Chapter 2; Shujin Castle

Location; Castle of ?

After Aqua was finished looking at the castle and said to her Pokemon. "So, should we enter the castle?"

[I don't think it is a good idea.] Fletchinder said to Aqua and Aqua said. "Why Fletchinder?"

[I feel something wrong with that place.] Fletchinder said and her other Pokemon agreed with Fletchinder. Aqua then said to them. "Ok, then let's find some shelter for the night. Tomorrow, we'll try to find some people." Her Pokemon agreed and soon they found shelter under a city bridge. Fletchinder also got out of his Pokeball, to keep watch over Aqua and the others.

Location; Velvet Room

For Ren, he was still in the jail cell. "So you've come to Inmate. The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream." One of the girls said before the other one said. "You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!"

"Welcome, I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room only those who are hound by a "contract" may enter." The old man said before Ren said. "Ok, but who are you?"

"I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well. I summoned you to speak of important matters." Igor said as the sound of lightning filled the room. "Looks like it already started."

"What has started?"

"It involves your life as well."

"Important matters?"

"Still, this is a surprise… The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a "prisoner" of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."

"Ruin?"

"I speak of the end to everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be "rehabilitated." Rehabilitated toward freedom… That is the only means to avoid ruin… Do you have the resolve to distortion of the world?"

"I'd rather avoid ruin."

"Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation. Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."

"Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like." Caroline said before Justine said. "The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators. …That is, if you remain obedient."

"I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion. Now then, it seems the night is waning… It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually…" Idor said as a bell rang. "Time's up. Now hurry up and go back to sleep." Caroline said before Ren woke up in his bed. After getting ready to go to Shujin, Ren was still thinking of that dream. "Looks like you're up." Sojiro said entering Ren "room". He then said to Ren. "Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you're attending is in the Aoyama district. I'll take a while to get there by train. The transfers are a real hassle, too. I'll drive you there, but just for today. Let's go."

"Ok." Ren said as Sojiro left, but Ren heard Sojiro say. "Sheesh… Men aren't usually allowed in my passenger seat."

Location; Castle of ?

In the morning, Aqua woke and saw that what happened yesterday wasn't a dream. [Good morning, Aqua.] Fletchinder said to Aqua. Aqua took a good look at Fletchinder and saw that he was tired. Aqua then said to Fletchinder. "Thank you for watching us last night. Now get some rest yourself." Aqua then returned Fletchinder back to his Pokeball. Aqua then tried to enter other buildings around the castle, but all of the doors were painted on, even the emergency exit was just painted on. So they had no choice, but to go into the castle. Inside it looked like a nightclub that was about one guy. Aqua then said out loud. "This place is so weird."

"Halt intruder!" A male voice said behind her. Aqua turned around and saw a big gray knight with a big sword and shield. The knight then said to Aqua. "How dare you enter the King's Castle, while the King is away!"

"Sorry, I was just looking for someone one to help me."

"There is no excuse for entering the King's Castle."

"Ok. I'll take the punishment, then be on my way. What is it?"

"Death."

"You can't be serious?" Aqua said, taking a few steps back. The knight then said, raising his sword. "By the King's name, face your death!" He then slashed down at Aqua. Aqua barely dodges it. The sword cut off a piece from the back of her shirt and cut off her backpack. Aqua saw where her backpack was, but decided to leave it as more knights appeared.

Location; Shujin Academy, Aoyama-Itchome

Ren was having an better time. He just arrived at Shujin and Sojiro said to him. "Do me a favor and behave yourself. Don't get me wrong- I don't care what happens to you. Just don't cause me any trouble." Soon they all entered the building and met with the principal, who was a bald fat man and a woman who looked tired and was wearing a yellow long sleeve shirt with a long skirt. After Sojiro finished the paper work, the principal said to them. "To reiterate, just so we're clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems. In my opinion, you're nothing but liability, but we had our circumstances to consider… Whatever you might've gotten away with in your hometown… those days are over. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind. This is the teacher in charge of your class."

"I'm Sadayo Kawakami. Here's your student ID." Kawakami said pulling out Ren's ID and something else. Kawakami saw it and grabbed it. Ren then grabbed his ID and Kawakami said. "Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And, if by chance you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you at all. …That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?"

"He is responsible for all his actions."

"But really though, why me? There should've been candidates."

"It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only second year class that had an opening."

"If you're done explaining things, mind if we get going? I got a store to get back to." Sojiro said to the other adults and Principal Kobayakawa said to him. "Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on him. Don't let him cause any trouble outside…"

"We'll, I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation he's in." Sojiro said and Kawakami said to Ren. "Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom." Kawakami said before they left the room. As they walked to the exit, Ren saw an astral image of someone running by. "What's the matter?" Sojiro said, looking back at him. Ren then said to him. "Nothing."

"Still, everyone's giving you the cold shoulder. That's what having a criminal record does to you. Turns out your past follows wherever you go. By the way… if you get expelled now, I won't hesitate to kick out. Got it?"

"I'll be careful." Ren said but Sojiro didn't buy that. "Come on, we're going home." Sojiro said before they left.

Location; Castle of ?

As for Ren, what he saw wasn't a ghost. It was Aqua running for her life. As she ran, more knights appeared and each one took a swing at her. Luckily they just missed her flesh, but they were destroying her clothes. [Call us out Aqua!] Brionne said as she and the others want to help keep Aqua safe. Aqua understood them and was going to call out Brionne, but one of the knights cut off her belt holding all of her Pokemon Pokeballs. "Oh on! Guy!" Aqua said as the Pokeballs bounced to a big crack in the floor. Aqua tried to get them and just when she was about to grab them, one of the knights hit her hard with its shield. Thanks to the blow, Aqua was losing contusion. So all she could do was see her Pokemon fall into the crack and then a splash. After she was under, a knight said, raising his sword. "Now die."

"Stop!" A gold knight appeared, stopping the knight. The gold knight then said to the other knight. "You know what the King says about the females in his kingdom."

"But she is an intruder!"

"Then take her to a cell. The King will pass judgment onto her when he returns tomorrow. I'm I understood?"

"Yes, sir." The knight said, lowering his weapon. Soon he dragged Aqua to a cell.

Location; Shujin Academy, Aoyama-Itchome

Back at Shujin, Kawakami was walking until she saw the school's PE Teacher. "Done for the day?"

"Yeah, I just finished practicing."

"Oh right. The tournament's coming up, isn't it?"

"Hehe, having such high expectations placed on you by others is quite a problem in itself. We'll have to work hard to make up for the track team too."

"Yes… that's true."

"So I hear that you are in charge of a troublesome student."

"I can't believe they pushed someone with a record on me. A male teacher like Mr. Shita would be better suited for this…"

"Why in the world was someone like that admitted here?"

"Who knows? It was the principal's decision. I was told that it's for the school's reputation."

"I would've thought that my volleyball team has contributed more than enough to cover that."

"That's certainly true."

"Be careful. Okay? Then again, if anything were to happen, I'd kick out a student like that right away."

"I keep wishing that he'd just end up not coming to school. Still, that isn't something I should be saying as a teacher…" Kawakami said before she left, still upset that Ren was in her class.

Location; Castle of ?

As Aqua was getting dragged away, the belt was in a river under the castle. Brionne got out of her Pokeball and grabbed the rest. Brionne left the river and let the others out. Fletchinder then said to them. [What happened while I was asleep?]

[We entered the castle, and the guards attacked us.] Phanpy said, panicking. Fletchinder stopped Phanpy and said. [Calm down. We won't find Aqua if we lose our heads.]

[What if Aqua loses her head!] Phanpy said, making her worry more. Brionne then said to Fletchinder. [Nice going Fletchinder, you just made her even more worried.]

[Sorry, I'll pick my words more carefully in the future with my choice of words.]

[But I understand what you are talking about. We need to find her.]

[Then why are we still here?] Phanpy said as she was ready to go. But Brionne stopped her and said. [I love the energy, but keep quiet, we don't want to catch the attention of guards.] Phanpy and Fletchinder agreed and started looking for Aqua.

Location; Roads to Yongen-Jaya

Back in the city, Ren and Sojiro were stuck in traffic. "Uuugh. Traffic is not moving at all… You're taking the train starting tomorrow." Sojiro said to Ren and Ren agreed. Sojiro then said to him. "...So how was it? The school, I mean. You think you can manage?"

"It will be tough. You brought it on yourself though. Still, you were expelled once already. To think you'd re-enroll at a different one. It's not like anyone will be sympathetic with you. …If that's what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future too… What a troublesome kid I've taken in…"

"Why did you take me in?"

"I was asked to do it, and I just… happened to agree to it. I've already been paid for it too, after all." Sojiro said before the news on the radio said. "...And now back to today's top stories. A subway train has derailed, severely affecting the timetable across all of –"

"...Another accident? So that's why it's so crowded. There's been a lot of those lately. In fact, there was a real sad one just last month… It happened before you came here. If I remember right, the girl that passed away was only fifteen. Her parents have got to be just…"

"...All traffic around Shibuya Station is being redirected due to the accident, so drivers should expect jam-packed streets."

"Oh, come on!" Sojiro said not know the damage the accident caused. A few hours ago, the conductor of a train was bleeding out of his eye and hitting the gas. People on the train tried to get him to stop, but he wasn't listening. The train then crashed into the station, hurting a lot and killing some.

Location; Prosecutor Office

As Ren and Sojiro were in traffic, Sae along with an old man were watching the news. The old man then said to Sae. "It's less of an operating accident and more of a crime of the company and the government. Site inspectors apparently reported all of this six months ago– the deterioration of the tracks and the ATC. Seems the railway company and the Ministry of Transport both turned a blind eye to the truth. There's no way they can hide, this will go all the way to the top. Everything's linked, that's what you're thinking, correct? Ah well. Are you free? You and I haven't gone for a drink in a while."

"Thank you, sir, but I have another meeting to attend. I must be going." Sae said before she left. As she walked through her work, she met up with a high school age man with brown hair and looked like a detective. The boy then said to Sae. "Did you ask for me? Is it a case?"

"Not quite, I want your opinion on something."

"Sure. Your judgment is quite often correct, though. Can we discuss this over sushi, perhaps? You are making a student work late, after all."

"Conveyor belt only." Sae said as disappointing the boy.

Location; Leblanc, Yongen-Jaya

Back with Ren, he and Sojiro finally made it back to Leblanc. "Damn, to think there'd be that much traffic… What a waste of time. I wasn't able to open the cafe today…" Sojiro said and Ren said. "Sorry."

"...Whatever. Just head upstairs. There's something I need to give to you." Sojiro said before they walked up stairs. As they walked up stairs Sojiro pulled out his phone and read information about the accident. "Talk about a gruesome accident… Eighty people were involved." Sojiro said before he put it away and pulled out a diary. Sojiro then said to Ren. "Here's a diary. Make sure you keep it up to date. You may be under probation, but there's no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, this is. However, I'm obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities." Sojiro's phone then rang. He picked it up and let the person on the other end know that he was on his way. He then said to Ren. "Well, I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing, I'll hand you right over to the cops. You have school tomorrow… You better head off to bed, all right?" Sojiro then left Ren and Ren took the diary. After he wrote down what had happened over the last few days, when he heard a ring from downstairs Pay Phone. Ren picked it up and said. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Sakura-san?"

"Yeah. Anyway… I closed up shop, but I forgot to flip the sign to "Closed" when I left. It's too much trouble for me to come back just for that. Think you can do it for me?"

"Okay, got it."

"I doubt any customers are gonna come now even if the signs flipped to "Open." And I have to say, this is quite a relief. It's a personal policy of mine not to save a guy's number in my phone. I'm glad you actually picked up. Anyway, I'll leave the shop sign to you." Sojiro said before he hung up. Ren then flipped the sign and got ready for bed. Before he went to sleep, he was figuring out the train he needed to take to school. He also got more information about the accident. After he closed those tabs, he saw that strange app again. Ren deleted it a third time and hoped that it was gone this time. Ren then went to sleep, not knowing that tomorrow he will gain the power to challenge faith.