A/N: I'm still looking for OC's, but for now, I will update with what I've got.
As I left my house, I was met with the cold air of late fall and the crunch of dead leaves underfoot. This was my favorite time of the year, because everything was changing from the trees losing their leaves to the days that would grow shorter and, finally, how people would act. I always found it interesting how everyone would slow down or speed up just to match the seasons, but no matter what time of year it was, I would always move at the same speed.
I sighed, shaking myself from my thoughts, and headed off down the road to the cram school that I went to every day. Even though everyone else was out enjoying their break, I had to trudge through the cold and sit in a classroom filled with other poor souls whose parents had stuck them there, but it was worth it because I was always able to see my two friends halfway there and we would walk together, and with that, I picked up my pace.
When I reached the end of my street, I was greeted by two smiling faces, one from a young girl who was roughly an inch taller than me with dark blue eyes and raven black hair which was tied back. She was dressed in a simple brown school uniform complete with a skirt and a blazer while the other was a boy around the same age and height as me who had short, dirty blond hair which was obviously was dyed his black colour and he had light, sea green eyes which were kept behind a pair of large glasses. He wore a pair of tight blue jeans and a simple green jacket over a black shirt with a butterfly design on the front.
I greeted both of my friends with a smile, calling out their names and rushing to their sides.
"Yo, Imaru. Talia. Good to see that you're both doing well today," I said, a bit out of breath.
"The same for yourself. Did you get some good sleep for once?" the girl—Talia—asked.
"Better than sleep. I finally got my licence in the mail this morning," I replied, grinning whilst grabbing my wallet.
"Ooh. Let me see," Imaru said, smiling.
"Wait your turn, Imi," Talia said, mocking Imaru whilst taking the wallet from my hands.
"Jeez, Talia. You know that I hate that name," Imaru said, pouting but getting closer so that he could see the ID.
The two looked at the picture for a while before bursting out in laughter and giggles, making me quickly grab the wallet back from them.
"Oh, jeez. The face that you made is priceless." Imaru said through his laughter.
"Well, it's a good thing that you dropped the whole emo look, as well," Talia said, wiping away fake tears.
I looked down at the picture once again, realising that maybe I was too excited to realise the awkwardness of the photo. It looked like I was on some kind of high or something, my eyes mostly glazed over from the blinding flash that they give you no warning of, plus my hair was incredibly messy from my hat that I had to take off.
"OK. Maybe I'm not as photogenic as I thought," I said, giving a small chuckle whilst putting my wallet away.
"That's a bit of a understatement there, Ket," Talia said, turning to face me with a smile.
"So, whats new with you two?" I asked, trying to move the conversation away from my embarrassing photo.
"Nothing too interesting, even to note," Imaru sighed, looking dejected.
"By the way, what time is it?" Talia asked, looking for her phone.
I subconsciously pulled out the phone that I had woken up with, flipping it open. When I did, the text from this morning was still there, making me remember what had happened earlier that day. I could hear Talia's voice in the back of my head, but it sounded like it was muffled as if it came from an old speaker. I had to physically shake myself from my stupor, turning my gaze to my puzzled friends.
"I'm sorry. What were you saying, Talia?" I said, still in a slight trance.
"I wanted to know why you have such a old cell with you," Talia replied, sighing a bit, putting her hands on her hips.
"Oh... I... Uh... I just got it as a gift in the mail from someone... Yeah..." I replied hesitantly, for some reason thinking that it might be best to keep how I really obtained the phone hidden for now.
Both Imaru and Talia gave me disgruntled looks, but said nothing on the matter and we walked the rest of the way in silence. When we finally reached the school, I sighed, looking at the rather tall building with its monogram on the front and beginning to walk towards the long flight of stairs that I had to walk up get to my class.
"Hey, so can we meet up at the café after school? I wanted to talk to you guys about something," Imaru spoke up, clutching his arm rather tightly.
"I'm game. Say, around 3:30, maybe?" I replied with a small smile.
"Oh... Uh... Sure, Imi. I have to stay for a while later, so can I meet you guys there?" Tali said, a bit concerned, but didn't press the matter.
"Good. I will even treat everyone to some parfait," Imaru said, relaxing a bit. Then, he headed off into the school with the two of us close behind.
As we entered, I saw the first of many large flights of stairs that I had to ascend to get to my class and I gave my friends a quick wave a goodbye before I started to make my way up. As I walked, I pulled out my phone again, looking at the text that I had gotten earlier that day, shaking my head in disbelief at how outrageous it sounded. I just met a guy and I got a text about him dying; it just sounded too strange. As I passed a group of girls, the phone in my hands buzzed, another text appearing.
'Miyu Edi died at age 17. She fell down a flight of stairs at Ketako Academy, snapping her neck.'
As I red the text in horror, a girl came rushing past me in a sprint. I quickly shot my hand out, trying to grab the girl's arm, shouting, "Miyu! Wait!"
The girl turned to face me and I could see her feet slip out from underneath her and I quickly grabbed the back of her shirt, holding onto her as she almost fell, her left shoe coming off in the proces.
"Gah! Jeez! What the hell was that for?!" the girl cried out as I pulled her back from the stairs.
"You could have slipped and fallen! You could have died!" I shouted, biting my lip as the words left my mouth.
The girl looked at me, then down at her shoe lying at the bottom of the stairs, gulping, realizing what could have happened. She inched back from me, her eyes wide in terror, dark thoughts obviously running through her head.
"Are you OK, Miyu? Do you want me to walk you to the nurse's office?" I asked, worried, seeing the girl's nerves.
"N-no... I'm fine... Thank you for... saving me..." Miyu stammered, still worried.
"Well, then, I need to get going, or I will be late for my class," I replied, turning back to the stairs, sighing, remembering how much I had to climb.
"Wait! Hold on! You know my name, but I don't know yours!" Miyu called out, making me stop right in my tracks, cursing myself for making the same mistake that I did that morning.
"I must have been in one of your classes at some point," I stammered, trying to rush up the stairs.
"Hey! Slow down, will you?!" Miyu called out, following me up the stairs at a blinding speed.
As I reached the top of the stairs, the girl was standing there in front of me with her arms crossed. I blinked a few times, wondering how on Earth she got there, but then I noticed that it was the first time that I had really looked at the girl. She was rather short with her hair a light blonde and in a long braid, going all the way down to her chest while her eyes were a stunning golden brown which complemented her tanned skin tone. She wore a bright pink skirt dress with a floral design on the front and white stockings with small, black dress shoes. I could have sworn that she looked like a idol that close up.
"I will let you pass, but only if you tell me your name, OK?" Miyu panted, but her eyes were determined.
"Fine. It's Ketaru Fudo. If you want, just call me Ket," I sighed, pushing past the girl.
"Well, thank you again, Ket. I think that I owe you my life," Miyu said with a small smile.
"I'm sorry, but I can't waste any more time. I still have three more flights of stairs before I get to my class," I replied, trying to get her to leave me alone.
"Oh. So, that means that you're in art studies, as well?" Miyu asked, catching me off guard.
"Yeah. What about it?" I grumbled, Miyu's constant badgering starting to get on my nerves.
"It's closed for today. The teacher is out sick with a sudden cold," Miyu replied, walking over to me, a skip in her step.
"Great. That means that I walked up here for nothing," I said, my spirits sinking.
"Hey. It wasn't for nothing. You saved me, or did you forget, already?" Miyu huffed, putting her hands on her hips, much like a cross child.
'I'm starting to regret that,' I thought, making my way back down the stairs that I came from, Miyu close behind.
"So, since you don't have a class any more, wanna come hang out with me?" Miyu chirped up, tugging at my sleeve slightly.
I gave the girl a look of pure exhaustion. Just spending the little time that I had already with her made me feel like I had aged by three years. But, I shrugged and, having nothing better to do, I gave a small nod which sent Miyu into a small giggling fit, almost looking like she was going to jump up and hug me.
"Oh, good. I know this small arcade on the west side of town and it's right next to a great clothing shop which has these cute dresses. Oh. There's also..." Miyu chattered on and eventually I toned her out and pulled out the cell phone again, flipping it open to look at its text again, but I stopped mid-step, my gaze fixed on my phone. The text about Miyu that I had received earlier had vanished.
'Did I imagine the text? No. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known Miyu's name.' My mind raced for answers, trying to make sense of it until my shirt sleeve was tugged, snapping me out of my trance, and I looked over at Miyu who had a concerned expression on her face.
"Um... Ket... Are you OK? You spaced out there for a second," Miyu asked worriedly, her hands fidgeting with her braid.
I looked around and noticed that we were outside the school and heading towards the gate entrance and sighed, noticing that I probably had worried the poor girl and turned to look at her.
"Heh. Sorry. I have this strange habit of losing myself in thought sometimes. It's my bad for not warning you," I said, trying my best to play it off as if it was no big deal.
"Did you even listen to a word that I said?" Miyu asked, becoming more relaxed.
"I... Uh... Sure... Something about an arcade?" I replied, giving a halfhearted laugh.
"Fine. Let's just get to the station, already," Miyu sighed, walking ahead of me at a brisk pace.
Not wanting to make her angry, I quickly followed, trying my best to keep up with the rather fast girl. When we arrived at the station, I noticed how very few people were there, but I played it off as the fact that it was a work day and quickly joined Miyu who was about to board a train.
"So, where are we going, again?" I asked hesitantly.
"I told you that we're going to the west end of Minatako. There's something that I wanted to show you there," Miyu grumbled, taking a seat.
I quietly sat beside her, still wondering about the strange text that I had gotten, but I pushed it out of my mind and started to close my eyes, settling in for the long trip. As I opened my eyes slowly, I noticed that I was no longer in the train car, but the same room from my dream the night before and I looked up, seeing the massive figure—Deus—in his chair again, his hands linked together as if he was in deep thought. Then, his large form moved, noticing me.
"Ah. Ketaru. You have returned again, I see," Deus said slowly, as if the act of speaking was hard.
"What do you mean by 'returned'? This is a dream, so there's no place to return," I replied, confused.
"Don't you remember, young one? The last time that you visited, I revealed the reason for you being here," Deus sighed.
"All I know is that I got a strange cell phone and you told me that I had to kill people," I shouted at the figure, my face turning red.
"Then, I will explain in detail. I am the god of this world. I have watched this world grow and fall throughout history, but now I am dying and I fear that, if this world is left without a god, it will perish and everyone who inhabits it die, as well," Deus said in a tone that sent a shiver down my spine.
"But, why such a competition? Can't you just pick the right choice?" I asked, panicked.
"The game has started and I can no longer influence it, for my job now is to hold this world together long enough for the winner to be chosen," Deus replied slowly.
At that moment, I noticed that we weren't alone. A small girl who looked as if she was only 8 at the most was hiding behind Deus. Her attire reminded me of something from a circus and her skin tone reminded me of people from advertisements, sponsoring far off places with white beaches and the bright Sun, but the oddest thing was her light purple hair and her small tail.
"Um... Who is that?" I asked, pointing towards the small girl who flinched when I made notice of her.
"This is Muru Muru. She is my assistant for this game and will interact with the players," Deus replied, a hand pushing the girl from the shadows.
"I-it's a pleasure to finally meet you, and if you wish, you can just call me 'Muru'," the girl said quietly, bowing in the process.
"I need to know one thing, though. Why me of all people?" I asked, looking down at my feet.
"I can answer that for you, Mr. Fudo," Muru said with a smile.
"You were chosen for the relationships that you have or, in this case, will have," the small girl continued.
"Wait. What do you mean by that?" I asked, panicked, but neither of them replied.
I was about to rush over to Deus and the girl, Muru, but my vision started to shake and the pair slowly disappeared.
As I opened my eyes, I could see that I was still on the train and Miyu was shaking my shoulder with a annoyed look on face.
"Ket, this is our stop. Wake up. You look like a bum," Miyu grumbled, shaking me a bit more violently this time.
"Gah. OK. I'm awake now. No more shaking, please," I mumbled, taking the girl's hands off me.
As I stood and stretched my arms, the train quickly slowed down until it came to a stop and the doors swished open, revealing a large group of people who were patiently waiting to board the train. When Miyu and I exited our car and headed further into town, it felt as if I was being watched, but I just passed it off as nerves from being in a place that I didn't frequent.
"Well, here's the place," Miyu said, pointing to a rather small building which was adorned with a banner that read 'Couple's Sale!' in bright red lettering.
"W-what the hell is this?" I stammered, wondering why the girl had brought me there.
"Just relax, will ya? It's just a sweet shop that's having a sale," Miyu sighed, walking into the store as I followed close behind.
As I entered the shop, a small bell chimed, but then I was suddenly taken aback by the bright pink walls which were covered in pictures of small, cute animals, all with name plates under them, reading things like 'Pookie' and other gag-worthy names. I saw a smiling young woman behind the shop's counter wearing a deep red apron and a small yellow hat which kept her blonde hair from covering her eyes. Miyu smiled at the girl and then held up two fingers, then took a seat, beckoning me over.
"So, I take it that you've been here before," I stated, walking over to the table and taking a seat, myself.
"Sure. Dozens of times. They have great coffee here which goes well with their cakes," Miyu replied, relaxing a bit in her seat.
I was about to ask another question, but the woman from earlier came over with a small plate with a piece of elaborately decorated cake. As she sat it down in front of us, she turned to Miyu, probably wondering if she needed anything else.
"That will be all, Yuzu," Miyu said without even looking at the girl and took a small bite of her cake.
"As you wish, Ms. Edi," Yuzu said, giving a small bow before walking off.
I was astonished. The way that Miyu acted when we first met seemed completely different from her personality at that moment.
"Close your mouth unless you want me to feed you," Miyu said with a small laugh.
"Sorry. I was just a bit shocked, is all. You seemed like a different person just now," I stammered to regain some composure.
"Oh. That. Well, my father owns the place, so I guess that they just want to make a good impression," Miyu mumbled, taking another bite of her cake.
I probably had my mouth open again because Miyu slowly started to inch her forkful of cake closer to me, but I quickly shut it again, shaking myself out of the trance.
"Jeez. You really do have a problem with spacing out, don't you?" Miyu asked, obviously a bit annoyed.
"Yeah. Again, I'm sorry about that, but I'm just trying to take it all in," I replied hesitantly, trying not to be like a deer in the headlights.
"It's fine, but can we talk about this later and just enjoy our cake?" Miyu said, sighing.
As I ate my cake with Miyu, I started to wonder what she was hiding from me and if this was all some kind of act, but suddenly, the number 3 phone buzzed in my pocket and I slowly pulled it out, gritting my teeth, wondering what I was about to read.
'Ketaru Fudo was stabbed to death by diary holder number 7 atop a roof.'
I looked at my phone in shock. Not once did it ever say my name before this. I quickly looked around the room, trying spot anyone suspicious until Miyu spoke up.
"Hey, are you OK? It looks like you've seen a ghost or something," she said, concerned.
"No. It's just... I... Uh..." I was about to reply when I heard the small bell chime with the door shutting close behind it and my head whipped around to see a small girl who was much younger than myself with short, curly black hair. She was dressed in a blue and white sailor uniform complete with a large bow which was wrapped around her waist. As she sat down, I tried to calm myself by thinking that there was no way that such a young girl could be a killer, but then I saw her pull out a small flip phone from her pocket with a very distinctive black 7 across the front.
"Huh. That's odd. Not many people come in here, especially at this time of day," Miyu said, looking at the young girl, herself.
"Maybe she's from around here," I mumbled, keeping my gaze fixed on the girl as she ordered from the waitress, smiling as she did so.
I knew that I had to get out of that place. Otherwise, I might have gotten hurt, or worse, got someone else hurt, but as I watched her a little more, I could see that she was humming a tune, kicking her small legs under the table. I tried to put my mind at ease, thinking that my phone could be wrong or that she just had a phone with a seven on it for no reason, but as the waitress, Yuzu, gave the girl a slice of cake, she looked over and locked eyes with me. Gone were the humming and the smile. What replaced them were the eyes of a hunter, cold and merciless, and a slow, crooked grin crept along her face.
'T-this has to be a dream! No! A nightmare! I-it has to be!' my mind screamed, trying my best to not bolt from my seat and run.
A/N: Holy cow, did this take forever, but I'm glad that I took my time with this. But, anyway, now that it's done, the real story can start, but I wanted to say that I'm still accepting OC's, so if you want to submit one, just send one over and I can take a look at it. But for now, if you liked the story, write a review, or if you want to keep your thoughts between us, send a PM.
Thanks for reading.
Rinjai