, that's my name," the girl replied. "Espy Noriyama. Nice to meet you."
"Name's Keyori Zanpachi." Keyori, smiling, stopped before the staircase and brought his hand out in front of Espy. "Pleasure to meet you as well, Espy."
Espy felt a little nervous then. "Uh, do you always shake hands with people?"
"What? It's common courtesy," Keyori replied.
"I guess," Espy said, shaking his hand. She then turned towards the door. "Well this is the staircase that leads upstairs. There was a staircase on the other side of the school, but it leads downstairs only."
"One of these layouts, is it?" Keyori said with a blank face and an anime sweatdrop. "Oh well."
"I never said I liked it either," Espy replied, with the same troubled smile that she had back in the auditorium.
As the two of them went up the stairs together, Espy was thinking to herself for a bit. [Wow, this Keyori kid is actually pretty charming. I-I think I might be...] She was looking away from him, smiling to herself and blushing a bit as well.
As the dismissal bell rang at around 2:30PM, all of the students went straight to their lockers if they needed to, otherwise they walked out of the school building. Espy came out after most of the students already left the grounds as a whole, smiling to herself as she looked down a bit. Her blazer was unbuttoned, revealing her bright pink undershirt with red collar.
"Heeeeey! Espyyyyyy!" Suddenly, Espy heard Keyori yell her name from behind her. She turned around to see him running towards her.
"Oh, Keyori," Espy said cheerfully. "How was your first day?"
"Well, I'd say it was about average," Keyori replied. "Wh-What about yours, what with being chased by fans and all?"
"Wh-No no no no no, it really isn't like that," Espy said, a nervous look on her face. "I'm not at that level yet, otherwise that actually might've happened."
"I-I see," Keyori replied. [This is my chance. My one shot to seal this before it's too late.]
"Hmm? Something wrong?" Espy asked, seeing Keyori in thought.
"Well…" Keyori replied slowly, looking to the side. He then reverted his eyes back towards Espy. "I'm sure a lot of people have told this to you, but...I like you, Espy."
"Ehh? W-Well yeah I do," Espy said, rubbing her finger against her cheek. "But why so soon? We only just met today."
"Well, I think you're the one for me," Keyori replied with confidence in his voice. "I got that feeling when I first met you. And I know that...that we were made for each other."
"But what makes you say that?" Espy questioned a bit. "A-And how will you be able to prove that?"
"Well…" Keyori closed his eyes as he envisioned something in his head regarding him and Espy being together. He grabbed Espy's head softly with his hands, and then kissed her in the lips.
"!" Espy gave off a look of surprise as her eyes widened as much as they could. After a couple seconds though, she stopped being so tense and closed her eyes. The kiss went on for a couple more seconds before it ended. Espy reopened her eyes in slight surprise that Keyori kissed her.
"Like that," Keyori said, smiling cheerfully at Espy.
"W-Well I-I guess we are made for each other," Espy said, her left hand covering her left cheek as she was blushing madly and looking off to the left side. "Hmm..."
Keyori then took out his phone to check and see what time it was. 2:40PM.
"Aah! Crap! I gotta hurry!" Keyori exclaimed. "Uhh sorry Espy, but I-I gotta get ready for my shift in a few minutes."
"That's fine," Espy replied, smiling. "You do what you need to, 'k?"
"Thanks," Keyori said, running off. But not before turning around mid-run to wave at Espy. "See you tomorrow!"
"You too!" Espy exclaimed back. She then turned back at the school. "*giggle* You really are charming, you know that?" She then walked off the school grounds and headed home herself.
Meanwhile, at the Korono Market, Mukuro was standing there looking out the windows from across the place. Suddenly, he noticed Keyori in his work apron run towards the door and enter the building, panting. "Ah, Keyori. In a rush?"
"Did I...make it?" Keyori said, looking up at the clock. 2:57PM. "Oh good, right on time."
"Well you got a couple minutes to spare before your shift starts," Mukuro told him. "Why not relax for a bit."
"Sure," Keyori replied, still panting a bit. "I still need to catch my breath."
"So I see you're in a chipper mood today," Mukuro said, seeing a faint smile on Keyori's face. "Something good happen to you?"
"Well I'm sure you heard the loud cheering at the high school this morning," Keyori replied.
Mukuro nodded. "So what's her name? From that smile on your face, you probably have a girlfriend now. So tell me."
"Her name's Espy Noriyama," Keyori said with a smile. "She's the one everyone was cheering at. She's so beautiful too. I was lucky to have 1st period with her."
"Really now?" Mukuro said, a bit surprised. "But...how were you able to win her heart over past all the other male freshmen, who have known her a lot longer than just a day?"
"Well to answer your question…" Keyori said, looking around before putting his right hand left of his mouth. "I kissed her."
Mukuro's entire body turned manga style in a state of pure shock. "You kissed her? Already?!"
"Well yeah," Keyori said, smiling still. "I knew that she was the one for me the moment I laid eyes on her. I just couldn't resist any longer."
"...W-Well I'm glad you at least have someone now." Mukuro shrugged off his surprise. "Well your shift is about to start, so I'll leave you to it."
"Right!" Keyori exclaimed.
No real outstanding customers came to Korono Market today. In fact, it was mostly a vacant shift for Keyori. That is, until around 6:15PM when an interesting-looking girl came in. She had short, semi- spiky yellow hair, green eyes, baby blue sweater, knee-length light pink skirt, yellow-and-white striped pantyhose, and red shoes. Keyori was looking at her curiously, since there were no other customers there at the time.
[I'm not gonna lie, she's pretty cute,] Keyori thought to himself, trying not to look like a total creep. The girl went all over the place, and grabbed the following items in this order: a Diet Coke, a Mountain Dew Voltage, a Pepsi, 2 sticks of Starburst, and a bag of Skittles. She then went up to the counter where Keyori was.
"Good evening," Keyori said cheerfully. "How may I help you?"
"Oh uhh, hi there," the girl said in a soft, slightly squeaky voice, looking a bit worried.
"You're probably the only person that decided to come here on my shift today," Keyori said to her. "It's mostly just been vacant and boring. Nobody to talk to. Really the main reason why I decided to take this job is so I get to talk with customers to pass the time."
Maya slowly put her items onto the counter while Keyori was talking. "I wouldn't worry about it too much," she said. "But I haven't seen you before. You new around here?"
"W-Why does everyone see me as a new face around here?" Keyori exclaimed, an anime sweatdrop on his head.. "Isn't everyone unfamiliar to each other too?"
Maya shook her head no in response with a smile on her face. "Mmm-mmm. Everyone knows each other in Asanagi. In fact, we don't get a whole lot of new faces very often."
"That so, huh?" Keyori said with a blank expression.
"Mmhmm." The girl nodded. "So did you come here with your parents?"
"No, I moved here alone," Keyori replied, smiling. "I started my new life here yesterday, in fact."
"Huh?" the girl exclaimed, her eyes and forehead completely covered by red lines. "Wh-Why did you move here alone? W-Were your parents abusive? Or-Or did you not like them? Or-O-"
"No no no, it's none of that," Keyori said, stopping her as his eyes were thick black lines. "I just wanna live an adult life from now on, that's all."
"Oh. And your family supported you?" the girl said.
"Well my mother did, at least," Keyori replied, scratching the back of his head. "My father, well...he supported it, but only because he could finally stop parenting. He's kinda selfish at times." Keyori puts in the items that the girl put on the counter. "That'll be $8.56, by the way."
"Ah, right." The girl took out her wallet, grabbed her card, and handed it to Keyori so he could swipe it. Keyori did just that.
"Hmm...You actually look around my age," Keyori said, handing the girl back her card. "But you're most likely living with your parents. So why aren't your parents with you tonight?"
"Oh no, it's not that," the girl replied, putting the card back in her wallet. "This card is actually my mother's. She let me use it today after school." The girl's look then became a slightly troubled smile. "I didn't really buy much for myself though. The only reason I came here is because my father texted me saying that he wanted me to get something for him. So I figured I'd get something for me and my mother as well." Meanwhile, Keyori was bagging up all of the items the girl bought.
"I see," Keyori said, smiling. The girl then took out her phone to check the time.
"Ah! Oh dear, it's almost dinner time!" The girl exclaimed. She put her phone back in her hoodie's left pocket, and grabbed her bag. "Sorry, I gotta go." She then ran towards the door.
"Wait!" Keyori stopped her before she moved much. "I-I never asked for your name earlier."
"Oh sorry," the girl replied, turning back towards him with a smile. "My name's Maya Runaze. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise, Maya," Keyori said cheerfully. "Keyori Zanpachi." Keyori put his hand out towards Maya in greeting. Maya shook it happily. Keyori's face turned into a troubled smile as they let go. "...You should probably get going now."
"Oh right," Maya said with the same troubled face as before. She turned towards the door and exited the building. But not before waving goodbye. "Bye Keyori!"
"Bye!" Keyori waved back. Then, Mukuro came out.
"I see you've made yourself a new friend," he said to Keyori.
"I guess you could say that," Keyori replied, turning towards him. "It's honestly been pretty vacant today."
"No worries," Mukuro said. "Now get on home. You need your rest for tomorrow."
"A-Actually I need to go to the store and get school supplies first," Keyori said, an anime sweatdrop on his head. "B-Bye!" He ran out the door and took off his apron as he dashed straight home.
Once he got home, he put away his work apron, grabbed a piece of paper he wrote in at school today, and dashed straight out again towards the Wal-Mart. When he arrived, he opened up the piece of paper. The items on it were as follows: a pack of pencils and pens each, 4 notebooks, a binder, a ream of paper, a ruler, a protractor, and a highlighter. He also wanted to get some food items for the week, but he decided to worry about that tomorrow night. For now though, he grabbed the items on the list, checked out at the same lane, and headed home.
[Jeez, I'm hungry,] Keyori thought to himself. [I should probably grab something to eat from McDonald's again tonight.]
So he did, and got the same thing he ordered last night. A few minutes later, after he finished his meal, he headed back home for the night. He packed his school supplies into his backpack, leaving room for potential textbooks that he might get in the future.
Afterwards, he took a relaxing shower for about half an hour, and then changed into his night clothes and brushed his teeth. He then got into his bed, and messed around on his phone some. After a few minutes, however, he plugged up his phone and tried getting some sleep.
[You know, this new life isn't so bad,] Keyori thought to himself. [I already have myself a decent job to sustain myself with. I confessed my love to the most popular freshman in my school. And I've made a couple friends along the way.] Flashbacks of the scenes appeared as he thought them. Afterwards, the scene shifted to him starting to fall asleep for the night.
The next morning, Keyori arrived at school fully prepared at around 7:45AM. The students outside were now starting to enter the building around this time. Keyori decided to look back behind him to see if Espy arrived yet. Sure enough, she was walking up the first flight of stairs to the school grounds.
"Morning Espy." Keyori waved at her.
"Oh, hello," Espy replied, smiling. "You're here early today."
"This is considered early?" Keyori said, scratching the back of his head. "Actually I'd consider this to be normal time. In fact, I had to be at Period 1 by this time in my old middle school."
"That so?" Espy said, still smiling. "I guess our schools are a bit more easygoing than yours were."
"Schools? There are other schools here?" Keyori asked, surprised.
"Well we have a couple of elementary schools around the place," Espy replied. "There's also a middle school near one of those elementary schools. Sadly none of them are as popular or well-known as our high school."
"They're probably not as good as other schools either," Keyori said with a cheerful expression. The two start giggling cheerfully as a result. They were giggling for a couple seconds before…
"Heeeeey! Espyyyyy!" Someone was calling out to them. Both of them turned to the stairway up to the front doors. Who they saw was a young freshman with semi-long and wavy yellow-orange hair that looked almost yellow blonde, bright yellow eyes, orange ears with black inner lobes, a bright orange short-sleeved shirt, blue skinny jeans, yellow-orange socks, and a pair of dark orange sneakers. "You coming in or what?" The girl then noticed Keyori smiling as he waved at her. [Hey, is that...?]
"Come on over here!" Keyori exclaimed over to her.
The girl then ran over to the two as fast as she could. "Well now, you look like a new face here." She was grinning cheerfully at him.
"Gee, how many times have I heard that now?" Keyori said in a monotone voice, looking off to his left.
"Heh heh, I'm just messing with ya," the girl said a bit loudly, still grinning as she wrapped her left arm around Keyori's neck. "Sis told me all about you last night."
"Err, sis? Who are you talking about?" Keyori asked nervously, looking around.
"Er, she's referring to me actually," Espy spoke up, raising her right hand up next to her head as she had the troubled smile on her face that she had yesterday, as well as an anime sweatdrop on her head.
"Oh," Keyori said casually. He then waited a couple seconds to process that in his brain before... "Wait, you two are twins?!" he blurted out.
"Hard to tell, isn't it?" the girl said. "Espy's beauty and intelligence being associated with my less than flattering traits. It's normal really. I've gotten used to it by now."
"Come on, what are you saying?" Keyori said cheerfully, wrapping his right arm around the girl's neck the same way she did. "You look great to me."
"Heh?!" the girl blushed madly as she heard this. Keyori giggled a bit. "Uhh hey sis! Uhh help?! He's your boyfriend, isn't he?!"
"I don't see a problem," Espy said, smiling cheerfully at the two. "I think you two will get along swimmingly, mmhmmhmmhmm."
"I-I think so too," Flare said as she and Keyori let go of each other. She then whispers to Keyori. "Now let's not do that again, 'k?" Keyori nodded back. "Anyway, my name's Flare. Nice to meet you.
"Likewise," Keyori said, the two of them shaking hands afterwards.
The three of them decided to head into the school and head to their first period classes. Flare unfortunately had a different class than keyori and Espy, so they had to part ways for now. The rest of the day went by normally; nothing too special happened outside of everyone each getting a few school textbooks.
After school, Keyori and Espy met up at one of the side hallways on their way to grab Flare so they could walk home together. Espy remembered that her last period is upstairs, so they went to the stairway and headed up to the second floor. After a bit more walking, they found Flare walking towards them.
"*yaaaaawn* Today felt longer than it should have," Flare said, stretching. "So hotshot, any other girls catch your fancy?"
"Not in particular," Keyori replied. "I'll give it some time though, that's bound to change."
The three of them went to the other staircase and went back downstairs. Along the way...
"So tell me something," Flare said to Keyori. "Espy told me that you moved here all by yourself. Where do you work exactly?"
"You know the Korono Market south of the school grounds?" Keyori replied. "Yeah, I work there on afternoons. Even though my boss gives me a lot of leeway in terms of scheduling and stuff. He told me day 1 to enjoy my freedom as a high schooler."
"Well it's our time to shine," Espy said, smiling. "Won't last forever after all. Gotta enjoy it while you still can, otherwise it'll just slip away."
"Yeah yeah, he told me that too," Keyori said.
"That's why we're here!" Flare exclaimed cheerfully. "We're your friends!"
As they walked up to the nearest side hallway to the front doors, the three of them heard a loud thud coming from that hallway, followed by feminine screams and sounds of shock and terror. When they looked over into the hallway, they saw a girl being thrown against the lockers against her own will, followed by someone's arm being slammed to the left of her head. That arm belonged to another freshman, this one a male Machoke with semi-spiky dark red hair, a semi-masculine frame normal of Machokes, grey short-sleeved shirt, orange wristbands, black jeans that surprisingly weren't ripped at all, and black-and-white sneakers. The kid's face at the time was also entirely black from the shade, and his eyes simply fear-inducing red dots that stared directly at the pinned girl.
"Tell me something. How does it feel to be trapped in a state of fear, unable to move because of your opponent?" The threatening boy tried breaking down the girl's psychological barriers in an attempt to make her squeal out in terror once more. "Hmmhmmhmmhmmhmm..." The boy smirked.
"What's he doing to her? And why?" Flare wondered. Espy wondered the same thing. Keyori, on the other hand, wanted none of this and started approaching the scary-looking Machoke, who was still smirking. The girl he was pinning had a frightened expression on her face as she looked at the kid's menacing face. She was also making sounds of pure unadulterated terror.
"So then, what will you do next?" The boy's eyes went back to normal. "Will you try and escape my grasp? Or will you cry out in terror, hoping that someone brave enough to take on me, Nozote Tsukabe, will come to your rescue?" The boy, who called himself Nozote, laughed to himself for a bit until the girl spoke up.
"W...Wouldn't I b-be doing b-b-both?" the girl said to Nozote, her voice shaking in fear.
"That's a good point you're making there. You should do both, at the exact same time." The boy then laughed slightly maniacally until he heard someone to his right yell out "That's enough! Stop this at once!"
Nozote's face lost its menacing black shade and went back to its normal skin color as he looked over to his right. When he did, he saw Keyori stop approaching him. Keyori also had a very angry look on his face, almost like he was trying to intimidate Nozote.
"Well well well, looks like someone came to your rescue anyway. And you didn't have to do anything at all, girly." Nozote laughed to himself again. "So, tell me something. What makes you think that a snotty little Eevee such as yourself has what it takes to take on me, Nozote Tsubake?"
"I guess we're gonna find out," Keyori said in an angry tone. Suddenly, however, Espy cut in front of Keyori.
"Let me handle this one," Espy asided to Keyori.
"Espy! It's been a while. How've you been, beautiful?" Nozote's tone switched from menacing to slightly cheerful when he saw Espy. He was also smiling.
"You're not sweet-talking your way out of this one, Nozote." Espy's tone made it clear that she was being serious. "I don't know what the hell made you think that this was alright, but you need to stop this. It's bad enough that you threw her against the wall. WHy go even farther than that?! I know you! You're better than this, Nozote!"
"Yeah yeah, say what you want," Nozote replied, in a "I don't really care" tone as he looked off to one side. "But that kid behind you." He redirected his attention to Keyori. "I wanna see what he's all about. To see if his skills can match his guts."
"Heh, be my guest," Keyori said, smirking a bit. "Nozote, was it? I hope you'll be able to entertain me for a bit."
"Cocky one, aren't you?" Nozote remarked, smirking at him as he got into his battle stance. "Well let's see if you can back that up, kid." Nozote noticed that Keyori didn't move from his casual stance, which started to irritate him. "Are you gonna take this seriouslyyyyyy?!" He then ran straight for Keyori, winding up a punch in the process. As soon as he got in range, he threw that punch straight at Keyori...only for him to block it without effort by holding up his index and middle fingers in front of Nozote's fist in the blink of an eye.
"!" Nozote and the others were surprised by this. "H-How? I-I didn't even see you move your arm!"
"Hmph, predictable. But not bad. You've got some raw strength behind those fists of yours." Keyori backhandedly complimented Nozote's skill.
"Damn YOU!" Nozote kept throwing punches with incredible speeds, each of them being almost a blur to anyone around him. Keyori, however, was still able to block every single one of them with just his two fingers. "Wh-What the hell?!"
"And you've got speed to back them up as well," Keyori acknowledged his swift punching. "You're definitely a capable fighter. This is actually starting to get fun."
Meanwhile, Espy and Flare simply looked at them from a safe distance in awe.
[Incredible. I had a feeling that he was good from what he said to Nozote, but I never thought he would be this good.] Espy thought to herself. [At this rate, there's no way that Nozote can win.]
"Don't think just because of your sweet-talking that I'll let up," Nozote snarled at Keyori.
"Nor do I expect you to," Keyori replied. "In fact, let's see if you can take it a step further."
"!" Nozote's expression became surprised again. He then tried sweeping Keyori down to the ground. "Why you little!" But Keyori jumped up only slightly, just enough to dodge the attack.
"Though as fun as this might be, I really should just end this now." Keyori then prepared his left leg for an attack, smirking in the process. "Sayonara!" Keyori then kicked Nozote in his right rib, sending him flying toward and against the lockers in his way. Thankfully none of them broke whatsoever. And neither did any of Nozote's bones, despite how strong the kick was.
"Argh...How...You...beat me..." Nozote collapsed on the floor. Everyone around him gave off a look of pure shock. Nozote Tsubake, whom the freshmen knew as one of the strongest students in their grade, was defeated effortlessly by the new kid in town. Keyori then landed on the ground, and looked over at Nozote.
"Now stop bullying others, you hear?" Keyori exclaimed to him.
[Wow. He's amazing,] Espy thought. [Not only did he block all of Nozote's punches with ease, but he also defeated him in one attack. Just how strong is he?]
"Wow Keyori, you're really something," Flare exclaimed cheerfully, approaching Nozote slowly. "Though seriously, just what the hell was he thinking trying to threaten her like that?"
Suddenly, however, Nozote's eyes opened back up, and he slowly started to get back up. "Oh Flare, you're always there to stop trouble with violence, aren't you? Heh, you're just as bad as I am."
"Shut up!" Flare yelled. "I'm not like you who causes trouble needlessly like you do!"
"Settle down, you two! The fighting's over!" Espy exclaimed, trying to reach them. Both of them, however, ignored them as Nozote tried rushing Flare.
"Let's see how you like this!" Nozote exclaimed, laughing afterwards.
"Oh, you little punk. If it's a fight that you want, then it's a fight that you'll get!" Flare exclaimed back, readying a punch to counter Nozote's rush. [Idiot. I think he's forgotten how many times I've pummeled him during middle school. Maybe I should pummel him again here to help him remember.]
But as Flare was getting ready to throw her punch straight at Nozote when he was in range, Nozote suddenly felt a strike to the back of his neck. A surprised look came over his face as this happened. Flare also showed a surprised look on her face; she was about to beat the crap out of Nozote just then.
"What...What the hell..." Nozote said, grunting a bit from the shock. When he collapsed back onto the floor, Keyori was behind him. It seems he was the one who chopped the back of his neck and knocked him back down.
"I applaud your ability to second wind, but the fight's already over," Keyori said to him with a serious expression on his face.
"And I was about to pummel him too," Flare said to Keyori, a troubled smile and an anime sweatdrop on her face. "But in all seriousness though, that was actually really cool. You must've been going all out then or something."
"Oh that?" Keyori replied, scratching the back of his head. "That was nothing really. To tell you the truth, I was only using 12 percent of my maximum power level."
"12 percent?!" Espy and Flare both exclaimed at the same time, both having extremely surprised anime expressions on their faces.
"You're kidding me, right?" Flare exclaimed afterward. "Only that much, and you were still able to do all that? Holy hell."
"I think we should get going now," Keyori said. "That was entertaining and all, but I really need to be at my job soon."
"What about Nozote?" Espy asked.
"Let's leave him be this time," Flare replied. "I think Keyori beating the crap out of him is enough of a punishment."
The three of them then left the school grounds together. The setting then cut to nighttime after Keyori bought all of his groceries for the week and brought them home.
"That incident was intriguing," Keyori said to himself. "I guess life here will be full of surprises for me." Keyori then fell asleep at about 10:30PM.
End of Chapter!