YUUKI - To Move Forward: Prelude 1

Log #1: Humanity

This world is undoubtedly a hostile one; it is only through some miracle that we have all found ourselves united and alive. With monsters roaming the seemingly infinite world outside of Dominic, it is up to us to preserve the remnants of humanity. My name is Elvira Ramos, and I have taken a solemn oath to record all of humanity’s successes and failures in this notebook. Together, with my friend and colleague Shura Averin, we shall endeavor to write the history of humanity on Chorus through these logs. Someday, when humanity is free of the oppression from those grotesque monsters outside of Dominic, it is our belief that these records will be engraved in history as the age of humanity’s triumph over adversity and suffering: humanity’s age of courage.

-General Elvira Ramos

500 BPE

Kazuki rested inanimately on a white bed. Around him, his team slouched against the walls in exhausted relief.

The doctor had just promised them that Kazuki was to awake to a full recovery.

“I guess we’ve finally gotten past the worst of it, huh?” Alison spoke softly, as if Kazuki could wake up from even the slightest noise.

Nicole joined in. “Yeah, it sure hasn’t been easy. But It looks like he pulled through. I knew he had it in him to do so. Hoped, at least.”

“Whatever. If worst came to worst, we could always just have gotten somebody else. Not like nobody dies in this academy.”

“Come on, Francis. Can’t you just be relieved that our teammate’s okay?”

“Well. I’ll admit it’d suck to lose him so early on in the game.”

“That’s more like it.”

“Still, I wonder who he’ll be when he wakes up,” Nicole pondered.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, after all of that, he obviously won’t be the guy we saw during the field trip. Hope not, at least. That being said, can he really go back to being who he was? Is that even an option for him anymore?”

“...”

“...Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Now’s the worst time to be worrying about him—”

“N-No, no, no! I don’t mean it like that! I know what you mean—it’s not everyday someone goes through something like that. Events as life-changing as last night can’t just be taken lightly, and I’m sure Kazu gets that. I’m sure he does. So let’s leave that much to him, and lighten ourselves up for when he wakes! Okay, Squad?”

Isabelle looked up. “Ooh! Hey, guys, think we should get a celebratory cone? I mean, sure Kazu’s all sleeping and such, but I think we need some sugar to keep up our good moods!”

“Or we could each just take a chunk out of Isa. Surely that’ll give us a sugar high.” Francis admired the rainbow hungrily.

Alison got to her feet, stretching. “You know what? That’s a pretty good idea, Isa. God knows when he’ll wake up, and there’s no reason we should wait for the darn guy.”

“Finally you say something that makes sense,” Francis agreed. He also stood up, and headed to the door. “Let’s get moving, before the line gets too long.”

The other three followed in suit, smiling, leaving Kazuki alone.

Amidst my sleep, voices seeped through the darkness. Familiar voices, unfamiliar voices, friendly voices, scary voices. Voices filled the blackness of my mind.

“So what’s gonna happen now? What about our field trip?” A kind, warm voice.

“Hmm... Normally I’d say we continue without him, but this issue is more serious than you’d expect.” A confident, quick voice.

“More serious? Is something wrong with Kazu?”

“...Yes and no. Physically, he couldn’t be better. The wound on his side is healing remarkably well. His leg appears to be perfectly fine, as well. Mentally, he’s quite alright at the moment. He appears to be quite sane.”

“You said at the moment. Why? What’s going on?”

A sigh. “Miss Chang, I will tell you and you alone of this, so please don’t share this information with anybody else, understand? I trust you, and he does, too.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Kazuki is unstable.”

“He’s what?!”

“Calm down, please, Miss Chang. Mentally, he appears fine, but in truth he is actually rather unstable. What I mean by this is that while he may live his life like any other student, and act as normal as can be, the moment something goes wrong it could go terribly wrong. Something as small as being pushed into a river, as an example, could be met with immediate violence. Kazuki’s mind appears to return to a state of maddened apathy whenever he is in a state of incredible stress. It may also be because of that that he is so prone to lapsing into unconsciousness, although we have no confirmation of those two things being correlated. Currently, it is being investigated as a potential mental disorder of some sort. Multiple personalities, perhaps...”

“So... What can we do? Don’t unstable students get—”

“True, we have rarely allowed those types of students to advance through Arcos. Fear not, though, because I firmly believe that he will be fine. After that last episode, I believe that he has put those dark, uncertain feelings behind them, and even if it were to happen once again, you and your Squad will be by his side. He shows promise, as well as many qualities that many people these days lack. It is because of that that I feel incredibly reluctance to let him go, and I will endeavor to keep him in my class.

“As for what we can do, I’m afraid there isn’t any sort of magical way to fix this...problem. At least not until we get more definitive evidence on what exactly is going on. I can reassure you, however, that you and your friends are far from powerless. For you, I advise to keep by his side. No matter what comes up, he shall not be left alone and to his own devices for too long. Take care of him. He doesn’t need to be sheltered from this world, but he does need people to turn to when it overwhelms him. If you and your friends can do that, then I highly doubt we’ll ever see behavior resembling last night again.”

“...Are you sure? Do you really think Kazu’ll be okay?”

“Are you that worried about him, Miss Chang?”

“I am.”

“Then I promise you, he will be just fine. We will all make sure of that together.”

There was...another conversation. A strange, ominous conversation between three men. But... I can’t remember it...

Outside the room Kazuki was recovering in, Julian leaned against a wall, pressing his palms against the cool wood behind him. He was determined to keep watch as long as he could, for his student’s sake. It was the least he could do, as a teacher.

“Yo, Darnay. It’s been a while!”

The voice was spirited and strong. Julian looked over, and immediately brightened up when he identified the visitor.

“Indeed, it has been quite a while, hasn’t it, Bowen?”

“Hey, that’s Curran to you. But man, I heard some rumors comin’ and goin’, so I couldn’t help myself. Somethin’ going on in there?”

“You’re as casual as ever. Indeed, I’m afraid one of my students has been unconscious and recovering for the past seven or so hours. On top of that, there was a horrific tragedy regarding the loss of two Squads. The field trip to Ismira was suspended abruptly as a result. Speaking of, why are you not there? I expected to rendezvous with your Squad once we arrived.”

“Yeah, but hey, that wasn’t any fun! We were going to head on back, but we caught wind of somethin’ exciting in Devarden, so here we are! The others are gettin’ some hamburgers, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to catch up with the best teacher on Chorus!”

“Flattering. Untrue, but flattering. So you plan on staying here for a little while?”

“Sure do! ’Parently there’s some trouble here, and heck, why not? The almighty Bowen Squad is always jumping at opportunities to waste time and save the day!”

“That sounds about right.” Julian chuckled to himself, memories of past “opportunities” playing back in his head. “But no more prank calling the Duke, understood? I get enough heat about that.”

“Hahaha! Sorry about that, pal. We’ll behave, don’t you worry.”

“Good to hear it. Oh, Miss Yuuki! Here to check up on your brother?”

“Mhm.”

“Go right on ahead, then.”

She shuffled past Julian, slipping into Kazuki’s recovery room. The teacher turned back to his guest.

“So, Darnay. What’s happening? I know you fancy yourself a mother to all these poor children, but you’ve never been one to play favorites. Somethin’s up, and don’t you go denying it!”

“Ha. Wouldn’t dare. I know you cut straight through lies.” Julian took a slow, deliberate breath, figuring out how to tell his friend what exactly had transpired.

“To put things simply, we’ve potentially found another Bowen.”

“Woah, seriously? Are they that strong? That cool? That unbelievably popular?”

“It appears you and I have very different definitions of a ‘Bowen’. This one is dangerous. Unstable. But also kind, strong, and determined. He’s like you. He cares deeply for those around him, even if he doesn’t say it much.”

“So. What do you plan to do about it?”

“I... I’m not entirely sure. I’d like to keep a watchful eye over him for now, and see if he straightens out or shows any sign of relapse. I don’t want to lose a kid with so much potential. But that’s enough about Kazuki. The ‘excitement’ you came for is probably that God-crazy Hunter who’s shown up around here. Don’t know his name, but if you’d like, then go ahead. I’m sure the Guardians of Devarden would not mind in the slightest to have someone like you helping them investigate.”

“Someone like me?”

“You’re loud, and people know it. Like it or not, you guys are famous around Devarden, and you’ve undoubtedly earned it. Keep that in mind when you’re walking down the streets.”

“Dang, I guess you’ve gotta point there. Guess we’ve got a fun little project to begin, then.”

“If you aren’t in any rush, actually, I was hoping you could fill me in on something, as well.”

“Shoot.”

Julian’s eyes drifted to the wooden floor. “Have you heard any news about Melantha?”

“...”

Bowen’s eyes followed Julian’s.

“Afraid not. Far as I know, she’s still gone. I’ve tried to contact her many times, but nothin’ doing.”

“What a shame. I do hope we can locate her, and if at all possible, bring her back. She was a fantastic student.” Julian took another deep breath, and the cheer returned to his voice. “But why drag ourselves down with unchanging circumstance? For now, I think you’d very much enjoy spending some time off with your squad in Devarden. It’s been a while since you’ve taken a look around, hasn’t it? Might I advise a certain nearby ice cream shop?”

“I see, I see. Cool beans. A’ight then, I’ll go tell the others about the situation. See ya soon!”

Julian watched as Bowen headed down the stairs, pondering this and that about the world.