The Flowing Time

BGM: Town, Flow of Time, People

---

Chatter...

Nothing but chatter roared out in the hallways of pointless banter. The noise pollution flowed back and forth in waves, pitches shifting in excitement and loud movements bursting forth from person to person. Within the hallway of the floor was a particular soul, cringing as she dared to push past those who merely stood in the way instead of starting their traverse - Kazue Masumi. A mere freshman who couldn't possibly care less about what others had in store for themselves, or the pointless song of chirping they helped contribute to. The crowded hallway was becoming hard to tolerate, hard to breathe in...

It was all becoming too much.

Finally, the petite figure emerged outside on the grounds with a sigh shooting forth from her lips. It was apparent from the tone that it was an indication to release stress. There was no point in staying inside the polluted classrooms when the outside world was much more tolerable. The blonde's lifeless orbs were cast up to the skies above, staring out under long eyelashes as the wind brushed by the grounds. Strands of blonde hair with linings of white danced with the breeze, the hem of a blue skirt swaying slightly with the rhythm.

Kazue felt her lips part slightly at the condition of the weather. The skies seemed terribly grim with a dark aura to the clouds. The sky was gray, filled with nothing but a blanket of clouds stretching on for miles... The sun hadn't risen up in what seemed like months and the girl couldn't help but bow her head in that moment with exhaustion. Little had she known that there was another soul residing on the grounds at this time, and whatever the presence was had gone by unnoticed. The girl simply kept her eyes closed as she stood still.

[Gourlay Atsumori]

I really have no excuses

---

Atsumori Gourlay was having a very bad day. Not only had his lunch been spoiled by a straying member of a group, who had 'accidentally' run into him, but the book he was reading had been all but destroyed in the calamity that ensued. Still, he supposed that it was as bad as any other day since he'd moved here. Up until now.

   You see, news hadn't gotten around about the murders occurring, mostly due to the overwhelming uninterested mood of the study body. It was because of this that Atsumori stumbled upon one of the murder scenes before it had been entirely cleared. The gruesome sight that awaited him wasn't what he had expected to see, so he ended up spending the next period in the bathroom, throwing up. It wasn't only the that the said victim was the one assigned to help him move around the school on his first day, but he was scared.

    Not one word had been said about the kid's murder, and that frightened him tremendously. He didn't really know what was going on, and that scared him too. So, as he stumbled through the crowded halls of his school, warding off the reign of an oppressive tyrant (Anxiety) whom he'd abolished long ago, he came into contact with many shoulders. None of which elicicted any cries of protest. Soon, he broke out into the open courtyard, only to come into contatc with another human being.

    After his tumble onto the ground was finished, he looked up to see Kazue, still an alien student to him, much like the others in this school. So, naturally, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Uh, I'm sorry."   
    

A sliver of shock stroke down at her body with tremendous precision without warning. Within seconds a force collided with the backside of her being, sending her knees first to the concrete ground below. A sound of surprise escaped from the depths of her throat, barely a whisper out into the world around as the palm of her hands served as support to catch her balance at last. A soft 'thud!' occurred right near the region she had fallen so abruptly, and the blonde freshman turned her gaze with an almost fearful expression before it quickly disappeared into the depths of the barriers veiled around her spirit. It was simply a student - this particular student being Gourlay Atsumori. The youth still seemed to be recovering from the impact as the freshman rose up from her awkward position on the ground, a lifeless demeanor clouding over her form.

Stretching out a hand with a twitch of her fingertips, Kazue's voice betrayed the very aura she was trying so hard to carry. It was gentle and almost unbearably quiet compared to the loud roaring of the wave of student body voices within the premises of the school. Compared to that of Gourlay's, the Masumi could only offer her own apology for simply standing in the direction of his path - blocking the way as if she was an obstacle to overcome. Strands of soft blonde hair gently glazed over her shoulders and laid to rest in front of her form as she bent over slightly in an offer of assistance to the newest student of the high school. Unbeknownst to her, it couldn't be at a much more terrible time. "No, no. If anything, it was my fault. You have no reason to apologize even if you seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere." Kazue's pair of light blue orbs seemed to have birthed a vibrant color of life to them for only a moment as she asked her question.

"Although, what's important right now is that if you're alright. You seemed to land here on the concrete pretty hard there, mister...?"

In question, the teen tilt her head to the side ever-so-slightly with the question as the tips of her fingertips began to turn cold. For a reason unknown, the hairs on the back of Kazue's neck began rising up with the passing time as the color of the clouds above only grew darker. It almost felt like another presence was lingering about in the grounds of the school besides their own...

[Gourlay Atsumori]

This cannot be good...

---

Taking her hand, Gourlay hoists himself up meticulously, careful not to send Kazue tumbling to the floor once more. "N-no, no, d-don't apologize on m-my behalf. And don't worry, I'm f-fine." Somewhere, deep down, Gourlay was disgusted with his stuttering, caused from the same monster he'd gotten rid of. Though that part of him was currently occupied by something else.

Soon, his body is racked with chill, though he knows not where they originate from. Thinking it to be a part of his stress, his mind strays to something more immediate. Something more important. The fact that she even asked him if he was okay shows she has some kind of humanity. That, in itself, gave Gourlay hope that not all people in this gods forsaken town hadn't a care about the life of others. So, perhaps she knew and cared about the murders as well. That was all he wanted, no matter the awkwardness of extracting the information. Only something to show that he wasn't insane, wasn't imagining this whole thing. So, he asks, in a tone of voice not casual, but not too official.

   "T-those p-people, w-why do you t-think such gruesome f-fates were s-set for t-them? T-the m-murder victims, I m-mean..."    

Indeed not.

---

Upon wrapping her fingers gently around the classmate's down at her, the petite freshman helped the boy rise by equaling the effort. Her arm operated backwards with a fair amount of strength as a small grunt resounded behind closed lips, light blue eyes softening in unison with her small movements. After a moment of helping the fellow peer and observing his rather tense demeanor, the stoic blonde simply let her hand fall to her side when it was no longer intertwined with Gourlay's. Listening to the taller male's stuttering, the way his eyes shifted about in nervous tension, catching every detail from his movements…

Such actions screamed that he was not in a pristine condition at the current frame in time. It was rather peculiar to the girl and even a bit concerning. Deciding to keep a calm and soft demeanor in order to help the youth, Kazue's voice kept its gentle tune as she spoke with earnest concern despite the stoic expression on her features stating otherwise.

"That's good to hear… Is there something bothering you, though?"

The answer to her question came without too much trouble. Gourlay replied to her question with a question which, in turn, provided the answer she needed before. A chilling and soft breeze began to flow throughout the grounds in that particular moment, the atmosphere growing even more tense by the minute. What added to the more eerie tone was Kazue’s reaction to the fellow student’s question. The murders... The youth hadn't paid much thought to them alike the rest of the student body. She simply went about her day while trying her best to overcome the problems that presented themselves to her.

And now, the more she thought about it...

"I... I don't know... I truly don't..."

The notion of shock was clearly portraying itself on the Masumi's face within that moment alone. The way light blue orbs widened with the passing seconds veiled a sense of fear, sympathy, and utter realization of just what exactly had occurred with each murder. Those students would never be able to return to their families, they would never return here, and they would never see the bright skies that would hopefully one day return after having disappeared so long ago. Despite the slight trembling of the tips of Kazue's fingers, she crossed her arms in an attempt to hide them and let a form of sorrow blanket her lifeless features.

"It's more than just a shame that they can never return here... They had their whole lives ahead of them, and... the student body almost doesn't seem to care. How did I not...?"

It was almost as if Kazue Masumi was speaking more to herself than to Gourlay Atsumori.

[Gourlay Atsumori]

You know something I don't~

---

Gourlay had seen it, that lifeless, broken, overwhelming sense of uncaring. It rocked him down to his very core, that same sense of having been the only one to have believed these were murders. True murders. But, as that same wind whispered past his own form, he saw that change. That needed salvation from his madness. And, as she spoke, he could taste the fear in her voice. Feel it in her eyes. No matter how she tried to hide it, it still reigned free. "I have no idea," he began, "But it scares me. Truly, it scares me beyond comprehensible belief. For that many people to just...ignore...such a thing. When did the world become so calloused...? So...so utterly uncaring in its creations. I...want to find out who did this...but. If nobody cares, how could I do it? I'm no leader, at once, maybe in another life, I could have been but...not here...not now." And this, he really did believe. At some point, he decided those skills were useless, unneeded in his set life. But now...he regretted it.

He had long since felt the presence stalking them, his perceptive abilities have deciphered them from normal anxiety. He was scared, and paranoia told him it might have been the murderer, and that calling them out would have been a very bad idea. He'd pay attention now, to how and where, if it did, follow him. He supposed he could put up a fight if it was him, and a good one too. His Tae Kwon Do would see to that. But, if he had a weapon, that was another story. When he left, even if that time was long to come, he be sure to stay near groups. 


All of those thoughts were made on a small tangent of his mind in a fraction of a second. Still, their point was evident. And the crowds all around were now dissipating quickly, and along with them, both his and Kazue's safety. And Kazue, being a sole one to actually show some humanity, the sense of protecting her as well was amplified. So, under his breath, he whispered. "I think...someone's watching us. But...I'm not sure. It's an...odd feeling. So, when you leave...stick to groups...and be careful..."