God damn it, she wished Mune kept his mouth shut. Thankfully, it seemed no one was around to hear his little quip about breaking the law, but if anyone had, they'd be screwed. Yeah, no. Just for that, she wasn't letting him try to worm his way out of actually going to study. And then he opened his mouth again.

"Mune, seriously, what the fuck? Why would you say that while we're still around here? What if someone heard you, dipshit-" Nagi began to chide him in a hushed tone, but was then cut off by what sounded to be Mune's phone. Well, that wasn't a gen 8 Hololive idol she recognized, so it wasn't his usual notification for a stream. She blinked once, and then the world around them shifted.

"What." Nagi said flatly as she looked around, watching everything suddenly warp and change. Okay, what the actual fuck. Unless someone had slipped drugs into her water, she had no idea what was going on here.

"Mune, please tell me you slipped drugs into me somehow for being mean to you. Because otherwise, I got nothing." She sighed, looking in resignation at the only way forward. And the smell. Yeah, no. This wasn't good. At all.

Honestly? This whole thing scared Nagi shitless. Crap like this didn't happen. But hell if she was going to actually show that kind of weakness. Instead, she forced a glower back onto her face and stomped forward. It might get them into even deeper shit, but what were they gonna do otherwise? Stand around with their dicks out?

Mentions: Masashi @Zombehs, Asumi @Ambra, Hoshiko @Fabricant451, Akio @Lord Orgasmo, Kenzan @PrankFox

As the police trickled in from the streets around her, Akira was lost in shock. Even when an officer helped her to her feet, the soft-spoken teenager was silent, tears staining her cheeks. She'd sat on the same spot on the pavement the entire time, only moving to pick up her lost satchel just as she was being escorted into a waiting police car. The drive to the station was a sullen one, sitting next to the whimpering Asumi and the relatively calm Masashi. Her classmates were in the other car, but Akira couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to them.

When she was brought in for questioning, her voice was barely audible. Time and shock of seeing a dead body in the rotting, stinking flesh had put a case of the shivers in the poor girl. But the reassurances from the officers and even the detective who interrogated her set Akira's mind at ease. Eventually answers came from her, honest and truthful, until there were no more questions to respond to and the cops let her go.

Once she left the station and rejoined the rest of the study group, Akira was hugging her trumpet case to her chest. She took a few deep breaths in and out to calm and steady herself. She could still feel her hands trembling slightly from nerves, even as they walked away from the building and started towards Chen's place. And then Asumi blurted out her absolute hunger and Akira couldn't help but giggle, all the tension broken in an instant.

"I gotta admit, all the nerves made me a little peckish too... What do you think is going to happen? Are the police going to take the body away and cut it open like in CSI?"

Munehisa shrugged off his companion's chiding about the risk of overhearing, whining with a groan and placing his hands behind his head. "Whatever, man. If my dad finds out, he's gonna fricken kill me..." His grumbling drifted into an annoyed disposition as a familiar sound rumbled from his pocket-- it's gotta be that annoying app again. All of his phone notifications were silenced except for calls, texts and stream reminders, so it had to have come from that weird app. It had installed itself onto his phone, yet it didn't seem or act like any sort of malware-- rather, his main gripe was that it somehow kept re-installing itself every other hour after countless attempts to delete it. It did annoy him whenever it made a weird sound or enlarged itself to obscure much of his screen whenever he was near the school; the icon, which looked like some sort of eye with a star for an iris, creeped him the hell out, especially when the corners seemed to pulsate.

The boy dug into his pocket as the duo trotted down the hallway, pulling out his phone in the usual routine of disregarding and deleting the weird app. "What the-" Munehisa gasped as the app now encompassed the entirety of his screen, its red hues rippling across a pure black overlay. His shoes suddenly began to feel heavier with each footfall as an unsettling sensation rose in his stomach, the hint of a sweet pheromone trickling into the air that he breathed. He looked around to see reality bend itself like a nasty trip, something that he'd only seen exaggerated in special effects. Light from the typical Fujihama afternoon was suppressed in favor of a darker golden hue, finding that the classrooms and hallways had transformed into something entirely different.

"What," Munehisa had expressed his surprise at nearly the exact time as Nagi had; that was when he noticed that it was now just the two of them with not another soul in sight. With the sudden pressing matter at hand, he pocketed his phone and looked all around him, seeing that the walls were covered in some viscous golden substance. "What the hell? We're literally still in the school, aren't we?!" he stammered in a bit of a panic, taking a few frantic steps ahead and turning back to face Nagi. "Nagi, pinch me. Like, right now. I'm just dreaming, right? Right??"

The feast that waited for them at Chen’s house had to be sublime. Crab rangoons? Spring rolls? Asumi could taste them already. It seemed like everyone else around her was hungry, too. She couldn’t help but giggle at the sound of Masashi’s yearning stomach, and it seemed like Kenzan was actually hungry enough to tag along. Yeah, they kind of had a crappy day, but that didn’t mean they had to go home hungry, even if it meant there wouldn’t be enough time to study afterwards. She perked up when Akira asked if they were going to cut up the body. ”I think that only makes sense if the cause of death wasn’t so obvious,” Asumi answered. ”And it’s kind of obvious how he died, right? Some guy cut his throat wide open.”

That was when Hoshiko had chimed in. It hurt Asumi to see her so crestfallen, and so she slowed her pace to walk next to the younger girl. ”Hey… if there’s anyone we should blame, it’s me. I’m the one who stumbled over the body and freaked out, and I’m the one who suggested everyone get together to study in the first place. If I hadn’t done any of that, we wouldn’t be in this whole situation! Don’t get yourself so down, okay?” She smiled broadly at Hoshiko, nudging her in an attempt to cheer her up. To anyone that didn’t know her all too well, they might get a bit caught off-guard over her willingness to take the blame for things she didn’t have any fault over. Her friends, on the other hand, very much knew she was just that type of person– the girl who would throw herself under the bus for others. Her parents warned her that she could get in a lot of trouble for that one day, and Nagi always called her out for her inclination to roll over and take punishment for the people she cared about.

That whole thing with Okamoto, though… that was a completely different story.

The smell of stir-fried vegetables wafted through the air as they got closer to Chen’s house. Her stomach roared even louder than Masashi’s. ”That food smells so good! Please tell me that’s your dad’s cooking.”

Luckily for them, it was.

The lot of them discussed what happened over dinner. Asumi, who had devoured the chow mein with all of the voraciousness of a hungry orphan, only punctuated their explanations towards Chen’s dad with rapid nods of her head. Luckily, Chen’s dad seemed like he understood the absolutely bizarre predicament that they had just gone through. When mealtime was over and the dishes were cleaned, they were invited to Chen’s room. She was surprised to see how big it was. Well, she had a big room too, since she was also an only child, but still. It felt nice to be in such a big space after spending so long in an interrogation room…

Stuffed with chow mein and other types of scrumptious Chinese delicacies, she let out a long sigh as she sat against the wall. Asumi tucked her legs close to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and set her chin on top of her knees. Last time she checked, her phone read that it was about 6:30-ish. That was about three hours before she had to be at home, which meant that there was ample time to kick back and chill before she headed out. Her mind went back to what Naoko said. What would actually happen if they were caught on the streets after ten? Would they get thrown in jail? She was pretty sure that was worse than getting expelled. She shoved away the thoughts. No, she’d think about that stuff when she was with the rest of her friends. They were probably planning something while she was here.

Asumi jolted in realization. That was right– she still had her snacks! ”Oh yeah!” She took her schoolbag and turned it upside down, and a ton of wrapped candies and snack bags came tumbling out. Chocolate and strawberry Pocky, crunchy Sucorn, caramel Kit Kats… a variety of snacks were quickly sorted out in front of her. An excited spark reappeared in her blue eyes at the sight of them. ”I still have the snacks from before. It’d be a shame if we all let them go to waste!” She grabbed a bunch of them and held them out for them to take. Then, with a threatening yet over exaggerated glare, she added, ”don’t take the strawberry Pocky, though. That’s mine.”

They had just eaten, but who couldn’t make room for a yummy dessert? She knew she could!

---

???

MENTIONS: Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Munehisa [@Solace]

They were still in school, alright. Though, anyone with a drop of sanity in them would doubt that statement. A sickly sweet breeze rippled through the halls again, as if someone had left windows open and allowed the perfumed wind to slip inside. Which would make sense, if there were any windows in the first place. As Nagi and Munehisa delved deeper into the wide-walled corridors, they might have gotten the sense they were being watched. Not watched in the normal sense, like being eyed by a curious individual or a secret admirer. No, they were watched with all of the malice of a hungry pack of wolves.

Golden, hexagonal-shaped chandeliers swayed gently in the wind. To their right and left, honey-wax candles, perched delicately within sconces, flickered with amber flames. While the establishment was so different from their school, it also displayed eerie resemblances. Gaps in the walls, human-sized and honeycomb shaped, led into smaller rooms with smooth, off-white– yet, all the same, sticky– walls. Desks that once lined the classrooms were replaced with giant, lumpy, yellow sacks, and whatever spherical objects that were encased inside the slimy pouches seemed to writhe and throb with intent. The deeper they traveled, the more overpowering the aroma became. The goop that covered the floors in a film stuck more and more to the bottom of their shoes and seemed to engulf their soles in honey. The viscosity of it might have even made it difficult to walk without losing their shoes, at times.

They couldn’t have walked for more than ten minutes before something stirred from the depths of the pools of honey that they had just walked past. Several globs of pitch black, slimy liquid slipped out of the gaps and slithered along the floors in hot pursuit of the two intruders. Steadily, more of the black slime-like entities plopped to the ground and tailed the pair. The final set of slime-like substances leapt out from the walls, right in Munehisa and Nagi’s path.

Hissing, the black puddles stretched up from the ground, their shapes wrenching and morphing until they finally solidified into hideous, bee-like creatures that were about the size of a medium dog. Their wings flapped rhythmically, producing a vicious buzz that kicked up the air around them and produced a storm of wind that lashed at their ears. They had become surrounded by about four or five of them, and little by little the circle the monsters had formed around them became smaller and smaller. Their faceted crimson eyes glowed with demonic energy. The largest of the devil-like bees, mandibles opening and closing in excitement, charged at Nagi with the intention of piercing her with its three-foot long stinger.

"Oh shit, this is real." Nagi groaned in response to Mune, but nonetheless did as she was bid and pinched him tightly on the arm. "Okay, don't freak out. Don't freak out. Let's just walk in, there's nothing for us back here anyway."

As they walked further in, Nagi bit her lip in response to the scenery before them. Alright, she got it, there was some kind of beehive theme going on here. The honey was just a bit too fucking much. Thankfully, she was still wearing her school shoes and not her actual good shoes, so that was an upside, at least.

Nonetheless, even though they saw nothing immediately threatening as they walked, Nagi stuck her hands into the pockets of her blazer, reaching for the brass knuckles that she'd kept one of in each. Would carrying a weapon on campus have been a massive problem if she'd been caught with them? Hell yes it would be. But better to be prepared in case she was ever jumped. Not...sucked into some sort of bee fetishist's version of the school. Fucking shit.

And then they were attacked. By massive killer bees.

"Oh, what the fuck?!" Nagi screamed in both surprise and mild terror as she narrowly evaded a stinger being thrust at her, years of experience in a fight kicking in at that moment. "Mune, get behind me!" Nagi roared as she slipped her brass knuckles on and her fight-or-flight instincts took hold. Instead of flight, she chose to retaliate. Nagi slammed a one-two combo at the lead bee, aiming for the head to hopefully do some kind of damage before the others could rush in and turn her into some rendition of that weird American actor in that one old movie.

Dinner was a nice break from the fare Masashi was accustomed to and he spent most of it quiet as he sampled at least a bit of everything Akio's father whipped up. He left the story telling to the other boy as well, and almost ended up only speaking to introduce himself politely. He did end up remarking how this was pretty much normal for Asumi when he caught the brief look of amazement at just how much she managed to pack away.

"Ugh." Even if it didn't do anything to help, Masashi ended up shaking his hands and rubbing his fingers together. The tips had ended up pruning a bit after he'd finished with the dishes. With everything that had happened coupled with the two going dark, he wasn't in the best of moods to simply relax and hang out. It would have been pretty rude to just dine and dip though.

He joined the others in the spacious room a few moments later after he made a few phone calls. Some unanswered and annoyingly so. He kept that annoyance from bleeding out onto his expression as he slipped into the room though and took up a seat wherever there was free room. He didn't need a wall to lean up against or anything as he just sat down cross-legged and set his bag in his lap. "You could just leave them here for another study session," Masashi pointed out with a raised eyebrow at Asumi as he propped his chin up on his bag. "You'd definitely eat them all if you brought them home."

As spectacular as a failure today's attempt had been, he had no doubt Asumi would be dragging them along the next time a chance presented itself. It was probably a bit too much to hope something insane would happen again, and besides... Masashi didn't loathe the idea of studying that much.

He certainly didn't like it as much as either Asumi or apparently Akio did though. There wasn't anything from Watanabe's on proud display in the room, but Masashi had seen his classmate around there the few times he dropped by for a browse. His fascination seemed to run much deeper than Masashi's own appreciation for cool blades, and there must have been a reason why Asumi had chosen him to help the group study.

That wasn't going to be happening today though, and Masashi finished looking around the room before his attention went to Akio. "Got anything to do? Board or video games?" He asked before he looked around at the others, silently asking if they had any suggestions. He did fish around his bag, reaching past drinks, and pull out a deck of cards in the meantime before any responses. @Lord Orgasmo

---

The meal, was of course, way over the top. More Chow Mein than was ever necessary, crab rangoon, which was to be expected, spring rolls, fried rice, wontons, the whole nine yards. Chen's father even broke out some fancy tea he had been saving. Chen guessed that his dad had been wanting to do something like this for a while now. How were they going to eat all of this? Well, a growing boy's got to eat!

The dinner went by pretty well. The food was good, and his father was pretty receptive towards the explanation of the events towards the day as Chen, Asumi, and the others explained the situation. Nobody got hurt, and they didn't bring the law onto his front doorstep, so he seemed to sympathize more with the high schoolers. It also probably helped that his job as a nurse helped him be more compassionate. Though, that's not to say he didn't mutter a few particular words under his breath that only Chen could understand.

As the meal was over, and the group headed towards Chen's room, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was his father. He leaned in closer to Chen before speaking. ["We will speak more about this later. When your friends are gone, you and I are going to have a chat. I'm not angry at you, I'd just like to better understand what's going on and what to do if something like this ever happens again. Now, go have fun with your friends."] At first Chen was afraid for his life, but he was glad to see that his life wasn't over yet.

Now in his room with several other people, Chen thought of what to do next. They probably weren't going to be studying after all. Chen unintentionally frowned for a second before realizing what he was doing. Looking around his room, he thought of things to do. It was fairly spacious, all things considered. He had a couple of consoles hooked up to his TV, and he could've sworn he had an extra cable laying around to hook up his computer to the TV as well. Most of the other stuff in his room was for living purposes. His bed, a dresser and closet. His TV hooked up to the wall, with a table underneath housing two consoles: The modern Playstaion 5, and a not so modern Super Nintendo. It was his mother's old system. A stack of games rested on either side of the table, most of them singleplayer, while a pair of controllers sat on top of each console.

It was then that Asumi spoke up, giving out the sweets that she had brought over, though she aggressively claimed the strawberry pocky as her own. "Heh, jokes on you, watermelon is where it's at! I will take one of those KitKats though." Chen swiftly swiped one out of the bag, and just as he was about to open it, another member of the group, spoke up. It was... Masashi? Asking about any forms of entertainment. "Well, I've got my Playstaion with Street Fighter 6 if you're into that." he pointed a thumb to the side where his consoles were. "If you're into older stuff the Super Nintendo has Super Street Fighter 2. You'll have to give me a minute to look through all of my games, I don't quite remember what games I have. And as for board games..."

Chen looked over to the side where his closet was. He stood up, and walked over, looking up at a suspended shelf with a couple of boxes sitting inconspicuously. "I've got uh... it looks like Shogi, Mahjong, and 'King of Tokyo,' whatever that is. Looks like it has something to do with Kaiju. Unless you all want to silently read manga together, that's about all I've got in here, though there might be more around the house."

---

*Text in [brackets] indicates Chinese, for future reference.

The voices had given him pause, at the entrance, just as he was leaving. It was this odd thing, like he'd been just out of hearing range, and in his mind...he thought it was Nagi. She had a distinctive voice, so he thought she was leaving for the day, as well. He was just holding the door open for a moment so that she or whoever else it was could walk on through, but no such person came. Huh... Going the other way, then? No matter. Hakuro stepped outside into the sun with a stretch. You spend alot of time holding up the wall, texting and sending emails, you get stuck in position and gotta straighten yourself out. He stopped for a moment to reflect...

I walk everyday with the sun on my face, and my life is already a planned success when I go home. Why do I mess about like this? I could get people hurt if I go too far. I almost DID go too far, and would've been burnt by it, if not for Rina, just then.

He was fortunate, in many ways. Not blessed or cursed with overwhelming success or money or power, but that life was generally good to him, and would remains so regardless of what actually happened here. A traditional family of inherited responsibility wasn't bad. He just wanted more. He just wanted to get involved, get his hands into things. He reached his hand up to encompass the sun.

I want to be in the world, to hold on for as long as I can, until I have to go.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



"Hakuro, where are you going?! Why are you running?! We don't have time-"

It was evening, and getting later. The island was his world, and he knew every part of it as The Great Explorer, and he could leap and run across it as The Last Adventurer, but now - right now - he was a man on the run from the world, The Great Escape Artist, and his friend. It was a typical thing when you make a friend while visiting the resort. You meet the local kid who knows the island well and can help you through everything, and knows all the best ways tyo have fun. You have a good time, and you share a few laughs.

And then, you have to go, and he has to stay behind to greet the next one, and the next one, and the next one.

Meeting new people all the time wasn't all that bad, but losing every single one of them was sometimes terrible. So, one day, when fed up with it, a young Hakuro took his friend for a run around the island, late at night. They didn't stop, and as they moved, he explained why.

"There's always time, as long as you keep running. As long as they never catch you, you're free, and you can keep going."

"But you can't keep running forever."

"I can run until they make me stop. If I'm only one step ahead, I'm still ahead."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



Hakuro lowered his hand, then adjusted his hat.

You make me who I am. I am the traveling Hatto-san. Keep running. Don't ever stop messing about. This one's important.

So, back to business for a second. He finished off all the conversations he'd been texting about to make sure that that was the end of his inquiry for the time being. He was sure that he could find the information he needed to start the investigation and get the evidence he needed, once he got the email from Rina about the past and present students who had been taught by Miss Okamoto. He was sure that something terribly underhanded was going on, but he needed to get to work. Two paths lay before him on where to get started. Did he wait for the email so he could review the profiles and look up information? Or would he begin his official statement to outline the nature of his investigation for those that might listen, when he unleashed the report and forced action upon this woman.

Hakuro took out his quarter, and flipped it high into the air, catching the sunlight as it did so. Now, call it. Heads or tails?

Mentions: Masashi @Zombehs, Asumi @Ambra, Hoshiko @Fabricant451, Akio @Lord Orgasmo, Kenzan @PrankFox

All through the walk to Chen's place, Akira had stayed silent. Even though she'd been treated more gently than her other classmates, the experience had left her nerves rattled. As she kept up with the group, her hand was white-knuckled around the handle of her trumpet case. The chatter between Hoshiko and Asumi hadn't done much for her mood either, and so it was that the pink-haired teen reached her classmate's house in a sullen state.

However, the talk and smell of food that wafted from Chen's door the moment they got to his porch lifted her mood immensely. Her stomach growled in protest at the mere thought of that promised land of dumplings, spring rolls and crab rangoon. Between bites of food, Akira chimed in on her thoughts about the whole situation. They mostly revolved around how screwed up it was that they'd find a corpse out in an alley in their town, especially given how quiet it was. Barely anything newsworthy happened in Fujihama anyway, so when something did happen, it was almost always the talk of the town for a while.

After dinner, they retired to Chen's room where a cavalcade of junk food soon formed a veritable pile of snacks that threatened to spill over the sides of his table. Akira immediately picked out one of the watermelon Kit-Kats that Chen had so graciously pointed out, tore the foil packet open and broke off one of the wafers before she took a bite out of it. She was more relaxed, now that she had good food in her and company of friends to keep her level and calm.

"I, uh. I don't mind mahjong. Or Street Fighter. I don't mind watching either."

Mentions: Asmumi @Ambra, Akira @DJAtomika, Masashi @Zombehs, Hoshiko @Fabricant451, Chen @Lord Orgasmo

The walk to Chen's house was mercifully uneventful, except for the lamenting and continual apologies of the first year who had touched the body while the officers had been standing right there. Honestly, why she'd thought it was a good idea was beyond him, but at least Asumi seemed to be taking care of the issue. The only reason Kenzan even continued to tag along was because he didn't have anything better to do, and it seemed like Asumi would've just dragged him by the shirt again if he'd declined. He was grateful for the meal, and made sure to tell Chen's father so in the singular sentence he spoke during the duration of dinner. He preferred to just listen, besides it wasn't his story to recount other than the fact he had shown up.

Once dinner was over he was able to, as politely as possible, extract himself from the group. He already felt uncomfortable even being there with a group of his juniors who he didn't even know, and continuing to hang around felt like more of an imposition than dinner did. "I appreciate the offer to stick around, but my mom will be wondering where I am," he told them briskly. A final thanks and he was able to escape out the door and back into the fading light of the evening with a relieved sigh. At this point it was too late to go to the bookstore, they'd be closing soon, so he hefted his backpack onto his shoulder and began the slow walk back home.

His house wasn't that far and before too long he was putting the keys in the lock and slowly pushing it open. He could hear the grainy sounds of the small television on in the living room as he walked silently down the hall; avoiding a creaky floorboard that had yet to be fixed. A quick look into the room told him his mother was passed out in the chair. Judging by the limply hanging hand loosely wrapped around a bottle she'd been that way for a while now. He held back a scoff, Got her fix some other way then.

Once he got back into his room he let out a full breath and tossed his bag on the ground before sitting down at his desk to slave away at the homework he'd been given for the evening. Headphones in he focused on the mindless work in front of him and let his mind wander to the weird events that were going on in the normally quiet town. First the Prime Minister shooting himself on live TV and now this body found in the alley. He really hoped this wouldn't become some kind of trend for his final year in the city. Last thing he needed was to get roped up into something else that was well beyond him.

A sense of foreboding was beginning to rise within Munehisa by the minute, his thumbs twiddling as the two of them navigated the mysterious environment. Every now and then, the atmosphere seemed to twist and contort in an unstable manner; the boy could've sworn that he caught familiar glimpses of the second floor hallway. The longer they walked on, the harder it was for him to maintain stable footing. The floor and walls were coated in some sort of viscous substance-- the entire place smelled faintly of honey. With the structure resembling swaths of honeycombs, it was almost exactly what he envisioned the inside of a beehive to look like.

"Better yet, how the hell do we even get out of here?" Munehisa nagged with the most important question, fearfully looking about as he was unable to recognize any noticeable differences with where they were exactly going. A minimap would be hella useful, right now.

He nearly lost his footing entirely when black puddles suddenly sprouted from the flaxen ground, and the form of giant bees manifested from the shadows. It had very much confirmed Munehisa's perception of their whereabouts, but the revelation was short-lived when the pack proved to be hostile. "Not the bees," his eyes widened at the sight, frantically pulling back upon Nagi's command as they encroached upon them. His head narrowly ducked under one of the bees' attempts of decapitating him, prompting him to instinctively hold his backpack out in both hands like a shield. "N-Nagi, we gotta book it outta here, like right now!"

Asumi would be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed that Masashi didn’t accept her offer of a diabetes-inducing dessert. Leaving it at Chen’s house like he suggested was a no-go, either; what if he ate it all when she was gone? Was he the type of guy to eat a girl’s hidden candy? That’d be shameful! It was better to just eat it all now and make sure he couldn’t get his grubby hands on them. She gave Chen an inflated, yet playful glare once he took one of the Kitkats away from her. Hmph. He better just take one... for now.

She ripped open her pack of Pocky and nibbled on one of them, her eyes scanning the group as they discussed what to do. Video games or board games… hmm. Just as she was about to give her own input, Hoshiko voiced something about dirty magazines. Asumi’s eyes snapped to Chen in alarm. Wait, that was right. Chen was a guy. Guys liked that kind of stuff, didn’t they? A light blush dusted her cheeks. ”Oh my god…” she whispered, her eyes wide as if she had just found out the biggest secret ever. Her eyes blinked back to Hoshiko and Akira, and she leaned in close to whisper to them, despite the fact that the two boys in the room could definitely hear what she said. ”Do you think he really has those types of magazines?”

Eh. She wasn’t that much of a fan of judging; to each their own. Though, it was good to set a decent example. That was what her parents always said, anyways.

She quickly changed the subject after she was done chewing on another piece of Pocky. ”Anyways, we should totally play some Street Fighter! I’ll kick your butts at it!” Huffing a challenge, Asumi got onto her knees and crept towards the television as she pulled out another strawberry-chocolate covered treat. She stuck it between her lips like a cigarette as she sat down in front of the TV. The birds that sat on the wire outside Chen’s window scattered, squawking and chirping all the while. She looked at Chen, then Masashi, Akira, and Hoshiko. It was unfortunate that that one third-year student went away after dinner, because that would have meant one more challenger she could toy around with. A teasing glint shone in her glare. ”Who wants to fight me first, huh? Huh?”

It suddenly dawned on her that she had never played Street Fighter. Asumi assumed that was a bad thing. Welp, too late now!

---

Once everyone had gotten situated, and various sweets selected, Chen took a moment to process everything. He hadn't had friends over in this house before, so he was a little hesitant on what to do, though, a few things stuck out at him. Backing away from his closet that was suspiciously full of color coded hoodies and jackets, he went back towards the table where the Playstaion rested.

At the mention of dirty magazines by both Hoshiko and Asumi, his attention snapped over to the two girls. "Wait what? Why would I have those? I have a smartphone and a laptop, why would I..." His voice trailed off as he looked over at nothing in particular, trying to get the wheels in his head to completely understand what had just been said. He turned his head back to the two girls."And furthermore, who even pays for that kind of stuff? Felons? There's gotta be... wait why am i still talking about this? We're supposed to be playing Street Fighter."

Chen stomped over the rest of the way to the table to hook up the Playstaion. All the cables were in place, he just needed to switch out an HDMI cable. He then picked up a nearby remote for the TV and flipped it over to the correct imput, before setting it back down where he found it. Next were all the games he had to sift through. Sifu, Ghost of Tsushima, the Final Fantasy VII remake parts 1 and 2, and a couple of games he didn't even know he had. The hell was "Prototype 3"? What happened to the first two?

Eventually, however, he managed to find it. Street Fighter 6 in all of its glory. Inserting the disk and booting up the game, he turned back to the rest of the party, a controller in each hand."So, who wants to go first? I'll sit this first one out. Give you guys a chance to play." It definitely was because he wanted to analyze everyone's playstyle in order to pick counters for them. Definitely not. Judging by Asumi’s excitement, she certainly wanted to go first. He held out a controller in her general direction, but just far enough away that someone else could take it if they were fast (and probably dumb) enough to get it first.

It had been a long day for Yuri, one filled with tons of work and more rumors than she liked to hear. Word of a so-called Miss Okamoto’s transgression against Class 2-B made her a bit spiteful; if what people were saying was true, then she was pitting teenagers against each other in an attempt to preserve her own self-image. Though, more than anything, she was curious. She had a good idea of who had created the cursed drawing that had caused so much chaos, though how would the whole situation play out?

The flash of a coin caught her eye as she reached the bottom of the steps that led up to the school. Yuri turned to see a boy who she swore was familiar. Hey, wasn’t that... “Oh, you’re that third year who’s asking all of those questions,” Yuri commented. She stared at him with a small quirk of a smile, waiting for his next move.

The coin landed- ”What?” He grabbed it from the air as his head turned, distracted, as a girl he was...neither familiar nor unfamiliar with...addressed him. It was an either-or situation because, of course, he’d seen her in school, but he had yet to put down information regarding her into anything. The familiarity was there because he’d seen her around with Asumi, whom he DID know more about. The thing she said, though, was ummm...how to address this? Well, he’d made a toss prior, so why not...?

“Huh? Who said that? Oh wait, everyone did. Unless I didn’t. In which case...no?”

He was being a bit coy. Hakuro had never spoken with her before, and he was riding on the wings of a warning about making his actions a little too known...but he didn’t want to be unfriendly to someone trying to hold a conversation with him. He flicked his hat once with a smile.

“It’s the hat. Hiding in plain sight. Uhh, which questions were those, though? I kinda’ have a habit of this.”

Yuri cocked her head to the side at Hakuro’s response. Her eyebrow quirked a little, almost as if she pondered him or if she was a bit frustrated with the way he looped around her statement. “The ones you’ve been asking more recently,” she answered, though her smirk only grew into a fond smile. “You mind walking me to my job? With all of the disappearances, I’m starting to get scared of heading there on my own.”

He gave her an “Oh those questions.”, which was pretty much confirmation to her inquiry, but in good humor. This may have been a bad move, but he’d rather know up-front where the conversation was going, in truth. His evasiveness was merely a choice of approach toward this end. Perhaps the girl was curious about him, as well, because she asked if he would escort her to her place of employment.

“Sure, I don’t mind. No problem.”

He made a ‘Lead the way’ sort of gesture for her, then proceeded to walk alongside as she essentially led. It was only after a mental pause and a blink that he followed up with...

“...what disappearances?”

Yuri nodded at his gesture. A long, tired sigh left her lips as she set off for one of the busy roads of town. “What, you didn’t know? That’s why we have that curfew,” she replied as she shrugged the loose strap of her backpack onto her other shoulder. “People’ve been vanishing from town. The girls in my class are scared, they think it’s a kidnapper or serial killer or something. But I think people might just be running away.”

She yawned as she rubbed an eye. “So, why are you asking so many questions about that teacher? Miss Okemata? Miss Okumuta?”

He was a bit embarrassed to find that he’d missed that. It should’ve been something his mind was focused on instead of this business of the Prime Minister, like everyone else, or trying to straighten out his site in regards to that matter.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the situation was that serious. I should’ve known, but all I heard was ‘No more late-nights’ and was completely bummed out thereafter. As for Okamoto...”

He looked her over for a second, parsing together what little he knew with the fact that she didn’t even bother to pronounce the teacher’s name right. She wasn’t in that class, or even much associated, save for one, perhaps.

“You heard from Asumi what happened, didn’t you? It’s one thing for a teacher to seek discipline towards a student disproportionately, and for that to be in question. But for a whole class? Unprecedented... I checked. There isn’t a cause for it in the book. Alas, I’ve heard that that may not stop her, and that has led my abrupt questioning to a halt, at least until I try an approach that won’t step on too many toes.”

“Oh.” Yuri’s smile melted off her face. She turned her gaze down the road once again and rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah... I heard about that.”

After a few seconds of pondering, she shook her head. “It’s pretty bad, but if I were you, I wouldn’t get involved with it. Don’t even ask any questions.” Yuri gave him a pointed side-long glance so she was sure she could get the point across. “You’re gonna graduate soon, so I don’t think it’s worth getting into any sticky business... there’s gotta be a reason why she’s been around for so long, right?”

He nodded, saying ”I know.”. His questions might’ve gotten him close to being burned, as she suggested, but fortunately he’d been given fair warning.

“One of my Drama Club friends told me about her having people in her corner among the Third Years...and also the Principal."

He let that sink in, as if to say that even on a bad day, the Hatto-san still gets his intel. His own expression had gone rather solemn, or maybe into a Deep Thought kind of mode.

”I’m very lucky. I might just be able to survive her, even if I’m targeted, though it might hurt in a different way. The point is whoever else might get damaged in my wake, hence the sudden caution...but give in entirely? I know what she’s doing, and it’s sickening. In future times, I don’t wanna look back and regret doing nothing on this one.”

Now, he looked over her way with a smile.

”I think I’m alright telling you this because you’re clearly not one of her followers. What do I call you besides ‘Asumi’s friend’, though?”

Yuri paused for a second when Hakuro mentioned what he heard. Her eyes widened and her lips pursed into a straight line. “Damn, so it runs that deep, huh...” she murmured as she dropped her gaze down onto the floor. “I guess I’m really lucky I don’t have her as a teacher. Still, poor Asumi...”

After a brief pause, she glanced back up at him and offered him a weak smile. “Y’know, this town needs more people like you, standing up for things that are right. Too many people stay to the side when something bad’s going on. It’s sad...but hey, thanks for the compliment. I’d hate it if I got labeled as one of her followers...” Then, with a sly smirk, she teased, “and what’s with calling Asumi by her first name? You must know her really well if that’s the case.”

She let out a dry chuckle, which was quickly punctuated by a long sigh. “You can call me Katsuragi, by the way.”

They would both laugh, because it seemed like they needed it after being sobered by the Okamoto experience. Yes, Hakuro was prepared to roll with that one.

“I don’t, but she’s so outwardly friendly that I don’t think she’d even mind.”

In keeping with the theme, though, the girl was just going by her family name, so he doffed his hat with a smile and a nod and went “Kuroda.”. He’d considered doing the ‘Bond, James Bond’ routine, but that was neither his style, nor an effective means of segway into his alter-ego as the Hatto-san.

“Hey... Is it alright if I asked about these disappearances? I know the reasons you said were just theory, but...is there a pattern to ‘em at all?”

“Nice to meet you, Kuroda,” Yuri affirmed with a smirk. They walked for a bit more as she pondered his next question. “I don’t think anyone knows about a pattern except for the police, and that’s a huge maybe...they can be kind of dumb sometimes.”

“All I do know is that people need to be careful,” she finally added. “Especially the kids from the high school.”

The young man seemed to ponder that himself for a moment, wondering if...nah, it’s probably nothing. Unless it isn’t. Let’s just say that it was going in the suddenly-pulled-out notepad before the thing was replaced in his coat pocket.

“Thoughts for later. Where do you work, anyway? I’ve been in this town about a year, and I’m pretty sure I only ever saw you a handful of times, mainly at school.”

Yuri didn’t mention anything about his sudden quietness, instead choosing to answer his next question. She nodded down the street at a bookstore that was tucked in close against the residential district. “I work at Kudo’s today,” she replied. “I’m a pretty busy gal, need to pay the rent to my place, so I work odd jobs here and there. You know what they say, money makes the world go round.”

“Ahh, you rotate around. That makes sense. Well, most of the employs seem nice in this town, so I imagine you have a fine time of it.”

Huh... That was interesting. Rent implies that she lived in an apartment of her own, as well. That didn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t local, but she was working to possibly strike out on her own while still in high school. Hakuro felt the itch to inquire further about that, but he had a feeling that it would be overstepping his boundaries...and we’d already had enough of that happening already. Best to keep that one for later, maybe.

“They’re alright, I guess,” Yuri replied with an indifferent shrug. As they approached the bookstore, she waved at him and gave him another smile. “I’ll see you around. Get home safe!”

And with that, she trotted down the street and slipped inside the small bookstore, leaving Hakuro alone once again. He had, to his credit, waved back, saying "You too!" as she headed off. He wasn't far from his place now, so he could just take her advice and head right there...or he could keep an eye on things externally to make sure she doesn't run afoul of anyone...or he could look up who it was he was dealing with-

What am I doing? Haven't I had enough for one day?

He really overdid it, sometimes. Why not just meet someone without secretly finding some background information and learn about them the normal way? Katsuragi seemed nice, after all. A down-to-earth sort of girl with realistic expectations of the world, maybe, and she liked his attitude. These were good points that he just shouldn't spoil, so yeah... Home. He'd had a day, and she could surely look after herself if HE was the one not fully-informed about the disappearances, like he should. Hakuro went back to the apartment and shrugged off his coat, putting it up on a hook with his hat nearby. He pulled out his notes that he'd been taking all day, wandering to his bed and falling back into it.

"I should talk to them direct, with or without finding these 3rd Years and graduates. There's no telling what that teacher is really capable of. No telling..."

He turned over and decided to take a snooze, leaving the notebook open on his bed to a particular page...

Okamoto Hina - History Teacher (Class 2-B)
Disproportionate Response
Gets Results, Principal Impressed

Fraud?
Extortionist?
Kidnapper/Murderer?

Groaning a bit at Hoshiko's lack of filter, Masashi dragged both hands down his face slowly before he took a deep breath. Thankfully Asumi didn't take the tangent and run with it for too long. "The future is now, old man," he chimed up in agreement with Chen before he snorted a bit as the first game was decided on. He wasn't as good at the genre as Nagi was given her penchant for Tekken, but he had picked up a bit from hanging around her. More than he could say for Asumi and her somewhat unfounded confidence. Then again, it was Asumi, so what was he really expecting?

The sudden noise outside caught Masashi's attention as his head snapped towards the commotion, and he frowned a bit as he leaned forward, planted a hand on the floor, and pushed himself up. It was probably nothing, but he ended up peeking out the window to check anyways. Brushing aside the blinds a bit, he glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Asumi's challenging expression.

"Hope you're better at this than at the arcade," Masashi countered her challenge with a light jab of his own before he looked between Hoshiko and Akira to see if either of them wanted to have the first round. Seeing as Akira had been the one to suggest Street Fighter, he pretty much expected her to take the controller from Chen.

Nagi’s attack had rendered the bee-monster disoriented as it crashed to the floor in a mess of twitching antennae and thrashing wings and legs. The rest of the bees, though, became even more furious, their venomous stingers pressing closer and closer with every passing moment. They were within seconds of turning the two teenagers into swiss cheese when–

“How now, my lovelies, what seems to be the problem?”

The angry fluttering stopped; the bee-like cryptids seemed to purr with pleasure as the circle suddenly became much looser than it had been before. The impenetrable wall of rapidly fluttering wings and hairy, segmented bodies spread apart, leaving enough room for a figure to slip between their numbers.

It was a woman with blonde hair that fell past her bare shoulders and perfect, fair skin. She wore a long, brilliant black-and-yellow striped dress that was short at the front, which revealed slender legs and black high-heels, and long in the back, where the fabric trailed behind her like a cape. Her breasts seemed to be on the verge of bursting from the dress’s bodice, though this did not appear to bother her in the least. A very fluffy, black feather boa wrapped around her neck as if it were concealing something, and ivory white gloves reached her elbows. Her head was crowned with a black Victorian-style hat complete with delicate white lace and bright yellow dahlias. Her cheeks were powdered with rosy pink blush, and her lips were colored a deep crimson.

The strange woman watched the two children with a complacent expression as she stepped closer, her high heels unrestrained by the stickiness of the floor. Her right hand held a slender, long tobacco pipe, which she brought up to lips. Even the way she took a draft from it was the very definition of posh. She seemed to be the spitting image of a certain Miss Okamoto… if it weren’t for the dangerous look in her glowing, yellow eyes.

“Well, well, well… what do we have here?” A billow of white smoke followed her churlish words. Her glower cut through them as she scanned them up and down. “It seems like two little roaches have crawled into our home…”

The bee-monsters let out another hum, their wings drooping. One of them drifted closer to her, its wide head bumping against her shoulder. “Miss Okamoto” pouted and reached up to stroke its head, then one of its feelers. Her delicate fingers drifted up the coarse antennae and produced a pleasured hum from the creature. “Oh, my poor babies…” she coddled, her voice one of pity and sadness as she gazed tenderly at the monsters. “No wonder you’re all so upset.”

Then, with a fire burning in her gaze, she pulled away from the bee-creature and slowly made her way up to Nagi and Munehisa. She glanced up and down them one more time, smoke curling from the tip of her pipe as she pursed her lips. Then, when she finally finished her observations, she wrinkled her brow and tipped her chin up at them. “Who are you…?” she snarled, venom dripping from her words. “... what are you…? And what are you doing in here?!”

Honestly, Nagi hadn’t expected her punch to actually be that effective, even with the aid of brass knuckles. This was good. It didn’t matter that the other bees were closing in, she could take them-

What the actual shit? Was that Okamoto? With tits? And with absolutely no fashion sense? The striped dress and boa were tacky as all hell. Someone was watching too many foreign dramas. What was this, the bitch’s identical twin blessed with a better rack? Of course, the fact that this look-alike of her history teacher was evidently controlling the bee monsters should have made Nagi wary, but sharing Okamoto’s face meant that her caution was overtaken by a brazen desire to assert dominance over the useless bitch who was trying to make their lives more difficult.

“Look, we didn’t come in…wherever the fuck this is by choice. We were supposed to be walking out of school, then shit goes weird and now there’s bees trying to murder us. So if you could just point us in the direction of the exit, that’d be real nice of you.”

Munehisa continued to cower behind his backpack in fear of their attackers, only peering out upon a familiar voice. His guard dropped slightly as he lowered the makeshift shield to his stomach, recognizing both the voice and face as Miss Okamoto. Yet, the amber glint in her eye spelled out a threatening intent– though her excessive appearance triggered his boyish impulse and easily caught his eye, their predicament and the great exaggeration of everything inspired vigilance. First, a beehive. Second, gigantic killer bees. Third, boobs straight outta an eroge. Even I’m not impressed…

Seeing Miss Okamoto coddle one of the killer bees caused Munehisa to raise a brow, looking between Nagi and the older woman with confusion. The hell’s she embracing it for? Lovelies? The sound that it produced in response to her stroke somewhat bothered him. None of this felt right at all. “Yeah, what she said,” Munehisa nodded in accordance with what Nagi said. “We’re supposed to be studying, not playing around with these, uh… robots! Jeez, the robotics club really nailed the realism with those things, haha!”

The Miss Okamoto look-alike did not seem pleased with their responses. She glared down her nose at them as she scrunched up her face with contempt. "Exit? There is no exit here. Once you step foot here, there's no leaving. Everyone and everything stays here for good," she hissed. "That includes you filthy worms. But no worries. You'll find your place in the hive soon."

She turned back to her "lovelies", thinking for a moment, before she looked back at Nagi and Munehisa with an unamused sneer. "I suppose you do have some potential… so I'll extend you an offer. You can join my lovelies in tending to my very wish, and I'll make sure you spend the rest of your little lives in peace and prosperity. What do you say?"

She waited for their response as she took yet another draft from her pipe. The bee-monsters hovered there aimlessly, their heads obviously void of any thought.

Oh, great. That was just dandy. Hopefully, not-Okamoto was as full of shit as the real one, or they were outright fucked. But either way, well…

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to go with hell no.” Nagi drawled, putting her guard up as she slowly backed away from Okamoto and the bees, preparing to take Mune by the hand and make a run for it. “Really not into the bee fetish you’ve got going on here. Stripes’re tacky as shit, you know.”

This’d probably get her killed. But bending the knee to this bitch? No way. Nagi had some kind of class, damn it.

Munehisa let out a small sigh of confusion upon the supposed doppelganger’s offer. “Is that really Okamoto?” the boy only found himself even more lost as the exchange dragged on, scratching the side of his head. The humidity of the atmosphere, coupled with his mounting distress, caused his expression to twitch with impatient annoyance. Slinging the backpack over his right shoulder, his face hardened as he brought up a hand to wave off Miss Okamoto.

“Look, we– I’m not into this shitty roleplay you’ve got going on,” Munehisa snapped a little as he looked around for a stairwell, completely dialing out the unfamiliar environment. “Don’t even know if the principal allows all of this,” he was forced to change his footing, having felt as if his feet were sinking into the goopiness of the floor. “But I honestly don’t care. If you won’t show us the stairway, then go away. C’mon, let’s just go.”

The children’s reply only kindled Okamoto’s fury. She straightened her head, staring at them head on with a ferocious smolder. “How dare you?!” Her words escaped her in a snarl. “Don’t you know who I am?! You have no right to speak to me in such a disgusting manner!”

Her fury seemed to roll off of her in waves as she stalked even closer, her lip curling to reveal shining white teeth. Okamoto’s eyes flickered up and down them once again, this time in a much deadlier fashion than before. “If you do not wish to submit to me, then I do not have any use for you. Dears, you’ve had such a hard day today,” she turned over her shoulder and motioned for the bees to resume their assault on them. “Enjoy your dinner~”

The bees were more than happy to encroach on the two again. As if they had been especially angered by Nagi’s attack on one of their numbers, they focused mostly on her, seeking to restrain her with their many legs and grabby pincers. They also pressed closer to Munehisa, growling angrily.

“Now that I think of it, you two do seem familiar… aren’t you two from Class 2-B?” Okamoto raised her voice so it could reach past the angry flutter of wings. She sent a sidelong glance down at Nagi before she raised her eyes back up at Munehisa. When she spoke again, her voice dipped low into a brooding rumble. “Especially you. You’re that worthless student in my class, aren’t you? The one who drew that horrible picture of me.” A wicked grin spread over her lips as a giggle bubbled from her throat. “To think that a shitty, no-good artist is going to get everyone in his class expelled… and there’s nothing that he can do about it! What a waste of talent… it’s sad, really.”

Nagi snarled, her face locked in a rictus of fury as she struggled to free herself from the bees restraining her. She’d managed to smash her fist into one more bee before she was swarmed, the rest keeping her pinned in place. Still, even through the haze of rage in her mind, one fact stood out. This was Okamoto. Somehow. And she knew it was Mune already? Why fucking go to that entire show, then?

“Shut your cock hole, bitch!” Nagi spat, simultaneously straining her limbs against the bees while trying to angle her head toward one enough for a headbutt.

“Why even waste your time dicking around trying to expel us all if you already knew he did it? What, you can’t be bothered to teach even less than you already do so you decided to just ax a class entirely? Hell, while we’re here, you compensating for your flat fucking chest in real life or something? Seriously, this silicone job you got going’s goddamn pathetic.” She hissed spitefully before catching Mune’s eye.

“The fuck are you still doing here? RUN, dipshit!” Nagi roared at Mune, hoping her little tirade pissed Okamoto enough that she’d take her attention off him and onto her.

The gravity of the scenario weighed back on Munehisa as his lackadaisical moment drew the furor of Miss Okamoto, and inspired her minions to draw forward once more. He’d thought of the killer bees as nothing more than mere contraptions, and yet, his eye for the smaller details only verified their general authenticity as the creatures inched closer. Just what the hell was going on?

The boy’s face tensed as he stepped back, his brow narrowing upon her apparently recollection of their identities. “You… what? You already know?” Munehisa gasped, the sting of the words that followed evident in his expression. Despite her knowledge, Miss Okamoto was knowingly exacting punishment upon the entire class, just to spite him. “All over some stupid drawing, that you took too seriously?” he took offense to the wound inflicted from her insult. “Why drag everyone into it if you know I’m the only one responsible, then?”

“Silence!” Miss Okamoto roared in Nagi’s direction, though her rambling did little to distract her from her true prey. She narrowed her brow at Munehisa as she took a step closer to him. “Of course I knew. What do you take me for, an idiot? I even knew that you would be trouble as soon as you set foot in my classroom. What else can I expect from someone with a tarnished name?”

“Oh yes, about your mother, she embezzled all of that money to the Yakuza, didn’t she? What a worthless bitch, destroying you and your father’s lives just to line her pockets with cash. That goes to show how much she cared about you two,” Okamoto continued in a hiss. “And your father’s almost as useless as she is! What a waste of space. You know that it was because of me that he was able to get a job in my school?! If it weren’t for myself, you two would be rotting on the streets… oh, to see how things have turned out just breaks my heart…”

Munehisa’s dejected gaze casted down to the ground below Okamoto’s feet. “That’s… that’s not true at all…”

“To think that your criminal whore of a mother spawned someone who is just as vile as she is. How funny that you’re following in her footsteps– dozens of other kids are going to suffer and fail because of what YOU did!” Grinding her teeth, she practically seethed in front of them before she finally jabbed a finger in his direction, roaring out her next words. “Tell me, how does it feel to be the root cause of your friends’ downfalls? How does it feel to know that this is all of your fault?!”

“Shut the hell up!” the boy cracked under the stress as her disparaging flurry struck him bullet after bullet. His heart stung from the woman’s abhorrent remarks, the pangs of an immense headache beginning to stir about his head. Yet, in that very moment, the sea of thoughts ceased their torment. His guilt transformed into a wretched armour as inhibition stirred wildly in his chest, screaming from his chest for release. “What makes you think a shitty adult like you know where I come from, how I feel, or who I am?”

Munehisa slung the other strap of his backpack over the shoulder as he met Okamoto with defiant eyes. “Maybe I am just a dumbass kid who had to go and screw over all his friends,” the boy shook his head before slowly pointing a finger towards the woman. “But even a kid knows how to take a damn joke! The fact that you’re willing to go this far… you’re a primadonna who’s long past her peak. You think you rule the roost, but sucking the principal’s dick doesn’t make you a queen– you’re nothing but a manipulative parasite!”

Miss Okamoto took a step back in shock, surprised at the boy’s outburst. “How dare you speak to your Queen that way!” she snarled. “You damn brat!!”

“Queen bee, my ass. Your crown’s about as authentic as the two balloons hanging from your chest,” Munehisa bared his fangs as the headache became almost too unbearable to withstand, his hands balling into fists. “I’m just a kid, yeah… but pieces of shit adults like you have no right to look down on kids like me!”


His body forcefully keeled over from the blades that jammed into each and every crevice of his head as a strange yet familiar voice rang in his ears. Saliva trickled from his gaping mouth as Munehisa couldn’t shut his eyes from the immense pain, reduced to his knees as the afflicted boy was subdued by the screaming from his soul.


Munehisa nearly crumbled to his side as the sensation of suffering became almost too overwhelming. Yet, the voice of his heart was clear– in that moment, he was clairvoyant. Omnipotent. Invincible. Yes, this was the truth of his inner self. “That’s right. It was always like this,” the agony ceased as the boy slowly rose to his feet. A brass-coloured venetian masquerade mask with an ornate wreath pattern surrounding the lenses adorned his face from forehead to nose. At the corners of the mask where it curved upward stretched two pairs of antlers, each about three inches long. Persona…


With firm resolve, Munehisa tore off the mask from his face from the right side, the scream of his heart made manifest as fresh blood blanketed his face. A pillar of cerulean flame enveloped the grotesque vision as immense energy rippled down the hallway, threatening Okamoto’s footing and the bees’ flight.

From the limitless blue, Munehisa stepped forward. His school uniform had transformed into a long black tailcoat decorated with brass accents, the sleeves rolled up to expose the skin of his wrist before a pair of onyx gloves. Beneath the tailcoat, he wore a fine dark green shirt with a figurate collar, sporting a golden crest that tied together a white strap above his chest. Form-fitting pants painted similarly to the color of his coat, with knee-high boots that were unaffected by the sticky terrain. [Reference kinda]

Behind Munehisa stood a tall humanoid figure that floated above him, shrouded in the azure flames that pulsed with intensity. Its head resembled a hood with a four-sided star as its face, wearing a gray hunter’s tricorn hat with a golden center between the pent and top. Its anatomy was similar to a gray ruffled front shirt, with a light purple upper cloak that blew with an imaginary wind. A strap ran diagonally across its chest, the lower portion connecting to a belt which seemed to hold the light-purple baggy upper portion of its ash-coloured breeches intact. At its feet, wore two shin-high brown medieval boots. The humanoid’s right arm extended into the hilt and straight blade of a knife for a hand, its ordinary left hand twirling a pan flute. Its appearance invoked the imagery of a medieval vigilante.

“It’s about time someone knocked adults like you down a notch,” Munehisa radiated with conviction as the makings of a polearm manifested between the fingers of his right hand. He hoisted the upper half of the weapon over his shoulder, nodding towards Okamoto. “To think you’re so willing to screw over all our lives when it’s kids like us who make the future,” the boy growled in her direction, looking between each of the giant bees. “I’ll break that stupid pipe of yours and make a crown worthy for a bitch like you!!”

Okamoto’s eyes were wide at the presence of the new entity, stalwartly frozen in place. Or perhaps it was fear that kept her in place. Her expression was a combination of both terror and fury as she glowered at Munehisa and his new friend, bristling as she pointed at the boy. “My children,” she spluttered, “Get rid of it! Now!!!”

Munehisa was no longer enfeebled by the woman’s toxicity. For the first time in his life, he felt that he was in true control– composed, focused, prepared. The truth had never been any clearer to him. Rebellion was the heartbeat of the riot that sounded from within, and it was ready. “Persona, huh?” the name of his newfound power drew past the confident smirk on his lip as he would call upon its name henceforth. “Let’s fly, Peter Pan!”

Stepping between Nagi and their adversary, Munehisa’s eye trained on each of the giant bees that approached them. His spear dematerialized for a moment as the sapphire blaze coalesced around his open palm, subconsciously aware of manifesting the power of his Persona. Stellated octahedrons of ice encircled one of the bees, shattering both the structure and its enemy into nothing but shadow.

"Persona!” the boy shouted aloud in discordance as the reflection of his spirit extended its pan flute outward, its arm recoiling as if it fired a gun. The first snap of pure energy struck one of the bees, clipping its wings and knocking it down before the second burst of the double shot finished it off. Munehisa’s spear reformed around his fingers as he leapt forward to meet the third enemy head on, dealing the bee with a precise downward slash and allowing his Persona to finish it off with a stab from its knife hand.

He evaded the fourth bee’s stinger with a surprisingly nimble backflip, though the fifth one would manage to clip Munehisa from the side. Despite being struck, he seemed to suffer no visible harm– his strange attire showed no signs of damage and no blood sprouted from the site, but it was evident from his expression that he suffered injury. Peter Pan drew on the power of ice once more as it encased the fourth bee, allowing its user to completely fracture the frozen enemy in one swing of his spear. Tossing the weapon aside into the unknown, Munehisa brandished a sniper rifle– an M40 rifle to be exact, only needing a single breath to take aim before sniping the last bee with one precise shot.

Having defeated all of the enemies for the time being, Munehisa quickly turned towards Nagi, still dialed with adrenaline. “Quick, let’s get outta here now!” he said, hoping to take advantage of Okamoto’s dumbfoundedness to make their getaway.

Obviously, Nagi really didn't want to die. In fact, she was just a bit scared shitless right now. Not that she'd admit it. If she was going to bite it, she wasn't giving Okamoto any more satisfaction than she had to. Kind of amazing how much sheer spite was doing to suppress pants-shitting terror, really. What felt almost worse right now, though, was that nothing she tried to get the heat off Mune mattered. Fuck. He didn't need to go down with her. And then the bitch started monologuing. Okay, now death almost seemed preferable to listening to this tripe.

Mune's reaction surprised her, though. And in a good way. Nagi would have bet money that he wouldn't have nutted up and told Okamoto to fuck off after that whole spiel, but he did.

And then shit got weird. A costume change, some superpowers, and was that a spear? What the fuck? Nagi found herself so baffled by the spectacle that she almost didn't notice the bees releasing her to attack Mune and his...spirit thing. Almost meant that she reached out and grabbed one of the bees that was attempting to shift its attention to him, holding it down against the ground as she started beating it savagely with a brass knuckle while watching Mune manhandle the rest. Wait, was that a gun? Holy shit, now Nagi really wanted this Persona thing that he was screaming about.

"Wait, what? We're not sticking around to kick her shit in?" Nagi gestured towards Okamoto, but nodded reluctantly. "Fine, you got the superpowers and the gun, you get to make the calls. Let's skedaddle, then." She followed after Mune as they began to run, though not before flipping Okamoto off.