Chapter Seven - Ambience.

Hiro then arrived at his house, walking up the stairs. He then stopped for a second, then turned around, walking around the building and over to the store. He looked surprised, seeing the lights off and the closed sign on the door. He grabbed his keys, unlocking the door and opening it. He walked in, closing the door behind him and locking it.

“Hello?” Hiro said. He looked around. No response. He kept looking around until he saw a weird purple glow from a fridge door. He walked over to the fridge, opening it. He saw a weird tube with a purple crystal inside of it, like the ones in the school gymnasium. He looked at it, raising a brow.

“Weird…” Hiro internalized. He closed the fridge, walking over to a door and opening it. Inside was a staircase to the house upstairs. He walked upstairs, entering the house. He took off his shoes, walking inside. He walked up the stairs in the house, walking into his bedroom.

“Maybe I should tell Jin-Ho about it tomorrow…” Hiro said. He placed his bag on the ground and changed into shorts and a t-shirt. He looked at the bandage, sighing.

“That's still weirding me out…” Hiro internalized. He walked over to his bed, sitting down on it. He looked around his room, the look in his eyes was one of worry. He then would lay down on his bed, grabbing the covers and pulling them over himself. He then closed his eyes, falling to sleep after a few minutes.

The next morning, Hiro would wake up and walk over to his closet, grabbing somewhat baggy cargo pants, a long sleeved collared shirt, and his school’s black knitted vest. He would put them on and put a pair of black socks on. He then walked over to his bag, grabbing it and holding it over his shoulder. He opened the door of his bedroom, walking out into the hallway. The house was as quiet as it was last night, the only sound being the white noise from the buzzing of the lights.

“Hello??” Hiro shouted. No response. This was weird, maybe his dad and sister had to be somewhere early, he thought to himself. He walked downstairs, into the kitchen. He then walked over to the door of the stair entrance to the shop. He opened the door, walking down the stairs with a somewhat speedy pace. His breath was a little heavier than usual. He grabbed the store key from his pocket, unlocking the door. He opened the door, walking in and stood behind the counter.

It was cold, the lights off, only the sound of buzzing refrigerators and distant cars driving down the road. He walked over to a beverage fridge. He opened it, grabbing an energy drink. He then grabbed his bag off his shoulder, placing the energy drink in his bag. He then put his bag back on his shoulder and walked over to the white fridge the crystal was in. He opened the fridge and there it was. He grabbed it, placing it in his bag.

“Alright… I gotta get to school…” He grabbed the energy drink and his wallet out of his bag, placed a few yen coins on the counter and zipped his bag back up. He then walked over the stair entrance door, opening and walking back up the stairs. He closed the door behind him and locked it. He walked up the stairs, opening the door and walking back into the kitchen. He locked the door from the kitchen to the store behind him and walked toward the exit of the house. He opened the door, walked out, feeling the cold breeze hit his face.

“Jeez… It’s cold…” Hiro said. He walked back into his house, grabbing a scarf off the coat rack and wrapping it around his neck. He then put on headphones, walking out of the house and closing the door behind him. It was quiet outside. Only the sound of revving cars in the distance but something noticeably weird. There were birds out, flying, and chirping. Odd for the weirdly cold weather. It was nearing October, but birds?

Hiro walked down the stairs and walked down the sidewalk. He then grabbed his phone out of his pocket, looking at the time. 7:35 am, the time read. He wasn’t late but if he didn’t hurry, he wouldn’t be early. So he began jogging slightly, some other students walking at a normal pace around the street. The birds would chirp at each other, as if they were having lengthy conversations. Hiro would then turn left down the street, more students appeared walking toward the school either coming out of stores or neighborhoods. Some holding hands and others laughing. Hiro would jogg past them seeing Hana up ahead. He would then catch up to her,

“Hey- Hana.” Hiro said. She looked to her left at Hiro.

“Oh, Hiro.” Hana said.

“Good luck on your match today.” Hiro said. Hana smiled,

“Thanks, that means a lot.” Hana said.

“I came by your shop this morning, but it was closed… Is everything alright?” Hana asked. Hiro nodded,

“Yeah, everythings fine, why do you ask?” Hiro asked. Hana shrugged,

“I mean, it's just weird… Yesterday, you had this big cut on your shoulder and now the stores are closed… I mean, your dad’s store is never closed, I mean, not as long as I’ve been alive.” Hana explained. He nodded,

“Yeah, he’s just doing a business thing right now, so don’t worry.” He was lying. He had no idea what was going on. Just the thought of ending another’s worries made him feel better about the situation. They then approached the school,

“Well, we oughta get to class, so I’ll see you later.” Hiro said. Hana raised a brow,

“We still have like 10 minutes, we can keep walking.” Hana said. Hiro shrugged,

“Uh, I’m on the second floor for my first period… Remember?” Hiro said. Hana looked slightly confused, nodding.

“Right…” Hana said softly, not knowing how to respond really. Hiro then ran ahead, approaching the school’s front gate. He then jogged into the school, over to his locker. He then changed his shoes, quickly walking toward his class up stairs. He hurried down the hall toward his class. He walked into the classroom toward his desk in the corner next to the window. He placed his bag on top of the desk, unzipping it. He looked at the crystal, but something was different about it now. It was now flashing slowly from purple. He looked confused. Then, the door would slide open and he zipped his bag up slowly. He turned around, seeing his Japanese teacher.

“Sensei…?” Hiro asked. Hiro raised a brow, having a look of suspicion.

“Hello, Mr. Uyehara…” His teacher said, looking at Hiro blankly. Hiro turned, his back covering his bag from the teachers view.

“Can I help you?” Hiro asked. The teacher nodded,

“Indeed… I have a question for my attendance sheet later…” The teacher asked. Hiro looked confused,

“Okay… You need my help, why?” Hiro asked. The teacher smiled,

“You’re friends with Mr. Park and that pink haired transfer student, right?” His teacher asked. Hiro hesitated for a second before speaking,

“Uh… I think friends would be a strong term, we’ve spoken to each other a couple times but never formally hung out…” Hiro said. The teacher nodded, his eyes covered from the glare of the sun reflecting on his glasses.

“Ah… Well, would you know by chance if they’re attending school today?” The teacher asked. Hiro blinked for a second, before swallowing.

“Uhm… I wouldn’t know…” Hiro said. The teacher nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose further.

“Shame… Well… I hope to see you later in my class when they arrive.” The teacher said, turning and walking out of the classroom. Hiro blinked, looking at the door frame the teacher exited out of. Hiro’s eyes then jumped wide, running toward the door.

“The Gym!” Hiro internalized. He ran out of the classroom, a crowd of students walking towards him. He ran into the crowd of students, trying to get through. He tried getting through the crowd but they kept pushing him back toward the classrooms. He scoffed, trying to get through but couldn’t.

“I have to get to the gym…” He thought to himself. He would get past the crowd but then ran into another teacher. Hiro stepped back, looking up at the teacher. Hiro’s eyes widened, seeing the gym teacher with glowing purple eyes.

“The bell’s about to ring, Hiro… Better get to class so you’re not late.” The teacher said, Hiro’s mouth opened, but the words didn’t come out. He closed his mouth, nodding and walking back toward the classroom.

“What the hell’s going on…” He walked back into the classroom, getting in his seat. He looked to the left, not seeing Jin-Ho and Lyra’s desks empty. He shook his head, looking back up at the teacher. A couple hours later, Hiro would be sitting in art class. Hiro looked over at the clock,

“I’m going to go to the gym during lunch… Check out that crystal…” Hiro internalized. Someone then put a hand on Hiro’s shoulder.

“Distracted, Mr. Uyehara…?” The teacher asked. The teacher was a young woman wearing a french beret. Hiro looked up at the teacher,

“N-No… I’m not…” Hiro said. The teacher nodded,

“I see… But it looks as if you haven’t painted anything on your canvas…” The teacher said, Hiro looked back at the canvas.

“I’m uh… Still thinking of what to paint…” Hiro said. Just then, the teacher's grip on his shoulder tightened. Hiro gulped, looking at the teacher's hand out the side of his eyes.

“Say… Mr. Uyehara…” Hiro looked at the teacher’s face, raising a brow.

“Why are Mr. Park and Ms. Fournier out today…” The teacher asked. Hiro shrugged, looking back at his canvas. He opened his mouth, about to say something before blinking. He looked back up at the teacher,

“Who’s Fournier…?” Hiro said. The other students watched this interaction in interest. Hiro looked up at the teacher with a sweat droplet on the side of his forehead.

“Uhm… I didn’t…” The teacher said, letting go of Hiro’s shoulder. Hiro stood up, looking at the teacher. She would start walking backwards, putting her hand on Hiro’s canvas. Just then, it began getting dark. Hiro looked out the window, his eyes wide.

“Woah, what the hell is that…?” A student asked. Suddenly, the students crowded towards the window. Suddenly, the school began to shake. Hiro looked around then back up at the art teacher. The teacher began chuckling. The teacher would be holding the purple crystal. He would be flashing purple and red extremely quickly. Hiro’s eyes widened, looking back at his bag seeing it was open.

“Everyone! Duck!” Hiro shouted. The students raised a brow, looking back at Hiro. Their eyes then widened, seeing the crystal in the “teacher's” hand. The students then ducked as the teacher chucked the crystal toward the window. The crystal broke the window, falling into the black abyss. Hiro looked at the broken window, then back at the teacher.

“Shame the princess wasn’t here… Or the plan would have worked perfectly.” The teacher said, Their voice is morphing from a young woman into a deep evil gargle. The teacher’s skin began to melt as well. Some students screamed seeing this. Some students looked at their phones, raising a brow.

“T-The cell service… It’s out…” One student said. The classroom went into panic, the students began running towards the door. Hiro’s eyes widened,

“NO, DON’T!” Hiro shouted. One student running towards the door’s head would come clean off. The student stood there while their head fell onto the ground. Hiro looked shocked, looking back at the teacher.

“W-What do you want…?” Hiro asked. The teacher then transformed into some kind of goblin kind of thing.

“Well… We were supposed to come here and capture Lyra Fournier… But since she’s not here…” The goblin devilous smirked, looking over at Hiro.

“… We’re going to massacre everyone in this place!” The goblin announced. Hiro’s eyes widened,

“W-We’re!?” Hiro internalized. He would hear screaming down the halls. Hiro breathed heavily, glaring at the goblin who slowly walked toward the students. The goblin opened its palm and a mace appeared in its hand. Suddenly, Hiro dashed forward, punching the goblin in the face. The goblin flew the other way from the students through the wall into the room next door which was empty. Hiro stood there, breathing heavily. Smoke would be coming off of Hiro’s hand, along with burn marks on his knuckles.

“I… I need to hurry…” Hiro internalized.

“H-Hey, you! What the hell is going on!?” A student said. Hiro looked back, raising a brow.

“Huh?” Hiro asked.

“What’s happening, the thing outside, that goblin thing, what the hell is happening here!?” The student asked.

“I uh… Don’t know… I wish I could tell you…” Hiro said. Suddenly, the goblin started getting up from the other room. Hiro grit his teeth,

“All of you… Get onto the roof or something, these things are coming from the gymnasium.” Hiro said. The students then began to scramble out of the room.