⠀Mr. Mononobe walked silently down the dorm hallway, looking out into the courtyard a couple of floors down. It was teeming with students, all busying themselves by talking with their friends, heading to class, or playing games. The kind teacher smiled and glanced at his watch; there was still a decent amount of time before he would have to start teaching class, which was why he was on his way to check up on the new transfer student.
⠀Mononobe checked the note he held in his hand for the correct room number and found himself at the end of the long balcony hallway. He knocked on Sora's door and waited for the boy to respond. After a couple of minutes, Sora opened it, their hair dripping slightly but their eyes still sleepy.
⠀"I see you already took a shower." Mononobe chuckled as Sora rubbed the sleep out of their eyes.
⠀"Mhmm..." They stifled a yawn, meeting Mononobe's concerned gaze, "...What's wrong?"
⠀"I didn't notice this last night, but you're covered in scrapes and scratches." He frowned, glancing at his watch, "We still have some time, so get your uniform on and follow me."
⠀Sora nodded, closing the door and putting on their dress shirt before slipping their hoodie on as well. After getting their uniform pants and loafers on, Sora shoved their phone in their pocket. They gave a quick glance to Boundless Tail, which was still propped up against the wall before heading outside, deciding they wouldn't need it. Mononobe was staring off into the light blue morning sky.
⠀"Where are we going, Professor?" Sora asked, attempting to pat their hair dry. Mononobe gave them a reassuring smile, putting a gentle hand on their back before he started walking back down the hallway, Sora following quickly.
⠀"To the infirmary. I want you to get those scrapes cleaned just to be safe. Getting an infection wouldn't make for a good first week, now would it?" Mononobe explained, to which Sora nodded. They walked silently, Mononobe having Sora introduce themself to the occasional teacher they passed.
⠀Once they reached the infirmary, Mononobe bid them farewell and headed off to the staff room. Sora knocked softly on the door, hearing a 'come in' from inside. They slid the door open, peeking inside to see a tall figure with white hair wearing a kimono and a lab coat. In front of the figure sat someone familiar.
⠀"Ryouta?" Sora asked, closing the sliding door behind them and taking a seat at an empty chair nearby.
⠀"Good morning Sora! Did you sleep okay?" Ryouta's face was bright with excitement, even if he looked to be slightly in pain from the Nurse applying alcohol to the gash on his stomach.
⠀"Mhmm. I think I would have been late to class if Mr. Mononobe hadn't come to get me." Sora said with a grin, Ryouta returning it. The Nurse stood and grabbed Ryouta's dress shirt from the cot nearby and handed it to him before directing their attention to Sora.
⠀"What can I help you with, young man?" they asked with a voice more imposing than expected.
⠀"Mr. Mononobe wanted me to get these scratches looked at before I head to class." The Nurse nodded, ushering Ryouta towards the door and sitting Sora down in his place.
⠀"I'll be waiting for you outside, Sora." Ryouta said, waving and sliding the door shut.
⠀"What's your name, young man?"
⠀"Huh? Oh, it's Sora Watanabe." they shifted in the chair, watching the Nurse move back forth through the infirmary. On further observation, Sora noticed the Nurse had small golden horns on their head that peeked just above their bangs. They finally stopped at a filing cabinet full of manila folders, turning back towards them after not finding what they were looking for.
⠀"I don't seem to have you on file, Watanabe." They grabbed a few more bandaids from a labeled box and sat down in front of the teen, "I'll check in with Kyouma later. Besides the scrapes, where does it hurt?"
⠀"Kind of...everywhere. The scrapes don't really hurt, but Mr. Mononobe said to get them checked out anyway." At the nurse's instruction, Sora slipped their hoodie off, set it in their lap and unbuttoned their shirt. Sora spotted the Nurse's name tag, seeing Hiiragi Kita in English and Japanese. Sora winced at the sting of alcohol being rubbed gently against a scrape on their arm.
⠀"What did you do to get this beat up?" Nurse Kita asked, tending to a friction burn along Sora's torso. It took a bit of control to keep from whimpering from the stinging, but taking a deep breath helped Sora concentrate on answering xis question.
⠀"Ryouta and I got attacked in Central Park by an Oni and I managed to defeat it." Sora explained, watching as Nurse Kita wrapped their arm gently before putting a large set of bandages on their side. Kita looked up, staring at them over xis circular glasses.
⠀"An Oni? That's rather impressive coming from someone of your stature, pardon my rudeness. We Oni aren't known for being particularly easy to put down." Kita turned Sora around, frowning at another set of scrapes and bruises, "You have some bruises. Is that from the fight as well?"
⠀"Mhmm...." Sora replied, stopping when they finally registered what Nurse Kita had said. They looked over their left shoulder, meeting the Nurse's intense black eyes, "Are you an oni, Nurse Kita?"
⠀"I am indeed. These horns aren't a mere costume piece, though a question like that leads me to believe you aren't familiar with Oni in general. Are you a transient?" Nurse Kita asked, applying some salve to some of the gashes along their back before bandaging those up as well.
⠀"I think so. But I don't remember where I came from." Sora said quietly, remembering what Sal had said about their Summoner being somewhere in the city. Nurse Kita spun them back around, motioning for them to put their clothes back on. Xe looked at the blue pentacle on their hand, contemplating something.
⠀"It isn't uncommon for Transients to have a temporary bout of anterograde amnesia shortly after being summoned. They will not know how they arrived in Tokyo or who they are, but after a few hours their memory returns and life continues as usual, now in an entirely different world." Nurse Kita stood and headed towards the filing cabinet again to grab an empty manila folder to use for Sora and slipped it onto xis desk, "Anything else you need me to look at, Watanabe?"
⠀"No. Thank you for helping me, Nurse Kita." Sora stood and bowed at the Oni nurse before leaving xis infirmary.
⠀As he had promised, Ryouta was standing outside, greeting a teacher that had just passed by. Ryouta turned to Sora, making an exasperated but happy face when he saw the number of bandaids on their neck and cheek.
⠀"Have you had breakfast yet?" Ryouta asked, walking with them down the hall.
⠀"Not yet." Sora replied, watching the students go past the two of them with fascination. Like Ryouta had said the night prior, there were a myriad of Transient students; bipedal wolves, human-looking students whose heads brushed against the ceiling, and a large man with a blue oni mask to name a few.
⠀"You get used to it after a while, but every once and a while you'll see a transient that'll really knock your socks off." Ryouta chuckled, steering Sora towards the commissary to get something for breakfast. They left with a couple of anpan buns and some strawberry milk and began making their way to class, stopping outside under a walkway to eat.
⠀Sora managed to get a couple of bites into their anpan before Mr. Mononobe approached the two. He had a stack of papers in his hands, and smiled at Sora.
⠀"Looks like the visit with the Nurse went well. How are you feeling, Sora?" Mononobe chuckled as Sora chewed quicker so they wouldn't respond with food in their mouth.
⠀"It went well, xe made sure to get every little cut xe could see." Sora winced when they turned their head to face him.
⠀"Did you mention your memory loss to xim?" He adjusted the papers he was carrying, shuffling them so they rested under his arm.
⠀"Xe said that was normal for...uh." Sora hesitated to say Transient with Ryouta nearby. Mononobe nodded, understanding.
⠀"That's good to hear, but if it doesn't, make sure to tell us, alright? That way we can take you somewhere with better resources. On that note, Sora, Ryouta." Mononobe turned serious, looking at the two with knit brows, "Shiro came to me yesterday and told me about how you saved Ryouta in the park."
⠀Ryouta and Sora looked at each other before nodding in unison, Ryouta speaking up, "Yeah, I was being attacked by a Stray Transient but Sora saved me."
⠀"That was pretty reckless, you two. Even if you were saving someone, some people, Transient or otherwise, may be more dangerous than what you experienced yesterday. You both are lucky to be in this shape as it is, but you're safe. In the end, that's what matters." though Mononobe's words were harsh, the two teens understood that he was just worrying about them. Ryouta and Sora bowed their heads. Mononobe sighed, putting a hand on Sora's head and ruffling their hair.
⠀"Now then, once you finish breakfast, Sora, come to the staff room. I'll see you in class, Ryouta, and try not to be late." Mononobe headed down the hall towards the staff room. Sora turned to Ryouta, who was finishing the last of his anpan before pulling out a second one from the bag in his hands.
⠀They stood quietly in the hall, eating their breakfast and watching the people hurrying to class. Soon, Ryouta joined them, enthusiastically making plans to go get lunch off campus to celebrate Sora's first day. The yellow-garbed teen smiled, agreeing to meet them at the gate when the classes broke for lunch. Sora found a set of recycling bins to put their trash in and headed into the staff room.
⠀"Now, just remember what we practiced and you should be fine. If you get nervous, just take a deep breath." Mononobe gave Sora a reassuring smile, "Wait here while I tell the class what's going on."
⠀Sora nodded, leaning against the wall beside the door to class 2A as Mononobe walked inside. They glanced at the yellow sticky note in their hands, rereading the instructions Mr. Mononobe had given them. He gave them tips on what to say during their introduction, as well as the kanji of their name; Sora Watanabe, written as 渡辺空. As Mononobe greeted the class, Sora listened in anxiously, waiting for their cue.
⠀"Stand!" a voice rang out, followed by the scraping of chairs against wood floors, "Bow!"
⠀A silence followed, and the cacophony of chairs restarted once more as everyone took their seats, "Thank you, Shiro. Before homeroom starts, I want to give you all a refresher on Modern-day Tokyo's history. This will be helpful to those of you still unfamiliar with the state of things and those of you who are still grasping the current reality."
⠀Sora nervously reread the note in their hand, knowing that this 'review' Mononobe was giving was directed to themselves. They listened closely, not wanting to peak in and give away that they were outside.
⠀"Current history states that at the end of the 20th century, Gates connected to other worlds opened in Tokyo, one for each ward. From them, strange creatures of all types poured into our world. Werewolves, angels, demons, replicants, you name it. They were creatures that resembled humans...yet were not quite humans themselves. These creatures gathered in Tokyo, and fear of these unknown creatures ran rampant." Mononobe leaned against the podium in front of him, setting the green clipboard in his hands down. The class was mostly attentive, with a few, most likely those that had heard the story a hundred times, seemed uninterested.
⠀"They were completely unknown beings with completely foreign ways. They possessed incredible destructive power and magic beyond humanity's wildest dreams. Humanity couldn't be blamed for fearing that which was beyond their capacity to understand. Both creatures and humans took advantage of one another, but they knew they could never come to an understanding. However, even in times like these, there were those who wished for peaceful co-existence. Around a decade has passed since that fateful day. The fact that Tokyo borders countless other worlds has become a part of everyday life for its inhabitants. Due to the influx of powerful beings, Tokyo was designated as a Joint Management Region by the Japanese Government and the United Nations, facilitating the creation of new laws and establishments." One of the students seated near the back middle of the class, a girl with wooden limbs and green hair, raised her hand. Mononobe paused his exposition to acknowledge her.
⠀"Has there been any new insights into why the Gates appeared in the first place, Professor?" her bespectacled eyes were fixed on Mononobe, before glancing at the door, spotting Sora's yellow hoodie.
⠀"Nothing more than they had a couple years ago, Nanao. What they do have-what they only have-is speculation. I'm afraid that's where we'll stay until we can uncover more on Summoning and what exactly these Gates are beyond what we see at face-value." Nanao thanked him, and lowered her hand, letting Mononobe continue.
⠀"Many of the creatures that came to Tokyo from other worlds received legal status as foreign exchange students. They transmigrate through the walls, or Gates, between worlds in a flash of light, and so the people of Tokyo call those sentient beings transferred to this world 'Transients'. That's about the sum of it. It's been a long time since the word Transient was designated to refer to people from other worlds. Transients also look vastly different from the primary intelligent species of this world, humans. Besides extreme circumstances, hiding that you are a transient is illegal by city ordinance. For a little easy extra credit for today, who can tell me an easy way to distinguish between a human and a Transient?"
⠀Several students raised their hands, including the Dryad girl from earlier. Mononobe motioned to a familiar student in the front row, and he responded promptly.
⠀"Sir, Transients can be easily distinguished by any non-human traits they have like wings, horns, tails or some other external feature that makes them stand out." Shiro sat straight in his seat, the stationary and textbook on his desk laid out neatly. Sora nodded in understanding, remembering Ryouta's mini lesson in the park.
⠀"Right you are, Shiro. Now, the Transient population is growing every year, which has caused certain issues with housing and overpopulation. This was an issue in Tokyo even before the Gates activated, and as such has been amplified. Transients are only allowed to live within the city walls; leaving city grounds is severely restricted, so you don't come across people from out of town often." With that, Mononobe motioned Sora to come inside, which they did while nervously clutching the sticky note. There were curious murmurs going around about who they were. Sora glanced around the room, looking for a familiar face besides Shiro's (who was as surprised as everyone else) and spotted Ryouta and Kengo near the back. Ryouta looked positively beside himself, while Kengo was too spaced out to even notice what was going on.
⠀"As you all know, transfer students are a rarity these days thanks to the Wall that surrounds Tokyo, but today, there is an exception to that rarity. We just so happen to have a transfer student joining our class." Mononobe nodded at Sora, giving them a chance to introduce themself to their soon-to-be peers.
⠀Sora took a quick breath, and copied their name onto the board shakily. They knew the stroke order was wrong, but at least it was somehow coherently written. They turned back around, and glanced at Ryouta, who gave them two thumbs up. They were ready.
⠀"I-It's nice to meet you, I'm Sora Watanabe. I'll be joining your class today, and I hope that we'll get to know each other well." Sora gave a quick bow. Mononobe flipped through his clipboard until he found the seating chart and glanced at the students to see if everyone was sitting where they were supposed to.
⠀"Thank you, Sora. Your seat should be...second row four seats back, in front of Mr. Uchiyama. Makoto, raise your hand please." At Mononobe's request, an average looking teen with brown eyes wearing a gold necklace raised his hand.
⠀"Thank you, sir." Sora walked over to their seat, smiling at Ryouta, who was in the row to their left and a couple seats back.
⠀"That's a prompt and proper response. It's fine to be serious, but you shouldn't overdo it. Try to relax, Sora, you're a student in this class now, just like everyone else." Mononobe nodded, leaning against the blackboard. He glanced at the retro-looking watch on his arm before standing up straight, "Looks like I have to start wrapping things up. Shiro, once more if you please."
⠀Shiro stood up quickly, and with the same orders from earlier, the class bowed in unison. Sora matched the depth of the bow carefully, hoping not to embarrass themself on the first day. Once everyone sat back down, Mononobe got everyone's attention back up to the front of the room.
⠀"Alright, let's get right into homeroom. I have an announcement from the teacher's meeting earlier this morning. As of today after lunch, Shinjuku Academy will be closed for a while-" The class erupted into cheers, cutting off what Mononobe was saying. A shout from Shiro for everyone to quiet down caused the ruckus to subside, "Thank you, Shiro. It'll only be for two to three days. Think of it as a surprise holiday, and consider this a fair warning. You'll be getting homework for all the classes you miss."
⠀The students groaned and booed, and Mononobe chuckled, "You kids are so fickle. Life isn't all fun and games, you know. But I need you all to understand that we aren't closing the school for no reason."
⠀Sora wrinkled their brow in concern when they saw the grim expression on Mononobe's face. He continued, "Last night there was an incident near the school that resulted in the police being called in to investigate a crime scene. The victim was not a student of this school, but the police are here as part of their investigation. So that's the current situation. Don't go staying out late just because school is closed, and just to be safe, avoid Chuo Koen and the Imperial Gardens if you can."
⠀Mononobe checked the time on his watch again, sighing as he saw how unsettled his students were, " Jinn and Triton wanted me to inform you that if you have or see any trouble, to come to the dorm supervisor's office immediately. However, and take my word for it, I recommend you do not go to the dorm supervisor's office. It'll only complicate things. That's all I have for you today."
⠀Once it was lunch time, and subsequently the end of the day, the students in Shinjuku Academy dispersed on and off the school grounds. Sora stood from their desk and headed out of the classroom, thinking about what Mononobe had told them. Was it that Blue Oni in the park who did it? Or someone else? Sora didn't notice Ryouta approaching them in the hall, but when they did, they saw a grin on his face that shone like a star.
⠀"I knew you were getting transferred here from what Mr. Mononobe said yesterday, but I never would have expected it would be in our class! Talk about a coincidence." Ryouta grabbed Sora's hands and shook them vigorously, hopping in place.
⠀"Do you think Mr. Mononobe did that on purpose?" Sora asked, glancing down the hall behind Ryouta to see Kengo talking to a short canine transient in a blue uniform.
⠀"Maybe. He does tend to go out of his way to make sure everyone is prepared for their schooling but he has a soft spot for Transient students who don't have a lot of resources." Ryouta explained, taking a sip from the thermos around his neck before turning to see where Sora was looking. He waved Kengo and the canine transient over, one of whom was carrying a light blue bag with the word for Filial Piety on it.
⠀"What's up, shorty?" Kengo said, tossing a roll of athletic tape he had in the air repeatedly, smirking at Ryouta's pout, "Cool it. What'd you need?"
⠀"Nothing, actually. Just wanted you two to come talk with us. The more the merrier, you know?" Ryouta watched as the canine transient approached Sora, bowing respectfully.
⠀"It is a pleasure to meet you, new transfer student Sora. My name is Moritaka Shino Inuzuka, proud warrior of the Canis Club and a member of the Shinjuku Academy Kendo Team!" Mortiaka sported quite a few scars on his face and arms along with a small cut on one of his ears. Sora returned the bow, noticing the old-looking blue arm guards he had on.
⠀"Your uniform is very nice, Moritaka." Sora watched the midday sunlight gloss along the pieces of blue wood that made up his arm guards. Moritaka glanced down at his uniform.
⠀"Hmm? Oh, thank you very much for the compliment. This uniform once belonged to my beloved master...for this reason, it is very precious to me. It is a joy to take part in my studies while wearing it." Moritaka smiled nostalgically, as if he was reminiscing on a fond memory.
⠀Ryouta tapped Sora on the shoulder, and pointed down the hall to the masked man from earlier, who was sporting similar Japanese armor, but with bright yellow pants. Sora looked between the man and Moritaka before looking back to Ryouta, slightly confused.
⠀"Our school doesn't have a dress code, so people wear whatever they want. But sometimes people wear uniforms the whole time like Shiro. There are all different kinds of uniforms available, but some students like Moritaka just bring their own." Ryouta explained, Sora nodding.
⠀"Ohhh. That's why Kengo isn't dressed like either of you." Sora rolled up their sleeves and put their hands in their front pocket, feeling around for their phone.
⠀"I lost the shirt they gave us." Kengo said, watching Shiro exit the classroom and come over to where they were standing. He looked to be in deep thought.
⠀"You know, Sora, you're really lucky. You just got here, what, yesterday? And school gets cancelled." Kengo muttered, putting his hands in his pockets, Sora and Ryouta laughing at his exasperation.
⠀"I'm actually kinda sad that school was cancelled, even if it was for our own good. I was looking forward to having class again with all of you." Sora fidgeted with the aglets on their hoodie strings. Ryouta nodded before his attention was grabbed by Moritaka, who had coughed. He adjusted the long bag over his shoulder-which Sora assumed was a practice sword since he was in the Kendo Club-and motioned to Kengo.
⠀"While I enjoy talking with all of you, it is time for Master Kengo and I to go and train." Moritaka bowed to the group, "The way of the warrior was not paved in a day!"
⠀Ryouta made a face, "You guys never get tired of this? Moritaka you're one thing, but Kengo only gets serious when it comes to training."
⠀"You don't get to slack off from training. It means something cause you keep it up everyday." Kengo said, a beaming look of pride on his face.
⠀Sora nodded in agreement, "At least you're passionate. Be careful you two."
⠀Kengo smirked, giving Sora a playful smack on the back, "Yeah, sure! See you later, Sora, you know I'm always up for a duel!"
⠀After a farewell from Moritaka, the two jocks headed down the hallway, no doubt chatting about their training for the day. Sora watched the two head down the stairs before turning to Ryouta, who was checking his phone and humming to himself. Shiro, who Sora hadn't noticed come over, was standing quietly nearby, staring out the window. He looked to be in deep thought, running his thumb over a purple book with a warped cover. Before Sora could ask how he was doing, Ryouta clapped his hands together, making Sora jump.
⠀"I found a place to eat lunch like I promised you yesterday! It's near the station, so it's not that far if we take the east exit off school grounds." Ryouta started looking for more information on the restaurant while Sora kept a close eye on Shiro. He looked pale and had a far away look in his eyes.
⠀"Shouldn't we at least stay on campus for now? Mr. Mononobe seemed really firm about avoiding trouble." Sora said quietly, to which Ryouta tilted his head back and forth, debating Sora's point.
⠀"You're talking about that incident nearby? It's scary...." Ryouta grimaced, "I guess you're right. They found all that blood and even a part of a human body near the school...."At Ryouta's words, Shiro flinched, and his entire complexion taking a turn for the worse. Sora drew closer to the tall class rep, and tugged gently on his uniform.
⠀"Shiro? Are you alright?" Sora called out to him, but he didn't respond. It took Ryouta calling out to him a couple more times for him to snap out of his funk and face the other two.
⠀"S-Sorry, what...what were we talking about?" Shiro was shaking. Ryouta and Sora exchanged looks of concern.
⠀"We were talking about the report the police gave Mr.Mononobe earlier. Are you sure you're okay? You've been really quiet." Ryouta asked, glancing down the hall for a teacher, but saw only students mingling like they were.
⠀"No, I...it wasn't me...it." Shiro kept muttering quietly under his breath, and backed up shakily against the wall.
⠀"Shiro?" As Sora reached out to him, Shiro slapped their hand out of the air, and looked at them with eyes like a cornered rabbit.
⠀"It wasn't me! I had nothing to do with it!"
⠀Ryouta shushed him quickly, waving away the concerned faces down the hall before looking back at Shiro, who was shaking worse, "What's gotten into you? And what's with the shouting?!"
⠀Sora put a reassuring hand on Shiro's back, and looked carefully at him. He was scared out of his mind, but why they weren't sure. Ryouta noticed as well, and started ushering Shiro down the hall with them.
⠀"Shiro, we're going to take you to the nurse, alright? You look sick." Sora grabbed Shiro's hand gently, leading him down the stairs, but Shiro grabbed the railing. He backed up slowly, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.
⠀"...It's nothing, really. I'm sorry for making you two worry-"
⠀Shiro's phone rang, stopping him dead in the middle of his sentence.
⠀"Hey, are you alright? You're getting pale again!" Ryouta asked, with Sora trying to grab Shiro's arm, but he backed up again.
⠀"It's nothing...I...I just remembered something I have to do." with that, Shiro took off in a brisk walk down the hall. They heard the set of double doors at the end of the hall slam open and shut, along with people yelling at him to watch where he was going.
⠀"He's gone...what's gotten into him? He's been like this since this morning." Ryouta sighed, mulling something over.
⠀"Something's really bothering him...." Sora and Ryouta headed down the stairs before stopping. Ryouta nodded, looking out the stairwell window to see Shiro heading outside.
⠀"He takes things so seriously, and he worries about every little thing, but...." Ryouta paused before taking a deep breath, "Sorry, Sora. Let's eat together some other time. Right now, I-"
⠀"We'll lose him if we don't hurry." Sora smiled at Ryouta, who looked genuinely shocked that they were willing to help. His eyes started getting misty, like he was about to cry.
⠀"Heh...you're a nice person, you know that?"
⠀Unfortunately, once they finally got their clearest glimpse of Shiro, he disappeared into the fray of the JR Shinjuku Station. Ryouta and Sora caught their breath outside, Ryouta sounding like he was about to heave. Sora walked him to a pillar he could lean against while they figured out what to do.
⠀"I...I can't run anymore...!" Ryouta took a shaky breath, and Sora patted him gently on the shoulder.
⠀"I know, I don't think I can either..." Sora sighed, looking at the crowds of people entering and exiting the station in droves. There's no way they would find Shiro in there. Ryouta managed to catch his breath enough to stand up straight and look at Sora, who had begun looking at a map of the station on their phone.
⠀"Shinjuku is really big, isn't it?" Sora muttered, tilting their phone so Ryouta could see as well.
⠀"Yeah, and it'll be really hard to find Shiro if we don't have any leads...and that's if he doesn't use the train to head to a different ward. Then it'll be impossible!" Ryouta grimaced, looking at a nearby glowing map of the train lines, all but colorful spaghetti to anyone who didn't use the trains that much.
⠀"We know he may have done something that he doesn't want us to know about, and was willing to run off school grounds to avoid us asking him about it." Sora put their phone away and stared at the cloudy sky above them. Where would Shiro go?
⠀"Maybe we could try splitting up? That way if one of us catches him we can tell the other where to go." Ryouta offered, heading over to Sora, who nodded in agreement.
⠀"That's a great idea." Sora took a deep breath and smacked their face, getting serious. Ryouta chuckled, texting Sora to make sure the messaging on SUMMONS worked. When their phone beeped, he glossed back over the train lines one last time before turning to the yellow-garbed teen.
⠀"I'll check the smaller railways that run through the station and you can check the entrances and exits. It'll be easier that way. If either of us find him, let's contact each other through the App. Stay safe, alright?" Ryouta gave them a quick hug before heading inside, leaving Sora to their end of the plan.
⠀Sora followed the edge of the building to a set of escalators that descended into a small park, riding the moving stairs down. There was another entrance to the station under the escalators, along with a few employee-only entrances. After glancing inside the lower entrances, they turned and walked back into the park, which was pretty crowded. There wasn't any sign of Shiro there either. There were several busy streets opposite the station that led further into Shinjuku and out into the neighboring wards.
⠀"Looks like you've got your hands full, Master!" the squeaky voice of Lil' Sal made Sora jump, and they quickly found a place to talk to the goatman unnoticed. This ended up being near some vending machines under another set of stairs.
⠀"Good morning, Lil' Sal." Sora said politely, putting their phone up to their ear to make it seem like they were on the phone, "Did you sleep well?"
⠀"Fit as a fiddle! It's been less than a day since we last saw each other! Can you believe it?"
⠀"Kinda. But is there a chance we can save catching up for later? I gotta find Shiro." Sora was keeping a sharp eye out for a familiar grey uniform, but no luck. Lil' Sal clapped his hands together, grabbing their attention for a second.
⠀"Don't worry about him right now, Master, I have some news for you! And it's quite the emergency! Another App player is within a 100 meter radius, and it isn't either of your friends."
⠀"Is that a problem?" Sora asked, quickly realizing the situation they were in just got worse. Lil' Sal nodded vigorously, he too keeping an eye out, but for different reasons.
⠀"It's a huge one in fact! This is someone you've never met, and there's more than one of them, too! When you have the App running, all users can tell your location and affiliation! People you've never directly fought before won't see too much info, but your location is totally available to everyone at all times." Lil' Sal raised an eyebrow at Sora's confused face, "Did I not tell you?"
⠀"No? This is really important, once we get back to school you're going to tell me as much as you can about this so I'm prepared!" Sora said angrily, which Lil' Sal responded to by glitching out of their vision. However, his disembodied voice stayed.
⠀"Of course, Master, but listen...as far as I know, you haven't made the acquaintance of any other Summoners yet which means you should be wary of people who approach you at the very least." Lil' Sal's voice faded away as Sora spotted the Summoners in question. They were both teenagers, one with messy yellow hair in an orange beanie, and the other with brown hair and a rainbow tye-dye shirt.. The yellow-haired teen approached Sora, tapping a skinny sword with an arched guard on his shoulder.
⠀"Hey, you there. You're an App player, aren't you?" the yellow-haired teen asked rudely, giving Sora a dirty look. They stared at them, staying quiet. Of all the time to get attacked, why now?
⠀"Hey, Ken." the other teen, who was no doubt looking at Sora's information on Summons, showed his phone to his friend "This kid is flying solo. Guess we got ourselves a brand-spankin' newbie!"
⠀"Looks like it, doesn't it?" Ken, the yellow-haired assailant, spun their sword around in their hand, "Perfect for climbing up the ranks!"
⠀"Guys, hold on." another teen joined them, this one older with black messy hair in a green beanie, "This isn't the one Oniwaka told us to target."
⠀The yellow-haired kid waved off the newcomer, turning his sights back to Sora, "Who cares? All we've done is look for that loser. Let's have some fun!"
⠀With a stomp of their foot, rainbow pixels spread from the impact and extended into a small arena, big enough for Sora and the other three boys to fight in. Once the pixels had turned blue, and the nameplates of the fighters appeared, Sora started to panic. They won the fight with the Oni through dumb luck and adrenaline. There was no way they were going to win against three fighters who knew what they were doing. The boy in the tye-dyed shirt approached Sora, outstretching his hand.
⠀"The Battle Zone has been established, rookie. We challenge you to an App battle!" the black-haired teen was named Taro, and the boy with the rainbow shirt was named Yamato. Sora was about to respond, but their opponents had stopped moving. Sora glanced around for Lil' Sal, finding him sitting on a metal stanchion behind them.
⠀"Those kids sure are a cliche, but they're perfect for your first PvP match!" Lil' Sal started making fake fisticuff motions, spinning around like a top, "C'mon, let's beat them down! They may be third-rate hoodlums, but they're still Summoners, so you can take them down easily!"
⠀"But I don't want to fight them, I have to find Shiro." Sora said, flicking their eyes to their phone, which had the blue SUMMONS symbol spinning on it and nothing else. There wasn't an option to leave the battle zone.
⠀"I'm afraid you have to. Listen, Master, this is very important: if you ever run away or, in other words, leave the battle zone without fighting, you'll immediately lose your status as an App user and cease to be a Summoner! If that happens, you'll lose your only possible lead back home and you'll be stuck here forever!" Lil' Sal was gravely serious, his small hands on Sora's cheek bones as he stared into their eyes.
⠀"R-right. So I have to accept every fight no matter what?" Sora asked quietly, scared at the prospect of losing their way home, wherever that may be.
⠀"That's correct! Now, before you're thrown into the proverbial wolves, here are some tips." Lil' Sal sat back on the fuse box and crossed his legs, "Just like the Red Oni yesterday, that kid named Yamato has established a battle zone. The powers of the App are effective only within the range of this Battle Zone. As such, you Summoners will battle inside this area and regardless of how destructive you get in here, everything outside of the Battle Zone will remain unaffected. So don't be afraid to give those hooligans hell!"
⠀"Property damage." Sora muttered, wanting to point to the vending machines, forgetting they too were under the influence of Lil' Sal's ceasing of time.
⠀"You really have odd priorities, don't you?" Lil' Sal stared at Sora, who frowned, "Any damage here resets, so don't worry. You need to be a little less of a goodie two-shoes when it comes to these things, sheesh...."
⠀"That's mean...."Sora sighed, their face breaking out into a panicked expression, "Lil' Sal, we have a problem...."
⠀Lil' Sal raised an eyebrow, looking around for said problem before finally noticing that Sora didn't have their sword with them. His jaw dropped before composing himself, pacing back and forth in the air before fixing his little fur tuft on his head.
⠀"Don't worry, when you accept the battle, you should be able to summon your weapon to you." Lil' Sal reassured Sora, snapping his fingers and disappearing. Sora watched as time restarted. They turned to face the opposing teenagers, and nodded solemnly. Shiro would have to wait, they guessed.
⠀"I hereby accept your challenge." Ken grinned at Sora's announcement, and the same feminine disembodied voice from the park's battle announced the opponents. Taro, Ken, and Yamato from the Ikebukuro Berserkers, and Sora, with no affiliation.
⠀It was Ken who started the fight. He jabbed the sword towards Sora with precision and speed, startling them. Sora ducked, but still got hit on the shoulder, dropping their HP by about 30. A little bit of blood seeped out of the deep but small nick, staining their hoodie.
⠀"Why do you guys attack new players if they barely know how to fight?" Sora jumped out of the way as Taro made his move, elegantly attacking Sora.
⠀Ken let out a snort, kicking Sora's feet out from under them. They crashed into the concrete hard, their vision going black for a couple seconds before filling with stars. Sora yelped, holding their head in pain as Ken came over and kicked them in the stomach. They gasped, feeling like they were going to puke from the pain. Somehow, they managed to get out of the way in time to avoid a kick from Taro.
⠀"You've just answered your own question!" Yamato said, watching Sora from the far end of the battle zone. He didn't have a weapon, but rather a small keychain in his hands with a small, glossy square attached. Sora's focus was taken back to Taro and Ken, who tried to pin Sora down, but they slashed at them with Boundless Tail. The sudden appearance of a sword caught the two teens off guard, with Taro getting hit. -58 HP.
⠀Sora stood from the ground, using the vending machine at their left to help. They still couldn't see straight with blurry vision, but seeing colors was all they needed. Sora tried to unsheath Boundless Tail, standing there in shock when it refused to budge. Now that they thought about it, it was on when they fought the Oni, so maybe it didn't need the sheath off...?
⠀Taro wiped the blood off of his arms where Sora had slashed, making another charge at them, using footwork to dodge and weave between attacks. Sora mirrored his movements, taking a huge chunk of Taro's HP with a stab at his stomach. Sora wasn't doing good on HP, but neither were their opponents.
⠀The way Taro and Ken attacked Sora reflected the type of swords in their hands, specially used for fencing. Lil' Sal watched from outside the battle zone, he himself not allowed entry. Ken wielded his epe well, but not as good as Taro, who was his senior and seemed to have skill wielding it. The small goatman reclined in the air, humming to himself. He didn't have any doubts that Sora would be victorious, even if it was their second fight. Lil' Sal sighed, looking at Boundless Tail, the gold embellishments sparkling in the sunlight. Anyone outside who didn't have SUMMONS had no idea what was going on. They would only see a blue, shimmering area with the spinning logo of SUMMONS. Only himself and a select few nearby who were also watching could see what was going on inside.
⠀"Heehee...good luck, Master!" Lil' Sal giggled, disappearing in a cloud of blue pixels.
⠀Back in the battle zone, Sora was putting up a good fight, getting better and a bob and weave style of fighting; they'd wait for Taro and Ken to leave themselves open (which was easier with Ken) and then they'd attack quickly before leaping away. It was exhausting.
⠀"Hey, bro, this kid's actually putting up a fight." Ken was catching his breath, Taro working on Sora, who-in a freak move-managed to smack the epe out of Taro's hands, the silver sword clattering to the ground. The older teen reached for their sword, but Sora kicked it out of their reach.
⠀Taro sighed, turning to Yamato, who was nonchalantly on their phone. When Yamato noticed the lack of fighting, he looked up. Taro jabbed his thumb at Sora, "You're up, Summoning Team."
⠀Yamato held his phone out in his left hand, a look of deep concentration on his face, "By my name, Yamato, I summon thee, apostle of the dark netherworld! Through our pact, serve me and come forth!"
⠀Moments after Yamato's chant, a loud ping echoed through the battle zone, and a Summoner's emblem appeared under Yamato, shifting and spinning until what looked like a miniature version of the gate in Chuo Koen appeared in front of him. Sora watched in awe as a purple slime came out, landing on the ground with a sound akin to slapping jello on concrete. Yamato began to collapse, and Ken caught them, lifting the teen back onto shaky legs. Sora resisted the urge to go over and help.
⠀"Taro, I did it! I summoned it in one try!" Yamato looked absolutely worn out, and could barely stand even with Ken's help. Ken spun to look at Sora, who looked more concerned for Yamato than scared for their life.
⠀"Are you scared now? You better be! We summoned this awesome monster!" Ken bragged. Taro nodded, noticing Sora's relaxed posture.
⠀"...So you guys can't do that?" Sora asked, watching the slime jiggle on the ground contently. Taro shook his head, heading over to his sword, stopping when Sora pointed Boundless Tail at him.
⠀"Y'know, you're pretty good for a newbie. As thanks for letting us rough you up a bit, I'll give you a tip: there are two types of App users. One type Summons weapons like us, and like you. The other are Summoners who can Summon familiars to make pacts with." Taro's way of speaking matched his laidback appearance. Long black hair in a beanie, with sleepy eyes to match.
⠀"Yeah, that's right!" Yamato called, smiling through his exhaustion, "We'll overpower you now-"
⠀The teens stopped in shock as a summoning emblem appeared under Sora, a spinning red star with a half-moon in the center. With one hand raised, they closed their eyes and thought of the Red Oni. Would this work?
⠀"Engrave this will unto thee and act in my name! Come forth...." the Oni didn't have a name, come to think of it, "...my loyal servant!" Sora felt a jolt run through their body as a gate appeared, this time behind them. The Red Oni stepped out of it, the flames on his shoulders as bright as ever. The other boys were speechless.
⠀"You called, Master? I have come, by order of our pact." the Oni's deep voice was comforting to Sora, who nodded and looked at their opponents, who looked more on guard than ever.
⠀"...You're a real bag of tricks, newbie." Taro chuckled, nervously watching the Red Oni for any sudden movements.
⠀"That skinny kid summoned an Oni..." Yamato's shoulders dropped slightly.
⠀"Taro, you just said there are two types of Summoners, man! What the hell!" Ken asked angrily, glaring at Sora, who grimaced awkwardly. The Red Oni placed a large hand on Sora's head, ruffling their hair, which pissed off Ken even more.
⠀"Yamato, call everyone in the Shinjuku area here right now." Taro muttered, leaping at Sora, who blocked the attack with Boundless Tail. The Oni didn't move, knowing he didn't have to for the moment. Taro was buying the reinforcements time, that was all.
⠀"Even Oni-"
⠀"No, not Oniwaka, Yama! If he finds out we had trouble with some newbie he'd hang us out to dry!" Taro seethed, careful to attack Sora specifically and not the Oni. It would snap him like a sad toothpick.
⠀"He's just bluffing, anyway! We've still got the numbers!"
⠀By the time reinforcements did arrive, the battle had ended a couple minutes earlier. Sora was interrogating Taro for information pertaining to Shiro, but he stayed silent. The Red Oni was shaking Ken up and down, coins falling out of his pockets and onto the ground. Sora would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious.
⠀"What's going on here? Why are you all messing around?" Sora looked away from Taro to see a tall wolf transient with reddish brown fur approaching them. The Red Oni dropped Ken, who grabbed Taro and ran towards the wolf once he had stood up, Yamato following suit.
⠀"Bro! Glad you're here!" Ken said, helping Yamato sit down on the sidewalk. The wolf transient looked at the two with disdain before heading to Sora, who pointed Boundless Tail at him.
⠀"I don't have time to fight right now, I'm busy." Sora explained, keeping a polite tone in their voice. They were still aching from yesterday's fight, and the one they just had wasn't helping. Besides, finding Shiro was top priority.
⠀"Doesn't seem like it with the way you kicked their asses. Yamato, what's their Attribute?" the wolf transient kept a watchful eye on Sora to make sure they didn't run. If they did, he would catch them easily. But that Oni....
⠀"Uh, Katsu, about that..." Yamato checked his phone, exchanging confused looks with Ken, "We don't know, we've never seen this one before."
⠀"Color coded, remember! It's on the Berserkers Wiki! You're lucky you all fight well otherwise we'd be hunting you for points!" the transient's words stung at the pride of the three teens. Taro narrowed his eyes at the wolf named Katsu, who Sora was now staring down as well.
⠀"Katsu, it's gray. Even you know that's not on the wiki." Taro spoke, his words full of venom. From what Sora could tell, the group didn't get along. Katsu's head whipped around to Yamato, who flinched at the transient's quick movement.
⠀"Gray? Isn't that the Rare that Oniwaka was talking about?" Katsu watched as Yamato shrugged. He grabbed Yamato's phone out of his hand to read the Summons info on Sora, the rest of the group crowding around to see what the fuss was about.
⠀All except Taro.
⠀He looked at the yellow-clad teenager, nodding to them before looking the Oni in the face. He motioned towards the upper level above where they all had just fought and smiled. Sora was about to question what he meant, but the Red Oni grabbed them around the waist and leapt into the air, landing onto the second level and breaking into a run. One of the members of the group noticed, and they all started chasing after.
⠀"Taro?" Yamato asked, standing up and walking over to where the laidback teen stood watching the rest of his guildmates chase after the large red blur that was already almost out of sight. He didn't answer, waiting until the Oni was completely out of sight before quietly heading down the alley past the vending machines, Ken and Yamato following quickly behind.
⠀"I'll let Katsu and his cronies find that weird newbie. We still have to find that Nether Summoner with the dark hair and glasses." Taro pulled out his phone, zooming into a map of his immediate area to look for them. Hovering just behind them was Lil' Sal, who pondered their words for a moment before disappearing.
