Otaku-sama

"I'm dreadfully sorry Penelope, I really should've warned you about the village idiot before we got here, but lo and behold! He's even worse off then I remembered. Come now, pay him no mind. You heard the group moneybags, scram." Abdul had to look away for a moment to stop mocking laughter from escaping his lips in front of Pylauses. There was nothing quite like seeing a faux intellectual being brought low. Pylauses continued his charade and amplified his abuse of language, making it hard for Abdul to understand what he was saying behind his thickening layer of condescension. The mewling sycophant to his side only served to showcase his master’s incomprehensible speech. "As it stands I would, personally, prefer to go with this lady. And that is where I shall go. I won't stop anyone from taking you up on your....generous offer but I will not be one of them." Although he had accepted the nobleman’s hospitality just moments ago, Penelope’s firm dismissal of the offer made him reconsider. After all, it was abundantly clear that the quick witted princess would be much better company than a tasteless petty noble, even if it was in more humble accommodations. Abdul then felt stirring from the boy he was carrying, who mumbled something in what he thought could be Pontic. The boy had started carrying his own weight, albeit weakly, shuffling slowly towards the front of the group despite his injuries. Abdul’s confusion turned to shock when he noticed that the boy was leaving a trail of crimson in his wake. "Excuse me, princess." "Ah. Ah ah ah. You should not be trying to move on your own just yet. We aren't far and it wouldn't do for you to fall down and get your injuries all dirty. Come here. Lend a hand so he doesn't hurt himself even more." "As she said. Feel free to use me to support yourself as we go to the lady's home." As Penelope and her knight fussed over the injured boy, Abdul moved closer to the self-proclaimed burgess to address him directly. “My apologies,” Abdul said with a courteous bow, “I will reiterate that your generous offer of hospitality is well received by this humble travelling scholar. However, it pains me that I will need to accept your offer sometime in the future, as I will need to attend to my patient closely. Perhaps we can have an engaging discussion on your work in this village over some tea once his injuries have been treated.” With another quickly bow to Pylauses and his assistant, Abdul moved quickly to the boy’s side to attend to the reopened wound.

“Me? I’m nothin’ special. Used to be a soldier in the Galtean military. It was pure chance I stumbled into a group with the princesses.” “Then it would be wise for me to stay and hear how you stumbled upon royalty by chance!” Abdul said with a chuckle, “Clearly you have been blessed by fate!” “Thank you for the help though. Never seen any magic like that statue before; didn’t know anything like that was even possible.” “Think nothing of it! I just hope whatever was animating that statue is gone forever. That kind of power is best kept to the old tales.” Abdul squinted as his eyes adjusted to the warm light of the setting sun, painting the village in the warm tones of the hearth. Now that the evil within the cathedral had passed, all the villagers had come out of their secret hiding places, now focusing on repairing the many ruined stalls and huts that surrounded the town square. “Strange...Where would these villagers hide in a place like this…? Why wouldn’t they try to defend their cathedral from that thing...?” he wondered as he and Link followed behind the rest of the entourage, “These villagers appeared out of nowhere like worms escaping the summer rains...Surely the walls are a better defense from bandits…” Abdul’s train of thought was interrupted by a commotion ahead of them, where a small wolf was chasing around one of the villagers, who fled in terror from the beast which playfully pursued her. Were the villagers hiding from animals? "Goodness, Thile seems to be in a right fit, don't she? And her stall's a ruin. Wonder what happened to it? I know we were all in a complete panic after the curse struck. Wonder if that's what caused it. And that wolf...ye don't think it's a villager still ensorcelled?” “Sorcery turning the villagers into animals?” Abdul muttered to himself, “Surely a tall tale, but with those animals watching me come into the village, and that strange statue...Who, or what, could conjure magic that powerful?” The revelation of the presence of such powerful magic disturbed him. The fact that the sorcerer was still at large bode great trouble in the future of neighbouring villages. This one had escaped its doom by circumstance, but its neighbours might not be as lucky. However, Abdul saw that the villagers around them seemed completely unconcerned with such things as they hammered and sawed at heaps of rotting wood and canvas. Perhaps they were just happy to be humans again, and nothing more. The group stopped in front of one of the larger houses in the village. Despite clearly having much more attention given to the integrity of the building, being made of wood and brick rather than mud and plaster, it appeared that the architect was not educated in the aesthetic canon of the land, or any aesthetic canon at all. Little attention was given to symmetry or taste, instead focusing on putting as many flourishes and gaudy decorations as possible, making the whole building look like something out of a fever dream. Abdul shuffled to the side to see who had stopped the group, only to see the proud owner of the eyesore. "Exempt me the peasantries, Mene dear. Ahem, allow me to inundate myself, I am denominated as Pylauses, Pylauses Gaston, at your servitude. This one here is Hanikap LeFou." Clearly, this dandy Pylauses was the owner of such a frivolous affront to the art of architecture. In stark contrast to the honest and simple villagers around him, he was a prime example of the excesses of city life. From the way he spoke, it was clear that he spent more time trying to appear rich and educated than he did actually enriching himself. His flagrant disregard for the beautiful and the elegant extended to his speech as well, making him appear to be the court jester rather than the courtier he clearly presented himself as. "If your clothes are any indication then your home may blind me with its poor taste." Abdul could not hold back a chuckle at the princess’ sharp tongue. He was glad that he would not need to suffer this pretender alone. However, the weight of the young man around his shoulder reminded him that despite his reservations, this man who was offering his home to them may provide better accommodations, however frivolous, than what the village matron leading them could muster. Abdul attempted to move closer to address Pylauses and his companion, but noticed that his burden was significantly heavier than just a moment ago. He then noticed that Link had taken off to chase down the wolf pup, leaving him to bear the burden alone. Not used to handling such heavy burdens, Abdul knew he would need to put the boy down before he dropped him by accident. “Sir Gaston,” Abdul said through his teeth, attempting to hide his disdain for the dandy’s poor taste, “Your hospitality is much appreciated by this humble traveler. Unfortunately, one of our companions is injured. If you would be willing to lend a bed for him to rest, it would be greatly appreciated.”

“I’m Lincoln. A mercenary. In their service.” “It takes a great deal of experience to be able to shrug off an intense battle so quickly,” Abdul replied with a polite chuckle. However, behind his lighthearted attitude, Abdul knew that he was lying. He recognized the vacant, glassy stare on Link’s face as he became unresponsive, haunted by the ghosts of his past. Trying to hide the look of pity on his face, Abdul turned his attention to the younger warrior, who was muttering in a daze, and the rest of the retinue, most of whom were leaving the ruined building. “The boy looks like he will need some bed rest,” Abdul said curtly, “Unfortunately, Isaurian vulneraries are not as...gentle… as most, and sleeping on stone will not help his recovery. Let me help you with him.” Abdul crouched down and managed to get his shoulder under the boy’s arms, gesturing to Link to do the same. Edrick squirmed as he was slowly lifted off the ground, but seemed unable to offer anything but a token resistance, contrasting starkly with his ferocious struggle earlier. Abdul strained under the weight of the boy’s armor, but managed to keep his grunts under his breath as they slowly moved towards the open doors of the cathedral. “If you do not mind me prying, how did you end up in service to the Crown of Galtea?” Abdul asked in between his heavy breaths, “You must have a decorated history of service to be picked as a royal guard.”

Yu could feel his face flushing as he walked the aisles of the store, doing his best to avoid making eye contact with the unblinking cardboard women that decorated every shelf and display. However, the charnel house offered many surprises behind every hanging package of pencils, staples and erasers. As he picked the last box of red pens off the back of a dusty shelf, Yu almost jumped out of his skin when he saw another pair of unblinking eyes staring back at him. “This cannot be normal! Why would anyone decorate a store like this?!” Yu thought as he tugged at his collar, releasing the steam building under his uniform, “If this keeps up, I’m not sure how Theodore will act!” As he put the box into the cart, he saw Theodore fall limp as his gaze passed over him, as if to hide what he was doing when Yu’s back was turned to him. Just as Yu’s mind began to explore the possibilities of what the stuffed animal could have done in the few moments his back was turned, he returned his focus to the task at hand, hoping that avoiding the dread would keep it from moving further. Seeking further guidance, he turned his head to Midome, who’s eyes were still fixed to the list. The boy’s mind was clearly not on store around him, apparently oblivious to the bizarreries that surrounded him. “Wow...Midome-san is so focused. If I could have focus like him, maybe I might have a chance of being a hero too.” Yu’s attention was then suddenly drawn to the sounds of an argument behind his classmate, also drawing the attention of passing shoppers. Moving down the aisle to get a better look at the developing situation, he saw that Miyu had also noticed another horned woman looming over the cowering man behind the counter. “Pay off at least some of what you owe me. Today. If you can't, well...well, you won't like it, anyway." "Let me know if I can get in on a slice of that pie too!" The expression of sadistic glee on Miyu’s face unnerved him. It was as if she was drawing energy from the fear of the hapless store manager. The whole situation reminded him of something out of a gangster movie, like a pair of thugs shaking down the local butcher for protection money. Was he witnessing a crime in progress? Yu swallowed nervously before approaching Miyu from behind, still pushing the cart. “Miyu-san, what are you doing? This might be a crime in progress!” Yu rasped in a strained whisper, “If we are going to be heroes, we might need to do something to stop her!”

"Humph! Whatever! But you two better promise to carry my bags back! And I won't take no as an answer! Let's get this over with as soon as possible then! Chop, chop!" Yu was startled by the girl’s sudden turn of mood, switching from despondency to indignation at the flick of a switch. Yu gave Midome a confused look before following him into the store, struggling as his stuffed bear stirred and squirmed in his arms. As he entered, Yu immediately came face to face with a cardboard cutout of a smiling woman wearing nothing but an insufficient bikini holding a printer in her outstretched hand. Attempting to avoid staring, he turned his head and walked to his right, only to be confronted by yet another cutout of a woman wearing a perverted parody of a business suit presenting a package of printer paper. Yu held his hands to his sides and squeezed his eyes shut as he attempted to steady himself. “This can’t be normal for a store to be like this! What is this place?!” After taking a few deep breaths, he started to chant the Lotus Sutra under his breath as he cracked open his eyes. “This is going to be ok...A hero should not be so easily distracted like this...This is sensei’s test…” Yu repeated to himself in between recitations of the calming phrase. After a minute, Yu walked forward past the cutouts and into the store proper. His resolve now shored up, Yu caught up to Midome, who was busy reviewing the list alone, absorbed in his own thoughts. Perhaps he was thinking the same thing about the store? As he opened his mouth to ask Midome what he thought about the store, his thought was interrupted. "Soo... I just realized we didn't take a shopping cart wanna go fetch one? I'll wait here." “O-O-Oh, that’s right. That’s what people use when they do shopping in a store. Right, I’ll go get one. It’d be useful if Theodore could-” Yu’s stomach dropped as he realized that he was not holding his bear, which was now no longer in sight. As panic set in, he heard a metallic cacophony from behind him. Fearing the worst, Yu rushed outside to see what the bear had destroyed, only to find it carrying several shopping carts, balancing them precariously over its head as nearby patrons quickly walked around the strange spectacle. Giving a sheepish smile to the unnerved patrons, Yu scrambled over to the bear and grabbed it, causing the carts to crash into the pavement on their sides. After a minute of wrangling the carts right-side-up, he finally managed to retrieve a cart and push it into the store, the bear firmly fastened into the child seat. “Ok...I got the cart…”

"Such a breadth of knowledge is to be commended, good sir." “My thanks, although I am sure your learning is-” Abdul nearly jumped out of his shoes when he was interrupted by a torrential stream of foreign profanity from the injured boy. Apparently, his patient still had his faculties. If it were not for the other warrior holding him down, the boy would have ruined the poultice before it could properly set. Working as quickly as he could, Abdul worked quickly on securing the poultice with twine. “I’m sorry brother, but you must bear with it a little longer! You must not remove it before it has set!” Abdul said through gritted teeth as he finished the knot. His work now complete, Abdul attempted to restrain the boy’s legs in an attempt to keep him from shaking free. However, all of his attempts to grab onto the flailing limbs were met with a smart kick in the hand. Recoiling from the pain, Abdul backed a step away, attempting to shake the pain from his wrinkled hands. “You must have trained the boy well, he has the strength of a horse!” Abdul quipped sardonically to Link as he nursed his hands, “Surely he will recover quickly if he does not tear his own arms off!” Once the boy had stopped his cursing, Abdul addressed the boy before he could renew his tirade. “My apologies, I would have been more delicate if I had known you were awake!” he said calmly before turning to address both of them, “I am Abdul, a traveling scholar, at your service.”

Unlike the disappointed looks on Miyu and Midome’s face, Yu was smiling with restrained wonder at the shabby Job Hutt building. While his classmates only saw a bland building that blended in so unremarkably that one would have trouble finding it without a map, he saw an undiscovered corner of the world. When he arrived in the city, he was told by the government men not to leave his apartment, only buying the things he needed off of the internet. Long had he spied the shoppers at his local convenience store walking in and out of the automatic doors through his apartment window, always wondering what it was like to just walk in and take the things they needed without needing to wait. Now, he had his first chance to see the countless rows of stocked shelves himself! Yu’s quiet moment of excitement was interrupted by Miyu’s whimpering. "Can't you guys do this alone? There's a shopping mall so close by...and I can totally pick up a new outfit with this card!" Yu’s eyes met Midome’s as they both looked to each other for answers, but in his head, Yu already knew that it must have had something to do with his Quirk. He had shown the whole class how dangerous Theodore could be, so she must be scared! “Don’t cry Miyu-san! I’m sorry you had to put yourself in danger for this!” Yu replied, fighting back his own growing despair as he bowed towards Miyu. "It may be a chore, but it needs to be done anyway, right? If we do it well now then nobody will have to do it again. Look, if we're quick in doing this and we end up with spare time, we can hit the mall on the road back if you want, ok?" “That’s right Miyu-san, we can do the shopping quickly so you don’t need to be near me for too long! Please bear with me Miyu-san, Midome-san!”

"My thanks for your gentle courtesy." Abdul could not help but notice that the young heiress was not wearing the typical smile he associated with quiet superiority and the sense of entitlement. He could have sworn the look in her eye was one of a warrior returning from a lost battle, but he dismissed the thought as she turned to address some of her other subjects. "Go ahead, though I think the others are handling that as well." “Of course your highness, your retinue appears to be well equipped to handle their own injuries,” Abdul replied before he heard a commotion nearby. A warrior who was attempting to treat the wounds of the wyvern had suddenly collapsed in a bloody heap, with dark ichor soaking his side. “Excuse me, I will begin my work immediately.” Abdul gave one final bow before quickly making his way to the bloodied warrior, who was already being attended to by another. He knelt down next to the growing pool of blood, pulling out a brown vulnerary satchel and retrieving the rags within. Wiping off the blood from Edrick’s side, he saw a deep gash that had not finished clotting. Luckily, there was little organ damage and the muscle damage was manageable. With a liberal application of binding powders, the wound was of little concern. “Brother, please apply pressure to his wound as I prepare the poultice,” Abdul said curtly to Link as he retrieved the remaining contents of the vulnerary, laying them down away from the bloody pool. Carefully and precisely, he measured out the various powders from their pouches into the flattened vulnerary sack and soaked them in the distilled spirits. Once the dressing was prepared, Abdul gingerly turned back towards Edrick to apply it on the wound. The application would be painful, enough to make a seasoned warrior gnash his teeth, and Abdul was glad that the boy was unconscious for the procedure. With a nod, Abdul applied the dressing once Link removed the bloody rag, binding it with a length of twine. With the application complete, Abdul rose back to his feet, cleaning his hands with the remaining spirits. "Do you happen to have a goal in mind? Surely you aren't planning on indefinite travel." “I do indeed have a goal in my travels, although traveling is a rewarding endeavor in itself,” Abdul said as he turned to face Penelope, “My currently focus of my travels is to collect the tales and prose of the common folk across the land, so that I may bring new insights to my fellow scholars in Isauria. Indeed, a scholar should not overlook the seasoned wisdom of an experienced farmer, nor the hushed whispers of tavern talk, since there is knowledge to be found in the most unlikely of places.”

As Arai-sensei finished his personal account of the Starkiller Incident, Yu had to shake himself out of his wonder to finish his notes. The fact that a clash of heroes and villains had really happened just like in the comics was inspiring as it was fantastic. A grand, final battle that decided the fate of an entire city made Yu wish that he could have seen it in person, or even fight as a hero. However, a quick glance at the bear, which was slowly stirring from an inactive ‘sleep’, made him remember that he might not have been fighting on the heroes’ side. Luckily, Yu’s initial ruminations were interrupted by Arai-sensei’s announcement. The class was required to go out and buy supplies for the school, much to the chagrin of some of his fellow classmates. Even with his lack of experience, Yu felt a little uneasy with this bald-faced request. “Why would the school need us to buy their supplies? I thought the government would be paying for something like this? They did for me,” Yu wondered as he put away his notebook. "Well, let me list off our groups! Toshiko, Akuma, Keika, and Hane will be responsible for the groceries. Kiburi, Nanami, and Juryo will be the ones to grab electronics. And last but not least, Yu, Midome, and Miyu are off to get the office supplies!" Yu felt a shiver down his spine when he heard he was in the same group as Miyu. His head instantly darted to Hane, who was thankfully looking the other way at the time. "WHAT!? Office supplies!? Are you joking!? This some kinda prank?!" Yu was taken aback by Miyu’s dramatic response. Up to now, she had seemed more...stable than this. “So, It's all right for you guys if I keep the list and credit card?" Yu turned around to face Midome, with Theodore almost mirroring his action. “Eeeh of course! I don’t mind if you hold the list. Might be for the best in case Theodore decides to...take them,” Yu replied as Theodore turned its beady eyes away from Midome before roughly shoving the rest of Yu’s stationary onto the floor.

As Abdul raised from his bow, he saw that another noblewoman had approached him, likely the elder sister. "Master Abdul, was it? You have my gratitude for your assistance against the statue. It takes bravery to stand up to something so unnatural when you could have just walked away, I am Catriona Nabudis, princess of Galtea, and the one that just spoke is my sister, Penelope Nabudis." Abdul’s stomach dropped as the young woman revealed herself to not only be nobility, but the daughter of a king. While he had spent much time around powerful people, this was the first time he had the chance to directly interact with a potential ruler of the land. “Your Highness, you flatter me with your praise! It is a great honor for this humble merchant to be of service to you and the crown of Galtea,” Abdul replied, dipping into another deep bow. "You know, truly humble merchants don't need to call themselves thusly. But it's as my sister says. If it troubles you then you may call me by name. I wonder what your own goal is. You are a merchant yes? What wares were you bringing to this city?" Abdul had to put on a well-practiced grin to hide his surprise with Penelope’s quick wit and observant eye. Clearly, she had more of her days in a royal library than in dalliance and decadence. “You are very astute, your highness. Indeed, I am currently acting more in my capacity as a traveling scholar, bringing no goods to trade other than my knowledge and tales of my travels across the many lands. I hope I did not cause any confusion or disappointment” "Thank you for your help, Abdul, it's not everyone who would rush in to help others in such a way. Though I'm sure you can see, despite the injuries, that we are capable of protecting ourselves from...threats." Penelope’s words of injuries were emphasized as one of the bruised and beaten warriors approached Catriona, clutching her broken arm and sucking on a portion of a vulnerary. Looking around the room, Abdul noticed that most of the group had suffered some kind of injury, contrasting to his relatively untouched state. “Indeed, you have chosen your retinue wisely. If it may please you, I can provide some assistance with the injured,” Abdul said, gesturing to Citron as he retrieved a vulnerary from one of his pouches, “I may not be formally trained, but my time along treacherous roads have taught me the basics."

It's police brutality time. Interest noted.

Abdul was stunned when his distracting spell instead became the killing blow, finally causing the baleful statue to fall to a heap of inanimate rubble. With the way now cleared of its threat, Abdul quickly made his way past the knight and the archer to see what the golem had been trying to protect from beyond the altar. The same ghostly hue that animated the golem now filled the back room of the cathedral, silhouetting yet another figure who stood in front of a mass of flowers that burned like will-o-wisps. Before he could reckon what he was seeing, he was suddenly thrown off his feet in a blinding flash of light. “You took much longer than I expected to deal with a mere imitation. Still, I will grant you this small victory. Do not think that this is the end. I am sure we shall meet again, Dragon seekers." Abdul could not tell if he was awake or asleep when he heard that ethereal voice, lost in the inky void of a waking dream. When he came back to his senses, he saw that all of the other warriors were subject to the same overwhelming burst of arcana, and he wondered if they all heard the same voice as he. Looking back to the back room, he saw that the room was now dark, illuminated by the mild sunlight streaming through the windows and a pile of flowers that was burning in a familiar and wholesome yellow light. Whatever magic had animated the golem had suddenly vanished, leaving only a sudden, oppressive silence in the cathedral, only broken by the heavy breathing of its remaining occupants. As he slowly rose to his feet, Abdult noticed that there were more people rising from the feet than before. One looked like a fellow warrior, while the other two appeared to be more mundane folk. Abdul caught a fleeting glance of one of the newcomers before he escaped out the front door: a portly man whose feet carried him faster than a first glance would suggest. While the man’s sudden flight suggested his involvement and guilt, Abdul did not move to pursue him. If he fled the town, he would surely meet his fate at the hands of a wayward highwayman. Instead, Abdul turned to look at the knight, who responded to the voice of what Abdul assumed was his charge within the back room. The knight’s overly protective attitude towards his charge gave Abdul the impression that he must be relatively green, unlike the seasoned and disciplined knights he was used to dealing with as a merchant, but thankfully not the executioner he thought. However, a knight of somewhat noble bearing suggested that this assorted group of well-armed travelers was no mere band of mercenaries, but the retinue or baggage train of nobility. "And you would do well to introduce yourself, stranger." Abdul turned to the source of the icy voice that addressed him. He immediately knew that by her dress and speech, this was no mere commoner, but one of the nobility and likely one of that knight’s charges. Dusting off his robes and sheathing his knife, Abdul put on his warmest of his merchant grins before addressing the lady. “My sincerest apologies for my impropriety, my lady. My name is Abdul Jalal Al-Azif, a humble merchant and traveling scholar. I only recently arrived in this town when I heard your struggle, and I only approached with the intent to help whoever was in danger with what little magic I know. I hope you will be willing to allow me to make a more proper introduction for someone of your regal bearing once the situation allows!”

"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't okay with it, buddy! Still, I dunno if I'd called your Quirk dangerous. Protective maybe, but not dangerous." Yu let out a sigh of relief, being calmed by the American’s laid back attitude, finding it comforting that his books about high school were right about at least one thing. In a way, they were both outsiders to this school as well as the world outside of it, and Yu was glad to now have a friend who would understand the same struggle. “Maybe Hane-san thinks the same way…” "So... any girl catch your eye?" “Eeh?” Yu froze with a surprised expression on his face as Hane effortlessly bounced across the room, brazenly asking everyone if they were dating before bouncing back with the practiced grace of a gymnast. “Is this really what Americans are like?” "Okay, that's settled. So, as I was asking, got anyone in your sights?" Yu floundered out loud as his eyes searched the classroom for a girl. With all the excitement, he had not had much time to consider his fellow classmates in that way. As his eyes darted across the room from girl to girl, he could feel the expectant Hane staring at him, waiting. As the silence grew, Yu blurted out an answer. “Eeuuh...Hioni-san is kinda cute I guess. She looks very friendly too!” Yu’s stomach turned a little immediately after saying it, only considering the consequences of telling such a thing to a classmate he had just met. How could he know he would keep it secret? He didn’t really think of Hioni-san in that way, but what would happen if he told her? This train of thought was cut off when Arai-sensei returned to the room with a giant in tow. The slender man had to stoop to walk through the doorway, towering over the whole class as the students took their respective seats. Yu was astonished at the man’s sheer size, wondering if it was his Quirk that made him so tall. His speech, while brief, was encouraging. “I wonder if I could be a hero like that?” Yu thought as he looked at Theodore, who now laid limp on his lap. "Now, you've all studied Hero History 101, correct. Let's begin our first lesson then shall we. It all started when a baby was born shining with a mysterious light." Yu sighed in relief as he opened his notebook, ready to participate in the first normal school experience of the year. --- "Tomorrow we'll talk more in depth about the Starkiller City incident. But that'll be all for today. Your stuff has been moved here from your places of residence, and outside o f your dorms. Take the rest of the day to move your belongings into your new roomsooms, and get to know your roommate. You'll be spending a lot of time with them. Don't cause trouble. Later!" Yu smiled as he gathered his supplies and headed out the door with Theodore following close behind. "I'll see you at our room, Hane-san!" Yu said, waving at him before departing for the dormitories. He had prepared some of the more hardy specimens of his collection to be delivered to his new room, donating the rest of them in the care of the local botanical garden. While it was hard to give up most of his collection, he knew that school required sacrifices for his future. As he approached the dormitory building, he saw that his collection had been neatly packed next to the rest of his things in a cardboard box, covered in a plastic sheet to protect it from the rain. Yu smiled as he carried the box into his room. While the room was austere and devoid of any color, there was a small window with a convenient shelf next to it Leaving the rest of his stuff outside, Yu busied himself with gingerly placing each plant on the windowsill, arranging them so that each would get the right amount of light, finishing the display with a small statue of Kannon in the center. Only after being satisfied with the arrangement did he start unpacking his suitcase.

Abdul gasped as the golem only waxed in its swirling, chaotic might as his magic shattered the creature’s head, turning it into a maelstrom of stone shards and baleful energy. The thing let out another earth-shattering roar before sweeping the room with its tail. Abdul barely had enough time to dive backwards to avoid it, landing harshly onto his back, leaving him to writhe in pain on the floor. It took Abdul a moment to recover from the pain that paralyzed him, eventually rolling onto his front, facing the door. His heart dropped as he saw the knight he had evaded a moment ago approached him with lance in hand. “No! It is far too soon! Not now!” he thought to himself as the figure, shadowed by the sunlight, plodded towards him. However, the cold steel of the lance never came as the knight walked past, bracing himself against the golem’s next attack, almost as if to protect him from it. Shaking his head, Abdul grabbed his scattered tome and knife before rising back to his feet. The golem had devastated the warriors’ formation once again with its scintillating tendril, not showing any sign that the coordinated attack had any effect as it moved to crush the wyvern and its rider against the wall of the cathedral. However, before it could complete its maneuver, its power appeared to fade for a heartbeat, causing it to fall to the floor before its power returned to keep it from colliding with it. Abdul could have sworn he heard the sound of shattering glass, but the sounds of the struggling warriors and the golem’s subsequent roaring kept him from focusing on the sound. At first he doubted he had heard anything but the sound of one of the stained glass windows falling to pieces, the golem’s reaction suggested something behind the altar was affecting it. Abdul wanted to rush behind the altar to find whatever had caused the golem to pause, but he knew that if he were to run, the golem was faster and would likely kill him before he could find its true power source. However, the sturdy knight standing in front of him may stand a better chance. “Did you see that?!” he shouted at the knight before casting another spell, “Something behind the altar caused that thing’s power to stop! I will distract it! Go quickly and find its source!” Abdul then raised his hands, calling forth more starry orbs to attack the golem, aiming for its glowing core within the cloud of marble shards.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

"M-m-me too! I may not be a floor guardian, but I know my way around the Pyramid like the back of my hand! I can get us to the surface in a jiffy!" Caleb let out a little giggle as their shadowy guide skipped ahead, showing the way through the inky blackness of the pyramid’s corridors. Even though Asiya and Vorpu were acting serious, Caleb could feel their restrained excitement to see what the world outside had to offer. After what felt like an eternity of wandering through the darkness, their guide eventually stopped in front of a massive pillar at the Pyramid’s heart. "This is the abyssal lift! I know most of you probably know this already, but we're on the bottom layer of the pyramid! The 99th floor! This elevator can take us to any floor in an instant!" Intruders need a pass from a floor guardian to get to the next level of the pyramid. Heheheh so cruel of Master Usaphaidos to make tomb raiders fight that hard! That's why I love him! Heheheh!" As his steed hobbled into the lift, Caleb craned his neck upwards, marvelling at how the lift stretched endlessly into the inky void above. The cyclopean inner space of the pyramid seemed large enough to encompass an entire kingdom, or an entire world of its own. “Usaphaidos really made this all himself? He might be the god of stones and dirt as well huh?” Caleb mused aloud as the lift began its ascent. As the lift accelerated ever faster, he felt himself slowly sinking into the cap of his mount, which was struggling to stand against the interminable acceleration. After only a few seconds of this, Caleb felt his mount’s legs give with a sickening squish, causing him to fall into a pile of freshly crushed fungus. By the time the lift reached its destination, Caleb was soaked by the juices of his former companion. “Oh jeez, that’s too bad,” he said nonplussed, removing stray bits of mushroom from his robe, “Well, no point in letting him go to waste!” Tapping the wet mound of destroyed mushroom with his hand, the mass deflated into a pile of sticky spores. Caleb promptly started shoving clumps of the substance into his pack, spreading it around the elevator platform and down the elevator shaft before following Vorpu and their shadowy companion to the entrance. As he crossed the threshold, he was hit with a blast of pale sunlight and chilly mountain air. While the air was dry, the smell of the nearby pine forest suggested the great potential of the surrounding nature. “Wooooow! Look at all that!” Caleb said, throwing the spores he had in his hands up into the air in excitement, “It’s like it goes on forever! I can grow all kinds of stuff here!” Caleb was so enchanted by the surrounding forest, he didn’t notice that the noblewoman had joined the group until she revealed her true form, suddenly blocking his view with her massive wings. “Hey! I’m looking at the forest here!” “Ah, our senses do not betray us...Such a powerful specimen…” "Pleasure to make your acquaintances. You may call me Tethanor. Nothing else to say, except that you all are likely to stay on my good side as long as you are somewhat cooperative, and if you cough up a story or two. Now, if one of you would be interested in an aerial view, now would be the time to get atop my scales. But not you." Caleb, who was leaning over trying to look at the forest past Tethanthor’s massive form, now felt the pointed ire of the dragon on him. “NEVER you or your other mushroom friends, you got that?" “Well fine! If you want to be that way! I prefer to stay on the ground with all the cool trees and plants and animals anyway!” he retorted indignantly before sticking his tongue out the dragon in protest. "I smell a fire not too far from here...we could go check that out if you guys wanna..." "Fire? Yes, I see. Perhaps a sign of civilization in this strange new place. Or nothing more than a forest fire. But in any case let us proceed with caution. I do not desire to fight whoever we may encounter but I'm far from willing to believe all is well. " “Well I’ll just be walking there then, because someone is being a big OLD dummy!” Caleb said, turning his nose up at the dragon before heading towards a nearby slope down the mountain.

Yu sighed in relief as he took his seat, slumping into it as Theodore slowed his desperate squirming in his arms. His mind was racing from his experience mere moments ago. For the first time, he had used his Quirk without a team of government men ready to kill him if he tried to hurt anyone. The freedom was terrifying, but for that brief minute it was as if a weight was lifted off his chest, allowing him to breathe deeply for the very first time. Was this what temptation felt like? Before he could dwell on the thought, he was startled by Arai-sensei’s shouting. "You're all simply pathetic! I've seen better quirk displays at a kindergarten! Seriously, you all lacked the ferocity of a true hero! The only one who was even worth an Iota of my attention was Miss Kohaku! And even then, that was pathetic! If this were the real deal, and I were a villain, none of you would have stood a chance!" This sudden outburst troubled Yu, squirmed uncomfortably as he sat straight up in his seat. “How can Arai-sensei teach me how to control Theodore if he can’t even control his own Quirk?” Yu thought as Arai-sensei attempted to backtrack his harsh criticism of the class. He swiveled his head to see the reactions of his classmates, seeing that most of them being rather dismissive of the whole ordeal. “Is this normal for delinquents to be yelled at like this?” As Arai-sensei announced that all students would be moving into the school itself, Yu was excited by the idea of dormitories, reminding him of some of his most cherished childhood stories he had read. “I hope that my roommate won’t be a bully to me,” Yu thought as he surveyed the room, looking for potential candidates. Before he could consider all of his options, one of them presented itself to him. "Yo, Minami-san, right? You wanna bunk with me?" Yu jumped slightly with the red-haired boy’s sudden appearance, then flushing red when he realised how silly he was being. “Eehhh yea! Hane-san! Sure, we can be roommates!” he stammered out, “For sure! Uhhh, hopefully you’re ok with that even though my Quirk is dangerous!”

Abdul quickly realized that the girl had fallen limp from the impact of her fall. Mustering his loose grasp of medicine, Abdul checked the girl’s pulse and breathing, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt the girl’s pulse and faint breath. Luckily, her mount had not killed her outright in its flight and the fall had not split her skull, incidents he was well familiar with when fellow caravaneers were too rough with their animals. Just as he rose to see if the knight had moved from his post, the whole village was rocked by a momentary earthquake, sending Abdul back down to his knees. Looking towards the town hall, he saw that the situation within was only worsening for the warriors. The golem continued to prove itself a source of shifting and chaotic danger, now spinning its ghostly tendril into a whirlwind of ghost light, felling the poor souls caught in the scintillating maelstrom. They would not last long without more help. However, Abdul also saw that the knight had also been caught off guard by the quaking ground, still attempting to regain his balance in his heavy armor. Abdul saw his chance to potentially saw whoever the knight was imprisoning. Quickly regaining his balance, Abdul bolted towards the second pair of double doors. As he slipped past the knight’s grasp, he heard the sounds of yelling, but its words were drowned out by the cacophony of the battle before him. Several warriors had been crippled by the statue’s vile magic, but the ones who still stood fought valiantly despite their injuries. The wyvern, now carrying its rider, had taken a desperate dive towards its stoney counterpart, which had leapt to meet it. The scene was almost too much to for Abdul to see without his vision blurring. Putting his eyes into his sleeves for a moment, he could see the afterimage of the statue’s tail, shifting and contorting like a fortune teller’s bonfire. “This devilry affects the mind as well as the body!” Abdul thought as he attempted to regain his focus, “What kind of being could animate such a thing?” As the golem came back into focus, Abdul saw that the golem had not gone uninjured. Its head was now smashed to piece, only held together by the vile magic animating it that was centered on a single piece covered in occult signs and sigils. The warriors clearly knew that they needed to attack that source of animating magic, but their attempts were likely foiled by the golem’s raw ferocity. However, despite the chaos of the melee, Abdul saw that once the golem landed from its leap, it might be unable to strike immediately upon hitting the ground. With this moment of weakness, he knew that he could strike deeply into the golem’s center of power, if not disable it outright. Taking out his tome and knife, Abdul started to speak the words of power written within its pages. “From the wells of night to the gulfs of space, and from the gulfs of space to the wells of night, ever the praises I give to you, great master of eternity,” Abdul chanted in the ancient tongue as he cut his finger in a well practiced manner, drawing blood that evaporated into shimmering purple light, “Your servant offers his blood to cast this spell! Bestow upon me the power of the children of the stars and moon!” Upon uttering the last words, six starry black orbs emerged from the tome, surrounding the golem in a deadly orbit before suddenly streaking towards its head.

"Whatever. Just try and keep that thing away from my stuff...'kay? Honestly don't feel like it getting in my way." Yu let out a small sigh of relief as he returned to his seat, Theodore in hand. While his fellow classmate did not look like the most personable person, at least he was not actively malicious. Just as he took his seat, the silver-haired teacher began to speak. "Good Morning, delinquents. Society's trash? Screw ups? Lost souls? Problem children? Failures?" Welcome to your first day of Hairo Academy for At Risk Youth's Course Correction Program! I'm your teacher, Arai Oka. I've been retired from hero work for about 5 years now, so it's good to get back into things by whipping you all into shape, and molding you into proper heroes!" As the teacher started to give targeted looks at some of the students, Yu could not help but wonder what category he would be in. “The government men told me that the school was for problem children with Quirks...am I one of them? Am I a criminal?” Yu thought worriedly as the teacher continued his speech. "In all seriousness, this is your last chance to avoid a jail sentence. There's only so much I can do for all of you, so please don't give me any trouble. I have the authority to send any of you away for any reason, so please give it your all." Arai-sensei words did not bring any comfort to Yu, who clutched his bear instinctively. He had asked those government men what would happen if he did not succeed at the school, but they refused to answer. Would it be jail if he was unable to control his Quirk? As Yu ruminated over the dreadful implications of failing, Theodore’s growing agitation brought him back to the classroom. He turned his attention to the first student going up, hoping to get his mind off of these dark implications. The first student, Isobe, came up to the class in rough and dramatic fashion, confronting Arai-sensei over some perceived slight. Once he calmed down, he gave a begrudging, but otherwise typical, introduction. “At least this is somewhat normal...I guess?” "Now if you'd please, try to hit me with everything you've got." Yu was flabbergasted when he heard Arai-sensei ask to be attacked at full force. He then almost fell out of his seat when Isobe obliged this request for violence, using his Quirk to effortlessly swing a desk at the grizzled teacher. “We have to demonstrate our Quirks like this?!” The thought of letting his Quirk run wild in class was unthinkable. Does the teacher not know about his Quirk or what happens if it runs wild? Could this be a set up for his failure? Yu started to quietly chant the Lotus Sutra to himself as he tried to keep himself calm as each student came up to demonstrate their abilities. "Maybe next time!" "We'll see! Next!" “Hopefully that’ll suffice, teach.” "It'll have to do for now. Next!" "Should I... Just go back to my seat now?" "Next." "...and yeah... again, sorry about the classroom..." "Next!" Each time Arai-sensei shouted “Next”, the word seemed to echo in Yu’s mind. Before he knew it, he realized the current lull in students coming to the front of the class was because he was the final student remaining. Attempting to swallow his nervousness, he got up from his seat clutching Theodore and walked up to the front wearing a sheepish smile. “Hello. My name is Minami Yu. It is nice to meet you all,” Yu said, his voice trembling slightly as he gently put Theodore on the floor, allowing him to slowly patrol in front of him, “My Quirk...I named it Guardian Angel...It makes objects like Theodore here come alive and protect me...I am hoping that this school will be able to help me learn how to control it properly, because if I have strong negative feelings, I lose control of it, and it could hurt a lot of people.” "I've read up on your Quirk, and I'm excited to see if I can hold my own against it!" Arai-sensei said taking a steady stance, ready to receive a strike. Yu blankly stared at the teacher for a moment, petrified by what he would need to say that might get him expelled. "I'm very sorry sensei, but I cannot demonstrate my Quirk for the safety of the class" "Oh? Do you not think I'm capable of protecting them?" "N-no, but…" Yu stammered as Theodore turned menacingly towards the teacher. It held out one of its tiny paw upwards, causing the whole room to vibrate. The observant would notice that small, unattended items started falling from their places and rolled towards it. "Hm? This is Theodore's work?" The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Yes sensei. If he becomes active, he will draw more objects from around him, making him more powerful, but harder for me to control. Please excuse me sensei, I don't want to hurt anyone!" "Well if you ask me, I'm not afraid of Theodore...and I doubt the rest of the class is either." Yu took a few steps back in fear when he turned to see that Theodore had turned himself into a golem made of textbooks and unattended stationary standing 7 feet tall. He barely had enough time to get out of the way as the golem rushed towards the teacher with a furious right hook. Arai blocked the strike, the force of the impact reverberating through the room. Before he could strike back, he had to jump to avoid his desk hurtling towards him from behind. In the same movement, he kicked the desk towards Theodore, causing it to hit him squarely in the chest. Yu was awed by his teacher's skill, but the strain of testing all of his classmates before him must be taking its toll. Yu closed his eyes and slowed his breath, trying to push the fear from his mind and end the fight there. The golem, still reeling from the impact, appeared to lose its cohesion for a moment. However, it would only take a few seconds for Theodore to reform, now wearing the damaged desk as a chestpiece. With a wave of its arm, stray floor tiles darted towards Arai before rushing towards him in an attempt to envelop him. Arai, already seeing this trick, struck the tiles as they came towards him, turning them into dust as they crumbled upon his fists. Right before the golem could wrap its arms around him, he grabbed its shoulders first, grabbing a pair of textbooks and vaulting over it, landing gracefully behind Yu. "Theodore's pretty capable," Arai said bemusedly as he ruffled Yu's hair with his callused hand, "But if you'd please, get him under control now." Yu looked towards Theodore, who turned back to face the two, clearly ready to continue fighting. Yu knew that he would need to physically intervene before Theodore could do any more damage. As Theodore started to charge towards Arai once again, Yu ran headlong into the swirling mass of school supplies. At the last moment, he dove into its centre with a desperate cry. Landing on his back, Yu opened his eyes to see the squirming bear between his arms. As he looked towards his teacher, he saw that all of the items Theodore had appropriated were now haphazardly thrown all over the room, leaving the room in an even greater mess than it was before. Yu braced for a reprimand for destroying the classroom, but all he got from him was a relieved sigh and a pat on the back as he returned to the front of the class. "Well, good thing he listens to you, huh?" All Yu could think to do in response was give another sheepish laugh as he returned to his desk, now covered in what remained of a textbook.

"Perhaps you mean no harm but if I let you through and you wish ill upon the p-the others we'll be even worse off than before. This town has been cursed, yet you walk around freely, I have no reason to believe you aren't the one causing this." Abdul was disappointed, but not surprised by the knight’s response. Although he had hoped that this knight would be more willing to accept aid when his charge was likely in danger. Unfortunately, this knight’s common sense was woefully lacking, causing him to block the entrance like a stubborn mule refusing to pull a cart. Just as he was about to give the knight a piece of his mind, Abdul saw the tide of the battle within turning against the warriors. The statue’s magic waxed fearsomely, bathing the room in its ghost-light. Then, with a whip of its tail, the statue managed to cripple several warriors at once. Upon seeing this construct only grow more powerful by the second, Abdul eyes grew wide as he slowly backed away from the door and its knightly barricade. How could this so-called knight stand idle as his charges were being slain by a fearsome creature? Could it be sheer cowardice that was keeping him from the fight. Perhaps this knight was not a part of this group, but was its executioner, a hangman tightening the noose around their necks. Or was his fear of “curses” upon the town clouding his judgement and causing him to fear any foreigner wielding magic? A crash from behind him drew Abdul’s attention away from the fight to the sight of the fox bolting down the street, leaving its rider in a heap on the ground. If he could not save those within the building, at least he could attempt to escape with a survivor. He turned his back on the knight and approached the young woman. “Are you injured? We must escape this place before that thing manages to escape!”

"Nah, don't worry about it, but thanks so much!" Yu watched with awe as the horned girl dusted her soiled uniform and made light of the deep trench she had made in the ground, acting as if she had simply just tripped over a crack in the pavement. The fact that her abilities could be just as destructive as his own brought him both comfort and a slight unease. At the very least, he would not be the only one who would need to learn to control his Quirk. Would all of his classmates have to manage such power? "Pleasure's all mine, gentlemen! Name's Kohaku Shinobu! You must also be attending here, so could that mean you're my classmates?” "Yeah, I guess we are going to be classmates. You can call me Akuma." “I am Yu Minami. It's very nice to meet such a friendly classmate so soon!” Yu said, bowing to the two as deep as he could make without tipping his cargo over. As he looked back up, he saw that another classmate had busied herself filling in the trench using her Quirk. As she finished delicately filling the trench, Yu could not help but feel slightly disappointed that nothing was planted to take advantage of the freshly tilled soil. With no hesitation, Kohaku walked up to her and greeted her like a long cherished acquaintance, which contrasted starkly with the pink-haired girl’s timidity. "Oh, where are my manners?! Guys, this is... uh, what was your name?" "Y-yin. F-fu Lan Yi-" "Yin!!" "H-h... hi." Yu gave a polite bow to Yin, only to hear yet another pair of voices from behind him. "Hi everyone! My name's Hioni Miyu, but you all can just call me Miyu! Let's all be good friends! Why don't we all walk to class together!" “I agree. Doro Midome by the way, pleased to make your acquaintance. Shall we move someplace drier?" Yu could not believe his luck. In a matter of minutes of arriving at school, he had already met five new friends, all of which must have some kind of Quirk like he did! The possibility of becoming bullied for having a Quirk was quickly becoming a silly afterthought. “School is going to be great!” Yu thought to himself as a wide smile grew on his face. “Yes, getting to class would be a good idea Miyu-san! I would really like to put down my things. This [zamioculcas zamiifolia] of mine would definitely like to get out of all this rain!” -- Following Akuma’s dramatic entrance that nearly caused the door to fall out of its frame, Yu entered the classroom to see that most of his fellow classmates had already found their seats. The classroom was simply furnished and appeared to be already well used, but to Yu, it was all very exciting to finally get to have the proper school experience. Spotting a seat by the window, he quickly moved to claim that spot for himself and his plant. Finally letting down his burden, he placed the potted plant on the windowsill. While the sill was narrow, it was just wide enough for it to fit, bringing some much needed life to an otherwise sterile room. As he turned back to his desk, Yu was shocked to see that the stuffed bear had walked halfway across the room, heading straight towards the open door. Trying to keep his cool, he jogged out of his seat to catch up to the runaway toy, which was now climbing up the desk of another student. Much to his dismay, Yu realized that the boy’s delinquent state of dress suggested trouble, which might cause the bear to act...unpredictably. He approached the boy just as the bear had made it onto his desk top. “Sorry about that! With all this excitement, Theodore tends to get himself into trouble,” Yu said as he snatched the bear, which struggled against his grip. After a short grappling match, Theodore acquiesced, falling limp into Yu’s arms. “Eheheh...Sorry again!”

As Abdul clambered to his feet, instead of seeing the wyvern, he now saw a large fox-like being trying to shake off someone who was desperately clinging to its back. Clearly there was many people behind the growing chaos. His first instinct was to attempt to aid the rider retake control of their mount, further screeching and roaring within the building quickly reminded him that there was a more pressing issue that demanded his attention first. Putting his tome under his left arm, he slipped by the bucking fox and the destroyed door. However, gaining access to the rest of the building would prove to be more difficult than he first thought. "You there, hold, where did you come from and what do you plan to do?" As the dust and debris swirled in the wake of the wyvern’s charge, Abdul saw an armor-clad figure blocking access to the main hall of the building, wielding a fearsome lance and speaking in the second voice he heard through the door. Tucking his tome back into his bag, Abdul then raised his hands. “My friend, I am simply a traveler who heard the commotion! I am skilled with magic, and I think I may be able to help you with the creature inside!” A thunderous crash punctuated his offer of help. With the dust settled enough to see into the main hall, Abdul looked past the knight to see the belligerents within. A band of warriors, including that wyvern’s rider, had managed to knock down a statue. Unlike a normal statue, the statue moved like the wyvern, reptilian and latent with predatory intent. The statue glowed blue with powerful magic, casting long, shifting shadows on the marble columns as the warriors continued to clamber around it. Despite the warriors' skill and strength, their tools of bronze and steel proved to be no match for the statue’s torrid invulnerability. “Look! That thing cannot be felled with brute force alone! If you would let me pass, I can use my magics to stop it! Quickly, before it is too late!”

“I'm coming as well. If we truly are in a new world, that makes it difficult for me to fulfill my goals, so I'd like to find a new one in its place.” “Yay! The more the merrier! It’s going to be like a proper camping trip!” Caleb said gleefully before his voice suddenly got lower, “Maybe we could make some more...friends...along the way.” As Vorpu and Asiya departed from the meeting of the Pyramid Guardians, Caleb tapped his mount, urging it to follow his new compatriots. Despite its many legs, the creature had to speed up to a trot to keep up with the two warriors. As he caught up, he heard Vorpu addressing him and Asiya. “Good to have you all with me. As you may have heard from Lord Usaphaidos, I am Vorpu. So long as you all stay close by I can promise your protection. My powers haven't left me despite this grand change in the world so that's at least one constant we can count on.” “Oh yea, I didn’t tell you my name either! I’m Caleb, and I have a friend inside my head named Zuggs! He sometimes likes to talk through me sometimes, so don’t be too surprised when my voice goes all deep and spooky!” Caleb then raised his hand, commanding the sparse fungus within the dungeon walls to grow, causing the entire hallway to illuminate with a dim blue light. “My powers seem to be working in this new world too! I control ALL the mushrooms and can make the plants and mushrooms grow really BIG!” Caleb continued, emphasizing his last word by making the glowing mushrooms grow larger, causing their light to shine like little torches. “Once I get outside, I’ll be able to do even bigger and better stuff with all the local mushrooms! Maybe we could even give the people of the world a nice gift basket!” In his excitement, Caleb urged his mount to overtake the two. However, the mount suddenly stopped as a little shadow creature emerged from the floor. “Are you guys actually going outside!? “I'm coming with! I've never been outside!” “Okie dokie new friend! Strength in numbers right?”

Yu was in high spirits as he pulled his tie up, completing his school uniform. For the very first time, he would be in a real school, with real people his age! While reading by himself in his little greenhouse of an apartment was fine, surely nothing can beat the school experience! After all, how many novels and comics were about the school experience? Even if he did not embark on a quest to save the world from aliens, demons or evil wizards, surely it must be something everyone could get excited about. As Yu mused in front of the mirror, fantasizing about the coming school day, he caught the sign of his stuffed bear in the mirror, pacing more restlessly than usual as it picked up on his excitement. Its movement became more erratic as the dread of what might happen if he lost control creeped into his mind. Bullies were something that were always present in those school stories. What might happen if he were pushed beyond his limits? He wasn’t a villain, but the angel might hurt them, and what will happen then? Taking a seat in front of the mirror, Yu took a deep breath and recited the syllables, just as Akari-onee-san had taught him. “Na-mu-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo...na-mu-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo...” After a minute of meditation, Yu again looked in the mirror at the pacing bear, seeing that it had taken a seat next to his school bag. Breathing a sigh of relief, he got up, dusted himself off and continued getting ready for the day. --- Yu walked slowly among the puddles of the pitted sidewalk, trying to keep his balance with his arms full. In his right arm was his umbrella and the bear, which was squirming and trying to walk on its own. In his left arm was his bag and a potted plant, a [zamioculcas zamiifolia] straight from his own collection, wrapped as a gift for the class. Despite having his hands full and the rain slowly seeping into his uniform, Yu’s excitement kept him from dwelling on such slight inconveniences, especially when the school building came into sight. The humble building, a simple wall of concrete and glass flanked by the budding sakura trees, reminded Yu of the old research facility building as he would see it from the shore of the island. He could almost smell the salty seafoam and hear the lapping of the waves against the sand as he approached the gates. His nostalgic trance was suddenly broken as he nearly tripped over a deep trench dug into the pavement that lead into the building. In his excitement in going to school for the first time, he forgot that all of his fellow students were also bearers of Quirks, some of them likely to be as troublesome as his own. Scanning his surroundings, he saw a horned girl sprawled out at the end of the deep rut in the ground, the likely source of the impromptu excavation, surrounded by two normal looking students and what appeared to be a humanoid shark. While the scene came off as a result of a superpowered bullying incident at first, the general look of concern on the students’ faces implied that it might have been a Quirk related mishap. Crouching down next to the horned girl, putting down his things, he offered his hand with a smile. “Do you need help? It looks like you had quite the fall!”

As Caleb entered the inner sanctum of Usaphaidos, sitting cross legged upon his mount, he was awed to finally see what his fellow tenants looked like. Before then, he only knew of their presence within the pyramid, but all of the puppets that had strayed close were destroyed before he could get a chance to get a look at them. Instead of needing to spy upon them with decaying eyes, they were now standing beside him in the flesh. As he scanned his fellow guardians of the pyramid, Caleb felt the creeping influence of Zuggutmoy enter the back of his mind, as if it wished to observe the spectacle as well. Caleb first saw the two humanoid guardians. Both of them wielded paired weapons with lethal speed and accuracy such that the scouts sent to their lairs were destroyed as soon as they set foot beyond the threshold. “These specimens do not look any different than other humanoids we had made puppets from. Their bodies are so frail without their coverings. Rubbish, better used as food for the mycelium...” The reptilian was certainly more intimidating. While his equipment and technique was simple, he more than made up for it with raw speed and strength. The scout had lasted a little longer against him than the first two, but there was very little left of it afterwards. “So far removed from its mewling kobold cousins. How could something so powerful come from such worthless stock? It will make a fine puppet if its body can be preserved…” Finally there was that noblewoman mage. While she certainly did not look like much, Caleb knew that this must be some kind of illusion or simulacrum sent by the true resident of her room. The scout sent to her room was toyed with for days with raw strength and magical prowess before it finally disintegrated from the abuse. “Such a fine specimen. Its strength and magic would make an invaluable addition to our collection. With its abilities, perhaps we would be able to challenge the rest of these wretches-” “Would you stop doing that? Could we at least get to know them first?” Caleb retorted to himself before being pulled back to reality by the booming voice of Usaphaidos. The master of the Pyramid was the most mysterious tenant of all, as the mycelium would not grow into his room, likely something to do with his position of- “ABYSSAL PHARAOH, AND GOD OF DEATH!” Caleb listened thoughtfully as the fledgling god told of his plans. It appeared that everyone in the Pyramid, including the lofty God of Death and his reaper servant, were once servants of something even greater. However, whatever had transported the Pyramid to an alpine forest had also put everyone out of the reach of this great power and free to pursue whatever goals they wished. “He’s so very loud and annoying, but if he were in charge of everything, maybe there wouldn’t be as many people tearing up nature…” “...and there will be plenty of dead to gather strength from. Rot follows death after all…” “Well Mr. Usaphaidos, if you can help nature come back as a part of your plan, I think we can work together!” "I intend to survey the outside of the pyramid. Anyone who wishes to do the same are welcome to follow. No harm will come to those under my watch, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in." “I’ll come! It’s been forever since I’ve got the chance to work with a real forest! Deserts aren’t fun for fungi like me!” Caleb replied enthusiastically to the kobold, raising and waving his hand, “Ooh I can’t wait to smell the fresh air!”