Sooooooooo …. I kinda started rewriting the very first chapter. For the readers who wanted me to continue where I left off, I'm sorry but I think I wrote myself into a corner. And the only way to get out of it is to start all the way from the beginning. I don't want to continue writing and spoil whatever plans I have for this fic. I gotta keep you guys on the edge of your seat.
I'm posting what I have so far as a sneak peek to get you guys pumped up and some others to be on board my rewriting plan. The new version will be more dramatic and angsty but I will still have Minako spouting out her sarcastic quips because I like her that way. I am trying my best to bring new angles into this story so that the story isn't exactly like game. You will be able to read one of those angles in this sneak peek!
Without further ado, here is the peek to the new version of "The Masks We Wear", which I'm not sure what to rename.
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"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…"
Shit. She was almost there.
Inside the New City passenger train Anehazuru sat a young girl in a school uniform, surrounded by a sea of strangers. The pony-tailed brunette was in for a long ride and was lucky enough to find a vacant seat early in her journey. Not she would show happiness for any aspect of this trip. Her stomach turned at the thought of her destination. She turned her mp3 onto the highest volume to calm her nerves, 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. Iwatodai. Gekkoukan High. It was a whole 'new' world for her.
Yeah. Right.
Why was she going back there?
"I-It's a very respectable school, Minako-chan. It would bring you closer to Tokyo University! I know you'll do great things there."
Bullshit. They just wanted to get her as far away from their family as possible. Minako Arisato had been bounced around from home to home long enough to know when she'd overstayed their welcome. Which often wasn't long. Tokyo University? It was never her dream. Just another ploy to send her away. Nobody cared about her anymore. The ones who did were long gone now.
The train reached the end of the tunnel when the lights of the city skyline against the midnight blue sky 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...'
Dammit, if only she could run. If only she had the courage to run.
"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 11:58.
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. Or friends. The less friends she made, the better reason to leave as soon as the year was up.
The seconds wasted away. Minako could hear the ticking clock echo through her ears.
'11:59.'
Wait a minute. The station's clock was digital. There was no clockwork inside to make a sound. So where was the sound coming from? The ticking grew louder. A ghostly moan sounded louder and louder by the second. And then everything stopped.
'12:00.'
The lights powered down first. The smallest hum of a power line Minako wouldn't have heard before turned down. Though she had her eyes wide open, all she could see was pitch black. Then, it was almost as if her eyes seemed to reset themselves into night-seeing vision. Her environment was now just barely visible and tinted a deep shade of green. But that's wasn't the only odd thing.
The sea of people that previously occupied the station lobby have disappeared, leaving Minako alone with a cemetery's worth of coffins. Her breathing turned ragged.
She had seen this before.
"Ah… ah …." Her panting grew louder. She was surrounded by them. Her first instinct was to run, so that's exactly what she did. Minako zigged and zagged around the coffins as fast as she could with the station entrance as her destination. Then her foot slipped. She could feel the shock of pain as her ankle twisted in a way no body part should go. The pain of her injury sent Minako down to the ground, sitting in the puddle that caused her fall. She had her eyes shut tightly while she breathed through the pain. When she opened her eyes, however, all she found was a vision of bright red. The puddle that she slipped in….. the stains it produced on her skin…. Everything was red.
She screamed.
.
Turn the clock just a few minutes back.
Outside the station doors, a young man leaned against a column. His calm and demeanor coupled with his broad and muscled physique certainly made him quite a head-turner. The passengers of the late arriving train, female and male alike, agreed. The silver-haired man caused many faces to blush just from passing by him, and yet his gaze would not break away from the station's entrance.
'She's late.'
Akihiko Sanada broke his staring contest with the door to look down at his watch. It was almost midnight. Which meant he had to kill more time during the Dark Hour. Perfect.
Why did Mitsuru ask him to pick up the transfer student again? Welcoming new students was a task more suited for the Student Council President than for the self-denied protein junkie. Not that Mitsuru was elected yet, but the election's pretty much in the bag for her. Even Takeba, the social butterfly that she was, was more suited for this kind of duty. Akihiko grumbled quietly to himself as the Dark Hour passed over him. He wasn't even phased by the transition anymore. The people that passed by him earlier has already transmogrified and he didn't even blink. He simply sighed and shifted in place.
'What should I do for the next hour?' He thought to himself as he looked up at the nearly full moon.
That's when the sound of a scream on the other side of the door. And he immediately leapt into action.
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Ta-dah!