The King's Power

Grinning at him, she listened to what he said. Remember after just a flash that she wasn’t home, and this was the first person like herself that she had met. Instantly dropping her smile.

"I.. I’m from Japan! Shiga Prefecture!" Trying to keep up her excited attitude, she continued with eagerness. "And where are you from, Shu-kun?!" 

Turning her head of a moment, she tried to look behind her. “We should get back, I don’t know what happens if you miss a class. I’ve been too scared to find out.”

Right. He can think of what to do. He can figure out how to get out of this situation.

"I'm from Japan, too. Tokyo." He manages to give her a smile until her mood seems to drop. Now, Shu used to be an overall nice student. He didn't get into much trouble, he always went to class, tried to do homework in time.

Not so much in this place.

Words filled the air, unlike any she had heard. Emotion. Emotion filled the masculine voice that got louder from behind. Turning, a bright smiled crawled upon her face, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Nn… You’re.. A person!" Delight overcame her as she grabbed his arms, shaking him slightly, sweet laughter on her lips.

"A-Ah-... I'm Shu. Ouma Shu." He introduces himself back, bowing back to her and shifting on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck as he tries to figure out what to do. Normal? His mind flashes to everything that happened before he found himself here, and he has to struggle a little to keep his smile in place. "I'm not sure if I'm normal the way you're hoping. I don't think I'm normal to myself, but... hopefully, it'll be enough...?"

If this person is like him... if she's stuck in here, too...

Maybe there's a chance that they can work together and figure out what is going on? That's not the kind of thing that he'd think of doing without some help, but since Gai isn't here-...

Tapping her pen repeatedly against the desk, Ritsu stared longingly at the clock above the Teacher’s board where she continuously yammered on about thing’s the drummer had little time for. Her mind wondering onto her friends she left behind, the school she wished she still studied at. Having no one here to call friend, she was lonely. Her classmates all did their work and focused on the Teachers words like clones, programmed to learn and study, programmed to ignore Ritsu’s attempts at friendship, at any sort of interaction. 

The bell! As the clock ticked it’s way to midday, the bell rang. This is what she’d be waiting for. Collecting her things as fast as she could, she sprinted out the door, heading straight for the doors so she could spend her lunchtime in the beautiful gardens. Not many students come out here. They sit inside, they eat, they chat, they study. Ritsu didn’t want to have to eat there, where no one even looked at her. No one cared that she sat along. 

Sitting under a tree, Shu's mind wanders. Skipping class in this place wasn't really a problem - he didn't belong here, there was no reason to listen to their lectures. Instead, he ran his fingers along the blades of grass, his mind wandering back to the people he learned to care about, to Haruka.

Inori would have loved this place...

The sound of the bell ringing broke him out of his thoughts, and it took him a moment to realize that someone was walking out of the garden. None of the robotic students went to the garden--

He stood up, following the girl. He had no idea what he was doing, but it seemed better than to sit under the tree and mope over his situation.

      Speaking of that student, his response made the former underground doctor glance at the boy before pulling out a few things from the shelf. Casually trying to figure out whether the young man was in the same situation as he was without giving away any information about himself was trickier than he thought. Things like that required the talents of a certain informant he knew, but unfortunately, he wasn’t here with him. He probably would’ve handled all of this much better than Shinra and would’ve somehow found his way out of this town too, if he were caught in such circumstances.

      'Oh well!' He thought to himself as he went about his business. It could be possible that he was simply better off not knowing… But then again, how else could he figure out how he came to this strange town? And more importantly, how could he figure out a way out? If a time came when he wanted/needed to leave and go back home, how would he know? How puzzling everything had become in only a matter of days…

      As Shinra began organizing, he suddenly noticed a strange and awkward aura in the room and looked over at the young man again, wondering why. He quirked an brow at Shu questioningly before noticing that the kid had been patiently waiting for him to say something, making the doctor chuckle lightheartedly as he moved around the room with an assortment of different items in his arms.

----And just as suddenly, it's gone. His eyes open and, blinking, he sees the doctor walking around the room, his arms full with objects in his arms. He watches him wlking around, taking in the scenery. Most definitely not the place in his mind, not even a trace of the song in the air, not even a hint of the whole life he left behind. It feels like he's woken up from a dream.

Inori...

"Aa... Thank you, sir..." Giving him a small smile, Shu hesitated for a little moment before laying back on the mattress, sighing quietly. His head was a mess. It felt like he ddidn't know what's real or not, anymore. Did he dream everything? Was it all just his imagination? Staring at the ceiling, it took Shu a moment before he raised his right hand, his eyes taking it in.

He just felt like an idiot, by now.

"... Sensei..." Shu started out after a moment, his eyes closing as he struggled to figure out how or even just what he could ask him, his odd situation leaving him at loss. He wanted to be reassured, but how could he be when he didn't even know just what he needed reassurance for? That he wasn't crazy, and he really was trapped in a place from the past, or that he was and all of that had never been real?

His head was really starting to hurt.

"... Have you ever... felt like you had woken up from a dream... and you know it was just incredibly detailed, and you remember it so well... it almost feels impossible that it was just a dream...?" Ugh, he felt like he sounded stupid.

If Gai were here, he would have been able to make it sound plausible, or to phrase it better. Or maybe Ayame would be right to business and say it bluntly. However, they weren't there, he was by himself, and he had to deal with things by himself, for once.

      Well, that and the sympathy and kindness he had in his heart. After all, he too had gone through high school and dealt with long, boring classes and such. But in this case, perhaps it was more of the situation they were in that was the problem rather than the need to simply get out of class for a bit.

      He chuckled lightly and uncrossed his arms to pick up a clipboard with what he assumed was the sign in sheet. “Sure you can. You can go lie down on one of those beds over there,” he answered and pointed towards said beds. His eyes scanned the sheet of paper to confirm that it was what he thought it was before clicking his pen. “Ouma Shu, is it?” He asked, his words sounding more like a statement than a question as he wrote the down the boy’s name and the time he walked in. “Interesting name. I like it!”

      Once he was done with the bothersome, yet pleasantly small paperwork, he looked around his office, trying to figure out where everything was instead of checking the kid’s temperature. Not like he could anyways. He wasn’t sure where anything was yet! It wasn’t easy to suddenly move from his usual workplace to this brand new area. While he scanned the room, he sighed quietly and made a mental note to rearrange everything to his liking so that he could work more efficiently. His charcoal eyes glazed over the different equipment and medicines, taking mental notes of each and every object before glancing over at the other male. This young man was in the same situation as him, right? He couldn’t be too sure solely based on his observations.

At least for a while longer, he could rest and try to get himself up. Rubbing his eyes, he gave the good doctor a nod, tugging at his jacket's sleeve. Paperwork. Right, he'd probably have to answer some questions before being allowed to lay back and sleep.

"Thank you, sir," he said in a mumble, closing his eyes. Tired. The school had been quick to give him a room, classes, and everything else he might need, and thanks to that, it was rather easy to occupy himself through the day, but whenever the reality hit him, Shu needed at least a little bit of time to collect himself. Idiot who can't think for himself, Gai would probably have called him, but for now, thinking of that made him more scared, and he wasn't really ready for it yet.

The paperwork seemed to be done, but Shu remained sitting, his head low and his shoulders slouched as the doctor looked around. If that was what he was doing. He wasn't entirely sure what he was waiting - more questions, more conversation, an order to lie down...

He missed his normal everyday life. The life that was so very much alike this one, and yet so fundamentally different. He missed even the fear of the Virus and the constant battles. He felt almost catatonic, his gaze unfocused as he stared down at the floor. A voice calls out to him again and, slightly startled, he looked up to the doctor again, slightly embarrassed at his lack of focus.

✄ - ”Ahhh… So this is Nisi Academy.” The doctor mused with a thoughtful smile as he navigated himself through the empty halls. He glanced at his watch and figured that it was a bit early for the students  to be there yet, so he continued on while humming to himself. How he ended up getting a job as a nurse at this mysterious school was completely beyond him, but the circumstances were indeed very interesting. So much so that he decided that it wouldn’t hurt to stay.

      Once he found the room, he stepped inside and admired his new office. The clean smell of alcohol filled his nose, and he immediately felt at home. Home… I wonder what Celty is doing right now. Is she wondering where I am? Does she miss me? … Does she even care? His thoughts were interrupted when the door behind him opened and a student walked in. His charcoal eyes glanced at the clock on the wall. Apparently, half an hour had passed while he was standing there, lost in his thoughts.

      "Can I help you?" He asked with a friendly smile as he placed his briefcase on his desk, noticing on it a silver name bar that had "Dr. Kishitani" neatly inscribed into it. A corner of his lips turned up a bit upon seeing it before he turned his attention back towards the student. Why was he worrying? Surely Celty was worried about him. They were fated to be lovers since the moment he laid eyes on her all those years ago. Now, if only he could get his mind to persuade his heart that was pounding away in his chest, which feared only the worst.

Not only he had woken up in this strange place - a school, at that - but he had no recollection of how he could have possibly ended up in there. In the past. The technology he had seen since he had gotten there were things that Shu would have expected to have seen in documentaries talking about the old days, and yet, he was assured that he was in 2013, completely out of his time, completely out of his usual life.

Shu did not deal well with this kind of situation at all.

Without anyone to help him through, Shu struggled to keep himself composed, and all too quickly, ended up sort of getting used to the classes. There were many things he had learned that they didn't mention. Not even a breath about Lost Christmas, not even a notion of what the Apocalypse Virus was. This was just far too strange for him so, he did the only thing he could think of.

He went to the doctor's office.

There's not even a glint of an idea about what he would say, but for now, he just focus on giving the man a nod, taking in the clean atmosphere of the room and the man standing there. Probably the doctor. At least he hoped it was the doctor.