Chapter Text
4 years ago
The clack of wooden loafer heels on tile filled the quiet hallway, only a few students with their eyes glued to their books or phones walking past. Tall decorum windows facing the courtyard allowed natural light to spill in and illuminate the marble and wooden walls of the old university. A few office doors were open, professors working away on their research or speaking with students in their pre-class office hours, everyone preparing for classes to start in three days time.
Dr. Hamato Leonardo took a deep breath as he reached his new office. He twisted the door knob and pushed inside, welcomed by the large space and warm wooden walls. A desk was at the far right side, a set of several bookshelves behind him. More shelves circled the room, along with some storage cabinets and chairs that looked like they came right from an antique store.
Very on theme, he thought, smiling.
Hidden City South University was the second college he had been hired for. He had worked at a smaller one, about three hours East, while he worked on his Masters and Doctorate He’d stayed for a few years after he graduated, but had been ready for a change when he took a leap at applying for HCSU, the US’s hidden worlds finest and oldest university. He knew he had good chances, his place of study was not highly competitive and the university had been looking at expanding their program.
Philology, the study of historical language development and relation, was a killer of a degree. He’d just about given up when he was trying to learn Sumerian a few years back, but he’s never been more proud that he kept it up. It was certainly one way to piss off his twin brother since his technology couldn’t translate the random bullshit Leo would spew. But what had really got Leo through his education was his passion. He had limitless curiosities in the world, even considered going to college for medicine for a while, but something about language had really drawn him in. He’d guess it at all started with his early attempts to learn Japanese when he was a kid, after he realized how little he understood. He and his older brother picked it up the quickest and he had never gotten over how well he picked them up.
After learning five languages before he was eighteen, he decided to do something with it.
Of course, the logical decision was to get his doctorate in “The Linguistic Activity of Cultists: How Secret Religions Changed and Utilized Language”. He just had his book published, in fact!
Speaking of books, Leo put his hands on his hips and looked at the empty spaces of shelves that surrounded his new office space. He had several boxes waiting for him in the main lobby filled with his expansive collection. He took his bag from his shoulder and leaned it against his desk and stretched out his arms before going to prop open the door.
He readjusted his suit jacket before stepping away from his door, and that's when he heard a voice.
“What the hell are you doing here?” The familiar, condescending voice shot through his tympana like a cannon. Immediately, a fire burned in his chest, one full of spite and pettiness, as he turned around and met the eyes of his old rival from undergrad.
The rabbit yokai looked older, now the same twenty-eight that Leo was, but still had that strange charm he had had nine years ago. Leo had caught a few articles over the years with his face in photos of discoveries as he worked through his doctorate, so he wasn’t all that new of a face. Though it appeared that he had yet to get taller, as he always insisted he would. A shame, just the same old ammunition to get on his nerves, what a tragedy. Leo had to fight the smile threatening to spread on his face. “I’m getting my new office set up, what are you doing here?”
Dr. Yuichi Usagi jerked his head back, a look of confusion on his face. “What am I- I work here! I have for years, thank you.”
Leo grinned and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall in mock relaxation. Usagi was a historian and archaeologist, having studied under some of the best in the nation, getting his name on many papers and research projects over the years, and he clung to his spunk like no other. “Well, then you’ll be thrilled to know that instead of being a classmate, I am now a colleague. What a pleasure it will be to torment you once again.”
Usagi stared at him with mouth slightly ajar. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
“Perhaps in your dreams, bunnyboy. Don’t know what to tell you, they really wanted me here.”
“They’ll regret it within a week, I’m sure.”
Leo brought his wrist up and pulled away his sleeve to peer at his watch, “Wanna place a bet on that?”
Usagi shivered and frowned. “I’m not doing that again.”
The red-eared slider shrugged, “Your loss. See you at the meeting!” He smiled, pushing himself away from the wall and practically skipping down the hall to the lobby and away from Usagi. This was going to be fun.
Now
Leo clicked his tongue against his teeth as he clicked through the last essay he needed to grade. It was for his LANG203 class, comparative philology. It seemed either his students excelled or really struggled, with no in-between, which was frustrating. This essay wasn’t bad, though. He’d certainly read better, but what can you do?
As if to save him from his boredom, someone knocked on the frame of his open door. A student stood, tentatively peeking in. It took a moment, but Leo recognized her face, a student he had maybe a year or so ago in one of his historical literature classes. A caribou yokai with crooked antlers and light brown fur slowly made her way into the office when Leo met her eyes.
“Dr. Hamato? Do you have a moment?” She asked quietly, careful of the silence of the room.
Leo sat up properly, “Yeah, of course, what’s up?”
She cleared her throat and approached one of the chairs he kept on the other side of his desk. “You had a minor in History, right?”
“Double Major, actually, but I digress.”
“Oh! Even better, then. I needed help clarifying some details for one of my history classes. I’m struggling with the social class adjustment of Samurai with the Tokugawa reign and was wondering if that was something you could help with?”
Leo hummed, sorting through his questions. “This is for History 132, right?” The girl nodded. “That’s Dr. Yuichi’s class, any reason you’ve come to me instead? I do know about that stuff, but he is notably much more passionate and capable than I am.”
She chuckled slightly. “See, I was going to ask him today, but he cancelled class all week.” Leo couldn’t help his shock, releasing a small ‘huh?’ when she said it. “Yeah, he told us last week that he was investigating a new archaeological site this past weekend and we got an email Sunday night that all of his classes were cancelled this week because it ended up being a far bigger project than he anticipated. He didn’t really elaborate.” That would explain why Leo hadn’t seen any of the rabbit yokai over the past few days. It was half way through Wednesday and not an ounce of shining white fur could be seen through the history department.
“Gotcha.” He scooted back and pulled open a drawer in his desk and pulled out a notebook in case he felt like drawing a diagram or two, as well as two packs of fruit snacks. He always needed some while he worked on history. They got him through undergrad, he swears by it. “Want one?” He offered a small pack to the student, who didn’t know how to respond for a moment before accepting. “Alright, whatcha got for me?” He asked, clicking his favorite pen and looking at the materials she brought along.
He worked with the student for about an hour or so until she felt decently more confident in her understanding and she went on her way. Leo rolled his neck and returned to his grading, submitting all of the grades and anticipating a few sour or confused emails about grades. Two rolled in no less than ten minutes after, and he spent some time providing feedback and revision opportunities.
Around the time all the students who picked night classes began to regret their decision, Leo was scanning over his classes for next semester. He had one more than usual, a new class about analyzing cult literature that he had spent the last two years preparing. He was excited for it, the students for his other classes would be even more thrilled, because Leo knew he’d have to lower the work load for some if he wanted to be able to manage everything.
Soon enough, the sun was starting to set and the golden light of the sun made his office appear all the more magical. He was about to start packing up his things for the evening when his office phone began to ring.
Curious, he answered and pressed it to his ear, “Dr. Hamato speaking.”
He heard a sigh on the other end, one that held a distinct timbre he had started to miss. “Leo.”
“Usagi.” He stated, raising an eyebrow. “Never thought you’d be calling me so late. I suppose you owe me that twenty bucks on paper grading, by the way, just got my done a few hours ago.”
“Yeah, whatever, I’ll get it to you later.” He dismissed, completely disregarding the tease, which wasn’t usual. Leo immediately switched back into work-mode. “Are you busy right now?”
“I’m not, no. Why?”
The other line was quiet for a moment and Leo could imagine Usagi pinching the bridge of his nose. “I…” He groaned, “I need your help.”
Leo immediately burst into a hearty laughter, “Oh-ho! What a glorious day this has become. Yuichi Usagi is calling me, the one and only, for help? You must be kidding me. How much are you getting paid for this?”
“I’m serious, Leo.”
“I know, which makes this all the more better.” When Usagi didn’t continue to banter, Leo quieted down. “Okay, what's the deal?” He finally asked, afraid this was something more serious than he anticipated.
Another sigh. “We’ve encountered something… odd. This site was supposed to be small, but it opened up into a greater series of tunnels that we can’t find any sort of explanation for. There is a lot down here.”
Leo hummed. “I follow, but what does that have to do with me? I’m no architect.”
“I’m getting there. In one of the main halls, there's… engravings on the wall. A message, it looks like. But, uh, I’ve been searching for a while and I can’t find a single language that represents this one, let alone someone who can translate it.” Leo sat up, intrigued. “As much as I hate to say it, with the shit going on down here, this might just be your specialty. Can you head over to the site and come take a look?”
Leo immediately stood and began grabbing his things. “Can’t send me a picture of it?”
“Honestly,” Usagi sucked his teeth a moment, “I don’t know if I feel comfortable doing that. I’ve held off any further investigation because something about it gives me the major creeps. I don’t want any more information spreading until I get a clearer image of what's going on.”
“Ah, throwing me to the lion's den, are we?” He chuckled at the familiar joke.
“Leo, I’m not kidding.”
“Neither am I. Send me the location, I’m on my way.” He held his phone between his shoulder and jaw as he locked his door.
A sigh of relief seemed to remove mounds of tension in Usagi when he spoke again quietly. “Thank you.”
“You got it, bunny boy. I’ll see you soon.”