Act III. Part I.

[Black]

Ryu opened his eyes to a peeling white wall that was divided into two parts by a small window set in the middle of the wall. The rundown state of the room would catch your attention instantly but the other place of immediate notice was the name 'Ryu' written in all caps.

Ryu got up and sluggishly limped out of his room to carry out his daily routine. He walked to a door that was at the end of the hall, and as per usual he checked on his father and siblings.

"Oh yeah, you guys aren't here anymore." He said as he held his chest and longingly stared at the room.

He closed the bedroom door and walked into the corridor, and there he saw black curly hair zoom by, moving from the living room to the kitchen. Ryu crept down the corridor, once he reached the doorway, he slowly peeked his head towards the kitchen, but there was no one there. He looked around the living room and walked to the door which was still locked.

"Huh…" He said to himself.

He walked into the bathroom and stood by the sink facing the mirror above it. He proceeded to take off his shirt and what was reflected was his pale skin covered in cuts and bruises.

He turned around to try and look at his back, and there were even more bruises there. What was odd about the bruises was that they seemed to heal rapidly before his eyes, like a torn seam coming back together on its own. He decided to pay no heed to it.

He left the bathroom fully clothed in his school uniform, which was a black blazer that had what seemed to be the school's crest on the left, worn over a white shirt, accompanied by a dark red tie and a black trouser.

He wasted no time and immediately left the house for the train station. Once he got on the train only a few minutes passed and he arrived at his destination. He walked out and it was a bright sunny day.

He walked for another few minutes and he was by the school gates. The school maintained its odd appearance which rendered Ryu unable to go in and left to stare at the other students who simply vanished as they walked in the direction of where the school was supposed to be.

"This shouldn't be hard, if I head in the direction of the school it should appear. Just like the movies." He nervously said to himself.

He began to take small steps towards the vast crevice before him and peered over it. He closed his eyes and slowly put one foot in front of the other until his left leg was left nothing to step on. Ryu opened his eyes and saw this, the sight alone froze him, leaving his foot suspended in the air.

"Just like the movies." He repeated to himself and let out a large breath.

He closed his eyes again and stepped into the crevice, and to his surprise, the school did not reappear. As soon as he took the next step he fell and felt his left foot twist, he clamored for non-existent handles, and in the process rolled onto his arms.

He tumbled down the crevice for what felt like forever. The only thing he could feel was his skin getting peeled off by the friction caused by the contact between his body and the rough terrain he tumbled down.

He was in excruciating pain but that pain was nothing compared to the instant he was sent flying. For a moment all of the pain he felt disappeared, but that moment came to an unfortunate end.

As he fell back onto the ground and hit his head against a rock, and all the pain he felt disappeared…

[Black]

"Why is it that all the times you choose to be brave something like this happens? Anyway, shall we head into class?" Mr. Laveda asked as he held onto Ryu's shoulder.

He was back at the school gates but this time the school was there. He wasted no time and threw up immediately.

"Don't get any on my shoes," Laveda said as he moved away from Ryu.

Ryu collected himself and got up, he turned to look at Laveda with fish eyes but didn't say anything, he simply walked into the building without having uttered a single word.

Before Laveda could walk into the building he felt a tap on his shoulder,

"Excuse me sir but I think there's something wrong with that boy. He walked into the schoolyard crying and yelling something. Don't you think he should be sent home?" Said one of the students.

"What are you talking about? He just got here." Laveda asked, confused. "Oh yes, but don't worry I'll look after him. Let us not let our fellow classmates' ways of expression bother us too much." He replied with a smile.

[20 minutes later]

Toshiko walked up to the school gates and there he found Mila waiting as she always did in the morning for the two.

"Where's Ryu?" She asked as she looked around Toshiko.

"I have no idea. He's probably just late, let's just get into class f—" Before Toshiko could finish his attention was caught by a crowd of people rushing towards the entrance. "Let's go check that out instead." He said as he pointed in the direction of the crowds.

"Fine." Mila hesitantly said. "Ryu will probably be by the gates soon and amazingly I think I see him. Let's head on over" She cheerfully said.

The two followed the mass and they all seemed to be watching the road by the main school gate, which had a white SUV parked by it and everyone was eagerly watching.

"Ey! you," Toshiko said as he called another student. "What are you all waiting for?"

"Oh, Toshiko. Apparently, we're getting another VIP student like you." The freshman answered.

"There's no one like me but who do you think is—" Before he could finish, he was once again interrupted by the crowd but this time by the white noise they made, drowning out every voice that wasn't screaming at the top of their lungs.

One of the car's doors opened and out of it came an average height girl in their school's girls' uniform. She wore a black blazer over a white shirt and a black bowtie, completed by a red plaid skirt. Immediately she left the car she exuded an 'unattainable and distant flower' aura.

"I don't think it's me who's at risk but you Mila." Toshiko laughed. "She'll take your spot as the school's idol." He then turned to Mila and he was shocked to see that she was actually upset.

She wasn't just upset, she was furious. So much so that her face spelled out what she was feeling.

"You know Mila, I didn't really mean it. It was a joke" Toshiko said, trying to pacify Mila but she didn't even seem to be listening.

"Her hair is disgusting," Mila whispered under her breath.

Toshiko just looked at Mila dumbstruck, completely clueless on what he was supposed to say in that situation.

"I think red is a nice hair color." The freshman next to them added and Mila glared at him.

The girl walked through the crowds with a smile as she waved at everyone and went into the school building. Immediately the sound of a ringing bell spread across the school which was the indication that the registration period had begun.

Toshiko and Mila quickly ran to their class where they found Ryu already in class, he seemed to have been fast asleep by his desk. Mr. Laveda walked into the classroom, and everyone in the class quickly got up from their seats, except Ryu of course.

"Morning, Morning," Laveda said as he walked to the center of the front of the class. "Before we proceed, someone new will be joining us today so be sure to give them a warm welcome," Laveda said with a warm smile that could make anyone but the three think he was a caring teacher.

"Now to take attendance—" Laveda was interrupted by the sound of three concise knocks on the door. "Well, that should be our new addition."

The entire class was excited and filled with anticipation because they knew who was coming into their class. Laveda walked up to the door and opened it only for a short middle-aged man to come through.

As soon as the class saw who was by the door, they were extremely disappointed.

"Welcome to the second-year class. I hope we get along." Someone from the back of the class jokingly said which was enough to diffuse the disappointment that engulfed the room.

The man stood by the door completely unfazed and simply stood by the side of the door. The sound of footsteps shortly followed, the girl slowly walked with her head held high and stopped to stand next to Mr. Laveda.

"My name is Mila Elin Dinoel."

As soon as she ended her sentence Mila who was already seated dragged her nails down the wooden desktop creating a loud screeching sound the entire class heard and turned to look at her.

"Oh, sorry about that, I thought there was something written on my desk. Silly me." She said light-heartedly.

"Ahem. As I was saying; My name is Mila Elin Dinoel, the first princess of the royal family, and it is a pleasure to meet all of you."

As the words left her mouth, they went on to capture the attention of everyone in the room. "I hope we all get along." She said with a smile and proceeded to bow.

"Bakery girl?!" Ryu yelled out with a confused expression.

end