Chapter 10

It is too silent. The school lobby, that is. 

They are standing about 5 meters away from the school's main entrance, yet Shuu can see inside clearly through those three glass doors that lead to the lobby. There, within the lobby, stand rows of shoe lockers. The area is, of course, vacant. Yet the light is on. In fact, all of the classroom's lights are on as seen from the windows.

The last time Shuu sees a school building so bright in the middle of the night is when he has a school camp in his last year of junior high. This feels exactly like that, minus the crowding students. Instead, here they have groups of professional espers, shouting orders, carrying machines and instruments, and speaking to one another as they would in the army, like this Garuda member who is currently reporting to Koukichi - something about the recent state of the portal, about their latest findings - most of which Shuu barely pays attention to, until the guy turns to Shuu and hands Shuu a badge. A Garuda badge.

"You don't have your badge yet, so I'm lending you our badge. It's an emergency beacon," the guy explains, "This portal is very docile and the likelihood something would happen is pretty small, but in case anything does happen, press your finger to the head of the badge for 5 seconds. It'll send a signal to us and we will come to your coordinate".

"That is if I don't get to you first," Koukichi chirps from Shuu's left. The guy shrugs.

"If he doesn't get to you first," he repeats, "You guys will stick together anyways, so it's not like things will get out of hand, but still; safety measures". He proceeds to explain the rest of the basic safety protocols, scrolling through his tablet as checks each point. Seeing his and Koukichi's reaction though, Shuu reckons they're explaining this to Shuu for the sake of just that; protocols. Otherwise, they both look relaxed, like they are sure none of these safety measures will be required through the night.

"All right. Team Garuda will enter at 12.00 am to do our rounds, Sir," The guy finalizes by addressing Koukichi.

"Good. We'll probably be out by then," Koukichi starts walking towards the black tape that fences the building, "Come on Shuu".

A different guy opens the tape for them to cross. Meanwhile, the guy who has walked SHuu through all the safety protocols bends slightly, "I wish you two a safe patrol. Good luck, Sir, and stay vigilant".

"Sure will," Koukichi answers airily as the black tape then reattached behind them. The young man doesn't falter. Soon, without any further words or explanation, he pushes the door in the middle open, and inside they go. The double door swings exactly like the door at Shuu's own school, it even gives the same squeaking sound as it closes.

They stop between two shoe lockers where Koukichi turns around looking like he just took Shuu to his favorite restaurant instead of a portal. "So, what do you think?"

Shuu looks behind his back. He can see the night sky from where he is, but the lobby feels like it's lit by natural lighting as though it is still day outside. Some of the shoe lockers are slightly opened like their owner forgot to lock them properly, which is more common than you think; and Shuu sees a pair of outdoor shoes inside - meaning, someone has changed their shoes to indoor shoes and used them within the school.

In an evacuation from the sudden appearance of a portal, Shuu supposes no one would care about switching their shoes back to outdoor shoes as they leave the area. However, this area does not feel deserted. Somehow, Shuu is sure there are numerous other outdoor shoes in each closed locker, and despite the empty lobby, the building does not feel empty. Just standing here, Shuu is brought back to having to go to the teacher's office while class is in session where he would see no one in the hallways nor the lobby, but he would feel them - the presence of his peers from beyond the walls of the classroom, with their teachers, doing assignments, or perhaps asleep on their desk.

And beyond the walls of this lobby, Shuu feels the same presence. There are others besides them here. Students.

"How long has this school been abandoned, Senpai?" Shuu asks instead. Chill runs through his spine.

"About 2 and a half years I think".

"... You won't happen to be the one turning on the lights all around the building, won't you?"

"Nah, the power has been off for most of the years".

"Including tonight?"

"Including tonight".

So how is it that this room is so well-lit and it feels like classes are in session?

"When you think about it, it's a nice change compared to those other portals. I've never been to a proper school, but if it's like this, I regret never going," The bespectacled young man looks wistful. Shuu is a little baffled by his confession. Sure, the scene they're witnessing is a good reenactment of a typical school day, yet considering the situation, this might as well be a preface to a school horror story. Don't most of them start exactly like this? A peaceful school day and then, boom, something happens!

"Uh, yeah," Shuu shifts in discomfort, "So, if this is a nice change, what's normal for most portals?"

Koukichi turns around and resumes walking, continuing their tour towards a hallway to the left. As most Japanese schools, the hallway is kept clean and organized. The only signs of student activities are the posters on the bulletin board; of school festivals and club recruitments. All of them date back to two years ago.

"The occasional mutants hiding in the corner in hopes of catching you off guard before jumping you. Less brightness. The whole place would be warped one way or another to retain its original state - most of the time it's very grim and dark. You want to check the rooms?"

No. However, Koukichi has made a stop in front of one of the doors in the hallway, his hand is already reaching halfway towards the handle. Shuu looks up to see the sign at the top of the door. "Teachers Office," it says. "Sure," he answers, not that he can say no when Koukichi is already in the middle of sliding the door open.

The room is the first one that appears 'busy'. Desks are arranged to form aisles, each one having stacks of mixed-matched books and papers piled quite high it forms a wall around each desk. To the walls are shelves containing more books and papers, and on one side near another door, there's a huge whiteboard with weekly timetables for the whole school.

Nothing feels off yet; unless you count the strange brightness of the room that feels like it is sunlit and the fact that the room is somewhat messy. They are walking across the room to reach a different door when Shuu looks to his right and sees a swivel chair by one of the desks lying horizontally on the floor like someone has tipped it over until it fell.

Shuu squints at the chair's cushion.

"Is that blood?" The question leaves his mouth before he can even comprehend it. There on the cushion, he can see a dark pattern that blends in with the dark material of the fabric. But there's no denying that reddish almost black blotch on the chair. "It is, isn't it?"

Koukichi stops next to Shuu and stares at the chair with an almost nonchalant mannerism. "Hmm, yeah. The building does that sometimes".

"Was someone hurt here?" What he wanted to ask was, 'Did someone die here?', but he stopped himself before saying it.

"Maybe," Koukichi answers. Shuu gapes at him. The curly-haired man shrugs, "We've only found one dead body". When he notices Shuu's lack of response, he adds, "A girl, in the classroom building's second floor".

They exit the teachers' office and continue their journey. "About two years ago," Koukichi starts. This time he's ready to tell the tales of what happened in this place, "We received an emergency beacon signal from Shun-En High School. We had an agent on the spot at the time, so, naturally, we were the first to receive a notice of anything going on in the school. The National's Security line was alerted minutes later".

They open the door to the canteen afterward, which looks eerily deserted despite having food displayed on the booths. "Don't touch those foods by the way. Trust me. They look fresh but just... don't. Anyhow, YES was pretty much just an idea then but we were first to the scene. Found multiple mutants scouring the area throughout the neighborhood. We evacuated the area and narrowed down the portal to be within the school. Hundreds of students are stuck inside, trapped by monstrous creatures".

"Zone 1," Shuu points out.

"Correct - although back then we considered the whole neighborhood to be Zone 1," Zone 1 is the area surrounding an opened portal that is directly affected by the portal itself. In a secured portal, this area is highly guarded with limited access to even espers and no civilian access. "But today we reduced Zone 1 to the school buildings".

"And Zone 2, I assume, is after our second checkpoint".

"Yes, that and the schoolyard," Zone 2 should be open for researchers and, with the right permit, visiting journalists and government officials.

"I'm surprised you keep the neighborhood open," Shuu comments. The first checkpoint should be the entrance to zone 3, which should be open to selected civilians, but Shuu remembers seeing lights on from behind the windows of the houses in the outer periphery of the suburb. People live here, which should be concerning.

"Yes, but, again, this portal has been acting very docile in the last 2 years and people truly want to stay in their homes. Zone 3 is still a highly secured area, of course, and the people are warned of the possibility of sudden evacuation or anomalies. They know what they're signing up for".

"Docile," Shuu repeats. That's an interesting way to describe a portal. One might say a portal is secured or contained, but never docile.

"Do you know what a portal is, Shuu?"

Shuu hesitates. He knows enough to not receive a full lecture, he's the grandson of the great Esper Narukami Ryuu after all. However, the question is framed almost like a trap. "Uh, well, people used to call them gates," Shuu begins, "Nowadays, however, we recognize it as a portal linking our habitat to that of the mutants. It allows those mutants to roam the place and slowly corrupt it, making it their new habitat".

"Correct! 100 to Shuu, I'm really impressed by how smart you are!"

Shuu doesn't know if Koukichi is mocking him or is genuinely impressed. Someone of his caliber should have better knowledge of portals considering how much longer he has been in the industry compared to Shuu. Moreover, the research on portals and mutants has always been confidential. Most civilians have very little idea of what a portal is and what a mutant could do. Until a couple of hours ago, Shuu is in the same footing as most of those civilians.

"So, how about this place? Have you seen any sort of corruption or signs of mutants?" Koukichi asks.

"No... not really". There's an air of strangeness to this place, but nowhere near how Shuu imagined Zone 1 to any portal would be.

"Exactly".

"But then, if it's been docile, how come you haven't destroyed the portal completely? Shouldn't it make the job easier?" Perhaps Shuu's being too harsh on his judgment. The average time of a successful portal destruction is 5 years post a successful containment. That does not take the fact that not all containment attempts are successful into consideration. Containment is the attempt to reduce the diameter of Zone 1, 2, and 3, hence minimizing the reach of mutants that come out of the portal. However, containment is known to be an active effort. Portals would not stop from conjuring mutants from time to time and a contained area would always need a team of espers patrolling it to control the amount of mutants.

To have Zone 1 this peaceful, with no mutants, and with minimum corruption, it should ease the job of reducing Zone 1 and, finally, zeroing into the portal and locking it forever.

"No. Of course not," Koukichi looks weirdly calm. Or perhaps it is Shuu who is a little too tense, like how one should be when close to a portal. "You see, we don't even know what causes it to behave this way".

Koukichi then continues as they return to the hallway and walk to a double door at the very end, leading them to an adjacent building. The sign at the top of the double door says, "Classroom Building".

"It begins just like any other containment, honestly. On the first day, we evacuated as many people as we could, inside and outside of the school. We eliminated every mutant we discovered, The first signs of corruption started later in the week. Random screams from houses when we know everyone in the area has been evacuated, the school hallways appearing dark and bloody, random appearance of students looking like a zombie- that lasted about a month".

They walk in silence, entering just another brightly lit empty hallway. The wall on their right is one connected to classrooms. Most classrooms in Japan have frosted windows overlooking the hallway, and so are these classrooms. The glasses are blurred, to not distract the students inside from the outside as they study. Shuu knows no one should be in those classrooms now, but he wonders if he walks closer to those frosted windows, will he see shadows of hunched shoulders as heads bent to their desks?

"After that month everything just... stops".

"Stops?"

"Yeah. We have contained zone 1 to the school building by then".

"What happened? What did you do?"

Koukichi does not answer instantly like he's holding himself back from saying too much. "One thing led to another," see?, "One day we just see less corruption and less mutants. All we're left with is this, a school that continuously feels like it's in session, like it's stuck in time," Koukichi does not open any of the classroom doors this time. He just leads them through the long hallway, passing the door to Class 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, all the way to 1-6.

"And the dead girl?"

"We found the crime scene after the portal has gone docile. In the second-floor girl's bathroom... and another one in the gym".

"Wait crime scene? As in...?" One never calls a scene where a victim of a mutant is found a 'crime scene'.

"She's murdered... by, we think, one of us. A human".

Shuu did not expect that.

Koukichi turns to a flight of stairs to the second floor.,

"... And, how about the gym? What did you find there?"

"Just that, another crime scene".

"Who died there?" And didn't Koukichi say they only find 1 dead body?

"Could be anyone. There are still 89 people missing in the sudden appearance of a portal in Shun-En High School. We don't know what happened to them to this very day. It's not uncommon for us to just find random blood splatter and droplets in these empty hallways or one of the rooms and no body at all".

"And did you collect any samples from those bloods?" They can do testings on those samples and perhaps find an answer. From where Shuu is, a little behind Koukichi's right, he catches the older guy smiling, yet he doesn't say a word.

They arrive on the second floor. "Nonetheless, nothing to worry about besides the occasional appearance of blood here and there, you won't see anything crazy or anything like that. Most of the time the host of the portal would play a trick on you with the appearance of students and that's it".

"Students?"

"Yeah. A lot of our members report hearing noises from inside the classrooms like there are students inside, some even reported seeing the missing students, doing normal student things like studying and loitering the hallway like nothing weird is happening at all".

Funny, because now that Koukichi mentions that, Shuu starts noticing that he hears them too. Behind those classroom doors, he hears the low rumble of people, speaking lowly. There's also a distant voice of an adult, giving lectures. As they take a turn to the hallway, they walk past the alcove leading to the bathrooms. Shuu swears he catches a glimpse of long black hair swishing from the corner of his eyes as the owner of said hair enters the alcove - probably a girl, going to the girl's bathroom. Where they found...

Shuu feels the cold sweat wetting his palms as he keeps his eyes on Koukichi's wide shoulders. Stay in your lane, Shuu reminds himself, stick close to Koukichi-senpai, keep him talking, and get yourself distracted.

"So... the portal, have you found it and it's host, Senpai?"

"Yeah, because our scout was here to recruit new members to join us and form YES. Unfortunately, he is one of the missing so we don't know exactly what he saw. We simply traced his last known location. Considering that the transmission of his beacon is quite early compared to the time the first call to the national emergency line is made, we believe that he sent the alert at the early onset of the portal's formation".

"Which means he was near where the portal was. Zone 0," Shuu follows Koukichi walking past Classroom 2-1.

"Yes, he was scheduled to visit a classroom that day. A funny coincidence really, though we wonder if it was that visit that triggered the whole tragedy".

Shuu watches Koukichi's back carefully, guessing his emotions. Losing someone you've worked with for a while would surely affect Koukichi a certain way. But, for someone who has learned about this school and witnessed firsthand what has unfolded, Koukichi seems strangely detached from how tragic it is. Shuu wonders if it's part of the job to be desensitized. 

"And which classroom was he meant to visit?" Shuu asks.

Suddenly, the person Shuu is following stops and makes a quick turn to face him. That is when Shuu notices it is no longer the messy black curls he's seeing, nor is it someone clad in a dark purple bodysuit. No, instead Shuu finds bleached blonde hair and a white school shirt that is half unbuttoned. The figure that was tall and muscular has shrunk to someone of Shuu's height and posture. There are no glasses and an airy zen-like smile; replacing that is a cheeky grin as the person slams the surface to the classroom door next to them. Class 2-2.

"Class 2-2, of course! The scout will visit Class 2-2, our class!!"

**

"Oi, don't yawn Takao".

Takao quickly shuts his widely opened mouth and forcefully swallows his yawn. "Well pardon me. It's just about 12.00 am; absolutely too early for anyone to consider going to bed".

"Cut the sarcasm. The team is considering you to join their ranks, and I heard they will make you their prospective team captain in the coming years. You're a skilled elemental, man; don't ruin it," the guy, who is driving their black Jeep, says. Takao grumbles lowly. He would do anything to advance in his career, but he's only a Falcon. They are not meant to be given such short notice to patrol a portal just because a member of the Garuda called in sick.

"Yeah, but why can't you guys find another Garuda? There are tens of you".

"And more than a hundred of you Falcons. Come on, man. And you'll be one of us soon enough, so best get used to it now, ain't that right?"

Takao huffs at that while another Garuda member sags further in his seat until his head falls onto Takao's left shoulder. Great, this guy's asleep and Takao was the one getting a scolding for yawning.

Their van just passed the last checkpoint to Shun-En, the one portal people like to whisper about in YES because of its mysteries. The fact that the portal appears in a school adds to the fascination surrounding it because everyone has had their insane twist on a school horror story.

"Isn't it looking a little too lively tonight?" Takao voices as they park their Jeep next to other vehicles. He doesn't know why exactly he said that. It seems like more people are moving about in the schoolyard. In his experience visiting this site, the portal has been dormant for a long time so the only ones looking excited in the vicinity would be the research team, who views the place as a data goldmine.

Most of the espers consider it a boring job. Nothing ever happens in Shun-En.

Perhaps it's because the 12.00 am patrol squadron will be entering in a minute, but the last time Takao took the same shift it wasn't even this busy. "What's going on?" The driver, who should be the second-in-command for tonight's 12.00 am patrol, asks the person manning the sonar detector in the closest tent to the parking lot.

"Finally, you're here! Get ready quick. 12.00 am squadron has entered the building early, you'll be entering with the Phoenix," The person, a researcher from Garuda, does not beat around the bush.

The five of them, the one from the Jeep Takao was in, gape. "The Phoenix?" The second-in-command sounds as confused as they all are.

"Code red, dude! The Phoenixes are on their way. Get ready!"

Soon enough, Takao finds himself putting on more equipment than usual on his person without even comprehending the situation. "Who sent a Code Red? And Team Phoenix?"

"A Phoenix sent a Code Red. Deputy Leader Abe".

Oh, that sounds bad. They don't get a lot of Code Reds in contained portals but from a Phoenix? That hardly ever happens. "What happened? I thought this portal is non-aggressive," Takao mutters to the second-in-command, who looks thoughtful and concerned as he puts on his mask, which no one ever does when patrolling Shun-En. But if this place can take down a Phoenix, perhaps they should have all along.

"The trialist that has gone in with Deputy Leader is currently missing," one of the researchers says. Takao's mind goes silent. Then his heart sinks.

"No way. Shuu?"

"Narukami Shuu, yes".

Takao turns to have a look at the school building's brightly-lit windows. "No," he gasps, "Not this place. Not Shuu".

89 people, mostly students, are still missing to this day after the portal opened in Shun-En High School. Takao would rather that number not be rounded up to 90, especially not with his young friend as part of that number.

"Team Phoenix is entering Zone 1. Second batch of 12.00 am be on your designated station, copy," Their head comms, which is connected to their ears through their mask, announces.

"12.00 am second batch is on the way to the designated station. Will meet Team Phoenix on the spot, copy," The Second-in-command answers to his comms. Takao hears him clearly from his right.

The five of them walk to the dispatching zone, where teams line up for a pre-briefing before entering Zone 1. On the way, a helicopter hovers over the school area before making a slow descent to the parking area, blowing ripples of air throughout the school's front yard. Someone in complete YES attire of a white tracksuit, and a semi-gas mask is hanging by the door of the helicopter. And who else would make such an entrance if not Team Phoenix?

Sure enough, as the helicopter hangs just above the ground, the person jumps down and walks towards their team. They drop their hoodie to reveal long flowy strawberry blonde hair. Kikuya Rika is soon joined by researchers and fellow Espers with their tablets as they explain to her the current status.

Behind her, the helicopter makes a complete landing. Three boys exit the vehicle looking like they left their beds in a hurry, all dressed in baggy clothes and tousled hair. The first one, and the tallest, is unmistakable. That's Segawa Hide, looking dark as always. Everyone has heard about how much he hates being alerted of a sudden emergency in the middle of his beauty sleep. Working with him when he's cranky is rumored to be the worst.

Segawa Hide walks with just enough urgency in his steps, his eyes set ahead of him, hair and clothes flowing by the rhythm of the spin of the helicopter's blade, making him appear almost Godly. Like this, he looks like either a model or a man on a mission; and to Takao's knowledge, the young man is both.

A short distance behind him is a tall blonde known as Segawa Felix. Unlike his older brother, there's a different kind of swagger in how Felix walks. It borders between lazy and arrogant; and paired with that upper tilt to the chin and eyes that always look down upon others, Felix comes across as a cocky genius that takes nothing seriously. Even from afar, everyone can see him dragging his feet slightly. Honestly, Takao dreads the day he has to work with both Segawa's at the same time. One is hard enough, imagine two.

As for the third person, Takao thought it would be Sora, but, looking up, he reckons a silent silhouette of a person on top of the school building, watching silently as swirls of wind form around him, blowing his hair gently. The silent watcher is, Takao suspects, Sora; probably intent on doing his own search and rescue mission without consulting the team. That is the Leader's modus operandi; he moves according to his own accord.

That leaves the third person, the one walking closely behind Segawa Felix, a mystery. Considering his short stature though, there's one name that comes to mind.

"Is that Guide Hinata?" The Garuda next to Takao murmurs to no one, sounding half in awe. How can they not, here exists the one guide with the miraculous power of Guiding not 1, but 5 S-Class Espers. Every Esper in YES knows of him and is instructed strictly to not talk about him outside of YES, a whole legal labyrinth that no one dares to challenge. However, most of them have not had the luck to see the guy, let alone talk to him.

Takao had only been lucky for the few times of having to work with Hinata Ren, usually simply by being stationed in a tent right next to where Hinata Ren would be sitting. But even that is a rare occasion. Most times they only see him in passing, fenced by the tall figures of Team Phoenix that has all the right to monopolize such ability.

Looking at Guide Hinata Ren now, Takao wonders if he has always been this small or if he just lost weight. His figure looks even smaller in that oversized hooded jacket. He's getting close enough for them to see the dark brown hair, all messed up by sleep and the wind. 

"What do you mean the Guide will go inside?"

The second in command exclaims at the esper and researcher who were previously interacting with Kikuya Rika. The lady herself has turned around to meet up with her fellow Phoenixes. 

"I don't know, Kikuya-san said it is their agreed strategy to send Guide Hinata inside with Mirage, uhh, Segawa Felix," The Esper replies, looking unsure of himself.

"We can't just send him inside without the approval of people from the Guide Protection Council!"

"It's okay-ed by Sora".

"That does not make it right! The portal has taken 89 people, now 90, and we don't know how many more after tonight. If Guide Hinata goes missing here, we'll be expecting a massive lawsuit!"

"I sense that Sora is still keeping this quiet and under the radar - I mean, even Segawa Felix arrives without his head mask-"

"That's even more problematic and would gain us an even bigger lawsuit!! Sora has gone inside the building, and if he too goes missing, who would fend for us?"

"W-well, Kikuya-san said Sora wanted 2 Phoenixes to stay behind and wait in Zone 2 in case everything goes haywire and everyone inside disappears".

The second in command exhales heavily and wipes his face. This means Sora is ready to sacrifice all of them who are going inside, but not his dearest Phoenix. Two shall stay to continue his legacy.

"But he's willing to send in the Guide? Isn't he his darling? As far as I know Sora treats his guide like he's made of glass".

"Um, if I'm allowed to voice my mind uh, Sir, I think Sora does this because he's confident his plan won't fail". Takao hears another loud and long exhausted exhale. Meanwhile, some distance ahead, they can all see The Phoenixes surrounding their guide as the latter speaks to them, looking like he's making a point as they all listen. Even Kikuya Rika looks like she's in doubt and is ready to stop him anytime. 

This does not seem like a Phoenix plan. It's a Sora-and-Guide-Hinata plan. Rumor has it Sora entrusted a lot of secrets that not even his co-leaders of YES know to his guide. 

"You know what, I might as well disappear in this portal and not deal with the aftermath," The second-in-command states, "So what's the plan? Who are the two Phoenix staying behind?"

"Kikuya-san and Segawa-san. Segawa Hide, I mean. Mirage and Guide Hinata will enter. Kikuya-san said Segawa Felix's power was effective against the portal when they first contained it. 

"All right. And how does this go? We tag along with them?"

"Uh, that's the thing, Sir. Kikuya-san instructed that 4 should follow Segawa Felix, and 1, and only 1, should follow Guide Hinata. They will go their separate ways inside".

"Bullshit".

The two bicker, completely oblivious to the Phoenixes and the guide approaching them from behind. "So, I take it that everyone's briefed on the plan?" 

"You must've misheard - ah, yes, Second Deputy Kikuya-san, this guy is saying that Guide Hinata will enter with 1 Esper as a guard," the second-in-command says.

"Yes. And Ren will be choosing that Esper because it can't be any of us," Kikuya Rika smiles thinly like she's hurt by the fact that her Guide will be with an Esper outside of her main team.

"You should take the commander," Segawa Hide suggests gloomily from behind Guide Hinata, "He's the most experienced and looks the fittest".

Takao finds himself grumbling internally at that. Not all Espers have to be muscular. Most elementals, for example, are not. But choosing the second-in-command makes the most sense. Being their commander, it's easy to assume he's the best pick out of them all. On the other hand, Takao doesn't think he will be picked. From his badges alone, it's obvious he's not even in Team Garuda. Not yet, at least.

They feel Guide Hinata Ren's gaze on all of them. Meeting eyes with him, Takao can't help the sudden spike of giddiness inside. Every Esper idolizes guides, and it's not a secret that Guide Hinata has a massive fan club among both Team Garuda and Team Falcon.

"You," Guide Hinata lifts a finger, "I choose you".

That finger points at Takao.

**

To Be Continued.