It was night time over Hirameki City, storm clouds permeating the atmosphere as it's downpour caused the entire city to seem dreadfully dreary. This dreadful and rainy scene was only accentuated by sounds of police sirens that could be heard in the distance. A lone figure stood atop one of the tallest buildings, looking down on the city below, it's inhabitants more or less unaware of the calamity that was already starting to befall them. "Do they have the strength, the heart to stand up and face what is to come? What say you Keeper?" The man turned slightly towards a space behind him, a hood concealing his face.

The figure stood still before finally turning away. "Regardless of your doubt it is my responsibility to at least present them with a choice, for if nothing is done all will be consumed." The figure froze again, listening to an unheard voice. Finally he gave a chuckle as he walked towards a blue door, stopping just before it. "Yes, such is the way of things. I fear it will be quite sometime before we meet again. Though I suppose no matter what the result it's all the same to you. In any case I have work to do, I bid thee farewell." And with that the man opened the door and disappeared within, the door itself vanishing shortly thereafter.

---

The door to a small apartment opened as a lone man walked in, draping his wet, beige trench coat across the radiator to dry it off. The interior was small, a couch and coffee table with a TV shortly after. A kitchen separated from the "Living area" by a counter with a few bar stools. The man retrieved a towel from the bathroom and began drying himself off. Eventually he found the tv remote and pressed the power button causing a short click as the screen brightened the room. The news was on, an attractive young woman wearing a tan pantsuit was giving the weather forecast.

"Sorry folks, looks like you're gonna want to keep those jackets and parasols out for a few more days! Rain from the west just keeps coming and coming! I'm Yuki Hosiri with the weather!" With that the scene shifts to two middle-aged men.

"Thanks Yuki, so Daisuke what do you have for the local news?" His bespectacled counterpart starting sorting through papers before finally speaking.
"Authorities are looking into the string of recent disappearances, according to the police the victims were attacked in their homes. The last victim disappeared earlier this week, a college student by the name of Ken Yoshihiro. A police source tells Hirameki News that they have a profile and are hunting down leads. Another source tells the Hirameki Times that cult activity may be involved."

With another small click the room darkened again as the young man hit the power button. By now he was mostly ready for bed, he just had to set his alarm. "Oh right, classes start tomorrow. I guess Dad'll want me up early. Damn, I hate waking up at 6......" And so with his alarm set, the man fell asleep, thinking on the disappearances and what the new school year at Satoru Highschool would hold.

Tim sat in his new bedroom and looked out the window as he watched the rain pour. His room was very simple. It only had a bed, a TV that sat on top of the dresser, a desk with his laptop, and blue backpack with his school books sitting on it, and an empty closet. There were no posters on th wall, as he had only just arrived to this city earlier that day, and he still hadn't completely finished unpacking all his things. The boy was dressed in a simple white T-shirt and grey shorts, and was just about ready to go to bed.

Unlike a lot of people, Tim actually enjoyed the rain. He got this from his dad, as he was a meteorologist. Sunny days were nice, but at night, a gentle rainfall was always relaxing when you were trying to get to sleep. As long as there wasn't any thunder and lightning, because that ruined the mood, and he always hated the sudden loud noise and bright flash. It was his first night in this new country, and the next morning Tim would be starting school there. He wasn't sure what to expect, he barely spoke to anyone back home, how were his parents expecting him to make any friends in a foreign country? What was his mom thinking putting him in this foreign exchange program?! At least his host family seemed like nice people...

He had the TV turned on to the local news. Mainly because he wasn't yet familiar with what was on what channel yet. After the weather forecast predicted that it would be raining a lot over the next few days, the anchorpeople were talking about a bunch of mysterious disappearances going on in the area. At this point, Tim pulled out the remote, and shut the TV off. This was why he rarely ever watched the news. All the stories were sad, and all they did was spread fear. Who wants to go to bed afraid? Besides, he knew better not to go out this late at night.

Since there wasn't really anything he wanted to do at that time, Tim decided to just go to bed right now. Classes did start bright and early the next day, and being late to the first day of classes would certainly leave a bad impression. He flipped off the lights, pulled out his favorite plush toy, a grey and white puppy, to cuddle with at night, and tucked himself underneath the covers of his bed. He was a little embarrassed that he still slept with a stuffed animal at his age. Kids would give him so much crap about it if they knew. But he liked having the soft toy in his arms as he slept. The boy quietly lay there awake for a few minutes before he eventually drifted off to sleep.

Kazumi was laying on her new bed, she kicked off some of her clothes that was piling up on the corner of her bed. The sound of the rain tapping on her window was making her sleepy, she watched as the rain droplets run down her window. Besides the sound of the rain there was another sound in the room, her TV was on, and she was too lazy to turn it off earlier and it was on some music channel. It was one of few things in the room that was unpacked from the mountains of boxes that are scattered around the room, a another was her computer.

She has moved to Hirameki City about three days now but she has barely gotten her stuff out of the boxes, since she was helping her grandparents with their stuff first. She herself only left the house about three times so far and that was only to get some snacks for herself. She decided to get better acquainted to the city once she starts school. which should be tomorrow. She has a small idea where her new school is and she has a decent sense of direction. She was nervous of how the people will treat her, since she was never a transfer student before and has always been at her old school. She never liked being the center of attention, mostly of her family life style.

But she hopes the rain will let loose once she starts school tomorrow, she liked watching rain but she hates walking in it, it made her feel lazy and that gets in the way of practicing her martial arts. She sighed, she might as well get ready for bed since she was so tired and she has school tomorrow. She changed into some comfortable sweat pants and into a sleeveless shirt with a cat's face on it. She turned off the TV and the lights too. She yelled good night to her grandparents downstairs and ask them to tell her mother goodnight when she comes home. She lay on her bed and pulled her covers up to her chest and turn to her side, she quickly adrift to sleep. Her last thought before she went to sleep was hoping she would like her new life in Hirameki City.

"Wow. Time sure does fly" Charles mused to himself. As he laid on his back on top of his bed, The Once And Future King having just finished playing on his laptop, his mind wandered to the vacation that had seemingly passed in the blink of an eye. The rain outside adding a serene ambiance to the small room his slept in. "It feels like just yesterday that school let out. Heh, I wonder if saying that makes me sound old?" Closing his laptop and sliding it underneath his bed, he continued his musings "I just hope that time starts to slow down. After all, what's the point of living if we can't take the time to enjoy what's around us?" As much as he wanted to just go to sleep right now, he found slumber too far away to grasp, much to his chagrin "geh...so bored" he moaned "I wonder what the new school year is going to be like? I mean, yeah, it's still school...but I just can't shake the feeling that it's going to be different somehow. Then again, that might just be wishful thinking on my part." Checking the nearby clock, he saw that it was 8:27 "well it's probably too late to start watching another move, or call anyone. So what else can I do to pass the time?" Getting up, he walked over to his bookshelf to look for some reading material "let's see...aha! This should do the trick" he said as he pulled out the first installment of his favorite comedic literary series. Taking his book back to his bed, he slipped under the covers and cracked open the book "yes Twilight. Take me away to your world of laughable stupid characters"

Rika sat alone on her bed, reading as she often did. She smiled and began humming a bright tune despite the down pour of rain at her window. She looked out the window a brief moment and saw red flashing lights. Police? Probably, they've always got something going on. Then the TV got her attention, the weather girl predicted rain for the next few days. She smirked. Cool, I get to go to my new school tomorrow in the rain! She thought to herself excitedly. She always enjoyed walking around outside in the rain. As long as she didn't get a cold that is.

She turned back to her manga briefly before the news people began talking about disappearances. The victims being abducted from their own homes? A scary thought since the suspect seemed to have gotten away with it more than one time. They continued on saying something about a college student. And finally then ended off on something about a cult, odd. The story didn't worry her at all. She thought on the matter for a little bit before turning her attention back to her book.

As Rika read she also began to think about her new school. Would there be anyone interesting, nice, mean? How cool would it be if we had like a foreign transfer student or something, I'd be all over that. Maybe we'll get a blonde girl from America, that'd be funny. She began thinking as she looked up at her ceiling fan. She dwelt on thoughts of school for a while longer. Eventually she returned her attention to reading, and finally went to bed several hours later.

Laura sighed as she stared out the window into the darkened streets of Hirameki. She made a point of exhaling loudly so that the condensation would begin to occur on the pane, and she began to draw shapes with her finger. Most of the shapes were random squares or circles, but sometimes she would draw a misshapen star or a heart. After a while, she got bored and simply rested one cheek against the cold glass.

She couldn't sleep. The nerves were bubbling inside with the ferocity of a witch's cauldron, leaving her feeling both exhausted but too lively to sleep all at once.

"I don't want to go to school," she muttered miserably to herself. She rested her forehead against the glass.

There were a couple of gentle knocks at the door. "Laura? Are you still awake?" a gruff, male voice called.

Laura jumped, banging her head against the glass. "Errr... no!" she said. She quickly scuttled over to her bed, flicking of the bedside table and practically belly-flopping onto the bed. She turned her back on the door and tangled the bedsheets around her, resting her head down in a hope that it looked like she was settled down. Her bedroom door opened a crack, allowing light from the corridor to leak into the room. Laura shut her eyes and waited for a few moments before the door creaked shut. After that, she must have drifted off to sleep, because when she was to open her eyes again, it would be morning.

The young albino known as Yamashita Sadao was currently brushing his teeth.

His nightly preparations for sleep usually took the better part of twenty minutes, so that left a lot of time for introspection. Between taking his various medications, setting up the futon that he dutifully packed away each morning, and the aforementioned tooth-brushing, the youth found thoughts surfaced to block out the boredom of the habitual work.

For example, how he was going to be taking the always overcrowded subway into school. And the average amount of sickness carried and given in the cramped cars. Or how far behind he'd get if he had to take several sick days at the start of his third year.

Sadao grimaced at his reflection, letting the accumulated toothpaste foam dribble out of the corners of his mouth.

It wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter. The months at the beginning of the new term were cold next to the ocean, and the snows had left behind a deeper chill in the dark mornings that bit at anyone foolhardy enough to step out early in the morning. That meant that the only other option was the sardine-can of public transport that provided more warmth than sickness in these cold times of year.

He leaned over the sink and spat, watching the white bubbles hold onto the spotless surface momentarily before swirling away into oblivion. He reached over for the waiting glass of purified water, swishing the liquid about his mouth before following the white bubbles with another stream of water. The almost translucently pale skin on his hand clung to the albino's fingers as he grabbed the single towel on the small rack next to the sink, carefully rubbing the fluffy cloth over his features until all of the remaining wetness vanished.

Nodding with the satisfaction of a job well done, Sadao strolled over to the futon that took up most of the free space in his room, before lying down and falling asleep nearly instantly.

Mayu used to go to bed early back when she lived in Banai. But she had also lived in a large, traditional-style home with the works, including a beautiful koi pond where she loved to read by whenever she had the free time. Nowadays, she lived in a small, two-bedroom apartment in the upper side of Hirameki. And thanks to her father's new job in grandfather's company, her early morning training had become much less frequent. Mayu took advantage of this leniency to enjoy the late times she always craved to stay up to but soon learned that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It was rather lonely, staying up past her bedtime just to watch shows that weren't as funny as she previously thought. It might have been better if her nii-san and nee-san were with her.

That was a wish she quickly shut down the moment it wormed her way into her thoughts. Her siblings decided to leave the family long ago and even acknowledging them in the presence of her father was forbidden. In his eyes, Mayu was his only child now. Pushing more of those depressing thoughts out of her head, Mayu finished her night routine and tucked herself into her small, twin-sized bed. It was still a little early for her to sleep but she was already finished with the chores and had dinner set out for her father whenever he came home. Besides, she was itching to get some kind of training done in the morning before her first day as a second year. She should have been more excited but all she could feel was a sense of dread. The beginning of the school year always brought about unnecessary introductions and awkward seating arrangements. Luckily, it wouldn't take long for her classmates to ignore her so she could remain in her little bubble.

That calming fact put Mayu's mind at ease and her violet eyes soon began to close, drifting off to sleep to the sounds of traffic rather than the comfortable silence she still yearned for.

Mifune was leaning against the wall of the club. He had a cigarette lit in his mouth, menthol, the cool mint flavor leaving a bittersweet taste in his mouth. The rain came down upon and around him. His hair was soaked, but retained its shape thanks to the gel he wore, and his haori kept his tshirt dry. He watched the people passing him, they paid no attention, so few ever did. He gently let his right hand rest on the pommel of the katana he had leaning next to him. The wrappings were pristine white, the guard had a wolf embedded in jade, and the blade when drawn was a gleaming silver. All in all it was a beautiful sword.

He put the cigarette inbetween his lips, and picked up his sword. He then began to walk through the rain back to his apartment, he had school tomorrow but had decided to enjoy a night at the club regardless. He wasn't really old enough to be there, but the owner was an old friend of his so it was a regular hangout of his. As to why he carried a katana everywhere he went, well it was japan and he was part of the kendo club so it was a good self defense tool. He even had special permission to carry it at school thanks to his position as a senior member of the kendo club.

"Damn probably shouldn't have stayed out so late, but then again I did have a good time. Well at least tomorrow school starts and....wait a minute im forgetting something, OH SHIT I forgot that kendo club tryouts are tomorrow as well and I have to try and get some new recruits. Oh well im sure it will be fine.

As he walked into his apartment where he lived alone, he slung his haori over a sword stand that had various katana's stood up in it. He walked into his bedroom where the walls were lined with posters of martial artist and samurai. He leaned his katana against his bed as he layed down for sleep. As he closed his eyes he made sure that at least one hand remained on his katana's hilt as he fell asleep.

Rain pattered against the lit windows of the second floor of a humble wooden house. Inside, was a young man lying on his bed, playing on his PSP. He was dressed in a beige shirt and slightly long black shorts. It was a relatively small room. The bed was in the middle of the place and pressed against the wall. At the foot of the bed was a TV placed atop a stand, and at the other end of the room was a wooden table with a couple of shelves containing textbooks. The window was on the side of the room, opposite of the bed. A single lightbulb shone from the middle of ceiling.

The TV was turned on and displaying a news story about the recent disappearances, and the boy simply listened to it as he played with his PSP on silent. The reports of disappearances had his family worried, but he himself was not as concerned. Being from the capital, he knew crimes and criminals always existed, but as long as they stayed out of it and remained cautious during night hours, there wouldn't be any problems. At least, that's what he thought. Another thing that made him brush off the report was when the speakers said that a cult might be involved. [i]"What a load of nonsense... I thought Media sources were more professional than that. A cult is their main theory? Really?"[i] He thought in disbelief.

A feminine voice from outside the room called out. "Naganori. Don't forget classes start tomorrow. you should get some sleep. I'm sure you're tired from exploring Hirameki today." The voice said. "Yeah, mom. I'll be asleep in a few minutes." Naganori replied. "And don't forget your umbrella tomorrow. The rain doesn't look like it will be letting up." His mother continued. "Got it." Naganori replied. He then saved his Monster Hunter game and turned off the device. He knew he could stay up and play it longer, since his parents were very loose with him about things. But the reason behind that was that they trusted him to be responsible, and responsible he was. Besides, he knew it would look bad to other students if he was late on the first day.

He sat up, and placed his PSP next to the TV, and shut it off as well. He reached up to the switch of the light on the wall just above his bed, and flicked it, shrouding his room in darkness. With that, he fell down on the bed and covered himself up with the blanket. He thought about his new school, and what it would be like. He then thought that this time, his brother wouldn't be there to walk him through how everything worked in school. The thought made him sad, but not much more than that. His grieving phase was over. Besides, he had to stay strong, for his family, and maybe even his brother if ever he was watching him somehow.

On that somber note, Naganori shut his eyes and drifted to sleep.

The sun was rising over HIrameki City, and as it's shining rays fell upon the streets below many were already beginning their day. Students would be going to school, some would be going to work, others would simply be out and about for their own reasons. No matter where you lived the trip to anywhere was never very long thanks to Hirakemi's networks of bullet trains. Of course there was also the Monday stigma over the city, as many slothful citizens shuffled to their place of employment or education. One such person was a young man with blond hair, entering the gates of Satoru Highschool where he was to begin preparations for the opening ceremony.

"Let's see. what did he want me to do?" The man wondered aloud as he made his way to the gymnasium, passing a teacher on the way. "Ah, Masanori-kun, your father was looking for you." The teacher told him, she was a young woman, and short too. Thanks to Masanori's towering height by comparison it made conversation's with her hurt his neck. Still he politely thanked her and set out to find his father, just then his phone rang. "Oh great, so impatient to talk he can't just wait for me to find him, alright what does the old man want....." He flipped open his phone, pressing the answer button. "Yeah? You couldn't wait a few more minutes for me to find you?" He took a pause as the person on the other end replied. "Yeah whatever, so what is it exactly that you want me to do?" Another pause. "What do you mean what do I know about pyrotechnics?!"
---------------------------------------

Eventually students would arrive, the school would be clean and have a pronounced gleam as the sun shone of it's ivory walls. Upon entering they would find their class assignments on the notice board in the main hall, however before classes started students would be instructed to head to the gymnasium for the mandatory grand session. An event that takes place every year and has since the school opened, in fact Satoru was somewhat famous for the grandiose of the grand sessions.

The students were held outside of the gym, no one allowed to enter until the appointed time. Apparently whoever coordinated the session was very particular about the impression and how a first look can so affect one's experience. "Alright, alright hold your horses." The commanding voice of one Yoshimitsu Akida, who taught history, sounded throughout the courtyard, the steel of his roman styled helmet gleaming in the sunlight. "We'll let you in when it's time, so just be patient." There was a little murmuring throughout the students, though mainly the first years. Those returning knew the drill and could anticipate what was in store for them inside.

It felt kind of surreal for Charles to be back here, surrounded by so many of his fellow students. However he was a little peeved that he had gotten here so early. 'I don't understand why mom was so quick to get me out the door. It's almost like she forgot what time everything actually starts'. Bored out of his mind, Charles began to scan the crowed for anyone familiar, but failed to find anyone. 'I wish I could at least find a place to sit down' he lamented, as he couldn't see a spot to sit down at that wasn't the floor 'having to stand like this just makes the waiting even worse'

Rika had awoken bright and early that morning, really early, which was unusual. She then decided to take a shower. After her shower, she looked at the school uniform hanging on her closet and sighed. Right, a skirt... and there goes all my motivation and energy to do anything. She thought as she meekly took the hanger off her closet. After getting dressed, she went and got herself breakfast. As she came down the stairs, one of her brothers greeted her. "Dang it! No matter how early I get up you always are up before me." She replied in a fake angry tone.

"Hehe, guess I've got like a sixth sense. My body just knows when your gonna get up and wakes me up thirty minutes earlier to prepare myself." Rika's brother replied.

"Yeah I guess s- Wait, what's that supposed to mean? Prepare yourself?" Rika walked over to him and grabbed his uniform's tie.

"Yah! No need to pull. See this exactly what I'm talking about." He said in a somewhat mocking tone.

Rika huffed and threw the tie in his face. "Fine." She then sat down and began eating breakfast. After she had finished she got up and went to go put her shoes on. "Make sure to tell mom that I already left." Rika called to her brother. "Yeah, sure thing." Her brother replied plainly. "And don't go getting into any fights blondie!" She shouted to him as she walked out the door. A little sad that she didn't hear what kind of witty retort he'd give, but she was far to excited for school. She soon after began running to the train station.

---

After getting off the train Rika began leisurely walking to school. She made sure to check the clock in the train, and she had plenty of time. After a little while she finally came upon the school gates. My new highschool, can't wait to see what kind of interesting things await. She thought to herself excitedly as she entered the main gate.

Rika shuffled through a few crowds trying to get to the bulletin board. She eventually found it, it had listings of all their assigned classes. Studying it for a bit, she finally found her name. She memorized the class number, and took note of the announcement to gather at the gym, and then pulled out of the crowd of students surrounding the board. "Alright, hopefully I'll be able to remember that." she muttered to herself before shaking her head. "No, I will be able to remember that." She said determinedly. "Alright, on to the gymnasium." She then made her way to the gym building.

Upon arriving she noticed a large amount of students gathered around outside. "Aww, they haven't started?" She said, slightly disappointed. "Guess there's nothing for it but to wait." She began standing to the back of the crowd. Watching all the students gather. As she watched one man stood out, it was what seemed to be a teacher. Wearing a roman helmet. Okay, that's cool. I want that guy as my homeroom for sure. She said, smirking. Afterwards, she continued standing to the back of the crowd, watching all of her fellow students gather. Taking notes of which ones she was interested in talking to.

"Ok, I guess that's everything" Naganori thought as he did a final check on the items inside his bag. He was extra careful to make sure he'd bring everything he'd might need for the first day. It would be bad to start the school year being caught flat-footed after all. Once he was satisfied, and his uniform put on neatly, he grabbed is bag off the bed and headed downstairs to start the trip to school. He heard his mother call to him as he descended to their living room.

"Naganori, have you had a full meal yet?" She said from the kitchen in the next room. "I've already had some sandwiches, mom. I'll get something to eat later at school." He replied. "Are you sure? It's still pretty early, you know?" She asked. "I'll be fine, thanks. Besides, I don't want to risk being late for the opening ceremony. Everyone's been talking about how it's not something you want to miss" He answered. "Alright then, have a good first day." His mother replied.

Stepping out of the house, the young man felt a small pang of anxiety as the reality of having his first day at a new school finally hit him. He shook his head and mentally scolded himself at how irrational the nervousness was. There was nothing to worry about, right? He'd go there, do his best to make the most of the school days, and whatever happens, happens. "Now... which way is the nearest station?"

---

Arriving at the school, Naganori was once again greeted by the ivory building. He had only seen it once before (during his enrollment) and seeing it again did not make it any less grand. The school was very famous after all.Upon entering the gates, Naganori realized he was unsure of where to go from here. There wasn't exactly any signs or instructions at the gates telling students where to go. "Alright... Easiest solution is to find the notice-board, and if there's still something unclear, just ask somebody." he thought, making up a mental plan. He headed into the large main building and noticed a crowd of students gathered around a board, so he assumed that was what he was looking for.

"Excuse me... pardon me..." He said as he squeezed through the other students to make his way closer. He was glad to see that the board did indeed contain the class listings for all the students, including a large notice telling everyone to gather at the gymnasium for the opening ceremony. He skimmed the lists for his name, and hwen he found it, he took out his cellphone to snap a picture of it to keep as reference.

He then proceeded back out the crowd, and into the sunlight once more. He decided to ask a passing student where the gym was. "Excuse me, do you know where the gymnasium is? I'm new here." He called out to a male brown-haired student. "Ah, a first-year huh? Just keep following the path that way. It leads to the main courtyard." He said as he pointed at one of the walkways. "It'll be the big building with a crowd of people gathered outside the entrance, you can't miss it." He said. "Many thanks." Naganori said as he nodded gratefully and followed the way to the gym.

The student he met wasn't joking about the crowd, because it was certainly large by the time Naganori arrived. It seemed as if they were all supposed to wait outside until instructed otherwise, most notably by a powerfully-voiced man wearing what seemed to be a Roman-Era soldier helmet. "That's... eccentric..." Naganori thought, unsure what to make of the faculty member. Nonetheless, he decided to stay outside the crowd so that he would not have to deal with the tight spaces and heat. He passed by a noticeably pale-white girl as he approached the other students and stopped nearby her at the edge of the crowd. Now, all he could do was wait until they were let inside.