Author: Yume Taida
A train leaves Tokyo for the city of Kyoto, a city in the interior of Japan, on the train a young man caught people's attention, he was a young young man, he appeared to be about 16 years old, with hair reaching the end of his neck, with a bangs that covered part of his left eye, with a blue color and large, empty eyes, his white skin matches his clothes, a white dress shirt and black tailored pants, with dress shoes, the young man wore a large travel backpack on his back and listening to some music on his flashy black headphones that covered his entire ear, the young man leaned his head against the train window while looking like a dead fish, it was impossible to understand what was going on in your mind.
The train has just arrived at Kyoto station, the mysterious young man gets off the train and goes towards the exit of the city station, in his right hand he was holding a map of a dormitory which indicated that that was where he wanted to go, in the Halfway there the young man passes next to a gas station, the station was almost closing until...
–Hey kid, you're new in town, aren't you?
The gas station attendant speaks subtly to the boy, he wore a cap that was part of his long-sleeved uniform mixing red and white, and had long, wavy hair at the ends, with red eyes, and was extremely pale, despite a strange atmosphere that hung over him, he seemed like just an ordinary attendant.
–...
The boy stays quiet, with a certain air of suspicion...
–Haha, I see it's not much to talk about, where are you from?
The attendant asks.
–From Tokyo.
The boy speaks in a lower, calmer tone.
–From Tokyo? Even though it's not exactly a small city, it's nothing compared to a city like Tokyo, you should spend your days going out with friends or staying at home, but in general it's a good city... look at the time, well, We're about to close, my name is Ken Aoto, nice to meet you.
The young man who appeared to be in his early twenties extended his hand to the boy.
The boy greets him.
–I think it's time to go, don't you? Goodbye boy.
The young man waves to the boy as he walks to his new home...
–Everything is so dark… let me see *opens the GPS on your phone* it's in the Pontocho region.
The young man continues walking in the dark and lonely night.
Arriving at the dormitory where he will live from now on, the young man comes across a large, beautiful and elegant place, when he looks on one of the walls he sees a strange weapon at the reception, he finds it strange but it doesn't bother him, it was very dark, even being the night.
-Hey you! You fool!!
When he turns back, the young man sees a shadow running behind him, it was not possible to see what it was due to the darkness, but the shadow tries to hit him with a kick, but ends up failing, probably due to the darkness of the environment.
The young man is confused by the situation.
Midori what is this???
A voice shouts in the background and the lights come on, revealing that the shadow was actually a girl.
Midori why did she do that?
??? Ask young Midori who was on the floor
–I went down to go to the bathroom and I came across a strange shadow opening the door, what did you expect?
Midori responds angrily.
–He is the new resident here, have you forgotten that? I said that a new student was coming, he came from Tokyo.
–Sorry Shiori-Senpai, I didn't think about that possibility, at the time I thought it could be a thief.
Midori apologizes.
– Mistakes happen Midori, I'm sorry about that, I didn't introduce myself, did I? My name is Shizuka Shiori, I'm the oldest in this dorm and from tomorrow I'll be your Senpai at school, you can call me Shiori senpai.
With a happy face, Shiori says this, slightly tilting her head down, Shiori is an elegant woman, too mature for her age, with short hair and bangs that completely cover her right eye, with beautiful skin, purer than the snow, her eye having a beautiful amber color, if anyone looked at her they wouldn't judge her as a young third year.
–I'm sorry for my attitude, my name is Midori Kimiko.
Midori is a beautiful young woman with long brown hair, fair skin, and small, honey-colored eyes.
-And what is your name?
Midori says looking at the young man with blue hair.
-My name? Rintarou Maruki.
Maruki introduces himself and for the first time says something.
–Rintarou Maruki?! Well, it will be a pleasure to work with you.
Kimiko says this with a smile on her face.
–Your room is at the last door on the second floor, can you get there alone or do you think you will need help?
The young and beautiful Shiori says this with a doubtful face.
–I can go alone, thank you, I don't need help.
Maruki says so and heads towards the second floor to find her room.
So he thought:
°°°That must be it.
When Maruki opens the door to his room, he sees a not very large, but very tidy room, in the window it was possible to see a part of the neighborhood where they lived there, as well as a single bed and a stationary tube TV and a DVD player. records on top of it, as well as the study table with a radio on top.
°°°Well… it's enough for the expense.
Maruki says this and tiredly lies down on the bed and sleeps, when in the middle of the night... Maruki feels a strange presence in her room, he didn't feel very comfortable and he felt like he was being watched...
–? What is that? What place is this?
Maruki wakes up in a completely foggy and silent place, the silence was so deafening that even his heartbeat echoed... Maruki starts walking, aimlessly, until...
–"Wake up, wake up, wake up…"
Maruki hears voices in his head.
But they become more and more frequent and louder…
–"WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!"
–! Tsk, damn…
Maruki kneels down, putting his hand on his head…
–Knock knock, wake up, you don't want to be late on your first day, right?
Everything that seemed to be a nightmare was interrupted and Maruki was woken up by knocking on the door.
He gets up and opens it to see who calls him.
–Have you seen the time? We're going to be late like this, get dressed soon.
Midori scolds Maruki for sleeping too much.
Maruki gets dressed for his first day of school, it is a standard Japanese school outfit just like the others, black dress shoes, black tailored pants, a white dress blouse and a black jacket, Maruki also took his headphones and hanging around his neck, leaving the dorm he and Midori walk calmly to school.
–Listen *pulls Maruki by the collar* What happened yesterday died with us, right?
-All good.
Arriving at the school you can notice that all the students wear the same uniform, while the men wear the same Maruki outfit, the girls wear a red skirt, a white dress shirt and a red outerwear, both uniforms have the name of the school written on them. "Kyoiku Suru", but Midori stands out from the other girls, precisely because she breaks the rules, Midori, unlike others, does not wear a coat in a conventional way, she ties it around her waist and prefers to wear a beige V-neck sweater.
–Well, we better see our room.
Midori says as she and Maruki walk to the school, upon entering, you notice an environment common in Japanese education, where the entrance is made up of six silver-colored cabinets with several drawers, in the center you can see a counter where it was possible to buy snacks during break times, and we also see a bulletin board where the high school classrooms were made up of the name of each student present there, when approaching the bulletin board it was possible to see their classroom...
–Look Maruki, how lucky isn't it? We fall into the same room, 2-C, shall we go?
Midori and Maruki then climb the long stairs and go to the second floor where it was possible to see the room they were in...
–Very well class, today we have a new student here with us, please introduce yourself.
The class teacher says.
–Rintarou Maruki, it's a pleasure to be here.
He sits in the fourth row, second desk.
–Very well class, for those who don't know me, my name is Hinata Mitsui, I'm in charge of your class and I'm the History teacher.
Being an attractive middle-aged woman, with her black, wavy hair reaching a little past the back of her head, and wearing a wide white skirt and a red blouse, with white skin, this is Hinata Mitsui.
In the middle of class:
Students…
–Hey, did you hear about the cursed CD rumor?
–Another stupid legend?
–Legend has it that everyone who watched the CD was never seen again…
–So much nonsense.
They all mutter about it until later.
After school:
–Hey Maruki, shall we leave together?
–Who is this Kimiko?
–He's the new member of the dormitory, his name is Rintarou Maruki.
–Rin-Kun is it? Nice to meet you, I'm Akemi Fumiko.
With long, straight dark hair, with a red bow in her hair, with frayed bangs just above her eyebrows, with round glasses and small, brown eyes, her white skin whiter than snow, this is Akemi Fumiko , one of the most desired schoolgirls at the school for her beauty.
-Pleasure
Maruki says a little surprised.
–So come on…
–Ehh Midori!
A young man with pointy hair calls out to her.
–? What was Satoru?
Midori asks.
–Do you remember the manga you lent me? So, ehhhh kinda not going to give it back to you, bye
–*grabs him by the sleeve* WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?
Midori asks irritably.
–*hands over the manga*
–YOU IMBECIAL DID YOU RIP HIM???
–I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was unintentional, I kind of scrolled through the page too quickly.
–You idiot *kicks you in the nuts*
–Ouch what a pain, my balls!!!
The young man falls to the ground.
–Now that I've solved the problem with this GARBAGE here, we can leave, right?
Midori says smiling, as if nothing had happened.
Walking home…
So Maruki, why did you come here?
Fumiko asks.
--? my grandparents, I lived with them, but their health was getting worse and worse, so they wanted to send me to a dormitory, to finish my studies.
Maruki responds by looking at the sky.
–Why didn't you come to school together? You can see that you like each other a lot.
Maruki asks.
–...
Fumiko stays quiet.
–She didn't attend her first classes today, it's a family matter, you know…
–Don't worry Kimiko, I really don't mind talking about it.
Fumiko says smiling.
–My parents own the biggest hotel in the city, I'm the heir to all of this, today I wasn't even supposed to go to school, even though it was the first day of school, this spring things are busier than usual.
–Everything will work out in the end, after all, it always does, right?
Midori says smiling looking directly into Fumiko's eyes.
–*laughs* You're right.
At nightfall…
A heavy rain was falling, Maruki was lying in bed, bored...
°°°Does this radio work?
Maruki asks himself mentally, he gets up from his bed and goes to the radio.
–Tsc, I think he's too old, *he touches the radio* I think I got it.
–The latest news now, the famous actress Nobumi Takemi has been missing since yesterday at two in the afternoon, one of her last destinations was her hometown of Kyoto, the last time she was seen was in front of the Akemi family hotel.
The radio host broadcasts the news.
–And that TV? It works? *click*
When you press it, the sound of it squeaking comes out and the screen turns gray.
*something falls out of backpack*
-What is that?
Maruki wonders as he approaches, as he gets closer he can see a white CD.
–How did it end up in here?
Maruki wonders.
-Why not? *places the CD inside the disc player*.
When placing the screen it remains gray, but the hissing decreases... until... it is possible to see a shadow, apparently it is a person, but something was not normal, this shadow was begging for help, that's what it seemed, it was so disturbing that the atmosphere in the room it became heavy.
-But what is this? I think it's better to take it off.
Maruki approaches the disc player to take out the CD, until…
–!!!
Maruki is scared by what happened, he feels like he is being pulled into the TV, but he successfully takes that CD out of the player, thus causing him to have one of the worst experiences he has ever had.
Following day…
°°°Did that really happen?
Maruki wonders as he gets ready for school.
Along the way, this time alone, because when he showed up at school with Midori, rumors about them started.
–Ah no, Ahhhh, *Paft*, help someone help me.
Some dumb schoolboy ended up losing his balance on his bike and ending up crashing into a trash can.
Maruki goes there and helps him get out of the trash can where half his body was there, when he sees the schoolboy's face, he realizes that he had already seen him before... it was Satoru who was kicked in the nuts by Midori.
–Shit, I got all dirty, thank you, I owe you a Ramen later, wait, you went out yesterday with Midori and Fumiko, I'm Kentaro Satoru, nice to meet you.
Satoru is a young man with medium hair, reaching the middle of the back of his head, but his hair is spiked at the ends, his hair has a strange red color and his right ear has 5 holes, 2 in the lobes and 3 in the cartilage, his eyes are dark brown , in addition to wearing the uniform in a completely stripped-down way.
–Rintarou Maruki.
–Maruki, right? Is that story about you and Midori true? Huh? There are a lot of rumors going around about you two, you've barely arrived and you're already famous at school.
–They are fake, I met her recently.
–Oh, no kidding.
Satoru makes a disappointed face.
And so they talk until the school entrance.
Interval…
–Hey Maruki, did you hear the rumors about the cursed CD?
Satoru asks.
–Yes, but to be honest I don't believe it, yesterday a CD appeared in my backpack, I watched it at night, it was a little scary, I kind of got sucked into the TV, I've never experienced anything like that.
–Sucked in by TV? I can only believe that by seeing it, hahahahahaha.
Satoru takes this as just a joke from Maruki.
–Okay, after class we'll go to my room, we'll see if this is real or not.
Maruki proposes.
–Okay, I'm in.
Satoru responds.
After class…
–What a tidy room.
Satoru is impressed.
–Better take this.
Maruki pulls a gun from his travel backpack that came to this city
–Why a gun?
Satoru asks.
–Just in case, I don't even know if you want to use a gun
Maruki speaks.
–Last time I just put the CD in.
–Okay, leave it to me, *puts the CD inside* now we just have to wait.
When you do this the TV starts to hiss again, but this time something is different…
–That's crazy, I said.
Satoru turns his back.
°°°I can touch the TV!!!
Maruki is surprised when the TV starts pulling his hand and then half of his body is inside.
–Right Maru… What??? But what the hell is this? Why is your body almost completely inside the TV? Tell me it's magic, my god it's not possible.
Satoru starts moving from side to side until…
–I'll help you, wait, WAIT!
Satoru despairs.
–*Opens the door* Satoru, what a noise it is… AHHHHHHHHHH!!! HIS BODY IS HALF INSIDE THE TV.
Midori, who ends up getting scared by Satoru's gazelle screams, enters the room to see what was happening.
–YOU THINK I KNOW HOW TO SOLVE YOUR ASSHOLE, IF I KNEW I WOULDN'T BE HERE DESPERATE!
Satoru shouts back and they start arguing.
-You useless!
Midori screams.
–You stupid idiot.
And the argument continues... until they both trip and push Maruki into the TV and fall together.
*Plaft*
The three fall into a completely foggy environment, with a greenish color and it was possible to see several stairs, but it was not possible to understand what was there.
–I rolled my back in this joke
Satoru complains.
-Where are we? What place is this?
Midori asks, worried...
–We are inside the TV.
Maruki responds.
–Haha, inside the TV? Stop being silly.
Midori responds by not believing that it is real.
–He's not kidding, apparently what led us here was the CD.
Satoru says.
-CD? Don't tell me that story is real? From the legend of the cursed CD... and I'm curious to know why you two met, was it to see a school urban legend?
Midori asks fearfully.
–To be honest, I don't know what I did differently from last time, that didn't happen yesterday…
Maruki questions.
–...
Satoru stays quiet..
–The rumors said something about putting the cursed CD in backwards.
Midori says.
–...
Satoru starts to sound cold.
–Satoru… you didn't put the CD in backwards, right?
Maruki asks.
–Hehehe, look on the bright side, when we get out of here this will give us a good laugh.
–You damn pepper head, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT.
Midori says irritated.
–Why don't you shut up, Judo gorilla.
Satoru and Midori start to argue badly until something interrupts them...
-What is that?
Maruki wonders perplexedly.
When Satoru and Midori turn around they see several monsters with grotesque appearances running towards them, it certainly wasn't human...
–Run!
Maruki screams as he runs away, Satoru and Midori start running too, they run in a straight line without knowing where they are, until they reach a dead end wall in an open field that looked more like a garden.
–It's our end, what can we do against these creatures?
Satoru says with a shaky voice and extremely pale.
–Shit, I'm still too young to die…
Midori speaks in a depressed tone, basically accepting her own death.
–...
Maruki is thoughtful as the creatures get closer and closer...
When Maruki realizes, he is in a completely white and foggy place, it appears to be the same as in that dream, a place where time does not flow.
–Will it really end like this? Will this be your pathetic end?
??? Tell Maruki.
–Shut up, what do you know about me?
Maruki asks.
–I am you, the power of your soul, the power you have is greater than expected, you have no idea of your potential.
-What you mean?
–Do you really want to die like this? You and your friends will be killed in the cruelest way, but you can avoid it… awaken your power, AWAKEN ME!!!
Suddenly, all that white space disappears, like the blink of an eye.
–*Points gun to head*
-What are you doing? Do not think about it.
– BANG!
Suddenly... a strong wind appears, throwing all those strange creatures away.
–Come to me.
Maruki takes a card that was hovering in the air and crushes it, with a slashing attack all the creatures turned to dust...
END OF CHAPTER 1