Chapter 0.5: Another Night in Neverland (10)

Yes, there was quite a change. Everything was black. There was no light anywhere. It was all clouded by a huge curtain of darkness.

But what of this darkness? What was there to fear? What happened?

"Open them…" A voice called out from outside the void, faint, but noticeable.

— Wait… Huh?!

When Lloyd opened them, he was greeted by a masculine figure in front of him that topped him off by quite a few inches. But that was due to him sitting down on the desk.

Realizing the oddity of the situation, Lloyd scrutinized his surroundings.

Multiple desks. Chairs. A huge chalkboard the size of ones present in university lecture rooms. People dressed in uniforms similar to Lloyd's. The bright mystical sunlight seeping in through the windows, coating the entire class in its shade.

That was right.

This was a classroom. Lloyd was in a classroom.

It had been a day since the encounter with the dragooun and the Sandman, and it was just last night that Lloyd sat together with Shogo before heading home for the night. However, everything in between was hazy, unclear. Or perhaps the day went by so fast he could not remember what transpired at all.

That was the result of a normal school day.

There was no grand magic. There was no adventure. No field missions. Nothing. Just a normal mundane school day, filled with literature classes, and writing practices.

And the figure that was in front of him was none other than his classmate, Sion. Unlike him, Sion had the element of reading — like Zoe — and that was it. He had no knack for grand adventures, even with his designated team. Out of everything in Neverland, he was the most ordinary element in Lloyd's life.

"So?" He blurted out.

Lloyd was lost. He was still shaken by his sudden awakening from the mysterious trance he was in. Even as he sat in the classroom, he felt like he was still stuck in a fever. He could not tell if that was the result of him not sleeping well enough again or the result of his adventures through multiple dreams.

"I'm sorry. What were you talking about?" Lloyd tried to make sense of what was going on.

"Gee, even with this, you can't pay attention."

"Oh," he chuckled, "I just did not get enough sleep, I guess."

"Is that why you called zombies the other day? A writer's never clear in the head when they lack sleep."

"You guys are not going to let me live that down, aren't you? Everyone's talking about it like it's the joke of the century. What about Emiya's feud in the bread store? Isn't that worth looking into?"

"Well, you certainly have the energy to complain, huh."

Poke at him well enough and Lloyd would immediately restore back all his energy to protect his pride.

"Anyways, what were you talking about? Seriously…" He asked once again.

"It's nothing, nothing." Sion turned his back to him, "Just a stupid game a friend told me about. I'll catch you later, Lloyd."

"Where are you going?"

"How long have you been out of it? School day's over, buddy. It's time to get home."

— So the day did go by that fast.

Lloyd could not even tell what the last class he took was.

Sion opened the classroom door and left. There was no one in the class but Lloyd and a few other students who were gathered up in the corner, probably discussing their afternoon plans. It was a Saturday so—

— Wait what? What am I…

It was then that he thought back to the day before, like rewinding the tape. The day before was a Friday, the end of the weekend. And that wasn't something he imagined. His mother wasn't working that day, and that was the norm for her on a Friday. Even so…

Lloyd stood up and ran to the calendar hung up beside the chalkboard.

[Monday]

— This doesn't make any sense.

Two whole days went by without him having any memory of them. The weekend was gone on a whim.

— Could this be the Sandman's doing?

He had been in the Sandman's dream for quite some time. And even when he broke through and wrote his own touch, it was still the Sandman's dream, that was why it was up to the Sandman to break out of it, not Lloyd.

Perhaps it was a side effect, a slight mark the Sandman left on him for defying him. But even with that conclusion, it was still bizarre he had little memory of the past two days. If it was indeed the Sandman's doing, then the only explanation would be that he slept through the whole weekend.

— Give me a break!

"Hello!" A beautiful and quite reserved girl approached Lloyd.

It was his classmate, Hannah, the girl he had saved from the crowd the other day during the dragooun incident.

"Oh hey…" Lloyd replied, trying to act as if he wasn't quite out of it.

"Do you remember—"

"Yeah, yeah, of course, I do. Hannah."

She had a tendency to ask that whenever she talked with someone. No one could figure out if this was a fear she had that she would be forgotten, or that was just how she was.

"I… I wanted to thank you for helping me that day with the old man. You really got me out of that bind."

"Anytime. We students of the academy must always help one another. That's how it is, right?"

"Right…" She had her hands clasped together near her waist, showing respect to the person she was speaking to. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah, sure…"

Lloyd waved at her as he, himself, walked to the door and exited the classroom. He was met with the signature wide hallway of the academy — its width would at least have to be triple the size of an average school hallway. It was only then, when he left the classroom, that Lloyd felt something being lifted off his chest.

He sighed deeply, relieved. He did not know why, but he was relieved.

"Hmph, so you still decided to show your face here?" A feminine voice echoed throughout the empty hallway.

He turned his head to his right to find a girl with a womanly physique standing by the path to the stairs, with the most frustrated expression on her face. If anything, she seemed to have murderous intent behind that look.

It was Emiya Langley, of course.

"Oh, you're not leaving yet, Emiya?" He blatantly asked.

There was no response. Only her resolute glare persisted, leaving an odd gust in the atmosphere.

She wouldn't be Emiya Langley if she left him alone to do his affairs. Before she could even begin to utter a word, he guessed what it was going to be about. Despite what happened the day before, despite her still being on the road to recovery, she still wanted to settle the "score." It was genuinely impressive how her determination outweighed her limit in strength.

"I told you last time not to come to school if you don't want your ass kicked, yet here you are, strolling around without a care in the world." She spoke in a condescending tone. "I was genuinely surprised to see you at the gate earlier."

Behind that angry expression, Lloyd was able to spot a ghost of a smirk on Emiya's face. Deep down, she was enjoying this.

— A sadist to the end.

"Don't tell me—"

"Yes, it's exactly that. No more favors for each other. We're ending this!"

The day was over, but it was a Monday. The Academy wouldn't close down its doors early as soon as the school day was over like usual due to extracurricular activities around campus. The sun was still up, in spite of it being almost twilight. Students were still around, so there would be a show, of course. It was as if nature was practically begging for their battle to happen.

"What if I just give up now? Will that make it easier?"

— As if…

Lloyd did not have anything to lose, except his pride if he were to lose, which was a pretty high possibility. A World-Builder class against a First-Person class, it was like bringing a sword to a gunfight. Nevertheless, that very pride he was about to lose was the thing that kept him from cowering away, that kept him going.

"You better brace yourself." Emiya rolled up her sleeve.

There was only a white, slender arm, covered completely in the blue light of what seemed like words plastered on like a tattoo.

It wasn't a writing formula, nor was it a command script, the likes of what Juno typically wrote — and definitely not an authority. It was the signature step to Emiya's moves, solely beneficial to her element.

"You know that this is, right? Phrase Alliteration!"

That was what that ability was called. To be able to transfer one's own writing on to themselves was within itself a classified term. Anyone could practically use it. It worked in various ways. Cursed chants relied specifically on this move. But only one with the ability of First-Person could use it efficiently to their prowess as Emiya could.

None of that mattered to Lloyd now, however. All that he understood from Emiya's stance and glowing arm was that she was dead-set on finishing their score now more than ever.

"Wait— We're doing it here??! Now?!" Lloyd backed away a bit, to stray away from any unexpected hit from Emiya. She was rash whenever her abilities were set on. "Wouldn't this be more suitable in the gym or perhaps th—"

"You can run all you want, but that would be only postponing the inevitable. I am not holding back! I'm taking care of this, right here and now. This is going to be my victory, Lloyd!"

There was no excitement or much emotion in her voice, but rather fierce determination. She was serious, at least that was her way of showing that. If she remained her usual self, Lloyd would just brush it off and treat it as another joke, but she didn't want that. There was nothing more she wanted than to be taken seriously by her rival at that moment.

True chivalry.

To defeat Lloyd, fair and square.

"Fine fine…" Lloyd rubbed the back of his head in frustration. He took out his pen from his pocket and aimed it at Emiya. "I'm not holding back either… If you want to go at it, then come at me."

They stood facing one another, both in fighting stances. One had her strength and resolve to back her up, and one had only his wit and imagination to hold his own. A battle of rivalry was in the midst of creation.

"Not here!" A melancholic voice echoed.

It was Juno. Standing alongside her were Nathan and Zoe, watching the two dimwits about to start their clash. Suffice to say, she and the others' expressions weren't that of happiness or excitement.

"Unless you can pay back the Academy for damage, of course… I'm sure you're more than qualified for something like that, right Emiya?"

"—Ngh." Emiya lowered her arm, which was directed solely at Lloyd, ready to attack.

"Gotta say…" Lloyd exhaled, "It's the first time I'm relieved to see you guys show up out of the blue. For a minute there, I thought I wouldn't hold my own."

"Hey!" Emiya shouted. "We're still doing this! You're not running away, I told you—"

"I know, I know, I didn't say we wouldn't. But we got an audience now. Don't you think a change of scenery instead of this cramped up hallway would be more fitting?"

Emiya took her time to think about his suggestion. She was all about becoming a champion surrounded by attention. If anything, the more audience there was to watch them, the merrier.

"Can we stop by the cafeteria first?" Zoe quietly raised her hand.

"For once, I agree," Nathan spoke up. "If we're gonna watch you two duke out, then I gotta have a snack to fully enjoy it. — It's just the right way of watching brawlers."

"All right! All right!" Emiya stomped her legs on the ground, like a kid throwing a tantrum. "We'll go to the gym, all right! But if it's occupied, I'm knocking you out then and there without warning, understand me?"

"Sure sure…" Lloyd yawned.

— Please be occupied.

※※※

Contrary to Lloyd's desires, the gymnasium was quite the desert. It wasn't an average gymnasium that just took up a large portion of the building. It was the size of a multitude of grand studios. There were multiple arenas for students to test their skills and do what they so desire. Usually, they were filled to the brim, especially when it would be nearing the grand selection event in the middle of each academic year.

But not this time, however. This time, not a single arena was occupied. There was nothing more convenient than this situation.

Lloyd and Emiya stood against one another at parallel ends of the same arena. They were, once again, getting ready to commence their "long-awaited" battle.

On the decks, that were mostly empty due to the situation, were Juno, Nathan, and Zoe. Zoe had herself occupied with the fruit salad she bought from the cafeteria, for once, she chose something other than those rice donuts she was so obsessed with lately. Nathan was studying whatever monstrosity he had ordered for food (by Zoe's recommendation). And Juno would glance often at the arena to check on the two hoodlums while helping Nathan figure out the mystery of his food.

Everything was back to ordinary — if this could be called the norm. Being in this world, one would be all about the adventure and the peak of imagination. But having ordinary things in this magical world, this normal pace at which the day went, every once in a while wouldn't hurt.

Yet something seemed missing.

— Where is…

Before Lloyd could dwell on it further, the door to the arena — as each one was separated by walls — burst open with the man in black with his usual ludicrous attire walking in himself, with the end of his jacket flaunting around like a mystical cloak.

Shogo Kuroiwa had arrived.

"No one sent me a personal invite? Really?" He, too, carried what seemed to be a couple of snacks from the cafeteria. He had a huge smile on his face. "I wouldn't miss this, not in a million years."

Even though the air in the atmosphere was already joyful, Shogo somehow managed to make it even better. It was only natural. A gathering is never complete without the full family.

That was right. Even with all the disagreements, with all the arguments, these guys were still friends, they were family, an inseparable family that he managed to connect with even in the darkest depths. That was what Lloyd deeply believed in. He smiled at that realization.

"Hey! Keep those blues on me. It's about time."

Emiya rolled up both her sleeves this time. They were glowing with great light like before, but it seemed that they were touched up even more. Perhaps this short break had given her time to perfect it.

Nevertheless, it wouldn't change the situation. Both of them were going to go all out at each other. That was the sole purpose of this battle of rivalry.

"Bring it on!" Lloyd let out a smirk.

And thus, right on the mark, the two clashed at each other like opposing storms. As the battle commenced, the attention of their friends shifted to them.

"Go for it, Emiya!" Juno shouted, breaking off her usual tone.

"Her head's too dense! Aim for her stomach, you idiot!" Nathan tried his best in offering a form of cheerful speech.

"Do your best, you two!" Zoe was not one to choose sides.

"I believe in you…"

Unlike the others, Shogo just sat with his usual smirk and mumbled to himself. As a leader, he, as well, did not want to appear to be one picking sides.

He didn't. He believed in both of them equally.

Emiya almost struck Lloyd with a forceful grip, causing him to falter backward. But he quickly regained his step and held both his arms up for defense.

"Skipped leg day?" She smiled.

"Never." He smiled back and began his next attack immediately, "No matter how hard you can knock me down, I'll never…"

— As long as I draw breath, no matter how hard you'll try to break me, I'll never back down. That is who I am, that is the only truth of Lloyd Ashford.

And so the two clashed together once more, leaving everything up to fate to decide who would be the victor.

It was just another day, just another adventure, in Neverland.