Experimental Angel

She hummed in thought as she listened. “Well perhaps it was to learn Japanese? A study abroad kind of thing? Or due to the Cram School?” Elda guessed as Artemis expressed confusion on why she was in school in Japan.

“But it is good that they’re numbered, luckily numbers are universal.” She agreed.

“That is a good outlook to have, though it seems pretty inconvenient with such large memory gaps.” Elda replied as she continued to listen. “Though as I said if you need any help I’d be more than happy to. We can go get some shorts for you after class if you like? And we can find our dorms together.”

“Maybe the staff know more about the condition or know someone who does?”

“I don’t know about that. I’m terrible at learning new languages, and like I said, the school environment itself is new to me. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a school before now. Not that I can remember, either way.” Artemis shrugged, smiling slightly. “As for the whole Cram School thing, I understand it’s about training to become an exorcist, and I feel like I’ve always been around demons somehow. Sometimes they attack me without any warning, but most of the time... I dunno, they just follow me around and watch me? It’s pretty unnerving when that happens.”

She glanced over at Elda and shook her head. “Inconvenient doesn’t even begin to cover it.” She let out a short laugh. “But I mean, it must happen often or I wouldn’t be able to brush it off so easy? It has to be something I’ve gotten used to. I just wish I had that journal the teachers mentioned. I guess I’m supposed to keep one in case I lose my memories, but I couldn’t find one among my things.”

“That’s really nice of you.” Artemis smiled again. “I guess now’s a time when I could use all the help I can get. And as for shopping, that’d be great. I feel really uncomfortable in this skirt without something proper underneath it.”

“I suppose I don’t have that much to compare to myself, I’m not sure I’ve ever stayed long enough at a school to fully learn the layout, but it is good that the dorms are so close to the class buildings, doesn’t take as much time to get to class.” Elda agreed.

She grinned at the tangent since plenty of the complaints were similar to her own. 

“Well most of the time students can take or leave some of the things like the tie and the bows, but I must agree the skirts are pretty short, but I wear biker shorts under mine, they’re comfortable and give a more secure feeling for those of us who don’t wear skirts like this often.”

“That’s okay, if you don’t want to talk about it then you don’t have to. Now that I know you, I can try and help you out whenever you need it.” She replied.

“Looks like we’re in the same boat, then. I don’t remember having any school experience before here...” That was true enough, but she wasn’t really saying she couldn’t remember anything. “I know the feeling is relatively new, so I guess that’s what I’m going off of. It’s a bit strange, actually. And Japan of all places... I keep getting lost because I can’t read the signs. Classrooms aren’t so bad since they’re numbered..” She shrugged.

“I mean... it’s not all bad. Things could definitely be worse.” For example, she could be in the hospital right now due to having amnesia. Or she could be severely injured.

“I’ll have to buy shorts to wear under the skirt then. I don’t own any, just jeans.” Which were in fact stuffed into her bag at the moment. She hadn’t woken up in her dorm, and she was going to have to search for it later.

“No problem, this is a really big school, I’m still carrying my map around for the regular campus just to get around.” She replied as they started walking down the halls to their first classroom.

She noticed the motion and gave a sympathetic smile. “It sucks that these skirts down’t have pockets hu? But nice to meet you as well, Artemis. Are you new as well?”

Elda was still learning faces and names of most of her classmates, she was use to going in and out of schools so she didn’t often make it a priority, though this time around she planned to stick with it until she finished so she was making more of an effort to at least remember her Cram School classmates.

“Yeah, it is really big. I didn’t think that’d be possible for a school.” She replied, smiling easily. “Ah, but I don’t really have anything to compare it to, so I dunno.” She waved one hand dismissively, partially distracted by her own thoughts. “At least the dorms are close to the school grounds.”

Artemis blinked and looked down, tugging at the bottom of the skirt. “I’m so used to wearing jeans, it’s ridiculous. Are these skirts supposed to be this short? I feel like I’m gonna flash someone accidentally if I move wrong.” She frowned, still tugging. But she had to give up, instead pulling at the tie. “There’s also the whole tie thing. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get it right. And don’t get me started on that ridiculous bow for the girl’s uniforms. I’m not even going to touch that thing, let alone wear it!”

Okay, so maybe she went off on a tangent, there, but uniforms were awkward. Just wearing it felt wrong, and she wasn’t really all that fond of the shoes, either. She missed wearing her comfy combat boots.

It had only been a few days since Elda had started classes at True Cross so in some instances she still had to pull out her map to be sure that she was going in the right direction. Though she had been to the Cram School on multiple occasions her father often just took her straight to it.

She had only been on the school’s regular campus once before when she was registering for classes and hadn’t taken a lot of time yet to learn the layout of the school so Elda was sure to keep her map on hand during the day.

Once it was time for Cram school she was relieved, this is what she came to the school for, she didn’t care about her normal classes very much though her father had insisted on doing both.

She used her own key to the Cram School from her dorm room and headed down the hall until she spotted another girl ahead who looked lost.

“I am, come on I can show you the way.” Elda replied as she came closer.

“I’m Elda by the way.”

Artemis nodded as she slipped the magic key back into her bag with the class schedule. It was nice that someone else was heading to class at the same time she was, it felt less awkward trying to find her way. It was hard enough figuring out she had amnesia, and had apparently only recently enrolled in the school. Something about the director enrolling her as a favor to her adoptive mother, or something? Not that she could remember meeting either of them.

“Ah, great. Thanks for showing me the way.” She smiled, moving to stuff her hands in her pockets, only to remember she was wearing the stupid school uniform and her skirt didn’t have pockets. Her hands dropped to her sides, instead shifting her shoulder to keep her bag in place.

Summer seemed to pay attention to Artemis for a moment longer–unsure of what the sent she was getting was. It wasn’t demonic….Still… It was something not completely human? It was soft accompanied by a storm–but a storm of fire? No, her nose couldn’t detect it properly. It would be rude to lean in and sniff someone, right?

“Aye. There’s a lot of kids at this school. So I think it’s a commonly shared feeling.” She gave a rather sheepish smile, again mentally mindful of her fangs–just in case this person had a taint. Or worse: Was another Exwire she needed to hide her dirty little secrets from. “Especially if it’s around someone you like, I guess. I don’t really have a crush–not a common one, anyways.”

Help her not think…? Summer gave a stiff nod–yeah she could understand that. Her entire existence was ased around trying to run away from her own thoughts. “…Hm…?” She peered at the sketch with intrigue, before smiling–and perhaps even blushing. “A-Ah it’s very good. Do you take the art classes and Art Seminar?”

“Ah, that-! That’s not really something I understand.” Artemis replied, glancing to the side. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a crush, then again, this setting feels entirely new to me anyway.” She gestured vaguely with her other hand at the school grounds. “But, that could also be the amnesia thing.”

She bit her lip over the last comment. It wasn’t exactly an easy thing to talk about, and it felt weird to admit she had amnesia. But it was true, and maybe she was just too honest. It was hard to label herself when she couldn’t remember anything beyond the past couple days.

“Art class? No...” She glanced at the sketch, and a blush rose to her cheeks at the compliment. “I’ve never taken lessons. It’s just something that comes to me.” Artemis frowned slightly and then flipped to a random page. This one was depicting a large, bare room with tiled walls and glass windows. Within the sketched room was a demon, about the size of a large dog, tubes and wires sticking out of it.

It was ridiculous the amount of times people had to say her name in one day for it to feel right. Artemis. She didn’t feel like the goddess of the hunt, and she felt that it didn’t descry her personality at all. Somehow it felt wrong, yet details had revealed that the name was also engraved on the locket she wore. So even though the name didn’t feel familiar at all, it must be hers.

All the teachers who had met her in the past week had to remind her of her name. Some were surprised that she managed to get through lessons with a case of amnesia, or rather it was due to some rare memory condition she had forgotten about.

If that was the case, where was the journal they said she usually kept? A thorough search of her bag had revealed no journal, and nothing with any notes about the past week, at least nothing beyond regular class notes. It was really frustrating, but she sighed and let it go. She couldn’t help it if this was something that happened often.

All she could do was move on to the next set of classes, which apparently required the use of a specific key. She doubted it was the old brass key on her necklace, but she did find a strange one in her bag. The note on her schedule said to use it in any door, and to never lose it. She walked over to the nearest door and turned the key in the lock, stepping through into a vast hall.

Woah-! Okay, so magic keys, then. Demons, exorcist school, and magic keys. Add her memory loss on top of that, and this was turning out to be a very strange day.

It wasn’t typical for her to sense such a strong presence. Usually she ended up being followed by lots of small, lesser ranked demons. But the feeling she felt now was definitely stronger, and Artemis could practically hear her heart pounding in her chest. It was bad enough she couldn’t remember moving out here, let alone having no memories of who she was, or where she was from. But having such overwhelming paranoia was insane.

Artemis spun around, mismatched eyes falling on the only figure that seemed to be the source of her panic. She felt unusually tense, hands clenched tightly at her sides.

Summer had originally been sitting over by the fountain area, enjoying a destressing session from the school life of a day student and Exwire. Tucked up in her jacket and hoodie also to hide not only her scarring, but also ears and tail. Even if her tail hated it–she had to hide. At least until she was in front of a select few.

However, as she spent time texting Yunneth about her plans for today and if they could go to the mall, she felt watched. And not just watched in casual passing either, but being stared at as well. 

Thoroughly paranoid, the Chimera had stood up to begin searching for the origin of these stares. After accidentally running into Renzo and having an awkward lunch, she didn’t want to risk being….Talked about. 

No sooner than she began to search, the person accused of such crime pounced over. She had a…Strange scent about her. It made her want to recoil away but at the same time…She couldn’t help but find herself curious at the same time. “oh.” She politely smiled, feeling every muscle in her body seem to relax. “It is okay. I was a tad paranoid.” The Russian accent was a tad heavier than if she were an adult, which was another reason why she may’ve been self conscious.

Artemis blinked when the girl spoke, surprised by the heavy accent. That was Russian, right? She was pretty sure of that, but considering she was currently in a school in Japan, it probably wasn’t that big a deal. Either way, she was glad the other girl wasn’t weirded out or annoyed at her staring. Something felt strange about her, not in a bad way, just different.

“Ah, no. That’s okay. I get that feeling a lot, myself.” She admitted, placing her free hand on her hip. “The uh, paranoia thing anyway.” It happened most often when demons started following her around. If they were visibly present she didn’t mind as much, it was when they kept out of sight that she began to feel the overwhelming sense of panic and paranoia.

“Drawing helps me think, or... to not think.” That was more accurate. She didn’t really think when she started sketching, it was just something that came to her when her mind wandered. “I uh, hope you don’t mind, but I sort of...” Artemis lifted the sketchbook and flipped it open, showing off the sketch she’d started of the girl. “People don’t usually catch my interest that often. Most of my sketches are of scenery or people I don’t remember seeing.”

She woke up in a panic, breath coming in harsh gasps as her eyes darted to each corner of the room. It appeared she was in an abandoned house of some kind, the walls and floor were filthy and covered in layers of dust and grime. She couldn’t remember how she’d gotten there, or how she got in, but the panic was taking over. A backpack in once corner grabbed her attention and she shifted off the makeshift bed to shuffle through it.

Nothing truly identifying, though the items inside were personal in nature. They seemed the kind of items a teenager would have. An MP3 player with headphones, a change of clothes, a few pencils and pens, a notebook with class notes, a class schedule to some place called True Cross Academy, as well as a make-up bag.

Nothing felt familiar though, and there wasn’t anything with a name on it. Why was that important? Of course, because she couldn’t remember her own name. Gritting her teeth, she stuffed everything back in the bag and closed it, quickly rushing out of the building and making a run for it.

Her sense of paranoia had only grown more with the lack of information. She also felt a massive headache coming on as she ran, her feet pounding against the pavement. She was so focused on simply running that she didn’t notice the person she was about to run into, and so she was halted by slamming into them.

A curse rose to her lips, and she was about to yell at the person, until she saw it was another teen. Her mouth closed rather suddenly, and she sank to the ground, reaching for her bag.

Artemis wasn’t entirely sure what to do anymore. One day after losing her memory again, and she’d only just been informed about her own memory condition. Apparently something had happened two days ago for her to lose her memory again, and all she knew was that it had something to do with demons. And she was now enrolled in a school to learn how to fight and exercise demons.

What exactly was going on with her life? If she had such frequent memory loss, then shouldn’t she have a journal lying around somewhere?

She ought to, yet in all her searching through her bag, her dorm, she hadn’t found any trace of said journal. And now she was at a loss. A sigh escaped her as she plugged her headphones into her ears and turned on her music. The sound of Green Day echoed through the speakers and she pulled out her sketchbook, doodling absently as she looked around, watching people come and go.

One girl caught her interest, and Artemis flipped the page to start drawing again, starting slightly as she saw the girl glance over at her. Mismatched eyes quickly returned to the sketch on the page, incomplete as it was, it still resembled the girl.

That morning she’d woken with a start, as if expecting someone or something to barge in on her and attack in her sleep. Minutes had passed before the feeling ebbed, and she moved to get up, hearing a loud clang as a metal rod hit the floor. Apparently she had slept on the bed while clutching the rod close, though she didn’t know why she felt she needed the weapon. Everything was fuzzy, and after she’d stashed the rod away in a closet, she looked around, but nothing had been familiar.

An overwhelming sense of panic threatened to take over, and she nearly darted from the room there and then. But she eventually calmed down enough to take stock of what things she did have. A class schedule to a place called True Cross Academy, a few textbooks, notebooks, and personal effects. She’d come across a dated MP3 player with white headphones and plugged one in her ear to check one of the songs. It seemed to meet her tastes, because she smiled when the music started playing.

In addition to that, there was a slim black cellphone in her bag; a list of contacts, none of which she recognized. Black combat boots with red laces, a black corset and red top with sheer black tank-top sleeves, and a pair of dark blue jeans. A cursory glance at the accessories and she assumed that her usual style was ‘rocker girl/goth’. Not to mention the silver eyeshadow, black eyeliner, and red lipstick.

She’d pulled on the combat boots only to have a crumpled note brush against her toes. A look at the note revealed something she didn’t really want to know. Something was after her. Whatever it was had apparently been after her for a while, and might well be the reason she couldn’t remember what was going on. The need to pack up and run was stronger then, and she grabbed her things and rushed out the door.

On her way, she ran into a girl dressed in a uniform that greeted her, calling her by the name Artemis. She’d replied easily enough, and then got roped into walking with the girl to school, which was apparently the very school she was enrolled in. The whole day had been strange to her, wondering where she was. She hadn’t even looked in a mirror yet, and people kept giving her odd looks. What? Did she had horrible bed head or something?

Worse was when one girl gave her a nasty look until she walked by, and suddenly her demeanor completely changed. She just tried to shake it all off, until she had to go to the Cram School on her schedule, using the key provided. Again, everyone seemed to know her name, but she couldn’t remember them in return, and now it was the end of the day, and she was trying to figure out where her dorm was. She was pretty sure she didn’t wake up in said dorm, because her notes said she had a roommate, and she was certain she’d woken in a random room in an old building that morning.