"You are yawning a lot, master," Kuro commented while Asahi had his lips parted wide. His eyes were almost closed, and his glasses lifted from his nose bridge.
"Eh" was the only sound Asahi made as he walked towards the university gates. The last night he had stayed up till the sunrise making the poison and its antidote. It was one of the most contagious poisons he had ever made.
There was a large commotion among students at the university board. Plenty of students were surrounding it, even though the results had not been pinned on it. Curious about the matter, Asahi too walked into the sea of people, stretching his neck to get a better look at the board.
"Why is everyone gathered here?" He asked one of the female students.
"Well, apparently, one of the students from the university died in an accident. He was a popular one since he often participated in activities and was friendly even with the lecturers. Alas," the girl sighed while Asahi nodded.
As the crowd got a bit less, he tried to get a closer look at the newsletter, and there it read: "Yamazaki Shiro, from the second year of business administration, had his demise the last night. It was a road accident."
Yamazaki? He couldn't quite point out who exactly it was. Was it that idiot boy who was waving at him? Or the strange guy? Either way, he walked away from there. His classes were about to start.
"Good morning, class." The lecturer entered the crowded room, which was filled with murmurs and gossip. As the teacher took his stance, the students quickly stopped their chatter and focused on the old man.
"I am very sorry to announce that one of our students has died in a road accident. He was a good student."
It was the same lecturer from the previous day. Despite his nagging temperament, he still spoke of the good traits of the student who had died. Suddenly the pin-drop silent room started to buzz with gossip again.
While most students empathetically shared the same opinions as the teacher, a few had tears down their cheeks. Meanwhile, like a cold stone, Asahi lazily narrowed his eyes around the class. They were all the same students. All of a sudden, a wave of unusual energy was transmitted, and Asahi immediately had his eyes sharply wide awake.
"Now let's begin the class," the lecturer announced. As he turned towards the blackboard, the lecturer had a slight smirk that lasted a nanosecond, and he started to draw a few drawings on the board.
Despite the sudden surprise, Asahi calmed himself down and started to tap his feet while conjuring the prospects as to where such an energy could have come from. It was the same energy the dead boy shared, and there was no way it was a coincidence.
While the lecturer was awfully loud and non-nagging, unlike the previous day, the students were barely paying attention. Most were immersed in their talks. It was perhaps due to the boring topic.
*Bell Rang*
"Thank you, class." The lecturer quickly postponed his class without finishing the topic that was to be covered. As he left the class, Asahi too packed his bag and walked towards the cafeteria.
'I had suspected that boy, but he is dead. The other suspect is the stone-faced man; moreover, the lecturer was acting weirder too.' His eyebrows furrowed as the more he thought about the things, the more it didn't make sense.
The entire event missed something. Something that tied it all together. Did Mr. Kobayashi not give him full details? Or were the spiritual phenomena around him too unusual? Either way, I walked towards the token station and paid.
Then, after standing in the line, he took a bowl of rice, some soup, and some tomatoes. The area was less packed. He sat on one of the empty tables and started to devour the lunch. Suddenly he could feel another wave of spiritual powers. It was the same from the day before and the one he felt a few moments ago.
'The bathroom,' he quickly figured out the location. It was the bathroom on the topmost floor.
He pressed his chair back and quickly left the table while his food remained soiled. Lunging through the stairs, Asahi heaved by the time he reached the topmost floor. The entire lecture halls were filled with students, and yet, Asahi could feel the faint traces of the unusual energy.
'It should be someplace here,' he thought to himself while observing every nook and cranny.
His footsteps clicked on the cemented floors. As he made his way towards the bathroom, suddenly a woman crashed into his arms.
"Ah!" She whined while suddenly falling backwards. Since she wore heels, her ankles twisted, and she landed on the ground.
"I'm sorry." Asahi could feel the pain as his body collided with a person. He apologized, and without even seeing the girl's face, he continued to walk towards the bathroom, unbeknowst to him that the girl had a face he was very familiar with.
Suddenly all traces of the energy were gone. Even the tiniest bit was left behind. He gently punched open the bathroom. It was pitch black, and suddenly a pair of claws reached out for Asahi's face.
"SEAL!" He took out his talisman from his inner pocket and threw it towards the claws. Suddenly, as if a sandstorm had landed inside the bathroom, the darkness dissipated and the hands perished like dust, yet not one had accumulated on the floor.
'What.. what is going on?' he thought to himself.
Had he let his guard down even for a second, he would have been sliced and diced. He took a closer look inside the bathroom, but there were no yokai or spirits. So then what was that thing?
Just as he turned around, he saw the same girl who had been pushed to the floor. She had the same face as the student who had died, Yamazaki Shiro.
"Hajimemashite, Dragon Guardian."
The girl held a smirk on her face, and all of a sudden, the entire hallway felt dim in Asahi's eyes. He couldn't control his motion, and his world felt like it was spinning. As he fell, his consciousness left.