It began to rain softly as everyone was in the tunnel. I decided to wait behind. I enjoyed the rain and listening to the patter of droplets against green leaves and rusty trains... was soothing to me. I closed my eyes and the rain became all-encompassing for a few seconds.

“Can we talk?” Tatsuki’s voice came from behind me. I looked back at her as she came to stand next to me.

“Everything is just so... everything’s changed. Life after death, invisible monsters, pockets of negative emotions. How am I supposed to just accept that?” she asked, face frowning.

“One step at a time, I guess. Would you rather not know?” I asked softly. Tatsuki’s head shook once.

“No, I don’t run away from things. I can punch things but how can I use that to keep my Mom safe? Or Orihime? What else is out there just waiting to step out from the shadows?” she asked mostly herself that question.

Oh, that list goes on and even I only know so much.

I held my hand out to the rain, letting drops pool in my hand.

“You find the right way to go and you don’t look back. Your fist? It’s just as good as Chisai’s sword or Maria’s faith or my weird powers. Just punch hard enough and nothing can stay standing,” I grinned and focused. My Energy stat coming in clutch as the water slowly started to move in streams until it made a ball of water.

“Try hard enough and reality is what you make of it,” I promised. She stared at the ball of water. She prodded it and dropped to the ground in a splash.

She was quiet for a moment.

“Just don’t lie or mess me about. I’ll help because if Maria is right then I have to get stronger. Just don’t pull me in and leave me behind when I don’t do what you want or give up my life. I have people needing me too,” Tatsuki said and met my eyes.

“Just don’t rush ahead or get too angry not to listen, and we have a deal,” I offered my hand. Tatsuki eyed it before she sighed, shaking it.

“Deal, now... can you explain the giant ant?” she put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.

I held back a chuckle as Tatsuki had been a bit nervous to approach the curious King.

“She’s like the mother of the group. She stopped a train from hurtling us off into the abyss by suplexing it,” I began to explain as we headed back down to gather the group.

“What? Are you yanking my chain?” she demanded.

“What? No! King is a Mom, she has kids,” I promised. The glare I got made me grin.

---

The school at dusk was a little calmer than at night.

“Yeah, we’ll have to be careful, because someone stuck papers in front of all the cameras, so... a security guard was hired,” Tatsuki explained to the group. Maria nodded.

“Grouchy guy,” she agreed. Chisai shrunk in on himself but I distracted the group by pondering what to do aloud.

“We need inside, but... risking the police coming, or your guys' education, isn’t something I want. You two go here so I want to be careful,” I pointed out. Tatsuki blinked before she raised a brow.

“Caring about our education? Nice of you, but I got this,” she promised and pushed open the gate.

“Wait here,” she told us before vanishing inside to talk to a man that appeared from around the corner. Tatsuki talked to him and showed him a card. The man went to an office and returned a few minutes later giving her a nod before he walked off.

We were staring as she came back out.

“Can your Portal meet us in the gym hall? I have permission to train for an upcoming tournament so my name is down for late access up to 8 pm,” she explained.

“Ah... permission. Makes me all tingly inside,” Maria said dryly. We trailed after her and the Portal was already waiting inside the gym for us.

“Tatsuki, until we get a gem or a weapon, best you stick behind us,” I suggested. Tatsuki went to a storage closet and returned with a bat.

“I’m good,” she disagreed. I wanted to mention that it wouldn’t last long but decided it would save time arguing by just hurrying up to get her a gem. If she killed something, then she was already good to go.

“Did you get your Stats written down?” I asked as we landed in the Safe Zone. Tatsuki looked slowly around in silence until she eyed the door that lead to the abyss.

“Yeah...” she said distractedly and went to the door. I didn’t stop her. Like burning your finger, you just had to learn it yourself. She poked her head out and went rigid.

“They were real...” she gasped and pulled back as her left eye started twitching violently.

“Are they still knitting or cleaning up the sick from last time?” Maria asked brightly. Tatsuki put a hand to her eye as the twitch danced on. I eyed what Tatsuki had written on the paper.

Tatsuki Arisawa

The Undeveloped Fist

Stats: Strength, Chi, Spiritual, WillPower

Strength: High pain tolerance. Strong mind. High combat arts.

Weakness: Mundane human. Temper. Overprotective.

Strongest skill: Unarmed

Weakest: Spiritual arts

It was about what I expected, but the stat of chi and willpower was interesting.

“Are we going back to the library?” Chisai asked and I thought about it.

“It does sort of feel like a good location, but we can take our time and scout. The key to mazes is just keep turning right. Maria saw stairs before the library so let's find them then work backwards,” I suggested.

We took off as I took the lead, Maria and Tatsuki in the middle, and Chisai the rear. The spirit could create walls if something tries to come up behind, and the idea of leaving the healer and underpowered new member vulnerable to back attacks was off-putting. Just in case, I had King on Maria’s shoulder, ready to expand in a hurry to double as a tank.

The hallways were a bit too narrow for the giant ant and the group at the same time.

We turned right after right. I used a Sacred Orb to light the way and the first few were empty dead ends. One had a simple bulletin board with all the posters ripped away. Deep claws had left scars in the cork. I turned to leave but Maria walked over to it and pulled it off the wall.

There was a yellow gem buried into the stone behind it.

“That’s two hidden gems for Maria, none for Russ!” she cheered. I tried to protest that I had found a red gem in the hospital, but was told it didn’t count since she wasn’t around to find it first.

“So this one gives money?” Tatsuki asked, peering at the crystal. King went up and dug it out carefully until it broke free. It was a G-4 yellow.

I loved higher level zones.

“Anything if the gem is strong enough!” Chisai corrected. I handed it to Tatsuki whose eyes had gone wide.

“I can make it become the lost episode of ‘Chan Lee: The Silver fist of the South’?!” she demanded. I gave her a levelled look.

“Uh... R-right. A weapon or something,” she chuckled nervously. She crushed it, with her eyes focused.

Her arms glowed to slowly reveal two leather gloves that went over her hands and had black metal points on her knuckles with what seemed like padding on the inside. Her fingers were left exposed.

I gave them a look over.

Striking Gloves of the Rock. Weapons. Glove. G-3: A pair of firm leather martial gloves that have had polished black stone added to the knuckles. Protection on the inside is made from deer tail hair. The stone itself was fished from a pure river. Strikes felt like a brick is hitting you.

Tatsuki stared as the appeared.

“Holy shit,” she whispered. Maria poked her.

“If we find some spare low yellows later, you can get your episode thing!” she said kindly.

“So next gem is Maria’s, then it's back to Chisai, then me, and back to Tatsuki,” I told them. No one had any issues but I stared at the clawed board with a hint of nervousness.

---

Tatsuki’s fist cracked the face of a Doll. It’s empty features folded in on itself and then deflated. I had my shield raised as Tatsuki spun with a deadly kick, sending the next Doll right into my acid cloak covered mace. Chisai came in from the side and ran it through with his sword. The one Maria had tied up had King chopping its head off, died at the same time due to the shared damage. Behind Chisai’s Tombstone, the cut off horde scratched, trying to break through with little luck.

X3 Sheep Dolls defeated! 42 EXP!

“Chisai! Lower the wall a foot!” I told him. We were pinned in at a dead end, but oddly it worked in our favour as we cut a few off from the main group and Tatsuki made being on the front line so easy.

Anytime I bashed or blocked an attack, she was in there hitting. At first she was hesitant, but when one touched her, she went ballistic once the emotion numb effect wore off. They didn’t have bones in their necks to snap but Tatsuki made it seem just as bad.

I made a Refined Sacred Bomb, and tossed it over the edge. Chisai sealed it up, the wall shook violently as an explosion rocked the hall.

X4 Sheep Dolls defeated! 56 EXP!

“There was five left, so one survived!” Maria called out. Chisai focused, and the wall fell forward as it was disconnected from the ground. I was surprised when I saw he had soaked up so much material at one side, he had basically cut it loose by making it stronger or thicker. The wall toppled forward and there was a splat.

1X Sheep Doll defeated! 14 EXP!

Tatsuki looked at him and shook her head.

“For a shy guy, you kind of smushed them,” she remarked. Chisai blushed, but he looked damn pleased with himself.

“But if there's a gem in the corpses, we’re going to have to lift the slab,” Maria pointed out. King took care off that, as she slowly flipped the fallen cracked wall on to its side, and leaned it against the hallway wall.

Like lifting a piece of toast off another piece with melted cheese in the middle... Gooey strands of Dolls stretched and snapped, as the wall lifted..

“Ew...” Maria wrinkled her nose. There was a single red gem and which Maria eyed dubiously.

The strands dissolved as our aura took care of them. Maria plucked the gem and nodded.

“It’s my gem and I could do anything I want with it,” she told me, and then threw it to Tatsuki.

“It’s a welcome to the ‘Antventurers’ gift!” she grinned. I didn’t argue. Maria was right to do whatever she wanted with her gems. Tatsuki looked surprised and then gave a friendly grin.

“I’ll use it to punch anything creep that comes after you,” she promised and crushed it. Her grin slipped off her face, and she grasped at her head.

“You weren’t… kidding about the pain!” she hissed. Maria had her healed as she prayed, which Tatsuki looked thankful for.

“Maria? How about me and you just become good friends and never leave each other’s side? That stung,” she complained. She eyed a screen that only she could see.

“Raging fist? It’s a active skill... uh,” Tatsuki read slowly.

“Strike a foe with a fiery fist. Says the cost is cheap and can be double cast for both hands. The more angry I feel, the more damage I do,” she shrugged, not sure what to make of it.

She flexed a hand, a slightly feral grin on her face, as the hand was covered in a weak flicker of heat.

We set off and continued to explore. The first floor only seemed to have the library, which didn’t go anywhere, and was cleaned out by King before hand. So, with little choice, we climbed the stairs.

Maria sent out her scout once more, and her findings were a little disturbing. I had King wait at the bottom of the stairs to warn us if something came.

“Classrooms look like giant machines. The halls have eyes everywhere... it’s too much,” she winced and the eyepatch faded, no doubt with the drone as well.

“At least, the skill levelled. Increased sync...” she mumbled. I frowned and we edged to the first classroom in the empty hall. Inside there was indeed a machine. White outlines shaped like people sat in desks facing a machine with two hatches.

I watched as a claw on a grid above picked one outline and dropped it into the machine from above. On one side, Doll was squeezed out and on the other, a fluid was drained into the ceiling. The Doll was pushed down a hatch to the lower floor. The empty seat glowed and a new outline took its place.

This process was repeated again and again until one of the outlines came out... wrong. A tattered cloaked beast of some kind emerged howling and screaming from the machine. The black cloak concealed what it looked like, except for the blue taut skin on four clawed legs, tipped with black nails.

I observe it like my life depended on it.

Sealed Beast of Rebellion. Monster. G-5: An untainted student who resented the chains placed on it. Still unable to true express itself, it has turned twisted by the pressure on it and has turned mindless and murderous. It rebels but it cannot escape. It hurts others to feel something.

What happened next made Maria gasp. Chisai pulled her into him to shield her from the sight as the beast tore up the seats, the machine, and the outlines. Each one making a very human scream.

“It’s gone mad...” Tatsuki grimaced. I watched as it fed on the outlines, tasting the fluid the machine drained. The cloak bulged slightly as it grew.

“And that’s why it’s sealed. It’s gonna turn into a thug or a criminal in the making. It needs to die!” I told my group seriously.

It turned, sniffing under its hood before it saw us.

“Fido looks pissed,” Maria said and began to back away. It did sort of look dog-like, but the legs were closer to a horse. It charged at the door and Chisai pointed, chanting his spell

His pale lightning spell smashed into it and it screamed. I was impressed, but my reaper wasn’t done. He clapped his hands and the floor shot up as the creature was smashed into the ceiling.

“Had to... double-spend to make it instant,” he panted. I went in, mace flying, as the rebel beast tore at the wall and it crumbled, becoming free. Tatsuki was by my side, and she exploded her hands into fists of flame before she hit the creature’s jaw, a loud crack sounding out.

The Rebel beast reared back stunned for a second then it lashed out with a swipe of that claw. I was ready and took most it on my shield. Tatsuki moved around and smashed both her fists into the leg.

It snapped. The beast moved back, but Maria’s chain appeared and it began to tangle, the spikes tearing into its hidden flesh.

It rolled and Maria was yanked in before she let go of her chain. I brought Frostflame down on it. The thing was bulky and just didn’t want to die. It snapped at Tatsuki, about to get her leg, when Chisai got his Sai spell off, super focused on the maw of the creature. It snapped shut, bound in spiritual chains.

We worked in tandem and the beast was downed as every limb was blocked, then snapped. Sai spells and whips kept it pinned, as Tatsuki and I rained blows down.

It was a little anticlimactic. Despite Tatsuki sometimes overextending and Chisia panicking a little when he had to use his sword...

We had won.

I marvelled at what having a second DPS was like. In general, I just enjoyed having a team. I imagined facing that thing alone and shivered.

The thing jerked, and vomited up a Violet Gem. The room went quiet then Maria spoke up.

“It’s Chisai’s turn,” she said in such a happy voice I was sure she secretly rubbing her hands.

Tatsuki looked at her oddly.

“I forget, what does this one do?” she inquired as the classroom settled and became a Safe Zone.

Essence Sucker Room is now a Safe Zone!

“It makes men into frogs and women into mice,” I grinned. Chisai gingerly took it.

“Should I use it now?” he asked the group. Maria fluttered her eyelashes.

“Chisai, I would want nothing else in the world right now,” she promised him. He crushed it and he blinked.

“Oh,” he said and then collapsed.

“You guys are mean,” Tatsuki chided as she put her jacket under his head. Maria smiled but was healing him to speed his recovery. I grabbed a chair and looked at waiting messages. The first two were surprising.

Rebel Beast defeated! 40 EXP

Quest found! Find and defeat the five rebels of Kurakara High! Victims as much as monsters, these mad beasts need stopped before they tread a path they can’t take back! 250 EXP! One white gem! Optional Boss unlocked!

Kura... kara? Lovely, it was the reverse school.

Chisai groaned so I ignored the rest to see if he was okay. He sat up and rubbed his head.

“Owie...” he moaned. He looked up to see us staring back in surprise.

“What?” he asked as his two furry brown dog ears twitched. It reminded me of German Shepherds. He looked completely normal except the ears. Then he stood and something swished at his lower back.

“Everything is so loud!” he covered his human ears which seemed to do nothing.

“Oh my God,” Maria whispered, as Tatsuki touched the ears making Chisai yelp.

‘Fluffy’... was all I could think.