Bracing for Impact

Chapter 1

Yuuichi sighed as he looked at the shirt he was now holding in his hands. He looked at the dark grey-ish cherry red that adorned most of it, with charcoal colored accents decorating the sides. He put it on with relative ease, as it seemed to be a perfect fit, tailored specifically for him.

Looking at the coffee table in front of him, he picked up the diamond shaped opal crystal that he was gifted with by that blue haired girl, and put it over his heart, on top of the shirt. It clasped automatically to the fabric, a cloak of the same color family materializing around him. Speaking of the girl, Yuuichi still didn't know who she was. Was it a mistake to accept her offer?

~~~~

"Tsurugi Yuuichi." She had voiced. The navy haired boy gulped roughly, his throat feeling as dry as a desert. He didn't know why he felt like that. In fact, how did he even know she was calling out for him? In truth, he couldn't even remember his own name, and he was more than certain that no other person was around him.

Exhaling loudly he mustered the strength to turn around and face the voice. Though what he saw took him by surprise. No more than a few meters away, stood a girl. She looked a little shorter than he was, but he couldn't determine her age based on the voice, neither by her appearance.

"Who...who are you?" He found himself saying, still difficult to get accustomed to using his vocal chords, and hearing his own voice after what felt like eons of silence.

The girl began walking closer, slowly. "I see you are still numb from your slumber. That's alright, you'll warm up in no time." Yuuichi blinked. What was she talking about? He opened his mouth to try and speak again, but was stopped abruptly by her raised hand. "My identity is of no concern to you at the moment. I am here for one sole reason."

He slightly tilted his head as he watched her stop in front of him. He could asses her features now. Bright hazel eyes, accompanied by a turquoise colored hair. Her face was round, and her build was lithe in comparison to him. She seemed even shorter up close, but that wasn't the most detrimental aspect of hers.

She wore a blood colored cloak, with golden accents on the ends. He had a...somewhat bad feeling about all of this. "I came here to make a deal."

He blinked in confusion at her words. Deal? What could she possibly offer him, and he, in return?

"Your life. You will solely belong to me, in exchange for another chance to live." He froze in place, as she spoke those words. His life? Chance to live? "I'm sure you've noticed that there's something going on. At this exact moment, you're not really living. You're a wandering soul lost in the void. I cannot tell you your story, for it is up to you to find out, but I can offer you the opportunity to experience it yourself and much more."

Yuuichi frowned. "And what...what do you get out of this, if I accept? I'll give you my life but It's not like I can...do too much." At least he had some kind of logic left, despite his absence of a physical body. The girl smiled. "That will not be a problem. You'll be training alongside others as well. So, what do you say?"

~~~~

"Tch." He expressed as he made sure the collar of his shirt was all set. Why did he agree to this, again? It was probably the lack of remorse that he felt and the thought of being left alone into that endless void. He...did not like the idea. At all. Something about the silence and the darkness of the place, made it really eerie.

Sighing, he gave himself one last look and then exited the temporary room he was granted with. He walked down a dimly lit hall, where he was instructed to go. The girl, whose name was 'Emy' as he had learned so not long ago, told him to go to the concert room...whichever that one was. The building he was in wasn't so big, so not that hard to navigate. He'd been told how the doors to the room in question looked, and he quickly found himself in front of them. An overwhelming feeling of anxiety washed over him, and he could feel his heartbeat pick up. Gulping, he shook his head and manned up. It was just a 'meeting' wasn't it? Letting out a deep breath, he pressed on the handle of one of the doors and entered the room. It was relatively big, other hooded and un-hooded figures around, loitering on the seats or on the small podium in front of the room. They turned his heads at him, making him feel like prey under a hunter's gaze. He took a few steps down, not wanting to stay right in the door.