well, I'm glad to see you've bared with me through that terrible intro. The story actually begins here.

time for introductions and development that's written in a way that won't make you throw up.

this chapter is a bit short, but that doesn't really matter, does it? They'll probably grow in length as they go on~

enjoy.

Episode 00

(Flamma)

As I opened the door to apartment 218, I felt a cold, foul wave of air rush past my check. Shuddering, I raised a hand to my nose and stepped cautiously inside, being careful not to step on any of the object strewn about the floor.

I stopped and looked around.

The room was dark and small, as it always had been, but not as we left it. The sandalwood-colored walls were thoroughly water stained, and the atmosphere was thick with the stench of mildew and stale air. Even the sunlight was barely peaking through the rust covered blinds.

It made me gag.

It was a terrible shame seeing my old home in such a mess. Admittedly, this building was a bit of a dump to begin with, but it was disgusting seeing it this bad. Whoever owned the place now, If anyone, clearly didn't care about the condition of unused apartments. In fact, it seemed almost as if they liked filth.

I suppose no one wanted 218 after the news of the murder and suicide got around. The whole building seemed cold and deserted; I only assumed that most of the residents moved soon after the incident, and that no new flow of customers came to replace them. I know that I wouldn't have.

I slowly took another few steps forward, running my fingers over the putrid blind cord. Wincing, I ground them open.

Sunlight poured into 218 for what was probably the first time in 7 years. It was closed when I left, and I couldn't imagine why anyone would have come in and opened them since. No one had lived here since me.

The lights slithered eerily over the crumpled documents and broken cups on the wine-stained carpet, slowly filling the entire apartment.

I frowned.

My mother had jumped from the kitchen window, not this one, but I couldn't work up the courage to go in there. I could see from outside that that window was still smashed in and plastered with yellow caution tape, meaning the room probably hadn't been cleaned. That meant remains.

Not human remains, mind you, Bodies clearly would have clearly been removed by now. The police obviously wouldn't leave a murder victim's body in an open space for 7 years. That's disgusting. I'm speaking about the mess left behind. The kicked in wall, the kitchen knives on the floor, the blood and wine stains everywhere…

That kind of stuff.

I couldn't look at that.

I was okay here. I wanted to be out here. I was sure I'd throw up if I went in there. I wanted to check on 218, not remember. I was very done with remembering. The very thought of seeing my father's blood my stomach churn.

Next, I proceeded to open the window. It was a bit difficult, the hatch being so tight and old, but I managed. Putting two hands on the bottom, I wedged the window open with a loud Fwack.

Fresh air flooded the room.

Peeling the hand from my face, I leaned forward and took a deep breath, filling my lungs with fresh, city air.

The mildew stench quickly began to mix with the smell of exhaust.

Suddenly, I heard a ringing sound from my bag. Taken by surprise, I quickly pulled my head inside, smacking hard into the pane. I rubbed my head and drew my phone.

"hey Shizuku. It's me." Nola said, smiling over video chat.

I laughed gingerly. "Hello, Nola."

Nola's smile melted as she looked me up and down. "Shizuku… where are you? You're not…"

I frowned. "Nola, I-"

"Miss Takimi!"

Nola's sudden change in tone caused me to flinch. "…I figured it wouldn't hurt to take a look! I finished my required investigation, and it was sort of in the area. I had to. You know you would too, Nola! I-"

Nola frowned violently. "You've been ordered never to go back there, Shizuku. You're defying an order! I'll let this slide, but next time I'm going straight to chief Ray, got it?"

I nodded in embarrassment. "Yes."

"Anyways, that's not why I called. We have a lead on the Shanghai incident infectee."

I lit up. "What? Really? For real this time?"

Nola nodded. "Yes. We've traced the line of infection to a city called Kisaragi. We've got Saijo down there checking it out right now. He's enrolled at the school. It's quite interesting, actually… you know the whole thing, right?"

I nodded. "How he infected 10, 000 people in one month? Yeah. What about it?"

"well, he picked it up in Kisaragi. It's just such a tiny city. Barely anyone even knows about it. Anyhow, Saijo's already checked one man, but he wasn't the original."

"Damn. Any other leads?"

"Well,all we know about the original is that they have a love for art…. But you already knew this, didn't you? Other than that, none for now. We need to check around some more. That's why Saijo's at the highschool."

"I see."

"We need you down there, you know that, right?"

My heart sank.

Atsuki Saijo had recently been injured on his last mission. Some things went wrong – I'm not sure what – and he was now having issues handling solo projects. I had asked Nola time and time again what had happened to him, but she refused to speak of it. It kind of pissed me off that she wanted me to help him on back up, when I didn't even know what was wrong with him. None the less, I had to. It was my obligation. Not only had I loyally sworn myself to FORT, but Atsuki was like a big brother to me. I had to help him, regardless of whether or not he felt comfortable about telling me the details of his apparent injury. I felt obligation.

I sighed, wiping some sweat from my brow. "…I thought so. Saijo's not doing so well, is he?"

Nola smiled. "Well… I think he'd be okay if you there, just in case, alright? He's a strong guy, and he can stand on his own two feet. We need you there just to make sure he stays that way, Shizuku."

"I understand."

Nola nodded and glanced away from the line of the camera. "We'll make sure you're in Kisaragi by tomorrow. You'll have to enroll in the school there, like he did."

She paused, and looked back.

"…how do you feel about going undercover his sister?"

I blinked. "…h-huh? Why would I need to do that?"

"So that you don't appear suspicious. Think… two transfer students arriving one day after the other under suspicious circumstances… That wouldn't seem right."

I nodded, understanding her motive, that did make sense. "Ah, I see what you're getting at. Atsuki and I are the same age, though. We don't look like twins, Nola."

"details, details. Twins aren't always identical. You could arrive a day late, saying you had some unpacking or adjusting to do… We'll make sure that the two of you have the same classes, and such…"

I shrugged. "…alright, then. It sounds good. I'll be heading there tomorrow?"

Nola smiled sweetly and nodded. "yes. For sure. Kisaragi is just a stone's throw away from your home town. We'll have you there before you know it."

I smiled hollowly. It made sense that I used to live so close to a place like Kisaragi, it being the center of all of this. "Alright. I'll make sure that I have my stuff together."

"Good…. Can you do me one more favor?"

I tilted my head. "hm?"

"Get out of that apartment, and make sure you never go back. You know that it's an order."

I laughed, even though it wasn't funny. "Right."

Smiling, I said my goodbyes to Nola and hung up.

I turned and looked outside.

My entire time working for FORT, I'd felt as if I'd done nothing. I felt wonderful knowing that I was actually needed for something. I felt like a little kid being accepted into an important club.

For the first time since my parents were killed, I felt needed by another human being.

Episode 00 end.