Time never waits.

It delivers all equally to the same end.

You, who wish to safeguard the future,

However limited it may be…

You will be given one year;

Go forth without falter,

With your heart as your guide.

.

"Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered. We apologize to any customers in a hurry. The next stop is Iwatodai…"

Inside the New City passenger train Anehazuru sat a young girl in a school uniform, surrounded by a sea of strangers. The lone girl was in for a long ride and was lucky enough to find a vacant seat early in her journey. She turned her mp3 on to the highest volume, up to the point where her seat neighbors could hear every word the powerful female voice was singing. "I will-"

'Burn my dread.'

'I once ran away
From the god of fear
And he chained me to despair'

Tatsumi Port Island.

It was a new place, with a new school, with new friends. That was how Minako's caretaker talked of this change. The way she worded it, anyone would mistakenly follow her guidance expecting some kind of heaven. Minako, of course, was expecting the doors of hell to open soon. Why was she forced to come back here? Her aunt knew what this place meant to her. She was just sick of feeding an extra stomach and pawned her off to some school for the next year. Some family.

The train reached the end of the tunnel when the last of the daylight shined through the windows. There she could see the silhouette of the bridge. She remembered that place very well. Better than she would have liked to.

'(Burn my dread)
I will break the chain and run,
'till I see the sunlight again -

I'll lift my face,
and run to the sunlight...'

"Iwatodai. This is the final train bound for Iwatodai. Please take care to board before our departure."

The conductor's voice was drowned out by the ocean of people spilling out of the train, leaving only Minako seated, having not heard the conductor's announcement. One of her seatmates, an older man maybe mid-forties, turned back to face her, as if to give her a heads up, but the young girl seemed to move on her own, shoving her way past the man who only tried to show some common courtesy.

The large digital clock in the station flashed 11:59. She was late. She would wake up the entire dorm at this rate. A rude awakening to start off their meeting was definitely not something Minako was rooting for. It was bad enough she was here, but she certainly didn't want to make any enemies. If anything, she wanted to keep as low a profile as she possibly could. The less she bonded the fewer goodbyes she would make when she finally leaves this place in one year's time. As the seconds ticked away, an ominous feeling came over Minako. She recognized this feeling as she watched the clock change to midnight.

Everything instantly powered down, including her mp3 player. The whole lot went dark, the nearly full moon seemed to shine bigger and brighter, and the sky was dimly green. Where there used to be a sea of people now there was a sea coffins. A red blood-like substance seemed to ooze from every corner. The air was still and silent, with only an echo of her footsteps as she bravely trekked into this horror film-like environment.

.

The trip was silent. There was no other soul in sight, and it was creeping Minako out. She passed by a darkened convenience store and she swore she saw something move. She shouldn't have psyched herself out like that. She knew what kind of environment this would be. It didn't change from ten years ago.

Minako took out the map that located her new dorm and unfolded it. It was a little hard to read in the dim light, but she realized she passed the building a few blocks back. She turned back on her heels to return onto her quest to find her new home for next year. It didn't take long to find the correct building. She walked up the steps and rang the doorbell before remembering the power outage. Does she knock? Would anyone hear her if she did? Minako tested out the doorknob before anything else.

It was unlocked. The thought didn't occur to her that it might be the wrong building. Breaking and entering, here she comes.

"Welcome, I've been expecting you."

Minako turned to the side where behind a desk stood a young boy in striped pajamas. Actually, more like a prisoner's uniform. That's not a good sign. The boy had long bluish black hair that almost covered his right eye and a little mole right below his left eye. In fact, the boy seemed eerily familiar…

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time." He spoke cryptically and eerily. Chills went up and down her spine.

"If you want to proceed, then please sign here." He said, gesturing to a piece of paper of his desk. "It's a contract."

Minako was hesitant.

"What's it for?" she questioned the boy, but to no avail. He was a stubborn one, alright.

"There's no need to be scared," Um yes there is, the silent girl thought. "It only binds you to accepting the full responsibilities of your actions."

Ah. There's the catch.

Just in case the paper tried to claim any ownership of her internal organs, she gave the contract a quick read.

'I chooseth my fate of my own free will'

What is this boy setting her up for? Alas, she had no choice but to sign it, if only to make the boy go away.

The boy smiled as she placed her signature at the bottom of the contract.

"Very good.

Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away. And so it begins."

And with that incredibly obscure speech, the boy disappeared, as if melting into the darkness …

.

"Who's there?!"

A scared, feminine voice let out from the near distance as a girl ran down the stairs, scared out of her mind. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of Minako.

"How can you… but it's…"

Her eyes narrowed as she reached for the gun strapped to her thigh.

"Don't tell me… you're …"

"Wait!" Now there was another voice. This was turning into quite the first meeting.

All of a sudden, everything started again, as if nothing stopped from the very beginning. The lights flashed on and Minako's mp3 player began blaring out music, surprising the girl just a bit. Not as much as a gun to one's face, but surprising nonetheless. The third girl's face was now visible as she stood in between them, blocking the other girl from Minako's vision.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late. My apologies." She said politely. She definitely seemed civil enough, almost aristocratic. She definitely comes from a rich family. "I'm Mitsuru Kirijo, and I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

Wait, Kirijo? That name certainly rang a bell. Minako couldn't tell from where, though.

The other unnamed girl stared at Minako suspiciously. "And who's that?"

"She is a transfer student. It was a last minute decision to assign her here. She will eventually find a new dorm but for now, this was the only dorm with space for her."

Well, that's definitely a warm welcome, isn't it?

"This is Yukari Takeba, she is a junior just like you." Mitsuru motioned for the other girl, Yukari apparently, to come face her. She gave her a sheepish smile and a 'nice to meet you' as if completely ignoring the whole gun fiasco.

A few awkward seconds ticked away. Finally, Minako spoke up asking the one question both girls wanted to avoid.

"Why do you have a gun?"

Instantly, Yukari's face turned to sheer horror as she turned to Mitsuru for assistance. The older girl carried her signature smile that will get her out of any trouble.

"You know how it is these days, we need something to protect ourselves. Don't worry, it's not a real gun."

Oh, she's good. Minako still didn't believe her, but Mitsuru seemed like the kind of person who could talk her way out of anything.

"Well it's getting late. You need your rest for tomorrow." Mitsuru said. "I can guide you to your room. Your things have already arrived, so need to worry about that. Takeba, if you could turn the lights off behind us, that would be greatly appreciated."

Minako turned back towards Yukari Takeba, who still seemed a bit shaken. She probably just needed some alone time after whatever phenomenon that was that just happened. She followed Mitsuru up the staircase to the third floor. Neither spoke much, but Minako would rather have it that way anyway. They approached the last door at the end of the hallway. Mitsuru turned to face her.

"This is your room. My room is this way, should you need any more assistance." She spoke with a smile that seemed almost sincere. Or maybe it was. It was hard to tell with this kind of person.

She let Minako open her door as she turned to leave before stopping again. "Oh, and if you'll please not mention the events that occurred tonight within the school building, I would deeply appreciate it." And with that she walked to her own door before closing it gently behind her.

Minako did the same and only when she knew she was completely alone did she let out of relief.

Well, that was a lovely start to a new year.

.

The alarm clock from hell started buzzing. Why, oh why, was the alarm clock the first thing she unpacked? She could've just as easily unpacked her books or laptop, but no she had to go with the one item she deemed to be most hellish. She slammed her hand onto the clock as fast and hard as she could. She could swear she saw a little crack forming on the tiny plastic box. Minako then proceeded to wrap herself back in her blankets and was so close to dream land. Unfortunately, a knock on the door ruined it for her.

"Can I come in?" Dammit. She forgot where she was for a moment. She assumed her aunt would come bursting in their usual morning routine to force her out of bed.

Minako gathered the entire blanket around her in some sort of sluggish cocoon and reluctantly left the bed to open the door. On the other side of the door, Yukari waited. Upon first glance of the transfer student's self-made cocoon, she resisted the urge to snicker until she realized the urgency of the situation.

"You're not dressed yet? We have to leave for school." Goddammit, Minako didn't want to hate Yukari but she was ruining her sleeping time. Scratch that. School was ruining her sleeping time. She w-as so used to living right next to her old school that she would literally roll out of bed at the last second to leave.

"Sorry, but the school is a little ways off, so we need time for the trip." Yukari said with a carefree smile on her face, as if not understanding her own situation. Minako began to stare her down with her sleepy gaze before proceeding to shut the door.

"Leave without me." Was her muffled reply.

Yukari panicked. "No way! Mitsuru-sempai asked me to show you the way to school. She'll have my head if you don't show up for the first day! Please!"

Sensing her desperation,(who was this Mitsuru Kirijo to instill so much fear?) Minako decided to comply, also not wanting to make enemies with the girl who carries the (possibly fake) gun. She dressed quickly like she usually did, not forgetting to do her hair in her usual style. Fresh faced and perfectly buttoned, she exited her room and sashayed down the hallway, waiting for Yukari to follow and eventually guide her to the Iwatodai Station where she arrived from late last night.

.

Inside the city train, Minako felt a sense of déjà vu. Probably from the train ride last night.

"We have to take the monorail to get there. Bet your last school wasn't like that, huh?" Yukari chatted, well she mainly carried the conversation while Minako replied in a series of yes and no's.

"Oh, oh! This is my favorite part... when it feels like you're gliding over the sea." She exclaimed while peeking blow from the window. Out of curiosity, Minako looked alongside her. It really was as she said. It was so…

"Pretty..." It just slipped out without thinking, but Yukari caught it, and boy did she pounce.

"There! You finally something that wasn't just a yes or no. Man, you just let me talk forever. You don't say much, huh?" She asked her, with that same carefree smile. Minako replied with a sheepish smile of her own.

"I guess not. Sorry I'm not really much of a conversationalist." Minako drearily said, looking down. Yukari immediately shook her hands frantically.

"No no no. Sorry, that's not what I meant. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything!"

"Oh, it's okay. I'm pretty boring to talk to anyway..." Minako said self-deprecatingly. Yukari shook her head yet again.

"Now that's definitely not true. I find you very interesting to talk to." There's that smile again. If Yukari kept that up, Minako wouldn't mind having a friend in her. She mustered up a smile of her own to counter Yukari's. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to come up to par with Yukari's standards.

"Oh, come on. You call that a smile? You can do better than that!" She cried out, egging Minako on. "I bet you'd look even prettier when you smile."

It was hard not to be friends with Yukari Takeba.

.

"Hey Yuka-tan!"

"Mornin'!"

"Takeba-senpai!"

Minako didn't realize how popular Yukari would be. She seemed to gather all this attention to the both of them just by walking down the street. Yukari simply went with the flow and greeted everyone she passed. She knew all of these people?!

"Yukari! What's up?" A group of girls gathered by the front gate of the school yelled out to the pair of girls. Gathering by Yukari's sudden squeal and the extra bounce in her step, it seemed that these were her friends.

"Hey guys! This is Minako Arisato, she's the newest student here at Gekkoukan High. Be sure to treat her well!" And suddenly, all at once, they pounced. Where'd you come from? What was your old school like? Who is your favorite idol? Minako was bombarded with trivial questions she certainly didn't want to answer. She brushed them off, walking away without a single word. That definitely won't fly past Yukari, but Minako simply couldn't handle females in packs. She begrudgingly walked away from Yukari and the girls.

.

"Minako! Wait up!" Yukari called out to her, practically chasing after her. Minako was actually starting to feel guilty for having treated her friends like that. So much for having almost made friends with Yukari. She stopped at the front door to the school, allowing Yukari to catch up to her. She decided it was better to apologize as soon as possible better than wait it out.

"I'm sorry for leaving like that. I just… can't handle … large groups like that." Minako apologized slowly, as if her body wouldn't let the words come out. Yukari, being Yukari, accepted the apology wholeheartedly.

"No worries! I don't want you to feel uncomfortable on your first day. Listen, I actually have to get to my Archery club. Do you think you can manage from here?" Yukari asked shyly. Minako nodded her head vigorously. "Actually, you should see your homeroom teacher first. The Faculty office is in the hallway to the left. See ya, Minako-chan!" She turned around in the opposite direction.

"Oh yeah!" Yukari exclaimed, having not left yet. She returned back to Minako, a little closer than one would normally stand next to another, hushing her voice. "About last night … Don't tell anyone what you saw, okay? … See you later." And with that, she really did leave.

There were a lot of people standing in front of the bulletin board. That must have been where the classes were posted. Minako tried to cut her way through the crowd to check for herself.

"Oh great.. I have the worst teacher ever…"

"Whaaaaaat? I don't see my name. What should I do? What should I do?"

"Awww, we're different classes …. Eh, whatever …."

She finally got to the class rosters. She looked and looked, then looked again. Nothing. That certainly couldn't be good. She caught sight of a tiny orange post it note on the ground. It seemed to have fallen on the bulletin board. There, in tiny letters, was her name, 'Minako Arisato – Class F'. She scanned the class F list out of idle curiosity and caught sight of Yukari's name. Looks like they'd be in the same class.

She turned on her heels and cut through the crowds of students yet again. Minako found the faculty office in the hallway to the left, just as Yukari said it would be. This hallway certainly wasn't as crowded as the school foyer and for that, she was thankful. She wasn't lying when she said she didn't do well with large groups of people. That was what made school so difficult for Minako.

She entered the office and found it surprisingly empty save for one woman.

"Oh, are you the new student? Let's see now … Minako Arisato, 11th grade, am I correct?" The teacher asked, continuing to flip through her impressive file. Minako simply nodded her head.

"Quiet one, aren't you?" The teacher smiled. "Wow, you've lived in a lot of different places." Yeah, moving from family to family, no one wanting to keep her longer than a year. This wasn't anything new for Minako. "Let's see now… in 1999… that was what, ten years ago? Your parents-" The teacher let out a gasp. That was nothing new either.

"I'm sorry, I was so busy, and I didn't have time to read this beforehand." She was forgiven for now, as long as she didn't talk anymore.

"I'm Ms. Toriumi, and I teach Composition. Welcome to our school." The teacher kept an apologetic smile on her face as she welcomed her. Because Minako had nothing to say, she didn't.

"…." Expecting some kind of response, Ms. Toriumi let her words sit for a few seconds longer before she moved on. "Have you seen the classroom assignments? You're in 2-F; that's my class."

Joy.

"But first we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. Follow me."

Oh great. At this rate, she'll be stuck sitting next to the teachers.

Minako didn't care to listen to the old man at the podium, but she did hear the students around her whispering.

"I heard we got a transfer student."

"Yep. I've seen her, too. She came to school with Yukari." Minako didn't like the tone this boy was using. It sounded creepy and a little perverted. Luckily a teacher hushed them. But damn, rumors were starting just for walking alongside another girl! What kind of school was she stuck in?

The first after school session was about to begin when Minako was approached by another student. This one was male, wearing a not so standard uniform consisting of a blue collared shirt with the school jacket and a baseball cap. Students were allowed to wear hats in this school?

"Sup' dude?" Last time she checked, Minako wasn't a dude. The voice startled her, however, as she jumped in her seat, which of course made the teenage boy laugh.

"Haha, you look like a deer in the headlights. No need to fear, Junpei Iori at your service!" Was this guy trying to be smooth? He even bowed and everything. Minako was not impressed.

"What do you want?" She asked brutally. Junpei seemed taken aback, but would not relent.

"Hey, hey. I just wanted to talk. I was the transfer student a few years back, and I know how tough it is being the new kid… I wasn't trying to hit on you, I swear." Junpei was on the defensive.

She saw Yukari come over to them in the corner of her eye, but she didn't seem all perky and happy like Minako had seen earlier. If anything, she seemed annoyed.

"Sheesh, at it again, huh? Honestly, is there any girl you wouldn't hit on?" Yukari definitely did not like Junpei. Her comment caused Minako to shoot daggers at the lone male who pathetically tried to defend himself yet again.

"I swear I wasn't trying to hit on you!" Junpei exclaimed really loudly, causing the entire class to shift their attention to the three. Minako desperately hoped she wouldn't be stuck with these two for the rest of her school year, otherwise she could kiss her anonymity goodbye. Yukari and Junpei just seemed to be inviting attention to them and Minako was anxious to avoid it.

After saying her goodbye to Yukari, who she wanted to play nice with since they were dorming together, Minako was stuck with Junpei glued to her side, insisting he walk her home.

"Whoa, check out the jocks on their run…" He pointed out, along with about a thousand other silly comments including the teacher who seemed to be measuring girls' skirt lengths with measuring tape.

The jocks seemed to run circles around them. Minako could never imagine joining a sports club. The physical activity alone would be too much for her.

The one who was leading the pack of jocks was a tall man (boy seemed inappropriate) with silver hair and well defined muscles showing even underneath his school jersey. His forehead was bandaged and he seemed to be a bit bruised anywhere that skin was showing. Still, his physical state did nothing to deter his speed. Minako was almost mesmerized watching him lead everyone around.

"Oh? You interested in sports clubs?" Junpei asked after all the attention she was giving the jocks. Minako shook her head and kept moving forward.

"No way in hell."

.

"Welcome back." Cried out the only voice in the downstairs lounge, that of her new senpai, Mitsuru Kirijo.

Were the three of them the only ones who lived here? The dorm itself was quite large, but there was no bustle of students like she expected. It was actually quite nice, so Minako had no reason to complain. She made her way to Mitsuru, who kindly informed her that they were not allowed to leave the dorm after hours and that she should go to bed early. Why was she pushing her to go sleep? Weird. Oh well. She was tired, after all that happened today. She listened to her senpai's advice and went straight to bed.

.

"Did you hear the rumor..?" Oh great, more rumors. Did another girl walk down a street? So scandalous.

"Not only did she stop going to school, she does nothing but sit and stare at the walls all day. If her mother tries to talk to her, she only mutters to herself, 'It's coming... it's coming!'"

"Huh. How about that."

"You don't believe me…?" Well Minako definitely didn't.

.

"Junpei! Who did I say was my favorite author?" Ms. Toriumi shouted at the head of the class shocking poor Junpei out of his slumber. The boy started blubbering like a buffoon, trying to come up with an answer.

"U-ummmmm…. Psst! Minako, who does she like?" Seriously, he was asking her? Why would she take notes on the teacher's favorite things anyway? Minako rolled her eye and spewed out a name she hoped was right.

"Utsubo Kubota." Turns out it was right after all. Lucky Junpei. After saving his bacon, Minako felt a little more popular at school.

.

There was nothing to do after school, what with Yukari at archery practice and Junpei thankfully off Minako's back, so she decided to go straight to dorm. Surprisingly, Yukari was already there sitting alongside an older man with long hair and glasses.

"Oh, she's back." How did she beat Minako here? She would of questioned her had there not have been a new presence in the room.

"So this is our new guest…" Something about this man made her want to punch him in the face. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Good evening. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school." And then he cracked some awkward joke about his name. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but it may take a while longer before you receive the proper room assignment." Are these people trying to kick her out as soon as she arrives?

"Are there any questions you'd like to ask?" About a million of them. Minako decided to save some time and cut to the chase.

"Why can't I just stay here? It seems empty enough. Actually, does anyone else live here?" Her mind was bombarded with questions that they just started spilling out by themselves. The Chairman simply chuckled casually.

"Well, there is Yukari here, you, Mitsuru, and another senior named Akihiko Sanada. The only reason we were looking for other accommodations is because this is a co-ed dorm, and your aunt requested an all-female living arrangement."

"So why did you come here?"

"To welcome you, of course. Speaking of which, where's Mitsuru, Yukari?" Ikutsuki asked, sidetracking the Q & A momentarily.

"Oh, she's just upstairs."

Ikutsuki sighed. "As diligent as always. It doesn't hurt to come down and say hello.. Oh, my apologies. Do you have another question?" He asked Minako again. She felt like he was waiting for to ask one specific question. About last night. With the blood, the coffins, the weird encounter and the gun. Minako chose to ignore it. She grinned, as much as she could considering she barely smiles, and shook her head.

"Then, I hope you have a successful school year." Minako hoped she'd have a successful year of not seeing him. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." Please, by all means.

"You must be tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early." There it was again. What was it with these people and getting her to bed? It was pretty creepy, but she didn't want to put up much of a fight so she just went straight upstairs. On the way there, as she past the second floor she could've sworn she caught sight of silver hair.

.

Minako had the strangest dream the night before. She dreamt that she was the master of this huge blue elevator called the Velvet Room because she signed some contract.

Oh wait. The contract the creepy boy made her sign…

She also remembered a strange man with an abnormally long nose gave her a key. Minako glanced down to her right hand which clutched something cold and metal. Without a doubt in her mind, this was the key she was given in her dream. Did this mean it really wasn't a dream? Was she just sleeping walking? She just couldn't figure this out.

Whatever it was, that was some weird dream.

.

"Hey! Minako wait up!" A voice from behind her called out. Yukari left early for her club so that could only mean….

And she was correct. Junpei Iori trudged along towards her at the front of the school gate.

"Yo. Man am I tired… I guess I could have a little cat nap in class."

"Yeah because that's exactly what your grades need." Oops. She usually said the sarcastic part on the inside rather than the outside. Junpei seemed to ignore the little dig and kept the conversation flowing.

"You ever notice how sometimes taking a nap in class makes you feel more refreshed than seeping at home?"

"Actually… yes. Yes I do."

"Right? You go from dead to being completely full of energy again. It's such a great feeling."

"You're still hurting your grades, dude." Damn, Junpei's lingo was rubbing off on her.

"… Then again, I'm not listening to the lecture anyway, so I'm screwed either way!"

"… you sound so proud of it."

.

The entirety of the school day was pretty uneventful. Minako caught Junpei taking that catnap like he said he would. Minako then found herself taking a nap of her own. Junpei really was right about feeling refreshed from a nap in school. She felt more awake then she did after a good eight hours of sleep.

After school, Minako met up with Yukari, who decided to show her around town. Though Minako had lived here before, it was over ten years ago and so many things had changed. A tour could definitely help. They had now reached Paulownia Mall which was conveniently located nearby the school.

"Have you been here before? A lot of Gekoukan students come here after school." Yukari asked at the start of their tour.

"If I have been here, I don't remember it." Minako answered dryly.

"Did you really live here before? You don't seem to know the area pretty well. Then again all of Tatsumi Port Island is pretty new, so maybe it was built after you left." She asked and answered her own question. That was certainly handy. This way, Minako didn't have to talk to about herself or her past. She definitely didn't want to go there.

Yukari then proceeded to point out the various attractions that lay in Paulownia Mall. There was an arcade, a karaoke box, a café, and a nightclub. Minako wasn't too interested in the karaoke or the night club, but all in all, Paulownia Mall seemed like a pretty comfortable place to relax. It was littered with various other students who had the same idea as the girls. For the moment, they settled on the café and decided to continue with the tour another time.

It was beginning to get dark and the girls had an early curfew so they left after spending maybe a half hour in the café. It was Mitsuru yet again to greet them. When would Minako meet her other dormmate? It seemed like he was the only male living in the co-ed dorm. Minako didn't really interact well with most men, not including Junpei for reasons unknown, so she was very anxious to meet the sole male living in her dorm. At this rate, it seemed like she would never meet him.

It was a full moon, which didn't really seem like much to Minako, who was impressed by nothing. Mitsuru mentioned reading a book by the moonlight. Huh. She didn't peg Mitsuru to be such a romantic.

Without waiting to be told, she went straight to bed, though in this dorm, someone would have not so subtly mentioned it. It was a little weird how obsessed everyone here was with their bed time. At least, that was what Minako assumed it to be. Why else would they try to govern her sleep the way they've been doing the past two days? It's not like they wanted to watch her sleep or something.

Minako was exhausted so it didn't take long for her to sleep. She did not have a restful sleep, however, and found herself waking up in the middle of the night. In her sleepy daze, Minako heard the sound of footsteps stomping around in the halls. Now fully awake, she shot off of bed, and was about to yell at whoever was doing it to shut the fuck up when that same person pounded on her door. Officially pissed off, Minako opened the door ready to attack.

It was Yukari on the other side of the door, but that didn't calm Minako's rage. Fortunately for Yukari, there was no time to bite her head off and she pulled Minako by the arm, thrusting something into her other. It was an incredibly long staff-like object with a blade at the end. A naginata.

"There's no time to explain. We're in danger just standing here!"

What. The hell. Is happening.

"Follow me!" She yanked her down the hallway without explaining a word. Why did she just hand her a weapon? Was she supposed to use it?! And on what?! What the hell was happening?!

.

Yukari dragged her downstairs first.

"We should be safe here.." Safe? Safe from what?! As soon as they stopped moving the front door began to rattle, freaking Minako out even more.

"L-let's pull back!" Immediately the two girl ran yet again, this time to the second floor. Wait, why were they going up? Yukari pulled Minako towards … the roof? They'll be sitting ducks out there!

"The door's locked. I think we're safe for now." Yukari sighed out of relief. Minako was not as calm.

"Safe? We're stuck here! And just what the hell is going on?! We're freaking under attack here!"

Just then, the girls heard a roar come from below. A single slimy black arm reached over the ledge of the rooftop. Then, Minako caught sight of a face that will probably haunt her future nightmares. A second arm was holding a hollow blue mask with the Roman numeral I inscribed on its forehead. The entirety of its body was made up of arms. Almost resembling a spider, six- or was it eight- of the arms acted the legs. The rest each carried various weapons- rapiers, Minako believed they were called. But that didn't matter. What mattered is that it was going to kill them.

"That's that thing that attacked this place… we call them Shadows!" Seriously?! Yukari was giving an explanation now at the face of death?!

"O-oh yeah ... I have to fight... I can summon mine … no problem…" Yukari began to mumble to herself. Despite her strong demeanor, there was something that truly freaked her out, and Minako was starting to realize why. Yukari took the gun from her holster, the same gun she almost used the night Minako arrived. However, instead of pointing it to the shadow she …. Put it up to her forehead?! She was going to shoot herself!

Yukari began hyperventilating. Wait. She didn't want to do it? Before she could reach the trigger, the monster attacked, sending some sort of fire attack her way.

"Yukari!"

The gun was knocked out of her hand and scooted towards Minako. It landed at her feet, and she picked it up, determined to avenge Yukari. As soon as she did, everything seemed to become clearer, and the motions just came to her naturally.

It's not a real gun. That's what Mitsuru said.

"Thou art I, and I am thou." A voice echoed in her head, waiting for her to pull the trigger.

She did just as Yukari did, and brought the gun to her head. With her left hand to her heart, she pulled the trigger.

A man appeared, only it didn't really seem like a man. He was blue and silver, almost robotic, and he had his hair parted to completely cover his right eye. On his back was some kind of instrument. A harp? No, it was much too small for that, a lyre.

His name was Orpheus. Minako just knew.

And the rest of that night was all a blur.

.

If anyone finds this story familiar, that is because this used to be "She's One Brooding Mystery" reposted, renamed and re-edited. I grouped half the chapters together, fixed small mistakes, and added a few sentences here and there.