Saturday, 18th of April 2009. DH:13
"Hi, how are you?" Opening his eyes he saw that the black-haired child was sitting on the edge of his bed. The child gave a small sigh and then turned to the room's occupant with a sad smile on his face. "I'm glad to see you're safe after facing your first ordeal."
"Who are you?" Haruto asked as he sat up in his bed.
"We've met before," the child replied, swinging his legs. "In fact we've known each other for a long time."
The child chuckled at the look of confusion on the teen's face before hopping off of the bed.
"Can I ask you a question?" the child asked, his face turned away from the teen on the bed. "Thanatos. You call him your brother. Why?"
"Thanatos?" Haruto queried.
"Oh I'm sorry. I'm using his old name," the child replied as he turned around. "You will know him as Mochizuki Ryoji, the one who escaped his fate."
"I sometimes wonder about that," the teen replied with a smile. "To be honest I guess it's because he was there for me when I needed him and for that I can't help but love him like a brother."
"So you don't need to be of the same source?" The child tilted his head, eyes shining with innocent curiosity.
"Sometimes it's the families we make that are the most important," he responded as he took a seat on his bed. "So I guess you're right."
"Hum..." He watched as the child seemed to contemplate something before shaking his head. "This won't do... I've gotten sidetracked. I see you have awakened to your power and what an interesting one it is too," the child continued as he stepped back. "A power that takes many forms, yet is bound by none... It will prove to be your salvation, depending on how things go."
"How things go?" The teen watched as the child realised he may have said too much before he heard what was becoming a familiar response.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. It would be against the rules." A sad smile lit up the child's bland features as he moved back into the Shadows. "Do you remember when we first met? I expect you to honour your commitment. "
"The contract." It wasn't a question.
"The contract you signed grants you a good amount of freedom to work with, so please be sure to make good use of it and don't let fate drag you on a course you wouldn't wish to travel." With that the child started to fade into the Shadows. "I'll be watching over you, even if you forget about me... Okay then, see you later."
And Namikaze Haruto was alone again.
Sunday, 19th of April 2009. 19:57
After everything that had happened yesterday, Haruto had decided it would be best to have a sleep in. After getting up after eleven, he checked over the equipment he'd received the night before, and once satisfied he pulled the book on kendo from his desk, slipping into his chair and
flipping back to the page he had been reading. Twice during the next two pages his attention was diverted to the short sword he'd placed on his bed. He kept reading the book for two more pages before finally giving up.
He placed the book down on his desk, the pages facing upwards so he could still browse over in case he needed to look up something, before rising from his seat and moving over to the bed. He picked up the sheathed sword, drawing the blade before dropping the sheath back onto his desk. During the battle with the two lesser Shadows he had relied on his instincts to see him through, having to resort to the Evoker both times in order to finish off his foe.
Maybe it was time to back up his instincts with some actual knowledge.
He spent about ten minutes trying different stances that could be used with one handed swords and found that none of the stances he tried felt comfortable. He ended up relaxing back into the stance he had used during the battle with the Shadows. Technically it was awful. His left foot was slightly in front of the right, with his body set so his sword arm was at the rear. It offered no protection as the extra distance needed to get the sword arm in place would decrease the chance of a successful block. Thinking back though, when the Shadow had made its assault, he hadn't even attempted a block. Maybe that was the key; maybe he didn't need to change any flaws in how he fought after all.
Maybe the best idea was figuring out ways of making his flaws into traps.
Making a quick mental note to dig up some books on combat strategy and to have a look at the sports clubs in school to see which one would be the most useful, he started to try out some simple slashes he'd picked up and hoped he wouldn't damage anything in the process.
If the members of this dorm were all members of S.E.E.S. and as such were meant to fight Shadows, why didn't this dorm have any sort of practice facilities?
He wasn't sure how long he had been at it but he stopped as he heard a knock at the door. He quickly stowed the blade back in its sheath and piled the equipment he had out into his wardrobe before answering the door.
"Hey," Yukari greeted from the other side. "Can you come down stairs for a minute?"
The slightly sweaty white-haired teen nodded before he grabbed his keys and followed the brunette down to the entrance.
"Okay Senpai, he's here now," the brunette called as they reached the bottom of the step. "So what's all this about?"
"Hey," The boxer greeted the white-haired junior, checking out his condition before asking, "You've been training?"
"Not exactly, just trying to get a better feel for things," he replied. "I couldn't really train in there without breaking something."
"Heh, well I can see how that'd be a problem." The boxer then turned the subject back on track. "Anyway, there's someone I want to introduce." The boxer pushed open the door. "Hey hurry up."
"Hold your horses," a familiar voice called from outside. "This is freaking heavy."
As Junpei entered the dorm, dragging a heavy looking case with him, the look on Yukari's face was priceless. "J-Junpei!? … Why is HE here!? Wait, don't tell me...!"
He wasn't sure if Akihiko was oblivious to the girl's distress or was just ignored it as he started introductions. "This is Iori Junpei from class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today."
The junior removed his baseball cap, while he scratched his head, putting it back with a chuckle he finally spoke. "Wazzup?"
"He's staying HERE!? You've got to be kidding me!" Yukari nearly screamed as she pointed her finger towards the offending student.
"I bumped into him the other night. He has the potential, but he just awakened to it recently..." The boxer explained. "I told him about us, and he agreed to help."
"You have the potential!?" the brunette yelled with a look of disbelief. "For real!?"
"He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins." The larger of the juniors started to explain with a touch of embarrassment. "I don't remember much, but... man, that's embarrassing! He said that's, ya know, completely normal... in the beginning. Like, bein' confused and not remembering anything. Did ya guys know that?"
"I didn't really go through that," Haruto admitted.
"Dude, seriously? It happens to everyone else. ...But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys. I had no idea." Well that was sort of the point. "I'm glad I'm not the only one. It could get kinda lonely, ya know. I bet you're stoked too, right!? Havin' me join..."
"Huh? Uh, y-yeah..." She would have been more convincing if she hadn't stuttered.
"Good to have you on board Junpei," the white-haired man said, privately glad that it wasn't even twenty four hours and he wasn't the newest member anymore.
"Well, enough with the introductions. I think we're about ready..." Akihiko started.
"Ooh, we're gonna go do something? Sweetness!" Junpei cut in.
"With this many people, we can start exploring that place," the boxer finished.
"You mean... Tartarus...?" The brunette asked.
Tartarus...
Oh Hell's teeth!