《H.S.K》 The Dream In A Place unknown void of space and time, 2 entities finished their battle to the death. The background begins to fade as one of them walks to the fallen. Covered in wounds and scratches, armor, claws and long blood covered hair, the other on the floor battled and scarred, bleeding to his ultimate demise. The winds blow the dust away as one questions the other, ¡°Did you achieve it?¡± To which he replies, ¡°Yeah.¡± Taking a pistol out and ending his misery. `Bang` [Beep] [Beep] [Beep] ....... The alarm ferociously ringing in the morning waking one up. Set at 7:30 but snoozed till 7:41. `eyes open` "Another dream." [Time: 7:41 am location: Hotaru Residence, Kagoshima Date: 2016/04/11] He keeps his hand to the ceiling light, sweating a lot. "That dream felt real, my illusions keep on dragging me even in my dreams?" Ch.1 -The Dream Where It All Began- He goes to the bathroom to freshen up. To take a good look at himself, he zooms in on the mirror. A long scar cutting right through the right eye ran down. His fuzzy green hair from the night''s sleep. His eyes were black and centered with a white pupil. Very unusual for a human. [Ninomiya Hotaru Age: 17 Student, and next candidate to the Hotaru Project] He comes to a stop, the metal object stuck to his chest. It was small and had been there since he was a child, it made some sort of beeping noise as well when he felt like he was drifting from reality. ¡°Does it help with my condition? The doctor did say yes.¡± A million unanswered questions barged into his mind that he couldn''t start with a particular. He touches it, placing his hand on his chest. I''m still alive was all that he could think of. ¡°Alive?¡±, a voice asks him in his head. An unbearable pain screeches his chest, he grabs his chest. A sudden flash of memories hits him, A small girl, shadowed by the light behind her telling him, ¡°You have to live.¡± He falls raising his hands towards her as a blast hits. Ninomiya snaps back to reality, ¡°Again.¡± He holds the base of the slab and gets up. Exiting the bathroom the slab seems to have been crushed but he didn''t notice it. A phone call can be heard. The call drops before he reaches it. He checks the notifications to see who the caller is. It was his dad, with two missed calls. He ignored them. Below that notification, there was a message from Akise. "Come fast. School starts at 8,". That catches him off guard. He didn''t know that, but he couldn''t have known. Because today will be his first day. He doesn''t bother to check out the notifications piling up below that. Ninomiya takes a quick shower and dresses up for school. He calls his chauffeur to pick him up and heads to the kitchen. There, he finds a young woman sleeping on the couch. It was his sister, Hiori. He grabs his lunch cautiously, making sure he doesn''t wake her up. She must''ve fallen asleep while eating, as a bucket of ice cream lies on the small table in front, melted. Hiori mumbles something in her sleep, ¡°Just one more upgrade just oneeee one more ti-.¡± Before she stopped and said, ¡°I will win.¡± He gives a sigh of reaction. Ninomiya says, ¡°You really spent the whole night playing games?¡± He holds a blanket and places it on top of her. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He spreads butter on bread and rushes outside, holding a cup of milk in his other hand. The car waiting for him was ready to leave. A maid holding the passenger door open for him to enter bid him farewell when he stepped him. "Have fun on your way to school, young master," she said before gently closing the door. From the window, he could see the front view of his mansion. With a beautiful garden atop a hill, the workers and maids did their best to bring life to the otherwise ghost house. But it was home for him. The gentle breeze coming from the sea to scan the compound would turn his attention at the sight of the majestic mountain. He would always wonder what lay behind that beautiful mountain. And what about his life, the reality as he knew it? What about the dream he has had for all his life? Were they all true? He could sense a profound mystery somewhere. Sometimes, he would strain himself trying to uncover the hidden truth lurking underneath reality. But to no avail. The color of sakura blossoms gives a sharp contrast to the colors of his thoughts. That brings his head back inside the car. Gulping down milk after finishing his bread, he orders the driver to drive faster. He looks at his watch. Only 7 minutes remained. The car arrives at the school gate just on time. Once inside, Ninomiya rushes to the building. Everyone outside and in the windows gazes upon him like he is someone. [Background Whispers](¡°Hey! Look he is here.¡± ¡°The next candidate? His son?¡± ¡°I heard he is filthy rich. But he lives like a peasant.¡±) ¡°That''s right, wealth. My life was filled with it. As the world¡¯s wealthiest man is my dad. Of course he won''t let me attend such a school without having guards.¡± The chauffeur sweats alot, as the AC depicts a temperature of 101¡ãF inside the car. ¡°Damn it, why do I have to be the one to always do it?¡± A person on the radio speaks up, ¡°AL reply.¡± The chauffeur replies, ¡°On his way to the building over.¡± ¡°Confirmed visual over.¡± ¡°All units on standby.¡± [In the school] Rushing up, he meets Akise in the staircase. "Yo, Ninomiya.", said Akise "You mother fucker, why are you here instead of inside the classroom.", Ninomiya replied with an annoyed face. A grin on his face. Akise hits him with the lie, "I lied, class begins at 8:15." ¡°I knew it-¡± Ninomiya shrugs it off like any other friend would, "Well whatever, let''s go." Akise replies, "I was excited, you know. Seeing you in my school, sharing a desk with you. I''m happy you came." Ninomiya then asks, ¡°Well, I think I''ll do fine today. It seems under control.¡± Akise looks towards him speaking with a high tone, ¡°Your condition has been going okay, how many events did you have today?¡± Ninomiya looks happy, ¡°Only 2 times. Regularly it''s 270 per day.¡± His bland honesty was eh... Awkward and uncalled for. "Nino, tell me. Are you..." Akise paused for a bit to emphasize what he was about to ask next, "Happy?" Heh? That was sudden. Was he happy? Ninomiya could only stare at him, with his mind in the thinking abyss looking for an answer he feels uncomfortable. He first thought of Hiori. Then he thought of his father and his late mother Emma. Finally, he thought about their family business. Was he happy? He has almost all the things a man would want, wealth, family, a friend. He turned 17 just a while back can''t be bothered to just say, "Yes.¡± A faint voice asks him, ¡°you didn''t protect us did you?.¡± Ninomiya sees a field of red grass with black blood on top. He snaps back to reality. He holds his right side of his head, squeezing firmly on it. Akise asks him about his condition, ¡°Yeah I''m okay.¡± After a bit of comfort Ninomiya calms down. Ninomiya was suffering from a condition where his life was divided into a conscious and an illusion-like state. Scans showed his brain had been badly damaged, a part of him was erased in some horrific accident. Due to that he lost whatever memory he had, even including language. There would be haunting encounters and unreal imaginations, probably linking to his old life. These panic attacks came out random and the only way to get him out of those was to shake him off from it or wait for him to snap himself out of it. The students enter the classroom. ¡°Oh, Y''all are here Akise and Ninomiya.¡± Ninomiya looks at them and his lips go on auto pilot to whisper, ¡°They know us?¡± Akise hears him, ¡°Of course they do, because we are famous.¡± [8:15 AM] [Tsurumaru High School] [Class-1 B] The teacher comes in, everyone takes their seats, Akise was assigned another seat a bit to the right of Ninomiya. After attendance, the teacher introduces a transfer student named Akame. Ninomiya looks at the door as he feels an uneasy feeling. His white pupils contract as she enters the door, he feels a sort of attraction. Akise is surprised he displayed emotion to someone else than him. ¡°I''m Akame Hoshino, Age 16.¡± That was the introduction she gave, not a good one. He notes it. The teacher makes Akame have the vacant seat at the side of Ninomiya. Ninomiya never felt such a presence in his life. A sudden illusion takes him over. Seeing a red haired woman in front of him instead of the black haired Akame, he pauses. Akame looks at him, ¡°Hey, how much are you gonna stare at me? Creep.¡± Akise quickly rushes to shake him off. Ninomiya looks at his hands, mutters ¡°Red hair.¡± Akame hears him and clenches her fist. Sitting in the class, Ninomiya never felt this much pressure on him. Introductions go by and the classes as well. [Lunch Break] [12:04 PM] [Roof] ¡°Hey Akise, that new girl is suspicious. P.E. is on par with me, has excellent English, knows history too well. It''s like-¡± Akise cuts him off, ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it man. After school, go and apologize for what happened this morning.¡± Ninomiya realizing ¡°You''re right I should.¡± As Ninomiya¡¯s pupils fall into a deep illusion, he begins to mutley say, ¡°My offering is for you.¡± ¡°I will serve-¡± A bright light wakes him up, Akise shaking him off. ¡°Hey are you back?¡± Ninomiya sweatingly says that he was okay. ¡°You are not an okay man. You need to relax here. Don''t fall into one until you''re home.¡± Ninomiya looks okay, ¡°Sorry I made you care.¡± [Tower 3] ¡°Everything seems fine now, subject out of illusion.¡± [Radio] ¡°Good, continue surveillance.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± A figure was behind the guy surveying, ¡°Are we done?¡±, a female spoke. A silent shot is fired from a pistol that went through his head, killing him on spot. She puts her fingers on the earpiece, ¡°Akari, I''m in position.¡± Bzzt, [Noise] ¡°Proceed as planned, main target ¡®Akame¡¯.¡± Awakening from an ever lasting dream The Students Arrive inside and class begins at 8:15 A male teacher comes in, their homeroom teacher Sasaki. He introduces that a new student was gonna enroll today. The teacher turned his head towards the door. Everyone else followed. "Come in, Ayumi." `foot steps` ¡°Hello everyone, I''m Ayumi Hoshino.¡± Black messy hair, red scarlet eyes and a wrist band made of metal. Ayumi seemed to be a normal looking girl but Ninomiya smelled something wrong. Her appearance looks normal, but her eyes seem dead on the inside. The teacher saw an empty desk at the side of Ninomiya¡¯s window seat and asked Ayumi to sit there. Ayumi sat there and Ninomiya tried calling her out but she didn''t respond. Ninomiya thought of her as this weird gloomy girl but too perfect. But Ninomiya kept staring at her like something wasn''t right. Akise began to take notice, he writes something on a note and passed it to the guy sitting next to him. After the lunch break started, Ninomiya and Akise went to the roof to eat lunch. Akise keeps eating while Ninomiya is looking at the sky, he falls into another illusion. Ninomiya keeps looking, Akise begins to panic. ¡°I will follow your orders, for the sake of our-¡± Akise goes in front of Ninomiya and shrugs him off. ¡°Hey! Wake up.¡± `Shake` Ninomiya in his state says, ¡°Why do we keep losing? Why can''t we use that-¡± ¡°Wake UP!¡± Ninomiya snaps back to reality, ¡°Was I gone for a second?¡± Akise, ¡°A second? You were gone for a whole 2 minutes my guy.¡± Ninomiya sits on the bench, ¡°Why am I like this?¡± Ninomiya has the look of a depressed person. Akise looks at him and offers him some food. ¡°Calm down buddy, your father told me to look after you so you don''t go into another deep thought.¡± Ninomiya walks down the stairs, Akise stays on the roof and points out a thumbs up at a direction. He seems to shed a tear, and questions himself. ¡°Why do we need to still lie?¡± At a distance, [Radio] ¡°Come in C1.¡± A guy in a building surveying Ninomiya tells, ¡°Subject went under another illusion. Recovery success. Good sign by Candidate, over.¡± The person behind the radio, ¡°Ok copied, over!¡± A hooded figure appeared behind the guy doing the surveillance, a woman pulled a silent shot on his head. ¡°Alice here, Position Confirmed. Tell me info about the terrain for a clear shot Akari.¡± , Akari replied, ¡°Good, get a good shot of the chest slightly above the heart. Make sure you don''t hit the head, Alice. The bell tower should be fine, you sure you don''t need a bipod?¡± Alice, ¡°Affirmative, that recoil is nothing.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡­.. Time 4:07 pm School ended at 4:05 pm Akise and Ninomiya pack their bags, ¡°Where are you headed to Ninomiya?¡± ¡°Nowhere I guess, you?¡± ¡°I got some work at my uncle''s place.¡± ¡°Good luck I guess.¡± Ninomiya leaves the building, Akise looks through the window, takes out his watch and presses the screen 3 times. `Broadcasting` Akise speaks on the watch. ¡°All units advise, Ninomiya has left the building. High alert.¡± . . [Somewhere] `Lightning strikes` `rain` `Wind Breeze` A blond woman speaks on her suits left hand, ¡°Alice, follow the Prototype.¡± .. She looks at the rain, ¡°It begins, doesn''t it.¡± Someone in the room puts down the pen. ¡°What begins Akari?¡± ¡­. She smirks. ¡°Something in the past.¡± ¡ª---------------- Hiori wakes up, ¡°Huh? Did I over slept?¡± [Phone Ringing] [Akise Calling] ¡°My phone is ringing? Hello, Akise.¡± Hiori pauses for a while. She puts the phone down. Time: 4:12 pm Ninomiya, ¡°Fuckin driver, why isn''t he here yet?¡± Ninomiya is on his phone texting the driver to get to the school soon. At the side he sees Ayumi taking a soda out of the vending machine. Ninomiya tried to start a conversation but she denied. ¡°Why am I getting denied?¡± ¡­¡­¡­ `Scene Change` Hiori with a dead look goes under the mansion basement. ¡°I''m gonna swap. Prepare the procedure.¡± `Back to School` ¡°Let me introduce myself cause you didn''t let me talk.¡±, said Ninomiya ¡°I know who you are, idiot, everybody in this world does. The only son of Akito Hotaru, the richest successor. I''m looking for someone and you are the least of my issues. Please stop talking to me.¡±, replied Ayumi. She begs Ninomiya to let her go. Akise gets himself out from the back of school. At the top of a tower, a sniper gets ready. ¡°All preparations complete Akari.¡± Eyes on the scope, the rifle powers up. [Core Reactors Max Output] [Energy Transfer Ready] [Reactor Stable] ¡°Target Priority, Prototype #1, A.K.A.M.E.¡± `Tower bell rings` Ayumi is talking to Ninomiya, She sees a flash of light behind Ninomiya just in time to react and dodge it. She tosses Ninomiya to the side. ¡°Eyes on the prize.¡± ¡°Boom.¡± [Projectile Fire,] `A gust of super heated plasma surrounds the barrel as a flash of light strikes the leg of Ayumi.` Tower¡¯s ceiling and bell flys off from the recoil. The school grounds cracks open, and the energy from the bullet shakes the whole area like an earthquake. The impact area melts away and all that remains is dust. The people who were inside the building get killed on the spot. Alice on the broken roof of the bell tower, She kisses the rifle. She gets a burn from the barrel being too hot. ¡°Hot¡±, she comments. , ¡°Easy there Alice, they aren''t dead.¡±, said Akari , ¡°Wait she tanked a whole 70 gvr load? That''s crazy.¡±,replied Alice Alice gets her rifle and prepares another shot. [Cooling Required 20 Seconds] [19] [18] Ninomiya gets up from the rubble. He doesn''t feel pain, almost like a dream. He sees Ayumi and tells, ¡°Hey, what''s happening? Is this an illusion?¡± He clearly is scared. Ayumi grabs his hand and gets in cover. ¡°We¡¯re under fire, that C Rifle is ridiculously powerful.¡± ¡°Like how powerful?¡± Asks Ninomiya. Ayumi is pissed. ¡°It''s a fucking C Series rifle. It shoots rounds powered by a reactor. It can shoot a hitscan projectile. Or shoot heat rounds.¡±, replied. Ninomiya calls it a day, ¡°I''m imagining shit right now.¡± She punches Ninomiya and tells him, ¡°This ain''t an illusion, it''s reality!¡± ¡°Wait, wait, that punch hurts.¡± Ninomiya begins to panic thinking he would die. ¡°The hell should I know, go fuck yourself.¡±, replied Ayumi. [Charge complete] ¡°Visibility is zero in this smoke. I''m switching to instruments.¡±, said Alice [Switching To Instruments] [Refined Thermal] ¡°Tch everything looks red except for one spot, that seems a bit cold than other. Here goes nothing.¡± [Bang] The cover gets blown to bits, Ninomiya is very scared. A faint voice asks him, ¡°Why are you scared? Can''t you remember? These hands saved me one day. You scared you would lose me like your friend?¡± Ayumi looks at Ninomiya, he seems different and he is quiet now. Ninomiya grabs Ayumi on his back and begins running through the smoke. With a evil smirk, Alice screams ¡°Where are you GOING!?¡± [Charge Complete] ¡°I must survive, no matter what. No matter what I¡¯ve been through.¡± Ninomiya slides through the smoke and rubble holding Ayumi. ¡°These dreams, these people are my illusions. Are they real?¡± The smoke clears. A Bright Flash Of Light is seen by Ayumi. ¡°Oh no¡­..¡± A bullet pierces Ninomiya¡¯s chest. The force of the blast doesn''t obliterate Ninomiya and Ayumi falls quite a distance away. `swirl` ¡°Secondary Target is dead.¡±, Alice Akari replied, ¡°Mission Complete, restock ammo and proceed with plan 2- Alice grabs her communication device and breaks it. Ayumi looks at the now dead Ninomiya, shocked that someone tried to save her and died a horrible death. She looks at his blood, ¡°Black¡­.. Why isn''t it red? Who is he?¡± The blood begins reversing into his body. ¡°Passive Active¡±, said Ninomiya as his eyes are closed. His body flows in the wind. A shocked face Ayumi had. ¡°Huh¡±, Akame thinks. The wounded area turns golden yellow and it regenerates. ¡°That''s not possible, what the fuck.¡±, Ayumi doesn''t believe her eyes. Ninomiya falls on the ground after healing, Ayumi grabs him and takes him to a hole in the sewer system. A devastated landscape soon follows above, a school in ruins. Half the tower broke apart due to the recoil, Alice seemed unharmed using the rifle. ¡°I have been given a second chance, thank you Akari.¡± A Future Broken Apart [Somewhere] The windows were open. Outside, flashes of lightning struck without pause. The rain stopped, and the clouds started to clear. The room was dark. But the computers screens were lit. The date below was 2199/Jan/22. A photo of a guy hugging a woman with torn sleeves was on the wallpaper. The woman on the window asked someone over the radio. "Follow those two for me, please." [Door Opens] A man approached her wearing a grey hazmat suit. The woman near the window asked the man, "Enjoying it, are you Kage?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. [Scene switches] Under the sky, people were walking on the street. They were all covered in heavy hazmat suits. Her eyes went for the market that sold sealed foods. Food is life. And life went on, even in this ugly landscape, despite unsurvivable levels of radiation. She took out a photo from her pocket, ¡°You know, when I was young. My whole life was stolen. I was orphaned at the age of 1, loved my family. Family became no more at age 22, everyone died. I had no biological children, nor anyone left cause of that one project.¡± She looks at the clouds clearing, "I ''had'' a human son, I cried desperately trying to bring him back to life. I was powerless despite being a literal god. His corpse melted in my hands, vaporized into thin air. At that moment I had nothing to lose." "Akari, why are you going this far?" Asked Kage with a serious face. Akari looked at Kage with a smile. She had blonde hair, black eyes with a white pupil. "To fix a world where I am currently on." Kage was confused, "Fix the whole world, Akari? After you came, all we have known is death and destruction. You killed the wife of our leader, gave that little child trauma.¡± Akari questions, ¡°You mean ''Hiori'' by that ''little child''?¡± Akari laughs, laughs as much as she could. Kage seems questioned, ¡°Hiori¡­. Ah that name. The one person who is mentally capable. She is the most intelligent person I have ever seen no child has that much of a brain.¡± Said, Akari. Kage asked, with a surprised face. ¡°What do you mean?¡± She had turned her gaze back to the people outside the window. ¡°Akito¡¯s rise caused a nuclear war. The planet is now in fallout. Hiori¡¯s manipulation will cause the death of billions. You forgot Kage, I said I''m from twenty thousand years in the future. I know exactly what happens. ¡®We are mere puppets in the face of inevitable doom¡¯ a phrase father spoke in his state that mom¡¯s diary had. It was the truth. No one in this world holds true will. We''re stuck in this world that keeps on running, letting us decide with us making it feel like we are the ones in control." "I couldn''t stop the death of my son." She looked at the photo again. [The Clouds Cleared] The full moon shines brightly upon the earth. Akari sheds a tear. The photo was of Ninomiya, Akari while sobbing said, "Father¡­ you are not the one to blame." A file was at the side on the desk with the picture of Akame and title, ¡®THE EFFICIENCY PROJECT'' ''By Idenfrost Hotaru''