Tuesday, February 14, 2030, Kimetsu Academy, 7:30 AM
Kanao had just entered the classroom, followed by Ozaki and Murata. The three were chatting about coconut crabs and how Murata cooked and ate one by accident, thinking it was just a weird-colored lobster.
"The thing tasted disgusting. Ever since then, I swore to never go ANYWHERE near its habitats in the Indo-Pacific." Murata said. Ozaki just laughed, headed towards her desk.
Isekai was asleep on his table, and Tanjiro noticed. He went over, and poked him until he was awake. Unfortunately, he just sleep-talked, muttering: "You wanna fuckin' talk? We'll fucking talk when you're dead, ya piece of shit..." as Tanjiro facepalmed, then splashed a handful of water on him. Isekai snapped awake, asking: "Who's that? Am I in a beach? Did coconut crabs eat my ves- I mean, me?"
Tanjiro just chuckled, replying: "It's just me, no, you're not in a beach, and no, you haven't been eaten by coconut crabs." Isekai sighed in relief, muttering: "Thank God, those things are terrifying."
Tanjiro lightly shook his head, then asked him: "Anyway, do you have anyone for Valentine's Day?" to which Isekai thought about, but replied: "Nope." Tanjiro asked: "Are you sure? Don't you have a crush on Aoi or something? You two are like, ultra-close."
Isekai looked at him with the face that says "Bro, you high or somethin'?" then asked: "Bitch, do I look like I got feelings for Aoi to you?" as Tanjiro muttered "No." in response. Isekai sighed, then asked: "What're you getting Kanao for Valentine's Day? You two have been together for 3 months now."
Tanjiro answered: "I got her the classic chocolate box, then got her a bag of her favorite dango flavor. I plan to take her on our third date tonight." and to this, Isekai perked his head up. "A date, you say?" he asked. Tanjiro said: "Yeah. I don't have a lot of money though, so I may have to suspend this, my family isn't that well-off, and I don't wanna ask anyone to cover some of my expenses..."
Isekai slammed his hands on his desk, grabbed him by his collar, then said: "Did you just say you don't have enough money? I ain't mad that you're probably not that well-off, but I'm mad that you probably didn't ask someone to help. Dude, you're my best fucking friend. If you want a bit of money to take your girl on a date, just ask me! I'll help you in financial ends. Five-star restaurant? I got you! A luxurious cab? Ring me up! Fancy clothing? Come up to me and say it to my face! What I'm trying to say is, I'll fucking help you, dude. I have too much money on my hands, and I don't wanna spend it on JUST myself. Sure, I'd like to have luxurious things like comfy couches, or pillows with goose-down on them, comfy bear rugs, a huge villa, oh yeah, speaking of which, I'm gonna have one built soon. But I'll help anyone who might need a bit of extra money. Just ask me, and I'll help you with it! Alright?"
Tanjiro was crying a little, then hugged his friend. "Thanks, man. I would not ask for a better friend." Isekai replied: "Yeah. Now get the hell out there, and ask her out, you dumbass." The hug was broken, and Tanjiro went to ask Kanao out. Before he could open his mouth, Isekai hit record on his phone, stuffed it to his pocket, and then stood behind both of them.
"Hey, Kanao." Tanjiro greeted. "Oh, hey there. Uhm... do you need anything?" Kanao asked. Tanjiro took a deep breath, then asked if she wanted to go on another date. Kanao gleefully said: "Sure!" then kissed him on the lips. Aoi spotted, and was quick enough to spot a photo. "Hoho..." she muttered. Tanjiro then nervously asked: "...how does 7:30 s-sound?" as she nodded, in agreement.
After the two separated for a while, Isekai and Aoi ran up to each other, ready to give the news about their spying. "Isekai, I got a pic!" with Isekai overlapping, his words being: "I got a voice recording!"
Isekai let Aoi go first, and they saw the picture. They high-fived, then Isekai whispered: "I'll let you in on what I got. Just meet me in the library as soon as we got time." as Aoi nodded, then the two went to their desks.
Soon...
Kanae entered the room, no book in hand. She had announced that there will not be any form of lessons today, and that the students were free to kick back and relax. "Oh, and, one more thing. There'll be a couples dance an hour after lunchtime, so get your dresses and suits ready!" she announces as she sits down on her desk, pulls out her phone, and challenges Murata to a game of Powerload Ruckus (Powerload Ruckus is a made-up game where you pit characters against the world. You can upgrade your characters and level up their Power Tree, which sometimes gives them certain buffs that can turn the tide in a battle. There's story battles, and PvP, and of course, events.).
Isekai left the room, following Kanae, then split with her to head to the library.
Kimetsu High Library, 8:00 AM
Upon arrival, Aoi was waiting for him near a bookshelf. She closed her book, put it back, and ran towards her best friend. "Hey! So, uh, where's the kettle?" she asked, referring to the info of Tanjiro's upcoming date. Isekai pulled out his phone, unlocked it, then whispered: "Here, just listen to the voice recording. I hid it in my pocket during recording, so you can only hear them talking." as he opened his Gallery, scrolled through a small amount of self-recorded videos, then reached the file. He opened it, and the voice recording played.
The events of Tanjiro's plans on voice were playing, allowing both Isekai and Aoi to listen to when and where their date would take place. When they were done discussing their plans to spy on them, they went back into the classroom, only to be met by a smiling Nezuko at the doorway.
She asked them, "Do you know where Kanao is? Tanjiro wants me to deliver his gift to her." Isekai raised his eyebrow, then said, "She's not here? I could've sworn she was in the classroom with you dolts when I left, no?" Nezuko shook her head, replying: "She was, but she weirdly disappeared after I looked away for 3 seconds. All that was left in the floor after that was a puddle of water that smelled like it was in a pot for days."
Isekai shrugged, then suggested: "Maybe let's ask Shinobu if she knows where Kanao is." The other two nodded, then went upstairs, only to be greeted by the same upperclassmen that Tanjiro, Kanao and Isekai beat down in the cafeteria.
One of them just asked, "Recognize us, brat? Shindo Kokoro." as he introduced himself, in assumption that they may not have remembered, and might ring a bell. Isekai thought about who this Shindo Kokoro person may be, but he shrugged, and just said "Doesn't ring a bell."
Shindo got confused, then tried to remind them further. "Class 3-D? #6 on the all-time leaderboard in educational scores?" Small chatter bloomed among the three of them, the concept being: "Who is this guy?" as he just sighed, ready to put himself up for humiliation for saying these eleven words. "...the leader of those guys you beat up in the cafeteria?"
Isekai snapped his fingers, then said: "Ah, now I remember. I beat your scrawny ass real good back there, didn't I?" as he broke out into a light chuckle. Shindo was no doubt angry about the insult, and broke out into yelling. "LISTEN, KID. I TOLD YOU WE WOULD SHOW YOU WHO'S BOSS. AND INSTEAD OF JUST ACCEPTING THAT WE'RE BETTER THAN YOU, YOU DECIDED TO HUMILIATE US IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! BECAUSE OF THAT, I NOT ONLY HAD DETENTION FOR A WEEK, I HAD EXTRA HOMEWORK, AND WORST OF ALL, SHINOBU DUMPED ME!" he ranted angrily, then drew out and unfolded a folding knife. "That's it. I'm not gonna stand here yelling out my sob story to a bunch of shit-roaches like you. I'mma kill ya right here, kid. You are so dead to me," he swore, maniacal face equipped as he began swinging. With barely an effort, Isekai just kept dodging. "Dude, are you that bad? If you're an upperclassman, you would have hit me five times already," Isekai said. Shindo eventually got sick of it, and drew out a gun. Isekai was quite shocked, Nezuko got scared, and Aoi just ran off.
"Woah, woah, woah there! Hold it, Shindo! Don't pull the trigger, man! Do you know what could happen to you other than being expelled if you kill this k-" one of his companions tried to say as he was interrupted by Shindo shooting him instead. "OH, MY GOD! MY LEG! MY LEG! WHY DID YOU SHOOT ME?!" he screamed in agony, questioning Shindo's move. The latter glared at him, then tried to say: "You don't tell me what to do, ye fuckin' idiot. I'm gonna kill this kid, and there's nothing you could do-" as he was interrupted by Isekai kicking the gun out of his hands, then busted one of his kneecaps with a stomp.
"DAH! Ow, God damn it! Ugh, my knee! What is wrong with you, dude?!" he asked. Isekai raised one of his eyebrows, then questioned his words. "Dude, what do you mean 'what is wrong with me'? You literally just tried to fire a real gun at me. Not only that, but you turned on your ally, who was trying to stop you from getting into jail or something like that. Nezuko, hold him to the ground. And the rest of you, unless you want that same damn thing happening to you, I recommend you head back to Class 3-D where you belong, jackasses," he suggested. The other 2 who were currently unharmed ran back to their classroom. Aoi came back out and stood in the middle of the stairway.
After that was sorted out, Sanemi came running up the stairs, concerned about the gunshot he heard. "IS THERE A SCHOOL SHOOTING?! WHO'S DOING THIS?! I SWEAR TO- huh?" Sanemi asked, trying to process what he's seeing. "You three, tell me what happened."
Isekai, Aoi and Nezuko explain the events that occurred.
Sanemi nodded, pretty much understanding the situation. "So let me get this straight. You were going up the stairs to find someone who could help you, and this guy tries to shoot you because of a grudge?" he asked, picking up the gun. Isekai nodded. Sanemi just facepalmed, sighed, then told them they could go where they needed to, and carried the two towards Mitsuri's office.
Classroom 3-A
Shinobu closed a trashcan, and as she was about to sit down, a knock on the door was heard. She went over to open it, and was greeted by a half-asleep Isekai, a slightly scarred Aoi, and a visibly worried Nezuko. "...can I help you three?" she asked. Nezuko nodded, then asked if she knew where Kanao may have gone. Nezuko recalled the details and events that went through before her sudden disappearance.
After she heard: "Water that smelled like it was in a pot," her mind broke, and she began to sweat. Isekai raised his eyebrow, noticing her sudden change in vibe. "Shinobu, something wrong?" he asks. Shinobu began to mutter "No, no, no no no..." as they were getting more concerned about what they may be told by her.
She told the others to follow her into a room. When they entered, she sat down and tried to recall what she was gonna say. Shinobu composed herself, then spilled a little bit of intel. "As of a few days ago, there have been disappearances in town at random times of day. In broad daylight, the beautiful times of afternoon, even the darkest shades of night. Some people said that when they took their eyes off another for a brief moment, everything felt normal. But, when they looked back at the person, they were gone, and all that was left when they were gone was a puddle of water where they were last standing."
Isekai ended up getting freaked out. "We don't know what those bastards could be doing to her. We need to find Kanao, NOW. She and Tanjiro have a date planned for tonight, and I won't let ANYTHING stop it from happening," he said, eyes burning brightly with nothing but determination.
Shinobu nodded, knowing this was her sister, even if adoptive, in trouble. She decided to go with them on the search.
To be continued...