Prologue #7

Midnight Disaster

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DAYTIME

OST - Living in a Lazy Parallel World, Ms. Monomi's Practice Lesson

AS I neared the aqua-haired teen, I could just barely begin to make out certain bits of a conversation that was currently being held between him and the magenta-haired kid from earlier. Needless to say, the content was a bit too unusual for my tastes.

"Hey Amane, you said that your spirit animal is probably a fox, right?" the light blue-haired boy enthused, one hand on his waist as he held his other palm out at his side.

Amane raised his index finger conspiratorially at the thought. "But of course," he smirked, "I am rather clever, after all. If not, I couldn't even dream to have achieved a talent similar to the Ultimate Con Artist. It is important that people believe me."

"So what do you think is my spirit animal?" his companion tilted his head as his bright green eyes stared at him in curiosity.

"Well, if I had to guess... Roka, I'd probably say you're a raccoon," Amane held his hand to his chin in thought, snickering slightly, "You're certainly curious and hyperactive enough."

"You really think so?" Roka's eyes seemed to sparkle in the light of the room.

"Yup," Amane nodded with a smile, "For that matter, I think Ichibei's probably something along the lines of a vulture. As the Ultimate Blackmailer, naturally, he benefits from the misery of others. Did you know that he's been profiling all of us? Creepy, right?"

Raising an eyebrow, Roka gave the shorter male a mocking grin. "Isn't that also the nature of the Ultimate Swindler?" he pointed out, "You're just as shady as he is."

"Yes, but the difference is I'm clever about it," the magenta-haired boy responded proudly, placing a hand on his chest, "Nobody knows there's anything wrong with me, until after the truth comes out. Even so, I usually come out unscathed."

Approaching the duo, I wasn't sure how exactly I felt hearing that these two were bonding over shady spirit animals. Vaguely, it made me begin to wonder what creature exactly this Amane person would consider me to be classed.

Slightly amused by the prospect, I decided to join their conversation. "If that's the case, what exactly would you consider to be my spirit animal?" I held a hand to my chin in consideration, feeling slightly accomplished that the two of them were both shorter than me for once.

"And you are?" Amane glanced at me questioningly, surprised by my presence.

"The name's Murano," I introduced, "I'm sure you're already aware of my talent by now."

Roka's eyes widened in realization. "Ohh, you're that tiny bounty hunter!"

"Y-- yeah," my voice shook in irritation as I attempted to keep a smile.

I didn't want to hear that from the person who seemed to be the third shortest of the bunch.

The blue-haired boy held out his hand in greeting. "I'm Roka Yamanaka, the Ultimate Post Mortem Photographer," he nonchalantly revealed, "It's a weird talent to have-- I know."

"Post mortem photographer?" I repeated in bewilderment, "You mean you're one of those people who take pictures of crime scenes or something? The ones whose pictures are referenced when gathering evidence?"

"Yep! That's me alright!" he pointed enthusiastically towards himself.

The kid seemed surprisingly hyper for someone with such a controversial job for a talent.

"How old are you anyway?" I inquired, wishing to be certain.

Speaking to Yuhara had made me wary of assuming the age of others based on their height.

Well, speaking to the Ultimate Missionary had made me wary of others overall, actually.

"I'm seventeen," he informed me matter-of-factly, "Probably the same age as you are, I'd assume. Amane here's probably a year older than the both of us. Though he won't actually clarify it..."

"You can't be serious!" I took a step back in shock, "This midget is?"

"As a fellow vertically challenged person, I'm sure you realize that I'll kill you both in your sleep," the potential eighteen-year-old glared darkly at us with a sinister grin.

It seemed that he wasn't amused.

"Ah, sorry," I apologized, scratching the back of my head awkwardly, "Amane, was it? You said that you're a swindler or something, right?

"Oh?" the curly magenta-haired boy narrowed his eyes with an ominous smile, his fox-themed hat adding to his shady demeanor, "It appears we have an eavesdropper on our hands. I'll have you know that I will be compensated for this."

"Yeah, right..." I rolled my eyes in response.

The eighteen-year-old bowed theatrically. "At any rate, you are right. Amane Shiraishi, Swindler Extraordinaire at your service," he announced with a knowing grin, "So, Murano, what did you want to talk to us about?"

"Well, I couldn't help but notice that you seem pretty hooked on spirit animals for some reason. Is that something the Ultimate Swindler should be paying attention to?"

"By the way, I can't help but notice that you seem pretty fixated on partaking in our conversation. Is that something the Ultimate Bounty Hunter should bother to do?" the boy fired back without missing a beat.

"Good point."

He had me there.

"Of course, I'm just joking with you," the Shiraishi clarified, "The thought of a creature that isn't human representing the personality or aura of one just interests me, actually. Think of it like Ichibei's profiling-- except more innocent. It's nice to know that I can have an easy way to get a person's personality down pat in my mind. It can be a bit inaccurate since I'm just guessing, of course."

"I see," I nodded, intrigued by the concept.

I had never placed much faith in such notions before.

The eighteen-year-old gave me a hard stare as he pondered something that I couldn't possibly fathom. It felt a bit uncomfortable, almost as if he was scrutinizing my every action.

"A wolf," Amane finally spoke up after much thought.

"Excuse me?"

"You asked me what I think your spirit animal is, right?" he explained, "I think a wolf would be pretty accurate."

While that was a bit stereotypical to hear... I wanted to know his reason for coming to such a conclusion.

"How so?" I prompted him to elaborate.

"Well, you seem pretty conservative or reserved as a person, almost as if you're trying to keep others at a distance. I can also tell that you're probably pretty intelligent, I doubt many people would pay that much attention to know the specific nature of a post mortem photographer. Plus you seem to be pretty good at analyzing situations. You may give off a nice aura, but I can tell that you're actually a pretty calculating person," he informed me much to my surprise.

My eyes were wide. "That's actually a pretty insightful observation," I expressed, placing a hand on my hip, "Have you ever considered doing something in the characterization department before?"

Amane shook his head. "Nope," he denied, "I'm actually pretty content just the way I am. If I have to be honest, my little sister is probably the reason why I'm so interested in such trivial matters. My outfit was actually made by her-- she has a whole line of spirit animal-related attire."

"You have a younger sister?" Roka was surprised, "That must be pretty cool... I'm actually an only child... It's pretty boring being the only one around most of the time. A childhood friend of mine is all I've got."

"I suppose she is rather fun-- albeit annoying sometimes," Amane scoffed at the thought before quickly turning somber, "Now that I think about it, I actually really miss her..."

"Me too," the blue-haired boy smiled sadly.

I sympathized with their feelings. To be honest, I held that same feeling right now towards my younger sister, Chieko.

My brother, however, was another story.

Before the mood could get even more depressing, I decided to make my escape. "At any rate, it was nice meeting you guys," I smiled towards them with a nod, ending the dreary conversation.

It was about time I moved on to someone else.

"You too," Roka agreed, watching as I parted ways with them.

"Yeah," Amane nodded, casually waving.

Returning the favour, I moved on, continuing my endeavor to meet the rest of what I assumed to be the missing Class 49.

***

As I continued to roam through the groups of eccentric individuals that I had already greeted, I felt a small tap against my shoulder. Startled by the sudden contact, I turned around, coming face to face with a slightly taller teen with short black hair and pale grey eyes.

His face was shaded by a blue baseball cap as it gave his appearance a sort of mysterious vibe in accompaniment to the similarly-colored bandana that he had wrapped around his neck, blocking a portion of his long-sleeved shirt and his sleeveless jeans jacket from sight. His shirt was lined with a pattern of horizontal black and white stripes.

Nervously, he fiddled with something inside of the right pocket of his bronze pants as I could barely make out a crumpled piece of paper that was clutched tightly his hand. In his left palm, he held a pair of suspiciously familiar headphones that wouldn't stop setting off alarm bells in my head.

I had a feeling he wasn't supposed to have those items, but for the life of me, I couldn't fathom why.

"M-- Murano, right...?" the kid appeared pretty reluctant to ask as he broke into a cold sweat before my very eyes.

"Yes," I nodded in confusion, "Are you alright?"

Instantly, he shoved both the piece of paper and the headphones towards me as he bowed apologetically, hiding his face from sight. 

His figure trembled. "These are yours... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take them... I was so surprised..." he muttered incoherently.

Quite perplexed, I took note of the tell-tale blue and purple motif of the audio device that was currently in his possession, recognizing it from what should still be situated on my head, underneath my cap. 

Hesitantly, I placed my hands over my ears to confirm my suspicions. Realizing that my headphones were indeed no longer present, I snatched the item from him in one fell swoop, turning my attention towards the piece of paper in his grasp. The paper appeared to be the note from that classroom, the one that held that unsettling greeting from what may be a member of the school staff.

"Why?" I narrowed my eyes in irritation, glaring at him sharply.

Standing straight once more, the kid attempted to explain his actions. "I'm sorry, it's a habit of mine. I've tried to stop-- but I can't!" he stressed, clearly horrified by the situation, "Please don't arrest me, I made sure to give them back, okay? I meant no harm! Honest!"

Closing my eyes, I decided to give him the benefit of a doubt.

"Calm down, I'm not going get you arrested," I folded my arms, glancing off to the side as I considered the prospect, "...or at least I can't right now. Relax."

Sighing in relief, the boy slouched. "Thank you so much!" he smiled, "It's just, I heard you were a bounty hunter, so when I realized I had stolen from you, I just panicked!"

"You..." I raised an eyebrow, "You're a kleptomaniac?"

He nodded. "I'm Ryu Akihiro, the Ultimate Pickpocket," he informed me, "I honestly didn't mean to take it at all. Before I knew it, it was already in my hand."

"I'm Murano," I introduced myself, proceeding to warn him, "You're pretty lucky I didn't realize on my own that I had been stolen from. Otherwise, I'm not sure you'd still be intact."

The Akihiro shuddered. "Man, you must have such a bad impression of me by now..." he frowned at the thought, clearly depressed, "I really wanted to avoid that. I suppose I can't really fault you..."

I kind of felt bad for him.

"Tell you what," I began, "Why don't we redo this whole introduction? Then you'll have the chance to properly introduce yourself without me having any preconceived notions."

"That would be great!" Ryu agreed enthusiastically, grabbing my hands as he looked at me with hopeful eyes.

"...Though I suppose I can't actually forget that you're a kleptomaniac..." I mumbled with a laugh, hoping that he hadn't heard my words.

Unfortunately, it appeared that he had.

"I knew it..." he put his index fingers together as he stared at the ground in despondency.

Awkwardly coughing, I pried my palms from his tight grip, seeking to change the subject before he could become any more crestfallen by my snide remarks.

"So what do you think about everyone here so far?" I inquired, gesturing towards the bunch.

"Well..." Ryu considered my words with a reluctant chuckle, "They're certainly unique enough to deserve their titles."

"Right?" I agreed.

It seemed that someone else besides Shion did indeed share my opinion.

"Who do you think was your weirdest encounter?"

I could practically feel the dread pooling off of the boy's expression.

"That's between either Heiji or Hayato," the black-haired teenager revealed, "I'm not fully sure if Hayato's all there in the head. He seems like a pretty ditzy fellow."

"You've got that right," I recalled my indirect encounter with the man, "I'm assuming that Heiji told you his fake talent?"

"Ha," Ryu appeared to be reflecting on their meeting, "I wasn't sure where to run or hide..."

I would take that as a yes.

"Who was yours?" he inquired curiously.

"I'd have to go with Heiji or Yuhara," I decided, "Since I technically spoke to Hayato already, I haven't really planned to fully introduce myself to him. He's unpredictable as it is."

"True that," the Akihiro agreed, "So who else have you yet to really talk to?"

Holding my hand to my chin in thought, I responded. "Well, I haven't gone up to the two girls who didn't want to introduce their talents to anyone," I held up my palm, "The rest of them I've either directly or indirectly spoken to."

"Seiran and Anzai, huh?" Ryu mulled, "If you want to end things on a good note, I'd suggest speaking last to Anzai Hisakawa. If you want to postpone the least approachable one of us... I'd suggest you leave Seiran Tomeo for last. I doubt she'll really give you much of a greeting anyway."

"Thanks for the advice," I nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

"No problem," Ryu smiled as he turned to leave, accidentally pilfering Sarada's cravat in the process.

Relatively exasperated, I turned away from the scene, deciding to get the worst introduction, of what I presumed to be our class, over with.

***

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