Master's Academy
Venice
Afternoon
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Stardust Man Apppears
Do you ever feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind, wanting to start again? This was the feeling Vuoto felt as he aimlessly wandered the streets of Venice. He was enrolled in Master's Academy - not that many knew.
You see, people don't tend to notice Vuoto. Not for a lack of trying on his part. They can't see him. He doesn't understand; he can see himself in the mirror. He's not invisible! After the school therapist refrained from acknowledging him, he'd gone to see the principal. Principal Esposito, god bless his soul, could see Vuoto.
"Don't worry too much about it," he'd said, "you won't be seeing these people after a few years." He had a point. Much like he was to them, they were irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
Vuoto adopted a peculiar view of the world. Without the option of socialising - no one paid him any mind anyways. He saw the inherent beauty in the natural world - in the things humans have accomplished. He often took breaks from school just to wander around town and marvel at the ingenuity of modern-day Venice, in contrast to the ancient canals. Vuoto also tends to read a lot, taking both inspiration and fascination from the pages.
Vuoto was minding his own business on the field outside the school, leaning against the brick dorm walls, when a boy jumped out a third-story window. Screaming like a madman, Vuoto dodged out of the way to avoid the boy, who landed with a thud.
"Cazzo!" the boy cursed as he dusted himself off. His head snapped to Vuoto, who was peering at him like a deer in headlights, "Sorry about that, buddy! Some bozos were chasing me, and the only quick way out of the building was the window. Sorry if I scared you, bro."
In his head, Vuoto was reeling. First, a boy jumping out a window, second, said boy being merely inconvenienced by the three-story fall, third, the book he was reading, Molto Rumore Per Nulla by Shakespeare, was in the mud.
"Are you good there? You made me drop my book!" he gestured to the play.
The boy stood at a modest 174cm tall, dressed in a warm puffer jacket, school-approved slacks, rather worn-out boots, and a tacky t-shirt that read 'Watermelon? I barely know her!" in English.
He curled an eyebrow, "Sure, but calm down a bit," the boy said as he dropped down to pick up the book, "What are you even doing out here? It's past curfew."
"No one really cares whether or not I'm late," he pondered, "now that I think about it, why do you care?"
The boy looked puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"No one cares about me."
"Well," he pondered, "I didn't get your name."
"...I'm Vuoto," he responded cautiously.
"Nice to meet you, Vuoto," he extended his hand, "I'm Fragi,"
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Italian Restaurant
At Vuoto's behest, the two were exploring Venice. They were in the old city. Around 2020, the government decided to invest more into infrastructure away from the famous canals, relegating them to tourism. After the 2020 lockdowns invited sea life back into the city, more tourists came to see the changes that had taken place. All of the production happened outside the city, in the 'new city' that was built more recently, in order to keep pollution out of the tourist spots.
Vuoto appreciated the inherent beauty that flooded back into the City of Water. He remembers when his parents brought him to see the famous waterways when he was a boy, but they were never this clear. But right now, Vuoto had a curiosity he had to quench.
"Are you gonna explain how you casually survived a fall from three stories?" Vuoto asked between bites, "That's not something people can just do,"
"Really? I've seen at least ten other people do that,"
"Looney Tunes doesn't count,"
"Oh…" he looks dejected, "well that leaves one person I've seen do it,"
"Who?"
"Me."
"Oh."
A pause.
…
…
…
"Then how did you do it?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Vuoto was starting to get frustrated. Sure, the guy had come with him on a walk, but only after promises of food that he was beginning to consider rescinding.
"Look man," Fragi came to a stop, Vuoto having to turn around in front of him, "I'm not just gonna go around telling a random guy everything about myself."
That's fair, "That's fair,"
The awkward silence was deafening. As they continued walking, Vuoto considered the facts. Fragi had fallen out of a window. The window was three stories high. Three stories was around 9 metres high. Through some quick calculations in his head, he figured that Fragi was falling at around 13m/s, – easily enough to snap a neck – yet Fragi was walking around like nothing happened.
Vuoto came to the conclusion that Fragi was either really good at hiding injuries (this one he was least sure of), or had some kind of supernatural ability to remain uninjured. Another conclusion that Vuoto came to was that he hated Fragi's shirt. It was more aggravating than the man himself.
After a long walk from the academy, the pair found a place to eat: a classic sit-outside diner. Vuoto found the location to be rather picturesque, the surrounding canals and bridges. While it was edging on dusk, Vuotov recognised the sun reflecting eastward off the ancient rivers as a favourite sight of his.
As the two sat down in an uncomfortable silence, Fragi laid his bag down on the ground. The waitress walked over and took out a notepad from her stylish apron.
"What'll it be today, lov'ly?" she asked Fragi, "We got the Happy Hour menu right now… but you don't look old enough, so just ignore that part."
"I guess I'll just get a cheeseburger." The waitress wrote it down. Vuoto decided to take a look at the menu to prepare to order, but–
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - A Fate that Still Remains
'She's walking away! She didn't even acknowledge me!'
"Wow, you got mega-ignored!" Fragi exclaimed idly, "Feels bad, man,"
"What the hell!" Vuoto all but jumped out of his seat and power walked over to the waitress, who was returning to the counter, "Hey!" he put his hand on her shoulder and spun her around. In response… nothing. She just stared past him, as if he didn't exist.
Vuoto was flabbergasted. Even people outside of school seemed to ignore him, "Hello? You missed my order?"
The waitress merely continued to stare past him. A coworker called out, "Hey, Maria, you gonna process the order?"
She nodded to him and continued behind the counter. Vuoto looked around - none of the other patrons spared him a glance for his outburst. Vuoto had had enough.
"Hey! Can any of you see me?! I'm right here!" He waved his hand in front of an elderly man enjoying his spaghetti, and– nothing. No response. Vuoto felt a tug. His head whipped around to see Fragi looking at him incredulously.
"We need ta' get you outta here, man, I don't care about the food…"
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Anyaku
The two were walking home. Again in silence. It was pretty much completely dark out; not a good amount of light for two boys walking through the bad neighbourhood that separated the Academy from Venice proper. Of course, they were wary. Vuoto had heard stories of assaults and rapes happening to those unfortunate enough to be caught straying from the streetlamps. On the way back, Vuoto had purposefully tried to walk into as many strangers as possible; causing some minor inconveniences; the whole kitten kaboodle.
It didn't make sense. These people had never even met Vuoto, yet they were ignoring him as if he had kicked a toddler in front of them. Vuoto figured, after much trial and error, something supernatural was afoot. The fact that Fragi could see him and also had something unexplainable happen to him further solidified this line of thought.
Now certain that a majority of people were unable to see him, Vuoto decided to push the limits. As the two were passing by an alley that, while it was a shortcut back to the school, it was also a shortcut to getting mugged and possibly injured. Despite this, Vuoto turned heel and set his sights to the alley.
"Hey– wait! Don't go in there!" Fragi shout-whispered, "It's not safe!"
"Oh, please," Vuoto responded at full volume, "I can take care of myself."
This had the intended effect of forcing Fragi to follow him. An unforeseen consequence, Vuoto found, was that the alley reeked of piss and shit. Empty bottles strewn out all over the place - the two had to make sure not to trip - and syringes littered the ground. The metaphorical light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel. The streetlight shining through, interrupted by the jutting of the bricks lining the walls. They were almost through! But then–
"Oi,"
–oh no.
"Were ya just gonna waltz on by without sayin' 'hi'?"
It was a little man. Smaller than both Vuoto and Fragi. Way below average for the time. The rest of him was a tad more intimidating, though. Black and yellow teeth, bushy beard, one eye scratched out, his head of hair in a messy bun. The most intimidating part of him, however, was the three-inch-long knife he was holding to Fragi's back.
"I know where you're off to. That damned academy, right?" he asked, "Ah, damn them all. I thought they only 'ccepted smart'ns in, but you're walking all by yaself at the crack of dusk."
Vuoto's breath was caught in his throat. The little man couldn't see him. He could run and never look back. Fragi would be fine; he fell out of a three-storey window and walked it off. 'And no-one would know, nor care.'
As he turned heel, he heard Fragi's cry.
…
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Oh Please…
…
'But I would.'
Adrenaline pumped through his veins. His actions would dictate the flow of the inevitable fight. Once again, he considered the facts:
The small man couldn't see or hear him. Judging by the reaction from the woman in the restaurant, he could manhandle people all he wants, too.
Fragi could see him. He needed to get Fragi to safety.
Fragi could also interfere.
He was scared shitless.
His head snapped around. There was about three metres between his fist and the guy's skull.
"Fragi. He can't see me," Vuoto exclaimed in full volume, "keep him talking. I don't want to accidentally hurt you."
"So guy, what's your name?" Fragi questioned, as he did not in fact know the guy's name, "surely you have one."
"'Course, I have one!" the guy aggressively responded, "name's Chuck. Chuck Berry. Not that you need to know that. Now you know the drill. I want the Euro's."
"Right, right. It's in my inside pocket." Fragi reached slowly inside his coat, glaring daggers at Vuoto, urging him on to 'hurry up!'.
Vuoto was still considering what to start with. Whilst Fragi's hand was rustling around in his jacket, Vuoto picked up a rusted metal bar that looked as if it had hallen off a ladder. He didn't want to hurt the guy too badly, but he had to choose a place to hit that wouldn't move and accidentally hit Fragi.
"I know you're stallin', shitstick. I'm not gonna take any chances."
Chuck all of a sudden swung his arm back and forth, inserting his knife into Fragi's lower back. Simultaneously, Vuoto swung the pipe perpendicular to the back of the man's knees.
Fragi cried out in pain, while the man crumpled down, not expecting to have his knees give out. The two of them fell over, one forwards, one backwards. Unfortunately for Mr. Berry, his head landed badly on a loose brick on the ground, soundly knocking him out.
｢Coldplay｣
User: Vuoto
Stats:
Power: ∅
Speed: ∅
Range: E
Stamina: ∅
Precision: A
Potential: A
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - A Fate that Still Remains
Vuoto dropped the pipe and rushed over to Fragi's side.
"Why did you save me? You could've ran away if you wanted to!" Fragi exclaimed, clutching his side in pain.
"I couldn't leave you here, man–"
"HEY! You two!" Fragi, still lying on the ground, couldn't see who it was, but from the voice and the nervousness in Vuoto's eyes, he could tell it was a teacher. A teacher who can see Vuoto, "What's going on here?"
"M-Mr. Zeppeli! Fragi's been hurt!" Vuoto responded. He gestured to the unconscious Chuck Berry, "T-This guy tried to m-mug him. He couldn't see me, though, so I-I knocked him out."
"He couldn't see you?"
"No, most people can't. Only you, apparently, Fragi, and the Principle can see me. Everyone else just acts like I'm not there," Vuoto responded curtly.
Zeppeli approached the two, avoiding the loose bricks that were Berry's downfall, "Alright, you two, we don't talk about this."
In a flash, Mr. Zeppeli's finger disappeared, Fragi's stab wound was stitched up, and the finger returned.
"Wha–"
"We. Do not. Speak of this," the two felt an intense aura surrounding Zeppeli as they took the instructions to heart, "You two seem to have abilities. Fragi, has anything unusual happened to you lately?"
"I fell out a three-storey window and was fine…?"
"That explains it," he took a breath, "You two have something called a Stand - a manifestation of your fighting spirit. It looks like Fragi cannot be harmed by his own actions - like falling out of a window - but can be hurt by others. Vuoto, I believe you aren't able to be seen or perceived by anyone without a Stand."
"That… explains a lot. How did this happen? How did I get one of these… Stands?"
Zeppeli opened and closed his mouth, deciding against answering. Instead, he said, "Let's get Fragi here to the hospital," as he brought out his phone to call 112, "Hello? Yes, I've got a student with a stab wound here. I've stitched him up, but he might have some internal bleeding. Where are we? We'll meet you next to Master's Academy… yes that one. Alright, cheers."
"Now, Vuoto, when they get here, I want you to be back inside the grounds, safe. Alright?" He nodded, "Now help your classmate up."
"I'm actually older than him…"
｢Stayin' Alive｣
User: Fragi Vole
Bound Stand
Stats:
Power: ∅
Speed: A
Range: ∅
Stamina: A
Precision: ∅
Potential: A
Later that night
? ﾝﾅﾥ? - Killer
"You can't be throwing that thing around willy-nilly,"
"Look, teach, you made the decision to give it to me and keep it in my care. I'm not about to betray your trust like that. Besides, the boss wants more Stand users walking around, and you don't want to argue with the boss, do you?"
"I can still give you detention."
To Be Continued ===