Prologue
The only audible noise was that of the click-clack of Ryuu's shoes pounding against the fluorescently lit tiled floors. The sheen so great, one could see a detailed reflection of themselves in it. But a reflection was not on Ryuu's mind at the current time. Not being late was the current task at hand.
He ran ferociously down the hall, being extra careful as to not fall, but also must keep his current velocity. Time was of the extreme essence.
'C'mon feet, you can move faster!'
Sweat was pouring off his face like a typhoon, his light blue hair waving like a palm tree in that very same typhoon. He had to squint his eyes a bit more than he normally did while running; the speed of the run was drying them out and aggravating them. His blue and black backpack was causing extra tension on his back, as its contents made it a hefty lift. Books for every class, notebooks and miscellaneous objects filled its quarters, making Ryuu's back begin to ache.
'Dammit! Why did my sister have to turn off my alarm clock?! Today of all days!"
Ryuu spotted his homeroom class room down the hall, and put more energy in to his running. He was in a full on sprint. There was nothing that could stand in his way now, nothing that could give him the detention from being late for a tenth time in the school year.
It was spotted all too late. It blended in all to well with the tiled floor, its transparent body being nothing more than a curse to Ryuu. The second his left foot dropped on to its surface, Ryuu began to fell himself being lifted off of the Earth, and in to the air.
Time seemed to slow down in that split second. He felt himself, and the entire day he was supposed to have slip away, just out of his reach. It was like trying to catch light in one's hands now, a sheer impossibility.
He crashed down with a thud, and even with the large backpack helping to cushion the fall, he still felt pain in his back and in both his legs.
'A puddle of water! Of all the things to ruin my day, a damn puddle of water!'
Ryuu lay on the ground, motionless, staring in to the effervescent light that was overhead of him, waiting for the inevitable to come. The single worst sound in the world to him now was approaching, and all he could do was lay there. There was no more he could do.
"No," Ryuu said to himself. "I will not give up. I have never given up, and I won't start now!"
Slowly, fighting the eternal and external pain he was feeling, he rose to his feet. He tapped his khaki pants, and gave them a quick once-over, and saw no water whatsoever. In fact, the puddle was not present either.
"What……what happened…..? Was…was the puddle never there? Did I just fall on my own?"
Ignoring any more thought in to that subject, Ryuu looked back up, and stared at the room only about seventy feet down the current hallway. Taking a deep breath, and began to run, not caring about his balance. He was determined to make it, and this time, there would be no mistakes or falls. This was to be executed perfectly if he was to succeed, and he had no other intent.
He could now only hear his heartbeat and his breath as he ran, his eyes staring completely at the door to room 16-A. The mission was now all that was in his mind. There was nothing in his peripheral vision, just the door. He needed to get there in the next fifteen seconds, he figured, as to not be late. The mission is not to be failed. Fail was not even a vocabulary word to him anymore. There was only success and victory.
Ryuu could feel the time ticking down, less than ten seconds left, about still about fifty feet to go. He needed to go faster, and faster he went. Using all the energy he had left, Ryuu went in to a full on sprint, not caring about his well-being. The only thing he cared about was getting to that door in time.
Then, he saw it, the opening he needed. Someone was opening the door for some unknown reason, but Ryuu did not care. The door remained open, and no one was exiting. It was the perfect gift for Ryuu on this day.
Around five seconds remained, and he was about twenty five feet away. He would not make it with the pace he was at. Then, in one desperation move, he took off his backpack, and dove towards the door. He hit the ground, more pain coming over him, and slid the extra ten feet he did not dive. He was almost at the door, and his heart raced. He had made it.
Then, a second wrinkle in his plan appeared before him. As he slid to the door, two white shoes clouded his vision of the classroom. Unable to stop, he collided with the person who was exiting the room. She shrieked as she toppled over, and Ryuu yelled and shielded his face with his arms as he slid in to the door.
She fell on his back, and he heard a small crack, but there was no pain. Laughter from the kids in his homeroom was overrun by the ringing of the school bell. Ryuu checked where his body parts were, and none of them broke the plain of the classroom. He frowned as he felt the weight of the girl being lifted off of his back, and stay on the ground, ashamed.
"Mr. Tashima, it looks as though you are late to class. I believe that is number ten," a voice feminine from above Ryuu said.
Ryuu's response was a groan.
"In addition, you caused potential injury to another student. You know what that means, right?"
Ryuu groaned for a second time, reality setting in.
"That means you cannot attend today's field trip. I'm sorry Mr. Tashima, but I must escort you to the Library, where you will spend the day with all the other's who were either late, or have a detention today. Now, get up and grab your things. You brought this on yourself."
'No, my damn sister did.'
Slowly, Ryuu rose to his feet, unable to look at his classmates out of sheer humiliation. All of his happiness and joy were sucked out of him like water through a straw. There was nothing that could make Ryuu happy; he had missed possibly his only opportunity to go to the Nintendo building, a place he had dreamed of going for years.
Slouching, Ryuu grabbed his backpack, and marched to where his teacher was leading him. His feet never came off the ground, and all he could see of his teacher was where her long tan skirt met the ground.
"Like I said Ryuu, I'm sorry, I truly am, but you brought this upon yourself. All you had to do was get here on time."
"But Mrs. Ameki, my sister turned off my alarm clock! You can even call my…," Ryuu pleaded, but was cut short my Mrs. Ameki.
"I don't want to hear any excuses. What's done is done, and nothing can be done about it."
Ryuu groaned for a third time as he heard the creaking of a door opening. That sound was almost as bad as the school bell; even more realization of his defeat. A cool breeze came over him as the door opened all the way.
"Ah, I see there are others here already. No permission slips here?"
There were some grumbles from the students in the large, air conditioned room, but no answers in the English Language.
"Well, here we are Ryuu. Get comfortable, you'll be here all day."
Ryuu looked up, and saw eight circular tables, all of them occupying one person except for three tables. There were three guys and two girls, one of which he recognized as Ayame Mitsumi. Ryuu didn't know her personally, but he noticed her as being a cheerleader at the school basketball games.
She had reddish hair that she had in pigtails, and had deep blue eyes that reminded Ryuu of the ocean. She was about seven inches shorter than Ryuu; him being six feet even.
"Alright Ryuu, find a seat. I hope that you've learned your lesson now, and next time, think twice about the consequences of being late. Have a nice day."
Ryuu sat down in one of the large, bulky, wooden chairs at a table all his own, and slung his backpack over the chair with a sigh. While still slouching, he looked up, and tried to identify some of the kids that were there with him.
There was a kid a bit shorter than Ryuu with un-brushed black hair. He also wore a blue headband with a silver front to it. The kid had brown eyes from what Ryuu could tell.
'What was that kid's name again……Yuuji? Yeah it was Yuuji. I don't think that he ever had a real last name though……I'll have to ask him why when I get the chance.'
Ryuu's eyes wandered to another boy, this one sitting at the table next to Yuuji. He was quite a nerdy looking fellow. He also had black hair, slicked back with some kind of oil. The kid wore jeans and had on a dark blue shirt. The kid also wore think rimmed black glasses that shone a reflection from the overhead lights. He was as tall as Yuuji, maybe a few inches shorter.
'I know that kid. He thinks he's smarter than everyone. Shito Katsuro……heh, I guess he's not so smart now, eh?'
Ryuu's eyes drifted to the third guy that was sitting next to Shito. The boy was just about as tall as Ryuu, as he had red hair down to his shoulders. Ryuu noticed that he had green eyes, and was wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans with a hole where his right knee was.
'Akamazu Tenshin……self proclaimed bad ass. Never talks…to anyone, but I hear he's real smart. We'll have see.'
The only other kid that remained was the second girl. She was the closest to Ryuu, and he planned it that way.
'Man, Hinata is so gorgeous. I mean, that flowing blond hair, and those beautiful green eyes. And her height, just the way I like 'em……five foot six. Perfect height for the girl of my dreams. And damn, look at what she's wearing today. That skirt…oh man. It just kills me.'
Ryuu rested his head on his right hand as he looked out of the window that revealed six large Coach busses, and his stomach turned over inside of him as he began to feel anguish and sadness. He watched as they departed from the school, one by one, until all that was left was the clear blue sky and an empty field behind the school's circular driveway.
Sighing, Ryuu zipped open his backpack, and took out a piece of single rules, lined paper and a newly sharpened yellow pencil.
"Just because I'm stuck here don't mean I can't have any fun," Ryuu said quiety.
He noticed out of his peripheral vision that Shito, Akamazu, and Hinata all turned to look at him for nothing more than mere seconds, then turned back to their own boring activities, weather it be biting their nails, looking off in to space, or trying to fall asleep. It was going to be a long day for all of them.
No sooner than Ryuu had put his pencil down on the paper, there was a deep, valiant voice that spoke from an unknown origin.
"Do you know what you are getting yourself in to?! Stand down now!"
Then, a second, more malevolent voice spoke in response.
"Not on your life Neptunmon! We are here to take over! You're reign end today!"
"That was not a wise thing to say. In a few moments, you will have all twelve Gods on your tail!"
"You forgot I said 'we' Neptunmon. Who is unwise now?"
"No army of yours can match the Olympus Twelve!"
"Hehe, so naïve you Gods are. You all think that no one can even match your strength. Well, prepare for the Dark Lords!"
"Beelezemon, stop! This is your last warning!"
"Warning? I should be the one issuing the warnings! Give us your power, or be destroyed defending it!"
"You asked for it…..Wave of Depth!"
There was a loud rushing noise that overcame the library, and everyone in it screamed with terror and fright. The noise was getting louder and louder, with no cease in sight. Then, a bright white light appeared, and made everyone in the Library have to shield their eyes with either their arms or backpacks.
Ryuu looked over, past Shito, and realized that the light was coming from a computer monitor. The computer was off, which made Ryuu very confused, and at the same time, scared.
"Everyone, the computer is going to blow!" Ryuu shouted above the rushing noise.
He motioned his hand over at the computer, but no one seemed to hear him. Everyone had their eyes closed, and ears covered with their hands. In an instant, the rushing noise stopped, and the light subsided. But, the conversation continued.
"Do you now see my power Beelzemon? Everyone who crosses me will be defeated with no remorse."
"Hahaha….Neptunmon…..is that all you have to offer? Now watch, watch what real power looks like! Darkness Claw!"
The rushing now picked up again, and the light shone even brighter. Everyone covered their ears and shut their eyes again, not wanting to sustain any type of injury. Ryuu, determined to find out what was going on, squinted his eyes and left his ears uncovered. He then realized that he was sweating profusely from his face, and he was burning up in body temperature.
All of the sudden, the white light on the computer screen turned blacker than the night sky, and then all of the room went black, and all noises became null and void………
