Chapter 3:

A Lovers Chariot and a Little Faith

The morning came without further incident. The sky had cleared and the sun was shining down on the quiet piece of the city. Revlands' thoughts were elsewhere however as his nose felt stuffy his body started to shiver.

Great, I think I caught a cold. He thought to himself. Running around in a downpour will do that to you I guess.

Body aching, Revland got out of bed and walked over to his uniform that he'd hung up the previous night and got dressed.

Kinda wish that I could just skip school today… but it wouldn't look good if I didn't show up on my first day just because of a little cold. He mused while buttoning up his jacket.

After getting dressed and preparing his bag, Revland went to the restroom that was at the bottom of the stairs to brush his teeth and take care of other morning rituals. Once done and had washed up, he stepped out into the hallway as the smell of freshly brewed coffee penetrated his clogged nose. He walked further into the café and found Sojiro behind the counter with a cup of coffee and a plate of curry in front of him.

"Good morning." Sojiro said with a small knowing smirk on his face. "Sit down and have a bite to eat before you go."

"Seriously, you even have curry for breakfast?" Revland questioned.

"Are you complaining?"

"Oh no, as a wise man once sa-", a sneeze interrupted Revlands' sentence.

"Ah, so you did come down with something after your little trounce in the rain." Sojiro said with the same smirk.

"I'm hoping it's just a cold…" Revland relented after sniffling for a few seconds.

"So a wise man was saying what exactly?" Sojiro chuckled softly.

"One should never complain about free food…"

"Sounds like very wise words indeed, now sit down and eat while you still have time."

Revland sat at the bar and marveled at how delicious it all looked. He didn't know how boss did it but even first thing in the morning he somehow made curry feel like it belonged on the breakfast menu.

Perhaps that's because of the coffee, Revland thought to himself.

"Thank you for the meal." Revland said to Boss and dug in.

The curry was as splendid as ever and the coffee helped with his sore throat as well as clearing his nose. After breakfast he felt almost human again.

"Before you go, I wanted to talk to you about what happened last night." Sojiro said suddenly serious.

"Right, I should apologize for entering your home without permission. As I said before, the only reason I was there was because I heard someone screaming and when I saw the door open, my mind thought of the worst… so I went inside." Revland explained.

Sojiro sighed, "I should've told you that Futaba wasn't a big fan of storms, though I would never have expected it to get this bad. Not to the point of screaming anyway…" Sojiro said thoughtfully. "I want to say that she used to be fascinated by weird weather but this was different, after you left she told me that she was scared enough to leave her room and was going to hide in mine."

"Don't see what's so weird about it. When a child is scared, one of the first things they think of is a parent and the safety that they can provide. If she was aware that you weren't in the house then, to her, your room would've been the safest place." Revland said sipping some of his coffee. Noticing his headache was clearing up and he could also breathe freely through his nose again.

"That would make sense if there was a lock on the door but the only ones in the house that have one is her room, the bathroom and the front door."

"Has she ever hidden there before?"

Sojiro hesitated to answer but only for a moment. The kid did save her from one hell of a fall, I owe him an explanation at least.

"Only once, it was about a year back when I first brought her home. I found her crying in my closet but she wouldn't tell me why she was there or why she was upset."

Revland thought for a moment thinking of the possibilities. "Did you have anything of her mother's in the closet?" He asked.

"No, I do have a picture of her and the old team she was a part of, but she didn't find it." Sojiro said thoughtfully. "Futaba was just curled up in a ball crying, broke my heart to see her like that."

Revland pondered for a moment and then sighed as he knew that he didn't know enough to piece everything together, at least for the time being. Something did catch his attention though and it was something Sojiro had said. "You said that Wakaba was part of a team, what kind?"

Shit… didn't mean to say that part. Sojiro cursed inwardly. The clock chimed for a quarter till eight and he let out a grateful sigh. "Looks like we'll have to continue this conversation later. You better get going or you're going to be late."

Noticing the sigh, Revland thought that it would be a good time to drop the subject. I can tell that yesterday took a toll on him, probably be a good place to just drop it.

Revland stood for the bar and thanked Sojiro for the meal as he turned for the door.

"Oh and Revland?" Sojiro stammered, remembering the real reason for setting up breakfast in the first place.

Turning back to face Sojiro, Revland saw that Boss's face had gone soft and it seemed like his eyes were watery. "Thank you… for saving Futaba… she… she could've gotten hurt if you hadn't have been there when you were…" after that Sojiro simply bowed which caught Revland off guard.

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Revland rubbed the back of his neck and said sheepishly, "You're welcome Sojiro… anytime…"

"Good, now get out of here before you're late… you nosey brat…" Sojiro muttered as he lifted his glasses to wipe away something that had gotten in his eye.


"This is Shibuya, this is Shibuya" the loud speak chimed.

The train came to a stop as the doors began to open, Revland realized that the cold that he had woken up with was no longer affecting him. Even searching for the symptoms had turned up nothing, no aching, no headache, no stuffy nose and his mind was clear as ever.

I swear, I need to get that recipe from him. Seems like the perfect cure for the common cold. Revland mused.

Stepping off the train into a sea of people, Revland climbed the stairs to the underground walkway and looked for a way to get to the surface.

There was a way to get to Aoyama-Itchome using the Giza line from underground but the accident from yesterday has it on repair for the time being. Should be a secondary entrance around here somewhere.

Following the overhead signs, Revland made his way to the surface and found a set of stairs that led to just outside the Giza train line. He knew he was in the right place just by the number of students wearing similar uniforms to his own.

Guess I'm in the right place.

"Hey, isn't that her?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Who are you talking about?" another responded.

"Her, the one with the red hair and ribbon."

"Okay, what about her?"

"Isn't she the one from that accident about six months ago?"

"Oh, you mean that car accident? Yeah, I think she is, didn't she just transfer?"

"I believe so, I'm kind of jealous of her hair, it looks so pretty."

"Makes me wonder how much work she has to do to keep it that way."

Revland, ever curious, looked up from his phone to see who they're talking about but couldn't pick out the red-haired girl with the red ribbon.

With all the people with black hair, you'd think it be easy to see the one red head of the group. He thought.

The next train came to a stop and the large group of students packed themselves in and shortly thereafter, they were moving. Revland noticed that some of the students managed to claim a few seats on the sides of the train. Probably could take the time to catch up on some reading, wouldn't hurt to visit the library when I get the chance.

"I'm sorry ma'am, would you like to take a seat?" asked a young woman to Revland's right.

He turned to find a young woman appearing to be 14 or 15 with long red hair tied into a ponytail with the aforementioned red ribbon tied into a bow, red eyes and pink lipstick. She was wearing a Shujin Academy uniform with black pantyhose and red loafers. She repeated her question to an elderly woman.

"Why thank you dear." She replied.

The young woman got up to offer her seat but as soon as she made to do so, a middle-aged man took advantage and sat down.

"Um, excuse me that was meant for her." The young woman protested gesturing to the elderly woman to her left.

However, her protests fell on deaf ears for, another moment later, the same man was out cold.

"Oh… I'm sorry ma'am." The young woman stated apologetically.

"No worries dear, I was fine standing before and I will be again." The old woman comforted.

"Want me to ask him for you?" Revland interjected. Not liking how the exchange went over.

"Oh, no thank you, that won't be necessary." the young stated quickly, "He must have needed it more than I did is all..." trailing off, she stared at Revland. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"No, I don't believe so. Plus, you seem like someone I wouldn't readily forget."

"Oh, my apologies, you just look like someone I thought I knew. Kind of like déjà vu?"

"Déjà vu huh, in what way?" Revland asked, "Just curious."

After a moment, the young woman couldn't really pick just one feature of the guy. She just met him but knew that she'd seen him somewhere before. Could it had been his presence or just the way he held himself, she couldn't tell.

"Honestly… I don't know…"

She stood across from Revland and closed her eyes to dwell in her thoughts.

Revland started looking around them, noting the position and posture of everyone standing within five feet of the two of them. On instinct, he took a small step forward to place himself between the young girl and those around them.

Awfully trusting, aren't we miss. Revland mused.

"Ah I got it!" she said with a hop of excitement nearly missing Revland's nose. "Oops, sorry… wait… when did you get so close?" she noted with a hint of nervousness. Revland noticed and decided it would be the best course of action to just tell her the truth.

"You closed your eyes in the middle of a crowded train car, do you think that was very wise?" he asked with his voice just above a whisper. "I shouldn't have to remind you that they're others that would take advantage of such a lack of sense."

"You were helping me, I should be thanking you then and you're right." The young woman stated sheepishly "It wasn't very smart of me but I know where I've seen you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it was in a dream I had the other night… but I think you were wearing a coat and had wings."

"Wings?"

"Yeah huh, six of them. I knew it had to be something about your posture."

Before Revland could voice his concern for the girl's possible mental state, or lack thereof, the cars intercom informed the passengers that they were about to stop at Aoyama-Itchome. Revland looked back at the girl and made eye contact for the first time. She didn't look away, instead she stared into his eyes and after a moment smiled up at him. "Thank you for helping me today, oh you go to Shujin too?"

"Uh… yes… I mean, yes I just transferred last week. Today's going to be my first day on campus though." Did she just now notice the uniform?

"That's great, so did I!" the young woman was having trouble holding in her excitement. "I mean I transferred a few months ago but certain events have kept me from attending till now…"

Revland caught the depressive tone in the young woman's voice. He decided to breach the topic of his 'wings' to see if that would cheer her up a little. "You said you saw me in a dream and that I was wearing a coat, what kind if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, um let's see… it was all black and went all the way down to your ankles and it had a high- necked collar too. Your pants were black and you had brown-black pointy boots with heels and a pair of red gloves and… you… you weren't… smiling in the dream… I remember it didn't feel right and what ever made you stop smiling… it hurt to see you that way and don't understand why…" She ended the description with her hand over her heart.

Confused, Revland pressed on, "Well, what exactly was I doing in the dream?"

"I think… you were holding a weird looking rifle and I think you were trying to wake me up… but I think I didn't want to…"

"Well, looks like I succeeded then. You're awake now aren't ya?" Revland finished with a smile to see if it would put the poor girl at ease.

After a moment, young woman returned the smile and agreed, "Yeah, I guess your right… thank you Senpai."

The train finally came to a halt, allowing the student to depart and head toward the school.

"I guess I owe you yet another thank you Senpai." The young woman stated as they were walking off the platform.

"For what exactly?" Revland asked, somewhat confused.

"For cheering me up!" she said excitedly.

"Oh, well in that case, you're welcome miss… come to think of it, I don't think I ever caught your na-"

"I'm sorry, but I'm running late. I'll see you at school!"

Before Revland could get another word in, she was gone.

Quite the interesting character that one, what a weird girl. Revland thought to himself. Feeling a buzz come from his pocket. "Rain starting soon in Aoyama-Itchome" was at the top of the screen in rolling text.

Well… Shit… I didn't bring an umbrella… I'm really getting tired of being wet…


Reaching the surface, Revland found that the weather app had in fact been telling the truth. Not quite the downpour it was the night before but a healthy fall none the less. It was the type of weather that Revland enjoyed. Made him miss the days of siting on the porch back home and just watched as the storm roll on by. He found shelter under an awning of a nearby business and decided to wait out the worst of the rain, that and it gave him an excuse to enjoy the weather for a little bit before his first day of school. Revland pulled out his phone to check the radar to see how long he could milk his indulgence, however when he opened the app, the screen on his phone started to flicker. Confused, he started to tap on the screen to see if it was just the app freezing up or the phone itself. While he was distracted, Revland failed to notice that someone had joined him under the awning.

I might want to take this thing in to have it looked at… wait… someone's near. Revland looked up and noticed that there was someone else next to him about 5 feet away. She was just about as tall as he was and had a slim build. She was wearing the Shujin blazer over a white hooded sweatshirt that was currently up to keep the rain off her. She wore the sweatshirt long to cover most of her short plaid skirt. The sweatshirt itself had a red stripe between two blue stripes at the bottom, an S symbol near the front bottom on one side and a green four-leaf-clover symbol on the back of the hood. She was also wearing red tights and brown boots with yellow laces.

She dropped her hood and let down her platinum blonde hair and allowed Revland to get his first good look at her features. She had her hair in bushy pigtails to either side of her head, pale fair skin and piercing sky blue eyes. Revland couldn't help but gawk at her beauty, up until then she might have been the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

As if noticing that someone was staring at her, she turned and looked right into Revland's eyes. For the second time that day, Revland met the eyes of a total stranger and instead of turning away… they smiled at him as if they weren't afraid.

Is it just me or am I beginning to think that this transfer wasn't a bad idea after all…? He mused. Well maybe, she is pretty… okay she's beautiful… but I can't shake the feeling that something isn't quite right with her… almost like… there's a sadness that's buried deep in those eyes…

Unbeknownst to Revland, that app that he was having issue with the previous day had opened and was beginning to listen in on his conversation.

A 2008 Toyota Crown S200 luxury sedan pulls up to the curb and the window roles down. A man appearing to be in his early thirties looked out to the both of them.

"Hey, need a lift?" The man asked the woman next to Revland.

"Sure." She responded as she began to walk towards the car.

He then turned to Revland offered him one too.

A shiver ran down Revland's spine, "Stay away… He's not to be trusted."

Revland raised his hand to wave him off, "Nah, I appreciate the offer but it shouldn't be too much further."

The man just shrugged as if to say, 'suit yourself' and faced back towards the street. As the window was rolling up, Revland got one final look at the young girl he'd just met and noticed that the sadness that he had felt was buried before was now more apparent than it was just a moment ago. A short moment later the car had pulled back into traffic and was gone. "Hey! Stop that car!" came a voice that broke Revland from his musings.

"Damn it, screw that pervy teacher…" the newcomer said under his breath.

"Pervy Teacher?" Revland repeated.

Condition matched: Pervert.

Hearing an echo, the young man turned to face Revland. He also wore a black blazer with the Shujin emblem though he wore it unbuttoned to reveal a yellow t-shirt with a star symbol and the word 'ZOMG!', plaid trousers rolled up to reveal his ankles. His pants had black suspenders, unlike Revland's, that hung down instead of being worn on his shoulders, a white belt and white sneakers have a rising sun flag motif. He stared at Revland and gave off an aura of menace that Revland wasn't expecting. The guy had short spiky blond hair and dark brown eyes.

"What, are you going to report me to that bastard Kamoshida?" he asked.

Revland tried to clarify, "Kamoshida? You mean that guy in the car?"

Condition Matched: Kamoshida, Suguru.

"How do you go to our school and not know who he is?"

"Well, long story short I just transferred so there's a lot I don't know about."

"Oh, well… my bad then." The menace that Revland felt just evaporated as the other student looked to Revland's collar. "So, you're a second year huh, so am I… Okay I'll give you the quick rundown." He added.

"That was the king of the castle himself, Kamoshida…" each word spoken was filled with just as much distain as the next.

"King of the Castle, he's that bad then huh."

Condition Matched: Castle

"Yep, and if he doesn't like you, he'll find a way to get rid of you. Cross him, don't agree with him or hell just because you look at him funny. He'll find a way…"

Revland could see that every word coming this guy was all truth in one form or another. He must have his reasons… and now that he mentions it… something about the guy screamed at me not to get into the car.

"And the other teachers at Shujin, what are they doing while he has the run of the place."

Condition matched: Shujin Academy… Beginning navigation…

"They either don't know or they don't ca-, OW!"

Both boys suddenly place their hand on their temples as a sudden headache came on.

Crap, I thought I was done with this for the day… guess not… Revland thought to himself, wondering if his cold was coming back.

The young man in front voiced Revland's next thought, "Man, I just want to go home."

"Couldn't agree with you more…" Revland stated.

The pair walked toward the school with the blonde leading the way. Revland couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about the area. The hairs on the back of Revland's neck stood on end to the point that it caused him to stop and look behind him. His father's words filling his mind.

"Remember to trust your instincts, they're there for a reason. They tell you when you're in danger even when you don't realize it."

Something's not right… I can't put my finger on it but… everything seems to be watching me… us… right, he's still with me… might want to stay together.

"Woh… what the actual fuck…" the boy from earlier stated quietly.

Revland picked up the pace to catch up and was met with the sight of a large fortress.

"No way… is that… a Castle?"


Ann Takamaki exited the car on the excuse that school was about to start and that she really needed to get to class. Though he has been rather pushy lately, Kamoshida let excuse be or at least for now.

I don't know how much longer I can keep brushing him off… but I must put up with it for now… for Shiho…

As if summoned by her thoughts, Shiho Suzui approached Ann. She was the same age, same height but she was a little more filled out than she was. Shiho had her black hair tied in a ponytail, held in place with her favorite pink hair tie that Ann had lent her back in elementary school. Her bangs are parted to her left by two gray hairpins. She was wearing a beige turtleneck sweater rolled up to her elbows, as well as the uniform skirt and black athletic shorts. Today was a little different however, she was wearing elbow braces as well as a black knee brace on her right leg. Ann had often told her that she was jealous of how she looked without putting in much effort. However, on every occasion she had laughed at Ann for being too sub-conscious about the way she looked.

"Ann! Hey!" Shiho waved to get Ann's attention.

"Hey Shiho, good morning." Ann waved back and accepted a hug.

"Weather's been getting crazy, hasn't it?" Shiho asked.

"Maybe a little too crazy if you ask me." Ann added with a hint of agitation.

Never one to miss when her friend was upset, Shiho stepped in front of Ann, "Did something happen on the way to school, you're acting weird?"

Lying to Shiho was pointless, Ann already knew. Every time she's tried in the past, Shiho had the truth out of her in a matter of minutes followed by a lecture on how friends should be honest with one another. But that was before 'he' showed up. Ann suddenly had an idea; she would only tell part of the truth though she would regret it later.

"I met a guy on the way to school today…" Ann explained, "He was just standing there under an awning and had his eyes closed like he was listening."

"Sounds like he was enjoying the sound of the rain." Shiho explained.

"That wasn't even the weird part, after a moment I found him staring at me. When I turned to look at him, he just looked me in the eyes and said… nothing…"

"Okay so the guy was checking you out, you caught him and you looked at him. I do understand though, it would creep me out if I found someone staring at me and didn't say anything. Makes me think that I had something on my face." Shiho surmised.

"But that's the thing, it didn't seem like he was checking me out but simply turned and met my eyes."

"So, what was the issue then?"

"I don't know, perhaps it was because I was interrupted before I could even say hello to him."

"Well, does he go to Shujin?"

"He was wearing the uniform, so I assume so."

"Then I'm sure you'll get another chance to talk to him then."

"I guess you're right."

"So… was he hot?"

"Well, he wasn't bad looking but he's wasn't on the same level as a model…" it took a minute to comprehend what Shiho had just asked her. "Wait… no-no-no-no, it's not like that at all."

Of course, you wouldn't look at him like that, not when your heart already belongs to someone else. Shiho merely smiled at her friend fully aware of that fact.

"You know I'm not interested in anyone right now…" Ann stated, her face feeling as if it was on fire.

"Uh huh, sure you aren't… and what about Sakamoto?" Shiho said still with that knowing smile on her face.

Her face, still red from her previous statement, now only grew darker. She had confided in Shiho about a year ago that she had a crush on one of their childhood friends, Ryuji Sakamoto, ever since then she would bring it up every so often to tease her.

She swore that Shiho was messing with her, "Why would I have a crush on that idiot!" she stated as she stormed passed her friend in a vain attempt to hide her embarrassment.

She'll thank me later. Shiho thought as she was trying herself to ignore the pain in her knee from yesterday's 'practice'. We all need something to take our minds off things…