The Innocence Of Being Unsure About The Future

"You look like shit, kid."

I put on my hair cap and turn to my coworker.

"Good morning, Dash."

He walks to the prep station, and I follow while tying my apron.

This is sort of a ritual between us. It started when I was moved to the early morning shift. I would come in, put on my uniform, and he would say something along the lines of:

"You look like hell."

"You look like a wet dog."

"You look like yesterday's garbage."

At first, I thought he was insulting me, but he never had any malice in his expression or tone when he said it.

So, I chose to believe he was showing concern. Telling me to take care of myself in a roundabout way.

Sadly, I haven't managed to follow his advice yet.

I help with the dough for the dumplings. Then, the sauces. Then, chopping vegetables. Quietly but efficiently. This job is the best for someone like me. It pays better than waiting for the tables on the night shift, and it's less stressful than working with the line cooks during the lunch rush.

I have to leave the kitchen later than usual because one of the prep cooks called in sick.

My phone tells me it's 3 AM. I have enough time for a nap before getting ready for school.

"See you again tonight, kid," my coworker tells me as I hang up my apron. "Don't forget to take out the trash, will ya?"

I only nod in response, taking the black trashbags and nudging the backdoor open with my foot.

"Hmm..."

I'm greeted by the refreshing night breeze and the colorful twilight sky. It's... quite beautiful—

Thump

Something hits the pavement, sending my body on high alert. But there's nothing in this back alley besides me and a few rats...

A shadow looms above me.

I turn and spot him. A young man stands on the restaurant's rooftop. He has black hair and red eyes...

I know him.

"... Lucianus? Is that you?"

I call out to my classmate, and he reacts with a slight wince, proving me right.

"What are you doing here?"

He's breathing heavily. Is he practicing parkour? At 3 AM?

Suddenly, his expression turns deadly serious.

"You saw nothing."

Fast. Lucianus jumps over the rooftop, and when I blink, he's already two buildings away... going in the same direction as my home.

I dump the black bags in the trash can and jog to my apartment, but I don't spot him on my way there. When I close the door behind me, a small sigh leaves my lips. I'm not supposed to raise my heart rate right before nap time.

I hear Grandpa snoring from his room. A quick check of Yunli's room shows she's also fast asleep.

I don't know why I jogged. Lucianus' house is probably just close to mine. There was no reason for what I just did.

But...

Something behind those eyes made me think caution was the right play.

That's a vampire for you.

I whip around, but once again, there's no one there...

Those words came from my mind, spoken by an unfamiliar voice. Still, I can't seem to remember who said such a thing. Was it a character from a movie I watched?

[The Innocence]

"... un."

I blink awake from my third nap. Someone is shaking my shoulder. They're wearing my school's uniform.

"... hun."

I blink again, and her features become clearer. She's that second-year who's in the home economics club with me.

"Shun—"

"Tojo," I mumble, letting her know I'm awake. "Can I help you with something...?"

She steps back as I rub my eyes. There's only me and her in this abandoned clubroom. But that will change in a few...

Oh.

Did I sleep through the group meeting?

No, that can't be... even if none of them recognized me, they would still try to get me out of the meeting place. Someone would have woken me up beforehand—

"Are you Zero Sum Game?"

And that someone is her.

"... Yes."

Zero Sum Game is the nickname I use in that forum. So she must be here for the same reason as me.

Honestly...

I'm glad. When this club room was suggested as our rendezvous point, I... worried for the people behind the screen. If we had some older members, they could have trouble making it here. Still, everyone ended up accepting it. And now that the day has come, the second person to make it here turned out to be younger than me. So maybe I was worried for nothing.

"How did you know it was me?" I ask as Tojo takes a seat to my right.

She smiles warmly and pokes the plastic box at the center of the table.

"The treats. Zero said he'd bake some to the meeting."

I meant it as a joke. But then, some of them started swamping me with requests, and I didn't want to damper their mood by correcting myself. It was a good experience, anyway. I rarely get to bake for friends.

Someone else also offered to bring snacks... I wonder if they'll make it.

"You can help yourself to the first ones," I tell her. Tojo's hand opens the lid and hovers above a macaron...

"Hmm..."

But she pushes the box away with a flustered expression. "No. I should wait until everyone else gets here."

I take the lull in our conversation to check the time on my phone. It's supposed to start in ten minutes. I try to take a look outside, but it's no use. It's the last period, so too many students and faculty members filter in and out. There's no telling who might be coming here.

"Can you guess who I am, Shun?"

I turn back to her, and it suddenly hits me in the face. The home economics club. The offer to bake. The kanji in her name.

"Nossey06."

"Oh!" She seems conflicted by the instant reply and stops hiding her own treats behind her, placing them on the table. "Am I... am I that similar to my online self?" she wonders, taking the seat to my right.

"Yeah. But it's not about your mannerisms... you were the one who asked for macarons."

Her cheeks flush, and she covers her mouth to hide her giggling. "Did you offer me treats just to guess that? That's surprisingly sly of you!"

What? "I didn't—"

The clubroom's door creaks open.

"Hey, hey! I didn't know we were starting ahead of time!"

Two newcomers. One of them is Lucianus, who's getting pulled inside by a redheaded boy. I don't recognize him, but he's also wearing our uniform sans the jacket.

I'm... starting to realize why everyone agreed to meet up at school.

"Amaury! Raventester!"

Tojo waves them in, and the redheaded boy sits opposite her, scratching his hair in embarrassment.

"Man... If I knew there were people from my class in that forum, I would have come up with a better username!"

So, these two learned about each other before the meeting.

"That's basic internet safety..." Lucianus mutters. He still hasn't moved away from the door, simply staring at Tojo. "But how did you know I was Raventester?"

She shrugs. "You just give a Raventester vibe. Don't you agree, Shun?"

"Ah." Now I'm the one being put on the spot.

I look at Lucianus, but all I can remember is that bizarre encounter from two days ago.

"... No. You might have a sixth sense for this, Tojo," I tell her, and she giggles again, taking it as a compliment.

The pale boy narrows his eyes. "Sixth sense, huh..."

Amaury groans, looking like he wants to get up and drag him onto the table. "C'mon, dude, don't be so suspicious!"

He turns to us and covers his mouth to prevent Lucianus from reading his whispers. "Did you two know he was watching you talk from that window like some weirdo?"

Really? First, he pops up when I'm leaving my job, and now this. Is Lucianus... a stalker?

"I-I was just making sure someone else wasn't using the clubroom!"

Noticing my intense discomfort, he tries to explain himself, finally entering the club room.

[The Innocence]

"Wind Chimes, are we cooked?"

"I already told you my name's Reza."

"Yeah, yeah. But are we cooked? We're the only grown-ups here."

"Aren't you a high school dropout? You're more of a manchild than an adult, so even if there weren't any minors here, you'd still be cooked."

"Fuck you, Noodles."

"Fuck you too. Also, stop calling us by our usernames, Mike. Isn't that why we came here? To get to know each other?"

"About that..."

"I don't believe we're cooked, as you put it," Reza says, drowning out Lucianus's quieter tone. "Am I a bit disappointed by the lack of people my age with similar interests? Sure. But I was already acquainted with Amaury—"

"You should have told me you were in the forum sooner, dude!"

There are eight of us now. Everyone is in a buzz and sometimes talking over each other. But for a bunch of socially awkward people brought together so suddenly, I think we're doing alright.

"How was I supposed to know you were Amaury978?" Reza asks, baffled. "Do you think you're the only Amaury in the world?"

"Well, s'not exactly a common name. Hana guessed it."

"Hana guessed most of us correctly," he retorts. "You're putting me through some unfair standards here."

"Sasakura. Can you pass me the snacks?"

The bespectacled girl pushes the box to... Matsubara, another bespectacled girl.

Counting Tojo, There are three girls in our meeting. That's three more than I expected.

Mike reaches for the lunch box mid-travel, fetching a fruit sandwich and taking a bite.

"Damn, these are hella good," he mumbles while chewing, and Matsubara poorly tries to hide her disgust. "Who made them again?"

"Shun," Tojo answers, giving me a thumbs up.

"Well, thanks!" he says, pointing the sandwich at me. "Coming here was already worth it for the free food!"

"I'm—"

I cover a small yawn with my hand.

"... glad you liked it."

"Dude, are you okay?" James asks, touching my shoulder. "We can meet another day if you're sick or something."

I try to put on my best smile, but it only seems to further unsettle him. "I'm fine..."

"You should get more sleep," Tojo suggests, grabbing my other shoulder. Then, she leans closer to continue privately. "... sorry for interrupting your nap when I got here."

"I'm fine," I repeat. It's... weirdly nice to be the target of such concern, but in this case, it's unneeded. "I get my eight hours every day."

All of their eyebrows raise simultaneously. I don't look that bad, do I?

"Really?" Reza voices what's on their minds while I feel the bags under my right eye.

"Really," I sigh, rubbing my eyes. "I just look like this because I'm still not used to polyphasic sleep."

"Polyphasic...?" Mike repeats, shaking his head. "And here I thought I was the king of all-nighters."

"Well, bad habits and introductions aside," Amaury begins, leaning forward. "We should get this meeting started, right?"

"Indeed," Sasakura says, and the others nod and voice their agreement.

"Can we finally talk about the table?" Lucianus blurts out.

"... the what?" I ask, along with several others.

Mike points at our table. "This one?"

"It's... maple?" James guesses, tapping the wood with his knuckles. "Why do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not this one. That one."

He gets up and gestures to a corner of the clubroom. There's a dusty coffee table standing in the corner. There are some strange symbols carved onto it.

"Holy shit. Is that...?"

Amaury has also gotten off his seat, looking at the furniture like it's made of gold.

Wait. The symbols... they seem different now.

Lucianus nods as if that's a normal reaction. "Yes."

"Care to put us in the loop?" Reza asks sarcastically. The two look at each other, trying to decide who should explain.

"Basically... when you touch the rune..."

"And say a certain name..."

"... It takes you to another world," they finish together.

I can't hear how the rest responds. I can only see the symbols. They're moving in real-time, shifting into something I can almost...

"Gras..."

"No, don't!" Lucianus and Amaury shout, taking hurried steps in my direction.

"... Paada?" Matsubara finishes for me, and then...

Death.

It was about time.

[The Innocence]

There's a beautiful house hidden inside Sarbanes' palace.

... No, maybe hidden isn't the right word. Overshadowed. It stands between a factory and a tenement for its workers. Both have plans to expand and merge, and that house is the only thing standing in their way.

However, its owner inherited it from his father, who inherited it from his grandfather... overall, it's been in the family for over nine generations, and no one can buy it.

Inside that house, there's a family of three, and I'm watching their lives.

I watch a son help his mother set the dinner table, then welcome the father returning for work. He tells stories about his day, and they joke around at his expense.

Then, I watch the sunset in this homely atmosphere. The starglass lights are turned off. The father tells a bedtime story to his son before meeting his wife in bed. They share a kiss and fall asleep in each other's embrace.

Finally, I disappear, and my body exists again inside their bedroom. I reach for my waist with both hands, unsheating twin blades... and dealing twin deaths. Quietly and efficiently...

Truly, I was born to do this.

I disappear into a random alleyway.

My blade never comes near their child. It is not mercy. I simply wasn't paid for a third target.

I suppose that is the essence of Zacharia. To that man, the value of a life is how much he can earn by snuffing it.

Call me Zac.

I blink. I'm no longer in Sarbanes. In fact, I was never there at all.

It's been a few days since we all went into that world, but I can't bring myself to follow the rest into their expeditions. And it's all because of these nightmares. Everyone else seemed to inherit the soul of a daring adventurer, wise mage, or righteous knight. And I'm stuck with the flashing memories and skills of a cold-blooded murderer.

I look outside, and there are only faculty members around. School has been over for a while... which means my third nap lasted too long. I leave the abandoned club room and walk to my home briskly.

I have a babysitting gig today, so it's crucial to be there early and make a good impression on the parents.

A green light at an intersection stops me. Still, no cars are passing by, so maybe I can...

Vrrooooom!

A motorcycle comes from behind me and... stops at the green light. Another one from the right does the same.

Weird. But the light is already turning red. I can finally cross—

Vrrooooom!

Another bike almost runs me over, but I step back in time.

Vrrooooom!

Dozens of them. Running in circles around me.

Am I... being mugged?

What the hell?! Why me? Do I look like I have any money?!

The vehicles stop as their drivers realize I'm not trying to escape. Maybe this is my chance to disappear away.

No shot. Your range is too short for that. Should have practiced more~

One of the bikers is walking towards me. A man with a goatee and gaudy sunglasses.

"Oi. You're Shun Lee, right?"

He already knows. Don't try to lie.

"... Yes."

"Who goes to Granite Bay Academy? Who's in the same club as Hana Tojo?"

I try to step back, and one of his partners in crime palms a metal bat, freezing me in place.

"Y-Yes."

"Well, I'm her dearest older brother. Rooster. Nice to meet ya," he snarls, stepping into my personal space and grabbing me by the collar.

"So, now that we're well acquainted... I want you to tell me what happened to her in that place. And if I don't like your answer, we're gonna have a problem."

Oh my. Did Belldandy get a swap...? Hey, kid... can you piss him off and die so I can get a better wielder too?