The world around you is in sharp contrast with itself.
Around you, you see the cleanness and tidiness of your hospital room: green and white walls paired with the beeps of a machine and the aseptic smell of the air. Inside you, black holes and a dark void: you don't seem to remember anything from your past, as everything blurs into a bottomless pit.

In this absolute quiet, only one thing catches your eye: your doctor is talking with somebody outside your room. The window is too small though, and you can only see him, not the person he's talking with.

Why are they here? Why are YOU there?
You can't remember. You've been laying on that bed for what has probably been a week now. No one answered your questions. No one showed up. Well, not until today that is.

Your heart skips a beat as you hear somebody timidly walking in.

"Hello?" the voice you hear is soft, and probably belongs to a girl who isn't older than 19. Her eyes are dark and deep, and her hair is black and short. She is really attractive.
"How are you?" You do not respond. You do not know how to respond.
"What is your name?" What an odd question. You should be asking that! But then it hits you: you don't know what's your name. But maybe you could make an effort and think about it...

You ponder. Is your name "Alice"? No, that feels wrong. You're surely a guy. This you know for sure.

Johnathan. Johnathan seems to be the most fitting name in your head. You say it out with confidence. The girl in front of you smiles.

"Hello, Johnathan. Do you remember me? Do you know who I am?"

The tone in her voice is hopeless. It's so desperate you wish you could just answer "YES!" with all your might. But you know it not to be true. You look away, feeling too miserable to answer. Her smile dies in her face.

"I see. Well, do not forget that I came to visit you today, ok?"

The girl quietly takes her leave, and you bitterly regret not being able to do and say more.
However the doctor quickly comes in, checks on you, and starts talking with you. It's not as good as chatting with a pretty girl but it will do.

"How are you feeling, hm... Johnathan?"
How odd that he hesitates on your name. You're fairly sure he should know it, and yet his reluctance in uttering your name seems oddly calculated

>"Who was the girl here earlier?"

The doctor smiles and laughs nervously. "Ah, a former classmate of yours".
A former? Classmate?
Why former? what happened? Are you not friends anymore? What have you done to wrong her?
Too many questions, too little answers. You know better than asking the doctor. But something, at once, hits you with the strength of a truck. Something you must absolutely know.

"My classmates..."

The word echoes strangely in your head. As something you should know, but can't really remember. It has a good meaning, yes? Then why do you suffer so much thinking about it?
Are they... lost forever?

"Don't worry Johnathan. You will have new classmates"

You don't want new classmates. You want your old ones. Yes, but who are they? One came to visit you. They must be nice.

"You will attend a new school, it's a..."
The rest of his speech is lost on you. You lose consciousness, and when you regain it, you're being violently shaken by someone.
You open your eyes suddenly and you immediately feel glad about your decision: you find yourself in a gathering hall, a lot of people standing close in what seems... a funeral.

A huge picture is set in the front of the hall, with a closed coffin next to it.

Another gap in your memory. Another sudden event. You turn to your left to see the person who shook you and to thank him or her, whoever that could be. It's a girl, standing next to you. Her gaze is pure fury upon you. All of a sudden you find yourself thoroughly frightened.

"I...I am sorry, I...I don't know what happened to me."

Short black hair and deep, black, inquisitive eyes, covered by round glasses, which look at you so intensely you almost feel pierced by them.

She does not answer.
You turn around and pretend to follow the celebration.
The dead one is a young guy, not older than yourself. He's fairly handsome, you think.
What a shame, to be so young and already dead. And yet life goes on.

It quickly hits you that the place is entirely foreign for you. You've never seen it before.
Then again, you have no memory of any place, beside your hospital room.

There is something wrong with the people around you. You feel it but you can't put your finger on it. It's not a matter of attending a funeral, everyone is wearing their best funeral face. There is something *else*. You feel you could grasp it, if just you were to look at the people around you closer, but you are afraid of appearing too inquisitive.

You look around. You look HARDER.
Something's off with the guests at this funeral.

No one seems particularly old. They're all teenagers. Is this a school mourning someone's death? Is someone mourning YOUR death? You discard the idea as absurd.

What's more, turning back, you see older people sitting in the back rows. You were wrong at least on this: not everyone here is young.

But then what is it? This feeling that's something is missing, the feeling that something is off. You are about to classify your earlier thoughts as paranoia, and turn to the girl sitting next to you, but then something hits you: her forearm is gone. An amputee? The bandage around the stump suggests as much.

Quickly all pieces are put together: all the young people around you are... disabled.
How could you not notice earlier? A funeral for disabled? This is too weird, too quick.

You feel the hand of the girl next to you on your shoulder. She obviously cried a lot, but she is trying hard to smile. "Are you ok?"
No, not really, I have no idea where I am. I have no idea what is going on. You must ponder what to ask

>"What is going on?"

You feel like you asked the wrong question. The girl turns around and does not answer you for a second. Then she faces you again, this time with tears in her eyes.

"It's a funeral. The guy who died used to be our classmate"

Classmate, that word again. What is a classmate? Must be something good. Must be like an important person, why would they be at his funeral then.

"We've been his classmates only for a week. He was transferred here after he spent four months in a hospital. He had a pretty sever heart condition, I've been told"

Only a week is good enough to become this close? This girl seems genuinely in pain. Or maybe it's just a matter of courtesy.

"Did he die of heart failure?"
"No, apparently he fell off the rooftop".

This keeps getting stranger.

>"Was he a good friend of yours?"

No I can't say that. But he was a good person. And he was too young to die".

The tears she was holding in her eyes now flow freely.

"His name was Hisao."

Hearing his name feels odd. I feel strangely conflicted about it: on one hand, I had no idea who he was. On the other, I am saddened for his departure.

"They said new student is transferring here, but I don't want it. It's too soon. It would be too painful to bear".

You start noticing that you're sitting uncomfortably on something. It must be in your back pockets. You start searching them and you find a depliant reading "Yamaku Academy: special needs, extraordinary talents"

You quickly hide it.

"Ehm, by the way, how is this school called?"
"Don't you know? I thought you were a student. It's the Yamaku Academy"

So that's it. You're the transfer student. You're the cripple, too. What a terrible omen, to begin your new school career like this.
What should be done with the girl? Should she know?

>Reveal to the amputee girl who you are

"Ahem... I think I am said transfer student. Sorry for the poor timing".

The amputee girl has a natural tanned skin, but you can see it lose color as she turns towards you and become paler and paler.

"Don't worry, I understand how you feel. I don't grudge you"

You say these words with the utmost sincerity, but you see she still struggles to speak.

"I am Johnathan, by the way. And you are?"
"M-miki... I am sorry for what I said earlier..."

You raise your right hand in a gesture of forgiveness

"It's nice to meet you. We will be classmates, right?"
She thinks a while before answering "I believe so, Jonhathan. I hope so"

She smiles sadly, then she turns around when the memorial begins. Everybody stands up, and so do you.

This is just the beginning, and yet, you can't help but feel the road will be uphill from now...

You wake up in your new room. It is small, but it looks ten times more comfortable than the hospital room you spent your last week in.

This is going to be your first school day at Yamaku. You don't know anyone here, you haven't had time to meet dorm mates either. Looks like you will have to share your kitchen and the shower with up to 3 more students, but you have a smaller private bathroom for your personal use.

You're up way earlier than you should be, and you blame excitement for it.
You can't remember anything of your past school, and of your past classmates, except for that one girl who visited you while you were sick. What a strange thing she asked of you: to remember that she came to visit. And you find it hard not to oblige, given that the rest of your past is a mystery.

Laying in bed, thinking of the future, you're interrupted by heavy knocking on the door.

You were not expecting visits, and you're not (yet) ready to meet strangers. On the other hand it could be an inspection from the medical personnel, active 24/7. You have to make a decision.

>Open the door

Reluctantly, you get up and open the door.

Standing next to you is a guy with brown ruffled air and glasses so thick his eyes almost disappear. He's wearing a strange yellow-and-red scarf.

"What are you doing here, huh? Who are you to begin with? Are you a spy?"

"I am not a spy, I am just the new student"

The guy comes uncomfortably close, so much that you can smell his garlic breath. Is he trying to suffocate people with that?
He smiles as he finally understood something
"Oh right, you do look new. Pleased to meet you, I am Kenji."
"The pleasure is mine", you respond hesitantly. "I am Johnathan".

Kenji nods approvingly. "Johnathan, eh? Very well. You better listen to me and follow my advice. This school is a cove of feminists and raving lunatics, and I am the only sane person left." He frowns "Lest you end up as Hisao".

You swallow your spit in discomfort, and Kenji seems to pick up on the noise of it.

"There, there, no need to worry. I will resurrect him using blood magic. I've been learning about it on the internet. Do you want to come into my room? I have charts and informations, I am sure you'll like it"

You have a bad feeling about the whole situation, but you have to make a decision

>Make an excuse

No one who blabbers about blood magic can be sane of mind. Actually, now that you think of it, he might as well think of using you as a human sacrifice.

"Well, to be honest I still have to talk with the nurse, I want to get that done before class begins. Do you mind?"

He is visibly displeased, but he just comments
"Whatever man. Can I borrow some money?"

"I have no money on me", you answer. It's the truth: as far as you know you don't own a wallet or anything like that, so you can't possibly lend him money.

He turns away and closes his door, saying "Seeya later, man!"

You decide to take the opportunity to take a shower and wear the school uniform. It isn't too formal, nor too restraining, and it feel fresh and comfortable on your skin.

You have about an hour before the beginning of your first class. You decide to visit the nurse.

You head for the Nurse office. You have to ask for directions a couple of times, but you eventually find it.
The nurse is surprisingly young, a tall man with a wide grin on his face.
"Welcome, Johnathan. Make yourself comfortable! How have you been?"

"Fine, apart from the holes in my memory">

A shadow passes through the nurse's face.
"I am sorry, Johnathan. I can not tell you more about it. And you came here at a dark time, too. Please don't mistake your classmates sadness for coldness." He smiles again "But I will be here all day if you need me! Now, I will just check you up and then you're free to go!"

The visit is quick, and you're off the hook shortly.

"Here, John: this is your wallet. The school will provide for most expenses, but you have a monthly allowance of 50 000 yen for other things. By the way, it's still early for class, why don't you visit the school facilities? You have half an hour, you can head for the library or for the track"


You ask direction for the running track, and the Nurse is happy to provide for them.

"If you see a tiny girl with puppy eyes bent on running faster than the light, tell her I say hi!", he says smiling. "She's a very nice girl, I am sure you will be friends in no time!"

The nurse office isn't so far away from the running track. There is, indeed, a tiny girl running. She barely notices you.
But you have the time to observe her. Her eyes are wide open, her hair is made into a ponytail. She looks hellbent.
It's only after she's run her first lap that you notice she has no legs. She's running on prosthetics. The sheer willpower and strength flowing from this girl makes you feel uncomfortable.

Gradually, the girl slows down until she stops. You walk by and try to strike a conversation

"hey!"
"hello", she replies, coldly, the determined face turned into a mask of stone.
"The nurse said I could find you here."
"And you did"
Pause. The conversation is dead, you don't know how to proceed. The girl turns her back on you and starts stretching.
"He told me to greet you on his behalf"
"I will tell him you did just that", she says. Then, she gathers her stuff and leave.

If this is going to be the attitude of people towards you, then probably the hospital was better, you reason.

Resigned, you head into your class.
The professor is waiting outside.

"Oh, you must be the new student, Johnathan. I am Mutou, homeroom professor. Do you want to introduce yourself to the class?"

>"I don't think it's a good idea"

And who would think the opposite? You're an amnesiac for crying out loud, you don't remember anything about your past.

The professor brings you in and briefly introduces you to the class. Then he starts handing out assignments.

"Johnathan, we will work in groups. Find an open spot and join one".

The very second he says that, everybody starts looking intensely at their assignment and pretend you're not there.

You are seated next to a tall, dark girl, who seems to be a severe burn victim.
"Can we work together on this?", you ask.
The girl does not respond, but nods slightly.
You start working out the calculation and you're amazed that you can go through them almost effortlessly. Where does this mathematical knowledge come from? You have no clue. You can't remember.

You try to look at the girl sitting next to you. She's attractive, in her own way, but when she notices you looking at her, she stops right in her track.

You think that you've done something wrong, and go back to your calculations. A few minutes later your classmate just drops everything and leaves.
This makes you feel extremely uncomfortable.

As the bell rings and your put your pen down, you try to take a peek at the dead boy's desk. It has a picture of him on it, and flowers are laid on top of it. All your classmates get out of the class for lunch, but you have nowhere to go. You notice the girl who woke you up at the funeral pass by you, but you decide not to try to talk with her.
Your stomach grumbles, and you have to make a decision

>Follow the stream of people to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria is exceedingly spacious, probably to accomodate to student needs. Showing the school ID in your wallet is enough to earn you a free meal, but the food is lousy at best.

Sitting down to eat, all of a sudden you hear a sonorous laugher. You turn in the direction of it and you see a bubbly girl with pink drills. You look around see that most people are looking at her just like you are.
The girl seems to have realized that she has done something wrong, and shrinks in an attempt to disappear.
How curious: she's sitting with the strict girl from the funeral.

Lunchtime is over and you head back to the class. The afternoon lessons are boring, but you don't seem to have a problem in keeping up. It's your lack of motivation that is keeping you down.

As you head towards your room, you find Kenji standing there.

"Dude, do you have money now?"
"Kenji, you sure are a man with objectives", you say half sarcastically, but he doesn't seem to grasp it. He replies smugly "Of course! I am always on the ball! Always on the lookout! You ought to be too, mate! Let your guard down and they will kill you like they killed Hisao".

"They... killed Hisao?"

Kenji laughs, as if he wanted to mock you.
"What do you think, John? That people just jump off roofs for the fun of it? The truth is darker than that, my friend. And it will be your for the low low price of 400 yen!"
He puts his hand out in expectation
"And then if you wish you can come visit my room, where we'll discuss the details of Hisao's mysterious death"

>hand him the money but refuse to step in

You reluctantly hand him the money, scared that he might pursue you to hell and back just for some spare change, but decline his invitation to enter his room.

He looks dissatisfied, but lets you go on your way.

You find yourself wandering aimlessly in the school. No direction, no purpose. Yet somehow, you manage to enter what seems to be the school library.

A girl in her twenties is at the desk, writing on what seems to be a rather large register.

"Hello, I've never seen you before here. Are you a student"
"Yes, although I was transferred here recently"
Her face becomes sadder , but she tries to regain her composture

"Oh, hm, I see. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Not really, I didn't come here for the books"
"What brought you here, then?"
You take a deep breath. You're skeptical about talking openly about this with someone, but on the other hand, this is the only option to talk with someone who is not crazy that came up so far.

"Why do people hate me?"
The face of the librarian gets sadder
"We don't, I mean, they don't! We are just sad because... I mean they are sad... Oh no, you believe I hate you don't you? Please don't, I don't hate anyone, if you were to say something like that I could lose my job and I really need..."

You are hit by a torrent of words and you almost regret opening your mouth. Then all of a sudden she stops

"Can you please look over the desk? I need to take care of an errand, and I keep postponing it. It's nothing hard I promise, you just need to sit there and wait for me. I will be back!"

She rushes out of the library.You hadn't even agreed to anything and yet here you are. Apparently all the people you talk with are trying to force stuff down your throat. Especially this librarian and that Kenji dude, they'd make a perfect duo,you think.

Something catches your eyes while you're lost in thoughts.
A big set of keys seems to be laying on the desk. It has a tag "Keys-All rooms".

>ignore them

the keys look tempting but you decide against taking them.
They're probably more trouble than they're worth. For how little you know the librarian, you feel she's the kind of woman who could unleash the hounds on you and find no rest until you've atone till the very last of your sins.

You find this fantasy quite amusing, and you're violently brought back to reality by the librarian storming in.

"Oh there you are! Thank you! Thank you so much!" She bows down so quickly and recklessly that you start fearing for her own safety.

She straightens up again and smiles "My name is Yuuko, by the way. Who are you?"
"I am Johnathan"
"Nice to meet you, Johnathan. Do you like reading?"

You wonder if the librarian has forgot that you didn't come here for books, but decide to answer anyway.
"I guess, yeah. Though I couldn't name a book I enjoyed particularly"
"Well, the school library has quite a selection! Give a look around and don't hesitate to borrow any book you like!"

You decide that while you're here, you might as well pick up something. The selection is indeed impressive, and you decide to borrow a book about theories about the multiverse.

You register the book at Yuuko's desk and head out, just to witness the oddest scene so far in your new school: Kenji, running with his arms stretched out behind him, screaming at the top of his lungs.

>Try to follow him

You decide to dodge him by retreating briefly into the library.

"Something's wrong?", Yuuko asks.
You shake your head. "I just thought I dropped my ID, but I guess it's not here". You get out slowly and get cover by hiding behind the vending machine. You try to peek over it to check the hallway, but before you can do that, you hear footsteps coming from the direction Kenji was running from. You quickly withdraw your head and wait until the footsteps get further before trying to peek again.

You are not certain since they're giving you their backs, but you think the bubblegum-haired girl and the stern one are both heading towards the direction Kenji was running to.

It's not unrealistic to believe that Kenji was startled and in fear for his life when he saw those two approach, but you wonder why would he get out of his room to begin with.

Eventually, curiosity leads you to cautiously follow them from a distance.
You try to be stealthy and follow them from a distance, until the road leads to the exit to the running track.

The girls open the door and walk there.
You're maybe 20 steps behind them, using the corridor's turn as a cover. As they get further away into the track, you cautiously head for the last corridor.

Suddenly, a door opens and you're pulled in, a hand over your mouth to prevent you from screaming.

It's Kenji, with a finger in front of his lips, telling you to stay quiet.
"Calm down man, we can see what they're up to from this window right here. Just don't scream, ok? You'll blow our cover"

>Stay and watch.

You decide it's probably better to wait there for the time being.

"Kenji, my friend. Would you care to tell me just what the heck is going on?"
"SHHSH!". Silenced abruptly, you feel rage rising in you, but eventually you come to think Kenji was right: you hear more footsteps headed to the running track. Two people, if the sound isn't tricking you, plus what sounds like a metal stick.

"They're still around. Don't talk until it's safe. Here, wear these". He hands you a set of headphones, connected by a black wire God knows where to. You notice he's wearing them too, while he uses what looks like a rather sophisticated binoculars to observe through the window the odd meeting taking place in the running track.

He is crouching behind a table and you do the same, trying to catch a glimpse of what's going on, but you can barely make out some human figures standing in the middle of the track.

"4,5,6, one's missing. Eheh, I will be that number 7!"
"Is it safe to talk now?"
"Of course! Do you take me for a fool?"
'Yes, the biggest one I've met so far', you think, but decide not to say. "See man? You should have listened to me. You should have listened to me all along. We could have stopped this blood rite".
"Blood rite? What?"
"Yeah man. Don't worry, we'll hear every word they say and come out at the most opportune time. I've installed some hidden microphones in the track, they're connected to our headsets. They're done for, we've busted 'em".

The more you hear him rambling the more this makes you uncomfortable

>Spy them from Kenji's hideout

"No, no, no. Misha: refer to Shizune. We've been going over this. Only those involved will contribute to the Reality Marble used to keep innocent students out of this. If we use their life energy then there's no point in protecting them to begin with."
The words coming from the radio just make no sense.
"Kenji, my friend, my sole friend, my dear friend: I don't get anything. What is going on?"
A dark grin spreads on his face. "An ancient, dark and forbidden ritual is taking place. I've been studying this for a lifetime but I didn't ever think it would occur to me. The girls gathered in the track are going to summon seven demons from the Depths of Hell, then fight each other to death. Of course there's a problem. Well more than one. First, they can't agree how to fight without harming others. Pfft, as they will stick to it. They just want the power of the demons to establish a feminist tyrannocracy. Second, they need seven people, and they're only six. I Will claim the last demon and fight against them to protect all men!"
You are about to explain Kenji that he's talking gibberish again, that they're probably just discussing school-related subjects, when you hear something that petrifies you.
"Fair point, Shicchan, very true, very true, wahaha. Come on, Kenji, new guy, get out of there. Did you really think we wouldn't know you were there?"

Panic overtakes Kenji, who takes a leap back and breaks his headphones. You still don't believe Kenji's odd ideas about blood rites, so you just decide to get up and get out.
"What are you doing man? They're gonna kill you!"
"Yeah, sure. Listen, you said you would come out at the most opportune time. I think that time's now". You get out and close the door, but you hear it opening again as Kenji is determined to follow you.

Six girls stand in the track, just like Kenji said.


My, my", says a tall, blonde girl, with a metal sticks in her hand. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"Yes, we were. My apologies."
The girl chuckles. You see the girl you saw earlier today at the running track, with a strange and maddened expression on her face.

"So you admit to your crimes? You admit to trying to get involved into matters that are bigger than you. Much, much bigger"

"Look, honestly I just followed Kenji here and..."

"Were you, or were you not trying to spy on us, newbie? Give us a straight answer"

You take a deep breath. "Yes, we were"

"Very well", she says calmly. "Then, DIE!"

She produces a sharp knife out of nowhere. You lead your hands in front of you and close your eyes, to brace for impact.
The noise of metal against metal surprises you, as much as the sudden pain you feel in your hand. You open your eyes slowly and touch the hand in pain with your other hand, trying to check for blood loss, but you can't feel anything. What you do see, however, is a red tattoo that was never before on the back of you hand.

And, even more impressively, a tall, dark figure, completely covered in metal, with a drawn sword used to block the legless girl's knife.

"Not very knightly of you", he comments, in a deep and stern voice.

"Who-just who the hell are you?", stutters the limbless girl.

He pays no attention to her however, as he turns his back on her and kneels in front of you with his sword planted on the ground.

"I heeded your call. Now, tell me: are thou my Master?".