Onmyou 1: Voices

“Morning!” A boy with bright red hair greeted me as he entered class.

“Morning.”

His Asano Akaki, my best friend ever since we were kids.

“Anything after school?” Akaki asked as he took his seat at his table next to me.

“Nope.”

“Wanna go for a mixer?” Akaki asked with a grin on his face, as he took out his phone to show me a photo of three girls.

“These three are from Hoshimei High School.”

“Hoshimei… you mean the prestigious girls-only school? How the heck did you even get connections with them?”

“Hehe, it’s all because of her.” Akaki pointed to the girl in the middle.

She has Long black hair, wearing a red ribbon on her head, and posing with a peace sign with a huge smile on her face.

“She’s Takagi Akira, and we’re in the same class for cram school. I asked her if she wanted to form a mixer, and she agreed!”

“Damm. That means you’re aiming for her?”

“Totally. She’s the prettiest out of the three. So, which one strikes your fancy? Akira is off limits!”

“Hmm…” The other two girls aren’t that bad looking either, but they aren’t my type, nor is Akaki’s favourite Akira.”

‘...car… lance…’ A voice suddenly played in my head.

“Did you say something?” I asked Akaki in confusion.

“Yeah, which one do you want to go for? Otherwise, I’ll ask Kaki to pick, and you’ll take the last one.”

“No, did you say anything in English?”

“English? Of Course not.”

Then… whose voice was it? Now that I think about it, the voice sounded like an old man… exactly like the sage in my dream.

“Time’s ticking!”

“I’ll just take the last one then. None of them are my type.”

“Suit yourself. Hey, Kaki!”

It’s been a few months since I started having those weird dreams. It has happened ever since I got injured in the head during a Soccer match.

The dream is always different; it keeps changing from the sage being an old man, then a child, then a young adult. It’s like the dream is showing me the life of that Sage.

Plus, those dreams felt so real… It’s as if I were there… as if I were the sage…

“Alright, listen up! You two remember the plan, right?” Akaki asked as we made our way to the karaoke for our mixer.

“Yeah, yeah. We support you and Akira, and you and I support Kaki with… er, what’s the gyaru’s name again?”

“Kiyoko. Shinjou Kiyoko!” Kaki shouted with excitement!

“I can’t believe it, a real gyaru! I hope I’m her type!”

“Yup, and erm… Are you sure you don’t want to chase Hyoka? I heard she’s quite smart and is always at the top of her year.”

“Nope. I like smart girls, but she’s the only one not smiling, and her eyes are cold, as if she’s trying to freeze my soul.” I said as I shivered, thinking about the picture.

“Come on, maybe you’ll like her.”

“I’ll give it a try, I guess.” Unlike those two, I’m not that interested in getting into a relationship just yet.

“Oh, let’s hurry! The girls are already waiting for us.”

“Hiya, ladies!” Akaki greeted as he sat opposite Akira.

“I’m Asano Akaki, Akira’s Cram school classmate.”

“Iori Kaki, Akaki’s best friend and classmate. As well as the star of the school’s soccer team.” Kaki introduced himself as he sat opposite Kiyoko and winked at her.

“Myojin Majiro. Akaki’s childhood friend and classmate.” Since there’s only one spot left for me, I sat opposite Hyoka.

“Now it’s our turn. I’m Takagi Akira! Akaki’s cram school classmate, his girlfriend, as well as the student council treasurer!”

“...... HUH!?”

“EH!?”

“...Wha-!?”

“Oi, Akaki! You didn’t say anything about Akira being your girlfriend!” Kaki shouted in anger as he grabbed Akaki by the collar and gave him a cold stare that could pierce through the atmosphere.

“I, I didn’t know!”

“Eh? You asked me out for a mixer, right? That means you like m,e right? I like Akaki, so I’m proud to declare myself to be your girlfriend.” Akira said with a smile on her face.

“You’re dead, you bastard!” Right before Kaki could cause a murder scene, the Gyaru, Kiyoko, began to introduce herself.

“I’m Kiyoko, Shinjou Kiyoko, but my friends call me Kiyopyun! And my boyfriend calls me Kiyorin.”

“...boy…friend?”

“Ah, sorry if you’re, like, interested in me, but I’m already taken and I tote love my boyfriend and cheating is out of the question, yer know.”

“Th, then… why are you here?”

“Fil slots, and I tot vibe with helping Akira out, yer hear?”

“...Oi, Akaki. After I kill you, I’m going to kill myself.”

“Ok, let’s not do anything rash, alright?”

“......Rokuoin Hyoka…Classmate.” The last girl said with a cold, blank expression.

“You’re lucky, Mahiro. If she said anything else, I would have dragged you into the crime scene.”

“Lucky me…”

‘Mo…ter… en…my…’

It’s the voice again.

‘Enemy…Detection…’

“Enemy…Detection?” I blurted out the words that were in my head, and suddenly, a giant blue screen appeared right in front of me.

“Wah!”

“Wow, you alright, Mahiro?” Akaki asked as he was released from Kaki’s grasp.

“Are you guys seeing it?” I pointed to the blue screen in front of me.

“Blue screen? You ok, bro?”

Seems like I’m the only one who can see this blue screen.

I took a look at the screen, and there are 6 dots. 5 of them were green, while one was red.

Judging by how the dot is placed, it’s the same as how we are seated. On one side, it’s all green, which is me, Akaki, and Kaki.

Opposite us were Green, Red, and  Green. With the red dot being…

“Akira…”

“Yes?”

“No, nothing. I was just wondering why you like Akaki, haha!” I quickly came up with an excuse to change the conversation.

But why is her dot red? If I remember correctly, I said ‘Enemy Detection’ right before the blue screen popped out… could it be… like a skill or a spell from an anime or game!?

And judging by the name, it detects enemies! If the universal colours are the same, that means… red equals enemy?

Huh!? How does that make sense at all!?

No, no, I’m just seeing things; this blue screen is just a fragment of my imagination.

I closed my eyes, and the moment I opened them, the blue screen disappeared.

“Phew…” But for some reason… there’s a slight doubt in my heart.

“Anyways, let’s get this mixer started!”