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“Would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?”
Kotone blinked a few times before she looked up in thought. She pursed her lips before she shook her head. “Okay, I’m stumped.” She said, flashing a bright grin. “That’s a good riddle!”
She heard Yukari sigh from somewhere on her right.
Mitsuru chuckled and nodded. “I’m not surprised by your reaction.” She said, giving a soft smile. “But it’s the truth. You’ve even experienced it firsthand yourself.”
“I… have?”
Mitsuru nodded again. “Do you remember the first night you arrived?”
Kotone opened her mouth, only to jolt as the building shook. She blinked before glancing around curiously. She noticed the others doing the same.
“What was that?” Yukari asked, standing up. “An earthquake?”
Akihiko shook his head. “An earthquake would’ve lasted longer, this was… This sounded like something just rammed into the building.”
Kotone pursed her lips. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Just then, the door to the command room was kicked open, the top hinge flying off as the door slammed into the wall, denting it in. The entire group jumped—Ikutsuki yelped, and everyone’s attention went towards the… boy?
He was about Akihiko’s height, maybe a bit taller. He had messy black hair, a black jacket, dark pants and brown shoes. He looked around, breathing surprisingly even for someone who just, y’know, indented a door into a wall. He furrowed his brow before his gaze landed on Kotone, and the auburn-haired girl felt a chill run down her spine as those steely grey eyes met her.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” Mitsuru asked sharply, rising to her feet, hand resting on the gun at her hip. “This dorm is strictly private—”
“I don’t care.” The boy said icily, his voice slicing through the air like a hot knife.
“Ren!” Another voice cried out, and a head of bright red hair stumbled through the door. “Ren, hang on!” The newly arriving girl breathed, her cheeks flushed as she wore a black coat with a red scarf. She fixed her glasses before turning to him. “Ren, what are you doing?” She asked, gesturing to him wildly. “You can’t just barge into—”
“I can, and I did.” He said, tone not so icy now, but just… tired. “Sumi, I’m not doing this again.” He hissed quietly before turning back to Kotone. “You.” He said, moving over to her. “Where’s Igor?”
“H-Huh?”
“Igor.” ‘Ren’ repeated. “Fat head, long nose.” He moved his hand from his face. “Probably about yay long. Can’t forget it. Lives in a place called the Velvet Room?”
Kotone’s face paled. “How do you…?”
“Where is he?” He asked lowly. “The door, for one. Bright blue, exudes fog.” He said, motioning absently. “Ringing any bells?” He growled and waved a hand. “Nevermind.” He turned to the others. “Where are the Shadows?”
“W-Wait, hang on.” Akihiko put himself in front of Mitsuru. “Who are you?”
“Ren. Now where are the Shadows!?” He demanded, and the girl, ‘Sumi’, grabbed his arm.
“Ren.” She hissed, giving him a glare.
Ren took a breath. He met Akihiko’s gaze. “Shadows. Big, goopy monsters, can’t miss ‘em.”
“You know of the Dark Hour?” Ikutsuki asked quietly, eyes wide behind his glasses.
“Dark Hour?” Ren repeated quietly. “What the hell is that?” He held up his hand. “Actually, never mind, don’t tell me. How do I get there?”
“W-Well, uhm…” Ikutsuki glanced at Mitsuru helplessly. “It happens every night at midnight.” He answered warily.
“And the Shadows?” Ren asked, tapping his shoe.
“They’re gathered in a place called Tartarus. It appears in the Dark Hour, and—”
“Where do I find it?”
“It appears at Gekkoukan high school.” Ikutsuki informed, ignoring Mitsuru’s sharp look. “But I don’t understand why you—”
“Thanks.” Ren said, spinning around. “Come on, Sumi.” He said, stalking out of the room. He paused at the doorway. “Sorry about your door.” He muttered before he continued, ‘Sumi’ hot on his heels.
“He’s not…” Yukari trailed off, eyes wide. She turned to Mitsuru. “Mitsuru-senpai, is he…?”
“I’ve never seen him before in my life.” She answered honestly. “Him or the girl.”
“Hang on.” Akihiko jolted. “Are they actually going to Tartarus? By themselves? Without evokers!?”
Mitsuru’s eyes widened. “I didn’t even…” She turned to Yukari and Kotone. “Takeba, Shiomi, I’m sorry to spring this on you so soon, but I’m going to need your help since Akihiko is injured.”
The rest kinda passed by in a blur for Kotone. But what she does know is that a pistol was thrusted into her hands, which was called an evoker, and pushed out into the street by Akihiko. Then they were running through the streets, only for the Dark Hour to hit, according to Mitsuru, as the sky turned green and all the lights shut off.
They came to a sliding stop in front of… Well, there was a school here last time she checked. But now there was a giant towering… tower. It reached up to the clouds and Kotone found her neck aching as she looked up to see it all. She blinked a few times and rolled her neck to relieve the ache.
“So… what are we doing?” She said, gripping the evoker in her hands as she twirled it around absently.
“We’re here to make sure that boy and girl don’t get injured. They don’t know what they’re—”
Mitsuru was cut off as an explosion came from the lower part of the tower and she cursed her under her breath before she pushed open the gate, urging for Yukari and Kotone to follow her. They did, with Kotone leaning over towards Yukari.
“Do you have any idea what’s going on?”
Yukari shook her head. “I think I’m still dreaming.” She murmured. “At least… I hope I am.”
The trio pushed open the doors to Tartarus, only to see the same boy and girl from earlier, only… they were wearing costumes? What the hell?
Ren scratched his chin as he glanced up towards the ceiling, though his attention was snagged when they arrived. He looked over. “Oh.” He waved half-heartedly. “Hey again.” He paused. “Are you here about the door?” He asked, reaching into his duster coat. He pulled out a wad of cash. “Here. This should be enough.” He tossed it at Yukari, who fumbled with it.
The brunette caught it eventually, and her eyes widened. “This… This is like a couple hundred thousand yen!” She yelped.
“Call it overcompensation.” Ren said, shrugging. “Did you need something else?”
Mitsuru took a step forward. “Excuse me, my name is Mitsuru Kirijo.” She introduced herself. “And I have a lot of questions for you. Starting with—”
“I don’t care.”
Mitsuru paused. “Wha…?”
“I don’t mean that in a rude way.” He said, flashing a surprisingly boyish grin. “I really just don’t care.”
Kotone blinked, and all of a sudden, she saw the face of her brother in Ren, then she blinked again and it was gone.
Ren turned back towards the ground before he gestured. “I would move back if I were you.” He said, wrapping an arm around Sumi’s waist and tugging her back.
The three girls shared a look but did as he asked. Ren reached up and ripped off the mask on his face. Fire swirled around him in a dazzling show before some… colossal thing rose behind him. It was gigantic, with six large wings, a golden crown and a large gun(?) in his hand. He snapped his fingers, and the creature raised his weapon before energy bubbled at the barrel. It released all at once, crashing into the floor and creating a hole that lead… into darkness.
Ren’s mask fizzled back onto his face, and he peered over, tilting his head curiously.
“What did you just… do?” Mitsuru asked, eyes wide. “You just…”
“Gut’s telling me this is the right way.” He said, as if he didn’t just create a hole the size of a classroom without so much as breaking a sweat. He grabbed Sumi’s hand, giving a toothy grin. “See you ladies on the other side.” He gave them a bow before jumping into the pit, vanishing in the darkness.
“Hey, wait!” Yukari ran up, stopping just short of the ledge and looked over. “Oh my god.” She said breathlessly. “What the hell is happening?”
Mitsuru took a spot next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I have… no idea, Takeba.” She answered honestly. “But for now, we should probably—”
“SINFUL SHELL!!”
A roar of a battle cry echoed out from the darkness, and the three girls turned their gazes back towards it.
“What is… that?” Kotone asked incredulously.
“I’m… not sure.” Mitsuru said hesitantly. “Whatever it was, it didn’t.”
Kotone’s world went white.
She gasped and shot up in her bed. She glanced around, finding herself in her room. She furrowed her brow. How did she…?
Wait. What happened last night? She remembered talking with Mitsuru and Yukari about… something, but… what? She just got out of the hospital because of some stomach virus, right? Yeah, she remembered that. So…
A knock at her door made her jump.
“Kotone! You awake? We’re going to be late for school!” Yukari’s voice filtered through the wood.
Kotone shook her head. “I’ll be out in a minute, Yukari!” She called out before hopping up.
Whatever. She probably just didn’t get enough sleep last night. She’ll walk it off today.