3

Once he had made it to the main hallway, students paused and stared, their pale faces showing signs of expression that he couldn't register as they swiftly ran off. He was completely beside himself, not understanding.

Hurt by these reactions, he ran out of the school in tears, sprinting delicately until he made it to an abandoned alleyway. It was located near what had once been a gaming cafe.

The gaming cafe had been a huge hit amongst students until covid hit. But because of that illness, it had sadly been shut down like many great smaller companies of its time.

He plopped down, his cat in his arms as he emptied out his old backpack from high school. It was full of what appeared to be pencils, pipes, and shedded wig hair; but this was to be expected.

He was brought out of his lingering thoughts by a deep voice, the tone smooth but sharp like honey spilled over blades. Sora peered up in curiosity, his eyes slitted partially to see who the voice belonged to. The sun was making it hard to see, but he could see the build of an extremely tall man, with crimson-dyed waves spilling to about the nape of his neck, his bangs almost obscured his eyes, and his rosy lips were curled up into the slightest bit of a smile. "Akujin, my name is Akujin." The man spoke in a casual tone, catching Sora by surprise. It wasn't common for someone to greet a person they had just met with such informal language, especially with first name, but this man had done it. He wondered if he was a foreigner.