Tempus Edax Rerum

She watched as he put the phone up to his ear and started speaking. Her eyes regarded him curiously, her arms crossing over her chest. Attack by the Organization? Troops? He sounded like a refugee on the run from some shady organization. But what refugee would disguise themselves as a student? Maybe she’d get the chance to ask him later.

Her train of thought was broken when he spoke again. 

“I’ve got to say, you’re much stronger than you look.”

"Asami, huh?" He returned her smile with an eager grin of his own, "I am the MAD SCIENTIST..HOUOUIN, KYOUMA!" He sticks out his chest, looking all too satisfied with himself. "Of course....calling me by either name or even both is perfectly fine with me!"

She would have inquired more about the seal he was talking about, however she realized that it would be rude to leave the strange man sprawled on the ground, especially since she’d hit him. Bending down, she offered her hand to him with a tentative smile.

“Ah, and I got your phone as well… I really can’t seem to apologize enough.” Her jade eyes searched for the device on the ground, finally finding it in a patch of nearby grass. She picked it up gingerly, holding it out in her hand for the man to take. 

With a small grateful smile, he takes her hand and allows her to help him up. Once back up on his feet, he releases her hand and rubs the back of his head, where a lump began to form thanks to the corrupted soccer ball.

"No need to apologize any longer." He accepts his phone and quickly holds it up to his ear. "No. Everything is fine. That was not an attack by the Organization. Cancel the mobilization of the troops!"

He places the phone back in his pocket with a satisfied sigh, turning back to the girl before him.

“Uh, yeah! I’m looking for the… P-2 boy’s dorm! I kinda got lost and have no idea where I am so… Could ya help me around for now?”

"Lost, huh? I'm not surprised. It's quite easy to get lost in an academy so large." With a chuckle, he pointed to the door he had just exited. "For reference-- that's the library."

He felt his mouth curl up amusement as he gestured for him to follow with his free hand.

"You're in luck. The P-2 dorm's not too far off from where I'm headed. Come on."

Twisting and turning in the hot summer weather, Asami Sato weaved in and out, dodging imaginary opponents. The soccer ball bounced on the grass, guided towards the goalpost by her feet. Despite the haze of heat that made it uncomfortable to be outside, a smile adorned her face. How she loved the feel of the grass beneath her shoes, the thrill of being in possession of the ball. She made her way down the field, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Soon, it was just her and the net. Asami lined up the ball, readying herself for the kick with a deep breath. Her foot struck out, making contact with the ball. It went flying but - oh no, it was going in the wrong direction. The noirette watched in horror as the ball flew off of the field, lurching sideways towards a student walkway. No, no, please miss, please miss! 

Asami’s pleas fell on deaf ears as the ball made contact with someone, or rather, someone’s head. She took off without a second though, reaching the person in record time. Her jade eyes looked them over with concern, her hands knotted together with worry.

“I-I’m so sorry! The ball just… Are you alright?”

He continued the one-sided conversation, not taking any note of the incoming projectile.

"Hmm? What's that? "Don't give up hope?" Heh. You know me better than that! There's no way I'm giving up now...That is the choice of Steins;Gate." He chuckled as he prepared his finishing line, "El Psy Congr--GRUWAHK!!!"

The ball collides against his head and he's sent sprawling forward onto the ground. He releases the phone, which lands just a few feet away.

“I-I’m so sorry! The ball just… Are you alright?”

He groans as he rubbed the back of his head. Today had been a relatively slow day. Of course something had to come and liven it up a little. Or rather, someone.

He looks up and fixes his gaze on the black-haired beauty, her eyes taking him by surprise. 

Glancing around the front door of the academy, Kittan noticed it was cleaner than what he could make out of the rest of the academy. “Though it’s probably because there’s only teachers there, unlike, well… everywhere else” he thought. Which was true: apart from the front door, people were cluttered in their own groups of friends or enemies, talking, eating, laughing, friend stuff.

Paying no mind to all of that, Kittan stepped inside the Academy, all the while glancing around to map out the building’s interior in his head.

“A classroom there… Stairway there… Cute girl. Wonder what’s her na-“

Without even realizing it, Kittan walked headfirst into a wall. After relaizing it, he turned quickly to see if anyone wtinessed this embarassing moment, but it appeared not to be the case.

“Jeez… Man, I gotta loosen up. It’s not like I’m gonna die if I don’t find my way here. Relax, Kittan.”

Loosening his tie that stiffened his neck, Kittan tried to find a way to the boy’s dorm to find his room. However, the more he walked, the less his surroundings seemed like a dorm. This was the first time he actually entered the school though, so it was to be expected. He stopped to think about where the dorms were, yet quickly gave up.

“Man, this place is huge. Who could possibly need that much space for a school? … Well, guess I’ll try to find my way to the dorms.”

He was snapped out of his train of thought by an obvious cry of help from...a really tough-looking guy. Normally, he'd leave such people alone, but...he couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. He himself had been in a similar situation just days prior.

Over her currently white and red vein branched face, an eyebrow lifted curiously. She launched herself slowly towards the man, her heels digging into the grass as she landed near the gaping hunch in front of her. Her complexion normalized, and she crossed her arms over her chest with a little smile.

“It’s really impolite to stare, you know.”

“It’s really impolite to stare, you know.”

IT'S NOT LIKE HE WAS STARING BECAUSE HE WANTED TO YES HE DID. But ah, how could he not? He wondered if her kind could travel through time...

“If you’ve got a camera on you, I’ll pose if you’re really that interested.”

That made him stop in his tracks. What....What kind of alien was this? Was she used to this sort of attention? Regardless, it was probably better to get on her good side.

It was a faint, very faint noise at first. It became louder and louder, as an almost whistle cut through the air:

“Everybody get out of the waaay!!”

…

And with a crash, she’d arrived. Gade thought it funny to send her on somewhat of a journey before she’d arrived at this academy proper, and in her rush to show up sometime before her classes were to actually start, she’d pushed Dusty just a smidgeon too hard, and paid the toll that cost with a hearty blow to a shack on the outskirts of the academy. Hopefully none of the groundskeepers were around to bear witness to her acts of… ahem, accidental vandalism.

“Augh, I’m sorry, Dusty…” Kat groaned, digging herself out of the rubble as her not-quite-familiar, a small not-quite-black cat bubbled its way out as well. “Gade had said something about unfriendly skies so I wanted to get here as quick as possible, so…”

There was a little grin, fading with a little glance to the cat at her feet, which spat an almost sarcastic hiss at the blonde.

“Oh be quiet— just because I was excited for this whole school thing, doesn’t mean I wasn’t actually worried about that unfriendly quip…”

His eyes took notice of something...odd in the sky. Some...sort of object falling? He sat up immediately as the noise grew louder. 

'Could it be....Suzuha?!', his heartbeat sped up as he dashed in the direction of the falling object. It didn't seem to be too far off-- and even if it was....there was no way he was going to stop.

He slowed down as he reached the crash site. Breathing heavily, he hunched over as he watched the scantily clad girl turn in his direction.

“L-Lay it on me, man!”

Woah! Bee almost took a step back there for a second. This guy knew English! Bee had to bring out his special rhymes in order to impress this multilingual mean machine. And he had a swag with him too. 

“I see you got a mission-♪ That you can’t be missin’-♪ But I got permissi-”

Bee stopped for a second, pulling out his notebook and pencil and continued to scribble down his latest lyrics. Now he just needed to continue, give that kid the finish to really knock him off his feet.

…

“Damn. Can’t think of a rhyme.”

How disheartening, but the world of rap was a hard one, and Bee would just have to continue on. His bouncing knees stopped and he straightened himself up; crossing his arms as he did so.

“Wait a minute!” he suddenly burst out, “Mission? What the hell sort of mission is that? Ain’t you meant to be at a school? Fool, ya fool! Unless your mission involves behind the bike sheds with a little girlie, yeah, I can understand that, hehe~”

“There ain’t no need to refrain. You jus’ need to explain! Fool, ya fool! Put it right there! Gimme a bump!” he gave a small laugh at the kid, before uncrossing his arms and holding out his right fist.

“I see you got a mission-♪ That you can’t be missin’-♪ But I got permissi-”

He stopped mid-pose right after the large man did. He watched the ninja scribble for a bit as he slowly straightened up and pocketed his phone.

Okabe looked just as disheartened at the man's inability to finish up that rhyme. His life felt incomplete... The feeling was the same as whenever Mayuri pushed him to try to play Gitaroo Man, only to fail...

He jumped back at the sudden outburst. Did he really look like he belonged here with all these high school kids?! Bike shed?! Girls?! N-No way, he'd never get himself in that sort of situation...

“There ain’t no need to refrain. You jus’ need to explain! Fool, ya fool! Put it right there! Gimme a bump!” he gave a small laugh at the kid, before uncrossing his arms and holding out his right fist.

“Name’s Killer Bee, kid! Sorry my raps fall a little flat, takes some time to make them really phat!-♪”

He couldn't help but be infected by the man's enthusiasm. He grinned back as he bumped fists with him.

"Take your time to straighten up those rhymes, Mister Killer Bee!" he could never pass off the chance to bring english into his chats. He puffed up his chest and pointed his thumb  at his own chest, "I am mad scientist! Hououin, Kyouma!" He let out his signature mad laugh, to show him just how insane he was.

Bee had finally arrived at the school. He had been surprised at first, a man walked off the street, decked out in weapons and with naught but a single piece of paper advertising the need for Music Theory teachers to be given a job without a single glance, but it was welcoming; Bee needed a place to lay low and enjoy his ‘vacation’ before someone found him and carted back to the village. ‘You’re expected to give these children the education they deserve’ the employer said.

Oh, these kids were going to be schooled alright.

OLD-SCHOOLED!

Yes, Killer Bee’s plan was perfect. As he stood at the gates of Tancho Academy, he already knew he was going to like the place. Rap was in with the kids, and that must mean he was obviously going to be one of the most popular and hip mentors around. He decided to celebrate his masterplan with a little bit of freestlying.

“Tancho Academy, like a dream-♪ Gonna prove to them all I ain’t no has-been-♪ teacher.”

Killer Bee nodded to himself, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small notebook and pencil, before quickly scribbling down his hot lyrics. This place was already doing wonders for his muse. Yes, he’d kick back for a bit, enjoy all the perks a teacher got and maybe even pass on his rap skills to a worthy pupil. Living the dream.

But first, he needed to make himself know, he was the newcomer afterall, nobody here knew Killer Bee, that’s why he chose the place! But soon they would. The question was however, who would be the first to know?

…That person would do. The biggest fans can sometimes be the ones that accidently discover the artist after all, and whoever this person was hanging outside the main gates, they were going to be Bee first true fan at Tancho.

Bee walked up to the person, before going limp at the knees and bouncing on them, bursting out an intense rhyming couplet as he did so, arms waving around at the reciever of his phat hooks.

Holding the device up to his ear, his eyes narrowed as he scouted the area before him. 

"It's me. I've yet to make contact with any of our agents...Are you sure this is the designated location? ...Tch. Fool. Who do you think you're talking to?! Don't jeopardize the mission!"

He was soon interrupted by a large shadow obscuring his view. He looked up to see a pretty big guy getting his groove on.

“Yo! Say! Ho! Son or daughter, I don’t care-♪ Wanna listen to these rhymes, filled with weight an’ flair?-♪”

Mokou still can’t figure out how she should deal with him, though.

He quickly reaches for his phone and holds it up to his ear, voice trembling.

“The situation has changed drastically. It seems I’m stranded…I’m not sure for how long…! The Agency must have drugged me and brought me out here!” He began to quickly pace circles around the Woman Who Must Think Him Mad, But That’s Okay Because He Is…

He suddenly stopped, leaning in real close to her…

She still doesn’t know what the Agency was—wait wasn’t it the Organization?

Now she’s just confused.

She’s lived for such a long time, why couldn’t she have met someone similar to a person like this guy? She’d at least know what to say!

He leans in close to Mokou, who draws back, nervous and bewiledered.

“Y-yes?”

“Could it be….that you’ve brought me here, Fujiwara no Mokou-san?!” 

A few moments of silence as Mokou tries to decipher it.

That question makes even less sense.

'Chances are, she's but an innocent bystander...with the terrible luck to happen upon me. I must use this to my advantage....'

And if so— did that make this Mokou girl one of his targets? If so, he hoped she wasn’t a yandere… 

Just a feeling, but Mokou feels as though someone just said something bad about her. She furrows her eyebrows and gives a small frown.

The man scratches his stubbly chin. Come to think of it, he does look too old for high school, but Mokou isn’t one to talk about that.

He looks back to Mokou.

“Say…you wouldn’t happen to know how far Akihabara is from here, would you?”

Akihabara…

“Um… very far?” Mokou isn’t too familiar with modern Japan’s new geography, unfortunately.

He quickly reaches for his phone and holds it up to his ear, voice trembling.

"The situation has changed drastically. It seems I'm stranded...I'm not sure for how long...! The Agency must have drugged me and brought me out here!" He began to quickly pace circles around the Woman Who Must Think Him Mad, But That's Okay Because He Is...

He suddenly stopped, leaning in real close to her...

Sandor was used to people staring at him, judging him - but this man… something about him was just… wrong. Sandor took a hard look at the queer little man sitting next to him. If this man was doomed to be Sandor’s company then the least he could do was to try and attempt small talk to pass the time.

“Yes, I agree with you. These ‘hot tubs’ are relaxing so.. they are.. good places to relax?”

"Things like these are needed every once in a while," he nodded with conviction as he reached over to his side to grab two cans of beer he'd received from a very eager and drunken staff member. Ah, corruption of the educational system at its best. 

Sandor approached the party. An excited clamor intertwined with bass that was being pumped out of nearby speakers. Sandor himself wore nothing but his usual scowl and a towel coiled around his waist.

It was clear that this was not The Hound’s ideal relaxation environment, but he came here to relax, so he would at least try to relax.

Taking long, heavy strides, The Hound made his way to the hot tub. He casually unwrapped his towel and tossed it aside, revealing a minute black speedo before sliding down into the steamy depths of the jacuzzi. Sandor let out a long breath and his tense shoulders loosened slightly as the hot water lapped against the wounds on his chest.

'A man like that must be incredibly confident in his body...'

He wanted to look away. Really. He did. But he couldn't help but wonder how many hardships the man had gone through to receive all of those scars....and his face...

He visibly gulped once he was addressed. He laughed nervously.

"G...Good place to just kick back and relax from the insanity, huh?!"

He steps up behind the kid, taking a look what caught the other’s attention. His eyes quickly scanned the flyer. 

“A pool party? A rather…extravagant one at that. What kind of high school is this…?” He sighs, crossing his arms over his chest as he thinks about the situation.

‘If any of the others are anywhere in this school…I’m sure they wouldn’t pass up the chance to attend a pool party…especially Mayuri and Daru…’

He’d have to see if he could find a pair of swimming trunks first….he needed to blend in….even if he couldn’t swim.

He looked down at the kid before him. Perhaps he could be of assistance…

He smirked...he was always happy to know a man of his caliber could still cause such terror in others. With a dramatic laugh, he placed a hand on the other's shoulder.

"Don't worry, kid. The Organization won't get away with this for much longer...I will find this party and expose all of their secrets!"

What’s your name?

Okabe, Rintarou Hououin, Kyouma.  Ho-oh as in phoenix, In, the temple. Finally, the Kyou in atrocious becomes Ma in truth. Hououin, Kyouma…!

What year are you in?

Sophomore, despite my looks.

What is your worst trait?

Having fellow lab members— no, friends— that constantly claim me to be a delusional man-child…Tch! I don’t suffer from Middle-School 2nd Year Syndrome!

But no..I’d say my worst trait would be how easily I can lose myself in something….serious. I’ve been too careless…

What is the worst mistake you have ever made?

Dabbling in time travel and poking about a government conspiracy…to say the least.

Do you think you are responsible? Why or why not?

It’s my fault. All of it. I’m unable to adequately summarize my various mistakes. All the failures. All the retries…But even if I did; I doubt you’d believe me, Professor.

I want to tell the me back then:

Don’t do anything careless!

Don’t do anything rash!

Don’t pretend you didn’t see that!

Pay more attention! 

P.S. This might sound like a student’s pointless delusion…but let me tell you right now, it’s not. I’ve seen strange individuals in this academy…perhaps…not all hope is lost, after all.

——

Crazy mad scientist? Eirin’s face quickly pops up in Mokou’s mind, but she dismisses it quickly. It’s a good thing for her that the man didn’t seem too interested in holding that conversation though, as he then asks more logical (hopefully) questions.

Sort of. It seems Hououin Kyouma enrolled in a school without knowing what he did. He doesn’t seem to even know how he got here.

“Tancho Academy? It’s what it says it is: an academy. A high school, to be exact.”

"Is this some kind of fancy rich school?"

He graduated already...just how much had he screwed up to put himself back in high school? He didn't really feel any younger either...Could this be another weird experiment using Daru's eroge as a setting?! And if so-- did that make this Mokou girl one of his targets? If so, he hoped she wasn't a yandere... 

He scratched his chin. Still stubbly. Good. At least that much was the same. Now all he needed was a labcoat! He had to get back to the lab--

The lab. Of course.

He looked back at Mokou. He was definitely still in Japan, at the very least, but...