"Who... are you?" Kano timidly asked, the world around him lit up, as someone saved him, that gave him a ray of hope.
The girl looked back, her hair fluttered elegantly with the breeze of the wind.
"Hm, me?" The girl slowly walked towards the boy before answering his question.
"My name is not important, as you will never remember it anyways after you step out of this world... So, I'll just say, I'm going to be your bodyguard of some sorts in this world, haha~" The girl snickered as she jokingly said the latter part of her sentence.
"That being said, let's get out of here, okay?" She reached out her hand towards Kano, who was currently lying down on the floor.
"U-Um, alright..." Kano took her hand and stood up.
The girl walked towards a wall, and looked back at Kano, indicating that he should follow her.
Kano was confused by her actions, but nonetheless, he followed her.
The girl put her hand on the wall, then started chanting random words, Kano didn't understand a thing about the girl's actions, but he decided to stay quiet, she was the one that saved him, he didn't have the right to criticize her right now.
"And... Open." The girl declared as if she was talking to the wall, then the wall suddenly exploded into pieces and revealed a path towards an exit.
"Alright, go over there and leave." The girl said to Kano, Kano then stepped back, he didn't allow his pride to leave that girl alone.
But he obeyed her words anyways.
He knew that he would be a burden.
He didn't have a weapon.
She knew how to fight those monsters, while he didn't.
While he was walking towards the exit, he looked back, since he wanted to ask one more thing.
"Hm?" The girl noticed Kano, then knew that he was going to ask something.
"Uh..."
"How about... the girl?" Yes. This was the question Kano wanted to ask. He still didn't believe it. He hoped for at least a little glimmer of hope—
"She's dead. Don't go hoping that she would still be alive."
—But there was none.
Only despair.
Kano turned his back towards the girl and ran towards the exit and...
"Good night."
Next Morning...
"Huh?" My eyes widen as I suddenly wake up from a bad dream. Can't remember what it was, though. But, damn, my head hurts like hell. "Ugh." I groaned as I try to suppress the pain within my head.
I was lying down on my bed. The pain in my head slowly subsided as I struggle to pick myself up and stand up.
Why do I feel like I had a really rough day yesterday?
Alright, let's review the facts.
I am Kano Kageyama. 16 years old. A student at Shinsou High School...
Well, that's obvious, I know myself best, but what about yesterday? What did I do?
All I can remember is that I ate lunch, did my usual thing, got scolded by a teacher, and then... What happened?
There's a gap in my memory... This is freaking me out.
Oh well, no point getting worked up about this.
Time to get ready for school.
As I put on my uniform, I noticed a brown stain on my white polo... Where did I get this? Didn't I do the laundry yesterday? Well... I can't... remember...
No, no, no, don't overthink this, I should focus on getting ready for school and nothing else.
This stain wouldn't be noticed that much, anyway.
I opened the door to the outside as I'm finished preparing, I'm almost late for school, so I can just skip breakfast. I ran as fast as I can to the stairs of the apartment I'm living in and worked my way downstairs and towards the school.
"Good morning, Kano!" Aoyama greeted me as soon I entered the classroom, then tried to trap me within her arms (basically, a hug.)
Unfortunately for her, though, I dodged her arms and her body tumbled, causing her to trip.
"Ow, ow, ow... Anyways, are you okay, Kano?" Huh? Why would she ask me that when she's the one who tripped and fell on her butt!
"Haa? You're the one who tripped, not me! Why are you asking me that?!" I asked with an unintentional intimidating way, which probably startled her.
"No! I'm not talking about what I did, but about last night, you looked pretty lifeless when you were walking home, almost like a zombie, it was pretty funny to watch you stumbling and tripping! Like you were on drugs! Hahaha!" Wha- This girl is mocking me... But, what did I do, though? I don't get it. I still have this memory gap in my mind... There are, like, myriad questions in my mind right now.
"That's stupid. Me? Being lifeless? In the same sentence? That's a bad combination. I'm always an energetic guy!" I lightly chopped Aoyama's head, by this, she would finally quiet down with the laughing.
"Ow. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say, I don't know what you were doing last night, but I won't pry any further. See you~" Ah. This is one of Aoyama's good parts. She's not really nosy about other people's problems. Well, at least she's kind about that.
Aoyama walked away from my desk and sat on her seat...
Her desk? That isn't her desk... Yet, why does it feel... natural?
"Hey, Aoyama, is that really your seat?" I call out to her, asking about her sudden seat change.
"Huh? But this is my seat, though?" What? Weird, I feel like someone else sat there for some reason... No good, I'm letting pointless problems into my mind. Better to ignore it than overthink it.
"Ah, nevermind." As soon as I said that, Aoyama gave me a weird look but did her usual thing again anyway.
"Man, I got a lot of questions today..."
*RIIIINNGGGGG*
Oh, it's breaktime already? That was fast... I didn't even notice because I was too busy thinking...
"Wah!" A girl behind me squealed as her lunch box fell down to the floor. Fortunately, it fell down facing up, not facing down, so her lunch was still safe.
"MY LUNCH!"
"Kano, you asshole!"
"Gh!" My body stumbled as I remembered something... unpleasant. But, it's weird. I can't remember her face, her name or even her voice... I only remember what she said... Wait, her? She? How did I know that it was a girl? This is fucking crazy, am I going insa-
"KAAAANOOOO!"
"WAH!" I stumbled as a really huge force pushed my entire body away from the ground.
"I see... As Mr. Newton said, 'A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion unless it is acted upon by an external force.'. Thank you, Mr. Newton." I was bewildered when I was lying down on the ground all of a sudden... This is all Aoyama's fault for pushing me down with her heavy body.
"Excuse me, I am NOT heavy!" Aoyama shouted as if she read my mind. "Uh, can you get off me, you gorilla incarnate?" Uh-oh. I suddenly became too harsh to her. What's wrong with me today?! Today marks the day I die. Bye, world.
"What? That's a really bad choice of words... Well, I don't mind becoming a strong gorilla." Huh. She didn't mind it, a shocker.
"Gorillas don't have a functioning mind though."
"Clever, but they do. They just don't show it often."
Well, she does have a point.
"Lunch break is ending soon, bye~" Aoyama turned back and walked towards her seat but then- "Don't overdo it, Kano."
Looks like she was worried about me, she's a really great friend...
But I have to get to the bottom of this after all. This is troubling me, and I hate it.
Whatever these 'memories' are, I shall uncover the memories that lay deep inside of my brain.
What a fucking pain!
After all that, I walked towards the cafeteria to find something to eat.
AFTER SCHOOL
Alright, classes are over for today!
Now I can-
"Kageyama-san! Yamamoto-sensei is calling for you at the back of the school!" Back of the school? A weird place to meet up. I nod at the student who told me that and he went back to whatever he's doing.
Guess I'll go there. Can't ignore something like that, after all. I'll have to postpone my search for my memories for now.
...
"I'm here, teach..." Well, I finally got here... but now what? I don't see him anywhere...
Is he even here? Damn, that guy played a trick on me, after all, what kind of teacher ask students to meet behind the school? That's just absolute garbage-
"Hello, Kageyama-san, sorry for the sudden notice." Whoa! He was here after all! But where?! I didn't see him anywhere!
"Haa... Finally, teach, what do you need-" As I almost complete my question, a black-ish hand appeared in front of me. "Forgive me, but I need to kill you." Huh?
*slash*
"WHOA! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" I barely managed to dodge... It grazed my neck a bit... Is he serious?! Is he really a teacher?! What is that black-
*slam* *slash*
Holy fucking shit! That's really fast! He doesn't even give me time to think!
"Fast reflexes, I see... Certainly different from the others. But, oh well, I'll still win in the end."
*slash* Guh! What the fuck?! I'm getting out of here, but where?! I want to run, run, and run!
I need to escape from his attacks!
Wait...
This is familiar.
I have been here before... I know there's a gate here.
But where exactly is it?!
"Hm? You're looking for something? Heh, sorry kid, but there's no escape from my hand." He said maliciously as he repeatedly targets me.
"Guh. No choice but to-" Rely on my guts! Here, we, go!
"Impossible! You found the gate?! Entering it, too?! How exactly?!"
I "opened" the gate using the sheer force of my body, slamming into an invisible object.
"HRAAAAHH!" It hurts, it hurts, it hurts like crazy!
But I will live on!
Towards the answer... Here I go!
...
In the gate, there lies-
Ah, fuck.
This was a wrong move.
There's a lot of monsters around me...
I'm seriously screwed, huh?
I shouldn't have done this.
If only I stayed in my ignorant daily life, I wouldn't have encountered this mess.
Is this finally my death?
... Oh, well.
PROLOGUE END
A/N
Sorry for the delay, everyone! I was too busy in school so I almost forgot about this! Anyway, the prologue ended in a real cliffhanger~ What will happen to Kano-kun?! Well, something like that.
But he is the main character, so...
Anyways, see you next chapter~