Chapter Text
…
Rayzen:
“(Wha… Huh…?)”
“(What was… The hell was that?!)”
He turned his head frantically to check his surroundings. And from the looks of it, nothing had changed.
It really was a dream.
Yet that dream felt too real; there were still tears falling down his cheeks, so he noted that he cried in his sleep.
Putting his hand over his heart, catching a feel for its rhythm… He felt something rectangular in one of his coat pockets.
Before even calming down from what he had just gone through… His hands moved to get it into view. And he saw the same envelope that he had been given in his dream.
And all he thought of was…
“(How did this!?-)”
“(Since when did I get this!?)”
“(Wasn’t this in that… That dream!?)”
Calming those thoughts in his head… the first thing he thought of was to open it. And that he did
Moving his fingers and seeing the contents of the envelope… It read as follows:
“For the one receiving this envelope… I am the president of the General Student Council, or more specifically… Was. And for you, the person reading it… Go to meet with Nanagami Rin. And show her this. As this note is only given to those whom I deem to be worthy of the title known as the ‘Sensei of Schale’ or becoming another high-ranking official who can make a change in Kivotos.”
“You may ask as to why I’m giving this note to you, and that was stated earlier. You’re worth more than what you believe.”
“And there’s no one else I’d want to take that role other than you. To enstate you as the Sensei of Schale. Ever since my disappearance… I know that this city will not last for long. It will plunge into chaos without my aid. But with you taking that role… Things can change.”
“So please, don’t waste further time and meet with Nanagami Rin at the Schale Building.”
His eyes moved through the words, wondering who the hell this “Nanagami Rin” is. All he could assume was that it was someone related to the General Student Council.
The contents of the entire thing were confusing as is. He’s being overwhelmed by such a vast amount of information all at once, despite his arrival here not even exceeding the length of a day.
First things first… Find out what the “Schale Building” is and where it’s located. Given how well-versed the people of Kivotos seem to be, it shouldn’t take long to find the location.
Rayzen was still in that dingy alleyway with pests running through it. He knew that sitting there would waste time, and so he stood up.
Looking around for anything that he left behind… His hands reached to cling to the burden that he once used to decimate others. Using it as a way to scare off those who might try to kill him without notice. He can never be too cautious in a city with kids having access to such firepower.
He saw it firsthand; he saw a delinquent wielding a minigun. That thing takes effort to even try to carry, and she was just there, slinging it over her shoulder as she ran from the KSPD.
Enough of that; he finally decided to start walking and find a lead on where this building might be.
Exiting the alley he had slept in and into another directly to his left, the layout being similar, if not the same as the other alleys he had gone through in the past.
The same puddles of water remained as pipes above them kept leaking, and the same trash bags remained as no one had come to properly clean the place. Everywhere had the same vibe as New Earth.
And yet this place was more cheerful and freer than it could ever be.
…
As his mind spaced out from walking through such similar alleys… He walked right into another student who had happened to converge on his path.
The two stumbled around for a bit. Rayzen is brought back to reality, and the student in question lets a startled “eek!” exit their mouth.
He shook his head to get his mind together, and the student he saw…
Red-ish hair and eyes, an altyn helmet that looked like his welding helmet, and she was wielding a shotgun in which she held like a two-handed weapon, and there were a ton of other details that he didn’t bother really looking into.
All that he knows is that he made some random kid go into fight or flight mode, and given how they have guns and halos… He prepared for the worst.
Only for that said student to calm down and ask him who the hell he is.
???:
“Wha- Who are you!?”
Rayzen:
“Uh… Name’s Rayzen.”
???:
“Whoa, that was fast. Normally, anyone else would freeze in place.”
Rayzen:
“...Is that common or something…?”
???:
“I mean… Yea? Unless you’re dumb and you live under a rock, or you are not from Kivotos.”
“And judging from the lack of a halo floating above your head… You’re most likely an outsider.”
Her eyes veered to her left as she mentioned that. Only to realize that she hasn’t introduced herself, unlike Rayzen.
???:
“Ah, crap, nearly forgot to introduce myself…”
Letting out a slight chuckle, may it be due to embarrassment or not…
Rabu:
“Name’s Rabu, leader of the Splash Helmet Gang, better remember that name, aight?”
Rayzen:
“Rabu, huh?...”
“I’ll remember that.”
Rabu:
“So… What brings you here mr Rayzen?”
“Judging from your attire… It doesn’t sound peaceful. I’d like to hear about it myself!-”
Ah, but Rayzen stopped her mid-sentence, saying that it’s best to explain why she shouldn’t ask about him.
Not like he even has the time to. He has somewhere to go, after all.
…And his mind came to think of it… But shouldn’t this girl know where the Schale Building is located?
Rayzen:
“Let’s…”
“...Not talk about my past.”
“More so, just here to go to some place called the Schale Building. Know where it is?”
Rabu:
“Oh? That?”
“Yeah? What about it-”
Rayzen:
“Can you show me the way there?”
…
Rabu stared at Rayzen in disbelief at the fact that he wanted her to lead him there. Seriously? She’s an infamous person in Kivotos, and yet she’s being asked by this random out of nowhere?
Well, Rabu didn’t see any bad intentions in the eye visible through the welding helmet’s cracks. The issue is, well, she’s an infamous figure in this world that happens to get into gunfights with other students quite often, and having someone that isn’t immune to bullets nearby… Is a recipe for disaster.
Rabu:
“Yeah, uh, you’re better off going on your own. They’d probably assume that you’re another gang member or worse.”
Rayzen:
“As if I don’t have a resting face that makes me look like that already.”
“Hell, a gang member would be a compliment compared to the ones that people normally assume me for.”
A sigh left his mouth, and his eyelids decided to close themselves as those words were spoken.
Rayzen:
“Besides, I doubt anyone else would take the offer upon… Seeing what the hell my attire is.”
Rabu:
“..True.”
Rabu nodded in agreement. If anyone else were to see him… They’d probably run.
Rabu:
“We’ll have to take a long detour. Is that fine?”
The one who nodded this time was Rayzen. His entire life had been a detour at its core. He didn’t mind doing this in the slightest.
Thus, Rabu led him through turn after turn after turn, soon leading to a building closed by a metal door.
Once Rabu knocked… A voice came from the other side.
???:
“Shells?”
Rabu:
“Raspberry flavored, Slugs.”
???:
“For?”
Rabu:
“For a feast.”
Silence…
Silence…
Only for the door to open. Revealing someone with short white hair and eyes. Someone slightly shorter than Rabu and essentially an ant when compared to Rayzen.
Rabu:
“Been a while, huh, Aeria?”
Aeria:
“Sure has been, boss.”
Rabu:
“...You don’t need to call me that, remember?”
The two exchanged light banter for a bit, laughing and talking about what had happened today, only for Aeria to notice the person Rabu brought along.
She stared at him in utter silence, one filled with awkwardness and slight fear.
Fortunately or unfortunately… She’s the type to throw around slight jokes even when scared.
Aeria:
“Rabu, is this your boyfriend or something?”
Rabu glared daggers through her soul upon hearing that, and paired with the light blush on her face… Resulted in her pointing that shotgun of hers point-blank at her head.
Rabu:
“Excuse you?”
Aeria:
“Ahaha… sorry, sorry. But seriously, who is he?”
Rayzen:
“Name’s Rayzen. Just a foreigner that made his way here.”
From a cheerful look on her face to one expressing shock… Aeria just looked up at the towering man, saying nothing as she processed that name.
Aeria:
“You’re… You’re the guy that I’ve heard about from the delinquents around town?”
Rayzen just stared back, blinking a few times before responding to the reply that his brain just registered.
Rayzen:
“...So I’m already becoming an infamous figure? Great.”
“And I thought this place would’ve been somewhere I could escape to.”
Rabu:
“You’re wanted elsewhere?”
Rabu asked that question with a slightly louder voice and a slightly louder hint of surprise in her voice.
And all Rayzen did… Was look away from her and Aeria with pure shame in his eyes. Any other word that left his mouth started to shake and crack.
But feeling guilt and shame from those times won’t result in anything changing, so he cleared his throat and proceeded to get back on track.
Rayzen:
“That… Doesn’t matter anymore, I just need to get to the Schale building according to the envelope I was given.”
Rabu & Aeria:
“...”
“YOU’RE THE PERSON THAT THE GSC PRESIDENT HAD BEEN RUMORED TO TALK ABOUT?!”
…
…
…
…
…
A few minutes had passed since Rayzen had mentioned that, and all of them were sitting in a lounge-like area.
His Impaired Burden had been resting against the couch that he was on, his cracked welding helmet being to his left, right next to him, and as he crossed his legs… He grabbed to take a sip from the glass of water he had been given thanks to Rabu.
But he decided to chug it all down instead. Gently putting it back down onto the table after he was done with it.
He stared at the two from across where he was, and they were basically doing the same. Aeria had been snacking on some chips that Rayzen had declined, whilst Rabu had just been there, waiting for the others to finish what they were doing.
And unexpectedly enough, the one that still had food in her mouth was the one to speak up and break the ice first.
Aeria:
“Sooo… What now?”
Rayzen:
“Just waiting for you to finish your bag of chips before I answer the question you kids will be giving me.”
Rabu:
“Same here, except I’m the one who’s gonna be asking the questions.”
Aeria:
“What about me then?”
Rayzen and Rabu looked back at each other before looking back at Aeria.
Rabu:
“Watch, I guess?”
Aeria:
“Sure. You two can start talking now, I’ll be watching as you said, boss.”
Crossing her arms, a sigh leaving her mouth, and letting her head tilt back a bit… She asked the first question.
Rabu:
“So you, you are meant to be the Sensei of Schale?”
Rayzen:
“That or I become some other random high-ranking official according to the envelope.”
Rabu:
“Ah, so you’re gonna become one of those douchebags that let the power get to their head, huh?”
Rayzen:
“I literally splattered the brains of someone who was like that, but sure.”
Aeria nearly spat out her food after those words reached her mind.
Coughing slightly and clearing her throat, she asked Rayzen further on that.
Aeria:
“You- You killed someone?!”
“I- Wh- Huh!?”
Rayzen:
“It was a bastard who had killed many. Why does it matter?”
The moment Rayzen had talked about killing him… His head turned towards the now broken Merci-less Burden that he had used to kill-
…Kill? Wasn’t it a sawn-off that he used instead?
The moment he realized that… His left hand subconsciously moved into his coat to find it. By now, his relaxed sitting position had been changed to where his posture was completely straight, and his mind was set on one thing. This confused the others as to why he just randomly reached for something in his coat.
Unfortunately… It wasn’t there.
A sigh of slight sadness left his mouth, and he went back to that similar sitting position he was in earlier.
Shaking his head, he apologized for acting like that all of a sudden.
But he did end up reaching for the hammer and grabbing it. For what reason, one may ask? Not even he knows, it’s just that he feels… Safer as long as it’s within his grasp.
Rabu:
“...?”
“What’s that thing meant to be? It’s broken to all hell.”
Rayzen:
“The thing that aided me throughout my 20 years of living.”
“It’s a sledgehammer with more than half of its head removed.”
“It can no longer use the distinct shooting mechanism that had made it so terrifying.”
Aeria:
“Shooting mechanism…?!”
Aeria fixed her eyes on the broken hammer that Rayzen had. Tilting her head in curiosity as to what that “Shooting mechanism” is.
Rayzen:
“Shotgun plus sledgehammer equals ’The Decimator’. Or as the actual blueprint referred to it as… The Merci-less Burden.”
A statement that caught the attention of Rabu, who had a shotgun herself.
Rabu:
“Waitwaitwaitwait.”
“By any chance uh… Do you remember the schematics…?”
Rayzen:
“Not in the goddamn slightest.”
Rabu:
“...Fuck.”
Rayzen:
“I- Okay, we’re getting sidetracked. I was here to go to the Schale building thanks to what this envelope said.”
Aeria:
“You’re… Not planning to snitch us out, right?”
Rayzen:
“You guys literally treated me better than my benefactors had in the last 20 years, why the hell would I?!”
Groaning in slight disappointment and irritation at the fact that he’d be the type to snitch… Rayzen once again shook his head to remove those thoughts, knowing that they probably didn’t intend what they said; they’re kids after all.
By now, Rabu assumed that the conversation had ended there as nothing had been said for 30 seconds.
Standing up, Rabu grabbed her gun and walked towards what seemed to be a random direction, only to grab onto a large rusty piece of steel, one that Rayzen assumed to be nothing but mere scrap, yet had revealed a passageway.
Come to think of it… Wasn’t the entrance somewhat similar to that? Rayzen was a bit baffled at the fact that this was how these kids lived. At least they have their own home, don’t they?
And as much as he wanted to help them get out of those circumstances… he wasn’t in a position to do so.
Rabu snapped Rayzen out of those thoughts with a literal snap coming from her fingers, causing the ex-contestant to regain his senses.
Soon enough, Rayzen got the message that she was trying to convey and started following right behind her.
Eventually, the two reach what seems to be a ladder going further underground.
Rabu:
“Look, my members and I are currently in hot water. Staying low is our top priority.”
“We’ve lost a decent amount of supplies so far, and none of us are risking the choice of going out and buying, or rather, stealing said supplies. Not when the KSPD is on high alert after the disappearance of the General Student Council’s president.”
“So for now… I’ll be guiding you through this underground passageway, hopefully your nose is used to the smell of sewage water.”
…Yes, they’re going to find their way to Schale via the sewers, the place that… surprisingly has quite the underworld of criminals and delinquents akin to that of Rabu.
His eyes spelled slight irritance. Shouldn’t there be another way that isn’t this?
Rayzen:
“Why don’t you just tell me the directions toward the Schale building from here?”
“Wouldn’t that be easier?”
Rabu:
“Your attire.”
A point that he can’t really deny…
Rayzen:
“I-”
“...”
“That’s fair, they’d probably assume that I’m a troublemaker and try to put me in custody.”
Rabu:
“Mhm.”
“Alright, I’ll go first.”
And that she did. Given her confidence in those words that she spoke, Rayzen was certain that this wouldn’t be a trap and lead to certain death. Doubt a kid is even capable of having the emotions to do that.
The existence of fear and guilt will always linger on for souls that are purer than his, something he was knowledgeable about.
Shortly after, he followed right behind her. Heading down and being blasted by the smell of what is down here.
A single thought came to his mind the moment he entered here:
“(This still smells better than the food back at the gameshow… How the hell is that possible?)”
A thought that he shakes away as Rabu’s footsteps started to grow quieter as she walked, whilst he stood still.
Not a single word was spoken for a while as the two kept on walking; it was simply the sewage water splashing around that was the one making noise.
Soon enough, the two would encounter a few more students nearby. And by now, Rabu’s altyn helmet had been covering her entire face to make sure no one recognizes her. She was also somehow able to completely fit her hair into said helmet. One that ended in Rabu making a little remark between her and Rayzen.
Rabu:
“So this is how you feel, huh?”
“I never really put all my hair into such a small space.”
Rayzen:
“I mean, duh, I don’t have long hair, unlike you.”
Rabu:
“...Fair.”
But Rayzen knew one thing about her.
That “thing” is also her attire.
Rayzen:
“...Also, wouldn’t any other student recognize your attire? You’re in hot water, no?”
And all Rabu did was stop in her footsteps to look back at him before groaning and partially taking her helmet off, well, untying her hair and whatnot, that is.
Without even saying a word, she continued to walk forward with a shotgun in hand, ready for whatever opposition may appear from the corner.
Upon seeing that… Rayzen’s grip on his hammer had gotten tighter.
But for now, the only thought that was running through Rabu’s brain was…
“(This guy can either get give me leverage for those that are chasing my tail… Or he can actually change this world for the better. And I hope it’s the latter.)”
Another thought told her to just ransack him the moment they entered the sewers, but the past conversations and interactions the two had beforehand had caused her to think that it would be a horrible idea.
As the two walked for who knows how long… It was only natural for either of them to start the conversation. And weirdly enough, it was Rabu that started it.
Without even looking back… She opened her mouth to speak.
Rabu:
“So… Any other reason as to why you went here in the first place?”
Rayzen:
“...”
Rayzen wanted to speak, but he couldn’t tell her the truth as to why he even got here in the first place; no one would believe it.
And yet… He found a great answer to that question.
Slightly tilting his head upwards, he spoke.
Rayzen:
“I guess… To redeem myself?”
Rabu:
“...How so?”
“You don’t seem like a bad person to me, honestly.”
She wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t right either. She only knows the fact that he had killed someone horrible, but she doesn’t know about the number of others that he had killed prior to being sent here into Kivotos.
Rayzen wanted to keep it to himself, and yet… Something foreign in his mind told him to tell it nonetheless.
Rayzen:
“I am.”
“I just don’t want to talk about it…”
“B-But that doesn’t mean I won’t try to make up for it, I’m aware of that at the very least.”
Rabu:
“Then you’re not a bad person. You recognized your mistakes, and you want to take responsibility and become a better person because of it.”
“Don’t you realize that?”
That statement she said rang through his brain, resulting in the two slowing down a bit, with Rayzen being the first to slow down due to it and Rabu being the second to notice.
Rayzen didn’t speak a single word after that, not for a while, at least. He knew that she was right in so many ways and was quite amazed that someone like her could answer him so flawlessly.
And because of it… Those thoughts of guilt and worry started to fade away in his mind. To think that it was a gang leader who had helped him realize that, someone that he’ll be indebted to for a long while at minimum.
Soon enough, they’d reach their destination. With Rabu informing him about it.
Rabu:
“Alright, we’re here, above that is essentially the Schale building.”
“Or more specifically, an alleyway nearby.”
Rayzen:
“I… I see.”
Rabu:
“Heh. C’mon now, you think they’re not gonna bat an eye if you just randomly appear outta the ground through the cover in front of the Schale building? They’re gonna arrest you, that’s for sure.”
“Go on, make your way to the place that’ll help ya redeem yourself.”
Rayzen:
“Not going with–”
“...”
“Right.”
Rabu chuckled at his offer of following him, only to then realize that she was more infamous than he was here in Kivotos.
Sadly, Rabu won’t be staying here for long. She had other things to deal with around the world of Kivotos.
Rabu:
“I won’t be going with, unfortunately. I got stuff to do elsewhere.”
“See ya, Rayzen!”
Turning around and walking away from him, she waved her hand in a manner that signified goodbyes, but Rabu knew damn well that she’ll meet Rayzen again, that’s for sure. No way someone like him is just gonna appear once in her life and disappear like any other student.
And so, Rayzen looked up, staring at the rusty ladder and the cover above it. All that was left…
Is to climb up towards a better tomorrow.