Endling (Kaito x Gakupo)

Chapter 1

Kaito checked his data assistant discreetly and then held back a sigh. Forty more minutes left. The teacher keep droning on and on at the front of the class about the importance of critical reading. Identifying the thesis of a paper, summarizing, keeping a good dose of skepticism, and everything the man was saying was completely obvious.

Maybe a second or two of closing his eyes wouldn't be that bad. It wasn't like he would miss anything with the great slideshow his teacher had put together, nothing but black words on a white background...the man was obviously under the impression they were back in the twentieth century...

"Wouldn't you agree, Kaito?"

Kaito opened his eyes with a jolt, but wasted no time in replying, "I'm sorry sir, I didn't hear you the first time."

"You don't say," the teacher replied sarcastically. A couple of people in the class snickered and the man's eyes focused on one of them. "Ah, William. Since you seem so energetic, maybe you can tell Kaito in your own words what we were talking about?"

William hesitated, turning red. "Erm..."

"This isn't kindergarten. If you don't want to be here, go outside." The teacher waved towards the door, but no one moved. "No? Well then, try to stay focused."

Kaito made an effort to keep his eyes open. He liked reading well enough, although he vastly preferred historical novels and folklore to dry academic papers. Nevertheless, he was quite sure he could analyze the required texts without all this meaningless talk. And the worst part is that the rest of the lectures of the day were likely to be just as exciting.

But this is the state of the world nowadays, isn't it? We came on top armed with rationality and science, and shaped reality into our own image. It just happens to be a very boring, self-satisfied image.

It had been a successful strategy nevertheless. Kaito could go to classes without fear of being hunted by spirits or burnt down by a dragon. He had no need for amulets or ancient rituals. There were no strange sounds in the night, no uncertain figures in the mist. Humanity was alone in this earth...or at least, almost alone.

***

Minutes crawled by, hours slowly melted away and finally the last bell of the day chimed.

Kaito was reading his backpack when Hiroshi, one of his classmates, shoved a leaflet under this nose. "Hey, Kaito! You like this freaky stuff, don't you?"

Kaito examined the sepia-colored paper curiously. It was an advertisement for a 'House of Zoological Marvels and Other Biological Oddities' in the entertainment sector by the beachside. It had several illustrations of mounted animals and humanoid beings, bones, artifacts, and one color photograph, advertising their latest piece.

"An endling..." Kaito muttered. He looked to be some kind of wind fae, if the oversized wings on his back were any indication.

"Do you want to come with us?" Hiroshi gestured towards the group just outside of the classroom's door. It was comprised of his girlfriend and some of her friends. With Kaito, they would be six people; three boys and three girls.

"Akane is trying to set me up with someone again?" Kaito asked with a small smile.

"She just wants you to have some company." Hiroshi turned around and gave his girlfriend a smile, which she promptly reciprocated. "And this chick might be up your alley. From what Akane says, she loves old timey stuff."

"Uh-huh," Kaito replied distractedly, examining the photograph on the leaflet more closely. Under the disheveled purple hair, the endling seemed to have some sort of feathery protrusions instead of regular ears, and there was a hint of pearly scales on the sides of his face. Unfortunately, it wasn't a full body image, but Kaito spied the beginning of a scaly tail peeking out from the back of the endling's baggy white pants. In what was an amusing but understandable reaction, he seemed to be giving the camera a dirty look.