The Gatekeeper's Judgement

Haruto stumbled, weightless for a heartbeat, and then crashed onto cobblestones under an open sky. The scent of smoke and spice from a nearby street vendor replaced the mountain air. The people going about their day stopped to look at Haruto as he sat in the middle of the street.

He could feel the familiar self-conscious tears welling up, remembering his embarrassing display before his death. With a sniff, he pulled his knees close to his chest and cocked his head to the side. He wasn't in his right mind before, but he could feel the embarrassment of screaming and crying in front of all those people after the fact.

"What is wrong with you?" The System asked snidely. "Let's get out of here."

Haruto reached up to it, shaking under the gaze of the strangers. He grabbed it, holding it close to his face. Snot strung from the System as it fought to free itself from Haruto's grip.

"System... I just remembered how I died." Haruto wailed. "I made such a spectacle of myself before!"

"Shut up, moron. We don't have time for this." The System materialized his hands and pushed against Haruto's face. "Let me go! You're gross."

Turn stepped through the black door. It clicked shut behind him, rolling itself into a scroll and falling into his hands. The passerby's noticing him began to clear the area.

“You are under arrest for the crime of illegally crossing our border and suspected espionage,” Turn said, voice level as though filing a report. “You and your magic item come quietly.”

"Magic item?!" The System scrambled up beside Haruto. “You little turd. I'll have you know, I'm a very important—"

Haruto grabbed the System, halting its declaration. "Job analysis item. It can read what job someone has; that's all." The System glared at Haruto and pulled itself from his grasp.

"State your name, job, and affiliation." Turn pulled a small notepad and a pen from his armor.

“Haruto Ishikawa,” Haruto said quickly, wiping his face on his sleeve. His voice cracked halfway through. “Job: uh… A little of this, a little of that. Affiliation: None. Not with the people you suspect, not with anyone!”

The System puffed itself up, floating higher. “He’s a loser, not a spy.”

"And your relationship with Double Impact?" Turn scribbled, looking up, eyes narrowing behind his mask.

"Who?" Haruto asked nervously.

A throwing star whizzed past Haruto's face, embedding itself in the wall behind him. Haruto's eyes widened as he tucked in his lips. He froze, not even breathing.

Turn’s voice never rose. “Do not lie. You were seen in combat with him not even 5 minutes ago.”

“Do you mean Kael?” Haruto scrambled backward a few steps, pointing at the System. "He's trying to kill me to get this thing."

"I don't like being referred to as 'this thing.'" The System rotated in the air.

"Why would he go through all of this trouble for a magic item that just reads a person's job?" Turn asked.

"Because..." Haruto paused, trying to come up with a good reason. "Mine can give itself boobs?"

Turn flipped his notepad shut. A black door materialized beneath Haruto’s feet. Before he could react, gravity took hold, and he fell into the doorway. He tumbled through the air above the buildings in town. Another door appeared, and he yelped as he crashed through it, breaking it to splinters with his face.

Turn fell through a door above Haruto, flipping through it as it closed. He grabbed it by the frame, breaking it against him and sending him crashing through the tiled roof of the small cafe below. Haruto rolled to his feet in time to dodge another door slam and attempted to run through the exit.

As he ran out of the cafe door, he ended where he began, with Turn's foot heading toward his face. The foot connected, sending Haruto spinning into a table and some chairs. As the customers sidestepped the ruckus, Turn pulled a small bag of coins from his armor and threw it to the cafe owner.

"Haruto!" The System yelled from outside. "He's a Doorman! He determines who goes in or out of anywhere through doors!"

"That doesn't explain how he creates them or connects them together!" Haruto screamed, annoyed at life.

"It has to be his personal magic." The System shouted. "There's a 72% chance he was born with a Create spell and refined it into a Create Door spell. That would allow him to make connected doors."

"That means..." Haruto stood, grabbing a chair, and throwing it through a nearby window. Job Unlocked: Chair Thrower. He jumped through, landing outside and running away down the street. "It doesn't work on windows."

Turn fell backward through a door in the floor to exit another he had placed in front of Haruto. With a twist, his legs wrapped around Haruto's arms and neck. He held a miniature door between his fingers, reaching it toward Haruto's forehead.

"I can see why Double Impact wants that item now." Turn said, voice dripping with menace. "An item that not just reads a person's job but also lets its owner know possible strategic applications is much too dangerous to be in the hands of terrorists and spies."

A large explosion sounds outside of town, but Turn doesn't falter. The dead eyes of his owl mask stare through him as he connects the door to his head. The tiny door creaks open, and Haruto's voice comes out through it.

"I'm not a spy. Am I going to die again? This is Kael's fault for trying to take the System! Should I change jobs?" All of Haruto's honest thoughts came pouring from the door.

Turn couldn't just believe the words of a suspected spy. The Doorman decides what gets to come through a door. He used this tiny door to allow the truth to come through.

"Change jobs?" Although hidden by his mask, Turn was visibly taken aback. He turned to look at the System, struggling pointlessly to free Haruto from Turn's grip.

Another explosion, louder than the one before, resounded from the outside of the town. A line of trees about 6 km long flew into the air. Turn released Haruto, taking the door from his head, and facing the direction of the boom.

Yggdrasil shivered in Haruto's grasp, a warning of a threat to come. Turn created a door, holding it against his back. Down the street, a figure appeared, coming fast.

Kael bounded forward, the impact of his steps ripping chunks from the ground. The buildings blew away as he passed by. Each step was faster and stronger than the last, and before Haruto could blink, Kael's fist was already upon him.

Yggdrasil, with a mind of its own, reached up to protect its master, making a full hit into a near miss. The sheer power of the attack split the clouds above. The ambient wind swirled and sent Turn crashing through the door on his back.

Haruto and the System were sent flying through the sky once again. Kael bounced past, placing his stored impact at the bottom of his feet to propel himself through the air and absorbing it again. He bounced Haruto back and forth like a ping pong ball, his Stick Hero job and holy blade the only things keeping him alive.

Kael grabbed Haruto, interlocking their arms and legs as he positioned him upside down. Their momentum slowed as the sun fully set, leaving only the moon behind them. Kael smiled as he held Haruto's head at the lowest point, his foot against his chin.

"Going down?" Kael laughed as he placed his stored impact against his back, sending both of them toward the ground like a meteor.