? ll Location Unknown ll Day Time

Fog…

All I can see is fog…

I've been wandering around a foggy room… One that doesn't seem to have any walls, as though it has no end. I stumble around the area, looking to see if there was an exit, but nothing had shown itself. I was trapped in this place with no clear way of escape.

Well isn't this just great… Whatever dream this is, it sure is a weird one.

...This was a dream right?

Before I even had time to panic, the sound of lapping waves snapped me out of my thoughts. I can hear them crashing into the side of something, then soon settling before the next ones hit. I decided to walk closer in the direction of the sound, hoping maybe something will come to light. The closer I had stepped, the louder the waves became… Though it was not just the churn of waves now.

They were accompanied by a voice…

"Hey…" The voice said in a soft tone. It seemed rather distant, and I couldn't really make out any distinction. The closer I approached its source however, the more clear it became. "Hey... Are you awake?" asked the now much louder voice, which sounded as though it belonged to a young boy.

Awake…?

So I was right… This is a dream after all...

Okay Claire… You just have to wake up…

I held out my right arm and analyzed it for a moment. It seemed just like it always had… A light complexion, that when mixed with this fogged, almost looked ethereal. I brought out my left hand and held my right wrist, prepared to pinch myself awake.

This always worked in movies… Let's give it a shot.

One… Two… Three..!

I took my index and thumb nails and dug them into my wrist. The small shock of pain made me flinch slightly, but soon enough, I felt reality swiftly coming back into focus. Once I opened my eyes, I looked up, and above me was a clear blue sky.

Wait… What?

I was pretty sure I hadn't fallen asleep outside I thought to myself as I placed my hands down on the ground, only to feel the sensation of cold concrete.

"What the heck…?" I mumbled, hoisting myself up into a sitting position.

"Hiya!" shouted what looked to be a ghost draped in black, appearing before me as I sat up.

"Eeek!" I shrieked as I jumped back what was easily two feet. During my oh so graceful acrobatics stunt, I had crashed the back of my head into what seemed to be an iron beam. I shook my head for a moment and then brought up a hand to rub the spot that had just been slammed. "Dear lord, that hurts more than dropping a rifle on your head…" I grumbled, soon enough raising my gaze back to the ghostly figure.

"Oh, sorry about that! I didn't mean to scare you, hehe..." The person said, scratching the top of their head. After getting a closer look at them, they seemed to a young boy, if the voice was any indication. He soon stuck out his hand and gave me a warm smile. "Wanna hand?" he offered.

I shook my head and soon enough was back up on my feet. I dusted off my black skirt and decided to stretch out my back a bit. I did feel fairly stiff, though that was most likely due to sleeping on the concrete. I look down at the boy, who was considerably smaller than me. "Thanks for the help." I said in a cheery tone, but my face read otherwise. I was still extremely confused as to where I was, and who this boy in front of my was, for that matter.

However, the boy had beaten me to the punch, just smiling along with his bright blue eyes, asking me, "What's your name stranger?".

My name… Oh right, I should probably give that.

"My name is Claire Beaufort." I tried saying in a natural tone, though it was clear I was probably distracted. I was just taking in the scene around me. Looking to my sides, I appeared to be on some form of concrete dock, with nothing but rubble and ruin laying on the other end of it. I could see hills scaling along, and remains of what seemed to be giant apartment buildings off towards the far right. There was no beach as far as I could tell, as it all was surrounded by a perimeter of cinderblock walls. All of it reminded me of something akin to a desolate wasteland…

Pretty unsettling if you ask me.

Either way, I felt if I were to start anywhere, then I guess starting with this guy would be my best bet. "So, who are you?" I questioned him, whilst giving a perplexed gaze.

"I am Akio Kosuke, only son of the Kosuke clan and the Super High School Level Demonologist! I look forward to exploring the dark side of humanity with you Ms. Beaufort!" exclaimed the lad.

Akio Kosuke

SHSL Demonologist

Akio Kosuke is a rather small boy, standing at 5'1" (154.94 cm.), and weighing 110 lbs. (49.9 kg.) He has large, bright, blue eyes with what seems to be some serious bags underneath his eyes. He has an extremely pale complexion, to the point where one could compare him to a ghost. His shaggy hair is jet black and reaches down to the nape of his neck. For clothing, he wears black Shinto robes with a pair of purple bottoms. For footwear, he adorns his feet with white crew socks in a pair of geta. He wears a simple black choker with a small bell attached to the front of it. To top off the look, he has a kitsune mask on the side of his head, the kitsune greatly resembling that of Okami, its white straps visible through Akio's hair.

"A Super High School Level?" I thought aloud.

To think this guy was one too…

"Oh? Do you not know what they are?" questioned Akio, who raised his eyebrows.

"No, no, it's not that… It is that I am also a Super High School Level. The SHSL Color Guard Member as a matter of fact." I replied back, stating the fact clearly.

Claire Beaufort

SHSL Color Guard Member

At 5'6" (167.64 cm.) and 143 lbs. (64.86 kg.), Claire has a fairly muscular build, which is unsurprising considering her talent. She has a light skin tone, though slightly tanned due to her activity of choice. Claire has pale green eyes on her more rounded face, though with a more pointed chin, with faint freckles dusted around her face, barely noticeable. She has her strawberry blonde hair in a bob cut that doesn't even reach halfway down her neck, though it is thick and wavy. For her style of clothing, she wears a white button up with a red and white striped tie, tucked into a black skirt that reaches to her knees, with light gray lines going both longitudinally and latitudinally, making a square type pattern. Near the bottom of the skirt are horizontal lines, increasing in width the farther down you go. She wears a brown leather belt around her waist . Underneath the skirt, she wears a pair of white tights. To finish her outfit, she wears a pair of black mary-jane's with a silver buckle.

I could tell once Akio heard the words that he was igniting with excitement. His eyes seemed to have a new sparkle in them, as an even bigger smile than he had spread across his face. "COlor guard? That is so cool!" He sounded really giddy about it, until his face soon turned into one of puzzlement. "Wait… What's that?" he had questioned.

Oh boy… Here we go again… For the millionth time…

I let out a large sigh when he asked the question. Really, I can't blame the people who don't know what they are, as they are commonly seen as just members of marching bands, or flag ceremonies. Some people don't see that even and just consider them flag twirlers. "In layman's terms, they are people who you see in marching band shows with the flags, or the ones who do the spinning, while tossing them into the air and catching it tricks with flags, rifles, and scabbards commonly." I stated to him, being very annoyed by my own basic definition. I want to go into more detail, but people seem to understand that terminology enough.

We have more pressing things to do anyway.

"Oooooh, okay! That makes much more sense now! Thank you." The joy had come once more as Akio bobbed around.

He seems like such a sweet little guy. I can't believe he is actually a high school student…

After that little exchange, I had once again taken a good look at our surroundings. As I thought before, we were on a dock, staring out to the open sea. Connected is a pier leading to a rather ominous island, one tattered with rubble and destruction of buildings. It could remind some of something akin to an old ruin. Out towards the way, I notice something that I hadn't seen beforehand.

We weren't alone.

A few people were on the pier, some others seeming to have already begun the search of the mysterious island. I turned back to glance at Akio and raised an eyebrow. "Have you gone to take a look around yet?" I inquired the demonologist.

"Not yet, though, I have spoken with some of the others! I can show you around and introduce you to them if you would like!" he chirped.

With a nod of my head, I said, "That would be perfect!" I tried to match his tone, but I don't think I could if I even tried.

As soon as I said it though, he clutched onto my hand and started to run off with me in tow. "Alright then! We're off!"

So began nothing I thought I would ever experience.

Author's Postscript

Hey there everyone, it's Rev here. Yeah, I know what you are all thinking, and that is most likley that this first chapter took a million years to come out, which it most certainly did. The reason why is because about the time I started to work on it, a lot of things came up in my family life, which I will spare you the details, but I had to go deal with those first. Then after that, exam season had started, so I needed to focus on my studies. I am extremely sorry to have kept you all waiting, but at least it is here now.

Originally, this chapter was going to be about twice as long because my original plan was to introduce four characters, but it had just been too long since any word of this story made it here. Next chapter, I will make up for that.

Thank you all so much for reading, even after the long wait. If there are things you feel I can improve on, just tell me. I will gladly take suggestions. Also, if at any point, you think I am not treating your character correctly, then tell me also, as I am trying to stick true to the original people I was provided.

With that, hope you all have a nice day.

Peace (Breaker) out.