“Then I’ll call you Shirou from now on, nice to meet you, Shirou.Let’s be friends.”
He made a hand gesture, hoping for a fist bump while Shirou tried to shake hands, they eventually made a fist bump and Shirou’s first impression on the class slowly changed and the fear in him slowly faded away.As the class was supposed to be having a private study session, only a few people actually studied, the rest of the class used the opportunity to do other things. From where he was, he could hear the voices of different people blending in. Starting with Eric Akate and his group.
---Well, they don’t seem to be talking about me, but I still find the noise distracting.Blondie is talking about his love life.
“Yeah she was boring so we broke up and I simply went for her best friend instead.”
“Whoa”
“You got caught?”
“Eventually but it was fun while it lasted. I couldn’t care less.I’m sure she felt the same way.”
“You know she probably didn’t.”
“Hey. Don’t make me feel bad. You know I hate talking about heart break. Haha.”
 ---On the other hand, it’s light source and some other girls I don’t know.
“No way, I also went there last week.”
“I wish I could pick where we get to go for School field trips. It’ll definitely be more fun. Don’t you think?”
“Yeah. Your recommendations are the best, Wendy.”
“There you go again, Rinta.”
---There are already distinct groups and cliques. I was thinking of joining one and blending in. I don’t want to stand out. I can’t afford to stand out. Yeah, that’s right.. Maybe it’s too late.This is tougher than I thought.
At the end of class, everyone left the classroom, moving to their different clubs while Shirou was the only one in the classroom. There was a lot to process. His bitter-sweet first day experience. His classmates and their overwhelming personalities and the two most beautiful non relatives he had seen. At his old school, everyone was either an inferior or superior version of themselves. Simply said, they were just clones that had varied quality. He closed the classroom door and prepared to leave the school premises as he was club-less for the meantime.On the hallway, he stumbled into Nagasime Lucas and all the papers he was holding scattered across the hallway.
“Sorry about that.”
“No, I should be the one apologizing.”
“May I help with that?”
“Sure.”
They packed them together.
“I should be going now. Student council meeting. What club are you in?”
“None at the moment.”
“Is that so? Well, I could help you out with finding the perfect club.”
“Su-Sure”
“Are you nervous??”
---Why is he asking me that? I was only shocked at how fast he answered the question.
“No”
He felt a vibration coming from his pockets and reached for his phone. He had about 3 messages from his sister. She was always uncompromising when it came to walking home together so without reading it, he already knew what she wanted to tell him.
“My sister is waiting for me, I better get going.”
“Oh, alright then.Later”
As he strode along the hallway, Shirou had no choice but to sigh in intrigue.
---I’m pretty sure he has a mental age of 7.
 After checking the layout of the second floor, he discovered a shorter exit in the opposite direction.From a distance, he could see two figures.
---Oh my. Blondie and Light source. From the look on her face, things don’t look so good.Great… the hero pops up and saves the day..Well I’m no hero and if anyone needs saving, it’s me….Right…but.. I just can’t stand him.
“I’ve told you already,I can’t go out with you, I’m late for a club meeting so I have to go.”
She tried acting cold to create more distance between the two of them but it had the opposite effect. The act wasn’t convincing enough. It only made him move closer to her but then he stopped and turned to Shirou who went closer. Rejection was inevitable for him. He already knew what her answer was going to be despite everything. Although he had a little bit of hope, Shirou’s sudden interruption made that little light he saw in front of him darken.
“Are you lost or something?? The exit is the other way.”
---There is actually one right next to you, dumbass.
“No, I just wanted to ask for more information about the student clubs, I’m really curious.”
“Are you blind?”
---What am I doing? Also, why the heck is she giving me that look?
All her attempts to leave were failures so this opening that he created was the only one she could get without having to do much explaining so an appreciative smile was the least she could give. A silent thank you. She immediately put on a brave look and walked past the both of them.
“Eric,I’m done here.You know my answer.”
“Wendy. Wait a minute.”
 Now that light had vanished because of him. In her helpless state, she left Shirou with him. He only had one thing he planned on doing at the moment and that was punishing Shirou for his interference. Without saying a word, he grabbed Shirou’s collar, pushing him to the wall with only his right hand. His strength was on another level and his grip was no joke. Shirou just earned himself an inescapable battering.
---Great….Just great..At least he shouldn’t touch the face. I wouldn’t be able to hide that from my Mum.
“You did it on purpose, right?”
“Not the face.”
“Are you testing me? Now I really feel like hitting you in the face. Infact, that’s the only place I’m hitting.”
---Reverse psychology works on him?? If that’s the case, I should have said something else.Now he will happily leave my face in a mess. Why did I even say anything?
 He gritted his teeth, getting ready to receive heavy punches to the face when…
“What do you think you’re doing?”
”I should be the one asking you that.”
The assertive, commanding student from class came to his rescue. From his physical appearance, he looked just as weak as Shirou. He must have some sort of power unless this confrontation would have been rather foolish.Akate finally dropped Shirou but didn’t let go of his collar and grinned.
“Tell this trash to mind his own business. Same goes for you.”
He walked away and slammed the wall on his way to the stairs.
“Sorry that had to happen, he can be like that sometimes. Despite his seemingly gentle look, he is not the kind of person you should mess with.”
”It’s fine. I’m not hurt or anything.”
They both went their separate ways.
“The name is Nagasime Harry, by the way.”
“Mine is Yato.”
---Yuuki is still waiting. I totally forgot about her.
 He adjusted his roughened up shirt and headed outside where he met a rather displeased Yuuki. She stomped her feet on the ground emphasizing her displeasure.
“I’m sorry.”
“You know how much I hate waiting.”
 For some reason, she stomped her feet three times.
“You know what you did..Well you could make it up to me by getting me some ice cream on the way home.”
---Easy enough.
“There’s an ice cream store nearby.”
“You’re really lucky that I don’t get mad for long. Anyway, how was it?”
He let it out without a moment’s hesitation.The first thing that came to his mind.
“Weird.”
“Hahahahahaha. What the heck??”
She laughed uncontrollably, and he wondered if his first day of school was that much of a joke.
“So typical of you. Honestly, I saw it coming.”
“I’ll be lying if I said it was good because it wasn’t.. in the slightest..When I thought of you and Mum I guess it became less unbearable.”
“Shirou…”
While blushing, she hugged him tightly then playfully hit his chest.
---I’m used to this, and she’s the reason I hate hugs.
“But I’m your sister, you know.”
“What do you mean??”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
---She’s teasing me again.
“Let’s go already.”
They both walked to the ice cream shop nearby without paying attention to anyone or anything around them.
“Don’t tell me you fell in love on your first day of School.”
“Don’t make me laugh.”
“C’mon you could always open up to me… This is a safe place, remember?”
“Why the hell do you sound like a therapist?”
And just like that, his first day in Akate high school came to an end.
It’s in this same place that it all happened.
Meanwhile…
In a secret passage underground. In the great city of Quesetania,Quesur. Quesur,also known as the playground of the gods was a mysterious land of magic that had existed for over a Millennium, separated from the rest of the world, in it’s own space. It continued it’s growth and blessed the people with it’s rich abundance of mana. Naragami Kuro awakened at long last. Pain stroke him like a bolt of lightning and vibrated all around his body. This sensation was proof that he was alive and fully conscious.
--Why is everywhere cold all of a sudden?
As he opened his eyes, he was met with a cold embrace, that which he was familiar with.This familiar scent too.He lifted his head to get a closer look at her, the one that he had left for so long.
“Thank goodness.Thank goodness..THANK GOODNESS…”
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she held him tighter. As soon as she let go, he saw her face.Her glistering eyes highlighted all the emotions she had experienced. Joy, sadness, loneliness, pain..Pretty much everything she had gone through in a few seconds worth of display.
“Don’t cry..I’m back.”
She held back the tears and wiped her face dry. He then waited for her to regain composure and noticed the people kneeling before him.
-- I don’t know any of them.
“Welcome back, Kuro. You’ve been gone for quite a while.”
--I see. She used her magic to preserve my life.I know that strike killed me, no doubt about it. It must have been tough for her.Kira,I owe you my life.
“I owe you my…..”
He took a look at his hands as he coughed out and he saw it.. blood…
“Just sit back and rest.”
--I can’t believe I’m in such a pathetic state.
“These are your new underlings. I gathered them myself. They are elite in their different fields but will prove their skills and usefulness to you in the near future.I’m sorry the numbers are low compared to what you would have liked, this was the best I could do with my telepathic communication.”
“It’s fine. They are more than enough. I can feel the intensity of their magical energy. They are not weak. You did a magnificent job, Kira”
“I am glad you think that.”
“Let me do a little test.”
“For what???”
“You’ll see..”
He scanned the whole area and produced a very detailed structure of the passageway and even everything above them.
“If I may ask, my lord..What is that??”
“First of all, take off your masks. I can’t trust those that I can’t see.”
“Yes, my lord.”
They all said this in unison and took them off one by one while Kira wiped off the blood from his mouth with a cloth. However, there was one who gripped his mask firmly but didn’t take it off.
“You.. Over there. I believe you heard me.”
“My lord, I did. But you see, my face is too unsightly to be presented before you. That is why I have refused to take it off.”
“Nonsense. Obey my instructions first before asking questions or making objections.”
“Yes, my lord.”
 After taking it off, he raised his head slowly. The others looked away but Kuro kept his gaze on him. He stared at what was left of his face. Truly unsightly. Infact, those words were not enough to fully describe how horrible he looked. However..
“So this was what was so bad that you had to disobey me?”
“I am sorry, my lord. I will accept any punishment given to me.”
“Luckily for you, I have nothing in mind and I don’t want to leave your punishment pending so I’ll let you go.”
“I appreciate your gracious kindness, my lord.”
“Also, Kira why are they calling me that???”
“I asked them to use that title. You don’t like it??”
--It’s weird.
“Not at all. Quite befitting.I would take your question now. This is just a tool that shows me where I am. Of course I can sense it but then to test the precision and accuracy of my magic, I make a pretty detailed image of the actual structure in my head. I’m guessing we are in Quesetania, right??”
“You are right, my lord.”
“So this is how the Lunar sky temple looks even after all this time. I guess some things don’t change after all, quite brave of you to keep me, a wanted criminal right under their noses. Like a provocation of sorts.”
“I had no other options. There is a barrier here so even the best mage in Quesur couldn’t undo it if they wanted to.”
“I see. This image.It’s not as detailed as I would have liked and I would have been able to do it quicker too.”
“Kuro, you just awakened, there’s no need for you to use your magic.”
“Don’t worry, this is a cinch.We still have some catching up to do.”
--I escaped death by a hair’s breadth thanks to her. I can’t waste the opportunity I was given. I have to gather all of them before it’s too late.All of the four legendary weapons of Sumire. Whoever stands in my way would be crushed.
“Call me Lord Nagami from now on. Get ready to give me your all and if that’s not enough…Your very being.”
His words echoed through the walls of the hide out and a glimpse of ugliness in the form of a sadistic smile was let out. A monster had been reborn.
( “---” represents the thoughts of the main character. “--” represents the thoughts of any other character. “[]” represents an important event, most likely past events. “{}” represents various sounds made.)