That Unusual Time Of Day For starters, this is basically a story based off of my previous dreams, considering I get them so often, I've decided to jot them down. Fortunately for you, however, these episodic, adventure of the day kind of, events will be in chronological order, unlike how my dreams tend to present them. The narrator of the story takes after my name, Mayolo Cruz, some of you may already know my name whereas others may have just stumbled upon this piece of work accidentally. And so without further ado, I shall pull up the curtains to reveal my master piece... Enjoy... ---------- There's things in #life that are most certainly explainable. But this? I'm not too sure what 'this' even was... I'm ordered around by a demonic bitch and accompanied by a scrawny guy most likely a year younger than me, I have a magic sword, and I'm fighting against demonic creatures allegedly named the Reversed, those that feed on negativity. Though I can't explain the why's just yet, I can, however, explain the how's. It all started with me waking up at school. The time was 127pm, and my IPod was flashing the message, "Welcome to the business of Reaping! You're probably wondering what the fuck you've gotten yourself in to, but don't worry about it, your questions shall be answered by an informant/guardian that we shall be sending your way shortly." At first I gave the message little thought considering I was more worried about the strange marks on my left wrist, I wasn't aware of how I got them at the moment but they certainly stung something fierce if I even lightly bumped them on something. Of course what could only be done was to hide and forget as there was no viable solution that was presentable just yet, so the day continued as normal. ---------- Math was relatively easy off today so our teacher gave us a break and left us to ourselves, it was then when I got another message from this mysterious number. "Would you prefer if the informant spoke to you now? Or later? A.) now B.) later" Although last time the reply option was disabled, this time was different, it asked me a direct question whereas I could only reply in multiple choice answers. Being curious as to what would happen should I say yes, I said "A" Within seconds of sending the message, the door broke down and a blonde woman popped in. She had long blonde hair, a red dress, red glasses, her eyes were a dark shade of green. She also happened to have a revolver in her hands. She immediately looked over to me and signaled me to follow her. In bewilderment I pointed to myself and said, "Me?..." Her response was quick "Yes, you, hurry up already." Without delay I stood up took my things and left, that gun looked pretty convincing... I could of sworn a good chunk of the class was mouthing the words "What... The... Fuck?..." ---------- The walk with her was quick as she certainly walked fairly quickly. After we arrived at the school gates, I asked "okay, soooo who exactly are you?..." "Oh yes that's right..." she replied as she pulled out a notecard from a pocket I certainly never noticed. "Dear Mayolo Cruz, you have chosen to partake in reaping due to a deal you've made with the boss man, your first assignment begins tomorrow morning with a time limit of exactly 9 hours. Should you fail, you shall be sentenced to an everlasting hell, should you accomplish the assignment, you'll be able to keep your sorry ass for the remainder of the week. Your assigned informant/guardian will answer most of the questions you have... Proceed to smile at customer..." and then she proceeded to smile a smile that could literally win an award for how fake it was. After two seconds she dropped the smile and then said, "Questions?... Cause we're gonna be stuck together for a while so you might as well get everything out now." "Let's start of with names, you obviously know me, so what's your name?" "Name's Risa, Mayo, get it memorized..." she responded in a quirky tone. "Then let me analyze this, I made a deal with who exactly?..." "That I can't answer actually, we're never exactly given the information on a Reaper's deal, it's something you realize on your own." "Reaper?" I asked puzzled. "Those who engage in a deal with the boss man are to offer their services fighting Reversed, those who offer their services for battle in exchange for something are called 'Reapers' and are branded with the same marks you bear on your wrist" she explained. "I suppose that explains this..." I added. "Anything else?" "Yes, what exactly are Reversed?..." "Reversed are creatures that feed and thrive off of negativity, whether it's something like physical waste or negative emotions and even dirty thoughts, these creatures devour it. They were originally created long ago to cure the planet of its waste problem, but when they broke out and started killing people they were annihilated and their god was sealed away, though something has most certainly gone wrong as the Reversed are running amok once more..." "Excuse me, but god?..." I asked. "A celestial being named Andromeda, It is their god because it controls these creatures that were originally driven on instinct. He can spawn more of them and has immense strength, of course long ago he was sealed away never to be disturbed, The Reversed soon died off but how they arrived once more is still a mystery." "So what exactly is this assignment?" I asked. "All reapers are given an assignment based on their location, an assignment is basically a mission to hunt a level three tier Reversed under the allotted time limit." she explained. "Wait... There's tiers? Is there like some sort of catalog of all the Reversed?" I asked. "There is no written book on them but their symbol changes based on their tier, it's fairly conspicuous and you should be able to identify the tiers quite easily since there's only four of them." "Care to explain these tiers?" "The first tier are the level one Reversed, these ones usually generally operate on instinct or command and don't really pose much of a threat, they're much like canon falter. Level two Reversed operate strictly on command and are more powerful than the level one's. Level three Reversed are the ones that command the lower tiers, they are much stronger than the lower tiers and can generally leave a big path of destruction if they go unchecked. They're a force that shouldn't be underestimated, but they tend to mess with people first before killing them, which I still find rather odd... The fourth and final tier is simply referred to as the 'god' tier. Andromeda is the only Reversed that is part of this tier." "Well that's certainly interesting..." I responded. "Done?" she asked. "So what do you do as my informant/guardian?..." "I just guide you to your next assignment, and provide some help with assignments." "Well that's nice to know." It was then when the final bell rang. "I guess that's all the time we have for questions then, tomorrow's your assignment and from here on out we're sticking together." Said Risa. "Wait, so you're just going to follow me wherever I go?" I asked. "Of course." she responded. "Isn't there any way you could follow me from afar? You don't exactly have a school ID." "I have to be near you at all times, who would help you in case you're attacked by Reversed, normal weapons phase through them." "Is there any possible way to make you invisible?..." She thought for a moment then lit up as if she had an idea, then began to concentrate. She then sunk through the floor and somehow merged with my shadow. After a few seconds my shadow looked exactly like her. "How does this work?" she asked. "Well at least you're not conspicuous." I responded. "I can even control you like this," she said "Just in case you are attacked I can move you out of danger." My arms began to move involuntarily. "Or you could just screw around..." I mumbled. "Shut up, I'm trying to get the hang of it. Your body's smaller than mine... "We'll do that at home, where there isn't people around." "Alright Mayo, lead the way." I began to walk over to the parking lot where my mother was to pick me up. Periodically I would look at my shadow. It certainly looked different staring at it. "What?..." Risa asked. "How do you do the whole shadow thing?" I asked. "This? Demonic powers I suppose." Her response being so nonchalant. "You? A demon? Don't demons kill people?" "Am I killing you?" she asked "...Touché..." "Well originally I was an Angel, but due to conflict way back then... Well things change." Risa explained "Sorry to hear that..." "Let's change the subject. What's your #life like?" she asked. "I'm a boring husk of a man. There's not much to it." "That's good, I guess Reaping won't have much of an effect on your social #life then." "What's that supposed to mean?..." I asked. "Most Assignments take you away from your hometown quite often." "For how long exactly?" "depends on how much time is allowed for the mission." "Where does tomorrow's mission take place?" "The beginning mission always takes place in your area, the rest will vary greatly. There will still be weeks where there is no mission and you will be allowed to do what you wish." "That's good to hear, I certainly don't want to abandon my friends." "I suppose so..." she responded. "Why did you have a gun earlier?" I asked. "Oh that, well Reversed attacks can occur at any time, so this gun helps to dispatch them with a single bullet." "A one hit one kill?" "Basically." "Sounds pretty useful. Why would you need Reapers if you have that?" "There's only six bullets in this gun and the bullet's cannot be reconstructed by anyone but Angels." "Well then..." ---------- The ride home was just like any other day. When we got home, there was no homework to be done so I continued to play video games. "What are you doing?" Risa asked sitting beside me. "Playing Okami." I responded "O..Kami?..." "An awesome video game." "Interesting..." "Indeed." "Can I try?" "Sure I guess." After explaining to her the controls she seemed to enjoy it. It was fun watching her reaction to messing up from time to time, but after a while she got the hang of it. "Who knew animals could have their own video games." Said Risa. "Crazy isn't it?" I responded. "Do you have any more video games?" she asked. "Oh, of course." After a while she seemed to be getting into a little bit of everything. Eventually it started to get late. And then I realized that we had sat in that room from 2:45pm to 11:26 pm, playing video games. "I think we should just go to bed. Tomorrow is my assignment after all..." I said. "Oh yes that's right..." She replied. "Do you want a pillow? Blankets? Anything?" I asked. "I should be fine on the floor..." She responded. "The carpet's certainly softer than anything I've ever slept on in a while... But a pillow would be nice." I tossed her a pillow and she proceeded to sleep on the floor with it, hugging it for some reason. I decided to just ask her about it tomorrow and them went to sleep. ---------- I woke up to the sounds of clicking. When I opened my eyes Risa was sitting on the floor playing Zelda. I recognized it quickly, what other hero carries a sword and shield, dresses in green with blonde hair and has a fuck load of items on him. I looked to the clock and the time was 5:38am. "How... How long have you been up?..." I asked. "I woke up two hours ago and started to play an hour after I got bored exploring your house." she responded nonchalantly. "Did anyone see you?" I asked. "Nope." "Good. Just stay here I guess, I'll just get prepared for school." "Okie Doki Loki." ---------- My sister Cendy was taking waaaay too long with getting her shit together so I decided to just walk to school this time. As I walked Risa was combined with my shadow again, and we talked about this mission. "So when do I know when it starts?" I asked. "You'll get a one word text explaining the situation, and shortly afterward you'll feel an excruciating pain in your left arm. Then a timer will appear and you will have that amount of time to search for the Reversed." she responded. "One word text?" I asked. "Words like school, forest, that describe where and other words like soccer or basketball which describe the Reversed directly." "Alright then." It was then when my iPod finally rung. The word was "virgins." "The hell is that supposed to mean?..." I asked. "How the hell should I know? All I know is that it should have some relation to the Reversed in question." Risa responded. Then a pain did hit my arm, it stung harshly for a few seconds then a timer appeared. It read 9 hours and then began to count down. "We'd better get to the school." Said Risa. "What gives you that idea?" I asked. "Where else can you find a bunch of virgins?" "I guess that makes sense..." As I said that I felt as if I could've busted up laughing. That probably wasn't how my school was at all but I couldn't just skip school so I decided to go along with it, it was a lead after all. ---------- Upon arriving to school I had noticed all the girls in generic volleyball outfits. I was wondering what the hell was up with that when I found my friend Julia, she'd probably know what was going on. "Hi Julia." I said. "Oh hi Mayo, didn't you hear? All the guys are supposed to go to the gym." she replied. "Oh, well I'll get to that but why are all the girls in those..." "This? I'm not too sure, we were all just forced to change into this." "Now that's just plain weird... I'll just talk to you later Julia." I said. "Bye oppa." she replied ---------- "Oppa?" Risa asked. "It's Korean for friend, she started calling me by that a while ago and it kinda stuck as a nickname." I answered. "I see... So you two are lovers?" she replied. "We certainly don't have that kind of relationship!" "Whatever, just try not to get her involved into this. I don't think she deserves to get hurt, she looks lovely." "Well that's nice to know from you. Aren't demons supposed to be total asshats?" "Ex Angel remember?" "You better not use that as an excuse for everything..." "Oh don't worry I won't..." After a bit of a walk we arrived to the school gym. "... Well we're here. The gym..." I said "Looks nice." Risa responded. "It's still a new school, it's supposed to." I opened the doors and to my surprise I found the guys preparing the gym for a school dance. I noticed my friends were preping up the beverage table. "What up guys." I said. Austin was the first to respond. "What up." Adan was second. "Abidubida?" And CJ was third. "yo." "What's happening here exactly? The girls are in weird outfits, and we're using school time to prepare a dance?" "Fuck dude, I'd rather be doing this than do work, this is awesome compared to work. And the girls? Well you don't see me complaining." Austin responded. "Austin's right. This is more fun. I mean come on Mayolo, would you rather do work?" Adan asked. "I just want to know what's going here. That's it." I said. "Last everyone heard, we're setting up a school dance." said CJ. "And how would you explain the outfits?" "The big man in charge has finally turned into a total pervert and is abusing his power as principal?" CJ responded, shrugging. "... There's got to be a better reason than that..." I responded. "Well I don't fucking know dude. Do you have any ideas? I'm all ears." Said CJ "I don't know yet, and that's why I'm gonna have to get to the bottom of this..." I said The day went back to prepping up for the dance, afterward we were issued to go back to class. I still had plenty of time on the clock so I didn't pay too much attention to it. The first period was PE as I ran the warm up, Risa began to talk to me. "Hey, can I take over?" she asked. "What? Here?" I responded. "It'll certainly get me more synchronized with your movement patterns, that way we'll be more effective in battle." "You're just gonna pilot me?" "basically speaking, yes." "Do I really have a choice?" "I can move you more effectively if you're willing to allow me. So please?" "Go ahead." "Yay!" What transpired was much quicker running than what I was used to. "Holy shit!" I yelled. "Mayo! Don't resist just go along with it!" I began to slide back into the running position, and once I regained control I could continue running at a great speed for a long time. "Now this is awesome!" I said. "Glad to hear it, now how do we stop?..." She responded. "We'll have to synchronize slowing down. On the count of three we hit the brakes. 1... 2... 3!" We slid to a stop, cutting up quite a lot of grass. "Let me just handle the rest okay?..." "Whatever floats your boat..." ---------- After PE, I was heading over to my English class but then the loud speaker goes off. "All students, please come to the gym." "That's our cue." I said. "Be prepared for anything Mayolo, something seems off about this..." Risa responded. ---------- When we entered everyone was there. Doing their shit. The girls were still in their outfits which still surprised me. It was then where it happened, a gigantic bird creature swooped down over to the principal and then began to speak. "Ladies and gentleman, your principal has sworn total and undying loyalty to me. So first order of business, I shall consume all the female virgins in this very room!" it said this and showed off a very ghastly smile. And grabbed a student and through her into his mouth. He began to chew on her and then he spit her out. "What is this?! You promised me virgins! This woman is impure!" The beast said. "I-I-I s-swear I d-didn't know!" the principal responded. "We had a deal!" The beast responded "And this is how you react?! I might as well kill you here!" "No! Wait! Please no!" the principal yelled. "Risa? Do you still have that gun?" I asked. "Of course, it's in your sleeve." she responded. "How did yo-" "There's no time for that, we have to intervene now!" I pulled out the gun and hit the beast directly on the back. The bullet had no effect, but it did attract the beast's attention. "What the hell?!" said the beast. "Hey asshole!" I said, "Over here!" "Who dares to interfe... Wait, you're a reaper?!" "I guess I got into something badass..." I mumbled, "Of course! And I'll be the one to kill you!" "You will not live to see the sunset boy!" the beast said as it rushed at me. "Let's do this Risa!" I said, getting ready to dodge. "One step ahead of you!" In complete sync we did a pretty badass dodge, causing the Reversed to crash into the wall, breaking through it. It was open at this minute so I pulled up the gun and fired it into its eye. The eye exploded out of its socket and the beast was in major pain. "FUUUUCK!" it yelled. "I'll fucking kill you!" and once again it lunged only this time I couldn't dodge it and it caught me. I couldn't move but then a lightning bolt struck down at the beast, knocking him out and losing his grip on me, it was then when a neon blue sword hit the ground next to me, it appeared to have fallen from the sky. "Mayo! Quick! Pick up that sword!" Risa yelled. "Wait, why?" I asked. "Just fucking do it!" she responded. "Alright, alright!" I answered as I ran over and picked up the sword. The sword gleamed with a radiant light. The light revealed a symbol on the beast. "Stab the sword into that symbol, it's the weak point!" Risa explained. "Kinda like shadow of the colossus?" I responded "Alright then, let's finish this!" I ran up jumped up high and planted the sword in the direct center and drove it in deep. The beast had been finished, it then proceeded to explode into thousands of tiny grains of black sand and I ended up falling to the ground flat on my back and the sword falling down next to me. "oof! Damn it..." I sputtered. As I got back up I saw Risa was out and about. She had what appeared to be a lantern in her hands, she opened it and the lantern sucked up all the sands. After they were all absorbed the lantern lit up with a purple flame. I picked up the sword and walked over to her. "What's that?" I asked "It's a special lantern that's been enchanted to suck in the remains of Reversed to prevent them from reincarnating." she explained. "If we just left the sands here they would merge together and form a stronger Reversed." "Interesting..." I said, staring intently at the lantern. "Is it one lantern per big Reversed? What do you do about the lower tiers?" "Those Reversed can actually be absorbed by that sword you have there. All Reapers get a weapon specialized to their taste to fight the Reversed, but your sword is special, it absorbs these sands and gains abilities from them. Of course there are some side effects when level three tiers and above are absorbed." "What kind of side effects?" "I'm not sure, all I know is it's bad. Oh yes that's right, check your arm, if we completed the mission the timer should be gone now." I checked my arm and she was right, the timer was gone. "With the twelve sword, battles should be a lot easier from here on out." said Risa. "Twelve sword?" I asked. "It's the name of the sword, it was given that name due to its ability to split into twelve hovering blades at it's highest point in power." she explained. "Twelve blades huh?" I mumbled, looking at the sword. It continued to glow, it's light almost felt soothing. ---------- The rest of the day was interesting. The principal apologized for making a deal with this creature, the principal promised the lives of the virgin girls of our school in exchange for the beast to bring back his dead wife. His wife was certainly never gonna come back anyway, and the principal was fired and arrested shortly. I was referred to as a hero for saving the lives of our school and actually wasn't held accountable for damages. Although I missed one #life, this was a first time dealing with colossal creatures so the first run wasn't so perfect, but I knew next time, the casualties might not be so forgiving. The rest of the day afterward was basically a gigantic lunch period that lasted the rest of the school day, and Risa was allowed to go out now, she was given an ID as my assistant. I went on to hang out with friends, the sword now attached to my belt. Something about the sword was special, it was just different... That my friends is just the prologue and I do hope you enjoyed our story here. And the rest shall posted on my tumblr angryg If you want to see more from this series, follow that tumblr. As the rest will be posted every couple days. Opuss shall remain where the great world of Arcadia lies.