Chapter 1: ROSEWOOD ACADEMY
"There are several worlds in our universe which we know nothing about and have no access to, however there are two gates leading to the known world's here on earth" an unknown voice said coming from behind. A man stood perched in the shadowy corner of the room.
Blinding light came from above and disoriented the individuals that had just woken up to find their limbs bounded to metallic chairs in a bare white tiled room. Their eyes had barely adjusted when a high pitched noise rang from speakers at the top corners of the room nearly bursting their eardrums, groans escaped from their parted lips and some looked like they'd puke any minute now.
"Sorry bout that, had to make sure you were awake for what I'm about to say" he sauntered to the front, taking his time to look each of them in the face so they could see his. For one thing, he didn't look sorry at all, instead he looked to be having the time of his life.
"There's still a lot of work to do, paperwork, myth contracts, measurements for your suits and decision time allocation, though if you asked me I'd say there's no need for that last one because I already know what all your answers are gonna be; Yes." he had a slight smirk from that last part which only made them confused as to what was going on, where were they and who this man was.
" So, I'm just going to give the general speech now to not waste time on it later by saying: Welcome to the center or how we're more professionally known as, Equinox".
{10 hours earlier}
[[Aokigahara, Japan]]
The driver sped down the windy forest road, autumn leaves trailed where they passed and colors of red, orange and slight green greeted the window he stared out of.
Fall was his favorite season, the colors brought so much life to the world around which was ironic considering it was the death of life itself, but there was something melancholic and sad in the season that bloomed in a beautiful way. It made him feel at ease with no worry or care in a chaotic world.
The driver—David—also liked the season, but not for the same reasons as the boy in the back seat, he liked it cause it was another excuse to see his kids who also went to the school. They didn't let the children have visitors unless it was the end of the school term, but being the school's designated driver that transports new arrivals to the school once they've landed, has additional perks of being able to catch sight of them running around. They'd purposely come closer of the wall Stella to see him and pretend they were running around.
David was preoccupied with the thoughts of his children but didn't fail to see the boy with a forlorn expression on his face, guilt engulfed him at the sight he saw from the front view mirror, just thinking of the long weeks the boy would have to spend in those four Grey walls. The view of the outside world teasing him with the knowledge that he can't escape those walls till the end of the year.
"Hey, excuse me for interrupting but you don't seem too excited for your new school", There wasn't much to be excited about in Rosewood but it could be any other ordinary boarding school with the right people to call friends, otherwise it'd be a state level prison.
Grey eyes turned to look at his green ones through the mirror and a ghost of a smile adorned his lips, "Sorry, I guess I don't really know what to expect".
"Well it's a very big international school, and oh I'm sure you've heard of that before though, silly me" he stop himself before hestarted a robotic description of the school you could find on the internet, he smiled sheepishly and turned back to the road. The ash haired boy didn't bother responding, not to be rude but he just didn't know how to, he had done a lot of research on the school in the administrators cramped office space at the orphanage, but the facts about the school were all general knowledge everyone knew, there was nothing there of what to expect as a student, except that it was the best school in the world at the moment and was located in a slightly problematic place; in Aokigahara, Japan.
Known as the "Sea of trees", but referred to by many as "the sea of bodies", Aokigahara is a forest in Japan infamous for being a suicide attractor. A lot of people thought the cause to be the work of demons and spirits and others thought to be its reputation. When you're known for being the suicide capital, people would feel inclined to pick you as their death spot. The fact that it was chosen as a school site for children baffled the world, but he had also read that they were the strictest and safest school in said world so they must have a system in place to safeguard them or just well paid security.
"I went to this school you know" he said trying another approach, a more intimate one he hoped would resonate well with him. "Not much to say other than the strict overbearing schedules they set kids in, but with friends around the entertainment will never stop and before you know it, time will fly by and you look back asking where it's all gone to".
He seriously doubted that would happen, he hadn't stayed in one location for more than a week and the highest being eight days total. Schools, orphanages, foster homes, they all give him up as soon as he gets there, he's gotten so used to it that he doesn't bother unpacking. There was something a bit different this time—he could tell—it was a feeling at the back of his head he ignored and chalked up to be hope, for what? He didn't know but he did know that no matter what, he'd live by the one rule that's kept him alive till now; Don't get attached.
Sigh "I can't really do much, but I'm sure you'd feel lost in a big school so why don't I try and sneak you something when I come by next week? I'm supposed to deliver a package straight to the head master's office and if you're around there by 2pm, I'm sure I can pass you something to keep you busy" He didn't know why he was willing to risk everything for this boy, but he knew that a school like this wouldn't be the comfort a boy who grew in the conditions that this one did—needed.
"I won't be here next week so you wouldn't have to bother about me, thank you for trying though" is what he wanted to say but refrained from it to avoid probing questions, instead he nodded and gave a curt smile then resumed his newfound hobby; staring out the window.
They had come to a part in the forest where the trees thinned and passed a bricked gate that read the school's name on it, that meant they were already on the school grounds.
The car stopped suddenly and he looked up to find out what was wrong, David said "Sorry, but there's no charted road from beyond here, we'll have to walk the rest of the way".
They got down with his school bags that weren't much except for a small box that was barely full and his school bag. A stream stretched out beneath the bridge and brightly colored koi fish swan happily along against the current.
They walked for five minutes in the slightly damp forest, the smell of rain that fell a few hours prior greeted their nostrils in a welcoming way. He intended to look at the sky to check for signs of rain, but caught a glimpse of a bricked tower belonging to the school. Not much longer after that, they came face to face with the main entrance, "Ah here we are, I'll drop your bag off at Port so you can go right in".
A bricked wall that looked to be almost 12 foot was the only thing that could be seen from the gate, it had and arched opening that revealed more space on the other side of it. "That's wall Stella, from there you could go to Admin and get everything you need" he informed him and suddenly started waving at two distant figures lurking about the gate".
They turned around to check their surroundings and ran full sprint at them, "POP!!" they screamed in unison and jumped on their father.
"Hey boys, how ya doing?" he said and ruffled their ginger heads one at a time. Immediately, they started talking at once and speaking over each other. "Ok ok hold on, I don't have much time today because I'm dropping off another student that's arriving in the evening, but I'm stopping by next week to deliver a package so you can tell me everything you want to on the way, is that alright with you two?".
Ginger hair swayed frantically as they nooded and turned to face they boy," Oh this is the new student, I don't see Taro anywhere around so can you please show him to the secretaries office?" he said and oce he'd gotten confirmation from the both of them, turned to face the other boy and said "These are my twins—George and Gin—they will help you around, that's usually the ground keeper's job—but he isn't here right now".
He just nodded his head and mouthed a quiet thank you to him, before turning to walk deeper into the school, "Oh wait I didn't ask your name yet, I'm David in case I haven't mentioned yet".
His reply came short but polite, a gift to a man he might never see again "Leonidas".
David smiled at this, he wasn't really expecting answer but was glad he got one. There was something sad at the retreating form of the boy, David couldn't wait till he could check up on him. He had the idea to bring something sweet for encouragement to keep going next time.
"Welcome to Rosewood academy Leonidas" He said to the retreating figure of the three boys.