Prologue

"Well, don't just stand there…!"

"Give me a second, I'm just going over my approach…"

"Your appro- what are you even talking about? It's not rocket science for goodness sake. Get on with it!"

"Would you calm down woman? Look, it's not-"

"I'm calm."

"Fine. Good. As I was saying, you have to understand, this sort of… activity isn't exactly my forte. It's only natural that I'd be hesitant."

"Activity? Your forte? It's just talking to a girl, everyone does this every day! Even you! Hey, guess what? You're doing it right now!"

"Fair point, however, this is in my native language, of which I am very confident. English, not so much. Second, I know you, that girl is a stranger. Very different. Third, and most importantly, I'm not trying to seduce you into giving me clandestine access to a private libra-"

"Hehehe~"

"Something funny? We can leave right now and have tell each other jokes all day back at the inn if you really want a laugh."

"No no no- I wasn't lau-he- *ahem* I wasn't laughing. Sorry, jeez."

"Right. Anyways, the point is, I'm no fool; I recognize the fact that, relatively speaking, I'm not particularly handsome if you-"

"Nothing particular about it. You're not handsome, period."

"..."

"Sorry! Sorry, it just came out! Don't leave! Come back! I didn't mean it!"

"So you think I'm handsome?"

"Hah? Is that really the kind of man you are Hikio? Holding magic tomes over a woman's head for compliments?!"

"Yes."

"Ha… fine. Just a second."

"...What are you doing?"

"What? I can't in good conscience compliment a person's looks with so much evidence to the contrary in plain view."

"Oi..."

"So let's see. Cover one eye… tilt my head about… 30, 40 degrees? Turn a bit to the left… look down ju~st a little…! Cover the other eye a~nd… there! Now you're just as handsome as any movie star!"

"...Well, it's more than I would have gotten from Yukinoshita at least."

"You see? Roll with the punches! Girls love those witty responses you always give!"

"No, they don't. That's just what girls say to the guys they've put in the friendzone. Source- "

"You?"

"No. By definition, being in the friendzone necessitates being friends in the first place."

"...Wow. Now even I'm losing hope in this whole thing."

"Having hope to begin with was your first mistake."

"Just get in the bar and… I don't know, try to get by with pity or something."

"Pity? Acute discomfort and emotional manipulation sure, but I don't do pity."

"You do. Trust me."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, alright?! Now can you stop stalling already and get enter the damn bar? She's gonna leave at this rate!"

"And what a pity that would be. You might not learn how to burn both my eyebrows off as opposed to just the one."

"Would you let that go already? It grew back months ago!"

"But my wounded pride has still yet to heal."

"Stop stalling!"

"I'm not stalling, you're stalling."

"Hikio please… I really want that book…"

"Hah? A new tactic? We're not teenagers anymore Miura. You can't just look at me with that expression and- hey! Too close!"

"Please Hikio-kun?"

"I won't- I won't be manipulated like this! You're even still calling me Hikio! And for God's sake woman, you're too close!"

"Please Ha-"

"Don't."

"Chi-"

"I mean it!"

"Man~"

"...!"

"Ah! What's this?! You're already ha- "

"Fine! I'm going! I'm going! Jeez…"

"Thanks! Hehee...!"

"Ugh…"

"Stop being so tense! Just talk to her like you do to me and you'll be fine!"

"Yeah yeah… wait, doesn't that-?"

"Break a leg."

"Okay! Oi, I can move by myself!"

As Hikio pushed open the door to the semi high-end drinking establishment, I leaned back on the alley wall and let out a deep breath. Damn was he exhausting to deal with. I fidgeted slightly with my cloak and blinked at the direction of the doorway, mindful to keep myself out of sight of patrons within. I sighed again.

Had it really been less than a year since we left - or rather, arrived? So many things had happened in such a relatively small span of time that I still found it strange to imagine that things like indoor plumbing or smartphones were such mainstays of my life for so long. Things that I'd never thought I'd be able to live without. Things I thought would never change.

I extended a hand palm up in front of me and watched as solitary embers crackled to life, coalescing into a small flame the size of a tennis ball. I stared at the fire as it bent and danced in futile defiance to the feeble yet omnipresent winds that acted upon it. Sooner or later, even a raging inferno will be snuffed out by the tides of change. You can struggle, you can ignore, you can even-

"Geh!" I faulted, "Was I just monologuing?!"

I hastily extinguished the blaze in my hand, glancing about for prying eyes. I sighed a third time.

Wait… a third time?

"Argh, I really am turning into him!" I lamented, shifting my leg in an effort to correct my standing posture, only to feel something soft give way beneath the heel of my boot. It moved in protest.

I paled, refusing to look down, lest I see the one thing I dreaded most in this world and the previous. A split-second later, I heard a telltale squeak and my fears were confirmed. Only, to my horror, the cry was answered by a chorus of high pitched responses, originating from beneath the wall I was leaning against.

Rats. Dozens if not hundreds of them. Moments away from either fleeing or giving chase.

I didn't even have time to whimper.

I'm no angel. I've done lots of things I would never admit to - things I'm not proud of.

...

Still though!

Did the afterlife have to be this bad?!

Hello readers. I'll be brief. This is my first published story, and my second fanfiction I've written in general. This isn't much of a chapter, but it is a taste of things to come. I'll be the first to admit I'm not the best writer out there, but I'm planning to use this story to learn and improve. I'm not going to ask for a review - though feel free to anyways - because again, there isn't much to review. That said, the next chapter will be coming soon. Have a good one.

Cheers,
Syclone903