1 Chapter 1 - The Beginning

『Thank you, come again!』 A store employee's voice sounded in the distance.

It was noon and a hot, blazing sun sat atop the skies. It was Summer and a time of relaxation to both workers and students. The end of the previous and start of a new school year.

Somewhere in a town's residential area, an adult man was seen walking down an alleyway. His clothes was dripping with sweat making it almost see through; A figure of a well-toned body can be seen if one were to focus. His short blonde hair covered him from the sun's rays, swaying and flailing as he moved. His azure eyes covered by his fogged up glasses was shining with joy.

He stopped on his tracks, in front of a large building. This is his home, to be precise, this is his and the other's home. Who those others are, he doesn't bother to know.

Finally, he entered the property. He pushed the door open and in it a cool, refreshing air greeted him. This was the main lobby. He saw many others the same as him, grateful for the air conditioning.

He walked down the room to a table with two beautiful women and took out a card. One of the women took his cards and gave him a new, shiny gold card. He said his thanks to the women and headed to the elevator to where he pressed the 15th floor.

The elevator dinged and opened, revealing corridors and corridors of passageways. He walked down one of them and stopped at a door with the number 569. He swiped his card on a scanner and the door unlocked and swung open.

He took a deep breath before charging through the room, rushing towards the bathroom. There, he took a long and peaceful shower to relieve his stress.

An hour and a half later, he left the bathroom with his body wrapped in towels. He went to a nearby wardrobe and chose whatever clothes he saw comfortable and wore them. He plugged in and turned on his computer only to be stopped by a ringing phone.

He picked it up and answered.

『Hello, who's this?』

There was no reply. He waited for a couple of minutes before a sound could be heard on the other side of the phone. It was a man's voice.

『Oh, uh... Sorry, I had it muted. Anyway, did you read the email I forwarded to you? If not, then– Not now, Becky. I'm on the phone with Arthur! Uh... Sorry about that, but that's all. Be sure you read the email I sent you, 'kay Art?』

『Sure, James. Hope you have fun with Rebecca. Heh.』

The phone call ended and Arthur turned his computer on. He grabbed a snack from his fridge as he waited and grabbed a long, small chest under his bed.

He was staring at it blankly for a while and was woken up by the booting sound of his computer. He entered the password he chose years ago and he was signed in. He put the long chest under the bed again and opened the email his friend James was talking about.

｢Dear reader,

You have been chosen as this times' [Cooperator]. He humbly ask you to fill out this survey and go to the address this email instructs you.

Random ｣

It was a spam mail. He clicked the wrong one.

｢Hey Arthur,

This is your friend, Rick. As you know, we just graduated from highschool a month ago. I had thought of an idea to gather everyone in our class to have fun and discuss what college you wanna go to. We'll meet on Sunday, near the train station at 12:00 Noon SHARP. Be there. I have something to tell all of you.

Please forward this to our classmates.

Thanks,

Rick. ｣

'Hah...'

Arthur sighed after he read the mail. He replied to it and played his favorite game for a while until it became dark and went to sleep.

.

.

.

The next morning, Tuesday.

Arthur was on his way home from shopping when he heard a cry. The sound came from a dark alley. He got curious and folded his umbrella.

'I shouldn't be in any real danger if they spot me. If they have a gun with them, then I'm a goner.' Arthur calmed himself and hid in the shadows.

As a kid, Arthur was always the last to be found in hide and seek. What his friend doesn't know was that he gets bored by hiding for so long, he shows himself to the seeker. If he wanted to, he could hide for days.

He got closer to the voice and heard two different voices. One was a gruff sounding one, while the other an annoyingly high pitched voice. Arthur saw the silhouettes of two men along with a barely noticeable person wearing a deep black robe.

'That must've been the one who yelled before. It was a girl's yell, so that meant that the hooded person was a woman in her teens judging by her voice.'

Arthur analyzed the situation as best as he could. He first needed to confirm that the two was the aggressor. He wouldn't want to be the cause of a crucial mission's failure if they turned out to be cops or detectives.

He waited and waited until he heard the things he has long been waiting for.

『Heh. Little girl, you better bark where you hid that book! If not, then... Don't mind me for pleasuring myself.』 The gruff sounding man said. The girl trembled at his words.

『Dude. Stop wasting time. Boss' orders are absolute. Even though this girl is alone right now, backips may be on their way.』 The high pitched man voiced his thoughts.

Arthur finally knew that they were the bad ones. He decided to strike them when they let their guard down. It's even better if they separate.

『You're no fun. We still have around an hour left of this barrier, so we got plenty of time. I'll let you have your turn when I'm finished. Now go away!』

『Alrighty. When boss gets mad, you're taking the blame, got it?』

The high pitched voice gradually became quieter until it's finally gone.

The only one left was the gruff sounding man. Arthur could just barely see his silhouette, liquid, as viscous as drool is drooping down his mouth. He put his hand around his lower waist and slowly undid his belt.

Arthur was waiting for that chance. He slowly creeped up on him, but was discovered. He was seen by the now gagged up woman. Arthur could see fear in those emerald-like eyes of hers.

Arthur put up a finger in front of his mouth, telling the girl to stay silent. She understood and looked the other way, but the fear in her eyes was slowly dissipating.

Maybe the guy was just that good, or maybe Arthur's stealth wasn't as good as he said it to be, but when he grew closer and closer, he could feel the man's sense being displayed behind him.

Arthur had no choice. He hid behind the garbage bags scattered all around the place and steadied his breathing.

'Control your excitement, Arthur.' His heart throbbed.

Finally, the gruff sounding man dropped his pants below his legs. Arthur took the chance and dashed, umbrella in hand, and strike at the man's back. But the man noticed it and turned around, a smug look on his scarred face.

『Heh. I knew you would come out when I lowered my guard, so I pretended. Whatever, what use is it talking to a dead man anyway?』 He was confident.

Arthur sneered and continued on his dash. He was less than 3 meters from them when the man moved. He charged towards Arthur.

『Hey, kid. Didn't you know? I was once a pro wrestler. Even without that guy, I could still beat you to de– Wah?!』

He tripped. The man was confused to what caused his trip. When he looked down, he saw his pants, intertwined between his legs. He tried to take it off, but Arthur was already beside him, holding his umbrella.

Arthur struck down using the umbrella's tip. The man rolled sideways, but Arthur predicted it and changed the course of his strike. The umbrella struck the man's spinal column. He cried in agony. Arthur grabbed a few paper towels from the trash and gagged up the same man.

『Thank you, sir.』 The robed woman thanked Arthur after he undid her bindings and took out the gag. Arthur was relieved that it was a clean piece of cloth.

'Looks like they still have some conscience in them.'

『 You're welcome, but let's talk later. We got company.』 Arthur shushed down the woman and told her to hide nearby.

Not a minute later, the same man that was accompanying the now beat up man emerged from one of the alleyways. His looks was of confusion. He tried calling out to his comrade, but there was no reply.

He was suspicious. He was on guard. Slowly and cautiously, he walked down unto the clearing they were in a bit ago. There, he found his companion laying on the ground, motionless. He ran towards him and crouched, breathing a sigh of relief when he found out he wasn't dead.

『Who?! Who did this to my broth– Ack!』

He was struck unconscious. Arthur appeared from the shadows behind the man. He checked the man's pulse. It was beating.

He then turned around to the woman and introduced himself.

『Good day, miss. I interrupted you before because of that guy, so pardon my offenses. My name is Arthur. Arthur Freefall. A college student on the coming school year. May I know your name?』 Arthur introduced himself with a bow, extending his hand for a handshake.

『Oh, I don't mind. It was thanks to you that I'm safe. I am Jade Fraenlum. Princ– I mean... I'm the same as you, an upcoming college student. It is nice to meet you.』 Jade also extended her hand and the both of them shook hands.

Weirdly enough, the sun was still at the same position. Half an hour already passed, but it didn't move an inch during that time. Arthur noticed it and was wondering something.

'They mentioned something about a barrier... I should ask her.'

He turned around, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. The unconscious men were also gone. What was left was a puff of smoke and a piece of paper.

｢I am sorry for leaving like this. Even though you're my savior, I have something urgent to do. If we meet again, I'll surely repay this gratefulness and kindness.

Jade｣

Arthur sighed, still in shock. He knew they weren't ordinary people, but he could still not believe it. He stretched his arms and left the alley, preparing for the day when the two of them will meet again.