May 1st, Friday
Evening
Angel and Tao spent quite a lot of time together. The moon had nearly peaked by the time they returned to Tatsumi Port Island and began heading to their respective dorms. . .
As the young man grasped the handle to the Boy's Dorm, a familiar voice called to him.
"Akeboshi-kun."
Gazing over his shoulder, Angel was met by the moonlit form of Rio Iwasaki, dressed in her monochrome volleyball uniform with her tanto blade strapped to her hip.
". . . Give me a moment. I don't like fighting in my school uniform." By the time the more experienced fighter returned, the Dark Hour had begun.
—
Soon, dim greens overtook the city as the Shadows lurked on the streets. . . Only tonight was different. Their numbers compared to nights prior had doubled, almost tripled. . .
Angel couldn't help but compare it to the night almost a month ago.
The young man watched on as Rio rushed through a group of Mayas, her Intrepid Knight barreling through the Shadows, a single swing of its lance wiping them out. . .
"You seem stressed." Akeboshi remarked as he stepped towards Iwasaki, the girl huffing and puffing after a long night of rushing into battle without a second thought. . .
". . . I am." Rio murmured, letting out one last deep breath before dismissing the Ray of Light, the Knight vanishing in a flash as she lost her balance, legs giving out. Her partner quickly jumped forward and caught her, leaning her against himself. . .
"You over did it. Let's take a break." Angel muttered, only for the ravennette to pull herself out of his grasp.
"If you're still up and running, so am- ngh!" The girl winced and lost her footing yet again, the redhead letting her fall to prove his point.
"Injuries here are serious, Iwasaki." The sixteen-year-old stood beside her, slowly holding out his hand. "If you try to push yourself more than you are now, you'll be out of it for days." He warned grimly.
Angel could almost feel just how much it pained Rio to even acknowledge that she had to sit down and catch her breath, that she had to rest. . .
". . . Okay." She begrudgingly reached out and took his hand, the boy lifting her from the ground and helping her walk down the street.
"Let's fine some place safe. . . Then we can talk."
—
That safe zone just so happened to be Naganaki Shrine. The vibrant red glow of the gateway to the Scarlet Room lit the shrine, emitting a majestic hum that reverberated across the reaches of the Dark Hour. . .
"It's so dark here. Are you sure it's safe?" Rio questioned, warily glancing at the distant Tartarus, the tower poking at the half moon in the sky.
". . . Can she not see the Scarlet Room?" Aris wondered. "Agi." A small flame formed in the palm of his hand, lighting up the world for Rio Iwasaki.
The soft orange glow gently tinted the patches of grass surrounding the shrine, Angel Akeboshi seated himself on the edge of the well while his friend leaned against it. . .
"How much longer till the Dark Hour ends. . .?" Rio asked quietly, just barely loud enough for the Magic-User to hear.
"Not long. Plenty of time for us to talk about what's got you so worked up." The redhead answered blankly, noticing the ever so slight flinch in Rio's expression. . .
After a brief moment of silenced, a sigh left her mouth, deciding to just give in.
"It's just. . . volleyball team stuff." The Captain of the team mumbled in a mixture of irritation and depression, the latter winning the tug of war in her heart.
"Go on. . ."
"Do you. . . I mean, I want our team to be the best, but. . ." The teen gazed down to the tanto knife in her hands, the blade refracting the light of Angel's flame. "Do you think it's wrong of me to expect the same from the girls? To expect them to at least try. . .?"
". . . Do you?"
"Of course not!" Rio cried, tightly gripping her weapon. "If you're going to join the team, then you should do your absolute best! You should put in the effort! If you don't, then it's just a waste of time!"
The girl let out a harsh breath following the outburst, shutting her eyes and leaning her head against the base of the well. . .
"I love volleyball. . . It was just a hobby growing up, but it's so much more than that now." The blade fell from her hands and clinked against the ground, drenched in her shadow.
But it's no fun playing it alone. . .
Rio Iwasaki groaned quietly, a pulse of soreness coursing through her body. She took a moment to breathe, her chest heaving up and down as she awaited for the pain to fade. . .
"So, you're lonely." Angel deduced, the flame crackling as it doubled in size, the deep orange light seemingly swatting away the dark shadows.
"Yeah. . . I guess. . . I don't even why I'm telling you this. . . We barely know each other." The raven-haired athlete whispered, leaning her chest against her knees and wrapping her arms around her legs.
"Isn't it obvious?" The young man hopped onto his feet and faced his partner, holding the flame at his side, illuminating his gentle smile. "Why else have you been running around every night with your kohai?"
The girl was lucky the fire managed to hide just how red her cheeks had become. . . Originally, it was just a desire to save the Fallen from Apathy Syndrome, but it quickly became more than that.
She may not have known Angel Akeboshi that long, or all that well, but he'd been by her side since she'd entered this new world.
Rio wasn't alone during the Dark Hour. . .
"We are friends, right?" He asked with a slight tilt to his head.
The Bossy & Deadly Outside Hitter of the Volleyball Team just gave him a small smile of her own. . . .
———————————————————————
May 2nd, Saturday
At the break of dawn, the stars closest to Earth awoke. Angel Akeboshi was met by the day's first rays of sunlight.
Resting on his windowsill was the ethereal, crimson butterfly. . .
". . . Just. . . what are you. . .?"
—
The moment the after school bells rang, Angel was out the doors and on the first train to Iwatodai. Soon, he had returned to Naganaki Shrine. . .
. . . and walked through the gates to the Scarlet Room.
The world around him vanished in a shimmer of light as millions of glass shards began to float in an endless void. They began to collide, to put themselves together, to forge the labyrinth of mirrors. . .
The scarlet lights flashed to life as the guest of the Scarlet Room began to traverse the mirror maze.
". . . So you came." Tatsuya Suou greeted, seated with his legs propped up on the table.
"The Butterfly called me here." Akeboshi replied as he entered the room, his chair appearing at the snap of the host's fingers.
"I was hoping for that. I have no idea when the beacon comes and goes." The old guest of the Velvet Room sighed as he sat upright, gesturing for his own guest to have a seat.
"What's this about Suou-"
"Tatsuya. Call me Tatsuya." The Man in Red requested, the boy in front of him blinking in shock for a moment before slowly nodding. . .
"Call me Angel, then. . . What's going on, Tatsuya?"
The resident of the Scarlet Room took a deep breath, the mirrors forming the walls of the chamber becoming translucent, blurry, the glass shrouded in fog. . .
"I've told you before, I don't know much, nor can I venture into your world. . ." Tatsuya began, the mist atop the mirrors churning, clearing ever so slightly. "As you can see, I have quite a lot of time on my hands. . . And a lot of mirrors reflecting my face back at me."
Angel stood, approaching one of the many fog covered mirrors. . . and seeing the feint, barely noticeable semi-circle displayed on the other side of the glass.
". . . It's a moon. . ." Akeboshi realized. It was a half-moon, just like the night prior.
"Every month, after the Third Quarter Moon, the mirrors become like this, and countdown to the Full Moon before turning back into ordinary mirrors. . ." Suou glanced up to the light on the ceiling, his hazel eyes reflecting the deep scarlet. "The Full Moon is important, but I don't have the means to discover how important, or what they even mean."
"So you want me to find out?" The guest inquired, tearing his eyes away from the reflective glass.
"Well, yes. But again, we don't know what they mean." The man shook his head. "Its very clearly a sign of something, but what that is, is beyond me. It could very well be a warning. You have to be careful."
Tatsuya met Angel's gaze, eyes filled to the brim with worry.
Prepare yourself.
For anything, Angel.
———————————————————————
Velvet Path
The Dark Hour began, and as Minato Arisato slept, his skin began to tingle. His heart began to quicken its beats, and his breathing became labored.
His eyes shot open and he shot out of bed, jerking his head towards the presence in his room. . .
Easy. It's just me. . .
It was the mysterious boy, dressed in the same black and white stripes as before. The ocean blue eyes of the child bore into Minato's soul as the teen recovered from his fright. . .
"How have you been? Good. I hope. . ." The sudden somber tone on the black haired boy tugged at the bluenette's heart strings, a wave of worry washing over him.
"I'm. . . good." Arisato whispered softly.
"That's great. . ." The child smiled and then disappeared, reappearing in an instant on the windowsill, leaning onto it and gazing up to the half-moon. . . "One week from now, there will be a Full Moon."
"What?"
"Be careful. A new ordeal awaits you. . ." The mysterious boy went on.
"What about the Full Moon?" Minato asked louder, eyes narrowed in confusion.
"On such days, you will face your greatest challenges." The boy informed seriously, returning his piercing gaze to the older boy's soul. "You must prepare for the ordeal, but time is of the essence. . . I'm sure you're aware of that, of course."
"The Full Moon. . . an ordeal. . ."
"I'll come see you again when it's over. . ." The child smiled once again and began to fade away.
Goodbye, for now.
———————————————————————
May 4, Monday
Dark Hour
The members of SEES rose up the steps of yet another floor of Tartarus. . . only this time, they were presented with something far different from the winding corridors of the dungeons below.
"Woah, what's up with that gate?!" Junpei exclaimed as they arrived in a dark blue, boxed room.
A bright silver gate was erected before the large steps at the edge of the room, a golden lock holding it shut. The room itself was cluttered, papers and files strewn about the scattered cardboard boxes.
"A better question would be what all this stuff is. . .?" Yukari mumbled, leaning her bow against a large tower of boxes and grabbing a random paper.
She couldn't read it. It wasn't written in Japanese, or English, or. . . any language that she could recognize.
"Okay, I know I don't pay attention all that often in Toriumi's class, but I can't be this bad at Japanese." The easy-going man laughed and held up a file folder he picked up. "Can anyone read this?"
The Leader took his hands off the gate blocking the way and turned to his team, stepping on a random paper. . . He leaned down and picked it up, whipping it at the air to straighten it out a little.
Minato's blue eyes began to scan the page. . .
The electricity's hooked up. But, why do they need so much? There's only a school on this island. . .
"I can read it just fine." The bluenette announced, the archer and swordsman facing him with wide eyes as he began to read aloud.
"Well. . . Now I'm just more confused." Junpei chuckled nervously, walking over to see if the paper their leader was holding was any different from there's. "Hey, how'd you even read this thing? It looks just like ours!" He yelled.
"No, it's in. . ." Arisato's abrupt silence prompted the brunette to walk over as well, soon becoming just as confused as Junpei.
"Um, are you okay, Arisato-san. . .?" Takeba asked worriedly, watching as Minato's eyes endlessly ran up and down the paper.
He could read it. He couldn't recognize the language. The unique swirls of the characters, the sharp corners of the ink, it was so. . . alien.
And yet, so familiar. Minato Arisato knew exactly what it said, recognizing it so easily he had to look twice to realize it wasn't his native tongue. . .
"Can you two promise me to not mention this anyone?" The Leader wished, Junpei and Yukari sharing concerned looks before facing Minato. . .
"Why?" They asked together.
"Because. . ."
I don't know how I know.
The first clue they had found about Tartarus, about the Dark Hour, had only raised even more questions.
———————————————————————
Scarlet Path
May 6th, Wednesday
Rio Iwasaki could only sigh when only Tao Isonokami arrived for practice that afternoon. She supposed she shouldn't complain however, at least there was one person who seemed to be trying.
Regardless of skill level.
"Heh. . . Uh, game four?" Tao asked, scratching her head. Rio just laughed. . .
"Hey! Can I borrow some of your guys' tape?" A dark skinned girl with black hair entered the gym, waving a tad excessively. Yuko Nishiwaki blanched as the two girls awkwardly stared at her. "Oh wow, uh. . . There really isn't a lot of you here, huh?"
". . . No, no there isn't." Iwasaki said bitterly.
"I wonder where they heard about that group date. . .?" Yuko asked no one in particular. Tao immediately felt a pressure impose itself upon her, turning to Rio and realizing that the Captain was NOT happy. . .
"You idiot!" It was then that the rest of the volleyball team made their return.
". . . Group date?" Their captain's glare was frightening to them all. . .
"Ohhhh. . . Y-You didn't know. . ." Nishiwaki backed up, Isonokami following suit as a heated argument broke out.
—
It did not take long for things to escalate, and by the end of it, everyone was gone. The girls had walked out on her before, but never had they done so whilst practically cursing Rio's name. . .
Her rage had faded away, replaced by a crushing sense of loneliness. . . It took just about everything she had to not just fall to her knees and scream. . .
"Um. . ." A short breath escaped the captain's lips.
"Why are you still here, Isonokami. . .? Just leave, I won't blame you. . ." Rio questioned incredulously, despite hoping and hoping that the newest member of the team wouldn't leave her all alone.
". . . That's not happening." Tao declared vehemently, her senpai struggling to hold back tears.
Thank you.
—
Tao was never one to stay up late, always quick to get her work done and be in bed to get as much sleep as she could.
She always assumed it was just her being lazy, but once the clock hit 9:00, her eyelids would become heavy and exhaustion would pile onto her.
So when Isonokami got caught up doing homework late, it never occurred to her just how late it truly was until she finished.
For once, the ravennette wasn't drowsy. . . and it was 11:30. When she realized, she was quick to change into her nightgown and collapse into bed. . . but, sleep wouldn't take Tao.
Time went on, until the other flow of time began. The world dimmed, blues becoming red, whites and yellows becoming green, and the light becoming darkness. . . .
—
Tao Isonokami awoke within the Dark Hour.
———————————————————————
(A little short, but I had to do some set up before taking on the first Full Moon.)