CW for some unreality in the middle, just a warning. It's minor but I figured there's no harm in warning you guys.
The door opens, and I'm shocked to see what appears to be a little girl.
Red hair in an impressive ponytail, Batman shirt, and what looks like...a cape? I reach up to touch at Edwin's coat, still wrapped around my shoulders. Perhaps I won't stick out like a sore thumb.
Hmm. A one-eyed non-binary kid with my upbringing? No, I'll definitely stick out.
The girl looks around at the graveyard, at Tomoko, at me. "Well, this sure does seem like a sticky situation. Who are you, citizens? Where am I?"
"We appear to be in a graveyard ruled over by a hawk-slash-god with a soft spot for the band 'My Chemical Romance'," Tomoko says calmly. I really do envy her ability to stay calm. My own mind is racing with thoughts of motive and intent. And of course, the scariest and most important question.
What's he gonna do to us? What's he gonna do to me?
"...that sounds like a comic book plot." I have to agree with the newcomer. "And that means...there's villains around! Villains that we have to stop!" The girl excitedly poses, and I'm left wondering if everyone here has a fictional medium to compare this to.
"It won't be that easy. The villain is a god," Tomoko points out again. "That being said, I'm Mukai Tomoko, the SHSL Prosthetist. This is Mal, the SHSL Speedcuber."
The girl nods. "I see, I see…well, I'm Kimiko Yuu, the SHSL Hero!" She grins toothily. "Pleased to meet you, citizens! Now let's go stop a villain!"
Yuu Kimiko, SHSL Hero
I blink. "...look, Kimiko, I'm no ordinary citizen. I've been involved with criminal investigations before. Some have called me a natural profiler."
Tomoko looks at me. "...oh?"
Kimiko only seems to be happy to hear my statement. "Really? So you've helped catch bad guys before? We can be partners, then!"
"...no thanks. I work alone. Like Batman." I swoosh Edwin's cape dramatically. "...I am the night."
Tomoko lets out a small laugh. It sounds strange and almost robotic.
Kimiko grins. "I love Batman!" She gestures to her shirt. I can't find a single fuck to give, no matter how much I search my mind for one. All my fucks are occupied with things like where are we and how do we get out and where is Edwin and oh my dear god I'm going to die.
Saying nothing, I turn and run away from Kimiko and Tomoko. Icarus...I have to find Icarus again. Thoughts rush through my mind, and for the millionth time today I wish I could just turn off my brain.
Is any of this even real? Maybe I'm hallucinating. Wouldn't put it past myself. Maybe I'm in a coma, maybe I'm dead and this is my mind trying to cope with its own mortality. Edwin...will I ever see you again?
I feel my head collide with something soft and a cold, apathetic voice say "Watch where you're going, asshat."
And then my thoughts quiet to a normal murmur, and I'm looking into the eyes of a blonde girl in a yellow suit. A red bowtie adorns her neck and her yellow eyes stare blankly into me. "...who the hell are you?"
It takes me a moment to collect myself enough to talk. "...Harper Hargrave. Call me Mal. Speedcuber. SHSL Speedcuber."
She rolls her eyes. "So you solve puzzles for a living?"
"Yeah, kinda."
"...well, you do you then." She starts to walk away.
"W-wait!"
She turns around, looking mildly miffed - though it's hard to tell with how cold and apathetic her face is. "...what?"
"Who...who are you? Do you know any of what's going on?"
"...Miyamoto Miyu. Good Luck. Don't know, don't care. We're all probably just gonna end up in these graves. Or...perhaps not, knowing my luck." And with that she's gone.
Miyamoto Miyu, SHSL Good Luck
Well, that was pointless. What a jerk. I look around me. It appears that in the brief time I was completely lost in my thoughts I made it all the way to the other side of the tower. It's even taller up close, dwarfing me by comparison. All of a sudden, I feel so small.
"...quite an impressive architectural feat, is it not?"
I pivot, caught off-guard by the voice, knife raised in self-defense. The speaker, a black-haired woman in a blue jacket, raises her eyebrows. Her dark green eyes stare straight into my single blue eye. "...already resorting to violence, are we?"
I lower the knife. "...s-sorry. You caught me off-guard is all. I'm...Mal. SHSL Speedcuber."
"...Nakajima Minoru." Her voice is lower and less expressive than one would expect from a girl her age. "...SHSL Secretary."
Nakajima Minoru, SHSL Secretary
Between the glasses and the demeanor she certainly looks the part. I bow my head. "...it's a pleasure to meet you. Sorry about the knife. I'm a bit on edge."
"Understandably so. Apology accepted. Hmm…" She looks around. "This place is rather atmospheric, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it's nice and whatever, but we need to get out of here." Another girl has walked up to us, joining us in staring up at the tower. "I overheard you guys, sorry. My name's Shinju. Shinju Kobayashi. I'm the SHSL Screenwriter."
Kobayashi Shinju, SHSL Screenwriter
I ponder the odds of having both a screenwriter and a cinematographer for a moment, but then my brain registers that I'm talking to the Kobayashi Shinju. I look over at her in awe. "I'm...a fan of your work."
She smiles, her black updo bouncing slightly as she tilts her head to look at me. "Really? You're...David Hargrave's kid, right?"
I nod. "Yes, unfortunately."
"Sorry." She sighs and adjusts her red leather jacket. "...this place really is atmospheric, but this sort of atmosphere is far better off left in movies."
Minoru and I nod in agreement.
A loud screech can be heard overhead, and I look up to see Icarus - or the hawk, at least - circling overhead. Before I can stop myself I swear loudly. Minoru and Shinju look at me as though I'm insane. I give them an apologetic look and rush off after the hawk-
Only to trip and nearly fall into one of the graves. My breath catches in my throat as I stare down at a deep hole dug into the ground. Just before I can fall, I feel an arm grab onto my cape, pulling me back to safety.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That one's mine, it's got my name on it! No stealing!"
I'm staring at a boy with golden-blond hair streaked with rainbows, bangs held out of blue-green eyes with pins. "Sh-shit, sorry."
He frowns disapprovingly, but it only takes a moment for it to disappear. "Well, hey there. You almost got hurt, huh? Good thing I was here to save you."
"Y-yeah. Thanks for that. I owe you." I stare at the grave, which is decorated with carved shears and proclaims Sanka Shizuka, SHSL Hairstylist.
Sanka Shizuka, SHSL Hairstylist
"Why were you running like that, anyway?" He gives me a curious look.
I sigh. "...I was chasing the hawk."
His face clouds with confusion. "Uh...what hawk, exactly?"
Chapter: 0
Survivors: 10/10
My absolute inability to keep to a schedule or stay motivated at all is starting to bite me in the ass. All updates from now on will probably be this slow, sorry.
OCs introduced this chapter are:
Yuu Kimiko, SHSL Hero - Captain Quackin
Miyamoto Miyu, SHSL Good Luck - Revolution921
Nakajima Minoru, SHSL Secretary - Penumbro
Kobayashi Shinju, SHSL Screenwriter - Lupus Overkill
Sanka Shizuka, SHSL Hairstylist - Shouta Izukai
I hope I portrayed all of them well!
Lupus Overkill: Yeah, I haven't said much about Icarus yet, but trust me when I say he's great. One of my favorite OCs, legitimately. He's terrible. The Worst. But I love writing him.
arandomcanadian: What's a god to a nonbeliever indeed. Icarus' answer to that question would be 'still a god, you dumb fuck', but don't listen to him. He's an asshole.
Nemris: A sniper is someone who conceals themself and shoots accurately from a long distance. That's only the TL;DR of it, of course, but I'll get more in-depth later. I don't know if Song will have time to use his skills, but who knows?
Shadowclanwarrior: And this is the reason why I shouldn't write at 2 AM hopped up on caffeine. It's been fixed, thanks for pointing it out.
Penumbro: Because Hero likes to make pure cinnamon rolls suffer. The entire Li family needs to be saved.
HeroineOfDarkness: Spoilers! I don't know how you found out about my endgame Icarus-murders-everyone plan but don't go shouting about it over the internet!
Shouta Izukai: I'm happy that people are happy to see a nonbinary protagonist! Considering how much resistance my last nb character got I was a bit worried... (though to be fair that was probably more because they were a bad character than anything to do with their gender...)
SDproductions: I'm glad to hear that I got Tomoko in character. Monohawk loves pets, especially when they're coming from people he's about to watch murder each other. Yep, that's Icarus...he's terrible and I love him. I'm glad to see you like Mal. I was worried about making my own OC the protagonist but I'm glad to see it's working out.
TheRoseShadow21: No one expects the Spanish inquisition Icarus!
Kourtney Uzu Yato: Why thank you.
VioElcina: I'm glad you like it. It'll only get darker from here.
MechBlade007: Relating to Icarus is probably not a good thing. He's a malevolent god-bird who likes to murder teenagers.